Where Life Leads

Chapter One

Lily Evans was very different from the average seventeen year old girl. While she was the same in many ways, there was something about her that wasn’t quite ordinary. She went to a special school in Scotland, which only had one entrance requirement: magic. Because, you see, Lily Evans was a witch.

The clock on Lily’s bedside table clicked to eight am and music filled the room. Groggily she reached over to her bedside table for her wand. Once it was in her grasp, she tapped a glowing picture frame and murmured a few words. At once the music stopped. Made of willow, her wand was exceptionally good for charm work, and Lily had put it to good use by adapting a spell so that any object she chose would play whichever song would best wake her up when her clock struck eight each morning. Better still, now that she was seventeen, she could use the spell whenever she wanted. Lily set her wand on the table again and stretched, yawning hugely. Her bright green eyes, though still sleepy, didn’t miss anything as she gazed around her bedroom.

The window seat was covered with books, parchment paper and quills. There was a bottle of ink, a quill and a scroll of parchment covered in neat script lying on her desk. A brush, several hair clips, and a few other odds and ends sat atop her chest of drawers, along with a red and gold badge with a lion and a single golden letter “P” engraved on it. Most of the drawers were open, with clothing spilling untidily out of them. There were several black robes draped over a chair near her open wardrobe doors. Hanging inside the wardrobe were four other robes; two of them were black satin, one was an emerald green dress robe, and the last was a simple, lightweight, pale blue one. There was also an extremely ruffled pale yellow dress with a satin salmon sash, which looked out of place amongst all the robes.

By the foot of her bed sat a large trunk filled with much more then it looked like it could hold. Next to the trunk were several newspapers spread out haphazardly on the dark hardwood floor with odd headlines such as "Dragon Steaks Increase to Five Sickles an Ounce", "Stealing Squib Sentenced to Three Months in Azkaban" and “You-Know-Who Strikes Out Against Muggles” written on the front.

A faint tapping drew Lily’s attention to the window. She got out of bed and tugged her long sleeved, red Gryffindor t-shirt down to cover her yellow shorts as she walked over to the window and pulled the curtains back. A barn owl that belonged to her best friend, Marlene McKinnon, was hovering outside. Lily yawned as she unlocked the window and pushed it open. The owl flew through the gap and landed on top of the robe-covered chair. It held out a leg and Lily removed the letter attached to it. She patted its head, and the owl gave a hoot.

“Hello, Aderyn.” Lily’s voice was still husky from sleeping. She yawned again. “Come on, we’ll go downstairs and get you some water.” She held out her arm and the owl jumped off the chair and settled onto it. Lily grabbed a box of owl treats from her desk and her wand before making her way downstairs.

Her mother, Rose Evans, was sitting at the kitchen table sipping her tea and reading the newspaper when Lily entered. Her greying blonde hair was in a loose knot at the back of her head.

“Morning, Mum,” Lily said, putting Aderyn on the back of a chair. She set her wand and the letter from Marlene on the table and then went to the cupboard to get a dish, filling it with water. “Where’s Dad?” she asked. She fed Aderyn an owl treat and set the water in front of him, where he gulped it gratefully.

Her mother looked up from the morning paper. Her eyes- green in colour, but bright as Lily’s- sparkled as she smiled at her daughter. “He’s already gone to the club. Rich wanted to get some extra practice in at the driving range before the others arrived.”

Lily’s father, Rusty, was a Professor of English at Oxford University, specializing in modern literature. But, during the summer holiday when he didn’t have to teach, he played golf with some of his colleagues twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

“Uncle Rich?” Lily asked, referring to her mother’s younger brother. She poured herself a bowl of cereal and sat down across from her mother. “I thought he was going to the continent this summer.”

Lily’s mum laughed. “Well, you know your uncle. He always changes his plans at the last minute. He’s decided to go in the autumn instead. He says it won’t be as hot then.”

Lily shook her head, and picked up Marlene’s letter and read it while she ate her cereal.

Hey Lily!

Thanks for the sweets from Honeyduke’s. You know how much I love their sugar quills and ice mice. Is everything still alright for the Ministry and Diagon Alley tomorrow? Mum said our Hogwarts letters should be arriving minute now, so we’ll know which books we need to get. Although, I can’t think of what else we’ll need since most of our books from last year should all be the same. Unless of course we have another new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor.

I’m so glad you said you’d go with me to get my Apparition license. Mum said she’d take me but she knows so many people we’d never get out of there. Plus she’s no fun to shop with.

I’ll meet you at the Leaky Cauldron at ten. We can Floo to the Ministry from there, since you’ve never been there.

Cheers,

Marlene

PS: Mum let slip that your name was brought up for Head Girl along with Doreen Simmons. Although anyone who would choose her instead of you must be mental. Good luck! I know you’ll get it!

“Who’s the letter from, Lily?” her mum asked.

“Marlene, checking about tomorrow and thanking me for the present I sent her for her birthday. We’re going to get her Apparition license and then to Diagon Alley for our school things tomorrow.”

“Oh, that’s right. I remember you mentioning something about that last week.”

“Yeah, and Mum,” Lily said excitedly, “she also said that her mum mentioned something about my name being one of the ones up for Head Girl. And her mum is on the board of directors for Hogwarts so she would know.”

“Oh, Lily that’s wonderful! When will you know if you’ve got it?”

“Marlene said our Hogwarts letters will probably get here sometime today.” Lily took a last bite of cereal and cleaned her bowl with a flick of her wand. “I'm going to go and have a shower,” she said, standing up and putting the bowl away. “I have some work to finish too. Come on, Aderyn.” Lily left the kitchen, the owl perched on her arm.

“Lily,” her mum called up after her, “don’t forget that Petunia and Vernon are coming over for dinner tonight at five.”

Lily groaned. Petunia was her older sister, and she and Lily didn’t get on very well. When they were younger they had been as close as two sisters could be despite the three years between them. But when Lily had turned eleven and got her Hogwarts letter everything had changed. Odd things had always happened around her, and now they finally knew why. Her parents had been so proud, but Petunia had been strangely silent. When Lily had come home that first summer Petunia had barely spoken to her. She couldn’t work out what had changed, until one night after her third year at Hogwarts, she had lost her temper. She had been arguing with Petunia over which program to watch on the telly. They were fighting over the remote when Lily had pulled out her wand and yelled “Accio”. The remote had flown into her hand and Lily had smiled triumphantly at Petunia only to see her shaking and staring at her in horror.

“Freak! You’re nothing but an unnatural freak!” Petunia had screamed at her. “People like you shouldn’t be allowed to live among those of us who are normal!”

The room had rung with silence. Then Petunia had shrieked as an owl swooped through the open window and dropped a letter in front of Lily before flying back out. Lily knew that she had gotten into trouble for using magic, but she didn’t care. Petunia’s words had still been ringing in her ears. Tears flooded her eyes as she ran upstairs and fell onto her bed, sobbing uncontrollably. Petunia hadn’t spoken to her since- unless she absolutely had to. Even last year, when Lily had been a bridesmaid at her wedding to Vernon (and only at her mother’s insistence), they had barely exchanged a word.

Lily groaned again, knowing dinner tonight was going to be torture.

-()-

Lily walked down the stairs that evening as if she were going to a funeral. Vernon Dursley, Petunia’s husband, was the most insufferable person Lily had ever met. He was the director of a firm that made drills and that was all he would ever talk about. Drills, drills, drills. Lily didn’t understand his fascination with them. Even Petunia would sometimes get a glazed look on her face. Lily couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be married to him.

Lily entered the kitchen just as the doorbell rang and her father hurried to answer it. She hoped she’d be able to change the subject to something more interesting than drill. Even golf would be better, since as boring as she thought the game was, she at least knew something about it.

“Lily, come help me finish setting the table,” her mother called from the dining room.

“What do you still need?” Lily called back.

“Just the cutlery.”

“Alright.” Lily got the correct amount of forks, spoons, and knives from the drawer and carried them into the dining room.

“Has your Hogwarts letter come yet?”

“No. I thought it would have come by now, but maybe it’ll be here tomorrow instead.” As she laid the cutlery on the table, her mother let out a small sigh.

“What is it?” Lily asked her.

“Oh, nothing really, just that- well- I talked with Petunia this afternoon and she still hasn’t told Vernon about, well that you’re-“

“That I’m a witch,” Lily finished for her.

“Yes.”

“It’s alright. I know how she feels about it. Don’t worry- I won’t say anything I shouldn’t.”

Her mother glanced at her sadly. “Oh, Lily, I’m sure she’ll come around sometime.”

Lily snorted. “I won’t hold my breath.”

Her mother looked as if she was going to say something more, but then Petunia and Vernon walked into the room followed by Lily’s father, a big, brawny man with blue eyes and the same thick red hair Lily had. He smiled and winked at Lily when he saw her.

Her mother bustled over to give Petunia a hug. Her sister, as always, was dressed to perfection. Her blonde hair was styled perfectly and she wore a slim blue skirt and a white blouse with a matching set of jewellery. Her pale eyes, however, did nothing to soften her horsy-looking face, and her long neck reminded Lily of a giraffe.

Vernon greeted her mother and bent to kiss her on the cheek, although it was more of a bump since he was so fleshy. He had almost no neck and a huge moustache, and his thinning brown hair was plastered to his head. Lily had no idea what Petunia saw in him. Then again, it was Petunia.

Petunia nodded stiffly at Lily and Vernon followed suit. An awkward silence followed until Lily’s mother invited them to sit down and asked Lily to help bring the food out to the table.

Dinner was a boring affair. Once everyone had been served, Vernon started talking about his drill firm. Lily’s father did manage to change the subject to golf for about ten minutes but, with a relentlessness Lily admired, Vernon changed it back to his firm- talking about how drills were used to make clubs or something of that sort. Every so often Petunia would give Lily a funny look, but would look away when Lily looked back at her questioningly.

Finally, dinner ended and Lily’s mother ushered everyone into the family room while she and Lily cleared the table and made tea. Her mother had just finished serving everyone when something tapped at the window. Lily shot her parents a fearful look. Her father looked at her and mouthed, “What is it?”

“My Hogwarts letter,” she mouthed back. Her father shrugged as if to say “Nothing for it!” and settled back onto the sofa he was sitting on.

Lily took a deep breath, rose from where she was sitting on the sofa next to her father, and went to open the window.

Petunia glared at her. “What are you doing?” she asked sharply.

“Opening the window,” Lily said, without looking at her.

Petunia moved to stop her but Lily already had the window open, and a tawny owl flew through and landed on the coffee table nearest to Vernon. The owl blinked at him steadily as Vernon looked at it as if it was a cockroach. Lily untied the letter from its leg and the owl dipped its beak into Vernon’s tea several times before flying back out the window. Lily shut it and sat back down on the sofa.

The clock ticked loudly in the silent room.

Finally Vernon broke the silence. “What is that?” he said, nodding disdainfully at the letter Lily held.

“My Hogwarts letter,” she replied.

“Hogwarts? What’s that?

“The school I go to.”

“Hogwarts, Hogwarts? Never heard of it,” Vernon huffed. “And what kind of school sends a letter with a ruddy owl?”

Petunia let out a strangled sound. She had a terrified look on her face. Lily wasn’t surprised. This had to be Petunia’s worst nightmare come to life. Lily had told Petunia to tell him herself once they had gotten married, but it was too late now.

“Hogwarts is a school for witchcraft and wizardry,” Lily replied. “A school for people who can do magic. A Muggle like you wouldn’t have heard about it.”

“Muggle?” he sputtered, turning a darker shade of purple. “What is a Muggle?”

“A person who’s not magical.”

“Magic. What’s this nonsense about magic? There’s no such thing as-”

“Magic?” Lily interrupted him. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I assure you there is.”

“So you’re telling me you're one of these magical people. A-”

“Freak!” Petunia screamed at Lily, jumping up from where she was sitting. Lily started and dropped the letter she was holding. “You're nothing but a freak. I told you to keep it to yourself! To keep your unnaturalness away from me and my husband.” Petunia tugged on Vernon’s arm. “Come, Vernon, we’re leaving. I don’t want to spend another minute in her presence.”

“You stay away from us!” Vernon yelled as Petunia dragged him out the door. “You and your magic.” He said the word as if it were a swear word. The front door slammed shut after them.

“Oh, what I wouldn’t give to curse them into next year!” Lily said angrily.

“Lily, honey.” Her mum stood up and gave Lily a hug. “I know she said some awful things- Vernon too, for that matter. But she is still your sister. She’ll come around.”

“No, she won’t. She’s been like this ever since I got in. She thinks I’m a freak.”

“You're not a freak, Lily, and you know that. We know it too,” her father said. “Now come and sit down and open the letter. It has to have good news.” He guided her back to the sofa and Lily sat down. He picked the letter up from where it had fallen to the floor and handed it to her.

Lily slit the seal. A shiny badge fell onto her lap as she pulled out the pages. Lily gasped, and stared at the badge for a second before reading the letter.

Dear Miss Evans,

As Head of Gryffindor House, I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected as Head Girl for your seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed in this letter are your new badge and the list of school supplies you will need for this year.

You and the Head Boy are expected to hold a meeting on the Hogwarts Express with the Prefects and patrol the train along with them. Since you have been a Prefect for the past two years I am sure this will come as no surprise to you. Professor Dumbledore wishes to meet with you and the new Head Boy directly after the Welcoming Feast.

As usual, the school train will be departing for Hogwarts from King’s Cross Station Platform 9 ¾ at 11:00 am on 1st September.

Sincerely,

Professor M. McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Lily let out a joyful laugh.

“What is it?” her father asked.

“I did it! I’m Head Girl!”

“Oh, Lily, that’s wonderful!” her mother exclaimed. Her father picked her up and swung her around. He kissed her cheek before putting her back down. “This calls for celebration! Rose, is there any champagne?”

“No, we took what we had to the Bakers’ anniversary two weeks ago.”

“That’s all right.” Lily said. “Let me get my wand from upstairs. Be right back.”

Lily dashed upstairs and grabbed her wand off her dresser. When she got back downstairs she flicked her wand, and a champagne bottle and three glasses appeared in midair.

Her mother put a hand against her chest. “Oh, my, I don’t know if I’m ever going to get used to you doing that,” she said. They each took a glass and Lily’s father opened the bottle of champagne and poured some into each of the glasses.

“A toast,” he said, “to Lily and another wonderful year at Hogwarts!”

“To a wonderful year!” Lily and her mother repeated. They clinked their glasses together and sipped.

Her father let out a sound of surprise. “This champagne is excellent.”

Lily smiled. “I’ve always had a knack for charms.” Her parents laughed, and they all sat down on the sofa to talk.

Later that night, as Lily was getting ready for bed she couldn’t help thinking what wonderful parents she had. She didn’t know what she would do without them. She smiled and climbed into bed. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Chapter Two

The next day was brilliantly sunny, a perfect day for shopping in Diagon Alley. The sun was streaming through Lily’s open window and a warm summer breeze was blowing through the opening. Lily was sitting at her desk making some final corrections on the Potions essay that had been set over the summer holiday. It was the last bit of homework she had to finish. She had saved it for last since she knew it would be the easiest. Potions and Charms where her best subjects at Hogwarts, but Potions had always come more naturally to her then Charms did. Professor Slughorn, the Potions master, was always raving about how he had never taught anyone as talented as she was. She smiled as she added a final sentence to the end of the essay. Slughorn had always liked her humour when it came to potions.

Lily rolled up the essay and neatly tied it with a ribbon. Then she stood up from her desk and went over to her wardrobe, thinking that she should put her blue robe on over her grey pleated skirt and short sleeved shirt. She shook her head at the thought. It was too hot to wear a robe and she wondered for the hundredth time why wizards bothered to wear them in the first place. As she picked up her wand from her desk, she realized with a wry smile that it didn’t matter what witches and wizards wore when they could easily just cool themselves off with magic if they needed to. After putting her wand away in a pocket, she fished around in her trunk for the cloth bag that held what remained of the wizarding money that she still had left over from last year. Testing its weight she realized she would have to ask her parents for some Muggle money to exchange at Gringotts, the wizarding bank.

Her mum wasn’t home when Lily got downstairs and she was wondering where she had gone when she spied a note on the kitchen counter. Lily picked up the flower- bordered paper and read her mum’s neat script.

Lily Darling,

Went shopping at the market. There’s seventy pounds in an envelope on your father’s desk for your school things. I added a bit extra for you to get yourself something special for becoming Head Girl. We’re so proud of you!

Xoxo,

Mum

Lily walked through the living room and into her father’s study. His desk was neatly organized. The post from that morning was piled neatly on one side and on the other there were several golf scoring cards. Her father’s scores where outlined with a red marker. A white envelope with her name written on it was lying on the centre of the desk. There were lilies sketched around her name. Lily smiled; her father had done that ever since she was little. She was glad to see that he still kept up the habit even though she was seventeen. She glanced inside the envelope. Combined with the money she earned for doing odd jobs around the neighbourhood Lily had more then enough to last her through the school year.

She dashed back upstairs to get her school list, onto which she had added everything she would need for the coming year, before closing her eyes and Apparating. Although she had passed her test at the end of last school year and had been Apparating off and on during the summer she still wasn’t quite used to the feeling of been sucked through a tube. She felt a strange kinship with dirt as it was being vacuumed up at these time.

She appeared in the small alley near the Leaky Cauldron that was set aside for witches and wizards Apparating to the establishment. The pavement was quite crowded with Muggles who walked passed the door to the Leaky Cauldron as though it wasn’t there. Lily was always amazed at how magic worked with things like this. Her parents hadn’t even been able to see it the few times that they had come with Lily. She had always had to guide then through the door.

The hubbub of noise washed over Lily as she opened the door. Tom, the old, bald and nearly toothless bartender, looked up from the table he was wiping down and nodded in greeting as Lily entered the pub. She smiled back and glanced around the dark, smoky room for Marlene. Spying her sitting on a stool at the bar, Lily picked her way through the many tables towards the short, curly-haired girl. When she reached her, Lily tapped her on the shoulder. Marlene spun around on the stool, her brown hair bouncing.

“Lily!” she exclaimed, leaping up and giving Lily a hug. Lily returned the hug with equal vigour. She hadn’t seen Marlene since they had gotten off the Express at the end of last year. Even though they had owled each other frequently, it wasn't the same as seeing her in person.

“It’s so good to see you finally,” Marlene continued. “Oh Merlin, your hair!”

Lily bit her lip to hide her grin. In all the years Marlene had known her, Lily had never let her hair grow past her shoulders, saying it was too much bother if it was any longer. Now though, she had allowed her hair to grow (with the help of a few lengthening charms) in a thick, dark red sheet to the middle of her back.

“I’ve been telling you to grow your hair out for ages and you never once listened.” Marlene said, forcing Lily to turn around so she could get a better look. “What made you decide to do it?”

“I suppose I just wanted a change.” Lily shrugged. “Are you ready to go then? We have a lot to get done today and I need to stop at Gringotts first.”

Marlene nodded and she and Lily walked over to the flaming fireplace. Lily dropped a Knut into a box that was mounted on the wall next to it. A handful of glittering Floo powder spilled into a small cup directly below. Lily poured half the powder into her hand and gave the rest to Marlene. Marlene replaced the cup and Lily threw her powder into the flames. They roared and turned emerald green. Lily stepped into the flames and shouted, “Ministry of Magic.” She spun through the flames and slid out onto a cool tiled floor.

Lily got to her feet and cleaned the soot off her robes with a wave of her wand as she looked around. This was the first time she had been to the Ministry. The atrium was huge and busy, with a peacock-blue ceiling inlaid with golden symbols that were constantly moving. Lily guessed that they were some type of magical ward or charm that protected the Ministry from collapsing since it was located underground. There were seven fireplaces along opposite walls of the hall for arrival and departure by the Floo Network, and witches and wizards where Apparating and Disapparating from all directions. Almost directly in front of her was a huge golden fountain. She moved from in front of the fireplace as the flames turned green once more. A few seconds later Marlene came tumbling out.

“I can’t wait until I have my Apparition license,” she said, coughing.

“Well, you don’t have long,” Lily smiled mischievously. “Unless you fail,” she added.

“Oh, don’t joke about it!” Marlene whined. “Come on, we have to get visitor badges.” Lily just laughed as she and Marlene weaved their way through all of the Ministry employees to the visitor’s entrance on the far side of the atrium.

“You’ll be fine. Besides, you can’t be any worse then Peter Pettigrew was.”

“True. Gosh, I wish I had been there. I can’t believe he left his clothes behind!”

“I know, I can still picture them lying there on the ground. Mr. Twycross just stood there staring at them trying to work out what happened. And then Peter reappears trying to cover his-well, you know, I didn’t know a person could blush all over like that. I guess he was so focused on the ‘destination’ and ‘determination’ parts that he forgot the ‘deliberation’ of taking everything with him.”

Marlene laughed hysterically at Lily’s play on the three words that their Apparition instructor constantly used.

They reached the visitor’s entrance, where the witch behind the glass asked them why they were at the Ministry and gave them each a rectangular, silver badge inscribed with their name and ‘Apparition Testing’. They pinned the badges to their robes where they could be easily seen.

As they made their way back across the room they passed the golden fountain situated in the middle. Lily stopped and looked at it more closely. At the centre was a tall noble-looking wizard and surrounding him were a witch, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf. The centaur, goblin and house-elf were looking up at the witch and wizard adoringly. Jets of sparkling water were spouting out from the two wands, the tip of the centaur’s arrow, the point of the goblin’s hat, and both of the house-elf’s ears. Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts glittered in the shallow pool of water the statues stood in. A water-splattered sign proclaimed: All proceeds from the Fountain of Magical Brethren will be given to St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Lily fished in her money bag for a Sickle and threw it into the fountain with the rest of the coins. Marlene, standing next to her, did the same.

“If I pass my test I’ll throw in a Galleon next time I’m here,” she said.

Lily laughed and tossed in another sickle. “For luck, then,” she told Marlene.

They linked arms and chatted happily about nothing as they walked towards the golden gates, past which Marlene said were the lifts. They paused at a desk to the left of the gates behind which a young, badly shaven guard, sat sprawled in an uncomfortable looking chair, reading the Daily Prophet. He put the paper down as they approached and grunted, “Step over here” at them.

Marlene and Lily walked to the side of the desk and the wizard stood and passed a long, golden rod over the front and back of each of them. He nodded, satisfied, and then asked for each of their wands. Marlene handed hers to him first. He dropped it onto an instrument that looked like a set of scales with only one dish. It began to vibrate and a narrow strip of parchment came out of a slit in the base. The wizard tore it off. “Nine inches, unicorn-tail core, maple, has been in use six years,” he said, apparently reading what was written on the slip of parchment. “That correct?”

Marlene nodded and he handed her wand back to her and impaled the slip of parchment on a small brass spike. Lily gave him her wand and set it onto the instrument as well.

“Ten and a quarter inches, unicorn-tail core, willow, has been in use six years. That correct?” he asked her.

“Yes,” Lily answered.

“Nice wand,” he said, giving it back to her. “Quite powerful.” He smiled at her as he punctured the parchment on the brass spike on top of Marlene’s. Lily smiled back at him.

“Thanks,” Marlene said, rolling her eyes. She walked through the golden doors and Lily followed her, after a last smile and a wave for the wizard. He was surprisingly good-looking, once you got past the bad shave job.

She caught up with Marlene, who gave her an exasperated look.

“What?” Lily asked, defensively as they got into one of the twelve lifts. The gold gate rattled shut and the lift jolted to a start. A cool female voice announced each level as they passed.

“Can’t you go anywhere without some wizard flirting with you? Honestly, you’re too pretty for your own good.”

“Oh, shut up, I am not.”

Marlene raised her eyebrows at Lily. “You’re tall, curvy, your hair- now that you’ve let it grow out- is gorgeous, and even without all that, there’re your eyes.” They got off at the sixth level and followed the signs down the narrow hall and through the door with ‘Apparition Test Centre’ written on it in flowing golden script.

Lily huffed. “What about my eyes? Oh never mind. Besides, wizards flirt with you too, so I don’t want to hear it.”

Marlene laughed. “True.” The room they had entered was small. Two narrow doors were spaced out along one wall and on the adjourning wall were several threadbare chairs. Across from the chairs was a large desk covered in parchment. A squint eyed witch sat behind it reading Witch Weekly- whose cover pictured a good-looking wizard who wore black robes that were partially undone- and chewing a piece of gum. When Lily and Marlene entered, the witch looked up and put her magazine down.

“Can I help you?” she asked in a nasal voice.

“I’m here for my Apparition license,” Marlene said.

“What about you?” the witch questioned Lily.

“I already have my license,” Lily told her, “I’m just here for moral support.”

“Fine, sit down then.” The witch waited for Lily to sit down in one of the chairs before turning back to Marlene. “Fill this in,” she said handing her one of the many pieces of parchment on the desk. Marlene filled out the form and handed it back to the witch. She glanced over it and made some additional marks. The witch used her wand to make a copy and handed one of them to Marlene. “Go through there,” she said, pointing to the door on the left.

Marlene glanced nervously at Lily.

“You’ll be fine. You’ve been practicing for ages.”

Marlene shrugged and then disappeared through the door.

“It’s going to be a while,” the witch said, and then she turned back to her magazine.

Lily picked up a pamphlet off of the nearby table and relaxed back into the chair, trying to find a comfortable position, when the hall door flew open and four boys burst through. The one with a mop of messy black hair led the group. His back was towards Lily and he was pulling a sandy haired boy- who was dragging his feet- along with him while another boy, with his hair falling gracefully into his grey eyes, pushed him from behind. Last through the door was a light brown-haired boy, who was smiling broadly at the antics of the others.

“Peter,” he was saying in a reassuring tone, “Just because you failed your test the first time doesn’t mean you’ll fail this time as well.”

“But, Remus,” the boy whined, his rat like face scrunching up pitifully.

“Oh, quit your snivelling, Wormtail,” the grey-eyed boy said, smacking him in the back of the head, as the witch eyed him disapprovingly behind her magazine.

“James,” he appealed to the messy-haired boy, whose back was still towards Lily.

“They’re both right, Peter. You need to get over your fear and just do it. Besides,” he continued, choking back laughter, “the worst has already happened, hasn’t it?” James slapped Peter on the shoulder. Sirius, who had spied Lily, was grinning and nodded over James shoulder at her. James turned around.

“Evans!” he called out, a huge grin splitting his face. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“Potter, a pleasure, as always,” Lily drawled sarcastically, barely containing the desire to roll her eyes.

James walked over and sat down in the chair next to her, throwing an arm over her shoulders. Lily looked over at him, a look of disgust on her face. He was still the attractive, messy haired guy with the cocky hazel eyes that she remembered. In her year and house at Hogwarts, he was the most obnoxious person she had ever met- well, aside from Vernon Dursley of course. While they didn’t exactly hate each other, they had never got along either. He and his cronies, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew were famous at school for all the pranks they played. They had nicknamed themselves the Marauders, and had made her years at Hogwarts one catastrophe after another. James had continuously bothered Lily to go out with him until she told him off at the end of fifth year, saying that she would rather date the Giant Squid. It seemed as though he had finally taken the hint for he hadn’t asked her out since. Although, his need for her attention had seemed to increase recently and he was more annoying then ever.

James shifted his position so that he could read the pamphlet she held from over her shoulder. Lily shot him an exasperated look, threw his arm off of her and scooted her chair away from him. He made a tsking noise and moved his chair so that it was next to hers again. He put his elbow on the arm of the chair and rested his head in his hand, looking at Lily adoringly. Every now and then he let out a huge sigh. Lily ignored him until finally she couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Would you knock it off!” she exclaimed at him. “Merlin, Potter, you’re so annoying.”

“Nah, you just make it really easy.”

“Make what really easy?”

“So, you want to be a Healer?” he asked, completely ignoring her question.

“What?”

He gestured to the pamphlet that was in her hand. “You’re reading about what you need to do in order to become a Healer.”

“Oh. No, I just didn’t have anything else to do while I waited for Marlene.”

“Well, now you do.”

“Now I do, what?”

“Have something else to do.”

Lily raised an eyebrow at him. “What, you mean being bothered by you? I’d as soon as…..”

Sirius and Remus, who had been listening while Peter filled out his forms and went to take his test, burst out laughing. “Prongs,” Sirius said. “I think she’s trying to tell you something.”

“Yeah,” Remus chipped in, “you might want to reinvent your strategy.”

“No,” James disagreed, “this one seems to be working just fine.”

“What is it, anyway? I forget.”

“Annoying her until she gives in.”

Lily huffed. “In your dreams, Potter.”

“Lily, darling, my dreams of you are much, much, more exhilarating.” James waggled his eyebrows suggestively at her, as Lily glared, daring him to elaborate.

“Cuddling in the Common Room, shopping in Hogsmeade and then a moonlit stroll through the Hogwarts grounds.”

“What’s this about moonlight strolls?” Marlene asked, entering the room smiling happily.

“I’m just telling Evans what we’re going to be doing on our date,” James told her, smiling mischievously.

“Date!” Marlene stared at Lily in shock. “You agreed to go on a date?”

“You know very well I haven’t.” She turned to James angrily. “For the last time, Potter- I won’t go out with you!”

“Come on, Evans. One date, it won’t kill you. First Hogsmeade weekend.”

Lily opened her mouth to retort and then closed it. She seemed to be thinking seriously about it. Finally, she said slowly, “If I agree, will you promise to never ask me again?”

“Sure.” He gave a nonchalant shrug.

“Fine then, if that’s what it takes to get you to leave me alone, first Hogsmeade weekend.” She looked as though she had agreed to swallow poison. “And I don’t want to hear a word about it until then.”

“Alright,” James agreed happily, grinning at her. “Don’t forget.”

“As if,” Lily spat at him. Then she Apparated away with pop, leaving a stunned group behind her.

Chapter Three

Lily leant against a marble pillar in Gringotts Bank and waited for Marlene to show up. She didn’t think it would take her too long, especially not after what Lily had done. Lily still couldn’t believe that she had just agreed to go to Hogsmeade with Potter, of all people. He had been nagging her about it constantly since third year, and she had consistently turned him down, even saying she’d rather go out with the Giant Squid. When he had suddenly stopped asking her after that, Lily was surprised- she had said worse things to him over the years.

Lily sighed and crossed her arms, staring blankly at the floor in front of her. In truth, she had kind of missed him constantly asking. It had annoyed the hell out of her, but it was a bit sweet, really. Not necessarily the way he always asked her out, but the way she knew that he would. It was nice to know that someone could like her so much that they would keep asking her practically everyday for three years, without fail.

Her gaze refocused and she saw Marlene hurrying towards her. Lily quickly adopted a ‘devil may care’ look on her face.

“Oh good, I was hoping you’d come here. You said you needed to stop here after the Ministry but seeing as how… well, I was afraid you‘d forgotten.” Marlene looked at her quizzically. “You do realize that you just agreed to a date with James Potter, don’t you?”

Lily groaned and glanced at her sulkily. “I’d rather not think about it.”

Marlene nodded in understanding. She studied Lily’s face and opened her mouth as if to say something, then shook her head, apparently deciding against it.

“What?” Lily asked her.

“Nothing...well- it’s just that- you really don’t hate him all that much, do you?”

Lily looked her in the eye. “No,” she said so quietly that Marlene almost didn’t hear her. “No, not all that much.”

Marlene nodded again as if things were finally beginning to make sense. “Well, it’s a good thing you made plans so far in advance,” she couldn’t resist teasing her, “you have loads of time to decide what to wear. You said you went shopping a few weeks ago, you can wear something you got then.”

Lily smiled reluctantly and rolled her eyes at her. “Come on, I have to exchange some money. Do you have to run down to your vault?”

“No, Mum got some Galleons out for me the other day, thank goodness. Those carts always make me ill.”

After exchanging Lily’s Muggle pounds for wizard gold, they walked out the doors of Gringotts Bank and down the many steps onto the curving streets of Diagon Alley. Witches, wizards, and a few odd Muggle relations darted back and forth between the busy shops. Happy chatter floated up into the warm air and, every so often, birds flew by in the sunny, cloudless sky.

Lily took a deep breath, arms outstretched. A huge smile broke out across her face and she laughed happily. “I love it here!” she exclaimed. “Every time I come it’s like I can forget everything else and just relax and have fun.” Her green eyes sparkled and her red hair streamed out behind her as she continued to spin. “Where should we go first?”

“Madam Malkin’s,” Marlene replied, amused by Lily’s antics. “I need new dress robes. Mum says that I have to go to the Ministry Ball with her this year seeing as I’m seventeen now.”

“Alright,” Lily agreed happily. “I need new school robes anyway. And we can go to Florean Fortescue’s afterwards.”

“Didn’t you just get robes last year?”

“Yes, but most of them are too small now. Seems I’ve grown another inch or two. And,” she added slyly, “now that I’m Head Girl, I should get some made up specially for that.”

“That’s right!” Marlene exclaimed. “I can’t believe I forgot to ask you. I meant to, really I did, it’s just with my Apparition test and everything it must have slipped my mind. When did you get the letter?”

“It came last night, like you said it would. Petunia and Vernon were over for dinner. It was quite a shock for Vernon-” Lily grinned mischievously. “-seeing as how Petunia hadn’t told him that I’m a witch.”

Lily pulled open the door to the robe shop. The owner, Madam Malkin, a squat, smiling witch who was dressed all in mauve, greeted them as they entered.

“Hello, dears,” she said. “What can I help you with today?”

“I’d like new dress robes,” Marlene told her and Madam Malkin bustled her over to the rack that held witches’ dress robes in a variety of colours.

“Just pick out the ones you like and we can get them fitted for you. Now, what about you dear?” she asked, turning to Lily.

“I need new school robes for Hogwarts,” Lily said. “I’m Head Girl this year, so I was wondering if you had any robes that are a bit more, er, official, then the ordinary ones.”

“Head Girl- oh, congratulations!” Madam Malkin clasped her hands together and gave a small jump of excitement. “I know just the thing. Come with me.” She pulled Lily with her towards the back of the shop. After asking Lily which house she was in, Madam Malkin rooted through a rack filled with black robes until she found what she was looking for.

Lily gasped when she showed them to her. “Oh, they’re perfect!”

Madam Malkin smiled. “And they’re self-ironing too, so you needn’t worry about wrinkles. Well then, hop up on the stool and we’ll get them fitted.”

Lily stepped onto the stool and Madam Malkin handed Lily the robes to try on. The robes, made from a light, silky material, seemed to dance around Lily as she pulled them on. Unlike the school robes she had gotten before, these felt as though they had been made just for her. They fastened with three gold clasps at chest level, and instead of the high necked, rounded collar, these robes had a low-cut v-neck. The best feature though, was the red border at the collar, down the opening in the front, and at the very ends of the sleeves. Lily glanced in the mirrors hanging on the walls as Madam Malkin fitted the robes to her.

“Oh, Lily, they look wonderful!” Marlene said, coming to join them with two dress robes draped over her arm.

“They do, don’t they,” Lily agreed with her. “I actually feel like a Head Girl in them.”

“Well you certainly look like one. Now which do you think I should get?” Marlene held first lavender and then mint green robes up against her.

“Hmm…” Lily thought for a moment. “The green ones, I think. The robes you have now are lavender, so you should get something different.”

“That’s what I was thinking, too.”

“All right, dear, you’re all done.” Madame Malkin folded the last robe, and handed a stack of them to Lily. She turned to Marlene. “A very good choice dear,” she said when she saw which robes she had chosen. “Up you go then.”

After getting Marlene’s dress robes fitted and purchasing their garments, the girls left the shop and crossed the wide street to Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour, swinging their bags behind them. Once they had got their ice cream they sat at one of the many tables outside the shop, eating happily.

“We should probably go to Flourish and Blotts next,” Lily said, taking a huge bite of her chocolate and raspberry ripple ice cream cone.

“And the stationary shop after that. Do you need to stop at the Apothecary as well?”

“I should, I’m running low on some Potions ingredients.”

Marlene shuddered as she ate the nuts off her sundae. “I don’t understand how you can stand taking the N.E.W.T. class, what with Slughorn always going on about his favourite students and that ridiculous club of his.”

Lily laughed. “It’s not so bad.”

“You just say so because you’re in it. Besides, there’s the class itself, I never understood it.”

“It’s a bit like making a soup the Muggle way, really.” Lily paused. “Well, except the blowing up in your face if you’re not careful part, of course.”

“Of course.”

“Although,” Lily mused, “now that I think about it, my dad did manage to do that one time when I was small. Mum just about killed him for doing it.”

Once they had finished their ice cream, they picked up their bags and went to Flourish and Blotts. The display window was piled high with school texts for first years.

“Oh, look,” Marlene said as they entered the shop. “Lockhart’s got another book out.”

Lily looked at the display Marlene was gesturing to and picked up one of the thick, purple books entitled Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart. There was a man with wavy blonde hair wearing bright yellow robes and smiling brilliantly pictured on the front. Every so often the Lockhart would toss his hair and give a roguish wink.

“Do you think this bloke really did all that?” she asked incredulously, putting the book back on the table.

“I suppose,” Marlene answered with a shrug. “Mum has his first book and he’s written a guide for household pests, too. Mum thinks he’s the best thing since self-correcting ink came out. Apparently, he single-handedly got rid of this banshee that was terrorizing a village. It looks like he’s bagged himself a ghoul this time. I wonder what’s next. A vampire, perhaps?” she mused.

“He’s too pretty to have done those things, if you ask me. I mean, if you tangled with a banshee, you’d think you’d at least have a scar to show for it.” Lily shrugged. “Ah, well. Let’s get our books, and I need parchment, quills and ink, as well.”

They purchased the school books they needed and Lily also bought a copy of The Healer’s Helpmate. Just because she didn’t want to become a Healer didn’t mean she had no interest in the subject, and besides, she had a feeling that it would be useful in the years to come when there wasn’t a Madame Pomfrey around.

Lily accidentally bumped into a tall figure as she exited Flourish and Blotts. A pair of cold, grey eyes met hers as she turned to apologize and a chill washed over her.

“Excuse me,” Lily muttered.

The man’s lip curled up into a sneer and he brushed at his pristine robes, as though wiping away something unpleasant. “Filthy Mudblood,” he whispered nastily, as he swept passed her.

She hurried to catch up to Marlene who was already next door at the stationary shop, trying to figure out why he looked familiar, not noticing the man’s gaze following her progress, a look of unwarranted hate marring his pointed face.

Lily must have looked upset, for Marlene looked at her quizzically. Lily just shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

The smell of fresh parchment and ink was overwhelming. One side of the shop featured parchment of all sorts- from each colour of the rainbow to minuscule pieces that could fit inside a very small locket. There was even scented parchment to go with the scented ink on the other side of the shop. Lily picked up two jars of black ink, one blue and some colour-changing ink along with several rolls of parchment, including some in a pretty lilac colour.

They stopped outside the stationary shop to organize their purchases and Lily counted her remaining gold to see how much she had left. She was wondering why she had more than she expected, when she remembered her mother had given her extra, with orders to get something special for becoming Head Girl.

“What are you going to get?” Marlene asked, when Lily mentioned it to her.

“I don’t’ know. I hadn’t really thought about it.”

“How about a pet? Like an owl.”

“I don’t really need an owl. I can just use the school ones.”

“But what about after Hogwarts? You won’t be able to use the school owls then.”

“No, but I can get my own owl then if I need too. Besides,” she added, “if we get a flat together, like we’ve talked about, I can just use yours.”

“True…” Marlene paused, thinking. “A cat! You can get a cat.”

“That’s no good, I’m allergic.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Marlene huffed. “Well, you’re no help. Honestly! Not to worry though,” she said smiling. “I’ll think of something before long.”

Lily laughed. “Let’s go to the Apothecary, I need Potions ingredients.”

They were passing in front of Quality Quidditch Supplies when the door shot open and James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew came tumbling out, laughing hysterically.

“Oh, no,” Lily muttered, stopping suddenly, “I thought we left them at the Ministry.”

Marlene smiled sceptically at her. “What, you expected them to stay there all day?”

“It would have been nice,” Lily pouted as they stopped in front of the young witches.

“What would have been nice?” Sirius asked.

“Oh, go away,” Lily groaned.

“But, Evans, it’s been too long since we last saw each other,” said James with a teasing grin. After six years of practice at Hogwarts, he knew just how to annoy her.

“I think you mean it hasn’t been long enough, Potter,” retorted Lily.

“Ah, Evans, you break my heart.” James put a hand to his chest faintly, got down on one knee in front of her and when he grabbed her hand, for some odd reason, Lily’s heart skipped a beat. His friends burst out laughing as he spoke in a loud voice, “Lily, flower of my desire, surely you know how you wound me. I pine away each and every day just-”

Lily rolled her eyes in disgust at him, but a closer look showed that she was fighting back a smile. “Come on, Marlene,” she said over James’ warbling. “We have more important things to do then stand here and listen to this.” She grabbed a giggling Marlene by the arm and pulled her down the street.

James stood up and called after them, “Don’t forget, Evans, first Hogsmeade weekend!”

“If you mention it again, Potter, you can forget I agreed!” Lily shouted back, over her shoulder.

“UST,” Marlene commented, shaking her head slightly. “It’s so obvious.”

“What?” Lily asked her in confusion.

“Unresolved sexual tension,” she stated matter-of-factly. “You need to snog him and get it over with.”

“I-I do not!” Lily sputtered.

“Hello again, darlings!” Sirius had snuck up behind them.

“Why are you following us?” Lily cried, as Marlene choked back laughter.

“Why to go to the Apothecary, of course,” James replied, putting his arm around Lily’s shoulder and trying to take her bags for her.

“Oh, bugger off, Potter,” Lily spat, pushing him away and hitting him with one of her bags.

“Yes, dear,” he said seriously, as Lily fumed. “So, did you get Head Girl, Evans?” asked James, changing the subject.

Lily answered grudgingly, “Yes.” This is how conversations with James always went. First he would annoy her until she snapped or stormed off, and he would either leave her alone or turn serious and continue talking as if nothing had happened. “Yes, I still have the same courses. Other than that, nothing else of importance has happened.”

“Head Girl! Uh-oh, we’d better be extra careful this year, then,” Sirius put in. “But, then again, maybe not. After all we’ve got the He-omph!” Sirius glared at James, who had elbowed him in the side. “What was that for?” he asked angrily.

“You’ve got the what?” Marlene wanted to know.

“It’s not important,” James replied hurriedly. “Look, here we are.” He opened the door to the Apothecary and Lily and Marlene entered with the boys following behind.

While Lily loved Potions, getting the ingredients was a completely different matter. The Apothecary itself was fascinating. It was brightly lit and jars of dried roots, herbs, and bright powders lined the walls from floor to ceiling, from which bundles of feathers, strings of fangs and claws hung like stalactites. There were also barrels full of slimy ingredients, such as fish eggs, frog spawn and several kinds of animal entrails, on the floor. However, even the vast display couldn’t make up for the mixed smell of bad eggs and rotten cabbages.

“Urgh!” Sirius made a face and pinched his nose as he entered. “I hate this place. It smells like my brother’s socks.”

“Have you ever gotten a whiff of your own socks?” Remus asked him. “They smell worse.” Everyone laughed, and Sirius shot Remus a dirty look.

“I may have horrid smelling socks, but at least I can brew a decent potion,” Sirius shot back.

Remus rolled his eyes. “Rub it in, why don’t you.”

Remus, while brilliant in every other subject, was positively terrible when it came to Potions. He wasn’t as bad as Peter, but he had blown up his fair share of cauldrons. Needless to say, he had declined taking the N.E.W.T. course, even though, to Lily’s surprise, he had managed to get an Exceeds Expectations on his O.W.L..

Lily, James and Sirius gathered and paid for the ingredients they needed (Lily picked out a few extras as well) and they all left the shop. They had only walked a couple of steps and were about to part ways when the shop across from the Apothecary exploded in a burst of flames.

Shards of glass and chunks of timber and bricks flew everywhere. A huge piece of brick wall soared through the air straight towards Lily. She flung herself to the side, narrowly avoiding being hit. Her bags crashed into the ground and Lily landed heavily on top of them, cushioning her fall slightly. Luckily, she had spelled all the glass bottles with an unbreakable charm so nothing shattered.

Marlene came rushing over to her. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Lily answered, shakily, feeling a sharp sting of pain as she pushed herself off of the ground. Her clothes were torn and blackened with soot and she had cuts and scrapes all over from the flying bits of debris. She brushed her long hair out of her eyes and looked around the street, trying to see what was happening through the thick, black smoke that was obscuring the air.

Rubble covered the street and the window of the Apothecary had been broken by a piece of flying debris. Witches, wizards and creatures of all sorts stood in doorways, looking out onto the street in confusion. Those who had fallen to the ground or had been injured were quickly being tended to and several parents were trying to calm their frightened children. The luggage shop was destroyed- all that was left was a shell of the building it once had been. It was impossible to tell if anyone had been inside when it blew up, but Lily feared that some had.

“Do you have any idea what caused that?” Marlene asked Lily, mystified. “That shop couldn’t have just blown up like that on its own. Diagon Alley has loads of protection charms to prevent it from happening.”

The nervous chatter that had broken out among the crowd turned into screams of terror as a sparkling green skull began to take form over the remains of the shop. It shone clearly though the smoke. The mouth of the skull opened wide and a snake slithered out slowly, twisting itself about, mockingly. Fear filled the streets, so tangible, you could cut it with a knife.

The street was in pandemonium. Parents grabbed their crying children and Apparated away while others, who couldn’t, raced towards the Leaky Cauldron. Panicked voices and anxious shouts echoed through the smoke shrouded air. Lily was jostled from all sides by people she couldn’t see as they ran past frantically. Someone grabbed Lily by the shoulders and pulled her back, out of the way. Lily fought them wildly, trying to get to her wand, not knowing who it was or what they wanted with her.

“Calm down, it’s just me,” a voice said in her ear. Lily relaxed in James’ strong grip. Remus had a hold of Marlene, and Sirius and Peter were standing in a small alcove waiting for them. Sirius’ face was so pale it was almost colourless. He was gripping his wand tightly and the expression on his face was so fierce that Lily would have been scared of him if she wasn’t so terrified already.

“-some nerve,” Sirius was muttering, “to attack Diagon Alley like this in broad daylight.”

“What? You know who did this?” asked Lily.

“Not at first, but now there’s no question. They used his mark.”

“His mark? You mean-”

“Voldemort, yeah. Only… it’s never been in the sky before.”

Voldemort, the Dark Lord, had terrified people so much that most feared even to say his name, instead referring to him as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, or more commonly, You-Know-Who. And no one knew anything about his past life.

Ever since Lily had started at Hogwarts, he had been gaining power and supporters for his cause- to rid the world of anyone who wasn’t a pure blood- Muggles included. He had been mentioned more and more frequently in the Daily Prophet recently, but Lily hadn’t really taken him seriously – according to Marlene there was always someone around spouting pureblood nonsense, calling Muggleborns ‘Mudbloods’ and other cruel names. She never paid much attention to any of it, so why should Voldemort be any different?

However, weeks had turned into months, and then years, and still the Aurors had not managed to stop him. His attacks had become more horrifying as he began to use Muggles as examples, torturing and killing them mercilessly. He would leave their bodies in clear view; a skull with a serpent for a tongue always etched in green somewhere upon it. His name, his mark, his supporters- all became symbols of death. Everyone was afraid, terrified that he would stop using Muggles and turn to those who were magical. And then it had stopped.

This past year there hadn’t been any mention of Voldemort at all, Lily had assumed the Aurors had finally gotten hold of him and although she had questioned the lack of an announcement in the papers, she had assumed the Ministry didn’t want to draw attention to it, and so had put it behind her. The wizarding world had become calm again and everyone had felt safer. Now though, everything was becoming clear. He hadn’t been heard from because he had been quietly gathering more supporters -enough that he had now formed a small army - not because he had finally been captured.

Lily turned her head and met James’ bright hazel eyes; she knew the terror she saw in his was mirrored in her own emerald ones. His face was streaked with dirt and blood from a cut on his right cheek.

Lily turned and looked out onto the main street where the Dark Mark was still glittering menacingly in the sky. James’ arms were wrapped around her tightly, one of his hands gently brushing against her side, soothingly. Lily was stunned to realize that she felt safe, protected, as though nothing could harm her for as long as she stayed like this. She jolted away from him when she became conscious that she had leaned back against him, sternly reminder herself that it was, Potter. For a moment she had forgotten. By then, most of the crowed had disappeared and several scarlet robed Aurors had appeared at the scene. Lily breathed a sigh of relief and heard Marlene echo it.

One of the Aurors saw them as they walked back out onto the street. He eyed them from a distance, said something to his partner, and then limped over, sizing them up as he approached. Lily watched him as he neared. His brown eyes missed nothing as he glanced over the street and his greying brown hair waved in the slight breeze. His robes parted with each step and Lily saw that he had a wooden leg.

