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 90: Chilly Greetings
James and Sirius left the headmaster's office feeling as if a giant cloud was looming over them, signaling the storm that was about to strike down upon them. For a while neither boy spoke, not quite sure what to say. James was angry. He was angry that Sirius had gotten them into this mess and that one of them would have to let Moony know that Snape knew his most guarded secret. He was angry at Dumbledore for suspending Sirius from the house team when he knew they had a good shot at the Quidditch Cup that year. He was angry at himself for not heeding his mum's warnings about Sirius's mood swings.
Sirius was going through his own plethora of emotions. He had learned that morning that his father had died several days earlier. Sirius didn't know how he was supposed to feel about the death of the man who had constantly berated or abused him for several years. He knew he had played a major part in the event that caused Octavius Black's injuries, even if it was self-defense. The events that had transpired that night had been the straw that finally broke the camel's back. He couldn't take it anymore, so he had fought his way free.
Sirius wondered when the official transition from 'son' to 'enemy' had occurred. Had it happened the minute he first stepped onto Platform 9 ¾? Sirius had faint memories of himself as a small boy looking up at a father who once gazed upon him with pride, the look a father would bestow filled with expectations to follow in his own footsteps and take his rightful place as the Black heir.
His mother took the responsibility of teaching him how to behave in public, as a true heir should. He recalled a moment when he saw a wizard slapping his child in Diagon Alley, just outside of Knockturn Alley. Sirius had tugged on his mother's cloak and pointed at them, asking her to help the child. She had barely given the bruised tot a glance as she shook her head and coldly referred to the child as 'half-blood filth'. That callous remark had ignited something in Sirius, something that started as a faint ember, but as time passed the icy comments fanned the embers and forced them to grow into a steady flame of resentment against his family.
Until he was eleven he had only been a slight nuisance, a boy who rebelled but was expected to redeem himself as a Slytherin once he made it to Hogwarts. The fateful train ride during first year and the Sorting Hat had changed all of that for Sirius. Suddenly he was placed into a house that not only wasn't the house other Blacks had gotten sorted into for centuries, but he was placed into a rival house. He made friends, ones that made him feel more at home with his values than the house he had grown up in. He felt more at home in his own skin and none of his friends looked down on him for being a member of the Black family.
The other Marauders hadn't even given it a second thought once they found out Sirius's surname. They all formed a friendship that seemed unbreakable, full of fun and laughter and trust. Sirius felt shame fill him, causing a pressure to build in his chest like a cooker. He had been trusted with Remus's deepest, darkest secret. He had sworn not to tell another soul, and while in Sirius's opinion it was arguable that Snape even had a soul, he still knew that he had likely blown his friendship with Remus to smithereens.
Sirius glanced at the boy walking next to him and knew that Remus wasn't the only one he had let down that night. Plenty of people had told him that he and James were so alike they could be brothers. The two boys agreed on just about everything, had the same sense of humor, both became members of the house quidditch team, and aced most of their classes. They even looked similar, to a degree. That being said, Sirius knew that James had done something he hadn't been able to do - he had seen the line between right and wrong and had risked everything to fix things. If he hadn't been able to push Snape out in time…Sirius didn't want to think about what might have happened.
By the time they reached their dormitory, Sirius cleared his throat and said, "Look, Prongs…"
James, sensing what Sirius was about to say, interrupted, "Forget about it, okay?"
Sirius shook his head and said, "No, Prongs, it's not okay. I screwed up and you risked your neck-"
"It's alright," insisted James. "Just focus on how we're going to tell Moony."
Sirius lay in bed that night unable to sleep, the image of his friends' lives at risk unable to escape his mind. It had been his fault, it had been his fault, it had been his fault… He swore to himself that he would never let it happen again.
**************************************************************************************
"What are you boys doing here?" said the demanding voice of Madam Pomfrey. "Don't tell me you carried dungbombs in your pockets, again. You know how dangerous those can be if they set off-"
"No, Madam Pomfrey," interrupted James, glancing around the hospital ward to make sure nobody else was within earshot. "We're here to see Remus."
