Jinxs, Hexs and Curses

The sun had long set over the icy highland scenery surrounding Hogwarts and most students had gone to bed when the portrait of the Fat Lady finally swung open and Alice Highmore ducked into Gryffindor common room.

Frank and Lily both looked up from their books at the same time, identical smiles forming on their faces when they saw who it was. Franks book scattered to the floor, where it lay forgotten, as he jumped to his feet, ran over to his exhausted looking girlfriend, and embraced her in the biggest hug Lily had ever seen.

"I'm so glad your back!" he exhaled, holding on tight.

Lily gave them a moment, closed her own book more thoughtfully and put it aside. She and Frank had had a long talk that evening, before returning to Gryffindor common room with nothing left to say. There was nothing else to say. They had talked for so long. First about the order, then about Alice and then about life in general. Frank was a good listener, always nodding and speaking in exactly the right places. For the first time, Lily had properly realized what Alice saw in him. Sure, he was quiet and thoughtful. But he wasn't at all boring. And it wasn't even just seeing how much he cared for Alice, as Lily had originally thought. It was his sweet, calming and trustworthy demeanour that really stood out to her. Truly, he was the perfect match for her. They were both lucky to have each other, Lily thought, regarding them. Would she ever find someone like that, she wondered with a slight blush…

"… it was just awful, she was in such a bad condition…"

Lily snapped back to reality. Alice was talking with so much concerned in her voice, it made Lily want to cry. But she didn't. Instead, she got up and hugged her friend tightly as well. Just like she had done the day before in McGonagall's office. These kinds of things brought people together. There was a bond between the three of them now, that could not easily be broken. The kind of bond Lily had only ever had with her best friend. Severus. And perhaps her sister, when they were younger.

"You want to sit down and tell us what happened?" She asked, finally letting go of Alice.

And so they did, and Alice told them everything. She told them about how her mother had probably been ambushed by the very Death Eaters she had been hunting and how they had overwhelmed her. She told them about how the healers at St. Mungo's had said she had been hit by a botched memory charm, most likely "obliviate", which was causing her to suffer from an extreme case of temporary memory loss.

"Honestly, when they told me that, I was expecting something like… I don't know, something like what old people have. But it was so much worse. When I came in the room, she didn't even seem to recognize me. It was like I wasn' even there. She just kept talking nonsense. It made no sense to me. She kept repeating the same line over and over. I tried to talk to her and everything, but all she kept say was 'remember remember, the 5th of November" or something like that. My dad took me out when he heard her. Didn't want me to see her in that state I suppose…" Alice described, sounding both drained and incredibly troubled.

"Why would she be repeating lines from a nursery rhyme?" Frank asked the question on Lily's lips.

"What do you mean?"

"What you were saying. It's a nursery rhyme." Lily interjected. "It goes: 'Remember, remember the 5th of November, gunpowder, treason and plot, I know of no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot.' I don't remember the rest. But it's about Guy Fawkes, who was this Muggle that tried to blow up Muggle parliament during the rule of King James I."

Alice looked at the two of them with disbelief for a moment. Then her face softened, and a great smile appeared on her lips. "Merlin's beard, that explains everything! She did recognize me!"

When she saw the confused looks on Frank and Lily's faces, she continued: "I used to love nursery rhymes and poems and riddles and all those things when I was a child. My mom would spend hours reading them to me. That's what it must be, no? She must have recognized and dug that memory up from deep deep down! Strange she would choose that one though… I don't even remember it that well. Certainly wasn't one of my favourites…"

After a minute of chewing her lips, she went on: "But it doesn't matter. This morning she was much better already. She seemed a lot more herself. She asked me about my grades were and how Frank was doing… The healers say she will be completely fine again in about a week or so. Maybe, I'll be able to visit her again by then."

For the first time in a while, Lily slept well. It had been a long, restless day, but that night she slept like a rock. Even her reoccurring dreams stayed away. The only dream she had all night was of a potions class she had had a few years prior. There was a giant bubbling cauldron in it and a smiling Severus Snape, strangely wearing a pink bonnet and matching nightgown. Where that idea had come from, Lily had no idea. At least it hadn't been a long dream…

Nevertheless, Lily had slept so well, that she had completely slept through the sound of her alarm clock and even the chatter of the other girls getting ready. It took Marlene finally whipped open her curtains and shaking her awake, that she bolted up right. Now in a terrible rush, Lily jumped into her school robes, spelled her hair into a tight ponytail and dashed downstairs.

