Chapter 10: Patronuses and Pranks
James stared at the shelving that fell on top of Lily. He could feel the tears streaking down his face. Several of the shelves on the rack hit Lily but none hit her head. Most hit her back and legs. Emily and Sirius were just staring too, unable to believe what just happened.
"Lily, Lily, Lily" James was saying, pain in his voice. Then he stopped because he heard a soft moan come from Lily.
James quickly went into action which brought the other two out of their trances. All three of them levitated the shelving off of Lily and set it down across the room. James was the first one to reach Lily. He felt her pulse and it was there but weak.
"What should we do? I'm afraid if we move her we might damage something even more" James asked.
"Well, we could go fetch Dumbledore and see what he thinks but then we will probably get in trouble" Emily said.
"Whatever happens, I will take full blame for this. It's completely my fault that we went after them" Sirius said guiltily.
Emily and James just stared at him; he never takes the blame for anything unless he gets caught. James decided to send his patronus rather than leaving Lily and taking even more time. He already knew how to do the Patronus Charm, also his father had taught him how to send messages with it. He sent a message to Dumbledore that said Lily is hurt. In building behind Zonko's. Come quick. His stag took off and he turned back to Lily, making sure she was still breathing.
She was but it was very ragged and shallow. Emily had picked up Lily's wand and then knelt down next to James and Sirius. It was only a minute before Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Madam Pomfrey came bustling through the door.
"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey demanded as she knelt down next to Lily.
"Well, in short, those shelves over there" James said pointing to them "fell on her after being tortured with the Cruciatus Curse. She's breathing but it's weak."
Madam Pomfrey worked quickly figuring out what was wrong. She then conjured up a stretcher and levitated Lily onto it. She left with Lily and then the McGonagall and Dumbledore looked toward the other three for answers.
"Well, what happened here?" McGonagall insisted.
"Minerva, let's wait for an explanation until we are back in my office" Dumbledore said calmly.
They all nodded and followed the teachers through Hogsmeade, through the castle grounds, and up to Dumbledore's office. They all sat down and Dumbledore looked at them with his classic x-ray look.
"So, who will be the one to tell us what happened?" Dumbledore asked.
The three looked at each other and decided that Sirius would start and Emily and James would add in where they felt they needed to. Sirius began and told them of Regulus and Snape talking to Bellatrix and how Sirius wanted to stop his brother from destroying his life. He told them of running after them after they disappeared down the alley and that James, Emily and Lily came after him. Then they began fighting, sending spells everywhere.
James interrupted after that and began telling the story. He told them how Bellatrix hit Lily with the Cruciatus Curse and then he hit Bellatrix with a spell releasing Lily from the torture. He said Lily got up in time to chase after the other four as they disappeared into the abandoned building and that's when Bellatrix blasted the shelves and froze Lily and then the shelving fell on her and it happened too fast for any of them to stop it.
When James finished, Dumbledore had a sad look on his face and he was contemplating what to do next. McGonagall looked solemn and then looked toward Dumbledore for further instruction.
"I see. Well, I can't do anything about Mr. Snape or Mr. Black because I have no evidence that they were there except your word. Now, don't get me wrong, I believe you in saying that they were there but if I were to try and punish them, they would deny it." James, Sirius and Emily nodded in understanding, waiting for him to continue.
"Sirius, if I am not mistaken, you wish to take full blame for this?" Sirius nodded "I will not punish you with detention but I will take away house points for stupidity."
They all chuckled a little because that is something Sirius would get points taken off for. "I think twenty points will suffice. Now, I'm sending you all down to the hospital wing to be checked over. Get going then."
James, Sirius and Emily all got up and headed down to the infirmary, not speaking but all their thoughts were on Lily. As they opened the doors to the infirmary, they saw Lily lying on a bed perfectly still. Madam Pomfrey saw them enter and rushed over to them.
"Alright, sit down while I check you over."