“You a Potter?” he asked James briskly.

“Yes,” James answered him.

The Auror nodded at him. “Alastor Moody, I know your father, and your mother’s fixed me up more than once.” He grinned and pointed to the scars that marred his face.

“Right, he’s mentioned you a few times,” said James. “Says you’ve put more in Azkaban than anyone else.”

Moody let out a harsh laugh. “There’s going to be even more, I guarantee it. Now,” he spoke to all of them this time. “You were here when the shop blew up?” They nodded and he continued, “What can you tell me? Notice anything out of the ordinary?”

“No, we didn’t,” Lily replied. “I know they have really powerful wards set up everywhere, though. I thought only Ministry personnel knew how to dismantle them.”

Moody turned his sharp gaze directly on her. “You’re a sharp one. Mind you keep that last thought to yourself. Don’t want it getting heard by the wrong ears.”

“You mean there’s someone in the Ministry helping Voldemort?”

Moody’s harsh laughter rang out again. “Don’t be so surprised. The Ministry isn’t what it used to be. Never was what it should be, to tell you the truth. Corrupt, that’s what it is.” He motioned for them to wait while he ambled over to his partner. They talked for a few minutes, with Moody gesturing occasionally over to where they stood. Moody walked back over to them.

“We might have more questions for you later. Can you all be in one place for the rest of today and tomorrow? Somewhere safe, just in case. It’ll save us the trouble of rounding you all up, again. And you might remember something else.”

They looked around at each other and shrugged. “I’d rather not go home like this,” Lily said. “My parents are Muggles, you see, and they tend to ask questions. Plus my sister might be there …”

Marlene snorted; she had met Petunia before and knew exactly what Lily meant. The boys looked at her questioningly, and Lily just shook her head, not wanting to go into it.

James spoke up. “We can go to my place. Sirius is already there and Remus and Peter were going to stay over. Two lovely additions won’t make a difference,” he added with a cheeky grin. “You can use my owl to get in touch with your parents.”

Moody nodded and said gruffly, “Good, we know where that is. Expect us.” He nodded again and walked away.

“Well,” James muttered. “That was interesting. Shall we go? You can go side-along with Sirius and me since you don’t know how to get there,” he said to Lily and Marlene.

Remus and Peter Disapparated with a ‘pop’, Peter seeming to have passed his test, this time around. Marlene grabbed hold of Sirius’ arm and they disappeared too, leaving Lily and James, alone.

“Let’s go.” James took Lily’s hand and pulled her close. He looked at her; an odd expression on his face as his free hand came up and brushed her hair out of her eyes. His fingers glanced over a small cut near her lips, and Lily felt her breath catch.

“I’m glad you didn’t get hurt,” he said softly, and, before Lily could reply, he wrapped his arm tightly around her waist and the familiar squeezing of Apparation took hold as they disappeared with a small ‘pop’.

Chapter Four

Lily sat at James’ desk in his room, writing a letter to her parents. Down the hall she could hear Sirius, Remus and Peter continuing their game of shooting soap bubbles at each other in an effort to get clean, making more of a mess than anything else, Lily thought. Marlene had gone home to talk to her mum and said that she would clean up while she was there.

Finished writing, Lily read over the letter once more and then stood to tie it to Comet’s leg, laughing silently to herself over the owl’s name, whom James had said he had named after his first broom.

Lily sat down on his bed, which was covered in a red and gold bedspread, and leaned back against the headboard. She looked around the room, waiting for James to finish showering so that she could take her turn.

The room was huge, at least twice the size of Lily’s bedroom, and surprisingly neat. The only disarray was of the books and parchment piled on the desk, presumably from last minute homework. There were Quidditch posters on the walls and a framed photo on the nightstand featured the four boys standing in the Great Hall at Hogwarts covered in colour-changing paint. Lily laughed aloud when she saw it, remembering when they had tried to charm the magical ceiling to mimic the weather physically instead of just visually. Needless to say, the charm had backfired, although how they had managed to get covered in paint, Lily had no idea.

She grabbed one of the many Quidditch books that James had piled on the nightstand and thumbed through it. She didn’t have much interest in the sport, although anyone living in the wizarding world was practically required to have an understanding of it. She had just started reading about the Holyhead Harpies when the bathroom door opened and James came striding out, clad in a robe and towelling his hair dry.

“I thought you didn’t like Quidditch?” he asked, seeing the book.

“I was bored.”

James rummaged around in his chest of drawers. “Here, you can wear this until Marlene gets back,” he said, glancing at Lily’s singed and ripped clothing, handing her a pair of shorts and a long sleeved t-shirt with ‘Quidditch Captain’ written across the back.

“Your Quidditch practice gear?”

“It’s from two years ago, so it should fit you well enough.”

Lily took the offered clothes with a shrug and went into the bathroom. “Use the yellow towel,” James told her before she shut the door.

Lily set the clothes on the marble sink counter. The bathroom was almost as large as the other room. The house looked much smaller from the outside, but then immediately she realized that it was a wizarding house, there must be expanding charms on all the rooms. That would explain it.

It wasn’t nearly as nice as the Prefect’s bathroom at Hogwarts, but Lily hadn’t expected it to be. The bathtub, which took up an entire wall, was a reasonable size and had several taps located around the rim. The shower was next to the tub, beside that was the sink and across from the sink was the toilet. There was a plush red and gold rug covering most of the floor and several towels were hanging on the wall.

She was about to undress when she caught sight of her hair in the mirror. She grimace and opened the bathroom door, sticking her head out. Spying James she called to him, “Do you have a comb I can use?”

He stood up and grabbed a comb off the top of his chest of drawers and handed it to her.

“Thanks,” Lily said, shutting the door in his face. She went back in front of the mirror and tackled the monstrosity that was her hair.

Once her hair was untangled, she undressed and opened the shower door. She didn’t see anywhere to turn the water on as she stepped into the stall, but as soon as she closed the door, water came streaming down. Lily let out a small shriek of surprise.

There was a knock on the door. “You alright?” James asked.

Lily blushed even though she knew he couldn’t see her. It was weird talking to him while she wasn’t wearing anything. “I’m fine, the shower startled me, is all,” she called back.

“Let me know if you need help with anything.”

“I think I know how to take a shower by now.”

“But you might need your back scrubbed.”

“In your dreams, Potter,” she called, smiling wryly and very glad that he couldn’t see her.

“Ah, and what dreams they’ve been …”

“Potter!”

“Yes, Evans, my dear?”

“Bugger off!” she called, trying to keep the amusement out of her voice.

She could hear him laughing over the running water.

Shampoo, conditioner, and soap were on a self in front of her and as Lily lathered her arms the spicy scent of his soap wafted around her. She inhaled deeply before she realized what she was doing. “… snog him and get it over with.” Marlene’s words rang in her ears. She shook her head, forcing herself to ignore what deep, deep down, she knew to be true. She quickly set about finishing her shower.

She dried off (using the yellow towel) and pulled on the clothes he had given her. The shorts were a bit loose and the sleeves of the t-shirt were too long but it was warm, soft and extremely comfortable. She towel-dried her hair and combed it out again. Gathering her ruined clothes in her arms, she hung her towel on a hook and exited the bathroom.

James had dressed and was sitting at his desk reading from a textbook. He closed the book and stood up when he saw Lily.

Surprising Lily by not commenting on the clothes she now wore, he said, “I’m starving; let’s get something to eat. Sirius, Remus and Peter are in the kitchen already. Just throw your clothes on the bed. We can take care of them later.”

Lily did as he said and followed him downstairs.

-()-

An hour later Lily sat comfortably on a sofa sipping a mug of warm butterbeer. Sirius had made sandwiches for everyone, and to Lily’s surprise they were better than the ones the House Elves made at Hogwarts.

Marlene had returned in time to join them, bringing clothes for Lily, though the red-haired witch didn’t bother to change out of the clothes James had given her. This was a fact she refused to think about, as they sat around the comfortable room chatting about everything and nothing.

Time flew by and before Lily knew it the sky outside had grown dark and clock on the wall was chiming a quarter to eight. James stood and walked across the room to turn on the wireless. “The evening news should be on soon,” he said. “I bet they’ll mention the explosion in Diagon Alley.”

Remus, Peter and Sirius sprawled out on the floor in from of the wireless and James sat down in front of the couch Lily and Marlene were sitting on. Lily studied the cozy room while they waited in silence for the news to start. There were several portraits on the wall above the fireplace. Most were of older witches and wizards in dress robes, but one featured a small child who curled up on a sofa, a stuffed owl wedged under one arm. His mouth was open and his eyes were closed. He appeared to be sleeping peacefully, but every once in his eyes would open and he would stick out his tongue and make a face, breaking the illusion.

“Is that you?” she asked James, pointing to the portrait.

“Yeah.”

“You were so cute when you were younger,” she said deviously. “What happened?”

Sirius let out a bark-like laugh. “She has you there, Prongs.”

“Why do you call him that?” Marlene piped up.

“Well, we’re the Marauders; we had to have nicknames for each other.”

“Yeah, but what made you decide on them? I mean, you call James Prongs, Remus, Moony, you’re Padfoot, and Peter, of all things, Wormtail. It makes no sense.”

“Erm …” Sirius looked over at the others. “They just sort of fit, I suppose.”

Marlene pursed her lips, not quite satisfied with the answer he had given her.

“The news is starting,” Remus stated quietly. The group grew silent once more as they listened to Jacob Barnaby report the evening news.

“… luggage shop in Diagon Alley today. The appearance of You-Know-Who’s dark mark has lead Aurors to believe that this is the work of his Death Eaters- previously known as the Knights of Walpurgis- but they can not find anything that could have caused the explosion. Investigations will continue through tomorrow and though Diagon Alley will remain open, people are strongly advised to take precautions when leaving their homes and, it is suggested that for the next several days, citizens only go out of doors when extremely necessary. In other news-”

The broadcaster’s voice abruptly ended as Remus reached over and turned the Wireless off. “They didn’t say anything,” he said. “At least nothing helpful that we couldn’t have figured out for ourselves.”

“It almost sounded as thought he wasn’t sure of everything himself. Did you hear how hesitant he was to report what happened? It was almost as though he neglected to say something,” Lily said.

“You right,” Sirius told her. “I bet you anything the Aurors discovered something and the Ministry didn’t want anyone to know about it. We’ll find out though. I bet you anything Moody will come by to talk to us tomorrow. We’ll have him tell us.”

“Do you think he’ll tell us anything?” Peter asked.

“We were there,” Sirius said angrily. “There’s no reason for him to keep anything from us. We have as much right to know what going on as the next person.”

“We’re just kids in his eyes, Sirius,” Lily argued. “And even though we’re all of age, we’re still in school.”

James, who had been uncommonly quiet, spoke up with an unfamiliar gleam in his eyes. “We’ll just have to ask someone else then.”

“Like who?”

“Dumbledore.”

“What makes you think Dumbledore will tell us anything?”

“Because,” his mouth curling into a half-smile, “as Head Boy and Girl, it’s our job to help protect the students among other things. And we can’t do that unless we know something about what we’re protecting them from.”

Lily’s mouth was open in shock. She was speechless. James Potter was Head Boy? Impossible.

“You’re Head Boy?” Marlene asked him incredulously. “Why haven’t you said anything until now?”

James shrugged. “Didn’t feel like it.” Marlene looked over at Lily, who shrugged as nonchalantly as James had, making sure to keep her face carefully blank. It was a shock to find out that he was Head Boy. He was the last person she would have expected Dumbledore to choose, but she supposed he must have had his reasons- James had been a bit more behaved last year. She was so confused. This time last year she would have been furious and it would be so easy to hold on to all the anger she had felt towards James in the past, but somehow now… after all that had happened today, she just couldn’t. There was no reason for it. She had seen a side of James that was very different from what she had known at school, and she had to admit, however grudgingly, that she sort of liked it.

“Congratulations, I suppose.”

Everyone in the room stared at her.

“What?” she said defensively. “Well, it’s not as though I can change the fact that he’s Head Boy,” she told them. “I may as well accept it.” She stood up in a huff and left the room, calling behind her, “I’m going to bed.”

Marlene came in as Lily was getting under the sheets of the bed she and Marlene were given to share. Marlene changed into pyjamas and crawled in next to her. She turned on her side and propped her head up on one elbow to talk to Lily. The pose was familiar and Lily did the same. They often talked like this in their dorm room at Hogwarts.

“I can’t believe you’re so calm about him being Head Boy,” Marlene said quietly. “You’re acting- I don’t know- different. What’s wrong?”

Lily felt her eyes prickle. This was Marlene, she told herself. Marlene who knows you so well. “My sister’s married.”

“Yes, I know.”

“She hates me.”

“Lily-”

“No, she does. And I don’t know why. I don’t know what I've done, so I don’t know what can be done to fix it. Ever since I got my Hogwarts letter …” Lily trailed off, lost in thought. She sighed deeply and shook her head. “But I’ve decided that it’s her choice and I can’t do anything to change that as much as I might want to.” She turned onto her back and stared at the ceiling. “And now, with everything that’s happening- I mean, he’s not so bad is he?”

“Lily, what-”

“James, he’s not so bad. He was acting different last year- did you notice? He mostly stopped messing his hair up and he didn’t hex or prank as many people for no reason. He actually behaved fairly normally. And,” she gave a short laugh, “it’s sort of fun arguing with him all the time. He’s not so bad, really.”

“First Hogsmeade weekend.” Lily heard the teasing note in Marlene’s voice and knew she understood.

“I know …” Lily turned out the lights with a flick of her wand and smile into her pillow. “And I think I might actually be looking forward to it,” she whispered into the dark.

-()-

There was a thump as Marlene fell off the bed and onto the floor.

“Sirius!”

The bed bounced.

Lily squinted in the morning light. James, Remus and Peter were laughing from the doorway and Sirius was jumping on the bed. Lily threw her pillow at him. “Go away, Sirius. I was sleeping.”

Sirius laughed at her and threw the pillow back at her, smacking her in the face.

Then, before she knew it, Lily was wide awake and participating in the most outrageous pillow fight she had ever seen. From the bedroom where she and Marlene had slept, to Sirius’ room and into James’, feathers were flying and it was everyone for themselves. They all collapsed onto James bed and lay there, panting. Then James grabbed a fistful of feathers and shoved them up Lily’s t-shirt, starting the fight up again.

A few minutes later, Lily lay in the hallway, clutching an empty pillowcase to her chest and groaned, “Truce.”

The others nodded in agreement. They stood up and, using their wands, cleaned up the mess they had made of the second floor. They changed into clean clothes and they headed downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast.

They all sat at the round table eating fluffy pancakes that Sirius and James had made (Lily still amazed that they could cook) and drinking crisp pumpkin juice.

They were almost finished eating when an elderly witch, with hazel eyes, rosy cheeks and silver-grey hair arranged in an elegant knot at the top of her head, entered the room. Behind her was a man of around the same age, with brown eyes and thick, dishevelled salt and pepper hair. It was obvious that they were James’ parents. They were much, much older than Lily had expected, though this did explain why James was and only child.

“Mum! Dad!” James exclaimed standing up to greet them.

His mother swept James up in a hug. “Darling, we came home as soon as we heard. I’m so glad you’re alright.”

“It was smart to have your friends here, too,” his father said, hugging him as well.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter greeted Sirius as though he was one of their own and then said hello to Remus, Peter and Marlene, as well. When James introduced her to his parents his mother’s face lit up. She looked at James with wide eyes. “This is the Lily?” she asked him.

Lily looked at James in shock as he nodded his head sheepishly, blushing faintly.

“Forgive me, dear,” Mrs. Potter told her. “I’ve just heard so much about you. Ever since third year whenever James came home from Hogwarts, he never failed to mention you. It’s a wonder we haven’t met you sooner. And he told me that you’d be sure to be made Head Girl this year. Was he right?”

Lily nodded. “Yes, I was.”

“Oh, wonderful! I’m so happy that James will be working with someone he likes so well. It would have been terrible if someone else had gotten it. Why he was saying that if it wasn’t you, then he didn’t want to be Head Boy, either.”

Lily eyed James with raised eyebrows and blushed. It didn’t escape his mother’s notice. “Oh, dear, I fear I’ve embarrassed you. Well, your father and I will just go on upstairs and freshen up.” Her voice became serious and was touched with worry. “When we get back down you’ll tell us about all that went on yesterday. Yes,” she added, eyeing James and Sirius.

“Yes, ma’am,” they replied.

After his parents left the room, Lily turned to James, grinning. “You tell your parents about me,” she couldn’t resist teasing him.

He sat back down at the table and glared at her, shoving the rest of his pancake in his mouth as the others laughed at him cheerfully.

-()-

Boom!

“I told you not to play that card.”

“Shut it, Remus. I’ll beat her this time.”

“You said that last time, Sirius. And the time before that, and the time before that … In fact-” Remus grinned. “-you’ve been saying it since Marlene beat you the first time two hours ago.”

Lily leaned back against the headboard of James’ bed and laughed. Marlene and Sirius had been playing Exploding Snap ever since the Aurors had left earlier that afternoon. They had stopped by shortly after the group had eaten lunch. They hadn’t had any other questions besides the ones they had already asked the day before. James had asked Moody and his partner what had caused the shop to blow up, but they had refused to answer him. Lily had felt they were hiding something, but she held James back when he continued to badger them about it. She knew that they could just ask Dumbledore about it when they got to school. She and James were going to be Head Girl and Boy this year, after all. Dumbledore would have to tell them something.

There was another round of cheering from Peter, Remus and Marlene, along with a loud groan from Sirius. Lily looked over at James, who lay on his stomach next to her using his arms as a pillow, wondering how he could be sleeping with all the noise. And Lily knew for a fact he was sleeping since he was snoring softly. She doubted even he could fake that.

She grinned and glanced at her watch. It was already four in the afternoon. She ought to be getting home soon, but she was having too much fun. It helped that Potter was asleep.

Sirius threw his cards down. “I give up. You’re obviously cheating. There’s no way you’d be able to beat me otherwise.”

“If you had listened to Remus you might’ve done better,” Lily told him.

Sirius stood up and flopped onto the bed. James groaned and pushed Sirius off his feet, where he had landed.

“Sorry, Prongs. I thought you were asleep.” Sirius ruffled James’ hair.

“Keyword, was.”

Lily snorted. “That was so lame, Potter.”

“So?”

Sirius ruffled James’ hair again.

“You do that again and I’ll hex you,” James said to him menacingly.

“You’re so immature, Potter,” Lily stated.

“Like you’re any better.”

“At least I don’t go around hexing everyone that annoys me.”

“It doesn’t hurt them any. If it did Sirius would be more deformed than he already is.”

“What about Peter?” Sirius wanted to know.

“Peter’s already deformed. My hexing him has nothing to do with it.” Sirius laughed and James added hastily, “No offence, Peter.”

“None taken,” Peter replied. “At least I don’t have horns.”

“Antlers,” James said in a suffering tone. “They’re antlers, Peter.”

“Oh… right… sorry.”

Marlene shot a questioning look at Lily. “This has something to do with the nicknames, doesn’t it?”

“We, er, don’t have to, uh, answer that do we?” James stuttered.

Marlene sighed, “No, I suppose not. But I'm going to get to the bottom of this by the end of the year!” she vowed.

Sirius snorted. “You can try.”

Marlene raised her eyebrows at him and continued, “I think there’s something more to it than a stupid joke. It must be illegal- otherwise you’d have told the whole school by now.” She glanced around at the boys and then pointed an accusing finger at Remus. “And I bet it has something to do with Remus’ pet rabbit.”

“My pet rabbit?” Remus spluttered.

“Yes,” Marlene answered decisively. “Your ‘furry little problem’. I’ve heard James talk to you about it more than once. We’re not allowed to have rabbits as pets at Hogwarts. So do you lie about a relative being sick so you can go home to your ill behaved rabbit and ask your friends follow you?”

James winked at Sirius. “Yeah, that’s exactly right,” he told Marlene

“What?” Peter looked confused. “No, it isn- Ow!” He rubbed the back of his head where Sirius had hit him. “What was that for?”

“For being thick.”

“Oh. Ohh…” Peter caught on and looked at Marlene. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“As if I’m going to believe you now, Peter, when you were about to say that I was wrong,” Marlene said exasperatedly. “Now come on,” she whined. “Tell me what’s really up with the nicknames. It has to have something to do with this furry problem.”

Lily rolled her eyes. She couldn’t believe Marlene hadn’t realized what Remus’ real ‘furry problem’ was by now. Then again Marlene often missed things that were right in front of her nose. Lily, on the other hand, had figured it out in fifth year when she and Remus had both become Prefects. She had noticed he would avoid patrolling around the time of the full moon at all costs. In the previous years, she had noticed that he would make monthly trips home to visit a ‘sick relative’ and that when he returned it had looked as though he had been the sick one. Then, after a trip to the library and a glance in her D.A.D.A. text book, she had put two and two together. It had never bothered her once she had discovered the truth, and it still didn’t, but she wished he would have just told her himself. It was rather hard sometimes to pretend she didn’t know that he was a werewolf.

“Please? Please, tell me,” Marlene was still badgering the boys who were steadfastly refusing to answer.

Lily waved a hand at Marlene. “They might actually be just some silly names they came up with,” Lily told her. “I mean- they call themselves the Marauders. They can’t very well use their own names. It wouldn’t have the same effect as Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs do.”

Marlene looked at her thoughtfully. “I suppose you have a point. But I still think there’s something more to it.”

Lily shrugged. “Well, they can’t keep it from us forever.” She turned to look at all the boys. “Let’s make a deal- if Marlene and I haven’t guessed by the end of the year what the story behind the nicknames is you’ll tell us yourselves.”

“No!” Sirius exclaimed.

“Actually,” James spoke up, “I think it’s a great idea.”

“Really?” Sirius sounded sceptical.

“Sure,” James replied with a shrug. He grinned mischievously. “They never guess and by the end of the year we’ll have been able to come up with a suitable answer.”

Lily smiled. “Ah, but you’re forgetting one thing, Potter.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“I’m excellent at brewing potions.”

“Your point?”

It was Lily turn to give a mischievous grin. “You might find that at the end of the year my hand will accidentally tip some Veritaserum into your tea.”

James’ face paled and he turned to Remus, who was laughing at him silently. “Remind me to be mindful of what I drink when I’m around her this year, will you?”

A/N: Many thanks to The Pyromaniac Harmonian and alissa for reviewing! It really means a lot! I’m glad you like my story so far. The next chapter will be posted in a few days, so keep an eye out for it. For all you other readers, don’t forget to review! I really like to see what you think of the story…even if you didn’t like it, it’s nice to know why. Until next time!

Chapter Five

The barrier flew past as Lily stepped onto platform nine and three-quarters on Friday morning. She took a deep breath, savouring the scene around her. Parents and students hurried to and from the scarlet train as they bid farewell to each other. Lily had said goodbye to her parents before Apparating to King’s Cross station. Being of age was definitely an advantage in the wizarding world. She looked through the crowd for Marlene and, failing to see her, continued on to the Heads’ compartment at the front of the train, hovering her trunk in front of her.

After stowing her trunk on the overhead rack, she took her book bag off her shoulder and set it on the seat. She rummaged in the front pocket for her Head Girl badge and pinned it onto her robes. Smoothing her hair, she stepped into the hallway in search of Marlene.

Lily’s search kept getting interrupted by people congratulating her on becoming Head Girl and she was relieved when she finally found Marlene chatting with some of their friends in a compartment halfway down the train.

“Hey, Lily!” Elizabeth Quirk, better know as Lizzie, a Ravenclaw in her year greeted her. “Oh- you did get Head Girl. Marlene refused to tell us whether you had or not. We had our suspicions, of course, since Janice-” she was referring to Janice Thompson, a seventh year Gryffindor who played Beater on the Quidditch team “was made a Prefect, but we didn’t know for sure.”

Lily smiled. Lizzie didn’t believe anything until she saw it for herself.

“Are those new robes?” Ellen Bethan gushed. “They’re so pretty- and perfect for being Head Girl.”

“Thanks,” Lily told her as she sat down. Ellen was in Hufflepuff and a Prefect in Lily’s year. She was the first friend Lily had made when she had come to Hogwarts. Like Lily, she came from a Muggle family. Ellen had short blonde hair and bright blue eyes, and was also obsessed with clothes of all sorts. She planned to open her own shop when she left Hogwarts with her Hufflepuff year mates, Ruby Dobbs and Olivia Bradshaw.

Linda Colmes- yet another Gryffindor- pulled at Lily’s hair. “You finally let your hair grow out,” she stated happily. “Janice will be thrilled. Are you going to let her fix it up for you?”

Lily rolled her eyes. “As if I would have a choice. She’s fussed with my hair since first year- even though it was cut up to my chin.”

The others all laughed. Janice was always cutting and styling everyone’s hair. Lily suspected this was because she kept her own thick, curly black hair cut extremely short. She had been pestering Lily to grow hers out for ages.

“I heard James Potter was made Head Boy. How’s that going to work?” Ellen asked Lily. “You two have never got along.”

Lily shrugged.

Linda gaped at her. “But you can’t stand him,” she said, as Marlene stifled giggles behind her hand. “What?” she looked at Marlene in confusion. “There’s something you aren’t telling us.”

Marlene couldn’t take it anymore and burst out laughing. “First Hogsmeade weekend!”

Lily covered her face in her hands and groaned. “Marlene…”

The girls rounded on Lily. “What’s this about the first Hogsmeade weekend?” Lizzie demanded.

“Nothing.” Lily glared at Marlene. “There’s nothing about the first Hogsmeade weekend.”

Marlene ignored her. “They’re going to find out anyway.” She took a deep breath shoot Lily a triumphant look. “Lily Evans has agreed to go to Hogsmeade with James Potter.”

There were several loud squeals and shouts of laughter. Lily crossed her arms and frowned at them. Lizzie was rolling on her seat laughing so hard that tears were rolling down her cheeks. “It’s not a big deal,” she protested.

“It is a big deal,” Linda argued.

“And,” Ellen put in, “he’s been asking you out constantly since third year. You’ve always refused.”

“Oh, Merlin.” Lizzie sat up in her seat, wiping her eyes. "I guess his good looks finally got to you,” she said mischievously.

“What’s this I hear about good looks?” Sirius stuck his head into the compartment. “You wouldn’t happen to be talking about me, would you?”

Lizzie rolled her eyes at him. “Who else could we possibly be referring to?” she asked him sarcastically.

The train whistle blew at that moment, signalling that the train would be leaving in ten minutes, and forestalling Sirius’ reply, Lily stood. “I better go, there’s a meeting in a few minutes. I’ll see you all later.”

“In that case,” Sirius said, “you won’t mind if I take your place.” He sat down in Lily’s vacated seat and propped his feet up on the opposite one, resting his arms behind his head. “So, ladies… know anyone who will come up to the Astronomy tower with me tonight?”

“Sirius, you’re incorrigible.” Marlene’s voice drifted down the hall as Lily made her way back to the Head’s compartment, pausing to say ‘Hello’ to several people along the way.

She opened the door to the compartment to reveal James sprawled out on one of the seats making notes in a book with a quill. He smiled when Lily entered.

“Hey, Evans. I wondered when you’d get back.” He sat up and tucked his book and quill back into his bag and pulled out a few pieces of parchment, which he handed to her.

“What’s this?” she asked him as she walked across the hall to the empty Prefects’ compartment.

“Dumbledore owled me the common room passwords and the one to his office. I also made some notes on stuff I think should be covered at the meeting. I wasn’t sure how everything works, not having been a Prefect and all.” He sat on the seat that faced all of the other ones and Lily sat down beside him.

“Oh. Well, it’s pretty simple. We just go over the rules about taking house points and giving detentions. I can cover that part,” she said, as the Prefects started trickling in. She glanced over the parchment he had given her and raised an eyebrow at him. “‘Be responsible’? That’s a bit rich coming from you.”

He raised an eyebrow at her in return. Lily couldn’t help it- she burst out laughing.

“The world has ended,” Remus said- who was looking a bit off colour- come to a stop in the doorway. “Lily Evans is laughing at something James Potter has done.”

“Move your arse,” Janice said loudly, pushing him into the compartment. Remus took a seat on one of the many benches across from Lily and James. Janice grabbed both of Lily’s hands in hers and said fervently, “I am so proud of you.”

“Whatever for?” Lily laughed.

“For growing your hair, of course!” She sighed. “Now if only I had a reason to dress it up.”

“I know of one,” piped up Ruby Dobbs from the back row, her short curly red hair bouncing excitedly. “The first Hogsmeade weekend!”

James let out a burst of laughter before covering it up with an unconvincing cough. “News travels fast, doesn’t it, Evans?”

Janice eyes him suspiciously. “What this about the first Hogsmeade weekend?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Lily said through gritted teeth. Janice grinned at her as though she already knew what Lily would say, and sat down next to Remus.

Lily stood up and motioned for everyone to sit down once the train gave a final whistle and started moving. They had arranged themselves by year, with the new fifth year Prefects sitting proudly in front, their badges shining brightly against their black robes.

Lily let them chat while the train picked up speed and then, when they were well on their way to Hogwarts, she stood up and motioned them into silence. “Welcome back for another school year and congratulations for being made Prefects. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Lily Evans and I will be Head Girl this year.”

They all cheered. Lily was well liked around Hogwarts. Few people didn’t know who she was, and those that didn’t knew she was someone to be respected. It helped that the teachers always told students to go to her for help with classes, no matter which house they were in- not that the Slytherins had ever asked for help from a Gryffindor. Lily smiled at them and turned to James, gesturing for him to introduce himself.

“Hi,” he said, “this is the first time I’ve been at one of these meetings, so bear with me.” He grinned at everyone and continued with a small bow. “I’m James Potter, Head Boy and Marauder extraordinaire. I promise I shall do my very best to keep the mischief to the minimum this year.” They all laughed at this, though no one truly believed him. The Marauders were famous for misbehaving, and they all knew that James was the leader.

Lily glared at him before speaking again. “I’d like all of you to know who everyone else is, so we’ll start in the front and you can all introduce yourselves.”

Once everyone had said their names, year and which House they were in, Lily continued, “For those of you that are new, I’m going to go over the procedures for taking house points and assigning detentions. All of you are able to give and take house points, but only for reasonable things. No taking points from someone just because they’re in another house, or because their socks don’t match. The same goes for rewarding points. You can’t give them to someone just because they’re in your house or for doing something silly, such as brushing their hair- even if it’s the first time they‘ve done it.” She looked at James as she said this and he scowled at her.

Lily continued, “This is all common sense and I trust you have it, since you were made Prefects in the first place. As far as detentions go- only the Head Boy and I can assign them. If you feel that a student deserves a detention you need to write a statement saying why and give it to one of us, so that we can take care of it.” She looked at James. “Do you have anything to add?”

He nodded. “I know that I’m one to talk, but just because you’re Prefects doesn’t mean that you’re any better than the other students. That means no picking or hexing anyone just because you can. Also, I’m sure you all remember what it was like being a first year. Make sure that you help them out if they need it. It doesn’t matter if it’s showing them where a classroom is, giving them a hand with their homework, or just talking to them. It’s your job to make sure Hogwarts feels like home. If you notice any of them having trouble adjusting, especially those that are from a Muggle background, tell Evans or me so that we can talk to them about what’s troubling them.”

“Alright,” Lily took over, “the teachers will be doing the patrols this weekend while we get settled, but starting on Monday we will be helping them. There will be a new patrol schedule each month. We have another meeting on Sunday night and you’ll get your first patrol schedule then, as well as the passwords to the Prefect Bathrooms. Please, remember that there are separate bathrooms for the boys and girls for a reason. The passwords are not to be shared. If this rule is violated, the bathrooms can be closed up and you won’t be able to use them. Oh, speaking of passwords, we have the ones for your common rooms.”

Lily handed a fifth year from each house one of the parchment pieces James had given her earlier. “You know that these are not to be shared with other houses and that they’ll be changing periodically. Make sure you tell the members of your house to check the bulletin boards for this.”

Abigail Wreath, a sixth year Ravenclaw raised her hand. Lily nodded at her to speak. “Will there be a Head common room for meetings again this year?”

James looked at Lily questioningly; he didn’t know anything about it. “Yes, there will,” Lily answered her. “We’re meeting with Dumbledore after the feast and he’s going to tell us where it is, since they move it according to who the Head Boy and Girl are. My guess is that it will be nearby Gryffindor Tower. We’ll let you know where it is at the meeting on Sunday, which will be held in the antechamber off the Great Hall. Does anyone else have a question?”

When no one raised their hand, James spoke again, “Great. For the remainder of the trip you all have to patrol the halls and make sure no one is doing anything they shouldn’t be. That doesn’t mean you can’t talk with friends, just make sure that you do your job, too. One of us will always be in the Head Compartment if you need us for anything.”

Lily halted them when they made to leave. “Before you go, I have one more announcement to make,” she said, looking around the compartment at everyone. Her voice was quiet when she spoke once again. “I’m sure you have all heard about the recent attack in Diagon Alley.” They all nodded solemnly. “This year is going to be different from anything we’ve known before for reasons I know you are all aware of. Even though Professor Dumbledore and the other teachers will be taking precautions, you need to make sure that the students in your house are being safe. No student is allowed out of their common room after curfew unless they’re a Prefect on patrol. Make sure that you report anything unusual you see to Dumbledore, Potter or me. And I mean anything, even if it’s one of your friends acting a bit strangely. The Prophet just reported that someone from the Ministry had been found to be under the Imperius Curse. And, while I don’t think Voldemort or his Death Eaters would target students, no one can know for sure. For now, curfew and Hogsmeade trips will be as they were last year, but it might change later on in the year depending on how the situation outside of school is. So remember, keep your eyes open.”

Lily looked around the room one last time, meeting everyone’s eye. “Alright, see you all later. Oh,” she added, “make sure that everyone has changed into their robes by the time we reach the school.”

-()-

The train ride to Hogwarts was surprisingly bereft of confrontation. The only incident was when some of the older students told the first years they would have to wrestle a mountain troll to see which House they would go to. But, seeing as that rumour surfaced each year, it was an easy matter to resolve.

After the train stopped smoothly in the Hogsmeade station, Lily hopped off and, along with James and the seventh year Prefects, guided the students to the carriages that would take them up to Hogwarts. When the last few stragglers were finally off the train she and James boarded the carriage that had been waiting patiently for them.

Lily rested her arms on the open window and gazed out into the dark night, watching the lights of the castle loom closer as the gentle night breeze wafted over her face. She drew in a deep breath- this was her favourite time of the year. There was something so simplistically magical about it that it took her breath away each and every time.

James let out a heaving sigh and Lily looked over at him. “What is it?”

He gave her a sheepish grin. “I love this part. There’s something so perfect and calming about it.” He leaned back and stretched. “It’s like… this is the one time every year that I can just relax and let everything just… be. Merlin, I can’t believe this is our last year.”

“I know. So much has happened and yet… it’s as though nothing has changed.”

The rest of the journey up to Hogwarts was spent in silence. When they got to the front doors, James bounded from the carriage and then helped Lily down. They walked into the castle and went through the entrance way and into the Great Hall.

The noise was deafening. Even thought the students had had plenty of time to talk during the train ride, there was something about being back at Hogwarts after summer holiday. Lily and James walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down across from each other near where their friends were sitting.

They had sat with each other before, but never at the Welcoming Feast. Although as Head Boy and Girl, Lily felt that they should at least show all the other students that they could put their past differences behind them and get along for one evening. So far, it hadn’t been much of a trial.

Several moments later the doors to the Great Hall opened again and Professor McGonagall strolled through with the new first years following meekly behind. Lily studied them, as she did every year, wondering which ones would be sorted into Gryffindor, as McGonagall placed a three legged stool and the Sorting Hat in front of them.

The Hall melted into silence as everyone waited with bated breath for the Hat to begin its song.

“There comes a time in a wizard’s life

And a witch’s too,

When you must make a difficult choice

Which is never easy to do.

Though your peers will say this

Your parents will say that,

And as to who is right

No one knows for a fact.

The founders found out the hard way

When Slytherin left in rush,

Behind was a trail of bitter words

Which today some people still trust.

‘Pure-bloods yes, but Muggleborns no’

Is what Slytherin had said,

The other founders, they disagreed

‘Please reconsider,’ they pled.

But Slytherin refused to change

And that’s why he had gone,

So now I sit before you today

To sing you all this song.

Though your houses are not the same

One thing is true for all,

You each have magic in your veins

And have since you were small.

So, to Gryffindor go the bold

The courageous and the strong,

To Ravenclaw the ones with brains

The clever are hardly wrong.

To Hufflepuff the trusty ones

The dependable and the true,

To Slytherin go those with cunning

The pure-bloods who are few.

So step on up when you name is called

And put me atop your head,

I’ll tell you the house where you belong

And where you’ll go to bed.”

Everyone burst into applause but it was interspersed with whispers. It was the first time Lily had ever heard the Hat give advice. It must have done so in the past as the teachers didn’t seem surprised, but this still bothered Lily. She exchanged a worried look with James who leaned over and whispered, “I suppose we have our work cut out for us this year. Can you imagine us joining together with the Slytherins?” He gave a disgusted snort.

“Maybe not all of them,” Lily agreed.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward, unrolling a scroll of parchment, and cleared her throat. “When I call your name,” she said, “you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted. Aubrey, Judith!”

A small brown-haired girl walked up and sat on the stool. The Sorting Hat fell over her face and the Great Hall was silent as the Hat worked its magic. Nearly a minute later the Hat’s brim opened again and shouted, “HUFFLEPUFF!”

The Hufflepuff table clapped and cheered as Judith scurried over and sat down next to her older brother, Bertram Aubrey, who ruffled her short hair.

McGonagall called the next name and, one by one, the first years were sorted into their houses. When the last name had been called, McGonagall picked up the stool and the Hat and carried them out of the Hall. At the staff table Professor Dumbledore stood up and motioned for silence.

“Welcome!” he greeted them. “Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! I know you are all eager to fill your stomachs, so I will until after the feast for the usual announcements and my few words of wisdom. Until then-” he clapped his hands and the tables filled with food. “-enjoy the feast! Thank you!”

Once Dumbledore had sat down again the students restarted their previous conversations. Sirius stretched and cracked his knuckles before reaching for the plate of chicken in sitting in front of Lily. “I love that he lets us eat first,” he said.

“Yeah, that way we’re too full and tired to listen to a word he says,” James added.

“I suppose that’s why you never remember what the rules are, right?” Lily asked.

“Nah.” Sirius waved a hand at her. “We have to know the rules. How else would we know how to break them?”

“Instinct.”

Remus snorted. “And we all know Sirius has loads of that.”

The others laughed and the remainder of the feast passed by Lily in a blur of happy chatter with those around her. Every once in a while she heard someone mention the attack on Diagon Alley, but she tuned them out, wanting only to enjoy what she knew would be her last relaxing evening for a long while. When the last of the dessert had disappeared and the plates were restored to their previous shine, Dumbledore stood once again and the students quieted down.

“I have only a few start of term announcements to give to you. All first years, as well as some of our older students, should note that the Forbidden Forest is just that- forbidden. There are two new additions to the staff this year. First, Professor Julian Lowbard-” a man with indistinct looks stood up and waved to everyone “will be your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Also, due to the untimely passing of our dear caretaker, Mr. Apollyon Pringle, I am please to introduce you to Mr. Argus Filch, who shall be replacing him.” A stooped man with stringy grey hair sitting at the end of the staff table stood up and glared at the students.

Sirius leaned across the table. “I know who we’ll be pranking first,” he whispered to James.

“Then I’ll know who to give detention to,” Lily said, smiling at him innocently.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Watch me.” Lily crossed her arms and returned her attention to Dumbledore.

“-no magic in the corridors. There is also a list posted on his office door with all banned items. Anyone caught with any of these items will loose house point and receive a detention.” He paused and looked around solemnly at everyone. “Many of you are aware of the recent incident in Diagon Alley. Precautions have been taken, and while Hogsmeade visits are still allowed, we ask that you go in groups and be cautious. There are dark times ahead and we must join together if we are to overcome them. On that note, it’s off to bed. First years, please follow your house Prefects to your dormitories. Good-night!”

As the students rose and scuttled off to bed, Lily and James made their way to the antechamber off of the Great Hall to meet with Dumbledore.

He looked up at them when they arrived from where he was sitting and motioned for them to take the chair across from him. He looked back and forth between them as they sat down and there were several moments of silence before he said, “Wonderful.”

Lily and James exchanged a glace. Sometimes Dumbledore could be very… well, in a word, odd.

“I am very pleased you both chose to accept the Head positions this year. Very pleased, indeed.” He sat forward and clasped his hands together, his blue eyes trained on them. “Now, I am sure you have many questions to ask me, but we shall save them for a better time. It would surely be too tiring to answer them all tonight. Shall we say, tomorrow at ten in the morning, instead?”

Lily and James nodded in agreement. As much as they wanted their questions about Diagon Alley answered they were too tired.

Dumbledore continued, “Miss Evans, I know you are aware of the Head common room as you have been a Prefect these past two years, though Mr. Potter is not. It has been a while since both the Heads came from the same house but, I must say, it very convenient.” He smiled. “We won’t have to argue about what the colours or the location of the common room will be.” James and Lily laughed at this. “You should have no trouble finding the room as it is located near the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, behind the portrait of Godric Gryffindor. There are several Head common rooms throughout the school and I thought that this one would suit you both.”

“It sounds perfect, Professor,” Lily told him.

Dumbledore nodded. “Thank you. The password is currently ‘sugar quills’, but if you would like to change it to something else be sure to let Professor McGonagall and I know.”

“Sure, Professor,” James said. “Only, I think we’ll keep the password as it is for right now.”

“Very well. I will let you go on your way then. There are several… features, for lack of a better word, about the room. But, I will let you discover them for yourselves. I’m sure you will enjoy them thoroughly. Good night. I will talk to you on the morrow.”

Lily and James bid him good-night and left the room.

“This is brilliant!” James exclaimed as he and Lily bounded up the stairs. “Just think, a place to plan pranks without being interrupted but first years every ten seconds.”

Lily glared at him. “If you think I’ll let you use it as your own personal room, you're wrong. The only people allowed in are you and me.”

“What about Prefect meetings? Aren’t they held there?”

Lily shot him a frustrated glance. “Yes, but the Prefects will wait outside until we let them in. That’s how it was the last two years and all the ones before it. Besides, I wouldn’t want all the Prefects knowing the password. They would come barging in at all hours to use the room for themselves.”

“Ah, you do have a point there,” James agreed.

“And no telling your friends,” Lily demanded.

James nodded. “I won’t tell my friends as long as you promise to do the same.”

“Agreed.”

They reached floor where the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower was and James looked over where Godric Gryffindor’s portrait was hanging between two giant potted palms. “Shall we have a look then?”

Lily shrugged and walked over to the portrait. He looked down at them from his gilded armchair, his famous sword balance across his lap. “He looks rather aristocratic, doesn’t he?”

“Just a bit. Well-” James turned and gave Lily a half smile “here’s to being Head Boy and Girl. Sugar quills.”

The portrait swung opened to reveal a short corridor. At the end was a heavy oak door with ‘Heads’ Common Room’ written on it in thick gold print. James opened the door and motioned for Lily to go through first. She passed the threshold and stopped, staring around in wonder.

It was the most luxurious room she had ever been in. The room was circular like their dormitories, so it must be in one of the castle’s many towers. Opposite the door was a huge bay window that overlooked the Quidditch Pitch. A thick, plush carpet in Gryffindor colours covered the dark, hardwood floor and there were two enormous armchairs and a sofa in front of a roaring fire. There was also a long table with several chairs and a small bookshelf, which was currently empty.

Two desks sat along one wall, separated by a bulletin board, which was divided into four parts- one for each house. James called to her from where he was standing in the doorway to the bathroom.

“Come take a look at this. It’s like a smaller version of the Prefect bathroom.”

“How do you know what the Prefect bathroom looks like?” she asked as she walked over to him.

He gave her a look. “Remus.”

“Oh… right, forget I asked,” Lily responded, looking past him. It was true- the bathroom was a smaller version of the Prefect one. There was a huge tub and a shower stall on the wall facing them and across from them was a double sink. There were hooks along the wall behind the door with two bathrobes in Gryffindor colours hanging on them. Next to the bathrobes was a shelf with several fluffy towels on it and a hamper sat next to that.

James went to the small wardrobe next to the sink and opened it. There was a full length mirror on the door and several hangers inside.

“We can put some of our clothes in here,” he said, grinning. He left the bathroom and flopped down onto the sofa. “This is brilliant.”

“Yeah, it’ll be nice to have somewhere quiet to go.” Lily pushed his feet out of the way and sat down next to him. “We have a lot of responsibilities this year, not to mention our N.E.W.Ts.” She sighed and laid down on her back, knees bent, and rested her head on the armrest.

“What’s the matter?”

Lily sighed again. “This is our last year at Hogwarts.”

“Mm-hm.”

“You’re Head Boy.”

“Mm-hm.”

“I’m Head Girl.”

“Mm-hm.”

“Everything is changing.”

James looked over at her and their eyes met. He studied her for a moment before replying, “Is that so bad?”

“No.” Lily gave him a half smile. “No, astonishingly enough, it isn’t.”

-()-

A/N: Hello everyone! I love hearing (reading) from you, so don’t forget to tell me what you thought of this chapter! Chapter six will be posted in about a week, so keep a lookout for it!

Chapter Six

Lily hurried down the hall to Dumbledore’s office and spoke the password. She was late for the meeting- and it was all James Potter’s fault.

She thought that being Head Girl would have counted for something, but apparently, it didn’t. She and Marlene had got up early on Saturday morning (they never had been able to sleep in the first few days back at school) and after breakfast they had gone back upstairs to look over their timetables and unpack their trunks. Lily had set some clothes aside so that she could take put them in the Head’s common room before the meeting with Dumbledore. But when she had opened the door to the Head’s Room a bucket of something green and slimy had poured down all over her.

For a moment she had just stood there in shock. Then, shock had turned to puzzlement and then puzzlement turned to rage. Potter was going to pay for this.

She climbed the spiral staircase to Dumbledore’s office and knocked on the door. Even though he was expecting her, it seemed rude to just walk in. Dumbledore’s voice bid her enter and Lily opened the door. Dumbledore was at his desk and James was sitting in one of two chairs across from him.

"Miss Evans, I am glad you could make it."

"Sorry, Professor," Lily said as she sat down. "I had a slight mishap."

"I trust you are alright?"

"Right as rain," Lily replied eyeing James, who had the nerve to sit there innocent as a flobberworm.

Dumbledore nodded, folding his hands on his desk. "Alastor Moody informed me that you were both present when the luggage shop in Diagon Alley exploded."

Lily and James exchanged a glace.

"I do not believe you were aware that the shop was owed by two Muggleborns who were very outspoken about their views. There are those who disagreed with their views and they are the ones responsible for the explosion."

"So it wasn’t an accident."

"Correct, Mr. Potter. And neither was it the only incident to occur that day. The only reason no one else knows of the other is because the Ministry has been keeping it under wraps. They do not wish anyone else to know how out of control Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters have become."

"They’re the ones behind all of this?"

"Yes, Miss Evans."

"But, why? I mean, it can’t just be because of that pureblood nonsense they were spouting about before."

"I am afraid that that is the reason." Dumbledore sighed and leaned forward. "This year is going to be unlike any other we have seen. The students’ loyalties are going to start dividing between their parents’ beliefs and their own. We can only hope they will choose the right path. This is one reason the two of you were chosen as Head Boy and Girl. In the past six years you have proven your intelligence, leadership and overall fairness. The students listen to you- even when they disagree- because they respect you. You do not judge them by their bloodlines, or lack thereof, but by their actions. It is my hope that they will learn to do the same by following your example. Even though you have not got on in the past, this year you are proving that you can- and will- despite your differences.

"The wizarding world will be at war before the year is through. I mentioned last evening at the Welcoming Feast that measures have been taken to assure of the students’ safety. Hogsmeade visits will be shortened- if we do not decide to discontinue them altogether, Prefects will be patrolling in groups of four instead of the usual two, and curfew will be at nine o’ clock instead of ten. There will also be a suits of armour placed outside each common room entrance to prevent students from leaving after curfew."

Lily nearly groaned aloud. The students would not be happy about this. She wasn’t happy about this. Dumbledore said the students respected her, but unlike James she followed the rules. Well… mostly followed the rules, but no one followed them all the time, except possibly Alice Walker (now Longbottom) who had been three years ahead of Lily.

James spoke up, "Sir, won’t students be able to slip past the suits of armour rather easily?"

"Ordinarily they would be able to." Dumbledore smiled mischievously. "Therefore, I have instructed Professors Flitwick and McGonagall to add some protections on them. There will be an age restriction charm placed upon them. Anyone under the age of forty-five who tries to place any enchantment on them will receive a slight … surprise."

