"How did you exams go, Lily?" Evy asked as the first year Gryffindor girls walked down the steps to the Great Hall for supper.
"I think I did well, but I should have studied a bit more for Herbology. Professor Adeleby really tricked up us with that essay on dittany. He asked us to name all of the known uses for it. I think there were about twelve but I could only remember eleven. I'm going to be kicking myself all month until I get my results back." Lily sighed and heaved her book bag higher up on her shoulder.
Maureen sighed. "I'm sure you did great Lily. I bet you'll get top marks in everything. I just hope Professor Slughorn takes it easy on us with his grading. I don't remember seeing an alihosty draught potion in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. I could be wrong though. Maybe I just didn't see it?"
"That's because it was in our Book of Potions textbook," Lily said.
"Oh," Maureen said. "So do you think they'll let me repeat my first year or will they just throw me out for being too dumb to be a proper witch?"
Evy laughed. "I'm sure you did fine. If it makes you feel any better, by potion turned blue. I think it was supposed to be a sunny, cheery yellow and smell like sunflowers. Mine smelled like sweat socks."
Maureen smiled. "Well, maybe I wasn't the only one who did badly. Think he'll grade us on a curve?"
The three girls walked into the Great Hall and sat down to dinner. Trays of delicious food spilled out across the table in an abundant feast, fit for royalty. And this was what dinner was like every night. "I'm going to miss this when we go home. Back to my dad's awful cooking," Evy winced as she piled a mountain of mashed sweet potatoes and brown sugar onto a plate.
"Hello ladies," James said, leaning on the table and winking at Lily.
"Hi boys," Maureen said, smiling at them. Evy nodded with a mouthful of potatoes.
"That's attractive," Sirius smirked as she loaded another spoonful into her mouth. Evy smiled, mushed orange potato squeezing out between the cracks in her teeth. "Nice," Sirius laughed. Remus and Peter shook their heads.
"I think it's time," James said, nodding towards the Marauders.
"Time for what?" Maureen asked.
"Oh no, don't ask him! Now he's going to…" Lily groaned.
"To what?" Evy asked.
"I don't know, but it can't be good," Lily replied.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Witches and wizards! Please, can I have everyone's attention?" James shouted, standing up on their table, waving his hands in the air. Dozens of eyes faced him, everyone pausing to watch the spectacle unfolding at the Gryffindor table.
"As you all know, Lily Evans is the most charming…"
"Oh no," Lily whispered.
"Wonderful, smart…"
"Please stop," she groaned.
"And beautiful witch ever to have lived. So I am here to announce my undying love to Lily in front of the whole school. And now I ask, Lily Evans, will you be my girlfriend?" James turned, beaming down at Lily.
Lily's face turned white as Peeves. She shook her head. "Nope. No. No way. Not going to happen." Lily stood up and walked out of the Great Hall. Snape jumped from his seat at the Slytherin table and followed behind her. The students in the great Hall looked back at James. When his shoulders slumped and he said nothing, they tuned back to their meal, some of them snickering, others whispering.
"Well that didn't go as planned," James sat down with an annoyed look on his face. "And now Snivellus is going to remind her how much she should hate me. I don't know why she evn talks to that bloody idiot." James speared a potato and dropped it onto his plate. It bounced off and hit the floor with a soft "thunk."
"Because he's nice to her, and doesn't try to embarrass her with his undying love every chance he gets. Maybe you should leave the poor girl alone for a little while," Evy suggested. "If you bother her constantly, then of course she…"
"Bother!" James gasped, clutching his hand over his heart like he'd been wounded. "James Potter is never a bother. I just need her to come around. Just wait. She'll see the light. One day."
Evy rolled her eyes. "So how'd your exams go, Remus?" she asked.
"Oy, what about the rest of us?" Sirius asked, poking Evy in the ribs. She giggled. A small smile played on the corner of Sirius' lip, but he tilted his head to hide it from her.
Remus glanced at Sirius and gave him a knowing smile. "I think we all did alright. How about you?"
