Year One – Part Three
Summer was creeping onto the school grounds. It was just one of those days where maybe you and a friend could go out onto the grounds and stroll near a lake, playing a casual game of chess and drinking pints of cold pumpkin juice. However, exams were drawing nearer as well as the Quidditch Final, which the whole school waited for with anticipation.
Lily was probably just as nervous about the Quidditch Final as the Gryffindor Team itself was. She gave them words of comfort and developed a liking for the team's Seeker, much to James' disgust. Snape, meanwhile, was as cruel and nasty as a person could go. It was Gryffindor versus Slytherin and the tension between the two teams and their houses were at breaking point and there were more frequent visits to the hospital wing that month. Lily herself had almost gotten into a catfight with Narcissa Fitz, a rather pretty Slytherin girl who was smitten with Lucius Malfoy.
"Oh, that Narcissa makes me so mad!" fumed Lily, stomping through the portrait hole. She had nearly screamed the password to Gryffindor Tower at the Fat Lady, who was highly affronted at being woken up from a pleasant nap.
"Lily," said Violet, concerned for her friend, "calm down. Once in your fifth year when you become a prefect, you can give all the detentions you want to Narcissa and the other Slytherins."
Lily smiled pleasantly at the thought. Then she frowned. "Who said I was going to be a prefect?"
Violet snorted. "Oh, come on Lil, it's so obvious you will! You score top on every subject, and all the teachers like you. I'll bet you'll get the highest score of the first years on your exams."
"Exams!" yelped Lily suddenly. "Oh my God, I forgot all about them! Oh dear…" She started to hyperventilate.
"Whoa!" cried Sirius, as he saw Lily jumping in frenzy when he entered the common room. "What's wrong, Lily?" He sounded concerned.
"The exams are so close by, and I haven't even studied for Transfiguration! Oh, what'll McGonagall say—?"
Sirius laughed. "Oh, come on, Lils, Violet isn't even worried, and she's practically at the bottom of the class in Transfiguration!"
"Hey!"
"Sorry, Violet, but it's the truth." Sirius smirked.
"Lily!" whined Violet.
"Sirius, don't tease your friends," reprimanded Lily.
"Yes, Mother."
Lily burst into laughter. Oh, Sirius is so funny sometimes, she thought to herself. And pretty cute too – wait, where did that come from? He's my friend!
"Mind if I ask what you're thinking, Flower?" Sirius' voice brought her back to earth.
"Yes, I actually would mind, Sirius Black," snapped Lily good-naturedly.
"Now, now, Lily, you mustn't flirt with old Sirius here, your boyfriend will get jealous," he teased.
"Don't be stupid, Sirius, I haven't got a boyfriend. Besides, I'm not flirting with you, I'm only conversing."
"Same thing."
"Except flirting has a negative connotation. Am I mooning over you or fluttering my eyelashes?"
"Er—no."
"So that means I'm not flirting," said Lily impatiently. "Besides, Arabella would kill me if I was found kissing her boyfriend.
"Would Bells do that?" asked Sirius innocently.
Lily snorted. "Sirius, your girlfriend has some temper when you try to mess with it."
"Did I hear my name mentioned?" They both turned around to find Arabella standing there with a smirk on her face.
"Your boyfriend," began Lily, "thinks I'm flirting with him. Just because I told him I would mind if I told him my thoughts."
"Ignore him, Lils, Sirius is an idiot," replied Arabella, grinning. "If you're desperate, you can ask James."
"I'd rather not. I'm not desperate enough. Though James is rather cute and funny."
Lily had touched Arabella's romantic side. She and Sirius exchanged knowing glances and began to make funny antics of Lily and James as a couple.
"Oh, Jamsie-poo, you're such a romantic!" came Bella's best Lily-like voice.
"Lily, your beauty touches me…it can't be human!" was Sirius' donation.
Violet laughed until she cried, while Lily stared between the couple with a frown. "That does not sound like my voice!"
"Oh, Flower, be a sport," teased Sirius. "We were only joking. Besides, it's not like James heard us…"
"Hush!" warned Lily. "Don't say that!"
"Why not?" asked Sirius, confused.
"Because whenever you say things like that, they actually happen!" hissed Lily, looking around nervously.
"Don't be superstitious, Lil," said Arabella, but she too was looking around the common room for some sign of a black-haired boy.
"Yeah, really, I don't seen any sign of James."
As if right on cue, James came bounding down the boys' dormitory and Sirius rubbed his eyes for a better look. Yep, that was James all right, and he had on a dreamy expression.
"James?" he croaked. "Did you hear what we were saying?"
James was humming to himself, but stopped at the sight of them. "Oh, hey Sirius," he greeted enthusiastically. "Lovely day, huh?"