Lily laughed inwardly. She imagined Dumbledore had thought up some extremely clever ‘surprises’. She hoped James wouldn’t warn his friends- she wanted to be able to rub it in when it backfired on them.

"Now," Dumbledore continued, "I know that having four Prefects patrolling at once will be difficult. It will put a lot of strain on them, so I ask that you try to space the shifts out as much as possible. Also, in the past the Head Boy and Girl have only had to patrol three times a week. With the situation as it is, I would like you to be patrolling every other night instead."

Lily and James nodded. It would mean a lot less free time in the evenings, but there was no way around it.

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair. "I believe we have covered all we needed to. You may, of course, contact me at anytime should you see the need and I shall do the same."

Lily and James stood up and turned to leave.

"Ah- one more thing," Dumbledore stopped them. They turned to face him. "Mr. Potter, I trust you will be keeping the mischief to a minimum this year?"

James smiled sheepishly. "Don’t worry, Professor," Lily told the Headmaster slyly. "I’ll keep and eye one him."

James glared at her as they left the office. "You can try to keep and eye on me," he said.

"Hmm. Just know that anytime you or your friends pull a prank, I’ll get you back twofold." Lily smiled, looking over at him, and nearly choked on laughter. His face had paled and he looked incredibly nervous. "Anything you’d like to confess to, Potter?" she asked him sweetly.

He cleared his throat. "Nothing comes to mind."

"So the green slime that poured all over me this morning was just a coincidence? It wasn’t well done of you. Did you forget that, aside from Dumbledore and McGonagall, you and I are the only ones able to access the Head’s Room?"

James tripped going up the stairs.

"Unless you told someone …"

"No!" James slapped a hand to his forehead. "I blew it didn’t I? Should have said I told Sirius."

Lily shrugged. "I should cancel Hogsmeade."

"You can’t! You promised."

"I know, more’s the pity." Lily paused at the Fat Lady’s portrait and spoke the password. James followed her through. "But don’t worry, Potter. You‘ll pay." Lily smiled at him over her shoulder as she went up the stairs to the girls’ dormitory, leaving him with a terrified look on his face.

-()-

Lily woke up to a period of double Potions Monday morning. While the other seventh years groaned, Lily smiled; she loved Potions. She grabbed clean underwear and shoved them into her school bag and went to the Head’s Room to shower. It was nice having a bathroom mostly to herself. Her dorm mates were still asleep but she could shower as early or as late as she liked (not to mention as long) without having to worry about waking anyone up.

The water steamed around her as she shampooed her hair. The Prefects meeting the night before had gone well. She and James had written September’s patrolling schedule yesterday afternoon with very little hassle. None of the Prefects had had to switch anything around, though there had been a bit of grumbling about four needing to patrol at a time, but everyone had understood the reason for it. Other than that, the meeting had gone very smoothly. She could only hope they would continue that way for the remainder of the year.

Lily put conditioner in her hair and was reaching for her wand to shave her legs when someone banged on the door. "Hurry up, Evans!" Potter called.

"What?" she yelled back.

"Hurry up! You’ve been in there twenty minutes already!"

Lily gave a frustrated sigh. Apparently she couldn’t take as long as she wanted. She put her wand back on the shelf and rinsed her hair. She’d have to shave tonight instead. She shut the water off and pulled on her robe. She took a towel from the rack and wrapped it around her hair. James banged on the door again.

"What!"

"Could you get dressed out here? I don’t want to miss breakfast," he complained.

Lily huffed, pulled clothes from the wardrobe next to the sink and opened the bathroom door. James was standing directly outside dressed in a red t-shirt and red and gold striped pyjama bottoms. His arms were crossed and he was tapping his foot impatiently. "Finally," he said.

Lily glared at him as she brushed past. She dumped her clothes on the sofa and heard the bathroom door shut loudly behind her. She huffed again and got dressed as quickly as possible. The water turned off ten minutes later and she sat on the sofa towelling her hair dry while she waited for him to finish. Another ten minutes went by and the door still hadn’t opened. She picked up her robe and knocked on the door. "Potter? Will you let me in? I have to fix my hair and I need the mirror."

James opened the door and then walked back over to the sink to finish brushing his teeth. He was dressed in trousers and a thin white t-shirt, but his feet were bare and his hair was still damp from his shower and it curled softly at the nape of his neck. Lily forced herself to ignore him as she hung her bathrobe up and dried her hair with a charm. She brushed it into a ponytail- it wouldn’t be good to have it down for Potions.

James rinsed his mouth and pulled on his shirt, school robes, shoes and socks. Lily stole glances at him while he tied a Gryffindor tie loosely around his neck, even though students weren’t required to wear them. He made it look so easy and considering Lily had never seen him wear a tie before, she was surprised he could do it. The few times Lily had watched her father tie his it had always taken him at least three tries to get it right. He had asked Lily for help once and, well… it had been a disaster.

She walked back into the common room and dug in her bag for her Head Girl badge so that she could pin it to her robes. She checked to make sure she had her Advanced Potions book and enough quills and parchment for the class before heading out the door.

She had reached the top of the stairs when a voice called out to her.

"Hey, Evans, wait up."

She paused while James caught up to her and they went down to breakfast together. The Gryffindor table was mostly empty. It was only eight- most waited until quarter after before coming down. Lily and James sat down across from each other and Lily spooned eggs onto her plate.

"Do you always shower in the mornings, Potter?" she asked James.

He nodded and said through a mouthful of toast, "Is that a problem?"

"I suppose not. But we’ll have to work out some sort of schedule. Taking turns going first or something."

"Or whoever gets there first, showers first."

"And if we get there at the same time?"

"We’ll duel for it."

Lily snorted. "That won’t work. By the time one of us wins, we won’t have any time left to shower."

James shrugged. "I’m an early riser."

"So am I," Lily countered.

"So we’ll have plenty of time to duel then."

"Why are you duelling?" Marlene asked as she sat down next to Lily and poured herself some pumpkin juice.

"We’re not going to duel," Lily told James through gritted teeth, ignoring Marlene’s question.

"Why aren’t you duelling?" Sirius sat down next to James and bit into an apple.

"Duelling is brilliant. I bet you could beat Prongs any day, Evans." As he spoke bits of apple flung out of his mouth and hit Lily’s cheek.

"Ugh, gross Sirius."

"Sorry, Lils."

"Don’t call me ‘Lils’." Her tone was so threatening they all looked at her in shock.

"Why not?"

"Because it used to be her sister’s nickname for her when they were younger, before Lily got her Hogwarts letter." Remus had arrived at the breakfast table. "Now her sister only speaks to her when absolutely necessary."

Lily smiled at him gratefully. "Thanks for that Remus."

"No problem. I know you don’t like to explain it." Remus sat down on Lily’s other side gingerly. He looked like he was moving very carefully, as though he had pulled a muscle or something.

"You alright, Remus?" Lily asked him quietly so the others couldn’t hear, knowing very well that there had been a full moon Saturday night. In fact, Lily was surprised to see him up at all.

Remus smiled at her wearily. "Fine, nothing to worry about."

"How does he know that?" Sirius asked, still on the ‘Lils’ subject. He turned to Remus. "How do you know that? And why didn’t you tell me?"

"Lily told me when we were patrolling one night and I didn’t tell you cause I never thought you would be stupid enough to call her ‘Lils’," Remus responded.

"Oh… I suppose that makes sense then. Pass the sausage."

The conversation turned to lighter subjects and Lily forgot that she and James hadn’t resolved the shower issue. When it was ten minutes before the first period started the group split ways. Marlene, Remus and Peter all went back to the common room- since they weren’t taking Potions they had the first two periods free- promising to meet up with the others in Transfiguration.

The dungeons where Potions was held were poorly lit and dank- until you got the the classroom. Professor Slughorn might have been a Slytherin, being their Head of House, but he certainly had a taste for comfort. The classroom was brightly lit, he had charmed parts of the wall to be windows, which let in daylight and make it extremely easy to see. While the floor and walls were stained from exploding cauldrons, the room didn’t smell of them. In fact, the room was filled with a variety of smells coming from three cauldrons dispersed throughout the room.

Slughorn started each year the same way- he mixed up several potions and gave the students a chance to compete to win a sample of one. Last year it had been a small bottle of Felix Felicis, the ‘good luck’ potion. Lily had won the potions the previous years, except for her first year, but Slughorn hadn’t held a competition for them then. In fact, she had yet to use any of them, instead keeping them in secret compartment in her trunk.

Lily set her bag down next to Lizzie. N.E.W.T. classes were held for students of all houses because so many students had dropped subjects. Lily had partnered with Lizzie last year, and they worked really well together. In her first five years she had had to switch partners constantly- everyone had fought to partner with her since she was so good at Potions- though she mostly partnered with Marlene or Remus, who were both atrocious.

James sat directly behind Lily along with Sirius, and they immediately bent over the cauldron on their desk trying to figure out what potion was in it as the rest of the class came in and sat down.

"Evans’ll know what it is," Sirius was saying. "Hey, Evans, tell us what's in this."

Lily tilted back on the bench and glanced into the cauldron. "There's nothing in it."

"Yes, there is," Sirius insisted. "It's like a foggy red colour."

Lily smirked. "What did you forget, Sirius?"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, what do you mean by that?" James asked. "I'm seeing a clear red colour, not foggy."

"It's a Remembering Potion," Lily told them. "The darker the red colour, the more important the thing you forgot is. It's similar to a Remembrall, only if you drink the potion, you'll remember what it is you forgot. It's not that difficult to make, but it's very time consuming. If you made the potion right, you won't be able to see it. But it you haven't, the potion will turn a milky blue colour, and you have to start from scratch."

"Wonderful!" a jolly voice called from the front of the room. Professor Horace Slughorn smiled broadly at Lily. He was a short man with prominent eyes and a large belly. His straw coloured hair was starting to thin and his enormous gingery-blonde moustache was streaked with white. He was wearing a lavish, old-fashioned robe over a waistcoat with large gold buttons. "Ten points to Gryffindor." He pointed to a cauldron two tables in front of her. "Can you tell us what potion is in here?"

Lily stood up so that she could see inside the cauldron. The potion had multiple colours swirling around each other and was giving off a fruity smell. "I don't know what it's called, but it reminds me of Fizzing Whizbees. Does it have Billywig stings in it?"

"Yes! Ten more points to Gryffindor! This is the solution in Fizzing Whizbees that makes you levitate. Made from Billywig stings and a few other ingredients that I'm sure you won't want to know if you enjoy the candy." He smiled brightly at Lily. "And tell us what is in this last cauldron."

Lily walked to the front of the room and looked inside the cauldron that was sitting on Slughorn’s desk. There was a sickly yellowish-green coloured liquid inside that smelled faintly of petrol. Lily scrunched her nose and walked back to her seat.

"Well?" Slughorn prompted her.

Lily smirked. "It’s not a potion."

Lizzie looked at her as though she were crazy, Sirius snorted, Severus Snape glared at her, and Slughorn burst into joyous laughter.

"At least," Lily amended as she continued, "not a true potion. It’s diluted bubotuber pus that has been boiled at an extremely high temperature. It is very easy to make, but if the undiluted bubotuber pus comes in contact with your skin, you’ll break out in boils."

Slughorn smiled broadly. "Ah, but you should have been a Slytherin."

"I would have loved having you as my Head of House, sir, but I don’t think I would enjoy sleeping in the dungeons- a bit damp, you know?" Lily answered him cheekily.

Slughorn laughed at her answer and gave ten points to Gryffindor for Lily identifying the Potion correctly. He waved his wand at the chalkboard and a list of ingredients appeared. "These ingredients can be combined to make one, and only one, potion. By the end of class today, the person who is closet to correctly identifying and making the potion will be able to forgo taking one test of their choosing."

Half the class groaned, while the other grinned. Sirius spoke, "You mean that if we win, we can skive off a test?"

"Correct, Mr. Black."

"Wicked." He leaned over and whispered to James, though not so quietly that Lily couldn’t hear, "Too bad Evans is guaranteed to win."

Lily turned around and smirk at him. "Too bad for you, eh, Black? But then, it’s not as though it would have changed how you revise."

"Well," Slughorn asked the class, "why are you sitting around? Get to work!"

There was a flurry of movement while everyone gathered ingredients and shuffled through their Potions books, trying to figure out which potion they were supposed to brew. The only person not frantic was Severus Snape. He, like Lily, had calmly chosen what he needed from the shelves and opened his text to page 619 where the instructions for making the Blood-Replenishing Potion were.

The potion itself wasn’t that complex to make, but it was easily confused with the Vampire Draught, a potion that resembled human blood, which Vampires used as a last resort. The only difference was that the Vampire Draught contained blood root and the Blood-Replenishing Potion didn’t. In their rush to finish, most of the class had started brewing the Vampire Draught instead. But, by the time they realized their mistake, it was too late to start again.

Lily was about to give her potion a final clockwise stir when Lizzie, who was stretching next to her, accidentally jostled her elbow, causing her to stir anticlockwise instead. The potion turned bright green.

Lizzie gasped. "Oh, no… Lily, I’m so sorry!" She had a terrified look on her face.

Lily looked down at her ruined potion for a moment before she burst out laughing. "Well, now we know why we’re supposed to only stir clockwise," she said.

"B-but…" Lizzie stuttered. "Now you won’t win."

Lily smiled at her ironically. "We both know that I wouldn’t have made use of it."

"Oh…" Lizzie fought back a smile. "You have a point. Oh, well. I’m sure whoever wins will be glad. They’ll probably rub-"

She was cut off by Slughorn clapping his hands, signalling them to stop. "Stirrers down, books closed," he said. "Let’s see how well you have done." He walked around the room glancing in their cauldrons. Every so often he would stop and point out what someone did wrong, or give a helpful tip on how to speed up the process. For those that had made the wrong potion, he advised them to read more carefully in the future and said that they should know better by now.

When he got to Lily’s potion he gaped. "What happened here?"

Lily smiled ruefully. "I stirred the wrong way."

Slughorn looked at her suspiciously, as though he didn’t believe her. "Hmph," he said before moving on to the next table.

Once he had finished look over everyone’s potion, he grudgingly declared Snape the winner. Even though Snape was in his house and did almost as well as Lily in Potions, Slughorn had never favoured him the way he did Lily. Lily suspected that Snape was jealous, because in the past they had got along reasonably, but these last few years Snape had treated her with something akin to hatred.

When the class began gathering their things and emptying their cauldrons, Slughorn walked over to talk to Lily as she was packing up her bag. "I’m holding a small get together on Thursday evening. And I’ll expect you to come. Doracus Meadows from the Charms Department at the Ministry is going to be there and I suspect you will want to talk with her."

Lily smiled. "I look forward to it, Professor," she told him before leaving with Lizzie for lunch.

The Slug Club, as the students called it, was made up of a select group of students Slughorn favoured. Sometimes the meetings were dreadfully dull, but, every so often there was someone there who made it all worthwhile. Lily had been a member since her second year. Slughorn had caught her improvising on a potion. He normally wouldn’t have noticed, except for the fact that Lily had finished in half the time it took the rest of the class to. Ever since then she had been one of his favourites, and he constantly reminded the other teachers of that fact.

Lily walked with the other Gryffindors to Transfiguration and sat down next to Marlene in the seat she had saved for her. Professor McGonagall arrived soon after and spent the lesson reviewing what they had learned last year, before assigning a three foot essay on the dangers and restrictions of conjuring large objects. They all had a free period next and decided to make use of it by going to the Library to work on the essay until lunchtime.

After lunch Lily, Remus and Marlene went to Arithmancy while the other headed to Muggle Studies. Once the class was over, they went back to the common room for their next free period. Lily had more free time this year because she had decided against continuing with Ancient Runes, as she didn’t need it for either of the potential careers she had decided upon.

When dinner rolled around, Lily came to the conclusion that she was glad that she had so many free periods. Professor Vector had assigned a four foot essay and even though it usually only took Lily and hour or so to write one that long, this essay needed to be so detailed that she had only finished a foot and a half. She was definitely going to need all her free time, and when she said so Remus nodded in agreement.

"I’m taking Ancient Runes and Professor Tomar warned everyone that the workload is going to be twice as much as it was last year, and if we don’t make the effort to keep up, she’ll talk to us about dropping the course."

Lily grimaced. Yes, it was definitely a good thing she hadn’t continued with Ancient Runes.

"Of course," Remus continued, "we’re all worried that she won’t be able to keep up either. I mean, she’s been teaching for more than one hundred and sixty years- she’s ancient, older than Dumbledore!"

Lily burst out laughing and Remus looked at her quizzically. "What?"

"Sorry," Lily gasped. "Sorry, it’s just that, you said-you said, that the Professor Tomar was ancient. The Professor of Ancient Runes is ancient."

"Oh." He paused and then shrugged. "Well, she is."

Lily rolled her eyes at him. Sometimes Remus just didn’t see the humour in what was said. Like whenever someone would say they were ‘serious’ and Sirius said that they couldn’t be because he was, Remus would always hex him. It had gotten old after a while, but even Sirius was smart enough to stop once Remus began learning more creative hexes.

The other three Marauders arrived at the dinner table and Remus turned to talk with them. The four boys put their heads together, whispering conspiringly. Lily and Marlene exchanged a glace as Ellen and Janice sat down next to them. It was nice to know that no matter how bad things got, there were some things you could always rely on. And the Marauders were one of them.

Lily parted ways with her friends when they got to the common room, instead going to the Head Room to finish her Arithmancy and write up some notices.

"You have to patrol tonight, don’t you?" Janice asked before she went. "James mentioned it in Muggle Studies."

Lily nodded. "Yes, unfortunately we have to patrol every other night because of the situation outside of school. And remember," she said to Janice who had been made a Prefect this year, "you have to patrol in groups of four."

Janice groaned. "I remember. Do you think we could choose who we patrol with next month?"

Lily shrugged. "I hadn’t thought about it. I’ll run it by Potter and see what he thinks. If I forget make sure you bring it up at the next meeting."

Janice nodded and Lily waved good-bye to her friends, grimacing when she spoke the password for the Head common room. After that morning’s incident, she would have to speak to James about changing the password. She didn’t trust the current one to be sufficient enough to keep his friends out. They had been to Dumbledore’s office so many times that it would be easy for them to guess it. Lily pulled the door open cautiously and when nothing was dumped on her head she breathed a sigh in relief. Yes, they should definitely change the password.

Lily sat down at her desk in the empty room and made a mental note to discuss it with Potter when they patrolled tonight. She pulled her notes and book from her bag and set about finishing her Arithmancy essay.

A/N: Thank you all so much for your lovely reviews!!! I love reading them. So that was chapter six…the next chapter is Lily’s and James’ first patrol together…. Anyway, let me know what you thought of this chapter. The next one will be up soon!! Until next time!

Chapter Seven

“Are you ready?”

Lily looked up from where she was writing at her desk in the Head’s Room. “Almost. I just want to finish this.”

James pulled a chair up next to her and sat down backwards, resting his arms on its back. “Is that your Arithmancy essay? Remus is almost done with his.”

“No,” Lily replied. “I finished that already. This is a notice for the third years, reminding them to turn in their Hogsmeade permission slips to their Head of House by the end of the week.” Lily used a drying and duplication charm on the parchment in front of her, then stood to post it on the notice board.

The board was an ingenious thing. It was divided into four parts by colour, one for each House. Anything she or James posted would appear on that House’s board in its common room and vice versa. The teachers also had one in their staff room and anything they posted would show up there as well. That was how all notices were posted. It certainly saved a lot of walking and it also explained how the teachers always seemed to know what was going on.

Lily stuck her wand in the pocket of her robes. “Alright, let’s go.”

James put the chair back and they left the room.

“So what exactly do we do on these things?” he asked her as they headed down the stairs.

“We just have to patrol the halls and make sure no one is out after curfew,” she answered him. “We have an advantage too.”

“What’s that?”

“We’ve been here seven years. Between the two of us, I’m sure we know Hogwarts better than most of the students. No hiding spot will be good enough.”

James laughed. “And we’ll take points from everyone but Gryffindors, right.”

Lily gave him a look. “That wouldn’t be very fair now would it? Not to mention it’s a great way to lose your badge.”

James shrugged. “Alright. So we take one point from Gryffindors and five from everyone else.”

When Lily didn’t answer him he turned around. She had stopped a short way back, pausing in front of an empty classroom door.

“Wha-”

Lily cut him off with a finger to her lips and beckoned him over. He looked at her questioningly.

“Hear it?” she whispered smiling, her eyes sparkling.

He listened closely and heard faint laughter and a rumbling voice from behind the closed door.

“Five knuts says it’s Sirius,” she said to him as she pushed open the door.

The couple inside moved apart leisurely.

“Sirius!” James exclaimed. “I warned you I’d be patrolling tonight.”

Sirius grinned at him sheepishly and gave a slight shrug. “When you wanna snog, you wanna snog,” he said as the girl- Lily recognized her as a fifth year from Hufflepuff, but didn‘t know her name- blushed.

Lily rolled her eyes at them. “You’re lucky there’s still two minutes left before curfew, so we don’t have to take points,” she told them. “Hurry back to your common rooms, before someone else sees you.”

“Night, Lily. See you when you get back, Prongs,” Sirius said as he and the girl wandered down the hall. Lily heard him ask her to meet him tomorrow night as well and Lily was glad that she wouldn’t have to patrol then.

“How’d you know it was him?” James wanted to know as they resumed patrolling.

Lily grinned. “If I had Galleon for every time Remus and I caught him snogging some witch, I’d be able to buy Flourish and Blott’s.”

“Why would you want to buy a bookstore? Quidditch Quality Supplies would be so much better.”

“It was an example, Potter. And why would I want to buy a Quidditch shop if I don’t like flying?”

“You don’t like flying?” he asked her incredulously. “But you did really well when we learned.”

“That doesn’t mean I like it.”

He stared at her for a moment before replying. “I’ll make you like it.”

“What?”

“I’ll take you flying.”

“You’re insane.”

“Come on,” James persuaded. “It’ll be fun and I’ll be on my best behaviour.”

Lily snorted. “I’ll think about it,” she said sarcastically, not really meaning it.

James grinned- it wasn’t a flat out ‘no,’ at least.

Lily sighed and rolled her eyes- she seemed to do that a lot around him. “Oh- I just remembered. I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“If it’s about yesterday morning-”

“No,” Lily cut him off. “Well… at least not completely. I was thinking we should change the password to our common room. The one we have would be too easy for your friends to guess, and I don’t fancy having to worry about their pranks as well. Remus especially can be pretty inventive.”

“Yes, a lot of the pranks we’ve pulled have stemmed from one of his ideas.”

“So you agree that we should change it?”

James shrugged. “Sure. But what should we change it to?”

“I don’t know. I figured you’d know best what they wouldn’t be able to guess.”

“Well,” James thought aloud, “it’ll have to be something completely random that has nothing to do with either one of us. Something so obscure that even we’ll have a hard time remembering it. And it has to make no sense when you pronounce it.”

“Snave Rettop.”

“Huh?”

“Snave Rettop.”

“What’s that?”

Lily smirked. “We could always throw in Nipul Wergittep for good measure,” she added completely ignoring his question. “Or even Kcalb Nonnikcm.”

James was dumbfounded.

“And then,” Lily continued, “there’s always my personal favourite- Erodelbmud Subla.”

“You’re talking gibberish.”

“I thought that was the point?”

“Well… yeah… but…” James stuttered.

“So, which should it be?”

“Er…. The last one I think.”

“All right, I’ll tell Dumbledore and McGonagall tomorrow at breakfast.”

James nodded in agreement, still slightly confused, and they continued patrolling. By the time they returned to the common room, they had only caught one student out after curfew. That didn’t surprise Lily, considering it was only the first week back. She was sure the number would increase as the year went on.

Lily bid goodnight to James and went upstairs to her dorm. As soon as she entered her roommates pounced on her.

“Well, how was it?” Marlene asked as Janice pushed Lily into a chair and pulled her hair out of its ponytail.

“Why aren’t you asleep?” Lily asked them. “It’s past eleven.”

“We wanted to see how your patrol went,” Linda answered her as she moved to sit next to Marlene and in front of Lily.

“Oh.” Lily looked at her, surprised. “Well… it was dull.”

“Dull?”

“Yes, we only caught one person out after curfew and two just before.”

“Sirius and some girl?” Janice questioned.

“Yup.”

Janice laughed. “Why am I not surprised?”

“But wait,” Marlene interrupted. “You spent a bit more than two hours patrolling with James Potter and it was ‘dull’?”

“Yes.”

“Huh. I never would have guessed.”

“Can I cut it?”

“What?” Lily was startled by Janice’s sudden question.

“Your hair, can I cut it?” Janice reiterated.

“You mean I grow my hair finally and now you want to cut it off?”

“Not a lot,” Janice responded. “Just a few layers around your face.”

“I suppose,” Lily said slowly.

“Brilliant!” Janice picked up her wand from her nightstand and began fussing with Lily’s hair.

Linda sighed. “She’s in a girly mood.”

“Yes.” Janice smiled. “And you’re next.”

Linda groaned, putting her head in her hands and Lily rolled her eyes heavenward as Janice began snipping at her hair, knowing they wouldn’t be getting to bed until after one in the morning. It was a good thing they all had the first two periods off.

-()-

“Ahh…oomph! Ow!”

There were giggles and a groan of pain.

“What happened?” Lily poked her head groggily through the bed hangings.

“I fell out of bed.”

Lily looked to where Janice was sprawled on the floor massaging her shoulder. Marlene and Linda were sitting on their beds laughing at her. “Why?” Lily asked stupidly.

“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Janice replied sulkily. “I was dreaming I was playing Quidditch and got hit by a Bludger.”

“But you’re a Beater,” Linda said. “You have a bat.”

“It was a dream!”

“Humph.” Linda glanced at the clock. “Oh, we missed breakfast.”

“That’s alright,” Lily said. “I can nip down to the kitchens and get us something to eat.”

Janice perked up. “See if you can get some raisin scones.”

“Sure,” Lily answered as she pulled robes on over her pyjamas.

The halls were empty as she made her way down to the kitchens, since first period had already started. She reached the portrait of a bowl of fruit and reached up to tickled the pear. It giggled and turned into a large, bright green door handle. She entered the kitchen and at once several House Elves scurried over.

“What does Miss needs?” one of them squeaked.

“Whatever it was you served for breakfast,” Lily answered. “I’d like enough for four people, please. Oh- and some raisin scones if you have them.”

The elves disappeared for a few minutes and then returned carrying a large wicker basket. Lily took it from them with a nod of thanks promised to return the basket later, and then made her way back to the dorm.

Her roommates had showered and were in the process of getting dressed when Lily returned. Janice and Linda immediately stopped what they were doing and dived for the basket. Marlene on the other hand, calmly continued dressing, knowing it was futile to try to get to the food until they were through. Luckily the house elves had been more than generous.

Lily grinned at her friends and headed for the showers in their dorm since she was too lazy to go down to the Head’s bathroom. When she came out, Janice and Linda had abandoned the food and Marlene sat with it on her bed happily munching on a piece of toast smothered in orange marmalade. Lily joined her, picking up a scone.

Once they had all finished eating and getting ready for the day, they went down to the common room to chat, gossip and check over their homework. Lily knew there wouldn’t be much time later in the year for this kind of frivolity, what with N.E.W.Ts and the burgeoning war, so she decided to take advantage of it while she could.

“Have you heard about Frank and Alice?” Janice was asking, referring to Frank Longbottom and Alice Walker, who had been in Gryffindor three years ahead of them. Frank had been Head Boy and Alice had been a Prefect. Now they were both in their last year of Auror training.

“No, what about them?” Lily asked. She and Alice had been friends and had often sat together in the Library, studying. They owled each other every so often, but Lily hadn’t heard from her since the beginning of the summer when Alice had told her that she and Frank were engaged.

“Well…” Janice paused for effect. “They got married.”

The other girls gasped and Janice smiled smugly. She loved being the one to spread news.

“When? Alice wrote me at the beginning of the summer to say that they had got engaged,” Lily said. “But I was under the impression that the wedding wasn’t going to be until after they finished with training.”

Janice laid her head on Lily’s lap and propped her legs up on the arm of the sofa they were sitting on. “They were planning to,” she said, looking up at Lily, “but it seems they couldn’t stand to wait any longer, so they eloped two weeks ago when they had a break from training. With the war starting there was no telling when they would get the opportunity. Especially since they’re going to be Aurors. They’ll be in the middle of it all.”

“I can understand why they did it,” Linda said from where she was sitting on the floor. “How do you know all this, by the way?”

“Mum.” Janice waved a hand at her. “Frank is my third cousin twice removed or something.”

They sat in silence for a bit, each lost in their own thoughts, until Lily spoke up contemplatively, “I wonder how many other people are going to do the same…”

The others shrugged and when the bell rang signalling the end of second period, the girls packed up their bags and travelled through the castle to their first lesson, Defence Against the Dark Arts.

-()-

The first week of classes passed quickly and before Lily knew it, Friday had arrived. Lily hurried through the halls on her way to Charms. She was running a few minutes late since Professor Slughorn had held her back after Potions to ask her how she had liked meeting with Doracus Meadows the night before. While normally she wouldn’t have minded talking with him, she had wanted to get to Charms- they were going to be starting the Protean Charm. She turned the knob and opened the door to the classroom. Professor Flitwick had already started class and he stopped speaking and looked over at her when she entered.

“Ah, Miss Evans,” he said. “I trust you have a good explanation for being late?”

“Sorry, Professor,” Lily told him as she took a seat next to Linda. “Professor Slughorn had some questions for me.”

“Very well, then. I won’t take any points this time, but make sure to be here on time in the future, please.”

Lily nodded, grateful that Professor Flitwick liked her so well.

“Now, where was I?” Flitwick continued. “Ah, yes, the ­­Protean Charm. Can anyone tell me how it is used?”

Lily knew the answer but didn’t raise her hand as she was busy pulling out her book, parchment, inkpot and a quill for taking notes.

“Yes, Mr. Tomkeil.”

“The Protean Charm is a very complex spell,” Richard Tomkeil answered. “When performed correctly it makes an object change form to mimic another object.” When he finished answering he shot at smug look at Lily, who just smiled serenely back at him. They had dated for six months last year- Lily had broken up with him just after Christmas holidays because he was being too protective and controlling. Ever since then he seemed to want to prove to her that he was smarter. Lily didn’t mind much, if that’s what it took to make him feel better, but it was beginning to get on her nerves.

“Very good. Five points to Ravenclaw. Now, turn to page 583 in your books and read the chapter on Protean Charms, if you haven’t already, and make sure to take notes. The rest of class you can use to practice the Charm. You will be quizzed on it next class.”

The rest of Charms passed quickly and lunch came and went. Lily went to the Head’s Room to study afterwards, grateful that she had the afternoon off from classes. She had just made herself comfortable on the sofa and had opened her Arithmancy book when James burst into the room.

“Evans!” he exclaimed. “I was hoping you’d be here.”

Lily raised her eyebrows at him as he sauntered over.

“Come on.” He grabbed her and pulled her off the sofa. Her book tumbled to the floor in a heap.

“Potter! Let me go! I was studying.”

“Psh. You can study over the weekend. We have a date.”

“Nahg- wha-” Lily sputtered. “No we don’t!”

“Yes, we do,” he countered. “You agreed to let me teach you to like flying.”

“I didn’t agree. I told you I would think about it.”

“Exactly, and since you haven’t told me no yet, I took that as a yes.” He grinned at her and pushed her out of the room while Lily fought him, to no avail. “Besides, if you don’t come, I’ll tell my friends the new password and give them permission to prank you as many times as they like.

“You wouldn’t dare!”

James just grinned and ushered her into the Gryffindor common coom and towards the stairs to her dorm. “You have five minutes to put on something comfortable or I’ll come up and drag you down,” he told her as she stomped up the stairs. Lily had no doubt that he would find a way to come up and get her despite the charmed staircase.

Lily burst into her dorm and slammed the door behind her, letting out a frustrated sigh as she rummaged through her trunk for jeans, a t-shirt and a jumper.

“What’s got you in a huff?” Linda asked her from where she lay on her bed reading Witch Weekly.

“One guess.”

“Ah… What’s Potter done now?”

“He’s making me go flying,” Lily told her as she tugged on the clothes.

Linda burst out laughing. “Making you?”

“Yes,” Lily said shortly. “He blackmailed me with pranks and I have no doubt that he would drag me out to the Pitch if that’s what it took. Have you seen my trainers?”

“Check under your bed.”

Lily did as she said and then sat on her bed to pull them on her feet once she had found them. She strapped her wand to her wrist, using the wand holster Marlene had got for her last Christmas, before tying her hair up in a messy knot on top of her head. She then hurried down the stairs, passing Janice and Marlene on the way.

“Where’s she off to in such a rush?” Lily heard Janice ask Linda.

Linda replied and even though Lily was too far down the stairs to make out her words, she couldn’t miss Janice’s shout of laughter.

Potter was leaning by the entrance to the common room waiting for her, holding two brooms. Lily crossed her arms and glared at him. He handed her one of the brooms and grabbed her arm, propelling her through the winding halls of the castle and down to the Quidditch Pitch.

The sun was out and it was a fairly warm day for September, if a tad bit breezy. The leaves were just starting to turn red, orange and yellow and a few of them had already dropped to the ground, crunching under their feet as they walked. James set his broom on the ground when they arrived at the Quidditch Pitch. “Ok, hop on your broom,” he told her. “I want to see your form.”

Lily did as he said and then glared at him when he stared at her with a funny look on his face. “What?” she asked defensively.

“Nothing.” He shook his head. “Alright… your balance is fine, just slide your hands up a bit on the handle and don’t grip it so tightly. Good,” he said once Lily had done as he directed. “Okay, now fly around the pitch for a bit, I’ll be right back. And don’t go too high,” he called over his shoulder as he ran to the broom shed.

Lily snorted, as if she would be idiotic enough to go really high when she hardly knew what she was doing. She flew around for a few minutes, enjoying the feel of the wind in her face. When she saw that James had returned she flew back over to him and dismounted. He was grinning broadly and holding the Quaffle in his hands.

“Can you catch?” he asked her. She nodded slowly. “Good.” James tossed the Quaffle on the ground, picked up his broom and motioned for her to get back on hers. “You have to learn how to balance without holding on then,” he said once they were hovering in the air. “Think of it as riding one of those Muggle things… a bicklewheel?”

Lily laughed. “Bicycle.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Those things with two wheels that Muggles ride. You’ve ridden one, right?”

“Yes, I’ve know how since I was five.”

He smiled. “Then this shouldn’t be a problem. It looks the same from the pictures, only with a broom you’re in the air.”

Lily sighed.

“What?” James looked at her quizzically.

“I just don’t see the point,” Lily admitted grudgingly.

“What do you mean?”

“Flying. It just seems so pointless. I mean I understand it’s a way to get from point ‘a’ to point ‘b,’ but I can Apparate or Floo and those are faster so why bother with flying?”

James looked at her dumbstruck. “Because it’s the best thing in the world. It’s not just about getting somewhere, it’s about freedom. You’re free to go however fast you want, high you want, and far you want. It’s better than breathing- the feel of the wind on your face, the rush you feel when you see the ground racing up to meet you as you dive…” James closed his eyes and sighed hugely. “And-” He opened his eyes and grinned cheekily at Lily. “-it’s a great stress reliever.

Lily rolled her eyes at him. “Whatever you say. Now, can we get on with it?”

James had Lily balance on the broom one handed, making sure that she didn’t go more than four feet off the ground. Once she could do that while flying around, he said, “Alright, now try balancing without any hands.” James climbed on his own broom and watched her while he tossed the Quaffle in the air, steering his broom with his knees.

“Show off,” Lily mumbled as she let go of her broom completely, teetering for a bit before nearly falling off. She caught herself at the last minute and ended up hanging off the broom upside down about a foot off the ground. She let go of the broom and ungracefully plopped onto the grass.

“You alright?” James asked, stifling back laughter.

“I’m glad you find this so amusing, Potter.” Lily stood, brushing dirt and grass off her clothes and pushed her hair out of her face before climbing back on the broom and trying again.

“You’re no worse than Mason Bentley was.”

“Mason? The adorable little redheaded third year?” Lily wobbled again, but this time she managed to stay on long enough to grab the broom handle and regain her balance.

“Yeah. He was having a hard time learning to fly in his first year and he asked me to help him. He’s got really good too. Says he wants to try out for Seeker this year since Mark Cram is gone.”

“Do you think he has a chance?”

“He has the right build for it, but I’ll have to see how he flies with the rest of the team, before I make a decision. Plus, we need a new Chaser as well.”

Lily tumbled to the ground again and James flew over and offered her a hand up. She took his hand and, with a grin, yanked him down beside her where he landed in an ungraceful heap. Lily stood up and brushed off her hands. “Ah, see how the mighty have fallen.”

James scowled at her and stood back up. “Think you have the hang of it now?”

“As much as I ever will,” Lily replied with a shrug.

James nodded and picked up the Quaffle from where it had fallen, smiling. “This is the fun part,” he told her.

They mounted their brooms again and rose in the air, though Lily stayed nearer to the ground than James, who flew high around the goalpost before coming back down. He came within several feet of Lily and tossed her the Quaffle. She managed to stay on her broom when she caught it two handed and then threw it back to him, grinning.

They spent the rest of the afternoon throwing the Quaffle back and forth. Lily actually made a pass that even James couldn’t reach and by the time dinner came around she was flying almost as fast as James was and had even managed to catch the Quaffle one-handed several times, a fact which James had applauded.

They walked into the Great Hall together, brooms slung over their shoulders laughing happily and covered in sweat and dirt. Once they had reached the Gryffindor table, Lily tried to hand James back the broom she had used.

He waved her off. “It’s my spare one,” he told her. “Keep it in case you want to fly around on your own a bit.”

Lily smiled wryly at him. “Thanks, though I doubt I will.”

He shrugged and went off to sit with his friends and Lily went to sit with hers, loading up her plate with chicken, mashed potatoes and corn.

“You’re a mess,” Linda told her with a smile, picking a few blades of grass from Lily’s hair.

Lily shrugged and dug into her food happily. She was starving- she hadn’t known flying could work up such and appetite.

“Well,” Marlene prompted, “where did you go? You look as though you’ve just been shagging in the Forbidden Forest.”

Lily choked on the pumpkin juice Linda had poured her and glared furiously at Marlene, who shrugged and said with a smirk, “All Linda would say was that Potter was dragging you off somewhere and threatened you with pranks you if you didn’t go. I drew my own conclusion.”

Lily calmed down a bit, though her voice was slightly harsh as she said, “Well, we weren’t doing… that. He took me flying down at the Quidditch Pitch.”

Marlene stared open mouthed at her. “And you went willingly?”

“Did you not hear the part about him forcing me?”

“Well, yeah, but you could have hexed him.”

“And spent the rest of the year looking over my shoulder?” Lily shook her head. “I don’t think so. Going flying with him was the lesser of two evils.”

“It’s good you had fun, then.”

Lily raised her eyebrows at her. “Who says I had fun?”

Marlene smiled and shrugged nonchalantly. “You came into the Great Hall, laughing and smiling with James and didn’t complain about how annoying he is when you sat down.”

Lily glared at her. “Just because I didn’t complain doesn’t mean I had fun.”

“Yes, it does.”

“No, it-”

“Oi, shut up, would you?” Janice interrupted. “I’m trying to eat and listening to you bickering isn’t pleasant.”

Marlene and Lily looked at her abashed. “Sorry,” they mumbled.

Janice sniffed. “It’s alright. Let’s just drop the flying subject.”

The other girls nodded in agreement, though Lily knew Marlene would badger her about it later tonight… if she was given the chance. It was funny, Lily thought wryly, how patrolling with Potter was now giving her a reprieve from her friend’s pestering when it used to be the other way around.

A/N: And that was chapter seven! Hope you liked it! It was one of my favorite chapters to write so far…especially the parts at the end. Until next time, and don’t forget to review!!

Chapter Eight

The next several weeks flew by in a flurry of patrols, meeting, classes, homework and studying. Lily had known this year would be grueling, but she hadn’t thought it to be this bad. The other seventh years didn’t seem to be having as hard a time as she was, aside from Potter. But then, they did have more responsibilities and patrolling every other night was taking its toll. Lily flopped down on the floor and spread the notes from the Prefects’ meeting that had just ended in front of her while James shooed the last few stragglers out of the Head’s Room.

“I really hate these things,” James sighed as he collapsed into an armchair by the fireplace.

Lily pushed her hair out of her eyes and leaned back on her arms, glancing up at him. “I know what you mean,” she said. “The Prefects who leave right away are alright- they know what a nuisance these meetings are. But the ones who stay after and gab and ask questions we just answered minutes before… ugh!”

“That about sums it up,” James agreed tiredly.

Lily turned her attention back to the parchment and made notes on several pages as she read them over. Dumbledore liked to see what was discussed at the meetings so Lily organized her notes to make them easier to read before she gave them to him the next morning. She bit her quill thoughtfully. “What do you think of the Saturday before Halloween as the first Hogsmeade visit? That’s a little more than three weeks away. I figure by then everyone will be in need of a break. Plus, it will give the shops enough time to order more supplies if they need to.”

When James didn’t reply, Lily looked up at him again. He had leaned his head against the back of the armchair and closed his eyes. She had noticed earlier that his usually messy hair was limp and now she saw that he had dark circles under his eyes as well. Lily studied him worriedly, safe in the knowledge that he wouldn’t see her doing it. Exhaustion radiated from every inch of his body.

“You alright, Potter?” she asked him. Once again, he didn’t answer so Lily stood, walked over to him and shook his shoulder gently. “James?” He was fast asleep.

Lily smiled softly; he looked so innocent lying there. So unassuming. She levitated him to the sofa where he could sleep more comfortably and not wake up with a crick in his neck. She pulled his shoes off his feet before covering him with a blanket before sitting back down with her notes and quickly organizing them. Once the notes were neatly stacked, Lily pulled a half completed Charms essay out of her bag and opened her book in front of her. Every so often she unconsciously glanced up at James’ sleeping form. The fourth time she caught herself watching him instead of writing her essay she heaved a frustrated sigh and went to sit at her desk instead of on the floor. At least that way she wouldn’t be facing him. Why he more distracting asleep than awake, she didn’t know.

It was a little past ten thirty when Lily finally finished, and James still hadn’t stirred. Lily walked over to wake him before she left as it wouldn’t be fair to leave him there, but when she reached his side he looked so peaceful that she didn’t have the heart to disturb him. The hand she had stretched out to shake him instead moved to gently brush his hair out of his face, finding it thick and surprisingly soft. He murmured and moved his head to rest against her hand and she pulled back sharply as though burned.

Lily closed her eyes and shook her head. What on earth was she doing?

She walked over to the bay window and curled up on the window seat, staring into the night sky. She understood why James was so tired- the moon had been full last night and she had noticed that Remus had been absent from class the past two days. James, Sirius and Peter must have all stayed up the night before worrying about him. She would have done the same in their place. It was funny though- she hadn’t really noticed it much before fifth year. Then again, she hadn’t figured out about Remus until then, so she supposed it made sense.

Lily sat, lost in her thoughts until the clock striking eleven brought her back to earth. She stood up from the window seat and set an extra blanket next to James in case he needed it later on in the night. Then she grabbed her school bags and turned out the lights with a flick of her wand before heading off to bed- making a mental note to talk to James in the morning. The rest of the year would be much easier if he knew that she knew about Remus’ ‘furry little problem’.

-()-

“Evans!”

Lily smirked and continued to read her book on Protection Charms, ignoring James’ shout. Just because he had had a noble reason for being so tired yesterday didn’t mean that she wasn’t going to take advantage about it.

She had come to the Head’s Room extra early this morning. Early enough to get there before James had got up. She had enjoyed taking a leisurely shower without interruption and when she had finished she had deviously cast a few spells guaranteed to wake James up- knowing that he would be tired enough to overlook anything out of the ordinary.

“Evans!” James came thundering out of the bathroom coated in green slime and wearing only a towel around his waist. “You did- the shower on and- you!” he sputtered.

Lily looked over at him and froze. She hadn’t expected James to come storming out of the bathroom like... like that. Of course she had seen guys without shirts on before- she often went to the Muggle community pool her parents belonged to over the summer holiday, but Potter… well, Potter looked good- green slime and all. Lily could make out a spattering of hair on his chest which- even though he was on the thin side- was well defined, as were his arms. Lily supposed that must be from throwing the Quaffle around so much.

James crossed his arms, breaking her daze. He smirked and said dryly, “As much as I enjoy standing here letting you look your fill, I’m covered in green slime.”

Lily felt her cheeks burn and she glared at him. “What’s your point?” she asked him, more calmly than she felt.

“Tell me how to change the slime back to water.”

Lily tsked at him and grinned. “Not until you ask nicely.”

“Would you please tell me how to make it water again,” he asked through gritted teeth.

“Certainly. Just put your wand on the tap and say ‘agua’.”

James nodded briskly and walked back into the bathroom stiffly. It seemed as though the slime had started to dry… Lily stifled her laughter as he shut the door loudly behind him. Twenty minutes later James came back out of the bathroom again- this time he was slime free except for a few streaks of green running through his black hair. Lily frowned when she saw that.

“Hmph.”

“What,” James asked her.

Lily scowled. “It didn’t work,” she told him. “You were supposed to be dyed green when the slime touched you. I guess you weren’t under the spray long enough.”

James fingered his streaked hair thoughtfully and gave Lily a look of respect. “Will you show me how you did that?”

Lily looked at him suspiciously. “If you think I’m going to show you how I did that just so you can use it against me, think again.”

James shook his head and grinned at her. “Nah, even I’m not stupid enough to do that. I want to get Sirius. The look on his face will be priceless. I might even rig up a camera to get a picture of it.”

“Hmm…” Lily thought aloud. “I’ll show you, but only if you swear you won’t use it on anyone except for Sirius for as long as you live. And swear not to tell anyone who you learned it from or how you did it.”

James raised an eyebrow at her demands but put his right hand to his heart nonetheless. “I swear, on my honor as a Marauder, that I will only use the charm you are about to teach me on Sirius. Furthermore, I swear I will not divulge to anyone how I did it or who I learned it from.”

Lily nodded, satisfied, and quickly taught him the charm before they went to breakfast.

The rest of the day went by fairly quickly. Lily and James were sitting at the table in the Head’s Room during their free period before dinner going over the patrolling schedule James had written up for the next six weeks. Lily sighed. “I’m telling you, Potter- you don’t want Callum and Elliot to patrol together.”

Quidditch season had started and James had said that he would know better than her when the Prefects who played for their House team would need off from patrolling. The last week of September she and James had tried letting the Prefects choose who they patrolled with, but it had been a disaster. Only one set of Prefects had been willing to patrol with the Slytherins, who had steadfastly refused to patrol with anyone from Hufflepuff. James and Lily had decided it would be easier on everyone if they wrote up the patrolling schedule themselves.

“Why not?” James asked her. “Just because they’re Hufflepuff and Slytherin? They get along well in meetings, plus Ruby and Jade will be with them. And Callum’s a pureblood- Elliot won’t pick on him.”

“They might look as though they get along in meetings but they really don’t. And it’s not Elliot I’m worried about.”

“Callum? What’s he got against Elliot?”

Lily groaned and put her head in her hands. “Don’t make me explain it, Potter. Can’t you just trust that I know what I’m talking about?”

James leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “There’s no obvious reason why they shouldn’t patrol together.”

Lily gave up and threw her hands in the air. “Fine. Have it your way. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

James grinned triumphantly and jotted the Slytherin and Hufflepuff seventh years down for patrolling next Monday night. “Alright, was there anything else you had a problem with?”

“Nope. As long as you haven’t scheduled Remus on the thirty- first.”

James looked at her queerly. “And why would there have been a problem if I did?” he asked her slowly.

“It’s a full moon,” Lily told him with a knowing look.

“Oh.” James didn’t say anything more for a full minute. “You’ve figured it out then,” he stated matter of factly. “How long have you known?”

“Since fifth year. He kept changing the nights we patrolled around and I was beginning to notice he got sick once a month. After a trip to the Library I put it all together.”

James nodded. “I had wondered. Especially since you weren’t as worked up about the nicknames as Marlene was. I suppose you guessed why we call him ‘Moony’.”

“Yeah,” Lily agreed. “Though I often wonder how no one else has figured it out yet. His nickname is rather obvious.”

“I know!” James grinned at her. “We were in the common room when we thought of it. Sirius was joking around about him howling at the moon and started calling him Moony. It sort of stuck after that. Come to think of it, Remus wasn’t too happy about it.”

