By Zetta Zofia
Disclaimer: Characters are Not Mine! Belong to the wonderful, fabulous, absolutely amazing genius J.K. Rowling.
Feedback Me: zettazofia@yahoo.com
Find out all about me: http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=154516
Thanks to XaXona for reviewing! (And I'm sure your idea doesn't suck! Write
it!)
Hope you all like this chapter, as I've just finished rewriting half of
it. :o)
Sixth year started with a celebration, as England's team won the World Quidditch Cup.
The Marauders had all been in attedance, and not for the first time, dominated conversations with stories of the amazing moves that had filled the Quidditch Match.
Even two weeks later, when school started again, the four boys were still talking about it as if it were the most exciting thing to have ever happened. Of course, ever one in school who'd attended agreed, which did not help quiet them down any.
Much to the shock of his friends, family, and most of the school, James was still a Prefect. This year, his duties were a little more advanced, but he didn't complain because it meant he would spend more time with Lily, who was still the other Prefect.
Because of his position, the Marauders decided they should be more careful about what they did. But their pranking continued, and though the pranks were less frequent, they were far more complicated and interesting.
Sirius, through means he would not discuss, had obtained a rather large bottle of Veritiserum, a rather powerful potion that would cause anyone who tasted it to speak the complete truth for some time afterwards.
This was one point in time when James' invisibility cloak came in quite handy.
Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter all snuck down to the kitchens late one night under the pretense of wanting a snack.
While the House Elves bustled around to get them something, Sirius dumped most of the bottle in the Pumpkin Juice dispenser.
Laden down with food and water, the Marauders returned to their room, snickering and wondering what horrible truths would be revealed come morning.
Of course, they'd neglected to mention to James that they hadn't dumped all of it in the Pumpkin Juice.
They'd also dropped a little into his mug of water.
Sirius was quite pleased to see his friend drinking the water with absolutely no idea of what they'd done. For weeks, he and Remus had been trying to find a way to get James to spill on the identity of the girl he liked, because it had to be a girl that was keeping him distracted. There was no other reason he'd stop going on dates, ignore Tilly Mae Pierson of Hufflepuff and her short skirts, and generally be in such a weird mood. And with the way he was acting around Lily, he and Remus both thought that she might be the one who'd done it to him.
And now that James had been primed with Veritiserum, everything would be all right, because they could find out exactly what was going on.
Sirius and Remus exchanged amused glances, and Peter snickered a little as they got more comfortable, while James drank more.
James looked confused. "What's so funny?"
"Oh, just thinking," Peter said, shrugging. "Wondering what Snape'll have to say."
"And Lily," Sirius added, taking the opening. "You know, what she'll say when she starts chatting about it all. How do you feel about Lily, James?"
And even before he answered, James knew what they'd done from the smug look on his face. "I love her." His face lost all color when the other three boys smirked at him, Sirius looking triumphant, if a little startled by the simple truth to the statement.. "You put it in here," James whispered, setting the mug down. "You put Veritiserum in my drink."
Remus shrugged. "We wanted to know."
"How long have you loved her?" Sirius asked.
"Since first year," James answered, and the expression on his face would have been comical if his eyes hadn't shown so much hurt and anger. He glared at Sirius, Remus, and Peter, and some of the humor left their faces. They hadn't expected James to actually be really angry. "I can't believe you'd do this to me," he said, and grabbed the invisibility cloak off the bed.
"James," Sirius said patiently. "Just calm down."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Peter asked.
"Because you'd tell her, you assholes." James answered in response, despite the fact that he'd fought not to answer. His voice was shaking from the effort to not answer, and from the anger he felt towards them at that moment.
He glared at them and stormed out of the room.
Sirius was the first to follow, and the other two were close behind. "You probably shouldn't go far," Remus said quietly.
"God forbid Snape find you like this," Sirius added, trying to make James laugh.
James turned and punched him, much to the shock of the half dozen people still in the Common room.
Sirius stumbled back, nearly crashing into Remus and Peter.
"What'd you do that for?" Sirius demanded, rubbing his sore jaw.
James nearly snarled at him. "Because you gave me Veritiserum, Sirius."
Everyone in the common room heard this, and quite a few people suddenly looked interested.
"Do you want to go out with me?" a girl asked hopefully.
"Who's the one who put the spiders in the girls bathroom last week?" another girl asked, looking hopeful.
"No. Sirius did it." James answered, the winced, and glared at his friends. The girl, quite obviously hurt, rushed upstairs to her room. The girl who'd asked about the spiders glared at Sirius, who didn't even notice.
"James," Remus said. He suddenly felt that it might have been a bad idea.
The situation got worse, as it had to.
Lily came downstairs, looking furiously at them. "What's going on?" she demanded. "Why'd Rhonda start crying?"
"They gave me Veritiserum," James answered, looking quite pale again. "I told her I didn't want to go out with her."
Sirius quickly stepped between James and Lily. "Uh, now's not a good time, Lily. You know, James being all pissed off and such."
But Lily looked amused. "Veritiserum? Lovely. And I'm guessing that bruise on Sirius's face is from you, James?"
