A Lily Love Story
Chapter Six: Inspiration
"You won't believe what I heard!" whispered Peter Pettigrew as he sat down to his first proper dinner in what had seemed a lifetime. He had been stuck in the hospital wing for three nights, partly due to the fact that he was mushed into the floor by an albatross and also because of a recent murder in one of the surrounding towns. Everyone was still a bit touchy around the school, and going out of the grounds before 7am and after 6pm without a teacher present was completely out of the question. Or, at least, it was for some. In the guise of animals and were-wolf, the Marauders were still succeeding at exiting Hogwarts. James, however, had gone even quieter since the Dark Mark had lit the sky, and the boys had tried all the cheering charms they could find: without any lasting effects.
"Why won't I believe it?" whispered back Sirius, in his usual irritating fashion. Remus shoved his question aside with a flick of his wrist.
"What did you hear?" asked Remus eagerly. For once he was distracted from Sky, who was sitting over at the Ravenclaw table speaking quietly with some girls. Just because he wasn't watching her didn't mean he went without the knowledge of her every move.
"And why won't we believe it?" repeated Sirius, poking his tongue out at Remus as he asked. His face got a smug look on it as Peter looked over at him and, smiling, answered his question first.
"You won't believe it because it's unbelievable!" Peter smiled at his silly answer, wanting to laugh but knowing that it'd only make the news take longer to come out, and he doubted that his impatient friends would appreciate that. James was sitting at the other end of the table, pretending not to listen.. "What did I hear, Remus? Why, I heard the sugar sweet voices of Madam Marmalade and Madam Pomfrey talking. It's the content that's most important." Seeing the irritation on their faces, Peter's smile grew.
Frustrated, Remus rephrased his question. "Fine then! What was the content of the conversation you listened to?"
"Which one?" Remus and Sirius seethed with annoyance at the pointless answers. Even James gave a slight squirm, though no one noticed.
"Okay, okay!" shout-whispered Peter when threatened with empty plates by Remus and Sirius. "They were saying that..." Peter's voice broke off uncomfortably as he suddenly realised that he was speaking into silence. From the disapproving frowns of teachers at the head table and a twinkle in the Head Master's eye, Peter guessed that everyone had heard him and dropped his embarrass reddened face to the table in shame.
"While I am certain that Mr Pettigrew has heard something well worth saying, I do believe that it is I who should be speaking. Don't you agree, Peter?" asked Professor Dumbledore, the Head Master, with mock severity in his tone.
A muffled "Yes" came from the Gryffindor table, though no one really knew from which student it came. After getting a response, however minimal, Albus Dumbledore shifted his gaze away from the student and scanned the rest of the school. He had managed to gain almost everybody's attention, and for such news as this, he felt it necessary.
"I fear that a Dark Wizard may have entered the school." As he had expected, gasps and sudden mutterings broke the silence and spread throughout the room. A slight wave of his hand, however, managed to return the hall to some semblance of order. Many of the students now wore worried frowns upon their faces. "The means by which this dark wizard entered the school are unknown to me, however I have been informed that one wand has already been procured, though for what purpose I cannot ascertain. Nine nights previously a wand was stolen from Severus Snape, he is certain that he did not drop it, and the fact that any wand found would have been reported - and none has - gives me reason to believe him.
"If, by any unusual chance, someone has picked up this wand and not returned it or given it to the teachers, could you please stand now." Professor Dumbledore finished with a stern gaze. The theft of a wand was a horrendous crime, for you effectively disarmed the wizard and made it him helpless against any form of attack. All wizards knew that muscles played little part in strength when within the world of magic.
Remus, Sirius and Peter all looked at one another. They knew that they were supposed to be standing right now, yet for some reason none of them had risen to their feet. With their eyes they tried to force the other to his feet, yet the glaring and staring made no difference. It was as though someone had secretly performed the leg-locker curse on them, for they all remained seated in their chairs, blind to the looks more than half the school was giving them. Notorious for their pranks, stealing a wand (although low) was not an impossibility for tricksters such as themselves.
Disregarding the fact that her friends were not standing, Sky Winkkin rose to her feet. She felt lonely being the only person in the hall standing, yet brave, also. The Sky Winkkin that Lily Evans had called "best friend" would never have stood with the entire school watching. It was exhilarating, and humerous, to watch as people prodded and poked, shifting their friends' attention to the only student standing in the hall.
Suddenly, everyone was staring at Sky - and no longer was it exhilarating. It was scary. Beginning to tremble, Sky felt her knees stiffen and her fists clench. Her pulse quickened, and the blood rushed to her face. Only five minutes before she was calm: confident! Yet now... Now only the gaze of Remus, as he caught his eye with hers, kept Sky standing. She had never realised that the admiration in his gaze could be such an incentive. Courage flooded a body more used to quiet study. A movement of Remus' eyes, as they urged her to look to the head table, shifted her view from his face.
The stern face of the headmaster had softened upon having a student stand before him. That it was Sky surprised him, though she was certainly a preference over some Death Eater.
"Well? What have you to say for yourself?" asked Professor Dumbledore, keeping his gaze steady. Sky could only look at him, her mouth slightly open. Her lack of answer brought a slight twittering of noise to the hall. A glare at the students silenced them, though Albus Dumbledore's look did nothing towards improving Sky's confidence.
A slight noise startled the now silent hall, the shifting of a chair sounds exceedingly loud when everybody is listening.
"We found it, Professor Dumbledore," spoke Remus: Sky was no longer alone.
"It was lying on the floor outside the library, Sir," continued Sirius. No one had seen him stand, and the usual gleam of laughter on his face was, for once, absent.
Sky looked to the boys, relief clouding her gaze. As soon as Professor Dumbledore had begun to question her, she realised that any answer she might give would be completely inappropriate: she hadn't returned the wand because she hadn't remembered it.