Nothing was wrong with them except they had a few cuts and bruises. She gave them a glass Pepper-Up potion because they were outside so long and made them stay the rest of the evening.
"Madam Pomfrey?" James asked.
"Yes, Mr. Potter?"
"Will Lily be alright?"
"Yes, she had a few broken bones in her back, one arm and one leg was broken and she had some scratches but otherwise she should be physically alright. As for her emotionally, I'm not sure. The Cruciatus Curse differs from person to person."
"But she got up shortly after the curse was lifted and it was only used on her once."
"Well, then, she will most likely be fine maybe a little traumatized. She is sleeping and will probably be released either Monday evening or Tuesday morning."
James sighed in relief but knew Lily was going to be beyond herself because she missed so much homework. He laughed to himself and quickly fell asleep afterwards.
Lily was comfortable. She could tell she was lying in a bed and she guessed she was in the hospital wing because of the distinct smell. She could feel someone's hand in hers and guessed it was James because of the way his hand felt. Lily gave the hand a squeeze and the hand squeezed back. She smiled and opened her eyes and found James smiling back at her.
"Hey" she said.
"Lily, you're awake. I will be right back" James sighed. He got up and went over to Madam Pomfrey's office and she followed him back to where Lily was. James sat back down and grabbed Lily's hand. She smiled at him and then turned to Madam Pomfrey.
"Good, you're awake sooner than I expected. Let me check you over. Mr. Potter if you would kindly wait outside the curtain." James got up as she pulled the curtain around Lily's bed.
After about five minutes, the curtain was opened again and Madam Pomfrey was smiling which she hardly ever did.
"Well, Miss Evans, your bones seem to have healed nicely and I don't see anything else wrong with you. I want you to stay the rest of the evening but I think you can be out of here early tomorrow morning. But you will come back every morning for a few days so I can change the wrapping around your chest. How do you feel though?"
"Good, a little sore but nothing unbearable" Lily answered with a smile.
"Alright, well I will let you rest. Remember Mr. Potter only a half hour until you have to leave."
James nodded and then waited until she disappeared behind her office door before turning to Lily. He leaned over and kissed her showing that he was glad she was alright.
"Lily, I was so scared, but I'm glad you're okay."
"Thanks, James. I can't believe that I had shelving fall on me" she said.
"Well, you're alright so we can move past it. But I have to ask, are you alright after the Cruciatus Curse?" he said with concern coloring his beautiful hazel eyes.
"Yes, I am. I'm not thrilled that I had to experience it but it didn't last long."
James smiled and they sat in silence for a little while before Lily spoke.
"Are you, Sirius and Emily alright?"
"Yes, we only had a few cuts and bruises and Sirius only got twenty points taken away for stupidity. He took full blame for what happened."
Lily laughed "Of course he would get points taken away for stupidity, only him. By the way, what day is it?"
"It's Sunday evening. You have only been out for about a day."
"Bloody hell, all that homework that is due tomorrow. Now I'm going to be even more behind" Lily sighed exasperated. James just laughed at her because he knew this is how she would react.
"What? Why are you laughing at me?"
"Oh, I just knew that you were going to be more concerned about your homework than your health. Lily, I'm sure the teachers will give you an extension and we will all help you catch up. Just be glad that you can get out tomorrow morning and not miss classes."
"Good point. That would really put a damper on my day" she laughed.
Early the next morning, Madam Pomfrey wrapped up Lily's chest to protect her back and she went back to the common room to change before breakfast. When she opened the door to her dormitory, Emily, Mary, and Alice all descended on her but not hugging her in case they hurt her. She assured them that she was fine and went to change before breakfast.
At breakfast, everyone was looking at Lily deciding for themselves that she was alright. Living in this school made big events like this harder to keep from people. But it seemed that all the students knew was that there was a duel and that Lily Evans got hurt. They had no idea who else was involved besides James, Sirius and Emily. So they made their own conclusions which were wrong but no one corrected them.
