The History of Magic classroom was bright as the afternoon light poured in through the windows, casting latticed patterns across the desk from the old panes. Lily sat there, her notes forgotten as her eyes drifted toward where her friend sat, his complexion pale and beads of sweat trickling down his face, making his shirt wet at the brims. Her eyes glanced quickly towards the front of the class, where their professor was pacing above the heads of the front row.
She quickly, and messily wrote down a cheerful message for her friend before sending it zooming across the class to his desk. The boy woke up a little when the piece of parchment went flying into his arm, startling him from his daydream.
"Whose it from?" James asked his friend, peeking over his shoulder to get a peak at the note Remus was just sent.
Remus smiled a little internally when he recognized the handwriting that was written in his friend's favourite purple ink on the front of the parchment. He unfolded it to reveal a little image of a full moon, but beneath it instead of the images he was used to seeing was a party with balloons and all of his friends with a little note beneath it saying, 'Everything is better with friends by your side. My mum always says smiling is the best medicine. And brownies, which I will have in my dorm for you to indulge in tomorrow. All the best, Lily'. Remus glanced across the classroom at his friend who was once again scribbling down every word the professor was saying, though he could see a slight smile on her face when she felt him look in her direction.
"You should really go to the Hospital wing, you look like you're getting worse much earlier than previous times," Lily whispered to Remus sympathetically after they had consumed quite a bit of their dinner.
The Great Hall was a buzz on the Monday night, though there were quite a few students that were extremely anxious as they awaited the news of the house teams, the news which would be posted in their common rooms once everyone returned from dinner. James was beside Remus, making sure he had made the absolute best decisions for the Gryffindor team. Marlene and Sirius sat across from him, despite their mutual dislike of one another, discussing with James in low whispers the final team decisions.
"The boys are taking me down after dinner," Remus assured her, trying to smile despite the aching feeling that was filling his entire body.
"Do they always take you down?" she asked, making sure her voice was low.
Remus nodded whilst he chewed his food. "They feel bad that they can't do anything else to make me feel better," he told her.
Lily looked past him to James and Sirius before shrugging. "I'm glad they are good friends to you," she remarked, making him laugh a little.
"They really are good people, Lily."
"When they want to be, I'm sure they can be. I just can't see it. Not with the way they pick on people for their own enjoyment," she ranted. "I know Severus is not everyone's favourite person, Merlin knows he's no longer mine, but he doesn't deserve a majority of what they do to him. None of their targets do."
"I know," he sighed.
"I'm sorry Remus," she apologized. "I shouldn't have said all that, even if I believe it to be true. You have other things to worry about today."
He smiled, thanking her.
"How did your Charms essay turn out?" she asked him, changing the subject.
"Moony, we're heading up," Sirius called to his friend as both he and James got up from the table, Peter having skipped dinner to complete his last-minute essay.
"Got to post the list before all the eager second-years see if any of them made it," James chuckled, reaching for his parchment off of the table.
"See you later, Lily," Remus said quickly, getting up to follow his friends out.
"I don't think I'm going to be able to make it back to the common room," Remus moaned to his friends.
Sirius and James looked at one another quickly before grabbing a hold of their friend's arms and rushing him in the opposite direction, away from Gryffindor tower and towards the Hospital Wing instead.
They called out Madame Pomfrey's name when they were still a little ways outside the doors in hope that she would be ready to help him the moment they came in. She was ushering them towards the nearest bed the moment the three boys crossed the threshold.
"I've got it from here, you boys can go," she hastily told James and Sirius once Remus was as comfortable as he could be on the bed.
The boys both waited until the matron had retreated to her office for a moment before going back to Remus' bedside.
"We will be out as soon as everyone has gone to bed," James told his friend quickly before both he and Sirius went running out of the hospital wing before Madam Pomfrey came back to hassle them about their presence.
"It's hitting him hard this month," Sirius sighed, speaking the obvious concerning thought.
"Maybe we can try to sneak out earlier so he won't be alone for as long beforehand," James suggested helpfully.
"Brilliant, mate," Sirius exclaimed, clapping James on the shoulder as they reached the portrait hole. The boys wandered into the common room that was still empty with everyone still at dinner. "Do you think Evans ever told that slimy-git about Moony's furry little problem?"
"She wouldn't," James responded confidently.
"But she hates us, don't you think letting that out, especially to Snivellus would be the ultimate way to get back at us for all the stupid pranks we've pulled on the both of them over the years?" Sirius reasoned.
"She wouldn't," James said, disbelieving. "She may hate our guts but she actually cares about Remus."
"I don't know, I still think that we should make sure that she knows that we know that she knows and that we will be watching," Sirius told him.
"So basically you want to threaten her?" James chuckled.
"Prongs, I'm serious, really," Sirius protested. "We need to make sure that Evans doesn't jeopardize Moony's place at the school; that she doesn't slip up."
