Virgo et Vernula

Chapter 2: The Festival

The sun was just peeking out from the horizon when James rose from his bed, stretching. For a split second, he wondered why he'd woken up so early, but with a rush of excitement, he remembered... the Firebolt Festival!

"OY!" he yelled, scrambling up from the straw mattress. "Up you get, tossers! Today's the day!"

Without waiting for his roommates' reactions, James bounced over to the window and drew the coarse curtains back. The sun hadn't risen fully, but he didn't care. They had to walk about three miles to get to the castle anyway, and that would kill about thirty minutes. Oh, he couldn't wait! The things he'd heard about the festival were enough to make him squirm in excitement. Hadn't there been tales of epic romances beginning at the festival - where perhaps a destitute maid fell in love with a knight of the king - and wild stories of noble fights and bursts of heroism? Didn't all the famous scribes of Parvahal weave grand stories while the audience waited with bated breath? Didn't they say that the finest fire-weavers and tight-rope walkers and jugglers trained for a whole year just for the event?

If there was anything James loved, it was the rush of adrenaline that came with doing anything out of the ordinary. He loved adventure, and danger, and anything that gave him that feeling of dizzying exhilaration. Of course, as a servant boy, the opportunity didn't come frequently. It was why he'd wanted to go to the festival for so long—The Oddment People were the most mercurial group of people he'd ever heard of.

"I said, get up, you lot!" James shouted, walking up to Remus's bed and ripping his sheets off of him. "Oh – sorry, McCollins, not you. You can go back to sleep. Sirius."

The sun had risen when he finally managed to get his best mates out of their beds and ready to depart. They trudged up and out of the basement, shoes tied, hair brushed (well, James had tried to brush his hair) and eyes glinting with anticipation. Swinging into the kitchen, they found a certain Lily up in a pink bathroom robe, tending to a mug of milk. She jumped when they entered.

"G'morning, my angel face!" James grinned as he strolled into the room.

"What – oh right. You three. The festival," Lily breathed, dipping a few tiny marshmallows into the mug of milk before she took a sip. Remus gave her a warm greeting which she returned with a smile. Sirius told her he liked her in a bathrobe. She scowled at him. "Can it, Sirius. Why are you all leaving so early?"

"Trying to avoid the crowd," James told her, promptly. He opened a cabinet in search of something to eat before he spotted some muffins. He grabbed three and tossed one each to Sirius and Remus then took a big bite out of one himself.

Lily nodded, wishing them a happy time before she began to return to the Entrance Hall.

"Oh and boys?" she said as she turned to exit the kitchen. "Do try not to cause too much trouble?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "What trouble could we possibly cause?"

"You tell me," Lily called as she took several more steps away. "A few broken stalls, a tripped up horse… the destruction of Diagon Castle, the death of King Cates, I don't know, you can never tell with you three…"The three boys laughed and made their way to the opposite exit.

It was a nice day outside. The sun was almost completely high in the air and the sky was clear and blue. It was the sort of day that just made James want to sing… or something else just as embarrassing. They trudged through the busy streets of Diagon, laughing amongst one another and speculating the events that were to take place that day. Sirius could not wait to see the fire-weavers ("I heard some of them can hold balls of fire in their hands!") and Remus wanted to talk to some of the scribes about how they made a living. James just wanted to be there already.

Soon enough, the sun was high in the sky and as they turned a corner, they caught sight of the familiar castle gates. They were huge, as was expected, but unlike every other day when James walked by them, they were open. The Diagon Castle stood proudly behind the gates, its towers sparkling brightly in the sunlight.

"Blimey, it's packed!" Sirius exclaimed.

And he was right. They had thought the streets were busy before, but it was nothing compared to the crowds of people that swarmed around them by the castle. Beggars, merchants, servants, shabbily dressed peasants, women with their children and even the men whose immense wealth showed through their lavish clothing and gem-covered fingers; they were all streaming into the castle courtyard, like a relentless flood.

