Author's note: Irritatingly enough, the desire to write a sequel will always get the better of me. It's a bit depressing, but at the time I was writing this I was going through exams so that's understandable. I think it started out okay but towards the end went far too fluffy and teary. Just warning you. By the way, there's even less Peter in this story than in the first one because I read PoA for the fifth time and have renewed hatred for the little grogan. Eugh, peter. (shudder). Anyway, yes, the story lacks a lot of…everything really but I'm posting it up anyway. Why? Because I am insane. No really. I mean it. Please criticise it if you can be bothered to review it at all so I am reminded never to post up such a crappy story ever again. Oh god, I'm depressed just thinking about how much it sucks. That's it. I have to go and eat ice cream now.
Ps. There are some tiny little "sexual references", but that's only because Sirius is so godamn seedy. If you're offended by Sirius, then don't read it.
THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE
CHAPTER ONE: BACK TO HOGWARTS
It was a universally acknowledged truth that Lily Evans and James Potter of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and Wizardry were absolutely, completely and totally besotted with each other. Both of them were seventh year Gryffindors, both of them good looking and popular, and both of them were violently in love with the other. It really was amazing the way it turned out, because, until their fifth year at Hogwarts, James and Lily hadn't been able to stand the sight of each other. But it all changed in fifth year, and they decided that their hate for each other was really love, and they'd been together ever since. True, they had their bad arguments just like everyone else, but very rarely, and they were usually in jest anyway.
In their seventh year, James was made head boy and Lily was made head girl. Both were delighted, of course. There is nothing more satisfying than being given a position of responsibility and finding that your best friend is going to share it with you. And James and Lily shared everything. There was very little that one didn't know about the other. There were one or two things that they kept deep dark secrets, of course. But, for everything else, they trusted each other implicitly. Showing wisdom beyond their years, both of them trusted and respected the other beyond anything or anyone else in their lives. So when James' mother fell ill, that was one of the first things he told Lily when they saw each other for the first time in quite a few weeks, on Platform nine and three quarters, the secret platform in King's Cross Station. Because Lily was from a Muggle family and James a pure blood wizard, they found it very difficult to see each other over the summer break. Lily had been allowed to stay at James' house with his family for one week in the holidays, but aside from that, the separation had been terrible for both of them. They had kept up a constant correspondence using James' owl, Gorgon, but still, when James saw her at King's Cross station he felt like his heart would burst.
"Lily!" he yelled. Lily, who had been fiddling with the latch on her heavy Hogwarts trunk, looked up, saw him, and grinned. James' own face exploded into a grin too. Dropping his trunk, he started jogging towards her, dodging the crowds of Hogwarts students. Lily left her own trunk and started making her way towards him. The two of them leapt into each other's arms and hugged each other tightly. James savoured the moment, breathing in her familiar smell as he planted a kiss on her forehead. They stepped back to look at each other. Lily looked more beautiful than ever. Stunningly pretty with her long red hair and slender figure, Lily attracted looks from boys wherever she went, though she seemed to be blissfully unaware of this. But it was her eyes that melted James- her beautiful, bright green eyes.
James himself had grown again- it seemed he got taller and taller every summer. Now he was a good six feet tall, still lanky though, with a mop of rumpled jet-black hair (he could never get it to lie flat) and blue-grey eyes behind a pair of spectacles.
He grinned at the girl her loved, feeling the warmth of her body in his arms. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you too,' said Lily, giving him a squeeze. She looked up into his eyes and grinned, then kissed him. they grinned at each other again. "God, it's been boring at home," Lily said.
"Same," agreed James. "I was almost missing Potions lessons the other day…"
"Bite your tongue!" Lily said, in mock horror. James chuckled and took her by the hand. "Come, on, I'll help you carry your trunk."
They found their usual compartment at the end of the train empty so they dumped their things inside. They then went walking around the station, hand in hand, catching up on news as they looked for their friends.
"How are things at home?' said James, knowing that Lily was constantly at loggerheads with her muggle family. Lily shrugged, "Mum and dad have been fine. But Petunia kept on trying to read my letters from you." James raised his eyebrows.
"Really? Well…I'm sure she had her reasons."
Lily laughed, "yes, to irritate me. You'd think she would have grown up a bit since she finished school but she's just as nosy as ever. I mean, she considers our neighbour's divorce her business!" She shook her head and made a face, 'She gets on my nerves. I'm so glad that that school is starting again."