"What?"
"I said, it's a lovely day, isn't it?"
"Er—yeah, lovely day," replied Sirius absently. Then he started. "What are you on about, James?"
"Oh, just thinking about Deanna," replied James dreamily.
Lily snickered. "Sirius, it's too obvious that lover-boy is under the influence of a love potion. James," she said, turning to him, "did you drink something today?"
"Drink something?" James frowned, pondering on her question. "Oh, as a matter of fact, I did. I drank this weird pink liquid that Deanna offered me. Isn't she sweet? It tasted like crystal swirls, the same crystals in her eyes…" He trailed off, sighing romantically.
Lily looked sick and turned to her best friend. "Bella, this is proof that Deanna Jackson has given Potter a love potion so that he could fall in love with her."
"Is there a way to make him snap out of it?" gasped Sirius.
"I don't know. I suppose there might be a potion that will make him normal again, though."
Sirius stood up. "You've got to help me make it then," he said to Lily.
Just then, Remus entered the common room, looking happy. He stopped at the sight of Sirius with a worried expression on his face. "Are you all right, Sirius?" he asked.
"No. Remus, the most horrible thing happened to James!" whined Sirius, and he told Remus all about the love potion.
"Is Deanna that evil?" asked Remus when Sirius finished his tale.
"No, she's just quite desperate," said Lily, answering the question for Sirius.
"I'll say," muttered Arabella. Then she said comfortingly to Sirius, "Don't worry, Sirius, we'll help. Er—right Lily?"
Lily sighed. "Right…I suppose it wouldn't hurt to help Potter just this once."
"Yeah, you need to help out your future husband here and there," said Sirius, grinning.
Her mouth opened in horror. "You know that we're going to get married later on?" she asked.
Arabella stood up. "You are?" she demanded faintly.
"Yes. But Dumbledore told us not to tell anyone about it. I hope James didn't tell you," she said, looking at Sirius sternly.
"Er—well, actually, I overheard the conversation you had with Dumbledore," said Sirius sheepishly. He heard Lily screech in agony.
"Now what am I supposed to do? The whole world knows!" The common room had suddenly become silent.
"Go mind your business," she snapped, at a couple of seventh years, not caring that they were six years older than she was. The seventh years turned back to studying for their N.E.W.T.S., obviously not used to first years screaming at them.
"Forget that, Lil, I won't tell anyone," said Arabella sincerely. Then she turned to Remus. "And neither would Remus."
"I wouldn't tell a soul," promised Remus.
Lily smiled weakly. "Well—that's a relief. I wouldn't want the whole world to know about…you know."
Just then, James strolled over and stood right in front of her. "Excuse me, Lily, but do you know where Deanna is?" he asked politely.
Lily's eyes widened in shock. James had never spoken to her politely before, and always sneered at her behind her back. "Er—no. I think she might be—er—at the library."
James gave her a genuine smile. "Thanks Lily," and took off, undoubtedly to the library.
"Oh Jamsie!" A high-pitched voice coming from the second year girls' dormitory made the four all jump.
"James," said Lily coolly, as Deanna entered the common room with a lovesick gaze in her eyes, "is in the library looking for you. I suggest you follow him, Deanna."
Deanna beamed at Lily. "Why, thank you Lily dear. I think I will." She skipped out of the portrait hole and down the corridor.
Arabella snorted. "Girls do the stupidest things when they're in love."
"Aww…you know that includes you, Bella dear," said Sirius.
"Does it?"
"Of course! You shouldn't be saying these things to your boyfriend, naughty, naughty."
"I didn't say anything bad, you prat."
Sirius looked genuinely hurt. "I'm hurt," he pouted.
Lily and Remus burst into laughter, while Arabella snickered. Then Sirius rubbed his hands together and said, "Well, James and Deanna can't fall in love—then it'll ruin the prophecy thing about Lily and James getting married." He grinned. "Lily and James Potter…it has a nice ring to it."
Lily swatted Sirius playfully and they began to work on a counter-curse potion.
"This isn't going to work," sighed Lily, frustrated, after half an hour of looking in their potion book. "I think it's time for drastic action."
"What kind?" asked Remus, who had enough looking himself.
Lily pinched her forehead hard and said wearily, "Hurst."
Sirius scrambled to his feet. "Hurst? Are you daft, Lily? You know he wouldn't help us for his life, and if he miraculously does, we'll have to tell him everything."
"Well, we'll have to think of something. Maybe a casual chat with him…and let the subject of a counter-curse for a love potion slip out."
"Well, you're certainly doing it," said Sirius stubbornly. "It's your idea, and Hurst can tolerate you more than he can tolerate me or Remus."