"Yes," James answered, and Remus could see the panic growing on his face.
"Come on," Remus said urgently. "Let's go back upstairs."
"Night, Lily," Peter said uneasily.
She crossed her arms. "I don't think so," she said. She pushed Sirius out of the way and smiled at James. Then she frowned when she saw him grow even paler. "What's wrong? Are you sick?"
"I don't want to talk to you," James said with painful honesty. "I'm not sick."
Sirius tried to laugh it off, but he saw the hurt and confusion on Lily's face. "Well, he doesn't want to talk to any of us either, Lil. Don't feel bad."
"Why don't you want to talk to me?" Lily asked, ignoring Sirius.
"Because I'll tell you how I feel about you," James said, and was so pale he would have matched a sheet.
Sirius shoved him towards the stairs. "Uh, bye Lil!" he said, trying to escape.
She reached around Sirius and grabbed James's arm before he could escape. Judging by her expression, James figured she was expecting something a little different from the truth. "How do you feel about me?" she demanded, looking as though she were bracing for him to say he despisded her or some such.
The Common Room had gone quiet and everyone was watching.
Sirius and Remus looked pale and upset, as if they knew what was coming, and Peter was already cringing.
"I've been in love with you since first year," he said somewhat shortly. "Now if you'll excuse me."
He slipped past her and his friends and went out the portrait hole.
Lily stared after him, in shock, and for a very long moment, no one said anything.
"Did he just say...?"
One of the girls in the room finally reacted, turning to one of her friends. "I've got to go talk to Bertha."
Sirius glared at her. "Oh, shut up," he said crossly, and turned to Remus. "Why do you let me talk you into these things?"
Remus ignored him. "Lily, are you okay?"
She jerked, startled, and then went up the stairs, following James.
Remus winced. "I'm not sure if that's such a good... idea." But she ignored him, and made her way up to the second door from the end of the hall. "James?" she called hesitantly through the door.
There was no sound from inside.
She bit her lower lip and pushed it open.
The room was empty, and Lily frowned for a moment. "Where are you?"
There was a muffled sigh from the back corner of the room. "On my bed."
She hesitantly walked over there. "Do you want me to go?" she asked quietly.
He slipped off the Invisibility Cloak, but didn't look at her. "No," he answered, but then gritted his teeth and nodded his head.
He did, but he didn't, she surmised unhappily. She sighed, but didn't move. "That's not something I ever thought I'd hear from you," she said quietly. "And I know you're telling the truth, too." She wished she didn't know that. It would have been a lot easier if it had been just a joke... But she knew that he would never, ever joke about something like this, no matter what the circumstances.
He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes, but still wouldn't look at her.
"For... since..." She sighed. "How long?"
"Since first year," he answered dully. "Typical cliché. I fell in love with you the first time I saw you."
Lily let out a humorless laugh. "I wish I'd have known that then. I was so sure I was in love with you then."
But that was then, and this... this was now.
They both knew it.
"How much did they give you?" Lily asked finally.
James shrugged. "They put it in my drink and didn't tell me."
She pulled her wand out. "I'll do what I can to at least reduce the effects. It's too powerful to completely get rid of it, but it should make it so you can at least not answer, and it won't last as long. You won't be able to lie at all for quite some time, double the length of what the potion would last."
"That's fine."
She made a motion with her wand and said something. "Any different?"
"Ask me how I feel about Sirius right now."
"How do you feel about Sirius right now?"
James didn't answer, and that at least brought a grim smile to his face.
But he still wouldn't look at her.
Lily felt very uncomfortable. "Should I go away?" she asked after another moment.
He considered it, wondering what his true feelings were about it. He finally decided to answer however it came out. "No."
She sat down on the bed again and sighed. "I really had no idea," she said. "I don't know what to say."
"Well," James said, trying not to let any emotions come out, but knowing it was useless. "If you aren't going to tell me you return the feelings, I'd rather you just tried to forget about it."
She nodded slowly. "I promise I will try," she said, but didn't sound as if she thought it was possible. "I'm sorry," she said next.
He snorted and turned, finally facing her. "You've got nothing to be sorry for," he said, still being completely honest. "It's my own fault, and that's all there is to it."
She sighed and stretched out, her head at the opposite end of the bed as his. "I feel bad though," she admitted. "I feel like... like such a horrible person. I've tossed every relationship I've had in your face, and you've never said a word. Would you have if not for the potion?"
He didn't answer, but it was painful to keep quiet.
She accepted the silence, and decided that she needed to think about this before she could talk any more about it. "Have you decided how to get Sirius back yet?"
James was a little surprised by the change of subject but didn't complain. Not when he didn't want to talk any more about it either. "I've got a few ideas," he said simply.
She nodded a little. "If you need any help, let me know."
"I will." He paused for a moment, and the silence was no longer comfortable between them. She stood up pocketing her wand, and he watched her as she started to go. He stopped her as she reached the door. "Hey Lily?"
She turned and looked at him curiously.