Madam Pomfrey's stern look faltered for a moment before she said, "Remus Lupin? From what I heard his poor mum is ill and he had to go home."
"I think you and I both know that's not true," said Sirius, nodding his head toward the curtained-off bed.
"We know about his condition," said James.
"Like I said, Remus Lupin is not in this wing-" started the nurse.
"It's alright, Madam Pomfrey," echoed the weak voice of Remus from behind the curtain. "They know."
Madam Pomfrey puffed out her chest like an angry hen and marched over to the curtain, saying, "You are supposed to be resting, not inviting friends to tire you out even more!"
"We weren't exactly invited, Madam Pomfrey," said James, "but it's really important we see Remus."
The nurse scrutinized Sirius and James before saying, "Five minutes. That's all you get, because that boy needs to rest!" She turned and marched into her office and added over her shoulder, "Don't think I won't be watching you boys!"
Sirius gave James a quick glance, knowing that she was referring to the time when they had snuck dungbombs into the hospital ward intent on putting them in all of the bedpans. One of the dungbombs had set off in Sirius's back pocket causing a large bruise to appear on his buttock. Madam Pomfrey had chewed him out the entire time she spent treating the bruise. James had ribbed him mercilessly, reminding him of his cousin Gideon's mishap with the wand.
James was the first to appear around the curtain, seeing Remus sitting up in his bed, some purple goo smeared over his bruises. Remus saw the look on James's face and said, "What happened? Why does Madame Pomfrey now know you know about me?"
James looked at Sirius, who finally appeared around the curtain looking guilt-ridden. Sirius looked at the foot of the bed, unable to look Remus in the eye. "Moony," he said, "I screwed up…bad."
Remus, assuming one of Sirius's pranks had gone awry said, "Well, tell me what happened so we can figure out how to fix it." He figured that they needed him to help with damage control like some other near-mishaps in the past.
James, trying to help Sirius, said, "Remember yesterday morning at breakfast? What happened?"
Remus nodded his head and said, "Yeah, of course." Looking at Sirius he said, "You'd found out about your father. Are-"
Sirius cut him off by saying, "That doesn't matter. It doesn't excuse what I did."
Remus felt a foreboding sensation as he said, "What did you do, Padfoot?"
Sirius, still unable to look at Remus, rubbed the back of his neck as he blurted out, "I told Snape!"
"Told him?" echoed Remus. "What, about your father?"
James shook his head and said, "Snape confronted Sirius in the hallway last night during his detention. He was taunting Sirius about his family and making innuendos about finding out where you go every month."
"Don't sugarcoat it, Prongs," said Sirius. "I told him how to get past the Whomping Willow."
A nauseating sensation overcame Remus as he said, "What?" He was sure he hadn't heard Sirius correctly.
"I told him how to stop the Whomping Willow from attacking him and how to get into the tunnel," Sirius elaborated.
Remus shook his head and although he had refused to eat breakfast, his stomach felt like it wanted to rebel. Not wanting but rather needing to know he asked, "Did he…?"
James glanced at Sirius before saying, "Yeah, he went to the tunnel."
Remus's hands started to shake, his voice barely audible as he asked, "Did I…?"
"No," said Sirius. "Prongs stopped him and pulled him out before anything happened."
Remus gave James an accusatory stare as he said, "You knew about this?"
"No," said Sirius. "He found out and ran to stop Snape before anything could happen."
Remus felt his lungs burning as he asked, "Did he see me?" Not seeing an immediate reply, he practically
shouted, "Did he?!"
James nodded and said, "He went to Dumbledore right away, not knowing Dumbledore was the one who allowed you to attend Hogwarts."
Sirius continued, "Dumbledore admitted he knew about you and pointed out to Snivellus that Prongs had saved his life. Prongs swore him to secrecy after Snivellus realized he owed him a wizard's debt."
Remus was silent for a while, trying to absorb what they had told him.
"Moony?" said James.
"Why did you do it?" Remus finally asked.
"I dunno," said Sirius. "I was so mad and I had the mental image of the look on his face if he saw you. I wasn't thinking about the danger to him or you or even Prongs."
