Year Three – Part Three
A soft, light breeze played with Lily's hair, as she pushed a falling lock of red hair off her forehead. It was a few weeks until June arrived, and she knew that exams were just in last than a month already. The sun was shining brightly, and not a cloud was in the sky. Lily should have been enjoying all this, but she had other things to worry about, besides the exams. Arabella and Sirius were still "just friends", and she was extremely exasperated at their stubbornness. She was also concerned with what the Marauders were planning. Every day, she would see them actually talking seriously in front of the armchairs by the fire, glancing now and then to see if anyone was listening. What were they up to? And what did they mean by "very dangerous"?
"Lily!" She turned around, seeing James running towards her, grinning. Lily sighed. What did he want now?
"Yes?" she replied coldly. He ignored her cold civility and continued excitedly.
"W-would you like to g-go with me to H-Hogsmeade?" he managed to stumble out. Lily raised her eyebrows.
"And I would believe that this isn't a joke because—?"
James sighed. "Can you just say 'yes'?"
"No. Er—I'll think about it, all right?"
"All right." James' voice sounded extremely put-off and disappointed, but Lily waved it aside. He was probably disappointed that a girl turned him down, or at least almost turned him down.
Lily reached the castle again, swinging her bag over her shoulders. She groaned, as she looked up at the ceiling. Potions…her next class.
Professor Hurst looked extremely agitated over something when she reached the dungeons. She sat next to Arabella, who gave her a look that asked, "Where the hell were you?" Lily shook her head, nodding towards Hurst, who was muttering to himself.
As Hurst droned on and on about Jumping Potions, Lily found herself falling asleep. Though the dungeons were very cool even in the summer, she found that it was hotter than usual, and that she wasn't the only one who was bothered with it. Many students were asleep with their heads on their desks, and even Hurst was half-asleep, drool coming out of his mouth as he spoke. Suddenly, the door opened, revealing James grinning stupidly.
"Potter!" shrieked Hurst. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Er—I came in late?" offered James hopefully. Everyone laughed.
"No, wrong answer, Potter. Go take your seat." Then he continued with his droning.
"Bud, where were you?" asked Sirius curiously, as James sat down next to him.
"I was asking Lily to go with me to Hogsmeade," he said carelessly, taking out his Potions materials.
"And what did she say?" he asked eagerly.
"Er—she'd think about it."
Sirius cackled silently, annoying James even more.
"Shut it, will you?" he hissed.
"Oh, this is the first time James Potter has been turned down by a girl…namely, Lily Evans!" bellowed Sirius, so the whole class could hear. Everyone was stunned for a minute, as Professor Hurst glared at the pair of them.
"Black, Potter! What is the meaning of this?"
"Sirius started it, sir," said James, his eyes widening innocently. "You heard him talk out loud, didn't you?"
Hurst raised his eyebrows and sneered. "Potter, whenever Black does something, you're usually connected to it, too."
"Why would you say that, sir?"
"Because, Potter, every single person in this school that you two are like peanut butter and jelly, which makes the work a lot harder for us teachers. Now, detention for both of you and twenty points from Gryffindor! Well, what are the rest of you waiting for?" He looked around at the silent Gryffindors and Slytherins. "Get back to work!"
"Yes, Professor," the class replied meekly, and went back to taking notes.
Half an hour later, James was twirling his quill around, and Sirius was asleep. Lily was feeling tired herself and looked around the classroom, until her eyes rested on the two sleepy (and sleeping) boys, and smirked.
Potter, Potter, when will you learn, she thought amusedly. Her own green eyes locked with his brown ones as he sat up, and Lily looked away, blushing.
"Evans." Lily's head shot up.
"Yes, Professor?"
"If you're quite finished staring at Potter, you can answer my question." Professor Hurst's voice was extremely dry. Lily blushed and muttered an apology.
Sirius snorted out loud. "Lils…he asked what was the difference between the Aging Potion and the Old—"
"Perhaps you know the answer, Black, since you must sneer at Evans so?" snapped Professor Hurst.
"The difference between the Aging Potion and the Olden Potion is that though they both make you older, the Olden Potion has many more complex ingredients such as the—"
"I did not ask you to show off, Mr. Black, I asked you to answer my question."
"I did!" cried Sirius indignantly.
"Mr. Snape? Perhaps you would care to answer this question that Black was unable to." Sirius started to protest again, but James kicked him under the table.
