A.N. Dearest Reader,
I write the next two chapters somewhat begrudgingly and I hope it does not show. Though there is nothing I like better than to write, especially Fanfiction, I do not have a lot of time anymore for anything I like. So I would have put this off even further, seeing as this chapter as completely necessary for the plot and the next as one of the most daunting tasks in the whole "book," but I couldn't do it. My muse, tired of dropping hints began to nag, then she actually yelled at me, and, finally, when she was resorting to the low form of hitting my with Lily's broom, I caved and took the hint. Then my pen broke! I'm not surprised though, considering how long this is. In short, this chapter kicked my ass like a What and I hope you enjoy it, because in the end, I did. Though a do have a few bruises. Cheers.
Midnight Arrow à
Disclaimer: You know what goes here, just imagine it is and let's get to the good part.
Chapter Nine
Suns Set, Suns Rise, but Quidditch Remains the Same
…*…
Today skies are painted colors of a cowboy's cliche'
And strange how clouds that look like mountains in the sky
are next to mountains anyway
Didn't have a camera by my side this time
Hoping I would see the world with both my eyes
Maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm
in the mood to lose my way
…*…
Sirius was positively fuming, actually, he was positively howling, quietly of course. Prongs looked at him somewhat witheringly before going back to his game of exploding snap with Lily, who was undoubtedly winning, judging by the singed look of James' untamed hair. Remus and Clio were chatting quietly in front of the fire, Remus leaned over and whispered something in Clio's ears and she nodded and snuggled against them, they were both bright red. Sirius smiled, it seemed Remus had finally worked up the courage to ask Clio to the ball, about time. He sighed and turned back to the game of chess he was playing with Thalia, having already asked her earlier (in a very Thalia and Sirius way, I.E. with explosions) to go to the ball. "What's wrong Black, hate the sight of soundly trounced chessmen?" She teased.
It was true; she had trounced him so far in the game, but soundly? Sirius still had a few pieces, and he knew how to use them. "That's a bit of an overstatement, don't you think?" He said, smiling, "I jut found a hole in your defense and I am now going to exploit it," He succeeded and in the end won. All thanks to a self-righteous bishop and three pawns so recklessly brave that Thalia began to suspect they were drunk.
"Alright Black, you win again, best two out of three?"
"Oh come on you two," said Peter as he finished up the last of his homework, "We need to plan this." Ever since the fight, which they had jokingly begun to refer to as the mission statement of WW3, Peter had become a bit more opinionated. Which everyone, much to Peter's great surprise, liked.
"Ruddy ball," Sirius grumbled, but he obliged Peter's pleading look and sat down on the sofa next to Remus. It was about an hour before curfew and Lily and James would soon have to turn into Prefects and enforce it, so they needed to get to business.
Remus considered their situation, "We've already sent out the invites right? Too late to back out… "
"Guess so." James and the rest of the party planning comity came and gathered by the fire.
It was now the end of November, the Quidditch game against Hufflepuff was two days away, a Hogsmead trip was tomorrow, and the ball in a little less than a month.
"Lily and James, talk to the other Prefects, ask us if they're willing to help us out. We need them to watch over the voting for their house reps, two from each. A guy and a girl."
"And what is this for again?" Lily asked, looking very much like Clio as she took notes.
Remus shrugged and looked to Sirius and Peter "It was their idea."
Peter grinned, "The bell of the ball and the king of Quidditch."
"Haha," Thalia said sarcastically, "you're kidding right? Does this look like a muggle prom?"
Lily agreed, "Honestly! And what about a Queen of Quidditch?"
"Oh come off it!" Said Sirius, laughing.
"Well?"
"Well, do you even have to ask well?"
"Yes, I do. Or else I wouldn't have said 'well'!"
Over the past fifteen years women had been steadily trickling onto the house teams, once in a great while going on to play professionally. It hadn't been forbidden before, just unpopular and not thought of as an option by most girls. Usually, a girl might try out for seeker or chaser, since they were usually light and handy with a ball. But most captions thought a girl and a Bludger didn't mix in any way, whether they were colliding with them, or hitting them. There had never been a female beater, until Lily so profusely refused Mud's offer for a position as Chaser. She was too great a flier to turn down, and good with a bat no doubt, but even Mud, known for his wild plays, was a little wary of going "that far." Lily told him if he talked down to her again she'd show him just how good a Beater she was and consequently he began to see reason. And even now, when girls were encouraged to try out for the teams (the work of Dumbledore) it wasn't always pretty and during tryouts, there were more boys than girls gathering at the pitch. Hufflepuff had one girl playing regularly and three in reserves. Ravenclaw had two on originally, but one had dropped off after her first game and the second consequently asked to be used as a reserve. Thalia said their logic was coming between them and the cup, which was fine with her. Slytherin had no women on their team and didn't seem inclined to have them in the near future. Because of this, having four regular women players and one reserve, Gryffindor's regular rivalry with Slytherin was increased and they had an edge that the other teams lacked. Mud gave them full permission to exploit it. Thalia, Anna, and Clio took full advantage of the boys on other teams treating them so delicately by stealing the ball more than usual. Lily delighted in upsetting the opposing team by knocking particularly nasty Bludgers that way. Being knocked of their brooms by a girl would make the boys angry and clouded their judgement. By the end of the game, they usually reverted from trying to be gentlemen to being out and out nasty. It never bothered the Gryffindor women. They enjoyed it immensely. They could out fly everyone, except for the possible exception for the others on their own team, and if the opposition was more concerned with chasing them then guarding their positions it would be an easy game.
"Well?" Clio ventured, evenly.
"Um, never mind. Let's just get back to planning." Peter suggested nervously.
"Righto Pete, now, everyone is calling this the brake from the war ball. But we can't exactly throw a glamorous ball with army attire, so how about getting back to the four founders wish for peace among magic?" Remus was diplomatic as usual, Thalia, however, took a more commanding approach.
"I get it! We can have a boy and a girl from each house, voted by their peers, who represent the attributes of their houses."
"Won't work." said Sirius.
"Why not?" Thalia fumed a little, she had already lost to Sirius in chess, and she would hate to have to lose in an argument too.
"Because Slytherin doesn't have any attributes."
James laughed and wagged a finger at his best friend, "Now you know that's not true, it has attributes." He turned to the audience that had begun to collect around them, "that is, is evil considered an attribute?" The common room laughed, enjoying hearing its rival abused. The boys reveled in being the center of attention and began to banter back and forth in an act for their classmates. Lily spoke up, Prefectually, "Guys, we have less than a month to plan this, please don't give up all the surprises before then."
"Right then, what say we retire for the dorms?" Sirius said wiggling his eyebrows.
"Good idea, Sirius, our separate dorms that is." The common room looked at James in shock, "Look, I have to act like a Prefect sometime or McGonagal is gonna take my badge away."