Remus let out a disbelieving laugh, "Wasn't thinking!"
"Moony-" started James.
"Wasn't thinking!" said Remus, louder and more angry than Sirius or James had ever heard him sound before. "Neither of you think much, do you?!"
"That's not fair," said Sirius. "Prongs had nothing to do with this; it was my fault."
"It doesn't matter, Sirius!" retorted Remus. "It doesn't matter who said what to Snape last night. This is just more of the same from you two! You both prank or hex others when you feel like it, not thinking about what the consequences will be to them or to you! Now you nearly set me up for murder and revealed my secret to someone who hates me and wouldn't mind seeing me kicked out of Hogwarts and on the street! I trusted you!"
"Moony-" said James.
"Don't call me that!" shouted Remus, feeling every ache in his body intensify with every word. "You accused me of betraying you with Lily and when you realized you were wrong you didn't even apologize. You just assumed that I, being the reasonable one, would allow our friendship to return to normal!" He shook his head and said, "You both make me sick!"
Remus's last words echoed in James's head, making him feel smaller than a flobberworm.
"That's it!" exclaimed the nurse. "Get out, and let my patient rest. You've had your five minutes and you managed to slow down his recovery by upsetting him." Seeing the two boys, both pale-faced, she said, "Out!"
James and Sirius plodded through the corridors, both sullen.
"He shouldn't have said that to you," said Sirius. "You saved our arses last night and found a way to keep Snivellus from talking."
Remus's words kept echoing in James's head, 'You both make me sick!' He couldn't help but remember his confrontation with Lily after the DADA O.W.L. the previous year. She had basically told him the same thing. She had thought him to be arrogant and cruel and now one of his best mates thought the same. "Maybe he was right," said James.
**************************************************************************************
The last few weeks before the Christmas holiday were tense for the Marauders. Remus had been unable to forgive Sirius for revealing his secret to Snape. He also couldn't get over his grudge with James for his assumption that he had betrayed him with by dating Lily. Peter was unsure what to do, understanding why Remus was angry but unable to side against James and Sirius who were practically heroes to Peter.
Lily noticed that Remus was once again sitting apart from his friends and called him on it as they were walking on their patrol. She asked, "Why aren't you hanging out with your friends anymore? Did Potter accuse you of something again?" She couldn't believe James would assume Remus was dating Lily anymore since she was spending a lot of her free time with George.
Remus shook his head and said, "No."
"Then tell me what happened," prodded Lily.
Remus was about to make something up when he remembered that Lily knew about his secret. Maybe he could tell her and unload some of the anger he had been holding for the past few weeks. He took a deep breath and said, "It has to do with my…secret."
Lily nodded, urging him to continue.
Not knowing if they would encounter anybody else in the corridors, Remus decided not to get too detailed. "The last time I had to go away, Sirius told Snape where I go when I'm absent."
Lily's eyes widened and she asked, "Did he try to find you?"
Remus nodded and said, "He even saw me that night."
Lily shook her head and said, "I don't understand. If Snape knows your secret then how come the school doesn't know? And how did he not get hurt that night?"
"James dragged him out of harm's way. Snape ran straight to Dumbledore, who informed him that James in effect had saved his life. He owed him a favor, a wizard's debt, so James told him to keep his mouth shut," explained Remus.
"Potter knew about this?" asked Lily.
"He wasn't the one who told Snape. Sirius was. As soon as James found out he ran to stop Snape," said Remus.
"But you're mad at both of them?" said Lily.
Remus let out a frustrated sigh and said, "Don't I have a right to be? Sirius betrayed my trust. I know Snape's been egging him on and that he'd just found out about his dad dying, but I can't help but feel mad. And James, it could just as easily been him that night, telling Snape. He and Sirius are so much alike. They both goof off and don't think about the consequences of their actions. They assume that good old Remus will fix things. You were right about them."
Lily was silent for a bit before she said, "You have every right to be angry. Sirius shouldn't have done what he did to you, though I think you'll still forgive him."
"What?" said Remus, stopping in the middle of the corridor.
