"Hello, Mudblood."
Lily kept walking. Suddenly she was stopped by a jerk on her hair.
"Don't you listen when a Slytherin is talking to you, Evans?"
"No, Lucius, I never listen to a word any Slytherin tells me," she said, sending a blow to his arm that made him let go of her hair VERY quickly. She kept walking.
She reached the compartment she and her friends had occupied for seven years and looked around.
"Same old dance," she sighed, lifting her wand to fix her hair. She started doing the one thing she hated most.... reminiscing.
"Lil? Black calling Evans, come in, Evans!"
"Huh? Oh, it's you."
"Thanks!"
"Oh, I didn't mean it like that.... oohh, I don't know how Jessi puts up with you!"
"The same way you put up with James, Lil...one day at a time," said Jessi, coming in the compartment.
The girls laughed at Sirius' frown. He let out a growl and started chasing his girlfriend around the compartment.
Ally stuck her head in and hissed, "Rat alert! Places!"
The effect was instantaneous; Sirius sat down, Jess flopped down on top of him. Lily sat on the floor, and James' arms almost immediately wrapped around her. Ally sat on another plush seat, and Remus laid down next to her, head in her lap.
Peter Pettigrew walked in. A flash of disgust flickered across his face.
"Why, hello, Peter," said James cheerfully, voice muffled by Lily's hair.
Peter muttered something and sat down. Since his trip to America, Peter had been withdrawn and silent, moody.
"I'll be back, I think I hear the snack witch," he said hurriedly, stepping out.
"Jessi, my love, my legs are numb," complained Sirius good-naturedly.
"Sirius Black, are you insinuating that I'm fat?"
"No, no, no!"
James and Remus laughed. "Never, ever, EVER insinuate that a girl is fat, Sirius. It may be the last thing you ever do," advised Remus as he stared up at his girlfriend and she ruffled his hair.
"Awww, Remus, you look like a puppy dog," teased Ally.
He growled mockingly. She giggled and got up, sending him onto the floor.
"Do I notice a pattern with people getting dumped on the floor?" asked Sirius.
"Hey, I don't care, I'm already on the floor," said James, closing his eyes.
"That can be fixed," muttered Lily, rolling her eyes at James' cocky 'tude.
She grabbed her wand and whispered, "Wingardium Leviosa."
James didn't notice anything until he felt the unpleasant sensation of being dropped several feet.
"Owwwww!"
"James, my man, you practically asked her to do that. We've trained her well," said Sirius, patting her on the head.
"You're just lucky you have a sensitive girlfriend. I wanted her to throw you out the window and let you run to Hogwarts," said Remus, yawning.
"Very nice, Remus. I swear, you've gotten as bad as these three!" cried Lily, pointing at James, Sirius, and Ally.
Sirius opened his mouth to retort, but suddenly the train lurched and they were there: The Last Year at Hogwarts
They all sat in the Great Hall, listening to Dumbledore go on and on. Suddenly four words caught their attention: Head Boy and Girl.
"Unlike other years, this year was no contest as to who the Head Boy and Girl shall be. Head Girl: Lily Evans!"
Lily turned as red as her hair and stood patiently for the Head Boy to be announced.
"And, Head Boy...James Potter!"
James choked on a piece of chicken. Remus and Sirius were cheering, Lily was laughing, and Jessi and Ally were grinning. Up and down the Gryffindor table cheers raised the ceiling. James finally got his wits together, stood, took Lily's hand, and walked up to Dumbledore. He pinned the badges on and they turned to face the crowd. A few firecrackers went off, and Professor McGonagall was seen dragging Remus and Sirius out to her office. James and Lily threw their hands up and bowed. The Hall exploded again.
"Wow. Head Girl."
"Oh, yeah, Lil, it was SUCH a big surprise."
"Shut up, Sirius."
"Now, Prongs, you've disgraced the name of Marauder! What do you have to say for yourself."
James looked up, blue eyes sparkling. "Only that I'm going to enjoy breaking every rule ever made, with the Head Girl at my side, of course."