"And he spent all morning shining it too." Said Sirius; James chased him up the staircase, Remus and Peter following. The girls soon jogged up theirs, after gathering up supplies. When they left the common room burst unto speculation about what they were planning.
…*…
Clio paced the secret passage (more like a mini common room by now) where they were all gathered. Lily was drawing what she thought the great hall should look like while the rest of them discussed the plans. "All of the voting should be done in one day, only the houses can vote for their own reps, they'll know them best. It can be done in the common rooms a week before the ball, so the couples can prepare themselves, the results should be announced at the end of the day at dinner. We'd need to get special permission for the Prefects of the houses to get out of class to run the votes all day, the voting booths will close at four."
"Sounds like you've got this fairly well figured out, I'll just go to sleep then, shall I?" Sirius asked, using Thalia as a pillow.
"No, you shan't. Now instead of all this Quidditch Business, because the chosen few might not be in Quidditch-"
Sirius snorted, "Doubtful."
Clio, who had been talking, went on as if he hadn't heard her, "They'll just be the Queen and King of Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and so on."
"Done!" Lily said, holding up a large sketchpad, on which was scribbled the great hall, covered in what seemed suitable decorations with the finer details left out. Lily had focused on the positions of the tables, the dance floor locations and the main attractions, like sculptures of each house animal and fabric winding all over the hall that changed from one houses colors to another. In the center of the dance floor, the four couples stood, all wearing the color of their houses on their dress robes. "I think it should be required, that way you can spot the 'eight founders' wherever they are." Lily said, tossing her idea in for once.
"Good idea, Lil." Remus seemed impressed.
James was in agreement, "The sketch looks good, we can work out the finer details after we do some shopping in Hogsmead tomorrow."
"Thanks, I was thinking we should have a live band," Lily looked around, "any idea's of who we could get?"
Sirius woke up a bit, "The Hobgoblins are playing Hogsmead that week, I haven't heard a person all year say they didn't like them, perfect music. Think a little floo from Dumbledore would get them to stay over and perform?"
"I think a floo from Dumbledore would get them to take up permanent residency." Remus said dryly, shaking his head. "They were all still here when we first years, remember? People think we follow Bumblebee around." Remus shook his head and said dryly, "I was amazed that they didn't purposely fail seventh year to stay with him."
Thalia laughed, "Well if Dumbledore doesn't convince them I'm sure Midnight's fury would, they're her favorite band since the Beatles."
"What are these sculptures made out of anyway?" Sirius asked, looking at the sketch
"Um, I just figured ice I guess." Lily said shrugging.
James looked dismayed, "Lily! Don't think like a muggle! How about Fea sculptures?"
"As in a few hundred fairy's forming a Gryffindor lion and actually holding still for 6 hours without causing havoc?" Clio asked skeptically.
"Yes!" Peter said jovially.
"That's almost as likely as you all holding still for six hours without causing havoc."
Thalia looked thoughtful, "You may have a point, but what if we got Midnight to tell them to be good. One beast to another?"
"That might actually work, as long as Midnight decides to not cause any mischief herself." Lily looked at the sculptures.
"I'm willing to take the risk." Peter said, quite something coming from him.
"Good-o!"
The gang fell asleep in the passage that night, planning. The next morning the Prefects left with the intention to go talk to the other Prefects about voting and Thalia went to get Midnight to talk to the fairies. Remus went to talk to Dumbledore about the band while Clio transfigured Lily's sketch into a moving model so she could see everything they'd need to buy. Peter and Sirius got the hard task to try and get McGonagal to give them a lot of the schools Galleons to fund their shopping in Hogsmead later that day. After much grumbling and trying to trade their tasks with one another, Lily herded them down the stairs. In the common room, the other Gryffindor's watched the gang come down their separate staircases and disperse out the portrait and wondered idly how they all had such great timing. Imagine, coming down the staircases at the same time! Like they had somehow talked about their plans after going to bed!
Watching them come out of the common room was Isabelle Figg. The Ravenclaw sixth year that shared myth class with the enigmatic group and had watched them since their first year. Her eyes, as pale as Remus' the night after the full moon, followed them out and she mindlessly composed a note to her Aunt and sole guardian, Arabella Figg, DADA teacher at Hogwarts.
…*…
At Hogsmead the girls wondered around Gladrags looking for fabrics that could best be charmed to change colors at regular intervals on both sides, and sneaking glances at the best red and gold robes, just in case.
"How on earth did Sirius get this money again?"
"It seems he happened to mention to McGonagal how dressed we were lately and that if we had to organize a fund raiser for the money we might just have to skip Quidditch practice. Especially any that interfered with times we had to go to Hogsmead, in fact, we may just have to stop playing all together…."
"Appealing to her bet with Professor Malfoy, was he?"
"Yup, it seems she practically threw the Galleons at him. I guess she's making more back if we win. The threat of stressed out Quidditch starts was just too much." The girls all fought to control their giggles as the other patrons of the shop shot them dirty looks; this only made them laugh harder.
Actually, the Quidditch team was so calm about the match against Hufflepuff that Mud was going insane. "They've gotten better since Frank became captain! We can beat them, but to do so we'll have to take it seriously!"
"But I take everything Sirius-ly" Thalia said, draping an arm around her wizard.
Clio groaned but made no other comment and Mud, rolling his eyes, continued, "We almost lost to them last year. Could you imagine the shame? This is my last year as captain and we could have a legacy here! Six years strait with the cup, think of the glory!" This was Mud's one fault; he was quite high strung about all things Quidditch, and when it came to the cup, forgot about it. He wasn't quite as stir crazy as his eventual predecessor, Oliver Wood, would be, but when it came to the final game, he just about matched his obsession. The team considered Mud's words, they had to admit, it was quite an enticing offer. "Ok Mud, we'll behave, just breath!" Lily said to the hyperventilating Mudugus.
Back in the present at Gladrags, Lily was fingering some fabric. "Anyway, I think this stuff will work, but we don't have the time to sow it, how much do you think will it cost to get them to do it?" She asked, tilting her head in the direction of the Gladrags staff.
Across the room, the unobserved Isabelle saw her chance and took it, seeming to appear from the folds of fabric she stepped out and addressed Lily, whom she knew best, since she occasionally worked with her in transfiguration. "Hi Lily! Did you say you needed a seamstress?"
"Oh, Hello 'Bell, yes, actually. Do you know how much it costs?"
"Well, I can do it for you for galleons less than it would cost here, and since I don't have my O.W.L.'s and it's a year to my N.E.W.T.'s, I don't have a lot of homework."
"Great! I remember that tapestry you made last year for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team; it made us all insanely jealous. Could you get it to me in three weeks? I have to charm it and then figure out where it's going to be placed around the great hall."
