Well, I'm officially over the 100 mark as far as reviews go which is awesome! I've been hearing nothing but good things so I hope you guys like Pensieve and where I'm going with it ~_~.
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~ Unofficially Yours ~
By: Oy! Angelina
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The first signs of morning crept through the curtains and into Lily's room. James stirred before awaking groggily. For her part, Lily sighed and turned a bit more onto her side of the bed, still asleep. James thought she was positively adorable in that instant. Cuddling against her, James realized he was wide-awake now but was more than content to continue holding Lily like this all day.
But the day had started already, hadn't it? And it wouldn't be all that long before the rest of their House who had remained for the holidays awoke and became a part of it. What then? Was he supposed to stroll out, arm in arm with Lily and invite a barrage of rumors to greet them in the place of "good mornings" or "hellos"?
Certain he'd like to keep as much of his private life a . . .well private, as he could, James reluctantly decided that he should be on his way. Gently taking her face into his hand, James leaned in and kissed Lily, hoping this would pleasantly rouse her from her dreams. He didn't want to leave without saying a brief goodbye first.
Her eyes fluttered open and she appeared to be more asleep than awake. A happy murmuring noise hummed from her lips as she smiled at James.
"Morning already?" The words passed out in a sigh.
"Yes." James smiled back at her. "I should be going before anyone notices I wasn't in my bed all night."
"You only have to really worry about the Prefect, now don't you?" Lily teased as she stretched a bit in place.
"Well, I'm looking to evade slander not punishment with this." James kissed her forehead. "Got our good names to thinks about. Okay, I've got YOUR good name to think about."
"I'll go with you anyway." Lily offered through a mumble. She wasn't exactly sure where they were heading but it couldn't be all that bad if James was going to be along. James smiled and shook his head.
"You're half asleep, love." James observed affectionately as he leaned in to kiss her cheek. "You rest a bit more and we'll have breakfast together, hm?" Lily sighed again as though she intended to argue this, but closed her eyes, taking James's advice instead.
"Just as well, you're a bed hog anyway." Lily teased with a sleepy smile as she rolled over to his side of the bed. It was still warm from where James had been laying. Lily took in a deep breath of the pillow so she could smell his hair with a content smile.
"I don't have to take that from the cover monger." James smirked as he pushed her hair off her face and debated whether or not he should actually leave. Not tired in the least, James would be more than happy to simply hold her while she slept. Of course, each moment he lingered made it more likely that the other members of the House would be up and about and James didn't have the benefit of his invisibility cloak to conceal his departure of Lily's room from watchful eyes.
"I'll see you in a bit, Lily." James promised both her and himself, as he couldn't help but kiss her goodbye once more before he made his way over to her bedroom door and seized the handle in a cautious grip.
Acting like some common criminal as he stealthily crept out of Lily's room, James preferred this feeling to explaining why he was sneaking out of Lily's bedroom with the disheveled clothing he had been wearing yesterday to any of the other Gryffindors. James could only hope everyone was far too worn out for the ball last night to be up an about this early. After making it free and clear of Lily's room without being seen, James determined a shower and change would be a good investment of his time.
Damn. James thought while rolling his eyes. Guess I better get ready to start explaining myself away to my nosy prat friends.
Entering his room in the boys' dormitory, James was a little surprised to see that Peter was the only one there. Rolling over in his bed, Peter sat up and stared at James with something of a raised eyebrow.
"So you're the first one to wonder back in?" Peter croaked out. James shot Peter a quizzical look.
"What do you mean?" James asked.
"Well, unless Padfoot and Moony snuck about without my hearing . . ." Peter deduced being something of a light sleeper. " . . .They've been out all night much like yourself."
"Well where do you reckon they've been?" James pondered aloud to Peter. The pudgy boy shrugged while giving off a yawn.
"Can't be sure." Peter admitted. "I would have assumed you three up and ditched me if you hadn't all gone your respective ways last night."
"Do you suppose our boys got lucky a bit?" James grinned mischievously as he picked out something to wear for the day.
"Good question." Peter seemed to wake up a bit with the speculation. "Doubtful on Padfoot's part, I'd say. Last I saw Sirius, he got all manic after a furry of words with Snape and went off on his own. He's been looking to get at Snape for about a month now and I think last night only added fuel to the fire."
"Missed something, did I?" James asked.
"Snape didn't much fancy Lily walking out on their date and took it out a bit on Arabella." Peter reported. James made a face.
"Lousy git." James muttered. "It's not right for Snape to lash out at her if his quarrel is with me." His sense of chivalry was more than antagonized at the moment and had half a mind to storm into the dungeons and chew Snape.
"Don't bother yourself too much with it, Arabella's fine." Peter assured. "Sirius jumped in and gave Snape something to brew over and Remus was practically joined at the hip with the girl."
"Really?" James's eyes lit up. He had asked Remus to keep Arabella entertained, but . . . "So they seemed to be hitting it off then?"
"Well considering he's not here at the moment, I'd say so." Peter shared his friend's smiled. "Reckon this could be the start of something, Prongs?"
"Who knows?" James tried not to get excited over this news since they had not idea what this all meant, but it was hard to not be optimistic on his friend's behalf. Remus was so much more reserved and pensive than the rest of them. A vivacious girl like Arabella could do wonders to bring a more social side out of him.
"So since absolutely nothing interesting happened to me last night, reward my mundane existence by telling me first what YOU'VE been up to? Peter pressed eagerly. "I'll wager you had a more eventful night than the lot of us put together!"
"Oh hardly." James tried to modestly pass off as he felt himself get flustered.
"Come on! No secrets between Marauders!" Peter wouldn't let up. "That's what you always say!"
"That's NOT what I always say!" James laughed indignantly. "That's just the guilt trip we lay on one another when we think someone's holding out." James sighed and debated what to say. Why is it the moment something interesting happens in your private life people all of a sudden think its public domain?
"If you tell me, I'll insist you were here all night to Remus and Sirius." Peter generously offered with a wicked grin. "That is, of course, unless you want THEM to pursue the line of questioning."
James considered how horrible his two other friends would make his life with their teasing and assumptions and figured this was about the best offer he was going to get.
"Okay, you extorting prat." James sighed, running his hand through his hair.