They stood there, stunned for a few moments, before people began to push and shove them from behind, muttering about 'time-wasters.'

"Come on." Remus tugged on their sleeves and all three of them joined the flow of people.

As James and his two best mates got closer and closer to the castle, he felt like a little boy again. Not only because his heart was beating with the anticipation of one, but because of the massive—almost oppressive—gates that were looming over them. The grey, meter-thick walls that surrounded them did not help his rather odd sense of unease.

"Oi! Watch it, you little twit!" came Sirius's indignant voice from his right. James glanced down and saw a little boy with dark hair running past them. He was laughing and looking back as if running from someone. A moment later, a blonde girl ran passed them - she pushed Sirius out of the way as well- and then they both disappeared into the crowd of people.

"Little buggers," Sirius yelled at his companions so that they could hear him over the noise of the crowd. "I really hate kids."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Let them have their fun Sirius," he replied loudly. "Kids are one of the purest things on the planet, you know. They're really like little bundles of joy -"

"Oh hitch up your skirt, Remus!" Sirius said crossly.

James was not paying attention to his bickering friends for he'd caught sight of the guards that manned the gates. There were about ten of them, all armed with spears and helmets. Underneath their chains of mail, they were garbed in the dark blue tunics that were usually associated with the workers of King Cates. Emblems of the king stood proudly on their mail and on the shields they carried - it was a roaring lion, standing on its hind legs and breathing fire.

Generally, they were letting most people in through the gates after glancing briefly at their tickets, but every once in a bit, they would block someone with a glare and a threatening jab of the spear. No one else seemed bothered by it, but James wondered why they were being turned away and worried briefly that the same would happen to him.

His worry was short-lived. They reached the gates in time and though James's heart was hammering madly against his chest - why did he feel so guilty, he hadn't even done anything wrong - the guards let them pass without trouble.

"This is it," Sirius said gleefully after they'd stepped pass the guards and under the shadow of the walls. "Here we go."

They moved past the portcullis, still in the midst of the large throng, but with considerably less people around. At least now they could walk on their own rather than being swept away by the current of bodies. They walked through a dark passageway, not speaking to one another, but admiring the defense strategies the castles had placed around to keep out unwelcome visitors.

"A bit much, don't you think?" James said, glancing at the holes through which boiling water could be poured down upon the heads of the people.

They didn't get to answer though; they had just finally stepped into the courtyard, and the clear, blue sky was again visible above them.

They were in the Outer Courtyard of Diagon Castle.

James was a bit dazed.

His senses seemed to be on the verge of overloading. There was too much to take in. There was music coming from somewhere... drums and trumpets and singing... beautiful, beautifulsinging that seemed to make the cherry blossoms above him bloom in delight. Already, stands had been set up all over and the sales people were yelling and screaming about their goods to the people ("Here! Free amulets. I SAID FREE AMULETS! Sir, are you quite deaf, why wouldn't you want a FREE amulet!" "The very best quality, Ma'am I quite assure you. Nowhere else will you find gold as pure..."). There were several stages set up and rope lines set high in the air, though it seemed the Oddment People hadn't arrived yet.

"Where do we start?" Remus asked in amazement.

Sirius was over himself with excitement. "Are those... are those... balloons?"

Their heads swiveled in the direction Sirius was pointing at. The floating objects looked like they were balloons, but the intricate shapes into which they were twisted made it seem almost unbelievable. For one thing, James was fairly sure one of them was a fire breathing dragon.

Chattering excitedly, they made their way to the balloons, not intending to buy, but rather to admire. They had little money anyway and they planned on using it to buy food.

Apart from the fire breathing dragon balloons, there were many other fascinating things that demanded the three boys' attention. There were people looking to earn a few nuggets of gold who took to things like snake chanting, dancing on their heads, ventriloquist acts, and even dancing with little monkeys. James, Sirius and Remus had tremendous fun laughing along with the rest of the crowd when a particularly treacherous monkey grabbed his owner's bowl of coins and took off.

