Disclaimer: JK ROWLING OWNS ALL!
A/N: I am writing this piece for Heimarmene, for being super smart and figuring out what dlaorvceyr95 means! And because they are awesome! So thanks for being awesome, Heimarmene! PS: This takes place in the Marauders and Lily's sixth year, after the incident with Snape. ENJOY AND REVIEW!
"Why can't Pete do it? Some of us actually have social lives here!"
"Hey!"
"Prongs, you're the only one who Slughorn won't yell at if you're late, you have to do it!"
"Guys why don't we just-"
"Honestly, Padfoot, I actually have a reason to go to class today!"
"Evans can wait until tomorrow!"
"It's not her birthday tomorrow!"
"Hey, how about we just-"
"Prongs, you haven't even wrapped it yet, just give it to her later-"
"But I was going to wrap it to her and give it to Lily in potions! It's the only class that we both have with Snivellus today, and I just HAVE to see his face!"
"Hurry up, I want to eat!"
"Not now Wormtail, we need to explain to Sirius why I can't do it!"
"But you have to James! It's the full moon tonight, so Moony can't do it, I already have a month of detention, and Pete will just screw it up!"
"Hey!"
"But I have to give this to Lily TODAY! I can't take this with me! It might break!"
"It's just a stupid mirror, Prongs, honestly-"
"GUYS!"
The Marauders stopped their bickering and turned to Remus in surprise. They were all gathered in the dorm that they shared, and had spent the past half hour debating on whom should do their prank on the Slytherins. The decision was between James and Sirius, neither who wanted to do it. James was going to give Lily her birthday present during potions today, and Sirius had a month of detentions from turning Snape into a cactus. (McGonagall hadn't found him for a week and a half. Luckily, as a cactus, he didn't need much food or water.)
"How about this; Sirius and I wrap Lily's present, and he brings it to potions while I go to Ancient Runes. Prongs can prank the Slytherins without the mirror getting in the way, and Padfoot will give it to him when he gets to class. Does that sound okay?"
James and Sirius looked surprised that Remus had come to a compromise, though they shouldn't have been, considering that Remus Lupin was the only level-headed Marauder.
"What about me?" Peter Pettigrew asked excitedly. The other Marauders exchanged looks. Peter had never really fit in with the three of them, being like a cousin while Remus, James, and Sirius were the closest brothers imaginable. Of course they would never tell him this, as they all adored their short, chubby friend. In truth, Wormtail was only part of the Marauders because everyone else teased him.
"Pete, you can help me and Sirius wrap it, and go to potions with Padfoot!" Remus tried to say cheerfully. Peter bought it, and smiled widely, just glad to be included.
"I'll go get the present!" James exclaimed loudly, as he dashed for his closet. James Potter was everything a teenage wizard could hope to be: popular, good at Quidditch, smart, good-looking, brave, and was best friends with some of the coolest guys at Hogwarts: Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. The thing that nobody envied about James, however, was his infatuation with Lily Evans. If James was Hogwarts' golden boy, then Lily was the epitome of perfection. With bright red hair and green eyes, she was truly beautiful. Smart, quick-witted, and a favorite among all the teachers and students, James absolutely adored her.
Even more so after last year, when he asked her out and was refused. In front of everyone. James had asked her a total of fifty-two times since then, until a month ago, when he realized that it wasn't helping. He felt as if terms between them were getting better, because now they were able to hold a civil conversation without her yelling at him! And today, April 12th, was her birthday. At first, James had trouble finding a gift, after the Christmas disaster. (He had hired a Cupid to follow her around all day singing love songs. She had hexed his nose to turn blue.) Eventually, he found an antique mirror in Hogsmeade, and enchanted it to give compliments to whomever looked in it.
