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Hello everyone, here is chapter thirty-seven. Readers, please review. Thanks!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. All (well, most, anyway) characters are from J K Rowling's brilliant best-selling series.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
"Behavioural change is a definite symptom."
She didn't know how long she's been sitting by the tree near the pumpkin patch. She wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings, only dimly aware of the chill in the air and the cloudy grey skies – it looked like it could snow at any moment, but she was too upset to care. What has gotten into Liz? she wondered. Sure, Liz wasn't Severus's biggest fan, but she had never lashed out like that before. She had tolerated him… What had changed? Lily's tears still flowed… Why, for once, couldn't her friends be at peace with one another?
"Yeh all righ'?" said a gruff voice, and she looked up to see Hagrid the gamekeeper looking down upon her, his beetle-black eyes warm and concerned. She had barely interacted with Hagrid over the past three years; he was a huge man, more than eight feet tall, with a tangled mess of hair for a beard. He looked quite forbidding, but Lily had heard from a lot of her fellow students that Hagrid was a gentle soul.
She gave a giant sniff and said, with a brave attempt at keeping her voice casual, "Yes – yes, I'm all right –"
"Rubbish," snorted Hagrid. "Yeh're upse' – abou' summat. C'mon – c'mere, le's have a cuppa tea in me house." He indicated his large hut. "Did yeh have lunch?" the huge man asked her.
She hesitated, then shook her head no. "C'mon, then – le's go," said Hagrid, and extended a giant, plate-sized hand to her. She hesitated again before taking it and allowing herself to be helped up.
"Wha's yer name?" Hagrid asked her. "Lily Evans," she said dully, and he smiled, his beetle-black eyes twinkling. "C'mon, then, Lily," he said again, and began to make his way to his hut. Thinking that it would be too polite to refuse, she followed Hagrid at a less urgent pace.
The moment Hagrid opened the door, something huge threw itself at Hagrid. Lily drew back hastily before relaxing; it was a large black boarhound, and by the looks of it, it was very friendly – it was currently in the process of licking Hagrid's hairy face. "Max! Maxie! Down, boy!" Hagrid said, and the dog obeyed at once, though its tongue was still sticking out, and its tail continued to wag.
"Here – he's jus' a li'l too friendly, tha's all," said Hagrid reassuringly, as Max the boarhound trotted up to Lily, and gazed into her eyes inquiringly. Lily happily tickled its ears, and patted its head as it stood still with its eyes closed, apparently enjoying it. Lily immediately began to feel better, and the dog kept wagging its tail before proceeding to lick her hand in a friendly sort of way.
"He's adorable!" she exclaimed, bending down and rubbing her own nose against the dog's wet one, something it seemed to like very much. Lily had always liked dogs – Matthew and his parents had recently adopted one, and playing with that little puppy had been one of the highlights of her stay at Matthew's over the summer. She'd tried to convince her parents multiple times to let her adopt one – but Tuney hated animals, and with her being away at Hogwarts most of the time, that was that. She wished that Hogwarts allowed dogs as pets – but all they were allowed were cats and toads, none of whom she particularly liked, so she settled for an owl instead.
"Yeah – he's friendly, but ge' on his wrong side an' there's no fiercer animal!" Hagrid boomed proudly. "C'min – make yerself a' home." Max wagged his tail eagerly and began to bound into the house, away from the cold. Shivering slightly, she followed them in. There was only one room inside; a massive bed stood in the corner with a patchwork quilt over it, and hams and pheasants hung freely from the ceiling. Hagrid pointed a flowery pink umbrella at the patch in the middle of the room; within seconds, flames crackled there merrily as if they'd been there for hours. He placed a copper kettle over the open fire, and set water to boil. Lily settled herself over the massive sofa, feeling very much out of place.
"Here," he said gruffly, handing her a plate and placing a couple of rock cakes over it. "It's nearly lunchtime, isn' it? This'll be a nice change fer yeh – from the castle food." He smiled as he spoke, and she smiled back at him. "Thanks, er – Mr Hagrid," she said, a little uncertainly. The huge man's smile widened (at least, she thought it did; it was hard to tell from the mass of hair on his face). "Call me Hagrid, Lily – everyone does," he said cheerfully.
"Er – OK, Hagrid it is," said Lily, with a grin, as Max settled himself down beside her and rested his head in her lap. She patted him absently, and Hagrid looked gratified. The other students hadn't been kidding – he seemed to be very nice and gentle.
She took one bite of the rock cake – and drew back. She didn't want to be rude – but the issue was, the rock cake was exactly like a rock, and she was unable to bite it. An idea came to her.
