"I'm telling you, Sirius, this will be our greatest prank yet. It will be talked about for many generations yet to come."
"Oh, I agree, Prongs. We'll make Hogwarts history."
"Guys, don't you think this is going a bit overboard?"
"Nonsense, Moony."
"Hey, has anyone seen my chocolate frogs?"
"No, we haven't seen your chocolate frogs, Wormtail. Could we please stick to the subject at hand?"
"I'm sorry, Padfoot, but you know I have an eating disorder. I need those frogs."
"Shh. Quiet guys. Someone's coming down the stairs."
James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew all fell silent, turning their heads to the Gryffindor Girls' staircase. Quiet footsteps grew steadily louder as the owner of a pair of tiny feet came into view.
Upon seeing the person that disturbed their private Marauder discussion, James' mischievous face lit up with so much joy that he only directed to one and one person alone. Lily Evans' engaging face came into view for the others, who all glanced at each other nervously.
Her mesmerizing eyes traveled around the common room to rest upon the group of four sitting near the every burning fire lit in the fireplace. She bit her lip anxiously for a second like she always did when she saw the Marauders. It was that she didn't like them. She got along with them alright. It was her personality to be kind to everyone, even those who weren't kind in return.
The only reason she held a tiny grudge against the Marauders was frankly because of their numerous pranks against the student body, whether their peers deserved it or not. For five years, well five and a half years if you would like to count this year, their 6th year, since it was so close to Christmas, Lily did her best to defend the chosen victims of the Marauders. And for five and a half years, the Marauders did their best to try to ignore her pleas for them to stop.
Straightening her shoulders, she walked over to them, placing a courteous smile upon her face. The group tensed as she grew nearer to them.
Remus forced a smile on his face. "H-hi Lily." He silently berated himself for stuttering.
She glanced over at him, still smiling, "Hello Remus, Sirius, Peter, James." She looked them each in the eye.
"D-did you hear…anything we were saying?" Peter asked from his position on the floor.
"Nope," Lily said, lying through her teeth. In actuality, she did hear what they were saying. Every word. For the past 10 minutes, she sat silently on the steps outside the girl's dormitory, listening in on their plans. "Why?" she asked innocently, hoping they would willingly confess their horrible prank.
"No reason," Sirius chimed in quickly, too quickly.
She stared at him for a few seconds, inwardly willing him to crack and come clean with her. Finally, she said, "I see."
At times, Lily could remind them of Dumbledore. Just the way she stared at you and seemed to know exactly what you were thinking. Of course, this time she really did know what they were thinking.
"You look rather gorgeous tonight, Lovely Lily." James said charmingly, yet a little cockily. Lily slightly blushed. She knew of James' massive crush for her. He's been not-so-secretly pining over her for the past three years. Everyone knew of his affection for the petite redhead. Some couldn't blame him, either. She was considered, to some, Hogwart's sweetheart.
Lily secretly felt this way for him as well. If not for the ceaseless pranks he and his group pulled, she might have openly returned his adoration.
"Thank you, James." She said civilly, with a tinge of regret in her voice. If only he didn't pull those pranks…
"Wanna go out with-," James began, but was elbowed by Sirius, who was giving him a meaningful look. James didn't know whether he meant, 'She's being civil to you. Don't ruin it.' or 'End this conversation. We have work to discuss'. In any case, James changed the subject and said, "Well, we better let you get back to whatever you were up to."
The other three quickly nodded their heads. Instead of walking off like she knew they wanted her to, she walked around the plush red couch and sat down beside Sirius, facing their uneasy faces. "Were you lot planning another prank?" she asked earnestly.
Sirius smiled smugly and said, "Yep." He wasn't planning on telling Lily what the prank was. "Against old Snivellus."
"Don't call him that," Lily berated in vain.
"Why not?" Sirius asked, getting a bit defensive.
"What's he ever done to you all?" she asked.
"Like I always say, Lily dearest, it's more the fact that he exists…" James answered in his now cocky voice.
Lily pursed her lips, knowing that she wouldn't be changing their minds any time soon. "Alright, I get the hint. Just…" she trailed off. She looked them each in the eye. Again, it felt like she was reading what they were thinking. Shudders went up and down James' spine. "Please don't do anything foolish." She turned around and headed back up to her dormitory.
"What was that about?" Peter asked when they were sure she was really gone.
"You don't think she heard, do you?" Remus asked.
They fell silent for a second. Sirius then said, "No way." and went on talking about the details of the prank. James was the only one not listening, not at all able to get the picture of Lily's meaningful look out of his mind.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was December 19th. Six days until Christmas. The Marauders' plans were improving greatly. Word had traveled around the school that the Marauders were planning something big, something magnificent at the Christmas Ball on Christmas Eve night. That being said and heard by many students, a lot had decided to stay this Christmas and witness this experience, Lily herself included but for a different entirely.
Honestly, if the Marauders went through with this, there was a very big chance that they could be expelled. And, though the Marauders upset Lily greatly at times, she did hold a soft spot for them. She had to at least try to talk them out of this.
Walking down the hall, Lily was faced with her first opportunity to persuade them. Peter, it seemed, had just come from the Great Hall, for he was carrying an arm load of pastries and cookies and walking back to the Gryffindor Tower.
"Peter," Lily called to him. He stopped and turned around; seeming to be a little frightened at the chilling atmosphere the night creates inside the castle.
When he realized who was calling him, he immediately relaxed, "Oh, Lily, it's you." He said.
