A/N – For those of you who have shown your lovely support, here is a long chapter for you. I hope you like it!
Thoughts will be in italics.
Letters and Notes will be in bold.
Lily sits in the deserted common room reading a book when the portrait hole opens and James and Sirius enter, apparently arguing.
"I am telling you she winked at me!" Sirius says.
"Maybe she had something in her eye." James suggests as they take the two empty arm-chairs next to Lily's.
"Who winked at you?" Lily asks interested.
"This absolute fox Slughorn was walking around with."
"She's got to be a Slug Club alumnus, I vaguely recognize her from the paper." James tells her.
"Ah, and she winked at you?" Lily says to Sirius in a mocking tone.
"Laugh if you want, but I bet we have loads in common."
"Like the Slug Club?" James asks and Lily laughs. She enjoys being part of their friendly repartee.
Sirius makes some inappropriate comments about what some people would do to get into the Slug Club and Lily finds herself nearly crying from laughter. If she had any skepticism about staying behind for the Easter holidays before, it is completely erased now. She knows she made the right choice. She will be much happier here with James and Sirius to keep her spirits up than she would have been with Petunia and her awful fiancé.
Lily, James and Sirius spend most of their time leading up to Easter this way. Playing games or spending time on the grounds. Chatting and laughing. Lily is having a wonderful time.
On Easter Sunday, Lily sits down to dinner with James and Sirius at the long singular table in lieu of the house tables. She looks around and notices that there aren't many other students that had stayed behind. Apart from her, Sirius and James there were two Gryffindor third years, five total Ravenclaws, three Hufflepuffs and one Slytherin who sits all by herself at the very end of the table.
James hands Lily an egg and she opens it enthusiastically, revealing a Gryffindor hat inside. James' egg held a pair of Gryffindor slippers in the shape of lions and Sirius receives a pair of Gryffindor underpants that send both Lily and James into fits of giggles.
The three friends make their way back up to their common room after the feast. They barely get to the second floor before one of the Ravenclaw girls approaches them. She looks to be no older than fourth year and must be very bold as she asks, "Hi Sirius, fancy a walk?"
Sirius gives her an appraising look and accepts. James and Lily turn away to hide their amusement and continue on alone.
"He sure does see a lot of action." Lily comments.
"Yeah, I sometimes think too much." James laughs. "Poor bloke, if he continues on at this rate he'll be burnt out by the time he's twenty."
They reach the portrait hole and the Fat Lady smiles at them.
"Good evening James, where did Sirius run off too?" She asks fluttering her eye lashes.
"Has himself a date tonight, beautiful. But I'm here." He says with a wink. The Fat Lady blushes crimson.
"Violet says she will be stopping by this evening. I think she is hoping you two would pop by as well. It has been so long and you know how she likes to chat with Sirius." She tells him.
"Sound good, gorgeous." The Fat Lady grins. Lily looks at James with a smirk. He's truly an excellent schmoozer.
"Lily and I have actually some studying to get to, can't very well see your lovely face every day if we've been chucked out."
"Yes, of course dear. Password?" Lily half expected her to forget about the password.
"Rooks."
"Right you are, Lily. Have fun you two." She says before swinging open.
"She sure likes you." Lily remarks after the portrait door swings shut.
"Yeah, it's always a good idea to stay on her good side." James tells her as he lounges across one of the couches.
Lily nudges him to move over so that she too can sit. "Why is that?"
"You may find that at three in the morning, when you are completely pissed, that you can't always remember passwords. Also, if you keep on her good side she doesn't go around telling teachers or Filtch when you sneak out at night." James tells her wisely.
Lily laughs along with him for a moment and is about to ask if he knows her real name when a tap comes at the window. James gets up to let the tawny owl in and Lily realizes it is the same owl he had sent to her on Christmas.
"It's Easter Eggs from my mum. She must have sent them late. Oh no – it looks like she's included one for you too." He says sounding embarrassed.
"Really?" Lily says jumping up and joining him by the window.
She hovers next to him as he opens the letter. Lily can see the letter from her spot next to him and debates whether or not to read it. She isn't sure he would want her to see it. It is, after all, a personal letter from his mother. But her curiosity wins out yet again and she pretends to examine the eggs as she reads the words.
Jamie,
Sorry if Hamlet gets this to you late. I had him drop off Remus' and Peter's eggs first.
I don't want to hear any complaints this year that Sirius' egg is bigger than yours. They are the exact same size I even had your father measure.
I have also included an egg for Lily. You said she was staying behind as well. She deserves a reward for putting up with the two of you.
Sirius mentioned in his last letter that you both passed your apparition test. Congratulations! We are so proud of you both. But don't go getting big heads though. Apparition is still very dangerous.
Don't forget to do some studying over break and don't give Lily a hard time. If you do she may stop speaking to you again and I will never get to meet this fiery red-head with stunning green eyes that you talk so much about.
Have a Happy Easter and a wonderful holiday.
All our love,
Mum and Dad
Lily smiles. Mrs. Potter seems to have a good sense of humor, just like James. And she talks about Sirius as if he is her son as well, not just her son's best friend. James hands Lily the box containing her egg then and she smiles at him. It was only slightly smaller than his.