"Don't drink the pumpkin juice tomorrow."
* * *
James kept the Marauders locked out of the room for the night, and went downstairs in the Invisibility Cloak.
Sirius was sprawled out on a couch, snoring. Peter was on a chair, curled up and snoring even louder. Remus was stretched out on the loveseat, his head tilted back and his mouth slightly open.
James said the spell to dye their hair blue and paint their nails pink, hid their books under a chair across the common room, and slipped out the portrait hole.
He stuffed the cloak in his bag and went into the Great Hall.
There were only a handful of students up, and all of them gave him funny looks.
James sent them all glares that had them quickly looking away.
Great, he though furiously. Now, instead of just him and one ex-girlfriend knowing about how he felt about Lily, it was all of Gryffindor, and whoever they told.
And that wouldn't be a problem, but rumors flew through Hogwarts faster than he could even think about denying it.
And what point would there be in denying it? he wondered sourly. There had to have been at least a dozen people in the Common Room, and all of them had heard- and James held no doubts that before breakfast was over, even more people would know.
"Oy, Potter," someone called from across the room.
James looked up slowly, his glare cold.
Fortunately, it was one of the Gryffindor Beaters, and he only wanted to know when practice would be. James informed him that it would be an extra hour long, and they would be using Sirius as the Bludger target. The boy, Gunther White, sent him a sad smile, proving that he too knew of what had gone on the previous night.
He took a seat across from James. "Look," he said. "I know how you feel. Last year? Prewitt tricked me into admitting it in front of the girl I liked. Of course, then it turned out that she liked me, and we've been going out for over a year now, but still, I know how it feels to be tricked into saying it in front of the girl. Except that she actually liked me, but it's close enough."
James sent him a look. "Gunter?"
He smiled cheerfully, thinking he'd helped. "Yes, James?"
"Don't try to help."
Gunter's face fell a little. "Oh. Sorry, Jim."
"What've you got to be sorry for, White?" Severus Snape sneered, standing a few feet away from them. A handful of his cronies were near him as well. "You reject him too?"
James pretended not to hear him. "S'kay, Gunter. You mind telling everyone else what the plan is?"
Snape was not going to be ignored. He shoved Gunter aside and smirked at James. "How's it feel to be rejected, Potter?"
"What, you don't know?"
It was Sirius. He'd managed to get rid of the nail polish, but his hair was still blue. It matched the bruise from where James had punched him quite nicely. He didn't seem to mind though, nor did Remus or Peter, who were behind him.
James sent them a look that made the one Severus got look down right friendly. He then looked at Severus, his voice perfectly even. "While I'm certain that you're very pleased to hear about all of this, may I be the one to remind you of how fast she dumped you?"
Severus sneered. "As if I'd wanted to go out with the mudblood any longer."
Sirius immediately started to dive at him, but Remus and Peter pulled him back. "You son of a-"
Remus cut him off with a well-timed Silencing Spell.
And the area around them went silent as James slowly stood up, leaning across the table a ways. "If you ever call Lily or anyone else by that name, I swear I'll beat the crap out of you, Severus. And you know I can, and you know I will."
"Oooh," Severus hissed, unimpressed. "The great James Potter is threatening me. I'm terrified."
"What should scare you, Snap-ie boy, is that he's starting to get pissed off." Sirius smirked at Snape.
Gunter noticed the way James glared at Sirius. "Uh," he said slowly. "Don't try to help."
Severus smirked at James, knowing that he was irritating him greatly, and loving it.
The other Slytherins stepped forward a little, drawing Sirius, Remus, and Peter's attention.
James sat down again and continued eating his breakfast, as though Snape's presence didn't bother him in the least.
"Oh look," Severus said suddenly, his attention drawn to the entry way. "The Mudblood arrives."
James already knew it was Lily he was talking about. He jumped up, stood on the bench and jumped over the table, and stood in front of Snape. In most cases, James would have towered over the other person. But Snape was slightly taller than he was, so James looked up at him.
It was not, however, any less threatening. "I just told you, Snape, that if you said that word again-"
Snape smirked slowly. "Mud. Blood. Slut."
James punched him, and Severus fell back, stumbling into Sirius and the Slytherins.
James smiled coolly. "Ten points from Gryffindor."
But Snape wouldn't give up that easily, and threw himself at James.
The two boys fell to the floor, punching and kicking.
The three Slytherins, having seen James in a fight before, immediately tried to help Severus.
But Sirius, Remus, and Peter would not allow that, and soon they were all fighting.
"Stop!" several teachers yelled, and out of the corner of his eye, James saw Lily running towards them. But he looked away from her quickly as Snape punched him in the stomach.
James grunted with pain and punched him back, shoving him into the benches.
He heard Peter cry out, and saw a few splatters of blood on the ground, and swore, and punched Snape again, this time in his nose.
Snape cried out, and James winced to see the blood.
But he pulled the Slytherin away from Peter, who punched him.
"SEPARATE AT ONCE!"
The eight boys who'd been fighting froze and looked up.
Professor McGonagall was storming towards them, her face flushed with anger, and her eyes blazing with fury.