Lily smiled at him, catching up to him, "Hey!" she said brightly.
"Hi, so what's up?" he asked, stuffing a raspberry creamed doughnut into his mouth. Lily looked away from the gross sight.
"Well, I kind of needed to talk with you about something," she said, "Peter, we've known each other for close to six years, and I've always respected you for your loyalty."
Peter stopped his eating and looked over at her curiously.
"I was wondering if maybe you could talk the rest of your friends out of doing this prank on Snape," she said nonchalantly.
Peter furrowed his eyebrows, "But why would I do that?"
Lily bit her lip, "Peter, do you know how dangerous this is. I-I heard you all talking the other night. If you go through with this…who knows what the consequences could be."
"B-but it's just a potion and some charm work." Peter argued, growing nervous after finding out she knew what their plan was.
"It may be, but you need the perfect potion. And that precise concoction is hard to make. Also, to make it work properly you need the exact charm movements. Please, Peter, tell your friends to reconsider," Lily begged.
Peter was backing away from her slowly, shaking his head from side to side, "N-no, Lily, I can't. I'm sorry, but…no," with that, he turned and hurried off, leaving Lily to hang her head dejectedly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Guys," Peter exclaimed, rushing into his dormitory where the rest of the Marauders lounged around on their beds, "we've got a problem. Lily knows what the prank is."
James looked up from his Quidditch magazine, "What?"
"And how did she find out?" Sirius said accusingly, looking up from his latest issue of Quidditch weekly as well.
"I didn't tell her!" Peter yelped.
"Ok, Peter, ok." Remus said calmly, "What did she say?"
"She asked me to talk you guys out of it. I told her I wouldn't," Peter said defensively, looking over at Sirius, who rolled his eyes in return.
"It's no big deal," James said, looking over at Sirius, "She can't stop this, so there's nothing to worry about."
"Yeah, ok." Sirius said, still gloomy.
This time it was Remus who wasn't listening. He was too busy off in his own little world, thinking about how maybe Lily was right.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Practice some more and tomorrow night I'll show you how to turn the table a different color," Lily said, closing her Charms textbook and smiling at the third year Ravenclaw in front of her. It was the next day, December 20th at three o'clock in the afternoon. Lily and the girl were in the library for a tutoring session.
Tiffany Embers smiled gratefully back at her, putting her textbook away as well, "Thank you so much, Lily. You're a lifesaver."
"It's no problem, Tiffany." Lily assured her, her attention faltering due to four new arrivals in the library.
Tiffany turned her head to spot who Lily was looking at. She caught sight of the Marauders, her face flushing and eyes glowing. She turned back to Lily and said breathlessly, "I hear they're planning a huge prank on Christmas Eve during the Christmas Ball." She gossiped.
"Don't I know it," Lily muttered, standing up and throwing her backpack over her shoulders. She glanced back down at the giddy third year and reminded, "Don't forget, tomorrow night at 6 o'clock. Just meet here again."
"Alright," Tiffany said softly, staring love struck at the four boys a few tables over.
Lily shook her head, walking towards the exit. Before she got to the exit, she noticed Remus getting up and heading for the exit as well. Lily kept her pace for a little while before she decided to try once again.
Remus and she always felt a little unsure around each other. Sure, last year and this year they were Gryffindor prefects, but, there was always some sort of uncertainty between them. Remus always thought Lily could sense the werewolf inside him.
Breathing in deeply, Lily turned around, spotting Remus a few yards back from her in the large corridor. Smiling brightly at him, she called out, "Hello Remus." Remus slowed a bit, and allowed a nervous smile to form on his face. Remus was usually the more sensible one out of the group. Maybe she could talk some sense into him.
"Hi Lily," he said.
"Judging by your nervousness, I guess you know what I wanted to talk to you about." Lily presumed.
"About our prank on Snape," he replied, nodding his head. At least he had the decency to call Snape by his name and not some silly taunting name.
"Yes, that-," Lily began, but was cut off.
"Lily, please, don't waste your time." Remus said not snidely, but regretfully. "I can't back out of this now. And I can't ask James or Sirius to either. It's-it's complicated, really. But, this prank isn't bad." He finished, not sounding like he believed it himself.
"That's the problem, Remus," Lily said softly and gently, face contorted with worry, "The prank is that bad. I'm guessing Peter told you all about me hearing what it was." She went on, sounding almost frantic, "Remus, please, it's very dangerous."
Remus knew in his heart that she was right, but his mind was telling him something else. He stared down at his feet and said remorsefully, "I'm sorry Lily." With that, he walked off, leaving Lily, for the second time in two days, to hang her head sadly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
'There's still three more days till Christmas Eve. I can still stop this from happening.' Lily was determined. She was walking back from the Great Hall after dinner the next day and had just said the password to the Fat Lady. Walking in the door, she paused to look around and her eyes lit up when she spotted Sirius sitting by the fire, for once in a lifetime, alone. After her failed attempt with Remus, Lily was growing quite worried. Remus was the sensible one in the group. If she couldn't make him see the danger of this prank, it seemed rather hopeless that she could persuade Sirius or even James.
She neared Sirius when he looked up and spotted her, closing his eyes annoyed, for he knew what was coming.
"Save your breath, Lily." He said before she even opened her mouth.
Lily, who was going to try to flirt with him first to soften him up, decided to just jump right into the argument and save time, "Sirius, please, be reasonable." she urged, "This isn't some small prank that you and your friends have pulled in the past. Don't you see how risky this is?"