"Well, if that's what you like…" said James. He coughed into his hand, but it sounded oddly like "Nerd!" Lily dug him in the ribs and laughed.
"How's your mum and dad?' she asked eagerly. She had struck up quite a rapport with James' father and mother in her brief visit to the Potter's residence in Dorset, and they both thought Lily was lovely. At the mention of his parents, James stopped grinning. 'Well, dad's fine, but…"
Lily looked at him. "What?"
James sighed. "Mum…she went into hospital last week…nothing really serious!" he said, looking at Lily's face, "they just want to do some tests on her, make sure everything's all right. But still…" He couldn't help worrying. But Lily was her usual sweet self- she understood perfectly. She assured James that it was perfectly normal to worry, and that grown ups got tests done on them all the time as they got older. James was the Potters' only child, and he came to them rather late in life. "Don't worry," Lily said, giving his hand a squeeze. "She'll be fine."
James gave her an adoring smile. Lily was always so level headed- he admired her maturity…even though it did get on his nerves sometimes. But now was one of these times when he was glad that Lily was…well, Lily.
Soon after, they found Sirius Black- James' best friend and partner in crime. If James wasn't with Lily, he was sure to be with Sirius. They were his two favourite people in the world, and he loved them both dearly. It wasn't hard to spot Sirius- he tended to attract a lot of attention wherever he went. Right now he was mooing loudly for no apparent reason.
"Oh- HEY! All right, you two?" Sirius said as they approached him. He flashed them his trademark million-watt grin, which made many of the girls at Hogwarts buckle at the knees. He was an extraordinarily handsome young man, with his dark brown eyes and thick, dark hair. He was as tall as James, but a little more broad shouldered and a little less lanky. He and James were known throughout Hogwarts for their mischief making tendencies, though it was said that the teachers let them get away with a lot. This was true, actually. They were undoubtedly a pair of very charismatic boys, and James' endearing honesty coupled with Sirius' silver tongue had saved them from a lot of detentions over the years. Sirius gave Lily a bear hug, then did the same to James, to his (James's) great embarrassment.
"Really, Padfoot, control yourself!" James laughed, shoving his friend way. 'I know I'm irresistible but really- not in public!"
" All right- I'll save it for the bedroom, shall I?" Sirius cracked. James pretended to vomit.
"Hey-hands off my boyfriend!" Lily said, pretending to be angry. Sirius laughed and pretended to cuddle James.
"Yeuch," said a strongly Irish sounding voice behind them. "Save it for the bedroom, boys!"
It was Evelyn O'Kelly, who had been Lily's best friend since first year. Sandy haired and brown eyed, what Evelyn lacked in height she made up for in spirit. Though she had clearly grown up and calmed down a bit in the past year or so, she was still boisterous and tended to shoot her mouth off a lot, which meant she was constantly getting reprimanded by teachers. Perhaps it was a mix of her Irish family and elfin ancestry, but Evelyn couldn't resist getting into a bit of trouble. Everyone knew that elves were natural mischief makers, though Evelyn's elfin blood in her made her all the more pretty, with her large eyes and dimpled smile. (No one really minded that her ears were a bit pointy.) "All right Lil?" she said, hugging her best friend tightly. "I wish you could've come to stay."
"Me too!" Lily cried. "But you know…mum and dad."
"I know," laughed Evelyn, rolling her eyes, "Someone should really yank the poles from their arses one of these days."
"Eeew, Evelyn!" Sirius said in disgust. "That's RANK, girl!"
"Not as rank as you smell," Evelyn retorted wittily. "Forgot to shower again this summer?"
"Hey, I showered last November, all right? That should make up my quota for the decade."
Evelyn grinned, then hugged him and James. "Remus here yet?" she said, looking around.
James shook his head. "Did you two get the chance top see each other over the summer?"
"Yeah- he came to stay at my place, but said he couldn't stay for longer than a month." She frowned. "Wouldn't give me a straight answer why…"
James and Sirius exchanged a glance. "I think he's been having some problems at home this year," suggested Sirius.
"Never said anything to me about it," said Evelyn, still searching for Remus among the crowd. Like Lily and James, Evelyn and Remus Lupin, James' other best friend, had been going steady since fifth year. It was Lily's theory that it was the influence of Remus' mild demeanour that had caused Evelyn to calm down. "Speaking of which…" Evelyn said as she spotted someone. "INGRID! OVER HERE!"
