"You'd have thought Black and Potter were brothers!" chimed in Professor Flitwick. "Inseparable!"
"Potter!" someone shouted just behind him.
James turned around hastily, quickly plastering a smirking grin on his face. "Yes?" he questioned innocently.
"I know you did this Potter," the man said as he shoved a doorknob in front of James's face. Even as the man said it he gave the doorknob a squeeze and it squealed "ow!"
James laughed. "Charmed a detached doorknob Filch? I don't recall doing any such thing."
"Mark my words Potter. I will get you for this one!" Filch, the caretaker said, raged.
"Not much punishment for bewitching one simple doorknob is there?" James asked smugly.
"The entire third floor is covered in doorknobs that scream in pain when someone turns them Potter. And I will see to it that you are punished." James said nothing but laughed once more.
"Brilliant prank whoever pulled that one off," he said.
"Where were you this morning Potter?" Filch asked. It amazed James how no matter what Filch was saying, even when merely discussing the weather, his tone sounded threatening. Not an intimidating threat of course, but threatening none the less.
Before James could reply a voice popped up behind him. "He was with me all morning," a voice, now next to him, said as someone threw their arm around James's shoulder.
"Right you are Sirius," he said, his grin widening as they both looked at Filch. "Together all morning we were."
"Then it bloody must have been the both of you," Filch shouted at them, once again waving the doorknob in front of their faces. The poor thing was wailing in pain before Filch finally stopped squeezing.
"Once again," James said, running his free hand through his hair, "I don't recall bewitching any doorknobs this morning. Do you Padfoot?" he sincerely questioned of his best mate.
"Not that I remember," Sirius replied without a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"It was you boys! I know it," Filch added, but he sounded slightly resigned.
"You have no proof," James pointed out, and Filch began to grumble.
"I'll catch you," he stated, shaking the unfortunate doorknob once more. "I will catch you."
"Can't catch us if we've done nothing wrong," Sirius responded innocently, using his arm around James to steer the latter in the other direction towards the great hall.
"Let's have some lunch, shall we Prongs?" Sirius questioned, taking his arm off of James.
"Most certainly Padfoot," James replied smugly, and the two of them headed off down to the Great Hall, laughter breaking out the moment they turned the corner.
"Where have you two been?" Peter asked as James and Sirius took seats across from him and Remus.
"Just getting into some trouble," Sirius grinned.
Someone snorted on the other side of them.
"Hey there Evans," James said smiling at her.
"James," she said before turning back to the book she was reading.
"What are you reading?" he asked.
"Pride and Prejudice," she responded without looking up.
"And what are you doing Saturday?" he asked.
"Not going out with you," she replied grinning, but still looking down at her book.
"One day you will give in Lily. And we will go on a date," he said to her, causing her to look at him with her green eyes. His breath caught before her eyes shifted to the right of him.
"Add that to the tally will you?" she asked, grinning at Sirius.
"What tally?" James asked looking back and forth between Lily and Sirius.
Instead of responding to him Sirius just smirked and said, "Sure thing Lily."
"What tally?" James repeated.
Lily and Sirius both ignored him, Lily turning back to her book and Sirius grabbing a muffin from the bowl in front of him.
"What tally are they talking about?" he asked again turning to Peter and Remus, hoping they could provide some insight. The two of them, however, merely shrugged before returning to their breakfast, leaving James completely uncertain about what Lily and Sirius could possibly have been talking about.
Deciding to change the topic and force an explanation out of Sirius later, James turned to Remus. "Brilliant idea you gave us over the summer," James grinned, sharing a glance with Sirius.
"What did you to do?" Remus questioned, exasperated.
"Just flawlessly executed one of your accidental ideas," Sirius replied grinning. "Much to the dismay of our esteemed caretaker."
"Honestly you two," Remus appeared upset all of a sudden. "Terrorizing Filch! It's been a week. You could have at least waited a bit," and without another word he was out of the hall before any of them could say 'Quidditch.'
Looking only a little bit shameful, Sirius put down his toast. "You reckon he was right?" he questioned.
"Maybe a bit," James looked at the exit to the hall, looking a bit put off.
"I wouldn't worry too much about it," Peter chimed in, still thoroughly enjoying his toast, "you know how he gets this time of the…" he paused considerably quick, ducking under the glares of James and Sirius. The three of them chanced a glance at Lily and to their dismay; she was peering at them curiously.
"You know, I suppose Remus is the only one who can make any of you feel guilty," she stated, although the three remaining Marauders would have bet all of the money in the Potter's vault that she wanted to say something else.