James had even shown it to McGonagall, who had said it was a very advanced piece of magic (Although that may have been because it told her she looked young) for a sixth year. He was going to give it to her in the middle of potions, where it would tell her he was beautiful, Snape would start to cry, and Lily would love him forever. (At least, that's what Sirius said would happen.) But now he had to go flood the Slytherin common rooms with pumpkin juice.
After Remus and Sirius wrapped the gift, James gave them a very long lecture on how if they broke it, they would die. Neither really paid attention as James left, and played Exploding Snap until it was time for class.
"See you later Moony!" Sirius called.
"Later Padfoot, Wormtail!" Sirius and Peter continued down the hallway, until Peter tripped over a suit of armor and had to go to the hospital wing. (This was a normal occurrence, as Peter Pettigrew was a rather clumsy person.) Sirius continued down the hallway alone with the mirror, humming Celestina Warbeck to himself. He was just onto the chorus where he walked right into Severus Snape.
"Well hello there Snivellus," Sirius sneered. Snape glared at him and picked up the textbooks that he dropped. Sirius couldn't resist turning his robes red. When Snape realized what had happened, he was quick to pull out his wand and turn Sirius's robes a Slytherin green. Before either realized what had happened, they were in a full wizard's duel.
"Who's the present for, Black? Is there some girl you fancy?" Snape taunted.
Sirius grimaced as he dodged a curse and replied, "Certainly, Snivellus. Don't feel bad, it isn't your fault the one girl you ever had a chance with hates you. Oh wait, it is!" Sirius felt slightly bad about going as low to mention the situation with Lily, but it was worth it to see the expression of rage overtake Severus's face.
What Sirius did not see, however, was Snape silently cast a curse on the present. He had been spying on the Marauders, and all he knew was that it was an enchanted mirror that complimented whoever looked in it. Whoever it is that Black is trying to impress will hate him now! Snape thought smugly. Suddenly, their duel ended as they both heard the warning bells; class was about to start. They froze, then sprinted down the hallway as fast as possible to the potions classroom, where they jumped into their seats, glaring at each other.
Sirius was pleased to see that James had made it back in time without getting caught, the only evidence of their prank being the red Kool-Aid on his sleeve. Sirius slipped the mirror under the table to James, and finally relaxed when he felt him take it.
Mischief managed, he thought smugly to himself.
Fifteen minutes into the lesson, Lily still couldn't explain the potion to Peter. (No Pete, you need to smash it with the BACK of the blade. I don't care what the book says! Don't put the unicorn hair in before the Slug-Repellant!) He was a very slow student, and Lily was his partner merely because she felt sorry for the poor guy. Stuck with the Marauders all day, and then he had such trouble in class too! She was about to just give up, when she noticed the class had gone silent. She looked up in surprise, to find James Potter holding a box in her face.
"Personal space much, Potter?" She mumbled. James just grinned and yelled, "Happy birthday, Lily!" he made confetti come out of the tip of his wand, and Sirius and Frank Longbottom, another sixth year Gryffindor, did the same. (Peter tried, but he could only manage to get a torn piece of paper to shoot out of his.)
Lily had to admit, it was rather nice. Nobody else seemed to remember her birthday, and she was just glad she was important to someone, even if that someone was James Potter.
"Thanks for remembering, Potter." She said with a smile. Lily leaned back across the classroom and hollered, "Thanks Frank, thanks Black!" Frank gave her a thumbs up while Sirius blew a kiss. James and Lily both scowled at him.
Lily turned to Peter and said kindly, "Thank you too, Peter." The plump boy blushed to the tips of his ears. She turned back to the potion, not noticing James still standing next to her.
After a minute, he coughed uncomfortably. Apparently, nobody else in the room had noticed him either.
"What is it, Potter?" Lily asked tiredly. James blinked, and held out the present again.
"It's for you!" He replied brightly, a smile of anticipation on his face. Lily was surprised. James had gotten her a present? That was strangely thoughtful of him…
"Er, thanks" She said warily, eyeing the present with suspicion. James could contain himself no longer.
