1. The Discovery

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 basically belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.

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Chapter 1: The Discovery

Lily sat on the train bored out of her mind. She and her family were on their way to Italy to spend their summer holiday. She was looking forward to the trip however she hated the traveling. She had a nagging feeling that traveling by train was too long and that there had to be a better way. Her parents had discussed going by airplane, but decided to go to France via boat before catching a train.

Lily had packed several books but had already read through them all. She brought out a book that she had already read 3 times, Romeo and Juliet. Even though she was only 11 years old she loved this book by Shakespeare. Her heart raced as she read the passages about the teenagers’ forbidden love and then broke as she reached the ending. Every time she read the book she tried to convince herself that the lovers’ ending would not be tragic, only to find herself in tears. As she started to read the first page her sister, Petunia, asked her if she wanted to explore the train. Happy for something to do Lily accepted.

Petunia was two years old than Lily. Although their parents loved them both they always seemed to favor Lily who was beautiful and intelligent. Petunia, as a result, tried her best to get good grades and make friends, but she never seemed to live up to her little sister’s glory. Still, Lily was the one person who treated her as a sister and a true friend, never judging her. For that reason they were very close.

The sisters enjoyed their exploration of the train and its different cars. They wanted to see how much they could explore however when they were about to open the door to get to the next car the conductor stopped them and sent them back to their parents.

The Evans’ reached Italy without incident. They enjoyed exploring Rome and wandering about the ruins. After a few weeks in Italy the family was sitting down to dinner happily discussing the upcoming school year. Petunia had worked hard the previous year and gotten good enough grades to qualify for honors classes. Her parents beamed at her as they discussed her upcoming plans for the year.

They treated themselves to some gelato and strolled back to the hotel. As they were settling down for the evening there was a sudden crash at the window. The Evans’ rushed to the window and looked out to see a dazed screech owl laying in the planter outside.

“Oh, Mum! We should help him, I think he’s hurt!” exclaimed Lily.

After a moment the screech owl shook his head, found his footing and fluttered up to tap on the window. Mr. and Mrs. Evans looked at each other for a second in confusion. It almost seemed like the creature was looking directly at Lily. Had it sensed her concern? Again, the owl tapped on the window. It looked like he was becoming impatient.

Petunia, who didn’t much care for animals said, “Ugh, how can we get rid of it?”

Lily wasn’t listening. She was fascinated by this creature. She reached up and opened the window. The owl fluttered in and landed lightly on the table by Lily. As Lily looked down she noticed something tied to its left leg. The owl, sensing that Lily noticed the letter, stuck out his leg for her to take it.

Lily started to reach for it when Petunia interrupted. “Lily, watch out! He’ll nip your finger off!”

As Lily watched the owl she murmured, “No, I don’t think so, ‘Tunia. I think he wants me to take that piece of paper tied to his leg.”

“It’s a filthy bird. It doesn’t have enough intelligence to want you to do anything other than maybe give it some scraps of food,” argued Petunia.

Lily reached for the paper and untied it from the leg. The owl playfully nipped at her finger (which caused Petunia to shriek) and he then flew out of the open window.

“What is that paper you untied from his leg, dear?” Asked Mrs. Evans.

“I’m not sure mum…” started Lily as she unrolled it. She gasped. It was an envelope addressed to Lily Evans, Hotel Roma, Room 12, Rome. “It’s addressed to me!”

“How is that possible?” Inquired Mr. Evans as he took the envelope. He turned it over and saw a strange seal that had Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on it. Shaking his head in bewilderment, he handed it back to Lily who then opened it. She couldn’t believe her eyes as she read the letter:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grade Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Ms. Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress

“What does this mean? Are they saying that I am a witch?” exclaimed Lily.

“Honey, there is no such thing. This must be some kind of joke,” replied Mr. Evans.

“Harold, this is very elaborate to be a joke. Who would do this - I mean, that owl knew to approach Lily and the seal on the envelope was so ornate…” started Mrs. Evans, who was peering over Lily’s shoulder at the letter.

“I don’t know what this is but I don’t see how it could be real.” answered Harold Evans. “There’s no such thing as magic, other than the kind you see in a show or at a carnival.”

“Mum, Dad, are you certain it’s not real?” Asked Lily. She had a hint of disappointment in her bright green eyes that melted her father’s heart.

“Sweetie, this can’t be real, it just isn’t…” he started before they heard a knock on the door.

Mrs. Evans answered the door to a short man wearing a bright orange and lime green Hawaiian shirt with purple shorts and red boots. Sitting on his balding head was a top hat. He was the weirdest dressed person they had seen. He didn’t seem to notice their amusement as he smiled at them.

“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Evans, Lily, and Petunia! My name is Horace McMillan. I was hoping I could speak with you for a little bit,” he said.

“Er, what is this regarding?” asked Mr. Evans.

“This is about a certain letter Lily should have received a short while ago.” Mr. McMillan replied.

“Ah, so it was you!” said Mr. Evans. ‘Of course! It was a joke. Look at the guy and his humorous choice of clothing,’ he thought. “I was just telling Lily that it must have been a prank.”

“Oh, no sir! It was definitely real.” McMillan replied. “I am aware that you have not heard of Hogwarts. That is why I was sent here. I am a wizard and I have come to explain about our world and what it could offer Lily. She has a gift.”

The Evans all looked at him like he was crazy, all except for Lily. She studied him intently while starting to feel a twinge of excitement.

“I am not joking and am quite serious.” McMillan pulled out his wand and made a few quick motions, muttering something. A moment later a bouquet of lilies shot out of the wand and floated across the room to Lily.

Mrs. Evans gasped and Petunia jumped behind her.

Mr. Evans cautiously asked, “How did you do that?”

“Magic. This is what I possess. I work for the Ministry of Magic, Muggle relations. Muggles are non-wizard folk,” explained McMillan. “Most are unaware that witches and wizards do exist.”

“Even if you are a…wizard…and can do all that,” began Mrs. Evans, “what makes you so sure that our Lily is a witch?”

“The ministry is able to keep track of the children who are born possessing magic. Every once in a while a witch or wizard is born to Muggles,” he replied. “Lily is one of those children.” He then turned to Lily and smiled. “Have things ever mysteriously just happened when you were upset or emotional?”

Lily thought for a moment. It had. A few years ago she was being picked on by some boys for having bright red hair. She had felt a blast of anger surge through her, starting in the pit of her stomach and almost electrifying the air surrounding her. Shortly thereafter the boys started sprouting bright red hairs out of their nose and ears. It wouldn’t stop growing for twelve hours, no matter how many times they had tried trimming it. There had been other moments such as this and her family realized it as well.

“Well, Mr. McMillan, I think there are some things we need to know about.” Mr. Evans said, clearly starting to believe him.

For the next few hours the Evans’ sat down with Mr. McMillan and discussed Lily’s future. Clearly, Hogwarts was the best place to shape and hone Lily’s gift of magic. Lily’s parents were not happy about the idea of sending their youngest daughter so far from home for the rest of her education however in the end, they agreed that Lily needed to go.

As the idea of Lily being a witch continued to sink in, her parents looked at her with a new sense of pride. Imagine! Having a witch in the family! Petunia, who had been so happy a few hours ago when her parents had been glowing about her honors classes, was now sitting quietly in the corner of the room with a tear rolling down her cheek.

As Mr. McMillan said goodbye, he told Lily he would escort her to get the supplies she needed. He would pick her up at her house on August 30^th. Lily smiled, imagining the shops she would have to travel to in order to find cauldrons and spell books.

As Lily lay in bed that night she could not fall asleep for quite a while. She was thrilled to know why those strange things had just happened when she was younger and she was nervous yet thrilled at her new journey into a world filled with magic.

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my Lily and James fic. This story will go through all 7 years of their education, and will explain how they met and initially felt about each other, why Lily gave James the cold shoulder (though that will take a while to explain), and eventually how they got together in their seventh year. It will also delve into the friendship of the Marauders - how they got their name, how they found out about Remus, the process of becoming Animagi, and the map. I have up to fifth year written so far and that is about 66 chapters, so sit tight and stick with the story - there will be a few mysteries, some of which will be solved early and some you won’t find out about until sixth or seventh year (unless you are clever enough to pick up on the clues).

Next chapter: Lily goes to Diagon Alley and will meet someone we know and love (can you guess who?).

Please leave a review - be honest, but be constructive. If you review then I will try to be quicker with the updates.

If you want to see a shorter L/J fic I wrote, check out the one-shot called A Glimpse.

Cheers!

MsNorris

3. Hazel Eyes in Diagon Alley

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 basically belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.

Chapter 3: Hazel Eyes in Diagon Alley

Lily gazed around the bookstore in awe. It was larger than any bookstore she’d ever seen. The strange thing was that from the outside it appeared to be a small shop. Was this yet more magic? There were many customers in the store, probably buying books for the trip to Hogwarts. They were wearing wizards robes. Lily was not used to this. When she glanced at Mr. McMillan she noticed he was dressed in the same type of robes. He dressed like a normal wizard which was strange considering his odd choice of Muggle clothing a few months ago when they first met.

Mr. McMillan, seeing Lily’s fascination with the store, smiled and said, “Lily, I am going to go get the books you need for classes. Why don’t you take a look around?” Lily eagerly agreed. Books were a passion of hers, a way for her to escape into other people’s lives and adventures. She couldn’t wait to see what stories the wizarding world had.

Lily wandered up and down the aisles gazing at the different titles. She jumped as she heard a growling noise coming from a section of books labeled, Magical Creatures. Shortly thereafter the book in question leapt off the shelf and started sliding across the floor in pursuit of another book which was emitting a whimpering sound. Lily stepped back in order to avoid getting a nasty bite as the books slid past her. A witch who appeared to work there sighed and said, “Not again! I told him that we needed to purchase a cage for that book!” She grabbed a pair of gloves and a net and started chasing the fractious tome.

After a few minutes Lily started to get the feeling that she was being watched. She looked around but could not see anybody watching her. As she entered the Fiction section, she found a group of books where the stories changed every time you read them. Some were murder mysteries where the culprit would switch each time to a different character. As she grabbed one of the books off the shelf she noticed a pair of hazel eyes looking at her from behind the shelf. As she looked closer she noticed they belonged to a boy about her age who was standing in the neighboring aisle. She walked around to his aisle and noticed he was a bit taller than her and skinny. As he continued to stare at her his hand shot up and ran through his messy black hair, making it even more untidy. As she approached him she noticed he wouldn’t take his eyes away from hers. His intense gaze sent a rush of warmth through her that gave her cheeks a slight tinge of pink.

“Hi,” she said nervously. “Are you a student at Hogwarts?”

The boy stood there for a moment like he was in a trance before he finally nodded.

“I’m a student, too, or at least I will be soon. I’ll be starting my first year there,” she said.

Again, the boy just stood there and nodded, his eyes never leaving hers. Lily was starting to wonder if he knew how to speak. She felt the blush in her cheeks burning a shade darker.

“Well, erm, my name is Lily, Lily Evans.” After another moment she added, “Do you have a name or are you just going to keep standing there staring at me?”

That seemed to get his attention. He opened his mouth to speak but all that came out was a string of garbled words, the last of which sounded like “Potter.”

Before she could ask him to repeat his name, they heard a loud, “OW! Blasted little bugger!” The saleslady with the gloves and net was leaning over nursing a nasty looking bite wound on her leg. She glared at one of the other store workers as he came to check on her. “That’s the third time this week that thing has bitten me!”

The salesman took out his wand and healed her wound with a skill that left the impression he had plenty of practice using the charm. He gave the saleslady a sheepish smile and said, “At least it’s up to date on its vaccines.”

The saleslady looked more infuriated as she shoved past him, saying, “Get that book a cage!”

Lily had to laugh. The situation seemed so ridiculous - a book chasing after another book and biting a lady on the leg. Needing a cage for a book?! A few months ago Lily could never have imagined a scene like this. Now she was a witch, and she wondered someday if she would have the same reactions the other store patrons had - like this was an everyday occurrence.

When she turned back to Potter, she found him studying her with an amused look about his face. When he saw she was looking at him, his ears turned pink. He opened his mouth to say something when Lily heard a voice behind her. “Lily, I found the books you will need. It is time to purchase them if you will please come with me.” It was Mr. McMillan.

Lily turned back to the boy. “I have to go. It was nice meeting you…Potter.”

After a moment the boy stuttered out a garbled, “Y-Yeah.” She smiled and he grinned back at her before she walked away to meet Mr. McMillan at the checkout counter. As they left the store his hazel eyes and dimples kept wandering back into her mind.

“Lily, did you hear what I said?” asked Mr. McMillan.

She blushed. “Oh, I’m sorry sir. What were you saying?”

“I was saying we should go purchase your wand next. Then we will go to the apothecary and then to Maldam Malkin’s to purchase your Hogwarts robes,” he replied.

“Ok.” Suddenly she realized something. “How are we buying all of this? I noticed the money doesn’t look like regular money and I don’t have any like it.”

“Wizards have their own currency: gold Galleons, silver Sickles, and bronze Knuts. Don’t worry about not having any. Your folks made sure you wouldn’t have to worry about that. I changed the currency over at Gringotts - that’s the wizarding bank here. I also set up a vault for you.” He handed her a bag full of coins and a key. “This should be enough to last you the year.” The bag felt heavy.

They went into a shop with a sign that read: Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. Inside Lily noticed that, again, the interior of the shop seemed too large for what the exterior looked like. There were thousands of long boxes stacked from floor to ceiling. To her left she heard a loud snapping noise followed by the sound of falling boxes. She turned toward the noise and saw a girl holding a wand looking a bit embarrassed. Lily, from the side, could see that through her blond hair she was blushing and covering her mouth, trying not to laugh. All of a sudden the pile of boxes started to move and from beneath them came a short, old man with pale eyes. The boxes had fallen on top of him. He made a quick gesture with his wand and the boxes all flew up to their niche on the shelf behind him.

“Hmmm,” he whispered, rubbing a bruise that was forming on his forehead. “Maybe we should avoid the wands made from yew for you, Ms. Lyons. Let me go search for something that will better suit you.” He went toward the back of the store.

The girl turned and saw that Lily was standing behind her. “I’m so sorry. I’ve been here for 2 hours and he has yet to find my wand. I hope you won’t have to wait much longer.” She had a round, kind face with blue eyes.

“Oh, I just got here. Did you say you’ve been here two hours? Why does it take so long to buy a wand?” Lily asked.

“Mr. Ollivander says that the wand picks the witch and not likewise. I’m not sure what’s supposed to happen when I find the right one,” the girl replied. “I assume you are starting at Hogwarts this year since you are buying a wand. I am, too. My name is Alice, Alice Lyons.”

“Nice to meet you, Alice. I’m Lily Evans.”

Alice smiled and asked, “Do you know what house you will be in, yet? I hope I will be in Gryffindor. My parents were in Gryffindor.”

Lily was about to ask her what she meant when Mr. Ollivander hobbled back into the room. “10 ¼ inches, oak, with the whisker of a kneazle as the core. Try this one out, Ms. Lyons,” ordered Mr. Ollivander. He stood back and held his breath as if preparing to leap out of the path of destruction that might come.

As soon as Alice took it the wand started to glow and red and gold light shot out of it. Mr. Ollivander made an expression that resembled a smile and sighed. “Ah, I’ve seen this wand has finally found its master.”

Alice also breathed a sigh of relief. Her mom, who was also in the shop, purchased the wand and as they were about to leave, Alice turned to Lily. “I’ll see you on the Hogwarts Express tomorrow, Lily.”

“I can’t wait!” Lily exclaimed.

Lily then started the process of finding her own wand. At first she was worried that it would take a long time to find her wand like it did with Alice. Then, as she remembered Alice saying the wand chooses the witch, she started to worry that no wand would choose her. She worried that it would be a mistake, her being chosen to attend Hogwarts.

Mr. Ollivander measured her right arm and then brought out some boxes. Surprisingly, it only took a few tries before she found the appropriate wand. It was 10 ¼ inches, willow, with the hair of a centaur as the core. Mr. Ollivander said that this wand would be good for Charms. Relieved to have a wand choose her, she made the purchase and left with Mr. McMillan to find the rest of the items on her list.

Throughout the rest of the day she enjoyed her journey through Diagon Alley. She felt that the magic she witnessed there was just the tip of the iceberg. As she went in and out of shops with Mr. McMillan she could have sworn that she caught a glimpse or two of the Potter boy staring at her from behind a corner or group of people. When she did a double take he would be gone. She began to think she was imagining things.

Before heading back home Mr. McMillan treated Lily to some ice cream at Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor. Lily thought it was amazing because the hot fudge did not melt the ice cream beneath it.

“Did you enjoy Diagon Alley, Lily?” asked Mr. McMillan.

“Oh, yes! I can’t wait to go to Hogwarts and start learning magic,” Lily replied.

“It looks like you already started to make friends. Like that boy who helped you find me and the girl in the wand shop.” Lily nodded and smiled. “Who was that young man I saw you speaking with in the bookstore?”

“I’m not really sure. He didn’t say much. It sounded like his last name is Potter,” she answered.

“Potter, eh? I wonder if that is Joseph Potter’s boy. Joseph works at the Ministry as well,” he added. “Well, I had better get you back to your parents before they start to worry. Besides, you need to pack all your new things for the big journey tomorrow,” he said with a smile.

He led her to the end of the alley where there was a brick wall. He tapped a few of the bricks and they started to dance around until there was an archway for them to walk through into a walled courtyard. Amazed, Lily followed Mr. McMillan through another door into a dark little pub. She noticed one of the napkins on the table said the place was called the Leaky Cauldron. They approached the fireplace and this time Lily was even more nervous about traveling via Floo powder. She did not want another experience like earlier in Knockturn Alley.

Mr. McMillan noticed Lily’s apprehension and suggested they travel together. They stepped into the fireplace and as he tossed a pinch of powder to the bottom he shouted, “The Evans’ house!” and once again Lily felt a spinning sensation. They crashed into the Evans’ living room. After Mr. McMillan tidied things up again he handed Lily an envelope with her train ticket and reminded her to be at King’s Cross by 11 am for the train ride. With that, he left.

Although Lily eagerly anticipated her upcoming studies, she spent a bittersweet evening packing and eating her last dinner at home with her family. Petunia was very quiet throughout the meal. After dinner Lily asked her if she could help her pack for school.

Reluctantly, Petunia agreed. She had not gotten used to the idea of having a witch for a sister. As she helped Lily pack she noticed how odd her sister’s school supplies were. There was a cauldron and a box of what looked like dried herbs and bugs. What on Earth would those be for? Voodoo? Her sister was leaving her for something so strange.

Petunia picked up one of Lily’s school books and gazed at the cover. It had the words A Beginners’ Guide to Transfiguration embossed on the cover. Below it was a picture of a teacup. As Petunia looked at the book the teacup suddenly started to wiggle, sprouting ears and a tail. A moment later she was looking at a rat. Petunia shrieked and dropped the book on her foot. She could feel her toe starting to swell as she collapsed onto the bed in tears.

“Oh ‘Tunia, are you ok?” asked Lily, sitting down next to Petunia, who was ruefully rubbing her foot.

Petunia lay there for a moment crying until she turned to her sister. “I just don’t understand this. You are going so far for something so…odd. Why can’t you just be normal and stay here with us?”

Lily flinched a little at Petunia’s tone, feeling guilty once again for leaving her family. “’Tunia, I have to do this. I can feel that this is what I need to do. Hogwarts is where I need to be, like a destiny or something like that. Don’t worry, though. I will write to you all the time and I expect the same from you. And I will be home for the holidays.”

Petunia didn’t seem convinced but nodded and hugged her sister before limping out of the room.

That night after Lily had finished her packing she drifted to sleep. As she was dozing she thought she could imagine a pair of hazel eyes gazing at her.

There you go - Chapter 3 is finished. What did you think about James’ introduction? Did you like his inability to speak around Lily? What about the relationship between Lily and Petunia?

Please review!

Thanks to my latest reviewers - Harrysgrl, Remus’Sweetie, Larissa 90, and Anonymous. Don’t worry - we will see Sirius’ humorous soon.

Cheers!

MsNorris

4. The Vulture Lady

Chapter 4: The Vulture Lady

Lily woke up early the next morning anxious to start her adventure. She cleaned up, threw on a pair of jeans and a blue T-shirt, and checked to make sure everything was packed. She jogged down the stairs into the kitchen.

“Oh, Lily! You’re up!” exclaimed her mum. “I was going to surprise you.”

As she said this a familiar aroma worked its way to Lily’s nose and her stomach gurgled in anticipation. “Bread pudding? Mum, that’s my favorite!”

“I know. I wanted to make you something special since you won’t be back for a while.” As her mum said this she turned back to the stove, but not before Lily noticed tears welling in her blue eyes. Once again, Lily felt guilt creeping through her at the thought of leaving her family.

As Lily was about to say something her dad and Petunia appeared at the kitchen door. Her dad had a mischievous smile on his face.

“What is it, Dad?” asked Lily.

“Oh, you’ll see.” he replied with a smile and a wink. The timer went off and he added, “Let’s eat breakfast first and then I’ll show you.”

They sat down and enjoyed breakfast while Lily explained what she had seen in Diagon Alley the day before. “You mean to say the bricks just danced around until there was a doorway?” asked her father.

“Yes, Dad, and then it just closed behind us. Mr. McMillan had to tap the bricks a certain way with his wand to get it to open. I suppose it’s that way in case a Muggle walked into the Leaky Cauldron and went out the back by mistake,” Lily explained.

“Fascinating!” exclaimed Mr. Evans. “And what was that you said about your wand choosing you?”

“Mr. Ollivander, the man in the shop, said that the wand chooses the witch or wizard and not likewise. It took the girl before me two hours before she finally found one,” said Lily.

“How did she finally know it was the right wand for her?” asked her mum.

“Every time Alice tried to use the other wands an accident would happen. When I walked into the store she had just knocked over a shelf of wands onto Mr. Ollivander,” replied Lily. Her mum gasped while her dad chuckled at the description. Lily continued, “When she found the right one it sent out bright red and gold lights.”

“What colors did your wand emit?” asked Mr. Evans.

“None,” replied Lily. “As soon as I grabbed my wand, I felt this warm sensation travel from my hand up to my face. Mr. McMillan said that my eyes glowed.”

After they finished breakfast Petunia helped Lily carry her things down to the car. As they closed the trunk/boot she heard her parents approaching the car and turned around, only to be startled by what she saw. Her dad was holding a large cage containing a snowy owl.

“Is that what I think it is?” she asked. They nodded. She squealed in delight. “How on Earth did you get one? He’s magical, right?”

“We wanted to get you something special for your acceptance into Hogwarts so we asked Mr. McMillan for ideas. He suggested the owl, and this way you can write to us often,” replied her smiling mum. “He was able to get it in Diagon Alley for us.”

Her dad added, “I never could have believed that magic existed, though I’ve always known you were special. This is a gift you have, Lily, and we are so proud of you. We love you so much.”

Lily ran to her parents and hugged them. “Thank you so much. An owl! I love him, he’s absolutely gorgeous!”

Petunia stood off to the side, obviously wanting nothing to do with the owl. She had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. It had come and gone throughout the years when her parents had fawned praise onto her younger sister yet she had been able to brush the feeling off before. After all, she loved her little sister. This time, though, she couldn’t quite get rid of it. Her parents were praising Lily for some abnormal ability she possessed. And Petunia was still smarting over how quickly her parents had forgotten about her own recent academic accomplishments.

They all piled into the car and made the trip to King’s Cross. Along the way Lily’s mum asked her, “Do you know what you’re going to name your owl, sweetie?”

Lily thought for a moment and then answered, “I think I’ll name him Lancelot.” She looked into his cage and he blinked at her. She took that to mean that he accepted the name. “Yes, Lancelot. I think that suits him.”

When they arrived at Kings Cross and loaded her trunk onto a trolley, Lily pulled out the envelope that Mr. McMillan had given her the day before. She opened it and pulled out the ticket.

“Which platform do we need to head to?” asked Mrs. Evans.

Lily stared at the ticket and then muttered, “It says that the train leaves at 11:00 am from Platform 9 ¾. I’ve never heard of such a platform, have you, Dad?”

“Let me see that, that can’t be right,” demanded her dad. She gave him the ticket and he stared at it for a moment. “Hmmm, lets head to platform 9 and see what we find.”

Once they were there they could not find any signs that indicated where platform 9 ¾ would be. They asked a guard where the platform was and he gave them a strange smirk and walked away muttering something about “crazy people.” Just as they were about to give up they heard a loud crash from behind them followed by a yelling lady.

“Frank! I can’t believe it! Didn’t I tell you that the barrier was the next column up?! Why do I have to keep repeating myself to you?!” The yelling came from an odd looking woman wearing a large hat with a vulture perched on top. She was yelling at a boy with light brown hair about Lily’s age who had apparently run his trolley into the column. He lay on the ground holding his stomach trying to catch his breath. As soon as he was able to stand up she grabbed his arm and pointed toward the next column. “Now, Platform 9 ¾ is through that column up there. Try not to embarrass me this time!”

Lily couldn’t help but giggle. The lady was dressed so strangely and with her yelling she was only drawing more attention. The lady finally noticed this and told her son to wait a few minutes to let the attention die down before approaching the barrier. This gave Frank the opportunity to replace the things that had fallen out of his trolley.

Lily and her family took the opportunity to approach the lady and ask for help.

“Pardon me, madam, I couldn’t help but overhear. You are trying to get to Platform 9 ¾,” started Mr. Evans.

The lady eyed him suspiciously. “Why do you ask?”

“My daughter also needs to get to that platform and I am afraid we are having difficulty finding it,” he replied.

She continued to eye him dubiously. “Hogwarts?”

He nodded and smiled. “Yes, my daughter Lily is starting there this year.”

She nodded. “So is my Frank. He is the klutz next to me if you hadn’t noticed. Surprised he got his letter. We weren’t sure if he would be accepted. Quite relieved, we were.” She took a moment to study each of them. “You must be Muggles. You have that clueless look about you.”

Mr. Evans was about to take offense at that however he knew he needed her assistance if Lily was going to make it to the train. “We are Muggles, madam. We may be a bit clueless with magic but I am sure Lily will make us proud,” he added as Petunia scowled behind him.

By this point the attention from other people in on the platform had turned toward other matters and the vulture-lady decided this would be a good time to cross the barrier to Platform 9 ¾. She led them up to the correct column. “Now, I can show Lily how to get through, however Muggles cannot pass through the barrier. You will have to say your goodbyes here.”

Lily said a tearful goodbye to her parents and they again told her how proud they were to have a gifted daughter. Lily then turned to her older sister.

Petunia, while feeling jealous about her parents’ attention toward Lily, couldn’t help but feel sad. She would miss Lily’s friendship and there nightly chats. “Goodbye sis,” she choked out. “Come back and visit us, soon.”

“I will be home for Christmas and we can make all sorts of plans. Please write to me!” cried Lily. They hugged and then Lily turned back to the vulture-lady.

“Getting through the barrier isn’t difficult. You just need to walk through it. Some people find it is easier to run at it during their first few trips. I will have Frank show you, first.” She prodded Frank along. While still rubbing at his bruised abdomen from the recent crash, Frank was able to push the trolley through the column at an awkward jog. Then he was gone. Lily couldn’t believe her eyes. None of the nearby Muggles seemed to have noticed the sudden disappearance of an 11 year old boy through a brick barrier. There would be a lot for her to get used to once she settled in at Hogwarts. “All right, now. It’s your turn,” added the vulture-lady.

Lily took one last look at her family who waved at her, then turned to the column from about ten feet back and started to run. As she was about 2/3 of the way there she closed her eyes expecting to crash, however after several paces she stopped and opened her eyes. Ahead of her was a scarlet steam-engine with the words Hogwarts Express painted on the front. She looked up and saw a sign that said Platform 9 ¾. The vulture lady appeared through the barrier and after a quick glimpse at Lily she went to help Frank get his things onto the train.

Lily gazed at the large crowd of students, many of whom were greeting each other after being separated for a summer. Several others were hugging their magical parents goodbye. Lily felt a knot form in her stomach and suddenly felt alone. Her parents and sister were gone, and she didn’t recognize anyone. She longed to find a familiar face, someone she could sit with on the train and form a friendship.

As Lily started to turn her trolley toward the train she cried out in delight at what she saw ten feet in front of her.

Relatively short chapter, I know, but I loved writing about Frank and his mother. I imagined a bit of Neville in him as I wrote.

Thanks to Harrysgrl, Remus’sweetie, sweetie513, and Anonymous for the reviews on Chapter 3. Seems like there were mixed opinions about James’ personality. I want to stress that this was his personality (at least the way I’m portraying it) as an 11 year old boy who just saw the future love of his life for the first time. We still have about 5 years before we get to the infamous scene from Snape’s pensieve. Never fear, for we will see more of James’ personality away from Lily when he meets the Marauders. I’m just having fun making him tongue-tied around Lily (for now…). Plus, I’m of the firm opinion that James is not an arrogant jerk - events will lead to him acting like one (that, as well as becoming a teenage boy).

Next chapter: James and Sirius meet and we will be able to hear James speak an intelligent sentence (unlike the garble he uttered around Lily).

Please review! It only takes a moment!

Cheers!

MsNorris

5. A New Friendship

Chapter 5: A New Friendship

James had arrived at Platform 9 ¾ early that day. His father had to get to the Ministry early for work that day but he still wanted to take his son to the station and say goodbye. His mother was working at St. Mungo’s as a healer and had to go in for an emergency so she could not be there. Mr. Potter had wanted to get something special for James’ first year at Hogwarts. He had wanted that to be a new broomstick but unfortunately first years were not allowed to bring broomsticks. After thinking about it for several days he realized something and ran to the attic in search of his idea. At the platform he handed the package to James.

“This is something my dad gave to me while I was at Hogwarts. I found many uses for it although I should caution you not to get into too much trouble. Your mother would curse me into next week if I encouraged you to misbehave,” he added with a wink.

James smiled and opened the package. It looked like an old cloak. It was thin and silvery. He was about to try it on when his dad stopped him.

“I would wait a bit before trying that on. It might startle people and it may be better for people not to know you have it,” whispered Mr. Potter.

“What do you mean,” started James when he suddenly realized what the cloak could be. “Dad! Is this what I think it is? An invisibility cloak?”

Mr. Potter nodded with a grin. He looked a lot like his son however he had brown eyes and his black hair was not messy like James’ was. He and his wife could not figure out why James’ hair stayed so untidy. They had tried every spell they could find to tame it but with no success. James didn’t seem to mind the disarray on top of his head so his parents finally gave up trying to fix it.

“I can’t believe it! An invisibility cloak! You’re actually giving it to me?” James asked.

“Yes. It has been in our family for a long time. They are pretty rare, so don’t lose it. You may want to pass it on to your son one day,” added Mr. Potter.

“Thanks, Dad!” James grinned at him. He and his father had always been close. James had been a handful as a child, finding ways to cause mischief wherever he went. It was a source of unending frustration for his mum, however Joseph Potter was rather amused by James’ antics.

They realized the time was coming for Mr. Potter to head to work so he helped James get his trunk and owl onto the train and then said goodbye. Mr. Potter then disapparated with a loud pop and James was left alone on the platform.

He sat down on a step to one of the cars looking out at the platform. The platform was pretty deserted since it was still early. After about 20 minutes, he heard a few voices from the barrier. A lady and her son had just walked through. She was snapping at the boy about something and the boy was looking rather bored. He had slightly long black hair, much neater than James’. As the lady continue to rant at him the boy turned his gaze around toward James. He smirked and rolled his eyes in the direction of his mother. She noticed this and slapped him across the face before storming back through the barrier, leaving the boy alone on the platform.

James approached the boy to see if he was all right. The boy had an angry look about his dark eyes as he looked back at the barrier. He noticed James approaching and suddenly the anger disappeared and he smiled.

“Sorry about that. The old hag doesn’t know when to quit sometimes,” he sarcastically said.

“Old hag? I’m sorry, I thought that she was your mum,” James started before he heard the boy bark out a laugh.

“The old hag IS my mum!” he replied.

James tried to suppress a chuckle. “I see. Well, I might as well introduce myself. I am James Potter, first year student at Hogwarts.” James held out his hand for the boy to shake.

“I am Sirius, Sirius Black. I am also starting my first year.” As he shook James’ hand he noticed the expression on James’ face change slightly. “Yes, my surname is Black. I get that look a lot when I meet people. Needless to say, I am not thrilled that my family is a group of fanatical pureblooded freaks!”

At this, James grinned. “I’m sorry. My parents have mentioned your family before and not with respect. I apologize for judging you so quickly.”

“Apology accepted. I think I’ve heard your family mentioned a few times as well. Something about blood traitors. I think they’re all a bunch of idiots - my family, that is, ” Sirius growled.

They spent the next hour getting to know more about each other and found they had many common interests such as Quidditch. They also discovered that they each had an affinity for pulling pranks. Sirius loved to prank his little brother Regulus, who was the pureblooded apple of his mother’s eye. James had a few cousins who constantly annoyed him. He had pulled a few good pranks on them. The two boys quickly became friends.

“Do you know what house you’ll be in?” asked James.

Sirius frowned and said, “My parents expect me to be in Slytherin. The family has always been in Slytherin for as far back as we can trace. I would rather be in Gryffindor. They sound like they have more fun and get more respect. What about you? What house do you expect to be sorted into?”

“Gryffindor, I hope. My dad’s side of the family has always been in Gryffindor. My mum’s side is mainly Ravenclaw, but they sound like a bunch of bookworms,” answered James.

By this time other students were starting to pass through the barrier and make their way onto the train. James and Sirius continued to chat and look at the students as they passed by. As 11:00 approached they were about to head back onto the train when Sirius noticed James’ attention directed toward the barrier. He followed his gaze to a familiar red-haired girl who was standing about 10 feet away. She was looking at the train and then up at a lady wearing an odd-looking hat with a vulture. The lady barely acknowledged her before walking to a boy who was struggling to get his trunk into one of the cars.

Sirius looked back and James and noticed that he was still staring at the girl with his mouth agape. Sirius chuckled and poked James in the arm. “She’s pretty, eh?”

That seemed to wake James up because he looked at Sirius and said with a slight grin, “I saw her first.” As he said this he heard a happy shriek and noticed the girl running toward them. James wasn’t sure what to do. Why was she running toward him? His first instinct was to grab her and hug her however she passed right by him and hugged Sirius.

“Sirius! Hi! I am so glad to see you. I felt so lost as soon as I got here. I am so glad to see a familiar face,” she said with a smile.

“Lily, it’s great to see you, too. Did you enjoy the rest of Diagon Alley?” Sirius asked her. James’ heart dropped. He couldn’t believe that she hugged Sirius. They knew each other? Was she his girlfriend?

“I had a great time. Got all my school supplies and some extra books to read as well,” she said and turned to James. “Oh, I remember you! You’re the boy from the bookstore who wouldn’t talk! Potter, right?” She smiled at him.

James’ heart leapt to his throat and he tried to speak but could only croak out a sound and nod. He could sense Sirius trying to suppress a chuckle next to him. Lily stared at him for a moment. James started to feel panic creeping into him as he felt his ears reddening. Why couldn’t he speak?!

Sirius decided to put him out of his misery and rescue him. “Do you need help getting your luggage onto the train, Lily?” She nodded and gave him another bright smile. He and James grabbed her trunk and Lancelot’s cage and carried into one of the cars. As they were walking down the corridor Lily spotted Alice in one of the compartments.

“Alice! It’s me, Lily, from the wand shop, remember?”

“Lily! Yes, of course I remember you! Do you want to come sit it my compartment?” Alice asked.

“Sure!” Lily replied. Sirius and James loaded her things into the compartment. Sirius realized that his trunk was still on the platform. He excused himself and dragged the gawking James out of the compartment.

“Why did you drag me out?” asked James.

“I couldn’t leave you alone in there with them, mate. I was afraid you would turn into stone just standing there staring at her. Every time you look at her you freeze,” he chuckled.

“I did not! I wasn’t frozen when I helped her with her things! You talk like I was scared or something!” James spat back.

“Whatever, mate. Just help me with my things, all right?” Sirius asked. “Do you reckon you know how we will be sorted into our houses?” He asked, hoping to switch to a safer subject than Lily.

James took Sirius’ cue and shrugged his shoulders. “My cousin told me they perform a spell and whatever house colors your hair turns will be where you are sorted,” started James. He noticed as he said this Sirius’ eyes widened as he reached up toward his well-coiffed hair. “Of course, as I may have mentioned earlier, my cousin is basically full of crap so I have no idea how we will be sorted.” Sirius looked slightly relieved.

After they reboarded the train James led him to the compartment where he had stowed his luggage earlier. There was a short, pudgy boy with blond hair sitting in there. He squeaked out a hello and asked if it was okay that he sit in the compartment with them. He seemed awfully twitchy. Sirius and James looked at each other, shrugged, and said that was fine with them. They learned that his name was Peter Pettigrew. As the clock struck 11:00 the train began to move out of the station. Their journey from Platform 9 ¾ had begun.

Next chapter: How does Sirius embarrass James on the ride to school? If you want to see the next chapter then leave a review!

6. The Proposal

Chapter 6: The Proposal

“So James, when are you going to pop the question?” asked Sirius with a twinkle in his eyes. They had been on the train for about an hour at this point.

James turned to Sirius with a confused look. “What are you talking about?”

“The big question,” started Sirius. Suddenly he knelt down on one knee, grabbed James’ left hand, and started fluttering his eyelashes. In his girliest voice he said, “Oh Lily, my one and only true love, please do me the honor of marrying me.”

Just as he said the last part, the door to the compartment opened and a petite girl with long brown hair and chocolate eyes gaped at the sight before her - Sirius on bended knee asking for James’ hand in marriage. James’ eyes were wide with shock and embarrassment.

Sirius, hearing the door open turned toward the girl and froze, still holding James’ hand. Before he had a chance to respond, the girl hurriedly said, “Oh! I am so sorry for interrupting! I will, uh, just, erm, find another compartment. You two, erm…continuing doing, uh, whatever it was you were, uh, doing.”

As she closed the door in a hurry to leave, Sirius shouted after her, “It’s not what you think!” Peter was sitting across from them sniggering.

James yanked his hand away from Sirius and wiped it on his shirt. “Good going Sirius! First day to Hogwarts and look at what people will think!” he yelled.

“Oh, calm down already! I was just joking around. And, besides, who would doubt that I am a ladies man?” Sirius replied with a winning smile. James rolled his eyes and smirked.

“Now, back to the subject from before,” started Sirius.

“What, your proposing to me?” James asked sarcastically.

It was Sirius’ turn to roll his eyes. “NO, you prat. Lily! It’s obvious how much you like her.”

James thought back to Platform 9 ¾ when Lily had hugged Sirius. “How long have you known her? I mean…are you two…well that is to say, are you two, erm-”

“Boyfriend and girlfriend?” finished Sirius. James stared at his shoes and nodded. “Nah, I only met her yesterday.” James looked back up at Sirius and started to smile. Sirius explained, “I found her lost in Knockturn Alley, being chased after and hexed at by that idiot, Malfoy. I knocked him around a bit and helped her find Diagon Alley.”

James frowned and felt anger bubbling up inside him. “Malfoy? Related to Lex Malfoy?” Sirius nodded. “That blond boy that almost looks like an albino?” Again, Sirius nodded as he noticed James’ fists clenching and unclenching. “Was she hurt?” James tensely asked.

“No, she was a little shaken up at being attacked but she recovered quickly. She was very relieved to find Diagon Alley and soon was taken with all the magic in the shops. She comes from a Muggle family, you see,” answered Sirius.

“I thought as much,” replied James, a smile forming from the memory of Lily’s laughter at the book biting incident. As soon as James had seen her enter the book store, the sunlight dancing off her hair from the doorway like a halo on an angel, he couldn’t help but watch her. She had seemed so taken by everything in the store. It was as if he was looking at everything magical in the store for the first time through her eyes. And her eyes…he had gotten a shock when she caught him gazing at her through the bookshelf. When she gazed back at him he felt as if a hundred Golden Snitches had been released in his stomach, fluttering about. He had never seen eyes like hers - so green and brilliant. As James was ready to delve more into his first memory of Lily Evans, he saw Sirius’ hand waving in his face.

“Oy! James!” said Sirius. His stomach growled. “I think it’s time to scavenge for food. You coming?” James thought for a split second before nodding.

As they were on their way out the door they noticed Peter staring at them with anticipation. Sirius and James looked at each other and then asked if he wanted to tag along. Peter scurried out of his seat and eagerly followed them out of the compartment to find the lady with the food cart.

The food cart had already passed by Lily and Alice’s compartment. They had been enjoying their time on the train getting to know each other while Lily learned the hard way not to eat the Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans that were brown with pink flecks. The one she munched on had tasted suspiciously like vomit.

Lily learned that Alice was from a wizarding family that lived outside of London. Alice spent quite a while explaining what Quidditch was to Lily. She explained how her mum had been on the Gryffindor team and for a few years after graduation had played for the Wimbourne Wasps, a professional team. While Lily was fascinated by the magical aspect of the sport she did not usually follow sports. She preferred to spend her time reading.

After a few minutes of lull in the conversation Alice turned to Lily and asked, “Who were those boys who helped you with your things?”

“I met them yesterday in Diagon Alley.” Lily told Alice about her scare in Knockturn Alley and how Sirius had helped her get away from Malfoy and find her way to Diagon Alley.

Alice did not appear shocked by the story, just upset that Lily was attacked. “My dad is on the board of the governors for the school with Malfoy’s dad. Dad warned me that there would be prats like that coming to Hogwarts. Lucius Malfoy, that’s the boy who attacked you, can get away with a lot of things because his dad’s one of the governors. Lex Malfoy is a very powerful, that is rich, wizard and he bullies the rest of the governors into voting his way. My dad has been able to stand up to him. That is why Muggleborn witches and wizards are still being accepted at Hogwarts. If Lex Malfoy had his way this school would be full of Pureblooded wizards.”

“That’s horrible,” cried Lily. “I can’t help that I am from a Muggle family, yet I still possess magic. Am I just supposed to not learn to use it?”

Alice looked at Lily with understanding and said, “Don’t worry, even if Lex bullied the governors there’d still be Headmaster Dumbledore to deal with and he is quite a force to be reckoned with.” There was a bit of a silence and then Alice asked Lily about the other boy.

“I don’t know much about him. His last name is Potter.” Lily told her about seeing him in the bookstore and his lack of conversation. Alice chuckled as Lily mentioned how strange he acted on Platform 9 ¾. “I swear that boy doesn’t know how to speak! It’s so odd.” She gave up trying to figure Potter out. Instead, Lily started wondering about Dumbledore as well as what types of classes and professors she would have “What’s going to happen when we get to Hogwarts?” she asked Alice.

“From what I hear there will be a welcoming feast but not before the first years are sorted into houses,” replied Alice.

“Houses?” Lily wondered out loud.

“Yes, there are four houses and each student gets sorted into one house. That student remains in the same house all seven years and lives in the house dormitory, shares the same common room, eats meals at the same table, and all that. Each house has a Quidditch team, too.”

“How do you know which house you are in?” Lily questioned.

“The sorting ceremony- I am not sure what we have to do however tonight we will have to do something to get sorted into one of the houses, either Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin.”

Another girl in the compartment who had been reading a magazine, stopped and turned to them. “I heard you have to perform magic. My older brother told me we have to levitate one of the house tables twenty feet off the floor!”

Lily looked very nervous at that. “I really hope they don’t want us to do anything complicated. I only just got my wand and don’t know ANY spells.”

Alice shrugged it off. “I don’t think it will be too hard. I just don’t want to end up in Slytherin. They tend to house the Pureblooded fanatics. No one really likes them outside of their own house.”

The other girl looked doubtful but then smiled and said, “I don’t think I introduced myself yet. My name is Dorcas Meadowes.” Lily and Alice smiled back and introduced themselves. Dorcas was average height with short curly brown hair and kind blue eyes. She had a round face and was a tad plump.

All three girls turned to the last passenger in their compartment. She was tall and had silvery blonde hair that tumbled down her back. Her sapphire eyes were focused on a Muggle crossword puzzle. Sensing the sudden silence she looked up and saw three sets of eyes on her. “I’m sorry, were you saying something to me?” she asked.

“Oh no, not exactly. We were just introducing ourselves to each other,” replied Dorcas.

The blonde girl gave a small smile and introduced herself as Emmeline Vance. She, like Lily, was Muggleborn and actually only lived a few towns away from Lily. A wizard had come to her house like Mr. McMillan had for Lily. It had taken a lot more convincing for her parents to believe that Emm was a witch than it had for Lily‘s parents. Her father had sarcastically asked if the wizard knew any ‘hocus pocus’. The wizard then brought out his wand, muttered ‘hocus pocus’ and her father fell on the floor laughing feeling like hundreds of fingers were poking him in the sides, tickling him.

Alice and Dorcas, being from wizarding families, spent some time asking Emm and Lily about the Muggle world. Emm and Lily couldn’t help but giggle about the other girls’ ignorance about Muggle things such as malls and televisions. That made them feel better about their lack of knowledge about the wizarding world.

Just then the door to the compartment opened and a girl strode in looking exasperated. She had an odd expression on her face.

Alice perked up and said, “Marlene? Is that you? I haven’t seen you in, what, at least 3 or 4 years?” The girl smiled and gave Alice a hug. Alice turned to the others and explained. “This is Marlene McKinnon. Our family used to holiday in Scotland every summer and we would stay at a resort owned by her family.” Alice noticed the odd look on Marlene’s face and asked her if something was wrong.

“Not wrong, really. It’s just that I have been trying to find a decent compartment to sit in. Most have older students and are full. A few of them smelled funny so I just walked on by, and there was one with some arrogant looking older boys picking on a boy with greasy hair. That was not the clincher though. This last one I walked into was the clincher. I opened the door and saw one boy on bended knee professing his love to another and proposing marriage. The looks on their faces when I walked in were priceless!”

Everyone in the compartment giggled. “Do you have any idea who they were?” asked Alice.

“I’m not sure. Not bad looking, though. Shame if they don’t really fancy ladies, eh? The one on his knee is quite the hottie- long dark hair and dark eyes. The other had the messiest black hair I have ever seen on a boy,” replied Marlene.

Alice and Lily looked at each other. Messy black hair? She couldn’t be speaking about Potter and Sirius, could she? And only a little while ago Alice had a feeling Potter probably fancied Lily, at least from the way Lily described his behavior.

Marlene spotted some chocolate frog wrappers and her stomach growled. “Oh, darn! I missed the food lady. Do you guys know which direction she went in?”

Alice got up and told her that she would help her find her. She wanted to stretch her legs, anyway. Lily volunteered to go with them as well, hoping to find something to drink. She still had the faint taste of vomit in her mouth from that one jelly bean…

Thanks to my latest reviewers - I made replies to some of your comments. I love getting reviews and I am glad to have so much encouragement, but please - if you have something to criticize - be constructive, not rude.

Next chapter: Sirius and James get into another awkward moment in front of the girls. (If you want to see it then review!)

7. The Chocolate Frog Incident

Chapter 7: The Chocolate Frog Incident

James, Sirius, and Peter searched the corridor until they found the food cart. Sirius had difficulty deciding what he wanted because it all looked so appetizing. James, on the other hand, had chosen a sandwich and a chocolate frog. Sirius saw what James had chosen and his stomach cried out at the sight of the chocolate frog. He turned to the food cart lady and asked for one.

“Sorry, that was the last one,” she replied. “How about some Fizzing Whizbees?”

Sirius looked longingly at James’ chocolate frog. “Oy mate, how about trading me that frog for something else?”

James looked down at the chocolate treat and back at Sirius. “Sorry, but this is looking pretty good.”

“C’mon, James. I’ll pay you for it,” Sirius whined as his mouth watered. James shook his head with a grin. Sirius then gave an evil smile, snatched the chocolate frog from James and started running. He didn’t get far before James tackled him and started wrestling for the frog.

James managed to pin Sirius down. Sirius, by that point had hidden the treat so James kept Sirius pinned. “C’mon, Sirius, you have it and I want it!”

“Oh, Merlin!” came a voice from a few feet in front of them. James and Sirius looked up and to their horror saw the same brown haired girl who had walked into their compartment earlier, the one who had mistakenly thought that Sirius had proposed to James. Only, to James’ added embarrassment and horror, Lily and Alice were with her. James chanced a glance at Lily and noticed her eyes were wide with amazement at the scene. Alice, standing beside her, was trying to suppress a chuckle.

The two boys quickly stood up and Sirius turned to the girls. “Ladies, what and unexpected surprise,” he said trying to sound nonchalant and charming. Most of his attention was directed toward Marlene.

Marlene gave Sirius a blank look before replying, “A surprise. Clearly, it was.” She turned to Alice and Lily and said, “You know, I think I just lost my appetite. Let’s head back to the compartment.” The three girls started to walk away.

James looked at Lily’s retreating figure before glancing at Sirius in panic. “Do something,” he whispered urgently, “before she - I mean they - get the wrong opinion about us.”

Sirius looked at James before turning toward the girls. “Hey, Lily!” She and the other two girls turned back to the boys. “Would you and your lady friends care to join us in our compartment?” he asked with a flirty smile and a grand bow.

Lily giggled and smiled back at Sirius, causing a pang of jealousy to hit James. “Uh, no thanks, Sirius. We had better get back to our compartment. We’ll be getting to Hogwarts soon and we still need to change into our school robes,” she replied. “See you later,” she added. The girls disappeared down the corridor.

Sirius looked back at James, who continued to stare dejectedly at the spot where Lily had been standing. Sirius reached into his pocket, took out the stolen chocolate frog and handed it to James. “Here. Sorry about earlier.”

James looked at the frog and shook his head. “Forget about it. Keep it. I am not very hungry at the moment.” James handed Sirius his sandwich as well and watched with amusement as Sirius wolfed down the sandwich and frog in a few bites. How could he keep his appetite after what those girls thought they had witnessed? After what Lily had thought she had witnessed?

“What’s the matter with you?” Peter asked James as the boys headed back to the compartment.

“James is upset that he loses the ability to speak in front of Lily Evans, the red-headed girl that was here a few minutes ago,” Sirius replied. He directed his next question to James. “Will you just admit that you like her?”

James, as an 11 year old boy who had, up until recently, been convinced that all girls had cooties, was about to protest Sirius’ statement. Looking at his new friend, James got the feeling Sirius would be able to see right through him, and instead of protesting he just shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know what I feel. I just know that she is pretty and that for some reason I can’t form a sentence in front of her.”

“Well, you need to snap out of it if we are going to have any fun at school. If you want to get her attention, don’t do it by acting like an idiot. You need to charm her and show her that you’re good enough for her,” said Sirius.

The girls had arrived back at the compartment and were changing into their school robes as Marlene described what they had just seen to Emm and Dorcas. “Then they acted like nothing had happened! At least, the one boy did. The other just stood there and gaped at us.”

“That Potter boy is so strange,” added Lily. “He has yet to say more than one sentence, at least that I’ve heard.”

Alice smiled knowingly and turned to Marlene. “I think Sirius and Potter were just horsing around and nothing else. We just happened to catch them at an awkward moment.”

“You know them?” asked Marlene.

“Not really. Just met them earlier,” replied Alice. “Lily, however, has known them for twice as long. She met them yesterday in Diagon Alley during her adventures.”

Lily told Marlene about how she had met Sirius and then about her awkward encounter with Potter at the bookstore. As she described it Marlene and Alice exchanged a knowing look and silently deduced the reasoning behind Potter’s inability to speak.

Marlene chuckled, thinking about Sirius Black and his attempt at nonchalance about the entire situation, between the supposed proposal to Potter, and the awkward situation by the food cart. With a glint of mischief in her eyes, she said, “Yeah, I guess maybe they do fancy girls. That doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun teasing them about it, though. You know, make them think we believe otherwise.” Everyone laughed.

They settled down for the rest of the trip. Outside the window the light was dimming as the day was drawing to an end. Not much later the train began to slow down.

An older girl with bright red hair and brown eyes opened the door to the compartment. As she stepped in Lily noticed a bright silver badge pinned to her robes that said ‘Head Girl.’ The girl smiled at them and told them that their things would be brought to the castle and that they just needed to disembark the train when it stopped. There would be someone waiting for them to guide them to the castle. After saying that she left to find the other first years.

When the train stopped the girls stepped off the train and heard a gruff voice shouting, “Firs’ years over here! Firs’ years!”

As Lily and her friends approached the source of the voice they all gasped in shock. He was enormous, larger than any person they had ever seen before. Lily started to shake in fear when the man looked down at her. Through his bushy dark beard she could see his warm smile. He had the darkest beetle-black eyes she had ever seen, however she could see they were warm and friendly eyes.

“Welcome to ‘ogwarts!” he told her. “I’m Rubeus Hagrid, gamekeeper ‘ere. I’ll be showin’ yeh t’ the castle.”

Lily smiled back. “Nice to meet you Hagrid. I’m Lily.”

By this time there was a large group of first years looking nervously at Hagrid. He looked up and said, “That everyone? No more firs’ years? Ok then, follow me! Mind yer step, now.”

They followed him down a steep path through some trees. It was dark out by now and in the strange forest, Lily felt a shiver trace her spine. Several students gulped nervously as they heard a distant cry, like the sound of an animal in pain. They stayed close to each other with the idea that there was more safety in numbers. Lily looked up to the sky, grateful to see the full moon. Without its light she was sure she would be stumbling down the steep path.

Soon they reached a clearing and Lily heard some cries ahead of her, cries of delight. She looked up and saw a large castle perched on a mountain across a lake. Lily was instantly reminded of the many fairy tales her parents had read to her when she was younger. It was the largest castle she had ever seen, with many towers and turrets. The grounds around the castle looked just as immense. Off to the side was a large forest. The trees looked so dense, like they didn’t want anyone entering.

“No more’n four to a boat!” shouted Hagrid. Lily looked toward the lake and saw a bunch of rowboats by the shore.

She looked at Alice, Marlene, Dorcas, and Emm and noticed there were five of them. One of them would have to go to another boat. Marlene gazed at the other students and saw Sirius, Potter, and the other boy she had seen in the compartment and in the corridor. She gave her friends a mischievous smile and walked off to join them in their boat. Lily and the remaining girls climbed into an empty boat.

Lily looked around the tiny boat and noticed there were no paddles. How were they supposed to get across? She was about to wave to Hagrid when all of a sudden the boats started moving. She noticed Hagrid standing in his boat holding a big pink umbrella. Was it supposed to rain? She looked up at the sky. There were a few small clouds but other than that it was perfectly clear.

As the boats drew closer to the castle Lily spotted a small opening in a cliff where they were headed. The boats passed through the opening and stopped at a dock underneath the castle. As Lily and her friends got off the boat she heard Sirius behind her shouting, “We are not together, not like THAT!”

It was directed toward Marlene, who was walking away from the boys with the same mischievous smile she had given the girls before getting on the boats. She turned back to the two boys and said sweetly, “Whatever you say,” then followed Lily and the other girls behind Hagrid.

James and Sirius had been surprised when Marlene stepped into their boat. Sirius took this as an opportunity to prove to her that he preferred girls over boys by showing her what a flirt he could be. She, however, just sat there smiling looking back and forth between James and Sirius like she knew something they didn’t. James, seeing this, interrupted Sirius’ charms toward Marlene by asking, “WHAT is it? Why do you keep looking at us like that?”

She gave them a sweet smile. “Oh, I was just thinking about what a cute couple you two make.”

Sirius’ jaw dropped. Hadn’t she noticed his charms toward her? Was she blind? Peter was looking back and forth between Sirius, James, and Marlene, sporting a nervous and twitchy smile.

James, on the other hand, noticed something else behind Marlene’s sweet smile. Was she toying with them, he wondered.

By this point the boats were docking and Marlene started to get off the boat. Sirius, seeing that he had to get this straight once and for all, shouted, “We are not together, not like THAT!”

Marlene turned back slightly and gave another sweet smile before chirping, “Whatever you say.” She disappeared with her group of friends as they followed Hagrid.

James noticed how red Sirius’ face was. He looked like he was about to explode. “Calm down, mate,” said James.

“What are you talking about? Back on the train you were even more upset about what she was thinking!” Sirius snapped back.

James thought for a moment before replying. “You know, I got the feeling she knows the truth and is just toying with us.”

Sirius raised his eyebrows as he thought about what James had said. “If that is true then we are going to have to teach her a lesson. You up for it?” he asked, his own mischievous smile forming.

James just smiled back as they headed into the castle.

Thanks to my reviewers - I made replies to the latest batch from Chapter 6. Can anybody figure out now where Remus is? If not, reread the chapter. If you still can’t figure it out, then read it again!

Next chapter: The Sorting Ceremony takes place. What will Sirius and James do to retaliate against Marlene?

8. The Sorting Ceremony

Chapter 8: The Sorting Ceremony

Hagrid led the students up what seemed like an endless flight of stairs. Lily figured there had to be at least 500 steps. Her legs were feeling like jelly before they finally reached their destination. Lily noticed that the walls were adorned with torches which flickered across the stone walls. She thought it odd considering she was used to electricity and had assumed magic would be more modern than her Muggle home. An older woman was waiting to greet them. She had on tartan robes and her dark hair was pull back into a tight bun.

“Welcome to Hogwarts!” she said. “I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress. Shortly I will be leading you into the Great Hall for the welcoming feast. Before the feast all of you will be sorted into one of four houses, either Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin.” She explained a little about the houses and how the students would live with and have classes with their house-mates. Most of the students were looking at each other nervously, wondering how the sorting would take place. Lily recalled Dorcas’ comment about levitating the tables, feeling rather inadequate around so many students who had grown up with magic.

Professor McGonagall motioned for the students to follow her through two giant doors. They opened into the Great Hall, which was aptly named. There were four long wooden tables stretched along the length of the room. The older students were already seated. Most watched the new students as they paraded between the tables toward the front. A few others were laughing and chatting, catching up on their summer apart. At the front of the hall and up a few steps was another table which seated the staff. Alice poked Lily in the arm and pointed up. It looked like their was no ceiling, just the night sky. The stars winked down at the students from behind a few clouds. “I heard the ceiling has been enchanted to look like the sky outside, no matter what the weather,” whispered a girl behind Lily. Lily gaped at the ceiling, no longer feeling that living in the castle would be inferior, despite the lack of electricity.

The students stopped at the front of the hall. Up the steps in front of the staff table sat a wooden stool with an old tattered hat. Professor McGonagall watched it expectantly for a few moments while the hall became silent. The first years gave each other questioning looks. All of a sudden the hat moved and Lily noticed the brim opening and closing as it broke out into song. It sang about the history of the four houses and its founders and about the qualities of the students belonging to each house: Gryffindor - bravery; Ravenclaw - intelligence; Hufflepuff - loyalty; and Slytherin - ambition. At the end of the song everyone applauded.

“When I call your name, please come and sit on the stool. I will place the hat on you which will then sort you into your house,” called Professor McGonagall.

Lily heard Dorcas huff out behind her, “I can’t believe it! That’s it? Just put on the hat? I am going to kill my brother!”

“Abbott, Daniel” A short boy with curly brown hair nervously sat on the stool while Professor McGonagall placed the hat on his head. After a moment the hat shouted, “HUFFLEPUFF!” Several cheers came from one of the tables as Daniel smiled and took a seat.

“Black, Sirius” Sirius made his way past the students. On the way he bumped into Marlene and muttered something which Marlene took to be an apology. He sat on the stool with the hat for a good minute during which he turned and glared at one of the tables off to the side. After another minute the hat shouted, “GRYFFINDOR!” The students at the table to the side looked shocked but not unhappy while there were several loud cheers coming from another table, presumably the Gryffindor table. Sirius had a large grin on his face as he took a seat at the table.

Lily waited nervously while students got sorted into their houses. Professor McGonagall then called out, “Evans, Lily”. Lily had a lurching feeling in the pit of her stomach as she sat on the stool. What if the hat didn’t put her in a house? What if there wasn’t enough magic in her? Would they send her home? She felt the hat get placed on her head.

“Ah, Lily Evans,” the hat whispered into her ear. “You are a very intelligent girl. You would be well suited to Ravenclaw. While intelligence is a strong quality in you, I sense something more. You will have to draw upon your courage and make some difficult decisions, both during your years at Hogwarts as well as after you graduate. You have a pure heart and a brave soul. Yes, you would be best placed in - GRYFFINDOR!”

Lily let out a gasp of relief. She hadn’t realized she had been holding her breath. She walked toward the cheering table and glanced at back at her friends. As she did this she noticed Potter staring at her with a big grin on his face. She smiled back and turned to the students in her house. She sat down next to Sirius.

“I am so relieved! I thought for sure they’d send me home,” breathed Lily.

Sirius barked out a laugh. “What are you talking about? They wouldn’t send you home!”

“Maybe it was silly but I couldn’t help it. Being a Muggle who suddenly becomes a witch makes it all hard to believe, especially now that I’m here. I thought the hat wouldn’t see any magic in me and that I would have to go home,” said Lily. She smiled at Sirius and added, “Anyway, I’m glad I know someone in my house already. I hope Alice makes it into Gryffindor, too.” Lily looked up the table and noticed the red-headed girl she had met on the train who had the Head Girl badge. The girl caught her eye and smiled.

“Longbottom, Frank” was sorted into Gryffindor. As he scrambled off the stool he tripped down the stairs to the base of the Gryffindor table. The table at the end of the room broke out into loud laughter. Sirius glared at them.

“Sirius, I noticed you glaring at them when you were being sorted. Which house is that?” Lily asked.

“That would be Slytherin. I can’t think of a single person I ever respected or liked from that house, except maybe my uncle. I am the first person in my family not to be sorted into Slytherin. My parents are gonna have a field day with that one,” Sirius muttered darkly.

“Lyons, Alice” was called and Lily turned toward the sorting where Alice sat nervously awaiting the decision. “GRYFFINDOR!” shouted the hat and Alice happily sat next to Lily.

“Malfoy, Lucius” called Professor McGonagall. The blond boy who had attacked Lily the day before strode up to the stool and sat down. The hat barely touched his head before it called out, “SLYTHERIN!” Sirius noticed James glaring at Malfoy as he took his seat at the Slytherin table.

Lily was about to say something to Sirius when Professor McGonagall called out, “McKinnon, Marlene.” Marlene strode up to the stool and sat down confidently. Lily noticed a strange expression on Sirius, like he was trying to keep from smirking. She thought it strange since a minute earlier he had been glaring at Malfoy.

“GRYFFINDOR!” shouted the hat. Marlene smiled but before she stood up she felt strange. She reached up to her face when she felt a tingling sensation. The hall suddenly became silent as they saw whiskers and a lion’s mane form on Marlene’s face. Her fingernails grew long, curved, and pointy like a cat’s. She cried out in horror as a few students started to chuckle, two of which were Sirius and James. Lily looked at Marlene and back at Sirius as she heard Professor McGonagall starting to yell.

“How in Merlin’s name did this happen?! WHO is responsible for this?!” bellowed the deputy headmistress.

A tall elderly man at the center of the staff table stood up. He had purple robes with stars and he had half moon glasses perched on his nose. He turned to a woman who sat a few seats down his table and asked, “Poppy, would you mind taking this young lady to the hospital wing?” The lady stood up and hurried to the sobbing Marlene. The lady ushered Marlene out a side door. The man in the purple robes then turned to Professor McGonagall. “Minerva, if you please, the sorting.”

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips glancing at the door where Marlene had exited before calling out, “Meadowes, Dorcas.” Dorcas looked up in fright. She had to be practically dragged to the stool and held down while the hat was placed on her head. She did not want what happened to Marlene to happen to her. After a moment the hat shouted, “HUFFLEPUFF!” Dorcas, in great relief, ran to the Hufflepuff table amidst their cheers.

“Parkinson, Liam” was sorted into Slytherin.

“Pettigrew, Peter” sat on the stool for quite a while before being sorted into Gryffindor.

“Potter, James.”

‘So that’s his first name,’ Lily thought.

The hat barely reached his messy hair before it shouted out “GRYFFINDOR!” He came down to the Gryffindor table and sat across from Sirius.

A few more students were sorted while Sirius and James started looking eagerly at their plates. “Can’t they hurry this along? I’m starving!” growled Sirius.

“Snape, Severus” was called and a skinny boy with long greasy black hair was sorted into Slytherin.

“Vance, Emmeline” was sorted into Ravenclaw. Lily and Alice were glad to both be in Gryffindor however they wished Dorcas and Emm could have been sorted with them as well.

“Zucker, Zinnia” was sorted into Hufflepuff and the hall erupted into cheers.

The man in the purple robes stood up again and the students quickly hushed. “To the new students, welcome to Hogwarts! To the returning students, welcome back! I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. I have much to tell you, however there are more pressing matters.” He waved his hands and the plates on the tables filled with food. Sirius howled in relief as he started to pile the food onto his plates.

Lily had difficulty deciding what to eat because there was such a vast selection of food. She finally settled on steak and kidney pie. As she served some onto her plate Alice wondered out loud how Marlene was doing. As she said this James coughed as he choked on his pumpkin juice. He and Sirius exchanged a quick glance.

This glance did not escape Lily. She turned to Sirius and asked, “You know how that happened to her, don’t you? I saw you laughing.”

Sirius turned to Lily with innocent puppy dog eyes. “Lily, I have no idea how that happened to her. I’m sorry that my laughing bothered you. I just got caught up in the shock of it all.”

He was about to turn back to his food when Lily grabbed his arm and stared into his eyes. He saw an intensity in her deep emerald eyes and felt the need to break eye contact however he couldn’t. It was like she was searching his eyes, no, actually searching his mind. She finally let go of his arm and said, “You’re lying.” This was not a question but a statement.

“Wha-, Lily, how do you…what?” Sirius stammered.

“You’re lying. You may be a first year like me however it seems you already know some magic,” Lily answered plainly. She turned to James. He was glancing at her nervously. “You were in on this, too, weren’t you Potter?”

He glanced at Sirius, who shrugged. “I, erm, I, uh-”

Alice interrupted him, “I can’t BELIEVE you did that! What on EARTH would possess you to embarrass her like that, in front of the entire school no less?”

Sirius finally found his voice again. “Do you know what she’s done to us? She’s been trying to start some crazy rumor about me and James here! We just needed to teach her a little lesson. And what harm did it actually do? We just charmed her so that she would show the characteristics of the house she was sorted into. There’s no harm in a little Gryffindor pride!”

Alice was about to yell at him again when the hall became quiet. They noticed Professor Dumbledore standing again. The students listened as he discussed how classes would begin the next day. He also warned students that the Forbidden Forest was indeed forbidden. He also introduced the caretaker, Mr. Filch, a cranky looking man standing to the side with a long-haired tabby cat at his feet. Dumbledore explained about a list of illegal items outside of Filch’s office.

“There are some staffing changes this year. After the unfortunate incident with the charmed flobberworms last year,” his eyes moved toward two sixteen-year-old boys at the Ravenclaw table, “Professor Grubbly-Plank has decided to retire. Professor Kettleburn will take over the Care of Magical Creatures class. As for Defense Against the Dark Arts, I am sad to say that Professor Hall was in an unfortunate accident over the summer while working for the Ministry. We have yet to appoint a new professor however I assure you that the Board of Governors for the school will have someone appointed this week.”

He then asked the prefects and Head Girl and Boy to escort the first years to the dormitories.

The red-headed Head Girl approached them and introduced herself as Molly Prewett. She and the Gryffindor prefects led them up several staircases. The students were warned to pay attention to the staircases as they liked to move around. Some of the stairs were trick stairs as well. Suddenly Molly stopped outside a large portrait of a fat lady wearing a gaudy pink dress.

“Password?” asked the portrait, scanning the group of new students. Lily had to do a double-take to see if the portrait had actually spoken to them.

“Dungbombs,” replied Molly. She turned to the other students. “Please remember the password, otherwise you will not be granted entrance into Gryffindor tower. Do not divulge the password to anyone else.”

The portrait swung open and the students climbed through a hole into a warm and inviting room. It was large and had several desks and tables for studying. There was a fire roaring and several large comfortable scarlet chairs with gold pillows waited invitingly for people to settle on them.

“This is the Gryffindor common room,” explained Molly. “The boys will follow Mark up to their dormitory,” she said while indicating a 6^th year student with a prefect badge. “Girls, please follow me.”

She led them up a narrow staircase and stopped outside a door that said, ‘First Year Girls.’ She opened the door and led them into a room that contained three large beds with scarlet bedding. They looked inviting to the girls, who were exhausted.

Lily noticed her trunk was placed in front of one of the beds. She turned to Molly. “Where’s Lancelot? He’s my owl.”

“He’s up in the owlery. I can show you where that is tomorrow if you’d like,” Molly replied.

Lily smiled and said, “Yes, thank you.” She wanted to write to her family and tell them about all the fascinating things she had seen so far. Molly wished them a good night and left to find her friends.

“Lily?” questioned Alice as they dressed in their pajamas. “Back in the Great Hall during dinner…you seemed so sure that Sirius was lying. How did you know?”

Lily thought for a moment. “I’m not sure, exactly. I’ve always been good at knowing when people lie, especially when I get a good look at their eyes. Here, at Hogwarts, it just seemed stronger. I just didn’t have a doubt about it.”

Back in the boys’ dormitory, James, Sirius, and Peter introduced themselves to Frank. James looked around the room and asked, “How come there are 5 beds when there are only 4 of us?”

“Maybe there were 5 people here last year,” suggested Frank, as he pulled a pair of pajamas out of his trunk.

“Maybe,” replied James. He looked at Sirius, who had been brooding since dinner. “How do you think Lily figured us out?”

Sirius flopped on his bed and looked at James. “I don’t know, but it was really strange. She just looked into my eyes and saw the truth. I think she’s nice and everything, but there is something odd about Lily Evans.”

Thanks to my reviewers. Once again, I posted my responses in the review section.

Though I have been inserting little clues here and there, this is the first chapter where I felt I could start part of the mystery storyline. Things will take an interesting turn at the end of the next chapter. That’s all I’m gonna say for now, because I want to see some more reviews!

Cheers!

MsNorris

9. The New D.A.D.A. Professor

Chapter 9: The New D.A.D.A. Professor

Lily woke up early the next morning to a shuffling noise across the floor. She peered around the curtains and noticed Marlene trying to tiptoe across the floor to her bed.

“Marlene!” cried Lily, which caused Alice to stir in the next bed. “Are you alright? What happened after you left last night?”

Marlene turned to Lily who could then see that all of Marlene’s normal features had been restored.

Marlene smiled at Lily, happy to finally be in the dormitory. It had been a long night. “I’m fine. Madame Pomfrey, that’s the nurse, gave me some potions and I quickly turned back to my normal self. She insisted on keeping me overnight. I tried to argue with her but she was quite insistent. She practically stood over me the entire night to make sure I didn’t leave. I was finally able to sneak out a little earlier when she went to help a boy who walked in looking pale, bruised and scratched.

“Leaving wasn’t such a great idea because shortly thereafter I realized I had no idea where I was headed. After I wandered around for a bit I came across Molly, the Head Girl. She was doing her morning rounds and found me near tears somewhere on the third floor. Not so surprisingly she remembered me from last night and took pity on me. She showed me the way up here and that’s when I tried to sneak in without waking you.”

Lily thought back to the evening’s events and felt quite annoyed about the trick Sirius and Potter had played on her new friend. Even if Marlene had teased them a little that didn’t mean she deserved to be humiliated in front of the entire school. And then Sirius had tried lying to her about not hexing Marlene. She began to rethink her opinion of her rescuer from days earlier.

And then there was Potter, or rather James. It seemed so strange to think of him as James, Lily thought. She was rather used to thinking of him as Potter. He still hadn’t said more than one full sentence in front of her which she found very strange. She had almost thought he could be normal when he smiled at her during the sorting the previous evening. She had caught herself smiling back. After all, he was rather cute when he tried to act normal. Then he had to join Sirius in the prank on Marlene, or was Potter the instigator?

Marlene noticed Lily deep in thought. “What are you thinking?”

Lily hesitated for a moment before answering. She wasn’t sure if she should tell Marlene about who had hexed her however Lily felt she deserved to know the truth. “I was thinking about you and last night. I know who hexed you.”

Marlene’s eyebrows shot up as she demanded, “Who?!”

“Well, I was sitting at the Gryffindor table and as you were transforming I noticed the expression on Sirius’ face. He was amused however he didn’t seem surprised at all,” said Lily.

“That doesn’t prove that he hexed me,” Marlene replied.

“Lily called him on it,” Alice said, surprising Lily and Marlene. They had thought Alice was still asleep. “You should have seen how Lily dragged the truth out of Sirius. It was amazing, I have never seen anything like it!”

“I’m pretty sure Potter was in on it as well. Sirius said they wanted to teach you a lesson for teasing them about what you saw on the train,” Lily added.

Marlene’s jaw clenched so tight that Lily and Alice thought that a steel bar would have snapped in half had it been in her mouth. “Those arrogant jerks! They think they can humiliate me in front of the entire school like that? Teach ME a lesson? Ha! I will teach THEM a lesson! They had better watch out because I will get them back. They won’t know when and they won’t know where. I will take my time about it and they will wish they had never messed with me!”

Lily and Alice glanced nervously at each other. Sure, the boys could be put in their place but neither of the girls wanted to be in the middle of a war on their first day of school. Alice piped up and said, “Oh, look at the time! We had better get dressed or we won’t have time for breakfast before our first class.”

Marlene, who had been deep in thought, snapped out of it and went to unpack her trunk as the other two girls cleaned up and got dressed.

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Back in the boys’ dormitory there were two boys who were taking their time getting out of bed. Frank had already gone down to the Great Hall and breakfast would soon be finished. Peter stood nervously by James’ bed and poked him on the shoulder. “Uh, James, sorry to wake you, but you see, you’re going to be late if you don’t get up soon.”

James just turned over and buried his head under the pillow. Peter looked around nervously. He didn’t want to make them angry however he also didn’t want his new friends to be late for class on their first day. After poking at James and Sirius for another five minutes he paused to think again. His mind led him to the prank from the previous evening. He realized that he would, like them, have to take drastic measures to get the needed outcome. He marched into the bathroom for a moment and shortly thereafter marched out and between the beds of Sirius and James. He tossed some cold water out of a cup onto James and Sirius, who sat up yelling out incoherently about rude awakenings.

Sirius finally cleared his thoughts and turned toward the door, where Peter was backing up. “Peter! What the hell do you think you were doing?” growled Sirius.

Peter looked toward James in the hope that James would come to his aid if Sirius decided to hex him. James, however, had as similar expression to the murderous one on Sirius’ face. “I, uh, noticed you were, uh, late and thought I would save you the trouble of, erm…showering,” Peter said shakily.

Sirius and James glared at Peter for a few moments before breaking out into laughter. Sirius got up and walked across to a confused Peter. “Not bad, Peter,” he said. “I didn’t know you had it in you.” Peter smiled eagerly at Sirius. “If,” Sirius added, towering over the smaller boy, “That is - IF - I catch you doing something like that to me again I will throw you into the lake. I heard there’s a Giant Squid who loves to eat little boys.” Peter gave an agitated laugh as the two taller boys guffawed and got ready for breakfast.

On the way down Sirius congratulated himself for about the hundredth time about the prank they had pulled on Marlene. James and Peter exchanged a glance as they rolled their eyes. Just as Sirius was about to congratulate himself again he was struck in the head by a water balloon.

“Aaarrgh! Who did that?!!!” yelled Sirius as he tried to ring out his drenched head of hair. He then heard some cackling from above and looked up only to get another balloon bursting in his face. When he opened his eyes after the blast he saw a poltergeist floating above them. He was little with dark eyes and a wide mouth.

Peter leaned to Sirius and whispered, “That’s gotta be Peeves the Poltergeist. Mark warned me about him last night on the way to the dormitory. We had better make a run for it.”

Sirius, normally not one to run away from a fight, was desperate to get some order to his drenched hair. The three boys took off at a run for the Great Hall. James and Sirius managed to avoid most of the water balloons Peeves pelted at them. Peter, however, managed to slip on the wet floor making him a prime target for more balloons. Luckily for Peter, Peeves ran out of ammunition, forcing him to take off and find more while Peter made his escape.

The boys settled down at the Gryffindor table and started piling food onto their plates. A few minutes later they saw some girls running into the hall. It was Lily, Alice, and Marlene. They, too, had been pelted with water balloons. Unlike Sirius, the girls were laughing about their state. They noticed the boys and strutted over to join them. Sirius tried to give his best nonchalant look to Marlene while Marlene just gave him a sweet smile. This smile was nothing like the smile she gave the night before when they got off the boat. Her smile was there however her eyes told Sirius that he’d better watch his back.

“So, are you girls ready for classes?” asked Peter.

“I can’t wait, however I didn’t really imagine I would start off the year looking like a drowned rat,” Lily laughed.

James thought to himself that Lily looked quite fetching with wet hair. Her laughter made her emerald eyes sparkle. ‘Say something to her!’ he thought. ‘Be charming, like Sirius told you last night.’ As he was about to say he thought she looked like an angel, Lily looked at him, causing his stomach to flip-flop and paralyzing his brain. Therefore, the only thing that came out of his mouth was, “Y-You don’t look like you drowned.”

Lily gave James a confused glance while Sirius shook his head. She then turned to Alice and they spent the rest of breakfast chatting while James’ thoughts turned into self-loathing. ‘WHAT was that?!’ he thought angrily. ‘Don’t look drowned? That was the best I could come up with?!’

Marlene kept giving her ‘I’m going to get you’ smile to Sirius who did his best to ignore her.

After they got their schedules the guys were on the way to their first class, History of Magic. The girls had left earlier and were ahead of them. Sirius had noticed James kicking himself at breakfast and decided to give him some advice. “Mate, you have to pull it together. You aren’t going to get Lily’s attention like that. You need to learn how to talk to girls. Show off your talents so she’ll notice you. Flirt with other girls. Then she’ll see how popular you are and she’ll want to be with you.”

James thought about his advice as they entered their first class. History of Magic was taught by an old ghost, Professor Binns. He droned on and on and on for the whole hour while students tried to scribble down all the names and dates he was rambling on about. The monotone of his voice had lulled several students into a coma-like state. Sirius had his head on his desk with a small pool of drool pooling on his parchment. The only one who managed to make it through the entire hour was Lily.

Charms was their next class. The students were looking forward to trying some magic, however Professor Flitwick decided to use the first class to go over the theory of charms. He assigned them to write a foot long essay on wand movement.

Transfiguration was not much better. The students still didn’t get to practice any magic. The highlight of the class came when Professor McGonagall transformed her desk into a pig. They were assigned yet more homework on the principles of transfiguration.

After lunch they were scheduled for the first Defense Against Dark Arts (DADA) class. The students wondered if the school had appointed a teacher yet. Sirius and James hoped they hadn’t. They wanted to have a free period to wander around outside and explore the grounds. There had still been an empty seat at the staff table during breakfast and lunch so the boys were ready to enjoy the late summer weather.

Their hopes were diminished when they sat down in the DADA classroom and saw a gentleman walk in with a briefcase. He was in his forties though he looked younger. He had dark brown hair with grey peppered throughout. He had dark intense eyes that probed around the room at the students. The girls imagined that he had been quite handsome in his youth.

Once the time came for class to begin he turned to the students and said, “I know you were told there was no DADA professor assigned as of yesterday. Since the headmaster was unable to locate a suitable teacher on his own, the school’s Board of Governors has appointed me to teach you. Let me introduce myself. I am Professor Tom Riddle.”

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Thanks for the latest reviews! They make my day!

Soooooo, what do you all think about the DADA professor? With him around, anything could happen…

Next chapter: We see a little more of Professor Riddle, and the last Marauder will make his entrance. The sooner you review, the sooner the chapter will be posted!

10. Riddle's First Class / Flying Class

Chapter 10: Riddle’s First Class / Flying

Professor Riddle gazed around the room for a few moments after his introduction before he spoke again. “The Dark Arts- that is indeed a fascinating subject. Knowing how to defend yourself takes strength and courage. While those are admirable and necessary qualities, I assure you intelligence and ingenuity are more important. You must know what your strengths are, and you must be able to recognize your enemies.

“Before I begin teaching you how to defend yourselves I think it’s important to know who each other is. After all, there are people in this classroom who you may depend on to save your life, and then again there may be someone amidst us who may turn against you.” He had an edge to his voice as he said this. “As I call your name please tell us your name, the names of your parents, where you are from, and what you hope to get out of this class. Also let me know which house you are in.”

Each student took his or her turn while Professor Riddle occasionally jotted something down. James noticed he seemed to write more when a Slytherin took his turn. When Lily stood up to introduce herself, James then noticed Riddle’s gaze intensify as she described where she came from. As more students spoke James recognized the same expression on Riddle’s face when children of Muggle families explained who they were. James turned to Sirius to see if he had noticed however Sirius was busy whispering a joke to Peter.

As everyone finished introducing themselves the bell rang marking the end of class. Professor Riddle smiled and told the class there would be no homework that evening. Cheers rang out in response as everyone left the classroom.

“Finally, a professor with some sense!” exclaimed Sirius. “Everybody knows you shouldn’t have homework assigned on the first day of class.”

James and Peter had to agree. They weren’t looking forward to the pile of Charms and Transfiguration homework that awaited them. They decided to go back to Gryffindor Tower to drop their things off in their room before going to dinner. When they walked into the first year boys’ dormitory room they were met by a surprise. A tall thin boy with sandy blond hair stood at the fifth bed unpacking his trunk.

He turned to greet them. “Hi. I’m Remus Lupin. I just arrived.”

“Why weren’t you here last night for the feast?” Peter asked.

Remus glanced at the floor before answering, “I, uh, missed the train. Had to take a different one today.”

Sirius let out a loud laugh. “You MISSED it? How hilarious is that? And you missed a lot of fun yesterday. Why, the prank I pulled on McKinnon-”

“Ah, Sirius, don’t bore us again about how brilliant you are,” James said sarcastically. “I’m starving. Let’s head down to dinner.”

The boys started to leave while Remus hesitated. James turned back to him and asked, “Are you coming?” Remus smiled and headed out with them. James noted how pale he was and that he had dark circles around his eyes. “Long trip?” he asked Remus.

“Yeah, I guess so. Did I miss much during classes today?” asked Remus.

Sirius frowned. “Yeah, you missed a whole lot. Had a nice nap during History of Magic. Got to listen to Flitwick and McGonagall talk about stuff but we didn’t actually get to practice any of it. They piled a bunch of homework on us. DADA class- didn’t do much there either but at least the professor didn’t give us homework.”

They arrived at the Great Hall and picked four spots at the Gryffindor table. James glanced around and noticed Lily and her friends seated further down the table. His gaze moved to the staff table. Dumbledore and McGonagall were chatting jovially. Professor Riddle sauntered to a spot at the end of the table. Dumbledore paused for a moment when he spotted Riddle and his eyes darkened a bit. James thought this was odd since Dumbledore had seemed like an easy-going guy so far.

He turned to Sirius and said, “Did you see the look that Dumbledore just gave Riddle?” Sirius shook his head. James continued, “It doesn’t look like he’s thrilled about Riddle being here.”

Frank had just sat down at the table. “I heard that it was the Board of Governors that appointed Riddle. Normally, Dumbledore hires new professors. This year he wasn’t able to find someone in time so the Governors had to appoint one instead. I suppose Dumbledore isn’t happy that the choice was taken away from him.”

“Where did you hear that?” Peter asked.

“I overheard Alice Lyons telling her friends. She said her dad is on the Board,” Frank replied.

James looked at Sirius, who was watching the girls down the table. Instead of his usual smiling interest in girls he had a slight frown.

“What is it, Sirius?” James asked his friend.

“I know she’s planning something. She’s been hinting at it all day. I just want to know what it is,” he replied.

James glanced back down the table at Marlene, who was laughing at something Alice had told her. She seemed to sense Sirius’ gaze. She turned and looked at him for a moment before she smiled and waved, not bothering to hide the mischievous glint in her eyes. Sirius paled a little before shaking it off and trying to act nonchalant. He decided to attack his food instead.

“Does he always eat like that?” Remus asked as Sirius shoved an entire roll in his mouth.

“Ever since I’ve known him. That’s only been a day so far,” James replied.

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Over the next week the first years realized they weren’t going to be practicing magic as quickly as they had hoped. The professors insisted on teaching them the theory behind the subjects before allowing them the opportunity to practice.

They had their first potions class with Professor Polly Pilon. Lily thought she looked like the witch from the Wizard of Oz. She was tall and thin and had a greenish hue to her skin. She even had a big wart on the end of her nose and a voice that was high and grating. After she handed out the schedule for the term Lily happily discovered they would start brewing potions the next week.

Lily was excited about her learning. She did not resent all the homework that was assigned. Being Muggleborn, she felt she had something to prove. She spent her spare time in the library laboring over her homework. When that was finished she would read ahead. Marlene and Alice were not as enthusiastic about all the extra work. They preferred to spend their afternoons chitchatting until they were left with no choice but to hurry through their reading and scribble something down for their assignments.

Lily often ran into Emm when she was in the library. They quickly learned how much they had in common. They already knew that they were both Muggleborn but they also found out how much they loved class. They both liked to stay ahead with their studies. Lily and Emm decided to become study partners.

Toward the end of the first week of class Lily walked into the library to meet Emm. She was early but wanted to find a good spot to spread out her books. As she looked around she noticed Remus sitting at one of the tables. He had his hand bunched in his hair and was looking very frustrated.

“Remus, are you ok?” Lily asked.

He looked up, startled to see her. He had been immersed in his Charms assignment. “I’m just a bit frustrated, that’s all. I missed one day and I’m already behind on everything. I’ve been trying to catch up all week!” He heard a shushing noise and looked up to see Madame Pince, the librarian, glaring at them.

Lily whispered, “Would you like me to help you? I see that’s the Charms book and I finished that assignment yesterday. I could read through what you have already.”

Remus smiled, grateful for her help. Lily sat down across from him and read through what he had written. “This is good, so far. I would just add a little more about the precision behind the wand movement and how enunciation can affect the outcome of the spell.” She helped him finish the assignment. As he was rolling up the parchment Emm sat down at the table. Lily looked at Remus and then back at Emm. “Hey Emm, what do you think about adding another person to our study group?”

Emm looked at Remus and said, “Are you ok with it? We’re in here quite a bit. We don’t like to goof around and finish the assignments at the last minute.”

“Actually, I would be relieved to have someone to study with,” said Remus. “My friends tend to wait until the last minute so I am left to study in here. Lily just saved me. I never thought I would be able to finish that Charms assignment.”

“Well, now that we have three in our group, how about we work on that assignment for DADA?” Lily said as she pulled out a scroll of parchment. Riddle had finally assigned them homework that day in class. They were supposed to write 18 inches on how to recognize your enemies. She opened her book, The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, by Quentin Trimble and started reading.

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The weekend arrived and everyone took the opportunity to get some fresh air and explore the grounds. Many students sat in the stands as tryouts for Quidditch took place. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter watched as the Gryffindors took their turn. Arthur Weasley, the captain, was the team Seeker and a seventh-year. There were two spots open this year- one chaser and one beater. So far the prospects hadn’t been too promising. Arthur looked a bit frazzled. It had been five years since Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup.

“This is ridiculous!” whined Sirius. “I don’t see why first years can’t try out. I could fly way better than all those older students.”

“We can’t try out because we haven’t had our flying class yet,” Remus calmly replied. “They don’t want any unfortunate accidents happening.”

“It’s Quidditch!” laughed James. “There are bound to be accidents no matter what, with the bludgers flying at your head. I can’t wait until next year when I can try out for the team.”

“What position d’you reckon you’ll try for?” asked Sirius.

“Weasley is the only seventh year on the team so unless anyone quits then the only position open will be Seeker,” Remus said.

“That’s ok, that’s the position I would try for anyway,” replied James.

That evening, there was great excitement among the first years as they looked at the message board in the Gryffindor common room. Their first flying class was to be held on Monday evening after their other classes.

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That Monday the students had difficulty sitting through their classes as they eagerly anticipated the evening’s first flying class. They headed out to the Quidditch pitch where they saw their flying instructor, Mr. Levine. He was standing by a few rows of school brooms which lay on the ground. He directed the students to each stand by a broom. Lily and her friends each chose one, studying it nervously. The school brooms seemed a bit shabby compared to the ones she had seen at the Quidditch tryouts that weekend.

“Now,” started Mr. Levine, “when I tell you to do so, hold your hand over the broomstick handle and say ‘up’. Do not do anything else before I instruct you. Alright then, go ahead!”

Everyone started to shout ‘up’ and Lily noticed Potter’s broom jumped up to his hand straightaway. She did the same although her broomstick was a bit slower about meeting her hand. She heard some laughter as Frank Longbottom’s broomstick shot up about 10 feet over his head before falling and hitting him in the head. Alice took pity on him and walked over to help him up. She was able to explain how he did it wrong and shortly thereafter he performed the command correctly.

“Ok, now that you have that command down, mount your broomsticks and firmly grasp the handle. When I say go, gently lift up on the handle and hover a few feet above the ground for a few seconds, then gently push down on the handle to return to the ground. Alright then, go!” commanded Mr. Levine.

Lily did as instructed and felt her feet lift off the ground. She felt slightly panicked at first but as she gently pushed down on the handle she felt relief as her feet touched the ground. ‘That wasn’t so bad,’ she thought.

The students were then instructed to lift off higher off the ground and practice left and right turns. This time when Lily left the ground she felt a little freedom creep into her. She was actually flying! Just as she was beginning to enjoy herself she heard a cry next to her. Frank Longbottom was losing control of his broom. They were twenty feet off the ground and he was headed straight for Lily.

Although Lily was doing well at flying so far, she didn’t have enough experience to duck out of the way in time. She tried to turn but instead she felt herself starting to slip off the broom. Just as she almost fell toward the ground she felt an arm grasp her around the waist and pull her steadily back up onto her broom. She looked up and saw Potter’s hazel eyes looking worriedly into her green eyes, causing her racing heart to flutter.

“C’mon, let’s get you down to the ground,” he told her.

She shakily nodded her head and was able to direct her broom to the ground, though not as smoothly as the first time. As soon as she got off the broom she noticed Potter had followed her and was walking toward her. She ran to him and hugged him as she cried, “Thank you so much! I would have fallen if you hadn’t been there!”

He stood there in shock for a moment. Just as he was about to hug her back she was pulled away by Alice and Marlene as they asked her if she was okay. Mr. Levine walked up to them just then. He had been helping Frank return to the ground safely.

“Miss McKinnon, Miss Lyons, please take Miss Evans to the hospital wing. Madame Pomfrey can administer a calming draught,” he said.

The girls walked toward the hospital wing talking excitedly about what had happened.

“You should have seen him, Lily!” cried Alice. “He was a good thirty feet away when he saw you having trouble. He turned around and zoomed up to you to help. I’ve never seen anyone fly like that!”

They arrived at the hospital wing and Madame Pomfrey administered the calming draught. Lily felt warmth creep back into her bones. Suddenly a realization occurred to her - Potter had actually spoken to her without looking like an idiot.

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Thanks to the latest reviewers - I was glad to see a few shocked/surprised responses regarding the DADA professor. Heeheehee! Keep the reviews coming.

One point to make right off the bat - James will eventually make the Quidditch team. I know there is a big debate about him being a Chaser vs. Seeker. I could honestly seem him as either, and I see the reasoning behind both sides from what I’ve heard about interviews w/JKR and what was in the movie. For this story, he will be a Seeker (eventually). It’s already written that way and I really don’t feel like changing it. If I ever write another fic during their school years I’ll write him as a Chaser.

Next chapter: James is acting more confident around Lily. Lily gets an interesting offer from Professor Riddle.

11. Riddle's Offer vs. James' Offer

Chapter 11: Riddle’s Offer vs. James’ Offer

James was euphoric. Lily had hugged him - voluntarily! After watching Lily walk away with her friends toward the hospital wing, Sirius gave him a congratulatory pat on the back for not stuttering in front of her. James tried to play it off like it was no big deal but his star-struck grin gave him away.

Over the next several weeks Lily and James slowly became friends. It was easier for him to speak with her since he had helped her during their first flying lesson. It seemed to give him some needed confidence. After all, she had seen him in his element - flying. Anytime she spoke with him and he felt the fluttering from his stomach reaching his voice, he thought back to the confidence he got from flying and found himself able to speak to her in complete sentences. She still called him ‘Potter’ because that was what she was used to calling him. As a joke, he started calling her ‘Evans.’ Plus, whenever he thought of her as ‘Lily’ he would start to feel his tongue tie up.

They had flying lessons weekly and it took some convincing to get Lily back onto a broom. Mr. Levine made Frank promise to stay on the ground while Lily practiced flying. As soon as she was in the air for a minute or so she regained some of the feeling of freedom she had felt during her first lesson. That didn’t stop her knuckles from turning white as she tightly clutched the broom handle. Sirius coaxed James into giving Lily pointers on flying since he was so good at it. He had had plenty of practice chasing snitches around the Quidditch pitch on his family’s estate.

To Marlene’s dismay the girls began to hang out more with the first year Gryffindor boys- they would often sit together at meals and during class. She did not like hanging around Sirius so much. She thought he was an arrogant git. After a week or so of barely speaking to her friends she decided that the time would be better spent torturing Sirius with kindness, making him think that at any time she could exact her revenge for the Sorting Ceremony prank. Her plan seemed to work because Sirius kept looking shiftily at her and sitting as far away from her as he could.

Lily excelled in all of her classes, however she was having some difficulty in her DADA class. She couldn’t explain why. She was able to focus on all of her other classes and get outstanding marks on all of her assignments. With DADA she felt she couldn’t focus as clearly as she did in the other classes. Remus and Emm were doing quite well despite Lily’s difficulty. Remus even did well after he had to miss another day of class. Apparently his mother was ill and he had to go visit her. Lily hoped that his mum’s illness wasn’t serious. She was worried when he arrived back a day later. He appeared awfully pale however he insisted that his mother seemed to be on the mend.

One day as the bell sounded ending the DADA class the students were filing out when Professor Riddle asked Lily to remain behind for a few minutes. Lily told her friends she would meet up with them in the Great Hall for dinner. She approached Professor Riddle’s desk and observed him packing up the most recent assignments the class had turned in. There was still a lot the students didn’t know about him. He was very charming but he stuck to the assignments and was rarely seen outside class except occasionally in the Great Hall for meals. Sometimes he did not eat his meals in the Great Hall. He was rather handsome so several of the girls hypothesized that he had a girlfriend somewhere whom he met.

“Lily,” started Professor Riddle, “I am glad I was able to catch you before dinner.” His voice was very smooth as he said this, like the creamiest butter.

“What is it you wanted to see me about, Professor?” Lily asked hesitantly.

Professor Riddle, having finished packing his briefcase, looked up into Lily’s eyes. Lily felt a strange sensation. There was something odd about his eyes. It’s not that he appeared to glare at her. It was just that she usually got a good read at what someone was like when looking into his eyes. Riddle’s seemed to match his name- a riddle. It was like staring at a closed book. His eyes, however seemed to probe hers, as if she was an open book.

“Lily, I have been speaking with a few of the professors and they have all commented on your superb performance in their classes,” he said. “You have been doing fairly well in my class but only pulling out acceptable for your grades.”

Lily felt her stomach drop a little. She wanted so much to prove that she deserved to be at Hogwarts. “I’m so sorry professor. I know my grades have been down. I’ve been studying so hard, and I promise I’ll get them to improve if you just give me a chance-” she said with a pleading voice.

“Lily, please,” he started with a smile, “I am not upset about your grades. They are acceptable and that is still a passing score. I was concerned because you are clearly an intelligent young witch and your DADA grades do not match the rest of your grades.”

“Sir, I will take any suggestions you have to improve my score,” Lily implored.

Professor Riddle again studied Lily’s eyes, searching for something. After several moments passed he nodded his head as if in confirmation of something and said, “I’ll tell you what. You’re a bright witch, and I see how much this matters to you. I will offer to give you some extra tutoring myself to try to help you increase your grade. The thing is, there are several students whose grades are not as strong as yours. I am unable to personally tutor them all. It would be better if this was kept between us.”

“I would be grateful for your help. That’s such a generous offer!” Lily exclaimed. She couldn’t believe her luck, getting tutored by the professor himself! His offer gave her an extra boost of confidence that the staff did, in fact, believe in her magical abilities and want to keep her around. “When can we start?”

He gave her a charming smile. She tried to study his eyes again however they seemed to have shadows surrounding them so again she could not get a good read. “I have matters that need attending to this week. How about next Monday around 8 pm, after dinner?”

“I can do that. Thanks again, Professor!” Lily said as she picked up her books and walked out to meet her friends for dinner.

As her footsteps echoed down the hall the professor spoke softly but with satisfaction, “She will suit my purpose.”

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James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter all found a spot at the Gryffindor table. Alice and Marlene had decided to drop their things in their dormitory room. The boys, however, were too hungry to make the trip up to Gryffindor tower and back.

All of the boys had been excelling in their classes, except Peter who only managed a decent score in Tranfiguration. Remus was a bit annoyed that Sirius and James could pull off outstanding marks when they goofed off most of the time. They even goofed off in class, annoying the professors and earning them a few detentions. They did lose points for Gryffindor as well, however it wouldn’t take long for them to show off their skills and earn the points back.

The boys had wanted to sneak out one night to grab Mrs. Norris and stuff her into one of the many suits of armor that stood around the castle. It turned out that Remus had to go home to see his sick mother that night so that left James, Sirius, and Peter to do the deed. James had pulled out his invisibility cloak, eager to test it. He remembered his father’s warning about not showing it to others however he felt he could trust his new friends. Sirius howled in delight when he found out what it was and Peter just gaped at James’ disembodied head as he modeled it for them.

Their mission was almost successful. They were able to sneak out hidden under the cloak at about midnight. They had no trouble seeing their way around since the light of the full moon was pouring through the windows. It only took them about 30 minutes to find Filch’s cat. As they grabbed her she screeched and hissed in shock at being lifted off the ground by something invisible. Her cries alerted Filch who came running. The boys didn’t have time to stuff Mrs. Norris into the suit of armor so they dropped her on a trick stair that was nearby and ran for it. Filch spent the next few hours trying to pry his unhappy kitty out of the stair without getting more scratches and bites than necessary.

The three boys had wasted no time telling their tale to Remus after he had returned. Remus couldn’t help but chuckle now as he noticed Filch at the staff table trying to eat his food with bandages covering his hands. The chuckling made Remus start, because he was still sore from his transformation a few nights earlier. This wasn’t unnoticed by Peter, who asked, “Alright there, Remus? You don’t look so great.”

Remus suppressed his panic at Peter’s observation and covered it with sarcasm, “Gee, thanks Peter. You’re looking lovely, yourself. And I’m fine, thank you for asking.”

Sirius was chatting with James, “So things are looking positive with Evans, eh?” He had decided to call her ‘Evans’ just like James did. “I mean, you haven’t looked like a horse’s arse for a while now.”

James gave one of his lop-sided smiles. “Yeah, things have been good so far.”

“Well, you made a definite improvement when you showed her your flying skills. Maybe you should give her some extra private lessons,” Sirius added with a grin.

“Maybe,” replied James. It didn’t seem like a bad idea. Maybe after their next flying class…

“Hi, Potter!”

James looked up and almost blushed as he saw Evans taking a seat at the table next to him. He tried to cover it up quickly with one of his trademark grins. “Hey, Evans! It’s about time you joined us.”

Alice and Marlene had joined them as well, Marlene giving Sirius one of her trademark unreadable stares. Sirius stared back, trying to decipher her thoughts.

“Sorry I’m late. Got held up after class,” Lily replied as she filled her glass with pumpkin juice.

“What did Riddle want with you, anyway?” Sirius asked.

Lily took a moment to answer as she surveyed the dinner selections in front of her. As she started to serve herself some mashed potatoes she replied, “Oh, um- he wanted to make sure I had heard the assignment correctly. He had seen Alice whispering to me when he read it to the class. No worries, though. Didn’t get in trouble.”

“He’s not so bad, Riddle. Doesn’t pile on as much homework as the other professors and he doesn’t flip out about students whispering and goofing off occasionally,” Sirius said.

Dinner continued for what seemed like an eternity as James tried to figure out how to ask Evans about flying with him. That eternity seemed to draw to a close quickly because she and her friends were about to get up and return to the common room when James finally reached up and touched her arm to stop her from leaving. He felt a tingling sensation run from his fingertips and up his arm. She turned back with a questioning look.

“Yes, Potter?”

James took a deep breath and tried to still his leg that was shaking under the table. “Well, Evans, you see, I noticed you’re getting better at flying. I see you’re still a bit nervous about it, though. I thought, that since I’m pretty good at it, that maybe after flying class on Monday we could hang out and fly for a bit longer.”

She started to smile but suddenly stopped as she realized something. “Oh, I’m sorry Potter. I can’t.”

James’ heart dropped a few inches. “W-Why not?”

“I already have plans. I’m sorry,” she replied.

“What are they?” he wondered out loud.

She looked at her feet before replying, “Just plans, that’s all.” She turned around and left as James’ heart dropped about another foot.

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What do you think about the developing friendship between Lily and James? Does it seem realistic? What do you think about Riddle and his offer to tutor Lily? Please tell me in a review!!!

Thanks to Remus’Sweetie and Potter, James Potter for the latest reviews. I replied in the review section.

Next chapter: Lily is in trouble - who will come to her rescue?

12. Travels with Trolls

Chapter 12: Travels with Trolls

That first week in October the teachers piled the homework on the first year students. Professors Flitwick and McGonagall had been teaching magical theory for the past month and next week would be the students’ first opportunity to practice those subjects. Lily, Remus, and Emm spent most of their free time in the library trying to stay on top of things. One evening, after dinner, Lily was running down the corridors to get to the library. She had been chatting with Dorcas after dinner and was late meeting her study group. As she was turning into the corridor that led to the library she collided with someone and fell to the floor with a hard ‘Thump!’

After she took a moment to catch her breath she found herself looking up at a skinny boy she had seen in her Potions class. He had shoulder-length dark brown greasy hair and eyes that were either black or brown, Lily couldn’t tell because he would not look into her eyes. He stood there staring at the ground by her feet where she still sat.

“Severus,” she started, “I-I’m sorry I ran into you like that. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

Severus Snape glanced up at her briefly before returning his unreadable gaze to the same spot on the floor. “You really should watch where you are going. Wouldn’t want to bump into the wrong person,” he replied with a cold edge to his voice.

“Hey Snape,” called a sneering voice Lily had heard before in Knockturn Alley. “Did this Mudblood get her filth all over you?” Lily slowly turned to see Lucius Malfoy approaching behind her. He had his wand out. He focused his cold blue eyes on hers and she felt a rush of cold hatred pass through her. The sensation that passed from him through her made her shiver, forcing goose bumps to push their way up along her arms.

“So, Evans,” he spat, “I thought I warned you in Knockturn Alley that there are people you should avoid contaminating with your Mudblood filth.” He started to raise his wand while Severus continued to stare at the floor.

Lily closed her eyes expecting him to send a curse at her at any moment. Just then she heard some footsteps approaching behind Lucius and stopping.

“Ah, I see a lady in need of my assistance,” said a dramatic voice from behind Lucius. Lily couldn’t see who it was since Lucius was in the way. “Stand back, or I shall curse you just as I cursed the zombie who attacked my cousin’s village in Germany!”

Lucius sneered - it almost looked like he wanted to chuckle however Lily could not picture him actually laughing. While his attention was focused on the newcomer, Lily drew out her wand. She didn’t know any curses or hexes, but she hoped Malfoy wouldn’t realize that. When Malfoy realized there were two wands trained on him while Severus still hadn’t drawn his, he motioned for Snape to follow him and they left down the corridor leading away from the library.

Lily was still sitting on the floor, trembling as she remembered the feeling that passed through her when Lucius had looked into her eyes. She noticed movement in front of her and saw her rescuer saunter up to her and kneel before her. Everything about him seemed so dramatic, like he was putting on a show. He gave her a smile and she noticed pearly white, even teeth.

“Ah, my fair damsel, now that I have rescued you from those foul demons how can you ever thank me?” he said. Lily looked from his smile to notice he had wavy golden hair. When she looked into his startling baby blue eyes she felt the need to laugh but was able to suppress it into a smile.

“I do thank you. You came at just the right time. I’m Lily Evans,” she replied.

“Lily Evans. Let me introduce you to my most humble self. I am Gilderoy Lockhart, 2^nd year student, member of the house of Ravenclaw, although you must have heard of me by reputation.”

“I-uh, am sorry. I’m a first year in Gryffindor. I haven’t had the, erm, opportunity to hear about you as of yet, uh, but I’m glad to make your acquaintance today,” she quickly added.

“Charmed, my lady,” he said grandly as he grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles.

Lily’s smile widened. ‘What was with this guy?’ she wondered.

“Ahem,” came voice from the entrance of the library. They looked up to see that it was Remus. He had an odd expression as he watched them. “Sorry to interrupt, Lily. I just came to look for you when you didn’t show up for our study session. I was worried something might have happened, but I see that everything is, erm…just fine,” he said as he looked back and forth from Lily to Gilderoy.

Gilderoy stood up, still holding onto Lily’s hand and helping to pull her up. “I bid you adieu, fair Lily. Perhaps sometime I will be able to tell you more about my adventures defending my cousin’s home in Germany.”

“I-uh-look forward to it. Bye Gilderoy,” Lily said as he turned and walked away. She turned to Remus with an amused smile. “Sorry I’m late. I was held up after dinner and lost track of the time.”

Remus glanced at Gilderoy’s retreating figure. “Held up-erm, okay. Glad you’re fine. Why don’t we get back to Emm. We were starting the essay for Transfiguration.”

Lily followed him into the library where they started looking up how to transfigure a match into a needle.

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James, Sirius, and Peter spent most of the evening thinking of ways to torment Filch. Eventually, Peter saw the pile of books next to them and groaned. His grades were not as strong as James’ and Sirius’ were so he was the first to admit that it was time to tackle the large pile of homework that had been ignored. James and Sirius grudgingly agreed, realizing that it was getting late.

They had just finished Charms and were dragging out the Herbology text when the portrait hole opened and Lily and Remus walked through. Lily greeted the boys before heading up to the dormitory to find Alice and Marlene.

Remus plopped down on the sofa, grinning at his friends. “I see you three are still doing your homework at the last minute.”

“No problem, Lupin,” replied James with a smile, turning his gaze away from the girls’ dormitory. “Not all of us need to spend hours in the library.”

“Although with Ms. Evans and Ms. Vance, I can see why you would be driven to do the work,” Sirius added with a chuckle. He turned and winked at James, “Maybe Remus has the right idea, eh?”

Remus smiled and looked away. He had certainly noticed the crush James had on Lily. It was hard not to with Sirius constantly teasing him about it. Besides, it was easy to see James’ attention get distracted whenever she entered the room.

James noticed that Remus seemed more quiet than usual. He usually participated in the teasing Sirius gave him about Lily. “Alright there, Remus? Don’t tell me you left the library without actually FINISHING your work?”

Remus gave a half-glance to James, “No, we finished it.”

Sirius noticed the short response and the way Remus tried not to look at James. “What, did something happen in the library? Did Madame Pince break out into song in the Restricted Section?”

“No, she didn’t” Remus said with a smile. Figuring Sirius and James would drag the truth out of him no matter what, he said, “Now that you mention it, there was something odd that happened. Emm and I had met up and were ready to start our Transfiguration homework. I had been a little late but by the time I got to the library and met Emm Lily wasn’t there yet.” As he said this James’ ears perked. “It wasn’t like her to be late- usually she’s the first one to arrive. I got worried so I went to go find her. When I was leaving the library I saw her sitting on the floor-”

“What? Was she okay?” James asked. He had forgotten that Lily had just bid them goodnight a few minutes earlier and had appeared perfectly fine.

Remus looked at James and said, “Yeah, she appeared to be okay. There was another boy there, kneeling in front of her.” Remus paused, not sure how to phrase the next part. “He was, erm, kissing her hand.”

All eyes seemed to land on James, who just stared at Remus and finally gulped. “W-Who was he?”

“I heard her call him Gilderoy. I didn’t recognize him so I don’t think he’s a Gryffindor. Looks like he might be a year or two ahead of us,” Remus replied.

“What were they talking about?” James asked, his expression stony.

“I’m not sure. He left after I found them. She didn’t say anything about him. She just came into the library for our study session,” replied Remus.

“Don’t worry, James,” started Sirius, “you’ll win her with that Potter charm.”

“Right…” muttered James as he felt the need to immerse himself in his Herbology homework.

**************************************************

That weekend the first-years were allowed to borrow the school brooms for a morning to practice their flying. They were only allowed to do this if they were getting an ‘acceptable’ grade in the class. Frank Longbottom managed to scrape by with an ‘A’ but only after the other Gryffindors gave him a lot of extra help. They had taken turns during class making sure he learned the appropriate way to maneuver his broom. That way, someone always kept an eye on him so no more accidents would occur like they did during the first class.

Lily’s confidence in her flying had greatly improved however she was not as adept as Alice, Sirius, or James. That Saturday morning she and Marlene stayed toward the center of the Quidditch pitch while the more daring students raced around the edge. James, Sirius, and Alice were playing a game of Quidditch with some students from other houses. Some of the older students who were waiting to use the field for team practice decided to join in and scout the first years to see who would be worthy of trying out the next year. James took the opportunity to show off his speed and diving skills, which did not go unnoticed.

Sunday was spent by James, Sirius, and Peter catching up on the homework they had procrastinated about all week. They glared at Lily and Remus as they sat by the fire each reading a book.

“I can’t believe those two!” exclaimed Sirius. “They actually finished their homework and they are spending the rest of the weekend inside reading some silly books!”

“Well, Sirius,” retorted Lily, “at least we finished the work and can CHOOSE to do what we want instead of being forced to stay inside. Besides, I love to read and I couldn’t resist the armchair. It’s such a comfortable spot to read in.”

Sirius just rolled his eyes and returned to his work.

************************************************************

Monday morning came and the first year students were at breakfast eager to get to Charms and Transfiguration. They were to start practicing those subjects that day rather than just reading about them. Lily was reviewing her wand movements when she saw a the rush of owls flooding the Great Hall to deliver the morning mail. She smiled as she saw Lancelot swoop down and gracefully land in front of her. She gave him a small piece of her toast and grabbed her letter. It was from her parents.

Inside the envelope was another letter from Petunia. Lily smiled. She remembered that Petunia did not like owls and therefore refused to personally send her a letter by owl. Her parents, therefore, had to send Petunia’s letters with theirs so she wouldn’t have to handle Lancelot. Right after Lily had started at Hogwarts she had gotten letters almost everyday from Petunia however lately it seemed like the letters were becoming more infrequent and less lengthy. Lily supposed it was because Petunia was becoming immersed in her studies.

As Lily was finishing her letters she heard a gasp from Alice. She turned to Alice to see her reading the Daily Prophet, which was the wizarding paper. “What is it, Alice?” She asked.

“There’s been a series of attacks over the weekend. There was one aimed at a high-level auror at the Ministry. There were several others aimed at wizarding families known to have Muggle backgrounds.” Lily paled as Alice read out the article.

“Who did the attacks?” Lily asked.

“No one knows for sure yet. It says that there are some rumors floating that there is a dark wizard trying to gather followers and this was a way of showing his growing strength. He calls himself the Dark Lord, but nobody knows who he is,” Alice replied.

Lily shuddered as Marlene spoke up, “Well, I wouldn’t get too worried yet. The Ministry has a lot of people looking for him and he will be found and sent to Azkaban.” At Lily’s confused look she added, “That’s the wizarding prison.”

“We need to get to class,” reminded Alice.

History of Magic was forgettable as usual. Charms was far more interesting. They started practicing the levitation charm, Wingardium Leviosa. Lily pleasantly surprised herself by being the first student to make her feather float. Not only that, but she was able to make it float over to Sirius and tickle him on the nose. She earned 10 points for her house and a grin from Marlene.

Transfiguration was a little more challenging for Lily. She had to try to turn a match into a needle. She was having difficulty when she noticed that Potter had already done it. He was changing it back and forth looking rather bored by this point. She watched his lackadaisical wand motion as he did this and copied it, finally succeeding in transforming her match into a needle, though hers wasn’t quite as sharp in appearance as Potter’s was.

After lunch, they had DADA. Lily kept thinking about that evening being her first tutoring session with Professor Riddle. She had spent as much time as she could preparing for the session. She always finished her studies feeling as if she knew the material, however whenever she entered the DADA classroom her mind felt muddled, like a mist felt over her thoughts. ‘Well,’ she thought, ‘this is why I need help. Maybe Professor Riddle can help me find a way to remember all the details from class and the reading.’

******************************************************

James had had a good day so far. He had a nice nap during History of Magic. He got a good chuckle at watching Evans irritate Sirius with the nose-tickling feather in Charms. He scored points for his house in Transfiguration for being the first to transform the match into a needle, and he noticed Evans eyeballing him during the class. It was with a pang that evening that he remembered he had wanted to spend time flying with Evans after Flying class. She had turned him down, saying that she had plans.

As usual, James and Sirius were the last to finish flying and took their time putting their brooms back into the shed. They headed into the castle and were starting up the stairs when they heard voices nearby. James looked toward the source and saw Evans smiling, talking to a blond boy with all-too-perfect teeth. From Remus’ description James was certain that this was the same boy who had been outside the library with Evans last week, Gilderoy Something-or-Other. Neither James nor Sirius could hear what they were saying, but they did hear Evans break out into giggles at something he had said. He made a grand bow and held out his arm, which Evans took as they walked down the hall together.

“Tough luck, mate,” Sirius said, as he noted that James seemed to turn a similar color to the green in Evans’ eyes.

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Am I evil or what? Bet most of you thought James would come to Lily’s rescue this chapter, eh? Now, how many people out there think that Lily has any interest in Gilderoy Lockhart? If you actually think she does, then I had better start applying my SPF 2,000,000 sunblock so I can survive the flames I’ll be getting.

If you’re wondering where I got the chapter title from, then check out the reading list for the students in the Chamber of Secrets.

Next chapter: Lily’s first tutoring session with Professor Riddle.

Thanks for all the reviews! I posted my replies in the review section.

13. The First Lesson

Chapter 13: The First Lesson

After her Flying class, Lily had been on her way to her first tutoring session with Professor Riddle when she heard her name called. She turned and saw Gilderoy approaching her with one of his brilliant smiles. She couldn’t help but smile back as he greeted her. He started talking about the daring rescue he had done for her the previous week and how that reminded him of the story of how he vanquished a vampire when he was only seven years old. As he continued to ramble on Lily could see through his dramatics and couldn’t stop herself from giggling. It got so bad that she had to lean on his arm to keep from falling over. He took this to mean that she was delighted by his story and continued with his tale.

“Gilderoy,” Lily gasped between giggles. “I really must go. I have to go toward the library to meet my, uh, study group.”

“Ah, well my common room is not too far from there. I will accompany you so I can finish my story.” He held out his arm for her to take. Lily, seeing no other excuse to get out of this, took his arm and allowed him to walk with her as he regaled the tale of the vampire. About halfway to the library he gave her hand another grand (yet sloppy) kiss before turning toward the corridor that would take him to Ravenclaw’s quarters.

Lily shook her head as she continued to smile, then turned back to walk toward Professor Riddle’s office, wiping the back of her hand on her robes. Luckily, Professor Riddle’s office was not too far from the library. That had given her an easy excuse to give Gilderoy when he wondered where she was headed. She remembered Professor Riddle’s caution about not telling other students about the tutoring. He was very kind to offer his time to help her, but he would not be able to spare all his time if he found out other students wanted tutoring as well.

She knocked on the door to his office and after a moment she heard a click and saw the door open on its own. Professor Riddle was at his desk with his wand in his hand. ‘He must have opened the door with magic,’ Lily thought.

Professor Riddle looked up at her with a smile. She couldn’t help but think how handsome he was (for an older man) and wondered if he had a wife or a girlfriend.

“You are on time. That is a good quality in a pupil, Lily,” he told her as he motioned for her to sit down in a chair that faced his desk. “How is the studying going?”

“Well,” she started, “to be honest, quite frustrating. I read the material and feel that I understand it, however when it comes time for class I just can’t seem to get my thoughts straight.” His gaze never left her face as she spoke.

“I have noticed the discrepancy,” he said. “Your homework always gets outstanding marks, however your participation and practical application of the material in class are quite different.” Lily nodded miserably in agreement.

“We should begin at once. I know we have been studying mainly the basics but I feel they are important in understanding who you are dealing with, and THAT,” he stressed, “is where many wizards fall down. You may think you know who is on your side, but without the basics you may end up duped, betrayed, or worse.”

Lily noticed his voice had a bit of an edge to it. She shuddered, realizing the importance of what he was saying. “It sounds like what you are talking about is better learned by practice rather than by reading.” He nodded with a small smile. “How should I go about learning, then?”

“First you need to be able to read people. Look into their eyes and search for the answers you seek. Find the motives behind the eyes,” he replied.

Lily smiled. “Well, I’ve always been pretty good at reading people. It’s difficult for people to lie to me when I can see their eyes.”

Professor Riddle nodded but he didn’t seem surprised. “You still need to take caution, however. There are some accomplished wizards who can block thoughts or emotions.”

“How do I get past the block, then?” Lily asked. “Is it possible?”

“Only a few wizards can get past the wall that is placed however even then if the other wizard is strong enough of mind and will then the wall cannot be broken. That is more advanced magic that we will not be studying until after your fifth year. First we need to start with the basics. You said you can read people- does that mean you sense their emotions or can you actually see the images that they are thinking?”

Lily thought for a moment before responding. “I never really thought about it. I never saw images, just sensed strong emotions and deception.”

Professor Riddle looked thoughtful for a moment. “Hmm, if I am to find out more about your abilities why don’t we start by having you read me?” he suggested.

Lily looked into his brown eyes and gazed for almost a minute before looking down. “I can’t sense anything. Maybe your emotions are not strong enough for me to sense.”

Professor Riddle said in a smooth voice, “Don’t get discouraged. You’re young, and sometimes it can take several attempts before finding what you seek. Why don’t you try again? This time focus your mind on seeing beyond my eyes.”

Lily sighed before agreeing and looked up again into his eyes, which seemed much more intense than a moment ago.

*********************************************************

“Lily. Lily!”

Lily jolted awake and sat up, almost knocking Marlene in the head. She heard Alice giggle from across their dorm room.

“Well, it’s about time! We’ve been trying to get you up for the past 20 minutes but you didn’t want to wake. Hurry up or we won’t be able to eat breakfast before class,” ordered Marlene.

“W-What? I overslept?” Lily groggily asked. She felt like she was under a huge fog and her head was pounding.

“Yeah, that’s what we’re saying, now hurry up!” demanded Alice.

Lily looked at her watch that was on the nightstand and gasped as she saw the time. She jumped out of bed and hurried to clean up and get dressed. Within 10 minutes the girls were walking down to the Great Hall. Despite having splashed cold water on her face Lily still felt like she was sleepwalking.

They sat down at the Gryffindor table next to James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. As they greeted each other Lily noticed that Potter barely glanced at her. Usually he was more friendly toward her. She hoped he wasn’t going back to the boy who wouldn’t speak to her.

“Lily, aren’t you going to eat anything?” Alice asked as Lily sat staring at her plate.

Lily rubbed her temples, trying to tame the pounding behind them.

“You don’t look well,” commented Marlene. She saw Lily nod. “Maybe you should go to the hospital wing. I bet Madame Pomfrey can get you something to make you feel better.”

Lily continued to rub her temples as she nodded again. Her fair complexion seemed even paler than normal. “You’re right, Marlene. I don’t think I could concentrate on class now, anyway.” She turned to Remus. “Hey, Remus. Could I copy your Herbology notes later?” He nodded as she got up and left the table.

Her only thought by this point was getting to the hospital wing. Her headache was throbbing by this point and her vision was blurring. She had to pause a few times to regain her balance since it appeared to her that the floor was rocking back and forth. She wasn’t sure she was going to make it when she felt a hand reach around her as she lost her balance again. The person who caught her helped her to stand back up but she needed to hold on to keep herself from falling.

“Hold on, Evans. We’re almost there,” she heard an echoing worried voice coaxing her as he helped her walk toward the hospital wing. She turned toward the voice and through her blurred vision she thought she could recognize Potter’s messy black hair.

They had barely made it though the door to the hospital wing when Lily collapsed to the floor in a faint.

********************************************************

James had been angry that morning. His friends tried joking around to distract him but his thoughts kept leading to the previous evening. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Evans walking away arm-in-arm with Gilderoy, smiling. Sirius had had to force him back toward Gryffindor tower instead of following after them. Once in the common room they caught up with Remus and Peter. After Remus noticed James’ glum expression, Sirius filled them in on what they had just witnessed.

“Maybe it wasn’t what it looked like,” Remus said. “Maybe they’re just being friendly.”

“Friendly!” James spat. “Arm-in-arm friendly? She said she couldn’t go flying with me after class tonight because she had plans! Wouldn’t tell me what they were, but I can see now what she was up to.”

“James, maybe Remus is right. Maybe we shouldn’t jump to conclusions. You see how I am around girls but that doesn’t mean they’re all my girlfriends,” Sirius said.

James thought about it and relaxed a little. “Yeah, maybe.”

They played a few rounds of exploding snap while Peter managed to get the most singed.

A few hours later the portrait hole opened up and they saw Lily walking through.

“Hey, Evans!” Sirius called. “You want to join us for another game? There’s room for one more. Peter had to go to the hospital wing - something about second-degree burns…”

“No, thanks.“ She kept walking toward the girls dormitory, her eyes a bit dazed.

James took her dazed look to mean that she was love struck. He had a similar expression whenever she smiled at him or laughed at something he said. His mood turned sour again.

That morning his mood had not improved. When Evans sat down at the Gryffindor table for breakfast and greeted him he could barely look at her. ‘What does Evans see in that pretty-boy?’ he sullenly thought as he picked at his breakfast. A few minutes later he noticed Evans rushing away from the table and out of the Great Hall. “What was that about?” he asked Remus.

“Lily isn’t feeling well. She asked me to take notes for her while she goes to the hospital wing,” Remus replied.

James noticed the worried looks on Alice and Marlene. He grabbed his bag and told the others he’d meet up with them later. As he made the trek toward the hospital wing he spotted Evans further down the corridor. She had paused and was holding on to her head. She tried to take a few more steps but almost lost her balance. James rushed up to her and caught her as she stumbled again. He noticed how cold she felt and looked down at her, almost panicking when he saw how pale she had become.

“Hold on, Evans. We’re almost there,” he coaxed trying to guide her toward the hospital wing. With his help she was able to walk the rest of the way however she was getting weaker and weaker with each step. When they made it into the hospital wing James almost sighed in relief until Evans collapsed onto the floor in a faint.

“Madame Pomfrey!” He called as he knelt next to Evans. She was still breathing.

Madame Pomfrey rushed over and helped levitate her onto a nearby bed. “What happened to her?” she demanded.

“She wasn’t feeling well at breakfast and left to come here. I followed her and saw that she was holding on to her head and she almost fell over. I helped her here where she fainted,” he said in a rush.

Madame Pomfrey did a quick exam and rushed to a nearby cabinet. A few seconds later she rushed back with a few bottles. She applied some type of salve to Lily’s temples. After a few moments Lily started to stir. She groaned and once again grabbed her forehead.

“Here, drink this. It will help with the pain,” ordered the nurse, handing Lily a purple potion.

Lily took the potion and gulped it all down, the taste making her gag. Shortly thereafter her face relaxed and she sighed in relief. “Thanks, Madame Pomfrey.”

Madame Pomfrey smiled and turned to James. “Alright, then. She will be fine in a few hours. You can go back to class, now.”

James looked down and saw that Evans had her eyes closed and she still looked pale. “I’ve already missed most of class and I can get the assignment from my friends later. Can I stay here with her?”

“She needs her rest. I don’t need you keeping her awake with chitchat,” the nurse said sternly.

“I’ll only sit with her. I just want to make sure she’s okay. Please?” He tried conjure up Sirius’ puppy-dog eyes as he asked the nurse.

Madame Pomfrey’s eyes softened as her mouth twitched into a smile. “Oh, alright. But only until your next class!”

James smiled at the nurse as she retreated to her office. He then found a chair and brought it next to the bed. He watched Evans as she drifted to sleep. She was still pale and she had dark circles under her eyes, but James still thought she was the prettiest thing he’d ever seen. As the minutes ticked by the color started to return to her face.

“Mr. Potter, you had better leave if you are going to make it to your next class on time,” called Madame Pomfrey from the door to her office.

James grudgingly got up and left for the dungeons where he had double potions. He caught up with his friends outside of the classroom.

“Where did you disappear to last hour?” asked Peter.

Sirius rolled his eyes. “Geez, Pete, think for a moment. Who fell ill this morning? Who likes her? Who went to help her?” he said while counting off his fingers.

After a moment Peter’s eyes widened in understanding and he asked, “You helped Lily? Was she alright?”

“She’ll be fine, but she almost didn’t make it to the hospital wing. I had to help her along and then she fainted once we made it,” James replied.

“What was wrong with her?” Remus asked.

“I’m not sure. It seemed like she had a really bad headache. I don’t know what caused it, though,” James replied thoughtfully.

Sirius snorted. “It’s probably all the worrying she does about studying. We have that History of Magic quiz coming up next week. She’s probably all worked up about that. I’m surprised you haven’t been stricken ill yet, Remus. You’re as bad as Evans!”

***********************************************************

Lily woke up a few hours later. It took her a moment to figure out where she was. Her headache was all but gone- just a dull ache now. She tried to focus on the events that led her to the hospital wing. She had been rudely awakened by Marlene and Alice when she first noticed the headache. It had gotten gradually worse when she decided to come to the nurse. She vaguely remembered someone helping her - was it Potter? She recalled his cool attitude toward her at breakfast and wondered if he was mad at her for some reason.

“Oh, Miss Evans! I’m glad to see you’re up. How are you feeling?” asked Madame Pomfrey.

“I’m feeling better, although my headache is not completely gone yet,” Lily replied. Her voice sounded a bit froggy.

“It’ll be better after you drink this,” said the nurse handing her another vial of purple potion. Lily vaguely remembered the disgusting taste and hesitated before holding her nose and gulping the potion. In a few minutes the headache was gone.

“I’m feeling much better now, thank you,” she said.

The nurse smiled and asked if she would be up for visitors. Lily nodded.

Alice and Marlene hurried toward her. “Oh my God, Lily! Potter told us what happened on the way here. Are you okay?” Marlene asked.

“I am now, thanks,” replied Lily. So it WAS Potter who had helped her. “Madame Pomfrey gave me some potions and my headache is now gone. Hopefully I’ll be able to leave soon.”

“What happened anyway? What caused the headache?” Alice asked.

“I don’t know,” Lily said. “I just woke up with it and it gradually got worse.”

“Where were you last night, anyway? We were left to deal with Black and his obnoxious self in the common room while we tried to study. We eventually gave up and went to the library where we thought we’d find you, but there was no sign of you anywhere,” Marlene said.

“Oh, well I saw that Malfoy and Snape were near the library so I decided to head somewhere else to study. I found an empty classroom,” Lily lied. She had previously told Alice and Marlene about her near-attack involving Malfoy and Snape the previous week outside the library. Lily didn’t like lying to her friends, but her unease was more than just that. There was something else that gave her the chills, something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

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Hope this chapter satisfies those of you who were upset about Gilderoy Lockhart and Lily. All I can say is, appearances can be deceiving. I made a clear point of that at the end of last chapter when I showed what James and Sirius saw. When I started this chapter, I gave Lily’s point of view - did you see the difference?

For those of you who like Gilderoy in this story - NEVER FEAR! He will show up occasionally.

What do you think about what happened to Lily in this chapter?

Next chapter: James visits Lily in the hospital wing. How will the Marauders get their nickname? Halloween arrives.

Leave more reviews and I’ll find time to post the next chapter soon! Thanks to Watermelon!, Weasley!Red, and Harrysgrl for the latest reviews - I made replies in the review section.

14. The Class Clowns

Chapter 14: The Class Clowns

Madame Pomfrey insisted that Lily stay in the hospital wing for the rest of the day. Alice and Marlene had to return to class but not before Lily insisted they give her the assignments for Herbology and Potions that she missed. She would copy Remus’ notes later but thought that she could at least do some reading. She tried to tackle the chapter on the magical properties of seaweed however halfway through she felt heaviness pulling her eyelids down and was soon sleeping.

That was how James found her a few hours later- asleep, with the Herbology text laying across her chest. He approached her and noted with relief that the color was back in her cheeks. He noticed her nose twitching a little when a strand of her red hair tickled it. He reached over and gently brushed it to the side, discovering how soft her hair felt. He realized that he was still touching her hair so he decided to step back and let her sleep. As he turned to leave he heard, “Potter? Is that you?”

Her voice startled him as he turned around. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.” He watched her as she pushed herself up into a sitting position on the bed, placing the Herbology book on the table next to her. “Are you feeling better now?” he asked.

She smiled at him, causing his heart to pound against his ribcage. He was certain she could hear it, but she only said, “I feel a million times better. I don’t remember much about this morning but I remember someone helping me here. Was that you?” she asked. He nodded and her smile widened. “Then I owe you a big thanks. I don’t think I would have made it here, otherwise.”

He smiled back. “No problem. You had me pretty worried when you collapsed but I’m glad to see you’re feeling better.”

“Potter!” called a voice belonging to the nurse. “What are you doing here bothering my patient? She should be sleeping, not socializing!”

James grinned and turned back to Lily. “I guess that’s my cue to leave. Will I see you around later?”

Lily glanced at Madame Pomfrey’s frowning face before sending a mischievous grin back to James. “I plan to be out by dinner, even if I have to sneak out. I’ll see you later,” she whispered.

He turned and left before the nurse could physically drag him out of the ward. Lily’s smile lingered for a while. Maybe she had been imagining things at breakfast when she had thought he was mad at her.

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James was on cloud nine as he met up with his friends. He kept thinking about Evans’ smile and the way it lit up her eyes. She had smiled at him, he thought. He caught up with Sirius, Remus, and Peter in the common room and almost walked past them while still in his daydream. He suddenly saw a hand wave in front of his face and turned to see Sirius chuckling in front of him.

“I guess that loopy expression on your face means that Evans is going to be fine,” he said. James nodded.

Before they could tease James any more about Lily they heard a tapping sound coming from the window. Peter walked over and opened it and a large brown owl flew inside and landed on top of Sirius’ head. James recognized him as his dad’s owl, Spot. He (and Sirius) were standing directly in front of James. Spot held out his leg and James reached over to untie his letter. Spot gave James a playful nip on the finger before vaulting off of Sirius’ head, causing him to curse.

“What was that about?” shouted Sirius, rubbing the top of his head where Spot’s talons had scratched him.

“That was my dad’s owl. Strange…usually his letters arrive in the morning with the rest of the mail,” James replied.

“Open it!” cried Peter.

James tore open the envelope and read aloud:

Dear James,

You are probably wondering why I am sending a letter this evening and not with the regular mail. I didn’t want your mother catching wind of this because she expects you to be on your best behavior. I, while expecting you to make us proud and not get expelled, decided to let you in on a little secret I picked up during my years at Hogwarts. I often fancied midnight snacks and found a way into the kitchens. There is an underground passage off some stairs near the Great Hall. Find a painting with a bowl of fruit and tickle the pear. You will know what to do next. Use your invisibility cloak. Have fun and DON’T GET CAUGHT!

Love,

Dad

James grinned as he heard Sirius say, “Wow! You’re dad is great! I say we go down there tonight.”

“Agreed. You guys in?” James asked Remus and Peter. They nodded.

They planned their strategy for sneaking out.

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Lily finally managed to convince Madame Pomfrey she was okay to leave the hospital wing. In actuality, she had changed back into her robes, grabbed her things, and as she left she called out to Madame Pomfrey that she was feeling much better and appreciated the care she received. Before Madame Pomfrey could race out of her office to stop her Lily was halfway to the Great Hall.

Lily caught up with her friends at the Gryffindor table and they were all glad to see she was feeling better. She sat down next to Potter, who beamed at her. Everyone had a great dinner, chatting about the upcoming Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

Lily found herself glancing every so often at Potter as he joked around with Sirius. All of a sudden she found him quite charming and funny. Not that she didn’t like him before. She just never stopped and took notice. As he caught her glance she felt herself smiling at him, almost like she couldn’t control herself. He grinned back and she felt a flutter in her stomach.

Alice and Marlene glanced at each other and rolled their eyes before dragging Lily back to the dormitory to get some sleep. They were still worried about her and didn’t want her recovery to backslide.

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The boys hung around in the common room until curfew and trudged upstairs. They waited until just after midnight, when they figured the prefects and heads would be out of the corridors and going to sleep. When they snuck out of bed they realized Peter had fallen asleep. James and Sirius took the opportunity to exact their revenge from their rude awakening a few weeks earlier. They dumped a bucket of cold water on Peter’s head. The mousy boy immediately woke up and sheepishly joined them as they huddled under the invisibility cloak.

They slowly made their way down to the common room. Seeing no one, they were able to sneak cautiously down to the kitchens. Remus had scouted the corridors earlier finding the exact location of the painting of the fruit. James tickled the pear and all of a sudden it squirmed, chuckled, and turned into a large green door handle. He pulled open the portrait and they climbed into the kitchen.

It was enormous, with large chandeliers and five tables. They were aligned like the tables in the Great Hall which, Remus pointed out, must have been right above them. They looked around and saw doors at the back that said, ‘House Elf Quarters.’ To one side they saw a wall full of cabinets and pantries. They snuck over and started to fill goodies into the sack they brought.

Off to the other side was a large room charmed to stay cold like a refrigerator would. Sirius’ mouth dropped open when he saw one wall of the room filled with butterbeer bottles. “I didn’t think the school had butterbeer!” he exclaimed.

“Maybe it’s for the professors,” suggested Remus.

“Whatever the reason, I say there’s enough for us to take a few bottles,” said Sirius.

They each grabbed what they could and decided to sneak back to the dormitory. When they got back to their room they celebrated by stuffing themselves full of pumpkin pasties, cauldron cakes, and butterbeer.

Over the next few weeks the house elves noted that several things disappeared from the kitchens, almost on a nightly basis. Word began to spread that someone was sneaking into the kitchen and stealing food. The four boys were quite proud of themselves. Sirius even suggested they start calling themselves the Marauders.

He had big plans for Halloween. He wanted to pull a prank on some first year Slytherins involving sneaking around in the invisibility cloak behind them and following them to their common room. From there they would use a charm Remus had found in a textbook to turn the hair of the Slytherin boys scarlet and gold, the Gryffindor colors.

On the day before Halloween Remus received word that his mother had fallen ill again and he had to rush home to be with her. Sirius, while concerned for Remus’ mom, noticed that this was the third time Remus would be missing out on a good prank (after Marlene’s embarrassment and Mrs. Norris in the trick stair).

That night everything went off as planned. Sirius beamed with pride as the Slytherin boys filed into the Great Hall the next morning trying to hide their hair under either an oversized hat or scarf. Professor Dumbledore gently reminded them that those were not part of the dress code and they would have to stick to the appropriate plain pointed hat (which did not cover the colored hair well at all). As the rest of the houses saw what had happened there was applause and laughter. Sirius, James, and Peter all congratulated each other on a job well done.

Once the were finished ogling the success of their prank, the three boys reached over and started on their dessert. They each grabbed a pastry that had been placed on their plates and took a big bite. After a minute the boys snorted as they saw each other sprouting bright red curly clown hair. Their noses became round and red and their lips turned bright red. Soon each of the three boys realized that they had changed as well and gasped in horror and confusion.

Sirius heard loud laughter coming from a few spots down the table. It was coming from Marlene, whose normally olive-toned skin was almost purple from laughing so hard.

“Did YOU do this?!” Sirius shouted at Marlene.

Marlene had to catch her breath before answering. “Well, you three are always acting like the class clowns. I thought you might like to dress up like your true selves for Halloween.” Tears were streaming down her face from laughing so hard.

James noticed Alice and Evans laughing next to Marlene. “Were you involved in this, too?” he asked.

Alice answered through her laughter, “I had nothing to do with this and neither did Lily. In fact, I’m quite disappointed in Marlene for not including us!”

Irritated that Marlene had been able to prank them, the boys left to see if Madame Pomfrey could change them back. She told them that the potion Marlene had slipped into the pastries would wear off after a day and that there was nothing she could do. She, of course, was lying. Marlene had convinced her to play along. Madame Pomfrey had no problem with this seeing as how a week earlier, the boys had left a large rubber spider in Narcissa Black’s hospital bed as she recovered from the wizard’s flu. ‘The poor girl had been traumatized,’ she thought.

James, Sirius, and Peter had to spend the rest of Halloween charmed to look like clowns. The rest of the school found it hilarious, almost funnier than the charms done on the Slytherin boys. The Marauders (as they now called themselves) tried to laugh it off while Marlene looked smug.

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Thanks to Aalyiah, Remus’sweetie (x2), Harrysgrl, Sweetie513, and Potter, James Potter for the latest reviews. Replies are in the review section.

So are you happy or irritated that Marlene was able to get some revenge on the newly dubbed ‘Marauders’?

Next chapter: Remus returns from his ‘visit home’ and everyone prepares for the first Quidditch match of the season.

15. Quidditch Fever

Chapter 15: Quidditch Fever

The next day the clown charm started to fade. Remus returned to school and joined the rest of the Marauders at the breakfast table with a questioning look. His friends’ noses were no longer round but they were still red and the curl in their hair was leaving. “What happened to you?” Remus asked.

Sirius answered his question by throwing a scowl toward Marlene who was down the table chatting with her friends. Peter just laughed nervously.

“Oh, I see. She finally got you back,” chuckled Remus.

“Yeah, well you would have gotten to join us if your mum hadn’t been sick,” James pointed out.

“How is she doing, Remus?” asked Peter.

“Oh, much better. Thanks,” he replied, no longer laughing.

“What’s wrong with her, anyway? You never said,” James asked.

Remus glanced at James and the others very quickly, then back at his plate. “Oh-um, well, you see-Hey!” he exclaimed looking toward the Slytherin table. “I see our prank worked.”

Sirius barked out a laugh as he saw that there was still some of the scarlet and gold color remaining from the previous day. “Yeah, all thanks to you, mate! Where did you find that spell, again?”

Remus rolled his eyes. “In the library. It’s the big room with all the books. You really should check it out one of these days.”

It was Sirius’ turn to roll his eyes. “Well, Mr. Know-it-All, I have in fact been in the library. I was just there a few weeks ago.”

James grinned as he added, “Yeah, that was when we were dusting the bookshelves for one of our detentions.”

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The next few weeks were full of excitement. The Quidditch season was to begin with the first match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. They were well known for being rivals. There was extra animosity between the two houses as the match drew closer. Arthur Weasley was sent to the hospital wing after a Slytherin boy sent a conjunctivitis curse his way. The Gryffindors were worried their Seeker would not be able to see well for the game however Madame Pomfrey worked her magic and Arthur was released from the wing the night before the game.

Arthur’s recovery had not stopped the Marauders from getting revenge. As dinner was finishing the boys stood outside the Great Hall. When Avery, the Slytherin captain, exited Sirius and James shouted, “Wingardium Leviosa!” The charm hit the Slytherin captain’s feet causing them to lift up and over his head as he fell onto the floor.

“Potter! Sirius! I can’t believe you just did that!” exclaimed Lily who had appeared at the doorway to the Great Hall.

Sirius turned to Lily and smiled innocently. “Why not, Evans? You’re always getting on our case about studying more. Here we are, practicing our Charms homework and now you’re yelling at us again!”

Avery’s friends had appeared at their captain’s side to help him. Some had their wands directed at the Marauders. Before any hexes could be uttered, Professor McGonagall arrived yelling at the Slytherins to get Avery to the hospital wing. She gave the Marauders a lecture on team spirit and docked 20 points from Gryffindor.

As she walked away, Sirius muttered, “Yeah, team spirit my arse! I know how she feels about the Slytherin team. If she could have gotten away with it, she would have done the same thing.”

James was looking at Lily. “Alright there, Evans?” he asked. She had a strange look on her face. James wasn’t sure if she was mad at them or trying not to laugh at what happened.

She finally looked at James. “Why did you do that to him?”

James shrugged. “Just some good old-fashioned revenge for what they pulled on Arthur.”

“Oh…” she muttered, seeming unconvinced by his excuse. “Okay. Well, Remus, we should get going. We’re supposed to meet Emm to write our essay for Potions.”

She turned to walk toward the library when James call after her, “Hey, Evans! I’ll see you at the game tomorrow, right?”

Lily finally managed a smile, “Yeah, sure. I’ll see you there.”

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Remus, Emm, and Lily were only able to complete half of their research on the properties of moonstone when they decided to give up for the night. Remus was anxious for another trip to the kitchens. He had been craving butterbeer all day. He had told Lily and Emm that he was tired and wanted to sleep since he would be getting up early to get a good seat at the game. Remus and Lily had just said goodnight to Emm, who was walking toward the Ravenclaw common room, when they heard a voice behind them.

“Lils! Darling! I have not seen you in weeks!” The voice belonged to Gilderoy. He had on one of his large bright smiles as he sauntered up to them.

‘Lils??’ Lily thought as she watched him approach wearing a periwinkle blue robe. ‘Lils? Well, two can play at that game,’ she thought. “Hey, GIL!” She glanced at Remus. “Remus, this is Gilderoy Lockhart. Gil, this is Remus.”

Remus was thoroughly confused as Gilderoy gave him a big (almost fake in appearance) smile and shook his hand. ‘What does Lily see in this guy?’ he thought.

“I’m so glad I caught you, Lils,” he said. “Seeing as how you’re one of my favorite people in the world, I wanted to give you a very special gift.” He reached inside his pocket and pulled out a stack of photographs. He picked one and handed it to Lily.

Lily took it and saw that it was a photograph of Gilderoy. As she looked at it the image of Lockhart it gave her one of his characteristic smiles and winked at her. “Gee, Gil, I don’t know what to say…”

“It’s one of my favorite photos. I think it brings out my eyes, don‘t you?” he asked.

“Yes-well, really- you shouldn’t have, Gil,” Lily uttered. Gilderoy took that to mean she liked it. “Well, thanks, I guess,” she said. “We had better get going before we miss curfew.”

Remus shook his head in wonderment and turned to walk back to the tower with Lily. After a few minutes of silence he finally spoke up. “Lily?”

“Hmmm?”

“That guy, Lockhart? Is he your boyfriend?” he asked.

Lily stopped and looked up at Remus with a strange expression on her face before she broke down into a fit of giggles. “Gil? My boyfriend?!”

Remus gave a half smile as he watched her trying to catch her breath between giggles. “Well, he seemed awfully friendly toward you and he did give you that picture. And there was that night a few weeks back when he kissed your hand outside the library.”

“Well, that’s how he is, I guess. He is rather impressed with himself, isn’t he? No, he’s not my boyfriend. That night he helped me out of a tough situation.” Lily told Remus about how Snape and Malfoy had her cornered and how Gilderoy had shown up at an opportune moment. “Frankly, I think Severus and Malfoy were too amused by Gil’s show to try to hex me so they just left.”

Remus, while feeling stupid about his assumption about Lily and Lockhart, was quite upset to hear about what Snape and Malfoy had almost done to her. He would definitely have to tell James about this. They arrived in the common room and Lily told Remus goodnight.

“Goodnight, LILS!” he called after her as she turned around and gave him an annoyed yet amused look. He headed up to his dorm room where he found Sirius and James getting out the invisibility cloak for another trip to the kitchen.

“It’s about time you got here, Remus! We were about to leave without you,” Sirius said. “Peter decided to finish the goodies from the other night and made himself sick. He’s visiting Madame Pomfrey and won’t be joining us tonight.” Sirius glanced at Remus who was staring out the window. “Hello? Earth to Remus? You listening?”

“Ya, the kitchens, Peter sick…” replied Remus.

“What’s going on, Remus?” James asked.

Remus filled them in on Lily’s recounting of her meeting with Snape and Malfoy outside the library. James’ face turned to stone while Sirius bellowed, “Malfoy! That stupid arse! And Snape! That sniveling little git! I hated him from the moment I saw his greasy head!”

Remus was watching James, who was clenching and unclenching his fists. All of a sudden a glass on his night table shattered. Remus looked to the shards and then back at his friend. “James?”

“Tried to hex Evans, did they?” James’ voice was eerily calm. “They will be sorry for ever going near her.”

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The next morning was a Saturday however most of the students were up early to get to breakfast and find a good spot in the stands. Lily, Alice, and Marlene were dressing in their Gryffindor attire, eager to cheer for their team. They met the Marauders in the common room and headed down to breakfast. When they reached the doorway to the Great Hall they ran into Professor Riddle, who was leaving. He was wearing a silver and green tie. Tacked to the tie was a silver serpent with an emerald eye.

“Hi, Professor!” exclaimed Alice.

“Hello! I see you are all dressed for the game. It should be quite a match,” the professor replied.

Sirius smiled and punched the air. “Yeah, Gryffindor is gonna kick Slytherin’s-”

“Uh - hey, Sirius? Maybe we should go get some breakfast and get to the game,” Remus interrupted.

The group started to file into the Great Hall as Professor Riddle called Lily back. “Miss Evans, I have read the first draft of your assignment however there are a few changes we need to go over,” Riddle said. Lily noticed the emerald in his tie tack sparkled as it caught the light.

Lily told the others to go ahead and she’d catch up with them. She followed Riddle to his office where he sat down at his desk. Lily looked up and saw bookshelves behind him filled with texts pertaining to the dark arts. There were sections devoted to death, fear, dark creatures, and curses.

“Wow! I never noticed how many Dark Arts texts you have!” Lily exclaimed.

Professor Riddle smiled. “It IS what I teach,” he replied. “You need to know the Dark Arts in order to know how to defend yourself.”

“Yeah, I just figured you would have more texts on other subjects like charms or transfiguration,” she said.

“I have them, there is just not enough room in this office,” he replied. “Now, about that little assignment…,” he said as he gazed into her eyes.

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The Marauders, Alice, and Marlene strolled into the Great Hall after Lily left with Professor Riddle. As they sat down James noticed the headmaster at the staff table, staring thoughtfully at the doorway where they had just entered.

A half hour later, Alice and Marlene were wondering aloud if they’d have to go find Lily when she walked into the hall and sat down at the table. She started to pile food onto her plate. Her friends stared at her for a moment before Marlene said, “Well, come on, Lily! Hurry it up, already! We already finished and we want to find a good seat for the game.”

Lily did not speed up her pace as she said, “I’m not going.”

James turned his head sharply toward her. “What do you mean you’re not going?”

“I’m not going to the game,” she replied as she started to eat her breakfast bite by bite.

The Marauders gazed at her, dumbfounded. “Evans, this is one of the biggest matches of the year! What in Merlin’s name is keeping you from going?” Sirius asked.

“Yeah, and you have never seen a real Quidditch match yet, other than us just goofing around. You need to come!” cried Alice.

Lily’s eyes did not leave her plate. “I’m not going. I have to study,” she said.

“STUDY?!” yelled Sirius. “Evans, you can’t be serious!”

“I have to study,” she repeated.

Lily finished her breakfast and walked out of the Great Hall in the direction of the library. For a moment no one was able to speak.

“What on Earth is going on with her? I thought she was excited about the match,” asked James.

“I’m not sure. Maybe she couldn’t handle not having finished the Potions assignment. She usually hates to quit in the middle of an assignment, and I convinced her to stop last night,” answered Remus.

After another minute or so Peter stood up. “Come on, guys! I want to get a good seat. If Evans wants to join us later we can save her a seat.”

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The Gryffindor - Slytherin match was very close and very brutal. The Slytherin beaters were ruthless and managed to knock out a few Gryffindor chasers. That left Slytherin with more opportunities to have possession of the Quaffle. Slytherin, who had been behind until then, quickly caught up and were soon gaining a large lead on the Gryffindor team. After three hours, Arthur Weasley caught the Snitch, but not before Slytherin made one last goal. That left the game at 290-280, Slytherin winning the match. Remus wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw a tear making its way down McGonagall’s cheek as she hurried back to the castle.

The Gryffindors glumly made their way back to the common room. The Marauders walked up the stairs to their dorm room, depressed because they had worked extra hard all week pillaging the kitchens for goodies to bring to a Gryffindor victory party. The boys opened the door to their room only to be shocked at what they saw.

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Thanks to Remus’sweetie, Harrysgrl, and sweetie513 for the latest reviews. Replies are in the review section.

Next chapter: Well, I could tell ya, but that would spoil the cliffhanger…

16. Shattered Glass

Chapter 16: Shattered Glass

“What in Merlin’s name happened here?!” Sirius shouted.

The Marauders had just returned to their dormitory room after Gryffindor’s loss to Slytherin in the Quidditch match. When they opened the door they had found their room trashed. The bedding had been torn off and the mattresses pulled off of the bed. Their trunks had been opened and the contents thrown about the floor. The food and butterbeer which had been stashed under the beds had been taken out and thrown about. Butterbeer bottles had broken as they had been tossed aside and the sweet liquid had leaked out onto the floor. When they walked into their bathroom they found their belongings had been thrown about in there as well.

Peter finally squeaked out, “We had better find Professor McGonagall and let her know about this.” He started to leave to find her when James grabbed his arm.

“Wait, Peter. If we bring her up here she’ll see the food and butterbeer and then know we have been stealing from the kitchens AND have been out after curfew,” he said. James paused a moment, then suddenly turned and raced to his trunk. He frantically searched through the scattered contents and sighed in relief as he found his invisibility cloak, no damage done to it.

“What do you suggest we do about all this damage, then?” Peter asked.

“We’ll just have to clean it up ourselves,” grunted Sirius.

“But HOW? Look at all the damage! It will take all night,” whined Peter.

“There may be a quicker way,” replied Remus. The other boys turned to him with questioning looks. Remus shrugged. “Hey, I study with Lily almost every day, who is great at Charms and likes to read ahead. She was looking at the chapter on repair and cleaning spells the other day and I may have picked up on a few charms.”

“Well, by all means Remus,” started Sirius, “don’t keep us in suspense. Please take care of this so we can find the idiots who did this!”

“Alright, here goes.” Remus pulled out his wand and pointed it at one of the broken butterbeer bottles. “Reparo!” he exclaimed as he waved his wand. The liquid surrounding the glass coalesced until it formed the shape of a bottle, as the shards of broken glass melded together around it forming an intact bottle.

“Not bad. Now let me try,” said Peter. He whipped out his wand and waved it at another broken bottle. “Reparo!” he exclaimed, causing the broken glass to fly up into the air, just missing hitting James in the face as they flew across the room and stuck in the wall.

“Peter! Just stand over there and stay out of the way while we fix this!” James shouted, a little shaken from nearly having his face cut up. Peter scurried to the corner of the room and watched as the other boys went around the room fixing items that had been broken. A few of the bottles could not be fixed. It was almost like there was not enough glass to form an entire bottle. After a few hours the rooms were back to the way they were before.

“This is odd. Nothing is missing. Why would someone do this?” James asked.

“Probably one of those Slytherins. You think they found a way through the portrait?” asked Sirius.

“I doubt it, but it’s not impossible. It seemed like all of the Slytherins were at the game,” Remus replied.

James thought for a moment. “Wait a minute!” he shouted. “Did any of you notice if Snape was there?”

The boys thought about it before Remus answered, “No, I didn’t see him, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t at the game. Why, do you think he could have done this?”

James replied, “Everyone was leaving to get to the game when he walked into the Great Hall for breakfast. He didn’t have his cloak or any Slytherin paraphernalia to cheer his team with. He didn’t seem to be in any hurry to go anywhere.”

Sirius snarled, “If that hook-nosed grease ball had anything to do with this,…”

“Don’t worry, we’ll get him back,” James said.

The boys decided to head back down to the common room to blow off some steam before dinner. Alice and Marlene were chatting on one of the overstuffed couches by the fire. The girls noticed the subdued looks on the faces of the Marauders as they approached the couch.

“What’s got your knickers in a bunch?” Marlene asked Sirius.

Peter opened his mouth to reply when James elbowed him and said, “We’re just down about the loss to Slytherin.”

Marlene eyed him suspiciously and was about to say something when she noticed Lily coming down the stairs from the girls dormitory. “Hey, Lily!” Everyone turned toward her as she walked their way.

“Hey, Evans. Well, was it worth it?” Sirius asked sarcastically.

Lily gave him a questioning look. “What do you mean?”

“Missing the game. Was it worth it?” Sirius asked.

“Did you finish your studying?” added Remus.

Lily looked at both of them for a moment and nodded vaguely before reaching up and rubbing at her temple. As she did this the sleeve of her robe slipped to her elbow and James gasped, “Evans! What happened to your arm?”

Lily looked at James then down to the area of her arm where he was pointing. There was a small gash on her forearm. After a moment she muttered, “Oh, I guess I cut it.”

Alice spoke up. “Cut it? How?”

“I…tripped,” she replied. “I guess I didn’t realize I had hurt myself when I fell. Don’t worry about it, it doesn’t really hurt.”

Remus looked at her doubtfully, noticing that she was a bit pale. “Are you sure you’re okay, Lily? You’re not getting another migraine are you?”

Lily smiled although it did not seem to reach her eyes. “I’m just stressed out over studying, that’s all. I took a little nap and I’m already feeling better.”

Everyone watched her for a moment before Remus decided to lighten the mood. “Well, I don’t know about the rest of you but I’m hungry.” Everyone agreed and headed toward the portrait hole. Remus turned to Lily who was lingering behind and asked, “Coming, Lils?” He had a grin on his face as Lily grimaced.

“Still teasing me about that nickname, eh? Alright, then,” she said as she followed him to catch up with their friends.

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The mood at the Gryffindor table that evening was subdued due to their defeat in Quidditch. Trying to ignore the taunts coming from the Slytherin table, Sirius and James tried to lighten the mood with jokes and stories. Everyone in their group was soon laughing. One girl in the group, although she laughed with her friends, was actually deep in thought.

Lily had been feeling unsettled since she had awoken from her nap. She had been getting dressed when she found something odd. She felt something sharp on the bottom of her shoes. When she inspected them more closely it looked like there was a piece of glass embedded in the sole. She looked at her other shoe and noticed a few more tiny pieces embedded there as well. Confused as to how they had gotten there, she carefully pulled out the pieces and threw them into the trash.

She walked down to the common room feeling another headache arriving, though not as bad as the one that had sent her to the hospital wing weeks earlier. She had found her friends and they had asked her about how her studying had gone. She had to think for a moment before seeing images of herself sitting at one of the tables in the library. Her headache throbbed a little as she rubbed her temple. She heard James ask her about her arm. When she looked at it she was shocked to see the gash with blood dried to it. She couldn’t remember how she had gotten it but for some reason she was unable to tell her friends the truth. ‘I’m probably just embarrassed that I don’t remember, that’s all,’ she thought.

When dinner was finished they headed outside for a walk by the lake.

“Hey, Evans!” Lily turned to see Potter walking beside her.

“Yes, Potter?” she asked.

“You said you were napping in your room right?” he asked.

“Uh-yeah. Why do you ask?” she replied.

“Well, I was wondering if you, erm, if you heard anything - out of the ordinary - when you were in your room,” he inquired.

Lily thought for a moment. She couldn’t remember much about earlier- just that her headache was returning and she had to take a nap. “No, I didn’t. Why, did something happen?”

James saw Sirius frowning at him before he replied, “Never mind. It’s not important.”

Lily looked back and forth at the two boys before Sirius decided to change the subject. “I still can’t believe you missed the match, Evans. You must have been the only student that didn’t show up.”

“Well, that’s not really true, Sirius,” Lily replied. “Severus was in the library, too.”

James and Sirius looked at each other briefly before James said, “Are you sure you saw him there? Today?”

Lily paused as a memory flashed in her head. “Yes, I’m sure. I remember seeing him lingering around the Restricted Section. Madam Pince eventually caught him and kicked him out.”

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As the last half of November came about the Marauders thought up different ways to exact revenge on Snape. James, Sirius, and Peter were certain that Snape was responsible for the upheaval in their room. Remus agreed that Snape was the likely suspect however he was hesitant to start a war with the Slytherin boy based on circumstantial evidence.

One of James and Sirius’ favorite things to do was mess with Snape during Potions. Potions was Snape’s best class and he always had an arrogant look as he scored points for his house. James and Sirius decided to set up their cauldrons at the table next to Snape’s. Whenever the Slytherin boy had his back turned one of the two Gryffindors would throw something extra into his cauldron, messing up the potion. At one point the cauldron started to quiver and sputter. James and Sirius made a run for it while the potion exploded out of the cauldron and splattered all over Snape. He had to go to the hospital wing to have Madame Pomfrey heal the large green boils that formed wherever the potion had stuck. Professor Pilon held James and Sirius after class and assigned them 2 detentions each.

James and Sirius grinned at each other as they walked up to their dorm room. “This could turn into a hobby, James! Did you see the look on his face?” barked Sirius.

They walked into their room to see Remus packing. “Don’t tell me you’re mum is sick, AGAIN!” said James.

Remus smiled. “Glad to say she is feeling well. My great-uncle Eugene is American. He’s visiting my parents and wants to celebrate the American Muggle holiday Thanksgiving. Mum and Dad want me to come home to join them. I’ll be gone for a few days.”

“You are leaving in the middle of the week? How are you going to get away with missing class?” asked James.

“Oh, Dumbledore said it would be okay seeing as how my grades are up. He made me promise to bring him some turkey. I got he impression he likes Muggle holidays,” said Remus.

“Turkey? Why turkey?” asked Sirius.

“That’s what the Americans eat during Thanksgiving. It’s supposed to be a big feast,” he replied.

“This is not fair. You get to miss class AND get well fed for it while we’re stuck here,” whined Sirius.

“What, Sirius, don’t you have any long-lost American relatives?” James asked.

Sirius scowled. “If there’s one thing my family dislikes more than Muggles it’s Americans.”

Remus shrugged as he picked up his bag. “I have to go. I’m catching the Knight Bus. See you in a few days.”

After he left James and Sirius stood there deep in thought. “Hey, Sirius?”

“Yeah, James?”

“Have you noticed how much Remus has been gone since we started here?” James asked.

“Yeah, I was just thinking about that,” replied Sirius.

They looked at each other a moment before smirking. They shrugged it off and headed down to dinner.

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Thanks to Shelekene (x4!!!), Remus’sweetie, sweetie513, Anonymous (x2), Amber eyes, itsme63, and redhead101 for the latest reviews. I was thrilled beyond words at getting more reviews than usual. Hmmm, maybe I’ll have to insert cliffhangers more frequently! (evil snicker) Replies are in the usual spot - in the review section. Anyhoo, I was going to wait a little longer to post this chapter, but thought I’d reward my reviewers for the feedback.

Next chapter: Winter arrives with more Lily and James moments.

Review and I’ll post more!

17. Winter Cheer

Chapter 17: Winter Cheer

December blanketed the Hogwarts grounds with snow. The students, though busy studying for exams, found time to enjoy the outdoors with snowball fights. When the lake froze over Lily and Emm introduced their friends to ice skating. Professor Flitwick had been kind enough to conjure up ice skates for them.

For boys who were good at just about everything, Sirius and James’ talents did not extend to ice skating. Marlene and Alice picked it up alright although they were still a bit wobbly. Sirius thought he would be funny and charge at Marlene and knock her over. He went at her full force but before he could reach her she saw him coming and moved out of the way. Not being able to stop, Sirius stumbled forward and fell face first into a pile of snow.

Marlene almost fell over from laughing as Sirius sat up, his face and hair covered in snow. She turned to see if the others had witnessed this when suddenly something cold and wet slammed into the side of her head, followed by Sirius’ barking laugh. She reached up and brushed the wet snow off her ear as she turned to Sirius and stuck out her tongue.

Emm was trying to demonstrate a figure eight to Remus, Peter, Alice, and Frank since they had learned how to stay upright on their skates. Lily was trying to teach James the basics, who was having difficulty.

“C’mon, Potter! It’s not that difficult. No, your feet are all wrong,” said Lily.

James sighed in frustration as he almost slipped again. “I honestly don’t understand the draw Muggles have to putting metal blades on their boots and risking their ne-WHOA!” His foot started to slide out to the side. Lily glided over and grabbed his hands to keep him from falling.

“Look, why don’t you just hold onto my hands so you can keep your balance?” she asked. A far-off look came about James’ face as he nodded. “Okay, why don’t you try skating forward a few steps? Just try not to lean too far forward or you‘ll lose your bal-.”

Her warning came too late. James’ skates slipped out behind him. He tried to right his feet as Lily attempted to pull him upward. The toe pick on James’ skate caught on the ice and vaulted him forward, making him and Lily fall. He had fallen on top of her and when Lily looked up she saw James’ face right above hers. Lily’s eyes locked with James’, and she felt warmth coming from them. James couldn’t help but feel that maybe ice skating wasn’t so bad after all.

“Oy, James! You really swept her off her feet, didn’t you mate?” called a laughing voice. Both Lily and James turned to see Sirius and the rest of their friends looking at them. Alice and Emm skated over and helped James and Lily to their feet, all the while James shooting glares toward Sirius.

“You okay, Evans?” James asked. “I didn’t hurt you when we fell, did I?”

“I’m fine, Potter. I don’t understand how you can stay on a broom high up in the air but cannot simply stand on a pair of ice skates,” she replied. He grinned sheepishly and she couldn’t help but grin back.

On the way into the dorm room to change for dinner Alice and Marlene decided to tease Lily. “That was some fall you had there with James,” Marlene said with a smirk.

“What do you mean?” Lily asked.

“Well, you turned about 10 shades of red after you fell. If I didn’t know you any better I would say that you have a crush on him,” Alice said with a smile.

Lily glanced at the two girls and with a blush said, “Oh, I was just embarrassed about the fall, that’s all.” She turned to walk into their room as Marlene and Alice smiled at each other knowingly.

************************************************

Lily continued her tutoring with Professor Riddle, and her grades improved little by little. She felt that DADA was by far the most difficult subject because she always felt drained after her tutoring sessions. No one had yet found out that she was going to them. The Monday after ice skating Professor Riddle seemed especially pleased when he locked eyes with Lily, like she had finally accomplished something great. An hour later, Lily walked into the common room and fell onto one of the overstuffed couches.

The next morning she awoke to a hand shaking her shoulder. She wearily opened her eyes and saw hazel ones staring back at her. They belonged to Potter, who was grinning at her. “Hey, Evans. Better get up or you’ll be late for class.”

“What are you talking about? There’s no astronomy tonight,” Lily wearily replied. She could barely keep her eyes open. Was she still in the common room?

“Uh…Evans, it’s morning and you have 15 minutes until class starts,” he said.

“What?!” Lily sat up with a start. Her head started to spin and she grabbed it and fell back onto the couch.

James’ grin faded. “You okay?”

Lily rubbed her eyes and nodded, although deep down she felt uneasy. “I, um, just sat up too quickly, that’s all.” Before he could say anything else she got up and slowly made her way toward the stairway to the girl’s dormitory. As she reached the stairway she could feel his eyes on her so she called back over her shoulder, “Thanks for waking me up, Potter. I’ll see you in class.”

Although Lily had a dull throbbing in her head, she was able to change quickly and jog into Herbology right as class was starting. She sat with Alice and Marlene and began to measure out some soil that would used for the morning’s assignment. Alice and Marlene looked at Lily with concern. They hadn’t seen her on their way down to breakfast that morning. Now Lily was almost late to class looking pale with dark circles forming around her eyes. Lily noticed their staring and smiled at them trying to show that she was alright.

Lily’s headache gradually faded and by the end of classes that day she was actually feeling great. It was like a switch had turned and she felt an energy coursing through her. She did not feel like returning to the common room after the last class of the day. She saw Potter lingering behind in the potions classroom getting assigned yet another detention from Professor Pilon. She giggled as he came out of the classroom.