At noon, the boys were talking to a group of giggling, peasant girls when a cry of celebration rose from the crowd.

"What's happened?" Remus asked curiously and he wasn't the only intrigued one. People around them as well were looking for the source of celebration, though they didn't have to wait long. Shouts began to be heard; it spread like wildfire until it finally reached their ears.

"The Oddment People are here! The Oddment People have arrived!"

James gave a big whoop. They were finally here! He'd finally get to see the Oddment People!

They turned and rushed back towards the center of the courtyard, where a crowd had already formed, leaving behind four very disgruntled girls.

"Excuse me," Sirius said loudly as they tried to push their way to the front. "Excuse me – good Lord, I SAID excuse me - oi, no dirty looks, you're taller than I am anyways -"

After a lot of pushing and shoving, they managed to claim a place near the front of the crowd.

James was stunned. The Oddment People were everywhere. Even though they'd just arrived, they'd already managed to disperse around the courtyard. There were so many of them: jugglers, knife-throwers, magicians, contortionists, clowns, pipers. They each wore a leotard with many bright colors, though a number of them wore long black cloaks with red linings – fire weavers. The fire weavers the most highly anticipated performers, of course. He'd heard magnificent things about them: they could breathe fire, they could dance in fire, they could even eat fire… though most of these statements were sure to be untrue. The maids' gossip was never reliable.

The Oddment People weren't doing much yet. They were smiling at the crowds, laughing their cheerful laughs, and tinkering away at the stages they were to perform on. The atmosphere in the festival had risen to phenomenal heights. It was so infectious that James found himself grinning widely for no reason at all; it made him look at little scary.

"Hey I'm going to go talk to one of them, okay?" he said suddenly, nudging Sirius in the side.

Sirius looked at him curiously. "What about?"

"Just a few questions," James said distractedly. He'd just caught sight of one of the fire weavers who'd stopped in his tracks and was searching for something in a satchel he had strapped to his side. "Listen, I'll be back soon. Don't wander too far off."

"Yes, mummy."

James rolled his eyes, and began to make his way past the crowd again. This is really getting tedious, he thought exasperatedly as another child ran roughly past him. There are way too many people on this planet.

The fire weaver seemed to have found what he was looking for. He closed his bag self-satisfactorily and began to move in the opposite direction from James. James quickened his pace, getting a bit more violent with pushing people.

"Excuse me!" He called out to the fire weaver a bit breathless. "Excuse me! No, not you – Mr. Fire Weaver sir!"

It was a bit hopeless, considering it was so noisy around them, but James finally squeezed his way through and ended up right behind the man. He tapped him on his shoulder and the fire weaver whirled round, warm surprise written on his face. He was a tall, lean man – most of them were – with light brown, cropped hair. He was handsome, even though he looked like he was in his late forties. James suddenly felt a little intimidated, but he quickly found his voice.

"So sorry to bother you," he said politely, "but I was wondering if I could have a bit of your time?"

The man looked at James inquisitively and spoke. "Depends on what for, dear boy." His voice was deep and melodious; it sounded like he would start singing any moment.

"I just have a few questions," James said quickly. "I'm very interested in what you do."

The man smiled, revealing small, even teeth. "Are you really?"

James nodded enthusiastically, and the man chuckled. "Most young lads are," he smiled. "Unfortunately, I'm rather busy at the moment, but uh –" he rummaged again in his satchel and pulled out a little slip of parchment – "here. Take this."

James took the parchment and read

Mr. Graham Petracelli

Fire – Weaver

8109 Cambria Alley, Diagon

"I happen to live in Diagon when I'm not out with the Oddments," Mr. Petracelli explained. "So those questions you have, you can just pop in any time and ask me about them," he finished kindly.

James face brightened, surprised at his kindness. "Thank you, sir! How will the weekend after the next do for you?"