"The difference is that the Olden Potion's ingredients are more complex and very different from the Aging Potion," replied Snape smugly.
"That's what I said!" exclaimed Sirius. "I said more stuff though; that slimy git just took my words and said them and—"
"Mr. Black, that is quite enough!" bellowed Hurst. The entire class became silent, and the rest of Potions was a quiet affair.
"I can't believe that Hurst!" shouted Sirius, as the bell rang. "He—he deliberately told me that I was bragging, but I wasn't, and then Snape took the words right out of my mouth and started to say what I said, but summarized it."
"Gee, Sirius, you don't have to be so touchy about it," consoled Jennifer. "Hurst is always like that to everyone, except the Slytherins."
"But—still—"
"Sirius, shut up, will you?" sighed James impatiently. Then he turned to Lily and asked pleadingly, "So…are you up for the Hogsmeade trip this weekend?"
Everyone stared at Lily, who blushed. Finally, she said, "Oh, fine, I'll go. But this better not be a joke or a prank of yours." She glared at him.
James sighed in relief. "Don't worry, it's not."
-
"Come on, Lils, let's go to Zonko's!" cried James, dragging Lily behind him. "C'mon, it'll be fun an'…"
"Really, James, I would expect your grammar to be better," replied Lily stiffly, as she stumbled over a rock. "James!" she screeched.
"Whoops, sorry," said James, bending down and helping Lily up.
"So…where's Bella and Sirius?" she asked curiously, as James finally settled down.
"Er—I don't know," said James uncomfortably. Lily rolled her eyes. She wasn't an idiot to guess that James knew where they were.
"Sure you don't, Potter. I've known you for three years already."
James sighed. "Oh, fine then. Arabella is off with Kevin Patil and Sirius is out with—er—oh, hell, what was that girl's name again? The girl he started snogging with at the Great Hall and has been dating ever since…what is her name?"
Lily rolled her eyes again. "You mean you don't even know your best friend's current 'girlfriend'?"
James ignored her and was still racking his brain for the girl's name. "I got it!" he finally exclaimed. "It was—Alanna Macmillan! That was her name!"
"Lily?" They both turned around to see a good-looking Ravenclaw boy in their year, Lance Sharpe.
"Yes?" she asked, rather testily. Lily was rather careful around boys she didn't know too well.
"Would you care for a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks?"
"I'm sorry, Lance, but I'm already going with James," said Lily sweetly.
He nodded, looking confused. "I thought you hated him, though."
Lily shrugged. "Things change. I'm sorry."
"Oh, it's all right, really."
When he left, James burst into peals of laughter. "Oh…things change? Nice one, Evans!"
"Hey, it was the best I could do!" cried Lily, offended.
"Oh, Jamsie!" They both turned around to see Sirius walking towards them, his arm around the waist of a different girl.
"Sirius…who is this?" asked James politely, trying not to scream at his best friend.
"Oh, this is Jeannie Paterson," said Sirius brightly, grinning. "She's a Ravenclaw, and in the same year as us."
"Oh," replied James, disinterested. Then he leaned closer and hissed, "What happened to that Macmillan girl?"
"My God, she was so bad at snogging!" whispered Sirius. "You should have seen her; she was drooling all over my mouth!"
James snorted and entered Zonko's with a protesting Lily behind him.
"I can't believe that Sirius is a player!" she cried. "When he was together with Bells, he was so sweet and caring to everyone, and didn't have these sick-minded thoughts. And now that he's dumped Bella and only 'friends' with her, he's just like Jason Mackenzie and Amos Diggory." She sighed hopelessly and began fingering the Dungbombs in the display case listlessly.
"Don't feel that way," said James softly. "Sirius is my best friend—but I have to admit it, you're right. He's not the same without Arabella. But I guess we can't play matchmaker on them, unless if we want them both killed."
"And," continued Lily, ignoring James, "Bella is dating that Patil kid. What happened between him and Deanna?"
"Let me guess: they slept together, Deanna got pregnant, and now Kevin left her to take care of the baby. Yep, I think that's it."
"Is it true?" asked Lily, horrified.
"Well, it could be," replied James, shrugging.
Just then, a group of giggling girls passed them, sniggering and pointing at James. Then one of them fluttered their eyelashes at him, and they all walked out of the store, still grinning and hyperventilating to have met the famous James Potter from school. James turned a bright shade of red while Lily smiled at him.