"I think I did ok. I know I nailed Charms. Perfect marks. But I'm not so sure about Transfiguration. Last time I checked, rabbits weren't supposed to have scales. I'm sure McGonagall will knock me down a few points for that mistake."
"Nah, I'm sure she'll take it easy on us," Maureen said. "This is her first year as head of Gryffindor house. I think that'll buy us a couple of extra points with her."
"Oh, will it?" Professor McGonagall's tight voice echoed from behind Maureen.
"P…p…professor," she stammered, turning in her seat to face McGonagall. "I'm sorry. We were only joking. We were just talking about our exams and…"
"Miss O'Brien, I only give out the marks a student deserves, regardless of their house," McGonagall said. "Rest assured, you will receive the mark you earned, not the one you think you deserve. I do not play favorites. I play fair." With a flick of her purple robes billowing out behind her, McGonagall stomped down the aisle towards the staff table.
"You're lucky she didn't try to take away house points," Peter said. "We've got a chance of beating Hufflepuff this year."
"Stupid do-gooders," James murmured.
Evy laughed. "Well as long as you four don't cause any problems, we might have a shot."
"I can't believe our first year is over already," Sirius sighed. "I don't want to leave."
"Well, its only two months until we're back here," James said. "And you can all come visit me whenever you want."
"Thanks but my parents hate your family. They don't understand how pure-bloods can be in Gryffindor. So of course, now I'm the new shame of the family. Man, this is going to be a rough summer at home," Sirius smirked.
"Well, they'll just have to get over it," Evy said.
Sirius let out a bitter laugh, his dark hair failing down in his face. "Right. Go ask a zebra to change it stripes and let me know how that works out for you."
"I think it's a leopard and its spots," Remus remarked.
"Look at the know-it-all. Should have been a Ravenclaw," James joked.
"Don't laugh. I almost was," Remus said.
"So was I," Evy chimed in.
"Really?" Peter asked. "I could have been a Hufflepuff. When I heard 'Gryffindor' I thought it was a fluke. The Sorting Hat told me three times that it was right and to get off the stool and go sit down."
Everyone laughed, the mood lightening. The black cloud that hung over the table seemed to rise and burn with the floating candles above them. "So any grand end-of-the-year pranks from The Marauders?" Maureen asked.
"No, we cut a deal with a few Ravenclaws. They want to have the last laugh since they're seventh years. We decided to plan up for next year so we can walk in with a bang!" James exclaimed.
"Why do I get the feeling he means a literal 'bang'?" Evy asked.
"You'll just have to wait to find out," Remus smiled.
"I wonder if Tabby is involved." Evy said.
"Your goody-two-shoes sister? I doubt it. She's been too busy sucking face with Henry Ackleboxer from Slytherin all semester," Maureen said.
"Ew," Evy shrieked. "What? How do you know this?"
"Are you blind? They're like the hottest couple in Hogwarts right now," Maureen rolled her eyes. "Don't you talk to your sister?"
"Sometimes" Evy blushed. "But she mostly talks to Beth. They don't really like hanging out with their kid sister."
"Well, maybe you should try to talk to them more," Peter suggested. "It might be tough, since you're in different years. And you're all in different houses. And one of them is a Prefect. The other is on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. I mean… Well, I guess I can see why you don't get to talk to them much."
"You'll have all summer to catch up," Sirius placed a warm hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze of reassurance. A little flurry in Evy's belly rumbled. Must be the potatoes…
"And you have Tabby's graduation to look forward to," Remus smiled at her.
"You're right guys. I guess I just don't know why I feel left out. I should go write to my parents. I'll see you guys tomorrow at House Cup ceremony. Save me a seat?"
"Of course," Sirius said, frowning as he watched her get up and walk out of the room.
Evy wander around the school halls, going nowhere in particular. Just walking. She wandered up and up a long spiral staircase, watching her feet move one in front of the other. When she was I front of a large door at the top of the steps, she stopped. The large brown door looked heavy. There was no knocker or knob—only a small eagle where a knob should be The Ravenclaw common room.