Lily paused and turned to face him. "You're already explaining away what he did. You said that Snape egged him on and that he was upset from finding out about his father. I'm not saying that you should just fall back into an easy friendship with Sirius. When to forgive him will be up to you, but you've been friends for too long to give up on him."
"I don't know," said Remus.
"And then there's Potter," said Lily. "He wasn't the one who told Snape. In fact, he risked a lot to keep you from harming Snape."
Remus shook his head and said, "I know that, but our friendship was on shaky ground before that. He thought I had betrayed him, and he never even apologized for that."
"What's passed is past," said Lily. "I've seen both Potter and Sirius these past few weeks. The corridors have been a lot quieter without them wreaking their usual havoc. I think they both know what they did was wrong and that they miss their friend."
Remus let out a small laugh. "Do you realize how odd it is to hear you defend them?"
Lily shrugged, her cheeks becoming slightly flushed. "I know that no matter what Potter has had to go through since first year he could always count on his friendship with you, Sirius, and Peter. I also know that they all know your secret, and that until this point it was one of the things that bonded you four."
For a moment Remus couldn't speak, thinking that Lily was referring to the others becoming Animagi. He let out a ragged sigh, realizing that she did not know about that particular secret. She was just talking about his secret. "So you think I should forgive them?"
Lily gave him a small smile and said, "It's not about what I think you should do. I'm just saying that despite what they've done, their friendship has meant a great deal to you. I doubt Sirius will make that mistake again. I know that you'll forgive them once the dust has settled."
They started walking again, inspecting the corridors by the DADA classroom. "And what about you?" asked Remus.
"What do you mean?" asked Lily.
"It's been almost five years, Lily," said Remus. "Hasn't the dust settled yet for you?"
"What are you getting at, Remus?" Lily tensely asked.
"Something happened the night Riddle attacked you in the Forest that caused you to lie about losing your memory," said Remus, watching Lily become more tense. "Something that ended your friendship with James. Can't you at least try to be on better terms with him?"
"Now who's defending him?" said Lily, trying to turn the conversation back around.
"Nice try, Lily," said Remus. "But really, can't you at least give it a shot?"
"I'm not going to go out with him," said Lily. "It just…I can't, okay?"
Remus shook his head and said, "I wasn't asking you to date the bloke, just be more friendly. Like you said, what's passed is past."
Lily took a deep breath and said, "Maybe…I guess."
The two continued on silently, though Lily felt a chill that caused the hair on the back her neck to stand up. She looked over her shoulder, but nobody was there.
**************************************************************************************
The next day was a Saturday, and several of the students were outside enjoying the fresh coat of snow that had blanketed the grounds the previous evening. A few people had suggested starting up a game of Quidditch using snowballs as Quaffles and Bludgers but James opted out, feeling guilty for playing when Sirius couldn't. Since Sirius was in detention and Peter was trying to impress some Ravenclaw girls with his snow angel making capabilities, James opted to head inside and warm up by the common room fire.
As James walked through the portrait hole he noticed that Remus was reading in a chair near the fire. James was tempted to sneak by and go upstairs, however he realized it was time to summon up his Gryffindor courage and face the music. He approached Remus and parked himself on a neighboring couch. Remus didn't look at him, still focused on his book though James noticed his eyes were no longer moving.
"I've been a prat, haven't I?" said James.
Remus raised and eyebrow and turned the page of his book.
James realized that Remus wasn't going to make this easy for him. "Look," he said, "I'm really sorry. You were right. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions about you and Evans, no matter how it looked."
Remus turned another page, and even James knew that Remus couldn't have read that quickly. James waited for what seemed an eternity before deciding that Remus wasn't going to forgive him. He stood up and started to walk away, however Remus stopped him in his tracks when he said, "Up for a game of chess?"
"What?" sputtered James.
Remus had put down his book and was pointing at a nearby table where a chess set was sitting. "I asked if you wanted to play some chess. Nobody is using the set right now."
"Uh…sure," said James. As they sat down at the table and Remus set up the pieces, James said, "Does this mean that…?"
"Apology accepted," said Remus.