"Ok, fine, but no threatening her life," James wagered.
"Lily, watch out or you're going to trip up the stairs," Hestia teased, trying to pry the novel out of her friends hands at least until they got to level ground.
"I'm almost...done," Lily said slowly, speaking only at the page breaks.
"Lily watch out!" Marlene shrieked from behind the auburn-haired witch.
"What!?" Lily shrieked, becoming immediately disoriented the moment her foot went to find the next step and instead she slipped and fell down a couple of stairs.
"Just wanted to teach you a lesson," Marlene smirked, extending her hand out to help pull the girl up from the ground as Alice reached down to grab Lily's book. Lily took Marlene's hand, dusting off her robes once she was stood up straight. Alice passed the book back to her, but Lily immediately handed it off to Hestia.
"I give up, you all win," Lily sighed when she gave the book to Hestia.
"It's for your own safety, Lils," Alice told her friend, leading her away from the stairs and down the corridor towards the common room. Alice noticed James and Sirius lurking in the alcove ahead, looking oddly suspicious as they watched every step Lily took. They noticed her when she made eye contact with them, holding their fingers up to their lips to motion her to stay quiet as they pointed at Lily signaling they wanted her. Sirius even went so far as to pout to get Alice to agree to get Lily to speak to them. She turned around to Marlene and Hestia to motion to them the plan, and despite Hestia's hesitations they all agreed it probably wasn't for anything too dangerous.
The boys reached out for Lily as she was walking by, James covering her mouth and grabbing a hold of one of her arms while Sirius dragged her into the alcove, that he lit with his wand just a moment later.
"Are you trying to kill me?" she shrieked when James finally let his hand go from her mouth.
"We just want to ask you a question!" Sirius exclaimed, before she had the chance to freak out and attract more attention to their little alcove.
Lily glared fiercely at both of the boys, her gaze lingering on James, not trusting his involvement in the least. She crossed her arms across her chest and tapped her foot impatiently. "Well?"
The boys both looked back at her shocked, expecting another freak out.
"Er, right," James nodded, running his hand through his hair.
"You better not be asking me out Potter or I swear to Merlin that I will-"
"Evans that's not what we want to ask!" Sirius cut her off.
"We saw the note you sent Remus in History of Magic today," James told her cutting to the chase.
She looked at them both blankly. "And?"
"Have you ever told anyone about his…condition?" Sirius questioned her.
"No, Merlin no. I would never do that," she gasped, astonished that they would even ask her such a question. "Did something happen? Does someone else know?" she questioned them quickly, trying to think of the possible reasons as to why they would accuse her of such a traitorous act.
"No," James said quickly.
"Oh," Lily breathed a sigh of relief. But upon looking up at the boys once again another thought popped into her mind. "Do you both honestly think that little of me that you think I would betray Remus because of you both?" she accused them bitterly.
James and Sirius both took a step back.
"Do you honestly think so little of me?" she asked before her temper rose once more. "No matter what you two idiots get up to, no matter who you hurt or bully, I will always keep Remus' secret, because unlike either of you he has earned my respect and loyalty and that is not something that I wish to jeopardize," she yelled at them, taking them back before she stomped on both of their feet and stalked away from the alcove towards the common room once more.
James hit Sirius over the back of the head. "Will you just listen to me next time I say that she wouldn't do something?" he growled at Sirius before he too ran out of the dark alcove towards the common room after Lily.
Lily walked briskly into the common room and up the stairs to her room; ignoring the looks the other Gryffindor's were giving her as she fumed through the warm room. The sixth-year girls dormitory door slammed open, bouncing off of the stonewall behind it and successfully startling all occupants of the room. The auburn-haired girl walked straight towards Hestia's bed, and held her palm open expectantly. Hestia's grey eyes met Lily's for a moment before she quickly reached for the novel she had taken from her a short while ago, placing it once again in her friend's palm. Lily held the book tightly to her chest, crossing the room to her bed where she curled up beneath the covers and closed the curtains, leaving the girls speechless.
Marlene looked expectantly at Alice, who both she and Hestia knew, knew the reason why Lily disappeared suddenly. Alice motioned for both the girls to come over to her bed where she then placed a spell around the bed so Lily wouldn't hear their conversation.
"No wonder she's upset," Hestia, sighed, "Those boys never leave her in a good mood."
"I honestly thought they meant well," Alice huffed. "I wouldn't have let it happen otherwise."
"I know one way to cheer her up," Marlene grinned, holding up the letter that a school owl had delivered to their room for Lily earlier that evening.
Both Alice and Hestia perked up, nodding eagerly for Marlene to get up and go and give it to their upset friend.
"Lils? I know you're upset, but I have a letter for you," Marlene chided, opening Lily's bed curtains.
