A/N: Hey! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out! I've been extremely busy; but today, I've taken the day off, sick, so I thought it would give me a chance to post my latest chapter. Thanks to everyone that has reviewed! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! ~Lavender
Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Potter Universe (I wish I did! ;)), but the stories I am sharing with are are from my own ideas. I own the ideas and the name(s)/place(s) that you do not recognize.
Even Angels Fall
Chapter Three
Discovery
The Dark Lord watched the figure of James Potter slump on the cold dirt path. He strode over to the limp body and kicked it over to its backside.
"Look what we've got ourselves, Lucius, my friend." Voldemort smiled nastily. "Are you ready? Do you feel you've studied enough to play the part?"
A tall man in a black hooded cloak and a silver mask covering his face nodded.
"Yes, Master, I feel I am ready."
Voldemort nodded in return and pulled out a knife.
"Master, for me to impersonate Potter, you must keep him alive," Lucius Malfoy said quickly.
"My, you're a daft this evening, aren't you?" Voldemort sneered. "I'm cutting his hair for the Polyjuice Potion."
Voldemort leaned over James's body and cut his black hair down to the scalp. He then stood up and pulled a hip flask from out of his cloak.
"Drink it," Voldemort commanded, handing the flask and tuft of hair to his servant.
Lucius pulled off his mask and cloak. His silver-blonde hair shone in the waning moon and his pale eyes sparkled maliciously. He took the flask and opened it, added the raven hairs, then drank deeply, draining the flask.
Instantly, Lucius doubled over, writhing. His skin turned pale, then a deep tan color. His legs and arms lengthened and his torso shortened slightly and the muscles tightened. His pale hair then turned to black, as did his eyes, which he noticed his vision was fuzzy, for he now needed glasses.
As quickly as the reaction had started, it stopped, and a spitting image of James now stood erect before the Dark Lord.
"Nice," the dark wizard muttered.
Lucius then disrobed James and changed into them, then took James's small, oval-shaped glasses and placed them on his nose.
"You shall not let anyone know you're not the real James Potter until I give you my word. I will send you a flagon of Polyjuice Potion every night at midnight."
"Yes, Master," Lucius said, his voice now lower, like James's. He bowed low.
"Now go, my friend, there are only a few hours before dawn, and I reckon you'll want to become acquainted with that Mudblood girlfriend of Potter's."
The two wizards laughed before they departed. Lucius headed back to the castle, and Voldemort headed towards the Hogwarts gates, the flaccid figure of James floating eerily behind him.
* * *
Lily awoke with a start from the nightmare she had been having. She tried rolling over and going back to sleep, but to no avail. She got up from her bed and tiptoed out of her dorm, through the common room, and into the sixth year boys' dorm, figuring James would comfort her and help her get back to sleep.
When she pulled back the crimson velvet hangings, she saw James lying there, sleeping soundly.
"James," Lily whispered.
James stirred slightly, then opened his eyes. Lily noticed he looked slightly taken aback that she was standing over her. She then noticed that his eyes softened and eerily roamed over her body beneath the flimsy silk nightgown.
"What is it, Lily, my love?" he whispered.
James moved over and pulled down the covers, inviting her in. Lily accepted gratefully, for she didn't bother to put on a dressing and it was rather cold in the boys' dorm.
"I had a nightmare," she whispered, climbing under the covers and shivering from the heat radiating from James's body.
"It's all okay, Baby," James whispered, wrapping his arms around Lily.
" I love you, James."
"I love you too."
* * *
The next morning, Sirius awoke and dressed, unaware of the time. When he did look at the clock on his bedside table, he saw it was half-past six. He decided to wake up James and ask him some more questions about being in love, as he wasn't sure that what he was feeling with Icilyn was love.
Sirius pulled James' hangings back to find his best friend asleep with a gorgeous redhead in his arms.
Lily opened her eyes and squinted in the sunlight. Her eyes quickly adjusted and she smiled at Sirius, showing her white teeth.
"I had a nightmare," Lily explained, seeing Sirius' raised eyebrows.
"Uh-huh, and that explains why his hands are all over you."
"Believe what you want, Siri, but I really did have a nightmare."
James stirred, opened his eyes and groaned, "Good god, I thought it was just a dream."
Lily rolled over and looked at James.
"What did you think was just a dream?"
"That you were here with me," James said, kissing Lily's forehead. He then looked at Sirius. "What is it you want so early this morning, Sirius?"
"I just wanted to talk to you, but I can wait," Sirius replied.
"I can leave if you want me to," Lily said. "I can go get dressed or something."
"Are you sure?"
"Yep."
Lily got up from James' bed and exited the dorm. Sirius noticed that James' eyes paid special attention to Lily's backside as she walked out of the dorm.
"Lordy, that woman's a fox," James said with an odd tone in his voice. He then turned back to Sirius. "What is it that you want?"
"I wanted to ask you about being in love," Sirius stated.
There's no such thing as being in love, James thought. He knew this was not the answer that Sirius would like to hear, so instead, her said, "You'll just know when you are. It's a wonderful experience. Is there someone you want to tell me about?"
"Well...there's this girl -,"
"Is she hot?"
"Beyond belief," Sirius answered. "She's told me she loves me, but I don't know if I love her. So I was thinking that you would know, since you're madly in love with Lils."
"Have you shagged her?"
"No," Sirius said, slightly put-off. "I wanted to wait until I knew the time was right."
"Sirius, how many girls have you slept with?"
"Um...I don't know..." Sirius answered, slightly taken aback by the question. It was an unspoken rule that the Marauders never asked each other specific personal questions. Even though James and Sirius were the best of friends and told each other everything, they still abided by the rule.
"Let's say thirty since you first lost your virginity," James continued. "Sex is very important in a relationship. My advice to you is to screw the chick, then decide whether you like her or not.... I've got to go to the loo."
James got up from his bed and walked over to the dormitory bathroom, then shut the door behind him.
Sirius stared wide-eyed at the door to the loo. Remus' hangings pulled back and a tousle-haired Remus stepped out of bed, looking curiously at Sirius.
"What kind of advice was that?"
Sirius shrugged.
"There's got to be something wrong with him - he would never give you advice like that - never," Remus said.
"That was strange...just strange...."
* * *
Lily sat at the Gryffindor table, sipping a mug of spiced chai. She looked around and realized that she had gone down to breakfast early for a Saturday, for the four House tables were barely filled.
"Good morning, Miss Evans. I trust you slept well."
Lily turned to see Headmaster Dumbledore standing before her.
"No Marauders this morning?"
