Chapter 6: One-on-One and...What?

James stumbled into the Great Hall rubbing his eyes. Setting his glasses on the bridge of his nose, he slid quietly into his seat and began to help himself to breakfast. The other teachers murmured their greetings. Lily looked up from reading her copy of the Daily Prophet and greeted him in a rather friendly fashion. James nodded and cheerily returned the civility.

The echoes of dropped silverware could be heard from all the way across the hall as the professors froze and stared at the married couple with wide eyes. Dumbledore nearly choked on his pumpkin juice, and his eyes crinkled in laughter. Professor Sprout rolled off her chair in shock, while Snape, who had been chewing a mouthful of eggs, spat the whole thing rudely across the table. The students closest to the table didn't know what was going on, but one of them got sprayed with Snape's eggs, which started a widespread laughing fit going amongst the students, punctuated by shrieks of disgust. The commotion eventually died down, but not before Lily and James exchanged an amused look.

Dumbledore stood halfway through breakfast and cleared his throat loudly. Almost immediately, the hall quieted and everyone directed his or her attention to the headmaster.

"As you know, we will be having our traditional Halloween feast on the 31st," began Dumbledore, gazing about the room. "However, as a way of lightening the atmosphere after the Death Eater attacks recently, the staff and head students have agreed to arrange a Halloween ball." He was interrupted by students murmuring; several girls let out delighted exclamations. "The ball is to be formal; dress robes are encouraged. Also, instead of its being only third or fourth years and above, we have decided to extend this ball to all years—but only if everyone is on their best behaviour." Dumbledore sat down and returned calmly to his breakfast as the occupants of the Great Hall broke out into excited chatter.

Lily and James exchanged similar bright looks, turning to one another while surreptitiously sending glances at Snape.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Prongs?" Lily stage-whispered, eyes twinkling.

"I don't know, Tiger, what are you thinking?" winked James. "If you're thinking along the lines of 'perfect time to carry off Project: Play with Greasy Git' then I'd say great minds think alike."

"Great minds think alike," Lily grinned.

The two of them spent the rest of breakfast with their heads leaned close together over their plates, whispering madly. The other professors stared at them quite openly with shocked expressions, but neither of them seemed to notice, as they were wholly absorbed in planning. By the time breakfast ended, they both had patented wickedly thoughtful looks on their faces.

"What are those two up to now?" asked Professor Sprout, voice quavering in apprehension. As a fairly new professor at Hogwarts, Sprout hadn't been around to suffer the brunt of the Marauders' pranks. She had, however, heard stories about past antics that struck fear in her heart—she hoped she would never have to deal with similar incidences in her career.

"Nothing good," Dumbledore twinkled, disappearing down a corridor chuckling merrily. Sprout looked after the headmaster's retreating figure with furrowed brow. Then she shrugged and continued toward the greenhouses.

Classes progressed as usual; Quidditch team practice had begun, and James became advisor to the Gryffindor team, his obsession with the sport obvious. He seemed to bond particularly well with their captain, a seventh year named Wood, whose older brother was currently employed by Puddlemere United as a reserve keeper. The two of them could be seen often, wandering about the castle and the pitch, talking in low, intense voices and sending furtive glares at anyone who dared venture their way with the intent of disrupting their Quidditch discussions. When not with Wood, James could be found supervising team practice, sitting in the stands with exam parchments half-graded as he watched the players fly. Other than that, James spent an excessive amount of time in his room—or at least, that's what everyone assumed, as they didn't see him around the castle.

Lily, meanwhile, spent a good deal of her time concentrating on her classes. She soon became a confidant to many of the students, and spent most of the time she had outside her classes counseling or just having fun with them. She did, however, spend much of her time in her room, and as Halloween approached, she became something of a recluse.

