A/N: Okay…this is quite a long chapter as well, like the first….thanx to all those people who reviewed it….okay….please, please, please, please r/r…..also thank to Yeti coz she rules…also (and only Yeti knows about this) thanx to 'need I say who?'…..right……cya…..luv Bigfoot
Lily gasped and spun around.
"S-Severus," she stammered, staring into
Snape's eyes, "You scared me." Severus smiled his apology and let go of her.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, sitting on a bench. Lily looked at him, dumbfounded. Wasn't it pretty obvious?
"Um-posting a letter. What else?" she
replied. She walked over to a brown owl, which was sitting on a ledge. With
trembling fingers, she tied the letter to the owl's leg; Severus had scared the
hell out of her.
"I want to ask you something Lily,"
Snape said. Lily turned around and looked at him. He wasn't really that ugly,
she thought. The day on the train, his hooked nose seemed much bigger then what
it was now. Perhaps he couldn't help it if his skin remained a stubborn pasty
white, though his hair was a whole other story.
"Uh, and what would that be?" she
replied, hoping to go back to the dormitory as quick as she could.
"What do you see when you look at me?"
he said. Lily stared back at him, taken aback.
"Excuse me?" she said, wondering what
he was talking about.
Snape got up and walked around her,
waving his arms about.
"Do you see an innocent boy who
adores his mummy, or do you see a naughty boy, betraying his friends and family
for power and wealth?"
"Uh- Severus, I don't really get
you… I should just go to bed now, okay? See you…" she tried to walk away but
Snape stood in front of her, blocking the door. Lily realised she wouldn't be
able to get away without giving an answer so she sighed and spoke.
"I see a-um-nice boy who-er-is very
good. Can I go now?" she asked impatiently. It was cold in the castle and she
didn't want to get caught.
"No. I want to show you something,"
Snape said. He beckoned her over to a corner of the Owlery and pointed out the
window, towards the Whomping Willow, a tiny speck that Lily could barely see.
"See that? The reason that's there
is because Remus has a secret and I want to know what it is, okay? Your going
to find out what it is and tell me, alright?" Snape demanded, glaring at Lily.
"Severus, I can't do that, it's
none of my business and if I did know, I wouldn't tell you…" Lily spluttered,
confused. Snape sighed and walked away.
"I'll just have to make you then,
won't I?" he called out as he walked out the door. Lily gazed open-mouthed at
his retreating back before shaking her head and walking back to her dormitory.
Sirius, James and Peter ducked behind a suit of armour as Remus turned around, looking back. James elbowed Peter in the ribs, as Peter gasped for air as if he was having an asthma attack due to nerves. Sirius peeked out and saw that Remus was gone. He motioned for James and Peter to follow him as he turned the corner and followed Remus. It was eerily quiet at Hogwarts in the dark, with the only light guiding them was a faint one from the faint torches lining the wall. Peter whimpered behind James, close behind him as he quivered in fear. James, thoroughly annoyed with Peter's behaviour turned around and whispered roughly to him.
"Peter, nothing is going to come and
get us. Hogwarts is a school, not a haunted house…" he trailed off as he saw
Peter's face gape in horror. Peter turned around and raced down the hallway at
top speed, trying to get back to the dormitory in five seconds flat. James
turned around and stared at Argus Filch, the caretaker, whose hand was firmly
grasped around Sirius' neck. He sneered and pulled James along, down to his
office.
"I've a right mind to expel you from
this school, already prowling around the hallways at night, wait until
Professor Dumbledore hears about this, don't think he was happy with that frog
incident…" he snarled. He sat at his desk and frowned at James and Sirius who
sat in front of them.
"Detention tomorrow at lunch for both
of you. I expect you to be here as soon as the bell rings. Do you hear me?
Good. Now, go back to your dormitory and if I ever hear of this happening
again…let's just say you've been warned." He shoved them out the door. Sirius
and James ran to their dormitory, bumping into Lily outside the portrait hole.
"What are you doing here?" she asked,
surprised.
"What are you doing here?" Sirius
replied, storming through the hole angrily. Lily stared at his retreating back,
taken aback and turned to James.
"What's with him?" she asked. James
shrugged and made to go into the hole, but Lily grabbed his arm.
"James- when I went to the Owlery
tonight, Snape was there and he asked me something about the Whomping Willow
and Remus…" she began, hoping to get some information out of him.
James snapped his head up and stared
at her.
"What do you mean, you talked to
Snape?" he said loudly. Lily stared at him, confused.
"It doesn't matter about Severus,
I'm talking about what he said about Remus and the Whomping Will-"
"Damn it Lily, never mind Remus. I
told you never to talk to Severus, he's bad news, how many times do I have to
tell you?" James yelled. Lily stared at him, bewildered.
