A/N: Dear readers, we are pleased to inform you that our summer hiatus is over. We both now have regular access to a computer, which means we will both be able to write regularly.
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After the excitement of the previous weekend's Quidditch match, the following Saturday and Sunday were rather humdrum. When the next Monday morning rolled around, the students of Hogwarts were expecting just another average morning. There was a bit of excitement in the knowledge that four weeks from now, they would be back home for their Easter holiday, but other than that, they were resigned to another week of classes. At eight o'clock, the Great Hall was filled with murmuring, laughing, breakfasting students when, exactly on time, a flurry of owls flew across the ceiling, bearing the morning's mail. James' owl, Icarus, swooped down over his head and dropped his copy of theDaily Prophetbeside his tea cup. The bird perched on his master's shoulder just long enough to receive a ruffle of his feathers then, with an affectionate nip at the top of James' ear, he flew off for the comfort of his perch in the Owlrey.
"Anything interested happening out there?" Lily asked, leaning over James' shoulder as he unrolled his newspaper. Though she did not have a subscription, she had begun a habit of reading theProphetafter James, or at least scanning the headlines. This was not exactly an enjoyable task, as the news from Wizarding Britain had grown darker and more troubling of late, and Lily had never been one to dwell on problems. But, she reasoned, if she was going to be joining the "real world" in four months' time, she ought to learn what was going on in it.
James did not immediately respond to her question and, a few moments later, she turned to look at him curiously. His eyes seemed to be fixed upon the front page, and his mouth was hanging slightly open. Her brow furrowed with worry, and she turned to the paper in attempt to discover what he had reacted so strongly too.
"James?" she repeated, "What's wr-Ohhhh..."
From James' other side, Sirius looked up from the plate of eggs and sausage he was currently scarfing down and asked, "Something happened, Prongs?"
Very slowly, James lowered the paper to the table so that they could all read it. His voice was frighteningly calm and his expression tense as he answered, "I'd say something has. Take a look at that."
INFERI INFILTRATION IN DOWNTOWN LONDON
Arnold Defport,Daily Prophet
Five Ministry officials and thirty-four Muggles were killed early Sunday evening in an altercation between wizarding forces and what has been confirmed to be over sixty-five Inferi, or the reanimated and manipulated dead.
The attack is reported to have begun around four oÕclock, when janitorial staff at the Ministry reported hearing fireplaces connected to the Floo network. Upon investigation, cleaning foreman Timothy Stumpf approached the intruders, only to be struck down by what eyewitness Gregory Beryl attests as Òterrible strength."
Unfortunately, Stumpf was only the first of the casualties.
Aurors were summoned to attempt to combat the undead intruders. Other Ministry officials present joined in the fight, but a few Inferi managed to escape the Ministry and head into the streets of Muggle London, finding and killing eighteen passing Muggles before they were contained and destroyed.
According to a statement released by the cooperative efforts of both the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Auror Office, the Inferi entered the Ministry via unauthorized Floo fireplaces. When the Department of Magical Transportation Regulation searched the Floo records, it was discovered that the fireplaces in question belonged to Muggles.
The homeowners were killed, though it is not yet clear if the Inferi or other forces are to blame.
Motives for the attack are as yet unknown, yet rumors that this attack is linked to the Dark Rising cannot be quenched. There is as of yet no concrete evidence that links this attack, as no wizards were apprehended on the scene.
The public is encouraged to report any sightings of suspicious activity, and to immediately owl the Auror Office with any information that might pertain to the attack.
Lily looked up from the paper as she finished reading out loud, her eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.
"Oh, my," she breathed.
A long moment of uncomfortable, pensive silence followed. James stared down at his plate, feeling sick. Remus looked paler than usual, and Sirius, for once, could think of nothing clever to say. Marlene and Mary both wore expressions similar to Lily's, though Mary was staring fixedly into her cup of tea. Eventually it was James who broke the silence, speaking in the same ominously calm, low voice as before, "Someone has got tostopthem." The others were silent still, merely nodding their assent.
Remus sighed and stared down at the racing, silently screaming figures in the newspaper photograph again. "I'm sure the Aurors are doing all they can, James," he said quietly.
"Well it's obviously not enough, is it?" James demanded.
Sirius glanced over at him with a smile that looked rather pasted on. "Dumbledore'll do something," he said. "I'll bet he's already got something up his sleeve." The others, James included, took comfort in this observation. Their Headmaster had been in the Prophet more frequently of late, taking a public stance against the Dark Rising and urging his fellow wizarding citizens to stand up for themselves.