The girl in question sat up eagerly, smiling a little as she reached for the letter in her friend's hand. Lily smiled brightly when she recognized her father's handwriting on the front of the letter. She quickly ripped it open, unfolding the pages, her eyes scanning the pages, her face growing brighter with each page she read.
When she was finished reading she scrambled off her bed a little to give Marlene a hug.
"Thanks, Marls," she sighed, once she sat back into her pillows once again.
Marlene took a seat on the end of her friends bed, flattening her favourite blanket of Lily's over her lap. She wriggled her eyebrows, making Lily laugh just as it always did. "So what did Jonathan have to say?" she asked happily.
"He was telling me about the plans that are in place for their wedding anniversary party that's happening at Christmas," Lily told her merrily, scanning the letter for all the topics he covered. "He was telling me about Petunia's schooling and how much she's enjoying her courses. Mum's apparently got promoted to one of the head nurse positions at the hospital. He said that my grandma and grandpa are still doing well and that they send their love," she recalled, closing the letter back up once she had told Marlene everything.
"Anything else?" Marlene asked.
"Only that my mum was convinced that these brownies were the best she had ever made," Lily said, staring amusedly at her friend.
"She sent brownies?" Marlene teased, hoping off the bed.
"Marls!" Lily shrieked, jumping off after her.
Marlene snatched the package of brownies off of her bed, holding them above her head, as she ran around the room, Lily chasing her tirelessly much to the amusement of Alice and Hestia who were shaking their heads and laughing at the whole ordeal.
"I'll give you some if you just give them back!" Lily claimed, tackling Marlene onto her bed.
"Really?" Marlene exclaimed excitedly.
Lily rolled her eyes, snatching the package back. "Honestly, Marls, when have I not given you my mum's treats when she's sent them," Lily laughed, opening the brown paper package to reveal the brownies.
Marlene pulled her wand out, casting a quick warming spell on the brownies before reaching for one and stuffing it in her mouth. "Thank-you," she told Lily, her mouth full of brownie.
Lily laughed at her friend's antics before reaching for one herself. "You're welcome," she told Marlene, her mouth as equally as full of brownie as the blonde's had been when she thanked her.
Marlene fell backwards on her bed laughing just as Hestia and Alice scrambled off of Alice's bed, hoping next to the two girls onto Marlene's bed, and grabbing brownies for themselves.
"I think your mum's right," Hestia sighed, speaking with her mouth full, joining in on the fun whilst Alice made funny faces while the brownie was on her tongue.
Lily and Marlene shrieked at the disgustingness of the sight, but were laughing too much to do anything about it. Lily eventually grabbed the package, wrapping it back up and placing it in her bedside cupboard to save the rest for Remus tomorrow. The girls knew exactly what she was doing, though they couldn't hide their disappointment when the tasty treats were taken away.
When Lily climbed back onto Marlene's bed with the other girls they had all calmed down significantly, though their faces were all still sporting bright smiles.
"Exploding snap anyone?" Marlene suggested, wriggling her eyebrows once again.
Hestia and Alice nodded in agreement instantly and turned to Lily to await her answer. Lily shrugged, nodding as well. "I'm done all my work for the week," she said simply, though it was only Monday. The other three girls shook their heads at her organizational capabilities, smiling because they knew how happy it made her to be that way.
"Let's play," Lily grinned and the girls set up the game.
She flipped over, her eyes open as she stared at the shadows the full moon was casting on the dormitory floor. She pulled her pillow over her head, hoping that it would help her to fall back to sleep once more but it was to no avail. She propped the pillow against her headboard, sitting up and smoothing out the covers on her lap. Her book sat open on her bedside table, next to her watch, wand and photos from home. Sleepily she slipped out from beneath the covers, her feet searching the space beside her bed for her slippers. When they were finally on her feet, keeping them warm from the cold stone floor, she picked up her book and wand from her bedside table and crept quietly out of the room.
When she reached the bottom of the girls stairway and the door that led to the landing that connected the boys and girls sides and featured the stairs leading down to the warm, comfy common room she heard three familiar voices. Cautiously she propped open the girls door only slightly, so the muffled voices could become clearer.
"Thanks for jumping in there Paddy," she heard James' voice say as they undoubtedly crossed the common room to the stairs.
"That gash would have been a lot bigger if I hadn't," Sirius told him. "I'll go grab the stuff from the dorm. Wait here, don't want a blood trail on the stairs," he chuckled.
She immediately closed the door till it was open but a sliver. When the boys stair door closed behind Sirius she opened it up a little more.
"I wish I was a more helpful animal," she heard Peter sigh.
Animal? Gash? She could feel her heart beat faster, the gears turning in her head as she thought about what Peter could have possibly meant by that and why James Potter would have a large gash on his body. For a moment her mind wandered back to a time last year when she was wandering the grounds with Severus and he was telling her about a new spell he was coming up with, one that would have the power to cut people's bodies in the most horrible ways.
