A/N: We both love reviews! So please give us lots! Thank you – and now, before KoolKitty gets too carried away, here's the next chapter!
*
A couple of minutes later, Lily was standing by herself in one of the many hallways of the Hogwarts castle. She had been kicked out of her own Common Room by her own friends, and had been sent in search of James. She had gone off on her own, after that, until she realized that she had never been to the Gryffindor Common Room, and therefore had no idea where it was. She had wandered around for a few minutes until she had to concede that she was well and truly lost.
"This is just great," Lily muttered to herself.
"And why is that?" came a voice behind her.
"Who's that?"
"Oh, has Little Miss Muffet lost her tuffet?" called the same mocking voice.
"If you don't show yourself, I swear I'm going to call Professor Dumbledore!" Lily shrieked.
"There's no reason to get angry, Little Miss Tiger Lily. I was only playing with you," said the creature, as he descended from his hiding place in the ceiling.
"Peeves, what are you doing here?" Lily said, groaning.
It was one thing to be lost; it was quite another to be lost with the most annoying poltergeist in the world hovering above you ready to make fun of you or get you into trouble – or both.
"I know something you don't know. I know something you don't know – ha!" he said, mocking her.
"Oh, really – and what might that be?" Lily asked sarcastically.
"I know all about you and that mystical cousin of yours!" Peeves squealed, bouncing about from one wall to the other.
"Who – James – oh, I say, you couldn't possibly know what Dumbledore's keeping secret, could you?" Lily asked, excitedly.
"Aye, I might, now, mightn't I? But I'm not going to tell you!" he cackled as he rolled away in the air.
"Oh, drat, Peeves, you're so awful! Can't you tell me? At least give me a hint…" Lily begged him.
"No, you're too mean!" he hissed.
"No, you're the one who's mean! But tell me, Peeves!" Lily said, exasperated.
"I'm not saying anything unless you are nice! If you give me that toffee in your pocket I'll say something," he said, giving her a sneaky side-glance.
Lily dived deep into her pocket and pulled out a half-eaten, melted caramel-chocolate. She wasn't quite sure how long it had been there, but she was happy to give it to Peeves in exchange for the secret.
"There – now tell me!" she shrieked.
"Something – ha – I told you if you give it to me I'll say something! Ha – now shoo – go away! Let me eat in peace!" he said, munching greedily on the moldy candy.
"Ooh, you're evil, Peeves! I absolutely hate you!" Lily yelled. "I'm telling the Bloody Baron on you!"
Peeves stopped in mid air. He tried to speak, but his teeth were stuck together with the caramel. He wrenched them apart so he could speak.
"Now, I didn't do anything to you! You're cruel, you are!" he whined.
"Oh, Bloody Baron…" Lily called.
With a crap like a whip, Peeves had disappeared into thin air, toffee and all.
"Well, that takes care of that," Lily said, wiping her chocolaty hands on her robes.
"Lily, is that you?"
"James, you sure have a knack for finding me whenever I'm looking for you!" Lily exclaimed, as she whirled around to find him standing there.
"Yes, well, I have my ways," he said, winking.
"I'm sure you do," Lily said, rolling her eyes.
"Anyway, I was wondering, there's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up, and the four of us are going. Would you guys like to come with us?" James asked.
"Us – with you – well, why not? I don't think they'll mind. To tell you the truth, I'm sure they'll look forward to it," Lily said shrugging.
"And you –" James started.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lily asked, smiling.
"Will you look forward to meeting up with us too?"
"I'll think about it," Lily said, grinning now.
"You're cruel, you know that?"
"It's a gift," Lily said, sighing. "Now, come on. I had to ask you something too, you know."
*
"Dani, did Davie ever say anything about Quidditch practice?" Mickey asked her sister as she stared out of the window.
Lily still hadn't come back from visiting James, and Lauren was working on her Care of Magical Creatures project. Dani and Mickey were just lazing around, reading, and talking.
"Um, I don't know. He might have said something – why?"
"Oh, I was just wondering, seeing that the rest of the team is out there!" Mickey yelled.
Dani jumped up as she said, "Oh shit, you're kidding me!"
"No, I'm not! Dan we have to run!"
"Where are you two off to?" Lauren asked.
"We're going to practice! We'll catch you later, okay? Bye Lauren – bye Lils!" they said together as they ran out of the Common Room.
"Well, that was a fast exit," Lily said, climbing in after they left.
"Lily, how'd it go? Did you find him?" Lauren asked, pushing her textbook away.
"Oh yeah, I found him, alright. Or rather, he found me, as usual. It's strange. If I'm ever looking for him, I don't find him. He finds me. It's really strange," Lily said, sitting down next to Lauren.