He thought about it for a moment before he nodded. "That should be fine. Come in around, say five. The wife's usually making tea about then, and she makes some cracking biscuits."

"I'll be sure to remember," James smiled. He bid goodbye to Mr. Petracelli and turned to head back, grinning widely. He'd just gotten invited to dinner with a fire weaver.

This really was a great day.

A noticeable skip in his step, James headed towards the food stands, intending to buy perhaps a pint of Butterbeer – it was getting rather hot now that the sun was shining brightly above Diagon. He crossed over the courtyard, passed a stone fountain of King Cates, and was about to join the queue when he caught sight of familiar bright red hair bobbing excitedly a bit in front of him. Was that Lily? It had to be… no one quite had hair like hers… but what was she doing at the festival? She hadn't bought a ticket. And… why was she with Pepe, the Snape's horse? The servants and the maids weren't allowed to even go near the stables, except to clean it.

"Lily?"

It was her. She turned around in surprise, her hair flying – it was out today, a sure sign she was happy – and laughed breathlessly when she saw James.

"Oh James, THERE you are! I've been looking all over for you! I just met with Sirius and Remus a few minutes ago – can you believethis place?" she asked delightedly as she turned Pepe around by his reins. "It's amazing!"

James struggled forward between a few big-bellied men before he finally stood in front of her. Rather breathless he exclaimed, "Lily – what are you doing here? You told me you didn't have a ticket!"

"I didn't," she grinned.

James was confused. "But then how'd you get here? Oh my God," he lowered his voice seriously, "You didn't scale the walls did you?"

"No!" Lily cried, laughing. "My God James, do I really look like I'm capable of climbing those walls?"

"I think you're capable of a lot of things, angel," he countered mysteriously. "I wouldn't put it past you for a second."

Lily rolled her eyes, and hit him lightly on the arm. "No you git. If you must know -"

"I must."

"- Severus decided to attend today. He needed someone to take care of Pepe here." She smoothed down his golden mane as she spoke.

"And you were the only one he could get for that job?" James asked, raising an eyebrow. "He couldn't have gotten one of the servant boys? Lord knows we have more than enough of us."

Lily blushed. "Well, maybe horses prefer a feminine touch, I don't know."

James' eyebrow went even higher.

"Shut up," she grumbled. "It doesn't matter anyway. I don't mind taking care of little old Pepe for the day," Lily patted his flank affectionately.

James glanced at the horse warily. He didn't understand why Lily loved the horse so much. In fact, he thought it was a little creepy the way the horse seemed to be glaring at him no matter which side he stood by it.

"You're crazy," he said, shaking his head. "That horse is scary."

"Oh, stop," she scolded. "He's nothing but a big sweetheart,"

They bickered their way to the front of the queue where a short, bald man was handing out the Butterbeer bottles jovially. James idly wondered whether he had stolen a quick sip out of one of the bottles. He knew he would have, considering how hot it was getting.

"Two please," James said cheerfully to the stout man.

"No that's fine, James," Lily said hurriedly as she began to scramble about her purse for some change. "I can pay for myself, you know... Oh, where is that coin..."

"Ignore her," James said to the man. He dropped two coins onto the counter and grabbed the two bottles, ignoring Lily's protests.

"Oh, hush Evans," he shushed, as they walked back towards the fountain. James began to scan the courtyard, searching for a glimpse of Sirius' long shaggy dark hair or Remus' short, fair one. "Did you really think I would let you pay?"

Lily spluttered beside him, pulling the bored-looking Pepe along. "Well, I mean, you didn't have to! I didn't - I - it's not like... like we're on a date or something."

James raised an eyebrow and glanced at her, wondering why she was so red. "I never said we were... blimey, are those more fire weavers?"

It seemed they were. On the stages that had been empty a few hours ago, now stood several shirtless men, tall and lean as Mr. Petracelli had been. Their bronzed skin seemed to be shining in the sun, but James knew it was the grease they slathered on to protect themselves from the fire. The show hadn't started yet, so James quickly dragged Lily among the forming crowd, thoughts of finding Remus and Sirius now forgotten.