"But…what changed?" asked James. "Not that I'm complaining, but I thought you were still rather peeved at me."
"I was, but I'm getting over, especially now that you finally apologized," said Remus.
"What about Sirius?" asked James. Sirius had already approached Remus a few times trying to apologize.
Remus paused in setting up the board and said, "It's going to take time, Prongs. I'll probably get past what happened. Lily said I would forgive both of you."
"Evans said what?" said James, figuring he had heard Remus wrong.
"She said I would forgive both of you because our friendship means too much to give up on it," said Remus.
"Why would she defend me?" asked James.
Remus felt a little uneasy, realizing that he was still keeping Lily's secret. He knew, especially after what Sirius had done to him, that he couldn't betray Lily's trust. "She wasn't exactly defending you. She was defending our friendship."
"Oh," said James, moving one of his pawns two spaces forward. "Something the both of you said has really been getting to me. You both, at separate times, said that I made you sick."
Remus answered James's move by pushing his pawn two spaces forward. The pawn tried to taunt James's pawn by sticking out it's tongue and flapping its arms up and down like a chicken. "I'm sorry about that. I was pretty mad at the time."
"I know, but you both said it, and it made me wonder if I really have been a huge prat the past few years," said James, pushing another pawn ahead one space. This pawn proceeded to thumb its nose at Remus's pawn.
"You haven't been a huge prat," replied Remus, moving his queen's knight two spaces forward and one space to the right. The horse pawed at the space and snorted before rearing up and kicking at the air, freezing in that position. "Maybe a mid-sized prat, but not a huge one," he said with a slight smile.
"Ha ha," James dryly replied. He looked at the chess board and said, "Why are we playing chess, anyway? You always beat me."
"I know," said Remus. "That's why we're playing it. Maybe it'll temper that Potter ego," he joked.
James grumbled and said, "Fine, but then I'm making you play Quidditch."
**************************************************************************************
The Marauders all headed home for the holidays. Sirius, of course, was going to spend the holidays with James and Marianne. On the train ride home they all sat in their compartment exchanging gifts. Sirius had attempted a peace offering by getting Remus a first edition copy of a book he'd been wanting. He'd scraped together any spare money he'd had to buy it, apologizing to Peter and James about their cheaper gifts. Both boys said they understood.
Remus politely thanked Sirius for the gift and surprised him by handing him a package. Sirius was surprised by the gesture and grinned as he took the large box from Remus and set it on his lap. He tore off the wrapping and opened the box, only to have a giant pie fly out of the box and slam into his face. Sirius was blinded for a moment but could hear James and Peter laughing as the broken gobs of banana cream pie slid down his face and dropped onto his clothes. Sirius wiped the goo from his eyelids and looked across the compartment at Remus, who had a smug but mirthful look on his face.
Remus took a calculated breath, trying not to laugh as he said, "I know how much you like pie, Padfoot."
That set off further laughter from James and Peter. Sirius nodded his head, taking a gob of the gooey pie and tasting it. "Not bad, Moony. Not bad, though I would have preferred chocolate cream pie." He scraped some more of the pie off of him and threw it at Remus, hitting him squarely on the forehead.
For the next twenty minutes an all-out food fight broke out in the compartment, James and Peter joining in as more pie was conjured. A lot of laughter was heard by passersby as a broken friendship started to mend.
**************************************************************************************
As the train pulled to a stop, the boys had finally managed to clean the last remnant of pie from their compartment, though James claimed that Sirius could have just eaten his way out. Remus left to do his prefect duties, helping students off the train. Peter spotted his mum waiting anxiously by the barrier and quickly wished the others a 'Happy Christmas' before rushing out to greet her.
Sirius spotted Marianne coming through the barrier and James, looking down the crowded corridor of the train, told Sirius to go ahead and that he'd catch up. He waited as the crowd thinned before walking to the doorway where he'd seen Lily with Remus helping some first years unload their trunks.
Remus gave James a questioning look before James turned to Lily and said, "Evans?"
Lily looked up from the girl she just helped out of the train and seemed surprised. "Yes?" she asked.