"I've got it," Sirius said hurriedly once he was back in the common room with the other boys. "Lay back on the couch, Prongsie."
"Padfoot what did I say about- ouch!" James yelped.
Lily tiptoed out of the girls stairwell until she was able to overlook the common room from a rather dark corner of the landing. In the dim light of the room below she could make out Peter's form in front of the fire, pacing. Sirius on the other hand was ruffling through a box of what appeared to Lily to be potions and bandages. James was laying down on the couch, his one leg elevated on some pillows, with his arms supporting his head while he did his best not to cry out and attract others attentions.
Sirius found the right potion after a little while of digging and carefully placed drops of it along the gash on his friend's leg as James bit his fist to keep from calling out. The dark haired boy grabbed the bandages and neatly fastened them around his friend's leg, making sure they were secure before packaging the rest away.
"Thanks Padfoot," James said after inspecting his leg.
Sirius just shrugged. "I'm ready to hit my bed and sleep till noon," he claimed, yawning.
"Me too," Peter agreed, heading towards the stairs with Sirius.
"Coming Prongsie?" Sirius turned around to ask James who was slowly but surely getting up off the couch. But the raven-haired boy shook his head.
"I still have a few more inches of the charms essay to finish," he told them, making his way over to the table in the corner of the room.
"Suit yourself," Sirius said before both he and Peter continued on their journey up the stairs.
Lily ran back into the girls stairwell, closing the door once more, opening it only when she heard the boys door close after Sirius and Peter had passed by her. She debated whether or not to still go down to the common room to read herself to sleep despite the presence of James Potter or whether she should just head upstairs and lay awake staring at the hangings above her bed. When she looked down to the common room once more from the landing, seeing how warm and cozy it looked with the fire and large couch and blankets her mind was made up.
She was careful not to make too much noise as she padded down the stairs; her hand grazing the cold stonewalls.
James looked up when he saw the shadow of a figure coming down the stairs. His heart stopped when he realized it was Lily. She was wearing slippers on her feet and a nightdress beneath her night robe; her hair was pulled back into a braid, a few strands sticking out of it, framing her face with their soft curls. In her hands she held a book, one he recognized as not being one of their textbooks. She walked directly towards the fire, though her movement was slower and more graceful than it normally was when he was in the room with her. He watched as she slumped into the couch that he had been laying on a couple of moments ago, and as she snuggled into the corner where his head had been resting, opened her book and began to read.
She could feel his eyes in the back of her head, watching her every movement. Lily blamed the fact that she was exhausted as the reason for her not turning around and telling him to stop staring for in this moment she didn't really mind. She could hear his quill start up again, furiously scribbling down what she presumed to be the charms essay due the following morning. In the whole time she was listening to him write and flip the pages of the textbook she barely read more than a few pages.
"What are you reading?" James asked her quietly, coming around the back of the couch to the place in front of the fire, his essay remaining on the table behind him completed.
Her green, tired eyes met his. She tilted the novel up so he could read the title without her having to actually say anything to him, afraid an outburst would wake the still sleeping students.
"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," he read aloud. "Does it have to do with a witch in Gryffindor house?" he asked, suddenly intrigued.
Lily laughed a little at his question, knowing that the world of magic they lived in was the only one he would think of to be true. That he wouldn't have thought or had the need to think that others ever existed. "No, it's not," she said softly. "It's about a magical world that these four siblings stumble upon and their adventures there..."
"Is it any good?" he asked her as he took a seat on the ground in front of the fire.
"Are you going to accuse me of something again?" she asked him flat out.
"No," James responded quickly. "I meant to apologize about that. It really wasn't my idea. Remus has just always been so sensitive about his condition, and we don't want him to ever be in a position where he risks getting hurt."
"I get that," Lily sighed, her voice a little more friendly.
"So is it any good?" he questioned her again, nodding towards the book.
"Do you really want to know, Potter?" she questioned him skeptically.
He nodded eagerly.
"It's enchanting, truthfully," she smiled, "It's an incredible world the author has created, and the thrill of the chase that she leads you on countless times, it makes your heart beat fast." She told him about her favourite part so far, but stopped suddenly when she had another idea. "I can lend it to you after, if you want," she suggested, motioning to the fact that she was nearly done. "I don't want to ruin it for you."
"Like you could ever ruin anything for me," he thought, but knew better than to say that when she was clearly in such a good mood at this particular moment in time.
"Could you read a little bit to me?" he asked her sheepishly.
His request took her a little by surprise, stunning her for a few moments as she searched his face for any signs of joking. She couldn't find anything there. Hesitantly, and most likely regretfully she closed the book without saving the page she was currently on.
James watched nervously, thinking that her next step would be to throw it at him or to even get up at leave but he was pleasantly surprised when she flipped the book open once again to the beginning, completely forgetting where she had been before.
"Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. This story is about something that happened to them when they were sent away from London during the war because of the air raids…She shut the wardrobe door tightly behind her and looked around, panting for breath. It was still raining and she could hear the voice of the others in the passage. "I'm here," she shouted. "I'm here. I've come back. I'm alright.""
"Don't stop," James begged her from the floor where he was sprawled out, having watched the flames as they danced on the ceiling of the room while Lily's voice choreographed the whole routine.
She folded the corner of the page she had just finished reading and watched as James continued to be mesmerized by the flames.
"Were you working on the charms essay earlier?" she asked, once she had gotten up and wandered over to the desk where he was sat when she first came down.
He sprang up from the floor, not wanting her of all people to look at his work, but it was too late by the time he reached the table for her eyes had already begun scanning the page of his messy handwriting. He watched in anticipation as she read his work over, her small delicate finger tracing the line she was reading. When she was near the end, he held his breath; nervous that she would turn to him in a moment and tell him everything she believed to be wrong with it.
"It's good, Potter," she told him, placing it back down on the table. "Professor Flitwick will appreciate the comparison you have in the middle there. It's one of his favourites to make."
"Really?"
"Yes," she laughed a little. Oh, how he would never get tired of that sound. "He always goes on about it if I'm using his classroom to help tutor some of the first years."
"Do you tutor first years often?"
She turned to him, a smile playing on her lips. "Wasn't it just last year when Peter admitted that you had a schedule tracking my every movement and every activity?" she teased him playfully for the first time in his life.
He ran his hand through his hair, something that brought out two very different feelings in her, though she only recognized one of them. "Touché," he relented after a while. "It doesn't mean that I still don't want to know more about you."
"Why would you want to know more about me?" she questioned him. "It's not as though you actually care."
"How can you say that?"
"Potter, despite whatever just happened, you and I are two very different people, with very different lives," she explained, though her voice was softer than it normally was when she was giving him a lecture. "It would make everything a lot easier on the both of us if you stopped playing the 'ask Evans out in the most embarrassing way possible' game."
"Right," he nodded, trying to process it all.
Her eyes searched his face, waiting for the ultimatum she was sure was going to come, though when it did it was not the one she was expecting.
"Please take your essays out and place them in front of you on your desk," Flitwick called out to the class.
His request was met by the sound of many textbooks hitting the desk and chairs scratching the hardwood floors.
James watched as Remus panicked, at Flitwick's announcement pulling on his hair. He pulled his own essay out of his bag from where it was crammed between his Charms and Alchemy texts. He checked to make sure Remus wasn't watching before he quickly scribbled his friends name on the top of the ten inches of parchment. He flipped it upside down when he was done so Remus wouldn't see if he looked up before Flitwick summoned the papers towards him.
The students all ducked when Flitwick waved his wand, doing their best to avoid getting major paper-cutes when the many pieces of parchment flew past them.
The papers attacked Flitwick, making quite a few of the students laugh as loudly as they did the first time they saw it happen.
"Class dismissed," Flitwick called once he was able to stand up right once again.
"I'll meet you at lunch," Lily told Alice who nodded and jogged to catch up with Hestia and Marlene who were both already out the door. "I saw that," she whispered in James' ear, coming up behind the Marauders who were still gathered around the boy's desks trying to console Remus who was beating himself up for forgetting the essay.
"Saw what?" he asked, turning around to face her.
"You wrote Remus' name on your essay that you were up late working so hard on," Lily told him, grinning. "That was really considerate of you, Potter… James," she told him truthfully, before placing a hand on his shoulder for a moment before spinning around and running to catch up to the girls.
"I have no clue what that was about," Sirius exclaimed, clapping James on the back. "But did Evans just call you James?"
James nodded slowly, still not believing that she just called him his actual name for the first time in all the years he had known her.
"Well that's good! Maybe now she will agree to go out with you," Sirius grinned. "It is Hogsmeade next weekend…"
"Do you not remember that she is going out with that other guy?" James reminded Sirius as the four boys all walked out of the classroom.
"So?" Peter piped in. "She may be going on a date with him, but that doesn't mean the date has to be perfect."
The thought intrigued James. The idea of making sure Lily had an absolutely horrible time on her date so she wouldn't want to go out with the seventh-year Ravenclaw again. But his train of thought was interrupted by the memory of the previous night, when Lily's soft voice read out to him and she spoke to him in the tone she tended to reserve for anyone but himself and Sirius.
"I think that that is not a good idea, at all," James groaned.
"So you want her to go on a date and have a good time with a bloke that is not you?" Sirius questioned him honestly.
James considered this seriously. "I don't want her to date the guy but I don't want to sabotage her… she'll trace any act of sabotage back to me," James explained, knowing full well that Lily would rip him to shreds if he messed her date up.