Peter beamed a smug smile and perked up so as not to miss a detail. He almost never got news like this straight from James. Any major confessions like these were usually passed along to Peter second hand through Remus or Sirius (mostly Sirius since Remus was better about keeping secrets) or it was some sort of announcement made to them on a whole. It's not that they deliberately excluded him, was Peter's impression, it just seemed like the three boys were always just a bit more closely packed together than he was with them. Being the first to hear James's revelation made Peter feel special. Worthy. Someone to be confided in. Peter would have felt guiltier about having to blackmail his friend to get the news if he wasn't positive Remus, Sirius, or James (under different circumstances) wouldn't have done the exact same thing.
Male friendships were, in the same instant, both complicated and simple to grasp.
"I was with Lily all night . . .get that look off your face this moment, Wormtail before I come over there! Alright then? Fine. Nothing unmentionable, though I'm still not going to mention anything mind you, happened and I just ended up sleeping there overnight. Not a single scandalous thing to mention, 'cept I think we're unofficially a couple at the moment." James said that last part with a bit of an awkward smile as Peter beamed deliriously.
Now that he had said it aloud, James was actually glad he had told Peter first instead of his other friends. It was nothing personal against the other two, but Sirius could only bother with being serious under the direst of circumstances and would take to teasing James (albeit in an affectionate manner) rather than offer anything constructive. Remus was along the same lines as Sirius (though infinitely worse when Padfoot's "good influence" was present) but he would usually let up after a few dry quips and say something supportive or insightful.
James would probably confide in Peter more if he wasn't so concerned that he was coming across as bragging. Not that James really needed or desired to deflate those around him to make himself feel better, but he had long ago got the impression that Peter was far more sensitive and easily threatened by other people's good fortune than either Sirius or Remus. Still, Peter was far easier to relate to at times. He was pretty upfront with whatever his feelings were and if he was happy for you, he would make sure it was genuinely known.
Much like this time around.
"That's bloody excellent news!" Peter declared enthusiastically as he leapt of his bed to congratulate James with a firm pat on the back. He paused only when a thoughtful expression overtook his face. "Hold on, unofficially?"
Peter waited for this to be explained
"Well, I haven't properly asked her yet, but I intend to." James clarified. "But it looks like I'm pretty much attached to Lily Evans."
"Oh to hell with that! We all knew you were attached to her!" Peter laughed. "But now you're dating her!"
"Yeah, who'd have figured with everything that's been going on huh?" James shrugged, still trying to believe everything himself. Peter was still grinning somewhat like an idiot, marveling over his friend's happy news.
"Well, I bet you'll come up with some dazzling way to get Lily to be your girl!" Peter boasted on James's behalf.
Peter's confidence was something James wished he could barrow at the moment.
"Yeah, just wait and see!" James hoped he sounded convincing as he gestured toward the bathroom. "I'm just going to get cleaned up for the day, hm?"
Peter waved him off still grinning. James was turned away from him so Wormtail couldn't see the brooding expression on his friend's face.
It wasn't that James thought Lily would reject him, but there would be a certain amount expectation attached to how he did it. James would need to come up with something memorable and endearing as a credit to Lily and he felt completely stumped as to how to accomplish this. He considered having his friends brainstorm with him on this but then he remembered who his friends were.
Sirius had experience with women (truth be told, possibly a little too much experience with women) but probably wouldn't be of much help when it came to courting a single one. That and he would use it as an excuse to try and weasel out some more guarded details from James.
Remus would mean well and probably offer something salvageable on the topic, but his personality was such a sharp contrast to James's own that it was unlikely they would be able to make two ends meet long enough to get anything accomplished. Also, Remus's limited experience with the opposite sex might have an impact on the advice offered.
And Peter, well, he was mostly in the same boat as Remus when it came to dating and he'd probably be so caught up in the notion of giving James help that not a whole lot would get done.
James sighed and tried to come up with anyone who might know Lily that he could talk to. Lily was a tad reclusive, which meant she probably didn't have a great many intimate contacts that could serve to help him aside from Arabella. While this was a promising prospective (girl's opinion and all), James thought it would be a bit tacky of him to ask her advice on wooing Lily when she herself had harbored feelings for him only a few weeks prior. Of course, if she was moving on to Remus then there wasn't much harm, was there? James stretched his imagination for other people he'd seen Lily get along well with that he knew.
There was Severus Snape . . .
. . .Who would probably recommend that James jump up his own arse and die.
Okay, Arabella then?
James decided to focus on taking a shower presently with a sigh.
* * *
It occurred to James somewhere between rinsing and repeating that he might write to Frank Longbottom for a bit of insight on the matter. After all, the man had managed to get himself married so he must have gleaned some small amount of wisdom on dating. Figuring if he hurried along, he could get an owl out that very morning and maybe hear from Frank in the next day or two. This would give James a chance to talk with Arabella in the meantime and hopefully be well on his way to something. He'd also have to keep Lily happy without having her suspect he had something up his sleeve.
Nothing like a challenge, eh Prongs? James thought to himself as he exited the bathroom, working a towel through his mess of hair. Peter seemed to have given up on the idea of getting back to sleep at this point but was still putting off getting dressed as he was presently pouring over a Quidditch magazine with interest. James sat over at his desk and pulled some writing supplies in front of him. Needing his specs if he was going to be able to see what he was composing, James looked all over his side of the room before giving up and asking Peter.
"Wormtail, you didn't happen to notice where I set down my glasses did you?" James called over his shoulder.
"Umm . . ." Peter glanced about the room for a minute before he turning towards James. "Actually, I don't recall you wearing them when you came in this morning."
James searched his memory briefly, before he realized Peter was right.
"Bloody hell, I left them at Lily's." James groaned. On nights when he didn't get a particularly large amount of sleep, James's vision was always a little bit blurry coupled with the fact he didn't have a particularly strong prescription of glasses to begin with and all the excitement attached to where he had spent the night, he hadn't even noticed he didn't have them on.
"Well go get them." Peter shrugged obviously.
"Oh now how would that look?" James sighed, imagining someone catching him at Lily's door getting his glasses back.
"I'll go, then." Peter offered, already folding up the magazine and pushing himself off his bed.
"No you won't!" James pointed for Peter to sit back down in a commanding gesture. "I'd rather be an indecent bed hopper than have to explain to Lily why YOU know I left my specs with her! I guess I'll just have to wait until I see her next and manage on through."