"Sure, is it okay with you two for me to do this?" Isabelle asked the other two; she was always very polite.
Clio nodded, "Fine with us, and the Professors will love it if we save money." Thalia nodded in agreement but didn't say anything, just watched Isabelle. She hadn't seen her enter the shop nor had she noticed her when they first walked in. And when you're a cat and a raven, you usual notice if someone's hiding near you. Then again, she hadn't been watching very carefully… But something about "Bell" as Lily called her, had always made her uncomfortable. She didn't hear warning bells in her head like when she was around Malfoy, just a slight sense of confusion, as if she was missing something. However, Bell was an upperclassman in another house and didn't play Quidditch so their paths didn't cross all that much. Thalia waved goodbye with Clio and Lily as Isabelle left the shop to get some things for Christmas. She pushed all suspicion aside as they got a few more supplies and made a mad dash through the wind for the Three Broomsticks to meet the Maurderer's
"Look at that!" said Thalia as they burst through the doors of the pub. "They're not even here yet!" She went to the front to get three Butterbeer's and say hello to Madam Lilac.
"And you were worried about being late!" said the indignant and slightly frozen Lily.
"Well, you never know! Besides, they may be here lost in this sea of people!" Clio sat down in their booth, gesturing around the crowded room. Madam Lilac and her daughter, Madam Rosmerta happily served their patrons, they absolutely loved Hogsmead weekends.
"Cli' hon, it's a well known fact that James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew cannot be missed, let alone mistaken for other people. Especially in the Three Broomsticks, where, may I remind you, they like to get up on the table and sing." Thalia was back with the drinks and laughing and Clio's slightly crestfallen face. "Don't worry, Moony will be here soon!"
Clio blushed while Lily and Thalia laughed and they all began to converse about normal things for once, like dress robes, transfiguration, and the debate for Myths.
"So, the lady's are without their escorts? Don't you know it's not safe for three girls like you to be out without someone to look out for you?" It was Malfoy and his not so intelligent backup of Crabbe and Goyle.
"If you're referring to the boys, they're on their way. If you're referring to my fully capable of hexing your pampered ass wand, then its right here." Thalia brought it out and twirled it between her fingers.
"What do you want Malfoy?" Lily asked warily.
"None of your business Mudblood, I was addressing my equals."
Lily, out of experience, reached out and took Thalia's wand and Clio held her in place. Still calmly Lily said, "Malfoy, you will find only your superiors at this table, what are you bothering us for?"
Malfoy seemed to realize that Lily had the leg up here, mostly because of the temperamental and very powerful witch Thalia, itching to curse him. He stated his point. "I've heard many things about this little party you're planning, the 'brake from the war Ball.' Just what makes you so sure it will be a brake, rather than a slaughter."
Crabbe and Goyle chuckled mindlessly at their masters bidding while Clio looked sick and Thalia twice as murderous as usual.
"We're planning it with the help of Dumbledore and Professor Fig, I don't even you Death Eaters would be stupid enough to try anything with them around." Lily got a rather dangerous smile on her face as Malfoy got even paler than normal. "And if someone should disrupt the ball the innocents will be back into their sealed dorms before the guilty party knows what's happening. And then the Prefects and the staff will take care of them."
Malfoy's white blond hair caught the pub lights, "Even if your professors manage to restore order you cannot possibly restore-"
"Mr. Malfoy is simply pointing out the error of calling it a brake from the war with the war raging around our ankles. Aren't you Lucious? Now, as your Prefect, I suggest you join me back at our table."
"Certainly Severus, I have a butterball waiting for you."
"They make me sick!" Thalia spat as the offending party went back to their tables. She eyed Snape in a Sirius like way, "What was he being so damn… polite for! Snape's always been directly rude to us. I like it better that way."
"Maybe he didn't want Malfoy to tell us whatever he came over to tell us?" Clio suggested, still looking vaguely sick. Lily made to answer her but then the four boys rushing in distracted the three of them, and indeed just about everyone in the pub. A whirl of cloaks, parcels, shouts, Gryffindor scarves and the wind blowing in from outside was as that was visible as they somehow made their way over to the table, landing in seats next to the girls in record time, Butterbeers already in hand.
"Now that's talent." Lily observed, eyes twinkling. Clio reprimanded the boys for being so reckless with supplies and Thalia toasted them for managing to get Clio's knickers into even more of a twist. The Slytherin gang was no where to be seen, as they had taken the boys noisy entrance as an opportunity to escape.
…*…
Snape and Malfoy had their wands pointed at one another in the alley behind the three broomsticks. Normally Snape wouldn't have given a second thought to an underclassman, or indeed and upperclassman, with a wand pointed in his direction, but Lucious was a Malfoy. And Malfoy's were as notorious for their dirty hexes as they were for their dirty money; some of them didn't even turn a hair at an unforgivable. Something told Snape Lucious was one of those. He forced himself to stay cool.
"Are you that much of a fool, to leak information to Potters fan club? You might as well tell Dumbledore himself."
"Are you fool enough to not see that I would have bated them properly if you hadn't interrupted?" Lucious asked calmly back, "My father had it all worked out, he was going to volunteer to Dumbledore for patrol duty that night."
"Don't be ridiculous, Dumbledore would know its virtually inviting Voldemort to have a Malfoy watch the door."
"As far as Dumbledore is concerned my father is a loyal supporter."
"Dumbledore is not that much of a fool. He's already letting Potter into his secret order and has yet to let your father touch it with a ten-foot broomstick after seven years. He knows dark magic from light, Malfoy."
"My father is more of a wizard then Dumbledore could ever be." Malfoy yelled, loosing his cool.
"Yes, but he's still an idiot." Snape said sardonically, he had done it. If there was anyway to disarm a Malfoy it wasn't through a spell, it was through their pride. Malfoy made to hex angrily, without thought and Snape easily cast a deflection charm. "Do you really to duel in the street?" He asked calmly still, "It won't look very good, a young Master Malfoy must keep up appearances."
Malfoy nodded, knowing it was useless to carry this on, and lowered his wand, though he kept it at the ready. A man in his position always kept it at the ready.
Snape smiled nastily and bade him goodbye. "By the way," he called back to Malfoy, before moving out into the street with the rest of the Hogwarts students, "you are planning a junior Death Eater attack on the night of the ball, are you not?" Malfoy nodded. "I should warn you, then, that you are asking for expulsion from not only the school put from Voldemort's circle. Our task is to obey, not command. We wait for Voldemort."
"The Snape's may do as they wish, but the Malfoy's are through waiting to show their loyalty's."
