"Marlene, hurry up or we'll miss it!" Lily called through the halls of her best friend's house. It was the middle of August, and they were due for a meeting at Potter's house, of all places, to put plans into motion for their Hogwarts information network.
She had discussed it on the train with James, of course, but had still been shocked when he had written in early July to see how she was doing and to start planning. They had conversed all summer thus far, and finally a group of students were to meet at James' house for three days to finalize everything. This group included Lily and Marlene of course – that is, if Marlene would hurry up.
"I'm here, it's fine," her best friend said breathlessly, appearing around the corner. "Nearly forgot my wand. We have plenty of time anyways, you're just worried about being late to your boyfriend's house."
Lily momentarily let go of the portkey sitting on Marlene's kitchen table to swat at her friend. "He's not my boyfriend, honestly Marlene," she groused.
She wasn't lying, either. She had kissed him on the Hogwarts Express on the way home. They had written back and forth all summer. But they hadn't talked about it, not really. She wasn't sure if it was that he didn't want to, or because she kept putting it off. She had been consumed this summer by grief over her parents death. There was a brief stay at Petunia's, where she had felt less than welcome, followed by the funeral, and then just like that, she was at Marlene's house.
"He's not not your boyfriend, either," Marlene said with an impish grin. Lily couldn't reach out to swat at her again, the countdown had ended and she felt the pull of the portkey behind her navel.
They spun into existence in an intricate garden, presumably behind the Potter house. They had left London raining and gloomy, but here the sun shone brightly. Marlene landed with a graceful ease, but Lily barely managed to keep her feet as they touched down, stumbling awkwardly.
She felt a hand on her shoulder, steadying her and looked up into the face of Sirius Black. "Alright, Evans?" he asked with a bright grin. She felt herself smile back.
"Why can't wizards have a single form of instantaneous travel that isn't horrendous?" she said by way of greeting. Then she was lost in a whirlwind of greetings and missed you's exchanged between the boys and herself and Marlene, before, naturally, she found herself face-to-face with James Potter.
The garden was quiet, suddenly. She turned to see the rest of the group trailing inside the house, but didn't miss the smirk that Peter sent James' way. Suddenly, she felt uncomfortable – not in a bad way, just in a the last time I saw you we kissed and we haven't talked about it at all kind of way. James ran his hand through his hair, and she imagined – perhaps too hopefully – that he was feeling the same.
Before she knew what was happening, really, he had pulled her into his arms. She wasn't one for hugging, normally, and neither was Marlene, really. Lily hadn't realized just how much she needed a hug until this exact moment. She felt herself relax slightly in James' arms. He had grown over the summer, he was now a head taller than her at least.
"How are you?" he asked into her hair. To her horror, she felt tears prick at her eyes.
"Surviving," she answered after a moment, hoping it didn't come out too watery or weak. She pulled away from him a little bit. "How's your summer?"
"It's been-" he paused, as if mulling something over. "I'm Head Boy," he said suddenly.
Lily's heart skipped a beat. "You're what?"
"Don't make a big deal of it," he said, though it came out in a rush. He stepped farther back from her to run a hand through his hair. "I wanted to tell you in person – but before everyone-"
"You weren't even a prefect!" Lily cut him off. She took a deep breath, then, as the look on his face entered territory that she would describe almost as hurt. "Sorry," she said. "I'm just surprised is all. I thought it would be Rem. I did make Head Girl," she added, as an afterthought. "So I guess it's you and me this year." Lily did her best to give him a warm smile, although she was still reeling a little bit.
"Yeah," he gave her a weak smile back. "It's just, Remus is trying to act like he's not upset, but we know he is. He got this letter from McGonagall…"
Lily listened as he filled her in on how they had found out and on Remus' reaction, a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't that Potter had been made Head Boy, she wasn't upset about that at all, to her surprise – although she was shocked. But she was angry for Remus, and hurt for him, too. If James' hadn't made it clear that she wasn't to bring it up or react strongly to the news, she would be marching up to Hogwarts right now and demanding Dumbledore answer for himself.