"You're not blind, are you?" Peter asked. "We could get Sirius to be one of those Seeing Eye Dogs we read up on in Muggle Studies."
"I'm fine." James assured abruptly and attempted his letter to Frank without benefit of 20/20 vision.
* * *
1976, Dec. 26th
Dear Frank:
Hope you had a lovely holiday with the Longbottom family. Mine was good as well. I plan on writing you a proper letter regarding this but I have something of an urgent question that I need your reply upon.
Lily, the girl I told you about, well she and I seem to have really hit it off and we're at the point where I can ask her to be my girl and have it be a respectable sort of arrangement. Bloody thing about this is I have no idea how to do this! I could prank Slytherin House with a wand up my nose and concussion to the head, but I can't figure out a good means to ask Lily about going out with me!
In short, anything you can offer would be a godsend since I'm a bit on the clueless side in all this.
Hurry before I die alone,
~ James Potter
p.s. Thank you once again for the plum cake.
* * *
James made his way to the Owlry to send off his post to Frank with Wifflesnip; his Eagle Owl that, to both their misfortune, had been named by James when he was six. James promised Wifflesnip his weight in bacon if he could get a reply as soon as possible.
Drifting back into the Gryffindor common room, James found Sirius and Remus chatting (changed and damp from a shower), probably about whatever it was they had respectively done with their evenings.
"Oi, Prongs!" Sirius greeted as he motioned for James to join them amidst the squashy chairs. Obliging his friends, James sat down smiling while secretly hoping no one noticed his lack of eyewear.
"Alright, what am I missing?" James tried to catch back up.
"Sirius was just giving me an account of where he was all evening." Remus replied as he turned back to Sirius. James looked to his friends, as well, with interest.
"Oh, I decided to play a sporting game of tag with Filch to keep me occupied and vent some frustrations." Sirius explained with a mischievous grin. "I'd leave taunting notes to antagonize the git and kept mostly to the hidden passages just to make sure I didn't get caught. Had him screaming in fits and trying to persuade Peeves into helping him track me down around four or so."
The three shared a laugh while shaking their heads at something so typically Sirius, which usually translated to the things that had amused the rest of them when they were 13 years old, still amused Sirius.
"He's going to know it was you." Remus informed. "You're the biggest troublemaking prat to stay over for the holiday. Simple matter of deduction and it doesn't help that he hates you."
"Nah, he'll think it was James or the lot of us." Sirius shrugged. "He knows were a team and he probably doesn't figure me to be the brains of it."
"Always thought Filch was a scary judge of character." Remus joked, prompting Sirius to roll his eyes with a smile.
"If you're going to take us down with you, Padfoot, can you make it something a tad more noble than a game of cat and mouse with the crotchety caretaker?" James requested.
"Fine, next time I'll blow up a toilet or something." Sirius offered with a shrug before grinning at James. "And what did WE do last night?"
"You know what I did." James passed his tone off as casual. "Came back here early on from the Ball and waited around our room until Peter got back."
"Oh, I'm afraid I'll be calling shenanigans on that, James." Sirius shook his head in a chiding manner.
"We know you're lying, Prongs." Remus smirked as he held up Lily's purse and tiara she had from the night before. James attempted to keep a straight expression through the half anticipated inquiry.
"So?" James tried to sound unimpressed by this evidence. "She could have easily left them down here without any help from me."
"We would have thought that too if we hadn't gotten a slightly different account from Peter." Sirius's tone was sympathetic but his smile was mocking. James felt the expression of surprise seize his face and threw himself deep into his chair, arms crossed in frustration.
"Damn it, Wormtail!" James groaned, angry at his friend's poor ability to manage a secret. "He swore he wouldn't breathe a word!"
James watched as Remus and Sirius's expressions both lit up as smiles stretched across their faces. It was then that James figured out Peter hadn't betrayed his word after all.
"Oh BLOODY HELL, we were bluffing!" Sirius sputtered a laugh out with Remus joining him, both their eyes wide with amazement. "We HAD just figured she left them in the common room by accident. I wanted to see if I threw out Peter's name if you'd bite!"
James felt his jaw go slack as he slapped his hand over his exasperated face. He used to be a lot better at spotting the lines Sirius and Remus would bait him with, but evidently falling for Lily had left him prone to lapses into drooling stupidity. He could feel his friends smirking to one another.
"Well, no point in keeping up your intricate web of lies now." Remus shrugged with a bit of a grin. "Out with it, then."
"Absolutely!" Sirius leaned in as he began counting off on his fingers. "I want details, quotes, positions, and did she happen to call out my name at ANY point throughout?"
"I think I rather hate you at the moment, Sirius." James replied dispassionately before a sly grin crossed his face and he turned toward Remus. "Besides I think I'd much rather hear about what Remus and Arabella were up to last night."
Sirius's face lit up as though someone had just given him a crate of explosives and a "get out of expulsion free" card as he completely ignored James in favor of pursuing this new revelation. Remus threw James a traitorous look, before he attempted to be stoic as Sirius began his usual style of badgering; which mainly consisted of freaky accusations and the most debase line of thinking imaginable.
"You and Arabella!?"
"I never said that."
"James said that."
"And James is a wanker at the moment."
"So did you snog?"
"Sirius - "
"More than snog?! Oh Merlin! Don't tell me, I fear I may blush!"
"Sirius!"
"I knew you were never as ill as you came off! Just saving up your energy for when it counted, hm? So how many times, you randy dynamo of sexual endurance?"
"SIRIUS!"
Satisfied with his effective distraction, James left his friends to their own devises and would sort out the details later. Sirius was presently seated on top of Remus so he couldn't run away. When Remus refused to offer anything on his own, Sirius engaged in a bizarre and perverted game of 20 questions that seemed to make Remus grow redder (from rage or embarrassment James couldn't tell) with each passing one. James hoped this would teach Remus first-hand how intrusive such questions could be.
Sirius had precious little shame so James doubted he'd much get the point.
Just as James was making his way up the dormitory stairs to see what Peter was up to, Lily came down dressed for the day with the addition of his glasses on her face.
"Look what I found when I woke up this morning." Lily smiled at him. "I think they're rather fashionable on me, wouldn't you agree. Come on, you mentioned something to me about breakfast early and I'm famished." Lily grabbed James by the arm and tugged him after her.
