Hi, I'm C.R. Richardson, your author for this fic.
This is the first fic I have written, I got the idea from reading other Harry Potter fanfics and was thinking about Lily and James's life at Hogwarts. I tried to stick close to the story line that J.K Rowling hinted at during the Harry Potter series, and I hope I managed to do that well.
This story begins in their sixth year at school, but does briefly mention previous years.
I hope you enjoy it :)
(Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, if I did, it wouldn't be as good as it is now.)
"Oi! Evans! Over here! Saved you a seat." The shout came from a tall boy, who's mouth was spread out in a wide grin, he lounged back in his chair, twirling his spoon around his fingers. Urgh Lily thought, I wish Sirius - and all his friends for that matter - would just leave me alone! Flashing a glare at the four boys staring at her over their breakfast she made her way down the long oak tables, laid out with an array of different foods. Spotting Tami's long blonde hair from a distance she strode toward it.
"Lily! You weren't in bed this morning when we got up, so we guessed you came for breakfast early... But when we got here you weren't here either. So where were you?" asked Elle, with a worried look on her face.
"The library" Tami and Lily spoke in unison.
"Was that not obvious, Elle?" Tami said indignantly, giving her blonde curls a flick behind her shoulder.
Lily gave both her friends an exasperated look. "I was finishing reading Advanced Potion Making before class." She set aside her books for the day and reached for a slice of toast.
"You've read that already!" Tami choked on her cereal. "But school hasn't even started yet! It's only the first day back for Christ's sake."
Elle glanced down at her watch. "Shoot, we're going to be late for double potions. And reading the book ahead of time or not, Slughorn won't be pleased if we're late." Tami and Elle rose from their seats and started gathering their books.
"You two go ahead," Lily said as she ran a hand through her vibrant red hair, her friends stopped and turn to her. "I have to, erm, talk to Professor McGonagall. Save me a seat?" Lily gave them a fleeting smile as she rushed out of the emptying hall. Tami shrugged and followed her out of the room. Elle trailed along behind her like an obedient puppy.
"...Thanks for saving me a seat" Lily mumbled sarcastically as she stood with her friends looking at the lonesome desk at the front that nobody wanted.
"It's not our fault you had to talk to McGonagall! We did try to save you a seat, but they only come in sets of two. See?" Tami responded looking straight at Lilys green eyes. Elle just sat there looking apologetically at her friend.
Professor Slughorn cleared his throat, turning away from the chalkboard as he set down his chalk. Lily sighed and muttered "It's fine... whatever... I don't mind... honest" to try and relieve some of Elle's stress. She made her way to the front of the classroom, to her desk for the rest of the year. Lily looked up at the writing on the chalkboard.
Draught of Living Death
Advanced Potion-Making
Page 10
The prize: One vile of Felix Felicis.
Lily pulled out her copy and flipped through the pages till she reached page 10. "Felix Felicis," Slughorn started to talk to the class, "Also known as Liquid Luck. Once consumed all of your endeavors will succeed-" Professor Slughorn broke off as the door to the potions room burst open.
"Ah Potter, so nice of you to join us. Any reason you're late?" He was blatantly annoyed at the interruption.
"No, sir. Sorry, it won't happen again." James said as he made his way to the front of the class, ruffling his hair as he went. All the girls eyes were trained on him as he passed, making Lily roll her eyes and turn back to focus on the potion she will soon be making.
"Well it looks like we have one more seat left, if you would like to sit down." Professor Slughorn said as he gestures towards the spare seat next to Lily. At this Lily looked up. No No No! Not James! Please not Ja-
"Mornin' Evans" James said with a nonchalant smile as he tossed his books onto the desk. Great. I'm going to be stuck with him ALL year. "So... What are we meant to be doing?" he asked when Lily didn't reply to him.
"It's on the board" she muttered without looking up.
"Right…" James said glancing at the board, looking through the very limited supply of books he had thought to bring with him "Hmm... Do you think I could share your book with you for the lesson?" Flashing the smile that won girls' hearts in an instant.
Without saying a word, Lily slid the book to the middle of the table, so they could both see the potion that they needed to make this lesson. Lily walked to the supply cupboard along with her classmates to retrieve a cauldron, some wormwood and a few valerian roots among other things.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Severus Snape smirked as he listened to his peers apologizing as potions blew up in their friends faces. The lanky boy automatically glanced to the front of the class where he saw Lily a little frazzled, staring quizzically into her cauldron that was emitting a light pink smoke. Snapes cauldron however was sending out puffs of violet smoke. Perfect, he thought, No doubt I will win this.
"Times up." The potions master called from the front of the class, where he had been watching amused, as the students tried to master one of the more complicated N.E.W.T potions. He waddled around the desks looking into everyone's potion. When he came to Lily's he peered in carefully, "Well done, Miss...?"