"Er – Hagrid," she began, "Er – these are a little hard for me, so d'you mind if I used a quick charm on them?"
Hagrid surveyed her thoughtfully before saying, "Sure – wha' charm are yeh gonna use?"
"A Softening Charm," she said, and drew her wand. "I dunno if it'll work, but I can try… I don't want to spoil these cakes though."
"Don' worry abou' it," Hagrid said gruffly, "There's plen'y more…"
"In that case – Macerum!" said Lily, before taking a rock cake from her plate and feeling it. "Mm, that's tender," she said happily, and took a large bite from it. "Mm, Hagrid – these are really good!" she exclaimed as a mouthful of raisins and utterly tasteless dough hit her tongue. She didn't want to hurt the giant's feelings – he'd been very kind to her.
Hagrid looked at her doubtfully before taking stuffing the entire second rock cake in his mouth. "Nah – too sof' for me," he said decisively. "It's like – wa'er!" Lily laughed. Hagrid set a few more rock cakes on her plate, and she Softened each one of them before eating them (or giving a cake to Max from time to time) – and pretending to enjoy a very delicious meal. The tea was ready soon, and Hagrid served it to her in a surprisingly normal-sized cup. "I ge' visi'ors sometimes," he said to her shrewdly, and she blushed before sipping her tea – which was, thankfully, tasty.
"So – wha' go' yeh so upse' – tha' yeh decided to skip lunch?" Hagrid asked her gently.
"Oh – nothing much," she said, "I had a fight with my best friend – and she said some bad stuff. It's not like her to lash out like that," she added, more to herself than to him.
Hagrid nodded sagely and said, "Don' worry abou' it – she mus' be angry abou' summat else, and she musta taken it ou' on yeh." Lily nodded in assent, unconvinced. "She usually tells me if something's bothering her," she said. "It's – uncharacteristic, that's what it is."
"Funny yeh should use tha' word," said Hagrid, his brow creased, "Yer not the only one to say that a friend's bin actin' uncharac'eristic…"
"Really? What do you mean, Hagrid?" asked Lily quickly. What did he mean?
"There was ano'her kid in here yes'erday evenin' – James Potter, do yeh know James?"
She felt a familiar twinge of irritation. "Yeah – what about Potter?" she asked him with forced pleasantness. Hagrid surveyed her doubtfully once again before continuing, "Well – James usually comes down to say hello every time he returns after them holidays, see?" She nodded, and he continued, "This time 'twas differen'. He was upse' – apparen'ly, his best mate, Sirius Black, fough' wi'h him when he was over a' the Potters' fer Chris'mas, and they're still figh'in'."
"Potter and Black – fighting?" asked Lily sceptically. "Come on, Hagrid – those two are inseparable!"
"Well, I dunno – tha's wha' James said. He also said Sirius hasn' bin himself these pas' few days," said Hagrid, his forehead wrinkled. "Plus – 'twas odd when James showed up alone yes'erday – Sirius usually comes along," he added.
"Now that you mention it – something was certainly odd today at Care of Magical Creatures," said Lily, remembering the incident with Black pushing Potter and storming off. She wasted no time in relating this to Hagrid, who said pensively, "Mebbe yeh should talk to James – sounds to me like yer havin' the same problem as him."
She snorted, and Hagrid surveyed her shrewdly once again. "No' on yer good side, is he? James?"
Lily blushed. "Well – he can be annoying sometimes – and by sometimes, I mean all the time," she said dryly, and Hagrid chuckled. "Yes, James can cause a bi' o' trouble every now an' then. I've had ter chase him away from that Forbidden Fores' so many times – bu' he's a good sort, James is. Decen' kid… Wi'h decen' paren's."
"Yeah – his parents are very nice," agreed Lily.
"Talk to him," advised Hagrid. "Mebbe yer friends have summat on their minds that' they're no' tellin' yeh, and James migh' be able to help yeh find out wha'."
"Hmm – I'll think about it, Hagrid," said Lily politely. She looked at her watch and let out an exclamation. "Oh, no – I've only got ten minutes to get to Transfiguration!" She stood up quickly. "Thanks a lot, Hagrid – it was really nice of you to invite me for lunch," she said, a little shyly.
Hagrid chuckled again. "Any'ime," he responded. "Don' hesi'ate to come whenever you like – door's always open!"
"Thanks, Hagrid," she said gratefully. Rubbing noses with Max one last time, she waved to the gamekeeper before stepping out of his hut and running all the way to the castle. Maybe I will talk to Potter, she thought as she ran up the stairs in the general direction of the Transfiguration classroom. It couldn't hurt, could it?
