The Prophecy

--Chapter 14--

'Matchmaker, Matchmaker'

Without even realizing it, the students were pushed into December. It had come as such a shock for Lily and her friends; their seventh year was almost half-way finished. The months had passed so quickly yet many things had happened. Lily's enmity with James had ended, they had kissed, and Lily had divulged her secret to her friends and to James, the last occurring just the night before. Lily hadn't had a chance to tell her friends what had transpired but knew that they would want every detail.

After all the girls were awake, they ran down to grab food and bring it back up to the room. Still clad in pajamas, the girls circled around Lily, waiting anxiously for a story. With words alone she took them through the corridors and into that empty classroom. She detailed her nervousness and James' anger.

"And then he said that he would never hurt me and he would keep others from hurting me."

"Oh, Lily, that is so sweet," Kelly said.

"And you were so scared to tell him. But we were right. Admit it," Katie smirked.

Lily laughed. "Okay, I admit it. You were right." She couldn't help but smile at her friend's antics. "He was so kind, so unlike the James Potter that I knew before. He's changed so much," she said wistfully.

"You've both changed," Amy said. "He's matured. But that event also changed how you view people. You've become a different person as well. As much as I wish that it had happened some other way, I'm glad it did." The other girls nodded in agreement. "Just think about it; no more screaming matches in the corridors…"

"No excessively long prefect meetings," Jenn added. "And no grumpy Quidditch captains."

"And no more hour long ranting sessions about how Potter is such an egotistical prat," Kelly added with finality.

Lily smiled, "I will miss those."

"We won't." Laughter filled the room at Katie's blunt honesty.

After the giggles died down, Jenn asked, "So you two are okay now?" Lily nodded smiling. "What do you think will happen between you and James?"

Lily looked confused for a moment and then said, "I don't know, but I'm happy with where things are."

"So we won't be hearing about any romantic rendezvous with you and James any time in the near future?" Katie asked, wanting an affirmative answer but knowing she wouldn't get one.

"I don't think so," Lily answered.

"Drat," Katie exclaimed under her breath. "I guess that's one down, one to go.

Kelly and Lily looked at her suspiciously while the rest of the girls seemed to know exactly what Katie was talking about. "Are you going to explain the insanities that are coming out of your mouth? Lily asked.

"I'm talking about Kelly, of course." Katie said, not even bothering to hide a smirk. "While you were trying to figure things out this past month, Kelly has been pining away for Sirius but is too afraid to do anything about it. It's been positively dreadful! Now that you're back maybe you can talk some sense into this girl."

"So you've finally admitted that you fancy the boy?" Lily asked, bearing her largest grin.

"Possibly…" Kelly murmured.

"She's been talking about him constantly," Katie added, earning a glare from Kelly.

"So why haven't you done anything about it?" Lily asked.

"Since when have you been in favor of Sirius?" Kelly responded.

"Since I got over my grudge with James, now stop avoiding the question."

"She hasn't given him any hint that she's interested," Amy provided.

"Then you need to get a move on, girlie, before someone else comes along and sweeps him off his feet," Lily said. She held Kelly's gaze, not allowing her to look away "Promise me that you won't let this one pass you by. There have been far too many times when a great guy has slipped through your fingers because you were too afraid to step out of your shell. Promise me."

"Okay, Lily," Kelly murmured, finally being able to look away.

"Say it, Kel."

"I promise."

"Good." Lily clapped her hands together and her mind wandered. "I can't wait to see you together," she spoke aloud. "Sirius Black'll finally be a one woman man and Kelly Anderson will be the one to tame him."

"Stop talking to yourself about me. It's creepy," Kelly said.

"I'm sorry; I got excited. You two will be so good for each other."

"Just like James would be for you," Amy stated.

"What are you talking about? We just became friends. How could you know that?" Lily pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

"You really can't see it, can you?" Amy asked. Lily shook her head and rested her chin on her knees. "He's transformed you." Lily took a huge breath ad her body shook with its exit. "Your moods switched constantly and we never knew when we would see a smile on your face. In just one day, you're happier. I can't remember a time all year when you've smiled this much. I think all of us agree that we like you better this way." All the girls nodded in agreement.