"Then they are through waiting for death." Snape faded back into the streets unnoticed while Malfoy, though he shouldn't have been able to as a fourth year, seemed to appareted off somewhere. In the shadows unnoticed by both of them, Isabelle ran like hell to find her Aunt. Back inside the pub the girls and boys of the ball comity decided they needed to alert Dumbledore and, not having heard what Bell just did, had already made a less furious run for the castle.
…*…
The conspicuous group left the pub, bidding Madam Lilac a cheery goodbye before quickening their pace towards the castle and having what seemed to be a humorous, though nervous conversation on the way.
Casually leaning on the side of Zonko's Isabelle shook her head. Did they have to be so obvious? She didn't even need to use her extra senses when it came to this crew, usually. The whole thing was shockingly absurd, but they were still oddly interesting. She let her senses loose and turned to look at that Pixie teacher, who was watching her and the noisy group dashing for Hogwarts. Isabelle looked at her, she was so bright, although she usually wore black, and she fooled everyone with that brightness. They knew she had magic, certainly, but no one would ever guess that she was so far beyond the average power of a pixie. And to top it off she seemed to wear her heart on her sleeve, but she had so many secrets. Isabelle marveled at the magnitude of them, that was her talent, sensing secrets. Her aunt had taught her to couple that ability with cold, distant logic so she would be able to decipher what the secrets were. But Midnight's were too numerous to go at, and as she was on the right side, it didn't matter anyway. Almost no one knew of Isabelle's talent, she was just that friendly quiet Ravenclaw sixth year. Who, had she not had the sense, would have been a Prefect, a Quidditch talent, and surrounded by a group of friends to rival Potters. But friends were dangerous now, she agreed with Snape on that (it was obvious to her that's what plagued him, now only of everyone else could figure it out), but for different reasons.
"Isabelle, you have an appointment with your aunt. I'll watch for the rest of the evening." Pixie was standing next to her, speaking quietly.
"Thanks Professor, I'm just going to get two Butterbeers and use the fire to get back to Hogwarts." The usually bouncy Professor just nodded and Isabelle made her way into the pub, Rosmerta, and old friend from school, let her use the fireplace. When she entered the back room with its private fireplace and doorway to the delivery alley out back, she froze, clutching the two Butterbeers. The door was open and two Slytherin voices were floating into the room. "How convenient," she smirked and set down her drinks and floo powder, listening in, sensing secrets. After a few minutes Isabelle, Butterball and floo forgotten, was running, speeding like an arrow for such a short girl, up to the castle and her aunt's office. It wasn't because the appointment that she chose that route, wherever her aunt was, Isabelle instinctively fled to. Her aunt was just about her only family left and the most trusted person in her life. She had raised Isabelle when her parents, squibs, had been scared of her overwhelming magic, and then was adopted by her when her parents had been murdered. She had honed her secret sense and, here Isabelle swelled with pride, recommended her for the Order of the Phoenix when she was only a first year. Forget appointments, she went to her aunt because that's where she was safe.
…*…
Lily was laughing loud, belly laughs. Now she was in a coughing fit, now laughing again. James was tickling her in the passageway between the rooms. Only she and the boys were present, Clio, and Thalia off in the Library searching for decoration ideas. They had spoken to Dumbledore already, he had thanked them, and told them he would keep them posted, as always.
"Cut it out! I hate it when you do that!"
James stopped shortly, "You hate everything I do. Whoa, sound familiar?" James remembered the early morning discussion with Lily from several weeks ago and his neck turned red slightly he before continuing to tickle her.
"You know, that looks like fun! Let me try!" Sirius jumped in on the action, Lily still pleading for air as she continued to laugh. Peter and Remus just ignored the madness as they calmly discussed Quidditch tactics.
"No seriously! Someone, heheha, is gonna, ouch! Get hurt! Here!"
"Oh, what are you gonna do, breath-" Sirius stopped as Lily suddenly curled further into herself and coughed out a ball of flame. Which she reached out and grabbed, as if by instinct, it didn't burn her, but stayed in her palm, as if frozen with a charm.
"-Fire." Sirius finished weakly.
"Lily, that's amazing! How long have you been able to do that?" Remus was looking at the ball of flame like it was a particularly interesting Arithmacy problem. Peter was looking at it was interest, but more worry that they'd get toasted by it, until he noticed something, "It looks like the charm used in Astronomy to freeze stars for examination."
"It does, but Lily didn't use her wand and didn't say an incantation, what did you do Lil?" James asked and Remus poked the flame, which seemed indignant at the disturbance, if fire can be indignant.
Lily was quiet a minute longer, just staring at the ball of flame resting in her palm that she had just shot out of her mouth and apparently charmed to stay there. She hadn't evoked any charm on purpose. "I've never been able to breathe fire out of form. I've always had speed, agility, and the senses from the Phoenix and the doe, but never fire… "
"Wow, should you go see Midnight or something?" Sirius asked worriedly.
"Yeah," she turned to James and the ball of flame went out, "come with me will you?"
"Sure, but, er, why?" He asked taken back.
"Because you were the one who started this and Midnight will want to ask you questions, not to mention examine all that soot on your face and robes." She was giggling now.
James swung around to look in the mirror, a new purchase from Hogsmead, which said to him in a sweet, mothering voice, "I think it makes you look rugged dear."
Had Lily not been in shock she would have laughed harder than when she was being tickled, "Come on Mr. Rugged, to the Myth's classroom."
…*…
About five minutes after they had left Clio and Thalia walked in, arguing as usual. Thalia riffled the boys hair and sat down between Sirius and Peter while Clio kissed Remus on the cheek (a habit that no one noticed by now) and remained standing.
"I'm, telling you Clio, that picture is perfect!"
"Not a chance, the other is better. Here Remus, take a look."
"Don't ask him! Its not like he'll be objective."
"And Sirius would? … I know, lets ask Peter."
And here Peter was put into a position he disliked intensely. He sighed and resigned himself to his fate as the seventh wheel and looked at the picture Clio was showing him. They were in a rather beat up book about wizarding decorations, they were both rooted in the great hall, but one looked like it was recovering from a LSD trip and the other was very, well, boring.
"So Petey, which one's better?"
Peter considered the pictures again, they both looked completely wrong, but what did he know? And if he said no to Thalia, he'd risk getting hexed by her and Sirius, but if he said no to Clio he'd risk a fate worse than hexing, her motherly look of regret. "Gimme a minute, will ya?" He said more harshly than intended. Laden with the two books, Peter retreated into the safety of the boy's dorms.
"Maybe we shouldn't have asked him to do that? Decision making was never his strong point." Remus said frowning after he left, frowning.
"What do you mean? Peter's a big boy, he can make the choice as good as any of us."
Remus smiled to himself; "Don't you think Peter's a little tired of being the middle man?"