Slowly, they all straightened up, Peter holding a napkin to his cheek, where the Slytherin with heavy rings on his fingers had punched him, and Severus standing with his head bent down a ways, his nose bleeding. He was glaring at James, who sent him a glare in return.
"What is going on here?" McGonagall demanded, stopping by James and Severus. "Mr. Potter. Since it was you who instigated this fight, I would like to hear you explain. Immediately."
"Severus called Lily a mudblood," James said coolly. "I had already suggested that he cease doing that, but he continued, and I was forced to react."
McGonagall's lips pursed. "Mr. Snape, explain yourself."
Snape shook his head indignantly. "I did not say that word, Professor. I was on my way up to talk to Professor Lewis when he made a few comments to me. I returned the comments, and he attacked me."
Gunter snorted. "'Scuse me, Professor. But Snape did call her that name, and James did warn him not to say it again."
"And what of the rest of you?" she demanded.
"They started to go after James," Sirius said, shrugging. "We couldn't let them out number him."
"They went after Severus!" one of the Slytherins denied.
"Professor, if I may?" They all looked at Lily, who was watching the display and looking somewhere between angry and annoyed. McGonagall nodded a little, giving her permission to speak. "Someone gave James Veritiserum last night. I've fixed it so he isn't forced to answer, but he can't lie. So he's the one who's telling the truth."
McGonagall looked startled. "You fixed the Veritiserum?" She frowned suspiciously. "Exactly how much did you have, Mr. Potter?"
James looked annoyed. "I don't know. If I had known I was having any, I wouldn't have drunk any."
"Who gave it to you?"
James remained silent, but scowled fiercely. No matter how angry he was, he would never betray his friends.
McGonagall didn't seem to care about that, though. She let out a short breath. "Mr. Potter, if you do not answer me at once, I will deduct fifty points from Gryffindor."
"I did it," Sirius said quickly. He offered McGonagall a small grin. "I wanted to see how well it worked."
McGonagall glared at him. "Veritiserum is not a potion students are allowed to have, Mr. Black. Ten points from Gryffindor, and you will serve two detentions. I'll be taking forty points from each house, ten for each student fighting. Mr. White, how many times was that foul word used?"
Gunter thought about it. "He said it at least three times," he said finally. "And he also used a few other words that were rather rude."
McGonagall was not happy. "Fifteen points from Slytherin, five for each time it was used. All of you boys will serve detention. Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, and Ms. Evans, come with me. You three go to your table at once. Mr. Snape, Mr. Pettigrew, go find the nurse and yourselves looked at immediately."
Peter glanced at Severus, then shook his head quickly. "It doesn't hurt," he lied. Much.
McGonagall was already walking away though, and after a moment's hesitation, James, Lily, and Sirius followed. Lily stayed in between the two boys though, and James was obviously still angry.
* * *
McGonagall took them to Dumbledore's office, and then left for her class. Dumbledore then made Sirius explain exactly how much he'd put in James's water, and then made him give up the bottle. Dumbledore gave a quick look over, and asked James if it had worked.
James paused for a moment, and the three students looked away from each other. "It worked," he said finally.
Dumbledore made a small noise and looked at Lily. "Ms. Evans. You then used a spell to lessen the effects?"
Lily looked worried. "I found it in a book I borrowed from the Restricted Section of the library, for a Potions essay. I didn't think there was a problem with me using it, am I going to be in trouble?"
Dumbledore shook his head, smiling kindly. "No, of course not. More along the opposite, in truth. That spell is an incredibly difficult spell, Ms. Evans. It is one that few people could ever master- much less while in their sixth year."
Lily was flustered. "I-I didn't know, I just..."
He took pity on her and smiled kindly. "Not to worry, Lily. This is quite an impressive event. I shall speak to Professor Flitwick about providing you with additional lessons."
Lily nodded, still a little flustered. "Yes, sir."
"Now," he said, sitting back in his chair. "Off to class with you. And Mr. Black?" Sirius looked at him. "It would be a wise idea for you to refrain from using such potions again.."
The threesome stood and filed out into the hall. James didn't wait for either of them, but took off towards class at once.
Sirius glanced at Lily uncertainly, and she gave him an impatient look, and indicated that he go after James.
But before that could happen, students filed out of the classrooms, talking excitedly.
Lily only caught part of the conversations.
"....Veritiserum?"
"...spiked the food..."
"...I'm not in love with you.... I'm in love with Steven." The girl who said that looked horrified, and her boyfriend not much better.
"You're really obnoxious when things don't go your way." And then the boy who'd said that got slapped.
Professor McGonagall hurried down the hall.
Dumbledore had come out of his office and was looking around curiously. Professor McGonagall met him while Lily was still within hearing distance. "Albus," she said unhappily. "They put the serum into something at breakfast. Every student in this school is speaking nothing but the truth."
"And what of the staff?" Dumbledore wondered, his eyes sparkling with amusement.
"We are as well."
"Oh my," Dumbledore said, chuckling.
"Professor!" a student called from down the hall. "What color are your knickers?"