"She must try harder for girls." James muses.
"What do you mean?" She asks him.
"Well, she has made me and the other Marauders eggs since first year and none of them have ever been this extravagant." He explains as Lily opens the box and unveils a beautifully crafted bottle green egg with gold trimmings.
"It's spectacular. I have never seen something so… I love it." She surmises. He smiles at her a slight blush on his cheeks.
"She will be glad to hear it. I talked about you over Christmas and it seems as if she remembers." James admits.
Lily smiles to herself. By the sound of Mrs. Potter's letter James had talked about her more than just over Christmas. Lily doesn't know why but it's nice to know that James has told his parents about her. I wonder if they know I'm Muggle-born. She frowns down at her egg. Maybe Mrs. Potter only sent me this because she thinks I am pure-blood like them.
"These eggs aren't going to eat themselves." James says. He grabs her hand and leads her back to the couch. He doesn't let go of her even after they are seated and Lily makes no effort to remove her hand from his. "I'm a little nervous to see what she put in your egg. She usually goes all out, so she might have just bought you one of everything she could find." He says with a chuckle.
"What does she do for you and the others?"
"I get treacle fudge and chocolate frogs. Sirius gets Bertie Bots Every Flavor Beans, loads of them and Jelly Slugs. Remus gets Fizzing Wizzbees and Peter usually gets Droobles." James tells her.
"I wonder what she thinks I'll like best." Lily ponders aloud.
"Only one way to find out." He tells her and she finally removes her hand from his and opens the egg.
Inside is an assortment of Aero chocolate bars. Not only the original but also mint, caramel, dark chocolate, white chocolate, crispy, and strawberry. Lily is amazed. How on earth did Mrs. Potter get ahold of all these Aero bars? She wonders. When is the last time I have ever even had an Aero bar? Has to be before I came to Hogwarts. Lily immediately opens a crispy bar and starts eating.
"You like it?" James asks.
"I love it." Lily confirms.
"Good, I was a bit nervous. Mum is fascinated with learning things about Muggles so I was worried she may have given you something strange."
Then it hits her. Mrs. Potter has to know I am Muggle-born if she got me all this Muggle candy. The thought pleases her.
"Fascinated is probably the wrong word. She just is interested. They didn't have Muggle Studies in her day, so she never got the chance to learn. I had to stop her from writing you over Christmas to invite you for tea. She just wants to know everything there is to know about Muggle traditions and such. Sorry, I realize this is probably offending you. I don't mean to offend you. She doesn't think you are some kind of weird animal that she can study or anything. This is coming out all wrong. She doesn't – She is a good person." He continues to babble.
James is afraid that he might have offended Lily by revealing that his mother is interested in Muggles. He wasn't ashamed to tell his mother that I am Muggle-born and she, unlike most of the pure-blood community, doesn't hate Muggles. Lily smiles as she places her hand over his mouth the stop him from talking.
"You're babbling." She tells him and laughs as he closes his mouth instantly.
She removes her hand as she says, "I'm not offended at all. I think it is wonderful that your mother wants to know more about Muggles. I'm sorry you stopped us from having tea, it sounds like it would be very interesting."
James smiles at her. "Sorry, I get a little nervous around that subject. I just want to make sure you know that no one I associate with or spend any sort of time with would ever do or say anything to hurt you in that way." He tells her.
Lily feels butterflies fluttering in her stomach at his words. "I know, James."
"So, what is an Aro?" James asks her picking up one of candy bars.
"Aero." Lily corrects. "And they are my favorite Muggle sweet. Try one." She prompts and he looks suspiciously at the wrapper.
"What does it do?" He asks.
"It doesn't do anything. It is just candy." She tells him and laughs at the look he makes after biting into a dark chocolate one. "I never much liked the dark chocolate myself."
She's surprised by how much she enjoys introducing James to Muggle chocolate.
James and Lily have a good time testing out all the different flavors of the Aero bars.
"I think the crispy one has to be my favorite." He tells her.
"Mine too." She agrees. "I remember the first time I ever had the crispy bar." She tells him.
"Tell me about it." He prompts, turning to face her looking interested.
She obliges, beginning the story with when her parents had taken her and Petunia to the zoo. She has to explain the concept of a zoo to him several times, as he has never heard of such a thing and finds it fascinating.
"Well anyways, my parents had told us we weren't allowed to have any candy because we may drop it or try to feed it to the animals or something. But while we were eating lunch Petunia and I pretended we had to go to the loo but instead we convinced this older kid to buy us a chocolate bar. We had just wanted the regular but he brought us back the crispy. Petunia was angry and when she tried it she hated it, but I thought it was the best Aero bar I had ever eaten. I quickly ate the whole thing and then we returned to our table. The only problem was that I had forgotten to wipe the chocolate from my face. We got into to terrible trouble." She finishes her story.
"See you really are a rule breaker deep down." James teases her and she frowns and turns away from him looking upset. What happened? She seemed so happy just a moment ago. What did you do now James? He asks himself.