"Well, don't worry about it. Knowing them, they've probably invented some strange map or something that let's them know where everyone in the castle is or some such thing like that," Lauren said, hitting the nail on the head without even knowing it.
"What are you working on?"
"Care of Magical Creatures – I have absolutely no idea why I opted for it. Advanced Transfiguration is starting to sound pretty good, round about now. It's a pity it's too late to switch."
"Advanced Transfiguration…" Lily groaned.
"Sorry, Lils, not everyone hates it, you know," Lauren said, smiling.
"I know. Anyway, James wants the four of us to meet up with him next weekend. It's a Hogsmeade weekend, and he wants all eight of us to go together," Lily said excitedly.
"Oh, that would be awesome!" Lauren exclaimed, her eyes shining.
"Wouldn't it? I can't wait to hear what they say," Lily said, referring to the twins.
"That would be hilarious!"
"Where did they go, anyway?" Lily asked.
"They have Quidditch practice. From the looks of it, they didn't know about it, so they're probably running as fast as they can to meet up with the rest of their team before Davie notices that they're not there," Lauren said.
"Well, it's not the first time it's happened," Lily said.
"And it won't be the last."
"Yeah, probably not…" Lily trailed off.
She got up and went up to the window and looked out to the grounds. She sighed deeply not really seeing anything, but just thinking. She wasn't sure about what she was doing. She wasn't even sure what she was doing – or why it was making her uneasy.
"Lily, what's wrong? You've been acting kind of strange lately," Lauren said, walking up behind her.
"Lauren, honestly, ever since the beginning of the school year you've been telling me nothing else except that something's wrong with me. Just leave me alone. There's been too much happening in too short of a time. I need some time on my own to sort everything out. It all just doesn't make sense," Lily said, pushing her away and running off to their dorm.
"Lily, I'm only trying to help!" Lauren called after her.
But Lily didn't listen. Lauren sighed and turned back to her homework. It wasn't often that Lily had one of her moods, but when she did, it was best to leave her to her own devices. Lily could be pretty hot-tempered if she felt like it.
*
"So, the two Foyers twins decided to come to practice; did they?" teased Davie, the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team Captain.
"Put a sock in it, Wood," they said together. (A/N: Yes, Davie Wood is Oliver Wood's dad. The Wood family has a Quidditch Captain Legacy, okay?)
"Get on up there, already. It's no good practicing beating and chasing if there's no Seeker or Keeper," he said to them.
"Yes, mother," Mickey said, sighing.
"Oy, you there, if I hear another remark like that and I'll make you do laps on foot," he said, glaring.
"You sound like one of those Muggle coaches Lily was talking about," Dani said, grinning.
"You're pushing it," Davie said through gritted teeth.
"Come on, Dani."
Quidditch practice was usually uneventful. They never did anything new, though every now and again Davie would come up with what he thought was an unimaginably novel plan to win the Cup – which invariably didn't work. The Gryffindor team was unbeatable by all the other teams, except perhaps the Slytherins on a bad day. The team would have given up playing altogether if it hadn't been for their love of flying.
"Hey, Wood, when's the first match, anyway?" one of the Chasers called as he passed the Quaffle to Davie.
"In two months," he answered coolly, his American accent getting the better of him.
"Then why are we practicing already?" Mickey blurted out.
"Do you want to beat those redcoats or not?"
"Watch it, Callaghan. Just because you're not British doesn't mean we don't take offense," said a Beater, glaring.
"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that," he said apologetically.
(A/N: For those of you who don't get that, I'm referring to the whole thing with the British military – red coats – when they colonized America…)
"Sure you didn't – come on, we never know when our games are till the day before," Dani whined, tugging on his sleeve.
"Dani, I –"
"She's right, Davie. Come on, do us all a favor," Mickey said, smiling at him.
Mickey may have been a tomboy, not unlike her twin, but she had a certain charm which her sister lacked, and which was invaluable when trying to wheedle things out of the rest of their Quidditch team. Needless to say, the rest of the team was boys.
"Alright, what do you want me to do?" he said, rolling his eyes.
"Call off the practice," the Beaters said together.
"No, that wouldn't do any good," Dani said grinning evilly.
"Yeah, you need to do something really good," Mickey said, her eyes glinting.
"Why did I ever become Quidditch Captain?" Davie muttered to himself.
*
"Lily, are you in there?" Lauren asked cautiously, as she pushed the door to their dormitory open.
Lily was lying on her bed with the navy hangings of her four poster bed pulled tightly together. She shut her eyes and sighed deeply, pretending to be asleep. She tried nervously to cover up the wet patch on her pillow from her tears, but she was making too much noise and gave it up.
"Lily, are you asleep?"