"I won't bring it up, even," she said once he finished talking. "At least he's still a prefect. But Merlin," she ran an aggravated hand through her hair, blushing when she realized this was definitely a habit she had picked up from James. She dropped her hand quickly. "Not giving the spot to the most qualified person in our year – no offense – just because he's a werewolf."
She sighed. James was giving her a funny look, he looked almost wistful, but that wasn't quite it. "I missed you, Evans," he said when she asked if he was alright. "Let's go in, Mary was supposed to floo here a few minutes ago, she's probably inside."
"Alright." She did her best to give him an easy smile. He lead her through a path in the garden that opened up to what must be a back door of the house. She hadn't had the time to look before, really, but his house was huge. Nothing like the small bungalow she had grown up in with her parents and Petunia.
He held the glass door for her when they reached it, so she stepped inside ahead of him. The back door opened up into a huge dining room. The table seemed almost excessively large for a family of four – really a family of three, before Sirius. The Marauders were already gathered around one end of it with Marlene, Mary and some other faces Lily didn't recognize. An older witch and wizard stood over them – they were James' parents, she realized.
She felt James come up beside her, their arms brushing lightly as they stepped further into the room. Just beyond, she could see a kitchen that looked remarkably modern compared to what she expected from most pure-blooded wizards. Not even Severus, who was half-blood, had such a modern kitchen – although, she realized, that could just because he was poor.
"You must be Lily," the older witch said to her warmly. "I'm James' and Sirius' mum, you can call me Euphemia, if you'd like."
Lily was slightly shocked that she had introduced herself as Sirius' mum, too, but did her best to hide it, smiling politely instead. The woman gestured to her husband, who was clearly engrossed in conversation with Sirius. "That's my husband, Fleamont."
"Thanks, mum," James cut in. Lily saw him run a hand through his hair out of the corner of her eye. "We'll just…" He trailed off, instead putting a hand on Lily's back and guiding her towards the table.
In a few moments, the whole group was seated around half of the table. James' parents – Fleamont and Euphemia – had disappeared. Lily found herself seated beside Remus on one side, who gave her a quick hug as she sat down, and Marlene on the other. James was standing at the head of the table with another boy Lily didn't recognize, though he looked to be older than the rest of them.
"Erm-" James began. She heard Sirius, on the other side of Remus, mutter something that sounded a lot like eloquent, but he fell quiet when Remus elbowed him in the ribs. "So I know we had initially planned to meet with just a few of us returning to Hogwarts, but Remus mentioned it might be smart for everyone who's going to be involved to meet each other. This isn't everyone," he ruffled his hair and Lily had to fight back a smile. For once, James Potter was uncomfortable being the centre of attention. "But it's everyone who could come. Ah-"
This time, Lily felt Remus elbow her instead of Sirius, though she had said nothing. "Please rescue him," Remus muttered to her. "I can't keep listening to this."
"We're worried about the amount of news that is getting into Hogwarts," Lily said after taking a deep breath. Mary gave her an encouraging smile from across the table. "Last year Mary and I sent some owls to other muggleborns who had graduated. We had thought the Daily Prophet wasn't really reporting what was happening in Britain – or not the big things at least. And we were right."
James motioned to her, so after a steady breath she stood up and walked to the head of the table to stand beside him and the other boy – someone she vaguely recognized, but couldn't quite place the face of.
"The Ministry doesn't want to panic the public, so they've banned the Daily Prophet from reporting anything they feel is too frightening. It means that so many people don't know," she felt herself blush as her voice broke a little bit, but forced herself to keep going. "So many people don't know what's been happening – the attacks on muggles, especially the families of muggleborn witches and wizards, reforms that are getting pushed through the ministry, there's a lot of fear and panic.