It took Lily a second to realize that Dumbledore was talking about James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Lily wondered how Professor Dumbledore knew about their group, but figured that he knew, more or less, everything that went on around Hogwarts.
Lily nodded. "They must be sleeping still."
"I see. Looks like you're having some chai tea," Dumbledore noted. "I think I'll have a mug of some myself. You have a nice day."
"You too, sir," Lily replied.
Dumbledore smiled benignly, his blue eyes twinkling, and strode away to the High table.
"What was that all about?"
Lily turned back to the table to find Remus sitting down across from her.
"He was just checking up on me; he does that quite often. What's up with you?" Lily asked, seeing the distressed look on his face.
"Well...have you noticed James acting weird this morning?"
"Um...now that I think of it, he grabbed my butt in the middle of the night...he never grabs me there. There are just those certain places that we've never really touched. It wasn't bad...it was just awkward. What have you noticed that was strange?"
"He advised Sirius to sleep with some girl before he knew if he loved her or not. He hasn't given advice like that since he was dating Britannia. Now that he's in love with you, he's all for the waiting until the right time theory."
"I did that? Wow."
"Anyway," Remus continued, brushing his brown hair out of his eyes. "I was just wondering if you noticed anything; my sixth sense is going off for both him and Sirius - who still hasn't told us the whole truth."
Remus had a sly look on his face.
"What are you up to?" Lily asked, arcing an eyebrow.
"I - well - do you know Julia Stratford?"
"She's a Gryffindor fifth year, of course I know her."
"Well, I set up something with her to find out who Sirius is seeing. Her plan is" -Remus leaned in closer -"to flirt with Sirius all day; then, for the big finale, she's going to -"
"And what are we whispering about?"
The two looked up to see James pulling out a chair and sitting down next to Remus.
"Um...nothing," Remus said quickly.
James let out a derisive laugh.
"First of all, I shouldn't have asked because I heard. And second - Julia Stratford is too chicken to do what you want her to do."
"Well, Julia and I had a certain arrangement," Remus said, his cheeks coloring slightly.
"I see," James said knowingly. "I just think that since Sirius is sixteen years old, he should shag as many women as possible before he has to settle down. It's just logical."
Lily set her mug of chai down and glared at James. Her lips were pursed and her emerald eyes were glowing with anger. She crossed her arms over her chest and James couldn't help but notice that she looked extremely unattractive like that.
"Is that what I am?" Lily asked in a dangerous voice. "Do you follow your own advice, James? Am I just one of those girls you take advantage of because they moon over you?" She paused, watching James doing some quick thinking, searching for excuses and answers, which only angered her more. "You think about what you just said, James, or I'll never speak to you again."
Lily bolted up from her chair and stormed out of the Great Hall. When she reached her dormitory in Gryffindor tower, she crawled onto her bed, pulled the hangings shut to enclose her in darkness, and wept.
"Lily?" she heard Sirius' voice call. "Is that you?"
Lily's hangings pulled back and she saw Sirius standing there, his shirt half buttoned, his black hair slightly ruffled.
"What wrong?" Sirius asked, dropping onto the bed and putting his hands on her shoulders. "What's the matter? Lils, you can tell me, honey."
"James was being a dickhead in the Great Hall," Lily said, sniffling. Sirius removed a hand from Lily's shoulder to a wipe a tear from her cheek. "He said that it's logical to sleep with as many women as possible before having to settle down, So I asked him if I was part of that plan; he didn't answer, so I got up and left."
"Lily, James is just being a jerk this morning. He must be having a surge of testosterone running through his veins and it's causing him to be an asshole. He just needs to get it out of him today and he'll be as good as new tomorrow."
"Maybe you're right," Lily said. She wrapped her arms around Sirius' neck and nuzzled into his embrace. Sirius' hands moved around Lily's waist and he pulled her closer. "Thank you."
"Uh...excuse me," Lily heard. She and Sirius ended their embrace to see James standing over them. "If you don't mind, I'd like to talk to Lily, alone."
"What makes you think I want to talk to you?" Lily asked. "After what you said - or didn't say - in the Great Hall, I should never speak to you again."
"Lily, could I just speak to you? Alone?" he asked, glancing at Sirius.
Sirius glanced at Lily, who nodded. He got up and exited the dorm.
Once he was out of earshot, James said, "Lily, let me explain."
"You had better."
"I just haven't been myself this morning."
"Well, who the hell have you been? Because you certainly aren't acting like James Potter."
"I must be coming down with something. I don't feel quite right and all those questions from Sirius put me in an irritable mood, so I told him to do what he usually does."
"But that doesn't sound like advice you would give."
"I know it - that's why I say I must be coming down with something. You know, I think I might actually go see Madam Pomfrey."
"Come here and let me feel your forehead," Lily said, genuinely concerned.
*Jackpot.*
James sat on the bed by Lily, who put her hand on James' forehead.
"Hmm...you don't feel hot," she stated.
As Lily was pulling her hand back, James grabbed her arm and softly kissed her palm and then the inside of her wrist, which made Lily feel flustered.
"It goes both ways - I hope you are coming down with something, and I hope you're not," she said, as James' kisses moved farther up her arm. "Just promise me you'll be tactful from now on."
"I promise," he said, kissing the base of her neck, then right below her ear.
"Good," Lily purred, meeting James' lips. "It's early on a Saturday morning, what are we going to do while everyone's at breakfast?"
"I can think of a few things - one in particular - that we could do to pass the time," James said slyly.
Lily raised her eyebrows.
"You are just too charming; I can never stay mad at you for long," she said.
James unbuttoned Lily's blouse and continued working down....
* * *
Julia Stratford squirmed nervously in her chair at the Gryffindor table. She was moving her mashed potatoes around her plate when Remus leaned over to talk to her.
"So you know what you're going to do, right?" he asked.
"Don't worry about me," Julia said, flipping her long, blonde hair over her shoulder.
"We were talking about leaving soon, so you better keep you plans organized and stay on your toes."
"I know, I know," Julia said. "I'm more worried about our agreement - it's still on right?"
"Julia, I don't know if that's exactly right. I mean, you're only fifteen years old."
"I'm not illegal," Julia interjected.
"That's beside the point."
"If our arrangement is off, then you'll never find out who Sirius is shagging. Besides," Julia added, her voice lowering to a more seductive tone, "we're both getting two things out of this."
"All right, all right. Whatever you want."
"Julia smiled, her blue eyes sparkling, and turned to talk to Lily and James and flirt with Sirius even more.
"...I don't know about that, James," Sirius was saying. "I mean, Fitzpatrick is an amazing Keeper, he's going to play for England next year. So there's no way I'll make the team in two years."