What does she think? Honestly, I never knew my friends were such a bunch of idiots…
"Lily, we've got to go for lunch. Are you coming or not?"
She knows me too well. But not well enough to know that I'm definitely not coming.
"Lily, I don't know about you, but I'm going. Dani and Mickey came back about half-an-hour ago, but I haven't told them anything about Hogsmeade yet. I thought you might want to tell them what James planned," Lauren called.
Lily smiled to herself as she heard the twins respond to what they had been overhearing. They were listening intently to what Lauren had to say, no doubt.
"What about James and Hogsmeade?"
Will she ever learn that I'm not about to fall bait to a little bit of bribing? Can't she take a hint that I'm not coming?
"I'm going, Lily."
It's about time.
She heard the door close quietly. Lily let out a sigh of relief. She didn't like lying to her friends, but it could get annoying when they didn't know when to give her a break. For the last forty-five minutes, Lily had been speculating about everything that had happened in the last few weeks – ever since she had found out that James was her cousin.
Was he really her cousin? She didn't expect Dumbledore to lie to her, but it was always possible that he didn't know the truth, either, right? And was she doing the right thing by mixing with him and his friends? For the last four years, she had attended Hogwarts thinking that she was the only one with magical blood in her family. If James had been her cousin, surely his father would have known about her, right? Dumbledore would have certainly told them before. And they didn't look anything alike. And in order for her to truly be related to the Potters, her parents would have had to have had more siblings, and her mother had only had one sister, Aunt Stacy, and her father had been an only child. There was no way that she could possibly be related to them – unless…
Lily sat bolt upright on her bed, still staring at the hangings around her bed. Was it possible that she was James' sister, instead of his cousin?
No, of course not, that's insane. Your parents are dead, and James still has a dad and a mom – or, well, maybe a mom… he never talks about her… Oh, but what if we had the same mom, but different dads? That would explain a lot… His mom may be dead, after all – and so is mine. I've just lost my dad. That's the only difference. Oh, this is too confusing. There's got to be some way to figure this all out.
Lily pondered these thoughts for some more time. Eventually, she came to the conclusion that she might as well wait until she went to their house over the summer. If the truth didn't come out then, there probably was no truth to look for, anyway. At least, then she'd be able to find out whether or not James was the little boy in her dreams or not.
*
"So, what do you all want to do this weekend?" Remus asked.
The Marauders were sitting in their Common Room, lounging around, extremely bored, yet too tired to be anything more than just talk.
"Oh, sorry, did I not tell you all, yet? Well, I thought since there's a Hogsmeade weekend on Saturday, the four of us should go with Lily and her friends. You three don't mind, do you?" James asked slowly.
"No, it's fine with us. I just wish you'd let us know a little more in advance," Sirius said, shrugging.
"Sorry, I only just thought of it when I ran into her again today."
"You seem to be doing a lot of that."
"What?" James asked, confused.
"He means that you're running into her a lot. Trust Sirius to come up with a statement that random," Remus explained.
"What's your point?" James said, studying his friend.
"Nothing, I just made a random statement, like Moony said."
"Is there something you guys want to talk to me about?"
"No, Prongs, but is there anything you want to talk to us about?" Peter asked in his squeaky voice.
"Guys, what's going on?" James asked, getting up and looking around at them.
"Never mind, they're just being stupid," Remus said, looking sharply at Sirius.
"Is something wrong?" James asked again, quieter this time.
"Well, Prongs, it's like this…"
*
"Lauren, is that you?" Lily croaked as she heard the door to their dorm open once more.
Lily glanced at her watch. It was six in the afternoon, and she was hungry. She hadn't eaten since breakfast, and that had been nearly twelve hours ago.
"No, it's me – Dani," Dani said, as she walked in and pulled the hangings around Lily's bed apart. "Have you been crying?" she asked in disbelief.
"Of course, not – I just yawned. You know how your eyes water when you yawn – it's like that," Lily said quickly, wiping her eyes dry. "Um, do you think it's too late to get something to eat?"
"Yeah, but if you wait a couple more hours we can go down for dinner a bit early," she said, brushing Lily's hair out of her face.
"Yeah, I guess I'll have to wait. I say, Dani, when's Lauren's birthday?" Lily said suddenly.
"It's the first of October, but there are still a couple of weeks. Why – haven't you gotten her a present yet?"
"No, I haven't. I usually get them over the summer, but I didn't have any time last one. Petunia was actually home and Aunt Stacy insisted on having us all home together all of the time. That's why I couldn't come to your house, remember?"
"Well, you can get her present when we go to Hogsmeade, I guess," Dani said, shrugging.
Dani sat down next to Lily. They looked straight ahead, not speaking for a while. Then, Lily decided that she might as well tell her friends everything that was bothering her.