"So if we sabotage the date but do it discreetly so she won't know its us, will you let us do it?" Peter asked James, ideas swarming in all of the Marauders heads.
James contemplated his options before turning around to his friends with a wicked smile on his face. "Sabotage away," he grinned.
The girls dormitory was a complete mess the following Saturday morning, with half of Marlene's clothes strewn across the floors and all the girls beds as the girls tried to get ready for their dates to Hogsmeade later that morning.
"Lily just let me finish your hair," Marlene called after the girl who had walked out of the bathroom before Marlene was done with her.
"Marls, this really isn't necessary," Lily sighed, "It's Hestia's big date."
"Yes, and Alice is doing a fantastic job making sure she's ready for it," Marlene argued pointing towards where Hestia was sitting on the end of her bed making sure that her eyeliner was on right whilst Alice fiddled a little more with her hair.
"Fine, but I don't want you to do much more to it," Lily sighed, taking a seat on her bed.
Marlene grinned brightly. "I just want to finish fixing this curl right here," she told the auburn-haired girl, crawling onto the bed behind her. She pulled her wand out and adjusted the last of the curls surrounding Lily's pale face. Before Lily had the chance to protest Marlene grabbed a few strands from the front of Lily's hair and immediately started braiding them back away from her face. She fastened the two braids from either side of Lily's hair at the back of her head by tying them together into a hair bow.
Lily reaches back to feel it, amazed by Marlene's braiding capabilities.
"Now let's get you dressed," the blonde sang, grabbing Lily's hand and pulling her off the bed. "It's warm out today, for October so I was thinking a dress and jacket."
Lily rolled her eyes at her friend but she accepted her help. Marlene searched through Lily's trunk and then her own, pulling out an olive green dress of Lily's and her own jean jacket, tossing them towards her friend.
Lily slipped the dress on, the scent of the beach still lingering in the fabric from the last time she wore it at the cottage. The dress had tiny straps and a scoop neck line. It cinched at the wait before it fell down to a couple of inches above her knees. She pulled Marlene's jacket on over top and admired the outfit in the mirror. Marlene tossed her gray knee high socks when she turned around.
"Wear your brown boots with them, the socks are for warmth," Marlene instructed her as she got ready herself.
Lily quickly zipped her boots up before running across the room to Marlene, picking out her outfit from the mess on her friend's bed. "Here," she said, passing Marlene her maroon skirt and white top. Marlene pulled the outfit on happily, grabbing her black cardigan off her bed to pull on over top.
"Marls, you never did mention whom you're going on a date with," Lily reminded her, passing the girl her ankle boots.
The blonde grinned at Lily from where the stood in front of the mirror, applying a tiny bit of mascara to her eyes. "Keith Crestfellowe," she smiled brightly, spinning around to her friend.
"The Ravenclaw chaser?" Lily gasped.
"The one and only," Marlene sang, throwing her mascara back into her makeup bag. "And I hear he's best friends with your date," she grinned, elbowing Lily teasingly.
"I've heard that too," Lily smiled.
"Do I sense a little crush?" Marlene prodded, looking at Lily excitedly.
The auburn-haired girl shook her head as she walked back towards her bed, stashing her novel into her bag and throwing it over her shoulder. "I've never even talked to the boy," she sighed exasperated, "I'm only going on the date as a favor to Hestia."
"So if he asked you out again or tried to kiss you, what would you do?" Marlene questioned her seriously.
"I don't know, I haven't even gone on a date with him yet," Lily responded, though she was blushing slightly.
"You're blushing!" Marlene exclaimed, grinning as she jumped off her bed, grabbing a hold of Lily's arm.
"Lily's blushing, why is that?" Alice teased, coming across the room with Hestia to join the other two girls.
"She's thinking about David kissing her," Marlene informed them, much to Lily's protests.
Hestia and Alice both squealed annoyingly, hugging Lily tightly.
"I'm a little surprised to be honest," Alice said after a while. "I was sure Potter and his bands of goons were going to mess it up."
"I'm still a little confused as to why he hasn't asked you out once yet this year," Hestia admitted.
"He's trying not to be so much of an arse," Marlene told them. "He's trying to leave you alone in that department, just like he told you on the train at the end of last year."
"Can we please just go down and get some food from the Great Hall before we meet them?" Lily begged Hestia who nodded along with the others.
The brunette crossed the room, grabbed her bag before grabbing Lily's wrist and dragging her out of the room. Marlene and Alice laughed at Hestia's excitement, grabbing their own bags before taking off after their friends.
The village looked as beautiful as it always had to Lily as she wandered down the streets with David, admiring the fall leaves that were on the trees surrounding Hogsmeade. They had agreed to meet up with Hestia and Jacob at the Three Broomsticks in a couple of hours, using the time before then to wander around the village.
"Do you want to go into Honeydukes?" he asked her, motioning towards the shop.