Lily laughed at his story. She could easily picture them sitting around the Common Room joking about Remus’ nickname. “If I asked how the rest of you got your nicknames I don’t figure you would tell me, would you,” Lily mused aloud.

“Correct.”

“Ah, well.” Lily stood to post the patrolling schedule on the notice boards so the Prefects would be able to read it in their Common Rooms, while James gathered the rest of their papers.

“What are you doing after dinner?” James asked Lily as they walked down to the Great Hall.

“Meeting Lizzie in the Library to work on our Potions essay,” Lily answered, adjusting her bag on her shoulder. “Why do you ask?”

James shrugged. “No reason. See you later for patrolling.” He parted ways with Lily and went to sit with his friends.

Lily glanced at him suspiciously as she sat down next to Linda.

“What’s up? Janice asked.

“Nothing, really. Potter’s just acting odd.”

“And that’s different how?”

Lily laughed. Janice always knew how to keep Potter from bothering her. She and her friends chatted amicably throughout the meal and afterwards she headed off to the Library with Lizzie. The potions essay didn’t take them nearly as much time as they thought it would and Lily went to the Head’s Room once they had finished for some down time before she had to patrol. She had read four chapters in her Muggle mystery novel when James entered the room.

“I need a favor,” he said as he dropped his bag on the floor and plopped down on the sofa next to her.

Lily looked at him skeptically. “You’re joking.”

James shook his head. “Nope.”

Lily marked the page she was on and closed her book, turning to sit cross-legged facing him. “What’s in it for me?”

“Several highly entertaining days.”

Lily raised an eyebrow at him and James explained, “Professor Cooliham has assigned a project. Davy Gudgeon is exempt because he’s Muggle-born but the rest of us, Janice, Richard and I, all have to do it. We each have to pair up with a different Muggle-born student. One of the stipulations is that the student has to be at least seventeen, and the other is that they have to be able to control a situation if it gets out of hand. It won’t be bad. In fact you’ll hardly have to do anything at all except-”

Lily put up a hand and interrupted, “But what’s the project?”

“Oh, did I forget to tell you?” James smiled sheepishly at her. “We have to be a Muggle for five days. And of course,” he added, “write and essay about the experience.”

Lily stared at him in shock for a moment or two, and then burst out laughing. “Wha- when- how?” she managed to gasp out.

“We have to accompany a Muggle-born student home over either the Christmas or Easter Holiday and do all the things Muggles do. Like cook food on a stove, ride a biklewheel-”

“Bicycle.”

“-bicycle, play with the elec-electric- is that right?” Lily smiled kindly at him and nodded. James grinned at her and continued, “-lights and the cleaning things, and anything else you can think of.”

Lily shook her head at him. He sounded so thrilled about it- like a child at Christmas. “So what would I have to do?”

“Well, I wouldn’t be allowed to use magic, so you would have to be on hand to, er, do damage control…”

Lily gulped. “Damage control?”

“Yeah, you know… in case I accidentally destroy something.”

“Why me?”

“Why you what?”

“Why are you asking me? Why not one of your friends in one of the other houses?”

“Oh,” James thought for a moment, trying to figure out which answer Lily would like best. “I guess I just figured you’d be the best person for it. The only other people at the house would be your parents and I figured they would enjoy showing me what’s what. I mean your dad’s a professor, right? He must like teaching people things. And from what I’ve heard you say of your mum, she won’t get too upset if I screw something up in the kitchen. Besides-” he flashed her a cheesy grin. “-you wouldn’t tell me I’m doing a good job just because you like me.”

“I suppose…”

“And,” he added just because he knew it would irk her, “I know you won’t refuse since it’s for school and all.”

Lily groaned, “How is this all going to work then?”

“Umm… to tell you the truth I hadn’t though that far ahead. I was worrying about getting you to agree to it first.”

Lily rolled her eyes and stood up. She set her book on her desk and grabbed some parchment and a quill. She sat down in her chair and motioned for James to come over and join her. He pulled the chair from his desk next to her and sat down on it backwards.

“Alright, the first question is when should we do this?” Lily asked him.

“I figured over Christmas break. We have the most time then and it’ll get it out of the way. Plus, during Easter break we’ll be so focused on studying that this will be the last thing we’ll want to worry about.”

Lily nodded. “If you come over right off the train you’ll have finished in time to go home and spend Christmas with your parents. And you’ll be able to experience driving through London in a Muggle car as well.”

James’ face lit up. “Wicked! Do you think I’ll be able to give driving a go? It can’t be much harder than riding a broomstick.”

Lily blanched. “Uh, I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“Why not? It doesn’t seem that hard. Muggles do it all the time.”

“Yes, but they’ve have to practice a lot and then take a test to prove they can drive. Why don’t you ask my mum or dad about it? They’ll be able to explain it to you better than I can.”

James shrugged his acceptance and once they had worked out all the details Lily said, “I have to owl my parents to make sure that it’s alright, though I don’t foresee a problem since it’s for school and all.” She grinned at James. “And I imagine they’ll have as many questions for you as you will for them.”

James grinned back at her. “If you write the letter now, we can stop at the Owlery on our patrol.”

Lily agreed and pulled a piece of parchment towards her. When she finished writing, she sealed the letter with a spell and tucked it in her pocket along with her wand. Before they left, James paused to grab a folded piece of parchment that had been lying on top of his desk.

“What’s that?” Lily asked him as they walked out of the Head’s Room.

“Nothing important,” he told her with a nonchalant shrug as he stuck the parchment in his robes.

They made their way to the West Tower, stopping a few students along the way to hurry them back to their Common Rooms since it was almost time for curfew. James opened the door for her when they reached the Owlery. If they had come during the day, most of the owls would have been asleep. But, since it was nighttime, the owls were flying in and out of the glassless windows, every so often carrying a small rodent when they returned. Lily crushed small skeletons under her feet as she walked into the circular room. James followed in behind her, letting out a low whistle. At once a spotted owl flew down to him from the rafters and landed on his shoulder where it ran its beak through his unruly hair affectionately. Lily laughed when the owl reached a tangle and hooted indignantly.

“See, Potter,” she quipped. “Even your owl can’t stand your hair.”

“Nah. Comet’s just upset because I haven’t been up to visit more often. Here boy,” he said to the owl, digging in his pocket for an owl treat. “Evans had a letter for you to deliver to her parents.”

Comet hooted happily as Lily tied the letter to his leg. As soon as she finished, Comet nipped her finger and flew off.

James met Lily’s gaze and gave her a half smile. “He likes you.”

Lily smiled back. “Well, I like him too.”

James smile turned to an all out grin and he bounded over to a window, laughing joyously.

“What?”

“Nothing, Evans,” he replied innocently as watched the owls sweeping through the night sky and sighed. “To be an owl. If I wasn’t a-” he broke off quickly.

“What were you going to say? If you weren’t a what?”

“Er...” James cleared his throat. “If I wasn’t a person I would want to be an owl.”

Lily shot him an annoyed look. “If you don’t want to tell me, just say so. But don’t lie to me.”

James glanced at her sharply. “How’d you know I was lying?”

“Your left eyebrow twitches.”

“What? No it doesn’t!”

Lily smirked at him. “Trust me, Potter, it does.”

James sighed. “So that’s how McGonagall can always tell. And all these years I thought it was Peter giving it away.”

Lily laughed and she and James left the Owlery to finish their patrol.

-()-

As soon as Lily sat down to breakfast with Janice and Linda (Marlene was sleeping in) on Tuesday morning, Lizzie bounded over from the Ravenclaw table and plopped down next to her.

“You have a free period after this don’t you?” she asked.

Lily nodded through a mouthful of eggs.

Lizzie let out a breath of relief. “Thank Merlin! Will you help me study for the Potions exam tomorrow? I’m just not getting the gist of figuring out poison antidote with only two ingredients. I mean I can narrow it down to-”

“Lizzie!” Lily interrupted, knowing that once Lizzie got going she would be hard pressed to stop her. “I’ll help you. I was planning on reviewing them anyway.

Lizzie smiled gratefully. “Thanks. I’ll meet you in the Library after breakfast then.”

Lily nodded in agreement and Lizzie went back to the Ravenclaw table.

“She gets really antsy before exams,” Linda commented.

“Yeah.” Lily helped herself to some toast. “She always freezes up for five minutes before hand but during the exam she’s fine. You should have seen her before O.W.L.s.” Lily shook her head.

There was a faint flutter of wings, which grew steadily louder as the owl post arrived. Lily spotted Comet the second before he swooped down and deposited a letter in front of her. Before Lily could thank the owl, he darted off again, this time landing in front of James to beg a piece of bacon.

Lily picked up her parents’ reply to her letter and opened it.

Lily darling,

Your father and I are so pleased that things are going well for you this year. We know you were worried about who the Head Boy would be and are thrilled to hear you are getting along so well with him. Now as for you question about Christmas. Of course you can have James over to visit and work on his class assignment! He seems like such a gentleman (Lily laughed at this) from what you've written and we’d be glad to help. Just warn him that your father and I are making a list of questions to ask him! There is one thing you will need to be aware of though. Petunia will be over for dinner on the twenty-second as she and Vernon will be spending Christmas with his family. Good luck with the rest of term and don’t forget to write again soon!

Love,

Mum

PS: Your father says to tell you that he misses you. And remember, if there is anything special you or James would like to eat while you’re here send us an owl.

Lily folded the letter and put it back in the envelope. James, seeing that she had finished reading walked over and sat down next to her. “Hi Evans. Hey, Colmes.” Linda nodded back at him and continued eating. “How’s the arm, Thompson?” James asked Janice, who had twisted her elbow two days before during Quidditch practice.

“Hey, Potter,” Janice greeted him. “My arm’s as good as new. So, have you found anyone to help you with the Muggle Studies project yet?”

James grinned and pointed at Lily. Janice raised an eyebrow and asked incredulously, “She agreed?”

James nodded and said to Lily, “What did your parents have to say?”

“They said it was fine. Although, I have to warn you that Petunia and her husband, Vernon, are going to be over on the twenty-second for dinner.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“You haven’t met her sister,” Linda spoke up. “Lily had Marlene, Janice and me over two summers ago, before Petunia was married. I’ve never met anyone as set against magic as she is. Not to mention that she seems to think she’s better than all of us, even though we could whip out our wands and turn her into a toad.”

“No, not a toad,” Janice said grinning. “A horse. It’s easier to transfigure something when there’s some resemblance.”

The three girls burst out laughing as James watched them with amusement.

“What are you all laughing at?” Marlene wanted to know as she sat down.

“Transfiguring Petunia into a horse,” James answered.

Marlene choked on the toast she had just taken a bite of. Janice reached over and slapped her on the back. Marlene regained her composure. “I want a before and after picture if you do.”

James stood up to leave. “So everything’s all set then?” he asked Lily.

She nodded. “Yeah, you can come right off the train. My parents said they would pick us up instead of having us Apparate.”

“Alright. See you in Defence.”

Lily waved goodbye to him and turned back to her friends.

“James is going to your house?” Marlene inquired, taken aback. “When is this happening and why didn’t you tell me?

“Over Christmas holiday. He has an assignment for Muggle Studies where he has to live as a Muggle for five days. He asked me if I’d help him.”

“And you agreed?”

Lily laughed. “That’s what Janice said. It’s for school. Is it such a surprise that I couldn’t refuse?”

“Well, when you put it that way, I suppose not. But even so, you’re spending a lot of time with James Potter this year.”

“We’re Head Boy and Girl,” Lily shrugged. “I couldn’t avoid him even if I tried, so I might as well make and effort to get along.”

Marlene raised and eyebrow and Lily had the feeling that there was something she wasn’t saying. When Lily said as much, Marlene gave her an amused smile. “I just have a feeling that a lot is going to be changing very soon.”

Marlene refused to say more than that and Lily pleaded with Janice and Linda when she noticed that they caught on to what Marlene was implying. Lily heaved a frustrated sigh and finished her breakfast, all the while thinking that she must be being extremely thick for her friends to act this way.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

A/N: And that was chapter eight! The idea for the Muggle Studies project is one of my favorites for this story….I have so many ideas for it…. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it and don’t forget to tell me what you thought. Until next time!

Chapter Nine

The next few weeks were so hectic that Lily was amazed she even had the time to breathe, let alone have any time to herself. Homework had gotten increasingly more involved and Lily was beginning to think there was never going to be an end to it. Just today she had had exams in three of her classes, tomorrow there was a D.A.D.A. essay due, and on Monday she had a Potions essay to turn in. Potions still came very easily for her but the research was so tedious that it was taking Lily twice as long to finish.

It was now late Thursday night, two days before the first Hogsmeade visit and she and James were, once again, patrolling. As a Prefect, Lily had thought patrols to be tedious but now they were a welcome relief from endless class work. James always had a funny story to tell about the Marauders and didn’t complain when she wanted to discuss something school related instead, as he once might have done. She was actually beginning to look forward to going to Hogsmeade with him that weekend and, since the teachers were in charge of keeping the students in line, they would both be able to relax.

Lily paused in the corridor to stretch; her back ached from bending over Potions texts for so long earlier that evening. She looked over at James, furrowing her eyebrows as he hastily tapped his wand to a piece of parchment and shoved it back in the pocket of his robes. It was the same piece of parchment she had seen him with over the past several weeks.

“What is that?” she asked him.

“Hmm?” He feigned nonchalance. “Oh, nothing.”

“It’s not nothing if you’re carrying it around all the time. Let me see it.”

“It’s just a piece of parchment.”

“Potter, come on!”

He glanced over at her before reluctantly pulling the parchment back out of his pocket and handing it to her. She took it from him and unfolded it. The parchment was a bit worn, as though it had been handled frequently, but also curiously blank.

Frustrated, Lily looked up at James. “What does it do?”

James worried his lip for a moment before saying, “If I tell you, you have to swear on your life not to tell anyone.”

“It’s that important?” Lily’s eyes were widened with curiosity and when James nodded she said, “Alright then, I swear on my life not to tell anyone about what this piece of parchment does.”

James grinned at her and after glancing around the corridor to make sure no one was nearby, he grabbed her hand to pull her behind a tapestry and into a hidden alcove. Lily sat down on the floor across from James, and then spread the parchment out on the floor between them.

James pulled out his wand and touched the tip to the parchment, his hazel eyes glowing with excitement. “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”

Lily’s laughter at his words turned into a gasp of shock as spidery ink tendrils began to spurt from the point where James’ wand touched the parchment. They fanned to every corner of the parchment, crisscrossing and joining up with each other. Then words began to form at the top of the parchment in great, bright green, curling script.

Lily gazed at James in amazement as she read the words aloud, “‘Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs; Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present; The Marauder’s Map.’”

Lily stared at the map in wonder. It was incredibly detailed, showing everything from the dungeons to the Astronomy Tower and out to the very edges of the Forbidden Forest- she even saw several passages leading into Hogsmeade. But the most astonishing thing was the minuscule dots wandering every which way over the parchment. Each dot was labeled with a name. Lily could make out Professor Dumbledore in his office talking with Professor McGonagall. Filch was currently in the North Tower and the Prefects on patrolling duty were wandering the dungeons. It was the most glorious thing she had ever had to fortune to see.

“Where did you get this?” Lily asked him, awed.

“We made it.”

“Wh- how, when?” Lily spluttered at him.

James laced his fingers together on the back of his head and leaned against the wall as he explained, “The four of us were always wandering the halls at night and we had discovered so many hidden passages and doorways and everything that we thought it would be a shame if no one ever found them again. It got a bit tricky to keep track of where they all were, especially for Peter, so we decided to create a map.

“But-” he leaned forward and Lily couldn’t help but notice that his eyes were sparkling with delight at being able to tell her. Lily felt a burst of joy that he trusted her enough to do so. “-it couldn’t be just any map. We didn’t want just anyone to be able to read it. Sirius and I drew it out while Remus and Peter searched for a way to keep it hidden. Then Peter, in a rare burst of genius, asked why we couldn’t just tweak a vanishing spell to make only part of the object disappear and have it reappear when a certain phrase was spoken. Remus worked out the technical bits; he’s always been a dab hand at Charms. We finished it last year and now we’re just making sure that we’ve gotten everything on it and that the spells work properly. That’s why-”

“You’ve been carrying it along with you on patrols,” Lily finished for him. “You’ve been adding the things you forgot to include.”

James nodded.

“This is amazing! And you know, now that you’ve showed me, you’re going to have to let me use it.” Lily grinned at him and stood up, map in hand. James followed her back out into the corridor. They walked along slowly as Lily searched over the map, looking at every little detail.

She paused in front of a portrait featuring two witches shopping for dress robes, and grinned up a James, green eyes sparkling. “There’s a passage you missed,” she teased in a sing-song voice.

James looked at her in shock. “We can’t have. We know the school better than anyone.”

Lily shot him a haughty look. “That may be true, but you’re missing this one. In fact, I’d have been shocked if you had this room on here. Maybe even a bit disturbed by it.”

“Why? Is it in one of the girl’s bathrooms?” James waved a hand at her. “Sirius found all of those.”

Lily snorted. “He would. And no, this one isn’t in a bathroom.”

“Where is it then?”

Lily shrugged, enjoying baiting him.

“Come on, Evans. You have to tell me. You can’t say you know a passage we forgot and not say where it’s at.”

“Why not?”

James sputtered. “Because it’s not fair.”

Lily rolled her eyes at him. “Life isn’t fair, Potter. Get used to it.” She handed the map back to James and continued down the corridor, leaving him behind.

James stood staring after her for a moment, before jogging to catch her up. “Give me a clue at least.”

Lily glanced over at him. “It’s on the fourth floor.”

James muttered to himself for a second before stating, “The Library.”

Lily shrugged nonchalantly and James nodded convinced. “It has to be. You spend a lot of your time there and I can see you pulling a book or something off the shelves and discovering a hidden room or passage. That’s how Remus found the passage that leads from the Library to the Charms corridor.” James looked a Lily thoughtfully. “How about we make a deal. If we can’t find it by… let’s say my birthday, you’ll tell me where it is.”

“When’s your birthday?”

“In February,” James said quickly.

Lily smirked. “You’re lying.”

“How’d you kn-” James broke off and heaved a sigh. “Oh, right. My left eyebrow.

Lily laughed. “You thought you could trick me into saying ‘your birthday’ thinking I would believe you when you said that your birthday wasn't until February when really it’s next week. Well, it’s not going to work, Potter.”

James just stared at her. “You know when my birthday is?”

“Sirius sprays the entire Great Hall with confetti. Remus charms the armor to yell ‘Happy Birthday, James Potter’ every time someone walks past. And Peter always asks the Professors if you can all skive off doing your homework because you have to celebrate. The whole school knows when your birthday is, it’s impossible not to.”

James put up his hands defensively. “Alright, alright. I get it. Don’t try to trick Lily Evans, it won’t work. So how about the deal?”

“If you still want to know where it is by March first, ask me.”

James sighed dramatically. “I suppose. But why March first?”

Lily grinned at him. “It’s after February twenty-fourth.”

James laughed and agreed to her terms. Lily knew there wasn’t a chance he would find the passage and she was looking forward to torturing him about it. They patrolled the corridors of Hogwarts in companionable silence. James kept the map out, every so often making slight adjustments to it. Lily watched him intrigued. It really was a fine bit of magic and she wasn’t at all surprised that he and he friends had managed to create it.

They turned a corner and came across Ruby, Callum and Jade, three of the Prefects scheduled to patrol that night.

Lily shook her head in confusion and held up a hand to stop them before they could pass by. “Where’s Elliot?” she asked.

Ruby bit her lip and glanced nervously at Callum while Jade sneered down her nose at Lily. “What’s it to you?” Jade said condescendingly.

Lily’s green eyes flashed and she opened her mouth to respond but James broke in first. “She is Head Girl,” he said to Jade coldly. “It’s her right to know where a Prefect is at any given time. Especially when they are supposed to be patrolling.”

Jade sniffed, crossing her arms, and turned away from James and Lily. Ruby shot a defiant look Callum, who stood stiffly next to her, before saying, “Elliot is in the Hospital Wing.”

Lily held back a groan and closed her eyes, praying for patience. She had told James not to have the Slytherin and Hufflepuff seventh years patrol together. “Should I even bother asking why?”

“I took offense to something he said,” Callum told her calmly.

“It wasn’t anything serious,” Ruby hurriedly added, while Callum glared at her. “And Elliot only has a few minor, er, abnormalities from the hexes Callum hit him with. Madam Pomfrey said she could patch him up in half an hour and that we’re to go back to collect him then.”

Lily sighed. “You realize this has to be reported?” she asked the three Prefects. They all nodded and Lily continued, “Callum, I know you know better than to hex someone because of something they say, no matter how much it offends you.”

“And you two,” James cut in addressing Jade and Ruby, “should have known better than to let the conversation lead to something either of them could have taken offense to.”

Lily looked at her watch. “You can probably head to the Hospital Wing now,” she told them. “You’re Prefects; it’s your job to set an example for the other students. Please try to keep the arguments to a minimum next time you patrol.”

Jade, Callum and Ruby stalked off towards the Hospital Wing and Lily and James resumed patrolling. Once they were out of hearing distance Lily turned to James, but he cut her off before she could say anything.

“I know, I know. You told me so.” He gave her a disgruntled look. “Next time I’ll listen to you about who should and shouldn’t be patrolling together, alright?”

-()-

Lily rolled over in her four poster bed, hugged her pillow to her chest and groaned quietly. She had been trying to fall back asleep for the past forty minutes and she still had two hours before breakfast started.

Lily flopped onto her back, threw the blankets off. If all she was going to do was lay in her bed staring at the ceiling she might as well get up. She hadn’t had a chance to try out the bathtub in the Head’s Bathroom and a long, leisurely bath sounded wonderful to her sleep-deprived brain. She climbed out of bed quietly so as not to wake her roommates and pulled her robe on over her pyjamas. She crept down the stairs and through the empty Common Room. The Fat Lady raised her eyebrows at her when she pushed the portrait open but Lily ignored her.

Apparently, Lily wasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep, for when she opened the door to the Head’s Room, James was already there, sprawled on the sofa and like Lily, was wearing his robe and pyjamas. He sat up when he saw Lily and set the book he had been reading aside, and rumpled his hair, making it messier than it had been before.

“Hi.”

Lily fidgeted with the sleeve of her robe, thoroughly aware of her mussed hair and bare feet as she responded awkwardly, “Hi.” She sat in an armchair near the fireplace, glancing at James from beneath her eyelashes. “You couldn’t sleep either?”

James shook his head ruefully. “It’s ridiculous. We should both be sleeping but instead we’re here.” He grinned at Lily, inviting her to smile back and the tension she hadn’t realized was in the room faded away.

“It is pretty pathetic. I was trying to fall back asleep for at least forty minutes before I gave up and came down here. I figured I’d take a long bath to pass the time.”

James laughed and stood up to stretch. “Have at it.” Then he added thoughtfully, “Maybe I’ll work on that Potions essay I’ve been putting off.”

“You do realize it’s due Monday?” Lily asked him sleepily.

James shrugged. “I can always copy yours.”

Lily stifled a yawn and nodded as she walked to the bathroom. “It’s on my desk if you want to have a look at it.”

James, who had been about to sit down at his desk, stopped midway. “Do you realize what you just said?”

“I’m too tired to care,” Lily responded and shut the bathroom door leaving James to stare after her in disbelief.

Lily turned on the bathtub taps, frowning faintly. James had seemed… off somehow, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She puzzled over their conversation this morning trying to figure out what had been missing. It took several moments for her to realize what it was. He hadn’t made any mention of their date to Hogsmeade. Of course, neither had she, but that was to be expected. If she had had it her way, they wouldn’t be going together at all. Or… at least that’s what she kept telling herself.

As soon as the tub was filled to the brim with bright purple, blue and green bubbles, Lily turned off the taps, undressed and climbed in. The water was the perfect temperature and Lily let out a contented sigh. She closed her eyes, letting the soothing vanilla and cinnamon smell of the bath soap waft around her and tried to figure out the mystery that were her feelings about James Potter.

She lay there relaxing for a good twenty minutes before she shampooed and conditioned her hair. Ten minutes later Lily finished her bath and climbed out of the tub, wrapping a robe around her.

She glanced at the clock hanging above the bathroom door and saw that there was about a half hour before breakfast would start. She combed out her hair and wrapped it in a towel before rummaging around in the wardrobe for a pair of jeans and the pale yellow jumper all of her friends had agreed she should wear. She dried her hair with a quick charm and considered pulling it back in a hair clip, but decided not to. Instead she put a hair band around her wrist in case she wanted to pull it back later on in the day.

“I’m finished if you want to shower now,” Lily said, walking over to James where he was sitting at his desk.

James nodded and wrote another sentence before putting his quill back in the inkwell and standing up. “Thanks.”

Lily settled onto the sofa with a book to wait for him, easily continuing the routine they had settled into over the past several weeks of going down to breakfast together. Once James had showered and dressed, he and Lily grabbed their money bags and cloaks before making their way down to the Great Hall.

Aside from two Ravenclaws, a Hufflepuff, and a handful of teachers, they were the only ones downstairs when breakfast began to appear at the tables. The hall began to fill up as they ate, but even though it was a Hogsmeade weekend, it seemed as though many of the students decided to sleep in.

Lily dawdled over her breakfast for as long as she could, but even with a date with James Potter hanging over her head, she could only make three helpings last so long. She had hoped Marlene, Janice, Linda or someone would have come down by now and that she could have tried talking them into keeping her company. And James, curse him, knew it and just sat across the table from her failing miserably to hide his smile.

Lily sighed heavily and looked down the table to where Gloria Archer, a sixth year Prefect, was sitting. “Gloria, are you going to be here for a bit?”

Gloria nodded through a bite of toast.

“Will you do a favor for me and tell Marlene to meet up with us at Three Broomsticks around twelve?”

“Sure, no problem.” Gloria smiled and waved goodbye as Lily tossed her serviette on her plate and she and James left for Hogsmeade.

It was a surprisingly nice autumn day- bright, sunny and, even though it was windy, it wasn’t too cold. The leaves had turned red, gold and orange and loads had already fallen off the trees to crunch under their feet as they walked. A slight breeze rustled Lily’s hair and she brushed away strands when they blew in her face.

James paused just outside of Hogwarts’ gates and pulled a small, square mirror out of his cloak pocket. “Hold up a second, would you?”

Lily quizzed her eyebrows at him, but stopped just the same.

James turned his attention to the mirror. “What do you want, Padfoot?”

“Have you and Lily left for Hogsmeade yet?” Sirius’ voice came from the mirror James held.

“Yeah, we left just now.”

Lily heard Sirius sigh with relief. “It’s about time. I couldn’t have kept everyone from going down much longer.”

James grinned. “Thanks for that.”

“Yeah, well, you owe me.”

“I know. We’ll settle it later. Oh, and tell everyone to meet up at Three Broomsticks around twelve, would you?”

“Alright, bye.”

“You bribed Sirius to keep all our friends away from the Great Hall until we left, didn’t you?” Lily accused him.

James grinned at her sheepishly. “Do you blame me?”

Lily frowned at him and opted not to answer his question. “So what is that thing?” she asked, as James returned the mirror to his pocket.

“A two-way mirror. By the end of first year McGonagall must have caught on that Sirius and I had been using our detentions to plan our next prank, because in second year she started putting us in separate ones. But over the summer before third year Sirius found these two mirrors stashed away in his attic collecting dust and decided we could make use of them.”

“McGonagall must have been furious when separate detentions didn’t work any longer.”

“Yeah, Sirius and I can’t believe that she hadn’t cottoned on, but Remus figured that she had but just didn’t feel like doing anything about it. None of our pranks were serious.” James waved a hand at her. “But enough about that- I have an idea to share with you.”

“An idea?”

“A good idea. And one that will be very beneficial for you.”

“I’m listening…”

“Why don’t you and I get a bunch of sweets to keep in our Common Room? It’ll be just for us and we won’t share it with anyone. It’ll be a – what’s the word? – communal sweets stash.”

Lily grinned at him. Her roommates were always eating the sweets Lily bought if she didn’t eat them quickly enough. Even keeping them locked in her trunk didn’t help. And with Peter and Sirius as friends, she imagined James had the same problem.

“One thing though,” Lily said to James as they neared the village. “You go through sweets at the same rate I do. We’re sure to run out before the next Hogsmeade trip.”

“We’ll make do. Honeydukes first then?”

“Of course,” Lily agreed, waving to Madam Rosmerta, who was sweeping the path in front of Three Broomsticks.

“Let’s make sure to get a load of their raspberry cream filled truffles.”

“I love those things,” Lily sighed.

“Yeah. My mum bought a box of them for me for making Head Boy.”

“And do you have any left?”

James shook his head ruefully. “Remus found them.”

“Potter,” Lily said exasperated. “You should have known better than to leave the chocolates somewhere he could find them.

“I do know better, but Remus has an uncanny ability to ferret out anything chocolate. And I even hexed the box so that if anyone other than me tries to get into it their nose and ear hair will grow to the floor, but Remus must have found a way to counter it.”

Lily laughed. “Well obviously you need some practice. If I had been to one to hex the box even Dumbledore would have trouble breaking it.”

James snorted. “Well aren’t we modest,” he teased her.

“You know very well I’m the best in the school at Charms,” Lily replied, her nose in the air with mock haughtiness.

They reached Honeydukes and the door burst open before James even had the chance to open it. A small group of Gryffindor third years ran out, their hands overflowing with sweets.

The shortest one with bright red hair, whom Lily recognized as Mason Bentley, paused when he saw James. “You were right about getting here early,” he told him. “We all skipped breakfast and came right at eight. They were just putting out the Fizzing Wizbees and I got a ton of them in the best flavors.” He opened the box he was carrying and Lily saw what must have been thirty Fizzing Wizbees.

James laughed at him and ruffled his hair. “Don’t eat them before Quidditch practice,” he warned. “You have enough trouble staying on your broom as it is.”

“If he has trouble staying on his broom, why is he on the team?” Lily broke in.

Mason grinned up at her. “He’s just jealous because I can fly faster than him.”

Lily raised her eyebrows skeptically and James grinned at her. “Just wait until our first Quidditch match.”

“Hurry up, Mason!” one of the boy’s friends called from down the street.

“Gotta go,” Mason said excitedly. “We’re heading to Zonko’s!”

Lily and James waved after him as he darted down the street, and then entered Honeydukes. The sweet shop wasn’t too crowded as it was still early, but Lily knew it would be jam packed within the hour. James grabbed one of the small baskets that was by the door and began filling it with sweets from the overflowing shelves.

Lily walked around the store with James, each of them adding sugar quills, chocolate frogs, ice mice, licorice wands and a multitude of other sweets to the basket he was carrying. Lily also made sure to pick up a couple of boxes of pepper imps to send to her parents.

A witch, one of the owners of the shop, was walking around giving out samples of pumpkin fudge. Lily made a face when she tried it and then burst out laughing when she saw James was doing the same thing.

“I like pumpkin pasties and pumpkin juice,” James told the witch, “but pumpkin fudge just doesn’t do it for me.”

“Same here,” Lily agreed.

James hefted the basket up on the counter. “Do you think we have enough to last us until the next Hogsmeade trip?”

Lily glanced into the basket - it was nearly overflowing. “I hope so,” she told him seriously.

“Well, if we don’t we can always come back and get more,” he said mischievously, waggling his eyebrows at her while the witch rang them up.

“You mean sneak in through one of the passageways?” Lily asked him innocently. “That would work as long as we don’t use the one that comes out near Three Broomsticks. Janice told me that Filch found that one.”

James stared at her, impressed, and Lily said, “You and your friends aren’t the only ones who wander the castle, Potter.”

“Apparently not.” James grinned at her. “Who’d have guessed that Rule-Loving Lily sneaks out after curfew.”

“Who said it was after curfew?” Lily smirked. “You would be amazed at what you can get away with when everyone else is outside enjoying the sun.”

“I knew there was a devious streak in you,” James told her as he paid for their sweets.

The door hadn’t even shut properly before James was digging in the bag for a chocolate frog. He handed one to Lily and she ripped the package open eagerly. She bit off the legs first, not taking any chances on the frog hopping away, and looked at the famous wizard card while she chewed.

“Who’d you get?” James asked as they settled down on a nearby bench.

“Merlin. I must have ten of him by now. What about you?”

“Good old Gryffindor. It’s the one where he’s holding the sorting hat, too.”

Lily leaned over to look. “That version on him is pretty rare. I’ve only ever seen it once. Most of his cards are him with his sword.”

“It’s not as rare as the one of Hufflepuff with that cup of hers, though. I’ve never seen one of those and lots of people doubt they exist.”

“I’ve seen it.” Lily grinned mischievously.

“Yeah?”

Lily nodded. “I have three.”

“Three? No way!”

“Way. I’ll give you one if you’d like.”

James’ eyes lit up and he gave a gleeful laugh. “Sirius will be so mad when he finds out. We had a bet on who would get one first. Whoever loses has to buy the other a month’s supply of chocolate frogs.”

Lily laughed and stood up, pulling James with her. “Well, seeing as how I’m the one giving you the card, you had better be sharing. Now, come on. I need some new quills.”

James shoved the last bit of chocolate in him mouth and Lily glanced at him out of the corner of her eye as they walked down the street towards Scrivenshaft's. It was impossible not to notice how good he looked. His hair was as messy as always and there was a carefree glint in his eye. And when he smiled at her like he had just now… Well, Lily was forced to admit that her heart skipped a beat or two.

They were passing by Gladrags when a voice called out behind them. “Lily! Hey, Lily, wait up!”

Lily and James turned and saw Tilden Toots, a sixth year Ravenclaw Prefect hurrying towards them. He was carrying a piece of parchment tied with a green ribbon in one hand.

Tilden was pudgy with curly brown hair and brown eyes. He was almost always smiling, and had no temper to speak of. He handed Lily the parchment he was carrying when he reached them.

“Professor Slughorn asked me to give this to you,” he told her. “It’s an invitation to the party he’s giving on Halloween. He said he had told you about it, but he wanted to give you an official invitation anyways. Not that you need one, of course,” Tilden added good naturedly. “Everyone knows you’re his favorite.”

“Thanks,” Lily said. James took the invitation from her and put it in the bag with their sweets. “Are you going to be there as well?” Lily asked the Ravenclaw.

Tilden nodded happily. “Yeah, Daisy and I are going together.” He motioned to Daisy Hookum, another Slug Club member and also a Prefect for Ravenclaw only in fifth year, who was waiting for him in front of the shop next to Honeydukes.

“When did that happen?”

“Two weeks ago.” Tilden grinned. “See you later.”

“Bye,” Lily and James chorused.

They continued on their way to the quill shop and came out twenty minutes later with two more bags in hand. Lily’s bag contained three new quills and James had bought a jar of color-change ink. They still had an hour before they had planned to meet up with their friends, so James took the opportunity to drag Lily to Zonko’s Joke Shop.

A loud bang and shouts of laughter greeted them as they entered. There was a small group of students bending over an object that Lily couldn’t see in one corner of the shop. It was from there that the laughter stemmed.

“What was it you wanted to get?” Lily asked James over the noise.

“Dungbombs.”

“Eurgh. Whatever for?”

James shot a grin at her. “If I told you you’d only yell at me.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “Potter, you’re Head Boy. You’re supposed to be setting an example for the other students. Which means that you-”

“Can’t be getting detention every week,” James cut in. “I know. You’ve only told me a million times.”

Lily huffed.

“But,” James continued, grabbing a package of dungbombs and tossing them in the air only to catch them again, “as you’re well aware, I have yet to get a detention this year. And I plan to keep it that way. The use I have for the dungbombs will in no way earn me a detention.”

Lily gave in. “Just make sure you use them well away from me. I can’t abide the smell.”

“I’ll remember that.”

A small explosion came from the group in the corner as James was paying for his dungbombs and the students glanced over at the owner of the shop with nervous looks on their faces. The owner just sighed and hurried over to see what they had managed to set off. Lily supposed he was used to students blowing things up by now.

Hogsmeade was now packed with students as Lily and James ambled down the street to Three Broomsticks. They waved to Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick when they passed them, pleased that a few of the teachers were around in case anything happened. In times such as these, no one could be too careful. There had been rumors of other occurrences similar to what had happen in Diagon Alley, but no one knew anything for certain. The Ministry seemed set on keeping everything under wraps.

None of their friends had arrived yet when they entered the pub, so Lily and James grabbed the largest empty table in the room. Three Broomsticks was always crowded on Hogsmeade weekends since every students stopped there at least once during the day. Madame Rosmerta came over to their table, an empty tray balance on one hip.

“Do my eyes deceive me, or are the two of you actually sitting together without ripping each others heads off?” she teased them.

Lily gave her a rueful smile. “Not by choice.”

“Don’t lie, Evans. You know you wanted to come.” James turned to Madame Rosmerta. “She finally agreed to go on a date with me,” he told her grinning.

Madame Rosmerta ruffled his hair. “I’m glad to see you listened to my advice. I told you it would work.” Lily raised her eyebrows at James and he shrugged. “Now, can I get you something to drink?” Madame Rosmerta asked them.

“Butterbeer?” James inquired. Lily nodded in agreement. “Two butterbeers for now, then.”

Madame Rosmerta gave Lily a wink and then went off to get their drinks. The door to Three Broomsticks opened and Lily saw Ruby walk in with Olivia Bradshaw and Ellen Bethan. Marlene, Janice and Linda were right behind them. The girls rushed over to Lily and James when they spotted them.

“Oh my goodness, Lily,” Olivia gushed sitting on the edge of the chair next to Lily. “You have got to go to Gladrags. Some of the dress robes from last year are on sale and there’s one that would look so perfect on you!”

“She’s right,” Ellen put in, leaning on Lily’s shoulder. “They’re the most gorgeous thing I’ve seen in a while. They’re marked down to half price because some of the stitching is coming out along the hem and neckline, but one of us could fix it real quick.”

Ruby spoke up, “They’re this beautiful- oh! There’s my brother and the others. Sorry Lily, but you know our tradition of sitting together on the first Hogsmeade trip. Come on,” she said to Ellen and Olivia, already walking over to where her brother and the other seventh year Hufflepuffs sat.

“Talk to you later, Lily!” Ellen and Olivia said, hurrying after Ruby.

James stared after them with a look of fascination on his face. “Are they always like that?”

Marlene, who had taken a seat at their table with Janice and Linda, said, “All the time. Especially after a trip to Gladrags. I saw them there-” she help up her Galdrags bag. “-and they showed me the dress robes they were telling you about.”

“Yeah,” Linda chipped in, “they really are perfect for you, Lily. I had them hold them for you so someone else wouldn’t take them before you had a chance to see them.”

“But what do they look like?” Lily finally got the chance to ask.

“You’ll just have to go see for yourself,” Marlene answered her.

Madame Rosmerta came over with five mugs of warm butterbeers on her tray. “I assumed you’d want butterbeer as well,” she told Lily’s friends.

“You assumed right,” Janice said with a smile.

Madam Rosmerta had just finished doling out the butterbeers when Sirius came up behind her and slung an arm around her shoulders. “How about three more of those?” He dug in his pocket and pulled out a galleon to set on her tray with a wink.

“Sirius, you charmer.” Madame Rosmerta shoved him into a chair and leaned down to whisper in his ear loud enough that the rest of them could hear, “You have lipstick on your mouth.” She lightly smacked the back of his head and went back up to the bar calling over her shoulder, “I’ll bring back your change!”

Sirius grinned after her and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“So who’d you coerce into going with you this time?” Janice teased him.

“That, my fellow Beater, is none of your business. And,” he added as an afterthought, “I never have to ‘coerce’ anyone into going to Madame Puddifoot’s with me.”

Linda snorted. “One of these days someone is going to turn you down.”

“You didn’t,” Sirius retorted.

“I didn’t know any better,” Linda answered him sweetly and the others all laughed.

By that time Madame Rosmerta had returned with three more butterbeers for Sirius, Peter and Remus, who was munching on a bar of Honeydukes best chocolate, had joined them as well.

Lily caught James’ eye and nodded towards Remus’ chocolate and they shared a smile. Marlene, who had caught them at it giggled until Lily kicked her under the table to shut her up.

They flagged down Madame Rosmerta again to order sandwiches, crisps and chips and then spent the next hour talking, drinking butterbeer and eating. At one point a food fight nearly broke out between Janice and Sirius- who, for all they were beaters, had terrible aim when it came to food. The chip Janice had thrown hit Marlene instead. But it took more than a miss-thrown chip to irritate Marlene and she just rolled her eyes at their antics and began telling them about something comical Linda had done the other day.

Remus commented to her about their Arithmancy homework and they stuck up a friendly debate. James, meanwhile, had taken hold of her hand under the table and was playing idly with her fingers. She was surprised to find her mind wandering to him over and over again and she caught herself glancing over at him constantly. From the amused smile on Remus’ face she could tell he noticed her distraction as well.

The others all broke into noisy laughter and Lily looked over at them, wishing they would just disappear so that she and James could be alone again.

Peter, tiring of his conversation with Linda began building some sort of tower with the leftover chips and sandwich crusts from his and Sirius’ meal. When he reached a hand over to steal the crisps Lily was still munching on, she smacked his hand away.

Peter pouted at her and James threw a crisp at him. “Shall we go?” he asked Lily.

Lily smiled at him and stood. “Sure.” She turned to the others. “We’re going to head out,” she told them as James gathered up their bags.

James took her hand again as they said their goodbyes. Lily saw Marlene observing her with hawk eyes and Lily knew she would be questioned ruthlessly that evening.

“You didn’t try to talk any of your friends into coming along,” James remarked as they ambled slowly down the street to Gladrags, swinging their linked hands.

“Yes, well… they were still talking and we were ready to leave. Besides,” Lily trailed off, lost in thought.

“Besides…?”

Lily smiled and shook her head ruefully. “It’s like patrolling. I’ve gotten used to talking to you. I mean, I love hanging out with my friends and all but its, well, nice when it’s just, you know-” she waved her hand searchingly “-us.”

James watched her thoughtfully for a moment. “Why did you agree?”

“Hm?”

“Why did you say ‘yes’ when I asked you here over the summer? You know you could have told me no like you’ve done every other year.”

“It was your plan, Potter,” Lily joked. “It worked just how you wanted- you annoyed me until I gave in.”

James grinned at her. “We both know that’s not true.” When Lily didn’t answer James let go of her hand and poked her in the side. “Come on; admit it- I’ve changed.”

Lily glared at him, “Not when you annoy me like this.”

James poked her again. “Admit it,” he teased. Lily sniffed, trying to ignore him but he continued poking her.

Lily batted his hand away. “Yes, alright, fine, you’ve changed! Now stop poking me!”

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” He grinned charmingly and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder.

Lily’s breath caught. “Yes,” she replied, amazed that it sounded as steady as it did.

“Ah, Evans, you’re one of a kind.”

Lily gave an unladylike snort and James spun her out of his arms so they could resume walking.

“Do not mock me so, fair maiden,” James said in an accent so horrible Lily couldn’t even tell what it was supposed to be.

“Potter?” Lily fought to hold back a smile.

“Yes, flower of my heart?”

“Shut up.”

“Yes, dear,” James nonchalantly replied, reaching across the space between them to take her hand again. He tugged her down the street more quickly. “Come on,” he told her, rolling his eyes. “Let’s check out these dress robes your friends are going so bonkers over. I’ll never understand their obsession with clothes.”

Lily let him pull her along, laughing. Half the time she didn’t understand her friends’ obsession with clothing either.

---------------------------

A/N: And that was chapter nine! It was posted a bit later than I wanted it to be, but I was in Boston visiting my brother and stupidly forgot to post it before I went. Anyway, I hope the Hogsmeade date met your expectations…do let me know what you thought. Questions, comments and ideas for pranks would be much appreciated! The next chapter should be posted in about a week. Until then!!

Chapter Ten

“Lily, you’re frowning again.”

Lily, who had just returned from patrolling with James seven minutes ago, looked over at Marlene from where she sat on her bed hugging her pillow. Marlene was staring at her with a sparkle in her blue eyes. Janice and Linda were sitting on Linda’s bed while Janice painted Linda’s nails with the colour changing nail polish that she had bought at Gladrags that day.

“She’s right, you know,” Janice commented as she flicked a drying charm at Linda’s finished hand before starting on the other one. “You’ve been frowning off and on all night. You look like Marlene when she hasn’t received a letter from her Ravenclaw lover for a few days.”

Marlene shot an exasperated glare at her. “Will you stop calling him that?”

Lily sighed and flopped onto her back, staring at the ceiling. She knew what was coming next and tried to ignore her squabbling friends as she struggled to get her thoughts in order. When they remembered what had started the conversation in the first place, they would interrogate her ruthlessly.

“Even when it’s true?” Linda was saying with a smirk.

Marlene blushed. “You’re just jealous,” she said. “And he has a name, you know.”

“Remind us again,” Linda said.

“You know very well its Jonathan.”

“Oh, that’s right. Jonathan.”

“Yes,” Janice put in. “Jonathan, Jonathan!” she moaned teasingly.

“Shut up!” Marlene laughed and moved to throw a pillow at her.

“Ah! No! Wet nails!” Janice screeched, waving the nail polish brush about.

Marlene put the pillow down and looked back over at Lily. “Now, tell us what has you frowning so much. James didn’t do anything, did he?”

“No.” Lily sighed again and mumbled under her breath, “More’s the pity.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” Lily practically shouted, sitting up again. “He didn’t do anything wrong. He was supposed to! He was supposed to be annoying and inconsiderate and-and…. But no- he had to go and act the perfect gentleman all day!” She flopped onto her back again and threw her pillow at their dormitory door. “Why me?” she yelled. “Why can’t he just find someone else?” She let out a huge sigh. “Why did it have to be so perfect?”

Her friends burst out laughing and Lily covered her face with her hands and moaned pitifully. When she dared to look at her friends again, Linda was clutching her stomach and Janice had tears streaming down her face from laughter. Marlene, on the other hand, was watching Lily with a devious smile on her face.

“What?”

Marlene shook her head. “Oh, this is too good.”

“Marlene?” Lily queried worriedly as Marlene slid off her bed and pulled on her robe. “Where are you going?”

“To share the news.”

“Marlene, no!” Lily dashed off her bed and made a grab for Marlene, but she wasn’t fast enough. Marlene had already slipped out the door and was rushing down the stairs.

Lily didn’t give any thought to her state of dress, or lack thereof, and hurried after her. She caught up just as Marlene had burst into the seventh year boys’ dormitory and clamped a hand over Marlene’s mouth. “Don’t even think about saying any-what on earth?”

Sirius, clad only in his boxer shorts and a bright scarf, sported a yellow ribbon in his hair and was sitting on his bed fluttering his eyelashes at Remus, who was kneeling on the floor in front of him wearing James’ glasses. Peter was rolling on the floor laughing and James was half-heartedly trying to get his glasses back.

Lily’s arms fell limp to her sides and she bit her lip to keep from laughing. “Oh my….”

Remus hastily got to his feet and shoved the glasses back at James who hurried to put them on. Sirius ripped the ribbon out of his hair and shoved it under the blankets. Peter laughed even harder than he had been before.

“Uh… was there something you needed?” Remus asked cautiously.

Lily glanced at Marlene, who had her lips pressed together and looked ready to burst, and shook her head at the boys. “What are you doing?” Lily asked, completely disregarding Remus’ question.

“Uh….” The boys glanced around at each other, trying to think of an explanation.

Peter, who had finally stopped laughing, came to the rescue. “We were planning our next prank?” He glanced up at the other boys, who were nodding frantically in agreement.

“Yeah,” Remus said hurriedly, “we, er, always act them out beforehand to, you know, work out all the kinks.” His eyes were wide and he blinked innocently. No one saw him point his wand at Sirius from behind his back.

All at once Sirius’ hair turned red and grew longer, passing his shoulders.

James blushed fiercely and Peter started laughing again while Sirius pointed his own wand at Remus, who then sprouted antlers on his head. Sirius threw back his head and cackled gleefully, his newly red hair swinging. “Now you look more like Prongs,” he said. They seemed to have forgot that Lily and Marlene were in the doorway watching them.

The girls looked at each other, thoroughly confused and raced back to their dorm room where they tried to explain what had happened to Janice and Linda, all the while laughing hysterically.

They were still talking about the incident Monday morning at breakfast when the owl post arrived. Lily smiled brightly when the owl she had sent with a letter to her parents landed in front of her with a dignified hoot. Lily untied the large parcel attached to its legs. She frowned as she gave the owl a bit of her bacon. The package was clearly from her parents, but she couldn’t imagine what they could have sent her. She hadn’t asked for anything in her most recent letter and her birthday wasn’t until April.

“Well? Aren’t you going to see what’s in it?” Janice asked.

Lily shrugged, and with a quick spell from her wand the package opened neatly. The first thing she pulled from the box was a letter from her parents. Then she dug through the packing foam and pulled out a fist-sized glass globe with a red-haired girl playing in a field of lilies inside of it.