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Lily avoided Liz for the rest of the day. She didn't have anything after Transfiguration, so after dinner, she took refuge to the library instead, working alone on her Transfiguration homework. She tried to concentrate, but her mind was distracted – the thought of going to Potter of her own accord, and asking for help was more than what she could bear. All the same, she had to do something – she wanted her best friend back.
At that very moment, someone walked into the library, and her gaze automatically went the door; with a jolt, she realized that it was Potter himself, accompanied by Rachel Burke – his pretty Hufflepuff girlfriend. They settled down at a table some distance from her, and opened their books, presumably to do their homework, too.
Well, I – never! Since when does Potter come to the library to study? she wondered. She tried to concentrate on her work, but kept stealing glances at Potter and Rachel every now and then. Rachel seemed to be buried in her work, for she was busily scratching away her quill on a piece of parchment. Potter, on the contrary, looked bored – and about as distracted as she felt. He was running his hand through his hair absently, bent over his books – but Lily noticed that he hadn't turned a single page in the last five minutes. Obviously, there was something on his mind, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what…
As if he sensed her watching him, he turned in her direction and their eyes met. Lily quickly bent over her books, a blush spreading across her face, hoping against hope that he hadn't caught her staring… Please don't come here, she thought desperately, but it was of no use.
"All right, Evans?" said a voice, and she gritted her teeth before turning to her right to find James Potter standing next to her, his usual lopsided grin on his face. He slid into the seat in front of her without invitation, and she couldn't suppress her irritation as she asked him, "Aren't you on some sort of study date, Potter?"
"Yep – but my homework's done, and I'm bored," he replied smoothly, and she raised her eyebrows. "Besides – it's distracting to have another girl stare at you when you're on a date," he added, and she went even redder. She decided to ignore that last comment. "So – you're telling me – that you've finished today's Transfiguration homework?" she asked him disbelievingly. He laughed and said, "Yep – it was easy, didn't take me more than half an hour."
"Well – good for you," she said tartly, "But the rest of us actually need to study to do that assignment. So – why don't you do me a favour, and leave me alone?"
He considered her for a moment, before saying, "You were the one who was staring at me, Evans. And I'm not Sirius to assume that it was due to my ruggedly handsome looks." He chuckled, and she rolled her eyes. "You two bury the hatchet, then?" she asked, and his face darkened at once. "No," he said shortly. "But it'll be OK tomorrow…" He didn't sound very sure, though. "Why weren't you at lunch? Had a fight with Liz?" he asked her instead.
Completely thrown, she said, "How did you know that? Liz tell you?"
"No," he said again. "But she sat down and glowered at everybody while eating, and left without so much as a single word to anybody. She seemed to be in a foul mood – and when you didn't show, it wasn't hard to put two and two together."
"Well done," she said sarcastically. "What do you want, a prize?"
"Only if that prize is a kiss from you, my dear Lilykins," he replied, his eyes mischievous.
"You – have – a – girlfriend," hissed Lily through gritted teeth. "She's sitting right over there – don't you have any shame?"
"Ah, come on, Lilykins – where's your sense of humour? A little flirting is healthy!" he said, grinning goofily at her. She brandished her quill at him and said belligerently, "Never call me that again, Potter."
"Fine, fine – I was only kidding," he said, holding up his hands in defeat. His expression became serious as he asked again, "So, you and Liz – what was that all about?"
"None of your business," she said rudely. She couldn't help it; he was irritating her again… Before he could articulate any sort of response, she added, "Why don't you go back to your date? It's rude to keep a lady waiting, Potter." She felt a slight pang of guilt as she spoke; she was ignoring Hagrid's advice, but the bloke was so damn infuriating!
"Yeah, yeah – I'm going, there's no need to be rude," he said, clearly put out. "But bear in mind that if you'd asked me what Sirius and I quarrelled about, I would've told you – no qualms." He made as if to get up, and she gritted her teeth. Steeling herself, she said, "Wait – stop. I'll tell you why Liz and I fought." He sat back down, eyeing her curiously.
"Liz – well, Liz has been acting oddly for the past couple of months," she began awkwardly. "I first noticed when she did that Sloth Grip Roll before catching the Snitch upside-down at the Quidditch match – I dunno, it looked so – so unnecessary – what?" she added, her eyes narrowed, noticing him staring at her with a mixture of befuddlement and admiration.