"How on earth would you or I know that? Oh, right, you sensed it." Sirius was probably the one most aware of Remus' wolf senses, being Padfoot. But as Sirius the Block-Headed-Bloke, as Thalia had taken to calling him on occasion, he didn't always think before he spoke. This often resulted in Remus' sudden interest his shoes or some speck on the wall. Now he was starring at the mirror, who was, in its motherly voice, telling him he'd be fine if he would just stop turning red. "Anyway, why don't we just agree on a compromise, we won't use either of them. They didn't match the pattern Lily drew anyway, maybe for a spring dance."
"SPRING DANCE?" Sirius asked, he was ignored.
"What we need is something, like a slogan, to get the look of it off the ground."
"I got it!" said Sirius, who hated being ignored. "United we stand, divided we fall, until that day comes, lets have a ball!"
"Oh gods Padfoot." Remus buried his face in a cushion.
"What's wrong with it?"
"Cheese." Thalia affectionately hit Sirius
"Yeah, but pretty good cheese, best we got." Clio was reasonable as always. "I'll put it on the voting tickets everyone gets, and then they enter the names of their house reps on them and put it in the ballot box. How did the Prefects meeting go anyway?"
"Lily said they agreed to get their houses to vote on a certain day and she gave them the supplies. The teachers also gave the ok and Dumbledore is announcing it and the theme to the school Monday. Then they'll just have to vote a week before the ball."
"Guys?" Peter's timid voice interrupted Remus from the doorway, "I don't think I should choose this, er, thing. We're supposed to do it together and… well, making me do it is, um,"
"Wrong, and we're sorry." Said Clio in what was indeed a motherly manner.
"Yeah Pete, come in an help us sort out all this fabric that the girls bought."
Peter came in and sat down, looking a the yards of fabric filling the small room asked, "What's with all the white? I thought we were using house colors?" Peter was bewildered as the other four laughed, until Clio, trying to regain air, explained what they were intending to do.
…*…
A few flights of stairs, several trick steps, and a great hall away, Lily was trying, but failing, to convey what had just happened. It didn't happen that for the past five minutes Midnight had interrupted her until she had to start all over again.
"We were in the dorms-."
"Girls or boys?"
"Girls."
" Boys." Lily and James said too quickly and at the same time.
"Uh huh, but no one besides the gang saw?" Lily and James nodded meekly. "Continue."
Lily looked down at her hand and back at James, confused. He picked up where she left off, "I was tickling Lily for about five strait minutes when Sirius joined in and made it even more fun, er, worse. Lily was laughing pretty hard, coughing and threatening us - like usual- when all the sudden Sirius asked, "What are you gonna do? Breath-" James stopped and looked over at Lily, just as Sirius had. Lily herself was going back and forth between studying her palm and her dress code Mary Janes, spiced up with white lily's painted on by Thalia.
"Breathe what, James? What did Sirius say after breath?"
"Well, before he could finish Lily gave this sort of hacking cough and a ball of flame came out of her mouth. But the weird, or weirder, thing was that she reached up and caught it, like she'd performed the flame freezing charm. Only this fire was a lot more… wild, than I've seen ever come out of a wand." He looked at Lily, still wearing his incredulous face.
Now Lily spoke, haltingly, as if only half there. "It wasn't the flame freezing charm- it was still hot, really hot, the flame freezing charm makes it cold. It was just like the first time I spit fire as a Phoenix, small, but very hot…. But I never toughed it before, it felt like, like…"
"You were burning?" James suggested.
"No, not at all." Lily said quickly, "It was like all of me was hot, yeah, but like I was getting to my actual temperature."
"Actually temperature?" Midnight sat up, intrigued.
"Like I had been too cold for a long time, and now I was warm."
"But Lil, you're never cold." James was right, Lily usually was the last to start wearing any winter attire, especially jackets, and would complain that it was too hot if they sat near a fire. A fact that James had recently chalked up to being a Phoenix.
Lily was speaking faster, but more clearly now, like she was finally coming upon the idea. "I know, usually a phoenix flame a doe's pelt inside of you make you plenty warm. I can't imagine why, but I felt cold right then, from the time I spit out the flame to when I grabbed it, even though it was only a second. Like I had never been warm before, but I hadn't noticed."
James, instinctively, from years of chivalry training, offered her his jacket.
"No thanks, it's not that type of cold."
"You're cold in your bones?" Midnight concluded.
Lily nodded.
"Well, what's that mean? Is she sick? Should she not fly tomorrow? We have reserves… you should stay on the ground by the fires and I'll-"
"James, breath, she's not sick, and she'd better fly, or I owe Professor Sprout ten Galleons. Something is happening though. Lily, were you in the fetal position?"
"Fetal?"
"Curled up in a ball, like a baby in a womb?"
Lily and James nodded.
"And I'm assuming per the state of your nose and robes James, that there was a bit of ash involved?"
"Yeah, but I don't know where it came from, nothing burned, the flame was so small…I-"
Midnight waved the arguments aside, "The ashes came from Lily, congratulations dear you've just been reborn."
"WHAT?!" Lily and James asked in unison.
Midnight regarded them in calm, but undisguised mirth. "Phoenixes are reborn by puffing out flame and burying themselves in ash. As Lily was in human form at the time, she only gave off a little of both, but I suggest you don't transform into a phoenix too often, or at least not while in danger. It's a baby; it needs time to grow. You will remain relatively unchanged, but your phoenix sense, your calm, will be much sharper and persistent now. And watch in the coming months for your next form, this is a sign that you've moved on. Indeed, Thalia and Clio are probably right behind you, and should watch as well. You're all intertwined, one thing you do will effect everything they do."
"What are they going to do?"
"Do?"
"Well, is Thalia going to shed feathers or something?"
"You'll see. Even I can't be sure." Midnight shoed them out of her office, telling Lily to go ahead, but stopping James.
"You'll need to make sure she doesn't get too cold, she can play in the snow, but not without a coat and not for hours."
"I thought you said there wasn't a problem!"
"I lied, if Lily thought there was one she'd become too cautious and not move on to her next form. But as I said the Phoenix is a baby, baby's need to stay warm. Tickle her too, she seems to spit fire for that. Now shoo, go celebrate."
James did as he was bidden and caught up with Lily. They chatted as usual until James, upon noticing that Lily seemed not to hear him for a moment or two while her eyes went unfocused, commented, "Talking to Thalia?"
Lily laughed," Sort of, she sent out a question to me about what happened while they were gone and I just answered."
"That's got to be great to be able to talk like that, imagine the mischief we could cause…."
"Yes, but anyone with the ability can intercept, so its dangerous."
"Anyone?"
"Well, pretty much just animal's, we can all talk to each other you know."
" Hee hee."
"What?"
"Nothing, just, well, Lily, you're an animal."
"Oh shut up, and that's plural."
"Ha, so how many can you have?"
