The morning post arrived in the Great Hall just as the Marauders were finishing their breakfast. Lily, Jess and Rachel had a little food left, not being as talented at gobbling as the boys were, but stopped eating as Remus picked up the Daily Prophet, that had just landed in front of him, and began to read the morning's headlines.
"There have been five more brutal attacks on muggle families in the past two days," he read aloud to the others, "leaving three more Hogwart's students orphaned."
"What?" Lily asked. She was so shocked by the news that she could barely contemplate Remus' words.
He continued reading in attempts to elaborate for her. "The school's headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, has expressed his deepest sympathies for those students who have lost loved ones, but assures us that those individuals who are grieving will be in the best of care whilst attending the school."
"Let's hope so," Sirius mumbled, "I'm not sure anywhere is safe anymore."
"This isn't the first attack on a muggle family or the first loss of a student at the school," Remus continued, "Only four months ago, a muggle-born girl attending the school lost her parents."
"Cara," James whispered.
"The Ministry of Magic is now convinced that these murders are directly linked to the dark wizard, Voldemort, and his followers- widely known as Death Eaters. It seems evident that this psycho-serial menace is still at large and a very grave threat to the wizarding world, as we know it. Something must be done," Remus concluded.
He slowly folded the paper and placed it in the centre of the table. The rest of the group sat in silence as they tried to process the recent news. It appeared that a number of other students around the hall had received a copy of the Daily Prophet too. They also sat in solemnity.
"Too right something must be done," James stated with clenched teeth, attempting to withhold his anger.
"But what can be done?" Sirius questioned.
James responded hopelessly, "I don't know."
Having lost their appetites, Rachel and Jess gently placed their spoons back in their bowls and pushed them away. Peter looked to James for reassurance but none came. Sirius maintained a silence that seemed foreign to him. Remus looked around the hall, slowly absorbing the fear that filled the atmosphere like a thick fog. At the head table, Dumbledore had risen as if to say something, immediately catching Remus' eye.
Lily thought of her parents.
The rest of the Marauders followed Remus' gaze to listen as Dumbledore addressed the school.
"May I have everyone's attention please," Dumbledore began.
"I can't listen to this," Lily sobbed as she raced out of the hall. She'd already heard enough.
The hallways became a blur as Lily ran through one after another. She wasn't sure where she was going. All she knew was that she needed to escape- to be as far away from the Great Hall as possible. Blinded by her tears, which flowed heavily, she bumped into the corners she turned and the armour she passed, until her breath gave up on her and she fell to the floor attempting to catch it.
Exhaustion had set it- physical and emotional. Just as she thought she couldn't take it anymore, she heard racing footsteps approaching her. As they grew closer they started to slow. Lily chose not to lift her head to see who it was. She was a mess and refused to allow anyone to see her this way.
"Lily," James said quietly. "Lil?"
She didn't want to cry like this. Not in front of him. Not in front of anyone. She hated appearing so vulnerable. But he didn't care. Carefully, James knelt down beside her and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist.
"What is it? What's wrong?" he asked her, concern etched on even his tiniest features. "Is it the article?"
Lily decided to look at him and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"I…I just…I just can't bear to think of all these muggle attacks. It's getting worse, James. My parents! They're muggles. I'm muggle-born. So many deaths. What if they're next? What if I wake up one morning to see their names on the front of the newspaper?"
A fresh batch of tears engulfed her as she buried her head into the crook of James' neck, desperately seeking a comfort she wasn't sure even he could provide.
"Shh, shh. Don't worry, Lily. They're safe, ok? If something had happened you'd know about it. We'll sort it out. We'll find a way to keep them safe. Just try to calm down," James said in attempts to relax her.
Lily clutched his robes tightly. "I can't, James. I'm so worried. I feel…I feel so helpless. We have to do something. I have to help them."
She gently pushed away from him and quickly rose to her feet.
"We have to do something now!" she bellowed as she started down the hallway.
"Lil," James called to her, "Lily wait! Where are you going?"
"To pack," she replied and continued marching towards her dorm room.
"Look, Lily. I know Voldemort is a huge threat but there is nothing you can do right now," James tried to reason with her.
"Well I have to try," she responded hotly.
James sighed in resignation. Why was she so stubborn? Ok, it was one of the things that he loved about her most. He wouldn't have her any other way. But it was so darn difficult to be with her when she was like this.
"Ok. If you have to do something then at least let me help you," he compromised with her.
"Ok," she whispered.
Hesitantly, James asked, "Can I make a suggestion?"