"What's it to you if I talk to
Snape or not?" she said, pushing him out of the way. If he didn't want to know
about Remus and the tree, well then it was his problem. She crawled into the
hole and straight up the stairs into her dormitory
James
stared at Lily as he followed her into the common room. What was wrong with
him? Why did he care if she talked to Snape or not? It didn't make sense. He
walked up the stairs into his dormitory. Sirius' bed already had the curtains
drawn. James suspected that Sirius was angry because they hadn't found out
anything that night about Remus. Yawning. James pulled on his pyjamas and
climbed into bed, pulling the curtains close.
What was wrong with Lily? Didn't she
realise how dangerous Severus was? How come she was so stu-
James stopped mid-thought, Lily's words
finally hitting home. He quickly climbed out of bed, over to Sirius.
"Sirius, get up," he said, shaking
Sirius. How come he didn't listen to Lily? She was trying to tell him something
and he was too stupid to realise it.
Ψ~*~ Ψ
Lily yawned widely, stretching her
arms, deliberately hitting Sirius by doing so, whose head was drooping into his
porridge. James, who looked equally tired, was talking to Chloe about
Quidditch. Today was their first lesson, and all throughout breakfast, Lily had
had to endure James' excited babble about the sport.
"…Won't it be great? I can't wait,
can you? I hope we have a good teacher, don't you," he babbled on as Lily
ignored him and ate her toast. There was a sudden rushing of wings overhead,
and Lily looked up, no longer surprised by the great rush of tawny and
white-feathered owls that flew overhead every morning. To her surprise, a large
dark brown owl hovered above her for a few seconds before dropping an extremely
large parcel into her bowl, splashing milk all over Sirius. She stared at the
red envelope, which was beginning to smoke at the corners.
"W-What is it?" she asked
apprehensively. Sirius stared at it for a moment before backing away, his chair
scraping horribly in the anticipation.
"Oh no…" he said quietly before
blocking his ears.
"HOW DARE YOU SCARE PETUNIA LIKE THAT
YOU NAUGHTY, NAUGHTY GIRL. HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF AN OWL JUMPED ON TOP OF
YOU, WHILE YOU WERE WARM AND SNUG IN BED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT…YOU COULD
HEAR HER SCREAMS A MILE AWAY…" The tirade went on and on, with Lily's cheek's
burning red as all heads in the Hall turned to stare at her. Finally it
quietened, an awkward silence following before giggles erupted all around the
vast room. Lily stood up suddenly and turned away from the table, storming out
of the room, Chloe close at her heels.
"How embarrassing!" Lily cried as she
strode down the hall. "What was that thing?"
"It-uh-it was a-um," Chloe coughed,
reluctant to break the news. "It was a Howler, from your mum and dad, about
writing to Petunia."
"What? What are you on about?
Mum and dad would never do that to me. Besides, they aren't even magical. They
wouldn't be able to do that, they wouldn't get it. No- mum and dad neither
would nor could," Lily said, turning to face Chloe.
"I bet you it was James and Sirius, one
of their hilariously funny jokes! James knew I went to the Owlery last night,
he probably did that just to spite me because I talked to Snape!" Lily said,
turning around to storm back towards the Hall. Just as she reached the door, it
swung open, the force of the students behind it leaving for class smashing it
right into her face. She screamed and her hands fled to her nose as it began to
bleed profusely.
"Ohmigosh, are you alright?" Chloe
rushed over to her, dragging her out of the way of the students. "I think you
need to go to the hospital wing," Chloe said, wincing as she saw Lily's face.
Ψ~*~ Ψ
"…The art of flying is very difficult, and for some it may come
very easily, yet for others, it may take longer. Now, stand beside your broom-
don't touch it until I say so. Raise your right arm to the side and when I blow
my whistle, call out 'rise'! Are you ready? Good," Madam Bailey placed her
whistle in her mouth and blew sharply. James uttered the commanding word and
the broom, with its knobbly hand and twisted straws, flew up, greeting his
ready hand. He smiled and glanced around. Sirius and Remus were both holding
their brooms triumphantly, yet Peter's remained perfectly still. Chloe's was
also in her hand. Lily was in the hospital wing, as Chloe had bitterly informed
them, being treated for a (suspected) broken nose.
"Good, good- Sirius Black, get off
that broom! Did I not tell you at the beginning of the lesson that you
cannot mount the broom, until I allow it? Get off it this instant," Madam
Bailey stormed over towards Sirius, who was hovering a few feet above the
ground, his feet skimming the grass. Sirius laughed and hopped off the broom,
his foot knocking James, who fell atop his broom. With a sharp jerk, it
ascended, flying into the air. James, unable to hold on, clutched at the air as
he was flung across through the air, his body a tiny speck in the blue sky. His
panic-stricken cry echoed through the dumbfounded silence as he cleared the
field, thrust into the depths of the Forbidden Forest.
