Unofficial Portkey Archive

The coursework assigned to the seventh-year students seemed to increase exponentially as the end of term approached. During each day's free periods for the upperclassmen, the Library was found to be crammed with students feverishly rifling through texts, writing essays, and having miniature breakdowns as the workload they had been assigned grew larger, rather than smaller. Even the seventh-year Gryffindor boys, who seldom were spotted in public doing much of anything studious were rather subdued and focused. The oldest students watched almost jealously as the underclassmen skipped about, scarcely remembering what it felt like to write an eight-inch essay or transfigure a needle into straw. Really, there was little time to wish for bygone years and less stressful times, because there was not a moment to spare. Teachers continued the impress upon the students the necessity for being utterly prepared for their N.E.W.T. examinations this coming spring. November hardly seemed an appropriate time to plan for things that would be occurring in June, and yet, there was nothing else to do but go to class and get to work.

Aside from their ever-lengthening list of assignments, this week the seventh-years had to add career counseling to their list of duties. Throughout the week, each student would meet once with the Deputy Headmistress to discuss the next steps that would need to be taken in order to pursue his chosen career. Lily, who had big and bright plans for her future, was eager to get a head start on the process, so she had signed up for a meeting on Monday afternoon, during her after-lunch free period. And so, after a relaxing lunch hour chatting with her best friends, she waved them goodbye in the Entrance Hall and walked up the stairs to the third floor, where Professor McGonagall's office was located. When she arrived, the door was open, so she peered inside.

"Come in, Miss Evans," McGonagall said briskly, then looked back down at the essay she was grading while she waited for Lily to enter her office and take a seat. Once she had written a large, red "A" at the top of the essay, she set it aside and folded her hands on her desk.
"Now then," she said, surveying Lily with a rare smile, "If I remember correctly, the last time we spoke on this subject you wanted to become a Healer. Is that still your intention?"

"It is," Lily answered with a nod.

McGonagall bent to open one of her left desk drawers, rifled through the papers a moment, and pulled out a parchment scroll that she lifted to eye level and began scanning.
"Judging by your marks and O.W.L. results, it looks as though you're well on track to earn the necessary N.E.W.T.s," she said. "Have you begun your application process yet?"

"Not yet. I wasn't sure where exactly to get my hands on an application."

"Ah, well that is easily remedied," the Deputy Headmistress said. "I always keep a few copies of those more standard applications on file." Bending down again, she opened the same drawer from which she had taken the list of Lily's marks, and pulled out an even thicker scroll of parchment, which she handed to Lily.
"You'll have to double check on that scroll, but I believe this year's due date is March 30, which gives you plenty of time to fill it out. Aside from the application itself, you'll need two recommendations from your professors. I will, of course, be happy to write one for you, but I believe you might be better served to ask Professors Slughorn and Flitwick, as Potions and Charms are two of the most essential subjects for a Healer to have mastered."

"All right," Lily said, taking the offered scroll and opening it a few inches to peruse the first few lines. "Besides sending in my application and making sure to earn all my N.E.W.T.s, is there anything else I need to do?"

"Nothing at all," McGonagall responded. "Keep up the excellent work you've been doing these past six years, and I feel certain St. Mungo's will accept you into their program."

Lily smiled gratefully at the praise and said, "I hope so. Well.. those are all the questions I had.."

"Then you're free to be on your way," said McGonagall. "In fact, it looks like my next advisee has already arrived. Come right in, Mr. Potter."

Upon hearing James' name, Lily had to force herself not to whip around and stare at him. As it was, she could feel her cheeks beginning to redden. She still had not spoken a word to him since he had hurried out of the kitchens last Saturday. This was partly by design, of course. Lily had taken Remus' advice to heart and was trying to give James space. At breakfast, she had sat with with the other seventh year girls, only flashing a smile in James' direction when he had walked by her on his way to his seat with the rest of the Marauders. In Potions this morning, Professor Slughorn had informed the class that they would be brewing this next potion alone. And so the morning had easily slipped by with hardly any contact between the two Head students. Except for now, of course.