"What's the matter?" He asks her placing his hand on hers in what he hopes is a comforting way.
"Nothing." She says looking around the room trying to hide the tears in her eyes. There was no one else in the room though. Sirius hadn't returned from his date yet and the other two Gryffindors who stayed behind for break had already gone up to bed.
"You don't have to tell me," James begins in a soft voice, "but if you want to talk about it, I am more than willing to listen. Despite what you may have heard, I am quite good at it."
She gives him a weak sort of smile. "You don't want to hear about it. It's not that good of a story. I don't want to waste your time."
Does she really think that I wouldn't want to hear anything she has to say? He wonders.
"Lily, you could sit there and say nothing but a bunch of nonsense words for a half hour and I will still be sitting here listening raptly. I'm always interested in what you have to say, you can never waste my time." He tells her honestly.
She smiles at him a little wider this time. "Ok, but I warned you."
And she launches into the story of how she and her sister Petunia were best friends when they were little. How once she found out that she is a witch Petunia had shunned her and thought of her as a freak. She explains how her parents never quite knew what to say or do about it. They claimed that Petunia would get over it eventually, but she hasn't. She tells him how she tries her hardest to reconnect with her sister but it never seems good enough.
James listens intently and tries to comfort her best he can when she starts to cry. He conjures a pocket hanky for her, pulls her into his chest and strokes her hair softly as she sobs into his shoulder. He loves the feeling of her so close to him. She feels so warm in his arms, her head seemingly fitting perfectly on his chest, her hair so soft and smells so fruity. He wishes he could run his fingers through it but knows this isn't the right time for that.
James figures that this is the real reason Lily stayed behind for Easter, she didn't want to face Petunia. She stops crying after a few moments and leans back slightly, not far enough that he would have to remove his arms from her, but just enough that she could look up into his face.
"I am so sorry James." She says wiping her tears on the hanky. "I can't believe I fell apart like that. I'm so embarrassed." She says.
James smiles at her. "Lily, I don't mind at all. I am glad you told me those things."
"Me too." She confesses.
"Is she – sorry to ask this but, is she the reason why you stayed behind for break?" He asks tentatively not wanting to upset her further but needing confirmation.
She nods slowly. "Her engagement party was the week after the New Year and she didn't even invite me. I mean, I helped her plan the whole thing, and when I wrote to her to ask if I should get permission to leave school to attend she never even wrote back. Then about two weeks ago she wrote to me and asked that I stop writing her all together because with her new life she just couldn't risk having owls coming and going as they please."
James feels disgusted with Lily's sister. How can someone say such awful things to their sibling? He wonders.
"I am so sorry, Lily. She has no idea how lucky she is to have a sister like you or how stupid she is being for taking that for granted."
Lily smiles weakly at him. He hates seeing her so down. "You know what always cheers me up?" He asks her.
"What?"
"Hot cocoa."
"That would be nice. I wish I had some."
"Wait right here." He says already half way up to his dormitory. He's back in a minute and resumes his place on the couch.
"You told me something personal about your life tonight and I think it is only fair that I repay that by revealing one of my secrets to you." He tells her.
She doesn't respond. She just stares at him with a look of excitement mixed with hopefulness on her face.
"Lily, would you like to know one of the ways we Marauders get away with so much?" He asks, excitement at revealing this part of his life to her coursing through him.
She nods enthusiastically and James reveals to her what he is hiding behind his back.
"Is that an invisibility cloak?" She asks awestruck.
"It is." He confirms giving her a smile. "You can touch it." He says holding it out to her.
He watches as she runs her hand over the smooth material in amazement. "Where did you get it?" She asks.
"It was my dad's. He gave it to me when I came to Hogwarts." He explains. "Would you like to give it a try?" He asks her not quite concealing the hopeful tone in his voice.
"You mean sneak out?" She asks sounding slightly scared.
He can't help but smile at her innocence, it is one of the many things that make her, her. He grins as he stands up and holds out his hand for her to take. She takes it after a moment's hesitation.
"If this is all some elaborate prank, and we get caught James, I will make you wish that you had been born a Squibb." She warns him.
"Don't worry, Lily. I would never let you get caught." He says stepping closer to her and throwing the cloak over top them both.
James leads her over to a mirror near the portrait hole and they stare into what should be their reflections but only shows the opposite wall of the room. Lily lets out an audible gasp in surprise and James leans down to whisper in her ear.
"Welcome to The Marauder's world." She lets out a small giggle and he leads her out into the castle.
As they walk through the corridors James points out things that can only be viewed at night. He loves being the one to show her, to share with her, his favorite part of the school.
"Hogwarts is so peaceful at night." She comments. "Is it always this way, or only because everyone is away?" She asks.
"It's always this way at night. Sometimes you will see teachers or Filtch walking around and even the occasional prefect." He says nudging her playfully. "But mostly, it's like this, quiet and deserted."
"I like it like this."
"Me too." He agrees as they reach their destination. James stops and begins to pull off the cloak.
"What are you doing?" Lily asks, fear apparent in her voice. "Where are we?"
"Don't worry, Lily. We won't get caught."