"I knew we didn't loose him," said Remus happily.
Lily looked up in alarm. "If you think I'm going to dirty the honor of being Head Girl, you're absolutely..."
"Crazy?"
Lily grinned mischievously, a habit picked up from her boyfriend. "Right."
"Go Lily, go Lily..." chanted Ally.
"Guys... don't forget about tonight," said Remus quietly as they got up to go to 'bed.'
That night, Lily watched from the Gryffindor balcony as a werewolf, a stag, a rat, a dog, and a fox slipped out from beneath the Whomping Willow and sped toward the Forbidden Forest. She sighed. They always looked like they were having so much fun.
"Having second thoughts about becoming an Animagus, Lil?"
"Great ghosts, Jess, you scared me!"
"Ah, now that sounds more like the Lil I know. Answer my question."
When Lily didn't respond, Jessi said quietly, "Cause you know I'd help you if you want to do it."
Lily's head shot up. "Really?"
"Yup. And now that we've done it once, I think we could definitely speed the process up and have you an Animagus by February... if you really want to do this."
"I.. I think I do. Hey, you in?"
"To be an Animagus? I don't think so."
"But then we'd all be Animagi except you! Besides... and I believe I'm quoting your boyfriend on this one: 'When there's no more school rules to break, why not break the law?' "
Jessi chuckled, and Lily knew she had won her friend over.
"One thing... let's not tell the boys just yet, eh? I'd rather shock them myself... when I transform right in front of them."
They both started to laugh, and went inside, getting out the long unused books and cauldrons.
"Hey, where are Jessi and Lil? I haven't seen them outside of class for over two weeks!" said Remus as they sat down to breakfast.
"You'd think they were hiding something," cracked Sirius, making them all laugh. Lily and Jessi were the two softies in the group; while perfectly capable of keeping secrets from the rest of the world, keeping secrets from their closest friends was impossible for them... or so the others thought.
*~*~*~ Skip to January~*~*~*
(I really want to get to the graduation and life after school, where the juicy stuff starts. Bear with me!)
"Well? Shall we try it?" asked Jessi.
"Are you sure you did this right? You said back in September that it would take until February!"
"Well, I was wrong. Here, I'll take it first."
Lily nodded and Jessi downed the potion in one gulp. She shivered. "It's like fire!"
She sat in a chair, hand over her eyes. Then she sat up. "All done."
"That's it?"
"Yup. Wanna see?"
"You know?"
"Oh, yeah, the Animagi spirit told me."
"Oh, just go already!"
Suddenly there was a unicorn standing there.
"Oh dear God."
Jessi was back. "Well?"
"I'm afraid to see what I'll be."
"Oh, get off it and transform!"
Lily took a deep breath.... and wasn't Lily anymore. She was a cheetah.
"Wow! Way cool, Lil!"
Lily was back. "That was great!!!"
"Shh!"
They heard voices outside the secret room and waited with bated breath.
"Listen, Snape, I wish you'd just leave me alone! What happens to Remus is none of your business!"
"It is if it endangers me, Black. I've heard that Lupin works for the Dark Lord, and I want to know if I'm going to be attacked in my sleep!"
"Like I'd ever tell you how to get past the Whomp..."
"Ah, the Whomping Willow has something to do with it?"
"Shove off, Snape!"
As Sirius stalked off, he muttered loud enough for Snape to hear: "Must be blinkin' crazy if he thinks I'd tell him about prodding the knot right under the lowest branch..."
Lily and Jessi pulled back, stunned.
"Is he CRAZY? Remus'll kill him, then he'll have to leave!"
"I know. I'll kill Sirius... right after we save Snape's unworthy behind! Quick... you get James, and I'll go try to head Snape off... a cheetah will put the fear of God into him!"
They split up quickly. Jessi ran up the stairs faster than she ever had in her life, even passing Sirius on his way up.
"James!" she practically screamed into the nearly empty common room as she barreled in. He was on his feet in a second.