“Oh, how beautiful!” Lily exclaimed holding it up to the light for a better look.

“There’s something else.” Marlene had looked in the box while the glass globe distracted Lily. She handed Lily a wooden stand to set the globe upon. “And there’s a note, too.”

Lily took the paper from Marlene, opened it and then laughed gleefully. “It’s from Uncle Rich, Mum’s younger brother. He says he found this in a small shop while he was in Paris. He had thought to give it to me for Christmas, but knew he wouldn’t be able to wait that long so he had Mum and Dad send it to me here at school, since he didn’t know the address.”

The other students were beginning to leave for their first class of the day, so Lily hurriedly took a last bite of eggs before gently replacing her gifts and her parents’ letter back in the box.

“I’m going to take this up before Potions. Will you tell Professor Slughorn where I am if I don’t make it to class on time?”

Linda rolled her eyes. “As if Slughorn would deduct any points from you if you were late, anyway.”

Marlene stood up from her seat as well. “I’ll walk with you part of the way. I was going to head up to the Library.”

Lily slung her book bag over her shoulder and she and Marlene walked out of the Great Hall. Once Lily reached the Heads Room she set the box on her chair and took out the glass globe and set it on its stand on her desk. She took out her parents’ letter as well so that she wouldn’t forget to read it.

The class had already begun when she reached the Potions classroom, only it wasn’t Professor Slughorn at the chalkboard. Instead it was a strange, middle-aged witch Lily had never seen before. The witch turned when Lily entered the classroom and spoke in a poisonous voice, “Yes?”

“Sorry, I’m late,” Lily said haltingly, sliding into her seat next to Lizzie and shooting her a questioning look. “I had a package that I received at breakfast that I needed to take upstairs to my room.”

The witch eyed Lily over her glasses and said silkily, “That’s no excuse for being ten minutes late. And from the Head Girl no less,” she added, spying the badge pinned to Lily’s robes. “Tsk, tsk.” The witch crossed her arms and tapped her right index finger against her chin. “Now let’s see…. Ten minutes late, so that’s ten points from…?”

“Gryffindor,” Lily supplied.

“Ten points from Gryffindor for being late to class, then. See that it doesn’t happen again.”

Lily sat back in her seat, stunned. She had never lost points in a Potions class before. Not even when she had missed half the period in third year because she had slept past her alarm. Professor Slughorn had just chuckled and said, ‘every girl deserves some beauty sleep’.

Lily looked over at Lizzie who just shrugged, and when she glanced behind her at Linda and Janice, Janice mouthed, “We told her for you.” Lily frowned and turned back around. She pulled out her Potions book and leaned over to ask what page they were on. After turning to the correct one, she dug around in her bag for parchment and a quill.

It was the most boring and frustrating Potions class Lily had ever experienced. It was as though everyone was afraid to speak, it was so silent. The woman lectured the entire time about the importance of keeping volatile ingredients quarantined. Clearly she hadn’t read Professor Slughorn’s syllabus or she would have know that they had covered that topic in third year.

By the time they were allowed to begin brewing a mild truth serum, Lily was ready to tear her hair out. When the woman went into Slughorn’s private stores Lizzie leaned over and whispered to Lily.

“You missed her introduction,” she told Lily. “Her name’s Belinda Yaxley. She’s a Potions Mistress at the Ministry and she was asked to fill in for Slughorn until he returns. Rumour has it that he got called away suddenly last night.”

“Did she say why?”

Lizzie shook her head. “No, only that it was an emergency. Oh, and she mentioned that Slughorn’s party tomorrow night is cancelled, as well.”

Lily frowned at this bit of news. It must be some emergency if Slughorn cancelled one of his parties. Belinda Yaxley returned and the girls quickly got back to work as she stared around the classroom, lips pursed. Lily stifled a sigh and added the jobberknoll feathers to her potion- the period couldn’t end soon enough.

-()-

Lily woke up with a groan on Wednesday morning. Today was going to be miserable, she could already tell. She crawled out of bed and pulled on her robe, walking over to the window to look outside and groaned again. It was miserable out, one of those bone-numbing, cold, damp, rainy days when all you wanted was to just crawl back under the covers and sleep the day away.

Yesterday had been much more pleasant, even though most of the staff and students had spent all of it glancing over their shoulders. Since it was Halloween, they had expected some huge prank from the Marauders. Lily, however, knew otherwise. Last night had been a full moon and Remus had been away since Monday ‘visiting his sick mother’. She had asked James about it and he had confirmed her suspicions that the Marauders couldn’t pull a prank without Moony- it just wouldn’t be the same.

Lily sighed and moved away from the window to go to the Heads’ Room and shower since it was her day to go first. She and James had finally decided on a system- one that didn’t involve duelling. During the week when they had class they would switch who went first every other day, but on the weekends whoever got there first, got to shower first. So far it had worked out perfectly, except for the fact that James had a tendency to leave the toilet seat up. But Lily knew from her father that that was a habit that men just couldn’t seen to break. She had contemplated putting a hex on the seat so that every time James left it up he would get a boil on his hand, but had decided against it after hearing James complain that she took up too much shelf space with her many shower supplies and cosmetics. There was no way she was giving up any of those.

The only good thing that could be said about Potions that day was that it was short. Mistress Yaxley (as they had been told to call the substitute) was just as sour and unforgiving as she had been last lesson. Although Yaxley took fifteen points from Lily when her ink bottle rolled off the table and she had summoned it back instead of leaving her seat to get it, Sirius managed to win five of them back when he volunteered to test the Jumping Juice the first years had concocted the day before.

He was still jumping (although it was more of a hop now, since he was sitting down) every twenty-three minutes when Lily saw him that evening, as she sat down to dinner with her friends. They were serving Lily’s favourite meal of roast chicken, mashed potatoes and an assortment of other dishes, but she could only pick at her food. A glance at the ceiling showed that the weather had taken a turn for the worse and there was now a mild thunderstorm raging outside. Every so often the Great Hall would light up from a flash of lightning and the first years would squeak in anticipation of the oncoming thunder.

Marlene, Janice and Linda were chatting merrily, despite the weather, as they skipped up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower. Lily, on the other hand, was perfectly content to follow them at a normal pace. When she reached the common room, the first years had monopolised one of the huge windows, trying to pick out the constellations that they would be discussing in that night’s Astronomy lesson as they appeared in the sky.

Lily went over to the table near the fireplace where she had been doing homework before dinner. Her things were exactly as she had left them and she settled into a chair with a contented sigh. Her friends joined her a moment later and she soon settled into a lengthy discussion with Janice about the negative effects of a Cheering Charm.

As the evening drew to a close, Lily put the finishing touches on her Charms essay, packed up her bag and then carried it up to her dorm. She returned to the common room just as James came through the portrait, glancing around the room for her.

He grinned when he saw her coming towards him. “Ready to go, then?” he asked. Lily nodded and the two of them started their rounds.

Lily sighed as they passed one of Hogwarts’ many windows. The storm had stopped, but it was still drizzling steadily. “I hate days like this,” she complained.

“I couldn’t have guessed,” James said somewhat sarcastically. “You’ve only been mopey and irritable all day,” he teased.

Lily pouted at him and James smiled at her sweetly, draping his arm over her shoulder. “I brought something along to cheer you up,” he told her, delving into the pocket of his robes and showing her a bag of Every Flavour Beans.

Her eyes lit up and she stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek before taking the bag of sweets from him and sifting through it for the good flavours. “That’s cheating.” James sounded amused.

Lily grinned and shrugged his arm from her shoulders. “So is trying to see through the chocolate frog wrapper to see what famous wizard card is inside before you open it.”

“Hey!”

Lily laughed at him. “Well you do. Don’t think I didn’t notice.”

“I can never tell anyway.” James reached over and stole the bean Lily had just picked out before she could slap his hand away. “So the first Quidditch match of the year is on Saturday,” he said casually, popping the sweet into his mouth.

“Your point?” Lily asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

James spread his arms wide. “Watch it with me.”

“Why would I want to do that?” Lily teased, laughing at him.

“Ah, Evans, you break my heart.” He smiled charmingly at her. “So, what do you say?”

“Alright then, as long as no one else asks me to go with them,” she teased.

“That will be easy enough to arrange.” James grinned at her as they arrived at a corridor of unused classrooms. They had discovered on a previous patrol that these rooms were particularly popular for students having a night-time rendezvous.

They checked the classrooms in silence, so as not to forewarn any students they might find. It was always fun to see how red their faces could get. Lily was just shutting the door to the last room when James spoke again. “I’ve been thinking, Evans.”

“Oh?” Lily turned to find him standing directly in front of her. She leaned back calmly against the classroom door, crossing her arms. “You can do that now?”

“Funny, Evans.” James propped his elbow up against the door, and rested his head in his hand. “Remember that passage you were telling me about? The one we missed on the map?”

Lily nodded. “Yes, what about it?”

James moved to stand directly in front of her and then leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Perhaps I can convince you to show me the passage sooner than you had planned to.”

His breath tickled her ear and made her shiver, even as she fought to keep from laughing. The intimidation she had felt from him being so close to her disappeared in an instant. He just sounded so silly! Sirius was the only one who had ever been able to pull off the ‘seductively charming’ act and here James was acting as though he could. Well, he had another thing coming then, because Lily was more than capable of resisting his ‘charm’. He must bring out the worst in her, because Lily couldn’t resist teasing him.

Lily allowed her mouth to relax into what she hoped was the smile Linda often used on their male classmates when she wanted something. That smile had never failed. She settled her right hand against James’ chest. His breath hitched and he jerked his head back the moment she touched him, staring at her with fascinated eyes.

Lily slowly walked her fingers up his chest until she could run them through his hair, all the while whispering softly, “Perhaps, Mr. Potter, I can convince you to forget that I ever mentioned the passage in the first place.”

James’ breath was coming faster now and his tongue darted between his lips to moisten them. Lily noticed that her own breath was beginning to quicken and that his face was nearly touching hers. Suddenly he was too close, much too close.

“Lily….” he breathed.

It was then Lily realized that neither of them was in control. Her eyes darted from his lips, to his eyes and then back again. She didn’t know where this had come from, or where it was going, or even if she wanted it to go anywhere. She wondered if he was going to kiss her and, strangely enough, she discovered that she actually might want him to.

Suddenly, Lily found that she couldn’t meet his eyes. Instead, she glanced towards the stone floor of the castle and then jumped away from James with a gasp.

He stared at her confused. “What…?”

Lily held a hand against her racing heart. “Mrs. Norris.”

“What?”

“Right there. Mrs. Norris.” She pointed.

James looked to where she was pointing and sure enough, not two feet away from where they stood, sat Mr. Filch’s cat, Mrs. Norris, staring at them with her lamp-like yellow eyes.

He scowled. “Go away, Mrs. Norris. We’re Head Boy and Girl. We’re supposed to be here.”

The cat sniffed at them and then stalked off. Lily and James left the corridor and finished patrolling the rest of the halls in a silence that, strangely enough, wasn’t awkward in the least. They were highly aware of each other, but neither made a move to say anything. Neither of them mentioned what had almost happened.

-()-

It was the third of November and James Potter’s birthday. Every Gryffindor was looking forward to the day’s events. Singing and yelling armour, confetti from the ceiling, Peter trying to get out of doing his homework, applause whenever James walked into a room. And of course there was a party planned for that night in the Gryffindor Tower.

James took it all in stride- thanking those who wished him well and bowing at the applause. He also took great pride in showing anyone who would look the new Quidditch gloves Lily had got him. Some students commented on Lily’s behaviour, however, because not once did she reprimand James or his friends for their display as she had the past three years. In fact, some students could have sworn they saw her clapping and laughing along with the rest.

It wasn’t until dinner that the students started commenting on the fact that the Daily Prophet hadn’t been delivered that morning at breakfast. In truth, the only reason anyone had noticed was because halfway through dinner several dozen owls swooped into the Great Hall. Students and teachers alike paused in the midst of eating to unroll the paper and see its news.

Lily gasped as she read the blazing title, ‘You-Know-Who Strikes in Force’ All around the Great Hall others did the same. The only people who seemed to know what was going on were several of the Professors. Dumbledore sat in his chair looking out at all of the students shocked faces. Lily’s friends crowed around her and looked over her shoulder as she read aloud in a quiet voice that everyone nearby could hear.

“‘On the evening of November the second, multiple explosions occurred across the country at exactly seven o’ clock. Two of the seven targeted houses belonged to members of the Wizarding community; the other five were Muggle residences. There was only one survivor and this is because the owner of the home was not in residence at the time of the attack. Aurors were unable to determine whether or not the victims had been tortured before their death since all of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition….” Lily trailed off, unable to read any further.

James, who was sitting across the table and several seats down stood up and took the paper from Lily to continue reading. “‘All of the residences were completely destroyed save for one wall in each home, which remained intact. This wall has the Dark Mark emblazoned upon it surrounded by the victims’ blood. Aurors ask that anyone-’ It’s continued on page five,” he told them.

“Let me see.” Marlene took the paper from him and scanned through the rest of the article while the others watched her in silence. “There’s nothing else,” she finally determined. “At least nothing noteworthy. A bunch of nonsense about how the Ministry is taking precautions and then there’s a whole page about how to keep safe in your home. As if a locking charm is going to keep a Death Eater out,” she scoffed.

The others exchanged glances. Marlene spoke the truth and they all knew it, even if they didn’t want to agree with her aloud. Sirius looked over a James questioningly and when James shook his head morosely Sirius gave a solemn nod of understanding. Lily didn’t even have to ask them what that exchange had been about- it would be heartless to have a party after learning what they just had.

Lily was trying to study but it wasn’t going too well. She kept getting interrupted for the littlest of things, but that was completely understandable. Tensions were still running high because of dinner last night, and everyone was on their last thread. The common room was crowded this morning as everyone gathered in the common room until it was time to go down to the first Quidditch game of the season, Slytherin versus Hufflepuff. While it was clear what the outcome of the game would be, Lily knew that most of the Gryffindors felt as though they should go and show their support for Hufflepuff anyway, even if it was only to jeer at the opposing team. It would also give all the students something to focus on other than the horrors that were happening outside the school. And that was a welcome relief.

She was finally able to study for a solid half hour before someone paused behind her chair. Without looking up from the Charms book she was reading, she answered him distractedly, “What is it, James?”

He moved to sit on the arm of her chair. “How’d you know it was me?” he asked her.

“As much as it pains me to admit it,” Lily said as she marked the page she was on and closed her book, “I’ve patrolled with you long enough to recognise your footsteps.” Lily smiled brightly up at him.

James blinked and shook his head as though to clear it. “Oh… well, the Quidditch match- people are starting to head down. Remus and Peter are saving us seats, but we should go anyway.”

Lily glanced around the common room. Sure enough, everyone - except for the few people who weren’t going - had already left for the Quidditch Pitch. That’s why it had been so quiet, she realized.

“Remus and Peter?” she questioned. “Not Sirius?”

“He’s banned,” James answered shortly.

“Oh, that’s right.” She had forgotten about the prank Sirius had pulled last year that had got him banned from playing in or watching the Quidditch games. Not to mention he had had detention every day for the rest of the year, as well. Aside from the professors, no one except for the other Marauders had known what he had done to receive such a severe punishment. And even they had been less than friendly towards Sirius for a good while.

Lily stood and began to pack up her bag, but James brushed her hands away. “I can do it. Go grab your cloak.”

“But I like it packed up a certain-”

“In order by class – I know.” He smiled and rolled his eyes at her. “Hurry up, I don’t want to miss anything.”

Lily rushed up the stairs to her dorm to get her cloak, gloves and scarf. Then she and James whipped through the halls of the castle and then down the path that lead to the Quidditch Pitch. It was still overcast and the wind was blustering, but at least it wasn’t raining any longer.

“There was no reason to hurry me along,” Lily said irritably when the two finally reached the Quidditch Pitch. “The game isn’t even close to starting.”

James ignored her and pointed up to the stands. Peter was jumping up and down in the stands, trying to get their attention. They worked their way over to the section their friends were and were about to start up the stairs when they were nearly bowled over by a member of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. The player paused to apologize and then stopped when he saw Lily.

“Lily!” the player said enthusiastically. Stephan Furrows, a blond, curly haired seventh year and the Captain and Keeper for his House team, shot Lily a brilliant smile as she smiled warmly back at him. Stephan’s smile faltered a bit when he saw James standing with her. “Hey, Potter.”

“Hello, Furrows,” James greeted him. “Ready for the game?”

Stephan nodded confidently. “I think so. We’ve all been practicing really hard. Although, I did nearly forget my lucky charm.” He grinned and held up a pair of worn Quidditch gloves. “I had to nip back into the changing room to grab them.”

Lily smiled up at him. “Merlin forbid you play without those,” she teased him and Stephan shot her another charming grin.

“I get all shaky and clumsy without them,” Stephan explained to James when he looked at them questioningly.

“I remember when I was watching your practice one time and you had left them in your dorm,” Lily said. “You insisted to everyone that you didn’t need them, but you ended up dropping the Quaffle every time it came at you.”

Stephan looked heavenwards. “And I was trying so hard to impress you that day, too.”

“You did impress me, though. You never gave up, did you?” Lily reminded him.

Stephan grinned shyly at her. “I suppose not. So, what do you say, a good luck hug for old times sake?”

Lily laughed. “Of course.” She hugged him briefly and then she and James wished him luck before heading up to join their friends.

“I had forgotten you used to date him,” James commented as they climbed the stairs to the seats being saved for them.

“Yes, for most of fifth year,” Lily said, still buoyant from getting the chance to talk with Stephan. It had been a while since she had last spoken to him and she had forgotten how his good spirits rubbed off on everyone.

“So what happened?”

“We just grew apart I suppose.”

“You grew apart?”

“Yeah.” Lily smiled and shrugged.

“Oh.” James looked at her with an expression on his face Lily couldn’t read. “If you say so.”

“What’s that suppo-”

“It took you long enough!” Peter exclaimed, interrupting her. “Do you know how many people wanted your seats?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Peter,” Remus sighed.

“The match is going to start soon,” Peter said as Lily and James slid into their seats. “These seats were highly coveted. You should have come down with the rest of us.”

James patted him on the back. “Next time we will, Wormtail. Promise.”

“How long do you think the match will last?” Remus asked.

“No more than an hour,” James answered him.

“I don’t know,” Lily countered. “Stephan seemed pretty confident when we talked to him.”

James snorted and Lily shot him a look. “He said he thought they would do well.”

“Only because he was talking to you.”

Lily huffed, not understanding at all what James was alluding to. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

James shook his head at her. “He was completely flirting with you.”

It was Lily’s turn to snort. “Oh yes,” she replied sarcastically, waving a hand in front of her face “and I’m all a-flutter.”

James scowled and turned to talk with Remus and Peter.

“What was that?” Marlene had been listening in.

Lily rolled her eyes. “I have no idea. Apparently Stephan was flirting with me or something.”

“Stephan always flirts with you,” Marlene laughed. “That’s nothing new. Besides, you weren’t flirting back, were you?”

“Of course not- there’s no reason to. Stephan and I are completely over.”

“I never did understand why you broke it off with him,” Janice commented from the other side of Marlene.

“Yeah,” Linda put in, “he was so sweet! And you have so much in common. You both love Charms, you’re both Muggle-born and have an older sister who isn’t magical. Not to mention that he’s incredible good-looking. And that one time he-”

“Lily got bored,” Marlene interrupted impatiently, waving a hand.

“No I didn’t,” Lily argued. “We just grew apart is all.”

“You were bored,” Marlene reiterated. “You got along too well. Too perfectly. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great guy but…. You never argued about anything – ever!”

“What was wrong with that?”

“Don’t you remember how short you always were with us?” Marlene asked her incredulously. “You would pick fights for the littlest of things! Like when Linda borrowed your jumper without asking! She’d done it a million time before and you had never put up a fuss. But after a few months with Stephan you would argue with anyone who gave you a reason- even if it was a stupid one.”

Lily turned her attention to the Quidditch field where the players were starting to prepare for the start of the game while the others continued to talk around her.

“Oh, you have a point there,” Janice agreed. “She was always nagging James about something or other.”

“Exactly. What Lily needs is someone who is perfectly imperfect.”

Lily scrunched up her nose quizzically at Marlene’s choice of words. “Perfectly imperfect?”

Marlene grinned at her and nodded. “Yup.”

“That makes no sense.”

Marlene laughed. “Of course it does! Just think about it for a while.”

But Lily didn’t get a chance to think about it because just then Madam ­­­Judean blasted her whistle and threw the Quaffle into the air. James jumped to his feet, whooping gleefully, and pulled Lily along with him.

“Watch this,” he told her excitedly. “Hufflepuff devised some new plays that are really cool. It won’t help them much, but they’re fun to watch. I hope they do the drop-back one– Slytherin’ll go bonkers.”

Lily watched as one of the Slytherin Chasers plucked the Quaffle out of the air and zoomed off towards the Hufflepuff goals, only to have his attempt intercepted by one of Hufflepuff’s Chasers. She cheered along with the Hufflepuff fans and then booed when Slytherin scored as a Ravenclaw third year Lily didn’t know commented on the game in the background.

“Look at that Yaxley cow!”

Lily glanced over to the teachers’ stand where James pointed. Belinda Yaxley stood with her arms crossed and her lips twisted in frustration. She was glaring at Stephan, who had just saved another goal.

“She must have been a Slytherin,” she shouted to James. “Although from what I’ve seen in class, she doesn’t seem to like them much.”

James laughed. “She doesn’t like anyone!” he yelled back.

The match continued and even though Slytherin was winning Hufflepuff, surprisingly enough, was only three goals behind. The plays were so intricate Lily had trouble following most of them, but James seemed to have no problem. And, after tossing the Quaffle around with James the one day, Lily fully appreciated just how hard Quidditch was and how good the players were.

Stephan saved a goal and Lily cheered along with everyone else as the Hufflepuff Chasers took control of the Quaffle. Lily watched Elliot Baddock as he snatched the Quaffle away from the Hufflepuff Chaser and sped off towards the Hufflepuff goals only to be stopped by a well placed Bludger.

Hufflepuff took control of the Quaffle once again, passing it back and forth trying to keep it away from the Slytherin Chasers long enough to score.

“Stephan, you idiot!” ­­­Janice’s exasperated voice grabbed Lily’s attention. “What are you doing?”

Stephan, who had been circling the goal posts in celebration the last time Lily had looked in his direction, was no where to be seen. Lily scanned the field but still didn’t see him.

She tugged on James’ sleeve and pointed. “Where’d he go?” It took James a moment to realize what she meant- he too had been watching the action at the other end of the field.

“I don’t know,” he told her, shaking his head in confusion as he started searching the field as well. “I don’t’ se- wait! Up there!” He pointed above the pitch way beyond the goals.

There was a loan figure flying more than a hundred feet up over the centre of the pitch. One of the Hufflepuff Beaters stopped playing and shook his bat at the figure that was Stephan. Their Seeker started towards Stephan to see what was going on, as did another Chaser, but the couldn’t get within more than fifteen feet from him- there seemed to be some kind of repelling charm blocking them from getting any closer.

The students were slowly taking note of what was happening and the stands began to go silent.

Fingers gripped Lily’s sleeve. “What’s he doing?” Marlene’s voice quavered. “Is it a play or something?”

Lily shook her head slowly. “I don’t think so.” She glanced up at James. His eyebrows were drawn together in confusion and he was biting his lower lip. “What is it?” Lily asked him.

“Dumbledore….” James turned to her. “He’s trying to do something, but it doesn’t seem to be working.”

Lily looked over at the teachers’ stand. Dumbledore had his wand out and there was a ferocious expression on his face. McGonagall and Flitwick were standing nearby and both of them had their wands at the ready.

A unified gasp lit over the stands and Lily whipped her head back to the field. Stephan was now standing on his broom, swaying in the slight breeze. Madam ­­­Judean was blowing her whistle frantically signalling a time out for the game, but she needn’t have bothered- no one was playing anyway. Not even the Slytherins.

Then everything seemed to move in slow motion. She wanted to close her eyes and make what was happening disappear but even they wouldn’t function. The only thing that seemed concrete was James’ hand tightly gripping her own.

There were now sparks and colourful beams of light coming from where Dumbledore stood, but nothing he did seemed to make any difference. Flitwick and McGonagall were rushing down to the pitch and the Quidditch players had all landed on the ground. The only person still in the air was Stephan, and all anyone could do was watch, horrified, as he began to fall.

----------------------

A/N: And that was chapter ten! I'm sorry about the cliffhanger, but take note that it's the first one I've had...so you can't be too angry. :) Thanks sooo much to everyone who has reviewed so far, it really means a lot! Also, many thanks to my beta, Colon- this story would not be what it is without you.

It’s going to start to get a bit darker from this point out, but don’t worry- there will still be humor and romance and all that other good stuff. There are going to be some pranks coming up, so if any of you have ideas email me or tell me in a review…I’ll make sure to credit you! Oh, and don’t forget to let me know what you thought of this chapter!! Until next time!

A/N: PLEASE READ!!!!!! I just have some quick notes before the chapter begins. Even though, after reading HP and the DH, I learned that some parts of this story are no longer canon, I will be continuing it as a post-HBP (now slightly AU) story. I will be incorporating some things learned in DH, but they will be minor and not extremely relevant to the plot. If, however, a lot of you wonderful readers would like me to make this a canon story for DH, I will take it under consideration.

This chapter was written before DH was publish and therefore does not contain any spoilers for the seventh book. Enjoy and don’t forget to let me know what you thought!!

Chapter Eleven

Lily probably imagined hearing the thud from Stephen hitting the ground, but it echoed in her mind all the same. His body looked incredibly small as it lay on the Pitch, broken.

Hysteria broke out over the stands. Everyone was screaming and yelling, pushing at each other trying to escape or morbidly looking to confirm if what they had seen was actually real. Lily stood, staring in shock at the spot in the sky where Stephan’s broom still hovered sans rider.

The students were starting to become panicked once they realized the truth of what had happened. A student had jumped off his broom in front of everyone and not even Dumbledore had been able to stop him.

Oh, how she wished she could just close her eyes and block everything out like so many others were doing. But she couldn’t. She wasn’t made to stand on the sidelines and watch. She was the one who stood up and took control – the one who figured out a solution. Already her mind was whirling into action, trying to work out a plan.

Someone squeezed her hand and she turned her head to meet James’ hazel eyes. They were just as distraught as she knew own must be. “Lily…” His voice was strained. “We have to do something. Dumbledore is on the field and some of the other teachers are trying, but the students… We have to-”

“I know,” she interrupted. “I know… Let’s…” she trailed off, looking around the stands.

Linda had sunk into her seat and was slowly rocking back and forth, tears streaming down her cheeks. Janice stood next to her trying to get those around them to sit back down. Her face was slowly turning red, a sure sign that she was about to hit something – or someone.

Lily glanced frantically around for Marlene, who had been sitting next to her, but she couldn’t see her anywhere at first. Then she spotted her a couple of rows back, trying to calm down some distraught first years. A look behind James showed proved that his friends were still close by and it didn’t seem as though they would be moving anytime soon – several girls were clinging like limpets on them.

Lily tugged on James’ arm. “None of us can stay here. We need to get everyone back to the school. We have to get their attention somehow!”

“Fireworks,” James suggested. “Or a charm with the same effect.”

Lily nodded. “Help me,” she told him as she struggled to stand up on her seat.

James gave her a boost and then jumped up next to her. They quickly pulled out their wands and shouted a spell that caused loud, booming sparks to burst in the air above the students’ heads.

The panicked students began to take notice. Many started to shout angrily at whoever was making the supposed celebratory sparks at a time like this before they realized that it was the Head Boy and Girl. Slowly but surely they began to quiet down. Enough so, that with the help of a sonorous charm, Lily was able to be heard.

“Everyone is to proceed slowly and calmly to the Great Hall. Prefects – make sure no one goes back to their house dormitory. As soon as you arrive, sit at your house table in order by year with the first years sitting the closest to the staff table. Tell one of your House’s Prefects if anyone is unaccounted for. Go now, and go carefully.”

Lily breathed a sigh of relief when, after a moment of hesitation, the students did as she told them to. Up until now, she had never really had to use her authority, and she was relieved to see that she was being taken seriously. With both Dumbledore and McGonagall down on the Quidditch Pitch, and the other teachers trying to keep students from going onto the field, there wasn’t anyone else to take control and make some sort of order.

James gave her a quick smile and squeezed her hand once more before they split up to further organize the students scrambling towards the school. The other sixth and seventh years caught on to what Lily and James were trying to do and quickly began to help the younger students along. The teachers gave Lily and James nods of thanks when they caught their eyes.

It didn’t take nearly as much time as Lily had expected to get the students out of the Quidditch Stadium and into the Great Hall. By the time everyone had assembled, most of the shock had worn off. Now all that was left was confusion, anger and a sense of overwhelming sadness.

“Lily?” Marlene joined Lily where she stood near the door leading to the Entrance Hall. “Shouldn’t everyone have gone back to their common rooms instead?”

Lily shook her head. “No. Don’t you remember four years when a first year girl died from a mandrake’s cry?”

Marlene nodded and answered slowly. “Yeah, she was out after hours and wandered down to the greenhouses where Professor Sprout was re-potting the adult ones. There were thousands of protection and silencing charms, but somehow she managed to get the door opened. And, well, adult mandrakes…”

Lily swallowed. “Yes, well, Dumbledore told us then that it is never a good idea to divide the school up in times like those- times like these.” A sad smile flirted at the edges of her lips. “Besides, if he has any news, it will be easier to tell everyone all at once.”

The chatter in the Great Hall slowly quieted down until only muted whispers were present. The headache Lily had forced out of her mind came crashing back and she gave up standing, instead taking a seat at the end of the Gryffindor table and answering any questions the Prefects came to her with as best as she could. She propped her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands, willing the blasted headache to disappear. James, who had been walking around the room keeping the students in their seats, finally came over and sat down next to her since all of the students were resigned to staying in the Great Hall.

“Headache?” he asked her quietly. Lily nodded. “Here,” he said, moving her hands away. He nudged her until she was straddling the bench and leaning partly against him before setting his fingers to her temples and massaging gently. Lily sighed gratefully.

“My mum does this for my dad whenever he gets one,” he explained softly to her. “It always seemed to help him, so….”

Lily didn’t bother replying. Instead she closed her eyes and settled more comfortably against him, letting his fingers ease her headache away. She could feel Marlene looking questioningly at her, but Lily just ignored her, too stressed to care what her friends made of it. The all sat morosely at the table, quietly discussing any possible reason why Dumbledore hadn't been able to prevent Stephan from falling.

More than a half hour passed before a teacher deigned to appear. But Professor Sprout only gave Lily and James a quick nod as she hurried over to the Hufflepuff table. The Hufflepuff students crowded around their Head of House, as she tried to ease their pain at losing one of their own.

“Miss Evans! Mr. Potter!”

Lily had been so caught up watching the Hufflepuffs that she hadn’t even noticed Professor McGonagall enter. She and James stood up as McGonagall strode over to them.

The Deputy Headmistress motioned for them to follow her out into the Entrance Hall and then shut the Great Hall doors behind them.

Never one for small talk, McGonagall got straight to the point. “We are very pleased that the two of you were able to keep your heads in this serious situation. And, despite your differences, you worked exceedingly well together.”

Lily and James exchanged glances. “Thank you, Professor,” they said.

McGonagall nodded. “I need you to stay here with the students and keep them calm. Dumbledore has asked me to take the Hufflepuff seventh years to his office. Other students will want to leave, but please restrain them from doing so unless they need to make a trip to the lavatory. The house elves will be sending up sandwiches momentarily. And if anyone gives you trouble, you may, of course, deduct house points and assign detentions as you see fit.”

Lily and James nodded and then went back into the Great Hall. Eyes followed them as they motioned for the Prefects over and told them what McGonagall had spoken to them about.

Sandwiches and other sustenance appeared on the tables as the Prefects went back to their seats. As predicted, many of the students appealed to Lily and James to leave, using all manner of excuses, but they allowed no one to go back to their dormitory.

Eventually the students accepted that they wouldn’t be able to leave the Great Hall anytime soon. Some produced Exploding Snap cards from their robes while others used spells to create works of art with the leftover food, cutlery and anything else of use. Most of the students, however, just continued talking quietly.

It was almost dinner time when Dumbledore entered. He stood up and gave a speech, most of which didn’t register with Lily in the least. She felt guilty about that, because Dumbledore never said anything without reason and what he did say should be taken to heart. But, as she looked around the hall, she could tell that many others were lost inside themselves as well.

Thoughts kept twisting and turning within her mind and most of them didn’t even connect with another. Nothing like this had ever happened in the history of Hogwarts- or at least nothing had ever been documented. She couldn’t help but wonder whether or not the event was going to be written about in a revised edition of Hogwarts: A History and, more morbidly, how many students would be able to see the thestrals now.

-()-

“Lily?”

“Lily?”

Lily sat in Charms class on Tuesday afternoon, staring at the blank piece of parchment in front of her. A glance around the room showed that most of the other students were doing the same, only a few seemed to actually be working.

“Lily?”

She slowly looked up at Callum, who had been trying to get her attention for the last few minutes. “Sorry, I was-” she waved a hand in explanation. “What did you need?” she asked him kindly.

Callum had been the one most affected by Stephan’s death, his suicide. He had been beside himself, claiming that Stephan hadn’t killed himself, that he wouldn’t have done that sort of thing. That he, Callum, would have noticed if something had been wrong. That it was his fault. Nothing anyone said could console him.

But what mystified everyone more than anything was the fact that Dumbledore hadn’t been able to stop it. And, because of all the spells that Dumbledore knew, there were rumours that only something as powerful as dark magic would have been able to hinder him. And Stephan certainly hadn’t known any.

Callum slid into the chair beside Lily as she put her quill down and turned to him. His eyes were blood-shot and had huge bags underneath them, as though he hadn't been sleeping.

“I just wanted to say,” he began haltingly, “that I’m glad you’re coming tomorrow- to the funeral and everything.”

Yesterday a notice had appeared on all the boards stating that Dumbledore had been in contact with Stephan’s parents. Any student who had been a friend of his would be allowed to attend his funeral and the following reception which would be held that Wednesday, provided that they were seventeen years of age.

“Of course I’m coming.” Lily smiled sadly at him. “I wouldn’t even think of doing otherwise.”

“Yeah.” Callum nodded in understanding. “Is Potter going to go as well?”

Lily shook her head. “No. He was going to, but Dumbledore asked for one of us to stay here and cover the fourth year and below Herbology classes.”

“That makes sense.” They talked until the end of class, reminiscing about the good times they had shared with Stephen. They parted ways when they reached the Great Hall for dinner, each going to their separate House tables to join their dorm mates.

The Gryffindor table still wasn’t as boisterous as it usually was, but the students were behaving more normally than they had been the day before. Lily sat down in her regular seat next to Marlene. Linda was already sitting across from them and by the time Lily had served herself some shepherd’s pie and poured a glass of pumpkin juice, Janice had arrived.

They chatted about classes and pondered when the next Hogsmeade trip would be, keeping the conversation as light as possible. There would be time at night, once all the lights in their dorm were out and they were burrowed under their blankets, for more serious talk. It was what they had done the first night of the accident (although no one in the school really believed that that was what it had been) and the night after.

Once dinner was over, Lily headed up to her dorm along with her roommates. Usually this was the time she started on her homework, but she didn’t feel like starting it just yet. Tomorrow was Stephan’s funeral and for right now nothing else mattered.

“Lily?” Janice asked as she flopped onto her bed. “Have you thought of what you’re going to wear tomorrow?

Lily shook her head, entering the room behind Marlene. “No. I mean, I have an idea, but I don’t even know if it fits anymore.” She sighed and went over to her chest of drawers and pulled open the bottom drawer, taking out a long black dress. She held it up for her friends’ inspection.

Janice moved to the edge of her bed and took the dress from Lily. She motioned for Lily to hold out her arms and then held the dress up against her, frowning.

“I don’t think it’s right,” she commented.

“Yeah,” Marlene agreed. “It’s a bit… prissy, isn’t it?”

“Gee, thanks,” Lily said.

Marlene rolled her eyes at her. “You know I didn’t mean it like that. I only meant that that dress is from, what, two years ago? You’ve changed since then. Not so much a stickler for the rules, now.”

“Who says I’m a stickler for the rules? I break them all the time!”

“Yeah,” Linda put in. “What about all those pranks we played? Remember the one everyone blamed the Marauders for? You can’t say Lily’s never broken the rules.”

“Yeah, she broke them, but she was also always on everyone’s case whenever they got out of line, even for the littlest of things.”

Janice snorted. “And by ‘everyone’ you mean James Potter.”

Marlene shrugged noncommittally. Lily huffed in annoyance, took the dress from Janice and shoved it back into the drawer.

“Alright,” she said, “I think we’ve determined that I shouldn’t wear that dress. But that still leaves the question of what I am going to wear.”

“What about…hmm, no that wouldn’t work.” Janice sat back on her bed thoughtfully.

“Oh, I know!” Linda jumped up and went to her chest of drawers. “Lily, get out your black skirt.”

“I have two,” Lily told her. Linda was too busy rifling through a drawer to answer, so Lily pulled both skirts from the wardrobe and set them on her bed.

“Here we are.” Linda was holding up a dark grey top made out of a shimmering diaphanous material. The top was a v-neck with long sleeves that ended in a bell and had silver embroidery on them.

“Oh, Linda, that’s gorgeous!” Janice exclaimed. “And she can wear a tight black top underneath it.”

“I agree,” Lily said. “It is perfect. Now, which skirt should I wear? The long one or the short one?”

“Definitely the long one,” Marlene said and Janice and Linda agreed with her.

Lily put the chosen outfit together on a hanger and hung it from her bedpost. She sat on Janice’s bed with her friends, content to listen as they talked about mundane subjects. However, when the clock struck seven-thirty, she knew she had to finish the homework she had started earlier since she wouldn’t feel like doing any tomorrow night. Not that she felt like doing it now, but it would be easier to focus on without the memories of Stephan’s funeral floating around in her head.

She waved off her friends suggestions that they work on it together, saying that since all of the books she needed were in the Heads’ Room she might as well work on it there instead of lugging everything up to their dorm.

James was sitting at his desk when she entered the room, his head bent over his Potions text and a quill stuck haphazardly into his hair. He looked up when Lily walked into the room and when he noticed her looking at the quill questioningly he smiled sheepishly.

“I can’t tuck it behind my ear,” he explained, removing the quill. “My glasses, you know.”

Lily nodded and sat down at her own desk, pulling her partially completed Potions essay towards her. She really didn’t feel like working on it, and even though she knew Slughorn would let it slide if she didn’t complete it, she hated to take advantage of his preferential treatment.

She tried to focus, but she kept getting distracted by the littlest of things. First it was the clock ticking away in the corner, then it was a tree branch bumping against one of the windows, and now the way James sighed every so often was really grating on her nerves.

“James?”

“Hmm?”

“Could you stop sighing like that? It’s distracting.”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t even realize I was doing it.”

Tick tock, tick tock.

A muttered silencing charm took care of the clock.

Scitch tap, scitch tap.

Lily huffed and walked over to the window. She hauled it open and then pointed her wand at the offending branch. It snapped off the tree with a crack and then fell to the ground below.

She closed the window triumphantly and turned around to go back to her desk. James was watching her with raised eyebrows.

“Alright, Lily?”

“Just fine,” she answered him tersely, sitting back down to her essay.

And then it came: tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap. Pause. Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap. Pause. Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap.

“James!”

“What? Oh, sorry….”

Silence. Lily sighed gratefully.

Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap.

“Potter, knock it off!”

“Ah, sorry. It’s a nervous habit.”

“Well, break it,” Lily replied angrily. She turned back to her essay, finally able to work in peace.

When the incessant tapping started once more, fifteen minutes later, Lily lost what little patience she had remaining. She shot out of her chair and glared at James, hands on her hips.

“What is it with you and tapping that quill?” she yelled. “You’re like a first year! You can’t stay still for even a minute without making some kind of noise!”

“If it’s not quiet enough for you in here,” James hollered back, rising to his feet, “then why don’t you go somewhere else!”

“This is where I study! I’m not going anywhere!”

“Well, neither am I! This is where I study, too, so you’ll just have to deal with it.”

“I shouldn’t have to! That’s all I’ve done this week! I’ve been dealing with first years asking for help with homework. I’ve been dealing with Prefects complaining about their patrolling schedule for next week. I’ve been dealing with my friends pretending that nothing has changed- even when they helped me decide on what I’m going to wear tomorrow, just an hour ago.”

Lily didn’t realize that tears were beginning to trickle down her cheeks as she paced and waved her arms in frustration. James watched her silently, for once letting her take out her anger on him without retaliating.

“And I wish that I could pretend as well,” she continued, her voice breaking on a sob, “except that I can’t.” She watched James with pleading eyes, begging him to understand. “Not when everyone keeps asking me questions about Stephan, expecting me to tell them what a good person he was. To tell them that he was funny, and nice and, bless him, for some odd reason actually liked Hagrid’s rock cakes. He was my friend, but everyone seems to keep forgetting that fact when they pester me and all I want them to do is just leave me alone!”

Lily collapsed onto the sofa, her head in her hands and tried, unsuccessfully, to get her tears to stop. She hated to have anyone see her like this, so out of control. She didn’t remember half of what she yelled at James about, but since he wasn’t laughing or shouting back, she assumed it hadn’t been about rainbows and butterflies.

She stiffened when he settled on the sofa next to her and pulled her into a hug. When he didn’t let go after a few moments, Lily gave up and collapsed against him, crying softly onto his shoulder as he rubbed her back soothingly.

When she finished, she wiped her eyes with the handkerchief James had conjured.

“Feel better?” he asked her softly. His left arm was still around her shoulder and Lily leaned back against him.

She nodded. “I guess I needed that,” she said wetly.

“Yeah,” James agreed. His hand reached up and he twisted a strand of her hair around his fingers. “I didn’t know him that well, but it must really blow.”

Lily managed a laugh. “Yeah, that about sums it up.”

They sat in silence a while longer before James stood up and fetched a blanket. “Lie down,” he told her. “You should get some sleep and I have a Potions essay to finish.”

“I can’t stay here,” Lily protested. “And I have to finish my essay, too.”

“Don’t worry about your essay. It’s not as though Slughorn will penalise you for handing it in late. Go on, sleep. I’ll walk back to the dorms with you once I’m finished.”

Know it was futile to argue anymore, she allowed James to cover her with the blanket. As her eyes drifted shut to the tap tap tap of James’ quill, she thought of how much she had needed to be comforted. But she never would have guessed that James would have been to one to provide it.

-()-

It was raining lightly the next morning, the day of Stephan’s funeral, when a morose group gathered in the Entrance Hall, which Lily found strangely fitting. There were only eight students who were making the trip, but she wasn’t surprised by the small number. Stephan had been well liked by many, but few had been close to him. All six of his Hufflepuff year mates were, of course, going and so was Abigail Wreath, a sixth year Ravenclaw Prefect. She was Muggle-born and, together with Stephan, had tutored students in Charms.

Once they were all gathered, Professor Sprout, who naturally was accompanying them, reminded them that they would be travelling by Portkey.

“The Headmaster feels it will be much safer this way,” she was saying. “It will be much quicker than taking the train and not all of you are able to Apparate. Not to mention only a few of you know the location. We will be transported into the Furrows’ backyard. Stephan’s parents are Muggles and so are the other guests, so I must remind you not to use any magic.” She looked around at the students and they all nodded. They understood the consequences of using magic in front of Muggles.

Professor Sprout inspected their clothing to make sure they were properly attired in Muggle clothing and then the group gathered around the large yellow and black umbrella she was carrying and touched it with a finger. “This is a timed Portkey,” the professor explained. “It is set to go off at nine o’ clock and then again at four this afternoon.”

Lily had never travelled by Portkey before and she was still a bit nervous despite the fact that James had explained exactly what to expect the night before when they had walked back to the common room together. He had assured her that it was perfectly safe, but Lily still had her doubts.

The professor counted down the seconds and the moment she reached ‘one’, Lily felt a sharp tug behind her navel. Her feet left the ground and it was as though some invisible force was pulling her onward in a swirl of colour and howling wind. She kept bumping shoulders with Ellen and Ruby, who were on either side of her. Then, almost as soon as it started, it was over. Her feet slammed into the ground and Lily was so unprepared for the shock, fell to the ground. She was distinctly grateful that she was wearing a long skirt not a short one.

Professor Sprout, Ruby, Ray, and Callum had stayed on their feet and reached out hands to help the others up.

“Ray and I have travelled by Portkey loads of times,” Ruby explained as she pulled Lily to her feet. “Mum and Dad were forever taking us places when we were younger and it was much easier that way.”

Lily smiled her thanks and brushed a few leaves that were clinging to her skirt. Callum was already striding up to the small brick house and knocking on the door. Several moments passed before it was opened by a young woman with masses of curly blonde hair, who immediately threw her arm around Callum.

“I’m so glad you were allowed to come,” the woman told all of them once she had let Callum go. She closed the door behind her and Lily heard a snick as she locked it. “I’m Maria, Stephan’s sister. The funeral will start at nine-thirty, which gives us plenty of time to walk to the church. My parents are already there.”

Callum introduced everyone to her and then Maria led them to the church. A gate in the white picket fence that surrounded the Furrows’ backyard opened on to a path that wound its way down to the village. There were a few other houses scattered along the walkway, and each of them were just as picturesque as Stephan’s.

A neat stone path lead up to the village church entrance and Lily could just make out the small graveyard in the distance. Stephan’s parents were standing just inside the doors, greeting everyone as they arrived. Mrs. Furrows gave Lily a tight hug when she came to stand in front of them.

“I’m so sorry,” Lily whispered in her ear.

Stephan’s mother leaned back and clasped Lily’s hands in both of her own, her eyes glistening with tears. “So are we, dear. So are we.”

There was nothing joyous about the funeral, even though everyone who spoke about Stephan seemed to try to be as light-hearted as possible. It was especially sad when Callum stood up to speak for he and Stephan were of an age. It reminded everyone of just how young Stephan was- or had been, Lily mentally corrected herself.

Once everyone had spoken, the congregation walked the short distance to the graveyard. The students all stood silently next to each other as Stephan’s family lowered his casket into the ground. Lily closed her eyes tightly as tears trickled down her cheeks, not bothering to wipe them away with the handkerchief she held in one hand. A sharp breeze rushed past and she wrapped her cloak more tightly around her, wishing that she had agreed to let James come along.

A wake was held at the Furrow’s house once the burial was complete. It was after lunchtime, so there was a nice spread of food on the dining room table for everyone to choose from.

Lily and the other Hogwarts students made up their plates and then found a quiet corner to sit in and eat. Every so often, one of the other guests would join them and ask about their school. None of them knew anything about Hogwarts except for the fact that it was a special boarding school in Scotland. They were naturally curious about the place Stephan had spent the last days of his life at. Lily let the others answer the majority of the questions and only spoke when someone talked her directly. For the most part, she was lost in her own thoughts.

Around her, all of Stephan’s friends and family talked about how he had lived life to the fullest, and that most likely he had died without too many regrets. Lily couldn’t help but think that if she had been Stephan, others wouldn’t have been able to say the same.

Sure, she did brilliantly in school; having been made Head Girl emphasized that. But did she really live life to the fullest or was she sometimes so focused on the future that she forgot to live in the here and now? Did she sometimes spend so much time on her studies that she forgot to have fun?

Looking back on the past few years at Hogwarts, she realized that every prank she had played, every rule she had broken, and just about every moment of fun she had had with her friends related to James Potter in some way or another. And she had never realized before what a huge impact he had had on the way she lived her life.

What shocked her the most, however, was that when she pictured her life in the future he was always there. Forever teasing her, annoying her, playing pranks on her and most of all, arguing with her. And Lily realised that she was going to do everything in her power to make it happen. Suddenly, she was desperate to see him.

The hour before it was time to leave for Hogwarts seemed to drag on forever. When ten to four finally arrived and Professor Sprout gathered all of her students in the backyard in preparation of the Portkey, Lily’s heart started racing. She gripped the black and yellow umbrella and had to grit her teeth in order to hold in her sigh of impatience. When Ruby looked at her questioningly, Lily just shrugged in reply.

Lily managed to stay on her feet this time when the Portkey deposited them in the Entrance Hall. Everyone was pleased to be back, but none more so than she. She bid a hasty ‘good-bye’ to the others, mumbling a lame excuse about where she was off to in such a hurry. In truth she didn’t know why she was hiding her desperation to see James when everyone would realise it soon enough.

She dashed up the main staircase and took every shortcut she knew of in order to get to the Heads’ Room all the faster. James always spent the hour break they had before dinner on Wednesdays working on his Muggle Studies homework. She knew because he would always pester her with a million questions.