"Thankyou for your honesty, boys - and Sky," replied Albus, smiling. He lost his smile, however, as he continued:
"Despite your honesty, however, it upsets me that it has taken you so long to tell us of the wand's whereabouts," Albus didn't acknowledge the fact that, possibly, without his prodding the wand would never have been found at all.
Remus and Sirius looked at each other, trying to think up an excuse on the spot. They were surprised when Sky spoke for them.
"I was afraid, Sir," spoke Sky, indeed her tremulous voice did sound afraid.
"Afraid?" questioned Dumbledore, as though playing a game.
Sirius answered this time, his sense of play kicking in. He answered with an answer far more serious than he wished to speak, though a foolish one would have landed him in trouble.
"Of the Dark Mark, Professor Dumbledore." Even the slightest mention of the murder was enough to send the hall into silence once more. People whose conversations had begun once the Professor's had stilled their voices when the words were spoken.
"Yes," said Dumbledore, musing to himself, the Dark Mark frightened all, "Yet I need more of an explanation. Continue, please."
Remus felt it was his turn now. Peter had not even stood, yet no one had truly expected him to. Courageous in a mob: he disliked being singled out.
"Due to the ...hrmm" Remus had a small coughing fit, considering what to say.
"Detention?" supplied Sirius, his humour returned.
"Yes," confirmed Remus, briskly carrying on. "Due to the detention we attended the night after our procurance of the wand," Remus didn't realise he was borrowing words of Dumbledore, "we were unable to give the wand into your safe keeping, Sir." It appeared that Remus had little more to say, so Sky took her line from him.
"I promise we were intending on handing it in," spoke Sky in a sincere, nervous, voice. "Unfortunately, though, we didn't know to whom the wand belonged and, after the..." Sky hesitated, searching for a word, "umm... due to the... the..." Her nerve failing her, Sirius spoke into her silence.
"Due to the Dark Mark," Sirius basked in the awe given to him at the mention of those feared words, "We gave up on any intention we may have had on returning the wand."
"You must understand," continued Sky in that uncomfortable voice, "That we didn't know to whom the wand belonged, and nobody had spoken up about it. After Lord, Lor..." hesitating, Sky stumbled on her words, "Lord Voldemort's sign rent the air, we feared that the wand may have had some connection."
"Honestly," concluded Sirius in that surprisingly sombre tone, "It was for the school's own protection that we kept our finding to ourselves."
Dumbledore's face was a picture of solemn severity, though inside he was quietly chuckling. These children, with their wide eyes and quiet pleading voices had made a stunning performance - worthy of an Oscar, he thought to himself.
"I thank you for your honesty," he replied, humble, "Though must ask that you put your fears to rest and return the wand to either Severus Snape, in person, or myself. If the wand is not in the possession of Mr. Snape before this time tomorrow then it will be at the risk of losing over 100 house points." Some students gasped at the massive tally of house points, though Severus felt he had been cheated and allowed his comments to be far more than a mere gasp.
"What?" Severus exclaimed, incredulous, "No immediate reprimands? No hundreds of house points gone, this instant?" he couldn't believe it. "This is impossible! I have been deprived of my wand for the past ten - did you hear me? TEN days, yet all these, these CHILDREN," he spluttered, "get is a 'thankyou for your honesty'. How can this be justice? How can it be real! How can you-."
"That will be quite enough, Mr. Snape," called Professor Dumbledore. Although his voice was quiet as he said this, the anger sparkled in his eye and, to the students, he appeared to grow taller. Ending with a faint squeak, Severus uttered no more.
"As I was saying," continued the Professor, "If the wand is not returned before this time tomorrow, then 100 points will be lost. I feel, however, that your fears are reasonable considering the situation, and ask that if anyone," and now he looked to the entire school in general, "Feels the need of a confidante, then I am certainly to be trusted. As are all the Professors that work with us each day.
"Thankyou for your time." Looking back to those standing he completed: "You may now sit. Enjoy dinner, everybody, and good luck with the Mid Year Exams."
The general clattering and talking that usually accompanied dinner recommenced at the appearance of the night's meal.
***//\\//\\***
Thankfully, Sky Winkkin returned to her seat. Smiling in relief, she smoothed the blonde strands away from her face, stopping in surprise when she felt the damp beads of sweat upon her brow. Glancing at her fingers, she shook her head in release and wiped the dampness off onto her robes. Glancing around the room, she once again caught Remus' eye. Not noticing the slight flush that lit her cheeks as she considered him, she smiled, pleased that he had helped her.
Mouthing the words rather than shouting them across the hall, Sky said to Remus: "Thankyou!" though whether he understood her, she didn't wait to try and find out. Her usual ravenous hunger at last kicked in, and she obliterated it by stuffing herself with the delicacies arrayed before her.
***//\\//\\***
Occupied with watching Sky Winkkin place morsels of food within her mouth, Remus Lupin didn't at first notice as his friends tried to obtain his attention. After a series of hand waving's, pokes and hits, however, Remus' thoughts were drawn away.
"What?" he asked, irritated at the unwanted distraction.
"What?" imitated Sirius, then, putting a lovesick look on his face, gazed dreamily off into space; a girl sitting across from him looked up at him and, catching his gaze, began to smile sweetly and giggle a bit - blushing furiously. Removing himself from the daze he looked to Remus and repeated himself:
"What?"
Realising he was being mocked, Remus made a sweeping gesture at Sirius, perhaps intended to inflict some kind of hurt, either way Sirius was unharmed. Remus stopped short. Peter, remembering the previous conversation, began to smile secretively as he wondered if either of them would think to ask.
Ducking from Remus' blow, Sirius caught the smug look on Peter's face and paused, thinking. Considering the smile, not to mention the way it grew when Peter caught his friend's eye, Sirius slowly began to recall something.
"Peter," Sirius said, the cogs of his mind slowly turning.
"Hmm?" drawled Peter, languorous.