"Yeah but he can't save the world all on his own," James replied tersely. "People have got to help him." Sometimes, especially in light of news like today's headline, it seemed like no one would.
"Why don't you do it then, James?" Lily asked quietly. "Help him, I mean." She knew from past conversations that he had already sent in an application to the Auror Academy, though he had yet to decide if he would actually go once he finished at Hogwarts. If he really wanted to help Dumbledore fight the Dark Rising, training as an Auror was a good way to do it.
"Maybe I will," was all James said. He was staring down at his bowl of oatmeal now with a pensive expression on his face.
Sirius, however, seemed to have roused himself. There was a defiant gleam in his eye as he grinned enthusiastically at his best mate and said, "Let's do it then. You and me, Prongs, side by side. Fighting back the Death Eater scum until they're all locked away in Azkaban!"
"It's not that simple, Padfoot," said Remus, shaking his head as he folded up the newspaper and set it aside.
"I think it's a noble ambition," Mary spoke up.
"And one that's likely to get him killed," added Peter.
Lily shook her head. That scenario was one she steadfastly refused to think about. "Someone's got to do it,
though," she said. "If we ever want our world to be rid of this... thisdiseaseof prejudice,
we'll have to stand up and do it ourselves."
"Hear, hear," Marlene called out, lifting her teacup to Lily in a mock toast.
Sirius raised his own mug and said, "So that's the plan. Next step: graduation. After that: save the world!"
The others couldn't help but laugh at the exaggerated display of bravado. Even James joined in with a small chuckle and lifted his teacup to join the toast. But he remained uncharacteristically quiet for the rest of the meal, and, Lily noted, throughout the rest of the day. She had a good idea of what he was brooding over, but she wasn't exactly sure how to broach the subject with him or if she even should. Her attention was distracted most of the evening by a letter Mary had received that morning from a boy she had met over the Christmas holidays. All three girls were busy discussing the potential ramifications of this letter and trying to discern whether or not it boded well for a future relationship when Lily realized it was 8:59.
She rushed downstairs in a flurry, pinning her badge to her jumper as she went, and scanned the common room for James as soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She found him over by the fire, engrossed in what looked to be a very intense game of wizard chess with Sirius, who had something of a reputation as a chess master.
It was Sirius who first caught sight of Lily while he waited for James to make his next move.
"Oi Red," he greeted her.
James turned around, asking, "Is it time already?"
"H'lo Black," Lily greeted Sirius, coming to a halt behind James' chair and leaning over to plant a kiss atop his head. "Yeah," she answered, "But we can wait a few minutes if you two are almost finished."
"Nah, this game is bust. I'm going to resign," James said, rising to his feet.
Sirius smirked, "Oh how the mighty fall hard."
"You're one to talk," Lily retorted, rolling her eyes.
"I've never even tripped, much less fallen," the sleek-haired lad replied. This time, James rolled his eyes.
Lily sidled over to her boyfriend and asked in a stage whisper, "He does understand what a metaphor is, right?"
James shook his head and responded in the same tone, "He never went to primary school."
"Ahhh," Lily said, glancing down at Sirius with exaggerated pity.
"Hey now," he protested, "Leave my sordid past alone!"
Lily's only response was to wink saucily at him. James laughed and placed a hand against her back.
"Come on, Lils. Let's get this done," he said.
"Kay. Bye Sirius," she responded airily as the pair of them crossed the common room and exited through the portrait hole.
"See you, Red," he returned. As soon as the pair's back was turned, he proceeded to happily smite James' chess pieces, which were unprotected now that Sirius' opponent was gone.
Meanwhile, out in the corridor, Lily slid her hand into James' and asked, "Want to start with the dungeons tonight?"
James paused just around the corner from the common room and pulled her to him for a long hug.
"Yeah, that works."
Very happy to trade walking for cuddling, Lily looped her arms around his neck and asked, "Has anyone but Remus ever beaten Sirius at chess?"
He leaned down to kiss her forehead before answering, "I did once. He was very, very drunk."
"Do I want to know why?" she asked, tilting her head back to look up at him.
James raised an eyebrow: "Does Siriusneeda reason?"
"Well..," Lily responded, an impish smile playing over her lips. "I was just wondering whyhewas plastered and you weren't." In her experience, James and Sirius usually did things of that nature together.