He was sprawled out on the rug in front of the fireplace with his books surrounding him, when she burst into the room. He looked startled at first, but then a huge grin spread across his face.

“You’re back,” he said, sitting up. “Good, because I was wondering about this thing called a-” he rifled through one of his books, looking for the correct term, “compwerter. I get that it runs off of ectricity, but I don’t understand-”

“James,” Lily interrupted him softly, walking over to kneel in front of him, “shut up.”

“Wha… why?” he asked, looking up from his book.

Lily shook her head, gazing at him fondly. His hair was a mess, no doubt from him running his hand though it, there was a smudge on one of the lenses of his glasses, and his eyes sparkled as he looked at her.

“Because,” she explained, “I want to do this…” And then she leaned forward and kissed him.

There were no sparks or explosions inside her head. The earth didn’t shake on its axis or stop spinning. But there was an overwhelming sense of rightness. Nothing had ever felt more perfect than kissing James Potter.

Lily tangled her fingers in the hair at the nape of James’ neck, and his hands came up to frame her face gently. As their breath mingled together, Lily noticed that he tasted faintly of chocolate and she vaguely remembered seeing a Chocolate Frog Card sticking out of one of his textbooks.

James changed the angle of his head and his glasses bumped Lily’s nose. She broke the kiss, reached out a hand to pull them off and them leaned back to study him, setting his glasses aside. He looked different without them, she noticed, younger, but more serious and without the boyish charm his glasses gave him.

He pulled her towards him until she was sitting on his lap. “You’re blurry when you’re that far away,” he told her, before kissing her again.

Lily had wondered if the first kiss had been a fluke- if it had only felt so wonderful because she had never kissed him before. But their second kiss was just as perfect, and this time they were unhindered by his glasses. Time stopped as they became lost in each other, neither saying a word about how this would change things between them and neither of them able to bring themselves to care.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A/N: And that was chapter eleven!! I hope you liked it. Some of you might be wondering why I decided to write L’s and J’s first kiss like that… My answer: Don’t worry…it will be explained in the next chapter. :) Until next time!! And don’t forget to review!!!!!

A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed and is still sticking with this story! I know it's been forever since I updated, but I've been soooo busy this summer working and preparing to go to a different school that it's been unreal! I really hope this next chapter makes up for it somewhat. It's only been beta read (thank you Colon!) through once, so if you notice any mistakes please let me know so that I can fix them. Now, without further ado...

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Lily blinked drowsily in the bright sunlight as she opened her eyes and struggled to sit up. Something warm and heavy was holding her tightly. Lily tentatively reached up her free hand and felt the object that was preventing her from rising. It was long, and a little bit hairy, but in her sleepiness it took Lily a moment to realize what exactly it was.

She lay still for several moments, letting her eyes slowly adjust to the light. When she could see clearly she glanced down in confusion at the arm that was wrapped around her. The brightly colored rug on the floor caught her eye and it was immediately obvious that she was in the Heads’ Room. However, that still didn’t explain how or what- oh!

Lily shoved James’ arm off her and untangled her legs from his, rolling off the sofa and onto the floor with a soft thump. James shifted in his sleep but miraculously didn’t wake up. She stood up on shaky legs and backed up until her calves bumped into the coffee table behind her, staring wide-eyed at the still sleeping figure on the couch.

Lily sank down onto the coffee table and lowered her head into her hands. She fisted her hands in her hair before dragging them down to cover her face. She sat there with her eyes closed for several moments before cautiously opening her eyes to watch James through her spread fingers. She took a deep breath and then, staring at the ceiling, let it out in a half laugh, half sob, the events of the night before swirling through her mind.

She couldn’t believe she had kissed him. She had kissed James.

It was true that she didn’t dislike him anymore, anyone could see that. And, yeah, sometimes when he smiled at her, her stomach would flutter and when he would bump into her when they patrolled, the place he touched her tingled. But it hadn't really occurred to her that her feelings towards him were becoming…well, for lack of a better word- romantic.

At Stephan’s funeral she had wanted him there with her, wanted his support, wanted him to crack a joke and cheer her up. And then when she had arrived back at Hogwarts, he was the first person she had wanted to see- needed to see. It hadn’t even crossed her mind to go talk to Marlene first. Or Janice or Linda or Lizzie. James had been the only person she had wanted.

And when she had finally got to the Heads’ Room and had seen him sitting on the floor, surrounded by books, with his hair a mess, she was lost. And then, when his eyes had lit up with excitement at seeing her so that he could ask her some silly question about a computer…. Well, all the emotions of the day had bubbled up inside her and she had told him to ‘shut up’ and before she knew it she was kissing him, because really, it was the only thing she had been able to think of to do.

Even though she had been the one to initiate the kiss, it had still taken her by surprise. She had always thought he would be the one to make the first move, like he had with everything else. But, after getting to know him so well the past couple of months, she understood perfectly why he had waited for her to kiss him. He had wanted to be sure. To know, without a doubt, that she had decided with her own free will to be with him. That she hadn't been coerced or tricked or doped up on some kind of potion.

He had wanted to be sure that she was kissing him because she wanted to, not because he had kissed her first and that she had decided to let him, just to see what it was like. Because he knew that once they had kissed, they would never be able to go back to the way things had been before.

Even knowing what had happened last night, Lily still couldn’t quite believe it. She remembered kissing him for what seemed like hours and talking with him about everything and nothing, and then kissing him again. At some point they must have curled up on the sofa, still kissing or talking or both, and then fallen asleep. And even though it had been a shock to wake up next to him, truthfully, nothing had ever felt so right before. Lily sighed again, although this time it was a sigh mixed with confusion and contentment.

“Lily?” James yawned and sat up on the sofa, running a hand through his hair. “Time izit?” he asked her sleepily.

“Oh, um…” Lily blinked and glanced up at the clock. “Almost eight-thirty.”

“Oh, we fell asleep, then?” James stretched. “And we’re missing breakfast.”

“Yeah.”

“Lily?”

“Hmm?” Lily felt him watching her and glanced over at him.

“You alright?”

“Yes…no…I don’t know.” Lily sighed and looked at him miserably. “I’m just so confused…” she trailed off frustrated.

James let out a relived laugh. “Oh Merlin, me too.”

Lily grinned at him suddenly and went over to sit next to him. “It’s just that I have no idea what to do,” she rambled, picking up one of his hands and playing with his fingers. “And I don’t even know what I want to happen or if I want something to happen. And if something does happen, then everyone will what to know how it happened and I don’t know how I’ll explain what happened, because I really don’t understand it at all an-”

“Lily!”

Lily started. “What?”

James shook his head and smiled lopsidedly at her. “Shut up,” he whispered, leaning forward to kiss her.

Lily sighed and let him, but then suddenly pulled away making a disgusted face. “Ugh, ick your breath is horrible!”

“Well, yours isn’t exactly minty fresh either,” he said, poking her and jumping up off the sofa. “Race you to the bathroom.”

“No fair, you got a head start,” Lily yelled, chasing after him.

She got to the bathroom just as he was reaching for his toothbrush. Lily elbowed him out of the way and grabbed her own, shooting him a grin. Then, even though they each had their own, they fought over a tube of toothpaste.

Lily was victorious and when she had finished applying the paste to her brush, James snatched it from her hand and squeezed some onto his own. They nudged each other playfully as they brushed and flicked water on each other. James left the bathroom so that Lily could change into fresh clothing and once he had changed into clean robes as well they linked arms and made their way down to the Kitchens for breakfast.

Nothing was said when they showed up to Defence class several minutes late, each fighting to keep a serious look on their face as Lily convincingly told Professor Lowbard that they had had Heads’ business to attend to.

Marlene cast Lily as suspicious look as she slid into the seat next to her, while James sat with his friends in the back of the classroom. It was only when the professor had given the class permission to break off into groups to perfect a new spell for identifying hexes, charms and jinxes on inanimate objects that Marlene spoke.

“Where’ve you been? I stayed up half the night waiting for you to come in. I finally gave up and went to sleep, but you could have sent a message or something. Not to mention that you missed breakfast this morning. You really shouldn’t have, you know. Dumbledore had some announcements. And now you waltz in here with James, sprouting some nonsense about Head’s business. Please tell me, Lily,” she added scathingly, “that you didn’t expect me to buy that.”

Lily looked at Marlene, shock and guilt written on her face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even think to send you a message once I got back. I just wanted to be alone, really. I went to the Heads’ Room and I fell asleep on the sofa. I slept through most of breakfast and I would’ve missed Defence if James hadn't woken me up. Really, I didn’t mean to worry you.” She tried not to think about how, or why, she wasn't telling Marlene the whole truth.

Marlene sighed, content with Lily’s answer for now. “’S all right,” she said, flicking her wand at the chest they had been assigned to. It glowed pink and Lily glanced at her textbook.

“That would be a locking charm,” she informed Marlene, pointing her own wand at the chest. “Alohamora.” The chest opened with a click and the girls grinned at each other and then, catching sight of a slightly smaller chest inside the first one, they rolled their eyes.

Lily pulled the second chest out as Professor Lowbard hurried over to take the first one off of their hands. “Five points to Gryffindor,” he said cheerfully.

There was a loud whoop from the back of the room and Lily knew without looking that James had broken into his first chest as well.

It was Lily’s turn to try the spell and as she concentrated on getting the wand movement right Marlene relayed Dumbledore’s announcements to her. “Slughorn’s coming back this weekend,” she said happily. “Which means you’ve only got one more class with Yaxley.”

Lily smiled happily at this bit of news. “Oh, thank goodness! Although, I don’t know if I can handle another class with her. I swear I’ve lost more points from her than I have all six years at Hogwarts. Maybe I ought to skive off or something.”

“Lily!” Marlene stared at her wide eyed.

“What?” Lily said defensively. “It’s not as though I’m learning anything from her. And Slughorn has always said I’m a natural at Potions and don’t even need instructing.”

Marlene let out an unladylike snort. “If I didn’t know better,” she said with a hit of amusement in her voice, “I’d think that James is rubbing off on you, what with you spending so much time with him and all.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Lily responded casually. “Ah, there it is!” She grinned over at Marlene as the chest glowed acid green. Marlene flipped through her textbook and made a disgusted face.

“Eurgh, the Vomiting Jinx.” Marlene wrinkled her nose and stood back her wand arm stretched out in front of her. Her other hand came up to guard her face and she squinted through her fingers as she performed the counter jinx.

She was just finishing the incantation when there was a screech from her left, startling her. Marlene’s arm jerked involuntarily and the chest in front of them was set off with a loud bang and they were splattered with greenish orange sick along with everyone else nearby.

Lily had closed her eyes just in time, but she could feel the glop running down her face and soaking through her robes. Marlene was apologizing over and over again and frantically trying to Scourgify the mess away, but from what Lily could hear it wasn’t doing any good.

Professor Lowbard was trying to be heard over the laughter of Sirius, Peter and a few others who hadn’t been covered in the slop.

The vomit smelt terrible- like old socks, sour milk and rotting fruit- and Lily reached up with her free hand to wipe it off her face, so she could breathe without gagging.

Someone grabbed her arm midway and said, “Here, let me do it.”

Lily flinched slightly as gentle hands mopped the sick from her face with a warm, damp cloth. It left a clean, fresh smell behind and Lily took a full breath gratefully. She opened her eyes to see James standing in front of her, biting his lower lip to keep from laughing. His eyes sparkled with amusement as Lily glared at him.

“It’s not funny, Potter.”

James shook his head and a chuckle escaped him. “Oh, but it really is. Merlin, I wish I had a camera. This moment should be captured forever: Lily Evans, Head Girl, covered in puke from head to toe. It must be a theme this year to be covered in disgusting green stuff or something. I mean first there was green goo in the Heads’ Room-”

“Which you’ll remember was your fault,” Lily put in flatly, trying to take the cloth from him. James shot her a look and she relented with a sigh and let him wipe at her hair and neck.

“-and now it’s green and orange vomit,” James continued as though she hadn’t spoken. “I wonder what’s going to be next.

Lily ignored him as he wiped at her arms with the cloth and glanced around the room. Marlene was getting similar treatment from Lizzie, and Linda, whose hand was also red and swollen, was being cleaned up by Janice, who only had a few drops on her robe.

Sirius was sneakily propelling some of the vomit into the air and towards Snape, whose back was turned towards him as he helped Avery wipe off his robes. But with some sort of sixth sense, Snape whipped around, wand in hand, and sent the blob rushing back towards Sirius, his lips twisted into a sneer. Sirius gave a quick look of surprise before ducking hurriedly, narrowly missing being hit in the face.

Marlene’s hair and robes were coated thickly with the stuff. Lily realized that she had been lucky. Only one side of her body was covered since hadn't been standing directly in front of the chest when it had gone off.

“Oh, Lily, I’m so sorry,” Marlene groaned when she saw Lily looking over at her. “But I jumped when Linda screamed. Her chest had turned into a crab and it bit her and then my hand jerked and set the spell of…. Eurgh, this is so gross,” she continued. “It’s just like that time when John’s spell backfired and he was-”

But Lily stopped listening. James was now wiping off her arm and hand. He moved the cloth gently between each of her fingers as he cleaned them off. Lily sighed from the sensation, which felt almost like a massage. She wanted to close her eyes and lean into him, but knowing that most of her robes were covered with vomit stopped her. She looked up at James and saw that he was studying her face with a warm look in his eyes and a small smile curved his lips. Lily met his eyes, and felt her cheeks go red. It was as if they could read each other’s thoughts, because she knew at that moment he was wishing they were alone together and that he knew she was thinking the same thing.

A small cough broke Lily away from James gaze and she turned her head to see Marlene looking at them both curiously. She opened her mouth to say something but was forestalled by Professor Lowbard dismissing those who had been splattered to go to their dorms to clean up (Linda he told to go to the Hospital Wing for her crab bite) and asking the others to stay and help put the classroom back to rights.

Lily managed to smile a quick good-bye to James before following her friends out of the room. Lily and Marlene parted ways from Linda and Janice at the stairs since they were continuing towards the Hospital Wing.

They dropped their bags onto their beds once they reached their dorm- luckily the charms Lily had on hers protecting it from ink and rain had kept the vomit off of as well- and made their way into the bathroom. After stripping off their shoes, socks and robes, they put them in the laundry chute for the house elves to clean.

Lily walked into one of the two showers that were in the bathroom connected to their dorm room and peeled off the rest of her clothing before tossing it over the curtain. The water was turned on with a flick of her wand and Lily sighed gratefully as she washed.

Lily finished before Marlene and she wrapped herself in a robe and dried her hair with a towel. It was wonderful to be clean again and Lily knew that this was an experience she did not want to repeat. She used her wand to levitate their dirty clothes into the hamper to be washed.

Marlene stepped out of her shower and eyed Lily suspiciously as she made her way back into the dorm room.

“What?” Lily asked, chasing after her.

“There’s something up with you,” Marlene replied as she pulled clothes out of her chest of drawers and threw them on her bed.

“Aside from the fact that I just got splattered with vomit, you mean?”

Marlene rolled her eyes at Lily before starting to comb her hair. “Yes. I just need to figure out what it is. I mean, you have this pleased aura about you, or something. The last time you looked even close to this was when you just got back from snogging-” She broke off before saying Stephan’s name and shot Lily an apologetic look. “Sorry. You know I get carried away sometimes.”

Lily gave a small shrug and began fixing her hair into a messy top knot. For a moment, she had thought Marlene had guessed she had kissed James. But even if Marlene’s train of thought had been on that path, there was not way she would have thought Lily would have done such a thing- even if she had known the reasons behind it.

“And it’s not as though you’ve been snogging James, is it? You would definitely say something if you had.” Marlene shot a smile at Lily, but all she could do is nod in return.

The girls finished getting ready in silence and then they grabbed their bags and rushed out of the dorm so that they wouldn’t be too late for Charms.

-()-

Lily was sitting in on the sofa in the Heads’ Common Room catching up on some of the work she had missed the day before because of the funeral when James came in and sat down next to her.

“Hi,” he said.”

“Hi.”

“What are you working on?”

“Transfiguration.”

James leaned over and plucked the book from her hands. “How about coming down to dinner instead? Everyone else is already down there. I figured when you didn’t show up I‘d better come get you. You get grouchy when you haven‘t eaten,” he added with a grin.

“Oh, is it time already?” Lily glanced up at the clock and was shocked to see that it was past six. “What?” she exclaimed, thoroughly confused. “But the clock hasn’t chimed at all!”

James raised his eyebrows at her. “You silenced it, remember.”

“Yeah,” Lily said exasperated, “but it should have worn of by now. I mean it’s been three days. Ugh, I can‘t believe I didn’t notice it before.”

“Well,” James said standing up with a shrug, “you do have a gift for Charms.”

Lily spelled a “finite” at the offending clock as she followed him out of the room. James took her hand and pulled her closer to him as they made their way down to the Great Hall.

They had only reached the fifth floor when James snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her into a hidden niche.

“James, what-”

James cut her off with a kiss. “Shut up,” he told her, grinning and backing her up into the wall before kissing her again.

“James.” Lily was finally able to speak several minutes later, albeit a bit breathlessly, when James moved his lips away from her mouth and nibbled a trail of kisses down her throat. “I thought you wanted to go dinner.”

“Screw dinner.”

“But isn’t that what you’re trying to do to me?”

James jerked his head back, a look of pure shock on his face. “Lily!

She blinked innocently at him. “What?”

“You just- what you said-” he stuttered. He moved back so that he wasn’t pressing her into the wall anymore and grabbed her hand, pulling her down the hallway.

“James!” Lily struggled to keep up with him and tugged at his hand with both of hers, trying to get him to slow his pace. “James!”

He stopped abruptly and turned to face her, still holding her hand, his hazel eyes blazing. “Look, I’m not just- I don’t care what everyone else says, but I’ve never…” he trailed off, shaking his head. When he met her eyes again he spoke with deliberate slowness. “You’re more to me than that.”

Lily studied him carefully. She knew that people had suggested that James pursued her only because she was the only one who had ever told him ‘no’. But she hadn’t realised before now that some of them had been crude and cruel about it. Or the fact that James hadn’t taken advantage of so many girls liking him, as she knew Sirius had done.

She reached out her free hand and cupped his face, caressing his cheek with her thumb. “I know, James.” He closed his eyes and leaned into her, sighing deeply. “I didn’t mean anything by it,” she added softly. “I was just teasing.”

“Okay.” James leaned in and kissed her again, softly this time, and Lily let out a quite sigh of contentment. They stood there in the middle of the hall for several minutes before breaking apart and continuing down to the Great Hall for dinner.

They had reached the third floor when Lily stopped suddenly.

“What’s the matter?” James asked.

“Didn’t you hear that?

“No, what was it?”

“I'm not sure- no, wait. There it is again. It sounds like arguing…”

She pulled away from him, listening intently. She walked silently until she was standing just outside the trophy room, where voices were coming from.

“-another warning!”

“You called that a warning? Like killing off my best friend will make me join!” The boy’s voice was scathing and unforgiving.

“Ha! The filthy Mudblood deserved it.” This voice was cold and silky, caressing each word as it was spoken. “But perhaps the Dark Lord overestimated your family,” Yaxley was saying. “After all, your father refused, too, until his last breath. Perhaps your sister will be more wil-”

“No! No, you leave Lucille out of this!”

“Callum,” Lily breathed to James, terrified. “That’s Callum.”

“The Dark Lord is forgiving to those who help him…”

James’ hands gripped Lily’s shoulders. “And Yaxley,” he whispered in her ear. “It has to be Yaxley.”

“No, I won’t-”

There was the sound of a brief struggle and a gasp of pain and something crashed to the floor.

“We have to do something!” Lily whispered furiously, trying to break out of James grasp.

He wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her back. “No, we need to wait, or get Dumbledore or something. We have no idea what’s going on-”

“It’s obvious! She killed Stephan, made him jump off his broom. And now she’s trying to coerce Callum to join the Death Eaters because of it!”

“He wants information,” Yaxley’s cold voice continued. “The names of those who would be most beneficial to him. Those with gifts with spells, plants, arithmancy-”

“Potions!” The words were garbled and strained, as though he was being choked. “Li…Lily Evans.” Lily started when he said her name. “She’s b-brilliant at them.”

“And what use would the Dark Lord have for a Mudblood like her,” Yaxley said venomously, “when he already has Severus Snape and me on his side?”

Lily let out a gasp, which thankfully wasn’t heard. She had known Snape was aiming in that direction, but she had never imagined he would join so soon.

“I do- I don’t know. Please, I can’t think of anyone!”

“Then perhaps you will need some help. Crucio!”

There was a scream of terrible pain that pierced Lily’s ears. James’ grip slackened and Lily broke free and burst into the room, her wand poised. Callum was writhing on the floor with Yaxley two feet away, her face a mask of intense satisfaction of causing another such pain.

“Expelliarmus!”

Yaxley whipped around, a look of surprise on her face as her wand flew out of her hand. But before Lily could stun her, she grabbed Callum’s wand off the floor and shot a spell at her.

Lily ducked under the spell and it hit a trophy case behind her, shattering it. Bits of wood and glass flew everywhere. Lily felt a quick, sharp sting on her hand, but she was too furious with herself to notice. She should have aimed to stun instead of disarm. She wouldn’t make that mistake again. “Protego!” The shield was barely up in time to block the second curse and Yaxley was quick to send another one at her.

“Avis!” The birds Lily shot from her wand intercepted the spell and in her distraction, Yaxley didn’t see James enter the room behind her from the connecting armour gallery.

His stunner hit Yaxley in the middle of her back and she crumpled to the ground with a soft thump. James moved quickly forward and snatched Callum’s wand from Yaxley’s slack grip and gathered her wand from where it had fallen. With a glare he aimed his wand at Yaxley and ropes burst from it, wrapping the fallen Death Eater’s wrists and ankles together so that even if she woke, she would be unable to move.

Lily was already running over to Callum, who was twitching spasmodically on his side in the fetal position, yelling his name. She carefully turned him onto his back and wiped the blood from his face with the sleeve of her robes. There was a gash on his face, just above his right eye, as though he had been hit with something sharp, and his shoulder was sticky with blood from a deep cut.

“James,” Lily said, tearing a piece of cloth from her robes and using it to staunch the blood flowing from Callum’s shoulder wound. “James, we have to get him to Madame Pomfrey.”

“Right.” James ran a hand through his hair. “You take him. I’ll get Dumbledore and tell Professor Sprout to meet you at the Hospital Wing. She’ll want to know- Callum’s in her House.”

James left the room and Lily transfigured a stray piece of wood into a stretcher and levitated Callum carefully onto it and then out of the room, keeping on hand on the stretcher to keep it steady.

Callum opened his eyes with a groan as Lily was going down the stairs to the first floor. He blinked at Lily hazily. “Lily?” he asked confused. “What are you doing here? Yaxley!” he exclaimed, trying to sit up.

“It’s alright, Callum,” Lily explained. “Stay put. James and I overheard you arguing on the way to dinner. We stunned and tied her up. He went to get Professor Dumbledore and Professor Sprout. And we’re at the Hospital Wing now.”

Lily pushed open the door with one hand and then levitated Callum through, calling for Madame Pomfrey. The nurse bustled over.

“Here put him over on this bed!” she exclaimed when she saw Callum’s condition. “Now tell me what on earth happened.”

Lily did as she asked and explained what had happened while Madame Pomfrey healed the cut on Callum’s forehead. The nurse spoke a spell and the clothing surrounding Callum’s shoulder fell away. The wound on his shoulder was still bleeding profusely and Madam Pomfrey quickly said a cleansing spell and Callum bit his lip to hold back a grunt of pain from the sting. Once the wound was clean, the nurse pressed a handful of white gauze to it and murmured healing spells.

Lily sat down on a nearby bed as the nurse worked and put her head in her hands, trying to stop shaking. Everything was beginning to catch up with her and she didn’t know what to do now that the truth about Stephan’s death had finally come out. She let out a heavy sigh.

“You’re going to be just fine, dear,” Madam Pomfrey said kindly to Callum. She moved to get a potion from her cupboard when the Hospital doors burst open.

Dumbledore, followed by Professor Sprout and James, came striding through. His face was calm but his blue eyes, which usually held a twinkle, were flat and full of anger.

James sat down next to Lily and spoke to her quietly, “I told him everything we overheard, but he still wants to hear it from Callum. He doesn’t want us to mention anything about it to anyone else.”

Lily nodded her understanding as she watched Professor Sprout fuss over Callum, even as Dumbledore questioned him.

James made to wrap his arm around Lily, but drew it away quickly. “You’ve got blood on you’re robes.” He sounded worried.

“It’s not mine,” Lily assured him. “It’s Callum’s. He had a cut on his forehead and his shoulder was bleeding.” She reached up a hand to brush her hair out of her face and James grabbed it.

“There’s a cut on you’re hand though,” he said wryly.

“Oh.” Lily looked at the cut, slightly puzzled. “That must’ve been from when the trophy case shattered. Glass was flying everywhere.”

“And you didn’t notice?” James rolled his eyes at her and pulled out his wand to heal the cut.

“I was a bit preoccupied at the moment,” she retorted. “Thanks.”

James nodded and after a glance at the Professors and Madam Pomfrey they rose to leave.

“Just one moment,” Dumbledore called after them. Lily and James turned towards him. “If you would, please post a notice on all of the House boards that Potions classes will be canceled tomorrow. I wish it could be otherwise for the fifth and seventh year students, but I am afraid it cannot be helped, since Professor Slughorn will not return until Sunday.”

“Of course, Professor,” Lily said.

“Thank you. And I will want to speak with you both at a later time.”

Lily and James both nodded and the left the Hospital wing.

“Hungry?” James asked.

Lily scrunched up her nose. “Yes, but dinner’s going to be finished by now. I’ll just get something from the Kitchens and eat it up in our common room.”

“That sounds good,” James agreed. “I should tell the others where I got to, though.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small mirror he had had with him on their trip to Hogsmeade.

“Do you always have that?” Lily asked him.

James flashed a smile at her. “I never go anywhere without it. Sirius.” This last part was spoken into the mirror, which James held low enough so that Lily could see into it too as they continued walking.

A few moments later Sirius’ handsome face appeared in the glass. “Where’ve you got to?” he asked. “You came back without Lily and went straight to Dumbledore. You didn’t even stop for a word. And dinner finished ages ago, but no one’s allowed to leave the Great Hall.”

The mirror went blurry and shortly after Marlene’s face appeared in the frame. “Is that you, James? What’s going on? Is Lily all right?”

“She’s fine, Marlene.” James told her. “She’s right here with me. We can’t really say what’s happened, though. Dumbledore told us not to. Oh, but all Potions classes are canceled tomorrow.”

“Then it’s something to so with Yaxley?”

The mirror when blurry again and then Sirius’ face reappeared. “I knew that cow was up to something,” he said fiercely. “You’ll fill us in later. Oh, Flitwick just stood up. Says we’re allowed to go back to our common rooms now. See you up there.”

The mirror went blank and James looked over at Lily. “Why don’t you go back up and get changed before every gets back,” he told her. “I’ll nip down to the Kitchens and get some food for you.”

“Sounds good.” Lily stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek and then they parted ways.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

A/N: And that was chapter twelve!! There are a lot of things I love about it so I hope you love it too! I always reply to my reviews, so don’t forget to leave me one!! Until next time….Review, Review, Review!!

A/N: Hello! Chapter thirteen is finally here!! I'm so sorry it took so long, but RL is a...well...it's life. I have a few announcements to make, which will be at the end of the chapter, so please make sure to read it! Enjoy the chapter and don't forget to leave me a review!!

Chapter Thirteen

Over the next two weeks, the truth about Belinda Yaxley spread throughout the school like fiendfyre. By now, every student knew that Lily and James had been responsible for her capture after coming across her threatening a student. Rumours were rampant about who the student was, but by tacit agreement Lily and James refused to indulge anyone's curiosity.

Professor Slughorn's return was greeted with so much enthusiasm that all of his classes turned into impromptu parties on his first day of resuming teaching. He also held Slug Club party that Friday in place of the one that had been forced to be cancelled. Lily, however, was only able to stop in for a short time since she had to patrol that night- a fact that James had been particularly happy about. The party was strictly members only, and he wouldn't have been able to go, even if Lily had deemed to invite him.

Something had changed between Lily and James since that night with Yaxley. It was almost as though they were avoiding each other by accident. Anytime they tried to get a moment alone, they were interrupted. In the common room it was by their friends or a younger student with a question. Their patrols, for the most part, were done in silence and every time either of them tried to broach the subject a Prefect, an out of bounds student or, in one instance, a teacher would cross their path, interrupting them.

Even escaping to their Heads' common room didn't help matters, for whenever they managed to get there, they had homework, patrolling schedules and a million other things to work on.

But even though they never had a real chance to talk, there was a strange energy surrounding them whenever they were near each other. And even though neither of them had mentioned anything to any of their friends, it was obvious they suspected something was afoot. Lily often caught Marlene looking at her with an odd look on her face and the astute Remus would quirk an eyebrow each time Lily and James got into an argumentative discussion pertaining schoolwork.

By the time the weekend was over, life had taken on a monotone glow. Classes were dull since each new spell they were learning was just an extension of a previously learned one. Potions was the only course that was still interesting- and that was only because next week they were going to start brewing the Polyjuice Potion. Of course they had learned the theory of the potion in fifth year- in fact, there had been a question about it on their O.W.L.- but brewing the potion before they were of age had been out of the question. Too much could go wrong and the Ministry did as much as it could to control its use. It would be the most complex potion they had ever worked on and Lily was looking forward to the challenge.

Of the outside world, the information the students were receiving was sketchy. The Daily Prophet reported only titbit of information and Lily knew there had to be more to the stories it was printing. As if anyone would believe an entire family would just disappear without a word. Julie McGavin, a third-year Ravenclaw, had no idea why her family left, or where they went to. She knew her mother would have mentioned something in one of her many letters. She also knew that her father was a strong supporter of Muggle-borns in the Ministry. And even though her family was pureblooded, nowadays it was not something you advertised if you wanted to remain unharmed.

When her frustration with the Daily Prophet reached its peak, Lily owled her parents and requested that they send her a copy of the Times once a week. The differences between the two papers were drastic. The Times had no qualms about reporting the increased number of violent disasters that were occurring throughout the Muggle World. A few of them, of course, were natural occurrences, but Lily was becoming adept at picking out those which were caused by magic. The frequent fires were the most obvious clue that the catastrophes were Voldemort's work. There could only be so many “gas leak”, “the stove was left on” and “a lit cigarette was in the dustbin” excuses before they began to get repetitive and unbelievable. Especially when most of the accidents occurred at notorious Muggle places. Not to mention that even though many of the witnesses who were interviewed reported being unsure of the exact order of events, all of their stories matched word for word. Which suggested to Lily that they may have been Obliviated.

And today was no different. The Sunday paper Lily's parents had sent her reported that the east wing of the British Museum had to be closed for several days due to a security breach. Security cameras had managed to capture the form of a skeleton masked figure running through the corridor of ancient artifacts. The Times reported that nothing had been stolen, but that the Museum wanted to figure out how the person had managed to break in.

Lily set the paper down and stared off into space. She only broke out of her thoughts when James shook her shoulder gently.

“Lily, it's time for Potions. Are you ready to leave?”

“Yeah,” she replied, shoving the paper into her bag to peruse later. “Let's go.”

Lily, James and Sirius met up with Lizzie outside of the Great Hall to walk down to the dungeons together. Once they reached the classroom every thought and conversation was now directed towards the Polyjuice Potion. Almost everyone was nervous about brewing it - and with good reason.

It wasn't just because it was difficult to make, it would also take a long time to brew. Like any potion, the measurements had to be precise, and certain ingredients had to be gathered and added at specific times. But the Polyjuice Potion required the lacewing flies to be steeped for exactly twenty-one days, and if everything else wasn't added correctly beforehand, the potion would be completely useless and potentially harmful to the drinker.

Professor Slughorn appeared in the classroom in his usual jolly disposition. He waddled up to the front of the room and leaned back in his desk chair, observing his students curiously. After a few minutes he let out a giant laugh.

“You all look as though you've been petrified. Except, of course, for you, Lily,” he said with a smile towards her. “I can always count on you to be as calm as the lake on a sunny day.” He paused to glace around the room one more time. “Remember that you won't be able to add the fluxweed until Friday. There will be a full moon Thursday night and you will all need to gather what you need then. Well, what are you all waiting for? Get to work!”

At once there was the sound of benches scraping against the stone floor as everyone got to their feet and headed to the storage cupboards for the ingredients. Lily held back against the mad rush, preferring to wait until everyone else had gotten what they needed. James looked back over his shoulder and threw her a wink as he elbowed Sirius out of the way to get to the lacewing flies that he wanted.

Lily rolled her eyes at him in return and then turned to speak to Lizzie who had come to stand next to her.

“I think my toe is broken,” Lizzie complained. “Rosier stamped on it pretty hard. And he's no lightweight,” she added under her breath.

“I doubt your toe is broken,” Lily laughed. “Bruised, perhaps, but not broken.”

Lizzie stared down at her foot and wiggled her toes. “I suppose. I can move my toes without screaming, at least.”

“Here you go, Lily.” James bounded over to them. “I managed to get you some lacewing flies before Sirius took them all.”

“You might have got her the lacewing flies, but I've won this battle with the pixie dust I collected for the fair maiden!” Sirius all but shouted. He got onto his knees to present Lily with a tube of sparkling powder.

“Honestly, Sirius,” Lily said, snatching the tube from him. “I don't know how you even got into this class. There isn't any pixie dust in the Polyjuice Potion. And, if you do add it, you'll probably end up looking like a cross between a goblin and Hagrid.”

James snorted with laughter, as Sirius turned pale and ran his hands over his face as though checking that all of his features were in place. Lily rolled her eyes and returned the tube to the cupboard it belonged in. By now everyone else had picked out what they needed and Lily was able to gather her ingredients without bumping elbows with anyone.

She walked back to her table and began to calmly prepare the ingredients for the potion, every so often referencing back to her notes to make sure everything was as it should be.

By the end of class every student had finished the first part of making the Polyjuice Potion and Slughorn was extremely pleased. He had expected at least one person to mess up, but Lily figured everyone was being extra careful since this potion was so complicated. Now all they had to do was collect the fluxweed and add that and the lacewing flies before letting it stew.

Once Slughorn dismissed them, Lily, James, Sirius and Lizzie made their way to Transfiguration, which Lily - for once- felt no need to go to. All they were going to do today was learn a different way to alter appearance from what they had been taught last year, something that Lily had already researched for extra credit.

The usual chatter greeted them as they entered the classroom. Lily and Lizzie headed to their seats next to Marlene while James and Sirius wandered to the back where Remus and Peter were waiting for them. Peter had an eager look on his face and as soon as James reached him, he leaned over to whisper something in his ear, to which James laughed at uproariously, turning a few heads. Lily shook her head slightly as their antics even as she mentally reminded herself to ask James what Peter had told him.

McGonagall entered the room and called them all to attention, asking them to pass in their homework. Then she proceeded to pick on people randomly to find out what they remembered about altering appearance on themselves and others. Partway though the lecture, Lily lost interest. She glanced over her shoulder at James to see that he was doodling absentmindedly on a scrap of parchment. Shaking her head, she leaned back in her chair and let her thoughts wonder.

-()-

“I've decided that homework is useless,” James commented, tossing his Defence book on the floor.

Lily tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and looked up from her Transfiguration essay. “Why do you say that?”

“Because all it does is annoy students and give teachers more work to do.”

Lily laughed at his reasoning. “But it also gives students who don't do well on tests a chance to keep their grades up. And it lets the teachers know how students are progressing so that they can change their teaching method if need be. Besides,” she added, handing his book back to him, “complaining about it isn't going to make it go away. You might as well just get it done so you can do something more interesting.”

James grabbed his book back, sliding off the sofa and onto the floor next to her. “That doesn't mean I have to like it,” he complained. “I mean, take this Defence essay for example. Why does it matter to Professor Lowbard what we would feel if we could see thestrals. And for that matter, what do thestrals have to do with Defence? We're seventh years - we should be doing something more productive than talking about creatures!”

Lily put her essay down and looked over at him, finally understanding why he was getting so upset over such a straightforward homework. She studied his profile carefully before responding. He cheeks were tinged with anger and he was clutching his quill tightly in one hand.

She reached over and gently removed the quill from his hand and laced her fingers though his instead. “Is it hard trying to put what you would feel into words?” she asked him calmly.

“No, it's just none of his business, is all.” He concentrated on her fingers, refusing to meet her gaze.

Lily shrugged. “Then just make it up. He won't know any better.”

Shocked, James looked over at her. Lily shook her head at him and gave him a rueful smile. “If it's upsetting you this much then that's the only thing to do, isn't it?”

He starred at her for several moments before replying. “I can see them, you know. The thestrals.”

“I had been wondering,” she told him honestly. “I thought that might be why you put off doing the essay for so long. We were given it two weeks ago.”

“Yeah, well…I was only twelve and he shouldn't have been there in the first place.” His voice was full of bitterness.

“Who shouldn't have been?”

“My Uncle Charlus.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “He wasn't allowed over very often. My dad was much older and had always looked out for him. But then he went and married Dorea Black - Sirius' great-aunt, funnily enough. Anyway, their family has always been heavily into the Dark Arts, and Uncle Charlus began to get deeper and deeper involved with them. He was starting to lose control over himself.” James shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. “I don't even know why he was there in our living room that day, or what he was doing. Dad had told him ages ago that he wasn't allowed over while I was home from school. But whatever spell he was experimenting with must have been too strong for him because it killed him. And he had no idea that I had been standing in the doorway watching him.”

James let go of her hand to wrap his arms around his knees as he stared off into past. “He just screamed and fell over. His face was blistering, as thought he was burning from the inside out. I hate the Dark Arts,” he added venomously. “All they do is ruin lives.”

They sat in silence for several minutes, until Lily spoke up curiously, “Are they as horrifying to look at as their pictures? The thestrals, I mean.”

“Worse, but only because every time you see one, you remember why you can see them in the first place.”

“You should put that in your essay,” she told him, leaning her head against his shoulder.

He nodded thoughtfully and began to run his finger though her hair. “I never told anyone, you know. Well, Sirius of course,” he amended, “but no one else. Not even my parents know. I ran up to my room before anyone had the chance to see me.”

“I'm glad you told me. I think I'm beginning to understand you more and more each day.”

James grinned over at her.

He plucked his parchment from between the pages of his book and reached over her arm to reclaim his quill. Balancing his book on his knees for a writing surface, he began to scratch away.

It wasn't until Lily was rolling up her finished essay that she Lily noticed that the scratching had stopped. She glanced up at him to find him watching her pensively.

He smiled faintly at her and reached over, tucking a stray piece of hair back behind her ear. “Let's do something fun,” he said suddenly, tucking his own essay into his book once again.

“What do you mean?”

“I don't know, but we have at least two hours yet before we have to patrol,” he replied jubilantly. “Let's just wander around until we find something.” He got to his feet and pulled her up after him, a bright grin across his face.

Lily laughed, glad to see that he was out of his mood.

“We could go down to Hogsmeade.”

“James, we're Head Boy and Girl. We can't leave the school grounds without permission. Besides, we wouldn't get back in time for our patrol.”

“Spoilsport.” He grinned at her and went over to his desk to dig around in his school bag. “Let's set these off then,” he suggested, holding up a bag.

“Dungbombs? Gross! It takes days for the smell to wear off. And we can't do something like that. We're-”

“Head Boy and Girl, I know.” He placed the bag on his desk and sank down in his chair. “You're no fun. I bet you've never played a prank in you life.”

Lily smiled cunningly at him. “You would lose. Remember that time all of Sughorn's robes were pink for a week?”

James' mouth dropped open. “No way! That was you?”

“And Janice, Linda and Marlene.” Lily shrugged. “Nothing to it.”

“It took both Dumbledore and Flitwick to break the charms. They couldn't figure out what combination of spells was used. And everyone thought we had done it. McGonagall even gave us detention!”

“That was the idea,” Lily laughed.

James was shaking his head, unable to fathom it. “But you love Slughorn. He's always giving you points and stuff.”

Lily huffed. “It gets old after a while. I mean, he's nice and all, but there's only so much fawning I can take. That was the week after I had won the National Student's Potions Essay Contest. He wouldn't stop talking about it.” She walked over to look out the window. “You know,” she said after a moment, “it won't be too cold out with a warming charm. We could go flying for a bit.”

James perked up. “Really?”

“Sure,” Lily said with a shrug as he walked over to stand next to her. “It's not too windy out and I enjoyed it last time as much as I hate to admit it. No one has the Pitch booked, do they?”

“Nope, it's free tonight.”

Lily grinned brightly at him, glad to see his mood had improved so drastically. “It's decided then. Let's go get the brooms and our coats.”

They walked to the Gryffindor common room and then up to their dorms. Lily pulled a jumper over her head and put on her trainers. She grabbed her coat, tucking her want into a pocket, and James' extra broom (she still had it from when they had gone flying at the beginning of the year) before going back downstairs.

He was waiting for her at the portrait hole and they happily made their way down to the Quidditch Pitch. It was slightly colder than Lily had expected it to be and she cast a quick warming charm over them both before pulling on her gloves. A glance at James showed that he was putting on the Quidditch glove she had got him for his birthday.

“Are they working out well for you?” she asked him.

He grinned at her. “The best.” They reached the pitch and James immediately jumped onto his broom. “Race you to the other end,” he said before taking off with a whoop.

“No fair!” Lily called after him. “You could have at least waited until I was ready!”

He was already at the other end. “Where's the fun in that?” He flew steadily back over to her and waited for her to mount up.

She was more comfortable getting onto the broom this time around. James had been right - it was rather like riding a bicycle. She moved her hands into position and then kicked off the ground.

James had already looped once around the Pitch, and now he came over to join her. The two of them flew around for several minutes before James fetched the Quaffle from the Quidditch shed.

He gave Lily an easy smile when he tossed it to her and she managed to catch it one-handed without losing her balance on the broom. Grinning, she threw it back and then laughed as he missed it.

“I did that on purpose, you know!” he called to her as he dived to pick it.

“If you meant to do that, then my name isn't Lily Evans!” she called after him.

“It doesn't have to be,” James said, flying back up next to her.

“What do you mean by that?”

James shook his head at her and grinned, handing her the Quaffle. “Don't worry about it. Now, throw it again. I'll get it this time if you aim it better,” he teased.

Lily stuck her tongue out at him and threw the ball at him head. He caught it easily and tossed it back.

They passed the rest of their free time exchanging insults each time either of them missed it. Naturally Lily was on the receiving end of most of them, but James just joked that he was getting back at her for all of the times she had yelled at him before.

Her hands were slightly numb from the cold by the time they had to stop for their rounds. James had permanent smile plastered on his face and he cheerfully unwound his scarf from around his neck and wrapped it around Lily's head.

She pulled it down off of her eyes so that she could see and balanced her broom over one shoulder before linking her arm through James'. They walked up to the castle, laughing happily and hoping that there weren't any students out of bed that they would have to take points from.

A/N: And that was chapter thirteen!! I hope you enjoyed it! It took me forever to write, which is partly because of school and partly becuase I just couldn't get the words out. But the good news is that the next chapter is almost halfway written and is going very quickly, so I hope to have it out by the end of the month. As I've said before, I will NOT be abandoning this story. I know I've been very inconsistent with posting chapters and have had no word in between...this is why I've created a Yahoo! group. I will be posting regular updates about the story and I'll also be posting some extra stuff as well. House layouts, drawings etc. You need a Yahoo! ID but it's free to sign up. I have the link posted on my profile page. Hope to see you there! And don't forget to review, it means a lot to read what you think!!! Until next time!

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Chapter Fourteen

It was a shock when Dumbledore stood up to make an announcement at breakfast the next morning. Lily couldn't remember a time when he had done this before. Usually any announcements were made at dinner when every student was pretty much guaranteed to be present.

“I have some rather unfortunate news to inform you of this morning,” he said once he had got everyone's attention. “Late last night a small Muggle town a fair distance from Hogsmeade was attacked by Death Eaters. No-” he held up a hand as there was a scramble to search the papers- “there will not be any mention in today's news. The Ministry is keeping it under wraps so as not to worry the community. However, from this time forward, no student is allowed to be outside of the castle after the evening meal unless they are in the presence of a teacher and have a legitimate reason.

“On that note, will all of the seventh year Potions students please follow Professor Slughorn to the antechamber to discuss your current project.”

Dumbledore sat back down as Lily exchanged looks with James. The students were going to be livid about the outside curfew being so much sooner, but at least since it was getting darker earlier most students would have been inside anyway. The hugest impact would be on Quidditch as most practices were held in the evenings.

Slughorn stood up from his seat and walked over to stand in the doorway to the antechamber, waiting patiently for his seventh year students to join him.

Sirius stretched his hands above his head and stood up. “Well, let's go see what ol' Sluggy needs, shall we?”

A few minutes later their Potions class was gathered in front of Professor Slughorn in the antechamber. Lily glanced around the room, noticing one of the portraits contained the Fat Lady's friend Violet, who was watching (and no doubt listening) with rapt attention.

“The new curfew puts a bit of a damper on our current project,” Slughorn huffed. “But Dumbledore said that I can have two students accompany me to gather the fluxweed Thursday night. Those two will need to get enough for everyone in the class to use. I leave it to you to choose who they will be.”

The class exchanged glances. Sirius rolled his eyes at Lily. “He makes it seem like such a hard thing,” he whispered to her before speaking up loudly. “The two with the highest marks should be the ones to go with you, sir.”

Lily glared at Sirius as Slughorn looked around the room where the other students were nodding in agreement. “Need to make sure I won't be around as you set up a prank, do you?” she accused. Linda and Janice laughed appreciatively.

Sirius let out a faint snort and raised his eyebrows at her. “We have other ways of getting around. Besides, it's not likely you would trust anyone else to gather the fluxweed is it?”

Lily glared at him again, but conceded the point, knowing he was right.

“Very well,” Slughorn was saying, “since you're all in agreement. Miss Evans and Mr. Snape - if you would kindly meet me in the Entrance Hall Thursday evening at nine, we will gather enough fluxweed for the entire class.”

There were murmurs throughout the room. It was well known that even though Lily and Snape didn't get on at all nowadays, at one time they could have been considered friends. During Potions when the students had not been allowed to choose their own partners, Snape and Lily had often worked together. Slughorn recognized that they both had a knack for brewing, though clearly it was Lily who was his favorite - even though Snape was in his House - and the never-ending jealously had been caused a rift between them.

Lily glanced over to where Snape was standing sullenly with his back against the wall, arms crossed and glaring hatefully at her. She held back a sigh and smiled dutifully as Lizzie came over and started listing several reasons why it was brilliant that she was one of the students to go.

Nodding her agreement half-heartedly, Lily followed James and Sirius back to the Gryffindor table to finish breakfast, which now Lily could only pick at.

When the others had finished eating, they all made their way back to the common room since they had a free period before Defence. But on the fourth floor, Lily stopped suddenly, saying that she was going to go to the Library instead.

James looked over at her questioningly. “Do you want company?”

“No,” Lily replied shaking her head. “I'm fine. I just want to re-check some facts in my Defence essay since it's due today.

“Alright, see you in class then,” he said before, surprisingly, bending down to kiss her quickly, ignoring the whistle from Sirius.

Lily said a hasty, “Good-bye,” to the others and hurried off down the hall. A smile tugged at her lips - for no apparent reason she was feeling more upbeat than she had been a minute ago. Suddenly, she wasn't feeling as much foreboding towards Thursday's fluxweed gathering. After all, it wasn't as though Snape was stupid enough to do or say anything with Slughorn around. As cruel as he could be (a memory flashed across her eyes and “Mudblood” sounded harshly in her ears) when it came to her, he kept his nastiness to himself in front of the teachers.

She pushed open Library doors and Madam Pince looked up from stamping books as she entered. The table overlooking the grounds was free and Lily headed back towards it. She set down her bag and pulled out her completed Defence essay. After reading over it once and not finding anything worth fixing she turned her gaze out the window.

A group of third years was making their way down to Hagrid's hut through a misty fog. A glace at the sky show heavy pale grey clouds, a sure sign that it would be snowing before the day was through.

By the time she had to leave for Defence, flurries were already falling from the sky, coating the castle grounds lightly. Her classmates were chattering excitedly about the snow when Lily arrived and James immediately bounded over to her.

“Did you see?” he asked her. “It's already starting to stick.”

“Yeah,” Lily replied taking a seat next to Sirius. “It's amazing what a difference one day makes. I mean, yesterday it wasn't too cold out and now today we're getting snow.”