"Fine," said Lily grumpily. Then she muttered, "Potter owes me big time."
"Don't worry, James will cough up," said Sirius brightly.
Just then, James and Deanna entered the common room arm-in-arm. Lily scowled fiercely but began to huddle and whisper to the others.
"Right…we'll also have to borrow some ingredients from Hurst's office…"
"We'll?"
"Well, you don't expect me to do everything do you?" snapped Lily. "Besides, he's your friend," she said to Remus and Sirius.
Remus sighed. "Of course we'll help you, Lil. Just—who's going to do it?"
Lily sighed in frustration. "All of us, of course. Now, here's the plan. Bella, you and I will cause a diversion. Remus, you and Sirius have to get the ingredients we need. But"—she glanced around to see if anyone was listening—"we'll have to ask Madame Pince if there's a counter-curse potion for a love potion. She won't be too nosy."
"But what about Hurst?" asked Sirius.
"What about him?"
"You said that we'd ask him for the counter-curse potion!"
"Oh…" Lily trailed off, embarrassed. "Well, I thought of a different plan, then."
Sirius snorted. "With Lily in charge, this'll all fall apart. You'll see."
Lily turned to face him, her eyes flashing. "Sirius Black, you take that back!"
"Want a bet?"
"You're on!"
"How much do you want to lose?"
Lily thought of the money that was hidden under her trunk. There had to be at least fifty galleons worth of coins in there. "Five galleons," she said firmly.
Sirius grinned. "You play a hard bargain, woman. Five galleons it is."
"Are you guys going to find the potion or what?" hissed Arabella. "Let's go already! Ugh!" She let out a disgusted noise, and pointed to an armchair.
Lily had an urge to burst out laughing, and sure enough, she did. Deanna and James were sitting, squashed, in one of the armchairs by the fire, kissing. Sirius and Remus soon joined in the laughter, but Arabella was still looking disapprovingly at them.
"Lily!" she scolded. "You're supposed to marry James later on!"
"So?" asked Lily, still shaking with laughter.
Arabella shook her head sadly and turned to Sirius and Remus. "You know, Remus, I happen to know a girl who's pinning for you."
Remus stopped laughing. "Who?" he asked, and his voice sounded almost nervous.
Arabella glanced over to Lily, who had promptly stopped laughing as well. "Jennifer," she whispered, so only the three of them could hear.
Lily burst out laughing again.
Arabella glared at her best friend. "I'm not joking, Lil."
Lily was sober, and her eyes widened. "You're not serious, Bells?"
She nodded. "Indeed I am. I hear poor Jenny talking in her sleep and it's the saddest thing you'd ever hear. 'Oh Remus, I love you with all my eternity, and I'd love to marry you'. It's sickening, really. I couldn't sleep for a week listening to Jennifer moan at night."
Sirius and Remus burst out laughing, but Lily didn't join in. "Well, we should get you two together!" she whispered excitedly.
Remus' eyes were wide. "No."
"Please Remus? I wouldn't want one of my closest friends to be heartbroken."
Remus shook his head. "I don't like Jennifer – in that way."
"So?" demanded Sirius, still chuckling. "You need a girl, Remus, you can't be a bachelor your whole life."
Remus glared at his friend. "Sirius, we're eleven. That's when hormones don't work overtime yet. You three are so precocious."
"Where is Jenny, by the way?" asked Lily suddenly. "And where has Violet gone to?"
"I think they're both flirting with the Hufflepuffs," said Sirius solemnly, unable to keep a straight face.
Arabella grinned. "I seriously doubt that, Sirius."
"Me too. But it's something to dream about, eh?"
"Right…so, off we go to the library. I can't believe I volunteered to save Potter from a terrible fate. Eurgh." Lily made a face as the four of them marched out of the portrait hole.
"Oh, Lily dear, where are you going?" came Deanna's voice from inside the common room. "Aren't you missing James?" They heard an evident snicker follow.
"Who the hell does she think she is?" muttered Lily, as they entered the library. "Ditzy little—"
"Shh!" hissed Madame Pince, the strict, librarian, as they passed. "Be quiet!"
The four of them muffled their voices as they wandered around. Finally, Arabella insisted that they ask Madame Pince.
"Er—Madame Pince?" asked Arabella timidly. "Um…would you happen to know where to find a counter-curse potion for a love potion?" Her voice was fearfully soft, unlike her usual rowdy one.
"It's over there," said Madame Pince, pointing to a section of the library where the books seemed to be falling into pieces. "Why?" she asked suspiciously, glancing around at all of their guilty faces. "There hasn't been a usage of one, has there? You know it's against school rules to stir a love potion."
