Title: Lilium auratum
Author: Qellaswe
Rating: K+, for language
Pairings: one-sided Lily/DADA professor, pre-James/Lily
Spoilers: I'll say through HBP, just to cover all the bases
Disclaimer: Jo owns 'em. I'm just playing with 'em.
Summary: It's the start of Lily Evans' sixth year at Hogwarts. What happens when she takes a shine to the newest DADA teacher? And what's up with James Potter, anyway?
AN: It's my first MWPP era fic, and I have to say that I'm very excited. This story was begun just after HBP came out and finished before DH. This was posted on my livejournal, but only one person read it, as far as I know, because that journal was abandoned soon after. This story was orginally part of a three-story series, but the third was never finished. The second story will be out as soon as it's been looked through.
This story has been cut into three parts to make reading a bit easier.
Lilium auratum: Japanese lily, often called the Goldband Lily. The flower colour is typically white, with gold radial markings, and orange spots.
Lily was studiously ignoring Potter and his gang as the first years slowly made their way through the Great Hall. At sixteen, the eleven-year-olds looked small to her, and she wondered how small they would look to her next year.
She looked up at the head table as the first years continued to straggle in. Professor McGonagall's seat was empty, as she was leading the first years; Professor Flitwick's was also empty as he was setting the Sorting Hat on its stool. The new Herbology instructor, Professor Sprout, was talking with Professor Slughorn, the Potions instructor, as well as Head of Slytherin. Professor Sprout had been named Head of Hufflepuff at the Leaving Feast last year. Which meant that there was a new Professor for the Defense Against the Dark Arts position.
Lily's eyes ran over the adults at the Head Table, finally landing on a young man. He was not much older than she was, at least from this distance. His black hair was long enough to be pulled back, although she could see that there were several streaks of white in it. He had a long scar down one cheek; Lily couldn't quite make out what color his eyes were, but she could tell that they were a pale color.
"Isn't he cute?" Carmen Brown asked a couple of seats down. The fifth year was obviously talking to her best friend, Anastasia MacGuire. "And he's not some old man like Dumbledore. Or short like Flitwick."
Lily turned back to where the first years were lined up, the Sorting Hat finishing its song. She was disappointed that she had missed it. Professor McGongall then crisply called out each name, but on a few her voice wavered the tiniest bit. Lily recognized the names as those involved in the atrocities this summer as listing in The Daily Prophet.
Professor Dumbledore rose as "Yeardly, Michael" sat down at the Hufflepuff table.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. Before we eat, I would like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. As you know, Professor Montrose retired at the end of last year. This year, I'd like to welcome Professor J.H. Parker to the position."
As the school politely clapped, Lily looked over at Potter's gang and found them already plotting against the new teacher.
******
Lily was excited to see what the DADA Professor was really like. The fifth year girls had been gushing about how handsome the new teacher was, in spite of his being at least twenty years older than they, having had the class yesterday. The fourth year Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff class had told them how exciting the class had been with a mock battle given by animated models. The rest of the sixth years, though, were anxiously waiting for Professor Parker. Lily was surprised to see that the Slytherins were behaving themselves, even Snape. The only ones still acting like the rowdy monkeys there are were Potter and Black.
The door shut suddenly and Professor Parker strode to the desk in front with a smooth gait. Lily looked closely and found that he was as handsome as the other girls had said. His eyes were a little bit lighter than her own green. Besides the scar down his cheek, there was a mass of scar tissue peaking through his fringe. His black hair had larger streaks of white through it than Lily had previously thought, and she could see that they were a brilliant white. His jaw was strong, and there was a slight cleft in his chin, making Lily remember seeing Sean Connery in his latest movie over the summer. He had full lips and a straight nose, although that didn't mean it hadn't been broken.
"Miss Evans?"
She jerked out of her perusal to find Professor Parker staring at her and the class tittering behind their hands. Lily shrunk in her seat. "Yes, sir?"
Professor Parker smiled and Lily felt her stomach flutter. "I see that you're here." His lips quirked up into a grin. "Just make sure you stay here, okay?"