Quickly, Lily stood up and shouldered her school bag, so that James could take her place in the seat across from McGonagall's desk. For one long, agonizing moment, they stood facing one another, as Lily tried desperately to think of something to say.
"H'lo, James," was all she could come up with.

"Lily," he nodded, his expression carefully blank.

Relieved that he had at least spoken to her, she flashed him a brilliant smile on her way out the door, saying, "Have fun! And thanks, Professor."

James waited until she had passed before entering Professor McGonagall's office and seating himself in the all-too-familiar rickety chair in front of her desk. He was met briefly by a speedy mental montage of all the detentions and warnings he had received while seated in this very spot. He fought the urge to laugh and kept his expression pleasant, waiting for McGonagall to speak.

"Well, Potter," she said after surveying him for several moments, her expression a bit clouded. "Do you have the first portion of your application finished?"

"Oh- er, yes, Professor," he said, reaching down by his feet to extract the small sheaf of parchment which had kept him up for the past three nights. He handed it over, and Professor McGonagall took it from him, her sharp eyes scanning his words. After another few moments of silence, while McGonagall read and James leaned his chair back on two legs, she shuffled the papers back into order.

"Four legs on the ground!" she snapped, and James let his chair fall forward. "I'd rather not take you to the Hospital Wing, Potter."

"Sorry, Professor," James said quickly. "Is everything alright with my application?"

McGonagall's expression softened. "Too right, it is," she said, her tone lightening. "I will readily admit to you that by the time you had completed your second year here, I did not think I would ever see the day where you would have begun to apply to the Auror Academy," she said, and James thought he could almost detect a note of amusement in her voice. She continued; "As it is, however, I must offer you a bit of advice. When I submit for you this first section of your application, I will have to include a letter of recommendation-" she paused and looked at him gravely. "And, Potter, I will not conceal the penchant for mischief you carry. It would be most unfair to your potential employer. However," she added, as James was about to protest. "I will lay special emphasis on the fact that both your marks and your personal behavior have reached a more than satisfactory level. Though a few of my colleagues were at first apprehensive, you have assisted them most aptly in stuffing each's foot into his or her mouth. You were not made Head Boy without reason."

James was not sure how to respond to this pronouncement. He opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again to eke out a "Thanks, Professor".

"That being said," said McGonagall in a businesslike tone, "I have received another letter from the International Quidditch League scout. He will still be attending the final match of the year, so do make sure you get Gryffindor to the finals, won't you, Potter?"

James grinned. "You can bet on it," he said, his eyes shining.

"And so," said Professor McGonagall as she sealed James' Auror Academy application and placed it in a tray on her meticulously organized desk, "nothing remains until our next meeting. If the Academy is pleased with this first portion, they will be sending the second by owl post. For now, you are free to go."

James stood up, shouldering his bag.

"One moment-" said McGonagall, lifting a finger. James sat back down.

"Around lunch today, the statues of winged boars that flank the entrances to our beloved school were found to be dancing on their pedestals, bedecked in rather unflattering ballerina tutus. You would not have had anything to do with this, of course, have you, Potter?"

James' lips twitched.

"'Course not, Professor," he said, and he was quite sure Professor McGonagall swallowed the beginnings of a laugh.

"Very well," she said. "Off you go. You may send in my next appointment," she instructed as he exited.

James left the Deputy Headmistress' office, feeling rather relieved. She had sent off the first portion of his application, the Quidditch League scout would be attending the Inter-House Quidditch Cup final, and he and Sirius had gotten away without punishment for their latest prank. The only blight on an otherwise wonderful day was his run-in with Lily. He was met at the door by another seventh-year boy called Tristan Bishop.

"You're up," he said as he passed, nodding toward Professor McGonagall's office door. Tristan stood up and walked inside as James trudged back to the Gryffindor Common Room to continue hacking away at his abysmally large stack of assignments.