"Oh no! We were just—um—wondering, since er—since my sister wanted to know. So we thought we could—erm—send her the ingredients and stuff."
"Well, help yourselves," said Madame Pince grudgingly, still squinting suspiciously at them. Suddenly, she yelled at Remus, "You boy! Madame Pomfrey wants to see you tonight."
"Why does Madame Pomfrey want to see you tonight?" asked Lily curiously, as they took out the book they needed.
"I've been feeling a bit off color," said Remus swiftly, his ears going red. "So—she'd give me some…medicine."
"Oh," said Lily, frowning. "Well, I hope you feel better soon."
"Oh, I—er—I will."
"D'you get the feeling that Remus is hiding something from us?" whispered Arabella when Remus was out of earshot.
"Yeah," whispered Lily. "He seems awkward whenever we bring up the topic. I wonder why he's not telling us. He's our friend, you know, and we wouldn't care if he has warts or something."
"Definitely not," agreed Arabella. "So it must be something really horrible, then, since he won't tell us…"
"Hey!" called Sirius. "Are you guys helping or not?"
"Sure, Sir, we're coming."
"Sir?" he questioned quizzically as the girls approached them.
"It's a cute nickname, don't you think?" giggled Arabella. Lily shivered.
"Bells, you're acting like those ditzy Hufflepuff girls who follow James around, drooling."
"Oops, my mistake."
"What's wrong with them? I like it when people follow me around!" exclaimed Sirius, insulted.
"That's because you love the public, Sir," said Lily, grinning.
"Now you're calling me 'Sir'? Soon Jamie-boy will be calling me Sir! For heavens' sake, my name will be Sir instead of Sirius!"
"And that's a bad thing?"
"I found it!" hissed Remus, gesturing them. "Look!" He pointed to a page, written in scrolling letters: Neutral Potion: The Counter-Curse Potion of a Love Potion
"That's it!" whispered Lily excitedly. "That's it! Let's read the ingredients." She scanned over the ingredients quickly and moaned. "Oh God, we'll never be able to get this stuff…frog perfume…leeches…scallop peels…Madame Malkin's Rosy Red Lipstick…this is outrageous! Where are we going to find all this?"
"Come on, half of it is make-up," said Sirius, grabbing the book from Lily. "You guys are probably loaded with that stuff in your trunks…"
Lily and Arabella looked at each other. "Er…actually, Sirius, neither Lily nor I own any make-up."
Sirius was shocked. "Not any at all? Are you girls?"
Lily snorted. "Of course we're girls! We're just not normal, idiotic, and ditzy girls like the ones that follow Potter around. We're more sensible girls."
"Right…hey, you can borrow some make-up from…say Deanna. She's probably plastered with that stuff."
"Good idea, Sir! That's the smartest thing you've come up with so far!"
"Hey!"
"Don't worry, Sirius, it wasn't personal."
"Oh, well in that case…"
"I meant it was the smartest thing said to help with the potion."
"That is personal, Lils." Arabella snorted. Then she suddenly exclaimed, "Hey, where has Violet gone?"
Now it was Lily's turn to ridicule her best friend. "Come on, Bells, I just asked you that in the common room."
"I know, but…" She rubbed her forehead in concentration. "She was just there when I came in, unless…" Arabella grinned. "Unless she was having some sort of you-know-what with Peter in the boys' dorm—"
Sirius and Remus both groaned. "The things you think sometimes, Bella," said Remus, shaking his head.
"They're so true, aren't they?" Bella snickered.
"So…we'll have to ask Deanna for make-up?" asked Lily dubiously. "Do we have anyone else to try? Deanna will think I'm jealous or something, and I definitely don't want to ask her for any favors."
"What about Narcissa Fitz?" suggested Sirius.
"Sirius, she's a Slytherin! We most definitely don't ask Slytherins for favors. Think of it as asking Snape for help on this…"
"All right, I get your point!" said Sirius loudly, causing Madame Pince to look their way menacingly.
After five minutes of discussing this problem, Lily, who was impatient as ever, had made the conclusion that asking Deanna had to be the best choice.
"Must I be the one who asks?" she said sadly to her friends.
"Of course," said Arabella practically. "It'll look, I don't know, more natural if you asked. Besides, Deanna has this thing with me anyway. Last time I asked her for a bit of mascara for the Halloween Feast she wouldn't hear of it. She likes you better anyhow, since I heard her tell James that you were a sweet angel."
"Angels don't have red hair," Lily pointed out. "At least, normal angels don't. They always have blond hair."
"Whatever. Just go ask her, Lil. I promise to help Sirius make James cough up a lot of money." Arabella was practically on her knees, pleading.