Sirius slammed the book that was on his lap shut. "No, I don't." he snapped. He always was very defensive of his pranks. "I think it's bloody brilliant. It will be the greatest prank Hogwarts has ever seen. Never been done before."
"It's never been done before because the results could be life-threatening if the potion, or charm, went wrong!" Lily exclaimed.
Sirius shrugged her logic off, deciding to almost change the subject, "Why do you care so much about Snape. Nobody likes him and every time we try to prank him and bring joy to the school, you're there to prevent it." He went on with a growl, "And people think you're so perfect. I don't think I'll ever understand it."
Lily looked down, a little hurt by his words. Nonetheless, she answered, "Why do I care about Snape?" she repeated softly, "Sirius, it's not so much about caring about him. I admit he's always been awful to me."
"See? You said it yourself," Sirius interrupted, "He's always calling you names and picking on you. Don't you see, Lily, no one likes him. Not even his own house can stand him. All he does is insult people. Now why would you want to defend him?"
"If I don't, who will?" Lily said simply, "Everyone's got to have someone, Sirius. Even Snape. He may not be kind or fit up to the standards of society, but he's still human. And every person deserves a rest at Christmastime."
Sirius was silent for a few seconds, trying to tune her out, for she was making sense. Lily went on, "I've always respected and thought very highly of you, Sirius. And the rest of your group. Even if I never showed it, you're one of the most brilliant students here at Hogwarts. You always know when to use your common sense. Sirius, I'm asking you to now use your common sense."
Sirius still remained silent, looking into the fire. A few moments later, he turned his gaze back to her. His voice was stone hard, "No."
Lily sighed and stood up, shaking her head, "I'm sorry you feel that way, Sirius. Just think about what I said. Everyone deserves a rest at Christmastime. Even Snape."
She turned and walked up to her dormitory, leaving Sirius to mull over her words and have an inward battle with himself.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was a few days before Lily could find James alone to talk to him. She was a little more optimistic about talking to him. After all, he did care for her; maybe he would listen to reason. Her opportunity came the morning of the said prank. December 23rd, at 9 o'clock in the Great Hall. He was eating breakfast alone, his friends somewhere else.
Lily, who had just walked into the Hall, walked straight towards James. When she reached him, he spoke without even looking up from his breakfast, "I figured you'd come by soon." An adoring smile on his face as he turned his head to look at her.
She took a seat next to him, biting her lip, "Then I suppose I can save a lot of what I was going to say." She presumed.
"Listen, Lily," James began, putting his fork down, "I understand that you want to help Snape out."
"That's not just it!" Lily said. "James, this is dangerous!" many of the people around them turned to look over at their conversation. They both noticed this as Lily started to blush. James then took her by surprise. He grabbed her hand.
"Come on," he said softly, pulling her out of her seat and out of the Hall, leaving his breakfast unfinished.
"James, where are we going?" Lily asked as he still led her down a corridor.
"I don't want people to listen in on our conversation," he explained, leading her into an empty classroom. "Now we can talk," he said, reluctantly letting go of her hand.
"James, I'm really serious this time," she said, worry etched into her eyes, "I admire all of you Marauders, though I don't approve of your actions at times. I don't want to see you getting expelled."
"Expelled?" James asked incredulously, "Why would we get expelled?"
"I don't think you four quite understand the seriousness of this prank." Lily said almost exasperatedly. She counted off from her fingers as she continued. "The potion has to be brewed properly. The potion has to be giving to the receiver and consumed at the correct time. The charm has to be completely flawless." She stopped her counting, "If only one of them are wrong, the results could be fatal."
James paled, "It can't be that dangerous."
"It can and is, James." Lily insisted.
"B-but I can't let the rest of the Marauders down, Lily. I'm sorry, but no," James said definitely. "I won't back down for my friends."
"Your friends don't know what they want anymore, James. They're just like you. Confused." Lily said.
James didn't seem to have heard her, "We have a plan. We have to stick with it."
Lily tried another tactic, desperately, "James, if you really do care about me, please stop your friends from doing this. It's not only dangerous; it's very mean and nasty. Consider it a Christmas present to me."
James looked at her with so much regret in his eyes it was almost heartbreaking. He really did care for her, maybe even love her, but his loyalty to his friends was before anything else. Then again, maybe she was right about the potion and the charm being dangerous. But…
His friends came first.
"No, Lily, I'm sorry, really I am." James shook his head, locks of his hair falling into his eyes.
"James, please! This isn't like usual times when I try to talk you out of a harmless prank! This is Snape's life we're talking about!" Lily tried once more.
James was now getting upset. Gawd, she's acting like she's in love with Snape or something…Wait a second. It does make sense. She's always being nice to him. She's always defending him. Though he is utterly repulsive, Lily is open-minded enough to overlook his endless flaws.
That was it. It isn't that she's worried the potion will mess up.
'How could I not have seen this before!?' James screamed to himself, 'She's been in love with him the whole time. And I've just been some pitiful sap to her! Well, if that's the way it is…'
And she's actually made up a story to justify her actions.
James' expression grew cold and, for once, he actually glared at Lily. Lily's eyes widened. She's never seen James stare at her so furiously, even when she did turn down his many requests for dates.
"I know what you're playing at, Evans," James said just as coldly as he looked. "And, as I said before, 'no.'"
"James, please-," Lily pleaded.