"Oh, nothing," he said quickly, a little flustered, "It's just that – you know what a Sloth Grip Roll is?" His hazel eyes betrayed astonishment, and she laughed. "Liz told me what that move was called – and I immediately looked for a book in the library to read up more about it – but the point is, Potter, that it was so unlike her – she doesn't show off! I mean, that's more of what you do, isn't it?" she shot at him teasingly.
He grinned and said, "If you're good at something, a little showing off doesn't hurt – but you're right, Liz doesn't like the attention so much."
"Then there were a few things, here and there," Lily continued. "I dunno – she seems to lose her temper more quickly these days, which goes against her tranquil nature…"
"That is weird," he agreed. "Did you try asking her about it?"
"That's why we quarrelled, Potter," she replied sharply, narrowing her eyes again at the memory. "I asked her why she was acting like this, and she went off on a tangent – completely missed the point, and said a lot of hurtful things."
Potter's brow was furrowed in concentration. "I see," was all he said though.
"What about you and Black, then?" she asked curiously. "I noticed it when we met at Marlene's too – something wasn't quite right."
"Perceptive, aren't you?" he said with grudging admiration. "Sirius – I dunno, he's been acting really cocky these days."
"Cockier than usual?" she asked with a hint of amusement, and he rolled his eyes before saying, "Yeah – of course, usually I'd find this amusing, but there was that one incident – we were scaring Mrs Norris by making barking noises –"
"Real mature," she interrupted dryly.
"If I wanted your opinion, I'd ask you," he shot back, and she flushed a little. I suppose I deserved that one, she thought. "Go on," she prodded.
"Anyway, we saw Flich around the corner, and decided to run for it – but Sirius, thinking it would be fun, decided to trip Peter. If it hadn't been for Peeves, who was passing by, we'd have been caught – but Peeves zoomed up to Filch and grabbed his nose, thereby buying us some time to get away – inadvertently helping us, I might add."
Lily found herself laughing at Peeves's latest attempt to annoy Filch. She hadn't had too many encounters with the poltergeist, and she was thankful for it. Potter continued, "But it was stupid and thoughtless from Sirius, tripping one of our own like that. I rowed with him once we were safely back in our dorm, and even Mark, who played mediator, sided with me. Mark's all right – quiet kid, always with Jane, but always ready to make a joke or two every time I run into him."
"And you're saying it's out of character for Black to do that?" she asked, and he nodded vehemently. "Obviously – the Marauders are all for one and one for all!" he said with conviction.
"I think you're confusing Marauders with Musketeers," she said, smiling slightly as she remembered Alexandre Dumas's famous classic. "Who?" he asked blankly, and she shook her head. "Never mind – so, it was this one incident?"
"Nah, there were other small ones – like that day in Potions, when he kept making fun of Pete as Slughorn spoke to us," he replied.
"Oh, yes – I remember that day. You and Severus – the Dynamic Potions Duo," she said, her tone laced with sarcasm. He frowned and said, "Stuff it, Evans – not my fault that your so-called friend is an ugly, greasy git."
"Watch it, Potter," she said dangerously. Then, remembering something else, she asked him further, "How'd you get antlers on you, anyway?"
"Marauder's secret, Evans," he said mysteriously, and she rolled her eyes. He continued, "Anyway – the point here is, you and I both have best friends who are acting weird – d'you want to find out why?"
"Do you even have to ask?" she said, her spirits rising in spite of herself at the thought of tackling another puzzling problem.
"Great, it's settled, then," he said, grinning. "You and I – we're going to get to the bottom of this."
"Hang on, Potter," she said, frowning, "If you and I are going to work together, there will be a couple of ground rules. For starters – there will be absolutely no flirting from your side. Got that?"
He sighed. "You just want to take the fun out of life, Evans!" he said with mock-hurt. "But fine – you have a deal. Anything more, ma'am?" he added sardonically.
"You – nah, that's it, that's my only condition," she said, shaking her head.
"Easy enough," he said, with a lopsided smirk.
She nodded imperiously at him before saying, "Now go back to your date, Potter – that poor girl will start to get all hot and bothered. Of course – she won't say anything, she's a Hufflepuff, after all," she added sympathetically. "They tend to bear their pain in silence."
"You sure know a lot about them," Potter said, raising his eyebrows. Adjusting his glasses, he continued in a whisper, "Rachel's all right, I suppose – she's pretty, she's kind, and she's a good kisser –"
"Yuck – too much information, Potter," she said, making a face. But Potter continued as if she hadn't interrupted, "—but she's not the girl I'm going to marry. Nah – that would be you, Evans." The crooked grin was back as he surveyed her.
