Chapter One: Missing Head Boys and Secret Papers
One year later, Lily Evans is patrolling the halls on Halloween. She hadn't been able to find the Head Boy who was supposed to be doing rounds with her. Unfortunately, when she'd rapped on his door in the Head's Quarters, he'd never responded. She'd opened the door to an empty room, with the usual mess. The bed was unmade, the drawers were hanging open. Schoolwork was strewn everywhere, and Lily had hard time understanding how he lived in a place like that. She always had to have things in order. She couldn't imagine how anyone who'd made it to Head Boy could be so disorganized – but she supposed it didn't matter, he'd made it hadn't he?
Lily sighed and wrapped her hand around her wand in her pocket. She didn't need to be insulted or attacked by any Slytherins like she had the least year. She'd felt weird for a few days after, and she couldn't even imagine what would have happened. Lily Evans was a fairly smart girl, but this just left her feeling dumbfounded. How had they come up with a more complicated spell than she had?
She knocked on the door of a broom closet and stepped back, almost on cue, when a couple who had stupidly been leaning on the door fell out. They scrambled on top of each other, amongst a pile of mops and buckets, and ran in the opposite direction, their cheeks very red. Lily just shook her head and magicked everything back where it went before resuming her rounds. She knew why no one she caught was from Gryffindor – it was the Marauder's fourth annual Halloween Party. Lily had never attended this party, and wasn't planning on starting tonight. She would have to make an appearance just to keep the illegal substances to a minimum. The last thing she needed was points taken off because some silly boys couldn't keep the party from shaking the whole school.
Lily shrugged and pulled her cloak closer to her body. It was a cold night; incredibly cold for Halloween. But she didn't mind. The sooner the snow came, the sooner she'd be able to get out her canvases and paint a portrait of Hogwarts in the wintertime, and she was more than looking forward to that. She bit her lip as she turned the corner, and came face-to-face with none other than the infamous Sirius Black. She knew Black through mutual friends, and although they weren't close, she didn't mind spending time with him; disregarding the fact that almost everything he did was against school rules.
"You look chilly, ma-Lily," Sirius observed, looking Lily up and down. "Where's your boyfriend? He ought to warm you up."
"Nice rhyme . . . and I don't have a clue where Gid is. I'm supposed to meet him when I finish my rounds so as long as he's on time I suppose it doesn't matter," Lily said, smiling slightly at the thought of her boyfriend. He was a Ravenclaw quidditch player. Tall, tan, blonde, but not too sharp-featured. He had windswept hair, and was one of the few seventh year prefects that actually did what she asked him to. Before Lily, he'd had quite the reputation, but she knew that their love had changed that. People change.
"Why are we talking about Lily's man-whore of a boyfriend again?" James asked, popping his head around the corner and shuffling around in his pockets.
"Well now, isn't that just the pot calling the kettle black?" Lily quipped, raising a disgusted eyebrow in James' direction. "Sirius, why must you always have James tagging along? It's not like you need another shadow!"
"Gee, James. I never thought you were quite dark enough to be a shadow. Am I right?" Sirius joked as James shrugged and continued to poke around in his pockets.
"What are you doing there, James? Lost a condom or something of equal importance?" James looked up at Lily and shook his head before resuming his search.
"Its not of any importance to you, so it shouldn't matter," James replied.
"I should be asking you two if you've got any illegal substances on you," Lily said, scanning the boys from head to toe.
"I'll voluntarily allow you to give me a full body scan," Sirius leaned up against the wall, placing his feet shoulder's length apart and his hands raised above his head. "Scan away!"
"You're a pervert!" Lily laughed. "I am not giving you a body scan!"
"Fine, but you're missing out. Now you'll never know what's hidden behind these clothes," Sirius said, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Something tells me that I don't ever want to know," Lily replied.
"Oh! There it is," James muttered, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket.
"Well, the ladies that spend the night in my room screaming my name at the top of their lungs would probably tell you different," Sirius continued, ignoring James.
"What have you got, Potter?" Lily said, eyeing the piece of paper in James' hands.