"NO!!!" he shouted, making her jump. With that, he stalked out of the room. Lily just stared at the door he walked out of, beyond confused.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lily sat up in her room that afternoon, meditating over all that has happened.
'This is hopeless.' Lily thought to herself, 'Maybe I should take this situation to Dumbledore.
'No, I can't do that. Then the Marauders will surely be expelled.
'Though, Snape is in danger. I should take this to Dumbledore.
'NO! I've known the Marauders for six years, I have faith in them. They'll do the right thing…'
"I hope," she spoke out loud, earning weird looks from two of her dorm mates that had stayed as well. Lily just smiled pleasantly at them and walked out the room.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As Lily walked down to the Great Hall for lunch later that day, worry seemed to be eating away her insides. She pushed open the large doors and walked in, heading for the Gryffindor table.
The Great Hall was a wondrous sight, like it usually was this time each year. Professor Flitwick had done a terrific job with decorating the five large trees mounted up near the professor's table. The enchanted ceiling showed that it was snowing.
Lily took a seat at her usual spot, noticing apprehensively that the Marauders were all there seated at the other end of the table. Usually, James made them sit very close to her. Not today obviously. He must be very angry with her.
She became aware that she was staring at James. Just at that moment, he sensed her stare and pulled his eyes away from his friends and glanced over at her, his expression unreadable. Lily pulled her eyes away from him after a few minutes of them just staring. She looked across the room to the Slytherian table, where Severus Snape sat, his head buried in their potion's textbook, seated far away from the rest of the Slytherian students.
'There has to be a way to create peace between them. If only for a day'
Lily pondered this thought as she dug into her chicken and mashed potatoes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Sirius, she does have a point," Remus said, looking across the table at his stubborn friend.
"Don't you get it, Remus," Sirius said, trying his best to sound confident, "She's only trying to scare us into letting the grease ball off the hook. She's been doing ever since first year."
"True," Remus reasoned thoughtfully, "But this is an awfully complicated spell."
"But Remus, if we pull this off, we'll…we'll be Hogwarts legends! We'll be in the newest addition of Hogwarts: A History." Peter said, his eyes twinkling at his greedy ambition.
"Y-yeah," Sirius said, eyes averting over to where the petite, pixie-like redhead sat and ate peacefully, "We'll be famous after this."
"But," Remus said, furrowing his eyebrows as though he just thought of something, "It is Christmas."
"Not until December 25th it's not." Sirius muttered; he took a bite of his potato salad and looked back up again, over at the Slytherian table. "Just look at him, Moony. He's scum, nobody will care whether we prank him or not."
"Except for one Gryffindor with a heart larger than life," Remus muttered incoherently to himself, sulking as he pushing around his food with his fork.
All this time, none of them noticed their jet-black haired friend looking off wistfully at the previously talked about redhead.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Later that night, Lily was struck with an epiphany. Glancing up from her homework she was working on at her desk in her dormitory, she started to smile, happily aware that she had actually figured out a way to stop all this nonsense.
Not wanting to waste another moment, she bolted from her seat and ran down to the common room. She glanced around it hopefully. She sighed when she saw that the Marauders were no where to be seen. 'They must be in their room.'
She looked around once more and rushed over to the Headboy, Jerry Mulden, who was seated with a few of his friends near the fire.
"Jerry," she exclaimed as soon as she was in earshot. Jerry turned and smiled politely at her.
"Hello Lily," he said. His friends expressed their greetings as well. Two of them looking her up and down. "What can I do for you?"
"If it's not too much trouble, would you go up to the sixth year boy's dormitory and see if the Marauders are in there?" she asked earnestly.
Jerry furrowed his eyebrows, "Alright, Lily. I just hope you know how dangerous this could be for me. After all, the Marauders' dorm is…a little dodgy. But" he added jokingly, "I will do this mission…if only to please you." He added, a grin on his face, "Trying to talk them out of pulling a prank, or telling them off for pulling a prank?"
"Trying to talk some sense into them," she said with a rueful smile. "Thanks."
"No sweat, kid," he said, standing up and ruffling her flawless curls before she could protest. He rushed up the stairs.
A few minutes later, he returned, "Lily, they weren't there. Probably wondering the halls for as long as they can without being caught passed curfew, which, may I add, is in twenty minutes. So I suggest if you were going to look for them, you'd better hurry."
"Thanks again, Jerry," Lily called out as she rushed out the portrait hole.
She ran around most of the school and still couldn't find them. Glancing at her muggle watch, she bit her lip nervously, realizing she had only five more minutes before curfew. Of course, being a prefect, she could always say that she was working out some sort of problem with Moaning Myrtle or another plausible excuse. Technically, she was sorting out a school problem.
She walked a little further down another corridor, well aware how much past curfew it was. Then, she started to hear murmurs of voices up ahead.
Just at that moment, she rounded a corner and immediately found herself falling to the floor resulted from bumping into someone. She looked over at the person she ran into, who was also sprawled across the floor, a few books scattered.
She inwardly groaned. 'Great. Just what I need'.
"Evans," Snape snarled, pushing back greasy locks of stringy hair out of his sallow, yellowy face, "Watch where you're going."
Not wanting an argument, Lily stood up, soon followed by Snape, who picked up his books. Lily noticed the title of one: 101 Tips for Brewing Potions. Ruefully, she said, "Sorry Severus."