"Open it! It's from me, but Sirius and Remus wrapped it." He said, pushing the box in her face. "Come on Lils, hurry up!"
She glared at him and he cowered slightly, but smiled encouragingly none the less. Lily sighed, clearly there was no way out of opening the thing.
As she carefully peeled away the wrapping paper, her breath caught. Inside the box was a beautiful, silver mirror. It was in the shape of a diamond, and had a delicate border of flowers, lilies, she realized with a start. The handle had her name inscribed on it in beautiful calligraphy, Lily.
She was silent for a moment, before she turned to James, tears in her eyes as she began, "James, it's so beautiful. Thank you so much. It really means-" Lily never got to finish her sentence of gratitude, as an ear-piercing scream filled the silent classroom. Everyone covered their ears, and Lily and James looked down at the mirror in surprise.
In it, Lily saw her reflection, and she thought that she had merely imagined the sound coming from it. But she hadn't.
"MUDBLOOD!" The mirror shrieked. A gasp filled the classroom.
"SCUM! SOME WITCH YOU ARE! HOW PATHETIC, FILLING YOUR CARROT-TOP HEAD WITH USELESS INFORMATION FROM BOOKS! YOU WILL NEVER BE ANYTHING IN OUR WORLD. YOU DON'T BELONG HERE, THE DAUGHTER OF WORTHLESS MUGGLES. YOUR OWN SISTER EVEN KNOWS YOU'RE A FREAK. YOUR OLD BEST FRIEND HATES YOU. AND THE ONLY PERSON WHO CAN BEAR TO BE AROUND YOU, JAMES POTTER, ONLY WANTS YOU FOR ATTENTION.
YOU ARE HIDEOUS, LILY EVANS. YOU ARE PATHETIC. YOU WILL NEVER BE LOVED, AND ALWAYS WILL BE DESPISED WHEREVER YOU GO. YOU FILTHY LITTLE MUDBLOOD!"
Peter, surprisingly, was the one who stopped it. Lily had always been kind to him, and he did her a favor by putting a silencing charm on it. The rest of the classroom was silent in shock. Professor Slughorn just looked confused, no doubt about it. Severus Snape was even paler than usual, which was typically very pale. Sirius looked confused, but understanding was lighting his features and he slowly turned to Snape, turning red with fury. James was as white as a sheet, and had his mouth open in shock. But no one's reaction compared to Lily's.
For a moment, James could have sworn that Lily had been asleep when it happened, as her face was expressionless. Then, he realized that watery tears had been sliding down her face the whole time. James began, in a whisper, "Lily, I am so sorry. I had no idea-"
Lily stood up and shoved him out of the way as she ran from the classroom, her hands trying to cover up the tears streaming down her face. After that, all heck broke loose.
As James ran from the room shouting Lily's name, Sirius Black practically flew across the desks separating him and Snape screaming, "IT WAS SNIVELLUS!", and tackled him to the ground. Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall suddenly appeared in the doorway, and clearly had been running to the dungeons.
"Is everyone alright? We heard the screaming-" McGonagall stopped mid-sentence as she saw Sirius Black on top of Severus Snape, punching his lights out. Her eyes widened as Frank Longbottom, normally a model student, joined the fight.
After standing with their mouths agape for a moment, McGonagall yelled, "YOU WILL CEASE THIS NONSENSE IMMEDIATELY!" Frank and Sirius flew off of Snape as fast as humanly possible, and Severus sat up, groaning and clutching his head. There was blood coming out of his nose and mouth, and he had lost a tooth. Snape had the start of a black eye, broken nose, and bruise face. McGonagall could hardly believe that this was merely the work of two boys in five minutes!
Dumbledore just stood calmly by the door, though his blue eyes had lost their infamous twinkle.