Lily felt her face redden, most likely clashing with her red hair. She nodded, embarrassed.
"Mister Finn?"
"Here!" Michael Finn called from among the other Hufflepuffs.
"Miss Graham?"
Lily tuned out the roll call until it came time for Potter.
"Mister Potter?"
"Here and awake, sir!" But it wasn't Potter that answered. It was Black.
Professor Parker raised one eyebrow. "You are both Mister Black and Mister Potter? I was not aware that I had a Sybil in my class - " Lily and the other Muggleborns laughed at that, having at least heard about the recent movie - "Are there any other personalities that I should know about?"
"Well, there's Peter. And then there's the evil git, Snivellus."
Time seemed to slow down for Lily as Snape drew his wand and sent a hex at Black, who was already returning it. The hexes glowed and as they headed straight for the other, a third spell came forward and wrapped around the two hexes.
"There will be no fighting in this classroom," the professor said in a low, fierce voice. Lily and half the class jumped at the tone. It was like an ominous rumble of thunder telling of the oncoming tempest. "Five points from both of your houses and I will talk to each of you after class."
Professor Parker then smiled at the class, disarming them.
"Miss Robinson?"
******
Lily was in her little corner of the common room, doing her Defense homework. She missed doing her homework in the library with her friend, Alice, who was in Ravenclaw. However, once it got dark, all students had to be in their common room, with the exception of meals. It was quite tiresome to be stuck in the same tower as Potter's gang. Speaking of which, Black was heading her way.
"I heard that you find Parker 'cute,' Evans," Black said as he sat backwards in the chair, resting his hands and chin on the back.
Lily sniffed. "I don't find him 'cute,' Black." She looked over to where Potter was snickering. "Why don't you go back to your loser friend and pretend that you're cute."
Black tried to pull the puppy dog face that most of the other girls loved. "You don't find me handsome?"
"I find you disgusting, actually."
"Miss Evans?" Professor McGonagall's voice called from the entrance to the common room.
Lily felt herself pale. It seemed like the only time someone was called out after dark was when a person in their family had been killed.
"Miss Evans?"
"I'll take care of your books, Evans," Black said in what seemed to be an extraordinarily loud voice.
Lily rose on shaky legs and made her way over to where her Head of House was standing.
"If you would follow me, Miss Evans," Professor McGonagall said. "I will explain in my office."
"My parents?" Lily managed to croak out as they approached the office.
"They were involved in an automobile accident, Miss Evans," the Head of Gryffindor House explained. "We have not been able to get many details, other than which hospital they have been taken to. Your sister is there and has requested for you to join her." McGonagall eyed Lily. "Now, it is up to you whether you would like to floo or to double apparate with the professor who will be accompanying you."
"Who is it?" Lily asked, her fingers clasped tightly together.
"Professor Parker," was the answer. "He is familiar with the Muggle world, and is able to apparate you there if you so choose."
Lily nodded. "Yes, I'd like to do that, Professor. Should I take my cloak?"
Professor McGonagall eyed her clothing, and Lily looked down at her dark jeans and blue jumper. The professor nodded. "If you would like to, or if you have a Muggle-style cloak, as you will be in hospital."
"I have a coat, Professor."
A knock sounded and Professor Parker walked in. "All set, Miss Lily?"
She nodded, her attention caught by the fact that the professor was wearing a black leather jacket over a green jumper and blue jeans. His feet were shod in black boots that ended halfway up to his knees.
"Let's go get you a jacket, Miss Lily, and then we can get walking to the gates."
******
"Who's this?" Petunia asked as Lily stepped into the small family lounge.
"This is Professor Parker," Lily said. "How're Mum and Dad?"
Petunia's mouth pursed into her lemon-sucking look. "Father is in surgery, and Mother is resting."
"What happened?" Lily asked as she sat down next to her sister. She took her jacket off, draping it over the back of the couch.
"They were coming back from Grandmother Evans' when a lorry pulled out in front of them."
"How badly were they hurt?" It felt like she was trying to pull teeth.