“And did you hear?” Marlene turned around in her seat, resting her arms on the back of her chair. “Professor Lowbard changed the schedule around. What with the attack on the Muggle village so close to here, all of the teachers are getting worried. Dumbledore wants us to learn the charm earlier than we would have.”

“What charm?” Lily questioned.

“The Patronus,” Remus answered from behind her, leaning forward slightly to better speak to her. “To ward off the Dementors.”

“Really?” Lily's eyes lit up in fascination and she turned in her chair to look at him. “We're not supposed to cover it until after Christmas.”

“I know. But I guess Dumbledore thinks sooner is better than later. And even though most adults can't manage to produce one, Professor Loward said it would be a good idea to know the charm anyway. Even if we can only produce a bit of mist, it would be better than nothing. But it would be brilliant if someone manages to create a corporeal one,” he added, a brilliant smile crossing his face. “It might be you, Lily. Charms have always been your thing.”

“I don't know. I mean, it's supposed to be really difficult. We hardly even know the-”

“Alright, class! Settle down!” Professor Lowbard had entered the room. The class quickly quieted down - everyone was looking forward to the lesson, even the Slytherins, dispite all the disparaging looks they were giving the Professor.

“You'll probably have heard by now that due to recent events, the schedule has been revised. So, instead of working on dueling today, you are going to be learning the highly powerful and difficult Patronus Charm. You should have learned the theory already, but let's refresh your memory. Who can tell me what a Patronus is, exactly?”

Sirius lazily raised his hand and answered, “When a Patronus is cast correctly, will take the form of a creature that will protect you from Dementors and allegedly Lethifolds.”

“Mr. Black,” Lowbard said crossly, “please refrain from answering until you have been called upon - even if you do have the correct answer.”

Sirius turned at that and rolled his eyes at Lily, who fought to hold back a smile, while the professor continued.

“The Protonus is conjured with the incantation `Expecto Patronum'. Before you say the incantation you need to concentrate on a happy memory - the happiest one that you can think of. If you are not focusing properly, or not focusing enough, you will not be able to produce a corporeal Patronus and will only succeed, if you are lucky, in producing a faint silvery mist.” He paused for a moment and looked around the room. “Does everyone understand?”

“Yes, sir,” the class murmured in response.

“Good. Now, take out your wands and stand up.” The class did as he directed and with a wave of his wand, Lowbard sent the desks to the sides of the classroom so that there was space to practice in.

“Alright, spread out and then give me your attention. Make sure you have enough room to practice in. Mr. Black, it really isn't necessary for you to swing your arms around like tha- No! Miss Dobbs, please refrain from elbowing your br- Mr. Dobbs! There was no need to hex her, for goodness sakes. Miss Simmons, if you would kindly - Mr. Black!”

It took some time for Professor Lowbard to get the class under control. Lily, who had seized a practice area near the windows, hopped up onto one of the nearby desks and talked to Marlene. They both knew better than to assist their professor, who was more likely to tell them to, “shut your mouths and quit rabbiting,” than to thank then for helping. A minute later, James sauntered over and leaned back next to Lily, lazily shooting a spell at Snape that made him flail about wildly and cause their professor to rush over to cancel it. Lily sent James a look that clearly said `You're not helping', but James just smiled innocently back at her and shrugged nonchalantly.

Lily sighed and turned back to Marlene. She couldn't really blame him. Lowbard was a bit of a bore and she couldn't really blame her classmates for wanting to let loose a little. The atmosphere in the school had been tense since Dumbledore had made his announcement that morning.

When the class had finally settled down, a flustered Lowbard went back up to the front of the room and called for everyone's attention. This time around, they gave it without any trouble.

“Now, pay close attention. Watch my wand movement carefully. Remember, the trick is to focus on your happiest memory - it won't work correctly if you don't - and… Expecto Patronum!” This last was shouted forcefully and there was a rush of wind before a silvery something erupted from Lowbard's wand and ran about the room.

The class watched with large eyes, everyone was fascinated. It was one thing to read about a Patronus, and it was quite another to see one with their own eyes. Lily developed a new respect for Lowbard - many adult wizards could not even hope to produce a corporeal Patronus - and that Lowbard was able to, showed that he must have something going for him.

Even if his Patronus was a goose.

A goose that was, Lily realised now that she wasn't as dazzled, more… waddling around the room than running.

With another wave of his wand, Lowbard vanished the Patronus, looking very pleased with himself as the class began to applaud.

“Yes, alright!” he said, trying to gain their attention once more. “Thank you, but now it's your turn to try. Think of your happiest memory and then say the incantation. I'll be very surprised if any of you manage to get more than mist today, but please try your best.”

The class spread out once again and Lily watched as most of them closed their eyes to presumably try to come up with a memory. After a moment she followed their lead, tuning out her classmates as they shouted the spell. She thought back to when she was younger and everything seemed perfect. Back to before she got her Hogwarts letter, before Petunia stopped (for the most part) speaking to her, to when she had done her fist bit of magic - even though she hadn't know what it was at the time.

When that sunny day was clear in her mind Lily opened her eyes. “Expecto Patronum!”

At first nothing happened. But then, so faint that it was hard to see, a silvery mist started to pour from her wand. It didn't last for long, but before it vanished it began to form into a four-legged something. Lily watched it with a brilliant smile on her face before looking around the room to see if anyone had been able to do the same.

Marlene's face was scrunched up in concentration as she said the incantation over and over again. She, too, had been able to produce a misty shape. Remus, Olivia Bradshaw, Janice and Sirius had as well.

Something large ran past her before disappearing almost instantly and she turned to her right to see who had produced it.

“Well done, Mr. Potter! Well done!” Professor Lowbard was hustling over to James, who was grinning broadly. “Ten points to Gryffindor! That's the best one yet. Not quite a corporeal form, but very close. It was almost distinct enough to make out what it will be. Give it another try.”

He stood off to one side to give James some room to cast the spell. The whole class was watching unabashedly now (although the Slytherins were sneering), and James flicked his eyes over the room, for once in his life he seemed nervous. His eyes landed on Lily and she gave him a small smile, which he returned.

He closed his eyes briefly before opening them again and shouting, “Expecto Patronum!”

This time the creature that burst out from his wand was only blurry at the edges and it was perfectly obvious what the four-legged animal was. It galloped once around the room before returning to James, who had a look of amazement on his face, and vanishing.

“Excellent, Mr. Potter. Take another ten points for Gryffindor.”

Sirius grinned and patted James on his back, saying laughingly, “Good one. Prongs to the rescue and all that.”

“What happy memory did you choose,” Lowbard wanted to know. “Perhaps your classmates can benefit from your accomplishment.”

“Erm…” To Lily's shock James blushed faintly and glanced away. “Just…friends. You know,” he added with a shrug. Remus turned his laugh into a cough and Sirius eyed James knowingly.

Professor Lowbard nodded and then turned to address the rest of the class on why choosing the perfect happy memory could be so difficult and that James had been lucky to find one that worked so quickly.

“So which memory did you use, Prongs?” Peter was pestering his friend for more information. “I was using the one when I first managed to - oomph!”

Lily cocked her head at the sound, curious about what Peter had been about to say that the others obviously didn't want him to mention.

“Honestly, Wormtail,” Sirius hissed. “Have you no discretion? Other people can hear you as well, you know.”

“Sorry,” Peter said, rubbing his chest where Sirius had elbowed him. “But did you use one like that, James?”

“No, Peter. I was thinking of something a bit different than that.”

“I think Prongs, here was thinking of a particular friend,” Sirius teased. “A certain… red-headed flower friend, perhaps?”

“Oh, bugger off, Padfoot.” James shoved him lightly. “Besides-” he brought up a hand to wipe away the smile that had appeared on his face. “-it worked, didn't it?”

He glanced over at Lily, who looked away and pretended that she hadn't been listening.

The rest of the day passed quickly. Although no one else managed to produce a corporeal patronus as James had done, just about everyone got the silvery mist. Professor Lowbard was extremely pleased with their performance and when they told Professor McGonagall about the lesson during Transfiguration that afternoon she congratulated them on their success.

James was teased mercilessly about his chosen memory in the common room later that evening. His refusal to tell anyone only made them more curious. When they started threatening to tie him up and force Veritaserum on him, Lily knew she had to intervene.

“Oh, let him be,” she said, looking up at the persistent group from the table she was studying at.

“Lily, your no fun!” Marlene whined. “We have an inkling of what it was,” she elaborated, “all we need is for him to confirm it.”

“Yes, but he's made it perfectly clear he doesn't want to tell you. Although,” she paused thoughtfully, “I almost want him to use that hex on Sirius. I didn't even think that kind of thing was possible.”

“You know, Evans-” Sirius sat backwards in the chair next to hers and snatched her quill from her hand- “there was a time when you would be threatening Jamsie here with unmentionable things if he wouldn't tell you about a spell he managed to get before you.”

“That was in first year, Sirius! Not to mention, I would have been able to get the spell if he hadn't jinxed the rock in the first place!”

“Details, details.” Sirius stuck her quill in his hair and stood up.

“Are you forgetting something?” she asked him pointedly.

He fingered her quill and flashed an innocent grin at her. “Nope. Later, Evans.”

As Sirius disappeared up the stairs, with Peter and Remus following close behind, Lily dug around in her back for another quill. James came over and sat in the chair Sirius had been in.

“I thought it would never stop. I owe you one.”

“Of course,” Lily agreed.

“I wanted to ask you…” his voice was quiet. “This morning… your alright with collecting the fluxweed Thursday? With Snape, I mean?”

Lily looked at him curiously. “Why wouldn't I be?”

“Well, you're going to be going into the Forest with him. He might try something.”

“Worried, are you?” When James just glowered at her, Lily realized that he was actually serious. “James, I doubt he's going to do anything - not that he would!” she added quickly at his dark look. “Professor Slughorn is going to be with us. Besides, Snape didn't look any happier than I did at being paired together.”

“I should go with you.”

“It's a full moon. You should be with your friends.”

James sighed and ran a hand through his hair, sitting back in his chair. “That's what worries me.”

Lily's eyes prodded him to continue, but James didn't say anything more. Finally, Lily turned back to her homework and a few minutes later James stood up and followed his friends' footsteps up to their dorm.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

“Come on, Prongs! Don't be such a wet blanket!”

James looked over at Sirius balefully.

“Alright, alright.” Sirius backed off, hands raised placatingly. “Worry away,” he added sarcastically. “It's not like she can't handle herself.”

“He has every right to worry,” Remus said from where he was stretched out on his bed reading. His face was pale and beginning to take on a waxy look. “It'll be a full moon.”

“The Shack is perfectly secure!” Sirius argued. Peter stopped fiddling with the Map and looked back and forth between them nervously.

“Only if we don't leave it,” Remus countered calmly.

“We're not that stupid. If we know people will be out we'll stay there. Evans will be fine.”

“It's not Lily I'm worried about. You've been known to hold a grudge.”

Sirius scoffed. “Yeah, and look where that got me. Booted off the Quidditch team and detention every Saturday for the rest of my time at Hogwarts.”

“And you deserve every bit of it!” James got up furiously. “You're lucky you weren't expelled! And if Dumbledore didn't believe so much in second chances, you likely would have been!” He strode into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him.

Sirius clenched his jaw and made to go after him, but Peter grabbed his robes. “Let him be, Padfoot. You know he's just worried. He doesn't like Snape anymore than you do.”

“He can't think that I'd risk Lily, though.” Sirius sunk to the floor and looked at him pleadingly. “It's Lily! His Lily!”

“We know,” Remus said quietly. “Which is why he's so worried. He'd go mad if anything happened to her. Especially now that she's finally giving him a chance. You remember how he was when she first kissed him. He didn't want to make a move because he wanted to know that she wanted it. He let her decide and when she choose him…”

Sirius groaned. “I know, I know. He forgave me because it was Snape. But he'd never forgive me for Lily - and I know that!” He sighed. “Maybe we should just stay here. Not go out at all.”

“No.” James stood in the doorway, his arms crossed. “Moony does better when we're there with him.” He walked over and sat next to Sirius. “We'll just take extra precautions.”

Peter nodded his agreement. “We'll stay in the Shack and barricade the doors and windows. We won't let him get out. We'll keep a hole small enough for me, so that I can keep watch and warn you if anyone is nearby.” He looked at Remus.

“Sounds fine,” he replied nodding.

James added his consent as well. “Brilliant,” he told Peter, who looked down bashfully, pleased with the compliment. James turned to Sirius. “Sorry I yelled at you.”

“'S alright. I get it.”

The four of them got ready for bed, discussing their classes, Lily, what to do on the weekend, Lily, the upcoming Quidditch match, and Lily. James admitted that his memory for the Patronus had been about her, but he refused to elaborate more than that, forcing them to draw their own conclusions.

On the other side of Gryffindor Tower, in the seventh year girls' dormitory, Lily's friends were also talking about that day's Defence lesson. Lily sat on floor so that Janice could brush her hair from where she was lying on her bed.

“Are you sure he didn't say anything to you?” Marlene was asking.

“For the thousandth time, no. He didn't mention anything to me.”

“I can't believe he wouldn't say anything,” Marlene continued as if Lily hadn't spoken. “It really could have helped the rest of us out.”

“You mean it would have helped make it easier for us to tease him,” Linda put in. “We all know that he was thinking of Lily.”

“Yeah, but not what he was thinking of her doing. I mean, for all we know he was picturing her wearing nothing by his Gryffindor tie - Lily!” Marlene exclaimed, because Lily had turned bright red. “You haven't!”

“Of course not!”

“Well,” Janice spoke up, “he was most definitely thinking of kissing her-”

“Or something,” Linda added laughing.

“Can we please talk about something else?” Lily pleaded. “Are you worried about brewing the potion on Friday?”

“Oh, speaking of,” Linda said turning the subject change to her advantage, “did you see James' face when Slughorn said that it would be Lily and Snape who would go get the fluxweed. I thought James was going to rip him apart right there.”

“Him who? Slughorn?” Marlene asked confused.

Marlene rolled her eyes. “No, Snape, you tool.”

“Oh, right.”

“Yeah, James did look really unhappy about it.” Janice paused thoughtfully. “Although, come to think of it, he seemed upset the moment Sirius suggested the two with the highest marks should be the ones to go.”

“He was probably just worried that he would be one of them,” Lily said standing up and putting her hairbrush away.

“Lily, everyone knows that you have the highest marks.”

“But no one was sure who had the second highest. Sirius probably thought that it was James when he made the suggestion.”

Linda threw up her hands. “Enough already. All I know is that James isn't happy that your going to collect the fluxweed.”

“He seemed perfectly fine when I was talking to him earlier,” Lily protested. “Well, except that he seemed worried that it would be a full moon, but I don't see - oh…wait…”

Three pairs of eyes turned on her. “What do you mean he seemed worried about the full moon?” Marlene asked.

Lily looked at them apologetically. “I really can't say.”

“But you admit that he was acting a bit odd.” This was from Janice.

“Yes, but I think I understand why now. It's late and we have class tomorrow,” she said ending the conversation. She climbed onto her bed and got under the covers and the others followed suit. A flick of her wand turned the lights off and soon the sound of her friends sleeping filled her ears. But it was a long while before she drifted off herself.

The next day passed uneventfully and at dinner James happily told Lily that no one had said anything to him about his Patronus before he turned back to discussing something under his breath with his roommates.

Towards the end of the meal, Lizzie came over from the Ravenclaw table to ask is Lily wanted to study in the Library with her. Lily readily agreed and soon the two girls had their books spread out over their favorite table in the back of the room. The window next to them overlooked the lake and every so often Lily saw one of the Giant Squid's tentacles pierce the surface.

Lily frowned as she reread her Transfiguration essay realizing that she still needed another source in order to meet all of the requirements. She stood up and went to the Transfiguration section in the Library. Someone was already there browsing through the books. He turned as she approached.

“Evans,” Snape's nose wrinkled in disgust.

Lily nodded her greeting and then tried to walk past him, but he moved to the center of the aisle, blocking her way. She looked at him fearlessly. “Excuse me, I need to get by.”

He met her gaze at her for several seconds, black onyx staring into brilliant green, before sweeping his cloak to the side and moving slightly so there was just enough space for her to get by. She glances back over she shoulder curiously to find him looking intently after her.

Lily looked forward again and after turning the corner let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She shook out her shoulders and forced her self to relax. Something made her feel as though she had just passed some sort of test and she quickly collected the book she wanted before walking back to the table, making sure to take a different route this time so she wouldn't cross paths with him again.

“Are you alright?” Lizzie asked as Lily sat down.

“Just ran into Snape, is all,” Lily answered breezily.

“Oh, he's been in a snit ever since Slughorn said the two of you would be the once to collect the fluxweed.”

“I gathered that. Although I don't see what the big deal is. James wasn't too thrilled with the idea either, but I don't think the had much to do with Snape.” When Lizzie quizzed her eyebrows at her, Lily elaborated. “Well, he knows Slughorn will be there and that I can take care of myself even if Snape would be stupid enough to try something. So it must be another reason.”

They each turned back to their homework and it was several minutes before either of them spoke again.

“He watches you sometimes, you know, when he thinks so one else looking,” Lizzie said quietly, tapping her quill against her chin thoughtfully.

“Who?” Lily asked distractedly

“James. Although, it's more like he's studying you, then watching. Like he's trying to memorize every detail of you as if you're going to disappear.”

“Why do you think that is?” Lily kept her head down, now just pretending to be engrossed in her essay.

“Probably because he's in love with you.”

“What?” Lily exclaimed, earning a warning glace from Madame Pince. She put her quill down, giving up all pretenses. “You can't be serious,” she whispered.

Lizzie rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, Lily. You can't be that naïve. He makes it so obvious. He's be chasing after you for years and now that you're giving him the time of day he over the moon. When you're peeved at him, he's grouchy. When you smile at him or touch his arm, he stops anything that he's doing and gives you his undivided attention. This morning in Muggle Studies, Richard mentioned that he was thinking about getting back together with you and I swear James growled at him!”

Lily's head was swimming. All she could do is stare open mouthed at Lizzie as she continued explaining her reasoning like a true Ravenclaw. Eventually Lily managed to pull herself together. “Lizzie!”

“What?”

“I think you've made your point.”

“Oh… well, alright then.” She glanced curiously at Lily, who had steadfastly returned to her homework.

A short time after the sun had set, the two friends parted ways, each heading back to their respective common rooms. Lily was still turning their earlier conversation over and over in her mind. Trying to figure out the truth of it.

She arrived in front of the Fat Lady and spoke the password. Happy conversations were drifting through the room from various corners. A loud shout directed her attention to where four Marauders were crowded around a table studying something at the center of the table intensely.

Lily walked over to see what had captured their attention so thoroughly and then drew back in revulsion when they saw the clear-ish, brown blob that had what looked to be banana slices stuck inside of it.

“Hi Lily,” Sirius greeted them, before turning back to his friends. “I really think you should let Remus have a go next, James.”

James shook his head adamantly. “I've only given it three tries and I think I've almost got it!”

“And it's been looking worse each time, mate. Seriously, let Remus have a shot.”

“No! I think I know what to do.” James jabbed his wand at the brown blob, but only succeeded in giving it black spots. He sat back in his chair with a frustrated sigh and waved a hand at Remus. “Fine,” he said sulkily. “See if you can do any better.”

“What exactly are you trying to do?” Lily asked with raised eyebrows, before Remus had a chance to lift his wand.

“Trying to make Jelly,” James answered her. “You know, the Muggle desert that comes in all those bright colours. We learned about it in Muggle Studies today and it sounded like it would be good.”

Lily, with a disgusted look on her face, poked the blob with her finger. “I know what jelly is and that is definitely not it.”

“It wiggles!” James exclaimed defensively and Lily burst out laughing. “Just because it's brown….” He looked at Lily pleadingly. “You can make it, can't you?”

Lily rolled her eyes at him. “Yes, but you need the ingredients, which we don't have here. And it's not that hard to make, I'm sure even you could manage with proper instruction.”

“Then why isn't it working?” he complained.

“Because there isn't a spell to make it with, you prat! And we have rounds to do tonight, or did you forget?”

“No, I remembered.” He glanced at his watch. “We still have twenty minutes before we have to leave though.” He patted the empty chair next to him. “Sit down for a bit.”

But Lily didn't sit. Instead she decided to test Lizzie's theory. She rested her hand on James' arm and when he looked up at her she smiled. “Rounds?”

He stared at her, looking a bit dazed for a moment before standing up saying goodbye to his friends, who were watching him with amusement. Lily was shocked that it had worked. And for the first time considered the fact that Lizzie might actually be right. Something she didn't quite know how to feel about just yet.

“Hey,” James said brightly as they climbed out through the portrait hole, “I wonder if the house elves know what Jelly is? They could make it for sure if they do.”

Lily fought a losing battle not to roll her eyes at him. “Come on,” she said grabbing his arm and dragging him down the corridor. “We can check to see if there are any students in the Kitchens.”

He smiled gleefully at her and bounded off down the hall calling over his shoulder, “Hurry up, Lily! If the students there leave by the time we get there we won't be able to take points from them!”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Entrance Hall was lit with the usual torches when Lily arrived there just after curfew Thursday night. Professor Slughorn was already there, inspecting his pocket watch, with a canvas bag set near his feet.

“Good evening, Professor,” Lily greeted him.

“Ah, Lily! Right on time I see. I trust your day has been well?”

“Yes, sir,” Lily agreed, although truthfully it had been quite difficult. She hadn't been able to get the conversation she had had with Lizzie the night before out of her mind. Especially, now that every time she was in a room with James she couldn't help but notice him watching her every so often. Just like Lizzie had said he did. It was a unnerving, but also a bit exciting, each time she felt the heat of his gaze.

“Good, good,” Slughorn was saying. “Now all we need is Severus - ah, here he is now.”

Sure enough, Snape was striding across the Entrance Hall towards them. Once he had reached them Slughorn spoke again.

“Now that you've arrived, Severus, we can begin. We'll be going to where the Forest meets the lake. Professor Sprout has cultivated a nice patch of fluxweed there. Of course, the two of you will need to collect enough for the entire class. I suggest you keep your wands ready, just in case. Professor Dumbledore was extremely hesitant to let any students out with me tonight, but I insisted.”

It was pitch black and cold outside and the clouds hung low and heavy with the promise of snow. Searching the sky for snowflakes, Lily vaguely recalled that tomorrow Professor McGonagall would be coming around with the sign up sheet for those who were staying at the school during the Christmas Holiday. All of a sudden it seemed so close, a mere two and a half weeks away. As she followed Slughorn to the forest, with Snape grudgingly walking next to her, she began having mixed feelings about the upcoming holiday. Because James would be coming home with her.

And he would be meeting her parents. She had never brought any guys home before and especially not a boyfriend. Not that James was her boyfriend, because he wasn't or at least not technically. It was a bit confusing, really, because while they hadn't officially said anything he did hold her hand in the hallways and kiss her for no reason. And once he had blushingly told her that she was the first thing he thought about when he woke up in the morning. But that didn't mean anything.

“…he's in love with you.”

Lizzie's words echoed in her head, and she shook it fiercely to rid herself of them but it didn't do any good. She turned her eyes skyward, gazing fiercely at the stars as if they somehow held the answers she was searching for.

A chilling wind blew over them causing Lily to shiver and pull her cloak more snugly around her. In the distance a wolf howled and Snape stopped suddenly, pointing his wand in all directions and causing her to run into him. She glared at him and pushed his arm out of her way.

“Problem, Severus?” Slughorn inquired, glancing behind him at them.

“No, sir,” Snape replied sullenly, lowering his wand.

“Let's continue on then, we still have several minutes until we get there.”

It was noticeably warmer once they had reached their destination even though it was late November and they were on the very outskirts of the Forest. The trees and grassy land gave way to the sandy soiled shores of the lake and a large patch of tall, fuzzy leafed weeds covered the ground in front of them. Slughorn handed the canvas bag to Lily and instructed them to begin gathering the fluxweed.

The plant was easy to pick, but it took longer than it should have to fill the bag since Snape twitched and pulled out his wand at any unusual sound. While they slowly filled the bag, Professor Sluhorn explained how Professor Sprout used magic to keep the fluxweed alive in the winter. It was a highly delicate plant and very picky about its environment - which is why it wasn't in the greenhouses with the other potions ingredients.

Another howl sounded and Snape dropped the fluxweed in his hand as he waved his wand about.

“Really, Severus,” Slughorn huffed. “I understand your paranoia, but it is beginning to get ridiculous. You and Miss Evans are perfectly safe.”

“It was closer that time, Professor. I swear it!”

Slughorn huffed again, noticeably annoyed with his student, and took the canvas bag from Lily. He used his wand to put the fluxweed Snape had dropped inside before tying it closed.

“Well, we may as well return to the school. You seem to have gathered enough.”

Snape didn't need to be told twice. He took off towards the school, with Lily and Slughorn following at a more sedated pace.

Snape's nervousness must have been contagious because the noises from the forest did seem to be getting closer and louder. The wind, which had been quite still, began to pick up, causing the trees to sway and producing a whistling noise. A dull thumping noise sounded from a distance and, what must have been small animals, scrambled off into the forest.

Slughorn seemed oblivious to it all, even though Snape was practically hyperventilating and waving his wand in all directions. Lily nervously pulled her cloak tighter, making sure that she could still reach her wand easily.

When the arrived back at the school a good six minutes later, and the doors were shut and secured behind them, Snape noticeably relaxed. Slughorn, however, was bristling.

He bid a pleasant good night to Lily as the three of them split ways - Lily up to the Heads' Room and Slughorn and Snape to the dungeons - but once Lily had reached the stairs she heard him lecturing Snape on his behavior.

A half-finished essay waited for Lily on her desk, but she pushed it aside since it wasn't due until Monday. The fire snapped and crackled in the fireplace as Lily sat down and pulled the Most Potent Potions book she had taken out from the Library towards her, stifling a yawn. The page blurred before her, but she forced herself concentrate, knowing she should make certain she knew all there was to know about brewing the Polyjuice Potion for tomorrow's class.

BANG! BANG!

Lily was startled awake so violently she nearly fell off of her chair. She ran a hand though her hair and turned to look at the clock through bleary eyes. It was past midnight and she realized that she must have fallen asleep in the middle of reviewing.

The pounding noise that had awoken her sounded again followed by a voice shouting her name. She shot up from her desk and rushed over to open the door. “Sirius, what earth…”

He looked up at her through sweat-dampened hair, panting heavily as though he had run a great distance. His face had several long scratches on it and his clothing was covered with blood. “Lily!” his voice and eyes were desperate. “Lily, you have to come quick!”

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A/N: Thanks to everyone who have stuck with me this far!! Again, I'm so sorry it took so long to get this chapter out! I hope it was worth the wait. The last part hasn't been fully beta read, so if there are any errors, blame me for them. On a happy note, the next chapter is about a third of the way finished and I have a month off from school...so hopefully it won't take as long to get it written and posted. If any of you are willing to nag me about updates feel free (my email is on my profile page) just give me a least a week from now to start. :) Don't forget to review!!

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Previously in Where Life Leads:

Sirius looked up at her through sweat-dampened hair, panting heavily as though he had run a great distance. His face had several long scratches on it and his clothing was covered with blood. “Lily!” his voice and eyes were desperate. “Lily, you have to come quick!”

Chapter Fifteen

“What's wrong? What's happened?” Lily fought to keep the panic out of her voice.

Sirius shook his head at her impatiently and grabbed her arm, dragging her out of the room.

“Sirius!” Lily was practically running to keep up with him. “Sirius! I can follow you without you pulling me along,” she finally said, ripping her arm from his grip and digging her heels into the ground. “Tell me where we're going. What have you done to get your clothes all bloody?”

He ignored her request and, taking her arm again, continued to pull her down the corridor until they were in front of a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Sirius faced the empty wall across from it and pulled out his wand. He touched the wall and spoke under his breath before turning to her.

“Get out your wand,” he told her.

“What? Why?” Lily asked startled. “Sirius, this is where the Room of Requirement is. What are we doing here?”

“Just get out your wand and say the password for the Map!” he demanded.

“Not until you tell me what's going on, Sirius,” she repeated sternly.

He looked at her desperately and ran a hand through his hair. It was a movement that reminded Lily so much of James that her heart skipped a beat. And suddenly she knew.

“It's James, isn't it? Something's happened.”

“I-we need your help, so just- please?”

Lily closed her eyes and touched her wand to the wall, whispering, “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.”

There was a click as a door appeared and then opened. Sirius pushed her into the room, following close behind. Lily didn't even notice the door disappearing again as Sirius pushed it shut. She was too busy running over to James. “What happened to you?” she exclaimed frantically.

He was lying on a cot in the middle of the room, covered in dirt with his left leg obviously broken and bleeding profusely. There was also a patch of blood spreading on the lower sleeve of his shirt, which was slightly tattered.

“Oh, good. You came.” His glasses lay askew on the bridge of his nose and he grinned at her cheekily even as he grimaced with pain. There were bandages and towels spread haphazardly on the floor around the cot and Peter was kneeling next to him, wiping the blood away and cleaning the wound as best he could.

“Ow!” James yelled and cursed when Peter pressed on his leg too hard.

“Sorry, Prongs,” Peter said, giving Lily a relieved look. “Hi Lily, I'm really glad you're here. I only know how to heal cuts and stuff and Sirius here is absolutely useless.”

“Hey! I went and got Lily, didn't I?”

Peter snorted. “Not until after I told-”

“Shut up!” Lily shouted.

“I was only-” Sirius tried to defend himself.

“Both of you!” Lily glared at him and then knelt down next to Peter, who glanced at her nervously. She removed James' glasses, setting them on the table that had suddenly appeared next to her. “Tell me how this happened,” she demanded of them. “And why didn't you take him to Madam Pomfrey?”

“Because she- ow!” James broke off his explanation with a shout of pain. “Watch it, Peter, would you?”

“S-sorry. It's hard to see with all the blood.”

“Here,” she said to Peter as she used her wand to cut James' ruined trousers away from his broken leg. “You're doing fine. Now clean it while I look at his arm.”

Peter nodded and went to work. Lily took James' right arm and tore the sleeve of his shirt so that she could see the wound on his forearm. “Sirius, hold a cloth to this to stop the bleeding, would you?”

Sirius knelt down beside her and pressed a cloth to the wound, ignoring James' wince of pain.

Lily turned her attention back to his leg that Peter had managed to clean up a bit.

She used another spell to get rid of the rest of the dirt and sanitize the wound. It was, luckily, a clean break and with a few flicks of her wand, Lily managed to knit the bones back together. James gave a sigh of relief as the pain dulled slightly.

Lily set Peter to wrapping his leg with some gauze to stabilize it and then checked on the wound Sirius was tending to. It was only a small flesh wound and had already begun to stop bleeding, but Lily froze as she looked at it more closely.

“James, these are teeth marks,” she said slowly, raising her eyes to search his, but he wouldn't meet her gaze. “Teeth marks... It's a full moon tonight,” she started rambling. “We had to gather the fluxweed for Potions, but it should have been safe for everyone or else Slughorn would have done it himself. And he can't have got past the Whomping Willow because of the branches, and I know that's where he goes because I saw Madam Pomfrey taking him down once. And if this is why you didn't go to her instead that's just stupid. Especially if he… if Remus…” she whispered his name as if saying aloud would make it true. “If he bit-”

“It wouldn't matter,” James interrupted her harshly through clenched teeth.

“It- it wouldn't matter?”

“No, it wouldn't. Because, well… you see…” He looked at her pleadingly. “I wasn't exactly human at the time.”

“Wh-what do you mean?” Lily stuttered, afraid that he was going to tell her that it didn't matter because he had been bitten before, and that he was a werewolf too. She dismissed the thought as soon as it had occurred to her, though and sealed the wounds on his arm with a sharp jab of her wand. “I think I would have noticed if you were a werewolf, Potter.”

“I'm not a werewolf. I'm a-”

“Don't! James, don't,” Sirius broke in angrily. “You can't say, we promised to never-”

“Lily's smart, Padfoot. She would've figured it out sooner or later anyway,” Peter interrupted. “Not that it matters. You know James would have told her before the year was out anyway. So what if it's a bit sooner?”

Sirius turned his back to them, fisting his hands in his hair and arguing internally with himself. “Fine, fine, alright,” he said turning back to face them. “Just say it, Prongs.”

“I'm an Animagus.”

Lily whipped her head around and stared at James, wide eyed. Of all the things she had expected him to say, this was at the bottom of the list. It was unheard of for someone to have accomplished such serious magic while still in school. “You're a- you're a what?”

“An Animagus, a, err, stag to be precise. Sirus, too, and Peter.”

“And what- what are they?” Lily barely managed to get out.

“A rat,” Peter answered more cheerfully than the situation warranted. “It took me ages to get it. Sirius, here, was the first. He managed to become a huge black dog with hardly any trouble.”

Lily blinked, trying to sort through all the thoughts that were circling around in her head. “Right…. right…” She closed her eyes for a moment and breathed deeply. “Prongs… I guess that explains the nicknames.”

“Er, yeah,” James agreed.

Lily nodded resolutely and then turned her attention to James' leg. With Peter's help the blood had been cleaned away, allowing her to fix the break with just a few spells.

“You shouldn't walk around right away,” she told James. “For one, it takes time for the bone to completely knit back together. And for another, Madame Pomfrey would kill me.”

That got a small smile from James. “So,” he said hesitantly, “you're not angry?”

“I'm reserving my right to be angry until after I've heard explanations for everything.”

James sighed. “It's a long story.”

“I think Slughorn will forgive us if we're late for class tomorrow morning.”

“But the potion-“

Lily glared. “We can always make up the work during a free period,” she said and James gave in.

He looked to Sirius and Peter. “Help me back to the Heads' Room, will you? We may as well be comfortable.”

The journey to the Heads' Room was longer than usual, with James leaning on his friends for support, trying to keep the weight off of his leg. Not to mention there was an obvious tension between all of them. The fact that Lily would finally be getting all the answers and the resigned glances Sirius kept shooting at James didn't help matters.

Lily walked ahead once they neared the room in order to whisper the password out of Sirius' and Peter's hearing.

They led James inside and helped him over to the sofa, where he lay down and propped his newly healed leg up on a pillow. His friends left the room, for once not making a snarky comment about leaving the two of them alone. The serious look on James' face must have made them realize how delicate the situation was. The upcoming conversations could either make or break Lily and James' friendship.

The two sat in silence for several minutes; the only sound was the clock as it slowly ticked its way towards midnight.

“It was my idea,” James spoke suddenly. “To become Animagi so that we could help Remus during the full moon.”

His hands twisted together restlessly and Lily could tell that he wanted nothing more than to get up and pace. She stood up from her chair and sat down next to James, taking one of his hands in hers and playing gently with his fingers. “Go on,” she told him calmly.

“It took us forever, you know.” He let out an amused laugh. “To figure out how to make the transformation. We would sneak into the Library after hours under my cloak and read anything about becoming an Animagus we could find. Figuring out the theory was easy and it didn't take us too long to make the transformation. We knew we couldn't just wander around and not expect anyone to notice. So once we knew what animals we were, we researched their behavior in order to blend in more easily. But our library is seriously lacking on books about ordinary animals. We had to buy them from Muggle catalogues and have them delivered to Peter's house.”

James paused and gave Lily a searching look. “You have to understand… we had devoted so much time into researching that we didn't know what to do with ourselves once we were finished. And… well, you remember how we acted in fifth year. It seemed like a brilliant idea - going out into the forest on full moons. No one was stupid enough to go in there, except for us, and in our animal forms we had the whole forest to ourselves. None of the other creatures would bother a werewolf and Sirius and I were large enough to control him if we had to. And I know it was a stupid thing to do, but sometimes we ventured as far as Hogsmeade or into the secret passages of the school.”

Lily stared at him incredulously and stood up to face him. “You're telling me that you went outside on a full moon with a werewolf in tow? That you thought it would be a bit of a lark to run around Hogsmeade and in the castle when there were people sleeping in their beds not ten feet away? You took that risk that Re-”

“No, it wasn't lik-”

“That Remus might somehow get away from you!” she continued as though he hadn't said anything, getting louder with each sentence until she was shouting. “Never mind that he didn't. Never mind that you and Sirius were large enough to stop him if he tried. Never mind that he didn't even get close!”

Lily breathed heavily, fighting to hold back tears of anger. James stared at her for a moment, his mouth open with shock. He moved as though he were going to stand up, but stopped with a grimace at his leg.

Taking a deep breath, she turned and looked him straight in the eye. “I thought that the four of you had more common sense than that. That after all Professor Dumbledore had gone through in order for Remus to be allowed to attend this school that you go and jeopardize it. Did you ever stop to think what might have happened if someone had got hurt? If someone had found out what you, Peter and Sirius were doing?” she paused and a smile loaded with irony crossed her face.

“We haven't gone wandering since before Christmas last year,” he told her fiercely. “We got a bit of a nasty shock and it put things in perspective for us. It stopped being a game to see how far we could go and we were reminded of our original purpose for becoming Animagi. To keep Remus company during the full moon so that he wouldn't be so alone. We grew up a bit and well, came to our senses.”

“You know,” Lily said now that most of her anger had dissipated, “I always wondered what it was that Sirius had done to earn himself so much detention and to get himself kicked off of the Quidditch team. Come to think of it, there was a good long while last year when none of you, Remus especially, were speaking to him at all. And why he and Snape seem to have a particular vendetta against one another.”

“Last year Sirius did something…” James sighed and ran his hands though his hair. “I still can't believe he could have been so stupid!” He looked desperately at her. “Part of me will never forgive him for it, but he's my best friend. And I know he'll never do something like that again. Not for anything - he'd die first, rather than betray his friends.”

“James, what did he do? I remember that all of you didn't speak to him for more than a month last year. And then suddenly everything went back to normal.”

James met her gaze seriously. “He let Snape overhear him talking to Peter about how to get past the Whomping Willow.” His lip curled up in disgust. “Snape's been trying to figure out about Remus for years and Sirius practically gave him the key to the vault.”

Lily's mind was whirling. That Sirius had done that didn't surprise her all that much. He had it in for Snape and no one could be surprised that he wished him dead. But to risk getting Remus involved in it…

“Tell me Snape didn't,” she whispered pleadingly.

“I can't, Lily. And if Peter hadn't told me what had happened I never would have got there in time to pull Snape back. It was too late to keep him from seeing Remus, but he didn't get bitten, at least.”

“And that was Sirius' plan.” Lily said, putting it all together. “He figured that if Snape was so curious about Remus, that he could join him.”

“Exactly. But he didn't even think for a minute about what would have happened to Remus for biting someone - even someone as foul as Snape. It would have been expulsion from school and a one-way ticket to Azkaban.”

“Sirius deserved his punishment. Frankly, I'm surprised it wasn't worse.”

“That's Dumbledore's doing. Snape wanted him expelled, but since no one was hurt he was able to stay. But we didn't let him accompany us at the full moon for a long while. And we haven't left the Shack since. But tonight, it was so windy and Remus has been getting restless being cooped up. I don't know what caused it, and any other time we might have taken him into the forest, but we couldn't tonight - not with you out there.”

“And you broke your leg when Remus tried to get past you.”

“Yeah.”

Lily let out a frustrated sigh. “You are all such idiots!”

“I know we were!” James said with feeling “But we haven't done anything that stupid for a long time! And tonight couldn't have been helped. It was just a cruel-”

“Accident,” Lily finished for him.

James sighed. “Yeah.”

“I want to be angry at you. Merlin knows I do. But tonight wasn't anyone's fault and what happened last year…. Well, we weren't then what we are now so it just wouldn't be fair.”

“And what's that?” he asked her quietly. “What are we?”

“I don't know.”

James moved over on the sofa to make room for Lily to lie down next to him. “Just something?”

“Yes.” Lily smiled up at him and rested her head against his chest. “That sounds about right.”

“So I can still come be a Muggle with you over the holiday?”

Lily laughed. “I've already agreed, haven't I? Besides, how could I possibly say no if there's school work involved.”

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They actually managed to make it to Potions the next morning, although they missed breakfast. James' leg had healed with no outwardly sign of what had happened. There was an unspoken agreement not to speak of the previous night, but a bond had formed between the four of them that would not be easily broken.

At lunchtime Professor McGonagall came around to take down the names of those who were spending the Christmas holiday at Hogwarts. None of them signed the parchment and when Lily's roommates joined them, talk quickly turned to making plans to meet up over the holiday.

After eating, they all went to the common room and spent the rest of the afternoon completing their homework. James and Janice went to Quidditch practice after dinner, with Sirius going along to watch and, most likely, shout insults from the stands.

Lily and the others opted not to join them. Instead they stayed in the common room in front of the warm fire playing Exploding Snap, chess and reading.

Remus returned from the Hospital Wing just after Quidditch practice had ended and James, Peter and Sirius took him aside to quickly fill him in on the events of the previous night. Lily watched as his face paled and he turned to James with a stricken look on his face. James laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder and shortly after, they rejoined the girls.

Just before ten, Lily packed up her school bag. “James, we have to patrol soon.”

James looked up from the game of cards he was playing with Sirius. “Already?”

“Yes,” Lily answered with a laugh.

He stood up reluctantly. “Alright, just let me take my bag upstairs.”

Lily nodded and did the same with hers, pausing to grab her cloak from its hook. The corridors were always cold this time of night, especially in the winter.

They didn't see anyone during their rounds, save for Professor Flitwick who called them into his office for a moment so that he could give them each a small box of pepper imps. Lily and James happily spent the rest of their patrol competing to see who could breathe fire the longest.

They were heading back to Gryffindor Tower when Mrs. Norris crossed their path. The cat paused to hiss menacingly at them, her tail twitching back and forth.

“Scram you,” James told it. “We're Head Boy and Girl. We're allowed to be here. Why does she always bother us?” James asked turning to Lily. “Come on, Filch won't be far behind.”

He started walking again but turned when he realized Lily wasn't following him. “Lily?”

She was staring at Mrs. Norris with an indescribable look on her face. “Hmm?”

“Are you coming?”

Lily looked at him with wide eyes. “No, I don't think so. James…”

“Yeah?

“I kind of feel like breaking the rules.”

James laughed. “Well, far be it from me to stop you.”

“Oh, nothing terrible. It's just that Mrs. Norris reminded me of something. Remember that room you're missing on your map?”

“I'll have you know we've scored the fourth floor and couldn't find a thing. Remus overturned every book in the library and there was nothing!”

Lily grinned at him. “Yes, well, I'd have been a bit disturbed if you were able to. The door to the room is charmed similarly to how the staircases to the girls' dorms are. Guys can't access it.”

“You tricked me!”

“Not at all,” Lily responded laughing. “Besides, if I show you now it's still earlier than it would have been.”

“Very well.” James bowed to her and said formally, “Lead the way, madam.”

They left Mrs. Norris behind and took the quickest route to the forth floor. The doors to the Library swung open quietly and they were relieved to see that no one was around. Not even Madame Pince, who oftentimes stayed there late sorting through books.

Lily led James to the farthest corner of the Library where there was a stone wall that was empty except for two wall sconces. She trailed her hand lightly across the wall and a door suddenly appeared before them.

“I've never seen that door before!” James exclaimed. “How'd you do it?”

“I told you it was like the girls' stairs. It won't appear for blokes.” She grinned at him and opened the door. “Only us.”

The room was small and surprisingly not dusty at all. There were several tall shelves filled with brightly colored books with spines featuring puckered lips, shiny hair and an assortment of other girly things that James didn't recognize. The stone walls were decorated with an assortment of pictures of what looked like students and one wall featured a large painting of a landscape.

“What are all these books?”

“Beauty charms, tips for soothing menstrual cramps, books about pregnancy - you know, girly stuff,” Lily answered him with a faint blush on her cheeks.

James guffawed and when Lily shot him a look he held up his hands apologetically. “Why keep them hidden then if they're so useful?”

“It's not hidden exactly. I suppose someone just didn't want the younger boys to be able to get to them. I mean, some of them are kind of embarrassing. Besides, Madam Pince knows where this room is and if a girl asks about one of these books she shows her where they're at.”

“So is this it? Or is there more?” he asked, pulling out the Marauder's Map.

“I was hoping you'd ask that,” Lily answered. “And this I'm certain Madam Pince knows nothing about.”

She walked over to the tallest shelf and stood on her tiptoes to reach for a book on the top shelf. She wiggled the book from side to side six times and the painting of the landscape swung open to reveal a short, dimly lit passage with a heavy wood door at the end. They walked into the passage and the painting shut behind them.

“The painting-”

“You push on it to leave,” Lily answered his unfinished question. She opened the door at the end of the passage and ducked slightly to enter. Despite the low doorway the room itself was fairly large and airy. There were two windows overlooking the grounds that would let in bright light during the day. Now though, there were several lamps that turned on when they entered. The room was strewn with comfortable furniture and there were also several poufs on the floor in front of a low table. James took the map from Lily and opened it on the table after sitting on a pouf.

“What was that book called- the one that you wiggled? And you have to wiggle it, right? You can't just pull it off the shelf.”

“No, you have to wiggle it, otherwise the wall won't open.”

“What's it called?” James asked again.

“Do you have to know? Can't you just say the second book from the left on the top shelf?”

“Too complicated. Besides, if the book gets moved someone trying to get into this place will be awfully frustrated.”

Lily sighed and mumbled something.

James cocked his head. “Sorry, didn't catch that.”

“I said,” Lily spoke through gritted teeth, “its titled Smart Witches know their Contraceptives.”

James raised an eyebrow at her. “Should I even ask why you were looking at that book?”

“Linda was curious,” she said defensively.

James chuckled and set about adding the hidden room to the map.

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Chapter 16

The following week passed by in a blur and with the end of term exams approaching, Lily found most of her time being taken up with studying. Since the seventh years would sit for their N.E.W.T.s at the end of the school year, next week’s exams would be covering everything that they had learned since their first year.

McGonagall said this would give all of them a chance to “find out exactly what you don’t know that you should”. Or, as Sirius put it, “to see how many of us they can send to Madam Pomfrey with a panic attack”.

And some were already panicking. Ellen Bethan had had to be escorted to the Hospital Wing yesterday after she broke down in Charms and Richard Tomkeil had nearly cursed Peter’s hand off when Peter had tried to borrow his textbook to look up an answer.

There were several bright spots on the horizon, however. One of which was the trip to Hogsmeade tomorrow. Lily and her roommates had already made plans to spend the morning together and finish their Christmas shopping.

At the moment Lily was diligently studying with James. They had been in the Gryffindor common room with their friends, but after dinner the boisterous noise from the younger Gryffindors became too much. They had been comfortably sequestered in the Heads’ Common Room ever since. Multiple candy wrappers, notes and textbooks were scattered over the floor, and their robes had been discarded long ago.

“Explain why it is necessary to maintain your focus when conjuring an item.”

“Because if you don’t, you’re likely to wind up with a chair that falls apart when you sit in it. And all because you forgot it needed something to hold all the pieces together,” James answered dully from where he lay on the floor, tossing a Quaffle into the air.

“Now, describe the wand movement necessary to—” Lily broke off with a start as the Quaffle landed on top of her notes. She looked at James with raised eyebrows. “For a Chaser of your status you have terrible aim.”

James grinned at her and got to his feet. “Let’s go for a walk.”

“It’s fifteen minutes until curfew,” Lily told him, glancing at the clock. “And we don’t have patrols tonight. It would set a bad example if any of the Prefects see us.”

“Who says we’ll be seen?” James reached into his school bag and pulled out a length of shimmering cloth.

“We really shouldn’t…”

“Come on, Lily. We’ve been at this for hours. If I don’t get a break soon I swear I’ll go barmy.”

Lily set her notes to the side and stood up. She had been sitting in one position for so long that her legs wouldn’t straighten properly and she lost her balance and fell onto the couch.

James laughed and pulled her up, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. Lily smiled at him ruefully over her shoulder. “I guess we could use a break.”

He smacked his lips against her cheek playfully and then frog-marched her to the door. They pulled on their shoes and James pulled the Marauder’s Map from his pocket and gave it a once over. “Just in case,” he said waving it at her before putting it away, along with his cloak.

“So where are we walking to?” Lily asked as they made their way down the corridor.

“Kitchens,” James replied turning around so that he was walking backwards in front of her. “I want ice cream. It’s too bad we can’t nip down to Diagon Alley to Fortescue’s.”

“We could go over Christmas break. Or there’s a Muggle ice cream parlor not to far from my house that I could take you to.”

“Is it any good? I’ve never had Muggle ice cream.”

Lily laughed. “It’s pretty much the same. There aren’t any odd flavors like Fortescue’s has though. Just the usual ones like vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, raspberry, mint chocolate chunk, and coffee.”

“We’ll definitely have to go then. It will be great for my project.”