A little reluctantly, Lily replied, "Ok."
"Can we go and see Dumbledore about this before we do anything rash? Can we at least talk this through with him? He might be able to help," James explained.
Lily looked a little dubious but agreed anyway, "I…I guess so."
"Ok," he continued, taking her hand in his own, "we'll go and find him as soon as breakfast is over, when he's back in his office."
Lily still appeared to look defeated but a little more hope shone through her tears.
"Ok, James. And thank you," she stated, simply.
He slowly leaned his forehead against her own and said, "Not a problem," before softly kissing her on the head.
Dumbledore had been most understanding when Lily and James had finally got to see him. He'd assured them that he'd do everything in his power to share Lily's concerns with the ministry and encourage them to monitor the families of muggle-born students in attempts to keep them safe. Letters were to be sent to all parents explaining this dark threat and informing them of the severity of the situation. It appeared that Lily wouldn't be leaving the school anytime soon. Dumbledore maintained that it would be far more sensible for her to stay safe within the school walls and to allow professional Aurors from the ministry to bodyguard her parents.
After the meeting, Lily felt a little more at ease but deep concern was still in the back of her mind.
As she and James walked through the halls on the way to their first class of the day, he gently lifted her hand to his lips, softly kissed it, and offered her a small smile. She returned it effortlessly. How was it that even in a time such as this he could still make her feel wonderful and completely safe with just a smile?
Unfortunately, Lily's smile soon turned to a frown when she saw Cara approaching in the opposite direction, looking withdrawn and preoccupied. She hadn't spoken to Cara since before Christmas and, with recent news, Lily was concerned for her friend's well being. Before the Christmas holidays, it had seemed that Cara was finally starting to come to terms with the death of her parents. These latest attacks can't have been easy for her to hear about.
"Hi Cara," Lily greeted her.
Cara looked a little startled by Lily's sudden address.
"Oh, hi Lily," she replied.
"Are you ok?" Lily asked.
Cara smiled a little forlornly before answering. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" she questioned.
"It's just," James explained, "with all the recent attacks and everything we were worried that it would bring back a lot of painful memories for you."
"Well," Cara began, "I can't deny that when I first heard about it all I was a little upset. If I'm being wholly honest, the death of my parents is something that I'm still coming to terms with. But I'm ok. I have moments where I need to cry or go somewhere quiet to clear my head, but I'm getting through. You don't need to worry. Thanks for caring though."
"Ok. Well, I'm glad you're ok," Lily responded, "but if you ever want to voice some of those thoughts to someone, or you need a shoulder to cry on, then don't hesitate to come to me. I'm always here for you."
"Thanks Lily. I'll remember that. Seya around," she said as she turned the corner and headed to her first class of the day.
"Bye," Lily and James replied in unison.
"I wish I could be as strong as she is," Lily mumbled to James.
"You are," he assured her. "It's just different for you. Cara's got nothing left to lose now. All she can do is stay strong. You, on the other hand, have everything to lose. Your parents aren't dead yet. And we're going to make sure they stay that way. It's only human for you to be scared, Lily. Come on, let's get to class."
Professor McGonagall called Lily and James to her office just as morning classes ended. It was time to discuss their task, as head boy and girl, for the second term.
"So, it is your duty to help organise a duelling championship for the end of term festivities. The championship will be an inter-house event. You are required to finalise the date for the event, decorate the Great Hall appropriately, put into effect the necessary safety procedures, design an award for the winner and organise a celebratory party for after the winner is announced. I think that covers everything you need to know," McGonagall explained and then asked, "Is it all quite clear?"
"I think so," Lily said.
"You said 'winner', professor," James began, "Does that mean an individual winner or is it an entire school house that wins?"
"An individual will win the award itself. However, the four houses will have the opportunity to win house points. The winner will be awarded 200 house points; second place will receive 100 house points and third place 50. As you can probably see, Mr Potter, if one house alone was to put forward contestants of such a high standard that they ranked in all of the top three places, that house would be awarded the full 350 points. A lead like that would surely result in that house winning the house cup for the entire school year. Let us hope that the champion and cup shall both belong to Gryffindor, eh?" She elaborated.
"Of course, professor," James agreed, smiling.
"Erm…professor?" Lily said.
"Yes, Miss Evans."
"I was wondering, are James and I allowed to compete?" she asked.
