Chapter 15 - Rhubarb
Fortunately James didn't have much time to dwell on thoughts of what Lily might or might not know, as the rest of the term flew past in a haze of Quidditch matches, end of term exams and choices for subjects for the next year (he had decided on Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures), and before they knew it, it was the final week of term and everyone was in full summer mode.
As the end of term approached James was feeling as thought things had been a little too quiet recently. They had a reputation to uphold after all, and they hadn't done anything fun to anyone in a long, long time. He could see that Sirius was looking a little restless, and so he got all the boys together and they started to plan an end of term joke that would hopefully make the hovering from last year look like child's play. It took a bit or research, but eventually they found a potion that would make the drinker laugh hysterically and uncontrollably. That sounded like fun, especially if they could make Snape laugh, they hadn't heard his cackle since Lily put that charm on him. It was amusing in itself. Initially it was going to be the whole school, but they decided that since they had got the whole school last time, that it would be funnier to just get Snape, and then the rest of the school would laugh hysterically of their own accord! The problem was that some of the potions ingredients were very obscure, and could probably only be found in Professor Mechante's private store, and some might not even be in there. Never mind, she would be fine, as long as they took care not to be caught.
They made a decision to do it the very next day, as there was very little time left until the end of term feast, and they would need time to concoct the potion and to get it into the appropriate goblet at the feast. There was a lot to be done.
The next day in potions they put their plan into action. It started when Peter 'accidentally' took the potion off the boil too early, ensuring that the potion (which was supposed to make the drinker into a fabulous dancer) would go wrong, and then, for the next stage they let the cauldron fall onto the floor. As a diversion it was excellent, as there was now instances across the classroom of people bursting into uncontrollable tap dancing all over the classroom as the potion on the floor snaked it's way around the room and touched the feet of various members of the class. As an especially amusing touch, Snape was seen doing a rather proficient soft shoe shuffle over in the Slytherin part of the room, and although his feel were looking polished and professional his arms were flailing around like windmills and knocking over various bottles of potions ingredients adding to the general chaos of the room. Even his friends were trying not to seem too amused. James had to tear his eyes away in order to nip into the professor's office. Fortunately for him the ingredients he was looking for were easily found, except one, (rhubarb) and a quick scan of the contents of the contents of the cupboard showed James that there was clearly no sign of it, and so he got back in time to catch the rest of the show. The class was in total confusion, spontaneous tap dances had broken out all over the classroom, Peter was looking quite honestly distressed (it had taken James and Remus a long time to convince him to play along, Peter often made mistakes in Potions class and that made him the obvious choice). Sirius could hardly contain his delight; he looked as though he was about to burst with silent laughter and even Remus, usually the most calm and collected, looked as though he was struggling to stay calm and collected.
Later that day, when alone in the circular dorm room, all four boys sat gathered together around a cauldron, but they couldn't start the potion. Upon reading the instructions again they found that they still needed the one ingredient that James had not been able to find in Professor Mechante's cupboard. The rhubarb.
"So," said Sirius, "does anyone know what rhubarb is?" Everyone shook their heads, none of them had ever heard of it.
"Erm, is it a rare magical plant?" asked Peter, and once again everyone shook their heads, they hadn't the slightest idea. How could they really?
The boys spent the entire day in the library the next (it was Saturday) but they couldn't find it anywhere, not in 'one thousand and one magical herbs and fungi', not in 'magical plants of the Mediterranean' nor in any of the other dozens of herbology books they looked in for the answer. This particular plant just did not seem to exist! After a while they gave up, James thinking that it might not be worth all this work, and perhaps they should have a go at coming up with something else. They got back to the common room and sat down, feeling deflated, it was such a good idea. It was such a shame they wouldn't be able to do it after all. James sat there for a while staring at the fire, thinking, long after the common room had entered and wondering how to fix their problem and searching for a brainwave that would make it possible to still create a trick worthy of their reputation. It was hard work.
He carried on thinking, and he was so deep in thought that he didn't notice someone else joining him in the lonely common room. It wasn't until he looked up that he saw a shock of red hair and a small body curled up on a chair reading a book, Lily Evans. He shook his head, realising how late it was, and he stopped thinking about his trick and started wondering why she was out of bed so late. She looked up, and he found himself staring into her sparkling emerald eyes and feeling uneasy, as he always did when he caught her glance. He blushed, and looked away, he hadn't realised that he'd been staring at her.