"Nonsense!" she hissed, her tone hostile. "The day I marry you will be the day the sun rises in the west!"
"Mark my words – that day will come," he said confidently. Her anger rose, and she said aggressively, "What did I just tell you – about no flirting? D'you think that no means yes, Potter?"
"We haven't started working together yet," he pointed out, his smirk widening.
He's so infuriating! she thought. "Ugh, don't make me regret this, Potter! Now, that poor girl's waiting for you – so, sod off!" Potter obeyed, and stood up.
"Your wish is my command, ma'am," he said, mock-bowing to her. He got up and re-joined his girlfriend, who was staring at Lily with a most hurt expression. Great, she thought sarcastically as she smiled what she hoped was in a reassuring sort of way at the girl, whose features relaxed at once as Potter joined her. She shook her head and began to pack her bag, deciding to do the remainder of her homework in the common room.
Once she entered her dormitory, however, she could sense that something was wrong; the atmosphere was ominous as she spied Marlene sitting on her bed, staring out of the window, her face ashen. Next to her, Mary had a comforting hand on Marlene's shoulder, while Liz was patting her back absently, her usually stoic face rather serious.
"What happened – what's wrong?" she asked them, pulling up Marlene's desk chair and plopping down on it immediately. Liz beckoned to her at once, and the two girls walked towards the door of the dormitory. Once there, Liz whispered gravely, "It's her Dad, Lily – he's missing."
Lily was shocked. She'd met Mr McKinnon over the Christmas holidays, and she'd liked the jolly, happy-go-lucky man. She was deeply saddened to know that he was missing. "Does anyone know anything? As in – his last mission, last person to see him – anything?" she asked Liz in an undertone.
"Nope," Liz replied grimly. "Marlene just got a letter from her Mum, explaining – they got the news this afternoon. I expect it'll be in tomorrow's Prophet… Mr McKinnon's a high-ranking official, his disappearance is not going to go unnoticed."
"How's Marlene?" Lily asked gently. Liz shook her head and said, "How d'you expect? She hasn't said a word since she got that letter – nothing, zero, zilch!"
"Let me talk to her," Lily offered, and walked back to where Marlene was sitting. "Marlene?" she said gently. "Mar – talk to us, say something!" She sat on Marlene's other side and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly. "I know you're worried about your Dad – but trust me, he's tough. He'll be back soon," she said, not caring how hollow her words were. She ploughed on, "And don't worry about your Mum – Allan will stay there, won't he?" Marlene nodded briefly, her cobalt-blue eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"Look, we're here for you, Mar," said Mary delicately. "Whatever you need…"
"And like Lily said, your Dad will be back soon," said Liz reassuringly, holding Marlene's hand and squeezing it. "He will…"
"Come here," said Lily, and pulled Marlene into a hug. At that, Marlene's resolve broke, and she finally burst into tears over Lily's shoulder. "It's OK – it's OK," Lily whispered to her soothingly, rubbing her friend's back and feeling utterly helpless – what more could she do? They stayed that way, not moving, until Marlene calmed down enough to go to sleep, following which they went to bed themselves. But Lily found sleep hard to come by…
It wasn't fair. Marlene's Dad was one of the good people – they shouldn't be made to suffer. He had a family…
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Marlene going through a difficult time meant that Lily and Liz's animosity was temporarily forgotten as January faded into February. Though they hadn't talked about their quarrel, they were friendly and cordial with each other, at least on a superficial level. Lily spent more time with Severus, working in the library on their homework. Their lessons were getting harder; Lily took quite some time to get the hang of Cross-Species transfiguration (which involved live objects, now that they'd mastered the basics) – her snail, which she was supposed to turn into a sea slug, remained resolutely static as she struggled to get the spell right (something Potter, Liz and Black accomplished within fifteen minutes, to her annoyance), which didn't seem to be happening anytime soon.
"It's the way you're moving your wand, Evans – you need to do a simple left-to-right movement, not a jab!" Potter said to her during the third lesson since they'd started the snail-to-slug cross-species switch. He was in the process of turning his mouse into a gerbil, having advanced further than the rest of the class.
"Oh, thanks, Potter – that'll save my life, that will," she shot back at him with gritted teeth. Annoyed that he'd mastered the spell without even trying, she wasn't feeling particularly friendly towards him, despite their agreement the previous month. His eyes narrowed at her retort, and he shrugged and said, "Fine – ask Liz, then." He turned to his mouse and said, "Gerbilus Permutus!"