Professor Dumbledore chuckled, answered, and cancelled classes for the rest of the day, until the serum had worn off.
James was not speaking to any of the Marauders.
Lily was on speaking terms with all of them, but the situation between her and James was uncomfortable. They avoided each other as much as possible.
Sirius, having debated long and hard about what to do to make things right, ended up walking up to James, dumping Veritserum in a cup, and drinking it.
And then living with the uncensored consequences.
Peter followed his example, but Remus decided that because of his situation, it would be a very bad idea.
James forgave them, but it was quite obvious that he wasn't totally enthusiastic about it.
* * *
While talk of who had done such a thing remained popular for a long time, and most had figured that the Marauders were at fault, most of it had faded out by the time Christmas came. Lily and James, while still not completely comfortable with each other, had gone back to hanging out- so long as they were in groups.
Sirius, Remus, and Peter felt guilty every time they noticed this, and began plotting for ways to hook them up. Sirius was not totally against a love potion, but Remus vetoed that idea before it even had a chance. Unless, of course, they still weren't together by Valentines Day.
And so, when Christmas break passed, and they were still not together, Sirius began shopping around for a good love potion.
Of course, then he thought of the Veritiserum incident, and decided that he'd buy enough to give some to the entire school. It would be funny, for certain.
He did not, of course, share that part of the plan with Remus, who he was certain would veto the plan immediately. He told Peter, and on February thirteenth, they snuck down to the kitchens and dumped it in the daily water supply, which provided water for the entire school. As soon as people brushed their teeth, they'd start falling in love.
Then they snuck into the Gryffindor Girls' room and slipped some of it in the glass of water Lily kept by her bed.
Of course, they didn't even notice that Lily was awake, so they had no idea that she would desire to seek revenge by returning the favor. And she told James, and they began to plot.
* * *
Sirius had no idea he'd been out-smarted. He whistled his way through his morning rituals, brushing his teeth, combing his hair, dressing, and then going down to breakfast with his three friends.
Lily was already there, and Sirius grinned in breathless anticipation. She already looked ready to swoon, and was staring across the table with her head tilted to the side.
Sirius and Peter grinned at each other and took their normal seats across from her.
Her eyes cleared suddenly and she began to stare at Sirius, a dreamy smile on her face. "Hi, Sirius," she sighed. "You look really, really, really good this morning."
The grin faded abruptly, and Sirius looked at Peter, then Remus, then James, who didn't seem to have heard.
Then, shocking him even more, she stood up on the bench, stepped up on the table and switched seats, sitting next to Sirius. Several people looked at them curiously, though Sirius didn't notice them. Lily grabbed his arm and put it around her shoulder. "I think I made a mistake," she said, leaning in close to his face. "I think I want to go out with you again. Will you marry me?"
Sirius scooted away from her, his eyes wide.
James was fighting a smile, and his hand covered his mouth as he watched it play out.
Lily didn't seem to notice. "Sirius? Sirius, oh I love your hair. And your eyes. And your smile. And your teeth. Sirius, will you? Will you please marry me? I swear we can have as many children as you want. Is eight enough? More? We'll have Sirius Junior, then Cassiopia, and then Andromeda, and Celaeno..."
Remus, who had been left in the dark, was watching in growing confusion, his mouth slightly open.
Sirius finally managed to get his mouth open. "L-Lily, what are you talking about?"
"Sirius," someone said, and he looked up. It was Christie. She was beaming at him. "I love you. Will you go out with me now?"
Sirius frowned now, and looked between the two girls, then at James, who he noticed was watching carefully. "Wait a minute. Did you do this to trick me?"
Remus suddenly bolted upright, understanding just as quickly. "You did the love potion, didn't you? Sirius, I told you that was a stupid idea!"
Peter was looking a little guilty, and Sirius glared at him. "You told James, didn't you?"
James smiled, and Peter looked a little uneasy.
Before Sirius could react, the rest of the Gryffindor girls came in and went directly towards him, all of them wearing the same expressions. Somewhat vacant, a little desperate, and all wearing dreamy smiles. "Sirius," one said. "I love you."
"Can I have your children?"
"Kiss me, Sirius!" One said.
"No! Don't kiss her!" Lily said. "Kiss me!" She jerked on his arm. "Sirius, please, kiss me."
Sirius looked rather upset now. "Lily, remember who you're talking to."
"I know who I'm talking to."
Another girl grabbed his other arm and began pulling.
Sirius, truly wondering what was going on, stumbled up and began backing away from them.
But the worst was yet to come.
"Sirius Black!" Professor McGonagall called from the Head Table. Professor Myter, who had to be eighty years old, beckoned him as well.
The male teachers all looked confused, but the females all looked very interested.
"He's mine!" the girl he didn't know was yelling, pulling on his arm again.
Lily had risen as well, and her eyes were blazing. "Mine! Sirius, say you'll marry me!"
Sirius shook her off and backed away again, this time bumping into the table behind him. "What did you do, James?" he demanded, looking frantically at him, then Remus and Peter, who were just as confused.