James reaches up to the painting on the wall and tickles the pear in the fruit bowl. The door to the kitchens swings open and James holds out his arm to Lily indicating that she should enter first. As she enters the room he watches her jaw drop and her eyes widen.
"Amazing isn't it?" He asks her and she nods in response, apparently unable to speak.
"Hello Mr. James, sir. Good evening, Miss." A house-elf by the name of Dinky greets them with a bow. "What can Dinky get for you this evening? We are out of the éclairs tonight. Mr. Sirius stopped by and ate what we had left. Dinky can see if we can make some for you." Dinky offers.
"That won't be necessary, Dinky, but thank you." James says hurriedly. "We are just here for some hot chocolate. This is Lily Evans, Dinky. She is a friend of ours." James introduces.
Dinky bows to Lily again. "It is lovely to meet you, Miss Lily."
"It is nice to meet you as well, Dinky." Lily says with a smile.
The tiny elf gives her a smile before heading off to get their drinks. James leads Lily to the counter with a few stools sitting around it.
"I'm impressed." She tells him as they take their seats. "Very impressed."
James just smiles at her, his heart seemingly lightening in his chest. If only he had known last year that this was all he had to do to impress her. He didn't have to show off or make a fool out of himself. He just needed to be himself. Dinky returns with their cocoa before backing away with a bow.
"So," Lily begins. "I learned two of your many secrets tonight. Do I perhaps get to know the rest now?" She asks a sly smile on her lips as if she knows what his answer before he even gives it.
"Now, what fun would that be?" He asks teasingly.
"I think it would be loads of fun."
"I can't tell you the rest. As the cloak is mine, it is my secret to share with whom I choose, just as it was Moony's choice to tell you about his furry-little-problem. But, the rest of the secrets are all of ours. I can't divulge them without their consent."
She frowns slightly. "What about this place?"
"Loads of students know about the kitchens. I am actually quite shocked you didn't know. Mary has been here loads before and Dee told me that she, Dennis, Stebbins and Selwyn used to come down here all the time. I figured Selwyn would have brought you down here at some point. But, my point is that this place is not really a secret. It's just not a very well-known place." He reasons.
Lily frowns into her mug. Merlin what have I said now? James wonders. We were having such a good time and I go and muck it up with my big mouth. "But, if it helps, you still know more Marauder secrets than anyone who is not actually one." He tells her.
"That does kind of help." She says with a smile. "I'm glad that you feel like you can trust me with your secrets."
"I do. I know that you won't tell anyone."
"Can I assume then that you won't tell anyone about mine?"
"Of course you can, Lily." He assures her.
"I haven't told anyone else about Petunia. Not even Mary and Beth." She admits. "They know we don't get along well, but they don't know the reasoning behind it."
James' heart seems to fill with pride. She hasn't trusted anyone else with her secrets except me. Not even her best friends. Then suddenly it hits him. He is sitting alone with Lily Evans sipping hot chocolate and sharing extremely personal secrets with each other.
"I'm glad you shared it with me, Lily. I promise I won't tell anyone." He tells her.
"I know James, I trust you." She says and smiles broadly at him. He loves when she smiles at him. It makes her eyes shine bright and her face light up.
"I trust you too." He tells her. "This is why I can see us being friends for a very long time."
She smiles at him and they finish their cocoa in a comfortable silence.
"Come on, I want to see the rest of the castle." She tells him grabbing his hand. He smiles as she throws the cloak back over top them both and they leave the kitchens.
-L-3-J-
The next night after dinner James and Lily sit down in the common room to relax and he wonders what to say.
"Where did Sirius get to?" She asks him and he looks around.
"No idea, maybe he is meeting up with that Ravenclaw again."
Lily nods and smiles over at him. "What would you normally be doing right now if I weren't here?"
He smiles back. "I'm not sure. Last year I went home for Easter and the year before that Sirius and I spent almost all our time trying to –" He breaks off suddenly. He forgets sometimes that Lily doesn't know about him being and an Animargi.
"What were you trying to do?" She asks curiously.
"You probably don't want to know, you may get mad." He says. This is absolutely true. She would most certainly be mad at him if he told her that he and Sirius and Peter are illegal Animargi and run around with Remus in his wolf form once a month.
Lily blushes but continues on to cover the awkward moment. "Just pretend I'm not here, what would you be doing besides hanging out with Sirius?" She asks.
"Honestly, I would probably be out on the Quidditch Pitch."
"Training?"
"Maybe, but mostly just to fly. Although, I wouldn't mind getting the Quaffle out and tossing it around a bit." He chuckles.
"You really love it don't you." She says, not a question, just a statement.
"Of course, what's not to love?" He asks. She doesn't respond.
"I know you don't like it, but to me, it's the most exhilarating thing in the world." He begins to explain. "When I am up there, and the Quaffle is in my hands, I've never felt more alive. As soon as I mount my broom it's like the whole world under me just melts away. The game alone is spectacular but when I actually get to be a part of it, I feel… I don't know how to describe it. I am sure you understand what I mean though." He says looking back at her.