"Another story for another time," James responded with a wink. "Come on. We don't want to leave the dungeons open to miscreants."
Reluctantly, Lily let go of him and took the hand he held out to her.
"If we must," she said as she resumed strolling down the corridor. They walked in comfortable silence until they rounded the corner and reached the staircase to the dungeons. There they saw a group of students who clearly hadn't noticed they had company, as they kept talking about the morning's headline as though it was the Quidditch final.
"I only wish we could have been there this time!" said the tallest boy, with the excited air of one discussing a particularly riveting Quidditch match. "I mean, some stupid cleaner staff can't have put up much of a decent fight against Inferi, but still. To actually be there would have been absolutely brill."
One of the Slytherin girls answered in a haughty, knowing voice; "My father says it's only a matter of time, if Inferi can get inside the Ministry."
"I bet it was hilarious!" chimed in another boy with dull red hair. "All those stupid little Ministry officials running around."
"I donÕt know, though," disagreed another girl, who Lily was able to recognize as a Ravenclaw. "That was an awfully visible move. My mum told me she isn't sure going public this soon is a good idea. Although, the fact that the Ministry put it in theProphetthis morning shows some lack of forethought. Honestly, broadcasting a failure for the world to see? The Aurors are good, but they aren'tthatgood."
"You're right in one," agreed the first boy. "The Ministry is going to realize quickly that they're standing on foolish ideals. Once they realize the power inherent in what's coming, they'll be quick to step aside."
James felt his anger beginning to rise. People had died that morning, and here these students were talking about their gruesome deaths so casually! It wasn't right.
"I don't know," said the blonde Ravenclaw girl. "If they manage to enlist the other Ministries before the fall, then everything is fucked. Pardon my French."
"But with another couple moves like this one," countered the red-haired Slytherin boy, "those other Ministries will be too scared to want to get involved. It's a brilliant plan!"
"Oh, yes, bloody brilliant, right" chimed in James sarcastically, wand in hand.
The group of students, who had not realized they had company, jumped as one. The tallest boy, who James could now identify as Murdoch Lyons, sneered, "And what wouldyouknow about it, Potter?"
"I know you're about knee-deep in a hell of a lot of trouble," James retorted.
"And for what?" asked Murdoch, his eyebrows raised.
"For being out after hours, you twat," snapped James. "Curfew started eight minutes ago." He wished there was something else to catch them on, but there had been nothing concretely incriminating in their conversation. He had heard enough, however, and could sense that Lily had, too. She stepped beside him, gripping her wand as well.
"But I'm sure you were all on your way back to your common room," she said, glaring at the Ravenclaw girl. "Except for you, missy."
"Excuse me?" The girl stood haughtily, one hand on her hip.
"You're an awfully long way from Ravenclaw Tower, in case you hadn't noticed," Lily replied coolly.
The Ravenclaw girl rolled her eyes, and then glanced at her friend.
"We're having a slumber party," she lied baldly.
Lily's gaze hardened.
"Which will have to wait until the Easter Holiday, unless you want to serve a detention," she said, as if finishing the other girl's sentence for her. "All students are to be in their own common rooms after curfew. That, obviously, includes sleeping in their own dormitories."
Murdoch snickered, offering a mock salute.
"Yes, ma'am," he sneered.
James cut in. "Oi, you heard her," he said, jerking his chin down the corridor. "Get going. Fifteen points each from your houses for being out after curfew."
Murdoch clasped his hands together.
"Ooh, thanks, Potter, for keeping us on the straight 'n narrow." He grinned in an unpleasant sort of way,
and then motioned for his mates to follow. "Come on you lot," he said, turning to leave. "And see you
tomorrow, O'Daughtery."
The Ravenclaw girl waved to her friends as she stalked off in the opposite direction, glaring daggers at James and
Lily as she passed. The group of Slytherin students followed Murdoch down the hall. James watched, his jaw taut, as
they turned and disappeared from view. He and Lily stood for a long moment in silence, where James seemed to be chewing
the inside of his cheek. Lily was about to open her mouth and ask if he was okay when James spoke;
"Lucky they bought my bluff."
Noting the tension in his voice, Lily reached up a hand and placed it gently on his arm.
"Your bluff?" she asked curiously.
James held up his wristwatch for her to see.
"Curfew isn't for another forty-five minutes," he replied simply.