"Right you are," Sirius replied, picking his toast back up. Lily frowned at the thought, but figured it was at least healthy for them to feel some sort of guilt sometimes, and so she said no more on the matter. Each turned back to their meal, the silence only interrupted by Peter muttering something about finishing his Charms essay they had been assigned after the first lesson.
"Do you need help?" James asked.
"No. Thanks Prongs, but I only have the conclusion," and he hastened out of the hall. James nodded and turned back to his eggs, never noticing, as Sirius did, that Lily was staring at him with a smile on her face.
The Sixth Year Gryffindor's all elected to take Defense Against the Dark Arts, having all received E's and O's on their O.W.L.'s. It was the first lesson of the third day of classes, and fortunately, it was a double with the Ravenclaw's. Unfortunately, however, it was now to be taught by everyone's most despised Professor. Not even harboring a soft spot for the Slytherin's, Professor Mortiar was set on making every student as miserable as possible. He was often on the receiving end of the Marauders pranks, and was tied with the caretaker Filch on who had given the group more detentions. Early on he had received tips on what they were up to from a certain Slytherin, but as he never changed his favor for the student, the tips moved on to more appreciative receivers. Nonetheless, he caught them enough times. He had a stout stature, thick arms, and a grouchy face. He was not short by any means, but was usually slightly hunched over, making him appear shorter than he was. He had taught Ancient Runes for the past fifteen years, and most students wondered how he had been employed so long, with his disdain for children, and his hatred for most things in general. This year, he was given the post of Defense teacher, to the surprise of few. In fact, most had their theories on whether he was just a grouchy old man, or a death eater. Whatever his situation, none were looking forward to having him for what had once been their favorite class.
The group of Gryffindor Sixth Years walked in together, looking around for seats, noticing that the professor was currently absent. Their search was interrupted by a greeting shouted to one of their members. "Hi there James." The shout came from Terry Bonheur, a leggy brunette who currently had the front of her robes open to reveal that her skirt was hiked up just a couple of extra inches. Of French descent, Terry, short for Theresa, strongly disliked her name, strongly liked her nickname, and even more strongly liked the attention of boys.
"Mademoiselle," James responded, bowing his head in her direction, but not really giving her a second look as he sat down next to Sirius at a table in the middle of the room. The moment everyone had entered the room, the shades shut and the lights dimmed. Students immediately jumped into their seats as the cold gaze of Professor Mortiar swept across the room.
"This will not do," he said grimly, his eyes resting on James and Sirius, as if wishing he could give them detention through sheer force of will. "You are each to sit with a member of the opposite house. You have one minute to switch your seating arrangements. Go."
There was a quick scurry, the end results of which did not fare too well. In the dim lighting and rushing around, few were happy with the results. Despite the lack of animosity between houses, there were, of course, certain people that would rather sit with certain others. No one wanted to risk moving after they settled for fear of a detention, so the results remained. Terry Bonheur, intent on sitting with James, found herself one table off, sitting next to a shocked Peter Pettigrew. Sirius Black thought he fared well enough, sitting next to a cute girl he barely knew. Marlene had tried in vain to set next to Mark McKinnon, but he was paired now with James. She instead, was sitting next to a shy looking girl that kept shooting glances and Sirius. Remus found himself sitting next to a girl who had used him in third year to get closer to Sirius. Alice was sitting next to a bloke with a no nonsense attitude. Mary was sitting next to a boy who looked like he would rather have been paired with Marlene, despite the looks her and Mark were giving each other. And Lily was sitting next to the ex-girlfriend of none other than Heath Gradestone.
"Excellent then," Professor Mortiar turned away from the group. Today we will be practicing defensive skills, and figuring out what level you are each at." He had everyone stand up before clearing the tables and chairs. It was an exhausting lesson, as even the best of them were forced to continue practicing until the very end of the lesson.
"Some of you have a lot of work to do it you wish to pass my class," he said to them as they fled the classroom.
"You know what the worst part is," Marlene said once they were out of ear shot.
"What's that?" Mark questioned, having followed the group out.
"Even as much as I cannot stand him as a Professor, I always feel like I learn something with him. Like he pushes my limits. It's infuriating."
"I know what you mean," Lily added in. "It always felt that way in Ancient Runes."
"You know," Remus input reasonably, "the world isn't made up of good people and those calling themselves Death Eaters. There's good and bad in everybody."
"Tell that to my family," Sirius muttered.