"So this is what your life is, huh? Girls chasing and madly in love with you wherever you go."
"You have no idea, Evans."
"Actually, I do have a pretty good idea. Every day I have idiotic boys chasing and following me around the corridors. I, of course, ignore them, unlike you, who loves every attention you get from—"
"That's not true!" demanded James.
"Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Hot-shot, but you do look like you enjoy all of the attention." Lily scowled fiercely. "Now since you've dragged me here, aren't you going to buy anything?"
"Oh, yeah, I forgot." James searched around the store for fifteen minutes, coming back with two bags full of jokes and pranks. "Let's go."
They came out, Lily also carrying one of James' heavy bags, and set off towards Honeydukes, where Arabella and Sirius were examining the Pepper Imps, grinning evilly at each other.
"Hey," greeted Lily, as they went to where they were standing.
"Oh, Lils, we have a brilliant plan," said Arabella, her eyes sparkling excitedly. Lily raised her eyebrows.
"Oh, but what about Kevin?" she asked innocently. Arabella colored.
"I'm still going out with him, but he's somewhere at the Three Broomsticks with his friends."
"How come he dumped Deanna for you?"
"He got her pregnant, didn't he?" exclaimed James, jumping.
"Er—well, actually, I'm not sure what happened," she admitted. "He avoided the topic when I asked."
"Duh. That's because…ouch! What the heck was that for, Evans?" Lily nodded her head towards Kevin, who was headed their way.
"Oh! Er—hello, Kevin," said James politely. Kevin sneered at him.
"Hmm…if it isn't the Mr. Hot-shot himself, James Potter, along with Miss I'm-So-Wonderful, Lily Evans." Both Lily and James turned bright red.
"Leave them alone, Kevin, they didn't do anything to you," snapped Arabella.
"Why, didn't they, Ella, my dear?" Arabella cringed at the nickname. "James Potter refused the woes of poor Deanna Jackson, that's what. I only dated her to comfort her, but since she had to leave school at such a young age of fourteen—" He pretended to sigh wistfully.
"What the hell did you do to her, Patil?" growled James, clenching his fists. "I knew you went and got her pregnant or whatnot…"
"Well, I wouldn't be telling you, now, would I, Potter?" asked Kevin delicately.
"You—you—" Arabella spoke up, her face red and her voice trembling. "Get away from me, you perverted idiot! And stay away!"
Kevin was taken aback. "Surely you don't believe a word Potter has said, do you, Ella?"
"James is my friend, and Lily my best friend, and here you're insulting them both! Stop it!" she shrieked.
"Mr. Patil! Ms. Figg! What on earth are you yelling about?" They all turned around to see Professor McGonagall peering sternly at them behind her spectacles.
"Sorry, Professor," they both apologized meekly.
"Dear me, I thought the world was coming down," she muttered, strolling away again, glaring at the pair of them for one last time.
"Puh! McGonagall's going to get it one of these days," spat Kevin, as he pushed Arabella roughly and went to join his "friends".
Arabella started crying. "Oh, Lily, James, I'm so sorry I did such a bad thing! But—oh, you're right, I can't survive without Sirius. I love him, I really do."
Lily and James looked at each other in surprise. "Well—love is a really powerful word, Bella, but—" Lily began, but Arabella cut her off again.
"Will you please help me get him to notice me again? Both of you?" Her teary eyes pleaded them wearily.
"Of course, Bella, anything for my best friend." Lily smiled, and Arabella hugged her tightly.
"Thanks, Lil, you're the greatest friend ever."
***
"Er—hi, Sirius," said Arabella nervously, as she flinched continuously when Sirius placed an arm around another girl's waist.
"Hey, Bells." His eyes brightened at the sight of her, but frowned slightly as he saw she had no accompaniment. "I see you don't have Kevin with you today."
"Oh, he's a worthless person, I found out that he's an idiot who—"
"Did you just say Kevin Patil is free?" asked the blonde cuddling next to Sirius. Arabella nodded, secretly disgusted at her.
"Oh, well what am I waiting for? Sorry, Sirius, it was a nice relationship we had, but I am so getting Kev before any other girl." She raced off to the staircase.