As the week progressed, relations between the two Head students grew increasingly less strained. It would be difficult to judge which party was more relieved by this. For her part, Lily was glad to know that she had not, in fact, ruined their friendship forever; she was hopeful that things would soon return to normal. James, on the other hand, was pleasantly surprised to find that he could endure the sight of the object of his spurned affections, that he could actually talk to her, without feeling the overwhelming urge to escape to the Quidditch Pitch. Slowly but surely, he was learning to be content with her friendship. Despite Sirius' numerous hints and suggestions that he ought to cut the redhead out of his life completely, James could not stomach the thought of life without Lily. Even if it was all he could ever have, friendship with Lily Evans was better than nothing at all.

Of course, this did not mean that he wasn't at least a bit wary of Thursday evening, when they were supposed to conducting their weekly patrol rounds. Up until a few days ago, Thursday evenings had been the highlight of his week; now he was almost dreading the two hours he would have to spend alone with the always alluring, perpetually unattainable Head Girl. Remus had not mentioned switching with him again, and in truth James would have been ashamed of himself if he had taken the coward's route and accepted his friend's first offer to switch patrol schedules. Still, as the nine o'clock hour approached that evening, he found himself growing restless and unable to concentrate on the chapter of his Arithmancy textbook that he was supposed to be reading.

Remus, who was occupying the other end of the couch on which James was sprawled, eventually noticed that the black-haired lad had not turned a page in several minutes. He looked up from his own reading and offered his friend an encouraging smile. One second later, his expression changed. He raised his eyebrows and gave a slight nod in the direction of the space just behind James' left shoulder. Following Remus' indication, James turned around just in time to see Lily approaching his couch, her wand held loosely in her hand.

"Hey Remus, James," she greeted both lads, then focused her attention on the latter. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," James responded, resurrecting what he thought was a smile as he stood up.

"Off we go then. Bye, Remus!" Lily continued, turning to head for the portrait hole.

James lingered by the couch a few moments longer, feeling like a young boy being dragged off for punishment, and mumbled to Remus, "See you.."

"Best of luck, Prongs. Be good," the sandy-haired boy responded in a low voice. He flashed James an encouraging smile as the other boy walked away and decided right then and there that it would probably be best if he remained in the common room until their patrol ended, in case either party was in need of his council.

Meanwhile, in the hallway, Lily turned to James and asked with a rather fixed-on smile, "So d'you want to patrol from top to bottom or bottom to top this time?"

"Er.. either one really," he answered, shoving his hands awkwardly into his pockets and leaning against the wall.

"Well I think we started in the Astronomy Tower last time, so maybe this time we should start with the dungeons?"

He stood up and began walking toward the staircase, a half-hearted smile on his face.
"All right. Lead on, fearless leader."

Lily nodded and followed him towards the staircase as silence settled over the pair. Whereas a week ago, they had both been content to walk alongside one another without any need for constant conversation, Lily was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the silence stretching between them now. James must have felt the same way, for he eventually asked, "So.. how was your advising appointment on Monday?"

Her relief was almost palpable. "Oh, it went well. I finally got my hands on a Mungo's application. I don't know why I didn't think to ask McGonagall for one a month ago," she answered.

He turned and looked at her with his first real smile of the evening.
"Healing? Thatisright up your alley."

"You think so?" she asked, peering up at him with a hopeful little smile on her lips.

"Honestly," James assured her. "How long is training for that?"

"Two more years. I'll start in August, if they accept me," she said, heaving a tiny sigh, "And I really hope they do. I honestly can't think of anything else I'd rather do."

"I can't imagine them turningyoudown."

"Well there's bound to be loads of applicants, and only fifteen of us can be accepted.."

James shook his head. There was no doubt in his mind that she would get in. The Healers at Mungo's would have to be idiots to refuse her.
"Don't worry about it. You're the best in our year."

"Let's just hope Mungo's agrees with you," Lily responded, her smile widening in gratitude for his encouragement. "So, how'd your appointment go?"

"Well, I finished the first half of my application, and it turns out the League scout is for sure coming to watch the finals, so I'd better make sure our team gets in!" James said, his smile growing with every word he spoke.