“I can’t believe you spilled that sneezing potion on Snape,” she said.

He grinned and shrugged. “Just a bit clumsy, I guess. Were you waiting for me?” he asked hopefully.

She smiled back and nodded. “I don’t feel like going back to the common room just yet. Alice and Marlene had to catch up on homework so they couldn’t do anything.”

“You wanna go outside for a bit?” he asked.

“Sure,” she replied.

They already had their cloaks with them since the dungeons were typically drafty. They bundled up and walked outside into the crisp late afternoon. They strolled around the lake and chatted.

“You know, Potter? I just realized that I don’t know a whole lot about you,” Lily said. “Usually when I see you you’re getting into mischief with your friends.”

“What do you want to know?” he asked, happy that she was taking an interest in him.

Lily paused for a moment and asked the first question that popped into her mind. “Tell me about your family. They’re wizards, right?”

“Yes. My mum and dad both are,” he replied.

Another question popped into Lily’s head. “How far back does your wizard ancestry go?”

James thought for a second before replying, “I’m not sure. My mum’s side goes back several generations although there are some Muggleborn ancestors here and there. Dad’s side goes back pretty far, from what he’s told me, although he didn’t get much more specific than that.”

“Were your parents in Gryffindor as well?” she asked.

“My mum was in Ravenclaw. Dad was in Gryffindor,” he said.

“So you take after your father. Was he just as mischievous?” she asked with a smirk.

He grinned, “My mum won’t let him tell me everything but I get the impression that he spent his fair share of time in detention.”

Her smile widened, “Like father, like son.” Another question came to her mind. “I noticed during the sorting that the hat barely touched your head before you were put into Gryffindor. Were your dad’s ancestors mostly Gryffindor?”

“Yeah. Sort of a family tradition, on my dad’s side. So, what are you going to do with all this information- make my family tree?” he asked smiling at her.

She simply replied, “I was just curious, that’s all.”

Lily seemed quiet for the next few minutes so James decided to ask her, “What about your family? They’re Muggles, right?”

Lily laughed as she said, “Yes. They were rather surprised when I got my Hogwarts letter. So was I, for that matter. You should have seen the look on my sister’s face when the owl flew into the room.”

James looked confused. “Why?”

It took Lily a moment to realize his confusion. “Muggles don’t use owls to send mail. We have people who deliver mail.”

“People?! That’s such a waste of time!” he exclaimed.

She nodded, “Yes, but that is normal for them. I’m only just getting used to using the owls. My parents think it’s a treat to send my letters with Lancelot - he’s my owl. My sister, on the other hand, refuses to go near him. I think she’s afraid of him. My parents tell her they’re sending her letters to me via the Muggle post, however they just stuff her letters in with theirs and send them with Lancelot. Actually, lately I haven’t gotten many letters from her. I guess she’s pretty busy,” Lily said wistfully. She missed her family and felt hurt that she hadn’t heard from Petunia in a few weeks. Her last letter had been very short.

“You miss them a lot, don’t you?” James asked.

“Yeah. I can’t wait to see them for the holidays, although it’ll be weird going back to the Muggle world for a few weeks,” said Lily.

As they headed back inside Lily asked, “Are you going home for the holidays?”

“I’ll be there briefly but we’re going to visit my mum’s brother and his family for the rest of the holidays,” he said.

Lily nodded as they made their way to the Great Hall, anxious to get something warm to drink.

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Sirius looked up from his plate to see Lily and James sitting down at the table, bundled up in their cloaks, their cheeks rosy from being outside. Sirius looked from Lily to James, who winked at him as he sat down at the table. Sirius grinned at his friend and asked, “What have you two been up to?”

Lily replied, “We were just talking about what we’re doing for the holidays. Are you going home, Sirius?”

Sirius’ expression darkened as he took a bite of his roll and mumbled, “No, I think I’ll just stay here.”

“What?!” exclaimed James. “You didn’t tell me that. You mean you’ll be stuck here for Christmas?”

“Better here than with my sweet ol’ mum and her prodigal son, Regulus,” his voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Well, forget about staying here. You can stay with my family,” James said.

“I’m not barging in on your family for Christmas,” Sirius said.

“Nonsense. Once I tell Mum and Dad, they’ll be glad to have you along. Besides, my cousins have been pranking me since I was in diapers. I’m in the mood for some sweet revenge. Against the two of us they won’t stand a chance,” said James with confidence.

The promise of mischief was enough to lighten Sirius’ mood. “Alright! I’ll come, but only if your folks are okay with it. They might not be thrilled having a Black join them for the holiday.”

“You’re nothing like your family and my parents will know that. In fact, I think they might worry that I’ll be a bad influence on you,” James added with one of his half-grins.

Sirius looked affronted. “Excuse me, but if anyone at this table is going to be a bad influence it will be me.”

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The last few weeks of class before the holidays brought about changes in the décor at Hogwarts. It seemed like there was a festive touch in every part of the castle, except the dungeons. Remus had done some research and one night the Marauders slipped out after curfew and placed their own touches on the festive décor.

The next morning students walked by suits of armor that sang out of key, “Jingle Bells, Slytherin Smells.” The Marauders laughed as they saw Snape trying to use a silencing charm on them, with no success.

“Ah, Snivellus! Aren’t you in the Christmas spirit?” Sirius chuckled. Ever since James had spilled the sneezing potion Snape had had a runny nose. His constant sniffling earned him his nickname of Snivellus, thought up by Sirius.

Snape turned and sneered at Sirius. “You did this. I know it and I’ll prove it.”

Malfoy appeared and glared at the Marauders before turning to Snape. “I thought I told you to shut these suits of armor up!” he spat.

James nudged Sirius before pulling out his wand and in a flash some mistletoe formed above Snape and Malfoy. “Go on, Malfoy! Kiss him! It is tradition, after all!” Sirius, Remus, Peter chuckled.

Malfoy reached for his wand when Professor Flitwick walked by. He saw the scene and asked, “What’s going on, boys?”

Sirius smiled and said, “Just spreading some holiday cheer, professor.”

Flitwick tried to suppress a chuckle as he saw the glares coming from the Slytherins. “Oh, well- why don’t you help me spread holiday cheer in the Great Hall instead. I have got some decorations to finish putting up.”

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A/N: I’ve gotten many reviews that suggest a connection between what is happening to Lily to what happened to Ginny in CoS. I won’t tell you yet exactly what is happening to Lily, but I will say one thing. Ginny was possessed by Riddle, who was an entity or spirit from a diary. In this story, Riddle is flesh and blood. Suffice to say there will be differences.

Thanks to itsme63 (x2), Rosali, Watermelon! (x2), and sweetie 513 for the latest reviews. Replies are in the usual spot.

What do you think about the happenings between Lily and James in this chapter?

Next chapter: Home for the holidays! Petunia and Lily see each other for the first time since Lily left for school. Sirius meets James’ parents. We are introduced to James’ cousins.

18. Holiday Happenings

Chapter 18: Holiday Happenings

The students who were going home for the holidays took the Hogwarts Express. They spent their time laughing and talking about the adventures from the first term. As the train pulled into King’s Cross the students bundled up and scurried off the train to meet their families. A ticket agent was waiting at the gateway to make sure the coast was clear to pass through.

When Lily passed through she thought at first her parents had forgotten to pick her up. Then she heard someone cry out to her right and saw her mum running toward her. Lily was scooped up in a tight hug and she was overcome with the scent of roses. When her mum finally let go she felt herself getting crushed in her fathers arms.

“Mum! Dad! I missed you so much,” cried Lily.

Her parents beamed down at her. “We missed you too, honey. We got all of your letters. Fascinating system, using owls that is,” her father said.

Lily looked around. “Where’s ‘Tunia?”

Her parents gave each other a quick glance before replying, “Oh, she’s coming down with a cold so we had her stay in bed. She really did want to come though.”

Lily got the impression that there was something more, that her parents were not being completely truthful. She decided to let it go and enjoy being back. To her left she heard loud laughter and when she turned she saw Potter and Sirius being greeted by what must have been Potter’s mum and dad. Potter looked just like his dad except his dad’s hair was much neater.

Mr. Potter turned and put his arm around his son and started to guide him out of the station. When Lily saw his right hand a beam of sunlight caught a ruby that was set in a ring. The red gleam caused a stir of excitement in the pit of Lily’s stomach. She couldn’t explain the feeling and yet she couldn’t tear her eyes away from its source. As the Potters and Sirius walked away the gleam disappeared and Lily soon noticed her mum tapping her on the shoulder.

Lily shook her head and turned to her mum. “Did you say something, Mum?”

Mrs. Evans looked toward Potter and Sirius’ retreating figures and back at Lily. She smiled and said, “Honey, you haven’t heard a word I’ve been saying. Who are those boys?”

Her dad jerked his head around and said, “What boys?”

Lily shrugged and said, “James Potter and Sirius Black. They’re friends from Hogwarts. Can we go now? I really want to see ‘Tunia.”

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Sirius was on edge because he was about to meet James’ parents however you could never tell by looking at him. He was very good at playing cool. Still, James’ parents must have heard of the Blacks and he knew that there would be some discomfort at having one amongst them for a family holiday. When they walked through the barrier Sirius saw a couple who had to be James’ folks approach them. They each gave James a hug as Sirius stood back. He felt a pang of jealousy at the compassion they showed their only son.

Soon James’ mum looked up and noticed Sirius standing behind James. She stepped towards him and smiled warmly as she took his hand. “You must be James’ friend, Sirius. James wrote to us and told us all about you.”

Sirius sent James a fleeting glance and saw him smirking. James said, “Don’t worry, mate. Only told her the good stuff.”

Mrs. Potter glanced at her son and grinned before turning back to Sirius. “Don’t worry, I figured that you are probably a troublemaker like my son. We love him, anyway. We will be delighted to have you with us for Christmas.”

Sirius hesitantly spoke up. “Did James tell you about my family?”

Mr. Potter answered, “Yes, he mentioned you are a member of the Black family.”

“Does that bother you?” Sirius asked.

“I may have issues with some members of your family but I do not judge you based on that. If you are a friend of my son then you are certainly welcome in our house,” Mr. Potter replied.

Sirius finally felt like he could relax and was able to turn on the charm. “I’m looking forward to the visit, however I should warn you that even though you’re happy to have me in your house I’m sure James won’t be.” He noticed James looking at him questioningly. “That is, I’m sure he won’t be happy when I tell you about all the trouble he’s gotten me into, the mischief maker he is.”

They all laughed and Mr. Potter turned and put his arm around James to guide them out of the station. On the way Sirius turned and saw Evans staring at James. He paused as he noticed the expression on her face. It was odd, really. He was about to wave at her when her mum tapped her on the shoulder and started speaking to her.

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As soon as the Evans’ returned home Lily rushed up the stairs and into her sister’s room. “Hey, ‘Tunia! Are you in here?” she gasped as she threw open the door.

Petunia was sitting up in her bed reading. Her nose was bright red, her eyes were watery, and there were tissues scattered about the bed. When she saw her sister rush in she didn’t know what to feel. She was happy to see her yet it had been different not having to be live Lily’s shadow for the past 3 ½ months. She had felt more important and with that came a bit of confidence that allowed her to make a few friends. Now Lily was back, her sister who had been her best friend and confidante, yet it was only for a short visit before returning to that strange place.

Lily raced to the bed and flung her arms around Petunia who couldn’t help but hug her back. After a moment Petunia shoved Lily aside and grabbed a tissue before letting out a string of high-pitched sneezes. She turned back to Lily who was frowning.

“Mum and Dad told me you were ill. How bad do you feel?” asked Lily.

Petunia wiped her nose and cleared her sore, scratchy throat before replying, “Pretty miserable.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Lily said shaking her head. “I was hoping we could go out and do stuff, like seeing movies…just like we planned before I left for Hogwarts.”

Petunia made a face at the mention of Hogwarts. She looked at her younger sister more closely. There was something different about her. Something that must have been due to that freakish stuff she studied. Why did Lily shake her head like that? Was it her fault that she was ill and couldn’t go out? “Well,” she said stiffly, “I’m sorry I ruined your plans.”

Lily noticed her sister’s mood and shakily added, “Well, that’s okay. We can hang out here and spend time playing games or chatting.”

Petunia’s eyes watered a bit more before she laid down and turned away. “I’m a bit sleepy. If you don’t mind, I would like to be alone.” Lily stared at her sister a moment before getting up and leaving the room.

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The next morning Lily heard her mum calling to her to wake up. She forced her eyes open and turned her head to the clock on the nightstand. It was 10 o’clock. Lily was surprised she had slept in so late. Usually she was up by 8 o’clock. She sat up with difficulty, as her head felt like it weighed 100 pounds. She rubbed her temple and went into the bathroom to shower and get dressed. When she came downstairs her head throbbed as she heard the loud wail of the vacuum cleaner coming from the living room. Her mum turned it off as she saw Lily enter the room.

“Good morning, dear. Did you sleep well?” her mum asked.

“Yes, I can’t believe I didn’t wake earlier,” Lily replied with a frown.

“You were probably tired from the trip back and coming home after being away for so long.” Mrs. Evans turned toward the fireplace.

Lily looked at the carpet and notice some soot had rubbed into the carpet by the fireplace. “What happened here?”

“I’m not sure, really. When I came downstairs this morning I found soot all over the floor here. Probably was just a bird flying down the chimney,” she replied. “Why don’t you go have some breakfast? I left you something on the counter.” She turned back to the vacuum and with a roar the machine started to inhale the soot.

Lily trudged into the kitchen and grabbed the breakfast her mum had left her. She picked at her food as thoughts began to gnaw at her. There was a strange feeling that had overcome her when she saw the soot on the floor. If a bird had caused the mess then why did that bother her? It was not as if she had caused the mess.

Her father strolled into the kitchen and kissed Lily on the forehead before sitting down at the breakfast table. “Decided to sleep in today, eh?” he asked with a smile.

“Yeah, I guess so. Usually I don’t sleep in so late,” Lily said thoughtfully.

“Well, you were up pretty late last night,” he said.

Lily turned to her father and asked, “What do you mean?”

“Well, I was in bed, then went into the hallway on my way to the bathroom when I heard a noise. I poked my head out and saw you coming up the stairs. I whispered out to you but you didn’t hear me and walked into your room. I assumed you were up getting a glass of water,” he added.

Lily nodded and gulped down her orange juice. She could have sworn she went to bed at 9 pm. Had she been up later? Maybe she had been thirsty. If she had been she couldn’t remember.

********************************************

James and Sirius were forced out of bed early the next day because they were leaving to go to James’ uncle’s house for the rest of the holiday. At breakfast James noticed a frown on his dad’s face as he read the newspaper. “Alright there, Dad?”

Mr. Potter glanced up at the boys and said, “Things are becoming more tense at work. This dark wizard who has been terrorizing Muggles has been gaining more supporters. The attacks are becoming more frequent.”

“Do you have any idea who this dark wizard is, Dad?” asked James.

Mr. Potter eyes tensed before he looked at his son and said, “We’re working on some leads.”

Mrs. Potter frowned and said, “You boys had better hurry up or we’ll be late. You know how your Uncle Louis is about schedules.”

The Potters and Sirius flooed over to Louis Prewett’s house. As soon as Sirius arrived he saw a man and woman who were a little older than Mr. and Mrs. Potter. Standing off to the side were two boys Sirius recognized from Hogwarts. He remembered seeing them play on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. He couldn’t quite place their names until James arrived and started the introductions.

“Sirius, these are the Prewetts - my Uncle Louis and Aunt Elizabeth and those two,” he said pointing at the two boys, “are my cousins, Gideon and Fabian. They are in their sixth year at Hogwarts and are in Ravenclaw.”

As Sirius greeted them something suddenly registered. “I remember you! I saw the look Dumbledore gave you during his speech at the feast. You guys were the ones who set the flobberworms on the old Care of Magical Creatures teacher!” he said in awe.

Gideon and Fabian exchanged knowing glances before shrugging and grinning.

“Any relation to the Head Girl?” asked Sirius.

“Molly?” said Gideon. “Nothing close. I think she’s a distant cousin or something like that.”

Elizabeth Prewett finally spoke, “Boys, why don’t you show James and Sirius where they’ll be sleeping? I want to greet Joseph and Marianne when they arrive.”

As Gideon and Fabian led James and Sirius upstairs Gideon asked, “Was that you who charmed the suits of armor to sing?”

James and Sirius glanced at each other and James said, “It might have been. Was it you that transfigured McGonagall’s hat into a Christmas tree?”

Fabian grinned and said, “It might have been.”

Sirius whispered to James, “Your cousins are great! We have to compare notes!”

James replied, “I agree, though don’t forget our mission - they need to realize who the kings of pranks are.”

Sirius nodded in reply.

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Christmas was fun in the Prewett household. Sirius and James had a lot of fun hanging out with James’ cousins. They played Quidditch and hinted to each other about some of the things they had pulled at school. On Christmas morning James had rigged a few gifts to spray pumpkin juice at Gideon and Fabian as they opened them. Fabian, in retaliation, charmed all the clothes that James and Sirius received to become pink. There was a lot of laughter around the household but James noticed his father was unusually quiet. He had been quite subdued during the holiday.

After the gifts had been opened they walked toward the dining room for breakfast. Joseph Potter lingered in the living room and called to James to wait a moment before joining everyone.

“What is it, Dad?” he asked.

Mr. Potter stared at his son a few moments before telling him to sit down in the chair next to him. James approached cautiously, wondering if the antics between him and his cousins had gone too far. “Did I do something wrong?” he asked.

“No, son. I wanted to give you another gift, in private.” He held out a small box for James to take.

James examined it for a little bit before opening it. He gasped and right away looked at his father’s hand. “Dad! Your ring! I don’t understand. Why are you giving this to me?”

Mr. Potter smiled as he said, “It’s been in our family for a long time. My father gave it to me, though I was a little older than you are now.”

James took the ring out and studied it. There was a large ruby set in gold and a lion was carved into the gold on each side of the gem. “Why are you giving this to me now? It’s too large for me to wear.”

Mr. Potter’s face became serious again. “I just felt that now is the best time. Listen to me, son. It is very important that this ring stay in our family. It has great value. Wear it and guard it well.” He pulled out a long golden chain from his pocket. “Until you are big enough you can wear it around your neck.”

James slipped the ring on the chain and put it around his neck. Remembering his dad’s instructions he hid the ring and chain under his shirt.

“Well, we had better get into the dining room before your friend eats our breakfast. I’ve never seen such an appetite on a boy,” smirked Mr. Potter.

************************************************

The holiday soon came to an end and the Potters’ and Sirius had to return to the Potter household before the boys could go back to school. James flooed over right after his father. When he tumbled out of the fireplace he was quickly pulled up by his dad and ushered into a corner.

“Stay here! Don’t let Sirius or your mother leave this room until I check out the rest of the house!” he ordered as he rushed out of the room.

When James looked around he saw that the room had been trashed. Tables were turned over, cushions were on the floor torn open, lamps were laying broken on the floor. Sirius arrived and once he saw the state of the room he looked at James and they had the same thought - this reminded them of when their dorm room had been trashed.

James’ mother arrived shortly thereafter and cried out as she saw the room. She frantically looked around and gasped in relief when she saw James and Sirius in the corner. James relayed to her what his father had said and they waited for what seemed like an eternity before Mr. Potter came back into the room with a weary look on his face.

“No sign of whoever did this. I put some protective charms on the house and grounds,” he said.

“Is anything missing?” Mrs. Potter asked.

Mr. Potter glanced at James before replying to his wife, “No, nothing.”

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Hmmm, interesting things afoot at the Potter and Evans’ households, eh? What do you all think?

Thanks to the latest reviewers: itsme63 (x2), Harrysgrl (x2), sweetie513, KaitPotter21, and KinSlayer. Replies are in the review section.

Next chapter: The students return to school. Lily caught Petunia’s cold but has an interesting symptom. Valentine’s Day arrives!

19. The Bubbl-onic Plague

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.

20. Secrets

Chapter 20: Secrets

James had to stand still for a few moments to allow his heart to pump again. It had skipped a few beats, however as he thought about the kiss Lily had given him he felt his heart starting to race. Could it be possible for Lily Evans to like him? As more than a friend? He seemed to be in a daze and didn’t know where he was or what he was doing until he found himself in the Gryffindor common room with a hand waving in his face.

“Oy, James! Earth to James! What’s his problem, anyway?” he heard Sirius ask.

Remus studied James for a moment and said, “I think I recognize that goofy grin, however I’ve never seen it quite so intense.”

Sirius rolled his eyes and turned to Remus, “Well are you gonna share your theory with us or shall I start guessing?”

“I’ve seen that expression before when a certain redhead is around, if you know what I mean,” replied Remus, smiling.

Sirius raised his eyebrows and turned back to James. “Soooo, James…is Remus right? Have you seen Evans lately?” James’ grin widened. Sirius smirked.

Just then Alice, Marlene, and Lily walked down from the girls’ dormitory and made their way to the portrait hole. James’ gaze followed Lily, who glanced over at him. She smiled, blushed, and hurried to catch up with her friends.

Remus chuckled and said, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

**************************************

As February drew to an end Remus grew paler and paler. He disappeared one day, leaving a note for the Marauders that his mother had taken ill again and he had to rush to see her. This was the second time since returning from the holiday break that his mother was ill. James thought that it seemed odd that she fell ill so often. Remus had never even told anyone what it was she suffered from.

One evening after class James and Sirius were serving detention in the library. They were dusting each book in the DADA section, which was rather large. After an hour of this Sirius moaned, “Man, I can’t believe we have to do this the Muggle way! This is ridiculous!”

“I agree. Magic would be so much easier,” said James. As he pulled another book off the shelf it fell open and started to screech loudly. He forced it shut and placed it back on the shelf quickly, but not before Madame Pince threw them a nasty look.

Sirius scowled as he pulled another book off the shelf. “This is not fair. Remus got into trouble as well but he’s not serving detention. Sometimes I wonder if his mum is not ill and that he’s being clever about avoiding detention.”

“I have to admit I had the same thoughts, although it would ’t be like Remus to lie about something like that,” said James.

Sirius nodded, “I know, I agree. It’s just strange, that’s all. He’s going to miss the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff Quidditch match tomorrow. He always seems to miss the fun things - the opening feast in September, the Mrs. Norris prank and the clown charms in October, he was gone for that American muggle holiday- Thanksgetting, is it? He was gone last month when we did the whoopee cushion hex on Snape, and now he’s missing a Quidditch match!”

James nodded thoughtfully as he dusted another book, “Yeah. You know what’s strange, Sirius? I never noticed it before but it seems like he’s away every month.” He tossed the book back onto the shelf. It missed, however, and landed open on the floor. James bent to pick it up.

“Can you imagine if he was pulling the ultimate con to get out of classes every month?” Sirius smirked and shook his head. “Nah, we know him better than that. He gets pale if we mention pranking the teachers.” He looked down at James, who was studying the book that had fallen. “James?”

James slowly stood back up, still skimming through the book. His brows were furrowed and he shook his head a few times.

“James?” asked Sirius again. “What’s got your attention?”

“Sirius,” muttered James, still reading through the book. “When is the full moon this month?”

Sirius thought for a moment and replied, “Tonight, I think. Why?”

James nodded and turned the page. “The night we first arrived and the night we snuck out to prank Mrs. Norris - there was a full moon, too, wasn’t there?”

Sirius shrugged and replied, “Yeah, I guess. I don’t really remember. What are you getting at?”

James looked up from the book and stared ahead, not at anything in particular. He seemed deep in thought. Sirius by this point started to become frustrated and grabbed the book from James. He looked at the title, which read Dark Creatures and How to Recognize Them. He looked to the chapter that James had been reading which said, “Lycanthropy.” He read the first few lines that said,

Tales of man-wolves have been around since antiquity. Greek mythology tells of a

bloodthirsty tyrant named Lycaon who greatly angered Zeus by serving him the flesh

of a human child. As punishment, Zeus turned Lycaon into a wolf, although some of

his human features remained.

Sirius looked up at James. “Why are you reading this?”

James replied, “Read further- go to the part on how to recognize one.”

Sirius skipped forward and read about werewolves being seemingly normal people, how they possessed tremendous strength and would transform every month during the full moon. The transformations were extremely painful so often the affected person would appear ill during the week leading up to the transformation. Sirius stopped and looked back at James. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

James studied his friend and nodded, “I think I am. Think about it- he’s gone every month. He always seems pale and sickly around that time- we always thought that was because he was worried about his mum. If we look back I’ll bet you he was gone during a full moon.”

Sirius nodded. “You’re probably right but we can check on that later. If this is true, where do you think he goes during the transformation? Back home?”

“It seems like a long trip back and forth to make with the transformations occurring and all. I think he’s somewhere nearby, which would mean that Dumbledore’d know about it. He wouldn’t exactly allow a werewolf to roam about the grounds now, would he?” added James.

“Yeah,” said Sirius. “But where would he go so that he couldn’t attack anyone?”

“We’ll have to ask him when he gets back,” said James.

“Do you think he’ll actually admit it?” wondered Sirius. “Look at how much he’s lied to keep us from finding out.”

“Yeah, he may not admit it readily,” said James.

Sirius grinned and said, “Oh, I think we can get him to crack.”

*******************************************

No mention was made of James’ and Sirius’ theory when Remus first returned from his ‘visit with mum.’ They were thinking of ways to force him to reveal the truth. Peter was not yet filled in on the theory. After all, if they were wrong they didn’t want to risk false rumors spreading about their friend.

At breakfast on Monday there was a lot of celebration at the Gryffindor table as they rubbed in their win against Hufflepuff. Lily noticed that Alice was shaking her head a lot as she read the morning edition of the Daily Prophet. When she looked up Lily saw that she was flushed with anger and had tears in her eyes. “What’s wrong, Alice?” asked Lily.

“The paper this morning - it has another story about that dark lord who has been organizing attacks. There have been two more - this time he and his supporters killed entire families. There was a message left behind stating that his power and support are increasing and that no Muggle or Muggleborn will be safe. It even said that no Muggleborn child would be safe,” cried Alice.

“How’s that possible? Hogwarts is supposed to be one of the safest places to be. It has added protection and from what I’ve heard Dumbledore is a force to be reckoned with,” said Marlene. “Anyone would be a fool to try to attack the school.”

“Maybe he was referring to children too young to come to Hogwarts,” Lily pointed out. She shuddered thinking of how someone could target her just for being born to non-wizard folk.

As they started to make their way to class Remus caught up with Lily. She turned to greet him but paused as she noticed how pale he looked. She couldn’t be sure but it looked like there was a large bruise fading from his cheek.

“Remus, are you okay?” she asked.

He shrugged and smiled. “Yeah, I was just in a little accident this weekend when I was home. I already had a visit with Madame Pomfrey when I returned so I’ll be fine. Anyway,” he said, changing the subject, “I wanted to let you know that Emm and I are going to be in the library tonight to work on that Potions essay. I thought you’d want to join us.”

Lily smiled and shook her head. “I would but I can’t. I have to, uh, tutor someone.” Before Remus could ask her more, she said, “We’d better get going or we’ll be late.”

Remus rolled his eyes and said, “Yeah, wouldn’t want to miss a word of the enigmatic Professor Binns!” He walked into the classroom and sat next to James. He noticed that Sirius was already settling down for his post-breakfast nap.

James leaned over and whispered, “What’d you want with Evans?”

“Emm and I wanted to get our study group together tonight, but Lily has to tutor someone,” replied Remus.

“Who?” wondered James.

“She didn’t say.”

**************************************

That evening after flying class James and Sirius were in the common room. Remus was in the library with Emm, so this gave the two boys a chance to talk more about the werewolf theory.

“So, are we sure that it’s true?” asked James.

“How could we be wrong? The book described his signs to a tee,” said Sirius.

James frowned and said, “Maybe we need to be careful about confronting him. I mean, do you think he would be dangerous if we got him upset? Normally he’s so calm and reserved.”

Sirius shook his head, “I don’t think he would be. The book said werewolves can seem like normal people. Although it never said anything about strong emotions and if making one angry would be okay when it’s not the full moon.”

“Maybe we could ask someone without it seeming obvious why we’re interested,” said James.

Sirius turned to James and said, “Who do you have in mind? It would have to be someone who would know the answer and you would have to make it sound like simple curiosity.”

The boys thought for a few minutes before James snapped his fingers and said, “I have an idea - Professor Riddle! He’s the DADA teacher so he would be sure to know about it.”

Sirius smiled and said, “Yeah, that’s not a bad idea. He seems pretty cool so I don’t think he’d ask a lot of questions about why we want to know.”

James stood up and said, “I’ll go see if Riddle’s in his office. Why don’t you stay here in case Remus comes back - maybe you can find out more without actually accusing him.” Sirius nodded and James headed out of the portrait hole.

As he walked down the corridor he thought about his friend and what must have happened for him to become a werewolf. He seemed positive that Remus was tame, even if he was a werewolf. While his friend enjoyed participating in their pranking, he seemed extra cautious about anything that could cause harm to anyone. How could someone like that be dangerous, even as a werewolf?

He seemed determined to find out more answers so he and Sirius could confront Remus and get the truth revealed. He walked up to the door to Professor Riddles office, knocked, and opened it without waiting for a reply. When he walked in he was startled to see Evans sitting in a chair across from the desk. Professor Riddle’s head turned sharply toward James.

His eyes darkened as he snapped at James, “Potter! Did no one ever teach you to wait for a reply after knocking?”

James stood there dumbfounded. “I-I’m sorry, Professor. I didn’t realize-”

“Never mind about that.” Riddle’s expression calmed a bit however he still looked annoyed. “What is it that you want, Potter?”

James almost forgot why he had come, however once he remembered he realized he couldn’t start asking questions with Evans in the room. “I-well, I can ask about it some other time. It’s not that important.”

Riddle stared across the room into James eyes and said, “The way you rushed in here makes it seem like it is important.”

James stared at the floor before coming up with an explanation. “Well, I wanted to see if I could turn in the assignment on Friday instead of Wednesday. I wanted to do some more research.”

Riddle scrutinized James, who was still looking at the floor. “Fine. That won’t be a problem.”

James then realized that Evans was still there. He looked at her and saw that she was still sitting in front of the desk, but she was staring straight ahead. He walked a little closer to her and said, “Hey, Evans! What are you doing here?” She blinked a few times, but did not respond. Why was she ignoring him?

“Potter, if there isn’t anything else, you should get going and start that research you said was so important,” snapped Riddle.

As James turned to leave, he could have sworn he saw Evans’ hand shake a little. It could have been his imagination, though, he thought. As he walked back to the common room he remembered something Remus had told him earlier. Evans was supposed to be tutoring someone. If that was the case, then why was she in Riddle’s office?

*************************************************

James and Sirius are figuring out Remus’ secret. Wonder how they’ll get him to crack…

Thanks to my latest reviewers: Anonymous, Amber Eyes, sweetie513, Harrysgrl, KaitPotter21, and Green Eggs and Ham. Replies are in the review section.

Next chapter: More investigation into Remus’ secret.

21. Operation Wolf-Boy

Chapter 21: Operation ‘Wolf-boy’

Lily left Professor Riddle’s office later feeling ill-at-ease. She kept going back over the tutoring session in her mind and images of lessons about hexes and defense kept popping into her head. Still, something did not feel right.

As she walked back to Gryffindor tower she stopped, suddenly overcome with the image of broken glass before her. She had to lean against the wall for a moment to get her bearings. Why would she be seeing images of broken glass and where were they from? It almost felt like something she had dreamt…or was it a memory?

She reached her hand up to rub her temple and when she glanced at her arm she caught the sight of blood on it. She jumped back, startled. Looking down at her arm again, when she pushed back the sleeve of her robe she only saw the faint line of a scar from a cut she had gotten last fall,, no trace of blood present. Shaking her head, she tried to convince herself that she was only tired and that her imagination was playing tricks on her.

When she walked into the common room she headed toward the stairway to the girl’s dormitory. As she reached the entrance she heard her name called out and turned to the source. It was Potter. He approached her with a look of apprehension.

“Hey, Evans,” he said, sounding hesitant.

“Hi, Potter. What have you been up to?” she asked.

Potter looked at her with confusion before saying, “Well, erm, I’ve been here with Sirius waiting for Remus to come back from the library. Then, I saw you in Professor Riddle’s office before coming back here. Erm…what were you doing in there, anyway?” Lily gave him a questioning look, which he mistook for annoyance. “Evans, did I do something to make you mad at me?”

Lily was trying to remember seeing Potter. What did he mean he saw her in Professor Riddle’s office? She couldn’t recall seeing him. All she remembered were the lessons Riddle had reviewed with her. Then she heard him ask if she was mad at him. “No, I’m not mad at you,” she replied. “What would make you think I was?”

He shrugged. “Well, you didn’t really look at me or answer me when I was in there. I thought I might have done something to upset you.”

Lily felt her stomach turn a bit at what he said. She had ignored him? She didn’t even remember seeing him there. “No, you didn’t upset me.”

There were a few moments of silence between them. Lily was about to go to her dorm room when Potter suddenly asked, “Hey, Evans, I’m a little confused. Remus said he wanted to study with you tonight but you told him you had to tutor someone. If you were tutoring someone, why were you in Professor Riddle’s office?”

Lily felt her stomach catch in her throat. She was caught in a lie. Plus, with all the unease she had been feeling since leaving Riddle’s office, she felt the need to tell someone about the images she had seen. When she opened her mouth, though, she was surprised to hear different words escaping them. “Oh, that. I was tutoring, however I had to go by Professor Riddle’s office to borrow some books.”

“Who-” he started.

“I’m really tired, Potter. I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight.” She smiled at him and headed upstairs.

As she climbed into bed she kept wondering why she had another lie so readily available and why she hadn’t opened up to Potter. She tossed and turned, finally telling herself that she was just keeping her promise to Professor Riddle about not revealing her tutoring sessions with anyone. That still didn’t explain why she didn’t tell Potter about the images of broken glass…

**********************************************

The next morning at breakfast Professor Dumbledore stood up to address the students. He spoke about the increasing threat of the Dark Lord that nobody knew. He touched on the article that had been in the Daily Prophet that said that Muggleborn children wouldn’t be safe. He described some of the protective spells surrounding the school and said there were even ones he could not talk about - for everyone’s protection. The school was one of the safest places to be. He also encouraged unity among the students and their houses.

While unity was easy for three of the houses (outside the Quidditch pitch, that is), this was not so for the Slytherin house. They did not change their arrogant nature toward other houses and many members of the remaining houses treated them with contempt. The Marauders all received detention one night for attacking Malfoy and Snape even though the two Slytherins had cornered Lily and Emm in the corridor.

James had heard Malfoy threatening the girls and calling them names like ‘Mudblood’ and ‘filth.’ Snape had been standing next to Malfoy with his usual sneer, helping to block the girls’ escape path. James ran at Malfoy and slammed him to the ground, throwing punches. The 3 other Marauders soon joined in, pushing Snape around. Professor Pilon caught them and handed out punishments to the Marauders only.

As soon as Pilon left to take Malfoy and Snape to the hospital wing, the Marauders all rushed to Lily and Emm to see if they were alright. They were, and James felt a rush of warmth when Evans smiled at him and thanked him for helping her.

“Evans, Vance,” stated Sirius, “you’d better be extra careful walking around the corridors alone - you never know when one of those idiots is going to finally be able to attack a Muggleborn student.” He paused, and in a lower voice added, “If they do bother you, make sure you tell one of us.”

*****************************************************************

As March faded the last of the snow melted and the daylight lengthened. This lifted spirits, even though it was still chilly outside. The unease Lily had felt earlier that month had faded and she felt more like herself. Remus, on the other hand, was looking pale and sickly again. James and Sirius followed their lunar charts, and the full moon was to arrive that evening. Remus came up with another excuse about hurrying home to his sick mum. As he was packing he noticed that James and Sirius did not fire any questions at him. They seemed to accept that he was leaving.

Thinking more about it, this was not like them to not express curiosity. Every time Remus had to “see his mum” he was always asked about what she had and he always managed to skirt the question. When he looked over at his friends he saw that they were by James’ bed crowded around the nightstand writing something.

After a few minutes they rolled up the parchment and were about to head out the door when Remus finally couldn’t hold back his curiosity. “What are two up to?” he asked.

Sirius and James gave each other a quick glance before Sirius spoke up. “Well, Remus, we realize how difficult it must be for your mum to be ill so often - every month it seems. We decided to do something nice and send her a ‘get well soon’ letter. We were just heading to the owlery.”

Remus paled. “Erm, why are you doing that? You haven’t even met her.”

James spoke up this time with an innocent smile. “Remus, you’re our best friend. We may not have met your mum but that doesn’t mean we can’t send her a letter. I’m sure she must have heard about us from you during one of your many visits home.”

Remus looked from James to Sirius and back again. “I-erm…that’s a great idea, however it would make more sense for me to deliver it. After all, I’m going to be seeing her later.” Remus went to take the letter out of Sirius’ hand however Sirius hid it behind his back.

“Nonsense, Remus!” he said. “It’s no trouble to send an owl. I’m sure owl post will be a pleasant surprise for her. Besides, I wouldn’t want you to lose it.” Before Remus could speak up Sirius added, “Boy, you sure do miss a lot of classes to see your poor mum.”

Remus nodded before Sirius added, “I assume you have a note or something from your family to go see her. After all, it would be bad if the professors thought you were ‘crying wolf,’ wouldn’t it?”

If it was possible, Remus paled even more.

Sirius smiled, turned to James and said, “Better get up to the owlery before all the good owls are taken. Coming, James?”

James grinned and said, “After you, Sirius.”

The two boys left a dumbfounded Remus standing in the room.

Frank, who was also there, said, “That was really nice of them. If I had known I would have signed the letter, too.”

James and Sirius managed to keep a straight face until they reached the corridor, where they fell over laughing.

“Did you see his face, the poor bloke?” said Sirius.

“Yeah. Now on to phase 2 of ‘Operation Wolf-boy’,” said James.

“Did you bring it?” Sirius asked.

James pulled out his invisibility cloak. “Did you even doubt me?”

Sirius smirked and pulled him down the corridor. “Let’s wait here for him.”

James threw the invisibility cloak over them and they hid behind a statue, waiting for Remus to leave the tower. It didn’t take long for him to make his way through the portrait hole. He walked past James and Sirius, who followed him down several flights and through several corridors to the hospital wing. James and Sirius looked at each other in question, wondering why he would come here - was he locked away in the hospital wing for his transformation?

Shortly after entering, Remus came back out, minus his luggage, followed by Madame Pomfrey. James and Sirius noted how much more effort it took for Remus to walk along the corridors. As they made their way outside they noticed how dusk was settling. Remus had to lean on Madame Pomfrey for support as they made their way along the grounds. They stopped near the Whomping Willow.

Sirius frowned as he recalled getting a nasty welt when daring to step too close to the new tree a few months ago. He and James kept a safe distance and watched as Madame Pomfrey conjured a pole and used it to prod the base of the tree. All of a sudden the branches, which had been swinging at them violently, stopped their movement. James and Sirius saw Remus give Madame Pomfrey a weak smile before disappearing into the base of the trunk. Madame Pomfrey waved and turned to walk back to the hospital wing.

As the two Marauders walked back to the common room, now free of the invisibility cloak, Sirius punched the air and said, “I KNEW IT! I knew we were right!”

James grinned at his friend’s reaction, however he soon turned serious. “Sirius, unless his mum lives under that tree, that means that we were right and he IS a werewolf. Did you see how ill he appeared? He almost couldn’t make it to the Whomping Willow.”

Sirius frowned and said, “Yeah, that book said the transformations are pretty painful. Didn’t look like Pomfrey had anything to make him feel better. Wish there was something we could do to help.”

“Me too,” said James. “First things first, though. We need to confront him with what we know and get him to admit the truth. We can do that tomorrow evening when he gets back.”

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A/N: Thanks to my latest reviewers: itsme63, Remus’sweetie, Watermelon!, Harrysgrl, and sweetie513. Responses are in the review section.

So what do you think about Sirius and James’ detective work? And their conversation with Remus before Remus left? What about the conversation between Lily and James after she got back from Riddle’s office?

Next chapter: Sirius and James gather their last bit of proof and confront Remus.

22. Confronting the Truth

Chapter 22: Confronting the Truth

Early the next morning James and Sirius were hiding under the invisibility cloak about a hundred feet from the base of the Whomping Willow. They had woken up early and snuck down to wait for Remus’ return. After about an hour they saw a faint glow in the east that signaled the approach of dawn. Except for the occasional growl from Sirius’ stomach, it was very quiet.

“Merlin, Sirius!” James hissed. “Can’t you keep it down? I think people as far as Hogsmeade can hear your stomach.”

Sirius rolled his eyes and whined, “It was your bright idea to get up this early. If Remus doesn’t get back soon we may miss breakfast!”

James was about to retort when he saw some movement near the entrance to the castle. He poked Sirius and they stared at the approaching figure. It was Madame Pomfrey. When she made it to the Whomping Willow she again conjured a pole and poked at the base of the tree, stopping the flailing branches.

“Come now, dear,” they heard her whisper. “We had better get you back to the wing before the students start to wake.”

Sirius and James watched in sympathy as they saw Remus hobbling slowly out of the base of the tree, looking paler than ever. Once he was a safe distance the nurse vanished the pole and helped support him as they slowly made their way toward the castle. Remus’ robes were torn and although the light from the approaching dawn was still dim, James was sure he saw blood caked onto the tattered fabric.

As the two boys followed unseen they heard the nurse whisper, “It looks like last night was particularly bad. I haven’t seen you so bruised and torn.” Remus simply nodded in response.

As they walked through the corridors toward the hospital wing Remus asked the nurse, “Madame Pomfrey, is there anyone else in the hospital wing this morning?”

“No, dear. As always, I left a note saying that I was away and for people to see Professor Pilon if they are ill. You will have at least a few hours to rest and recuperate.” Madame Pomfrey turned to Remus and studied him as they continued forward. “It must be difficult having to lie to your friends.”

Remus wearily replied, “I don’t have a choice. They would never understand. You and Professor Dumbledore are the only people who know the truth and don’t treat me like I’m some sort of monster. I really want to thank you for that.”

“Oh, you don’t have to thank me,” she said with a wobble to her voice.

They disappeared into the hospital wing and the two boys who had followed stood in the corridor not knowing what to say for several minutes. Finally, they made their way in silence back to their dormitory where James packed his invisibility cloak away.

“Where were you guys?” Peter squeakily asked, startling James and Sirius. He was coming out of the bathroom.

Sirius quickly said, “We went for a walk.”

Peter looked at them dubiously. “With the invisibility cloak?”

“Well, uh, Sirius and I decided to sneak into the shed and ‘borrow’ some brooms for an early morning flight around the Quidditch pitch,” said James.

Sirius nodded and said, “Well, I’m starving! Let’s go before all the food is eaten!”

James chuckled. “Sirius, you always think with your stomach, don’t you? You do realize that even if, for some odd reason, all the food was gone from our table - we could sneak into the kitchens and grab something?”

********************************************************

Classes that day could not go by fast enough for several students who wanted to be outside enjoying the spring weather. The grass was greener and the trees in the Forbidden forest were filling with leaves and flowers. It left a fresh scent in the crisp spring air that called out to the students.

In Charms, Professor Flitwick surprised the students by holding class outdoors. They had been practicing charming objects to move from one location to another. He decided to hold a contest to see who could charm the largest object and who could move it the furthest. To no one’s surprise Lily won the contest, earning 50 points for Gryffindor.

As they walked to their next class Lily noticed that Potter and Sirius were quieter than usual, not causing the usual ruckus they made in class. They had been withdrawn from the other students, whispering back and forth to each other. Marlene attributed it to them planning their next act of mischief, but Lily thought there could be something more going on.

After their last class Lily decided to see if she could find out what was happening. She told Emm that she’d catch up with her in the library and walked over to where Potter and Sirius were.

“Hi Potter, hi Sirius!” she said.

The two boys turned to her, surprised that she had been standing there. Sirius said, “Hey, Evans. Didn’t see you standing there. Erm, how long were you standing there?”

Lily studied the two boys for a moment. They looked, well…nervous. Was it possible for Sirius Black to be nervous? What were they up to? “Not long,” she replied. “What were you two talking about?”

Potter and Sirius glanced at each other quickly before Sirius replied, “Oh, you wouldn’t want to know.”

Lily looked into his dark eyes and felt that he was telling the truth yet holding something back. She turned to Potter, who for once was avoiding her eyes.

Sensing her doubt, he threw on a grin and said, “Yeah, Evans. We know how you aren’t crazy about some of the pranks we pull. Better that you not know.” She stared at him for a moment before deciding to let it go.

“Oh, okay then,” she said. “Just as long as no one gets hurt.” She smiled and they started to walk back to the common room. When they rounded the corner they almost collided with Professor Riddle.

“Whoa! Sorry about that Professor!” exclaimed Sirius.

Professor Riddle smiled and looked at the three students, his gaze pausing for a moment on James. “It’s quite all right. No harm done.”

Sirius and James were starting to walk around the professor when James noticed that Evans had not moved. She was still standing in front of Professor Riddle. James followed her gaze to the silver tie tack that Riddle was wearing. It was the silver serpent tie tack that James had seen him wear a few times. He noticed how the emerald that formed the eye of the serpent seemed to sparkle brightly.

“That’s an interesting tie tack you have, Professor,” said James. “Where did you get it?”

Riddle studied James for a moment and answered, “It’s a family heirloom.” He looked down at Lily and said, “I must be off. I have a meeting I need to attend.” He disappeared around the corner.

“You guys coming?” asked Sirius, indicating the corridor that led toward Gryffindor tower. James turned to follow him but noticed Evans was still lingering behind them.

“Evans?” he asked.

She looked up at him and said, “I just realized I have to be somewhere. I’ll see you guys later.” She turned and walked away while James stared after her, wondering where she was going, or who she was meeting.

Sirius poked James in the arm and said, “Come on, you can think about Evans later. Right now we have to track down Remus and figure out what we’re going to say to him.

************************************************************

It did not take a lot of effort to find Remus. He was in the dorm room unpacking when James and Sirius arrived a few minutes later. He looked much better than he had that morning. Madame Pomfrey had done a good job fixing his bruises and wounds, as well as his robes. James wondered with worry if Remus tore himself up like that every month.

“Hi, guys!” Remus said to his two friends. He smiled with what looked like some effort.

“Hi, Remus!” replied James, looking around the room. “Where’s Peter?”

“He went down to dinner with Frank,” replied Remus.

“So how’s your mum?” asked Sirius.

Remus gulped and replied, “Oh, she’s hanging in there.”

“Was she surprised by our ‘get-well’ letter?” asked Sirius.

“Oh, yes! She was surprised, but she loved it,” said Remus as he pulled a few books out of his travel bag.

James and Sirius glanced at each other before James said, “Uh…Remus? We never sent that letter.”

Remus froze, the books slipping out of his hand and hitting the floor. His eyes drew on a look of panic yet he tried to cover it by saying, “Oh, well, erm - maybe I, uh…that is, maybe it was a different letter s-she had r-received. I-I-I must have j-just assumed it was your l-letter.” He glanced at his friends, hoping they had accepted his explanation.

To his dismay James and Sirius shook their heads. Sirius finally spoke. “We know, Remus.”

Remus’ breathing was quickening as his eyes darted back and forth between James and Sirius. “W-W-What are you t-talking about?”

James spoke this time while Remus tried to throw out excuses. “You’re gone once every month…”

“---to see my sick mum!”

“…you’re gone during the full moon…”

“---that’s just a coincidence!”

“…you always look pale and sickly during that time…”

“---b-because I’m worried about m-my mum!”

“…we’ve seen the faded bruises and healing scratches…”

“I-I-I…I tripped, I’ve been in accidents, I-”

“Remus!” Sirius said. “We followed you last night to the Whomping Willow and again this morning when Madame Pomfrey led you to the hospital wing.”

Remus froze again, closing his eyes. His shoulders drooped and he turned away.

“We saw your wounds. Did you do those to yourself?” asked James.

After a few moments, Remus slowly nodded. “So,” he said, his throat tight. “You know…about my transformations, about my being….”

“A werewolf?” said Sirius, causing Remus to flinch. “Yeah, we figured it out.”

Remus nodded again, his back still turned to his friends. He stooped to the floor and picked up the books he had dropped and started to put them back into his travel bag. James and Sirius watched, puzzled, as Remus started to repack the things he had just taken out.

“What are you doing?” asked James.

Remus’ hands started to shake as he hurriedly threw his possessions into the bag. He opened his trunk and started to throw in his text books.

“Remus?” James asked again.

Remus turned around sharply with a pained look in his eyes. “Well, isn’t it obvious? I’m packing! I can’t stay in school with students knowing what I am!” He looked back at the textbooks he had been packing. His voice, anguished said, “Guess it doesn’t matter if I pack those. I won’t be needing them!”

James and Sirius looked at Remus in shock. They had expected him to be upset, but they hadn’t expected him to react so strongly. James opened his mouth but Remus stopped him.

“Just save it, will you James?! I don’t need to hear about how I’ve been lying to you! I don’t need to witness the fear that will come into your eyes every time you look at me!” Remus pushed past James and Sirius and rushed out of the dormitory.

The two boys stood there in shock, not sure what to do. Sirius finally said, “I can’t believe he expected us to fear him. After hanging out with him all year how could he expect us to suddenly hate him or fear him?!”

James stood there thoughtfully before replying, “I suspect people have treated him poorly, people he had thought of as friends, maybe even family.”

“We had better find him,” said Sirius.

*********************************************************

Remus felt like his chest was going to explode. So many emotions were coursing through him. He was upset that his friends had discovered his secret, and he was also angry at how they had snooped around to find the truth. His ‘friends,’ he thought almost laughing. ‘I guess I shouldn’t think of them that way, anymore. I’m sure they hate me,’ he thought, as more feelings of anguish rushed into him. He pounded his way along the corridors, not sure where he was going but needing to blow off steam.

Eventually the feelings of anger and sadness melted into weariness. He was still tired and sore from his transformation the previous night. He found that he was near the library. He decided to find a table in the back away from other students and hide there for a while so he could try to gather his thoughts.

When he walked into the library he saw Emm standing in one of the aisles looking for a book in the Transfiguration section. He paused, gazing at her and thinking about how she still didn’t know what he was. He sadly thought to himself how she would hate him when she found out, just like Sirius and James now did. Emm sensed someone’s gaze and looked up to see Remus standing there. She smiled, about to say hi when she noticed how sad he looked.

Remus was about to force a smile when he sensed movement from one of the bookcases by Emm. He glanced up and saw the bookcase suddenly start to tilt toward where Emm was standing.

“EMM!!” Remus ran toward her as books started to fall off the shelf. He grabbed Emm and pushed her out of the way just as the bookcase came crashing down where she had just been standing. He looked down at her and saw she had a nasty gash on her forehead where one of the falling books had hit her. “Emm! Are you alright?”

Madame Pince and several other students came rushing over to see what had caused the commotion. “What happened, here?” the librarian asked.

Remus looked up and answered, “That bookcase fell over and almost crushed Emm.”

“It just fell?” she asked.

Remus nodded.

“That’s impossible. These bookcases are sturdy and would not just fall on their own,” said Madame Pince.

“This one did,” said Emm. Remus looked at her, relieved to see she was able to speak.

All of a sudden they heard a scream from one of the students who was standing near the pile of felled books. Madame Pince and Remus rushed over to the student, who was pointing at a piece of glowing parchment on top of the pile of books. They leaned over and to their horror saw a drawing of a skull with a snake crawling through it. There was a message underneath the picture that read, ‘No muggle-born is safe.’

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Thanks to the latest batch of reviewers: sweetie513, itsme63, Remus’sweetie, Potter, James Potter, and Watermelon! The replies are where they usually are - the review section (except for the person who didn’t want one). It’s fun to see your thought processes about what’s happening.

So, Sirius and James caught Remus in a lie - he couldn’t explain his way out of that one! Poor Remus! What did you think of his reaction to the confrontation with Sirius and James?

Next chapter: Aftermath of the attack in the library. Sirius and James find Remus and make him talk.

23. A Werewolf's Tail...er...Tale

Chapter 23: A Werewolf’s Tail…er…Tale

James and Sirius searched around the castle for a while, trying in vain to find Remus. They even considered going to the Whomping Willow but weren’t entirely sure how to enter the secret passageway below it. Finally James realized where Remus was hiding. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it earlier.

“Sirius!” he said. “I’ll bet you twenty Sickles that he’s in the library!”

Sirius smiled and said, “The library! How come we didn’t realize it before?”

James grinned and replied, “Well, when you never go there except for detention, you almost forget it’s there.”

They walked up the stairs and toward the library. As they entered the corridor leading to their destination they saw Evans walking out. James and Sirius greeted her but she walked on, looking a little disturbed. James wanted to follow her to see what had bothered her, but felt that it was more important at the moment to track down Remus.

As they walked into the library they heard a scream and ran across several aisles to find several students, Remus, and Madame Pince crowded around a large pile of books. One of the large bookcases had crashed to the floor, and James noticed Emm laying on the floor nearby with a gash on her forehead. Several of the students were shaking and some were running out of the library.

James and Sirius ran over to Remus. “What happened here?” asked Sirius.

James followed Remus’ gaze and saw that he was staring at a glowing piece of parchment. When he read the contents his blood ran cold. That explained the odd look on Evans’ face, he thought. After all, she was Muggleborn.

“Professor Dumbledore!” cried the librarian. “Thank Merlin you are here!”

The students turned to see the headmaster approaching, wearing a deep purple robe with twinkling stars that usually mirrored the twinkle in his eyes. The twinkle was absent as he read the message on the parchment. He looked up and said, “Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, please escort Miss Vance to the hospital wing so the nurse can tend to her wound. Irma, please make sure the rest of the students return to their common rooms while I tend to this.” Madam Pince nodded and started ushering students out of the library.

Remus looked at Dumbledore while James and Sirius helped Emm stand. “Professor, do you know who did this? Does it have anything to do with that dark wizard we’ve been reading about in the papers?”

Dumbledore studied Remus over his half-moon glasses and finally answered, “I am not sure yet, Mr. Lupin, but you need not worry.” He paused and glanced at Sirius and James, who were helping Emm out of the library. “Keep your ears and your mind open. Indeed, I don’t think you have anything to worry about.” As Remus followed Dumbledore’s gaze he wondered if the headmaster knew about his argument with Sirius and James. “Why don’t you help your friends while I finish up here?”

Remus looked back at Dumbledore, realizing he had stressed the word ‘friends.’ Remus slowly nodded and then walked out to catch up with James, Sirius, and Emm.

***********************************************************

After leaving Emm with Madame Pomfrey, who insisted she stay the night, the three Marauders slowly walked toward Gryffindor tower in silence. After several minutes of this, Sirius could not stand it anymore. He grabbed Remus’ arm and pulled him into an empty classroom, with James following closely behind.

Remus pulled free and turned to face the two boys. “I thought I made it clear that I’m leaving Hogwarts. You won’t have to deal with me anymore, so-”

“Will you just shut up for one minute so we can get a word in?” barked Sirius.

Remus looked down at the floor and said, “Alright then, let me have it.”

“Remus,” started James, “I know you were hoping we wouldn’t find out. First things first - we are still your friends…that is, if you want us to be.”

It took a moment for James’ words to sink in. Finally, Remus’ head jerked up and he scrutinized James before slowly responding, “What was that you just said?”

Sirius spoke up. “You heard him. We’re still your friends.” Remus turned to him with disbelief in his eyes. “Geez, Lupin! After all the trouble we got into this year you think something like that would intimidate us?! I thought you had a higher opinion of us.”

Remus’ voice cracked a little as he said, “So, are you saying that my transformations, that is- my being a…w-werewolf…doesn’t matter to you?”

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that,” said James. “Looking back, we saw what you’ve been through to hide this from everyone. We saw how ill you became each month, and we saw you when you came out of the Whomping Willow this morning. This obviously affects you and as your friends that matters to us.”

“But,” said Sirius, “don’t think this means you’re scaring us off.” He grinned and added, “After all, we’re the Marauders! We laugh in the face of danger!”

For the first time Remus was able to crack a real smile, rolling his eyes. “I would say you like danger, even if you have to go searching for it.”

“So Remus, are you still planning on leaving Hogwarts?” James asked.

Remus thought for a moment and said, “Maybe you guys can deal with my being a werewolf, but I doubt the rest of the school could.”

“Well, then they’re idiots! It’s stupid being scared around you. The only thing that’s scary about you is the amount of time you put in at the library. If keeping you here at Hogwarts means keeping your secret, then you can count on us,” said Sirius.

“After all, we still need you to look up all the good hexes that we pull on the Slytherins!” added James.

Remus smiled again as he shook his head, “I can’t believe I underestimated you guys! Alright, I’ll stay.” He stood there for a moment before asking, “Does Peter or Frank know?”

James shook his head, “No, we didn’t want to let on to anyone else until we confirmed the truth. We won’t tell him if that’s what you want.”

“For now I would prefer if this stayed between us. No one else need find out,” the werewolf replied.

“No problem,” said Sirius. “So, uh, how did you…you know, become a werewolf?”

Remus frowned and for a moment it seemed like he wouldn’t respond. Finally, he said, “I was five years old. We lived by a large forest. One evening my parents finally consented to allow my brother and I to go to a friend’s house.”

“Wait!” said James. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”

“I did. He was my twin brother, Romulus. We were inseparable.” Remus seemed lost in his memories before he continued, “Anyway, we were going to a friend’s house a few blocks away to sleep over. Our parents warned us to stay inside. There was a full moon out and we could always hear strange howls coming from the forest during the full moon. I never realized what it meant, being only five years old at the time.

“We decided to sneak out after dark and camp in the back yard. We wanted to prove that we were big enough to be on our own. Not long after we set up camp we started to hear the howls in the distance. Kenneth, our friend, started to dare us to walk into the forest. Romulus was always up for a dare. He grabbed my arm and coaxed me into following him. The howls were still there, however they did not seem as far away as they had before.

“After a few minutes of walking around we got lost. I was scared, and started to call out for help. Before I knew it, I heard a loud growl and turned to see a werewolf charging at me. I froze, not knowing what to do. My brother, Romulus, saw the werewolf coming at me and leapt at him to keep him from reaching me. The werewolf turned on him instead and bit him several times. I tried to pull Romulus out of the beast’s jaws but it was too late. Romulus-” Remus paused as his throat caught. James almost spoke when Remus continued, “-my brother, my best friend- was killed, and the werewolf decided to take me as well. I only remember the first bite as his teeth sunk into my arm.

“The next thing I knew I was waking up in St. Mungo’s in the ‘Dangerous’ Dai Llewellyn Ward for Serious Bites. Apparently, Kenneth had heard screams and howls from the forest and alerted his father, who was able to find us and stun the werewolf before he could kill me, but not before I was bitten.”

There was deafening silence as James and Sirius absorbed what Remus had described. “So,” said James, “not only did you have to deal with the transformations - there was the death of your brother, too?”

Remus nodded. “My parents tried to convince me that they had forgiven me, but how could they when I could never forgive myself? My brother died to save me! They’ve tried to treat me like there’s nothing wrong but I can see the fear in their eyes. They used to be very affectionate with my brother and me, but now they refuse to touch me. My friends back home found out and turned on me, even Kenneth - the boy who dared us into the forest in the first place!” Remus said bitterly. “Kenneth would have gone to Hogwarts, but his parents thought it safer to send him to Durmstrang when they found out I would be coming here.” Remus looked at James and Sirius, saying, “You two are the first friends I have who know the truth and haven’t turned your backs.”

Sirius spoke with conviction, “And we won’t.”

James nodded in agreement.

Remus’ eyes watered a little and he turned away hoping his friends wouldn’t notice. “You have no idea how much it means to hear you say that.”

James, seeing that the mood needed to lighten, grinned and said, “If you’re staying at Hogwarts then that calls for a celebration!”

Sirius, following James’ lead said, “Yeah. We missed dinner, so why don’t we sneak into the kitchens and nick some food from the pantry?”

************************************************************

Another short chapter, I know, but I wanted to get out Remus’ story and have him make up with Sirius and James. After I wrote a large chunk of the story I read that according to JKR, Remus doesn’t have a brother. Oh well - that part of my fic is AU. I’m not going to change it.

Thanks to my latest reviewers: Remus’sweetie, sweetie513, itsme63, anonymous (x2). You’re reviews make my day (and believe me - life has been stressful lately).

Next chapter: The school reacts to the attack in the library.

24. Shivers and Chills

Chapter 24: Shivers and Chills

“Dungbombs.”

The portrait hole opened up in response and the three Marauders crept in, hoping nobody was in the common room. It was well after curfew and they didn’t want to get caught. They had just enjoyed a few hours of fun in the kitchen. That evening the house elves had set up a trap to find out who was stealing the food. Once they were caught, the boys were certain they would be in for a month’s worth of detentions. To their surprise, the house elves welcomed them and told them to have a seat while they prepared whatever the boys wanted to eat.

The common room appeared to be empty. Seeing no one, the three boys crept toward the stairs to their dorm. Halfway there James dropped some of the goodies he had been carrying back from the kitchens. Sighing in frustration, he told his friends to go upstairs and he would catch up with them. Obliging, they disappeared up the staircase.

James knelt down and started gathering the dropped items. Suddenly, a moan came from across the room near the fireplace. James’ head jerked up at the sound and he slowly inched across the room and around the couch and looked down to see Lily asleep. She was shivering and appeared to be in the midst of a nightmare. Her face was scrunched up like she was angry or afraid of something. Not wanting to see her like this, James sat down on the edge of the couch and gently shook her shoulder.

At first, she didn’t wake up. In fact, her nightmare seemed to worsen. She started to toss and turn and even cried out, “No, please, I can’t!”

James grabbed both of her shoulders to keep her from flailing about and shook her a bit more forcefully. “Evans!” he coaxed. “Hey, Evans! Wake up!”

All of a sudden her eyes jerked open and as they came into focus she stopped moving. She was panting from her nightmare as she started looking around, trying to get her bearings. “W-Where am I?”

“You’re in the common room,” replied James.

“The common room?! H-How did I get here?” she asked. She looked about on the verge of tears.

“I don’t know. I found you here, having a nightmare,” he said.

Her gaze landed on him and as she looked into his eyes she sensed concern from them. Even so, the hazel that watched her seemed to calm her nerves.

“Do you want to tell me about it?” he asked.

Her brows lifted a bit. “It?” she asked.

“The nightmare,” he replied.

“Oh…well, I don’t really remember it.” She sat up and felt a chill rush through her. She shuddered and moved closer to the fire, rubbing her arms.

James noticed this and heard a slight chatter from her teeth. ‘That’s odd,’ he thought. ‘It’s very warm in here.’

“Are you cold?” he asked.

She nodded, inching closer to the fire and rubbing her hands together. The sight of her rubbing hands sent a bright flash into her mind - images of her hands covered in soot as they leaned against a pale carpet. The images were so strong they reminded her of the images she had seen of the glass fragments the previous month. Her hands shook from the memory as she watched them so she decided to look at the fire instead. That’s when another image flashed into her head - one of soot, or was it Floo powder? It was being tossed into a fireplace, where green flames started to dance in her vision.

Before she could see anything else she felt a blanket being draped across her shoulders. She looked up to see Potter standing there. She had almost forgotten he was there.

“Thanks,” she said, her voice unsteady from the shivering.

“No problem. Are you becoming ill?” he asked, his voice filled with worry.

“I-I don’t know what’s happening,” replied Lily.

He watched her for a moment before nodding his head and saying, “I think I know what’s bothering you.”

She looked over to him, surprised. “What?”

“You’re upset about what happened in the library,“ he said.

She echoed him saying, “What happened in the library…”

“It’s completely understandable. I wouldn’t worry about it. Dumbledore’ll make sure nothing will happen to you or anyone else,” he said confidently.

“Happen…” she said, her focus seeming far away. She sat there for a moment before shaking her head and standing up. She looked down at Potter and said, “Thanks for…earlier. I think I’ll go upstairs before I find myself falling asleep down here again.”

******************************************************************

Lily woke up the next morning feeling a chill in her bones. She had had more nightmares but she couldn’t remember them, just like she couldn’t remember the one she had had in the common room the previous night.

Seeing Alice getting dressed, Lily realized she couldn’t delay getting up even though she craved the warmth of her blankets. She hurried into the bathroom to clean up before dressing in her warmest clothes. Alice looked at her in curiosity because it was a nice day outside. She and Marlene were wearing short sleeved shirts under their robes.

“Are you alright, Lily?” asked Alice.

Shivering, Lily turned and gave Alice a weak smile. “Yes. I’m f-f-fine,” she lied. She was actually starting to get another one of her headaches. She had had several all year, though none as bad as the first one that had caused her to faint in the hospital wing. A few times she had visited Madame Pomfrey, who could find no cause for the headaches. She just fussed over her and gave her potions to help with the discomfort. Her friends always ended up worrying about her so Lily just tried to bear the pain instead of telling anyone about them. The headaches usually eased up on their own. Lily, seeing doubt in Alice’s eyes added, “I’m just a little cold, that’s all.”

Alice raised her eyebrows and said, “But it’s not even cold inside.”

Marlene came rushing out of the bathroom in a hurry to finish dressing. “Come on, you guys! We’re gonna be late for breakfast!”

Lily, glad for the distraction from Alice’s questions said, “Yeah, let’s go!”

As they walked toward the Great Hall Lily was lost in her thoughts. She kept remembering the images that had flashed before her. What were they from? Were they real or was she going crazy? She wondered if they were just from her nightmares. Something Marlene was saying jolted her out of her thoughts.

“…I heard that she should be out of the hospital wing later today,” said Marlene.

“Who?” asked Lily.

Marlene and Alice looked at her. “Lily, haven’t you been listening?” asked Marlene.

Lily sheepishly replied, “Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts.”

Marlene rolled her eyes and said, “I was talking about the attack last night on Emm.”

“Emm was attacked?!” shrieked Lily. She looked to Alice for confirmation, who nodded. “How is she? What happened?”

“She was in the library and a bookcase was charmed to fall on her. Luckily for her, Remus was there and he pushed her out of the way in time,” said Marlene.

Lily looked puzzled. “But…but I thought I heard you say she was in the hospital wing.”

Alice nodded. “She is. One of the falling books hit her on the head and gave her a nasty cut. Madame Pomfrey was able to heal it so she should look like new.”

Marlene leaned closer toward Alice and Lily and whispered, “Dorcas told me that there was a note by the books. It was glowing and had some creepy drawing. There was a message below that said that no Muggleborn is safe.” If it was possible that morning, Lily felt a deeper chill settle into her bones.

“Don’t worry, Lily,” said Alice. “Professor Dumbledore is not going to let this happen again. You’ll be safe.”

“I’m surprised you hadn’t heard about this already. It’s all over the school. Most of the students are certain that this dark lord broke into the school and may still be nearby waiting to attack again,” said Marlene.

Lily suddenly remembered the previous night in the common room. Potter had mentioned something about something happening in the library. She had been so cold and the images she had seen had still been so fresh that she hadn’t really paid attention.

As they walked into the Great Hall their path was suddenly blocked by Lucius Malfoy. He had a triumphant sneer on his face as he approached Lily. She saw the chilly look directed toward her and backed away, only to feel herself backing into something solid. As she glanced behind her she realized with apprehension that she had backed into Avery, one of the older Slytherins.

“So Mudblood,” sneered Malfoy. “You must have heard about the little event in the library last night.” He stepped menacingly close to her. She could feel his breath on her face. “You’ll be next,” he whispered. He froze, and Lily looked up to notice a wand pointed at Malfoy’s temple. Following its source she saw Marlene standing there with a furious look. It was the kind of look that would have sent Sirius running from the room fearing for his life, or worse yet - his hair.

“Get out of the way, Malfoy, before I burn a hole in your skull!” Marlene spat.

Malfoy, looking up at Avery for a moment, backed away. Lily slipped away and turned, seeing Alice pointing her wand at Avery. The two Slytherins were contemplating retaliating, however one glance behind Lily made them turn away and retreat to their table. Lily turned and saw the Marauders approaching.

“You okay, Evans?” asked Potter.

Lily nodded. “No harm done, thanks to Marlene and Alice.”

Sirius was studying Marlene. Lily could swear he looked impressed.

Marlene noticed his watching her and turned to him. “What is it, Black?!”

Sirius said, “Not bad, McKinnon…for a girl, that is.”

She shook her head and walked by him toward the table saying, “Pig.”

********************************************************************

That afternoon as the Marauders were walking to their Charms class, they heard someone calling for them to wait. When they turned they saw Emm hurrying down the corridor.

“Emm!” called Remus. “When did Madame Pomfrey let you out?”

“I just snuck out,” she said, a little out of breath from running. “I’m glad I found you, though. I wanted to thank you for saving my life last night.”

The other three boys turned to Remus in surprise. “Remus, you never told us you saved her!” squeaked Peter.

Remus shook his head and said, “I was just in the right place at the right time. Are you feeling better now?”

Emm smiled and nodded. “Oh yes! Madame Pomfrey patched me up.” She paused and her smile faltered. “I guess the worst part about it was that it was directed at me just because my parents are Muggles.”

The others nodded in sympathy. “Just to think it could have easily be Evans, too,” said James.

“Maybe,” said Emm. “But at least she wasn’t in the library when it happened.”

James looked at Sirius, who returned his confused glance. “What do you mean she wasn’t there?” he asked.

Emm replied, “We were supposed to meet for study group. She was late so I went to search for some books until she came.”

James looked at Remus who shrugged. “I didn’t see her either,” said Remus. “But I had just arrived right before the attack.”

“That’s strange,” said James. “I could have sworn we saw her leaving the library as we arrived, right Sirius?”

Sirius nodded. “Yeah, it was her.”

“Well, maybe she arrived when I was looking for the books and I didn’t see her,” suggested Emm.

“Maybe,” said James. He was thinking back to the previous night and the expression on Evans’ face as she left the library. He hadn’t thought about it much because he had been intent on finding Remus. Then he remembered her nightmare in the common room and how odd she had acted afterward. Something deep inside told him that something was off, however his reasoning told him that she had been scared by what had happened in the library and that was what had caused her odd behavior.

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Hmmm, what is going on with Lily? We’re getting closer and closer to the end of first year and there will be some crazy things happening between now and then!

Thanks to the latest reviewers: Anonymous (x3), itsme63, sweetie513, and Remus’sweetie. Also, thanks to Amber Eyes for putting my story on the recommendations list - woohoo!

Next chapter: For all you Lily/James fans out there - I don’t think you want to miss this!

Shameless plug - For those of you who want to get straight to L/J fluff, check out my one-shot (A Glimpse) - I posted it last month.

25. First kiss

Chapter 25: First kiss

The attack on Emm made it to the Daily Prophet, but not the front page. There were other attacks, more gruesome, that the unknown dark lord was responsible for. The image of the skull with the snake had been left in some form at each of the attacks. For some it was like Emm’s - the image on a glowing piece of paper. At others the image was floating in the air over the bodies. The Daily Prophet labeled it as a Dark Mark, and that is how it came to be known.

Although the chills Lily had felt were fading away, her headaches still plagued her. She became very good at masking her symptoms from her friends and pretending that everything was fine. She spent a lot of time outdoors now that April had come bringing warmer spring weather. She couldn’t stand to be inside more than was necessary. Something in the castle would eventually trigger the images of soot and broken glass that had been haunting her.

She still struggled in her DADA class, despite the weekly tutoring sessions with Professor Riddle. Lily sensed that he was becoming impatient with her, like he was expected something from her that she couldn’t produce. She wondered what it was she was doing wrong because she excelled in all of her other classes, even Potions.

As the end of April came Remus had to make another trip home. She noticed that Potter and Sirius were more subdued than usual and they spoke in hushed tones. After James told Lily how Remus’ mum was sick again, she felt the sensation that he was not being honest with her.

“What do you suppose they’re up to?” wondered Lily.

Marlene snorted and said, “Probably up to no good as usual.” She was still smarting from the April Fool’s joke Sirius had pulled on her. He had hexed her so that pudding would spray out of her nose. She, in turn, had transfigured his nose into a pig snout.

As the afternoon grew late Lily saw the two boys in the common room whispering back and forth. Potter got up and left the common room. Lily, curious to see what he was hiding, decided to follow him.

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The day of the full moon was a little awkward for Remus. It was the first one where James and Sirius openly knew the truth. They tried in vain to keep Remus’ spirits up. Remus, however, had the familiar feeling of dread and fear about the upcoming transformation. The worst part wasn’t the extreme physical pain he went through - it was the loss of control. He was ashamed about the monster he became every month and was terrified that he could inflict the same pain on another human.

As he left to go to the hospital wing Sirius and James watched in frustration. They hated to see their friend in so much pain and yet they couldn’t stand by him that night because they would be put in danger. Sirius decided to focus his attention on plans for future pranks on Slytherins. James, on the other hand, decided to sneak outside to sit by the lake.

Not only was he upset about his friend, but he had received a letter from his father that morning at breakfast. Usually his letters were light-hearted and filled with jokes, however his latest letters had been more serious. James looked out over the lake and saw the fading sunlight dancing off the calm water. It amazed him how still the water was, however after a few minutes he saw some ripples form signaling the Giant Squid poking one of his tentacles through the surface. As James watched this he heard the soft rustling of footsteps approaching.

“Potter?” inquired the voice he instantly recognized. He didn’t respond right away. He felt her sit down on the grass next to him. “Are you alright?” she asked.

James put on one of his grins though it seemed a bit forced. He turned to her and said, “Hey Evans! I’m fine.”

Her startling green eyes searched his and she shook her head. “I don’t think you are. Something’s bothering you. What is it?”

His eyes widened in surprise. How could she always read him so easily? “Well, erm-” he stuttered, thinking of what to tell her. He couldn’t break his promise to Remus so he focused on the other thing that was bothering him. “You got me there, Evans. I got a letter from my dad this morning.”

“Did something happen at home?” she asked.

James shook his head. “No, it’s more the tone of the letter. Usually he’s joking around however the past few letters have been pretty serious.”

“What are they about, if you don’t mind my asking?” she queried.

“I don’t mind,” he said. “My dad is an official at the Ministry of Magic, rather high up. Usually he works at the Ministry and oversees the aurors who track down the bad wizards. Lately, as you know, there have been more attacks due to that dark wizard and his followers. The number of attacks is increasing and my dad told me that he’s going to start working with the aurors in the field to help capture this wizard.”

Lily studied his hazel eyes and sensed worry. “It sounds dangerous,” she said.

James nodded. “It is, but my dad’s a very talented wizard,” he said with a bit of pride.

Lily smiled and said, “Then he can take care of himself. I’m sure he wouldn’t want you to be out here worrying.”

James returned her smile and stood up. “You’re right. I should go and find Sirius. He’s probably finding trouble right now, and I wouldn’t want to miss it,” he said with a grin.

Lily laughed and took the hand James offered to help her stand. As she got to her feet she lost her balance and stumbled. He caught her from falling forward and they ended up face to face, barely a foot from each other. Their breath caught as they gazed into each other’s eyes, and Lily felt a trickle of warmth flow through her veins as a blush crept into her cheeks.

James couldn’t tear himself from her eyes. They were so pure and green. He almost felt himself regressing into the speechless boy from last fall who couldn’t speak a clear sentence to her. He fought to keep the confident James Potter afloat and did the first thing that he could think of - he pulled her forward and kissed her. It lasted barely a few seconds however James could have sworn he heard some Filibuster Fireworks firing in the distance. When he pulled back he watched her shocked face slowly form a dreamy smile. Like on Valentine’s Day, he could once again feel his heart trying to pound out of his chest.

“Slumming, Potter?” came a sneering voice from behind them. James and Lily turned to see Lucius Malfoy standing about 10 feet away from them.

James clenched his fists. “Shut up, Malfoy!”

The blond boy smirked and said, “You’re a blood traitor, Potter! I shouldn’t have expected anything less from a Gryffindor.” He glanced over at Lily. “I suppose you could have some fun with her, however I would suggest keeping a bar of soap with you so you can clean off the Mudblood filth she‘ll get on you.”

James stepped threateningly toward Malfoy. “I said SHUT UP!”

“Potter,” Lily said as she grabbed his arm. “Please, let’s just g-”

Malfoy cut her off. “It doesn’t matter anyway. She won’t last long with that dark wizard around. Maybe he has the right idea-”

James didn’t let him finish. He tore himself out of Lily’s grip and charged at Malfoy, tackling him and throwing him to the ground. The boys threw punches and wrestled on the ground until Malfoy was able to grab his wand and throw a hex at James that resulted in a large bruise on his forehead. James was left in a daze as Malfoy pulled himself up and rushed back into the castle.

“Potter!” Lily ran over to him and knelt by his side.

James slowly sat up, feeling like his head was ringing.

“Are you okay?” she asked, looking him over to see if he was hurt.

He shook his head a little to clear it and nodded. “I’ll be okay. What about you?” When he didn’t hear her answer he looked up at her and saw that she was staring at his robes. He looked down and saw that the front had been torn during the fight.

“What is that?” she asked.

When he looked down to his robes again he noticed a gleam of light reflecting off of the ring his father had given him for Christmas. As his father had instructed he had worn the ring on a chain around his neck constantly. He kept it hidden under his robes. It had become such a habit that he had forgotten that he was wearing it. ‘It must have fallen out when the robes tore,’ he thought.

“This?” he asked her, lifting the ring for closer inspection.

Lily nodded, seeming transfixed on the jewel.

“My dad gave it to me for Christmas. It doesn’t fit yet so I wear it like this,” he said.

“Where did your dad get it?” asked Lily in an intense whisper.

James shrugged. “It’s been in my family for years. That’s all I really know about it.” He saw her shiver a little and realized the darkness from the evening was bringing a chill. “We should get back inside. You look like you’re getting cold.”

They headed inside, but instead of following James to the common room Lily told him she would be up later.

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A few minutes later Professor Riddle opened his office door in response to a knock and invited the guest inside. He instructed the guest to sit as he opened his desk drawer and pulled out a small box. He opened the box and took out his silver serpent tie tack with the emerald eye and put it on as he sat down behind the desk. The guest waited patiently until a gleam came from the eye of the serpent.

“Now,” started Professor Riddle. “What have you learned?”

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Yeah, another short chapter, but hey! James and Lily had their first kiss! I tried not to make it too overly dramatic - after all, they’re only 11. What do you all think?

Thanks to the latest reviewers: sweetie513, Remus’sweetie, Watermelon!, and itsme63.

Next chapter: Okay, so James kissed Lily - next we will see his reaction shortly thereafter, and we’ll find out how Lily feels about James. Oooooh, and we are getting VERY close to some major stuff with Riddle. Leave me a review, and maybe I’ll leave you a Christmas present by posting the next chapter before the holiday (wink).

Cheers!

MsNorris

26. Bruises and Werewolf Strength

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.”

27. Startling Revelations

Chapter 27: Startling Revelations

James felt the familiar sensation of exhilaration as he soared around the Quidditch pitch. He had just won a race between himself and several other first years. Sirius was nursing his bruised ego as James gradually made his way back to the ground.

“Oy! Sirius!” he called up to his friend, who joined him a minute later. “I think I’m going to go back inside.”

Sirius grabbed James’ arm before he could walk away. “Oh, no you don’t! You lucked out in that race and I want a rematch.”

James smirked and replied, “It seems like I always ‘luck out’ then, eh? After all the races we’ve had this year you still don’t realize that you can’t beat me?”

Sirius scowled at James and said, “I let you win…”

“If that’s what you want to believe…Look, I’m going inside.” James started to walk back to the castle, his thoughts turning toward Lily. He hadn’t liked her appearance that morning- she was pale and shaky, though it seemed like he was the only one to notice. She wasn’t like this often, however when she did look ill she looked miserable.

He tried over and over in vain to get her to see Madame Pomfrey. She always claimed that she felt fine or that she would be fine shortly. For a few moments he had wondered if she was a werewolf like Remus because it seemed like she was shouldering something similar to his friend. Then he realized that she was present during the full moons so the werewolf theory had to be false.

When he walked inside and made it to the top of the first set of stairs he almost ran straight into Lily. She was standing few feet away. She hadn’t seen him. She seemed like she was lost in a daydream.

“Lily?” he asked, approaching her.

Her eyes snapped to where he was and after a moment she smiled. “Hi James! I was just coming to find you.”

“What about the studying?” he asked.

She shrugged and said, “I kept looking out the window and seeing what a beautiful day it is. I thought I would skive off my studies.”

James stepped back dramatically, his hand on his chest. “Can it be true? Can Lily Evans be putting off her homework….for fun?!”

Lily playfully punched him on the shoulder and then grabbed his hand. “So do you want to go back outside?”

A gradual grin came about James’ face as he thought about it. “Yeah, I think I would. I have another race to win!”

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That evening after dinner Sirius was gloating in the common room. Apparently, James was about to win their last race when he looked down toward Lily and saw Gilderoy Lockhart talking to her. She laughed at something he said and that diverted James’ attention long enough for Sirius to pull ahead and win. James’ annoyance at Sirius was nothing compared to what he wanted to do to Lockhart. He wanted to pound those perfect teeth back into his throat.

As James started to approach Lily and Gilderoy, Remus grabbed James’ shoulder to stop him. “Don’t worry about him, James.”

James was turning a few shades of deep red as he glared at Lockhart. “What do you mean?” he said through clenched teeth. “This isn’t the first time I’ve seen him flirting with her!”

Remus squeezed James’ shoulder to keep him there. “I asked her about him. She laughed and said they were just friends. There’s no way she likes him like she likes you.”

That seemed to calm James down a little. He glanced at Remus before glancing back at Lily and Lockhart. He seemed to be deep into some sort of story and he was using melodramatic gestures to tell the tale. Lily was looking at him with a smile on her face, but when James studied her further it looked like she was trying to humor him.

James gave Remus a look that said he wouldn’t make a scene, then approached Lily and Lockhart. As he walked up to them he heard Lockhart saying, “After I saved that third-year girl Professor Riddle said that I should think about starting a dueling club, so I could pass on my vast knowledge to less fortunate students.”

Lily looked at James as he grabbed her hand and she raised her eyebrows, trying not to laugh. James smirked and squeezed her hand saying, “I’m hungry, ready to go back inside?”

Lily nodded and quickly pulled James toward the castle while shouting goodbye to Gilderoy over her shoulder. When they were halfway to the castle Lily couldn’t contain her laughter anymore. She had to lean on James to keep from falling over.

He chuckled along with her, loving the sound of her laughter, and then commented, “It looks like you’re feeling better.” She paused in between laughs and gave him a funny look. “You know,” he added, “since this morning. You looked like you weren’t feeling well again.”

Lily finally caught her breath and said, “I’m feeling great, actually.” She paused as she saw Gilderoy making his way toward the castle from behind them, then she pulled on James’ hand and squealed, “Come on, before he catches up with us!” They ran inside and hid in an empty classroom giggling until they were sure he wouldn’t be there anymore.

Now, as James sat on the couch beside Lily in the common room after dinner, he couldn’t help but feel how lucky he was. He kept thinking about how Lily’s eyes had turned a brighter shade of green when she laughed. He thought about how tight she had squeezed his hand and how that had caused his stomach to do flip-flops. He still couldn’t believe that she liked him back, but every time she would catch him staring at her she would give him a sweet smile that would melt his heart.

As the evening progressed the others all decided to either go upstairs or in Sirius’ case, try to figure out the new password to the Slytherin dungeons. James and Lily were left in the common room. As they sat there, Lily suddenly grabbed James’ hand and pulled him toward the portrait hole.

“C’mon,” she said.

“Where?” asked James, a confused smile on his face.

“Let’s go outside for a walk,” she said.

“Lily!” exclaimed James, surprised. “It getting dark outside, and we’re not supposed to be outside after dark. Besides it’ll be curfew soon.”

Lily grinned at James and said, “Since when has that stopped you from breaking the rules?”

James shook his head and smiled back. “It hasn’t, but I never knew you could be such a trouble-maker.”

She winked at him and they silently made their way through the castle and had to hide as Mrs. Norris sauntered through the entryway. When she was gone, they crept to the door and stealthily made their way through to the outside.

“Where are we going?” James asked as she led him by the lake. The sky was clear and there was just enough moon to cast light across the grounds as the night became darker.

Lily picked up the pace and pulled James toward the Forbidden Forest. James hesitated, looking at the darkness that awaited them. He had never gone far into the forest. He and the other Marauders had ventured in a little bit but it was during the daytime.

“Lily, I don’t know if we should go in there,” he said.

She kept pulling him along and said, “Hurry! Before someone looks down from the castle and sees us!”

She led him into the forest and about five minutes later he saw a light coming from a clearing up ahead. When they reached the clearing he saw that there were torches hovering in the air throughout the clearing, casting eerie shadows across the ground. James looked to Lily and noticed that she had an odd look on her face.

“Lily?” he asked. She turned to him with a blank stare.

“Ah, Mr. Potter, Miss Evans, how nice of you to join me,” came a cold voice from behind them. James recognized the voice but couldn’t place it until he turned around. It belonged to their DADA professor, but his voice was much colder than in class. In class, he was charming and popular with the students.

“Professor Riddle?” James asked incredulously. “W-What are you doing here?”

Riddle’s face formed a slow smile that chilled James to the bone. “I could ask you the same question, it being after dark and you being a student in the forest.”

James realized what it was that he had found familiar about Riddle’s voice. It had reminded him of when he had barged into Professor Riddle’s office when he was meeting with Lily. ‘Lily!’ he thought. He turned to her and saw the same blank stare, the one she had had in Riddle’s office.

“Lily?” he asked. “What’s going on here?” She didn’t reply, but he noticed her chin tremor. “Lily?” he asked again, his heart starting to pound.

Riddle spoke up instead. “You have something I need Potter.”

James gave the DADA professor a confused look. What did Riddle mean he had something? He didn’t remember stealing anything from him. Was it an assignment? It seemed odd to meet him here like this for an assignment. But then why was he so cold about it? Usually Riddle was easygoing about assignments. James shook his head and said, “I don’t know what you mean.”

“I will tell you, but first things first,” replied Riddle. “Expelliarmus!” he shouted as James’ and Lily’s wands flew across the clearing behind some bushes.

Now James was really starting to worry. What did Riddle want with him? “W-Why did you do that?”

“You have something I need, Potter,” Riddle repeated.

“W-What?!” James asked.

“The ring!” ordered Riddle.

“What ring?” asked James.

“Your father’s ring,” replied the professor.

James shook his head and again looked at Lily, who by this time was shaking all over and had tears in her eyes. “Lily?” he asked.

“I don’t have time for you to chat with your girlfriend!” Riddle spat. “Rictusempra!” he shouted and a second later James found himself thrown backwards into a tree. He knocked his head pretty hard and slumped to the ground. Riddle approached him. “Now give me the ring, Potter!”

James felt steel creep into his spine as he slowly pushed his way up to a standing position. He felt a trickle of blood making its way down his cheek to his neck. The last thing he remembered was hearing Lily shout “No!” as Riddle aimed his wand at him and said, “Stupefy.”

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Lily felt herself fighting an internal battle. It felt like she was trying to wake herself up from a dream, but when she started to wake up it looked more like she was entering a nightmare. She heard an angry voice and a confused voice - was that James’ voice? She shook her head to clear her thoughts just as she heard a thud.

She turned to see James slumped on the ground with Professor Riddle approaching him. A cry caught in her throat as she saw James stand up, with blood trickling down his face. ‘O God!’ she thought. ‘Where am I? What is happening?’ She saw Professor Riddle raise his wand and she screamed, “No!” as he cast the stunning spell and sent her boyfriend to the ground unconscious.

Lily saw Riddle lean over James and pull on the chain around his neck that carried the ring his father had given him. “What is happening?” she cried, her heart clenching at the sight of her boyfriend injured and unmoving. “Why did you do that?”

Riddle turned to her with a smile that chilled her more than any of her headaches had. “Don’t you know, Lily? Can’t you remember?”

Lily shook her head. She didn’t know what he meant. “I don’t understand,” she cried.

Riddle walked toward her and gazed into her eyes. “Let me help you remember.”

Lily tried to tear her gaze away from his but found their eyes locked. All of a sudden images started to bombard her. First an image of her in his office. Instead of his friendly demeanor he had a similar expression to the one he wore now. ‘Why hadn’t she remembered that?’ she wondered. Then she remembered walking up to the first year boys’ dormitory and tearing it apart, shattering butterbeer bottles. She suddenly remembered cutting her arm as she crept along the floor, searching under the beds for something. She remembered the feel and sound of the glass fragments as she walked over them on her way out of the room. Lily whimpered, remembering but not knowing why she had done that.

Next she found herself at her parents house late at night, standing in front of the fireplace. She opened a can of floo powder (‘How did she get that,’ she wondered) and dipped her hand inside the tin to scoop some out. She threw it inside the fireplace and said, “Professor Riddle’s office.” Green flames shot up as she kneeled down and leaned her head into the flames. She heard herself telling Professor Riddle that what he was looking for was with James’ dad. Then as she pulled herself out of the fire she looked down to her hands, covered in soot from leaning into the fire.

Lily tried to shake the memories out of her head but still found herself locked in a gaze with Professor Riddle. She suddenly found herself in the library, staring up at some books high on a shelf. She saw her arm raise her willow wand at the shelf and heard her voice mutter a charm she had just learned - the one that can move objects from one place to another. She saw the bookshelf start to rock and heard a scream as books started falling away from her and the tall bookshelf slammed into the one behind it as it crashed to the floor.

‘Emm!’ she thought. That must have been the time when Emm was attacked in the library. Her blood ran cold as she wondered if she was the one to attack her friend. “No!” she cried out loud. “I didn’t do that! She’s my friend. I didn’t do that!”

“Oh but you did, Lily,” said Riddle in an amused voice.

“But I’m not like that! I don’t see how I could have done something so horrible and not remembered,” she said in a pleading voice, hoping it wasn’t true.

“You did my bidding,” replied Riddle.

Lily shook her head and looked at him incredulously. “What do you mean? Why would you want me to hurt people? What do you mean, I did your bidding?”

“It was the bidding of the Dark Lord, of Lord Voldemort,” he said. “He is the most powerful wizard of our time.”

“You work for that dark wizard? The one that has been attacking so many people?” Lily felt light-headed. She couldn’t believe what was happening.

Riddle slowly smiled and said, “You could say that.” She saw him putting on James’ ring and suddenly remembered James was in the clearing, unconscious.

“James! Why did you hurt him?” she cried.

“He had something I needed. I have you to thank for bringing him here,” he said.

Lily felt tears running down her face. “Why? I still don’t understand!”

Riddle held up the hand with the ring. “This is what I have been after all year, why I agreed to teach here at Hogwarts. Thanks to you, I was able to find out that Potter’s father had the ring. By the time I searched their house, he must have already given it to his son. Then you saw it hanging on a chain around his son’s neck. How clever of his father, to pass it on to his son. He thought it would protect him, but I will soon dispose of James Potter like I disposed of his father!”

Lily felt light-headed. She heard her heart pounding in her ears. It took her a moment to find her voice. “Disposed? His father?”

Riddle smiled and said, “Joseph Potter is no longer a problem, and I have you to thank for that Lily.”

Lily’s body started to shake with sobs as she looked at James and back to Riddle. “Me?” she asked weakly. “What did I do?”

“You still don’t remember?” Riddle grabbed her shoulders and stared again into her eyes.

Lily saw more images - her sitting with James at the breakfast table as he read a letter from his father. Then she was in Riddle’s office and she heard herself telling him that James’ father was in Paisley, Scotland with Mad-Eye Moody. She screamed and grabbed her head, trying to block out the images.

“You were the one who led me to Joseph Potter. You are the reason he is no longer a problem,” said Riddle, triumphantly.

“What did you do to me?!” shouted Lily.

“You were an easy project. It wasn’t much trouble at all convincing you to do my bidding. Such an open mind to direct!” he proclaimed.

Lily felt like the Earth was going to swallow her whole. Her head throbbed worse than anything she’d ever felt and she could feel her stomach starting to rebel. Suddenly she heard a moan coming from across the clearing and turned to see James stirring. Riddle noticed too, and stepped toward him.

“Now I think it is time to have some fun with Mr. Potter,” taunted Riddle. He raised his wand and started to mutter a spell.

Lily panicked as she saw James starting to push himself up. She couldn’t be responsible for his being hurt. She couldn’t watch as Riddle killed him. Before Riddle could finish the incantation Lily found herself running directly at him and slamming into him just as she saw a bright yellow light. That was the last thing she saw before darkness overcame her.

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A/N: I loved writing this chapter, even if bad things happened. I spent 26 chapters building up to this point so it means a lot to me. Please let me know what you think in a review - good or bad, just be constructive! Pretty please?

Thanks to my latest reviewers: sweetie513, Watermelon!, and urSweetiemSmia.

A few points addressed by readers that I can now answer (in case you didn’t figure it out from this chapter): 1) Lily is (surprise surprise) being ‘affected’ by Professor Riddle - the ‘how’ behind it is something I cannot / will not answer yet. 2) Lily was the one who trashed the boys’ dorm room. 3) Lily was not the one who trashed the Potters’ home, but she was the one who told Riddle that James’ dad had the ring - then Riddle searched / trashed the house. 4) There have been some comments on what is going to happen to James’ dad and what Sirius had commented about James’ parents in OotP. I won’t say how, but I will say keep reading and (eventually) you will see how I will make the pieces fit together.

Next chapter: Do you honestly think I’m gonna give it away??? Hahahaha! Nope! Not without some reviews. I know, I’m evil and greedy, but hey! How often do I get a cliffy like this to hang over my readers?

28. Backfired Curse

Chapter 28: Backfired Curse

James was peacefully resting in darkness when he heard a distant scream. Suddenly he found himself being pulled through a fog as light entered his vision. He heard muffled voices, at first seeming distant but growing closer as he started to pick up on his surroundings. He heard someone sobbing - was that Lily? He tried to turn his head toward the voice but moaned as the trees started to spin around him. He quickly closed his eyes when the voices suddenly stopped. James felt a lead weight form in his stomach as he heard Professor Riddle’s voice.

Suddenly he remembered being attacked - how long ago was that? He forced himself to push up to a standing position when he finally opened his eyes again. He saw Riddle pointing his wand at him muttering the incantation to a curse when a flash of red hair ran by and slammed into Riddle’s wand. A flash of yellow light that was starting to come from the wand backfired and knocked Lily and Riddle to the ground.

“Lily!” shouted James as he tried to run to her but stumbled as he felt a new wave of dizziness. He looked over to Professor Riddle and saw that he was starting to stir. James had to get to Lily and get her out of there before Riddle found his wand. As James started to stumble toward Lily’s still form he saw Riddle starting to look around.

When Riddle saw that his wand was about a meter away he started to reach for it when all of a sudden a booming voice rang out in the darkness, “I WOULD NO’ DO THAT IF I WERE YEH!”

Riddle froze. He and James looked toward the edge of the clearing and saw an enormous shadow holding a crossbow aimed at Riddle’s heart. Riddle smirked and started to reach for his wand again when an arrow landed an inch away from his hand.

“I tol’ yeh NOT t’move! Next time I won’t miss!” He stepped forward and as the moonlight struck him James gasped in relief as he saw that it was Hagrid, the gamekeeper. “Now just yeh stay there. I already sent word t’Dumbledore and he’ll be here quicker than yeh can say hippogriff!”

The mention of Dumbledore sent a glimmer of panic into Riddle’s eyes. He looked back and forth from his wand to Hagrid. Calculating his odds, he leapt for the wand and ran for the edge of the clearing where he shouted, “Portus!” to a twig and grabbed onto it, but not before receiving an arrow in his shoulder. Before Hagrid could aim another, Riddle disappeared.

Hagrid yelled in frustration at Riddle’s escape just as Professor Dumbledore strode into the clearing. He looked around and asked Hagrid, “Where is he?”

Hagrid shook his head violently, practically in tears. “I had ‘im, Professor. I had ‘im, and he escaped, by portkey! I’m so sorry, professor!”

“It is alright, Rubeus.” Professor Dumbledore turned to James and looked down at Lily.

James, having been distracted by Hagrid’s and Dumbledore’s arrivals, and Riddle’s disappearance, suddenly remembered Lily was still laying motionless next to him. He turned to her and saw that she was unconscious.

“Professor! It’s Lily! She was hurt by Professor Riddle!” cried James as he leaned down to see if she was breathing. At first glance he thought she was gone, but as he looked closer he saw the steady rise and fall of her chest to indicate that she was breathing.

Professor Dumbledore rushed over and knelt down. After looking Lily over he conjured a stretcher. “Can you tell me what happened?”

James shook his head, tears threatening to form in his eyes. “Professor Riddle knocked me out. When I was waking up I looked over and saw him trying to curse me. Before he could finish Lily ran into him and the curse backfired into them. It looked like Lily got the worst of it.”

“Do you know the curse he was using, or the words he was saying?” asked the headmaster.

“No, I was across the clearing and my head was not clear enough to hear the words. I saw a bright yellow light before she fell,” replied James.

Dumbledore frowned and said, “We must get her to the hospital wing right away. I am not sure what curse he was using or if he was able to finish the incantation before she hit him. There’s no telling what effects she could still suffer from.” At those words James fell his stomach drop.

Dumbledore turned to Hagrid and said, “Rubeus, please go to Professor McGonagall and have her round up the staff. We will need her to set up certain security measures to ensure that Tom cannot get back onto the grounds.” Hagrid nodded, grateful to be able to do something before leaving.

Professor Dumbledore wanted to conjure a stretcher for James however James insisted that he was fine. He wanted to walk beside Lily’s stretcher.

Once they made it to the hospital wing Madame Pomfrey would not allow James to stay with Lily. She insisted he change into pajamas and get into another hospital bed while she tended to Lily. After what seemed like an eternity she returned to his bed, mended the wound on his head, and gave him a potion to help with his concussion.

“Madame Pomfrey,” James asked impatiently, “How’s Lily? Is she going to be okay?”

“Now, now, Mr. Potter,” started the nurse, “you need to concentrate on resting and healing.”

James shook his head stubbornly. “I need to know how she is!”

Madame Pomfrey studied him for a moment before sighing. “I do not know yet how she’ll be. Currently, it seems like she is only sleeping, yet I am unable to wake her up with standard spells and potions.”

“So what does that mean?” he asked. “Is she ever going to wake up?”

“I cannot say for sure, young man,” replied the nurse. Seeing his pained expression she added, “I suspect she’ll wake up in time, Mr. Potter. We just have to let her come around on her own.”

She handed him a potion and he looked at it unhappily. “It’s to help you sleep tonight.” Before he could protest she added, “Miss Evans will not likely wake up before morning and I’m sure she’d want you to rest and heal.”

He slowly grabbed the potion and gulped it down before falling into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

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Early the next morning James heard a commotion coming from the entryway to the hospital wing. He slowly opened his eyes to see Madame Pomfrey arguing with a group of students.

“They are NOT ready for visitors!” she firmly stated.

“But we can at least sit with them,” pleaded Marlene.

“They’re our friends! You can’t expect me to believe it’s bad for them to see us!” shouted Sirius.

“Be quiet or you will wake them! I cannot have you disturbing my patients,” said the nurse.

“It’s okay, Madame Pomfrey. I’m already up,” said James.

The group turned to James, startled at hearing his voice and seeing him awake.

Madame Pomfrey was starting to say, “See! I told you that you were too loud!” but not before the group of students rushed to James’ bedside. The nurse gave an exasperated sigh and stormed into her office to prepare the potions she would be administering that morning.

“James!” said Remus. “What happened?”

“How did you know I was here?” asked James.

Alice answered. “Neither you nor Lily were in the dorms last night so when we woke up this morning and discovered you both were missing we did a little detective work.”

“This is the first place we looked,” said Remus.

“What HAPPENED, James?” asked Sirius impatiently.

“I would like to know that, myself,” came a voice from behind the students. They all looked up, surprised to see Professor Dumbledore standing behind them. It was as if he had suddenly appeared out of thin air. “I would ask your friends to step out while we discuss this, but I suspect you will be telling them about this later, am I right?” James nodded. “Alright then. I already surmise that you and Miss Evans were breaking some rules last night when you went outside for a stroll after dark and when you ventured into the forest, right?” James nodded again, sheepishly. “What happened then?”

James started telling what he could remember. “Professor Riddle was there in the clearing. He was different from how he was in class - very cold and cruel. He took away our wands and aimed his at me, demanding that I give him a ring my father had given me for Christmas.” Remembering this, James felt for the necklace that held the ring but his heart sank when he realized it was gone. What would he say to his father? He was supposed to keep it safe! “It’s gone! He knocked me to the ground and when I tried to get up he stunned me. The next thing I knew I was waking up to hear Lily screaming and sobbing. I tried to get up to help her but that’s when I saw Professor Riddle starting to mutter a curse at me. Lily tried to stop him but that’s when the curse backfired. Then Hagrid arrived and the rest you probably already know.”

The rest of the students stood there in stunned silence. They couldn’t believe their ears. Professor Riddle had done that? He had always been so kind and easygoing. “I don’t understand, Professor,” said Alice. “Why would Professor Riddle attack students like that?”

“Tom Riddle is a dark wizard, as evident by what happened last night. He is no longer a professor here. After some of the events that happened here this year, such as the attack on Miss Vance in the library, I suspect he may be in league with the Dark Lord we’ve been hearing about,” replied the headmaster.

“Professor?” asked Marlene. “Is Lily going to be okay? James said a curse backfired on her.”

“We have to wait for her to wake up, Miss McKinnon,” he replied.

“She hasn’t woken up yet?!” shouted Marlene.

“Not yet, she hasn’t,” said the nurse, who had just arrived at James’ bedside with his morning dose of potion. She started to shoo everyone away. “Now I have been patient enough with the lot of you! Leave so my patients can get their rest! You can visit later,” she added, seeing Sirius starting to protest.

After they left James tried to humor Madame Pomfrey and rest, though he refused to take more sleeping draught. When she was in her office James snuck out of bed and tiptoed over to Lily’s bed. He pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed, grabbing hold of her hand. He was relieved to feel warmth, unlike the many times those past few months when her hands had been freezing.

“That has to be a good sign, right?” he said. “C’mon Lily, you have to wake up.” He saw nothing but the steady pace of her breathing. She looked so peaceful, but it still seemed like she could wake up at any moment. “You know, that was a stupid thing you did. You shouldn’t have tried to stop Riddle from cursing me. I hate to see you hurt,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry you had to get pulled into this. It was my ring he was after. You were hurt because you were with me on that walk. I promise I won’t let anything like that happen to you again.” He sat there for a while watching her breathe.

A little while later Madame Pomfrey shook his shoulder and he jolted awake, not realizing he had fallen asleep with his head resting by Lily’s hand.

“You should be in bed resting,” she scolded.

“I am resting, just here instead of over there. What’s the difference?” asked James.

The nurse shook her head and sighed before walking back to her office, muttering something about difficult patients.

James turned back to Lily and noticed there was something different about her - was it her breathing? He had been watching her for so long he had gotten used to the pace of her breathing. There was something different about it. He squeezed her hand and said, “C’mon Lily, please wake up.”

Suddenly he felt a tremor in her hand. He looked down at it before looking back at her face hopefully. “Lily?” No response. “Lily? Wake up! Please!” he said, his voice pleading. Her eyelids fluttered and James leaned closer, coaxing her to open her eyes.

When her lids finally opened James sighed in relief at seeing the emerald green that always made his heart speed up. “Lily! You’re awake!” he exclaimed with a huge grin on his face.

She blinked a few times before turning to James, her expression turning to confusion. She looked at him and then down at her hand which he was holding and before looking back up at him. “Potter?” she asked.

James grinned wider before something struck him as odd. Had she just called him ‘Potter’? He squeezed her hand and said, “You have no idea how worried I was about you. We weren’t sure that you would wake.” He reached up to touch her face but suddenly a panicked look came about her face as she pulled her hand away from his.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Lily-”

She sat up and started to stare around the room, getting more agitated. “What am I doing here?”

James wanting to soothe her so he could explain how she got there, grabbed her hand again. Lily looked at him in shock and pulled her hand away again before saying louder, “Why do you keep holding my hand?! What am I doing here?!”

James couldn’t understand what was happening. “Lily, I’m just trying to help.”

“Why are you here, Potter? Where is Madame Pomfrey?!” cried Lily.

“Lily, I’m your boyfriend-” started James before he was cut off by the shocked look Lily threw him.

“My BOYFRIEND?! Since when?!” she cried.

Before James could bring himself to respond Madame Pomfrey had heard the commotion and was at the bed ushering James away. He was forced to return to his bed while Madame Pomfrey drew the curtain around Lily’s bed. He couldn’t believe it. What had happened to Lily? What had that curse done to her? Why did she act surprised when he said he was her boyfriend?

Professor Dumbledore entered the hospital wing an hour later and spoke with Madame Pomfrey. He then walked down to James. “How are you feeling, Mr. Potter?”

James was ready to jump out of his skin by this point. “I’m fine! I need to know what’s happening with Lily, Professor!”

“Madame Pomfrey is still running some tests. It would appear that Lily is suffering from some memory loss. She remembers most things, but there are events from this year she cannot remember,” he replied.

“She couldn’t remember me!” said James, his voice full of pain.

“On the contrary, Mr. Potter, she can remember you. She just can’t remember much between the time you first started this year and now. Other things like the magic she’s learned here this year, she is still able to recall. Her lapse in memory seems related mostly to people and events,” said Dumbledore.

“How can we help her get her memory back?” asked James.

Dumbledore paused and gazed down at James, the usual twinkle in his eyes absent. “Madame Pomfrey has had no success resurrecting Miss Evans’ lost memories. There is a strong possibility she will never regain them.”

James fell back against his pillow, feeling defeated. Lily couldn’t remember him. Correct that - she couldn’t remember them! Not only that, but it seemed like he agitated her. After thinking about it more, he realized that she had just woken up and that she must have been afraid to suddenly have holes in her memory. He decided he would sit with her and help her remember. If she couldn’t remember then he would win her back.

“Can I see her, Madame Pomfrey?” he asked as the nurse checked on him later.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Potter. No visitors,” replied the nurse.

“But I’m her friend. Even if she can’t remember I can help her,” pleaded James.

Madame Pomfrey shook her head sympathetically. “I’m sorry, but she asked that you not be allowed to see her.”

James felt his heart drop as he looked toward the closed curtain surrounding Lily’s bed. Somehow, he thought, somehow he would find a way to see her.

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A/N: Okay, don’t hate me for what happened to Lily. Just remember, in the long run, they will wind up together. This is where the story is coming to a turning point. The first year is pretty much over, but there are still six more years to write about - so hang in there and watch out for the little clues I will stick in here and there!

Thanks to my latest reviewers: sweetie513, urSweetiemSmia, Harrysgrl, Watermelon!, itsme63 (x2), Remus’sweetie (x2), and Golden Phoenix. Replies are in the review section.

So what do you all think? Did you like how Hagrid saved Lily and James?

Next chapter: Another visit in the hospital wing with the Marauders. James gets called to the headmaster’s office.

29. Tragedy Strikes

Chapter 29: Tragedy Strikes

Sirius, Remus, and Peter stopped by the hospital wing that evening for a visit. They walked past Lily’s bed, glancing at the curtain surrounding it with questions forming in their heads. They approached James with smiles and happy greetings, glad to see that he was recovering well.

“So when are you getting out of here, mate?” asked Sirius.

“I don’t know. Madame Pomfrey hasn’t actually told me when that will happen,” he replied.

Remus smirked and quietly added, “She never actually releases anyone from here, you know? She’s always so overprotective. You have to sneak out of here on your own when you feel up to it.”

“How would you know?” Peter asked Remus.

Remus paused before replying, “When I had that accident earlier this year - I was here for a few hours and then snuck out.” Peter nodded, trying to remember.

“So when are you going to sneak out?” asked Sirius with a calculating smile. “I’m thinking that we should sneak into Riddle’s quarters and hex his undies to shrink as soon as he puts them on - that is, if he dares to sneak back to get them.”

James shrugged his shoulders and glanced over at Lily’s bed. Remus noticed and said, “You want to stay and see how Lily is, don’t you?”

“Hasn’t she woken up yet?” squeaked Peter.

“Yeah, earlier,” said James.

Sirius perked up and exclaimed, “You mean Evans is awake and we’re just finding out about this now? What’s she doing behind that curtain anyway?” He turned toward the curtain and shouted, “Oy, Evans! You don’t need any more beauty sleep! Come on out and join the party!”

There was no answer, but James sensed that she had heard every word.

Sirius started to walk toward the curtain when James said, “Sirius, stop.”

Sirius turned to James with a confused look on his face. “What’s going on, James? I thought you said she woke up. Is something wrong with her?”

James nodded glumly and said, “Yeah. She’s missing parts of her memory from this year. She remembers things like classes and what she learned, but she can’t remember people or events since the beginning of the year.”

“Well, Madame Pomfrey can fix that, can’t she?” asked Peter.

James shook his head. “She tried but it hasn’t worked.”

“Well, I’m sure you can help fill her in on what she doesn’t remember,” said Sirius.

James shook his head again. Remus seemed to understand. “She doesn’t remember you, does she?” he asked.

“She knows who I am, since we met at the beginning of the school year, but that’s all she knows,” replied James.

Sirius nodded in understanding. “She knows you as the odd boy who wouldn’t speak in complete sentences to her, not as her boyfriend.”

“Not even as her friend. She looked scared of me! I tried to see her, but she told Madame Pomfrey that she doesn’t want to see me,” said James.

“She’s just scared right now - not of you, but of the situation. She suddenly woke up missing pieces of her past and people are trying to tell her what her life is like now,” said Remus.

“If I could just get a chance to speak with her, I could try to get her to at least see me as a friend and not someone to be afraid of,” said James dejectedly.

“Maybe you can,” suggested Sirius. The others looked to him in question. “The invisibility cloak,” he explained. “We can bring it to you and after Madame Pomfrey goes to bed you can sneak over to her curtain and slip inside.”

James thought about it. It wasn’t a bad idea, as long as Lily didn’t start screaming when he suddenly appeared out of thin air inside the curtain next to her bed. “It’s worth a shot,” he replied.

Remus stayed with James while the other two left. About ten minutes later Sirius ran back into the room, out of breath and with the cloak. James took it and hid it under his pillow just as he saw the nurse coming out of her office. She saw that the boys were still there and yelled at them to get out before she gave them a medical necessity to stay.

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Later that night after dinner and after Madame Pomfrey retired to the nurse’s quarters next to her office, James decided to try out the invisibility cloak. He silently threw off the covers and tiptoed out of bed. He grabbed the cloak from under the pillow and started to unfold it when the doors to the hospital wing were thrown open and in strode Professor McGonagall. She walked straight over to James with a grim line set across her mouth. James looked at his head of house looking like the cat who ate the canary.

“Mr. Potter,” she started, “the headmaster has asked that you come straight to his office. Bring your things.”

James felt a mixture of dread and disappointment. His attempt to speak with Lily would have to wait. He suspected that this trip to the office was related to the rule breaking that led him into the incident with Riddle.

“Is something wrong, Professor?” James asked as he followed her down the deserted corridors, their footsteps echoing down the hall.

“The headmaster will tell you when you arrive,” was all that she would say.

James wasn’t sure, but it looked like her chin had a bit of a quiver as she said it. He wondered what was going to happen to him. Would he be expelled for wandering into the forest? He wasn’t looking forward to seeing his parents after they found out.

He was led up to a stone gargoyle where Professor McGonagall muttered something before the wall turned, showing a spiral stone staircase. He followed her up the steps, musing to himself that after all the detentions he had received during the year, this was the first time he was going to the headmaster’s office. He silently chuckled to himself as he remembered that Sirius had to come here twice after some rather humiliating pranks he pulled on the Slytherins. Sirius wasn’t one to cover his tracks well. James suspected that Sirius did that on purpose as a way to brag that he was the king of pranks.

James was lost in this memory so at first he didn’t notice that there were several people in the headmaster’s office. Not only did he find Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore, but to his surprise he saw Mad-Eye Moody standing in front of the desk and his mother, standing in the corner facing away from him. James felt a knot starting to form in his stomach. This couldn’t be good - he was probably in for a huge punishment. Not even his dad would be able to get him out of this one.

Professor Dumbledore was seated at his desk with his hands folded. He had a similar grim expression to the one James had seen on Professor McGonagall’s face. “Mr. Potter,” he said, his voice somewhat strained, “please sit down.” The headmaster indicated a chair in front of his desk.

James slowly took it, glancing at his mum as he walked toward the desk. Why wasn’t she looking at him? She had always been very direct with him when he was in trouble. He wondered now how bad things were, if they were going to break his wand and send him to live with Muggles. He saw that Mad-Eye Moody was still facing Professor Dumbledore but James felt certain that the magical eye was focused on him.

As soon as he sat down, he cautiously looked at Professor Dumbledore. At first, the headmaster didn’t speak. Then he carefully selected his words. “Mr. Potter, as you are probably aware by the late hour, you are not here in my office due to happy circumstances.” He looked to James’ mum and asked, “Marianne, do you wish for me to tell him?”

James looked back at his mum, who finally turned toward the desk. James felt a flutter in his stomach as he saw the ashen color to her face and the red rims around her eyes, puffy from crying. She shook her head and in a tight voice said, “No, Albus. I should be the one to tell him.”

James glanced back and forth between his mum and the headmaster, feeling his heart starting to pound. “M-Mum? What’s going on? Am I in trouble?”

Marianne Potter approached James and knelt before his chair and shook her head, a few tears escaping. “No, sweetie. You’re not in trouble.” She took a deep ragged breath as if trying to summon up courage. “I’m not here because of what happened in the forest, though I am so relieved that you are okay. You have no idea-” she choked, reaching up and stroking her son’s cheek. “Sweetie, it’s your father-”

Suddenly James felt a foreboding sensation, one that made him feel like the Earth had suddenly stopped rotating and stopped time. He shook his head, hoping that what he was about to hear was all a bad dream, that he would wake up back in the hospital wing or better yet, his dorm room. “W-What about him?” he asked, his eyes wide with fear.

“He was away on a mission, tracking down the Dark Lord and his followers. He was in Scotland when he learned of an attack in a Muggle neighborhood. He ran into one of the houses to help rescue some children when there was an explosion-” her voice cut off at this point.

“No,” said James, shaking his head.

Marianne Potter’s voice closed up in grief and she turned to Mad-Eye Moody with pleading eyes. He turned to James and said, “You’re father didn’t make it out of the building, son. He-”

“NO! MY FATHER IS NOT…HE’S NOT D-DEAD!” shouted James, standing up and turning on the auror.

“I’m sorry, James,” said Professor Dumbledore. “There was nothing anyone could do to save him.”

“NO! It’s NOT true!” He turned to his mother hoping for her to say that his dad was in St. Mungo’s, alive. She started to openly sob and tried to reach for him but James backed away shaking his head more violently. “How can you say that he’s dead?!” He turned to Moody and accused, “You were with him, weren’t you? Why are you standing here if my father’s dead?”

“You’re father broke the cardinal auror rule. He didn’t wait for backup. We were eating at a tavern when we overheard some talk about a possible attack about to occur. I told him to wait while I went to call the Ministry and Floo in some assistance. When I got back your father had already left, leaving a note that the attack was happening at that moment and that he needed to be there to help. I rushed after him and arrived there to see a woman standing outside of her house screaming about her children being trapped inside. I turned to see Joseph running inside. Before I could run in after him the house exploded. There was nothing left,” replied Moody.

James stood there shaking, feeling as if the world was crashing in around him. How could they stand there and say that his father, his mentor, his role model, had been killed? He had always been indestructible in James’ eyes. How could he get himself killed when he was always so strong and full of life?

“Tell him the rest, Alastor,” said Professor Dumbledore.

“Does he really need to know, Albus?” asked his mum.

“It is likely to end up in the Daily Prophet. It’s better that he hear this from us,” replied the headmaster.

James looked at Moody again, feeling like he wanted to jump out of his skin. His father had died. What else could there be?

Moody focused both his eyes on James and said, “After the explosion, I noticed something odd about the woman who had been screaming outside the house. For a mother who had just lost her children in an explosion she was not acting like a bereaved parent. I detained her and had her interrogated. It turns out that the attack on the village was a trap set up to lure your father there and kill him. He had been targeted by the Dark Lord. We also discovered that he is going by the name Voldemort, though she still referred to him as the Dark Lord.”

James spoke up, “I don’t understand. The attack on the Muggles, all those deaths, was a setup just to kill my dad?” The auror nodded in response. “But why would they target him?”

Dumbledore spoke up. “I suspect it has something to do with the ring that Professor Riddle stole from you. I think that Voldemort found some value in it.”

“But I had the ring. Why did he have to kill my dad?” asked James.

“We are still investigating the matter, but you come from a long line of powerful wizards and a family heirloom like that probably had more value than monetary or sentimental value,” replied Professor Dumbledore.

“Albus? I think he’s had enough for now. He’s recovering from the attack and he just found out about Joseph. Please just let me take him home,” cried Marianne.

Professor Dumbledore nodded sympathetically and replied, “We have said what needs to be said tonight. You may take James home. Since it is very close to the end of the year and due to the nature of his absence he will be excused from his final exams and we will expect him back next year. It goes without saying, Marianne and James, that I respected and admired Joseph Potter. He was a kind, fair, brave, and fun man and I want to offer you my sincerest condolences.”

“Thank you Albus. Can you have James’ things Flooed over to our house?” she asked.

“Of course. I will have Minerva see to it,” he replied, glancing at Professor McGonagall who openly had tears flowing down her cheeks. She nodded quickly and left to go to Gryffindor tower.

“Thank you again,” said Marianne as she led a stunned James to the fireplace. “Oh, and could you thank Hagrid for me please? Without him I may have suffered a double tragedy.” She tossed some powder into the fireplace and led James in, saying, “The Potter House!” before being swept away.

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A/N: And so first year is coming to an end, and on a sad note, too. Looks like James is having a really bad week… Once again I must say that I KNOW what Sirius told Harry about James’ parents welcoming him to stay at their house after he ran away from home. Despite Joseph Potter’s death, I can still make it work. You’ll find out how after the end of 2^nd year. Alas, I had to kill him off. His death is very important to the plot, though you may not find out why for a while.

Thanks to my latest reviewers: MysticalMacaw, urSweetiemSmia, Harrysgrl, Golden Phoenix, Watermelon!, Remus’sweetie, onepinkbuttercup, itsme63, and sweetie513

Next chapter: James and Lily both return home for the summer.

BTW, Happy New Year!

30. Home for Summer

Chapter 30: Home for Summer

James’ summer began in a daze. As soon as he and his mum stepped out of their fireplace they were inundated with memories of Joseph Potter. James stood in front of his father’s favorite chair, staring at the depression in the cushion made from so much use. His father used to read the Daily Prophet there. He used to sit there and tell James of his adventures at Hogwarts. When James was very young he had sat on his father’s lap in that chair while being read Quidditch Through the Ages. James shook his head, still in shock at the situation. He still couldn’t believe that he would never see his dad again, never hear his laugh.

He felt his mum’s hand on his shoulder and turned slightly to see the tears of grief and sympathy in her eyes. It was too much for him to take. He shrugged her hand off and purposely strode up to his room, slamming the door behind him and locking it.

James paced the room feeling a rush of energy burning through him. The energy bubbled up like boiling water and he felt the need to release it somehow. The energy started to manifest itself as anger - anger at the mysterious Dark Lord who no one knew, anger at Riddle for working for him, anger at the woman who had led his father to his death, anger at Mad-Eye Moody for surviving, anger at his father for being dead, and anger at himself for losing the one thing his father had told him to keep close - his ring.

His pacing became almost frantic as he looked for a way to release the anger. All of a sudden his eyes landed on Quidditch Through the Ages, conveniently sitting on top of his bureau in the corner. James slowly and deliberately approached it, seeing the book that to him at that moment represented the loss of his father. He picked it up and stared at it for a moment, his hands starting to shake. He took a deep ragged breath and with an angry cry hurled the book across the room into some trophies sitting on a bookshelf. This set off the angry energy burning through James, as he felt the need to release more. He raced across the room and knocked the trophies onto the floor, then set about hitting and tossing anything he could lay his hands upon.

His room was unrecognizable after a few minutes as James moved toward the nightstand which he had yet to damage. He knocked off its contents but before James could turn away his eyes were drawn to a picture frame that had been knocked to the floor. It stopped James in his tracks and his heart skipped a few beats as he slowly knelt down and picked it up. It was a photo his mother had taken a few years ago in the back yard. His father had been teaching him all he knew about flying. Joseph Potter watched his son with pride, watching him pull off difficult dives. James watched as the image of his father in the photo grinned, the same younger smile that he saw in the mirror every day.

Guilt rushed through James and settled the anger while he looked at the crack that had formed in the glass of the picture frame after being thrown from the nightstand. James carefully set it back in its place and flopped onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. He felt a numbness starting to settle into his bones. He couldn’t believe that a few days ago life for him had been better than wonderful. His father had been alive, he had the best of friends, and Lily had been his girlfriend.

A few minutes later James heard his mother knocking on the door. He didn’t want to move. He didn’t want to see the grief in her face. He didn’t want to have to be strong for her. He simply lay there on the bed and tried not to hear his mother’s pleas to open the door.

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Lily stepped off the Hogwarts Express feeling an odd sense of deja-vu. It seemed like just yesterday she had walked through the barrier into the magical world, first facing the Hogwarts Express. Marlene and Alice walked with her silently as they loaded their luggage onto trolleys and headed toward the barrier to return to the Muggle world. Lily was anxious to return home and get away from the stares and the whispers of the other students. Even Marlene and Alice seemed to tiptoe around her.

As they crossed through the barrier Lily saw her parents and Petunia. She turned and bid a quick goodbye to her friends and started walking toward her family. Her mom rushed to her and almost squeezed the life out of her.

“Oh, Lily! I missed you so much. Thank God you are alright!” she exclaimed. Professor Dumbledore had owled them about Riddle’s attack, explaining that Lily survived with mild memory loss.

Lily inhaled her mom’s perfume, drawing some comfort from her mom’s scent. When she was finally released from Anne Evans’ grasp, Lily turned to her father and with tears welling in her eyes she rushed into his arms and held tight to him, feeling protected by his big bear-hug.

Harold Evans watched his youngest daughter and stroked her long red hair as he asked, “Are you alright, sweetie? Your headmaster told us about what happened.”

Lily, her face still buried in her father’s jacket, nodded. She finally pulled herself away and happily noticed her sister’s presence. Petunia had an odd look about her, a mixture of happiness, curiosity, sympathy, and something else - something Lily couldn’t pinpoint. Lily was so relieved and happy to see Petunia that she hugged her as well, noticing that Petunia had grown a bit over the school year.

When she pulled back, Petunia finally gave her a smile and said, “Welcome back, Lily.”

Lily smiled back and said, “Thanks ‘Tunia! It’s good to be home.”

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James’ summer dragged on, though in a blur. He couldn’t remember much about those first days home. His mother had had Perchy, their house elf, magic some food to his room though much of it went uneaten. James continued to spend most of his time laying in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Otherwise, his gaze led him to the picture he had nearly destroyed days earlier.

Finally, his mother felt he had had enough time to himself and magicked the door open. She forced him to come downstairs and eat dinner. She had to use the argument that his father wouldn’t want him to waste away in that room. He was allowed to grieve, but had to do it in a healthy manner. He wanted to be stubborn and fight her about it but his conscience got the better of him as he realized she was right. His father would not be one to hide in his room. James reluctantly followed his mum to the dining room and tried to ignore the empty chair at the end of the table as he forced himself to eat.

The memorial service had been grand. Much of the wizarding world came to pay their respects. James knew his father was well-liked, but he stared in awe at the number of witches and wizards who shook his hand, many in tears. James politely listened to them and forced himself to smile. Many commented on how strong and brave he was to be dealing with this so calmly. They commented on how like his father he was. James continued to shake people’s hands and soon found his concentration wavering. He stopped paying attention to who greeted him until one hand he shook did not let go. James looked up curiously to see Remus standing before him.

“Remus, what are you…why are you…?” stammered James.

Remus stood there, his face full of understanding for his friend. He had watched James as the line progressed and saw how much he wanted to get away from everyone. He remembered feeling similar when Romulus had died, though that had been several years earlier. Remus quickly pulled James into a brotherly embrace. When they let go he smiled and said, “I thought I would come and rescue you from this. Do you want to go somewhere else?”

James turned to his mother who had just finished greeting one of the junior assistants to the Minister of Magic. Marianne Potter had noticed the exchange between James and Remus and nodded to her son, silently giving him permission to go with his friend. He had, after all, been at this for a few hours and she felt he deserved some time with his friend. She prayed that James would open up to Remus, for he had yet to talk about Joseph’s death with anyone else. After hearing him trash his room, he had clammed up and tried to put on a brave front. Marianne knew that inside James was feeling intense pain and sadness, for she more than anyone else knew of the closeness between him and his father.

James’ heart felt a little bit lighter with each step he took away from the mourners. He followed Remus outside and sat on a bench in the park across the street. James, glancing back toward the memorial said, “Thanks, mate. Don’t think I could have taken shaking many more hands.” He turned back to Remus and asked, “What are you doing here? How did you find out?”

Remus smiled a little and said, “We woke up when Professor McGonagall came to our dorm to collect your things. You should have seen Peter. He was freaking out - thought that Riddle had come back and done something to you. After she got him to calm down she told us about your father.” Remus paused, looking at his hands. “Er, James…I’m really sorry about your father, you know?”

James’ mouth set into a firm line and he nodded.

After a few tense silent moments Remus spoke again, “Sirius wanted to come but…you know his family. His mum wouldn’t let him leave the house to come here, us being ‘blood traitors’ and all. Peter wanted to come too but he was stuck going to America for the summer with his family.”

James nodded again. Hoping to change the subject, he asked, “Did I miss anything interesting after I left Hogwarts?”

“Not really. Our tests that week were challenging but I think we all did pretty well - even Peter. Lily was released from the hospital wing the day before we returned,” replied Remus.

James suddenly realized he had almost forgotten about Lily since he had been preoccupied with his dad’s death. “How is she? Did she remember anything more? Does she remember me?” he asked.

Remus shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t know, mate, but I don’t think so. I never got a chance to speak with her. She spent most of her free time in her dorm room and then holed up in a compartment with Marlene and Alice on the train ride home. The few times I saw her, from a distance, she looked to be in good health. I kind of got the feeling she was a bit strained by recent events, you know - waking up not remembering what happened to her and losing other memories.”

James nodded sadly and there was another awkward moment of silence between the two.

Remus spoke up again. “Well, maybe after you get a chance to speak with her this fall she’ll remember. If not, I’m sure you’ll become fast friends again. After all, she became fond of you once. How hard could it be to charm her again?”

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Lily felt an immense relief walking into her bedroom and seeing her things, being there with her family. She needed the familiarity of her home, something non-magical. She was glad to be away from the magic of Hogwarts and somewhere she felt safe.

Lily’s parents tried to get her to talk about what had happened but all Lily would tell them was that she couldn’t remember. They would then try to ask her about her school year and her friends but Lily would tear up and only say a few things regarding her classes and what she had learned. She said nothing about her friends.

Petunia was thrilled to have Lily home. It had been difficult over the Christmas holiday. Lily had been so absorbed in Hogwarts and magic that Petunia had felt a distance between them forming. Now Lily tried to speak about things that Petunia considered normal. During most of Petunia’s life the family conversation always drifted toward Lily and her accomplishments. Now Lily purposely tried to redirect the conversation to occurrences in Petunia’s life - how she did at school, her friends. To Petunia, the closeness they had shared before Lily had gone to Hogwarts was coming back. She ignored the initial detachment Lily had toward everything.

With each passing summer day Lily relaxed more. She began to feel some of the happiness she had known before. She spent some time with her old Muggle school friends and with Petunia. The majority of her time she tried to spend with her parents.

In early August her Hogwarts letter arrived stating when she’d need to be back at King’s Cross for the train and listing the books and supplies she’d need. Anne Evans was surprised to find the letter on the floor of Lily’s bedroom near the trash bin. She picked it up and studied it before finding Lily in the back yard, reading a book.

“Lily?” she asked.

“Yes, Mum?” she asked, still absorbed in her book.

“Why didn’t you tell me you’d received your Hogwarts letter?”

Lily looked up, surprised. “Where did you find that?”

“On your bedroom floor,” replied her mother.

Lily gulped and stared at her hands. She had been certain the letter had gone into the trash bin. How had it gotten out?

“Sweetie?” her mum prodded. “Don’t you want to go to Diagon Alley to get your supplies?”

Lily shook her head.

It was Anne’s turn to look surprised. “What do you mean ‘no’? You’re going to need the things listed.”

Lily shook her head again. She glanced briefly at her mum before replying, “I won’t need them. I’m not going back. I want to go to the Muggle school with ‘Tunia.” With tears starting to escape she stood up and ran into the house, up to her room.

That evening as Lily stayed in her room she heard one of the worst arguments she had witnessed between her parents.

“But Harold! She doesn’t want to go back!” cried her mum.

“Anne, this is where she needs to be,” replied her father.

“She could have been killed! Look at what this has already done to her. She seems so depressed, so down. And I miss her so much when she’s gone!” she reasoned.

“The headmaster made it clear this was an exceptional situation. He assured me that Lily would be protected at the school from now on,” he said.

“You didn’t see her face. She was so upset when she said she wanted to stay here and go to Petunia’s school,” she argued.

“Lily has a gift - one that won’t just disappear. She needs to nurture that gift and learn how to control it. Remember all the strange things that happened before we found out she was a witch? Remember the vase that seemingly broke on its own in front of us - when it was actually Lily who accidentally broke it after she had gotten into an argument with Petunia?” When Anne nodded, he added, “Her magic will stay with her whether or not she goes back to Hogwarts. Do you honestly think we’d be the best ones to help her control it?”

Her mum sighed and said, “She’s just so unhappy now. I hate to send her back. What if she becomes more depressed?”

“She’s already doing better. She’s not as bad as when we first brought her home. Of course she’d be nervous going back. I’m sure that once she gets back into her class routine and is around her friends she will feel better about being back there. And besides, remember seeing her at Christmas? She seemed to light up every time we asked her about her classes and her friends.”

Lily couldn’t hear much after that. The voices of her parents quieted down but there was still a lot of discussion. After another half hour she heard a knock on her door. Her dad stepped into the room.

“Yes, dad?” she asked.

Harold approached her and sat on the edge of her bed. “Lily, your mum told me that you don’t want to go back to Hogwarts.”

“I don’t,” she replied.

“Why not?” he gently asked.

Lily wouldn’t answer at first. She finally said, “I just don’t want to go back. I want to go to ‘Tunia’s school.”

“Lily, I know that something bad happened at the end of your first year there. I’ve spoken to your headmaster who assured me that you would be safe,” he said.

“But Dad-” she started.

“Sweetheart, you seemed so happy at Christmas. You were so excited and proud of what you were learning. You had made friends-”

“Please, Dad, don’t make me go back! I don’t want to leave you or Mum!” she cried.

He leaned over and hugged her tight. “If I thought for a moment sending you back to Hogwarts wasn’t the best thing for you I would keep you here with me. We miss you so much when you’re not here. You bring so much life into this house.” He pulled away from her a little and gazed into his daughter’s green eyes. “You need to be at Hogwarts and you need to learn how to use your magic. This magic is a gift and should not be wasted.”

“But-” she stammered.

Her father held up his hand to say that he’d made up his mind. “Your mum and I came to a decision that we feel is in your best interest. You will return for your second year at Hogwarts. You will apply yourself and try to find the joy in your studies that you found in your first year. Try to reconnect with your friends. If at the end of your second year you still want to go to Petunia’s school, we will let you stay home.”

Lily’s shoulders fell as she reluctantly nodded. Her father hugged her again, telling her he loved her before bidding her a good night.

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A/N: I know, yet another chapter that is a bit sad / depressing. It won’t stay this way forever, but I couldn’t just let James go home and say, “Woohoo! It’s summer and time for fun!” right after what happened in the forest and after his dad died. Couldn’t do that for Lily, either, for that matter.

So is this getting too depressing for your tastes, or are you enjoying the drama? Like I said, the sadness won’t last forever…

Thanks to the latest batch of reviewers: Harrysgrl, DobbyGrl (x2), urSweetiemSmia, Golden Phoenix, Watermelon!, and itsme63. Replies are in the review section.

Next chapter: Last part of summer for James and Lily before returning to Hogwarts. James and Lily will come face to face for the first time since she woke up in the hospital wing.

31. Going Back to Hogwarts

Chapter 31: Going Back to Hogwarts

James received his Hogwarts letter, surprised that the summer was nearing an end. Often that summer, he took out his old broom and spent hours flying around the back yard. He would zoom between the trees and practice his dives. With each day his speed and precision improved. He found an old Snitch boxed up in his closet and practiced chasing it. He wouldn’t quit until he grabbed it, sometimes taking hours to catch.

One evening he came in a few hours after dark. His mum had Perchy warm his dinner and she sat with him while he silently ate.

“You’re getting faster, you know?” Marianne commented.

James looked at her curiously. “Pardon me?”

“On your broom, catching the Snitch,” she replied.

“I didn’t know you were watching me,” he said, picking at his food.

Marianne looked at her son wistfully. “You look so much like him, you know that?”

James shoved a fork load of potatoes into his mouth, trying to avoid where the conversation was heading.

His mum ignored him and continued, “Your father played on the Gryffindor house team.” She paused, suddenly remembering something. “Wait here,” she ordered. She hurried out of the room as James tried not to think about the awkward silences that had filled the house for a few months.

A few minutes later his mum returned carrying a long box wrapped in brown paper. She hesitated at the doorway, then approached her son and placed the package in front of him. She sat down in the chair next to him and watched as he studied the package.

“What’s this?” he asked.

She cleared her throat and then said, “Last spring, your father came home with this package. He had a huge smile on his face - he honestly looked like he was a child, he was so excited. He said he wanted to give this to you. He wasn’t sure exactly when - maybe for your birthday, or before you started your second year, or even if you made the house team. Either way, he wanted you to have it.” Seeing James’ hesitation, she urged, “Go on, open it.”

James took a deep breath, summoning his courage and tore the paper off. He carefully opened the box and gasped at what he saw. “A Nimbus 1900! I didn’t think these were coming out until next year.”

Marianne smiled at her son. “You know your father. He was well connected at the Ministry. He said he knew someone who knew someone that was making the new models. This is one of the prototypes.”

James stared at it in awe, admiring the polished handle and the straight, even twigs. James noticed something below it and lifted up the broom, seeing an envelope. He pulled it out and opened it, his heart speeding up at the familiar handwriting.

Dear James,

Congratulations on your new broom! I saw the prototype and knew I had to get one for you. After all, we can’t have a Potter flying around on an old Comet 130, can we? I know you are planning on trying out for the house team during your second year. Knowing you, if you set your mind to it there will be no competition. Just know that either way, I am proud of you and all of your accomplishments. Your mother and I are constantly amazed to have such a wonderful, charming son.

Love,

Dad

James felt a knot in his throat as he stared at the letter. He put it back into the box and stared at his plate for a few minutes.

His mum held her breath, hoping that he would finally be able to let out some of his grief and speak openly about it. “James?” she asked. “What did the letter say?”

After a moment, he pushed away from the table and said in a tight voice, “I’m tired from all that flying, and I have that essay for Potions I have to finish this summer. I think I’ll head upstairs.” He left the room without looking back at the package or his mum.

Marianne propped the broom up by the door but everyday after that it stood there untouched. James still flew around on his old Comet 130. When he wasn’t flying he was reading his textbooks. It was an excuse to stay in his room avoiding the worried gaze of his mum. Every so often he would receive a letter from Remus, Peter, and Frank. He even received letters from Marlene and Alice expressing their condolences and sadness. James was surprised and a little disturbed not to have received any letters from Sirius, his best mate.

On September 1^st, Marianne was ready to continue the tradition of dragging James out of bed before he overslept, but to her surprise he was carrying his trunk and owl down the stairs early. “Do you have everything?” she asked.

James looked down at his things and nodded. “Yes, I’m ready to go.” In fact, he was ready to head back to school. Even though the end of the year had been difficult he felt more comfortable staying there with his friends rather than staying at home where he saw constant reminders of his dad. “Shall we?” he asked.

“Alright, let me tell Perchy we’re leaving. I had her pack some food for your trip.” She headed into the kitchen and spoke with the house elf, grabbing the bundle of food. When Marianne passed the back door she paused, surprised to see that the Nimbus 1900 was no longer propped up by the door. With a glimmer of hope she realized that James must have packed it in his trunk. She smiled and met her son by the door. “Okay, we’re all set,” she said. “The driver should be waiting outside.”

They walked outside, the driver grabbing James’ things and packing them into the car.

Once James and his mum stepped through the barrier at Platform 9 ¾ he saw Remus standing by the train. James turned to his mum and told her he was okay getting on the train. She saw that he was anxious to start his journey, so she gave him a tight hug and tearfully left him there.

“Remus!” he called. The werewolf turned and smiled as James approached.

“James! It’s great to see you! How was the rest of your summer?” he asked.

“Alright. How was yours?” asked James.

Remus, not believing James, realized that he didn’t want to go into the subject of his father. “Oh, my summer was alright.” He leaned closer and whispered, “The transformations were terrible as usual, but I muddled through them locked in the basement. Anyway, it’s great to be back. Now I get to finally join everyone on the trip to school.”

James smiled and nodded, remembering that the previous year Remus had been absent due to a full moon. “Speaking of missing Marauders, have you seen Sirius?” James asked, looking around.

“No, I haven’t but I just got here,” he replied.

“Have you gotten any letters from him this summer?” asked James.

Remus shook his head, “No, and I thought that was strange. He told me he planned on owling me this summer.”

“I haven’t gotten any letters, either,” muttered James.

“That’s odd,” said Remus. “I remember he told me that he planned to send you a letter as soon as he got home. He was upset that he didn’t get a chance to see you before you left last year.”

“Hmmmm,” started James. “Maybe he’s on the train. He got here early last year.”

They boarded the train and searched the compartments, having no luck finding Sirius. They did come across Alice and Marlene. James looked around, hoping to spot Lily. They told her that they hadn’t seen her since the beginning of summer when they had returned from school.

James and Remus finally found Peter, who was sitting with Frank Longbottom in a compartment. James greeted them and found out that they had not seen or heard from Sirius or Lily. James was beginning to worry that they would not be coming back to Hogwarts.

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“Lily?!” called her mum. “Sweetie, are you up yet?” Hearing no answer, she knocked on the door and opened it, surprised to find Lily curled up under the covers. “Lily! I can’t believe you’re still in bed. We have to leave in 20 minutes!”

Her dad stepped into the room and sat on the bed. “We know you’re awake Lily. Dawdling will not make us change our minds. Remember our deal?”

Lily grudgingly turned over and gazed up at her dad. “Do I really have to go, Dad?”

Harold smiled at her and said, “Yes, sweetheart. We’ve talked about this. It’s time to get up and get dressed.”

Lily slowly pulled herself out of bed and took as much time as she could getting herself ready. Her mum made sure her trunk was packed and that Lancelot, her owl, was in his cage. Her dad packed up the car and made his way back into the house, surprised that his youngest daughter was still not downstairs.

“Lily!” he called. “Enough is enough! It’s time to go!”

Petunia wandered into the foyer curious about the commotion. “She still doesn’t want to go?” she asked.

“No, but she’s going,” he firmly stated.

“But why send her there? She doesn’t want to go and learn that odd stuff. She should be here with me, with us, and be normal,” Petunia whined.

Harold turned to Petunia and said, “I know you’re going to miss her, but Lily has to do this. She has to learn how to use her gift.”

Petunia snorted then glanced up the stairs, seeing her sister slowly making her way down. Petunia approached her and felt a rush of sympathy. She hugged her tight and whispered in her ear. “Don’t worry. It’s only a year, then you can stay here and go to school with me. One year, that’s all!”

Lily looked at her hopefully for a moment before her mum rushed by, saying they were going to be late if they didn’t hurry. Lily gave Petunia one last hug goodbye before being herded into the car.

Getting her to Platform 9 ¾ was done in amazing speed for she was very close to missing the train. With two minutes to spare Lily hugged her parents with tears in her eyes and reluctantly made her way through the magical barrier. One of the prefects noticed her late entrance and rushed to help her onto the train before it sped off. As Lily made her way down the corridor she heard a squeal and turned to see a blur of blond rushing at her, grabbing her into a tight hug.

“Lily!” cried Alice. “I was afraid you weren’t going to come! I’m so glad to see you!”

Lily smiled at her friend, feeling the butterflies in her stomach starting to settle. “Hi Alice.”

Alice grabbed Lancelot’s cage and led her into a compartment where Marlene was waiting.

She got up and exclaimed, “You found her! I can’t believe it!” Marlene grabbed Lily and crushed her as they hugged. “Where’ve you been?! Why didn’t you answer our owls?”

Lily hesitated and looked nervously at her hands. “I was running late this morning, and I’m sorry about not writing.”

“WHY didn’t you write us?” prodded Marlene.

“Marlene,” snapped Alice. Lily saw them exchange a glance where Alice warned Marlene to keep her mouth shut.

“It’s okay, guys,” said Lily. “I’m sorry I didn’t write. I just…well, erm…I just needed some time to collect my thoughts after what happened.”

“Oh,” said Marlene. “Well, okay. Were you able to remember anything?”

Lily gazed out the window as the train made its way out of London. “No, not really. I remember things from the very beginning of last year so I remember our being friends. I remember things I learned in class. Things are blank when it comes to other things - people, events….”

“What do you mean?” asked Alice.

“I can remember how to transfigure an apple into a ball, but I can’t remember sitting through the class learning it,” she replied. The other two girls nodded.

As the train made its way to Hogsmeade Lily gradually felt more like herself as she chatted with her two best friends. She didn’t tell them about the deal she made with her father about dropping out of Hogwarts after the year ended. She thought it best not to upset them. Even though she still had a sense of dread of what was to come she felt a glimmer of hope starting to form, making her think that with Alice and Marlene by her side she would be able to make it through the year.

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James, Remus, and Peter sat impatiently through the sorting, waiting for the feast to begin. When Professor Dumbledore finally waved his hands the students plunged toward the mounds of food that suddenly appeared on the plates before them. James couldn’t help but remember how Sirius had made it his mission last year to make sure every platter was empty. He continued to wonder where his best mate was and if he would ever return to Hogwarts.

At first James was still worried about if Lily would be returning. He saw Marlene and Alice enter the Great Hall before the sorting and he again asked if they had seen Lily. The girls told him that she was there but was in the bathroom. James returned to his seat and kept glancing nervously up the table where Lily was supposed to be. Right after the first years made their way to the front of the hall, James finally saw Lily sneaking to her seat. He sighed, both in relief at finally seeing her and in frustration at having to wait to speak with her.

As soon as Professor Dumbledore made his yearly announcements he released the students for the evening. The students all herded toward the doors in a mass of confusion, trying to push their way to the exit. James tried to hurry through to catch Lily but by the time he made it to the exit he couldn’t see her. He followed the prefects up to the common room, learning the new password, and sat on the couch by the fire watching Remus annihilate Peter at wizard’s chess.

A little later he heard the portrait hole open behind him and heard Marlene’s loud laughter as a group of girls entered the common room. James turned around and his heart leapt seeing Lily smiling with her friends. He stood up and strode toward her with a hopeful grin and touched her arm, stopping her.

“Hi Lily!” he said.

She froze, the smile fading from her face as she slowly turned toward James. She glanced at his face, seeing his hopeful smile. Her eyes widened for a brief moment before she simply and blandly replied, “Hi Potter,” before turning and walking up the stairs to her dorm.

James felt his heart drop a bit, disappointed by her lack of happiness to see him.

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A/N: Ok, so second year has officially begun. Won’t have as many chapters as first year but there will be some notable occurrences. Quick reminder that I realize what JKR said about James being a Chaser. I found that out after writing this and I am not going to change James from a Seeker to a Chaser in this story.

Thanks to my latest reviewers: DobbyGrl, sweetie513, Golden Phoenix, MysticalMacaw, Watermelon!, and itsme63.

Next chapter: Quidditch tryouts. Hmmm, I wonder what exactly happened to Sirius…

32. The Return of the King of Pranks

Chapter 32: The Return of the King of Pranks

Over the next few weeks James tried several times to speak with Lily. She either disappeared before he could get to her or she barely paid him any attention. James’ sullen mood was not improved by the lack of his best mate. Sirius had still not shown up at Hogwarts. James, Remus, and Peter all owled him several times however none of the letters were answered. It seemed as if he would never come back. That thought seemed like fact when James realized there were now only four beds in their dorm room - for himself, Remus, Peter, and Frank.

Remus and Emm were able to bring Lily back into their study group, since she was still coming to the library. Lily seemed more determined than ever to focus on her studies. James was a bit jealous that Remus was able to spend time with Lily. Remus suggested James join their group. When James and Remus met Emm in the library one evening Lily never showed up. James gave up, saying he would just return to the common room and help Peter finish his Transfiguration homework.

When he returned to the common room he saw a group of students huddled around the message board. He approached the crowd and nudged his way forward until he could see the announcement:

QUIDDITCH TRYOUTS ON SATURDAY

OPEN TO STUDENTS 2^ND YEAR AND OLDER

POSITION: SEEKER

James smiled, feeling he had finally found a way to take his mind off of his problems for a little while. He had practiced all summer and had greatly improved his already stellar flying abilities.

When Saturday came around, he woke up with a nervous flutter in his stomach. As confident as he had been earlier that week he suddenly wondered if he was fooling himself. After all, there were sure to be other students, older students, trying out for Seeker. As he went to his trunk to pull out his old Comet 130, he paused as he saw the polished handle of his Nimbus 1900 peeking out from underneath his robes. He hadn’t been able to bring himself to try it out yet, but as he sat there he realized he needed all the help he could get if he was to stand out over all the other competitors. With resolve, he pulled out the shiny new broom and headed outside to the Quidditch pitch.

It was still early and most of the students were either asleep or at breakfast. James studied the broom and really began to admire the streamlined shape. As he prepared to test it the handle vibrated and jumped to his hand, anticipating the first flight with its new master. James mounted the broom and gave a forceful kick, sending the broom soaring up into the air faster that he was prepared for. He nearly slipped off the back of the broom when, with a quick adjustment of his hand the broom leveled out.

James sat there, midair, impressed at how well the broom had responded to his commands. He realized that it would take considerably less effort with the Nimbus 1900 than with the Comet 130 to follow his commands. He spent the next few hours trying the maneuvers he had mastered over the summer. In no time flat he was even perfecting the dives that had given him difficulty at home.

When he finally decided to land he noticed he had quite an audience watching him. Some had their mouths open in awe and some were applauding as James sped toward the ground and pulled up at the last moment, landing softly. Feeling their eyes following him James turned back to the group of people and with a crooked grin, made a grand bow. The students cheered and a tall boy with short dark hair approached him. To James it looked like the boy had tears welling in his eyes. It reminded him of Professor McGonagall when Gryffindor had won against Hufflepuff the previous year. She had been so overwhelmed by the win that she had to bury her face in her Gryffindor flag.

“You there,” called the boy. James recognized him as Carlton Wood, a fifth-year Gryffindor. Now that Arthur Weasley had graduated Carlton was the new Gryffindor captain and played the team Keeper.

“Yeah?” asked James.

“Where did you learn to fly like that?” he asked, not even trying to disguise the awe in his voice.

“I learned a lot growing up, but I did a lot of practicing over the summer,” replied James.

“How much did you practice?” quizzed Wood.

“Several hours every day,” James said.

Wood looked like Christmas had come early. “Wow! That’s dedication for you!” He glanced down at the broom James was holding by his side. “What kind of broom is that?”

“A Nimbus 1900,” James proudly replied.

Wood snorted. “Yeah, right! I read the Quidditch magazines. Everyone who does knows those aren’t due out until next year.”

“Well I have one.” James lifted the broom in front of Wood so he could read the ‘Nimbus 1900’ painted across the handle. “It’s one of the prototypes.”

Wood couldn’t believe his eyes. “A prototype?! How in Merlin’s name….”

Before he finished James said, “So when are tryouts going to start?”

Wood had to tear his eyes off of the broom before saying, “Tryouts? Oh, yeah…I guess now.” He started to walk toward the rest of the team when he paused and turned, “You ARE trying out, right?” James nodded, and Wood let out a sigh of relief.

Tryouts lasted only an hour as only a few people signed up. Several students had made their way to the field to try out only to see James’ spectacular flying or to hear about his amazing broom. They felt the competition was too much and sat to watch the tryouts instead. At the end of the hour the team huddled for only a few minutes before Wood announced that James would be the team’s Seeker.

James finally felt like something in his life was going right. As he grabbed his broom to walk back to the castle Remus, Peter, and Frank caught up with him.

“Way to go, James! I knew they’d choose you,” said Remus. “I knew you could fly well, but wow!”

“Yeah, James,” said Peter, dripping with admiration. “I’ve never seen anything like it, and what a broom!”

“Can I try it out sometime?” asked Frank.

“Uh…we’ll see,” replied James nervously. He hadn’t forgotten how many school brooms had met a rather shaky fate at Frank’s hands the previous year.

By that evening the news of James’ acceptance onto the team had made its way around the school. It was rare for a 2^nd year student to beat the older students onto a house team. During dinner Remus chuckled as he noticed several girls whispering and watching James. James seemed oblivious to the attention as he still had a certain redhead on his mind. On his way up to the common room he saw Lily giving the password to the portrait.

“Lily!” he called out.

She turned and gave him a quick glance. “Yeah, Potter?”

“So,” he said with a hopeful grin. “I made the house team - I’m the new Seeker,” he said proudly. He remembered about the first flying class the previous year and how he had saved Lily from falling after Frank’s broom had gone out of control. That had been when she first became friendlier with him. He only hoped his talent for flying would impress her again.

Lily nodded and said, “Yes, I know,” before turning and walking through the portrait hole.

James followed her and said, “Never thought they’d pick a 2^nd year student. It hardly ever happens. I hope I’ll see you at the games,” he added hopefully.

Lily said, “We’ll see,” while scanning the common room hopefully. Seeing Alice and Marlene, she quickly made her way to join them leaving James behind feeling frustrated.

“No luck, mate?” asked Remus from behind him.

“No. I just don’t know what to do to get her attention,” James said. He marched over to the staircase to the boys’ dorm and with one last glimpse at Lily he made his way up to his room. When he opened the door he almost fell over in shock at what he saw.

There, standing in front of a fifth bed stood Sirius Black unpacking his trunk. When James walked in Sirius turned to him with a wink and said, “Miss me, Jamsie?”

“SIRIUS?!! What-? How in the bloody hell-?” stammered James.

Remus walked in behind James and gasped. “I don’t believe it! WHERE have you BEEN?!”

“Nice to see you too, Remus,” chuckled Sirius.

James stood there shaking his head. “We didn’t think you were coming back. You never answered our owls-”

Sirius’ grin faded into a quick scowl. “What are you talking about? I wrote to you guys. I never received any letters back!”

Remus shook his head, “I never received any letters, either, and I DID owl you several times.”

Sirius started pacing around the room slamming his fist into his open hand. “That hag! That mean, old, ugly HAG!”

“Who?” asked James.

“The creature who calls herself my mum, that is, when she’s not trying to disown me,” he replied. “She kept me confined to my room for most of the summer as punishment for being a Gryffindor and consorting with ‘blood traitors’. She put a locking charm on my door and windows and disconnected my fireplace from the Floo network. I was stuck. The few times I was almost able to escape I tried to owl you but she must have intercepted the letters - including the ones you sent me.”

“So you’ve been locked up until now?” Remus asked.

Sirius shook his head. “No. Toward the end of summer I started to look forward to returning here. My mum even started to ease up on me, saying that the family was going on a trip. I thought that was better than being cooped up in the room so I decided to bear with it until my return here.”

“Where did you go?” Remus asked.

Sirius gave him an impatient glance and said, “I’m getting there, let me finish. My parents told me we were going to visit some family in Eastern Europe. Turns out it was all a big trick to force me into Durmstrang. My parents had decided that Hogwarts was being a bad influence on me. BAD!” scoffed Sirius. “Can you believe it? If anyone is going to be the bad influence it will be ME, not some school,” he said sarcastically. “I was forced to stay there. My parents had enrolled me, hoping the Eastern European influence would knock some sense into me. Boy, if ever there were a group of dull, bland people it was there. Picture a thousand Professor Binns’ and you’ll start to get the idea.”

“That doesn’t explain why you’re here now,” James pointed out.

Sirius smirked. “Well, you know me James. Even if I was tricked into going there and forced to attend classes, I was not going to take it sitting down.”

“Oh no…you didn’t!” chuckled James.

Sirius sprawled on his bed with his hands behind his head and grinned broadly. “Oh, yes, I most certainly did!” he cheekily replied.

Remus looked at the two boys in confusion before asking, “What exactly happened?”

Sirius raised his left eyebrow and said, “I simply got myself expelled.”

“Somehow I don’t think there was anything simple about it,” muttered James, trying to suppress his laughter. “Two weeks, Sirius. You got expelled within two weeks! That’s got to be some kind of record.”

Sirius gave a mock frown. “I’m surprised you have such low expectations of me, James. Two weeks! That’s for five-year olds! I got expelled in 8 days. After all the detentions I was able to earn last year, did you honestly think I could not wreak enough havoc to earn myself an expulsion in practically no time?”

James gave a deep dramatic bow and said, “I apologize most humbly. I should have remembered the damage you could cause.” He paused, appearing to be in thought. “Actually Sirius, I would have expected 2 days. What took you so long?”

“The food was good. Oh, to have another baklava,” he drooled.

“Wait,” said Remus. “Does that mean that, by getting himself expelled, Sirius chose us over food?”

James grabbed his chest, feigning a heart attack. “It can’t be possible!”

“Ha ha…” deadpanned Sirius.

“Are you going to tell us how you got yourself expelled?” inquired James.

“Ahh, James, if I told you I’d have to kill you. Needless to say, Durmstrang is going to be pretty chilly with the holes that were blown through the walls of a few classrooms. The teachers, especially, will have a hard time of it since their clothes mysteriously disappeared,” replied Sirius.

There was a lot of laughter as Sirius continued the tale of his antics at Durmstrang, finding ways of getting himself kicked out. He brushed over his parents’ reaction though James and Remus were pretty certain it had not been pleasant for Sirius. It turned out that Hogwarts was the only place where Sirius could still be enrolled. Durmstrang had warned a few other schools about Sirius’ reputation and they turned down his parents’ applications. Having determined their son to be a hopeless case, his parents gave up and sent him back to Hogwarts.

James and Remus filled Sirius in on the latest events at Hogwarts, starting with James’ new position on the Gryffindor house team. Sirius howled, proud for James yet openly jealous, especially when he laid eyes on the Nimbus 1900. James was able to appease his friend with the promise of letting him borrow it for a ride the next day.

Remus later ran down to the common room to grab some books he had left down there. That gave Sirius a moment alone with James. Sirius approached his friend with a more sober look about him. James had a feeling he knew what was coming.

“Look, James,” he said. “I’m really sorry I wasn’t there for you after you found out about your dad. I tried to get to the memorial service but my mum left a sticking charm on the door in addition to the locking charm.”

“Forget about it, really,” replied James.

“No, I should have been there. Your dad was a great guy. He allowed me into his home and treated me better than my own dad ever did. I’ll say this once since I get the feeling you aren’t ready to talk about it, but I feel it has to be said. I’m really sorry that he’s gone. If you or your mum ever need anything…well, you know where to find me.”

“Yeah,” James said. He smiled. “NOW I know where to find you. Now be honest. Was it really 8 days?”

“Well,” said Sirius, “more like 8 ½, but don’t tell Remus. He’ll never let me live it down. Come on, let’s go find Peter. It’ll be fun to see his expression at my return if I jump out and startle him!”

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The next morning at breakfast Lily was nibbling on a muffin trying not to laugh as Marlene silently teased Alice. Ever since the beginning of the year Frank Longbottom had been following Alice like a lovesick puppy dog. He made no exception that morning as he rushed to sit next to her. In his haste he accidentally knocked over a glass of pumpkin juice, spilling its contents all over Alice’s robes.

“Oh no, Alice!” he moaned. “I’m so sorry! I’ll walk you upstairs so you can get another set of robes.”

Alice helplessly gazed at the sticky mess on her robes. “There’s no time. I’ll be late for class. You know how Pilon gets if a student’s late.”

“Scourgify!” Alice’s robes suddenly became spotless and the group all turned stunned faces toward Lily, who was placing her wand back into the pocket of her robes.

“Lily? How did you do that? We aren’t supposed to learn that charm until later this year!” said Marlene.

Lily shrugged her shoulders and said, “I’ve been reading ahead.”

Marlene, Alice, and Frank all exchanged glances. “Lily,” started Alice, “there’s a difference between reading about charms and performing them. You had the wand movement down and everything!”

“Yeah,” said Frank, very impressed. “You must be quite a talented witch!”

Lily blushed and shrugged again. “Maybe we should get to class. Like you said, we don’t want to be late.”

Marlene smirked and said, “Yeah, Professor Pilon seems to need somebody to pick on now that Black isn’t around to get detentions. Have you guys noticed how quiet it’s been since he’s been gone?”

“Ahhhh, do my ears deceive me?” came an amused voice from behind Marlene, who turned around shocked to see Sirius standing behind her. “Did you miss me McKinnon?” he asked with a smirk, sitting down and throwing an arm around her shoulders.

At first Marlene was too shocked at his sudden appearance to reply. Then she realized where his arm was and remembered why she disliked him. “You egotistical pig!” she yelled, shoving away his arm. “Thinking that I would actually miss YOU?! If there’s anything to miss about you it would be your absence!” She stood up, grabbed her bag and stormed out of the Great Hall.

Sirius chuckled and turned to see Lily sitting in front of him. His face settling from a wide grin to a pleasant smile as he said, “You okay, Evans?”

Lily smiled back and said, “Alright here, Sirius. Yourself?”

“I’m great, now that I’m back,” he said.

Lily noticed James approaching them and quickly grabbed her things, standing. “I’d better go catch up with Marlene. Coming, Alice?”

Alice looked at Sirius and gave James a sympathetic look before following Lily. Frank stumbled after them, trying to offer to carry Alice’s books.

Sirius had noticed the timing of Lily’s departure and turned to his friend. “So I take it things haven’t improved with Lily since I’ve been gone?”

James shook his head and dejectedly said, “It’s like I don’t exist to her. Every time I try to talk to her she either ignores me or finds the fastest way out of the conversation.”

“Tough luck, mate,” said Sirius.

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A/N: Yeah! Sirius is back! I had fun with this chapter - finally something a little lighter than the past several chapters…

So what did you think about Sirius’ return (and his story)?

Thanks to the latest reviewers: MysticalMacaw, DobbyGrl, Golden Phoenix, Remus’sweetie (x2), sweetie513, and urSweetiemSmia. I was inspired by the quick reviews to edit and post this chapter tonight, forgoing the sleep I probably need instead.

Once again - James is a Seeker in this story, NOT a Chaser. I know all the arguments about him being a Chaser, but he will stay a Seeker for this story.

Next chapter: The Marauders come up with an idea - one people have been asking me about for some time…can you guess?

33. Learning about Animagi

Chapter 33: Learning about Animagi

After a rather long and boring Double Potions class everyone headed to Transfiguration. After everyone sat down they glanced around, wondering where Professor McGonagall was. Usually she was ready at her desk, keeping an eye on the door to make sure nobody walked in a minute late. Not seeing her, the class didn’t bother to keep their voices down. They horsed around and joked loudly.

Suddenly a loud ‘meow’ could be heard from the front of the room. Some of the voices settled as they looked for the source of the feline voice. A tabby cat with dark rims around her eyes jumped onto the desk and scrutinized the class before her. Some of the students exchanged awkward glances, wondering where the cat had come from. The kitty meowed again, this time louder and more demanding.

“Somebody tell that ugly old cat to get out of here before McGonagall catches her and transfigures her into earmuffs!” shouted Sirius.

The cat’s eyes widened a little bit as she turned and hissed at Sirius. He howled in laughter. The cat hissed again, this time leaping off the desk straight at Sirius. Just as he expected to get clawed in the face he saw the most amazing thing- the cat transformed in midair into his Transfiguration professor. He sat there with his jaw hanging open as Professor McGonagall approached his desk and leaned over him, a very stern look upon her face.

“Well, I see you’re back, Mr. Black,” she said. “I am sure we will have plenty of time to catch up when you see me for detention tonight!”

“Professor,” he muttered, “how did you, I mean, how-?”

Professor McGonagall returned to the front of the room and faced the rest of the class. “Every year I show a class this spell. I am an Animagus and as you could tell I can transfigure myself into a cat and back. It takes great discipline to do the spell flawlessly and there is a lot of risk involved in learning it. Also, some people in the past have used their Animagus form to become spies. That is why it is illegal to become an Animagus without getting a license and registering yourself and the animal you assume. Each of us is only able to transform into one animal, that is, if you are able to do the spell in the first place. It takes years to learn the spell and master it. I have attempted to teach it to a few of my outstanding NEWT students, but unfortunately the last few have ended up in St. Mungo’s trying to get certain…animal characteristics removed from their form.” There was some chuckling from the class. “Now that I have shown you that I am an Animagus, let us get back to our original lesson - transfiguring mice into water goblets…”

She set about teaching the lesson, however most of the students’ minds were lingering on the show they saw at the beginning of class. Later that evening, after Sirius got out of detention he joined James and Remus in the dorm room while Frank and Peter were studying downstairs in the common room. Sirius still couldn’t get over the fact that he hadn’t found out about Professor McGonagall being an Animagus before.

Remus spoke up. “Well, erm…I already knew.”

“How did you find out? Why didn’t you tell us?” asked Sirius.

“Well, it’s rather embarrassing, really,” he started. “Do you remember last year after that one transformation where I got really bruised?” James and Sirius nodded. “That night I had been slamming against the walls and the shuttered windows trying to get out of the shack. I had been very close to escaping. Apparently, the townspeople feared that whatever was making the racket in the shack would be set loose so they owled Dumbledore asking for help. A little while later Professor McGonagall showed up, and not a minute too soon. She was in her Animagus form and started swatting at me, trying to keep me distracted from the shutters that were loosening. It worked long enough to get me through the rest of the night.”

“What was she thinking?” asked James. “Approaching a werewolf and swatting you like that? Was she mad? She could have been bitten!”

Remus looked at his feet and said, “Well, erm, I actually did bite her.”

Sirius’ eyes widened as he said, “So you turned her into a werewolf?!”

“No, I didn’t,” he replied, shaking his head. “I was really worried about it the next day, but she explained everything to me. Apparently werewolves are only dangerous to people. Their bites only affect humans. Since she was in her Animagus form I wasn’t a danger to her.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. And you were able to keep your mind off of escaping through the window?” James asked.

“Yes, actually she was almost able to help me keep my mind. Usually I don’t remember much from my transformations, but she was able to keep me focused and that really helped me from hurting myself any more,” replied Remus.

“Wait a minute!” said Sirius. “You said you didn’t tell us about her being an Animagus because you were embarrassed. Why would you be too embarrassed to tell us about this?”

Remus paused a moment debating whether or not to say anything. “Well, erm, I actually didn’t say that I was embarrassed. I just said the situation was embarrassing.”

“What do you mean?” asked James.

“It’s not so much that I bit Professor McGonagall…it’s, erm, where I bit her, actually,” he replied.

Sirius and James exchanged amused glances before asking in unison, “WHERE?”

Remus turned a deep shade of red before replying, barely above a whisper, “Her bum.”

At first there was silence among the three boys until all at once the room was filled with loud laughter. James was almost in tears thinking about the situation. Remus couldn’t help but join in the laughter, shaking his head all the while.