"I think you're the greatest Keeper anyone's ever seen," Julia told Sirius.
"Oh, thank you," Sirius managed to stutter while Julia's bare foot traveled up and down Sirius' leg.
"Julia's right, though, Sirius," Lily said, shifting in her chair and wincing slightly. "You are one of the greatest Keeper's I've ever seen."
James rubbed Lily's back and nodded in agreement. He then whispered in her ear, still loud enough for Julia to her, "Are you okay?"
Lily nodded shortly, then shifted again, wincing slightly once more.
"Are you not feeling well?" Julia asked Lily.
"Oh, I've got a stomach ache," Lily replied, not too convincingly.
"You should go see Madam Pomfrey - she can cure stomach aches in a matter of seconds," Julia informed.
"Maybe you should go see Madam Pomfrey," James suggested.
"I'm not going to see Madam Pomfrey over something like this," Lily said, irritated. "Maybe I should go lie down."
Lily got up from her chair and started walking out of the Great Hall, closely followed by James.
"What was that all about?" Julia asked. "It doesn't seem like she has a stomach ache."
"I didn't think so either," Sirius said. "I'm going to see what that was about. I mean, Lils has been really irritable today. And she's been looking like she isn't feeling well. Well - if it's something like" -Sirius shuttered - "I don't want to know about it."
Sirius got up and started walking away. Julia quickly got up and walked over to Sirius. She linked her arm through Sirius' and he looked down at her.
"Hey, Jules," he said, smiling softly; but he couldn't say much more for Julia's lips were pressed against his.
Remus laughed as half the students in the Great Hall gasped and the other half (mostly the male population) whooped.
The kiss lasted a good forty-five seconds. When Julia pulled away, Sirius stared at her, then looked around the cheering crowd with wide eyes and flushed cheeks.
Julia glanced at Remus, winked, and mouthed, "My dormitory", and quickly left the Great Hall.
* * *
The Dark Lord stood over the nearly naked, limp, figure of James Potter, his wand pointed over James' chest.
"Ennervate."
James' eyes flew open and he started when he saw the tall wizard. His eyes darted around the dark room, taking in the many odd-looking objects.
"James Potter," the Dark Lord said quite pleasantly.
"Voldemort," James hissed.
"You don't fear me, do you, James?"
"Why should I fear you?"
"True, true," Voldemort said. "But I know you fear the idea of me, the idea I have many under my control that could torture or kill you at my command. I know you fear that my followers could endanger your loved ones - especially that Mudblood, Evans."
"Why am I here?" James asked. "And why in god's name am I in my underwear?"
"Let me start at the beginning, my young friend," the elder wizard said. "But first, make yourself at home."
The Dark Lord pointed his wand at the empty grate to James' left, which massive flames arose and started crackling gloomily. Voldemort then conjured a pair of brilliant green robes that reminded him of the color of Lily's eyes. The Dark Lord handed James the robes, which James put on, then sat in the armchair Voldemort pointed to.
"Well, let me begin with the letters I sent you. I told you, you would join me by light or by fire - and you chose fire.
"My servants have been watching you for several months now - one in particular has taken up acting as you. So, know right now, you're not missed."
"Who...?" James began to ask.
"I assume you know Lucius Malfoy -"
"Malfoy!" James exclaimed. "That dirty rat is running around with my friends? He's - oh, god - he's - he's - Lily. He hasn't...he wouldn't..."
Voldemort let out an amused laugh.
"I assure he's has."
The Dark Lord laughed again. He then reached into the pocket of his robes and withdrew a piece of slightly crumpled parchment and handed it to James.
James' eyes skimmed over the untidy scrawl; certain words seemed to jump out at him. But a few particular phrases angered him more than ever and made his stomach fill with ice:
*"...Long-awaited experience to finally fuck her...Screaming Potter's name like no other...She was so sore afterwards, she could barely sit down...Tell Potter she has the nicest ass - for a Mudblood slut."*
James slowly crumpled the parchment, tossed it into the fire, and watched it ignite, the back of his eyes burning with tears he refused to shed.
"You're all heartless bastards," James growled.
"Oh, please, James - I'm a heartless bastard? What about you? You're the one who left your friends when they needed you most. You're the one who pushed Evans aside for five years, never giving her the time of day. Then you and your little friends skimped her on everything. My hell, you still do that. Don't you understand, I'm not the heartless bastard - you are."
"I love Lily," James said. "I don't tell her because I don't want her to worry."
"And I still think that if you'd have been honest with her to begin with, she wouldn't be fucking Lucius. Now, have a drink."
Voldemort conjured a large bottle of brandy and two small glasses. He poured one, passed it to James, then poured a second and drained the glass himself in two gulps. He sighed, then poured himself another glass.
"Drink up, my young friend."
James watch the Dark Lord down another glass before he considered even tasting his own. He looked around the room and figured things were only going to go downhill from there, so he tipped back his head and sucked the brown liquid down in a matter of seconds.
The brandy stung James' throat, causing him to cough and splutter.
"That's a good man," Voldemort said, smiling and leaning over to slap James on the back. "You like that?"
"More," James choked out, passing the glass to the Dark Lord.
Voldemort laughed heartily and poured more brandy into the small glass.
* * *
Remus knocked on the fifth year girls' dormitory door. There was no answer, so he slowly opened the door and entered the room.
The circular room was lit with several lavender candles, which gave off a relaxing scent. Remus noticed that all the hangings on the beds were closed save bed's crimson hangings. Julia was sitting on that bed, but she got up when she saw Remus and seductively strode over to him.
Remus couldn't help but stare at Julia in her sapphire silk nightgown and she swayed her shapely hips. He was caught somewhere in between the guilt of taking advantage and the animalistic side of him wanting, craving the touch, the taste of human flesh. Caught between being human and being animal. The thought of Julia's body behind the thin material was almost more than he could stand, and his animal side took over. He shut the door behind him and put the Locking Charm on it. He then turned back to Julia, who placed her arms around his neck and raised herself on tiptoe to kiss him.
Remus melted into the kiss, his hands finding a resting place on the small of Julia's back. New sensations were sending explosions throughout their bodies as their lips intertwined. Remus' hands started exploring Julia's body. Such a nice body, Remus noted, as his hands slid over her curves, her butt, through her golden hair.
"Wait," Remus panted, pulling away from the mind-scrambling suction of Julia's full lips. "It isn't right - we shouldn't be doing this."
Julia stepped back and looked at Remus carefully, seeing that he both did and didn't mean what he said, she took the hem of her nightdress, pulled it over her head, and let it cascade out of her hands and onto the floor.