"We started communicating regularly with other muggleborns and half-bloods who were no longer at Hogwarts so they could keep us updated. We have a fairly large group now – people who work in the Ministry, in Diagon, who live in muggle communities – who have been keeping an ear out for news like this." She paused, surveying all the faces in front of her. Everyone was listening with rapt attention, both people she knew and people she hadn't seen before. Marlene shot her a discreet "thumbs up".
"James and I thought that we should make it official this year. Start our own proper news source, at least in Hogwarts, that will keep everyone updated. It will take everyone here to help, all the Hogwarts students to write articles and distribute them, and all the graduates to keep giving us information. I think, maybe, the more we know, the less there is to fear – and the more we can do about it."
Lily trailed off, feeling almost uncertain. Everyone was listening, but she didn't feel like her words were making enough sense. She chanced a sideways look at James, who caught her eye with a small smile.
"We'll need to do lots of planning," he said, then. "But maybe we should introduce ourselves first?" There were nods around the table. "Um – I'm James Potter, you all know me, at least sort of, I think," he trailed off. "I'm in Gryffindor, seventh year, and I'm Head Boy."
Lily watched Remus' face carefully as James said this, but he only bent his head and snickered at something Sirius had said. She felt James nudge her and realized that everyone else was waiting for her to continue. Her face heated.
"I'm Lily Evans, I'm also in seventh year Gryffindor, and I'm the Head Girl this year." Much to Lily's chagrin, Marlene wolf-whistled at this announcement.
"I'm Benjy," the other boy who was standing with them said finally. "Benjy Fenwick. I'm a half-blood, and I was a Ravenclaw when I was in school. I graduated two years ago," he smiled around at the table. "I work in the Department of International Magical Cooperation at the Ministry, so I hear a lot." It finally clicked in Lily's mind – she hadn't met Benjy, of course, but had communicated in writing with him frequently over the past year.
They went around the table then, everyone introducing themselves. There were the people Lily knew well – Remus, Sirius, Peter, Marlene, Mary, Alice, Frank – who had graduated the previous year and had just begun training as an Auror – but they weren't the only ones from Hogwarts. It seemed James knew plenty of people and had not hesitated to extend his reach for their meeting. There was Mariah Wratburn, a sixth year Ravenclaw prefect (who also played Quidditch, which must be how James knew her), Ellie and Ed Siuod, twin Hufflepuff seventh years (and beaters for their house teams), and Phillip Castillo, a seventh year Ravenclaw who didn't volunteer much information about himself at all, but James whispered to her that he was a distant relation. There were also the Hogwarts graduates, whose names she recognized from correspondences the previous year. Benjy and Frank were two, as well as Zander Warrren (who worked in the Department of Mysteries), Ethan Boyle (an assistant shopkeep at the pet emporium in Hosgmeade), and Mara Henry, who had graduated from Hufflepuff the previous year and now worked in Gringotts.
The rest of the meeting passed in a blur, full of plans for communication chains, regular meetings during the school year, and snacks courtesy of James' parents. Lily felt overwhelmed by the end of it. She had always considered herself an outgoing person, but spending hours in a new environment with sixteen other people was pushing it, even for her. By the time everyone had left, except the Marauders and Lily, Mary, and Marlene, who were staying for another couple days to iron out the planning, Lily had slumped against the table, her head pounding.
"Not out of energy already, Evans?" Lily tilted her head to see Sirius standing over her, giving her an amused look.
"Not all of us thrive off attention, Black," she responded. It came out slightly more sharply than she intended, but he laughed anyways.
"We're going to eat outside and play a pickup quidditch game, are you coming?" Sirius asked. She nodded and stood up to follow him out, Marlene and Mary appearing at her side as they went.
"You were great, Lils," Mary gushed. "You're going to be such a good Head Girl."
"It's such a fantastic idea," Marlene put in before Lily could respond. "I know we're still just in school, but it feels like we're really doing something, you know?"