“Wait!” shouted Sirius. “Now I remember!” He turned to James and asked, “Do you remember that one week where she refused to sit down?” He looked to Remus for confirmation, who nodded. That sent more gut-wrenching laughter around the room. “Remus, I tell ya, mate. It sure isn’t dull having a werewolf for a friend!”

Suddenly Remus’ smile froze in shock as he stared toward the door. James and Sirius, not quite done laughing, had noticed Remus’ expression and turned toward the entrance to their room. Their faces quickly became sober as they saw Peter standing there, his eyes wide and staring back at Remus.

“He-he-he….” stuttered Peter. “R-R-Remus is a…a…a w-w-werewolf?!”

Sirius quickly grabbed Peter by the arm and pulled him into the room as James shut the door behind him. Remus stood there, still as a statue. He was sure the secret would be revealed to the school. He was certain his days at Hogwarts were coming to an end, and that he would have to leave the only two friends that had ever truly accepted him.

Peter was on the verge of hyperventilating. “H-h-how…R-Remus…w-w-were-”

“Oh shut up, Peter!” roared Sirius.

James joined Sirius in front of Peter and together the two of them towered over the short blond boy. Peter looked up at them in fear.

“Okay, Peter, so you found out about Remus,” said James. “He is a werewolf. He has been since before you ever met him. Here’s the deal - you keep your mouth shut and maybe Sirius and I won’t pound your face in, okay?”

Peter looked at Remus and then back at Sirius and James. He never saw Sirius and James more serious before. He gulped and nodded, feeling that agreeing was his best option to make it to his 13^th birthday in one piece.

After a few minutes Peter finally caught his breath and his voice started to settle. “I don’t get it, how could you be a werewolf and allowed to come to Hogwarts?”

Remus filled Peter in on the story he had told James and Sirius about how Dumbledore had arranged for him to attend Hogwarts. Peter nodded as Remus told his story.

“So you’re actually locked away during your transformations? Well, that’s not so bad then,” said Peter.

James and Sirius looked at him, surprised and almost impressed. “You’re taking the news pretty well, Peter. I would have expected you to run away screaming,” said Sirius.

Peter gave a nervous laugh and said, “I was just surprised, that’s all. When did you two find out?”

Remus replied for them. “They figured it out and confronted me. I asked that nobody else be told. I’m sorry for not trusting you, Peter.”

Peter smiled and said, “That’s okay, I understand. And not to worry, mate. I’ll keep your secret. I’m just sorry that you have to go through the transformations like that.”

“Yeah, I wish we could help,” said Sirius.

James suddenly became lost in thought. His silence drew Sirius’ attention.

“What’s up, mate?” asked Sirius.

“I was thinking, Sirius,” said James.

“Uh oh. Don’t strain yourself!” joked Sirius.

James gave him a dirty look and said, “What if there was a way to help Remus?”

“What do you mean, James?” asked Remus. “You’re already helping me by keeping my secret and accepting me as your friend.”

“I meant helping you during your transformations,” replied James.

“There’s no way to do that without putting yourselves at risk,” said Remus.

Sirius started to catch on and said, “That’s not true, Remus. What were we just talking about earlier?” Remus looked at him quizzically before Sirius said, “Professor McGonagall!”

James spoke up. “Yeah! If we learned how to become Animagi then we could help you through the transformations. You said yourself that you were better able to keep your mind with McGonagall’s help. Imagine having us there instead every full moon.”

Remus shook his head. “Even if you wanted to become Animagi it takes years to learn and Professor McGonagall already said she’ll only teach the outstanding students in her NEWT level classes- that’s years away.”

Sirius grinned and said, “You have so little faith in us. We’re the Marauders and we can certainly pull off some measly Animagus spell. We’ll just have to start learning now.”

“But it’s illegal!” squeaked Peter.

“That’s why no one will have to know but us, okay?” asked James. Trying to pacify him he said, “Why Peter, I bet we could even help you to become one as well!” Peter looked hopeful while Sirius rolled his eyes in doubt behind him.

Remus shook his head again. “I can’t have you guys breaking the law and putting yourselves at risk for me. What if you end up in St. Mungo’s like McGonagall’s last students?”

“The matter’s closed, Remus,” said James. “Tomorrow night I say we take out the invisibility cloak and peruse the Restricted Section. We’re bound to find information there on how to successfully pull of the spell!”

“Agreed,” said Sirius.

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Over the next several weeks the Marauders all took turns searching the library for information on how to become Animagi. James would wake up each morning exhausted. In addition to the Animagus research he also had his studies and quidditch practice. Toward the end of October the Marauders gathered in their dorm room to piece together the research they had acquired.

“Okay,” started James, “it says here that the first thing we need to do is brew a potion. Once we take it then we will need to use a charm that will cause us to develop into our Animagus form for 10 minutes. During that time we need to study our reflection in a mirror and learn all the details to help us later on when we start transforming ourselves.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” said Peter.

“No, it doesn’t,” said James, “however the potion will take six months to prepare.”

“Six MONTHS?!” exclaimed Sirius.

“That’s what it says,” James replied. He looked at Remus, who was looking very ill due to the upcoming full moon in two days time. “We’re here for several years, Sirius. It may take a while to do this but it’ll be worth it.”

Sirius glanced at Remus and back at James. “You’re right. What next?”

James looked at his notes and said, “After we memorize our Animagus form, we are to practice transfiguring inanimate objects. That’s so we can get the finesse of each detail, so we will be less likely to make mistakes on ourselves.” Peter made an audible gulp at that thought.

“Ok, then what?” asked Sirius.

“Then we start on ourselves. We are to start with small things like transfiguring a foot into a paw or a mouth into a beak. Then we work our way up to the full transfiguration,” said James.

After a few moments Remus spoke up, “I can’t let you do this. It’s too dangerous.”

Sirius smirked and said, “Sorry, mate, but even your werewolf strength won’t stop us. Besides, it’s our decision. It’s not your responsibility.”

“Not my responsibility?!” yelled Remus. “You’re only doing this to help me! How is it not my responsibility?!”

“Maybe it started that way, but you’re not the only reason we’re doing this,” said James. When Remus looked at him dubiously, he explained, “If we pull this off, imagine all the things we could do. If we felt like exploring the grounds after curfew or checking out Hogsmeade on our own we wouldn’t need my invisibility cloak.” Sirius and Peter nodded their heads in agreement. They all knew that Remus was the reason they were trying to become Animagi, but they didn’t want him to feel guilty or responsible. Besides, James felt he had a point - they COULD have some fun at the same time.

Remus finally threw his hands up and said, “Fine! I see you’re going to do this no matter what I say.”

“Alright!” said Sirius. “When do we start?”

“As soon as possible if we want to get this potion ready by the end of the school year,” said James.

“What kind of ingredients do we need for the potion?” asked Remus. When the other three looked at him in question he replied, “I may not be happy you’re doing this, but I’m certainly not letting you do this without my help.”

“Great,” replied James. He looked back at his notes and said, “Most of the ingredients shouldn’t be difficult to acquire. There could be one problem however…”

Sirius started to drum his fingers on his nightstand. “Well, are you going to tell us or wait for us to guess?”

“Phoenix ashes,” said James. “We will need two grams of phoenix ashes. Where on Earth will we find that?”

“Not a problem,” said Sirius. “Dumbledore has a phoenix in his office. I saw it - name’s Flocks or Fawkes or something like that.”

“Dumbledore’s office?!” cried Peter. “How on Earth do we break into his office?”

James turned to Sirius and they gave each other an evil grin. “Sirius,” said James. “How do you feel about causing some major mischief? Enough to land you a visit to the headmaster?”

“I was beginning to think you’d never ask!” said Sirius.

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A/N: Okay, the Animagus plan is now underway. Can’t wait to show you how they get the phoenix ashes… So did you like the stories behind how the Marauder’s found out about McGonagall? What did you think of how Peter found out about Remus?

Thanks to the latest reviewers: MysticalMacaw, Remus’sweetie, Harrysgrl (x3), Watermelon!, Dobbygrl, Golden Phoenix, and Anonymous.

Next chapter: The Marauders get the necessary ingredients for the Animagus potion.

34. In Sirius Trouble

Chapter 34: In Sirius Trouble

Sirius convinced James that he alone should go to the headmaster’s office. James had his first quidditch match coming up and Sirius refused to allow James to risk missing it due to a punishment. The match would be against Slytherin.

Although James was doing quite well in practice he felt a knot of nervousness starting to build in the pit of his stomach. Last year Gryffindor had lost to Slytherin. In fact, it had been six years since the Gryffindors had beaten the Slytherins. That had been the year Gryffindor had last won the Quidditch Cup. Carlton Wood, the team captain, spent most of his time in a panic trying to put together more practice time.

A few days after James agreed to allow Sirius to acquire the phoenix ashes on his own, he was walking with Peter and Remus along a second floor corridor when all of a sudden they heard a group of high-pitched screams. Shortly thereafter Sirius came flying down the hall trying to avoid several curses aimed at him. He had a huge mischievous grin on his face as he rushed past the rest of the Marauders, throwing them a thumbs up.

“MISTER BLACK!” came a booming voice from down the hallway where Sirius had run from. “SIRIUS BLACK! STOP RUNNING THIS INSTANT!”

Sirius stopped and, though panting from running, casually turned around and threw on a charm-filled smile. “Professor McGonagall! How lovely to see you this evening!”

Professor McGonagall strode up to him, her face almost purple. “How DARE you! Sneaking into the girl’s bathroom?! WHAT were you thinking?!”

Sirius shook his head and put on his most innocent face as he threw out his arms and said, “It wasn’t my fault, Professor! I’m a boy about to turn 13 years old. My hormones are going crazy. I just couldn’t help it! Don’t you see? My hormones forced me to do it!”

James, Remus, and Peter all tried to suppress their laughter at the show Sirius was performing. Professor McGonagall’s lips pressed into a thin line - James wasn’t sure if it was from anger or amusement.

“Mister Black, you have been back barely a week and you are already getting yourself into a load of trouble. Do you want to get yourself expelled again? What would your parents say?” she lectured. Sirius couldn’t help rolling his eyes at her last comment. She shook her head and grabbed his arm. “Perhaps if I cannot get across the serious nature of what you have just done, then I will have the headmaster do it.” As she led him away she said, “Thirty points from Gryffindor!”

After they were out of sight James couldn’t hold in his laughter anymore. Remus looked amused, however Peter was nervous.

“Do you think he’ll get expelled for this?” asked Peter.

Once James was able to catch his breath he said, “Of course not. He’ll get a lecture, find a way of getting the ashes, then we’ll be all set to brew the potion.”

“Leave it to Sirius to purposely get into trouble just to pull this off,” said Remus.

James smirked. “I wouldn’t fret about it. Somehow I think he had the time of his life.”

“That figures!” said a voice from behind them. They turned around to see Marlene looking rather irked, with Lily standing next to her.

“Lily!” exclaimed James. His heart skipped a couple of beats, wondering how much of the conversation she had just heard. He ran a hand through his messy hair and tried to put on a casual grin to cover up any suspicion. “Alright there, Lily?”

Her face looked like it was set in stone. She looked annoyed. She cast him a quick glance though it didn’t quite meet his eyes. “Save it, Potter! Let’s go, Marlene.”

As they walked away James felt the impulse to run and catch up, walking alongside them. “So, Lily? We were just going to dinner. Do you want to join us?”

“No,” she replied, still refusing to look directly at him. It had been like this all year - James trying to get Lily’s attention and her trying to ignore him.

“Alright, then - how about going outside later for an evening flight?” he asked hopefully.

Lily paused for a moment before she whirled to face him and said, “No! Please just leave me alone, Potter!”

James froze for a moment, then stiffly replied, “Alright then, Evans. I’ll see you around.” He turned and walked toward his friends. They watched him nervously but he smiled at them, trying to brush off the footprints Lily had left from stomping on his heart. Remus was about to say something but James interrupted. “Let’s go! I’m starving.” He turned and headed toward the Great Hall with his two friends trying to keep up. Remus could tell that James was hurt by what Lily had said and that he was trying to cover it up.

As they neared the Great Hall they almost stumbled over Snape, who was sitting at the top of the stairs, absorbed in a book. James paused in front of the greasy-haired Slytherin and gazed down at the book he was reading - Dark Arts Volume One: Cursing your Enemy. James felt a surge of hatred seeing Snape reading that book. It was one thing to study DADA, but it was quite another thing to seek out information on the Dark Arts. James thought of Riddle who was probably somewhere working for Voldemort, using curses that were found in the book Snape was holding. As the anger built, James wondered if a curse from that book had been responsible for the explosion that killed his father.

Snape suddenly realized that someone was hovering above him. He slowly pulled his nose out of the book and looked up at James. His eyes widened at the severe expression on James’ face. Snape’s cold dark eyes focused on James’ as he spat, “What is it, Potter?”

The way Snape said James’ name, dripping with disdain, set off a trigger in James. It was similar to the one that had led him to destroy his room after his father’s death, only it was slightly more controlled. After Lily’s rejection, and seeing Snape immersed in the Dark Arts text James felt the need to do something. Remus and Peter watched in astonishment as James raised his wand and hexed Snape so that boils covered his skin.

Snape thought about retaliating, but thought better of it after seeing the crazed look in Potter’s eyes and seeing his two friends behind him. He grabbed his book and stumbled away to the hospital wing.

Remus and Peter stood there in shock. Sure, they all played pranks on the Slytherins but that was the first time any of them had thrown a hex like that unprovoked. They glanced at each other nervously while James stared at the spot where Snape had been sitting.

“Erm, James?” asked Remus. “Are you-”

He was interrupted by a chuckle. It started out soft but grew into a side-splitting guffaw. Remus and Peter watched as their friend continued to roar with laughter.

“D-did you see…” James started in between the laughs, “…his face?”

Peter, seeing James laughing so hard, giggled a little and said, “Yeah, James. That was…erm…very funny.”

“Maybe we should go eat,” said Remus, looking a little worried about his friend.

Sirius appeared halfway through the meal and sat down with a triumphant smile on his face. He looked around at his friends, noticing the sober look on Remus and Peter and the strange expression on James’ face. His eyes met Remus’, about to ask what was going on. Remus threw Sirius a cautionary look that silently said not to ask.

“What happened with Dumbledore?” asked James, not having noticed the silent conversation between Remus and Sirius.

Sirius grinned and said, “Mission accomplished! McGonagall left me in Dumbledore’s office alone to wait for him. I was able to approach Fawkes and scoop up some of the ashes that sat at the base of his perch before Dumbledore arrived.”

“Did you get expelled?” squeaked Peter.

Sirius snorted and said, “No. I’m here, aren’t I? I got a lecture on how to behave around girls, though I got the feeling that Dumbledore was amused by the entire situation. He gave me a week’s worth of detention and get this! I have to report to Pilon for my detention. That means I’ll have the opportunity to nick the other ingredients we’ll need.”

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Marlene watched Lily curiously throughout dinner. Lily had been quiet after her encounter with Potter. It was true that Marlene detested Black, but she didn’t hold much of a grudge against Potter. At the end of first year he had been quite the gentleman with Lily and Marlene had learned to tolerate him. She almost considered him a friend. After she had found out about his father she had felt compelled to owl him, sending her sympathy and condolences.

As they walked back to the common room Marlene finally spoke up. “That was kind of rude, you know?”

Lily gave Marlene a curious look before asking, “What are you talking about?”

“What you said to Potter earlier. That’s not like you,” she said.

Lily looked ahead and shrugged. “Maybe not, but he keeps bugging me, trying to get me to spend time with him.”

“Would that be so horrible?” asked Marlene.

“He keeps looking at me like he expects me to remember things I’ll never remember. It’s too weird,” Lily said quietly.

Marlene knew she was testing Lily’s patience but felt the need to prod further. “Maybe he just wants to spend a little time with you so you can get to know him again.”

Lily gave a frustrated sigh and turned to Marlene, her voice filled with annoyance. “Why do you keep pushing this? I don’t remember you being a big fan of the Marauders! Why don’t you spend some time with Sirius?”

“That’s different. I’ve always hated him!” protested Marlene. “You really liked Potter!”

“It’s not that different, Marlene. Before this year, the only thing I remember about Potter was that he was a strange boy who could hardly speak and who played a mean prank on you at the beginning of first year,” said Lily. “Maybe I didn’t hate him, but the more he pesters me the more annoyed I get!” Lily turned away and stormed toward the common room.

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That night after the Marauders had decided to go to sleep James lay in his bed thinking about the events of the day. He thought about how Lily could hardly stand to look at him anymore. He thought about Snape and what he had been reading. He felt a pang of satisfaction thinking about the hex he had thrown at Snivellus and how the Slytherin had run away.

Suddenly James felt a slight breeze as the curtains surrounding his bed were opened. Sirius jumped onto the bed and said, “So, Jamsie, I heard you had an interesting time after I went for my visit to Dumbledore.” Seeing the question in James’ eyes he added, “Remus told me - ‘bout Evans then about Snivellus.”

“So are you going to lecture me on hexing in the hallways?” asked James sarcastically.

Sirius smirked and said, “Hardly! I just wish I had been there to witness the look on Snivellus’ face when the hex hit him.” He paused and looked at his friend. “Not that I mind Snape getting what he deserves…but since when do you throw hexes like that? Usually we reserve that for our pranks, unless they provoke us.”

James looked away and said, “He deserved it. Do you know what he was reading about?”

“Hair care?” joked Sirius.

“Dark Arts! Can you believe it? I thought if he was into cursing people that maybe he would want to study the ‘furunculus hex’ more closely,” said James.

Sirius studied James for a moment before asking, “And what about Evans?”

“What about her?” asked James.

“I heard she was pretty harsh with you earlier,” said Sirius.

“Yeah…maybe she was,” he said. “I don’t know what to do about her anymore. Maybe I should just forget about the whole thing!”

Sirius looked at James in doubt. For as long as he’d known him, James had been completely smitten with Evans. “So you’re going to give up on her, just like that?” he asked, snapping his fingers.

“I dunno,” muttered James. “I just don’t know.”

After another moment Sirius said, “You’d better get some sleep, mate. The match against Slytherin is in two days and you need to be ready to catch that Snitch!”

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A/N: Thanks to the latest reviewers: sweetie513, DobbyGrl, Remus’sweetie, Harrysgrl, Golden Phoenix, urSweetiemSmia, Watermelon!, itsme63 (x2), and PottersPrincess.

Next chapter: James’ popularity increases. The Marauders set off on a new adventure.

35. Sneaking into Hogsmeade

Chapter 35: Sneaking into Hogsmeade

Toward the middle of November, James was flying high from the recent victory against Slytherin. He had made a spectacular catch of the Snitch, having chased it in a corkscrew fashion and under the Slytherin Keeper to make the capture. Ever since the match he noticed his popularity had made a dramatic increase. He had always been known for being one of the Marauders, but now he had separated himself from the other three by becoming a Quidditch star.

He started to become aware of several girls from a few different houses who gave him shy glances and smiles. A few who were more bold sat near him in class or tried to strike up a conversation in the corridor between classes. James didn’t mind the attention, even though his affections still drifted toward a certain red-head.

Lily’s attitude toward James was not improving. If anything, it was worsening. James had tried countless times to get her to spend time with him or even have a regular conversation. It seemed like she couldn’t get away from him fast enough. One day after Lily had stormed away from James in the Great Hall, he turned and noticed a few of the girls who had been paying him more attention. James turned and glanced at Lily who had sat down at the Gryffindor table with Alice and Marlene. James, feeling hurt and a little angry by Lily’s rejection, ran his hand through his hair and walked over to his ‘fans’ with as casual a grin as he could muster. He chatted with them for a while and soaked up their admiration, his bruised ego feeling a little better. A few times he glanced at Lily to see if she had noticed but she continued to eat her meal and ignore him.

When James returned to his friends at the Gryffindor table he noticed their amused expressions.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

“How much is it?” asked Sirius.

“How much is what?” asked James, confused.

Sirius smirked and said, “How much is a membership in the James Potter Fan Club?” At this statement, Remus almost choked on his meal.

James smacked Sirius on the back of the head and started to pile food onto his plate.

Remus looked down the table and back at James. “So does this mean you’re finally moving on? No more harassing Lily?”

James mustered up his most convincing voice and said, “She made it abundantly clear how she feels. There are other girls who are interested in me, so why shouldn’t I focus my attention on them?”

“Well, it’s about time. I was beginning to worry about you, mate! All this pining away when you could be having so much fun!” said Sirius.

Remus watched James, full of doubt. James decided to change the subject. “So we’re going to need to tend to the Animagus potion tonight…” he whispered.

The others took his cue and launched into a discussion about the potion. They had started it the previous week after Sirius had gathered the other necessary ingredients during one of his detentions. So far they were brewing it in their dorm room, storing it under Remus’ bed. Out of the four of them he was the most responsible. With their misadventures, James and Sirius were worried that at some point a professor might decide to search their things. Peter was too clumsy and bad at potions to trust. Besides, Remus’ bed was the furthest from Frank’s, who was still clueless about the entire situation.

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“I still don’t understand why you won’t give Potter the time of day,” said Marlene.

Lily picked at her food and said, “I’ve told you over and over that it just feels too weird being around him.”

“He obviously likes you,” said Alice.

Lily glanced over at James and turned back to her friends. “If he likes me so much then why is he over there flirting with 5 other girls?”

Alice and Marlene looked over and saw that James was surrounding by several girls, a few Ravenclaw girls from their year and some older girls as well. He was smiling and messing up his hair, making the girls giggle and blush. Alice and Marlene noticed James glancing every so often at Lily, whose focus was on her half-eaten meal.

Marlene suddenly registered what Lily had said. “Are you jealous?” she asked incredulously.

Lily’s head snapped up, her eyes wide in surprise. “Jealous?! Of-of course not!” she smirked. Seeing the doubt in her friends’ eyes, she added, “Look at him! Showing off to bunch of giggly girls just because he’s suddenly a Quidditch star! Me? Jealous? Ha!”

As soon as dinner was finished Lily grabbed her things and rushed out of the Great Hall, glad to escape Alice and Marlene’s questions. She knew they meant well but she really couldn’t handle their prodding her toward James. It was just too much. She made her way to the library and met Remus and Emm. They were going to work on the research for their DADA assignment. Lily was doing much better this year in DADA now that Riddle wasn’t their teacher.

They now had Professor Oldman. He was an ancient looking wizard and the students wondered everyday if he would show up to class or if he would have dropped dead from old age. He used to be an auror but had long since retired. Professor Dumbledore had done an exhaustive search for a new DADA professor and had finally convinced Professor Oldman to come out of retirement to teach. This, at least, had prevented the Board of Governors from appointing another DADA professor. They had been responsible for Riddle’s appointment the previous year.

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“Where did you say it was?” asked Peter.

“Shhhh!” whispered Sirius. “Geez, Peter, do you want us to get caught?”

“Sorry,” muttered Peter.

“It should be halfway down this hallway. We need to look for a statue of a one-eyed humpback crone,” said James. Earlier that week he found the letter his dad had sent him the previous year that told him of the secret passageway to Hogsmeade. James had completely forgotten about it and was surprised when he found it crumpled at the bottom of the pocket of an old school robe that barely fit him anymore. He told the other Marauders about the secret passageway and they eagerly awaited the weekend to try it out. It was a Hogsmeade weekend for the older students so the Marauders thought they could blend in with the crowd.

“There!” said Remus. He gestured toward the statue and the boys crowded around it.

“What now?” asked Sirius.

James was about to tell him when all of a sudden Filch appeared. The four boys suddenly became silent and tried to act casual. Filch eyed them suspiciously as he walked by muttering, “I’d better not smell any dungbombs in this corridor or I will have to drag out my whip…”

After a few minutes when the boys were certain the caretaker was a considerable distance, they all let out a sigh of relief.

“That was close,” said Peter.

“No kidding,” said Sirius. “That guy seems to pop up at the most inconvenient times.” Sirius hadn’t forgotten about how Filch had caught him setting off dungbombs near the Potions classroom the previous week.

“Okay,” said James. “According to the instructions, it says to tap the hump of the statue and say ‘Dissendium’.”

Sirius pulled out his wand and did as instructed. The hump of the old crone moved aside, indicating a narrow opening.

“Peter,” said Sirius. “You go first.”

Peter looked nervously at the dark opening and hesitated. “I dunno, Sirius. It’s awfully dark. What if there’s something down there?”

James rolled his eyes and said, “You’re the smallest and you’ll fit through the opening the easiest. Just get in there and stop being a coward.”

Peter, not wanting to appear cowardly in front of the other boys, gulped and shakily stepped into the opening. He hesitated for a moment before Sirius shoved him down. They heard a loud squeal as Peter slid down the chute into the passageway.

“Oy! Peter!” called Sirius. “You make it?!”

They heard a distant and echoing, “Yes!”

“Well?” asked James. “What do you see?!”

“I-I can’t see anything!” Peter called back. “It’s too dark!”

Remus cleared his throat and said, “Light your wand!”

They heard a nervous chuckle as Peter said, “Oh, yeah!” and lit his wand. “There’s not much to see. It’s a passageway and it looks like it’s pretty long. There are a lot of cobwebs down here!”

“Alright!” called James. “We’re coming down!”

One by one each of the boys made their way into the passageway. They walked for what seemed like at least 20 minutes before they came to a steep stone stairway. After climbing what seemed like 200 steps they finally bumped into a ceiling. Actually, they discovered it to be a trapdoor. As they carefully poked their heads through the trapdoor they realized they had reached a cellar of some kind. It appeared deserted so they climbed into the space. Hearing shuffling above them they approached a nearby stairwell and stealthily made their way upstairs.

After waiting a few minutes for the coast to be clear they snuck into the upstairs shop, only to stop and gape at what was before them. Sweets of every size, shape, and flavor were before them. The shop was already crowded with older students. James noticed a bag that displayed the name ‘Honeydukes’ carrying the purchase of one of the students.

The Marauders spent a fair amount of time in the sweet shop looking for things to add to the stash of goodies the house elves in the kitchens gave them. James bought a few boxes of Jelly Slugs while Sirius bought a case of Chocolate Frogs. James grinned, having remembered Sirius’ fondness for the chocolate treat.

They made their way outside and walked around, gawking at the displays in the shops they passed. They admired the post office and spent a fair amount of time in the Quidditch supply store. By far, the most exciting place they visited was Zonko’s Joke Shop.

Sirius looked like he was in Heaven. “This place is amazing. I can’t believe nobody has thought to open a joke shop in Diagon Alley! They would be rich.”

“Maybe you should consider doing that when you’re out of Hogwarts,” suggested Remus.

“Maybe…” mumbled Sirius. He was engrossed in a display of trick shoes. When he put them on and muttered a specific charm he felt like he was lifted upside down, however his feet were still firmly planted on the ground. It caused the oddest sensation and made him walk quite clumsily.

James was in another corner of the shop. He had found the perfect Christmas gift for Sirius: two-way mirrors. That way he and Sirius could communicate without the need of the owl post. That would solve a lot of problems during the summer holiday. James chuckled to himself, musing that they could also keep in touch when they were in separate detentions.

The boys, after dragging Sirius out of the joke shop kicking and screaming, topped off their Hogsmeade adventure with a visit to the Three Broomsticks. When they sat down in the tavern they were greeted by a curvy woman by the name of Madame Rosmerta. She eyed them suspiciously asking, “You boys old enough to be out this weekend?”

Sirius bowed and flashed a smile, “Why of course, Madame.”

James followed suit and innocently added, “How else could we get here if we weren’t?”

Madame Rosmerta chuckled and said, “Mmm hmmm. I suspect you’re up to no good but since I have no proof, what can I get you?”

“Four butterbeers, Madame,” said Sirius.

After enjoying their refreshment, the Marauders managed to sneak back into the cellar of Honeydukes before the shop closed. They found the entrance to the tunnel and made their way back to the statue of the one-eyed crone. Peter needed assistance making his way up the chute. Once they made it back to their dorm room they all celebrated their successful trip.

“I can’t wait to try these trick shoes out on Snivelly!” exclaimed Sirius.

James nodded enthusiastically. He had never cared for Snape, however since that day when James saw him reading that dark arts book his dislike for the Slytherin had escalated into loathing. He and Sirius took great amusement in humiliating Snape. Since Snape was a Slytherin and already unpopular, the hexing that James and Sirius did drew a lot of praise and attention from other students. The two Marauders started to make a big game of showing off their pranking and hexing prowess against the greasy-haired Slytherin.

A few days later Snape was walking into the Great Hall when Sirius walked by him and muttered a charm. Snape’s eyes widened and all of a sudden his arms flew out to try to steady himself. He tried to grab onto something to keep him from falling however he was a few steps away from the Slytherin table. Snape tried to lift a foot up however feeling the sensation of being upside down made him off balance and sent him stumbling to the floor. Sirius muttered the reversal charm and walked away laughing. Throughout the day he and James took turns charming the shoes that Sirius had switched the previous night, sending the Slytherin tripping to the floor.

After about the fifth time of sending Snape tripping to the floor, James approached him. They had just finished Potions class and the students were filing out of the room. James grinned and said to Snape, “What’s the matter, Snivellus? You keep falling over. Is your gigantic hook-nose making you off balance?”

Several of the students laughed, except for one red-headed girl who frowned as she walked by, barely glancing at James as she passed. James, having noticed her, tried to brush it off by turning and grinning at the group of people he was entertaining.

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A/N: So another milestone arrives for the Marauders - their first time sneaking into Hogsmeade. So what did you think about the latest prank on Snivellus? I was inspired by Harry’s trip through the maze in GoF when he came across the mist.

Thanks to the latest reviewers: MysticalMacaw, Golden Phoenix, likediamondrain (x2), sweetie513, DobbyGrl, itsme63, and Remus’sweetie. I’m terribly sorry if I missed anyone. From what I understand, when PK changed servers there was a temporary problem with the reviews where if there was one with an apostrophe it wasn’t saved. According to the number next to my story there should be two more people for me to acknowledge. I’m sorry (and rather bummed out) that I couldn’t read those reviews.

Next chapter: The Quidditch final - James and Sirius make an interesting wager with some members of the opposing team. Also, the Marauders finish the Animagus potion.

36. Metamorphosis

Chapter 36: Metamorphosis

As the school year drew to an end everyone eagerly anticipated the final Quidditch match of the year: Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. Gryffindor had a flawless season so far thanks especially to James, who was able to catch the Snitch quicker than any Seeker that had played at Hogwarts in over fifty years. Ravenclaw had also had a perfect season so the upcoming match would determine the victor of the Quidditch Cup.

James had quite a rivalry brewing between him and his cousins, Gideon and Fabian Prewitt. They played on the Ravenclaw team as Beaters. At one point Sirius and James made a bet with the Prewitts that if Gryffindor won, the Prewitts would have to go to class for an entire day painted in the Gryffindor colors, wearing only their skivvies. The Prewitts accepted with the understanding that if Ravenclaw won James and Sirius would do the same, only painted in Ravenclaw colors.

As the day of the match drew nearer Sirius began to get a little nervous about the bet and constantly hounded James about getting outside to practice. It became so annoying that James finally had to hex Sirius’ mouth to stick shut. It stayed that way for the entire day until Remus finally took pity on him and reversed the hex.

When the day of the game arrived James woke up early, unable to sleep. He groggily made his way down to the Great Hall for breakfast only to find most of the Gryffindor team already present. Carlton Wood had his head bowed like he was deep in prayer. James sat and picked at his breakfast, unable to eat much since it felt like there was a Quidditch match occurring in his stomach.

Eventually the Great Hall filled with students, either dressed in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw paraphernalia. Sirius sat next to James and started to give him a pep talk, however it sounded more like a plea for him not to lose the bet. Remus elbowed him in the ribs and Sirius glared back before digging into his breakfast. Carlton waved at James to let him know the team would be heading out to the pitch.

James got up and walked along the Gryffindor table hearing many words of encouragement from his house mates. Several of the younger girls were wearing Gryffindor rosettes with his picture in the center. James smirked as he saw them. When he reached the door of the Great Hall he almost ran straight into Lily. To his surprise she was wearing a rosette (though not with his picture) and was carrying a Gryffindor flag.

“Evans!” he exclaimed. “Are you actually going to the match?”

She tossed him a patronizing glance that landed somewhere around his chin and said, “Of course I’m going to the game, Potter. I AM in Gryffindor, aren’t I?” She walked past him into the Great Hall. James started to walk away but froze when he heard her silently add “good luck” as she made her way to the Gryffindor table. When the words reached his ears he turned back suddenly only to see her sitting down at the table in conversation with Alice about something. He shook his head, convinced that he had imagined it, and rushed to catch up with his teammates.

On the way to the pitch James saw his cousins approaching. Gideon ran over to him and said, “Nice day outside eh, James? Spring weather…hope it’s this warm on Monday when you’re wearing your skivvies to class.”

Fabian added, “I do say, James, that our colors will suit you.”

James’ nervousness about the upcoming match was replaced by a determination to beat his cousins. He turned to them with a wide grin and said, “You don’t stand a chance today. Care to make the bet a little more interesting?”

“Do tell!” said Fabian. “We’re always up for a challenge.”

“When Gryffindor wins today, you will still do the Gryffindor body paint and skivvies routine, however instead of wearing it to class you will have to wear it during your NEWT examination…” James paused a moment, thinking, before adding, “…you Transfiguration NEWT examination.”

The twins gave each other a nervous glance. They knew McGonagall would not be very tolerant about such silliness during a major exam. Both boys were applying for positions as aurors, and if they did not receive good marks then that could jeopardize their careers. Nevertheless, Gideon turned back to James and said, “Okay, but when we win then you will have to do the same for your final exam this year in Potions.”

“Deal!” said James.

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James felt the familiar excitement as he stood near the entrance to the pitch from the Gryffindor locker room. The stands had filled up and the noise from the crowd was deafening. As the announcer introduced them, James mounted his Nimbus 1900 and followed his team onto the pitch. As he circled the pitch he took the time to look at the crowd. He saw Remus and Peter sitting with Alice, Marlene, and Lily. For a moment James’ thoughts drifted back to the Great Hall where he thought he had heard Lily wish him good luck. Then as he snapped out of it he realized that he didn’t see Sirius sitting with Remus and Peter. As James approached the Ravenclaw section he chuckled as he finally found Sirius hiding in the back charming Gryffindor decorations onto several of the Ravenclaw students.

As James completed his lap he was a little surprised to see his mum making her way to an empty spot in the Gryffindor stands. He caught her eye and she smiled. He felt a small knot in his stomach form as he looked at the empty spot next to her that should have held his dad. He plastered on a smile and waved back at his mum.

After Carlton Wood shook the Ravenclaw captain’s hand, Mr. Levine released the four balls and the game started. James kicked off the ground and allowed his love of flying to take over for his nervousness. His one focus was on finding the Golden Snitch as soon as possible. He stayed at a higher altitude than the rest of the players, flying around and watching for a golden glimmer. The Ravenclaw Seeker, Harvey Patil, decided to stick close to James in case he found the Snitch first.

James was vaguely aware of the goals that were being scored by both the Gryffindor and the Ravenclaw chasers. So far the match was pretty close. James started to get irritated by Patil’s constant tailing of him and decided to have a little fun. He suddenly turned and dove to a lower altitude at a high speed. Both of the Prewitt’s, seeing James dive, started to pound the bludgers in his direction. This backfired, however, because James was quick enough to dodge them and Patil was right behind him. Patil yelped as a bludger hit his arm, knocking him to the side of his broom and almost sending him flying to the ground. He was able to hang on and right himself as James flew back to his original altitude. As he passed by the Prewitt’s he grinned and waved.

From that point on Patil decided to change his strategy and look for the Snitch on his own. James circled the pitch until some sunlight reflected off a golden object about fifty feet away. He raced toward it feeling victory was close at hand since Patil was on the other side of the pitch. He was about a foot away when he felt something slam into his leg with great force. It caused James to slide off the side of his broom. With his quick reflexes he grabbed onto the broom with one arm, dangling about forty feet off of the ground. He turned and saw the Snitch starting to fly away. Somehow, while still dangling from the broom, James commanded it to follow the Snitch and within a few seconds he was able to reach out and grab it, winning the game.

As he carefully made his way down to the ground he looked up in the stands and saw Professor McGonagall jumping up and down and screaming like a giddy school girl. Once James landed he was bombarded by his teammates who all joined in a group hug. Carlton was bawling and wouldn’t let go of James until Dumbledore called him to the podium to receive the Quidditch Cup.

James was feeling elated at having won the cup however his leg was rather painful from where he was hit by the bludger. Even though he couldn’t put his weight on the leg, there were several girls who had made their way down to congratulate him who insisted that he lean on them for support. Sirius ran up to him and grinned at the display of James and his fan club. Remus and Peter caught up with them. Remus had a gigantic smile as he congratulated James. Peter was jumping up and down and beaming at James in admiration.

James turned and saw his cousins approaching him. Gideon smirked as he saw James leaning on a few fourth year girls. “Sorry about the bludger, James. It was all about the game, right?”

James grinned and with a mischievous tone said, “I understand completely. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be feeling much better when I see you boys coming out of your Transfiguration NEWT examination in a few weeks.” The twins paled.

“What do you mean, the NEWT exam?” asked Sirius. James told him about the modification made to the bet and Sirius howled in delight.

“We HAVE to get a picture of them. Who do we know that has a camera?” asked Sirius.

Remus answered, “I’m pretty sure that Marlene has one. Remember when she snuck into our dorm room and got a picture of you sleeping with your teddy bear?”

Sirius sent Remus a look that clearly told him to keep his mouth shut. Returning to the subject at hand, he said, “Oh great, I guess this means that I’ll have to be nice to her.”

“Nice to whom?” asked Alice. The boys turned around in surprise to find Alice and Marlene standing there.

“McKinnon!” exclaimed Sirius with his most charming smile. “You’re looking particularly lovely this afternoon.”

Marlene raised an eyebrow and said, “Can it, Black. What is it that you want?”

“We need to borrow you camera in a few weeks,” he replied.

She eyed him suspiciously and said, “What are you four up to?”

Sirius glanced at James who shrugged and nodded. He launched into explaining who James’ cousins were and that a bet had been made. After he told her the details of the bet he said, “So what do you say, McKinnon? Can we borrow the camera?”

“Sure,” she replied. Sirius’ jaw dropped. Marlene rolled her eyes and added, “Don’t look so shocked, Black. I can’t wait to see those two coming out of the exam. I have one condition, though. I will be the one to take the pictures.”

Sirius was about to object until Remus nudged him and whispered, “You’ll get the pictures. Don’t push it.”

Sirius turned to her and said, “Deal. Just make sure to get one of McGonagall handing out their detentions, too.”

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During the following week Remus had to endure another full moon while the Marauders placed the final touches on the Animagus potion. By the end of the week they were ready to test it. Remus was back and resting in the dorm room. Frank was following Alice around trying to study for the end of term exams with her. Sirius, James, and Peter decided the time was right to try out the potion. They would each take turns while the others observed for unusual side effects. They brought out a full length mirror so during the transformation they could study themselves down to the last detail.

“What color is the potion supposed to finally be?” asked Sirius.

“For the one thousandth time, Sirius, it’s supposed to be gold,” said James.

Sirius studied it for a moment before saying, “It looks more yellow than gold. Did we add all of the ingredients?”

“Yes!” said James. “We need to do this before Frank comes back. Lock the door, Peter.” Peter did as instructed. “Okay, I’ll go first.” James measured out a vial of the thick gold-yellow substance, pinched his nose, and swallowed the potion in one gulp. He then aimed his wand at his head and incanted, “Animagus mutare!”

For a minute, nothing happened. James looked at the instructions to see if they had missed a step. “Why isn’t anything happening?” he asked. Not hearing anything, he looked up at Sirius and Peter who were standing there gawking at him. He glanced over at Remus who had a similar expression.

“Uh, James,” said Sirius. “Maybe you should take a look at yourself.”

James walked over to the mirror and nearly fell over in shock at what he saw. His untidy hair, which normally stood out in all different directions, was lengthening and consolidating into antlers.

“That figures…,” muttered Sirius. “…messy hair turning into antlers.”

As soon as the antlers were formed the rest of the transformation seemed to speed up. James felt his arms and legs growing longer and had to lean down so that his arms and legs all supported him. He watched his reflection in amazement as it transformed into a giant stag. Once his body was fully transformed he studied every detail in the mirror and planted it into his memory. When he saw the hazel eyes reflecting back at him in the mirror he felt different - less complex. As he walked over to the window and gazed out upon the blossoming grounds he felt a yearning to run outside. He wanted to gallop into the Forbidden Forest and feel free.

“James?” asked Peter hesitantly.

James turned around, startled. He had forgotten that his friends were there. He saw Peter watching him with a hint of fear in his eyes at the large animal before him. He looked over at Sirius, who was watching him with some uncertainty.

“You still in there, James?” asked Sirius.

James decided to have a little fun and stomped his front hoof a few times, pawing at the floor. He snorted and tilted his head forward so that his antlers were pointed toward Sirius and Peter.

“James?” squeaked Peter. He turned to Sirius and whined, “I think something’s wrong. He doesn’t recognize us!”

James started to feel an odd sensation which he interpreted to mean that he would transform back to his human self at any moment. It was now or never. He stomped his front hooves a few more times against the floor, reared back while kicking his front legs into the air, and charged at Sirius and Peter. They frantically tried to run out of the way but became cornered. It looked like James was going to gore them with his antlers, however as James charged his body transformed back to his regular human self. James fell on the floor laughing at Sirius and Peter who were wide-eyed, trying to figure out what had just happened.

“Why the bloody hell are you laughing?!” yelled Sirius. “You nearly killed us!”

“No, I didn’t,” laughed James. “I knew who you were the entire time. I was just having some fun with you. Sorry mate!” He turned to Remus and added, “There’s one born every minute!”

Remus chuckled and said, “Two in this case.”

Sirius was about to tackle James however Remus reminded them that they didn’t have much time to finish testing the potion. Sirius decided to take the potion next. Just like with James, it took a minute for the potion to take effect. The first noticeable change was a thickening of the palms of Sirius’ hands. They morphed into paw pads, then Sirius’ metamorphosis sped up as he sprouted black fur all over his body and changed into an enormous black dog. Peter stood watching in utter amazement while James wore an amused expression.

Sirius walked to the mirror and spent the next several minutes studying himself, though James wondered if he was spending the time admiring himself. Sirius turned to his friends and barked a few times. James laughed, and Sirius suddenly leapt onto James knocking him to the floor. He had both paws on James’ shoulders and had his muzzle a few inches away from James’ face. Sirius lifted his lip to bare his teeth and growled at James, who tried to convince himself that Sirius was getting back at him for his trickery a few minutes earlier. For a minute Sirius stared down at James, growling, until all of a sudden he snapped his teeth at James a few millimeters away from his nose. James recoiled and Sirius leapt off of him and started leaping around, wagging his tail, and barking enthusiastically.

“Shhhh! Sirius, you’re going to get us discovered!” said Peter.

If it was possible for a dog to give an annoyed expression, Sirius did so in response to Peter’s warning. A few moments later the potion wore off and Sirius returned to his human form. “That was amazing!” he said.

“Wasn’t it?” asked James. “I can’t wait until we get the transformation down. We’ll be able to change whenever we want!”

Peter watched the two and started to feel an eager anticipation. He was amazed at the creatures James and Sirius had changed into. He wondered what he would become - a lion? A bear? A horse?

“Alright,” said Remus. “It’s Peter’s turn.”

Peter rushed to the cauldron, measured out his dose and swallowed it, followed by the incantation. James and Sirius watched him as he eagerly awaited the effects. Not seeing anything the three boys stared at one another wondering how long it would take for Peter to change. Suddenly they heard Remus who was trying to suppress his laughter. His face was bright pink and his eyes wide with laughter as he stood behind Peter. Peter turned around to see what Remus was laughing at and soon heard Sirius and James joining in the laughter.

Peter walked to the mirror and studied himself, only to find a large tail sprouting out of his backside. It was long and had a sparse amount of gray hair.

“What, the-?” started Peter. Before he could finish question he quickly shrank in size, transforming into a pudgy gray rat. His nose twitched as he studied the beady little eyes in the mirror. He couldn’t believe it - his friends had turned into a stag and a giant dog, and he had turned into a RAT?

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A/N: Another Marauder milestone - they (minus Remus) learn what their Animagus forms are. They still have to learn how to perform the transformation on their own, and that will take a while to learn. Second year is almost over. I kind of flew through it, but that is how it needed to be.

Thanks to the latest batch of reviewers: Anonymous, Alicia (x2), delpheena, Golden Phoenix, DobbyGrl, Remus’sweetie, and urSweetiemSmia. Glad to see some new readers/reviewers, and tickled as always to see my regular reviewers! Replies are in the review section.

Next chapter: Gideon and Fabian must pay the piper! The students prepare to return home for the summer.

37. The Permanent Sticking Charm

Chapter 37: The Permanent Sticking Charm

After Peter transformed back to his human form there was much excitement as the Marauders anticipated the next step in becoming Animagi. Sirius, James, and Peter all attempted to talk Remus into trying out the potion, but Remus insisted that transforming into one type of creature was enough for him.

Although everyone was eager to work on the next step, the school year was nearly finished and they had exams lurking. They all decided to wait until the fall when they returned to school to work on the transfiguration. Over the summer they were to study up on the creatures they had become so they could be more prepared that fall. Remus chuckled to himself, realizing that he had never seen Sirius and James so enthusiastic about their studies.

There was a lot of tension among the students as they prepared for their end of year exams. There was a bit of comic relief, though, as a group of second years watched with laughter as two seventh year Ravenclaw boys walked out of their Transfiguration NEWT wearing only their skivvies, their bodies painted in the Gryffindor colors.

As promised, Marlene took several pictures although she was not able to take one of McGonagall yelling at the boys. Surprisingly, the professor did not throw the boys into detention. She seemed rather amused seeing the Gryffindor colors on two of her biggest troublemakers (that is, biggest troublemakers second only to the Marauders). Gideon and Fabian, though embarrassed, were quite relieved that they had not blown their chance at becoming aurors.

A few days later as the Marauders were headed to the Great Hall for breakfast they saw a group of students in the corridor, laughing and crowding around something on the wall. When they pushed their way to the front Sirius let out an enormous bark of laughter. There, on the wall, was a photograph of James’ cousins as they were coming out of the Transfiguration NEWT. The images of the boys kept trying to hide behind each other. To their (the boys in the photograph) relief they saw the real Gideon and Fabian pushing their way toward the photograph. The boys tried to rip the photo off the wall but it would not budge. They turned to James with a nasty glare.

“Take this down, now!” ordered Fabian.

“I can’t believe you did this!” said Gideon.

James shook his head and shrugged his shoulders innocently. “I didn’t put that up, I swear.” He turned to Sirius and muttered, “Though I wish I’d been the one to think of it.”

“Well if it wasn’t you, then who did it?” asked Gideon.

“I took the picture, not them,” said Marlene. She had just appeared behind the twins.

They turned and looked at her incredulously. “YOU did this?” asked Fabian.

“Yes,” said Marlene, matter-of-factly.

“Well…take it down, now!” demanded Fabian.

Marlene smirked and shrugged her shoulders. “Sorry,” she said sweetly. “Permanent sticking charm…nothing I can do about it.”

Just as the twins were considering casting the furunculous hex on her, James decided it was an opportune time to usher Marlene away from danger. He and the Marauders guided her away from Gideon and Fabian, who were now trying in vain to charm the photograph off the wall. After they made it to the Great Hall, they turned and gawked at Marlene.

“What?” she asked.

“I can’t believe you did that,” said Peter.

Marlene smirked and said, “You asked for pictures and I took pictures. What’s the big deal?”

James shook his head and with wide eyes said, “I just can’t believe how you displayed it like that. Not that I mind but I just didn’t expect that from you.”

Sirius was watching Marlene thoughtfully. He finally spoke up, saying, “I hate to agree with James in this case but I have to say that was impressive, McKinnon.” She turned to him, surprised to hear a compliment. He added, “A permanent sticking charm. Bloody brilliant, but where did you learn to do that?”

Marlene raised an eyebrow and with a half-grin said, “What makes you think that I’m the one who performed the charm?” The Marauders stared at her in confusion as her gaze led to the table where Lily was sitting eating her breakfast. Before the boys had time to register what Marlene had said, she said, “See you later boys,” and walked to the table to join Lily.

Remus was the first to speak. “You don’t suppose that Lily-”

“What…Evans?” said Sirius. “You think that Evans performed the charm?”

“Well, Marlene implied it,” said Remus.

The four boys all stared at Lily disbelievingly as she chatted with Marlene. Finally, James shook his head and said, “No way. She wouldn’t have participated in that prank. She’s made it clear all year how she hates the pranks we’ve pulled.”

“Not the pranks we’ve pulled,” said Remus. “She’s hated the pranks you’ve pulled.”

“He’s right, mate,” said Sirius. “She looks more aggravated whenever you hex Snape than when I hex Marlene, and she’s her best mate.”

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A few days later and after several conversations with the headmaster, the Prewitt boys had convinced him to move a portrait to cover their picture. Even though the picture was a permanent fixture of Hogwarts it was no longer displayed for all to see. By this time the NEWTs were finished and the seventh year students were eagerly anticipating graduation.

The younger students looked forward to the upcoming summer holiday, that is, all the students except a handful. Once again James was not looking forward to spending another awkward holiday at home with his mum. He had written to her before the Christmas and Easter holidays making excuses for not coming home, saying that he needed to study or that he didn’t want Sirius to be alone for the holiday.

Now he was faced with a few months in the large house that would be occupied by only him, his mum, and their house elf. Even though it had been a year since Joseph Potter’s death, James felt that going home was going to open up some wounds that were just starting to mend. As James packed his trunk he smiled seeing the mirror that was the twin to the one he had given Sirius for Christmas. At least he would be able to keep in contact with his best mate during the holiday, he thought.

Sirius was also not looking forward to the holiday. Last summer had been truly horrible for him. During the first eleven years of his life he had been surrounded by his family, being made to feel like an outcast. Then he had started at Hogwarts and made 3 wonderful friends in a house that had nothing to do with his family or their pureblood beliefs. He had had a taste of that for a year before being forced to return to Grimmauld Place for a few months of forced isolation. Not only had he been trapped in his room, he had been extremely worried about James and felt guilty at not being there for him after his father’s death.

Just as his hope had built at the idea of returning to Hogwarts for a second year he had been tricked into attending Durmstrang. After getting himself expelled his transfer back to Hogwarts had been quick. He hadn’t had time to endure the wrath of his parents for bringing shame to the noble family of Black. He knew that his parents’ memories were long and that he would be forced to endure some form of punishment during the summer holiday. He scowled as he thought about his family, and went to bed dreaming of the day he could escape their madness.

Remus looked especially pale as he packed his trunk. The full moon had already passed so his weariness was not related to his lycanthropy. He had grown to feel at home at Hogwarts during the past few years. His family, though they claimed to love him despite his condition, still treated Remus as though he were a stranger. They had never gotten over the loss of Remus’ brother, Romulus. Remus went for years not knowing true compassion or friendship.

Then he had arrived at Hogwarts and was befriended by James, Sirius, and Peter. After learning that Remus was a werewolf, Sirius and James accepted him and treated him like a brother. Even Peter accepted Remus as a friend after getting over the initial shock of learning the truth. The three boys were willing to risk expulsion and even their health by attempting the Animagus transformation. They wanted to do that for Remus so that he would not have to bear his painful monthly transformation alone. Remus was thankful every day for that kind of friendship and knew he would miss them that summer.

Remus also thought about Lily and Emm, his study partners. Even though Lily had chosen to stay distant from James she had once again developed a friendship with Remus during their study sessions. It puzzled Remus why she was so adamant about staying away from James.

Lily had mixed feelings about returning home. Even though she missed her family and longed to see them, she felt an internal dilemma occurring. At the beginning of the school year she had her mind made up that she would finish the year and then accept her dad’s deal to stay home for the rest of her education. She had had no intention of returning to Hogwarts for a third year. Throughout the year she focused on her studies and put aside her thoughts of the upcoming year. She never discussed her father’s deal with any of her friends. She did not want to upset them.

As the school year drew to a close she was forced to think about the upcoming year. She was still torn about returning for a third year, however she had thrived in all of her classes being one of the top students. When she had started at Hogwarts two years earlier she had felt like magic was something unattainable for her, being Muggleborn. Now she was starting to feel as if magic was a part of her she couldn’t part from.

Lily spent most of the train ride home in silence staring out the window, thinking about her dilemma. Marlene and Alice kept trying to make conversation with Lily but she would only give one or two word answers.

Finally, Marlene snapped her fingers in front of Lily’s eyes, bringing her out of her reverie. “Hello? Lily?”

Lily turned to Marlene with a questioning look. “What?”

“What’s with you?” asked Marlene.

“What did I do?” asked Lily.

“We’ve been trying to speak with you for the entire trip and you’ve been in your own world,” said Alice. “You didn’t even snap out of it when the Marauders set off some Filibuster fireworks in the corridor,” she added.

“They WHAT?” asked Lily.

Marlene smirked and said, “You see? That’s my point. You’ve been out of it. What’s going on with you?”

Lily stared down at her hands, wondering how to reply. “I guess- I’m just going to miss everyone this summer.” She left out the part where she might not ever see them again if she decided to go to school with Petunia.

“It won’t be that bad, Lily,” said Alice. “It’ll only be a few months.”

“Right,” Lily said quietly.

After the train pulled to a stop at King’s Cross, the three girls all said good-bye at the barrier before walking through. Lily promised to write to them that summer. When she made her way through the barrier into the Muggle world she searched around until she heard a squeal. A tall thin girl threw herself at Lily and hugged her tight.

“Lily!” she cried. “Welcome home!”

“Hi ‘Tunia!” Lily replied. She pulled back and noticed that her sister was an inch or so taller than when she had seen her at Christmas.

“Mum and Dad are parking the car. I’m so glad you’re back,” gushed Petunia. “I have all sorts of plans for us this summer. Oh! I ran across Sophie and Carol the other day and told them all about how you’ll be returning to our school this fall. They can’t wait to see you, again!”

Lily’s smile froze. She hadn’t even had a chance to speak with her father about what her decision would be. While she had always planned on staying home, hearing Petunia vocalize it put a strange knot in Lily’s stomach. Before she had a chance to react she saw her parents approaching her. A few seconds later she was swept up in their embrace.

“Where are your things, sweetie?” asked her father.

Lily turned around and found her trolley. Petunia turned her nose up at seeing Lancelot in his cage.

“You still have that thing?” she asked.

“What?” asked Lily. “You mean Lancelot? Yes, of course I do.”

Before Petunia could comment her parents ushered the girls out of the station and to the car.

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As the Evans’ were walking out of the station, James and the Marauders were crossing the barrier. He parted with Remus, Sirius, and Peter and made his way over to his mum, who greeted him with a large hug.

“Hi, mum,” he said.

“Hi, James.” She squeezed him one more time before backing away. “I missed you so much this year. I’m sorry you couldn’t come home for the Christmas and Easter holidays.”

James shrugged and said, “Oh, erm, you know- lots of homework.”

Marianne Potter sadly nodded her head. She was a little disappointed by her son’s lack of enthusiasm at coming home. She missed the boy he had been before Joseph’s death, full of life and laughter.

They made their way home and James immediately went to his room to unpack. Perchy, the house elf, had offered to unpack for him but James felt the need to escape his mum’s sad and probing eyes. He stayed up there until he was summoned downstairs for supper. He slowly made his way down the stairs and into the dining room. He walked in and sat down, staring at the table.

“Hi, James!”

James felt a sudden lurch in his stomach at the familiar voice. His heart skipped a beat and his gaze shot up in the direction of the voice. He stared at the source in disbelief.

“D-Dad?”

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A/N: Hehehehe, another cliffhanger! Do you think you know what’s going on?

Thanks to the latest reviewers: Golden Phoenix, tigerfairy, sweetie513, Alicia, A New Reader, and Anonymous. Replies are in the review section.

Next chapter: The answer to the burning question - who is in James’ dining room?

38. Joseph Potter Returns?

Chapter 38: Joseph Potter Returns?

James sat at the dining room table in shock at what was before him. He turned to his mother with wide eyes and asked, “What’s going on here? When did this happen?”

Marianne smiled at her son and said, “A few weeks ago. It was quite a surprise.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” asked James.

“Your father wanted it to be a surprise,” she said.

“My FATHER?” James asked incredulously. “THAT-” he pointed, “-is not my father. That is a portrait of my father.” He turned to the portrait and gazed at the image of Joseph Potter, who had a look of concern seeing his son so upset.

“James,” said Marianne, “the Ministry of Magic delivered the portrait a few weeks ago. It had been commissioned before your father’s death. It was meant to be a gift for twenty years of service to the Ministry. After Joseph died, the portrait was finished but never delivered. Alastor Moody found it and decided that we should have it. Since the portrait was started before his death the artist was able to charm your father’s personality into it. I decided to place the portrait here in the dining room. Your father wouldn’t want to be stuffed in some dusty room that’s never used. In a way it’s been like having him back.” She looked up at Joseph who smiled lovingly at his wife.

James sat there in disbelief. He shook his head and glared at his mother. “How can you say it’s like having him back? It’s a portrait, not him!”

“James-” started the image of Joseph Potter. “Do not speak with disrespect to your mum.”

James focused his glare on the portrait. “DON’T even try to speak to me like you are him. You’re NOT!” He stood up and stormed out of the room.

“James!” called his mum. “Your dinner-”

“I’M NOT HUNGRY!” he shouted as he grabbed his Nimbus 1900 and charged out the door. He mounted the broom and kicked off the ground, feeling the need to fly high into the air as far as he could from his house. He flew a few miles away to a clearing in a forest where he occasionally liked to hide when he was younger after getting into trouble. He touched down and dropped to the grass, resting his head on his knees and running his hands through his dark hair.

It felt like a tornado of thoughts was whirling around in his head. He had not been prepared to see the image of his father and hear his voice. It was that voice more than any other that he had longed to hear for the past year. It was that voice that had come from a moving portrait, not the flesh and blood version of his father. When James had sat down to eat and heard that voice, there had been a split second where he thought that voice had come from his real father, that he had not died in the explosion, that he had found a way to survive and return home. Seeing that portrait had crushed that glimmer of hope.

“James Potter,” came a muffled voice from James’ pocket. He felt a slight vibration as his two-way mirror signaled to him that Sirius was calling him. James sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling out the mirror and muttering Sirius’ name, allowing the connection between the two mirrors to open. Shortly thereafter Sirius’ face came into view, though it was difficult to see due to the lack of lighting from Sirius’ end.

“Sirius,” said James. “Where are you? Why is it so dark?”

“I’m in the attic trying to avoid my folks,” he replied. James couldn’t tell for certain from the dim lighting but he thought he could see a faint bruise under Sirius’ left eye. “They’re having relatives over for dinner. Nothing like filling the room with pureblooded freaks to make my day!” he scowled.

“That bad, eh?” asked James.

Sirius snorted. “All through dinner all they could talk about was that idea that Araminta, my mum’s cousin, has about legalizing Muggle-hunting.” He sighed and then added, “At least Uncle Alphard was there. That old bloke is always good for a laugh. He’s getting so senile he’s losing his marbles. Every time he visits he keeps handing me money and asking about my job at the Ministry.” Sirius paused, waiting for James to chuckle, but noticing instead that his friend was relatively silent. “What’s bothering you?”

“Nothing,” muttered James.

Sirius stared at him and replied, “I don’t believe you. Your mood was better on the train. Now you’re in your ‘brooding silent’ mood.”

James paused, not sure if he wanted to go into the events of the evening. As he looked back at Sirius’ expectant face he realized that his friend would not allow him to push the matter aside. James launched into the events surrounding the surprise he had met in the dining room. He described how his mum had acted like his dad was back and how she had expected him to be thrilled to see him again, even if it was just a portrait. Once James had finished his tale, Sirius watched him thoughtfully before replying.

“Hmmm,” said Sirius. “At least it’s better than the portrait of my mum.”

James glared at Sirius, wondering how a portrait of his mum could be worse than seeing a bunch of paint trying to imitate his dead father.

“You’ve heard me talk about my mum, the old hag,” explained Sirius. “My dad had a portrait of her commissioned when I was five. They placed it in the entryway and ever since then I’ve had to not only deal with the real hag but the painted one as well. Both have a good set of lungs, let me tell you!” Sirius paused and added, “Your dad was a good bloke. He may be gone and that portrait may not be as good as the real thing, but at least it has his personality.”

James was about to protest, but then he felt guilty. Sirius had never had parents like his. He had to deal with the verbal and physical abuse from his own parents constantly.

“Think about it, James,” said Sirius, sounding very serious. “Your dad was taken from you suddenly and you never had a chance to say goodbye. There must be something you want to say to him.”

“But it isn’t-” started James.

Sirius interrupted him. “It may not be his physical form but that IS his personality. Believe me, when the portrait of my mum starts yelling, it feels the same as the real thing.” He snickered and added, “Except with the portrait I can occasionally pull a curtain over it and muffle her screams.”

James looked away, deep in thought. He hated to admit it but Sirius had a point. Even so, he still didn’t feel that he would be able to suddenly jump into conversation with his dad’s portrait, but he didn’t feel as angry about its presence anymore.

“I have to go, Sirius. If I don’t get back I’m sure my mum will be calling Mad-Eye Moody to hunt me down and drag me back home,” he joked.

“Alright. I’ll try and call sometime tomorrow afternoon,” Sirius replied.

James pocketed the mirror and hopped on his broom, heading home. As soon as he walked inside he saw his mum pacing the kitchen wringing her hands. James felt a knot form in his stomach, feeling guilty for running out on her earlier.

She turned and gasped in relief. “THERE you are! Where have you been?!”

“I was flying,” he replied.

“James,” she said shakily, “it’s getting dark out. I really don’t feel comfortable with you flying around in the dark. What if something happened? What if someone-” she paused and looked away for a moment before turning back to her son. She approached him and crushed him in a tight embrace. When she pulled back she looked at her son with tears threatening to escape and said in a strained voice, “I just want you to be careful. I can’t let anything happen to you. You’re too important-” she cut herself off and paused. James wondered if she was holding something back from him. Before he could speak she brushed his cheek and said, “I’m sorry about surprising you like that at dinner. I should have realized- well, I’ve found comfort in seeing your father’s portrait and speaking with him. I guess I thought that you would feel the same way. I shouldn’t have assumed.”

James nodded and said, “It’s okay. I wasn’t prepared to see him and hear his voice.”

Marianne studied her son who looked like his father more and more each day, save the untidy hair. “I know that the portrait is not Joseph. It never will be, but in a way I feel like a part of him is back. This house gets awfully empty while you’re at school. Your father’s personality really comes through in that portrait. The artist did an amazing job, really. If it upsets you seeing it so much then I can move him up to my room for the summer.”

James thought about it and then shook his head. “No, that’s okay. You don’t have to do that.”

Marianne stood in front of James in thought, wondering if she should ask. “Do you want to see him now? He’s been asking about you all evening.”

James shook his head, not ready yet to face the likeness of his father. “Nah, I’m tired. I think I’ll head upstairs.”

Marianne nodded her head and said, “Alright then. Goodnight, James.”

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Lily tried to keep her focus on the summer and enjoying her time at home. It had been a while since she’d seen Petunia so exuberant. Every day it seemed Petunia would find something for the two to do. They went out with Petunia’s friends and sometimes Lily’s old Muggle school friends.

It was difficult for Lily to lie to her old friends about Hogwarts. They kept plying her with question after question about the ‘boarding school’ she was attending. They wondered why Petunia wasn’t going there as well. Petunia took every opportunity to tell people that Lily was going to be staying home for school starting that fall.

To Petunia it seemed as if she were getting her best friend back. During the past two years Petunia had felt isolated. It wasn’t that she didn’t have friends. She just had a difficult time being outgoing. When Lily was around, Petunia felt more confident. Lily had always been the more outgoing of the two. Lily had also been Petunia’s confidante before she had left for Hogwarts.

During the past two years Lily had been far away, learning something completely foreign to Petunia. She hated seeing Lily’s owl flying in and out of the house, landing on the kitchen table or wherever else he felt like landing. Petunia hated hearing about magic, hated hearing about Lily’s talent. In her mind she felt it was a freakish thing, but deep down in a secret spot in her heart she felt a bit of envy that Lily could possess something so extraordinary. With the promise of Lily giving up magic Petunia felt she could push that envy aside and regain her ‘normal’ sister.

Lily listened with a guilty conscience as Petunia made plans for the upcoming year. She wanted to go shopping to help Lily get the items and clothing she would need to attend Petunia’s school. Lily kept finding excuses to delay the trips. Lily still felt conflicted about returning to Hogwarts, but every time she answered her parents questions about her second year at Hogwarts she felt a longing to return to her magical training. She had thrived in her classes. Her friendships with Marlene and Alice had strengthened. Every time she heard Petunia making plans for the upcoming year she would feel the knot in her stomach twisting tighter. It kept telling her that staying home would not be the right thing to do.

While her heart was telling her to return to Hogwarts, there were still things that haunted her. She kept thinking about what had happened at the end of her first year. Riddle’s attack had changed her, made her more wary of several things. Her thoughts drifted to James. She thought of the many times he had approached her that year and the hurt she could sense when she ignored him. Finally, he had started to leave her alone and turned his thoughts to other things like Quidditch and his friends. They had gotten into a lot of trouble that year but somehow managed to come out of it looking like heroes.

It disturbed her how James had focused a lot of energy finding ways to humiliate Severus Snape. It wasn’t that she cared much for the Slytherin - she just pitied him a bit because he seemed to keep to himself when he wasn’t being bossed around by Malfoy. She didn’t see why the Marauders felt a need to focus their energy on a boy who didn’t seem like much of a threat, at least compared to Malfoy or Avery.

Suddenly a rustling at the window distracted Lily. She turned and opened it, seeing a flurry of brown feathers flying past her and landing on her desk. It was one of the Hogwarts owls. Lily walked over and untied the letter from its leg. The owl rushed over to Lancelot’s cage and nicked an owl treat before exiting.

Lily stared down at the letter and realized that she would have to make a decision soon. The summer would be over in a few weeks. She fingered the flap of the envelope, but couldn’t bring herself to open it. She placed it on her desk and decided to take a walk.

An hour later when she walked into the kitchen she was surprised to see the letter sitting on the counter propped against the fruit bowl. She realized that her mum must have found it on her desk and brought it down to the kitchen.

Lily walked away and went upstairs into her bathroom. She splashed some cold water on her face, trying to soothe the stickiness that was forming on her forehead from the summer heat. As she patted her face dry with a towel she nearly shrieked in surprise as she saw the Hogwarts letter sitting on the bathroom counter, staring at her accusingly.

By dinner that evening, Lily still hadn’t opened the letter. She had found it in several other areas of the house, including in the pocket of her shorts. She set it down on her desk again before heading to the dinner table. She sat down with a sigh as her mum placed the roast on the table.

Her dad noticed her sigh and said, “Is something wrong, sweetheart?”

“No, Dad. Everything’s fine,” said Lily. She grabbed her napkin and yanked it off of her plate, revealing the Hogwarts letter underneath it. She froze, staring at it.

Harold Evans noticed the sudden appearance of the envelope and leaned over to study it closer. “Is that your Hogwarts letter, Lily?”

Lily nodded.

He exchanged a glance with his wife and realized the time had come to ask Lily if she had made her mind up about returning to Hogwarts. “Lily, I know it’s been a while since we’ve discussed this, but I haven’t forgotten about the deal we made last year. You know- the one about your having the option of returning to Petunia’s school this year.”

Petunia nodded enthusiastically. “Of course she remembers, Dad - right, Lily?”

Lily nodded again, unable to speak.

Her dad prodded her a little more, “Have you made up your mind?”

Lily looked over at her sister’s hopeful face and then at her parents. She took a deep breath and reached for the Hogwarts letter. She slowly opened it and read the list of required supplies and texts. Her heart thumped looking over the list of things she could be learning soon. Third year would be when she could start taking electives, like Arithmancy and Divination.

After months of struggling for a decision, seeing the list of supplies suddenly made everything clear for Lily. She gave one more nervous glance at her sister before turning back to her parents and saying, “Mum? Dad? I’m going to need to go to Diagon Alley soon to pick up more supplies.”

Her mum and dad smiled, while Petunia’s jaw almost slammed into the floor.

“Supplies?” asked Petunia, not wanting to believe what she was hearing. “Why would you need to get supplies from that…place?”

Lily took a deep breath, trying to summon up some courage before gazing at Petunia. “I need to pick up supplies for my return to Hogwarts.”

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A/N: So there you go - the answer to that cliffhanger. To make it a bit more clear - the flesh and blood Joseph Potter is, in fact, dead. He will not be resurrected. My twist is that his personality exists in the portrait due to a charm a painter used before Joseph’s death (kind of analogous to Sir Cadogan’s personality being present on his portrait, even though the real Sir Cadogan likely died centuries earlier). The portrait of Joseph will play a part here and there throughout the story as James comes to terms with its presence. Sirius will ‘meet’ it, hence his future reference to James’ parentS when speaking with Harry in OotP. So, this way I was able to kill off James’ dad (well actually, Riddle killed him off), yet still stay true to canon.

What do you all think about my twist (about James’ dad) - is it believable? Do you think I’ll be able to stay canon with what JKR wrote about James’ parents?

Thanks to the latest reviewers: tigerfairy, Anu, PottersPrincess, DobbyGrl, delpheena (x2), Golden Phoenix, urSweetiemSmia, sweetie513, Anonymous (x3), Forever Yours (x2), and Alicia.

Another comment - I’ve had a few comments on how I kind of flew through second year. I admit - I did skip over a big chunk of time. I had a few things I wanted to happen during second year - Sirius’ disappearance/reappearance, the Animagi idea and Peter finding out about Remus, Lily’s new attitude toward James and his reaction to that, James’ attitude toward Snape (and why), Frank liking Alice… I packed a lot of details (as well as some subtle clues) into fewer chapters. I didn’t make it 30 chapters long because this story is already long. The first year set up a lot about the characters and the entire situation with Riddle - which will affect the entire plot in some shape or form. So that’s my little explanation about that. I doubt the upcoming years will be as long as the first one (though I’ve only gotten up to the beginning of year five, so who knows?).

Next chapter: Wrapping up the summer - James’ further reaction to the portrait, Petunia’s reaction to Lily leaving, and yet another notable Marauder event.

39. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

Chapter 39: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

“James!” called his mum. “James Potter! If you don’t get down here now you won’t have time to eat before we leave for the station!”

“I’m coming!” James raced down the stairs and into the dining room. He had just finished packing his trunk. He had had to sit on it to get it to close. Perchy, the house elf, placed a large plate full of James’ favorite breakfast foods in front of him. James eagerly started eating, almost inhaling it off of the plate.

“James,” chided Marianne, “slow down. I swear, I don’t know where you put it all!”

James paused and glanced up at his father’s portrait. Joseph smiled down at him and winked. James smirked and continued to eat.

Marianne had noticed the exchange and said, “Oh, go ahead and laugh!” As she said this she tried to hide the amusement in her voice.

It had taken several weeks for James to acknowledge his father’s portrait again. Joseph had tried over and over again to strike up a conversation with his son, but to no avail. Finally, one evening James came inside holding his left arm at an odd angle. He limped into the dining room, having also sprained his ankle, and his mum rushed over to him. She was a Healer and had had to deal with her son’s various injuries throughout his childhood. She instructed him to sit at the table while she found her old stash of Skele-Gro that she used to use to mend his broken bones when he was younger.

While James waited for his mum to return he could sense the image of his father staring down at him from the portrait. James tried to ignore his dad’s eyes and focused on the surface of the dining room table, but he kept getting distracted by the shooting pain in his left arm and the ache in his ankle.

“Broomstick accident?” came the voice from the portrait. James awkwardly nodded. There was another long silence. “You were trying the Wronski Feint, weren’t you?”

James looked up at his father’s image. Before he could help himself he blurted, “How did you know?”

Joseph laughed and replied, “I broke my arm practicing the same move when I was a little older than you are now.”

James turned his gaze back to the dining room table, trying not to show the disdain in his eyes. He was irritated, hearing the portrait talk about his dad’s childhood when it had never really experienced those events.

“You probably pulled out of the dive in the wrong manner,” said the portrait.

“Obviously,” James said sarcastically, “or I wouldn’t be here waiting for the Skele-Gro.”

His dad ignored the sarcasm and continued, “The problem with the Wronski Feint is you can’t pull out of it like with other dives. The velocity and steep angle make it too difficult to pull straight out of it.”

James, his curiosity piqued, looked back at Joseph and asked, “What do you mean? How else can I pull it off?”

Joseph smiled, glad to be having a real conversation with his son. “Right as you need to pull out of the dive you need to lean to the side and, while pulling up on the handle, direct it to the same side you’re leaning. That will get you out of the dive but you will then be level with the ground.”

“I’ll still be leaning to the side, though,” said James.

“Right. The trick is to keep directing the broom upward. As you do that you continue to lean and spiral out of it until you are straight again,” replied the portrait. “You just have to make sure you time the spiral so that you are high enough not to hit your head on the ground.”

James thought about it and realized that it just might work. Before he could think on it anymore his mum came rushing back into the room and worked at fixing him up.

The next day James grabbed his Nimbus 1900 and spent the day in the back yard practicing the Wronski Feint, using the instructions he had received the night before. Surprisingly, the advise worked and by the end of the day James had mastered the basics of the maneuver.

He returned to the house with a big grin on his face. His dad’s image noticed this during dinner and asked him if his advice had helped. James, still feeling the thrill of escaping impending crash landings several times that day, nodded enthusiastically and said that he couldn’t wait to try the Feint on the Slytherin Seeker that year.

Marianne was stunned at the exchange, but not displeased. She had had no idea that James had spoken with Joseph the previous evening. Normally she would not be thrilled about James getting advice on dangerous Quidditch maneuvers, but as she saw the grin on her son’s face and the glow in Joseph’s eyes she couldn’t bring herself to scold them. As she thought about it further, she realized that James would be performing the Quidditch stunts either way, so it was probably better that Joseph give him tips.

From that point on that summer, James gradually allowed himself to speak with his father’s image. It started out strictly related to Quidditch and flying. As the summer moved forward his mum started to interject comments about all the encouragement he was getting to do stupid, dangerous things on his broom. He and his dad would exchange glances. Joseph would wink at his son and gradually their conversations included inside jokes about Marianne and her worrying. It was becoming quite similar to the conversations and jokes James had had with his dad when he was still alive.

Now, as James shoveled his breakfast into his mouth, his mum shook her head and left the room saying she was going to make sure he didn’t forget to pack anything for his trip to Hogwarts that day.

“All set for your third year?” asked Joseph.

“Yeb. Awk an oddy waib,” said James.

Joseph chuckled and said, “Care to repeat that?”

James gulped down his food and said, “I said yes, I can hardly wait.”

“I’m not surprised. I bet you and Sirius already have some stuffed cooked up. What’s the plan? Going to put freezing charms on the Slytherin’s undies?” asked Joseph.

James smirked and said, “No, but that’s not a bad idea…”

Joseph laughed and said, “So what is on your prankster agenda?”

“Well, it involves a large bag full of dungbombs and stink pellets-” James cut himself off, remembering the large bag he had stuffed into his already full trunk. He gave his father a panicky look and rapidly stood up, knocking over his chair. “Oh, bugger! I just realized the bag is in my trunk and Mum is upstairs checking my things!” He raced out of the room and toward the stairs as Joseph laughed, wishing he could see how James would charm his way out of this one.

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Lily nervously checked her trunk to make sure everything was packed. Today she was returning to Hogwarts for her third year. She looked at her checklist. She had all of her new books, including the ones for the electives she had decided to take - Arithmancy, Divination, and Care of Magical Creatures. She checked the envelope that contained her Hogwarts letter and saw that the Hogsmeade permission form was in there. Her parents had gladly signed it. She couldn’t wait to visit the only all-wizard settlement in Britain.

Lily heard a chuckle behind her and turned to see her father standing in the doorway. “I’ve seen you looking through that trunk at least twenty times this morning,” he said. “I’m fairly certain you haven’t forgotten anything.”

Lily grimaced and said, “I just want to make sure. After all, I’ll be gone all year.”

Harold Evans nodded and approached Lily, looking down at the open trunk and its contents. After a moment he furrowed his eyebrows and said, “Hmmmm…”

“What?” asked Lily.

“I think there is something missing,” he replied.

Lily looked at her list and at the trunk. “What? I can’t think of anything that I’ve forgotten.” She looked back at her dad, noticing a sparkle in his eyes as he held out a small box that was tied together with a red bow. “Dad? What’s this?”

Harold pulled his youngest daughter over to the bed where they both sat down. He handed her the box and said, “I was really proud of the decision you made this summer. I know that it was difficult to return to Hogwarts last year after what happened, but you excelled in your classes and got top marks. Then you were faced with the decision of staying with Petunia or returning to Hogwarts. I’m thrilled that you want to continue your magical education. I just wanted to give you something to show you that, and to remind you that your mum and I and Petunia are here for you even if we’re far away.”

Lily opened the box and saw a gold locket in the shape of a heart. When she opened it she saw a picture of her family, all four of them, from their holiday in Rome two years earlier. She lifted the chain out of the box and her father took it and fastened it around Lily’s neck. Lily looked down, admiring the locket. “Dad, this is beautiful!”

“It belonged to my mother. She told me she had received it from her dad when she was fifteen. It has been sitting in a box for a long time, since her death. I thought she would want you to have it,” he said.

Lily turned and hugged him tightly. She stayed that way, enjoying the scent of his aftershave and feeling protected in her father’s arms. “Thanks, Dad. I’m going to miss you and Mum so much!”

Harold looked down at his daughter and said, “You’ll be home sooner than you know it, and we’ll look forward to seeing Lancelot bringing us news of your studies.” He checked his watch and said, “We’d better get going or we’ll be late. We don’t want another close call like last year.”

They stood up and turned to leave, but not before seeing Petunia standing in the doorway. “So,” she spat, “you’re really leaving…”

Lily gave her father a quick glance before turning back to her sister and replying, “Yes, ‘Tunia, I am.”

Petunia’s bottom lip quivered a bit before she scrunched up her face and said, “Fine. Go back to that…place, that…school for freaks!”

“I’m sorry!” said Lily. “I know you wanted me to stay home and go to your school, but-”

“I don’t want you at my school! You chose to return to that place. As far as I’m concerned, you’re one of those freaks and we don’t need your…oddity near MY friends. I mean, what would they say?!”

Lily felt tears stinging her eyes as she watched her sister glare back at her.

“Petunia!” said their father. “How can you speak to Lily like that? Apologize this instant!”

Petunia glared at her father. He always took Lily’s side, never hers. In the past, she had always relented and apologized but not this time. She was too angry. “I will NOT apologize to her! She can go to that school for all I care! At least she’ll be far away!” Petunia stormed out of the room and slammed the door to her own room.

Harold started to go after her but Lily gently grabbed his arm. “Don’t, Dad. She’s too mad right now. Besides, you said it yourself. If we don’t leave now we’ll be late.”

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“Did you bring it?” asked Sirius. James had just arrived in their compartment on the Hogwarts Express. Remus and Peter were there as well.

James shook his head as he carried in his trunk, much lighter than it was earlier that morning. “Nah, my mum found the bag and confiscated it.”

Sirius shook his head and said, “What are we going to do now? We had this all planned out!”

“We could always sneak into Hogsmeade and get more from Zonko’s,” said Remus.

Sirius’ mood lifted and he jovially replied, “I knew you were my friend for a reason, Moony!”

Remus lifted an eyebrow and said, “Moony?”

James chuckled and said, “Look at it this way - at least he didn’t call you Wolf-boy.”

Sirius mock-scowled and said, “Yeah, James here wouldn’t let me.”

Remus chuckled. He knew they were only joking. James, Sirius, and Peter would never divulge his secret. Normally the subject of werewolves would cause Remus to tense up, but his friends had a way of joking about it that put him at ease. In a way it showed how accepting they were of it.

“So,” said Remus to Sirius, “if I’m Moony, then what are you?”

“Hmmm,” thought Sirius as he rubbed his chin, “I could be called ‘King of Pranks’ - no, too long…how about Casanova?”

James snorted and jokingly said, “Oh no, mate. Wouldn’t want to be TOO obvious!” He thought for a moment and remembered the potion they had taken at the end of the previous school year. He remembered Sirius’ transformation - how it had started by a thickening of his hands until they developed into the pads of a dog’s feet. “I’ve got it!” Sirius turned to James expectantly. “We’ll call you Padfoot!”

“Padfoot?!” cried Sirius. “How does that even compare to Casanova?”

“Think about it,” hinted Remus. “Remember your transformation?”

Sirius thought about his transformation into the dog and looked at his hands, the nickname suddenly registering in his mind. “Padfoot! I like it.” He turned to James and studied him. His black hair was more untidy than ever, sticking out in several directions. He remembered how James’ hair had transformed into the antlers of his stag Animagus. He remembered how James had threatened Sirius with those antlers while he had been the stag. He chuckled and said to James, “Alright, if I’m Padfoot, then I shall dub thee Prongs.”

The four boys laughed and Peter practically leapt off his seat with excitement. “What will my name be?” he asked.

Sirius glanced at Peter and grinned. He couldn’t help remembering the long rat’s tail that had sprouted out of Peter’s backside during his transformation. “Wormtail,” he replied.

“Wormtail?!” squeaked Peter. Sirius, James, and Remus were laughing. Peter wasn’t sure he liked the name, but laughed anyway.

“So,” said Remus, “there you have it - Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs!”

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A/N: Another short chapter to transition them back to school. The notable Marauder moment - they picked their nicknames.

Thanks for the latest reviews from: Remus’sweetie, delpheena, Golden Phoenix, Alicia, Anonymous, DobbyGrl, Forever Yours, A New Reader, and sweetie513. Replies are in the review section.

Next chapter: Yes, a new year and hence a new DADA teacher. Find out what happened to the previous one and you’ll have a very brief intro in this chapter to the new one. The third year students start their electives.

40. Unfogging the Future

Chapter 40: Unfogging the Future

The sorting that evening added several new members to the house of Gryffindor. After the feast, Dumbledore stood up and made his usual announcements concerning the rules while taking a few quick glances in the direction of some third year Gryffindor boys. After the rules were reviewed with the students, Dumbledore added one more announcement.

“It is with the deepest regret that I must announce the death of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Oldman.” There was a general murmuring amongst the students in response to this. “He died a most unusual death for a retired auror and a DADA professor - he died of natural causes.” This surprised no one, considering that Professor Oldman was indeed a very old man.

The headmaster added, “This year the position will be taken over by Professor Peurom. He worked for the Department of Mysteries for several years and happily agreed to part from his responsibilities there to come and teach. Let us all give him a warm welcome.” The students applauded in welcome, many taking the time to study the new DADA professor. Although he was in his thirties his dark hair had several patches of gray and he had lines forming along his face.

After Dumbledore dismissed the students for the evening the Marauders discussed their new professor.

“He worked for the Department of Mysteries?” asked Peter. “What do you reckon he did there?”

“I don’t know. My dad knew a few people who worked there,” said James. “He had to work with them sometimes and he said they were very strange people - very closed off and paranoid.”

“What is it they’re called?” asked Sirius.

James thought for a moment trying to remember what his dad had told him. “Unspeakables,” he replied.

As soon as they reached the common room they found a table in the corner away from prying ears.

“When’s the next full moon, Moony?” asked Sirius.

“Two weeks,” replied Remus.

“We’ve got to start working on the next step of our transformations,” said James. “We’ve all had a chance over the summer to study our Animagi and we should be ready to start practicing on inanimate objects.”

“When do we start?” asked Peter.

“We need to find a way to get Frank out of the room for a few hours so we can have some privacy,” said James.

Sirius looked around the room until he saw Frank Longbottom sitting on a chair by the fire with a book on his lap. His attention was not directed at the story but instead toward a group of girls sitting on a nearby couch. Sirius chuckled and said, “That shouldn’t be too hard. It looks like he still likes Lyons. All we have to do is provide opportunities for him to follow her around like he normally does.”

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“He’s staring at you again,” said Lily with a smile.

Alice rolled her eyes and with a slight blush said, “I know. I just don’t know what to do about it.”

Marlene chuckled and said, “Tell him to get lost. It worked for Lily with Potter. He hasn’t bugged her since sometime last year.”

Lily shot Marlene a nasty look before Alice replied, “I couldn’t do it like that. He’s so nice, I don’t want to break his heart.”

Lily looked over at Frank before turning back to Alice. “Do you like him, Alice?”

Alice glanced at Frank, who smiled at her. She gave him a shaky smile before answering Lily. “I like him, he’s a nice guy. I don’t like him as more than a friend though.”

Marlene shook her head and said, “You’ve got to tell him that or he’ll keep on bugging you.”

Alice gulped and said, “I don’t know. I mean, it’s just a harmless crush. He’ll get over it and maybe I won’t have to be so harsh.”

Lily and Marlene looked at each other with eyes full of doubt, but Lily decided to change the subject. “What classes do we have tomorrow?”

Alice pulled out the schedule she had received at dinner and studied it. “We have Divination and Transfiguration in the morning, then Potions and Defense in the afternoon.”

Lily smiled. “Oh great! Divination! I can’t wait to see what our new classes will be like.”

Marlene took out her schedule and said, “I’ve got Muggle Studies tomorrow morning.”

Lily grinned and said, “Muggle Studies?”

Marlene smirked and said, “What can I say, Lily? I want to know what makes you tick!” Alice and Lily laughed.

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The next morning after breakfast several third year students were exhaustingly trying to reach the Divination classroom in the North Tower. It was a long and winding journey up several corridors and flights of stairs. A few tried to ask a painting for directions, but were scared away when the knight started waving his sword at them, calling them a bunch of ‘scurvy curs.’

Finally they reached a ladder that led up through a trap door into a circular room that resembled an attic. There were several round tables spread about with armchairs and poufs next to them. The students hesitantly took their seats, sweltering in the late summer heat. The windows were closed and a fire was roaring in the fireplace. There was a strong sickly smell of perfume wafting about the room that caused several eyes to water.

“Welcome, students,” croaked a voice from the corner of the room. The students heard the tap, tap, tap of a cane and the breaths that came with the effort of their professor coming forward. They saw that she was small and very old, with a face covered in wrinkles and age spots. She was bedecked in large jewels that hung from her ears and neck and she had a scarf that held her thin gray hair back. Her eyes were an intense blue and by looking at her it seemed that she knew something that nobody else did.

As she made it to the front of the class she said, “My name is Professor Vablatsky. Welcome to your first Divination class. You should all have purchased a copy of the Divination text, Unfogging the Future. We will follow the order of the chapters, starting with tea leaves this term. After the winter holiday we will move forward to palmistry and possibly the crystal ball.” She paused and sent a piercing gaze around the room. “I do not expect many of you to possess the ability to accurately interpret the signs that are presented. Only a few people possess the gift of being a true Seer.” She proceeded to lecture about setting up the teacups to interpret the leaves, then instructed the students to pair off and practice.

Lily and Alice paired together and sat for several minutes drinking the hot tea. They could feel beads of perspiration forming by their temples. It was already hot in the room from the summer heat and the fire. Lily wondered why they couldn’t drink iced tea instead. Finally they reached the dregs of the tea leaves and set off on their assigned task.

Lily read Alice’s cup first. It took her several minutes to try to figure out what shapes the dregs of the leaves were forming. “This splotch here looks like a sprig of broccoli.” She turned to her key and looked for ‘broccoli’ but could find nothing. She smiled and turned back to her friend. “Maybe that means you should be eating more vegetables.”

Alice chuckled but stopped abruptly and looked nervously behind Lily.

Their professor had appeared and heard the exchange. Instead of looking annoyed at Lily’s joke, she held out her hand and said, “Perhaps if you are having difficulty making the interpretations then I should demonstrate.” The entire class turned expectantly, waiting to hear Alice’s future as told by their professor.

Lily nervously handed the teacup to Professor Vablatsky, who studied the dregs with her intense blue eyes. After a moment she said, “This circle on the left side represents love. You will have a strong and true love in your future.” Lily glanced to her right and saw a hopeful smile form on Frank Longbottom’s face.

Alice’s attention, however, was directed at the professor who continued, “The area Miss Evans believed to be broccoli is in fact a tree. That represents success. You have an admirable career ahead of you.” Alice smiled and the class sat in awe until a sudden frown appeared on the professor’s face.

“What is it, Professor?” asked Alice, with a lump forming in her throat. She wondered what the professor could have seen to cause the sudden, worried expression on her face.

“The last shape in the right corner is the shape of a rat. It signifies danger or a lost possession,” she replied. Nearby came the sound of china shattering as it was dropped to the floor. She turned to Frank, who had an apologetic and fearful look about his face.

“Danger?” asked Lily. “What kind of danger?”

“I can only read what the leaves tell me, Miss Evans. They do not give me anything more specific that that. That is the curse of Seeing. There are times we can only glimpse the future but cannot fully understand what is shown.” She looked up at the class, who all looked at her hesitantly. “It is time for you to continue your interpretations. Please, proceed!”

James and Remus were in the corner when Remus said, “Alright, Prongs. Tell me what you see in my future.”

James smirked and pretended to be studying the dregs. “Well, Moony, I would say this shape looks like a wolf. Wonder what THAT could mean,” he whispered.

“That is the shape of a dog, not a wolf,” came the croaky voice of the professor who stood behind James. James and Remus gulped as they had not realized she had been listening. She continued, “The dog is a symbol of faithful friends. I would say you are very blessed by that, Mr. Lupin.”

Remus grinned and said, “I can’t disagree with you there, Professor.”

“What else do you see, Professor?” asked James.

She studied the cup and said, “That shape is a vase. That means there will be a friend in need of help, your help to be exact, Mr. Lupin.”

“When?” asked James.

“It could be today, or it could be years from now. But this symbol means that the help that is needed will be of the utmost importance,” she replied. “Perhaps it will pertain to your faithful friends as seen from the shape of the dog,” she suggested before hobbling away toward the next table, where Frank was trying to interpret Peter’s cup. Peter, on the other hand, was nervous about letting Frank handle the cup after already smashing one earlier.

James shrugged and said, “Well that was weird.”

“Yeah,” said Remus. “How is this supposed to help if we can’t even figure out exactly what the shapes are saying? Okay, so I have to help a friend. That doesn’t say a lot. I help you guys all the time with setting up pranks on the Slytherins. Maybe that’s what it means,” he said with a chuckle.

“Well, that is of the utmost importance,” James joked.

Once the class ended the students eagerly made their way out of the searing heat in the North Tower and hurried to the Transfiguration classroom. James and Remus met up with Sirius, who had just come from Muggle Studies. Sirius had taken it for two reasons - he knew it would anger his family to study Muggles, and he figured it would be an easy class. He was right on the first reason; his parents had sent him a howler at breakfast yelling at him for dishonoring their family yet again. Sirius was used to receiving the howlers after having received countless others during the previous two school years. His first one had been a memorable one, after he had been sorted into Gryffindor rather than Slytherin. By now, the entire school was used to hearing the ranting and raving of his mother’s voice and chose to continue on with their meal, ignoring the screams.

Sirius, however, did not find Muggle Studies as easy as he had initially hoped. How was he supposed to write an assignment on eclectrixity, or what ever it was called? Not only did he have to deal with a subject he knew absolutely nothing about, but he also had to deal with McKinnon being in the same class. He was getting tired of her superiority act, and felt it would soon be time to play a good old-fashioned prank on her. At lunch, he sat down at a table with the Marauders and asked, “So did I miss out on anything good in Divination?”

“Not really,” James mused. “It was definitely strange. That old lady is kooky. She read Moony’s teacup. Said something about his having friends. Gee, that was tough to figure out,” he added with sarcasm.

Sirius smiled and said, “Well, that would be an easy read to make. I would believe it for just about anybody, except Snivellus.”

“How was Muggle Studies?” asked James.

Sirius snorted and said, “Interesting to say the least. I have no idea how Muggles actually survive without magic. The professor already assigned a 12 inch essay on eclectrixity. What in Merlin’s name is that supposed to be?”

Remus chuckled and said, “Maybe you should ask Lily. She’s lived for years without magic.”

Sirius looked down the table to where Lily was sitting with her friends. “Oy! Evans!” he called.

Lily turned her head toward the source of the voice and gave Sirius a questioning look.

“You lived with Muggles, so could you help me on my essay for Muggle Studies?” asked Sirius.

Lily shrugged her shoulders and said, “Fine, but I’m helping Marlene as well so you’ll have to meet me when I’m helping her.”

Sirius made a scowl but after a jab in the ribs by Remus’ elbow he said, “Okay, fine. Tonight?”

“Yeah, we’ll be in the common room after dinner,” said Lily, trying to ignore the death glare being shot at her by Marlene.

Sirius turned back to his friends only to notice a strange expression on James’ face. It took Sirius a moment to register that the expression resembled envy. He shrugged his shoulders and said, “Should’ve taken Muggle Studies, Prongs.”

James shook his head and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Sirius laughed and James flung a piece of his sandwich at Sirius’ face, hitting him between the eyes.

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A/N: Ahhh, Divination…there’ll be a few chapters related to this here and there. A word of caution - do you think Professor Vablatsky’s predictions are real or fake? If they’re real - who knows when they’ll come true? It could be now, or much later - perhaps not even in this story, perhaps in a sequel…

Thanks to my latest reviewers: Anonymous (x2 - thanks for catching the upload error!), A New Reader, delpheena, likediamondrain, DobbyGrl, Golden Phoenix, Alicia, and i <3 harry…

Next chapter: Muggle studies study session. Professor Peurom’s first DADA class. James receives a mysterious package in the mail.

41. Mugglology: The Study of Muggles

Chapter 41: Mugglology - The Study of Muggles

After a long and boring Potions class the Gryffindor students trudged into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. They watched with curiosity as Professor Peurom finally entered the room, several minutes late for class. He quickly walked to his desk and shakily placed down the books he had carried in. He placed his hands on the desk and took a few deep breaths as if summoning up the courage to speak, before darting his eyes toward the class before him.

“Good afternoon,” he said in a soft but quaky voice. “I am Professor Peurom. I will be your DADA teacher this year. We have a lot to cover, starting with boggarts and grindylows and eventually concluding the year with vampires and werewolves…”

Peter nervously glanced at Remus who sat at his table. Remus had paled a bit at the mention of studying werewolves.

Before Professor Peurom could continue Alice raised her hand and spoke, “Excuse me, Professor. Did you say that you would be here for only a year?”

Peurom gulped and flicked his eyes toward her before responding, “I have not made any commitments for more than this year, Miss…”

“Lyons,” Alice replied. “Why aren’t you going to stay?”

“As I said I have not made any commitments for more than a year. Now, as I mentioned earlier there is a lot to cover so let us begin. Please open your books to the chapter on boggarts…” he said.

The class continued as James kept glancing at his watch. He wanted to start the next step in the Animagus training and hoped to try that evening after dinner. He still had a few weeks before Quidditch practice started and would have more time now than later. He smiled to himself in anticipation of the upcoming Quidditch season, especially after the previous year’s Quidditch Cup win. He glanced at Sirius, who he knew wanted to try out for the team that year. The only positions open were for two Chasers, who had graduated the previous year. James learned earlier that day that tryouts for all the house teams would take place that Saturday. He could hardly wait to have his best mate on the team.

That evening James was bitterly reminded by Sirius that he would not be able to practice his Animagus training because he was to join McKinnon with Lily for help with his Muggle Studies homework. Sirius looked as annoyed with the fact that he would have to spend time with McKinnon as James was annoyed that Sirius would be spending time with Lily.

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“I can’t believe you agreed to this!” whined Marlene.

Lily shook her head, tired of hearing Marlene’s complaints about helping Sirius. “Come on, Marlene. Surely you can handle an hour or two with Sirius Black.”

Marlene bristled at the comment. Lily knew that any hint that Marlene couldn’t ‘handle’ a situation would push her buttons enough to get her to agree to do it. “I can certainly handle being around that pig if I have to!” said Marlene.

“Really?” asked Lily, trying to hide her amusement. “You almost seem scared of being around him.”

Marlene narrowed her eyes at Lily and said, “I am NOT scared. Annoyed is more like it!” Seeing the smile forming on Lily’s face, she said, “Let’s just get this over with!”

They walked down the girl’s dormitory stairs into the common room and saw Sirius and James standing near the fireplace laughing with some girls they recognized as being fourth years.

Marlene pulled Lily toward a table in the corner and said, “Come on, let’s get started.” She looked up at Lily, who had not yet taken a seat. She had an odd expression on her face. “What is it, Lily?”

Lily’s eyes darted to the laughing boys and back before she shook her head and in a nervous voice said, “I thought we were going to wait for Sirius.”

Marlene scowled before turning and shouting across the room, “Oy! Pig! If you want Lily’s help then get your arse over here!”

Sirius raised his eyebrows in response and turned to the girls he was near and muttered something, sending them into a fit of giggles. He casually picked up the book bag that was near his feet, strolled up to Lily and Marlene and settled into one of the vacant seats. “Hey Evans,” he said with a smile. He glanced at Marlene and with a smirk said, “McKinnon.”

“Nice of you to finally join us, Black,” said Marlene, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Sirius opened his mouth with a retort but Lily interrupted, hoping to quell any arguments before they started. “OKAY!” she said loudly. “You both want my help. What do you need to know about?”

Marlene and Sirius started searching through their notes before Sirius finally said, “We’re supposed to write a paper on eccentricity.” He chuckled to himself before adding, “I didn’t know that was a Muggle trait.”

Marlene rolled her eyes and said, “Not eccentricity you oaf! Honestly! Don’t you ever listen to the professor during classes?” She turned to Lily and said, “It’s on eclectricity.”

Lily giggled before replying, “Actually, you’re both wrong. I believe the subject matter you need to write about is ELECTRICITY.”

Sirius shot Marlene a smug look, happy to see that she was just as wrong as he was.

“So what do you guys know about electricity?” asked Lily.

They just sat there in front of her with blank expressions. Lily sighed, realizing that it was going to be a long evening. She delved into the subject while Sirius frequently interrupted her, asking many questions.

“Wait a minute, Evans,” he said. “This…electricity- it’s supposed to make things happen, like turning a light on?” He shook his head in amazement.

“Yes, well actually, you’re almost right. It supplies power to the light, it doesn’t physically turn it on. It not only can supply the power to light a lamp, it can also power a television, a coffee maker…”

“Whoa, hold on,” said Sirius. “What in Merlin’s name is a veletision? And a coffee maker?”

“Black!” hissed Marlene. “Could you keep your trap shut for two seconds so Lily can finish explaining?”

“I don’t see you keeping your mouth shut, McKinnon,” he growled. “You have to harp on every little comment I make…”

“If the things you said weren’t so idiotic then maybe I wouldn’t have to interrupt…” she countered.

“IDIOTIC?!” raged Sirius. “I suppose you know everything there is to know about Muggles then, eh? I suppose you never need to ask anything, Miss Know-it-All?”

Lily sat there feeling a mixture of fear and amusement. Marlene and Sirius’ bickering always provided a source of entertainment however Lily feared that hexes could start flying at any moment so she decided to intervene. Marlene was inching her hand toward her wand when Lily said, “Maybe we should call it an evening. Perhaps we could finish this another time…er…separately.”

Marlene glared at Sirius for a moment before grabbing her books and storming out of the portrait hole.

Sirius sneered and sat there shaking his head before noticing Lily was still there. She glanced at him nervously and he couldn’t help but laugh at the expression on her face.

“So, Evans,” he started, “You said that electricity is like power, right?”

Glad to be switching back to the subject at hand, Lily replied, “Yes.”

“So where does all that power come from?” Sirius asked.

“Usually some kind of power plant,” replied Lily.

“Plant? How on Earth do Muggles grow power plants?” he asked.

Lily laughed. “It’s not that kind of plant! This kind of plant is a location that generates the power.”

Sirius realized his misunderstanding but playfully smiled and said, “Are you sure, Evans? Then how do you explain ‘flower power’?”

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James sat on the couch by the fire vaguely hearing the ramblings of the girls sitting by him. For some reason he couldn’t keep his focus on their conversation. His gaze traveled to the corner of the common room, where he was surprised to see Sirius and Lily seated at the table alone. He wondered what happened to McKinnon, and why Sirius was still over there if they were done studying.

All of a sudden he saw Lily’s eyes light up as she laughed. It wasn’t just some ordinary laugh. It filled the room with a musical tone and lit up her eyes. James had forgotten about Lily’s smile, seeing as how she rarely smiled around him. He watched as Lily playfully smacked Sirius on his shoulder before she attempted to redirect Sirius’ attention back to his Muggle Studies textbook. Sirius, on the other hand, had decided that he had done enough studying and continued to smile and joke, sending Lily into fits of laughter.

James felt an intense irritation at his best mate. Before he knew it he was on his feet and walking toward the pair in the corner. As he approached he noticed Lily gathering her things and saying goodbye to Sirius as she smiled and walked away. James watched her walk out of the portrait hole before finishing his journey to the table. He stood by Sirius who finally looked up and noticed James standing next to him.

“Hey, Prongs!” Sirius said with a smile, which quickly faded once he saw the expression on James’ face. “What’s wrong? Look, if this is about Evans-”

“I’m not upset about her,” James quickly said. He had spent a long time trying to convince himself he was over her and didn’t want his friends to pity him for still harboring jealousy regarding Lily. He quickly thought up another reason for being annoyed. “Moony’s looking paler and we’re supposed to be learning the Animagus spell. I looked over here assuming you would be studying - the reason you gave me for not practicing the Animagus spell tonight - and here you were, laughing it up with Evans!”

Sirius knew James was lying but opted to go along, at least for the most part. “Look Prongs, we were finishing up and I was planning on joining you, Peter, and Remus. We were just laughing, that’s all. I like Evans, but I don’t plan on pursuing her if that’s what you think.”

James tried to casually shrug his shoulders in response. “It doesn’t matter. Evans and I are ancient history. Like I said before, I am just anxious to help Moony.”

Nothing more was said as Sirius and James met up with Remus and Peter. James, though annoyed that Sirius could still see through him, was relieved that he had come forward and said he wasn’t interested in Lily.

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The next morning the Marauders were seated at the Gryffindor table eating breakfast when the morning mail arrived. James was watching Remus open his copy of the Daily Prophet when he felt a splash hit him as a large bundle was dropped onto the table, knocking over his orange juice. Chudley, the family owl, sat next to the giant package, looking worn out from towing it over a long distance. James tossed him a piece of his toast and reached over to open the package. When he opened it up, he gasped in surprise. “I can’t believe it!” he exclaimed.

“What’d you get, Prongs?” asked Sirius.

James laughed and leaned over to whisper to Sirius, “It’s the bag of dungbombs and stink pellets that my mum confiscated. I can’t believe she sent it after forcing me to endure a lecture on maturity and responsibility!”

Sirius eagerly grabbed the bag and inspected the contents. “There’s a letter inside,” he said.

James grabbed it and opened it. The handwriting was unfamiliar and rather child-like in appearance. As he read the letter comprehension dawned on him.

Dear James,

I am having Perchy write this since, for obvious reasons, I am unable to. Your mother told me about the bundle she confiscated from you and that she had properly disposed of it. I took that to mean that she had given it to Perchy to dispose of. Later that evening Perchy was cleaning the dining room and I got her to admit that she had the bundle. She sees me as Joseph Potter, so she naturally agreed when I asked her to write this for me and mail the package to you. I hope you are enjoying your third year at Hogwarts. I assume you and Sirius are getting into your usual mischief. Now that you are ‘fully armed’ with the items in the package, I expect you’ll have loads of fun. Just don’t mention this to your mother. I know she can’t kill me a second time, but I’d rather not get hexed into having a dress painted onto my image. One other thing - don’t get caught.

Love,

Dad

Sirius read the letter over James’ shoulder and when he was finished he glanced at his friend, unsure of how he would react. He could still remember the anger James had felt at the beginning of the summer when he had met the portrait of his father. To Sirius’ surprise James started laughing. Sirius let out the breath he had been holding and smiled. Noticing the curious looks he was receiving from Remus and Peter across the table he leaned over and explained what was in the package.

Peter was practically bouncing off his seat, eagerly anticipating the pranks that the others would come up with. “So what are we going to do first?” he asked.

Sirius’ mouth formed an evil grin as he said, “I think it’s time we properly greet Snivellus for the year. After all, he must have missed us this summer.”

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A/N: No, Sirius did not prank Marlene in this chapter. I was in a weird mood when I wrote this, mainly writing the study session part just to get to that horrible pun that Sirius said about flower power. Okay, so I had a few other things in mind when writing it, too…

Just to make it clear - the portrait of James’ dad had the house elf write the letter for him and mail it with the confiscated dungbombs and stink pellets.

Thanks to the latest reviewers: Alicia, delpheena, Remus’sweetie, Golden Phoenix, likediamondrain, Anonymous, PottersPrincess, and A New Reader (x2). The ‘Kudos’ Award goes to Anonymous who pointed out that Professor Vablatsky is, in fact, the author of Unfogging the Future.

Next chapter: First Care of Magical Creatures class. Find out what the Marauders do to Snape. Quidditch tryouts!

42. Flobberworms and Quidditch

Chapter 42: Flobberworms and Quidditch

That morning was the first Care of Magical Creatures class. The Gryffindor students trudged out of the castle onto the wet grounds. The early morning shower had left the ground soggy and muddy. As they approached the location of their first class they groaned when they saw who would be joining them for this elective: the Slytherins.

Lily was excited about the creatures she was to learn about. She had grown up hearing fairy tales that included unicorns and was delighted to hear from Alice that they in fact existed. Her thoughts were interrupted by some chuckles to her right. Lily looked over and noticed that the Marauders had their heads together and were sniggering about something they found quite amusing.

Alice followed Lily’s gaze and said, “What do you suppose they’re up to?”

“I don’t know, but whatever it is we should probably keep our distance or risk becoming innocent bystanders of one of their pranks,” said Marlene.

Before any more comments could be made they heard the voice of their professor shushing the students so he could begin the first lesson. Professor Kettleburn was a tall thin man in his late forties. His left arm was tightly bandaged and held in a sling.

“Good morning, class,” he started. “I am Professor Kettleburn. The lesson I originally planned for today has been changed due to the injury I received gathering the creatures in question. Instead we will be focusing on flobberworms for the next few weeks.” He proceeded to explain what flobberworms were and their importance in the world (that explanation was very short). He instructed the students to form groups and to take a bowl of flobberworms. They were to study the characteristics of the worms and feed them from another bowl which contained slimy, rotting lettuce.

The hour went by slowly, as there wasn’t much to observe when the flobberworms just lay there in the bowl, only moving when offered some lettuce. At the end of the hour Professor Kettleburn instructed one student from each group to stay behind to clean up. As Lily was checking to make certain each flobberworm was still present in her bowl she heard a ‘BOOM’ and a cry of disgust. She turned around and saw Severus Snape, pale-faced and shocked at having pieces of rotting lettuce stuck to his face and robes. There was a cloud surrounding him that could only have come from the detonation of a dungbomb.

Lily felt a pang of sympathy for the Slytherin. Even though Severus had never been kind to her, he had never been openly hostile toward her, unlike his friend Lucius Malfoy. Lily turned to see Potter standing several feet away, trying to hold in his laughter. Lily felt irritated at him. How could he target someone like Snape who had been minding his own business? How could he find humor in his humiliation? By this point Potter was openly laughing.

Even though Lily made it a habit of ignoring Potter her sense of justice and fairness overwhelmed that habit and forced her to take action. She stormed over to him and with each step felt her anger grow. By the time she was standing in front of him her face was flushed with annoyance and she spat, “You did this!”

James was taken aback. It had been some time since Lily had addressed him directly. He was also in unfamiliar territory. During first year they had been close. During second year she either ignored him or spoke in dismissive tones to him and only when he had pursued her. Now she was angry with him, and he noticed her flushed skin and flashing green eyes, though they still didn’t quite meet his own hazel ones. Part of him was hurt that she had yelled at him, but a larger part of him couldn’t help but enjoy that she was speaking to him again. If he couldn’t get her to speak to him in civil tones, then at least he could get her attention this way - it was better than nothing.

“Ah, Evans,” he said with what he hoped was his most charming grin, “it was just an innocent prank.”

Lily turned to look at Severus, who was trying to wipe the slimy lettuce off of his face, leaving trails of gooey brown liquid. In his haste to get the goop off he slipped and fell into the mud, sending James into further hysterics. Lily narrowed her eyes and turned back to James. “Potter, there was nothing innocent about that prank. Severus did nothing to you and you decided to humiliate him!”

“What do you mean he did nothing to me? He’s a Slytherin!” replied James.

“And you are an bullying prat!” yelled Lily.

James was about to retort when Professor Kettleburn interrupted. “Mr. Potter, 20 points from Gryffindor for setting off a dungbomb in class. You will serve detention tonight - report to Professor McGonagall at 7 pm.” He turned to Lily and said, “Miss Evans, would you mind assisting Mr. Snape in cleaning up? Mr. Potter, please proceed to your next class.”

James glanced at Lily one last time before heading back to the castle, his thoughts surrounding a red-headed Gryffindor girl who was beautiful when she was angry.

Lily hesitantly approached Severus, who had turned a grayish-green color at having the scent of rotting lettuce and dungbombs surrounding him. Lily pulled out her wand and pointed it at Severus, who noticed and stepped back, pulling out his own wand.

“It’s okay,” she said. “I’m not going to hex you.”

He eyed her with caution, and seeing the sincerity in her eyes, lowered his wand.

“Scourgify!” she incanted. The slimy substance that still adhered to Severus disappeared, as well as the foul smell that surrounded him.

Severus looked down at his robes which were back to their pristine condition. He even noticed that a pumpkin juice stain from the previous year had also disappeared. He looked up at Lily and studied her appraisingly. “Why did you do that?” he asked.

“Professor Kettleburn asked me to help, and I didn’t think you would want to attend class looking and smelling like you did,” she replied.

Severus shook his head. “No, not that. Why did you yell at Potter like that? I thought you liked him.”

“He was acting like a prat. He shouldn’t have done that to you,” she replied.

“Even if I’m a Slytherin?” he asked.

“Nobody deserves to be singled out like that and humiliated,” said Lily. “I don’t recall you ever being purposely cruel…except maybe for when you’ve called me a Mudblood.”

Severus’ eyes met Lily’s and though his face was impassive she could sense a feeling of guilt behind those dark orbs. He looked down and muttered, “Sorry.” Before Lily could reply he asked, “Do you really think Potter is a prat?”

Lily looked at her feet and replied, “He is when he pulls stuff like that on you, and he’s doing that a lot. So…yeah, he’s a prat.”

The corners of Severus’ mouth almost twitched upward into a smile, but Professor Kettleburn approached and said, “Thank you for your assistance Miss Evans. I’ve sent a note to your Charms professor that you will be late. Same for you, Mr. Snape, I sent one to your Transfiguration professor. You had better be off before you are more tardy.”

Lily and Severus made their way to the castle and as they were about to part Lily said, “Bye, Severus. See you in Potions.”

Severus watched her walk away and in a voice barely above a whisper said, “Bye…Lily.”

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“How did it go?” asked Sirius as James took a seat next to him in the Charms classroom.

“Hilarious! He was covered head-to-toe in the slime,” answered James with a grin.

Sirius barked in laughter and said, “It was only fitting to christen a grease-ball like Snivellus with slimy, rotten lettuce!”

“Got caught, though. I have to serve detention tonight,” said James.

“Ah, well- you’ve served enough detentions by now to do them in your sleep,” said Sirius.

“Too true, Padfoot,” replied James.

“I’ll call you on the mirror sometime. Maybe you’ll be able to sneak away and we can raid the kitchens,” said Sirius.

“I’ll be sure to take my invisibility cloak,” said James.

Professor Flitwick stood on his desk and quieted the students. Class began and he proceeded to discuss the topics for the upcoming year. About 10 minutes into class Lily walked in and took a seat by Marlene. Professor Flitwick nodded toward Lily to indicate he had received word from Professor Kettleburn about Lily’s reason for being tardy.

Sirius noticed James’ gaze focusing on Evans for the remainder of class. When they were leaving the classroom James purposely timed his exit from the room so he and Evans would bump into each other while walking through the door. She flashed him a look of annoyance and stormed away with Alice and Marlene.

Suddenly something occurred to Sirius. “Uh, Prongs? How did you say you were caught pranking Snivellus?”

James grinned and shrugged. “Evans forced a confession out of me. She was rather angry, but at least I found a way to get her to speak to me.”

Sirius raised his eyebrows and tried not to laugh. “You want her to yell at you?”

“Better that than pretending I don’t exist,” replied James. He noticed that Sirius was contemplating his sanity, and decided to change the subject. “So are you ready for tryouts this weekend?”

The subject change worked, as Sirius immediately focused on his strategy for obtaining one of the two open Chaser positions on the Gryffindor team. “I hear that Newman is planning on trying out, and after seeing him practice I figure he’s a shoe-in for one of the spots.”

“Don’t worry, mate,” said James. “I’ve seen you play and you will be a shoe-in for the other spot. Wood would be crazy to select anyone else!”

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On Saturday there was a general murmur of excitement and anticipation during breakfast. Quidditch tryouts were that day for all houses. Some students were looking smug as they sat down to eat while others looked on the verge of tears from nervousness.

As Sirius and his friends walked to the pitch they were surprised at the number of people who showed up for tryouts. James looked around noting that there were about 20 Gryffindors on the field about to try out, including Gerald Newman, a sixth-year who was likely to snatch up one of the Chaser positions.

As James scanned the stands he was shocked to see Lily sitting with Marlene. He wondered what had caused her to show up and silently hoped she had come to watch him fly - that is, until he noticed Alice Lyons among the Gryffindors waiting to try out.

Carlton Wood approached the group of Gryffindors and said, “The Slytherins will be taking the pitch first for tryouts. Since they only have two positions to fill it will take them approximately an hour. We will go second and then we’ll be followed by Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. I hope that each and every one of you is serious about the position you’re trying out for. We do not take our team’s responsibilities lightly, especially after last year’s Quidditch Cup win…” there was a general cheer among the Gryffindors. “There will be several hours of practice per week. Just because we won the cup last year does not mean we can lay back and enjoy ourselves. I suggest that any of you who are having difficulty in your studies reconsider trying out as you will have considerably less time for studying.”

The Gryffindor students found seats in the stands while they watched the Slytherin students gather to try out for Seeker and one of the Beater positions. James was interested to see who wanted to become Seeker. He had to do a double-take when he saw Severus Snape in the group of Slytherins trying out.

“Hey, Snivelly thinks he can try out!” laughed James.

Sirius peered toward the group of Slytherins and laughed. “I don’t see how he can make the team. He is too skinny to be a Beater, and I doubt he can see past his abnormally large nose to find the Snitch.”

“Malfoy’s trying out, too,” said Peter. This caught James’ attention.

They spent the next hour watching the Slytherin tryouts. Snape didn’t crash his broomstick like James had hoped, however he wasn’t very skilled on a broomstick, either. At the end of tryouts, the Slytherin captain announced that the Beater position had been awarded to Goyle, a second year student who looked large enough to be fifteen. The Seeker position had been awarded to Malfoy. James couldn’t wait for the first match against Slytherin. He was looking forward to stealing the Snitch from under Malfoy’s nose.

Carlton Wood motioned for the Gryffindor team and hopefuls to approach the field. First each person would take a turn aiming the Quaffle through the hoops, without a Keeper to block the throws. Wood would instruct which hoop to toss it through.

After each student had taken a turn Wood announced the people who were to stay for the next round, which was almost everybody. Frank Longbottom had to return to the stands since his broomstick had tried to throw him through one of the hoops. As he walked toward the stands he smiled at Alice and wished her good luck.

The next step in the tryouts involved throwing the Quaffle through the hoops, but this time with Wood there to block the shots. Most students were unsuccessful, since Wood was a superb Keeper. There were a few shots that were able to pass. At the end of this phase about 6 students were picked to remain for tryouts.

The final step in the tryouts involved a fake game. Two of the hopefuls were to go at a time with the rest of the team. They were to make their way across the field passing the Quaffle to each other and getting it past Wood through the hoops, while trying to dodge bludgers and avoid running into James and he zoomed back and forth in search of the Snitch.

James kicked off of the ground and sent his Nimbus 1900 soaring into the air, enjoying the feel of the air as he took a lap around the pitch. The first two students joining them were Alice and Sirius. They smiled at each other, Sirius winking at Alice in hopes of getting her flustered. She grinned back and kicked off the ground as soon as the Quaffle was tossed into the air. She was the first to grab it and started soaring across the field. As she approached Wood she tossed the ball to Sirius. The three Chasers zigzagged across the field tossing the ball back and forth, expertly dodging bludgers.

While James was impressed with Sirius, he had to admit that Lyons was good. She caught the Quaffle before performing a maneuver that involved veering off one direction and turning around 360 degrees, which would thereby confuse the opposing teammates. After finishing the maneuver she hurled the Quaffle successfully through the left hoop. As James continued to watch the group he silently cheered as Sirius successfully scored a goal.

After each group had taken a turn they returned to the ground to await Wood’s decision. Wood gathered the team together to hear their thoughts. The group was torn between Newman, Sirius, and Lyons. Finally, Wood said he’d made a decision and approached the group of hopefuls.

“I’m impressed with all of you. If you didn’t make the team this year I encourage you to try again next year. I’ve made my decision. The first position will be awarded to Gerald Newman.” There were cheers from the sixth-year Gryffindors in the stands. James grinned at Sirius before Wood continued, “I was torn about who to award the second position to, but in the end I felt this person had the most skill on the field. The second Chaser position has been awarded to Alice Lyons.”

James’ grin dropped as he stood in shock. He knew Lyons was good, but how could Wood have chosen her over Sirius? Sirius stood to the side with an angry scowl and watched with disgust as Marlene and Lily rushed onto the field to give Alice a congratulatory hug.

James slowly approached Sirius and said, “Tough luck, mate. I was certain it would be you.”

Sirius took a deep, calming breathing before plastering a smile on his face and replying, “Yeah, well, you heard what Wood said. I’ll have to try again next year. Actually, I don’t really fancy being a Chaser - seems to be a girly position anyway…” As he said this Gerald Newman, who was standing nearby, scowled at him. “I would rather try out next year for Beater,” Sirius continued.

James nodded and grinned, upset for his friend, but realizing that the position of Beater would suit Sirius well.

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A/N: So now Lily isn’t exactly ignoring James anymore - just telling him off. And no, Sirius was not meant to be on the Quidditch team this year. Alice made the team. She has the Quidditch genes, after all - if you read back she had told Lily that her mum used to play professional Quidditch.

Thanks to the latest reviewers: Golden Phoenix, Anonymous (x7), lilly flower, hpfreak, mrs. padfoot, and Alicia. Replies are in the review section.

Next chapter: The Marauders continue to work on the Animagus transformation. We see more of the DADA professor.

43. The Mystery of Peurom

Chapter 43: The Mystery of Peurom

Sirius didn’t have time during the following week to dwell on Quidditch. The full moon was coming at the end of the week and Remus was starting to have his ‘monthly’ symptoms. He did his best to hide them from everyone, including his friends, however the Marauders could tell that Remus was feeling miserable. James suspected that this month’s transformation would be worse than usual.

That inspired the boys to increase their dedication to the Animagus studies. They had been working on transfiguring inanimate objects and so far James had successfully transfigured Peter’s shoes into a set of antlers. It took him a day to figure out how to transfigure them back, so Peter had to go to classes barefoot for a day. Remus suspected that James already knew how to reverse the spell and was having fun with Peter.

During the next few months the Animagus practice was progressing nicely. Sirius had managed to perfect the transfiguration of the legs of his desk chair into the feet of his dog. Even Peter finally managed to tranfigure the end of his quill into a long rat’s tail.

Professor McGonagall was impressed with the boys’ talent for Transfiguration in class. The other students seemed shocked because it seemed like none of the boys studied, except for Remus. Though Transfiguration was by far their best subject, James and Sirius did not suffer during their other classes. Things came naturally to them and they were near the top of their class, behind Remus and Lily. Peter, on the other hand, struggled to keep up with his studies. He was by no means studious, yet unlike James and Sirius, he was forced to miss out on some of their adventures to stay on top of his studies.

One afternoon during the last half of Potions James had finished his concoction early and sat back to enjoy a nap. As he looked around he noticed Snape adding the last of his ingredients to his potion. After he finished James noticed him flick a quick glance toward the front of the room, where Lily was hard at work. Even though it was a fleeting glance it made the hairs stand up on the back of James’ neck. He shook his head, trying to convince himself that he had only imagined it.

Forgetting his nap, he spent the rest of class observing Snape. James saw him look over at Lily three more times. It wasn’t his imagination! What was going on? James was certain that he was planning something horrible to do to Lily, probably in revenge for her standing up for him. James knew that Snape wouldn’t want a Muggleborn witch standing up for him.

Sirius, who had been slumbering since he had finished his potion, woke as his head lolled back. He made a small snort as he woke and lazily looked over at James. He noticed James’ closed off expression and clenched fists and followed his gaze toward Snape.

“Oy, Prongs,” whispered Sirius. “What’s Snivellus gone and done now?”

James forced himself to tear his glare from Snape for a moment to answer Sirius. “He keeps looking over at Evans. I think he’s planning on doing something to her.”

Sirius looked over to the Slytherin in question just as he sent Lily another fleeting glance. Sirius narrowed his eyes and said, “Well, we’ll just have to teach him to keep his large nose out of her way.”

“Agreed,” said James.

This was how it became- James and Sirius made it their mission to pick on Snape, more so than ever before. It started out as a mission to teach him a lesson, but soon became a hobby and a way to show off. Most people did not care for Snape and found the things James and Sirius did amusing. There were a few times when Lily was around and she attempted to put an end to the pranking, only to be met by a silly grin from James and amused looks from Sirius. James would run his hand through his hair and try to charm his way out of her bad graces. Most of the time she would storm off, but a few times she drew her wand and sent a bat-bogey hex straight into James. She was particularly proud of perfecting the spell and grateful that Marlene had taught it to her.

Even though James and Sirius were good at covering their tracks and occasionally charming the professors, they still earned several detentions for their antics. One night they were on their way back from one of the old classrooms, where they had been forced by Filch to clean it from top to bottom without magic. Instead of cheating with magic like they were normally able to do Filch decided to stay and supervise, criticizing everything they did. By the end of the detention James and Sirius were sweaty and covered in dust. It was late and they were walking back to Gryffindor tower, silently discussing how they were going to get back at Filch.

As they rounded a corner, they were surprised to see Professor Peurom further down the corridor. Their DADA professor had his back turned to the boys and had not noticed their presence. He was shaking and hyperventilating, like something had just tried to attack him. Sirius pulled James behind one of the suits of armor so they could watch without being seen.

Suddenly Professor Peurom started moaning and crying out, “Why can’t you leave me alone? I will not help you! I cannot help ALL of you!”

James and Sirius exchanged curious glances before hearing footsteps approach. They saw their headmaster approaching Peurom from the opposite end of the corridor. When he reached Peurom he gently placed a hand on the terrified man’s shoulder and said, “You know better than to be out here at this time of night, Lazarus.”

Peurom shuddered and shakily replied, “It doesn’t matter, Albus. They follow me wherever I go, whether I’m in my quarters or out here.”

“You mean the-” started Dumbledore.

Peurom broke away from Dumbledore’s grasp and interrupted, “YES! I came here hoping to find some peace, hoping they would leave me alone! It’s futile!”

Professor Dumbledore adjusted the half-moon glasses on his nose for a moment before responding. “So do I take that to mean that your replacement has not been successful?”

Peurom looked down before wearily shaking his head. “No, and I doubt he ever will be. I am the one who studied it for 10 years, and I am the only one who knows its secrets.”

“So what will that mean for the Ministry? Will you take your old job back?” asked Dumbledore.

“Absolutely not! I am having a difficult enough time hearing…them…that I can’t possibly face being so close to it again. I suspect the room will be closed off for some time. Maybe someone else will be as successful in discovering its secrets as I had been. I just feel sorry for the poor bloke who is…the responsibility that goes with it is immense,” replied Peurom.

Dumbledore nodded grimly and directed Peurom down the hall. “Come, Lazarus. I will take you to Professor Pilon. I am sure she will have some spare dreamless sleep potion tucked away.”

Peurom nodded and said, “Yes, that sounds good. Thank you, Albus.”

James and Sirius watched the two depart and then gave each other looks filled with confusion.

“What do you reckon that was about?” asked Sirius.

“No idea, but I suspect it has something to do with Peurom’s job as an Unspeakable,” said James.

“Who do you think Peurom keeps hearing? I didn’t see anybody else, and I doubt Dumbledore’d let anyone horrible into the school, not after what Riddle did a few years ago,” said Sirius.

James scowled at the mention of Professor Riddle, but turned his thoughts back to the current mystery. “I’ve heard there are strange things that go on down at the Department of Mysteries. It sounds like he was working with something dangerous, maybe a way to interrogate dark wizards. Perhaps those are the voices he is hearing,” suggested James.

Before Sirius could say anything they heard a distinct ‘meow’ from behind them. Mrs. Norris had seen them still out in the corridors after curfew and was signaling to Filch that she had caught them. James and Sirius decided to make a run for it and took off, but not before Sirius could fire off a spell turning the feline’s fur scarlet and gold.

After they made it back to their dormitory they woke Remus and Peter and filled them in on what they had heard. Neither had any idea what Peurom had been referring to, but Remus decided he would nose around the library for more information on the Department of Mysteries.

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As their third year continued the Marauders’ schedule was packed. James had Quidditch practice most afternoons, and was pleased to have fulfilled his self-promise to beat Malfoy in the Gryffindor-Slytherin match. He had to admit that Lyons was talented. She had meshed well with the team, able to dodge Bludgers and make difficult passes as well as score several goals. Gryffindor had been pulling ahead by quite a margin, though it was still up to James to seal the victory, which he expertly did by soaring in front of Malfoy nearly knocking him off his broom. James then proceeded down the pitch to where he had seen the Snitch and made the catch.

When James wasn’t at Quidditch practice he was practicing his transformation. He had the antler transfiguration down but couldn’t quite perfect the leg and hoof transfiguration. Like Sirius, he used the legs of his chair. Even though they successfully transformed, they were a bit too short and stocky, and the shape of the hooves was a little off.

Sirius was working on the consistency and length of his dog’s fur. He usually practiced on his comforter, causing a thick layer of black fur to sprout. At one awkward moment Frank Longbottom had returned to the dormitory earlier than expected to see Sirius transforming his blanket. After Frank gave him an odd look and asked what was going on, Sirius gathered his wits and smiled saying he was cold and thought having a fur blanket would be warmer. While Sirius was explaining himself James was frantically transforming his chair back to normal before Frank could notice.

Remus was busy as usual keeping up with his studies, trying not to fall behind despite missing a few days of class every month. He was shocked and relieved that no one else had discovered the truth, that they still believed his stories about going home to visit his mum. The ones he was most worried about were Lily and Emm, his study partners. They were his friends and he noticed Lily giving him odd looks as he told them that he would yet again be missing school to see his mum. With each month Lily asked more questions about his mum’s illness and if there was any hope for a cure. Remus would try to skirt the questions or at the very most give vague answers. He did not want to get too detailed for fear of contradicting himself sometime in the future.

One evening Remus came back into the dormitory and fell onto the bed in exhaustion. He had been in the library for several hours and the full moon was a few days away. He could feel the familiar ache settling into his joints. His friends approached him and sat on the bed beside him. Frank was still in the common room, trying to finish his Potions essay.

“How did it go?” asked Sirius.

Remus rubbed his temples for a moment before responding. “No luck whatsoever. There was nothing I could find that mentioned a ‘Lazarus Peurom’ nor could I find any details about projects at the Department of Mysteries.”

“So that’s it?” asked Peter. “We give up?”

“Unless you have any bright ideas,” said Remus.

“Maybe you’re searching in the wrong place,” said James.

Remus wearily turned toward James and said, “If you want books on this, I don’t see any other place to search than the library.”

“That’s not what I meant,” said James. “Maybe you’re searching the wrong part of the library.”

Sirius nodded his head and said, “The Restricted Section. You haven’t searched there, have you?”

“No, I haven’t. That’s not a bad idea though. I would need to borrow your invisibility cloak, James,” said Remus.

“No problem,” replied James. He observed his sickly friend for a moment before adding, “You can borrow it next week after you’re back.”

Remus finally noticed Sirius’ bed and turned to his friend with a small grin. “Interesting blanket, Padfoot.”

Sirius shrugged and said, “I like it - had to tell Longbottom I was cold and that was why I added the fur. I just have to figure out a charm to keep the fleas off of it.” As he said that Sirius reached behind his neck with his hand and started scratching. Remus started laughing but Sirius sent him a scathing look and said, “I wouldn’t laugh if I were you. I probably caught them from you, Wolf-Boy.”

Despite the werewolf jab Remus still laughed. He knew Sirius was just being playful and trying to lighten the subject. As he glanced over at Sirius’ bed again, covered in thick black dog fur, he silently reminded himself again of how grateful he was to have friends who went to such lengths for him.

“Thanks,” said Remus. The others noticed the sudden serious tone to his voice. They knew to what he was referring.

“Forget about it,” said James.

“No, really. Thanks,” Remus repeated. “Whether you’re successful or not or even if it takes years to accomplish, I’m grateful and I wanted you to know that.”

Sirius looked taken aback. “What do you mean IF we’re successful? We WILL succeed! Look at how far we’ve come along already. Even Wormtail figured out how to transform his quill and that’s saying a lot!”

Peter gave Sirius a big smile, even though what was said wasn’t entirely a compliment.

“C’mon,” said James. “I’m in the mood for a late-night snack. Padfoot and I can go to the kitchen and gather a midnight feast from the house elves and we’ll bring it back up here.”

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As James and Sirius waited in the kitchens for the house elves to finish packing their goodies, Sirius turned to James and asked, “So are you going home for the winter holiday?”

James pondered silently for a moment before replying, “I dunno. I guess I should since I didn’t go home last year. My mum’ll get on my case if I’m gone for two years straight. What about you? What are your plans?”

“Same as usual,” he replied.

“Avoiding your family, you mean?” James asked.

Sirius nodded glumly.

“Come stay with my mum and me. I’m sure she’ll be fine with it. She really likes you and the house is too large for just her and me and our house elf,” said James.

Sirius studied James for a moment and said, “If you’re sure she won’t mind…”

“I’m sure! Are you coming or not?” asked James.

Sirius grinned and said, “I wouldn’t miss it! I’m kind of curious to see that portrait of your dad, too.”

“It takes some getting used to. I still have to work on that…” said James. Even though it seemed like he was doing Sirius a big favor by bringing him to his house for the holiday, James felt that Sirius was doing him a favor. It would be his first Christmas at home without his dad (since last Christmas was spent at the school). Sirius would find a way to liven things up and James wouldn’t have to see the forced cheerfulness from his mum as she pretended that everything would be fine.

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A/N: So another subplot / mystery begins - the one with Professor Peurom. Got it figured out yet? Part of it will be pretty easy to work out. One warning, though - some answers may be left unanswered. This is one of those instances where this mystery may reappear in one of the sequels.

Thanks to my latest reviewers: Golden Phoenix, Mani12191, lilly flower, Alicia, Anonymous (x2), sweetie513, nanopy, and mystical cah (x2).

Next chapter: The students go home for the winter holiday. We’ll see one memory of Lily that Petunia mentioned to Harry.

44. Frog Spawn

Chapter 44: Frog Spawn

“You sure you don’t want to join me and Padfoot at my house for the holidays, Moony?” asked James.

“For the thousandth time Prongs, thanks but no thanks,” replied Remus. “How would you explain to your mum my transformation? Where would you even put me?”

“We’d figure something out,” said James.

Remus smiled and shook his head. “I’m afraid you and Padfoot are on your own.”

Sirius smiled sheepishly and said, “Too bad. It would’ve been good to have an extra Marauder around. We’re going to go visit James’ relatives on Christmas Eve and I doubt that Gideon and Fabian will be too thrilled to see us after what we pulled on them last year after their NEWTs.”

“What about Peter?” asked Remus.

Sirius snorted and said, “Wormtail against two auror trainees? That would be amusing to watch!”

James smiled and said, “He has to go visit his family for the holiday.”

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“Miss Evans! Could you wait for a moment? I’d like to speak with you!”

Lily turned to her friends and said she’d catch up with them in Charms. She turned back to Professor Kettleburn while drawing her cloak around her tighter. The mid-December frost had worked its way into her bones after a few hours outside during the Care of Magical Creatures class.

“Yes, Professor? Is something wrong?” Lily asked.

“No, absolutely not,” reassured Professor Kettleburn. “I’m in need of your assistance, if you’re willing.”

Lily smiled and said, “What can I help you with?”

“Last month Zonko’s Joke Shop asked me for a batch of frog spawn for their frog spawn soap. I agreed, however I was just asked to join my niece and her family for the holiday. Visiting them will make it difficult to tend to such a large batch of frog spawn. I was hoping you might take half of them and watch after them during the holiday?” he asked.

Lily thought for a moment. She wondered how her parents would react to her bringing home a bundle of magical creatures. “What’s involved in caring for them, sir?”

“They will need feedings every 7 hours and they prefer a warm dark environment. I will supply you with the necessary supplies to feed them,” he explained.

“I suppose my parents wouldn’t mind, especially since it’s for a professor,” Lily said.

“I will, of course, award you extra credit as well as house points for your effort,” said Kettleburn. He pulled out a small bag and from the outside Lily could see tiny movements from within the pouch. He handed it to her and suggested that she keep it in her pocket for the time being. He then handed her a bag that held all the necessary supplies to care for frog spawn, along with a sheet of parchment that listed the instructions. Kettleburn thanked Lily again and excused her to go to her next class.

As Lily sat down in Charms, Marlene leaned over and asked, “What did Professor Kettleburn want?”

Lily grinned and vaguely said, “Oh, he just wanted to offer me a project to earn extra credit.”

Marlene eyed her suspiciously before noticing movement coming from Lily’s pocket. Her jaw dropped a little before replying, “I don’t even want to know.”

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“James! Sirius! Over here!” called Marianne Potter.

The two boys had just crossed the barrier from Platform 9 ¾ and looked up to see James’ mum waving at them. As they reached her Marianne drew James into a tight hug and gave him a big sloppy kiss on the forehead.

“Geez, Mum!” whined James.

Sirius snickered for a moment until Marianne noticed his presence and drew him into a tight hug. James laughed at the expression on Sirius’ face. He wasn’t sure if his friend was embarrassed or touched by Marianne’s gesture of affection. James knew that Sirius wasn’t exposed to much in the way maternal affection. James felt a pang of guilt at his embarrassment a moment ago at his mother’s hug and kiss. He realized he should be grateful for the loving mother he was blessed with.

Marianne noticed the odd look on James’ face and asked, “Everything okay, James?”

James nodded and said, “Yeah, just missed you, I guess.”

Marianne’s face formed a large smile, one that reached her eyes. It had been a long time since James had seen her smile like that. “Wait until you see the house,” she said. “It’s all decked out for Christmas. As soon as Joseph heard you were coming home for the holiday he instructed Perchy to go all out with the decorating.”

As Marianne continued with her descriptions, James exchanged a worried glance with Sirius. He knew that his mum found comfort in the portrait of his dad but it almost seemed like she believed Joseph was alive.

When they reached the house James noticed that his mum had not exaggerated about the decorations. Even though the house was big enough to put Sirius in a guest bedroom they boys had decided to set up an extra cot in James’ room. The boys decided to throw their things in their room and rush outside for a quick game of Quidditch before being summoned inside for dinner.

James soared around the yard allowing himself to get closer to the Snitch before letting it speed away. At the same time Sirius decided to practice as Beater, sending Bludgers at James one after another. James was able to expertly dodge most however by the time they made their way back inside James had a nasty bruise forming on the side of his face.

As they walked through the kitchen James was ruefully rubbing his cheek while Sirius sheepishly tried to apologize.

“Sorry, mate,” he said. “You shoulda ducked!”

James sent him a scathing look before smirking and sarcastically replying, “Gee, I wish I’d thought of that.”

Sirius smiled and said, “I was trying to go easy on you, your being my friend and all.”

James shook his head and said, “If that’s how you treat your friends I can’t wait to see what you do to Malfoy on the Quidditch pitch next year!”

They heard a chuckling coming from ahead of them. At this point the boys had reached the dining room and when they looked up they saw the portrait of Joseph Potter chuckling at them. They noticed that Perchy had managed to charm a Santa hat onto his head along with a bright red cloak trimmed in white.

“James! Sirius! It’s good to see you home,” he said.

Sirius stood there for a moment waiting to see how James responded.

“Hi Joseph,” said James.

“Hi…erm…Mr. Potter,” said Sirius.

“Please, Sirius, call me Joseph.”

“James!” cried Marianne. “What on Earth happened to you outside?”

James smiled and replied, “Just a friendly game of Quidditch, Mum!”

Marianne shook her head and muttered, “I should know by now to have all my Healer supplies at hand when you two are home!” She marched out of the dining room, ordering the two boys to clean up before dinner. James and Sirius did as ordered and by the time they returned Marianne had some salve to put on James’ bruise. As soon as the ointment touched James’ cheek he could feel the ache subside.

As they ate supper Joseph plied the boys with questions about the happenings at Hogwarts. He let out a whoop of congratulations as James explained their victory against Slytherin. Joseph demanded every detail from the beginning of the game to James’ nearly knocking Malfoy off his broom before chasing down the Snitch.

As Perchy brought out dessert Sirius decided to change the subject. He glanced at James before turning to the portrait. “Sir,” he asked, “have you ever heard of someone named Lazarus Peurom?”

The face of the portrait froze while James noticed his mum’s fork pausing halfway on its journey to her mouth.

“Why do you ask?” asked Joseph.

Sirius smiled and in his best nonchalant voice he said, “He’s teaching our Defense Against the Dark Arts class this year and I heard he used to work for the Ministry.”

James added, “Professor Dumbledore said he was an Unspeakable for the Department of Mysteries.”

As Joseph was about to reply he noticed a cautioning glance from Marianne and said, “I met him once or twice, but I did not know him very well.”

“Do you know what it was he was working on?” asked Sirius.

James noticed the grip on his mother’s fork tighten.

Joseph saw this and said, “The work done in the Department of Mysteries was highly classified.”

“But surely you would know since you were a higher level Ministry official…” Sirius continued.

Joseph and Marianne exchanged a glance before he replied, “Some things are too classified to discuss.”

“It’s getting late, boys,” said Marianne. “You should get ready for bed.” She got up to direct them out of the room. Before they left she added, “James, I’ll need to put some more salve on that bruise before you go upstairs.”

James and Sirius looked at each other, realizing that the subject was closed, at least for the time being.

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Lily sighed as she settled into her room at home. She had a wonderful reunion with her parents at the train station, and when she had returned home she thought she saw a glimmer of happiness in Petunia’s eyes to see her. Lily had not received any letters from her older sister since she had left for her third year at Hogwarts. She knew it would take Petunia time to forgive her for choosing the school over her.

When she had walked into the house Petunia was standing at the top of the stairs looking down upon her sister, torn about her feelings of Lily’s return. She slowly made her way to the base of the staircase and looked into her sister’s eyes.

Lily could see the internal battle in her sister’s eyes. She could see that Petunia was afraid to allow herself to care for Lily when she would be leaving in a few weeks.

Lily smiled into her sister’s eyes and hugged her. She initially felt her sister tense at the display of affection but after a moment Petunia relaxed and hugged her back. As they drew apart Petunia started to smile, that is until she noticed movement coming from Lily’s coat pocket.

Petunia backed up with wide eyes and said, “WHAT is that?”

Lily looked confused until she realized that Petunia was pointing at her pocket. Lily smiled and said, “I’m doing a favor for one of my professors.” She reached into the pockets and drew out a handful of small green wormlike creatures with beady black eyes.

Petunia shrieked and backed up, stumbling over the first step of the staircase behind her. “You brought…THAT…into this house?!”

Harold Evans came into the house carrying Lily’s trunk and smiled at his youngest daughter. He turned to Petunia and said, “I already said it would be alright, Petunia. Lily is doing a favor for her professor that will earn her extra credit.” He gazed at the creatures for a moment before saying, “Fascinating little creatures. I always felt a little sad that we couldn’t share in your magical education, Lily. This way, we’ll get to have a glimpse.”

Petunia felt like she was going to be ill. She couldn’t believe her father not only agreed to allow the filthy abnormal creatures to stay in the house, but he was proud of Lily for bringing them!

“What did you say those were, Lily?” asked her father.

“Frog spawn. They’re used for a soap made by the joke shop in Hogsmeade,” replied Lily.

“Where are those…things…supposed to stay?” spat Petunia.

“I’ll probably keep them in my pockets,” replied Lily. “Professor Kettleburn said they prefer a warm dark environment. Besides, I have to feed them every 7 hours. It will be easier to do if I have them with me at all times.”

Whatever warmth Petunia felt at Lily’s return was forgotten as she glared at the sight before her - her father doting on Lily for her freakish abilities. Petunia had had enough. She snorted in displeasure and stormed up to her room, slamming the door behind her.

A few minutes later she heard a light knocking on the door. Petunia ignored it, but the knocking persisted and eventually the door inched open and Lily hesitantly stepped inside. Petunia silently cursed her parents for not allowing her to have a lock on the door.

As Lily stepped further inside Petunia shrieked, “Do NOT come in if you have those…CREATURES with you!”

Lily shook her head and said, “Mum and Dad have them right now. They won’t harm you, you know.”

“No, I don’t know,” said Petunia. “Just keep them away from me!”

Lily stared at her sister with sad eyes for a few moments before saying, “I’ve missed you, ‘Tunia.”

Petunia stood as still as a statue, refusing to look at her little sister.

“I’ve missed getting your letters. Did you at least receive mine?” asked Lily.

Petunia nodded but said nothing.

“Did you read them?” asked Lily.

At first it did not seem like Petunia would reply. Lily almost gave up, ready to turn and leave, but Petunia finally said, “I read them…some of them.”

“I missed hearing about you and what’s happening in your life,” said Lily.

Petunia suddenly turned toward Lily with hurt in her eyes and said, “If you wanted to know what was happening in my life then maybe you wouldn’t have been so hasty in your decision to return to that…PLACE!”

Lily felt a pang of annoyance at what Petunia said. “You think my decision was hasty?! It took me more than a year to come to that decision! Something happened to me, ‘Tunia, something horrible! You’ll never understand…” Lily felt her voice catch and took a shuddering breath before continuing, “I thought that by returning more horrible things could result, and I struggled with that thought. You can’t possibly understand how much that has plagued me! Last summer I still didn’t know how to decide. Even though I still feared for what could happen I had spent a year there without anything bad happening. I developed strong friendships and loved what I was learning.

“Then I came home and spent the summer with you. You reminded me of why I wanted to stay home, and I saw the hope in your eyes as you spoke about my return to Muggle school. I just didn’t know what to do…what to decide. Then I got my Hogwarts letter and it kept popping up where I least expected. I thought it was plaguing me by following me, but looking back I wonder if it was me that caused it to show up wherever I went. I realized that night at dinner that my destiny was at Hogwarts and that I had to return. It broke my heart to leave you!”

By this time there were tears welling in Petunia’s eyes. She didn’t want to let them fall but when she glanced at Lily and saw that her face was wet she couldn’t hold them in any longer.

Lily, seeing Petunia’s tears, approached her sister and tentatively hugged her. “Please say that you don’t hate me for leaving, ‘Tunia. I want to be your sister, I want you to be my sister!”

Petunia sniffled, and said, “Just keep those creatures away from me, alright?”

Lily looked up at her sister and realized that Petunia would make an effort, though Lily realized that a part of their relationship had forever been lost the day Lily had stepped out of the house last fall to leave for her third year at Hogwarts.

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A/N: So there you have it - the ‘memory’ Petunia will mention to Harry. In the first book, she complained about Lily ‘coming home with pockets full of frog spawn’. As far as ‘turning teacups into rats’, I’m not sure if I’ll do that one - there was a part I wrote about Lily’s Transfiguration book and how Petunia saw the image of a teacup on the cover turn into a rat (before Lily left for her first year). I think I’ll just leave it at that.

It’s good to see you’re trying to work out what’s going on with Professor Peurom. Bonus points to whoever figures out the derivation of his last name.

Many thanks to my latest reviewers: sweetie513, mystical cah (wow! - thanks for the whole bunch you wrote!), Hermione Rules, Anonymous (multiple thanks), nanopy, mani12191, likediamondrain, Jo Bob, Alicia, delpheena, Watermelon!, Golden Phoenix, and James love. Hope I didn’t miss anyone. I’m so thrilled at the response I’ve gotten. Really - thanks!

Next chapter: Find out what James and Sirius got in trouble for during the holidays - this will also be somewhat of a memory that was mentioned fleetingly in one of JKR’s books.

45. Elementary Wand Safety

Chapter 45: Elementary Wand Safety

Joseph was roused by the distant angry voice of Marianne Potter. After Marianne, James, and Sirius had left for the Prewett’s for Christmas Eve dinner, Perchy had dimmed the lights causing Joseph to drift into a light slumber. Hearing the annoyed voice of his wife, Joseph wondered what the commotion was. He had heard about characters in portraits being able to move from one picture to another but he had never attempted it.

‘There’s no time like the present,’ he thought. Concentrating hard, he focused his thoughts on the portrait of the children playing in a field which hung on the wall in the hallway. He ran to the side of his picture, still thinking about the nearest painting, and before he knew it he was in a field getting some strange looks from three children.

“Mr. Potter?” one of the children asked. “How did you get here? I thought you had died.”

Joseph smiled and said, “I’m from a portrait that was commissioned before he died. This is the first time I’ve left my picture.” Hearing the voices a few rooms away, Joseph concentrated hard on the next painting and soon found himself crowded into a small portrait with his great-great grandfather, Nathaniel. The elder Potter gave his great-great grandson a surprised yet annoyed look, having been rudely awoken from his nap.

Joseph gave a sheepish smile and continued from portrait to portrait, feeling that he was getting the hang of moving around. At one point, he found himself running away from a lion and made a mental note to avoid the picture his grandfather had had painted in honor of his African safari.

Finally, Joseph made it into the living room where Marianne was finishing her lecture to two very guilty looking boys standing in front of the fireplace, covered in green goop.

“…can’t believe that every time we visit them you find a way to embarrass us with your silly antics. I thought that maybe you would have grown up a little…” ranted Marianne. Though her tone was annoyed Joseph knew his wife and could see that behind her angry façade she was secretly amused. After all, she had fallen for him after years of his ‘silly antics.’

“Mum,” said James as he looked down at his slimy robes, “look at us. It’s not as if we were the only ones misbehaving.”

“Yeah,” added Sirius. “We were trying to have a pleasant conversation with Gideon. He was the one who hexed us.”

Marianne shook her head and sighed. “I’ll never understand how Gideon and Fabian were let into the auror’s program when they do immature, silly hexes like that.” She coughed, though it sounded like a suppressed chuckle. Glancing up at the two boys, Sirius showing his most sincere puppy dog eyes and James’ hair still sticking up despite being slathered with the goop, she ordered them to go upstairs and get cleaned up. As soon as they were out of the room Marianne couldn’t contain her laughter any longer.

“Aha! You’ve been caught!” exclaimed Joseph, causing Marianne to jump in surprise and turn toward the portrait he was visiting.

“Joseph?!” she gasped. “How did you-? When did you figure out how to-?”

“Just now when I heard the yelling,” he replied. “Back to the subject at hand, I always had a feeling you secretly enjoyed all of the mischief James and I got into. Now I have proof!”

Marianne huffed and haughtily replied, “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

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Lily sighed as she walked through the barrier at Platform 9 ¾. She had loved her visit with her parents. Each time she walked through the door during a school break the house looked a little smaller, but it still was as if nothing ever changed. It was an illusion, though. Some things had changed, mainly the closeness she once had with her sister. While Petunia was civil toward Lily she no longer sought her company. Petunia preferred to either cloister herself in her room on the telephone or disappear for hours while she was with her friends.

Petunia was now fifteen years old and was taking advantage of the freedom her parents granted her that came with her age. During one of the few conversations Lily had with Petunia during the holiday, Petunia revealed that she was doing quite well in her studies. She even hoped to study medicine and join the Peace Corps. She wanted to make her mark in the world. Petunia also revealed to Lily that she had a crush on a schoolmate named Jonathan. Petunia’s eyes melted when she mentioned him, though Lily noticed a wistful look and suspected the crush was one-sided.

At the end of the holiday Lily had a very impersonal goodbye from Petunia as she rushed off to meet one of her friends. That left Lily’s parents to take her to King’s Cross. Even though there was a tearful goodbye with her parents, Lily couldn’t help but feel that with each trip to Hogwarts it felt as though she were returning home. She missed her classes and she missed her friends. She smiled thinking about how she even missed seeing Filch running down the corridors with a string of foul curses directed at Peeves the Poltergeist. She missed-

“Ow!” she cried. Someone had just come through the barrier behind her and bumped into her with his trolley. Lily, rubbing her back, turned around and saw Frank Longbottom watching her with apologetic eyes.

“Sorry,” he said. “Alright there, Lily?”

Lily dusted herself off and smiled. “No harm done, Frank. How was your holiday?”

“Not too bad,” he replied as they started walking toward the scarlet train. “Mum decided that we should holiday in the Sahara.”

“The Sahara, as in the desert?” Lily asked. After Frank nodded she added, “That sounds a bit harsh.”

Frank shrugged and said, “She told me it was to ‘test my mettle,’ whatever that means. I’m used to it by now. Besides, it got me out of the harsh English winter for a few weeks. How was your Christmas?”

Lily felt some movement in her pocket. The frog spawn she was caring for were due to be fed soon. “My holiday was nice.” She looked at Frank, who had helped her lift her trunk onto the train. “I need to find Alice and Marlene,” she said. Seeing his hopeful face she added, “Do you want to sit with us?”

Frank’s brown eyes lit up as he cheerfully nodded and helped Lily with her belongings down the corridor. Eventually they found Marlene sitting with Emm in a compartment near the end of the train. Alice had yet to arrive. Marlene eyed Frank as he stowed away the luggage and gave a questioning look to Lily, who smiled. Marlene smirked, wondering how long it would take for Alice to kill Lily once they returned to the privacy of their dorm room. Alice, though she thought Frank was nice, was not thrilled to have him following her like a lovesick puppy dog.

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Sirius and James managed to hop onto the train about one minute before it pulled out of the station. James let out a sigh of relief as Sirius grinned at him. James shook his head and said, “What are you grinning at? You’re the reason we almost missed the train. You and your beauty sleep!”

Sirius playfully shoved James as he marched past him down the corridor to find their friends. About halfway down the corridor a door opened and out stepped a beautiful raven-haired girl. Sirius groaned, recognizing her as Andromeda, his cousin. She was in her seventh year and in Slytherin, like all the Blacks except for Sirius.

As she turned toward them she saw the two boys and gave Sirius a disapproving glare. As the boys walked past her James noticed Andromeda’s eyes change from dark brown to a fiery red color, shooting daggers at Sirius.

Sirius smiled sardonically as he passed and said, “Looking lovely as always, cousin.”

After they were out of her hearing range James leaned over to Sirius and whispered, “What happened to her eyes back there?”

“She’s a Metamorphmagus. She just wanted to send me her love,” said Sirius, his voice full of sarcasm.

“Geez, Sirius, is there anyone in your family you get along with?” asked James.

“What are you talking about? Andromeda is my favorite cousin or as I prefer to say, ‘the lesser of the evils’,” replied Sirius. A moment later he added, “Then there’s good old Uncle Alphard, but I’m not sure he counts - he’s too senile.”

“How’s Andromeda different from your other cousins?” asked James.

“She’s not,” said Sirius. “She’s still a Slytherin like the others and looks down on the Muggles and Muggleborns wizards. She’s not as outspoken and nasty about it like the others. She still sees me as a blood traitor, though.”

James walked on, silently amazed that his best mate survived thirteen years with his family and turned out like he did. Eventually they located Remus and Peter. Remus was patiently trying to explain the wand movements necessary to perform a Cheering Charm, while Peter was desperately trying to finish his Charms essay which was to be handed in the next day.

Remus looked up and smiled at the two boys. “Padfoot! Prongs! How was your holiday?”

“Great,” replied James. “Sirius and I played Quidditch most of the time and I have the bruises to prove it. I think he’s got a real good shot at the open Beater position next year.”

“We went to visit James’ aunt and uncle for Christmas Eve,” added Sirius. “It was a rather memorable evening.”

“Do I even want to know what you two did?” asked Remus with a chuckle.

Sirius gave an evil grin while James spoke, “You remember my cousins, Gideon and Fabian, right?”

Remus smiled and nodded. “How can I forget?” he said. “After Marlene made their photo a permanent fixture of Hogwarts?”

“Yeah, they weren’t too happy about that,” said Sirius. “But, they had some other things on their minds.”

James laughed and said, “They were accepted into the auror trainee program, however Gideon had a bit of a mishap…”

“What?” asked Peter.

“They were with Mad-Eye Moody on a simulated mission,” started James, “and when they finished Gideon put his wand into his back pocket.” James had to pause. He was trying to get through the story without laughing too hard, but seeing the amused expression on Sirius’ face made it difficult to finish.

Sirius took over and said, “The wand ignited and Gideon…” he started to break down in hysterics at the image.

“Come on, guys,” urged Remus. “What happened after the wand ignited?”

James took a few steadying breaths before managing a few words. “He…He lost a buttock!”

Sirius’ guffaws were infectious and soon all the boys were near tears in laughter.

“H-Had to t-take him to St. Mungo’s,” James managed to say between chuckles. “He had to stay there for a week so the healers could grow a new b-buttock for him. Moody was at their house for Christmas Eve dinner. He kept glaring at Gideon, muttering things under his breath about elementary wand safety.”

“Sounds like a fun evening,” said Remus.

“Ohhhh, it didn’t end there. Do you honestly think Padfoot and I could leave well enough alone with so much ammunition?” asked James.

“Gideon kept looking at us like we were about to mock him endlessly about what had happened. Really,” said Sirius innocently, “when would I ever do something like that?”

“I’d say about every second of every minute of every hour of every day…” said Remus.

“Okay, I get the point, Moony,” said Sirius. “I simply told Gideon not to worry, that I wouldn’t even think of making him the butt of the joke.”

“Then as Uncle Louis made the holiday toast, I said, ‘Bottoms up!’” said James.

“Gideon got really mad, but even Fabian was secretly getting a kick out of it. I could tell that Gideon was toying with the idea of hexing us, but I couldn’t help myself-” said Sirius.

“Can you ever?” asked Remus.

“-I turned to him with my most sincere look,” said Sirius, “and I told him that I would never ASS-ume that I could taunt him and get away with it.”

James chuckled and added, “Then Sirius had the audacity to ask if someone could pass him the buttocks, then he quickly covered and said butter.”

“After about an hour of constant taunting from both James and me, Gideon had finally had it and hexed us. We were covered in a thick green goop,” said Sirius.

“We wanted to hex him back, but there’s the tiny fact that we’re underage and they’re not…” said James.

Sirius smiled and said, “That didn’t stop you from flinging your potatoes straight into Gideon’s face.”

“Yeah,” said James. “I reckon Mum wasn’t too happy with us. She gave us one of her long-winded lectures. I about lost it when she was ranting in front of Gideon that she hadn’t reared me to behave like that as a guest in someone’s home. I could tell that Gideon was fuming - he thought Mum had joined in on the ribbing. She noticed it and rushed us to the fireplace to Floo home before any more green goop could be cast.”

Remus shook his head while still smiling. “Your poor mum, Prongs. How did she survive having both of you under her roof for so long?”

Sirius replied instead, “I tried to balance the mischief with my charming personality.”

James snorted and Sirius pretended to look shocked at his friend’s mockery. He knew that he had done the right thing accompanying James home for the Christmas holiday. It was James’ first Christmas home since his dad had died and he knew it would be difficult for his friend. Sirius made sure that he did everything he could to distract James and keep him from depression, even if it meant getting into trouble or annoying him.

Sirius had to admit that he also had his own selfish reasons for going to James’ home. James’ mum and even the portrait of Joseph always welcomed him, like he was a member of the family, and that was something that Sirius had sorely missed out on while growing up with the Black family.

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A/N: ‘ Don’t put your wand there, boy! What if it ignited? Better wizards than you have lost buttocks, you know!’ -Mad-Eye Moody to Harry, OotP

FYI, I am well aware of how I portrayed Andromeda in this chapter. How we see her now is not necessarily how she’ll be later on…

Thanks to my wonderful reviewers: Hermione G. Potter, Anonymous (x2), Alicia, nanopy, lilly flower, mrs. padfoot (x2), sweetie513, New Reader, Potterhead, marie, I <3 Harry… Thanks for all the reviews - you guys rock! Replies are in the review section.

Next chapter: More Divination and DADA!

46. Palmistry and Boggarts

Chapter 46: Palmistry and Boggarts

“Today,” croaked the elderly voice of Professor Vablatsky, “we will begin to study palmistry. You should have all read the chapter on The Chiromantic Art in your text.” She paused to catch her breath, as she moved her frail body across the room. “You should know where the principle lines are and the basic interpretations. As you should know by now, the left hand will reveal one’s inherited characteristics, while the right hand reveals choices to be made as well as the triumphs and tribulations that lie ahead. Over the next few months we will learn the subtleties of the art of palmistry, however today I want you to practice on each other using the principle lines only. I will make my way around the room and assist you.”

As Lily studied Alice’s hands Professor Vablatsky hobbled to their table and gazed at them.

“Okay Alice,” started Lily, “The first line is the life line. That’s this one,” she indicated. “Then the second one is-” Lily glanced at her text, nervous at having the professor hovering over them, “-it’s the head line.” Lily paused, uncertain about how to proceed.

“Allow me, Miss Evans,” said the professor. She took Alice’s hands and studied them for a minute, the crow’s feet around her eyes deepening as she scrutinized the lines. “Miss Lyons, you have a long life line however it is relatively straight. I would be worried about your endurance. You have a deep head line which suggests intelligence, however there is a break in the line. That could indicate a loss of focus or concentration. Your heart line is long and straight, which suggests you will have one true love in your lifetime.”

Alice gazed at the elderly professor in awe. She wasn’t sure if she could believe her, but when the professor looked at her Alice had the strange sensation that she was the real deal. The idea that she had one true love out there for her was comforting, and she wondered who he was. The idea of a lack of endurance or loss of focus was a mystery to her. She wasn’t sure how to swallow those predictions.

As the professor was about to turn away, Alice blurted out, “What about Lily? What do you see for her?”

Lily’s eyes widened at her friend, not really wanting the professor’s probing eyes on her hands.

Professor Vablatsky turned back and grabbed Lily’s small hands into her gnarled ones. As soon as Vablatsky made contact she made a sharp intake of breath and her eyes lost focus for a moment. When her eyes returned to normal Alice asked, “What did you see, Professor?”

After flicking her intense blue eyes toward Lily, Professor Vablatsky turned to Alice and said, “N-Nothing. My arthritis was acting up, that’s all.” Since she still had Lily’s hands, she turned them over and started gazing at her palms. After what seemed like an eternity she finally said, “There is a strong curve in your life line which shows me that you are a strong girl. You are very intelligent and creative. You are more sensitive than most to the emotions of others. Though there are some breaks at the beginning of your heart line, I suspect you will have a strong and pure love later.” She suddenly pulled Lily’s hand closer to her face and traced her finger over a line down the middle of her palm. “Hmmm, interesting,” she said. “Your fate line - it starts as a faint line. I suspect you feel like you don’t have much control over your life right now.”

Lily pulled her hand back and covered it with her left hand. Professor Vablatsky leaned toward her and whispered, “It will be alright, dear. I see that your intelligence and talent will allow you more control as you get older - you will possess the ability to do extraordinary things.”

As the professor walked away Alice noticed that Lily looked like she was holding her breath. “Lily?” she asked. Lily didn’t answer. Worry crept into Alice as she watched her friend. “Lily? You look like you’re in shock. Are you trembling?”

Lily finally heard the words of her friend and smiled, though unconvincingly. “No…I mean I’m fine.” She turned to her text and started searching through the pages. “I have the diagram of the principle lines in here somewhere…”

Alice put her hand on the pages to stop them from being turned. As Lily looked up Alice gently asked, “Are you sure you want to continue?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I?” asked Lily.

“I don’t know,” replied Alice. Truthfully, she didn’t know. Nothing she had heard Professor Vablatsky say during her predictions made her think that Lily would become frightened by them. Overall, it was a relatively positive reading with a few bumps along the road.

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“Hey Moony! I think I have two head lines!” exclaimed James.

Remus shook his head and said, “That’s not two lines, James. The second line is actually a cut you got the other day from one of the exploding snap cards.”

“Hmmm,” said James, disappointed. “I thought that meant I was super-intelligent.”

“Sorry to disappoint you,” joked Remus.

“How are you boys doing with your reading?” came the croaky voice of their professor.

James turned to her and with a sheepish smile said, “I’m afraid I only have one head line, Professor. Remus here has informed me that I am not as intelligent as I had hoped.”

“Perhaps I should assist you, then?” asked the professor. Before either boy could reply she had grabbed James’ hands and started her observations. “You have a long and curved life line. You are very strong.” She turned his hand a little and continued, “You are intelligent, and extremely creative.” She glanced at Remus before turning back to James. “You heart line is deep as runs your feelings - both the feelings for your true love as well as the feelings for your friends. Your fate line…curious…you will be at a constant battle for control of your fate, however fate has a different plan for you. The line does indicate, however, your resourcefulness with regard to your talents.”

James looked at her like she had lost her marbles. How much more vague could she get?

“And you, Mr. Lupin,” said the old witch. She turned toward the werewolf and studied his hands. “Your life line is rather short, but runs deep. You have more strength than most.”

Remus shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He was well aware of the strength he got from his lycanthropy. And what did she mean by his short life line?

“Like your friend you are very intelligent,” continued Vablatsky. “You have a knack for solving problems. You are good at reading the emotions and relationships of those you care about except when they pertain to you. Your fate line shows many breaks early on in life however toward the end you will take your fate into your own hands and carry a great responsibility.”

She let go of Remus’ hand, but not before he noticed a gentle squeeze. Before Remus could question her she turned to Frank and Peter, who were at the next table. Frank was trying to show Peter how to find the Apollo line, but Peter could hardly see his.

After class as they were walking to Transfiguration James noticed that Remus was rather silent. “C’mon, Moony,” he said, “you don’t actually believe that stuff, do you?”

Remus looked at James, his face rather serious, and said, “I always imagined my life would be shorter due to…well, you know…” He looked around, scared that anyone could listen in. “There are many people who would want me killed for what I am.”

James stopped and grabbed Remus by the arm. “The only way that stuff’ll come true is if you start believing in it. Besides, do you think that Padfoot, Wormtail, or I would allow anyone to threaten our friend?”

Remus looked down and said, “You’re right, I guess.”

“Of course I’m right,” insisted James. He then smiled and added, “After all, I’ve got TWO head lines, remember? Super-intelligence!”

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That afternoon in Defense Against the Dark Arts the students were surprised to see Professor Peurom dragging in a large trunk. Lily glanced at Marlene, confused. She thought that they were supposed to start hinkypunks that day. Since they were marsh creatures, she didn’t expect to see one inside the trunk that now sat at the front of the room. As the students watched it with curiosity, suddenly there was a big ‘CRASH’ and a large jerking movement from within the trunk. The students all jumped back in their seats and Professor Peurom looked more nervous than usual.

“T-Today, students,” started Peurom, “I have changed the subject matter. Earlier this year we discussed boggarts, but at the time there was no boggart around to practice on. Mr. Filch found this boggart as he was doing his nightly stroll through the castle. Although I had been planning on discussing hinkypunks today, the headmaster felt it would be best for you to get practical experience with a boggart since they are relatively common.”