"Peter, I seem to recall something. Something that you were saying... Saying before," Sirius hesitated, searching for the corrected word, "Before we were distracted."
"Yes?" questioned Peter, an innocent look upon his face. "Please, continue."
Remus spoke up in the gap, his own mind beginning to remember the previous conversation.
"Hmm... Something about overhearing a conversation?" Asked Remus, his attention focussed on the ever-broadening smile Peter wore. "Please, Peter, do explain."
"Certainly," concurred Peter, "Whilst in the hospital wing, I overheard a conversation."
Sirius rolled his eyes heavenward in a dramatic plea for help. Remus, however, took it as encouraging that Peter had allowed them any information at all.
"So, Peter," said Remus, eyes intense, "Do you think that you could tell us just what this conversation that you heard, whilst in the hospital wing, was about?" Belatedly, Remus had recalled Peter's previous responses, and tried to ask a much more direct question.
"Okay then," replied Peter, unable to continue dodging the question. It seemed that dinner was almost over, and Peter felt that his news was much too exciting to wait any longer. "I overheard Madams Marmalade and Pomfrey speaking about our sleeping She-Devil. It appears that she is fighting the sleep-spell, and they're decided to bring her back into the world." Peter smiled at the looks on his friends' faces. All the boys had an opinion towards what should be done to Lily Evans, or the "sleeping she-devil" as the boys had named her. The Marauders supposed that, despite a passion to kill any and every person who stood in her way, she was probably quite nice. It was the fact that she was desperate to kill their friend, James Potter: that really upset them. "They're going to..."
"They're going to bring that creature back into school?" Sirius interrupted, aghast, "What if she goes for James again? He'll need a constant body guard with Lily after him!" Remus smiled at his friends' dramatics. Although quite an intelligent person, sometimes Sirius just didn't see things all the way through.
"I'm certain they'll find a means to control her first," said Remus, and asked, "Is that what you were about to tell us, Peter?"
"It was, in fact," Peter smiled again at his friends. "They've decided to go with the secluded treatment and see if they can't calm her down. When she begins to sleep naturally they'll give her some lovely dreams." The questioning looks on Remus and Sirius' faces made Peter smile all the wider. He continued. "They're going to give her lovely dreams of James."
A plate banging loudly from across the table was the only indication James gave of his eavesdropping. Abruptly standing up, he turned and walked from the table, his gait stiff as he strode towards the Gryffindor dorms.
***//\\//\\***
Severus Snape was in no mood to be reckoned with. Furious that he had been proven wrong, he felt torn inside as he thought of his wand's return. He found it difficult to appreciate the fact that his wand had been found - entirely due to the fact that those who had found it he hated most. Also, he couldn't help but wonder why it had taken them so long to own up, and then to not even have so much as ten points taken from their house... He couldn't believe it.
Having smoothed back his glistening hair in frustration, Severus discreetly wiped the grease from his hands off onto the black robes he wore. He would never admit to the Gryffindors that his hair was greasy, yet it seemed that he could never find the right charm or curse to clean it. Perhaps pride kept him from searching properly - by ridding himself of the problem he would be admitting its existence.
Stepping away from the dinner completely dissatisfied, Severus left the hall and returned to the Slytherin dorms. Yet his mind wasn't focussed on the journey as he made it; all he could think about was revenge. Yes, this meant revenge on that stupid Black, disturbing Lupin, irritating Pettigrew and ... he could think of no name for James Potter, though death-deserving came to mind, for he was certain that Potter was somehow tied into all of this.
***//\\//\\***
Having reached the boys bed-room, James promptly fell asleep. Without realizing it, he dropped through the layers of his mind, only occasionally drifting, dropping towards his inner depths. And inner eye.
James didn't notice as the other boys came in, shoving and pushing one another towards their beds. Kicking off shoes and tugging off robes, they chatted amiably trying to see if their sound would awaken James. Yet James was too far down, too deep within to hear.
He didn't awaken when they noisily went to sleep, or even when they all woke up again, half the boys intent on stuffing a sock into Peter's snoring mouth. James didn't even awaken when he began to speak. All he saw was the dream, and all he felt was fear. Fear of loss.
"LIIILLLLYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!" he cried, despairing.
***//\\//\\***
"Did you hear that?" whispered Peter into the silence that followed the scream. All he knew was that he'd been woken abruptly awake by some loud noise. It had originated from James Potters' bed, yet the boys were too nervous to go over and investigate closely. "YooHooo!" called Peter, trying to hide his worry, "Is anyone else out there?"
"Sorry, Peter," came Remus' voice out of the darkness, "I was trying to recall just what the sound was. Did you catch it, by any chance?"
"All I got was the scream. And the fact that it came from James' bed," replied Peter unhappily.
"What?" questioned Sirius, too drowsy to phrase a proper question, "What heard I did?"
Their attention distracted by Sirius' poor grammar, there came a large amount of people questioning "What?" in reply.
"I'm up," said Jordan, pulling the curtain from around his bed as he pulled himself up.
"What was that noise?" asked Scott, as he too showed signs of waking. Soon all the boys in the room had wither showed signs of waking or made that clear by speaking. Except for one. James lay there, slightly twitching in his sleep.
Realising that James was the only one not to have answered, Sirius questioned into the darkness: "James? James, are you there?" As his pleas met no answer they became more frantic. "James? JAMES?! Where are you? James..."
"Shush, Sirius!" said Remus in a shout-whisper. Somebody light up their wand, or even a candle! You can't see anything in this darkness." Soon the pitch black of the room was dappled with shadows as light filled it. Everyone could see that James was still in bed, though he twitched strangely. Only Peter thought to associate it with the Cruciatus Curse.
"Oh my... Oh, Oh my! Somebody's put him under the Cruciatus!" called Peter, hardly daring to rise his voice above a frightened whisper. "What shall we do? Oh what can we do!"