They had to stop abruptly as the staircase they had been about to take to the first floor decided to change its course. James leaned back against the wall and checked the Map again. “Eurgh,” he groaned. “Harvey Hill is in the Entrance Hall. I forgot he was on patrol tonight. Let’s go a different way.”

“How could you forget?” Lily asked him incredulously, as she followed him back down the hall and through a secret passage. “He spent twenty minutes complaining to you about it after the last Prefects’ meeting. And the little snot went to Professor Flitwick to try to get him to make us change it.”

“I make a point to forget everything he says to me.”

“Then why’d you have detention for hexing him the other week?”

He stopped walking and frowned at her. “How did you hear about that?”

“Sirius told me when I asked him where you were.”

“Padfoot, I’m going to wallop you when I see you next,” James grumbled under his breath.

“He wouldn’t tell me why though, only that you took offence to something Harvey had said.”

“Yeah, well, he deserved it. And I would have hexed the rest of them too, if McGonagall hadn’t come along.”

“The rest? How many of them where there?”

“Look, it doesn’t matter, alright?” he said fiercely.

Lily blinked, slightly taken back by his anger, but then shrugged it off. “If you say so, but it’s obviously still bothering you.” She continued down the passage, but turned back around when she realized that James wasn’t following her. “Are you coming?”

James sighed and sat down, leaning against the wall. “They were talking about you,” he said in a defeated voice. “Hill and a bunch of Slytherins in his year. They were saying all kinds of things, just like, wondering what they would have to do in order to get you to perform your ‘head girl’ duties.”

“What do you…oh…” Lily dropped down next to him, speechless. “Well. That’s just, that’s just–”

James took her hand in one of his and traced her fingers with his other one. “Yeah. It was…well it was all really crude. And cruel and revolting to even think about them... It just – Lily, it just wasn’t right.”

Lily’s lip curled up in disgust. “I’m glad you hexed him. I would have done the same to tell you the truth,” she said heatedly.

“Sirius held me back before I could get to the others,” James confided. “I swear he has some kind of sixth sense when it comes to knowing when a professor is coming.”

“Maybe it’s just a heightened sense of smell,” Lily joked.

“Well, there is that.” James shot her a crooked smile and got to his feet, pulling her up with him. “So, are we still getting ice cream?”

Lily nodded and let him lead her through the rest of the passage. As they walked she studied him, thinking back to the conversation she had had with Lizzie in the Library last week. When she had told Lily how James had reacted to Richard’s comment about wanting to go out with her again. And how a few minutes ago James had admitted to her exactly why he had got detention. She thought about the knowing looks his friends gave him whenever she walked into the room. And the looks her friends gave her whenever she mentioned his name – even though she still hadn’t said anything to them about kissing him. It was as though they knew she liked him and were just waiting for her to confirm that fact.

And she did like him. He was starting to become one of her best friends. He had understood that after Stephan’s death, she had had to let her anger out. To yell and scream and complain and cry…. and where Marlene would have said comforting words and tried to calm her down, James had just let her get it out. It was as though he knew her in a way that her friends never would.

After hearing Lizzie’s observations, she had started to notice him in a way that she hadn’t before. Lily would catch herself watching him, studying him. Intellectually he could converse with her about theories without getting that glazed look on his face that most of her friends always seemed to. And he was beginning to be the first person she went to when she had something to share. Whether it was about class work, a letter from home, an annoying Prefect, or a joke she had heard.

She was beginning to think that Lizzie might be right about how he felt about her. That he loved her. She was even more startled to realize that she might be starting to feel the same way. And that realization scared her more than anything else.

They had reached the tapestry that led to the Entrance Hall and Lily tugged James’ hand to keep him from going through. He looked at her questioningly and she smiled up at him.

“I believe I quite fancy you, Mr. Potter.”

James blinked for a moment and then grinned back at her. “Is that so, Miss Evans? How very fascinating.”

“It’s all your fault, you realize.” Lily shot him a teasing smile. “I wouldn’t have had any trouble resisting you, normally. But you had to toss in all those perks.”

“Oh? Like what?”

For an answer, Lily stood on her toes and kissed him soundly on the mouth. After several moments she pulled away, grinning. “Like that,” she said. "Not to mention being able to turn down any bloke who asks me to Hogsmeade by saying I’m going with you.”

James scowled. “Who asked you?”

“No one’s asked me, it’s just the principle of it all.”

“Oh, well that’s all right, then.” James looked at her hopefully. “Does this mean you’re asking me out?”

Lily laughed. “Yes, I suppose I am. James Potter, would you like to spend tomorrow afternoon in Hogsmeade with me?”

“Definitely,” James replied with a grin. “If only so that I can tell off the other blokes for going after my girl.”

“Am I? Your girl?”

“I – well, only if you want to be,” he said hesitantly.

She smiled at him softly. “I think I’d like that very much.”

“Good.” James gave her glowing smile and leaned down to kiss her.

As Lily kissed him an idea popped into her head and while he was distracted she slipped her hand into his pocket, pulling out his Invisibility Cloak. Laughing at the surprised look on his face, she wrapped it around herself and darted into the Entrance Hall. She turned back and saw him standing at the edge of the passage, waving at her frantically even though he had no idea where she was standing.

He pulled out his Map and after giving it a once over, started across the Entrance Hall. Lily moved silently behind him and wrapped her arms around him, running her hands up his chest.

“Lily,” he hissed, trying to grab her wandering hands. She laughed and moved in front of him so that she was able to throw the Cloak over him as well.

“That was completely unfair,” he complained once they were both covered, but Lily could tell he was trying not to laugh. His hands traced a path down to her hips and he pulled her close, leaning down to kiss her.

Standing on her toes, Lily put her arms around his neck and kissed him back. It was a bit of a thrill kissing him in the Entrance Hall when someone patrolling could walk by, even knowing that the Invisibility Cloak covered them both.

James opened his mouth over hers, and slowly walked her backwards until her back rested against a wall. He pressed against her and Lily’s hands moved down to the hem of his shirt, slipping underneath it slightly so that she could run her fingers lightly over his bare skin.

He sucked in a sharp breath and one of his hands moved to tangle in her hair before he started trailing light butterfly kisses down her neck.

He moved back to her mouth and Lily kissed him blissfully. Time lost all meaning as they stood there under his Cloak in the Entrance Hall. The torches flickered, casting shadows along the walls.

They broke apart to catch their breath, foreheads together. James moved a hand to tuck her hair behind her ear and Lily turned her head to kiss his wrist. “I don’t feel much like ice cream anymore,” she told him.

“No, me either,” he replied, laughing breathlessly. His hazel eyes sparked at her from behind lopsided glasses as Lily grinned back up at him, knowing that she had never been happier than she was at this moment.

He grabbed her hand, and they darted through the school and back to the Heads’ Common Room, taking every shortcut they knew. It was a challenge to keep the Cloak around them both the whole way there and it didn’t help that James kept stopping to kiss her every few minutes.

They spent the next several hours curled up together on the sofa in the Heads’ Common Room, kissing and talking, but mostly kissing. At some point James had lost his shirt, and both their shoes and socks had long been discarded.

When they finally wandered back to Gryffindor Tower to find their beds, it was past two in the morning. Their lips were swollen, their jaws were aching and Lily’s hair was well on its way to looking how James’ usually did. But they both fell asleep with wide smiles on their faces.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Lily woke up the next morning to a fresh layer of snow covering the ground. Standing with her blanket wrapped around her, she stared out of her dormitory window, letting the events of the night before play through her mind. She glanced behind her at Marlene’s bed and, thinking of what her friend’s reaction would be, grinned.

The clock on Marlene’s bedside table flipped to eight-thirty and immediately the alarm sounded, playing the latest hit song from Wizarding Wireless. Lily watched as Marlene opened her curtains and after retrieving her wand from under her pillow, shut the alarm off.

Marlene blinked sleepily and stretched, nearly falling off her bed in the process. Lily laughed and Marlene looked up, noticing her for the first time.

“When did you get back?” Marlene asked her, her voice scratchy from sleep.

“After two,” Lily admitted sheepishly, sitting down next to Marlene.

“You can’t have been studying all that time!” Marlene stared at her wide-eyed and Lily felt her face turn red. “Lily!”

Marlene’s shout caused Janice and Linda to poke their heads out of their curtains.

“What’s happening?” Janice questioned sleepily, pulling her curtains fully open.

Linda slid daintily off of her bed and skipped over. “Someone had a late night,” she teased, bouncing onto Marlene’s bed.

“Yeah, I didn’t even hear you come in,” Janice said. “What were you doing?”

“Studying,” Lily replied weakly.

Linda raised her eyebrows. “Is that what they’re calling it now?” She smiled mischievously at Lily and waved her fingers over her neck.

Lily gasped and jumped off the bed, running over to her mirror. There on her neck were three purplish marks that could only be mistaken for one thing.

“Oh for the love of Merlin!” she exclaimed. Her roommates burst into laughter and Lily whipped her head around to glare at them. “It’s not funny!”

“Y-yes it is!” Marlene had collapsed against her pillows and was clutching her stomach. “Studying, Lily? Really? Is that the best you could come up with?”

Lily groaned and hid her face in her hands. “Well, we were studying ­– for several hours, in fact. But he got bored, so we went to the Kitchens to get a snack and, well, I’m afraid we got a bit sidetracked…”

Marlene smiled smugly. “I’m glad you took my advice after all. I told you snogging him would solve everything.”

Lily looked at her wide-eyed. “What are you–”

“Oh, please, Lily,” Marlene snorted delicately, “I’m not stupid. You’ve only been sneaking glances at him every chance you get. And your patrols keep taking longer to complete. Not to mention you’re always cooped up in the Heads’ Room together.”

“But–”

“And he was so jealous when you were talking to Richard the other day,” Linda interrupted. “I swear there was smoke coming out of his ears.”

“No he–”

“Yeah, and he always mentions you at Quidditch practice,” Janice put it. “Saying that if you can catch a quaffle while flying a broom, there’s no reason our chasers shouldn’t be able to.”

“But still–”

“And don’t forget he’s going home with you over Christmas to meet your parents.” Marlene said.

“But that’s for–”

“There’s no use denying it, Lily.” Linda smiled artfully. “You’re completely head over feet.”

“Er, it’s head over heels, Linda,” Janice corrected.

Linda rolled her eyes. “Close enough.”

“The point is,” Marlene said before they could get into an argument, “that we’re all very happy for you. The two of you are perfect for each other.”

“And Lily Potter has such a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” Linda added innocently.

Lily stared at her three friends open mouthed, debating whether or not to say something in her own defense and then decided that it didn’t matter. Her friends were right. She was falling for James and there wasn’t any point in trying to deny it any longer. This thing she had with him was becoming serious – if it hadn’t already got there – and she might as well get used to it.

“You’re right,” she told her friends, trying not to laugh at their shocked looks. “Now can one of you tell me a charm I can use to get rid of these things?” She gestured at her throat. “I don’t fancy going to breakfast and giving Sirius a reason to take the mickey out of me.”

It didn’t take them long to pepper her with spells and an hour later the four of them made their way down to breakfast, ready for a day of shopping in Hogsmeade.

The Marauders were already in the Great Hall, leaning over something on the table. James hastily put what Lily recognized to be the Maruader’s Map in his pocket when Lily and her roommates approached. Lily slid into the open seat next to James and, ignoring the looks from her friends, kissed him on the cheek. “Good morning.”

James rewarded her with a bright grin and then poured her a glass of pumpkin juice while she spooned some eggs onto her plate.

“What were you guys looking at?” Marlene had sat down across from Lily.

“Did you see that it snowed?” Sirus asked, pretending not to hear her. “We’re having a snowball fight after dinner! You gals should join in.”

“It’s going to be cold after dinner,” Linda said. “And dark.”

“It’s already cold,” Remus pointed out.

“Fine. Colder, then.”

“That’s what warming charms are for,” Sirius argued, unfazed. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

“I’ll do it,” Lily put in. “But you have to promise not to throw snow in my face or shove it down my cloak.”

“Err…”

“Sirius,” Lily said warningly, “you do remember what happened when you did that back in fifth year, don’t you?”

Sirius paled and put a hand to his hair, protectively. “Right, no snow in faces or down cloaks.”

“In that case, I’m in too,” Janice said cheerfully. “And so are Linda and Marlene.

“Hey! I never­–”

“I’ll buy you something from Honeydukes, Linda,” Janice bribed.

“Anything I want?”

Janice rolled her eyes. “Within reason.”

Linda smiled as if that had been her intention all along. “I’m in then. Marlene?”

Lily glanced over at the girl in question and saw that her face was turning red from suppressed laughter. “I think she’ll join us,” Lily told the others. “If only so she can see Linda get covered in snow.”

Linda pointed her fork at Lily. “Just you wait Lily Evans! I’ll hit you with so many snowballs that you’ll turn into a snowman.”

Lily looked at her thoughtfully. “There’s a spell for that.”

“It might be a bit hard to make you into a snowman, however,” James brought up.

“There’s a spell for that, too,” Lily countered.

“Yeah, but you would still be female even if your body isn’t.”

“But technically, since my body would be that of a man, when I turned into a snowman that’s what I would be.” Lily argued back, turning on the bench so that she could face him. “The fact that my mind would still be female is completely irrelevant.”

“That’s not true,” James said with a shake of his head. “A snowman is male mind and body. Otherwise it would be called a snowperson and there wouldn’t be such a think as a snowwomen. You would have to change bo–”

“No I wouldn’t,” Lily interrupted loudly. “Physically I would be a snowman. It wouldn’t matter what was going on in my mind. Turning a person into an object still enabled that person to remain who they are even when their physical self is altered. Linda meant­­–”

“Oi!”

Lily and James turned to Sirius, startled out of what was becoming a full-blown argument and could have lasted hours. “What?” they demanded at the same time.

“Err, does it really matter?” he asked them sheepishly. “I doubt Linda is actually going to turn Lily into a snowman. So this whole–” he waved a hand between the two of them “–whatever you’re having is basically pointless.”

“Oh, well…” Lily exchanged a look with James. “I guess not, but still…”

James shrugged and shot a crooked smile at his friend. “It’s fun to argue with her. Her face gets all red and with her hair it looks like her head is on fire.”

“It does not!” Lily glared at him.

Sirius cocked his head, studying her. “I see what you mean, Prongs. Especially when she glares at you like that.”

Lily smiled maliciously at him. “Oh, you’re going to pay for that, Sirius.” She stood up and looked at her roommates. “Ready to go?” she asked them.

They nodded and stood as well, pulling on their clocks and checking that they had their moneybags and wands.

James wrapped an arm around Lily’s waist as she was getting ready to leave. “Meet you at The Three Broomsticks for lunch?”

“Sure.” Lily smiled at him and leaned down for a quick kiss before with her friends.

Marlene was laughing quietly. “It’s good in theory,” she told Lily as they walked outside. “But it’s still going to take some time to get used to it.”

Lily smiled at her friend and they continued down the path to Hogsmeade. At Janice’s insistence (and truth be told none of them argued with her) their first stop was Honeyduke’s so that they could stock up on candy for the winter holiday. Lily made sure to pick up some ice mice and chocolate truffles for her parents.

The rest of the morning was spent flitting from shop to shop, stopping when something in a window caught their eyes. Lily got some stationary at Scrivenshaft's for her sister that was decorated with petunias. The only magic on the parchment was a spell to keep it from ripping or tearing, but what Petunia didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt her.

Her roommates told her it was pointless to give Petunia something since she wouldn’t use it anyway, but Lily wouldn’t hear of it. Petunia was still her sister, despite the fact they hardly got on anymore.

A stop at the Quidditch store ensured that Lily had a gift for James and she also managed to sneak a pair of gloves for Janice into her purchase when Janice wasn’t looking. Marlene was trickier to shop for and Lily finally decided to get her a Muggle snow globe once she got home, since Marlene was so fascinated with the one Lily’s uncle sent her.

At lunchtime, they met up with the Marauder’s at The Three Broomsticks for butterbeer and sandwiches. The four boys refused to tell Lily and her friends what they had been up to that morning – only saying they had just got to Hogsmeade a half hour ago.

The group split up shortly after. Lily and James wandered off down the street so that James could finish his Christmas shopping. Sirius and Remus were dragged away by Janice and Linda to do the same. Marlene, however, opted to stay at The Three Broomsticks – explaining that her boyfriend, Johnathan, who was studying at St. Mungos, had promised to Apparate in and spend the rest of the afternoon with her. Peter disappeared into Madam Puddifoot’s and James laughingly told Lily that he apparently had made plans to meet Sally Jenkins (a fifth year Hufflepuff) there for coffee.

Lily twined her scarf more tightly as she and James exited Dervish and Banges. The sun was beginning to go down and it had started to snow heavily. After shrinking his packages to fit into his pocket, James wrapped an arm around Lily’s shoulders and pulled her close, placing a kiss on her temple.

“That’s the last of it,” he told her. “Shall we head back up to the school? I know there’s two hours before dinner, but it’ll be warm and I imagine we could find something to do to pass the time.” He shot her a wicked grin.

Lily smirked at him and nodded her agreement. “If it keeps snowing like this we won’t be able to have our snowball fight,” she said as they made their way back up to the school.

“Sirius was setting up all morning. If Dumbledore won’t let us have it tonight, he’ll just wait until tomorrow.” James shook his head ruefully. “Actually that might be preferable for you. There will be another layer of snow to cushion your landing each time you get tackled.”

“But Sirius agreed we wouldn’t–”

“No, he agreed not to throw snow in your face or put it down your cloak.”

Her colorful swearing caused James to raise an eyebrow and ask, “Where did you hear that one? It definitely wasn’t from me.”

Lily grinned innocently. “That would be Janice. She has a tendency to curse when she’s listening to Quidditch games on the Wireless. I think she picked it up from Sirius.”

James nodded thoughtfully. “Sirius and I used to compete to see who could come up with the most unusual…er… positions.”

“I take it he usually won, then?”

“Oh, no. I always did.” James grinned suggestively at her. “I’m much more imaginative. He tended to have a preference for one particular style.”

“Which one–“ Lily broke off and her eyes grew wide as it dawned on her. “James! That’s awful!” She scrunched up her nose. “Oh, eww, I don’t even want to think about that. It’s bad enough that we catch – urgh, did you have to put that image in my head? Stop laughing! James!”

James was doubled over with laughter and had to stop to catch his breath. Lily glared at him and impatiently tapped her foot. “Are you finished,” she demanded once James had righted himself.

“Yes.” He grinned at her and shook his head. “I’m sorry, but the look on your face…. It was priceless. I wish I had had a camera.”

Lily huffed. “You’re such a boy.”

“But you like me anyway,” James said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“Yes, well, it’s all your fault.”

James smiled sweetly at her. “I know.” He leaned down to kiss her and they stood there for several minutes that might have ended up being longer if someone hadn’t cleared their throat.

They broke apart sheepishly and Lily felt her cheeks heat up.

Daisy Hookum, a fifth year Hufflepuff and Prefect, beamed at them as she walked by with a few of her year mates. “See you at dinner,” she told them brightly.

“Well… that settles it.” Lily glanced up at James. “The whole school will know by morning.”

James grinned and leaned down to kiss her again. “The whole school already knew, Lily. They were just waiting for you to come to your senses.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A/N: Well that was chapter 16! I hope you enjoyed it, despite the long wait. Now, just a few quick things for you. First - there is an outtake from chapter 8 posted at my Yahoo! group from James' point of view for your reading pleasure. Second - you may have noticed that L's and J's relationship is progressing smoothly...this will continue to happen. Soooo, I'm wondering how detailed you would like me to get. And finally - I have official graduated from college....so since I have a LOT more free time, chapter will be coming out faster! Until next time...happy reading and happy reviewing!

Chapter Seventeen

Lily was not in a very good mood.

Patrolling the night before had been a nightmare. It seemed as though every couple was trying to squeeze in as much time as they could, since it was the last week of classes before the holidays. And since exams had started today, the Library was crammed full of students studying at all hours, making it almost impossible for Lily find the books she needed.

Then, on her way to Potions this morning, Julia Wilkes (a seventh year Slytherin, who was about as intelligent as a brick wall) had decided it would be funny to jinx Lily with Jelly-Legs and spell a rip in her bag, causing all of her school things to spill out over the floor. Lily was even misfortunate enough to have been standing near the stairs at that point in time. So of course, several of her inkpots had decided to tumble down the stairs where Peeves had just happened to find them and carry them off to who knows where.

It didn't help matters that she had had a horrible night's sleep. She rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on.

When she had finally made it to class, she was nearly fifteen minutes late and Slughorn had been forced to take points off – not that that mattered much, since Lily had been able to earn them all back by the end of class.

Slughorn then reminded them that they should be on the final stages of their Polyjuice potion. Lily's, unsurprisingly, was perfect and she wasn't worried about Slughorn testing them on Friday, unlike several of her classmates, who had been panicking until Slughorn told them that they wouldn't be testing them on themselves. Instead, they would just add one of their hairs to a small portion of their potion to make sure it reacted properly. Then Slughorn would send the approved potions to the Magical Law Enforcement department at the Ministry so that the Aurors could make use of them.

After Potions, Lily had had a grueling review session in both Transfiguration and Arithmancy. And now she sat in the Heads' Common Room working through the problems Professor Vector had assigned – all of which she had easily done before. However, now it was not going well at all.

She cross-referenced her answer for the third time before irritably scratching it out and reviewing the equation again. She screamed in irritation and reached for her class notes, trying to find exactly what she was doing wrong, but they were pulled out of her grasp.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Lily said furiously, standing up to grab her notes back from James. She hadn't even noticed him enter the room.

"Dragging you out for a trip to the Kitchen," James said with a cheeky grin. "You missed dinner."

"I don't care much right now, so give me back my notes. I need to study – my Arithmancy exam is Wednesday!"

James ignored her and began gathering up the rest of her work. "Lily, you've been in a foul mood all day," he said, effectively blocking her attempts to get to her things back. "You can study Arithmancy to your heart's content tomorrow. Besides, we were snowed in yesterday and you spent all that time studying for Charms. Which, frankly, doesn't make much sense since it's one of your best subjects and that exam isn't until Thursday."

"Bugger Charms!" Lily swore. "It's Arithmancy I'm worried about now. I need to figure out that problem – because I've done it right before, only this time I keep getting it wrong and I can't figure out why. It's driving me mad!" She turned to him beseechingly, "Will you look it over? I know you don't take the course, but maybe you'll see something I missed. They say another set of eyes is alw–"

"Yeah, sure, give it here," James gave in with a sigh. He flopped down on the sofa and thumbed through Lily's class notes, referring back to the problem she was stuck on. After several minutes he handed them back to her with an amused snort.

"What?"

"You copied the problem down wrong," James told her grinning. "The eight, see here–" he pointed to the offending number, "it's supposed to be a three. At least that's what you have down in your original notes."

"You're joking," Lily said unbelievingly, grabbing her notes back and squinting at the page. "Of all the stupid things to have done. Copying the problem down wrongÉ."

"See? You've been studying so long that your eyes are going wonky. Maybe you need glasses," James joked, reaching for her notes again and tucking them into her Arithmancy book.

Lily huffed and snatched her book back, standing up to place it on her desk. "The day I need glasses will be the day Sirius gets gelded."

James winced. "Remind me not to tease you when you have an empty stomach." He grabbed her cloak from its hook and draped it over her shoulders. "Now, we're going down to the Kitchens," he told her, pushing her out the door. "You redheads get cranky when you haven't eaten."

"We do not," Lily said grumpily.

James ignored her. "And then we're going outside to the courtyard. Sirius has it all set up."

Lily shot him a confused look. "Has what set up? The curfew for outdoors is in an hour."

James grinned at her. "The snowball fight, of course. He flirted with McGonagall ­– and probably hit her with a Confundus Charm for good measure. Something about the courtyard technically being inside the castle, since it has castle walls on all four sides. I think he threw our names in there as well a time or two."

"Or twelve," Lily laughingly added.

"Yeah. At least being Head Boy has been good for something."

"James! You know it's good for other stuff too," Lily admonished.

"True. The whole common room thing is brilliant."

Lily smacked his arm as James laughed. They reached the Kitchens shortly thereafter and Lily ate her dinner while James sipped a glass of juice and occasionally snitched something off of her plate.

When Lily had finished eating, she and James made their way down the first floor corridor to the door leading out to the courtyard. The others were already outside waiting.

"Oh good, you're here. I'm already freezing and we haven't even started yet," Linda said while Sirius bounded over to them, grinning widely. He handed each of them a pair of gloves.

"They're charmed to show how many people you hit and how many hit you," he told Lily, seeing her questioning glance, before saying to Linda, "One of the reasons to have a snowball fight is to freeze your arse off. It's no fun if you don't. And no warming charms – that would be considered cheating."

Linda rolled her eyes at him. "You're such an idiot, Black. Can we start already?"

"Yes," Remus rushed to say before the two of them could get into an argument. "The rules are simple. No magic, if you hit someone you gain five points and if you get hit you loose two points. All agreed?"

There were nods and murmurs of consent all around.

"All right then." Sirius rubbed his hands together. "We have five minutes to gather supplies. The game will last for an hour." He pointed his wand at one of the castle walls and a glowing clock appeared to count down the time.

Lily headed to a corner that had a tree and looked like a promising place to find protection from being hit. She knew she would eventually venture out into the middle where all of the action was guaranteed to be

Forty-five minutes later Lily was losing miserably, freezing cold and thoroughly wet. Snowball fights were clearly not her forte. She made a mental note to herself to get revenge on James for roping her into this.

"Lily, behind you!"

Splat.

Lily grimaced and ran for cover for what seemed like the hundredth time, wiping the wet snow that had just hit her off of her cloak.

"Sorry, I tried to warn you!" Linda called from somewhere on her left.

Lily ducked behind her tree in the corner of the courtyard and gathered a handful of snow to pack into a ball. She peered around the trunk and carefully took aim at Sirius before letting the snowball fly. He yelled when her snowball hit his back and she smiled widely.

"Good shot." Linda told her breathlessly as she joined her.

"What happened to you?" Lily asked, sparing a glance at her friend. Linda was covered with snow and just as soaking wet as Lily was.

Linda made a face. "Peter happened. I swear he's cheating somehow. One minute there's no one behind me and then the next thing I know, I'm getting plastered! Screw Sirius for not letting us use magic. There're a few choice jinxes I'd like to use on that twitchy git."

"Which one? Peter or Sirius?

Linda snorted. "Doesn't matter. Peter deserves it for hitting me so many times, and Sirius for planning this whole thing in the first place. I mean, who wouldn't want to get walloped with snow by a load of Gryffindor barbarians?"

Lily grinned. "You agreed to play."

"Only through bribery," Linda said sourly. "Next time I'll know better, no matter how much chocolate Janice promises to buy me. I'm freezing and my teeth are going to start chattering any minute now."

Lily stifled a laugh and glanced at the back of her glove. "I'm in fourth place," she announced. "James is first, but he does have an advantage being a chaser and all. Remus is in second, then Sirius and Peter's after me."

"Remus?" Linda exclaimed, shocked.

"Yeah, it's always the quiet ones, you know." She and Linda looked at each other for a moment before they both broke out laughing at the implication.

"Oi, Evans!" Sirius yell caused both girls to start. "Are you going to hide all day?"

"Just you wait, Black!" Lily turned to Linda, "Get ready to pummel him." The two of them started packing snowballs feverishly.

"On the count of three, then!" Sirius was yelling. "One! Two! Three!"

Lily leapt from behind the rock and immediately threw a snowball in the direction Sirius' voice had be coming from. She missed, but Linda's snowball hit its mark. The three of them furiously exchanged snowballs, ducking and throwing in turns as they tried not to get hit.

She was so focused on trying to hit Sirius that Lily didn't notice James sneaking up behind her until he grabbed her by the waist and tackled her to the ground. She went down with a shocked scream and got a mouthful of snow.

She pushed a laughing James off of her and rolled over, sputtering and wiping the snow from her face. "That was completely uncalled for, Potter!"

James pushed himself to his knees and took off a glove to help her get her tangled hair out of her face. Lily slapped his hand away and glared at him.

James grinned down at her unperturbed. "You can't say I didn't warn you," he said with an innocent shrug.

Lily grabbed a fistful of snow and shoved it into his face, laughing.

"Bugger! That's cold! You're–"

Something thudded against James' back and he whipped around only to get pummeled with more snow. He pushed Lily to the ground again in attempt to shield her from the onslaught as their friends hit them with one snowball after another.

When they finally relented, Lily and James were half buried under a mound of snow. Lily didn't even have to look at her glove to know that she and James had been demoted to last place in the game.

James flopped onto his back, exhausted. "I'm done in," he said. "What say we declare Sirius the winner and call it quits?"

"Er, actually, Remus is the winner," Marlene countered, waving her glove that showed the score.

Sirius stared in shock as Remus smiled widely and gave a sheepish shrug. "I think you owe me five bars of Honeyduke's best, Sirius."

Sirius grimaced. "Yeah, alright. I'll get it for you tomorrow."

Janice clapped him sympathetically on the shoulder. "You never should have made that bet with him. Remus and Linda – wave chocolate in their faces and you can get them to do just about anything."

Linda glared at her. "That's a load of dragon dung!"

Janice raised an eyebrow. "Remember that time last year, just before Christmas, when I said I'd buy you a box of raspberry truffles if you could get Betram Aub–"

"All right!" Linda interrupted frantically. "You've proved your point."

"And then in fifth year," Janice snickered, "when you pulled Doreen Simmons into a broom closet and she came out with–"

"Yes, all right! I think that we can determine that chocolate can get me to doÉ erÉ unseemly things. Sometimes. But only under dire circumstances!"

Janice choked back a laugh while Sirius looked at Linda with something close to respect. Remus, on the other hand, was nodding thoughtfully.

"I can think of a time or two when I was convinced to go through with a prank because of chocolate," he told Linda seriously. "It's the truffles that get me every time. The filling is justÉ." He trailed off, a rapturous look on his face.

James shook his head and got to his feet, then held out a hand to pull Lily up as well. Clumps of snow fell off their cloaks and Lily took great pleasure in casting a warming charm over everyone.

A gust of wind blew over the group and, now that the euphoria of the game was wearing off, they all began to feel the cold seeping into their bones. Lily's charm did little to help.

"Back to the tower then?" James asked, slinging an arm over Lily's shoulder and planting a kiss on her cheek.

"You're lips are cold," Lily complained.

"And yours have turned a most becoming shade of blue."

"That's because I'm freezing."

"Same here," Linda agreed. "I'll have to stand in the shower for at least an hour before I'll start to warm up."

Lily shook her head. "Not me. I'm going to submerge myself in a tub of hot water. With a bubble-headed charm," she added for good measure.

"ErÉ isn't that a bitÉ extreme?"

"Not at all," Lily sniffed, doing a noteworthy impression of her sister, and removed James' arm from her shoulder. He smiled good-naturedly at her and fell back to walk with his friends.

Marlene immediately took his place, chatting happily about Jonathan and the fact that she would get to see him soon.

"You're all so lucky," Linda sighed. "It must be wonderful having someone to spend the Holidays with. I mean you'll be with Jonathan, Janice has plans to meet up with Roland Brown, and James is going with LilyÉ."

"It's not like that," Lily tried to argue.

Marlene gave Lily a look. "Please, Lily. You've never brought a boy home before. You're mum's probably ecstatic."

Lily shrugged and glanced behind her at James. He was smiling and joking with Remus, while Sirius and Peter walked a pace behind, perusing what Lily assumed was their Map.

He caught her glance and winked at her, smiling suggestively. Janice must have noticed, because she elbowed Lily hard in the side, causing her to nearly loose her balance on the stairs as they started moving.

It didn't take them much longer to reach Gryffindor Tower. James waylaid Lily before she could climb the stairs.

"Stay with me in our common room tonight?" he asked, pulling her close. "We don't have to patrol tonight and we have a free period tomorrow morning."

Lily bit her bottom lip as she traced a finger over his chest, debating whether or not she should use the extra time tomorrow morning to study instead of sleeping in.

As though reading her thoughts, James said, "I promise to study with you all you want after class. Even Arithmancy. I haven't had you to myself since last week."

Lily opened her mouth to disagree but James cut her off. "Without having to patrol or study or there being some other distraction."

"Yes, all right. I suppose one night won't hurt." She gave him a small smile.

James grinned. "Meet you back down here in five minutes." He kissed her quickly before bounding up the stairs to his dorm.

Lily laughed quietly at his antics and walked up to her dorm at a more sedated pace and once she had arrived she crossed the room to her chest of drawers to find her warmest pyjamas.

"Off to join Mr. Potter for a little slap and tickle?" Linda questioned slyly, causing Lily to spin around with a glare and Janice to let out a loud snort.

"You sound like my Great Aunt Gertrude," Marlene laughed before eyeing Lily speculatively. "Is she right?"

Lily fought back a blush. "I don't know about the whole 'slap and tickle' part, but the chances that I will be returning after my bath are very slim." She paused before adding reluctantly, "He asked me to stay the night with him."

"Oooo! In his dorm?" Linda squealed.

"Of course not in his dorm. In the Heads' common room."

"Well, that's even better."

"Oh honestly! Nothing life changing is going to happen."

"Don't be so sure," Marlene sung out the words. "James has only been eyeing you all night."

Lily wrinkled her brow. "What do you mean?"

"She means," Linda put in knowingly, "that he's been giving you looks."

"The kind of looks that make your fingers tingle and give you Jelly Legs," Janice added.

"I don't have to listen to this," Lily huffed. It unnerved her that her friends had noticed his odd glances too. James was either being obvious on purpose orÉ well, Lily didn't want to think about what else the looks might imply. As easygoing and lighthearted as James usually was, when he looked at her so seriously it scared her. For reasons she didn't want to think about.

She pulled open a draw and grabbed the first set of pyjamas she saw, not bothering to check if they were warm or not, and left the room, leaving the sounds of her friends teasing behind her.

James was already waiting for her; his book bag slung over one shoulder. He gave Lily a searching glance. "All right?"

Lily managed a smile for him. "I'm fine. Ready to go?"

Upon reaching their common room, she headed straight for the bathroom and immediately starting running the bath. The tub filled quickly with thick foamy water and curls of steam drifted into the air.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in," she said, and James poked his head in.

"Want me to scrub your back?" he teased.

"Bugger off, Potter."

"Well, do you mind if I shower while you're in the tub then? My hair feels like I haven't washed it in a week."

"That's disgusting."

"Yeah, it is rather."

"All right then. Who am I to keep you from washing your hair?"

He grinned cheekily. "Call for me once you get in," he said before shutting the door once more.

Lily shook her head in bemusement and tested the water. Finding it to be the right temperature, she quickly stripped, throwing her clothes in the laundry. After making sure there was a towel nearby for when she was finished, and that the bath foam covered her completely, she called for James to come back in.

He paused in the doorway upon seeing her. "What?" she asked, self-consciously smoothing her hair down.

"Nothing," he said quickly. "Just a bit jealous of those bubbles is all."

Lily waved her hand at him. "Oh, go wash your hair, Potter."

With one last grin at her, he stepped into the shower stall and disappeared from view. A second later his clothes started flying haphazardly over the door and a moment after that the water turned on.

Lily ducked her head under the water and set about shampooing her hair. It was a very odd experience knowing that she was washing at the same time he was. It was very different than drying her hair while James showered or showering while he brushed his teeth. That they had done on multiple occasions when they were running late for class – something that was beginning to happen more and more frequently when they had stayed up late talking.

But thisÉ this was very different. It was almost as if– Lily shook her head, refusing to finish the thought. Instead she forced herself to concentrate on washing away all the cold, wet traces of the snowball fight.

Five minutes later, as Lily was soaping up her arms after having washed her hair for a second time, the shower turned off and James stepped out, a towel wrapped around his waist. She watched as he gathered his snow soaked clothes from the floor and put them in the laundry. A quick glance at the water in the tub showed Lily that she was still safely covered with foam.

James walked over to her, vigorously toweling his hair dry, and sat on the edge of the tub. "Feeling warmer? I know that I can feel my toes again."

Lily quirked her lips. "Much warmer," she answered.

"Sure you don't want me to wash your back?"

She scowled and hit him with her washcloth. "Yes, I'm sure. Now go and get dressed. I'll be out in another few minutes."

"Yes, dear." He grinned cheekily at her and grabbed pyjamas from the wardrobe.

It didn't take Lily long to finish up, and she drained the tub while she dried off and dressed. Not wanting to bother drying her hair, she pulled it back into two braids instead so that it would be wavy the next day.

James had sprawled out on the sofa and when he saw that Lily was done he moved so that Lily could sit down, allowing him to lay his head comfortably in her lap. He smiled up at her. "This is nice."

"What is?"

"Sitting here, doing nothing."

Lily laughed quietly and ran her fingers though his hair. "Hmm, yes, I suppose it is. The next few days are going to be busy."

"Yeah, and Slughorn's party is on Friday, don't forget."

"I doubt I could. He's only mentioned it every time he's seen me. 'Lily, my dear," she mimicked, "'I've invited so many people you just have to meet!'"

"You can't deny that you enjoy them."

"I love his parties. I've met some really interesting witches and wizards at them. It's the excessive fawning that bothers me. Though, in the end, I suppose it's worth it."

James sighed and reached up to play with the end of one of her braids. "Well, I'm ready for this term to be over. Just think – we'll have more than two weeks off from patrolling. And this time next week we could be watching tellyfision."

She forced back a laugh. "It's television, James. And yes, we have one. I'll take you to the cinema too. You'll love that, I'm sure. There're all kinds of Muggle candy that you can buy to snack on."

"Sounds brilliant."

They stayed in comfortable silence until Lily summoned over a book on holiday charms that she had got from the Library. For the next hour she and James had competed to see who could conjure the most elaborate decorations. By the time they were tired enough to go to sleep, their common room looked as though it had been attacked by Christmas elves.

"My parents will be pleased that they won't have to put up the decorations this year," Lily told James as she cast a modest enlargement charm on the sofa to ensure that they could lay comfortably on it side by side.

"Oh yeah?" He turned from where he had been adding another log to the fire.

"Mm hmm." She burrowed under the blankets. "They argue about them every year. And since my birthday is just after the Holiday I wasn't able to use magic for them last year."

"You're just forgetting one thing."

"What's that?"

"I'm supposed to be acting like a Muggle for a week – which means no magic."

Lily scoffed. "Just because you can't use magic doesn't mean I'm not allowed to as well. But if you insist on doing the decorations the Muggle way, I'll just sit back and tell you where to put everything."

"Well then, I guess if I have to do all the hard work, you'll just have to make it up to me later."

Lily raised her eyebrows at him as he settled down next to her. "Oh?"

"Mm hmm. Either that or you can give me some incentives to cooperate now." He bent his head to trail light kisses down her neck.

Lily laughed. "You think rather highly of yourself."

James lifted his head, grinning. "I'm in good company then." He rolled onto his back, pulling Lily with him so that she was now leaning over him. "You're the best girl a bloke could ask for."

Lily kissed him then and for the next hour proceeded to give him all the incentive he could possibly need for a week of letting her order him around. James didn't seem to mind being bribed – in fact he participated quite enthusiastically – and Lily decided that she would have to remember this method for when she wanted him to do something that he really didn't want to do.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

True to his word, James had diligently helped Lily study – even though he thought it was a waste of time since they both knew the material – and the rest of the week had flown by in a flurry of exams and last minute preparations for the upcoming holiday.

Lily had wrapped her presents the previous night after returning from helping Professor Flitwick charm the suits of armour to sing carols when someone walked passed. James had spent the evening with Hagrid decorating the usual dozen Christmas trees for the Entrance Hall.

Now they were making their way to Slughorn's Christmas party. Their way was lit with tiny fairy lights along the dungeon corridor and the noise from the event reached them even before they made it to Slughorn's rooms.

"Have I mentioned that you look marvelous?" James told Lily as they resumed walking after having stopped under one of the many sprigs of mistletoe. Neither of them had hesitated to take advantage of the plant.

Lily rolled her eyes and threaded her hand through his arm. "Only about eleven times so far."

"You're keeping count?"

"Mm hmmÉ That way I can make sure you live up to your previous standards the next time I get dressed up for you."

"Oh, well, erÉ Just make sure you give me the final tally at the end of the evening, yeah?"

"Of course," Lily agreed, eyes glinting mischievously.

"And don't even think about fudging the results."

"I'd never! I'm not Sirius. Honestly, James."

James snorted. "Thank Merlin for that. It would make things incredibly awkward – especially if you consider what we were doing under the mistletoe a moment ago."

"Oh, gross!" Lily's face screwed up half in amusement and half in disgust and James snickered.

They were still laughing when they walked into Slughorn's party, making it easy for their professor to spot them. He hurried over, a wide smile across his walrus face.

"Lily! My dear girl, I was wondering when you would arrive! And, Mr. Potter! You should consider yourself very lucky indeed to be escorting such a fine flower."

James choked back a laugh at Slughorn's blatant favoritism and managed to say, "I do, sir. I've been waiting years to come to one of your parties with her."

"Oh course you have, my boy!" Slughorn boomed. "Now, go fetch Lily some refreshments while I introduce her to Miranda Goshawk. You'll recognize her name – Professor Flitwick started using her spell books several years ago."

James wandered off and Lily allowed Slughorn to lead her across the room. He bowed before a voluptuous, middle-aged witch with intelligent brown eyes wearing emerald green dress robes.

"Ms. Goshawk, this is Lily Evans, the young witch I was speaking of earlier."

Miranda Goshawk nodded at Slughorn and stood to shake Lily's hand. "Miss Evans, it is a pleasure. I've been hearing your name for a few years now, and your Professor has done nothing but laud your potions skills since I arrived."

"The pleasure is mine," Lily replied, wondering from whom this witch had been hearing her name. Slughorn always made a point to speak of his contacts and he had never mentioned Miranda Goshawk before. "I can't imagine writing one textbook, let alone seven. And please, call me Lily."

"I hoped," Slughorn said to Ms. Goshawk, "you would enlighten Lily about the world of publishing. She has always written the most remarkable essays and nothing would be better than giving her a chance to share her skills with the rest of the Wizarding world."

Lily looked at Slughorn curiously. "Sir?" This was the first time he had mentioned anything to her about writing a potions book.

"Don't play coy with me, my dear. I have seen the notes you scribble in the margins of your books."

"They're just experiments and ideas on how to prepare the potions more quickly," she explained bashfully.

"Nonsense!" Slughorn waved her clarification off. "They work more often than not. Why, I'd wager you could teach my class better than I."

Lily grinned. "Only because you taught me so well."

Slughorn chortled delightedly. "Do you see?" he said to Goshawk. "She's everything I said and more."

Goshawk was smiling amusedly. "Indeed she is. Though I have never known you to be wrong about a student before, Horace."

"You are very modest." Slughorn turned to Lily. "Ms. Goshawk was one of my first students and has since become a good friend of mine. It was in her seventh year that I created this club. It is one of my greatest accomplishments–" The two witches nodded their agreement. "– and I have been thankful everyday for the opportunities it has presented."

He wandered off after several more minutes, leaving Miranda Goshawk and Lily to become acquainted.

"If you are going to write a book, I would be only too thrilled to assist you," Goshawk told Lily. "Especially if it would be for educational purposes."

"I-I don't know. I've never really thought about it. I've always considered going into Charm development or Healing. It's what I talked about at my career meeting with Professor McGonagall in fifth year."

"Hmm. You are Head Girl, correct?" At Lily's nod, she continued, "That will help you if you decide to write. Do not be afraid to brag about your accomplishments. If what Slughorn says is true, about your notations in your potions book, you are already well on your way to producing something worthwhile. It's the same way I began."

"That's- I'm not sure whatÉ That is, it's an entirely new ideaÉ"

Goshawk smiled kindly. "It can be rather daunting at your age. You have your whole life ahead of you."

"Yes, and there's just so much–" She was interrupted by James returning with a plate of food and a glass of punch.

He pressed the glass into her hand and kissed her cheek. "I love your hair," he told her cheerfully. "It makes it so easy to find you in a crowded room. Ms. Goshawk, it's wonderful to see you again."

Lily blinked at him in surprise. "You've met?"

"Several times," Goshawk answered. "I am well acquainted with his father." She turned to James. "I am glad to see you finally succeeded in your pursuit."

Lily suddenly understood her comment from before and could only imagine what the witch had heard about her from James or his father.

The two spend a minute catching each other up on mutual family acquaintances. Then Goshawk announced that she was going to see if Slughorn had anyone else for her to meet. Before she left, she conjured a quill and parchment and wrote out her direction and handed it to Lily.

"Think seriously about writing that book and owl me if you have any questions. It's always good to know someone who has connections to a reputable publisher."

Lily thanked her sincerely and they parted ways. Lily and James drifted through the room, greeting everyone they knew and meeting some different faces. After a half hour or so they retreated to a quiet corner of the room to nibble off the plate of food James has collected earlier.

Lily leaned against the wall. "You're up to twelve now."

"Twelve?"

"Compliments, of course."

"That's all? HmmÉ your hair smells of sunshine and glows like fire. It draws me to you like a moth to a flame."

"Just my hair?" Lily inquired jokingly. "You mean you don't feel some divine pull towards me because our hearts were made for each other?"

James looked thoughtful. "I suppose that could be true. Although, I think you need to work on your delivery..." He grinned. "I could only detect the slightest hint of sarcasm."

"How interesting. And here I thought even a deaf flobberworm would have been able to perceive it."

"Perhaps a blind flobberworm, but definitely not a–"

An amused cough interrupted their banter and they turned to see a short wizard with thick black hair and an extremely long nose dressed in deep burgundy robes.

"I am trying to decide if the two of you are dating or just very good friends."

"ErÉ" Lily had no idea how to reply to that statement because, in truth, they were both – and she was bewildered to realize that. She looked over at James only to see him gaping at the wizard.

"You're­­–you'reÉ Nimbus brooms – Devlin Whitehorn!" he finally managed to get out.

The wizard – Devlin Whitehorn and founder of Nimbus brooms, Lily assumed – laughed loudly. "And you are?"

"Dating."

Lily rolled her eyes and smacked James' arm. "I'm Lily Evans and he's James Potter. And if you're really Devlin Whitehorn, than it's no surprised he's speechless. He's obsessed with Quidditch and, by extension, brooms," Lily explained.

Whitehorn shook their hands and exchanged pleasantries with Lily. By that point James managed to get his brain back and joined the conversation enthusiastically. They spoke with him for quite some time and at the end of the party James was still rambling on about meeting him.

"I can't believe I got to meet him! And Jucunda Sykes! I mean, she flew across the Atlantic! I heard that muggles did that in one of those aeroplanes, but those are probably more comfortable over distances than brooms are. And I got her autograph!"

He pulled out the parchment that Jucunda Sykes had signed (for the tenth time) and she smiled at him in bemusement. "Sirius is going to be wickedly jealous," James told her. "To think he turned down a chance to go."

"I'm glad you had a good time."

"It was brilliant. I mean, there were moments – like when that ministry bloke came over with Lucius Malfoy." James lip curled in disgust. "I heard from Sirius that he's a Death Eater."

Lily frowned. "I did notice him rubbing his arm as though it was sore. Do you think­–"

"That's where the Dark Mark is? Yeah." James seemed to consider his next sentence carefully. "He was talking to Snape too. No surprise that Snivellus wants to join up."

"I wish you wouldn't call him that," Lily sighed. James shrugged but didn't say anything more on the subject. Severus Snape was never a topic they would ever agree upon and it was best to avoid discussing him whenever possible.

Lily still remembered the quiet friendship that had formed over a shared interest in potions. But the years of school and beliefs of others had interfered frequently, and even though both Lily and Snape were members of the Slug Club, neither of them had been able to ignore what was happening around them.

And then, inevitably, the memory of that fateful day in Fifth year came to her mind. That day had changed everything. As much as Lily had wanted to forgive Snape for the words he had said, she knew if would be impossible for her to ever forget them. The crowd he hung around with had too much influence on him and his actions – and Lily would never have been able to look passed what they represented.

They walked the rest of way in comfortable silence and when they entered the Gryffindor Common Room, Sirius immediately bounded over to them, inquiring enthusiastically about their evening.

The parchment that Jucunda Sykes had signed was once again pulled out and Lily left them to wax lyrical over it and joined her friends in front of the fireplace. They, too, wanted to know how the evening had gone and Lily relished in telling them about all of the people she had met. Marlene, in particular, wanted to know all about her meeting with Miranda Goshawk.

James and his friends joined them sometime later, and the eight of them stayed up late into the night talking about the upcoming holiday, what they thought the next two terms would be like, N.E.W.T.s and, unavoidably, the burgeoning war that was quickly taking over their world.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A/N: And that was chapter seventeen! I really hope you enjoyed it - don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts. The next chapter is the start of the Christmas Holiday and the long-awaited visit to Lily's house. Hopefully it won't take me too long to get it posted. Until next time!