A pause in the conversation ensued before Mark cleared his throat awkwardly. "Right, well some just have a bit more bad than others." Then, with a quick change of conversation he rushed out, "Marlene do you have a second before class?" They had now reached the Charms classroom, the location of the Gryffindor's next class, and the group collectively stopped and stared at him. He blushed, but only very slightly before Marlene responded in the affirmative and the group slowly trudged into the classroom.
As everyone was probably thinking, it was discovered that Mark had a free period and had followed them with the sole purpose of asking Marlene out. She accepted in the two minutes before class began and he left with a smile. Marlene walked into the classroom, a smile on her face and rushed over to fill in the other girls, all negative thoughts of Professor Mortiar out of their minds.
Most Sixth Years had entered the school year with high hopes. Still running off the high from having finished their O.W.L's, and knowing that N.E.W.T. exams were two school years away, they had visions of a nice, relaxing beginning to sixth year before all of the hard work was piled on. They were wrong. You would have thought the exams were coming up next month the way the teachers piled on the lessons and the homework. Lily was just barely balancing homework, prefect duties, and her social life. She was at the library late, the Friday of the first week, checking out several books at closing time. After being forcefully told she needed to leave for the third time, she heaved her now full bag onto her shoulder and began making her way to the Gryffindor Tower. On her way back she encountered, coming back from the Owlery and smelling strongly of a barn, none other than James Potter. He fell into step next to her and they engaged in an easy, flowing conversation.
James could not help but notice that Lily kept shifting her bag as though it was heavy and bothering her. He longed to take it from her, sling it over his own shoulder, and have a chivalrous moment. Then he remembered hearing she had accepted a date with Heath Gradestone, and almost immediately began to scowl. "Do you want to get something from the kitchens?" he asked suddenly, cutting off her story about how Sirius had accidentally started the curtains in the Common Room on fire the night before.
"Oh," she pondered for a moment. "Sure, but only if they have cake."
"They always have cake," he grinned. They spun around and headed back down the hallway. They stepped on a staircase and were almost halfway down when it started to move. Lily continued the story she had been telling, and James had to hold on to the railing for support as the stairwell shuddered to a stop. Lily fell slightly against him, and James found himself thinking he had quite a bit of restraint to merely prevent her fall without making any sort of a move.
"Thank you," she said, switching her bag to her other shoulder. Finally deciding to heck with Heath Gradestone, James grabbed her bag from her and purposefully put it on his own shoulder.
"James," she said, "you don't have…"
"Shut up Lily," he replied, and they both grinned.
Their trip to the kitchens was short. Lily's heavy bag sat on the ground next to them, giving both their shoulders a rest, and the two ate pieces of chocolate cake, now talking about their summers. Lily kept making a face as though she wanted to say something, but every time the expression was quickly covered and the topic would quickly change to a story about how she convinced Petunia she was making a potion to awaken spirits in the middle of their kitchen while their parents were grocery shopping. James relayed to her the story of how Sirius, knowing perfect French, but no Portuguese, thought he could figure out the language, and almost accidentally sold James' parents vacation home in the Bahamas. The two then left the kitchens, Lily's bag over James' shoulder once more, with profuse thanks to the house elves who bowed them out. They began to hurry back to the Common Room, it almost being time for curfew. The two had barely set out when Lily finally put a hand on James' arm stopping him.
"James, we never really talked about last year. What happened after the exam and all…"
"We don't have to," James replied, knowing this conversation was coming eventually, and leaning against the wall.
"I just…I was pretty rude to you. I wanted to say I'm sorry."
James waved her away. "Lily honestly, there's no need. I was being a prick and you called me out on it. That's all there is to it."
She smiled at him and gave him a quick shove. "Trust you to try and turn a moment I've been dreading all week into something you just brush off."
"I'm not brushing you off," he replied instantly, pushing himself off the wall.
"I didn't mean you were brushing me off," Lily pushed her hair behind her ear and James pushed away the image of him doing that very thing. "I meant I've been thinking all week about apologizing to you for it and here you are not even concerned."