Ψ~*~ Ψ
James sat up, dazed, looking around him.
To his right, there was a bed with a sleeping figure on it and to his left
there was a curtain. He blinked furiously and looked down at himself. His right
arm was in a thick cast and there were several stitches along his thumb.
"Good, good, you're up," a high-pitched voice came towards him. He turned his head slowly and stared at Madam June as she bustled over towards him, laden with a thick slab of chocolate.
"Uh-I-can't-" James tried to talk as
Madam June urged him to lie down.
"Quiet now, it's okay. You just had a
nasty trip through the air without a broom. You should be thankful they got you
out of the forest as quickly as they did, goodness knows what could have
happened to you if they hadn't…" she quickly closed the curtain around him as
she walked around the bed. "…yes, and I was quite surprised when I heard you'd
only broken your arm, I was expecting your whole body to be smashed to
smithereens. Imagine being caught in the Whomping Willow, especially when
Professor Hunter only injected the growing serum into it last night…"
She muttered under her breath and
walked over to him.
"Now let me have a look at your arm."
Carefully, she lifted the plastered arm and examined it, turning it gently.
"Just as I thought, splintered totally. You'll need some bone-regrowing potion.
The only trouble is it'll be very painful, so you'll be asleep while it's
happening. Oh bother, I just remembered-we're out of it. You'll have to wait until
it comes tomorrow. I had to order some for another student, smashed her nose
totally…"
Madam June walked over towards the
other curtain. James' heart sank as he remembered what Chloe had said to them
at the flying lesson. '…yes, because of you jerks, Lily smashed her nose
completely…'
"What the hell are you doing here?"
Lily's voice interrupted his thoughts. He glanced over at her and doubled-up
with laughter.
"Gosh, you should have warned me," he
managed to make out during his hard gasps of laughter. Lily glared at him,
though it only made her look funnier. Her nose, which seemed to have been
smashed completely, had disappeared and a huge thick brace covered the area,
her nose now a huge hook.
"Snape, eat your heart out," James
laughed.
"If I wasn't trapped in this bed, I
would be bashing the hell out of you by now. Besides, you can't exactly talk.
What happened to you? Fell off your broom or something? Maybe we should order a
trainer seat for you," Lily remarked, smirking at James shocked face.
"Me? Fall off a broom? Never! Sirius
knocked me onto the broom, which flung me into the air and I landed on the
Whomping Willow."
"You let a pathetic little excuse for a
tree like that break your arm and rip open your thumb? Not as strong as I
thought," Lily said, smiling to herself.
"What pathetic excuse for a tree? You
haven't seen it today. It's huge. Madam June told me that Professor Hunter
injected it with a growing serum last night, hence it's change."
"Yeah, sure. I bet your just saying that to make it look as though
you're some macho man. I don't believe you one bit," Lily stated.
"Fine then, as soon as we're out of
here, I'll show you it."
"Fine."
"Deal then."
"Whatever."
Lily looked out the window, ignoring
James who was attempting to talk to her. She could barely breathe with the
plaster on her nose and was in a bad mood. She had a headache.
"Oh, shut up and eat some chocolate
or something," she snapped, glaring at James.
"I can't. I'm allergic to it."
"Allergic to chocolate?" Lily
said, turning to see if he was joking. "Are you serious?"
"Dead serious. Had it once and broke
out it hives. I was literally bright red for a week."
"Pity I wasn't there. I'd have given
you a taste of your own medicine."
"Read to me."
"What?" Lily said, staring at
him as if he was crazy.
"Read a book to me or something. I'm
bored."
"Well, I'm sorry your highness, is
there anything else I can do for you?"
"Yeah, scratch my back. No, I'm
serious, it's killing me and I can't move my arm with the plaster on it."
Lily stared at him for a moment
before sighing loudly and pushing the covers back, getting out to scratch his
back.
"You owe me big time, loser. I can't
believe I'm actually touching you."
James was just about to reply when
there was a long, low wolf whistle at the door.
"James, you naughty boy you," Remus
exclaimed, just as Chloe walked in and stared at Lily.
"Lily? How could you? You didn't
kiss him or anything, did you?" she said, disgusted. Lily jumped up.
"Of course not. I was just
scratching his back for him. No I swear, oh shut up Sirius. What are you guys
doing here?" Lily cried out as Sirius danced around the room, singing.
"Thought we'd come and cheer you
up," Chloe started, just before Sirius draped a feather boa from the end of his
wand around Lily's neck.
"James and Lily, sitting in a tree-"
"Professor Dumbledore told us what happened, James."
"K-I-double S-I-N-G-"
"How's your nose Lily?"
"First comes love, then comes
marriage-"
"Apparently the Willow's huge now, Hagrid told us."
"Then comes Lily with a baby-"
"SHUT
UP!" both James and Lily yelled at the smirking Sirius.