Remus, looking for the aid of Sirius - who had by now woken up and looked as worried as the rest of them - slowly stepped towards the bed where James lay, twitching horribly. As though against his will, Sirius rose to walk with his friend. The few step that it was towards James' bed felt like miles, and yet they came too fast for Sirius' liking - he wished to postpone it as much as possible.
A strange muttering sound seemed to be coming from James. It wasn't loud enough to carry in the near-silence of the room, though it was certainly loud enough for Remus and Sirius to pick it up as they slowly stepped closer to the bed.
Uncomfortable, with their friends paralysed around them, Remus and Sirius reached their hands down to gently tap James on the shoulder. The movement brought their heads closer to his mouth, and soon the muttering that James was voicing became clearer.
Softer than a whisper, yet louder than a breath, James was saying, over and over:
"Lily. Lily! Run! I love you, Lily I love you. Lily, Lily! Lily. Lily! Run! I love you, Lily, I love you..."
It took the boys only a short while to figure out who Lily was, and they almost cracked up laughing when they did. What taste! Their friend had fallen in love with the only woman in the whole world intent on killing him. Except, perhaps, for McGonagall... Or even his mother after James had used the gardens as his water bomb battleground. Either way, it was unbelievable.
"I can't believe this," said Sirius, disbelief evident in his tone, "Our friend Jamsie in love with Evil Lily... Gosh - who'd've thought it?"
"I still don't like the way he's twitching," said Remus, yet oddly enough as soon as the words were spoken, James' movements suddenly became smoother and less twitch-like. "Well, even if it is odd - I have to say that it's certainly better."
"So we can speak now?" asked Peter, timid.
"Certainly," said Remus. "Our buddy, Jamsie, here was just fantasising about his love."
"Eww!" said Sirius, disgusted by the thought, "Did you have to put it that way?"
"His love?" asked Peter simultaneously. "What do you mean 'His Love'?"
Remus was smiling, yet Sirius looked ready to puke as he said:
"James has got a thing going for that Lily creature."
"Huh?" asked Peter, unable to believe.
"You mean to tell me that I went to all that effort waking up just to hear about some dream James is having?" asked Scott, irritated. "Ugh! Let me go back to sleep, will you?" Rolling over, Scott first pulled the curtain shut and then, although no one could see it, wrapped a pillow around his head.
Softening their voices, the boys continued their conversation. Excluding James and Scott, and Jordan who had already fallen asleep and snored quietly.
"Well isn't this a strange development!" said Peter, surprised.
"Strange doesn't describe the half of it... Although..." As usual, Sirius' sense of fun soon kicked in. It didn't take him long to formulate an idea.
"I know that look in your eye," said Remus, "and I'm telling you that if your going to cook up some crazy idea involving Lily Evans then I for one think you should stop right now!" Already the memories of the last prank involving Lily Evans had awoken in his head, calling to his common sense. Despite not personally being a part in the prank, it still worried him.
Peter, however, gained a similar glow in his eyes to Sirius. Just watching Sirius make up pranks was exciting, for Sirius would go into a kind of trance... and then suddenly snap out of it with the most brilliant scheme all laid out in his head. It must be a good one, thought Peter, for Sirius was already beginning to awaken, and the big smile on his face told more than words possibly could.
"I have it my friends," said Sirius, his eyes gleaming with a mischievous spark in the 'lumos' lit darkness. "Inspiration."
Peter looked on in anticipation, sitting forward and staring hopefully at Sirius with star bright eyes. Remus tried not to look encouraging, though the disapproving frown he wore was beginning to wear thin. Sirius was smiling brighter than Peter's eyes, no sign of discontent within his gaze.
"A potion, for Lily. To return James' smile.
"A Love Potion, my friends. Love..."
Unknowing what he was in for, James left the dream that had haunted him so long now. Rolling over, he gave a light snore. Knowing nothing at all of what was ahead.
AN
WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
Can I do that again? Pleeeeeease?! Oh well - with or without you permission...
WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
Sorry, I really should learn to control myself. Let me pull that to pieces. I "should". Does that mean I have to? I "really" should... Hmm, I think that's putting even more emphasis on the fact that I DO have to. Oh well :)
WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
My elation is not due to the millions of reviews I am getting (partly due to the fact that the "millions" of reviews don't exist... Though I'm thankful for those that do) But is actually doe to the fact that I have just passed the 30,000 word mark. I've never written so much in my life! And to think, this really hasn't taken me very long at all... Perhaps I do have the endurance and determination to complete a novel... Though I sincerely doubt I have the typing skills. Even after 30 odd K, I still can't touch type - or even normal type - very well. I wish I had eyes on my fingers! Wouldn't that be helpful? Eyes on my fingers... Yes, I really do need to do something about that... How about an optic-glove. You wear it on your hands and there is a small camera on each fingertip. Though I suppose that could become a difficulty when gripping things...
Anyway - enough of optic gloves, I really should get back on track to fan-fics!
Thankyou to Ariqua for helping me to drag myself through this one, and to Sierra Charm (not that I've had much to do with her lately... And "Happy Birthday" by the way...) Also I give thanks to Tadariada, who's stories have pulled and tugged and pushed me back onto the track that I belong. Not that Tad even realises it.
Umm... Inspiration for this story has been with me all along, so I can't really give specific thanks - apart from those up above.
This story is dedicated to my sister's boyfriend (I fear I cannot give his name). He just walked through the door... so there you have it. Dedicated to: My sister's boyfriend.
Last, but not least, I have to give a quick explanation of the names. First it was Muggle Mysteries - which I hated. Next a Lily Love Story, which took too long to become a Love Story. So now this is Prelude to a Love Story (I'm sorry if I stole this name from somewhere, though I do like it... :)) I've only got one chapter to go on "Prelude" then I'll get right into "Lily Love". Sound good to you? It sounds good to me!
Thankyou everyone, read and review PLEASE!