Remus' eyes widened as he saw Julia's body. It must have been the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. And, once again, he felt his animal instincts starting to take over.
"Are you still sure?" Julia asked, watching Remus' reaction with a slight smile on her face.
"My god," he whispered.
Remus stepped forward and swept Julia up in his arms with a sense of urgency, but knowing they had all the time in the world, for Time seemed to stop as they locked lips a second time and Julia busied herself with the task of removing Remus' clothing.
Remus clung to Julia as if drinking in life to keep him from death. Julia's fingers nimbly unbuttoned Remus' shirt and pushed it off his shoulders, letting her hands roam over his chest, her fingers running through the light-brown hair over his upper body. His mouth moved to the base of Julia's neck and listened to the moans coming from the back of her throat. The moans were the most beautiful sounds Remus had ever heard any animal make.
Remus moved his mouth to Julia's once again, but she quickly pulled away and took his hand in hers and led him over to the bed. She pulled off his trousers, sat down, and giggled nervously as Remus clumsily crawled on the bed.
* * *
"Explain yourself," Icilyn demanded.
Sirius kept his eyes on the gorgeous, black-haired Ravenclaw. Her green eyes were flashing maliciously.
"I didn't have any control of it, honey."
"Don't you dare call me honey," Icilyn shot back.
"Julia just came up to me and then it happened," Sirius defended.
"You didn't pull away, did you?" she pressed on. "You liked it, didn't you? You're going to go shag her now, aren't you?"
Sirius stood up from the chair he was sitting in.
"Icilyn, it meant nothing," he said slowly. "If you can't see that I love you, not Julia, then I think we should discontinue our little escapade. If you want to be paranoid that I'm going to leave you for someone else, then I don't want to be a part of it, because I will go find someone else who will treat like I'm trustworthy. Just because I have a reputation for sleeping with women, doesn't mean that I want to sleep with them all at once or I can't want just one girl."
Sirius turned towards the door and started walking towards it.
"Sirius, wait!" Icilyn called.
Sirius pivoted towards Icilyn. He folded his arms over his chest and gave her a quizzical look.
"I - I didn't mean what I said. I really didn't. I was - well - worried about your feelings towards me. I like you a lot, Sirius. I even think I'm starting to fall in love with you. But when I saw you kiss Julia Stratford, my mind started racing with all kinds of ridiculous ideas that you were going to leave me." She paused and gave Sirius a pained look. "I know it sounds really silly and childish of me to say things like that," Icilyn added. "But my instincts weren't unreasonable. I mean, you're dead sexy, Sirius, who wouldn't give everything they own to have you? And I know you know that. Don't pretend you don't." Julia said, seeing Sirius' cheeks flush. "You could take advantage of all the girls in the entire school and they wouldn't even know what hit them. Don't you see that the way I reacted was the most logical?"
"I do see," Sirius said softly. "But you don't have to worry about me. I'm not falling for Jessica Crimsby, or Allison Watson, or definitely not Julia Stratford. But there is one thing for sure. Make that two."
"And what might those be?" Icilyn asked, stepping closer to Sirius.
"For one, Julia Stratford is in love Remus and I'll be damned if they're not shagging each other."
"And two?"
"I'm falling head-over-heels in love with you."
* * *
Lily walked down the long corridor in search for Professor McGonagall. She needed to receive permission for a surprise birthday party she and the other three Marauders would hold for Remus. So far, McGonagall wasn't in her office or the staff room or her classroom, so Lily had taken to checking every classroom that McGonagall could possibly be in. As to that, the professor wasn't in the classrooms for Muggle Studies, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Divination, Astronomy, or Ancient Runes. That eliminated all the classrooms save one: The Charms classroom.
Upon reaching the third floor Charms corridor, Lily heard a woman speaking inside the Charms classroom and she quickened her pace. Once she reached the door, she placed her hand on the cold, lion head-shaped doorknob, and pulled the door open.
Inside, Lily saw a handsome black-haired male sucking softly on a gorgeous black-haired female's neck while his fingers nimbly unbuttoned the navy-blue blouse with a patch on the front pocket of a raven.
Lily gasped and shut the door behind her. She turned and walked rapidly down the hall and up four flights of stairs to Gryffindor tower. Then she marched right up to the fifth year boys' dorm to find James.
He was sitting on his bed uninterestedly looking through Quidditch Through the Ages for probably the thousandth time. What struck Lily as odd was that he was glancing at the pages without the usual maniacal glint in his eye and he was muttering things like "Don't know why in the world..." and "I'll be damned if I can do that" under his breath.
"James," Lily said.
He looked up and smiled.
"Hi, honey," he replied. "What's up? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Lily smiled at James' using her Muggle expression.
"Not quite," she said. "But I did see something rather intriguing that I thought you would like to hear about."
"And what would that be?"
"I saw Sirius," she said.
"So? I see Sirius all the time. Lils, have you gone mad?"
"No, no, no. I saw Sirius with a girl," Lily clarified.
"What?"
Lily heard Peter exclaim as he pulled his hangings back.
"I saw it," Lily said.
"Who was she?" James demanded.
"I'm not quite sure because their tongues were down each other's throats and he was unbuttoning her shirt, so I didn't stay. I was looking for Professor McGonagall and I heard voices in the Charms classroom - one was a woman that sounded very much like McGonagall. So I went in and I saw Sirius and this girl just snogging like there was no tomorrow."
"Well, what house was she in?" Peter asked. "Maybe that could help us narrow down who she is."
"She's in Ravenclaw," Lily said. "She has long black hair and she's gorgeous beyond belief." Lily suddenly felt rather blah thinking about the pretty Ravenclaw and comparing her to herself.
"And who does that leave us?" James asked Peter.
"Well, if she's in sixth year, it would have to be Jamie Watterson. She's the only sixth year girl with dark hair. As for other years, there's Korrin and Katrina Harper, who are first years."
"Unlikely," Lily interjected.
"There's Gretchen Fretlin and Jessica Lorden in third."
"Who are both basically trolls," James interjected this time. "Sorry," he added quickly, seeing that Lily scowled, for she hated it when anybody insulted girls in that kind of way.
"Then there's no dark-haired girls in fifth year. Then there's Jamie Watterson. Who am I forgetting? It can't be any of those girls. Could it?"
"I don't think so..." James said slowly. "He isn't really the type to go for younger girls...but now that he's a sixth year, maybe the other girls aren't interested in him."
Lily's eyes widened when she remembered something she managed to overlook when she saw the two together.
"What about Icilyn Garicky?" Lily asked.
"This year's Head Girl?" James asked.
Hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to review. Have any complaints? Be nice and boost me with constuctive critisism! Thanks! Until next chapter, Lavender
Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Potter Universe (I wish I did! ;)), but the stories I am sharing with are are from my own ideas. I own the ideas and the name(s)/place(s) that you do not recognize.
Even Angels Fall
Chapter Three
Discovery
The Dark Lord watched the figure of James Potter slump on the cold dirt path. He strode over to the limp body and kicked it over to its backside.
"Look what we've got ourselves, Lucius, my friend." Voldemort smiled nastily. "Are you ready? Do you feel you've studied enough to play the part?"
A tall man in a black hooded cloak and a silver mask covering his face nodded.
"Yes, Master, I feel I am ready."
Voldemort nodded in return and pulled out a knife.
"Master, for me to impersonate Potter, you must keep him alive," Lucius Malfoy said quickly.
"My, you're a daft this evening, aren't you?" Voldemort sneered. "I'm cutting his hair for the Polyjuice Potion."
Voldemort leaned over James's body and cut his black hair down to the scalp. He then stood up and pulled a hip flask from out of his cloak.
"Drink it," Voldemort commanded, handing the flask and tuft of hair to his servant.
Lucius pulled off his mask and cloak. His silver-blonde hair shone in the waning moon and his pale eyes sparkled maliciously. He took the flask and opened it, added the raven hairs, then drank deeply, draining the flask.
Instantly, Lucius doubled over, writhing. His skin turned pale, then a deep tan color. His legs and arms lengthened and his torso shortened slightly and the muscles tightened. His pale hair then turned to black, as did his eyes, which he noticed his vision was fuzzy, for he now needed glasses.
As quickly as the reaction had started, it stopped, and a spitting image of James now stood erect before the Dark Lord.
"Nice," the dark wizard muttered.
Lucius then disrobed James and changed into them, then took James's small, oval-shaped glasses and placed them on his nose.
"You shall not let anyone know you're not the real James Potter until I give you my word. I will send you a flagon of Polyjuice Potion every night at midnight."
"Yes, Master," Lucius said, his voice now lower, like James's. He bowed low.
"Now go, my friend, there are only a few hours before dawn, and I reckon you'll want to become acquainted with that Mudblood girlfriend of Potter's."
The two wizards laughed before they departed. Lucius headed back to the castle, and Voldemort headed towards the Hogwarts gates, the flaccid figure of James floating eerily behind him.
* * *
Lily awoke with a start from the nightmare she had been having. She tried rolling over and going back to sleep, but to no avail. She got up from her bed and tiptoed out of her dorm, through the common room, and into the sixth year boys' dorm, figuring James would comfort her and help her get back to sleep.
When she pulled back the crimson velvet hangings, she saw James lying there, sleeping soundly.
"James," Lily whispered.
James stirred slightly, then opened his eyes. Lily noticed he looked slightly taken aback that she was standing over her. She then noticed that his eyes softened and eerily roamed over her body beneath the flimsy silk nightgown.
"What is it, Lily, my love?" he whispered.
James moved over and pulled down the covers, inviting her in. Lily accepted gratefully, for she didn't bother to put on a dressing and it was rather cold in the boys' dorm.
"I had a nightmare," she whispered, climbing under the covers and shivering from the heat radiating from James's body.
"It's all okay, Baby," James whispered, wrapping his arms around Lily.
" I love you, James."
"I love you too."
* * *
The next morning, Sirius awoke and dressed, unaware of the time. When he did look at the clock on his bedside table, he saw it was half-past six. He decided to wake up James and ask him some more questions about being in love, as he wasn't sure that what he was feeling with Icilyn was love.
Sirius pulled James' hangings back to find his best friend asleep with a gorgeous redhead in his arms.
Lily opened her eyes and squinted in the sunlight. Her eyes quickly adjusted and she smiled at Sirius, showing her white teeth.
"I had a nightmare," Lily explained, seeing Sirius' raised eyebrows.
"Uh-huh, and that explains why his hands are all over you."
"Believe what you want, Siri, but I really did have a nightmare."
James stirred, opened his eyes and groaned, "Good god, I thought it was just a dream."
Lily rolled over and looked at James.
"What did you think was just a dream?"
"That you were here with me," James said, kissing Lily's forehead. He then looked at Sirius. "What is it you want so early this morning, Sirius?"
"I just wanted to talk to you, but I can wait," Sirius replied.
"I can leave if you want me to," Lily said. "I can go get dressed or something."
"Are you sure?"
"Yep."
Lily got up from James' bed and exited the dorm. Sirius noticed that James' eyes paid special attention to Lily's backside as she walked out of the dorm.
"Lordy, that woman's a fox," James said with an odd tone in his voice. He then turned back to Sirius. "What is it that you want?"
"I wanted to ask you about being in love," Sirius stated.
There's no such thing as being in love, James thought. He knew this was not the answer that Sirius would like to hear, so instead, her said, "You'll just know when you are. It's a wonderful experience. Is there someone you want to tell me about?"
"Well...there's this girl -,"
"Is she hot?"
"Beyond belief," Sirius answered. "She's told me she loves me, but I don't know if I love her. So I was thinking that you would know, since you're madly in love with Lils."
"Have you shagged her?"
"No," Sirius said, slightly put-off. "I wanted to wait until I knew the time was right."
"Sirius, how many girls have you slept with?"
"Um...I don't know..." Sirius answered, slightly taken aback by the question. It was an unspoken rule that the Marauders never asked each other specific personal questions. Even though James and Sirius were the best of friends and told each other everything, they still abided by the rule.
"Let's say thirty since you first lost your virginity," James continued. "Sex is very important in a relationship. My advice to you is to screw the chick, then decide whether you like her or not.... I've got to go to the loo."
James got up from his bed and walked over to the dormitory bathroom, then shut the door behind him.
Sirius stared wide-eyed at the door to the loo. Remus' hangings pulled back and a tousle-haired Remus stepped out of bed, looking curiously at Sirius.
"What kind of advice was that?"
Sirius shrugged.
"There's got to be something wrong with him - he would never give you advice like that - never," Remus said.
"That was strange...just strange...."
* * *
Lily sat at the Gryffindor table, sipping a mug of spiced chai. She looked around and realized that she had gone down to breakfast early for a Saturday, for the four House tables were barely filled.
"Good morning, Miss Evans. I trust you slept well."
Lily turned to see Headmaster Dumbledore standing before her.
"No Marauders this morning?"
It took Lily a second to realize that Dumbledore was talking about James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Lily wondered how Professor Dumbledore knew about their group, but figured that he knew, more or less, everything that went on around Hogwarts.