"Yourself and Mr Potter may compete in the tournament, so long as you don't take advantage of the knowledge you'll no doubt have regarding the construction of the rules and safety regulations put in place. However, I would suggest that you strongly consider not taking part. Although it is a great shame to lose two of Gryffindor's most gifted students, I'd rather that be the case then have to deal with the constant ridicule our house is bound to face if one of you were to win the competition. So, as head of Gryffindor house, I think it best that you two don't compete. But the choice shall remain yours," she stated.
"We'll keep that in mind," James assured her.
"And who will be judging the competition, professor?" Lily inquired.
"Ah, well the judges include myself, Professor Slughorn, Professor Dumbledore, of course, and the Minister of Magic himself. It is an important wizarding event; so don't let the school down. You two need to pull off something spectacular here. I have every faith in your abilities. After your success in throwing last year's Christmas Ball, this should be effortless for you. Good luck."
"Thank you, professor," James said as he and Lily rose to exit her office.
"Oh, and Miss Evans," McGonagall called, "Professor Dumbledore has informed me of your concerns for your family. He asked me to assure you that it is all in hand. In fact, the ministry are to send teams of Aurors out to the families that they feel to be in danger. Your family are on the list and a defence squad should be with them as soon as tomorrow morning."
" Really!" Lily asked in bewilderment, "Oh, thank you. Thank you so much."
"And if there is the slightest hint of trouble, your family will be moved to a safe house immediately. I hope that you may now put your mind at ease. Especially now that you have this competition to plan," she paused to smile at the pair and continued, "You may go."
And so they did.
"Hey. Watch this," Sirius demanded, "Prongs, Moony, watch this."
The two boys readily gave Sirius their attention as he snuck behind a bush and secretly transformed into his dog form. He emerged at a sprint and headed in the direction of a group of first year girls. They screamed as Sirius playfully nipped at their ankles and bared his teeth to have total impact. It was only when Professor McGonagall approached from the Grand Entrance that Sirius ceased his antics and sprinted into the forbidden forest to transform back into a human.
When he re-emerged Remus and James were both in hysterics. They were sat beneath a particularly nice willow tree by the side of the lake enjoying their lunch break.
"Padfoot, you are insane," James explained. "Don't you know those girls are too young for you."
"Ha, ha, Prongs," Sirius muttered sarcastically.
"You should have seen McGonagall's face," James continued, "when she saw you escaping she was fuming. She has absolutely no clue where you could have come from."
James continued laughing.
"Well I wasn't going to stick around, was I?" Sirius said, laughing himself.
"I hope you didn't give any of those poor girls your fleas," Remus said with a wink.
"Look, I don't have fleas!" Sirius shouted.
"Ew! Sirius has fleas?" Jess screamed
Lily, Jess and Rachel had just walked across the school grounds to meet the boys by the side of the lake.
"Of course I don't," Sirius told her, "They were just joking, that's all. I'm still 100 kissable."
"Well," Jess began, "it's better to be on the safe side. I think I'll sit way over here." She pointed in the opposite direction to where Sirius stood.
"Fine," he huffed grumpily. He then folded his arms tightly across his chest and sat roughly on the grass.
"Oh come on mate," James said, "Jess won't hold it against you."
"And what makes you think that I care what she thinks?" Sirius asked pompously.
Remus just smirked and answered, "Oh, just an inkling."
James laughed loudly as Lily came and sat by him. Rachel went to join Jess.
"Hi," Lily said softly to James.
"Hi," he replied. "How are you feeling now?" He asked whilst wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
"Better," she answered honestly, "Much better."
"I'm glad to hear that," James stated and tenderly kissed her on the cheek.
"Hey Remus," Rachel shouted over to him, "How did you find the quiz in Potions this morning?"
"Oh, it was ok. I think I did pretty well," he answered.
"Well, you always do," she complimented him.
"I thought it was rather easy," Lily added. "Professor Slughorn chose some really interesting topics to quiz us on. It was quite nice of him really."
"Well, as Slughorn's favourite student, you, my love, are bound to think so," James continued. "I, on the other hand, thought the quiz was dreadful."
Sirius laughed.
"It was not," Lily argued.
"Yes it was," James smiled back at her.
"Was not," she shot back.
"Was t-"
"Quit it you guys!" Jess shouted.
"I wonder what Wormtail thought of the quiz. He hates Slughorn's class." Sirius stated.
"Where is Peter?" Lily asked them.
"He's been absent a lot lately. Do you think he's ok?" Remus asked everyone but looked to James in particular.
James noticed this and answered, "I'm sure he's fine. I'll chat to him tonight and make sure though. Just in case."