"Dani, are you sure I'm doing the right thing?" Lily asked quietly.
"I don't know, Lily. I don't know. You'll have to figure that out by yourself. Come on, let's go," Dani said, putting her arm around Lily's shoulders.
*
"James, wake up, James – look outside! It's snowing!" Sirius called excitedly.
"Padfoot, it's three in the morning…" James groaned, as he rolled over in his bed to look at his best friend.
Many weeks had passed by since the day when Dumbledore had made the plans for Lily to go to the Potters' over the summer. Winter was steadily approaching, and by the looks of it, the Hogwarts students were ready for their first taste of winter that year.
"So what – early to bed early to rise – it's your own fault that you stayed up so late to play Exploding Snap with Remus!" Sirius scolded.
"I never thought I'd see the day when Sirius Black lectured me about good behavior…" James muttered.
"I heard that," he replied, grinning.
"Yeah, whatever – now, what's this you said about snow?" James asked, getting up and walking over to the window in his boxers.
"You're such a big baby," Sirius teased when he saw James' face light up with a big cheery smile.
"Shut up. You're the one who woke up to see the snow, not me."
"Come on, let's go outside and have some fun," Sirius suggested.
He ran out of the dorm before James could stop him, and so James had no choice but to follow him out. In a couple of minutes, they were both outside of the castle, making snowballs and indulging in their enjoyment.
"You know," James started, as he gasped for breath in the thin, cold, air. "If anyone looks outside and sees two Gryffindor prefects playing in the snow before we're even supposed to be awake, they're probably going to think the whole House is nothing but a bunch of loonies."
"James, have you ever considered the fact that we are a bunch of loonies?" Sirius asked, trying hard to keep from laughing.
James answered him by throwing a clump of snow into his face. Thus, they continued their fight. What they didn't know, however, was that people were doing exactly what they had feared, fifty feet above them.
"Lily, look at this," Mickey whispered.
"Mickey, I understand that you often have the urgent need to dispose of certain biological wastes in the middle of the night, but can you please refrain from disturbing me every time you do so?" Lily shrieked, pummeling Mickey with a pillow.
"Lily, we've been through the pillow thing already. Now come here. I want to show you something…"
Lily sighed and reckoned that she might as well see what Mickey was on about. She was not about to be able to go back to sleep now anyway. She walked up to the window where Mickey was standing and in an instant she burst out laughing.
"So, I'm guessing those two black-haired idiots are James and Sirius?" Mickey asked, grinning.
"Who else do you think would act like that? Of course, it's them!" Lily said, practically rolling on the floor laughing.
"What's the racket for?" Lauren asked groggily as she sat up and rubbed her eyes, looking in their direction.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize I was disturbing your beauty sleep," Lily smirked.
"Lily, honestly, what is wrong with you?"
"Nothing, I just felt like saying that," Lily said, smiling at her, removing all of Lauren's unease.
"Now, will you two please go back to bed?" Lauren asked them.
"Well, Dani didn't wake up," Mickey said, shrugging.
"You know what Dani's like when it comes to sleep! Now please, calm down and go back to sleep!"
"No, we'll do better than that," Lily said, winking at Mickey, who caught on quickly.
"Yeah, we're going to snow fight too!"
The two girls ran out of their dorm, much the way that James and Sirius had earlier. Thankfully, they had had enough sense to dress warmly beforehand, unlike the two boys who had run out with only pajamas. (A/N: At least, they hadn't gone out in their boxers! Hehe, I have a perverse mind, sorry…)
"Grr…" Lauren groaned as she fell back and hit the pillow with her head making a soft 'thump'. "Teenagers…" she muttered to herself.
*
"Well, Sirius, would you look at what the dogs dragged out," James said, stopping to watch Lily and Dani walk out towards them.
Lily was carefully walking through the snow, trying hard not to get too wet, whereas Dani was very unladylike as she ran through the snow, tripping a couple of times in her attempt to reach them first.
"I thought the saying was look at what the cat dragged in?" Lily said, as she dodged a snowball that Sirius had flung her way.
James shrugged as he went back to playing with the snow. Lily and Dani exchanged glances and ran off a few feet away from them, where they began to play their own snow games. (A/N: Strange – have you ever heard of snow games before? I haven't…)
"What are you two doing?" Sirius asked after a while of watching them and dodging James' snowballs at the same time.
"We're making a snowman!" they said together cheerfully.
"You two are acting like first years!" James exclaimed.
"Oh really, and what about you – you don't think snow ball fights are childish?" Lily asked, glaring with her hands on her hips.
"Of course not, they're highly intuitive and they require a certain amount of strategic logic in order to participate," Sirius said, backing up his best friend.