"Oh fine, if you insist." Lily rushed to Gryffindor Tower, said the password to the Fat Lady in a hurry, and entered the common room.
"Deanna," she gasped, "may I borrow some make-up from you? You know, lotion, perfume, lipstick…that stuff."
Deanna's pearly white teeth glittered as she smiled that perfect smile of hers. "Of course, Lily. Just go up to my dormitory and take whatever you need. If McGonagall catches you, then just say you have my permission. Oh, and don't use too much of my Victoria's Secret perfume; I want to use it for my date with Jamie tonight." She smirked.
"Right…" Lily hurried away with the list, took whatever she needed, and hurried off to the library again.
"What's that smell?" hissed Arabella, pinching her nose up in the air.
"All the ingredients we need—at least, almost half of them. We'll have to take some from the student cupboard, that's easy—but we'll have to borrow some from Hurst's office…"
"Borrow? Don't you mean steal?"
"Hey, I'm trying to put it in a more casual way," snapped Lily.
"Then say steal, it is more casual!"
"Fine, we'll steal the ingredients we need from Hurst's office. Happy?"
"Very."
"Now, this time you guys will finally get to do work, since I've been helping with most of this potion. Funny thing, really, Sirius, you should be helping James, since he's your best friend…"
"All right!" said Sirius, looking irritated. "Just get on with the plan."
"I told you the plan, Sirius. Bella and I will cause a diversion while you and Remus get the ingredients."
"Why me and Remus?"
"Because, Hurst wouldn't at all trust you if you tried to cause a diversion. He'd send you straight back to Gryffindor Tower."
"He'd send you and Bells back too," pointed out Sirius.
"That's true—but think of it this way, Siri: you and Remus are much—erm—faster…" Lily scratched her head. "Perhaps me and Arabella should do the stealing instead. After all, I am top at Charms."
"Don't get so cocky, Lily," warned Sirius. "Remus and I will do the stealing and you guys can do the diversion. You're right, Hurst does like you a tiny bit more than us." He winked.
Lily rolled her eyes. "Are we ready?"
"Hold on." Sirius ran up the staircase to the boys' dormitory and came back minutes later with a folded cloak.
"It's an Invisibility Cloak!" gasped Lily, as she saw the cloak on Sirius. "Where on earth did you get it?"
"It's Jamie-boy's," said Sirius, smiling mysteriously. "Our Marauders' secret."
***
"Stop shaking," hissed Lily at a nervous Arabella. "Someone will hear us."
"They won't see us," whispered Bella.
"So? They might knock into us by accident."
"Then shut up!"
"You started it!" Their whispers became more like yells.
"Both of you, shut up!" gasped Sirius.
"I can't believe I'm risking my neck for Potter. If Hurst or McGonagall catches us, it'll be a month's worth of detentions and one hundred points from Gryffindor!" Lily sighed, as if doing this was against her own conscience.
"Shut up, will you?" Sirius whispered, poking Lily sharply on the shoulder.
"Ouch!"
"Shh!"
"All right," grumbled Lily.
Lily and Arabella slipped the Invisibility Cloak off them and knocked timidly on Hurst's office. They heard a sharp "Come in", and hurried into his office.
"What do you want?" he spat, not bothering to be polite.
The two girls looked at each other nervously. "Er—"
"Well?"
"Er—I was wondering what sort of potion we'd be learning next, Professor," said Lily awkwardly, treading on Arabella's toe.
"A Shrinking Solution," snapped Hurst, narrowing his eyes. Lily could hear a muffled sound as Sirius and Remus were probably scuffling out of Hurst's office. "Now get out of my sight and return to Gryffindor Tower. Now."
"Y-yes, sir."
Sirius and Remus were waiting for them outside of the portrait hole. "Do you have it?" breathed Lily.
They both nodded.
"Excellent! Now, we'll have to mix it somewhere…"
"Our dormitory, then. McGonagall would never look there; last time she did, she said it was the messiest room she'd seen in her life."
Lily snorted. "Naturally."
They raced up the boys' dormitory, borrowed Lily's shiny new pewter cauldron, must to her disgust, and began work. Arabella, groaning and complaining, had chopped and measured whatever was needed, and the rest of them poured it into the cauldron. Soon it was finished, and the four moved back to admire their work.
"Now we feed it to Potter," said Lily matter-of-factly. "I was thinking we pour it into a glass of pumpkin juice, since the potion will look less conspicuous and Potter will be happy for a drink after the heated experience with Deanna." She rushed to the second year girls' dormitory and returned all of Deanna's make-up and perfume. Then she poured some of the potion into a glass of pumpkin juice and went down to the common room where James and Deanna were flirting hopelessly.