"Really? That's fantastic!" she answered, grinning as well. His enthusiasm was catching, and she was glad to see that, at least for now, his usually buoyant spirits had returned. "Your application to where?" she asked, "I didn't know you had to fill out a form to join a Quidditch team."

"Oh, no, sorry. That was for the London Auror Academy," he clarified.

Lily's eyes grew round. He was applying to be an Auror as well?
"Oh. Wow," was all she said for a moment as she studied him. Now that she thought about it, that sort of job would suit him well, perhaps even better than being a professional Quidditch player would.
"I should have figured though. I mean.. I can sorta see you out there, fighting evil and all that," she said, remembering the conversation they had had during their first round of patrols, when he had explained his hatred for the Dark Arts.

James turned his head to study her curiously, his expression unreadable. After a beat of silence, he shrugged and said, "Yeah. I dunno. It'd be cool to play professional Quidditch too."

"You'd be great at that too," Lily said, laughing as she remarked to herself that the boy certainly could not be accused of low expectations for his professional life.

"Thanks," was all he said.

They continued on for the length of a hallway in a silence that was much more companionable than the one at the beginning of the patrol, then Lily's curiosity got the better of her and she asked, "So which one are you going to choose if they both accept you?"

James gave a little laugh of disbelief and answered, "That's a pretty bigif. I don't know. The Academy?"

"Oh I don't know about that," Lily said, "You're pretty much tied with me in every class."

He grinned again.
"Cheers. And I've beaten you in Transfiguration the past three years, don't you forget."

As she was unable to actually deny the truth of this statement, Lily teased, "Yeah but that doesn't count. You're.. unfairly gifted in that subject."

James laughed in response,
"Yes, well. Someone's got to set the competition for you."

Smirking, Lily stepped closer and jabbed him playfully in the side with her elbow as she returned, "You never know. Maybe I'll beat you this year."

The smile on his face vanished as his mood began to sour. Why in Merlin's name did she insist on flirting with him when she still refused to date him? It was, to put it plainly, ridiculously unfair.
"Doubt it," he grunted and took a rather larger step forward to put a safe distance between himself and Lily.

Her feminine perceptiveness allowed her to quickly pick up on the change in her companion's mood, but Lily was confused as to why he now wore such a dour expression. She couldn't have elbowed him that hard, and surely he didn't think she was trying to belittle his Transfiguration talent.
"Sorry. I didn't hurt you, did I?" she asked, just to be certain.

James paused beneath the staircase leading to the next floor and studied her face a moment. There was no hint of mischief or mocking in her eyes. Evidently she was unaware of the effect she still had on him.
"Forget it. Sorry," he said, then turned and began climbing the stairs.

Lily followed two steps behind him, wondering where their lighthearted mood had gone. They had descended into another uncomfortable silence, and she was so distracted trying to think of something to say that she forgot that this staircase contained a trick step. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, her foot landed on the aforementioned step.
"Well d'you- GAH!" she exclaimed, gasping in surprise as her right leg sunk through the step up to her knee.

James turned around to find out what had happened and had to struggle against the temptation to laugh. Extending a hand, he scampered down the steps between them and teased, "Nice one, Evans." Once he reached the step that had trapped her, he leaned down, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her bodily out of the hole.

Blushing in embarrassment at her predicament, Lily bit her lip and grasped his biceps tightly as he lifted her out. The thought flitted through her mind as she was set back on solid ground that he was surprisingly strong, but she was soon occupied in maintaining her balance. The instant her feet had touched the next step, James had let go of her and resumed climbing the staircase.

"So, seven years at school and you don't remember to jump the step?" he asked, more to have something to focus on than out of curiosity. Picking her up like that had been a mistake, as his mind was now being assailed with images of what might have happened if he had just leaned down and kissed her like he'd been wanting to for years. And, to his immense frustration, like he still wanted to, despite her last and final refusal to give him a chance.