James stared with shock. Was she sincerely trying to apologize to him? "Lily," he started slowly, trying to think of what exactly to say, "I'm brushing off your apology because you have nothing to apologize for. I'm not always the nicest person. I know that. And Snivel…Snape, well he brings out the worst in me. And you're always there to see it." He murmured that last part and despite having heard it, Lily wasn't sure if it was meant for her ears. She was searching for something kind to say but he began speaking again. "I don't think I could ever really apologize to him. Snape I mean. We're just too far deep on opposite sides. And I know I've been cruel to him and others. Not just mean, or picking on them, but really actually cruel, but…" he trailed off, running his hand threw his hair, thinking back to the situation with Sirius and his family. "But I've seen firsthand what cruelty can do, and what happens if it goes too far and I, I just can't do that anymore. So I guess I'm sorry Lily." He could feel his arrogance and built up walls crumbling as he spoke, and for a moment he felt defeated. He thought on some of the worse things he had done; things that had once made him laugh that now just made him feel remorseful. "I'm trying to change," he whispered.
He didn't know if it was what he said, or how he said it, or what exactly had just transpired but he suddenly felt Lily's arms around him. He breathed her in for a moment, afraid to return the hug in case she pulled back, but when she did not he pulled his arms out from under hers and wrapped them around her. He really wasn't sure why they were hugging, or why, after she apologized to him, he unloaded an apology for the things he had done onto her. All he knew was that it felt right. It all felt right.
"What changed this summer James?" she questioned, her voice muffled by his robes.
He thought back to the last several years, whispered conversations between his parents about the growing war, thinking someone had turned traitor only to find they were under the Imperius. He thought about not being able to vacation at their house in Bulgaria anymore, his parents claiming the lawn was infested with gnomes that had to be cleared out, knowing that it was because they Bulgarian embassy had turned its back on England's in an effort to spare themselves losses. He thought about the cold chilled feeling he had when his father and him had been going to visit the Harkins only to find a dementor had been there first. And he thought more recently of Sirius, standing in his doorway with two bags, a black eye forming and blood coming from a cut on his upper arm. "Everything," he whispered, his thoughts dark and swirling, "everything changed." He was not surprised when he choked up while speaking. Lily did not respond, she merely hugged him tighter before pulling away and looking at him. She looked like she wanted to say something. Like all deep and meaningful conversations should continue on that way until the two parties tire of talking about all of the dark things in the world. But that is not how life works. Instead of opening a discussion about the bad things that were out there, they were interrupted by the real thing.
"Well, well well," a mocking, sneering voice came from down the hallway. The voice was coming from behind James and he instinctively turned around half shielding Lily while putting his hand on his wand and dropping her bag to the ground. The forms of Bellatrix Black, Avery and Mulciber came into view as they stepped out of the shadows of the hallway. "I always knew you had a thing for Potter, Mudblood." Bellatrix had her black hair piled on top of her head in a mess, and somehow that only made her look more intimidating. "Wait until the whole school hears about this."
Most girls would have shrunk back and stepped a little further behind James. But Lily did not. She stepped up to James' side and regarded Bellatrix coolly. "Imaging then how the rumors will fly when I tell the school about this peculiar threesome." She moved her gaze to both Avery and Mulciber before turning her gaze back to the female.
Bellatrix's smile fell, but only slightly. "What's the matter?" Lily questioned. "Afraid Rodolfus will find out?" James saw Bellatrix's hand twitch and he gripped his wand tighter. He wasn't really sure what came over Lily. She was never like this. She always walked away. What was she doing?
"Guess I'm not the only one that's changed," he whispered to her before his voice was overtaken by Mulcibers.
"Enough of the petty school drama," he took a step closer to James and Lily, "You might feel all high and mighty here, prefect," he said the word mockingly and James felt his anger flaring up, "but outside these walls you are nothing." His eyes flickered beyond Lily and James and his offensive stance immediately relaxed into a casual standing position. "Don't ever forget that," he said, this time much quieter. The three of them then turned and left, James and Lily momentarily wondering what made them just walk away when they heard breathing behind them.
"Everything alright?" one of their favorites, Professor Morgum questioned, his gaze following the backs of the three Slytherin's as they rounded the corner.
"Everything is great," James said, putting an arm around Lily in silent comfort. She could not have taken that interaction well. "Much better now actually."
The Professor was still staring down the dark hallway and seemed to shake himself out of a deep thought when James spoke. He glanced at Lily and James like he wanted to say something, but then his gaze trailed back to the end of the hallway. The two of them turned to look behind them half expecting to see someone still standing at the end of the hallway, but it remained empty. When they turned back Professor Morgum was speaking to them. "You should get back to the dorms. It's getting dark, hmph. Almost curfew."
"Right," James replied and after an almost awkward moment they sidestepped him and headed in the direction of the Gryffindor tower. Upon arrival James and Lily shared a quick look, both wanting to say so much more yet not knowing what to say. They parted hastily, neither relaying what had happened to their friends.