James was right in saying that the teachers would give Lily an extension on the homework she had from the weekend but she also had to do the homework that she got that day too. She was glad that she didn't have patrols tonight otherwise she would never have gotten caught up. James helped her with what he could but the other things she had to do by herself. By Tuesday, she was caught up and had the homework from the day before done. Before breakfast she stopped by the hospital wing to get her wrappings changed and saw Severus coming in as she went out. They looked at each other as they passed but neither said a word to the other.
The morning went by quickly. As usual they got homework but it was very manageable and easily done. Lunch was uneventful but delicious all the same. The only class they had left for the day was Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Ravenclaws.
"Alright, class. Today we will be working on the Patronus Charm. I figured this would be a useful spell to have if you ever come upon a Dementor. We will try it on a boggart that is transformed to look like one later. I just want you to be able to try and produce a patronus before we put you to the test" Professor Goldman said.
"Okay, stand up and I will move the desks and chairs to give us more room" everyone obeyed and the desks were gone.
"To perform a patronus, you need to think of a happy memory. But not just any happy memory, a particularly strong, happy memory. I know you have studied this before but you have not tried to cast it so I don't expect everyone to get it right away. Now, if you have a happy memory, let it fill you up. Keep that memory in your mind and when you're ready say Expecto Patronum."
Lily thought of one thing that made her happy, it was being with James. She focused on him and the time on his roof where she told him she loved him and they kissed for the first time. She was truly happy then. She took a deep breath and said the words.
"Expecto Patronum" and a silvery wisp of a shield came out of her wand. She was too excited to keep it going so it vanished quickly after.
"Good job, Miss Evans" Professor Goldman said "try again."
The room was filled with shouts of Expecto Patronum and some produced the same wisps that Lily did. The only people not practicing were Sirius, James, Remus and Peter, but no one seemed to notice.
"Expecto Patronum" Lily shouted again and a silvery shield burst from her wand and then transformed into what looked like a silver doe. Everyone in the room stopped and looked at the doe standing in the middle of the room. Then a stag bounded up next to it and everyone looked around to see who produced it.
James came walking up next to Lily with his wand pointed at the stag. Everyone looked between the two patronuses and James and Lily trying to figure out what this meant. Professor Goldman was the first to break the silence.
"Well done, Miss Evans and Mr. Potter. Although, is it safe to assume that you, Mr. Potter, already knew how to produce a patronus?" James nodded and Goldman continued "It seems that we have matching patronuses. This could mean that Lily and James have very similar personalities and just happen to have the same patronus except in the gender of their caster or that they have similar personalities and are destined to be together seeing how their patronuses are mates. Whichever it may be this is very rare and I have never actually seen this personally."
The patronuses vanished and everyone went back to trying it themselves. James and Lily were still standing, awestruck in the middle of the room. Sirius finally had to drag them into chairs otherwise they would never snap out of it.
"Okay, you two, snap out of it. So what your patronuses are mates, it's no reason to go into shock."
"Sorry, Padfoot, it was just surprising. I had never heard of matching patronuses" James said coming out of his daze.
"Me either, I'm just surprised but happy at the same time" Lily laughed.
Class ended and Sirius, James and Lily bet that by the end of the evening the whole school would know about their patronuses and they were right. Everywhere they went someone was talking about it and every time it made Lily and James blush and laugh.
The next few days went by quickly especially considering that Christmas break started at the end of the week. Usually, the week before break was always slow but not this week. It was Friday before they knew it and they only had a few more hours before leaving for break.
The day started out normally but then things took a turn when people began getting caught underneath doorways by mistletoe that wasn't there before, garland around the corridors started grabbing people and wouldn't let them go, and people would randomly get pelted with snowballs. The only way to get out of the mistletoe was to kiss the other person that got stuck underneath. It was all random so no one knew if it would be them or not. To get out of the garland you had to sing a couple lines of a Celestina Warbeck song. Most people knew at least one line but those who didn't were stuck in them for a while. As for the snowballs, there really was no way to avoid them.