Lily blushed again.
"Er.. well.. I was um.. I was busy thinking," she explained. "Thanks, though, for pulling me out. That one's particularly difficult to climb out of."

"About what?" James asked curiously.

"Oh. Well..," she began, searching for a way to explain her carelessness that would not cause another awkward silence. "I was just trying to think of another erm.. topic of conversation."

"Ah," he responded. He took a breath in preparation to comment, but then decided to just let the matter rest.

Lily was silent as well, waiting and wondering if James was going to say anything about the proverbial elephant in the room. When he said nothing, she began to wonder if perhaps now was the time to speak up and ask the question that had been plaguing her since Saturday. After all, if they were going to continue as friends, didn't they need to at least talk about what had happened? In the end, her courage failed her, and she merely continued walking.

"So....," James finally said. The silence had grown unbearable again.

Mercifully, Lily was in that moment seized with sudden inspiration. She looked up at him and asked, "So.. what're you doing for the holidays? If we survive until then, that is."

"Going home. Sirius is going with me, so that'll be good," he responded, then turned the question back around on her. "You?"

"I'm going home too," was the response. After a few moments, she asked cautiously, "Does Sirius usually go home with you? There was a rumor going 'round last year.."

"What?" James asked, surprised by the question. "Oh, yeah. He's got his own flat in London, but he comes 'round my parents' place on weekends and holidays like Christmas."

Lily shook her head in sorrow at the idea of a son not being welcomed in his own parents' home at Christmas.
"I can't imagine.. That's lovely of your parents though. Must be fun for you too."

"Definitely. He's my best mate," James agreed. "He's sort of been halfway adopted by my parents, at any rate. It's nice."

"Really?" Lily smirked, "So how does your Mum like havingtworambunctious teenage boys around the house?"

"Honestly? She loves it. I'm the only kid that's been in that house for about forty years," he answered.

"Wow," she said. That certainly explained why Marla Potter's hair had been so gray when Lily had met her last August.

"Well, I mean, til Sirius and them started coming 'round," James amended.

Lily smiled, envisioning the vivacious woman she had met in Diagon Alley attempting to make a younger James and Sirius behave at the dinner table.
"I imagine your Mum'd like having you lot hanging around."

"How do you mean?" he asked warily, wondering if this was one of those wily female insults that didn't hit until an hour later.

"She just seemed to be the sort lady who genuinely enjoys people," Lily explained.

"Oh. Yes."

"And I may be totally off on this, but I can't imagine her wanting to sit around a quiet house just knitting all day," she added.

"Definitely not," James said. "She used to be an herbalist, but she still keeps this massive garden outside our house. She's in there most of the days, when she and Da aren't calling on their friends."

Lily smiled at the mental image of the elderly couple making old-fashioned social calls on their equally white-haired friends.
"How long've your parents been married?"

As he did not have numbers of this sort memorized, James was forced to think a moment. He looked up, as if the answer was written on the doorway through which they were walking, and finally answered, "Er.. sixty-eight years, I think?"

Lily's eyes widened. She had noticed that Marla Potter looked a good deal older than her own parents, but she would have never guessed James' mother to bethatmuch older. "Wow," she said, smiling. "That's impressive. And adorable."

"What about your holidays?" James asked, changing the subject.

"I imagine they'll be pretty uneventful," Lily said with a shrug of her shoulders. "This year, we're spending Christmas with my Mum's parents. Although.." she hesitated. "I wonder if Petunia's bringing her fiance along."

James glanced down at his companion curiously. "He's a Muggle, yes?" he asked, trying to remember from what Lily had told him in a prior conversation. Based on her flat tone, he extrapolated, "And.. an unpleasant one?"

Lily snorted in a highly un-ladylike manner. "That's an understatement," she exclaimed. "He's a pompous fool who thinks nothing of others' feelings. I don't understand how my parents put up with him, much less what Petunia sees in him."

"What's he like?" James had never heard Lily make any sort of derisive comments about anyone before, much less her own sister's intended. His curiosity was piqued.

