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 26: Bruises and Werewolf Strength
James arrived in the common room that evening looking disheveled and bruised from his fight with Malfoy. Sirius took one look at him and roared, "What happened to you?!"
James gave Sirius a goofy look and plainly stated, "Got into a fight."
"I can see that," said Sirius impatiently. "Who did you fight?"
"Malfoy," replied James.
Sirius studied James for a moment. He was acting a little unusual, like he wasn't angry about the fight. In fact, if Sirius wasn't mistaken, James looked happy. "If Malfoy did that to you then why do you seem happy?"
James grinned, thinking about Evans and the smile she gave him after he kissed her. It wasn't something he had planned, exactly. He had imagined kissing her, however he always thought that if he tried she would slap him and then hate him.
"James," said Sirius as he waved his hand in front of his friend's face. "Oy! Earth to James!"
James snapped out of his thoughts and turned to see Sirius' amused look.
"You have the same goofy look on your face you get every time Evans speaks to you," said Sirius. "Either that look means you're now in love with Malfoy or you just saw Evans. Which is it?"
James rolled his eyes. "I am NOT in love with Malfoy."
Sirius grinned and said, "So…that must mean you were just with Miss Lily Evans." James' grin confirmed Sirius' theory. "Are you going to tell me what happened or should I just guess?"
"I kissed her," replied James.
Sirius hooted and slapped his knee. "How on Earth did you pull that off?!"
"It just sorta happened," said James, shrugging.
"So are you two a couple now?" asked Sirius.
James thought for a moment and said, "I'm not sure, to be honest. I think I shocked her a little when I kissed her, but she smiled afterward so I think that's a good sign. I never got a chance to ask because that's when Malfoy showed up."
James described the encounter with Malfoy. Sirius narrowed his eyes and said, "My evening's been productive. The research I was doing for our next batch of Slytherin pranks will help us get even with Malfoy."
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Lily woke up early the next morning with another pounding headache. Not wanting to bother Alice or Marlene, she trudged downstairs to the deserted common room and lay down on the couch. She closed her eyes and tried to collect the thoughts storming through her head. It felt as though she had a million things floating around in her head but couldn't slow down any of the thoughts to piece anything together. She turned toward the fire and again the images of soot on her hands plagued her. Sounds of glass breaking and loud slamming roared into her ears and she reached her hands to her head trying to shut out the noise.
Just when she thought she was going to lose her mind she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She jumped and cried out as she turned to see who had found her. She found herself looking into Potter's shocked and concerned face. She caught her breath and gradually relaxed.
"Oh, hi Potter. You startled me," she said.
"Evans, are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine," she quickly replied.
He looked at her dubiously and asked, "Are you sure? You aren't getting more headaches, are you?"
"It's not bad, really," she said.
"You should go see Madame Pomfrey. You're shivering, too!"
"It's nothing to worry about," she said as she picked up a throw and draped it around her shoulders. She decided to change the subject. "What are you doing down here so early?"
"I couldn't sleep," he replied.
"Bad dream?" she asked.
He shook his head. "I just couldn't stay asleep. In fact, I was hoping I could speak with you today. It's about what happened yesterday. Erm, you know…th-the kiss."
Lily blushed and said, "Oh, that. What about it?"
"Well, you see…it's just that…I-I like you…a lot. I have for a long time, and…I was, well, I was wondering if you wanted, to, erm…well, would you b-be my girlfriend?" There, he thought, he'd said it. Now he held his breath waiting to see if she liked him back or if he would have to spend the next 6 years of school in his dorm room hiding from her. He glanced up at her shyly waiting for a response and saw the same smile form that he had seen the previous evening.
She blushed a shade darker and said, "I like you too, Potter…a lot. And yes, I'll be your girlfriend."
He released a sigh of relief and grinned as he took her hand. He realized that her hand felt like a block of ice and remembered how sick she had appeared when he had first seen her earlier.