Lily nodded. "They must be sleeping still."
"I see. Looks like you're having some chai tea," Dumbledore noted. "I think I'll have a mug of some myself. You have a nice day."
"You too, sir," Lily replied.
Dumbledore smiled benignly, his blue eyes twinkling, and strode away to the High table.
"What was that all about?"
Lily turned back to the table to find Remus sitting down across from her.
"He was just checking up on me; he does that quite often. What's up with you?" Lily asked, seeing the distressed look on his face.
"Well...have you noticed James acting weird this morning?"
"Um...now that I think of it, he grabbed my butt in the middle of the night...he never grabs me there. There are just those certain places that we've never really touched. It wasn't bad...it was just awkward. What have you noticed that was strange?"
"He advised Sirius to sleep with some girl before he knew if he loved her or not. He hasn't given advice like that since he was dating Britannia. Now that he's in love with you, he's all for the waiting until the right time theory."
"I did that? Wow."
"Anyway," Remus continued, brushing his brown hair out of his eyes. "I was just wondering if you noticed anything; my sixth sense is going off for both him and Sirius - who still hasn't told us the whole truth."
Remus had a sly look on his face.
"What are you up to?" Lily asked, arcing an eyebrow.
"I - well - do you know Julia Stratford?"
"She's a Gryffindor fifth year, of course I know her."
"Well, I set up something with her to find out who Sirius is seeing. Her plan is" -Remus leaned in closer -"to flirt with Sirius all day; then, for the big finale, she's going to -"
"And what are we whispering about?"
The two looked up to see James pulling out a chair and sitting down next to Remus.
"Um...nothing," Remus said quickly.
James let out a derisive laugh.
"First of all, I shouldn't have asked because I heard. And second - Julia Stratford is too chicken to do what you want her to do."
"Well, Julia and I had a certain arrangement," Remus said, his cheeks coloring slightly.
"I see," James said knowingly. "I just think that since Sirius is sixteen years old, he should shag as many women as possible before he has to settle down. It's just logical."
Lily set her mug of chai down and glared at James. Her lips were pursed and her emerald eyes were glowing with anger. She crossed her arms over her chest and James couldn't help but notice that she looked extremely unattractive like that.
"Is that what I am?" Lily asked in a dangerous voice. "Do you follow your own advice, James? Am I just one of those girls you take advantage of because they moon over you?" She paused, watching James doing some quick thinking, searching for excuses and answers, which only angered her more. "You think about what you just said, James, or I'll never speak to you again."
Lily bolted up from her chair and stormed out of the Great Hall. When she reached her dormitory in Gryffindor tower, she crawled onto her bed, pulled the hangings shut to enclose her in darkness, and wept.
"Lily?" she heard Sirius' voice call. "Is that you?"
Lily's hangings pulled back and she saw Sirius standing there, his shirt half buttoned, his black hair slightly ruffled.
"What wrong?" Sirius asked, dropping onto the bed and putting his hands on her shoulders. "What's the matter? Lils, you can tell me, honey."
"James was being a dickhead in the Great Hall," Lily said, sniffling. Sirius removed a hand from Lily's shoulder to a wipe a tear from her cheek. "He said that it's logical to sleep with as many women as possible before having to settle down, So I asked him if I was part of that plan; he didn't answer, so I got up and left."
"Lily, James is just being a jerk this morning. He must be having a surge of testosterone running through his veins and it's causing him to be an asshole. He just needs to get it out of him today and he'll be as good as new tomorrow."
"Maybe you're right," Lily said. She wrapped her arms around Sirius' neck and nuzzled into his embrace. Sirius' hands moved around Lily's waist and he pulled her closer. "Thank you."
"Uh...excuse me," Lily heard. She and Sirius ended their embrace to see James standing over them. "If you don't mind, I'd like to talk to Lily, alone."
"What makes you think I want to talk to you?" Lily asked. "After what you said - or didn't say - in the Great Hall, I should never speak to you again."
"Lily, could I just speak to you? Alone?" he asked, glancing at Sirius.
Sirius glanced at Lily, who nodded. He got up and exited the dorm.
Once he was out of earshot, James said, "Lily, let me explain."
"You had better."
"I just haven't been myself this morning."
"Well, who the hell have you been? Because you certainly aren't acting like James Potter."
"I must be coming down with something. I don't feel quite right and all those questions from Sirius put me in an irritable mood, so I told him to do what he usually does."
"But that doesn't sound like advice you would give."
"I know it - that's why I say I must be coming down with something. You know, I think I might actually go see Madam Pomfrey."
"Come here and let me feel your forehead," Lily said, genuinely concerned.
*Jackpot.*
James sat on the bed by Lily, who put her hand on James' forehead.
"Hmm...you don't feel hot," she stated.
As Lily was pulling her hand back, James grabbed her arm and softly kissed her palm and then the inside of her wrist, which made Lily feel flustered.
"It goes both ways - I hope you are coming down with something, and I hope you're not," she said, as James' kisses moved farther up her arm. "Just promise me you'll be tactful from now on."
"I promise," he said, kissing the base of her neck, then right below her ear.
"Good," Lily purred, meeting James' lips. "It's early on a Saturday morning, what are we going to do while everyone's at breakfast?"
"I can think of a few things - one in particular - that we could do to pass the time," James said slyly.
Lily raised her eyebrows.
"You are just too charming; I can never stay mad at you for long," she said.
James unbuttoned Lily's blouse and continued working down....
* * *
Julia Stratford squirmed nervously in her chair at the Gryffindor table. She was moving her mashed potatoes around her plate when Remus leaned over to talk to her.
"So you know what you're going to do, right?" he asked.
"Don't worry about me," Julia said, flipping her long, blonde hair over her shoulder.
"We were talking about leaving soon, so you better keep you plans organized and stay on your toes."
"I know, I know," Julia said. "I'm more worried about our agreement - it's still on right?"
"Julia, I don't know if that's exactly right. I mean, you're only fifteen years old."
"I'm not illegal," Julia interjected.
"That's beside the point."
"If our arrangement is off, then you'll never find out who Sirius is shagging. Besides," Julia added, her voice lowering to a more seductive tone, "we're both getting two things out of this."
"All right, all right. Whatever you want."
"Julia smiled, her blue eyes sparkling, and turned to talk to Lily and James and flirt with Sirius even more.
"...I don't know about that, James," Sirius was saying. "I mean, Fitzpatrick is an amazing Keeper, he's going to play for England next year. So there's no way I'll make the team in two years."
"I think you're the greatest Keeper anyone's ever seen," Julia told Sirius.