James, looking somewhat nervous said, "Could I speak with you for a moment?"
Lily didn't quite know how to reply, but seeing the encouraging look on Remus's face she said, "Erm…okay."
James led her further into the deserted corridor and nervously ran his hand through his hair, causing it to stand straight up. "Erm…I wanted to thank you for talking to Remus." Seeing the surprise on Lily's face, he continued, "I also wanted to apologize for the way I've acted lately. Or rather, for the past few years. I know I was a jerk to both you and to others."
"Oh," said Lily, who started tugging at the corner of her coat pocket.
James wondered if it was a nervous habit, but continued, "I know I've been giving Cooper a hard time, but I promise I'll leave him alone…unless he bothers me first."
Lily raised her eyebrows, noticing how he gave himself an 'out', but saying, "Okay, I guess."
Before she could turn around, James said, "Evans? I know we haven't exactly gotten along great lately, but maybe we could, erm…try to be more civil to each other. Maybe even become friends?"
Lily felt something catch in her throat. For the past few years she'd dealt with an arrogant boy who played mean tricks on others, but now she could see some of the nervous boy she had known from first year, the boy who during second year had tried to regain their friendship to no avail. She felt part of her telling herself that being friends with James Potter could lead to things that she had wanted to avoid by faking her memory loss. She felt another part of her, the one guided by Remus, urging her to make amends and at least be on decent terms with the boy who stood before her, hopeful for a positive response. "I don't know, Potter," she started, but seeing the defeated look on his face, she found herself saying, "I suppose we could try to be friendlier."
James's face broke out into a grin. He said, "Don't worry, I'm not going to be the same berk who hassled you last year. Hey, I didn't even try to force mistletoe on you this year, so that's a start, right?"
Lily couldn't help but smile, saying, "Happy Christmas, Potter." She turned and walked toward the exit, noticing Remus smiling, too. As she disembarked the train she heard James wish her a 'Happy Christmas' and her smile widened. As she walked to the barrier, she tried to force away the foreboding feeling that wanted to invade her, telling herself that it had been five years since the events of first year had occurred. Perhaps it was time to really forget what had happened during first year.
**************************************************************************************
The days leading up to Christmas were chaotic in the Evans household. Her parents had several parties to attend, though they promised to spend time with their daughters starting on Christmas Eve when things calmed down. Lily was disappointed to come home only to not see her parents, but they encouraged her stay occupied with things like finishing up her shopping.
Lily decided to take her mum's advice and shop, taking Petunia with her. Lily was glancing in a few windows, wondering if she should get something for Potter to act as a peace offering since she had agreed to be friendlier. Her thoughts were interrupted as Petunia fussed about wanting to look somewhere else. Lily sighed, feeling slightly annoyed at her sister who had been acting odd since she'd come home.
"What's going on, 'Tunia?" Lily asked.
"What are you talking about?" asked Petunia. "I told you, I don't like this store."
"I know, but you've been preoccupied with something since I came home," said Lily. "What is it?"
Petunia shrugged and said, "You'll give me a hard time about it."
"I won't, I promise," said Lily.
Petunia walked out of the store, Lily following alongside her. "It's Vernon," said Petunia.
"You're still seeing him?" said Lily. She hadn't seen or heard anything about Vernon since she'd been home.
"He finally proposed to me," said Petunia.
"Oh," said Lily, unsure of how to react. Petunia wasn't exactly jumping up and down in excitement. "Did you say yes?"
Petunia replied, "I told him I needed to think about it." Giving Lily a sidelong glance, she added, "It's your fault, really."
"What?" laughed Lily. "How is it my fault?"
"I was so excited when I found out Vernon wanted to marry me. I really do love him and he actually loves me back!" said Petunia. "But he has certain views on how a wife should be in society. He doesn't feel his wife should have to work. I was coming to terms with that before you put other thoughts in my head."
Lily nodded, remembering her conversation with Petunia before returning to Hogwarts that fall. "You still want to be a doctor, right?"
Petunia shrugged before admitting, "Yes, but I also don't want to lose Vernon."