Two weeks later
Ψ~*~ Ψ
Lily walked down the hallway with Chloe.
"I can't believe how late we are, Professor Thatcher is going to kill us," Lily exclaimed as they half-ran, half-walked towards the dungeons for Potions.
"You were the one who was so intent on staying at the library," Chloe reminded Lily as she hurried to keep up with her, her short legs no match for Lily's long ones.
"Damn!" Lily cursed as she walked up a step, only to have her foot fall through it. "I keep forgetting about this disappearing step," she said as she tried to pull her leg out.
"Here, let me help," Chloe said.
"No, you go on to class. Tell Professor Thatcher I'm coming."
Chloe nodded and walked down the steps, turning the corner as Lily place her books onto the steps. Her foot seemed permanently stuck.
"Hurry up…" she commanded, trying to pull her foot out of the hole. "What's wrong with it?" she asked herself before putting her hand down to help herself. She felt her fingers close around something cold and hard, just before her foot pulled out.
"Thank goodness," she said, pulling out her hand. "Oh, gross!" she squealed as she stared at the slimy vine that had clamped her foot down. It was now entwined in hand; it's thick purple body contrasting deeply with the bright red leaves. "Ew, ew, ew!" She jumped around a bit, trying to shake it off. Finally, the vines released itself from her hand, flying through the air before sticking firmly to the ceiling. Lily breathed a sigh of relief and began to pick up her books.
As she knelt over, she felt a shadow pass over her. She stood up quickly and spun around, staring into the empty hallway.
"Chloe?" she said shakily as she walked forward a bit. "P-Professor Thatcher?" Just then a hand fell onto her shoulder. She gasped and spun around, staring at Severus.
"Do you always have to do that?" she snapped irritably, pushing past him to get her bag.
"So sorry. Did you remember what I said?" Snape said, grabbing her arm as she tried to squeeze past him.
"Yes, and like I said before, it's none of your business. Let go of me," she tried to free herself, but he only tightened his grip on her arm.
"Fine then. Don't let go of me, it's only that we have to get to class. I'm already late enough."
"No. I told you I'd have to make you, didn't I? Don't you think the Howler was enough, let alone the little vine in the disappearing stair trick," Snape laughed to himself and cocked an eyebrow at Lily's dumbfounded face.
"You did that?" she exclaimed. "Well, it was all done in vain, because-because I'm still not going to snoop for you or anything, got it?" she said, wrenching her arm free and storming towards the dungeon.
"Don't make me do anything I wouldn't want to do, Lily Evans," he called after her.
Ψ~*~ Ψ
James stared at the piece of parchment on the desk before him. So far, he'd written two lines of his two-parchment minimum essay for Professor Salberry, his History of Magic teacher. He sighed and looked over to Sirius.
"This is boring," he stated, dropping his quill onto the desk and leaning back in his chair.
"I'll say," Sirius agreed, dropping his book dejectedly onto the floor. "I'm hungry. Got any sweets, James?"
"We have," two voices spoke in unison behind them. They turned around and stared at Lily and Chloe.
"Cool, can I have some?" Sirius perked up, extending a greedy hand. Lily sighed and dropped a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean into his hand. He opened it quickly and stuffed half the packet into his mouth.
"I love doing this, because-yum, strawberry-I get all the flavours at once," he said through his full mouth, spitting bits of chewed up beans on Lily and Chloe in the process. "Oops-sorry."
"Since you can't have chocolate James," Lily began sweetly, "You can have some pumpkin pasties," she said sweetly.
"Thanks," he said greedily, stuffing them into his mouth. Lily and Chloe smiled at each other and walked over to the stairs that led up to their dormitory. Just before they reached the top step, they heard a choking noise from behind them. James was on the floor, spitting out the pasties they'd given him, his face turning a deep red.
"Uh-James. Are you alright?" Lily said, racing down towards him.
"He can't breathe, you nob-job, do you think he's alright?" Sirius yelled, trying to bring James to his feet. He dragged him over to the hole and opened it, pulling him through it.
"Oh no," Chloe whispered to Lily.
Ψ~*~ Ψ
"What did you give him?" Sirius yelled at Lily and Chloe, who sat together in their nighties, squished into one of the large armchairs. Sirius was in front of them, his face red with anger.
"He couldn't breathe back there. What did you give him?" he asked again.
Lily mumbled something quietly.
"What?"
"Chocolate."
"Chocolate? Are you crazy or something? That stuff is potent on him. He could die from that. I suppose you thought it was hilarious, didn't you?" Sirius accused, staring them both in the eye.
"Well-no, but we-we thought we'd pay him back, for all the tricks he played on us and everything."
"Tricks? Some trick; he nearly died!"