Snape just glared at her with disgust despite her attempted kindness. "Just get out of my way, Mudblood." He snarled, starting to walk away, shoving her with his shoulder as he passed her. Lily almost fell to the floor for the second time that night if it hadn't been for a pair of strong arms catching her. She turned her head and found herself being lifted back to her feet by James. Remus, Sirius, and Peter were standing behind him, glaring at Snape.
"Snape!!!" James bellowed. Snape jumped a bit, startled at the deep voice. He turned around to face the five, eyes shrinking to slits upon seeing the Marauders.
"Oh good, it's the Potty Patrol." He said in his oily, cold voice.
"We've warned you many times about not saying that disgusting word, haven't we?" Sirius looked at his companions, who all nodded, still glaring at Snape.
"It's no more disgusting than the vile creatures we refer to." Snape said through gritted teeth. That stung. Lily turned her head away from his, pressing her lips together.
Quicker than you could say 'Quidditch', James had his wand out of his pocket and pointed dangerously at Snape. "You'll pay for that one, Snivellus."
Lily's heart jumped to her throat. She shot her hand out and pushed James' arm down to his side, "James, don't." she warned, shaking her head ever-so-slightly. Her gaze rested upon the semi-worried looking Snape, "Snape, just go." She ordered. He glared hatefully at her, but nonetheless, turned around and stalked away.
As soon as he rounded a corner and was out of sight, Lily let her eyes travel back to the Marauders.
"Can't you understand, Lily," James begged, "When we do this prank, he'll only be getting what he deserves after what he does to all the muggle-born witches and wizards."
"You above all should be appreciative about this prank," Sirius said, "Snape picks on you most of all."
Lily pressed her hand to her forehead, exasperatingly. "You guys still don't get it!" she uncharacteristically burst out, "What you're doing is wrong. Not only is it immoral and will classify you no better than him, you're risking a human's life!"
"Lily, we're capable wizards. You told me yourself you thought very highly of us because of our brilliance." Sirius said, "Can't you just trust us?"
"Sirius, I said I thought very highly of you not only because of your brilliance, but also because of your common sense. As far as you go with your pranks, you've never done anything that would jeopardize the lives of our peers!" Lily argued.
"Why can't you just trust us!?" James exclaimed. Remus and Peter were silent, watching with interest the exchange of words being thrown around. "We are skilled enough to do this prank without it backfiring."
At that moment, everyone quieted, freezing with fright when they heard a pair of footsteps, accompanied by one of the most terrifying sounds a student at Hogwarts could hear.
"Who's there?" their caretaker, Argus Filch's voice floated over the silence.
"Quick," Remus exclaimed in a whisper, "Everyone in the cloak."
Lily was confused and even more so when she saw James take something out of his pocket and place it around all five of them. She almost screamed when she lost sight of her body. Luckily, James also noticed Lily's almost outburst and placed his hand over her mouth, whispering into her ear, "It's an invisibility cloak."
Lily calmed and was now in awe, "These are very rare." She breathed, immediately being 'shushed by the others. They all stood unmoving and completely silent, holding their breath as Filch walked by. Fortunately, he rounded the corner, unaware of the five offending children out of bed.
"That was a close one," Peter breathed.
They nodded their agreements. They walked to the Gryffindor common room in silence. Upon reaching it, they noticed that all of the students had retreated to their dormitories to either sleep or mingle.
Lily spoke in a completely calm and cool voice, turning to face them. "Alright, I give you permission to go along with the prank. And I promise not to nag you anymore about it…"
Sirius, James, and Peter grinned smugly while Remus furrowed his eyebrows in question.
"If you change the prank victim to me instead of Snape." Lily finished.
"What!!!" James and Sirius both shouted in shock at the same time.
"You heard me," Lily answered, lifting her head defiantly. Remus and Peter's mouths were hanging open, seeming to not be able to form a single word. "You pull the same prank on me that you were going to do on Snape, and I promise not to pester you anymore."
"No way," James instantly exclaimed. "There is no way your being pranked, Lily." He turned to his friends and said frantically as though they had just agreed to it, "NO!"
"Why not?" Lily asked innocently, "After all, I'd be in no danger other than the humiliation from the school."
"No way! I care too much about you to prank you." James said.
"But what about the risks you kept telling us about?" Sirius asked, ignoring James.
"You said yourself that you were capable wizards." Lily tossed her head back to get her stray curls out of her face as she went on serenely and nonchalantly, "If you are as skilled of wizards as you claim to be, then you'll have no problems. And, as an added bonus, you'll get to get back at me for all those years of objecting to your pranks."
Sirius almost looked on the verge of considering it, but when James spoke again, he went back to oppose the suggestion. "Lily we're not going to change Snape to you." He said definitely.
"James," Lily said, a tranquil smile on her face, "If you promise to prank me instead, I promise to go out with you."
Remus, Peter, and Sirius flung their heads quickly to look at James' reaction. He was opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish would. "Y-you will?" he finally got out.
Lily nodded, "Sure, but only if you prank me instead." James looked like he was having an inward battle with himself. Lily noticed and said, pretending to be confused, "What's the problem, James. I thought you'd be pleased. Getting me to finally agree to go out with you, and also paying me back. I know you've never appreciated my interfering with you pranks. This should be like a chance of a lifetime…Unless," Lily started to smile lopsidedly, knowing what he, what they all, were having trouble with, "You believe that the spell is dangerous like I've been saying all along. Maybe you aren't so confident about your abilities."
That got him. James lifted his head defiantly and said, "Alright, fine. We'll prank you instead."