Lily and Dani exchanged glances once more. Lily winked and Dani nodded. Then, while Dani went back to working with their snowman, Lily refuted in their own defense.
"I don't know about logic, but you certainly need some amount of knowledge of Physical science in order to know exactly how to balance giant snowballs on top of one another such that they won't collapse or roll away. I doubt either of you could do that!" she argued.
"Well, be as that may –" James began, but Dani cut him off.
"Lily, can you help me a little over here?" she asked, her eyes shining.
"Sure, you take that side…" Lily muttered.
James and Sirius watched amusedly as they both pulled out their wands and muttered a quick spell. They had no idea what the girls were doing, but as soon as they found the mound of snow floating towards them, they decided that it would probably be smart to run.
"James, run – I said run!"
"What the –"
"Lily, make it follow them! Charm it; we can't use a Banishing Charm for that long!" Dani said, supporting her aching arm.
"I'll try…" Lily muttered.
She racked her brains for an incantation to make it follow them. As soon as she remembered it, she whispered it and watched as a thin pink beam of light shot out of her wand and hit the snowball. She then pointed her wands at James and Sirius and muttered a different one, and a blue beam shot out. She grinned to herself as she saw the mound of snow fly after them, making them run around like madmen.
"Lily, remind me again why you became a prefect?"
"Shut up. I got good grades. That's why. There's nothing else to it. You don't be a prat and tell on me, though, okay?" Lily said, suddenly slightly worried.
"Jeez, Lily, what do you take me for – a tattle tale?" Dani groaned.
"Well, you never know…"
*
"Stop prodding me, Dani!" Mickey groaned as she slumped in her seat at the Ravenclaw table.
"Well, it's not my fault if you fall asleep in your porridge!" Dani exclaimed as she looked away.
"Well, it's not my fault I didn't get enough sleep last night," Mickey argued back.
"Yes, it is. I didn't make you go out and bewitch snowballs to chase boys around the castle grounds."
"But I didn't make me do it either."
"Put a sock in it, you two. You're not getting anywhere with that argument, so you might as well give up on it," Lauren said wisely.
The twins glared at each other. Then, they turned to glare at Lauren and stick their tongues out at her. They made Lily feel as though she was seeing double, having the two look-alikes both move and talk in synchronization. She laughed at them.
"What?" they said together again.
"Nothing, it's just funny to see both of you moving and speaking at the same time," Lily said, smiling at them.
"Well –" they both began again, but they were cut off by the sudden arrival of the owls.
Lily looked up and smiled again. She had seen this happen nearly everyday of the last four years, but she still enjoyed watching all of the owls soar through the air, just a few feet above their heads, looking around for the addressee of the packages or letters in their clutches. Lily didn't have an owl for she rarely got letters from anyone else except for Lauren and the twins, and they had their own owls. Yet, this morning, to her surprise, she saw an owl, with plumage so dark it was nearly black, soar towards her. It dropped a small note beside her plate. She looked at it for a moment; it took her a while to register that she had actually been sent a letter. Then, shaking herself back into reality, she picked it up and read it quickly. She let a smile appear on her face.
"What is it?" Lauren asked, seeing that Lily was happy about something.
"It's James. Apparently, his father, my – my uncle, wants to know if I would like to go to their house for the winter, too," Lily said, grinning.
"And what are you going to say back?" Dani asked.
"I don't know. I'll have to ask Aunt Stacy."
"Oh, honestly, Lily, she'll say yes," Mickey said exasperatedly.
"But, she thinks that –"
"Really, Lily, do you always have to listen to what she thinks? You said yourself last year that you wanted to make your own decisions for a change!" Lauren said, rolling her eyes.
"You're fifteen-years-old, Lily. You can decide for yourself. You don't have to ask her!" Dani said.
"Lily, think on your own. Don't make others do it for you," Mickey said softly.
Lily looked at the three of them, slightly confused. Had something been going on with them, unknown to her? Why were they all like this today?
"I – oh, alright, I'll write her and say that I won't be coming home for Christmas. I won't tell her why, though. She might not like it. I'll just say that I wanted to – that I wanted to spend time with some – friends," Lily said, shrugging.
"Well, you might want to tell James, too, you know," Mickey said, smiling and pointing at James' owl, which was still there, obviously waiting for her response.
Lily smiled and pulled the note towards her once more. She flipped it over and on the back wrote one word in her neat print, "Yes." She handed it back to the owl, which took it in his beak and soared off with it, back to the Gryffindor table. Lily followed it along with her eyes to see it drop it into James' hands. He glanced at it and looked up, catching her looking at him. They smiled.
"Lily, I don't understand you, sometimes."
"Shut it, you," Lily said, turning around to face them again.
She poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice and grabbed Lauren's copy of the Daily Prophet from her hands and read it, a smile just barely noticeable on her face.