The Marauders were good at avoiding the pranks they pulled and helped their friends avoid them too. But as Lily and Sirius were passing under the doorway out of the Transfiguration room, they got stuck. Neither was thrilled about it but there was nothing they could do about it. Lily and Sirius sighed and gave a quick peck on the lips. Luckily, that worked and they were allowed to leave. For the rest of the day, James made sure he was always next to Lily and Sirius made sure he was always next to Emily so they could avoid another one of those situations.
As they were walking past the Great Hall, they heard someone shout and looked over to see Remus trapped in the garland. Sirius burst out laughing while Remus cursed at him for thinking of this boneheaded idea.
"Oh, come on Remus, let's hear that pretty voice of yours otherwise you're going to be left here all break" Sirius laughed.
Remus scowled but sang it anyway while several people in the corridor laughed with Sirius. He was released and stormed away from Sirius. James smacked Sirius upside the head for laughing so hard and then left for the common room dragging Lily with him. As they reached the seventh floor corridor, they suddenly stopped because they couldn't move. They looked up and saw mistletoe appear.
"Well, at least it's both of us this time" Lily laughed.
James pulled Lily as close as he could because of the charm and kissed her deeply. They felt their feet become unstuck and they moved closer. They heard a faint pop; broke apart and looked up to see the mistletoe gone. They looked at each other trying to figure out where it went.
"I'm guessing if it is a true kiss, they disappear" Lily smiled.
"I guess so. When I read about the charm, it didn't say anything about that but at least no one will get caught in that one" James laughed and pulled Lily with him to the common room. They still had to pack before heading to the Potter's. They weren't leaving until tomorrow morning but wanted to be ready to leave right away.
James pulled Lily with him as he went up to his dormitory. He knew that no one was in there because he had just left them to go to dinner and they passed Remus sitting in the common room. As soon as the door shut, he pulled Lily into a deep kiss. They stood there for a minute before Lily pulled away not being able to contain her laughter.
"James, we will have all break to snog" she laughed.
"I know, but I couldn't resist" he laughed with her but she noticed that something was off in his eyes.
"James, this isn't about the kiss that Sirius and I had to have, is it?" she asked narrowing her eyes.
"What? No."
"It is! James, I love you, not Sirius. I only kissed him because we had to otherwise we would have been stuck there forever."
"I know, but I guess I was just jealous. I mean he's my best mate and you're my girl."
"Don't worry James, if we ever kiss again it will just be a friendly kiss but I don't think we will have a reason to kiss again" Lily laughed.
"Good, now let's finish packing."
The seventh years who knew how to Apparate were granted permission from the headmaster to walk into Hogsmeade and leave for break that way rather than taking the train. At about nine, all the seventh years that were leaving made their way to Hogsmeade with their trunks. Most were smart enough to shrink their trunks to stick in their pockets before leaving but others were not.
It was just going to be The Marauders and Lily at the Potter's during break but Emily, Mary and Alice promised they would stop by to give Lily a break from the boys' antics. Lily hugged her friends telling them she would see them in a few days. Sirius kissed Emily and said good-bye to the other girls. The girls left and then it was Lily and the boys standing in the snow. Lily nodded to them and they all Disapparated to the Potter's.
Lily landed and noticed that the boys already had the front door open. She quickly caught up to them and as soon as she stepped in the doorway, she was engulfed in a hug. A little confused as to who was hugging her she hugged back and then was released. Mrs. Potter was smiling widely at her so Lily smiled back.
"Oh, Lily, I'm so glad you came back for Christmas."
"I said I was going to" Lily laughed.
"I know, but I'm glad that you weren't just saying that."
"I would never just say something to make someone feel better. I always mean what I say."
"So you really meant what you said when you called me an arrogant toerag?" James asked seriously with laughter in his eyes.