"Nothing of interest to you, Evans, now why don't you run along, have sex with your man whore of a boyfriend, contract an STD, and leave me alone," James replied. He appeared to be in a more hurried, angry mood than usual. Normally, his insults were minimal, and definitely never hurt her feelings. But by this statement, Lily was taken aback. Mostly because she was still a virgin, and everyone in their right minds knew this. She did have the feeling, however, that she and Gid would be sleeping together soon. "Sirius, let's go."
"Actually, Lily, I was wondering if you could set me up with your friend, Leah?" Sirius was saying, again not listening to anything else that was going on other than what was playing inside his own head.
"Leah is too innocent for you," Lily replied, shaking her head. "Until you get past the mentality of a twelve-year-old, I'm going to say that she's out of your league."
"You're speaking for her then, I presume?" Sirius asked.
"Of course I am! I'd say I know her well enough," Lily replied, nodding.
"Sirius! CAN – WE – GO – NOW?" James elbowed Sirius in the side in a not-so-subtle manner. Sirius whimpered and jumped, surprised at the sudden contact.
"Fine,whatever you say, Potty," Sirius replied.
"Don't call me Potty."
"Don't elbow me in the side."
"Don't you two have a party to run or something?" Lily asked, nodding in the direction of the Gryffindor Tower. They had strayed at least halfway across the castle, which was an odd place for them to be on such an important night for their popularity. If they weren't there to keep the party going, then who would?
"Yeah," James agreed. "We better get back to the party, 'aye Sirius?"
"What? I thought we were –"
"—getting back to the party!" James said forcefully. Grabbing Sirius by the arm. "Bid Miss Evans a goodnight!"
"Ow! Too pushy, Prongs, too pushy," Sirius puffed, as he was dragged away. "I bid you goodnight Miss Evans, and a good morn if I don't see you, and if I miss you in Charms, I bid thee a good noon, and a good eve . . ."
Lily stopped listening, as Sirius was too far down the hall for her to comprehend his final words. That was one of the strangest encounters that she'd ever had, but she couldn't say it was something out of the ordinary. Every encounter with Sirius was, to say the least, interesting. And now he was after her best friend Leah? That was odd. She knew for a fact that Leah was interested in Sirius, but she didn't want Sirius to know. She was afraid that if Sirius wasn't willing to fight for Leah, he'd just sleep with her and leave her like everyone else. And Lily didn't want to see Leah get hurt, after her chain of bad relationships over the past couple of years. It was just getting too much for Lily to bear.
She'd met Leah on the first night of school. She'd gone upstairs to the dormitory, ready to unpack her things and get a long night's rest before attacking the new and interesting magical world during the next day. Lily was a muggle-born, so the wizarding world was a completely new experience. She had no idea what to expect, and everything that happened seemed like a crazy surprise. Who would have ever thought that there'd be candy that actually jumped? Lily couldn't stomach a chocolate frog for years – she couldn't help but think that the frogs were alive in some way.
Lily shuddered a little as she rounded one of the corners and the suit of armor saluted her. It had taken a bit of persuasion, but she'd gotten the suits of armor on her side. Now she could get them to dress up any way that she pleased for the holidays, and she'd gotten them to wear glowing Jack-o-Lanterns on their heads for this Halloween. They hadn't been too thrilled about it when she did it, but they warmed to the idea when they saw how much attention they got when all decked out in holiday attire. Nonetheless, she was still getting accustomed to the live-but-not-really-alive armor that could move but had no one inside.
Anyway, back to her and Leah. Leah had had a hard time making friends over the first few weeks of school, because she was so quiet. She got much more attention of the guys of the opposite sex. Leah was on the verge of exotic looking. She had smooth, light chocolatey skin with deep, honey brown eyes and long, curly black hair which was unmanageable in a good way. Lily, being the bookworm that she was, had a hard time making friends as well. So they'd just bonded together, and in due time, Leah came out of her shell, and Lily had realized how much her and Leah really did have in common. Not only that – but Leah was useful in explaining to Lily how things in the wizarding world worked.