James attempted to stutter out a reply or warning but realized Sirius and Remus had gone suddenly quiet. Lily and James stepped into the common room and saw Remus and Sirius were frozen in mutual chokeholds; Lily and James were frozen as they tried to discern how much the two had heard. Judging by their grins, more than enough.
Bounding over the furniture, Sirius was flashing a toothy grin at the two of them. Lily felt her mouth go slack a bit and James reclaim his glasses and replace them on his face.
"Thank you." James groaned.
"Whatcha two been doing?" Sirius asked as though he had a very good idea of what it might be. "And when did you make plans for breakfast?"
Lily was completely stunned into silence. Remus was leaning over the side of the chair, smiling at James smugly.
"Sirius, you know a gentleman never asks and a lady never tells." Remus teased. "Of course, you don't pass much for a gentleman so see what you can get out of them for me, hm?"
"Working on it, Moony." Sirius assured as he was shifting his gaze between Lily and James. "So, I think it should be stated that I taught James everything he knows, Lily, and if you ever get tired of dealing with the middle man . . .well, I'm more than willing to close my ever-open door for you."
Sirius loved antagonizing James and was rewarded with watching his friend develop a nervous twitch near his eye. Still amazed at how repressed James could be at times, Sirius need to see how far he could joke with Lily before lines were crossed. After all, it's not as though she would survive very long amongst them if she couldn't roll with a few punches now and again.
Remus was more interested in getting James back for setting Sirius on him with a vengeance than whatever the two had been doing. He was sorry that Lily had to be subjected to Sirius like this but happy to see James look thoroughly uncomfortable at the moment.
Both Sirius and Remus were surprised when they watched Lily turn scarlet with embarrassment and dawn a cross look upon her face.
"Alright! That is QUITE enough, you two!" Lily snapped herself and the three boys back to attention. "I will not suffer an inquisition at the hands of the biggest revolving door of dating ever available to Hogwarts." Deliberate look at Sirius who was torn between looking mortified Lily was aware of such a thing or proud she'd bothered to notice.
"OR the Gryffindor Snogging Champion of 1976 according to Arabella Figg!" Lily turned toward Remus, who nearly fell out of his chair in surprise.
Head held high, Lily made her way out of the common room before throwing a smile toward James.
"Incidentally, I think Arabella and I will need to compare notes since I'd like to cast my nomination in before voting comes to a close." Lily tossed her hair as she exited through the portrait. "I'll see you in the Great Hall."
James turned to his two friends and burst out laughing at them, as they seemed to still be recovering from Lily's outburst.
"She practically called me a man-slut!" Sirius declared indignantly before he thoughtfully wondered if he sort of was. "Well, I'm something of a snogging slut but that's still a bit rude."
"Oh, but harassing people about their personal lives is always proper forum?" James countered, before noticing how dazed Remus appeared. He wasn't sure if this was because of what Arabella had said to Lily or if it was for what she had said about his snogging technique.
"Great, onto my fabulous new life as the insatiable Snog King of the House." Remus commented, although didn't appear to be outrageously distraught by this. Still, he glared at James. "I blame you for all this. Lily was as sweet as honey before she became tainted under your perverse desires."
"There's nothing perverse about my desires!" James cried in disbelief. Sirius cast a thoughtful glance James's way.
"Come now, Remus." Sirius reasoned with a smirk that offered James no comfort. "I think Lily lashed out because I was onto something with my questioning. She called my name, didn't she?"
James gave out a humorless laugh, near mad from both their relentlessness as he pulled out his wand and eyed his friends with a manic glint. Remus and Sirius smiled, evidently satisfied with the reaction they had earned.
~ 15 seconds later ~
Peter nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the door to the bedroom slam. Spinning around to see what was all the ruckus, Peter saw Remus and Sirius pressed against the door panting and laughing with James ranting from the other side.
" - I SWEAR I'LL BREAK DOWN THIS DOOR! FACE ME LIKE THE DOGS THE LOT OF YOU ARE! - "
"Oh now what?" Peter groaned. He wanted to go get breakfast and he couldn't very well do that with Sirius and Remus barricading the door and James shouting murderous threats on the other side.
The manic thumping gave way to the sound of Remus and Sirius laughing at the annoyance of their friend. The two boys glanced at Peter, before turning to one another.
"Is it just me or is Prongs a lot more fun now that he's got a steady girl?" Sirius inquired, causing himself and Remus to burst out laughing again.
"Same goes for Lily." Remus nodded in approval. "Girl can hold her own and tore into us with flare!"
Peter sighed and started rummaging through his nightstand draws to find something to tide him over until lunch.
* * *
James inevitably calmed himself after being to thoroughly riled by Padfoot and Moony, which meant the four of them could head along to breakfast as Peter so desperately wanted. Willing to discuss the matter with some measure of seriousness and dignity now, James explained to his friends, for the record, that he and Lily were a stone throw from being together he just needed to come up with a brilliant way to put a seal on it.
James wasn't overtly concerned about someone overhearing their discussion since about a fifth of the school had stayed over for the holiday, but they kept their voices low over it nonetheless. As he anticipated, the other boys were of little help in spite of their best intentions. Wishing James all the luck in the world and offering to help in any way he saw fit, James sighed as he realized he was on his own again until he had an opportunity to hear from Arabella or Frank.
Entering the Great Hall as their usual foursome, the Marauders found Lily seated with the remaining members of their House eating breakfast at their reasonably vacant table, talking mostly about the Ball last night. Lily's expression lit up a bit when she saw James enter. He took the space next to her on the bench with their other friends crowded around. Arabella was the last to arrive.
"Sorry for my lateness." Arabella half-heartedly apologized. "Didn't get much sleep last night."
Perking up a bit as though his cue had been called, Sirius smiled at Remus who threw a "don't you dare" sort of look his way. It was the same pleading look James had been giving Sirius for years, which caused Padfoot ask himself what possessed Moony to not know he hadn't already developed an immunity to it by now. Sirius decided to go with his bad self.
It was almost as second nature as breathing by this point.
"That would probably have something to do with Sir Snog-a-lot here, hm?" Sirius guessed. Arabelle shifted her catlike eyes between Lily and Remus.