"Well," Lily said, trying to find the words to describe the great oaf that was Vernon Dursley, "he works at this factory that makes.. tools? Drills? Something boring. But that's all he ever talks about." A beat's hesitation passed, and she added; "That or some other accomplishment of his, like the spiffy auto he's managed to buy or the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood that he and Petunia are going to live in."

By this time, James was snickering. This served only to egg Lily on, however, and she continued vehemently.

"You can't talk about anything but him when he's there!" she exclaimed. Then, apparently realizing how unforgiving she had been, she added almost hesitantly; "Although, to his credit, he does brag about Tuney too. I suppose if he loves her at least half as much as he loves himself, things might work out for them."

Lily's description of this Vernon Dursley had James in a fit. He managed to choke out; "Gotta be honest, I k-i-i-ind of want to meet this bloke."

It took Lily a moment to envision this meeting. However, any way she worked it out, it would end in quite a lot of hilarity. She giggled. "Well, you could always drop by over the holidays. There's a good chance he'll be there." Though she had said it mainly in jest, it struck her that she really wouldn't mind having him come over. There was a beat of silence, however, that followed her jovial invitation, in which James had plenty of time to wonder just what it was the red-haired minx thought she was playing at. Did she really think to string him along, even now?

However, any response James might have made was interrupted. As they rounded the corner, they happened upon a group of students, speaking in hushed whispers around an opened closet door.

"Hey!" Lily called automatically, startling the others. "What are you lot doing out of your common room? It's an hour past curfew."

James crossed his arms beside her, his shoulders square and stance authoritative.

The first of the students glared up at the Heads defiantly. "We're not doing anything!" he exclaimed defensively.

Lily had drawn herself up to her full height- which was, of course, only five feet, four inches- and gripped her wand. "Really?" she asked sarcastically. "And this explains why you're nosing about in a supply closet at ten o'clock at night."

Next to her, James snorted. "Come on, you lot. Do you really think that any of you can pull one over onme?" His reputation, of course, was mottled with the laundry list of petty offenses that the boys had managed to accrue over the years. The best thing about being a semi-delinquent, however, was being able to spot an amateur. "What's it you're after?" he pressed.

The ragtag lot looked at each other, flushed with guilt. James didn't recognize the students as being from one of the four houses; clearly, they were underclassmen. One of the boys- a shady-looking tall boy with dark circles under his eyes- caught James' eye as he attempted to slip something into his pocket.
"Oi!" James said, startling Lily, who had just opened her mouth to interject. "Give that here!" he insisted, holding his hand out to the boy.

The boy held up his hands in a would-be innocent expression. "I haven't got anything," he said slowly, sneering. "See? Empty hands."

Lily, for her part, was having none of this. She pointed her wand at the boy and said "Accio!"

"Hey!" the boy cried. "You can't do that!"

"She can do whatever she pleases, shitwit," James snapped. The group of students had been edging toward the open hallway, but James cleared his throat and the motion stopped. Lily looked down at the item she had summoned, and was surprised to find nothing more than a bottle of Mrs. Skower's Magical Mess Remover. Her eyes narrowed.

"What on earth did you want withthis?" she asked, entirely confused. Whoever heard of students stealing a cleaning concentrate?

The boy who had first spoken, who James had determined was named Richard Sleetworth of Slytherin, cleared his throat. "Er.. we had something to clean up," he offered lamely.

"Yes," Lily said sarcastically. "That explains the guilty expressions on all your faces." She and James exchanged a look. "Come on. The sooner you fess up, the less house points we'll take off."

A beat of unyielding silence followed.

"Or," James continued, "We could go straight to the Deputy Headmistress.

A dark-haired girl with an upturned nose make a little squealing noise of alarm. "All right, fine!" she said. "We were nicking Filch's stuff so we could jinx it."

"To dowhat?' Lily asked, exasperatedly.

The girl sighed. "To turn into dirt when it touched the floor," she said glumly.

The other two boys glared at her.

Lily held up the bottle and examined the outside. "Have you already messed with it?" she asked, holding it gingerly.