"Sure," she grinned, pushing the store door open.
The storefront was packed with Hogwarts students, picking, purchasing and consuming their treats. David led her towards the Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans, which he informed her were his absolute favourite. She grabbed a couple different treats around the store, including a couple of Chocolate Frogs.
"Here," David smiled at her, taking the sweets out of her arms and placing them on the counter with his.
"You don't have to," she interjected, "I have the money right here," she told him, holding out the correct change in her hand, extending it towards him.
He closed her fingers around the money and gently pushed her hand back towards her. "I want to," he told her, before turning around to pay the cashier. He passed her brown paper bag to her, full of her sweets, which she immediately placed into her bag next to her book.
"What book is that?" David asked her, noticing it in her bag.
She pulled it out of her bag, showing it to him.
James watched as she emerged from Honeydukes with him, a brown paper bag filled with treats in her hand. He watched as David's eyes lingered on Lily's hand, watching as she opened her bag to stick the sweets inside. His heart stopped when he saw her pull the blue hard covered book out of her bag, showing it to David who was paying little attention to it, his gaze focused still on her hands.
"What's your favourite part?" David asked her, but Lily's eyes had met James' across the way.
She gave him a smile and a small wave, something David didn't fail to notice.
"Lily?" he asked, bringing her back to their date.
"Aslan's sacrifice," she breathed, her gaze still lingering on James. She shook her head, trying to snap herself out of it. "How's Quidditch going?" she asked him, suddenly not wanting to discuss her novel with him.
A smile played on his lips when the topic of Quidditch was brought up. "We're shaping up pretty well," he told her, continuing on their stroll once more. "I'm confident that we are going to do well this year, hopefully better than Gryffindor, sorry."
"Don't apologize," she told him, smiling, "House rivalries in Quidditch are expected. I'd expect nothing less."
"We play your house first," he informed her.
"Oh, really? I haven't been paying attention."
"How is that even possible, Lily? You're in a house with James Potter and Sirius Black, and isn't one of your best-friends on the team?"
"Marls?" Lily laughed, "She is, and I guess you're right. I've been in the library a lot though, so I haven't been in too many of their conversations."
"How are you liking the N.E.W.T's level classes?"
"They're incredible," she sighed blissfully. "The content is so exciting to learn about, and the Professors I think enjoy having smaller class sizes. I know Slughorn certainly enjoys it. He gets the chance to challenge us much more, a welcome change in my mind."
They stood there, awkwardly in the middle of the high street, their heads turning as they watched others go by.
"Is this as awkward for you as it is for me?" he asked her suddenly.
"Sorry?"
"It's just that I've liked you for a while," he explained to her, "But this just feels awkward."
"Maybe a little," Lily laughed.
"I agreed to go because my brother asked," David admitted, chuckling.
"Hestia begged, and I can't say no to her, not when she's done so much for me," Lily sighed truthfully, giggling a little as well.
"This is a huge relief," David laughed. "Do you want to go wait for them in the Three-Broomsticks?"
"Hey Lily, are you two coming in to get some butterbeer?" James asked, coming up behind the couple.
"We were just about to go in," Lily told James, before turning once again to David and following him.
The pub was filled with Hogwarts students, and Lily's eyes scanned the crowds for her friend. James pointed them out from beside her, noticing that his friends were sitting there too. David led them through the crowd, pulling out Lily's chair for her when they reached the table.
Hestia smirked at Lily when she sat down and Lily rolled her eyes in response.
"How has your afternoon been, Lily?" Remus asked after taking a sip from his butterbeer.
"I'll be right back," David told her, getting up.
Lily turned to Remus, holding up her bag from Honeydukes. "It's been good, stocked up on some chocolate," she told him.
"So did I," Remus grinned, holding his up as well.
"And your date?"
"It's not a date," Lily told him quickly. "We don't like each other like that."
James perked up immediately at this, having been eavesdropping on the conversation going on. He leaned over to whisper to Sirius, calling the plan off that he knew was going to unravel the moment David came back to the table. Sirius waved Peter down across the pub, calling him back to the table, scurrying.
"Did you get all the supplies you needed?" Lily asked turning to Sirius, but then quickly held her hand up before he had the chance to answer. "Never mind, I probably don't want to know."
"Afraid of becoming guilty by association?" Sirius teased her.
Lily scoffed at the thought. "As if I would ever be caught dead pulling a prank with you lot," she exclaimed.
The four boys grinned at one another before turning to her. Her eyes went wide when she saw the way they were looking at her. She leaned slightly away from them out of instinct.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked them outright, though her gaze landed on Sirius who she suspected was the ringleader of this little scheme.
"That sounded like a challenge to me, Evans," he told her, wriggling his eyebrows in such a fashion that she was reminded of Marlene.