Professor Peurom had the students move the tables out of the way and gather around the trunk. “Now, does anyone remember what a boggart does and the incantation to stop it?” asked the professor.

Marlene raised her hand and said, “A boggart takes on the shape it thinks will scare us the most, and the incantation is ‘Riddikulus!’”

Peurom nodded and said, “10 points to Gryffindor. Now, I want you to back away a little and form a line. After I let the boggart out it will assume its form. I want each of you to use the incantation while thinking of a way to make the boggart less scary, funny if possible.”

A line was formed and soon the first student was facing the boggart. As Frank watched the creature spin out of the trunk he was soon faced with a mermaid - not the beautiful kind from fairy tales but the creepy looking kind with gray skin, green hair, and yellow eyes. As it approached Frank said, “Riddikulus!” and the mermaid turned into a goldfish, flopping about the floor.

Each student took a turn, changing a mouse into a wind-up toy; changing the Bloody Baron into Nearly-Headless Nick. Soon it was Sirius’ turn. As the boggart turned to face him it swirled into the images of his best friends - James, Remus, and Peter. Each boy scowled at Sirius and called him a ‘bloody Slytherin’ and if they weren’t turning their backs on him they were calling him other choice names. Sirius paled a bit before raising his wand and shouting, “Riddikulus!” Instead of insults falling out of their mouths, butterflies started started flying out.

Several students laughed, causing the boggart to jump back in pain. The real James leaned forward and said, “Butterflies, Padfoot?!”

Sirius gave James a look of mock indignation and said, “What’s wrong with that? I liked them!”

Before James could reply Remus was facing the boggart. It swirled into a glowing orb. The Marauders recognized it immediately as the full moon, however the rest of the class wondered what it was that caused Remus to audibly gulp. Remus took a deep breath and said, “Riddukulus!” causing the orb to bounce around like a ball.

James watched, amused as he saw Peter turn the arms of a bully into wings. Peter smiled, proud that he was able to pull off the spell on the first try in front of the class. James was looking forward to the challenge. He figured his boggart would be similar to Sirius’.

Suddenly Lily was approaching the boggart. Curious, James paused his thinking to see how she did. The boggart sensed her presence and started whirling around. After a long moment James was shocked to find the boggart assuming the form of Lily. The real Lily froze, trembling at the sight of herself. There was an odd look about the boggart Lily as it approached.

Marlene, after recovering from the surprise of seeing Lily’s boggart, noticed her friend was frozen. She leaned forward and whispered some words of encouragement.

Lily, finally realizing the proximity of the boggart, raised her wand and with a shaky voice said, “Riddikulus!” The boggart Lily now had a head of purple hair and bright pink eyes. Hearing the chuckles from her classmates, Lily backed away, sighing in relief.

James watched her, full of curiosity about the form of her boggart, until it was time for him to face the creature. James barely paid any attention to the creature until he heard a gasp from the class and turned to see his mum in front of him. She was on the floor, motionless, her eyes wide and staring at him in fear. There was no life behind those eyes, no color in her cheeks. A trickle of dried blood traced a path from the corner of her mouth to her chin. James felt the air leave his lungs and rush into his head.

Sirius was concerned for James, though not surprised at the form of his boggart. He watched his friend intently as he stood motionless in front of the form of the deceased Marianne Potter. The blood drained from James’ face and it became evident that he wasn’t prepared to attack the boggart.

Just as Sirius was about to approach the boggart, Professor Peurom, looking more pale and shaky than usual, beat him to it. Stepping in front of James, the boggart now focused its attention on the professor and started spinning. Sirius watched and was surprised to see it take the form of a blanket, hanging in midair fluttering. Peurom, though shaking cried, “Riddikulus!” and forced the boggart back into the trunk.

James stayed rooted in the same spot until Sirius cautiously approached him. Before Sirius could say anything James stormed out of the classroom and ran until his lungs felt like they would burst. James looked around, realizing that he had left the castle and was in the empty Quidditch pitch.

James leaned over, trying to catch his breath but instead felt something welling up in the pit of his stomach. It had been threatening to happen for almost two years but James had been too numb. The sight of his mum, dead on the floor in front of him, brought back that nagging feeling he thought had finally left. James paced around a distant corner of the pitch, trying to force the feeling back down but it was insistent, pushing its way up until the corners of his eyes started to sting. A stubborn sob escaped his throat and that was enough to force James into the tears he had not shed since learning of his father’s death. As soon as he gave into the tears James collapsed onto the ground and stayed there, letting out his grief. As his sobs subsided James leaned against his knees and ran his hands through his hair, feeling exhausted.

Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. James jumped in surprise and turned to see Sirius standing behind him. Embarrassed to have his friend see him cry James quickly turned back and tried to casually dry the tears with the sleeve of his robe, hoping the dimming sunlight would provide adequate cover.

James waited, expecting to hear Sirius say something. Instead, Sirius squeezed James’ shoulder and just stayed there with him. James glanced up at his friend, feeling comforted by the gesture and appreciating the fact that Sirius did not try to make things better with words. Words were all anyone said after his dad was killed. Words had never provided comfort for James. Having finally let out his grief, and having the silent support of his best mate did more in that hour than anything else from the previous two years.

They walked back to the castle in silence and as they entered James told Sirius he’d meet him in the Great Hall. He needed to go to the DADA classroom to collect his book bag, which he had forgotten during his hasty retreat.

As James entered the DADA classroom, he noticed it was much darker than during class. A few candles were lit, causing shadows to dance along the walls. James looked around until he saw his book bag propped against the leg of a chair at the far end of the room. As he turned to leave he saw Professor Peurom standing at the front of the room.

“I thought you might come back tonight…for your things,” said the professor. He studied James for a moment before asking, “Are you alright now?”

James hastily replied, “Yes…er…well-”

“It’s okay to be unsettled. Facing a boggart is not fun and games. For some people it can be a nightmare, especially if you’ve had a horrible experience in your life.” Peurom shivered as he spoke.

James watched his DADA professor, again wondering about the mystery surrounding him. “Professor?” he asked. “Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”

Peurom gulped but said, “Go ahead.”

“Why was your boggart a blanket? Are you scared of being smothered or something?” he asked.

Peurom thought for a moment before replying, “Mr. Potter, the danger for me lies not in what happens on this side of the, er…blanket…but rather the other side.” Before James could ask anything else Peurom said, “Good night, Mr. Potter.”

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A/N: Lots of info crammed into this chapter. Sigh - I just love James and Sirius’ friendship.

Answer to the previous ‘bonus’ question on the derivation of Peurom’s last name: For those of you who speak French, you can break it down into Peur homme (translation - scared man).

Bonus question for this chapter: What is the Apollo Line? What are your theories on why Peter’s is barely visible?

Thanks to the latest reviewers: Jo Bob (x2), Alicia, Anonymous, Anu, lilly flower, Nyscat (x3), nanopy, delpheena (x2), Remus’sweetie, Mani12191, mrs. padfoot, sista7.

Next chapter: More bits about the Animagus transformation. The Marauders continue their investigation of Professor Peurom.

47. The Veil of the Dead

Chapter 47: The Veil of the Dead

Over the next few months James pushed the boggart incident to a distant spot in his mind, which wasn’t hard considering he had a busy schedule. Each class piled on more homework than the students thought necessary, and Carlton Wood was holding Quidditch practice practically every night. Gryffindor had trounced over Hufflepuff in the most recent match, and Carlton was obsessed with repeating the previous year’s victory of the Quidditch Cup.

The Animagus training was slower than the Marauders would have hoped for, but getting the precise details of their Animagus forms was more difficult than expected. James and Sirius were anxious to start practicing on themselves, but Remus insisted they wait until they perfected the current step lest there be an unfortunate accident. James and Sirius grudgingly complied, only because they were doing this illegally and couldn’t think of a way to charm Madame Pomfrey should one of them walk into the hospital wing stuck with one of their Animagus characteristics.

Peter was coming along as well with the transformation, though slower than James and Sirius. It frustrated him to constantly be behind them - in classes, in his social status, and in the Animagus training. Even so, he was still grateful for their friendship, and it helped to have friends such as his when the Slytherins were nearby. With the Marauders, Peter felt a few inches taller. Sirius and James, while they joked about Peter’s slow progress with the Animagus training, still made it their mission to help their friend. Peter had kept his promise about keeping Remus’ secret and he even came in handy when the Marauders wanted to get into mischief.

At dinner Sirius, after spending a few hours helping Peter perfect transfiguring the bristles of his hairbrush into rat’s whiskers, convinced Peter to transfigure the end of Marlene’s fork into a rat’s tail when she wasn’t looking. After hearing a disgusted cry from down the Gryffindor table Remus glared at Sirius and Peter who were busy laughing at their ingenuity.

“Can you at least try not to be so obvious about your little project?” hissed Remus.

“Moony, calm down,” appeased Sirius. “For all McKinnon knows, we’re just having some fun on her account.”

“Last week you caused her school robes to sprout dog fur,” said Remus. “What’ll be next? The more you play around like this the more likely she will snoop around and discover our secret.”

Before Sirius or Peter could respond James sat down, having just finished Quidditch practice. His robes were soaked from the rain and his hair was plastered to his head with a few stubborn strands sticking up. He eagerly grabbed his plate and started loading it with food. As he shoved piles of food into his mouth his friends watched with amusement.

“Careful, Prongs,” advised Remus. “If you keep eating like that you’ll put Padfoot to shame.”

“Hey!” said Sirius, indignantly.

After James finished his chicken he asked Remus, “Moony, have you had any more luck on your research about our DADA professor?”

“Not yet,” replied Remus. “I have another study session with Lily and Emm tonight and I thought I might hang around afterward and snoop around some more. That is, if you don’t mind my borrowing your cloak again.”

“No problem,” said James.

Despite their efforts to find more about their DADA professor, he still remained a mystery to them. The boggart incident with the blanket made things more confusing. The Marauders had to admit that even though their professor was a bit unusual he was still good at his job. He had brought the DADA classes to life by his practical application of the subject. Somehow he had managed to obtain a hinkypunk and a grindylow for class and each student had had the opportunity to face them.

Next week they were to start studying nocturnal beasts, and Remus wasn’t looking forward to the chapter on werewolves. Peurom had assigned the class to write an essay on the different kinds of nocturnal beasts. Remus had written quite a bit about vampires but his section on werewolves was rather short. When asked by James why he didn’t write more, Remus sheepishly replied that he didn’t want to seem too knowledgeable on the subject. Sirius had laughed, saying that if the length of his essays gave away who he was, then maybe he was a hinkypunk as well, or a red cap.

Later that evening Remus was studying with Emm and Lily while they finished their DADA essays. Remus thought he would lose his dinner by the end of the session as the girls kept reviewing the different symptoms of werewolves and the ways in which to recognize them.

“Remus, you’re awfully quiet tonight,” commented Emm. “Are you getting sick again?”

“No!” said Remus. “I think Sirius must have slipped something into my dinner, that’s all. He’s always pulling stuff like that.”

Lily said, “Well, I think we’ve done enough for tonight. Do you guys want to meet again on Thursday after dinner?”

“I can’t,” said Remus. When Lily and Emm looked at him in question he added, “I-I have to go see my mum again.”

Lily gave him an odd look but before she could say anything Emm said, “Oh, I can’t either, Lily. I have to tutor a first-year student in Potions. Besides, I think we’re way ahead of things. Why don’t we just meet next Monday, instead?”

“I’m fine with that,” said Remus.

“Ok, sure,” said Lily.

After they left the library, Remus told Lily he’d forgotten something and said she didn’t need to wait for him. Once she was out of sight, Remus pulled out James’ invisibility cloak and threw it on. Once he made it back to the library he went to the back where the Restricted Section was. At this point in the evening there weren’t many students left and none of them were near the Restricted Section so Remus felt comfortable that no one would see any books floating mysteriously in midair.

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A few hours later the portrait hole opened and Remus hurried over to the Marauders. He pulled them to a corner and said, “I think I might have found something.”

“On what?” asked Peter.

Sirius rolled his eyes and said, “Stop being so thick, Wormtail. He’s talking about Professor Peurom!”

“Oh,” muttered Peter.

“Well, what’d you find?” asked James.

“Not so much on Peurom, but I found something as I was flipping through a book called, Mysteries of the Beyond,” replied Remus.

“Sounds like Divination junk, if you ask me,” cracked James.

“Actually, it delves into death and the line that separates it from the living. There are different chapters on how people have experimented with death, trying to push themselves to the brink and glimpse what is beyond while trying to come back and live,” said Remus.

“No wonder it’s in the Restricted Section,” said Peter.

“What does this have to do with Peurom?” asked Sirius.

“I’m not sure, but there was a chapter on the Veil of the Dead. It describes a veil that was discovered over a thousand years ago. When people crossed through it they didn’t come back,” said Remus.

“A veil? You mean something that would look like a blanket?” asked James. Remus nodded. “That would explain what Peurom told me about his boggart, about how he was afraid of what was on the other side,” James added.

“Exactly,” said Remus. “Since people didn’t come back, it was determined that the Veil was a threshold between life and death. It was used afterward for executions, up until ten or fifteen years ago. Once the dementors were placed at Azkaban the executions were replaced by the dementor’s kiss. It did not specify where the Veil is now, but if it was used for executions I wonder if it’s at the Ministry.”

“Did it say anything else?” asked James.

“Yes, actually it did,” said Remus. “There are those who have gotten close enough to the Veil without going through who claim to hear the voices of those who have passed through.”

“Voices,” said Sirius. He turned to James and said, “Peurom said he kept hearing voices that night after detention.”

“Even if he’s been near the Veil and has heard the voices,” started James, “how would he hear them here at Hogwarts?”

“Probably off his rocker,” said Sirius. “He said he’d been studying ‘it’ for some time. If he was that close to it for a long time he probably lost a few of his marbles, if you know what I mean.”

“So that’s it then? Peurom worked with the Veil?” asked Peter.

“We don’t know that for sure,” said James, “but I think it’s a good theory. It’s too bad Moony didn’t find anything on Peurom.”

“I did find something, but not in relation to the Veil,” said Remus. “I was looking through a book on recent history, and found mention of a Lazarus Peurom. It said that he was an extraordinary wizard. He finished Hogwarts at the age of fifteen and was the youngest person accepted into auror training. He helped catch some of the darkest wizards at the time and was regarded as one of the bravest wizards of his time, next to Dumbledore, of course.”

“What happened?” asked James. “Why haven’t we heard of him before this year if he’s so legendary?”

“He sort of disappeared off of the radar. I assume it happened around the time he became an Unspeakable,” replied Remus.

“He doesn’t seem so brave,” said Peter. “He always looks like someone’s going to jump at him from around a corner.”

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A few days later James decided to linger after the DADA class finished. He told his friends he’d catch up with them, and pretended to be organizing the books in his bag. When he looked up he saw that it was only him and his professor still in the room. James gathered his bag and slowly approached the desk at the front where Peurom sat, reading over some essays.

“Professor?” asked James.

Peurom looked up, startled that someone was still in the room. “Yes, Mr. Potter?”

James hesitated before asking, “I-I heard that you were once an auror. Is that true?”

Peurom looked shocked and asked, “How did you know that?”

James had an excuse ready. “I thought I heard my dad mention something once.”

“Your dad spoke to you about me?” Peurom asked, surprised.

“Not exactly,” said James, trying to think fast. “I thought I remembered hearing him speak to my mum about you as an auror.”

Peurom’s eyes widened as he asked, “You’re Joseph’s son, aren’t you? I knew your father, a long time ago when I was an auror. He was a good man.”

James nodded silently.

Hesitantly, Professor Peurom asked, “How is Marianne?”

James looked at him in surprise and asked, “You knew my mum, too?”

Peurom looked at his desk and nervously shifted some papers before replying, “I worked with your dad here and there since we were both aurors. Therefore, the three of us met up at dinners and gatherings every so often.”

There was an awkward silence as James absorbed what he had heard.

“Was there something else, Mr. Potter?” asked the professor.

Thinking back to his original purpose for approaching his professor, James said, “I’ve thought about becoming an auror, like my dad. Then I remembered that Professor Dumbledore said you had become an Unspeakable. I was wondering why you chose to do that and if that would be something I should look into someday. I mean, what kinds of things did you do as an Unspeakable?”

“That, Mr. Potter, I cannot go into detail on. There is a reason the place I worked in was called the Department of Mysteries,” said Peurom.

James decided to push his luck. “What about the Veil?” he blurted.

Peurom paled and after a moment he shakily asked, “How did you know about that?”

“I-I heard a rumor of its existence. Then, after seeing your boggart, I kind of figured…” said James.

Peurom took a moment to compose his thoughts before saying, “You’re a clever boy. What else have you figured out?”

“I heard you were a very respected auror, one of the bravest. Then you sort of disappeared. How did you go from one of the bravest aurors, to…erm…” James paused.

“A scared, cowardly man?” asked Peurom.

“Well, that’s not what I meant, exactly,” said James.

“It’s okay, Mr. Potter. I’m well aware of who I am today,” said Peurom.

James wondered if he should continue, but he figured if he had gotten this far already, he might as well ask more. “So what happened?”

Peurom didn’t look like he was going to answer. James waited, staring at a smudge on the wall behind the professor. Finally Peurom stood up and said, “Mr. Potter, there was a time I was young and headstrong. I faced death every day and had no problem staring it straight in the eye. The problem is, the more you stare death in the eye, the more likely it is to stare right back at you.” He gathered his things and walked away, but not before adding, “Don’t forget about that chapter on vampires. We will be reviewing that in our next class. Good evening.”

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A/N: Many of you can pat yourselves on the back for following the clues about Professor Peurom. Yes, his boggart was the Veil.

Answer to the latest bonus question on Peter’s Apollo line: According to my source (The Sorcerer’s Companion by Allan and Elizabeth Kronzck), the Apollo line is ‘Sometimes known as the Line of the Sun. When it appears it’s a sign of a capacity to enjoy life and derive satisfaction from work. In some systems, a long Apollo line indicates good luck.’ I’ll let you make your own interpretations about Peter’s faint Apollo line. Kudos to delpheena - she was pretty accurate with her answer.

Thanks to my latest reviewers: Alicia, sista7, nanopy, delpheena, Mani12191, mystical cah, Golden Phoenix, hpfan88, Jo Bob, mrs. padfoot, hpfreak, hermionelover101, Potterhead, and Watermelon!

Next chapter: The students take their final exams.

48. The Image in the Crystal

Chapter 48: The Image in the Crystal

“I can’t believe the term is almost finished!” exclaimed Peter.

“Yeah, the year did kind of fly by, didn’t it?” commented Remus.

“One more exam and then we’re done!” said Sirius.

“Yeah, so how has Muggle Studies been, Padfoot?” asked James with a smile, already knowing the answer.

Sirius scowled as he glanced at Marlene, who was busy reading her mail. “Annoying as ever with that know-it-all McKinnon in the class.”

“You’re just sore because she charmed your ears to grow out and smack you in the face,” chuckled Remus.

Peter laughed and added, “And remember that time she did that switching spell between his head and his a-”

“Yes, Wormtail! I think we ALL remember that one without it having to be brought up over and over again!” scowled Sirius.

James, Peter, and Remus were hunched over, grabbing their sides from laughing so hard. James had to admit that Marlene and Sirius had a knack for finding the most embarrassing and irritating things to do to each other.

Sirius sat at the table poking at his food before trying to redirect the conversation back to the original topic. “I can’t believe what they want us to do for the Muggle Studies exam. They want us to build a fire - WITHOUT MAGIC! We get to choose between banging some rocks against each other or rubbing sticks together. Muggles are certainly an interesting species. It’s amazing they’ve made it this far without dying off! Maybe I should’ve taken Divination, instead.”

James waved his hand, trying to catch his breath after laughing so hard. “No, mate. Divination isn’t any better. We’re supposed to look at a crystal ball and come up with a prediction. It’s all a bunch of rubbish!”

“I dunno, Prongs,” said Remus. “That old lady seems to know her stuff. Remember after she was scrying for Frank, she warned him to avoid stairs. On his way out of the tower he fell and broke his arm.”

James shrugged and countered, “But that’s Frank! Sirius could have made that prediction and he’s not even taking the class! Moony, I think you’re worried because of the predictions she’s made for you.”

“You have to admit,” started Remus, “her predictions have a ring of truth about them.”

“Her predictions are full of half truths so you will be forced to believe them,” said James. “So you’re going to face an enemy so foul, blah, blah, blah…big surprise. That could mean all sorts of things. It could refer to your ‘alter-monthly-ego’ which in a way is your own worst enemy. It could mean someone who discovers who you are. Again, big IF. Then again, there’s always Voldemort,” said James with disgust. “He’s certainly foul and is gathering more power than anyone would like to admit.”

Peter shuddered at the mention of Voldemort. When the others glanced at him he shook his head and said, “That guy’s name gives me the creeps. He’s attacking more people and nobody can keep track of his pattern. He just seems to show up out of nowhere and strike…”

“So, what- you think Voldemort is going show up here at just the mention of his name by a third year student in one of the safest places in England?” asked Sirius. He smirked and said, “Scared of a name?! That’s crazy!”

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“So how do you think you did in your other exams, Lily?” asked Alice as they walked out of the Great Hall.

“I don’t know. Arithmancy was rather challenging, and I think I mixed up some of the calculations,” replied Lily.

“You say that every time,” said Marlene, “and every time you get an Outstanding.”

Lily blushed and said, “How did you girls do?”

“As far as I can tell, I passed everything so far. How about you, Alice?” asked Marlene.

“I think I did well in DADA, but that’s always been my best subject. I’m not sure about Potions, though. I think my grades might have slipped a little because of Quidditch,” replied Alice.

“You’re just like Lily. You always get top marks, though if you get an Exceeds Expectations then I wouldn’t break down into hysterics, if I were you,” Marlene said dryly. “Besides, you helped us win the Quidditch Cup for the second year in a row. A little slip of the grades was worth it since we won!”

As the girls reached the stairway to the north tower, Alice and Lily wished Marlene good luck on her Muggle Studies exam and started the long trek up to the Divination classroom, pausing only a moment to chat with Sir Cadogan.

When they reached the classroom they found it locked with a few students waiting outside in a line. At the front of the line was a girl in her late teens. She had thick glasses and frizzy hair, with a scarf tied around it in a manner that reminded Lily of Professor Vablatsky. Like the professor she was adorned with large pieces of jewelry.

When she spoke she had a misty voice, one that sounded a bit dramatic. “Students! Please form a line. My great-great grandmother will see each of you for your exam one at a time. Please wait your turn.”

“I didn’t know Vablatsky had a great-great granddaughter. Is she really that old?” whispered Lily.

“From what I’ve heard, I think she had a few kids during her fourth marriage,” replied Alice.

“Fourth?” echoed Lily, surprised.

Alice smirked and said, “Yeah, I heard she’s been married at least seven times. Vablatsky was the name of her most recent husband.”

“What happened to him?” whispered Lily.

“Died,” replied Alice. “It’s sad, because from the rumors I’ve heard, she’s predicted the unfortunate demise of each of her husbands.”

As the girls settled into the line more students gradually arrived forming a line that stretched down a few flights of stairs. Finally, the trap door opened and Dorcas went inside, the door closing behind her. Each student took about five to ten minutes, each coming out with a confused expression. When Alice came out, Lily asked her how it went.

“I couldn’t see anything, so I started making stuff up. I said I saw myself playing professional Quidditch. It was the only thing I could think of!” cried Alice.

“Next!” croaked the voice of Professor Vablatsky.

Alice gave Lily a weak smile before Lily hesitantly stepped into the dark, overheated room. Professor Vablatsky was seated at a table in the center of the room. In the center of the table was a crystal ball, about four inches in diameter. Though the room was dark, the light from the fireplace danced across the surface of the orb causing it to glow a bit. Lily took the only empty seat left at the table and sat down. She gulped and waited for her instructions. Something about Professor Vablatsky always made her nervous.

“Miss Evans, for your exam, I want you to gaze into the crystal and tell me what you see,” said Professor Vablatsky.

Lily took a deep breath and focused her attention on the crystal, trying to block out the probing blue eyes that were studying her. She sat for several minutes, gazing and trying in vain to see something. She was not surprised at the lack of vision, for she had never had any during class.

“What is it you see, child?” asked the professor.

Lily sighed and said in a tight voice, “I’m sorry, Professor. I can’t see anything.”

Vablatsky smiled and said, “Look closer.”

Lily leaned toward the glass orb and said, “All I see are my eyes staring back at me.”

“What else?” asked the professor.

Lily looked again. She could still see the eyes, but as she looked she could see nothing else. “That’s funny…I see my eyes but I don’t see any other part of my reflection.”

Professor Vablatsky nodded and with a gnarled hand reached for her quill to record something on her parchment. “Very good, Miss Evans. You are excused.”

Lily sat there for a moment, confused. How on Earth could she be finished? She hadn’t seen anything, yet her professor had acted satisfied about her comments. She shakily grabbed her bag and headed toward the door, realizing why each of the previous students had had a confused expression when they had finished their exam.

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Remus and James were silently plotting an end-of-term prank while waiting their turn for the Divination exam. Not much could be overheard of their scheme by the other students except the occasional muttering of ‘Snivellus,’ ‘bagpipes,’ and ‘scarlet and gold kilt.’

James noticed Lily walking down the steps from her exam and asked, “How’d it go, Evans?”

Remus noticed Lily’s odd expression and said, “Is everything alright, Lily?”

Lily paused to face them, though directing her words more to Remus than James. “Honestly, I’m not sure how I did. I didn’t think I saw anything but she seemed happy anyway.”

“James here thinks that if we make up some half-truths then she’ll be satisfied,” said Remus.

“That’s what Alice did - she made stuff up,” said Lily. “I’d better go catch up with her.” She smiled at Remus and with a quick glance at James said, “Good luck,” before walking down the stairs.

James was silent for a bit after that, feeling a sense of déjà vu. His mind traveled back to the previous year before a Quidditch match when he thought he had heard Lily tell him good luck as he had been leaving the Great Hall. ‘Nah,’ he thought. ‘She’d been saying that to Remus just now.’ After all, she had made it clear how immature she thought he was for picking on Snivellus. Why then, would she bother to wish him luck?

When it was his turn to take the exam, James found himself in the same chair that Lily had been in, facing the crystal ball. He sat in his seat with a bored expression as he stared at the crystal. After several minutes he looked up at Professor Vablatsky, hoping to find a way to end the exam.

“So, Mr. Potter, tell me what you see,” said the Professor. Before James could respond she added, “And do not ‘make it up’ as you were planning. Tell me what you really see.”

James had a cat-who-ate-the-canary look as he pondered what to do now to pass the class. How was he supposed to pass if he couldn’t see anything and couldn’t make anything up?

“Just tell me what you see,” urged the professor.

James tried to humor her by looking into the crystal ball again, but after a moment he looked at her and said, “I’m not sure what to tell you, Professor. All I see is my reflection.”

Professor Vablatsky smiled and said, “Are you so sure about that?” When James raised his eyebrows in frustration, she gently said, “Look again.”

This time James looked at the crystal and focused on his reflection. Only this time, James noticed something odd about the reflection. Professor Vablatsky noticed the change in James’ face and asked, “What is it, Mr. Potter?”

James shook his head and said, “It’s my reflection, only it’s different in a way. In the image, my nose is a little shorter - but that could just be from the shape of the glass.”

“What else?” probed the professor.

“My eyes…they aren’t the same color. They’re green. They look different though…not just the color. They look older,” said James. He hadn’t noticed the change in his demeanor as he had gone from acting bored to gazing intensely at the image.

“Do you see anything else?” asked the professor.

“Yeah,” said James. “There’s some kind of mark on my forehead.” He reached up and touched his forehead, searching for evidence of what he saw reflecting back at him.

“Very good, Mr. Potter,” said Professor Vablatsky as she marked her parchment. “You are excused.”

James shook his head as he walked to the exit. By the time he was climbing down the ladder he had convinced himself that the changes in his reflection had been from the firelight dancing across his reflection, and nothing more than that.

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When James walked into the Great Hall to meet his friends for dinner he noticed a subdued and fearful attitude amongst the students. Groups of students were huddled together whispering in shaky voices. When James reached his friends he sat down and asked what was going on.

“Voldemort and his supporters have struck again,” replied Sirius. “Honestly, Wormtail! Quit flinching every time I say his name!”

“What happened?” asked James.

Remus replied, “Edgar and Amelia Bones’ mum and grandparents were killed.”

“Bones? Their names are familiar but I can’t match them with the faces,” said James.

“They’re in Ravenclaw. Their folks both work (or in their mum’s case- worked) for the Ministry. Their mum was Muggleborn and she had been visiting her parents when the attack occurred,” said Remus. “Their dad is a Ministry official.”

“I just don’t understand this,” growled James. “How does he keep getting more supporters? How is he not getting caught?”

“He’s very advanced in Dark Magic, Prongs,” said Remus. Remus, Sirius, and Peter all knew that this would hit James close to home after what had happened to his father.

“That doesn’t matter!” roared James. “With all these attacks happening, someone has to know how to stop him, Moony!”

Remus paused and looked over James’ shoulder. “Hi Lily,” he said.

James turned around and saw Lily standing behind him with Alice approaching. Lily had a strange look on her face as she stared at Remus. All of a sudden her eyes widened as if she suddenly remembered something. Alice poked her in the side. Lily turned to her and remembered they were on their way down the table to sit with Marlene. She turned back to Remus, smiled, and muttered a quick ‘hello’ before rushing to meet Marlene.

“That was odd,” said Sirius.

The Marauders gave each other a questioning look before launching into a more pleasant subject, like the latest prank they had planned for Snivellus.

Remus, on the other hand, ate his dinner silently as he pondered why Lily had looked at him like that.

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A/N: Okay - I took a little liberty with Vablatsky’s character. She is Cassandra Vablatsky, the woman who wrote Unfogging the Future. That, several of you figured out. If you recall, the name of Sibyl Trelawney’s great-great-grandmother was Cassandra Trelawney. I found it an amazing coincidence that there are two Seers whose first name is Cassandra, so I decided to make them one in the same. I just made the connection by having Professor Vablatsky married multiple times, hence the change in last name.

Thanks to my latest reviewers: nanopy, hermionelover101 (x2), Jo Bob, A New Reader (x3), Florina, Alicia, Mani12191, Nyscat (x5), sista7, Golden Phoenix (x2).

Next chapter: The students head home for the summer. This summer will focus more on Sirius and Remus and their lives at home.

49. Return to Grimmauld Place

Warning: This chapter contains some child abuse.

Chapter 49: Return to Grimmauld Place

The last few days of term passed without much chaos, that is, except for a few mysterious happenings. Severus Snape ended up in the hospital wing for the afternoon while Madame Pomfrey tried to find the appropriate charm to remove bagpipes from his mouth. Students who walked by the hospital wing could hear the grating off-key tones of the instrument as Snape grunted in frustration.

The other mysterious event that occurred was the sudden disappearance of Professor Peurom. Emmeline Vance had gone to his office to discuss her DADA grade and had found his desk and bookshelves completely cleared out. When she encountered Professor Dumbledore in the corridor and asked him about it he nodded his head sadly though he did not seem surprised.

James wondered where Professor Peurom went and why he left in such a rush. He had wanted to ask the professor more about the Veil but Peurom had been able to avoid James by leaving class as soon as his lectures were finished. James resigned himself to the idea that this mystery would not be completely solved.

He and the rest of the school turned their attentions toward the upcoming summer. For the first time in a few years James was looking forward to going home. Ever since the incident with his boggart James felt foolish about how he had acted around his mum after the death of his father. He had never thought his father’s death was his mum’s fault, but he had had difficulty seeing the grief in her eyes when he had not been able to acknowledge his own. Now that he had finally released some of his pent up grief he felt more comfortable at the thought of returning home. The thing that bothered James most about returning home would be the separation from his friends.

James had invited Sirius over for the summer however Sirius told James he was expected to return to his family’s home. Sirius was rather tight-lipped when the Marauders spoke of their summer plans. Sirius did not want to think about being around his family for such a long time. He tried to concentrate on having fun before he was forced to board the train that would drag him home.

If he had his druthers he would have gone to James’ home, but he knew his parents would never allow him to step into the home of ‘blood traitors.’ They didn’t know about Sirius’ visits during the other school holidays. As far as they knew he had stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas and Easter. Since no student was permitted to remain at Hogwarts during the summer holiday Sirius did not have an excuse to give his family for not returning home.

“You okay, mate?” asked James as the Hogwarts Express made its way into King’s Cross Station.

Sirius grabbed his trunk and with sarcasm said, “Never better.”

James knew that Sirius was not looking forward to returning home and he suspected that his parents did not treat him well. He remembered Mrs. Black slapping Sirius before their first journey to Hogwarts and he was pretty sure he had seen a bruise on his friend’s face last summer when they contacted each other through their mirrors.

Sirius never told James the entire truth about his visits home. It wasn’t that he was trying to protect his family. Sirius didn’t want to admit to his friends that his parents could affect him so negatively. He preferred to be the easy-going friend, the brave Gryffindor. Ever since he had been sorted into Gryffindor he wanted to make it clear that he belonged there. His pranking and hexing the Slytherins wasn’t just good fun. James had his reasons for hating Slytherins - he associated them with the people who killed his father. Sirius had his own reasons - he associated them with his family.

As Sirius slowly made his way through the barrier he saw Marianne hugging James. When she looked up and saw him she smiled and waved in greeting. Sirius started to smile but froze when he saw the cold probing eyes of his mother 10 feet away. Sirius glanced at Marianne and James and as he walked past them he forced a smile and told James he’d see him in a few months. Sirius’ mother narrowed her dark eyes at her oldest son as he approached her.

“What were you doing with those blood traitors?” she sneered as she glared in the direction of Marianne and James.

“Hello to you too, Mother,” muttered Sirius.

Elphaba Black tightly grabbed Sirius’ arm and started to pull him out of the station. As they made their way into a nearby alley she pushed him against the wall and said, “Don’t you use that smart mouth with me! You may be a disgrace to the Black family name but I’ll be damned if you will speak to me like that, especially in public!” She picked up an old shoe and looked at her watch. Holding the shoe toward her son she ordered, “Go on, grab hold of it. The portkey’s due to leave in a minute.”

Sirius tightened his grip on his trunk as he reluctantly touched the shoe with his other hand. A few seconds later came the familiar tugging at his navel that indicated that they were being transported home. Once they landed Sirius’ frown deepened as he saw the Black family estate on Grimmauld Place. To Sirius, seeing his childhood home did not bring back fond memories - it was like a prison except the only thing missing was a dementor guarding the door.

Elphaba pushed her son toward the stairs and scolded, “Hurry up! The last thing I need is for some filthy Muggles to see us.”

Sirius scowled at the familiar sight of the silver door knocker in the shape of a serpent. His family had a penchant for serpents, seeing as how they were all Slytherins. As they walked inside he saw the chandelier and candelabra, also in the shape of serpents.

“So, you’re back, are you?” sneered a voice to his left. Sirius looked over to see the portrait of his mother frowning at him. “Thought you’d have been disowned by now, you shameful Gryffindor!”

Sirius shook his head and dragged his trunk to the stairs. As he made the ascent he saw the familiar sight of the shrunken house elf heads glaring at him as if he had been the one to perform their decapitation.

“Mr. Sirius! Mr. Sirius! You’s back. Let Beeste get your trunk for you.”

Sirius turned to the house elf as he hobbled toward him. He smiled as he saw the tiny elf snap his fingers, elevating his trunk. “Thanks, Beeste.” Beeste had been with his family since Sirius was a toddler and he always showed Sirius some kindness, though he had to hide it from the rest of the family.

As they reached the door to the bedroom, Sirius paused. He recalled being locked inside on many occasions as punishment, the worst being the summer after his first year when he had been locked inside for almost the entire holiday. His room was both his prison and his haven away from his family. At least when he was locked up they left him alone. It was for that reason only that Sirius was able to step inside the room.

“Leave us, Beeste,” came the voice of Elphaba from the doorway. The small elf scurried out of the room after bowing low toward his mistress. She turned her gaze on Sirius and said, “We are having company this evening. Your aunt, uncle and cousins will be here to honor the completion of Andromeda’s studies. You will make yourself presentable and keep your mouth shut during their visit.” Without waiting for a reply she turned and stormed out of the room.

Sirius opened his trunk and pulled out a calendar. “Welcome home, Sirius,” he spat. “Only 65 days left in this hellhole until I can return to my real home.”

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That evening Sirius waited until he heard the voices of his cousins before grudgingly making his way to the dining room. As he entered he saw his father seating himself at the head of the table and his mother seating herself opposite him. His aunt and uncle sat near his father while he saw Andromeda, Narcissa, and Bellatrix seated with Regulus. There was one seat left and it was between Regulus and his mother.

“Stop dawdling and sit so we can eat,” ordered Elphaba.

Dinner was nothing that Sirius wasn’t used to. He listened as his parents praised Regulus for receiving his Hogwarts letter. They were not thrilled about sending their youngest son to the school that had placed their eldest son in Gryffindor, but after Sirius’ antics at Durmstrang the other wizarding schools were not eager to accept another Black just yet. Still, his parents were proud that Regulus was a wizard and hoped that he would uphold the Black traditions and values.

Since the dinner was in honor of his cousin, a large portion of the conversation was centered around Andromeda. She was awaiting the results of her NEWTs and was enjoying a break before applying for jobs at the Ministry.

“I’m certain they will accept your application, Andromeda,” said Elphaba. “After all, the Black family has been established for generations. They wouldn’t dare turn you away. It’s good to see that more people such as yourself will be able to make a difference at the Ministry.” She glanced at Sirius and said, “Merlin knows there are too many half breeds, Mudbloods, and blood traitors trying to change the way things should be.”

Sirius turned a few shades of red as he tried to focus on eating his dinner. He wanted to shake his mother and scream the truth at her about where she could put her so-called beliefs. He knew, however, that that would make things much worse for him. He knew she was looking at him, egging him on to see if he would be disobedient. He wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of knowing she had gotten to him. ‘In a few years,’ he thought to himself, ‘in a few years, I won’t ever have to see them again.’

He tried to ignore the conversation until he heard the name ‘Potter’ mentioned. He looked at his father who was saying, “I agree. The Potters are the biggest blood traitors out there. They have been blessed with generations of wizard’s blood and they want to dirty themselves supporting half breeds and Mudbloods.”

Regulus grinned and said, “Narcissa, weren’t you saying something about one of the Potter’s earlier?”

Narcissa tucked a strand of her long blonde hair behind her ear and sweetly replied, “Oh, yes! I was recalling some of the trouble that Sirius got into with James Potter at Hogwarts.” She looked at Sirius with a cool gleam in her pale blue as she continued. “They are best friends, from what I’ve heard and seen.”

Sirius’ dad dropped his fork and spat at Sirius, “You mean to tell me you’re consorting with a Potter?!”

Elphaba narrowed her eyes and said, “Just as I suspected! I saw how friendly you were with that boy in the station. That was Joseph Potter’s son, wasn’t it?”

Sirius couldn’t hold his tongue anymore. He looked his mother squarely in the eye and said, “Yes, James is the son of Joseph Potter.” He turned and looked at his father. “AND he is my friend, my BEST friend.”

“What did you expect, Father?” said Regulus. “He betrayed us by becoming a Gryffindor. Even so, he could have chosen to ignore Potter and find more suitable friends.”

Sirius clenched his fists as he looked at his weasel of a brother, who just smirked back at him.

Octavius Black slammed his fist onto the table and said, “You are NOT to speak to that boy again!”

Sirius stood up and yelled, “I will speak with whomever I wish! He’s my friend and that will NEVER change!”

Octavius slowly stood up, his dark eyes menacing. “What did you say, boy?”

Ignoring his survival instincts, Sirius continued, “You heard what I said! James Potter is my friend and he has more honor in his pinky than all of you combined! You’re all a bunch of phony, stuck-up bigots!”

Sirius stormed out of the room and ran to his bedroom, slamming the door behind him. He paced the room, trying to work off some of the angry energy that had invaded his system. He kicked his trunk, causing him to curse and rub his toes.

A minute later Octavius burst through the door, his face flushed and fury pulsating through him. He strode the short distance between himself and his son and struck Sirius across the face, sending him to the floor. He leaned over and lifted Sirius by the collar. “Don’t you ever disrespect me or the family name!”

Sirius glared back at him with his rebellious black eyes, one of which had a nasty bruise starting to form. This infuriated Octavius further and he flung Sirius back to the floor and pulled out his wand.

Sirius sneered and taunted, “Going to cast the Cruciatus Curse, Father?” Although Sirius dreaded the Unforgivable Curse, a part of him hoped his father would cast it so he could be sent to Azkaban.

Octavius shook his head and gave his son a cold, calculating smile. “Do you think I would be stupid enough to cast an Unforgivable Curse?” Before Sirius could reply he said, “There are other curses that can be cast that will produce similar results, just not to the degree of the Cruciatus Curse.” Sirius’ eyes widened as his father flicked his wand and pointed it at Sirius’ leg.

Sirius’ face tightened as he felt a tremendous amount of pressure being cast upon his right leg. He wanted to cry out but didn’t want to give his father the satisfaction of seeing that weakness. Finally, a minute later his father lifted the curse and said, “You will not speak with that boy again.”

Sirius caught his breath, feeling sweat dripping down his temple. “I will!” he shouted.

Once again Octavius raised his wand and cast a curse, this time causing Sirius right arm to feel as if it was being twisted. This continued off an on for about a half hour - Octavius casting painful curses and demanding obedience while Sirius defiantly told him to go to Hell. Toward the end Sirius could not take much more of the pain and was near losing consciousness. Octavius stood over him and said, “If you insist on defying me then I will not let you out of this room. Let’s see how many meals you can miss before you feel ready to comply.”

As darkness crept into Sirius’ vision he heard the sound of his door being locked.

A few hours later he woke to the vibrations of the mirror in his shirt pocket. He groggily reached up and pulled out the mirror, relieved to see it had not broken during his punishment. Sirius, painful from the curses, crept to a dark corner of his room where he felt James wouldn’t be able to see his bruises. He looked into the mirror and said his friend’s name, allowing James’ face to appear in the glass.

Sirius threw on his most convincing grin and said, “Prongs! How’s your holiday so far?”

James grinned back and said, “Interesting to say the least. Mum got a cat. She said the house seemed too empty, even with Joseph on the dining room wall to keep her company.”

“A cat?!” Sirius did not have much of a liking for the little fur balls. They reminded him of Mrs. Norris and he fondly recalled the last time they had stuffed her in the Vanishing Cabinet.

“Yeah, a cat,” replied James. “It’s already torn up half the furniture but Mum doesn’t seem to mind. That’s a complete surprise since she always jumped down my throat if I came near the furniture with dirty hands. Guess I know who she cares about most!” joked James.

Sirius smirked but his breath caught as he felt a jab a pain shoot up from his ribs.

James noticed and squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look at his friend who was in the shadows. “You okay, Padfoot?”

“Fine,” Sirius stiffly replied.

“Are you sure? I mean, has your family given you any trouble yet?” asked James.

Sirius didn’t look at the mirror, fearing he would see pity from his friend’s eyes. He hurriedly grinned and said, “I’m just thinking of ways to welcome my little brother to Hogwarts this fall after he makes it into Slytherin! I was thinking of using the Jelly-Legs Jinx after he gets off the stool to walk to the Slytherin table.”

James took Sirius’ cue that he did not want to delve into his latest family experiences and they spent the next half hour thinking of ways to humiliate Regulus at school.

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A/N: So…sorry it isn’t pleasant, but that is the start of Sirius’ summer. I had to write it this way because in a few years he’ll be running away - have to show his home life and what events lead up to his leaving. Plus, it’ll make James and his mum’s friendship with him that much more important.

Another bonus question! à Where did I get the name of Sirius’ mum from?

Thanks to my wonderful reviewers: hpfreak, Alicia, lilly flower, Mrs. Pendragan (x2), likediamondrain, Anu, mani12191, Jo Bob, sweetie513, mystical cah (x2), sista7 (x2), I <3 Harry…, Nyscat, delpheena (x2).

Shameless plug: I just wrote another one-shot Lily/James ficlet. It’s meant to be humorous. It’s called Music of the Night. Scroll on down and click on the link - let me know what you think.

Next chapter: We’ll see how Remus is doing at home this summer.

50. The Weary Werewolf

Chapter 50: The Weary Werewolf

Remus moaned and turned over, feeling the familiar sense of aching nausea overcome him. Even though there were no windows and no functional clocks in the space, he knew it was morning. He knew because he was human again. Even though his body rebelled and sent pain shooting through every inch of him, he felt relief at knowing he was no longer a monster, that he wouldn’t have to face that part of him until next month.

Remus painfully picked himself off of the floor and felt around for some candles and matches, which were usually hidden in the corner where he would be less likely to destroy them during his transformation. Once he had lit a few wicks, he steeled himself to gaze around the room and assess the damage caused from the previous night.

It was difficult to see what he had done overnight since the walls bore the marks of many previous transformations. His trained eye, though, was able to see the fresher claw marks through the dust. Remus studied the new marks and noticed some marks next to it that were much smaller. They had likely been cut into the wall when he was much younger and smaller.

As Remus reached to the wall to trace the marks with his fingers he winced as he saw some deep scratches on his right forearm. On his left arm there were a few bite wounds. They were not as deep as they would have been had they been on another victim. These wounds were made during his madness yet even then he could feel enough pain to ease up on himself.

Every day since Remus had become a werewolf he was thankful that he had not bitten someone - either killing them or cursing them to his fate. There had been a close call during his first transformation. The healers at St. Mungo’s had tried to make it clear to his parents how important it was to lock Remus away during the full moon. Even though he was only five years old he could still inflict quite a bit of harm on an adult and could spread his illness to someone. His parents had tried to comply that first night. They had set up this basement room and explained to Remus that he would have to be left alone.

During the transformation his parents stood outside the door, listening as their only remaining son screamed in agony at the changes that coursed through his body. Before Remus had completely transformed he banged on the door in his delirium, begging his parents to help him.

His mother, still mourning the loss of Romulus, had felt a tightening around her heart as she listened to Remus’ pleas for help. Before she could think about what she was doing she unlocked the door and rushed into the basement room to try and comfort her son. When she saw him she froze. Remus was a foot taller with hunched shoulders, fur sprouting along his face and limbs as his hands curled into clawed paws. He looked up at his mother, his glowing yellow eyes meeting hers.

“Remus?” she had weakly asked.

The boy werewolf had growled and leapt toward his mother. As he neared her a spell rushed from behind Ida Lupin and into the werewolf, stunning it. Remus’ dad had grabbed his wife dragging her out of the room, for the stunning spell on a werewolf would only last a few seconds. The door was locked and from that point on it stayed locked during the duration of the full moon.

The morning after Remus’ first transformation his parents treated him differently. Initially they had been so wracked with grief for Romulus and worry for Remus, they had not had time to truly process what Remus’ lycanthropy would mean. Seeing their son in his werewolf form had driven home the point that Remus was different, that he was dangerous at times and would be viewed by the public as a pariah. Their son’s life as they knew it was over and all their hopes for a bright future were buried with Romulus. Not only did they have to deal with the disappointment, they had to deal with the newfound fear of their son. This created a rift between the Lupin’s and their remaining son.

Remus, now, glanced at the door wondering when he would be released. He did not expect to leave the space anytime soon. His parents feared him, and did not want to take any chances coming across his monstrous alter ego, so they often left him in the dark basement until midday, even though Remus transformed back early in the morning. This left him plenty of time to sit and stare at the room. This room represented nothing but bad memories. This was where he was forced to endure his fate.

It was different from the Shrieking Shack. Even though Remus went through the same transformation there he did not associate it with as much negativity as this cold, dark room. He associated this room with the memories of his first, most painful transformations, and his parents’ newfound attitude toward him. He associated this room with prison, for he was locked for countless hours even after he regained his human form.

At the Shrieking Shack, Remus endured his transformations and first thing in the morning was met by the smiling, sympathetic face of Madame Pomfrey at the base of the Whomping Willow. After he returned he could count on his best friends for their support. The Shrieking Shack itself was a building made available for Remus’ presence at Hogwarts. The Whomping Willow had been planted because of his arrival. Their existence allowed Remus the chance for a high quality education and lasting friendships. The Shack and Willow represented hope.

Remus could still remember getting his Hogwarts letter. His parents had resigned themselves to sending him to a Muggle school, even if he would be out ‘sick’ every month. When the letter arrived they thought it must have been a cruel joke, but shortly thereafter Professor Dumbledore arrived and sat down with them in their living room. He explain his ideas about how to keep Remus and the other students safe during the full moon. His parents had reservations, worried that Remus’ secret would be discovered. After much pleading from their son and a great deal of convincing from the headmaster, the Lupin’s relented and allowed Remus to attend Hogwarts.

After a few hours Remus heard the familiar sound of the lock turning. Remus wearily made his way to the door and opened it, hearing the sound of footsteps dying away. On the bottom step there was a first aid kit with some magical salves and potions to aid with his wounds and pain. Remus was used to this by now. Ever since he had been old enough he had been left on his own after being released so that he could mend his own wounds.

After he had patched himself up he walked up the stairs into the kitchen, where he saw two owls perched on the back of a chair. Remus smiled. He knew who the owls were from and why. Whenever he was home on holiday and had to endure a full moon, he could count on his friends to send their encouragement. He approached the first one, a small, plump brown owl with large yellow eyes. It stuck out its leg, impatient to make its delivery, incensed at having to wait all morning to do so. Remus took the letter and gave it a treat from a jar on the counter before it hooted and flew out of the kitchen window. Remus opened the parchment which read:

Dear Remus,

I hope that all went well last night and that you are recovering well. Are you enjoying your summer so far? (Except for the obvious monthly interludes, that is.) My summer is rather boring. My family decided we should visit my great-aunt Helga. She’s as blind as she is crazy and keeps yelling at us to leave before she summons the Magical Law Enforcement Squad. She was my mum’s favorite aunt however Helga doesn’t recognize anyone now that she’s over 100.

Needless to say, I cannot wait to return to Hogwarts. Have you heard about what Padfoot and Prongs are planning for our return? I hope we can sneak over to Honeydukes. I miss their exploding bonbons.

I have to go now. Mum says it’s time to walk Aunt Helga. See you soon!

Your friend,

Peter

Remus smiled and shook his head. Leave it to Peter to get bullied by a 100+ year old woman. He never did stand up for himself much unless the other Marauders were standing beside him.

Another hoot sounded in the room, surprising Remus. He had forgotten the second owl was there. James’ owl did not look as indignant as Peter’s owl, however Peter’s owl was borrowed from the post office and likely had other deliveries to make. Remus took the rather mangled looking parchment from James’ owl and gave it a treat. The owl perched patiently as Remus read through the letter, waiting to see if Remus would send a reply back to James.

Moony,

Did everything turn out okay last night? Don’t worry, there’s one more step to finish and then you won’t have to suffer through it alone. I am rather irritated about the Decree about underage students using magic at home. You would think practicing magic at home would be encouraged. After all, the professors are always on our case about studying!

My holiday isn’t very exciting. I’m sleeping in every day and out on my Nimbus when I’m not sleeping or eating. I got a letter from Wood the other day - he reckons I have a shot at making Captain after he graduates.

Every so often I hear from Padfoot. His summer sounds like his previous holidays at home. He’s not allowed to use the owl post so that’s why you haven’t heard from him. We communicate through our mirrors. I have a sneaking suspicion that Padfoot is not telling me something. Whenever we speak I can hardly see him because it’s so dark on his end. I know being around his family is difficult for him but I don’t remember his being so down last summer when we spoke. He tries to cover it up with jokes, of course, but I can tell there is something wrong. He doesn’t want to tell me so I guess I’ll just have to let it be for now.

I look forward to September when we’ll be back at Hogwarts where we can have some real fun. I think we’ve been rather tame so far with our mischief so why don’t we really leave our mark there this year?

Your fellow Marauder,

Prongs

P.S. Sorry about the condition of the parchment. My mum’s new cat decided to use it rather than its scratching post.

Remus chuckled. ‘Leave it to James to find a way to make me laugh this morning,’ he thought. He wondered what was happening with Sirius. He and James were the closest of friends, so it was easy for them to tell when something was bothering each other.

Remus had gotten a quick glimpse of Mrs. Black as he was crossing the barrier at Platform 9 ¾ at the beginning of the summer. She looked downright scary, dragging Sirius out of the station. Remus did not see much resemblance between mother and son, other than the dark hair and eyes. The angry eyes of Mrs. Black were eyes that Remus had witnessed in his friend only when Sirius had been angered by something the Slytherins had said or done. Remus hoped that the Blacks would allow Sirius to return to Hogwarts that fall. He remembered the two weeks when Sirius had been missing from Hogwarts, forced to attend Durmstrang.

“Remus,” called the voice of his mother.

Remus turned around and saw her standing in the doorway. “Yes, Mum?” he asked.

She looked toward him, but couldn’t bring herself to get a good view of him the morning after the full moon. She couldn’t handle seeing his self-inflicted wounds and bruises. “There’s some food on the counter for you. If you would like I can heat it for you,” she said rather formally.

“No thanks, Mum,” replied Remus, still feeling nauseated. “I’m not hungry.”

“What is that you have?” she asked, seeing the parchments in his hands. She walked toward him, looking at the letters.

“Some letters from my friends at Hogwarts,” said Remus.

Before he could pull them out of her view, she looked up at him with shock. “Why is that addressed to ‘Moony’?” Remus opened his mouth to reply but sudden realization came to his mother’s face. “You’re Moony? Do they know?!”

“Yes,” he replied.

“WHAT?” she shouted.

“What’s going on in here?” came the voice of Remus’ father.

Ida Lupin turned to her husband and said, “Your son has told his friends about his…you know…his condition.”

Julius Lupin looked at his son with disbelief and said, “Tell me that’s not true.”

“It’s not true,” said Remus.

Julius sighed with relief and said, “So they don’t know?”

Remus shook his head and said, “No, they do know. I didn’t tell them, though. They figured it out.”

“But you confirmed it!” bellowed Julius.

“Eventually, yes,” said Remus.

“How COULD you?” cried Ida. “You could have denied it. You could have…”

“What?” asked Remus. “Continued to make up ridiculous excuses every month for my absences…on the FULL MOON?!”

“YES!” shouted Julius. “We agreed to let you attend Hogwarts as long as you were kept away during the full moon and as long as nobody found out about your condition.”

“My condition?!” shouted Remus. “After 9 years, can’t you even say the word? I am a WEREWOLF!”

Julius and Ida blanched at the word. After a minute Julius slowly asked, “How many know? How long have they known?”

“Sirius and James have known since the end of first year,” said Remus. “Peter found out at the beginning of second year.”

Ida shook her head in disbelief. “How is this possible? Why haven’t we heard from their parents?”

“Because they’re my friends,” said Remus emphatically. “They don’t care about my being a werewolf. It doesn’t make a bit of difference to them. They promised not to tell because I asked them not to, not because they think it’s something to be ashamed of.” He felt another wave of nausea pass over him. After taking a deep breath, he glared accusingly at his parents and said, “And you know what? They’re supportive of me before and after the transformations. They don’t leave me locked in some cold dark place afterward!”

His parents looked back at him in shocked silence. Remus was not normally like this toward them. Usually he followed his parents lead and kept his distance in the days surrounding the full moon. He did not talk back or yell at them and they pretended like things were fine, though they were always a bit formal with their son. They were not prepared to hear his accusations and resentment.

Julius cleared his throat and haltingly said, “Just…make sure that no one else finds out.” He turned and guided his wife out of the kitchen.

Remus shook his head and looked down at his feet. For nine years he had been trying to regain their approval. He had gotten accepted into Hogwarts and made excellent grades despite his frequent absences. He had worked hard to make them proud. Now, he knew that it would not be possible. His parents were only fulfilling the duties they had to in order to finish raising him.

Now, Remus knew that he had to stop striving for their approval. He would still work hard, but only to prove to himself that he could succeed, even as a werewolf. He would not try to make his parents proud - he would work to make himself proud and to make his friends proud. Remus found a blank piece of parchment and started to write back to James and Peter.

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A/N: Once again, a chapter that is not exactly sunshine and roses. I think this’ll give Sirius and Remus good reason to really appreciate the friendships they have developed at Hogwarts.

Answer to the latest ‘bonus’ question: Elphaba (the name I gave Sirius’ mum) was taken from Gregory Maguire’s novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Elphaba was the Wicked Witch of the West. Wicked is also a popular musical, too. Kudos to delpheena and Anonymous for getting it right! For one extra point - how did Gregory Maguire come up with the name Elphaba?

Thanks to my latest reviewers: Anu, Nyscat, delpheena, Alicia, James Love, PottersPrincess, Golden Phoenix, Remus’Sweetie, Anonymous (x2), mani12191, granger1191 (x2), mrs. padfoot, mystical cah, and Jo Bob.

Next chapter: More of Sirius’ summer.

51. Four Hours of Freedom

Chapter 51: Four Hours of Freedom

“Get up!”

Sirius lazily rolled over and glared at the doorway. “What do you want?”

His mother stood there with a scowl and replied, “The letters from the school came for you and Regulus. We are going to collect your school supplies. Make yourself presentable and make sure you are on your best behavior.”

“I will if you will,” muttered Sirius as she left. He picked himself up off of the bed and strolled into the bathroom. Looking into the mirror, he saw how much he had changed during the summer. His cheeks were more hollow and his normally bright black eyes were rather dull. His hair, normally well-coifed, was dull and tangled. He had been locked in his room for the summer, so who was to see him if he didn’t comb his hair? Besides, his unkempt appearance seemed to irritate his parents more, so that was an added bonus.

Sirius heard the sound of his bedroom door opening and walked back into the room to see who was there. It was Beeste, one of the house elves. He was carrying a tray full of food for breakfast.

“Good morning, Mister Sirius! Missus says you are to eat today before you leave for the shopping!” he bowed and placed the tray on the night table.

“Thanks Beeste,” Sirius gratefully said. His mouth watered at the sight of all the food that had been kept from him for weeks.

Beeste gave Sirius a nervous smile. He understood that Sirius was not only thanking him for the breakfast. Beeste had been sneaking him food all summer. He had to be very careful, for the rest of the family would punish him severely for doing so behind their backs. They had not forbidden Beeste from bringing Sirius food. Octavius Black had told the house elves that Sirius was not to be allowed out of his room for meals. He never said anything about not bringing meals to Sirius. The scraps of food that were snuck to the teenager had been meager but had been enough to sustain Sirius. During those weeks, the Blacks could not understand how the boy had managed to remain obstinate despite his punishment.

After tackling every crumb of his breakfast, Sirius felt more like his old self. He decided that he did not want to appear defeated by his family so he cleaned himself up and found a set of his best Gryffindor school robes. He combed his hair and got dressed, noticing that his robes were a few inches shorter on him than they were the previous year. He didn’t realize he had grown so much. ‘No matter,’ he thought. He wanted to prove to his parents that despite their treatment of him he was still a proud Gryffindor, even if he had to wear robes he had outgrown. He didn’t want to look like some pampered pureblooded fool.

Just then, Regulus poked his head into the room.

“Speak of the devil…” mused Sirius.

“What?” asked Regulus.

Sirius snorted and said, “Never mind. What do you want?”

Regulus eyed Sirius’ attire, sneered at him and said, “Mother says to hurry up and get downstairs. We’re leaving soon.”

Sirius walked out of the room and down the stairs. When he reached the drawing room he saw his mother and brother standing by the fireplace. Elphaba gave Sirius an impatient look while he approached them. She scowled when she saw what Sirius was wearing.

Sirius felt something shove past him and he looked down to see his mother’s personal house elf, Kreacher. Kreacher had been with his mother since before she had married Octavius. He was disgustingly loyal to her.

Elphaba saw her house elf and asked, “Well? Did you find them?”

Kreacher nodded and bowed lowly, clutching something to his chest for dear life. “Yes, Missus. Kreacher has found them.”

Elphaba impatiently said, “Hurry it up, then. I don’t have all day.”

Kreacher reached toward her and opened his palm, revealing her favorite pair of diamond earrings. She grabbed them and started putting them on, all the while explaining the importance of how the matriarch of the Black family presented herself to the public.

After she dismissed Kreacher he reluctantly shuffled away from his mistress and glanced up at Sirius as he left the room. Sirius could have sworn he heard the elf mutter, “Ungrateful, disloyal child - breaks the mistress’ heart, such a disappointment.”

Sirius was tempted to mount Kreacher’s head next to the retired house elves however his mother ordered him to hurry to the fireplace so they could leave.

They arrived at their usual destination - Knockturn Alley. Elphaba nobly greeted a few people she recognized, and as they walked by they aimed curious glances toward Sirius. Elphaba noticed this and hissed, “You and your robes are bringing embarrassment to this family.” She pulled out a handful of galleons and handed them to Sirius along with his Hogwarts supply list. “Go along and find what you need. Stay out of trouble and be back here in 4 hours. That should be enough time for Regulus and I to find what he needs. I don’t think I need to remind you what your father will do if you disobey me.”

Sirius snatched the list and the money and hurried away. He had four hours of freedom! With each step he could feel his heart pound a little harder in relief. As he stepped into Diagon Alley he welcomed the warmth of the sun that somehow eluded him in Knockturn Alley.

As he strolled through the cobblestone street he eagerly took in the busy yet cheerful atmosphere. He pulled out his supply list and studied it before deciding where to go first. Looking back up he realized he was a few doors down from Madame Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions so he opted to head there, first. After getting fitted for some larger robes he made his way down the supply list until his bags were full and pockets lighter.

As Sirius walked by the Quidditch Supply Shop he paused. The display had the latest models of the best brooms. The Nimbus 1900 was prominently displayed. Sirius smirked, realizing that James’ rare prototype would now be popular amongst the people that could afford such a broom. He had to admit, it was a fantastic broom. ‘It wouldn’t hurt to go in and take a closer look,’ he thought.

He walked into the store and his eyes swept over the dozens of different model broomsticks lining the walls. There were displays across the floor of Quaffles and Beater clubs and broomstick servicing kits. In the far corner there was a banged up cage with Bludgers inside, slamming against the bars. Not too far away was another cage with glimmering golden Snitches fluttering about.

“Can I help you?” asked the voice of the salesman. Sirius turned around to see a man in his early thirties looking at him thoughtfully.

“I’d like to look at the Nimbus 1900,” replied Sirius.

The salesman looked down his nose and snorted, “You do realize that the Nimbus is our most expensive line?”

Sirius gave the salesman an arrogant smile. After all, he was a Black, and the ability to show arrogance and put people in their place was a quality he had actually enjoyed inheriting from his family. He retorted, “And do you realize that by making me wait to see it you are less likely to earn a commission from the sale of your most expensive line?”

The salesman looked taken aback for a split second before he gave Sirius a broad smile (albeit a fake one) and led him to the display with the Nimbus 1900. He led Sirius into a large adjacent room where he could take a test flight. Sirius, having practiced on James’ broom, decided to test the nerve of the salesman and got a little reckless, zooming around the room at high speed and taking sharp twists and turns. When he finally landed he smiled at the pale sweaty face of the salesman.

After the salesman collected himself he said, “S-so, what do you think?”

Sirius eyed the price tag, noting the hefty number. His mum had carelessly given him quite a few galleons in Knockturn Alley, so Sirius smiled and said, “I’ll take it.” After all, he thought, this was a reward for all of the isolation and starvation he had had to put up with that summer.

The salesman smiled broadly and with a slight bow, said, “Very good, sir. I will wrap this so you can take it with you.”

“No!” commanded Sirius. “You are to mail this to Hogwarts just after the term starts.” Even though his mother was funding the purchase, Sirius didn’t think she needed to know about it.

When he followed the salesman to the counter he noticed the nearby display of Beater’s clubs and decided to spend a few extra Galleons on a new club as well. The club had shock absorbing charms so that with each thwack of the Bludger the club would absorb the force. That way, the Beater’s arm would not tire as quickly. With the new broom and club, he was bound and determined to nab the Beater position on the Gryffindor team that year.

Once Sirius exited the shop he looked at his watch and realized his four hours of freedom was nearly up. The familiar feeling of dread resurfaced in his stomach and he tried to reason a way to slow down time and delay the necessary trip back to Knockturn Alley. He made it to the turnoff to Knockturn Alley and turned around, not ready to face his family after being free of them again.

He found a bench and slumped onto it, rubbing his hands over his face and through his dark, ebony hair. He tilted his head back and stared up at the sky, trying to focus his attention on his purchases, rather than what lay ahead during the next few weeks.

“Black?” came a familiar voice. Sirius looked in front of him and saw McKinnon standing a little to his right. “Are you alright?” she asked. Her eyes, normally annoyed or full of mischief when focused on him, were different. Sirius almost thought she looked concerned about him.

Marlene had been finishing her shopping and had seen Black from the robe shop as she exited. He looked different to her. He did not have his usual cocky, overconfident posture as he sat on the bench. Normally seeing him would make her either think of a hex to practice on him or send her walking in the opposite direction. Today, there had been something that brought her to the front of his bench. When she spoke to him and he looked at her she thought she realized why he had appeared so different. He almost looked resigned, or sad. The was completely unlike the Black who had charmed her to burp every time she said the word ‘and’ during her DADA presentation.

Sirius stared at her for several moments, contemplating whether she was for real or not. Her eyes…they looked so concerned…and kind. Sirius found himself smiling at her and replying, “I’m fine…thanks.”

She looked doubtful for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and smiling back. Before she could say anything more she felt someone touch her arm.

Sirius curiously looked at the boy who had approached McKinnon. He looked a few years older than them and had dark blond hair, gray-blue eyes, and a tan complexion. He studied Sirius for a moment before turning to McKinnon and saying, “Are you ready?”

She nodded and the boy grabbed her hand and led her away. She briefly glanced over her shoulder at Sirius before walking down Diagon Alley. The boy let go of her hand only to bring it across her back and draped over her shoulders. Sirius watched in surprise as she brought her arm around his waist, hugging herself to him as they strolled away.

‘McKinnon’s got a boyfriend?!’ he thought. He felt his mood worsen again as he realized that while his life that summer had been on hold, others had enjoyed their lives and met people. He wondered what else he would discover when he met his friends on the Hogwarts Express in a few weeks. ‘Two weeks,’ he thought. ‘I can certainly survive two more weeks with…them.’

When Sirius’ thoughts returned to his family he jumped, realizing how late he was. He grabbed his bags and sprinted out of Diagon Alley and into Knocturn Alley, finally reaching the store where they had Flooed in. His mother was waiting outside the shop rather impatiently, and when she saw him Sirius realized he would be in for it later.

“Why are you late?” she hissed. “What trouble did you get into?”

“Nothing,” he muttered.

“Did you get everything?” she asked.

“Yes,” he replied.

“Where is the change?” she asked.

Sirius pulled out a few Silver Sickles and a handful of Bronze Knuts. He placed them in her outstretched hand and she eyed him suspiciously.

“Where is the rest of it?” she asked.

Sirius shrugged and said, “Spent it all.”

“ALL of it? How is that possible?” she probed.

“Things are more expensive, I guess,” he replied.

After searching through his bags she shook her head and motioned for him and Regulus to follow her into the shop, where they Flooed back to Grimmauld Place. Sirius reluctantly walked inside and went to his room, throwing his bundles on the bed. He opened his trunk and carefully packed his new purchases amongst his things. Even though he’d been home for the summer he had never unpacked. Throughout his incarceration he had fantasized about grabbing his things and taking off, never to see his family again. Having his trunk packed allowed him to continue that fantasy. Unpacking would have been a sign of resignation.

After locking his trunk, Sirius crept up to the attic. It was a place where his family hated to go. They thought it beneath them to wander amongst the dust and cobwebs when they could just as easily send a house elf up there to get what they needed. It was one of Sirius’ favorite hideouts. He often escaped there to avoid the wrath of his father.

Sirius walked over to the tiny round window and climbed on top of some rickety trunks to peer out onto the street. The sun was starting to get lower in the sky. There were a few kids in the square across the street chasing each other and laughing.

‘Two more weeks,’ he thought. ‘Two more weeks and I’ll be at Hogwarts, far away from here. I’ll be with Prongs, Moony, and Wormtail, figuring out new ways of tormenting Snivellus.’

Sirius pulled out his mirror, wondering if he should call James. His conversations with his best mate had been one of the things that had helped him survive the summer home. James knew about his feelings toward his family but Sirius had never expressed the depth of his anger and hurt. He knew he could trust James but he also felt a steel in his spine, not wanting to become an object of pity or admit that his family could get to him the way they did. Besides, what could James do about it anyway? Sirius would still be forced to return home every summer.

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A/N: Not perfectly pleasant, but at least Sirius took advantage of the money his mum shelled out to buy the broom and club.

FYI - I had asked if anyone knew how Gregory Maguire came up with the name of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. He got it from the author of the Wizard of Oz - Lyman Frank Baum = L-F-B = Elphaba. I’ll go ahead and award the point to delpheena, even though she had to ‘google’ the answer. (smiles)

Thanks to my latest reviewers: Anu, nanopy, Nyscat, Remus’sweetie, delpheena, PottersPrincess, Golden Phoenix, Mani12191, Alicia, Jo Bob, and sista7. Special thanks to everyone now that I have passed the 400 review mark!

Don’t forget to check out Music of the Night, if you haven’t yet. To those who have - thanks for the reviews!

Next chapter: The students leave for their fourth year at Hogwarts. Will definitely have some lighter moments (and hopefully amusing).

52. Meeting Marianne

Chapter 52: Meeting Marianne

“Honestly, James!” exclaimed Marianne. “It’s not that bad.”

“Yes, it is,” muttered James, rubbing a long scratch on his arm. “That little demon did this!”

“Mr. Paws is not a ‘little demon’,” said his mum. “Actually, he can be very sweet.”

James snorted and said, “About as sweet as Snivellus.”

“Who?” questioned Marianne.

“Never mind,” he replied. He shook his head and said, “I just can’t believe you’re taking a crazy cat’s side over your own son!”

They were walking toward barrier between Platforms 9 and 10 at King’s Cross. Marianne stopped and said, “He’s not crazy; he just has a strong personality! And I’m not choosing him over you.” She grinned, ruffled his hair, and said, “You know you’ll always be my baby boy!”

James scowled and said, “I am NOT a baby.”

Marianne decided to have some fun with James stepped towards him, pinching his cheeks. She raised her voice a bit and said, “Oh aren’t you just the cutest little thing, trying to act all grown up!”

“Mum!” James whined as he pushed her pincer-like grips off his cheeks and stepped back, looking around to see if anyone had witnessed the display. He turned back to his mum only to see her chuckling. “Very funny,” he said. “And I’ll have you know that from where I’m standing, I AM practically grown up.” He stepped up to her and looked her straight in the eyes, proving that he was already her height.

“Yes, yes,” she conceded. “You’re growing quicker than I can keep track of. By Christmas you’ll probably be taller than me. If you take after your father you still have quite a bit of height to gain.”

James smiled at the thought. Marianne smiled back, realizing that James was no longer closed off or sad at the mere mention of his father. She wondered what had happened to get him to this point, whether it was time or his friends. She had even found him engrossed in many conversations with Joseph, his father’s portrait, that summer.

James had to admit that it was fun speaking with Joseph. He had learned a few more valuable pieces of information about Hogwarts, including the location of another secret passageway behind a mirror on the fourth floor. It led to a wishing well that was located about 100 feet behind Zonko’s Joke Shop. James couldn’t believe his luck in learning this information, and couldn’t wait to pass it on to Sirius, Remus, and Peter.

They passed through the barrier where the sight of the scarlet steam engine greeted them. Marianne turned to her son and sighed, “Have fun during your fourth year, but please don’t subject me to letters from your Head of House about all the mischief you and your friends get into. I expect you to study hard.”

James smiled innocently and Marianne chuckled, knowing her son and his capacity for mischief.

Just then James noticed three people appear through the barrier. James recognized the woman as Sirius’ mother. He had seen her there at the train station on a few occasions. Beside her was a boy that had to be Regulus, Sirius’ younger brother. Like his older brother, Regulus had black hair and dark eyes however the boy had an haughty look about him, sending disdainful looks toward students who looked like they were Muggleborn or had less money.

James looked to the third person and was shocked at the sight of his best mate. James and Sirius had spoken over the summer however James had never gotten a good look at Sirius through his mirror. Sirius had always stayed in the shadows, presumably because he did not want his family to know he was speaking with a Potter. James watched the thin form of his friend gaze around the platform, finally meeting his eyes. James noticed that Sirius’ hair was longer and fell into his face a little.

Sirius grinned and started walking toward James and Marianne, only to have his arm grabbed by his mother. She pulled him back and although James couldn’t hear the conversation, he could tell they were having a rather heated exchange. Sirius stood straight, which was about an inch taller than Elphaba, and yanked his arm out of her grasp. He muttered something and dragged his trunk toward James. As he approached, his face brightened at the sight of his best friend and surrogate mum.

Marianne was shocked at Sirius’ appearance. He looked like he hadn’t eaten a good meal in months. Her trained Healer’s eye picked up on a slight limp in his right leg. He shook hands with James and clapped him on the shoulder before turning to greet Marianne. Once she looked into his eyes her heart melted and went out to the boy. Even though he had only visited her home a few times she knew he was a good boy and he was almost like a second son to her.

“Morning, Mrs. Potter,” said Sirius.

Marianne walked over to him and gave him a tight hug, feeling how thin he was. She was amazed that despite his lack of nutrition he had gained a few inches and was even taller than James. When she pulled back she smiled at him and said, “How many times do I need to tell you, Sirius? You can call me Marianne!”

“Oh, yeah,” smiled Sirius.

Marianne scrutinized Sirius before asking, “So how was your summer?”

Sirius’ eyes darkened a bit before he tried to casually reply, “It was about what I expected.”

Marianne moved her gaze back to Sirius’ mum, who was glaring back at them. Marianne defiantly glared back before turning back to Sirius. “Sirius, I want you to be honest with me,” she said. “Did your family mistreat you during the holiday?”

“Ah, well - we don’t exactly see eye to eye on several issues…” said Sirius. The whistle of the train sounded and Sirius took the opportunity to grab his trunk and say goodbye to Marianne. “We’d better get on the train, James,” he said.

Marianne sighed in frustration. She wanted to help Sirius but he wasn’t ready to accept her help. She jogged after the two boys and called, “Sirius!” He turned back to her and she said, “I expect to see you for Christmas and Easter this year!” He gave her a big smile and boarded the train.

Marianne walked to her son and gave him a quick hug before pulling out her wand and muttering, “Dermacurato” at his scratched arm. The wounds sealed and James grinned at his mum. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and jumped onto the train. He gazed back at her and flashed her a broad grin before walking inside to catch up with Sirius. Marianne sighed and said, “That boy is going to be a heartbreaker!” She turned around, wondering who would capture his heart, and bumped into a pretty girl about her son’s age with long, deep red hair and bright green eyes.

The girl looked up at Marianne apologetically and said, “I’m so sorry!”

Marianne smiled and said, “It’s quite all right, dear. Actually, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”

The girl smiled and started to make her way toward the train when Marianne suddenly cried out, “Oh no! I forgot…” She turned and said, “Miss!” The girl turned around with a questioning glance at Marianne. “I’m so sorry, Miss…”

“Evans, Lily Evans,” the girl replied.

“Lily. Could you do me an enormous favor? My son forgot his permission slip for Hogsmeade and you look about his age - maybe you know him?” Marianne asked.

Lily smiled and asked, “You want me to give it to him?”

“Would you? He will kill me if I forget to give it to him,” Marianne replied.

“Sure, I can give it to him, and if I don’t know him I’m sure I’ll find someone who does,” said Lily. “What’s his name?”

Marianne sighed in relief and pulled the permission form out of her pocket. Handing it to Lily, she said, “His name is James Potter. Thank you so much for doing this!” She paused and looked at Lily, noticing that the girl’s posture had stiffened and her eyes widened. “Are you all right? You look awfully pale.” Marianne wondered if the mention of her son’s name had anything to do with Lily’s sudden ill appearance. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to do this. I can just mail it to him instead.”

Lily shook her head and smiled weakly. “No, there’s no need for that. I’ll make sure he gets it.”

“Alright, then,” said Marianne. “If you’re sure.”

“It’s not a problem,” Lily insisted. She turned and boarded the train, feeling a knot forming in her stomach. She had barely started her fourth year and already she had to face James, but she couldn’t exactly say no to James’ mum, could she? It would have been rude, and James’ mum seemed very pleasant. Lily walked down the carriage, peering through the window to each compartment. Eventually she saw the familiar sight of messy black hair and steeled herself before opening the compartment door.

“-starting with a set of antlers…” she heard James say to his friends before they heard the door and turned abruptly toward her, looks of surprise evident on their faces. Lily wondered if they were busy planning their next prank on Severus.

James stared at Lily, transfixed. She was still dressed in her Muggle clothes, shorts and a tank top, and James couldn’t help but notice that Lily’s slender figure had developed. Her fair skin had the hint of a tan and her deep red hair had some natural highlights from spending time out in the sun.

“Evans!” called out Sirius, breaking James out of his trance. “What brings you here, or did you open our door by accident?”

Lily shook her head and said, “I was looking for Potter.”

James’ ears perked up and he smiled. “You were?”

She glanced at him and said, “Your mother asked that I give this to you-”

“My mum? You met my mum?!” asked James. He thought in horror to the cheek-pinching display his mum had done back on the Platform. He prayed his mum hadn’t told Lily anything humiliating. “What EXACTLY did my mum say to you about me?”

Lily sighed and said, “She didn’t say anything except that you would be upset if you didn’t get your Hogsmeade permission slip. She asked if I could pass it on to you.”

Lily held out the form and waited for James to take it. He stood up and walked to her, taking the parchment, but not without touching her hand in the process. He felt a jolt of electricity shoot up his arm. As he looked from his hand back to Lily he noticed she had stepped back and was flexing her fingers as if they had gotten shocked.

James smiled and said, “So, Evans…do you want to sit with us for a while?”

Lily quickly mumbled, “I have to find Marlene and Alice.” She turned around to walk out and bumped into the door. Blushing, she opened the door and exited, letting the door close behind her.

Rubbing her forehead where it had bumped the door, Lily finally found Alice. She was in a compartment reading Which Broomstick. Across the way Frank sat reading a book, though his eyes often glanced toward Alice when she wasn’t looking. Lily smiled and opened the door.

“Lily!” exclaimed Alice with a broad smile. “How was Greece?”

Lily sat down next to her and replied, “It was absolutely amazing! The weather and the blue sea were wonderful.” Lily launched into her descriptions of the Greek Isles her family had cruised to, her favorite being the island of Santorini. It was a small crescent shaped island north of Crete that surrounded a volcano. She described the different beaches and the sunsets. Her family had stayed in a hotel overlooking the caldera and they had enjoyed lounging on their terrace as the sun set over the sea. There was also an archaeological site that was discovered relatively recently - a city that had been destroyed and buried by a volcanic explosion. She had enjoyed wandering through the ruins and seeing the newest discoveries.

That summer she and Petunia had managed to temporarily put aside their differences and become sisters again. Lily suspected that being so far away from home, away from the reminders of their differences, had helped. Petunia was still infatuated with Jonathan, her classmate. She spent half the trip gushing over how handsome and wonderful he was. Lily chuckled as she saw her father scowling at every mention of his eldest daughter liking a boy.

Harold Evans was not crazy about either of his daughters growing old enough gain interest from the opposite sex. He was mortified when several boys flirted with Lily while they were at Paradise Beach on the island of Mykonos. After chasing them off he had a rather heated conversation with his daughter about her choice in bathing suits. Instead of her black bikini he wanted her to wear the one-piece with the ruffly skirts. She had to remind him she hadn’t worn that bathing suit since she was six years old.

Coming back to the present, Lily suddenly wondered where Marlene was. When she asked, Alice replied, “She’s probably with Abel.” Abel Canton was a sixth-year Hufflepuff who had asked Marlene out shortly before the end of the previous year. They lived close to each other so they had been able to see each other throughout the summer.

Just then the door burst open and in stepped, Marlene, fuming. Her hair was drenched and sticking to her cheeks, which were flushed with anger. Clenching and unclenching her fists, she spat, “For one moment, he almost seemed human, but then he had to show his true colors again, the evil pig!”

Lily, Frank, and Alice all sat there staring up at Marlene with wide eyes, unsure of whether or not to speak, afraid that one word would cause Marlene to unleash her anger upon them. After several moments of watching Marlene, Frank finally asked, “Who?”

“Sirius Black, that’s who!” yelled Marlene, causing Frank to recoil.

“What happened?” asked Alice.

“I was with Abel, having a perfectly enjoyable time…”

Lily and the others took that to mean they were snogging.

“…and all of a sudden I felt a large flood of water hit us. When I looked at the source I saw Black standing nearby with an empty bucket, laughing his arse off!” Marlene started to pace the small space while the others moved their feet out of her way. “Then! Then, he has the audacity to claim he was only trying to cool us down before a prefect could find us.”

Alice tried not to find humor in her friend’s story, but was having a difficult time. She tried to look at Lily but noticed she was trying to suppress a smile.

“Then what?” asked Lily.

“What do you mean?” asked Marlene.

Lily raised an eyebrow and said, “I’ve known you long enough, Marlene. Don’t pretend like you didn’t curse him on the spot.”

Marlene’s angry scowl slowly changed into a calculating smile. “Now that you mention it…”

“McKINNON!” came a muffled voice from the corridor.

Marlene opened the compartment door to reveal Sirius, wearing the bucket over his head.

“Yes, Black?” she asked curtly.

“Get this thing off of me!” he yelled, his voice echoing from inside the bucket. He tried to lift it off of his head without success.

“I don’t think I will,” replied Marlene. “Personally, I think you look better this way.”

Sirius tried to fumble for his wand but Remus rushed over and grabbed his arm. It looked like he had been running, he was out of breath. “Sirius! We’ll get the bucket off. Let’s just get back to our compartment.”

Sirius attempted to struggle out of his grip however Remus had a firm grasp. Marlene was a little surprised that Remus could get control of Black while he was so angry. Remus didn’t appear that strong and in fact, he looked like he was feeling ill again.

As Black was dragged away Marlene turned toward her friends and sat next to Frank. There was an awkward moment of silence before Lily finally said, “So…Marlene…tell me about Abel.”

Marlene smiled and launched into a description of her latest boyfriend.

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A/N: First things first - Yes, the Hogsmeade forms are signed when they’re 3^rd year students. I just figured they needed to be signed every year.

So, how did you like Marianne? Don’t you just love it when your parents embarrass you in public or in front of friends/prospective boyfriends/girlfriends? Do you ever wonder if they do it on purpose or if it just comes naturally? Personally, I don’t think James inherited all his mischief from his dad…

Thanks to my latest reviewers: Nyscat, nanopy, delpheena, hpfreak, lilly flower, Mani12191, tigerfairy, Remus’sweetie, Jo Bob, Alicia, and sista7.

Next chapter: The Sorting and the feast. It’s the start of a new year - what next for James and Lily?

53. Option Number Three

Chapter 53: Option Number Three

Once the older students were seated in the Great Hall the new first year students were directed to the front of the hall where the Sorting Hat sat waiting on its stool. As the hat sang its song, James noticed that Sirius seemed on edge about something. Before he could ask what was bothering him, the hat had finished and Professor McGonagall had started reading off the names.

“Allen, Sarah” was sorted into Ravenclaw.

“Black, Bellatrix!” A petite girl with long wavy black hair and large dark eyes walked smugly up to the stool and put the hat on. After only a moment the hat shouted, “SLYTHERIN!” A roar of applause came from the Slytherin table as she triumphantly walked over to join them.

As she sat down James could see Sirius’ scowl deepen.

“Black, Regulus!” Regulus walked to the stool in the same smug manner as his cousin.

As the hat sat upon Regulus’ head, James could hear Sirius muttering under his breath, “Hufflepuff. Hufflepuff. Put the fool in Hufflepuff…”

“SLYTHERIN!” came the shout of the Sorting Hat, and Sirius’ face flushed with anger. With Regulus in Slytherin, going home next summer would be more unbearable than this past holiday.

Regulus stood up and flashed a self-satisfied smirk at Sirius before turning to walk to the Slytherin table. As he reached the few steps that led down to the student table Regulus suddenly lost his footing and took a dive to the base of the Slytherin table. Chuckles erupted from around the hall, the loudest being a barking laugh that came from a fourth year Gryffindor boy who turned to see James putting his wand away.

“Thanks, Prongs,” whispered Sirius.

“Nice tripping hex,” added Peter.

James grinned and said, “Anytime, Padfoot.”

As the Sorting progressed people became anxious for dinner to start. Frank watched his plate, licking his lips while Sirius kept muttering, “C’mon! It can’t take that long for the hat to decide who goes where.”

After “Yi, Chen” was sorted into Ravenclaw Professor Dumbledore stood up and smiled at the students, welcoming them to another year at Hogwarts. With a quick wave of his hands the plates filled with mounds of food.

“‘Bout time!” yelled Sirius as he hastily piled portion after portion of food onto his plate. Ignoring normal table manners he shoved more than the normal amount of food into his mouth while already preparing his next bite full. The students nearest to him watched him with a fascinated interest, like one would have watching a lion at the zoo tearing apart its latest prey.

“Geez, Padfoot!” exclaimed Peter. “You eat like you’ve never seen food before.”

Sirius grunted and continued to shovel down food. He didn’t care what other people thought of his eating habits at the moment. He had spent the entire summer fantasizing about the welcoming feast and he planned to stuff himself even if it made him sick.

James decided to change the subject. “So Carlton told me that tryouts will be in two weeks. You still planning on trying out for the Beater position, Padfoot?”

“Eahw, Awy ot a nub roo an a lub oo,” replied Sirius as he worked his way through the mashed potatoes.

“Erm, you want to repeat that…maybe with a little less food in your mouth?” smirked Remus.

Sirius swallowed and said, “Yeah, I got a new broom and a club, too.”

James’ eyes brightened and he said, “A new broom? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?! What kind did you get?”

“A Nimbus 1900,” Sirius proudly said.

James’ mouth dropped open and Remus said, “Looks like you won’t be the only hotshot on the team, Prongs!”

Sirius grinned and added, “And our races will be more evenly matched.”

James smirked and said, “Well, at least you can stop using that as an excuse about why I keep beating you.”

“Yeah,” replied Sirius, “I won’t need an excuse because you will no longer win our races.”

James smacked Sirius on the back of the head and said, “You name the time and the place, Padfoot, and we’ll settle the matter.”

Remus laughed at the playful exchange while Peter’s wide eyes kept traveling from one boy to the other as they discussed the time and place of their next race. Soon Dumbledore stood up to make his usual beginning of year announcements.

“First of all,” he started, “Mr. Filch has asked me to notify you that he has added Exploding Teacups, Enchanted Vomit, and Muggle Silly String to the list of things forbidden inside the castle. The entire list is hanging on the door to his office for your reference. The forest on the grounds, as known by its name, is forbidden to all students. Also, it is my pleasure to announce the addition of a new faculty member who will be teaching the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. Please give a warm welcome to Professor Dover.”

There was polite applause as the students craned their necks to study the woman sitting a few seats down from Professor Dumbledore. She appeared to be in her early fifties, with long dyed magenta hair and a medium build. She nodded her serene face in response to the applause and turned her attention back to the headmaster. Professor Dumbledore said a few more parting words before instructing the prefects to show the first years to their common rooms.

On the way up to the Gryffindor common room James kept glancing at Lily, disappointed to see that she was in her school robes. Images of her in her Muggle clothes from earlier on the train kept invading his thoughts. His hand still tingled whenever he thought of jolt of electricity he had received from touching her hand as he had taken the Hogsmeade permission form from her.

He wondered if it was his imagination or if she had acted as though she had been affected by that touch. Sirius had joked about it after she had turned to leave and run into the door. James was going to shrug it off but when he looked at Remus he saw him nod in agreement. Seeing Moony’s assent, James really began to think that Lily might not hate him anymore. Remus was a pretty keen observer as well as Lily’s friend. As James climbed the staircase into the boys’ dormitory, he decided to build up the courage to speak with her the next day. After all, it was a new year.

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“Hurry up, Wormtail!” James paced back and forth in the room, running his hand through his hair.

“What are you in such an all-fire hurry for, Prongs?” asked Remus. “It’s only breakfast.”

“Only breakfast?!” said Sirius indignantly. “I’ll have you know breakfast is the most important meal of the day!”

Remus rolled his eyes and said, “We already know about you and your love affair with food, Padfoot. I’ve never seen Prongs this anxious about a meal, let alone breakfast. Usually we have to drag him out of bed.”

The three boys all turned and stared at James for an explanation.

“What?!” exclaimed James. “I’m hungry. And besides, they’re handing out the class schedules today and if we’re late we’ll miss it.”

Sirius stepped up to James and felt his forehead, then peered into his eyes. “Are you feeling okay, Prongs? You never worry about class schedules.” He then grabbed him by the shoulders and in a mockingly harsh voice said, “OR, are you not really Prongs?! Are you someone else impersonating him?”

Remus joined in and said, “I think we should hex the truth out of him.”

James broke free from Sirius’ grasp and smiled sarcastically. “Very funny, now are you guys ready or not?”

Peter hurried to finish tying his shoe and followed his friends down to the Great Hall. Once they arrived, James scanned the Gryffindor table and soon saw Lily. Across from her sat Alice and Marlene, who was busy speaking with Abel. James took a deep breath, preparing to approach Lily, but stopped when he noticed someone seated next to her, engaging her in conversation.

“Who’s that, Padfoot?” asked James.

Sirius followed James’ gaze and thought for a moment before responding, “Looks like Adam White - seventh year Ravenclaw. Why?”

James didn’t answer. He kept staring at White, who was leaning closer to Lily than James would have liked. Lily smiled at White shyly and said something, while her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. White stood up and smiled down at her before walking back to the Ravenclaw table.

Sirius noticed the exchange and dragged James over to an empty spot at the Gryffindor table. The four boys sat down and started piling food onto their plates - except James.

“Aren’t you going to eat, Prongs?” asked Remus.

James crossed his arms and frowned. “I’m not hungry.”

Peter, oblivious to his friend’s mood, exclaimed, “If you’re not hungry then why were you in such a hurry to drag us down here so early?!”

Ignoring Peter, James asked, “Do you think he was asking her out?”

Sirius snorted and said, “Could be. I wouldn’t worry about it, though.”

“Why not?” asked James.

“Because,” started Sirius, “it’s not like she’ll marry him. If she did, then her name would be Lily White.” He laughed at his own joke.

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“So what did Adam want, Lily?” asked Alice as they walked to History of Magic.

Lily blushed and said, “He asked if I wanted to meet him for a butterbeer during our first Hogsmeade weekend.”

“And what did you say?” pursued Alice.

“I told him I would think about it,” replied Lily.

“Think about it?!” exclaimed Marlene. “Are you mad? He’s gorgeous!”

“And he seems rather sweet,” added Alice.

Lily shrugged and said, “I don’t know. I guess I was taken aback that he asked me. I didn’t even know he was interested in me.”

“Lily,” said Marlene, “you should go with him. Don’t be afraid to say yes. I’ll talk to Abel and maybe we could double date. That way you wouldn’t be left on your own. And if you like him then we can split up later.”

“At least give him a chance, Lily,” prodded Alice.

Seeing her friends’ insistence, Lily finally smiled and nodded. “Okay, okay. I’ll tell him yes at lunch.” Seeing their smiles, Lily playfully looked at Alice and said, “Now we need to find Alice a date. I’ll bet Frank is available…”

Alice punched Lily on the arm and said, “Ha ha, very funny.”

After they took their seats Professor Binns floated into the classroom and as soon as he reached the front of the room he announced to the class that they would each have to write a six foot essay on a subject from a list on the chalkboard. It was to be turned in before the Christmas holiday and would count for one third of their grade. The class groaned at the idea of such a large project as they started to copy down the list of subjects. Professor Binns then launched into his normal droning as he discussed yet another goblin rebellion.

Charms and Transfiguration weren’t much better. Each professor stressed how important their studies were since next year would be their O.W.L. year.

At lunch, Lily walked over to the Ravenclaw table and told Adam that she would meet him in Hogsmeade, as long as he wouldn’t mind double-dating with her friend. Adam smiled, happy that Lily accepted although wishing they could be alone. He asked if he could escort her to her next class and she accepted, though she wondered how he would make it to his Potions class on time after walking her to the DADA classroom.

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“Oy! Prongs! You’re listening, right?” asked Sirius.

James sat at the Gryffindor table, his gaze focused on the Ravenclaw table, where Lily was speaking with White. Vaguely hearing Sirius, he answered, “Yeah, yeah, I’m listening.”

Sirius shook his head and smirked, deciding to see how closely his friend was paying attention. “Good,” he said, “because we were just discussing how we caught McGonagall snogging Filch in the broom closet near the Transfiguration classroom.”

“Right, right…” muttered James. He watched as White grabbed Lily’s book bag and escorted her out of the Great Hall.

Remus snickered and added, “I heard that Mrs. Norris is actually their love child. It makes sense, after all, since McGonagall’s Animagus form is a tabby cat.”

Peter was turning purple from laughing so hard while James continued to stare at the doors to the Great Hall, deep in thought. Feeling a light smack on the back of his head, he turned to Sirius with wide eyes. “What the bloody hell was that for?”

“You’re so gaga over Evans that you haven’t even realized we were having fun at your expense for the past few minutes,” said Sirius.

“But-” started James.

“Don’t try to deny it, Prongs,” said Remus. “It’s pretty obvious.”

James sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

“The way I see it is you’ve got a few options,” said Sirius. He started counting off fingers, “One- you ask her out. Two- you get over her. Or, there’s always option number three-”

James interrupted him with a mischievous grin, “You hex the competition.”

Sirius grinned back at James, while Peter watched the two boys with awe. Remus looked a bit worried, thinking, ‘This can’t be good…’

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A/N: (chuckling) In case you didn’t figure it out, Sirius and Remus made up the bit about Filch, McGonagall, and Mrs. Norris.

Thanks to my latest reviewers: A New Reader, sista7, Anu, Golden Phoenix, Mani12191, mrs. padfoot, lilynpotter, Jo Bob, Alicia, i <3 harry…

Next chapter: Brief intro to the new DADA professor. Another Divination class.

54. In the Stars

Chapter 54: In the Stars

James sat in DADA class, fantasizing about different methods of humiliating White. For a few moments on the way to class he had felt a twinge of guilt and wondered if he was taking things too far by planning on hexing him. As he had arrived at class his momentary guilt turned into brooding anger as he saw White squeezing Lily’s hand after returning her books which he had been carrying.

DADA wasn’t very interesting, in fact, it was a bit tedious. Professor Dover, though she was quite knowledgeable about the subject, liked to give long, complicated descriptions of curses and counter curses when short and direct explanations would have been just as appropriate. She assigned them each a three foot essay on the wand movements used to banish a ghoul.

“I can’t believe it!” complained Sirius as they were walking outside to their Care of Magical Creatures class. “Three feet! Just on wand movement!”

“Yeah,” agreed Peter. “I don’t think that much information exists.”

“And can you believe this?” asked James as he pulled out a parchment. “What’s with this list?” Professor Dover had written out a long list of rules regarding the writing to be turned in. It described in great detail the width of the margins and the height and spacing of the writing, amongst many other details.

“It does seem like she wants to make a simple task much more complicated than it needs to be,” agreed Remus.

They arrived at the edge of the forest and were not surprised to see Professor Kettleburn wearing a bandage wrapped around his head. It was not unusual for their Care of Magical Creatures professor to have some part of his anatomy bandaged from ‘accidents’ caused by the creatures they studied.

“Speaking of magical creatures…” whispered Sirius, “shall we resume our Animagus training tonight? I really want to start the next step.”

“I agree,” said James. “The sooner we get started, the sooner we can help Moony.”

“As much as I anticipate your achieving this feat,” started Remus, “I think you should concentrate on the second step tonight, make sure you have it down before starting the final step.” Seeing the protesting faces of his friends he added, “You weren’t allowed to practice during the holiday so let’s just make sure you can flawlessly do the second step before practicing on yourselves.”

James and Sirius reluctantly nodded while Peter looked relieved about delaying the final step. He had more difficulty than James and Sirius with the Animagus spell and needed as much help and practice as possible. The idea of starting the transformation on himself made him rather twitchy.

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The next morning the Marauders awoke with a feeling of bittersweet triumph. For not having been able to practice the Animagus spell over the summer they were able to transform inanimate objects into their Animagus forms almost flawlessly.

By the end of the previous night, Sirius felt that he had the spell down and insisted on trying it on himself. According to the literature, the best way to start was to focus on the first thing that had transformed after he had taken the potion. That was easy to remember, seeing as how his nickname was Padfoot. Sirius spent the next hour concentrating on transforming the palm of his hand into the pad of a dog’s foot. By the end of the hour Sirius had managed to do it. It took, however, twice as long to transform his hand back to normal.

When Sirius woke up that morning his hand was very sore. He didn’t understand why it hurt after this transformation when he had felt fine after drinking the Animagus potion a few years earlier. The transformation then had not bothered him. Remus reasoned that the potion had done all the work, while last night Sirius had to work hard to transform his hand.

Despite the pain, Sirius felt bolstered by the success and looked forward to trying it again. James decided to try that evening, though Remus was a little worried that a set of antlers would be difficult to hide if James was unable to transform back. Peter decided to wait and watch. He figured that if James and Sirius could master the steps then they would be in a better position to help him. Besides, he was not looking forward to growing a tail.

At breakfast Sirius was scrambling to finish his summer homework for Muggle Studies on Muggle writing implements. Since his family did not house books on Muggle life in their library and since he had been confined to his room he had not had the opportunity to write about ballpoint pens, markers, and crayons. He shook his head, thinking to himself how much easier it was to just use a quill instead of all of the other writing implements.

James was brooding over his breakfast, wondering again why he had chosen Divination as an elective. He was floored that he had received an ‘Exceeds Expectations’ on his final exam the previous year. During his crystal gazing he had been about to make something up and was caught, after which he read what he saw which was his reflection, though a bit different in appearance. How was that worth an ‘E’? Not that he was complaining about the good grade - he just didn’t understand how he had earned it. Silently he wondered how badly the other students must have done if his predictions had been good enough to earn a good grade.

James, Remus, and Peter left Sirius at the Gryffindor table flipping through pages in a book muttering something about highlighters. They made the long journey to the North Tower and took their seats in the familiar stuffy heat of the Divination classroom.

Professor Vablatsky greeted the class and announced the beginning of their section on Astrology. This was going to go hand-in-hand with their Astronomy studies since they had started studying the stars/planets of the Zodiac the previous year. The class was to begin by looking up their sign of the Zodiac and discussing its attributes. Their project for the term was to chart the progress of their sign of the Zodiac in the stars and how it related to their life.

As the class divided into pairs to discuss their Zodiac signs, Professor Vablatsky hobbled around the room listening to the students. She paused as she heard James remind Remus that his birthday was August 15^th. She cleared her throat and said, “A true Gryffindor.”

James turned to the old woman and raised an eyebrow. She gazed back at him, her blue eyes oddly intense. “Excuse me?” he asked.

“The lion - not only a sign of Gryffindor, but also of your Zodiac sign, Leo,” she replied. With a smile she walked over to Peter and Frank. Frank was trying to get Peter to understand that they were not focusing on the Chinese Zodiac that day - Frank couldn’t understand why Peter was stuck on the sign of the Rat from the Chinese Zodiac.

Remus shook his head and studied his book. “Let’s see…Leo, the lion,” he smirked. “You would be described as confident, dramatic, self-reliant, generous, outgoing, and proud.” Remus looked up from the book and studied James for a moment before nodding and returning to the book. “Leos have a desire to be true to themselves. They, like the lion, want to be king of the jungle so they can at times be dominating, brave, and demanding of attention. Leos can be flirtatious and will want to have their ego stroked.” Remus chuckled and said, “Leos can be very romantic, showing dramatic gestures to woo the one they care about. It also says Leos are good with kids.” Remus looked at James and joked, “That would make sense, seeing as how you act like one - you can relate.”

James stuck out his tongue and threw a balled up piece of paper across the table, successfully hitting Remus between the eyes.

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Across the room, Alice shook her head and said, “A Libra! I almost forgot your birthday is in a few weeks. Late September, right?”

Lily smiled and said, “September 25^th.”

“So young, yet she is growing up so fast…” said Alice, wistfully. She loved to remind her friends that she was the older one of the group, her birthday being January 17^th. Alice grinned and searched the pages of Unfogging the Future to find details on Lily’s Zodiac sign. “Ok…Libra’s sign is the scale. That means that you are balanced in your thoughts and emotions and that you weigh things carefully. Libras are stylish, good-natured, idealistic, romantic, and intelligent. They are fair-minded and weigh evidence to the point of being indecisive. When trying to get a Libra to decide on something it is best not to push. Libras do not like disharmony or disputes and they will often act as peacemakers. Hmmm, do I see a future prefect here?” joked Alice. Alice continued to scan the details of Libra until her eyes suddenly perked and she exclaimed, “Lucky Lily! Your sign is ruled by Venus, the goddess of love. Wonder if Adam knows this…”

Lily blushed and said, “I doubt it. He only asked me out yesterday.”

Alice winked and said, “Well, we’ll just have to make sure he finds out.”

Lily turned a darker shade of red and said, “You wouldn’t…”

“Wouldn’t I?” retorted Alice.

Lily scowled for a moment but then smiled at Alice. “Well, if you feel like revealing certain bits of information, then maybe I can tell a certain someone who fancies you that you like him back.”

Alice’s jaw dropped and her eyes widened. She cast a nervous glance toward Frank and said to Lily, “What are you talking about? I don’t like him like that!”

“If you open your mouth to Adam then I can’t help what I might say to Frank, true or not,” countered Lily.

“So much for Libras being fair-minded…” muttered Alice.

“Self-defense,” retorted Lily.

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In Double Potions Professor Pilon announced that they would need to divide into pairs for the next project. They were to begin brewing antidotes. The four Marauders paired off - Sirius and James, Peter and Remus. Remus nervously looked at Peter as they began to gather their ingredients. Alice and Marlene grouped together.

Lily looked around, noticing most of the class had paired off. Wondering who she could work with, her eyes finally settled on Severus Snape. He was at the front of the room, toward the side. Seeing no other options, she reasoned with herself that Severus was excellent at Potions. As she approached his desk she saw Malfoy glaring at her from a few desks away.

Once Lily reached Severus she placed her cauldron and books next to his. He looked up, his eyes widening slightly at seeing her next to him.

“What are you doing here?” he sneered.

“I thought we could partner up on this project,” she replied.

“I work alone,” he stated, turning back to his ingredients.

Lily looked around, glancing nervously at Professor Pilon, before turning back to Severus. “Erm,” she said, “We’re supposed to work in pairs…”

Snape continued to count out his ingredients, not looking at her. “You want to work with me?” he asked disbelievingly.

“Well, erm…yeah.” He gave her a piercing gaze and she swallowed nervously, saying, “Well, there isn’t anyone else and we’re both good at Potions so why not?”

Snape glanced at Malfoy who was still glaring at them. He studied the room, realizing that Lily was correct in saying there was nobody else to work with. Glancing at her he said, “Sit down, then. This has to start brewing or we won’t have time to finish before the class ends. Start by cutting the-” he paused, hearing the sound of Lily’s knife chopping the ginger roots into equal-sized pieces.

She glanced up at him and said, “I know. I did read the instructions.”

He watched her for a few moments, his face showing mild surprise. He even looked a little impressed but his expression quickly returned to its usual sneer.

The class passed by uneventfully. Lily and Severus finished their potion in record time, pleased that it had reached the lime-green color it was supposed to be. As Lily packed up her supplies, Severus noticed Potter and Black watching them intently. Potter’s jaw was clenched and he looked like he wanted to throttle Snape.

Snape smiled, realizing with pleasure that his Potions partner was a great way to irritate Potter. Snape also remembered how much Lily detested their constant hexing of him. Glancing at Lily to make sure she still had her attention on her supplies, he slipped his wand out and muttered a curse, causing Potter to flinch back like he had been slapped. Snape then pointed his wand at Lily’s back, pretending like he was about to hex her.

James reacted immediately, pulling his wand out and sending the Jelly-Legs Jinx at Snape, causing him to fall to the floor, knocking over a few chairs in the process.

Lily turned around and saw Severus on the floor. Looking up at James she saw that he had his wand drawn and aimed at Severus. “WHAT are you doing?!” she fumed.

“Evans, he was going to hex you,” said James, glaring at Snape.

Lily shook her head and said, “I don’t believe you. Just because he’s my Potions partner doesn’t mean that he’s going to find a way to hurt me!”

“No, really Evans….” started Sirius.

“Why do you have do things like this? Why can’t you just leave him alone?” Lily asked. She turned to Severus and, drawing her wand, said, “Finite incantatum.”

Snape stood up and spat, “I don’t need your help.”

Lily raised her eyebrows and sarcastically said, “Sorry. Would you like me to replace the curse so you can help yourself?” Hearing nothing from him, she said, “That’s what I thought.” Sending an angry glance at James and Sirius, she grabbed her things and stormed out of the room.

James stared after her, feeling a mixture of frustration at Lily’s disbelief of him, and admiration of her talents. Sirius was impressed as well, saying, “I didn’t think we were supposed to master the ‘Finite’ charm until next year.”

Snape was thinking of another curse to send at Potter and Black, but seeing Professor Pilon coming out of her office, he gathered his things and left. He silently vowed to himself that he would find a way to knock Potter and his friends off of their pedestals.

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A/N: I had lots of fun writing all the chapters on Divination, though I know next to nothing about the subject. It’s a great place to stick in info.

So - there’s still a bit to go, but we are getting closer and closer to the point where I’ve written up to. Do you guys want me to post the prewritten chapters as often as I am, or start slowing down the posts so it gives me more time to write the new stuff? Either way, once we reach that point the posts will slow down.

Thanks to the latest reviewers: Mani12191, Golden Phoenix, lilynpotter, Anonymous, Anu, Alicia, sweetie513, Jo Bob, hpfreak, Nyscat, and sista7.

Next chapter: Lily and Adam go to Hogsmeade. Should be a carefree, fun date…right?

55. The Hogsmeade Date

Chapter 55: The Hogsmeade Date

The next month passed by with a few notable events. Lily’s fourteenth birthday arrived and she celebrated with her friends. She was surprised to receive flowers that morning from Adam. She had not told him about her birthday and she wondered how he had found out. She suspected that Alice had told him and she wasn’t sure if she should be annoyed or pleased. She hardly knew Adam and she felt a bit embarrassed by the grand gesture of receiving a dozen roses in front of everyone at breakfast. She glanced over at the Ravenclaw table and blushed as she saw Adam smiling at her. He stood up and approached her, sitting down next to her.

“Happy birthday!” he said.

Lily smiled and asked, “How did you find out?”

“A little bird told me,” he said with a small grin.

“More like a little lion,” she muttered, glancing at Alice Lyons. Alice noticed Lily’s stare and she smiled innocently and winked back.

“Ready to go?” asked Adam. He had escorted her to her first class every morning for the past few weeks.

Lily nodded and started to gather her books but Adam swooped down and grabbed them, insisting on carrying her things. Lily smiled, thinking that he was rather sweet.

“Lily!” called Alice from behind her. Lily turned around and saw Alice smiling like a Cheshire cat. “Don’t forget your flowers!”

“Oh!” exclaimed Lily as she hurried back to gather the large bouquet. As she turned to join Adam something made her glance down the table. She felt a tug at her stomach as she noticed James staring at her. His gaze shifted to Adam and darkened. ‘Not good, not good, not good…’ she thought. Feeling a nudge on her arm, she turned to see Adam’s smiling face and followed him out of the Great Hall.

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“What’s wrong, mate?” Sirius asked James.

James had been brooding since Lily had left the Great Hall with White. He shrugged and pushed his eggs around on his plate, not really hungry.

“Lily got roses from White for her birthday,” said Remus.

James looked up, surprise written all over his face. “It’s her birthday?!”

Remus held up his hand and said, “Whoa there, Prongs! I thought you knew.”

James, with his elbows on the table, bent his head down and ran his hands through his hair. “No, I didn’t.”

“Really?” mused Sirius. “I thought you would know that since you’re so obsessed with her and all.”

James gave Sirius an irritated looked and said, “I am not obsessed with Evans.”

The other three Marauders all stared at James, clearly in disbelief.

“Uh, Prongs,” squeaked Peter, “if you’re not obsessed with her, then why are you always looking at her, and why are you always scheming about ways to humiliate White?”

“Wormtail has a point,” said Remus.

James clenched his jaw and looked away guiltily.

“Speaking of revenge plots,” started Sirius, “what have you come up with?”

“I have a few ideas…” said James as he launched into some of the plans he had formulated.

Sirius chuckled saying, “That last one is really good. If you could pull that off…”

“It may be difficult, depending on who else is around. If it’s crowded…” said Remus.

“Prongs’ll be able to handle it,” said Peter.

“It is my favorite idea,” said James. “And the best part is he’ll never see it coming and Evans’ll never have to find out I did it. I still have to fine tune the details.”

“We can talk about it after practice tonight,” said Sirius. He had made the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He had by far outshone all the other contenders for the Beater position.

Carlton Wood was beyond thrilled to have Sirius on the team. This was his final year at Hogwarts and his final year as the team captain. He wanted to leave in a blaze of glory with 3 straight victories of the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor. His frenzy to win drove him to schedule longer and more grueling practices. If the team did well enough, Carlton hoped to impress scouts for some of the professional Quidditch teams. He would be the eighth generation in his family to join professional Quidditch. Now, with two members on the team who owned Nimbus 1900 broomsticks, he felt optimistic about the Gryffindor team’s chances of winning the cup.

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“Lily!”

Lily turned over and buried her face into her pillow, trying to hang onto the last bit of peaceful sleep before she would be forced to wake.

“Lily! Get up, you’re gonna be late,” hissed Marlene.

“Hmmmm,” whined Lily into the pillow. “Can’t you let me sleep for ten more minutes?”

“That’s what you asked ten minutes ago,” argued Marlene. “Now hurry up, the big day is today - Hogsmeade! Abel’s gonna meet us in the entrance hall. I don’t want to keep him waiting, and you shouldn’t keep Adam waiting.” Marlene grabbed a handful of Lily’s covers and threw them off of her, causing Lily to shiver and groan in protest to the sudden rush of cool air on her skin.

“Fine, fine,” croaked Lily in her morning ‘wake-up’ voice. She dragged herself out of bed and went through her morning rituals of preparing herself for the day. When she stepped out of the bathroom she noticed Marlene had placed some clothes on top of her bed. Lily rolled her eyes and said, “Am I your new doll now to dress as you wish?”

“Glad you’re catching on,” joked Marlene.

Lily walked to her bed and looked at the choices Marlene had left her. She finally settled on some dark blue jeans and red turtleneck sweater. The sweater was a little snugger than Lily was used to but Marlene insisted that it would make her look older. After all, Adam was 17 and Lily had only just turned 14 - she had to look like she was his date and not his younger sister.

Once the girls were ready they headed down to the common room and noticed three of the Marauders chatting by the portrait hole. They heard Peter telling Sirius that James was feeling ill from their midnight snack and that he would not be joining them in Hogsmeade. Sirius shook his head and marched upstairs, claiming he was going to drag James to Hogsmeade if necessary. After all, it was his turn to buy a round of butterbeer.

Remus shook his head, saying, “I don’t know. He looked like he was really ill earlier. He ate a gasoline flavored Every Flavor Bean last night and ever since he’s looked queasy.”

Marlene and Lily glanced at each other before leaving for the entrance hall. They saw Adam and Abel waiting at the base of the stairs. The two boys looked up, each smiling at his date. Abel gave Marlene a kiss while Adam grabbed Lily’s hand, pulling her toward the doors where Filch would check their names off his list.

After several minutes Marlene and Lily noticed Peter, Remus, and Sirius stomping down the stairs. Frank walked up to them and asked about James, but Sirius frowned and shook his head. He told Frank that James was still feeling ill and that he refused to join them. Marlene and Lily looked surprised as Alice joined the boys. Sirius smiled at the group and left to join a pretty blonde named Clarissa Noles, a fifth year Hufflepuff he had worked up the courage to ask to Hogsmeade.

After much stalling and many suspicious glares, Filch grudgingly opened the doors and started checking off the names of those who had remembered their permission slips that year. Sirius thought it was stupid to have to re-sign the permission forms each year. It was nearly impossible to convince his parents to do it each year so he usually had Beeste, one of the family house elves, sneak the form under some papers on his father’s desk. His father usually signed things without much thought - he figured if it made it all the way to his desk without the form being destroyed by one of his security curses, it would be important enough for him to sign. Octavius Black never considered the idea that his own family could sneak past his security measures and trick him.

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Lily and Adam were walking along the path to Hogsmeade, hand-in-hand, chitchatting about various topics. Lily learned that Adam hoped to become a Healer after he finished Hogwarts.

“I hear it takes a lot of studying after graduation and it’s difficult to get accepted into the program,” said Lily.

“Yeah,” said Adam. “IF I manage to get into the program then it will be another four years of classes and intense studying.” He looked at Lily and asked, “Do you know what you want to do when you graduate from Hogwarts?”

Lily raised her eyebrows and shook her head. “I have no clue, really. Leaving Hogwarts seems so far away.”

“It’ll pass quicker than you know. It seems like yesterday I was 13 and going to my first day in Hogsmeade.”

“What did you do?” asked Lily.

Adam was silent for a moment while he remembered. “As I recall, we were quite interested in the Shrieking Shack. Up until that year it had been known as a dilapidated old shack but suddenly there were rumors that phantoms and evil spirits had taken over, haunting the place.”

They walked along behind Marlene and Abel who were busy chasing each other during a tickle war.

Suddenly Adam fell to the ground, letting go of Lily’s hand while he trying to catch himself. He landed face first in a pile of mud. Lily knelt down and asked, “Adam, are you alright?” She tried not to chuckle as he picked his mud-caked face off of the ground.

He tried to wipe the mud away with his hand, saying, “I’m fine. I tripped, I guess…” He looked around and noticed a tree root jutting up out of the ground. “I must have stumbled over that root,” he added. He stood up and looked down and his clothes, completely bathed in mud.

Lily smiled and drew out her wand, saying, “Scourgify!” A few moments later Adam was free of the mud and the stains were gone from his shirt and slacks.

“Thanks,” he said, grabbing her hand again. “Where would you like to go first?”

“How about Honeydukes?” Lily suggested.

“Sweet tooth?” he asked, grinning.

“I love their butterbeer truffles,” she admitted.

They walked into the sweet shop and admired the shelves stocked with hundreds of assortments of candies. As Lily was admiring a display of Super-Stretch Taffy that was being made at the side of the shop, Adam grabbed a box of butterbeer truffles and a few sugar quills and paid for them at the counter. The clerk bagged the items and placed them on the counter in front of Adam. Before he could grab it a display of Ice Mice fell to the floor next to him. Seeing nobody else nearby, Adam bent down and gathered the mice, placing them back in their niche on the counter. He grabbed the bag off of the counter and walked over to Lily.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Sure,” she replied.

As they walked outside, Adam smiled and handed Lily the bag. “I bought you something to tempt your sweet tooth.”

Lily smiled, amazed at the sweet gesture. She opened the bag, her mouth watering at the idea of butterbeer truffles, for that was surely what he had purchased. Her expression turned to surprise and then confusion as she reached inside the bag, pulling out something different.

“Cockroach clusters?” she asked.

Adam chuckled and said, “No, I didn’t buy those. I bet the cashier added those to the bag. Look further- there’s more in there.”

Lily searched the bag and frowned slightly as she pulled out a few blood-flavored lollipops.

“What the-?” said Adam as he grabbed the bag, searching for his purchases. “This can’t be. I didn’t buy these.”

“Maybe you grabbed the wrong bag,” suggested Lily.

“I couldn’t have. It was the only bag on the counter,” he replied. He started to turn back to the store. “I’m going back and I’m gonna have a word with the clerk.”

Lily gently grabbed his arm and said, “It’s okay. Let’s not make a big deal out of this. Besides, these will come in useful later. I know just who to give them to…” Lily smiled as she realized she could get back at Alice for advertising her birthday.

Adam didn’t like the idea of giving up, but he finally shrugged and said, “Why don’t we go to the Three Broomsticks and have some butterbeer?”

“That sounds perfect,” said Lily.

They walked into the tavern and found a small table by the back. Adam rushed to the chair Lily was about to take and offered to help her with it. As Lily proceeded to sit on the chair he had offered her he felt a sudden tug which caused the chair to jerk back, causing Lily to fall to the floor. Several people nearby chuckled as Lily gave Adam an annoyed look.

“I’m so sorry, Lily!” he exclaimed, helping her up. “I don’t know how that happened.” He grabbed the chair and once again tried to help her into it. This time, as she sat he felt another tug at the chair, this time sending the chair suddenly forward and knocking Lily into the table. “I’m sorry!” he said. “Really, I am!”

Lily turned several shades of red as she tried to gather her patience. “It’s okay, Adam. Why don’t you get the drinks?”

Looking relieved that she was still willing to be around him, Adam rushed to the bar and placed his order. Lily took several deep breaths, trying to gather her patience. This had been a rather strange date so far. Except for the initial pleasant conversation, things had been awkward. Lily took a moment to look around the room and noticed Sirius seated a few tables away with Clarissa. She was in the middle of some tale while he seemed half-interested. He glanced her way a few times, and Lily noticed a strange glint in his eyes. He was too far away for her to try to decipher it.

Adam grabbed the butterbeer mugs with each hand and made his way back to Lily, admiring the long deep red hair that cascaded down her back. As he approached her he felt something knock into his elbow which sent the contents of one mug flying forward, straight onto Lily’s beautiful hair. She cried out, startled at the sudden splash of the warm sweet drink. As she stood and turned toward him, he felt his stomach drop at the expression on her face. She looked like she was ready to hex him.

“Lily, I-I…I didn’t mean to…it was an accident!” he said.

Lily saw the look in his eyes and realized he was telling the truth. She knew he hadn’t meant to spill the drink on her but she couldn’t help but still feel annoyed. She tried to brush the feeling aside as she saw the imploring look on his face. Maybe he was trying too hard to impress her and was klutzy. She decided to give him another chance. “Don’t worry about it,” she said.

Pointing her wand at herself she muttered, “Scourgify,” grateful that she had mastered the charm. It had come in handy that day. Within seconds, the sticky mess that had attached itself to her hair and outfit had disappeared, leaving her as good as new.

Madame Rosmerta brought over another mug of butterbeer and Adam tried to engage Lily in pleasant conversation, though there were several awkward silences. When the last drop off butterbeer had been drunk, the two left the tavern and walked along the street, admiring the window displays in the shops.

When they reached the end of the street Adam stopped and turned to face Lily. Looking down at his feet, he said, “Look, Lily…I realize this date has been rather awkward. The fact of the matter is, I was hoping to ask you out by the end of today. I really like you, but now I hope that after today you won’t hate me.”

Seeing the sincerity behind his eyes, Lily smiled. “I’ll admit that this date has been a little….different…but I certainly don’t hate you. In fact, I think you’re rather sweet.”

Adam smiled back. “Do you mean it?” he asked hopefully.

“Of course I do,” she replied, reaching over to hug him.

He hugged her back, relieved that she could still stand the sight of him. As he was running his hand from her back to her waist, he felt a tug at his sleeve which sent his hand down to Lily’s bottom. Lily gasped and pulled back, her face reddening. Adam looked around, certain that something or someone had moved his hand. The sidewalk and street were deserted near them. The closest people were over 20 feet away.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” exclaimed Lily. She had taken several steps back.

“Lily, I don’t know how but that wasn’t me-” started Adam.

The annoyance Lily had felt at the Three Broomsticks was now back and escalating into anger. “Wasn’t you? Was that NOT your hand?!”

“It was, but-” he said.

“I think it’s best that we end this date now,” said Lily.

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Sirius was lounging on his bed, happily reminiscing about the events of the day. He had enjoyed a wonderful date with the lovely Clarissa of Hufflepuff and had some amusement watching the events between White and Evans at the Three Broomsticks. He heard the creak of the door but when he looked he saw that the doorway was empty.

“How’d it go, Prongs?” he asked.

A moment later the invisibility cloak slipped off and revealed James’ grinning face. “Not easy, but I think I pulled it off. Evans is rather angry with White at the moment. It took a lot of convincing - she was very forgiving until that last bit. I had to take your suggestion, I’m afraid.”

Sirius laughed and said, “Ooooh, I bet she wasn’t happy about his wandering hands. Evans can have quite a temper if you provoke her.” He knew quite well from first hand experience. She had scolded him and the other Marauders quite a bit for their rivalry with Snivellus and their pranking of the younger students.

“That’s putting it mildly,” agreed James.

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A/N: That was a fun chapter to write. Poor Adam…

Thanks to my latest reviewers: mystical cah (x2), A New Reader, Jo Bob, Mani12191, hpfreak, Alicia, sista7, DreamAngel (x2), nanopy, Anu, Anonymous (x2), i <3 harry…, Nyscat, delpheena (x3), Golden Phoenix, and spanish gurl.

Next chapter: Lots of stuff happening - another Marauder milestone will start to unfold with a slight twist. Also, something else from this story will be revisited.

56. Mapping Out an Idea

Chapter 56: Mapping Out an Idea

“So what topic did you pick for your history paper, Prongs?” asked Remus.

James picked up a book and replied, “I’m writing about the history of Gryffindor and its founder. What about you?”

Before Remus could reply the door to the common room opened and Sirius stormed in, looking furious. He slumped onto the couch where James was sitting and crossed his arms.

Noticing his empty arms, James asked, “No luck getting to Hogsmeade, Padfoot?”

“Oh, I got to Hogsmeade alright, but after I got back Filch caught me walking through the corridors with an armful of Zonko’s products!” replied Sirius. “I got two detentions and he took away house points. I swear that guy has a sixth sense or something.”

James nodded. It was the third time they had been caught that year. There had been a few other close calls however they had had the invisibility cloak to shield their presence from the caretaker.

“Wish there was some way to know where he was so we could avoid running into him in the corridors,” said Peter.

They all silently agreed although Remus looked thoughtful.

“What is it, Moony?” asked James.

After a moment, Remus said, “Nothing, really. I just remembered I need to find a book in the library on my History of Magic project. See you guys later.” He rushed out of the portrait hole, leaving the other Marauders looking bewildered.

“He needs another book? He has a dozen already!” exclaimed Sirius.

“You know Moony,” said James. “If he can think of a way to make his paper longer and more detailed than necessary he will find it.”

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“Remus?”

Remus looked up from his book to see Lily standing in front of him. “Hi, Lily.”

“What are you doing in here?” she asked.

Remus smiled and said, “Just a little extra reading. What about you?”

Lily smiled back and said, “Same. I wanted to work on that DADA assignment. Professor Dover wants everything so detailed.”

“Usually you have no problem with that,” said Remus.

“I know, but this is a bit too much for what I’m used to,” she admitted.

“I agree. Professor Dover wants to find the most complicated and detailed way to teach us. According to our subject list we should be three chapters ahead by now. At this rate we’ll never get the subjects we need finished by the time we take our O.W.L.’s next year,” said Remus.

Lily glanced at the book sitting in front of Remus. “What are you working on?” She lifted up the book enough to glance at the title. “Is that a Charms book?”

Remus nodded. “It’s, erm…for an extra assignment Professor Flitwick gave me to make up for my last absence.” He didn’t want to tell her what the research was really for.

Lily nodded, accepting his explanation. Remus thought that was odd, considering she always asked about his absences the previous year. This year she had accepted his words without question.

“Can I help?” she asked.

Remus thought for a moment. Lily was good at Charms, and perhaps she could give him some hints without knowing what she was helping him with. “Maybe you can. I’m looking up identification charms.”

“In what way would they be used?” asked Lily.

Remus pondered how to answer that without giving too much away. “For instance, if I was at home and wanted to know what room my mother was in, then I would be able to look at a diagram of the house and see where she was. The identification charm would have to be fool proof - I wouldn’t want the diagram to mistake her for my dad, for instance.”

“Hmmm, that’s interesting. I think I remember reading that each person has a specific magical signature, like a fingerprint. There must be a charm to identify that signature and track it,” said Lily.

They spent the next few hours looking through different Charms texts, searching for the appropriate spell. Finally, Remus found something.

“Lily,” he said, “I think you were right. There’s a charm in this text about identifying a person based on his or her magical signature.” He looked up and smiled at her. “Bloody brilliant, you are!”

Lily blushed and said, “No, I’m not. Is that what you needed for your project?”

Remus nodded. “Yeah, I think I can take it from here. Thanks for your help.”

Lily gathered her things and stood up, preparing to leave. Before she walked away she turned back to him and said, “Oh, Remus? You might want to think of a Proteus charm or the use of magical invisible ink for this project of yours. I wouldn’t want you getting caught and getting into trouble.” Seeing Remus’ shocked face, she smiled and walked away.

Remus shook his head in wonderment. He thought he had managed to fool Lily but she had seen right through him. He shouldn’t have been surprised. He had learned to lie to many people about his lycanthropy but she had always looked at him like she had known there was something he was hiding. Now that she no longer probed him about his monthly absences, he wondered if she knew more about him than she was saying. He thought about asking her, but if she didn’t know about his being a werewolf then he risked their friendship. If she did know, then she was already keeping his secret and she was still treating him like a friend. He decided to leave well enough alone and not broach the subject with her.

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“Moony, where’ve you been?” asked Peter.

“Yeah,” said Sirius. “Did it take you that long to find a book?”

Remus settled himself onto the floor by his friends. “Actually, that was a bit of a fib I said earlier.”

“A fib?” asked James. He chuckled and asked, “Were you sneaking away to meet a girl?”

“No. Actually,” started Remus, “Wormtail gave me an idea.”

Peter looked befuddled and said, “I did?”

James and Sirius glanced at each other and shrugged.

Remus said, “It was when you said you wished there was a way to keep track of Filch.”

“Oh,” said Peter, not really remembering saying that.

Sirius and James suddenly looked interested in what Remus had to say. “Are you saying you figured out a way?” asked Sirius.

“I think so,” replied Remus. He pulled out his notes and launched into the idea of using the identification charm with a map of the school. He described the charm needed to perform the task and then said, “That way, we wouldn’t have to worry only about Filch. We could keep track of where the professors and prefects are as well.”

“That’s amazing!” exclaimed James. “I knew you were a genius!”

“Actually,” said Remus, “the initial idea of the identification charm was mine, but I couldn’t figure out how to find the appropriate spell.”

“What do you mean?” asked Sirius. “Are you saying that someone helped you?”

Remus nodded and said, “Lily came up with the correct spell and helped me find it.”

“Evans helped you?!” exclaimed James.

“Wait a minute,” said Sirius. “You lied to us about why you were going to the library but you had Evans help you?”

“I didn’t seek out her help,” explained Remus. “She approached me and asked what I was doing. I had to lie and say it was extra charms work Flitwick had given me for my absences. She wanted to help so I gave her no details about why I wanted this spell.”

“So she has no idea why we want it?” asked Sirius.

“I didn’t tell her anything, but I got the impression she knows why I want it,” said Remus.

Sirius shook his head and said, “That’s just great, Moony! What if she turns us in?”

“I don’t think she will,” said Remus. “As she was leaving she suggested using magical invisible ink to keep others from finding out what we’re up to. That doesn’t sound like someone who would turn us in.”

“Maybe…” muttered Sirius.

James finally spoke up, saying, “I think it’s a great idea, this identification charm. We could make up a map of the school including the secret passageways we know about. And the invisible ink Evans suggested is also a good idea. We could make up a set of passwords to make the map appear and disappear so if we’re caught with it nobody would know it was anything more than a blank piece of parchment.”

“With the map and Prongs’ invisibility cloak we would be unstoppable,” said Peter.

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Over the next few months each of the Marauders studied the castle, mapping out the different corridors as well as the offices and quarters of the professors. James followed the Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws in his invisibility cloak until he found the locations of their quarters. By the end of November they had a rough draft of the castle and the grounds. Sirius snuck off to Hogsmeade one Saturday and bought some magical invisible ink from Zonko’s Joke Shop. They decided that with all of their projects due before the Christmas holiday they would have to wait until afterward to design the final draft.

Besides, with all of their school and Quidditch projects they didn’t want to neglect their Animagus studies. The final step was progressing well, although the boys realized how difficult practicing the spell on themselves was compared to the previous year’s step of practicing on inanimate objects.

Peter had finally managed to grow a tail, though he had to hide it for a few days until the others could figure out how to help him get rid of it.

James had perfected his antlers and had even been able to form most of his stag’s head.

Sirius had the knack of forming his dog’s legs, both front and back. He was currently working on the shaggy fur, trying to control its growth. He wanted to be able to leave some on his face to show he could ‘grow a beard at fourteen years of age.’ James joked saying all it would do was attract fleas.

Each time the boys practiced the transformations they found them easier to perform. James hoped that by the end of the year they would be able to do the full transformation. For the time being, the boys were all plagued by the amount of homework they were assigned.

James was still working on the research for his History of Magic paper. One night, after the others had retired to bed, James sat up in the common room flipping through another text on Godric Gryffindor. He was having a difficult time making his paper six feet in length, even if he used large writing. After writing another few sentences he turned back to the book and, even though his eyelids felt heavy, kept searching for more information to add.

After turning a few pages, James paused. He suddenly sat up straight, feeling more alert than he had been in the past few hours. On the page in front of him was a picture of his subject, Godric Gryffindor. That was not what had drawn James to it, though. By that point, he had seen more pictures of Gryffindor than he had ever thought possible. What drew James’ attention was Godric’s hand. On one of his fingers sat a ring - a very familiar ring.

“It can’t be…” he muttered. He ran upstairs and tiptoed into his dorm room, trying not to wake anyone. He knew Peter had one, but had to search for it. As he searched through his friend’s trunk, he found a magnifying glass and grabbed it before silently creeping out of the room and back into the common room.

He again found the picture that had caught his attention and studied it closely with the magnifying glass. The ring was gold with a large ruby in the center. On either side of the ruby, carved into the gold, was a lion.

James sat back, wondering what this could mean. He had seen that ring on many occasions. He had grown up seeing that ring or one just like it on his dad’s finger. He remembered their last Christmas together when James was eleven. That was the Christmas that his father had given him the ring. He had told James to guard it well, that it had been in the family for a long time.

Several ideas floated into James’ mind, each seeming more ridiculous than the rest. ‘Could this be the same ring my father gave me?’ he wondered. ‘Nah, it can’t be. Why wouldn’t my dad have told me?’

James spent the rest of the night searching his texts for information on the ring. He had no luck. There was no mention of a ring and in the other portraits of Godric the ring in question was nowhere to be found.

The next morning Sirius found James in the common room, asleep with his face resting on one of his texts. A small puddle of drool was seeping out onto the pages. Sirius smirked and shook James’ shoulder. “Oy, Prongs! You’d better wake up before you completely saturate that book. Madame Pince will hex you into next week.”

James groaned and sat up, his body aching from sleeping in that position. He mopped up the book and closed it.

“What kept you up all night?” asked Sirius.

James wondered whether he should tell Sirius about his discovery, but decided to wait until he found more information. “Nothing important. Must have fallen asleep while writing my paper.”

As they walked to breakfast, James thought back to how he had found nothing else about the ring other than that one picture, and realized that he would have a lot of questions for his dad’s portrait when he went home for the holidays in a few weeks.

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A/N: So, for all of you who were going nuts about James’ dad’s ring earlier in the story - I told you it (or at least a picture of it) would make another appearance.

What do you think about the idea for the Marauder’s Map? Did you like how I stuck Lily into the planning of it? (FYI, that was the small twist I mentioned at the end of the last chapter.)

Thanks to the latest reviewers: Alicia, sista7 (x2), Anu, Nyscat, nanopy, DreamAngel, inzaghina (x2), delpheena, Golden Phoenix, Granger1191 (x2), Mani12191, Anonymous (x2), likediamondrain, hpfreak, Jo Bob, spanish gurl (x3), and A New Reader.

Next chapter: Sirius gets some mail.

57. The New Black Sheep

Chapter 57: The New Black Sheep

James was rather silent during breakfast, thinking back to the previous night’s discovery - if that’s what it could be called. He wasn’t even sure that the ring in the portrait of Godric Gryffindor was the same ring his father had given him. James bitterly recalled that the ring was now in the hands of Tom Riddle, having been stolen from him during the attack in the clearing at the end of his first year at Hogwarts.

Sirius noticed his friend’s silent and brooding mood during breakfast but when he asked James what was bothering him James shook his head and continued to pick at his breakfast. Sirius opted to attack his own breakfast for the time being and pester James later about what was going on.

As Sirius was reaching for some syrup to pour onto his waffles, a heavy thud landed in front of him causing a dish of butter to slide off the edge of the table. After Sirius caught the dish, he was surprised to see that the owl in question was sitting in front of him, staring at him. Sirius hesitantly studied the owl, not recognizing it. Usually the only mail he received at school was in the form of a howler from one of his parents, usually his mother. To his surprise, the letter attached to the owl’s leg was in a plain envelope, not red like a howler.

James, finally noticing the creature, asked Sirius, “Who’s it from?”

Sirius shrugged his shoulders and untied the letter. The owl, happy that the recipient had finally freed it of its load, shot off from the table and flew out the nearest window. When Sirius opened the letter and started reading, his eyes widened in surprise at who had written him.

Dear cousin,

You are probably reading this letter shocked that I am writing to you. We’ve never been close. As a matter of fact, we never liked each other. We come from the same family - the Black family - and we were each brought up with the same values and traditions. (Sirius snorted.) That is why I was amazed that you blatantly rejected those values, despite the reaction of our family. I had been raised with that set of values and so that’s what I believed for so long. I was happy with my life - I had the respect of our family, with you being the one exception. I had graduated with honors from Hogwarts and have been working in the Ministry for several months.

Why then, did my life suddenly have to get complicated? I met someone, and he is unlike anyone I’ve ever known. I was running an errand for the Ministry and had to travel through Muggle London. I ran into a spot of trouble with some Muggles who wanted to take my jewelry. Before I could fetch my wand a man suddenly appeared and chased the group of thieves away. He was wearing a funny looking uniform with a badge - part of some kind of Muggle law-enforcement group.

After he had chased the men away he came back to see if I was alright. He was a Muggle, so I knew I shouldn’t have had anything to do with him, however he had the most mesmerizing blue eyes I’d ever seen. We struck up a conversation and before I knew it we were at a café eating lunch. Ever since then we’ve been spending all of our free time together. (Sirius furrowed his eyebrows, unsure of whether to be shocked at or dubious of his cousin’s story).

You’re probably wondering where the punch line is, but I’m afraid there is none. I fear I may be falling in love with Ted Tonks, a Muggle, and I don’t know whether to be elated or frightened. I never wanted to know or care about any Muggles, having been raised that way. Now that I’ve met him and have spent time with him, I find that his way of life fascinates me. Despite his lack of a wand, I feel drawn to him in a way that seems magical. (Sirius rolled his eyes, wondering why his cousin had decided to gush about her love life to him.)

Now I’m faced with two dilemmas. The first is that Ted is unaware of my being a witch. He thinks I’m a Muggle, albeit a quirky one. I’m afraid to tell him. I’m scared that he will see me as a freak and look upon me the way I looked upon Muggles only a few months ago.

My other dilemma is the one I am the most fearful of - the family. That is why I am writing to you. My perceptions have been blown away so suddenly and I am in unfamiliar territory. You’re the only other person who can understand my situation. You have openly rejected the family’s ideas and yet despite their reaction you stand firm in your values. I can now see the courage it took for you to stand up to your father this past summer during that dinner and I now understand why you were placed into Gryffindor. You, cousin, have more courage than I ever gave you credit for. For the first time in my life I am envious of you and wonder how I can find a bit of the courage you have displayed.

This relationship with Ted is so new, but it feels wonderful. Cousin, I am not entirely certain why I’m writing this to you. I’ve never given you reason to like me. I suppose I need the opinion or support of someone who can understand. I am nowhere near ready to tell the rest of the family about Ted. I would fear for his safety and perhaps mine as well. Although we’ve never been on good terms, I feel that I can trust you to keep this from our family.

Sincerely,

Andromeda

P.S. I heard that you made the Gryffindor team and that you beat Slytherin in your first match. Although I may admire your bravery, that doesn’t mean that I admire your Quidditch team. Rest assured that Slytherin will be victorious against Gryffindor next year!

Sirius smirked, shaking his head at that last comment. He sat back and tried to soak in what Andromeda had written. It was true that they had never particularly liked each other. She had soaked up the lies that the family had been feeding her since birth. When she was at Hogwarts she had always snubbed him, though not quite as obnoxiously as her little sister, Narcissa. Sirius always joked that Andromeda was his ‘favorite cousin,’ but only because she was the least offensive one out of the group.

Now, as he scanned the letter again, he wondered if Andromeda was truly changing her values or if she was involved in some minor rebellion or infatuation. If that was the case, if he wrote back to her and she went back to her old ways, then that could prove risky for him when he next met up with his family. On the other hand, Sirius didn’t usually let danger stop him from voicing his opinion or helping those he felt needed his help. He decided to write back to Andromeda and see where this could lead. Perhaps he would gain an ally, someone he could call a ‘family member’ with pride and not disgust.

“Padfoot?”

Sirius looked up, surprised. He had been so focused on the letter he had forgotten James was still there. He tapped the letter and said, “It’s from my cousin, Andromeda.” Looking around to make sure no Slytherins were within hearing range he whispered, “She’s rethinking her opinions about a lot of things, including Muggles. She wants advice since I happen to be the ‘Black’ sheep of the family.” Sirius summarized Andromeda’s description of Ted and how they met, as well as her dilemmas.

“Are you going to write back to her?” asked James.

“Yeah, I think so,” replied Sirius. “If she’s serious then I want to encourage her to do the right thing. If this leads to a long-term relationship or even marriage she’s gonna need a lot of help to dodge the family. They won’t take having a Muggle relation without putting up a fight.”

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During History of Magic, Marlene was surprised when she noticed that Sirius was huddled over a parchment looking serious as he scribbled furiously. She wondered if it was possible for Sirius Black to be taking notes when normally he had his head down on the desk, snoring softly.

In actuality Sirius was composing a reply to Andromeda. He found it difficult to write to someone he had had no respect for in the past, but he wanted to give her a chance to do the right thing.

Andromeda,

I was shocked when I received your letter this morning. When the owl landed in front of me I thought I was about to receive my weekly howler from Mum.

My first reaction at your letter was disbelief. You, who have always looked down upon Muggles, have fallen in love with one? My next reaction was laughter. You have to appreciate the irony of the situation. You said it yourself - you had the perfect Pureblooded life and now you’re faced with caring for a Muggle and seeking advice from a cousin you have always hated.

Stop rolling your eyes, cousin. This letter is not meant to mock you (not entirely, at least). You wanted my advice, so here it is - my advice is that you don’t need my advice. It seems to me that you’ve already made up your mind about this Tonks fellow. You don’t need me to tell you how to feel.

As far as the family goes, you have to decide if you want to live your life, or a life designed by them. If you follow their demands, will you be happy? You may feel safe, but will you be happy?

For the time being perhaps it’s best you keep this relationship from the family. It sounds like you haven’t known Tonks for long. If the family finds out now they will put a tremendous amount of pressure on you and may prevent you from getting to know him better. For the time being, enjoy dating the guy but don’t get caught!

You dilemma about Tonks being clueless about your magic is a tricky one. You’re well aware of the laws regarding Muggles knowing about our way of life. Don’t tell him about it for now. If this relationship becomes serious (that is, if you’re considering marriage), then you’ll need to tell him. If he really cares about you, he’ll understand.

You know as well as I do that if you continue this relationship with Tonks the family will turn their back on you. You will be disowned. I don’t know if it matters to you, but if you choose to follow your heart then you will have one family member who respects you and who will accept you (that would be me if you’re too thick to figure it out).

Sincerely,

Sirius

P.S. Slytherin’s Quidditch team will never stand a chance as long as I’m on the Gryffindor team!

Sirius reread his letter to Andromeda and decided to run up to the owlery during lunch to mail it. For the time being, he realized that he had 15 minutes of History class left so he decided to make the best of it and lay his head down onto the desk for a quick snooze.

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The rest of the time before the Christmas holiday was spent in a frenzy to finish up assignments and prepare for exams. James, Sirius, and Peter stayed up late the last night before the final day of classes, trying to finish their History papers. Remus was blissfully asleep upstairs, having finished his paper a few weeks earlier. Sirius had noticed a change in James’ demeanor lately and had not been able to find out what was bothering him.

At about 3 a.m., Sirius stood up and stretched, saying he wanted to go to the kitchens for a snack. After asking James for his invisibility cloak, James decided to accompany him, feeling the need for a break himself. He had another 6 inches of parchment to write but he knew he could get it done within a few hours if he had some nourishment courtesy of the house elves.

Once they were settled in the kitchen snacking on some pumpkin pasties, Sirius took the opportunity to grill James again about his quiet demeanor. “Are you ever going to tell me what’s bothering you?” asked Sirius.

“Nothing’s bothering me,” said James.

“Bull,” said Sirius. “Something’s up and you’re keeping it from me!”

James glanced at his friend and saw the irritated look Sirius was giving him. He shrugged his shoulders and said, “Look, it’s probably nothing. I don’t even know if it’s real or if I’m imagining things.”

Sirius looked confused and said, “What’s probably nothing? Are you gonna elaborate?”

“You’ll think I’ve gone mad,” said James.

Sirius smirked and said, “Too late for that. You might as well spill.”

After a moment James asked Sirius, “Do you remember back in first year? My dad had given me a ring.”

Sirius thought for a moment before replying, “I remember you saying that Riddle had stolen a ring - is that the one?” James nodded. “What about it?”

“When my dad gave it to me he told me how it’s been in the family for generations,” said James.

“So?” asked Sirius. “Are you upset about Riddle stealing it, about it no longer being with the Potter family?”

“No….well yeah, I guess, but that’s not what has been bothering me lately,” replied James. “My History paper…I was reading about Godric Gryffindor, my subject. I came across a portrait of him in one of the books. What caught my eye was a ring he was wearing in the portrait. When I got a good look at it…Padfoot, it’s the same ring that my dad gave me.”

Sirius chuckled and said, “So you’re telling me you had Godric Gryffindor’s ring?” Seeing the look on James’ face, he realized that James was serious. “Are you sure?”

“If it’s not the same ring then it’s one that looks exactly like it. It’s identical to my dad’s ring,” said James.

“So you’re saying that this ring which has been in your family for generations, originally belonged to Godric Gryffindor. Then,” said Sirius, connecting the dots, “are you related to Gryffindor?”

James shook his head and shrugged. “It seems impossible. Dad never told me anything like that. Then again,” said James, “after Dumbledore told me about my dad dying, he said that Voldemort might have killed him to get to the ring. Then Dumbledore told me that I come from a long line of powerful wizards.”

Things were silent between the two boys as they tried to absorb the possibilities. Trying to lighten the mood, Sirius joked, “Or maybe that means you come from a long line of thieves who steal rings from the Gryffindor family.” James rolled his eyes and Sirius asked, “So what are you gonna do?”

“When we go home for the holidays I’ll ask Joseph. If he has my dad’s memories then he should be able to tell me more about that ring,” said James. He stood up, ready to return to the common room.

“Master James! Master Sirius!” cried one of the house elves. “Someone is coming!”

Not wanting to get caught after curfew, Sirius and James rushed to the corner of the kitchen and hid under the invisibility cloak. A moment later the door to the kitchen opened and Professor Dover strode in, wearing a red dressing gown. The house elves scurried over, offering her snacks and drinks. As she sat down to munch on an apple, the door to the kitchen opened again and Professor Dumbledore walked over to her.

“Professor Dumbledore!” exclaimed Professor Dover. “What are you doing in here at this time of the night…er, rather, morning?”

The headmaster smiled and said, “I had a craving for something sweet.” He turned to the house elves and gave them a warm smile. “Perhaps some sherbet lemon drops? I’ve always had a fancy for them.” The elves hurried to the pantry to find the headmaster his treat. He turned back to the DADA professor and asked, “And what, may I ask, are you doing in here so early?”

“I’ve been up late grading papers and I needed a midnight snack,” smiled Professor Dover.

James and Sirius watched as they traded banter for several minutes. Finally, Dumbledore stood up and said, “I should return to bed. It is rather late to be roaming the halls.” With a twinkle in his eye he glanced at the corner where James and Sirius stood camouflaged under the cloak. He turned back to the DADA professor and said, “Good night, Eileen.”

James felt Sirius shaking next to him but waited until Professor Dover had left before whipping off the cloak and looking at his friend. Sirius was red from holding in his laughter. He collapsed onto the floor in hysterics while James stared at him, dumbfounded.

“Padfoot? What the hell is so funny?” asked James.

Sirius caught his breath enough to say, “Eileen!” before breaking out into more hysterics.

James shook his head and asked, “What’s so funny about that? It’s not an unusual name.”

When Sirius’ laughter slowed down, he managed to say, “Her name is Eileen Dover!”

It took a moment before James got the humor and he joined his friend’s laughter. As they walked toward the kitchen’s exit, Sirius said, “I wonder if she has a husband named Ben…”

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A/N: So…how many of you got the punch line at the end? (Sorry spanish gurl - that part probably couldn’t translate well for you.)

What do you think about Andromeda’s change of heart? You’ll be seeing more of her later on.

Thanks to the latest reviewers: DreamAngel, sista7, spanish gurl, Anu, Nyscat, delpheena, Golden Phoenix, mystical cah, Mani12191, Alicia (x2), A New Reader, Hermione G. Potter, Jo Bob, Anonymous (x2), i <3 harry…, vikkala, and granger1191. Thanks everyone who got me over the 500 review mark!

Next chapter: The students head home for Christmas.

58. Crushes and Blushes

Chapter 58: Crushes and Blushes

“Oh, I just feel awful!” exclaimed Alice as she walked into the compartment where Lily and Marlene were sitting. The Hogwarts Express was due to arrive at King’s Cross shortly for the beginning of the Christmas holidays.

“Why? Did the cart lady run out of Fizzing Whizbees?” asked Marlene.

Alice slumped onto the bench and rubbed her face with her small hands.

“What is it, Alice?” asked Lily.

“I ran into Frank when I was going to get the snacks,” muttered Alice from behind her hands.

Marlene and Lily exchanged a look before Marlene asked, “What happened?”

Alice looked up and with sad eyes said, “He asked me if I wanted to go to Hogsmeade with him after the holidays.”

“He finally asked you out, then?” asked Marlene with a smile.

Alice nodded.

“And I take it you turned him down?” prodded Lily.

“I told him no. I know he’s had a crush on me for a while and I had a feeling he would ask me out at some point, but I felt totally unprepared! Instead of politely telling him that he was a nice guy and that I didn’t care for him like that, I just looked panicked and practically shouted ‘No!’” replied Alice. “You should have seen the look on his face. I think I really hurt his feelings!”

“Alice, I’m sure you were as nice as you usually are, but if you were going to turn him down he was bound to feel a little hurt no matter how you told him,” said Lily.

“I still feel bad about it,” said Alice.

“Well, at least you two won’t have to see each other for a few weeks. Hopefully it’ll give him time to get over you,” said Marlene.

“Just like you and Abel?” asked Lily.

Marlene had recently broken up with her boyfriend of 6 months, Abel. They had drifted apart, but that did not make the split any easier for them. Even though they were in different houses and in different years, they still managed to cross paths quite often.

“Abel and I weren’t meant to be, but I’m only fourteen so life goes on, right? What about you, Lily? Any exciting prospects? New crushes?” asked Marlene.

Lily blushed and said, “No.”

Alice smiled and said, “Really? I could have sworn I saw Matthew Morgan staring at you during breakfast today!”

“Matthew Morgan?” asked Marlene with a big smile. “C’mon, Lily! He’s tall, dark, AND handsome.”

Lily shrugged and said, “I don’t know. He’s not really my type.”

“Not your type?!” exclaimed Marlene. “Well if you’re not interested in him, then I’ll be glad to take him off your hands.”

Lily smiled and said, “By all means!”

Alice studied Lily and then asked, “Just what is your type, Lily?”

Lily shifted uncomfortably in her seat and played with the edge of her sleeve. “Oh, erm…I suppose I’d like someone with smarts, talent, and a smile that could melt my heart…” She paused, deep in thought before suddenly turning to Alice and asking, “What about you, Alice? Do you care about anyone in particular?”

Alice tried to shrug nonchalantly as she replied, “Well, not really…”

Marlene’s ears perked as she sat up. “You do! Who is he? Anybody we know?”

Alice nervously glanced at Marlene and said, “Well, yeah, I guess you do know who he is.”

“Who is he?” prodded Lily.

Alice gulped and muttered something. When Lily and Marlene asked her to speak up Alice blushed and blurted out, “Sirius Black!”

There was a deafening silence in the compartment as Lily and Marlene tried to comprehend what Alice had just said. Alice sat nervously waiting for Marlene’s reaction. Marlene suddenly started laughing and said, “Black?! No, really, Alice! Who is it?”

Alice looked her in the eye and repeated, “Sirius. I’m not kidding, Marlene.”

Seeing Marlene’s jaw falling, Lily muttered, “Uh oh…”

Marlene shook her head and disbelievingly said, “Black! You like Black? You actually like that loudmouthed pig?!”

Alice’s face turned a darker shade of red as she frowned at Marlene. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I do! I’ve gotten to hang out with him during Quidditch practice and he’s not that bad of a guy!”

“Not that bad?” snorted Marlene. “We are talking about the same guy, right? The same Sirius Black who transfigured my hair into poodle fur? The same Sirius Black who placed a lip-locking curse on me and Abel when he saw us together outside the Great Hall?”

“That’s your feud, not mine,” stated Alice. “And you can be just as bad as him,” she pointed out. “Just the other day you turned his teeth red and green!”

“That was different,” protested Marlene. “It’s the holidays, after all!”

Alice snorted and said, “Whatever you say, but don’t get so upset about my liking him. It’s not like I’m asking you to date him!”

“As if!” exclaimed Marlene. “The day I date that buffoon will be the day I flash Voldemort!”

Lily nervously watched her friends and finally decided to intercede. “Marlene, we know how you feel about Sirius. In fact, I’m pretty sure the entire school is aware that you dislike him. If Alice likes him, that’s her business, whether you approve or not.”

Marlene glowered for a moment before crossing her arms and muttering, “Fine.”

“Thanks,” said Alice. “Besides, it’s not like he likes me back or anything. I just said that I have a crush on him, that’s all.”

The train started to slow down indicating their impending arrival at King’s Cross. The girls stood and gathered their belongings. As they walked toward the magical barrier to the Muggle world Marlene sighed and said, “Two weeks without classes. Whatever will we do?”

“I know you’re heartbroken about it,” drawled Alice with a smile.

Just as they reached the other side of the barrier they heard a loud laugh as a large pair of boys swooped down upon Marlene and lifted her off of the ground. Marlene shrieked as she was swept off her feet though she did not look entirely surprised.

“Welcome home, Shrimp!” said one of the boys. He was rather tall and burly with similar coloring to Marlene - dark hair and chocolate eyes. The boy next to him looked similar though he was an inch or two shorter. Lily realized they were Marlene’s brothers.

Marlene laughed and said, “Hey! How many times have I told you to quit calling me that? I’m not as short as I was when I was five!”

The boys placed Marlene back on the ground and she proceeded to hug each of them. Alice cleared her throat and they turned to see her and Lily still standing there.

“Oh!” exclaimed Marlene to Lily. “You haven’t met my brothers yet. Lily, this is my older brother, Ian,” she said, indicating the taller of the boys. “The other boy here is also my brother, Robert. Guys,” she said to her brothers, “this is Lily Evans, one of my best friends. And this is Alice, my other best friend. You might remember her from when her family holidayed at our resort.”

The two boys studied Alice for a moment before Ian finally smiled and said, “Yeah, I think I remember you. You’re the shy girl who liked to fly her broom over the loch to see if she could glimpse the creature.”

The creature Ian was referring to was known to the Muggle world as the Loch Ness Monster, which was actually a kelpie disguised as a sea serpent. The McKinnon family had a resort nearby. One part of the resort was for Muggles who wanted to search for the infamous monster. The other part was shielded from the Muggles where wizards could holiday.

Most of the time the Loch Ness Monster stayed in the shielded area where the wizards were, however every once in a while it ventured to the Muggle side and gave the Muggles something to snap a photo of. The McKinnon family had placed a charm on the creature to make it appear blurry in photographs - causing the Muggle tales to become more of a myth.

“Sounds like me,” replied Alice. “What are you guys doing nowadays?” When she had holidayed at the McKinnons’ resort the boys had still been going to Hogwarts.

“Ian and I both tend to the resort, though we occasionally do some work for the Ministry,” replied Robert.

Lily noticed Robert and Ian exchange a knowing look and realized there was more to the story but before she could ask she heard her name being called. Turning, she saw her mum and dad waving at her from the entrance to the station. “I have to go,” she said, giving Alice and Marlene a hug. “It was nice meeting you,” she said to Ian and Robert. “Have a wonderful Christmas!”

“Bye, Lily!” they replied as she walked toward her parents.

About halfway to her parents Lily stumbled and the contents of her purse spilled onto the floor. Kneeling down she started to gather her scattered items. Suddenly another figure was next to her helping her pick up her belongings.

“Thanks,” said Lily. She looked up and was shocked to see Marianne Potter helping her.

Marianne smiled and said, “Anytime. I remember you from earlier this year. Lily, right?”

Lily nodded, feeling a lump forming in her throat. Behind Marianne’s eyes was warmth as well as strength. They were hazel, just like James’.

“Are you alright?” asked Marianne.

Lily let out a breath and said, “Yes, I’m fine. Thank you for helping me.” She gathered up the last of her things and stood up. “Goodbye, Mrs. Potter.”

Marianne watched Lily hurry toward her parents, wondering why Lily seemed so nervous. As she watched Lily hug her mum, Marianne felt a tug on her sleeve and turned to see Sirius standing in front of her, grinning broadly and looking much more fit than he had at the end of the summer when he had looked half-starved. Next to him stood her son, another inch taller. His focus was on the entrance to the station.

“James?” she asked.

“What were you talking to Evans about?” he asked.

“You mean Lily?” she asked. James nodded.

“I didn’t get to say much to her. I was helping her pick up some items she had dropped. Then she walked over to her family.” Seeing him let out a sigh of relief she asked, “Why?”

When James didn’t answer Sirius grinned and said, “James was just nervous that his mum had embarrassed him in front of the girl of his dreams, that’s all.”

“Sirius!” warned James. He glanced nervously at his mother, who was looking at him in a new light.

Suddenly, Marianne realized that her son had a crush on a girl. She glanced over to where Lily was, seeing her walk out of the station with her family. Her heart skipped a beat realizing that her son was, in fact, growing up. “You like Lily?” she asked.

“Well…erm…” stuttered James.

Sirius laughed and said, “He’s completely smitten!” He took a step back realizing that James was about to pummel him.

“Does she like him back?” asked Marianne with a small smile.

“Used to,” said Sirius. “They had a little romance once but, alas, it is no more.”

“Sirius…” James warned again.

Marianne saw her son squirming and couldn’t help but be amused. She gave a mischievous grin to Sirius and, leaning toward James, asked, “Did you kiss her?”

“MUM!” yelled James, his face turning three shades of red. “This is not something I want to discuss with my mother!”

Marianne chuckled as James started to drag his trunk toward the exit of the station. Following behind, she realized why Lily had acted so nervous around her. She would be sure to extract more details from Sirius when James wasn’t around to get embarrassed. Chuckling, she leaned over and whispered to Sirius, “I’ll take that to mean yes.” Sirius smiled back and winked.

As they arrived home, Marianne was trying to stand firm in her scolding of the boys for their antics at school. She was currently on their case about the letter she had received from the Deputy Headmistress about their ‘excessive use of the cheering charm’ on her.

“What’s the harm in that?” whined James. “We only wanted to make her smile. It’s not like we put boils on her face!”

“She had to be placed on a stretcher and levitated to the hospital wing. She was laughing too hard to walk. It took two doses of calming potion to stop the laughter. The poor woman was in tears,” chided Marianne. “She pulled a muscle in her side!”

“That’s because she hasn’t used it in a long time,” smirked Sirius. Seeing Marianne’s reproachful look he added, “I don’t think I’d ever seen her laugh.”

Marianne paused as the image of Minerva McGonagall in hysterics entered her vision. She felt a tug at her gut as she tried to suppress a giggle at the image but could tell that Sirius and James were on to her. Seeing them starting to grin she tried to take a few deep breaths but found herself developing the giggles. She sent the boys upstairs to unpack while she tried to regather her composure.

She sat down, amazed at how she now let things slip with James when he got into mischief. As a small child, he rarely managed to charm his way out of punishments. Joseph had tended to let things slide, but she had always held her ground and insisted they put James in his place when he misbehaved.

Now, she wondered what had changed. Deep in her heart though, she knew why she was no longer immune to James’ charms. He was older now, and every time she saw him he reminded her more of Joseph. They had the same mischievous grin and the same twinkle in their eyes. She sat back against the chair and wondered how Lily Evans was able to resist the charms of her son.

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A/N: *Chuckle* I love how Marianne can make James blush! That said, I love that James can charm his way out of punishment. *smiles*

Pleasant surprise for me - I got the weekend off from work. Sorry to say, though, that I decided to skip town for a few days. Therefore, it’ll likely be a few days before the next update.

Thanks to my latest reviewers: Alicia, Hermione G. Potter, DreamAngel, nanopy, lilynpotter, delpheena, Golden Phoenix, Chayse (x4), Mani12191, granger1191, mae513, sweetie513, A New Reader, Jo Bob, and spanish gurl.

Next chapter: James and Joseph have a chat about the ‘family jewels’.

59. Family Ties

Chapter 59: Family Ties

“James! Good to see you!”

“Hi Joseph,” replied James. It was dinner time and James and Sirius had just joined Marianne at the dining room table.

“Hi Joseph,” echoed Sirius.

“Glad to see you joined us for the holidays, Sirius,” said Joseph.

“Thanks for inviting me,” he said to Joseph and Marianne, his voice full of sincerity.

“We wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Marianne. “You’re always welcome here, Sirius.”

For a moment Sirius couldn’t speak. He was overwhelmed by their kindness, and looked over at James with a pang of envy. He wished more than anything that he belonged to the Potter family, that Joseph and Marianne were his parents. As James smiled at him he realized that blood or no blood, he was as good as James’ brother and that was good enough for him. Realizing the sudden silence and the looks he was receiving, he decided to break the tension and reply with a grin, “I dunno, Marianne. I’d be careful what you wish for.”

James took Sirius’ cue and added, “Yeah. Remember last Christmas? The green goop incident at Uncle Louis’ house?”

Marianne laughed and, trying to sound stern, said, “You had better not pull anything like that this year.”

James and Sirius gave each other a sly grin and replied, “We promise, there will be no green goop this year.”

Marianne started to sigh in relief but soon realized they had not promised NOT to use other forms/colors of goop or create any other type of chaos. Before she could say anything, Joseph led the boys into a discussion about the school’s Quidditch teams.

As Sirius was complaining about the extra practices Wood had forced upon them, James silently pondered how he would broach the subject of the family ring. Part of him was nervous to ask Joseph about it. Even though the portrait wasn’t the live version of his dad, James still felt guilty that he had lost the family ring to Tom Riddle. He didn’t look forward to telling Joseph that the family heirloom that had been entrusted to him had been taken within a few months of its possession.

James looked up at the portrait as he heard Joseph laughing at something Sirius had said. Suddenly James realized something. Joseph was wearing the family ring in the portrait. James recognized the same details he had seen in the portrait of Godric Gryffindor - the ruby set in gold with lions carved into the gold on each side of the ruby. Any doubt about the significance of the Potter family ring was diminished. If it wasn’t the same ring, then it was a replica, which to James was also significant.

James was aware of the silence at the table and realized that everyone was staring at him. “What?” he asked.

“Well did you?” asked Marianne.

“Did I what?” asked James.

Marianne gave an exasperated sigh before saying, “James, you were lost in your own little world over there. I asked if you had finished your Christmas shopping.”

James smiled and said, “I did, but that doesn’t mean I’m telling you what we got, so don’t snoop around.”

“We?” asked Marianne, looking at James and Sirius. “You both got me a present?”

“Yep,” replied Sirius with a grin. “Just imagine what the two of us could come up with for your present.”

“Uh oh…” muttered Marianne with a smile.

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“So tell me about your year so far, Lily,” said Anne Evans as they sat down to dinner.

Lily summarized the things she had learned so far. She enthusiastically explained how she had mastered the Summoning Charm and was already getting the hang of the Banishing Charm. She wished she could show her parents but sadly remembered the restriction for underage witches.

“You always talk about Charms,” commented Harold Evans. “Is that still your favorite subject?”

“Oh yes!” exclaimed Lily. “I guess it’s because it seems so natural for me, even though it is a challenging subject. Though I love all of my classes, except maybe Divination. I have trouble making sense out of it. I’m wondering if I should have taken Ancient Runes, instead.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine in Divination like you do in all of your classes,” said Anne, trying to ignore the roll of Petunia’s eyes. Trying to change the subject, she asked, “And how are your friends?”

Petunia glanced at her dad before smiling and sweetly asking, “Yes, Lily. Do you have any boyfriends?”

Harold’s posture stiffened as he looked at his youngest daughter, who had a slight blush to her cheeks.

“No,” she said weakly.

Harold smiled and said, “Good. You’re too young to date.”

Petunia, who had endured the wrath of her dad for several months after getting caught sneaking out on a few dates, gladly shifted the focus to Lily. “So you haven’t gone on any dates?” she asked.

Lily gave Petunia an annoyed glance as she fidgeted in her seat. “Well…erm-”

Anne smiled and said, “Lily! You had a boyfriend?”

Lily vehemently shook her head and said, “No! It was only one date!”

Harold dropped his fork and exclaimed, “You mean to tell me you went on a date without permission?”

“P-Permission-?” stuttered Lily.

“I never even got to meet this boy. How am I supposed to know if he’s a decent young man?” asked Harold.

Lily gave a disbelieving chuckle as she gasped, “Dad?! How are you supposed to meet potential boyfriends when we’re far away at Hogwarts?” With a note of sarcasm she added, “Would you like me to owl them to you for approval first?”

Harold’s frown deepened at Lily’s mention of these boys being far away from home with her. “I don’t appreciate your tone, Lily. As a matter of fact, if you could owl them to me, then MAYBE we could work something out. For the meantime though, I don’t like the idea of my fourteen year old daughter dating boys I haven’t met.”

Lily felt her temper starting to boil. “Why not? Don’t you trust me?”

“I don’t trust teenage boys, sweetie. I used to be one,” he added, glancing briefly at his wife who had a small smile on her face.

“I can certainly handle a teenage boy. I’m quite capable of taking care of myself!” retorted Lily.

“Like you did with that teacher at the end of your first year?” asked Harold. Seeing the look on Lily’s face, he immediately regretted what he said. The fire had gone out of Lily’s eyes and she was looking down at her plate. “Sweetie…”

Lily got up and excused herself, running up to her room.

As the sound of her door closing reached the ears of the three remaining at the dining room table, Anne turned her angry gaze on her husband and said, “Well done, Harold. What on Earth possessed you to bring that up?”

Harold shook his head and said, “I don’t know. It came out of my mouth before I could think.”

Anne gave her husband a stern look as she said, “We’ve spent the last few years trying to build her self-confidence back up after that event and in a few seconds you may have compromised that. I think you should stop being so overprotective and realize that she’s growing up. We have to have faith in her and her decisions.”

“If Lily gets to date then so do I!” whined Petunia.

Harold turned to his eldest daughter and said, “You lied to us by sneaking out. Give us a reason to trust you and then we’ll talk.” Turning back to his wife he said, “I’ll go talk to her.”