"This isn't some hoax, is it. I mean, you're not going to use a counter-curse on yourself to stop the spell from affecting you, are you?" Peter asked.
"Nope. I promise to not mess with the spell and allow you to do whatever is needed to achieve this spell." Lily assured them.
"Lily," James practically burst out, a pleading look in his eyes as he asked this question, "Why do you want to do this? Why can't you just let us prank Snape?"
"Like I've told you before, everyone deserves a rest at Christmas. Even Snape. So, if it takes sacrificing my reputation to give that peace to him on Christmas, I'll do it." Lily said firmly.
"Alright, fine, so it's agreed. We prank Lily instead of Snape." Sirius said, trying his best to sound confident, but his wavering voice gave it away. As much as Lily annoyed him, he would have never attempted to prank her. He turned to look at Remus' outrageous face, who had been quiet this whole time, absolutely stunned that his friends would do this to actually get a few moments of attention. "Remus, it'll be alright. If Lily wants to do this, then we'll let her. We'll still be famous for doing the prank."
Remus' eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Snape was one thing, but to prank Lily, after how many times she warned them about the dangers of the prank! "Bloody unbelievable." Remus muttered to Sirius, James, and Peter furiously before stalking out of the room and up to his dormitory.
While the three other Marauders had their backs turned from her, looking at the staircase Remus just rushed up in shock, Lily smiled, and, for the first time in days, satisfied. She was beginning to feel the same sense of respect she was telling Sirius about start to well up inside her.
Remus was starting to show his trademark compassion again. The others were surely soon to follow.
"What's his problem?" Sirius muttered as he turned back around.
James shrugged, "Maybe he's beginning to feel a little off color," he offered, giving Sirius and Peter a meaningful look. Lily ignored it.
"Well, anyway, I guess that's all settled then." Sirius said, a little shakily, eyeing Lily warily.
"Y-yep." James spoke up. He swallowed harshly and said, "Tomorrow…we're going to pull the prank…on Lily."
Lily smiled brightly at them, knowing it would make their stomachs churn with guilt. It was obvious that they were seriously beginning to believe her about how risky this potion was.
Before they could say another word, Lily laid the innocence of her personality on them thickly, "Well, goodnight you guys. And thanks so much for doing this for me." Smiling as wide as she could, she continued, "I knew I could count on you. I have total confidence in you now. There is no doubt in my mind that you can't do the spell correctly."
She turned and began to skip to the staircase. When she was a few steps up, she turned back to face them again and added, "Remember, I'm putting my well-being into your hands. I trust you completely." She turned back around and ascended the rest of the stairs, allowing an uncharacteristic smirk on her face. Peter had turned very pale, not feeling so confident anymore. Sirius clutched his stomach, which was aching with shame. James sat on the couch weakly. He was beginning to think this whole prank was a horrible idea.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next morning was Christmas Eve. The big day, well actually, night. Lily woke up early and put on some sweats. After all, there was no point to actually make an effort with your appearance if you were going to get all dolled up in a few hours anyway.
So, her tight, red curls in two childish pigtails, and in her grey sweats, she walked optimistically to the Great Hall. On her way there, she heard a voice calling to her from behind. She turned around and saw Remus jogging towards her.
"Hello Remus. Happy Christmas Eve!" she said politely.
"Listen, Lily," Remus said, launching right into the conversation, "You don't have to do this." He continued frantically. "Just skip the whole ball tonight. Who cares what the guys say."
Lily smiled, "Oh, Remus, I couldn't do that. After all, I gave them my word."
"But Lily, you said yourself this spell was dangerous. What if they mess up?!"
"Oh, I have faith in them." Lily answered simply. Her calm voice was starting to agitate Remus even more so. How could she be so peaceful at a time like this! They passed by a few carolers, whom Lily waved merrily to.
"You shouldn't! Peter's lousy at Potions, and you know James and Sirius! Charms is their worst subject!"
Lily looked sideways at them, "Well, you're fine in that class. Why don't you do the charm part?"
"Oh, come off it, Lily," Remus said, rolling his eyes. "You know as well as I do that I could never risk hurting you. I could barely risk harming Snape."
"You see," Lily said, smiling lopsidedly now, "That's why I respect you so much. Actually, that's why I respect you all so much." She looked Remus in the eye, "Sometimes, Remus, having faith in a person doesn't mean having faith in their abilities, it means having faith that, at the right time, they'll do the right thing."
Remus stared at her, "So, you think they'll back out of it?"
"They're your friends, Remus." Lily answered mysteriously, "You know them better than I do." With that, she walked into the Great Hall. Remus stayed frozen, pondering Lily's words. A few seconds later, Lily's head popped out from inside the Great Hall. Grinning toothily at him, she said sweetly, "Chin up, Remus! It's Christmas Eve!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
That night, James and the rest of the Marauders, Remus included, were up in their dormitory getting ready for the ball. They were all going stag, mostly wanting to be free to do their prank without the nagging of their dates getting in the way. Remus had calmed down a bit after talking with Lily that morning. He was talking to his friends again, unlike the entire day.
"How's this tie look?" Sirius asked anyone in particular, holding up a dark blue tie.
"It's fine, Sirius. Don't start acting like a girl now, it doesn't matter if the tie matches." Peter grumbled. He, Sirius, and James were all tense and snapping at each other. Remorse was eating them up inside.
"Maybe we should just stick to the original plan of pranking Snape." James said randomly.
"You know we can't do that. We promised Lily we wouldn't prank him. We've got to do her." Peter said.