"No, no, it was not a challenge at all," she exclaimed in attempt to set the record straight. "Sirius Black, if you even think for a moment that I would ever in a million years help you idiots plan a prank that could possibly land me in detention, or worse have my prefect ship taken away then you are wrongly mistaken. No way, I'm putting my foot down. Look, it's planted on the floor. No!"
"Say what you will Evans, but it was still a challenge," Sirius chided, "One that I full well plan to take you up on when you least expect it."
"I'll take away house points if you so much as think of involving me," she told him, slamming her fist down on the table.
Sirius, James, Peter and Remus just laughed at her.
"Evans, Evans, Evans," Sirius shook his head. "Remus here is already our delegated prefect. Don't you think we've been threatened with house point deductions and detentions before from this guy?" he asked, pointing his thumb at Remus.
"It's true," Remus agreed. "I've tried."
"So you'll have to think of some new material if you want to frighten us enough to not involve you in our most epic prank to date," Sirius told her, sitting back in his chair, his arms crossed across his chest, sitting as though he just won the biggest argument ever to occur.
"The frogs are our most epic plan to date?" Peter questioned.
"No, Wormy, the most epic plan hasn't been planned yet, but when it is," Sirius told him, eying Lily down as he did, "Evans is going to help us execute it to perfection and it will be so big no one will ever be able to top it!"
Lily sighed loudly, hitting her head against the table.
"What did you do to break Lily now?" Marlene called to the boys from the other end of the table.
"You'll find out one day," Sirius hollered back at her, making the blonde roll her eyes.
"Here you go," David's voice rang out from behind her.
Lily pulled her head off of the table, and smiled up at the boy. David placed a butter beer in front of her before taking his seat once again next to her.
"Thank-you," she said to him, after taking a sip.
"You've got foam on your lips," he told her, smiling at the sight.
She giggled a little, grabbing a napkin to wipe it off. "Thanks," she grinned.
"So what are you going to do for the afternoon?" he asked her, taking a swig of his drink.
"I'll probably go back to the castle and finish some work," she said simply. "And then when Hestia and Marlene get back Alice and I will listen to them go on and on about how their dates went."
"Lils we're going to need some more snacks if we are to survive this night," Alice chided from her place across the table next to Frank.
Lily laughed, nodding her head, knowing that candy was the only thing that would get them through the night of endless chatter.
"Do you girls do this often?" David laughed, watching their exchange.
"Only when one of us has a date with, well anyone," Hestia piped in. "Although they are both normally stuck listening because Alice has been dating Frank since fourth year and Lily hasn't been on many or ones long enough to dish about."
"Hestia!" Lily shrieked.
"It's not a bad thing," Hestia told her, grinning. "It just means you don't settle!"
Lily rolled her eyes at the girl, making all those around them laugh.
"Just for that, Hest, you are not getting invited to New Years," Lily remarked.
Hestia's face dropped. "You wouldn't!"
"Really?"
"Lily! I'll do anything! I need your mum's baking and the fondue, and your cute cousins!" Hestia begged making their friends erupt in laughter once more.
Lily stared her friend down before relenting, laughing. "Fine, but you've been warned."
"I will never publicly embarrass you again, I swear to Merlin!" Hestia apologized.
"Good thing it's Hest making that promise and not Marlene," Alice joked.
"I am not that bad," Marlene argued, though she was grinning at the validity of the statement.
"I'd beg to differ," Alice called to the girl.
"Why am I friends with you three?" Marlene grumbled, slumping back into her chair. Her date laughed a little at her expression, sliding his arm over her shoulder comfortingly. The girls noticed her perk up a little at the action, which made them giggle and Marlene return to glaring at them all once again.
"You are all hilarious," David laughed along with everyone else at the whole exchange.
"We aim to entertain," Hestia giggled.
David glanced down at his watch, turning to Lily. "Sorry, but I promised my friend I would help her with an essay tonight," he apologized, getting up out of his chair. "It was nice hanging out with all of you," he told the group before addressing his brother, "See you in the common room later, Jake."
"What was that?" Hestia demanded to know when the girls entered the dorm after dinner that night.
Lily stalked off to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Marlene laughed at the sight, sitting on the edge of her bed to pull off her boots, Alice doing the same while they watched Hestia knock on the door continuously waiting for Lily to reemerge.
"Lily! You were blushing when we left this morning and then he up and leaves to go help another girl! What aren't you telling me?" Hestia demanded, knocking on the door once again.
"We don't like each other like that, that's all," Lily sighed, coming out of the bathroom, the makeup scrubbed off of her face.
"What does that even mean?" Marlene questioned, moving to sit on Lily's bed.
"He liked me, but the date was awkward for the both of us and we just realized that the only reason we were there was because of Hestia and Jacob," Lily explained. "Which is a date I would much rather hear about," she said to Hestia, grinning at her friend.
Hestia beamed. "Well if you must know…"
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