So were most of the guys in the school.
"What'd you do?" Frank Longbottom demanded.
Sirius suddenly realized that the girl who'd been attacking him was his girlfriend, of several months. "I don't know!" he said. "It was just supposed to make them fall in love with the first guy they heard after they took it."
James looked shocked. "You mean recording your voice and making sure every girl in the school could hear it probably caused this? Oh no, that's terrible. Now every girl in the school is in love with you, Sirius. And imagine how they'll feel tomorrow, when it wears off!"
He smiled cheerfully at Sirius.
"Sirius!" a Hufflepuff cried, then jumped across the table.
"Mr. Black," someone said, and Sirius saw Professor McGonagall standing behind him. She had what he supposed could be a sexy smile on her face.
Sirius did the only thing a guy could do at a time like this.
He ran.
* * *
Lily followed along half-heartedly while the rest of the girls in the school raced after Sirius. But she was looking more for James.
She found him looking out the window and laughing as Sirius climbed a tree to escape his fans.
She looked out the window with him for a while and then looked at James. He didn't notice for a few minutes, and then when he did, he looked at her curiously. "Do I have something on my face?" he asked, a little nervous because of the intensity of her gaze.
She shook her head. "No. I was just thinking. What are you doing on Friday night?"
His heart skipped a beat. "Not much, why?"
"Well," she said slowly. "I was looking for some company to sneak into Hogsmeade with. You up for it?"
He looked at her curiously, wondering exactly how she meant that invitation.
She noticed his confusion and smiled. "This should help explain things," she said, and leaned in and kissed him.
* * *
For weeks afterwards, it would be talked about. How Sirius Black had been treed by his adoring fans, and then had his face plastered over the front of the school paper.
Of course, it turned out that Lily had organized all of the females of the school to drink some of the potion, listen to a magical recording of Sirius, and then attack him with adoration, as he seemed to think everyone wanted to do anyway. The professors had been rather upset with Sirius's actions, especially when they had not been forewarned of what was coming, and while they still punished him with a week's worth of detentions, they decided he'd gotten what he deserved when he'd spent the night in the tree, and no points were deducted
An interesting development that occurred was that Lily and James did end up getting together, and were still going out regularly by the second to last week of school, the night of the June full moon.
Remus had sat down with Lily and the rest of the Marauders and they had finally told her about everything, including that Remus was a werewolf, and they were all Animagi. She was a little hurt because they hadn't told her before, but got over it quickly enough.
With the nights of the full moon one of the only exceptions, Lily and James spent as much time together as they could.
It was a Friday night, Lily and James were in the library, pretending to study while actually cuddling, in the farthest corner from the librarian. It was nearing nine thirty, the time when James would leave her to go join the Marauders on their moonlit maraudering, when Peter ran into the library, ignoring the look the librarian gave him, and ran to the corner he knew Lily and James preferred.
They were in the middle of a deep kiss when he reached them, and his panicked voice drew them apart. "Si-Sirius told Snape. About Remus. The Willow. Now."
James stood up immediately, pulling Lily to her feet. "Sirius told Snape about Remus?"
Peter wheezed. "He told him. To go down. The tunnel."
James took off running, and Lily and Peter followed behind, Peter at a much slower pace.
By the time they reached the grounds, Lily could see that the tree had already been frozen, and the tunnel was already open. She heard James yell something, but couldn't understand what he said.
Sirius was walking towards the tree from another direction, and he watched as James reached the Willow, just as the branches started to swing.
James ignored the branches and dove for the knot in the tree, then climbed down to the tunnel.
A loud roar came from somewhere deep within the tunnel, and Lily grabbed her wand, readying herself for anything.
Peter caught up with her, and began to pant even more, resting his hands on his knees and looking ready to keel over.
Minutes passed. It seemed like an eternity.
A dark figure emerged from the tunnel, followed almost immediately by another figure that Lily recognized as James. He rolled out of the way of the branches and hit the knot again to get the branches swinging and the tunnel to close up.
He was struck once by the branches, then fell to his knees on the grass, panting and trying to recover. Lily rushed to his side, kneeling by him. He sat up slowly, rubbing his head and slowly regaining his senses.
Severus was the other figure, and he was even paler than normal. He glared at Sirius, and it was impossible to judge who was angrier. "You knew he was like that," Severus hissed. "I could have been killed."
"We aren't that lucky," Sirius said coldly.
James climbed to his feet, limped over to Sirius, and punched him. Sirius stumbled back, his hand feeling the side of his face, where James had punched him. "What were you thinking?" he raged. "Do you have any idea what almost happened? He could have died! Remus could have killed him! Or bitten him? Do you ever stop to think about what might happen?"
Sirius stood up again, looking even angrier. "It's his own fault if he wants to get killed. He couldn't just let it be. He's been after Remus since day one, and I finally gave him to him."
James swung his fist again to hit him, but Sirius was ready and blocked it. He threw a punch of his own and caught James in the chin.
"You imbecile!" Severus hissed, standing himself. "He's a werewolf! He shouldn't be allowed at this school anyway!"