There was a flash of light, and the mouse in front of him turned into a gerbil. Lily frowned in frustration; she would fall behind the rest of the class at that rate. "How did you do that?" she asked him sharply. He turned to her, grinning, and replied, "Like I said, Evans – left-to-right!"
"Well done, Potter," said Professor McGonagall, who arrived at that moment. "I just wish you'd pay more attention to class than playing the fool all the time."
"I've played the fool a lot less this year, Professor!" Potter replied, a little indignantly. Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows and said, "What rubbish – if this is less, I shudder to think what's usual!" Turning to her, the teacher said, "Right – how about you try, Miss Evans? Nearly everyone's got it – don't want you to lag, do we?"
This keeps getting better and better, she thought venomously. "Er – all right, Professor," she said nervously, and pointed her wand at the snail. Right-to-left, a small part of her brain said, and she tried to replicate thought into action as she said firmly, "Limaxus Permutus!"
There was a flash of light, and to her relief and astonishment, a green sea slug sat on the table in front of her, stoic and calm. "I did it!" she exclaimed happily.
"It's about time," said Professor McGonagall wryly. "Potter has already advanced to mice, while you, Miss Evans, still need to cover lizards and hummingbirds to get there. Come on, girl – you'll have to be faster than that!"
"Yes, Professor," she said meekly, her happiness evaporating.
"I could help her with that, Professor," Potter said earnestly from behind Professor McGonagall, who surveyed him for a moment before saying, "Well, Potter – if that'll stop you from your childish pranks, go ahead, boy." With a nod to Lily, she walked away to see how the rest of the class was doing.
"I don't remember asking for your help, Potter," she said to him crossly.
"Doesn't matter – I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart!" he replied, grinning crookedly at her.
"Show-off," muttered Lily, rolling her eyes.
"I heard that," he said, with his smile growing wider.
"Why don't you go annoy someone else, Potter?" she said, vexed.
"Nah – this is more fun!" he replied blithely. "Now, if you'd said yes to me last term – I wouldn't have been annoying you, would I?"
"You prat," she said, facing him squarely, "What is your problem? You have a girlfriend, for heaven's sake!"
"Not anymore, I don't," he replied, his smile faltering ever so slightly. "She's pretty – but a bit dim, if you ask me. And I don't get on well with dull people…"
"Because you're so interesting yourself?" she asked him, her tone mocking.
"First sensible thing you've said all day," he replied airily, and she rolled her eyes. Shaking her head, she went back to trying to Transfigure the baby lizard Professor McGonagall had given her – something which proved to be difficult, given her fear and dislike of lizards. She walked to dinner after their lesson feeling exhausted and repulsed in equal measure; the baby lizard had tried to climb up her wand, and she'd shaken it off, only for it to land on the wall, which it happily ascended – until she used a quick Summoning Charm to force it morosely back on the table in front of her.
"Gah, I hate lizards!" she burst out as they all sat down for dinner. Liz laughed and said cheekily, "Well, we know now what to get you for your next birthday!"
"If – if you get me a lizard –" she spluttered, and Liz grinned wickedly. "Oh, relax, will you? I won't be doing that! Why wait until next year?" And before Lily could comprehend her best friend's words, Liz quickly chucked something brown at her. She screamed as the reptile climbed over her robes and to her face, until it simply flew off her. She stopped shouting and looked around; Remus stood next to her, holding a struggling, brown-and-white lizard. Around her, people chortled before going back to their food.
"It's a toy," Remus informed her, his brown eyes betraying only a hint of amusement. "It's just a toy, Lily – with a simple Locomotion Charm on it. Here – Finite!" he added, pointing his wand at the lizard, which went lifeless at once. "It's plastic," he said, holding it out on his palm for her to see.
She examined it before rounding on Liz. "That wasn't funny!" she shouted at her best friend, who was laughing so hard that tears were falling from her sea-green eyes. "I disagree!" she said, choking a little. "You should've seen your face!" Remus looked at her apologetically before going off to join the other Marauders, who were sitting further down the table.
Lily was just about to retort something when Mary said patiently, "If you lot will finally act your age – Marlene has some news!" They turned to Marlene inquiringly, and Lily saw that she was holding a letter, delivered in the evening once again. Her face was alight with happiness as she said brightly, "My Dad – he's been found! He's in St Mungo's now – but Mum says he's going to make a full recovery! I'm going to ask Dumbledore if I can go visit him!"
