January, 1976
There were voices echoing along the dimly lit corridor.
Lily frowned as she strode briskly through the halls, towards the source. Although there were still fifteen minutes before curfew, most students should already be back in their common rooms by now.
Plus, the snippets of conversation - 'confrontation' would be a better word for it - sounded like something she ought to put a stop to.
'What do you want from me?'
'You're a nasty piece of work, aren't you?'
'Slimy git.'
'Don't think we don't know what you are.'
'I don't know what you're talking about.'
It sounded like a typical Potter and Snape argument. Except the voices did not match Potter's arrogant tone or the icy sneers of Snape. One of the students did sound like Sirius Black, but the defensive words issuing from his mouth were certainly not typical of Black.
'- all Dark wizards.'
'Vile snakes, the lot of you.'
God forbid that other students were following in Potter and Black's footsteps. Another set of supercilious troublemakers was not what Hogwarts needed.
'Don't insult my family!'
'Your family. I know what your family's like.'
'Heard your brother ran away from home. Only one of you with any sense.'
'He's not my brother. He's a stinking blood traitor. And so are you!'
'You shut your mouth!'
'Make me. You know you are - hanging around with Mudblood filth like Jones -'
'You bastard!'
'Furnunculus!'
'Tarentallegra!'
She could hear the spells ricocheting off the walls. This definitely had to be stopped. Lily sighed as she quickened her footsteps. The tension around Hogwarts was heightening every day. She rounded the corner …
'Expelliarmus!'
… and stopped dead in her tracks. That was Potter's voice. And it was Potter himself, advancing on the boys with their wands in his hands. But what was he doing? And more importantly, what further trouble was he going to cause?
'What's going on here?'
The three fourth-years watched him apprehensively. Regulus Black crossed his arms and gave Potter a sullen glare.
'He - he insulted Hestia,' explained Kingsley Shacklebolt nervously. 'He called her a -'
Lily would have bet anything in the world that James Potter would immediately hex Black's younger brother right there and then, given his track record. His next words came as a startling surprise.
'That doesn't sound like what I heard. The two of you seemed to be provoking him. Care to explain that?'
'He deserves it!' snarled Gabriel Dewitt. 'His whole family's Dark. I bet he's in league with You-Know-Who!'
There was a ringing silence. Potter's face was unfathomable. Finally, he spoke up.
'That's a pretty big accusation, Dewitt. I'd advise you not to make assumptions when they aren't supported.' His voice was strangely cool. 'And fighting in the corridors - or anywhere at all - isn't going to help matters for either side. Ambushing someone like this simply proves that you're no better than them, Dewitt. And petty insults based on prejudice don't make you superior, Regulus.'
Regulus Black started, as Potter used his first name. Shacklebolt looked properly admonished. Dewitt scowled.
'Fine way for you to talk, Potter. What are you going to do, anyway? You're not a prefect.'
'I'm not,' agreed Potter. 'And I'm not the best example for you either. I don't have the best record, exactly. I'm not proud of it. I can't take points, or give detentions - but I hope you'll think about what I've said anyway.'
Dewitt fell into a brooding silence. Shacklebolt nodded musingly.
'Anyway,' said Potter, with a brief glance at his watch. 'It's nearly curfew. You'd better get on back to your common rooms.' He handed back their wands. Dewitt and Shacklebolt hurried off immediately. Regulus Black, however, glared at Potter.
'Don't think this changes anything, Potter,' he growled.
'I think Sirius did the right thing, Regulus, for all it's worth,' said Potter steadily. 'You probably don't agree with me. And I know Sirius isn't going to try to talk any sense into you. But I hope you'll see it one day. And maybe the two of you …'
'Shove off, Potter,' snarled the younger boy. He turned on his heel and stalked off, nearly bumping into Lily. She sidestepped to avoid him, and found herself facing Potter.
Hazel eyes met green and widened in surprise. She knew he was probably wondering how much she had overheard. Or was he acting? The thought suddenly crossed her mind that it had all been staged - surely James Potter couldn't have changed his personality overnight.
And then he nodded civilly to her.
'Lily,' he said politely, and continued on his way, without any further comment.
Maybe it wasn't an act after all.
It was only afterwards, as she lazed in an armchair in the Gryffindor common room, letting her friends' chatter wash over her, that she realised that he had, for the first time, called her Lily.
None of the Marauders were paying attention during Transfiguration.
Sirius's eyes flickered occasionally to Remus, who stared straight ahead, refusing to acknowledge that his friend was attempting to catch his gaze. Peter alternated between copying notes and watching his friends uneasily. James frowned at Remus, willing him to meet Sirius's gaze just once, but to no avail.
Something had to be done, James realised. Remus had been closed off to everyone since the incident with Snape. He hadn't spoken to the Marauders, he avoided people - he'd even broken up with Alice and she hadn't been involved at all.
The bell rang. Professor McGonagall cleared the board with a brisk wave of her wand.
'Homework, twelve inches on the applications of Human Transfiguration. You're dismissed.'
Remus packed his quills and parchment into his bag slowly and meticulously - slower than was necessary, because Sirius was hesitating. Professor McGonagall eyed them with a look that plainly warned them not to dawdle as she strode out of the classroom. Sirius sighed and snapped his bag shut; Remus was still loading his quills one by one.
James watched them with a scowl, then made his decision. He crossed to the door and slammed it shut.
'Colloportus!'
Remus and Sirius both looked up at the sound of the door and eyed him in confusion.
'You're going to talk,' James said steadily.
Sirius's eyes darted towards Remus.
'Let us out,' said Remus stiffly.
'No. We aren't going anywhere until we've sorted all this out.'