"What are you reading?" he asked, trying to cover the awkward silence. He wasn't sure that it had worked properly, because she looked at him a little suspiciously.
"Little Women" she said, blushing. "It's a muggle book, I've read it loads of times, I like to reread old favourites when I can't sleep."
"I've never heard of it. Is it, erm, any good?" He asked, not sure whether that was the right kind of question to be asking, perhaps he was supposed to know about these things.
"Yes, it's wonderful," Lily replied, prompting a wave of relief to wash over him.
"Do you, erm, miss anything about home? You know, muggle things?" She looked at him oddly, but not as though she thought him mad or anything, (although James wouldn't have been surprised if she did think that) but more as though she was thinking hard about her answer. "I'm going to do Muggles Studies next year" he added, by way of an explanation.
"Well, I do miss my mother's cooking," she said, "Hogwarts food is very good, but the kitchen staff just don't ever seem to make crumbles."
"Crumbles? What are they then?" As often happened when food was mentioned, James' interest was piqued.
"Well, a crumble is dessert made with stewed fruit, like apples, blackberries or rhubarb with a crumbly topping which is made from flour and butter and su.." She stopped there because James had got a funny look in his eye. Rhubarb! So that was why they hadn't found it in any magic books, it was a fruit, a fruit that was popular with muggles. No wonder, it all made sense.
"James, are you, erm, alright?" He was suddenly aware that Lily was looking at him as though she were concerned for the state of his sanity.
"Oh, sorry. I'm fine, really. Just starting to feel a little sleepy, I should probably think about going up to bed now." He felt guilty; she probably thought he wasn't interested in anything she had to say.
"Oh, ok." It might have been his imagination, but he was sure she looked a little upset. He had to do something about it.
"Erm, I'll have to try some of that crumble sometime. I'm always up for trying new things." Ok, so it wasn't the most inspired thing in the world, but it seemed to work. She brightened slightly.
"I'll bear that in mind," she said, "goodnight" "Goodnight Lily," James said, and almost ran up the stairs to his dormitory. He had to tell Sirius and Remus, and he had to do it now!
Fortunately James didn't have much time to dwell on thoughts of what Lily might or might not know, as the rest of the term flew past in a haze of Quidditch matches, end of term exams and choices for subjects for the next year (he had decided on Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures), and before they knew it, it was the final week of term and everyone was in full summer mode.
As the end of term approached James was feeling as thought things had been a little too quiet recently. They had a reputation to uphold after all, and they hadn't done anything fun to anyone in a long, long time. He could see that Sirius was looking a little restless, and so he got all the boys together and they started to plan an end of term joke that would hopefully make the hovering from last year look like child's play. It took a bit or research, but eventually they found a potion that would make the drinker laugh hysterically and uncontrollably. That sounded like fun, especially if they could make Snape laugh, they hadn't heard his cackle since Lily put that charm on him. It was amusing in itself. Initially it was going to be the whole school, but they decided that since they had got the whole school last time, that it would be funnier to just get Snape, and then the rest of the school would laugh hysterically of their own accord! The problem was that some of the potions ingredients were very obscure, and could probably only be found in Professor Mechante's private store, and some might not even be in there. Never mind, she would be fine, as long as they took care not to be caught.
They made a decision to do it the very next day, as there was very little time left until the end of term feast, and they would need time to concoct the potion and to get it into the appropriate goblet at the feast. There was a lot to be done.
The next day in potions they put their plan into action. It started when Peter 'accidentally' took the potion off the boil too early, ensuring that the potion (which was supposed to make the drinker into a fabulous dancer) would go wrong, and then, for the next stage they let the cauldron fall onto the floor. As a diversion it was excellent, as there was now instances across the classroom of people bursting into uncontrollable tap dancing all over the classroom as the potion on the floor snaked it's way around the room and touched the feet of various members of the class. As an especially amusing touch, Snape was seen doing a rather proficient soft shoe shuffle over in the Slytherin part of the room, and although his feel were looking polished and professional his arms were flailing around like windmills and knocking over various bottles of potions ingredients adding to the general chaos of the room. Even his friends were trying not to seem too amused. James had to tear his eyes away in order to nip into the professor's office. Fortunately for him the ingredients he was looking for were easily found, except one, (rhubarb) and a quick scan of the contents of the contents of the cupboard showed James that there was clearly no sign of it, and so he got back in time to catch the rest of the show. The class was in total confusion, spontaneous tap dances had broken out all over the classroom, Peter was looking quite honestly distressed (it had taken James and Remus a long time to convince him to play along, Peter often made mistakes in Potions class and that made him the obvious choice). Sirius could hardly contain his delight; he looked as though he was about to burst with silent laughter and even Remus, usually the most calm and collected, looked as though he was struggling to stay calm and collected.