"No er.. we were going to do that back in the common room," admitted the girl.

James shook his head. "As impressive a bit of magic as that is, you lot are busted." Within moments, he had ascertained that the group comprised of two Slytherin boys, and one girl from Hufflepuff and another from Slytherin. He got their names while Lily added them to the ledger of notable events which the students had to turn in at the end of each patrol. However, since no blatant crime had been committed, she was not exactly sure how severely to punish them.

"Well," James said after thinking a moment, "that'll ten points each from Slytherin, and ten from Hufflepuff. Now get back to your common rooms. I will know if you aren't there in three minutes, and you'll all be in detention."

"And don't let us ever catch you plotting something like this again," warned Lily, for good measure.

The group hurried off, casting dark looks over their shoulders at Lily and James as they went. They split off, and the lone Hufflepuff girl darted down the hall while the Slytherins headed downstairs.

Once she was sure they were well out of earshot, Lily turned to James and asked, curiously, "How on earth will you know if they're not back in their common rooms? I never pegged you for someone who doles out empty threats."

James smirked. "I have my ways," he said vaguely, the fingers of his left hand flitting quickly over his pocket.

Lily didn't know whether to roll her eyes or take him seriously. "Do you think we can trust them? That they haven't already done something to the bottle, I mean."

"Trust them?" James asked, scarcely suppressing a laugh. "No. Prolly ought to remove any charms on the bottle, just in case."

"My thoughts exactly." agreed Lily, waving her wand over the bottle. "There," she said, satisfied, placing the bottle back upon one of the cluttered shelves of the supplies closet. She turned back to James with a small smile. "Onward, then?" she asked, gesturing toward the stairs.

"Onward and upward, as ever," James said, the slight thrill of their interrupted patrols ebbing away as he faced more time immersed with his fellow Head.

"Right-o, sir," Lily teased, offering a mock salute to James' seriousness. He could not fight a smile at her playfulness, and followed her as she strode off down the hallway, calling out cheerily; "Only two floors left to go!"

With a sigh, James followed her. It seemed as though that's what he would always be doing; following Lily from a distance. He had gotten close, once.. But perhaps this was better. Maybe being in a relationship with her would throw off their banter and the easy rhythm of their friendship. Perhaps he ought to give Sirius' insistent suggestions a listen and give the girl up for good. He quickened his pace and hurried after her, falling into step beside Lily as they rounded the next corridor. The rest of their patrol was uneventful, and they returned to Gryffindor Tower without running into any more would-be delinquents.

As the final weeks of the fall term rolled by, James and Lily managed to settle back into the friendship they had previously enjoyed. Or, to put it more accurately, they both became so wrapped up in their fast-approaching exams that neither one had extra time or energy to devote to relational angst. The closer they got to December 12, the more this became true of everyone else in the castle. The majority of the student body was struggling under the weight of exams and essays and eagerly looking forward to the light at the end of the tunnel so fondly referred to as "the Christmas hols."

The one bright spot in the end of the term came the first weekend of December, when Slytherin played Ravenclaw in the second Quidditch game of the season. Or rather, when Slytherin flattened Ravenclaw. The eagle house's crushing defeat was something of a downer for Gryffindor as well, since they never liked to see their rival win. Slytherin's victory on the pitch also had the unfortunate side effect of inflating the egos of the entire house and making them strut around the castle with their noses in the air. Sirius' brother, Regulus Black, was in particularly high spirits. His snatching of the Snitch from underneath the Ravenclaw Seeker's hands had saved the game for Slytherin, who had only been up by one hundred thirty points.

The Gryffindors didn't have much time to lament Ravenclaw's loss, however, because two days after the game, exam week was upon them. The remaining five days of class passed in a haze of late-night study sessions, hurried breakfasts and grueling test-taking, and then the Christmas holidays arrived. That Saturday, James, Lily and their friends boarded the Hogwarts Express with the majority of their classmates, bound for a fortnight of rest, relaxation and holiday revelry in their respective homes.