Only once she had entered the Great Hall, did she realize what day it was. The 31st. Tonight would be the Hallowe'en feast. The Hall was already richly decorated. Carved pumpkins stood around everywhere, some even floating, and bright orange ribbons danced through the air as if they had just been shot from a confetti cannon. In the evening, it would all look even more spectacular, but the mood in the room was already excellent. Finally, the talk was no longer about the latest Quidditch match.

As Lily headed towards Slytherin table, she overheard what was being said. Opposite to what she had thought, Hallowe'en was not the subject being discussed among the students around her.

Dropping down onto the bench across from Severus, she asked "What's going on here? I oversleep one day, and I am completely out of the loop! Why is everyone discussing spells and duelling?"

Severus gave her a rare smile. It was a smile reserved solely for her. Not that she would ever have known that, of course. "It's because of the new Duelling Club, Dumbledore is starting. Apparently, there were sign-up sheets in every common room this morning. Looks like most people are interested in going!"

Lily furrowed her brow. A Duelling Club? That was certainly new. The concept wasn't, she had read about many famous Duelling Clubs throughout the ages. But the thing was, the last time there had been one at Hogwarts, was during Grindelwald's revolution. Ultimately, the need for the club's existence did not mean anything good.

"Well, there is nothing for it. We'll have to go won't we." Lily concluded.

Severus nodded, finishing off his toast. "Already signed us up. Thought better we're on the list twice than we end up in one of the bad groups!"

"What do you mean one of the bad groups?"

"Welcome all students!" squeaked Professor Flitwick from atop a stool on the teacher's platform, the next evening. Aside from his podium, all other furniture that usually stood in the Great Hall had been removed.

As his first attempt had failed to grab anyone's attention, Flitwick held the tip of his wand to his throat, making his high-pitched voice boom throughout the Hall. Immediately all chatter died down. "Your achievements in your various classes, the opinions of your Head of House as well as your personal choice have all been taken into account when picking your group. Different groups will learn different things, depending on your level of expertise. Shortly, you will be sorted into these groups. However, I would advise you not to get too comfortable, your group leaders will watch you closely today and re-sort you accordingly. Questions?"

Several hands shot into the air as excited whispers started up once more.

"No? Good, then let's get started!"

Carefully, the short old wizard climbed down from the stool had had been standing on and waved two men forward who had been waiting further back. Each of them was carrying a small wooden chest. Flitwick waved his wand at the two chests, with a flourish of movements. What followed was an almost inaudible pop as both chests flew open, sending hundreds of pieces of parchment flying into the air. With a collective "ooh" from the crowd the parchment pieces zigzagged through the air, shooting into all direction.

"Everyone, stick out your right hand, please!" Flitwick cried over the noise of the paper. It sounded almost like there were thousands of birds in the Great Hall. As the students stretched out their hands, the parchment started to rain down on them like thick white snowflakes, each landing in the outstretched hand of the student it belonged to.

With a look of amazement Lily stared at her own sliver of parchment. Even after five years at Hogwarts, magic still never failed to amaze her.

"What's yours say?" Severus asked looking over her shoulder. Somewhat nervously, Lily unfolded the parchment that had landed in her hand.

"It just says Advanced, Lower Dungeon. What does yours say?" Lily asked, slightly confused.

Smiling, Severus showed her his parchment. Their pieces were identical. Relieved, Lily smiled back at her best friend. If they were there together, then it almost didn't matter what it meant.

A few minutes later, after Flitwick had explained that there were five levels (beginner, elementary, intermediate, advanced and proficiency) and that the location following the group name was where they would be meeting from then on, everyone had set off in the direction of their group's meeting place.

It took them ages to get down to the dungeon, as so many people were all heading in different directions at the same time. Once they had finally made their way out of the hall, the decent down to the dungeon was easy. There were only a handful of people who were headed in that direction.