"Mother had a broken leg and a couple of bruised ribs. She also has a concussion. Father had a broken cheekbone - that is why he is in surgery. He also has a concussion because of hitting the steering wheel. Father also had three broken ribs and his right arm was cut up badly from the window breaking. The lorry hit Father's side of the car."
Lily let out a sigh of relief. She had been so worried that she wouldn't see her parents alive again. That was her biggest fear as the war in the wizarding world escalated. She didn't worry as much about Petunia and their grandmother - not so much as she didn't love them, but she knew they didn't like magic and would instinctively avoid it.
"Miss Evans?"
Lily and Petunia looked up as a doctor came in. Petunia stood. "Yes?"
The doctor eyed Professor Parker before talking quietly to Lily and her sister. "I'm afraid that there has been an unexpected complication with your father's surgery. The concussion was more severe than we thought, and now his brain is bleeding."
"Can it be stopped?" Lily asked.
The doctor hesitated and she felt her heart stop. "I am afraid that we can't stop it. The nurses are getting him comfortable, and then you can go in and see him." He gave a brief nod and exited, leaving behind a heavy and uncomfortable silence.
"Can't you use that magic of yours to heal Father?" Petunia demanded as soon as the door to the lounge shut. "Just wave your wand or whatever to stop it."
Lily wrapped her arms around her waist and shook her head. "I can't, Petunia."
"What about you?" Petunia snapped. Lily turned around, having forgotten that Professor Parker was in the room.
"I can ask if a mediwizard or witch will visit, Miss Evans, but I do not know if they will come."
Petunia's face reddened with anger. "So he isn't good enough for your freaky magic? Just because he doesn't have any?"
Professor Parker shook his head. "It's not that - "
"Yes it is."
"There is a war out there, Miss Evans," the professor sternly said. "If one of the Death Eaters follows the medic, they will kill everyone in the area. They aren't very willing to risk that."
"He's worth the risk to me!" Petunia spat, grabbing her purse and quickly leaving the lounge.
"Don't you know any first-aid spells?" Lily asked, a tiny bit of hope quickly flowing.
The professor shook his head. "Only the basic spells for cuts and sprains. I'm sorry."
Lily carefully sat down as she forcefully exhaled. She felt dizzy as the hope smashed into smithereens. The sofa dipped next to her. She raised her eyes to find her professor wearing a quite sad expression. There was empathy and kindness in it, as well as a little bit of guilt and regret.
Her eyes itched, but she refused to let the tears fall. If she started crying, she probably wouldn't stop for quite a while, and she didn't want her father to see her like that. She wanted to be strong for him. Taking a couple of deep breaths, Lily stood. "I think that I'll go see my mum now."
Professor Parker nodded. "I will be waiting here for you."
******
Lily had just stepped out of her father's room when she spotted Professor Parker coming out the door leading to her mother's wing. He stopped when he saw her and flashed a small grin.
"Your mother learned that I was here and wanted to find out how you were doing in your schoolwork," he said. "I don't think that I've ever been so thoroughly grilled by anyone."
Lily's mouth relaxed enough to give an answering grin. It may have been small, but it felt good in spite of the fact that tears were beginning to fall. She raised a shaky hand to wipe them away, but they started to fall even faster. As they did, she found herself gently guided back into the family lounge. She leaned into her professor's arms, feeling his heartbeat under his warm, hard chest. All Lily could think about was that she was losing her father.
Her sobs eventually tapered down, though her throat felt raw and her eyes hurt. Lily sat up as she realized that she had been snuggling up to her Defense teacher. Luckily for her, her face was already red from crying or she would have blushed bright pink with embarrassment.
"Sorry about that," she said, blowing her nose on the handkerchief he offered.
"That's all right, Miss Lily. Why don't you call me Harry?" he offered. "If you're comfortable with that."
Lily shrugged. "I guess so... Harry." A thrill went through her as she said his name, secretly flattered that she could call him by his first name; what she thought must be his first name. Then the reality of her situation hit her. "What am I going to do?" she asked in a quiet voice. "About my dad, I mean?"