She looks at him confused. "Just think of how you feel every time you get top marks in Charms. Every time you work out a spell before any of the rest of us. That feeling, the knowledge that you are the best, that this is something you are good at, something that comes naturally. It's just, it's a high it's… indescribable, ya know?"
Lily nods at him slowly and then frowns. "Hearing you talk about Quidditch like this reminds me why I used to be fascinated with it."
"You did?"
"Yeah, in first year. I used to love to watch them play. It was all so new to me. It was nothing like I've ever seen. I mean, I watched football with my dad a few times, but this was nothing like Muggle sports." He nods. James has watched Muggle football before and he can't understand the appeal.
"Remember our first flying lesson?" She asks him and James nods.
He had already known how to fly so he watched his fellow first years to see who else would be potential Quidditch players. He noticed Beth seemed pretty sturdy and Sirius and Remus looked comfortable but he remembers Lily now.
"You couldn't get your broom up could you?"
She shakes her head. "You and Beth were already hovering in the air waiting for us before my broom came to me."
"It knew you were afraid." James surmises.
"That's what Snape told me. But he couldn't get his to come to him either. Then after watching that first Quidditch match I knew that I would never be able to do what they did. I admired them, but I just would rather keep my feet on the ground. So, I stopped really watching the games. I went and cheered on Gryffindor but I was always so nervous that someone would fall. Then when Beth joined the team in fourth year I started paying more attention. I still get nervous and all that, but when I hear you talk about it, it just… I can see what you mean."
James smiles at her. "I'm glad you are starting to like it again."
Then he starts to tell her about professional games he has been to with his dad and the others and what he wouldn't give to go to the World Cup. They talk for hours and somehow, James isn't exactly sure who suggested it, they end up back in the kitchens sipping hot cocoa. He hopes it is a tradition in the making.
Lily thinks that this might be the most enjoyable Easter Holiday she's ever had. The whole first week was fun and relaxing, but the last four nights had been so exciting and full of intrigue that when she sits down to breakfast on Thursday she can't imagine what James may have in store for her today. She is sure it will be fun though.
He doesn't disappoint and Lily feels a rush of excitement mixed with something else as he invites her to go with him to have tea with the grounds keeper, Hagrid.
"How did you meet Hagrid?" Lily asks James as they walk down through the castle alone.
"He caught us trying to sneak into the Forbidden Forest in our first year." James says with a smirk.
"And you weren't scared?" She asks, because she finds the giant man slightly frightening.
"At first we were, but when you get to know Hagrid you will see that there is no more harm in him than a niffler."
"A what?" Lily asks confused.
"Right, sorry, I forgot you didn't take Care of Magical Creatures. A niffler is this fuzzy cuddly little treasure hunter." Lily looks at him amazed. Maybe I should have taken Care of Magical Creatures.
"So, what you are saying is he is a gentle giant?" She says and James laughs.
"Yeah, but he isn't really a giant. I expect he just swallowed some skeligrow as a kid or something. I never asked him about it, don't want to pry you know. Incase it's a sore subject."
Lily smiles at him. "So, after he caught you what happened?"
"Well, he was trying to keep us away from the forest by telling us about all the dangerous creatures the place holds, but that just made us more curious."
"Of course it did."
"We started asking him about the different stuff and next thing you know he is making us a cup of tea in his hut. He has a fascination with dangerous stuff, thinks of them as pets. Says he has a whole herd of thestrals in there."
"Thestrals?" Lily asks again confused.
"Yeah, they didn't even teach them in Care of Magical Creatures because they are considered dangerous, but Hagrid says they just get a bad rap because apparently you can't see them unless you have seen someone die." He tells her.
"Really?" She asks interestedly.
"Yeah, so Hagrid says anyway. We meant to look them up, but we never did. Did you know that Thestrals pull the school carriages?"
"I always thought the school carriages were pulled by invisible horses." Lily says sheepishly.
"So did we."
"It kind of makes you wonder what else is out there, invisible to us." Lily says looking around in wonder as they walk.
James stops immediately and falls to the ground and yells out in pain. Lily drops to her knees and kneels down next to him concerned.
"James? Are you ok? What happened?" He is clutching his head as if something had just hit him in it. Is someone cursing him? She thinks wildly, looking around for his attacker.
"Watch out, invisible wall right there." James says and then lowers his hands and gives her a cocky grin.
"That is not funny!" She screeches, standing up angrily. "I thought someone was cursing you!"
He laughs still lying on the ground. "Sorry Lily, it was just the first thing that popped into my head. You have to admit, it was a good one."
Now that she understands the joke it is rather funny and he had thought it up extremely quickly, which made it even more impressive. "It was decent, you've done better though." She says and turns to walk away, but she bumps into something.
"James Potter, did you put up an invisible wall here?" She asks turning to face him.
"No." He says looking perplexed showing her his hands to prove he doesn't have his wand out.
Sirius emerges from under the cloak laughing riotously. "Sorry, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up." He says still laughing. James laughs with him as he regains his feet.
"Alright, I change my mind, I don't want to know what else is out there invisible to me. I hope it just stays invisible." She says glaring at the pair of laughing boys.
