Chapter Twenty-Six: Ingratitude is Monstrous

As soon as Lily had disappeared, James slid the two-way mirror back out of his pocket.

"Padfoot," he said, voice low and deadly, "what the hell was all of that about?"

Sirius shimmered back into visibility on the gleaming surface. "What?" he asked calmly.

James rolled his eyes. "Could the two of you have had a more confusing conversation?"

"It wasn't confusing to us, and we were the ones actually in the conversation," Sirius pointed out languidly. "You can mind your own business, Prongs. She hates you, and don't you ever convince yourself otherwise."

"No, she doesn't," James said. "She's had her revenge."

Sirius raised a brow. "Have you met anyone from my family? She's a Black, whatever she says, and we don't forgive and we don't forget. We don't stop when we've gotten even, either. We tip the scales in our favour. So…" He paused for emphasis. "If she ever asks you to take a lonely stroll with her on a dark night, make sure you're thinking with the right head, alright?"

He winked out of existence, and James sighed. Trying to leave the Dark Lord's service was so much harder when – no matter what you told yourself – you knew the other side hated your guts.

As she walked back to the Gryffindor common room, Lily tried to determine once and for all if she hated James Potter's guts.

He was different. She was different. Two years ago, she could not have imagined being the instrument of a boy's destruction, no matter what he had done to her. It threw her off, how cruel she could be – and how viciously triumphant it made her feel, the knowledge that he wanted her, and that he always had.

That was a weapon. She couldn't waste a weapon. She had to make use of it. For justice, vengeance – all the things she thought she'd exacted from him already, but she had found that her appetite for them was so much bigger than she had thought.

Her fingers rose to play idly with her Black pendant. There was still something to be done about James Potter, once and for all: truths to be taken from him, a devil who wanted her due.

Then… they'd see.

Whatever Lily wanted, Lily got.

"I was thinking of going into Potions at the Ministry after I leave Hogwarts," Lily said earnestly to Professor Slughorn, the day after her birthday. "I mean, I'm not bad at it, and I do quite enjoy it –"

"Not bad at it!" Slughorn boomed. His hand came crashing down onto his desk. "Why, you're a natural, as I live and breathe! Best Potions student I ever had! The Department of Mysteries would be begging you to come help them with some of the things they do!"

Lily hid a smile. "Well, sir, I was wondering… Could I possibly have a lab to myself, say, once a week? I'd like to start brewing some of the harder potions so I can have them in my portfolio when I apply."

"Hmm," Slughorn said slowly. They were in his office. It was lunchtime, a time specifically chosen by Lily, when most students – particularly the Slytherins – would be in the Great Hall eating. She didn't want people seeing her here if she could help it.

"Give me examples of some potions you'd do," he said. "Can't have you brewing Polyjuice or Amortentia, Dumbledore'd have my head!"

"Nothing so terrible," she laughed. "The Draught of Living Death, a Strengthening Solution, maybe a tiny hint of Felix Felicis. There's a boy, you know…"

She twinkled at him. She did rather like Slughorn: for a Slytherin, he was astoundingly easy to manipulate, and she'd grown up surrounded by people who played with other peoples' lives for fun. He was easy.

"A boy, eh?" he said. "Say no more, Miss Black! You can have Dungeon Six on Thursday nights, but mind you clear up after yourself. And don't tell anyone. Not all my NEWT students are as talented as you are, and we don't want them thinking you're getting any extra help."

"Oh, thank you!" Lily gushed. "I really appreciate it, Professor. I promise you won't regret it."

"Alright," Marlene said. Her quill was poised over a piece of parchment. "I'm ready. Go."

"Lionfish spine, dragon blood, belladonna," Lily recited in quick succession from her copy of Moste Potente Potions. "Pufferfish eye, lacewing flies, mandrake root and finally, valerian leaves."

Marlene finished jotting the ingredients down and stood up, crossing over to Dungeon Six's store cupboard. "Right, let's see what we have. Lionfish spine? Check. Dragon blood? Not much left in here, but we only need a demi-litre anyway. Belladonna, check…"

Lily paced cagily around the lab. What she was planning on doing to James Potter was vaguely illegal, yes, but nothing on the scale of the Imperius Curse. Veritaserum wouldn't harm him at all. Maybe he'd even find it pleasant to unload his soul on someone.

She snorted at the thought.

"We have everything we need," Marlene said at last. "What does Slughorn think you're making right now?"

"A Draught of Living Death," Lily said. "It has mostly the same ingredients as Veritaserum, so I thought it would be the least suspicious if he were to suddenly come in here. So, shall we get started?"

The two girls rolled their sleeves up. Veritaserum usually took a month to brew, but all she needed was a few drops to loosen James' tongue, so it ought to be done in a week. Marlene got started on grinding the lionfish spine into powder whilst Lily skinned the mandrake. They worked in silence for a while, until Marlene broke it.

"What exactly are you planning on doing to him, Lily?"

She carefully didn't look up. "Not much. Honestly. I'm just going to ask him how he feels about me, how he feels about the Dark Lord, everything he knows about Sirius, exactly what's going on in the world…"

"A tall order," Marlene said lightly. "What if he doesn't have all the answers?"

"Then he doesn't, and we move on," Lily promised.

They lapsed back into silence.

AN: And here's the first snippet from James's POV! More to follow. I have to run off now - I'll reply to reviews tomorrow. Thank you to those who've dropped a comment! Keeps my motivation up :)