"Mr. Black, Mr. Longbottom, Mr. Snape, all three of you will join me in my office." His voice was soft, but sharp. Sirius and Frank walked out of the door ahead of the Headmaster, while Severus trailed behind him. As they reached the office, Sirius nudged Frank and murmured, "I say we pummel him once we get out of here. Agreed?"
Frank nodded. "Definitely agreed."
The three boys sat down in the chairs at Dumbledore's desk, across from the Headmaster. Sirius and Frank sat awaiting their punishment, and Severus feeling terrible, inside and out.
Sure his injuries hurt, as both Frank and Sirius were very strong and muscular, but the tumult of his mind was more painful. He would never have dreamed of cursing the mirror if he knew it was for Lily! Now she was somewhere in the castle, hurting and crying. With Potter. She would never forgive him now.
Severus' thoughts were interrupted by the door to the room slamming open, and Professors Slughorn and McGonagall burst into the room. Dumbledore calmly said, "Minerva, Horace, please come and sit."
Sirius cowered slightly at the look of pure fury on his Head of House's face. He had no doubt that Professor McGonagall could cast an Unforgiveable Curse at the moment if she wanted to!
"Now," Dumbledore began, "Who would like to explain to me what exactly happened?"
Sirius thrust his hand in the air, knowing that Snape would leave out the part about the mirror, and he was NOT getting any more detentions than absolutely necessary!
Dumbledore looked amused as he said, "Thank you, Mr. Black."
Sirius nodded. "Well you see Professor, Prongs, that is, James, wanted to give Evans, I mean Lily, a present for her birthday. He had bought her a mirror, a bloody expensive one, mind you- oh, sorry Professor McGonagall. I meant a really expensive one. It was freaking awesome: James showed Minnie here, sorry Professor, I mean Professor McGonagall, how he charmed it to compliment whoever looked into it. Apparently, I'm the hottest guy in Hogwarts," Sirius stated proudly. McGonagall rolled her eyes.
"Anyways, Prongs had to, well, he had some other business to take care of, which kept him from bringing the mirror to Potions class."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled behind his half-moon spectacles as he interrupted, "You mean, business such as flooding the Slytherin common room?"
The Marauder waved his hand nonchalantly, ignoring McGonagall's expression of fury, and replied, "Details, details. As I was saying, because Prongs, er, James, was busy, I, being the saint that I am, decided to take it to Potions for him! Unfortunately for me, I ran into Snivellus, sorry, force of habit, I meant SNAPE," When McGonagall glared at him again, Sirius scowled and said, "Fine, fine! I ran into SEVERUS in the hall. We started dueling, oh come on Professor McGonagall, he started it!"
"Did not!" Severus replied with a glare at Sirius. McGonagall sighed and said, "Black, please just end this extravagant tale already."
Sirius feigned offense. "But Minnie, I MUST use my dramatic skills!" He cried. McGonagall glared at him, again, and he scowled at her, again. "FINE! I'll get on with it, just stop interrupting! Snape cursed the mirror so that it insulted the person instead of complimenting them, but I didn't know, and I took it to class. I gave it to Prongs, right, James, and he, Frank and I did this little 'Happy Birthday' thing for Lily. Then he gave her the mirror, and she looked into it. It started screaming real foul things at her, none that were true. It really hurt her," Sirius stopped in his speech to glare menacingly at Snape, who cowered in his chair.
"And Lily ran away, crying. Prongs followed her, but I don't know where they went. Then, I started beating up Snivellus, and Frank joined in. That's all that happened."
The teachers were silent for a moment, Slughorn looking confused, McGonagall angry, and Dumbledore thoughtful. Finally Professor Dumbledore spoke.
"I am thoroughly ashamed of all three of you, and hope you realize that your actions were immature and hurtful. Mr. Snape, I am sure that Miss Evans did not deserve anything to earn her such cruel punishment from you, and I will expect you to apologize to her."
Snape nodded shamefully, and Dumbledore turned his focus to Sirius and Frank.