"Oh come on, Sirius. Do you honestly think James Potter is going to died from eating a tiny bit of chocolate? I mean, seriously, that guy is a danger zone. As for you, well you wanted to 'play' with the Whomping Willow and look what it did to James!" Lily yelled, standing up to face Sirius.
Sirius stared at her moment before storming out, up to his dormitory.
Ψ~*~ Ψ
A week later
Ψ~*~ Ψ
"Hey Lily," James said.
"What? I swear, if you're going to go on about how guilty I should feel again, I swear I'll force-feed you ten slabs of chocolate."
"It's not that. It's just that tonight is the full moon, and I thought I could take you up on that deal you promised me. Remember, a couple of weeks ago in the Infirmary. I'll take you to see the Whomping Willow now."
"Now? In the middle of the night?"
"We'll have the full moon to guide us won't we? Are you scared or something?"
"Me, scared? Never. Let's go."
Ψ~*~ Ψ
"Hurry up, you nob-job,"
Lily called out softly, beckoning James over. "Some macho man you are. Get me
all geared up for a night in the forest, and then you get scared."
"I'm not scared, I just don't want to
get caught."
Lily sighed and hurried down the steps.
"Maybe you should have thought of that
before you planned this out."
"Shut up for once will you?"
"Why should I? You never."
"For your information, I'm still pissed
at you for the chocolate incident. I couldn't-"
"Yes, I know you couldn't breathe.
Sirius told us a hundred times already."
"Actually, I was going to say that I
couldn't believe you would even dare do something as stupid as that."
"The aim was to look at you break out
in hives and stay bright red for week, with us having the laugh of our lives."
"It wasn't funny."
"Was for us."
James glared at Lily and quietly
slipped behind a statue.
"Follow me-quiet," he muttered. Lily
stared after him for a moment before following him. It was a passageway, dark
and damp. It descended steeply, before rising sharply. Finally, they reached
the top, stepping out.
"Cool, when did you discover that?"
"I have my ways…" James muttered slyly
before walking over towards the centre of the Forest.
"Where are we?" Lily asked, looking
around at the thick bush and trees surrounding them.
"Middle of the forest, somewhere near
the Willow. Shh-did you hear that?" James stopped all of a sudden, stepping
back.
"Yeah, sorry, couldn't help it. I had
some baked beans for dinner and…"
"No you loser, did you hear that
noise?"
"What noise? Trying to scare me again,
Potter?" Lily stared at him witheringly, before moving forward. Just then, a
skinny figure stepped out of the trees. Lily screamed loudly, just as James
pushed her forward, yelling.
"Take her, take her! I'm innocent I
swear!"
There was an awkward silence, where
the three figures glanced around at one another. Finally, James spoke, more
calmly this time.
"R-Remus? What are you doing
here?"
"Uh-would you believe-um-picking
wildflowers?" Remus muttered, his face pale and his voice shaky. He quickly
picked a dark green branch off a near-by tree and offered it to them.
"Are you alright, Remus?" Lily
asked doubtfully, staring first at James and then at Remus. "I mean, do you
want us to get Dumbledore, or something?"
"No-no, I'm fine. You know how it
is, nothing like a late night stroll to get the blood pumping and the heart
pounding…"
Lily stared at James for a moment
before shaking her head and nodding her head towards Hogwarts.
"We better go. Come on Remus," she
said, starting to walk back to the passageway.
"No, I think I'll stay here and
read a book or something," Remus replied, whistling as he headed towards the
Whomping Willow.
"I think we better go and get
Professor Dumbledore," James whispered, taking Lily by the arm. "Snape probably
slipped something into his pumpkin juice at dinner."
Lily nodded and together they
walked over to the secret hall. All of a sudden, from somewhere behind them,
there was a loud howl. Lily and James both looked back.
"What on earth is that?" Lily
cried as a streak of dark brown flashed between the green of the bushes.
"We are in serious shi-"
"Well, well, well. Students out
of bounds, at night as well. How convenient," a terse voice behind them
muttered. They turned around and stared at Professor Parkwell, the Defence
Against the Dark Arts teacher, loomed behind them. He glared at them in the
darkness, the pale moonlight casting shadows across his round face.
"Don't talk to me, you pathetic
little worm," Lily snapped, turning to look at James.
"So, you're still blaming me for
the detention. Well, just so you know, you didn't believe me in the first
place, whereas if you had, you wouldn't have needed to go and see the Willow
now, would you?" James remarked sweetly before turning back towards his
Transfiguration homework.
"All I was going to say is that
Professor McGonagall told me that we need to meet Filch in the Entrance Hall at
9 o'clock tonight, okay?" James finished off quickly, annoyed that he still had
to talk to her.
"Hey Jamesy-boy," Sirius walked
into the room, lying across the desk.
"You're sitting on my quill," James
ignored Sirius' comical antics and tried to pull the parchment from under him.