The solemn moment was broken by a man's shouting. "Oy, Evans!"

"Sirius…" Lily rolled her eyes.

"Prongsie wants you and your friends to eat lunch with us, so get your arses down here; Peter's hungry!"

"Chill out, Sirius! We'll be down soon and I know that you're the one that wants to eat, not Peter."

There was no response. The girls laughed, knowing Lily was right.

--- --- ---

A few nights later, Lily was still thinking about the talk the five of them had. There were quite a few new developments. The biggest being that Kelly finally admitted she liked Sirius. Lily also knew that, even though Kelly had promised her, she would not be approaching Sirius any time soon.

"Ready to go, Lily?" James asked beside her. She nodded and he helped her from her chair, leading her out the portrait hole. "So where shall we start searching for miscreants tonight?"

Kelly won't break out of her shell. She'd too afraid of being rejected, Lily thought.

James waved his hand in front of Lily's face. "Earth to Lily."

Sirius has such a reputation; she probably thinks there is no way he could like her back.

James stopped her and cupped her face in his hands, saying her name once more but with more force. The glazed look in her eyes disappeared and she locked her gaze with his. Realizing their close proximity, she blushed and back away.

"Sorry," she said. "I was thinking."

"I figured as much. You use that brain of yours too much."

"And you let yours run on automatic," she joked back.

"Touché," he laughed. "So what were you thinking so hard about that you didn't notice those two first-years running around in nothing but their skivvies?"

"What?" she shrieked. "Did you stop them? Did you take points? Did you—" she began ranting.

"Lily, breathe. I was just joking."

He was wearing that grin of his. "You are such a prat, James Potter."

"I know. Now answer the question."

"Actually, I was thinking about our best mates."

"Sirius and Kelly? What about them?"

"She would kill me if she knew I was telling you this, but…" Lily contemplated Kelly's wrath. "But I'm going to tell you anyway. You can't tell anyone; this stays between you and me." When he nodded in agreement, she continued, "Kelly might fancy Sirius. Please don't tell me he's going to break her heart."

"He wouldn't—"

Lily interrupted, "I understand that you feel the need to defend him, but you and I both know his reputation."

James smirked, "You didn't let me finish. I was going to say that he wouldn't do that because I have a feeling it might be mutual."

"You better not be joking, or I will hex you." Lily pulled out her wand to prove a point.

James held up his arms in surrender. "I promise you that I am not joking." She pocketed her wand, and James lowered his arms. "So… Sirius and Kelly, huh?" The smirk on James' face would not be leaving any time soon, Lily decided.

"I'd like to see that happen," he said. "Kelly said she fancied him?"

Lily nodded. "But she probably won't do anything about it. She's too shy. There's no way she would approach a flirt like Sirius and ask him out." Lily had always hoped Kelly would become more confident around guys, but it hadn't happened yet, if it ever would. "What makes you think it's mutual?"

"Do you remember earlier this week when you and your friends had lunch with us?" he asked.

"You mean, when Sirius yelled the invitation from the bottom of the stairs?"

"Yup. He said that I came up with the idea. Actually, he was using me as a scapegoat. He didn't want to admit that he wanted you all to eat with us because he knew Kelly would be there. Also, since we've become friends, he's used that to his advantage. Now he had a reason to hang around with your friends more, and he couldn't do that before when we were fighting constantly."

"He told you all this?" Lily asked in awe. She had never heard of boys opening up to each other that much.

James scoffed at this. "Of course not. But he's like my brother; we can pick up on things without having to say anything. This is one of those things."

"You two are so close it's scary sometimes."

"But it comes in handy."

"I bet," Lily said, thinking about all the pranks they've played. "So you really think he likes her?"

"Definitely. He just won't admit it."

"Which means it would take ages for them to hook up," Lily sighed.

"Not if they got a little push in the right direction." There was that grin again.

"What do you propose?" Lily asked.