"Oh, thank you," Sirius managed to stutter while Julia's bare foot traveled up and down Sirius' leg.
"Julia's right, though, Sirius," Lily said, shifting in her chair and wincing slightly. "You are one of the greatest Keeper's I've ever seen."
James rubbed Lily's back and nodded in agreement. He then whispered in her ear, still loud enough for Julia to her, "Are you okay?"
Lily nodded shortly, then shifted again, wincing slightly once more.
"Are you not feeling well?" Julia asked Lily.
"Oh, I've got a stomach ache," Lily replied, not too convincingly.
"You should go see Madam Pomfrey - she can cure stomach aches in a matter of seconds," Julia informed.
"Maybe you should go see Madam Pomfrey," James suggested.
"I'm not going to see Madam Pomfrey over something like this," Lily said, irritated. "Maybe I should go lie down."
Lily got up from her chair and started walking out of the Great Hall, closely followed by James.
"What was that all about?" Julia asked. "It doesn't seem like she has a stomach ache."
"I didn't think so either," Sirius said. "I'm going to see what that was about. I mean, Lils has been really irritable today. And she's been looking like she isn't feeling well. Well - if it's something like" -Sirius shuttered - "I don't want to know about it."
Sirius got up and started walking away. Julia quickly got up and walked over to Sirius. She linked her arm through Sirius' and he looked down at her.
"Hey, Jules," he said, smiling softly; but he couldn't say much more for Julia's lips were pressed against his.
Remus laughed as half the students in the Great Hall gasped and the other half (mostly the male population) whooped.
The kiss lasted a good forty-five seconds. When Julia pulled away, Sirius stared at her, then looked around the cheering crowd with wide eyes and flushed cheeks.
Julia glanced at Remus, winked, and mouthed, "My dormitory", and quickly left the Great Hall.
* * *
The Dark Lord stood over the nearly naked, limp, figure of James Potter, his wand pointed over James' chest.
"Ennervate."
James' eyes flew open and he started when he saw the tall wizard. His eyes darted around the dark room, taking in the many odd-looking objects.
"James Potter," the Dark Lord said quite pleasantly.
"Voldemort," James hissed.
"You don't fear me, do you, James?"
"Why should I fear you?"
"True, true," Voldemort said. "But I know you fear the idea of me, the idea I have many under my control that could torture or kill you at my command. I know you fear that my followers could endanger your loved ones - especially that Mudblood, Evans."
"Why am I here?" James asked. "And why in god's name am I in my underwear?"
"Let me start at the beginning, my young friend," the elder wizard said. "But first, make yourself at home."
The Dark Lord pointed his wand at the empty grate to James' left, which massive flames arose and started crackling gloomily. Voldemort then conjured a pair of brilliant green robes that reminded him of the color of Lily's eyes. The Dark Lord handed James the robes, which James put on, then sat in the armchair Voldemort pointed to.
"Well, let me begin with the letters I sent you. I told you, you would join me by light or by fire - and you chose fire.
"My servants have been watching you for several months now - one in particular has taken up acting as you. So, know right now, you're not missed."
"Who...?" James began to ask.
"I assume you know Lucius Malfoy -"
"Malfoy!" James exclaimed. "That dirty rat is running around with my friends? He's - oh, god - he's - he's - Lily. He hasn't...he wouldn't..."
Voldemort let out an amused laugh.
"I assure he's has."
The Dark Lord laughed again. He then reached into the pocket of his robes and withdrew a piece of slightly crumpled parchment and handed it to James.
James' eyes skimmed over the untidy scrawl; certain words seemed to jump out at him. But a few particular phrases angered him more than ever and made his stomach fill with ice:
*"...Long-awaited experience to finally fuck her...Screaming Potter's name like no other...She was so sore afterwards, she could barely sit down...Tell Potter she has the nicest ass - for a Mudblood slut."*
James slowly crumpled the parchment, tossed it into the fire, and watched it ignite, the back of his eyes burning with tears he refused to shed.
"You're all heartless bastards," James growled.
"Oh, please, James - I'm a heartless bastard? What about you? You're the one who left your friends when they needed you most. You're the one who pushed Evans aside for five years, never giving her the time of day. Then you and your little friends skimped her on everything. My hell, you still do that. Don't you understand, I'm not the heartless bastard - you are."
"I love Lily," James said. "I don't tell her because I don't want her to worry."
"And I still think that if you'd have been honest with her to begin with, she wouldn't be fucking Lucius. Now, have a drink."
Voldemort conjured a large bottle of brandy and two small glasses. He poured one, passed it to James, then poured a second and drained the glass himself in two gulps. He sighed, then poured himself another glass.
"Drink up, my young friend."
James watch the Dark Lord down another glass before he considered even tasting his own. He looked around the room and figured things were only going to go downhill from there, so he tipped back his head and sucked the brown liquid down in a matter of seconds.
The brandy stung James' throat, causing him to cough and splutter.
"That's a good man," Voldemort said, smiling and leaning over to slap James on the back. "You like that?"
"More," James choked out, passing the glass to the Dark Lord.
Voldemort laughed heartily and poured more brandy into the small glass.
* * *
Remus knocked on the fifth year girls' dormitory door. There was no answer, so he slowly opened the door and entered the room.
The circular room was lit with several lavender candles, which gave off a relaxing scent. Remus noticed that all the hangings on the beds were closed save bed's crimson hangings. Julia was sitting on that bed, but she got up when she saw Remus and seductively strode over to him.
Remus couldn't help but stare at Julia in her sapphire silk nightgown and she swayed her shapely hips. He was caught somewhere in between the guilt of taking advantage and the animalistic side of him wanting, craving the touch, the taste of human flesh. Caught between being human and being animal. The thought of Julia's body behind the thin material was almost more than he could stand, and his animal side took over. He shut the door behind him and put the Locking Charm on it. He then turned back to Julia, who placed her arms around his neck and raised herself on tiptoe to kiss him.
Remus melted into the kiss, his hands finding a resting place on the small of Julia's back. New sensations were sending explosions throughout their bodies as their lips intertwined. Remus' hands started exploring Julia's body. Such a nice body, Remus noted, as his hands slid over her curves, her butt, through her golden hair.
"Wait," Remus panted, pulling away from the mind-scrambling suction of Julia's full lips. "It isn't right - we shouldn't be doing this."
Julia stepped back and looked at Remus carefully, seeing that he both did and didn't mean what he said, she took the hem of her nightdress, pulled it over her head, and let it cascade out of her hands and onto the floor.
Remus' eyes widened as he saw Julia's body. It must have been the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. And, once again, he felt his animal instincts starting to take over.