Ingrid Bell, a very tall, very thin girl with black hair and blue eyes had just walked into the station. She was from a pure blood family, and very loyal to them too, since the death of her father quite some time ago. Lily had borrowed James' owl to send her letters a few times but she didn't get any replies. Apparently, neither had anyone else.
'Where on earth have you been, girl!" Evelyn exclaimed, as Ingrid hurried over to them fast she could with her heavy trunk. She hugged Lily and Evelyn tightly, grinning happily.
"We won a daily Prophet competition- a family trip to Bulgaria to see the World Cup! And Ivan came with us too. It was all in the papers, didn't you see?"
James and Sirius' mouths both dropped open. "You saw the WORLD CUP?"
"Actually, only Evan and Ivan went," said Ingrid, 'As mum didn't want to go, so I stayed with her at the hotel. She's not a big fan of Quidditch." Evan was Ingrid older brother, who'd finished school at Hogwarts two years ago, and was currently playing professional Quidditch for the Wimbourne Wasps. Ivan Abbot was Ingrid's boyfriend, a seventh year Ravenclaw who was also captain of his Quidditch team.
"I love this," said Lily, ruffling Ingrid's cropped hair. Last time she had seen Ingrid, her long straight hair had been past her shoulders. Now it was feathery and layered, the longest bits reaching just past her chin. It looked great. In fact, Lily could sens a different air around her usually shy friend- she seemed a lot more self confident and assured of her own quiet beauty.
"Thanks," Ingrid grinned. The red Hogwarts express now blew a blast of steam from its engine- the signal for all Hogwarts students to hurry it up a bit.
"Let's go put our stuff on the train- have you two bagsed us a compartment?" Evelyn said, addressing James and Lily.
"The one at the end," said James, pointing to the far end of the train. Evelyn, Ingrid and Sirius hefted their trunks and took them to the far end of the train. No sooner had they left than Remus Lupin finally turned up, looking tired. Remus was the third member of James' little gang, and was as much his best friend as Sirius was. He was fairly good looking, with honest pale green eyes, a lopsided grin, and light brown, wavy hair. He wasn't as tall as James or Sirius, but he was certainly thinner- in fact, Remus was dangerously thin. But it wasn't as though he starved himself- he forced down as much as he could at mealtime. But Remus was one of those people who are perpetually ill, or, as Ingrid put it, "delicate in composition". He was often away from school, sick- or at least, that's what he told his classmates. The fact of it was, if anyone had thought to check the calender, they would have realised that Remus was away once a month- at every full moon. The truth was, Remus Lupin was a werewolf, and had been since he was little. Only James, Sirius and a boy in Gryffindor called Peter Pettigrew knew about it. In their fifth year, James Sirius and Peter had become Animagi- wizards who could transform into animals at will- so that every full moon, they would go and explore the grounds with Remus. It was a very big secret though- if anyone found out the boys had become Animagi illegally all four of them would be in great trouble.
Perhaps it was because of his curse, but Remus, in the first five years that James had known him, had been very introverted and cynical. Since his friends became Animagi though, he had cheered up a lot and his shy demeanour seemed a lot more endearing to his peers.
They called out to him, and Remus looked up, spotted them and grinned. He looked wearier than usual- the great purple bags under his eyes seemed more prominent than ever. But he hefted his trunk and hurried towards them anyway.
"Moony you old sod!" said James, as Remus reached them, "I haven't seen you all summer!"
"I know! Did you miss me?"
"Yeah. In fact, the other day I was about ready to hang myself because I just missed you so much…"
Remus laughed and the two of them shook hands warmly. Then he turned to Lily and hugged her. Remus had always been a favourite of Lily's and the two had remained firm friends all throughout their six years at Hogwarts. James picked up one end of Remus' trunk and helped him carry it to the train.
"So, what have you been up to?" Lily asked as she walked beside them.
"Oh, nothing much…I went to see Evelyn of course," Remus said. 'But I didn't stay for the whole summer…"
"Yes, she said that. Why not?" Lily said, a small frown on her face. James and Remus exchanged a glance. One of the things James had always felt terribly guilty about was not telling Lily about Remus' curse…and his own transforming ability. He didn't know why he didn't tell her- mainly because he knew that she'd get upset that he had broken about a hundred Wizarding laws, and also because Remus wanted as few people to know about his curse as possible. Once James had asked Remus if he could tell Lily- he felt so bad, keeping it from her- but Remus had said, "Not yet…not until I've told Evelyn." Which he obviously hadn't done yet.