Lily's eyes widened and she stepped back.
"James!" she exclaimed. "We took off house points!"
James looked down at her, his eyebrows contracting slightly.
"And?" he asked. "Lils, they were talking about thatattacklike it was something bloody wonderful."
She sighed, closing her eyes briefly as if gathering herself.
"I know, but..."
He interjected, "What, are you going to redact it? Or turn me in?"
Lily shook her head.
"No!" she exclaimed. "I think that's scummy of them, too, but... James, we can't punish them for
having a different opinion. Regardless of how wrong it may or may not be."
James shook his head as well.
"Lily, this is... this is such bollocks."
"We can't go abusing our authority to punish people we don't like, James. That would make us just as bad asthem."
"Listen to yourself!" he replied plaintively. "They're cheering on the people who would as soon kill you as look at you."
"And hopefully they'll realize the error of their ways before they actually act on the beliefs they espouse." She placed her hand on his arm once more, giving it a gentle squeeze. "They're still students, James."
He made a sound of disgust.
"They won't always be." He paused a moment. "And you heard them, talking about their parents feeling the same. More often than not, you turn out like your own set. Merlin, Lily, I didn't use an Unforgivable on them. I took away House Points." He looked back down the corridor. "And besides, they didn't even go back to their common room."
"Theywhat?"Lily turned around sharply, peering down the stone hallway as if the group of students would be dancing about simply to taunt her. "Of all the cheek..." she grumbled.
James shrugged, mumbling something that sounded curiously like "bastards".
"I suppose I would have expected it from the Slytherins, but... that Ravenclaw girl?" She looked anxiously in the direction the students had disappeared. "Should we follow them?" she asked, turning back to James "And make sure they go back to their common rooms?"
"To what end?" James asked wearily. "It's not actually curfew."
"Oh. Right." Another long moment of silence followed, but then Lily slipped her hand into James'. "We have to head this way, anyway," she sighed, tugging gently on his hand.
"Yeah," James agreed glumly, letting himself be led. After a few steps of silence, he opened his mouth once more. "Lily..."
She glanced at him. "Yes?"
"How do you do this? Stay so calm, I mean."
Lily considered this rather vague question for a moment.
"I just... Well, I suppose I'm hoping all they're doing is talking," she answered, unsure as to why
James would be so worked up over a couple of students.
James shook his head.
"I'm talking about everything that's outside Hogwarts," he clarified.
"With the war, you mean?" Lily asked, running her thumb over the back of his hand.
James nodded, his gaze growing distant. "There's so much out there that's simply terrible... and it seems like things aren't going to get better."
"I know," Lily murmured, giving his hand a squeeze. "It really bothers you, doesn't it? I've never seen you more upset than when you read that headline this morning."
James scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. The morning's headline had upset him; that much was true, but that wasn't the whole of it. Conflict had been building within him for a long time as to what he ought to do with his life, and the morning's paper reawakened a sense of duty within him. He had long hoped for sense of certainty to dawn on him concerning his future, and though he had yet to attain some grand moment of epiphany, his path was becoming more and more clear.
"I've been thinking," he began, breaking the silence that had settled, and I want to know how you feel. So... bear with me, alright?"
A flicker of concern shone in Lily's green eyes.
"Okay," she said. "Is this why you've been so quiet all day?"
"Kind of," James conceded. "Yes. I guess." He took a deep breath. "Lily, I'm not going to the UIQL. I went to McGonagall during free period and filled out another portion of the Auror Academy application." He let go of her hand and stood facing her, shoulders squared, as if to appear physically certain of his choice. "I thought Quidditch was all I could ever want. Hell, even right now, I'm kicking myself that I'll miss out on playing in the League. But... But those Muggles that were killed to use the fire grates could have been your family. What if someday you're in your flat and one of those mucked-up Dark Wizards knocks in your door to come for you, just cos you're Muggle-born?" He shook his head, mouth slightly agape, trying his best to summon up some eloquent phrase to adequately explain himself. "Lily, I'm not willing to risk that," he finished simply.
Lily swallowed, as a thick band of emotion seemed to be constricting her throat.
"Things outside are getting really terrifying," James continued. "I know there's got to be more going on underground than we know about to fight the Dark Rising. Because I don't believe a wizard like Dumbledore, for instance, is going to be complacent when there's a stand to be made. I know I need more training. I know I need some sort of discipline. And there's a lot I've not yet learned. But, hell, I'vegotto learn it. These are going to be my friends that are targeted. These are innocent people being killed. Little ones, too. I can't cope with joining a Quidditch league when I know there's something I could be doing."