"Yeah," Lily smiled at her two best friends. "I hope it's enough. I keep feeling as though it's not – like it won't even change anything."
Marlene slung an arm around Lily's shoulders. "Anything is better than nothing, Lils," she said gently. Lily did her best to give her friends a believable smile.
The truth was, as important as it was for real information to be passed around Hogwarts, she was still concerned. What if it just created a climate of more fear? What if it sparked fights with some of the more unfriendly students?
"Try not to worry so much," Mary said, catching the expression on Lily's face. "We're doing a good thing here, Lils."
When the three girls arrived at the field, James was already distributing brooms to everyone. He divided teams quickly, too, based on player skill to make it as even as possible. Sirius, Lily, Peter, and Mary made up one team, with James, Marlene, and Remus on the other. Despite having more players, Lily's team was decidedly walloped.
They ate dinner under the setting sun, then, brought out to them by Euphemia along with an engorgio-ed picnic blanket. Lily found herself sat quite comfortably between Marlene and James, although she was aware of every inch of space between herself and James like she had never been before.
"I don't know why we didn't spend our whole break here," Marlene said through a mouthful of her sandwich. "This is way better than my place."
Lily smiled at her. "You're just upset you don't have a full size quidditch pitch at yours," she teased.
"Well, yeah," scoffed Marlene. "Wouldn't you be if you were me?" She leaned across Lily towards James. "Oi, Potter, looking for another wayward Gryffindor to adopt? Because I'd love to make better use of this quidditch pitch."
The whole group laughed. "Honestly," said Mary, "the only thing you care about is quidditch, Marls."
Marlene gave her a well, obviously kind of look that made Lily snort.
"No one else is allowed to move in," Sirius said definitively. "Someone would usurp my place as favourite Potter child, and I absolutely will not stand for that."
"If you're the favourite Potter child, what am I?" James asked indignantly. Sirius gave him a look that screamed mischief.
"You're the one they have to keep around." Everyone collapsed in giggles at James' affronted look. Soon, the two were wrestling, and it only took them a few moments to drag Remus and Peter into the scuffle as well.
Much later that evening, Lily, Marlene, and Mary were all curled up on Lily's bed at the Potters. They had given the girls an entire wing of the house, each with their own room and bathroom. Lily felt a little bit lost, she had spent the whole summer sharing a room with Marlene, and the strange amount of space she had here immediately felt suffocating, but her friends had sought her out almost immediately.
"So," Marlene began, turning on her side to face Lily. "What happened with Potter this morning?"
Lily felt herself blush almost immediately. "Why aren't you asking Mary about what she was up to with Peter this afternoon?" she complained. "Why are you picking on me?"
"Because I'm boring," Mary said from Lily's other side.
"It's true," Marlene agreed solemnly. "We all know what she's up to with Pettigrew by now-" she broke off with a shriek as Mary hit her with a pillow. "Am I wrong?"
"Not really," Mary said with a sigh. Marlene turned away from Mary to look back at Lily. She raised a questioning eyebrow.
"You're relentless," Lily said with a sigh. "Nothing happened," she added, when Marlene nudged her none-too-gently. Both girls were still looking at her expectantly. "Seriously, nothing. He hugged me, that's it."
"That's all," Lily said firmly. "He hugged me and we talked."
"You're so boring," Marlene said, flopping onto her back. "You two need to snog."
"Marlene," Lily groaned. She covered her head with her blankets, pretending to sleep. They talked well into the night, until words trailed off into deep breaths and Lily fell asleep more peacefully than she had in months.
The next two days passed in a whirlwind of planning and quidditch games. Lily, Remus, and Sirius were tasked with the more complex spellwork that was needed for their project, affectionately dubbed Operation Daily Prophet. This meant, of course, that while everyone else was in James' sitting room, the group of three was hunched over the table instead, surrounded by parchment and books.
