Monday May 30
- Lily -
Lily woke to an owl delivering her a note. It was a school owl, and very sombre. Lily took the note and smiled nervously as she read it.
Meet us by the lake at lunch.
Remus
Greta snorted in her sleep and Lily crushed the note into her fist to hide it. Lily would have to find a way to get rid of Greta after Transfiguration. Greta wouldn't like that. But if Lily wanted to help solve this riddle, and possibly save the sword of Gryffindor from Voldemort's clutches, she'd just have to find a way.
And, Lily told herself firmly, as she got up to get ready for the day, that was all this was about. Lily, as a prefect and part of the wizarding community, owed a certain loyalty, a duty, to protect it. The fact that James Potter would be there had nothing to do with it.
.
As Lily had anticipated, Greta was not easy to ditch. Lily almost considered bringing Greta to the meeting, but she could just imagine the look on Sirius' and Andy's faces. Not only would they refuse to talk to Greta – only so many people could be trusted to keep a secret – they'd probably kick Lily out, too. After all, Lily was only in on the secret because she'd been in the right place at the right time.
In the end, Lily and Greta had a huge fight over Lily keeping secrets and Greta had stormed off. Greta was sure Lily's secret was to do with James Potter – which, in a way, it was – and that Lily was going to get her heart broken all over again – which she wasn't.
Lily arrived at the lake and spotted the group under the Marauders' usual tree. Remus looked pleased to see her, and Emma gave her a small smile. Andromeda rolled her eyes skyward in contempt. Lily avoided James' eye.
"So," Remus said briskly, taking out a list. "We've searched a number of locations already-"
"Some of us searched more dangerous places than others," James added winningly and Lily could feel his eyes on her. Lily didn't meet his gaze.
"And some of us did more searching than others," Sirius said, glancing accusingly at Andy.
"But," Remus said firmly, cutting across both of them, "we haven't found anything yet."
"Can I see?" Lily said, pulling the list closer to her.
"We're looking for lions and the 'base of Gryffindor Tower'," Vance added.
"That's if the riddle isn't faulty," Andy drawled. "Or, more likely, the password."
"Password?" Lily said, looking up.
"So far we've tried 'Gryffindor' and 'sword of Gryffindor'," James answered before Remus could speak.
Lily frowned at the list.
" 'The base of Gryffindor Tower'," she muttered to herself. "Maybe we're thinking too narrowly."
"How so?" James said, sounding flatteringly interested. At the same time, Andy said bluntly,
"It's a tower, not a jigsaw. It has a base."
"Yes," Lily said, looking at the list to avoid her flashing eyes. "But it's built onto the side of the North Tower."
A silence met this statement.
"And at the base of the North Tower," Lily continued, but Sirius cut across her.
"The Hufflepuff common room."
"Trust you to think of that," Andy said, rolling her eyes.
"No, he's right," Remus said.
"Hiding the sword of Gryffindor in the Hufflepuff common room?" James didn't look convinced.
"It would be devious," Sirius said, wiggling his eyebrows. "I'll do it, if no one else is game."
"Do what, precisely?" said Vance, her tone stern.
"Sneak in. Poke around. I'm good at that sort of thing."
Andy snorted. "What, sneaking or poking?" Sirius ignored her.
"If anyone should do it, it should be a prefect," James said, looking at Lily.
"No way!" Lily said hotly.
"As if any prefect would," Andy said contemptuously but James cut across her, trying to repair damage with Lily.
"I didn't mean with me," James said to her quickly. "You and Remus could-"
"I'll do it," Vance said, surprising them all.
"You?" Andy said, her voice unflattering.
"Me," Vance said calmly.
"I'll go with you," Remus said.
"Good, that's settled then," said James with relief. "I'll lend you the cloak. You can go tonight."
"Cloak?" Lily said curiously.
"And how would you feel about doing your part, Miss Evans?" Sirius said smoothly, changing the topic.
"What part?" Lily said warily.
"We need someone to try the password on the Godric Gryffindor portraits," Sirius said, grinning as though this were a real treat.
"Er," said Lily. "I guess so."
"Better you than me," Andy sneered. "He was an arrogant old bastard, Gryffindor."
The meeting ended with a few more suggestions, though nothing particularly promising. Lily walked to Potions with Remus, feeling guilty for having ditched Greta, and a little uncomfortable at the way Vance watched the pair of them walk all the way to the castle.
It was a relief to spend a quiet lesson with Alice, but Lily's thoughts kept drifting to the task she'd agreed to after dinner.
.
Andromeda wasn't wrong. Godric Gryffindor was a right arrogant bastard. Lily felt stupid enough finding all of his portraits around the school and whispering 'Gryffindor' and 'sword of Gryffindor' as though it were a password that would cause the portrait to swing open. The Godric in the portraits was just as likely to tell her his life story as chide her for looking for treasure that was not hers. Godric, it seemed, never slept.
Potter had, on more than one occasion, professed Gryffindor as his ancestor. Having now met Godric Gryffindor, Lily could see where Potter got his arrogance from. They even looked alike, with their high foreheads and straight noses. Those intense brown eyes. Lily felt a pang of memory, looking into hazel eyes while swapping secrets…
But she shoved it down and pressed on with her task. How many Godric Gryffindor portraits could Hogwarts hold?
.
.
.
- Remus -
"This is a bad idea," Emma muttered as she and Remus approached the Hufflepuff common room under the invisibility cloak.
"We don't have to do it," Remus whispered back. He was tired – the full moon was on Wednesday – and he, like Andy, doubted they would find the sword of Gryffindor in the Hufflepuff basement.