-wildcat-
Chapter Six: Inspiration
"You won't believe what I heard!" whispered Peter Pettigrew as he sat down to his first proper dinner in what had seemed a lifetime. He had been stuck in the hospital wing for three nights, partly due to the fact that he was mushed into the floor by an albatross and also because of a recent murder in one of the surrounding towns. Everyone was still a bit touchy around the school, and going out of the grounds before 7am and after 6pm without a teacher present was completely out of the question. Or, at least, it was for some. In the guise of animals and were-wolf, the Marauders were still succeeding at exiting Hogwarts. James, however, had gone even quieter since the Dark Mark had lit the sky, and the boys had tried all the cheering charms they could find: without any lasting effects.
"Why won't I believe it?" whispered back Sirius, in his usual irritating fashion. Remus shoved his question aside with a flick of his wrist.
"What did you hear?" asked Remus eagerly. For once he was distracted from Sky, who was sitting over at the Ravenclaw table speaking quietly with some girls. Just because he wasn't watching her didn't mean he went without the knowledge of her every move.
"And why won't we believe it?" repeated Sirius, poking his tongue out at Remus as he asked. His face got a smug look on it as Peter looked over at him and, smiling, answered his question first.
"You won't believe it because it's unbelievable!" Peter smiled at his silly answer, wanting to laugh but knowing that it'd only make the news take longer to come out, and he doubted that his impatient friends would appreciate that. James was sitting at the other end of the table, pretending not to listen.. "What did I hear, Remus? Why, I heard the sugar sweet voices of Madam Marmalade and Madam Pomfrey talking. It's the content that's most important." Seeing the irritation on their faces, Peter's smile grew.
Frustrated, Remus rephrased his question. "Fine then! What was the content of the conversation you listened to?"
"Which one?" Remus and Sirius seethed with annoyance at the pointless answers. Even James gave a slight squirm, though no one noticed.
"Okay, okay!" shout-whispered Peter when threatened with empty plates by Remus and Sirius. "They were saying that..." Peter's voice broke off uncomfortably as he suddenly realised that he was speaking into silence. From the disapproving frowns of teachers at the head table and a twinkle in the Head Master's eye, Peter guessed that everyone had heard him and dropped his embarrass reddened face to the table in shame.
"While I am certain that Mr Pettigrew has heard something well worth saying, I do believe that it is I who should be speaking. Don't you agree, Peter?" asked Professor Dumbledore, the Head Master, with mock severity in his tone.
A muffled "Yes" came from the Gryffindor table, though no one really knew from which student it came. After getting a response, however minimal, Albus Dumbledore shifted his gaze away from the student and scanned the rest of the school. He had managed to gain almost everybody's attention, and for such news as this, he felt it necessary.
"I fear that a Dark Wizard may have entered the school." As he had expected, gasps and sudden mutterings broke the silence and spread throughout the room. A slight wave of his hand, however, managed to return the hall to some semblance of order. Many of the students now wore worried frowns upon their faces. "The means by which this dark wizard entered the school are unknown to me, however I have been informed that one wand has already been procured, though for what purpose I cannot ascertain. Nine nights previously a wand was stolen from Severus Snape, he is certain that he did not drop it, and the fact that any wand found would have been reported - and none has - gives me reason to believe him.
"If, by any unusual chance, someone has picked up this wand and not returned it or given it to the teachers, could you please stand now." Professor Dumbledore finished with a stern gaze. The theft of a wand was a horrendous crime, for you effectively disarmed the wizard and made it him helpless against any form of attack. All wizards knew that muscles played little part in strength when within the world of magic.
Remus, Sirius and Peter all looked at one another. They knew that they were supposed to be standing right now, yet for some reason none of them had risen to their feet. With their eyes they tried to force the other to his feet, yet the glaring and staring made no difference. It was as though someone had secretly performed the leg-locker curse on them, for they all remained seated in their chairs, blind to the looks more than half the school was giving them. Notorious for their pranks, stealing a wand (although low) was not an impossibility for tricksters such as themselves.
Disregarding the fact that her friends were not standing, Sky Winkkin rose to her feet. She felt lonely being the only person in the hall standing, yet brave, also. The Sky Winkkin that Lily Evans had called "best friend" would never have stood with the entire school watching. It was exhilarating, and humerous, to watch as people prodded and poked, shifting their friends' attention to the only student standing in the hall.
Suddenly, everyone was staring at Sky - and no longer was it exhilarating. It was scary. Beginning to tremble, Sky felt her knees stiffen and her fists clench. Her pulse quickened, and the blood rushed to her face. Only five minutes before she was calm: confident! Yet now... Now only the gaze of Remus, as he caught his eye with hers, kept Sky standing. She had never realised that the admiration in his gaze could be such an incentive. Courage flooded a body more used to quiet study. A movement of Remus' eyes, as they urged her to look to the head table, shifted her view from his face.
The stern face of the headmaster had softened upon having a student stand before him. That it was Sky surprised him, though she was certainly a preference over some Death Eater.
"Well? What have you to say for yourself?" asked Professor Dumbledore, keeping his gaze steady. Sky could only look at him, her mouth slightly open. Her lack of answer brought a slight twittering of noise to the hall. A glare at the students silenced them, though Albus Dumbledore's look did nothing towards improving Sky's confidence.
A slight noise startled the now silent hall, the shifting of a chair sounds exceedingly loud when everybody is listening.
"We found it, Professor Dumbledore," spoke Remus: Sky was no longer alone.
"It was lying on the floor outside the library, Sir," continued Sirius. No one had seen him stand, and the usual gleam of laughter on his face was, for once, absent.
Sky looked to the boys, relief clouding her gaze. As soon as Professor Dumbledore had begun to question her, she realised that any answer she might give would be completely inappropriate: she hadn't returned the wand because she hadn't remembered it.