"And which of you has been keeping the rest of the House updated on the minutes of my life?" Arabella demanded.
Lily started to blush and glanced at the table, immediately regretting her earlier outburst. Sucking in a deep breath she meet Arabella's gaze.
"Umm, well I may have mentioned - " Lily started apologizing before Arabella seemed unimpressed and simply shrugged.
"Good. Means I'm spared the effort of making a memo." Arabella folded a napkin over her lap.
The Gryffindors erupted into laughter.
* * *
All throughout breakfast, Snape had been stealing glances across the Great Hall at the Gryffindor table as they cackled like the lot of morons they were. He was on something of a rotation for whom he was glaring at.
Sometimes it was at Sirius Black, the drooling imbecile he was. His arrogance and grating immaturity was the embodiment of everything wrong and romanticized amongst the Gryffindors. Convinced that Black would be a squib if not for ridding on the coattails of Potter, Lupin, or possibly Pettigrew, Snape had little expectations of the future Black would amount for himself with his "if at first you don't succeed, lower your standards" philosophy in life.
While his rule breaking antics and half-cocked attitude might make him a cheeky classmate within Hogwarts walls, such flippant conduct practically assured Snape that Black would inevitably end up in Azkaban once he reached the real world.
Sometimes it was James Potter. While Snape lacked the unadulterated hatred he felt for Black, his sheer loathing of Potter contained no less passion. True, Potter had the restraint and poise in their confrontations that Black evidently felt he could do without, but he was no less egotistical or juvenile as his lesser-half. Potter was talented, but was content to have little to show for it. He was a capable student but preferred to disrupt class more than contribute to it. And Snape didn't much feel like getting into his taste in company (barring Lily Evans) since he wanted to not spend his ENTIRE day criticizing Potter. Snape remembered how Lily had compared himself with Potter and thought she was off in her judgment.
If anything, Snape regarded James Potter was a failed version of Lily.
Sometimes it was Lily Evans. He would relive the last conversation they shared, and recalled all the ones before it. Rationalizing he was more disappointed with Lily than angry (as he had always assumed better of her) he would occasionally catch himself hoping Potter would betray and hurt her as he knew the prat undoubtedly would just so she would have to admit that he had been right all along.
Snape made no effort to correct this kind of thinking.
Although he had assumed he was being discrete in his spying, a comment from Mary Tudor jarred that thinking.
"Don't stare too hard, Severus." Lestrange's girlfriend cautioned with a smile playing over her lips. "You'll end up burning a hole in the back of the little Mudblood's pretty head."
"Don't be crass, Tudor." Snape stated disapprovingly.
Apart from most others in his House, Snape didn't have any particular prejudice against the Muggle Born, though he found their ignorance of most things mundane and customary in the wizarding world to be more than tedious at times. Snape believed in talent, in diligence, in ambition. Those willing to rise above themselves, Wizard or Muggle born, earned his respect. Those who floated along, content with whatever mediocrity directed their course in life (not unlike Potter and his rabble), they reserved his animosity.
Mary Tudor seemed to pucker slightly at Snape's correction in her behavior. Lestrange put an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders, showing everyone at the table that they were still the perfect House couple.
Snape had long since decided that Mary Tudor' dark beauty was most stunning when she was most cruel. The girl wore her sneers well. Her and Aaron Lestrange were what were known as the "refined" brand of Slytherin, with grooming and manners polished not unlike cold silver. The variation of this were the "dark" Slytherins who were often compared to various dark creatures or living nightmares by those outside Houses.
Snape maintained no delusions of where he was classified amongst his peers, but such aesthetic differences meant little within Slytherin. Not when a cunning mind and sharp tongue were the essential traits of survival within.
"He's got a point, Mary." Lestrange chided, but his expression suggested he didn't really care. "Still, I don't see why our Prefect has become suddenly . . .politically correct on us." The other Slytherins eyes appeared to scrutinize Snape, waiting for his response.
At times, Snape was convinced his House would be better represented with a hyena as a mascot rather than a serpent since it was a more apt description of its members typically. A collection of sneering, cackling pack that roved around, preying on the weak and turning on one another when nothing better stumbled across their path. It was an old game of cunning and wit with rules that were only implied.
Backhanded comments were the key. While none were immune to the criticism of their peers within Slytherin, the trick was to make sure you weren't the subject of it for too long. Otherwise, one would soon find themselves a more regular target. Although everyone was more than aware that "casual observations", "friendly suggestions", and "extended compliments" were all just veiled insults; the point was not what you said but how you said it. Those who could run another into the ground while making it sound as subtle and aristocratic as possible were considered masters of the game. Such tact was not stressed when dealing with those outside of the House, but was necessary for survival when dealing with other Slytherin.
Snape had a lifetime before Hogwarts to prepare for such a game. One doesn't survive as the only child of amoral and demanding parents without such finesse.
"I never pegged you as one so interested in a game of semantics, Aaron." Snape replied coolly. "Especially with your vernacular skills being what they are."
Aaron Lestrange's eyes narrowed on Snape as a few Slytherins shared a snicker at his expense.
"I'd also recommend you polish your proficiency with innuendo." Snape added for measure with a small smirk. "I imagine even the Hufflepuffs would have been able to grasp what you were implying with all the subtlety of a rampaging dragon."
More snickering followed along with a deviated conversation centered around insulting the Hufflepuffs. Mary Tudor forced a smile along with her boyfriend, but there was a hint of contempt in both their eyes. Snape hoped they would drop this line of questioning now, but what was a Slytherin without pride?
"As fun as it is to watch you parry the point, Snape, I think we're all a still curious if you've forgotten the quality of blood Evans lovely flesh hides." Tudor interjected with a vicious smile. "Do I need to go over there and show you what color turns up?"
Snape didn't like Lestrange's woman threatening Lily, regardless of his current displeasure with the Gryffindor; however, the most important implied rule of this game was never reveal a vulnerability if it was avoidable.
"If I didn't suspect better of a pureblood, I'd almost suggest you were . . .jealous of Evans?" Snape raised an eyebrow. A distorted expression overtook Tudor as she glared at Snape.
"What would I POSSIBLY have to be jealous of her for?" Tudor challenged. Lestrange's grip seemed to tense around her as though he expected her to physically attack Snape at any moment.