"I wonder how many people are in the proficiency group…" Lily whispered to Severus as they headed down the Dungeon Staircase. They didn't know too many of the older students. Lily only knew those who regularly came to Prefect's meetings or the Slugclub, though she hadn't really talked to any of them too much. It was a strange idea thinking that she was in the second-best group. Not because she thought that she ought to have be in the very best group, but because she had never even considered herself good enough for the advanced one. She had had so little experience and at the same time such a great knack for underestimating herself.

Either way, Lily swore to herself that she would soak up every word and study every spell they learned, meticulously. She almost felt as if it was her duty to do so. After everything that had happened, and everything she feared was yet to come, Lily simply had to do her very best!

Once they arrived in the spacious practice room, neither Lily nor Severus had ever been to, both of them looked around the room to see who else was in their group.

"Oh good, Alice and Frank are here as well! Oh and Marlene, look!"

"Almost all of the Slugclub is here, look even Delcon and Slinkhard…" Severus said, almost sounding a little disappointed. Lily was about to ask why he was being so rude when three more familiar faces walked in.

"Bloody hell." Lily cursed, her hands turning into fists.

Next to her, Severus had become quite still. His eyes fixed on the faces of Potter, Black and Lupin. There was nothing Lily could do. In a group of around 20 people, it would be impossible to avoid them for too long.

"So the term 'Advanced' is meant very loosely, then?" Severus said in a voice thick with hate, speaking more than loud enough for the new comers to hear.

Both Potter and Black looked at each other for a second and then immediately doubled over laughing.

"Good one, Snivellus." Potter said with a broad, confident smirk on his face. "We are just as shocked they let you in here, as I am sure you are!"

"Nah, Prongs, they just put him here because no other group would have him!" Again they began to laugh.

They truly were the most despicable, loathsome fools. Before Lily could react however, Severus had taken a step forward, his wand drawn within seconds and pointed at the gang in front of him. "You want to say that again, Potter?" he nearly spat the name.

Potter and Black reacted just as rapidly, drawing their own wands. Remus next to them was slower, looking incredibly uncomfortable.

"Stand down at once!" a growling voice barked from behind the three, armed Marauders. Lowering their wands, they parted turning slightly red. Severus too lowered his wand looking begrudgingly at the man who had appeared in the doorway. Alastor Moody. The auror who had interviewed Lily a few days earlier. Next to him stood Professor Cunningham, their Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. In the short time that they had had her, she had become notorious for her foul mood and strict demeanour.

"How dare you draw your wands?! Ten points from Gryffindor for each of you and another ten from Slytherin!" she screeched. "I should have you all thrown out of this Duelling Club right now!"

"I don't think that will be necessary, Amalia." Moody grunted, then turning to Potter to add "And you, wipe that look off your face and hold your tongue. Your parents won't be happy to hear you've been getting in trouble at school!"

"At this point, I think their used to it." James retorted, trying to sound as if Cunningham's speech hadn't bothered him at all. To Lily's amazement, Moody huffed, sounding almost amused. They knew each other? It was just Lily's luck that it was James flipping Potter, who knew the man she had been so desperate to find out more about. For a second, she almost wished Severus had had time to curse his stupid face off.

"If you're all done stupidly staring, then I'd say we get going." Professor Cunningham scolded, clearly displeased to have been undermined.

"Alright with me." Moody said, walked into the middle of the room and introduced himself curtly. "Myself and Professor Cunningham here will be your instructors in this advanced group. The goal is to get you ready for what is out there. We live in dark times, there's is no point denying it."

"For today, however, we want to see what you are capable of. We have devised a number of exercises to test your abilities." After seeing the concerned look on many of the faces in front of her, Professor Cunningham added: "It's for your own good. There's no point in you being in a group that's too hard for you or perhaps even doesn't challenge you enough. Now get in line in front of me here. One after the other please, move along!"

Quickly Lily grabbed Severus' arm and dragged him to front of the line as far away from Potter and his friends as possible. The last thing she needed while being tested by these disagreeable people, was having to worry about Potter or Black jinxing her or Severus from behind.

The first "exercise", as they had called it, consisted of Moody and Professor Cunningham shooting a spell at them, which they in turn had to rapidly either counter using the appropriate counter-spell, or block using protego. They did this for a while with each student, before signing for him or her to join the back of the line.