Sirius had clearly already reached his capacity for actually reading and was, much to Lily's annoyance, casting charms at all their books that made the words fly off the page an quite literally go in one ear and out the other. The feeling was more than unpleasant.
"Black, if you're not going to help, why are you here?" Lily finally growled in annoyance.
"I am going to help!" he protested. He gave her a lopsided grin. "Just not with the reading part."
"It feels rather useless, anyways," Remus said, then. "I can't find a single spell that would do what we want it to do. We could make a spell of our own, but that seems rather time-consuming and prone to error."
"I think we need to change the plan," Lily said with a sigh. She pushed some hair out of her face – it was getting long again, she kept forgetting to ask Marlene's mum to trim it.
They had decided, initially, to create a newspaper-style publication that would appear in each students dorm once per month with recent news. It would have a fail-safe trigger word to wipe its contents of visible information when the owner was not reading it. However, the theory – which Remus and Sirius both seemed to know a suspicious amount of already – wasn't designed for such a large-scale project.
The issue they were currently facing was in the spell required to get a copy to the dormitories of each student that wanted one, but without sending anything to students that didn't.
"Here's what I think," Sirius said, finally. "I think you're both overthinking this."
He hoisted himself onto the table, now sitting between but well above both Remus and Lily. Lily had to crane her neck to look at him. "Are you going to enlighten us, Black?" she asked after far too many moments of pregnant silence.
"If I must," he responded cheekily. Remus punched him on the leg – the only part of Sirius he could really reach. "Ow, Moony. Anyways, I think at the start of the year we should just give everyone one. Make one appear on everyone's beds, whatever, really."
"But aren't there students we don't want seeing them? Slytherins and the like?" Remus asked, voicing Lily's silent thoughts.
"If you really think about it," Sirius said, "all we're doing is sharing news." He grinned down at Remus and Lily. "I say we find a way to continue adding pages to whatever we send, maybe something like a book. It doesn't matter if the Slytherins see it. What are they going to do?"
Sirius combed through his hair quickly before sticking his nose up in the air, clearly trying to imitate a Slytherin student. "Oh Professor," he said in a mock-posh accent, "some students are reporting news, and I – a slimey, greasey, snakey git – dislike hearing the truth. I demand it be banned."
Lily laughed in spite of herself – although guilt tickled the back of her mind with the knowledge that Sirius was clearly trying to make fun of one Slytherin in particular. Remus clearly had more self-control, she saw him roll his eyes at Black, but that was all. She nudged him. "Come on, it was a little funny."
Remus grinned back at her. "I'm not saying it wasn't, only that I try to avoid stroking his ego wherever possible."
Sirius prentended to faint, dramatically swooning and collapsing across the table, which only made Lily giggle harder.
"Moony, you cruel, cruel soul," he moaned. "You wound me."
"Seriously," Lily said, once she had controlled herself again. Remus was watching them with a mixture of bemusement and fondness on his face. "How would we do that?"
Sirius sat up. "We make something like a book, or a magazine. Just one throughout the year. And then-"
Remus cut in, interrupting him excitedly. "We have an original, like a master copy. Any time we change it, it changes all the other copies. That's how we add new stories!" His eyes glinted excitedly, and Lily wondered, not for the first time, if Remus wasn't really the mastermind behind all the Marauders pranks.
"I didn't have it thought out that far," Sirius admitted, looking begrudgingly impressed. "I was just going to say that we find a way to make them all change at the same time. That's why you're the brains, Moony."
Lily saw Remus blush. It was strange, after all this time simple compliments still made him blush like he was an eleven year old werewolf scared of everything.
With their new plan in place, they returned to their books in earnest – except Sirius, who lay down on the table until Euphemia shouted at him from the other room to get off. Lily wasn't sure she could call herself happy, not completely – not without her parents – but at that moment, she had the most purpose that she had had all summer, and it felt good.