AN: This chapter was never meant to be. Originally, this chapter was about a fifth of the length, glued on in the middle of the next chapter. But this needed to be its own chapter, because it threw off the pace. So this is the beginning of my Fidelius story. Decided to have some fun with the Fidelius, and the Marauders. The original idea is actually chapter 2. My brother and I were laughing at fanon depiction of the Fidelius charm and we came up with chapter 2. And then some more ideas came. I plan on updating once every 2 weeks? Something like that. Hopefully more frequently! So enjoy this series of one-shots on the Fidelius charm. Assume all chapters are from the same universe except when stated otherwise.
Lily was exhausted. She had woken very early to work on her assignment for charms. She took extra credits very seriously. That the young witch was still at it past curfew was a good measure of her work ethic.
Her studies this past month had led her to an ancient charm that had been lost for centuries. She had worked extremely hard, and often restlessly, and the results reflected her dedication. She now possessed the complete ritual for the Fidelius charm written in her elegant handwriting.
She had to work out the sequence from various incomplete accounts found in books coming from places ranging from the Hogwarts restricted section to the Black library. As she put the closing sentence to her essay, Lily couldn't help but feel a pride unlike any she had ever felt. The Gryffindor witch had succeeded where countless others had failed. She couldn't wait to share her results with both the charms professor and the headmaster.
Lily was looking over her notes when one James Potter entered the common room. She glared at him for his breaking of the rules, but he put up his hands defensively.
"I was with McGonagall. We were discussing my transfiguration assignment."
Lily accepted his words. She knew that he was working on some extra credit assignment, just like her, but with their transfigutation professor.
"Are you working on your charms?" asked the boy, sporting an enormous grin. "Because I think you're perfect the way you are right now."
Lily sighed. She did not have the energy to deal with James.
"Yes, I am working on my charms extra credit assignment." She stressed the last words. James was unfazed.
"What exactly are you working on? I know you asked Sirius for a few books, but I can't figure it out from the titles alone." Lily decided to humour him, hoping that he would let her keep working.
"It's a spell called the Fidelius charm." James' eyebrows shot up as if he recognized the spell. He quickly replied. "You're working on warding?"
Lily was gobsmacked. How did James know that? She voiced her astonishment. "How do you know that? What do you know about the Fidelius?"
James laughed at her expression. "Hello? Potter family? Giant library? There's a book that mentions that spell by name. It also describes its effect. Thought it was pretty darn cool. But the spell has been lost for ages. Are you doing some historical account of the spell?"
Lily answered defensively. "No! I got the spell down! Figured it all out from the various accounts myself!"
James' jaw dropped. "Let me see that." He took the notes from her, and read with a growing sense of disbelief. "You've figured this all out by yourself?"
Lily's smug grin came as a reply. "Impressed, Potter?"
"Damn right!" He thought for a second. "Do you mind helping me out? My essay for transfiguration is not going so well, I'm stuck and I can't seem to figure out the next step. I could read your paper in exchange. Make it...what did you call it? Peer reviewed?"
Lily would have snorted at the idea of James Potter being considered her peer just ten minutes before, but she had to admit that James might give some key insights, having read a book she hadn't.
"Okay. I'll read your notes if you read mine." she agreed.
James laughed heartily. "How about you go to bed first? You can read mine over tomorrow when you're rested. No offense, but you look tired! How long have you been up?"
Lily had the decency to blush slightly. "Since four this morning." she answered meekly.
"That's seventeen hours ago!" James yelled out.
"I know. Okay, I'm off. You can give my notes back tomorrow." came Lily's reply.
James nodded, bade her goodnight and started reading her notes. He found a few small grammar mistakes, but aside from labelling the Fidelius charm as a ward instead of a charm (it was called the Fidelius CHARM for a reason) there was no real mistake. James understood why most books he had read referred to the spell as a ward. It was used to hide a location, and so was applied to a place, which was a key characteristic of wards. But the casting method, including the ritual, clearly marked the Fidelius as a charm. He noted down his observations and went off to bed.
As he sat down on his bed, a wicked grin appeared on his face. Luckily for him, the other Marauders were all sleeping and missed his bout of evil laughter. According to what he had read, there was nothing that restrained the use of the Fidelius to locations. In fact, it appeared that the charm nature of the spell made it well suited for applications to anything. In particular, it could be applied to great pranks.
That night, he dreamt about just how much fun could be had with the Fidelius. It goes without saying that Lily was also present in all of his dreams, cheering him on.