"Well, at the time yes, but now no."
"Wait, Lily you called James an arrogant toerag?" Mrs. Potter asked.
"Yes, but he really was one at the time but then he deflated his head and I changed my mind" she said sheepishly.
"Good, he needed someone to try and keep him level headed at school and I'm glad he changed your mind" Mrs. Potter laughed.
"Alright, enough about how I was a toerag" James said dragging Lily out of the kitchen, leaving Mrs. Potter laughing.
"James, we were just having a little fun."
"I know Lily, but I'm a little ashamed of how much of a toerag I was" James admitted.
They were half way up the stairs when they realized that Remus, Sirius and Peter had disappeared. They looked in James' room and then the room Sirius stays in and then Lily's but they weren't in any of them. Both dropped off their trunks, and went to look for them. They weren't upstairs or in the living room or the kitchen. They stopped and listened for any noise but heard nothing. After ten minutes, they gave up deciding that they would show up sooner or later.
Around dinner, they mysteriously showed up but wouldn't say anything further about where they had been. James and Lily looked at them suspiciously but let it drop, for now. As soon as dinner was over, they disappeared again leaving Lily, James and his parents. After a while, James' parents went to bed, leaving them alone on the couch. They knew they should go upstairs but it was too perfect of a moment. Lily and James began snogging on the couch. They were pretty much all over each other. It had been a while since they could be together like this. They were there for about fifteen minutes before they were interrupted.
"Oy! Get a room!" an all too familiar voice shouted. James and Lily bolted apart, due to a spell, looking surprised and disheveled and turning a deep shade of red. They saw Sirius sprint up the stairs with a mischievous grin on his face.
"Sorry, Lily, James, I tried to stop him but you know Sirius" Remus apologized.
"It's alright, we can get him back later" Lily said.
"I like the way you think" James smiled, trying to smooth his hair.
"You two are perfect for each other" Remus said shaking his head.
"I guess this is our cue to leave" Lily laughed to James.
"I guess so. G'night Moony, Wormtail" James said dragging Lily with him as he went up the stairs.
Lily was laughing as she passed Remus and a very confused looking Peter. James quickly pulled Lily into his room and shut the door. He resumed where they left off before they were interrupted. Lily was a little surprised but responded nonetheless. After about five minutes, Lily pulled away to a very disappointed looking James.
"Sorry, love, but I think I should really get to bed. I promised your mother that I would help her and that requires me to get up early."
"Alright, I understand, but you will have to tell me how we are going to get Padfoot back" James laughed.
"I will, tomorrow night, it's a date" Lily said giving James one last kiss and left the room.
Morning came too early on the 23rd. James rolled out of bed knowing that if he didn't, Sirius would be there shortly. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was only eight-thirty, which was still too early. He got ready quickly and went down stairs. No one else was in the kitchen when he got down there so he started a pot of tea. He sat down at the table and yawned hugely when Lily and his mother came in laughing.
"Oh, good morning James" Mrs. Potter said.
"Morning Mum. Morning Lily."
"Morning James" Lily said giving him a kiss.
"So, what were you two laughing about?"
"Er… well, your mother was telling me a story about when you got your first broomstick" Lily confessed.
"Aww, Mum, not that one" James groaned.
"Now, James, don't worry, I didn't show her the pictures."
"Oh, there are pictures" Lily said trying to control her smile.
"Yes, but you don't want to see them" James told her.
"I think I would like to decide that for myself" Lily said.
"Trust me Lily, if I showed you those pictures, James would be mad for a long time. He has tried hard to keep those photos from Sirius' eyes" Mrs. Potter said while preparing breakfast.
"Oh, they can't be that bad but I would have to agree with you trying to keep them from Sirius" Lily laughed.
"Lily, I fell off the broom into a tree and then when I came down my pants had come off. How could that not be that bad?" James said raising his eyebrows daring her to disagree.