Remus's eyes narrowed. 'There's nothing to sort out.'
'Yes there is. It's been more than a month already. You haven't spoken to any one of us - except Peter and that's only to ask him to pass the salt!'
'And the toast,' supplied Peter.
'What is there to say?' shrugged Remus.
'Plenty, if you'd listen!' said Sirius suddenly. Remus finally looked at him, with a long, cool glance.
'Fine,' he said at last. 'I'll listen. But it isn't going to be anything more than empty apologies, is it?'
'I ran away from home,' Sirius blurted out.
Remus blinked, nonplussed at this non sequitur.
'You - left home.'
'Yeah.' Sirius stared at his shoes. 'They - my - they weren't happy about - about the trial. And I wouldn't accept that - that they thought you should be …' He swallowed hard, before whispering, 'Put down.'
'So you ran away.'
'I'm not going back,' said Sirius. 'They're not my family anymore. You're my family,' he choked out suddenly. 'You and James and Peter. We're brothers. I - I want to keep this family. I don't want any other. And if you won't - if you can't forgive me…'
'We're all sorry,' said James. 'If there's anything we can do to make it up to you…'
'Can we stop fighting, Remus? Please?' said Peter.
After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Remus placed a hand on Sirius's shoulder.
'I couldn't live with myself if I bit anyone. Do you understand, Sirius?'
Sirius nodded fervently. 'I won't - not ever -'
'I almost killed Snape. I almost killed James. I don't know why you're still talking to me now, James -'
'You're my friend, Remus. I know you never intended to do any of it.'
'I - you - both of you - you don't think that I'm just a - a weapon?'
Sirius gave his head a vehement shake. 'No, Remus, it wasn't like that. It was just a stupid thing that I said without thinking, and I'm really sorry and I'll do whatever you ask now, to make up for it.'
Remus considered him for a moment. 'I'm not ever going to leave the Shack again. You're not taking me out of there.'
'I give you my word, we'll stay in the Shack - we can still be around you, can't we, Remus?' asked James.
'It might be better if you didn't.'
'Only to stop you mutilating yourself - I swear! We won't go roaming.'
'I don't know … well, all right. But you must promise it, James. Sirius.'
'We promise!' they both said in unison.
Finally, a hesitant smile crept across Remus's face. James grinned back in relief and pulled them all into a brotherly embrace.
No further words passed between them, but an understanding had been reached.
She was a Ravenclaw. Dark-haired. Thin to the point of anorexia. Her eyes were hollow, her long hair unkempt, and she was perched on the balcony of the Astronomy Tower.
'Don't take a step closer!' warned Annemette Darlington. 'I'll jump - I'll really jump.'
Lily stopped moving. 'Please. Don't do it. There's so much more to life …' She shivered as the horrific images of Christmas flashed through her mind. So many had died then, in retaliation for the murder of the family of this pitiful girl standing before her.
'More to life?' cried Annemette hysterically. 'I lost my entire family. I'm going to be with them now!'
'They wouldn't have wanted you to.' The deep voice of James Potter sounded behind Lily.
'You don't know that!' Annemette was looking more and more agitated by the minute.
'Annemette, calm down,' pleaded Lily.
'Shut up! I'm going to jump. I'm going to jump! I'm going to jump!'
Potter left, his footsteps echoing as he took off down the staircase. Lily felt like screaming, Don't leave me here to deal with this myself! That useless Potter …
Pull yourself together, Lily. Keep her talking. Soothe her.
'Who's your best friend, Annemette?'
The abrupt question startled Annemette.
'I don't know!' she wailed. 'No one cares!'
'I do,' said Lily gently.
'I don't even know you!'
'You do now - I'm Lily Evans.'
'You just don't want me to jump.'
'That's right, I don't.'
'Well, I want to jump.'
'Why?'
'Because my family's dead.'
'You don't have to join them.'
'I want to. I don't want to spend another Christmas alone. I want my Muuum …' Annemette's chest heaved with a great sob and she nearly tumbled off the rail. Lily rushed forward.
'Stay back!' screamed Annemette.
'You don't want to take your own life! Look, be rational about this, all right?'
'They tortured and killed my family, do you know how terrible I feel knowing that? I should have been with them, I should have died with them, I haven't any right to be here and alive …'
'I know how awful it is - I've seen how people can die, but you mustn't add your life to those lost! Don't do this, please! It's not worth it!'
Annemette stared at her through deadened eyes. 'Not worth it? You haven't been me, you haven't lived the past two months as I have … you wouldn't understand!'
'I could try.' As she talked, she could see someone rising on a broomstick behind Annemette, someone with messy hair and black-rimmed glasses …
'No,' said Annemette, her voice deadly serious. She turned and pushed herself off the balcony rail. Lily dashed forward to grab her robes but they slipped through her fingers …
And James Potter caught Annemette Darlington, one strong arm around her waist, the other arm steering them back to safe ground. Relief washed through Lily as she sprinted down the Tower, through the castle corridors and burst out the front door to the grounds where Potter had landed.
'Why didn't you let me fall?' Annemette wept.
'Because your life is precious,' said Potter gravely. 'And we -' his eyes flickered towards Lily '- won't let you waste it.'
'Why did they have to die?' Lily took the younger girl in her arms, her own tears falling into Annemette's dark hair. It was a question there was no answer to, a question she had wondered about too. Why did anyone have to die? For prejudice, for power, for revenge?
She held the girl until her sobs subsided, and then helped her up and took her to the hospital wing. Potter was nowhere to be found by then.
Only when she left the hospital wing did she realise that she had an extra cloak draped over her shoulders. And the initials on the clasp were 'J.P.'