*
"Now, just because I'm not going to be here or at home for Christmas doesn't mean you're going to get away with not getting my a present!"
It was the last day of school before the Christmas vacation. Lily had finished packing her trunk and was sitting on it in an attempt to make it shut. She let out a shriek just as it shut with a bang.
"Well, just because you're going to be enjoying yourself with your cousin doesn't mean you can forget about us!" Lauren said, pulling her into a tight hug.
"Lauren, I – can't – breathe…" Lily gasped.
"Sorry, well, Happy Christmas, Lily – and don't forget to tell us about James and his dad and whatnot when you come back, okay?" (A/N: Hmm… I think I've started to say the word 'whatnot' a lot lately… and in case you're wondering, yes, it's one word.)
"Bye, Lauren – Dani – Mickey!" she said as she ran out of the dorm.
*
"Ready to go, Lily?" James asked, smiling.
"Yep, oh, no, hang on a second…" Lily muttered as she turned around and rummaged through her book bag.
She pulled out a book and a pencil, sighed with relief and put it back in there. She looked back at him, grinned, and said she was ready.
"Okay, then…"
*
(A/N: Sorry these scenes are so short, but I didn't want to go into too much detail and make you guys all bored. I apologize if it got kind of confusing or a little awkward.)
"Dad, we're over here!" James called as he waved to a tall man just entering the King's Cross Station.
As he turned to smile at them, Lily felt a strange familiarity, a connection or a bond, with this man. James was like a carbon copy of him. Possibly, the only difference between the two was their eyes and their voices. Mr. Potter had a deep, warm, fatherly voice, while James' was more playful and mischievous. But either way, they both made her feel strangely comfortable around them.
"It's good to see you again, Lils," Mr. Potter said, smiling at her.
Lils – how did he know that was her nickname? But Lily couldn't dwell on that for long. Mr. Potter was too – nice. Lily smiled up at him as he took her trunk and led them to their car. James sat in the front seat, next to his dad, and Lily sat in the back. In five minutes, they were at the Potter's manor.
"Wow, it didn't look nearly as big in my dreams…" Lily said in a soft but audible whisper.
"What's that, Lily?" Mr. Potter said sharply.
"Oh, nothing, I just said, well, I've never looked at a house nearly as big as this one," Lily said, giving him a watery smile.
Mr. Potter looked at her through the rear-view mirror with an expression that neither James nor Lily could read. When he turned away Lily felt relieved. She didn't want anyone to know about her dreams and her worries except for James. Even now, she wasn't sure if she should have told even him in the first place.
"James, you and Lily can go ahead and go inside. I'll get your stuff, okay?" Mr. Potter said jovially as he parked the car in the driveway and got out.
"Sure thing, Dad – um, Lily, follow me," James said as he got out of the front seat too.
Lily tried to get out too, but it seemed as though there was something wrong with the door. She jerked the handle back and forth, but it didn't seem to be doing anything. She locked and unlocked the door again and again, but it just didn't seem to work. James looked back, and seeing that she was stuck, went and opened her door from the outside.
"Hey, how'd you do that?" Lily said, confused.
"My dad put a Charm on it ages ago so that I wouldn't be able to open the door from the inside when I was really little, but he hasn't taken it off yet since now I just sit in the front with him. He's kind of forgetful when it comes to things like that, and I don't know enough magic to be able to take it off myself," James said shrugging.
"Oh, you mean like a child lock? Jeez, I should have thought of that," Lily said, hitting herself on the head as she got up and shut the door with a bang.
"A child lock – since when did people lock children in cars?" James asked, confused.
"It's a thing on Muggle cars. It's basically the same thing your dad did except that you just have to flick a switch on the door," Lily explained.
"Oh, okay – um, well, let's go then, shall we?" James said.
The two plodded up the grassy hill to James' house. It was certainly a lot bigger than Aunt Stacy's house. She smiled at the thought of having a rich cousin. She knew she shouldn't think like that, but she couldn't help it. They walked inside, and almost immediately, Lily heard a shrill squeal coming from inside.
"Oh, James, you're back! How nice, and I – well, I never…" said a short squat little old lady.
"Lily, this is Flo – our – that is to say, my –"
"Oh, to put it simply, I'm the Potters' housekeeper. Oh, Lily, you've grown so much! Last I saw you, you were just that high!" she squealed, waving her hand at knee-height.
She went up to Lily and wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug. James, Lily, and Mr. Potter who had just walked in, were all surprised to see that there were tears in her eyes.
"Lily, I'll show you your room, okay?" James said, stopping his housekeeper from nearly suffocating Lily.
"Um, sure, okay – let's go."