"How long have you been walking with us?" James asks Sirius and Lily can hear a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"I saw you heading out of the castle and was going to call for you to wait up, but I decided to go for a prank instead. When I heard you talking about thestrals I started forming a plan, then you did your little joke and I decided to join in instead." He says with a laugh. Lily can't help but join in. Even though the joke is on her, she still finds it funny.
"Come on, Hagrid's waiting for us." James says leading the way down to the giant's hut.
James knocks on the front door three times and Lily hears a loud barking coming from inside. She steps back a moment frightened. "Don't worry." James whispers in her ear. "That's just Fang."
Fang? Lily thinks. He is telling me not to worry about a creature named Fang?
The door opens and a large shape pounces out of the door and onto Sirius, knocking him to the ground. Lily wants to scream for help, attack the animal that has tackled her friend. After a moment of panic she realizes that the large dog is just licking Sirius' face and Sirius is laughing.
"Fang, get off him." The giant booms coming out the door himself. "Bloody dog. Worst guard I ever had. Should go back to the manticore, I should." James laughs and Lily hopes she never finds out what a manticore is.
"Hi Hagrid, how are things?" James asks.
"Fine, fine, come in. Got the tea on." He says waving for them to enter the hut. Lily pauses for a second.
"Come on, it will be ok. Trust me." James tells her and leads her forward.
Lily feels herself relax a little bit. James wouldn't lead her into a dangerous situation, she knows that for sure. She walks up the stairs and enters the small hut behind him. Sirius follows a moment later, robes soaking wet from Fang's slobber. The dog bounds up to Lily, tail wagging madly. James steps in front of her to take the dogs leap.
"Back Fang!" Hagrid shouts and throws something into the corner of the small room. The dog chases after it and Lily smiles. It seems as if Fang is harmless, just an over excited dog.
"Hagrid, this is Lily Evans." James introduces.
Lily sees a smile of recognition pass over the man's face and he leans down to shake Lily's tiny hand in his massive one.
"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Evans. James has told me all about you." He says with a wink and James blushes.
"You as well, Hagrid, but please, call me Lily." She says and he releases her hand.
"Very well Lily, how do you take your tea?" The giant asks as he bustles around the small hut.
James takes a seat in an over large arm-chair. Lily hovers for a second not knowing where to sit. James pats the place next to him and gives her one of his cheeky grins. She rolls her eyes for his benefit and joins him. The chair is big enough to hold them both and probably Sirius as well.
She enjoys the time with them and laughs as Hagrid tells her all sorts of stories about The Marauders that she hasn't heard yet. When he offers her a muffin from a tray she accepts it gratefully not realizing how hungry she is until food is presented to her. When Hagrid turns his back James snatches the muffin from her and hides it in his pocket.
"You don't want to eat that." He promises her and then shakes his head refusing to explain.
A few hours later they return to the castle for dinner.
"Well, I'm off mates, see you later." Sirius says setting down his fork and walking over to the Hufflepuff table to chat up the group of girls.
Together Lily and James walk back up to Gryffindor Tower.
"So, tell me, why wasn't I allowed to eat that muffin Hagrid gave me?" She asks James as they sit together on the couch in front of the fire in the common room.
"The last time we ate something that Hagrid gave us Wormy lost a tooth." He says and she laughs.
"That bad?"
"I swear his rock cakes have actual rocks in them."
"Hm. I will remember that."
"Are you a good cook?" He asks her.
"I can be, when I have the patience for it." She says.
"I am a horrid cook. My mum never lets me anywhere near a frying pan."
Lily laughs at this. "My mum and I used to cook together all the time." She tells him and kicks her shoes off before turning to sit sideways on the couch stretching her legs out.
"Is it hard to be away from her for this long?" James asks her, pulling her feet onto his lap.
She thinks about it for a while before answering. "It's hard because I miss her, but it's not that bad because when I am there, it's still sort of like I'm not there."
"What do you mean?" He asks and she can tell by his expression that he truly cares about what she is saying.
"It's hard to explain. It's just; when I'm here I miss how everything used to be. When I'm home I still miss how everything used to be. It's pretty much the same, only when I am home it is all so real."
"What's real?"
"That everything is different. When I'm here I can pretend that when I get home everything will be back to normal. But when I'm there, I can't pretend anymore."
He nods and runs his hand through his hair. Lily watches as it ruffles the strands making them more unkempt then they were before.
"Why do you do that?" She asks him.
"Do what?"
"Run your hand through your hair like that. You do it all the time."
"I'm not sure. I suppose it's something I picked up from my dad. He does it as well. It's just habit." He shrugs.
"I used to get so annoyed when you did that." She tells him.
"I remember. What was it? 'Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick.'" He quotes in a poor imitation of Lily's voice.
She smiles and reaches her leg up to kick him playfully but he catches it. "I do not sound like that!" He smirks. "But I am sorry for saying it. I was angry and not at you." She tells him.
"I know. Well, I didn't actually know, but I suspected. Doesn't mean my ego didn't take a major blow that day though." He says with another of his cheeky grins.
"Your ego needed a blow or two." She reminds him and he chuckles.
"I suppose it did."