The marked civility between Professors Potter and Evans did not go unnoticed by the rest of the Hogwarts population. In fact, the first time the two of them walked down a hall and greeted each other amicably, at least five students froze and managed to drop their belongings all over the floor. It caused quite a stir, as parchment flew everywhere and two full inkbottles broke. It didn't take long to repair the damages, but thereafter students veered well away from the two professors in the corridors, not wanting to witness this frightening turn of events.

It was a cool evening in mid-October when Lily went outside to find James, who, she'd been told, was out at the Quidditch Pitch watching Gryffindor practice. Dumbledore was calling another meeting for the Order of the Phoenix later that night, and had asked Lily to let James know. Lily wondered to herself, as she stepped carefully through the damp grass, just how much Dumbledore knew about her and James's plans about Snape. It seemed he was well aware that they were united over some plan or incident which was causing the improvement in their relationship—but who knew what details Dumbledore had worked out about said plan?

Lily was distracted from her thoughts by the shouts of students, and looked up to see that she had arrived at the Pitch. The waxing moon was rising in the sky, shedding light over the field as the players flew above. She headed over to the benches, where James was standing with his hands on his hips, watching. He didn't acknowledge her presence when she reached him, and she made no attempt to announce her arrival, merely turning to gaze at the players herself.

She watched as the chasers passed the quaffle over great lengths, flying in an intricate pattern to avoid the bludgers, which were being kept at bay by the beaters. Automatically, her eyes sought out the seeker, who was hovering above the other players, eyes darting around the area, searching for a golden flutter of wings. She turned slightly and watched James watch the Chasers—of course he would be watching them, she reflected, as that had been his old position at school. Lily remembered when he had received the offers to join various teams at the end of their seventh year, and the difficulty he had turning them down when he finally decided that being an Auror was what he really wanted. She returned to gazing at the seeker, then began searching for the snitch; she suddenly noticed it hovering just a few feet above the ground in a rather darkened area on the other side of the pitch. Her eyes widened, and she had to clamp her hand over her mouth to resist yelling advice at the seeker, who hadn't noticed it yet.

James was fully immersed in the Quidditch practice when he realized that he wasn't alone. He shifted slightly so that he could see who it was out of the corner of his eye, and on seeing the moonlight reflect off a flash of red, knew it was Lily who was standing beside him. Relaxing in her presence, he returned his attention to the game for the time being. Watching the Gryffindor Chasers was to him something of a mixture between joy, pride, and sadness—and a little regret, actually, thinking of his old days on the team at Hogwarts, and what he was missing by not playing professionally.

Deep down inside, though, he knew he'd made the right choice—some could cast their cares aside and play Quidditch in the dark times, and James could and would probably have done it himself if his parents hadn't been killed. He could still remember the day when Dumbledore told him the news, and shuddered to think of what he would have become if he hadn't had his friends by his side. After that had happened, he'd found that while he could always superficially entertain the idea of joining Puddlemere or Wimbourne, there was really no way he could play Quidditch on a clear conscience, while knowing that he could actually be out having a different impact on the world. He didn't want to be known, after the dark times were over or after he died, as just another great Quidditch player; he wanted to make an active difference in the fight for the return of safety and banishment of the Dark Order.

Sighing inaudibly, he turned his attention back to Lily, who was standing quite still beside him. She had a hand clapped over her mouth and her eyes were wide, fixed on some point on the pitch. He followed her line of vision and nearly gasped when he saw the snitch. Turning toward the seeker, James realized that the seeker must have seen it the same moment he had, and had begun to dive. The other players seemed to pause as the seeker hugged the broom closely, reached out his hands, and caught the snitch gently as he turned his broom upwards in one fluid motion to avoid hitting the ground. The catching of the snitch signaled the end of practice, and James nodded to the players and slapped Wood on the back before turning to Lily with a questioning look.

Lily was smiling, glancing up at James merrily. "Living vicariously through the Chasers, eh?"

James smiled back. "Nah, I was better than they are." At this, Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?" she challenged. She indicated the broom shed with a slight tilt of the head.