The two walked up the grand staircase to the next floor. There was a long corridor and four rooms on either side. The walls were painted soft creamy beige color. The ceiling was high and every five feet, there was an enormous skylight, letting the sunlight in. It was a large, cheery house, yet Lily felt as though something was missing. She pondered it for a while, and then it hit her.
"You know, James, you never talk about your mother," Lily said, looking at him.
"That's because I never knew her."
"You – oh, I'm sorry – I didn't know…" Lily said, ashamed of her curiosity.
"It's alright. Now, you do. I would have had to tell you sometime, anyway. I just thought you knew – I mean, either my mom or my dad would have had either your mom or dad as a sibling – so I just reckoned that your parents probably knew about it – or your aunt and uncle rather…"
"It's kind of awkward, isn't it?" Lily said after a moment's silence.
"I guess so. But then, there's Flo – and I've got the best friends a guy could have. And it's not as though she – left – half way through. She died just a couple of weeks after I was born," James said. It was with a softer and more saddened tone that he said, "People say there was a curse on her. I've asked Dad millions of times to tell me about it, but he says that the less importance I give to it the better off I'll be. I'm still not quite sure what he was talking about, though. And I haven't bothered to figure it out either."
"Curses – but – don't curses that affect a person's life – carry on through the family?" Lily said slowly.
James just shrugged. He didn't know any more about the history of the curse than Lily did, and he wasn't in the moon to dig up his mother's past. He knew barely anything about her, and he felt like keeping it that way. He was too worried about his present and future to bother with the past.
"Anyway, this'll be your room," James said, opening a door.
Lily's eyes widened as she looked into the room with awe. Unlike the rest of the house, this room had been painted with lime green and orange. The carpet was a deep maroon. All of the furniture was white-painted oak, and the accessories were all orange and pink. There seemed to be a sort of glow coming from the room, as though the brightness of all of the different colors were giving off their own light.
"Oh, is this – was this –"
"It used to be my mum's room. My dad always said that she insisted on sleeping in another room because he snored so loud. He still does, as a matter of fact."
"I'm guessing your mom liked orange," Lily said, smiling.
"Yeah, and red – and green," James added.
"Don't forget pink," said a voice behind them.
"Dad, jeez, you scared the crap out of me. Don't do that!" James said whirling around.
"Here's your trunk Lily. And here's yours, James. You both have a nice time," he said, smiling. Turning to James and putting on a serious tone in place of his sweet, jovial one he said, "I've got to get down to the Ministry. I might be a while. Don't worry if I'm not back before dinner. You know how it is nowadays."
"But Dad –"
"James, I can't argue with Crouch. He's doing everything he can to get to being Head of the Department. I can't let him down now."
"Okay, just – well, come back as soon as you can, okay?" James said, sighing.
Mr. Potter nodded and Apparated out of the house in a flash. James sighed again. Lily looked from James to where his dad had been standing and back. They're really close, she thought. I wish I could have a relationship like that with Aunt Stacy or Petunia. But that's impossible.
"Anyway, what do you want to do?" James said, turning around to face Lily.
"Let's talk," she said, smiling at him.
"Talk – are you sure about that?" James asked unsurely.
*
It was Christmas morning. There was a sheer layer of ice on the window panes, and the lawn around the Potters' house was covered in three inches of snow. The world was shining white and the sunlight was filtering through the thin fog and making the snow and frost sparkle like a cluster of stars on the green grass.
Everyone in the house was still asleep, but in a few minutes, James stirred awake. His first thought was that it was Christmas. And then, he bounded off of his bed and tiptoed into his father's room. He had gotten Lily a Christmas present after she had told him that in her family they rarely exchanged presents. Apparently, the only Christmas presents she got were from Lauren, Dani, Mickey, and a certain Hufflepuff sixth year who had his eye on her. It was common knowledge to the Marauders and Lily's friends that she liked him too, but she refused to admit it. James thought back to the last prefect meeting with a grin on his face.
*flashback*
"Well, I do believe that is all that was on my agenda. You may leave, now," Professor Dumbledore said with a wave of his hand.
"Professor, I do believe we should inform them of the Halloween celebrations…" whispered Professor McGonagall.
"Ah, of course, please, take your seats once more. The Head Boy and Girl had advised that we do something different and more interesting this year, rather than the ordinary mundane feast," he told them.
"They said that we should have a sort of masquerade, if you know what I mean," put in Professor Shingling, the Defense professor.
"Oh, that would be awesome!" James shouted out, his eyes glinting.
Lily slapped him on the arm and shook her head at him. He flushed pink and stared at his feet for the rest of the meeting. Lily muffled a giggle and then fixed her eyes on Professor Dumbledore once more.