Then, in their third year, they'd met up with their last friend, Ari, in their third year. Ari was the complete opposite of Lily and Leah, so it worked very well. Ari was the party girl. She wasn't afraid to go out and get drunk, and Lily stopped keeping track of the number of guys that Ari had slept with. It took Lily a while to learn not to judge Ari's ways, especially coming from such a strict upbringing. Luckily, however, Ari was always there to pick Lily up when she was feeling low, and always knew exactly what to say. She was the blonde of the group, with a loud mouth, brown eyes, and "forget-it" attitude.
After a few minutes of aimless wandering, Lily decided to make her way up to the Gryffindor Common Room, and try to track down Remus, because he may know why James and Sirius were acting so odd. Besides, she could figure out why, exactly, they were pretending to go to the party that they'd personally planned when they were very obviously headed elsewhere. Lily honestly didn't know why she cared so much about what they were up to – it was probably illegal and against school rules – but today she had a weird feeling about it. She knew that there was something serious going on, and the curious cat in Lily wanted to find out exactly what it was.
She muttered the password and the portrait swung open, revealing music so loud that the stone walls were pulsating. Lily stepped through tactfully, squaring her shoulders and pushing her way through the crowd until she spotted a worn, yet friendly face with medium brown hair and an average frame. He was standing by the food table, sipping a glass of punch and chatting with Peter. Peter noticed her first, and he elbowed Remus, who then waved her over to them.
"What's in your drink?" Lily asked, grabbing the red liquid and smelling it.
"Nothing," Remus screamed, over the music, "its just punch, I swear! We don't spike stuff at this party."
"Oh," Lily pushed the drink back at Remus and leaned up against the wall, crossing her arms. "I don't remember the party being this big last year."
Remus just looked at her funny and shrugged. "It gets a little bigger every year, I suppose."
"Hmmm," Lily said, scanning the room for a certain James Potter and Sirius Black. "Where's the rest of the Fantastic Four?"
"Donno," Remus relied, looking out across the room. "They just took off on a 'short' errand. They've been gone for nearly an hour now."
"That sure is odd." Lily walked over to a random student and grabbed their drink, smelling it.
"Don't be so uptight, Lily," the girl muttered, grabbing it back.
"I'm not uptight, you're underage!" Lily stated, her eyes glancing up at the clock. She realized it was nearly ten o'clock, and time for her to meet Gid down outside the library. They always met outside the library, because that was where she'd met him. They'd both been studying for an exam in Transfiguration, and had decided to team up and work together. Before she knew it, there were sparks flying, and the famous Gideon Primble had asked her on a date. A real date! Lily was a beauty, but she couldn't say that she'd been asked out all that much.
She hurried to the nearest bathroom and leaned over the sink, fixing her hair. She checked the headband that she always wore, to make sure that it was in place, and put some chapstick on. That was the extent of make up that Lily wore. She usually preferred to go natural, because what was the point of having a guy think that you're someone that you aren't? If they think you're beautiful with no alterations, then that is how you know you've found someonespecial, or that's what Lily always believed.
She piled all her stuff back into her clutch, and took one last glance in the mirror before exiting the bathroom. The hallways were still clear of people, mostly because many of them were attending a party of some sort. Lily was feeling in a particularly good mood, as she always did before she met Gid. He seemed like a prince to her. His sparkling blue eyes and the way he wore his hair just so. Lily Evans was lovestruck.
And as usual, Gideon was right on time. She ran up to him and kissed him slowly.
"Hey Gid."
James and Sirius had been sitting outside Dubledore's office for nearly thirty minutes now, and neither of them could figure out where an old man would be going at such a late hour. James was awake and alert, but he couldn't say the same for Sirius, who was slouched up against the cold, stone wall. He kept dozing off, so his head would rest lazily on his shoulder. Many times he would start drooling, and then he would snore so loudly that he would wake himself up. And every time, he would ask James what that loud sound was, and refused to believe that he, himself, had emitted it.
"I wonder what kind of chicks Dumbledore gets," Sirius wondered out loud, stifling a yawn and staring at the gargoyle statue.