Having apparently said all he could think to on the subject, and most definitely hitting the high points of the conversation he had held with the Deputy Headmistress earlier in the day, James watched Lily with a mild degree of nervousness. He wasn't sure what precisely expected from her in response. But he knew her worldview to be quite different from his own, and therefore found himself nearly holding his breath in trepidation.
"I think," Lily began, as she mulled over his words, her eyes blurred slightly with tears of pride, "that if the rest of our classmates are even half as noble as you, then we really can make a difference in this war." She stepped close and looped her arms around his waist, nestling her head against his chest as he hugged her close to his body. His chin resting on the top of her head, he found his heart lighter than it had been all day.
"And if they don't accept your application, they're completely mental," Lily added, sliding her hands onto his chest and gazing up at him.
James chuckled and then kissed her lips, a crooked smile stretching his mouth.
"Lily, thanks," he said earnestly.
Lily frowned slightly. "Did you think I wouldn't approve?" she asked incredulously.
James shrugged. "I hoped you would," he admitted.
Lily cupped his cheek in one hand. "Well, I do. Completely." She raised up on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his. When she opened her eyes, she found James staring at her with a tender intensity that made her blush. He reached up to push a curl of her hair out of her face.
"I love you," he said simply. Then, "I mean, er... Well, yes. I do. But you don't have to, that is... Er... I...damn."
Lily's eyes widened at this pronouncement. And then, her face broke into a wide smile, and she giggled. She reached her hands around the boy's neck, and pulled his face to hers.
"C'mere, you," she said, before pressing her mouth to his.
For several blissful minutes, it was as though she and James were the only two people in the world. All Lily could think about were his arms around her waist, his hands gently stroking the small of her back and the wonderful things his lips were doing to the soft skin of her neck. But then, something else broke through the hazy fog of her consciousness. It was a noise, almost as if someone had tripped and stumbled against the wall. It took another four seconds for her mind to register what this meant, but when it did, Lily gasped and jerked slightly out of James' grip to peer around him and catch a glimpse of the person who had caught them.
When she recognized him, her eyes widened and she squeaked out, "Severus?!"
For it was indeed Severus Snape standing across the corridor from the Head Students, his black eyes gleaming suppressed rage. He was silently cursing himself for stumbling against the wall, but he had been so shocked when he rounded the corner and saw them that he had tripped over the hem of his robes. And then he had realized that it was Lily -his Lily- who was kissing some boy down in a dungeon corridor, and his limbs had promptly frozen up, preventing him from darting down the corridor to safety. Severus knew the identity of the other boy before he even turned around. Gossip about the new couple had been flying all over the castle for the past couple of weeks. It was one thing to have to endure hearing others talk about how your sworn enemy had finally persuaded the object of your affections to date him. That, Severus could handle.
But he had no intention of putting up with the jeering look and triumphant grin he was certain were wreathing Potter's face, and so when Lily recognized him and James began to turn around to face him, Severus' reaction was swift and cruel.
"I didn't know letting the Head Boy stick his tongue down your throat was one of your duties as Head Girl, Evans," he sneered.
James stiffened and jerked instantly forward, but Lily reached for his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. At Snape's words, she had flushed scarlet, but her eyes were glimmering with indignation and anger. Lifting her chin, she glared haughtily across the corridor at Snape and retorted, "Actually, it's one of the perks of the job."
Severus snorted derisively, "And here I thought the Head Girl was supposed to be a model student."
This time, Lily went white as a sheet, and James could hold back no longer. Stepping forward, he glared menacingly at the other boy and snapped, "Ten points from Slytherin for mouthing off. And you'd better have a good reason for skulking around the dungeons this close to curfew or I'll be adding a week of detentions to that."
"No need," Snape said icily, "I'm on my way to a meeting with the Potions Master. If you refuse to
believe me, I can show you his note."
"Get going then," James ordered, and with one last parting sneer, the other boy vanished down the hallway. Relieved, James turned back to face Lily and was dismayed to find that she looked close to tears. This was one emotion with which he had very little experience. If Lily was angry, worried or afraid, he had some vague idea of what to do. But tears? Not a clue. The fact that he hated seeing her sorrowed or in distress only made matters worse.