"No, I'm not backing out now," Emma said stubbornly. "We just have to make sure we're not caught, I guess."
"Why did you agree to this plan?" Remus asked, curious. It certainly didn't seem like an Emmeline Vance type of thing to do.
Emma sighed and rolled her shoulders. "Black – Andromeda – was goading me, I guess. As though prefects would never break the rules."
It didn't occur to Remus that Emma had only agreed after James had suggested Lily and Remus hide out together in Hufflepuff common room.
"We're too clever to get caught," Remus said, his grin discernible in his tone.
"Not too clever to agree to the plan, though," Emma said.
"It might be too important not to," Remus said softly. Beside him, Emma stilled.
"You think so?"
But before Remus could reply, there was movement at the end of the corridor.
"This is it," Emma muttered, tensing beside Remus. They were standing very close to the door to the Hufflepuff common room, just waiting for a student to enter alone. And who should stroll along the hallway but fifth year prefect Amelia Bones. Bones sauntered up to the wall, tapped out a rhythm on one of the barrels stacked there, which opened onto an earthy passageway. Bones ducked down with the familiarity of practice, and Remus had to move quickly to follow her in time. Emma had only just slipped inside the passageway before the barrel closed again.
Waiting a few moments for Bones to clear the tunnel, Remus and Emma trod as noiselessly after her as they could. Then they were in the Hufflepuff basement, a round, low-ceilinged room full of plants and honey-coloured wooden furniture. Bones had disappeared, probably off to her dorm, but other Hufflepuffs were curled up in cosy corners or tending to the array of foliage.
Emma pulled Remus out of the way as another Hufflepuff headed for the tunnel and the school beyond. They might be invisible, but that didn't stop them being solid. Remus pointed under the cloak to a couch in the corner, with a reasonable gap between it and the wall. Emma nodded and they squeezed their way behind it, crouching down out of the way. And they settled in to wait.
The plan was to check the common room thoroughly after the Hufflepuffs had gone to bed. While it was only an hour to midnight, most of the dozen or so students in the room were happily chatting or doing homework and looked far from drowsy. Remus tried to get comfortable against the wall while Emma leaned against the back of the couch. They locked eyes under the invisibility cloak – not invisible to each other – and exchanged a tired smile.
Emma frowned slightly, her eyes concerned. She silently cast a spell, moving her wand in a complex movement. The sound from the Hufflepuffs died down and Remus realised it was a silencing spell. Once it was complete, Emma whispered,
"Are you okay, Remus? You don't look well."
Remus sighed. Trust Emma to notice what the Marauders failed to see – though they all had a lot on, between the mystery and their broken love lives.
"Just tired," Remus said. "Exams in a week, you know." Remus tried a cheeky smile, as though Emma might have forgotten that her NEWTs were coming up. "I'm surprised you had an evening to spare for this."
Emma shrugged. "Not for anyone else, I assure you."
Remus returned her smile. It occurred to him for the first time that he and Emma were stuck in this corner, under the invisibility cloak, completely alone. Remus moved towards her carefully, but not carefully enough. Remus' shoulder moved the couch, which scraped along the floor an inch or two.
Emma flicked her wand and the silencing spell dropped.
"What was that?" said one Hufflepuff. There was more scraping of chairs as students got up and several heads poked over the back of the couch, looking straight at Remus and Vance. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, they receded with muttered ideas.
Once they were gone, Emma recast the silencing spell and Remus, letting out a sigh of relief, retreated back to his own corner. They couldn't risk it again.
"Close call," Emma said, but she was smiling reassuringly. Remus shrugged noncommittally, embarrassed.
"You do look tired," Emma said, concern in her voice. "If you need help with your exam study…"
"You're the one doing NEWTs this year," Remus said, touched by the suggestion, but knowing he wouldn't take her up on it.
"Yeah, but at least I don't lose a day or two the week before," Emma said, her face now serious. Remus' breath caught in sudden fear.
"Lose a… what do you mean?"
Emma was watching him closely under the cloak. Remus tried to school his features to neutrality but he wasn't sure if he succeeded. The fact that Emma was willing to be within a foot of him was surely a good sign, right?
"I just thought this week might be especially hard for you," Emma said, skirting the topic.
"Why?" Remus said, trying to keep his voice light. He certainly wasn't admitting to anything if Emma wasn't going to say it.
Emma tilted her head to one side, studying him. Perhaps noting his nervous expression, she shrugged and said,
"No reason. But if you do need to study… I'm sure the other Marauders have forgotten all about exams. I just wanted you to know that I'm here for you."
The last sentence was said with real sincerity, Emma's eyes intense as they looked into Remus'. Remus swallowed. Emma knew. And she hadn't pushed the topic. And she hadn't run away. Remus was seized by a sudden desire to kiss her soundly, but he knew he would have to wait. Instead Remus battled to keep his grin down to a small smile and said softly,
"As I am for you."
Emma returned his smile. After a minute of awkward silence, they began discussing the unusual choices of pot plants in the room.
Nearly hours later the last Hufflepuffs headed off to bed. Stretching stiff muscles, Remus and Emma stood and began inspecting the room. Apart from the proliferation of plants and the wooden furniture, the room was not so different to the Gryffindor common room. And like the Gryffindor common room, none of the furniture, walls, floor or ceiling, responded to their password. An hour later, defeated, the pair departed.
Remus may or may not have suggested a midnight stroll around the grounds before bed, which might or might not have involved rather a lot of sitting by the lakeshore getting to know each other better.