"Er…" said Remus, and then conveniently avoided Lily's question by changing the subject. "Where's our compartment?"
"End of the train," James said quickly, pushing Remus and his trunk through the door and leading him down the corridor. They were a few of the last people onto the train. The doors closed, the whistle blew and the steam engine started chugging its way out of the station. People hung out of the windows, waving and yelling goodbyes to their families. And then they were off.
James and Remus clunked down the corridor, narrowly missing a second year who pelted down the corridor, squealing, closely followed by Jack O'Kelly, who was also a second year.
"Oi! Watch it, Jack!" James exclaimed.
"Sorry James!" Jack hollered as he sped after his friend. "All right Remus?" he called over his shoulder. "All right!" Remus yelled back.
Jack was Evelyn's younger brother, a mischievous boy of twelve who looked even more elfin than his sister. With his mop of sandy coloured, curly hair, and big dark eyes, though, he was impossible to get mad at. He played pranks, but they were all in good fun, and he never did anything to anyone out of spite. Like Evelyn, he was also in Gryffindor. They reached the compartment and Remus slid it open with his foot.
"REMUS!" James heard Evelyn cry, and suddenly she jumped on Remus, throwing his arms around his neck and smothering his face in kisses. James made his way past them and shoved Remus' trunk in the luggage rack. Lily followed him silently inside and sat down next to Sirius, crossed her legs and stared out the window. There was a bit of a fuss for the next few minutes as everyone else said their hellos to Remus. For a while the compartment was filled with their lively conversation as they caught up on summer news.
Around lunchtime, the lunch-lady witch came around with the trolley and they all brought food. There was a lull in the conversation as everyone ate. James raised his eyebrows at Sirius, jerking his head discreetly towards Remus. Sirius nodded. They needed to talk to him.
James quickly stuffed the rest of his cauldron cake in his mouth and got to his feet.
'Where're you going?" Lily said, looking up at him.
"I…need to stretch my legs a bit. Coming, boys?" he said casually.
"Sure," Sirius said quickly, brushing crumbs off himself as he too, stood up. "Moony?"
"Er…" said Remus, whose lap Evelyn was currently seated in. "I'm kind of stuck, here."
Evelyn smacked his head. 'I'm not that heavy, yeh bastard."
Remus laughed, "Yeah you are. I think my legs have lost their circulation."
Evelyn gasped, hopped off him and slid onto the set, folding her arms and staring out the window as she did so.
Sirius grinned, "Whack! I think it's best if you come with us now, Moony."
Remus obediently followed James and Sirius out of the compartment. James beckoned them down the train, looking in the windows of each compartment as he did so. Eventually, He found an empty one near the front, and he motioned his two friends into the compartment, then closed the door behind him. Remus looked blank as he saw the identical, grim expressions on James and Sirius' faces.
"What's up?"
"Remus, when are you going to tell Evelyn that you're a werewolf?" James said, getting straight to the point.
"Oh." Remus looked at the ground guiltily. "So that's it."
"Yeah," said Sirius. " She's got a right to know. Smart girl like that, I'm surprised she hasn't figured it out. I mean, we did."
"And it's not going to be long before she does, too!" James said. "I think she'd appreciate it coming from you, you know."
"I know, of course I do! It's just…" Remus sighed and sat down.
"Just what?" Sirius said.
"Once she knows...what I am…she'll…she'll…"
"-Like you as much as always," said Sirius finishing the sentence for him.
"Oh, get real!" Remus said, looking angry suddenly. "Of course she's not going to want to go out with a werewolf! She's as pure blood as anyone, and you know what pure blood Wizarding families are like with werewolves!"
"Remus- what do you think I am?" James said fiercely, "Look-If you don't trust her enough to know that she won't discard you after knowing about your curse, then maybe she's not the girl for you!"
"Of course she is!" Remus said, getting to his feet, "but what about you, James, I don't see you volunteering information to Lily!"
"I…" James said.
"James can't tell Lily about being an Animagi until you want her to know that you're a werewolf- and you won't let James tell her without telling Evelyn first!" Sirius interrupted, "It's all up to you Moony! But I tell you what," he turned to both of them, "both of you can't live this lie much longer. It's up to you when you start being honest."
"I know…I know…" Remus said, putting his hands over his face. Sirius watched him impassively for a moment, then sighed.
