Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and events from J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of readers. Anything you recognize belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.
Chapter 19: The Bubbl-onic Plague
After further inspection of the house none of the Potters noticed anything missing. Joseph Potter was more than a little disturbed by the break-in, because it had taken a talented wizard or witch to break through the protection charms that had already been placed on the house. The evening after they returned he spent time fortifying the charms that had been placed. He asked his wife to help tend Perchy, the resident house-elf who had been stunned, bound, and locked in a cabinet. He sent James and Sirius upstairs to pack and tend to the mess up there while he contacted some of his colleagues at the Ministry.
James and Sirius tried to sneak downstairs to eavesdrop outside the living room where Mr. Potter was speaking with someone via the floo network. Mr. Potter, thinking ahead, had placed a shield charm on the doorway keep away prying young ears.
The next day was chaotic as the boys overslept and rushed to make it to the train on time. James had the sneaking suspicion that his father had let them oversleep to keep them from having more time to ask questions about the break-in. Mr. Potter tried to keep the mood light as they arrived at the train station but James noticed him glancing around nervously as they approached the barrier. Once they made it to the train Mr. Potter let out a sigh as if in relief.
"James, it was wonderful having you home. Remember to behave," he said. James looked at him strangely. It was odd for his father to be so serious about behaving at school. From what James could tell, his father had been just as big a mischief maker.
Mr. Potter hugged his son and whispered, "Remember what I told you at Christmas - keep the ring with you and guard it well." He paused for a moment and looked down at his only son. "You know how proud we are of you, right?" James hesitated before nodding. Mr. Potter turned to Sirius and shook his hand, "Sirius, it has been a pleasure having you with us for the holidays. I must say being with you two boys is quite an…adventure, to say the least."
Sirius grinned in response. "I had a great time, Mr. Potter. It was great hearing about your old school adventures. Gives me hope for James, here. I almost thought he was too dull and unadventurous." Sirius ducked a smack on the head from James.
Mr. Potter chuckled as James caught Sirius in a head lock. "You boys had better get on the train before I'm stuck with you for the rest of the year. Sirius, you are welcome back for a visit anytime…as long as you don't pull any of your stunts on me." Sirius grinned evilly and the two boys headed onto the train just as it started to leave the station.
As they walked down the corridor they noticed two familiar figures standing outside a compartment. Remus was standing with a look of amused shock while Peter was doubled over in laughter. "Remus, Peter? What's going on? What's so funny?" James asked.
Peter kept laughing while Remus turned to the two boys and just pointed toward the compartment. James and Sirius approached and opened the door. They were immediately assaulted by a swarm of bubbles floating mid-air. Once they waved them out of the way they saw Marlene and Frank sitting across from Alice and Lily. Frank had a look of surprise and embarrassment while Alice and Marlene were holding in laughter. Lily, on the other hand, looked flushed with watery eyes and a bright red nose.
"Evans, what's going on-" started James.
Lily interrupted him by letting out a string of sneezes- each releasing a fresh swarm of bubbles from her mouth, floating upward into the compartment. Sirius started howling with laughter while James asked again, "What happened? Why are you sneezing like that?"
Alice answered for her. "Lily caught her sister's cold during Christmas. Frank here was trying to demonstrate a charm to dry her nose. It backfired, however, and caused her to sneeze out bubbles." Just then more bubbles filled up the room.
Everyone started to laugh again, except poor Frank, who sat there studying the tip of his wand as if to find the reason behind the spell not working.
Sirius stopped howling long enough to add, "Frank! That was great! Do you think you can do that to McKinnon here?" Marlene glared back at him.
"You think you're funny?" she shot back.
Sirius innocently replied, "What? I just thought you could benefit from some of Evans' bubbly personality!" Everyone groaned. He then added, "Though I suspect you would more likely foam at the mouth." Marlene started to reach for her wand. "Ahhh," he said, stepping back, "Maybe now would be the time to pop out of here." He raced out as Marlene chased after him calling out hexes.
After the train reached Hogsmeade Lily made her way to the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey told her that the bubble charm that Frank had used had somehow fused with the virus that caused her cold. Unfortunately the magical world had yet to find a cure for the common cold. Although Madame Pomfrey could alleviate some of the symptoms Lily would have to ride it out and deal with the bubbles.
Over the next few weeks Lily's cold spread like wildfire around the Hogwarts population. Students had to push past thousands of bubbles to get to class. Filch was so furious about the disruption it caused in the hallways, he wanted to hand out detentions to the sick students. As he made the request to Dumbledore he was greeted by a swarm of bubbles sneezed out by the headmaster, who chuckled and told him there was to be no punishments for being ill.