"Evans" She answered with a bright smile, evidently happy with the work she had produced. "Lily Evans, Sir."
"Well Miss Lily Evans you were very close. Very close indeed, though this is not quite perfect. But I would assume that anyone who drank this potion would fall into a deep sleep for a long time." Her face fell a little at the news that she would not be winning the prize today. "And Mr Potter... What do you call this?"
"Um... The Draught of Living Death, Sir?" James said, unsure of himself, which surprised Lily. Usually the aura of complete confidence came from him and this total lack thereof made Lily stare at him for a few moments before being brought back to reality by her teacher.
"Ha!" Professor Slughorn laughed "That is not what I would call it." he said before moving on to his next victims. Without waiting for a response, the teacher inspected the potions of the students behind Potter and Evans, looking very disgruntled with the work produced in the double lesson.
As Slughorn made his way fairly quickly around the class, bypassing some of the students' workplaces when all that could be see was a cloud of thick black smoke filling the room. Giving one cauldron a wide berth because the putrid smell was burning his nostrils, Slughorn finally made it to the last student's potion. Cautiously looking into the Slytherin's cauldron, his heart warmed when he saw the clear liquid lapping at the sides "And it looks like we have a winner!" Slughorn beamed at the greasy haired boy, presenting him with a tiny vile of golden luck, the class applauded grudgingly. Lowering his voice, Slughorn said "Use it well Snape, won't you m'boy?"
Snape grinned as he accepted the small vile. "Of course Sir!" He slipped the bottle into his robe pocket so it sat alongside his wand and a few other precious belongings, for safe keeping. Slowly, Severus started packing away his items. Whilst draining his prize winning Draught of Living Death, he looked up to see that he was alone in the room with the girl he had been in love with since he was nine.
Lily was just walking out of the supply closet after putting away the rest of the ingredients that she hadn't used, when she realized that Tami and Elle had left her. In fact, everyone had left the potions room. Everyone, that is, except Severus Snape. Just looking at him now brought back a flood of memories. Her eyes stung as unshed tears threatened to come at any minute but at the same time a deep anger towards him was growing inside of her. Forget about him Lily. He called you a mudblood. It was awful. And mean. And now you are over it. Move on. It was the same pep-talk she gave to herself every time she saw him.
Lily strode over to her desk and gathered her books up. "Nice try..." She looked up to see Severus talking to her.
"Sorry?" She must have misheard him. Was he actually trying to make small talk? After the way he treated me? No way. She had to be dreaming.
"Nice try… With the potion. You were quite close to winning. Next time you should try crushing the sopophorous beans with the flat of the knife rather than cutting them - you get more juice that way." He smiled at her trying to apologize. Well you can't put me through what I've gone through and think a smile will change things. Lily thought.
"Oh... um, thanks..." Lily looked around the room feeling uncomfortable and awkward. She really did not want to be talking to him and didn't know what to say. "Well, congratulations on winning!" She finally blurted out after a moment of silence.
Severus mumbled a "thanks" in reply. He was disappointed because he could tell that Lily had somewhere else she wanted to be. Anywhere else that wasn't here, with him. He knew he had blown his chances. Lily would never forgive him. Calling her a mudblood last year was his biggest regret to date and he would give anything to go back and change the past.
"So I should probably get going. Tami and Elle will wonder where I am." With a small smile, Lily left the room, leaving Severus to clean up the rest of his items in silence.
"But I don't know what the password is! This morning it was 'Dumbledore'. When did it change?" Lily whined at the moving portrait.
The fat lady dressed in Victorian clothing looked at the student stunned, "It changed when I decided to change it. I can't very well have Slytherins or Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs wandering around the common room, can I?" said the lady indignantly.
"But I am not from Ravenclaw, nor from Hufflepuff, and I am most certainly not from Slytherin. Please let me past!" Lily tried to beg and reason with the lady but it was not working. At this rate she would have to go to Defense against the Dark Arts with no books and no food to feed her hungry stomach.
"Having some trouble there, Evans?" James smirked as he came out of the shadows behind her.
"No. I just never got told the new password, that's all. And she," Lily said turning and glaring at the portrait, "won't let me through, because she believes I am not a Gryffindor." Straightening out her skirt, Lily added, "But don't you worry. It's nothing I can't handle."
"While this is amusing, other people need to use the Gryffindor dormitories." His smirk turning to a full grin, "So if you don't mind, I think I'll just..." He turned to the lady in the portrait.
"Chocolate frog" he enunciated both words precisely and clearly "And speed up the guessing process you seem to be trying out…" his voice faded into silence as the portrait swung open to reveal only a few remaining people milling around mixing with odd bits of furniture placed around the forever lit fire.