When Harold knocked on the door to Lily’s room he did not hear an answer. Tapping on it again, he called out, “Sweetie, can I come in?” He slowly opened the door a crack and saw Lily curled up on her bed with her ratty old teddy bear. Harold mentally kicked himself for being so thoughtless downstairs. Opening the door fully, he approached her and sat on the bed next to her. Taking a deep breath he said, “I’m so sorry about what I said.”

Lily sniffled and said, “No, you’re right. It was my fault. I was too weak.”

Harold brushed her hair to the side and said, “You were eleven years old. He was your professor and nobody suspected he was bad. How were you to defend yourself?”

Lily sat up and hugged her father, sobbing. “I should have been able to something!”

Harold stroked her back and said, “Your mother and I never thought you were at fault for what happened. And from what I heard, you saved a boy’s life that night. I wish you could remember that, then maybe you would feel a little better about the situation.”

Lily gulped and nodded.

Harold pulled away and looked at her tear streaked face. “I really am sorry about what I said. You know me, I can get a bit overprotective where you and Petunia are concerned. I acted like a bit of a git and I didn’t mean to.” He took a deep breath and said, “I trust your judgment. You are a responsible girl. If there is a boy you like who treats you with respect then you may go on dates, but only to places where there will be some adult supervision. And at least let me know in your letters so I can feel like I have SOME authority in my daughter’s life.”

Lily smiled a little and hugged her father again. “I appreciate that. I know it’s not easy for you.”

Harold cleared his throat and asked, “So, are there any young men you fancy?”

Lily pulled away and nervously shook her head.

Harold kissed her on the forehead and said, “Your mother said that Petunia made the dessert. Come on, she’ll be disappointed if we don’t go and have some.”

Lily nodded, surprised that Petunia had cooked. Usually she avoided the kitchen like the plague and refused to learn anything domestic. Petunia had made it clear on several occasions that she intended to make her mark in the world as a doctor and didn’t want anyone to label her as a housewife.

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James lay in bed with his eyes wide open. He could hear the dull snores coming from the nearby cot as Sirius peacefully slept. James felt a little ill, his dinner not agreeing with him. He knew it was not from what he ate, but rather from what he might find out that night.

After tossing and turning for a few hours, James finally gathered his resolve and crept out of the room, trying to silently make his way downstairs to the dining room. When his step caused a slight squeak to the floorboard in the hallway, the portrait of his great-great-great grandfather wagged his finger at James, telling him to keep down the noise. As James looked around he noticed that all of the people in the portraits were sleeping.

When James walked into the dining room he saw that Joseph was no different. He was sitting down with his back resting against the border of the frame, his head tilted down as he slept. James took the opportunity to inspect the ring in the portrait more closely. As James studied each of the golden lions, he realized for the first time that below each lion, the letter ‘G’ was carved. It was a fancy script so it almost looked like a design rather than a letter.

“What are you doing up at this hour?”

James jumped back, startled to see Joseph groggily looking down at him. “Erm, I…”

“You were looking at my ring?” finished Joseph. James nodded. Joseph fiddled with the ring and said, “I was planning on giving it to you on your eighteenth birthday, like my father had done for me.”

James nodded and said, “You…rather my dad, gave it to me at Christmas that last year. I wore it on a necklace all the time. I never took it off, but…it was taken from me at the end of the school year by a dark wizard.” James looked up at Joseph and felt his stomach churn. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lose it.”

Joseph nodded and said, “I already know about that. Your mother explained everything to me. I don’t blame you for what happened-”

“But I was trusted with it! If my dad trusted me to have it so young then he must have thought I could be responsible with it!” exclaimed James.

“You were responsible. Riddle wanted the ring and he got to you when you were most vulnerable,” said Joseph. “You need to forgive yourself, James.”

After a long silence James looked up and asked, “Joseph? If I ask you something, do you promise to give me an honest answer?”

“I’ll try,” replied Joseph.

“When Dad gave me the ring he told me it had been in the family for a long time. How long, exactly?” asked James.

Joseph’s posture stiffened a little as he replied, “It’s been in the family for many generations.”

“How many?” asked James.

“Well, I don’t know if I have the exact number of generations…” started Joseph.

James sighed in frustration and said, “You said you would be honest. How far back does this go?”

Joseph was silent for a moment before he nodded to himself and said, “It’s been passed to each first-born child in this family for many generations. The earliest ancestor who I know possessed the ring was Godric Gryffindor.”

James was too stunned to speak for a minute. He had had a hunch but never thought it could actually be true. It seemed too impossible. He looked at his dad and said, “So this means…you’re…I’m…”

Joseph finished the sentence for him, “You are the Heir of Gryffindor.”

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A/N: So there you have it - James is the Heir of Gryffindor. Probably not a huge surprise, but there you go.

Thanks to my latest reviewers: mystical cah (x4!), delpheena, granger1191, Jo Bob, Anu, A New Reader, Potterhead (x7!), Mani12191, hpfreak, Nyscat (x2), likediamondrain, Remus’sweetie (x2), Golden Phoenix, sista7, charlotte la marmotte, and Anonymous.

Next chapter: Erm…well, I think I should wear something flame retardant for the reviews of the next chapter, because I have a serious feeling you guys are going to want to kill me… *nervous chuckle*

60. Biting the Bullet

Chapter 60: Biting the Bullet

“Honestly, Padfoot! I think I can take care of my own trunk!” yelled James.

“Now, now Prongs! We can’t have you lifting this heavy trunk. You might sprain one of your royal fingers or drop it on one of your royal toes,” replied Sirius with a cheeky grin. Ever since James had told Sirius the news that he was the Heir of Gryffindor, Sirius had taken every opportunity to rib him about it.

James scowled at Sirius but as soon as Sirius turned to lift the trunk into the Hogwarts Express James smiled. ‘Leave it to Sirius to lighten up the atmosphere,’ he thought. When James had found out the news from Joseph he was in complete shock. He was quiet and brooding for several days before Sirius finally dragged the truth out of him.

When Sirius turned back to his friend, James’ pretend scowl returned. “Ah, c’mon Prongs!” whined Sirius. “Lighten up! What are you so upset with me for anyway?”

James shook his head and said, “If you keep up these jokes then someone might overhear. Really, Padfoot - can’t you keep a secret?”

Sirius’ eyes widened as he exclaimed, “What are you talking about? It’s just a little teasing and I know that nobody’s overheard! I can, too, keep a secret. Need I remind you about Moony?”

James nodded but added, “Maybe so, but you didn’t keep your mouth shut when you blabbed to my mum about Evans.”

“What about me?”

James’ heart stopped and plummeted into his stomach as he slowly turned around to see Lily standing there. ‘No, no, no,’ James thought. ‘She did NOT just overhear us!’ He glanced at Sirius, who was trying very hard to not look amused by the situation. Realizing that his face had quickly gone from pale to flushed over his inability to speak, James ran a hand through his hair and tried to cover his embarrassment with a grin. “Evans,” he said, “alright, there?”

Lily’s eyebrows rose as she watched him tousle his hair, making it stand in all directions. She turned to Sirius and asked, “What did you blab to his mum about me?”

Sirius chuckled as he saw James turn another shade of red and once again run a hand through his hair. He looked at Lily and replied, “James didn’t want me to let his mum know how you topped him in Charms.”

Lily studied Sirius for moment, knowing he was lying. She thought about pursuing the truth, but opted to leave the matter alone. “I see,” she replied, before boarding the train and disappearing down the corridor.

James let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding and looked at Sirius, who had finally started howling in laughter. Giving Sirius a light smack on the back of his head, James exclaimed, “It’s not funny!”

Sirius rubbed the spot where James had smacked him and smiled. “It IS funny! Here you are scolding me for my big mouth and it turns out YOU are the one with the big mouth.” When James glared at him Sirius shrugged and said, “Hey! Don’t blame me. I was the one who saved your royal butt just now.”

James’ expression softened and he said, “You’re right, I’m sorry.”

The boys climbed aboard the train and searched until they found an empty compartment. Once they had settled into their seats, Sirius asked, “So when are you gonna ask her out?”

“Who?” asked James.

Sirius rolled his eyes and said, “Evans!”

Before James could respond the door to their compartment opened as Peter and Remus entered. After exchanging greetings and chitchatting about their holiday, Sirius repeated the question.

“When are you gonna ask Evans out?”

Peter smiled and said, “You’re gonna ask her out?”

“No,” replied James. “Yes….maybe. I don’t know. She isn’t exactly friendly toward me.”

“She doesn’t turn around and run away from you anymore,” said Sirius. “That’s a good sign.”

James smirked and said, “Yeah, she’s gone from running away to ignoring my presence. That’s a sure-fire sign that she wants to date me.”

Remus finally spoke up. “Prongs, you should just ask her.”

James was surprised. Out of the four of them, Remus was the closest to Lily since they often studied together. If Remus thought he should ask her out, then maybe he knew something James didn’t. “You think she’ll say yes?” asked James.

Remus shrugged. “Either you bite the bullet and ask her out or you’ll always wonder about the missed possibilities. It’s a yes-no question. If she says yes then you will get your chance with her. If she says no then you’ll be no worse off than you are now.”

“Yeah,” agreed Sirius. “You need to ask her out or you’ll drive yourself…and us…nuts mooning over her from a distance.”

“There’s a Hogsmeade weekend coming in a few weeks,” said Peter. “You could ask if she wants to meet you for a drink.”

“You’d better ask her soon or someone might beat you to it, like that White bloke did last fall,” said Sirius.

“Alright, alright! I’ll do it,” replied James.

For a minute there was silence as James and the others sat there, staring at each other. Finally, Sirius said, “Well?”

“Well, what?” asked James.

Giving an exasperated sigh, Sirius said, “GO! Ask her!”

“Now?!” asked James, incredulously.

Laughing, Remus said, “Yeah, Prongs, now! There’s no time like the present.”

Peter nodded in agreement.

James took a deep breath, stood up and wiped his sweaty palms off on his pants. After he left the compartment, Remus asked Sirius, “Do you think he has a chance?”

Sirius smirked and said, “With Prongs I can’t rule out the possibility, but probably not.”

“Then why did we push him into asking her out?” asked Peter.

“Because if he doesn’t then he’ll never get over her, and he’ll continue to drive us nuts. If she tells him no then maybe he’ll realize it’s time to move on,” said Sirius.

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Lily was sitting in a compartment with Alice and Marlene, reading a book. Actually, she was staring at the pages more than reading them. Her thoughts were on the return to Hogwarts. She had mixed feelings about her return to the school. Her visit home had caused her to revisit some old ghosts that she thought she had buried during the past few years. She was filled with self doubt about her abilities despite being among the top students of her year.

Lily’s thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the compartment door. Shortly thereafter, the door opened and James stepped inside. He looked at Lily and in an awkward shy tone asked, “Can I speak with you for a moment?”

Lily looked at Alice and Marlene and back to James. “Er…yeah, I guess.”

After a moment James added, “Alone?” He nodded toward the corridor.

Lily stood and exited through the door which James had opened for her. After she left, Alice asked Marlene, “Do you think he has a chance?”

Marlene smirked and said, “The way she usually acts toward him, probably not. Strange, though. I don’t know why she’s so against him.”

Alice’s eyes widened as she said, “I thought you didn’t like James.”

“He can act like a prat sometimes, usually when he’s around Black, but for the most part he’s a pretty decent guy,” replied Marlene. “Besides, I think he really likes her,” she added.

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After they entered the corridor, James dawdled as a group of second year students strolled by. When they had passed out of earshot, Lily asked, “What is it you wanted to say, Potter?”

James looked at Lily, who had her deep red hair tied back, with a few strands falling loose and brushing the fair skin of her cheeks. He nervously ran a hand through his hair, summoning up his courage. “Well…erm, there’s a Hogsmeade weekend coming up, and…you, that is I…what I mean to say is- do you want to meet me for a drink?”

As the words hung in the air, James watched Lily, waiting for a response. Surprisingly, he saw a look of pure shock on her face, and something else - something he couldn’t quite put a finger on. He had expected one of two reactions: 1) anger or 2) happiness - not what he was seeing on her face.

A few fifth year Ravenclaws had entered their section of the train however they remained at the other end of the car.

“Evans?” prodded James.

Lily gulped and replied, “I can’t.”

James hopeful expression dissipated and he said, “Oh. Okay.”

Lily nodded and turned around to return to her compartment. Before she could open the door James said, “Hey, Evans?”

Lily slowly turned back around and said, “Hmm?” She watched in amazement as he once again ruffled his hair. ‘No wonder it’s never neat,’ she thought.

“I wanted to ask you…why won’t you go with me to Hogsmeade?” he asked.

Lily’s gaze dropped to the floor and after a moment she replied, “I’m already going with someone.”

“Oh,” James said, again. Before he could help himself he asked, “Who?”

Lily took a deep breath as she glanced at the Ravenclaws, who were still congregated at the opposite end of their car. Turning back to James and seeing his expectant expression, she stuttered out, “G-Gilderoy…Gilderoy Lockhart.”

James let out a disbelieving laugh as he said, “What?! You’re not serious!” When he saw Lily nod, he shook his head and said, “Lockhart! You’re going on a date with Lockhart?”

“Did somebody call my name?”

James turned around and saw Lockhart standing behind him smiling, his teeth as white as ever. Lockhart looked past James at Lily, and gave her a wink. When James glanced down the corridor, he saw a group of Ravenclaw girls who looked disappointed that Lockhart had turned his attention to Lily.

“My ears were burning. What adventure of mine have you been discussing?” asked Lockhart.

Lily smiled and said, “Actually, Gilderoy, I was just telling James about our plan to meet in Hogsmeade in a few weeks.”

Gilderoy’s smile widened and he chuckled, replying, “Of course! I can’t wait to tell you of my latest trip to Germany over the holiday. I came across a pack of giants, all of them at least 20 feet tall-”

“Gilderoy!” interrupted Lily. “You wouldn’t want to spoil the story by telling me now, would you?”

James watched, dumbfounded, as Lockhart nodded and grabbed Lily’s hand, giving the back of it a kiss. James’ hand started to find its way toward the handle of his wand, however before he could do anything, Lockhart had turned and walked back to the group of girls.

He looked back at Lily, not realizing his jaw was hanging in shock at the situation. “I can’t believe it,” he muttered.

Lily glanced at him nervously before disappearing into her compartment.

James soon found himself inside his own compartment, not really remembering how he got there. As he slumped down onto his seat the other Marauders exchanged knowing looks.

“Didn’t go well?” asked Remus.

“Not at all,” James glumly replied.

“Sorry, mate,” said Sirius.

“I can’t believe she said no to you,” added Peter.

James shook his head and said, “Well…she didn’t exactly say no. She’s already going with someone.”

“Who?” asked Sirius.

James looked Sirius in the eye and replied, “Lockhart.”

Sirius snorted and asked again, “Who?”

James continued to look Sirius in the eye, his expression dead serious.

Sirius’ eyes widened in surprise and confusion. “Bloody hell! Is she under the imperious curse or something? What possessed her to go out with that idiot?”

James shrugged and lowered his head in defeat.

Remus spoke up, saying, “It’s time to move on, Prongs. I know you really like her, but you can’t keep moping around. You should at least try to ask someone else out.”

Sirius nodded. “You need to broaden your horizons, Prongs. I can think of a few girls who would say yes if you asked them out.”

“Hmmm, maybe,” James said. He didn’t really want to think about any other girls at the moment, but maybe Remus and Sirius had a point. He decided he would ponder the idea of asking someone else out at another time. For the time being, he wanted to sulk.

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Lily sat down in her compartment and leaned over, rubbing her face with her hands. Had she really just made a date with Gilderoy Lockhart, she wondered. When James had asked her out, she was floored. She had the notion that he still liked her, but she thought she had discouraged him from approaching her to ask her out.

Seeing his hopeful face, she couldn’t bring herself to say yes. She told him that she couldn’t and tried to make a graceful exit, but he had decided to pursue the matter and ask why. The first thing that popped into her head was that she already had a date. When she saw Gilderoy down the corridor she knew she could use him - he was the perfect patsy. If she said they were going to meet in Hogsmeade, then she figured he would automatically act as if it had been his idea all along.

“Lily!”

Lily looked up and saw Alice and Marlene staring at her incredulously.

“You don’t think you can actually sit there and not tell us what Potter talked to you about, do you?” asked Marlene.

Lily fidgeted as she saw the expectant expressions of her friends. Taking a deep breath, she explained how James had asked her on a date to Hogsmeade, and how she turned him down. Then she muttered out the last part about Gilderoy.

“YOU WHAT?!!!” shouted Marlene.

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A/N: Okay, so was I overreacting, or do you want to kill me? Just remember - if you kill me now, you’ll never see how Lily and James eventually get together.

So after reading this chapter are you angry? Confused? Slightly nauseated? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of those questions then my job here is done. *evil snicker*

Thanks to my latest reviewers: mystical cah, hpfreak, Anu, Nyscat, Golden Phoenix, delpheena, Alicia, A New Reader, ilyse, AshleyM, Mani12191, granger1191, sista7, Scoudouc, and Jo Bob.

Next chapter: Another day in Hogsmeade.

61. Romance in Hogsmeade?

Chapter 61: Romance in Hogsmeade?

“I still can’t believe you’re doing this,” muttered Marlene as the girls prepared themselves for their trip to Hogsmeade.

“I have to agree with Marlene on this one,” said Alice.

Lily finished tying her shoe and sighed. “He’s not that bad,” she replied.

Marlene snorted and said, “Not that bad, eh? I’ve never seen a guy so in love with his own image!”

Lily chose not to respond as she brushed out her hair. She opted to leave it down since it was a chilly January morning.

Alice studied Lily while she got ready. “Lily?” she asked. When Lily turned around, Alice said, “You don’t seem very enthused about your date with Gilderoy, even if you’re pretending you are. Why did you decide to go to Hogsmeade with him instead of James?”

Lily blushed a little before saying, “Potter and I don’t exactly get along.”

“You mean you don’t get along with him,” corrected Marlene. “On the train he seemed like he really liked you.”

Lily grabbed her cloak and gloves, walking toward the staircase down to the common room, choosing not to answer Marlene.

Fed up, Alice stormed after Lily and stopped her on the staircase. “Lily, I don’t know what your problem with him is. He’s nice, he’s good looking, and it’s apparent to everyone except you that he absolutely adores you!”

Lily chewed her lip as she stared at her feet.

“Lily?” prodded Alice. “Even if you don’t want to date him, why don’t you at least try to be his friend?”

Lily swallowed a knot that was forming in her throat as she pondered what Alice had suggested. She gently shook her head.

Sighing in frustration, Alice asked, “Why NOT?”

“It’s better this way,” replied Lily in barely a whisper. She pushed her way past Alice and said, “We’re going to be late.”

Alice watched Lily’s retreating figure, wondering what in Merlin’s name was going on in her friend’s mind. As she reached the common room she almost collided with Sirius. “Sorry,” she said.

Sirius smiled at her and said, “No problem.” Looking toward the portrait hole he asked her, “Do you know what’s going on with Evans? She just left here looking like she was about to start crying.”

“She’s on her way to meet Lockhart,” replied Alice dryly.

Sirius smirked and said, “Oh, I see. Going on a date with that git would have most girls in tears.” Shaking his head, he asked, “What possessed her to agree to a date with him, anyway?”

“Marlene and I have been trying to figure that out for two weeks, now,” replied Alice.

Sirius glanced behind Alice. “Where is McKinnon?”

“She’s getting ready for her date with Matthew Morgan,” said Alice.

Sirius raised his eyebrows in confusion and asked, “What happened to that Canton bloke?”

Alice shook her head and said, “Where’ve you been? They broke up before the holidays!”

“Excuse me for not knowing every detail about McKinnon’s love life - not that I really want to,” said Sirius. Eyeing Alice, he asked, “So if Evans and McKinnon both have dates to Hogsmeade, what are your plans for today?”

“I was thinking I would pick up some goodies at Honeydukes. I also need to stop by the Quidditch store to pick up some broomstick polish,” said Alice. “What about you and your friends?”

“Remus isn’t feeling well today so he’s sleeping in and probably won’t go. Peter already went ahead, hoping to be the first in line at Honeydukes. James has a date with Beverly Fawcett,” replied Sirius.

“Really?” asked Alice. “I thought he liked Lily.”

“He does. He keeps claiming he’s over her but we all know better. He asked her out on the train ride back and she turned him down. Last week when Beverly asked him to Hogsmeade he accepted her invitation. I think he wants to try to move on,” said Sirius.

“Hmmm. Maybe it’s not such a bad thing,” said Alice. “I don’t think Lily has any interest in being around him right now. I think it would be better for him to date other girls.”

“Agreed,” said Sirius. “So, Lyons…if your friends are busy and my friends are busy, how would like to accompany me to Hogsmeade today?” He held out his arm with a smile that made Alice’s stomach flutter.

“Alright,” she replied, casually taking the arm he had offered.

As they walked to the village, they chatted about various things. Sirius was surprised to realize that he knew very little about Alice Lyons. He had not had the chance to notice her as he usually paid more attention to arguing with McKinnon or helping James with Evans. Out of the three girls Alice had seemed to blend in more with the crowd. Sure, he was on the Quidditch team with her, but he had always thought of her as a quiet, shy girl. Walking with her, he soon discovered that she was quite witty and had a great sense of humor.

Alice wasn’t sure whether she should be elated or terrified. There she was, walking arm-in-arm with her crush, Sirius Black. She was pleasantly surprised at how natural it felt to be with him. Usually she saw him goofing around with his friends or finding ways to irritate Marlene. Now that they were alone he was charming and easygoing. If only Marlene could see him now, she thought.

Once they reached the village they did not split up. They stopped at several shops, including Honeydukes, the Quidditch supply shop, and Zonko’s. “Come here,” coaxed Sirius, leading Alice to a corner of the joke shop. “Can you keep a secret?” he asked with a mischievous smile.

“Of course,” she replied, her curiosity piqued.

“Remember a few months ago, that day when the Slytherins broke out into song every time they tried to speak?” he asked.

Alice smiled, remembering. “Yes, of course I do. That was the day that Snape scared the skrewts with his rendition of ‘Love Me, Tender’ in our Care of Magical Creatures class. He spent the night in the hospital wing after one of the skrewts burned him.” Looking at him, her smiled broadened in realization. “That was YOU?”

Sirius grinned and winked at her, sending shivers down her spine. He pointed toward the shelf and said, “This was the secret of that particular prank.”

Alice looked at the shelf and saw a jar of Mendelssohn’s Magical Music Potion. She laughed and asked, “Even if you used that, how were you able to give it to all of the Slytherins?”

Sirius leaned forward and said, “I won’t tell you all the details. After all, I can’t have you knowing all of my secrets, but I can say that it helps to have friends in the kitchen.”

Alice’s eyes lit up as she exclaimed, “You know where the kitchen is? How on Earth did you find it?”

Sirius froze for a moment. He had never realized how blue Alice’s eyes were. “Marauder’s secret,” was all he could say, his eyes glued to hers. Seeing her eyes staring back into his, he suddenly felt the urge to kiss her. He started to lean closer to her when the door suddenly flew open, causing a loud honking noise (rather than the tinkling of a doorbell) to startle the pair. They heard voices and soon saw Marlene and Matthew coming around the corner.

“I just wanted to pick something up…” said Marlene to Matthew. When they looked down the aisle, Marlene was shocked to see Alice with Black, and was even more shocked at their proximity to each other. “Alice…” stuttered Marlene.

“Hi Marlene,” replied Alice, defiantly looking her in the eyes. She looked behind Marlene and smiled. “Hi Matthew.” The boy behind her smiled back, wondering what was going on.

Sirius felt irritated at the look McKinnon was sending to Alice. It looked like she was blaming her for spending time with him. He glared at McKinnon. Why shouldn’t Alice spend time with him, he thought. It was her life and she could decide who she wanted to hang out with. Sirius gave McKinnon a smug grin and casually placed an arm around Alice’s shoulders. Casting Alice his most charming smile he asked, “Would like to accompany me for a butterbeer? My treat!”

Alice, annoyed at her friend, but flattered at Sirius’ request, smiled at him and said, “That sounds lovely.”

The two walked past a shocked Marlene and out of the joke shop. As they approached the Three Broomsticks, Sirius commented, “I guess she’s not too thrilled about us hanging out.”

Alice replied, “No, I gather she’s not.”

“You don’t have to spend the rest of the day with me, if you don’t want to. I don’t want to ruin your friendship with her,” said Sirius.

Alice looked up at him in surprise. “You won’t ruin anything. True, I do value her friendship, but she has no right to decide who I like or don’t like. Besides,” she added with a smile, “I wouldn’t turn down the offer of a free butterbeer. You promised!”

Sirius smiled and said, “So does that mean you like me?”

Alice blushed and stuttered, “W-what?”

“You said McKinnon had no right to decide who you like or don’t like. Does that mean you like me?” he asked, his grin widening.

Alice noticed the contrast his white teeth made against his dark features. She paused, her knees feeling too weak to continue walking. She was also very aware that his arm was still around her. She wanted to sound mature and sophisticated, but all that would come out of her mouth was, “I…erm…I-uh…” Seeing amusement sparkling in his eyes, she felt a flush rush to her cheeks and she playfully went to hit him with her bag of Honeydukes sweets, but he quickly caught her arm and pulled her in for a kiss. Alice stood there in surprise, realizing she was getting her first kiss.

It lasted only a few seconds and just as she started gather her senses he pulled back. “I-” he started, but Alice stood on her toes and pulled him in for another kiss, wanting to explore the sensation of his lips on hers. It wasn’t exactly what she had expected. It wasn’t filled with music and fireworks, but it was warm and soft and rather pleasant. When they finally pulled apart she let out a nervous laugh, realizing that she had dropped her bag of sweets which were scattered across the sidewalk. The pair knelt down and picked up the goodies, Alice blushing whenever they reached for the same item, their hands brushing.

Once everything had been gathered, they finished their journey to the pub and walked inside, welcoming the warmth that came from the fireplace. As Alice looked around, she was surprised to see Frank sitting at a table with Dorcas Meadowes. Sirius followed her gaze and said, “Are you okay with them?”

Alice nodded. “I didn’t know that he fancied her,” she said. “I’m just surprised to see him pursuing someone else, that’s all. I’m glad, really.” She found an empty table on the other side of the room, wondering why seeing Frank with someone else would bother her. ‘Probably just the flattery of his pursuit that I’m missing,’ she thought.

As they sat down Sirius shook his head as he noticed a group across the pub. Alice looked at the group and saw Lily and Lockhart, surrounded by a group of girls who were listening with rapture as Lockhart spun another one of his tales. Lily smiled whenever Lockhart looked at her, but she looked bored and somewhat uncomfortable.

Sirius muttered, “I can’t believe she agreed to a date with that guy, I just can’t.” He wondered how James was doing with his date. Turning back to Alice, he decided to drop the subject of Evans and Lockhart and enjoy his present company. After ordering the drinks, they talked for quite a while. Sirius was pleased that her interest in Quidditch did not remain strictly with the school teams.

“You have to agree, Sirius,” she said. “The Tornados don’t stand a chance against the Wasps this season.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he retorted. “The Wasps have a weaker Seeker than the Tornados.”

“Yes,” replied Alice, “but they have the best Chasers and Beaters in the league. The Beaters can keep the Tornados’ Seeker distracted long enough for the Chasers to outscore them by hundreds of points. By that point even the points the Seeker gets wouldn’t be able to make a difference.”

Sirius looked at her, clearly impressed. “How did you get to know so much about Quidditch, anyway?”

“My mum used to play for the Wasps,” replied Alice. “She was a Chaser. I would love to play for them someday,” she added wistfully.

“She played for the Wasps?” Sirius asked incredulously. “I guess I know where your talent comes from now.” Seeing her surprise he sheepishly added, “I wasn’t crazy that you beat me at getting the Chaser position last year, but you deserved it. Besides,” he added, “I like being Beater. I love sending Bludgers at the Slytherins!”

Alice laughed. “I’m glad you made the team this year,” she said.

“So it must have been interesting growing up with a mum who played professional Quidditch,” said Sirius.

“It was, and it still has its perks,” said Alice. “Last summer I got to go to several Wasps games. Mum even managed to arrange a meeting with the team.”

“What?!” exclaimed Sirius. “That means…that means you got to meet…”

“Yeah,” replied Alice with a broad smile. “I got to meet the best Beater in the league. Ludo Bagman!”

When the last of the butterbeer was gone, Sirius escorted Alice out of the pub. They were walking down the street, happily chatting, when they heard a disturbance coming from a nearby alleyway. When they looked around the corner, they were shocked to see Peter cowering against the wall with three Slytherins looming over him. Sirius was furious to see a gash bleeding on his friend’s forehead. He knew that even though Peter was a Marauder, he wasn’t good at defending himself. Maybe he could have gotten by against one Slytherin but against three he stood no chance.

Pulling out his wand, Sirius motioned for Alice to stay back but was surprised to see her standing next to him with her wand drawn. She gave him a defiant look that told him that she could take care of herself. Turning back to the scene, Sirius bellowed, “Get your slithering arses away from him!”

Malfoy turned and gave a cold smile to Sirius and Alice. “I’m surprised you care, Black. This cowering mess over here has shown no bravery. I’m surprised he’s in Gryffindor. Aren’t Gryffindors supposed to be brave, or do you all quiver and cry at the slightest provocation?”

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken, Malfoy,” said Sirius. “It looks to me like you’re the one having difficulty controlling your tears.” He raised his wand and shouted, “Conjunctivo!”

The conjunctivitis curse hit Malfoy, who yelled out in pain and reached for his eyes which began to water uncontrollably. Sirius barked out a loud laugh just as Snape aimed a curse at him. Alice quickly pushed Sirius out of the way before it could hit and sent a curse straight at Snape, causing him to fall onto the ground laughing. Seeing the two Gryffindor’s with their wands aimed at him, the third Slytherin started to drag Malfoy down the alley until they were out of sight.

“What’s going on?” came a voice from behind Sirius and Alice.

Sirius turned to see James approaching them with Beverly. James looked into the alley to see Peter on the ground bleeding and Snape next to him still laughing. Peter pulled himself off the ground and ran over to his friends.

“Thanks,” said Peter to Sirius and Alice.

Alice smiled back while Sirius replied, “Don’t mention it. Nobody hurts one of my friends and gets away with it.”

Peter smiled gratefully. Alice turned to him and said, “Why don’t I take you to Madame Pomfrey? You need to have that gash looked at.” They walked away while James glared at Snape.

“Snivellus,” growled James. By this point the charm on Snape was wearing off and he glared back up at James while grabbing hold of his wand. James was quicker, though, and yelled, “Densaugeo!” The curse hit Snape, who was still on the ground, and his front teeth started to grow. A cry of disgust escaped his lips while Sirius and James snickered at the sight.

“What are you doing?!”

James and Sirius turned around to see Lily standing there with an accusatory glare. Behind her, Lockhart was staring at his reflection in the glass of the shop next door, checking his hair.

“What do you mean?” asked Sirius.

Lily looked at Snape, who was trying to hide the fact that his teeth were growing past his chin. She faced James and asked, “Why do you insist on hexing him at every opportunity? What did he ever do to you?”

“What?!” shouted James. “Evans, you have no idea what he just did!”

“From where I’m standing,” started Lily, “there are more of you than him and he’s on the ground suffering from hexes that you’re throwing at him.”

James felt a surge of anger pass through him as he cuttingly replied, “That git and his friends just hurt Peter. You didn’t know that because you just arrived and assumed that we were randomly picking on him.” He turned and grabbed Beverly’s hand, about to walk away before he paused and added, “Ask Alice. You’ll probably find her in the hospital wing where she just took Peter!” He then left with Beverly.

Lockhart finally walked up to them and with a goofy smile asked, “What did I miss?”

Sirius shook his head and said, “Evans, you need to get a clue.” He left the pair and headed back to Hogwarts, hoping to catch up with Peter at the hospital wing.

Back by the alley, Lily sighed, trying to push down the guilty feelings that were trying to surface.

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A/N: So what did you think about the whole Sirius/Alice thing?

Thanks to the latest reviewers: mystical cah, hpfreak, nanopy, Alicia, Hermione G. Potter, Anu, Nyscat, A New Reader, Mani12191, Golden Phoenix, Remus’sweetie, spanish gurl, and I <3 harry…

Next chapter: The Marauders finish one of their projects.

62. The Map's First Mission

Chapter 62: The Map’s First Mission

Lily felt guilty. She had been walking down the main street of Hogsmeade trying to smile and nod at the appropriate moments during Gilderoy’s latest tall tale, when she caught sight of James ahead casting a hex into an alleyway. Sirius had been standing next to James with a self satisfied smirk on his face. When Lily got close enough to see Snape on the ground in the alley, Lily jumped to the immediate conclusion that James and Sirius had chosen another opportune moment to pick on Snape. Her annoyance overcame her and she immediately jumped down James’ throat, accusing him of malice. She had been shocked at his anger and thought she had detected a hint of hurt in his voice before he had stormed off with a girl Lily didn’t recognize.

Over the next several days a nagging voice in Lily’s head kept urging her to apologize to James for her false accusations. It seemed the fair thing to do, however she dreaded having to face him. As different scenarios played out in her head she imagined two situations: 1) He would see her apology as some kind of admission that she liked him and start pursuing her again, or 2) He would not accept her apology and look at her with contempt. Lily dreaded either scenario.

During the next few weeks, Lily kept trying to build the courage to apologize but each time she had prepared herself to face James she had chickened out, finding an excuse to do something else. As time passed it became easier to find excuses. She either had too much homework or was too involved helping the younger students who were struggling with their classes. Besides, James and his friends were usually either at Quidditch practice or holed up in their dormitory ‘sleeping’ as they put it. This gave Lily fewer opportunities to have an ‘accidental’ meeting and quickly apologize.

Sirius, James, and Remus had not taken lightly what the Slytherins had done to Peter. He was a Gryffindor, a Marauder, and most importantly their friend and they felt it was their duty to teach them a lesson. At every opportunity Sirius and James found ways of irritating or hexing the Slytherins involved, especially Snape. After Professor McGonagall had assigned them a detention for transfiguring Snapes nose into an actual hook, Remus finally convinced them to back off so they could properly prepare an elaborate prank where they had less chance of being caught.

While they brainstormed the best method of avenging Peter’s attack, they spent all of their spare time working on two important tasks: the continuation of the Animagus training and the construction of the Marauder’s Map. Many nights were spent wandering the corridors of the castle under the invisibility cloak, making sure they had as many of the shortcuts and passages mapped out as they could remember. Sirius even spent several evenings stalking the professors just to find out where their quarters were. He reasoned that it was important to try to avoid those areas of the castle if they were going to properly sneak around.

Peter’s job was to find out where the common rooms for the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were. The Marauders had long ago found out the location of the Slytherin common room.

James snuck into the Restricted Section of the library and was able to locate some old maps of the castle. They didn’t have all of the secret corridors however they did have a few new ones that the Marauders hadn’t seen before. They reckoned that if these new corridors were that easy to find in the Restricted Section then it would be easy enough for Filch to know about them. Still, it was valuable information and it made the map more complete.

Remus’ job was to draw the final draft and cast the identification charm which would identify all the occupants of the castle. It did not take him long to research the charm so he decided to work on something extra which he was certain would please the other Marauders. He wanted it to be a surprise.

As the month of March faded and the snow was melting, the boys finally finished the map. Remus insisted on placing the final touches away from the prying eyes of his mates.

“C’mon Moony!” shouted Sirius, banging on the door to the bathroom. “You’ve been in there for two hours!”

“I’m about ready to use Alohomora and break the door down,” complained James.

“Yeah, but knowing Moony he probably booby trapped the door,” said Sirius.

“Well Padfoot, I’m getting bored sitting here waiting. It would almost be preferable to take the chance on a booby trap than to try and count the number of bricks on the wall again,” said James.

A clicking sound drew their attention as the bathroom door finally opened. Remus walked out, his face impassive yet his eyes sparkling with anticipated mischief. He casually strode to his bed and sat down, amusedly waiting for his friends’ impatient comments.

“Well?”

“Where is it?”

“Is it finished?” were the combined comments of Sirius, James, and Peter.

Remus smiled and pulled a folded piece of parchment from the pocket of his robes. He held it out to the others, who stared at the blank sheet.

“How do you activate it?” asked Sirius, practically drooling over the opportunity to wreak havoc without the hassle of getting caught.

Remus took out his wand and tapped the map, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he said, “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”

No sooner had he said the words before the invisible ink became visible, spreading from the point where Remus’ wand had touched. The result was an intricate map of the castle and the surrounding grounds up to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Across the top of the parchment, it read:

Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers

are proud to present

THE MARAUDER’S MAP

James grinned as he saw the tiny ink dots that indicated the whereabouts of everybody within the castle. “This is great!” he said. “I like the password.”

“It seemed appropriate,” commented Remus. “I think Padfoot was my inspiration behind it - I thought of it after he got detention for transfiguring Marlene’s earrings into earwigs.”

“I feel so honored,” gushed Sirius.

“How do you wipe it clean?” asked James.

Remus tapped the map and said, “Mischief managed.” The ink disappeared much the same way as it had previously appeared. Looking up at his friends, he said, “I thought something concise would be best in case we are in a hurry to hide it from an authority figure.”

“Good thinking,” said James. “So are we on for tonight - our first official use of the map?”

Remus held up his hand and said, “Wait. Before we do that, there are a few more things I added to the map that I think you will find valuable and enjoy. First, I placed an inflammable charm on the parchment. I also placed a strengthening charm on it to make it difficult to tear. There is an impervious charm to protect it from water damage.”

“Wow,” said Peter. “Good thinking, Moony.”

Remus smiled and said, “Ah, but I saved the best part for last. Imagine, if by some chance, a Slytherin gets a hold of the map while it is deactivated and tries to crack the code. Why don’t we suspend reality for a moment and pretend that I am Lucius Malfoy and have just found the map.” Remus tapped the wand and said, “I, Lucius Malfoy, command you to show your secrets.”

After a moment, writing scrawled across the parchment, very similar to Remus’ neat handwriting. It said, “Mr. Moony would like to commend Mr. Malfoy on his noble attempt to break the code, and ask that he remove his abnormally pale eyes from business that does not concern him!”

Sirius and James glanced questioningly at Remus while Peter stared at the map in confusion. Before they could say anything, another sentence appeared in James’ tiny scrawl.

“Mr. Prongs seconds that motion and would like to add that Mr. Malfoy looks like an albino freak!”

James’ eyebrows shot upward as Sirius doubled over in laughter. His laughter paused when he saw his own writing flash across the page.

“Mr. Padfoot would like to wave his hand in greeting to Mr. Malfoy, minus four fingers.”

James nodded, thinking that sounded like something Sirius might say. Finally, Peter’s choppy writing scurried across the parchment.

“Mr. Wormtail would like Mr. Malfoy to bugger off!”

Remus watched the reactions of the other three Marauders as they stared at the map which was once again blank.

“What was that?” asked Peter.

“I thought I would add a little bit of personality to the map,” replied Remus. “I used a spell related to the one that is used to animate portraits. What do you guys think?”

“Bloody brilliant!” exclaimed Sirius.

“It’s like the icing on the cake - a great way to seal the deal on our masterpiece,” said James.

“When do we get to test it?” asked Peter.

Sirius grinned evilly and said, “No time like the present.”

James caught his eye and grinned back. “I agree, Padfoot. I think it’s time we do that little project we’ve been planning.”

Remus looked at the two boys cautiously and asked, “Don’t you think we should start with something a little smaller to test the map?”

Sirius shook his head and said, “If we’re going to use the map, we might as well go all out.”

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An hour later, James returned to the boys’ dormitory.

“Did you find him?” asked Peter.

James waved the map and replied, “Of course. He was on the map.”

Peter shrugged and said, “I wasn’t sure he would show up.”

“Did you ask him?” asked Remus.

James nodded and said, “It took a moment. I had to jump out of the way. His aim was impeccable.” James looked down at his drenched robes. Shaking his head, he added, “Peeves sure loves his water balloons.”

“Is he up for the job?” asked Sirius.

James grinned and replied, “He said he’d do it.”

“Then that means we need to get started or we won’t have time to get everything ready before tomorrow,” said Remus.

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The next morning, four boys sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, tired but eagerly anticipating the day’s upcoming events. They had been up most of the night gathering supplies and getting things set up. Remus had helped find the appropriate spell and he, James, and Sirius snuck around the castle with the aid of the Marauder’s Map so that they could place the spells in the appropriate locations. Peter’s job was to set up the props which had been handed off to Peeves earlier that morning.

“Good morning!” chirped Alice as she sat next to Sirius. He leaned over and gave her a kiss while Lily and Marlene reluctantly sat down next to them.

Soon after the January Hogsmeade trip, Sirius and Alice officially started dating, much to Marlene’s dismay. Not only was Alice dating her rival, but in order to spend time with her best friend she was often forced to be in proximity to Black. She and Alice had had several arguments over the subject, however Marlene did not want to lose one of her best friends so she tried to be civil toward Black. He, in turn, also tried to be civil, however when Alice’s back was turned he would find some way to provoke Marlene and set off her famous temper.

Lily was not too thrilled with the situation either. She didn’t care to witness the arguments that passed between Alice and Marlene. She was happy that Alice was happy, but she also empathized with Marlene to some extent. While Marlene was not happy to be near Sirius, Lily was not happy to be near James. Ever since the January Hogsmeade trip, James had made a point of ignoring Lily. At times, Lily would feel as if someone was watching her, but when she would turn she would see James studying or hanging out with his friends.

After his date with Beverly, James noticed an increase in his popularity. Sirius told James that girls were flirting with him now that he was no longer chasing after Lily. At first, James was completely baffled by the sudden interest several girls showed him, and he wasn’t quite sure what to do about it. Several came to watch the Quidditch team practice and some even went as far as ruffling his hair, commenting on how it made him look like he just got off his broomstick. This played with James’ nerves, causing him to run his hand through his hair, and that would send the girls into fits of giggles.

While Lily had noticed that James was ignoring her, James had also noticed that Lily continued to ignore him. Her accusations in Hogmeade had hurt, and he was rather annoyed. What was wrong with him, anyhow, he wondered. Why didn’t Lily even look at him or talk to him, and why did she always jump to the conclusion that he had done something wrong, he thought. With each day that passed those questions gnawed at him and he found that the attention he received from other girls made him feel like maybe he wasn’t so bad after all. He decided to flirt back and try to forget about the one girl who had continued to invade his thoughts for almost four years.

Now, that morning, James and Lily, as well as Sirius and Marlene, made a point of ignoring each other. Alice noticed the tension but was used to it and opted to make conversation with her boyfriend. Every so often, she noticed Sirius or one of the other boys glance upward or over at the Slytherin table.

“What’s going on?” Alice whispered to Sirius.

Sirius gave her an innocent look and asked, “Whatever do you mean?”

“Why do you guys keep looking at the ceiling?” she asked.

“We’re just interested in the weather, that’s all,” replied Sirius.

Suddenly, there were several shouts across the hall. When the Gryffindors looked over, they saw Peeves floating above the Slytherin table, hurling balloons at the Slytherin students. This was not unusual as Peeves loved to pelt water balloons at students. What was unusual was that the balloons were filled with glitter, which dusted over the Slytherin students as the balloons exploded.

Eventually, Filch stormed into the Great Hall yelling at Peeves to stop messing up the area. Peeves responded by blowing a raspberry and sending a balloon straight at the caretaker’s head, causing him to inhale a bunch of glitter and start sneezing. When the Bloody Baron floated into the hall and gave Peeves a murderous glare, the poltergeist finally floated out of the Great Hall, cackling as he launched the last of his balloons.

“That was interesting,” chortled Marlene, as she watched the Slytherin students who were trying in vain to brush off the glitter.

While attention was drawn toward the side of the hall, the students and teachers failed to notice a sudden difference in the appearance of the ceiling. Only when the hall darkened did they look up.

“That’s strange,” said Lily, noticing the dark clouds hovering above them. “I thought it was supposed to be a beautiful day outside.”

No sooner had she said this when a drop of rain landed on the table in front of her. It was soon followed by more drops as they fell on the heads of the surprised students and teachers. They looked up, not believing that the enchanted ceiling was raining on them. The force of the rain picked up and soon puddles were forming at their feet.

Cries could be heard across the hall and the students had to hold back their laughter as they watched the glitter on the Slytherins changing and growing into different types of plants. Whenever a droplet of rain came into contact with the glitter a sprout would grow.

Sirius grabbed his side, bent over in hysterics as he watched a rose bush grow and climb its way up Regulus, the thorns catching his robes and tearing them, causing several scratches. Next to Regulus, Bellatrix was avidly trying to remove the dandelions which were growing throughout her hair.

The puddles in the hall were quickly becoming larger, and the teachers finally ushered them toward the doors before they were forced to swim. Professor Sprout tried helping as many of the Slytherins as she could, trying to uproot some of them.

James prodded Peter in the shoulder as they approached the exit, nodding toward Lucius Malfoy who was a few feet away. Malfoy glared at James, trying to appear intimidating and failing as he had an apple tree growing out of his head. James approached Malfoy and with a grin reached up and picked an apple off of the small tree. He casually took a bite and then spit it out, saying that it was too bitter for his taste.

Once the students piled through the exit, hoping for some respite from the torrential downpour, they were disappointed to find that the storm was in the corridor as well.

Filch, who was trying to weed his nose, angrily reported back to Professor Dumbledore that the entire school was besieged with the storm. Dumbledore announced that, due to the weather and also to the state of one quarter of the student population, classes would be cancelled for the day until the matter could be straightened out.

The students all hurried outside, surprised to see the sun shining over them with a few clouds spotting the sky. They cheered and proceeded to perform drying spells on themselves as well as the younger students. The day was spent enjoying the outdoors and one of the first warm spring days of the year, while the Slytherins were forced to hang out in the makeshift hospital wing that had been conjured outside near the greenhouses.

James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter all grinned at each other, realizing that the first official use of the Marauder’s Map had been a grand success, and that Peter’s attack had been avenged.

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A/N: Ah, what a fun chapter to write! So what are you thoughts on the construction of the map? Was the prank elaborate enough?

I’m thrilled to have mixed reviews on the whole Sirius/Alice situation (I love sparking debate) - though most of it is positive. Makes me want to laugh because it almost seems like there are more Sirius/Marlene shippers out there than there are for James and Lily - for this story, at least. I suppose that could be because we all know that in the end James and Lily will get together. As for Sirius and Marlene, who knows…?

Thanks to my latest reviewers: nanopy, lilly flower (x2), Nyscat, mystical cah, Golden Phoenix, Alicia, delpheena (x2), Anu, Remus’sweetie, Mani12191, Chayse, James Potter (x4), tigerfairy, spanish gurl, A New Reader (x2), sista7 (x2), and Jo Bob (x2).

Next chapter: The Marauders work on their other project.

63. Piecing it All Together

Chapter 63: Piecing it All Together

The inclement weather inside the castle lasted until dinner that evening. The students reluctantly made their way back inside, their stomachs churning in anticipation of dinner. The professors who weren’t trying to get the school in order had managed to conjure up galoshes for the students so that they could splash through the corridors without risk of wet feet.

The Slytherin table was unsurprisingly empty that evening, but that was all well and good since a jungle seemed to have formed on that side of the Great Hall. Most of the Slytherins were still by the greenhouses trying to have different body parts pruned. It was rumored that Rabastan Lestrange, a sixth year Slytherin, needed to go to St. Mungo’s since he had grown a Whomping Willow sapling out of his shoulder and had taken a rather harsh beating.

Professor McGonagall was livid. She knew that someone or some people were behind the events of the day but there was not enough evidence to pinpoint anybody. She tried to intimidate the students with warnings of what the headmaster would do when she brought him the culprits, however when Dumbledore casually picked a lemon from a tree that had sprouted from the Slytherin table, cut it and squeezed a little into his tea, the students decided that he didn’t seem angry enough to inflict a harsh punishment.

Alice was certain that Sirius and his friends were at least partially responsible for the monsoon as well as the new foliage. She hounded Sirius all day trying to get him to confess. He was rather amused by her persistence but never directly answered her questions. He would either redirect the conversation or simply wink in response. Her suspicions were all but confirmed when she noticed that Peter had grass growing out of his fingers.

Sirius yanked Peter to the side and hissed, “Wormtail! Why do you have grass on your hand?”

Peter gave a nervous laugh and said, “Well…erm… I was the one who filled the balloons with the Instant Garden Glitter. I guess some of it got on my hands.”

Sirius rolled his eyes. “Haven’t you ever heard of wearing gloves? Or maybe wiping your hands?”

Peter shrugged and with a sheepish look left to find a pair of gloves in order to hide the lawn forming on his hands.

Though the Marauders were immensely proud of their feat, they did not claim responsibility. They preferred their anonymity and realized its usefulness for their future adventures. The map, along with James’ invisibility cloak, gave them a large amount of freedom to cast mischief wherever they saw fit.

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As the days passed and the weather grew warmer, the students were well aware of the added responsibilities. The fifth year and seventh year students were especially stressed and short tempered due to the upcoming exams. Whenever the noise level in the study areas became too loud, the fifth year students made a point of reminding the fourth year students that next year they would be in the same predicament.

James and Sirius shrugged it off, feeling that a year was a very long time away. Whenever they realized they were stepping on too many toes, they would sneak down to the kitchens or to Hogsmeade to bring back peace tokens for the older students. They would never tell them who left the packages of goodies - they would simply leave a note stating ‘Compliments of fellow Gryffindors’.

The Animagus training was nearly complete. As each month passed, when Remus wearily returned from his transformations, it further motivated the other boys to finish the training. The day after Remus’ last transformation of the school year , while he was in the hospital wing, the other three Marauders were practicing in their dormitory while Frank was studying for the end of year exams in the library. Over the past few months they had mastered transforming individual traits of their Animagi. Now they were working on piecing them all together.

That morning, James was sprawled on the floor in hysterics at the sight of Sirius. He could feel a pain forming in his side from the force of his laughter.

“Ha, bloody ha, Prongs,” muttered Sirius. “Personally, I think I’m looking pretty good.”

That sent James into further laughter, rolling onto his side and trying to catch his breath. Sirius frowned and strolled up to the mirror to inspect himself. He had a snout coming out of his face with some shaggy fur replacing his usually elegant hair. He had pads on his hands and feet and a large shaggy black tail sprouting out of his backside. Sirius turned to Peter, who was trying to not look at Sirius, out of fear he would soon join James in his laughter.

“Wormtail, you don’t find this funny, do you?” asked Sirius.

Peter’s nose twitched a little. “I-erm, well…”

“Admit it, Padfoot,” said James. “This half-man/half-dog, or rather ‘mog‘, is just too much. I mean, it’s hard to have conversation with you when you’re wagging your tail.”

“That’s not as funny as when Moony used your antlers as a coat-rack,” retorted Sirius. He took one last look at himself in the mirror before transforming back. He shook his head in frustration. “This is taking too long! We’ve been at this for the past year and we still can’t get the full transformation down.”

“We’re getting closer and closer each time we practice. I don’t know what else to do other than keep trying,” said James.

“Maybe that’s our problem,” suggested Peter.

“That we keep trying?” asked James.

“No…erm…maybe,” replied Peter, his watery eyes darting back and forth between James and Sirius. “It’s just that, maybe we’re trying too hard.”

“News flash, Wormtail,” said Sirius, “becoming an Animagus takes a lot of training so we have to try hard. Right, Prongs?”

“Yeah, but maybe Wormtail has a point,” said James.

“I do?” asked Peter.

“Maybe we are concentrating to hard,” continued James. “We have the basics down for each trait of our Animagi, but do you remember when we took the potion at the end of second year? Do you remember during that short time what it felt like to be that animal? It was like my mind had a different focus, like things were less complex. And then there was all that research we had to do that summer on our animals. We had to practically get into the mind of our creatures. Maybe that’s the final step that we’re missing.”

“By all means, Prongs,” said Sirius, “give it a shot.”

James stood and walked to the center of the room. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to remember his transformation during second year after he had taken the potion. He tried to focus on the mindset of his Animagus and soon he felt his mind reaching that place. When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to find that he was taller and standing on four hooves. He looked at Sirius and Peter whose faces were filled with awe and excitement. James slowly approached the mirror and when he reached it he saw a large stag staring back at him. Since James was currently unable to clap his hands in celebration of his achievement, he instead pawed at the floor with one of his front feet.

“Prongs!” exclaimed Sirius, approaching the stag with a large smile. He gave the creature a pat on the shoulder and said, “You did it!”

A moment later James transformed back, a huge grin settling on his face.

“So what exactly did you do differently?” asked Sirius.

“I cleared my mind and focused on what I felt during the transformation after we took the potion. I didn’t even realize I had changed until I opened my eyes,” said James. “I guess all the practicing we’ve been doing has caused a large part of the transformation to become like second nature. It just took that last bit to piece it all together.”

“Wait until we tell Moony!” said Peter. “He’ll flip out.”

“Maybe we should wait,” said Sirius. “He had the last full moon of the school year last night and Peter and I still have to complete the transformation. Why don’t we all finish the training and surprise him next year during the first full moon?”

“Can you imagine his face when he sees us sitting in the Shrieking Shack waiting for him?” said James, with a sly smile.

Sirius laughed and nudged Peter, saying, “C’mon Wormtail, we have a lot of work to do to catch up to Prongs, here.”

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During the final week of classes a dark cloud settled over the school. The Daily Prophet reported more attacks by the supporters of the Dark Lord, the Death Eaters. A few Muggleborn officials in the Ministry had been killed along with their families. Even more alarming, another wizard had been targeted as well - a Pureblood. This unsettled a lot of people, especially the students from pureblooded families who had thought themselves safe from the attacks. The wizard who had been targeted was well known for his outspoken views on equal rights for all witches and wizards, including half bloods and Muggleborns. The message was clear - if you were Muggleborn or in anyway supportive of one, then you were a potential target.

The mood was somber during the morning of the Daily Prophet article. Alice and Marlene were concerned about Lily, whose eyes were rather haunted and set in a sickly pale face. Lily didn’t eat, feeling more like pushing her food from one side of the plate to the other to try to keep her mind distracted.

“Lily, I think you need to go to Madame Pomfrey,” said Marlene.

“Hmmm?” said Lily, not really listening. She glanced down the table where she saw the Marauders huddled together over the paper. James had a stony expression and Sirius was saying something to him. James’ jaw clenched as he shoved the paper away. Lily focused her attention back on her eggs, which were starting to look more scrambled than over-easy. The sight caused Lily’s stomach to turn.

Alice snapped her fingers in front of Lily and said, “Really Lily, you don’t look well.”

Lily suddenly stood up and ran out of the Great Hall, tears threatening to fall as she felt the few bites of breakfast she had eaten starting to rebel. She managed to reach the girls’ bathroom in time to empty her stomach. She sat in the stall by the toilet, feeling sobs forming, in a way purging her of some of her distress. The article in the paper had hit her hard with its implications. Even though she felt feverish she couldn’t help but shiver.

Once Lily calmed down enough to wash her face and rinse her mouth she left the bathroom, her eyes puffy and red. Even though she knew the reason behind her feeling ill, she decided to go to Madame Pomfrey in the hopes that she would have a potion to calm her stomach. As she rounded the corner she came face to face with Lucius Malfoy.

He drew his mouth into a wide sneer as he saw Lily’s state. “Aw, what’s the matter, Mudblood?” he asked. “Are you upset about the attacks? Do you think you’re next, or perhaps your family?”

The small chill that had crept down her spine earlier was now seeping into Lily’s bones in response to what Malfoy said. “Please get out of my way,” she said, trying to move past him.

Malfoy stepped in her path and said, “You realize that the Dark Lord has his targets set, and when he decides on killing someone, there’s no stopping him. He’ll use anyone or anything to get what he wants.”

Lily backed away, reaching a shaky hand for her wand. As she went to draw it out, Malfoy lunged forward and knocked it out of her hand, pushing her to the floor. As she fell Lily felt her head bump into the suit of armor standing nearby.

As a trickle of blood worked its way by her ear, Lily heard the suit of armor say, “Terribly sorry, Miss.”

Lucius leaned over her and placed his hand around her throat, holding her down. He hissed in her ear, “It is not wise to cross certain people, Mudblood. You may not like the consequences.”

Lily trembled at the feel of his breath on her ear, her stomach threatening to empty itself again. She tried to curb the feeling as he tightened his grip on her neck.

Suddenly Malfoy made a surprised, yelping noise and collapsed on top of her. A moment later he was pulled off of her and thrown to the other side of the hallway. Lily blinked to clear her vision and soon found James hovering over her looking very concerned.

“Are you alright?” asked James.

Lily slowly sat up and nodded while tentatively touching the gash on the side of her head. She winced as the stinging sensation of the wound turned into a dull throb.

“You should have Pomfrey look at that,” said James, reaching over to inspect the wound. As he touched her temple he couldn’t help but notice the feel of her hair against his hand. ‘I had forgotten it was that soft,’ he mused, his hand lingering.

Lily was feeling a bit dizzy. ‘Certainly from the head injury, of course,’ she thought, trying to reason that it had nothing to do with James’ proximity to her or the fact that he was gently touching her face. Suddenly, she fully realized the situation and jumped back, away from James. She stood up and searched for her wand which was on the floor several feet away where Malfoy had knocked it. Sensing James’ stare, she said, “I was already on my way to see Madame Pomfrey.”

“Are you ill?” asked James.

Lily shrugged and said, “Just a bit under the weather this morning.”

James nodded and said, “Voldemort.”

Lily gasped and paled a little. “W-what?”

“The attacks,” said James, “that were in the Daily Prophet this morning. It’s understandable for you to be nervous - it makes me sick reading about what that bastard is doing.”

Lily nodded and stared at a spot on the floor near James’ feet. James took a step closer, realizing this was the most civilized conversation they had had since first year, and probably the longest. He just wished she would look up at him instead of at the floor. He noticed her trembling a bit as he approached.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “Hogwarts is the safest place in the wizarding world, with Professor Dumbledore as headmaster. We’d never let anything happen to you…”

Lily’s head shot up, though her gaze did not meet his eyes. “I don’t need you protecting me, Potter.”

“Evans, I didn’t mean it like that-” James started.

Lily shook her head and in a tight voice said, “Please, Potter, just stay away from me.”

She turned and hurried down the corridor, leaving a confused teenage boy staring after her. He was prepared to be annoyed yet again at her comments toward him, but he couldn’t help but think about the look in her eyes as she had said her final comments. ‘Was it fear?’ he thought. ‘Of me? Why would she be afraid of me?’

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A/N: So the Animagus transformation is pretty much completed. Now, we wait until the fall for their first full moon at the Shrieking Shack.

Thanks to my latest reviewers: Mani12191, Anu, granger1191, Potterhead (x2), hpfreak, Anonymous, Jo Bob, Hermione 1309, Golden Phoenix, tigerfairy, German Wings, mystical cah, sista7, and Alicia.

Next chapter: Fourth year is finished. Sirius is once again faced with returning home for the summer.

64. Family Allies

Chapter 64: Family Allies

“You sure you’ll be alright?” asked James. He was standing near the barrier to the entrance to Platforms 9 and 10 and was rather reluctant to leave Sirius behind. He remembered the state of his best mate at the end of the previous summer, thin and haunted.

“For the one thousandth time, Prongs, I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself,” said Sirius. He was touched by James’ concern, but even though James was his best mate, he didn’t want him to know the full extent of what happened to him at Grimmauld Place. He was embarrassed enough to be related to them, but to acknowledge their unforgivable deeds to anyone, including James, would only draw pity, something Sirius loathed. Besides, Sirius felt that if James knew then he would do something stupid which could put him in unnecessary danger, or possibly make things worse for Sirius since he was still a minor and had to live there no matter what he wanted.

James seemed taken aback by Sirius’ gruff remark. “Uh…ok, sorry I asked.”

Sirius immediately felt guilty. He knew James meant well, and he didn’t want to turn away the one person who above all felt like family, like a brother. Sheepishly, he said, “Sorry. Didn’t mean to bite your head off just then. I’m just looking forward to the end of summer.” Looking toward the barrier, he said, “You’d better go. Tell your mum I said ‘hello’.”

“You’re not coming out?” asked James. He knew his mother would be disappointed that Sirius hadn’t come out to greet her.

“Nah…I forgot something on the train. I’ll just talk to her before we leave in a few months,” replied Sirius.

James knew Sirius was lying but decided not to push the issue. He clapped Sirius on the shoulder and said, “Okay. Take care, Padfoot. Don’t forget about the mirror.”

Sirius grinned and said, “How could I forget? We got a lot of use out of those in detention this year.”

James grinned back before disappearing through the barrier.

Sirius sighed and sat down on his trunk. He did not want to walk through the barrier. He wanted to fast forward to September, or better yet, fast forward two years where he would be old enough to leave his family without their being able to stop him. He wasn’t sure how long he sat there procrastinating. He simply sat there thinking about anything from ways to antagonize Regulus to ways of sneaking an owl out to one of his friends or even Alice.

“So,” came a voice from a few feet in front of Sirius, “you are here.”

Sirius looked up, surprised to see Andromeda. “What are you doing here?”

“I came with Aunt Elphaba,” she replied. “She was rather irritated about waiting, so she sent me along to find you while she took Regulus home.”

“What about your sisters?” asked Sirius with a sneer.

Andromeda smirked and said, “Mum met up with them and they’re on their way home. You and your family are supposed to come for dinner tonight.”

Sirius groaned and sarcastically said, “Wonderful! Who do I have the displeasure of seeing tonight?”

“Other than me?” quipped Andromeda. “In addition to your family and mine, there will be Araminta, Aunt Elladora, and Uncle Alphard.”

“Uncle Alphard, eh?” asked Sirius. After Andromeda nodded he added, “Well at least there’ll be some entertainment. Does he still think my name is Cereal?”

“Yes,” she replied with a thoughtful smile. “Although, sometimes when I look at his eyes, I wonder if he’s as crazy as everyone thinks, or if he’s just having fun with us.”

“Maybe…” said Sirius.

There were a few moments of awkward silence as they wondered what to say to each other. After all, the two cousins had never gotten along in the past and now they were trying to have a civilized conversation.

Andromeda finally took a deep breath and said, “Sirius, I realize this is strange…us talking like this. I…just wanted to thank you for your letters this year. They have helped me do a lot of soul searching.”

“So you’re still seeing this Tonks fellow?” asked Sirius.

“I am,” she replied with a slight blush. “I…well…I’m in love with him, Sirius. The more time I spend with him, the more I realize that I’ve found my soul-mate.”

Sirius let out a low whistle. “I assume the family still has no clue about him?”

“No, but I think they’re beginning to suspect that I’m hiding something,” she replied. “I’ve missed several family functions to meet with Ted. They want to know where I was but telling them I work late will only work for so long before they know I’m lying.”

“What does Tonks think of all this?” asked Sirius.

Andromeda shifted uncomfortably and shrugged her shoulders. “I haven’t exactly told him yet.”

“You haven’t told him about what - being a witch or how crazy our family is?” asked Sirius.

“Neither,” replied Andromeda.

“Andromeda, how serious is this relationship? You already told me you love him, but how does he feel about you?” asked Sirius.

“He’s told me he loves me. He’s even broached the subject of marriage,” she said.

“He proposed?” asked Sirius.

“No, not exactly,” she said. “He just brought it up in conversation as something he was thinking about for us.”

“Then you need to tell him as soon as possible,” said Sirius. “It’s better he finds out from you before one of our family members finds out and goes after him.”

Andromeda looked down and gave a weak nod. “I know, I know. I don’t know what I’m scared of more - his walking out on me or his staying and being in danger.” She looked back up at Sirius and said, “Actually, I have another motive for coming here to meet you.”

Sirius raised his eyebrows and asked, “What?”

“I wanted to make a deal with you,” she said. “I know what happened last summer. Regulus told Bellatrix who told me. I think we both know there’s a strong chance it could happen again this summer. You’ve been supportive of me and Ted and I want to return the favor, but I think it can be beneficial for the both of us.”

“What do you have in mind?” asked Sirius, his curiosity piqued.

“As far as the family knows, we still don’t get along,” said Andromeda.

“You mean we get along now?” joked Sirius.

Andromeda tried to give him an annoyed look, but was given away by the twitching corners of her mouth. “As I was saying, we still appear to detest each other. I, of course, being one to ‘value’ the family ideals while you are the black sheep. Now, suppose I decide to take a special interest in helping my ‘horrible’ cousin to see the error of his ways. Suppose I do this by getting you out of the house during the weekends so I can work with you, make you my ‘special project’ for the family’s sake?”

“How would that benefit you?” asked Sirius.

“You would give me an alibi. You would have a free weekend while I could spend time with Ted and the family wouldn’t suspect anything,” said Andromeda.

Suddenly Sirius felt a bubble of excitement forming in the pit of his stomach. They would have to do a bit of performing for the family but if it was possible…then he could actually enjoy part of his summer. Maybe he could even sneak over to see James and Marianne. He looked up at his cousin and with a tight smile he said, “I’ll make you a deal. We’ll do this as long as you agree to tell Tonks the truth.”

Andromeda smiled back and said, “Okay, it’s a deal then. You have to realize, though, that once we are around the rest of the family we have to act like we don’t like each other.” She reached out her hand and Sirius shook it, sealing the deal.

Sirius walked out of King’s Cross with a unfamiliar feeling. He finally had an ally in the family, and it felt pretty good.

**************************************************************************************

“Where were you?!” was the greeting of Elphaba Black as Sirius stepped into Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

Sirius clenched his teeth and said, “Hello, Mother. Nice to see you, too.”

Andromeda walked in behind him and said, “I found him talking to some of his Gryffindor friends.”

Sirius could see a vein standing out on his mother’s forehead as she glared at him. Elphaba turned to Andromeda and said, “Thank you, dear, for finding him. I’m sorry that you had to bring him home.”

Andromeda gave Sirius a quick glance before replying, “I can certainly handle a few Gryffindors, including my cousin.”

“Of course you could, knowing all the dark magic you do,” muttered Sirius mockingly.

Elphaba turned on her son and spat, “How dare you disrespect her? Did you not learn your lesson last summer?”

“What lesson is that, mother? How to turn my back on my friends or how to look down upon perfectly good people?” retorted Sirius.

“Why you ungrateful, disobedient, disgrace of a-” started Elphaba.

“Perhaps, Auntie, if I may make a suggestion,” interrupted Andromeda.

Elphaba took a few breaths to control herself before turning back to her niece. “Of course, dear.”

Andromeda continued, “It’s obvious that your eldest son has not learned anything from last year’s punishments. Perhaps we could try something different this summer.”

“Such as?” prodded Elphaba.

“Let me have a try, Auntie. Maybe someone closer to his age will be more effective,” said Andromeda. When she looked at Sirius he winked at her, knowing his mum’s back was turned.

“I couldn’t ask you to do that. Your job at the Ministry keeps you busy enough as it is,” said Elphaba.

“I can make time during my weekends. It’s only for the summer, after all,” said Andromeda. “Besides, if there’s a chance we could knock some sense into him and save the family from embarrassment, it’s worth a try.” She looked at Sirius again and with a cool glare asked, “What do you say, cousin? Fancy spending some time with me this summer?”

“I’d rather eat a hippogriff’s arse,” replied Sirius, glaring back at Andromeda.

Elphaba turned on her son and said, “Watch your tongue, you ungrateful fool! You WILL go to Andromeda’s flat every weekend and I expect you to be on your best behavior.” She turned back to her niece and said, “You have my admiration for taking on such a task. If he should become a problem, though, I give you my permission to punish him however you see fit.”

Andromeda smiled and said, “Excellent. It’s agreed, then.” She looked over at Sirius and said, “I will be here Saturday morning to get you. Don’t dawdle, or perhaps I will take Aunt Elphaba’s advise about your punishment.” When Elphaba turned her eyes away from her niece, Andromeda winked back at Sirius. “I will see you both tonight at Mum and Dad’s, then?”

“Of course,” replied Elphaba.

Seeing Andromeda’s dramatic skills in front of his mum, Sirius realized how she was truly a Slytherin. Although Sirius no longer saw her as evil, he saw how cunning she could be, and for once he could admire her Slytherin qualities.

**************************************************************************************

“So Cereal, how is the Ministry these days?” asked Alphard.

Sirius tried not to snicker at his ‘crazy’ uncle. He had been in the sitting room with the family since dinner had finished, and Sirius had been counting the minutes until he could escape their madness. His Uncle Alphard had hobbled over to the chair next to him and sat down, studying his great-nephew with his probing dark brown eyes.

Sirius looked at his great-uncle and was suddenly reminded of Andromeda’s comment from earlier. She had said that she thought Uncle Alphard could be faking his senility. Sirius looked into his uncle’s eyes and saw the faint glimmer of a twinkle, and thought that perhaps his cousin had a point. Sirius smiled back and said, “The Ministry is the same as always, Uncle.”

“Hmmm,” said the old man, “I could have sworn I heard that blood-sucking vampires were making life very difficult for your position.”

Sirius was about to do the old standby with Uncle Alphard - smile and nod at whatever he says, but then when he looked at Alphard’s face again he thought he could see an intensity in his gaze. Sirius then rethought what Alphard just said and realized that he could be speaking metaphorically about Sirius’ life at home. Gazing back at his uncle, he said, “As I said, the Ministry is the same. The vampires haven’t changed. They still like to give me trouble.”

Alphard’s eyes bulged a little as he spat out, “I thought as such! Those bloody vampires never change! You, young Cereal, need to find a way to escape their clutches.”

Sirius, following his great-uncle’s metaphor, added, “I can’t exactly escape them until I get promoted out of the department I’m in.” Sirius was referring to his age and not being able to leave his family.

“Ahhh, yes, yes! Well, you keep working hard, Cereal, and eventually you will get promoted and become financially independent of those blood-sucking creatures, you hear?” said Alphard.

“Yes, sir,” replied Sirius.

Alphard then started hounding Regulus about his time at Azkaban, to which Regulus’ eyes widened and he walked away. Alphard followed after him, asking about the dementors, and Sirius chuckled. He had been dreading the beginning of summer for a long time, but it hadn’t been as bad as he thought it would be. He had gained two allies in his family, and the chance to escape every weekend.

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A/N: So Sirius’ summer is looking better so far than his last one at home. I just didn’t have the heart to make him miserable two summers in a row.

Thanks to my latest reviewers: Anu, Mani12191, urSweetiemSmia, Alicia, PottersPrincess, mrs. pendragon (x4), J&M Ink., sista7, hpfreak, Jo Bob, AshleyM, A New Reader, and Anonymous.

Next chapter: Sirius meets Ted Tonks. Andromeda tells Ted the truth.

65. Cunning and Bravery

Chapter 65: Cunning and Bravery

“Nice performance this morning,” commented Sirius, following Andromeda into her flat. “I particularly liked the part where you transformed your hair into a bunch of angry looking snakes,” he added, referring to her abilities as a Metamorphmagus.

“You deserved it,” quipped Andromeda. “After all, it was highly inappropriate for the Black heir to hide a dungbomb inside a family member’s teacup.”

Sirius laughed before placing an innocent look on his face. “I don’t see why that would bother you so much. You were able to get the stains off your robes with a simple spell!”

Andromeda smirked and said, “You’re lucky I’m so forgiving. I’d say your parents don’t suspect a thing.” Walking to the couch she asked, “What are your plans for your weekend away from the family?”

Sirius shrugged and said, “I’ll probably Floo over to James’ place and stay there.”

“James?” queried Andromeda. “You mean James Potter? That Gryffindor friend of yours,” she said, emphasizing the word ‘Gryffindor’ with what sounded like disdain.

Sirius frowned and retorted, “Yes, my friend.” He paced the room and said, “Look, Andromeda, we may be getting along better now, and I appreciate your getting me out of the house for a few days each week, but that does not mean I will tolerate any disrespect toward my friends.”

Andromeda scrutinized him for a few moments before replying, “Very well. Just don’t get caught. It would be bad enough if you were found outside of my presence, but if the family saw you with a Potter then there would be hell to pay.”

Sirius snorted and said, “I’m well aware of what the family would do.” Deciding to change the subject he said, “Don’t you forget about your part of the deal. You’re supposed to tell Tonks about your being a witch and about our family.”

Andromeda frowned and said, “You just had to remind me of that, didn’t you?”

Suddenly there was a loud knock at the door. Andromeda gulped and looked at it, saying, “That’ll be Ted. He’s early!”

After another knock at the door Sirius rolled his eyes and said, “Well? Are you going to answer it?”

Andromeda said, “Please, be on your best behavior!”

Sirius gave her a wide grin filled with a hint of mischief as he cheekily replied, “Aren’t I always?”

As she shook her head she opened the door, revealing a tall man of about 25 years of age who had light brown hair and blue eyes. As soon as he saw Andromeda his eyes lit up and a large smile settled about his features. “Hello, Andy!” he greeted, leaning over to kiss her.

‘Andy?!’ thought Sirius.

“Hi, Ted! Come on in,” said Andromeda.

Ted Tonks walked inside, pausing as he spotted a teenage boy standing in the living room watching them. When he gave a questioning glance to Andromeda, she said, “Ted, I would like you to meet my cousin, Sirius.” Turning to Sirius, she said, “Sirius, this is Ted Tonks, my boyfriend.”

Ted smiled and stepped forward to greet Sirius. “It’s great to finally meet one of Andy’s relatives. There’s so little she reveals about her family.”

Sirius shook Ted’s hand and said, “Well, Andy was just telling me how she wanted to tell you more about us, weren’t you Andy?”

Andromeda gave Sirius a tight smile that silently told him to shut up and said to Ted, “Well, yes. I was hoping to speak with you.”

“Great,” said Ted. “Why don’t we all go out and grab some lunch. It’ll give me a chance to find out more about the Black family.”

“That sounds lovely,” said Andromeda, “but unfortunately Sirius has plans with one of his school friends, so it will just be us.”

“Alright, but I hope that I can get a chance to know you better, Sirius,” said Ted. “I’d love to hear stories about Andy from when she was younger.”

“Of course!” said Sirius, throwing a knowing look at his cousin. “I have all sorts of tales I could tell you about dear old Andy.”

When Ted’s back was turned to her, Andromeda’s eyes changed to a fiery red as she glared at her cousin. When Ted turned around she changed them back to their usual deep brown and smiled.

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“So what are you going to do today?” asked Marianne.

“I dunno,” replied James as he grabbed a piece of toast. “Same as usual, probably.”

“You mean you’re going to fly around on your broomstick all day?” asked Marianne.

“Probably,” replied James, taking a bite of his breakfast.

“Don’t you ever get bored with that?” she asked.

“Hey!” exclaimed Joseph. “Don’t knock flying OR Quidditch!”

James looked up at his father’s portrait which winked back at him. Suddenly the mirror in his pocket started to vibrate and James excused himself from the table. Rushing into the kitchen, he pulled the two-way mirror out and said, “Sirius?”

Sirius’ face appeared and with a wide smile he said, “Hey, Prongs! What are your plans for today?”

“Breakfast with the Wimbourne Wasps, then tea with the Minister of Magic,” joked James. When Sirius gave him a questioning look, James said, “Nothing much, why?”

“Mind if I Floo over?” asked Sirius.

Not sure if he heard Sirius right, James said, “Huh?”

“I said, do you mind if-” started Sirius.

“I heard what you said, Padfoot,” said James. “I just didn’t think you were allowed over here.”

“I’m not, but they don’t know that I’m coming over,” said Sirius. “Look, I can explain everything once I’m there. That is, if you’re okay with me visiting.”

James grinned and said, “Of course I am. I’ll meet you at the fireplace.”

“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” said Sirius.

James made his way into the living room to wait for his friend. As promised, a few minutes later brought the sooty arrival of Sirius. Dusting himself off, Sirius stepped out of the fireplace with a huge grin on his face. He quickly regaled his deal with Andromeda as James’ smile widened into a gigantic grin.

“So you can visit every weekend?” asked James.

“That’s the plan, though I may have to spend some time with Andromeda and Tonks. I’ve never seen Andromeda like this, and it seems so impossible to see her in love with a Muggle. It’ll be amusing to hear about his reaction to her being a witch. I’d also enjoy taunting her a little with the idea of revealing her childhood stories to him,” said Sirius.

“James!” called the distant voice of Marianne.

“I’m in here, Mum!” replied James.

Footsteps could be heard approaching as she said, “Your breakfast is getting cold, and…” she stopped suddenly as she walked into the living room and saw Sirius standing before her. Her eyes filled with worry as she said, “Sirius! What are you doing here? Are you okay? Did something happen with your family?”

Sirius smiled and said, “I’m fine, Marianne. I’m here to visit, if it’s okay with you.”

“Actually, Mum,” started James, “I was hoping Sirius could visit every weekend this summer.”

Marianne walked up to Sirius and hugged him, “Of course, Sirius. You’re always welcome here.” She pulled back and put her hands on his shoulders. “Do you parents know you’re here?”

Sirius looked down and quietly said, “Not exactly. They think I’m staying with a cousin. She’s covering for me.”

Marianne was concerned. In her gut, she knew Sirius’ family mistreated him, and she worried what would happen if they found out he was sneaking over. On the other hand, she had seen the haunted look in his eyes at the end of the previous summer. He needed to be able to get out and have fun. “Are you sure you can trust your cousin?” she asked.

Sirius, sensing Marianne’s apprehension, replied, “Don’t worry. I’m covering for her as well. She has no reason to tell.”

Somewhat satisfied, Marianne smiled and said, “Well hurry up, then. Breakfast is getting cold, and I remember your appetite, Sirius. I’d better warn Perchy to stock the pantry.”

Sirius’ mouth watered at the prospect of Perchy’s cooking. “Does she still make those Bludger shaped pancakes?”

James snorted and said, “Sirius, pancakes are round! Of course they would look like balls, though I think they look more like Quaffles.”

Sirius crossed his arms in defiance and stated, “They’re definitely Bludger shaped!”

As they walked toward the dining room bickering about the shape of the house elf’s pancakes, Marianne trailed behind them, shaking her head with the realization that Sirius was the closest thing to a brother James ever had. That was wonderful as far as she was concerned, because after all the worrying she had gone through for Sirius, she felt a bit protective of him, almost maternal in nature. As the boys’ argument crescendoed, Marianne finally decided to intervene, “Perhaps I’ll have Perchy make the pancakes look like Snitches today.”

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After a weekend of flying and petty arguments and all-around fun, Sirius Flooed back to Andromeda’s flat. Once he stepped out of the fireplace, he looked around in confusion. The flat was dark and it looked as if nobody was home. Sirius had agreed to meet Andromeda at that time and he wondered where she was.

As he stepped further into the room he heard a gasping sound coming from the armchair in the corner. Sirius, thinking there could be an intruder or unwanted family member present, went to grab his wand. He silently cursed his parents when he remembered how they had forced him to leave it locked in his trunk. Sirius stepped closer to the chair and felt his shoulders relax when he saw that the figure in the chair was Andromeda, who was crying.

Sirius, not having much experience dealing with crying females, went with his first instinct - humor. Remembering Tonks’ pet name for her, he said, “Hiya, Andy.”

This sent Andromeda into a wave of fresh sobs, and Sirius was left standing there, wondering what on Earth he had to do to calm her down. Knowing that he was in uncharted territory, Sirius went with his next instinct - blunt honesty. “What’re you doin’ here crying in the dark?”

Andromeda, trying to pull herself together, failed as she let out a string of unintelligible sounds in response to his question. Sirius had never been this close to a crying female, except for one Hufflepuff who teared up every time Professor McGonagall scolded her for her lack of talent at Transfiguration. He had never been in the position to comfort that girl, though. His own mum had certainly never cried in front of him. Sirius doubted she even had emotions other than scorn and hatred. He had seen James upset about his dad, but the difference there was that boys did not acknowledge tears with each other the way girls did.

Feeling a bit out of place, Sirius walked to his cousin and gave her a few pats on the shoulder, saying, “Erm…there, there…”

Andromeda stood up and threw her arms around Sirius, sniffling and trying to calm her tears. Sirius, wide-eyed, patted her back, unsure of what else to do. After several minutes, Andromeda started to calm down. She pulled back slightly and looked at his wet shirt sleeve. “Sorry,” she muttered, sitting back down in her armchair.

Sirius sat down on the loveseat and asked, “Are you ready to tell me what has you so bothered?”

Andromeda gulped, trying to catch her breath and said, “I-it’s T-Ted. I t-told him about me…everything.”

A torrent of thoughts raced into Sirius’ head. She told him? Did he break up with her? Will she go back to her old ways? Will I still get to visit the Potters during the weekends this summer? A pang a guilt hit Sirius as he realized his thoughts were straying toward his own problems. Refocusing his attention on his cousin, he asked, “What did he say?”

Andromeda took a deep breath as if to summon her courage, and stuttered out, “H-He t-told me…he t-told me that he’s a….h-he’s a…”

Sirius waved his hand around, trying to get her to spit it out. “He’s a what?”

“…he’s a w-wizard!” she finished, about to delve into a wave of fresh sobs.

Sirius, trying to keep her talking more than crying, said, “A what?!”

“He told me h-he’s a w-wizard!” she repeated.

Sirius was flummoxed. Ted Tonks was a wizard?! And why was this sending Andromeda off the deep end? “Why are you so upset about THAT?”

“I’m not,” she said weakly. “I’m not upset that he’s a wizard. He was happy when I told him that I’m a witch. He said he always thought there was something quirky about me, in a familiar way.”

Sirius shook his head and said, “Again, this doesn’t explain why you are sitting here crying in the dark.”

“I told him about the family,” blurted Andromeda. “I told him about my sneaking around to see him, and I warned him about the consequences of our relationship should they find out.” She looked up, her eyes red and brimming with tears. “Ted’s a Muggleborn wizard. He even went to Hogwarts. I was too young to know who he was when he was there. He chose to pursue a Muggle career.” She stood up and started pacing. “He told me he wants to marry me! He said that he loves me and wants to spend his life with me.”

“Is that what you want?” asked Sirius.

Andromeda paused in her steps and said, “I love him, but I don’t want any harm to come to him because of who I am.”

“You didn’t answer the question. Do you want to marry Ted Tonks?” prodded Sirius. “Pretend the family doesn’t exist and that he proposed to you. Would you say yes?”

Andromeda nodded and choked out, “Yes, I would, but-”

“No buts,” said Sirius. “If you want to marry the guy then we’ll figure something out.”

“The family-” protested Andromeda.

“Forget the family!” Sirius forcefully replied. “I’m a living example of someone who strays from the family ways, and I still have to live with them! You’ve known me for a long time, Andromeda, and I’m sure you suspect some of the things that…occurred…at Hogwarts were partly my doing,” he said, referring to a few of the Marauders’ larger scale adventures. “I may not be a Slytherin, but I’ve lived with enough of them for long enough to be just as cunning as they are. Enjoy the summer, spend time with him and make sure that he’s the bloke you want to marry, and don’t base your decision on anything but your feelings for him. Then, if you still feel you want to marry him, I’ll help you find a way.”

Andromeda walked up to him and looked into his dark, determined eyes. “Thank you, Sirius,” she said. “I certainly misjudged you for a long time. I thought you were weak, but now I feel the shoe is on the other foot. You’re the strong one.” Seeing the familiar glint appear in his eyes, she decided to jokingly add, “Though I heard you were a bit weak out on the Quidditch field against our Slytherin Beaters.”

Sirius scoffed and threw an arm around his cousin. “Andy, Andy, Andy,” he said, making her smile at her nickname. “Let me educate you on the finer points of the sport…”

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A/N: This was sort of a salute to Harry in that Sirius had a hard time dealing with a crying female, too (think Cho Chang in OotP). And he gets to sneak over to James’ house almost every weekend! Had a difficult time thinking of a chapter title - finally settled on Cunning and Bravery - an attribute from each Slytherin and Gryffindor, in honor of the developing friendship between Andromeda and Sirius.

So let me know what you think in a review. Be nice - it’s my birthday! Not that I’m advertising it or anything…

Thanks to my latest reviewers: Anu, nanopy, Nyscat, blackquill, delpheena (x3), Alicia, Remus’sweetie (x3), tigerfairy (x2), DreamAngel, Golden Phoenix (x2), astronomylover, mrs. pendragon, Mani12191, lilynpotter, Jo Bob, and Alicia78.

Next chapter: We’ll take a peek at how Lily’s summer is going so far.

66. Sibling Rivalry

Chapter 66: Sibling Rivalry

“AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!”

Lily almost fell out of her chair at the screech that came from downstairs. She had been sitting in her room trying to finish her Potions essay so that she could enjoy the rest of the day shopping with Petunia. They had just gotten back from a trip to Austria, and Lily had not had time to start any of her homework until just then. As she heard whining and whimpering floating to her room from downstairs, Lily muttered, “Oh no…”

Steeling her resolve, Lily opened her door and marched downstairs. When she stepped into the kitchen, she saw Petunia trying in vain to hide behind the refrigerator. “What are you doing, ‘Tunia?”

Petunia gave Lily a venomous look as she pointed at the kitchen table, where a barred owl was perched. Petunia hissed, “I thought you weren’t supposed to have those…things…flying in here like that.” The owl looked from Petunia to Lily, and Lily could swear it had an expression of bewilderment on its face.

Lily walked over to the owl and took the letter, saying, “My friends’ owls know to fly directly to my window. This must be from the school.” The owl, relieved to be free of its load, left through the kitchen window causing the curtains to flutter. Looking back at her sister, Lily said, “It’s okay now, ‘Tunia, he’s gone.”

Petunia cautiously peered around the side of the refrigerator toward the window, as if afraid the owl would change its mind and come swooping back into the kitchen.

“What’s all the commotion?” asked Harold as he entered the kitchen. “Petunia, why are you crammed by the fridge?”

“I just got a delivery from Hogwarts,” said Lily. “By owl,” she added.

Harold nodded, remembering Petunia’s lack of fondness for the winged postal system. “Your start of term letter arrived, then?” he asked.

“I assume so,” she replied, opening the letter. She gasped as something shiny fell out of the envelope onto the kitchen table. Opening her letter eagerly, she ignored her father’s questioning look as she quickly scanned the parchment.

“What is it?” her father asked.

Lily looked up at her father, shocked but smiling. “I’m a prefect!”

Harold’s face lit up as he drew Lily into a fierce hug. “Way to go, sweetie! I knew you could do it!”

Anne Evans walked into the kitchen and when she saw Lily’s smile and Harold’s face beaming in paternal pride, she asked, “What happened?”

“Lily was made prefect!” exclaimed Harold, giving his youngest daughter another squeeze.

“Prefect?!” exclaimed Anne. She let out a cry of joy and rushed over to give Lily a congratulatory hug. “I can’t believe it, our daughter a prefect!” Looking down at Lily’s blushing face she said, “Oh, what am I saying? I shouldn’t be surprised. My daughter is brilliant and hard-working and deserves the honor. Oh, Lily! I’m so proud of you!”

“We have to celebrate,” said Harold. “We’ll go out for supper tonight, someplace nice.” He looked at Lily and said, “You and Petunia are going shopping, right?” Lily nodded and he added, “Buy something nice to wear, my treat.”

Petunia’s jaw dropped. Yet again her little sister had stolen her spotlight. The shopping trip was supposed to be for Petunia’s school supplies and wardrobe. It was to be her final year at school and her parents had told her she could get some new clothes since she had achieved good marks the previous year. Now she watched as Lily soaked up the pride and affection of their parents.

Lily gave her father a kiss on the cheek and said, “Thanks, Daddy. I’d better owl the school and let them know I accept the prefect position.” She rushed upstairs to find Lancelot so she could send her reply.

Harold and Anne continued to grin as they turned and saw Petunia still standing to the side of the kitchen. Anne said, “Petunia, your sister’s a prefect! Isn’t that wonderful news?”

Petunia gave a small shrug and in a small voice said, “Right.”

Anne, not noticing Petunia’s lack of enthusiasm, turned back to Harold and said, “I’d like to do something more than just a nice dinner and a new outfit. After all, she works so hard and we hardly get to see her.”

“What do you suggest?” asked Harold.

“Something special,” said Anne. After a moment her eyes lit up and she said, “I know just the thing!” She rushed out of the room leaving Harold and Petunia to wonder what she was up to.

Harold turned to his eldest daughter and with a wink said, “You should finish getting ready. The shopping centers are waiting for you.”

Upstairs Anne entered Lily’s room just as she was releasing Lancelot out of the window with her letter to the school. Anne smiled at how at ease Lily was with Lancelot and her magic. It was quite a change from a few years earlier. Anne was thrilled and proud that Lily seemed to have overcome her fears about Hogwarts after the attack and had flourished in her studies. Now she was awarded with a prefect position!

Lily smiled as she saw her mum standing in the doorway. “I added a note to my letter asking that all school owls come to my window,” said Lily. “I don’t want ‘Tunia to have a heart attack next time.”

Anne smiled back and sat down on the bed. “Good thinking.” She patted the space beside her and Lily soon joined her. “I was going to save this for your eighteenth birthday,” she started, pulling out a velvet box, “but I don’t think I can wait that long. I wanted to give you something special for your accomplishments, and I know you’re away from home most of the year. I want to give this to you hoping you’ll remember your Muggle family every so often.”

Lily took the box and opened it, gasping as she saw the pearl earrings she had seen adorn her mum’s earlobes on many special occasions. “Mum! I can’t believe it…”

“They were my grandmother’s earrings. It only seems fitting that I should give them to my daughter,” said Anne.

“B-but, what about ‘Tunia? She’s the oldest - she should get them,” protested Lily.

“Petunia will get the china,” replied Anne. “Besides, it’ll be much easier for you to lug a pair of earrings to school rather than a crate of dishes,” she added with a smile.

Lily gazed at the pearls for a moment before throwing her arms around her mother in gratitude.

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“Do you need anything else, ‘Tunia?” asked Lily after they walked out of a boutique.

Petunia looked down at her bags to do a quick inventory. “I’d like another pair of shoes.”

“You just bought three pairs!” whined Lily. While she loved to shop, her feet were starting to hurt and she wanted to find a place to sit down.

“Oh my God!” exclaimed Petunia. She poked Lily in the side with her elbow nodded toward a sporting goods store about twenty feet away where a small group of boys Petunia’s age were congregated. “It’s him!” she said in a forced whisper.

“Who are you talking about?” asked Lily.

Petunia sighed and said, “Jonathan.”

Lily nodded, remembering Petunia’s long time crush. “Which one is he?” she asked, her curiosity piqued.

“He’s the tall one with the blond hair and…oh! He’s coming this way!” shrieked Petunia. In a panic she turned to Lily and asked, “How do I look?”

Lily smiled at Petunia and said, “Don’t worry, you look fine.” She glanced back at Jonathan, who was a rather large boy at over six feet, and stocky as well. He had dark blond hair and gray-blue eyes, and appeared to be walking straight at them.

As Jonathan approached he gave Petunia a half-smile and said, “Hi, Patricia. Alright?”

Petunia let out a nervous giggle and said, “Hi Jonathan! Actually, it’s Petunia.”

Jonathan smirked and said, “Right.” He turned and gave an appraising look at Lily. He smiled, but Lily sensed insincerity emanating from his eyes. Forgetting Petunia, he addressed Lily, “Hello. I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Jonathan Ashe-Hall. And you are…?”

Lily tried not to chuckle. As he said his hyphenated last name, she initially thought it sounded like he had said something else, something not nice at all. Gathering her senses, she replied, “I’m Petunia’s sister, Lily,” emphasizing Petunia’s name.

Jonathan continued to stare at Lily in a way that made her feel like he was mentally undressing her. Keeping his gaze he said, “Patty, you never told me you had a sister.”

Lily started to seethe. “It’s Petunia, not Patty.”

“It’s okay, Lily,” Petunia said with a nervous laugh. “Jonathan can call me Patty.” She smiled at him and said, “Lily goes to boarding school. She’s only home for a short time.”

Lily couldn’t believe her sister. Petunia was practically in love with this guy, someone who was superficial and didn’t even know her name.

Jonathan stepped a little closer to Lily and said, “If you’re only here for a little longer, then we should make the most of it. I’ve got an extra ticket to a concert this Saturday. I’ll pick you up at six.”

Lily grit her teeth in annoyance. Was he suggesting they date? He didn’t even ask. Lily wanted to deflate his head a bit but could sense Petunia’s heart breaking next to her. Even though Lily detested Jonathan she tried to help out her sister. “Sorry, Jonathan. I can’t go.” Glancing sideways at Petunia, Lily added, “My…erm…boyfriend, wouldn’t appreciate it. But I’m pretty sure Petunia is available.” Lily didn’t have a boyfriend, but she hoped that the lie would be enough to get Jonathan to back off.

Jonathan glanced at a hopeful Petunia and smirked. He shook his head and said, “I just remembered, I already gave the other ticket to a friend. My mistake. See you later, Patrice.”

As he walked away, Lily’s anger finally bubbled over and she shouted after him, “It’s PETUNIA, you prat!” When Lily turned back to Petunia, she found her sister on the verge of tears, her face flushed. “‘Tunia? Don’t get upset over him. He is a jerk and doesn’t deserve you.”

Petunia’s head snapped up and shot Lily with a spiteful glare. “How could you?” she spat. “How could you yell at him like that and embarrass me? Now he’ll never speak to me again!”

Lily was flabbergasted. How could Petunia still like that creep? “He deserved it with the way he treated us. Jonathan Ashe-Hall is an Ashe-Hole!”

Petunia didn’t back off. “Of course YOU can speak to him like that. You are sweet, darling Lily, whom everyone adores. He’ll remember you as the pretty one but he’ll remember me as the girl whose pretty sister caused a scene.”

“’Tunia, he didn’t even get your name right. He treats you like dirt. You shouldn’t get so upset over a guy like that,” Lily retorted.

“That’s easy for you to say,” spat Petunia. “Everyone adores you - your friends, guys, even Mum and Dad prefer you!”

“What?!” exclaimed Lily. “That’s preposterous!”

“No, it’s the truth,” said Petunia, her face becoming sad. She glanced over at the group of boys as Jonathan glanced back, leaning over to tell his friends something that sent them into hysterics. A few pointed toward Petunia and whispered something back to Jonathan, which sent him into malicious laughter.

Lily watched the exchange and felt a new well of anger trying to fight its way up. How dare that prat treat her sister like that?! Before she could help herself she felt her anger release, and a bunch of footballs came flying out of the sporting goods store and assaulted Jonathan, knocking him over. The group of boys watched, flabbergasted at the scene, while Jonathan lay on the floor trying in vain to block the balls that were pelting him. The shop owner rushed out and apologized, though he looked back and forth between Jonathan and the store as if to figure out why some of his merchandise had randomly attacked the boy.

It took Petunia a minute to figure out how exactly the situation had occurred and she confirmed her suspicions as she saw the sheepish look on Lily’s face. “You…” she seethed.

Lily honestly had not planned on attacking Jonathan. It was one of those fluke random magical occurrences that hadn’t really happened to her since before she had first left for Hogwarts. Apparently, her outrage at Jonathan had pushed the right buttons and set off the event. She hesitantly looked at Petunia before offering a small smile and saying, “Oops…” That was the best apology Lily could come up with, because if she was being honest, she had rather enjoyed seeing Jonathan getting knocked on his arse.

“Oops?!” exclaimed Petunia, her face flushing. “Oops is all you have to say?! You…You actually used that mag-….that freakish stuff to attack Jonathan!”

Lily took a step toward Petunia, saying, “‘Tunia-”

Petunia could feel tears welling up in her eyes as she seethed in fury and frustration. “J-Just stay away from me! I don’t want to be around you right now!” She pushed past Lily and ran away from her as fast as she could while toting a few handfuls of shopping bags. Eventually she reached a courtyard that had several small restaurants and cafes.

Not really paying attention, Petunia suddenly slipped and fell, her bags flying in all directions as a squeal escaped her lips. Seeing her purchases scattered around her and sensing the gazes of several passersby, Petunia finally lost it and sat on the ground sobbing.

She had tried to be supportive of her sister but the fact of the matter was that Lily was so different from the girl she was before Hogwarts, the girl who had been her best friend. Every time she came home to visit she brought more of that freakish voodoo that she was taught, and instead of repelling people she seemed to draw everyone’s admiration. Petunia sat there realizing that no matter what grand accomplishments she achieved, her younger, prettier sister would always be there to outshine her, and even draw the attention of boys like Jonathan.

As Petunia’s sobs started to slow down she realized with humiliation that she was still on the ground drawing attention. She reached over and started to gather her things when a voice from behind her said, “Alright there, miss?”

Petunia turned and looked up into the gray eyes of a beefy boy who looked to be a few years older than her. His eyes widened when she turned to him and for a moment he was speechless, something which had rarely happened during his lifetime. Petunia was still a bit flustered and with a shaky voice replied, “I’ll be fine. I just lost my balance is all.”

Seeing her reaching to grab a loose shoe that had escaped a shopping bag, he quickly leaned over to help her. He took several opportunities to glance at her as she hastily gathered her belongings. Petunia was oblivious to this, her mind still on the scene between Lily and Jonathan.

The boy gave her a hand to help her up, but was hesitant to drop it once she was standing. Petunia gave him an odd look as she sniffled. The boy suddenly reached into his pocket and withdrew a large handkerchief, offering it to her.

“Thank you,” she said, weakly.

He puffed out his chest and gave her a tight smile, his attempt at charm. “A pretty lady such as yourself shouldn’t be crying.”

As Petunia dried her tears, his comment started to register. He said she was pretty. Did he really think that?

Before she could say anything she heard the insistent calls of Lily as she arrived in the courtyard. Seeing Petunia, Lily rushed up to her and said, “There you are, ‘Tunia! I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Suddenly noticing the large boy standing next to Petunia, she turned to him and said, “Hello.”

‘Oh great,’ thought Petunia. ‘Two seconds after a guy tells me I’m pretty he meets my sister. And I must look hideous now after all that crying.’ Remembering her manners, Petunia told the boy, “This is my sister, Lily.”

The boy’s beady eyes barely glanced at Lily before they bounced back to Petunia. “And you are?” he asked.

Petunia was taken aback. Normally when she introduced Lily to someone Petunia would subsequently feel invisible. This boy, for all intents and purposes, was interested in Petunia. She felt a blush creep up her face as she replied, “Petunia. Petunia Evans.”

“Lovely name,” he replied.

Petunia let out a small giggle and asked, “What about you? What shall I call you?”

Lily watched, amazed as the beefy boy’s smile disappeared into his large cheeks. His chest puffed out again in pride as he replied, “Vernon Dursley.”

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A/N: At last the hero of this epic has arrived - Vernon Dursley! Just kidding. (lol) So how did you like his introduction?

Thanks to the latest reviewers: The All Mighty Shipper, nanopy, Anu, Nyscat, delpheena, DreamAngel, PottersPrincess, Golden Phoenix, Alicia78, hpfreak, Remus’sweetie, AshleyM, Mani12191, Chayse, and Hermione G. Potter. As usual, replies are with the reviews, unless you specifically asked not to get a reply.

Next chapter: Vernon starts to court Petunia. Summer is coming to an end - you’ll see the last part of Sirius’ summer.

67. The Pompous Git

Chapter 67: The Pompous Git

During the last few weeks of summer, Vernon Dursley frequently came by the house to visit Petunia and take her out. Petunia, who was still smarting over Jonathan, soaked up the attention that Vernon gave her, especially since it was clear he did not show any interest in Lily.

Lily was amazed that Petunia was interested in Vernon. He was a very large boy, and while Lily tried not to let appearance influence her, Vernon’s personality made it very difficult for her to like him. He was very pompous, bragging about his job at a drill factory and how he was certain he would be up for a promotion soon.

Whenever Lily was around he would glare at her suspiciously, as if she were going to stab him with a fork at any moment. Lily chortled, wondering how he would take the news of her being a witch if he ever found out. Petunia was in right state whenever Lily was in the same room as Vernon, as if afraid that Lily would accidentally let slip her magic like she had done at the shopping center.

Lily’s parents didn’t know what to think of Vernon. On the one hand, he was a pompous man and rude toward Lily, but on the other hand Petunia was finally overcoming her moodiness and enjoying her time with Vernon. They decided one day to invite him over for supper, hoping to see what Petunia saw in him.

When the doorbell rang, Petunia rushed toward the door, pausing to take one last glance in the hallway mirror. She saw Lily coming down the stairs and turned to her, saying, “You’d better watch yourself this evening. I don’t want Vernon to know about your abnormality.”

Lily stepped back, feeling stung by Petunia’s words. She knew that Petunia never liked Lily’s magical side, but it seemed that Petunia was becoming more and more cold toward her lately. Lily wondered where her best friend had gone. Hearing the doorbell ring again, Lily swallowed back the lump in her throat and replied, “Don’t worry, ‘Tunia. Vernon’s a Muggle, not related to either of us. He’s not allowed to know about my…abnormality, as you call it.”

Satisfied by Lily’s reply, Petunia turned her attention back to the door and opened it, revealing Vernon, who took up the entire doorway. He smiled down at her and offered her a bouquet of daisies, which caused her to squeal in delight. “Vernon! That’s so sweet of you to bring me flowers!” She stepped forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek, causing a shudder of revulsion to pass through Lily.

Vernon looked up and saw Lily standing by the stairway. He threw her another one of his suspicious glares but before he could utter any rude comments, Harold and Anne Evans stepped forward to greet him. He puffed out his chest and shook Harold’s hand firmly before greeting Anne. He cautiously stepped toward Lily and, sensing the watchful eyes of her parents, grudgingly greeted her. Lily bit her lip to keep from embarrassing Petunia with a biting retort, and said a quick hello back to Vernon.

During dinner, Vernon once again dominated the conversation with tales of his accomplishments at the drill factory. He claimed to be the youngest employee there to ever be considered for the executive track. To prove his point, he rambled on for a good hour about the different kinds of drill bits they manufactured. Lily was ready to fall asleep in her soup when her mum said, “Lily, honey, you had better go upstairs and finish packing.” Turning to Vernon, she said, “Lily has to leave for school tomorrow morning.”

Petunia paled as Vernon asked, “What sort of school does she attend? From what I understand, Petunia does not attend the same school as her.”

Anne Evans glanced at Lily who shrugged, then at Petunia’s trembling chin before saying, “Lily attends a school that can cater to her…special needs.”

Vernon harrumphed and sent a sneer down his nose at Lily before nodding and saying, “I see.”

The way he said those two words sounded like he believed Lily attended a school for wayward and violent girls. Lily glared at him, twirling her fork in her hands as she was tempted to prove his theory true. His eyes widened a bit but Anne hastily cut in before anyone could cause a scene.

“Lily is an excellent student, like Petunia,” said Anne, glancing at her daughters. “We expect this school will prepare her for a challenging career after she graduates.”

Vernon harrumphed again and, seeing the stern look coming from Lily’s dad, he tensely said to Lily, “I’m sure you will make a decent…secretary when you grow up.”

Lily dropped her fork on her plate and retorted, “What makes you think I want to be a secretary?!”

“What else could you be?” asked Vernon. “A nurse, or perhaps a teacher? I suppose those are also acceptable jobs for unmarried women.”

Lily’s jaw dropped as she saw red flooding her vision. How dare that pompous arse insinuate that women are only fit to work certain jobs and only if unmarried? Lily looked at Petunia, waiting for her to blow up at Vernon. Petunia was, after all, career oriented and hoping to go to school to become a doctor. Certainly now she would be able to see Vernon Dursley for the pompous git he truly was!

To Lily’s surprise, Petunia looked both panicked and angry, and it was directed toward Lily. She was angry that Lily was ruining Vernon’s chance to impress her parents. She was panicked that Lily’s anger would cause her magic to surface and scare Vernon away. He was, after all, one of the first men to call her pretty and focus his attentions upon her instead of Lily.

Lily seethed, angry that Petunia hadn’t come to her defense. Not only that, but Petunia allowed Vernon to utter sexist phrases like that and get away with it. Lily ground her teeth, ready to hurl some biting insults back at him, but before she could open her mouth she heard a tapping sound coming from upstairs.

There was a deafening silence at the table as the tapping persisted. There were several nervous glances around the table from the Evans’ as Vernon tilted his head toward the stairway and asked, “What is that infernal tapping sound?”

Petunia sent Lily an icy glare which Lily returned. Glad for the excuse to leave the table before breaking the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery by casting a bat-bogey hex at Vernon, Lily asked her parents, “May I be excused? I just remembered there’s some mail upstairs that arrived that I need to read.”

“Of course, dear,” said Anne, relieved at finding a way of avoiding an altercation between Lily and Vernon.

Lily rushed away from the table, stomping up the stairs and slamming the door behind her. She didn’t care if it upset Petunia. In Lily’s mind, if she drove Vernon away then it would be better for Petunia in the long run. She didn’t want him forcing Petunia to give up her dreams.

Opening the window, Lancelot flew in and landed on top of his cage with an indignant flutter of his wings, upset at being ignored for so long. Lily went to grab her mail only to receive an angry nip on her finger from her pet.

“Hey!” she exclaimed, trying to shake the pain out of her finger. “Don’t get mad at me!” she told Lancelot. “I’ve had a horrible evening.” Lily grabbed an owl treat and tossed it to Lancelot, who grudgingly accepted it and held out his leg for Lily to retrieve her letter. She snatched it away and smiled, seeing Remus’ neat handwriting on the envelope.

Dear Lily,

I’m glad to hear you enjoyed Austria. I’ve never been there, but I hear the mountains are quite a sight to behold. I hope you are enjoying the rest of your summer and are finding time to relax.

My summer is going well. Not much to boast about. I spent most of it at home, though I did get to visit James’ place a few times. Sirius was there and Peter managed to escape his family so we were all able to find ways of wreaking havoc and driving poor James’ mum crazy.

I’m sorry you weren’t able to meet us in Diagon Alley last week. I suppose you had already picked up your school supplies, though you missed another classic James and Sirius moment. They bought some Animation Potion from the Apothecary and sprinkled it on the dragonshide handbag of a woman eating a sundae at Florean Fortescue’s. Shortly thereafter the handbag started running around the table. When the lady tried to grab it, it started spitting fire at her. It’s a good thing her ice cream was charmed not to melt. It’s too bad her wig was not!

I suppose I’ll see you on the train tomorrow. I’ll be in the Prefect’s Compartment. Can you believe it? I suppose it’s more believable than trusting Sirius as a responsible role model.

See you soon!

Remus

Lily smiled and let out a sigh of relief. Remus was the other fifth year Gryffindor prefect. She knew they would be able to work well together. Even though she had been excited to receive her prefect’s badge, a small part of her was worried about the choice of the male prefect. Frank was nice but he was struggling with a few of his classes. Peter was struggling with most of his classes. Sirius did well though she had no idea how since he spent most of his time on his broomstick or finding ways to create mischief. And James…well, she knew there was no way she could work closely with him. She suspected he still had a crush on her, especially after the way his hand had gently brushed her hair after he had helped her fight off Malfoy before school let out. No, there was no way she could work with James…

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Sirius triple checked his trunk. This was his favorite part about visiting his family - getting ready to leave them. He couldn’t believe the summer was almost over. The previous summer had dragged on like it would never end, being locked in the same room without a proper meal. This summer, while he had endured the same insults and cold glares not to mention a few bruises, had been one million times better.

Thanks to Andromeda, he had been able to sneak over to James’ place almost every weekend. Marianne always doted on him, insisting on feeding him a large meal before sending him back to his cousin’s. Sirius looked forward to Sunday brunch with the Potter’s. The best part about everything was that his family still had no clue he wasn’t forced into solitary confinement at Andromeda’s, being tutored in the ways of the Black family values.

Sirius was becoming rather attached to his cousin, Andromeda. They had grown quite close over the summer, and Sirius even found some time to visit with Ted Tonks. Sirius noticed the way Andromeda’s eyes shone in the presence of her boyfriend and her carefree manner around him. He felt bound and determined to help Andromeda escape the family and follow her heart.

Toward the end of summer Ted finally convinced Andromeda to marry him. The newly engaged couple and Sirius spent quite a bit of time mapping out ideas for Andromeda’s escape and the safest place to settle down.

They finally opted for a Muggle neighborhood since the Black family would not be familiar with them. Besides, according to Sirius, the family would rather eat Bowtruckle dung than set foot in a Muggle neighborhood. Just to be safe they would place some wards and unplottable charms on their new home. Andromeda decided that just to be safe she would quit her job at the Ministry (via letter) and lay low for a while until she decided if she would find work elsewhere. Since Ted worked for Muggles and since the family did not know about him, they figured it would be safe for him to keep his job.

The previous weekend, Sirius had helped Andromeda pack her things, for she was set to elope with Tonks on September first after Sirius was safe on the train back to Hogwarts. While Sirius had been in Diagon Alley with his friends, he had bought a necklace for his cousin as a wedding present. It was an antique made out of gold with an opal set in the center. The clerk had told Sirius that it would grow warm whenever danger was near. Andromeda loved the necklace and promised she would wear it for her wedding. When she hugged Sirius goodbye, she slipped a small package into pocket of his cloak.

Sirius hadn’t found the package until he was packing. Curious, he opened it to reveal a penknife. Opening the card crammed into the box, it said:

Sirius,

Thank you for all your support and friendship. It means the world, and I will always remember how you helped me find the courage to be happy. I give you this gift - it’s not just a penknife. It can unlock any lock and undo any knot. I am aware of your treatment last summer, and hope this will come in handy someday! Remember that there is family out there who does care about you. Perhaps we can start our own Black family values, ones to really be proud of!

Love,

Andromeda

Sirius smiled and pocketed the knife, feeling more comfortable having it at hand rather than locked in his trunk. He knew Andromeda couldn’t give the gift of his freedom but she had given him the next best thing. He looked at the door to his room, which had been locked by his father again in punishment for covering Regulus’ clothes in stinksap. Once again, Sirius was going to skip a few meals. As much as he was angered by it, Sirius wouldn’t let his father get to him. The next day he would be on the Hogwarts Express and he wouldn’t have to return home for almost 10 months.

Late that night Beeste, the one house elf that showed Sirius kindness, snuck Sirius a small plate of food that wouldn’t be missed from the kitchen. Sirius gave Beeste a grateful smile and scarfed down his snack. He closed his trunk and fell asleep, eagerly anticipating the next day.

Early the next morning, he was forcefully awoken by the menacing hands of Octavius Black. Startled out of his slumber, Sirius looked up at the wrathful eyes of his father.

“Where did you get that?!” raged Octavius.

Sirius looked in the direction his father indicated and saw the plate, empty except for a few stubborn crumbs. Feeling a lead weight fall in his stomach Sirius tried to force a nonchalant look about his face. “Whatever are you talking about, Father?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about!” his father snarled. “I locked you in here without food, yet there’s a plate in here with fresh crumbs. Somebody snuck you food, and I demand to know who it was!”

Sirius thought of the kind house elf and what could happen to him should Octavius find out about the midnight snack he had snuck into the room. Using the face that he practiced to get him out of detention, he said, “That plate has been there for days. I had eaten a snack up here before my punishment began. You must not have seen it before.”

Octavius stepped menacingly toward Sirius, trying to intimidate a guilty response out of him. Seeing none, he leaned toward his eldest son and with a cold voice said, “I don’t believe you. When I find out who disobeyed me, they will have more to worry about than being locked away without a few meals.”

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A/N: And so concludes another summer. Fifth year will be here soon, and we all know one particular event which is certain to happen at the end of the year, after a certain exam…

Thanks to my latest reviewers: Hermione G. Potter, The All Mighty Shipper, nanopy, delpheena, Anu, Potterhead (x3), Alicia78, Golden Phoenix, hpfreak, German Wings, Remus’sweetie, Mani12191, PottersPrincess, mrs. pendragon, granger1191, AshleyM, and Jo Bob (x2).

Next chapter: Marianne with James and Sirius at the train station - you do the math…

68. The Chase Begins

Chapter 68: The Chase Begins

“Oy! Remus!” called out Sirius as he spotted his werewolf friend.

Remus looked across the crowded platform and located Sirius, who was waving him over. Next to Sirius stood James and Peter. As he approached his friends he saw Peter’s parents bidding their son goodbye, his mum licking her fingers and smoothing down his hair, causing Peter to grimace. On the other end of the spectrum, James’ mum was tousling his hair and laughing in surprise as her son reached over to return the gesture. Sirius eyed both of the mums warily, reaching a protective hand up toward his hair in hopes of avoiding any such gestures.

“Remus!” exclaimed Marianne, trying to smooth down her mussed hair. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Good to see you too, Mrs. Potter,” replied Remus.

“Marianne,” she corrected. Looking around, she asked, “Where are you parents? Haven’t they come to see you off?”

“Erm…we said goodbye outside the barrier,” lied Remus. The only goodbye he had gotten was a note scrawled by his mum that morning telling him to make sure he packed his lunar charts.

“Oh, that’s too bad,” said Marianne. “I was hoping I could meet them, since you’re such good friends with James and Sirius.”

Remus shrugged. Sensing his friend’s unease surrounding the subject of his parents, James said, “We’d better get on the train. It’ll be leaving soon.”

“Okay, but not before I get my goodbye hugs,” said Marianne. She hugged Sirius and when he wasn’t paying attention reached up to upset his hair, causing an almost girl-like shriek to escape as he desperately tried to fix it.

Laughing, Marianne turned to James and gave her son a lengthy hug. Looking over his shoulder, she caught the glance of a familiar red-haired girl standing several feet away. The girl, noticing Marianne watching her, quickly turned her attention toward a first-year student, helping her onto the train.

Marianne squeezed James a little tighter as she whispered into his ear, “I see the ‘love of your life’ is here. How about we invite her over?” She stepped back and saw the confused gaze on James’ face. When he saw the glint in his mum’s eyes his look instantly turned from a confused to a worried one.

“Mum-” he started.

Before he could finish Marianne called out, “Lily!”

Lily turned around and saw Marianne waving her over. Glancing nervously around her, Lily took a deep breath and slowly made her way over to the group.

Marianne smiled and said, “It’s Lily, right?”

Lily nodded and said, “Hello, Mrs. Potter.”

“It’s Marianne,” she replied. Seeing James’ red ears and severe expression, Marianne nudged him and said, “Well, James? Aren’t you going to say hello?”

James, trying to ignore the mirthful expressions on his mates’ faces, gave his mum one last steely glare before trying to throw on one of his casual grins. He slowly turned around, ready to act charming and nonchalant and said, “Hello, Ev…-ans…” James’ voice caught as he saw the stunning redhead before him. ‘Why, oh why, does she have to look even more beautiful?’ he wondered to himself. Not only that, but he noticed that Lily Evans looked less like the 11 year old child he had had a crush on and more like…well, he certainly didn’t want to dwell on those thoughts with his mum standing right behind him and Lily nervously avoiding his gaze.

“Hello, Potter,” she replied, her voice hitching a little. There was an awkward moment of silence until Lily turned to the others and said, “Hi Remus, Sirius, Peter,” to each of them in turn.

Sirius was trying to hold his breath in an attempt to avoid cackling loudly at the look on James’ face. ‘Poor bloke,’ he thought. ‘Marianne does have a knack for embarrassing him in public, though he’s doing a spectacular job of panicking on his own…”

Remus poked Sirius in the side and said, “I think I see Alice over there.”

Sirius looked across the platform and saw his girlfriend attempting to adjust the owl cage that had tried to teeter off her cart. Sirius was about to sneak off to greet her when he heard Marianne say, “Alice? That’s your girlfriend, right Sirius?” Sirius inwardly cringed, knowing what she was about to say. Smiling, she said, “I’d like to meet this girl. Alice! Over here!” Alice looked up and Marianne shouted, “Your boyfriend’s over here!”

Sirius, trying not to look at the vengeful smirk forming on James’ face, watched as Alice blushed and pushed her cart through the crowd until she reached the group. She greeted Sirius with a hug and a chaste kiss on the cheek, fully aware of the several sets of eyes upon them.

“Hi Alice,” said Lily, relieved at seeing one of her best friends.

“Lily!” Alice rushed over and hugged her. “Have you seen Marlene yet?”

“No, but I haven’t checked the train yet. I suspect she’s with her latest boyfriend,” replied Lily.

Hearing the first warning whistle, Alice glanced at Sirius and whispered to Lily, “Do you mind terribly if we sit with the boys on the way? I only got to see Sirius once since summer started.”

Lily glanced at the boys, feeling James’ gaze burning into her. She turned to Alice and replied, “Actually, I’m supposed to sit up front with the prefects.”

“That’s right! I forgot you made prefect!” exclaimed Alice, giving Lily a congratulatory hug.

“Prefect?” said Marianne. “That’s wonderful! Congratulations, Lily.”

Blushing, Lily said, “Thanks, Mrs. Potter.” Before Marianne could protest being called ‘Mrs. Potter,’ Lily turned to Remus and said, “We’d better get going or we’ll be late for the meeting.”

Remus followed Lily’s rapidly retreating figure onto the train but before the boys could follow them they were swept up into another goodbye with the remaining parental figures. Peter boarded the train, trying to wipe away the lipstick smudges his mum had left on his cheek.

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“Seriously, if I didn’t look like my dad I’d wonder if I was adopted,” complained James to Sirius and Peter as the train sped toward Hogsmeade. “Did you see the way she embarrassed me?”

Sirius smirked and said, “Yeah, Prongs. I noticed. She was the one calling out at Alice on the platform at the top of her lungs. I’m surprised she didn’t think to use the Sonorus charm. I must say, though, that I can definitely see the family resemblance between you and your mum.”

“What?” exclaimed James. “What are you talking about?”

Suddenly, Peter dove across the compartment to catch a chocolate frog that was making a desperate attempt at escape. Sirius, seeing his favorite treat, snatched the runaway frog and took a big bite, giving Peter a chocolaty smile in triumph. “Sorry, Wormtail. You snooze, you lose.” Turning back to James, he replied, “Prongs, your mum knew exactly what she was doing. She was just trying to get a reaction out of you, just like you do with our prank victims at school. Plus, in some weird maternal way she was probably trying to concoct a Potter scheme to help you out with Evans.”

“That was helping out?” asked James disbelievingly.

“She was just doing what you do, trying to get her to notice you,” Sirius pointed out.

James muttered something under his breath about overbearing mothers as the compartment door opened.

Alice walked in, having returned from the girls’ loo where she had just changed into her school uniform. She sat next to Sirius, who scooted over to make room and placed an arm around her. “What did I miss?” she asked.

“Just talking about how James’ mum was trying to help set him up with Evans,” said Peter, who received a kick and a glare from James.

Alice laughed and said, “Don’t bother, James. It’s no big secret that you like her.”

“Huh?” said James.

“It’s rather obvious,” said Alice.

Sirius suddenly smiled like a light bulb had turned on inside his head. He kissed Alice on the cheek and with his most convincing puppy dog eyes, suggested, “Alice…you’re friends with Lily. What if you…you know, put in a good word for James, here?”

Alice smiled and pinched Sirius on the cheek. “Nice try, but Marlene and I already did that.”

“McKinnon, too?” Sirius asked disbelievingly.

Alice laughed and said, “Yeah, Marlene. It’s only you she can’t stand, not James.”

“What did Evans say when you talked to her about me?” asked James.

“She didn’t say much. She avoided the subject and when Marlene and I pressed the issue she became rather irritated with us,” said Alice. With an apologetic voice, she said, “I wouldn’t get your hopes up too high, James. I’m sorry.”

James sat there for several minutes in silence, his face unreadable. Then he shook his head and said, “I’m not a bad guy. I don’t think I’m ugly - lots of girls have told me they think I’m cute. I’m good at Quidditch, I’m smart, and I’m funny.”

“Humble too…” muttered Alice.

James continued. “I don’t see what’s so horrible about the idea of dating me.”

“James,” said Alice. “I don’t think Lily is going to agree to date you.”

James, his face flushed from frustration, said, “I just don’t think she’s paid enough attention to me. She doesn’t know that I’m not a bad guy. If I can show her that I’m a good catch then I’m sure I can get her to change her mind.”

“Well, that little panicking routine back on the platform really swept her off her feet, I’m sure,” joked Sirius.

James sent his best mate an icy glare while he said, “I was unprepared for what my mum was planning. Next time, I’ll be prepared. When I ask Evans out she’ll be certain to say ‘yes’.” James’ jaw was set in determination. He had tried the friendly pursuit of Lily, even asking her out once the previous winter. He had tried to forget about her by dating a few other girls, but something about Lily always kept drawing him back to her. He decided that it was because he had only given a half-hearted pursuit that he couldn’t fully give up on her. If he pulled out all the stops, then she would realize he meant business and would gracefully fall into his arms.

Sirius, Alice, and Peter all exchanged a mixture of expressions - from amusement, to worry, and confusion.

The compartment door opened again and this time Remus poked his head in, smiling, his prefect badge shining brightly on his uniform. Sirius made a dramatic gasp and pointed an accusatory finger at him. “Aha!” he exclaimed. “The enemy has arrived!”

Remus rolled his eyes. Ever since he had passed the news on to his mates that he had achieved prefect status, Sirius had been giving him a hard time about becoming an authority figure.

“You’re looking at this the wrong way,” James said to Sirius.

Sirius smirked at James and said, “The bloke can take away points and give us detentions. How does that not make him the enemy?”

James smiled and, glancing at Remus, said, “Exactly. One of the Gryffindor prefects this year with that power is our mate. It helps to have friends in high places.”

After a moment the realization of what James said reached Sirius and he gave a mischievous grin. “You’re right! We can get away with so much this year!” Turning excitedly to Remus he asked, “Hey! Can you get a list of the passwords to each common room?”

Remus gazed amusedly at Sirius, thinking that if Sirius could at the moment, he would be wagging his tail. In a semi-serious tone he said, “You know, Sirius - for that comment I should deduct points from Gryffindor…” Sirius’ grin dropped before Remus could add, “…but I won’t.”

Sirius snorted and confidently said, “Yep, we can get away with so much this year!”

Remus looked a little worried as Sirius and James exchanged glances that showed the wheels turning in their heads, full of prankish ideas to fill the upcoming year. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

There was a knock at the door and Remus opened it to reveal Lily. “Lily!” Alice exclaimed, glad to see another female presence after several hours alone with the boys. “Come join us!”

“I can’t,” said Lily. “Amos wanted me to patrol the corridors and warn everyone that we’ll be arriving in about fifteen minutes.” She was referring to Amos Diggory, a seventh year Hufflepuff and that year’s new Head Boy. “That’s one of the reasons I’m here. Remus, I’m supposed to tell you to go to the second car to assist the students and make sure everyone gets off the train.”

“No problem, Lily,” replied Remus.

Lily smiled at him and James stood up, deciding that now was as good a time as any to start his plan of wooing Lily. He ruffled up his hair a bit and cleared his throat, causing her to look toward him. James threw on his most convincing smile and winked at her. Seeing her blank expression, he decided that she possibly hadn’t seen the first wink so he winked again.

“Potter,” said Lily, “is there something in your eye?”

“Erm-” said James, confused as to why Lily hadn’t understood his flirtatious clue.

Sirius, once again deciding to rush in and save James’ dignity, lied, “James got hit with a conjunctivitis curse from Snivellus earlier.”

Lily frowned and said, “I won’t even ask what you did to him to cause him to hex you. I don’t want to know.” Turning to Alice, she said, “Save me a seat at the feast, will you?” Once Alice nodded, Lily left the compartment.

Four of the occupants turned to James with amused expressions. Remus finally spoke up, “That was rather…smooth, James.” Sirius and Peter sniggered while Alice tried to politely hide her smile in Sirius’ shoulder.

James sucked in a deep breath and sat down as casually as possible, trying to act as if he had been expecting Lily’s reaction all along. “Gentlemen,” he said, “and lady,” he added, glancing at Alice, “the chase begins!”

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A/N: Fun turning point to write in this story. I just have to get from point A (now) to point B (the end of the year where James is an ‘arrogant, bullying toerag’). What do you think so far?

Thanks to my latest reviewers: Anu, Hermione G. Potter, delpheena, Remus’sweetie, Alicia78, PottersPrincess, Mani12191, AshleyM, tigerfairy, Jo Bob, granger1191, and Golden Phoenix.

Next chapter: James gets a surprise.

69. Captain 'Love'

Chapter 69: Captain ‘Love’

Lily and Remus boarded one of the last carriages to Hogwarts, having stayed behind with the other prefects and Heads to make certain everyone made it off the train and found their way to school. As the carriage drove on, Remus gazed out the window and looked up at the dark sky, feeling his strongest during the new moon. He smiled to himself, relieved that the lack of light from the moon prevented him from seeing the creatures that pulled the carriages.

“What are you thinking about?” asked Lily.

Remus looked at her and, not wanting to reveal his darkest secrets, decided on another topic. “I was thinking about the train ride, when James was trying to flirt with you.”

Lily blinked and shook her head. “What do you mean?”

Remus laughed and said, “I should think it was rather obvious, Lily. He kept smiling at you and there were those not-so-subtle winks in the compartment.”

“He said he was cursed by Snape,” Lily protested.

“You mean you actually believed that?” Remus asked dubiously.

“Well…” trailed Lily. “I realize he may have had a tiny crush on me a while ago, but he gave up on that a long time ago,” she said, remembering his annoyance at her last year during a Hogsmeade trip when she had presumed he had started a fight with Snape.

Remus chuckled and said, “I hate to break it to you, Lily, but James still likes you. In fact, he seems more determined than ever to get you to notice him.”

Lily studied her hands as she replied, “He’ll lose interest once he realizes nothing is going to happen between us.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” he muttered, remembering the look of determination on his friend’s face. He studied Lily, remembering how she was once good friends with James during their first year. Finally, his curiosity got the better of him and he asked, “Why won’t you give him a chance?”

Lily looked up at Remus, surprised at his direct question. She reached up and nervously fiddled with the locket her father had given her, twisting and untwisting the chain. “It’s just that-”

There was a loud knock on the door to the carriage and both students jumped in surprise, not having realized the carriage had reached its destination. The door opened and Amos Diggory, the Head Boy, directed them out of the carriage and into the school.

Lily saw Marlene seated at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. Rushing over to her, Lily sat down next to her and gave her a quick hug. “So where’s Michael?” she asked, referring to Marlene’s latest boyfriend, a sixth year Hufflepuff.

“Catching up with his friends over there,” Marlene replied, indicating the tall blond boy seated at the Hufflepuff table with a group of boys. “He didn’t have much time on the train with them to catch up,” she added with a guilty smile.

“I wonder why,” Lily added dryly.

“Thanks, by the way,” said Marlene. “For not…you know…”

Lily smirked and said, “I should have. I am a prefect, after all!” Seeing Marlene’s innocent smile, Lily added, “If I catch you two snogging again during my patrols, though, I will deduct points and give you a detention.”

Marlene decided to change the subject. Looking around, she asked, “Where’s Alice?”

Lily glanced up and down the table. “I don’t know,” she replied. “She was supposed to save me a seat.”

“I suspect she’s off with Sirius somewhere…catching up,” came an amused voice from behind Lily.

Turning around, Lily was surprised to see James grinning down at her. To her shock, he sat down next to her, closer than she was comfortable with. Lily looked across the table to see Remus and Peter seating themselves across from her.

Remus gave Lily a knowing look before he studied his empty plate, waiting for the inevitable to happen. After all, Peter had just told him about how Sirius had given advice to James during the carriage ride on how to approach Lily. This was bound to prove interesting…

James leaned a little closer to Lily and, in what he hoped was a deeper voice, suggested, “Why don’t you and I do a little ‘catching up’?”

“What?!” exclaimed Lily, glancing again at Remus, who was determinedly avoiding her gaze. Trying not to look at James, who was still lingering rather close, she asked him in a tight voice, “Exactly what is that supposed to mean?”

James smiled and innocently said, “I wanted to hear about your summer, Evans. Why? What did you think I meant?”

Before Lily could think of a reply, Alice and Sirius appeared hand-in-hand, looking somewhat flushed. “Sorry we’re late,” said Alice. “We got…er…sidetracked.” She glanced at Sirius who had a smug grin on his face.

As they sat down, Marlene muttered, “Great, now they’ve managed to ruin my appetite for the feast.”

“What was that, Marlene?” asked Alice.

“I said it’d be great if they’d hurry along the feast,” lied Marlene.

The doors to the Great Hall swung open allowing the latest batch of first years to promenade between the tables to the front. The Sorting Hat performed another original song and one by one each of the new students was sorted into his or her new house. As usual, Professor Dumbledore spared the students from a lengthy speech and instead opened the feast.

During the meal, James tried to further his progress in charming Lily, however she made a point of focusing her attention on Marlene. James sat there, frustrated that once again he was getting nowhere fast. He needed something to really impress her, to prove that he was a worthy guy for her attentions. He didn’t even realize the feast had ended until he heard his name being called. Turning around, James was surprised to see Professor McGonagall standing behind him, her face as stern as always.

“Mr. Potter,” she said, “I need to see you in my office right away.” Without waiting for a reply, she turned and strode out of the Great Hall.

“Geez, Prongs,” said Sirius. “I think you beat my record. Having to see McGonagall before the end of the first day…” Sirius shook his head, a look of awe appearing on his face.

James shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t even know what I did this time.” He made his way down the familiar route to the deputy headmistress’ office. His stomach gave an uneasy turn. It was one thing when James had to go to her office for something he knew he had done. It was another when he didn’t have any idea. How was he supposed to wheedle his way out of punishment when he had no idea of the crime he had committed?

Once he reached her office, he found the door open and cautiously stepped inside. Professor McGonagall was seated behind her desk, searching through one of the drawers. When she looked up and saw James standing just inside the doorway, she said, “Hurry up, Mr. Potter, and sit down. I don’t have all evening.” Once James was seated in one of the crimson chairs, she gave him a serious look and said, “I suppose you have some idea why I have called you here at this hour, Mr. Potter.”

James’ eyes widened and he shook his head. “Honestly, Professor, I didn’t do it this time! Just ask Sirius.” Seeing McGonagall’s look, he said, “Okay, bad example. Ask Remus! I didn’t do anything!”

“Mr. Potter, this is a very serious matter, and if I don’t handle the situation appropriately there will be consequences,” she said.

James was at a loss. He honestly didn’t know what he had done. Was it something that had happened at the end of last term? “Consequences?” he croaked.

“Yes, Mr. Potter. Consequences!” she reiterated. After a pause, she added, “After all, I don’t want to have to look into Professor Pilon’s snooty face if Slytherin wins the Cup this year.”

James nodded, then realizing what she said, said, “Huh?”

Professor McGonagall continued, “I expect you to prevent that from happening.” There was a faint glint in her eyes.

James felt a tug at his stomach as he started to realize the hints she was giving him. “What are you saying, Professor?”

“I am saying, Mr. Potter, that Carlton Wood graduated and we need a new captain,” she replied. Reaching into her desk, she pulled out a badge that said Gryffindor Captain and placed it on the desk in front of James. “I trust you will not disappoint me?”

James stared at the golden badge, excitement building up inside him. “I’m the new captain?” He looked disbelievingly at his Head of House, who had a rare smile on her face. At that moment, James could have sworn that she purposely tortured him with the thought of getting into trouble as revenge for some of the stunts he had pulled during the past four years. Not really caring at the moment, due to the thrill of being chosen captain, James picked up the badge and said, “Don’t worry, Professor. We’ll get the Cup!”

“Good,” she said. “Now go and get to bed before curfew. I don’t want the new captain getting into trouble this early in the year. The password to the common room is Amicus Fidelis.”

James grinned and practically skipped to the common room. This was certain to be his best year at Hogwarts yet. He was captain, he would soon be meeting Remus during the full moons as a fully transformed stag, and he had the Marauder’s Map as well as his invisibility cloak - which would prove invaluable during their adventures about the school.

Once he stepped through the portrait hole he immediately spotted his friends seated by the fire. Peter was stifling his laughter while Sirius sent well aimed tickling hexes across the room to Marlene, which would give the back of her neck a little tickle, causing her to scratch at it and turn around, only to find nobody standing near her. Looking frustrated, she would turn back to her friends and start chatting until she felt the familiar tickling sensation start up again.

Remus was the first to notice James’ return. “Prongs! What’d McGonagall want?”

Sirius and Peter temporarily stopped their long-distance hassling of Marlene to get the goods on what James had gotten in trouble for. “What is it you have to do this time?” asked Sirius. “Polishing trophies? Dusting library books? Cleaning bedpans in the hospital wing?”

James scrunched his nose in disgust. “No, I didn’t do anything this time.” Pulling the badge out of his pocket, he proudly displayed it, saying, “I’m captain of our team!”

Sirius snatched the badge out of James’ hand and studied it closely, as if he were checking its authenticity. With a broad smile, though not lacking a little envy, he slapped James on the back and said, “Congratulations, Prongs! You deserve it.”

Remus shook James hand and with a genuine smile said, “Way to go, Prongs!”

Peter, looking awestruck, echoed Sirius’, “Congratulations, Prongs!”

James took his badge and pinned it onto his robes, displaying his title proudly. Out of the corner of his eye he caught the familiar deep red of Lily’s hair as she chatted with Marlene and Alice about her summer. He gave his mates a grin, and feeling the confidence that came with his new title, strode over to their table.

“Hello, ladies,” he greeted with his familiar grin.

The three girls stopped their conversation and looked up at him. “Hi, James!” said Alice. “What can we do for you?”

James took a deep breath, trying to stick his chest out a bit so that his badge would be more prominently displayed. “I wanted to tell you the great news,” he replied.

“Potter,” asked Marlene, “why are you wearing Remus’ badge?”

James leaned closer so that Marlene could get a better view and said, “It’s not a prefect badge.”

Alice caught sight of it and shrieked, standing up and giving James a congratulatory hug. “That’s famous, James! We’re sure to win the cup this year.” With a small grin she added, “Just don’t make us practice as much as Wood did. I want to have time to finish my homework and have some fun.”

“Now, now, Lyons,” admonished James, “if we want to win then we have to get our priorities straight - Quidditch first, then fun, then school.”

Marlene snickered and then sighed, “Well, good for you, Potter. Better you than Black. We need a captain who doesn’t have the highest record for detention in the school, even if you come in a close second.”

“Thanks, I think,” said James. He looked at Lily, who had been silent so far. She sat with a slight blush about her cheeks, looking at Alice. “So what about you Evans? What do you think?”

Lily turned to James and, seeing his enthusiasm and joy from the news, gave him a small smile and said, “Congratulations.”

James’ face lit up at her smile, even if it was a small one. He knew it! He knew that if he tried hard enough to impress her with his talents, she would start to like him! Continuing along those lines, he added, “Yeah, I have a lot of ideas for the team. With me as captain, there’s no way we’ll lose to the slimy Slytherins.”

Lily stood up and said, “I have to go patrol.”

Not really noticing her sudden frown, James watched as Lily walked over to meet Remus for their patrol of the corridors. As far as he was concerned, Lily Evans had smiled at him, and that was the first time since the end of first year she had shown any friendly signs toward him. He knew that if he continued to show off that she would soon swoon at his presence.

Sirius made his way toward James, who still had a goofy grin plastered on his face. Shaking his head, Sirius said, “C’mon, ‘Captain Love’. We have things to discuss upstairs.” He nodded toward Peter, who was making his way toward the stairway to the boys’ dormitory.

James nodded and, double checking that Frank was still in the common room, followed Sirius and Peter upstairs. Locking the door, he said, “Remus should be gone for at least an hour but I don’t know when Frank will be coming upstairs. We’d better make it quick before we get any unexpected interruptions.”

“Agreed,” said Sirius. “I’ll go first.” He closed his eyes and screwed up his face in concentration. A minute later, the palms of his hands thickened signaling the beginning of his transformation. In practically no time, a large shaggy black dog was trotting around the room triumphantly. He ran over to James and grabbed a piece of his robes, pulling at it in a game of tug-of-war.

“Quit messing around, Padfoot!” laughed James. Sirius growled and James waved at him, saying, “I know, I know! My turn!” James followed the same steps and a minute later a stag was standing in his place.

The stag nudged the dog with his antlers, but ended up getting a prong of one antler caught in the dog’s fur. The dog yelped while Peter ran over to help free the stag. Once free, the dog turned around and growled menacingly at the stag who, if it was possible, now had a sheepish look about his eyes.

Finally, the two Animagi looked expectantly at the last boy standing and Peter gulped, knowing he had to take his turn. He took a few deep breaths, nervous because he had only been successful once before they had left for the summer. He pushed the fear down, realizing that in order to stay in the ‘loop’ he would have to accomplish this task.

After all, James and Sirius were popular as well as Quidditch players, and now James was team captain. Remus was prefect and book smart. Peter was left grasping for something to keep him worthy of the title ‘Marauder’. He knew that if he didn’t complete this task his friends would go on their adventures and leave him behind, gradually forgetting his existence.

It took Peter a few minutes of deep concentration, but with his determination, he was able to transform into a rat. He let out a loud squeak, thrilled at his accomplishment. The stag tilted his head in acknowledgement while the Grim-like dog wagged his tail.

Suddenly footsteps could be heard echoing up the stairway to their dormitory. The stag and the dog immediately transformed back and unlocked the door. As James and Sirius glanced around the room, they saw the rat scurrying about the floor in panic and realized Peter had yet to transform back.

“Wormtail!” hissed Sirius. “Hurry it up!”

The rat let out a loud squeak and continued to move about. James suddenly looked worried. “I don’t think he’s able to tranform back, Padfoot. That’s why he’s going crazy.”

The door to the room swung open and Frank walked in, smiling at his roommates. “Hey guys, how was your holiday?”

Sirius stepped in front of the rat, blocking it from Frank’s view. “As wonderful as ever, Frank. How about you?” he replied, hoping he sounded casual.

“Same as always,” replied Frank. He walked to his trunk and leaned over, opening it up. “This year Mum decided to take me to India…”

As Frank rattled on about his holiday while searching through his trunk, James waved at Sirius frantically. Sirius shrugged, not knowing how to fix the problem. As the two boys continued their silent argument while Frank continued to describe his trip, Peter scurried about the floor getting more panicked by the second. Suddenly, the rat grew into Peter, who was still on the move. Not expecting to be human so suddenly, Peter stumbled into Sirius, who was able to catch him before they could fall onto the floor.

“…so then Mum was able to pay for the damages and we took a portkey home,” finished Frank, finally finding his night clothes and turning around. “Oh, hi Peter! I didn’t see you there.”

Peter, looking flushed and a little sweaty, laughed nervously as he fibbed, “I was just in the bathroom brushing my teeth.”

“Alright, then,” said Frank, still unsuspecting as he walking into the bathroom.

Letting out a large sigh, James sank onto his bed in relief. That was close, too close…

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A/N: Phew! There you go. Sorry it took a few days, but there was an unexpected emergency at work that had to be taken care of. A warning - there are only a few prewritten chapters left. After that- the updates will be much less frequent (as in - not every day or every few days). Prepare yourselves. So tell me what you think of this chapter - I live for reviews…well, that AND chocolate.

Thanks to my latest reviewers: Chayse, Mani12191, AshleyM, Jo Bob, Mrs. Pendragon, Anu, PottersPrincess, Golden Phoenix, Potterhead, Alicia78, Remus’sweetie, granger1191 (x2), tigerfairy, Jules, and sun-obsessed.

Next chapter: Moony gets a surprise.

70. Moony's Surprise

Chapter 70: Moony’s Surprise

Classes began for the fifth year students with stern warnings about the upcoming O.W.L.’s from every professor. As a result, the amount of work they were assigned was practically doubled. Once again, there was a new DADA professor. As it turned out, Professor Eileen Dover had been sacked due to her tedious and slow teaching style. If she had continued, the students would never be properly prepared for their testing. Ever since Professor Riddle had taken the position of DADA professor 4 years earlier it almost seemed like the position was cursed, not allowing a teacher to last more than a year.

The new DADA professor was a French auror named Jean Darme. He had a very thick accent and tended to look down his nose at the young British students. The bright side was that his teaching style was a vast improvement from Professor Dover’s. He spent the first week blazing through all of the chapters from fourth year that Professor Dover had not been able to cover due to her slow teaching style.

“Ahhh, you young Breeteesh students moost feeneesh your paperz zheesh Friday!” mocked Sirius as they walked to dinner.

“Padfoot, do us a favor and stick with your natural accent,” commented Remus. “I can’t see you as a Frenchman.”

“Ahhh, but Mish-yur Moony eez razher eereetable zheesh evening,” continued Sirius.

Remus sent him a glare and walked ahead to find a seat at the Gryffindor table. The other three Marauders exchanged glances before James muttered, “Time of the month…”

Remus still had no idea that the other three Marauders had completed their Animagus training. After the scare with Peter the first evening back, James, Sirius, and Peter were all extremely careful about where and when they practiced. Most of the time they snuck off when Remus was making his prefect rounds. Peter was finally starting to get the hang of his transformation and fortunately had not had another episode where he was unable to transform back.

The full moon was the upcoming Saturday. Remus was feeling the effects and his symptoms were worse than usual that week. James suspected that Remus was disappointed that they hadn’t ‘figured out’ the transformation yet, though he knew Moony would never openly admit it. Remus still was worried about the risks of their transformations and being around him as a werewolf. Despite that, James suspected that deep down Remus had been counting on having his friends there that year during the full moons.

One of the reasons the Marauders didn’t tell Remus was because they knew he would only make himself more nervous about having his friends see him and risk being near him. This way, he wouldn’t have time to get himself worked up about it. By the time he walked into the Shrieking Shack there would be no time for him to change his friends’ minds.

There were several obstacles to overcome for the Animagi in order to successfully make it to the Shrieking Shack that Saturday. Remus had been surprisingly unsuspicious of the boys and, having been forced to go to the hospital wing, was not around much to witness their anticipation that day.

Alice, on the other hand, was another story. She and Sirius had not had much ‘alone time’ since returning from the summer holiday. That weekend she assumed they would be able to spend time together. Sirius, being the dense teenage boyfriend he was, had not factored her into the equation as far as ‘people to think up excuses for whilst sneaking out of the school’.

That Saturday evening, the boys were about to duck out of the common room when Alice caught up with Sirius. “Where are you going?” she asked.

Sirius exchanged a brief glance with James before replying, “Just going to hang out with my mates for a while, that’s all.”

“Well why don’t you stay here? I haven’t been able to spend any time with you,” she said with a frown.

Peter nudged Sirius, impatient to get to the Whomping Willow before Remus transformed. Trying to think quick, Sirius said, “We ate lunch and dinner together. How’s that not spending any time together?”

Alice’s frown deepened and she crossed her arms - not a good sign as far as Sirius could tell. “Eating in the same vicinity as each other while you whisper back and forth with your mates does not count as spending time with each other,” she countered. “Why do you have to spend the evening hanging out with them, anyway? You spent the entire day with them!”

“Well if this is how you’re going to act when we’re together then maybe that’s why I’d rather hang out with my mates!” Sirius loudly retorted.

Alice narrowed her eyes and her voice became quiet with a threatening undertone. “And how is it exactly that I’m acting, Sirius?”

Sirius, irritated at their argument and anxious to get out to the shack, replied, “Uptight and irritable, like McKinnon.”

“Excuse me?!” voiced both Alice and Marlene, who had been listening intently to the couple’s argument from her spot on the couch.

James hesitantly tugged on Sirius’ sleeve and quietly said, “Peter and I’ll start heading down there. You can try to meet up with us…”

“No!” replied Sirius. “I don’t need to hang around here any longer.”

Alice’s eyes were a mixture of anger and hurt. Marlene, upset for her friend and as infuriated as ever at Sirius, was ready to turn Sirius into a bug and stomp on him. Alice, shaking her head, held her chin up high and marched up to her dormitory without uttering another syllable to Sirius. Lily, who was sitting by Marlene, got up and chased after her.

“Give me one reason not to hex you right now, Black,” hissed Marlene.

“Mind your own business, McKinnon,” snarled Sirius.

Before a war could break out in the common room Peter and James dragged Sirius away. Once the portrait had closed behind them James said, “Padfoot…that was kind of harsh.”

Sirius determinedly marched forward, trying to put as much distance as possible between himself and Gryffindor tower.

Peter asked, “Is it over between you two?”

Sirius paused and let out a deep sigh. “I dunno. I suppose I could have been nicer, but we don’t have much time to get to the shack and I couldn’t think of anything else that would make her stop asking questions.”

“You could have met up with us later,” said James.

“No,” Sirius emphatically replied. “This is the first time we’re doing this and I want to be there with you blokes to surprise him. I’ll make it up to Alice tomorrow.”

“If you say so…” muttered James doubtfully. His experience in trying to make up with girls was not so stellar - Lily being the main girl in question. It had been a little over three years and she had yet to give him the time of day. He still remained hopeful - he couldn’t help it, especially after that smile (no matter how slight it was) she had given him when she found out he was captain.

“It’s Filch!” cried Peter, who was in charge of watching the Map as they tried to sneak outside. The three boys quickly ducked into an empty classroom and held their breath as the caretaker slowly passed by. Once they were certain the coast was clear they crept across the remainder of the castle to the outside.

As they traversed the grounds they eventually saw the Whomping Willow looming ahead. It was thrashing its branches around, swiping at anything that appeared to move. The three boys nervously looked at each other, realizing a potential flaw in their master plan.

“Erm…how are we supposed to get in?” asked Peter.

“Madame Pomfrey always used a long stick to prod that knot over there,” Sirius pointed out.

“One problem, Padfoot…Madame Pomfrey conjured the pole to prod the knot and we don’t start conjuring spells until next year,” said James.

There was a moment of silence as the boys pondered their latest obstacle. Finally, Sirius said, “Well, one of us will have to make a run for it and press the knot.”

James and Peter looked up at the branches of the tree, which looked particularly angry that the boys were just beyond their reach. Looking back at Sirius, James asked, “And just which one of us will have the honor of risking his neck?”

Sirius picked three sticks off the ground and transfigured them into straws. He broke one in half and bunched the straws together so one couldn’t tell which was which. Holding his hand out, he said, “The person with the shortest straw will have to go.”

Taking a deep breath, James reached out and tentatively grabbed one of the straws. As he pulled it out of Sirius’ grasp, he let out a slight gasp of relief as he found that his straw was long. Peter reached out a shaky hand and made his choice, letting out a muffled squeak as he realized his straw was much shorter than James’ and Sirius’.

“Good luck, Wormtail,” Sirius jovially said.

“H-How am I s-supposed t-t-to make it t-to t-the knot?” stuttered Peter.

“Just run at it really fast,” said Sirius, as if it was obvious.

“Erm, Padfoot?” said James. “I hate to point this out, but Peter isn’t exactly the fastest or most agile person we know.”

Peter was on the verge of hyperventilating and Sirius realized James was right. What kind of chance did Peter have of reaching the knot without getting thrashed into tiny bits and pieces? Sirius glanced at the sun, which was almost finished setting. Remus would be out very soon and if they didn’t hurry then they would miss their chance of surprising him in their Animagus forms.

“Wait a minute,” said Sirius, suddenly lost in thought. The Animagus forms…he flashed back to the first evening back when Peter was unable to transform back. He had been scurrying around the floor very quickly and perhaps…

“What are you thinking, Padfoot?” asked James.

“You have to transform, Wormtail,” ordered Sirius. “It’s your best chance at reaching the knot in one piece. You’ll be quicker that way and it’ll be more difficult for the Whomping Willow to get at you because you’ll be a smaller target.”

“B-But if it hits me, t-then it’ll b-be more likely t-to k-k-k-kill m-me,” gasped Peter.

“You can do it, Wormtail,” encouraged James.

“Just zigzag back and forth as you run to the knot so it’ll be harder for a branch to hit you,” said Sirius.

Peter looked at Sirius and James and realized he had to do this. They were his friends and his best source of protection against the Slytherins who tried to bully him all the time. Closing his eyes and taking one last ragged breath he concentrated on becoming a rat. When he opened his eyes he looked up to see the gigantic forms of his mates looming above him.

Letting out a squeak of fear, he dashed toward the knot, doing as Sirius had instructed, scurrying back and forth as he approached the trunk. Surprisingly, the tree did not try more than one or two swipes at him, feeling that expending its energy on something other than the two humans left just out of its reach was not worth its energy. Once Peter landed on the knot, paralyzing the tree, he let out a squeak of triumph.

Sirius and James glanced around to make certain nobody was nearby to witness their sneaking off. Once they determined they were alone the boys approached the trunk and snuck into the opening at the base of the tree, Peter following suit.

Looking at his watch, James said, “We’d better hurry. Moony will be down here soon.”

The boys ran down the tunnel, ducking when the ceiling became low. Peter stayed in his rat form, not wanting to risk forgetting how to transform once he was face-to-face with a werewolf. Eventually the passageway came to a slight bend and started to go upward. The boys followed it and soon found themselves gazing through an opening in the floor of the Shrieking Shack. They pulled themselves inside and gazed around, noting the boarded up windows and the beat up furniture. Several legs of a nearby couch looked as though they had been gnawed on. There were scratches across the walls, some of which were quite deep into the wood.

The boys spent several minutes exploring the shack from the living room to the bedroom upstairs. After about fifteen minutes they heard footsteps approaching. They were painfully slow, as if the person was limping. Sirius, James, and Peter all situated themselves on the far side of the living room, preparing themselves for what was to come through the entrance.

A pale hand reached over the edge of the opening and shortly thereafter Remus had pulled himself into the shack. He leaned over and shut the trap door, locking it.

Sirius finally spoke up in what he hoped was a casual and cheerful voice. “Hi Moony!”

Remus gasped and turned around, his white face paling even further. “What are you two doing here?! Get out before I change!”

James replied, “First of all, Moony, you need to learn how to count. There are three of us here, four if we include you.”

Remus looked around and said, “Peter’s here, too? Is he upstairs?”

“He’s right in front of you,” said Sirius.

Remus followed Sirius’ line of sight and his gaze landed on a rat who was sitting on the back edge of the couch. “I-It can’t be…”

“It can,” replied James, smiling.

“You finished it? You finished the transformation?!” exclaimed Remus.

“We finished it at the end of last year, after the last full moon,” said James. “We wanted to surprise you.”

Remus doubled over in pain and gasped, “You can’t do this! You have to get out of here before you’re hurt!”

“We’ve been over this, Moony. As Animagi, you can’t turn us into werewolves,” explained Sirius.

“That doesn’t mean I can’t bite you,” warned Remus. His breathing was becoming more ragged, beads of sweat dripping down his temples. “You have to leave, before it’s too late. There’s not much time left.”

“We’re staying,” said Sirius. “Now if you don’t mind, I think we’d better transform. It doesn’t look like you can hold out much longer.”

“I don’t want you to see me like this!” gasped Remus, trying to delay the inevitable.

“If you’re not embarrassed about your off-key vocals in the shower, then what makes you so upset about this?” joked Sirius.

“We never thought differently of you when we found out your secret, Moony,” said James. “That still won’t change. We worked on becoming Animagi for three years to help you. Don’t shut us out now.”

Remus fell to the floor, realizing he wouldn’t be able to argue with them any longer. Surrendering to their argument, he looked up at them, his pupils getting larger. “H-Hurry. Change!” was all he could say.

Sirius and James did as ordered and shortly thereafter the stag, dog, and rat were prepared to spend the night trying to tame a werewolf. They saw one last shred of humanity pass through Remus’ eyes as he looked up at their animal forms in wonder, before he let out a loud cry of pain and curled himself into a ball.

The stag approached him and nudged him with his nose, offering his encouragement. Remus lashed out and pushed him away, trying to pull himself as far from his mates as possible, embarrassed at his display of weakness. He only got a few feet before a new wave of pain washed over him, causing him to writhe on the floor, feeling his mind slipping away as the werewolf took over.

Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail all watched in amazement as Remus’ body went through the excruciating change. Fur grew, claws formed, and his eyes turned a shade of golden-yellow as his body became wolf-like. Wormtail scurried behind Padfoot, unsure of his safety despite being in his animal form. Prongs exchanged a glance with Padfoot, realizing that despite Remus’ descriptions of being a werewolf, their mate had not revealed the true extent of his agony.

Suddenly there was a deathly calm about the room. The transformation had completed, and the three Animagi held their breath as they watched the still form on the floor. There was a slight whine as the werewolf slowly lifted his head. He sniffed the stale air and turned to study the three Animagi before him. Moony lifted his snout and let out an ear-piercing howl.

Prongs took a tentative step toward Moony however the werewolf sensed his approached and let out a deep, throaty growl. Padfoot trotted over, ignoring the werewolf’s warning and stood before his friend, wagging his tail. Moony growled again, scratching at the floor, leaving marks. Padfoot barked and let out a howl that mimicked the one Moony had vocalized. Moony stopped pawing the floor as his ears perked at Padfoot’s howl.

Throughout the night Moony paced the Shack, uncertain of the new creatures in his presence. A few times he caught the scent of a human in the vicinity and tried to throw himself against the nearest boarded up window. Each time Padfoot or Prongs would find a way to stop Moony from hurting himself further. After the first few attempts they realized that they were somewhat equally matched, with Prongs’ size and Padfoot’s teeth. Their confidence grew and they were able to become more forceful with Moony, keeping him from biting and scratching at himself.

As dawn approached, Moony had tamed considerably, realizing that the animals in his presence meant him no harm. Wormtail eventually approached and by this point Moony did not attempt to snap at him. As the moon waned, the werewolf fell to the floor in a heap, the fur and claws regressing, his eyes turning back to the normal grayish-blue color as Remus’ body took shape.

Once the Animagi were certain Remus’ transformation back was complete, they returned to their human forms. They rushed over to Remus, who was still in a heap and unmoving. Sirius gently turned him over and they were relieved to see his chest rising and falling with each breath he took.

“Moony,” said James, gently shaking Remus’ shoulder to wake him.

Remus lazily opened his eyes and saw his mates hovering over him. In his exhaustion he was able to crack a small smile and say, “You’re okay?”

“We’re fine,” assured Peter.

“You don’t look so bad yourself, after last night’s transformation,” said James. “You’re not as bruised and scratched as you usually get.”

Remus struggled to sit up and looked down at himself to realize that, in fact, he hadn’t caused himself more than a few scrapes and bruises, all mild. He looked back at the other Marauders, a small trickle of fear present in his eyes. “Did…did I hurt anyone?”

“Nah,” replied Sirius. Cracking a smile, he added, “Frankly, I don’t see what the big deal was. Your werewolf form was absolutely delightful!”

Remus gave Sirius an incredulous look.

Follow Sirius’ lead, James added, “Yeah, Moony. You’ve been holding out on us. Your werewolf form plays a mean game of exploding snap, though not up to your usual standards. Even Peter was able to win!”

“Huh?” asked Peter, confused.

“Yeah,” said Sirius. “Moony, you just didn’t want us to know how charming your werewolf could be. You wanted him all for yourself.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” added James. “Now that we know the real Moony, we’re going to have to find time in our busy schedule to see him.”

Remus was trying not to laugh, though the corners of his mouth betrayed him.

“I suppose we could find time, say, about once a month to spend with the delightful were-fellow,” said Sirius.

“Okay! Okay!” chuckled Remus. “I get it. You didn’t get hurt and somewhere inside your thick skulls you decided you actually had fun with a raging, deadly werewolf. I know there’s no way to stop you from showing up. After all, you found a way in here last night…”

“Good to see you coming to your senses, Moony,” grinned Sirius.

“You’d better get going,” James warned Remus. “I reckon Madame Pomfrey’ll be waiting by the Willow soon.”

The boys helped Remus to his feet and walked with him through the tunnel. As they approached the exit the Animagi lingered behind to avoid the school nurse. Remus paused near the exit, turning around and studying the boys who had spent three long years slaving over becoming Animagi, who risked their necks sneaking into the Shrieking Shack to help him keep his mind, and who promised to help him through future transformations.

At that moment in time, even though he was weak and sore from the transformation, Remus never thought he’d been as happy as he was. He smiled and in a tight voice, said, “Thanks.”

The other boys smiled back as Remus exited the Willow. The look on his face had proved to them that the hard work and the risks had been worth it.

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A/N: So, I’ve been building up to this moment for a LONG time. It was fun to write. Hope it was fun to read.

Thanks to my latest reviewers: Alicia78, Anu, nanopy, Anonymous (x2), astronomylover, Remus’sweetie, PottersPrincess, tigerfairy, brittanytutt, Mani12191, Watermelon!, Jo Bob, A New Reader, DreamAngel, Golden Phoenix, German Wings, James love, and Mrs. Pendragon.

Next chapter: James missed Lily’s birthday last year. This year he will try to find her the ‘perfect gift’.

71. When One Door Closes...

Chapter 71: When One Door Closes…

Sirius, James, and Peter all made it back to their dormitory that morning without getting caught. They were exhausted from staying up all night with a werewolf, but a jolt of excitement ran through the boys’ blood. They had, after all, pulled off one of the most difficult pieces of magic, albeit illegally, without getting caught and had been able to sneak out of the school and back undetected. With the Marauders’ Map, James’ invisibility cloak, and their ability to transform into Animagi, they started to feel invincible. It seemed like nothing could bring the boys down.

Nothing, that is, except a few girls. Alice had been understandably angry at Sirius for his attitude toward her before he had left to meet Remus. After swallowing his pride, Sirius approached her the next day and apologized. Alice grudgingly forgave him and they decided to continue dating. Despite appearing happy on the outside with each other, a wedge was formed between the couple and neither could admit yet that their relationship was steadily heading south.

Lily was also proving to be difficult. James continued his current plan - following her around and sitting near her during meals, whether she liked it or not. He made certain to wear his ‘Captain’ badge whenever she was nearby, charming it to shine extra bright. That backfired, however, when the intense gleam reflected directly into her eyes and nearly blinded her. Alice had had to guide Lily to the hospital wing where Madame Pomfrey had forced her to wear a pair of thick, unattractive glasses, charmed to help her vision until it could heal on its own. For three days Lily had to walk around with a pair of glasses that magnified her green eyes to the size of saucers.

James, wanting to make amends and further his effort to impress Lily, remembered that her birthday was at the end of September. Remembering her love of literature, James ordered what he considered the ‘perfect gift’ from an owl order catalog he had found by Sirius’ trunk. On Lily’s birthday, James waited on pins and needles for the inevitable moment when Lily would open James’ romantic gift and tearfully hug him, admitting her undying love for him.

To his surprise, when Lily opened the gift during breakfast and started to read it, her face turned a brilliant shade of red and she looked anything but happy. Double checking the card that came with the package, Lily grabbed the book and stormed over to James, who was surprised to see a little vein pulsing in the center of her forehead.

“Evans!” he greeted with a confused grin. “Happy bir-”

“Potter!” she interrupted. Brandishing the book in his face, she exclaimed, “What is the meaning of this…book?”

“It’s a birthday gift,” James explained, as if it were obvious. “I thought you liked poetry.”

“You call this trash poetry?” she forced out. “It’s disgusting!” Tossing the book onto the table, she added, “I can’t believe you thought I would enjoy something like…that.” She shook her head and marched back to her seat, ignoring the questions that Marlene and Alice were firing at her.

James, after a minute of staring at the fiery redhead, confusedly turned his gaze toward the book sitting in front of him. “I don’t get it,” he told the Marauders, who were torn between sympathy and mirth at the scene that had just occurred.

Remus finally picked up the book and opened it to a random page. After reading a few lines, his eyes bugged out a little and he raised an eyebrow toward James. “Prongs, you do realize what’s in this book, don’t you?”

James gave Remus an obvious look and replied, “Of course! I ordered a book of poetry for her. I figured she’d like it.”

Remus suppressed a smirk and carefully said, “Prongs, these aren’t just poems…they’re limericks.”

“So?” asked James.

“Where exactly did you order this from?” asked Remus.

“I found it in a catalog by Padfoot’s trunk,” explained James.

Remus nodded in understanding while Sirius grabbed the book out of his hands.

Reading the first line of a limerick, Sirius said, “There once was a girl from…” Seeing the rest of the limerick, Sirius placed his head on the table as he let out a series of side-splitting guffaws.

James, confused about the entire situation, grabbed the book and read the limerick in question. Seeing the nature of the poem, James felt his stomach drop as he realized just what kind of poetry he had sent to Lily for her birthday. “Ah, bloody hell,” he moaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose in an attempt to ebb the inevitable headache. “I just gave Evans a book of dirty poems for her birthday.”

This comment sent Sirius into another tirade of laughter. Remus and Peter couldn’t help but break out into chuckles at James’ mistake.

James sent them a nasty glare and admonished, “It’s not funny! This was not in the plan.”

Sirius, trying to catch his breath, snorted and picked his head up from the table.

Peter, torn between wanting to laugh and not wanting to tick James off, settled for laughter masked as a coughing fit. Once the ‘coughing spell’ was under control, he asked, “What plan, Prongs?”

“The plan for Evans to go out with me,” James explained.

Sirius, wiping the corners of his eyes, said, “Well Prongs, if she didn’t realize how you felt about her before, I’m sure she has an inkling now.”

“You’ve left quite an impression on her lately, Prongs,” said Remus. “First you blind her, then you give her dirty poetry. What next? Are you going to feed her to the Giant Squid?”

James let out a frustrated groan. “This is just great,” he said sarcastically. “I need to figure a way out of this mess.”

Sirius said, “Too bad we haven’t learned memory charms yet. Then you could ‘obliviate’ this latest catastrophe.”

James turned to Remus and said, “Moony, old pal - she listens to you. Maybe you could try and smooth things over…put a good word in for me?”

Remus gave James a wary look and replied, “I dunno, Prongs. I’ve already tried to talk you up a bit to her and she gets a bit closed off and touchy whenever the subject is brought up.”

“Just try again, will you?” pleaded James.

“Alright, alright, I’ll try,” Remus acquiesced.

**************************************************************************************

Since Lily was celebrating her birthday, that meant that she wouldn’t meet Remus and Emm for a study session until later on in the week. Despite the momentary break amongst the study group, the professors continued to ply the students with piles of assignments.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was certainly no exception. Not only were the fifth year students assigned their regular mountain of pre-O.W.L. work, but they were continuing to play ‘catch-up’ with the assignments Professor Dover had never gotten to the previous year.

Many of the fifth year students were nervous wrecks, trying to stay on top of their studies. One student, though, was having a tough time keeping up with the extra subject matter in DADA. It was for this reason that Alice was summoned to Professor McGonagall’s office one afternoon.

Alice, surprised to have received an owl from the deputy headmistress, could only guess at why she was asked to come. In the back of her mind, she wondered if Sirius had done something stupid and by association, made her guilty of something.

“Ah, Miss Lyons,” said Professor McGonagall. “You’re on time. Please have a seat,” she said, indicating the crimson chair in front of the desk. Seeing Alice nervously take her seat, Professor McGonagall managed a small smile. “You are not in trouble Miss Lyons.”

Alice let out a small sigh of relief and relaxed. “What did you ask me here for, Professor?”

“Professor Darme has spoken with me about your grades and participation in his class,” said Professor McGonagall. “According to him, you are amongst his top students.” Seeing Alice blush, McGonagall continued, “I summoned you here to ask you to tutor another student who is having difficulty in that class.”

“Me?” said Alice. “Tutor? I’ve never tutored anyone before.”

“After reviewing the marks for the class, I decided you would be best for the task,” said McGonagall. “There are other students who also have high marks in DADA.” Looking at some parchment, she said, “James Potter - he is too busy with his duties as captain and let’s face it…he’s not the most studious student in the class.” Continuing down the list on her parchment, she added, “Sirius Black - his schedule will likely be filled with detentions. Lily Evans - she has prefect duties.”

“What about Remus, Professor? He’s got high marks,” suggested Alice.

Professor McGonagall frowned a bit before replying, “In addition to being a prefect, Mr. Lupin has other responsibilities that will make him unable to take on such a task.”

Alice nodded and said, “You mean his sick mother?”

Professor McGonagall nodded tersely and said, “That leaves you, Miss Lyons. The student you would be tutoring is not suffering in DADA, however it has been brought to my attention that he has career ambitions that would require high marks, and he wants to have the best chance at scoring high on his O.W.L. in DADA. You would meet him three times a week for an hour, and Professor Darme has agreed to award you extra credit. If you help this student score a high mark on his O.W.L. for DADA then you will get a written commendation added to your school file.”