Without another word, they both retrieved school brooms and took out the quaffle. They also released the snitch. This was a game that Sirius had devised back in brilliant seventh year boredom; a sort of one-on-one with quaffle and snitch. It had initially included a bludger, but that had gotten a little too dangerous for only two people to play.

James had a distinct advantage, of course. After all, he had been on the House team. Lily had never really shown interest in participating in Quidditch, other than going to the games sporting Gryffindor colors and cheering for the boys (James and Sirius had both played, as Chaser and Beater, respectively). James had never seen Lily play, but seemed to recall that in first year flying lessons, she'd been a natural flyer. Now she proved his suspicions right; her speed and the sharp turns she somehow manipulated the old school broom into making were amazing. James was more than a match for her, however, and managed to get the quaffle through the hoops a number of times with Lily close on his tail. He continued scoring, with a certain amount of smugness, for a time before he realized that Lily was no longer following him as closely—she seemed a bit preoccupied, probably searching for the snitch. James scanned the pitch, looking for the snitch himself, but didn't see it—and as he was thus occupied, Lily knocked the quaffle out of his grasp and took off. She pulled her broom into a slanting drive toward the other end of the pitch. James followed closely, gaining on her, before he noticed that she had accidentally dropped the quaffle. He dove for it just as she veered a little to the right, toward the stands, and narrowly missed slamming into one of the hoops. She managed to stop just in time, however, and spun around in midair, eyes bright, cheeks flushed, and hair falling down her back. In her hand was the golden snitch.

James gazed at his wife appraisingly, taking in her light frame and quick eyes and hands, and whistled. "So tell me again, why did you never try out for the team? We could have used a good seeker."

Lily laughed breathlessly. "I wasn't interested. You prats bored me."

James pretended to look offended. "I'll have you know we had some very intelligent conversation out on the Pitch. Some of our greatest pranks were born during Quidditch practice."

Lily snorted as both of them landed on the grass. They put the equipment away and began heading back toward the castle. "Oh, yes," Lily remembered suddenly, lowering her voice. "I came out to tell you that we've got a meeting for the Phoenix at ten o'clock tonight in Dumbledore's office."

James nodded. "All right. I was expecting it sometime soon...." They walked in silence for a few moments. James then abruptly changed the subject, asking lightly, "So have you noticed anything different about Snape lately that we could use on Halloween?"

"No, actually, I think it might be a good idea to do a little snooping. We might need some supplies from Snape's private stores, anyway, for the potion. Besides, I want to know what kind of insulting stories about us he's been feeding to the students. I could swear the Slytherins have been more and more unmanageable lately." Lily was absently winding her hair into long, thick coils. It had completely escaped from its pins. She was in the process of sticking the pins into her mouth so she could have her hands free to pull her hair up when James forestalled her action by taking the pins from her and holding them within easy reach. It was an old habit—James holding Lily's books or hairtie and pins while she re-plaited her hair or somehow secured it out of her face. Both of them thought of it, suddenly, as Lily quickly twisted her hair out of the way; not as a shocking thought, but rather as one will sometimes notice a distinctly natural motion or habit and take note of its practiced beauty.

Dumbledore was the only one present in his office, by the time Lily and James arrived. He chuckled lightly. "A little late, I see. Were you, perhaps, preoccupied?" The two professors blushed and looked down at the ground. Dumbledore turned toward the window and smiled. "The moonlight on the Quidditch Pitch does make a lovely picture, doesn't it?"

Two heads shot up and two pairs of eyes fixed themselves on the headmaster's face in wonder.