"Mr. Black, Mr. Longbottom, as much as I admire you standing up for your friend, you need to find a less violent way to express your loyalty. And Mr. Black, we do not duel with fellow students when there is only five minutes left until class starts." Frank looked a little ashamed, but was mostly satisfied for standing up for Lily. Sirius merely grinned and nodded.
"You will both apologize to Mr. Snape." The boys looked horrified, as they protested "But Professor!" "Snivellus started it!"
"Silence!" Dumbledore snapped. The boys immediately shut up, as Dumbledore was rarely ever cross with anyone. Slughorn and McGonagall looked even more surprised than the students themselves.
Albus sighed, and closed his eyes as he said, "Your Heads of Houses will determine your actual punishments. Horace, Minerva, I simply ask the two of you to keep in mind all the events that Mr. Black related to us."
Slughorn nodded, and turned to McGonagall.
"If it is not too much trouble for you, Minerva, I think I shall go to the staff room and see if I can find something to eat. You may give Mr. Snape his punishment." Minerva gritted her teeth, and nodded tightly. Slughorn smiled and patted his belly, muttering, "Good, good," as he left the office.
Professor McGonagall turned to Severus. "Mr. Snape, for your reckless duel with Black, I take away fifteen points from Slytherin House. You will receive one detention with Mr. Filch for that. As for your cruel prank against Miss Evans, fifty points will be taken, and you will receive a month of detention from me." Snape paled so badly the he was the color of whipped cream by the time she finished listing his punishments. Sirius almost laughed, but he remembered that his punishment was yet to come.
"Mr. Longbottom; for participating in the fight against Mr. Snape, I take away fifteen points from Gryffindor House. You will receive a week of detention with Hagrid." Sirius began to protest.
"But Professor! Snivellus dueled me, that's even worse than a fistfight, mind you, and you only gave him one detention! Frank doesn't deserve a week!"
McGonagall acknowledged him coldly and replied, "Yes, but I expect more from a Gryffindor than to foolishly harm another student, no matter how admirable the means for it are."
Sirius frowned and leaned in his chair, crossing his arms.
"And Black; for dueling Mr. Snape, twenty points will be taken from Gryffindor, and you will have detention with Mr. Filch and Mr. Snape." Sirius groaned, but McGonagall wisely chose to ignore it.
"For beginning the fight against Mr. Snape, I take thirty-five points from Gryffindor, and you will have three weeks of detention writing lines with me. I will give you a schedule tomorrow morning in Transfiguration."
Sirius fell backwards out of his chair. "YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!" Sirius cried.
Frank snorted and said, "Of course she isn't, mate, you are."
Sirius sat up and glared at him. "Hey! Only I am allowed to use that pun!"
Frank smirked as Sirius stood back up and made his way towards the door. Snape and Frank rose and followed him. The Gryffindors walked ahead of Severus, and when the trio were outside of Dumbledore's office, Frank and Sirius turned around and lunged at him.
Needless to say, by the time McGonagall was through with yelling at them (again), the Slytherin and Gryffindor hour glasses were very, VERY empty.
"Lily? LILY!" James Potter had no idea where she went. He had only been about thirty seconds behind her, and already Lily had disappeared. He tried to think of somewhere she would go.
She didn't have time to go to the common rooms, the kitchens are too far away, the owlery is outside of school, she must be upstairs somewhere… That's it! Moaning Myrtle's bathroom is right up those steps!
James flew up the stairs as fast as he could go. He slowed down when he neared the Out of Order sign hanging on the abandoned girls' lavatory.
"Lily?" He said cautiously as he opened the door. He hadn't been in here since fourth year, when the Marauders became Animagi for the first time. "Lily, are you in here?"
James heard a sobbing coming from the other side of the sinks, but he didn't know if it was Lily or just Myrtle.