James turned and punched Severus, who fell to the ground. James glared at him, and of the three of them, he looked the most furious now. "Shut up, Snape. You don't know what you're talking about."
"He asked for it," Sirius said again.
James whirled around and tried to hit him again, but Sirius dove at him and knocked him down.
They fell in a flurry of fists, and Lily and Peter rushed over to pull them back. "Sirius! James! Stop it!" She jerked back on James' arm at the same time as he was about to block a punch from Sirius.
Sirius missed James and nailed Lily, who let out a cry of pain and stumbled back.
That stopped them both cold, and James glared at Sirius even as he went to Lily's side. She pushed him back. "That's enough," she said, her hand over her injured eye.
Severus sneered at her. "Perfect Lily Evans knew too? When this gets out, it'll bring all of you down then, won't it?"
Lily sent him an icy look. "Shut up, Severus. I don't want to hear another word from any of you." She looked at Peter, racking her brains for a solution, and finally found one. It did not please her, and she had no doubt that it would please the rest of them any more. "Go get Professor Dumbledore, Peter."
Sirius hissed. "Don't. It'll just cause more trouble."
"Oh, do," Severus sneered. "I want to hear what he thinks of all this."
"I told you both to shut up," Lily snapped. "Until you can behave like rational people, I mean it. Peter, get moving."
Peter was still hesitating though.
But for once in her life, Lily was happy to hear a familiar voice that she normally loathed.
"Well," the voice said. "What have we here?"
It was Filch.
* * *
Professor Dumbledore was more disappointed on that day than any of them could ever remember seeing. In the end, he sent Lily and Peter back to their rooms with a simple recommendation that next time they get a teacher first. He expressed his admiration over James' bravery, then suggested that he, too, find a teacher next time.
Because of the nature of the situation, he said, he would not be able to give him any points as reward. James did not seem to care. James had then been sent back.
Severus was informed that Remus' condition was known to the staff, and that, should word reach the rest of the students, he would be expelled, no matter how close to graduation he was.
He spent an hour talking with Sirius, and then assigned him two days suspension, and a month of discreet detentions. He was also expected to write a formal apology to Severus.
And perhaps worst of all, he would be the one to explain to Remus exactly what happened.
Upon returning to his normal state in the morning, Remus returned to the room rather uneasily. He knew from the shape of the room and vague memories that he'd spent a rough night, and was left to wonder why.
Sirius was awake when he got there, and explained in limited details what had happened.
But Remus got enough of the rest of the information from the stony look on James' face, the whiteness of Peter's, and the flatness of Sirius' voice to know that things were very bad.
It was the first time any of them had seen Remus so furious, and the first time he'd ever yelled at anyone for anything.
The three Marauders stopped speaking with Sirius, and the entire school noticed. Lily, while she didn't claim to understand or agree with Sirius' motives, continued to speak with him and attempted to smooth things between them.
But the end of the school year came before that could happen.
It was the most boring Leaving Feast there had been since the year before the Marauders had arrived, and the only one who enjoyed the lack of excitement was Severus Snape, who knew exactly why there was no action.
And he made sure to let Remus know it every chance he got.
It was the first time that there were no pranks pulled on anyone during the ceremony, and the first time that the Marauders were not the loudest group in the room.
The summer was the worst that any of them could remember, though it was especially bad for James.
Despite the comfort Lily could provide him, he still missed his best friend.
There was one person who had it worse though, and that was Sirius himself. By the time his seventeenth birthday had arrived at the beginning of July, he was completely miserable. He'd come to the conclusion that he'd screwed up early on, but it had been his pride that prevented him from apologizing.
But that had been then, and this was now, after a full month of not speaking to any of his best friends except Lily.
And she was a nice girl and all, but it was kind of hard to talk to her about anything, because she was James's girlfriend, and somehow her presence made Sirius miss James all that much more.
Miserable and bored, Sirius finally gave in.
On the fourth day of July, Sirius went over to see Remus.
They talked for several hours, but at the end of it, they were all right again, which made the burden Sirius felt lighten a little bit.
After that, Sirius went to see Peter, who was fine with him as long as the other two were fine with him. That only took an hour, though they spent a lot of that time talking about the incredible defeat of England's Quidditch team by the Irish.
Last, Sirius went to see James.
Mrs. Potter obviously had figured out that something was wrong, because not only was this the first time he'd shown up at their house (which was a two minute walk from his), it was also the first time in more than fifteen years that he hadn't just walked right in and gone up to find James.
She gave him a warm hug and informed him that she was glad to see him, and that she'd love it if he could stay for dinner. Then she told him that James was out back on the Quidditch pitch, and she'd call for him.
Sirius declined and went back to find him.
James was indeed on the pitch, buzzing around and throwing the Quaffle through the hoops with tired repetition. He looked bored out of his mind, and very tired. He threw the Quaffle through one of the hoops, then sped up to catch it again before throwing it once more.
Sirius remembered with some guilt that last night had been a full moon, and James and Peter had joined Remus for it. Remus had suggested he, Sirius, deal with James before he joined them again.