Sirius dubbed the epidemic the 'Bubbl-onic plague,' and was met with more groans from his friends.
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Despite the craziness of the bubble epidemic, classes did not slow down their pace. Charms and Transfiguration were applying more practical lessons rather than just the theory behind the spells. Professor Pilon increased the complexity of the potions they had to brew. Flying class was a breeze for Lily by this point. She had mastered the basics and had overcome her initial fear of falling.
Potter spent a lot of time helping her fine-tune her flying ability and she found that she was enjoying his company more and more. He seemed so different from the boy at the beginning of the year who wouldn't speak more than a word to her - he seemed more confident.
One February morning Lily walked into the Great Hall with her friends for breakfast and sat down by the Marauders. As she greeted the boys she noticed that Potter seemed a bit nervous. Sirius and Remus looked like cats who had eaten the canary as they greeted Lily.
"What's going on, here?" Lily asked as she started to pour herself some orange juice. Before anyone could answer, the morning mail came rushing in with owls carrying letters and packages, many of them pink or red with hearts on them. Lily had forgotten it was Valentine's Day. She started to drink her juice when a silver screech owl landed on her plate. He dropped a lily he had been holding in his beak and stole a piece of Lily's toast before holding out a little red card.
"Wow, that's a pretty flower, Lily. Who's it from?" asked Alice.
Lily opened her card which said, 'Happy Valentine's Day. From, A Secret Admirer.' She handed it to Alice. Lily noticed that Marlene kept glancing over at Sirius, who had just received a red envelope from one of the school's owls.
"See, James? What'd I tell you? I knew there'd be a girl who couldn't resist my charms," he smugly said as he grabbed the envelope. As he opened it the envelope jumped out of his hand and started shouting in his face, "SIRIUS BLACK, YOU ARE AN ARROGANT JERK WHO PICKS HIS NOSE!!! PLEASE SPARE US FROM BEING ANYONE'S VALENTINE!!!" Several heads turned toward the source of the howler while Sirius' previously smug face turned toward Marlene with a sour glare.
Alice, trying to speak through the shouts passing back and forth between Sirius and Marlene, asked Lily, "Do you have any idea who sent that to you?"
Lily shook her head, "No, I have no idea." As Lily looked at the flower she felt a flutter in her stomach as she thought of one boy she hoped it was from.
Alice caught Lily glancing toward James and back at the flower. She said, "I think I know who sent it and I think you do, too."
It took a moment for Alice's comment to register. Lily suddenly gazed at Alice. "Who?"
Her friend smiled and said, "Oh, Lily, isn't it obvious? He's had a crush on you all year. Have you really not noticed him staring at you and finding ways to sit next to you or be near you?" Lily shook her head. Alice pointedly glanced toward James, who was busy trying to keep Sirius from flinging his eggs at Marlene.
Lily followed Alice's gaze and her stomach did a big flip-flop. "Alice! You think it's Potter?" Now that Lily thought about it, she remembered the nervous look Potter had when she greeted him that morning. Did that mean he liked her?
Throughout the day Lily had to sit with Alice and Marlene, who kept their distance from the Marauders to prevent World War 3 from breaking out between Marlene and Sirius. At the end of the day Lily managed to catch up with Potter, who was alone in the classroom packing his book bag. Lily cautiously approached him, wondering if she was about to make a fool out of herself.
"Hi, Potter," she said.
Potter looked up from his bag to her. He gave her a shy smile, one she hadn't noticed since the beginning of the year. Usually she saw his trademark Potter grin. "Hi, Evans!" he replied. "Interesting day, eh, with Marlene and Sirius?"
"Yeah, I thought I'd linger behind in case there's a cross-fire of hexes and curses between them," she said. "Don't want to get caught in the middle." She saw him glance at the flower she was holding. "Their war was not the only reason I stayed behind. I-I got a surprise this morning in the mail." She noticed Potter shuffling his feet a bit. "I-I just wanted to thank you for the flower, Potter."
He looked up at her surprised, their eyes meeting for a moment. That was all it took for Lily to be certain the gift had been from him. She walked up to him, hugged him, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before thanking him again and hurrying out of the classroom, leaving a bewildered and love-struck boy behind holding his cheek.
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Short chapter, I know, but I hope you found it sweet. Ahhh, young love…
Thanks to my latest reviewers: sweetie513, KaitPotter21, itsme63, Kinslayer, Watermelon!, and Harrysgrl. Replies as always are in the review section.
Next chapter: One of the moments you have been waiting for - James and Sirius start to figure out Remus' secret. Also - something unexpected happens during one of Lily's tutorials with Professor Riddle.