"Alright, I give. I'm sorry love, and I promise not to tell Sirius."
"Tell Sirius what?" Sirius asked as he sat down at the table.
"What do you think I promise not to tell?" Lily asked narrowing her eyes, waiting for his answer.
"How should I know?" Sirius said.
"Exactly."
"What?"
"What?"
"No, what were you saying exactly to?"
"Precisely" Lily said trying to contain her smile.
"Alright, I'm confused. Forget it."
"Forget what?"
"Argh, stop it Lily" Sirius said exasperated.
Lily just laughed and helped herself to the pancakes Mrs. Potter had just set on the table. Shortly after, Remus, Peter and Mr. Potter stumbled into the kitchen and began eating with the rest of them. Once breakfast was over, the men went to find a tree while Lily and Mrs. Potter decorated the house.
Lunch came quickly and the men had brought back a tree. They set it up and then went to clean up before lunch. Afterwards, everyone helped decorate the tree, the muggle way considering there were too many of them to use magic to decorate the tree. The rest of the afternoon was left to themselves to do whatever they wanted. Sirius was excited because Emily was going to come over for dinner. Remus and Peter dragged Sirius upstairs for even more sneaking around that left Lily and James confused.
"I wonder what they are up to" James said as they disappeared.
"I don't know, but the fact they you aren't included must mean something."
"You're right! I didn't even think about that." James said hanging his head, Lily just laughed.
"Don't worry James, I'm sure you will find out soon enough" Lily said reassuringly.
"Oh, I just remembered, we have a date scheduled. I know you said tonight but maybe we could push it up or have two today?"
"Well, sure. But before we start talking, we should go somewhere else."
Lily dragged James into his room and onto the bed. He was about to speak when Lily put a finger against his lips stopping him. She locked the door with several charms and cast muffliato. James smiled at her when she was finished.
"What?"
"Oh, I just love the way you think."
"Well, I don't want us to be overheard, especially by Sirius."
"I know. So is this our date or our planning date?"
"Our planning date. I have an idea but we would have to talk to Emily about it but I'm sure she would be perfectly alright with it."
"Okay, so what's your idea, Lily?"
"Well, I can almost guarantee that they will be snogging at some point tonight. If we can set it up so they are doing it on the couch that would be ideal."
"Ideal for what?"
"I'm guessing that your parents will be the first to bed, no offense but they are rather old."
"I know, I was a late miracle in life" James smirked puffing out his chest but then got hit by Lily.
"Don't get a big head. Anyway, once they are upstairs, we can all leave shortly after because I know Em won't be staying all night and I'm sure everyone else, maybe not Peter, will get the hint that they want some time together."
"Okay, so get them alone on the couch, then what?"
"We dump a bucket of water on them. Now, I know it's not very brilliant but we only want to get him back for that spell last night."
"No, I like it. I agree, water would be very surprising like that spell last night. But my Mum won't be too happy if we mess up her furniture."
"I know, that's why we cast impervious on everything in the room in case the water goes everywhere. And I want to tell Em what we are doing and that we can cast impervious on her too."
"Sounds good to me. I love the way you think. You are definitely worthy of being a Marauder."
"Aww, thank you James. So we should wait about five minutes after we leave, we can wait on the stairs after faking closing the doors to our rooms. Then use nonverbal spells to protect everything. We can float the bucket into the room and then dump it when ready."
"Okay, sounds like this should be great. Oh, we might want to tell Moony and Wormtail about this and then maybe cast muffliato on my parent's bedroom door, to be safe."
"I agree, I wouldn't want to wake your parents."
"Now that we have everything planned, can I give you a preview about our date later tonight?" James said raising his eyebrows.
"I don't see why not."
Emily arrived at about five. Shortly after Lily pulled her into her room to tell her of their plans. Lily had to wait about ten minutes while Emily babbled about something that happened when she got home.
"Oh, sorry, Lily. You said you wanted to talk to me. What about?"
