In The Tower
Chapter Three: The First Capture
Summary: See Chapter One.
Disclaimer: See Chapter One.
Author's Note: It's going to actually start now. Um... First in Remus' POV then around the end it will be well, it will be someone else. I'll try and get a page in of just that person.
Previously: He sighed and stood, taking his hands away from his face to try and find his bag, which laid forgotten about ten yards away, where he pulled out his wand earlier to help Lily.
Remus said the next statement barley louder than just moving his lips, but James still heard it. "We're trying all we can. Just let us help."
Some things are worth fighting for.
**************
"You remember what you're doing, right Sirius?" Remus asked Sirius again, a week later. He nodded vigorously.
"Righty-o Remie, I got it done! Of course, Chang almost didn't do it, but Katie told me a bit of some dirt on him, and I told him so, so he's doing it. We just have to see the letters before he sends them. Just to make sure he doesn't do anything he would regret."
"And Peter, got it all set?"
"Yeah I got it Remus; just make sure that no one interrupts you and them when you take them to the tower."
"Right, so it's settled. Plan J and L Forever commences tonight." It was two days before Christmas Break, and Sirius, Peter, and Remus, with the small help of the Chang kid, had set it all up. Sirius was going to send the letters during lunch; Peter would add the little concoction into James' drink so he gets quite sick to his stomach. Remus will valiantly take his place to patrol with Lily, and then she's thrown into the tower. In many ways in was easy for it to go wrong, but they were really trying to prevent that.
So through Charms, and Care of Magical Creatures, Sirius and Remus, still having to be partners, talked how it would end up. As soon as classes were over, Sirius and Remus walked to the castle with Peter and James, trying to talk nonchalantly about the plan, making sure that James wouldn't notice.
After they made their way to the Great Hall and ate, they waited until James was staring at Lily in a trance, and they could no longer get anything out of him. They lowered their voices and talked to each other. Through a full mouth of roast beef, Remus said, "Peter, put it in." Peter purposely put some of the concoction into James' drink, and then goaded him to take a sip. James did, and not a few minutes later ran out of the Great Hall, clutching him mouth closed, his cheeks green.
"The Heads' patrol end at midnight, so get as much food as possible in the Tower room before I get her there. I'll try and make everything real. If you want, sneak the cloak and watch." But all that Remus got out was mixed up words.
"Say again?" Peter said after he swallowed a load of Banana Pudding.
Remus swallowed thickly, and said it again.
"Oh..." Peter said while Sirius said, "All right." Remus ate one more taco, then looked at his water and got up to go get Lily.
"Sorry Lily, But we have to go." She looked up at me, with a trace of disappointment on her face.
"Where's Potter?" She asked, looking at Remus, cocking her head to the side.
"Getting violently sick in the seventh year boys' dormitory," Remus told her amiably.
"That's pleasant," she said with a disgusted look. "Well, um, I'll see you guys later," she said to her friends, and they all waved pleasantly goodbye. Well, Guinevere did anyway, Miranda and Sapphire just glared at Remus.
Remus and Lily had to wait until all the students were done and had the proper amount of time to get to their Common Rooms before they set off. Remus winked at Sirius before he left and he quirked his head to the left, their signal.
They had not been walking for a long time before Lily burst out, "Why does James even like me anyway? I mean, I'm not pretty and I'm not the anorexic or bulimic girl's he's usually into. Why me," She stopped and grabbed Remus' arm roughly and turned him close to her, so they were only a breath or two away. "Why me," She repeated.
He opened and closed his mouth like a gapping fish before he came to a satisfactory conclusion. "He likes you, Lily, because you are everything they are not. You are in perfect health, unlike them. And you have not only a natural beauty on the outside without the makeup those fake girls wear, but you're beautiful on the inside too. You're everything he has always wanted, and everything he needs. Why you? Well, ask him yourself."
She looked at him questionably, before she shrugged. "Fine, I will," She put a bold face on, as they headed back to the common room, and then it fell, "later." He stopped Lily right in front of the tower's entrance, a full sized painting of Godric Gryffindor pretending to be a broom closet.