Waiting for your turn was the worst part, Lily thought. It was nerve-racking, even though she knew it wasn't anything too difficult, nor were they using any dangerous spells. Once it was her turn, however, she realized it was much easier to do than it looked. Fun, almost. She was able to counter all five spells shot at her, only needing protego once. "Well done. Next."

Almost everyone made it through the first exercise completely unscathed. A few students were hit with the leg-locker curse, a tripping hex or had their wands knocked from their hand.

"Alright, none of you are completely in adequate, so let's move on to something a bit harder. Pair up and find yourselves some space, I'll explain what to do." Moody instructed them.

Already stood next to Severus Lily took his arm and marched a little further back in the room. Again, far away from those idiot boys.

"Good, now take turns. I assume you all know a whole number of charms, hexes, jinxes and curses that aren't going to harm your classmates. One person fires, the other block or counters. Got it? Go!"

Lily and Severus bowed at each other with big smiles on their faces. This would be fun. It was sort of like passing a ball between one another, but with wands and slightly higher stakes.

"You star- protego!" Severus had blocked Lily's tickling charm just in time. "Oh so that's how it's going to be? Cantis!"

Mere second before the blue light shot from Severus' wand hit her, she murmured the words "recant", letting the two beams cancel each other out.

"A singing jinx? That would be more torture for you, than for me, Sev!" Lily laughed.

And so they continued, charm after charm and hex after hex. At one point, Lily almost transfigure Severus into a bird, a few seconds later, he nearly hit her with a jelly-brain jinx.

"And STOP!" called out Professor Cunningham, shooting red sparks from her wand in order to get their attention. "Good. No one was killed. Let us get to the last exercise. You have been up against your friends, doubtlessly all meaning well. But that is not a real challenge. In battle, you will never face your friends, at least none that were ever truly your friend. Before we finish, I want you to go into new pairs. Go with someone you don't know as well or aren't friends with, that way we will have a more real scenario!"

Everyone looked around a little uneasy. There were people from all houses present, finding someone you weren't exactly best friends with wasn't going to be difficult. After a second, Lily locked eyes with Dahlia Peri, a Slytherin she knew only very vaguely from the Slugclub.

As she was about to walk over to her, a particularly messy haired boy stepped in her way. "Duel with me, Evans, will you?"

Lily looked at Potter with distaste. She had absolutely no desire to be anywhere near him, much less work together with him.

"Didn't you hear, Potter, no friends or loved ones allowed and after all, we are sooo close." She hissed ironically.

"I'm touched, Evans. I had no idea you felt that way about me. Now that I do, however, you wanna go out with me some time? Sneak out to Hogsmeade for a night, maybe?" Potter retorted without missing a beat.

Lily rolled her eyes. She was starting to be more and more in the mood to duel with him after all. "In your dreams and my darkest nightmares, perhaps. But you know what, I will be your partner. Perhaps jinxing that dumb grin off your face will actually be somewhat therapeutic!"

"Wands at the ready, everyone. Remember, I won't have any funny business with you lot. No hurting one another. Alright, GO!"

Without a bow, a smile or any other warning, Lily raised her wand. "confundo!"

Prepared even for this, Potter simply whipped her charm away with one elegant hand motion. "Nice. Try harder. Locomotor mortis!"

A minute or so of spells flying between them, and Lily knew she was losing. Or at least, she certainly wasn't going to win and with being pared of against him, that was the same thing. As much as she hated to admit it, Potter was bloody good at this. He was quick and after a while, he certainly wasn't holding back either. If she wanted to win, Lily was going to need to get creative. She needed to trick him. Distract him somehow. An idea came to her mind. When it was her turn again, she pointed her wand directly at his face and cried:

"lumos solem" Immediately, a jet of brilliant white light shot out of her wand, bright as the sun. It didn't matter how he would react after that, it was too late for him. He was blinded for long enough that Lily could raise her wand once more and fire off another spell while he was distracted.

"nasum vespertilio" she whispered the first hex she could think of. Sure, a bat bogey hex was terribly childish, but it felt incredibly satisfying in the moment.

Oh man, chapter 10... For me, that's a lot! But I love this story and the characters and I am so glad people are enjoying it, leaving such kind reviews and continuing to follow the story.

Bey for now lovelies,

LadyMacbeth98

(Also a special thanks to Utantsano for your support, input and beta reading! :)