"I will be partnering you up; merely because we have observed that the prefects tend to work better together when in partners rather than on their own or in large groups. Professor Sinistra suggested that we make inter-house partners, in order to establish better inter-house relationships. The partners are as follows:" Dumbledore announced.
He adjusted his half-moon spectacles and pulled out a sheet of parchment. He glanced down the paper and then read it out loud.
"Mr. Wood and Mr. Potter; Miss Evans and Mr. Carlton; Miss Pennyfeather and Mr. Marlow…"
Lily sat up straight. Mr. Carlton – did he mean Jeremy Sid Carlton, the sixth year? Lily's eyes had a dreamy look in them. James noticed this as he looked up at her to see what had happened and had to look back down to keep from laughing. She was in her own world. Suddenly, she became rapt with attention as she looked around the room for her 'partner.' James didn't admit it, but he would have liked to work with Lily. Instead, he was stuck with Davie Wood.
Lily caught his eye and grinned. He was easily the best-looking guy in the school. His hair was a kind of dirty blonde, like dark brown hair dyed to look lighter. His eyes were a bluish green and made any girl's heart flutter. He was tall, too – more than six feet; Lily didn't know exactly. And, to top it all off, he was Australian, with a thick Aussie accent that made Lily's heart melt. She sighed and smiled to herself. His name was Jeremy, but everyone called him Jem – or Sid, after his middle name. And, of course, the Slytherins just called him Carlton or the 'little pretty-boy'.
You have a meeting with the Sex-God, Lily heard Dani's voice ring in her ears. She grinned to herself again. Things were going good – at the moment.
*end of flashback*
James reached for the bottom drawer of his father's bedside table. He knew his dad never put anything in it. It was just there to add to the décor. He eased it open quietly and thrust his hand into the blackness inside. He rummaged about and felt something thin, like a piece of paper. He pulled it out slowly, glancing every now and then at his sleeping father. And out came – an envelope.
James opened it slowly and pulled out the letter inside. James' heart pumped hard as he unfolded it. He read it slowly, not daring to believe what it held in its contents.
Dear Mr. Potter,
It is my grave duty to tell you that Miss Liliane Evans, who has been posing as your daughter, must now move back with the remaining members of her family, that is to say, her mother's sister and brother-in-law. If you remember, Lily's own sister was sent to live there at the time of the tragedy when Lily's own parents were murdered by Lord Voldemort.
I am extremely sorry if I have caused you any emotional distress, but I believe that this move shall be for the best. I do hope you will understand. It is essential that both Lily and James, your son, forget about whatever acquaintances they had as such young children. If Lord Voldemort were ever to track Lily or James down, it will only put the three of you in deeper danger. They must never know that they were hiding in your house.
If ever it is required that Lily must hide once more, I will send her to your home again. If they meet at Hogwarts, I will strive to think of a story to put them off their guard. It will be harder for Voldemort to track Lily down if it is said that this girl has a brother – or a cousin. It is believed that her entire family, except for her aunt and uncle, has been murdered. Once again, I must apologize for any disturbances or inconveniences I may have caused.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
James looked in shock. So he wasn't Lily's cousin after all. And Lily had pretended to be his sister? And his dad knew all about everything and hadn't mentioned anything? James shook his head and shut his eyes. He sighed deeply and opened his eyes once more. He caught sight of another letter, and picked it up to read it again.
Dear Mr. Potter,
I told you in my last letter, about eleven years ago, that if ever I found Lily's life to be in danger once more, I would send her to you. That time is now upon us. I must request you to take her in once more. She has, for the last eleven years, posed under the name of Elizabeth Locker, and if need be, she will be forced to use that name once more. James and Lily believe themselves to be cousins, and by no means should they find out the truth about their relationships. It could spell disaster for both your family and hers, for numerous reasons. I do not wish to bring you trouble, but I must emphasize that your wife, Melissa, and the curse that was upon her, may interfere greatly in their future if they find out the truth.
Lily will be sent to you over the summer break. If either James or Lily wishes, they may go over Christmas as well. I request that any memories that come to either of their minds be confirmed by saying that they met frequently in their childhood. I understand that you may not agree with my assertions or actions, but if you have any better ideas I concede that I will be glad to accept them. But for now, this is the only way.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
James slowly slipped the letters back into the envelope, which he put back in its place. He flinched as he heard his father groan and roll over. Luckily, he was still asleep. James rummaged about in the drawer until he found Lily's present. He picked it up, closed the drawer, and walked silently out of the room. He closed the door quietly.
*
A/N: Okay, now, be happy! It's a twenty-five page chapter, so it's worth the time it took to write it, right? Well, if you have any problems with the weirdness, which a lot of you probably do, just review and tell us, okay? And if you absolutely love it (yeah, right…) review and tell us, anyway, okay? See ya!