Peter had talked to the painting while Sirius and Remus were in Charms, pleading sick. It said that it would do this for them, only because they put up so much good entertainment for it, and for the sake of the Wizarding World at stake. Peter, had no idea what he meant but that, but assured him it would help greatly. Peter had also asked that Godric disguised himself as a broom closet for when Remus and Lily came to it. Godric agreed. When Peter told Remus, perplexed about what Godric said, Remus simply shrugged and told Peter that he had no idea what it meant either, so just forget about the Wizarding World savior for now, and concentrate on James and Lily.
"Did you hear that?" Remus asked her quietly. She looked in the direction of the door, where noises were coming from.
Sirius had put a tape in there of him and Alice, his ex, ex girlfriend, making out in there. When Peter and Remus asked him why he taped it, he shrugged, and had replied, "Felt like it."
"Yeah, who do you think it is?"
"I dunno."
"Do you want to get them? Or shall I? Or both of us? Or,"
"You're rambling."
"Oh! Yeah, right."
"Yeah..." Remus scratched his head, not really knowing what to say. You would feel the same way, listening to one of your best friends making out on a tape, and Lily not knowing what to say. That doesn't happen very often, I tell you now.
"Ugh, do you want to go then?" She asked him, pleadingly. Remus groaned inwardly, she's making this harder than it is. He heard a snicker faintly in the corner across from them and then a `quiet!' that sounded very much like Peter. The laughter, Sirius, stopped abruptly.
"You can go if you want. Doesn't matter. I already caught Snape and Teress on the floor above, and then Ah Bleu and Fraser in the dungeons."
"I don't like her," she said, her face darkening.
"That's why I caught her." Remus said, then looked her straight in the eye and told her firmly, "Your turn." She nodded awkwardly, and slowly stepped toward the door.
The making out noises stopped abruptly then followed by another voice, neither Sirius nor Alice saying, "Who do you think it is?"
"I don't know, but we better leave soon, the footsteps are getting closer." That was definitely Alice, so Sirius must have been covering his voice differently. `Smart one Sir,' Remus thought proudly.
"Yeah all right,"
"Hurry, get behind the brooms!" Remus heard Sirius' tape make a shuffling noise to what sounded like brooms behind him.
"Ah crap, hurry they're at the door!" Alice frantically whispered, and Remus heard Sirius struggle to get behind the brooms also. Lily, with a firmer stride, flung open the door.
"Got- huh?" She stared at food and Pumpkin Juice galore, then all around the small tower. She dropped her wand in awe and surprise, which Remus discreetly picked up and put in his pocket. She turned to him, gapping. He smiled sympathetically and said, "Bye Lily!"
He pushed her in, and then flung the portrait shut before she could move or speak. When he was quickly walking away, he heard her scream of frustration, and then banging on the portrait back. Godric appeared again, looking rather ruffled.
"The good of the Wizarding World," He said through the pain to Remus.
"Godric, only open when I say, `Ferkenels' please," He nodded. Remus turned to go, but quickly turned back when he heard another scream and a, "Mark my words Remus, I'll get you!" He pointed his wand at the portrait, and said `silencio! Lily stopped in mid threat, but Godric was still looking like he would have bruises from this. Remus nodded his thanks to Godric and set off to the Fat Lady.
Remus mumbled, "Good of the Wizarding World my arse, just trying to get James and Lily together!" He had reached the Fat Lady, but she was sleeping. "Damn woman!" He said to the portrait harshly, and screamed, "BUMMBLE BEES!" She woke promptly and let him in. He held the portrait out more than he needed, and he felt Peter touch his hand as he and Sirius came in, so Remus could let it shut behind them.
He looked over to where he thought they were, and they reappeared slightly to the right, laughing like mad. Remus said arrogantly, "Plan A: The First is complete." Hours later, after just staring into the fire and talking gibberish, Sirius was skipping up the stairs, occasionally jumping and knocking his feet together singing, "We will, We will, ROCK YOU!" He was always singing crazy things like that to his bed. Peter had already gone to bed long before Sirius and Remus. Remus was last to leave.
The Moon was getting to him after all it was tomorrow. He was deadly tired. When they had found out last week that the full moon was tomorrow, Remus told Sirius he would have to get James to the tower. That would be much harder, considering Lily was already there and planning her escape. Remus' tired mind racing too fast for the moment, and he slumped down, and fell asleep on the stair, not noticing the stone stair digging into his spine or that it was cold and rough, quite unlike what he truly wanted at the moment, his warm feather bed.