James told his plan enthusiastically, waving his arms about and smiling widely. He would stop only when Lily would add her input. They finished plotting against their best friends, eagerly awaiting the time when they would put it into effect.

"Hey, Lily?" James asked when silence took over.

"Yeah…" she prompted, checking a broom closet for snogging couples.

"Mum told me she invited you to our place during break, but she hadn't received a reply. So I wanted to extend an invitation as well. I think it would be great if you came and spent at least a couple days with us."

Lily was speechless, not only had Mrs. Potter invited her but now James wanted her there as well. In past years, Lily would stay at Hogwarts because she really didn't like going home over break, and this year she would have a reason not to go home.

"You really want me to come?" Lily asked, making sure before she got too excited.

"Of course we do," James said. "Especially Mum. I think she wants a bit of female company. She's had to deal with my dad, Sirius, and me for so long. She says there's so much testosterone in the house that she can taste it."

"Sounds like your mum needs a bit of relief," Lily said, smiling.

"Does that mean you're coming?" he asked. Lily thought he looked like a puppy who was about to get a treat; she laughed to herself about the image. She nodded. "Awesome! I have to go owl Mum." He began running towards the Owlery.

"James, it's after midnight, and we have to finish our patrol," she called after him.

He stopped sharply. "Oh, yeah," she heard him faintly mumble.

"We're almost done," Lily said when James was back alongside her. "Then you can owl your mum. But I won't be responsible if she wants to kill you for waking her up in the middle of the night."

--- --- ---

A week later, Lily was lying in bed. It was still early and she did not want to get ready for the day. It was the weekend after all and time to sleep in. With a grunt, she felt something heavy land on her bed. It seemed to be bouncing; it was jolting her body to and fro.

"What the…" She questioned, holding her head up enough to see James Potter bouncing on her bed. She looked around the room to see the rest of the Marauders giving her roommates the same treatment.

"Lily's awake!" James announced to the room.

"How did you four get up here?" Lily asked. There was supposed to be a spell on the stairs forbidding males from entering the girls' dormitories.

"Flew." Sirius stated, and Lily saw that there were four brooms propped up by the door. Sirius chuckled as Kelly tried to hide under her covers.

"Now that we know how, I want to know why you're waking us up at this ungodly hour."

"You were already up," James pointed out, still bouncing on her bed.

"Then why haven't you quit your incessant bouncing?"

"Because you're up, but you're not up."

Lily pushed James off her bed and laughed when she saw his sprawled figure as she raced for the bathroom.

"Remus, I swear I will hex you if you don't get off of my bed," Katie mumbled.

"I agree," said Jenn, who had gotten a reprieve from the wake-up call until James was free but was now being jolted rather roughly.

"But it's snowed. It has finally snowed!" Sirius yelled gleefully. "Get up! Get ready! We have to go play before all the good stuff is gone!"

"You are so much like a five year old sometimes," Katie said.

There was a grunt as Jenn followed Lily's example and pushed James from her bed. "I knew I put you on the team for a good reason," James mumbled from his spot on the floor. "Very strong."

The girls laughed despite their fatigue. "If you all get out, we'll get ready," Amy stated diplomatically.

"No, you won't," Sirius said. "You'll all just go back to bed."

"We're awake now," Kelly replied, finally coming out from under the covers. "There is no way that I would be able to fall back asleep now."

"Good." Sirius smiled. "Be ready in ten minutes."

The boys left and twenty minutes later all five girls came running down the stairs, throwing spell-made snowballs at the Marauders before continuing to run out to the grounds.

Lily crushed another clump of snow into a ball in her hands. The boys were making a snowman—their guards completely down—and she took the opportunity to take revenge on the princes of pranks. She wound up, thankful to her father for making her join the softball team and learn to pitch, and succeeded in hitting James in the back of the head. He turned sharply, glaring at her. She shrugged her shoulders, "who me?" written on her face.

James was walking towards her, his jaw set determinedly. Lily backed up; she knew that whatever he was about to do she wasn't going to enjoy it. She couldn't help but laugh at him. Snow was still stuck to his hair. Mischievousness glinted in his eyes.