"Evans, your hands are freezing! You need to see Madame Pomfrey!" he exclaimed.
She shook her head and said, "I'm fine. Besides, you're all bruised up from your fight last night and you haven't been to the hospital wing."
"Evans…"
"I'm not going, so drop it. Why don't I meet you back here in a few minutes and we can go eat breakfast?" she said.
He gave her a worried look for few moments before shrugging it off and nodding.
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Throughout May, Lily and James grew to like each other even more. The official title of 'boyfriend/girlfriend' brought with it all of the nauseating cuteness you see with two eleven year olds. They spent a lot of time together at meals and wandering the grounds, holding hands. They decided it was too silly to call each other by their last names anymore so they got to know each other as 'James' and 'Lily.'
James' and Lily's friends were thrilled for them, even if it meant being subjected to the couple sending each other doe-eyes and goofy smiles. As far as Sirius was concerned, this was good ammo to tease James.
James couldn't care less about Sirius' taunts. After all, his crush liked him back! Even after a few weeks of having the title 'boyfriend', James' stomach would dance around and his heart would race whenever Lily smiled and took his hand.
For Lily, she was just as happy about being James' girlfriend. Whenever she found herself getting a case of the chills, all she had to do was look into James' hazel eyes and she would melt. Whenever he smiled at her his dimples would cause her heart to flutter.
James found out a lot of things about Lily's life as a Muggle and couldn't understand some things- like why Muggles would need to put bread into a metal box to make it become toast. James told Lily more about his family, like how close he was with his father. He still received letters from his dad even though he was spending most of his time tracking down the Dark Lord.
One morning in late May James had been eating breakfast with Lily and their friends when another letter from his father arrived. It told James how he was traveling with Mad-Eye Moody, the wizard that had trained Mr. Potter. James remembered him from a few dinners he had attended. Mad-Eye was a bit of a creepy man because you always felt like he was watching you and he was never the cheerful sort. After James got to know him a little better he realized Mad-Eye had a dry sense of humor.
"Is that another letter from your father, James?" asked Lily.
"Yes, it is," he replied.
"Is he still in Bristol?" she asked.
"No, he's in Paisley, Scotland. He and Mad-Eye are following some leads on the Dark Lord," said James. "Some of his followers were reported to have traveled through there." James studied the letter further and saw there was an extra piece of parchment attached. When he read it he grinned widely. His dad had written to him about a secret passageway that led straight into a candy shop in Hogsmeade. It said how to find it and what to say to make the statue open. He tucked it away in his pocket, intending to show the other Marauders later.
That day, James and Sirius enjoyed some revenge on Malfoy. Sirius had found a hex that caused the victim's voice to go up three octaves. Sirius performed the hex flawlessly and they enjoyed watching Malfoy give his Potion's presentation to the class.
As they were leaving class James and Sirius were nearly in tears from laughing so hard. "I don't know about you, mate, but there's something about listening to that arrogant voice sounding like a squeaky chipmunk!" said Sirius, clutching his side.
James had to catch his breath before answering. "How did you like it when he started yelling at us with that high voice?! Ah, Sirius, it's moment like these I treasure!"
"I agree. Come on, we'd better get back to the dormitory. Remus is supposed to be back this evening," he said.
"Ok, let me just let Lily know we'll meet her later for dinner," said James as he started to run back to find his girlfriend.
Sirius grinned after his friend and made his way back to Gryffindor tower. When he walked into his dorm room he saw Remus unpacking. His posture seemed a bit stiff and when he turned around Sirius saw that he still had quite a few bruises present despite Madame Pomfrey's attention.
"Bad night, eh?" asked Sirius.
Remus nodded painfully. "Yes. I could sense some people nearby the Shack and I couldn't control myself. I kept throwing myself against the wall trying to get to them."
"Didn't Madame Pomfrey give you anything for those bruises?" Sirius asked.