"This is so boring. How can you
stand doing homework?" Sirius looked up at the ceiling, tapping his fingers
impatiently.
"Professor McGonagall says that if
I don't do it, I'll get a detention," James replied. "Besides, I just copy
Lily's," he lowered his voice.
"Well, I'm definitely up for some
action."
Sirius stood up and walked over to
one of the large armchairs next to the fire.
"Abracadabra. Ala-kazam," he pulled out his wand and waltzed around the
chair, pretending to jinx it. "Abracalazadoo-"
At that precise moment, there was a
loud bang as the chair's arm blew right off. It hurtled across the room,
narrowly missing a sixth years head before sliding down the wall. There was a
stunned silence, before a terse voice interrupted it.
"Sirius Black. Come with me,"
Professor McGonagall said.
"…I can't believe that I got
detention on such short notice," Sirius muttered, scrubbing away at the dirty
wall in the Divination room.
"It's your own fault for blowing up
half the commonroom," Lily muttered, shoving Sirius out of the way as she
walked around the room, angrily scraping dried tealeaves off the mahogany
table.
"Temper, temper," Sirius remarked
dryly, turning towards James.
"What's say we blow this whole
detention and haunt the castle for the night. See if we can find some more
secret passage ways or something," he said. "Lily can finish off for us," he
finished, nodding his head towards Lily.
"Get stuffed! If you go, I go," she
said, dropping her rag on the table defiantly (Filch had forced them to do it
without magic).
"No. None of us will go. I'm not in the
mood," James snapped, turning away from Sirius and Lily. "Did either of you see
Remus in the commonroom tonight?"
"No," Lily shook her head, just as
Sirius nonchalantly whistled and muttered, "Nup!"
Sirius walked over to a table filled
with bottles of various shapes. He picked them up, examining the labels on
them, the names written in bright purple ink.
"Uh- I don't think you should play
with that," Lily said as Sirius began juggling three thin bottles in the air.
"Nonsense! Nothing can go wrong.
Nothing at all," Sirius laughed as he pounced around the room, his messy hair
flying everywhere.
"Except that," he finished off as the
three bottles smashed down towards the floor, the thick green, red and mauve
liquids slowly spreading out.
"Well, don't just stand there like
the idiot you are, do something!" Lily cried. Sirius shrugged and walked over
to James, sitting next to him on the round lounge.
"Let Professor Bambera blame some
inept third year or something," Sirius said.
"Phew! What's that smell? Are you
sure those baked beans aren't repeating on you again, Lily?" James said,
holding his fingers to his nose.
Lily glared at him witheringly,
before glancing around the room. James watched as her eyes widen suddenly,
staring at something just behind him.
"Sirius you idiot, what have you
done?"
A huge hole had appeared on
the wooden floor, the liquids melting the timber. The mixture dripped down the
surface, onto the floor below, which was at least two metres below the hole.
"What are we going to do?" James
said, leaning forward to stare down the hole.
"We?" Lily said
incredulously. "Since when was I the one who thought juggling potions was fun
and harmless?"
"Okay. Breathe in, breathe out. In
with the good, out with the bad," Sirius muttered, wringing his hands wildly.
"I've got it. We'll just rearrange
the room so one of these cushion things is covering the hole. That way, if they
do discover it, they won't blame us," James said.
"Uh-reality check, James. Don't you
think Professor Bambera is going to know if her Divination room has been
rearranged overnight?" Lily snapped.
"You think of a better thing to do
then," James retorted.
"Maybe we could put a memory charm on
Filch and pretend we cleaned up somewhere else or something," Sirius said. Both
Lily and James stared at him for a moment before Lily shook her head in disbelief
over his stupidity.
"James, for once I'm with you."
"Hey," he whispered, shaking
his shoulder gently. "Get up." Sirius groaned and stretched and stood up,
rubbing his back.
"What time is it?" he muttered, rubbing
his hair, the thick strands knotted in his hand.
"About three o'clock," James said as
he walked over to Lily, shaking her roughly. "Lily, up!"
After a couple of minutes of shaking
and whispering, Lily was finally standing up, straightening her clothes.
"Come on, let's go," she muttered,
rubbing her eyes as she walked over to the hole.
"Where's the ladder?" Sirius asked,
looking around.
"Who cares?" James replied
nonchalantly, jumping down the full two metres. Sirius heard Lily mumble
something like stupid idiot but chose to ignore it.
As soon as Sirius' feet touched the
floor, James began to walk down the corridor.
"Are you sure you know where you're
going?" Lily called after him as he walked down some steps.
"Nup. Let's hope we run into a
helpful painting that will lead the way."
"Hardly likely," Lily muttered.
"Sirius, what do you want?" she snapped, turning towards Sirius, who was
impatiently pulling at her arm. He pointed to a door that was half open, a tiny
light peeking through the gap. It cast a shadow across the dusty corridor.