"Hey, Potter, want a drink?" asked Lily, as amiable as possible, as the foursome approached the couple.
"Sure," said James, wiping his brow in exhaust. He drank it gratefully and handed the glass back to Lily. They waited with anticipation at the results. Nothing of the obvious happened to him, but then his eyes widened and he calmed down a bit. Deanna noticed none of this, however. She was staring at Lily to see her reactions to her new 'boyfriend'.
Suddenly, James exclaimed, "Why am I sitting with you? In the same chair?"
"But Jamsie," pouted Deanna. "Don't you like me anymore?"
"I never did like you, Deanna," sighed James, and pushed the plump girl away.
"It worked!" whispered Sirius. They dragged James to the boys' dormitory.
"Pay up, Potter," said Lily when they got there. "Oh, you too, Sirius."
"Right," said Sirius rather reluctantly, but he drew out five galleons and handed them over to Lily.
"I don't get it," said James, frowning. "Why are you paying Evans? And why do I have to pay her?"
"Deanna gave you a love potion, and we mixed the counter-curse potion, mostly done by Lily," said Remus briskly. He never did use too many words.
"What? And I have to pay Evans back for gratitude! No way!"
"Come on, James, you guys have jewelry and treasure in your Gringotts' vault, you should owe Lily some money."
"Fine!" James shoved a handful of coins into Lily's hand, but Lily shook her head.
"I don't want this." She shoved the coins back to James and ran from the dormitory.
"Now look what you did, Potter!" growled Arabella.
"What? What did I do? It was Evans' fault! She's the one who—"
They suddenly heard a distinct wailing from the girls' dormitory. Arabella stood up and glared at all of them.
"I hope you're satisfied, now that you made Lily cry." Then she turned her heel up and marched out of their dormitory.
"Girls," muttered Sirius. "I mean, I love Bella and everything, but boy can she be weird."
"Definitely," agreed James moodily.
"Jen? Shh…why are you crying?" asked Lily softly, as Arabella barged into their dormitory. She stopped at the sight of a crying Jennifer.
"Jenny! Why are you crying?" she repeated.
"R-Remus, h-he d-d-doesn't l-like m-m-me at all!" wailed Jennifer.
The three girls exchanged glances. Then Arabella began nervously, "He might be afraid Jen…"
"Afraid!" cried Jennifer. "Of what?"
Lily and Arabella both sat on the edge of Jennifer's bed. Then Lily began.
"Well…er…Bella here plundered on to the boys that you liked Remus. Then Remus said that we were too young to think of love and dating, and he also sounded and looked kind of nervous. We think he's hiding something."
Lily, Arabella, Violet, and Jennifer all looked at each other. Then Violet spoke up.
"I think that we should do a bit of poking around when Remus goes with Madame Pomfrey tonight."
Lily gasped. "I suddenly realized something! Tonight's the full moon! Professor Sinistra made us memorize the cycles of the moon for Astronomy, and I remembered that tonight's the full moon!"
"And if Remus is going to see Madame Pomfrey…" Then the girls exclaimed in unison, "Remus Lupin is a werewolf!"
"But Remus…" began Jennifer, her eyes wide. "He's a werewolf? I can't believe that! He—he's a monster!" She finished faintly.
"Jen, you know it's the same, sweet Remus we've always known," said Arabella pragmatically.
"I know, but how come he's never told us before?"
"Because he's afraid he might lose us as friends, if we ever found out," said Violet quietly. I think—er—poking around isn't such a good idea. After all, werewolves are a danger to people."
"Yeah," sighed Lily. "I just wish there was some way to help Remus."
Arabella grabbed her friend's arm sharply. "Tell the boys."
"No. I know that they might not care if Remus is a werewolf, but then again, boys aren't so open-minded. Let them figure it out themselves. I mean, we're not the only ones who wonder why Remus disappears once a month. Besides, Potter and Sirius are the cleverest boys in the first year, they'd figure it out sooner or later."
"So you do like James now?" asked Arabella slyly. Lily responded with a whack from her pillow.
***
Lily and James were walking down the corridor together. Again, Dumbledore had wished to see them, much to Lily's displeasure.
"I can't believe I marry you," sighed Lily, as they walked closer to the stone gargoyle. "I must grow really stupid when I get older."
James roared with laughter. "You, get stupid? I mean, if I get stupid when I get older, there's possibility, but you? The genius of the first years?" He shook his head, still chortling.
"It could happen," snapped Lily, but flushed with pleasure. The thought that James said that she was the genius of the first years did a strange effect on her.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Professor Dumbledore appeared, holding some sort of dignified block of glass. Bewildered, Lily and James followed him into his office.
"Look into this," he said quietly.