Alice thought about it. James was sure to keep her busy with Quidditch practice, however Wood had consumed a lot of her time when he had been captain and she had managed to keep up. She certainly felt sympathetic toward the student in question. She herself wanted to be an auror and she knew that would require high marks on several of her O.W.L.’s. She had to give the student credit for coming forward early on in the year and seeking out help. How could she say no?

“Alright,” said Alice. “I’ll do it.”

“Excellent,” said McGonagall, another tight smile appearing on her face. “I’ll arrange the first session for tonight at 7 p.m. in the library and at that time you two can arrange your schedules accordingly. Remember - there are to be three tutoring sessions per week.”

“Yes, Professor,” replied Alice. Before she stood to leave, Alice remembered to ask, “Professor? Who will I be tutoring?”

“Mr. Longbottom,” replied the deputy headmistress.

“Frank?” asked Alice, looking a little nervous.

“Yes, Miss Lyons, Frank Longbottom,” said Professor McGonagall. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“Erm…no, Professor,” said Alice, “no problem whatsoever.”

After Alice left the office, she wondered what she had just gotten herself into. Frank had always been very sweet to Alice, but it had not been a secret that he had harbored a crush for her. Last year, he had finally gathered the courage to ask her out, only to be turned down. Since then, he had still been friendly toward her though he kept more of a distance. And when Alice started dating Sirius, he rarely spoke to her unless necessary. He had never been rude to her or outwardly angry or jealous, though she suspected he had been hurt by her rejection.

Walking into the common room, she immediately spotted Sirius. He wasn’t difficult to find, considering he was in the middle of yet another argument with Marlene. Alice sighed, getting tired of the strain from being the middleman, or rather middlegirl. She wearily approached the pair and cleared her throat to announce her presence.

“Alice!” exclaimed Marlene. “Good, you’re here! Perhaps you can explain to your chauvinistic boyfriend the finer points of equality among the sexes!”

Sirius snorted and said, “Equality, eh? This coming from the girl who spouts off about how all men are pigs!”

“Not all men, Black,” said Marlene. “You, in particular.”

“Ahem,” said Alice.

Not hearing her, Sirius continued, “Well at least I’m not some uptight wench!”

“Ahem,” repeated Alice.

“Uptight wench?!” gasped Marlene.

The two continued to argue despite Alice’s attempts to draw their attention. She glanced over at Lily, who was sitting on a couch nearby trying to focus on her Charms homework, despite the loud commotion. Alice approached her and plopped down next to her.

“How long has this one been going on?” asked Alice.

“Twenty minutes by my last count,” replied Lily, checking her watch.

Alice shook her head and said, “I’m so tired of playing peacemaker between those two. Why can’t my boyfriend and friends get along?”

Lily let out a dry laugh before replying, “You knew how Marlene and Sirius felt about each other before going out with him.”

Alice sighed again and said, “Yeah, but I was hoping that they’d make an effort to get along, for me.”

“They did at first, sort of,” said Lily. “It’s just that Marlene and Sirius know how to push each other’s buttons.”

Alice glanced at the two and unhappily noticed that Marlene’s hair was now a shade of purple while Sirius’ hair looked like it had been permed. She made a weak whining noise before turning back to Lily, saying, “I have to tutor someone tonight. If those two manage to finish arguing without serious damage and actually ask my whereabouts, you can let them know that.”

Lily nodded, watching Alice run up the stairs to grab her books. Turning back to her Charms book, she was finally starting to tune out the shrieking pair when all of a sudden she felt the weight of someone sitting next to her on the couch. A bowl of popcorn was shoved in front of her. Looking up at the source, she saw James wearing an amused smirk.

“What do you want, Potter?” she asked, still perturbed by his choice in birthday gifts, let alone the fact that he had bought her something to begin with.

“I wanted a good seat,” he replied. “To enjoy the show,” he added, pointing to Sirius and Marlene. By this point they were both on the floor, having both thrown the Jelly-Legs Jinx at each other at the same time. James chuckled and casually reached into the bowl, grabbing a kernel of popcorn and tossing it into his mouth.

“What do you find so amusing?” asked Lily. “They’re going to kill each other if this keeps up.” Remembering that she was a prefect, Lily stood up to stop the duel. She was stopped by the warm grasp of James’ hand on her arm.

“C’mon Evans,” he said. “It’s best to just let them have it out.”

“I can’t let them curse each other,” said Lily, trying to pull her arm away. “Let me go, Potter.”

“On one condition,” he replied. “You have to sit here and eat popcorn with me.”

“I don’t have to do anything,” she retorted. Twisting her arm free, she hurried out of his reach and backed straight into the middle of the duel. Unfortunately, she caught the brunt of the hex Sirius had aimed at Marlene, and soon felt a tickling sensation under her nose. Reaching up, she was horrified to feel a mustache growing.

Marlene and Sirius immediately froze, shocked that Lily had gotten hexed. “Lily-” started Marlene.

“Evans, I’m sorry,” said Sirius, torn between guilt from accidentally hexing her and mirth at the sight of her mustache.

Lily drew in a few steadying breaths before saying, in a barely controlled voice, “Detention. Both of you.”

James approached and reversed the spell, restoring Lily to her normal appearance. “There,” he said. “No harm done. Now do you really need to assign them detention, Evans?”

“Yeah, Evans,” said Sirius. “I did say I was sorry.”

Lily, who, between her hair and face, closely resembled a fireball, said, “You were dueling. That’s against the rules and somebody could have gotten hurt.”

“Lily,” said Marlene. “We really are sorry. C’mon, I’m your friend, Lily. I can’t believe you would assign me detention!”

Lily sent her a nasty look before saying, “You’re lucky detention’s the only thing you have to worry about. If I weren’t your friend I would have also taken house points. I’m still tempted, so if you want me to do that I suggest you keep testing my patience.”

Hearing no further arguments, Lily started to walk to the stairway. As she reached the bottom step she turned around and added, “Oh, and by the way, Sirius and Marlene, while you were in the middle of your argument Alice tried to catch your attention. It seems that you two were too occupied to notice her or pay any attention to what she had to say. Perhaps you should consider how it feels for her to have her best friend and boyfriend constantly arguing before something like this happens again.”

**************************************************************************************

Alice walked into the library and threw her books onto the first empty table she saw, causing a loud sound to reverberate throughout the massive room. She didn’t catch the nasty look that Madame Pince threw her as she plopped into a chair and rested her head on her arms, trying to ebb the headache that wanted to plague her.

“Alice?” said a familiar voice.

Alice looked up to see the Frank standing next to her, his worried brown eyes focused on her. “Hi, Frank.”

“You okay?” he asked.

“I’ll survive,” she replied. “Marlene and Sirius were at each other’s throats again,” she added.

“I see,” he nodded in understanding. “What was it about this time?”

“Does it even matter?” she asked with a dry laugh. “I don’t even know, but if there’s a subject to argue about, they’ll find it.” She shook her head and added, “I’m getting very tired of trying to play peacemaker between those two.”

“Then don’t,” he said. “You shouldn’t have to baby-sit those two.”

“Yeah,” she said. “I kind of gave up trying just now. I left them in the common room and I’m kind of afraid to go back and see what damage they’ve caused.”

“Thanks for the warning,” he said. “I’ll try to steer clear of the common room for a few hours.” Looking around, he said, “Well, I’d better get going. I’m supposed to meet someone here.”

Alice was surprised. She thought he knew she was his tutor and had approached her because of that. After all, he hadn’t tried striking up many conversations with her since she had started dating Sirius. “Actually,” she said, “I’m your tutor.”

Frank’s eyebrows shot up and he said, “Oh…okay.”

He sat down across from her and for a few minutes they busied themselves arranging their books and parchment, not quite sure how to start. Finally, when there was nothing left to arrange an awkward silence settled between the two.

“Alice,” Frank finally said. “I realize you probably aren’t thrilled at the idea of tutoring me. I didn’t realize that it would be you when I approached McGonagall.”

“So you don’t want me to tutor you?” asked Alice.

“No, it’s not that,” said Frank. “I just don’t want you to feel uncomfortable about the whole thing. I realize that I was a bit…eager for a while, following you around and everything. I don’t want you to worry about that. I’m not going to ask you out or chase you around like I used to.”

“I’m not uncomfortable,” said Alice, lying just a little. “No worries, Frank.”

“Good,” he said, smiling.

“Where do you want to start?” asked Alice.

“I suppose I need to review a bit since we’re getting crammed with last year’s information this year. How about we review the Unforgivables?” he suggested.

Alice and Frank delved into the subject of DADA and before they knew it, their hour had long since passed. Frank looked at his watch, shocked at the time. “Wow!” he said. “Didn’t realize we were here for so long.”

Alice peered over at Frank’s watch and smiled, saying, “We’d better get going before Pince throws us out.”

“Yeah,” agreed Frank. “I expect Filch’ll be prowling the corridors soon looking for the ‘miscreants’.”

They gathered their books and walked back to Gryffindor tower, chatting about casual topics, and laughing when the subject of Professor Darme’s thick accent came up.

Once they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Alice suddenly remembered, “We never decided when we’re going to meet.”

“It’s up to you,” replied Frank. “You have Quidditch practice to work around.”

“How about Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at the same time?” suggested Alice. “We could meet in the library and when we want to practice some of the Defense spells we can find an empty classroom.”

“Sounds good,” said Frank.

“I’m not going to wait here all night,” said the Fat Lady, impatiently. “I have a date with a gentleman whose portrait is on the fifth floor.”

“Sorry,” said Alice. “Amicus Fidelus.”

“’Bout bloody time,” muttered the Fat Lady as she allowed them to enter.

Once they stepped through, Frank turned to Alice and said, “Thanks for doing this, Alice.”

“I’m glad I can help,” she replied and added, “I’m sure you’re going to do just fine once O.W.L.’s come around.”

Frank smiled and said, “Good night, Alice.”

“G’night, Frank,” she replied before he turned and went up to his dormitory.

“Where were you?” came a voice from across the deserted common room, causing Alice to jump in surprise.

She turned around to see Sirius sitting in an armchair by the fire. Still annoyed at his and Marlene’s earlier antics, she coolly replied, “Oh, so you noticed I was gone?”

“Yeah, Evans mentioned something when she was reaming us out for dueling earlier,” he said.

Alice shook her head and almost laughed. First her boyfriend ignored her to duel her best friend, then he didn’t even notice she was gone until her other best friend pointed it out to him.

“You still didn’t say where you were,” said Sirius.

“You’re right, I didn’t,” said Alice, turning around to go to her room.

“Oy,” said Sirius, standing up. “You don’t have to act so twitchy. If it makes you feel better, Evans assigned us detention.”

Alice turned back around and said, “No, Sirius. It doesn’t make me feel better. I’m tired.”

“Tired?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m tired,” she repeated. “I’m tired of having to constantly play the peacemaker between you and Marlene. I’m tired of trying to find time to spend with my boyfriend who disappears a lot. I’m tired of expecting you to pay attention to me. I’m tired of expecting that you would notice that I’m gone without Lily having to tell you.”

The pair stared at each other from across the room for a while, a realization coming to them. Alice slowly approached Sirius, her eyes a little watery.

Sirius, looking down at the floor, shuffled his feet a bit and asked, “So what now?”

Alice took a shaky breath and said, “I think you know, Sirius.”

He nodded and looked at her. “Yeah, I guess I do. It makes sense. I think it’s been coming for a while.”

“I think it’s better this way,” she said. “It’ll be awkward for a bit, but if we end this now then hopefully we won’t end up hating each other.”

“Can’t have that,” he said with a tight smile.

“Nope,” she said. “After all, we can’t start hurling Bludgers and Quaffles at each other’s heads. I don’t think our captain would appreciate that,” she added with a small smile.

“I think he’d be amused, but then he’d yell at us to save it for the Slytherin team,” mused Sirius.

An awkward silence fell between the two before Alice said, “So I guess that’s it, then.”

“Yeah,” agreed Sirius, raking a hand through his hair in a manner eerily similar to James’ habit.

“Good night, then,” she said, leaning up to give him one last kiss. As their lips met that last time, they realized that the spark was indeed gone between them and that cemented their decision to break up.

**************************************************************************************

A/N: Sirius and Alice are now over - however when one door closes, a window opens… Isn’t that the saying? I think this is my longest chapter yet. Things may slow down a bit - I’m trying to write the new chapters. I just finished chapter 73 - it’s not easy trying to change James into a prat. I’m just trying to keep in mind what Sirius said in OotP to Harry about James. To refresh your memory…’Oh, well, he always made a fool of himself whenever Lily was around,’ said Sirius, shrugging. “He couldn’t stop himself showing off whenever he got near her.’

Thanks to my latest reviewers: Alicia78, Anu, nanopy, God’sgirl, astronomylover, DreamAngel, PottersPrincess, Golden Phoenix, likediamondrain, anonymous (x2), granger1191 (x2), Remus’sweetie, sweetie513, Watermelon!, tigerfairy, Mani12191, Jo Bob, delpheena (x3), and Naikalam.

Next chapter: Aftermath of the breakup.

72. Introducing Snuffles...

Chapter 72: Introducing Snuffles…

After saying goodnight to Alice, Sirius trudged up the staircase to the fifth year boys’ room. James was still up, researching some potential Quidditch plays for the team.

“Did you catch up with Alice?” he asked.

“Yeah,” muttered Sirius, opening his trunk and searching for something.

James, seeing what Sirius was looking for, asked, “So what’s so bad that you had to dig out your teddy bear?”

Sirius, hearing a slight mocking tone to James’ voice, scowled and said, “This is not just a teddy bear, I’ll have you know. This is a ferocious attack-bear.”

James smirked and said, “Attack-bear, Padfoot?”

Sirius nodded, brandishing the seemingly cuddly attack-bear and said, “That’s right, Prongs. He’s charmed to recognize me and attack those he doesn’t recognize. Shall I demonstrate?”

James, slightly curious and deciding to humor Sirius, replied, “By all means.”

Sirius flopped onto the bed with the bear and, seeing that Peter was still awake, ordered, “Wormtail! Come over here. I have to tell you something.”

Peter looked over from his spot across the room and asked, “Why can’t you tell me from across the room?”

Sirius gave James a sneaky look and replied, “Because it’s a secret. I need to whisper it into your ear.”

Peter, the ever-obliging friend, got up and approached Sirius. Once he reached the bed and leaned over Sirius, the charmed bear kicked into action and latched onto the side of Peter’s face, using its padded paws to try and beat the stuffing out of Peter. Peter, startled, stumbled backwards onto the floor with a loud yelp and swatted the bear off of his head. By the time Peter had scrambled to his feet he saw that the teddy bear was charging after him again, ready to attack. It lunged at Peter and grabbed hold of a leg, while Peter ran frantically out of the room trying to shake it off and get away.

Once they were gone, Sirius gave James a smug look and said, “See? I told you. He’s an attack-bear.”

James laughed and said, “Somehow, I think after tonight Wormtail’s boggart is gonna look a little different.” He looked at Sirius and with a sly grin asked, “And what was the name of this attack-bear?”

Sirius muttered something under his breath.

“Sorry, Padfoot,” said James. “I didn’t quite catch that name.”

“His name,” started Sirius, “…is Snuffles.”

James was openly laughing by that point. “Snuffles? That sounds ferocious!”

Sirius rolled his eyes and in an attempt to save face, said, “It’s to throw off the enemy.”

“Riiiight…” said James. Refocusing on the original question, James asked, “So why did…ahem…Snuffles need to make an appearance? What’s bothering you? Is there a problem with you and Alice?”

Sirius frowned and replied, “There is no ‘me and Alice’.”

“You broke up with Alice?” questioned James. “Why?”

“It was just over, that’s all,” replied Sirius, not bothering to correct James on who broke up with whom.

**************************************************************************************

The next morning the girls were rushing around as usual trying to finish their morning rituals before heading down to breakfast. Marlene was trying to finish the last paragraph of her History paper while Lily and Alice silently packed their book bags.

“Oy, Alice,” called Marlene. “Can I borrow your History notes?”

Alice let out a miffed sigh, ignoring Marlene and storming out of the dorm room, her bag in tow.

“What’s with her?” asked Marlene, offended at the snub.

“Maybe she’s ticked off about your spat last night with Sirius,” suggested Lily. She, herself, was still a bit miffed that she had gotten caught in the middle of the duel.

“What’s so different this time?” asked Marlene. “Black and I are always arguing.”

“You’ll have to ask her,” replied Lily, picking up her bag.

They caught up with Alice just outside of the Great Hall. As the girls walked in, Lily and Marlene were surprised that Alice continued past the Marauders and took a seat further down the table. As Lily passed the boys, she leaned over and asked Remus, “What’s going on with Alice and Sirius?”

Remus, casting a quick glance at Sirius and then Alice, quietly replied, “Sirius broke up with Alice last night.”

“What?” she hissed. She looked up at Sirius, who was watching Peter with a amused expression as he limped over to the table, muttering things about ‘crazy bears’.

“Morning, Evans!” smiled James. “Care to join us for breakfast?”

“Not especially,” replied Lily.

“C’mon, Lily,” said Marlene, pulling her toward Alice. As they sat down, Marlene asked, “What was that all about?”

Lily gave Alice a sympathetic look and said, “I just heard. I’m sorry.”

Alice gave a half-hearted shrug while she picked at the crust on her toast.

“What happened?” asked Marlene, frustrated at being in the dark.

“Sirius broke up with Alice last night,” replied Lily.

“He what?!” exclaimed Marlene. “That jerk!”

Alice focused her gaze on Marlene, her eyes flashing. “What are you acting so indignant about? I thought you’d be celebrating!”

“What?” asked Marlene, taken aback. “Just because I think he’s a type of fungus doesn’t mean I’m less upset about him breaking up with you. You’re my friend and-”

“Wait a minute!” interrupted Alice, holding her hand up. “What did you just say?”

“You’re my friend,” repeated Marlene.

“No, not that,” said Alice. “The part before that.”

“I’m ticked off that the git broke it off with you. I mean for some odd reason you actually liked the guy and-” started Marlene.

“Where did you get the impression that he broke up with me?” asked Alice.

“That’s what Remus said,” answered Lily.

Alice looked down the table where Sirius was smiling and pretending to attack Peter, who looked quite put out. James and Remus were laughing at his antics. Alice huffed, not believing that he could act so amused the morning after she broke up with him.

“Alice?” questioned Lily.

Alice suddenly stood up and strode down the table until she was standing by Sirius.

Sensing a presence behind him, Sirius turned around and saw Alice hovering over him, her arms crossed. “Morning, Lyons,” he said.

Alice scowled at the way he addressed her.

Seeing her sour mood, Sirius impatiently asked, “Is there something you want?”

“Want?” she asked, shortly. “Perhaps you could tell me why my friends think that you broke up with me?”

Sirius noticed the attention their conversation was drawing and the questioning looks from his mates. Not wanting to lose face, he gave her a sad smile and said, “Ah, Lyons. You know it had to end sometime. We just weren’t meant to be. I’m sorry if you’re having a difficult time accepting that.”

“You-! How dare you!” stuttered Alice, shocked at his casual attitude and lies.

“Black, you really did it this time, didn’t you?” said Marlene, walking up next to Alice, ready to defend her. “I warned you about hurting Alice after you started dating, and now you’ve gone and-”

“Shut up!” yelled Alice, turning on Marlene. “This is partly your fault, you know!”

Marlene blinked and stepped back. “What? I was just trying to-”

“Just trying to find an excuse to yell at him or hex him,” accused Alice. “Don’t use me as an excuse. I’m sick of it! I’m done acting as the referee.” She started to walk out of the Hall, but turned around and shouted at Sirius, “And that is why I broke up with YOU!”

After she had left the Great Hall, which had gone silent after Alice’s shouts, Sirius nervously glanced around at the people gawking at him. He coughed, gave a small laugh and said, “Nutters, that one is. It’s a good thing it ended when it did - OW!” he exclaimed as Marlene whacked him on the side of the head before returning to where Lily was sitting.

**************************************************************************************

The tension throughout the fifth year Gryffindors could be cut with a knife over the next few days. Marlene was smarting from Alice’s words and wasn’t sure whether she should be angry at her or try to apologize. While she was at least on speaking terms with Lily, she was irritated that she was forced to spend a detention scrubbing the floor in the hospital wing with Sirius.

Lily was torn between her friends, trying not to take sides and hoping the two girls would make up before she was dragged into their ‘cold war’.

Alice was growing increasingly frustrated. Everywhere she went someone would offer their condolences about Sirius ‘breaking up with her’. Every time she tried to convince someone she had broken up with Sirius, he or she would give her a doubtful but sympathetic glance before walking away.

Finally, Alice took to hiding in the library, hoping to be left in peace while she tried to forget her troubles and study. Every time she tried to focus on the Potions homework in front of her, the image of Sirius casually smirking at her or someone offering false sympathy would invade her vision and cause anger to bubble in the pit of her stomach.

“Alice?” came a voice from behind her.

Thinking it was another person wanting to get the goods on the breakup, she didn’t bother to turn around and spat, “For the love of Merlin, can’t you just leave me alone?!”

“Erm…sorry…it’s just that I thought we were supposed to meet tonight,” said the voice.

Alice slowly turned around and to her dismay she realized that she had just yelled at Frank, who was standing behind her holding his DADA text. “Oh crap! I’m sorry, Frank. I thought you were someone else.”

He gave her a nervous smile and said, “We could always reschedule for another time, if you want…”

“No, no, it’s okay,” insisted Alice. “C’mon, sit down.”

Frank sat across from her and for a moment his gaze lingered on her face, like he was about to say something. Alice held her breath, waiting for the inevitable comment about her breakup with Sirius. To her shock, Frank broke the gaze and opened his textbook. “I was able to finish most of the homework,” he said, “but I’m a little stuck on the answers to numbers 12 and 15.”

Alice stared at him for a moment, pleasantly surprised.

When she didn’t respond, Frank gave her a questioning look and said, “Alice?”

“Oh, erm…right. Question 12...” she said, pulling out her DADA assignment. Scanning it, she smiled and said, “I think I can help you with that one. Let me see what you have so far.”

**************************************************************************************

“Hi Remus!” greeted Emm with a bright smile as he sat down across from her in the library.

Remus smiled back and said, “Hi. Alright, Emm?”

“Alright,” she replied. “Where’s Lily?”

“Trying to hide from James,” said Remus. “She’ll be here in a little bit, I’m sure.”

Emm laughed and said, “I guess he’s still got his eye on her, eh?”

Remus, noticing how nice Emm’s laugh was, took a moment to respond. “Erm…yeah, that’s putting it mildly.”

Emm sighed and said, “I don’t see why she doesn’t at least give him a chance. He’s not that bad of a bloke.”

“No, he isn’t,” agreed Remus, “but I don’t think Lily’s gotten to see much of that so far this year. There was that time a few weeks back when he nearly blinded her.”

Emm chuckled, causing Remus to grin widely.

Hoping to make her laugh more, he added, “Then there was her birthday present. James, thinking he was ordering a book of poetry, accidentally ordered her a book of dirty limericks.”

That sent Emm into a fit of giggles and Remus found himself chuckling with her.

“What’s so funny?” asked Lily, having just arrived. She took a seat and smiled at the mirthful expressions on her friends’ faces.

The confused smile Lily gave them sent them into further hysterics. An annoyed shushing sound came from the librarian, forcing the pair to gather their composure.

“Really, guys,” insisted Lily. “What’s so funny?”

Emm and Remus exchanged a conspiratorial glance before Emm replied, “Remus was just telling me about the birthday present you received from James.”

Lily groaned and rolled her eyes. “Don’t remind me.”

Remus, remembering his promise to James about Lily, said, “He didn’t mean anything by it. To be honest, he didn’t even realize what type of poetry was in the book before he ordered it.”

Lily shook her head and opened her book.

“I mean it, Lily,” said Remus. “He had good intentions.”

“Fine, fine,” replied Lily, flipping through the pages of her book.

Emm and Remus exchanged a glance before Remus said, “Lily…it wouldn’t hurt to give him a chance, would it?”

The page turning froze however Lily did not look up. “Why are you going on about this Remus?” she whispered.

“James likes you,” he replied. “Is there any chance you could try to get along with him?”

Lily was silent for a moment before looking Remus in the eye and asking, “Did he put you up to this?”

“N-No,” stuttered Remus.

Lily held his gaze for a moment before replying, “You’re lying to me.” She sighed and said, “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t try to get in the middle of this, Remus. You’re his friend, and you’re my friend. It’d be better if you stayed neutral in this.”

Thinking of his original promise to James, Remus wanted to give it one more shot. “But if you just tried to spend-”

“Remus!” pleaded Lily. “Please, can’t you just let this go? We’re supposed to be studying, anyway.”

Remus, unsure of how to proceed, looked at Emm, who shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, indicating that he should leave the subject alone. Realizing Lily’s stubbornness, he opted to follow her wishes and not push her toward James. At least he could tell James he had tried, though he wished he had been more successful.

“Alright, then,” he replied. Seeing Lily’s book, he asked, “So I guess you want to start with Transfiguration tonight?”

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Frank and Alice were packing their books away after a few hours of DADA review. As much as Alice had originally been dreading tutoring Frank, she had to admit he kept to the subject matter and was pleasant toward her. Plus it was a good way to forget about all the latest gossip and hassles about the breakup with Sirius. Not once had he brought up the topic of the breakup, and Alice was extremely grateful.

On the way back to Gryffindor tower, her curiosity finally caught up with her. “Erm…Frank? Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” he replied.

“How come you haven’t said anything about this whole ordeal with Sirius?” she asked.

Frank, taken aback, said, “You seemed pretty irritated about it when I saw you earlier. I assumed you didn’t want to talk about it. Why? Did you want to talk about it?”

“No,” replied Alice. After another moment of silence and walking, she sighed and said, “Well, maybe…well, no…ugh! I don’t know!”

Frank smiled and said, “It’s okay to talk about it, Alice.”

Alice sighed and said, “I don’t regret the breakup. It was time for it to happen. I mean, I’m almost 16 years old. It’s not like Sirius was supposed to be my soul mate or anything like that.”

Frank nodded and asked, “So why are you so upset?”

“I guess,” started Alice, “it’s because he was my first boyfriend and I feel like I should be upset that it’s over. I feel like he should be at least a little upset about it, but the next morning he was smiling and laughing with his friends. He even had the gall to tell people that he broke up with me, and then he treated me like someone he barely knew.”

“It’s okay to be sad about it, even if you broke up with him,” replied Frank. “It’s not easy to get over your first crush, even when you know that it’s time to do so.” He paused, giving her another sidelong glance, before adding, “Sirius may have acted like a prat to you, but don’t assume he wasn’t affected by the breakup. I saw him after he came up to the dorm that night, and he was sulky. He did what he usually does - tried to cover up his problems with sarcasm and humor. He’s a guy, and he doesn’t want to seem weak or emotional in front of other people.”

“Well if that’s how guys are, then they’re stupid,” muttered Alice.

“Hey!” said Frank, with a mock-hurt face. “I resent that!”

Alice cracked a smile and said, “Present company excluded, of course.”

“Of course,” he said with a smile. “So are you going to be okay?”

Alice sighed and replied, “Yeah, I will, once all the gossip mongers leave me alone. I’m just sick and tired of trying to convince people that Sirius didn’t do the breaking up.”

“Well, if it’s any consolation, I believe you,” said Frank.

Alice smiled and said, “Thanks.”

They walked for another few minutes before Alice spoke up again, “McGonagall hinted that you want to be an auror.”

“Yeah,” said Frank.

“What made you decide to do that?” she asked.

Frank rubbed the back of his neck and replied, “I guess it’s because my dad wanted to be one.”

“Wanted?” echoed Alice.

Frank nodded and said, “He died before he finished his training.” Before Alice could comment he added, “And I suppose I want to help out with all the stuff that’s been happening lately, with…You-Know-Who.”

Alice nodded, a slight shiver going up her spine at the thought of Voldemort. His support was growing, and the brutality of his attacks caused an innate fear at the mention of his name. She thought of her family and the danger her father could be in due to his open support of education for Muggleborn children.

“What about you?” asked Frank. “Do you know what you want to do after graduation?”

“I was thinking about becoming an auror, too,” she replied. “I just hope my grades will be strong enough.”

“I know what you mean,” agreed Frank. “You shouldn’t have any problems though. I mean, you’re tutoring me, so you probably have a better shot at it.”

“I’m tutoring you because DADA is my best subject,” said Alice. “I still have to do well in my other classes, including Potions. That’s never been a strong subject for me.”

“It’s not so bad,” said Frank. With a small smile, he said, “Once I get past my clumsiness, I do pretty well in that class.” After seeing Alice crack a smile, he said, “If you’d like I could help you out…since you’re helping me in DADA, that is. It’s the least I could do to repay you.”

Alice’s smile widened and she replied, “Yeah…sure. I suppose I could use all the help I could get.”

They reached the portrait hole and Frank said, “Amicus Fidelis.” After they stepped through, he told her, “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow in class, then.”

Alice nodded and as he walked away she called out, “Frank…” After he turned back to her she gave him a smile and said, “Thanks…for everything.”

Frank smiled and said, “G’night, Alice.”

“Goodnight,” she replied before heading up the stairs to the girls’ dormitory.

As soon as she entered the fifth year dorm room she saw Marlene getting ready for bed.

Marlene gave Alice a nervous look, initially unsure of how to speak. They had both done a good job of avoiding each other until then. Finally, Marlene said, “Alice, look…I’m sorry if I had anything to do with your breakup with…him.” She sighed and added, “I know you liked the guy and I’m sorry I didn’t try harder to get along with him. It’s just that…it was Black…and he just has a way of irritating the hell out of me.”

Alice gave Marlene a sheepish smile and said, “I know. I am angry…erm…was angry at you for the arguments, but you weren’t the cause of the breakup. Maybe the catalyst, but not the cause. Sirius and I had been drifting apart for a while before the other night.”

“So you’re not mad at me anymore?” asked Marlene.

Alice saw the sincerity in Marlene’s eyes and realized she had missed her friend. Smiling, she said, “No, I guess I’m not mad at you anymore.”

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A/N: I was in a bit of a weird mood when I wrote the beginning of the chapter with Snuffles, Sirius’ teddy bear. I guess I remembered writing something a while back about Marlene getting a picture of Sirius with his teddy bear. Thought I’d introduce him - Snuffles! Does the name sound familiar?

Thanks to my latest reviewers: A New Reader, Golden Phoenix, Anu, hpfreak, Mani12191, nanopy, Potterhead, Jo Bob, Hermione G. Potter, Remus’sweetie, granger1191 (x2), God’sgirl, Naikalam, delpheena, likediamondrain, AshleyM, sun-obsessed, ASiriusGirl (x2), mrs. padfoot, Alicia78, and mrs. pendragon.

Next chapter: James’ next ‘brilliant plan’ to woo Lily. Also - more Marauder mischief.

73. The Scandinavian Glumsnatcher

Chapter 73: The Scandinavian Glumsnatcher

Another month passed and the Marauders spent their second full moon with Remus. It was easier to calm the werewolf this time around, and even Peter felt brave enough to scurry closer to him, despite his small size. Once again the three Animagi returned the next morning with no more than a few bruises and scratches. Despite the lack of sleep, they felt wide awake from the adrenaline rush of sneaking out and playing with a werewolf.

Feeling his confidence bolstered by his successes that year - his Animagus, sneaking out, becoming captain - James decided to further his efforts to win Lily. After all, everything else that year was falling into place. James was certain he could charm Lily into dating him.

Inspired by Sirius’ bear, Snuffles, James decided to find the most adorable, cuddliest stuffed bear to charm and send to Lily. Opting for a different charm than the ‘attack-bear’ charm, James opted for an ‘affection’ charm and set to work. He figured girls went crazy over cutesy little gifts like that, and he would be sure to win her over.

The plan backfired when the bear he had sent her that morning became too affectionate. As soon as Lily opened the package she had received in the morning mail, the teddy bear came to life and attached itself around Lily’s neck. She pried it off, only to have it reattach itself to her making kissing sounds and constantly saying, “Go out with me, Evans! Go out with me, Evans! Go out with me, Evans!”

With each attempt to remove the bear, it became more determined to return to Lily. It finally took a sympathetic sixth year girl to hit it with the Impedimenta Jinx, allowing Lily to escape from the Great Hall ‘bear-free’ and make it to class.

Lily, Alice, and Marlene all sank onto their stools in Herbology with sighs of relief. Marlene, seeing the Marauders strolling into class, muttered, “Gee Lily, I wonder who sent you that bear this morning.”

Alice snickered, knowing all too well that James was still determined to win over Lily.

Lily grimaced and said, “Please don’t mention that thing. I think I’ll have a bruise from where it attached itself to me.”

“Or a hickey,” joked Marlene.

Professor Sprout hushed the class and started talking about the Scandinavian Glumsnatcher, a rather large plant that to the ordinary eye appeared non-threatening. The Glumsnatcher was found outside caves and had a liking for the Glumbumble, a furry insect. The Glumsnatcher would remain still, allowing the Glumbumble to alight itself onto a leaf. Then the plant would strike, swallowing its prey whole.

As Professor Sprout continued, Lily’s ears perked at a distant sound. It was repetitive and sounded as if it was getting closer. Soon other students noticed the sound and the class paused as the noise approached. As it neared the door, Lily felt an ominous nausea hit her as she heard, “-out with me, Evans! Go out with me, Evans! Go out with me, Evans!”

She rubbed the bridge of her nose, whining, “No, this can’t be happening.”

Suddenly the bear ran into the room and found its target of affection, who was trying to hide behind Marlene. It ran towards her, continuing its mantra, “Go out with me, Evans! Go out with me, Evans! Go out with me, Evans!”

“Miss Evans, what is the meaning of this?” asked Professor Sprout, trying to raise her voice above the incessant chattering of the bear.

Lily, who was running around the long table in her attempt to escape the amorous toy, cried out, “I don’t know, Professor, I- oh, bloody hell!” The bear had just leapt at her and reattached itself to her arm. Lily flung her arm about in an attempt to get rid of the bear.

Remus finally placed a well aimed banishing charm which sent the bear flying over the table. The plush toy landed on a bed of leaves and started to stand up again, intent on returning to Lily.

Lily, whose hair was a bit wild from running and flailing her arm about, had a look of resignation and disgust as she saw the overly-happy smile on the bear as it once again faced her. Like a broken record player, it continued speaking, “Go out with me, Evans! Go out with me, Evans! Go ou-”

A few gasps sounded about the room and Sirius doubled over in laughter at the sight of the Scandinavian Glumsnatcher swallowing the teddy bear. Apparently, not having been fed yet that morning made the Glumsnatcher eager for anything furry.

Lily, slightly horrified at the sight, was still rather relieved to be free of the stalker-bear. Her relief was short-lived as she realized all eyes were focused on her, save Sirius who was still huddled over in laughter. Lily, whose face was now a brilliant shade of scarlet, held her chin up and walked as casually as she could back to her place between Alice and Marlene.

“Miss Evans,” said Professor Sprout, “do you have any idea who sent you that bear?”

Lily cast a quick glance toward James, who had a slight look of guilt about his face. She fumed inwardly, wanting to turn him in, but not wanting to be a snitch. Plus, her embarrassment would double if she pointed out the culprit. Taking a deep and shaky breath, trying to calm herself, she replied, “No, Professor.”

James looked at her in surprise as Professor Sprout said, “Very well. I think that was enough disruption for this class. Let us refocus on the diet of the Glumsnatcher…other than its occasional fondness for a teddy bear snack…”

The class giggled, except for Lily who was trying to think of invisibility spells to remove herself from the surrounding glances of her classmates.

As soon as Herbology ended, Lily rushed out of the classroom, hoping to hide in the girls’ loo until she had to go to her next class. She hadn’t gotten far before she heard James calling after her, running to catch up.

“Hey, Evans,” he said with a smile. “Thanks for not turning me in. I knew you had a soft spot for me.”

Lily stopped and turned on him, her teeth and fists clenched. “Bugger off, Potter. I didn’t say anything because I had no solid proof it was you who did it.” Trying to end the conversation, she started walking away, however to her dismay, James once again caught up with her.

Ruffling his hair and grinning at her, he said, “You know, Evans, you never gave me an answer.”

Confused, Lily let out an exasperated sigh and said, “To what?”

“There’s a Hogsmeade weekend coming up. Go out with-?” he started to ask.

Hearing the words that had been plaguing her since the bear had first attached itself to her, Lily angrily grabbed her wand and aimed it at James’ throat. She grit out, “Do NOT finish that sentence, Potter.”

James, a little taken aback by Lily’s response, tried to lighten the mood. “So is that a yes or a no?”

Lily rolled her eyes and turned away, saying, “No!” She started to walk away.

A second year student who was walking by had heard the exchange and let out a laugh. James, a little embarrassed and offended that a second year would laugh at him, drew his wand and cast a hex at the student.

As Lily was walking away, she heard the noise of the hex hitting the younger student and turned around to see the twelve year old sprouting feathers out of her head. The girl tried to speak but a series of clucking sounds came out instead. Lily rushed over to her and tried to comfort the girl, who was desperately trying to hold back tears.

“What did you do that for?” asked Lily.

James shrugged his shoulders and said, “She shouldn’t have laughed at me.”

“So you hexed her?!” grilled Lily. Not hearing a response, Lily said, “Ten points from Gryffindor!” She turned to the girl and said, “Let’s get you to Madam Pomfrey, shall we?”

James watched Lily as she guided the poultry-like girl away. He found his eyes drawn to the sway of her hips with each step she took.

“No luck, mate?” asked Sirius, startling James out of his reverie.

James turned and saw the other Marauders. He ran his hand through his hair and smiled, saying, “Not yet.” Looking around the near-empty hallway, he said, “This place is becoming rather dull. What say we liven it up a bit?”

Remus gave James a curious look as he said, “Dull, Prongs? You mean crazy teddy bears and chicken-like students are dull?”

Sirius smiled and said, “That’s child’s play, Moony. I agree with Prongs. Halloween is coming and it’s time the Marauders wreaked some havoc.”

“You guys up for it?” James asked Peter and Remus.

Peter nodded enthusiastically while Remus smiled hesitantly and said, “We can plan later. Let’s get to class.”

**************************************************************************************

Days past as the Marauders planned out their next prank. During one late night James met Sirius by the mirror that led to a secret passageway. Sirius crept out of the tunnel with a bag of Zonko’s supplies and asked, “Is the coast clear?”

James grinned and said, “Yeah, I just checked the map. Filch is two floors down. Looks like he cornered a few Slytherins who are out after curfew.”

“Pity for them,” Sirius said mockingly. “Is it me or is Filch more hacked off lately?”

“I think it’s because he knows we’re up to no good but hasn’t been able to catch us all year,” replied James as they approached the portrait to Gryffindor tower. James gave the password and they entered the common room.

Giving a quick glance around the room to see if it was deserted, Sirius and James reviewed the plans for the next evening. “The Slytherins won’t know what hit ‘em.” said Sirius.

“C’mon,” said James. “Wormtail and Moony are probably upstairs waiting to see if you got what we need.”

The two boys walked upstairs, unaware of a student who had been stretched out across one of the couches out of sight, who had heard the entire conversation between the two boys. The student sat up, thoughtful, before heading upstairs.

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The next morning at breakfast, the students watched with excitement as the Professors decorated the Great Hall for the Halloween feast. Hundreds of Jack-O-Lanterns floated about, each with a different face carved into it. Bats fluttered about between the candles, causing the flames to flicker.

“When are you going to get everything set up?” whispered Peter.

“I’ll skive off History and do it then,” said James. “Nobody’ll be around then.”

“Don’t forget the map,” advised Remus.

“Not to worry,” replied James. “I’ll use my invisibility cloak, too, just to make sure I don’t get caught.”

“Where’s the stuff?” asked Remus.

“Upstairs under my bed,” replied James.

“The spell’s been set?” asked Sirius, reaching for a second helping of scrambled eggs.

“Moony took care of it this morning,” said James.

Peter practically bounced on his seat in excitement. “I can’t wait for tonight.”

Sirius shushed him, but silently he had to agree. It had been too long since the Marauders had done a larger scale prank. He had a difficult time making it through classes, eagerly anticipating the evening’s events. To bide his time he slept through History. In Transfiguration he transfigured Marlene’s quill into a somewhat loquacious parrot that ended up cursing at McGonagall. After adding another detention to his checklist, he finally got a chance to speak with James at lunch. Everything was set for dinner. All they had to do was wait and enjoy the show.

That evening, after the ghosts gave another spectacular Halloween performance, Dumbledore rose to open the feast. Peter shifted about impatiently but Sirius gave him a look that clearly told him to wait until the feast was almost over. After all, why interrupt a perfectly good meal?

As dessert was served, James’ attention was once again drawn several seats down the table where Lily got up and excused herself, walking between the tables and toward him.

“Hey, Evans,” smiled James. “You’re not leaving now, are you? The feast isn’t even over, yet.”

Lily rolled her eyes and shook her head, replying as she walked by, “Nature calls.”

“Well, if nature’s calling you, what would be more natural than sitting here with me? I reckon the end of the feast will be spectacular,” James called after her.

Lily paused and turned slightly, glancing at the Marauders before replying, “I’m sure it will be.” She walked out of the Great Hall in the direction of the girls’ bathroom.

James stared at the doorway until Sirius nudged him and said, “Oy mate, quit daydreaming and focus on the main goal of this evening.” Glancing around to make sure no one would overhear, he once again asked, “Are all the pumpkins set?”

“For the hundredth time, Padfoot, yes!” exclaimed James.

“Well, then, I say we get things started,” said Sirius.

The boys looked at Remus, who casually drew his wand and subtly muttered a charm, causing the lights inside the jack-o-lanterns to flicker slightly. Now all they had to do was sit back and enjoy the show.

The jack-o-lanterns started to sway back and forth a bit, before lining up and moving toward the Slytherin table. One by one, the pumpkins started spitting out seeds aimed for the Slytherin students. Once a seed came into contact with the student, his or her clothes were transfigured into a horrific costume.

Snape let out a cry of disgust as he realized he was now a fairy princess. He drew out his wand only to realize it was a silver color with a star on the end of it. When he waved it glitter shot out of the end.

The rest of the students laughed at the display, though none more than the Marauders. Sirius’ attention was focused on Regulus, who was now a slug, so he didn’t notice when the jack-o-lanterns moved away from the Slytherin table.

Suddenly there were more shouts as the pumpkins started spewing seeds onto students of other houses, including the Gryffindors. James, his eyes wide and disbelieving, leaned over and asked Remus, “Moony, are you sure you got that charm right? The seeds were only supposed to be aimed at the Slytherins!”

Remus shook his head and said, “I’m positive, Prongs. I don’t see how-AH!” Remus ducked when he saw one of the pumpkins heading straight for them. A spray of pumpkin seeds were shot at them and the boys tried to scatter out of the way, however there was no place to hide.

Sirius guffawed when he saw Peter’s school robes transform into a fluffy pink bunny outfit, however Peter laughed right back at him when he saw that Sirius was dressed in drag.

James had attempted to duck under the table however one of the pumpkins chased after him and nailed him in the forehead with its ammunition, transforming his outfit into a mermaid (not merman) costume. James tried to get up to no avail, seeing as his legs were bound together by his costume. He saw Frank nearby and asked for help, but Frank had paled at the sight of James and backed into a stream of seeds that had been aimed at Alice and Marlene. Soon Frank was donning a ballerina costume.

Alice, having been missed by the seeds, gave Frank an appreciative look while Marlene tried to send freezing hexes at the out-of-control pumpkins. The entire Great Hall was in chaos.

James, feeling slightly helpless from his spot on the floor, glanced over at the staff table and shuddered as he saw McGonagall get hit with a seed, causing her to transform into a veela. Trying not to lose his dinner on the floor, James turned his attention to the headmaster, who was casually drinking his pumpkin juice while occasionally casting a shielding charm to avoid being pelted with seeds. Dumbledore gazed about the Great Hall with a spark of amusement about his eyes, before pulling out his wand and summoning the jack-o-lanterns, sending them to a corner of the Hall, where he stopped the spell with a simple, “Finite incantatum.”

The teachers then set about reversing the costume spells, one student at a time. While they were waiting, Sirius, in high heels, clumsily made his way toward James, who was still laying on the floor. With a lipstick-smudged smile, Sirius asked, “You okay down there, mate?”

James, annoyed at being caught in his own prank yet amused at the sight of Sirius, sighed and said, “Yeah, I will be once I can get up and walk out of here.” He looked down at his costume and fidgeted, muttering, “These shells are really uncomfortable.”

A chuckle rang out behind the boys. Sirius turned around and saw Lily, who had apparently just returned from the girls’ bathroom. She was looking at Marlene, who had on a Yeti costume after her unsuccessful attempt at stopping the jack-o-lanterns. Lily looked at each of the Gryffindors one by one, her eyes widening more with each costume. When she saw Sirius and James’ costumes, she turned a few shades of red and had to hold her side as she laughed.

She looked around the Great Hall as the teachers were attempting to bring order to the chaos, before casually asking, “Did I miss anything?” She tried to mask her mirth as she saw Peter furiously trying to get out of his bunny costume.

Lily had to give herself a little credit. She hadn’t meant to overhear James and Sirius the previous night, but once she realized what their plans were she couldn’t help herself. It would be the perfect opportunity to turn the prank around on them and hopefully teach them a lesson. After James had hexed that second year student Lily wanted him to get an idea of how the girl had felt.

That morning, while the Marauders had been at breakfast, Lily had snuck up to the boys dormitory and located the bag of charmed pumpkin seeds. She didn’t know how to make the seeds selectively go after the Marauders so she instead opted to have the entire school affected, figuring the prank would be harmless.

As she surveyed the results of her efforts, she surmised that the prank had indeed been harmless. No harm, no foul, she thought. Smiling, she turned and paled at the sight of Remus, who had a mischievous grin on his face. Lily backed away as Remus approached her in a fluffy teddy bear costume.

“What’s wrong, Lily?” asked Remus with a chuckle. “You don’t find this amusing?”

“Erm…” stuttered Lily. She held up her hand to try to keep him away from her. “Don’t even think of it, Remus…” she warned.

Remus smiled and shook his head, stepping forward to grab her into a bear-hug, saying, “Go out with me, Evans! Go out with me, Evans! Go out with me-OW!” He hopped backward and held onto the foot that Lily had just stomped on.

Lily shook her head and with a slight smirk said, “You deserved it.”

Remus gave Lily another mischievous look and Lily held her breath, realizing that he was not done hassling her about the infamous teddy bear incident. She shook her head and muttered, “Where’s a bloody Scandinavian Glumsnatcher when you need one, anyway?”

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A/N: If you want to know my inspiration behind Peter’s bunny costume, watch A Christmas Story and look at Ralphie after he is forced to try on one of his gifts. If you are wondering about Frank’s reaction to James’ costume, reread the chapter on boggarts earlier in my story.

I did not make up the Glumbumble creature. I did, however, make up the Scandinavian Glumsnatcher.

Many of you probably noticed the longer period of time between my latest updates. We have officially caught up with the prewritten chapters. I am trying to write the new ones quickly, but I also don’t want to rush and forget some major plot points I need/want in the story.

Thanks to my latest reviewers: Alicia78, Anu, nanopy, God’sgirl, delpheena, Golden Phoenix, likediamondrain, DreamAngel, Mani12191, AshleyM, Jo Bob, Remus’sweetie, A New Reader, alto2srock (x2), tigerfairy, granger1191 (x2), volume UP, Miss France, anonymous, mrs. pendragon, and sista7. I made it past 800 reviews! Wow - it almost seems feasible to make it to 1000 before I finish…

Next chapter: James’ first Quidditch match as captain - Gryffindor vs. Slytherin.

74. Snatching Snitches

Chapter 74: Snatching Snitches

November arrived with the anticipation of the Gryffindor-Slytherin Quidditch match. Tension was high and the rivalry was as harsh as ever between the two houses. This was to be the first game for James as captain so, not wanting to stop Gryffindor’s winning streak from the previous few years, he called extra practices. Sirius rolled his eyes, remembering the countless times James had made fun of Carlton Wood for subjecting them to so much practice time.

The Slytherins were determined not to lose again to the Gryffindors, so they used dirty tricks to try to make the Gryffindor team members unfit for the game. Alice had a close call when Narcissa Black had rigged her cauldron to explode onto her during Potions. Alice had to spend a few nights in the hospital wing with her burned arms wrapped in bandages. Luckily, Madam Pomfrey worked her magic and Alice was a good as new a few days before the game.

The Slytherins, not being ones to give up, challenged third year Gryffindor Keeper Davey Gudgeon with a dare to see which of them could get the closest to the Whomping Willow. Davey, a foolhardy boy who never backed down from a dare, stepped a little too close to the murderous tree and received a nasty blow to the side of his face. Madam Pomfrey had insisted he was very lucky in that he didn’t lose his eye.

In retaliation, Sirius and Peter snuck into the Slytherin locker room the night before the game and charmed each of the Slytherin uniforms to become a size smaller. Peter fixed it so the seam over the arse was weakened, allowing it to split easily during the match. Sirius nodded his approval, impressed at Peter’s creativity.

James arranged it so every team member that night was under the protection of several Gryffindors whenever they left the safety of the common room. He did not want to risk any injuries this close to the game. When Sirius strolled back into the common room with Peter, James reamed him out for putting himself at risk.

Sirius rolled his eyes and explained what he and Peter had been up to. After thinking about it for a minute, James gave his approval but firmly instructed Sirius not to risk the team’s chances again that night. They would have time for more revenge later.

The next morning James woke up early and felt the usual nervous energy he got before every game. After tossing and turning for an hour, he finally decided to get out of bed and find something to focus his energy on. The sun was barely coming up over the horizon and breakfast wasn’t starting yet so he opted to go outside for a while.

He jogged down to the Quidditch pitch and checked the Gryffindor locker room to make certain that none of the Slytherins had come up with any ideas similar to Sirius and Peter’s idea. Once he knew everything was in order he placed a few protective spells on the entryway and walked back to the castle, carrying a Snitch he had found in a box of old equipment. He figured there was no time like the present to warm up his Seeking skills for the match.

He started by letting the Snitch go and grabbing it within a second of its release. By the time he reached the castle he was allowing it to flutter further away before snatching it back. He switched back and forth from his left and right arm, wanting to be able to use either arm in case one got hit by a Bludger. As he sat down to breakfast he reluctantly put the Snitch into his pocket, thinking that it was rather addictive to chase after it like that.

While James poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice, Sirius arrived with Remus and Peter. Sirius had a gleeful look in his eyes as he piled an assortment of breakfast foods onto his plate. Peter was donning a fair amount of Gryffindor paraphernalia, from the standard red and gold scarf to a number of decorative ‘Lions’ badges. Remus opted for the scarf plus a Gryffindor flag.

James watched in amazement as Sirius inhaled a large quantity of food. James, while having a healthy teenage appetite, was never able to eat much before games. Today he felt a higher level of tension due to his responsibilities as captain. It didn’t help matters when Professor McGonagall paused to say, “Good luck, Mr. Potter. I trust you will not let us down today.”

With more confidence than he felt at the moment, James said, “No ma’am.”

Remus noticed James’ unease and asked, “All right, Prongs?”

James nodded and looked around the Great Hall, seeing the tables filling with students dressed in various garb according to whatever team they were cheering for. Several familiar faces called out a ‘good luck’ when they caught James’ gaze. James sent each well-wisher a hasty grin before turning to Sirius and saying, “We should head out to the pitch to warm up.”

Sirius, who was in the process of cleaning his plate, said, “What about my second helping of breakfast?”

James rolled his eyes and said, “Forget about it. If you eat any more then your broom won’t be able to lift you off the ground.”

Sirius scowled as James got up to find the rest of the team, before opting to grab a few muffins he could snack on during his walk to the locker room. As he reached the end of the table he fell into step with Alice who was smiling back at Frank, who had just wished her luck.

James was walking behind them with Davey Gudgeon, eyeing the ex-couple nervously as they headed out to the pitch. Things were still somewhat tense between the two and James wasn’t sure if there would be a replay of what had happened in practice earlier that week.

Sirius had accidentally beat a Bludger in the direction of Alice, causing it to narrowly miss hitting her. Alice, furious at the incident and still frustrated about Sirius’ post-breakup attitude toward her, hurled a Quaffle at Sirius, successfully nailing him in the forehead. After several minutes of insults and flying Quidditch equipment, James was able to intercede and properly lecture the two on the importance of sportsmanship and team spirit.

After the initial irritation at the mini-duel having been interrupted, Alice and Sirius almost had to laugh, remembering Alice’s comment during the breakup about not wanting to get to the point of hurling Bludgers and Quaffles at each other. The memory of this and the realization of what had just happened broke the ice, in a way, and the two no longer glared daggers at each other, though they were still not completely friendly with each other.

The four met up with the rest of the team in the Gryffindor locker room. After they had changed into their Quidditch uniforms and taken a few warm-up laps around the pitch, the team looked at James expectantly. After a moment, James realized this was the time when he, as captain, should give a pre-game pep talk. He racked his brain for a proper speech, trying to block out the memory of Wood’s previous pre-game pleas of, “Please don’t let us lose!”

“Erm…” started James. He ruffled his hair, starting to feel a bit uncomfortable under the scrutiny of his mates. He looked down and saw his captain badge reflecting back at him from its designated spot on his uniform. Feeling somewhat bolstered by its presence, James looked back up at his teammates and said, “We’ve practiced a lot for this. All of you are on the team because you have what it takes to help us win.” Seeing their smiles, he felt encouraged and added, “Just remember that it’s Slytherin we’re dealing with. They won’t want to play fair. We just have to outsmart them.”

“Shouldn’t be hard considering their added IQ is lower than my age,” cracked Sirius, causing everyone to laugh.

“Right,” said James. “Just don’t underestimate them. We know how to win. Just stay focused no matter what they throw at you.” Glancing at Sirius and then Alice, he added, “Remember that we’re a team, and as a team, we’ll win.”

Seeing that James was finished with his speech, the group eagerly grabbed their brooms and headed toward the entrance to the pitch. Sirius gave James a pat on the shoulder and grinned as he said, “Not bad for a first pre-game speech, eh, Captain? It’s better than Wood’s speeches were, at least.”

“Thanks,” muttered James, following his team out onto the pitch. After the commentator announced the team, James circled the pitch, taking in the crowds. As he passed the Slytherin section, he saw a banner which said, ‘Gryffindor’s chances of winning have gone down the Potty.’ Below the slogan was an animated drawing of ‘James Potty’ crashing into a goal hoop.

James scowled, anger mixing itself with his nervousness. He felt keyed up and started to worry that he wouldn’t be able to properly focus on the game. He commanded his Nimbus 1900 to go faster and sped around to the other side of the stadium where the Gryffindors were seated. He spotted Remus and Peter, which wasn’t difficult considering Peter was jumping up and down on his seat waving enthusiastically at James as he flew by. Remus gave James an exasperated smile as he tried to get Peter to make less of a spectacle of himself.

Before James could dwell on Peter’s embarrassing display, his eyes were drawn a few rows ahead to Lily, whose cheeks were rosy from the chilly autumn air. She was smiling and waving at Alice, while Marlene was arranging the banner they had brought which read, ‘The Lions cheer for Lyons!’

James had to laugh when Lily looked at the banner and became irked at Marlene, scolding her for changing the animated drawing they had agreed on. Marlene had adjusted Alice’s character to throw her Quaffle, hitting the head of another character with dark hair wearing red and gold and carrying a Beater’s club. Lily immediately changed the animation back to show Alice flying loops around the Slytherins before hurling the Quaffle through a goal hoop.

James marveled as he watched her smile at Marlene’s attempt at innocence before Lily gave her a playful shove and laughed. James felt his stomach flip-flop, remembering how much life was behind that smile. He longed to be the one to make her smile.

Heading down to the ground to shake hands with the Slytherin captain, James suddenly found his focus. He wanted to win the game, not only for Gryffindor but also to bring a smile to Lily’s face. Once the teams were in place, James gave Igor Hess, the Slytherin captain, a firm handshake, each determined not to wince as they could feel the bones in their hands squeezed together. Mr. Levine finally instructed the teams to mount their brooms before releasing the Snitch and Bludgers. Shortly thereafter, the Quaffle was released and the game was in play.

James kicked off the ground and spiraled up to his usual vantage point above the game. Gryffindor had gotten possession of the Quaffle and the Chasers were moving across the field using the moves they had spent many practices trying to perfect. While the Slytherins were good, James had to give his Chasers credit as they flawlessly performed the Woollongong Shimmy, leading to Gryffindor’s first goal.

The Gryffindor fans went wild while James did a loop-the-loop in celebration. He immediately refocused on the game and started circling the pitch in hopes of finding the Snitch. After an hour, the game was still going full force, and both teams had the bruises to prove it. Several penalties had been called on both sides. After Slytherin Beater Goyle got called for Bumphing (hitting a Bludger toward the Gryffindor crowd), Gryffindor successfully scored a penalty shot making the score 140-120 in Gryffindor’s favor.

Sirius, angry at Goyle for nearly concussing a first year Gryffindor in the stands, attempted the Transylvanian Tackle, but got a penalty when his fist ‘accidentally’ hit Goyle in the face. After an unsuccessful block by Gudgeon of Slytherin’s penalty shot, the score was now 140-130 in Gryffindor’s favor.

The Snitch had been rather elusive, only having been spotted once. Before Malfoy or James could reach it a disturbance was caused by the Slytherin team as they argued with Mr. Levine about a goal they had scored. Mr. Levine insistently nullified the goal, calling a Stooging penalty where more than one of the Slytherin Chasers had been in the scoring area at the same time.

Another hour passed and the score was 260-250 in Slytherin’s favor. One of Gryffindor’s Chasers had been knocked out of the game after getting Bludgered on the head, therefore the matchup was uneven between the Slytherin and Gryffindor Chasers. James had to credit his team, for Gryffindor was still keeping the game close.

As James completed another lap around the pitch, his gaze drifted to Lily, who was jumping up and down after Alice managed to throw the Quaffle past the Slytherin Keeper, successfully tying the game. A flash of light glimmered back at James, who suddenly realized the Snitch was on the edge of the pitch in front of Lily. Taking a quick glimpse across the other end of the pitch, he happily noted that Malfoy was across the field avoiding a Bludger Sirius had sent his way.

Taking the opportunity, James sped across the pitch toward the Snitch. There was a sudden electricity in the crowd as they realized the Snitch had been spotted. Goyle tried to make his way toward James to stop him, but James leaned low against his broom allowing for less wind resistance and higher speed. He reached out and grabbed the Snitch, having to do a bit of a somersault to stop before crashing into the stands.

James raised his fist into the air, the little wings of the Snitch fluttering between his fingers. The crowd went wild, and James grinned as he saw Lily hugging Marlene as they jumped up and down in celebration of a glorious Gryffindor victory. Seeing his opportunity, he called out, “Hey Evans!”

Lily released Marlene and looked up to see James hovering a few feet away.

James was ready to say that he caught the Snitch just for her, but all that came out was, “I-” before he suddenly felt something crash into him, taking him off guard.

The crowd watched in surprise and horror as James was knocked off his broom. He was a good thirty feet above the ground and was rapidly falling toward severe injury or possibly death. Lily reacted instinctively, pulling out her wand and yelling out the first incantation that came to her mind, “Accio!”

About 5 feet before James would have hit the ground he felt a tugging sensation before finding himself flying upward. Before he knew it, he had flown over the edge of the stands and landed on something soft. Shaking his head a bit to clear it, he pulled himself up enough to look down and realize he had landed on Lily, who was trying to catch her breath after having the wind knocked out of her.

“You okay, Evans?” James asked.

Lily let out a few coughs before saying, “Could you please get off of me, Potter?”

Seeing her blush, James realized their precarious position and grinned. Taking in her scent of lilacs, he replied, “Actually, I’m quite comfortable where I’m at, thank you very much.”

“James!” called Peter as he and Remus approached. “You okay?”

James looked up with a sappy grin and Remus shook his head, trying to suppress a smile at Lily’s discomfort. He looked at her and said, “That was some save there, Lily.”

James looked at Lily in surprise and said, “You were the one who saved me?”

Remus replied, saying, “Yeah, she used the Summoning Charm.”

James, amazed at Lily’s innate talent for magic, smiled and said, “You know what this means, don’t you Evans?”

Lily squirmed uncomfortably beneath James, trying unsuccessfully to push him off of her.

James continued, “You saved my life. That means I’m yours…forever.”

Lily finally found her wand and pointed at James’ forehead, threatening, “Don’t make me Banish you over the railing, Potter.”

James chuckled and reluctantly stood up, allowing Lily to scramble backwards and get to her feet.

“Oy, James!” yelled Sirius.

James looked at his best mate, who was hovering above the pitch looking mirthfully at several of the Slytherin team members, who were being firmly reprimanded by Professor McGonagall and Mr. Levine for causing James to fall. The Slytherins were rather distracted as each of them was trying to hold the back of their pants over the bum, where the seams had split open.

Sirius flew over to join James on the stands and handed him his broomstick, which James was relieved to see did not get damaged other than a slight scuff mark on the handle. He made a mental note to dig out his broomstick polish later.

“Great catch, mate!” Sirius told James. With a playful glint in his eyes he turned to Lily and said, “You too, Evans. Nice catch!”

“Yeah,” agreed Remus with a smile. “Maybe you should have been made Keeper this year with the way you caught James.”

James grinned and threw an arm around Lily, saying, “I’d say she’s a ‘keeper’.” He looked down at her and added, “Really, Evans…if you wanted me by your side this much you needn’t use such dramatic gestures like the Summoning Charm. All you need to do is say you’ll go out with me.”

Lily shrugged off James’ arm and rolled her eyes, saying, “Thanks, but no thanks.” Seeing Alice landing in their section of the stands, Lily grabbed Marlene and rushed to congratulate her on a game well played.

“C’mon mates,” said Sirius to the other Marauders. “We gotta get the victory party going.”

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A/N: Brief salute to Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp for some of the lingo used in this chapter. Great little book and a great source of info for Quidditch. I didn’t really feel like making a running commentary during the game (a la Lee Jordan) - felt more like focusing on James’ perspective of the game.

What do you guys think about James’ personality? Is the transition going smoothly enough for what we’ll see at the end of fifth year (i.e. Snape’s Worst Memory)? Keep in mind there’s still more that will influence how things will be later on in the year. I just didn’t want to snap my fingers and suddenly turn him into a bullying prat. I think the next chapter will tell more about how James’ attitude will be at the end of the year.

Thanks to my latest batch of reviewers: DreamAngel, Naikalam, God’sGirl, delpheena, Anu, Jo Bob, Anonymous, Mani12191, Remus’sweetie, granger1191, alto2srock, Golden Phoenix, German Wings, eerinw (x2), Adria (x2), sun-obsessed, Werepuppy, astronomylover, AshleyM, and **Lilyflower** (x2). Replies to my reviews are in the review section (unless you requested that I not reply). In other words - I answered the question about if I’m French (which I’m not).

Next chapter: The animosity increases with Snape.

75. Bowtruckle Chuckles

Chapter 75: Bowtruckle Chuckles

The post game celebration was a huge success. The Marauders had continued the tradition of sneaking into Hogsmeade and the Hogwarts kitchens to gather sustenance for their fellow Gryffindors. One of the younger students brought out the Wizarding Wireless Network and the Gryffindor common room was filled with music and laughter.

There was suspicion that the punch was spiked with firewhisky, especially when Professor McGonagall walked in just as Sirius was reenacting James’ dramatic fall by jumping off the back of the couch. Sirius, not seeing McGonagall’s stern face at portrait hole, finished his rendition of James’ save by landing on top of a pretty sixth year Gryffindor girl.

After another handful of detentions and some mild hangovers, life went back to normal. The teachers continued to ply the students with assignments in preparation for their exams later on that year.

Remus was feeling the familiar symptoms with the approach of the next full moon. He dreaded his Potions class during that time, for the unusual ingredients he had to chop and the putrid smell of the simmering brew would always nauseate him.

Their current assignment was the Draught of Peace, a particularly difficult recipe that required each student’s utmost attention to detail. Though Remus was trying hard to concentrate on his potion, he was getting distracted by the sulfur-like smell emanating from James’ cauldron which was next to his. Remus felt a churning in his stomach and tried to breathe through his mouth to avoid the horrid odor, however the greenish-yellow smoke coming out of the cauldron continued to distract him.

Trying to keep his attention on his own cauldron, he counted the minutes until he was supposed to add the moonstone. Watching the mixture, he saw it bubble occasionally, the liquid becoming more congealed. This was the last straw for Remus, as he felt the back of his mouth water.

“You okay, mate?” asked Sirius.

Remus shook his head and, unable to make it further than the door, emptied his lunch into the dustbin by the exit. As soon as his stomach finished rebelling, Remus continued to hover over the receptacle, his face pale with a slight layer of sweat above his brow. A gentle hand patted his back and a moist cloth was thrust in front of him and he looked up to see Lily standing next to him. Though embarrassed to have been sick in front of the entire class, he gratefully accepted the cloth and wiped his face.

Professor Pilon, seeing Remus’ potion starting to let off a dark gray cloud, vanished the contents of the cauldron and instructed James to walk Remus to the hospital wing, seeing as his potion was beyond hope as well.

James gathered his things and couldn’t help but notice Snape staring thoughtfully at Remus. Most of the class had given Remus curious but slightly disgusted looks as he had gotten ill, but Snape’s gaze was more intense. James felt a pang of unease, wondering just how far Snape’s thoughts had led him. James thought back to the previous full moons and he wasn’t sure if he was imagining things, but he thought perhaps Snape had more than a passing curiosity about Remus’ whereabouts then, too.

That evening in the dormitory, after Remus had returned from Madam Pomfrey, James voiced his suspicions about Snape to the other Marauders. Peter gulped, wondering if Snape suspected their being Animagi. Remus had a resigned look on his face, feeling even weaker that evening due the next night’s full moon.

Sirius and James were livid. They weren’t about to let Snape get the better of them, and they wanted to stop him before he could figure out the truth and announce it to the school. They knew that Dumbledore had always supported Remus, but they doubted he would be able to do much if countless parents threatened to pull their children out of Hogwarts in fear of having them around a werewolf. No, they knew they had to stop Snape before his suspicions were confirmed.

James knew that Snape hated him, but he suspected that the Slytherin was slightly afraid of him as well. James remembered back to second year when he had seen Snape on the stairwell reading a Dark Arts text. When James had gotten angry and hexed Snivellus, the look in the slimy Slytherin’s face had been angry yet he had also been intimidated and ran away. As James’ eyes met Sirius’, they silently agreed that it was time they kick up their intimidation tactics. If Snape got the idea that sticking his nose into areas it didn’t belong could be detrimental to his well-being, then perhaps he would back off.

The next morning, Remus made his way back to the hospital wing in preparation for the full moon later that day. The transformation was to occur toward the end of the afternoon, before classes let out. That meant that the Animagi would have to meet up with Remus after he had become a werewolf, after classes had finished.

Until then, the three boys were silently anticipating the upcoming evening. In Herbology, they finished studying the Scandinavian Glumsnatcher. One of the plants had blossomed, and James could swear it looked as if the petals had teddy bear fuzz on them. The bear reminded him of Lily, and for the next few classes he opted to study her rather than the assigned material. During Transfiguration, she could feel his eyes burning into her and turned slightly only to find him grinning at her. James winked and Lily turned back to her notes with a slight frown, her face a little pinker than normal.

Divination was the first class of the afternoon, and Professor Vablatsky had assigned them to keep a journal of their dreams. She described how dreams are not only a way of your soul trying to tell you something, they are thought to sometimes bring the dreamer to a plane of existence in which they can communicate with the dead.

Half of the class period became dedicated to Peter’s dream involving a gigantic cat swatting at him as if he were a toy or some kind of rodent. While James had a pretty good idea why Peter might be nervous around cats (as a rodent), Alice theorized that Peter had been unkind to a feline when he was younger and perhaps the deceased kitty was trying to communicate with him.

After Divination they met up with Sirius, who was currently learning about Muggle methods of cooking. His latest assignment was to bake a batch of cookies. Professor Dumbledore had placed a special spell on the Muggle Studies classroom so that the Muggle devices such as ovens and mixers would work properly. James was prepared to take the mickey out of Sirius for having to figure out how to cook, but Sirius was quite proud of his culinary abilities, especially after seeing McKinnon burn her project.

In a rare display of dessert sharing, Sirius offered James and Peter each part of the finished product of his assignment. After a nervous exchange of glances between Peter and James, they each hesitantly took a cookie and nibbled on the outer edge. After realizing he wasn’t going to drop dead of food poisoning, James took a bigger bite and was pleasantly surprised that Sirius could indeed bake - cookies, at least.

The walked outside into the cool November air and could tell that winter wasn’t far around the corner. On the way to the assigned Care of Magical Creatures meeting place, they saw Snape walking by himself. The Slytherin boy sensed the gazes of the Marauders and boldly looked back at them, sending each boy one of his trademark sneers.

Sirius took the opportunity to start the intimidation tactics. He walked over and fell into step beside Snape. “Oy, Snivellus,” he said, saying his name like he had tasted something bad.

Snape snorted in disgust and turned his head the other way, only to realize James had come upon his other side. Peter was trailing slightly behind. Snape maintained his impassive façade and spat, “What? Lupin isn’t here to back you up?”

James felt another pang of unease at Snape’s suggestive comment about Lupin’s whereabouts, and said, “Not that it’s any of your business where Remus is, but he’s not feeling well.”

Snape sneered again and muttered, “Not feeling well…can’t imagine why he’d be ill.”

Sirius pretended to stumble and knocked himself into Snape, who fell onto James. James shoved Snape away from him toward Sirius. Snape went to grab his wand but as soon as he drew it out Sirius snatched it away and casually stepped out of reach. Sirius spun the wand around on his hand and smirked, saying, “You really should be careful about your wand, Snivellus. You wouldn’t want it to get into the wrong hands now, would you?”

Snape tried to jump for the wand, but Sirius was taller and was able to hold it out of reach. When Snape made another attempt, James sent a tripping hex causing the Slytherin to fall to the ground.

Sirius, James, and Peter laughed as Snape struggled on the ground to get up. James took Snape’s wand from Sirius and turned to Snape, saying, “I suggest you keep your abnormally large nose out of other people’s business. Wouldn’t want anything…unfortunate…to happen to our favorite grease-ball.” James tossed Snape’s wand upward where it became stuck in the branches of a beech tree they were passing.

As the three Marauders walked toward their class, Peter asked, “Do you think he’ll back off?”

James shrugged and said, “Dunno, but I think we’d better keep on him so he knows we mean business.”

“I agree. The little grease-ball actually had to gall to insinuate that he knows about Moony,” said Sirius. “We can’t let him get away with that.”

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The rest of the afternoon dragged by as the boys waited impatiently to get out of classes. The one bright spot for the boys occurred when Snape fell out of the beech tree and tore his robes when he went to fetch his wand. Professor Kettleburn assigned him a detention for climbing trees when he should have been coming to class on time.

After the last class of the afternoon, the boys hastily ate their dinner and made a casual exit out of the Great Hall before rushing up to grab James’ invisibility cloak and the map. By the time they made it outside, there were no other students outside due to the frosty November evening. Even though it was getting dark quickly, to be safe the boys transformed just inside the shaded border of the Forbidden Forest before making their way into the tunnel under the Whomping Willow.

The Animagi raced to the Shrieking Shack, not wanting to leave Moony by himself any longer than necessary. Once they reached the entrance to the shack, they discovered a new dilemma. During the previous two full moons they had already been at the shack before Remus had transformed. They had arrived and transformed once inside the shack. Now, Remus had already transformed by this point and they had to find a way to open the trap door to the inside of the shack.

Peter was too small as a rat to be able to turn the handle, and even though he was much improved at performing the transformation he knew better than to open it as his human self and try to quickly transform back. James and Sirius did not have thumbs as Animagi so they would not be unable to grab the door handle and turn it. Sirius attempted to grab it with his teeth but was unable to get a proper grasp of the handle to turn it. He and James exchanged a look and James transformed into his human form.

James looked at the other two and said, “I’ll open it, but be prepared to distract Moony so I’ll have time to change back.” The rat and the dog nodded and James reached up to grab the handle, standing in a way so he’d be behind the door where Moony wouldn’t have ready access to him once the trap door was opened. James took a deep breath and opened the door.

Moony had sensed the presence of a human from inside the shack and before James had opened the door he immediately began sniffing around the entrance. As soon as the door was thrown open, he seized the opportunity and leapt through the exit into the tunnel. He hit the bottom of the tunnel and immediately turned toward James, whose eyes widened at the sight of his best mate practically salivating over the prospect of biting him.

Before Moony could strike James, a large set of jaws locked around his hock and started dragging him backward. Moony turned and snapped at the Grim-like dog, unhappy at being distracted from his prey. Wormtail squeaked nervously while James took the opportunity to transform back into Prongs before Moony got another chance at him.

Just as Moony pulled himself away from Padfoot, he turned toward James but was met with a large set of antlers by his face. Moony stopped short and let out a frustrated howl, before turning tail and running for the exit by the Whomping Willow. Prongs, Padfoot, and Wormtail exchanged a panicked look before taking off after the werewolf.

The Animagi emerged from the Whomping Willow to see Moony sniffing around the grounds, gradually making his way closer to the castle. Padfoot and Prongs hightailed it to the werewolf and used whatever means they could, be it teeth or antlers, to usher him away from the castle. The closest place that seemed the safest was the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Padfoot ran ahead into the expanse of trees and let out a howl, attracting the werewolf into the forest. Moony’s ears perked at the sound and he raced to find the source, with Prongs and Wormtail trying to keep up behind him. He was soon met with the sight of Padfoot sitting by at a tree, scratching at his ear with one of his hind feet. Once Padfoot saw that his mates had arrived he immediately stood up and started running around, wagging his tail and barking playfully.

Prongs, seeing that Moony was no longer trying to track down human prey for the moment, decided to look at his surroundings. He had not been this far into the forest since the end of first year, when Professor Riddle had met him and Lily in the clearing. After the disastrous result of that trip into the forest, James had had no desire to explore the thick expanse of trees. Tonight, as he looked around, the trees did not have the same foreboding nature to them as they had when he had stood in that clearing.

He looked at Padfoot to see if he could decipher the dog’s thoughts, and found him to be pacing back and forth and looking deeper into the forest, indicating the desire to further explore. Prongs hesitated, looking at Wormtail who had decided to stick close by in case any owls or other nighttime predators were out hunting for food. He then looked at Moony, who was beginning to sniff in the direction of the school again. Prongs realized it would be near impossible to herd a strong werewolf into the base of the Whomping Willow, so he opted to take Padfoot’s suggestion and usher Moony deeper into the forest.

As they got Moony to go farther into the forest, the werewolf’s attention became drawn less to the castle and more toward his surroundings and his companions. Padfoot thoroughly enjoyed himself, chasing after anything that moved and barking at it. Prongs was amused by his mate’s antics and soon found himself relaxing more in his surroundings and enjoying himself.

The four friends spent the entire night wandering about the forest, far enough inside to keep Moony’s attention from the people in the castle, but close enough to keep their bearings. In the early hours of the morning before the moon waned, Padfoot decided to answer the call of nature and walked over to a tree to lift his leg on it. As soon as he did this a pair of twig-like creatures dove off of said tree and tried to gouge his eyes out. The dog spun around and shook his head, pawing at his face to try to fling the creatures off. Once he had backed a respectable distance from the tree in question, the creatures let go and returned to their home.

Prongs, once he saw that Padfoot still had both of his eyes, realized the hilarity of the situation. It was only that previous day in Care of Magical Creatures where they had started studying Bowtruckles, the tree dwellers. Apparently Padfoot had offended them by trying to relieve himself on their home. Prongs would not soon forget the mental image of the large dog getting the snot beat out of him by a few twigs no longer than 8 inches each. He glanced at Moony, and was surprised to see the werewolf wagging his tail. Prongs wondered if it was possible for a werewolf to look amused.

The dawn approached and Moony started to slow down, a sign that he would soon transform back to his human form. The Animagi decided it was safe enough to approach the edge of the forest. Once they could see the Hogwarts grounds, they glanced around to make certain nobody was out for an early morning walk. Seeing nobody, Wormtail ran ahead to depress the knot on the Whomping Willow. Once the tree was calmed, Prongs and Padfoot guided the weak werewolf inside the opening at the base.

The moon waned, and Remus regained his human form in the tunnel below the Whomping Willow. He wearily gazed up at his mates, who had also transformed back, wondering why he was inside the tunnel rather than the Shrieking Shack. “W-What am I doing in here?” he yawned.

“You don’t remember?” asked Peter.

A jolt of panic rushed into Remus as he tried to recall the previous night’s events. If he was out of the shack, then had he bit somebody? He shook his head to clear it and asked, “What happened? Did I hurt somebody?”

“Nah,” replied Sirius with a dismissive wave.

“We spent the night in the Forbidden Forest,” James answered.

“We what?!” exclaimed Remus. With an accusatory look, he asked, “Did you take me out of the Shack?”

“It was more of an accident,” explained James. “We came out to meet you and when we opened the trap door you leapt out and ran for the exit.” James left out the bit where Remus had tried to attack him.

“We caught up with you,” continued Sirius. “Prongs and I were able to lead you into the forest. We figured it’d be easier than trying to get you back in here.”

“We spent the entire night out there, wandering around and playing,” added Peter.

Remus closed his eyes and tried to remember, seeing flashes of images here and there. He suddenly looked at Sirius and, seeing the scratches on his face, asked, “Did you get attacked by a tree?”

Sirius, with a sheepish look, muttered, “Yeah.”

James laughed and said, “It wasn’t a tree, Padfoot, and you know it.” He looked at Remus and said, “They were Bowtruckles. We started to learn about them in class yesterday.”

Remus smiled at the faint memory of the attack and said, “I’ll have to borrow Lily’s notes about them when I get back.”

Sirius looked affronted and said, “What? Our notes aren’t good enough for you?”

Remus gave Sirius a dubious look and said, “You take notes?”

After a moment of thought Sirius replied, “Good point.”

Remus chuckled and asked, “So nothing bad happened after I got loose?”

“Nothing,” insisted James. “I’ll admit I had my doubts about spending the night in the forest, but we actually had a great time.”

“Prongs and I were able to get you away from the castle and once were into the forest you seemed less interested in hunting people,” added Sirius. “I’d love to go back and explore further…maybe next full moon.”

Remus looked uneasy and said, “I don’t think it’s a good idea to risk my getting out again.”

Sirius shrugged and said, “Don’t worry about it, Moony. We won’t let you do anything bad. Mischievous, maybe…but not bad.”

Remus, sensing the time, replied, “We’ll talk about it later. Pomfrey’ll be here any time now to meet me.”

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A/N: While the last several chapters showed how James has become more flirtatious with Lily, I’m hoping this one foreshadows what we’ll see of James and Sirius in Snape’s Worst Memory later on. Also thought it’d be best to have the first full moon outing happen by accident. I thought it rather silly to have them suddenly up and decide that it would be safe to leave the confines of the Shack.

As always, thanks to my reviewers: alto2srock, Alicia78, God’sgirl, Werepuppy, PottersPrincess, **Lilyflower**, Remus’sweetie, likediamondrain, Anu, AshleyM, Volume UP, Mani12191, Adria, Incendia, astronomylover, James love, Jo Bob, Golden Phoenix, lilian m. potter, Calypso, delpheena, Elsa, elizabella, tigerfairy (x2), Anonymous, granger1191, and hpfreak.

Next chapter: It’s only partially written, but will have the beginning of winter on the Hogwarts grounds. James will, of course, continue his efforts of getting Lily to date him.

76. Snow and Mistletoe

Chapter 76: Snow and Mistletoe

After Remus returned from ‘visiting his mother,’ the Marauders kept a watchful eye on Snape, who occasionally cast a suspicious eye upon Remus. They continued to intimidate the Slytherin in the hopes of scaring him off. Sirius and James found it very entertaining to find ways of humiliating Snape in front of his peers. Remus was wary of their tactics, however James insisted that this was the best way of discrediting Snape should he ever come forward with any accusations toward Remus.

Snape didn’t take their taunting lying down. He had always found ways in the past to antagonize or even curse James and Sirius, especially James, but now he was more determined than ever to take them off their pedestals. He spent hours with his nose buried in suspicious looking books, and whenever he felt he had the opportunity he drew his wand and cursed the Marauders. Madam Pomfrey was exhausted, complaining that she should have placed a revolving door at the front of the hospital wing since all five boys continued to find their way there with various animal parts or colors hexed onto them.

At the beginning of December the first snow came, blanketing the grounds with a brilliant white. The holidays were approaching and the students suffered from an acute bout of laziness. Not that the professors had lightened their load, but the students didn’t feel like working with the promise of Christmas so near.

Frank and Alice were studying one Saturday in the library, trying to finish the work that had been piled upon them. While Alice still coached Frank on DADA, and Frank in return helped Alice with Potions, they found that they studied well together and most of the time finished their other subjects together as well.

They had been working together for over two months, and Alice had been relieved that Frank had not asked her out or fawned over her during that time. In fact, other than being his sweet self, he had not shown any indication of having a crush on her anymore.

Frank noticed Alice staring out the window by their table and laughed, saying, “Aha, I caught you!”

Alice broke her gaze and turned to Frank, asking, “What do you mean?”

Frank smiled and said, “I caught you staring outside when we’re supposed to be studying.”

Alice gave him a sheepish smile and said, “I couldn’t help it. With all the new snow on the ground it’s beautiful outside.”

Frank watched her for a moment before closing his book and saying, “It’s settled, then.”

“What is?” she asked.

“We’re skiving studying and going outside,” he replied.

Alice opened her mouth to protest but Frank was already halfway to the door. He paused and turned back to her with a mischievous glance as if to challenge her to have fun. Alice glanced at her books which lay there, looking more boring than ever, before she slammed them shut and raced out after Frank. They made the trek up to Gryffindor tower where they promptly dropped off their things and bundled up before meeting back outside the portrait hole.

“Ready?” asked Frank.

Alice gave him a sly smile before taking off and shouting behind her, “I’ll race you outside!” She heard him give a disbelieving laugh before starting his pursuit.

It didn’t take him long to pass her due to her small size, however the match became even when the staircase they were on decided to change landings. It gave them a few seconds to catch their breath before they were able to restart the race. As the doors to the outside came into view it looked as if Frank would prevail. At the last moment, Alice feigned an injury leading a solicitous Frank to her side, at which point she gave him a shove and raced onward to the finish line, laughing as she sprinted out onto the grounds.

Frank caught up with her and gave her a stern grin. “That was cheating, Miss Lyons.” He wagged his finger at her in reprimand.

Alice shrugged and laughed, retorting, “If you want to be an auror, you have to be prepared for dirty tricks.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he dryly replied.

They started walking toward the lake and Alice took a deep breath, the icy air feeling refreshing after the musty air of the library. She let out a contented sigh and said, “I love the winter.”

Frank looked surprised and said, “You do? Most people hate the cold weather.”

Alice shrugged and said, “I like summer, too, but winter is definitely my favorite. I love the snow and getting bundled up and seeing my breath on the cold air, and-”

“And seeing a crazy snowman chasing after Snape,” interrupted Frank.

Alice paused and said, “Huh?”

“Look,” replied Frank, pointing to their left about fifty feet away where Severus Snape was running away from a snowman, charmed to chase after him while pelting snowballs at the Slytherin. Snape tried to fire a melting charm at the snowman at which point the snowman ducked out of the way and gave Snape a rude gesture with one of its stick-like arms.

Alice let out a disbelieving laugh and said, “What the…?”

“I think I see the source of Snape’s troubles,” said Frank.

Alice followed his line of sight and saw the laughing forms of James and Sirius, hiding behind some nearby bushes. James waved his wand and the snowman successfully pelted Snape in the face with a large ball of snow. While the boys laughed at their ingenuity, Alice said, “I see they decked the snowman in Gryffindor colors,” noting the scarlet and gold scarf draped around him.

Snape finally cut his losses and ran for the protective barriers of the castle. Sirius and James were rather disappointed to lose the source of their fun, but James soon perked up at the sight of a familiar redhead walking nearby with Marlene. Thinking quickly, James refocused his magic on the charmed snowman, causing it to approach Lily.

Marlene noticed its approach first and nudged Lily, who turned and stared in shock as the snowman stopped in front of her and took off its hat, bowing in greeting.

Sirius saw what James was trying to do, and still feeling mischievous from his taunting of Snape, waved his wand, causing the snowman to run its stick-like hand over the top of its head in a manner similar to James’ hair tousling habit.

Lily, not missing the gesture, rolled her eyes and looked around for the source of the magic. The snowman waved its hand in front of her to catch her attention. It gave her a charcoal-filled smile and leaned over to write in the snow, ‘Go out with me, Evans?’

Lily let out a disbelieving laugh, once again faced with the same invitation she had received numerous times since the infamous ‘affection-bear’ incident. The words were like a broken record player, repeating themselves over and over when she wanted to rid herself of the embarrassing incident in Herbology that morning several weeks earlier. Lily exchanged a tired look with Marlene before facing the snowman once again and, with a falsely sad face, shaking her head.

The snowman frowned for a moment before snapping its twiggy fingers and writing in the snow, ‘Go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?’ It sidled next to her and threw its stick-like arm around her shoulders, forcing a shiver out of her due to her proximity to the icy creature.

Lily could hear Marlene let out a snort-like laugh next to her. Trying to fight down a laugh, Lily let out a dramatic sigh and looked up at the snowman, replying, “I’m sorry, but I don’t date guys who will be melted by the time the summer holiday arrives.” She shrugged out of the snowman’s grasp and walked away with Marlene.

James, getting the usual response, was more amused than disappointed at Lily’s reaction. Sirius, seeing that James’ attention was no longer on the snowman, opted to take the reigns. He waved his wand and sent the snowman up to the girls, causing it to drop some snow down the back of Marlene’s cloak. A few minutes later, the boys were staring down at a pile of snowman paraphernalia as it lay in a puddle of melted snow, the result of a well-aimed melting charm performed by Marlene.

James chuckled and said to Sirius, “Better him than you, mate.”

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A few mornings later, Sirius woke up with a case of the chills. He groggily pulled his blanket tighter around him, realizing then that it felt a lot heavier than normal. Opening his eyes a bit, he was stunned to find an isolated snowstorm centered over his bed, with three inches having accumulated. Brushing the snow that had stuck to his face, he had to remove a small icicle that was starting to form on the tip of his nose.

He quickly extricated himself from his bed and threw on a jumper, trying to warm up while looking around the rest of the room. His mates were still sleeping, except for Peter, who was warily looking at him from the doorway to their bathroom.

“Do you know who did this?” asked Sirius.

Peter shifted nervously and shrugged his shoulders.

Sirius, seeing Peter’s reaction to the question, probed, “Who did this, Wormtail?”

Peter, seeing Sirius’ temper starting to build, responded, “She said if I told you she’d have me walking funny for weeks, if you know what I mean…”

“She?” asked Sirius, realizing who Peter meant. Without waiting for a response, Sirius stormed out of the room and down the stairs into the common room. He walked to the entrance to the girls’ dormitory and shouted, “McKinnon!”

It took a few shouts before Marlene finally appeared on the stairway, amusedly looking down at Sirius, who still had some snow in his hair. The shouts had caused a few other girls to poke their heads outside their doors, wondering what brought on the early morning noise. Once they saw it was another brewing argument between Gryffindor’s infamous rivals, they opted to return to the warmth of their beds.

“What do you want, Black?” asked Marlene, bundled up in her warmest pajamas and dressing gown.

Sirius glared up at her and asked, “Would you care to tell me why I woke up in the middle of a blizzard, McKinnon?”

Marlene smiled sweetly and replied, “The weather is fickle these days, isn’t it?”

As Sirius was about to reply, a barrage of sneezes overcame him, the aftereffect of the early morning storm. Marlene let out a laugh and Sirius, more irritated at her than ever, proceeded up the stairs to confront her face-to-face. Before he reached the first landing, the stairs disappeared and were replaced by a slide. Sirius cursed as he slipped his way down to his starting point. His mind barely registered a screech coming from above seconds before something landed on top of him.

Realizing that ‘something’ was McKinnon, Sirius attempted to get up only to realize their limbs were tangled. As they struggled to separate themselves, Lily appeared at the base of the stairway, which had returned to normal. Trying not to laugh at the two as they finally separated themselves, she cleared her throat to announce her presence.

Marlene stood up and glared down at Sirius, before turning and heading back upstairs, her face flushed. Lily looked at Sirius and couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of him, with his nose bright pink. By this point the snow in his hair had completely melted.

“Good morning, Rudolph,” she chirped.

Sirius looked at her as if she had sprouted a third eye and muttered, “What are you on about, Evans?”

Lily shook her head and replied, “It’s a Muggle thing - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

Sirius huffed and said, “Some deer is famous for a red nose?”

Lily smiled and explained, “There’s a story about how his bright red nose led the way through a storm so that Santa could deliver his gifts.”

“Who’s Santa?” asked Sirius.

“You’ve never heard of Santa Claus?” asked Lily.

“Santa Claws? I don’t remember Kettleburn going over anything like that,” mused Sirius.

Lily sighed and said, “That’s because he’s not a creature, he’s someone who delivers Christmas gifts. He comes down the chimney and leaves the gifts in stockings.”

Sirius shook his head and asked, “Why doesn’t he just owl the gifts like any normal person, rather than having some weird looking deer with a strange name dragging him around? It’d more efficient than the Floo system. And what’s with his fetish for socks?”

Lily rubbed her temples and said, “Forget it. It’ll take all day to explain properly.” Hearing him let out a loud sneeze, she said, “You look like you need some Pepperup Potion. Go to Madam Pomfrey. I’m sure she’s up by now.”

Sirius nodded and made his way toward the hospital wing, thinking that he should ask James about Rudolph, since James was rather obsessed with deer. Maybe he could shed some light on the subject.

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After Sirius left, Lily ran back up to her room and saw Marlene climbing back into bed. Eyeing her friend suspiciously, Lily asked, “What’d you do this time?”

Marlene laughed and replied, “Just a slight snowstorm above his bed.”

Lily shook her head and, with a slight smile, said, “That explains his sniffles.” She grabbed a set of clothes and her bathroom gear, saying, “I’m in the mood for a hot bath in the prefect’s bathroom. See you later.”

As Lily walked toward the prefect’s bathroom, she admired the transformation the castle was making to indicate the Christmas season. Garland was strung up around the windows and Christmas trees were strategically placed, bringing a warmth to the stony castle.

The suits of armor hummed different Christmas carols as she passed by, except for one that wolf-whistled at her. Realizing that was probably James’ work, Lily smirked and made her way to the statue of Boris the Bewildered, who looked quite confused about the holly that had been charmed onto his suit.

“Good morning, Boris,” said Lily. “Anybody inside?” Boris shook his head and Lily whispered the password, “Static cling,” allowing the door to magically open.

Lily filled the tub with hot water and foamy purple suds, allowing the scent of lilacs to fill the room. She climbed inside, swimming a few laps before finding a spot at the edge to lay back and enjoy the warmth of the water.

With the décor changing around the castle, Lily realized that she would soon be heading home for Christmas. She felt a pang of homesickness and could hardly wait to see her family. She knew her mum would spoil her a bit and at least once would make her famous bread pudding, Lily’s favorite breakfast. Her dad would probably try to act casual while asking about Lily’s life at Hogwarts, all the while hoping no mention of boyfriends would come up.

Then they would put the Christmas tree up and decorate it. Lily laughed, remembering that they had decided to use a fake tree ever since a bird had flown out of the live one her dad had chopped down one year. She still remembered Petunia’s shrieks as her parents tried to shoo the bird outside the door.

Lily was never certain any more about how Petunia would respond to her. There were times when they got along, usually when Lily left out mention of her magical life. Other times Petunia would be reminded of their differences and give her the cold shoulder. Lily cringed, remembering that her mum’s latest letter had mentioned that Petunia was still seeing Vernon. Lily hoped that Vernon would be vacationing somewhere far away for the holidays, so that she wouldn’t have to see him when she went home to visit.

Seeing her fingers starting to prune, Lily left the tub and dried herself off before throwing on her attire for the day. Turning back to the tub, she decided to test her transfiguration abilities and waved her wand, successfully vanishing the bathwater. Smiling, she left the bathroom with the thought that she would at least be able to perform a proper Vanishing Spell for her transfiguration O.W.L.

When she reached the portrait, before she could say the password, the portrait opened and James stood in the doorway, on his way out. He paused when he caught sight of Lily and grinned.

“Morning, Evans,” he greeted. He stepped to the side of the entrance to give her room to pass by him.

Lily looked up and saw a sprig of mistletoe tacked above the entrance and looked back at James, whose grin widened. Lily, realizing that she would have to pass by James under the mistletoe to get into the common room, pulled out her wand again and vanished the mistletoe. She gave him a smug smile before walking by his surprised self, saying, “Morning, Potter.”

James snorted and said, “Aw, Evans…where’s your holiday spirit?”

Lily said, “Bah humbug,” and continued to walk up to her dormitory.

James sighed, but then smiled as an idea popped into his head.

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Over the remaining few weeks before the holidays, James had figured out a handy transfiguration spell and managed to turn any kind of Christmas plant, be it holly or a piece of Christmas tree, into mistletoe. Having a bunch of spare mistletoe in his bag, James was able to follow Lily around in hopes of catching her under some mistletoe with him.

Lily was a spry girl, always managing to catch him in the act and get out of the way in time. Usually she managed to either vanish the mistletoe or make it shrivel, but James would casually reach into his bag and grab another sprig. A few times, Lily had to use a freezing charm to stop James so she could escape.

One of the last evenings before the students left for home, Lily was sitting in the library with Remus and Emm, trying to finish the homework the professors had assigned them for the holidays. They were in the middle of their essay for Potions when James showed up at their table. He settled into the one remaining seat at the table, next to Emm and across from Lily.

James, ignoring Remus and Emm’s amused expressions, wagged his finger at Lily and said, “Now Evans, was it necessary to leave me like that in the Great Hall? It took a full five minutes before Sirius finally reversed the spell.”

Lily smirked and said, “Yes, it was necessary.”

James took out another sprig of mistletoe, causing a groan of frustration to escape Lily’s mouth. He waved it in front of her and said, “Really, Evans. You can’t ignore this. It’s a holiday tradition, after all.” Hearing Emm chuckle next to him, he turned to her and smiled. Holding the mistletoe above and in between them, he smiled and said, “Don’t you agree, Emm?”

Emm looked up at the mistletoe and blushed, giving James a nervous smile. Glancing quickly at Lily, then at Remus, who had stopped looking amused at the situation, she turned back to James and said, “I suppose…since it is tradition.”

James leaned over and Emm met him halfway, each participating in the mistletoe kiss. James, with the stupid idea of trying to make Lily jealous, let the kiss continue for several moments before coming up for air. He gave Emm a smile and turned, only to find that Lily had left. He looked at Remus, who was trying to ignore them while furiously scribbling out part of his essay.

Emm cleared her throat a bit, trying to gather her composure, before saying, “I suppose since Lily left we should call it a night.” Seeing that Remus was still focused on his work, she said, “Remus?”

Remus paused and glanced up at her before saying in a controlled voice, “Yeah.”

“C’mon, Remus,” said James. “We should meet up with the others.”

Remus slammed his book shut and threw everything into his bag. He got up and swiftly walked away, barely allowing James the chance to catch up with him.

James fell into step beside Remus and ruffled his hair, saying, “I’m starting to think the mistletoe idea isn’t going to work, though if she disappeared like that maybe I should go for the jealousy route.”

Remus rolled his eyes and forged onward, not giving James any other response.

James once again caught up with Remus and asked, “What do you think, Moony?”

Remus stopped suddenly and turned on James, saying, “You need to decide what you want, Prongs. If you want to chase after Lily, that’s one thing, but don’t hurt some other girl just because you want to use her to make Lily jealous!”

James was taken aback at Remus’ harsh tone. It was rare for Remus to fly off the handle at his friends. James lifted his hands up and said, “Whoa there, Moony. Emm knows how I feel about Lily. Besides, it was just a simple kiss under the mistletoe. I wasn’t asking her out!”

Remus shook his head in frustration and began walking again toward Gryffindor tower.

James stared after him, a realization suddenly coming to him. He ran after Remus and when he caught up he grabbed his arm to stop him. “Do you like Emm?”

Remus’ eyes widened and he said, “Like her? Well, yeah, I like her. She’s a good friend.”

James, seeing the red tint to Remus’ ears, retorted, “You know what I mean, Moony.” Seeing Remus’ lack of a reply, James said, “If I’d known you like her then I never would have kissed her, Moony.”

Remus shrugged and said, “It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does,” said James. “I’m sorry, mate.” They continued walking for a minute before James asked, “Why don’t you ask her out?”

Remus let out a dry laugh and said, “It’s not that simple, Prongs, and you know it.”

“You never know,” said James. “She’s been your friend this long, and she seems pretty nice. Maybe she would understand.”

Remus sighed and said, “How, Prongs? Am I supposed to just tell her right off the bat, or do I wait to see if the relationship would go anywhere? Then, I’d be lying to her until I told her, not that I’m not already lying as it is. I can’t just walk around telling people my secrets. It’s dangerous enough that you know. Look what you’ve done for me, already. Not that I’m not grateful, but I just don’t want to put anyone else in that position.”

“You didn’t put us in that position, Moony,” said James. “We made up our own minds, and we’re perfectly fine.”

They entered the common room and continued up to the dormitory. Remus shook his head sadly, saying, “You’ll never understand, Prongs. Things are so much easier for you. You can lay back and enjoy life and make your own choices without the weight of the consequences that I have to consider.” Remus walked to his bed and drew the curtains, effectively ending the conversation.

James stood there, shocked and upset to hear the sadness and hint of jealousy in Remus’ voice. He hadn’t really thought about Remus’ situation beyond the monthly transformations. He hadn’t thought about the other things that went with being a werewolf. Remus had to constantly worry who would find out and how they would react. He had to worry about their choices and if that would place them in danger. He also hadn’t thought about the stigma that would stay with Remus throughout his life and how people would judge him without knowing him.

Realizing Remus wanted to be alone, James walked downstairs to find Sirius and Peter, hoping to make a trip down to the kitchens to find sustenance. Maybe he could bring back some butterbeer as a peace offering for Remus, though he knew Remus would forgive him. That was the kind of friend he was. James wondered how Remus could be so understanding when life could be so unfair to him.

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A/N: Well, we’re about halfway through fifth year, chronologically. I may go a bit quicker through the second half, but I’m not sure. I really want to get to the end of fifth year and start on sixth year. Interesting things will be happening then! Ah, I shouldn’ a said tha’. (lol)

Thanks to my reviewers: God’sgirl, Anu, Anonymous, Potterhead (x2), britishbabe, DreamAngel, Mani12191, AshleyM, Remus’sweetie, Incendia, Jo Bob, Calypso, andburn1, Adria, missclearwater, tigerfairy, delpheena, Golden Phoenix, SwimGirl, and RainDateChick.

Please leave a review!

Next chapter: I barely started it, but it’ll probably involve the visit home for the holidays. I have an idea for another classic Marianne moment with James and Sirius (still have to figure out how to write it).

77. The Talk

Chapter 77: The Talk

“Bye, Lily! Happy Christmas!”

Lily hugged Marlene and Alice goodbye and wished them a ‘Happy Christmas’ before walking through the barrier at Platform 9 ¾. She hardly had the chance to look around for her parents when she felt an arm go around her shoulders and caught the familiar scent of grass and outdoors that belonged to James Potter. “What do you want, Potter?” she wearily asked.

James grinned and teasingly drew out a sprig of mistletoe, causing a groan of annoyance to escape Lily. James held it out in front of them and said, “You’ve been rather elusive, Miss Evans. But now that you can’t hex me, perhaps it’s the time try again.” He twirled it between his thumb and forefinger, ready to raise it up between them and try his luck.

“Lily honey?”

James froze and Lily gulped as she looked up and saw her parents standing a few feet away. Her mum’s expression was surprised but slightly amused, however her father’s face was a few shades of reddish-purple as he surveyed the boy who dared to touch his daughter.

“Hi Mum, hi Dad,” croaked Lily. She had temporarily forgotten to tell James off and was beginning to wonder, by the look on her dad’s face, if she should instead tell him to run for his life.

Anne Evans noticed and gave her husband a not-so-discreet elbow in the side, causing him to break his glare and step toward Lily and James. He cleared his throat and said, “Welcome home, sweetie. Who is this young man?”

James summoned up his Gryffindor courage and took a deep breath. Plastering on what he hoped was a sincere smile, he said, “I’m James Potter, sir.” He held out his hand and Harold Evans shook it firmly, hoping to garner a yelp out of the boy.

When he didn’t get more than a slight faltering of the boy’s smile, Harold decided to further investigate. Opting for the direct approach, he asked, “Are you dating my daughter?”

“Actually sir-” started James.

Lily quickly shrugged James’ arm off her shoulders and interrupted, “No, he is not.”

“Isn’t that mistletoe?” asked Harold, pointing at the sprig that James was still holding.

“Erm-” stuttered James, part of him wanting to drop the mistletoe and run from the imposing Mr. Evans, the other part wanting to find a way to impress Lily’s parents.

“Potter,” said Lily, “I think I see your mum and Sirius over there.”

“We really should get going,” said Anne. “Petunia’s waiting in the car.”

“’Tunia’s here?” asked Lily. She was surprised her sister had agreed to come.

James noticed Lily’s surprised expression and wondered what had changed. From what he remembered, Lily had told him in first year that she and her sister were close.

“Yes, she is,” said Harold. He gave James a cursory nod and said, “We’d better go before she turns into a popsicle.”

James barely had the chance to wonder what a popsicle was before he noticed Lily following her father out of the station. When he saw Mrs. Evans give him a smile and start to leave, he came to his senses and said, “Mrs. Evans?”

Anne turned around and walked back toward James. “Yes?” she asked with a friendly smile.

“I was wondering if you could do me a favor,” he replied with a grin.

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“Sirius! I’m so glad you decided to come,” said Marianne, giving him a hug.

Sirius smiled and hugged her back, saying, “Ah, you know I wouldn’t miss Christmas at the Potter house. After all, I can’t wait to see how James and I can annoy his cousins Christmas Eve.”

Marianne gave him a stern look and said, “We’ll have none of that this year. Isn’t it possible to have a normal dinner with my brother’s family just once?”

Sirius let out a barking laugh as he said, “We wouldn’t want to mess with tradition by becoming normal, would we?”

Marianne rolled her eyes, then suddenly realized James wasn’t there. “Where is my troublemaking son, anyway?”

“He’s probably flirting with Evans again,” answered Sirius.

“He still likes Lily?” asked Marianne.

“Yeah,” chuckled Sirius. “He’s been trying to score a date with her all year.”

Marianne’s smile froze at the word ‘score’ and she looked around the station, finally seeing her son with his arm around Lily, holding what looked like mistletoe between them. As Marianne watched the exchange that followed with who she assumed were Lily’s parents, something suddenly occurred to Marianne. It hit her like a ton of bricks and she realized she had completely overlooked it. Taking a glance at Sirius, who was winking at a group of girls who passed by, she realized there was something she had to take care of while James was home. It wouldn’t be easy but as his mother, she had no choice.

“You okay, Marianne?” asked Sirius, sensing her sudden change of mood.

Marianne watched James smile at Lily’s mum before turning to walk toward them. She looked at Sirius and gave him a wary smile, saying, “I’m fine, Sirius.” As James arrived she gave him a hug and a kiss, all the while feeling her gut wrench at her upcoming task.

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“So how do you know James, sweetie?”

Lily looked at her watch and nodded. Five minutes. That was about how long she had predicted it would take for one of her parents to start grilling her about James once they were on the road. Her mum had caved first, and as she had asked Lily noticed her father’s grip tighten on the steering wheel.

“He’s in my house and year,” Lily replied.

“James, eh?” mused Petunia. “Another boyfriend of yours, Lily?” she asked with a smirk.

“No, he’s not,” said Lily sinking lower in her seat.

“He did seem rather friendly for someone who isn’t interested in you,” her dad remarked.

Lily felt the air getting stuffy and was tempted to crack the window open, despite the freezing temperature outside. “He…er…he has asked me out, I guess.” She noticed her father’s knuckles were almost white from the vise-like grip he now had on the wheel.

“But you aren’t dating?” probed her mum.

“I, erm…turned him down,” said Lily, hoping that the subject would soon change.

Harold finally loosened his grip on the wheel and cracked a small smile. He knew Lily was a smart girl. He even felt a little sorry for the Potter boy, now that he knew Lily had done the right thing (in his opinion as an overprotective father) and kept her distance from him.

“Whatever for?” asked Anne. She sighed and said, “He seemed pretty smitten with you.”

“That doesn’t mean we’re right for each other,” Lily quietly replied. She looked at Petunia and, desperate for a change of subject, asked, “How’s Vernon, ‘Tunia?”

Petunia took the cue and launched into her tales of how wonderful and considerate Vernon was toward her and how brilliant he was. After all, he was certain to get a promotion soon at work. As she described the restaurant he had taken her to for their last date, Lily noted how her dad’s knuckles were once again white.

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Marianne took a deep breath. ‘It’s not that big of a deal,’ she thought to herself. ‘After all, I’m a healer, and this is a something I should be able to handle.’ She tried to forget the fact that it would involve her fifteen year old son, but that was a necessary part of the equation for the dreaded task.

Picking up the packet of pamphlets she had found at St. Mungo’s, she finally stood up and decided to stop procrastinating. James and Sirius had been home for a few days and she had found little ways of putting off her task, from decorating for Christmas to escaping the house for some last-minute holiday shopping.

It was now Christmas Eve and in a few hours they would be going to Louis’ house for the annual Christmas Eve dinner. Marianne wanted to get this over with before all of the festivities started so they could focus on the holidays.

After asking Perchy, she found James lounging on a sofa in the living room, having recently returned from his snowball war with Sirius. She smiled and asked, “Who won?”

James turned around and smiled at her, saying, “Me, of course.” Aside from some wet hair, he didn’t look any worse for the wear.

Marianne shuffled the pamphlets nervously with her hands, and looking around, asked, “Where’s Sirius?”

“Upstairs trying to get the snow off,” smirked James. He smugly added, “I found a potion at Zonko’s that makes the snow stick to its target longer before melting.” Seeing the expression on his mum’s face, he added, “Not that I shop there a lot or anything. It was in the display window and I saw it on my way to the bookstore.”

Marianne let out a nervous laugh and said, “Not that I believe that for a millisecond, but that’s not what I need to talk to you about.”

James’ smile froze and for a moment he wondered what had made his mum look so nervous. Was he in trouble for something else…and what had she found out about? Was she going to lecture him about the upcoming dinner at his uncle’s house and how to properly behave? Or was it something worse? Had something happened to someone they know? Did it have anything to do with Voldemort? All of these possibilities raced through James’ head as Marianne sat down next to him and gave him a tentative but serious look.

“Erm, what’s up, Mum?” he asked.

“James,” she began, “I realized something the other day. I saw you flirting with Lily at the train station and it hit me how fast you’re growing up. I realized there’s something I overlooked, and as your only remaining parent it’s fallen upon my shoulders to talk to you about this.”

James felt his stomach start to turn. Even though he prayed it wasn’t true, he didn’t need to take Divination to predict what was about to happen. He noticed Sirius appear in the doorway taking a gulp of hot chocolate from a Christmas tree-shaped mug.

Not noticing Sirius’ appearance, Marianne continued, “We need to talk about sex.”

James was temporarily forced out of his shock as Sirius had just sprayed hot chocolate across a large portion of the living room and was now trying to cough out the drink he had accidentally inhaled. After a minute, James wasn’t certain if Sirius was coughing anymore or laughing.

When he finally caught his breath, Sirius gave James a mirthful look and said, “So sorry for the interruption. I’ll just leave you to your mother-son chat, shall I?” He started to back out of the room, almost like an animal cautiously backing away from its predator.

“Not so fast, Sirius!” called Marianne, stopping him before he could make his escape. “You should probably hear this, too.”

James rolled his eyes and whined, “Now you’re gonna force my best mate to hear this?”

Marianne gave him a stern look and said, “I doubt his folks have given him ‘the talk’ and even if they have I doubt what they told him was proper.”

Sirius smiled and lied through his teeth, albeit poorly. “Sure, they’ve talked to me about it. In fact, that’s about all we ever talk about. There’s no need for me to hang around for this.”

Marianne snapped her fingers and pointed to the armchair. “Sirius, sit!”

At her command, James was reminded of Sirius’ canine alter-ego and tried to hide a snicker. Perhaps if Sirius was forced to endure this as well then that would save James from some serious teasing later.

Sirius grudgingly complied and sank down onto the chair.

Marianne sighed and said, “Honestly, you two! I’m a healer, so it’s not like I shouldn’t be able to talk about this in a calm, rational way. And you should be old enough to handle this in a mature manner.” She looked at the two boys, who looked as if they were about to be sentenced to a long stay at Azkaban. She looked down at her pamphlets and decided to start with the basics.

She took the top one and handed it to James, who let out a guffaw and said, “Mum, I already know this. Dad told me about all this a long time ago.” He tossed the pamphlet to Sirius, who snickered when he saw the title, ‘Where babies come from.’

“Yeah,” said Sirius, “My mother had one of our house elves tell me all this, though I insist to this day I hatched out of a pod rather than having been borne to that woman.”

Marianne chose to ignore Sirius’ comment and started passing out the other pamphlets, including: Teenagers and Sex, Teenage Pregnancy, and Magical and Muggle Methods of Birth Control. The icing on the cake involved a rather graphic pamphlet on Magical and Muggle Venereal Diseases. By the end of the hour, James and Sirius were stunned and nauseated by the different lesions and colors involving certain aspects of the male anatomy.

The first chance they got, the boys scrambled away and ran for the sanctity of James’ room. Sirius collapsed on the floor while James lay on his bed, rubbing his eyes while trying to rid himself of the images that his mum had forced him to endure.

“That was…brutal,” Sirius finally commented with a shudder.

“Eurgh!” was all James could reply.

When they heard Marianne summon them to hurry up and prepare for their trip to the Prewett household, Sirius shook his head and said, “I can’t believe I’m about to say this, Prongs, but for the first time in my life I’ve lost my appetite.”

The Christmas Eve feast at the Prewett household was not as ‘normal’ as Marianne had hoped it would be. The trouble started when the meal was served and James and Sirius barely touched their plates. That alone sent a red flag of suspicion into the minds of Gideon and Fabian, who were used to some kind of yearly prank from the two Gryffindor boys. They opted to refrain from their meal until they were certain it was untainted by any Zonko’s products or the like.

Marianne tried to goad James into eating, but all he could do was try to avoid looking at his plate. The sweet potato dish reminded him of a picture his mum had shown him earlier that day of the effects of Klergerben Syndrome.

Sirius, hoping to use mischief to wipe his mind clean of Marianne’s earlier lecture, opted to make Gideon and Fabian think their suspicions were true about the ‘tainted’ food. Every time one of the Prewett boys dared to try a bite of their dish, Sirius would chuckle and use what he hoped was his sneakiest expression. Gideon was rather irritated by the end of the night because he had been hoping to impress his new fiancee, Adele, but as Potter/Prewett tradition indicated, the night ended up in some kind of mess. This year it had been a food fight, and Adele had gotten caught in the crossfire with a forkload of stuffing.

After Marianne had been forced, once again, to whisk Sirius and James home quickly, she gave them the usual reprimands and sent them upstairs to bed. Before going upstairs, Sirius, reminded of Lily’s story about the old guy who liked sneaking into people’s homes on Christmas Eve to ‘deliver gifts,’ suggested that Marianne check the security spells around the Floo that evening to avoid intruders. Sirius snorted, wondering how off her rocker Lily must be to believe some old guy would deliver gifts instead of just stealing the ones that were already there.

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At about 1 am, James was woken up by the sounds of Sirius’ stomach growling from across the room. Remembering he hadn’t eaten dinner, James realized he was hungry, himself. Getting up, he saw that Sirius was fast asleep despite his talkative stomach, and James opted to go to the kitchen solo to forage for food.

Once he had found some leftovers stored away, James sat down at the kitchen table and started to eat. He had barely finished a few bites of his chicken before he heard Joseph, who was hanging around next to a bowl of fruit in a painting near the table.

“James,” smiled Joseph. “Here for a midnight snack?”

James nodded and groggily asked, “Thought you’d be sleeping in the dining room.”

“Nah,” replied Joseph. “I never could sleep well on Christmas Eve. Always had too much anticipation for the next day. Thought I’d wander about the paintings to work off my energy.” Joseph studied James for a moment before asking, “Wasn’t tonight the dinner at your Uncle Louis’ house?” After James nodded, Joseph added, “I figured you would be too full from that to wake up for a late night snack.”

“I didn’t really eat earlier,” replied James. “I sorta lost my appetite.”

“Lost your appetite?” echoed Joseph. “Why? Are you sick?”

James let out a dry laugh and said, “I thought I might have been earlier. Mum gave me ‘the talk’.”

“The talk?” questioned Joseph. It took a moment for James’ words to ‘click’ before Joseph’s eyes widened. “Oh…I see,” he replied. He had a slightly amused tone to his voice which did not escape James.

“I’m glad you find this so funny,” James said sarcastically.

Joseph laughed and said, “Sorry. I was just imagining your mother trying to be all serious about it, when I’m sure she was just as uncomfortable as you were.”

James snorted and picked at his chicken a little more. Things were silent for a few minutes before Joseph finally asked, “So is there a young lady you like?”

James shrugged and glanced up at the image of his father.

Joseph grinned and said, “There is, isn’t there?” When James didn’t do more than crack an uncomfortable smile, Joseph prodded, “What’s she like?”

“She’s pretty…very pretty. She’s smart…she made prefect this year. She’s a brilliant witch. She gets teased by the Slytherins for being Muggleborn, but she could hex them all into next week if she wanted to…but she’s not like that.” James’ smile had become wider and more comfortable as his mind focused on Lily. Suddenly he felt a sad tug at his heart as he wished once more for his father to be alive and sitting across from him at the table, ready to give him advice on how to figure out girls. He loved his mum and she was trying really hard to be both parents, but it would never be the same.

James looked up at Joseph, who seemed to be reading his thoughts. “I know,” said Joseph. “I’m not the same, but I’m still here with open ears.”

James, seeing the likeness of his father watching him, decided to confide in him everything that had happened from first year and on with Lily. He described their initial friendship and its subsequent demise, followed by Lily’s reaction toward him. He finished the story with his latest efforts to gain her attention.

Joseph listened to James’ story without interruption or judgment, something he had not gotten from his mates. James was never able to have a serious discussion with Sirius about Lily that year without it leading to some lighthearted teasing about James’ methods of getting her attention. Remus always tried to interrupt with his own suggestions, and Peter would shrug and say he didn’t know anything about the inner workings of the female mind.

It was comforting, being able to get it all off of his chest, even if it wasn’t his flesh and blood father sitting nearby. James realized that Joseph had the same life experience charmed into him, so he finally asked, “So what do you think? I mean…how did you finally get a date with Mum?”

An odd look passed across Joseph’s face for a moment before he finally said, “We had known each other for a while, and our friendship eventually progressed into love.”

James suspected there was more to the story, but before he could ask any more questions, Joseph said, “You’re young…only fifteen. There’ll be plenty of time to win her over, assuming your affections stay with her. Who knows? A year from now your attention and affection may be focused on someone else.”

James shrugged, a little annoyed. Fifteen didn’t seem so young to him. Why did adults always use age as an excuse in situations like this? After all, James had tried the ‘age excuse’ after the food fight with his cousins, but his mum had completely ignored it.

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“Are you ever going to wake up? Lily!” exclaimed her mum. “Enough lollygagging! It’s time to open presents!”

Lily smirked into her pillow and burrowed deeper underneath her blankets. For the past several years, it had become an Evans tradition for her, Petunia, and her father to stall as long as possible about going downstairs, knowing how it drove Anne Evans mad. It was comical how her mum would revert to a childlike state Christmas morning and whine and cajole until the rest of the family either decided to indulge her or until they were forced out of their beds.

This morning, Anne opted for the forceful approach. She determinedly approached the bed and ripped away the covers, causing a shriek of protest from her youngest daughter at the sudden rush of icy air onto her body. Lily gave her mum a stern glare for which Anne cheerily responded, “Happy Christmas!” and walked away with the blankets.

As Lily dragged herself out of bed she chuckled as she heard similar shrieks of protest coming from her sister’s room as her mum was likely waking her in a similar manner. Lily threw on a warm dressing gown and slippers and padded her way downstairs where her father was yawning on the sofa. Lily gave him a hug and collapsed onto the floor, gazing up at the clock.

“Nine o’clock,” she mused.

Her dad nodded and grinned. “That’s a new Christmas record. Last year we were only able to hold out until half past eight.”

Petunia arrived, followed by a giddy Anne Evans. Instead of a free-for-all gift opening, Anne insisted that they each open a gift one at a time so they could show off their treasures.

Lily received what she had put on her Christmas list- new robes and a few books from her family as well as some butterbeer truffles from Alice and Marlene. She watched in delight as her father marveled over the book she had given him about Quidditch. He was a sports nut, and she knew he would get a kick out of the wizarding world’s most popular sport.

Just when Lily thought the gift opening was completed, her mum smiled and pulled a small package out of the pocket of her dressing gown. She leaned over and handed it to Lily, who gazed at the shiny red paper with golden ribbon adorning the box.

“What’s this, Mum?” Lily questioned.

Anne’s eyes twinkled a little as she replied, “A little elf delivered it to me, and asked that I give it to you in person.”

Lily gave her mum a confused look before delicately removing the wrappings and opening the box. At the top was a note. Lily unfolded it and read the tiny scrawl, ‘Happy Christmas, Evans! This is the gift that will keep on giving…hopefully.’

Lily finally looked deeper inside the box and gave an exasperated half-sigh/half-dry laugh as she saw a golden pin, painted and shaped to look like mistletoe.

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A/N: I know, I know. I tried to get this chapter finished sooner, but life has a way of speeding by. I have lukewarm feelings toward this chapter, but I don’t know how the readers will feel…so what do you think?

Thanks to my latest reviewers: alto2srock, Will The Wierd, delpheena, Golden Phoenix, lily flower, missclearwater, Mani12191, DreamAngel, Remus’sweetie, likediamondrain, Anu, AshleyM, Jo Bob, RainDateChick, kayjaysee, Incendia, Alicia78 (x2), Miss France, Calypso, tigerfairy, itsme63 (x5), God’sgirl, Anonymous, granger1191, PottersPrincess, and mystical cah.

Next chapter: Sorry, no spoilers this time - haven’t written that far ahead and I wanted to post this ASAP since it took me long enough to write.

78. Just Friends

Chapter 78: Just Friends

“Have you boys finished packing?” asked Marianne. They were due to leave for the station in a half hour.

“Pretty much,” replied James while he buttered his toast.

While Marianne debated with James what the meaning of ‘pretty much’ meant, Perchy walked into the dining room with the morning post that had just been delivered. After dropping a stack of letters and the Daily Prophet in front of Marianne, the house elf approached the boys. Holding out a letter, she said, “M-Mister Sirius? A letter for you, Mister Sirius.”

Sirius took the letter and smiled at Perchy, who blushed and rushed back toward the kitchen.

James noticed the exchange and smirked, saying, “Mate, what’d I tell you about flirting with our house elf?” It had been an ongoing joke that Perchy was developing a crush on Sirius. James’ theory was all but proven when she had made Sirius’ pancakes larger than everyone else’s.

“Can’t help it if I’m irresistible,” replied Sirius while warily eyeing the letter.

“Aren’t you going to open it?” asked Marianne.

Sirius was a little unnerved by the arrival of the letter. Only a few people knew that he was staying with James and Marianne over the holiday. Remus and Peter addressed their letters to both James and Sirius. For a moment, Sirius was worried that his family had figured out that he had left the school to come to James’ for the holiday, but when he realized the envelope wasn’t red like a howler would be, he decided it was safe enough to open. Once he saw the handwriting, he let out a small sigh of relief. “It’s from Andromeda,” he said.

Dear Sirius,

Happy Christmas! I’m taking a chance and assuming that you are staying with your friend for the holiday. This letter is probably late, but I had to take certain precautions when I mailed it so that nobody could trace our whereabouts.

Ted and I had a beautiful wedding, even though we eloped. I was scared to death when I was packing to leave, but as soon as I saw him I realized I was making the right decision. I enclosed a copy of our only wedding photo. I charmed it so only you can see it. We are still in hiding, and I have been using my skills to disguise my natural appearance when we’re out in public.

Ted still works in Muggle law enforcement. We are doing well, though I was worried for a while what I would do with myself. After I quit my job at the Ministry I didn’t know what kind of job I could take. Since we’re still steering clear of the family, I knew I couldn’t take a regular magical job. The Black family has too many connections and I’d be worried about who would find us. I also don’t know much about Muggles and I doubt I’d find a job that I’d be qualified for.

As fate would have it, a different job sort of landed in my lap, though I won’t be due to start it until the end of June or early July. It’s motherhood. Yeah, that’s right, cousin. Ted and I are expecting a baby. We were shocked when we found out (Ted fainted), but after the initial surprise, we were thrilled.

I hope you are doing well, and I hope the family has not given you a difficult time since I ran away. I hope they don’t suspect your involvement. I wish you could come visit, but it’s safer right now if you don’t know our whereabouts.

Love,

Andromeda

P.S. Go easy on the Slytherins this term. If I know you, you’ve probably caused them a lot of grief this year so far.

Sirius handed James the letter and grabbed the photo that had fallen out of the envelope. He saw Ted’s smiling face as he stood beside a woman with his arm around her. At first glance Sirius would not have recognized the woman, but when he looked closer he saw the opal necklace he had given his cousin before he had said goodbye to her at the end of the summer. It was Andromeda, though her true appearance was concealed by a disguise brought upon by her Metamorphmagus abilities. Andromeda was wearing a simple white dress and carrying a small bouquet of white roses. She had a radiant smile on her face as she leaned against her new husband.

“She’s pregnant?” said James.

Sirius snorted and said, “Yeah. Didn’t take ‘em long, did it?”

“Who’s pregnant?” asked Marianne.

James gave his mum an apprehensive glance. He had not forgotten the gruesome talk she had given them on Christmas Eve, and any mention of ‘pregnancy’ or any allusion to a joke about sex made him jittery that she would force him to endure another talk.

“My cousin, Andromeda,” replied Sirius.

“That’s the one who got married last fall, right?” asked Marianne. When Sirius nodded, Marianne smiled and said, “That’s wonderful!”

James let out a sigh of relief and decided that it was time to go from ‘pretty much’ packed to ‘completely’ packed. Excusing himself, he escaped to his room and started tossing his belongings into his trunk.

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When they arrived at the station, James surreptitiously looked around for Lily, hoping to see her yet hoping his mum wouldn’t. They ran into Remus and Peter on the platform and Remus was looking quite ill due to the upcoming full moon later on that week. Sirius decided to duck inside the train when he caught sight of Regulus arriving with their mother.

James and the others caught up with him in a compartment and saw that Sirius was angrily looking out the window as his mum bid a fond farewell to her youngest son. James, seeing that Sirius needed an outlet for his angry energy, pulled out his invisibility cloak and said, “Up for some fun, mate?”

Sirius, intrigued by the mischievous look on James’ face, said, “What do you have in mind?”

After the train started moving, James and Sirius left Peter and Remus in the compartment and wandered the corridor under the invisibility cloak, keeping an eye out for anything that would amuse them. Their opportunity came when Snape stepped out of his compartment at the other end of the car and headed in the direction of the boys’ bathroom.

Sirius and James exchanged a knowing grin, neither having to voice their thoughts as they had the same idea running through their heads. Since they were closer to the bathroom, the boys quickly ducked inside and threw a dungbomb into the toilet, before quickly making their exit.

They had hardly stepped out of the way before Snape stepped inside the loo. As if the Slytherin could sense something off, he turned around for a moment and looked around the corridor suspiciously, before ducking back into the loo and closing the door.

Sirius drew out his wand and muttered, “Colloportus.” The two Marauders stepped back to watch the show.

A few moments later brought the sound of the dungbomb exploding along with a splash and a disgusted yelp. The sound had lured a few students from nearby compartments to open their doors and curiously peer out to see what had caused the commotion.

The handle of the door to the bathroom jiggled from the inside but the door did not budge. The movement of the doorknob became more frantic as Snape cursed in frustration and anger. Water started to seep under the door and into the corridor, causing the nearby students to back away.

“What’s going on, here?” asked Amos Diggory, wearing his Head Boy badge, as he approached the crowd.

“I think someone’s locked in there,” pointed a third year girl.

Amos looked at the door and then down at the wet floor before approaching the bathroom. “Is someone in there?” he loudly asked.

A loud pounding on the door along with some more muffled yelling was his response.

Amos grabbed his wand and unsealed the door. When he opened it, a wave of water rushed out, carrying Snape as he floated out into the corridor and landed on his arse with a splash. A few of the other students laughed at the sight of the Slytherin, who was drenched from head to toe. The stale and pungent odor of the dungbomb emanated from his skin in small puffs of steam.

Amos, attempting to hide his mirth and bring order, asked, “What happened?”

Snape, who was visibly seething, spat, “Potter and Black! They locked me in the bathroom and set off a dungbomb!”

Amos, who was aware of Sirius and James by reputation, both from Quidditch and from the warnings of a few professors, looked around for signs of the two Marauders. He asked Snape, “Did you see them?”

“I didn’t have to see them to know they did this!” spat Snape.

Amos turned to the crowd and asked, “Did anyone see Potter or Black nearby?” Seeing no affirmative response, Amos turned back to Snape and said, “If nobody witnessed anything then I can’t punish them.”

Snape, who was starting to tremor from his anger, moved to stand and slipped on the wet floor a few times before managing to right himself. He glared at Amos and said, “They did this, I know they did this. I’ll prove it!” He turned around and marched away, in an obvious effort to track down his nemeses.

Amos shook his head and followed the Slytherin as he pounded down the corridor, his shoes making squishing noises with each step. A few cars down, Snape threw open the door of a compartment and stormed inside. Amos walked in behind him to see James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus looking at Snape with incredulous faces.

Sirius finally barked in laughter and said, “What the devil happened to you, Snivellus?”

Snape, still dripping water onto the floor, raised an accusing finger and said, “You know what happened, Black! You and Potter!”

James gave Snape a sarcastic look and said, “Hmmm…you got wet?”

Snape made a motion to grab his wand however Amos grabbed his shoulder and said, “Enough! Unless you want to lose points, Snape, I suggest you let me handle this.” He turned to the Gryffindor boys and asked, “Where were you about five minutes ago?”

“We were in here, playing Exploding Snap,” replied Remus.

“All of you?” probed Amos.

“Yes,” said James. “See?” he said, indicating the scorch marks on his hands from the cards.

Amos looked at Peter, who eagerly nodded in agreement with James.

“They’re lying!” yelled Snape.

Amos shrugged and said, “You have no proof. There’s nothing I can do.”

Snape narrowed his eyes and glared at each of the Marauders, hatred oozing out of his dark orbs. His gaze finally landed on Remus. “You will regret this,” he hissed. He glared at James again, “You walk around the school like you own the place, but I know better. You have weaknesses…secrets. Just wait, Potter. I will find them, and make certain the entire school finds out what kind of people you and your friends really are.”

James stood up and clenched his fists, aching to pummel the Slytherin. Sirius snorted and said, “Ok Snivellus, if you feel the school needs to know exactly how smart and dashingly handsome I really am, then go ahead.” He leaned back and smirked at Snape, but his voice was not as carefree as it had been when Snape and Diggory had first entered the compartment.

“C’mon, Snape,” said Amos. “There’s nothing left to say here that won’t land anyone in detention.”

After Diggory practically dragged Snape out of the compartment, Peter let out a sigh of relief and said, “That was close.”

James sat down, still angry at Snape’s threats. He said, “There’s no way we would have gotten caught. Thanks for the scorch marks, Moony, by the way,” he added. As soon as Sirius and James had rushed back into the compartment earlier, Remus had purposely set off one of the Exploding Snap cards to singe the hairs on James hands. Peter, in the meantime, had rearranged the cards to look like four people had been playing. They had just finished when Snape had barged into the compartment.

The tension in the room was broken by a chuckle from Peter. When the other boys looked at him, he said, “I think that’s the first time Snape ever got wet.”

Sirius laughed and said, “Didn’t really make him smell any better, did it?”

Remus smiled and shook his head, adding, “Probably didn’t help that he had dungbomb fumes clinging to him.”

James finally relaxed and laughed along, while reminiscing, “I’ll never forget the sound he made when the dungbomb exploded. Wish I could’ve seen his face the moment it happened.”

“Do you think he’s figured anything else out…about me?” Remus wondered aloud.

“Nah,” said Sirius. “If he had then the whole school’d know about it by now.”

“He’s still determined to find out, though,” said Remus.

“He’d rather humiliate me or Padfoot,” said James. He snorted and said, “Did you hear the way he described us? Walking around as if we own the school?”

“Maybe we should back off of him,” suggested Remus. “The more you antagonize him the more he’ll want to dig into our secrets.”

“No,” insisted James. “He hates us enough to pry even if we back off.” He looked at Sirius and said, “Maybe Padfoot and I should take the heat off of you, Moony. If we annoy him enough by doing exactly what he says we do then maybe he’ll focus more on us than you.”

Remus looked at James and Sirius warily. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. If I get exposed the worst that can happen is I’ll have to leave Hogwarts. If your secrets are exposed you risk going to Azkaban.”

Sirius waved his comment off and said, “We’ve been covering our tracks for several years now, Moony. We’ll be fine.”

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True to their word, Sirius and James decided to ‘strut’ about as if they were the cat’s meow. Not that they hadn’t had a touch of arrogance before the encounter on the train, but now they were more blatant about it. Sirius opted to channel his greatness into charming the female race. He was often seen in the company of a pretty girl.

James chose the Quidditch route. It had worked for him to that point and he had the ‘fame’ of being Gryffindor captain to booster his popularity. He scheduled a few practices at times when he knew he’d have an audience and practiced outrageous maneuvers on his broomstick including some that weren’t typically used by Seekers. He was often drawn into conversations with other students, all asking how he was able to perform such feats.

James used the opportunity, especially if Lily was in the vicinity, to dramatically regale the crowd about his brushes with death from the steep dives and flips. He even went so far as to muss his hair up like it would look from the wind rushing through it during his maneuvers.

“He’s doing it again, Lily,” said Marlene as they were walking outside after class one afternoon.

Lily looked and saw James as he demonstrated his Snitch-catches from previous matches. As the crowd cheered and laughed James caught sight of Lily as he was mussing his hair, making it more unkempt than ever. He grinned and waved at her, saying, “Oy, Evans! How about you reenact that catch you made at the last Gryffindor game?”

Lily pretended she hadn’t heard and ushered Alice and Marlene along.

Alice smiled and said, “I’d kind of like to see that reenactment, myself, Lily.”

Lily gave Alice a stern look and said, “Oh hush! You know, if it wasn’t your birthday, I might have to push you into the lake.”

Alice smiled and said, “In the middle of January? On my sweet sixteenth? I don’t think you would be that cruel.”

Lily gave her a mischievous look and said, “You want to test me?”

Marlene watched in amusement as Alice gave Lily a nervous look, wondering if her friend would really go through with her threat.

Instead, Alice opted to escape. “I’d love to stay and find out, but I’m supposed to meet Frank in the library in a little bit.”

“On your birthday?” exclaimed Marlene.

Alice shrugged and said, “I can’t help it if the teachers don’t have limits in the amount of assignments they pile on us.”

Marlene gave Alice a sly smile and said, “Seems to me like you don’t mind the company of Mr. Longbottom so much anymore.”

“We’re friends,” insisted Alice. “We study well together.”

“Studying,” mused Marlene. “Is that what they call it these days?” She laughed and ducked out of Alice’s reach.

“You do spend a lot of time with him,” Lily pointed out.

Alice let out a dry laugh and said, “There’s nothing but friendship between us, okay…Mrs. Potter?”

Lily’s jaw dropped and she said, “Excuse me? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You say I spend a lot of time with Frank, but I see James hanging around you all the time,” said Alice.

“That’s different!” exclaimed Lily.

“Yeah,” said Marlene. “He follows her around all the time. It’s not like Frank ever did that to you, Alice.” She laughed and added, “Maybe in a few years you’ll be ‘studying’ with James, too, Lily.”

Lily glared at Marlene before saying, “How did this conversation suddenly turn on me? I thought we were talking about Alice and Frank.”

“And I’m supposed to be meeting him right now,” said Alice. She smiled at Lily and then promised to meet up with both of them later on that evening for a birthday celebration.

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Alice found Frank at a table in the corner of the library, spreading his books and notes in front of him. As soon as Alice sat down next to him, she smiled and said, “Hi Frank! Sorry I’m late.”

Frank smiled back and said, “No problem, Alice. It’s your birthday. You’re allowed to be a little late.”

“How did you know it was my birthday?” asked Alice.

“I heard you talking to Marlene about it,” said Frank. He grabbed his bag and started rifling through it, and Alice wondered if he had actually overheard Marlene, or if he had already known about her birthday. Suddenly he pulled a box out of his book bag and said, “Here. Happy birthday, Alice.”

Alice smiled and said, “You got me a gift?”

“I saw it when I was Diagon Alley a few weeks back during the holiday and it made me think of you. I thought you should have it,” he replied. “Go ahead…open it.”

Alice eagerly tore off the pretty wrappings and opened the box. Pulling out a large wad of tissue paper, she unrolled it and gasped at what was inside. “Frank, I can’t believe it!” She gazed at the enchanted snow globe in her hands and looked at the miniature figurines inside.

Frank tapped his wand on top of the globe and the globe came to life. Snow swirled around and the figurines started moving. Some were ice skating and some were having snowball fights. One girl was running about trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue.

Frank smiled as Alice watched the scene and said, “You said you loved the winter, so I thought you could keep a bit of it year round.”

Alice smiled at the sight of one figurine pulling its cloak tighter as a gust of wind blew past it. She looked up at Frank and saw his warm brown eyes looking back, waiting to see if she liked his gift to her. For a moment Alice was speechless, but then she gave him a hug and said, “Thank you, Frank. It’s a lovely gift.”

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Later on that evening as Alice was getting ready for bed she placed the snow globe on her nightstand. Lily noticed as Alice activated the globe with her wand and started gazing inside. Approaching it, Lily said, “That’s really pretty. Where did you get it?”

“Frank gave it to me for my birthday,” replied Alice. “I told him how much I like the winter so he thought I should be able to have a piece of it all year round.”

“Frank gave that to you?” asked Marlene as she walked out of the bathroom.

Alice nodded, causing Marlene to raise an eyebrow and exchange a glance with Lily. Alice noticed this and said, “What was that look for?”

“Seems like Frank might still harbor some feelings for you,” commented Marlene.

“It’s a snow globe, not an engagement ring! It was just a friendly gift,” insisted Alice.

Alice looked pleadingly to Lily for support, but Lily shrugged and said, “It is a really nice gift.”

Alice huffed and said, “You girls are crazy. Frank knows we’re just friends. He hasn’t tried following me around or asking me out all year!”

“That’s because you’re always with him to begin with,” muttered Marlene. Cracking a sneaky smile, she said, “Studying, right?”

Alice let out a frustrated sigh and closed her bed hangings, effectively ending the conversation.

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Over the next few weeks, Marlene and Lily’s words nagged at Alice’s thoughts. ‘They can’t possibly be right, can they?’ she would wonder. Then she would look up at Frank who would usually be concentrating heavily on his DADA text. ‘Nah,’ she would think. ‘There’s no way he still has those feelings for me.’ She would then think herself silly for wondering those things, and try to refocus on her studies.

One evening in February, Alice was walking with Frank back to Gryffindor tower. They had just spent a few hours reviewing practical DADA in one of the classrooms, and Alice had twisted her ankle when Frank had successfully stunned her. He wanted to take her to the hospital wing, but Alice insisted it wasn’t more than a slight twist and that she would be fine by the next morning.

In the meantime, Frank insisted that Alice lean on him while walking back to the tower. For about the tenth time he apologized, saying, “I’m really sorry, Alice.”

Alice barely heard his words, as she was wondering when exactly Frank had become a head taller than her. When Frank nudged her and apologized yet again, Alice finally snapped out of her daze and said, “Forget about it, Frank. It’s no big deal. Besides, I’m so proud of you for getting the spell right! We should go over it again on Friday, though, so we know you can do it consistently.”

Frank looked down at the floor and said, “Actually, I needed to talk to you about Friday.”

“Oh?” asked Alice. “What about?”

Frank cleared his throat and said, “Friday is Valentine’s Day.”

Alice suddenly felt her stomach flip. Why would Frank mention Valentine’s Day to her? Could Marlene and Lily be right?

Frank continued, “Dumbledore okayed letting the fifth years and up go to Hogsmeade for a few hours after classes let out.”

Alice gulped, a foreboding feeling creeping into her. She was ready to kick herself for not seeing the signs. He was going to ask her out again, and she would have to find a way to let him down easily, if that would even be possible. She braced herself, waiting for the inevitable.

“I was wondering,” started Frank, “if it would be okay to reschedule our study session.”

Alice opened her mouth, ready to give him the ‘let’s be friends’ speech, when his words caused her to pause and say, “Huh?”

Frank gave a shy smile and said, “I asked Amy Brady out and she said yes. I completely forgot that it would coincide with our study time. I’m so sorry. Is it okay?”

Alice felt a little light-headed and realized she had been holding her breath. She blinked and looked back up at Frank, who was biting his lip and waiting for her reply.

“Alice?” he prodded.

“Hmm?” she muttered, wondering why it was suddenly difficult for her to form a sentence. “Um, yeah…fine.”

Frank let out a sigh of relief and smiled. “Thanks, Alice. You’re the best!”

Alice nodded blankly, feeling a tad shell-shocked. She had certainly not been expecting Frank to say he was dating someone else. And Amy Brady? Alice searched her memory to try and match a face with the name, with no luck. Well, at least she could prove that she was right to Lily and Marlene. Frank only thought of her as a friend.

“Do you need any help getting upstairs? I could find a girl to help you,” said Frank.

Alice looked up, startled to realize that they had arrived in the common room and were standing by her staircase. She looked at Frank and numbly shook her head, muttering a ‘good night’ before limping up the staircase.

Her thoughts swirled around her head like the snow in her globe, and it was as if Alice could feel the chill that the figurines inside felt. She supposed she should be happy for Frank. He had found a girlfriend. Alice remembered her worries earlier that she would be forced to turn Frank down once again. Now that Frank had found someone else, Alice realized that she should feel relieved…but why did she feel so depressed instead?

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A/N: Okay, this chapter is finished. My brain hurts. Several little details I had to get into this chapter. So what do you think about the little twist I wrote about Frank at the end? *evil laughter from the author*

Thanks to my latest reviewers: Will the Wierd, God’sgirl, blackquill, delpheena, Anu, Golden Phoenix, astronomylover, DreamAngel, Mani12191, Anonymous (x4), Incendia, Watermelon! (x2), Remus’sweetie, Adria, granger1191, AshleyM, German Wings, vikkala, Jo Bob, Calypso, RainDateChick, VirginiaRiddle, and Missrs.

79. Cupids and Kewpie Dolls

Chapter 79: Cupids and Kewpie Dolls

“Alice, hurry up,” ordered Lily. “We’re going to be late for class.”

Alice sighed and followed Lily and Marlene downstairs into the common room.

“What’s with you this morning?” asked Marlene as they walked through the portrait hole.

“What do you mean?” asked Alice.

“You’re spacey this morning and you keep sighing,” said Marlene. “Spit it out! What’s wrong?”

Alice shrugged noncommittally and said, “Nothing’s wrong.”

Marlene rolled her eyes and said, “Okay, fine. Don’t tell us.”

They continued walking downstairs, having to pause at a landing to wait for the staircase to return. Alice finally spoke, saying, “Do either of you know who Amy Brady is?”

“No clue,” replied Marlene.

Lily shrugged her shoulders and asked, “Why?”

Alice, trying to sound casual, said, “Oh…no reason.”

They continued down to the Great Hall and sat down for a quick bite. Marlene almost choked on her food in laughter when James sat down next to Lily with a confident grin. Lily gave Marlene a look as if to plead for her to eat faster. Marlene, feeling the need for some morning entertainment, took smaller bites from her toast.

“Morning, Evans,” greeted James.

“Potter,” replied Lily, while kicking Marlene under the table to hurry up. Marlene let out a small yelp and in retaliation grabbed another piece of toast and started to slowly butter it. Lily glanced hopefully at Alice, but saw her staring thoughtfully toward the entrance of the Great Hall.

“So, Evans,” said James. “You realize what day tomorrow is, right?”

“Friday,” Lily dryly replied.

“Valentine’s Day,” corrected James.

“Yes, I know, Potter,” said Lily with an exasperated sigh. “You’ve reminded me of that every day for the past two weeks.”

“So go with me to Hogsmeade,” said James, leaning a little closer to her ear. With a slight whisper, he said, “C’mon, Evans. Go out with me.”

As soon as Lily felt his warm breath cause her hair to tickle the side of her neck, she quickly stood up, knocking over her pumpkin juice and causing it to spill on Marlene’s toast. Reaching for her bag, Lily said, “My answer is still the same, Potter.” She turned and walked out of the Great Hall, presumably toward the first class of the day.

James watched her leave, then turned and saw Marlene watching him with an amused look. Realizing he usually never got a chance to speak with Marlene alone, James decided to seize the opportunity and asked, “Got any suggestions?”

Marlene chuckled and shook her head, replying, “You’re on your own.”

“Aw, c’mon,” James cajoled. “What could it hurt to help me out a little?”

Marlene gave him a sweet smile and said, “I have to live with her.” She grabbed her bag and said, “Let’s go, Alice.” When she didn’t hear Alice reply she turned to her friend and asked, “You coming?”

Alice had not heard Marlene as she had been preoccupied when she saw Frank walk into the Great Hall a few minutes earlier. He had looked up and down the Hufflepuff table until his face lit up in a smile and he walked over to join a petite brunette. Alice had been studying the girl, wondering if that was Amy and what she looked like, seeing as how her back was to her.

“Alice!”

Alice snapped out of her daze and looked up at an impatient Marlene. Marlene turned and looked toward the Hufflepuff table where Alice’s attention had been drawn. “What were you staring at?”

“N-Nothing,” replied Alice, trying to gather her books.

James glanced over at the Hufflepuffs and said, “Oh, that’s probably Amy, Frank’s new girlfriend.”

Marlene’s eyebrows shot up as she exclaimed, “Frank’s got a girlfriend? Named Amy?”

“Yeah,” said James. “He just asked her out a few days ago.”

Marlene gave Alice a scrutinizing look, but before she could say anything Alice stood up and said, “We’re going to be late for class,” and darted out of the Great Hall.

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Marlene was unable to grill Alice about her suspicions until that evening. All day classes had been packed with lectures and O.W.L. reviews. Alice had managed to evade Marlene in between classes and during lunch, but was unable to avoid seeing her in their dorm room that evening.

As soon as Marlene saw Alice walk into their room, she pounced. “Why were you asking who Amy Brady was this morning, Alice?”

Lily looked up from the book she had been reading, curious about Alice’s answer. Marlene had told Lily her suspicions about Alice’s elusive nature that day.

“I was just curious, that’s all,” Alice replied.

“Really?” asked Marlene, not convinced. “You just suddenly wondered who that girl is, the girl who just happens to be Frank Longbottom’s new girlfriend?”

“Yeah,” Alice weakly replied.

Marlene snorted and said, “Bull. You were staring a hole in the back of her head this morning. I had to call you three or four times before you finally snapped out of it. That sounds like more than curiosity to me.”

Lily stood up and approached the two. “Alice, do you have feelings for Frank?” she gently asked.

“Feelings?” echoed Alice, her eyes wide. The word caused her heart to thump a little harder as she tried to grasp the concept. How could she have feelings for Frank? She had never seen him as anything more than a friend. Sure, they had gotten closer that year, but that didn’t mean she was falling for the guy. She shook her head in denial and said, “No. He’s just my friend.”

“Alice,” said Lily, taking a tentative step toward her friend. “It’s okay to have feelings for him.” She looked to Marlene for support, and Marlene nodded her head in agreement.

Alice took a shaky breath and sat down on the edge of her bed, her head bowed. “No, it’s not,” she replied. “All those years he followed me around, hoping for me to like him; that time when he asked me out last year and I turned him down…and I could tell he was hurt when I dated Sirius, even if he was always nice to me. How can I suddenly have feelings for this guy? How did things shift so suddenly?”

“It wasn’t sudden,” explained Lily, sitting next to Alice. “You’ve been spending time with him for several months, now, and I could see that this was coming for some time.” She paused and looked thoughtful before adding, “Things change…people change. You’re not the same person you were a year or two ago. Neither is he. None of us are.”

“No, I suppose not,” conceded Alice. She realized that Frank wasn’t the same boy she met during their first year. He wasn’t short or slightly pudgy anymore . He had gotten to be somewhat tall and while his face still had a boyish quality to it, he had matured and was looking less like an awkward boy and more like an attractive young man with each passing day. And while he still occasionally revealed the clumsy nature he had shown as a first year, he seemed to be growing into his feet and tripping over them a lot less lately.

Marlene sat down on Alice’s other side and put a comforting arm around her shoulders. She asked, “Are you going to tell him?”

Alice looked at Marlene in surprise. “Tell him?” she echoed. “Tell him what, exactly? I’m not even sure what it is I’m feeling. Maybe I don’t like him that way. Maybe I just miss the attention he used to give me.”

“That’s not true and you know it,” chided Lily.

Alice let out a big sigh. For several moments afterward, there was a deafening silence in the room as Alice absorbed everything that had been said that evening. She finally looked back at Marlene and asked, “Do you think I should tell him?”

“Yes,” said Marlene. “You need to let him know.”

Lily eyed the two girls warily and said, “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea right now.”

“Why not?” protested Marlene.

Lily gave Alice an apologetic look and said, “Well…because Frank is seeing someone else right now. Things could get pretty messy if you come forward right away. Maybe you should wait to see if the relationship goes anywhere. That will give you time to absorb all these new feelings you have for him.”

Marlene shook her head and said, “I don’t think it would be right for her to wait. Do it now, before he has the chance to develop any real feelings for Amy.”

Lily opened her mouth to argue, but Alice stopped her. “Look, I really appreciate all the advice, but I think I need to sleep on this for a day or two.”

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The next morning, there was a flutter of excitement as students flocked into the Great Hall for breakfast, eager for the morning post to arrive. It was Valentine’s Day, and several hoped to see their owls swooping in with love letters and cards, or perhaps a package of goodies.

Alice wanted to hibernate through the day in her bed, but Lily and Marlene dragged her out and forced her to get dressed and follow them to breakfast. As she walked in, she passed by Frank, who gave her a friendly smile.

“Hi, Alice,” he greeted.

For two simple words, they did an amazing job of sending flutters into Alice’s stomach as she suddenly wondered how to speak to Frank after her recent revelation. Marlene subtly nudged her and Alice replied, “Morning, Frank,” with a bashful smile before following her friends further down the table.

Sure enough, the morning post arrived and the room was filled will more than the usual amount of owls, most of them carrying cards and packages. Alice watched with envy as Marlene opened a card she had received from her latest boyfriend, Jeremy, along with an assortment of candy.

Alice’s curiosity finally got the better of her and she looked at the Hufflepuff table, where she saw the same brunette girl giving Frank a hug in thanks for the card and flowers he had given her. Alice saw Amy’s profile and noticed with disgust that she was disgustingly cute, with a perky upturned nose and a dimple at the corner of her smile. Part of Alice sighed, silently hoping that the other side of her face was horribly disfigured, or at least covered in large pimples.

“Lily, I’d just open it if I were you,” came the voice of Marlene.

Alice turned her attention toward Lily, who was warily eyeing a pink envelope that was sitting in front of her. It was shaking and making jumping movements on the table, causing the silverware to rattle.

“Is that a howler?” asked Alice.

“No,” said Marlene. “Howlers come in red envelopes.” She chuckled and added, “Though I suspect if Lily doesn’t open it soon it will open itself and be more entertaining for us than if she opened it on her own.”

Lily braced herself and hesitantly broke the seal on the envelope, slowly lifting the flap, hoping beyond hope that no teddy bears would be charmed inside the card. She drew out the card and saw several hearts on the front along with the words, ‘From your one and only’ scrawled across in a shiny red script. She opened it and was more shocked than surprised to see something fly out of it and start circling around her. She barely had a chance to see that it looked like a small Cupid before she was hit in the shoulder with something small and sharp.

“Ow!” she exclaimed, reaching over and finding a tiny arrow attached to her.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Evans!” came the happy voice of James Potter as he sat next to her. The Cupid continued to swarm about before firing another arrow, this time hitting James. He smiled and said, “Guess that means we’re meant for each other, eh, Evans?”

Lily hardly had the tiny arrow pulled out of her shoulder before another one hit her in the side of the neck. “Ouch!” She stood up and tried to swat the Cupid away, but not before another arrow hit her in her upper arm. “Argh! Bloody hell!” she cursed as she tried to shoo away the offensive Valentine while ducking more arrows.

The commotion drew the attention of several students, and Professor McGonagall finally subdued the creature with a sleeping charm. She instructed Lily to stop by the hospital wing to make sure all the arrows were properly removed and then turned to face James. “Mr. Potter, I suggest you find more suitable methods of celebrating this holiday, rather than sending your intended to the hospital wing.” She gave him a stern look before walking back to the staff table, although Marlene could have sworn she saw an amused glint in her eyes before she turned to walk away.

James pulled out the few arrows that had struck him and made his way back to his mates.

Remus tried to suppress a smile as he said, “Didn’t go too well, eh Prongs?”

“I guess not,” James replied.

“I told you to stick with flowers and candy,” said Remus. “They’re generally harmless.”

James smiled and said, “Oh, I followed your advice. The Cupid was only stage one of my Valentine’s Day plan.”

“Oh Merlin,” said Remus, massaging his temples. “You have a plan?”

Sirius looked up from his stack of Valentine’s Day cards and said, “He has a whole pile of stuff stashed in our room that he plans to have delivered to her throughout the day.”

“How’d you know about that?” asked James.

Sirius shrugged and opted to refocus on his cards.

Peter smiled encouragingly and said, “Don’t worry, Prongs. I’m sure she’ll like the other stuff you got her.”

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Lily managed to make it to their first class, though she was a little late due to Madame Pomfrey’s attentions. The nurse had wanted to keep Lily for the day to make sure the arrow wounds did not become infected. Lily had tried not to roll her eyes, since each of the arrows had been miniscule and had barely left more than a pin prick sized hole. She finally opted to sneak out when another student came in with stomach cramps from eating too much chocolate.

Lily had barely sat down in History of Magic when an owl swept into the room and dropped a card and a package onto her desk. Marlene nudged her and forced her to open it while Professor Binns droned on about another goblin rebellion. She opened the card and was once again not surprised to see that it was from James, who winked at her when she glanced at him.

Marlene, seeing that Lily was in no hurry to see if anything would jump out of her latest gift, opted to open it for her. Seeing that the box contained chocolates, Marlene looked pleadingly at Lily, who shrugged and told her to help herself. Marlene lifted the lid and gasped when she saw that it was half empty. She took the open box and held it in a way so James could see. She mouthed, “What’s this about?” to James, who looked bewildered that a large portion of the chocolates were missing.

James shrugged his shoulders before a thought suddenly occurred to him. Turning suspiciously to the seat next to him, he scrutinized Sirius, who had seen what was going on and had sunk a little lower in his seat.

“Padfoot!” hissed James. “You ate Evans’ gift, didn’t you?”

Sirius had the guilty look of a boy who had been caught stealing from the cookie jar, and turned to his best mate ready to plead his case. “I was hungry and it was just sitting there, taunting me. How was I supposed to know it was Evans’ gift?”

“The box said, ‘Happy Valentine’s Day!’ Did you think I bought them for myself?” James asked sarcastically.

Sirius snorted and joked, “Well, you are rather in love with yourself, aren’t you?”

James responded by smacking Sirius on the back of the head. This drew the attention of Professor Binns, who glanced at the two boys for all of three seconds before returning to his lecture.

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Throughout the rest of the day, Lily received some form of a Valentine in each class and during every meal. Most were cards, some of which vocalized poetry in a loud manner for all to hear. Lily was at least grateful that none of the poems were limericks.

At dinner she received an enormous bouquet of flowers. It took two owls to make the delivery. James was certain this would at least make Lily smile, however he soon realized that the flower shop had messed up his order by sending a spring bouquet that included snap dragons. Unfortunately in the wizarding world, magical snap dragons really snap and would occasionally let out a small puff of fire.

After another trip to the hospital wing, Lily opted that the safest place to be was in her dorm room with the windows locked, effectively blocking out any other well-intentioned Valentine’s gifts. She saw Alice leaving to go for a walk as she walked into the room. Marlene had left for her Hogsmeade date before dinner.

Alice had been brooding in her room after dinner about what she should do about Frank. She wondered if he was enjoying his date and subconsciously hoped that Amy would show some irritating habit like chewing with her mouth open or picking her nose. Alice finally felt boxed in by her room and decided to go for a walk.

That entire day during classes Alice couldn’t help but glance at Frank frequently, even if she tried to focus on her studies. She seemed so much more aware of his presence and felt herself growing warm whenever he came anywhere near her. Merlin, even thinking about him now made her blush. She cursed her fair skin and hoped he hadn’t noticed.

That led her to think about how to approach him. She wondered again if she should be honest with him about her change in feelings, or if that would completely mess up their friendship. She didn’t even know if he liked her as more than a friend. He had shown no indication that year of wanting to date her, at least not in the open way he had in previous years.

She felt as if she had Marlene whispering in one ear to go for it and admit her feelings, and Lily whispering in her other ear, cautioning her about telling him while he was seeing someone else. As she approached the staircase that would lead her downstairs to the main level, she felt Marlene’s argument winning. Alice was a Gryffindor, after all, and had to come forward and tell Frank the truth. She had to take a chance and see if he felt the same way.

As she walked down the stairs, her new resolve crumbled at the sight of what was before her in the entryway. Frank was kissing Amy goodnight, apparently just returning from their Hogsmeade date. They pulled back slightly and Amy smiled up into Frank’s eyes as he softly smiled back. Alice felt her heart pound and her stomach drop as they started to kiss again, and she felt herself turning and running upstairs and all the way back to Gryffindor tower. She raced into her dorm room and suddenly stopped in the center of the room, feeling completely lost.

“Alice!” called Lily, quickly walking to her. “What’s the matter? Why are you crying?”

Alice reached up to touch her cheek and was surprised to find tears tracking their way downward. She looked at Lily and saw the concern in her friend’s green eyes, finally causing a sob to escape. Lily hugged her and guided her to her bed, sitting her down and comforting her as she grieved a relationship that had never begun.

“Y-You were right,” sobbed Alice.

“About what?” asked Lily.

Alice tried to catch her breath between hiccups before replying, “Frank. I w-was ready to t-tell him, but-” she sniffed, “-I…I saw him k-kissing her.”

Lily grabbed her wand and summoned a handkerchief, handing it to Alice.

Alice continued, “It wasn’t only that. H-He looked happy.” She looked up at Lily with watery eyes and said, “How could I tell him now? He’s happy with her, and he’d probably hate me for trying to ruin it.”

Lily gave her a sympathetic smile and said, “I don’t think it’s possible for Frank to hate you.”

“Well, he’s moved on and I have to accept it, even if it’s with some disgustingly adorable Kewpie doll,” snorted Alice. The thought of Amy brought back the memory of seeing Frank kissing her, and Alice dissolved into tears again.

Lily hugged her a little tighter and said, “I’m sorry, Alice.”

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A/N: Okay, so it’s about 2:30 a.m. and I’ll probably hate myself in a few hours when I have to get up for work, but I felt a little burst of insomnia and decided to finish this chapter and post it. I enjoyed writing it, since I love making James’ plans for Lily go haywire. I’m also enjoying writing the Alice/Frank development, since this has been in my head for a while.

Thanks to my latest reviewers: God’sgirl, Anu, delpheena, britishbabe, blackquill, Adria, Calypso, Mani12191, DreamAngel, astronomylover, alto2srock, RainDateChick, Jo Bob, Anonymous (x3), Remus’sweetie, sweetie513, Golden Phoenix, Senior Poopie Pants, maraudersdaughter, Watermelon!, James’ Lily (x2), and waddi-wasi.

Please review! I’m so close to 1000 I’m practically salivating! (lol)

80. Career Goals

Chapter 80: Career Goals

Alice slammed the door as she walked into her dorm room. Throwing herself onto her bed in a dramatic fashion, she let out a huge woebegone sigh. Seeing Alice’s not-so-subtle-clues, Lily and Marlene braced themselves for another comfort session.

“How was your study session with Frank?” asked Lily.

Alice harrumphed and said, “Don’t you mean FrankandAmy?”

“Huh?” said Marlene.

“FrankandAmy,” repeated Alice, slurring the names together. “After all, you can’t have one without the other these days,” she added sarcastically. “FrankandAmy are a couple. FrankandAmy are so cute together. FrankandAmy are always together…”

Marlene looked thoughtful before she said, “FrankandAmy, eh?” She got a glint in her eyes and said, “FrankandAmy have hives. FrankandAmy are standing trial for murder. Yeah, it kind of rolls right off the tongue.”

Lily had to bite back a laugh before saying, “Are you saying that Amy showed up at your session this evening?”

Alice snorted and said, “No, ‘invaded’ is more like it. She sat down and said she just wanted to do her homework. She said not to mind her and we wouldn’t even notice she was there. Ptshh! Like I was supposed to not notice the stupid lovesick glances she gave him! And then she had to nerve to tell me I had the enunciation wrong for the defense spell we were working on. Like she actually thought that she was better at DADA than me!”

Lily, seeing Alice’s increasing frustration and anger, knelt down on the floor and searched under her bed until she found their secret stash of chocolate. Usually their stock of chocolate would last them from one Hogsmeade visit to the next, but their supply had been dwindling lately due to Alice’s almost constant emotional state. Lily sighed, hating to see the bag getting emptier, but this was an emergency situation after all. She handed a few chunks of Honeyduke’s best chocolate to Alice, who grabbed it like she had been expecting it ever since she had walked into the room.

After Valentine’s Day, Alice had hardly seen Frank without Amy at his side. Alice had had to witness the hand holding and smiling and other public displays of affection. It hit Alice even harder to see what a sweet and attentive boyfriend he could be. She found herself comparing him to her ex-boyfriend, Sirius. While she and Sirius had had fun, she realized it had only been a crush. Alice knew that the feelings she had for Frank were more than a crush, but she was too forlorn to admit what those feelings meant.

She had been dreading seeing Frank alone for their next study session after Valentine’s Day, though she was happy it would be an opportunity for him to not be around Amy for a few hours. She didn’t know how to act around Frank and was certain he would see right through her the moment he saw her in the library. As soon as he sat down across from her he gave her his usual greeting with a smile and immediately dove into the latest chapter of DADA.

His casual nature with her and his lack of mention of his girlfriend gradually allowed Alice to relax in his presence. It was as if the library was a protective bubble from outside influence and for those few hours it was just Frank and Alice. While Alice still did not reveal her developing feelings for Frank, she allowed herself to imagine during their study sessions that Amy did not exist.

A week later, Alice found the motivation to help wallop Hufflepuff in the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff Quidditch game. Every time she threw the Quaffle, she imagined it flying into the head of Frank’s little Hufflepuff girlfriend. Alas, while Alice did not have the opportunity to really hit her since Amy wasn’t on the team, she had scored several goals and helped place Gryffindor at the top of the Quidditch standings.

Over the following month Alice looked forward to her time alone with Frank, but when she saw him with Amy outside of the library her imaginary bubble would pop and she would run to Lily and Marlene for comfort. She used them as a sounding board for her woes, and they always had chocolate handy to console her.

That evening, Alice had once again proceeded to the library looking forward to her time with Frank. They had hardly begun studying when Amy had plopped down at their table. Alice was furious and wanted to say no to her request to join them, but Frank had already agreed. Alice swallowed the bitter words she had wanted to throw at Amy and decided to just forge through the rest of the tutoring session, hoping that Amy would mind her own business…or studies, rather.

Alice had not been so lucky. As she had told Lily and Marlene, Amy had not kept her mouth shut and had tried, in Alice’s mind, to make her look stupid in front of Frank. Alice had snapped at Amy, telling her that she knew the subject better and that’s why she was the tutor. After the next several tense minutes of silence, where each person was flipping through textbooks or scribbling on parchment, Alice finally declared that the session was over and had to meet her friends. This is what had led to the latest chocolate comfort session.

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The next day Alice was surprised to see Frank stopping her on the way to class with Amy nowhere to be seen. He gave her a somewhat shy smile and said, “All right, Alice?”

Alice glanced behind him as if expecting his perky girlfriend to materialize like she was prone to do. Seeing no one, she looked back at Frank and smiled, answering, “All right. You?”

“Are you sure?” asked Frank. “It’s just that, last night…you seemed upset before you left. Are you mad that Amy joined us?”

Alice made a weak noise of protest and said, “Mad? Why would I be mad, Frank?”

Frank gave her a searching look and said, “I’m sorry. We didn’t get the assignment finished before you left, and I wondered if you thought Amy was too much of a distraction? You just didn’t seem like yourself.”

Alice felt herself blushing under the scrutiny of his eyes. She had found that she had a weakness for his warm brown eyes, enough to make her a little wobbly in the knees. She looked down, realizing that with the way she acted around him he would soon discover the truth and then would be forced to break her heart. She laughed inwardly, realizing that the tables had definitely turned. She had to stop this before things became disastrous.

Alice drew in a deep breath, trying to summon up her courage, and said, “Frank, maybe it would be better to stop our study sessions.” She looked into Frank’s surprised eyes and for a moment felt like something had gotten stuck in her throat.

“What do you mean? You don’t want to study with me anymore?” asked Frank, sounding a little hurt.

“It’s not that, Frank,” said Alice. “You’ve been doing really well in DADA lately and I’m sure you’d rather study with Amy, anyway. I’m sure McGonagall will understand.”

Frank said nothing. Instead, he continued to stare at her in surprise and confusion. Alice, feeling some tears starting to form turned and started walking quickly toward the greenhouses for their Herbology lesson. She had hardly made it halfway there when she heard footsteps rushing to catch up. Alice brushed away her stray tears before she felt Frank grabbing her arm to stop her.

He was panting from running after her, but he was able to utter, “No.”

“Huh?” said Alice.

Frank shook his head and, catching his breath, said, “No, I just can’t agree to this. I need you, Alice.”

Alice felt her stomach flutter and thought she had heard a note in Frank’s voice, but perhaps it had only been from his recent run. “You…need me?” she echoed.

Frank gave her arm a gentle squeeze and said, “Yeah, I do. We work well together, Alice. My DADA grades have never been this good, and correct me if I’m wrong, but your Potions scores have improved, too.” Not hearing a denial, he continued, “We’re supposed to meet with McGonagall in the next week or so about our career goals. She already knows mine, but meeting with her only means that O.W.L.’s are right around the corner. Alice, there’s so much to learn still, and so much to review! There’s no way I’ll be able to get through O.W.L.’s without your help.”

Alice inwardly felt like screaming. He only wanted to be near her because he wanted good grades. For a moment, she had thought…well, she wasn’t sure what she had thought. She tensely said, “You don’t need me, Frank. You have Amy.” She turned to leave but Frank did not let go of her arm.