"Someone's eager," Lily remarked casually, leaning against Pepe's flank.

James shushed her. It was starting.

The fire seemed to come out of nowhere. One second the fire weavers were standing motionlessly on the stage, and the next second, waves and waves of blazing fire were climbing the air. James didn't know how they did it. He had so many questions for Mr. Petracelli. The fire was swirling around their bodies as though they were immune to it. The fire climbed higher and higher in the air, smoke billowing out into the sky.

It was moving faster now. It wasn't just fire – it was water. It rippled and danced and swayed according to the fire weavers synchronized hand commands. It formed circles which the fire weavers jumped through like trained dogs through a hoop. It wasn't just a game, it was a dance. It was so that if just one of the fire dancers – because that was what they were – missed a step, they would all be burned to a crisp. James and Lily oohed and aahed and gasped and whooped along with the crowd as the weavers moved in and out of the fire, making different shapes with their crackling whips.

It ended when one of the fire weavers – it was Mr. Petracelli! – picked up a little bottle filled with a swirling, milky liquid and poured it into his mouth. He didn't swallow it – James could tell from his bulging cheeks. Mr. Petracelli jumped into the middle of the stage and threw his head back. With a roar, a long stream of fire rolled out his mouth and high into sky, almost roasting a bird passing by.

James had never clapped so hard in his life. He felt as if his hands would fall off from applauding so hard. His cheeks were flushed and his heart was racing. He turned to look at Lily, who was bearing glowing cheeks as well. Her startlingly green eyes were sparkling and her red hair was glinting under the sun, reminding James strongly of the fire he'd just seen.

"That was bloody amazing," they cried simultaneously, then burst out laughing.

"Oh, Sirius and Remus better have seen that," James said excitedly, as they began to disperse along with the chattering crowd. "Speaking of Sirius and Remus…"

He looked around again, wondering where the hell his mates were. Lily noticed his concern and grabbed his arm.

"Remus and Sirius are big boys, James," she said. "I'm sure they can handle themselves – listen, I'm up for some honey nuts. Do you want to come along?"

James hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. She was right. He threw an arm around Lily's shoulders, chatting animatedly with her till they got to the other food stall. It wasn't long before they were chewing away happily at the nuts – Lily had threatened to castrate James if he didn't let her pay for herself. He did not object.

They were walking by the cool fountain in search of some shade to lie under when something strange happened. A hush came over the entire courtyard and the crowd began to stir. James's head automatically swiveled around in the direction of the gates of the courtyard. They were not the gates through which he had come through. These were smaller gates that led straight into the courtyard and were more heavily armed. A loud, resounding horn rang through the air, and James immediately knew what was happening. He couldn't count the number of times he'd heard that horn. His heart began to race in his chest. A lot of the crowd, and Lily he noticed, were sporting annoyed looks. The other half seemed to be scared.

He was neither. He was excited.

The princess and her family were coming through.

The metal gates creaked open, slowly but steadily. James instinctively drew Lily closer to him; she blushed, but did not throw him off. Soldiers rode into the outer courtyard first on horses that stood taller than the average man, the emblems on their shields glinting beneath the sun. Almost as though practiced, the crowd parted to let them through, though James did not move.

The courtyard was silent as a grave now. The entertainers stood motionless on their stages or tight-ropes, now forgotten. All that could be heard was the sound of the horses' hooves, oddly uniformed like a marching band, the horses' snorts, and the clanking of the soldiers' weapons. James wondered why there were so many of the soldiers. Usually, there were at most twenty men-at-arms accompanying the Royal Family when they went out, but now it seemed like the procession of hard-faced soldiers would never stop.

"This is ridiculous," he heard Lily whisper crossly.