He lifted a hand and placed it gingerly on her shoulder, inquiring, "You okay, Lils'?"
She nodded her head and answered, "I'll be fine. I just... He was my best friend, and now..." She trailed off, unable to finish the sentence. Somehow, Snape's harsh words a few moments earlier reminded Lily strongly of the day nearly seven years ago when Petunia had first called her a freak. And that was not a memory that Lily enjoyed reliving. It was hard enough to deal with the rejection of her own sister; at least they hardly saw each other nowadays. But add to that the sting of rejection from yet another person to whom she had been close and the older wound was made fresher. Worse still was the fact that Snape had essentially ruined what had been a beautifully romantic moment; it was no wonder that tears began to slide down her cheeks.
While James hated the fact that some other bloke had the power to make his girl cry, he didn't have thoughts to spare on that. His attention was focused on Lily, whom he could not stand to see in such distress. Very gently, he took her face in his hands and swiped away her tears with his thumbs, then bent to kiss her softly on the lips.
Despite her sorrow, Lily's heart swelled with a yet-unnamed emotion as he treated her with such tenderness. His lips were a very welcome distraction from the unresolved ache in her heart.
James pulled away after a few moments and asked, trying to keep his expression neutral, "You miss him?"
Lily sighed and hesitated a moment before replying, "I miss the boy he used to be." There was another beat of silence as James mulled over this statement, while Lily tried to think of a way to explain her severed friendship with the boy for whom she knew James held no warm feelings.
"He was the one who first told me I was a witch," she said. "And.. we had fun together when we were younger. He was different then. Before he started running around with.. with that lot. I suppose he became my new best friend after Petunia decided she didn't want to be associated with me anymore."
James nodded, glad to see that she was no longer crying. Reaching out to pull her against him, he asked quietly, "And that's hard to give up, then?"
Lily shook her head, biting her lip to keep from crying again, "I just didn't think he would..-" Her voice broke, but she took a breath and finished, "do the same thing that she did."
At this point, James was beginning to feel distraught himself. What sort of bastard was Snape to go around treating Lily like this? And what kind of idiot, to have thrown away her friendship? For he was convinced that the ending of the friendship had been entirely Snape's fault. The Lily he knew would never have broken off a friendship unless there had been some serious fault on the part of the other person, and Snape, in James' opinion, had treated his so-called best friend shamefully.
"Lily..," he said softly, touching her cheek to get her attention. "Lily, I can promise you that I will never break your heart. I promise you that right now."
Her only response was to tighten her arms around him, bury her face in his shoulder and begin to cry again.
"Aw, Lils, don't cry. Don't cry," he murmured, hugging her closer.
After a few moments, Lily's tears ceased once more, and she murmured, "I don't know why, but somehow I believe you."
Swallowing around the lump in her throat, she shifted in his arms to look up at him and even managed a tiny smile as she said, "You're rather wonderful, you know." And it was true. It was as though she had just seen James in an entirely new light. Before tonight, she hadn't realized how truly noble or understanding he could be. If she had not already, Lily was now dangerously close to falling head over heels in love with the bespectacled lad beside her. She just hadn't quite realized it yet.
James shook his head and smiled fondly down at her.
"Lily, I love you," he said earnestly, taking her hand and tugging her back into the center of the hallway. "Come on, sweet thing. We've got a long way until the end of patrols."
But Lily held back a moment, staring at him with a new light in her eyes.
"James, I...," she trailed off, struggling with feelings that she did not quite know how to put into words. In the end, she merely rose on tiptoe and kissed him again.
Though he was surprised she would want to kiss him so soon after the taunts Snape had just thrown at them, James made no attempt to resist. Before either could get too carried away, Lily pulled back and offered James a small smile as she said, "Thanks for understanding."
"It's my job," he said, returning the smile.
Lily giggled, despite her rather cloudy mood, and looped her arm through his.
"Well you're surprisingly good at it," she said. "I'm glad you never completely gave up on me."
"I couldn't possibly," James answered in perfect honesty.
"Shall we get the rest of this over with then?" she queried.
"Oh let's," he agreed, lacing his fingers through hers and leading them back out into the corridor. Fortunately, the rest of their patrol was without incident. The only remotely interesting occurrence happened when they discovered a very old and apparently very confused barn owl attempting to roost in one of the fourth floor classrooms and had to return it to the Owlrey. Apart from this little side trip, Lily was free to converse with James while pondering the revelation he had made earlier in the evening. It was not the first time he had told her he loved her. He had proclaimed this publicly numerous times back when they were fifth years. But this was the first time she thought he had really meant it and, more importantly, that she had believed him when he said it.