"I know you know," he said clapping his friend on the back. "But when you're ready, let us know, mate. I know I'm not the only person who's gonna feel a lot better."
*
Soon after, the compartment door slid open and Sirius walked in, followed by Remus. Evelyn jumped on Remus, having barely been able to stand the separation.
""Where's James?" said Lily, trying not to watch Remus and Evelyn snogging.
"I…don't know," said Sirius, looking over his shoulder. "He was right behind us."
"He went to the bathroom," Remus said, coming up for air.
"Oh," said Lily, getting to her feet. "I'll go get him, shall I?"
"What, from the boy's toilets?" Sirius said, raising his eyebrows.
Lily shrugged. 'I need to go to the bathroom anyway," she said, smirking. Sirius laughed as she left the compartment. She wandered down the train corridor in the direction of the bathrooms, but stopped when she saw James, facing away from her and talking amiably to someone. She moved closer and, as she did so, felt a stab of jealousy as she saw exactly who he was talking to: Stephanie Brocklehurst.
A seventh year Ravenclaw student, Stephanie was undoubtedly one of the prettiest girls in the year. She had wavy black hair and large hazel eyes framed by thick, luscious eyelashes. She was an inch taller than Lily, and her curvy figure was the envy of many of the girls and the lusting-point for many of the boys. Lily sometimes thought that Stephanie should have been sorted into Slytherin, as she was certainly ambitious when it came to climbing the social ladder at Hogwarts. Stephanie was notorious for only picking the most popular, most good looking guys to go out with, and James Potter, who was extremely popular and even more good looking, was one she had never been able to snag. (Mainly because he was infatuated with Lily.)
Nevertheless, Stephanie's many attempts to flirt with James did not go unnoticed by Lily, and hence she felt a certain sense of insecurity when dealing with Stephanie. She hadn't mentioned this to James of course; she knew jealousy was very petty and tried to convince herself that Stephanie was no competition. Besides, why on earth would James succumb to her charms when Lily knew that he was in love with her?
She walked towards them, noting Stephanie's red-lipped smile and how she fluttered eyelashes- could she be any more obvious, Lily wondered?
"Have you grown? I think you have!" she could hear Stephanie saying delightedly as Lily drew nearer.
"Well, I have been eating more," said James, shrugging his lanky shoulders. He heard Lily approach, turned, and grinned. "Hey!" he said, putting an arm around her and planting a kiss on top of her head. Lily forced herself to smile at Stephanie.
"Hi Stephanie- you look great," she added, in a friendly manner. Stephanie's eyes narrowed ever so slightly- not slightly enough though, for Lily spotted it.
"Thanks Lily -You haven't changed a bit! You haven't lost weight, have you?"
Lily didn't miss the barb in that comment.
"I wouldn't want her to change for anything," said James, pecking her on the cheek. "She's perfect."
Lily felt a warm glow spread from her toes up through her chest, She loved James so much sometimes- it was all she could do to keep herself from throwing her arms around him right then. Stephanie gave them an acid smile- obviously her flirting wasn't getting her anywhere.
"How…sweet. Well, anyway," she said, shrugging and smiling, "I should be getting back to my compartment. I didn't finish that potions essay- I was just having such a great time over the summer! Did you finish that essay, Lily?"
"Yes," said Lily, cautiously.
"Oh, wow, I wish I had as much time as you on my hands! But you know me- party, party, party!" She laughed.
James smiled. "See you later Stephanie," he said. She glanced over her shoulder at him, smiled, and gave a little wave. "She's nice," said James brightly, as they turned and started making their way back to their compartment.
"Yeah, sure," said Lily half-heartedly. James glanced sideway at her.
"I meant it, you know."
"Meant what?" said Lily.
"I don't' want you to change…you're perfect. To me, anyway."
Lily stopped walking suddenly, and put her arms around him. "Likewise," she murmured into his shoulder. James hugged her back, tightly. She leaned up and kissed him. James was surprised, but pleased, obviously.
"What was that for?" he said, smiling and going pink.
"I missed you…a lot," she said. James grinned down at her.
"And you have no idea how much more I missed you." He paused, looking into her eyes. "I still love you, you know."
"I know. And I still love you."
James' grin broadened. 'And you always will, right?"
She laughed. "Always, James, always."
(Author's comment: Oh my god, this story is so corny. Burn it. Burn it now.)