"WHO GOES THERE?" An irritating voice shrieked. That would be Myrtle. The ghost flew up behind him, and James spun around in alarm. The girl's eyes widened and she smiled coyly and said, "Oh, it's James! How ARE you? There's a redhead in here, she's been sobbing and cursing you for the past twenty minutes!" Myrtle giggled. "It's simply HORRENDOUS."
James ignored her and made his way over to the other side of the sinks where Lily was. As he cautiously poked his head around the other side, he found her. Lily's red hair was like a veil over her face, and James could hear her sobs. She was sitting on the ground, her back against the sinks, with her head down and she was hugging her knees.
James felt his heart snap. Lily was supposed to be energetic and lively! Not like this.
"Lils?" He said softly. She looked up at him with bloodshot eyes, and gasped when she saw who it was.
The redness of her eyes was nothing to compare to her cheeks. "How dare you do that to me, James! I always thought better of you than to do THIS!" She cried. Lily tried to stand up, but James quickly grabbed her elbow and gently set her down.
"Lily I am SO sorry for what happened. I swear, it wasn't me!" A glare was all he received.
"Oh really, Potter? So it wasn't you who gave me a cursed mirror that exposed my faults to everyone!" She yelled. James cautiously sat down next to her, and she put her head back on her knees, body shaking.
"It doesn't even matter; it was all true anyways."
James was taken aback. What? Lily couldn't possibly think that anything the mirror said was true!
"What are you talking about?" He asked incredulously.
A sniffle was heard and she looked back up at him again, fresh tears making tracks on her face.
"You're the one who made it say that, you should know that it's all true. I'm a Mudblood, all the random facts I know are useless, nobody actually likes me, and the one person who appears to, being you, only likes me for attention!" Lily started sobbing again.
James would honestly have killed Severus Snape if he was in the room with them. He took her into a comforting hug, and she was too distressed to care. James lost track of time as he silently held her, and she sobbed into his arms. Eventually when Lily's crying dyed down, he pulled away.
Lily wiped at her eyes, ashamed at her display. James lightly grabbed her arms, and forced her to look at him.
"Lily, I NEED you to know that I didn't curse the mirror. It was your birthday present; I had charmed it to compliment you. I don't know exactly what happened, but when I was leaving the classroom Padfoot said something about it being Snape. I am so sorry it hurt you."
Searching his hazel eyes, Lily knew he was telling the truth. She sighed and said, "It's okay, I believe you James."
He let out a quiet sigh of relief, and continued his motivational speech.
"Lily, you need to know that the mirror was LYING. Lily, you are so smart, you don't even know. Knowledge isn't useless, just look at Sirius! He knows absolutely nothing, and all it gives him is detentions!"
Lily giggled, but James held up a hand to stop her, feigning a maternal expression.
"As for the rest, I can't even describe how wonderful you are, Lily. You're beautiful, kind, brilliant, sweet, yet sarcastic, witty, and loads of fun. I've never fancied you for attention; I swear, I'm in love with you Lily. Don't you dare even doubt your self-worth, because you are amazing."
She blinked once, twice, three times. Then she leaned over and gently kissed him on the cheek.
"Thank you, James. I really hope we can be friends?" She asked hesitantly.
James felt a rush of joy, then slight disappointment, then hope. Friends is a start… We will just see where this goes. James stood up and held out his hand to help her up, and she gratefully accepted it.
"That would be great, Lily." He replied. She smiled at him, and as she was leaving, he remembered something.
"Oi, Evans! Wait!" She grinned at her old nickname and replied, "Yes, Potter?"
James handed her the mirror. "I fixed it, while I was looking for you. Happy Birthday," he said softly.
Lily smiled and replied quietly, "It's the best present I've ever had."
Then Lily left. James leaned against the sink, and closed his eyes in satisfaction. This is a great start. I can see it now- friends, then more than friends, then-
"You know, if you want to, you could always die and share my toilet, James."
James Potter sprinted down the hall, away from the cackles of Moaning Myrtle.