They fall silent for a moment and she watches James' face as he stares into the flames. "Can I ask you something?"
"You can ask me anything." He says looking back at her and she sees the sincerity in his eyes.
"You might not like the question." She warns him.
"If I don't like the question then I will refuse to answer."
After a moment's hesitation she looks into his eyes. "Why did you save Snape last year?"
He looks at her alarmed and completely taken aback by this. "You know about that?"
"Everyone knows about that, James. I mean, they don't know the details, and I guess I don't really either, but everyone knows that he went into the Whomping Willow and you pulled him out. No one knows about Remus though, they all assume it's something far worse." She assures him.
"Oh." He stares at the ground for a minute and Lily wonders if he is going to answer her. "I don't really think you will like my answer." He tells her looking back at her.
"What happened?" She asks kindly. She is sure that when he said that she wouldn't like his answer that he meant that he was the one who told Snape to go in there in the first place. She just wants to hear what happened.
"It was that day Mulciber and Avery attacked Mary, you remember?" She nods. "Well, Peter, Sirius and I were on our way back from dinner like normal. Remus was already up in the Hospital Wing waiting to be led down to the Whomping Willow. We heard voices coming from an unused classroom and decided to see what was going on."
Lily smiles, she knows that feeling all too well.
"When we peaked in we saw Snape talking to Sirius' brother Regulus, you've seen him right?" Lily nods again. "Well, Snape was trying to get Reg to convince Sirius to tell him where Remus goes every month and what is wrong with him. Told him that he could 'join them' if he got the answers."
The anger on James' face is evident and Lily feels like she knows what will happen next.
"Well, we barged into the room and a few angry words were shot around then finally Sirius demanded that we all leave so that he could talk to Snape alone. I didn't want to go, but I know Sirius and the way he looked at me made me sure that he wasn't going to hex Snape. So Reg left and then Peter and I did too. Sirius wasn't gone long, maybe only a half hour. When he got back we disappeared up to the dormitory like we always do. You know how we sneak out to Hogsmeade?" He asks and she nods again.
"I was pulling on my trainers when Sirius told me what he'd done. He had told Snape how to get past the Whomping Willow, told him how to get through the tunnel. Told him exactly what he needed to know to find Remus."
Lily is completely confused now. She had expected James to say that he challenged Snape, told him that if were brave enough he'd go in there or something, but it had been Sirius. Why would James go running after Snape when it wasn't even his fault?
"Well, we were hoping that Snape wouldn't dare try out his theory, but then we saw him coming out of the castle. I barely had time to think, I just made a run for it. All I knew was that if Snape got down there he would see Remus, and if he wasn't careful, Remus would see him. If Remus would have seen him – " James shivers at the thought and looks back at the fire again.
"I didn't do it to be a hero, Lily. I didn't even do it to save Snape. I did it for Remus and for Sirius, for all of us if I'm being honest really."
"What do you mean?" She asks tenderly, reaching out to grab his hand.
"I don't mean that to sound callous. I obviously didn't want Snape dead or bitten. No matter how much I dislike the git, I didn't want him dead. But, I was really thinking about Remus, and how it would affect him if he… did that to another person. Even if he was in his wolf form and couldn't control it, I know he would never forgive himself. He would insist on leaving school and everyone would know about what he is. And Sirius? What would have happened to him? Chucked out certainly, sent to Azkaban probably. I don't know if I could stay here without them. Peter and I would be lost."
Lily gently rubs small circles onto the back of his hand with her thumb. She hadn't meant to upset him. She just wanted someone to explain to her what happened properly.
"James…" She begins and he shakes his head.
"I know that's not what you wanted to hear, Lily. I know you wanted me to tell you that I actually like Snape and that I saved him because I think he is a good person. But he's not, and that's not why I did it. I know that sounds bad, but no one, not even someone like him, deserves what Remus goes through every month. If you ask him, he will agree."
"James, I wasn't going to say that." He looks at her and she gives him a warm smile.
"I know you don't like Snape and I also know he isn't a good person." She admits. "I wasn't looking for any specific answer. I just wanted to know your reasoning." She assures him.
He gives her a small smile but she can tell he is still upset about what could have happened.
"You did save him James, and Remus and Sirius as well. All of you are still here because of your quick thinking and bravery."
"It wasn't bravery, Lily."
"It was." She argues. "I think that everyone would agree with me there."
He shakes his head again and looks back to the fire. "I don't want to be told that, Lily. What I want to do is forget it happened."
"Why?"
"Because I don't like being reminded of the day that I almost lost everything." He admits.
She wants to ask what he means so badly, but by the look of anguish on his face she knows she has to change the subject.
"So when Hagrid told you about the thestrals did he tell you if it is only once you see a human die that you get to see them, or can you see something else, like an animal or something, snuff it?" She asks in a playful manner and he turns back to her with a smile, relaxing into the couch throwing his arm over the back as he turns to her.
"He didn't say, but I am sure it's only humans. Padfoot and I saw a bird snuff it once. It ran right into a window in the Muggle town by my house. So, if birds counted we would have been seeing them for years, but I've yet to see one." He tells her.