“Amy and I don’t study together well, and she’s nowhere near as good at DADA as you are. Besides, I like spending time with you, Alice,” said Frank. He paused as if trying to find the right words to say. “You’re one of my best friends. If I tell Amy not to come by our study sessions, would you reconsider?” he asked.

Alice felt his hopeful gaze burning into her back and couldn’t resist turning to look into his eyes…his velvety chocolate eyes. Alice, having been conditioned to eat chocolate after several emotional run-ins with Frank, couldn’t keep her stomach from growling at the vision of Frank’s chocolate eyes. She blushed, embarrassed to see the corners of Frank’s mouth twitch a little in response to her stomach’s announcement.

“Please, Alice?” cajoled Frank.

“All right,” conceded Alice. She couldn’t keep herself from giving in. She mentally sighed, realizing that while Frank and Amy were still together, she and Frank would still get their time alone, even if only as friends. As long as Alice didn’t have to see Amy’s perky little nose sitting across from her in the library, she would find a way to cope.

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Over the next few weeks Frank was true to his word. Alice met him in the library for their study sessions and Amy stayed away, though Alice was still forced to see her with Frank at other times. They settled back into their routine of preparing for exams. They had seen the notice posted about scheduling appointments with their head of house for career advice. Frank and Alice knew they wanted to become aurors, so they decided to focus their attentions on keeping up with their grades rather than searching through career brochures.

The same could not be said for a large portion of the fifth year students. Brochures could be seen littering the tables and floors of the Gryffindor common room while several exasperated students leafed through them.

“There’s so many to choose from!” exclaimed Peter, tossing another brochure onto the floor. “How am I supposed to know right now what I want to do with the rest of my life?”

“They just want you to start thinking about it now, rather than figuring it out at the last minute as we’re graduating,” said Remus.

Sirius opened a pamphlet and read out loud, “Ever fancy a career in food services?” His eyes perked up for a moment before he said, “Oh. Looks like I’d have to make it and give it to people. Thought it might have been something about being a ‘food taster’.”

James snorted and said, “That’d be right up your alley, Padfoot.”

“What do you want to do, Prongs?” asked Peter.

“Dunno,” James replied, shrugging his shoulders noncommittally.

Sirius snorted and said, “None of these careers look all that interesting.”

“When’s your meeting with McGonagall?” asked Remus.

“Tomorrow,” replied Sirius.

“And you have no idea what you want to do?” asked Remus.

Sirius tossed aside a booklet on becoming a cauldron inspector and said, “Not really. I just want to do something important that’ll be able to keep my interest.”

While his reply had been somewhat casual, Sirius truly wanted to make his mark in the world somehow. He wanted to show his family that he wasn’t as worthless as they claimed. If the career he chose ticked them off at the same time, then that would be an added bonus. He paused when he saw a brochure on Muggle relations, knowing it would irritate his mother to no end, but opted to set it aside realizing that it would probably bore him to tears after a month or two.

“What about you, Moony?” asked Peter.

Remus frowned and said, “I guess I’d like to work for the Ministry, but I have to be realistic and prepare for other options.” He glanced around to make certain nobody was listening in. “It’s not like people will want to hire me once they figure out why I’ll need time off every month.”

“So why do you study so hard if you think no one will hire you?” asked Peter.

“Just because my chances are lower for finding a job doesn’t mean I don’t want to try to succeed. Besides, higher grades can only help me. I don’t want anyone using low grades as an excuse not to hire this werewolf,” said Remus, flipping through a booklet on the Department of Magical Cooperation.

James suddenly let out a laugh. He read aloud a brochure that he had just opened. “Is a career in Divination in your future? If so, you should already know what to do and where to send it.”

Remus laughed and said, “I already sent your application in, Prongs.”

James smirked as he tossed the brochure onto the growing pile on the floor. It was well known that James did not have a high opinion of Divination. He grabbed the next booklet on the stack and paused, seeing the familiar emblem on the cover. It was one he had seen on the cover of the files his dad used to bring home from work.

James stared at the cover for a while, suddenly remembering how all he had wanted to be when he was younger was an auror just like his dad. His dad’s job had always seemed so exciting and adventurous. James wondered if he had outgrown his ambition to become an auror. He wasn’t sure it was a career wanted, because being an auror was what had led to his dad’s death. It could prove to be a constant reminder of his loss, and there was a chance he could lose his own life on the job.

On the other hand, it was dark wizards who had killed his father, and dark magic was one thing James despised more than anything else. It was one of the driving forces behind his hatred for Snape, who was always sticking his nose in a book about the subject. James was certain Snape was destined for evil and he saw the Slytherin following the footsteps of the people who were responsible for his dad’s death. The mere presence, or existence, of those people made James want to take part in their removal from society. Becoming an auror would allow him to do that, and would give him the opportunity to find some form of justice for his dad’s murder.

James felt the booklet get snatched away and saw Sirius flipping through it. “You thinking about becoming an auror, Prongs?”

James shrugged and said, “I dunno. Maybe. It seems like the only one that’s caught my interest, so far.”

Sirius browsed through the contents of the booklet and found that James had a point. It seemed like a career that wouldn’t bore him. Sirius suddenly fantasized about a moment in the future where he would apprehend his brother and send him to Azkaban. He could envision the looks of fury on his parents’ faces.

Sirius looked at the requirements and saw that he needed good marks on his exams and a recommendation from his head of house. He figured the tests wouldn’t be a problem since he never had difficulty scoring high marks. McGonagall may be an issue, but he figured he could wheedle a recommendation out of her. He decided to make becoming and auror his career goal for the time being. He figured he could change his mind later if he found something better.

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Professor McGonagall looked up when she heard the knock on the door to her office. She said, “Good afternoon, Miss Evans. Please come in.”

Lily sat down in the chair facing her head of house and returned her greeting.

Professor McGonagall finished making some notes from her last meeting with Sirius Black. She had been pleasantly surprised at his interest in becoming an auror. She was glad to see that he had some ambitions that weren’t all about fun and games. She had warned him that he would need to focus on his studies and not let his grades slip. He would be subjected to several character tests where he would need to keep a level head and show how serious he was about that career path.

Putting aside his file, she focused on the pupil in front of her and said, “Miss Evans. As you probably read from the notice, this meeting is to start you thinking about what you will do after you finish Hogwarts. It will also help determine which classes you’ll need to take for your final two years here.”

“I understand, Professor,” replied Lily.

“Do you have any thoughts about what you want to do when you graduate?” asked the professor.

Lily fidgeted a little and replied, “I’ve thought about it, though I haven’t really decided what I want to do. Truth be told, I hadn’t put much thought into it until I saw the notice posted. I hadn’t realized how many different types of jobs are out there to choose from.”

“That’s understandable,” said McGonagall. “Many students from Muggle backgrounds are overwhelmed by the choices out there. They are raised in a completely different environment and are more aware of the Muggle careers available than the magical ones.”

Lily nodded. As a little girl she had dreamt of several different careers from ballerina, princess, zoo keeper, and author. Then she had been thrust into the magical world where she had to learn about new ways of life and now new career options.

“Why don’t we start simple,” suggested Professor McGonagall. “What are you favorite subjects?”

“I like Charms,” Lily immediately replied. “But I also enjoy Care of Magical Creatures.” Lily fondly recalled the first time she had seen a unicorn. It had been a fantasy come true for her, and when she had touched one she had had a smile on her face for the rest of the day.

Looking through Lily’s file, Professor McGonagall said, “Your marks in Charms are the highest in your year. Professor Flitwick is quite complimentary about your performance in his class. Professor Kettleburn also wrote that you excel in his class.” She paused for a few moments before nodding her head and suggesting, “Have you thought about healing?”

“Healing?” echoed Lily. “I don’t know if I could see myself working with sick people…”

“That’s not what I meant,” said McGonagall. “There is a separate branch of healing that involves working with magical creatures. It is a separate specialty, and it is a difficult program to get accepted into. There aren’t many people who teach it and the pupils need to have excellent scores in Charms, Potions, Transfiguration, and Care of Magical Creatures. They also require good marks in DADA, as sometimes it helps to know a stunning or shielding spell.”

“Healing magical creatures…” mused Lily. It piqued her interest, but she wasn’t certain if that was what she wanted to do for the rest of her life.

Professor McGonagall searched through a stack of brochures on her desk and pulled out a few. “Here’s some information on healing magical creatures. If you do as well on the O.W.L.’s as you have been doing in your classes, I think you would be an excellent candidate for this career path. Otherwise, there are several career paths that focus on Charms, some of which are listed in these other brochures.”

Lily took the information and asked, “What about my classes for next year?”

“Assuming you acquire the necessary marks on your exams,” started the professor, “I would suggest continuing Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, DADA, and Care of Magical Creatures. Divination, Herbology, and Arithmancy are up to you. History of Magic is still required for sixth and seventh year students.”

“I understand, Professor,” said Lily.

“Very well, Miss Evans,” said Professor McGonagall. “You are excused.”

Lily thanked Professor McGonagall and left. As she was turning the corner to the stairwell she ran into James, who looked as if he had been expecting her to appear there. He was standing halfway down the staircase letting go of a Snitch only to catch it with the other hand within a split second. He grinned when she walked past him and started to follow her.

“Hey Evans!” he said, falling into step beside her. He grabbed the Snitch and with his other hand ruffled his hair, before saying, “I’m going down to the pitch now. Gotta meet the team with the Ravenclaw game so close. I reckon it shouldn’t be a problem, though. There’s no way Patil will get the Snitch before me.” To prove his point, James let go of the Snitch again, letting it flutter a little farther than before, before quickly grabbing it. Dropping his voice a little deeper, he said, “How about coming down to the pitch to watch the practice? Cheer on the team?”

“Potter, I really have too much studying to do anything else right now,” Lily replied.

Just as she tried to turn to walk toward the library, James released the Snitch again. It fluttered by Lily’s shoulder, and James reached across behind her and grabbed it, taking the opportunity to drape his arm across her shoulders. Lily shrugged his arm off and walked a little faster. Every time she started to escape, James released the Snitch which fluttered around her, allowing him several opportunities to get near her while getting it back. At one point the Snitch flew in front of Lily and up around her shoulder. James jumped in front of her so quickly that Lily didn’t have the chance to stop before walking straight into him.

To regain their balance, James grabbed her shoulders. Lily suddenly realized how close they were standing, but James was still holding onto her despite the fact that they had regained their footing. She was eye level with his nose, but she refused to look up into his hazel eyes, figuring that they were probably alight with mischief and something else…

“Go out with me, Evans,” he said.

Lily stepped back. She wondered when his request for her to go out with him had become a statement. Furthermore, she wondered why he insisted on pursuing her, despite the numerous refusals she had given him. She had tried to be indifferent, she had certainly been annoyed with him several times during the year, and she had tried to politely refuse his offers as well. Now, she was becoming more frustrated with his persistence, and wondered if she would eventually break down and be outright rude to him. Despite all outward appearances, Lily did not like the idea of yelling at him or potentially hurting his feelings.

Lily opened her mouth but before she could say anything she was interrupted by the voice of Sirius, calling for James from down the hall.

“Oy! You coming to practice or do we have the afternoon off?” asked Sirius.

James stepped closer to Lily and grinned, reaching over her and grabbing the Snitch. Holding it between them he noted the flush of her cheeks before winking at her and walking toward Sirius to join the team for practice.

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A/N: Getting closer to the end of fifth year. I reckon in the next chapter or two we should be into the O.W.L.’s. Woohoo! Snape’s Worst Memory will be incorporated somewhere in all that.

Thanks to my latest reviewers: nanopy, Dilna, delpheena, LMDGluvr4eva, DreamAngel, Mani12191, God’sgirl, montydon, James’Lily, Calypso, britishbabe, Anonymous (x3), PottersPrincess, Anu (x2), astronomylover, Remus’sweetie, Hermione 1309, alto2srock, Jo Bob, adria, Will the Wierd, granger1191, RainDateChick, Golden Phoenix (x2), tigerfairy, German Wings, and missclearwater.

Thanks to everyone who has ever reviewed my story. You all helped me reach 1000 reviews!

81. O.W.L. Exams and Toerags

Special disclaimer: This chapter contains a very familiar scene from the Order of the Phoenix, though I tweaked it a bit since it won’t be from Harry’s point of view. It belongs to J.K. Rowling, and I humbly borrowed it to use for this storyline. The scene was borrowed for the sake of the story, and I intend no profit from it (unless you count more reviews). And now…on with the story!

Chapter 81: O.W.L. Exams and Toerags

The warm spring weather brought with it a plethora of blossoms, full of sweet fragrance and bright colors. It also brought the stress-induced haze of fifth and seventh year students preparing for their upcoming exams. Madame Pomfrey was working overtime and had to constantly request replenishments for her stock of Calming Draught from Professor Pilon.

Narcissa Black was so stressed by the upcoming exams that she developed hives whenever the morning post arrived. The sight of owls entering the Great Hall only served to remind her that her O.W.L.’s were right around the corner.

Frank was becoming increasingly nervous as well. He had worked hard all year to keep up his DADA marks, and he worried that this one exam would make or break his ambition to become an auror. He and Alice continued meeting in the library and he even asked if she could spare him some more time so they could do some extra reviewing. Alice was more than happy to spend the extra time with Frank, and even happier to keep him away from Amy for a little longer.

The night before the first O.W.L. was to begin, Alice and Frank were doing some last minute cramming for their first exam, Charms. Frank, who normally did well in Charms, was getting so frazzled that Alice was tempted to see if Madame Pomfrey had any Calming Draught left.

Frank let out a frantic sigh as he leafed through the volume of his spell book. “Where is the wand movement described for the Cheering Charm? Argh! It has to be in here somewhere!”

Madame Pince threw him a nasty glance, silently warning him to keep his voice down.

Frank, not seeing the librarian, continued to flip through the text. “I don’t understand…how can I just forget something like this so close to the exam? I’m sure to fail.”

Alice reached over and grabbed the hand he was using to turn the pages of his book. She squeezed it a little and said, “Frank, you’re going to do fine. You need to relax. Getting panicked is what will muddle your brain for the exam.”

“Panicked?” echoed Frank, a little wide-eyed. “I’m not panicked. Why would you say I’m panicked? Do I look panicked?”

Alice had to swallow a laugh at his disheveled state and the slightly wild look in his eyes. She gave his hand another squeeze, not bothering to think about how familiar they were becoming with each other, and said in a placating voice, “Right. Of course you’re not panicked.”

Frank looked at her for a moment before finally admitting, “Okay, so maybe I’m a little…on edge.”

Alice smiled and said, “Why? It’s Charms. You know this stuff. You’ll do fine.”

“Fine isn’t good enough,” said Frank. “Fine may get me an O.W.L. in Charms, but it may not get me into the auror program. I have to have better than ‘fine’ marks. One question, Alice…one question may be all that stands between me and my future. Getting it right may make the difference.”

Alice watched as he started to riffle through the pages of his text again. Suddenly, she felt a double-solution for his problem pop into her mind. “Frank?” she said. When he looked at her she waved her wand and performed a Cheering Charm on him, both showing him the correct wand movement as well as improving his mood.

Although Frank’s mood was much improved, the two students were forced to leave the library after Madame Pince became fed up with Frank’s incessant giggling, an aftereffect of the charm. Alice made a mental note to swish her wand a little more and flick it a little less, hopefully reducing the intensity of the charm if she had to perform it on the practical examination.

They walked back to Gryffindor tower, hoping to review a few more spells before turning in for the evening. When they walked into the common room, they found a table in the corner and started to spread out their books and notes. Before they had a chance to review Growth Charms, the portrait hole slammed open and Lily stormed inside, closely followed by James and the other Marauders.

“C’mon, Evans,” cajoled James. “You have to admit it was funny.”

“You defaced the school, Potter,” retorted Lily.

“It’s just a little decoration,” countered James.

“A little decoration?” echoed Lily. “It’s covering the walls of the entire corridor leading down to the dungeon.”

“What did they do?” asked Alice.

Lily turned to her and said, “They painted ‘Gryffindor Rules!’ all over the walls, even across the portrait of poor Davidia the Daft. Then he-” indicating James, “-hexed a student to get tied to the wall with scarlet and gold streamers.”

“He was a Slytherin,” said James casually, as if that settled the matter.

Frank let out a few giggles, still afflicted by some lingering effects of Alice’s Cheering Charm.

Lily turned to him and sighed, “Oh, not you, too. Don’t tell me you find this funny.”

Frank attempted to stifle his laughter, but wound up doubled over with his head on the table as he was forced to expel his pent up mirth.

“Still can’t believe she assigned us a detention,” muttered Peter.

Sirius snorted and waved him off, saying, “Ah, the trophies could use another round of polishing, especially now that Gryffindor’s trophy is prominently on display,” referring Gryffindor’s victory of that year’s Quidditch Cup after a spectacular win against Ravenclaw. James had caught the Snitch within the first two minutes of the game, and had been almost unbearable in his smugness since…at least in Lily’s opinion since he tended to brag around her.

“You gave them detention?” Alice asked Lily, thinking that maybe it wasn’t such a big deal that the boys had shown a little house pride.

“What was I supposed to do, Alice? I’m a prefect and they were blatantly breaking the rules. Somebody had to do something about it,” said Lily, with a annoyed glance at Remus. They had been out patrolling when they had encountered Sirius and Peter charming paint onto the walls while James was sticking Alexander Zabini to the wall. Lily had done her duty and stopped them, but when she started handing out detentions she noticed that the other fifth-year Gryffindor prefect was rather quiet.

Remus, looking slightly guilty, cleared his throat and said, “Mates, maybe we should review our Charms notes, again.”

Sirius was about to protest, feeling he had done all the studying he felt was necessary. Before he was able to say anything, Remus turned away and walked up to their dorm room. Starting to follow after him, he muttered to James, “I can’t believe we forgot the map.” He realized that if they had had it they wouldn’t have gotten caught.

“What’d you say?” asked Alice, who they were walking past to get to their stairway.

“He said the test’ll be a snap,” covered James, not wanting anyone outside the Marauders to know about the map.

Once the boys disappeared upstairs, Lily flopped onto a chair near Alice and Frank and started rubbing her temples. “He’s getting worse,” she muttered, shaking her head.

“Who?” asked Alice. “James?”

Lily looked at Alice, her eyes oddly bright. She blinked a few times and nodded, saying, “He wasn’t this bad a year ago. His whole attitude is so…different. I mean, this wasn’t the first time I’ve caught him hexing younger students this year.”

“James has never had a liking for Slytherins,” said Frank.

“It’s not only the Slytherins he’s picked on,” said Lily. “It’s like if someone annoys him, he hexes him…or her.”

Alice watched her friend with interest. She realized that this was probably the most Lily ever voluntarily spoke when it came to James. Alice also noted the expression on Lily’s face. When she had first walked into the room she had been clearly annoyed at James, but now she seemed…disappointed?

“Lily-” started Alice.

“Are those your Charms notes?” Lily quickly interrupted.

“Yep,” replied Frank, whose Cheering Charm was continuing to fade and who began to look a little nervous again at the mention of the next day’s O.W.L. subject.

“Need any help?” offered Lily, who now appeared intent on focusing on the upcoming exam.

“Lily’s an ace at Charms,” said Alice.

Frank smiled and said, “I’d really appreciate it, Lily. Thanks!”

Alice watched as Lily reviewed wand movements with Frank and decided that she would have to talk to Lily later about what had happened with James.

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The next day, the Charms exam arrived and Frank, though still nervous, was a lot calmer since he had gotten help from both Alice as well as the top Charms student in their year. The fifth year students gathered in the Great Hall for the theory exam, noticing the tables had been moved and had been replaced by desks.

The next few hours were spent in silence. Some students who were already anxious about trying to stay focused were dangerously close to losing it, getting easily distracted by the sound of a quill scratching on their neighbor’s parchment, or the occasional cough. Dorcas Meadowes was very close to impaling her quill on Peter’s arm when he continued to sniffle next to her. She was trying to remember the proper incantation for the Cleaning Charm when she heard him do it again, sending her over the edge.

“Oh for the love of Merlin, just get a handkerchief, will you?!” she exclaimed, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

“Is there a problem, Miss Meadowes?” asked Professor McGonagall, approaching with a severe expression.

Dorcas slid down a little in her seat and weakly replied, “Sorry, Professor. I just got a little distracted.”

Professor McGonagall gave the Hufflepuff a stern look before saying, “I expect silence during this examination, Miss Meadowes. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Professor. Sorry, Professor,” said Dorcas.

Professor McGonagall gazed about the Great Hall, making certain every student was clear on what she had just said. As she turned to walk back to the front, she heard Peter sniffle. Conjuring a handkerchief, she handed it to him saying, “Next time you get the sniffles, Mr. Pettigrew, I expect you to see Madame Pomfrey before sitting for an exam.”

Peter gave Professor McGonagall a sheepish look and muttered, “Yes, ma’am.”

The rest of the Charms theory exam passed by uneventfully, and the students lined up after lunch to wait for their turn at the practical exam. One by one, they walked into the Great Hall and were assigned with an examiner, who each looked easily over 100 years old.

Predictably, Lily did quite well for her examination. She had a close call when she had been distracted by Daniel Abbott who had just been asked to perform a Water Repelling Charm on a cat. Unfortunately for the poor kitty it did not take effect and Daniel had to be escorted to the hospital wing to have his claw marks healed.

Tuesday morning they had their History of Magic examination. James felt he scraped by even though he had not stayed conscious for more than half of Binns’ classes. He preferred classes that included a practical aspect, such as Transfiguration, where he could show off his skills.

Sirius wrote down what he thought he could remember, then settled back in his chair, bored for the remaining half hour. He glanced at James who had his head on his desk, his gaze settled on the usual redhead he had been enamored with for so long. Sirius looked at Peter, whose beady eyes watered as he continued to stare at the examination questions as if the answers would suddenly appear before him. Remus was still writing, pausing every so often to reread what he had written.

The rest of the day was spent preparing for Wednesday’s Herbology examination. When Sirius was called in to take the practical, he was asked by Professor Marchbanks to describe the proper diet for a Scandinavian Glumsnatcher. With a straight face and a serious tone to his voice, Sirius recited, “The Scandinavian Glumsnatcher eats Glumbumbles and teddy bears.”

Professor Marchbanks, who was about to give Sirius marks for answering correctly, paused when she heard him say ‘teddy bears’ and, thinking her hearing was going out on her again, asked, “What did you say, young man?”

Sirius repeated, slightly louder, “Glumbumbles and teddy bears.”

Lily, who was a few spots down attempting to subdue Devil’s Snare, shot Sirius a scathing look before refocusing on trying not to be suffocated by her exam.

Professor Marchbanks gave Sirius an odd look before raising her eyebrows and shaking her head. “I’m afraid I can only give you partial marks. You were correct on Glumbumble, but the Scandinavian Glumsnatcher does not eat teddy bears. I have no idea how you got such a thought.”

Sirius protested and explained what he had witnessed the previous autumn. Professor Marchbanks was close to having him escorted out of the Great Hall however Professor Sprout, who had been standing nearby, corroborated Sirius’ story. Professor Marchbanks finally capitulated and gave Sirius full marks for the question, making note to speak with some Herbologists about this new discovery in the diet of Glumsnatchers.

On Thursday, they had their Care of Magical Creatures examination. Sirius, Peter, and James had no difficulty describing the traits of bowtruckles, what with Sirius still trying to cope after getting attacked by some of them during one of their full moon escapades. Remus did well, though his memory of the bowtruckle attack was not as crystal clear as his mates’ were.

Friday brought the Muggle Studies and Arithmancy examinations. For the Muggle Studies practical, the Great Hall had been divided into sections, almost like a Muggle obstacle course. At one section, students had to use Muggle pens and pencils to write a letter. Sirius lost a few points when he grabbed a piece of parchment rather than standard stationary paper. At another station students were faced with eating at a Muggle restaurant. The tricky part came at the end of the meal when they had to use Muggle money to pay the bill. Marlene almost spent 100 pounds for a simple chicken dinner. At the end of the practical there were several mannequins dressed in various outfits. Each student had to pick the appropriate outfit Muggles would wear for certain occasions, such as exercising or going on a cruise.

During the weekend, the fifth year students fretted over the upcoming Potions examination. It was Alice’s turn to be nervous. Frank finally took the opportunity to prepare a Calming Draught for Alice, both as review and to soothe her anxiety.

Sirius and James did their share of studying, though after a few hours of reading through ingredient lists they felt antsy and needed to expend their energy on something fun. They wandered the corridors, devoid of most fifth and seventh year students. As they were walking by the Ravenclaw entrance they saw Gilderoy Lockhart who was, as usual, smiling his over-bright smile at a few girls, describing his latest feats of daring.

James and Sirius exchanged a look, similar to the one they had exchanged on the train before pranking Snape. James casually walked by Lockhart and dropped a few stink pellets down the back of his robes. Before he could admire his handiwork, he heard the familiar ‘meow’ coming from Mrs. Norris as she had just caught him red handed. Within seconds, it seemed, Filch appeared with a malicious sneer on his face as he said, “Carrying around stink pellets, are you? That is number 96 on the list of forbidden items posted on my door.”

The smell from the stink pellets was wafting through the air, emanating from Gilderoy’s robes. The girls scrunched up their noses in disgust and Gilderoy’s face became slightly confused as he turned around and saw Filch confiscating the rest of James and Sirius’s stash of stink pellets.

As Filch was doling out detention for James and Sirius’s actions, Lily happened to walk by, on her way back to Gryffindor tower from the library. She passed by in time to catch the stench surrounding Gilderoy and the amused looks on James and Sirius as they waited for Filch to finish sniping at them for carrying around illegal items.

James caught sight of Lily and grinned, saying, “Hey, Evans! Wanna take a walk outside with me?”

Lily slowly shook her head as she tried to take in what had just happened. “Did you do that to him?” she asked, indicating the foul smell and Gilderoy.

James shrugged, still sporting an amused grin.

Lily felt her frustration with James increase. It seemed as if each time she came across him, if he wasn’t asking her out, he was causing damage around the school or picking on someone. What was worse was that he didn’t seem to show any remorse. Lily tried to take a few calming breaths, but before she could say anything, Filch grabbed Sirius and James by the arm and started dragging them toward his office, muttering something about flogging.

Lily stood there, surrounded by a heavy air of unsaid frustrations and awkward silences. Finally, Gilderoy, who had been frozen in bewilderment, let out a forced laugh and said, “No matter. I know the exact spell to rid myself of this hideous odor. It reminds me of the time I came across a swarm of angry dung beetles, each of which must have been over six feet long…”

As Gilderoy went into his latest tale to the girls who were at this point holding their noses, Lily took the opportunity to get away and hurry back toward Gryffindor tower. She pounded her way down the corridors trying to release her vexation. She only hoped the summer holiday came before James and Sirius did anything else.

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The Potions theory exam was brutal. If one didn’t know better, he would assume the majority of the fifth year class was comprised of zombies at the end of the exam. For the practical examination that afternoon, Emm was supposed to prepare an antidote for warts, but instead caused her toad to sprout feathers. She got partial credit, since the warts did go away, though every time the toad hopped it almost took flight.

Tuesday morning the students sat for their Astronomy theory exam. Sirius smirked when he saw that question seven asked the name of the brightest star and to which constellation it belonged. He had the afternoon off while his mates took the Divination examination.

Peter came back red with embarrassment after the Astrology section of his Divination exam. He had predicted that Professor Marchbanks would have a torrid affair with Professor Tofty. Sirius guffawed after hearing this, amazed that Peter knew the definition of ‘torrid affair’ and more amazed that he predicted that for the ancient witch and wizard.

After Tuesday night’s Astronomy practical, the students walked into the Great Hall Wednesday morning, bleary eyed but ready to tackle DADA. The order was reversed that day as they were going to take the practical exam that morning and the theory exam after lunch.

Alice was nervous on Frank’s behalf, because she knew all of their hard work that year had led to this examination. She was pleased to see that he successfully stunned Professor Darme, without causing the Frenchman to twist his ankle. Alice saw Frank after they finished and congratulated him on a job well done. Frank nodded with a weak smile, and reminded her that they still had the theory examination to complete.

After lunch, the fifth years settled into their seats, several of them looking up at the ceiling. It looked like a beautiful sunny day outside, and the Great Hall was rather warm. Several of the students sighed, wishing to be outside cooling off rather than confined to the Great Hall.

James flipped over his examination paper and smiled as he realized he knew the material. He finished the questions with several minutes to spare. He straightened up and put down his quill, deciding to take Moony’s advice for once and proofread his answers. As he got toward the bottom of the page, the sunlight and warmth in the room, combined with the aftereffects of the previous night’s Astronomy exam left him sleepy, and he yawned. Partly out of habit and partly to try to stay awake, James rumpled his hair and decided to see if Sirius had fallen asleep.

Taking a quick glance at Professor Flitwick to make sure he wouldn’t get caught, James turned around and saw Sirius sitting four seats behind him. James was wrong. Sirius was not asleep, though he was not far from it, leaning back on his chair with his hair falling into his eyes. Sirius caught James’ glance and gave him the thumbs-up. James grinned back and had to stifle a chuckle, seeing Caroline Sanders sitting behind Sirius eyeing him hopefully. Sirius, who was now folding his spare parchment into the shape of a hippogriff, appeared oblivious to her attentions.

Turning back around, James grabbed his quill and started doodling on his spare parchment, preferring ink as his medium rather than origami. He was putting the finishing touches on his picture of a Snitch when he found his eyes wandering to Lily, who appeared to be adding a few thoughts here and there to round out her answers. He felt his stomach do its usual flip-flop as he watched her tuck some hair behind her ear, the sunlight dancing across her red locks. When he finally tore his eyes away he realized he had been tracing the letters L.E.

“Quills down, please!” squeaked Professor Flitwick. “That means you too, Stebbins! Please remain seated while I collect your parchment! Accio!”

James laughed as he saw Professor Flitwick try and fail to keep his balance as a large cluster of parchment zoomed into his oustretched arms. Emm Vance and Daniel Abbott rushed to help him to his feet.

“Thank you…thank you,” panted Professor Flitwick. “Very well, everybody, you’re free to go!”

James hastily crossed out the L.E., jumped to his feet, stuffed his quill and the exam question paper into his bag, which he had slung over his back, and stood waiting for Sirius, Remus, and Peter to join him. As the boys arrived, Lily, Alice, and Marlene walked by chattering about the exam. James, seeing that they were headed outside, decided to follow after them.

“Did you like question ten, Moony?” asked Sirius as they emerged into the entrance hall.

“Loved it,” said Remus briskly. “‘Give five signs that identify the werewolf.’ Excellent question.”

“D’you think you managed to get all the signs?” said James in tones of mock concern.

“Think I did,” said Remus seriously, as they joined the crowd of students who had decided to skive off studying for the time being to enjoy the nice weather. “One: He’s sitting on my chair. Two: He’s wearing my clothes. Three: His name’s Remus Lupin…”

Sirius, James, and Remus laughed, all glad that Remus was able to joke about the subject. Peter was the only one who didn’t laugh.

“I got the snout shape, the pupils of the eyes, and the tufted tail,” he said anxiously, “but I couldn’t think what else-”

“How thick are you, Wormtail?” said James impatiently. “You run round with a werewolf once a month-”

“Keep your voice down,” implored Remus, looking around to see if anyone had overheard. He noticed with a jolt that Snape was nearby, though he appeared to be more interested in rereading the exam questions than eavesdropping. Trying not to believe that Snape could have overheard, he followed his friends as they walked toward the lake.

“Well, I thought that paper was a piece of cake,” said Sirius. “I’ll be surprised if I don’t get Outstanding on it at least.”

Remus rolled his eyes, not bothering to remind Sirius that he couldn’t get higher than Outstanding.

“Me too,” said James, feeling the need to do something with his hands. He reached in his pocked and took out the struggling Golden Snitch he had had since before his first game that year against Slytherin.

“Where’d you get that?” asked Sirius. He’d seen James with it a few times that year.

“Nicked it,” said James casually. He started playing with the Snitch, allowing it to fly as much as a foot away and seizing it again. As usual, his reflexes were excellent. Peter watched him in awe.

They stopped at the edge of the lake and threw themselves onto the grass under the shade of a beech tree. James saw that Lily was laughing with Alice and Marlene as they took off their shoes and socks and cooled their feet in the water.

Remus pulled out his Transfiguration book, hoping to get a head start on the last minute studying, while Sirius opted to stare at the students milling over the grass, looking bored. James continued to play with the Snitch, taking the opportunity to make some more difficult catches, all the while hoping that Lily would glance over and be impressed by his talent. After each catch Peter clapped enthusiastically. James would have told him to quiet down, but he thought that perhaps the clapping would draw Lily’s attention, though she seemed determined to not look his direction. Feeling the heat despite the shade, James rumpled his hair to try to cool off.

“Put that away, will you?” said Sirius just as James had caught the Snitch which had fluttered a full two feet away, causing Peter to cheer again. “Before Wormtail wets himself from excitement.”

Peter turned slightly pink but James grinned.

“If it bothers you,” he said, stuffing the Snitch back in his pocket.

“I’m bored,” said Sirius. “Wish it was full moon.” He remembered their last trek into the Forbidden Forest. Each trip led them a little deeper into the expanse of trees, and he was eager to explore further.

“You might,” said Remus darkly from behind his book. The full moon was only a few days away and Remus was struggling to make it through the exams before he became too ill. “We’ve still got Transfiguration, if you’re bored you could test me…Here.” He held out his book.

Sirius snorted. “I don’t need to look at that rubbish, I know it all.” He figured he had never had to do more than the minimum amount of studying necessary for Transfiguration as it was still his best subject. Why start more now?

James, in the meantime, was gazing around the grounds, as bored as Sirius was now that the Snitch was pocketed. His gaze paused at a clump of bushes, where Snape was standing up, putting his O.W.L. paper in his bag. “This’ll liven you up, Padfoot,” said James quietly. “Look who it is…”

Sirius’ head turned. He had become very still, like a dog that has scented a rabbit.

“Excellent,” he said softly. “Snivellus.” As far as Sirius was concerned, it had been way too long since they had cornered Snape. The grease ball was still sending suspicious glares at Remus occasionally, and it was high time they continued their mission to teach him a lesson and keep him at bay.

As Snape emerged from the grass and set off across the grass, Sirius and James stood up. Remus saw what they were about to do and froze, torn between stopping the inevitable and allowing them to continue tormenting Snape. They claimed to be harassing Snape on Remus’ behalf in the hopes that Snape would not uncover his secret. Having just worried that Snape could have overheard their conversation about werewolves several minutes earlier, Remus was unable to bring himself to stop his friends. He noticed that Peter looked eager to see what was about to take place.

“All right, Snivellus?” said James loudly.

Snape reacted so fast it was as though he had been expecting an attack. Remus wondered if he had been eavesdropping the entire time they had been sitting by the lake. Dropping his bag, Snape plunged his hand inside his robes, and his wand was halfway into the air when James shouted, “Expelliarmus!”

Snape’s wand flew twelve feet into the air and fell with a little thud in the grass behind him. Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

“Impedimenta!” said Sirius, pointing his wand at Snape, who was knocked off his feet, halfway through a dive toward his own fallen wand.

Students all around had turned to watch. Some of them had gotten to their feet and were edging nearer to watch. Some looked apprehensive, others entertained. Lily, who was still sitting at the edge of the lake with her feet cooling in the water, heard the commotion and with dread turned to see what was unfolding.

Snape lay panting on the ground. James and Sirius advanced on him, wands up, James glancing over his shoulder, watching to see that he had drawn Lily’s attention. Peter was on his feet now, watching hungrily, edging around Remus to get a clearer view.

“How’d the exam go, Snivelly?” said James.

“I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment,” said Sirius viciously. “There’ll be great grease marks all over it, they won’t be able to read a word.”

At this point Lily had gotten to her feet, feeling the familiar frustration creeping back into her, as well as some anger, too. What had gotten into James and Sirius? They were reaching an all time low, and Lily found herself drifting toward the crowd.

As Peter sniggered shrilly, Snape was trying to get up, but the jinx was still operating on him; he was struggling, as though bound by invisible ropes.

“You-wait,” he panted, staring up at James with an expression of purest loathing. “You-wait…”

“Wait for what?” said Sirius coolly. “What’re you going to do Snivelly, wipe your nose on us?” Sirius laughed, remembering how they had given Snape his nickname during first year when James had ‘accidentally’ spilled sneezing potion on the Slytherin.

Snape let out a stream of mixed swearwords and hexes, but his being ten feet away nothing happened.

James, recognizing that some of the hexes Snape said were Dark Magic, coldly said, “Wash out you mouth. Scourgify!”

Pink soap bubbles streamed from Snape’s mouth at once; the froth was covering his lips, making him gag, choking him-

Lily could not watch this continue. She stepped forward and shouted, “Leave him ALONE!”

James and Sirius looked around. James’s free hand jumped to his hair again.

“All right, Evans?” said James, and the tone of his voice went to his usual pleasant, deeper, and more mature sound that he got whenever Lily was within earshot.

“Leave him alone,” Lily repeated, the well of frustration and anger starting to bubble over. “What’s he done to you?”

“Well,” said James, thinking about Snape and his probable path toward the Dark, “it’s more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean…”

Many of the surrounding watchers laughed, Sirius and Peter included, but Remus, still intent on staring at his Transfiguration book, and Lily, who found herself surprisingly standing up for Snape.

“You think you’re funny,” she said coldly. “But you’re just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone.”

“I will if you go out with me, Evans,” said James quickly. After all, he hadn’t tried blackmail to get her to go out with him, yet. “Go on…Go out with me, an I’ll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again.”

Lily couldn’t believe that James would ask her out at a time like this. “I wouldn’t go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid,” she said, causing James’s grin to fade slightly.

“Bad luck, Prongs,” said Sirius briskly, turning back to Snape and seeing that the Slytherin had just picked up his wand. “OY!” shouted Sirius.

But too late; Snape had directed his wand straight at James; there was a flash of light and a gash appeared on the side of James’s face, spattering his robes with blood. James, who had just been absorbing Lily’s latest rejection, whirled about; a second flash of light later, Snape was hanging upside down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of graying underpants.

Many people in the small crowd watching cheered. Sirius, James, and Peter roared with laughter. James felt his mood lighten a little since hearing Lily’s comment about him and the giant squid.

Lily almost forgot why she had been yelling at James for a moment as she had to quell a giggle at the sight of Snape’s pasty legs. Hearing James’s laughter reminded her of her frustration toward him, and she said, “Let him down!”

“Certainly,” said James and he jerked his wand upward. Snape fell into a crumpled heap on the ground. Disentangling himself from his robes, he got quickly to his feet, wand up, but Sirius said, “Locomotor mortis!” and Snape keeled over again at once, rigid as a board.

“LEAVE HIM ALONE!” Lily shouted. She had her own wand out now, aimed at James and Sirius who eyed it warily. They knew that she was capable of turning them into toads if she decided.

“Ah, Evans, don’t make me hex you,” said James earnestly.

“Take the curse off him, then!” she retorted.

James sighed deeply, realizing that to appease Lily he’d have to do as she demanded. He turned to Snape and muttered the countercurse.

“There you go,” said James, as Snape struggled to his feet again, “you’re lucky Evans was here, Snivellus-”

“I don’t need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!” spat Snape.

Lily blinked, surprised that he had called her that. It’s not like he had never called her Mudblood, but it hadn’t happened since third year, before she had stood up for him against James after a Care of Magical Creatures class. Ever since then, Snape had been the loosest version of civil toward Lily, and hadn’t called her Mudblood, to her face at least.

“Fine,” she said coolly. “I won’t bother in the future. And I’d wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus.” Lily paused, realizing that in a way, she had just sunk to James’s level by referring to Snape with that nickname and teasing him about his undergarments.

“Apologize to Evans!” James roared at Snape, his wand pointed threateningly at him. James couldn’t believe Snape would have to gall to call Lily…that…in his presence.

Lily finally felt something snap, from the built up aggravation with James or the fact that she had just resorted to calling Snape names and teasing him about his underwear. She stood in the path between James and Snape and shouted, “I don’t want you to make him apologize! You’re as bad as he is…”

“What?” yelped James, shocked that she would compare him to Snape. “I’d NEVER call you a - you-know-what!”

At that moment the dam burst and Lily vented everything about him that had bothered her, “Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you’ve just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can - I’m surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK.”

She turned on her heel and hurried away.

“Evans!” James shouted after her, “Hey, EVANS!”

But she didn’t look back.

The crowd was silent, waiting to see how James would react to Lily’s rant. Even Snape was oddly silent, though he had a look of satisfaction that Lily had just knocked James’ ego down a peg.

“What is with her?” said James, trying and failing to look as though this was a throwaway question of no real importance to him.

“Reading between the lines, I’d say she thinks you’re a bit conceited, mate,” said Sirius.

“Right,” said James, who was starting to look furious. Had it all been for nothing, he wondered. The entire year, his pursuit, his attempts to charm her? And all that turned out was resentment? James felt everybody’s eyes on him, and repeated, “right-”

Trying to force away the image of Lily’s ire, James raised his wand and with another flash of light, Snape was once again hanging upside down in the air.

“Who wants to see me take off Snivelly’s pants?” he shouted.

There were a few gasps and chuckles, but more of a collective groan of disgust. Even Sirius, who didn’t mind Snivellus’s discomfort in the least, shook his head in revulsion.

“Oy, mate,” said Sirius. “I’d rather not lose my appetite for the second time.”

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Alice and Marlene walked back into the castle, intent on finding Lily, who had rushed inside after her confrontation with James. Marlene went to check the library, while Alice walked to Gryffindor tower. When she entered their dorm room, she saw Lily standing by a window, facing away from her and looking down.

“Lily?” said Alice.

Lily started in surprise and quickly shoved something into her pocket, though Alice couldn’t see what it was. Turning around, Lily faced Alice looking more agitated that she’d been in a long time.

“Hey,” said Alice softly, approaching her friend. She noticed that Lily’s eyes looked a little pink and slightly bright. “You okay?”

Lily shrugged, and let out a ragged sigh.

“You really went off on him, didn’t you…back there?” said Alice, nodding toward the window where the lake could be seen. The crowd that had been present was dispersing, and she could see in the distance that James was storming off toward the Quidditch pitch.

“Yeah,” muttered Lily. “It’s not like I wanted to go off on a rampage, but I couldn’t help it. He’s been so frustrating lately, and he’s changed…I mean, he wasn’t this bad a year ago, right?”

“I suppose not,” said Alice. She smiled and put an arm around Lily shoulders. “How ‘bout we stay up here for a while? Looks like you could use some chocolate.”

Lily let out a small laugh and said, “Can’t. You ate it all, remember?”

“Oh…that’s right,” said Alice with a slight blush.

“It doesn’t matter,” said Lily. “We still have Transfiguration tomorrow, so I guess we should just focus on that instead of the empty chocolate stash that is supposed to be under the bed.”

“Sounds like a plan, though if desperate times should come, we could sneak off and raid the other dorm rooms for hidden Honeydukes goodies,” said Alice.

Lily nodded in agreement and the two settled onto her bed to prepare for the next day’s exam, the last of the year. Lily found herself counting the days until the summer holiday, and couldn’t help but dread her next confrontation with James after what had just happened.

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A/N: Phew! There you have it! I’ve been looking forward to including this in my story from the point of view of the people who were actually experiencing it, rather than from Harry’s point of view. How do you think it turned out? Does it fit well with what I’ve written up to this point?

As for the O.W.L. exams, I switched the order around a bit, but I figured that would be okay since it had to have been different, anyway. In OotP, Harry had Transfiguration before DADA, but in Snape’s memory, they had DADA before Transfiguration.

Thanks to my latest reviewers: Dilna, Miss France, PottersPrincess, DreamAngel, Jo Bob, Remus’sweetie, Incendia, Mani12191, Anonymous (x3), RainDateChick, Anu, Will the Wierd, alto2srock, God’sgirl, delpheena, tigerfairy, Golden Phoenix, granger1191, and Calypso.

82. The Final Straw

Author’s note: This chapter contains some disturbing events. Be prepared if you are going to read further.

Chapter 82: The Final Straw

The next day brought about the final O.W.L. exam of the year, Transfiguration. At this point, all of the students were itching to finish so that they could finally look forward to the upcoming summer holiday. Poor Zinnia Zucker was in such a dither that when she was asked to perform a Vanishing Spell on a teacup she missed and accidentally vanished Professor Tofty’s toupee.

Professor McGonagall managed to conjure his toupee, though the dog that Liam Parkinson had just transfigured from a chair decided to race over and snatch it. Professor Tofty became rather flustered as he watched several people attempting to salvage the hairpiece from the slobbery confines of the dog’s mouth. Unfortunately, the dog swallowed the toupee, leading to a new dilemma. In order for Liam to get full marks on his transfiguration, he would have to return the dog to its original form as a chair. If that took place, then the toupee would be gone forever. That being said, other methods of retrieving the hairpiece were not favorable, either, so Professor Tofty woefully allowed Liam to finish the transfiguration. Professor Marchbanks assured him that he looked quite dignified as a bald man.

Despite the usual O.W.L. mishaps, the exams finished and the fifth year students joyously flocked out of the Great Hall ready to celebrate their freedom from studies. The general mood was of relief and joy, however a handful of fifth year students were not as buoyantly happy.

James had not spoken to or approached Lily since what had been deemed as the ‘big tell-off’ by the those who had been present to witness it. He tried to play it off like nothing was bothering him, however those who knew him knew better, since James normally spent about 50 percent of his time finding ways to ask Lily out or get her attention. They knew that if he hadn’t been upset by Lily’s words, he would have brushed it off and continued to pursue her.

Despite the ‘big tell-off,’ James did not heed Lily’s words. In fact, he seemed more intent than ever on tormenting Snape. He didn’t do anything to the degree as when he had dangled Snape in the air, however he did little things like sending tripping hexes and making snide comments about the Slytherin’s hygiene. He tended to become more vocal in his taunting when Lily was nearby, as if trying to prove a point.

Lily did her best to avoid James. She tended to stay cloistered in her room unless she was forced by Alice or Marlene to go down to the Great Hall to eat, or if she had to go on a patrol. Lily was counting down the few remaining days until the trip home. She loved Hogwarts and her lessons, but she wasn’t ready to face James again. Conversation with Remus during their patrols had been somewhat clipped, as she was hoping he wouldn’t bring up the subject of James, and Remus was feeling slightly guilty for not intervening during the ‘big tell-off.’

Alice tried talking to Lily more about what happened but Lily, as usual, closed the subject of James and chose to focus on other things like packing for the trip home. After her final attempt at the end of the trip to King’s Cross, Alice gave up and grabbed her trunk. When she reached the exit of the train, she saw Frank bidding farewell to Amy. Alice cringed, still not used to seeing the guy she liked hugging and kissing the girl she had dubbed, ‘Perky-Nose.’

After Amy walked through the barrier, Frank turned and saw Alice watching him. He paused, watching her for a moment before taking a deep breath and approaching her. “Here,” he said, grabbing her trunk and pulling it off of the train, “let me help.” Once the trunk was safely on the ground, he turned back to Alice and offered her a hand to help her down.

Alice gave him a shy smile before taking his hand, feeling how perfect it felt surrounding her own. Once she had stepped down, she looked up at him and said, “Thanks.”

“I should be the one thanking you,” he said with a smile, “for helping me so much this year.”

“I’m sure you did fine,” reassured Alice. “You had those counter curses down pat before the exam.”

Frank shrugged and said, “We’ll see.”

“We find out our scores in July, right?” asked Alice.

“Yeah, though I probably won’t see mine until right before I get on the Hogwarts Express,” said Frank.

“Why not?” asked Alice.

“Mum owled me yesterday and told me we’re going on holiday to Siberia all summer,” he replied. “We’ll be in some pretty remote areas and we won’t be coming back until the very end of August. She’ll probably have the owls drop our mail off at the home address, unless it’s something critical.”

Alice marveled at Mrs. Longbottom’s choice in vacation spots. Frank had regaled her before with stories of some of his previous holiday locations, such as the Sahara and Greenland. “So I guess I’ll see you in September?”

“Yeah…I’d owl you, but…” he said.

“Remote Siberian terrain…right,” she said.

They gazed downwards, both suddenly realizing that he was still holding her hand. Alice looked up and saw Frank’s warm brown eyes looking back at her. Alice attempted to discern what thoughts lay behind those pools of chocolate, all the while hoping her stomach wouldn’t growl again from the allusion to chocolate.

“Frank!”

Frank dropped her hand and turned to find his mum standing by the barrier, summoning him to join her. He grabbed his things and with one last look at Alice, he gently said, “Goodbye, Alice. See you in a few months.”

Alice swallowed the lump starting to form in her throat at the idea of not seeing him for so long and replied, “Bye.”

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Many people could come up with a list of adjectives for Sirius Black. He was handsome, he was impetuous, he was fun, he was loyal. But nobody who knew Sirius would call him unintelligent. That was why he was suspicious when his mother greeted him with less than the usual number of barbs about his misbehavior and the dishonor he routinely brought to the Black family name.

In fact, Sirius had been certain that he would be in for more than the usual ‘welcome home’ rant, since his parents presumed he had something to do with Andromeda’s secession from the Black family. Instead, his mother had been silent as she led him and Regulus to the portkey to transport them to Grimmauld Place.

She didn’t say anything until Sirius was about to drag his things upstairs to his room. She summoned Beeste to take his things and once the little house elf was out of sight she turned her steely gaze onto Sirius and said, “We’re having guests tonight. I’ve laid out a set of dress robes for you. Make sure you wear them and make yourself look presentable.”

Sirius watched his mother walk away, thinking that maybe things weren’t that out of place as he originally thought. After all, it wasn’t uncommon for him to endure a family dinner after arriving home for the summer. As he walked to his room, he still couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that something just wasn’t right.

He saw the set of robes his mother had left for him. They were black, with the Black family crest embroidered on one side. Sirius picked them up and grimaced as he saw the familiar words, ‘Toujours Pur’ at the bottom of the crest. Those words had been drilled into his head for as long as he could remember. His mother claimed they had been Regulus’s first words as a baby.

Sirius decided that, even though he knew he’d eventually get in trouble for something, he would try to survive that evening by humoring his mother and putting on the robes. He would attend the dinner and eat the food, trying to blur out the insanity surrounding him. And that’s exactly what he did. As soon as he donned the dress robes and combed his hair, he proceeded downstairs to the sitting room to wait for the guests. His mother had never said who would be joining them.

He sat on an armchair, letting his mind drift to the previous summer where he had had his moments of escape, sneaking to James’s house every weekend because of the deal he had made with Andromeda. Now there was no Andromeda to help him scheme, and no chance of the fun he had had last summer. Sirius was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t notice his mother introducing the guests to him.

He finally snapped out of it enough to see an austere looking couple with a son about his age. The boy looked rather odd, with what looked like one eyebrow painted across his forehead and a hairy mole attached near the corner of his lip. Sirius missed the boy’s greeting, his attention instead drawn to the movement of the mole as he spoke.

As they sat down at the dining room table, Sirius noticed several times during the meal that his parents’ eyes were focused on him. They didn’t have the usual reprimand; they just seemed watchful…almost curious. No matter, Sirius continued to focus more on the meal at hand rather than the conversation at hand. It wasn’t until he heard the word ‘marriage’ that his ears keened to what was being said.

“It will make a very respectable union,” said Octavius Black.

Sirius’s mother, Elphaba, looked quite pleased as she agreed, “Imagine…the Black family uniting with the Malfoy family. Narcissa was quite pleased when her parents told her of the betrothal.”

Turning to the man (Sirius had not paid attention to his name during their introduction), Octavius said, “I have heard very good things about the Krueger name. How far back does your line go?”

Sirius stifled a laugh, realizing that the conversation almost sounded like they were comparing the purity of dog breeds rather than people.

In a thick German accent, the man replied, “We can prove the purity of our lineage for over 1000 years. I am afraid there was war around that time, destroying any records of our lineage from before then, though it is said we go back another 500 years beyond that, at least.”

Elphaba glanced at Sirius before focusing on her guests again. She had a prim smile as she said, “That is very impressive.”

Sirius noticed the boy kept looking at him, the mole occasionally twitching. It was rather disconcerting.

The man puffed his chest out in pride and said, “Shall we discuss the arrangements, then?”

Octavius nodded and replied, “It will take place in two years time.”

“I agree. There is no sense rushing into a wedding when they are this young,” replied the woman.

Sirius had a queasy feeling in his stomach as he asked, “Who’s getting married?”

Every eye at the table turned on him, the guests’ looking confused and his parents’ looking impatient. Regulus was sitting next to him with a giant smirk on his face.

“Well, you are, young man,” said the woman. “To my daughter.”

Sirius could have sworn he felt his jaw hitting the floor at the news and he ignored the warning looks he was receiving from his mother. “Married?! The hell I am!”

“Quiet down!” hissed Elphaba.

Sirius, ignoring Regulus’s sniggers, continued, “You’re trying to get me to marry some girl I’ve never even met?! I don’t even want to get married!”

The man looked even more confused as he said, “What do you mean? You’ve met her.” His eyes darted to the boy sitting next to him, and Sirius felt a pang of nausea as he studied the person sitting across from him.

Too distressed to be tactful, Sirius exclaimed, “You’re a girl?!”

The girl (apparently) widened her eyes, obviously upset and said, “You thought I was a boy?!”

Sirius tried not to look directly at her for fear that the sight of the hairy mole dancing by her lip would lull him into a trance. He needed to stay focused on the matter at hand. “I will NOT let you force me into getting married!”

Octavius gave Sirius a dangerous look and with a steely voice said, “Brunhilde Krueger comes from a very respectable family, and you should feel fortunate that we have found someone to help you bring honor to our name.”

Sirius stood up and shouted, “You think marrying a half-troll who has the personality of a cucumber will bring us honor?!” Seeing the distress on Brunhilde out of the corner of his eye, Sirius gave her a fleeting glance and said, “No offense intended.”

Brunhilde and her parents sat there is shock, greatly offended at the insults Sirius had said about her. Mr. Krueger, his face turning a deep shade of red, said, “I thought you had discussed this with your son, Octavius. Perhaps I should rethink this arrangement.”

Elphaba gathered her anger and tried to smooth things over. “Please forgive my eldest son, Heinrich. He is going through a rebellious phase right now. You know how teenage boys are…”

The Krueger’s left a short while later amidst Elphaba and Octavius’s apologies, reassuring them that they would talk sense into Sirius. Sirius, not able to handle listening to their schemes of ruining his life, stormed upstairs and slammed the door. Thinking quick, he rummaged through his trunk and grabbed his wand and pen knife, along with whatever cash he could find laying at the bottom, hiding them behind a loose brick by the fireplace.

Not to his surprise, a short while later Octavius stormed in, enraged that Sirius had had the audacity to defy him so openly in front of such important guests. Sirius, feeling a little taller than the previous summers, and more rebellious, was infuriated and yelled back, saying he would just assume marry a Muggle before marrying some pureblooded cow his family tried to force on him.

That was enough to set off Octavius’s violent temper. He struck Sirius, knocking him back a few feet. Sirius did not fall to the ground. He felt his temper, the one he had inherited from his father but managed to keep in check most of the time, bubble to the surface and boil over, causing him to strike back at his father for the first time.

Octavius then drew his wand and placed a full body bind on Sirius, causing him to fall to the floor, now helpless. In a blind fury Octavius beat and cursed Sirius like he never had before, more wrathful than ever after Sirius’s defiance at dinner and his attempt at fighting back. By the time Octavius was done, Sirius lay on the floor unconscious, while he left him locked in the room still under the effects of the full body bind.

When Sirius finally started to come to, he wasn’t sure how long he had been out, but he was still laying on the floor. He achingly turned from his side onto his back, having to grit his teeth at the pain that shot through his body. He lay there, attempting to assess where he had been injured, before finally giving up and deciding it would be easier to count the places that didn’t hurt. His arm and leg were numb from laying on his side for so long, and it felt like his head and ribs were on fire.

As usual, Sirius was left in his room, imprisoned without food. He spent the next few days immobile due to the pain shooting through every nerve in his body. A few times he heard the vibrations coming from the two-way mirror that was stored in his trunk. Part of Sirius desperately wanted to answer, wanting to talk to his best mate in order to remind himself that there was a world of good outside of his own personal hell. The other, prideful side of Sirius did not want James to see him like this, beaten and defeated by his own father, forced into hunger.

During the third night of Sirius’ imprisonment, the door silently opened just enough to allow the small presence of Beeste through. He closed the door carefully and approached Sirius, offering him whatever he could sneak out of the kitchens. Sirius, despite his injuries, was by this point hungry enough to force himself to eat, not knowing when the little house elf would be able to sneak him more food again.

After Sirius gratefully handed his plate to Beeste, he crawled back into bed and watched the kind house elf sneak out of his room. He closed his eyes, not seeing the small set of eyes watching from the inside of a nearby room as Beeste left Sirius’s room.

As the next day passed, Sirius found himself staring at the loose brick by the fireplace. He felt strong enough to walk around his room more, having to clench his jaw with each step he took. As the night came, Sirius found himself removing the brick and grabbing the pen knife, feeling the need to escape his room for a little bit. Perhaps he could sneak to the kitchen himself while his family slept and nick some food…

He tried the lock and smiled as the gift Andromeda had given him caused a ‘click’ as the door opened. He peeked outside and noticed the hallway was dim and quiet. Holding onto his sore side, Sirius crept out as quietly as he could, taking care to avoid the floorboards that were known to ‘creak’ the loudest. As he approached the stairway, he felt confident that his family was tucked away in their rooms for the night.

When Sirius came to the top step, he had the nagging feeling that something wasn’t right; the same feeling he had gotten when his mother had picked him up from the train station several days earlier. He found his attention being pulled to the wall beside him, and felt his breath hitch as he saw the familiar face of Beeste, now mounted on the wall beside all of the other ‘retired’ house elves. He felt the blood drain from his face, knowing that if he had eaten anything that day it would have rebelled onto the stairs.

“I see you’ve noticed the new addition to our wall,” came the voice of Octavius Black from behind Sirius. It made Sirius’ blood run cold, his father’s voice containing a satisfied edge to it.

Turning around, Sirius felt himself shaking with anger. “You beheaded him?!”

Octavius approached Sirius on the stairs and looked up at Beeste’s head, a cold smile forming. “He was a weak little servant. Didn’t follow the rules very well.” Turning his cold eyes on Sirius, he added, “He deserved it, and he only has you to thank for it.”

Sirius felt a well of rage coursing through him, and adrenaline shot through him giving him more strength than he had when his bruised body had stepped out of his room a few minutes earlier. “You…you…!”

Octavius grabbed Sirius’s robes and looked him in the eye, and at that moment Sirius felt certain that his father was insane. His father narrowed his eyes and hissed, “I what?!”

After years of abuse, starvation, and now the death of the one creature who had shown Sirius kindness in that crazy household, Sirius felt like a trapped animal, fighting to escape an angry predator. He let out a growl as he shoved his father away from him. In doing so, Octavius lost his balance and, while trying to regain it, let go of Sirius’s robes.

Octavius Black’s footing slipped and Sirius watched as his father fell down the long flight of stairs. As his body hit the floor, Sirius stood at the top, staring down at the unconscious form of the man who had caused him so much torment for so long. Still having the instincts of a trapped animal in danger, all that kept running through Sirius’s mind was, ‘No more, no more, no more…’

The adrenaline still present, Sirius walked into his bedroom and pulled his wand and money out from their cache, putting them in his pocket. He closed his trunk, still packed, and dragged it downstairs, ignoring the pain still present in his bruised body. He walked by his father’s still form, not noticing that despite the injuries Octavius Black was still alive. Sirius Black walked out the front door and down the street, not looking back.

Once he reached the corner, he paused, the pain starting to become more noticeable again. He winced and sat on his trunk, trying to think of what to do and where to go. He thought perhaps Andromeda since she was also hiding from the family, but he realized two flaws with that idea: He didn’t know how to find her and she was either very pregnant or the mother of a newborn. He couldn’t impose himself on her and Tonks.

His next thought came naturally, almost by instinct. Nodding his head to himself, he achingly stood up and held out his wand, summoning the Knight Bus. He ignored the strange stares from the conductor and the few passengers present as he mounted the bus, not realizing they were wondering where this bruised boy had come from. He shoved a handful of sickles into the awaiting hand of the conductor and gave him the destination.

Time seemed warped that night. Sirius’s mind was in a haze, filled with pain and anger and shock. He wasn’t sure how long he had been camped out on the bus, but the conductor finally tapped him on the shoulder and announced they had arrived. He asked if Sirius needed any help getting his trunk to the door, but Sirius held his head high and refused.

Approaching the front door, Sirius barely took notice that it was very much the middle of the night, probably sometime very early in the morning. He knocked several times, each time pounding a little harder on the door. Finally, the door opened revealing a very tired looking James Potter.

James, attempting to look intimidating in case the visitor was not friendly, had brought his wand, but was too busy yawning to really scare anyone away. Once he finished his yawn and focused his eyes on Sirius, his jaw dropped and he exclaimed, “Padfoot?” There was enough moonlight to show the bruises and the swollen eyelids and the split lip. “What the hell happened to you?”

Sirius, seeing his best mate, left him both slightly relieved and numb. All he could say was, “No more. No more…I’ve had enough, no more.”

James pulled Sirius inside and went to take the trunk, but Sirius defiantly held onto the handle, his pride forcing him to show that he could still carry his own trunk. Following James into the foyer, he felt the energy and adrenaline settling now that he was someplace good, and he felt the pain returning full force, causing him to wince.

“Padfoot…” started James, before he was interrupted by his mum’s voice from behind him, standing in her dressing gown at the top of the stairs.

“James? Don’t tell me you actually answered the door in the middle of the…” she paused, coming down a few steps to see who was standing beside James. Marianne gasped and said, “Sirius?”

Sirius looked up at her and Marianne would never forget the look behind his eyes for as long as she lived. She felt her throat catch at the sight of the boy who had always been so lively, who was now standing battered and haunted in her foyer.

Marianne rushed down the stairs and ushered him into the living room, forcing him to sit down on the sofa. While she rushed to grab her kit of healer’s supplies and potions, James finally convinced Sirius to let go of his trunk.

When Marianne returned, she set to work trying to determine the extent of his injuries so she could heal them. Sirius sat there, allowing her to examine him. Marianne noted with a frown that he likely had previous rib fractures along with his new ones. By the time she was done he was still sore, but she assured him most of his injuries were healed and the others would heal over time as well…the physical ones, at least.

Once Marianne completed her treatments, there was a silence as both James and Marianne struggled to find something to say.

“Sirius-” started James.

“No more,” repeated Sirius. “I’m not going back…ever.”

Marianne, knowing in the pit of her stomach what happened, felt she had to ask. She needed to hear it from Sirius. “What happened, Sirius? How did you get these injuries?”

Sirius’s jaw clenched, feeling the familiar pride steeling his spine, ready to lie about what his father had done. He looked at James, expecting to see pity, but instead saw James’s steady gaze, waiting to hear the story. Sirius saw concern; he saw empathy, but he didn’t see pity. It triggered something inside of him, asking him why he shouldn’t tell them; why he was in a sense protecting the man who had made his life hell. Sirius looked Marianne in the eye and replied, “My father.”

Marianne nodded and said, “You need to rest. We can talk more tomorrow.”

“I’m not going back,” repeated Sirius.

Marianne leaned over and grabbed his hand. “Of course not. I don’t expect you to return to your family after what happened.”

“I have no family,” said Sirius defiantly, not wanting to associate himself any more with their insanity.

“That’s not true,” said James. “You do have family. You have us.” His tone was definite, leaving no room for argument. “You’ll stay with us.” He glanced at his mum, who nodded. With a small smile he added, “People already think we’re brothers.”

Sirius gave James and Marianne a grateful look before frowning again and saying, “I’m only sixteen. They might try to make me come back. But I won’t go,” he insisted.

“They’ll have to get through us first,” said Marianne.

James and Sirius looked at her, realizing that Marianne Potter radiated a confidence and a strength like a mother ready to protect her cubs. Looking at her, they knew that she could probably inflict some damage to anyone who threatened those who were family, and Sirius was touched that she and James considered him a part of their family.

Marianne left to find Perchy so she could instruct the house elf to prepare an extra bed in James’s room, where Sirius usually camped out when visiting. Sirius felt sick, remembering Beeste and his fate, feeling guilty for playing a role in the kind house elf’s demise.

That night, despite his exhaustion, Sirius lay in bed with that week’s events replaying in his mind over and over again.

“Padfoot?” whispered James’s voice in the dark.

“Yeah?” replied Sirius.

“Tonight…this wasn’t the first time this has happened, is it?” asked James.

Sirius paused before finally answering, “No.”

“What happened tonight? Why’d you finally leave?” asked James.

Sirius wasn’t sure how to answer, but then he realized that he could trust James and that James would listen and not judge him nor show pity, just as Sirius had done for James after his dad had died. He started with the story of the dinner with the Krueger’s, causing a snicker to escape James as he revealed that the person he thought was a boy was in fact not only a girl, but the girl his parents expected him to marry. He described her unibrow, and her hypnotic dancing mole, before getting into the heavier subject of his reaction to the betrothal plans.

He described what he could remember of his father’s attack and how he was often left to starve in his room for punishment. He described how Beeste had been helping him survive for years, only to meet his unfortunate fate that night. Seeing the house elf’s head mounted on the wall had been the final straw and Sirius explained how his father had cornered him, and how he had reacted and pushed him down the stairs. He finished his tale with his means of escape and how he had arrived at their doorstep.

Marianne finally poked her head in to check on him, only to scold the boys for still being awake, threatening to force sleeping potion down their throats if they didn’t get some sleep. Sirius heeded her warning and drifted off, feeling his load lightened from having revealed his darkest secret to his best mate who now claimed to be his brother.

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A/N: Well, that’s a chapter that’s been dancing around my head for a long, long time. Unfortunately, Beeste’s fate was preordained. If you were wondering, it was Kreacher lurking outside, witnessing Beeste sneaking out of Sirius’s room. So what do you think of Sirius’s escape from Grimmauld Place? Believable? What did you think of his ‘future wife’? (lol)

Thanks to my latest reviewers: DreamAngel, Mani12191, Anu (x2), Jo Bob, mae513, Will the Wierd, alto2srock, delpheena, German Wings (x2), Calypso, RainDateChick, granger1191, God’sgirl, Anonymous (x3), Dilna, Golden Phoenix, Remus’sweetie, and hpfan.

Please review!

83. Pete's Prediction

Chapter 83: Pete’s Prediction

Over the next few days, Sirius tried to prove that he was doing fine, that he was returning to his old self. James and Marianne knew better. They could see it in the way Sirius looked when he thought he was alone. He would pace or brood by a window, but when James was around he smiled and made plans of wooing certain girls or tormenting certain Slytherins once they returned to school.

Sirius found it especially difficult to be around Perchy, the Potters’ house elf. She had developed a crush on Sirius over the years he had been visiting, and she found ways of being around him. One morning Sirius had awoken to find her standing next to him. She gave him a large lovesick smile and handed him a plate of pancakes and bacon. Sirius, reminded of Beeste’s covert trips to deliver him forbidden food, snapped at Perchy and told her to leave him alone. Feeling guilty, Sirius eventually apologized but Perchy opted to go with the house elf code by not being seen while working - at least in Sirius’s presence.

Thanks to Marianne’s attention, Sirius’s injuries healed and he was able to go flying with James after a few days of recuperation. Flying was the best medicine as far as Sirius was concerned. When he was goofing off in the air with James, he was able to leave his problems on the ground far below them.

After an afternoon out in the sun, James and Sirius walked into the kitchen, both laughing about a neighbor lady they had startled when James was diving for the Quaffle they had been passing back and forth. She had screamed and started thwacking James with her purse as if she was a Beater and James was a Bludger. Sirius was quite mirthful that James had gotten flogged by an older lady, but James pointedly reminded Sirius of the bowtruckle incident from months earlier.

Their laughter died down when they saw Marianne at the kitchen table, a worried frown on her face. James asked what was wrong, and Marianne stood up and slowly approached Sirius.

“I heard something at work today,” she said to Sirius, “about your father.”

Sirius’s expression darkened and he walked to the cupboard to find a can of chilled pumpkin juice. “What about him?” he asked, attempting to sound casual.

“One of my colleagues told me he was brought into St. Mungo’s several days ago,” she said. “It was the morning after you arrived here.”

Sirius opened the can of pumpkin juice and took a swig, refusing to comment. James stood nearby, watchful of his friend as he recalled Sirius’s description of what had happened that night.

“Apparently he had fallen down some stairs,” she continued, “and wasn’t found until several hours later. He had several severe injuries, including a concussion and a fractured skull. He had broken his legs and his spine.”

“Had?” said James. “Is he-?”

“No, he’s not dead,” said Marianne. “His injuries were so severe that if he had gotten to St. Mungo’s quickly they may have been able to heal him, however due to the time between the injury and when he was found, he’s going to suffer from some lifelong problems as a result of his injuries.”

James glanced at Sirius again, seeing his friend continuing to concentrate on his drink, though the grip on the can was tight enough to cause a few dents in the metal. Turning back to his mum, he asked, “What kind of ‘lifelong problems’?”

“The trauma to his brain caused swelling. Left untreated the pressure on the brain caused permanent damage. He won’t be able to function properly in society. He doesn’t understand where he is and he’s barely able to speak. The trauma to his spinal cord rendered him unable to walk. He will be housebound, most likely for the rest of his life,” said Marianne. “Despite the potions they used to bring down the swelling of his brain, the damage has been done and they don’t expect much if any improvement over time.”

Marianne noticed James glancing at Sirius again and asked, “Sirius, is there anything you need to tell me about your father’s fall?”

Sirius was quiet for a moment before taking one final gulp of his juice. He muttered, “Must’ve stumbled,” and left the room, forcefully tossing the empty can into the dustbin on the way out.

“James, do you think that he-” started Marianne.

“Does anyone else think he did?” interrupted James.

“Well, nobody implied that there was any kind of foul play-” she said.

“Mum, you know Sirius better than that. Whether or not he had anything to do with the fall, we both saw what his dad put him through,” said James. He didn’t want to break Sirius’s trust by saying that he knew Sirius had pushed his father down the stairs. “There was no foul play, so there’s no point in dwelling on this.”

“James, even if it was self defense, and even though his father was horrible, he was still his father. I know that Sirius is good, and that’s why I’m worried about him. I’m worried that, even though he’s trying so hard to act like he’s fine, he’ll let what happened simmer under the surface, waiting to boil over,” she said.

“He’ll be fine,” James insisted. He left the room, knowing that his mum’s worried eyes were following him. Going upstairs, he heard a thumping noise coming from his room. He walked in to find Sirius laying on his bed tossing a Quaffle up and down, hitting the ceiling each time. “Padfoot?”

“Marianne send you up here?” asked Sirius, still tossing the ball.

“No,” replied James, “but she’s worried about you.” He sat on his own bed and started to pull off his shoes.

“I’m fine,” said Sirius.

“I know,” said James. He watched the Quaffle for a minute before asking, “Do you think anyone will find out you did it?”

Sirius snorted and said, “I’m certain my ex-family knows about it. Probably figured it out the moment they found him.”

“Why didn’t they turn you in, then?” James wondered aloud.

“Family pride,” said Sirius.

“But I thought they hated you,” said James.

Sirius let out a dry laugh and said, “Not pride in me, Prongs. They don’t want anyone to know what happened to the ‘great’ Octavius Black, the patriarch of the family. They don’t want the world to know that they couldn’t control their own son.” He threw the ball harder, causing some paint to chip off the ceiling.

James eyed the flakes of paint as they traveled downward, wondering if his mum had a point about Sirius. He shook his head, mentally telling himself that his best mate would be fine. After all, it was Sirius; he was strong and he would be able to get past this.

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Lily checked her watch for about the millionth time that evening. She had to stare at it for a moment to make sure it was still working, because she felt it was impossible that only a few minutes had passed since the last time she had checked it.

“And then the Japanese golfer said…”

‘Ugh!’ she thought. ‘Not another one of Vernon’s offensive jokes!’

To Lily’s dismay, Vernon Dursley had been coming for dinner at least once a week. He still looked at Lily distrustfully, and Lily didn’t do anything to hinder his suspicions about her. He seemed even more pompous that he had the previous summer. The only good thing that Lily could say about him was that Petunia seemed to be happy around him. He seemed to genuinely care about her.

The thing that bothered Lily the most about Vernon was that despite his attentiveness to her, he seemed to be changing her sister. He made sexist comments and Petunia said nothing to correct him. That shocked Lily the most, because Petunia had never let anybody tell her she couldn’t do something just because she was a girl. Now Petunia was more absorbed by what Vernon wanted.

As dinner came to a close, Anne stood up and cleared the table. After an admonishing look to each of her daughters, Lily and Petunia got up to help her. Once they were in the kitchen, Petunia set her stack of dishes by the sink and proceeded to stare dreamily at the doorway to the dining room, where the mutterings between her dad and Vernon were taking place.

Lily bit back a laugh and caught her mother’s eye, who raised an eyebrow as if to say, ‘Don’t make fun of your sister.’ Anne’s silent reprimand was less effective when she heard Petunia let out a contented sigh, causing Anne to unsuccessfully stifle a laugh. This set Lily off and the two started giggling.

Petunia snapped out of her daze and watched her sister and mum, confused. “What are you laughing about?”

Anne and Lily attempted to swallow their giggles and stop, but seeing the perplexed look on Petunia’s face set them off again. Petunia started to make a face at them but Anne’s laughter settled into a large smile and she grabbed Petunia’s hand, pulling her over and gathering her and Lily into a hug.

“I’m so glad to have both my daughters home,” said Anne. “I’m so proud of you both.” Petunia had just completed her studies and had been accepted into the university with a scholarship. Anne was thrilled that, if things kept up the way they were going, they would eventually have a doctor in the family. After a moment Anne stepped back and said, “All right, help me get the pudding ready.”

As they walked back into the dining room they saw that Harold was rather pale and Vernon looked somewhat proud of himself. Sitting down next to Vernon, Petunia asked, “What were you two talking about?”

Vernon cleared his throat and said, “Actually, I had something very important I wanted to discuss with your father. It’s about something I want to ask you.”

Petunia’s face flushed a little and she glanced at her dad, who looked like he was about to watch a train wreck and was deciding how best to stop it.

Vernon puffed out his chest and said, “Petunia, dear, will you-”

Suddenly an owl flew into the room and swooped over Vernon’s head on its way to Lily. Unprepared, Vernon shrieked and stood up, knocking over his chair. Petunia looked like she was about to hyperventilate, and Harold looked like he had just won the lottery.

“How did that beast get in this house?” bellowed Vernon. He grabbed a napkin, ready to start swatting at it when he noticed the owl had perched itself on the back of Lily’s chair. His eyes bulged as he watched Lily casually turn around as if it were a perfectly normal occurrence to have an owl land on her chair. The owl stuck out its leg and confused Vernon even more by revealing a roll of parchment attached to it. When Lily reached over and untied the letter, Vernon let out a confused gasp and said, “What is going on?”

Lily looked at Petunia, who was on the verge of tears as she shook her head, muttering, “No, don’t you say it, Lily!”

“Petunia,” said Harold. “If you and Vernon are as…ahem, serious as you say, then perhaps it’s time he know everything about our family.”

“Our family?” exclaimed Petunia. “You say that like we’re all affected, when it’s only her,” she said, indicating Lily, “who is…different.”

“What is going on?” repeated Vernon, a little louder. He nearly fell over when the owl took off and flew over his head on the way out of the house.

“You need to tell him, honey,” said Anne. She glanced at Lily, who shrugged.

“I can’t,” whined Petunia. “He’ll hate me, because of her!” she said, pointing to her sister.

“What is going on?!!” bellowed Vernon.

Petunia sent Lily a scathing look before meekly turning toward her boyfriend. Twisting a napkin in her hands, she said with a shaky voice, “Lily is a…a…witch.”

Vernon stared at Petunia for a moment before giving a small smile and saying, “Well, I’m not fond of her, either.”

Before Harold or Anne could say anything, Petunia said, “No, Vernon. Lily is a w-witch. She does..magic.”

Vernon stood there silent for a moment before he burst out laughing. He leaned over and gave her a small pat on the shoulder and said, “Very funny, dear. You almost had me going there for a second. Magic indeed!”

Petunia gave her mum a helpless look before Anne said, “It’s true, Vernon. Remember how we told you Lily goes to a different school than Petunia? It’s for witchcraft and wizardry.”

Vernon looked at Anne as if she had just claimed to have invented ice cubes. He glanced at Petunia, who was rather pale and staring at her plate. “Right,” he said. “And the owl…”

“The owl delivers mail,” said Lily, holding up the piece of parchment that had just been delivered to her. She opened it and gasped, saying, “Mum, Dad! These are my O.W.L. results.”

The focus of Anne and Harold shifted from Vernon to Lily, who was staring at the parchment in shock. “Well? Let’s see!” said Anne.

Lily, dumbfounded, handed the results to her dad who said, “What’s this mean? The grading system is different than what I’m used to. You got an ‘O’ in Charms, both in the written and practical sections. What’s that mean?”

Lily replied, “It means Outstanding. It’s the highest letter grade we can get.”

“You got an ‘E’ in History of Magic?” said Anne, who was looking at the parchment over Harold’s shoulder.

“It means Exceeds Expectations,” said Lily. “Next one down is ‘A’ for Acceptable. Anything at or above an ‘A’ is a passing grade.”

“Lily, these marks are wonderful!” exclaimed Harold. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.

“Congratulations, sweetie,” said Anne. “I knew you’d do well!”

Lily smiled and said, “I honestly wasn’t sure how I’d done on the Transfiguration practical. I thought perhaps the peach I’d transfigured from a kitten was a little to fuzzy, but I suppose peaches are supposed to have some fuzz so they let that one slide…”

As Lily and her parents talked about the different spells and potions she had to know for her exams, Vernon sat in front of his untouched pudding and pondered the sanity of the Evans family. He noticed that Petunia was still staring at her plate, and that she was on the verge of tears. He felt a pang of sympathy for her, knowing that she had to deal with unusual behavior of her family when she herself was quite normal. He loved that about her.

“…and this year we’re supposed to start our Apparition lessons…” continued Lily, while her parents oohed and aahed in amazement.

“Isn’t that where you disappear from one spot and reappear in another?” asked Harold. Lily nodded.

By this point, Vernon had heard quite enough. He stood up and cleared his throat. “I must be going,” he said. Harold, Anne, and Lily stopped their conversation and looked at him. Petunia continued to stare at her plate. Vernon leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek, whispering, “Don’t worry, love. I understand completely.” He was referring to her role as the sane person in the Evans family.

Petunia gave him a shocked look as he started to leave.

Lily suddenly stood up and said, “Vernon!”

Vernon turned around and gave Lily another suspicious look. “Yes?”

“It’s important that you not say anything to anyone about my being a witch,” she said. “Muggles, rather non-magic folk, aren’t supposed to know.”

Vernon let out a small snort. As if he’d advertise Lily’s lunacy to other people. He’d never do that to poor Petunia! “Don’t worry,” he scoffed. “Your…secret…is safe with me.” He turned and left, mumbling, “Witch, indeed!”

Petunia shot out of her chair and rushed to the door to say goodbye. The remaining people at the table watched her leave the room before Harold let out a relieved sigh.

“Do you think he’ll break up with ‘Tunia over this?” asked Lily.

“I don’t know,” said Anne. “He’s rather close-minded, especially when it comes to you, Lily. However, he seems to really care about Petunia.”

“That owl had impeccable timing, though,” said Harold. “He was about to propose to her.”

“What?!” exclaimed Petunia, who had just reappeared at the doorway.

Harold tensed up and stuttered, “Erm…that is to say…”

“He was going to propose? To me?” exclaimed Petunia. Seeing the look on her father’s face, she added, “Tonight?”

Harold couldn’t think of anything to say so he just nodded. He wasn’t thrilled about Vernon but he and Petunia really cared about each other. Harold noted that at least Vernon was better than that last bloke Petunia had had a crush on who had treated her poorly.

Petunia let out a choked sob and turned her attention to Lily, who was trying to wrap her mind around the idea of Petunia getting married to Vernon, let alone getting married at all. She realized with a jolt that Petunia was legally an adult and was actually old enough to marry a man.

“This is all your fault!” sobbed Petunia, her watery eyes focused on her sister. “He’ll never want to be with me now that he knows what you are!” She turned and rushed out of the room and up toward her room.

Lily felt the stab of a mixture of anger and hurt as she heard her sister’s bedroom door slam. Her parents said something, probably to comfort her, but Lily was too absorbed in her own thoughts to hear. She couldn’t help that she was a witch, but it seemed like her life just kept finding ways to point out to her that she didn’t belong in either the magical or Muggle world. She constantly felt a barrage of guilt at how her life affected those she cared about.

Well, she thought, darned if she wasn’t going to dig her heels in to try and salvage her relationship with her sister. Blood was thicker than water (except for knarl blood which was in fact thinner than water, which she recalled from her Care of Magical Creatures class), and she decided to go speak with Petunia before there was nothing left of their sisterhood.

Not bothering to knock, Lily walked into Petunia’s room to find her curled up on her bed with a ratty old teddy bear, looking more like a pouting teenager than a woman about to become engaged.

“What do you want?” Petunia whined tiredly. “Have you forgotten how to knock?”

“I’m sick and tired of your blaming me for your problems,” said Lily. “I’m a witch, and you’ve had over 5 years to get used to the idea. What is it that you can’t accept about me?”

Petunia sat straight up and retorted, “I can’t accept that the man I love who was about to propose to me will probably never speak to me again because he thinks my family is deranged. He was going to propose, Lily! I could have become Mrs. Vernon Dursley!”

“There you have it - Mrs. Vernon Dursley, not Petunia Dursley, or Petunia Evans-Dursley!” exclaimed Lily, throwing her arms up in the air. “You’ve been changing, ‘Tunia. It’s like you’re referring to yourself as his possession. What happened to the independent girl who wanted to become a doctor?”

“Vernon once told me that his wife wouldn’t need to work,” Petunia weakly replied.

“Wouldn’t need to work?” echoed Lily. “You never decided to become a doctor out of need, ‘Tunia. You’ve wanted this all your life! Are you telling me you want to forget all of that…forget who you are…for him?”

Petunia opened her mouth to reply but found her retort caught in her throat.

Lily softened and approached Petunia, sitting next to her on the bed. “I know that you care about him, ‘Tunia. I just don’t want you to have to give up on your dreams. Marriage is forever, and I don’t want you trapped in a life that will make you unhappy. Just think about it, okay?”

Petunia rested her chin on her knees, taking a deep shaky breath. “Probably doesn’t matter, anyway, if he never speaks to me again…because of what you are.”

Lily sighed. She could see another crack forming in their relationship, though she felt certain she had gotten Petunia to start thinking seriously about how Vernon was changing her.

**************************************************************************************

“Very funny, Padfoot,” said James dryly, mopping his face while his mates and mum laughed. It was his sixteenth birthday, and Peter and Remus had come to help him celebrate. Sirius had bought trick birthday candles that were charmed to spray water at the person who blew at them.

“He fell for it last year, too,” Sirius said to Remus and Peter.

James frowned and said, “I did not! Last year you bought me a cake that smashed into my face after I blew out the candles.”

Sirius shrugged and said, “It’s practically the same. Both were related to the candles, so you should have known better.”

“Especially around you,” snorted James.

It certainly seemed like Sirius was getting back to his playful old self, but Marianne was still worried that he hadn’t fully dealt with what his father had doneto him earlier that summer. It seemed as if he was putting on a show for Remus and Peter, trying to prove that nothing was wrong. Remus and Peter knew that Sirius was now living with James and they knew there was more to the story, but that was all Sirius had told them. James certainly wasn’t going to break Sirius’s trust by telling them.

“Just think,” said Peter. “Soon we’re going to be seventeen and we’ll be of age.”

“Speak for yourself, Wormtail,” said Remus. “Prongs here has to wait an entire year for that.”

Sirius smirked and playfully said, “Yeah, Prongs is the baby of the group.”

Marianne stepped forward and gave James a smothering hug. Getting into the playful tone of conversation, she said, “He’s my little baby!”

James patted her on the back and pulled away, saying, “Ha ha, very funny.”

Marianne looked up at him, starting to feel rather short in his presence. “Well, it’s rather hard to believe that my baby will be an adult soon.”

“That’s probably because he acts like a three year old half the time,” muttered Remus, causing Peter to snigger.

“True,” admitting Marianne, causing James to scowl. Smiling, she hugged him again and said, “We’re just having fun with you, love. I’m still thrilled and proud of how you did on your O.W.L.’s. You too, Sirius,” she added.

Sirius smiled and said, “Wasn’t like they were difficult.”

“Easy for you to say,” said Peter. “Not everyone aced all their exams.”

“Sirius didn’t ace all of his exams,” corrected James. “He only got an ‘A’ in Muggle Studies.”

“Well at least I passed it,” retorted Sirius. “I seem to recall you got a ‘P’ in Divination, Prongs.”

“I didn’t pass, either, Padfoot,” said Remus.

“You guys didn’t pass the Divination O.W.L.?” asked Peter.

“It’s Divination,” said James. “It’s not like it’s a real subject. I doubt anybody passed.”

Peter nervously cleared his throat and said, “I passed.”

James laughed and said, “Very funny, Wormtail.”

“No really, I passed,” repeated Peter.

James stared at him for a moment trying to decipher if Peter was trying to pull a fast one on him like Sirius had done with the birthday candles.

“What’d you get?” asked Remus.

“I got an ‘E’,” replied Peter.

Sirius started sniggering and said, “Nice try, Wormtail. I remember how you were freaking out after the exam, after what you had predicted about the examiners.”

“You mean about Professors Tofty and Marchbanks?” said James. He started laughing.

“No, I really mean it, guys. I got an ‘E’,” insisted Peter.

Remus’s eyes widened and he said, “Are you serious, Wormtail?”

“Yes!” Peter said, exasperated.

James and Sirius suddenly stopped laughing when they saw that Peter was serious. They turned to each other and said, “You don’t suppose…?”

“Tofty and Marchbanks?” said Remus.

“What about them?” asked Marianne, unaware of Peter’s O.W.L. prediction about the upcoming affair between the ancient examiners.

The four boys just looked at each other for several moments before erupting into disgusted groans.

“Eurgh!” exclaimed Sirius. “Please don’t tell me they’ll be at our N.E.W.T. exams. I don’t think I’ll be able to keep a straight face.”

**************************************************************************************

A/N: I know, I know. I’m horrible. I’ve been neglecting this story and you guys. I swear I have not and will not give up on this. Life just kind of surprised me during the past few weeks. We’re getting closer to the real meat of the story, so I can’t give up after all that I’ve written! I do apologize, because my life is a bit more hectic lately. I will forewarn you that I will be out of the country for a few weeks next month, so I probably won’t be able to get to a computer to write. I’ll try really hard to get more up before I leave.

This chapter was sort of a transitional chapter to get through the summer, so I’m not entirely thrilled with it, but I’m glad to have it out of the way so I can start sixth year.

Many thanks to my wonderful reviewers: tiger fairy (x2), Golden Phoenix (x2), Anu, German Wings, Calypso, DreamAngel, britishbabe, delpheena, Remus’sweetie, Anonymous (x2), Jo Bob, Alicia78, missclearwater, RainDateChick, Mani12191, God’sgirl, granger1191 (x2), Watermelon!, kat black, shen (x2), sExYaZnBlOnDy, lily potter, phillygal, and dilna.

84. Vablatsky's Prediction

Chapter 84: Vablatsky’s Prediction

Awkward. That was the word of the day, and it seemed like an understatement.

The students were gathering on Platform 9 ¾, some trying desperately to lift their heavy trunks onto the train and others seeking out friends they hadn’t seen since the beginning of summer. One girl stood to the side, waiting for her friends to arrive.

Alice had arrived early, her dad having dropped her off to make an early meeting at work. She sat on her trunk, feeling a batch of fresh butterflies fluttering about her stomach. She always felt a touch of nervous anticipation with each new school year, but this year seemed different. She had tried to keep herself busy that summer, but she constantly found her thoughts straying to a certain chocolate-eyed boy who had captured her fancy recently. She found that she missed seeing him everyday and being able to talk to him.

Alice worriedly wondered if she would be able to have that friendship with him that year, now that the O.W.L.s were over. That had been the basis for their meeting in the first place, but what if he felt he didn’t need her anymore? Although Alice still fancied Frank terribly, she tried to resign herself to the fact that he was seeing another girl. That didn’t mean that she didn’t want to be near him, to hear his voice and get a glimpse of his warm eyes.

“Alice!”

Alice broke out of her reverie and turned to see Marlene and Lily rushing toward her. She gave them each a hug and stood back, looking for any changes in her friends since she last saw them. Marlene had gotten tan, probably from being outside at her family’s resort all summer. Alice noted with slight disgust that Marlene was a little taller, while she herself remained as short as ever.

Lily smiled and exchanged pleasantries with her friends, but Alice couldn’t help but notice that Lily seemed a little uneasy about something. Every so often, Lily’s eyes darted around the platform, only to return to her friends no less apprehensive than before.

“Who are you looking for, Lily?” asked Marlene.

“Nobody,” replied Lily. At her friends’ unconvinced looks she added, “I was just curious about who the new Heads are, that’s all.”

“Riiiight,” said Marlene. “C’mon, we should get on the train before all the good compartments are taken.”

The three girls started to push their way through the crowd, each dragging her trunk. Alice, as usual, almost dropped her owl cage and stopped to right it on top of her trunk. Suddenly she heard a muffled, “Alice!” through the horde of noisy students. She looked around for the source, unable to see beyond the tall seventh year students that were nearby. Once again, she cursed her shortness.

“Alice!” repeated the voice, a little closer.

Alice waited, trying to see who was calling her. Finally, a few of the nearby seventh years moved a little and she was able to see Frank rushing toward her, a big smile on his face. She found herself smiling in return, her heart speeding up at seeing the boy she had missed so much over the summer.

“Frank-” started Alice.

Frank stopped in front of her and grasped her shoulders. He was out of breath but he was smiling, so much that he was practically laughing. “Alice, you won’t believe it. I can’t, and I just found out!” He held up a slightly crumpled piece of parchment.

“Frank, what in Merlin’s name are you going on about?” asked Alice, rather amused at his enthusiasm and almost breathless from the hand that was still on her shoulder.

“My O.W.L. results, Alice!” he exclaimed. “Mum and I just got back and I didn’t get to see them until today!”

Alice felt her heart speed up in anticipation. “Your results? How’d you do?”

Frank stepped back a little and waved the parchment, replying, “I got an ‘O’ in DADA, Alice!”

“What?!” she exclaimed. “You got an Outstanding?”

Frank nodded animatedly and said, “An ‘O’, can you believe it?”

Alice felt his words hit her and she soon found herself jumping up and down and shrieking in delight. The next thing she knew she had leapt into his arms and was giving him a tight hug. She felt warmth encircle her as he hugged her in return. “I knew you could do it, I knew it!” she said. “You’re going to make a fine auror!”

“I couldn’t have done it without you, Alice,” he said.

Alice felt a tingle travel down her spine at the sound of his voice by her ear and she felt a giddy intoxication from his scent. She found herself pulling back slightly just to get a glimpse of the eyes she had missed seeing during the summer. She told herself that she just wanted a peek and that there was nothing wrong with that, but once she locked eyes with him, she couldn’t help herself. She leaned forward and kissed him, and she realized how perfect his lips felt on hers.

It was when Alice felt his sharp intake of breath that she realized what she was doing and pulled back, feeling her face fill with several shades of pink. She forced herself to look up into his eyes to see if she could discern Frank’s reaction. He was looking at her with a mixture of surprise and something else, but before Alice could figure out what it was he had leaned down to recapture her lips with his own.

After Alice’s initial surprise, she kissed him back, overwhelmed with the sensations caused by his lips on hers and from his hands which were caressing her back. When they started to run out of breath, they at last pulled apart enough for Alice to gaze up at him. Frank was looking at Alice as if trying to decide if he should say something or kiss her again.

Alice was leaning toward the latter but froze when she felt Frank suddenly tense. Following his gaze, she turned around enough to see Amy standing behind her, her face full of shock and hurt. Alice turned back to Frank, who was looking back and forth between Alice and Amy as if trying to decide what to do.

Amy, having seen enough, turned and rushed away through the crowd. Frank looked at Alice, trying to think of something to say but instead letting go of her and following after his girlfriend. Alice stood there by herself as she heard Frank call out after Amy. Seeing him walk away from her left her feeling empty and heartbroken.

Alice felt a hand on her shoulder and soon saw Marlene and Lily standing in front of her. She opened up her mouth to say something but found herself unable to utter a single word due to the large knot forming in her throat.

“C’mon, Alice,” Lily gently said, putting an arm around her friend. “Let’s get you onto the train.”

Alice allowed Lily and Marlene to guide her onto the Hogwarts Express, all the time wondering how Frank could walk away after kissing her like that.

**************************************************************************************

“What is with you two?” asked Marianne. She had just accompanied James and Sirius onto Platform 9 ¾ and they had been acting strange ever since. James had been looking around the platform, trying to be surreptitious about it. Sirius had been glaring through the crowd at something.

“Huh?” muttered James.

“You two,” said Marianne. “You were joking one minute, and now you’re both quiet.” She watched as James looked toward the train where three girls were boarding. She easily recognized the red-haired girl as Lily, the one who James had had a crush on for a while. “Still Lily, eh?”

James gave his mum a fleeting look before asking, “What are you talking about?”

“You still like her?” she asked.

James shuffled his feet a little and shrugged. He had replayed the post-DADA O.W.L. incident in his mind numerous times, especially the last part where Lily had told him that he made her sick. Her words had nagged at him and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. Part of him wanted to brush it off and continue to be the carefree boy he had been last year who had flirted shamelessly with her and asked her out all the time. Another part of him wanted to throw her words back in her face and prove how right he had been to teach Snape a lesson.

James could feel his mum’s gaze burning into the side of his head, and he knew she wasn’t going to let the subject go. He looked at Sirius, hoping his mate would help him out because he wasn’t in the mood to discuss his love life, or lack thereof, with his mum. Sirius, however, had his attention focused elsewhere.

Not too far from them James could see Elphaba Black bidding Regulus farewell. She gave him a dignified embrace and a peck on the cheek, gazing fondly at her youngest son. Shortly thereafter she turned to leave, bringing her straight toward Sirius on her way to the barrier. James could see Sirius tense as she approached, waiting for her to make some snide comment. He watched in surprise as Elphaba walked past them, not bothering to say anything to Sirius or even look at him.

Marianne had seen Elphaba walk by and couldn’t contain herself. She walked after Elphaba and said, “Excuse me, Mrs. Black!”

Elphaba turned around and gave Marianne a cool glare. “Mrs. Potter,” she said.

Marianne looked her in the eye and said, “I’d like to know why you just walked by without even acknowledging your son.”

Elphaba’s jaw tensed but her face remained cold. “I just said goodbye to my son, or did you not see?” Giving a quick glance in Sirius’s direction, she added, “I have no other son.”

“No other son?” echoed Marianne disbelievingly. She straightened herself to her full height, reminding James of the image of a proud hen about to peck out someone’s eyes. “What kind of mother are you? You gave birth to him and you must have held him as a small child. What kind of cold creature are you to ignore the bond a mother should have with her son and mistreat him the way you have? And now you’re pretending he doesn’t exist? How could you not see what a wonderful young man he’s becoming?”

Elphaba took a step closer to Marianne and bitingly retorted, “That boy you’re referring to is a disgrace. He is no longer considered a Black, and he’s been erased from the family tree.”

Marianne stepped closer to Elphaba, and James wondered if his mum was going to pummel her. He looked at Sirius and noticed Snape standing nearby, a smug look on his face as the Slytherin watched Sirius’s reaction to the scene.

“That’s your loss, then,” said Marianne. “And my gain,” she added. “Sirius Black will always be welcome in my house, and as far as I’m concerned, will always be like a second son to me.”

“Then I suggest you watch yourself around stairwells,” hissed Elphaba. “If that boy ever tries to step into my house again, then I will make sure the proper authorities know what really happened to my husband.”

Marianne paled but then retorted, “And if you or any of your family ever lays a finger or wand on him, then I will make certain that not only the proper authorities, but also the press know how you and your husband abused your eldest son.”

Elphaba gave Marianne a steely glare before turning and marching away. Marianne couldn’t help herself when she grabbed her wand and spelled the words ‘Kick me’ onto the back of Elphaba’s robes.

“Mum?!” exclaimed James, surprised but impressed that his mum hexed Mrs. Black.

Marianne turned around and casually said, “Wand must have slipped.”

“I’ll try to remember that excuse,” mused James.

“We’d better get on the train,” said Sirius, wanting to meet the rest of his mates and forget about seeing his mother.

“Sirius, wait!” said Marianne, approaching him. She grabbed his hand and said, “I meant what I said back there. You’ve become like a second son to me, and you’re always welcome in my home. Don’t let what she said nag at you, because you are a wonderful young man.”

“Thanks, Marianne,” said Sirius, touched but rather uncomfortable about the situation. He had never been used to maternal affection, and part of him was jealous that James could accept Marianne’s affection as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “And thanks for everything this summer, you know?” he added.

Marianne hugged him and said, “Have a great year at school, and don’t get into too much trouble.”

“Not too much trouble, eh?” said Sirius, a small smile forming. “But some trouble is okay, right?”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” said Marianne, grinning.

“Well, we won’t be able to help it if our ‘wands slip’ occasionally,” said James, teasing her for her earlier comment.

“Oh hush,” said Marianne, pulling James into a hug. She noticed Sirius had started to move toward the train and took the opportunity to whisper to James, “Make sure he’s okay, will you? I’m worried that what happened is going to eat at him and-”

“Mum,” interrupted James. “Don’t worry about it, okay? It’s Sirius we’re talking about. He’s strong and he’ll get past all that.” He gave Marianne a peck on the cheek and grabbed his things, jogging to catch up with Sirius and leaving his worried mum behind.

**************************************************************************************

A few hours into the train ride, Alice sat by herself ruefully replaying what had happened with Frank over and over in her mind. About an hour earlier, she had told Marlene she needed to use the bathroom, but instead ended up cloistering herself inside an empty compartment.

Why did she have to go and ruin everything, she wondered. She had been resigned to the idea of being Frank’s friend, even if her feelings were stronger than friendship. She shook her head and sniffled, realizing that she didn’t just fancy Frank; she was in love with him. The kiss had cemented that fact.

A million ‘what if’s’ circled around her mind. What if she had accepted Frank’s invitation to Hogsmeade in fourth year? What if she had realized her feelings before Frank had fallen for Amy? What if she had come forward with her feelings that Valentine’s Day? What if she hadn’t kissed Frank and ruined any chance of friendship?

As time passed, confusion and anger set in. She was angry at herself for opening herself up for heartbreak. She was confused about Frank’s reaction to the kiss. He had kissed her back! He had kissed her as if he had shared her feelings, but then he left her standing alone on the platform. He left her to find his girlfriend and make things right with her. How could he have kissed her like that and left her?

Alice took out her wand and scourgified her handkerchief before trying once again to mop the seemingly endless stream of tears that had been coursing down her cheeks. Blowing her nose, she once again tried to figure out what to say or do once she saw Frank again. Her mind continued to draw a blank and she couldn’t fathom having to face him now that he knew. He knew how she felt, and he didn’t stay with her! A small voice in Alice’s mind wondered if Frank had purposely gotten her to like him so he could break her heart the way she had broken his in fourth year.

Alice heard the door to the compartment open and turned to stare out the window, hoping whoever it was would see she wanted to be left alone and just leave.

“Alice?”

Alice felt her stomach form a large knot at the familiar voice. ‘So much for needing time to prepare for this,’ she thought.

“Alice, we need to talk.”

‘Great,’ she thought. ‘The four most popular words you want to hear at a time like this - we need to talk.’

She felt him sitting next to her but couldn’t bring herself to turn and look at him. “What do you want, Frank?”

“I want to know what happened back on the platform,” said Frank.

“We kissed,” said Alice. “Is that what you wanted to know?” she added sarcastically.

“You kissed me,” corrected Frank. “And the last I knew, you didn’t have any feelings beyond friendship for me.”

“Things change, Frank!” exclaimed Alice, standing up and finally turning to face him. “You changed them! I was prepared to tutor you and enjoy a nice friendship between us, but you had to go and be so wonderful, and make me fall for you!”

For a moment Frank didn’t say anything. His face full of surprise, he echoed, “Fall for me?”

Alice felt the color drain from her face at her admission and she bit her lip, turning so that Frank couldn’t see her face.

Frank stood up and, in an odd voice, said, “How long? How long have you felt this way?”

Alice sniffled, realizing that it was futile to lie at this point. “Valentine’s Day,” she whispered.

“What?” he exclaimed, searching his mind for any memory, any clue that she had given him since then. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

Alice let out a choked laugh and said, “What was I supposed to say, Frank? You had a girlfriend. You have a girlfriend,” she added. “I decided to settle for being your friend.”

“But then you kissed me,” said Frank.

Alice turned to face him again, her eyes bright as she exclaimed, “And then you kissed me back! And then you left!”

“I had to go after her,” said Frank.

“I don’t want to hear it,” said Alice, shaking her head and stepping back.

Frank stepped closer and said, “I had to find Amy, Alice.” He grabbed her hand and said, “I had to find her and explain what had happened and that it’s over, because if there is the slightest chance you feel the same for me what I feel for you, then I need to take that chance.”

Alice, who had been trying to pull her hand away, stopped suddenly at his words and looked up at him, her heart pausing before gradually picking up its pace. “What?” she gasped.

Frank raised his hand and cupped her cheek, his eyes oddly bright as he gaze into her reddened, tear-stained eyes. “It’s you, Alice,” he said. “It’s always been you.”

“What?” she gasped again, starting to notice that the hand that was on her cheek was shaking, and that Frank was just as nervous as she was. “You mean, you…”

“I’ve always loved you, Alice,” said Frank. “I resigned myself to being your friend, so I tried to move on, but it’s always been you.”

Alice tried to absorb what he had just said, wondering for a moment if she was dreaming. Then Frank’s lips were on hers and she knew it had to be real. The kiss lasted just a moment, but when he pulled back Alice looked into his eyes and said, “I love you, too, Frank.”

When she saw his beautiful chocolate eyes light up, she smiled and let out a joyous laugh, jumping into his arms and reveling in the fact that he was holding her like he’d never get the chance again. She felt him swing her around a little, which was difficult considering the small amount of floor space in the compartment. She felt him stumble a little when he had backed into the seat behind him and she smiled, knowing that inside the young man she had fallen for still existed a bit of the klutzy boy he had once been. It made him more endearing to her and she pulled back enough to draw him into another kiss.

When they were out of breath, he pulled back and drew her down onto the seat beside him. She snuggled into his arms and traced the lines on his palm, suddenly recalling the words of Professor Vablatsky during third year, predicting she would find a strong and true love. Alice smiled and kissed Frank’s palm. She felt him kiss her temple before he asked, “So does this mean we’re together now?”

Alice shifted so she could look into his eyes. Smiling, she leaned upward and kissed him, reaching up to run her hand through his hair, her heart racing alongside his as he deepened the kiss. When she pulled back, she had a playful glint in her eyes as she replied, “What do you think?”

Frank tried to catch his breath and, looking adorable with his mussed hair, replied, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

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A/N: I can’t say how happy I am to have finally gotten those two together. Their story has been in my head for ages, and it’s a relief to have finally written it. So for all you Alice/Frank shippers who have been bugging me to get them together - was it worth the wait?

Thanks to my latest reviewers: DreamAngel, Anu, pcgrimmy (x6), Dilna, God’sgirl, Golden Phoenix, phillygal, PottersPrincess, Jo Bob, Remus’sweetie, granger1191, kat black, Anonymous (x3), Mani12191, delpheena, Divya, rita skeeta (x8), German Wings, Calypso, alan22, and hpfreak.

85. Ready to Boil Over

Chapter 85: Ready to Boil Over

“Where do think she is?” asked Lily, looking around the Great Hall.

“I have no clue,” said Marlene. “The last time I saw her, she was on her way to the loo.”

“She shouldn’t be by herself,” said Lily, finding a spot in the middle of the Gryffindor table. “She just had her heart ripped out.”

Marlene sat across from her and glanced toward the Hufflepuff table. “Well, it doesn’t look like Amy’s having a great day, either.”

“Considering she saw her boyfriend kissing another girl, I’d say she’s taking it pretty well,” Lily commented as Amy dropped her head on the table and started sobbing.

“There she is!” said Marlene, pointing toward the entrance to the Great Hall. “That’s strange…”

“What?” asked Lily, looking to see where Alice was, finally finding her wandering toward the table with an odd expression on her face.

“She looks dopey,” said Marlene, “and she doesn’t look upset like she did earlier. That’s it…she has officially lost her mind.”

Alice sat next to Lily and gave them each a serene smile. “Hiya,” she chirped.

Marlene gave her an incredulous look and said, “Hiya?? You have this big drama with Frank at the station and disappear for hours and all you have to say is hiya? Isn’t your heart supposed to be broken right now?”

Alice blushed and shrugged, saying, “Ah, well, there’s no sense crying over spilt milk, right?”

Lily watched Alice, wondering if Marlene’s theory about Alice’s mental state was true. Before she had a chance to grill Alice about her whereabouts for the past few hours, she froze as she saw James and his friends walking by them to a spot further down the table. She wasn’t sure what to expect from him after she had yelled at him after the DADA O.W.L. the previous year. Would he act like nothing had happened and go back to asking her out all the time, or would he finally give up on her and give her the cold shoulder?

“Frank’s looking at you,” Marlene said to Alice.

“No he’s not,” said Alice, not daring to glance down the table for fear that she would see him and start getting that lovesick smile she had had to get rid of before entering the Great Hall. She and Frank had agreed that they should keep their newfound relationship a secret for a few weeks since Frank had been dating Amy until that morning. Frank didn’t want to embarrass Amy any more than necessary, and Alice didn’t want to be considered the ‘scarlet woman’ who broke them up.

“He’s looked at you at least three times since you sat down five minutes ago,” insisted Marlene. “Maybe you should talk to him about what happened earlier.”

“Maybe,” muttered Alice, thinking that ‘talking’ might be a good excuse to find some alone time with Frank. Marlene gave Alice an incredulous look, having expected her to put up more of a fight about having to face Frank. Before she could say anything, Alice pointed at the entrance and said, “Here come the first years!”

The girls watched the Sorting, and every so often Lily felt as though someone was watching her, the same feeling she had gotten in the past whenever she had caught James staring at her in class or in the common room. Every time she glanced down the Gryffindor table, she found that James was not looking at her. Instead she saw him staring at the Snitch he had probably been playing with the previous year, a bored look on his face as the new students were placed into their respective houses.

As the Sorting finished, Professor Dumbledore stood and made his usual brief comments before commencing the feast. Partway through the meal, the Great Hall doors opened and a woman dressed in elegant dark blue robes strode in, walking toward the staff table. Her dark brown hair was swept up into a twist with a few curls draping down and framing her slender face. She was petite, almost bird-like as she moved. Several whispers could be heard, each pondering who the lady was as she shook Dumbledore’s hand before walking around the table to sit and join the rest of the staff.

After the meal, the students finally got their answer. Professor Dumbledore stood up, reiterating the yearly warning about the Forbidden Forest, and adding Whoopee Cushions and Paisley Paint Potion to Filch’s list of forbidden items. He then said, “Professor Darme has been called back to duty in France due to the recent encroachment of giants on the border with Germany. As many of you noticed, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor arrived during the meal. Her name is Professor Salomea Grazynska. Please extend a warm Hogwarts welcome to her.” He nodded toward Professor Grazynska as the students clapped, and she in turn gave him a regal nod.

“She’s pretty,” said Marlene.

“And she looks so elegant,” added Alice, admiring the professor’s robes.

“Do you think she’ll be a good teacher?” asked Lily.

“I dunno,” said Marlene, “but she doesn’t look very old. I doubt she’s older than 30.”

Hearing Professor Dumbledore’s dismissal, the students started to make their way toward their respective common rooms, the prefects in a frenzy to make certain no first years would get lost.

As Marlene and Alice left Lily behind to do her duties, Alice stopped once they were outside the Great Hall and exclaimed, “Oh, bugger! I think I left my wand in the Great Hall.” Seeing that Marlene was about to follow her back inside, she added, “I’ll meet you upstairs in the common room as soon as I find it.”

“You sure you don’t want help finding it?” asked Marlene.

“I’m sure,” Alice said quickly, sending a fleeting glance inside the Great Hall. “I’m pretty sure I know where I left it.”

“Suit yourself,” replied Marlene as she walked toward the stairs. As she started the long journey upstairs amidst the crowd of students, she felt somebody slam into her shoulder as he passed. Seeing who it was, she rolled her eyes and called out, “Hey, Black! Watch where you’re going!” Seeing him continuing up the stairs without even acknowledging her made her fume, and she ran up the steps to catch up with him, reaching to grab his elbow. “Haven’t you heard of manners?”

Sirius stopped short and whirled around, almost causing Marlene to run into him. Seeing as he was already a few inches taller than her and a step higher, his height was slightly imposing. “Don’t start with me, McKinnon!”

Marlene backed up a step, surprised at the fierce look in his eyes. She had seen him annoyed with her, but this look was darker and filled with an anger she had never seen from him. Seeing him turn around to walk away and not being one to back down, she started to go after him to give him a piece of her mind for yelling at her like that, but was stopped by someone’s grasp of her shoulder. Looking behind her, she saw James.

“Just let him go,” he said.

“What’s his problem?” asked Marlene.

James hesitated before replying, “He had a run-in with Snape.”

“That’s all?” said Marlene, unimpressed. “I thought he usually got a kick out of finding ways to make Snape’s life miserable.”

“Just let this one go, okay?” asked James. Before giving her a chance to reply James walked past her to catch up with his friends.

**************************************************************************************

“Do you think there’s any way we could convince Dumbledore to skip the Sorting and go straight to the feast?” asked Sirius as they stepped out of the carriage.

“Don’t you ask that every year?” asked Peter.

As they made their way into the castle, Remus said, “Somehow I doubt that Dumbledore would change that tradition after all these years.”

“Look!” said James, staring down the corridor. “It’s Mrs. Norris.”

Sirius’s ears perked, causing him to grin and reach inside his pocket, withdrawing a small vial. “What do you say, Prongs? Shall we test this out?”

“I’ve wanted to try it out ever since we saw it in Diagon Alley,” replied James.

“Maybe we should wait until later, when there aren’t as many people around,” suggested Remus.

“No time like the present, Moony,” said Sirius.

James led them over to a spot around the corner out of sight. Taking the uncorked vial from Sirius, he waved his wand and incanted, “Wingardium leviosa,” causing the vial to float. He carefully directed the vial toward Mrs. Norris, grateful that she was distracted by some unruly third year students on their way to the Great Hall. Once the vial was directly over the feline, James released the spell, causing it to turn over as it fell. The contents splashed onto the kitty, causing a surprised shriek to escape her.

Filch came out of the Great Hall just in time to witness the potion taking its effect. The Marauders desperately tried to contain their laughter as Filch let out an angry growl and picked up his cat, along with the empty vial. Some of the potion had spilled onto the outside of the vial, and when Filch touched it his entire hand turned a paisley pattern. He angrily stormed back into the Great Hall, presumably to show Professor Dumbledore what had happened and demand an addition to the list of forbidden items.

Once Filch was out of earshot, Sirius let out a loud guffaw and said, “It’s good to be back. I forgot how much I missed that.”

The boys made their way into the Great Hall and toward their usual seats. As the boys’ attention was drawn to Filch angrily waving his paint covered hand to Dumbledore, James’s attention was distracted by the flash of red hair already seated. He suddenly felt his stomach flip and he felt himself reverting from the arrogant teenager who constantly hit on her to the nervous eleven year old boy who was unable to form words in front of her. He saw her look in his direction and he couldn’t help but look away, suddenly nervous about how to act in front of her.

Throughout the Sorting, he kept feeling himself drawn to look toward Lily, a myriad of confusing thoughts running through his head. It almost was like an old habit wanting to watch her, yet he couldn’t help but feel the same warmth from the sight of her. He also felt a tight knot in his stomach, the words she had yelled at him running through his head over and over, ‘You make me sick!’ He took the Snitch he still carried with him out of his pocket and stared at it, trying to will himself not to look toward her.

What had he done to really offend her, he wondered. James felt he was perfectly justified with how he had acted. Snape was a Slytherin who had his nose in the Dark Arts, and he was constantly hinting that he knew something about Remus’s condition. He wondered why he kept trying to impress her if she kept yelling at him or ignoring him. He had done everything he could think of to get her attention.

James also realized that there were a lot of people who were aware of his crush on Lily. They had witnessed his behavior the previous year and he knew that many of those people would wonder how he would act after she had yelled at him in front of so many people. He knew that if he completely avoided her everyone would know that she had gotten to him, and he didn’t want them to know how hurt he had been. He resolved to himself that while he wouldn’t seek out her attention, perhaps it would be better to hit on her every so often just to show that she hadn’t gotten the better of him. It didn’t really matter, he thought, since to him it no longer seemed like she would ever give him the time of day.

“Prongs!”

James tore his attention away from the Snitch and looked up to see his three closest friends watching him.

“What’s with you, tonight?” asked Sirius. “You’ve been acting weird.”

“Nothing,” lied James. He glanced at the Snitch again before replying, “I was just thinking about when we should hold Quidditch tryouts.”

Remus looked at him dubiously and said, “That’s all?”

“What do you mean, ‘that’s all’?” said Sirius. “Prongs has a big job on his shoulders. We have a reputation to keep up, and our first game will be against the Slytherins.”

“Do you think I should try out this year?” asked Peter.

James and Sirius glanced at each other before James replied, “We’ll see, Wormtail, but I’m pretty sure that competition will be pretty tight this year.”

Peter grimaced and shrugged his shoulders.

“I need to go help Lily,” said Remus, as Professor Dumbledore closed the feast.

James watched as Remus walked over and greeted Lily, who smiled and got up to help him with prefect duties.

“C’mon Prongs,” said Sirius, urging him along. “I think I see something that’ll cheer you up.”

James watched as Sirius walked through the crowd and finally saw what Sirius was talking about - Severus Snape. He saw Sirius wearing a cocky grin as he was presumably taunting Snape, however James was unable to hear what he was saying though the noisy din of the students leaving the Great Hall. James, curious about what Sirius was up to, approached, pushing his way through the crowd.

James soon noticed that Snape was not wearing his usual disgusted scowl but rather a triumphant one. James realized that Snape was no longer alone, but instead flanked by Regulus and Narcissa. As he got closer he could see that Sirius was no longer grinning, but rather getting more and more enraged.

As he reached his friend, James caught the tail end of what Snape was saying, “…then perhaps they’ll lock you up in a small cell like your daddy used to do.” The corners of Snape’s mouth twisted upward as he added, “And where is your father, Black?”

Sirius paled for a moment, causing James to whip out his wand and point it at Snape’s forehead. “I’d watch your mouth if I were you, Snivellus,” said James with a dangerous voice. “You wouldn’t want a replay of what happened after the DADA O.W.L. now would you?”

“What?” taunted Snape. “You mean when the Mudblood turned you down again in front of everyone?”

“Don’t use that disgusting word!” yelled James, red and gold sparks shooting out of his wand. He was thinking of an appropriate hex to use when Snape turned back to Sirius.

“I heard you no longer live at home, Black,” spat Snape. “What? Did your family finally have enough of you?”

Regulus let out a snort behind Snape.

Neither James nor Sirius noticed Peter’s arrival as he had chosen to stay safely behind them, and they were both getting ready to curse the Slytherins standing in front of them.

“What is going on here?!” demanded a stern voice.

James turned to see Professor Pilon hovering next to them, her greenish-hued hands on her hips. Sirius, however, was still intent on hexing Snape. He started to wave his wand when he felt it slip out of his grasp and fly toward the Potions professor, who had decided to disarm him.

“Twenty points from Gryffindor!” she said. “I should probably congratulate you boys for being the first to lose points this year for your house, and for getting Gryffindor into a negative score. Now get to your tower, before I add detention!”

Sirius was breathing hard, his anger continuing to build but unable to find an outlet. All he could mutter was, “My wand.”

Professor Pilon tucked his wand into her robe pocket and said, “I don’t think that’s wise. You’ll get your wand back when you’ve calmed down. Now get back to your house!”

Sirius looked like he didn’t want to move, and Peter looked torn between waiting for him and scurrying away toward Gryffindor tower. James finally nudged Sirius in the elbow and said, “C’mon, let’s go,” causing Sirius to give Snape one more nasty look before turning around and rushing off toward the tower.

James and Peter rushed to catch up with him, James accidentally knocking into Alice as she walked down the corridor away from stairwell. He didn’t have time to process where she was going because he soon saw another potential disaster forming on the stairwell. Marlene had caught Sirius at the most opportune moment and had decided to start another one of their arguments, not knowing Sirius’s current mood.

James hurried up the stairs, seeing Marlene about to go after Sirius, and grabbed her shoulder to prevent what he calculated to be World War LVI. “Just let him go,” he said.

“What’s his problem?” asked Marlene.

James hesitated before replying, wanting to get the idea across that she had to leave him alone, but not wanting to reveal the source of Sirius’s troubles. “He had a run-in with Snape.”

“That’s all?” said Marlene, unimpressed. “I thought he usually got a kick out of finding ways to make Snape’s life miserable.”

“Just let this one go, okay?” asked James. Before giving her a chance to reply James walked past her to catch up with his friends. He found Sirius in the dorm room pacing around, occasionally pausing to hit something like a pillow or patch of wall. “Padfoot?”

Sirius’s face was deep red with anger as he spat, “That sniveling little snake! He is not going to know what hit him. I mean it, Prongs, he’s got to pay!”

“What do you have in mind?” asked James, ready to plan an elaborate prank against his least favorite Slytherin.

“I’m not sure yet,” replied Sirius, “but he won’t know what hit him.”

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A/N: What can I say but I’m so, so, so, so sorry for the delay? My excuses - going out of the country, reading Half Blood Prince and deciding what to do about this story. I got a little blocked about how to continue, though I know what I want to happen. Plus, my free time has been sucked away by a relatively new long-distance relationship. Those are my excuses, but I know it still sucks it was over 2 months before I could add on a new chapter. Sorry it’s shorter than my latest ones, but I wanted to get something up sooner rather than later, and this one took long enough as it is.

Obviously, now that HBP is out, this fic will be even more AU (not dramatically, but in some ways). I’m trying to decide if I should add certain elements to this story, such as a certain professor that was in that book. Any thoughts? This character would probably not play a big part just because there’s so much else I need to add to these last two years, but I’ve been toying with the idea.

I’m giving a blanket ‘Thank you’ to all my reviewers. Normally I take the time to list everyone, however I just want to get this chapter up ASAP. I really appreciate all the encouragement though. I hope you stick with the story.

Coming up: We’ll see a little more of the new DADA professor.

86. Caught Red-Handed

Chapter 86: Caught Red-Handed

“Where did you end up finding your wand?” asked Marlene as the girls prepared for their first day of classes.

“My wand?” echoed Alice, checking her hair in the mirror while dreamily reminiscing about her post-dinner rendezvous with Frank.

“Yeah,” said Marlene, “your wand. You know, the one you had left in the Great Hall but took an hour to find?” She glanced at Alice and added, “And since when do you care so much about your hair? That’s the tenth time you’ve checked it this morning!”

“What’s wrong with wanting to look nice?” asked Alice.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Alice?” asked Lily. “You’ve been acting ‘off’ since last night.”

Alice picked up her books and said, “I’m fine. Stop worrying.” Checking her hair one last time, she walked toward the stairway to the common room, her step having a slight bounce.

Marlene and Lily glanced at each other for a moment before Lily asked, “Was she humming?”

“Is that what that was?” asked Marlene with a grimace. “I thought it sounded like a kneazle who had its tail stepped on.”

At breakfast the students received their schedules. The sixth years were happy to see they had some free time between their NEWT level classes.

“Not taking Divination anymore?” asked Marlene.

“Nope,” replied Lily. “I’d rather just continue with Arithmancy. It at least makes more sense than Divination.”

“I guess,” said Marlene. “Maybe I should’ve dropped Muggle Studies.”

“I thought that was supposed to be your ‘easy class’,” teased Alice.

“I did okay on my O.W.L.,” protested Marlene. “I passed, at least.”

“Having a hard time figuring my people out?” asked Lily.

“I’m amazed you survived until your eleventh birthday, Lily,” Marlene dryly replied. “Muggles are so complicated. They have to have a little invention for everything.”

“Well, they can’t use magic so they have to find ways of making life easier,” explained Lily.

“C’mon,” said Alice. “We have to get going if we’re going to make it to DADA on time. Plus, I’m curious about the new teacher.”

“It’s really odd, isn’t it?” commented Marlene. “Another new DADA teacher. It would be nice someday to have the same teacher for more than one year, wouldn’t it?”

“Depends on who the teacher is,” said Alice. “I mean, we wouldn’t want to have Professor Dover again, or Professor Riddle for that matter.”

Lily grimaced and walked a little faster. As they neared the classroom they could see Professor Grazynska standing outside greeting the students as they walked inside. She was dressed in perfectly tailored charcoal robes, her dark hair swept up in a similar style to the previous evening.

When the professor’s eyes met Lily’s, Lily felt a slight shiver pass down her back, but it was soon settled by the calming, melodic voice of the professor. The woman looked Lily over and soon smiled, saying, “You must be Lily Evans.”

Lily, surprised, stuttered, “Y-Yeah. How did you know?”

“Red hair, sixth year,” replied the professor. “I was told about you.”

Lily, taken aback, said, “Told about me? Who?”

The professor’s smile widened a bit and she replied, “I’m a professor, Miss Evans. I make it my job to know outstanding students, especially ones who are prefects.” Her hand fluttered in the direction of Lily’s prefect badge, which was displayed on her robes.

Lily let out a sigh, realizing that, of course, Professor Grazynska would need to know who the prefects are, and with Lily’s badge, she wasn’t exactly hiding who she was.

“That’s an interesting accent, Professor,” commented Alice. “Where are you from?”

“My father was Polish, but he died when I was very young,” said Professor Grazynska. “My mother is from Greece.” She glanced down the corridor, noticing the arrival of several boys. Lily, Alice, and Marlene took this as their cue to enter the classroom, especially after seeing who was arriving.

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“Cut off his hair?”

“Nope, too simple,” replied Sirius.

“Stick him to the ceiling while he’s sleeping?”

“Not bad, yet not bad enough,” said Sirius.

“Sticking charm in his skivvies?”

“Eurgh! Tempting, but too gross,” said Sirius.

“For crying out loud, Padfoot, what do you want to do to him?”

“Prongs, he’ll get what’s coming to him, as soon as I figure it out!” snapped Sirius. “Genius takes time.”

“Fine,” said James. “You figure it out on your own, then!”

“Have you guys seen my new DADA book?” asked Peter, nervously searching through his bag as they walked toward their first class.

“You lost it already?” asked James.

Peter let out a frustrated sigh and said, “I could have sworn I put it in my bag this morning!”

Sirius snorted and said, “Uh oh, Wormtail. I heard that if you don’t have your book with you on the first day the new teacher might fail you.”

Peter, too busy searching under his Herbology text for the thousandth time, had not heard the sarcasm in Sirius’s voice. At his words Peter’s eyes watered slightly and he was close to going into full panic mode.

“Relax, Wormtail,” said Remus. “He’s just joking.”

“Where is it?” Peter exclaimed, ready to empty his bag in the middle of the corridor.

“Hello boys,” came the melodic voice of the professor from classroom entrance.

The boys paused and looked at their new teacher, almost forgetting what they had been talking about seconds earlier. The next thing they knew they were standing in front of the elegant professor and shaking her hand.

Looking at James and Sirius she said with a slight smile, “Are you two the troublemakers I was warned about?”

James suddenly felt like he had forgotten to go to sleep the previous night. His eyelids felt slightly heavy and all he could hear was Professor Grazynska’s voice. He blinked a few times and noted that his head had nodded in response to her question. The next thing he knew Remus was guiding them into the classroom.

“What was that about?” asked Remus.

“Hmmm?” asked Sirius, looking toward the doorway.

“Why are you three acting so strange?” asked Remus. “Wormtail, sit down!”

Peter was standing by his seat, staring at the doorway with an odd look on his face. As soon as he heard Remus’s voice, he started a bit, then shook his head as if to clear it. Sitting down, he glanced again at the doorway.

“What is it with you guys?” asked Remus, wondering what was so intriguing about the new professor.

“What are you talking about?” asked Sirius.

Remus watched them for a moment before shaking his head and saying, “Never mind.”

“Good morning class,” called Professor Grazynska as she entered the classroom. Her voice had a lighter air to it, and she got straight to business. “I am Salomea Grazynska, but you are supposed to call me Professor Grazynska. I will be teaching you Defense from now on. We have a lot to cover, even though your N.E.W.T.s aren’t until next year. Let’s start by opening up your texts to the chapter on advanced shield charms…”

At lunch, the students were abuzz with information and opinions on the new professor. There was a wager about how long she would last, wondering if she would finish the year like the other DADA professors or if she would wash out sooner.

“She didn’t seem that bad,” said Peter.

“Really?” smirked Remus. “Could that be because you couldn’t take your eyes off of her during the entire lecture?”

“I was just paying attention to what she said!” protested Peter.

“Then explain why you offered to clean the entire classroom after lecture finished,” challenged Remus.

Peter turned a shade of pink and shrugged his shoulders, replying, “I was just trying to be helpful.”

Sirius smirked and said, “I think our Wormtail has a crush on the new professor!”

“I do not!” insisted Peter.

“It’s about time Wormtail,” mused James. “We were beginning to wonder if you liked girls.”

“Hey!” exclaimed Peter. “I do too like girls!”

“So you admit you like Professor Grazynska?” prodded Sirius.

“No!” exclaimed Peter.

“Did I do something to offend you?” came a familiar melodic voice from behind the boys.

Peter froze for a few seconds before slowly turning to see, in horror, Professor Grazynska standing behind him. “I…uh…” he muttered. “I…uh…”

Remus kicked him under the table.

“I-ow! What I mean to say is…uh…no…you’re…erm…you’re perfect…” Peter trailed off.

The professor raised her eyebrows and with a slight smile walked toward the staff table.

After several moments James, Sirius, and Remus burst out laughing, noting the deep scarlet shade of Peter’s face.

“You’re perfect!” mimicked Sirius dramatically.

“Shut up!” countered Peter.

**************************************************************************************

Classes continued and the sixth year students soon discovered their latest task was learning how to perform magic without saying the incantations. James, while having a natural talent for magic, found that he was having a difficult time performing this task. He had a difficult time concentrating and found that life was not quite as carefree as previous years due to his frustrations with Lily as well as Sirius’s mood swings.

The first full moon passed and James was relieved to have the chance to focus Sirius’s attention on their monthly adventures. They had gotten close to Hogsmeade, but had been able to control Moony and keep the werewolf from attacking anybody. The next day had been trying since they had been so tired. Snape had taken the opportunity to question their whereabouts, claiming to have seen them sneaking around after curfew. Sirius looked ready to throttle Snape, but oddly enough he didn’t. Instead he seemed thoughtful, brooding about how Snape would receive his comeuppance someday when he least expected it.

Besides his worries about his best mate, James hadn’t been able to figure out how to act in front of Lily yet that year, so all that was left was to avoid her whenever he saw her nearby. Sometimes, if there were other people around, he could tell they expected him to do something so he acted arrogant or standoffish, at times making suggestive comments. She generally responded with a snappy comeback, otherwise she avoided him like he avoided her.

One night he and Sirius decided to sneak out to Hogsmeade and hang out at the Three Broomsticks, finding different ways to charm Madame Rosmerta and make her laugh. Remus had to patrol the hallways that evening and Peter had decided to stay behind and study for DADA, since that seemed to be his new favorite subject that year. On the way back, Sirius decided he wanted to make a run to the kitchen for a snack and took the map, allowing James to sneak the rest of the way to the common room with the invisibility cloak.

Once James entered the common room, he noticed he was not alone. He saw Lily sitting by the window with her back to him, looking down at something. He debated taking off the invisibility cloak, but realized that she must have recently returned from patrols, and would realize he had been out after curfew. He wasn’t in the mood for a detention or an argument and realized that, even though she didn’t know he was there, this was the first time they were alone together and she didn’t appear to have some sort of guard up around him.

James soon found himself trying to silently make his way toward her, but she seemed to sense something and turned around, causing him to freeze in his tracks. As she looked straight through him, he noticed a different expression on her face from the one he usually saw when she was with her friends. It seemed more troubled, and it made him more curious to see what she had been looking at. As he was debating approaching her again to get a better look at what she was holding, he heard a voice coming from the stairway to the girls’ dormitory.

“Lily?”

James looked and saw that the voice belonged to Marlene, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs wearing a dressing gown, her eyes tired and her hair a little mussed, most likely from sleeping.

Lily quickly shoved what she was carrying into the pocket of her robe, and turned to face Marlene, her previously troubled expression gone. She had a slight smile as she teased, “What are you doing up? I should give you a detention for being down here after curfew.”

Marlene yawned and retorted, “Then you can join me, seeing as you’re also down here after curfew.”

“Touche,” conceded Lily, smiling. “What’s up?”

“Alice isn’t upstairs,” said Marlene.

“Are you sure?” asked Lily, glancing up the stairway behind Marlene.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” said Marlene. “I woke up and noticed she wasn’t in her bed. She’s not in the loo, either. I just wondered if you saw her during your patrol.”

“No, I didn’t,” replied Lily. “But it’s a large castle. She could be anywhere.”

“Something’s up with her,” insisted Marlene. “She keeps disappearing on us and when we ask her about it she gives us lame excuses about where she’s been.”

“You mean you don’t believe her story about getting locked outside of the castle during lunch?” asked Lily.

“It was raining outside and she was completely dry,” countered Marlene.

“She could have used a drying charm,” suggested Lily.

“Maybe,” said Marlene. “But how in Merlin’s name does one get locked outside of the castle? And why didn’t she use an unlocking charm, like alohomora?”

Lily shrugged, and suddenly turned and looked behind her, her eyes studying the expanse of the common room.

“What is it?” asked Marlene.

“I don’t know,” said Lily. “I thought I heard something. Didn’t you?”

“Nope,” said Marlene. “Nothing’s there, Lily.”

James still stood under his invisibility cloak, holding his breath and hoping he wouldn’t get discovered. He hoped that Sirius would be smart enough to check the map before entering the common room. He cringed as he saw the portrait hole open up.

As soon as the new occupant walked in, he froze at the sight of the two girls, who were both staring at him open-mouthed.

“Frank?” asked Lily. “What are you doing out after curfew?”

“Erm…” muttered Frank. “I…erm…I fell asleep in the library,” he said, indicating the bag of books he carried on his shoulder.

“That’s odd,” said Lily. “Madame Pince is usually pretty strict about getting students out of there by curfew.”

“She must have missed me,” said Frank. “I was at a table in the back, and I had a large pile of books that were probably blocking me from her sight.” He shifted nervously on his feet and glanced behind him toward the portrait hole.

“Are you okay, Frank?” asked Lily, noticing his nervous behavior.

Frank tugged at his collar before replying, “I’m just embarrassed I fell asleep, that’s all. You aren’t going to give me a detention or anything, are you?”

Lily studied him for a moment before shaking her head and replying, “No, not this time. Just make sure you get back before curfew from now on, okay?”

Frank smiled and said, “Thanks, Lily. You’re the best!”

Lily glanced at Marlene and said, “We should head upstairs. It’s late, and I need to get up early and finish that essay for Herbology.”

“Good night, Frank,” said Marlene as they headed upstairs.

“Good night,” replied Frank, looking somewhat relieved. He let out a sigh and started walking toward the boys’ stairway, pausing as he heard the portrait hole opening.

James held his breath, hoping that Sirius was still paying attention to the map, though he doubted that Frank would turn him in.

In stepped Alice, and James wondered where she had been off to and why she hadn’t told Lily or Marlene. James had heard about the debacle at the train station between Alice and Frank, and he didn’t want to witness any awkwardness between the two, but he was unable to escape since Alice was by the portrait and Frank was by the stairway. James inwardly cursed himself for not going to the kitchens with Sirius. He was instead stuck standing very still in his invisibility cloak trying not to draw any attention to himself.

Alice looked at Frank for a moment before Frank smiled and said, “It’s okay, nobody else is here.”

Alice smiled and walked toward Frank, giving him a hug and thereby confusing James. “I missed you,” she chirped.

Frank grinned and said, “It’s only been about ten minutes since I last saw you.”

Alice pulled back slightly and said, melodramatically, “Ten long minutes.”

James all but fell over when he saw Frank lean down and kiss Alice, seeing her kiss him back just as enthusiastically.

Frank reluctantly pulled back and said, “I should get upstairs. I think James and Sirius snuck out and I want to get back before they do. Don’t want to give away our secret romance, now do we?”

Alice let out a sly grin and said, “It’s been kind of fun, hasn’t it? It’s driving Lily and Marlene mad, wondering what’s going on with me.”

Frank chuckled and said, “I don’t have that problem. All of my roommates are clueless. They still think I’m the same old dull Frank Longbottom.”

Alice leaned a little closer to him and whispered, “Trust me honey, there’s nothing dull about you.”

James was torn between being indignant at the term ‘clueless’, laughing at the situation, and wanting to gag at the sight of their lovey dovey-ness. For the time being, all he could do was stare at the floor, trying not to watch the goodnight snog that was taking place nearby. It seemed like an eternity before the lovebirds finally tore themselves apart from each other and headed upstairs to their respective rooms.

As soon as they were out of sight the portrait hole opened up and Sirius entered the common room. He glanced around and said, “I know you’re in here, Prongs.”

James removed the cloak, relieved to see Sirius. “I take it you’ve been watching the map.”

“Yeah,” replied Sirius, flopping down on one of the couches. “I saw you weren’t alone, so I opted to hide behind the statue of Norman the Nearsighted until the coast was clear.”

“What happened to the food you promised me?” asked James, noticing his mate’s empty arms.

Sirius shrugged and replied, “I had to wait a while and I got hungry.”

James walked over and playfully smacked Sirius on the back of the head before saying, “That’s okay, I guess. I kind of lost my appetite anyway. You’ll never guess what I just witnessed.”

“I’m not sure, but from what I could tell, Alice and Frank’s dots on the map looked pretty close,” said Sirius, rubbing his full belly and letting out a belch.

“Okay, so maybe you could guess what I witnessed,” mused James. He shook his head and said, “They’re having a ‘secret romance’ and Frank said that his roommates are pretty clueless about them.”

Sirius snorted and said, “Well, it’s not so secret anymore. At least it won’t be once we’re through with them.”

**************************************************************************************

The next morning at breakfast, James and Sirius clued Peter and Remus in on what was going to happen. Remus, while a little apprehensive about what his friends had in mind, did not appreciate the ‘clueless’ comment and decided to allow James and Sirius their fun. Besides, Sirius’s moods had been unpredictable lately so it was refreshing to see him acting more like his usual self.

The boys had to quickly hush their plans when Frank sat down with them during breakfast. He smiled and started piling some toast onto his plate.

“Frank!” exclaimed Sirius, giving Frank a slap on the back and causing a piece of toast to escape his hand and fly across the table, hitting Remus on the forehead. Before Frank could apologize, Sirius said, “Sorry to hear about your breakup with Amy.”

Frank shrugged and said, “Thanks.”

“How’ve you been doing, mate?” asked James, trying to look concerned and not mirthful.

“I’ve been doing okay, all things considered,” replied Frank. “That all happened a few weeks ago, anyway.”

“True,” said Sirius. He paused, taking a bite of his breakfast, appearing deep in thought, before snapping his fingers and saying, “I know what you need! You should get back out there, Frank.”

“Out where?” asked Frank.

James nodded in agreement and said, “You should get back out on the market. You know, ask someone out.”

Frank let out a nervous laugh and said, “Oh, I don’t think I could do that.”

“We could help you,” piped in Peter.

“Great idea!” said Sirius. “I know just the girl for you, Frank! She’s a Ravenclaw, but she’s pretty well developed, if you know what I mean.”

“Huh?” muttered Frank.

James had to suppress a laugh at the look on Frank’s face as he added, “Yeah, she’ll be a great way for you to forget about Amy.”

Frank held up his hands and shook his head saying, “Oh, that’s okay. I don’t need that kind of help.”

“Nonsense!” said Sirius with a grin. “I bet she’d be thrilled to meet you. I’ll go find her and see what she says.” Before Frank could stop him, Sirius stood and raced toward the Ravenclaw table.

Frank watched helplessly as Sirius sat next to a curvaceous brunette and start talking. Sirius grinned and pointed toward Frank, causing her to look straight at him and study him for a moment. She looked back at Sirius and they spoke for another minute before she nodded and gave him a big smile.

By the time Sirius returned, Frank was trying not to frantically glance down the table in Alice’s direction.

“Good news, mate,” said Sirius as he sat down and gave Frank another firm pat on the back. “She said she’ll have lunch with you today. She said she thinks you’re cute.”

“That’s great!” exclaimed James.

Frank tugged at his collar and said, “I don’t know if this is such a great idea…”

“Why not?” asked Remus. “I don’t see any problems with her, unless there’s some reason you can’t date her?”

“Erm…” stuttered Frank.

“That’s what I thought,” said Sirius. “You’re just nervous about dating again. Don’t worry. I told her not to ravage you on the first date,” he added with a wink.

“W-What?” muttered Frank with wide eyes. He suddenly stood up and said, “I have to…erm…send a…erm…a letter to my mum. I wrote it earlier and forgot to go to the owlery. I-I’ll see you guys.”

As soon as he was out of sight, the four boys broke out into raucous laughter. Sirius paused to wave at the Ravenclaw, telling his friends, “She said she’d do it. Serenity’s always had a great sense of humor.”

“I can’t wait until lunch,” said a sniggering Peter.

Remus glanced down the table at Alice and her friends and asked, “Do you think we should get Lily and Marlene in on the joke?”

Suddenly, Lily’s words started to play through James’s head again like they sometimes did whenever he got into mischief lately - ‘You make me sick!’ He paused, trying to force the words away before replying, “No, let’s just let this play out how we already planned.”

“I agree,” said Sirius. “The last thing we need is McKinnon and a prefect messing things up.” At Remus’s expression Sirius added, “Present company excluded, Moony.”

“Gee, thanks,” Remus said sardonically.

**************************************************************************************

“Where were you last night?” asked Marlene.

“I just needed to get some air, so I took a walk,” answered Alice.

“Outside?” asked Lily. “After curfew?”

“I guess I just lost track of time,” lied Alice. She and Frank had been sneaking around for a few weeks, initially because Frank had just broken up with Amy. After a few days, they had found it fun and exciting to keep things secret. Alice snuck a glance at Frank, who was trying to catch her attention. Every time she had snuck a peek at him that morning he had been in a nervous state. She wondered what was going on, but was unable to find some alone time with him since Marlene and Lily continued to grill her about her whereabouts.

“Lost track of time?” asked Marlene, suspicious. “I could have sworn you were in bed when I first fell asleep. Then I woke up and you were gone.”

Alice shrugged nervously, but was relieved to see Professor Sprout enter the greenhouse and call everyone’s attention. She was saved from Marlene’s interrogation for now, but lunch was coming up and Alice feared she would be given more of the third degree.

“What are they up to now?” whispered Marlene, watching James and Sirius sniggering behind their fire-breathing cactus.

“Same as usual, I would expect,” whispered Lily. “I suppose I should be worried. I hate having to deal with them like that. It’s not like giving them detentions or taking away points will stop them from getting into more trouble.”

Alice glanced at Frank again while Lily and Marlene speculated about the Marauders’ latest plot. Frank seemed on edge, and once again met her glance with a pleading look. He mouthed the words, ‘Meet me after class’ at her and she mutely nodded, wondering how she would escape Marlene and Lily. During the last hour of class, Marlene was not paying close attention to her plant and burned her arm. Lily volunteered to accompany her to the nurse, so Alice’s first dilemma was solved.

When class ended Alice cleaned her station and looked for Frank, noticing he had already left the room. She walked toward the Great Hall, wondering where he wanted to meet her, a little concerned about his weird behavior. As she was rounding a corner toward the stairway up to the Great Hall, she felt someone grab her and drag her into a small dark space.

Ready to scream, she felt a hand cover her mouth followed by Frank’s whisper, “Shhh. I don’t want them to find us.”

Removing Frank’s hand, Alice asked, “Who?”

Frank let out a frustrated sigh and said, “Sirius, James, and…”

“What do they have to do with this?” interrupted Alice.

“First things first,” said Frank. He grabbed her and pulled her into a big hug, taking a moment to enjoy the scent of her hair.

Alice giggled as his breath caused her hair to tickle her neck. Pulling back slightly she gave him a kiss, momentarily forgetting why he had pulled her into the closet they were in.

Suddenly a gush of air and light hit them as the closet door was opened. Standing before them, to Frank’s horror and Alice’s confusion, was the Ravenclaw girl Sirius had set Frank up with for a lunch date.

The girl put her hands on her hips, giving Frank a severe look. “Aren’t you supposed to be in the Great Hall right now? I thought we had a date!”

“A what?” asked Alice, looking from the girl to Frank and back to the girl.

“But…” stammered Frank, unsure of what to say. “How did you find us?”

“A date?” asked Alice incredulously.

“I didn’t…” started Frank, desperately trying to appease Alice before she blew up at him. “We didn’t…I never agreed to a date!”

“That’s not what Sirius said,” said the girl, impatiently tapping her foot, her arms now crossed.

“What does Sirius have to do with this?” asked Alice, her mind spinning. “And what’s she talking about…a date?”

“Sirius told me that Frank wanted to go out with me,” explained the girl, “so I agreed to have lunch with him today.”

“Really?” scoffed Alice, glancing at Frank and noticing the pleading look in his eyes. Looking back at the girl, she said, “Lunch won’t be necessary. Frank is not going to go out with you.”

“Why not?” asked the Ravenclaw girl. “Last I heard Frank was unattached. Has that changed?”

“Yeah, has it?” chimed Sirius, walking around the corner with the other Marauders, all sporting sly grins.

“Alice, what on Earth are you doing inside a closet with Frank Longbottom?” asked James.

“Erm..” said Alice, “I’m…that is, we…”

“Yeeessss?” asked Sirius.

“Oh for Merlin’s sake, we were snogging!” exclaimed Frank. A little quieter, he muttered, “Or trying to, at least…”

“I KNEW it!” exclaimed James.

“What do you mean, you knew it?” asked Alice.

“Let’s just say you weren’t as good at hiding your relationship as you had thought,” said Remus.

Frank, understanding forming in his eyes, asked, “So this was a setup?!”

The four Marauders burst out laughing and Sirius said, “Caught red-handed, mate!”

“Guess we’re not so ‘clueless’ after all, eh?” said James.

“Sorry,” said the brunette Ravenclaw, smiling alongside the Marauders.

“Thanks, Serenity!” said Sirius.

“She was in on this, too?” asked Frank.

“’fraid so,” said Remus.

“I should get going before lunch is over,” said Serenity.

Sirius grinned and threw an arm around her shoulders. “No sense in leaving you without a lunch date, right?”

Serenity smiled and said, “Good point.”

As the other boys walked away, Frank stopped James and asked, “How did she know where to look?”

James shrugged and shook his head, walking away and grinning as he thought of the map tucked safely inside his robe pocket.

Alice and Frank looked at each other, still a little confused about all that had just happened. “I guess the cat’s out of the bag, eh?” asked Frank.

“Yeah,” said Alice. “No sense in hiding our feelings now, right?”

Frank smiled and said, “Actually, I think it’ll be a bit of a relief. While it was fun, I’m tired of not being able to see you whenever I want to.”

Alice happily grabbed his hand and said, “Let’s go get some lunch, together.”

They had barely made it to the Gryffindor table when Alice heard the dulcet tones of Marlene, who had apparently snuck out of the hospital wing after her burn treatment. “What’s going on?!”

Alice and Frank glanced at each other and smiled, before Frank pulled Alice closer and placed a kiss on her forehead. Alice looked at Marlene and Lily, who sat there momentarily stunned. Alice shrugged, smiling and saying, “Frank and I have been dating since school started.”

After a few moments, Marlene exclaimed, “I KNEW something was up!”

**************************************************************************************

A/N: Had some fun with this chapter - mainly the Alice/Frank part. As for my decision about adding the professor from HBP, I’ve heard differing thoughts on the subject and finally decided to just exclude him. While I want to be true to canon, I’m already pretty deep into this story and I have a lot coming up. It wouldn’t do him justice to add him at this point because he would barely be in the story. So…that means this is still a ‘Pre-HBP’ story.

Thanks to my latest reviewers: LarryTrotter (x23), PottersPrincess, michelle, Anonymous (x5), Mani12191, Dificult (x10), madhu893, divya, Jo Bob, Calypso, Eternal Love LJ (x14), Incendia, sExYaZnBlOnDy, loonymoony8, stranger, God’sgirl, Golden Phoenix, cutie claud, German Wings, whichrightwitchwrites, phillygal, Dilna, and vittala.

87. Encounters in the Corridor

Chapter 87: Encounters in the Corridor

The school days of autumn continued, and the sixth year students soon realized that despite the extra study time they were still easily falling behind in their studies. James had held Quidditch tryouts and added two new Chasers to the team. They were a little younger than James had hoped for but they had some raw talent that James hoped to develop. Because of that he called extra practices, adding to the heavy study load of the team members.

Alice and Frank were now out in the open, no longer hiding their relationship. James tried to recall the old saying, ‘Be careful what you wish for.’ Exposing their relationship and forcing them out into the open now subjected everyone around the couple to good old-fashioned PDA, or public displays of affection. Initially, it was kind of cute to see the new couple so happy together, but as time progressed and as people around them were forced to witness the baby talk and goo-goo eyes and kissing, it led to a general feeling of nausea. Most people around them tried to focus on their studies, however it was difficult to concentrate on work when Frank and Alice were having a playful argument on who loved who more.

Marlene opted to escape to hang out with her latest boyfriend, a seventh year Ravenclaw. She found it ridiculous that Alice and Frank had to be so dopey about going out. After all, she had never felt the need (or had the stomach) to act so outlandish about a relationship.

Lily felt somewhat isolated with both her friends absorbed in their relationships. She felt like a third wheel most of the time, and couldn’t bring herself to hang out with either couple for very long. She felt slightly betrayed that both her friends were ignoring her (even though they didn’t realize they were). She also felt jealous, especially of Alice since she found her happy ending. Lily wondered why life had to be so complicated for herself.

One thing that helped was her study time with Emm and Remus. They were her constants, the friends she could count on to meet her on a regular basis for study as well as friendly chitchat. Despite their collective single-ness, Lily could sense something different with both Emm and Remus. Lily had a suspicion that Remus harbored some feelings for Emm. She noticed it the previous year but had never asked Remus about it. Lily wasn’t certain, but she thought that Emm shared Remus’s feelings but both were too shy to admit it. A few times Emm had dropped a few hints however Remus was either blind to them or he had chosen to ignore them.

“You okay, Remus?” asked Emm one evening as the group was finishing their Transfiguration homework. “You’re not getting ill again, are you?”

Lily glanced nervously between Remus and Emm as he ran a pale hand through his hair. “I suppose I could be coming down with a cold.” He cleared his throat and added, “I always get one around the change of seasons.”

“Oh,” said Emm. She stared at the quill she was twirling between her fingers and nervously said, “So if you’re getting sick again, does that mean you won’t be going to Hogsmeade on Saturday?”

Remus, knowing that the full moon would fall on that evening, shook his head and said, “Maybe it would be better for me to stay indoors.”

Emm nodded and said, “I see.”

Lily, knowing that Alice and Marlene would be on dates that weekend, asked Emm, “Do you have any plans for Hogsmeade this weekend, Emm?” Lily hoped that Emm would be free to hang out with her in town.

Emm blushed and said, “Well…Martin Willis asked me to go with him.”

Remus dropped the book he was trying to fit inside his bag and looked up, asking, “Did you say yes?”

“I told him I’d think about it,” started Emm, “but I think I’m going to go with him. He seems nice.” She glanced at Remus, but he was looking down at the table, his eyes hidden from her view.

Lily watched as Remus picked up his dropped book and felt a mixture of pity and frustration. She felt bad that Remus’s crush was going to go on a date with someone else, and she felt frustrated that yet another one of her friends had become attached to someone.

By the time Remus had finished packing his books, he gave Emm a quick but forced smile and said, “I hope you have fun this weekend.”

On the way back to the common room, Lily walked with Remus. Lily, unable to stop her curiosity asked, “So what do you think about the whole Emm/Martin thing?”

“Thing?” he asked. “I thought it was just a date.”

“Yeah,” said Lily. “But that could lead to them becoming a couple. What would you think about that?”

Remus paused, causing Lily to stop and turn to see him. He had a troubled but resigned look in his eyes as he replied, “If that makes her happy then that’s what should happen.”

Before Lily could grill him further about Emm, she heard a familiar voice down the hall that made her want to turn and run.

“Lily Evans! Is that you?” came the trademark voice of Gilderoy Lockhart.

Remus smirked and Lily inwardly cringed as he approached them. Gilderoy was still sporting his enormous white smile, all the more enhanced by what Lily guessed to be a rather obvious tanning charm. His blue eyes twinkled as he grabbed her hand and did a dramatic bow, leaning over to kiss her knuckles.

“Hi Gilderoy,” said Lily, throwing a pleading glance at Remus who looked more than a little amused at the situation.

“You look as lovely as ever,” gushed Gilderoy. “It’s been ages since I’ve seen you. Where have you been hiding?”

Lily didn’t think the polite thing to say was that she had been hiding from him, though she was tempted. Instead she replied, “I’ve been pretty busy with my prefect duties.”

Gilderoy nodded and said, “I understand. Professor Dumbledore wanted to ask me to be a prefect, but I think he knew I was needed elsewhere. I’ve been asked to give several interviews about my latest trips to Yugoslavia. There was a colony of vampires preparing to attack some towns near Zagreb.”

“I’m sure you played a huge part in stopping them,” Lily commented dryly. Remus stifled his laughter next to her.

Gilderoy finally noticed Remus’s presence and asked, “And who is this, Lily? Is he your escort?”

Lily gave Remus another pleading look, and Remus decided to play along and throw his arm around Lily’s shoulders. “I am,” he replied.

“Really?” mused Gilderoy. “That’s a shame, Lils. I thought we might be able to spend some more time together in Hogsmeade.”

Lily shrugged her shoulders and said, “Gee, that’s too bad, Gilderoy. Remus and I already have plans, don’t we?”

Remus paled slightly and replied, “Erm, yeah…we do.”

“We should really get going Gilderoy,” said Lily, trying to direct Remus away from Gilderoy.

As they were walking away, Gilderoy called out, “I need to give you my latest photo. Unfortunately I just gave the last one I had away. Maybe next time?”

Lily rolled her eyes and called back over her shoulder, “Of course, Gil. I can hardly wait.” As she and Remus were further out of earshot, Lily added to the sentence, “I can hardly wait to line my owl cage with it.”

Remus laughed, but something about what Lily had just said struck him as odd, yet he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

“Thanks for saving me back there,” said Lily.

Remus, still trying to think about what had just happened, muttered, “Umm hmm.” Suddenly, something occurred to Remus and he said, “Lily, about this weekend and Hogsmeade-”

Lily waved it off and said, “Don’t worry about it. I just made that up to get him off my back.”

Remus nodded, inwardly relieved that he didn’t have to explain why he wouldn’t be going to Hogsmeade that weekend. Still, there was something that was nagging at him…

They reached the end of the corridor, about to walk around the corner out of sight of Gilderoy who was still lingering on the other end checking his reflection in a suit of armor. As they walked around the corner the two of them came face to face with James, who tensed at the sight of Remus’s arm around Lily.

Remus and Lily froze for a moment, Remus realizing what must have been running through James’s mind at that moment. He released Lily, who looked somewhat apprehensive. He looked at James and could see all the different scenarios playing through his mate’s head at that moment. “Hi,” he said.

“Hi, mate,” said James, stressing the second word. Glancing between Lily and Remus, he asked, “What’s going on, here?”

“I should get going,” said Lily, looking…guilty, for lack of a better term.

Remus was confused, because neither he nor Lily had feelings for each other and had not been doing anything inappropriate, so there was nothing to feel guilty about, especially with Lily’s antagonistic attitude toward James. Seeing that Lily was trying to make her escape, he replied, “Okay. Good night. I’ll see you around.”

“Good night,” said Lily. Turning to walk past James, she paused and glanced at him, her eyes not quite meeting his. “Potter,” she said.

James scrutinized her for a moment before replying, “Evans.” As she walked away, James turned back to Remus and studied him for a moment, as if he was trying to decipher the truth before he could grill his mate. Finally, he repeated his earlier question, “What was going on?”

Remus raised his eyebrows and, trying to put out any tiny fires before they could become full-scale infernos, he said, “It’s not what you think, Prongs.”

“And what is it you think I think?” asked James, his jaw tense.

“I think you’re over thinking the whole situation,” explained Remus. “Lily and I were on our way back from the library when we ran into Lockhart. He was about to ask her out to Hogsmeade and she interrupted him saying I was taking her. It was all a lie to get him to leave her alone. I put my arm around her just to give him the idea that he needed to back off.”

“You still had your arm around her, though,” James pointed out.

“Just until we got out of sight of Lockhart, which would have been as soon as we finished entering this corridor. We ran into you, instead,” said Remus.

James relaxed a little and said, “So…you don’t like Evans?”

“Of course I like her,” said Remus. Before James could react he added, “As a friend, and that’s all.”

James shook his head and smiled, running a hand through his already tousled hair. “Of course, you’re right. Sorry I jumped to conclusions. I was just going downstairs for a quick snack. You want to come?”

Remus shook his head and replied, “No thanks. I’m pretty wiped out. I think I’ll just go back to the dormitory.”

“All right,” said James. Studying his friend, he said, “You going to make it? You’re looking pretty exhausted, and the full moon’s only a few days away.”

“I’ll make it, like I always do,” replied Remus. “I’m just dreading Sunday when Madame Pomfrey hovers over me. She never lets me leave when I want to. It’s not like I haven’t been over there every month for the past 5 years.”

“Don’t worry, mate,” said James. “I’ll find a way to sneak you out on Sunday.”

“You’ll probably have to come that night. She’s already on to me since I’ve been sneaking out practically every month since first year,” said Remus.

**************************************************************************************

“So how are you gonna explain your bruises?” asked Peter. The three Animagi had returned to their human forms and were on their way back through the tunnel to the Whomping Willow exit.

“Same as the other ones I’ve gotten, I guess,” replied James, tentatively touching the large purple bruise that was forming on his right arm. “Quidditch.”

“I still can’t believe you tried to jump that fence,” laughed Sirius.

“I made it, didn’t I?” James said haughtily.

“Only after you caught your leg in it and fell over the fence, landing on your face,” said Sirius.

“Not exactly graceful,” added Peter with a smirk.

“Oh, like you could have made it,” snapped James.

“So when do you want to spring Moony from the hospital wing?” asked Sirius.

“Probably will be easier at night,” said James. “Pomfrey nods off once the lights dim.”

“I dunno,” said Peter. “She’s always suspicious of Moony now since he always sneaks out before she’s ready to release him.” He climbed out of the Willow’s exit and transformed to his Animagus so he could hold down the knot. The other two climbed out and walked to a safe distance. They were all in the shadows from the Willow and, despite the early light of dawn, the boys felt they were well concealed.

Once Peter caught up with them and returned to his human form, the three boys walked toward the Hogwarts entrance. “I suppose if Pomfrey is going to insist on standing by Moony’s bedside to make sure he doesn’t leave early, then we’ll have to find a way to draw her away from the hospital wing,” said James.

Before they could climb the steps to the entrance, a figure stepped out from the bushes. A pair of beady black eyes peered over a wand which was trained on the Gryffindor boys.

“Snivellus,” spat Sirius.

“What are you doing?” asked Peter, warily eyeing Snape’s wand.

“I could ask you the same question,” said Snape, looking almost triumphant at having caught his nemeses doing something out of bounds. “You look like you’ve been out all night. From what I recall, students aren’t allowed to be out after curfew.”

“Don’t get so excited, Snivellus,” said James. “It’s not even 6 a.m. Curfew isn’t over and it looks like there’s a certain greasy Slytherin who’s also out of bounds.”

Snape scowled and retorted, “I’m sure once the staff sees your state then they’ll focus more on your punishment than mine. Where did you get those bruises, Potter?” His scowl twisted into a slight smile as he added, “And where is your friend, Lupin? Odd that he should be missing at this time.”

James grabbed his wand and started to aim it at Snape, but the Slytherin was ready for him and fired a curse, throwing James backward six feet where he slammed into the ground, getting the wind knocked out of him.

Seeing James get cursed like that threw Sirius into a fury, and while Snape was focused on his temporary victory over James, Sirius took the opportunity and plowed into Snape. The two fell over, causing Snape to drop his wand. He tried to grab it, however Sirius pulled him over and held him down, throwing several punches in the process.

Peter was frozen, unsure of what to do. He hated Snape and was glad that Sirius had stopped him from cursing the rest of them, but he wasn’t sure if he should stop the beating Sirius was giving Snape. Peter always knew Sirius was loyal to his friends, but he was surprised to see the lengths he went to in order to exact revenge. Seeing that Sirius was not stopping his assault, he finally settled for a tentative, “S-Sirius?”

After a few calls from Peter, Sirius finally slowed down and looked at the bruised and bloody face of the boy who’d constantly mocked him about his family’s hatred of him. Despite the bruises and swollen eyelids, Sirius could still see those beady black eyes staring at him, continuing to mock him. Sirius leaned over, grabbing Snape’s throat so he could whisper, “I suggest you keep your mouth shut about tonight. And if you ever try to hurt my friends again, I’ll kill you.”

“Sirius,” said James, who had finally caught his breath and sat up. “We need to get out of here before a certain someone arrives,” he said, indicating Madame Pomfrey who would soon be out to meet Remus.

“What do we do about him?” asked Peter.

Sirius stood up and kicked Snape’s wand into the thick set of bushes. “Leave him here,” he said. “Pomfrey’ll find him.” He looked down at Snape and added, “He should know by now to keep his greasy mouth shut.”

**************************************************************************************

Lily tried to sleep in. It was Sunday and she was caught up with her homework. Despite that, she was unable to keep her eyes shut past 8 am. It was quite irritating, really, to have some extra sleep time and despite that be unable to take advantage of it. Besides, she was going to have patrol the corridors that evening and would likely be up late.

After about an hour of tossing and turning she finally decided to surrender to consciousness and get out of bed. She looked over and saw that Marlene and Alice were still sleeping. She decided to get breakfast, take a walk outside, and return. Hopefully by that time her friends would be awake and they could find something to do together.

Lily sat at the Gryffindor table by herself, feeling rather isolated since her friends were all elsewhere. She tried to chat a little with some fourth year students, but they seemed preoccupied with their own dramas. Finishing her breakfast, she walked outside and paused a moment to take a breath of the cool morning autumn air. The leaves were changing color and Lily felt tranquility fill some of the loneliness she had felt minutes earlier at the breakfast table. She loved this time of the year.

Walking down the steps she heard a slight groan coming from the nearby bushes. She paused, not sure if she wanted to find out what had made that sound, but realizing that as a prefect she had a responsibility to make sure that nobody was hurt or misbehaving. She approached and peeked around the corner, shocked at what she found.

“Severus!” she exclaimed, rushing toward the heap of Slytherin robes on the ground. She knelt down beside him and said, “Are you all right?”

Snape shivered from having been outside for several hours. He glared at Lily and growled, “Does it look like I’m all right, Evans?”

Lily felt a familiar surge of annoyance, a reminder of what he had called her after the DADA O.W.L. the previous year. She tried to remind herself that he was injured and he would be ruder because of the pain, but for a few moments she was tempted to leave him there. She saw him struggle to sit up so she reached over to help him, but he waved her away. Once he was sitting up, he leaned over looking slightly nauseated.

“What happened?” asked Lily.

“That is none of your concern,” said Snape.

“Bullocks,” said Lily. “I’m a prefect so I have a right to know. Who did this to you?” She bit the inside of her cheek, dreading the Slytherin’s response.

Snape watched her for a moment, wondering if he should tell her what had happened. He was certain she would let Potter and Black have it and it would obliterate any lingering respect she had for them. On the other hand, Black had made it quite clear what would happen if he said anything, and Snape felt it unwise to come forward at that time and risk his neck. No, he would rather bide his time and find out what they were hiding. He was certain it was something big - something that would get them kicked out of Hogwarts. He would wait and keep his eyes open, and the revel in the fact that he would play a big role in the fall they would take from their self-imposed pedestals.

“Nobody did this to me, Evans,” replied Snape. “I fell down the stairs.”

Lily gave him a dubious look and said, “And you managed to fall all the way over here by the bushes?”

Snape shrugged his shoulders and said, “I suppose I dragged myself over here. I think I hit my head and I probably didn’t know what I was doing.” Before Lily could say anything to challenge him, he painfully stood up, deciding to prepare a potion to help ease his pain. He certainly did not want to deal with Madame Pomfrey’s attention.

Lily watched him walk inside, wondering if she should follow him to make sure he was okay. She opted not to, because he wouldn’t have let her help no matter if she tried to forcibly take him to the hospital wing or not. Instead, she walked by the lake, her mind playing different scenarios about what had actually happened to Snape. She was certain he had not gotten bruised from falling down the stairs. She couldn’t help but wonder if James had anything to do with what had happened.

On the way back inside she ran into George Cooper, a seventh year Gryffindor prefect. He smiled as soon as he saw her and said, “Hey, Lily! I was hoping I’d run into you.”

Lily smiled back. She and George had always gotten along during the prefect meetings. “Hi, George! What’s up?”

“I wanted to let you know that Remus wouldn’t be able to patrol tonight. He’s not feeling well, so I volunteered to take his shift,” said George.

“Oh, okay,” said Lily. “Where do you want to meet?”

“How about the common room at 8 pm?” suggested George.

“Sounds good,” said Lily. “I’ll see you then.”

George gave her a big smile and said, “Yeah, see you at eight!”

Lily smiled as she walked to the common room. She enjoyed her patrols with Remus, but George was nice and she would enjoy chatting with him. She felt energized and hoped that her friends would be awake by then. Whispering the password to the Fat Lady, she walked inside only to bump into Marlene.

“Hi, Marlene!” said Lily. She hadn’t had much time to spend with Marlene or Alice between their heavy study load and her friends’ love interests, and Lily was excited to be able to catch up on some girl-time. “Do you want to do something?”

Marlene gave her an apologetic smile and said, “I can’t. I have to meet Brighton. He promised to help me with my Muggle Studies homework.” She glanced at her watch and said, “Oh, bugger! I’m already late. See you later, Lily!”

Lily watched Marlene rush through the portrait hole and felt some annoyance creep into her. It seemed like Marlene always had a boyfriend, but Lily never remembered her neglecting their friendship. Besides, Lily had always helped Marlene with Muggle Studies. She felt a bit jealous that Marlene had sought out another student’s help, even if he was her boyfriend. Lily took a few breaths, trying to remind herself that while Marlene had always had a boyfriend, she might not have noticed her absences as much since Alice had been around to keep her company.

Looking around the common room, Lily felt her stomach sink when she saw her other best friend sharing an armchair with Frank. They were engrossed with each other and Lily knew at that point that she would have to find something to occupy her time for the rest of the day.

Time must have played a cruel trick on her, Lily decided. She had tried a million different things to keep her occupied, from revising her homework to reading to walking outside to exploring the library. The day just couldn’t go faster than a snail’s pace. She finally caught up with Alice at dinner however her friend was still in her own world, sharing glances with Frank and giggling for no apparent reason. The loneliness that had started to seep into Lily that morning was now like a lead brick weighing her down.