"Forms? Four, Clio too, Thalia will have five."
"Why?
"She has the hardest job, she gets five."
"She gonna be jealous that you're one ahead of her now?"
"Nah, you heard Midnight, they'll catch up. If anything, she might pity me."
"Pithy?"
"I've got four animals, two I know, a third is coming. I'll only have one more after this."
Back in the Gryffindor tower the conversation continued in this vein. Until after much debate of Naturals, planning of the full moon, a dash to finish homework and a few ball preparations (all the while Lily was forced to sit by the fire), the team was sent to bed by Mud. The Quidditch game was tomorrow, and he wanted his players rested, or he'd get them up early. This didn't make much sense to the team, but then again, when it came to Quidditch, Mud didn't make much sense at all.
…*…
The next morning Isabelle watched the Gryffindor Quidditch team pep themselves up for the game. Sirius Black, beater, was eating even more than usual and encouraging his fellow beater, Lily Evens, to do the same. Lily declined fervently, looking a little sick. It had always struck Isabelle as odd that Lily, rather than the high strung Thalia, had become a beater. It was probably some deep psychological feeling of defense, but as "Bell" had refused to read that psycho muggle Freud, she wasn't exactly sure what it was. She chalked it up to Lily's feminist streak and moved on to the Seeker (and certainly future captain) James Potter. He was watching his friend Sirius with amusement and asking Lily worriedly if she was all right. Maybe she was just worried, but no, she was usually quite calm before a match. Sick then? She looked a little off color to be sure. On either side of her, Thalia Karasuko and Clio Algeria (Chasers) seemed to feel sorry for their friend's plight as half the table began to ask her what was wrong (she was refusing to answer). Clio muttered "vancrasisus" and a surprised Lily shot her a thankful look. Remus, the only boy near enough to hear the spell properly, and likely the only boy who knew what the spell meant, blushed and sent Lily an apologetic look. Isabelle understood as well, who would want to fly this time of the month. Other than that small display, the habits of the team hadn't changed much since the group had joined it. Mud demanded perfection and that everyone ate before the game. Anna Bones (Chaser) would tell him to sit down and eat himself (apparently you could shut him up with food) while she, Lily, Clio, Sara Patil, and (the latter a chaser) nibbled on toast, drank more coffee than was strictly necessary and even had a little egg. Thalia herself would try to eat as much as Sirius, but whether common sense or upset an stomach prevailed, she never did. James didn't lead a conversation with anyone, just ate a normal amount, shared a word or two with Remus, and read the Daily Prophet. Isabelle supposed this was the famous Potter cool that was supposed to set in on crunch time. And what was more crunch time to James than Quidditch? She turned to look at Remus, who had gotten over his blush and was going over his notes for today's Quidditch game; he was giving the commentary. Isabelle knew he winged it up there, but he liked to seem organized. Remus was actually quite good on a broom, fast, efficient, made alert by his senses, but because of his condition, he didn't play. She never checked to see if it was a rule or one of Remus' own restrictions (gods knows he had plenty) because it wouldn't have mattered either way. Remus had decided his position was commenting on the field, not being on it. Peter, for lack of coordination and a slight fear of hights, had never tried out for the team. He sat with some non-maurderer Gryffindor friends on every match, sometime accompanied by Clio when she wasn't on active reserve duty like today. Peter was in an odd position, and it showed most often during Quidditch matches.
Isabelle checked her watch, it was time for the team to head for the lockers, and sure enough Mud jumped up and herded them out the door. She shook her head and hoped her aunt would have a new assignment soon. She needed to stop watching them, who wanted to know that much about another person's morning routine.
…*…
Midnight smiled as she "heard" Bell's thoughts. She wasn't eavesdropping, no. That wasn't aloud. But Bell hadn't learned, despite her sixth sense, to cap her thoughts and they floated around the room, unguarded like every else's. Midnight wasn't responsible if she picked up a few, now and again, randomly… on purpose. Her smile turned sheepish as Minerva gave her a stern glare. She had always been able to tell when Pixie was "hearing" things. Too bad she didn't believe in Sibyll's "poppy-cosh," she might have been good at it. Midnight stopped her speculating and finished breakfast, the game started in five minutes and she wanted a good seat.
…*…
It was five minutes later now and Lily heard, somewhere in the back of her mind, Hooche's whistle blow and she automatically rose into the air, silently thankful to Clio. First spitting fire and now this. It had been a bad night. She hit a Bludger heading for Sara Patil mechanically towards the other team's chaser, who was forced to roll over and drop the quaffle to a waiting Anna below. Lily grinned, those drills worked for something anyway. Not two minutes into the game and Gryffindor was already in the lead. She heard Remus make a comment about her hair and absently sent a rude gesture in his direction. "Come on Evens, get your head in the game, ShowTime." She quickly joined Sirius in a game of Monkey in the middle; the Monkey being anyone who crossed their rapidly flying Bludgers. Quidditch, Lily thought a little sadistically, was fun.
…*…
"And Gryffindor in possession after a stunning Beater tactic displayed by the Gryffindor Beater, Lily Evens. Not that I needed to tell you, hard to miss the red hair even if it is that high in the air." Remus, from his position in the announcers' box, was fairly sure he saw Lily give him a rather rude hand gesture, and grinned. He was glad she was back. She had seemed rather disjointed since the mission statement of WW3. Things were cool with her and Thalia, Clio would have told him otherwise, but she was still oddly tense or preoccupied. But who could blame her? According to James she had the added fear of bursting into flame and now she apparently had her- uh… monthly discomfort.
Remus was quite pleased with himself, he had developed the ability to watch the game and give speedy commentary, while keeping his actual thoughts, which moved far faster than his mouth or even the Quidditch game, to himself.
"And there's the pitch thrown grandly by Thalia Karasuko, child of a raven indeed by the way she flies and its ten - zero, Gryffindor. I must say I'm enjoying the game so far. Gryffindor still in possession with Anna Bones leading the pack, Mud seems to be have trained them in the Irish war tactic, as they fly in a V. He now! Now that's a surprise defense! As the Keeper blocks with a scarecrow position Sirius Black sends a Bludger at this foot while Sara Patel steals the Quaffle to score! Twenty - Zero, Gryffindor, keep up the good work guys!
"Mr. Lupin," Professor McGonagal, censorship queen and bane to Hogwarts Quidditch announcers everywhere, was pushing the red button labeled "unbiased."