Lily touched Petunia's shoulder and said, "Look, you probably realize that I'm not Vernon's biggest fan." Before Petunia could reply Lily said, "But I know that he loves you, despite his archaic views on women. That being said, do you want to get married, to make permanent vows to him when you're having these doubts?"
"I don't want to lose him, Lily," said Petunia, her blue eyes welling with tears. "Vernon's the only man who has ever really loved me. What if he's my soul mate? What if he's the one I'm supposed to be with and I turn him down? I don't want to be alone for the rest of my life!"
"Petunia, you're not alone. No matter what, you've got me, not to mention Mum and Dad," said Lily. "You don't want to go into a marriage with these kinds of doubts. Talk to Vernon. See if he can understand why you want to become a doctor."
"I have!" said Petunia. "He won't allow it!"
"Then talk to him again," said Lily. "If he truly loves you then he will listen. And if he won't, then I'm sure there's another man out there waiting to meet you, one who will love you for who you are; one who won't try to shape you into something you don't want to be."
"I don't know…" said Petunia.
"Why don't you go talk to him now?" suggested Lily. "You've been stewing about this for days, so maybe you can straighten this out before tomorrow. After all, it's Christmas tomorrow, so maybe a miracle will happen."
"Maybe," said Petunia, looking a little more hopeful. "C'mon, I'll give you a ride home."
Lily waved her off and said, "Don't worry about me, I'll catch the bus."
"You sure?" asked Petunia.
Lily smiled and said, "Go talk to Vernon!"
Petunia smiled back and hugged Lily, saying, "Thanks, Lily. I'll see you later. Wish me luck!"
Lily sighed as Petunia rushed off, feeling in her gut that Vernon would not change his mind and hoping that Petunia would not do anything rash such as accepting his proposal. She walked outside into the frosty weather and mentally reprimanded herself. She knew she should be more hopeful for Petunia, but she just couldn't bring herself to like Vernon Dursley.
Despite the chilly weather, Lily changed her mind about the bus and decided to walk home. She absorbed the scenes around her, seeing the ice coating the trees and the snowmen adorning the lawns. She enjoyed watching the puffs of breath that she created against the icy air. As she turned onto her street she wondered if her parents had come home from the party they had attended. It had been for her dad's work so he'd felt compelled to attend, though he had griped about having to dress up for it. Her mum had laughed at his dislike of wearing a suit and tie when she had to endure walking on high heels.
Lily approached her house, seeing the lights out and realizing that despite the fading light outside, it was still a little early so her parents were likely still at their party. She thought about baking some cookies to leave out for Santa, knowing it felt a bit childish but feeling festive nonetheless. She unlocked the door, humming a Christmas carol she'd heard playing from a neighbor's house down the street. As she walked inside she flicked the light switch but no light appeared. Before she had a chance to adjust her eyes to the dim room she heard a sob. "Mum?" she called, walking further into the house.
"Lily, get out!" the terrified voice of her father shot out.
Lily stopped, her voice small as she said, "Dad?"
Two shadows appeared before her, dressed in cloaks. By this point Lily's eyes had adjusted enough to see that they were wearing masks.
'No,' she thought. 'This isn't happening!'
"RUN!" repeated the voice of her father, whom she still couldn't see.
Despite her father's plea Lily found herself unable to move, even though the intruders had not immobilized her.
A laugh echoed from further inside the house, a laugh that caused the blood to drain from Lily's face and trace a icy path down her back. It was a laugh she hadn't heard for almost five years.
**************************************************************************************
A/N: Woohoo! Another chappie for you guys. Sorry about the cliffy, but as the story goes on there will likely be more of them. Ah, who'm I kidding? I'm not really sorry, hahahahaha!
Thanks to my readers and reviewers! Someone brought up a clever point asking how Filch would show up on the Marauder's Map if he's a squib. Very good point. I suppose I shall have to say that even though he is not a wizard, he is related to them so he has a trace of magic in his genes but he's unable to use it, therefore the charm on the Map can still show where he is. As for Mrs. Norris - do we actually know if she is a regular cat, or perhaps part Kneazle?