"Jess?"
"Sirius... idiot... Snape... tree... knot..."
James actually made sense of this and turned white. "What was he thinking?"
"I don't know... we'd better get down there, fast!"
As they raced out of the Common Room, Sirius came in.
"Where're you goin'?"
"To fix the mess you made, you twit!" screamed Jessi in his face, before pushing him out of the way and running down the stairs, James on her heels.
~*~*Meanwhile*~*~
Lily ran down the hall and burst out of a secret passageway right outside the castle. In the moonlight she saw Snape advancing toward the Whomping Willow. Father back she saw Jessi and James burst out of the main doors. Even transformed they wouldn't reach him in time. Jessi transformed and James leapt onto her back, knowing Unicorns were much faster than stags.
"Well... cheetahs aren't the fastest land animal in the world for nothing," Lily said to herself wryly.
She transformed and raced for the base of the Whomping Willow. Snape got there and prodded the knot. Just as he was about to go in there were growling sounds from both inside the tree and out. Snape looked over his shoulder, then looked back... to see a cheetah and a werewolf battling. He let a cry and James was there, pulling him back.
"Come on, come on, Snape, you idiot!"
Suddenly a huge black dog joined the fight, and Remus was forced back into the tree seconds before it started to thrash again. Snape and James quickly went back up to the castle. Jessi transformed and cried quickly,
"For God's sake, Lil, change back!"
The cheetah had large gaping wounds in her chest and back. Suddenly it was Lily, on her hands and knees, coughing blood.
"Lily! Oh, God... I should have got here sooner..." said Sirius.
"You shouldn't have said anything to Snape!" snapped Lily weakly.
"Sirius, you'll have to carry her!"
"The secret passage..." she said weakly.
"What?"
"The passage... leads right to the girls' dorm..."
"For God's sake, I'd forgotten all about that! Quick, Sirius, I've got a Healing Potion brewing in our dorm. Hurry, Si!"
Sirius picked her up and they ran, blood the only telltale sign that anything had taken place that night.
Lily kept walking. Suddenly she was stopped by a jerk on her hair.
"Don't you listen when a Slytherin is talking to you, Evans?"
"No, Lucius, I never listen to a word any Slytherin tells me," she said, sending a blow to his arm that made him let go of her hair VERY quickly. She kept walking.
She reached the compartment she and her friends had occupied for seven years and looked around.
"Same old dance," she sighed, lifting her wand to fix her hair. She started doing the one thing she hated most.... reminiscing.
"Lil? Black calling Evans, come in, Evans!"
"Huh? Oh, it's you."
"Thanks!"
"Oh, I didn't mean it like that.... oohh, I don't know how Jessi puts up with you!"
"The same way you put up with James, Lil...one day at a time," said Jessi, coming in the compartment.
The girls laughed at Sirius' frown. He let out a growl and started chasing his girlfriend around the compartment.
Ally stuck her head in and hissed, "Rat alert! Places!"
The effect was instantaneous; Sirius sat down, Jess flopped down on top of him. Lily sat on the floor, and James' arms almost immediately wrapped around her. Ally sat on another plush seat, and Remus laid down next to her, head in her lap.
Peter Pettigrew walked in. A flash of disgust flickered across his face.
"Why, hello, Peter," said James cheerfully, voice muffled by Lily's hair.
Peter muttered something and sat down. Since his trip to America, Peter had been withdrawn and silent, moody.
"I'll be back, I think I hear the snack witch," he said hurriedly, stepping out.
"Jessi, my love, my legs are numb," complained Sirius good-naturedly.
"Sirius Black, are you insinuating that I'm fat?"
"No, no, no!"
James and Remus laughed. "Never, ever, EVER insinuate that a girl is fat, Sirius. It may be the last thing you ever do," advised Remus as he stared up at his girlfriend and she ruffled his hair.
"Awww, Remus, you look like a puppy dog," teased Ally.
He growled mockingly. She giggled and got up, sending him onto the floor.