James agreed privately, but said nothing as the men-at-arms rode by them. He did not share the high level of contempt Lily had for royalty; he was one of the few who didn't. The Cates had ruled Parvahal for as long as anyone could remember. They had ruled with a solid hand, never cruel but at the same time, when food was hard to come by and times were hard, one could hardly help but blame the King. A revolt, however, was not in the question. There was no one powerful enough to overthrow the Cates on their own, and most were too scared to try.

The King's carriage was the last to come through. There was no mistaking him. He was a tall, dark-haired man with dark-set eyes and heavy eyebrows. He wore his characteristic small smile and a large golden crown sat upon his head. His eyes roved the courtyard, and he seemed to take in everything. His carriage stopped suddenly – the silence in the air was almost palpable – and the King rose slowly from his seat.

"Welcome," he began, in a deep calming voice. "Welcome all to the Castle of Diagon, for the 74th Annual Firebolt Festival. I wish you nothing but enjoyment and gratification on this beautiful day."

King Cates sat back down in his seat and the carriage began to move again. Many people cheered, a few people fell to their knees – James snorted – while in contrast, a few stared up at him with hostility. He took no notice of either man. Rather he turned to his wife, who sat small and red-haired beside him, and whispered into her ear. James would've tried to discern what he was saying, but he was distracted.

Princess Roselyn sat behind the King and Queen, proud and beautiful as ever. Her long, raven-black hair tumbled down in elegant curls behind her back, and her smooth alabaster skin seemed to almost glow in the sun. She was looking around haughtily, as though she was daring her subjects to stare at her. James heart pounded even more wildly. It seemed she only got more beautiful each time he saw her. He glanced quickly to her right and saw she was sitting next to an unfamiliar man who seemed to be attracting some attention as well.

The man wore robes of red. He was dark-haired as well, and almost as pale as the princess. In fact, he could have been mistaken for her brother if it was not a known fact that Roselyn had no siblings. They even shared the same haughty look, though the red-robed man seemed a lot colder… hostile, even.

James sensed nothing but trouble from the man as the carriage came closer to him and Lily. He reverted his eyes back to the princess and started when he realized she was staring straight at him.

An electric jolt ran through James as he locked eyes with the princess. She was looking right at him! Or was she? James looked wildly behind him, but there was no one behind him. She was definitely looking at him. Unless she was looking at the fountain... No, definitely him. As he locked eyes with her again, he thought he caught the faint hint of a smirk on her flawless face, but before he could properly identify it, she had ridden past them and into the Inner Courtyard, leaving him slightly dazed.

"What a snob."

Lily's low, indignant voice drifted into his ear. He snapped back out of his daze and looked around. People were filling the path again and there was a general annoyed muttering among the crowd.

"She's not a snob," James said automatically as they began to move again.

Lily raised an eyebrow at him, and he flushed.

"What" he said defensively. "I just think she's... misunderstood."

Lily looked at him disbelievingly. "Are you serious? Please," she said scathingly. "Your stupid crush on her surely doesn't blind you to the fact that she's conceited. I mean, did you see the way she was looking at us? Like we're all something disgusting beneath her gold-encrusted leather boots."

James was about to retort when they finally caught sight of Sirius and Remus behind a few resting horses. They both waved them over, and Lily and James crossed over to them with Pepe trotting comfortably behind them.

"Hey," Remus said as they approached, "There you two are. Been looking all over for you James! I knew you'd find Lily though. Anyway, Lily, did you feed Pepe yet? Because I found these apples..."

Lily had not fed Pepe yet, so they all headed over to the food stands and got a few apples, which Lily fed delightedly to the 'poor, tired' horse. They walked around the festival some more, pointing at amazing things and strong men lofting ridiculously heavy things, contortionists bending in unbelievable shapes, and jugglers in their bright colorful costumes. It was honestly the best day of their lives.