LILY'S POV
"Damn him!" She screamed again, but her throat was going hoarse, and her knuckles were starting to crack and bleed against the portrait back. She finally let out her last scream and walked over to the food piled on the table before the bed. This room was dirty and dank, and she could feel all the spiders' eyes watching her every move. She shivered, and heard a faint rat squeak somewhere distant. She sat in a dirty looking chair, with my back bent badly to avoid the spider webs on the back, and inhaled some ham and pumpkin juice. Then, she shoved some chocolate and vanilla ice cream into her mouth.
She made a hurt noise, and mumbled hoarsely, "Brain freeze," She stood quickly from the chair and stumbled over to the bed and crawled beneath the covers. The covers were rather large comforters, dyed a deep crimson, with gold sheets and pillows.
They were more comfortable then her own bed, she admitted to herself. And the pillows smelled good, something between a small sweat, grass, and then morning dew. Wait, she knew that smell, but she just couldn't place it. She breathed in the deep smell regardless of knowing what it was or not, and closed her eyes. But she couldn't sleep.
So she thought, out loud of course. "Damn it Evans, how could you not tell? When you saw this room, and out of the corner of your eye Remus picking up your wand, you knew something was wrong didn't you? At least he gave you time to think." She sighed heavily.
"What is it that I just hate so much about Potter? Is it that, not with his friends, he has the girls of our year, who have been with every guy, besides Remus, the sweetheart never give himself up without love, hanging off his arms and watching his every move? Or is it the way his eyes used to twinkle with mirth every time they had played a prank on me? And that now, whenever it happened, the smile on his face didn't reach his eyes? Or is it the mop of messy black hair that my fingers just twitch whenever I see him, dying to stroke my hands through?
"Or is that he is a major show off? And that he can be the cruelest and insensitive person ever to a Slytherin first year, then stand up for me when Snape calls me cruel names? Or is it that he can actually play Quidditch? That he can easily out smart any of the Beaters and get through some of the hardest of Keepers? Or is it that he's almost as smart as me?"
That question stopped her dead. "No, no that can't be it! I don't care who's as smart as I am! I don't care that he can knick a snitch and play with it all he wants! And I don't care about him or what he does! The bloody prat! As long as he gets beautiful women and all the Quidditch fame, he's content as a freaking puppy with a new chew toy!
"Yeah, yeah that's it. Now, when I see Remus again, oh he'll be sadder than the day he first transformed into a werewolf." No! Damn! I can't hold that against him! That wasn't his fault! He was just simply in the wrong place at the wrong time!
"But he still locked you up in here! He still," She cut herself off.
"Wait a minute. Why the hell am I even bickering with myself? Out loud no less? I hope no one can hear me."
"I can." A voice near her said.
"Who's that!" she screamed, and rubbed her throat as she felt the irritation all the talking caused.
She heard a light chuckle. "Oh you shouldn't worry about me. I won't tell anyone, my names Godric."
"Godric, aye," She was still wary of it; she remembered when Dumbledore told her, for no apparent reason, `Never trust anything that can think for itself when you can't see where it keeps its brain.' "Where are you Godric? My name is Lily."
"Ms. Lily, I'm surprised you didn't think of it further. I'm the portrait outside, I'm Godric Gryffindor."
"There was no picture outside," she said suspiciously.
"You've walked past my portrait thousands of times. The first time you ever came into the castle, you admired all the portraits, but mine the most. Because I only spoke to you, do you not remember?"
Apparently she did. "Oh! I'm sorry Mr. Gryffindor! Forgive me please! I just have no bloody idea why I'm here. Can you tell me why he did it and why you agreed?"
"He did it, because well, because he has something up his sleeve. Why I did it? Because, the Savior of the Wizarding World."
"The Wizarding World?" She muttered under her breath. She shrugged helplessly, no idea came into her mind. "Well, er, thanks Godric. Don't any house elves ever come in here?"
"Ah, every few days or so. But it seems that they wanted to keep the room this way. I don't know. Good night, Ms. Lily."
"Ah... Good night too Godric," They then fell into a lapse of silence where she fell asleep listening contently to Godric's snores from the wall to her far left.
-->