"Do I notice a pattern with people getting dumped on the floor?" asked Sirius.
"Hey, I don't care, I'm already on the floor," said James, closing his eyes.
"That can be fixed," muttered Lily, rolling her eyes at James' cocky 'tude.
She grabbed her wand and whispered, "Wingardium Leviosa."
James didn't notice anything until he felt the unpleasant sensation of being dropped several feet.
"Owwwww!"
"James, my man, you practically asked her to do that. We've trained her well," said Sirius, patting her on the head.
"You're just lucky you have a sensitive girlfriend. I wanted her to throw you out the window and let you run to Hogwarts," said Remus, yawning.
"Very nice, Remus. I swear, you've gotten as bad as these three!" cried Lily, pointing at James, Sirius, and Ally.
Sirius opened his mouth to retort, but suddenly the train lurched and they were there: The Last Year at Hogwarts
They all sat in the Great Hall, listening to Dumbledore go on and on. Suddenly four words caught their attention: Head Boy and Girl.
"Unlike other years, this year was no contest as to who the Head Boy and Girl shall be. Head Girl: Lily Evans!"
Lily turned as red as her hair and stood patiently for the Head Boy to be announced.
"And, Head Boy...James Potter!"
James choked on a piece of chicken. Remus and Sirius were cheering, Lily was laughing, and Jessi and Ally were grinning. Up and down the Gryffindor table cheers raised the ceiling. James finally got his wits together, stood, took Lily's hand, and walked up to Dumbledore. He pinned the badges on and they turned to face the crowd. A few firecrackers went off, and Professor McGonagall was seen dragging Remus and Sirius out to her office. James and Lily threw their hands up and bowed. The Hall exploded again.
"Wow. Head Girl."
"Oh, yeah, Lil, it was SUCH a big surprise."
"Shut up, Sirius."
"Now, Prongs, you've disgraced the name of Marauder! What do you have to say for yourself."
James looked up, blue eyes sparkling. "Only that I'm going to enjoy breaking every rule ever made, with the Head Girl at my side, of course."
"I knew we didn't loose him," said Remus happily.
Lily looked up in alarm. "If you think I'm going to dirty the honor of being Head Girl, you're absolutely..."
"Crazy?"
Lily grinned mischievously, a habit picked up from her boyfriend. "Right."
"Go Lily, go Lily..." chanted Ally.
"Guys... don't forget about tonight," said Remus quietly as they got up to go to 'bed.'
That night, Lily watched from the Gryffindor balcony as a werewolf, a stag, a rat, a dog, and a fox slipped out from beneath the Whomping Willow and sped toward the Forbidden Forest. She sighed. They always looked like they were having so much fun.
"Having second thoughts about becoming an Animagus, Lil?"
"Great ghosts, Jess, you scared me!"
"Ah, now that sounds more like the Lil I know. Answer my question."
When Lily didn't respond, Jessi said quietly, "Cause you know I'd help you if you want to do it."
Lily's head shot up. "Really?"
"Yup. And now that we've done it once, I think we could definitely speed the process up and have you an Animagus by February... if you really want to do this."
"I.. I think I do. Hey, you in?"
"To be an Animagus? I don't think so."
"But then we'd all be Animagi except you! Besides... and I believe I'm quoting your boyfriend on this one: 'When there's no more school rules to break, why not break the law?' "
Jessi chuckled, and Lily knew she had won her friend over.
"One thing... let's not tell the boys just yet, eh? I'd rather shock them myself... when I transform right in front of them."
They both started to laugh, and went inside, getting out the long unused books and cauldrons.
"Hey, where are Jessi and Lil? I haven't seen them outside of class for over two weeks!" said Remus as they sat down to breakfast.
"You'd think they were hiding something," cracked Sirius, making them all laugh. Lily and Jessi were the two softies in the group; while perfectly capable of keeping secrets from the rest of the world, keeping secrets from their closest friends was impossible for them... or so the others thought.