"Yes. It's a door. Big deal," Lily
half-laughed, shaking her head as she turned around.
"I saw something in there, a dark
shadow," Sirius turned her back again, pointing into the depths of the room.
"Yeah, that's right. The boogieman
popped in for tea; did I forget to tell you? Grow up, Sirius."
Sirius just shook his head and
stared at the room once more, before hurrying to catch up to Lily and James.
"It's so cold," Lily shivered,
wrapping her arms around herself.
"I'd be the gallant male and lend
you my cloak but I'm freezing too," James replied.
"Thanks," she muttered. "We better
hurry up and find our way back. Didn't we come up these stairs?"
"No, we went up the next set of
stairs."
"Don't be stupid, we couldn't
have. I distinctly remember that we never passed a portrait like that before."
"Who looks at paintings anyway?"
"People of high distinction, like
me."
"Okay, I don't care what you say
James, but we never passed that," Lily said, pointing to a painting of a
knight, fighting with an imaginary soldier.
"He certainly seems friendly
enough," Sirius said, walking over to him. "Uh- hello," he said hesitantly,
staring at the knight, who spun around, surprised, his mouth a firm circle of
shock.
"Hello," he said pompously, bowing
low, his armour rattling. "Sir Cadogan, at your service."
"Uh- could you tell us how to get
to the Gryffindor commonroom from here?" James asked, his eyebrows creased in
doubt about Sir Cadogan's sanity.
"Naturally, of course I can. Four
flights of steps to the right, six steps down and seven portraits after the
third armour."
"Well, okay. Are you sure?" Lily
asked, worried.
"Of course I'm sure. I've never
been more so in my life!"
Lily smiled thanks to the portrait
and started walking along with Sirius and James.
"Well, this is the way that knight told us to go,
are you saying he's wrong?"
"Sirius, did you see him. He
actually makes you look smart," Lily scorned. "I'm telling you, we're
lost."
"Well, fine. You can go down the
stairs if you want, we're going this way."
"Are you crazy? Do you think I'm
going to wander around Hogwarts at four o'clock in the morning, by myself? I
can't believe Filch didn't come to collect us."
Lily jumped a little in anger.
James and Sirius leaned against the wall, their eyes drooping in drowsiness.
"Tell you what," Lily began.
"We keep going, and if we pass this statue again, we'll go down the stairs.
Agreed?"
James and Sirius nodded and
they walked down the hallway. Dim lamps were flickering softly on either wall,
emitting a soft glow. Their shadows crept along the walls, shaking ever so
slightly in the cold drafts that blew under the cracks in the door. Suddenly,
Sirius gripped both Lily's and James' shoulders as they passed a door.
"I'm telling you, there's
something in there, I saw it go in!" he cried. Both Lily and James rolled their
eyes.
"Stop being such a baby,
Sirius, nothings in ther-" Lily trailed off as a low, ominous groan came out
from the centre of the room.
"You were saying?" Sirius said
sweetly, before attempting to bolt down the hall. Lily and James, however,
grabbed his cloak, pulling him back.
"What if that person is hurt or
something?" James said, staring at Sirius with a reproachful look.
"Help," a hoarse voice croaked,
the single cry echoing throughout the room and the corridor.
"Well, look at it this way,"
James said, trying to sound calm as Lily cowered behind his back and Sirius
shook his head persistently. "There are three of us, and only one of…it," he
finished off.
"True, true. But-um-what if…it,
as you like to call it, is ten times more powerful than us even when injured,
which it probably will be," Lily said, her voice shaking.
"Well, then, we'll just run,
okay?"
"Okay."
James walked slowly towards the door,
his hand shaking ever so slightly as he gently pushed the door open. He stepped
back quickly as though anticipating a monster as soon as the door was wide
open. All that greeted them, though, was a small dark room, with a slowly dying
fire glowing in the wooden fireplace, the desk scattered with parchment and
quills. There was a black cupboard along the back wall, the window covered by a
scrap of lace.
Again there was a loud groan, and
James felt cold, bony fingers wrap themselves around his ankle. He jumped
wildly, pushing Lily and Sirius back. Looking down at the hand, he almost threw
up. Lying on the floor, blood dripping from a huge gash on her forehead, a
small lady, with ebony black hair, streaked with moonlight grey, and eyes so
blue they almost looked purple groaned in pain. Her face was bony and resembled
a skeleton, the skin a papery texture. Blood trickled in tiny rivers down her
forehead and nose, colouring her cracked white lips red. Her hair was tangled and full of dry leaves.
She wore a cotton dress, so torn that her legs had turned a thick blue from the
cold.
"Help…" she whispered again, her lips
straining to form the words. She reached out with her hands again, the nails
chewed down to stubs of almost nothing.