"Thankyou for your honesty, boys - and Sky," replied Albus, smiling. He lost his smile, however, as he continued:
"Despite your honesty, however, it upsets me that it has taken you so long to tell us of the wand's whereabouts," Albus didn't acknowledge the fact that, possibly, without his prodding the wand would never have been found at all.
Remus and Sirius looked at each other, trying to think up an excuse on the spot. They were surprised when Sky spoke for them.
"I was afraid, Sir," spoke Sky, indeed her tremulous voice did sound afraid.
"Afraid?" questioned Dumbledore, as though playing a game.
Sirius answered this time, his sense of play kicking in. He answered with an answer far more serious than he wished to speak, though a foolish one would have landed him in trouble.
"Of the Dark Mark, Professor Dumbledore." Even the slightest mention of the murder was enough to send the hall into silence once more. People whose conversations had begun once the Professor's had stilled their voices when the words were spoken.
"Yes," said Dumbledore, musing to himself, the Dark Mark frightened all, "Yet I need more of an explanation. Continue, please."
Remus felt it was his turn now. Peter had not even stood, yet no one had truly expected him to. Courageous in a mob: he disliked being singled out.
"Due to the ...hrmm" Remus had a small coughing fit, considering what to say.
"Detention?" supplied Sirius, his humour returned.
"Yes," confirmed Remus, briskly carrying on. "Due to the detention we attended the night after our procurance of the wand," Remus didn't realise he was borrowing words of Dumbledore, "we were unable to give the wand into your safe keeping, Sir." It appeared that Remus had little more to say, so Sky took her line from him.
"I promise we were intending on handing it in," spoke Sky in a sincere, nervous, voice. "Unfortunately, though, we didn't know to whom the wand belonged and, after the..." Sky hesitated, searching for a word, "umm... due to the... the..." Her nerve failing her, Sirius spoke into her silence.
"Due to the Dark Mark," Sirius basked in the awe given to him at the mention of those feared words, "We gave up on any intention we may have had on returning the wand."
"You must understand," continued Sky in that uncomfortable voice, "That we didn't know to whom the wand belonged, and nobody had spoken up about it. After Lord, Lor..." hesitating, Sky stumbled on her words, "Lord Voldemort's sign rent the air, we feared that the wand may have had some connection."
"Honestly," concluded Sirius in that surprisingly sombre tone, "It was for the school's own protection that we kept our finding to ourselves."
Dumbledore's face was a picture of solemn severity, though inside he was quietly chuckling. These children, with their wide eyes and quiet pleading voices had made a stunning performance - worthy of an Oscar, he thought to himself.
"I thank you for your honesty," he replied, humble, "Though must ask that you put your fears to rest and return the wand to either Severus Snape, in person, or myself. If the wand is not in the possession of Mr. Snape before this time tomorrow then it will be at the risk of losing over 100 house points." Some students gasped at the massive tally of house points, though Severus felt he had been cheated and allowed his comments to be far more than a mere gasp.
"What?" Severus exclaimed, incredulous, "No immediate reprimands? No hundreds of house points gone, this instant?" he couldn't believe it. "This is impossible! I have been deprived of my wand for the past ten - did you hear me? TEN days, yet all these, these CHILDREN," he spluttered, "get is a 'thankyou for your honesty'. How can this be justice? How can it be real! How can you-."
"That will be quite enough, Mr. Snape," called Professor Dumbledore. Although his voice was quiet as he said this, the anger sparkled in his eye and, to the students, he appeared to grow taller. Ending with a faint squeak, Severus uttered no more.
"As I was saying," continued the Professor, "If the wand is not returned before this time tomorrow, then 100 points will be lost. I feel, however, that your fears are reasonable considering the situation, and ask that if anyone," and now he looked to the entire school in general, "Feels the need of a confidante, then I am certainly to be trusted. As are all the Professors that work with us each day.
"Thankyou for your time." Looking back to those standing he completed: "You may now sit. Enjoy dinner, everybody, and good luck with the Mid Year Exams."
The general clattering and talking that usually accompanied dinner recommenced at the appearance of the night's meal.
***//\\//\\***
Thankfully, Sky Winkkin returned to her seat. Smiling in relief, she smoothed the blonde strands away from her face, stopping in surprise when she felt the damp beads of sweat upon her brow. Glancing at her fingers, she shook her head in release and wiped the dampness off onto her robes. Glancing around the room, she once again caught Remus' eye. Not noticing the slight flush that lit her cheeks as she considered him, she smiled, pleased that he had helped her.
Mouthing the words rather than shouting them across the hall, Sky said to Remus: "Thankyou!" though whether he understood her, she didn't wait to try and find out. Her usual ravenous hunger at last kicked in, and she obliterated it by stuffing herself with the delicacies arrayed before her.
***//\\//\\***
Occupied with watching Sky Winkkin place morsels of food within her mouth, Remus Lupin didn't at first notice as his friends tried to obtain his attention. After a series of hand waving's, pokes and hits, however, Remus' thoughts were drawn away.
"What?" he asked, irritated at the unwanted distraction.
"What?" imitated Sirius, then, putting a lovesick look on his face, gazed dreamily off into space; a girl sitting across from him looked up at him and, catching his gaze, began to smile sweetly and giggle a bit - blushing furiously. Removing himself from the daze he looked to Remus and repeated himself:
"What?"
Realising he was being mocked, Remus made a sweeping gesture at Sirius, perhaps intended to inflict some kind of hurt, either way Sirius was unharmed. Remus stopped short. Peter, remembering the previous conversation, began to smile secretively as he wondered if either of them would think to ask.
Ducking from Remus' blow, Sirius caught the smug look on Peter's face and paused, thinking. Considering the smile, not to mention the way it grew when Peter caught his friend's eye, Sirius slowly began to recall something.
"Peter," Sirius said, the cogs of his mind slowly turning.
"Hmm?" drawled Peter, languorous.