"Are you still sure?" Julia asked, watching Remus' reaction with a slight smile on her face.
"My god," he whispered.
Remus stepped forward and swept Julia up in his arms with a sense of urgency, but knowing they had all the time in the world, for Time seemed to stop as they locked lips a second time and Julia busied herself with the task of removing Remus' clothing.
Remus clung to Julia as if drinking in life to keep him from death. Julia's fingers nimbly unbuttoned Remus' shirt and pushed it off his shoulders, letting her hands roam over his chest, her fingers running through the light-brown hair over his upper body. His mouth moved to the base of Julia's neck and listened to the moans coming from the back of her throat. The moans were the most beautiful sounds Remus had ever heard any animal make.
Remus moved his mouth to Julia's once again, but she quickly pulled away and took his hand in hers and led him over to the bed. She pulled off his trousers, sat down, and giggled nervously as Remus clumsily crawled on the bed.
* * *
"Explain yourself," Icilyn demanded.
Sirius kept his eyes on the gorgeous, black-haired Ravenclaw. Her green eyes were flashing maliciously.
"I didn't have any control of it, honey."
"Don't you dare call me honey," Icilyn shot back.
"Julia just came up to me and then it happened," Sirius defended.
"You didn't pull away, did you?" she pressed on. "You liked it, didn't you? You're going to go shag her now, aren't you?"
Sirius stood up from the chair he was sitting in.
"Icilyn, it meant nothing," he said slowly. "If you can't see that I love you, not Julia, then I think we should discontinue our little escapade. If you want to be paranoid that I'm going to leave you for someone else, then I don't want to be a part of it, because I will go find someone else who will treat like I'm trustworthy. Just because I have a reputation for sleeping with women, doesn't mean that I want to sleep with them all at once or I can't want just one girl."
Sirius turned towards the door and started walking towards it.
"Sirius, wait!" Icilyn called.
Sirius pivoted towards Icilyn. He folded his arms over his chest and gave her a quizzical look.
"I - I didn't mean what I said. I really didn't. I was - well - worried about your feelings towards me. I like you a lot, Sirius. I even think I'm starting to fall in love with you. But when I saw you kiss Julia Stratford, my mind started racing with all kinds of ridiculous ideas that you were going to leave me." She paused and gave Sirius a pained look. "I know it sounds really silly and childish of me to say things like that," Icilyn added. "But my instincts weren't unreasonable. I mean, you're dead sexy, Sirius, who wouldn't give everything they own to have you? And I know you know that. Don't pretend you don't." Julia said, seeing Sirius' cheeks flush. "You could take advantage of all the girls in the entire school and they wouldn't even know what hit them. Don't you see that the way I reacted was the most logical?"
"I do see," Sirius said softly. "But you don't have to worry about me. I'm not falling for Jessica Crimsby, or Allison Watson, or definitely not Julia Stratford. But there is one thing for sure. Make that two."
"And what might those be?" Icilyn asked, stepping closer to Sirius.
"For one, Julia Stratford is in love Remus and I'll be damned if they're not shagging each other."
"And two?"
"I'm falling head-over-heels in love with you."
* * *
Lily walked down the long corridor in search for Professor McGonagall. She needed to receive permission for a surprise birthday party she and the other three Marauders would hold for Remus. So far, McGonagall wasn't in her office or the staff room or her classroom, so Lily had taken to checking every classroom that McGonagall could possibly be in. As to that, the professor wasn't in the classrooms for Muggle Studies, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Divination, Astronomy, or Ancient Runes. That eliminated all the classrooms save one: The Charms classroom.
Upon reaching the third floor Charms corridor, Lily heard a woman speaking inside the Charms classroom and she quickened her pace. Once she reached the door, she placed her hand on the cold, lion head-shaped doorknob, and pulled the door open.
Inside, Lily saw a handsome black-haired male sucking softly on a gorgeous black-haired female's neck while his fingers nimbly unbuttoned the navy-blue blouse with a patch on the front pocket of a raven.
Lily gasped and shut the door behind her. She turned and walked rapidly down the hall and up four flights of stairs to Gryffindor tower. Then she marched right up to the fifth year boys' dorm to find James.
He was sitting on his bed uninterestedly looking through Quidditch Through the Ages for probably the thousandth time. What struck Lily as odd was that he was glancing at the pages without the usual maniacal glint in his eye and he was muttering things like "Don't know why in the world..." and "I'll be damned if I can do that" under his breath.
"James," Lily said.
He looked up and smiled.
"Hi, honey," he replied. "What's up? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Lily smiled at James' using her Muggle expression.
"Not quite," she said. "But I did see something rather intriguing that I thought you would like to hear about."
"And what would that be?"
"I saw Sirius," she said.
"So? I see Sirius all the time. Lils, have you gone mad?"
"No, no, no. I saw Sirius with a girl," Lily clarified.
"What?"
Lily heard Peter exclaim as he pulled his hangings back.
"I saw it," Lily said.
"Who was she?" James demanded.
"I'm not quite sure because their tongues were down each other's throats and he was unbuttoning her shirt, so I didn't stay. I was looking for Professor McGonagall and I heard voices in the Charms classroom - one was a woman that sounded very much like McGonagall. So I went in and I saw Sirius and this girl just snogging like there was no tomorrow."
"Well, what house was she in?" Peter asked. "Maybe that could help us narrow down who she is."
"She's in Ravenclaw," Lily said. "She has long black hair and she's gorgeous beyond belief." Lily suddenly felt rather blah thinking about the pretty Ravenclaw and comparing her to herself.
"And who does that leave us?" James asked Peter.
"Well, if she's in sixth year, it would have to be Jamie Watterson. She's the only sixth year girl with dark hair. As for other years, there's Korrin and Katrina Harper, who are first years."
"Unlikely," Lily interjected.
"There's Gretchen Fretlin and Jessica Lorden in third."
"Who are both basically trolls," James interjected this time. "Sorry," he added quickly, seeing that Lily scowled, for she hated it when anybody insulted girls in that kind of way.
"Then there's no dark-haired girls in fifth year. Then there's Jamie Watterson. Who am I forgetting? It can't be any of those girls. Could it?"
"I don't think so..." James said slowly. "He isn't really the type to go for younger girls...but now that he's a sixth year, maybe the other girls aren't interested in him."
Lily's eyes widened when she remembered something she managed to overlook when she saw the two together.
"What about Icilyn Garicky?" Lily asked.
"This year's Head Girl?" James asked.
Hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to review. Have any complaints? Be nice and boost me with constuctive critisism! Thanks! Until next chapter, Lavender