She breathed heavily, the gasps for
air hard and rushed. Her chest rose quickly as she struggled to breathe. Lily
stepped forward, surprising both James and Sirius with her composure.
"She's really hurt, guys.
Sirius, keep going and walked down the stairs we were going to go down before.
I'm positive that it leads somewhere. Get the first person you see to bring
Dumbledore," Sirius nodded and raced out of the room at top speed. "James, go
look in the cupboard for a blanket or something, she's freezing." James obliged
and pulled hard at the handle of the cupboard.
"It's locked," he muttered, banging on it, trying to force it
open.
"Are you some kind of idiot? You're a wizard, think up something to unlock it."
James nodded and pulled out his
wand, muttering senseless words under his breath. Lily turned to the woman, who
was groaning in pain.
"Don't worry, we're going to help
you, okay. Relax, you'll be fine. Calm down. You'll only hurt yourself
more-calm down," Lily said soothingly as the lady whimpered in what was either
fear or pain, no one could be sure.
"He has come. He will destroy all
in his way…you must save yourself. Do not hesitate to do anything, do you hear
me?" her breathing increased, so much so that she could barely talk. "Look what
has happened to me. He will get you in the same way, he will get everyone.
Never listen to the fool who said it was better to be at the right side of the
devil than in his path. This man is worse than the devil, he is the ultimate
enemy. Are you listening to me?" the woman grabbed Lily's face with her chilled
hands, grasping, pulling her closer. Lily was so close, she could smell the
death closing in on the lady. James wrapped the blanket over the lady, tucking
it under her legs.
"Do not stand at my grave and
weep-"
"James, cover her feet a bit more."
"I am not there- I did not die-"
"Where on earth is Sirius?"
"I am a thousand winds that
blow-"
"W-what's she doing?"
"I am softly falling snow-"
James jumped as the lady began to shake violently,
convulsing in the sharp pain that pierced her body as she attempted to breathe.
"I am the gentle rain that falls,
I am the fields of ripening of
grain.
I am the morning thrush,
Of beautiful birds in circling
flight.
I am the strashine of night.
I am the flowers that bloom.
I am in a quiet room.
I am the birds that sing.
I am each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and
cry-"
With a last pained look, the lady snapped
her head back and stared at Lily.
"I did not die."
Lily knew where she was. She could
tell that the air around her was thick with the heavy scent of chocolate and
medicinal potions, and the pillow was the softest one she'd felt. She could
hear voices, and felt droplets of saltwater sprinkle softly across her face.
She blinked once, twice, before opening her eyes, slowly adjusting to the
sudden brightness.
"Lily, you're awake!" Chloe's face
swam into view, blurry at first, yet still distinctly Chloe's.
"W-Where am I? What happened?" Lily
said, sitting up. Chloe was sitting in the chair beside the bed.
"Oh, Lily. It was horrible. James and
Sirius told us what happened. When the lady died, you were crying so hard, and
she still had her hands on your face. Sirius came with Dumbledore after that
and they tried to take you away but you couldn't let go. Eventually, you passed
out, but, well, what happened?"
Lily was breathing heavily. It brought
back recent memories, a face with purple eyes, trying to breathe.
"Lily? Are you alright?" Chloe asked, taking hold of her sweaty hand as the images flashed like scenes on a broken videotape.
"I need to speak to Professor
Dumbledore," she managed to say. She sensed Chloe nodding and standing up to
oblige and she commanded herself to calm down.
Moments later, Dumbledore came
towards them, his silver hair flying backwards with the force as he made his
way towards Lily.
"What happened? Who was that lady?"
Lily began, as soon as Dumbledore had settled down.
"She was attacked, and dumped in the
room. She-she was attacked by Voldemort," he replied, his voice shaking with
restrained tears.
"Wh-who's Voldemort?" Lily whispered,
awed by the silence his name seemed to cause in the room.
"I don't think you really want to know,
Lily. Not know, not after what he did. What's more important, is who she was.
Lily, that-that was Severus Snape's mother."
There was a sharp sob from the corner
of the room, and Lily looked over to see Snape bent over in the corner, his
face once expressing fear as he sobbed loudly, shamelessly.
Lily tried to mouth the words, but
they cam out as a puzzled expression on her face. She looked to Dumbledore,
questioning his word, but he only nodded,
"But, I've never seen anything like
that before. I've never seen death. Why did it have to be her? She was hurt,
distraught about something."
"Ailyah Snape was in so much pain, that death was the better way to go, for her. James told me what she said, what her last words are, and I'm assured that she seemed as though she believed them, trusted their meaning. There was nothing you could have done. It was too late…" Dumbledore leant back as he reflected on what he'd said, as though hearing them that way for the first time. Lily stared at Snape in the corner, and thought of her own mother. At that moment, she wished she'd never been born; she wished she'd never seen, smelt or heard death so closely, so early.