"Well, well, well," a cold voice interrupted their discussion. "What a lovely sight- Potter and the mudblood! I bet she's only good for one thing."
"What did you just say!" James shouted, rising to his feet.
"James don-" Lily started.
"Take that back, Malfoy," James continued, "Or I'll hex you into the beyond."
"I'd like to see you try. In fact, let's see who's the better dueller right now."
"Let's," James agreed.
"James stop this," Lily said more loudly.
"Shut up Mudblood," Snape spat. Wherever Malfoy went, he wasn't far behind.
"Come on Snivellus. Let's duel too. You and me," Sirius joined in.
"Enough of this," Remus began. "Malfoy, Snape," he nodded at both in acknowledgement, "Why don't you two disappear? If you want to have this duel so much then we can organise a more suitable time and place, but not now. We need a setting where we can really show off our abilities. You know, without any interference from teachers."
"Oh, but then I'd have to miss the look on her face when I split her boyfriend's chest open," Lucius spat.
"James," Lily gasped.
"Stay back, Lily," he shouted at her.
"How touching," Snape stated, sarcasm dripping in his tone.
"Just back off," Remus repeated.
"Very well," Lucius agreed. "We can have this little duel at a more…appropriate time. But listen to me, Potter. You're going to wish you were never born by the time I'm finished with you. I'll be sending you to the hospital wing in a matchbox. Come along, Severus."
The two Slytherins turned and headed back into the school, cackling.
"What did you do that for, Moony? We could have taken them easy. And wiped that smile of his face. How dare he talk about Lily that way!" James shouted.
"You want to know why I did it, James?" Remus explained. "It's because I was actually listening to your girlfriend, something that you clearly need to do. She was terrified Prongs. I didn't want Lily, or Jess and Rachel, to have to witness a huge fight. They weren't kidding around. They meant business. And if we want to stand a chance of beating them in a duel, we need to do some serious preparation."
"Ok, ok. I get it," James responded. "I'm sorry. Thanks for looking out for her. I shouldn't have got so angry. I just hate it when they talk about Lily that way. She's too special for that."
"I know how you feel, mate. But putting your life in danger isn't going to make her feel any better," Remus concluded.
"Alright, alright. Now that Moony's put a dampener on that bit of fun, let's go and prepare for the actual event. And find Peter along the way," Sirius commented.
"We have a class in five minutes, doofus," Jess said.
"Oh, yeah. I guess I just got caught up in all the excitement, or something," Sirius stated, blushing slightly.
"Let's get them over with then," Remus said.
The gang picked up their bags and started to follow the crowds of students who were all heading indoors for the start of afternoon lessons. Lily hung back wanting some time alone, but James waited for her.
"Come on Lils," he said, hurriedly.
He reached out his hand for hers but she didn't take it.
"I don't like this, James. This stupid arrangement with Malfoy and Snape is dangerous. He'll kill you if he gets the chance," she whispered.
"Ha, kill me? I don't think so. Malfoy kill the great James Potter? Not a chance. Listen, you've got nothing to worry about."
Once again he reached out to her but she backed away.
"What?" James asked, clearly confused.
"I can't be around you right now," Lily answered, "Just leave me alone, ok?
"But Lily," James began.
"No 'buts', James. I've had enough of this conflict with the Slytherins. I hate Malfoy as much as the next person but I don't get pleasure out of hexing him into oblivion."
"He insulted you," James explained, exasperated.
"I don't want to hear it. Just leave me alone for a while," she requested.
James looked annoyed but asked, "For how long?"
"For as long as it takes for you to deflate that ego of yours…again!"
And she walked away.
AN: Ok, so i found some inspiration from somewhere. Thank to those of you that reviewed. It really meant a lot so here's a shout out to...
Goodman- thanks for your support. I always thought that Lily and James would still bicker a lot even when they were going out. Glad you like that.
Crafty- for background info on how James and Lily got together then you can read the prequel to this story, if you haven't done so already. Hope it explains a lot more.
Darkdestiny2000- I'm so glad you liked the prequel. I only hope that this one can live up to it. So yeah, i included the Marauders and Snape and Malfoy in this chapter. I hope it isn't too much to digest in one go. Oh, and Lily has met the Potters. I just didn't write it in detail because i was struggling for a good way to write it in detail. Lazy, i know, but i hope you still got an impression of what they thought of her.
I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I'm trying to get back into writing lengthier chapters again. Please, please, please review and let me know what you think so far. I'm really excited to hear what you all think.
All the best,
VIP x