"Peter, I seem to recall something. Something that you were saying... Saying before," Sirius hesitated, searching for the corrected word, "Before we were distracted."
"Yes?" questioned Peter, an innocent look upon his face. "Please, continue."
Remus spoke up in the gap, his own mind beginning to remember the previous conversation.
"Hmm... Something about overhearing a conversation?" Asked Remus, his attention focussed on the ever-broadening smile Peter wore. "Please, Peter, do explain."
"Certainly," concurred Peter, "Whilst in the hospital wing, I overheard a conversation."
Sirius rolled his eyes heavenward in a dramatic plea for help. Remus, however, took it as encouraging that Peter had allowed them any information at all.
"So, Peter," said Remus, eyes intense, "Do you think that you could tell us just what this conversation that you heard, whilst in the hospital wing, was about?" Belatedly, Remus had recalled Peter's previous responses, and tried to ask a much more direct question.
"Okay then," replied Peter, unable to continue dodging the question. It seemed that dinner was almost over, and Peter felt that his news was much too exciting to wait any longer. "I overheard Madams Marmalade and Pomfrey speaking about our sleeping She-Devil. It appears that she is fighting the sleep-spell, and they're decided to bring her back into the world." Peter smiled at the looks on his friends' faces. All the boys had an opinion towards what should be done to Lily Evans, or the "sleeping she-devil" as the boys had named her. The Marauders supposed that, despite a passion to kill any and every person who stood in her way, she was probably quite nice. It was the fact that she was desperate to kill their friend, James Potter: that really upset them. "They're going to..."
"They're going to bring that creature back into school?" Sirius interrupted, aghast, "What if she goes for James again? He'll need a constant body guard with Lily after him!" Remus smiled at his friends' dramatics. Although quite an intelligent person, sometimes Sirius just didn't see things all the way through.
"I'm certain they'll find a means to control her first," said Remus, and asked, "Is that what you were about to tell us, Peter?"
"It was, in fact," Peter smiled again at his friends. "They've decided to go with the secluded treatment and see if they can't calm her down. When she begins to sleep naturally they'll give her some lovely dreams." The questioning looks on Remus and Sirius' faces made Peter smile all the wider. He continued. "They're going to give her lovely dreams of James."
A plate banging loudly from across the table was the only indication James gave of his eavesdropping. Abruptly standing up, he turned and walked from the table, his gait stiff as he strode towards the Gryffindor dorms.
***//\\//\\***
Severus Snape was in no mood to be reckoned with. Furious that he had been proven wrong, he felt torn inside as he thought of his wand's return. He found it difficult to appreciate the fact that his wand had been found - entirely due to the fact that those who had found it he hated most. Also, he couldn't help but wonder why it had taken them so long to own up, and then to not even have so much as ten points taken from their house... He couldn't believe it.
Having smoothed back his glistening hair in frustration, Severus discreetly wiped the grease from his hands off onto the black robes he wore. He would never admit to the Gryffindors that his hair was greasy, yet it seemed that he could never find the right charm or curse to clean it. Perhaps pride kept him from searching properly - by ridding himself of the problem he would be admitting its existence.
Stepping away from the dinner completely dissatisfied, Severus left the hall and returned to the Slytherin dorms. Yet his mind wasn't focussed on the journey as he made it; all he could think about was revenge. Yes, this meant revenge on that stupid Black, disturbing Lupin, irritating Pettigrew and ... he could think of no name for James Potter, though death-deserving came to mind, for he was certain that Potter was somehow tied into all of this.
***//\\//\\***
Having reached the boys bed-room, James promptly fell asleep. Without realizing it, he dropped through the layers of his mind, only occasionally drifting, dropping towards his inner depths. And inner eye.
James didn't notice as the other boys came in, shoving and pushing one another towards their beds. Kicking off shoes and tugging off robes, they chatted amiably trying to see if their sound would awaken James. Yet James was too far down, too deep within to hear.
He didn't awaken when they noisily went to sleep, or even when they all woke up again, half the boys intent on stuffing a sock into Peter's snoring mouth. James didn't even awaken when he began to speak. All he saw was the dream, and all he felt was fear. Fear of loss.
"LIIILLLLYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!" he cried, despairing.
***//\\//\\***
"Did you hear that?" whispered Peter into the silence that followed the scream. All he knew was that he'd been woken abruptly awake by some loud noise. It had originated from James Potters' bed, yet the boys were too nervous to go over and investigate closely. "YooHooo!" called Peter, trying to hide his worry, "Is anyone else out there?"
"Sorry, Peter," came Remus' voice out of the darkness, "I was trying to recall just what the sound was. Did you catch it, by any chance?"
"All I got was the scream. And the fact that it came from James' bed," replied Peter unhappily.
"What?" questioned Sirius, too drowsy to phrase a proper question, "What heard I did?"
Their attention distracted by Sirius' poor grammar, there came a large amount of people questioning "What?" in reply.
"I'm up," said Jordan, pulling the curtain from around his bed as he pulled himself up.
"What was that noise?" asked Scott, as he too showed signs of waking. Soon all the boys in the room had wither showed signs of waking or made that clear by speaking. Except for one. James lay there, slightly twitching in his sleep.
Realising that James was the only one not to have answered, Sirius questioned into the darkness: "James? James, are you there?" As his pleas met no answer they became more frantic. "James? JAMES?! Where are you? James..."
"Shush, Sirius!" said Remus in a shout-whisper. Somebody light up their wand, or even a candle! You can't see anything in this darkness." Soon the pitch black of the room was dappled with shadows as light filled it. Everyone could see that James was still in bed, though he twitched strangely. Only Peter thought to associate it with the Cruciatus Curse.
"Oh my... Oh, Oh my! Somebody's put him under the Cruciatus!" called Peter, hardly daring to rise his voice above a frightened whisper. "What shall we do? Oh what can we do!"