"Yeah," Sirius said only half-heartedly, "Plus, when we do this. Then you finally get what you've been wanting for three years."
James' face was set in a scowl, glaring down at his black shoes. He was chewing on his lip furiously. He really didn't want to do this.
Remus smirked, seeing James' expression. He looked over to Sirius to see his reaction. Sirius' eyebrows were furrowed, like they always were when he was worried. Turning to look at Peter, Remus was almost surprised to see him chewing on his thumb nail, an act that Wormtail only did when he was scared.
"I'm heading down to the Hall, guys." Remus announced, walking out the door, chuckling inaudibly. This prank wasn't going to happen.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When Remus got there, many couples were already on the dance floor. A lot of girls gave him appreciative looks as he walked past them. He filed his way through the crowd, his eyes set upon the one person he was anxious to see that night. Lily sat at an empty table, diligently eating her dinner. She was dressed in a simple white outfit and her curls were neat and tidy, unlike their usual wildness. Sensing his stare, she looked up, smiling when she saw him.
"Hello Remus," she greeted as he took a seat next to her.
"Lily," he nodded politely.
"The teachers did well with the decorations, didn't they?" Lily said, looking up at the sky.
"Yes, they did," He agreed, looking around the Hall, which sparkled and glittered with holly, streamers, and anything else imaginable.
"So, Lily," Remus said, changing the subject, "Are you at all nervous?"
Lily shook her head, "Nope." she said simply. As quickly as Remus had chosen the subject, Lily changed it, "Look at Melanie and Eric. Don't they look sweet?" She indicated two seventh year Ravenclaws that were prefects last year with them.
"I didn't even know they were going out," Remus answered, staring at the couple on the dance floor.
"He's liked her for years, only recently able to gain the courage to ask her to this," Lily explained.
"Sort of like with you and James," Remus observed.
Lily looked at him, "Somewhat like me and James. Except he has the courage everyday to ask me out."
"And why don't you agree?"
Lily went back to staring at the ceiling, "In all honesty, Remus, I've considered it more than a few times."
Remus' jaw dropped, absolutely shocked, "Really? Then, why have you always turned him down?"
"Because of his constant need to torment the other students," Lily replied basically.
Remus nodded his head thoughtfully, "I see. He's always figured you never even liked him."
"Oh sure, I like him. I just dislike what he does." Lily said. She stood up, "If you would excuse me, Remus, I have some business to attend to." She began to walk away when Remus said something else to her.
"So, if James had lain off all those pranks, you would have gone out with him?" Remus asked, a little surprised. She walked back to him a satisfied smile on her face.
"I think we're finally beginning to understand each other…" she leaned closer to him and said softly, "Moony." Remus' eyes widened as big as saucers as he stared at Lily questioningly. Did she know? She smiled meaningfully at him and, without another word, turned and made her way into the crowd.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"I feel sick," James moaned. He, Sirius, and Peter all sat at a table near the doors to the Great Hall. They tried and failed to spot Remus, so they gave up and sat down.
"I know what you mean," Peter said, looking as pale as he was yesterday night.
"Cheer up, mates," Sirius said unenthusiastically, "In a few minutes, we'll be the most bloody popular people at Hogwarts."
"I thought we already were," Peter answered dumbly.
The statement went without a reply, Sirius being too preoccupied to care.
"Alright," Sirius said after a few minutes, "Do you guys see her anywhere?"
"She's coming this way now," Peter answered.
James' ears perked up when he heard this. He looked around the crowd and finally spotted her, trying to reach their table.
He could have sworn she was an angel.
"Hey guys," she greeted upon her arrival.
"Hey Lily," Sirius and Peter mumbled miserably. James was too stunned at her appearance to answer.
She smiled, mocking sympathy, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Sirius answered right away.
Smirking, she replied, "Alright." Changing the subject, she looked around the room, either eager to spread the Christmas cheer, or torture them with her joyfulness, and said, "Isn't the Great Hall lovely?"
They all mumbled inaudibly.
"So, when were you planning to do the prank?" she asked.
James and Peter looked over at Sirius for an answer as well. Sirius looked like he was about to throw up and didn't answer.
"You know," Lily said silkily, "You don't even have to do the prank. You could just enjoy yourselves…after all, it is Christmas."
Sirius squirmed in his chair. He finally said hoarsely, "Christmas isn't until tomorrow. We'll do the prank in five minutes." He pulled something out of his pocket. A vile filled with a greenish liquid. "We took extra special precautions when making this." He said, trying more to assure himself than her.
"Pour this into a goblet of pumpkin juice or something and in five minutes, drink it. We'll be charming you at that time." He went on, his hands shaking ever-so-slightly.
"You don't have to do this, Lily." James said pleadingly.
"Would you promise not to do this to Snape if I don't?" Lily asked. None of them answered. "I thought so," she said. "Yes James, I do have to do this. I'll be over near that corner." She said, walking away from their table.
The three sat in silence, hearing the buzzing of happy couples and friends enjoying themselves. 'Why can't we be doing that?' James thought to himself bitterly. He spotted a couple kissing under the mistletoe. 'Why can't I be doing that with Lily?'
'Because you're care too much about your reputation.' His conscience replied. He never realized just how much his conscience sounded like Lily.
James swallowed hard, feeling like he was choking.