"She did give me some salves and potions and they've helped. This is actually much better than it was earlier. Unfortunately, she said we have to give it time to heal completely. I don't know how I'm going to explain this to everyone. After all, how many times can I get into accidents or fall down stairs?" asked the werewolf.
James had just walked in and said, "We may not be able to help you through the transformations, but I think we can help you here."
Remus looked over at his friend and asked, "How? Are you going to hide me under the invisibility cloak for the next day or so?"
James shook his head and said, "Easy, we just get into a fight."
Remus looked confused but Sirius understood and grinned. "Yeah," he said. "We need to get into a big brawl. And that is where you will get your bruises from. No other explanations needed."
Remus thought about it for a moment and smiled. "That could work. But then, how come I would be the only one with bruises?"
Sirius smiled and said, "Because we are the superior fighters."
Remus laughed and said, "I think I could get in a few good punches."
Playfully, Sirius stepped up to Remus and poked him in the shoulder. "I'd like to see you try."
"I don't know if I really want to fight you. I don't want to hurt you," said Remus.
Sirius studied his friend, seeing his tired, pale, bruised face and skinny build. "I don't think that will be a problem, but if you need some prodding…" Sirius shoved Remus a little harder. Remus still looked hesitant, although a little annoyed at the same time. Sirius, trying to goad Remus, shoved him to the floor.
Remus, having had enough provocation, got up and slugged Sirius, knocking him across the room and onto the floor. Sirius looked dazed, but completely surprised. He had a cut on his cheek and could feel the beginnings of a bruise forming underneath his left eye. James looked back and forth between the two boys in amazement.
"What was that?! Where did you learn to hit like that?" exclaimed Sirius, tentatively rubbing his sore cheek.
James replied for him. "Have you forgotten about the strength of werewolves, Sirius?"
Remus sheepishly nodded and went to help his friend stand. "I'm sorry, I really didn't want to hurt you."
Sirius simply smiled and said, "Didn't know you had it in you. I must say, I'm impressed."
James smiled and added, "At least now it looks like you and Sirius got into a fight."
Remus smiled and said, "You're right. Thanks! This is going to make explaining the bruises so much easier. What do we say we fought about if anyone asks?"
"Just pretend like you don't remember and that everything was resolved," replied Sirius. "Come on, let's get down to the Great Hall before dinner's over."
"That's right! I told Lily we'd meet her," added James. The other two boys rolled their eyes at each other and followed James out of the room.
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That weekend, the students spent a lot of time outdoors. The Quidditch season had just ended and Ravenclaw had won the Quidditch cup. There was open flying for the first years so they were allowed to use the school brooms and fly around the Quidditch pitch. Lily had decided to stay inside, telling the others she had a lot of studying to do before the end of term.
In truth, she was feeling miserable again. Her headache was back with chills running up and down her spine. She also had this feeling of something bad looming above her, that something horrible could happen at any moment. She kept having the same images bombard her - the soot, the glass, the slamming sounds. She was barely able to keep the appearance of everything being normal around her friends. James looked a little concerned as he was leaving with his friends that morning however she just made it seem like her studies were stressing her out.
Lily spent the morning in the common room trying to do what she had said she would - studying. After a few hours she realized that she couldn't stay focused on her studies. She decided to go for a walk to try to clear her head. When she reached the hallway near the stairs to the entryway, she heard footsteps and turned to see Professor Riddle walking toward her. As he passed she saw a flash of sunlight hit his shirt and saw a bright gleam of light reflect back into her eyes. She felt her mind start to calm and as he walked by the words he spoke were soft but reached her nonetheless:
"It will happen tonight."
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Okay, James and Lily are now together. Enjoy it while it lasts…
Thanks to the latest reviewers: Hermione G. Potter, Golden Phoenix, Potter, James Potter, Watermelon!, and itsme63. I posted replies in the review section. Hermione G. Potter - I addressed your concerns there about James' father.
Next chapter: Can't say much, only that we will find out what Riddle meant when he said, "It will happen tonight."