*~*~*~ Skip to January~*~*~*
(I really want to get to the graduation and life after school, where the juicy stuff starts. Bear with me!)
"Well? Shall we try it?" asked Jessi.
"Are you sure you did this right? You said back in September that it would take until February!"
"Well, I was wrong. Here, I'll take it first."
Lily nodded and Jessi downed the potion in one gulp. She shivered. "It's like fire!"
She sat in a chair, hand over her eyes. Then she sat up. "All done."
"That's it?"
"Yup. Wanna see?"
"You know?"
"Oh, yeah, the Animagi spirit told me."
"Oh, just go already!"
Suddenly there was a unicorn standing there.
"Oh dear God."
Jessi was back. "Well?"
"I'm afraid to see what I'll be."
"Oh, get off it and transform!"
Lily took a deep breath.... and wasn't Lily anymore. She was a cheetah.
"Wow! Way cool, Lil!"
Lily was back. "That was great!!!"
"Shh!"
They heard voices outside the secret room and waited with bated breath.
"Listen, Snape, I wish you'd just leave me alone! What happens to Remus is none of your business!"
"It is if it endangers me, Black. I've heard that Lupin works for the Dark Lord, and I want to know if I'm going to be attacked in my sleep!"
"Like I'd ever tell you how to get past the Whomp..."
"Ah, the Whomping Willow has something to do with it?"
"Shove off, Snape!"
As Sirius stalked off, he muttered loud enough for Snape to hear: "Must be blinkin' crazy if he thinks I'd tell him about prodding the knot right under the lowest branch..."
Lily and Jessi pulled back, stunned.
"Is he CRAZY? Remus'll kill him, then he'll have to leave!"
"I know. I'll kill Sirius... right after we save Snape's unworthy behind! Quick... you get James, and I'll go try to head Snape off... a cheetah will put the fear of God into him!"
They split up quickly. Jessi ran up the stairs faster than she ever had in her life, even passing Sirius on his way up.
"James!" she practically screamed into the nearly empty common room as she barreled in. He was on his feet in a second.
"Jess?"
"Sirius... idiot... Snape... tree... knot..."
James actually made sense of this and turned white. "What was he thinking?"
"I don't know... we'd better get down there, fast!"
As they raced out of the Common Room, Sirius came in.
"Where're you goin'?"
"To fix the mess you made, you twit!" screamed Jessi in his face, before pushing him out of the way and running down the stairs, James on her heels.
~*~*Meanwhile*~*~
Lily ran down the hall and burst out of a secret passageway right outside the castle. In the moonlight she saw Snape advancing toward the Whomping Willow. Father back she saw Jessi and James burst out of the main doors. Even transformed they wouldn't reach him in time. Jessi transformed and James leapt onto her back, knowing Unicorns were much faster than stags.
"Well... cheetahs aren't the fastest land animal in the world for nothing," Lily said to herself wryly.
She transformed and raced for the base of the Whomping Willow. Snape got there and prodded the knot. Just as he was about to go in there were growling sounds from both inside the tree and out. Snape looked over his shoulder, then looked back... to see a cheetah and a werewolf battling. He let a cry and James was there, pulling him back.
"Come on, come on, Snape, you idiot!"
Suddenly a huge black dog joined the fight, and Remus was forced back into the tree seconds before it started to thrash again. Snape and James quickly went back up to the castle. Jessi transformed and cried quickly,
"For God's sake, Lil, change back!"
The cheetah had large gaping wounds in her chest and back. Suddenly it was Lily, on her hands and knees, coughing blood.
"Lily! Oh, God... I should have got here sooner..." said Sirius.
"You shouldn't have said anything to Snape!" snapped Lily weakly.
"Sirius, you'll have to carry her!"
"The secret passage..." she said weakly.
"What?"
"The passage... leads right to the girls' dorm..."
"For God's sake, I'd forgotten all about that! Quick, Sirius, I've got a Healing Potion brewing in our dorm. Hurry, Si!"
Sirius picked her up and they ran, blood the only telltale sign that anything had taken place that night.