Excuses

She had the best excuses. His mouth hung open and he was sure his look was mirrored by the other third years around him. Only Sulfia and Dorca didn't look shocked out of their skin. They actual nodded along with Lily's story like they had done it dozens of times before.

It started with Dorca's fourteenth birthday at the end of November. The third year Gryffindors decided to celebrate by sneaking into the kitchen. Lily and Sulfia were Dorca's best friends in Gryffindor, and the Marauders were friends with her as well, so the group teenagers snuck out to the kitchen and ate so much that they felt sick, then tried to sneak back. Only then did they realize that it was nearly an hour over curfew, and surprisingly, seven teenagers weren't very stealthy.

Mrs. Norris, the one year old cat from Filch, stood in front of them. Damn! James and Sirius tried to think up a hex to deal with the beast, while Peter and Remus looked around for Filch. Maybe they could run for it? Then Lily Evans did something completely crazy. She crouched down.

"Hey Mrs. Norris, how are you sweety?" She cooed at the cat and offered her some thread she pulled out of her pocket. She had obviously lost her mind! The craziest thing about it? IT WORKED!

The tabby cat paced over to the redhead, and not only took the thread, but also let Lily pet her.

James' arm hung useless in the air, holding his wand. This thing didn't like anyone! It hated every single student! At least, that's what he thought. Would they really get away with wandering in the halls at night, because Lily could even charm the bloody cat to like her?

The other six stood around her and the cat and stared at them in disbelief. It was as if somebody had showed off an impressive piece of advanced magic way beyond their grasp. That was when the gruff voice of Filch filled the hall.

"Students out of bed!" There was a sadistic glee in his voice, as if he were imagining all the terrible penalties for such a horrendous crime.

"Mr. Filch, oh how good to see you." Lily stood up and in front of the group, with that blasted claw-beast on her arm. It was purring. Lily on the other hand sounded a mix between relieved and panicked.

"You…" Filch said, but the normal bile and disdain was missing from his voice.

"You see, sir, we were studying in the library. When we noticed it was getting late, we wanted to go back to the tower, but some older students pushed us into an unused classroom and locked us in." James couldn't see her face when she said all of this, but her voice sounded like she was close to tears and he felt the urge to comfort her, even though he knew that she was lying. "And then the – the boys showed up, because they were worried when we didn't return. We were on the way back, but now we're lost." She started sniffing. The two other girls stepped in front of the boys, but stayed behind Lily and nodded at all the right places. "The castle looks so different in the night and we were all so scared. Could you please show us the way to the Gryffindor tower?"

Filch is going to kill us! James thought. There is no way he would believe any of this!

But he did. His eyes turned somewhat soft and grunted his agreement. He hopped in front of them and lead them to the tower. Lily caught up to him and talked with him, or at least at him, which he didn't seem to mind.

James jaw hung open at the spectacle. "How?" He whispered.

"Last year, when he just got that cat, some students were kicking it or something, and when Lily saw it, she went over and shouted at them and stomped on some toes to protect the little thing. Since then the bloody cat loves Lily. Apparently that's enough to earn unwavering loyalty and friendship from Filch. Just don't say anything and let her do the talking." Sulfia MacEllis whispered back at him. "It's best if he doesn't even notice that you guys are here. We think the secret is, he wants to believe her."

And people said he and Sirius were good for talking their way out of trouble with McGonagall… James stared some more at her back. Her red hair bounced with each of steps. How could anyone appear so cheerful when talking with Filch?

They arrived at the portrait of the pink lady and the boys slipped through while Lily was still talking to the caretaker.

"Goodbye Mrs. Norris." She handed the cat back to Filch. "She is such a lovely cat. If she ever has kittens, may I have one of them?" She sounded really excited at the idea.

Years later, he would learn that neither Filch nor Lily took her words as empty flattering, when Lily introduced him to Captain Norris, the fluffy little son of the students' bane, Mrs. Norris. But it was a long time until then and for the meantime,

James was sure of it. Lily Evans had the best excuses.


A.N. Thank you to my beta reader Dremworkser for the great help.

To the chapter, Lily is often described as very kind and in most stories this is shown by her being kind and friendly to Hagrid and/or the house elves. But I always felt like it was a bit of cheating. Hagrid and the house elves are always friendly. I think there is no friendlier character in the books than Hagrid. How difficult is it to be kind to a kind person. You just don't have to be a jerk. But being friendly and kind to an unkind and unfriendly character and to make even those like you, that is true extraordinary kindness and friendliness.

The friendship I envision between Lily and Filch is not like Harry with Hagrid and meeting for tea or anything like this. It is just that Lily stops for a moment to pet Mrs. Norris and just says hello when they meet each other in the halls. Maybe she will talk to him a little bit, before moving on. Sometimes maybe even help him clean up after the Marauders. Filch never really bothered to learn her name, he only does that for troublemakers, but he likes her in his grumpy old man way. Because of this friendship Lily gets a few times away with being out after curfew, but she doesn't to it too often.

About Captain Norris, I just love the idea that one of the Marauders somehow ended up with on of Mrs. Norris kittens. In the beginning James and Captain doesn't get along at all, but later they bond and when they are alone they would even cuddle. Lily would sometimes find them sleeping next to each other, or even with Captain sleeping in James lap, but as soon as Lily returns they would act as if they still can't stand each other. Why the name Captain Norris? My cat is named Captain.

I hope you like this chapter and would leave a review for me.

Have a nice day.