Lily stared at James in shock "Chocolate frog?" She asked. "Should have known it would be something to do with chocolate I guess…." She walked to the stairs leading to the girls dormitories. As she reached the stairs she seemed to remember James was there. "Thanks for getting me in." she smiled tentatively at the boy while he ruffled his hair.
"No problem." He said. "It's all about who you know." He turned away and sauntered over to the steps across from her, leading to the boys' dormitories. Leaving Lily standing there without so much as a goodbye.
Elle glanced around the green hilly fields looking apprehensive.
"Where's Lily? I haven't seen her since potions, you think she's ok?" She asked a bored Tami who was sitting in the sun tanning her already brown legs that were sticking out from the bottom of her grey school skirt.
"Why wouldn't she be ok? Probably just in the library reading." Shaking her head, she closed her blue eyes so as to soak up the afternoon summer sun. "Stop worrying so much, Elle, you'll only give yourself wrinkles."
"You don't think she's mad at us though do you?"
"No! Why would she be mad at us? We've done nothing wrong!" Tami said angrily. Such drama would cause her to prematurely wrinkle.
"Well... we didn't save her a seat in Potions and so she had to sit next to James, and we all know they get along famously." Elle said sarcastically, looking up from the book she was reading in Ancient Runes. "And then we left her after Potions..." She stared at Tami.
Looking frustrated, Tami gathered up her books and stood up, "Ok, first of all, 2 seats per desk. She was late! What did she expect us to do? And second of all I really needed to go to the toilet that double period was hell! And you, being an amazing friend, came with me." Smiling sweetly at Elle, she offered her a hand to help her up. Elle sighed but she accepted it nonetheless. They linked arms and made their way to the castle, chatting and giggling as they prepared for the last two lessons of the day.
"You want my advice?" asked Sirius.
The three friends laughed at him, "No one wants your advice, Padfoot" said the eldest boy, Remus Lupin, referring to his friend using the nicknames they had made for each other a few years ago.
Still chuckling, James said "Now, now Moony. I, for one, would like to hear Sirius's words of wisdom." Peter nodded his head enthusiastically. He was still so enthralled that he had been included in the group that he would go along with absolutely anything any of them said. Remus shrugged. Admittedly, he also wanted to know what was going through Sirius's head.
Sirius waited for a silence to fall. When he had the groups undivided attention, he began.
"So now you all want to know what the great Sirius Black thinks, is that right?" James and Remus turned to each other, rolling their eyes and sighing, only Pettigrew nodded his head eager to find out Blacks thoughts. "Well you are in luck today gentlemen. Because Sirius is going to tell you..."
James had had enough already, "Stop referring to yourself in the third person, Padfoot, and get on with your advice. It had better be good after all of this."
"Ok ok, well... Move on." Sirius shrugged apologetically as James's eyebrows rose a fraction, "She clearly does not like you back. Sorry mate. You have plenty of girls chasing after you, just chose a hot one and go out with her. You are chaser on the quidditch team for gods sake. If you can't get a girl there is no hope for the rest of us..."
"Padfoot, you're never without a girlfriend!" squeaked Peter, barely hiding his jealousy.
"I'm single now, aren't I?" Sirius said defending himself.
James made a sound at the back of his throat, "How long do you think that will last for? I'm betting three days. Tops." James Looked around at the other two boys in the group. "What do you say boys? 10 galleons? Anyone up for a little bet?"
Sirius sat there glaring at James. "I can be single for longer than three days. I don't just date the first girl I see! How shallow do you think I am?" He was in a state of disbelief; James was supposed to be his friend. How could his best friend be saying these things?
James didn't mean to be taking this out on Sirius. It was Lily he was angry with, he liked her and had asked her out countless times over the years only for her to turn him down every time. But it was Sirius who was here now. And it was Sirius who brought up the Lily situation. So it was Sirius who James was going to have a go at right now.
"You really want me to answer that?" the scathing comment dripped from his lips. Remus and Peter, sat back shocked and helpless, they didn't know what to do or whose side to take.
Sirius abruptly stood up, followed closely by James, wands in hands ready to curse the other if necessary. Sirius was taller but they were both equally just as skilled with a wand. Eyes reduced to slits as they glared at each other.
"Let it go, Sirius." Remus said, jumping into the conversation for the first time. The two teenagers glared at each other for a long moment. Lupin's eyes darted between the two boys fast hoping one would back down.
"You're a right jerk, Potter. I'll talk to you later. When you've seen sense." And with that Sirius turned around and stalked back up the hill to school. The two friends who had been silently watching were shocked, why was James starting a fight with Sirius? And why was Sirius backing away from a fight? It was just too uncharacteristic.
They remained still as James walked off in the other direction - down to the lake, before Remus finally turned on his worried looking friend, "Come on, Peter. I think we had better talk to Sirius first." The chubby boy bounced up and shakily followed the shaggy looking boy up the path.