Welcome to the penultimate chapter of "At Last"! :) Thanks so much for reading guys, I really appreciate it :))
The more reviews I get, the sooner I'll post the conclusion :P
That night, James, Sirius, Remus, and to some extent Peter discussed the prank they were to pull on Tanner Brown.
"I think we should jinx his chocolate frogs so that once he takes a bite, he'd turn a nasty, frogly shade of green. That's definitely scare Ravenna away," Sirius said, laughing raucously. James laughed along.
"I like that," Peter said giggling softly.
"Sirius!" Remus reprimanded, although a smile was playing at his lips.
"Alright, alright… maybe we prank Brown herself, and give her a taste of his own medicine. We slip her a love potion and make sure… say, who does Brown absolutely despise?" James said, thinking aloud.
"Lily!" Sirius yelled, and burst into tears of uncontrollable laughter. Peter and Remus joined him.
"PADFOOT be serious, come on," James yelled back, half-frustrated, half-amused.
"H..he s..sssaid be s.. Ssirius," Sirius stuttered, delirious from laughter. Soon, the whole crew was rolling around in fits of laughter.
After the laughing phase had passed, the Marauders gathered round, and started to plan the prank they had promised Lily. After a couple hours, the draft was ready, and now, all they had to do was keep it a secret till the next Quidditch game….
Meanwhile, Lily and Marlene were in their dormitory getting ready for bed. They were exhausted from the day's adventure, and couldn't wait to go to sleep.
"Wow, Lily, I had a great time today!" Marlene said sleepily. Lily nodded her head vigorously.
"It was the most fun I've had in literally ages." Lily said nonchalantly.
"Yeah…. You know Lily, James really isn't that bad. He's trying his best to change you know. He's not as bad as last year." Marlene said cautiously. She knew from past experience that talking about James was like walking on very thin ice.
"Well he's changed that's for sure," Lily replied, and rolled over on her bed, facing the wall. She sighed to herself, and shut the light, hoping that the darkness would help her ignore the butterflies that overcame her when a certain student's name was mentioned.
On the opposite side of campus, in the Slytherin dormitory, Severus Snape struggled to fall asleep. He couldn't get the image of James and Lily smiling at each other in the Dining Hall out of his head. Why did stupid Potter have to spoil everything he had shared with Lily?! It had been great, just the two of them, Lils and Sev, for the last six years! Granted, Lily had had her doubts about Mulciber and the rest of his Slytherin mates, but it had been the best six years of his life. Severus growled. He hated Potter more than anything.
He shut his eyes angrily, and tried his best to fall asleep in the darkness that pervaded not only the room, but his heart.
The next morning, James woke up with a big smile on his face; it was Sunday, and that meant Quidditch practice. There was only a week left until the prank the Marauders had planned, and it was going to happen on James's second most favorite place in the world (after Hogwarts): the Quidditch pitch.
He left a note for the others, and headed out. It was four o' clock in the morning, so he didn't expect the other team members to be very lively. Once he reached the Quidditch pitch, he was pleased to see that all of the other team members (including Marlene) were present (though yawning, moaning and groaning).
"All right guys, just seven days till the big game. You better try your hardest, Ravenclaw is going to play tough. They may have brains, but we have skill! Nobody's better than the Gryffindor team, and you know it! We're going to win the Quidditch Cup this year, it's my last year, we better! So play your hardest, and we'll beat the fubbling crab outta them. Got it?" James yelled passionately.
"Yes coach," the team replied. It seemed as if the pep talk from their captain had woken them up - just a little.
They spent the next three hours of practice blocking Bludgers, scoring goals, and lastly, seeking the golden snitch. Before they knew it, breakfast had arrived, and the team left the pitch feeling sweatier than ever.
"Hey Marlene, can I talk to you for a quick second?" James called, as they walked to the Dining Hall.
"Oh… sure James," Marlene replied agreeably.
"Alright… see it's about Lily. I feel like our relationship is warming up a little…. Do you think she, you know, has…" James looked around embarrassedly.
"Feelings for you?" Marlene filled in. "I don't know James, but whatever you're doing right now, keep it up, because she doesn't hate you anymore, that's for certain."
"Okay, thanks Marlene. See you around." James said quickly, rushing towards the breakfast table.
Marlene sighed. She knew it was meant to be… how much longer would it take for Lily to realize that she was slowly, yet unknowingly, falling for her former nemesis?
The Marauders were silent all week, a feat extremely out of place for the otherwise rowdy group. They didn't crack jokes, and merely said hi and hello. Lily seemed extremely wary, since whenever they were silent, it meant they were up to something; she sincerely hoped whatever they were planning had to do with the Tanner prank. However, Lily had been having other thoughts. She was a prefect… was it really right to prank a fellow student, no matter what he did to her? Lily sighed. But Tanner really did deserve a slap on the face….
"Hey Evans," Sirius called from across the hall, the other Marauders right behind him.