"Beats me. He's a pretty talented wizard, so I bet that makes up for his age," James replied, laughing slightly at the thought of Dumbledore with a woman. Somehow he found it hard to see. He'd never saw Dumbledore as being attached to anyone, ever.
"I bet they tickle his chin and call him Father Christmas."
"Why would they call him Father Christmas?" James asked, giving Sirius and odd look.
"Beeeecause he's got a beard?"
"That's disturbing," James said.
There was a moment of silence, before Sirius randomly said, "Does Lily know you two had sex?"
James stared blankly at Sirius for a moment, wishing that he hadn't brought it up. It was something that happened in the past, and none of the Marauders had mentioned it since the night it happened. James didn't like to think about how he'd had something so perfect and then it had just slipped away, like water through his fingertips. It was then that he'd vowed never to care about another girl that much again. So far, it had been working.
"Why the fuck would she know?" James asked. "Have you said something to her?"
"Nuh—uh. Just wondering," Sirius replied.
"Wondering what, Mr. Black?"
Both boys looked up to be greeted by the friendly face of Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore knew of the trouble that the Marauders always caused, yet had taken a liking to them anyhow. Two of them were prefects – James included – and Dumbledore seemed to rather enjoy the pranks that they would play on members of the Slytherin house; whether he was willing to admit it or not.
"I wonder many things," Sirius said, gazing up at the ceiling, "like, why do chocolate frogs jump?"
"That is a very complicated story, which I would tell you, but my gut is telling me that that is not the reason that you've grazed the entrance to my office on this Hallow's Eve," Dumbledore pointed out.
James stood up, and dragged Sirius off of the floor, so that he would not seem rude in front of the Headmaster.
"Sir, I have some evidence for you," James stated, fingering the paper in his left pocket. He'd been anxious about this when he'd found it, and was just itching to share it with someone other than Sirius. Someone who would actually appreciatewhat he'd discovered.
"Ah, well, shall we go up to my office?" Dumbledore asked, tapping the gargoyle three times. This was his way of getting up to his office so that no one knew the password. And the gargoyle was only sensitive to the touch of the Headmaster. James had tried this approach many times, but it had never worked for him, disappointingly enough.
"Yes, sir."
The gargoyle spun open, revealing an intricate set of spiral stairs. He followed the Headmaster up them, with Sirius bringing up the rear. It was a pretty long staircase, and the first time that James had been up it, he'd felt a little nauseous. This was way back in first year, probably the second day of school. He'd just met Sirius, and although his new friend had come from a line of Slytherins, Sirius had despised them and the two eleven-year-olds had planned one of the most hilarious pranks of all time to play on the opposing house.
Needless to say, the Slytherins weren't happy, and although Professor McGonagall had sent them straight to Dumbledore's office for the offense, Dumbledore had had little to say on the matter. He'd advised not to play any more, but had first taken a moment to commend them on their excellent planning and execution. Since then, it was very obvious that none of the four boys had taken the advice offered by Professor Dumbledore back in the very beginning of their time at Hogwarts.
When they reached the office, Dumbledore offered them each a seat and a candy, before crossing the desk to his large, bold chair. He grabbed a chocolate and popped it into his mouth before leaning forward and crossing his long, knobby fingers on top of the desk.
"Now, what would you like to show me?"
James pulled the piece of paper from his pocket. The edges were a little worn, because he'd been anxiously playing with it all night long. Dumbledore examined it, his eyebrows furrowed.
"This is the third offense," Dumbledore stated. "You are not the only one who has brought this to my attention."
"I'm not usually one to rat, but this seemed really serious," James said nervously. He would hate if someone did it to him, so why was he doing it to someone else?
"Yes, it is, indeed. We'll have to take action immediately."
"Yes, sir," James said, standing up.
"Get your things together, James."
"What?" James asked, taken aback.
"I said, get your things."
"Yes, sir."
A/N: Ooooh! A cliffhanger! Review and you'll find out what James just had to tell Dumbledore! Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I always appreciate the encouragement!