That scene replayed over and over in her head that night as she lay in bed, reflecting over how much her life had changed in the last several months. Her plans and dreams were all changing. Back in September, her only goal had been to study hard and ace her N.E.W.T.S. so that she would be accepted into the Healer Training Academy, all while thoroughly enjoying her last year in Hogwarts Castle. Then James had worked his way into her heart and into her life, and she was now realizing that he'd worked his way into her dreams as well. Somehow, no matter where she imagined herself living or what she saw herself doing, he kept popping up.
Until tonight, Lily had been a bit worried about the future of their relationship. Was this just some Hogwarts thing? If they went their separate ways after graduation, would he want to stay together? She sincerely hoped he would, because somehow James had quickly become one of the most important people in her life. She didn't want to try to imagine getting along without him. But after tonight, Lily felt she had a good reason to think that he wanted this to last just as much as she did. It was some of the best news she'd heard all week, and so, rolling over onto her side, Lily fell asleep with a smile on her face.
At breakfast the next morning, both James and Lily were in very good spirits. Until the Owl Post arrived, that is. Today'sProphetheadline brought news of yet another Inferi attack in London. It was like a very bad instance of dŽjˆ vu, but this time, the others watched James' face carefully as he unfolded his paper. As soon as his expression grew grim, they crowded around behind him to read over his shoulder.
HORIFYING SCENE AT BATTERSEA PARK
Arnold Defport,Daily Prophet
It was a gruesome scene that met a Muggle couple this morning at Battersea Park, Queenstown Road, London. Aurors were summoned to the scene as a witch and wizard, opting to remain anonymous for their own safety, crossed the park to collect items from the lake for potioneering. What appears to be around twenty Muggles were slain in a mass killing determined to be the work of Inferi.
ÒHorrible, it was,Ó claims the witch, R. ÒI come past the little tykesÕ zoo, and thereÕs a real pile of bodies. I took one look and then Apparated before I could be spotted by whoever done it. I never seen anything the like in all my days.Ó
Thankfully, R had the sense to alert the Ministry immediately. Aurors were dispatched, and the remains of the murdered Muggles removed from the park vicinity before the park could be opened to visitors.
No motives or suspects have as yet been identified.
The Wizarding community is once more beseeched to employ extreme caution when out of the home. Solo travel is discouraged, and any suspicious activity is to be reported. Any sightings of Inferi should be reported immediately to the Ministry of Magic.
"Disgusting," Sirius said, shaking his head. "You're right, Prongs. Someone's got to put a stop
to this."
"Are you really going to join the Aurors, James?" Peter inquired.
He nodded and said, "My application should be finished by the end of this week. Then, I'm owling it in."
There was a short stretch of silence as they all considered what this meant, then Sirius said in a much more serious tone than Lily had ever heard him use, "If that's how you really feel, Prongs, then... then I'm joining up with you."
"Really?" James asked, his face breaking into a grin despite the somber nature of the subject they were discussing. Although he and Sirius had discussed the Auror Academy before and Sirius had always supported his desire to join, he himself had never expressed any wish to commit to the same career path. Now, it was as though one of James' secret wishes would be fulfilled.
"That's great, Padfoot," he said, reaching out and slapping his best mate on the back.
His grin was mirrored on Sirius' face as he plucked the newspaper from James' hands to read the article for himself.
"Can't let you run off and get all the glory yourself, can I?" he explained. "Plus, someone has to be there to get you out of trouble when you take off on one of your mad, noble and heroic schemes."
The others, James included, chuckled over this comment. Lily reached for his hand under the table and gave it a fond squeeze.
"And I'll be there with the rest of the Medi Witches to patch you two up after you're finished charging recklessly into danger," she finished.
Ever the practical one, Remus cut in to say, "I hate to bring this inspiring conversation to an end, but if we don't get going soon, we'll all be dreadfully late to Transfiguration." Since none of the seventh year Gryffindor wished to risk their Head of House's wrath by slipping into her N.E.W.T.-level Transfiguration class late, this observation of Remus' caused all of them to shovel down (in the boys' case) the remaining food on their plates, ascertain that all of their things were in order in their school bags, and then hurry out of the Great Hall.