"The fact that she has managed to acquire every last bit of prestige you desire without the slightest amount of strain. Stunning by any House's standards, top girl in all her classes, respect of the faculty, admiration of her peers, and one of the only intelligent sources of conversation in all of Hogwarts. Come to think of it, I believe it would be a shorter list if you asked me what advantages you DID have upon her." Snape listed apathetically as though it were a potions list. This was about insulting Tudor not complimenting Lily.
Mary Tudor was scowling (and therefore beautiful at the moment) with the most venomous of stares directed at Snape. In an instant, all the rage seemed to seep out of her as she threw a frosty smile right at him.
"If what you say is true, Potter sure is a lucky one, isn't he?" Tudor inquired sadistically. It was happened to be one of those comments that were best executed from the mouth of a woman. Snape let nothing betray him externally.
"If he's not thick enough to ruin it, I suppose."
Tudor had won.
Damn it.
All the Slytherin's exchanged knowing smiles with one another, Tudor, Lestrange, and Snape included. Everyone was well aware of the score.
It just wouldn't be the Slytherin way to mention it.
* * *
At some point during the day the six Gryffindors, someone had the brilliant idea for a snowball fight in the courtyard. To make things interesting, the group divided into three teams that pelted clumps of snow at one another. As the six were pairing off, Sirius made a stipulation of.
"No partnering with someone that might lead to snogging! Because if Peter and I aren't getting anything presently, neither are you!"
"Yeah, all business now, mates!" Peter crowed in as he started packing snow. "I'm with Sirius!" Peter figured Padfoot might be less inclined to shove handfuls of snow down the collar of his shirt if he needed him to watch his back.
Shrugging and laughing, Arabella ran over to James while Lily paired with Remus.
"Can you throw well?" Remus asked Lily as she approached.
"Not really." Lily admitted.
"Neither can I." Remus had a quirky smile as he appreciated how buggered the two of them were.
Lily removed her wand and gave a quick flick of the wrist towards herself and Remus.
"Scopus!" She chanted twice
Both her and Remus now had glowing bull's-eye markers on their chests. Remus burst out laughing as he threw an arm around Lily and led her to their respective corner.
"Good to know you have a sense of humor about being relentlessly pummeled." Remus complimented.
"I'd imagine James and Arabella will go easy on us." Lily grinned
"You WOULD imagine that wouldn't you." Remus grinned back.
* * *
~ Peter and Sirius ~
* * *
Ducking behind a column and section of rail, Sirius and Peter traded off taking shots at their four friends/opponents, holding up a conversation in between the praise and laughter prompted from their snowball fight. Peter happened to be rather good at braining their Housemates with snow.
"Good arm there, Wormtail!" Sirius nodded approvingly. "Best hang onto it."
"I intend to!" Peter assured.
"So do you want know what I did last night?" Sirius asked with a smile.
"I already know. You tormented Filch." Peter nodded. Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Besides that." Sirius pushed the conversation along. Peter's eyes drifted about as though the answer would appear for him shortly. James hit him in the shoulder as punishment for his lack of attentiveness. Returning fire, Peter glanced at Sirius.
"I don't know, shagging?" Peter shrugged. Sirius made a disgruntled knows, causing Peter to get a bit cross. "Well, bloody hell then, Padfoot! If you don't like my guesses then don't ask questions I'd have no way of knowing the right answer to!"
"Okay fine." Sirius jerked his head to the side to avoid being clipped by Remus. "I was coming up with a plot to get at Snape." He didn't notice the shot from Arabella.
"I thought you were dodging Filch all night?" Peter stated.
Sirius finished sputtering snow out of his mouth before looking at Peter.
"Oh come now." Sirius groaned. "I need a quarter of my wits about me to do that!"
"You apparently need a hell of a lot more to have a proper snowball fight." Peter grinned.
"Yeah well, I'm a little preoccupied with coming up with my grandest scheme as of yet." Sirius retorted.
Sirius checked to see if Peter was impressed or, at the least, curious yet and found his fair hair friend giving him a most perturbed look.
"We're all going to end up in Azkaban, aren't we?" Peter moaned. A failed attack of Lily's smashed harmlessly on the ground next to Peter.
"Well I imagine some of us will get away." Sirius smirked at his friend's hesitation. "No, I'm only planning on wiping the scowl off that overgrown bat's face to make room for a bit of fear."
"You figured out something to scare Snape?" Peter said skeptically. "Always struck me as a little too stoic or whatnot to be bothered with things like emotions."
"Oh I figured out something alright." Sirius promised darkly. "But I need your help."
"Well, of course we'll help you." Peter shook his head obviously toward their friends who were currently working trying to hit them with fistfuls of snow. "I been saying we need more bonding experiences in this lot."
"No, Moony and Prongs can't know!" Sirius insisted, his eyes burning into Peter's. "Remus would find it all too juvenile to ever consent and with James and Lily being bedfellows, who knows how much of our mail he might slip to her on this; what with her being a Prefect and sort of chummy with Snape. I can't trust them to follow through. You're the only one I can count on in this, Wormtail."
Peter felt himself smile at this. Sirius was working with him over Remus or James. Sometimes he felt like such a tag along in the group who just followed orders once the rest of them worked them out, but Sirius needed HIM specifically. Eager to be with Sirius at the drawing board of his most daring prank, Peter was ready to remind himself why he was a Marauder with the rest of them.
"What do you need my help with?" Peter pressed. Pleased with the enthusiasm Peter was showing, Sirius playfully slugged Peter in his arm as he flashed a sly grin.
"I need you to deliver a little something to our good friend down in the dungeons and make sure he finds it." Sirius replied vaguely as and Peter resumed their fight with their friends.
* * *
~ Remus and Lily ~
* * *
Being the smart, sensible people they were, Remus and Lily quickly realized they had little hope of performing well in their snowball firefight and resigned themselves to safely cowering by a bench and throwing out the occasional lump of snow for show. Mostly they just caught up.
"Sorry about this morning." Remus extended. "We like to poke fun at one another and it's a little hard to get back to a mentality resembling civil once we're pretty far in."
"Me too." Lily smiled. "I shouldn't have bitten both of your heads off like that. I should apologize to Sirius too."
"Don't bother, he has the attention span of a riled up Cornish pixie." Remus shook his head. "Besides, we'd like to think one of the major reasons James is so mad over you is the fact you can take care of yourself."