"That's wonderful, Marlene!" Lily exclaimed, hugging her friend with relief. Liz and Mary followed suit, and Marlene looked elated as she attacked her food with great gusto. Thank God he's all right, thought Lily. She had been really worried…
At that moment, Jane came and sat with them; her demeanour was solemn and serious. "Did you hear?" she said in a hushed tone, "That Ravenclaw girl – what's her name, now? Yes – Sarah O'Shea – she was attacked this morning. I dunno what spell was used – but rumour is that it was the Cruciatus Curse – the pain curse, y'know?"
"Oh my God – that's awful!" exclaimed Mary. "Who –?"
"Again, that bit's sketchy – but people are pointing fingers at her best friend, Hannah MacFarlane," said Jane, with a conspiratorial air. "Seems crazy – doesn't it?"
"Yeah – why would her best friend attack her for no reason?" wondered Lily.
"If her best friend attacked her, that is," countered Liz. "After all, it's sketchy – isn't it?"
"MacFarlane – why does she sound familiar?" said Mary, her brow creased thoughtfully.
"Er – because she happens to be dating Fabian Prewett?" said Jane, her eyebrows raised as if this information was public knowledge. Lily suddenly remembered their last Hogsmeade weekend; Hannah MacFarlane had to be the blonde girl she'd seen Fabian kissing – yuck, that wasn't a mental image she wanted to have. She quickly focused on the conversation at the table.
"Ooh, I hope we don't have attacks like last year," said Marlene, shuddering. "That Marcus bloke was bad enough – sweet-talking, good-looking, but a snake on the inside!"
"Like all the other Slytherins, you mean," said Liz with a matter-of-fact tone, before looking at Lily steadily and continuing, "Of course, not everyone here agrees…"
Lily felt her face grow hot. Seriously, did she have to say that now? Thankfully, she was almost done eating. "I have to go – I'll see you later," she said, and walked away before she could lose her temper again. Liz was being downright malicious…
A sudden thought came to her. Didn't Sarah O'Shea's case sound like her own – without the (she gulped) Cruciatus Curse? Best friend attacking her? She decided to hang around and wait for Potter. She wanted to get his opinion on this – was it a disease affecting select few people in the castle, causing them to turn on their friends?
She didn't have to wait too long; as the Marauders walked by where she stood, she called out, "Potter!"
They all stopped, and Potter turned towards her. His hand immediately went to his hair as he said, "All right, Evans?"
"Top of the world," she said, her tone dry. "Can I have a word?"
"Sure," he replied, "What about?"
"Er – I have a question about Switching Spells," she lied baldly, and indicated with a slight nod that she wanted to speak to him alone. To her chagrin, Black wolf-whistled, and said teasingly to Potter, "I told you you'd thank me, mate – all the best!" He glanced at her as he spoke, and she realized at once what he was implying. She could feel a blush spreading across her face, and she resisted the urge to hex him. To her surprise, Potter shot Black a furious glare as he said, "You lot go ahead, I'll see you later." Black coughed meaningfully, but Remus whisked him away before anything more could happen. Potter scowled before following her a little way away.
"What?" he asked her in a tone that made it clear that he didn't want to talk about Black's suggestive comment.
"I heard something that may be important," she began, and briefly told him about Sarah O'Shea, and her own theory about the disease which caused people to snap at their friends. He listened attentively, and when she was done, he asked, "So – what does this have to do with Switching Spells?"
She opened her mouth in indignation, only to find him smirking at her. "Only joking, Evans," he said smoothly. "C'mon – d'you want to go to the Hospital Wing?"
"So you think there's merit in my theory?" she asked him hopefully.
"Well – hard to say, but it won't hurt to find out if this is similar to what we're experiencing. People don't change their behaviour out of the blue – though there is no such disease that compels them to do so – not getting along with their best friends is too specific a symptom, see?" he added, grinning. They began to walk towards the Hospital Wing.
"I had to ask – due to my knowledge of magical illnesses," she replied. "Or lack thereof," she added as an afterthought, her tone wry, and he laughed.
"Worth a try," he replied, "Maybe we could read up on this symptom…"
"I'll take care of that," she said at once, and he grinned. "I was just about to suggest that – more time for you at your second home, eh?" She rolled her eyes. "Shut up," she said shortly, and he chuckled again.
Once inside the Hospital Wing, they quickly went right next to Sarah O'Shea's bed. The sandy-haired sixth-year Ravenclaw was awake, reading a stack of notes. "Hi," said Lily in what she hoped was a cheerful, comforting sort of voice, "How are you doing?" Sarah looked up, and a look of confusion appeared in her blue eyes.
"Ah – do oi know ya?" she asked with a distinctive Irish accent, regarding them with raised eyebrows. Potter coughed slightly and said, "My name's James Potter – this is Lily Evans. We'd like to talk to you – we heard you're in the Hospital Wing because apparently, your best friend attacked you, and we'd like to know what happened."