Later that day, when alone in the circular dorm room, all four boys sat gathered together around a cauldron, but they couldn't start the potion. Upon reading the instructions again they found that they still needed the one ingredient that James had not been able to find in Professor Mechante's cupboard. The rhubarb.
"So," said Sirius, "does anyone know what rhubarb is?" Everyone shook their heads, none of them had ever heard of it.
"Erm, is it a rare magical plant?" asked Peter, and once again everyone shook their heads, they hadn't the slightest idea. How could they really?
The boys spent the entire day in the library the next (it was Saturday) but they couldn't find it anywhere, not in 'one thousand and one magical herbs and fungi', not in 'magical plants of the Mediterranean' nor in any of the other dozens of herbology books they looked in for the answer. This particular plant just did not seem to exist! After a while they gave up, James thinking that it might not be worth all this work, and perhaps they should have a go at coming up with something else. They got back to the common room and sat down, feeling deflated, it was such a good idea. It was such a shame they wouldn't be able to do it after all. James sat there for a while staring at the fire, thinking, long after the common room had entered and wondering how to fix their problem and searching for a brainwave that would make it possible to still create a trick worthy of their reputation. It was hard work.
He carried on thinking, and he was so deep in thought that he didn't notice someone else joining him in the lonely common room. It wasn't until he looked up that he saw a shock of red hair and a small body curled up on a chair reading a book, Lily Evans. He shook his head, realising how late it was, and he stopped thinking about his trick and started wondering why she was out of bed so late. She looked up, and he found himself staring into her sparkling emerald eyes and feeling uneasy, as he always did when he caught her glance. He blushed, and looked away, he hadn't realised that he'd been staring at her.
"What are you reading?" he asked, trying to cover the awkward silence. He wasn't sure that it had worked properly, because she looked at him a little suspiciously.
"Little Women" she said, blushing. "It's a muggle book, I've read it loads of times, I like to reread old favourites when I can't sleep."
"I've never heard of it. Is it, erm, any good?" He asked, not sure whether that was the right kind of question to be asking, perhaps he was supposed to know about these things.
"Yes, it's wonderful," Lily replied, prompting a wave of relief to wash over him.
"Do you, erm, miss anything about home? You know, muggle things?" She looked at him oddly, but not as though she thought him mad or anything, (although James wouldn't have been surprised if she did think that) but more as though she was thinking hard about her answer. "I'm going to do Muggles Studies next year" he added, by way of an explanation.
"Well, I do miss my mother's cooking," she said, "Hogwarts food is very good, but the kitchen staff just don't ever seem to make crumbles."
"Crumbles? What are they then?" As often happened when food was mentioned, James' interest was piqued.
"Well, a crumble is dessert made with stewed fruit, like apples, blackberries or rhubarb with a crumbly topping which is made from flour and butter and su.." She stopped there because James had got a funny look in his eye. Rhubarb! So that was why they hadn't found it in any magic books, it was a fruit, a fruit that was popular with muggles. No wonder, it all made sense.
"James, are you, erm, alright?" He was suddenly aware that Lily was looking at him as though she were concerned for the state of his sanity.
"Oh, sorry. I'm fine, really. Just starting to feel a little sleepy, I should probably think about going up to bed now." He felt guilty; she probably thought he wasn't interested in anything she had to say.
"Oh, ok." It might have been his imagination, but he was sure she looked a little upset. He had to do something about it.
"Erm, I'll have to try some of that crumble sometime. I'm always up for trying new things." Ok, so it wasn't the most inspired thing in the world, but it seemed to work. She brightened slightly.
"I'll bear that in mind," she said, "goodnight" "Goodnight Lily," James said, and almost ran up the stairs to his dormitory. He had to tell Sirius and Remus, and he had to do it now!