They both peered into it, still confused. Then, a picture appeared in it. It looked like a regular television set to Lily, except smaller. It was a girl and two boys speaking, and she recognized them to be the ones laughing on the Quidditch field in Dumbledore's crystal ball.
"I can't believe what Snape is making me do," they heard the red-haired boy mutter as the trio of them walked down the corridor. "Black could've finished him off for us, eh?"
"Oh, Ron, don't be silly, but will Snape be substituting for Professor Lupin again—?" they heard the bushy-haired girl sigh.
"Professor Lupin's back!" exclaimed the black-haired boy, Harry, as he peered into what looked like the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. The three of them went inside and Lily and James caught a glimpse of a rather tired-looking man with light brown hair that had wisps of gray in them, but he was rather young. He also looked oddly like—
"Remus!" they both whispered together.
Professor Dumbledore smiled as he put the block of glass aside. "I thought you might like to see a little bit of the future."
"But—but," spluttered James. "Remus—become a professor? Of Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
"It may be a ludicrous thought for you now," answered Dumbledore gently, "but I'm sure Mr. Lupin will be showing a lot of his teaching skills later on at Hogwarts. The boy is mighty talented, however..." Dumbledore shook his head sadly and said nothing, but Lily knew what he was going to say.
"Why did they call Sirius 'Black'?" she queried. "Surely if we...died, Harry, or whatever is name is, should be close with our friends?"
Dumbledore shook his head. "That I cannot tell you, Miss Evans. It's for you to find out later on. It's not good to know too many things about the future. Your future. Your friends' future."
Lily and James left Dumbledore's office with quizzical looks on their faces. Remus, shy, sweet, and calm Remus—become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor? And Sirius—called 'Black' by nearly everyone in the castle in a terrified and disgusted way...perhaps some sort of infamous...well...they didn't quite know what.
-
Lily was shaking, as she stood up in Charms for the exam by making a pineapple tap-dance across a desk, raised her arm. In a flick, the immobile pineapple that lay motionless on the desk had started tap-dancing vigorously across the desk. The class burst into applause and Lily sat back down in her seat next to Arabella in relief.
"That was incredible, Lils," she hissed, as Lily collapsed into her chair, ashen-faced. "Told you."
Lily only smiled.
"I can't believe that pineapple wouldn't budge until the last second!" exclaimed James emphatically as they left Charms half an hour later. "How does Evans do it?"
"Talent and skill, my friend, talent and skill," said Sirius wisely. Then he added, "And the proper wand, of course."
"I wish I had the proper wand for Charms," sighed James, exasperated.
"You have the proper wand for Transfiguration," offered Remus helpfully. Peter, his thoughts still on how terribly he did on his exam by making the pineapple wither before their eyes, did not speak.
James noticed this right away. "Don't worry, Peter, you'll get it—sometime."
"Or someday," added Sirius.
"Sirius!"
"What?"
James sighed, frustrated. "Well, it's lunch time, then after that it's Transfiguration. Well, at least I don't have to suffer on that." Then he smirked widely. "And I'll be watching Evans suffer, for a change."
How very wrong he was. Right after lunch, the first year Gryffindors headed off to their Transfiguration exam. Lily was looking thoroughly confident, and when it came her turn, she gave a casual wave of her wand, and the mouse she was supposed to turn into a snuffbox had first turned into a shade of scarlet and gold, and into a beautiful snuffbox. Professor McGonagall, who knew that Lily was hopeless at Transfiguration, was thoroughly astonished at how pretty and perfect the snuffbox turned to be. As Lily went back to her seat, Arabella gave a quiet but admiring whistle.
"That was amazing, Lil! I thought you said you were terrible at Transfiguration."
"I've practiced that one for a month," muttered Lily, grinning as she sat down.
James had also turned his snuffbox into a scarlet and gold mix. McGonagall didn't look surprised, but calmly nodded, allowing him to take a seat. But what puzzled the rest of the class when everyone finished their exams was why Lily and James turned their snuffboxes into the same thing. They knew that it wasn't your choice how pretty your snuffbox turned out to be, but the news spread through the whole school like wildfire—Lily and James had the same snuffbox.
"I don't know what the big fuss is about," complained Lily, as she saw another group of people huddled together, pointing at her and nudging at their friends. "I mean, so what if James and I had the same snuffbox?"
"It's never happened before in a long time," said Arabella solemnly. "Hasn't for what—two hundred years? When two people transfigure objects into the same exact thing in shape and size, it often means that they are destined for each other."
"You mean love?" asked Lily, puzzled.