"Oh, blimey, didn't see you there," Lily replied. "Listen, I have something to ask you. I'm.. well I'm a prefect, and well, if McGonagall found out that I had been a part of this, I'm kinda screwed." Lily said sheepishly.
"I get it. But don't worry, we'll leave you out of this at all costs," James said winking at her.
"Thanks," Lily said, grinning.
"Anytime Lils. Come on Padfoot, Moony, Wormtail! We got to go get the book about the … the thing," James said, glancing warily at Lily.
"Thing? What thing? Let me come along, please!" Lily begged, her curiosity getting the best of her.
"Prongs… we promised it be a secret," Sirius said cautiously.
"Sorry, Evans, you'll love it, I promise." James said, grinning.
"Yeah, and it won't be long until you see it in action," Remus added, smiling.
"Ugh, alright. See you," Lily said, glancing at her watch. There was still a quarter of an hour left until her free period ended; she decided to head to the library and take her "Hogwarts, A History" book along with her for a little bit of light reading.
What she didn't know was that a certain Severus Snape was following her every step.
Severus Snape kept his eyes on Lily the whole time they walked there; he HAD to talk to her, he just had to. He needed to know how she felt about James; it was the question that stopped him from sleeping every night now without fail. Snape was at a tipping point now; after this, his friendship with Lily would either be severed, or be rekindled. Snape entered the library, with Lily right in front of him. He decided it was now or never.
"Hi Lily," Snape said, as Lily made herself comfy in her chair.
"He… oh, it's you," Lily said, rolling her eyes mid-greeting.
"Lily please! I really didn't mean to do what I did, or say what I said! I value our friendship more than anything in the world, really! Please forgive me Lily, please!" Severus begged.
"Go away, Severus. I meant what I said when I said that I was done with you," Lily said, rather tersely.
"Please!" Severus entreated once more, only to find Lily shaking her head in disgust.
"Fine, go hang out with your boyfriend Potter," Severus spat, angrily.
"He's NOT my boyfriend! At least he's TRUTHFUL and stands up for his friends," Lily retorted, unfazed.
"What!" Snape exclaimed. He had expected Lily to reply commenting on how arrogant and what a prat the Potter boy was; instead, she had complimented him. He was done.
"Filthy Mudblood," Snape said hotly. Lily gasped. This was too much for her to bear; fighting with her ex-best friend, and it ending with him calling her a Mudblood?! Of all things! Lily felt on the verge of tears.
"SNIVELLUS!," came an angry voice from behind the bookshelf, none other than James Potter. It appeared as if Severus had uttered the despicable word a little louder than he had wanted.
"James!" Lily said, relieved to have gotten out of her tight spot, but then immediately felt self-conscious. Had James heard her compliment him? Oh Merlin, what a mess! James glanced at her briefly, then diverted his eyes back to Snape, wand pointed at his chest.
"Whatever you do…. Don't. Call. Lily. Mudblood." James threatened, whispering every word, and frightening Severus, who ran away promptly. This left James and Lily alone in the library.
"Thanks James," Lily smiled weakly, and gave him a quick hug before hurrying off to McGonagalls'.
"Oh… it's nothing Lily." James grinned, the reality slowly sinking in. He stood there in shock for five seconds straight. Had Lily Evans, the girl of his dreams, actually HUGGED him? Not only that, but had she stood up for him, and called him truthful and loyal? James couldn't have dreamed for more. It was pure luck that Remus had told him to fetch a book about nifflers from the library, else he wouldn't have been here. It was the first time that Snape's presence had affected him in a good way. James exited the library and went to the common room, the smile never leaving his face.
"And.. he called me .. MUDBLOOD," Lily sobbed in the dormitory before dinner, Marlene right by her side.
"Well, I'll GIVE him a piece of my mind! Lily, you don't deserve a guy like him; he was never right for you; he hangs out with Mulciber and Malfoy for heavens sake! Trust me, you'll be just fine without him," Marlene consoled her friend.
"I.. I know Marlene! It's just, we were BEST friends, we did everything together… it's so hard to just give it up! He's … he's been a jerk off late, but I.." Lily wiped her tears. Marlene patted her back. She never could get over the friendship Lily and Severus had shared; it wasn't commonplace for Gryffindors and Slytherins to be seen hanging around one another, and so a full-fledged friendship between the two was hard for Marlene to wrap her head around.
"Thank Merlin James was there, I was on the verge of tears. I'm a bloody mess." Lily sighed, the tears slowly crawling away. Marlene smiled despite herself. Lily and James were finally getting along, to her secret delight.
"I get it, Lily. It's hard. But sometimes, you've got to draw the line between the good sort and the bad, and it's often hard, but it's got to be done," Marlene said conclusively.
before you ask... yup i couldnt resist sneaking in that serious Sirius joke haha!
hope you liked that chapter!
If I can get to 5 reviews this week, I'll consider myself blessed, and you guys'll get the next chapter the very next day! Is that enough motivation yet lol
thankss!