"Okay, so last night James and I were snogging on the couch. No one was around and then all of a sudden we were blasted apart, by Sirius no less."
"I will get him for interrupting you two" she said getting up.
"No, wait, James and I have something planned. We told Remus and Peter about it and we wanted to tell you because you will be involved."
"Okay, what is it?"
"We were hoping that before you leave, that you would pull Sirius in for a snog, on the couch downstairs. Don't worry, we will make sure everyone is out of the room. Then James and I will cast impervious around the room to protect the furniture but we were also going to cast it on you because I doubt you would want to get doused with water."
"Oh my gosh, I love it. He certainly deserves it but don't worry about protecting me. Just let the water get on both of us so I can act a little better" Emily laughed.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, it's just water Lily, but do protect the other furniture."
"I am surprised that you are willing to get water dumped all over you."
"Hey, just call it helping but I will make sure he is on top, if you know what I mean, that way he gets more drenched by the water" Emily laughed.
"You are truly a great friend" Lily laughed pulling her along as they left the room.
Dinner was eventful, after all Sirius was there. About halfway through, Sirius was animatedly talking, using his hands and all, when a forkful of mashed potatoes flew off and hit James dead center on his forehead. Everything stopped, and then Sirius had a face full of gravy, courtesy of James. Luckily, Mrs. Potter was quick enough to vanish things before they really got out of hand. After James and Sirius apologized, Mrs. Potter brought back the food and dinner continued normally after that.
When things were cleaned up, James and Sirius' punishment, everyone retired to the living room. Mr. Potter was shaking his head over the Evening Prophet because of more disappearances. Mrs. Potter was reading a book and Lily and Emily were talking animatedly about things that no one understood. The boys were, well, being boys. Remus and Peter were playing wizard's chess and James and Sirius were fighting about something, but soon they got really quiet and were taking in hushed tones but no one else noticed.
Soon, James' parents went up to bed. James and Lily looked at each other and nodded knowing what was next. Remus and Peter took their cue to leave and were gone. A few minutes later, James and Lily left saying they were tired from being up so early. They went up the stairs and shut both doors but didn't go in. James cast muffliato on his parent's door and they quietly crept down the stairs. James told Lily of the squeaky step and helped her over it, they were both trying to keep their laughter silent.
Once at the bottom, Lily told James to wait here while she checked if Emily was doing her job. She peeked around the corner and saw that everything was ready so she motioned for James to come. They nonverbally cast the spells around the room and waited a few minutes after that to make sure Sirius didn't notice anything. It seemed that Emily was doing her job perfectly. James conjured up a bucket and then Lily filled it with water, extra cold. Lily tapped the bucket and it floated over to the couch. It hovered over Sirius and Emily for a second before Lily flicked her wand it the bucket tipped over.
"AHHH!" Sirius shouted pulling away from Emily. "What the bloody hell was that?"
Lily and James came into view laughing harder than ever. When Sirius saw them, he was at a loss for words.
"James, I do think that is pay back enough, don't you think?" Lily laughed wiping a tear from her eye.
"Why yes I do, Lily."
"What? This was you?" Sirius said his anger flaring.
"Well, what did you expect Sirius? Lily told me about last night and then think about all the other times you did something similar" Emily reasoned.
"Wait, you knew about this?" Sirius asked in disbelief.
"No, I didn't" Emily said very believably.
"Oh, so you're taking their side?"
"What? Of course not, Sirius."
"Well, alright, but that was not funny."
"Sorry, Padfoot, but that was completely hilarious and you totally deserved it."
"Here Sirius" Lily said and siphoned the water off of them "you totally deserved that, so now we will leave you be because you won't see each other until after Christmas. Night you two."
Lily grabbed James' hand and dragged him up the stairs. She pulled him into her room, immediately locked the door and pushed him up against it.
"I think it's time for our other date" she whispered into his ear, sending tingles all over his body.
"I believe you're right."