Her professor... Harry... sighed. "We can do a couple of things. The first is to stay until further notice with an owl to the school. The second would be to return to the school and sort things out there. The third option would be for you to stay with your sister, although I hesitate to leave you so unprotected." He patted Lily's hand. "It is up to you on how we work this out."
She held a shiver back at the feeling of his warm hand covering the back of hers. "I think I should stay and wait for Petunia first. She's still in with Dad."
******
Lily wasn't sure what had woken her, but she was glad it had. The dream hadn't quite been a nightmare, but it had some awful things in it. She yawned, almost breaking her jaw with its width and strength, stretching out her left arm. For some reason she couldn't move her right arm though. Opening her eyes the tiniest bit, she found the room was sideways. She didn't remember lying down, but she was there with a blanket covering her and a small pillow of some sort against her right cheek.
She half sat up, taking in her surroundings. The lounge was dimly lit, with a brighter light coming through the window in the door to the hallway. Its light hit the edge of the other sofa in the lounge, revealing that it was occupied as well. There was a blanket haphazardly lying over Professor... Harry. Her face flushed with the thought even as she continued her perusal. A lock of black and white hair lay across his cheek, his face soft in sleep. The faint lines around his eyes had all but disappeared, and his hair was as if a halo. His right hand rested on his chest as it slowly moved up and down with each breath. Lily looked a bit closer and saw that it had a series of scars. She reached out to touch it, feeling the bumps and ridges.
The hand turned and grabbed hers with a tight grip.
"I'm sorry!" Lily stepped back as his green eyes met her in the dim light, hand still trapped in his.
"What are you doing?" he demanded in a rough voice.
"You... your hand," Lily shakily answered. "I..."
He released her, pulling his hand back and rubbing over the scars with his left hand.
"I'm sorry - " she started.
"Did I frighten you?" he asked at the same time.
Harry chuckled, even as Lily blushed.
"I didn't scare you, did I?"
She shook her head and giggled. Lily abruptly stopped when she realized her giggles and then it petered out to a pathetic 'ha ha.' "No, I'm all right. I didn't mean to startle you like that." She looked down at the floor. "I don't know why I did that in the first place."
"Don't worry about it. I shouldn't have grabbed you like that, even if I'm half-asleep." He grinned.
Lily felt her heart flutter. She wished it would stop doing that, because she refused to turn into one of the googly-eyed upper year girls who hung around Harry's office door, waiting for some scraps of his attention.
Taking a deep breath and reminding herself why they were here in the first place, she looked her professor in the eye, resolving to put all of these feelings away and deal with what needed to be done. "I think I know what I'd like to do. About tonight, I mean."
******
"So what did you do, Evans, take a vacation?" Black asked as Lily climbed through the portrait hole.
A hex flew from behind the sixth-year, and as he fell he revealed Potter with his wand out.
"Jeez, Sirius. Tactless much?" the boy asked. He turned to Lily. "How are you doing, Evans?"
Lily eyed him warily, not entirely sure if he was being sincere. Finally, she decided to answer as if he really cared. "I could be doing better, but it's nice to be back."
"What did you do that for?" Black asked in a whining tone, standing up to reveal a face full of spots.
"You were being an arse, Sirius," Potter said. "Miss Evans here does not need your sense of humor."
"How are you really doing, Lily?" Remus asked an hour later as they walked to the weekly prefect meeting.
"About as well as I can be. I...." She shrugged. "It's really hard, you know? I always thought that both of my parents would be around until I got old and now...."
Remus nodded. "It is hard."
Lily could hear the pain in his voice. He had lost his parents earlier this year, and for a while it had looked like he wasn't coming back to Hogwarts. She could remember what he looked like back then and now she knew what it felt like.
"Professor Parker helped, though," she eventually said. "He was really nice, even when my sister slapped him."
"She did what?" Remus asked in a shocked voice. "But, he's so nice!"
Lily giggled at the look on his face and also at the memory. "He is! But Petunia has an awful temper when it comes to magic. She really doesn't like it much at all. She was really angry that Professor Parker couldn't just wave his magic wand and 'Poof,' Daddy's cured," she finished in a sad voice.