Lily marvelled at Potter's straightforwardness. She'd seen him speak bluntly before – he was never one to beat around the bush. Indeed, she sometimes wished she shared his no-nonsense attitude.
"Well – oi don't understand what it is to ya," replied Sarah, frowning. It struck Lily at that point that there was no reason for Sarah to not be suspicious of them – she'd be suspicious too, if two strangers approached her and asked for information. She decided to go with the truth.
"Er – you see, both our best friends are acting – odd," she ventured. "So when we heard – we want to know if there's any sort of connection. Say, for instance, has your best friend been acting weirdly for some time now?"
Sarah's brow relaxed, and she said thoughtfully, "Ya see – me best friend and oi – we've been friends for a lon' time, see? But then a few months ago, she started behavin' all odd – she'd get annoyed at trifles, and she'd even jinx someone with minimum provocation. And yesterday –" her eyes filled with tears, "—when oi tried stoppin' her from attacking someone else – she attacked me instead!"
Next to her, she noticed Potter stiffen. "What hex did she use?" he asked tersely. "It wasn't the Cruciatus Curse, was it?"
"What? No!" exclaimed Sarah passionately. "She'd never do that – are ya insane?"
"Sorry – sorry! We, er, heard a rumour –" Potter began apologetically, but Sarah cut him off. "Well – ya heard, wrong, didn't ya? Nah, she used some form of Transfiguration on me – like a tail, for instance," she said, shaking her head. "She must've been thinkin' she was bein' creative… But I had to stay here for the entire day today. I hope Madam Pomfrey releases me soon."
"Yeah, she can be a little fussy," said Lily, smiling at the older girl. "But she wants to make sure that you're OK…"
"True," said Sarah shortly. Then she frowned and said further, "Didn't ya say your friends were actin' strange?"
"Er – yeah," said Lily. I guess we have to volunteer some information on our own now that she's told us all this, she thought. "My friend – and Potter's friend, too – have been acting like your friend, from the sound of it. We're trying to find out what the problem is."
"Well – ya better hurry, then – before they fly off the handle and attack ya," said Sarah solemnly. "Ya know what, I'll help ya – once I get out of here."
"Er – that would be great, Sarah," said Potter, though he didn't sound too enthusiastic. Sarah didn't seem to notice, because she said, "I want me best friend back."
"Me, too," echoed Lily. "I dunno what's gotten into them – but we will get to the bottom of this. Thanks for talking to us." Sarah waved her hand dismissively and said, "Let me know what ya find out."
"Sure," said Potter. "You better rest, Sarah – we'll see you later, OK? Bye!" Sarah nodded and waved them goodbye before going back to her stack of notes.
The two of them left the Hospital Wing and headed back to Gryffindor Tower. "Well – that was interesting," said Potter, "Sounded familiar, didn't it?"
"Yep," agreed Lily. "Maybe you should write to your Mum – she's a Healer, isn't she? She may be able to help us."
"I'll see what I can do," he said, nodding. As the portrait hole came in sight, however, he stopped.
"What is it, Potter?" she asked him, "You don't plan on sleeping out here, do you?"
"Funny," he replied with a grimace. "No – I just wanted to tell you the reason I split up with Rachel. It was because of Sirius."
"Really? What did he do?" asked Lily curiously.
"Well – he split up with her on my behalf," said Potter. "Except for one tiny little detail – I didn't tell him to."
"Then – why did he?" she asked, nonplussed.
"He has his reasons, or at least that's what he said," replied Potter. Lily had a funny feeling about what Black's reasons were, which no doubt explained his behaviour earlier that evening. Potter ploughed on, saying, "Rachel was really cut up – she wouldn't talk to me even after I told her I had nothing to do with it – so I just gave her up. Too dim and dramatic for me." He shook his head.
"Huh. A few months ago, Black wouldn't even split up with his own girlfriend – and now, he's splitting up other people without a second thought," said Lily pensively.
"Exactly!" exclaimed Potter. "I had a go at him after that – but he stands by what he did, and keeps saying I'll thank him later!"
"Well – if you ask me, this is important – how did he go from drama-hating to drama-loving in a few months?" asked Lily, her brow furrowed.
"Why d'you think I mentioned it, Evans?" he asked testily. "I know it's important – whatever's wrong with him, behavioural change is a definite symptom. There has to be an explanation…" He started walking again, and she followed him into the common room.
He's right, there has to be an explanation, thought Lily. But what is it?
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