"Me neither. I'm not sure I really want to see them either."
"I definitely don't." He says and he drops his gaze to his lap. "How small are your feet? I never noticed before but they are dainty!" He cries picking one up and pretending to examine it.
Lily laughs. "Hey, they are normal for a girl my age and height!"
"What size?" James demands.
"Thirty-five." She says in a small voice.
"Thirty-five! Merlin's beard, Lily! Your feet are tiny!" He says holding her foot up to his hand. He could curl his fingers around the top of her foot comfortably.
"Shut it! What size do you wear, then?"
"Forty-six." He says almost proudly.
"Forty-six! You have giant feet!" She squeals laughing as he looks affronted. "I bet you could wear Hagrid's shoes."
He laughs. "What size shoe do you think Hagrid wears? Three hundred?"
Lily chuckles. "I am sure they have to custom make his shoes."
"I wonder if there is a giant shop somewhere that sells shoes and clothes for giants."
"You would know better than me, I am still amazed there are giants." She admits and he laughs.
Sirius comes into the common room then looking distinctly ruffled and sits down in an arm-chair. "What are you two so giggly for?"
"We are trying to decide what size shoe Hagrid wears." Lily tells him sitting up a little and removing her feet from James' lap.
"Ah, Miss Evans, I never thought you would be so crude." He says with a grin.
"What?" She asks confused and James coughs, obviously understanding.
"I assume you only want to know his shoe size for one reason."
"What reason would that be?" She asks starting to feel left out of the joke.
"Well, you know what they say."
"No, what do they say?"
James is starting to go a little red in the face.
"Large hands, large feet, large…"
"You are horrible!" She says and smacks Sirius on the arm.
Then she goes slightly red in the face because she and James had just been talking about how large his feet are, and she had noticed how large his hands are as well. I wonder if that saying is… She shakes her head quickly. I absolutely cannot think like that!
James and Sirius are out right laughing at her expression and she decides to get her revenge. "What size shoe do you wear then Sirius – thirty?" She says evilly and James doubles over in laughter.
Sirius props his feet up on the side of the couch next to Lily. "Forty-four, darling and proud of it." He says and Lily pushes his feet off the couch.
"I've seen bigger." And then she goes red again at the implication. Now James is on the floor laughing.
"Like who!" Sirius demands.
"James, lift your feet up." Lily says and Sirius eyes her suspiciously.
"Already know Prongs' shoe size do you, Evans?" She blushes again and thankfully James has stopped laughing now.
"Eh, don't let him bother you, Lily. He is just upset cause he has the smallest feet of all The Marauders." Lily giggles and Sirius glares.
"Do not! Wormy has smaller feet than me." Sirius protests.
"You four measure your feet often?"
"Nah, he just wanted to borrow a pair of Moony's trainers awhile back and they didn't fit, and that brought the discussion on. And Wormtail is six inches shorter than you so of course his feet are smaller." James reminds Sirius.
"How big are Remus' feet?" Lily asks and they both look at her with suspiciously. "Oh, ha-ha, I just was curious. Besides I bet Beth would be interested to know so she can compare them to Barry's when I tell her about this." She says pointing between them.
They both laugh. "He wears a forty-six like me." James tells her.
"When you relay this message on to the ladies, mind not mentioning that Prongs and Moony have bigger feet than me?" Sirius asks.
"Oh no way, they are getting all the details." Lily says mercilessly. That sends James laughing again and Sirius scowls at him.
"Better watch out, Evans, or the ladies will hear about your nightly excursions with Prongsie here." James sits up quickly glaring at his friend and Lily goes red.
"We just go to the kitchens mate, you know that." He says defensively.
"I know that, but it will still be fun to watch you two go red in the face when I tell them."
"Alright, fine Sirius, I won't tell them that you have smaller feet than James and Remus." Lily promises and he smiles.
"Thank you. Now I will head up to bed so that you two can go have your cocoa." He says and heads up the stairs to the boy's dormitories.
James blushes from the floor and Lily looks awkwardly down at her hands.
"Sorry about him, he wanted to take the cloak the other night and I had to explain to him why I needed it. It wasn't that big of a deal since he still has the –" James cuts off and Lily looks at him curiously, hoping that he is about to reveal another one of their secrets. "Well, I mean to say, he still has other ways of getting around undetected." James finishes.
Lily looks down at her hands again slightly disappointed. She understands why he can't tell her, but she is so curious!
After a few moments James speaks again. "If you don't want to go get cocoa tonight, I understand."
Lily thinks about it for a second. We probably shouldn't. Sirius has a big mouth and if he lets everyone know that James and I have snuck out every night since Easter they might get the wrong idea. But, her mind counters, what's the point in not going? He already is going to tell them, might as well enjoy it before it's gone.
"Dinky is probably already waiting for us." She says and he smiles.
"Well, then, let's not keep him waiting."
He stands and holds his hand out for her. She takes and smiles as he drapes the cloak over them.
A/N – I had a lot of trouble ending this chapter. I just kept writing, and writing, and writing. Sorry if the ending is a little weird.
Let me know what you think!