"My apologies Professor. Hufflepuff in possession, their team has really been beefed up since Frank Longbottom became Captain, but it remains to be seen whether they can withstand the Gryffindor Cup winning team. Aha, and the Hufflepuff beaters doing an excellent job with the Bludger, scattered the chasers. Have heart girls! The Hufflepuff Chasers, Morgan, Stanley and Longbottom, much smoother than last year- oh my gods! Hufflepuff scores past Mudugus Fletcher, ten - twenty, Gryffindor. Hufflepuff in possession, scratch that, Thalia Karasuko in possession with Anna Bones and Sarah Patil circling her in basic vulture movement, usually reserved for attacks, not defense. Quite surprising, brilliant switch by Mudugus Fletcher, Frank Diggory desperately trying not to get hit by Sirius Black and his Bludgers as Lily Evens take care of the Chasers. It seems the Hufflepuff Beaters aren't able to hold up against this excellent defense."
Remus' commentary continued like this for an hour, sometimes barely heard above the screams and groans of the crowd, who were watching the game in such rapture attention it might as well have been the finals.
All the while James soared above, listening to Remus and watching for the snitch while Sam McCorman tailed him. He was trying to look like he wasn't, but James knew the trick and as he was the better flier, he wasn't worried. He was probably calmer than Remus, or poor Peter below him. That Potter training paid off for something.
"Folks, the score is now one hundred and eighty to one hundred and forty, Gryffindor still in the lead. Hufflepuff is still giving them a good run, so James Potter needs to find the snitch now or-" Remus' commentary was cut short by his gasp, as James went into his fastest dive yet and caught the snitch. Sam McCorman, just a broomstick or so behind, pulled up to avoid colliding into the person whom the snitch had been hiding behind, Lily Evens. "Good-O James! Gryffindor wins! Always were fantastic at taking suggestions old boy! But did you have to try to clobber Lily? We know you fancy her, but you should try to be more subtle- Goodness! That's the second time this game I've received that particular hand gesture, and from both of you too! I'm beginning to feel offended!"
"Mr. Lupin, I am extremely pleased with the scores of the game, would you care to announce it!"
"Er, right Professor, in case all you screaming fans out there can hear me, Gryffindor wins! Three hundred and thirty to one hundred and forty. Not bad Hufflepuff, you had me virtually terrified at times! If they beat Ravenclaw in the next match (as Gryffindor certainly will) we could see a Gryffindor Vs. Hufflepuff in the cup this spring. See you next time Quidditch fans, same Quidditch time, same Quidditch channel!" Remus promptly turned off his mike, begged forgiveness of Professor McGonagal (it was fairly easy, as Professor Malfoy was paying up his dept) and ran off to congratulate his friends, who were already jumping up and down and waving to him from the pitch.
...*…
Late that night, per post Quidditch victory tradition, Thalia, and Sirius, over a game of chess, discussed the victory and a few other things.
"Remus did a good commentary, didn't he?"
"Yeah, he surpassed himself in polite taunts, Lily even gave him the finger twice. Your move."
"I know." Sirius, much to Thalia's annoyance, moved his bishop and stole a pawn.
She stuck out her tongue and looked for an out; she had been planning on using that pawn in an outrageous assassination of his knight. "Let's play checkers."
"Why?"
"'Cause I can beat you at checkers." She moved a new pawn and pouted.
"Heh."
"So you think we can properly trounce Ravenclaw?"
"Yeah, with you girls on the team it'll be a sinch, there old captain was the only reason they never got riled up and the new one is a Beater. Hey!" Sirius spotted her plan of action and avoided the front attack with his knight; the only problem was that she wanted him to do so. He hated that.
"Those nice, quiet Ravenclaw boys sure have a nasty side."
"Only when provoked."
Thalia grinned, "I can't deny my natural talents. Besides, they're just mad Remus has already bagged the brilliant Clio as his mate."
Sirius snorted, "That was a rather bad pun, dear."
"Indeed, check."
Sirius growled and didn't speak for a few moments until, "Check mate."
"I hate you."
"You love me."
"Maybe." This was what she always said in response to that monumental suggestion. They retired from the chessboard and sat down on the sofa in front of the fire.
"So who do you reckon for Gryffindor's two founders?"
Thalia snorted, "Do you even have to ask? If it isn't them, then I'll change the vote so it is."
"Why so urgent?"
"They'll have to be each other's date if they win."
"Brown Sugar, you're amazing. Ouch!"
"Don't call me that, and thank you, I know."
"I still can't believe Remus and Clio made us give up our plan, I say fixing them up with other people would have been a great idea."
"Yeah. If there was anyone in all Hogwarts who could really outs Lily."
"Or James."
"Are you saying I don't outs wonder boy?"
"Are you suggesting I'm not as good as Firebird?"
They looked at each other in silence for a moment and then began to belly laugh, "That would be a bad idea!" Sirius said after regaining breath.
"Of course! It would through the Balance of the Universe off completely."
"The Balance of the Universe? Ok Professor Pixie, aren't we a little self centered."
"Oh Piffle."
"What kind of a word is that?" After Thalia's wounded silence (that was one of her favorite words), Sirius continued jauntily, "Have you figured out your next forms yet?"
"Nah, it could take years."
"Years?!"
"But it probably won't. We've always been very fast paced in our development, Lily in particular. Its like they're all trying to get out of her."
"What do you think she'll be?"
"I haven't the faintest, not the slightest hint, about any of us."
"Huh, interesting. Well, I know already."
"You do?" Thalia sat up from leaning on the sofa in surprise, the clue to forms could often be found in friends, but honestly, in Sirius?
"Yup, you're going to be a Hungarian horntail, Lily's a duricrawl and Clio's a flobberworm."
"Oh sheesh Sirius! Just hush!"
And they did their mouths rather preoccupied.
...*…
That night after Thalia, a rather goofy look on her face, climbed the girl's staircase and fell asleep in her dorm, Lily, a rather preoccupied look on her face, descended the same stair. She sat, long after the fire had gone down, by the window and just as the sun was rising she heard a rather noisy step on the stair. She turned and saw James looking at her groggily.
"Morning, tea? House elves just brought it up."
"'Lo." James said simply, dragging himself over and flopping down in a chair next to her, taking the offered cup of refreshment.
Lily giggled a little, James was definitely not a morning person, in fact, the only other time she'd seen him up this early in their five years of friendship was when they'd had that nightmare. Or was it that omen? Yuck. "Why're you up so early?"
"Humph," The disgruntled James answered, seeing that didn't satisfy the curious red head he continued, "Couldn't sleep. Woke up a lil while ago but I just felt…"
"Felt what? Awake? You certainly don't look it." Lily joked after a minute or two of silence.
James, you know who this is, I'm giving you a warning. If you continue to ignore my superb advice, I will abandon you to Crissy, or that blond Hufflepuff ho who threw herself at you was called. You remember what sunset did to Lily's face, look at sunrise.
James, hating himself for doing it but too tired to disobey, looked and immediately lost all train of thought. He was, as Sirius called him, a very stupid boy not to have noticed this before.
"James? What woke you up? Are you sick, you look red?"