"Well, not exactly. I mean, there are a lot of people in love, but most of them don't transfigure objects into the exact same thing. It's something more powerful than love—something like a love that can never be destroyed. Love that even death cannot be destroyed, and when one or both of the soulmates die, their love will live in others that they loved before."
Lily stared at her friend. "How do you know these things?"
Arabella shrugged. "I read it in our Transfiguration book."
Lily laughed. "And I thought I paid attention to my homework!"
"Well, it wasn't necessarily homework. I just found it interesting so I started to flip through the book and read it."
"You don't think it's true, do you, Bells?"
"It probably is."
"Please say you're kidding."
"I'm not kidding."
"Thanks a lot, Bells," groaned Lily. She collided right into James Potter.
"Watch where you're going next time, Evans!" cried James, stumbling backwards. Luckily Remus caught his shoulder firmly with his arm.
"Thanks Remus—hey, why the long faces?"
"Lily got upset about what I said," said Arabella matter-of-factly.
"Really? What did you say?"
"That the love you both will one day share will be more powerful than regular love."
James stared, just as Lily had done. "That's not true."
"Yes, it is. You two are destined for each other, James. Just—not yet."
***
"I'll see you over the summer, Lils!" called Arabella, waving frantically to her best friend and walking grudgingly after her mother.
"I'll see you too, Bella! Thanks for inviting me, Mrs. Figg!" added Lily. She was practically yelling on the top of her lungs.
"You're welcome, Lily," said Mrs. Figg warmly.
"Lily!" It was Mrs. Evans calling, and she was beaming at her daughter.
"Mum!" cried Lily, and flew into her mother's outstretched arms. "Dad!" She hugged her father. But when she saw Petunia sulking off at a corner, she nodded curtly, and said shortly, "Petunia."
"Lily," snapped Petunia just as shortly.
Lily ignored her sister and began to tell her parents about her exams. She had gotten three hundred and fifteen percent in Charms; two hundred in Transfiguration; one hundred and fifty five in Astronomy; one hundred and ninety-eight in Herbology; two hundred and twelve in History of Magic; three hundred in Defense Against the Dark Arts; and one hundred and ten in Potions. Lily was certainly amazed that she had gotten that high in Potions. She had expected something terrible, but Professor Hurst must have given in sometime, deciding to be a little less biased. She had scored top of the first years, with James Potter and Sirius Black tailing very close to her in second. Remus, Violet, Arabella, and Jennifer had all done very well, going above average, but Peter did abysmally. But Professor Dumbledore, having a good heart, had let the little boy pass, much to Professor McGonagall's dismay.
Her mother's eyes filled with tears after she finished and sobbed on Mr. Evans' shoulder and wailed that she was so proud of Lily. Mr. Evans just stood there, patting his wife's shoulder awkwardly and congratulating Lily enthusiastically and how proud he was, too, for having such a clever witch for a daughter.
"Hey." Lily turned around, and to her surprise and horror, James Potter was grinning at her, his brown eyes full of mischief as usual.
Mrs. Evans had wiped her eyes with a handkerchief and asked Lily, smiling, "Is this your new friend, Lily?"
Lily shrugged. "Er—I guess." She didn't want her parents to think that the boy standing there was her biggest enemy, or else they'd make her leave Hogwarts right away.
James grinned even widely and gave the Evans a short bow. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Evans. Lily and I are—er—great friends." He furrowed his brow after the last sentence. Then he spotted Petunia lurking around her parents' back and snorted softly. He had heard a lot about this girl from Lily, who thought that magical people were "freaks".
"Hello," he said, trying to be friendly but failing terribly. "Er—you must be Petunia, right?"
She looked up and stared at him, examining him from head to toe. While battling on what to say, she finally snapped, "You must be one of Lily's friends at school."
James shrugged. "I suppose you could say that."
"Did Lily tell you about me?"
"Er—a bit."
"The freak," Petunia muttered under her breath. She kept shooting James daggers and muttering things like "freak" and "never combed his hair in his life" to herself. James restrained himself from laughing.
"Well, I'll see you over the summer, then, Lily," he said casually, and ran back to where his parents were waiting.
"See me over the summer?" said Lily to herself, as she got into the car. "What does he mean? I suppose Potter just meant that he'd see me on September 1st again, when the term started and when we become second years."
Then she laid down her head as the car drove through the familiar Muggle surroundings that Lily had grown up in, not knowing that she would see the whole gang—including James' friends—that summer, and have the best time of her life. For now, she was just glad the end-of-the-year exams were over and done with and that she passed the first year. But something still lingered on her mind and kept repeating itself. It was the Sorting Hat's voice when it had sorted her into Gryffindor.
"You will become an important part of the magical world someday, along with Mr. Po—but I shall not tell you." Did it mean James?