Remus laid a hand on her arm, and Lily felt so comforted by that, enough so that she turned and hugged him. "Thanks, Remus."
"Why's Remus acting so strange, Evans?" Potter asked as he slid into the seat at Lily's left the next morning. "Did you hex him or something?"
She looked at him, scrunching her eyebrows together. "No," she answered. "Why? What happened?"
"He was humming in the shower this morning."
Lily coughed. "And you would know this how?"
Potter sat back with a shocked look on his face. Then it fell into his normal, joking one. "Communal showers in the boys' tower, Evans. I didn't know you had it in you."
She felt like smirking. Of course he didn't know it, because he had never sat down and talked with her. Five and a half years, and Lily was finding that Potter had a caring side to him. True, it was buried deep, but it was there. "Now you know," she finally said. "But you'll have to ask Remus, because I don't know why he's acting strange."
He grinned at her, and she was struck with a feeling of deja vu, but she wasn't sure what it was.
"Thanks, Evans," he said, taking her last slice of bacon and standing up.
Lily watched as he sat down in his regular seat, just as the rest of his crew came in. Black practically ran over to Potter, shouting some nonsense, with Pettigrew scurrying in behind him. She watched Remus walk sedately over to the table, and there was something that was a bit different this morning. He seemed happier, she thought, much happier than he had been for the year at least. Lily smiled at him as he waved to her, glad that he was feeling better. He nodded and then turned his attention to his friends, who hadn't noticed the exchange.
******
"Miss Lily, would you stay after class for a minute?" Professor Parker asked at the start of the last Defense class before Christmas holidays.
She nodded, curious to what he wanted to talk about. Maybe he wanted to see how she was doing or if the holidays were going to be okay for here, only six weeks after losing her father.
"Would you mind giving this your mother?" Harry asked once the room had cleared.
Lily looked down at the red, gold, green, and silver papered box, eyes beginning to itch. She blinked rapidly to keep the building tears from spilling.
"What's wrong, Lily?" Harry asked, setting the package down and putting a hand on her arm in a comforting gesture.
She shook her head, knowing that she shouldn't feel so upset and... jealous about this. Lily tried her best to contain her tears, but a couple did fall down her cheeks.
Harry's other hand came up and he pulled her into a light embrace, and for a few seconds, the only thought that ran through her mind was that he felt as good as last time. He smelled even better. She mentally reprimanded herself for being such a ninny and pulled back, taking care not to let him see how red her face was. She wasn't taking the chance that he would be able to know what she was thinking by what her face looked like.
"Lily? Are you sure you are feeling all right?"
Nodding, she collected her straying thoughts - because they were things she really shouldn't be thinking about her teacher - and looked up. "I'm fine. I just think that my mum would like the fact that you're giving her a present." She made a deliberate pause as an idea came to her. "She might like it even better if you delivered it in person." Lily wasn't sure if she was saying that because it made her feel better or because she genuinely felt that it would help her mother feel better.
Harry grinned, giving her another flash of deja vu. "Do you think so? Won't your sister mind?"
Lily shook her head. "She won't be there for Christmas Day. Mum wrote and said that she would be spending the day with her fiance's parents."
An expression flashed over Harry's face, too quick for her to read. Lily took it to mean that he wasn't fond of Petunia and was glad that she wouldn't be there. As it was, she was rather glad that her sister wouldn't be there, since she had grown rather tired of Petunia's snobby actions at their father's funeral. She shook herself mentally when she realized that Harry was grinning.
"Well, then, in that case, I'll keep your mother's present, and I'll see you Christmas Day." He moved the present down onto his chair and lightly touched her elbow. "Shall we go to lunch?"
Lily nodded in agreement, shifting her bag to walk just a little closer, telling her rational side that it could yell at her later for what she had done - this close to her crush was detrimental to her mental health, because she was turning into one of those rabid fan girls that hung onto Black and Potter's sleeves on Hogsmeade weekends.