"Now, James," she said. "Don't do anything rash. It was just a snowball; no harm done, right?"

He didn't answer her, just grinned as he continued to advance on her. She was about to run but his arms wrapped around her and he hoisted her onto his shoulder, her legs dangling in front of him while her head hung in back.

"James Potter. Put me down this instance!" she pounded her fists on his back, wiggling and trying to get out of this awkward position. "I'll write your mother about this!" she threatened.

"Don't even think about it," he said. "Besides, Mum would be on my side; she'd say you deserved it. You provoked me."

"Provoked you? It was a s—" James readjusted her on his shoulder "—snowball. Just a simple snowball; you could've just thrown one back at me."

"Oh, I have something much better," he replied. By the tone of his voice, Lily could tell she was about to be in trouble.

"Guys, help me, please" she begged the other three Marauders.

She attempted to look at them but James kept jostling her. "Sorry, Evans," Sirius said; he still used her last name regardless of the fact that they were now friends. "You got yourself into this mess."

"Girls…please." She could hear her friends giggling behind their hands.

Looking around James' torso, she could see a large pile of snow. Her eyes grew to the size of saucers.

He wouldn't…

"James…don't you dare." Lily attempted once more to change her position—since when had his shoulders gotten so broad? "You better not throw me in that snow pile," she said.

"Oh, I shouldn't?"

"Come on, James. You're bigger than me. This isn't fair. Just put me down. You can get your revenge some other way."

"I don't think you're in any position to be making demands, Lily darling," he lightly patted her bottom.

"Did you just touch my ass, James Potter!"

"Yes, I did." He stated simply. "What are you going to do about it?"

"I'll kill you," she fumed—even though she had enjoyed it.

"I don't think so," James said. Before Lily could reply, he had tossed her off his shoulder and into the large pile of snow. She glared at him dangerously, having sunk halfway into the mound. Grunting noises issued from her mouth as she attempted to heave herself out. James stood there laughing at her, his arms crossed firmly across his chest. "That is what you get for attacking James Potter."

"Oh, really…?" she asked, having freed herself from the snow's hold; James seemed oblivious to the fact that she could move. He smiled proudly at her and didn't have time to prepare himself for Lily's attack until she had knocked him onto his back and was sitting on his chest. Their friends watched from the sidelines, amused.

Lily nodded proudly, crossing her arms across her chest as James had done. "Do not underestimate the power of the tiny chick."

"Well, you got one thing right," James said. "You are tiny, so I can easily do this." He took her legs and pushed her off of him with great ease, pinning her to the ground with his knees by her hips. She tried to wiggle out from between his legs but nothing would work; he was holding on to her too tightly for movement to be possible.

"You are enjoying this way too much," she snarled.

His reply was one word. "Yup." Actions always did speak louder than words. He took a handful of snow and shoved it up her sweater, another was destined to be forced down the neck of her robes. She writhed against him, the wet snow tickling her skin. Her brilliant green eyes shone with the unshed tears from her laughter.

"James—stop.—Please—" she struggled to say in between gasps for breath and laughter.

"Only if you say 'mercy,'" he said, enjoying the way her smile stretched across her face and the way her nose crinkled up when she laughed.

"Mercy. Mercy. Just please stop," she pleaded. The torture stopped and James kneeled beside her instead of straddling her. She sat up, smacking him on the shoulder as he grinned at her; she collapsed against him, worn out. "You're an insufferable git, you know that?" she said.

"Yeah; I know," he replied. Neither of them tried to hide their smiles and their friends exchanged knowing looks while James held Lily in his arms, not wanting to let her go.

--- --- ---

To be continued…

--- --- ---

A/N: I know the updates have been abysmal, but university homework and my job have been taking up all my spare time. So as a bit of an early Thanksgiving treat, I decided to post chapter 14. I'd love to hear what you think. I have the next chapter planned but who knows when I'll have time to write it. Thank you to all my reviewers and all my readers that have stuck with me throughout the entire thing. Hope you all enjoyed it!