That was probably why he was so tired.
Sirius grabbed a broom from the closet and flew up to join James, who threw the Quaffle one more time before looking at him. "What are you doing here?" James asked somewhat crossly, flying down to the ground.
Sirius followed him and they landed as they'd done a hundred times before, and put their brooms back in the closet. "I came to apologize," he said simply. "I was a complete fool, and what I did was completely inexcusable. I thought about it a lot, and I figured out that I was really wrong."
James snorted, apparently agreeing. They walked back into the house and went down to the kitchens. Sirius marveled at how wonderful it felt after having gone so long without even seeing James, and now they were back in their same pattern. And he hadn't even finished apologizing yet!
James got a sandwich and chips from the House Elves and got Sirius's favorite as well.
They then walked back out to the patio. As they did, Sirius continued. "I talked to Remus and Pete already."
"So they said."
Sirius nodded a little, unsurprised to hear he already knew. "Look," he said, stopping James by putting a hand on his shoulder. James looked at him patiently. "You know I'm not good with apologies. I'm sorry, James. I'll do anything to make up for it, but I know there's not a whole lot I can do. This whole thing where you're not really speaking with me? It sucks. I haven't spent a summer this boring since the year you went off to your Grandma's house and were gone for two weeks. This is the worst summer of my life, and it's all my fault, and I want you to just forgive me so we can move on."
"You don't ask for much," James said, taking a seat at one of the tables on the patio.
Sirius sat across from him and considered this. "Not really."
They ate in silence for a moment, then James sighed. "You were incredibly stupid, Sirius. And far beyond what I thought possible. But fine, you're forgiven." Sirius relaxed.
"That's all I wanted to hear," he said.
"Well, you're going to hear more," James said flatly. "Remus is terrified that Severus'll slip to someone, even someone not in the school. He thinks word'll get passed along until everyone knows anyhow. Peter's terrified that now that Severus is forced to keep the secret, he's going to get beat up even more. I'm scared stiff that you're going to get mad at him again and tell him the rest of our secrets too. The Animagus thing being the most important, but there're other things too. Think about it, Sirius. We haven't exactly been good little boys while we've been at Hogwarts. You have to learn to control your temper before something really bad happens."
Sirius nodded grimly. "I know. I don't know how much Lily's told you, but she's been coming by a lot, when she's not busy with you. She already told me that's what you were angriest about."
James nodded. He'd known that.
"Are we good?" Sirius asked finally.
James studied Sirius for a long time. "I think so. Want to call Remus and Peter and play Quidditch?"
And they did.
* * *
The end of summer was quickly approaching, and James had gathered his friends and girlfriend to his house for a week to celebrate the end of their last completely enjoyable summer.
It was a lovely day already, and they had all just sat down to breakfast when the owls arrived with the mail.
Mr. Potter had his mail sent to his office, but there was still a lot of mail.
Mrs. Potter collected the junk mail and incinerated it, then began sorting it out. "Your school letters are here," she informed them. "Here you are," she said, handing them out.
"Five Galleons say Lily's Head Girl," Sirius said immediately.
"I've already got ten on her," James said. "And five on Murphy Warner for Head Boy."
Lily shot them both looks. "Christie's got Head Girl," she said, but she'd already noticed her letter was much heavier than normal, and her palms were already sweating a little.
They all exchanged amused looks and looked over at Lily, waiting patiently for her to open hers, which she did.
She let out a joyful cry and James grinned, grabbed her, and kissed her congratulations. The other boys offered their congratulations again and settled down once more.
Mrs. Potter chuckled a little when she saw Lily's expression. "Does it say who the Head Boy is? Murphy Warner's a nice boy. He deserves it too, after losing his parents like that."
James made a noncommittal sound and opened his letter. He frowned when he saw the badge drop out and onto his lap, then looked at it closer. He said a word which made his mother turn and prepare to scold him, but the sheer shock on his face made her keep quiet.
Lily's mouth dropped open a little when she looked at it. "You're Head Boy?"
Sirius, Remus, and Peter all looked at him and echoed her. "You're Head Boy?"
Sirius stood up and went over and lifted the badge, inspecting it. "No way," he said. "There's got to be a mistake. Is the letter addressed to you? Maybe they just mis-marked it."
Lily had already thought of that and was reading his letter. "'Dear Mr. Potter. Congratulations. You've been selected to fill the position of Head Boy this year. Please find your badge enclosed. You must arrive at Platform Nine and Three Quarters an hour before departure time in order to meet with the Head Girl and the other Prefects. See the attached list for necessary supplies. Congratulations again. Professor M. McGonagall.'"
Sirius just sat back on his chair, shaking his head in amazement.
Remus was trying very hard not to laugh, and Peter looked bewildered.
Lily did laugh then and hugged him. "Congratulations," she said happily.
James rested his head on the table, shaking his head a little. "I'm never going to live down the shame."
Next and Last Chapter should come out tomorrow!
Feedback Me: zettazofia@yahoo.com
Find out all about me: http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=154516