"No!" James stood up and backed away before she could put her hand on his forehead, "Just thinking!" He said a little too brightly.
Lily looked doubtful but didn't say anything and took her tea back to her seat, still waiting for an answer.
"Well, I, uh, just rolled over and looked at the clock and realized the last time I woke up this early was that time with you at the Three Broomsticks and was just thinking about what's happened since then…"
"And?"
"And that's as far as I got. Oh! But I did think of a few questions to ask you." James hurried on, a little more alert now that he remembered his purpose. "The first night we were all out, on the full moon. When we all made a break for it, you, Remus, and Sirius all went towards the shack right?"
"Well, they went by ground, I flew."
"So what did you see from the air?"
"I saw Sirius standing outside the shack, then Snape ran up, I couldn't hear exactly what he was saying, but it was definitely time to intervene."
"By blowing fire? Never mind." James hurried on after Lily's high eyebrow look. He would have done the same thing. That made his stomach do something odd, so he kept talking. "So Snape didn't see Remus, he has no proof except that a big black dog and a phoenix were around the shrieking shack."
"As far as I know."
"Well, that's good I guess, but how're we supposed to use this against him and why didn't he follow us last month?"
"To use it against him all we have to do is let him see a much more controlled peak in a few months time, but nothing before. But I don't know why he didn't follow…."
Lily, this is your Phoenix talking, if Severus didn't follow you or track you, he was doing something else. What would a boy like Severus Snape by doing?
"He didn't follow because he was busy with something else… It definitely involved us and required the full moon and probably involved dark magic, though I'm not sure what kind."
James and Lily talked for some time about the different incantations and potions that require the full moon. James suggested tacking but Lily said that could be done any time on the nocturnal calendar and Clio had long ago put anti tacking spells of the strongest kind on all of them. They tried to factor in what Thalia had spotted him reading and in the end the most they came up with was that it was a potion with ingredients that had to be added on the full moon and was probably not a tracking, but a revealing potion. It was most likely in Potent Animal Potions. Midnight had it in her desk, of course.
"Think she'll lone it to us?"
"Of course."
"Cool. Er, Lils?"
"Yea?"
"That note Airindell gave you, that Thalia was talking about in WW3…" James fidgeted.
"What about it?"
"What did it say and why haven't you told us about it yet?"
Lily blinked in surprise. She certainly hadn't forgotten the note, but she hadn't the faintest what it was about. Clio had translated it in record time of course, but the meaning still eluded them. "Its not that we didn't want you to know, we didn't think you even had an interest. None of you asked about it. Its instructions of some sort for us to follow, but we can't even begin for another three months or so. We aren't sure if it has; anything to do with people other than Natural's yet either. It seems likely that it does but… When we graduate we'll have to play some part in the war and we have to be very careful about what we do before then and about who we involve. . The elves would surely know…so Airindell's note is kind of like, like…."
"Life and death important?"
"Well see that's the thing, we don't know. Dumbledore said he'd have a meeting with us after Christmas and we haven't even been to talk to the elves again. Pixie says that giving us the note was a very large step for the elves, like an open declaration of war almost. So there must be something inside it, I just don't know what that is."
"I get it. Can I tell Sirius about this?"
"If you think there's anything to tell, I don't. But don't let it go beyond the Maurderers.
"Of course not!"
"So what are you going to tell Padfoot?"
"That he owes me three Galleons." James said with a smirk.
"What? Why?"
"Idiot said Airendell was sending you love letters." James shrugged in what he hoped was a nonchalant way, though he was really watching Lily's reaction like a hawk.
Lily, in turn, was caught completely off guard and after about thirty seconds began to laugh to hard James got worried McGonagal was going to storm in. "An elf? Sending me- Lover notes!" And she feel apart laughing again.
"That's what I said!" The relived James agreed but then Lily gave him a look and he hurried on. "Not that you aren't worthy of elf love letter, you're probably better! It just seems weird. Yeah, weird."
"Lily, still laughing, nodded and after having calmed down some reached over to the table for another bite to eat, "Hey, did you eat the last scone?"
"No." Said James defensively; the scone was in his pajama pocket.
"The house elves are gonna be mad!"
"The tray will get refilled."
"How?"
"It just does, look." The silver tray, along with the teapot, was refilled and a new tray, baring even more baked goodies, had appeared, "You know, house elves are very powerful, I wonder why Dumbledore doesn't use them?"
"I don't know, Voldemort supposedly does. They're slaves there, mistreated horribly. Maybe that's why Dumbledore doesn't use them."
"Good point… Where is 'there' anyway?"
"Wherever he is."
"Oh… that's… awful…" She let out a long sigh, "Well Jamey boy, it's been fun, but I need to get ready for the day. See you at the real breakfast. Oh, by the way, Bell said she's almost finished with the trimmings and the banner already. She's and amazing seamstress. Ugh, and I have to ask Professor Dumbledore for the measurements of the great hall, I'm kind of nervous too."
"No need, its 3000 by 5000, though its subject to change if necessary."
"How do you know that?" James grinned rather evilly and Lily groaned, "Never mind! I'll see you in charms, I'm suddenly afraid of what awaits me at breakfast." She waved and trotted up the stairs. James watched her go, his dating conscience berating him for not saying anything else. Something like, "Let's go to this ball we've been poring our blood, sweat and tears into." He made his way back to his dorm, grumbling. Maybe he could get some sleep since he'd already eaten. He needn't worry about the 3000 x 5000 prank, that wasn't until next week.
Lily arrived in her dorm and got her clothes and things ready for a shower, each house had a passageway to the prefects bathroom, and if she was going to miss breakfast she might as well go take a plunge into that amazing tub. She grabbed her school bag and wrapped her clothes in her robe, all the while her phoenix sense telling her she should have spoken to James longer, but she told mentally it to be quiet for once. She gave the password for the bathroom, "Put down the rubber ducky," and let herself sink into bubbles and bliss. Her last coherent though being that those Hufflepuff Prefects needed to watch less children's cable during summer holls.
…*…
Didn't have a camera by my side this time
Hoping I would see the world with both my eyes
Maybe I will tell you all about it when I'm
in the mood to lose my way
but let me say
You should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes
it brought me back to life
You'll be with me next time I go outside
just no more 3x5's
Guess you had to be there
Guess you had to be with me
…*…
A.N. Back from the dead, or, back from the procrastination. I'll be updating again on Saint Patrick's Day with a Ron and Hermione story, the first of three in a series. Then on Easter this story will be updated with chapter ten and chapter eleven should follow on Memorial Day; Mothers Day being reserved for a special fic about everyone's favorite mother, Molly Weasley. Are we seeing a pattern here? One would hope, 'cause that's what I'm going for. As always please review, but more importantly, enjoy!