"Really, mad you think?" Lily blushed a bit at hearing this from one of James's closer friends.
"Bloody hell, you haven't had to be around him these past few months." Remus groaned as he recalled the events. He checked over his shoulder as though expecting James to be listening. "I suppose there's no harm in saying this now, but James is head over heels for you, Lily. In the six years I've had the honor of being his friend, I've never seen James more committed to anything than his feelings for you."
Remus then remembered the years James and the others had devoted into becoming animages on his behalf and decided to revise his statement a bit.
"There's nothing more important to James than those he cares about." Remus honestly believed. "And I reckon he might care about you most of all."
"I'm really partial to him too, Remus." Lily admitted with a small smile. "I'm glad we've managed to rise above so many things over the past few months."
Changing gears, Lily turned to Remus.
"So you and Arabella, hm?" Lily grinned in a way that slightly resembled one of Sirius's. Remus laughed awkwardly.
"Something like that." That was more than any of the Marauders had gotten out of Remus all day.
What is it about talking with a girl that makes it so much easier? Remus wondered to himself as he tried to decide how to best indulge Lily's expectant look.
* * *
~ James and Arabella ~
* * *
"Yeah, me and Remus." Arabella replied vaguely, having the same conversation with James on the other side of the courtyard.
"Well he won't tell me anything." James tried to sound hurt.
"Maybe there's a reason for that!" Arabella replied, onto his game.
Giving up on Lily and Remus for the most part (and not really having the heart to attack them to begin with) the snowball fight was mostly Sirius and Peter against Arabella and James. Arabella had a good pitching arm much to James's impressed surprise. He was particularly fond of when she hit Sirius square in the jaw.
"Come on, give me something!" James pressed playfully. "I want to make sure he's treating you right is all."
"Oh yes." Arabella agreed with a suggestive smile. "You have NO worries there. Still, too soon to report much of anything. We didn't discuss anything formal or the like last night and we haven't had a moment alone yet today."
"Ah." Was the most James could say to that. He didn't know what he had expected to hear but he guessed by the slight amount of disappointment he hoped it would be more.
"Never mind me, what's new with you and Lily?" Arabella beamed.
"Me and Lily are . . .well, now me and Lily I guess." James shrugged. Arabella squealed a bit.
"Really?" Arabella demanded.
"Um, kind of." James said and noticed a threatening look cross Arabella's face.
"James Potter if you're toying with Lily . . ." Arabella hissed.
"No!" James inched back a bit as he was genuinely afraid of Arabella at the moment, but a snowball cracked into the side of his head (Sirius's handiwork judging by the mad laugh), forced him back to the place he had held as he dusted snow from his hair. Arabella waited for some winning explanation on his part.
"We're unofficially together at the moment." James told her. "I was hoping to talk to you about that. I want to ask her to be my steady in some proper, romantic if I can help it, sort of way and need any insights you might have since you know Lily."
"Oh." Arabella could live with that. "Let me see."
Deep in thought, Arabella whipped her arm out and surprised shriek from Peter followed by Sirius's sadistic laughter let her and James know she made the mark. Mulling it for an additional few seconds, Arabella smiled at James.
"She's the sentimental sort, Lily is." Arabella began. "Doesn't need to be flashy or extravagant, just has to come from the heart. Don't feed her any cliché lines or quote her a sonnet or something. Just be yourself. Makes sense since you're the one she's smitten with."
"Smitten?" James felt himself grin.
"She's one smitten kitten." Arabella nodded.
"Okay, you guys!" Sirius's voice called out through the air. "Peter's convinced he was blinded with that last shot. I recommended he just open his eyes, but he'll be having none of that. So, this being said about Peter's pathetic constitution against water, I think we should call it quits for now."
Arabella moved to stand up but James quickly forced her back down.
"Hold on a minute." James advised.
The air was cut with the sound of whipping snow followed by Lily and Remus crying out with more sadistic laughter as a finale.
"NOW we can go." James nodded as he and his other snow-clad friends went inside.
* * *
James was delighted to find Wifflesnip pecking at his bedroom window earlier that evening with a post from Frank. The owl hooted expectantly for its bounty of bacon, but James hadn't anticipated to see him until tomorrow at the earliest and evidently underestimated the powerful incentive bacon had on his pet.
"Hold on, Wif." James stroked the bird. "I'll run and get you a fresh bunch right now."
It took a little coaxing to get Wifflesnip to give up the letter without the bacon in sight. Wif was a smart pet to be suspicious of him, James decided overall, but did convince him that he would be back in a few minutes with his reward.
Reading the letter as he made his way to the kitchen and hoped the House Elves would be all to happy to help him out, James wondered what advice Frank had to offer.
* * *
Dear James:
Good luck!
Seriously,
~ Frank Longbottom
* * *
"Oh that git!" James growled as he crumpled up the letter and spent the rest of his trip to the kitchen wondering how such a jerk with a cruel sense of humor EVER got himself married.
James just prayed the things Arabella told him would be enough to help him.
* * *
Snape spent fewer and fewer occasions in the Slytherin common room ever since he made Prefect. He recognized a part of this was on account of the superior attitude that came with his position as he thought it was inappropriate to be too friendly with those he was expected to govern. Of course, he had never been really friendly with them to begin with so this decision was working out rather well for him presently.
Still without Lily's occasional company to count on, Snape found that even sardonic banter and sporadic threats were better than absolute silence.
After having his fill of everyone's backbiting for one evening, Snape became resolve to take his leave of the other Slytherin for the evening and maybe brew some potions to pass the hours. He considered trying something from the book Lily had given him but felt slightly uncomfortable with enjoying her present but not her presence at the moment.
Snape knew he could continue to avoid her for the remainder of the break but once school started up, she would be there with him for a third of his classes, at Prefect meetings, etc. Aside from the rare few he could enjoy civility with; Snape only knew two other ways to deal with others: Ignoring them or antagonizing them. He very much doubted Lily would tolerate him pretending she didn't exist and he had no desire to start behaving maliciously towards her.
As he rationalized at breakfast, Snape was disappointed in Lily not angry.