"It's just as well that you came so late," he said at last. "Tonight's meeting would have bored you. We tried to organize the ways in which everyone could do their part. It called for a great deal of individual attention, as everyone's position in this is different." His tone was serious, as he turned to gaze at them. "As for the two of you—well, from everything that's happened lately, I've begun to suspect spies nearby. The news of the revival of the Order has spread, although all the members have been sworn to secrecy. Voldemort's followers are increasing in number—we've had news that he's been recruiting giants to torture Muggles—and I have suspicions that they may be closer than we think. Some may be among us." He turned toward the window again. "I begin to think that even Hogwarts will not be safe for very much longer."

Lily and James sat in stunned silence for a few moments, trying to process the information. Hogwarts? Not safe any longer? The idea seemed preposterous. Wasn't Hogwarts the one place that Voldemort would avoid at all costs? Wasn't Dumbledore the only one who could inspire fear in him? Why would all this change? And what was this about a traitor in their midst? In the Order? Or—Merlin forbid—at Hogwarts?

"I haven't much for the two of you to do," Dumbledore finally said, after a very pregnant silence. Lily and James had had to restrain themselves from bursting with a barrage of questions. "I wanted merely to ask the two of you to stay alert at all times—there may be someone nearby that we must watch for."

In a daze, the couple made it back to their lounge wordlessly after their meeting with Dumbledore. They bid each other good night, quietly, and headed up to their own rooms, still in a dreamlike state. Their thoughts were troubled as they settled into their respective beds and shut the curtains, a sleepless night ahead for the both of them.

Notes:

I see clear skies ahead for Lily and James's relationship (generally speaking). Will things get more involved with the Order? Hm... well, I'm still trying to keep it vague.

While James is a Chaser, Lily'd make a good Seeker. I *really* push this idea, since I think Harry must've gotten those Seeker attributes from somewhere...I was pretty darn impressed when Emmyjean also supported this idea in her fic Crossroads (which, by the way, everyone should read.), though she did make Lily afraid of heights. (Crimsonthread boos, simply because she'd love to fly herself.)

As another side note, please don't get your hopes up for this whole Snape plan—I liked the idea for getting James and Lily united over something fun, but I'm not really sure about the actual implementation. ::sheepish smile:: I didn't really think that far and I've got precious little inspiration when it comes to this. Yes, I did write it out already, but it's extreeeemely let-downish and I'm verrrrrry open to suggestions.

Reviewers—I love you!! :D

Kirbee- thus far, nobody noticed the "markings," though they did notice other things. I guess the couple has been hiding them well. :)

Everblue3- YAY!!!! I'm on someone's favorites list!!! XD Yes, that *totally* made my day. Have I told you that I love your reviews? I'm going to try and update at a more moderate pace now, so you won't have to send off three reviews at once :) I just realized, though, that I haven't actually directly addressed the issue of James apologizing to Lily about the whole 'freak' thing...hm...I think I just completely forgot about that. I'll see if I can work that in somewhere...if not, though, I guess I'll have to let it slide. ::sheepish grin:: It's looking that way now.....so....pretend you didn't see that! ;D I'm working on reviewing for your Outrunning Our Shadows...it's taking me a bit of time since school has completely screwed with my immune system and I have to keep taking breaks to nap, etc. and coherent thoughts are becoming few and far between. But I'm getting there—hope you update soon!

I am Asparagus– hahahaha...I like that pen-name. I think that last note was directed at you—don't get your hopes up for the prank because even I feel it's a bit of a let-down. I don't want to get flamed because you were expecting something great! I'll try to think on it some more....If you have any suggestions, though, I'd love to hear them! As for your question about when Snape turns to Dumbledore's side...this story takes place *before* that happens. :) You'll see.

rosezgarden- thanks so much for reviewing! You always have such positive feedback to give...it always cheers me up. I'm really glad you like it! :)

black-bird- another thank-you for reviewing—I'm really glad you think this is different from the rest of the fic, despite my having used so many things that I consider cliche. I'm glad it comes across as something somewhat original!

ta-tiana258, J.Hicks, & Marie – Thank you guys so much for reviewing! Please keep reading ^_____^