It was sullied a bit, however, when they ran into Severus, who looked like he was moping around as usual. James was surprised he even came out into the sun at all. He greeted the greasy-haired git with a cheerful hello, but Severus merely threw him a disgusted look. James ignored it. He was used to Severus' condescension. He didn't intend to stay long though it seemed. Ignoring James, Sirius and Remus pointedly, Severus informed Lily in a low voice that he would be returning to the castle and needed Pepe. Lily seemed flustered and began to make her goodbyes to her friends, when Severus waved her off and told her she could stay. He would take Pepe and ride home by himself; Lily could return when she wanted to.

Lily was delighted, but James didn't like the way Severus had leaned in a bit too close to Lily to give her the news. Not that he was jealous in any way. He just really didn't like Severus, and the thought of him getting within two inches of Lily made him sick to his stomach.

'''

It didn't feel like long before the sun had set and the people, including James, Sirius, Remus and Lily, began to depart reluctantly to their homes. There were babies to be fed and gardens to be watered and food to be cooked, and though it was fun to leave their hardships for a few treasured hours, it could not last.

"I never want this day to end," Sirius said wistfully as they walked past the guards they had seen earlier in the day, and out the gigantic gates.

"Me either," Remus said sadly. "Back to the washing..."

"And scrubbing," Sirius added.

"And cleaning," Remus continued.

"And cooking."

"And dusting."

"And back to general slavery."

"We're not slaves Sirius," Remus rolled his eyes.

"Speak for yourself," Sirius said indignantly. "I was this close to being forced to wash Snivellus's underwear last week! Do you even kno whow traumatizing that would've been?"

They all laughed.

It wasn't a long walk back to the manor. In fact, it rather felt like it went by much too quickly. It was a nice night out, and the stars seemed especially bright. The cool air was filled with the sounds of tired, yet cheerful conversations and laughter from the other peasants who were also returning to their homes.

"They seem rather cozy, don't they?" Sirius whispered to Remus as he jerked his head at Lily and James, who were walking a ways behind them. James was telling her a story enthusiastically and she was laughing so hard that she had to lean against him for support. Remus grinned at them for a moment before he replied in a low voice, "Looks like someone's got a little crush on our dear old James."

Sirius glanced back at them. "You think so?" he mused. "What about James?"

Remus shrugged. "James is literally the most oblivious person on the planet. I dunno - give it time."

Sirius agreed. Lily's tinkling laughter rang in the air again and he smiled. Lily would be the perfect match for James, wouldn't she? They balanced each other out flawlessly. In areas where he was rebellious, her rule-abiding side would keep him from doing something too stupid. Likewise, he could influence her to let go a bit. When he was angry, her levelheadedness would temper James' rashness. When they were upset, they could cheer each other up like no one else could. In fact, it was such a perfect match, Sirius wondered why it hadn't happened yet.

"I give it a month," he said confidently to Remus, who let out a short laugh.

"A month?" he chuckled. "Yeah, maybe if James stops pining over the princess, he'll finally notice Lily's perfect for him. But it won't be a month Sirius. I guarantee you it'll be at least five months."

"Five?" Sirius cried. "That's ridiculous. You don't know what you're talking about - I guarantee you that it'll be a month."

A/N: Hello! If you're reading this that means you got through Chapter 1 so wow I love you for that. I got a few lovely reviews from the last chapter and I seriously love you guys so much for reviewing you don't even know! :D I get this huge, goofy grin on my face every time I get a review email lol. I don't want to waste your time so I won't start gushing about how nice your reviews were.

So I just wanted to thank you all for reading! and *fssquiggles* I did use the name Carvahall from Eragon as my inspiration for Parvahal lol I know, I'm so original =P That's great that you picked up on that! :D

Thanks to my wonderful, wonderful beta Pointless Nostalgic who is the reason this is even readable.

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize... not mine lol. James, Lily, Parvahal, Ombra... Major inspiration from Inkheart by Cornelia Funke.

I think that's all I have to say. Please PLEASE review seriously, they make my life. :) And don't forget! Adding to Favorites/Alerts and then not reviewing = pains in my chest.

Next Chapter: Mr. Petracelli