She stood with her feet frozen in place and waited, but the eagle said nothing. No surprise. She wasn't a Ravenclaw or a professor. Evy crossed her arms and tapped her foot, waiting for someone to come and open the door.
A few minutes later, a group of third year Ravenclaw girls came up the steps and stared at her. "You're not allowed in there," one of the girls said.
And this is the house of wit and wisdom? Thanks professor Obvious. "I know. I'm a Gryffindor," Evy said. "I need to talk to my sister, Tabby. I didn't see her in the Great Hall. I was wondering if one of you could go and check if she's inside. I need to talk to her. It's a…family problem."
A girl with jet black hair rolled her eyes. "Fine, we'll check. What's your name?"
"Evy Graham," she said.
"Alright, Evy. We'll help you look for your sister. But you have to do something for us," the black haired girl said.
"Alright. What is it?" Evy asked.
"Can you tell Sirius Black to meet me by the statue of the Phoenix on the third floor tonight an hour before curfew?" she asked, a slight blush tinting her stoic face.
"Sure, what's your name?" Evy asked.
"Henrietta Vane," she replied.
"Alright. You find my sister, I'll tell Sirius to meet you there tonight."
"I never said I'd find your sister. She might not be in there," she frowned.
"Well I said I'd tell Sirius to meet you there. I can't drag him to the statue for you if he doesn't want to go," Evy snapped.
"Just forget her," one of the two blonde haired girls said.
"No, I need to talk to Sirius," the black haired girl aid to her friend. "Fine. I'll find your sister. Let's go." The three girls answered the password and marched inside, all three of them rolling their eyes at Evy. "Obnoxious Gryffindors. Think they own the place," she mumbled.
The door closed behind them. "Look at the know-it-all. Should have been a Ravenclaw," Evy grumbled in a low voice, trying to sound like James and failing terribly.
A moment later, Tabby stepped out of the common room, her face flushed. "Evy, is everything alright? What's the emergency?" she panted.
"There's no emergency," Evy said. "I never said there was one. Just that I wanted to talk to you."
Tabby sighed, trying to catch her breath. Clearly she had rushed out of there to see her sister. "Evy, you scared me half to death. I thought mom… dad… oh, never mind. What's wrong? Why did you want to talk?"
"Do I need a reason?" Evy shrugged. "I haven't talked to you all semester. And I just found out today that you've been dating a Slytherin boy." Evy's face cringed in disgust.
Tabby frowned. "You shouldn't judge, Evy. You walk around with that Black boy like it's alright and his family's horrible. At least Henry comes from a respectable Slytherin family."
"There's nothing wrong with Sirius. He's not like his family," Evy huffed, crossing her arms. "You don't know him."
"And you don't know Henry." Tabby stooped down a bit to reach her sister's height. "Look, Evy, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I was going to introduce him to you at the graduation ceremony at the end of the week. He's special to me." Tabby's face softened, her eyes glistening and her smile brightening the entire Ravenclaw tower. "I'm in love with him, Evy."
"Oh," she paused, staring at her sister. "Well…um…congratulations?" Her eyebrow raised in confusion.
Tabby laughed. "Thanks, Evy. And listen, I promise I'll spend more time with you this summer, alright? Maybe I can show you some of the things I've learned. Henry is teaching me to fly a bit better. Maybe I can go higher than ten feet without worrying about falling off my Nimbus 100 this summer."
Evy laughed. "Yeah, you've always been terrible. Kind of funny how Beth is amazing but we both suck at Quidditch."
"Language, Evy," Tabby scolded with a smile. "And I promise, next year when you're in Hogwarts, I'll write to you every week. Let you know how mom and dad are doing. But you have to promise to write back, alright?"
"Ok," Evy smiled at her sister.
"Good." Tabby bent down and squeezed her sister in a tight hug. "Now go start packing. Mom and dad won't want you waiting until the last minute. You might miss the train."
"Alright," Evy said, rushing down the steps. Maybe, finally, this would be a chance for her to be closer to her sisters.
*********Thank you everyone! Please, please review! I can't tell you how much your reviews brighten up my day!