Lily got up from the Gryffindor table and left, certain that Alice hadn’t even noticed her departure. She walked up to her dormitory and read until it was time to go downstairs and meet George.

His smiling face greeted her and they left to start their patrol.

“So how’s sixth year going so far?” asked George.

Lily told him about her classes and George sympathized, having already finished sixth year. He talked about seventh year, though he didn’t make it sound too optimistic as far as the amount of work that would be involved for N.E.W.T.s.

“Frankly, I don’t mind all the work,” said Lily.

“Are you mental?” joked George.

Lily laughed and said, “No…well, maybe I am a little. It’s just that I haven’t had much else to do this year. My friends are all absorbed in their own personal relationships. Ironically, the only time I get to socialize is when I’m studying.”

“Or during patrols,” said George.

Smiling, Lily admitted, “That’s true.”

“So what about you?” asked George.

Lily raised an eyebrow and said, “What do you mean?”

“You said your friends are occupied with their relationships. What about you?” asked George.

Lily shrugged and said, “There’s nothing on that front.”

“You mean Potter hasn’t won you over, yet?” asked George.

Lily stopped walking, forcing George to stop and turn to see her. She sighed and said, “Nothing is going to happen with Potter.”

“You sure?” asked George. “From what I saw, he’s a rather persistent guy.”

“That’s putting it mildly, though he hasn’t really pursued me as much this year,” replied Lily.

“And what if he did?” asked George.

Lily looked down and shook her head, replying, “Like I said, nothing is going to happen.”

George smiled and said, “So is there anyone else you have in mind?”

Lily shrugged and said, “Not really.”

He stepped a little closer and said, “Not even an older guy? One in your own house?”

Lily looked up and froze, noticing his proximity. It suddenly hit her that he liked her. A flurry of thoughts crossed her mind. She hadn’t really thought of George as a romantic interest, but he had always been kind to her. Standing this close, she could see the flecks of gray interspersed with the blue of his eyes. He watched her, looking hopeful.

Before Lily could say anything, George leaned over and kissed her. Lily watched him for a moment after he pulled back, wondering how she felt. The only thing she could think of was less lonely. Maybe George didn’t make her think of fireworks, but he was a great guy and she felt cared about - something she hadn’t felt for most of the school year. On a whim, Lily reached up and kissed him, trying to force out some more of her loneliness. He happily responded, but a sudden noise from nearby caused them to break apart.

Lily looked over and felt the blood drain from her face. “Potter?”

**************************************************************************************

James rushed down the corridor trying hard not to laugh. He ducked behind a statue and tried to catch his breath. He didn’t have to wait long before he saw the stern face of Professor McGonagall storming down the corridor.

“In all my years I still can’t believe the audacity of some students…” she muttered angrily as she marched toward the hospital wing.

James watched her disappear around the corner and let out a few coughs from trying to hold his breath after running. He figured it would only be a few minutes before Professor McGonagall returned with Madame Pomfrey in tow. He had just barely escaped being seen by the Deputy Headmistress after he and Sirius had pulled off the first part of their plan to get Moony out of the hospital wing.

They had just finished sticking Peter to the outside of the building, three floors up. Peter hadn’t been thrilled with the idea, but was easy enough to convince, especially since his charm work was inferior to James’s and Sirius’s. For added effect, Sirius had transfigured Peter’s nose into an elephant’s trunk to make it seem as if he had been hexed.

The next phase of the plan would have involved James and Sirius luring Madame Pomfrey out of the hospital wing - most likely via a letter sent by a school owl. That plan was nixed when they saw Professor McGonagall’s dot rapidly approaching on the map. James told Peter to started yelling for help and then he and Sirius took off in different directions to elude being caught.

James stepped out from behind the statue, wondering if he should wait for Madame Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall to pass him on their way back to Peter. He heard a distant ‘meow’ and turned to see Mrs. Norris further down the corridor. Seeing that he was limited on time to escape, James didn’t bother consulting the map and took off, sensing the pursuit of Filch’s cat. He ran around a corner and slipped, sliding into a tapestry that hung from the wall. Rather than feeling the firm impact of the stone wall behind the tapestry, James felt himself slide underneath it and soon found himself in a dark corridor.

He watched the light that crept under the edge of the tapestry from the lit corridor on the other side. Soon enough, he was able to make out four small shadows, presumably paws, slow down outside where he stood. Not bothering to question where he was or where he would end up, James took off at a jog down the dark corridor, making note to investigate this secret passage later for the Marauder’s Map.

It seemed like a good five minutes of a steady quick walk/jog and a near tumble down a set of stairs before James saw another sliver of light approaching. He sped up and smiled, wondering where he would find himself. He couldn’t wait to tell the other Marauders of his find.

Pulling aside what must have been another tapestry, James felt a flood of light hit his eyes, causing him to squint. Hearing a slight noise from his right, he turned to see the source and couldn’t believe his eyes. Lily was kissing…George Cooper???

Without thinking, James stepped out of the secret corridor, his mind unable to comprehend what his eyes were telling him. He felt himself collide with a suit of armor, creating a loud clanging noise and immediately causing the two prefects to break apart and look at him.

A million thoughts rushed through him as he watched Lily and Cooper break apart. Why were they kissing? Since when did George Cooper like Lily? Did Lily actually like the bloke back? Why did she like Cooper better than him? What was so great about Cooper compared to himself?

James was so filled with anger and hurt and confusion that he barely heard Lily say his name. He looked at her and saw that she was glancing between him and George and the floor, her face pale and her hands shaking.

“Potter,” said George. “You’re out of bounds. It’s after curfew.”

George’s words sparked some of the anger in James, and he momentarily wondered if this was some of the rage that Sirius was battling on a daily basis. He looked Cooper in the eyes and coldly replied, “Really? Seems to me like prefects are supposed to be patrolling the corridors and not snogging in them!”

“That’s none of your concern, Potter,” said George, taking a step closer to Lily, who resembled a person who had been petrified. “Just because you have a thing for Lily doesn’t mean you have any say in what she does. Now go back to your dormitory before I have to give you a detention.”

James snorted and reached up to ruffle his hair, causing the sleeve of his robe to drop, exposing some of he bruises he had gotten the night before. Lily’s eyes gravitated to the bruises and widened, suspicion forming a theory in her mind.

“Let me tell you where you can put your detentions-” started James.

“Where did you get those bruises?” interrupted Lily.

James paused in his rant to Cooper and looked at Lily, who was still staring at his bruised arm. James tugged down his sleeve and said, “Kind of late for you to be concerned about me, isn’t it, Evans?”

“Where did you get those bruises?” repeated Lily, more insistent.

“Quidditch,” lied James.

The three stood there for a minute, James refusing to move in the direction of Gryffindor Tower, Lily thinking, and George wondering whether he should start doling out detentions to their star Quidditch captain.

George finally opened his mouth to speak, but before he could Lily looked up at him and said, “Could you leave us alone, George? I can handle this.”

George studied her for a bit before looking at Potter and saying, “I don’t think I should leave you alone.”

Lily raised an eyebrow and said, “I can take care of myself, George. I doubt Potter is going to assault me. Besides, the upstairs corridors still need to be patrolled.”

George looked hesitant but finally said, “All right, but come find me if you need me.”

Lily gave him a slight smile before whispering, “Thanks.”

After George had left, Lily took a deep breath and turned to face James, who was several feet away, still standing by the suit of armor.

James, noticing the silence between them, felt sarcasm creep into him as he said, “So now you have me all alone, Evans. Gonna snog two blokes in one evening? Didn’t think you had it in you.”

Lily squeezed her hands into fists, trying to resist the urge to give him a black eye to match the bruises on his arm. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves before repeating, “Where did you get those bruises, Potter?”

“Really, Evans. Do you have a Redundancy Hex on you or something?” said James. “You keep repeating yourself. I already told you where I got the bruises.”

“You told me a lie,” countered Lily. “Would you like to explain how Snape ended up bruised in the bushes outside this morning?”

“Are you playing his savior again, Evans?” asked James. “I didn’t think you’d want to after what he called you last year.”

“You’re not answering the question!” exclaimed Lily.

“What is your question, Evans?” asked James. “Is it about the bruises, because I already answered you. Or are you accusing me of yet another crime against Snape?”

“It’s both,” said Lily. “You always target him, and now you both have nasty bruises on the same day. It’s a logical question!”

“Logical?!” scoffed James. He took a step closer to her and said, “How’s this for logical? I want to know what it is about me that makes you hate me so much. I want to know why you always run the other direction when you see me or why you never give me so much as a friendly greeting. What did I ever do to you?”

“Do?” echoed Lily. Her hands fiddled with the edge of her robe pocket as she struggled to reply, “You pick on other students, you hex them when you feel like it, you act arrogant and-”

James let out a frustrated groan and took another step toward her saying, “I’m not asking what I did to others, I’m asking what I ever did to you to make you treat me like I don’t exist?”

Lily frantically picked at the edge of her pocket, looking slightly pale as she stuttered, “I-I…”

James suddenly realized something that he had never noticed during the last several years. “Why won’t you look me in the eyes?”

Lily’s eyes widened slightly, and she looked down and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Potter.”

“My eyes, Evans,” he repeated. “I can’t think of the last time you actually looked me in the eyes.” Seeing her turning away from him slightly, he closed the distance between them and grabbed her by the elbow, forcing her to turn and face him. Still, her gaze didn’t meet his, but instead focused on the middle of his face.

She tried to back away from him but he followed her step for step, still holding her arm until she found herself backed up against the wall. “Let go of me, Potter,” she said.

“Not until you look at me,” he said.

“Let go of me,” she said more insistently, sounding rather nervous, trying to get free.

“Look at me!” he roared, causing her gaze to look up and meet his. The impact was like hitting the ground after falling off his broomstick. He had forgotten how pure and green her eyes were, and at that moment he was focused more on being able to have a direct look at her beautiful eyes more than his anger and frustration.

He heard a sharp intake of breath and realized it had come from Lily, and he wondered if she was feeling something similar. His heart raced, and he felt a strong urge to lean down and kiss her, to deepen the connection he felt from looking into her eyes. He found himself pulling closer to her, almost close enough to place his lips on hers and see if they were as soft as he imagined. He closed his eyes, inhaling her scent and feeling her breath near his lips.

Suddenly he felt her tense and push herself free. He opened his eyes to see her pacing around the hallway, almost in a state of panic. “Evans-” he started.

“We can’t do this, Potter,” she said. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?!”

“You can’t honestly tell me you didn’t feel anything there, Evans!” said James.

Lily continued to pace the hallway, her movements becoming more frantic. “Why can’t you just take no for an answer, Potter? Why do you have to keep pursuing me?”

“We almost kissed, Evans!” said James.

“You tried to kiss me!” retorted Lily.

“Don’t act like you didn’t want to kiss me, because you were about to let me!” countered James.

“Erm…what’s going on, here?” asked a familiar voice.

James looked behind Lily and noticed that Remus was there, watching the argument with wide eyes.

“Let you?!” said Lily. “It wasn’t like I could go anywhere. You had me pinned against the wall!”

James forgot about Remus’s presence and said, “Oh, like it would have been a horrible thing, kissing me!”

Lily back up and said, “I’ve had enough of this. Remus, could you make sure he gets back to the dormitory?”

Before waiting for an answer she started to walk away, but not before James yelled after her, “I’ll have you know I’m a great kisser!”

As Lily walked by Remus she called back, “Probably about as good as you are at ice skating.”

She rushed away, and James started to go after her but Remus stepped in his path. “Moony…” warned James.

“You’re not going to do anything other than make things worse at this point,” said Remus. Something was starting to click in his mind, but he didn’t want to tell his theory to James before he could talk to Lily. He needed to see if he was right first…

“But-” started James.

“Let me go talk to her,” said Remus. “She’s more likely to listen to me at this point, anyway.”

James looked down the corridor where Lily had disappeared, tempted to go after her despite Remus’s advice.

“You should get back anyway before you’re caught,” said Remus. “I’m a prefect so I at least have a plausible excuse to be out after curfew.”

“Fine,” said James. “I’ll see you in the dorm later.”

“See you,” replied Remus, turning to leave. He wasn’t certain, but he had an idea of where she might be. He decided she had better be there when he arrived because it was a long climb up several flights of stairs and he was still tired from the full moon.

As he walked, his theory started to play through his mind again. If he was correct, then that would open up a ton of other questions. It could either help James or in the end hurt him more. He reached the entrance to the Astonomy tower and climbed the final flight of stairs, hoping Lily had sought out the solitude and beauty she had once told him she liked about the tower.

To Remus’s relief, he saw Lily sitting at the other end of the deck, her back to him. She was huddled over slightly and from the slight quiver of her shoulders Remus suspected that she was crying. He approached her silently and looked over her shoulder, surprised at what Lily was looking at.

She was holding a photo taken of her and James during their first year. He suspected Marlene had taken the picture when she had caught the two holding hands after James had finally gotten the nerve to ask Lily to be his girlfriend. The photo looked worn and slightly faded, as if she had carried it in her pocket for some time.

“Lily?” he said.

Lily started, jumping in her seat and turning to find Remus behind her. Her eyes were red and watery as she unsuccessfully tried to hide the photo in the pocket she had been fiddling with earlier in the corridor. She swiped her sleeve across her eyes, hoping the dim light would hide her features from him. “Remus,” she shakily said. “What are you doing here?”

Remus looked her in the eyes and asked, “How long have you remembered, Lily?”

“Remembered?” asked Lily, looking pale in the moonlight.

“You know what I’m asking,” said Remus. “I’m talking about first year. How long have you remembered first year?”

**************************************************************************************

A/N: Oh goody! So glad to have this written. I’ve had this chapter in my head for ages - the last half, at least. So what do you think? Are you utterly confused? Happy? Mad? Please review!

Thanks to my latest reviewers: cutie claud, MariaD, Dificult (x6), God’sgirl, divya, German Wings, Jenny, loonymoony8, LarryTrotter, Mani12191, granger1191 (x2), Golden Phoenix, tigerfairy, Alex, Miss France, Calypso, and Alicia78.

88. Truth or Betrayal?

Chapter 88: Truth or Betrayal?

“First year?” echoed Lily.

Remus walked around the seat so he could face her. He paused, for a moment thinking that he could hear a faint melody emanating from inside the castle. Listening again, he didn’t hear anything. Focusing on Lily again, he said, “Yes, first year. How long have you remembered?”

Lily’s eyes widened for a moment before she said, “Remus, you know I can’t remember anything from first year.”

“Don’t lie to me, Lily,” Remus said sternly. “I thought something was a little off the other night after we ran into Lockhart. I couldn’t think of what it was until tonight. You used to call him Gil during our first year. Then I heard you call him that the other night. It was our joke because I always teased you about being called Lils.”

Lily stood up and said, “Even if I called him that during first year how do you know that I haven’t thought to call him that since? It’s not like I haven’t spent any time with him. For heaven’s sake, I went on a date with the guy a few years ago!”

“I didn’t know for certain that it wasn’t just a coincidence,” said Remus. “But then I heard you snap at James that he’d kiss as well as he ice skates. I know for a fact that James hasn’t put on a pair of ice skates since first year.”

Lily opened her mouth to argue but was silent.

Remus prodded, “C’mon, Lily. Tell me. Do you remember?”

Lily’s lower lip trembled slightly as she looked down at the floor. After a minute, she said in a choked whisper, “Yes.”

Her admission was like getting hit with a bucket of ice water, despite his suspicions. Lily remembered? He couldn’t help but ask, “How long?”

Lily’s shoulders slumped and she sank back down onto the seat. She rubbed her face and pushed her hair out of the way before looking up at Remus and replying, “I’ve always remembered, Remus.”

“What?” gasped Remus.

Lily nodded and said, “I never lost my memory.”

Remus was momentarily speechless. Was she saying what he thought she was saying? “You mean you-”

“Lied to everyone, yes,” finished Lily. “The professors, Madam Pomfrey, my family, and my friends…everyone.”

“You mean nobody else knows about this?” asked Remus.

“Nobody,” said Lily. Suddenly she stood up again and grabbed Remus’s arm. “You can’t tell anyone, Remus. Please!”

Remus let out a disbelieving laugh. “I don’t even understand why you did it, Lily. Why won’t you tell anybody?”

Lily looked him in the eyes and said, “I have my reasons, Remus. Please believe me. I didn’t lie to everyone for nothing.”

“All this time…” muttered Remus, shaking his head. “We were all worried about you, hoping you’d get better. James-”

“Cannot know,” interrupted Lily. “Remus, you need to promise me you won’t tell anybody what you know. Especially him…”

Remus shook his head slightly and said, “How can you ask me to lie to my best friend?”

“I’m your friend, too,” said Lily. “You have to trust that I know what I’m doing.”

“But-” said Remus.

“We all have our secrets, Remus,” said Lily. “I do, even you do.”

Remus felt his stomach drop slightly at how Lily was looking at him when she said that. “What do you mean, I do?”

Lily sighed and said, “I know, Remus.”

“What do you know?” he carefully asked.

“I know why you’re gone every month,” she replied. “During the full moon,” she added, giving him a significant look.

Remus paled and said, “Mum is ill-”

“Your mum is not the one who gets ill,” interrupted Lily. “You are. I’ve read about the transformations. Your symptoms match the description.”

Remus felt himself grow cold. Lily knew? Between that and the revelation that she had never lost her memory, his mind was spinning. He forced his voice to work and choked out, “So you know that I’m…”

“A werewolf,” she finished. “Yes, I figured it out during third year.”

Remus nodded and said, “That was when we studied them. I wondered if someone would put the pieces together.” A scary thought occurred to him and he asked, “Does anyone else know?”

Lily shook her head and said, “No, not as far as I know. I haven’t told anyone.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you knew?” asked Remus.

Lily sadly smiled and replied, “If you had wanted me to know then you would have told me. I didn’t want you to think that I could see you any differently.”

Remus watched her carefully and asked, “Doesn’t it scare you?”

“If I saw you during the full moon then I’d probably have reason to be scared,” said Lily. “Any other time, you’re Remus, my friend.”

Remus smiled and said, “Thanks. I can’t believe you knew all this time.”

“Remus,” said Lily, looking thoughtful. “Why didn’t you tell anybody that you’re a werewolf?”

Remus gave her an incredulous look. “What do you mean, why? It should be pretty obvious. People wouldn’t let their kids attend school with a werewolf. I’m incredibly lucky as it is that Professor Dumbledore allowed me to attend Hogwarts. Besides, if people knew where I went every month then some might try to find me, and that could be incredibly dangerous.”

“So you have your reasons why you don’t tell people your secret,” said Lily. Giving him a pointed look, she said, “And I have my reasons why I lied about my memory.”

Remus shook his head and said, “That’s different, Lily.”

“Is it, Remus?” asked Lily, her voice wavering.

“How would I know?” exclaimed Remus. “You still haven’t told me why, so from where I’m standing it is different! Why won’t you tell me?”

A tear escaped her eyes and she said, “It’s bad enough you know that I remember! If you knew why… Please, don’t tell anyone!”

“James has a right to know,” insisted Remus. “Do you know what he went through after the attack? First you supposedly lost your memory, then he found out his father had been killed. Sirius disappeared with his family for a while. Lily, he came back to school with the hope that you would remember, and that even if you couldn’t he could win your friendship back. And now it’s all been a lie! Lily, how could you do that to him?”

Lily was full-out crying at this point, and she gave Remus a pleading look, but Remus continued, “He tried to move on, but for some reason he couldn’t get past the thought that he could win you back. It’s like he put you on some sort of pedestal.”

Lily sobbed and cried out, “I’m not perfect, Remus! I’m not!” She collapsed onto the seat and continued to sob. “If he knew…oh God, if he knew…”

Despite his annoyance at her lies, Remus couldn’t help but walk over and sit beside her. He put his hand on her shaking shoulder and said, “C’mon Lily, don’t cry.”

Lily gave him another pleading look and begged, “Please don’t tell him, Remus. Promise me you won’t tell anyone!”

“Lily-”

“Please!” she beseeched. “Remus, I’ve kept your secret for years, and I promise I won’t tell anyone. Please, can’t you return the favor?”

Remus felt pulled in two different directions. He felt his friendship with James telling him to honest with him, yet Lily had also been his friend and she had kept his secret. The doleful look on her face tugged at his heartstrings and he finally said, “I’ll promise on one condition.”

“Anything,” said Lily.

“I promise I won’t tell if you promise to tell him yourself,” said Remus.

“Remus, I can’t-” she started, her voice breaking.

“C’mon, Lily,” he said. “It’ll be better when the truth is out.”

She shook her head and said, “No, it won’t. Trust me on this.”

“It’s the only solution,” said Remus.

Lily studied him, realizing that he was backing her into a corner. She finally replied, “I won’t promise to tell him, but I’ll promise to think about it. Is that good enough?”

Remus sighed and said, “It’ll have to be for now, I guess. I won’t tell anyone.”

Lily let out a relieved sob and hugged him. “Thanks, Remus!”

He patted her on the back and said, “Don’t thank me, yet. You can’t hide from this forever, Lily.”

They sat there for a while, Lily gradually calming down while Remus patted her on the back. A noise caused Remus to turn his head toward the entrance. Seeing nothing, he asked Lily, “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” asked Lily, pulling away from Remus.

“I thought I heard something coming from over there,” replied Remus.

“I didn’t hear anything,” said Lily.

“We should get back, anyway,” said Remus, standing up and offering Lily a hand to get up.

Lily took it and pulled herself up, saying, “You’re right. I’m exhausted. You must be, too.”

Remus nodded, his body begging him to find a comfortable place to finish his monthly recuperation.

They turned to leave and stopped in surprise at what they saw at the entrance. Professor Grazynska was standing there watching the two of them. She eyed Remus’s hand which was still holding Lily’s and the corners of her mouth twitched upward into a knowing smile.

Lily and Remus immediately let go of each other and Remus said, “Erm, we were just finishing our patrolling and were on our way back to our dorms.”

Professor Grazynska let out a melodious chuckle and said, “Of course you were. I suggest in the future you spend less time patrolling the astronomy tower and devote more time to other areas of the castle as well. Now go back before I decide you are ignoring curfew. I’d hate to have to give detentions to prefects.”

Remus and Lily nodded and started to leave. As they walked by the professor, she grasped Lily’s arm. Lily, somewhat startled, stopped and looked at her, noticing a curious yet odd expression on the professor’s face.

“Are you all right, Lily?” asked Professor Grazynska.

“All right?” echoed Lily.

“You look sad…troubled,” said the professor. “Is there anything I can do?”

Lily felt a weird mixture of feelings in her presence. There was something that didn’t sit quite right whenever she came across the professor, but once she started talking Lily would feel soothed. Alice had once commented on what a lovely voice the professor had.

“I’m fine, Professor,” replied Lily.

Professor Grazynska studied Lily for a moment before saying, “Very well. Off to bed, you two. I want you bright and alert in my class tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, Professor,” replied Lily and Remus.

The two Gryffindors swiftly left the astronomy tower. As they walked away, Lily could sense the pensive gaze of her DADA professor boring into her back.

“That was close,” said Remus.

“Yeah,” agreed Lily.

There was a silence for a few minutes as they walked until Remus said, “Can you believe she thought we were together?”

“Hmmm?” uttered Lily, still thinking about all that had happened that evening.

“Professor Grazynska,” he said. “She thought we were together. Didn’t you see the look on her face?”

Lily let out a slight chuckle as she said, “She walked into the astronomy tower and saw you holding my hand. I wonder how she got that idea…”

“It’s still funny, though, the idea of us as a couple,” said Remus. “We’ve been friends for so long, and…well, James…”

They entered the deserted common room and Lily stopped, saying, “You aren’t going to say anything to Potter, are you? About before?”

Remus, trying one more time to convince her, said, “Don’t you think he should know?”

Lily fidgeted her hands and said, “It’s too soon. He wouldn’t understand.” Giving him a pointed look, she added, “C’mon, Remus. You have to know that he wouldn’t take the news very well.”

“He would probably be mad, but-” started Remus.

“Please, keep your promise,” said Lily.

“I gave you my word before, and I plan on keeping it, as long as you keep your end of the bargain,” said Remus.

Lily gave him a relieved smile and hugged him. She whispered, “Thanks, Remus.” She pulled back slightly and looked him in the eyes, noticing honesty emanating through the weariness. She gave him a smile and whispered, “Don’t worry about your secret. It’s safe; I won’t tell anyone.”

Remus smiled back and said, “I know. I always suspected you knew more than you let on. You stopped grilling me about where I went every month, and you never questioned why I needed to borrow your notes after my absences. You’re one of a kind, Lily.”

She gave him a mischievous smile and, reminding him of Professor Grazynska’s assumption earlier, she gave him a peck on the cheek and said, “Good night, boyfriend. Parting is such sweet sorrow,” she added in a manner that would rival Gilderoy Lockhart’s melodramatics.

Remus chuckled and joked back, “Good night, girlfriend.”

Lily walked upstairs, leaving Remus in the common room wondering what he was going to tell James when asked how his conversation with Lily went. He knew James would be chomping at the bit to get info out of Remus.

Reluctantly, Remus walked upstairs. As soon as he entered the dorm room, he was not surprised to see James still awake, sitting on the edge of the bed facing away from the doorway. It looked like he was watching the Marauder’s Map.

“Hey, Prongs,” greeted Remus. When James didn’t turn around or reply, Remus added, “I’m back, but you probably know that since you saw me in the map.”

James stood up and turned to face Remus, a controlled expression on his face. “Did you find her?” he asked.

Remus nodded and said, “Yes, I did.”

“And what happened?” James asked.

Remus felt uneasy, something about the way James was talking unnerving him. “She was upset, but I managed to calm her down.” Remus decided that was not a lie, even if he was omitting several major points.

“Really?” said James. “How’d you do that?”

“How?” said Remus. “I just listened to her, I guess.”

“That’s it?” asked James.

“Yes,” replied Remus, not liking the stony look he was getting. “What are you getting at, Prongs?”

“What am I getting at?” echoed James. “How about your making a move on Evans? That’s what I’m getting at!”

“What?” laughed Remus. “I never made a move on Lily.”

“Don’t lie to me!” yelled James. “I know what I heard!”

Remus paled, wondering what exactly James had overheard. Had he been up to the astronomy tower? Had he overheard what Lily had told him? “What did you hear?”

James saw the expression on Remus’s face and assumed it was an admission of guilt. He felt sick, seeing his friend’s betrayal and knowing that Remus was trying to hide it from him. “How about Evans saying, ‘C’mon, Remus, don’t tell Potter about before. It’ll only make him mad.’? Or how about my personal favorites, ‘Goodnight boyfriend’ and ‘Goodnight girlfriend’?”

Remus let out the breath he had been holding. So James hadn’t gone to the astronomy tower. He’d only overheard them in the common room. “It’s not what you think.”

James snorted and said, “Really? I saw the map! I know where you two were.”

“We were just talking,” explained Remus.

“You two were awfully close to be just talking,” retorted James.

“That’s what we were doing!” said Remus, exasperated.

“Then what were you talking about?” asked James. “Were you having a right old laugh about how stupid I was to not see what’s right in front of me? That my so-called friend is betraying me?”

“Of course not!” said Remus.

“Is this about Emm?” asked James. “Are you still angry about the kiss from last year?”

“What?” said Remus, his mind reeling. James, in his anger, was coming up with wild theories.

“Yeah,” said James. “You’re mad that I kissed her at Christmas, so you went after Evans to get back at me.”

“You’re crazy,” said Remus, becoming annoyed.

“What’s going on and why won’t you let me sleep?” asked Sirius sleepily, sitting up in his bed.

“Ask him,” said James, giving Remus an icy glare. “But don’t expect the truth.” Before Sirius or Remus could answer, James grabbed his invisibility cloak and stormed out of the room with the map.

“What was that all about?” asked Sirius, trying to stifle a yawn.

“He thinks I betrayed him by going after Lily,” said Remus, anger and annoyance filling him. He was mad that James jumped to conclusions about him and hadn’t even let him explain.

“Did you?” asked Sirius.

Remus gave Sirius a harsh look and replied, “No, I’d never do that to him. Besides, I don’t have those kinds of feelings for Lily. She’s just a friend.”

“So why is he so sure you betrayed him?” asked Sirius.

“He overheard something that he misunderstood,” grumbled Remus. “But he won’t even give me the benefit of the doubt. He didn’t let me get a word in edgewise.”

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James paced the halls in his invisibility cloak, not paying much heed to where he was but rather the anger that was coursing through him. He had taken Remus’s advice and returned to Gryffindor tower while his friend went to find Lily, but he couldn’t put what had just happened out of his mind.

He could have sworn that Lily was going let him kiss her earlier, and her reaction afterward had been so odd. Usually when she turned him down she had a cool or annoyed response ready, but this time she was nervous…almost panicky.

James had sat in his bed, finally unable to hide his curiosity and taking out the Marauder’s Map. He activated it and searched until he could see the two dots that indicated Remus and Lily in the astronomy tower. He saw Remus’s dot pacing around Lily and stopping. After a few minutes James saw the two dots closer than he felt comfortable with, though he just couldn’t bring himself to doubt Remus. Remus had already told him that he and Lily were just friends.

Still, James watched, waiting to see the two dots move apart. He finally saw a third dot approaching and realized that his DADA professor was headed straight for them. Shortly after she entered the two dots indicating Remus and Lily moved apart. Still, James couldn’t bring himself to believe that Remus had betrayed him.

James watched the map as Remus and Lily walked back to the common room, and he finally stood up and walked to the base of the stairway where he could see them walk in. His heart paused as he heard Lily say something to Remus.

“You aren’t going to say anything to Potter, are you? About before?” he heard Lily say.

‘About what? Was she talking about her reaction to me in the corridor earlier?’ wondered James.

“Don’t you think he should know?” asked Remus.

“He would probably be mad, but-” started Remus.

“Please, keep your promise,” said Lily.

“I gave you my word before, and I plan on keeping it, as long as you keep your end of the bargain,” said Remus.

Lily gave him a relieved smile and hugged him. James shook his head, wondering what in Merlin’s name they were hiding from him. He listened, but he was unable to hear the next part because they were standing closer than he was comfortable with and whispering to each other. He felt a lead brick drop in his stomach at the sight of Lily kissing Remus on the cheek and saying, “Goodnight, boyfriend.” James shook his head again, trying to deny what his eyes and ears were telling him but hearing Remus reply, “Goodnight, girlfriend.”

James had heard enough. He turned around and went upstairs, pacing his room until he saw the map laying on his bed. James approached it and picked it up, sitting down so his back was facing the door. He watched the dot of Remus on the map, now alone in the common room standing near the stairway to the boys’ dormitory.

‘He’s probably trying to think up a lie to tell me about him and Lily. After all, Lily doesn’t want me to know about it, yet,’ he thought snidely.

He watched Remus’s dot approach and as soon as he heard, “Hey, Prongs,” he felt sick to his stomach.

James stood up and faced Remus, giving him the chance to come forward with the truth, and feeling more disgusted at the werewolf with each lie that was handed to him. He wondered what he had ever done to Remus to make him betray him. The only thing that came to mind was when he had kissed Emm under the mistletoe the previous year. But he hadn’t known that Remus liked Emm until afterward!

As soon as Remus had said, “You’re crazy,” James had had enough. He pounded his way down the corridors, trying to get a hold of the anger and hurt that had taken over.

James stopped in his tracks when he heard a noise coming from down the corridor. Still under his invisibility cloak, he made his way closer and was surprised to see Professor Grazynska leaving a room. James pulled out the map and saw that they were near the Ravenclaw common room. Despite the appearance that nobody was in the corridor with her, Professor Grazynska clung to the shadows by the wall as she made her way in James’s direction.

James double checked the map to see which room she had been in, and found that it was labeled as some kind of library. He wondered what had drawn the DADA professor’s interest to that room.

James made certain to stand out of range of the professor, however as she passed by she paused, looking around for a moment, her eyes studying every nook and cranny in the corridor. James held his breath, not wanting to be caught and sent back to Gryffindor tower. He needed some time away from Remus or he thought he might try to pummel him. Despite his anger, James was not stupid and could remember when Remus had flung Sirius across the room during first year.

After a minute, the professor smiled and started to walk away again. She hummed a haunting melody as she made her way down the corridor. James felt his anger ebb and it took him several minutes to realize that Professor Grazynska had left.

He walked to the room that she had been in and cracked it open, peeking inside, but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary present. He closed the door, realizing that he wasn’t all that curious about what she had been doing. Odd, he thought - usually he would be inclined to investigate further, however he found that for some reason he shouldn’t be worried about it.

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A/N: There you go - Lily’s secret has been revealed (to you and Remus, at least). This is where I mention how tempted I was to answer all of the people who asked me when she would get her memory back with, ‘Never.’ After all, she never lost it in the first place. The general consensus from the last chapter was that people were excited she was getting her memory back. Now how do you feel?

Thanks to my latest batch of reviewers: loonymoony8, amg311, Alicia78, Mani12191, vulcanarcher (x2), Jo Bob, bobo7891, divya, whichrightwitchwrites, LillyJames, LarryTrotter, hctins, Miss France, Golden Phoenix, pineappleneko, Property of James Potter, LEFC President, alto2srock, fishyyippy, granger1191, God’sgirl, hippiechic1193, Calypso, RainDateChick, Incendia, cutie claud, German Wings, anonymous, Dilna, and iluvpadfoot.

89. Actions and Consequences

Chapter 89: Actions and Consequences

Lily struggled to keep her eyes closed the next morning however one of her mates had been obnoxious enough to open her curtains, allowing the sunlight in to tickle her eyes open. As she turned over, planning on burying her head under her pillow, she caught sight of the time and realized she couldn’t procrastinate any longer about waking. She was not looking forward to facing the day.

Despite her talk with Remus the previous night, she was worried he might change his mind. She trusted him, however she knew that James would undoubtedly want to know what they had been discussing. Lily shivered as her feet hit the cold stone floor, though she wondered if it was really the cold that had affected her. She felt a mixture of fear and relief. She had closely guarded her secret for over four years and now someone knew. While the events of first year followed her every day, Lily had started to believe that she could move forward with her life. Now Remus knew, and while she trusted him, it unnerved her to realize that his knowing would likely dredge up a lot of the memories she wished she had forgotten.

On the other hand, while Lily had tried to move forward with her life, she felt like she had built a wall around herself to keep her secrets close. At times it felt like the walls would close in around her and suffocate her. Despite the fact that she had not intended for Remus to find out, it was almost a relief that someone she trusted knew, even if he couldn’t know her reasons.

Realizing Alice and Marlene had already left for breakfast, Lily hurried to get ready so she wouldn’t be late for the morning meal. She grabbed her things and rushed downstairs, hurrying into the Great Hall. She scanned around noticing Marlene sitting with her boyfriend and Alice, as usual, with Frank. Lily finally saw Remus seated at one end of the Gryffindor table by himself, poking at his food and occasionally glancing down the table where James was seated with Sirius and Peter. Lily felt anxious when she saw James returning Remus’s glances with glares.

Lily walked over to where Remus was sitting and said, “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Remus glanced down the table to James and saw him angrily watching. Remus hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should be talking to Lily. He then got annoyed with James again, remembering how his mate assumed the worst of him. Lily was his friend and she needed to talk to him. He knew they were doing nothing wrong. If James wanted to be angry that was his problem. He nodded to Lily and said, “Yeah, sure.”

Lily stood there nervously for a moment, glancing at the students that were sitting nearby. She nodded her head toward the door and said, “Outside?”

Remus, realizing Lily didn’t want eavesdroppers to hear, got up and followed her out into the corridor, trying to ignore the burn marks on his back he was likely receiving from James’s eyes as they left.

Once they were out of earshot, Lily asked, “What happened last night after you went upstairs? Potter looks angry. Why were you sitting by yourself? Did you tell him anything?”

Remus held up a hand to slow down her questions. “No, I didn’t tell him anything about your secret. He didn’t even give me a chance, not that I would have told him. He’s mad at me because he thinks we’re secretly going out behind his back.”

“What?” gasped Lily. “Dating? How did he get that idea?”

“He overheard us when we got back to the common room. He heard you say that it was too soon to tell him, and then he saw you kiss my cheek and joke about Grazynska’s assumption by calling me your boyfriend,” replied Remus.

Lily closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead, shaking her head. “Didn’t you tell him it was a misunderstanding?”

“I tried!” exclaimed Remus. “He didn’t even give me a chance to explain. He just assumed the worst about me, despite the fact that we’ve been mates since first year!”

“Remus, I’m sorry,” said Lily. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I’ll find a way to fix it.”

Remus studied her for a moment before asking, “How? Are you going to talk to him?”

Lily tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before replying, “Not if I can help it. I’ll find a way to fix this, though, I promise.” Looking behind Remus toward the entrance to the Great Hall where students were leaving to go to class, Lily said, “You’d better get going to class. I’ll catch up in a little bit.”

“Lily-” started Remus, but he saw Lily walking back toward the Great Hall. He took a deep breath, ignoring the usual lingering aches from that weekend’s full moon, and set off toward the DADA classroom.

**************************************************************************************

Lily nervously walked toward him, not really sure how or if she wanted to approach him. She steeled herself, realizing that to fix this for Remus she needed to do something even if it was slightly drastic. He was standing outside the entrance of the Great Hall speaking with his friends so he didn’t see her. Lily cleared her throat and said, “Excuse me?”

The boy turned around and saw her, his face lighting up in a smile. “Hi Lily!”

“Hi George,” she replied. Seeing his friends still there, she wasn’t quite sure what to say. The friends glanced at George and gave him a congratulatory look before heading off to their classrooms.

“So,” said George, looking a little nervous himself. “Can I walk you to class?”

Lily nodded and said, “Sure, I’d like that.”

They walked toward her DADA classroom, making small talk. “How was the rest of your patrol last night?” asked Lily.

“I caught two third year students out of bounds,” said George. He chuckled and added, “I think he was about to kiss her, but I’m pretty sure I interrupted before that could happen.”

Lily smiled and said, “Third years, eh? So what did you do?”

“I threatened to take them to Filch so he could string them up by their toes in his office if I ever caught them out of bounds again. Then I congratulated the couple and sent them back to their respective common rooms,” he said.

“An inter-house romance, eh?” smirked Lily.

“Not just that,” replied George, trying to suppress a smile. “It was a Slytherin and a Hufflepuff.”

“No way!” said Lily, her eyes wide. Seeing his controlled expression, she rolled her eyes and hit him on the arm, saying, “Very funny.”

George laughed and said, “I had you going there for a moment, you have to admit.”

Lily tried to look annoyed but couldn’t help the smile that crept onto her face.

As they reached the outside of the DADA classroom, George gently grabbed her arm and said, “Hey…erm, Lily?”

Lily turned to face him and out of the corner of her eye she noticed James further down the corridor approaching with Sirius and Peter. Taking a steadying breath, she smiled up at George and said, “Yes?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to go for a walk with me by the lake after classes? The trees are changing and it’s supposed to be beautiful outside,” he said.

Lily, sensing James nearby, said, “I’d love to.”

George gave her a big smile, and after a moment’s hesitation, leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll see you later, then.”

“See you,” said Lily. She turned and walked into the classroom, noticing Remus was sitting where he could see what had happened. She gave him a slight nod and moved across the room to sit by Marlene, who was gaping at Lily.

“What was that all about?” Marlene asked with a mischievous smile. “Are you dating George now?”

“He asked me if I wanted to go for a walk with him later and I told him yes,” replied Lily.

“It’s about time you got a boyfriend!” said Marlene.

Lily shrugged and smiled, noticing James entering and glancing between her and Remus with a look of confusion and hurt. After Sirius gave him a little push toward the desks, James took a spot a few seats down from Remus with Peter in between. Throughout the class James didn’t look at Remus, choosing instead to doodle on a spare scrap of parchment.

On their way to Transfiguration Remus pulled Lily aside and asked, “What was all that about, with Cooper?”

“He asked me out for a walk this afternoon and I said yes,” replied Lily.

Remus gave her a bewildered look and said, “So this is how you’re fixing things?”

“It makes sense, Remus,” said Lily. “Potter saw him kiss me last night before you found us arguing. If he sees that I’m with George then he’ll know he made a mistake thinking you and I are dating. Then he’ll apologize to you and you’ll be friends again.”

Remus shook his head and said, “Lily, you can’t date a guy for those reasons.”

Lily sighed and said, “George is a nice guy and he’s good looking. Lots of girls would love to date him.”

“But not you,” said Remus, giving her a pointed look.

“How would you know?” asked Lily. “I get along great with George.”

“It sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself more than me,” said Remus. Seeing the stubborn look Lily was giving him, he sighed and said, “I just don’t think covering this with a lie is going to fix things. I think it’ll hurt you more in the long run.”

Lily bit her lip, thinking about what he said, before reaching out and grabbing his hand. “Don’t worry, Remus. I know what I’m doing. It’s for the best.” She gave him a tentative smile before turning to finish her trek to the Tranfiguration classroom.

Remus watched her walk away and let out a deep sigh, worried about her reasoning. At the sound of footsteps behind him, Remus turned and found James approaching him with Sirius and Peter.

James shook his head and with a disbelieving laugh he said, “You know, I thought that maybe I’d been wrong about everything earlier. I thought that maybe Padfoot and Wormtail had a point and that I had misjudged what I had heard.”

“You did misunderstand,” insisted Remus.

“Right,” scoffed James. “Then that explains why I see you and Evans so chummy every time I see the two of you together. Always talking closely or holding hands - that seems like more than just friends to me.”

Remus was fed up with James’s assumptions. In the effort of making a point, Remus grabbed Peter’s hand and retorted to James, “Look, Prongs! I’m holding Wormtail’s hand. That must mean we’re in love, right?”

Peter look nervous and confused while Sirius tried to stifle something between a laugh and a cry of disgust. James stood there with an unreadable expression. After a moment Remus shook his head and let go of Peter’s hand, saying, “Just forget it! You obviously want to believe the worst of me.”

Something suddenly occurred to Remus and his face paled as he said to James, “I wonder if it had been Padfoot or Wormtail if you would have been so quick to judge them. Why did you assume so quickly that I would betray you like that?” In a lower tone he accused, “The only reason I can think of is what I become every month.”

James’s eyes widened as Sirius stepped forward and said, “Moony, you know that’s not true.”

Remus shook his head and said, “I don’t know what else could make him believe the worst of me so easily.” Turning, he marched into Transfiguration and sank into an empty seat in the back corner. In frustration, he carelessly dropped his text onto his desk causing a loud ‘thud’ to reverberate throughout the room. Professor McGonagall gave him a reprimanding look before returning to her task of magicking the day’s assignment onto the blackboard.

Outside the classroom, Peter nervously looked at James and said, “M-Maybe he didn’t do what you thought.”

James ran his hand through his hair and said, “I can’t believe him, using what he is to get sympathy like that.”

“Prongs, I don’t think Moony would do that,” said Sirius. “He never has before.”

“I know what I saw and heard last night!” protested James, turning and making his way into the classroom, sitting on the opposite side of the room from Remus. Sirius and Peter sat by him, each looking apologetically at Remus, who was staring stonily at his desk.

James managed to master the spell Professor McGonagall had assigned them to practice, and soon he was watching Sirius trying to help Peter. Toward the end of class, James’s eyes wandered around the room until they landed on Lily. To his surprise she was looking straight at him, but as soon as she noticed that he was looking at her, she immediately looked away and attempted to refocus on her assignment.

James glanced at Remus, who was halfheartedly transfiguring his kiwi fruit into a kiwi bird. He noticed that the bird didn’t have any legs, and James felt a pang of guilt, knowing that while Remus was good at Transfiguration, he was better and had always helped Remus perfect the spells. It bothered him that Remus thought he could judge him just because he was a werewolf. Hadn’t he spent three years becoming an illegal Animagus so he could help him with the transformations every month? He had never once judged Remus for being a werewolf.

Irritated, James knew what he’d witnessed the previous night. He looked at Lily again and decided that he needed to confront her and then he’d get her to admit she and Remus were sneaking around. He surreptitiously aimed his wand at her knapsack and muttered a spell.

As soon as McGonagall released them for lunch, Lily picked up her knapsack, only to have it rip and cause everything to spill out, including a new bottle of ink which splattered as the bottle crashed onto the floor. Muttering a few curses, Lily told her friends that she’d catch up with them in the Great Hall and pulled out her wand to clean up the mess.

James waited outside the classroom until she walked out, her knapsack repaired and spotless. Lily froze when she saw James standing in the corridor in her path to the Great Hall. She immediately knew this was no accidental encounter by the way he was scrutinizing her. She felt a shiver travel up her spine and fought the urge to shake it off. She tried to walk around him but he stepped in her way. Stopping quickly to avoid a collision she asked, “What is it, Potter?”

James smirked and said, “We need to talk about last night.”

Lily paled slightly, remembering the revelation of her secret to Remus. “What about it?”

“I think it’s time for the truth, don’t you?” asked James.

Lily couldn’t suppress the next shiver that coursed through her. He couldn’t possibly have heard… “W-What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about your boyfriend,” said James.

Surprised yet slightly relieved that he didn’t know her secret, she echoed, “My boyfriend?”

“You two seemed rather cozy last night,” accused James.

“So?” challenged Lily. “What business is it of yours?”

“It’s my business when it involves one of my mates,” retorted James.

Lily, knowing he meant Remus, laughed disbelievingly and said, “Since when is George your mate?”

“Cooper?” laughed James. “I’m talking about Remus.”

Lily shook her head and said, “Remus isn’t my boyfriend. He’s a friend who happens to be a boy.”

“That’s not what it seemed like last night,” said James.

“Spying on me, are you?” asked Lily. Shaking her head, she said, “Maybe you should take a class in it, because you’re horrible at it.”

“If I’m so wrong about you and Remus, then how come I heard you call him your boyfriend?” asked James.

Lily rolled her eyes and said, “We were joking, because someone else had made the idiotic conclusion that we were an item just because we were both in the astronomy tower. We found it funny because we’ve never even thought of each other like that.”

“What were you two talking about for so long up there, then?” James asked curiously.

On the defensive, Lily said, “We were talking about what a horse’s arse you are. That was my opinion but he, being a loyal friend, argued that you were a good guy. Thanks for proving my point, Potter.”

Before James could say anything, a voice from down the corridor said, “Lily?”

Lily peeked around James and saw that it was George.

“You okay?” he asked, looking suspiciously at James.

“I’m fine, George,” replied Lily.

Approaching, he said, “I ran into Alice and she told me where to find you. I thought I’d see if you wanted to eat lunch with me before our date.” George glanced at James to make sure he had heard the word ‘date’.

Lily took George’s hand and said, “I’d like that,” not sure if her sudden shortness of breath came from the feel of George’s hand around hers or from the accusatory stare she could sense James giving her.

**************************************************************************************

Over the next few weeks George and Lily became an official item. George’s crush on Lily didn’t wane, and he found every opportunity he could to spend with her. Lily enjoyed his company and felt her loneliness ebb, especially when she discovered that she could double date with her friends. She didn’t have to be the third wheel anymore and she took every opportunity to double date, even though George hinted that he’d rather spend some time alone with her.

Lily couldn’t help but feel a lump form in her throat every so often when George would smile at her and tell her how much he liked her. She would always smile back, but could never bring herself to return the sentiments. There were a few times Lily considered ending things between them, but then she would see James or Remus and she would convince herself that she was doing the right thing.

Although James starting sitting by Remus in class again and being civil, he never officially apologized to him. He pretended like nothing had happened, though Remus was still stung by how James had treated him. Instead, James focused his anger on another boy, namely George Cooper. He didn’t like how the seventh year Gryffindor flaunted his relationship with Lily in his face at every opportunity. James still didn’t understand what Lily saw in him. She smiled and laughed around George, but James could tell there wasn’t the music that lit up her laughter like when she was truly having fun.

Although George was a year older than James, James was the captain of their house’s Quidditch team and therefore used his popularity to knock George down a peg at every opportunity. At meals, pumpkin juice would find a way to spill onto George’s pants and James would make comments about George needing his mum to change his nappy. Lily would overhear and accuse him of being juvenile, but James would laugh it off and say that he was fine with being juvenile as long as he didn’t wet his pants like George.

Toward the end of November they were at breakfast when James hexed a Freezing Charm onto the soles of George’s shoes causing him to slip and slide and fall onto the floor. Amidst the laughter of the surrounding students, Lily helped George over to a seat and fixed his shoes. George, who was beet red with embarrassment at this point, opted to ignore the laughter and focus on his breakfast.

Lily had had enough. She marched over to James and said, “Honestly, Potter! What’s your problem?”

James smirked and arrogantly replied, “I don’t seem to be the one with the problem, Evans. It looks like your boyfriend is a bit of a klutz.”

“Only because you insist on acting like an arse and hexing him at every opportunity!” shouted Lily. She looked over at Remus, who was looking rather green and sickly. Realizing the full moon was that evening, Lily saw his pleading look and tried to tone down her temper. She looked at James and shook her head. “I honestly don’t know why you have to be such a prat all the time. You don’t have to be like that, you know.”

“And what would you have me be like, Evans?” snapped James. “Would you have me be like George? You want me to walk around boring everyone to death?”

“You don’t understand, do you?” she said sadly. “You may be smart and you may be gifted with a wand, but you’re arrogant and cruel, and that makes you dumb. You could be so much better if you tried, but you’re too blind to see it.”

James wasn’t quite sure how to react initially, since Lily sounded more sincere than angry when she had said that. Part of him wanted to jump up and cheer that she thought he was smart and gifted, but that was overshadowed by the part where she had called him arrogant, cruel, and dumb. Seeing her shake her head and turn to walk back toward George, he tried to shout over the noisy entrance of the morning mail, “I’m not the blind one, Evans! You’re dating a bloke that you don’t even like!”

She ignored him and continued on to sit with her boyfriend, who was giving her a questioning look. James watched as she said something to him, and George put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the temple.

“Merlin…” muttered Remus, causing James to turn and watch Remus’s shocked expression as he read the morning edition of the Daily Prophet.

“What now, Moony?” asked Sirius, who was lazily slathering butter onto his toast. “Some scandal with the Minster of Magic? Did she get caught snogging some goblin at Gringotts?” he joked.

Remus looked at Sirius, unsure of what to say. James snatched the paper out of Remus’s hands while joking, “Probably her house elf, instead. I heard that…” James paused, the headline capturing his attention.

Sirius noticed the color drain out of James’s face and said, “Aw, c’mon, what’s happened that’s got you looking like that? Another attack? Someone we know?” Seeing James and Remus exchange a look, Sirius frowned and went to steal the paper, but James’s Quidditch skills allowed him to pull it out of Sirius’s reach. “Prongs! Let me see it!”

“Padfoot…” said James, unable to finish. How was his best mate going to handle this?

Sirius saw a second year student a few seats down with a paper so he grabbed it from her before she could protest. He looked at the front page and froze as the large letters of the headline danced before him.

PROMINENT MEMBER OF BLACK FAMILY DEAD AT AGE 43.

“Padfoot…” repeated James, but Sirius shook his head and continued to read.

Octavius Black, head of the prominent Black family, died Saturday due to complications from an injury he suffered during the summer. Octavius was a revered member of the community and worked as a high official in the Ministry of Magic. He is survived by his wife, Elphaba, and his son, Regulus. Funeral services will be held today at the Black Mausoleum.

James watched as Sirius stared at the paper. He glanced at the Slytherin table but could not see Regulus, realizing that he must have gone home for the funeral. He heard the sound of newspaper crumpling and looked back to see Sirius disposing of it. The second year started to protest but James tossed her Remus’s copy and she backed off.

“Padfoot,” started Remus, but Sirius looked up at him with an odd expression.

“Anybody want to irritate Filch before class? We could make the suits of armor anatomically correct…” said Sirius, his voice tight through his attempt at being nonchalant.

“Padfoot, your father-” said Peter.

“I don’t have a father,” snapped Sirius. “Let’s get outta here. Moony, you need to go to Pomfrey before you collapse.”

“Padfoot, I can stay for a little bit if you want to…” started Remus, but Sirius was already out of his seat and headed for the exit.

“Prongs, do you think that…” started Remus.

James waved him off and said, “I’ll go after him. You should get to Pomfrey soon. We’ll see you at the Shack tonight.”

James didn’t have to run far to find Sirius. He was standing outside the Great Hall, shaking with rage. Across from him stood a triumphant looking Snape, who was holding up his copy of the Daily Prophet like as if it was the Quidditch Cup.

“Isn’t this interesting, Black?” said Snape, reading the front page article. “It says Octavius Black was survived by his wife and by Regulus. Interesting that you were not mentioned.”

Sirius drew out his wand, his face contorted with anger. “I could care less about being included in that freak show they call a family!”

The corners of Snape’s mouth twisted upward as he said, “Based on your strong reaction, it would seem otherwise. Perhaps you’re having some remorse about getting disinherited, though it’s too late to change your mind. You have dishonored your family and are a worthless excuse for a wizard.”

James was about to grab his wand and hex the tar out of Snape, however Sirius beat him to it and sent a curse at the Slytherin, throwing him back 10 feet.

“What is the meaning of this?!” came the angry voice of the deputy headmistress. Seeing the state of things, Snape on the floor and Sirius not bothering to hide his wand, she said, “Mr. Black, you are very well aware of the rules about magic in the corridors, especially any magic used to harm another student. Twenty points from Gryffindor and you will serve detention tonight with Madam Pince. Is that understood?”

Sirius didn’t reply, still sending deadly looks at Snape, who was trying to catch his breath.

“MR. BLACK! I repeat, is that understood?!” said Professor McGonagall.

Sirius gave her a controlled look and tightly replied, “Yes, ma’am.”

Professor McGonagall was taken aback by his demeanor, however instead of reprimanding him more she said, “Now off to class!” Looking at the audience that had accumulated to witness the scene she firmly said, “All of you!”

As the students scattered, James cautiously approached Sirius and said, “Padfoot, I…”

Sirius shook his head and turned to head toward the greenhouses for their first class of the day. James rushed to keep up but opted to keep quiet, assuming his best mate needed the silence. It didn’t help matters that their classmates knew about Sirius’s father and spent the majority of the Herbology lab whispering or trying to offer condolences, neither of which Sirius was happy about.

As they were leaving Herbology, James, trying to cheer Sirius up said, “Wanna use the break before lunch to charm those suits of armor like you wanted to earlier?”

Sirius shrugged and said, “Nah. I’ve already screwed things up by getting a detention for tonight. I’m going to be late to help Moony.”

“It won’t be that late,” said James. “We’ll stay at the Shack until you can get there. Besides, maybe Pince will feel bad about what happened to…you know…and let you leave early.”

“I don’t want anyone feeling sorry for me,” said Sirius.

“I didn’t say they should, but if it does happen then maybe you can at least get some benefit out of it, like getting out of detention early,” said James.

“Maybe,” grumbled Sirius.

**************************************************************************************

That evening, Sirius headed to the library for his detention. As he walked inside he saw a frantic first year student looking for a reference for her Transfiguration paper. Sirius pointed her in the right direction, his knowledge of the books more from the many hours of dusting and re-shelving during detention rather than from studying.

Madam Pince, famously strict about her detentions, was surprisingly kind to Sirius once he arrived. James must have been right, he thought, as she assigned him to take four or five stacks of medical books to the hospital wing. After that, he was free to ‘catch up on some reading’, per the librarian. She made sure to point out the section on grief management before showing him the books that Madam Pomfrey wanted.

Sirius grabbed the first stack, wincing at the weight of the medical texts while silently cursing Madam Pince for forcing him to carry the books without any shrinking or lightening spells. His arms protested from their burden by the time he reached the floor where the hospital wing was. As he walked down the corridor he saw Snape standing by the window, his attention focused on the grounds outside. Sirius glanced out the window and in the dimming sunlight could see Madam Pomfrey accompanying Remus across the grounds, presumably toward the Whomping Willow.

“Snivellus,” growled Sirius.

Snape started, not realizing Sirius was standing nearby. Taking another quick glance out of the window he refocused his attention on Sirius and spat, “Black! Your friend Lupin is supposed to be on his way home to see his sick relative. At least that’s what I heard Professor Flitwick tell some Ravenclaw girl today. What I find fascinating is that the same Lupin who is supposed to be off the premises is walking outside with Madam Pomfrey at this very minute.”

Sirius clenched his jaw, the weight of the textbooks causing the muscles in his arms and back to ache. “Maybe you were seeing things. I heard insanity is a Slytherin trait.”

Snape’s eyes flashed before he retorted, “I think there’s something you’re all hiding about Lupin. I’ve seen you sneaking out at night before and that it must be something illegal. Tonight I’m going to find out what it is you and your friends are hiding and expose it. Perhaps you’ll get expelled, or even better - Azkaban. That’s where all the filth gets sent so you’d fit right in, Black. The dementors would have you wishing that your only worry was being disinherited.”

All the anger Sirius had toward Snape filled him to the point where he could hear nothing but the whir of blood flowing through his veins. He sneered and called out to the Slytherin as he turned to walk away. “Hey, Snivellus,” he said in a oddly matter-of-fact tone. “If you’re so sure you want to see where they went, then head toward the Whomping Willow.”

Snape stopped but didn’t turn to face Sirius.

Sirius continued, “Everyone thinks it’s dangerous, and it is unless you know how to get past it.” Sirius imagined the look of horror Snape would get at coming face to face with a werewolf and tried to suppress a smile. “All you have to do is get a long stick and prod the knot at the base of it.”

Sirius turned to finish his trek to the hospital wing, hearing the sound of Snape’s rapid footsteps fading as they grew more distant. He entered the hospital wing and found it empty. He threw the books on Madam Pomfrey’s desk and rubbed his sore arms, annoyed that he’d have to make another three trips with more books before his detention would be over.

Sirius felt the pocket of his robe vibrate, telling him that James was calling on the two-way mirror. He pulled it out and muttered James’s name, allowing his mate to appear in the mirror.

“How’re things going with Pince?” asked James.

Sirius scowled and said, “She’s making me carry stacks of books to the hospital wing. Shouldn’t take me too long, though. Why aren’t you at the Shack?”

“McGonagall cornered me with questions about the team and practice times,” replied James. “Then I realized I forgot my invisibility cloak and thought it would be best to fetch it since there’ve been a lot of people in the corridors tonight.”

“Yeah, I ran into Snivellus on my way to the hospital wing,” said Sirius.

“He give you more trouble like earlier?” asked James.

“That and he was back to his old suspicions about Moony and the rest of us,” said Sirius. “He saw Pomfrey walking with him outside.”

“Great, I thought we’d finally gotten our point across about him leaving Moony alone,” said James, pulling at his hair making it stand on end.

“I dunno,” said Sirius in an amused tone. “Could you imagine the look on his face if he saw Moony?”

James chuckled and said, “He’d probably wet himself.”

Looking at the pile of books on the nurse’s desk, Sirius wistfully said, “I wish I could be there to see it.”

James laughed for a moment before seeing the look on Sirius’s face. A small trickle of ice started to work its way down his spine. Thinking and hoping Sirius was pulling a fast one on him, he said, “You’re joking, right?” When Sirius didn’t reply right away he added, “You didn’t actually tell Snivellus how to find Moony, did you?”

“It would serve him right, for sneaking around and sticking his ugly nose where it doesn’t belong!” said Sirius.

James could feel the color drain from his face and sink like a lead weight into his belly. Merlin, if Snape got into the Willow… “Padfoot, how long ago did you tell Snivellus?”

“I dunno…five or ten minutes,” replied Sirius.

“Then I might still have time…” said James, standing up heading for the portrait hole.

“For what?” smirked Sirius.

“To stop what you’ve done and keep Moony from getting discovered, or worse yet, becoming a murderer!” retorted James as he ran down the corridor, shoving the mirror into his pocket. He hoped and prayed Peter had closed the door between the Shack and the passageway. It might buy him a few minutes.

As he saw the Whomping Willow in the distance, it looked oddly still. Knowing that Snape must have found the way in, he added every bit of speed into his pace that he could, wishing that he’d thought to bring his broom. As he arrived in front of the tree it came back to life and started thrashing about, trying to make contact with its latest target. James found the stick that Snape must have used and silenced the tree by pushing on the knot. He dove through the gap in the roots and slid down the entrance into the tunnel. He heard a howl in the distance and hurried forward. Luckily, he didn’t have to go too far to find Snape, who was peering down the rest of the tunnel trying to find the source of the howl.

“Snivellus!” shouted James, trying to catch his breath.

Snape pulled out his wand and pointed it at James, saying, “Don’t try to stop me, Potter! You’re too late! I know what Lupin is - I can hear him howling. It all makes sense. You’ve got him locked up in here somewhere. Harboring a werewolf-”

“Shut up!” shouted James. “We don’t have any time, Snivellus. We have to get out of here now!” He approached Snape and started to draw his wand.

“Expelliarmus!” shouted Snape, forcing James’s wand to fly several feet out of reach. “You’re unarmed now, Potter.” Seeing the distressed look on James’s face, he sneered and said, “Not so high and mighty now, are you Potter?”

Hearing another howl, this time a little closer, James said, “Oh, sod it!” and threw a punch at Snape, connecting with his jaw. James grabbed the Slytherin’s wand and summoned his own. He grabbed Snape by the robes and pushed him against the side of the passageway. “Listen to me, Snivellus! If we don’t get out of here right now then we’ll be werewolf bait, do you understand me?”

Seeing Snape’s eyes widen in realization, James pushed him in the direction of the exit. “Run, you idiot!” he shouted, forcing Snape to hurry. As they reached the exit, they heard a growl and Snape turned around, seeing Remus in his werewolf form approaching from down the passageway.

“Go!” shouted James, giving Snape another push. “Hit the knot on your way out. It’ll give you a few seconds to clear the branches. I’ll try to hold him off.”

“How?” asked Snape.

Seeing Moony stalking his way toward them, James repeated, “Just go!”

Snape didn’t need to be told again. He pushed his way out of the tree roots, following James’s instructions about the knot. As he ran toward the castle he could hear a loud howl and wondered if Potter’s cockiness had just cost him his life.

As soon as James saw that Snape was gone he quickly transformed into the stag and raced at Moony, antlers down, forcing the werewolf back toward the Shack. Once the werewolf was safely locked in the Shack, Wormtail scurried through a nearby rat’s hole and into the passageway. The two Animagi returned to their human state, hearing Moony thrashing about the Shack on the other side of the door.

“What happened?” asked Peter.

“Padfoot did something incredibly stupid, and Snape just saw Moony,” said James.

“What?!” said Peter. “What do we do?”

“I need to try to do some damage control with Sirius and Dumbledore. I have no doubt Snape’s headed straight to the headmaster,” said James. “You stay here with Moony and do what you can to calm him down.”

Peter nodded and they transformed back into their Animagi forms, Peter returning through the hole into the Shack while James cantered down the passageway, hoping to find a way to make things right for his friends. Once he was clear of the tree he transformed back to his human form and ran as fast as he could to the front entrance.

As he ran up the stairs and around the corner he collided with Sirius, who was making another trip laden with an armful of textbooks.

The textbooks flew out of Sirius’s arms and across the floor as the two boys tumbled. Sirius rubbed his wrist and said, “Way to go, Prongs! I-”

“You idiot!” shouted James, giving Sirius a shove and standing up.

Sirius’s eyebrows shot up as he said, “What?”

James paced the floor as he said, “You! You told Snape. Of all people, Snape!”

“It was just a joke,” protested Sirius, getting up and dusting off his robes. “I figured it’d teach him a lesson.”

“A lesson?” echoed James. “He almost got killed, Padfoot!”

Sirius snorted but stopped as soon as he heard what James said next.

“And I almost got killed pulling his sorry arse out of Moony’s reach!” said James.

“What were you doing putting yourself in danger for Snivellus, anyway, eh?” challenged Sirius.

James clenched his fists and took a deep breath before saying, “Did it even occur to you that by telling Snape you were putting Moony at risk? What do you think would have happened to him if Snape had gotten mauled to death or bitten?”

Sirius’s eyes widened as he realized the consequences Remus would have to face if Snape had gotten injured or killed. Worse yet, if James had gotten killed… It would have been his fault.

Before Sirius could say anything, James said, “I need to see if I can salvage this mess before one of us gets expelled. I have to find Dumbledore before Snape does.”

“That won’t be necessary, Mr. Potter,” came the voice of the headmaster, whose sudden arrival made James wonder if he’d appeared out of thin air, or perhaps he’d come through another secret passageway…?

“Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, please accompany me to my office,” said Professor Dumbledore, sounding sterner than usual. “I presume you remember the way,” he added with a slight twinkle in his eyes.

Sirius went to gather the scattered textbooks however the headmaster beat him to the punch, waving his wand and causing the books to disappear.

During the walk to Professor Dumbledore’s office, James couldn’t help but remember how he had felt at the end of first year when he’d been forced to walk with Professor McGonagall to the headmaster’s office. He’d been dreading the punishment he’d receive for sneaking out into the forest at night and had worried what his parents’ reactions would be, but that had not been what had happened. He had arrived only to find his mum in tears, telling him that his father had been killed. James glanced at Sirius, realizing despite his anger that his best mate had just found out about his own father’s death that morning.

As they walked into the headmaster’s office they saw Snape standing by Dumbledore’s desk, giving James and Sirius a satisfied look.

“Professor-” started James.

“Perhaps we should all sit down,” said Professor Dumbledore.

“But Professor, we-” continued James.

“Mr. Potter, matters like this need to be settled in a calm manner. Please, have a seat,” repeated the headmaster. He gave Snape a look, indicating that he should sit as well.

Once everyone was seated, the silence in the air was as thick as bubotuber pus as everyone waited for the Professor to speak. Dumbledore opened his desk and pulled out a container, opening it and saying, “Would anybody care for a sherbet lemon drop?”

Snape looked down his nose at the sweet with disgust while Sirius remained oddly silent. James shook his head and watched as the headmaster popped one of the sweets into his mouth, his lips puckering at the strong taste. Putting the container away, he folded his hands on the desk and gave each of the boys a scrutinizing look.

“Mr. Snape here has told me that you are aware of Mr. Lupin’s condition,” said Professor Dumbledore.

“Yes, Professor, but-” said James.

“He also stated that you both pulled a prank on him that almost resulted in his death,” continued the Professor.

“That’s not true,” said Sirius.

Snape snorted with disgust and said, “I shouldn’t be surprised that you’d deny it, Black! You betrayed your family by leaving them, coincidentally after the accident your father had. Is that when you acquired your murderous nature, or have there been other victims we don’t know about?”

“That’s enough!” Professor Dumbledore sharply said. Looking at Sirius, he asked, “Are you denying what Mr. Snape is accusing?”

Sirius shook his head and said, “James had nothing to do with this. Sniv-, I mean Snape and I had an argument tonight and it came out, how to get past the Whomping Willow. I was so mad I didn’t realize that he could actually get killed or that Remus could be held responsible. I told James what I had told Snape and he ran out to stop him before Remus could get to him.”

“That’s a lie!” spat Snape. “He was just as involved as you!”

“Liar!” shouted Sirius. “He saved your sorry arse out there and almost got himself killed in the process!”

“Don’t try to protect him, Black!” said Snape. “Even if he didn’t plan this prank he was helping to harbor a werewolf. That’s grounds for expulsion!”

“That’s enough,” said Professor Dumbledore, holding up his hand, effectively silencing the room. He took a deep breath and leaned forward a bit. “Neither Mr. Black nor Mr. Potter were harboring a werewolf. If anyone is guilty of that, it is me.”

Snape looked at Dumbledore in disbelief and said, “That’s not true. You’re protecting them.”

“I assure you, Severus, it is in fact true,” said Professor Dumbledore. “I instructed Professor Sprout to plant the Whomping Willow over the entrance to the tunnel. I informed the professors of Remus’s condition and swore them all to secrecy. Remus Lupin is a student here because he is an intelligent young wizard who deserves an education just like any other student here. As long as he is sequestered from the other students during the full moon then there is no danger having him here.”

“But there is a danger, Professor,” protested Snape. “He nearly killed me tonight.”

“That is because you went where you were not supposed to,” said Professor Dumbledore. “Had you been following the rules and avoiding the Whomping Willow, you would not have been in any danger.”

“What about Black?” spat Snape. “He was the one who told me how to get past the Whomping Willow and into the tunnel. He knew what I would find. He had every intention of killing me! He should be expelled!”

James threw him a fierce look and said, “Shut up, Snape! You’re so full of sh-”

“As I see it,” interrupted Professor Dumbledore, “Mr. Black did break several school rules tonight and did, in fact, endanger Mr. Snape’s life.”

“Professor, you can’t expel Sirius!” protested James, desperately wanting to knock the self satisfied smirk off Snape’s face.

“I did not say that anybody would be expelled, Mr. Potter,” said the headmaster.

Snape’s smile faded quickly as he asked, “What do you mean, he’s not going to be expelled?”

“Mr. Black will be punished for what he’s done, however I can see that he now realizes the disastrous consequences that could have resulted from his actions,” replied Professor Dumbledore. “Expulsion from Hogwarts is not the appropriate punishment. As I see it, he will face a month of detention-”

“That’s it?” exclaimed Snape. “My life is worth a handful of detentions?”

“And,” emphasized the headmaster, “Mr. Black, you will be suspended from your house Quidditch team for the rest of the school year.”

“Professor-” protested James.

“It’s alright, James,” said Sirius. “It’s better than getting kicked out of Hogwarts. Besides, I can play again next year, right?” He looked at Dumbledore for confirmation, who nodded.

“That’s absurd!” spat Snape. “Perhaps when the parents find out their children are attending school with a werewolf-”

“If I’m not mistaken,” interrupted the headmaster, “Mr. Potter was the one who ran to the tunnel to find you tonight and get you away from the werewolf before he could harm you. He did this at great risk to his own life. He saved your life tonight, Severus. That created a bond between you two-” James groaned in disgust “-that constitutes a wizard’s debt. As I see it, you owe Mr. Potter.”

“I don’t owe him anything!” spat Snape.

“Yes you do!” roared Sirius. “You spout on about a wizard’s honor but when it comes to this you show what a hypocrite you are!”

Snape’s face turned a deep shade of red as he realized that he did, in fact, owe his nemesis his life. He felt his stomach turn at the idea of being indebted to Potter. “What do you want?” he asked tightly, his teeth clenched.

James glanced at Dumbledore, who was watching him closely, his blue eyes twinkling mysteriously. He nodded his head and looked at Snape, saying, “I want you to keep your mouth shut. Don’t tell anyone about Remus. Don’t tell anyone how to find out about him or how to get under the Whomping Willow. Leave Remus alone and don’t let on anything about what he is. Don’t let on that there’s a werewolf at Hogwarts. I also want you to keep your mouth shut about what Sirius did. If anyone asks why he was kicked off the Gryffindor team, just keep your mouth shut and they’ll assume he pulled a prank so humiliating that you don’t want the embarrassment of anybody knowing exactly what he did.”

“I think that is a reasonable request,” said Professor Dumbledore.

Snape was shaking with rage, the idea that not only was he indebted to Potter, but everything he had worked to discover would be forced to be kept secret. Potter and Black would once again come out of trouble with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. He clenched his teeth even tighter and said, “Fine. May I be excused?”

“Certainly,” said the headmaster. “I believe we are done here. I expect you all to go straight back to your dormitories and get some sleep. Things will look up tomorrow.”

James nodded, though inwardly he doubted Professor’s Dumbledore’s optimism. After all, they still had to break it to Remus that not only did Snape know, but that he as Moony almost mauled them to death. He wasn’t looking forward to the next day.

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A/N: What can I say? Time flies (for me, at least). So so so sorry about the long hiatus. If I pull out my book of excuses, I can include a lengthy illness followed by lengthy hours at work. Time passed, I got some writer’s block, but I refuse to give up on this fic! I guess it’s difficult for me to portray Lily this way right now, though I just can’t write her as a ‘perfect’ person. Underneath it all, though, she does have good intentions.

I’d list all my thank you’s individually, but it’s really late (or early in some places) and I have work tomorrow. I stayed up late typing and proofreading to get this done since I had the sudden inspiration to finish this chapter. Anyway, a big group thank you goes out to all my reviewers, and to those who continued to encourage me (i.e. nag me) to continue this story. It’s nice to know the interest is still out there for my story.

90. Chilly Greetings

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.

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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?

91. Echoes of a Nightmare

Chapter 91: Echoes of a Nightmare

Distant sounds, meshed together like a group of incoherent echoes. Feeling drawn closer to the din, hearing the echoes starting to meld into fewer sounds, perhaps voices or the rustling of some paper. Pain, dull initially, but gradually intensifying as the sounds become more clear. Light, attempting to invade the senses, yet resistance seems the only way to avoid the pain.

“Lily?”

More pain, joined by confusion and the first hint of fear.

“Lily? Wake up, honey.”

Wanting to stay in the darkness and avoid the pain, but unable to as a liquid is forced down the throat, a warm spicy sensation causing heat to permeate the body. The sounds suddenly become more clear, and the inevitable occurs as the eyes open.

“Oh, thank Merlin,” came a female voice. “You had us in quite a dither, young lady.”

Lily blinked, her eyes feeling dry and her vision blurred. She turned her head toward the voice and groaned as a stab of pain threatened to split her head in two.

“Don’t move a muscle, miss,” said the woman. “I’ve sent for the Healer and he will bring you something for the pain.”

Lily tried to speak but found the task immensely difficult. Her throat felt dry and raw, and all that came out were some broken sounds. She spent the next few minutes blinking and trying to bring her surroundings into focus.

“Ah, I see our patient is finally awake,” came a voice that had just entered the room. A short balding man with a kind face and lime green robes stepped into Lily’s view and said, “Hello, Miss Evans. I’m Healer Winters.”

The female voice in the room spoke, “She woke a few minutes ago and appears to need a pain tonic, Healer.”

“Very well, Madam Andrews,” said Healer Winters. He took out his wand and conjured a vial of purple potion. “I’ll need you to drink this, Miss Evans. It will help you to feel better.”

Madam Andrews helped to lift Lily’s head so she could drink the potion, the movement causing another blinding jolt of pain to pound through her head. As the liquid ran down her throat she felt as if a cool rush of water had come to extinguish the fire in her brain.

Once her vision came back into focus, Lily felt some of the rawness in her throat abate. She managed to croak out, “Why am I here? Where am I?”

Madam Andrews said, “You’re at St. Mungo’s. You-”

The healer cleared his throat to interrupt the nurse and said, “What do you remember, Miss Evans?”

Lily furrowed her eyebrows and said, “I don’t know. I was shopping with Petunia, my sister. She went to see her boyfriend and I walked home.” Lily strained to remember what happened after she went inside the house, but all she could see was, “Green. I remember my house. I saw green. What hap-” she paused, feeling a wrench in her gut. The headache, a blank patch of memory… She hadn’t felt anything like that since first year.

“I heard she’s awake,” came a gruff voice from the doorway.

“Now’s not a great time, Moody,” said Healer Winters.

“We need to know what she knows as soon as possible if we’re going to find the-” started Moody.

“Not now,” repeated Healer Winters. “She’s only just woken up and I’m not sure what she remembers.”

“What’s happening?” asked Lily, more agitated. “Why am I here? Where are my mum and dad?”

Healer Winters and Moody exchanged a look while Madam Andrews appeared on the verge of tears.

“Where are my parents?” Lily asked more emphatically. Certainly if she was injured in a hospital then her parents had to be nearby, she thought. “Mum?!” she called, knowing that her mother had to be waiting outside the room. Suddenly she thought she heard the sound of a sob from a distance. “Dad?!” she called, sitting up, her heart starting to race.

‘Lily, get out!’ Lily’s breath caught as she heard the echo of her dad’s voice. ‘RUN!’

Lily grabbed her head and echoed, “Dad?” her voice weaker. She looked at Madam Andrews, who was dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief. “Where are my parents? Please!”

“Your house was attacked by Death Eaters,” said Moody. “We need to know anything you can remember about who was there.”

“Alastor!” reprimanded the healer.

“Attacked?” echoed Lily. “My parents…”

Moody’s gruff face appeared sympathetic as he said, “They didn’t make it. It’s a miracle the Aurors were able to get you out alive.”

Lily shook her head, a tight feeling forming in her chest. “No. They aren’t…they can’t be-” her throat caught, the sound of screams filling her ears, her vision filling with green. She suddenly found it impossible to breathe and started gulping for air. Blackness started to take over as she vaguely heard the healer call for a Calming Draught.

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“Wake up, Padfoot!”

“Bugger off, Prongs,” grumbled Sirius.

“It’s Christmas!”

“Bugger off, Prongs,” repeated Sirius, burying his head under his pillow.

“Fine, sleep,” said James. “I’ll just open your presents and give them to Perchy.”

Sirius’s response was a dull snore.

James grumbled and headed downstairs. He looked at the clock in the hallway and saw that it was 9 a.m. It wasn’t that early, he thought. He knew once the smells of Christmas breakfast permeated the house that Sirius wouldn’t be able to resist waking. His mum always made sure that Perchy had a feast ready to greet them on Christmas morning.

James walked into the dining room only to find it dark, no settings or food present. Joseph’s portrait was empty. Confused, he jogged into the kitchen where he saw his mum sitting at the table, her back to the door. As he approached he saw that she was nursing a cup of tea over the Christmas edition of the Daily Prophet. Joseph was in the painting next to the table trying to read over her shoulder.

As soon as Marianne realized her son had entered the kitchen she hurriedly flipped the paper over and said, “James, you’re up early.”

James saw the line on his mum’s forehead that always formed when she was worried or upset about something. “What’s going on, Mum?”

Marianne sighed and motioned for James to sit down. She conjured a second cup of tea and pushed it in front of him. She glanced at Joseph’s image wondering how she was going to tell her son.

Joseph gave her a sympathetic smile and said, “There’s not going to be an easy way to break it to him, love.”

“James,” she started, “you know how I had to work last night, right?”

“Yeah,” replied James. He remembered his mum had volunteered to take Healer McGinnis’s shift so he could spend Christmas Eve with his wife and newborn daughter.

“I was discharging a patient when I noticed a flurry of activity,” explained Marianne. “There were several Aurors that had just arrived from another attack.”

James shook his head and let out a puff of breath. “Bastards don’t even stop for Christmas, do they?”

Marianne continued, not bothering to correct her son’s language. “The Death Eaters attacked a student’s house, James.” Pausing to take a deep breath, she finished, “It was Lily Evans’s house.”

If someone had dropped a house on James at that moment he wouldn’t have noticed it. He was taken back to that moment after first year when he was about to find out about his dad. That moment when he still had a faint glimmer of hope that somehow his dad had survived the attack. But his dad hadn’t survived, and James didn’t want to ask knowing that he could hear the same thing about Lily. He wanted to hang onto that moment of hope, but found himself compelled to ask anyway. “Is she…?”

Marianne shook her head and said, “She’s alive, James. The Aurors were able to get her out in time.”

James let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. Running both hands through his already tousled hair, he asked, “Is she okay? Was she hurt?”

Marianne took James’s hand and said, “From what Healer Winters told me, he thinks she’s going to be fine. Physically, at least.”

“What do you mean?” asked James.

Marianne took a ragged breath and said, “Her parents were killed last night, James.”

James closed his eyes, feeling a stab of sympathy in his chest for Lily. He knew what it was like to lose a parent to an attack, but Merlin…to lose both parents? And to witness it? He opened his eyes and said, “I want to see her.”

“I don’t know if they’re allowing visitors for her yet,” said Marianne.

“I need to see her, Mum,” said James, looking her in the eye. “I need to see that she’s okay.”

Marianne sighed and said, “I’ll see what I can do.”

A thought suddenly occurred to James. “Her sister,” he said.

“Pardon?” said Marianne.

“Did her sister survive?” he asked. He remembered Lily telling him during their first year that she had a sister.

“I don’t know,” said Marianne. “I only remember Healer Winters mentioning her parents.”

“Her sister is a Muggle,” explained James. “If she survived then Lily’s going to need her.”

“Go get dressed,” commanded Marianne. “Once we get to St. Mungo’s we’ll see what we can find out.”

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“Roger, how is she?” asked Marianne.

Healer Winters sighed and said, “She’s pretty shaken up. I’ve had to give her three Calming Draughts.”

James stood next to his mum, impatient and antsy. “Can I see her?”

Healer Winters looked at James with a raised eyebrow and said, “How do you know Miss Evans?”

“This is my son, James,” explained Marianne. “He’s a friend from Hogwarts.”

Winters nodded his head in acknowledgement and said, “I’m afraid Miss Evans is not up for visitors. One moment she’s extremely agitated and the next moment she’s sleeping from the effects of the Calming Draught.”

“She just lost her family,” said Marianne. “Perhaps it would help to see a familiar face.”

“I don’t know,” said Healer Winters, internally debating the matter.

“Please,” implored James.

“All right,” conceded Winters. He started walking toward Lily’s room, nodding his head to indicate they should follow him.

“Roger, do you know if anyone has found Lily’s sister?” asked Marianne.

“Yes,” said Winters. “Petunia Evans was not in the house at the time of the attack, however she appeared on the scene while the Magical Law Enforcement was defusing the situation with the neighbors. They almost obliviated her before she broke down asking where her family was.”

James felt a pang of relief, knowing that Lily still had some family left. “Where is she?” he asked.

“They brought her here directly to the Muggle Maladies wing,” said Healer Winters. “She’s being treated for shock and then she’ll be brought to see her sister.”

They arrived at a door guarded by a wizard dressed in scarlet robes.

“Fabian!” exclaimed James, shocked to see his cousin standing outside Lily’s room.

Fabian greeted them, “Aunt Marianne, James, what are you doing here on Christmas?”

“James is here to visit Lily,” said Marianne.

Fabian nodded grimly and said, “Yeah, she’s had it rough. I’ve been assigned to guard her room, make sure nobody tries to finish the job, you know?”

James felt his stomach twist at the idea of someone trying to finish Lily off and said, “Can I go in?”

Fabian, who would have normally found some jibe to give to his cousin, nodded kindly and said, “Yeah, sure.”

James entered the room and found that there were several beds present though it appeared that only one patient was there, presumably behind the curtain toward the right side of the large room. He approached it and peered around the edge of the fabric, his heart breaking at the sight before him. Lily was on her side curled into a ball, making her seem small in the hospital bed. He walked around the bed and pulled a nearby chair next to her. Her face was pale and appeared haunted, even in her sleep.

For a while James watched her, feeling a strange mixture of deja-vu. He remembered his encounters with Lily in the hospital wing during first year. He remembered his own grief from his father’s untimely death. He knew the emptiness she was going to feel and wanted to do something about it. He was furious that the same people who killed his father had killed her parents. He wanted to do something, anything, to stop them from hurting anyone else.

Lily finally sluggishly opened her eyes, showing faint surprise at the guest beside her.

“Hey,” greeted James. Seeing her draw herself into a tighter ball, he touched her shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, Lily.” He found himself unable to call her by her surname at a moment like that. “The Aurors are going to track down who did this. A life sentence at Azkaban prison will do more harm to them than you can imagine. Two days with a dementor is enough to drive some people mad. They guard the prison, feeding off the misery of the prisoners.”

A gasp sounded from next to the curtain, drawing James’s attention to a young woman who had arrived and apparently overheard what he had said. She was tall and thin with blond hair that was slightly disheveled. Something told James that she normally wore her hair in meticulous fashion, and that circumstances had caused the temporary change in her normal appearance. Her eyes were red rimmed and puffy and she was hugging herself as if she could catch some odd magical malady at any moment.

“Are you Petunia?” he asked.

The woman regarded him suspiciously and gave him a curt nod.

James stood up and approached her, noticing she shrank back a step as he neared. He held out his hand and said, “I’m James Potter. I-” he was about to say he was Lily’s friend but, even though they had agreed to a truce, he couldn’t quite put that label on their relationship. “I go to school with your sister.”

Petunia looked at James’s outstretched hand with distaste and shakily said, “I’m here to see my sister,” her voice catching on the word ‘sister’. She gave James a pointed look and said, “Alone.”

James glanced at Lily who had not moved since Petunia had entered. He said, “Sure, okay. I’ll be outside.”

After he left, Petunia awkwardly approached her sister, standing by the seat James had just vacated. She looked at her, the sight of her sister curled up in a ball threatening her composure. Taking a deep breath, Petunia stiffly asked, “Are you okay?”

Lily had been in and out of the effects of the Calming Draught since she’d first woken in the hospital. There were times when she felt peaceful and was able to sleep, however as soon as the Draught started to wear off and she was able to reabsorb what had happened and the grief started to tear at her, she could hear the cries of her parents all over again. It was all she could remember before the panic would set in, leading to another dose of the Draught.

“’Tunia,” she weakly said, relieved to see her sister. “You’re here.” Lily reached out to grab Petunia’s hand and felt a light pressure from her sister’s grasp.

“Did they hurt you?” asked Petunia, her voice tight.

“I don’t know, ‘Tunia,” said Lily, her voice cracking. “I don’t remember anything, except-” Lily cut herself off, realizing that she didn’t want her sister to know about their mum’s sobs and their dad’s terrified yells that kept haunting the back of her mind. It was already too much that they had died, but Lily didn’t want Petunia to know how scared they had been.

“Except?” prodded Petunia.

“Except that I woke up here,” finished Lily.

Petunia dropped Lily’s hand and paced by the bed, hugging herself again as if there was a chill in the air. “I don’t understand this, Lily. How could this happen to them? Why did these people kill our parents? I don’t understand how someone could just wave a wand and how that could have killed Mum and Dad!”

Lily sat up, feeling a bit lightheaded at the effort. “’Tunia, there are bad wizards and witches out there that don’t like people like me, people who come from non-magic backgrounds. They think that I pollute the magical world.”

“So these bad wizards, they killed Mum and Dad because they wanted you dead?” asked Petunia, looking at Lily with an accusatory stare. “Are you saying that if you hadn’t gone to Hogwarts, if you had chosen to be normal, then Mum and Dad would still be alive?”

Lily felt herself go cold at the idea. If she had decided to stay home after second year…perhaps things would have been different.

Petunia face contorted as she let out a frustrated sob. “Vernon was right!”

“What?” whispered Lily.

“I told him I couldn’t marry him,” she said. “I told him I had ambitions, but he told me that I was just being influenced by my freak sister.” Petunia continued, the tears flowing down her cheeks, “I defended you! I never understood what you’re able to do or why you want to do it, this gift,” she said snidely, “that Mum and Dad went on about. But I told him that you were my sister and that he couldn’t speak about you like that.”

“’Tunia-” sobbed Lily.

“He told me he loved me and that he wanted to marry me,” cried Petunia, “to give me a normal life.” She looked at Lily and shook her head. “Now what’s left for me, Lily? Mum and Dad are gone…and look at you! You’re stuck in this freaky place because people in your world want you dead. I can’t deal with this!”

“’Tunia, I need you,” sobbed Lily. “I think something’s happening to me, something that happened to me during first year.”

“I don’t want to hear about it!” shouted Petunia. “You chose your path years ago. Magic,” she bit, “is what Mum and Dad went on and on about, but that’s what killed them! Their blood is on your hands!”

“No,” cried Lily, the sobs of her mum starting to pound inside her head again. She put her hands over her ears, trying to drown out the sounds.

“I’m going to marry Vernon,” stated Petunia. “I’m going to have a nice, normal life with him. Magic will not be a part of our lives. I will not let it hurt me like this ever again!”

“’Tunia…” gasped Lily, the sounds getting louder.

“Don’t call me that!” shouted Petunia. “In fact, don’t call me anything. Just keep your world and yourself away from me!”

Lily felt her heart collapse as Petunia turned and walked out on her. The sounds of her parents continued to reverberate inside her head, now accompanied by chilling laughter. She felt her body wracking with sobs, her mind trying to grasp what had happened the previous night. A hand gently touched her shoulder and she looked up to see James Potter’s concerned gaze. Petunia’s words echoed in her head ‘Their blood is on your hands!’ and Lily knew she was right. Riddle had been at her house that previous night, she could hear his laughter in her head. He’d been there and somehow had caused her to do something so bad that she couldn’t remember it.

Flashes of Riddle’s words from the events in the Forbidden Forest rang in her head. They were almost five years old, but she could hear them as if they had been spoken yesterday.

‘You did my bidding.’

‘Joseph Potter is no longer a problem, and I have you to thank for that, Lily.’

‘You were the one who led me to Joseph Potter. You are the reason he is no longer a problem.’

“My fault,” sobbed Lily. Had she somehow caused her parents’ death, too?

“What?” said James.

Lily became more panicked. What was James doing there? He couldn’t be there! She pushed away his hand and shrank away. “My fault, it’s my fault!”

“It’s not your fault,” said James. “The Death Eaters are responsible for what happened.”

He went to touch her hand but Lily backed away in a panic, falling off the other edge of the bed. She immediately scrambled backwards as James rushed around the bed to see if she was okay. “Stay away!” cried Lily. “It’s my fault!”

James knelt down and tried to grab her hands which were covering her face but she again pushed him away, choking out, “No! Don’t touch me! You can’t touch me! It’s my fault, oh God, it’s my fault!”

James soon felt himself being pulled back by his mum as Healer Winters pushed past him to give Lily another Calming Draught. She guided him out of the room and James took one last look as the potion finally started to calm Lily down. The nurse helped her into bed as she started to drift into a peaceful state, muttering one last time, “My fault…”

James waited impatiently in the hallway until Healer Winters emerged from Lily’s room. “How is she?” he asked.

“She’s resting, finally,” he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“Good,” said James, stepping forward to reenter her room.

Healer Winters stepped in his path and said, “I’m afraid she can no longer have any visitors.”

“But I just want to sit with her,” said James. “Her sister just walked out on her! She’s going to need someone!”

“What Miss Evans needs right now is rest,” said Winters. “Rest and time are the only things that are going to help her right now. Everything else seems to agitate her.”

“But-” James protested.

“He’s right, James,” said Marianne. “Lily’s sleeping. There’s nothing else we can do right now. Let’s go home. I’ll check with Roger to see how Lily’s condition is and let you know if there’s anything else we can do, okay?”

James finally relented and grudgingly followed his mum toward the hospital Floo network.

“You okay?” asked Marianne as they waited in line to leave.

James shook his head and said, “I just wish I could do something to help.”

Marianne gave him a sad smile and said, “She’s grieving, James. It’s hard to watch someone you care about grieve and not be able to help.”

James saw the sad note in her eyes and a realization hit him. “Is that how it was with me…for you?” He felt a pang of guilt, realizing that his mum had felt the same frustrations with him that he was feeling about wanting to help Lily.

Marianne hugged him and said, “It’s okay, James. I wanted to help you, but the more I tried the more you pushed me away, so I finally decided to step back and let you find your peace with what happened. I don’t know how you were finally able to do that, but I know that when you came home after third year I could tell that you had been able to come to terms with what had happened to your father.”

“I’m sorry if I was hard on you,” said James, running a hand through his hair. “It wasn’t easy to see you sad. First Dad died, then I saw you sad, and parents are supposed to be strong, so I guess I distanced myself.”

“Don’t worry about it, sweetie,” said Marianne. “The point is that Lily is going to need support, but it’ll be up to her when she’s ready for that and who she’s willing to accept it from.” She gave him another hug which was soon interrupted by a ‘Hem hem’ behind them from an impatient woman waiting to use the Floo network.

They arrived home to find Sirius chatting with Perchy in the kitchen. James felt a pang of guilt at not waking him before rushing off to St. Mungo’s and said, “Sorry.”

Sirius waved him off and said, “Forget it. How’s she doing?”

“You know what happened?” asked James.

“I saw the story in the Daily Prophet,” said Sirius. “I figured you’d both gone to the hospital to check on her.”

James mussed his hair again and said, “She’s alive, but she’s pretty messed up. You know, she actually blames herself for what happened? Those bastards attacked her family and killed her parents and she feels she’s to blame!”

Sirius frowned and said, “You think we should owl Alice and McKinnon? Let them know what happened?”

James shook his head and said, “I’m sure they saw the article. Besides, the healer’s not allowing any more visitors right now.”

“Pardon me, Madam,” came the squeaky voice of the house elf.

“Yes, Perchy?” asked Marianne, yawning from her lack of sleep.

“What would you like me to do about the gifts?” asked the elf.

“Gifts?” said Marianne, suddenly realizing that it was still Christmas. She looked at James and Sirius and knew that none of them felt like celebrating. Nonetheless, she knew they couldn’t just let the gifts sit there unopened until the next Christmas. “I suppose we should just open them. No sense in letting them go to waste.”

James shrugged his shoulders, feeling like skipping the rest of Christmas but not in the mood to protest. “Fine,” he said.

Perchy gave Sirius a knowing look and said, “See, Mister Sirius? I knew Mister James would not want me taking all his gifts for myself!”

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A/N: I was thinking about waiting another day or so before posting this, however since I left you with a cliffy and since I’ve had a few long spaces between updates, I figured I’d reward my loyal readers with a quicker update. Yes, there are still several unanswered questions but things will continue to gradually unfold as the story progresses. Keep in mind we’re already halfway through sixth year. Only 1.5 years worth of this story left to write so a lot is going to have to happen before they graduate!

Thanks to my reviewers, as always! Most recently: Anonymous, BMoll, Golden Phoenix, loonymoony8, kelly, Mani12191, katblack, ladylaughalot, Jo Bob, stranger, tfr hq, Jellywig, and RainDateChick.

92. Suffocating Memories

Chapter 92: Suffocating Memories

“Good morning, Lily,” chirped Madam Andrews as she entered the room.

Lily was dressed and sitting on the side of the bed staring at the shaded window.

Madam Andrews waved her wand causing the shade to draw upward, sending beams of light throughout the room. “Lovely day, today. Freezing cold, but at least the sun’s out,” said the nurse.

Lily looked at her hands, trying to avoid the sunlight.

Madam Andrews studied her for several moments before sighing and saying, “If you’re not ready, you don’t have to go back today. Your headmaster said that he could arrange transportation on a different day.”

For a while it seemed like Lily would not respond, for lately she had been a girl of few words. She took a deep breath and softly replied, “I have no where else to go.”

Madam Andrews clucked her tongue and said, “Well, I’m glad that you’ll be seeing your friends. I really wish you’d have accepted visitors after Healer Winters gave his okay.” She glanced at the array of flowers and cards that had come during the few weeks Lily had stayed at St. Mungo’s.

Alice and Marlene had each sent cards. A few times Alice had owled her chocolates, however the boxes remained untouched. Emm and Remus had each sent cards, as did a few of her fellow prefects. George had owled a large bouquet of flowers. Marianne had stopped by, using her clout as a fellow Healer, and dropped off some flowers and candy that James and Sirius had sent. Lily had heard her enter and closed her eyes, feigning sleep, unable to face James’s mum.

Lily shrugged weakly and stood up, looking at the trunk that was in the corner of the room, having been delivered from her house a few days earlier. Her owl, Lancelot, perched in his cage next to the trunk, blinking at Lily. “Is it time to go?” she asked.

“If you’re ready, then yes,” replied Madam Andrews. Her eyes welled up as she rushed toward Lily and gathered her into a large embrace.

Lily immediately stiffened, not prepared for the hug and not ready to feel such a maternal gesture. A rawness threatened to reclaim Lily, who had managed to numb herself over the previous two weeks. She stepped back and said, “Thank you, Madam Andrews.”

The nurse held Lily at arm’s distance and said, “Now I want you to take care of yourself when you get to school. Don’t let this eat you up. You need to talk to somebody.”

Lily nodded and glanced at the door, anxious to get away.

“Don’t worry about your things,” said Madam Andrews. “The Aurors will make sure your trunk and owl make it to the train.”

“Aurors?” questioned Lily.

“They’ll be escorting you to King’s Cross,” said the nurse. “They just want to make sure nothing happens to you, dear.”

After losing both her parents and being disowned by her sister, Lily wondered what else could possibly happen to her.

Fabian Prewett opened the door and asked, “Ready to go, Lily?”

Lily nodded and followed him through the corridors and down the stairs as they reached the lobby. There was a crowd of people waiting to speak with the witch at the Inquiries desk, including a man who’s ears kept flapping and lifting him off the floor. Another woman appeared to be alternately whispering and yelling at the nurse, however it seemed she had been afflicted with a curse that caused her to have difficulty controlling the volume of her voice.

They arrived at a wall where Lily assumed the exit must be. Fabian motioned for her to stop and leaned forward, his face disappearing into the wall. After a moment he pulled back and smiled at her, saying, “All clear. Go ahead. My brother Gideon’s waiting on the other side for you. I’ll meet you at the station with your belongings.”

Lily hesitated for a moment before stepping through what felt like a cold sheet of water and finding herself on a busy London street in front of an old red brick building. Turning around she realized the wall she had walked through appeared from this side to be an old window display.

“Lily, we need to get you to the station,” said a voice Lily could swear belonged to Fabian. Turning around, she saw someone who looked just like him and realized it was his brother, Gideon. He was glancing up and down the street, presumably looking for possible threats. He nodded toward the street where there was a sleek black car parked. “It’s on loan from the Ministry,” he explained.

The drive to King’s Cross was mostly silent. Gideon tried to make small talk about Hogwarts and the professors, but Lily mutely stared through the window. As soon as they arrived Gideon stepped out and gazed toward a crowded spot near the entrance. Lily noticed a woman give him a discreet nod, apparently indicating that it was safe to enter the station. They walked to Platform 9 and the barrier, and Lily couldn’t help but remember the hugs and kisses she’d received from her mum and dad a few weeks earlier as she had arrived home for the holidays. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

“We’re all set,” said Gideon. “The train leaves in ten minutes. Fabian will have made sure your things made it on safely.”

Lily paused before the barrier, a queasy feeling settling inside her as she realized she was going to have to face so many people and settle into the normalcy of schoolwork again. Was normalcy even possible for her anymore?

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“She might not even be here, Prongs,” said Sirius.

“No,” protested James, looking around the crowded platform. My mum heard that she was being released today. She said she’s coming back to Hogwarts.”

“She’s probably going to want some space,” said Remus. “She didn’t even want any visitors at the hospital.”

James’s eyes suddenly perked and the other Marauders followed his gaze to the barrier where Lily had just stepped through. She was noticeably thinner and her eyes had dark rims below them, making them appear haunted. No sooner had she appeared through the barrier before Alice and Marlene raced over and hugged her, each of them crying except Lily who stood there stiff and emotionless. Lily gave them each the ghost of a smile before becoming fidgety and playing with the edge of her coat pocket.

James was about to approach her when he saw George Cooper rush beside Lily and sweep her up in his own hug, kissing her on the temple. Lily’s reaction was similar to the one she had shown Alice and Marlene. James hesitated, wanting to see for himself how Lily was really doing but remembering his promise before the holidays to lay off Cooper.

The train’s whistle signaled the impending departure, so James opted to leave Lily to her closest friends, thinking that maybe Remus had a point about her becoming overwhelmed by all the attention. Besides, after his dad had died he hadn’t liked all the extra attention. He had wanted people to leave him alone rather than pity him.

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“You sure you’re okay?” asked Alice.

Lily looked at the floor, her face indecipherable as she replied, “I’m fine.”

Marlene gave Lily a dubious look and was about to voice her doubts when George shook his head, saying, “Come on. Frank’s saving a compartment for us.” He put his arm around Lily’s shoulders, guiding her toward the train.

The ride to Hogwarts was awkward for Lily and her friends. They tried making small talk to fill the silence, however Lily sat tacitly by the window during the entire trip, looking outside at nothing in particular. Frank started to talk about his Christmas when Alice jabbed him in the ribs, silently scolding him for bringing up Christmas when it could upset Lily. The rest of the trip was filled with carefully calculated conversation. Marlene was so frustrated from trying to find something to cheer Lily up that she considered finding Sirius and hexing him just to liven things up.

Once they arrived at Hogwarts, Lily excused herself from the feast and went straight to her room, claiming to be tired from the trip. She shut the curtains to her bed, neither Marlene nor Alice hearing a peep from her all night. The next morning, Alice went to wake Lily only to find the bed empty. Worried, she quickly finished getting dressed and hurried down to the Great Hall only to find Lily leaving.

“Lily!” called Alice, rushing over to her. “You’re done with breakfast, already?” Seeing Lily nod, she asked, “Where are you going?”

“To the library,” replied Lily.

“Oh,” said Alice, glancing at the Great Hall before saying, “I’ll come with you.”

“No,” protested Lily. “I need to finish the Transfiguration assignment. Go ahead and eat breakfast.”

Alice waved off Lily’s suggestion and said, “That’s okay. I can help you. I finished the assignment already, anyway.”

Lily shook her head and insisted, “I’m fine, Alice. I just need to do this on my own, okay?” She turned and walked away, leaving Alice to wonder whether Lily had been talking about her homework or her grief.

As the next few weeks passed, the weather seemed to mimic the atmosphere around Lily. There was no snow, not even wind, just a dreary chill that left the sky a dull gray. Lily tended to venture off by herself, citing the need to catch up on her studies. Whenever one of her friends approached her she had an assignment in front of her or a textbook, though there were times when her eyes did not move, seemingly staring through whatever it was she claimed to be working on. She no longer participated in class, only speaking if she was called upon.

Alice and Marlene were constantly concerned about Lily and her lack of emotion. Alice was worried that Lily had become a shell of her former self. One evening, in the common room, Marlene finally decided to try her original idea of cheering Lily up and hexed a donkey’s head on Sirius, who was rather put out about it. Marlene told him not to be an ‘ass’ about it and to take one for the cause. While this sent several Gryffindors into hysterics, Lily didn’t appear to notice the commotion as she was sitting by the window, gazing outside.

Matters only became worse when the Daily Prophet reported more attacks, including the slaying of several Muggles near a wizarding village. Several of the Muggleborn students were constantly on edge, wondering if they would wake up one day to read about their families, wondering if they would walk around the school with the shell-shocked look that Lily and a few other students had from their tragedies.

The Marauders decided to try and liven things up a bit. They made a Saturday expedition to Zonko’s through one of the secret passageways and stocked up on some items they felt would earn some laughs. With the help of a few house elves in the kitchen, they switched the cups on the staff table so that during dinner, each time a professor went to take a drink the liquid would jump out of the cup and land in another professor’s cup.

One evening, James was on his way to the greenhouse intent on nicking some Mashing Potatoes, a potato that tended to mash the person before letting the person mash it for food. He thought it might be funny to switch the baked potatoes at the Slytherin table the next evening. As he approached Greenhouse 2, he saw a couple of shadows further down the corridor. Pulling out the Marauder’s Map, he activated it and saw that the two people were George Cooper and Miriam Snodgrass, a seventh year Hufflepuff.

Staying close to the wall in the shadows, James sneaked closer until he could get a better look at them. He could see Miriam with a slight blush in her cheek, shyly smiling before saying, “Sure. I’d love to.”

“It’s a date, then,” replied Cooper, smiling back.

James hid behind a statue as Miriam walked by, a broad grin on her face. Once she had passed, James stepped out and saw Cooper still by the greenhouse with a stupid grin on his face. Furious, James suddenly found himself in front of Cooper, grabbing hold of him and pushing him back, knocking the seventh year Gryffindor into the wall.

“What the bloody hell was that for?!” yelled Cooper, ready to fight back, but suddenly at the end of the wand of a very angry James Potter.

“I saw you!” shouted James. “With Miriam!”

“So?” said Cooper, trying to casually reach into his robe pocket.

“Expelliarmus!” said James, causing Cooper to knock into the wall again as his wand flew into James’s other hand. James took a menacing step closer as he said, “So? You’re supposed to be dating Evans, and here you are asking some other bird out!”

“Lily and I aren’t dating,” said George.

“She just lost her family, and you broke up with her?!” said James.

George nervously tugged at his collar before muttering, “She broke up with me last week.”

James’s wand faltered as he said, “What?”

George cleared his throat and repeated, “She broke up with me. I’m not cheating on her, so let me have my wand back before I decide to deduct points for using magic in the corridor.”

James was tempted to hex the prefect badge on Cooper’s robes to say ‘prat’, however he was more concerned about Lily. He reluctantly returned Cooper’s wand and watched the seventh year prefect nervously walk away, glancing over his shoulder every so often to make sure James didn’t change his mind about hexing him.

Forgetting about the Mashing Potatoes, James headed back to Gryffindor Tower. He had wanted to talk to Lily, especially after the way she had reacted to him in the hospital. He wanted to make sure she was okay, however he hadn’t seen much of her since their return from the holidays. She seemed to isolate herself, and when he did see her she was flanked by her friends. Remus had said to give her space which James had done, knowing how he had wanted that after his own father’s death.

Walking into the common room, James saw Marlene sitting with Alice and Frank at a table by a window. He approached them, ignoring the questioning looks he got from the other Marauders, who had been expecting him to return with a bag full of angry potatoes.

“What do you want, Potter?” asked Marlene, looking suspiciously toward the other Marauders, expecting Sirius to have sent James over as part of some scheme to avenge the donkey-head hex.

“Where’s Evans?” asked James.

“She’s upstairs,” replied Alice.

“Did she really break up with Cooper?” asked James.

Marlene rolled her eyes and said, “Don’t tell me you’re going to start asking her out again, Potter. She doesn’t need-”

“I’m not,” interrupted James. He nervously ran a hand through his hair and said, “I was just, erm…wondering how she’s doing. I haven’t seen her around much except in classes.”

Looking toward the staircase to the girls’ dormitory, Alice said, “She’s probably sleeping. Seems like that’s all she does lately unless she’s holed up somewhere studying.”

“Look, clearly she’s really sad about her parents,” said Marlene, explaining the obvious. “We’re helping her as much as we can, but right now she wants to be left alone. If that’s what she wants then we’re going to do that for her. She’ll get through this if we just give her some time. And space,” she added, giving James a pointed look.

James looked like he was going to say something, but instead ruffled his hair, tugging at the tousled strands in frustration as he walked toward his mates.

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The following day was another chilly winter day. There was an ominous calm outside, and several professors were overheard talking about the likelihood of a storm. Several students looked upward toward the enchanted ceiling in the Great Hall, expecting to see a swirling of clouds. Instead, they were met with overcast gray skies, nothing more to indicate an impending blizzard.

Lily sat at the Gryffindor table attempting to read the next chapter in her Charms textbook, however Alice kept nagging her to eat. Lily tried to humor her by picking at her toast a bit, however she succeeding more in pushing the food around her plate rather than eating it.

Alice frowned, concerned at how skinny Lily was getting. She was already thin to begin with, but it seemed that ever since their return to Hogwarts Lily’s life consisted of sleep and attempts at studying, though Alice could tell that Lily had trouble focusing on her reading. It seemed as if she had no appetite, and Alice worried that part of Lily had probably died along with her parents. She showed no signs of emotion, walking from class to class as if she were a zombie forced to get through the day.

Alice had tried a few Cheering Charms, however after each charm wore off Lily’s mood only became more somber. Marlene told her to stop, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to keep the charm on Lily 24-7, and worried that if they kept her on it long term, once the charm wore off things would be worse than they already were. Marlene felt that Lily just needed to work her way through the depression and then she’d be fine.

“I’ll see you in class,” said Lily as she gathered her books and stood up.

“Wait, we’ll go with you,” said Frank.

“That’s okay,” said Lily. “Finish your breakfast, Frank. I’ll see you later.” She walked out of the Great Hall before anyone had a chance to protest.

“I don’t like this,” said Alice. “She isn’t getting any better. There has to be something we can do.”

“We’re giving her what she wants right now,” said Marlene. “What else can we do?”

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Lily walked toward the DADA classroom, numbly praying to get her through classes that day so she could return to the safety of her bed and sleep away the rest of the day. She appreciated her friends, but they didn’t understand. Merlin, even she didn’t understand. To try was to bring up all the terror and emotion she had felt when she had first woken up at St. Mungo’s. She knew she had to push those thoughts away or she’d never be able to survive what had happened.

Turning the corner, she suddenly found herself face to face with James Potter. He was alone, standing in the middle of the hallway, not surprised to see her. It was if he had been waiting for her.

“Hi,” he said, somewhat shyly.

Lily was temporarily frozen in place, feeling a flutter of panic in her belly. She knew that at some point she would have to face James, but she wasn’t ready. She didn’t think she’d ever be ready.

James ran a hand nervously through his hair, noting that Lily looked like she would rather be anywhere but in front of him. Still, he asked, “How are you? Erm…that’s a dumb question. But…are you okay?” Seeing her thin, pale state, he said, “Right, that was also a dumb question. It’s just that, I know how awful this is for you right now. I mean, erm…my dad was killed, too…at the end of first year.”

If it was possible, Lily looked paler. Her hands trembled a little as she gathered her books closer to her chest as if trying to protect herself.

“I thought that if you want to talk about it with someone who knows what you’re going through, or even if you just want to hang out, I’m here,” said James.

Lily’s face lost some of the numb shell-shocked look that she had been sporting as she looked somewhat scared. “I just need to be by myself right now,” she tremulously said. “Please,” she added as she walked around him, her eyes a bit glassy.

“If you change your mind,” said James, “come find me, okay?”

The empathy in his voice caused Lily to pause. She turned her head and gave a slight nod to indicate she had heard him, before rushing away toward the DADA classroom. She found her usual spot in the back corner of the room and collapsed into her seat. She ran her hands over her face, trying to force out the panicky sensation that was attempting to overcome her.

Ever since Lily had been released from St. Mungo’s she felt as if she had been walking a constant tightrope set high above a pit of lies and despair that threatened to eat away at her. She had forced herself to avoid all of the thoughts and emotions that had been plaguing her in order to keep her balance. Every time someone tried to force her to open up it was as if they adding to her load and threatening the fine line she was walking. Seeing James and hearing the empathy from him had felt like a hippogriff landed on her.

Lily felt her heart flutter from nerves, constantly reminded of what Riddle had told her in the forest at the end of first year. It had been her fault. She had somehow revealed the location of James’s dad to him, and he had used that information to kill Mr. Potter. She couldn’t stomach the idea of James showing her sympathy after what she had done.

Lily’s memory of the events of the night her parents were killed was still sketchy, however she knew that Riddle had been inside her house. Every so often Lily would get a flash of memory of that night, like something out of the most intense moments of a horror film. It was killing Lily, not knowing, yet she was scared to death of finding out her role that evening. Had she somehow been responsible for her parents’ deaths like she had been with James’s dad? Did she even try to stop the Death Eaters?

“You look like you’ve been in an argument with a Lethifold,” came a soft, melodic voice from the front of the room.

Lily started, jumping back slightly in her seat. She looked across the empty classroom to see Professor Grazynska standing by her desk. Lily tried to regroup, taking several deep but shaky breaths. She hadn’t heard the DADA professor enter the room.

“I did not mean to startle you,” said Professor Grazynska. She walked towards Lily, her pace graceful and smooth. She sat down at the desk opposite Lily’s and said, “I understand you had a difficult time over the holiday.”

Lily felt another flutter of unease. She had had several professors offer their condolences and give her advice on how to get past the tragedy. Lily did not want another person telling her how to feel and act. She just wanted to be left alone, trying to find a way to make it through each day. She nodded at the professor, staring down at her desk and hoping she would get the hint and leave her alone.

“You’re feeling guilty,” said Professor Grazynska, almost matter-of-factly.

Lily looked up, surprised at the comment. Did she know…?

The DADA professor arched one of her delicate eyebrows and said, “Being a muggleborn. It’s natural to feel guilty about such a death. After all, you’re magical, your parents weren’t. It is understandable that you would have doubts about your decision to enroll at Hogwarts.”

Lily gazed at the professor. Something about her voice was soothing, however when her eyes met Professor Grazynska’s, Lily couldn’t see any empathy. Lily felt a chill trickle through her bones and she shivered.

“I imagine your parents were very proud of you,” continued Professor Grazynska. “Being Muggles, I suppose they got a lot of enjoyment out of anything magical you brought home.”

Lily looked down and nodded, feeling a lump form in her throat at the excited and pleased reactions her parents had anytime she showed them anything enchanted or magical.

“Such a shame they had to die at Christmas,” said Professor Grazynska. “I bet the gifts you had gotten them would have made them very happy.”

Lily thought of her last trip to Hogsmeade before the Christmas holiday. She had found a toy sailboat for her dad, who loved boats. The sailboat, once set upon water, would come to life, the sails raising and enchanted little sailors shouting orders. She had bought her mum a scarf enchanted to change colors depending on the outfit she was wearing that day.

Suddenly Lily noticed Professor Grazynska had started humming a soft melody. Lily gazed up at her professor and felt a little dizzy. Though the DADA teacher’s face was serene, something about her eyes was intense, almost probing.

Lily suddenly felt a memory surface from before the holidays. She had been with the prefects and Professor Flitwick, sorting through a variety of things in an old classroom a few corridors down from the library. Professor Flitwick was hoping to use the room for his seventh year students for some advanced NEWT preparations. He had enlisted the help of several prefects for the task.

The old room had looked more like a storage room rather than an old classroom, a place to put things when one could think of no better place to put them. There were sheets draped over the furniture and boxes in an attempt to keep the dust off, however it seemed like the dust had a mind of its own. Lily had been unable to fight off several sneezing fits as the sheets were removed from the stored objects, causing the dust to hang in the stale air.

What they found presented a major challenge. There was no rhyme or reason to the stored items. Professor Flitwick gave a frustrated tug at his few remaining hairs, and finally decided to try to catalog what they could identify. He hoped to find a more suitable place for the objects he could identify and shrink the objects he could not identify, at least making them easier to stow away.

Lily found a wide variety of items, from old textbooks to clothing that looked like it was hundreds of years old. She and a few other of the prefects had fun donning some of the old hats and robes that had gone out of style centuries earlier. Professor Flitwick had to gently remind them that there was still much to be done if they were going to have the room cleared out by the end of the day.

By the time the last box had been packed and shrunk, the prefects were feeling sweaty and covered in a layer of grime from the dust and dirt. Emm, who was a Ravenclaw prefect, chuckled and said to Lily, “You’ve got an enormous dust ball on the top of your head, Lily.”

Lily grimaced and ran a hand over the top of head, picking out little pieces of dust bunnies. “Did I get it all?” she asked, continuing to search for more dust. As her hand reached the back of her head, she suddenly remembered, “Whoops! I forgot I had this on.” She pulled out a comb she had found at the back of a bookshelf. She had pulled her hair back and set it with the old comb both as part of the fun of dressing up in the ancient clothing, and also in an attempt to keep her hair out of her face.

Emm studied the old comb, admiring the sapphire blue color and the set of birds that were carved into the hair ornament. One of the birds stretched and fluttered its wings, causing Emm to gasp in delight. “That is so neat! Where did you find this?”

“At the back of a bookshelf behind some of the old Charms textbooks,” replied Lily.

“That’s an odd place to leave something like that,” commented Emm.

Lily nodded and saw their Charms professor approaching.

“We’re done here,” said Professor Flitwick. “Thanks for all your help today, girls.”

“Professor, I forgot that I had this,” said Lily, showing him the blue hair comb.

Professor Flitwick turned his tired eyes toward the comb and studied it for a moment before saying, “I don’t recognize it. Probably something for the ‘abandoned clothes’ box.”

Lily studied the pretty comb, sad at the idea of letting it sit in a box indefinitely.

Professor Flitwick smiled and said, “Why don’t you keep it? There’s no point in leaving it stored somewhere when I’m sure it would look lovely in your hair, right?”

Lily smiled and said, “Actually, I think I might give it to my sister for Christmas. I still need something for her, and it would look better in her blond hair.”

“Splendid idea!” exclaimed Professor Flitwick.

As Lily and Emm walked away from the old classroom, Emm said, “I’m jealous. I wish I’d found something like that to keep. The most exciting thing I came across was that old bugle that plays itself, and there’s no way I’m keeping that!”

Lily laughed and said, “Maybe you should’ve taken that old hat with the chicken perched on the top. Then you could look like Frank Longbottom’s mum.”

“Is she the lady with that weird hat with the vulture?” asked Emm.

Lily nodded and said, “That’s her.”

Emm scrunched up her face and said, “You’d think she found that hat in the room we just cleaned. It’s awful.” Glancing over and the comb Lily was carrying, she said, “I can’t believe you’re going to give that to your sister. I’d probably keep it for myself. She’s going to love it.”

Lily studied the pretty comb and, seeing one of the decorative birds preening itself, she suddenly had doubts. Petunia would probably love the comb, except for the fact that it had little birds that fluttered around on it. Lily smiled at Emm, silently thinking to herself that she should use that upcoming Hogsmeade weekend to see if there was something for Petunia that wouldn’t make her shriek in fear.

Lily’s memory suddenly shifted from the day cleaning the classroom to the night her parents were killed. She found herself held at wand point surrounded by several Death Eaters. Riddle was standing before her, not wearing a mask like the others, though his face had changed. It was paler, less handsome than his days as her DADA professor. His eyes were different, less human.

“Bring her here,” he commanded to the Death Eaters surrounding Lily.

“Yes, My Lord,” replied a female voice coming from the Death Eater on Lily’s right. She gave Lily a harsh jab with her wand and shoved her toward Riddle. Behind him, her parents were on the couch, invisibly bound by a spell, unable to move.

Riddle stepped closer to Lily and said, “Where is it?”

Lily shook her head in confusion, finding herself unable to look at the man who had somehow made her do horrible things during her first year at Hogwarts. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Riddle turned and aimed his wand at her father. “Crucio!” he yelled, causing her father’s face to contort in agony, unable to thrash about with the binding spell upon him.

“No!” yelled Lily, trying to get to her father but feeling one of the masked Death Eaters holding her back. Over her father’s screams she could hear laughter from the group of Death Eaters. “Stop it!” she yelled at Riddle.

Riddle broke the Cruciatus Curse and turned back to Lily. “Now tell me, where is it?”

Lily looked at her father, who was tremoring from the aftereffects of the curse. Feeling her own tears spilling over, she said, “Where is what?”

Riddle turned again and set the curse on her mum this time.

“No, please!” screamed Lily. Her mum was screaming and her dad had tears running down his face in frustration at the pain his wife was in and the threat against his youngest daughter. Lily pulled at her hair and yelled, “I don’t know what you want! Stop it!”

Riddle stopped the curse and looked at her. Lily looked down, unable to meet his creepy eyes. “You brought a present home for your sister. Where is it?”

Lily furrowed her brow in confusion. “My sister’s present? They’re just some chocolates from Honeydukes.”

Riddle did not like her answer, as he released the binding on her father and said, “Imperio!”

Her father’s face relaxed, his eyes dull as he picked up a letter opener from a nearby table. He took the knife and started cutting at the skin on his arm, causing blood to drip.

Lily struggled to free herself, but the grip her captor had on her was too strong.

“Tell me where it is!” demanded Riddle.

“The presents are in my trunk upstairs!” cried Lily.

Riddle summoned the trunk, causing it to land in front of one of the other Death Eaters. The masked person, a woman, opened the trunk and pulled out all the wrapped gifts, tearing each of them open. “It’s not here!” she hissed.

“Accio comb!” incanted Riddle. Seeing nothing happen, he turned to Lily and said, “You got your sister a comb. Where is it?!”

“The comb?” said Lily. She couldn’t believe that Riddle was torturing her family over a hair comb. And how had he known that she had it? “It’s not here,” she said. She had decided that Honeyduke’s chocolates were a safer choice for her sister who didn’t like magical items like combs that had moving birds.

Riddle’s face contorted in anger and he whipped around, aiming his wand and shouting, “Avada kedavra!”

Lily watched in horror as a trail of green light hit its target, causing her mum to go limp, her eyes glassy. Her father was still under the Imperius Curse, cutting at his arm, oblivious to the fact that his wife had just been killed. Lily felt her knees give out, though she couldn’t fall to the floor as her captor was still holding on to her. “Mum…” she cried weakly.

“Perhaps I need to do this a different way,” said Riddle, reaching into his robe to grab something. He stalked toward Lily and grabbed her face with one of his twisted hands, forcing her to look into his eyes. The last thing Lily remembered seeing was a twinkle of green and Riddle’s intense eyes.

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Lily felt herself being jarred out of the memory. Her world felt like it had turned upside down. Professor Grazynska was still gazing at her, her eyes calm and her face serene. The memories that had just surfaced overwhelmed Lily, causing her to feel like she was drowning in the stale air of the DADA classroom. She had to get out, had to get away. She felt like she couldn’t catch her breath.

Lily stood up and ran, the blood pounding in her ears as she raced through the corridors. Her one thought was that she needed air. She pushed her way past a group of third year students, who looked frightened by the wide-eyed panic in Lily’s eyes.

The gust of icy air that hit Lily as she raced outside didn’t slow her down. She ran through the flakes that had begun to drift down from the sky, confirming the earlier weather predictions of the professors from breakfast. As Lily neared the lake, her foot hit an icy patch in the grass and she tumbled, her palms and elbows scraping against the hardened ground.

Lily lay there, trying to catch her breath from the run and the fall, in addition to the rush of memories that were catching up to her. Her parents’ faces, full of fear and pain as Riddle tortured them. Her father’s face as Riddle placed the Imperius Curse, the blood dripping down his arm… Her mother’s face as the rush of green light hit her, her eyes glazing over as the life was forced out of her. Riddle’s face, contorted from rage and hate, looking less human than when she had been eleven years old. His eyes, boring into hers…she couldn’t remember anything beyond that moment when she had felt his icy hand grabbing her face.

Lily felt all of the emotions she had tried to avoid rising from the pit of her stomach and surrounding her like a web, weaving itself tighter and tighter and threatening to suffocate her. She let out a howl of agony, feeling her body shaking as the screams robbed her of air. The wind howled in response, drowning out her wails as the snowflakes swirled around her, growing thicker as the storm grew.

Lily pounded the ground as her screams settled into gut wrenching sobs. The pain searing into her hands as they bruised and scraped against the ground didn’t phase her. She cursed herself, wishing she had found some way to stop what Riddle had done to her parents, even wishing that she had followed Petunia’s advice by not returning to Hogwarts for her third year. Her parents would still be alive if she had decided to stay home.

As the storm progressed Lily felt the chill of the snow and wind icing her to the bone, gradually causing a sleepy calm to take over. She welcomed the cold, relishing the way it numbed her mind, thereby numbing her pain. She lay on her side, curled into the fetal position, allowing the cold to soothe her as she drifted into a deep sleep.

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Remus stood guard in the corridor leading to the greenhouses. Sirius had been disappointed that James had not brought back the Mashing Potatoes the previous night as planned, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. He and Peter had decided to sneak into the greenhouses after DADA, knowing it was riskier during the daytime, but Sirius was intent on carrying out the prank. They had borrowed the invisibility cloak while James went to the kitchens to make certain no professors had decided to eat their lunch there. Remus had been assigned guard duty.

“Remus!”

Remus saw Alice approaching him and glanced over his shoulder to make sure there was no obvious activity from the greenhouses. Hearing a thud and a muffled ‘ouch!’, Remus opted to meet Alice halfway, hoping she wouldn’t get close enough to hear the potato theft.

“What’s up?” asked Remus.

“Have you seen Lily?” she asked.

“No,” replied Remus, remembering overhearing Professor Grazynska telling Alice and Marlene that Lily had been feeling ill before class had started. “Isn’t she in the hospital wing?”

Alice shook her head and said, “No. I looked there already and Madame Pomfrey said she hasn’t been there today.”

“What about her room?” asked Remus. “Maybe she decided to take a nap.”

“Marlene’s looking there now,” said Alice.

“Then that’s probably where she is,” said Remus, “unless she’s holed up in the library.”

“I was going to look there next,” said Alice. “If you see her, let me know.”

Remus nodded and watched as Alice disappeared around the corner, continuing her quest to find her friend. Once she was out of sight, Remus pulled out a roll of parchment, unwrapped it, and tapped it with his wand, whispering, “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”

The lines of the map appeared and Remus searched the dots for Lily. He looked at Gryffindor tower and saw Marlene pacing around the 6^th year girl’s dormitory room, but no Lily. He looked at the library and could not see her. He scanned the entire contents of the castle and was unable to find her. Just as he was about to double check Gryffindor Tower, his eyes locked onto something by the lake. He had not thought to look around the periphery of the castle as the weather had grown rather nasty in the past few hours. His eyes had almost skipped over it - a dot by the lake with ‘Lily Evans’ in faint print. He stared at it for a moment comparing her name to the other names moving around the castle.

“Why is it so faint?” he wondered aloud. “Unless…” The realization hit him as his heart started to pound. “Merlin!” he cried, shoving the Map into his robes and taking off at a sprint toward the front entrance, hoping he wasn’t too late.

As he pushed open the outer doors, he felt his breath catch at the rush of icy air. The snowflakes, which had been soft earlier, were turning into ice, pelting Remus in the face as he tried to gather his bearings. The blizzard had progressed to the point that he couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of him. He pulled out the Map and held it close to his face, trying to place where his dot was compared to Lily’s.

He stumbled through the wind and the ice, trying to keep from letting the Map get whisked away by the blizzard. As his dot neared Lily’s, he shoved the parchment back into his robes, grateful he had remembered to place a waterproofing charm on it.

Remus scanned the area, knowing that he had to be very close to her location. He blinked a few times, trying not to let the chill freeze his vision. Suddenly he felt himself stumble over something. He looked to see what had tripped him, and gasped as he saw a shock of dark red hair amidst the gathering snow on the ground.

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A/N: Well, I figured since you guys were probably already fed up with me for taking so long to get this chapter out, why not push my luck and leave a cliffy? (Nervous laughter) What can I say? I have a bunch of excuses - injured my finger (makes typing difficult), was traveling for work, then boyfriend was in hospital for a month (he finally seems to be on the mend, thankfully). That, plus I had a few details about this chapter I had to straighten out before I could finish it.

6^th year has been a rather depressing year, hasn’t it? Hopefully it won’t stay that way, right? Assuming Lily survives… (evil laughter)

Thanks to all my readers and to those who took the time to leave me reviews. Thanks for sticking with the story!

93. The Cold Hard Truth

Chapter 93: The Cold Hard Truth

“Lily!” shouted Remus as he dove toward the pile of snow surrounding the red that could only belong to Lily’s hair. His shouts were muffled by the howling winds of the storm. He frantically brushed the snow that had blanketed Lily, growing more panicked as he saw the tears frozen to her face and the pale bluish tint to her lips.

“Don’t be dead, don’t be dead, don’t be dead…” he muttered as he tried to shake her into consciousness. Seeing no response, he struggled against the wind to remove his school robes so he could wrap them around Lily, feeling the frosty air piercing though the shirt he wore beneath the robes.

Summoning every last bit of strength he could muster, he gathered Lily and picked her up, stumbling against the ice and the wind. He tried to trace his way back to the castle by following his initial footprints, however those were already growing faint. Fortunately, as the footprints continued to fade, he neared the castle and was finally able to see the rest of the way to the entrance.

After a struggle to open the heavy door, Remus raced inside to the warmth, though his body still felt frigid. He raced as fast as he could toward the hospital wing, slowed down by carrying Lily’s weight. As he turned a corner he nearly ran over Lucius Malfoy. He tried to pass around the Slytherin, however Malfoy took one look at Lily’s state and blocked Remus’s path.

“Out of my way, Malfoy!” ordered Remus, trying to get around Malfoy.

Malfoy took out his wand and sneered at Remus. “What’s the point? Looks like you’re too late, Lupin. One less Mudblood to contaminate this school. Not much of a loss, now is it?”

Remus, knowing time was critical for any chance of Madam Pomfrey being able to help Lily, was ready to mow Malfoy over in order to get to the hospital wing.

Malfoy, ready for such an attack, raised his wand in preparation to petrify Remus. He had started the incantation when something wet exploded on top of his head.

“Milfie, Mulfie, Malfie, Malfoy!” came a cackling voice. “Loony, Loopy, Lupin!”

Remus looked up to see Peeves floating above them, pelting water balloons at both of them. Startlingly, Remus realized that the only balloons which hit their target were the ones aimed at Malfoy. The ones aimed toward himself missed their mark by inches. Not bothering to stand around and ponder whether Peeves was actually helping or just a quasi-bad shot, Remus took advantage of Peeves’s distraction to slip past Malfoy, taking particular care to knock him to the floor as he pushed past. Peeves cackled at the downed Slytherin who was at that point laying in a puddle of water brought on by the balloon assault.

Remus could feel the muscles in his arms straining in protest as he carried Lily the final distance to the hospital wing. Kicking the door open, he frantically yelled, “Madam Pomfrey! Madam Pomfrey!”

The mediwitch appeared from behind a curtain and nearly dropped the potion she was holding as she caught sight of Lily. “My word…” she muttered, before springing into action. “Get her onto that bed!” she commanded, pulling her wand out of her apron pocket.

Remus placed Lily onto the bed, his arms feeling like they had each grown a foot from the long trek carrying her. He saw how pale she was and said, “I found her outside. I don’t know how long she’s been out there.”

Madam Pomfrey waved her wand and pointed it a Lily’s chest, incanting, “Cardiosonorus!”

“Is she…dead?” Remus hesitantly asked.

Madam Pomfrey shushed him and closed her eyes, listening intently. After a few moments, Remus heard a very slow, faint ‘lub-dub’ sound. Madam Pomfrey finally opened her eyes and said, “She’s alive, though barely. I need to work quickly. Accio!” she commanded, waving her wand at the opposite end of the room.

Remus ducked as several potions and blankets flew toward the mediwitch. She placed a warming charm on one blanket and wrapped it around her patient. She then transfigured the other blankets into gloves and thick woolly socks. She placed warming charms on them before taking one of the potions and pouring some into each sock and glove.

“What did you just put in those?” Remus asked.

“It’s a potion that will help draw circulation to her fingers and toes, trying to reverse the effects of frostbite,” she explained as she carefully placed a mitten onto Lily’s left hand.

Remus watched as Madam Pomfrey scurried around, checking Lily’s vitals and making sure her temperature was coming up in the proper time frame.

“What happened?” came a voice from the doorway.

Remus turned and saw Peter at the entrance, his eyes both blackened and his nose bleeding from a bad encounter with the Mashing Potatoes.

“Lily was outside in the storm,” answered Remus. He gave Peter a significant look, adding, “You should find James.”

Peter nodded and scurried out of the room.

Remus turned back to the scene at hand, Madam Pomfrey still slaving over Lily’s bed. “Is she going to be okay?” he asked.

Madam Pomfrey clucked her tongue and replied, “It’s too soon to tell. She was barely breathing when you brought her in here. That plus the hypothermia, I don’t yet know how that has affected her brain.” She checked Lily’s vitals again before adding, “Once her temperature reaches 92 degrees I’ll give her something to try to curtail any ongoing brain damage, however we won’t know anything for sure until she wakes up. That is…if she wakes up.”

“Why can’t you give her the potion now?” asked Remus.

“She’s too cold,” said Madam Pomfrey. “At her current body temperature, her metabolism is too slow for the potion to work.”

“Can’t you use a warming charm directly on her?” asked Remus.

“I used one on the blankets and gloves. I also used a modified warming charm to slowly warm up her internal organs,” replied Madam Pomfrey. “If I use a full warming charm directly on her it may warm her up too quickly, and I don’t know if her body can adjust that quickly. I’m afraid you’re going to have to be patient, Mr. Lupin.” She waved her wand, conjuring a plush red chair next to Lily’s bed.

Remus slumped into the seat, before suddenly feeling something warm wrapping itself around him. It was another blanket, charmed liked Lily’s had been.

“You need it just as much as she does,” said the nurse. “What in Merlin’s beard possessed the two of you to be outside on a day like this?”

Remus shrugged, not quite ready to delve into Lily’s reasons for being outside with Madame Pomfrey. Frankly, he was stunned and quite confused about the situation. He wondered why Lily would allow herself to be caught in the blizzard - had it been an accident? Or had she been trying to harm herself in some way? He knew that she had been quite depressed since they had returned from the winter holiday. She seldom spoke during their patrols, unless she was forced into it. He had suddenly become the disciplinarian of the two, handing out detentions or taking away points for things that he had normally let slide in the past. Lily had always been the one to stick to the rules.

Remus wondered if Lily would be able to work her way out of the depression, that is if she survived the hypothermia. Something had been nagging at him since the return from winter holiday. He could see that something was eating away at Lily. He had tried to attribute it to the loss of her parents, but he had a niggling feeling that said there was more to the story. It was the same feeling that had led him to discover Lily’s secret before winter holiday. He wondered if Lily’s depression was tied not only to the loss of her parents, but also to the secret that made her fake her amnesia.

“What happened?”

Remus turned and peeked around the back of his chair to see James standing nearby. A faint layer of sweat covered his flushed face, likely from having run all the way to the hospital wing.

“Wormtail found you?” asked Remus, not quite sure what to tell James. After all, he wasn’t sure how Lily had ended up in the storm, and he wasn’t sure if she would be okay.

James stared at Lily, her pale face and chapped lips visible despite the many layers of blankets swaddling her. “What happened? Is she okay?”

“I don’t know yet,” replied Remus. “Madam Pomfrey said it’s too soon to tell. I found her outside in the storm.” He glanced toward the curtained-off bed down the way where Madam Pomfrey had gone to finish attending the patient she had been with before Remus had barged in with Lily. He turned back to James and said, under his breath, “I saw her on the Map. Her dot was very faint, and I knew that with the storm something had to be wrong with her.”

“Why was she even out there?” asked James.

“I don’t know,” said Remus. “The only thing I know is that Alice and Marlene were looking for her. She hadn’t been seen since breakfast.”

James felt a knot forming in his stomach, knowing that he had seen her earlier that morning. It looked like she had been going toward the DADA classroom, and when he hadn’t seen her there he had figured she had cloistered herself again in her dormitory. He wondered now if he was the last person to see her. She had looked upset when he had spoken with her. He wanted to kick himself, wishing he had somehow known to stop her before she had gotten caught out in the storm.

Remus stood and shed his blanket onto the chair, saying, “I should go find Alice and Marlene. They’ve been looking for her.”

James nodded and took the recently vacated seat as Remus left the hospital wing. He stared at the bundle of blankets on the bed. The pile was so thick it was hard to tell somebody was wrapped inside them. If it wasn’t for the lulling heartbeat still audible from Madam Pomfrey’s charm, he wouldn’t have known Lily was in there.

“What are you doing here, Mr. Potter?” demanded the nurse, approaching Lily to check her vitals. “You get into another mishap with Mr. Snape?”

James shook his head and said, “I wanted to see if she was okay. Is she?”

“Too soon to tell, Mr. Potter,” said Madam Pomfrey. She raised her index finger in warning, “Don’t go disturbing my patient, now. She needs her rest.”

‘Rest?’ thought James. ‘She’s not even awake, yet.’

James sat by Lily’s side as a few other students trickled into the ward needing the nurse’s attention, including Peter, who still needed to have his Mashing Potato injuries healed. While he was getting healed, Remus returned, followed by Marlene and Alice, franticly demanding answers from Madam Pomfrey on how their friend was doing.

With no clear answer to their queries, a tearful Alice said, “I don’t understand how she could get caught outside in the blizzard. We knew it was coming. The professors were talking about it at breakfast!”

Marlene sighed and said, “She obviously wasn’t listening. She hasn’t been paying attention to much of anything lately.”

Frustrated, Alice turned on Marlene and said, “I told you that she needed help, but you kept insisting that we wait and give her time to get better on her own!”

“Are you blaming this on me?!” demanded Marlene, with a disbelieving laugh.

“Maybe if we’d done what I wanted and gone to a professor or to the nurse and told them how bad Lily was then this wouldn’t have happened,” replied Alice.

“Well nobody forced you to keep your mouth shut,” retorted Marlene. “You could have-”

“Madam Pomfrey!” yelled James, causing the two girls to pause their argument. “Madam Pomfrey! Something’s wrong!”

The nurse rushed over and saw that through the blankets, Lily had started to shiver uncontrollably.

“What’s happening?” demanded Marlene. “Why is she shaking like that? I thought you were warming her up!”

Madam Pomfrey clucked her tongue and said, “She is warming up. The shivering is a result of her body warming up. Before, her core temperature was too low for her to shiver.”

“I don’t understand,” said James. “You’re saying that her shivering means she’s getting better?”

“What I’m saying, Mr. Potter, is that her body is warming up,” said the nurse. “While that’s good, I won’t be able to tell you if there’s any brain damage until she wakes.” She waved her wand, summoning a potion from her office. She parted the blankets enough to drop ten drops of the potion into Lily’s mouth, tapping her throat with the wand to force her to swallow. “This potion will hopefully curtail any permanent brain damage.”

“Brain damage?” choked Alice.

“Shouldn’t she get some more blankets?” asked Marlene. “What about the warming charms on them? Are they wearing off?”

“Enough, enough!” said an exasperated Madam Pomfrey. “I do not need to be told how to do my job. She is warming up just fine, and there’s nothing else I need to do at this point. Miss Evans is going to be asleep for quite a while, so I suggest that you all retire to your dormitories.”

“I don’t want to leave her,” protested Alice. “She needs-”

“She already has what she needs for now,” interrupted the nurse. “I can’t have you children making a big ruckus in my hospital wing while I have to tend to her as well as my other patients.”

“But-” started Marlene.

“No buts, Miss McKinnon,” said the nurse. “Back to your dormitories. Or, rather, classes. I’m sure the afternoon classes have started.” She waved her wand, conjuring a stack of notes excusing the students from being late. “Come back tomorrow, during visiting hours.”

After a few more protests and a couple of warning shots from the nurse’s wand, James, Remus, Alice, Marlene, and Peter (whose injuries were freshly healed) grudgingly left. They trudged through the hallways, pausing as they passed a window. Ice lined the edges of the panes, and a layer of steam coated the inside of the glass. Despite that, the students could see the furious movement of the snow and sleet, exaggerated by the wail of the wind as it attempted to sneak through the seams around the window.

Alice felt a chill run down her spine at the sound of the wind, despite the fact that there were wards to protect the inside of the building from the cold. She hugged herself, horrified that her best friend had been out in the middle of the frost. A warm hand landed on her arm.

“She’s going to be fine,” Marlene assured. “She has to be.”

Alice turned and saw the doubt behind Marlene’s attempt at confidence.

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The next few days passed by as the majority of students went about their routines. The blizzard had finally passed, leaving a thick blanket of snow to coat the grounds. The barren trees were coated in a layer of ice which glittered in the sunlight. A few students bundled themselves up to make fresh tracks in the snow and charm together snowmen to chase each other around and throw snowballs.

James stared out the window at the scene, remembering how he had charmed a snowman to ask Lily out the year before. She had once again turned him down, though she had cracked a joke about snowmen not being her type. He drummed his fingers on the desk, wondering if Lily would ever get to the point of being able to crack a joke again.

He had been by the hospital wing several times over the past few days, eager to get a report on Lily’s progress from Madam Pomfrey. Lily’s body temperature had finally returned to normal, and according to the nurse, she had drifted in and out of consciousness a few times, but only briefly.

“Mr. Potter, I suggest you pay attention to your potion before it turns amber,” scolded Professor Pilon, “unless you want to spend the rest of the day with singed eyebrows.”

James rolled his eyes as she passed and stirred his potion twelve times counterclockwise before adding a drop of thestral blood. It was a rather difficult step for a large portion of the class as they weren’t able to see the blood. On the other hand, there were quite a few who could see the dark liquid, recoiling at the idea of why they could see it.

“Stupid hag,” muttered Sirius. “Thinks that we care about some stupid stain-removing potion. There are charms that are quicker and easier for stuff like that.”

“Hmmph,” sounded James. “Probably have to make potions for stuff like that because the Slytherins are no good at charms.”

Narcissa Black, who was sitting at a nearby desk, threw him a nasty look. Sirius threw her a fluttery wave and cackled, saying, “Mate, I wish you could have seen their faces the other evening when their potatoes started attacking them.”

“Mr. Black!” scolded Professor Pilon. “Ten points from Gryffindor for being disruptive.”

Before Sirius could make a retort, a tapping sound came from the door. Professor Pilon waved her wand, causing the door to open and allow a memo fly in folded in the shape of a bird. It floated over to the professor, hovering expectantly as its paper wings fluttered. The Potions professor grabbed it, unceremoniously unfolding it as the paper bird let out a little shriek. She scanned it and then said, “Mr. Lupin! You are to go to the hospital wing right away.”

Remus paused in his potion preparation, surprised. “Me?” he asked.

“Yes, you,” said the professor. “Madam Pomfrey needs to see you. She said it’s urgent.”

Remus’s potion, not having had the appropriate amount of consecutive stirs, exploded, leaving the werewolf’s eyebrows singed just as the professor had warned James about a few minutes earlier.

“Looks like you could use the trip, anyway,” smirked Sirius.

Professor Pilon shook her head and walked over to Remus’s desk, vanishing his mess and handing him the note. “Take this with you. It will be your hall pass.”

Remus gathered his things and gave his mates a glance before leaving, shrugging his shoulders at James’s inquisitive look. He had no idea why Pomfrey wanted to see him. It wasn’t time for the full moon yet, and he wasn’t sick enough yet to see her. The only other reason he could think of was Lily, but he didn’t know why Madam Pomfrey would want to see him about her condition. He was surprised to see the nurse waiting outside the hospital wing as he arrived.

“Oh, thank Merlin!” said the nurse, nervously wringing her hands.

“What is it, Madam Pomfrey?” asked Remus. “Is it Lily?”

“I’m afraid so, Mr. Lupin,” said the nurse. “She’s…she’s been awake for several hours now, and she’s saying horrible things.”

“Like what?” asked Remus.

“She’s refusing to take her potions,” said Madam Pomfrey. “She just lays there and says that I should have let her die!”

“What?” said Remus, shocked.

“I’ve been trying to get her to accept her potions. She still has a lot of healing to do, but she’s clammed herself up in her bed,” said Madam Pomfrey.

“What can I do?” asked Remus.

“I’ve tried to talk to her. I know she recently lost her parents,” said the nurse. “Then I got more stern with her, demanding that she find someone to talk to, but she still wouldn’t listen to me. I finally got frustrated to the point of threatening to forcefully make her take her potions unless she agreed to talk to someone. She was stubborn about it, but she finally asked for you.”

“Me?” said Remus, a little surprised. He figured she would have asked for Alice or Marlene.

“Yes,” replied Madam Pomfrey. “Now I know it’s a big thing that I’m asking of you, but you’re the only one she asked for when I pressed her to choose someone. I’m afraid if you can’t convince her to take her potions then all her progress could regress.”

“Oh,” said Remus, wondering how in Merlin’s name he could convince Lily to do anything. She was very stubborn when she made up her mind about something. She had been dead-set on keeping the lie of her memory loss secret and had talked him into keeping her secret, at least for the time being.

Madam Pomfrey led Remus into the hospital wing, guiding him toward Lily’s bed, which was now curtained off. He parted the curtain enough to see that Lily was laying on her side facing away from him. She was curled up underneath a blanket, though she wasn’t under the numerous thick blankets he had last seen piled on top of her.

Madam Pomfrey nudged him inside and said, “Miss Evans, your friend Mr. Lupin is here to visit with you.” Not hearing anything from Lily, she added, “Well, I’ll let you two catch up. If you need me, I’ll be in my office.”

Remus stood there for a few minutes, watching Lily as she lay in the bed. She didn’t turn over, didn’t greet him, and didn’t even move. Despite that, he knew that she was awake. “Hi Lily,” he finally said. Not hearing a response, he said, “Aren’t you going to say hi? Madam Pomfrey said you wanted to see me.”

“Why, Remus?” croaked Lily, still facing the opposite curtain.

“Why?” echoed Remus.

A long moment passed where Remus didn’t think Lily was going to respond, however she finally muttered, “Why did you find me?”

“Find you?” said Remus. “I don’t understand.”

“Outside, in the snow,” said Lily.

“Alice and Marlene were looking for you,” said Remus. “Alice was getting a little frantic looking for you, so I got…” he paused, realizing he didn’t want to mention the Map, “I got the idea to check outside. I was lucky I found you.”

“I wish you hadn’t,” said Lily, her voice lifeless.

“What?” stuttered Remus, not quite believing his ears.

“You should have let me freeze out there,” she replied.

Remus stood there, shocked at what Lily was saying. A part of him had suspected that her being caught out in the storm was not an accident, but it was unbelievable to hear her say she wish she had died. Tired of speaking to her back, Remus walked around the bed and faced her, saying, “How can you say that? Do you have any idea how many people have been out of their minds worrying about you the past few days? Better yet, the past several weeks?”

“They shouldn’t bother,” said Lily. “I’m not worth worrying about.”

Remus shook his head in frustration and said, “That’s not for you to decide! Alice and Marlene have been your best friends since first year, and you’re making the decision that they should ignore the past six years and pretend you don’t mean a thing?! What about James?”

At James’s name, Lily turned over and clamped her hands over her ears. Remus stalked around the other side of the bed and yanked her hand off her ear. “No! He’s been by here hounding Madam Pomfrey for the past few days just trying to get some kind of update on you. Whether you like it or not, he cares for you, too!”

“Well, he shouldn’t!” shouted Lily, sitting up and yanking her hand out of Remus’s grasp. “I don’t deserve it! I don’t deserve it! I don’t deserve any kindness from him!”

“Why not?!” countered Remus.

“Because I do h-horrible things!” sobbed Lily. “B-Because I’m the reason his father is dead!”

Remus’s jaw dropped as he watched Lily fall apart in front of him. “James’s father? He died at the end of first year because of Voldemort and his supporters. You were here. Why would you think you had any responsibility for his death?”

“B-Because they f-found out his location from m-me,” sobbed Lily.

Remus sat down on the edge of the bed and shook his head. “I don’t see how an eleven year-old girl can be responsible for telling Death Eaters the location of James’s dad.” When Lily didn’t say anything, he said, “Lily, you told me that you faked your memory loss for a very important reason. Does this have anything to do with it?”

Lily sniffed and nodded, pushing her hands over her eyes as if attempting to shut out the world.

“I think it’s time you told me the whole story,” said Remus. Not hearing anything from her, he added, “This thing has been gnawing away at you for quite some time, and now with what happened to your parents, it’s killing you. Tell me what happened.” He pulled one of Lily’s hands away from her face. “I’ve shown you that I can be trusted, haven’t I?”

Lily nodded and said, “It’s really bad, Remus. I won’t blame you for hating me.”

“I won’t hate you,” promised Remus. “Tell me everything.”

“I can’t,” said Lily. Before Remus could protest, she said, “I don’t really remember everything. And that memory loss isn’t fake. Riddle showed me bits and pieces that night out in the woods at the end of first year.”

“Riddle?” said Remus. “So you’re saying you lost your memory, and Riddle gave you parts of it back? Lily, Riddle was a bad man. He probably planted ideas in your head to make you think-”

“No,” said Lily. “I had been having blackouts all year. They started after Professor Riddle began tutoring me.”

“Tutoring you?” questioned Remus. “I don’t remember him giving tutoring lessons to anyone.”

“That’s because he told me to keep it secret,” said Lily. She explained how she had been nervous being a Muggleborn student, wanting to get top grades to prove she was worthy of being at Hogwarts. She told him how Professor Riddle had approached her, offering to give her tutoring lessons to help with her DADA grade, and how he told her to keep it a secret because he didn’t have time to tutor a plethora of other students.

“I went to the lessons and when I left, I had it in mind that I had been tutored, though looking back I could never recall what exactly we had talked about during the sessions,” said Lily. “I started having headaches and blackouts. I knew something wasn’t right, but for some reason I was never able to say anything.”

Lily continued to explain how Riddle had somehow influenced her to do things like tearing apart the boys’ dormitory room and tipping the bookcase by where Emm was standing.

“That was you?” asked Remus. “I don’t see how you could have gotten that gigantic bookcase to-”

“We had just been practicing charms to move things, even heavy objects,” said Lily. “Riddle knew the curriculum, so he somehow influenced me to do those things. If you hadn’t been there to push her out of the way…”

Remus gave her arm a reassuring squeeze and said, “Go on.”

“As the year was ending, my headaches were getting worse,” Lily continued. “I remember my head hurting so much that I decided to stay inside while everybody else went outside for fresh air. I tried to sleep, I tried to study, but I couldn’t focus. I finally decided to go outside for some fresh air to clear my head.” She paused, wringing her hands on the blanket before continuing, “The next thing I remembered I was standing in the forest seeing Riddle fire a curse at James. I screamed, but Riddle just smiled and told me everything was my fault. I didn’t believe him, but he grabbed me and forced me to look into his eyes.” Lily shivered at the memory. “I saw flashes of everything I had done. He was after the ring James’s father had given him. Once he knew James had it, he got me to tell him where Mr. Potter was. James had gotten a letter from his dad that week and had confided to me where he was. If I hadn’t told Riddle where Mr. Potter was…” Lily stopped, her voice choking up.

Remus gave her arm another squeeze and said, “You didn’t remember telling Riddle where he was before that?”

“No!” said Lily.

“Then it’s not your fault,” said Remus. “Riddle influenced you somehow. Maybe the Imperius…”

“No, I don’t think so,” said Lily. “I read about the Imperius Curse as soon as I heard about it, wondering if that was the cause, but it doesn’t quite match up. There was a time when I was home and I hadn’t been around anyone magical, yet I still contacted Riddle via Floo to let him know I had seen the ring with James’s father. If it were the Imperius, there should have been someone magical nearby to control the curse.”

“So how did you end up faking your memory loss?” asked Remus.

“Professor Riddle had just finished telling me about my responsibility in James’s father’s death, and he said that he would do the same to James. It was my fault James was in the woods. He had somehow gotten me to convince James to go there,” she explained. “James was waking up, and Riddle was starting to aim a curse at him. I couldn’t let anything else happen to him. I didn’t know what else to do, so I charged Riddle’s wand.”

“That’s when the curse backfired and knocked you out,” said Remus. “That’s what we thought knocked out your memory.”

“I remembered hearing James speaking to me in the hospital wing,” said Lily. “He was so sincere, blaming himself for what happened, when it was all my fault. He didn’t even know yet what happened to his father,” she said, her voice breaking. “All I could think about was how none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been close to James. He wouldn’t have told me about his father, and he wouldn’t have followed me into the woods.”

“So you faked your memory loss to protect him?” asked Remus.

Lily nodded and said, “I thought if I could push him away that he would be safe. I knew he cared about me, and I thought if I just told him to stay away that he wouldn’t listen to me.”

“James can be pretty hard-headed,” Remus commented.

Lily let out a dry laugh and said, “I know. That’s why I thought that if I could convince him I couldn’t remember being his friend, that I could only remember the awkward boy who had pranked my best friend at the beginning of the year, that I could avoid him enough to convince him to stay away from me.”

“Lily,” said Remus, letting out a sigh. “You were eleven years old. Riddle somehow influenced you. You weren’t responsible for all that happened.”

“I should have been able to stop it!” shouted Lily. “Somehow, I should have found a way to stop what he told me to do!”

“It wasn’t your fault!” said Remus.

“I thought I could finally get past it,” said Lily. “It was almost five years ago. You had found out about my secret and had urged me toward making peace with James. I even started to follow your advice, right before Christmas, when James asked if we could be more friendly.”

“You can still get past this,” said Remus.

“No, I can’t, Remus,” insisted Lily, “because it happened again.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“My parents…” she choked out. “I think I did something bad.”

“You think the Death Eaters influenced you like Riddle did?” asked Remus.

“Riddle was at the house that night,” said Lily.

“He what?!” exclaimed Remus. “Do the Aurors know about this?”

Lily shook her head and said, “I don’t think so. I only remembered this a few days ago, before I ran out into the blizzard. I came home and he was there with a bunch of Death Eaters. He looked different, less human. He grabbed my head like he did in the forest and looked into my eyes, and that’s the last thing I remember.” She paled as she looked at Remus and said, “What if he made me do something horrible? Remus, if I hurt-”

“You didn’t,” insisted Remus. “To use an Unforgivable curse like the Killing Curse you need to really want that person dead. You couldn’t possibly have killed your parents.”

“Maybe not,” said Lily, “but before my mind went blank, I had seen him kill my mum. The green light hit her and she fell over, just like that. One moment she was scared out of her mind for our lives, the next she was lifeless on the floor.” Lily paused, trying to collect herself. She took a deep, shaky breath and said, “He made my father slice his own arm. What if he used me to torture my father? What if my father was aware of what I was doing before he died? Oh, God!” Lily finally fell apart, sobbing so hard the entire bed shook.

Remus gave her a hug and said, “You don’t know that you did anything. Besides, your dad would have known you would never intentionally hurt him.”

Lily sniffed and said, “My sister was right. I should never have come back to Hogwarts. Our parents would be alive if I had decided to stay home!”

“Don’t say that,” chided Remus. “Maybe you should speak with Professor Dumbledore.”

Lily shook her head and said, “No. I don’t want anyone else to know about this.”

“But maybe he could help you,” said Remus.

“No,” Lily said more forcefully. “It’s too late. My parents are dead, James’s father is dead. I can’t leave Hogwarts now. My sister won’t have anything to do with me, so I have nowhere else to go. I’ll just keep to myself until I graduate so nobody else is at risk from me, then I’ll find someplace far away and remote to work and live.”

“Lily, that doesn’t make any sense,” said Remus. “You need help to-”

“I need you to promise me you won’t tell anyone what I just told you,” said Lily. Seeing Remus’s hesitation, she added, “I’ll be fine, Remus. I can take care of myself.”

“Like you did a few days ago when you ran out into a blizzard to die?” countered Remus. “All of your friends have been trying to give you space, but it backfired when you didn’t want to live anymore.”

“I’m not going to try anything, Remus,” said Lily, unconvincingly.

Remus gave her a dubious look and said, “You haven’t even been taking your potions. Madam Pomfrey says you’ve been giving her a hard time.”

Lily glanced at the untouched vial of potion Madam Pomfrey had left for her earlier that morning. “I don’t need it.”

“If you want me to believe you when you say you’re going to take care of yourself, then you need to start following Madam Pomfrey’s orders,” said Remus.

“You know as well as I do that she smothers you until you have to finally sneak out of the hospital wing,” said Lily.

“Lily, I thought you were dead when I found you the other day,” said Remus. “She said that your temperature was so low that you could have brain damage.”

“So you think my brain’s too damaged to decide what’s best for me?” challenged Lily.

“I won’t if you start taking care of yourself, starting with following Madam Pomfrey’s orders to take your potion,” countered Remus.

Lily gave Remus an icy look before finally relenting, “Fine. I’ll take the potion. But don’t tell anybody what I told you…about what Riddle did to me.”

Remus stood there a moment, pondering what to do. He knew Lily needed help, but it seemed the only way she would agreed to take the potion was if he agreed to stay silent.

Madam Pomfrey entered and gave them a nervous smile. “How are things in here? Has my patient agreed to take her potion?” she asked, hopefully.

Lily glanced at the vial of potion before giving Remus a pleading look. Remus finally gave her a slight nod before she said, “Okay, I’ll take it.”

Madam Pomfrey handed her the potion, watching her patient gag slightly as she swallowed the bitter tasting brew. “That’s a good girl.”

“How much longer do I have to be here?” asked Lily.

Madam Pomfrey clucked her tongue and said, “You still have a bit of healing to do. Perhaps in a few days if you keep taking your potions.”

“They’re disgusting,” complained Lily. “They taste like dirty socks.”

Remus smirked and quipped, “How do you know what dirty socks taste like?”

Lily yawned and Madam Pomfrey said, “It’s time for you to rest, Miss Evans. Mr. Lupin, you may return to class.”

“Just one more minute, please Madam Pomfrey?” asked Lily.

“Miss Evans, you need to-” started the nurse.

“I know,” interrupted Lily, with another yawn. “It’ll just be a minute.”

“All right,” relented Madam Pomfrey. “But not one second more!”

After she walked away, Lily nervously tugged at the edge of the blanket and said, “Thanks, Remus…for listening.”

Remus nodded and said, “I’m glad you finally told somebody. I can’t believe you’ve been keeping that to yourself for all these years.”

Lily rested her head back against the pillow, her eyes becoming droopier. She yawned and said, “What happened was horrible…what I did…but please don’t tell anybody else.” She yawned again, her eyes closing. “Please…”

Remus watched as her breathing became more steady, indicating the potion had finally taken its effect. He tiptoed out of the hospital wing, torn about what to do. When he had learned about her faked memory loss a few months earlier, he had finally relented to keep her secret because he figured he had time to give her space. He thought that if he gradually gave her some gentle prodding that she would eventually tell him what had happened to make her lie.

Now that he knew what had happened, he worried that giving Lily space would lead to a situation where she could hurt herself again. She still blamed herself for Riddle’s influence and had expressed to him only an hour earlier that she wished she had been left to die in the blizzard. If he decided to tell Professor Dumbledore what had happened, then he would be breaking his word to Lily, a promise he had made only so she would agree to follow Madam Pomfrey’s orders. If he kept silent, then he would hold himself responsible if Lily hurt herself again.

Walking through the corridors, he heard the sounds of other students filling up the hallways. Remus glanced at his watch, realizing that it was lunchtime. As he turned a corner, he saw his mates approaching.

“Moony!” called James, picking up his pace to catch up to Remus. “What did Pomfrey want with you? Did you see Evans? How is she?”

Remus was once again stuck in a situation where he would have to lie to his mates. The previous time had resulted in James’s accusations about Remus having a romance with Lily. He only hoped that things wouldn’t backfire again. “Erm…Madam Pomfrey wanted to make sure I was still doing okay after being out in the storm the other day. You know how she is…”

Sirius snorted. “I swear that lady has a crush on you, Moony. She can’t have you there enough.” It was a little joke the boys liked to tease Remus about since Madam Pomfrey always hovered over Remus during the days before and after the full moon.

“What about Evans?” James persisted. “Is she awake?”

Remus nodded and said, “Madam Pomfrey said she woke up earlier.”

“Did you see her?” asked Peter.

“I saw her before I left,” said Remus. “Madam Pomfrey had given her a potion so she was sleeping again.”

“But she’s going to be okay?” asked James.

“Madam Pomfrey said she’ll live as long as she takes her potions,” answered Remus, unable to look at James as he spoke. What would James say or do if he found out Lily’s story about what Riddle had done to her, he wondered. What would James do when he found out that Riddle influenced Lily to reveal his father’s location, ultimately leading to his murder?

James smiled and Sirius said, “Well, this calls for a celebration. How ‘bout we head down to the kitchens for lunch?”

Peter smirked and said, “If eating means you’re celebrating, then life must be one big party for you, Padfoot.”

“Not a bad way to live, then,” replied Sirius.

The boys joked their way through lunch, though Remus’s mind was still on the issue of what to do about Lily.

“You okay, Moony?” asked Peter. “Pomfrey didn’t try to fondle you, did she?” he joked.

Remus playfully slugged Peter on the arm. “Let me ask you something, hypothetically.”

“Okay,” said Peter. James and Sirius were charming the house elves into packing more food for a midnight snack later.

“You know about my secret and you’ve promised to keep it, right?” said Remus.

“Of course,” said Peter. “You know that.”

“And we’ve been taking chances during the full moon,” said Remus. “We’ve gone near Hogsmeade, but you, Prongs, and Padfoot have always been able to keep me under control. What if I got away from you guys and you couldn’t find me? I could be in danger of harming someone or getting caught and killed.”

“But-” said Peter.

“This is just hypothetical,” said Remus. “If that happened, and there was a professor nearby, someone you could trust, would you approach him to let him know I was a werewolf and out of the Whomping Willow, even though you had originally promised to keep my secret?”

“But Padfoot and Prongs and I would make sure that you wouldn’t get away,” protested Peter.

“I know,” said Remus, “but what if it did happen? What if there was a strong danger of hurting myself or someone else? Would you approach a professor?”

Peter took a bite of his sandwich and pondered Remus’s scenario. “I still don’t think you’d get into that trouble, but if you did, I suppose it would depend on the professor. I wouldn’t tell Pilon because she doesn’t like any of us. But if it were someone like Dumbledore or McGonagall I guess I might.”

Remus looked thoughtful.

Peter asked, “Would it make you mad at me? To tell your secret?”

Remus finally answered, “I suppose I would be upset that someone else knew my secret, but if I was a danger to someone else or in danger of getting myself killed then I would eventually understand.”

“You don’t want to stop leaving the Shack during the full moon, now, do you?” asked Peter.

“I doubt that Padfoot or Prongs would agree to letting me stop leaving the Shack, even if I wanted to,” said Remus. He grabbed his things and stood up.

“Where are you going?” asked Peter. “We don’t have to be in class for another hour.”

“Yeah, Moony,” said Sirius, returning to the table along with James and a big basket of goodies for later. “You got a date waiting for you? Madam Pomfrey and a broom closet, perhaps?”

“Enough with the Pomfrey jokes, already!” exclaimed Remus, shuddering at the thought. Over his mates’ hysterics, he said, “I just realized Lily’s going to be missing some patrols, so I need to make arrangements for someone to cover her shifts. I’ll see you guys later.”

Remus escaped the kitchen as Sirius was suggesting substituting Madam Pomfrey for Lily’s patrol so they could have a late evening stroll in the corridors. His relief in getting out of the kitchen was related to more than his mates’ teasing. He felt a knot forming in his gut from the lies he had just told them.

Speaking with Peter had put a lot of his dilemma with Lily into perspective. His pace became more purposeful as he headed toward his destination, knowing what he had to do to try to make things right.

**************************************************************************************

A/N: I never meant for the huge delay in updates, especially after a cliffhanger, but life can surprise you. My boyfriend proposed to me, so now I’m being kept very busy between making wedding arrangements and keeping a full work schedule. I can’t make any promises about how soon I’ll get the next chapter out - only that I’ll try, and that I will not give up on this story before it is finished. Hang in there! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and read my story!

So now, in case you haven’t figured it out by now, Lily has told Remus her reasons for faking her memory loss. We still need to find out how Riddle was able to influence Lily - it wasn’t the Imperius Curse.

A Magical Journey

1. The Discovery

2. Knockturn Alley

3. Hazel Eyes in Diagon Alley

4. The Vulture Lady

5. A New Friendship

6. The Proposal

7. The Chocolate Frog Incident

8. The Sorting Ceremony

9. The New D.A.D.A. Professor

10. Riddle's First Class / Flying Class

11. Riddle's Offer vs. James' Offer

12. Travels with Trolls

13. The First Lesson

14. The Class Clowns

15. Quidditch Fever

16. Shattered Glass

17. Winter Cheer

18. Holiday Happenings

19. The Bubbl-onic Plague

20. Secrets

21. Operation Wolf-Boy

22. Confronting the Truth

23. A Werewolf's Tail...er...Tale

24. Shivers and Chills

25. First kiss

26. Bruises and Werewolf Strength

27. Startling Revelations

28. Backfired Curse

29. Tragedy Strikes

30. Home for Summer

31. Going Back to Hogwarts

32. The Return of the King of Pranks

33. Learning about Animagi

34. In Sirius Trouble

35. Sneaking into Hogsmeade

36. Metamorphosis

37. The Permanent Sticking Charm

38. Joseph Potter Returns?

39. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs

40. Unfogging the Future

41. Mugglology: The Study of Muggles

42. Flobberworms and Quidditch

43. The Mystery of Peurom

44. Frog Spawn

45. Elementary Wand Safety

46. Palmistry and Boggarts

47. The Veil of the Dead

48. The Image in the Crystal

49. Return to Grimmauld Place

50. The Weary Werewolf

51. Four Hours of Freedom

52. Meeting Marianne

53. Option Number Three

54. In the Stars

55. The Hogsmeade Date

56. Mapping Out an Idea

57. The New Black Sheep

58. Crushes and Blushes

59. Family Ties

60. Biting the Bullet

61. Romance in Hogsmeade?

62. The Map's First Mission

63. Piecing it All Together

64. Family Allies

65. Cunning and Bravery

66. Sibling Rivalry

67. The Pompous Git

68. The Chase Begins

69. Captain 'Love'

70. Moony's Surprise

71. When One Door Closes...

72. Introducing Snuffles...

73. The Scandinavian Glumsnatcher

74. Snatching Snitches

75. Bowtruckle Chuckles

76. Snow and Mistletoe

77. The Talk

78. Just Friends

79. Cupids and Kewpie Dolls