'Why are you really doing this, James. To be famous? You're already the most popular guy in school. To please your friends? Look at your friends.' James looked over at Sirius and Peter, who were both as pale as possible, uncertain looks upon their faces. 'Sirius and Peter don't even really want to do this anymore. All they want is to be told they don't have to, and they won't. Remus isn't even considering this anymore. Why else do you want to do this? So Lily will go out with you? Listen James, after this, Lily may be in serious trouble. You'd risk the girl you claim to adore for some silly prank? And if the spell does work, you really think she'll like you for the better? This is Christmas, James. A time to change for the better. Don't you think you could change for the better?'
His conscience was right. Why was he doing this? It will bring no pleasure to him, or to anyone else. Christmas was a time for joy, for cheer. His peers wouldn't be disappointed. They were just so happy it was this season. What's a silly prank to them? Nothing.
He started to shake his head, "I'm not doing this." he announced to his friends.
They looked over at him questioningly. "You're not?" Sirius asked, sounding angry, but his eyes were giving him away. There was relief in his eyes. Peter's too.
"No, I'm not." James said determinedly. "I've finally understood what Lily has meant all this time, Sirius. This is Christmastime. A time for giving, for cheer, for happiness. We don't need some prank to bring joy to people's lives.
"I know one person who deserves a perfect Christmas this year, other than Snape." James said, standing up. "And I'm going to stop her from drinking the potion right now."
Without another word, he walked off to where he saw Lily.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lily was bringing the glass of pumpkin juice to her lips at that moment. Stealing a glance at Remus, who was in a clear view of her table and the other Marauders table now, out of the corner of her eye, she was momentarily worried that the Marauders were really going through with it.
"LILY! STOP!" a familiar voice shouted. Lily inwardly sighed.
James came into view, earning many stares from onlookers that had heard his outburst. Lily saw Remus smile smugly to himself.
"What is it, James?" Lily asked knowingly.
"Don't drink the potion. We're not pulling the prank." James gasped out, catching his breath. He started to run after seeing her about to drink from the goblet.
"Why ever not?" she asked innocently.
"You were right. Christmas is much more important than a stupid prank. Plus, I could never go through with this knowing this could threaten your life." James said. "Not even Dumbledore would do this spell because of the possible dangers. I don't think a couple of sixteen year olds could achieve it if he couldn't, no matter how brilliant they claim to be." He said this all very quickly, Lily's smile growing wider and wider by the second.
At that moment, Sirius and Peter rushed up to them, "What ever James just said to you, Lily, it goes double for us." Sirius said.
"Yeah," Peter put in.
"I always knew I respected you for a reason." Lily stated simply.
Remus walked up to them at that moment, "Congratulations, guys. It seems you do have a conscience."
"Yeah," Sirius said, grinning wryly. "And, crazy as it may be, my conscience sounds remarkably like Lily."
"Same here." James and Peter both spoke at once. Lily burst out laughing.
"Well, I guess there'll be no pranking tonight" Sirius said, almost sadly.
"You can still do something memorable, Sirius. It doesn't have to be a prank," Remus reminded him.
"Like what?" James asked, intrigued.
"Well, you could…" Lily went on. The boys' eyes twinkled.
"Lily, you're a genius!" Peter exclaimed.
"No need to state the obvious," Lily joked.
"When should we do it?" Sirius asked.
"Why not now?" James reasoned.
"This will be complicated. We'll need five people for this, I believe." Remus said, looking at Lily as well.
Lily smiled, "I always wanted to witness a Christmas miracle, now I think I have."
Peter's brows furrowed, "You didn't witness a miracle."
"Oh, but I did, Peter," Lily said, "I actually talked the Marauders out of a prank, didn't I?"
James and Sirius smiled wryly. "Don't get use to it. This is just for Christmas."
"For now, that's enough for me." Lily answered, a smug grin on her face.
"Hey, Lil," James spoke so the others couldn't hear, "How about that date you promised?"
"You forget, James," Lily said, a wicked smile forming, "I said if you pranked me, I would go out with you."
James tutted, "So after all I went through, I still get nothing?"
"Oh, you get something, James." Lily answered.
"What?" James asked eagerly.
"You get my consideration." Lily said with a mysterious smile. "I'll now consider going out with you."
"Can't I at least get a kiss?" James begged.
That received no answer, for at that moment, Remus ordered, "Wands positioned." They all five of them pointed their wands straight up to the ceiling. "NOW!" he called out.
"Accido Adfulgeo Ningo Abnocto Quinquageni Advenio!" They all shouted as one. Blue bursts of light flowed from their wands and merged together to created one big explosion of light. At that moment, it started to snow, the glittery flakes falling all the way down to the floor. Students held out their hands to capture the snowflakes and found, with twinkling eyes, that the snow wasn't cold, and it didn't melt.
A few seconds later, another light explosion gained the attention of the others and they all looked up and saw, 'Courtesy of the Marauders and their Favorite Christmas Angel.' Written in white glittery letters, floating down as it faded away into snowflakes.
Lily looked over at James, who was still staring at the beautiful white snow. Without a word, she leaned in and pecked him on the lips, startling him out of his reverie.
"W-what was that for?" he stuttered.
Lily grinned and said, "You asked for it."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N- Hello everyone. I hope you enjoyed this little ficcy. I know I should be working on my others, but I just couldn't resist a Christmas one-shot for the holidays. I hope you liked this. I know it wasn't my best work and the characters were a little out of character. Plus I made Lily into a Mary-Sue, but what can I say, I like to read and write stories like that.
Merry Christmas and God Bless!!!!