Remus, looking for the aid of Sirius - who had by now woken up and looked as worried as the rest of them - slowly stepped towards the bed where James lay, twitching horribly. As though against his will, Sirius rose to walk with his friend. The few step that it was towards James' bed felt like miles, and yet they came too fast for Sirius' liking - he wished to postpone it as much as possible.
A strange muttering sound seemed to be coming from James. It wasn't loud enough to carry in the near-silence of the room, though it was certainly loud enough for Remus and Sirius to pick it up as they slowly stepped closer to the bed.
Uncomfortable, with their friends paralysed around them, Remus and Sirius reached their hands down to gently tap James on the shoulder. The movement brought their heads closer to his mouth, and soon the muttering that James was voicing became clearer.
Softer than a whisper, yet louder than a breath, James was saying, over and over:
"Lily. Lily! Run! I love you, Lily I love you. Lily, Lily! Lily. Lily! Run! I love you, Lily, I love you..."
It took the boys only a short while to figure out who Lily was, and they almost cracked up laughing when they did. What taste! Their friend had fallen in love with the only woman in the whole world intent on killing him. Except, perhaps, for McGonagall... Or even his mother after James had used the gardens as his water bomb battleground. Either way, it was unbelievable.
"I can't believe this," said Sirius, disbelief evident in his tone, "Our friend Jamsie in love with Evil Lily... Gosh - who'd've thought it?"
"I still don't like the way he's twitching," said Remus, yet oddly enough as soon as the words were spoken, James' movements suddenly became smoother and less twitch-like. "Well, even if it is odd - I have to say that it's certainly better."
"So we can speak now?" asked Peter, timid.
"Certainly," said Remus. "Our buddy, Jamsie, here was just fantasising about his love."
"Eww!" said Sirius, disgusted by the thought, "Did you have to put it that way?"
"His love?" asked Peter simultaneously. "What do you mean 'His Love'?"
Remus was smiling, yet Sirius looked ready to puke as he said:
"James has got a thing going for that Lily creature."
"Huh?" asked Peter, unable to believe.
"You mean to tell me that I went to all that effort waking up just to hear about some dream James is having?" asked Scott, irritated. "Ugh! Let me go back to sleep, will you?" Rolling over, Scott first pulled the curtain shut and then, although no one could see it, wrapped a pillow around his head.
Softening their voices, the boys continued their conversation. Excluding James and Scott, and Jordan who had already fallen asleep and snored quietly.
"Well isn't this a strange development!" said Peter, surprised.
"Strange doesn't describe the half of it... Although..." As usual, Sirius' sense of fun soon kicked in. It didn't take him long to formulate an idea.
"I know that look in your eye," said Remus, "and I'm telling you that if your going to cook up some crazy idea involving Lily Evans then I for one think you should stop right now!" Already the memories of the last prank involving Lily Evans had awoken in his head, calling to his common sense. Despite not personally being a part in the prank, it still worried him.
Peter, however, gained a similar glow in his eyes to Sirius. Just watching Sirius make up pranks was exciting, for Sirius would go into a kind of trance... and then suddenly snap out of it with the most brilliant scheme all laid out in his head. It must be a good one, thought Peter, for Sirius was already beginning to awaken, and the big smile on his face told more than words possibly could.
"I have it my friends," said Sirius, his eyes gleaming with a mischievous spark in the 'lumos' lit darkness. "Inspiration."
Peter looked on in anticipation, sitting forward and staring hopefully at Sirius with star bright eyes. Remus tried not to look encouraging, though the disapproving frown he wore was beginning to wear thin. Sirius was smiling brighter than Peter's eyes, no sign of discontent within his gaze.
"A potion, for Lily. To return James' smile.
"A Love Potion, my friends. Love..."
Unknowing what he was in for, James left the dream that had haunted him so long now. Rolling over, he gave a light snore. Knowing nothing at all of what was ahead.
AN
WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
Can I do that again? Pleeeeeease?! Oh well - with or without you permission...
WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
Sorry, I really should learn to control myself. Let me pull that to pieces. I "should". Does that mean I have to? I "really" should... Hmm, I think that's putting even more emphasis on the fact that I DO have to. Oh well :)
WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
My elation is not due to the millions of reviews I am getting (partly due to the fact that the "millions" of reviews don't exist... Though I'm thankful for those that do) But is actually doe to the fact that I have just passed the 30,000 word mark. I've never written so much in my life! And to think, this really hasn't taken me very long at all... Perhaps I do have the endurance and determination to complete a novel... Though I sincerely doubt I have the typing skills. Even after 30 odd K, I still can't touch type - or even normal type - very well. I wish I had eyes on my fingers! Wouldn't that be helpful? Eyes on my fingers... Yes, I really do need to do something about that... How about an optic-glove. You wear it on your hands and there is a small camera on each fingertip. Though I suppose that could become a difficulty when gripping things...
Anyway - enough of optic gloves, I really should get back on track to fan-fics!
Thankyou to Ariqua for helping me to drag myself through this one, and to Sierra Charm (not that I've had much to do with her lately... And "Happy Birthday" by the way...) Also I give thanks to Tadariada, who's stories have pulled and tugged and pushed me back onto the track that I belong. Not that Tad even realises it.
Umm... Inspiration for this story has been with me all along, so I can't really give specific thanks - apart from those up above.
This story is dedicated to my sister's boyfriend (I fear I cannot give his name). He just walked through the door... so there you have it. Dedicated to: My sister's boyfriend.
Last, but not least, I have to give a quick explanation of the names. First it was Muggle Mysteries - which I hated. Next a Lily Love Story, which took too long to become a Love Story. So now this is Prelude to a Love Story (I'm sorry if I stole this name from somewhere, though I do like it... :)) I've only got one chapter to go on "Prelude" then I'll get right into "Lily Love". Sound good to you? It sounds good to me!
Thankyou everyone, read and review PLEASE!
-wildcat-