He was sure she would misevaluate the situation and assume he felt hurt or rejected by her improper behavior at the Ball, but that wasn't the case. If Snape felt any of those things, it wasn't because of some presumptuous interpretation of their relationship, but mostly on account of him feeling like she had deliberately cast him aside to placate the blow he had landed on poor Potter's indomitable ego. Snape smiled slightly as he recalled the forlorn expression on Potter's face the evening before, all in reaction to Lily going to the Ball with his rival instead his wonderful self.
Snape questioned if that was why he wanted Lily to accompany him. For the memory of that expression of Potter's?
Reluctant to think he had so deliberately exploited Lily just to get a low-blow on Potter, Snape believed that was just a merry side-effect to a myriad of other reasons. After all, he had given Mary Tudor and a portion of his House more than enough motives for his escorting Lily and they were all sincere in Snape's mind. A far more enjoyable presence than that obnoxious Arabella Figg who forced what fleeting amount of social pause Snape held to refrain from using apply every last misogynistic remark he could manufacture to her.
Infuriating girl and her flagrant disposition.
Snape was suddenly reminded of Sirius Black.
He made a face for having to think of both him and Figg at once. Snape marveled at how the same suite of appalling character flaws could be possessed by to separate people who were, as far as he knew of no blood relations. Convinced that it would still have to be inbreeding on some level if Black and Figg ever bothered to procreate (possibly just to annoy him), Snape repressed a shudder at what their spawn would be like. That sickening thought was replaced with another and, in his mind, more disturbing one.
What if Potter and Lily got married?
Snape refused to entertain such a preposterous thought a second longer. While he had little doubt they were something of an item at this point, Snape was sure this was some infatuation on Lily's part. An itch to scratch. Once the novelty of James Potter had finally worn through her last nerve, Lily would cease to sully herself with his presence. A person like Lily Evans just didn't end up with a prat like Potter. She was far too sensible and independent to take the back seat to his traveling sideshow.
Wasn't she?
Snape had heard more than one sob story about decent people ending up with a wretched spouse because they couldn't see the degenerate for what they were. Woefully blinded by some charming window dressing or honeyed tongue.
Snape thought of Voldemort suddenly.
Snape didn't want thoughts of Lily and the Dark Lord to be so closely entwined and resumed his previous line of thinking.
What if Lily never saw behind Potter's clever mask? She probably wouldn't if the only company she kept was Potter's simpering crew, that cretin Figg, or any of the other hundreds of students who saw James as some whimsical, good-natured bloke rather than the cautionary tale his life was shaping up to be.
Snape just found his incentive to make peace with Lily Evans.
Walking the corridor leading to his room, Snape observed a rat scurrying along with a section of parchment in grasp. Rats we by no means uncommon in the dungeons of the school (though they typically had the good sense to avoid the Slytherin common room and vicious minds within) but Snape was curious as to what it was carrying. Wondering if someone had sent their pet rodent to ransack his room, Snape removed his wand.
"Accio parchment." Snape summoned the slip of paper to him and watched the rat scurry off in fright. Undaunted, Snape knew if the paper was his, as he suspected, he could devise some means to track the pet's owner down and hex them until his throat went sore. Examining the torn parchment, Snape's eyes narrowed as he felt a grin cross his face.
* * *
meeting at the Whomping Willow again at midnight, New Year Eve. R.L. will be expecting us for the usual business. Be sure to hit the knot this time! I almost lost an eye from that damn tree because you're a git!
~ S.B.
* * *
R.L., S.B., the Whomping Willow, Snape knew who had authored to note. Guessing that thoughtless Pettigrew must have dropped it somewhere for the rat to find for its nest or Potter misplaced it on one of his late night raids on Slytherin, Snape was practically exuberant over the notion of exposing whatever secret Potter and his cohorts had been eluding from him, taunting him with all these years.
Whatever it was Snape hoped it would be enough to get the lot of them expelled.
He doubted even a sympathetic creature such as Lily could overlook Potter's faults if his criminal transgressions were exposed and he was seen by the entire wizarding community for the failed wizard Snape always knew he and his friends would amount to. Smugly, Snape made his way into his room to more thoroughly device his impending triumph.
Snape paid no heed to a solitary rat watching him intently from a shadow before scampering off.
* * *
* * *
AFTERWARDS
Scopus = Target by the by
Ugh, okay, I don't usually attach spoilers hinting at the next chapter but just so I don't get a bunch of questions for it, the next two chapters will have to do with Sirius's prank on Snape and the aftermath of it all along with James getting off his ass and finally making things official with Lily. It should be grand fun and I'll do what I can to make it seem all so very original even though we pretty much know what's going to end up happening (I hope you'll like).
See ya, you beautiful shinny happy people. I hope this is a good song pick since nothing else seemed to make as much sense and it seems to describe most of the major characters a little bit.
Oy! Angelina.
* * *
Needs
By: Collective Soul
* * *
All around me I see what weakness has made
Too much tomorrow I think I'll take all today
Am I a poison? Am I a thorn in the side?
Am I a picture-perfect subject tonight?
And I don't need nobody
I don't need the weight of words to find a way To crash on through
I don't need nobody I just need to learn the depth or doubt of faith
To fall into
Here I slumber To awaken my daze
I find convenience In this savior I save
Am I a prison? Am I a source of dire news?
Am I a picture-perfect reason for you?
I don't need nobody
I don't need the weight of words to find a way
To crash on through
I don't need nobody
I just need to learn the depth or doubt of faith To fall into
In this time of substitute It's my needs I've answered to
All the while
And all the hope that I invest
Turns to signals of distress
All the while
I don't need nobody
I don't need the weight of words to find a way To crash on through
I don't need nobody I just need to learn the depth or doubt of faith
To fall into
(Oooh oo-oo-oo-oooh)
You're all I need (Oooh oo-oo-oo-oooh)
Yeah! When the water runs deep (Oooh oo-oo-oo-oooh)
Yeah! You're all I need (Oooh oo-oo-oo-oooh)
Now I cry my soul to sleep
(Oooh oo-oo-oo-oooh)
You're all I need (Oooh oo-oo-oo-oooh)
You're all I need (Oooh oo-oo-oo-oooh)
You're all I need (Oooh oo-oo-oo-oooh)
You're all I need
(Oooh oo-oo-oo-oooh)
(Oooh oo-oo-oo-oooh)
(Oooh oo-oo-oo-oooh)
(Oooh oooh)