Sirius sighed hopelessly. "Another girl gone. Soon I'll be going through Violet and Lily if I have to, to find the right girl for me." He laughed bitterly.
"Sirius, you're way too young for such nonsense, try concentrating on your studies. We have exams in a couple more weeks!"
"Bells, you're turning to be just like Lily." He grinned.
Arabella blushed. "Is this a compliment—or a threat?"
Sirius put on a puppy face. "Now, why would it be a threat?"
She shrugged. "Don't know."
"Is Lily and James together?"
"Not on your life, bud."
"Darn." Arabella laughed.
"I told you, they'd be together by maybe sixth or seventh year." She grinned at Sirius' horrified face.
"I'm not waiting for three to five more years, I want them together now!" He pouted.
Bella shrugged. "You can't get everything in life."
"I know, but I should."
"Well, I should, too, then."
"Fine, what do you want in life?"
Arabella shrugged again. "It's my business and not anyone else's."
"C'mon, Bella, you have to tell me!" Arabella shook her head.
"No, I can't. Really, Sirius, it's too personal."
"But—"
"No." With that, Arabella walked off to where Lily and James were arguing (again), and plopped into a chair next to James.
"Hey."
James looked up and grinned. "Hey, Bells. How'd it go?"
"Awful. Sirius tried to get me to tell him what I wanted most in life, and I couldn't tell him that."
"Why not?" He furrowed his brow.
"Why"—she looked at him in surprise—"I want him more than anything else in life right now, and that's the one thing that I can't get."
James stood up abruptly and stared at her. "You mean all you want in life is to have Sirius again, and be together and happy? Out of all the things in life that you could have?"
Arabella nodded, and James' jaw dropped in horror.
"That's outrageous!"
"Potter, stop bothering Bella and mind your own business," snapped Lily, looking up from her book.
"Who says I'll listen to you?" asked James, sticking out his tongue. Lily grimaced at the immaturity of it.
"Because I'll hex you good."
"Ha! As if you know any hexes at all!"
Lily flipped her book so that James could see the cover: 200 Ways to Hex Your Enemies.
"Enough proof yet?" she asked coldly. James nodded mutely.
"Now"—she turned her attention back to Bella—"what was it you were saying, Bells?"
"I can't stand it any longer, Lils," gasped Arabella. "I need…Sirius. I don't think I can survive without him. You're right, I should have just swallowed all my pride and tell him that I'm sorry and that we should be going steady again. But—" She burst into tears again.
"Bella?" Sirius stood there, looking at her with tender eyes. "What's wrong?"
Before Lily could hiss an insult, Arabella pushed past him and ran up to the girls' dormitory. Lily glared at him, but didn't follow her, knowing that her best friend needed some time alone.
"You leave her alone, Sirius Black, or I'll hex you good," she threatened, poking her wand at his chest.
"What did I do, though?" questioned Sirius, bewildered.
"Just"—Lily struggled to find the right words—"just forget about it, all right? Why would you care, anyway? You guys aren't friends at all. There's always a tension around whenever you two talk to each other. So why would YOU care?"
"I—" Sirius was lost for words. He looked at James pleadingly for help, but his best friend looked away.
"And to think you said that James and I were perfect for each other."
***
Everything was stiffer for everyone now. Lily dragged all her friends to study for the exams, and sighed as she stared at the Divination charts horrifically. Jennifer and Remus were still going steady, though the latter acted rather strange lately, and the boys were in more huddled conversations.
"Remus J. Lupin, come here," said Jennifer threateningly, grabbing the arm of her boyfriend and dragging him to a darker corner of the common room.
"Yes, Jenny?" asked Remus, rather nervously.
Jennifer sighed. "Remie, everyone's unhappy lately. Lily and James, naturally, aren't talking to each other, but they never do without wishing the other ill will, so forget about them for now. Arabella and Sirius need to get together—everyone knows it, even the slimy Slytherins. We need to make everyone happy again, like we were at the beginning of the year and in the past two years. Please Remus, you have to help me." She begged. "Along with Lily and James, of course."
Remus smiled. "Of course I will, Jen."
Jennifer smiled back. "Good, 'cause I wasn't taking 'no' for an answer."
-
"Ouch! Stop it, Potter!"
"You stop it, Evans!"
"You!"
"You!"
"James Henry Potter and Lily Roseanne Evans, stop arguing this instant!" shrieked Jennifer, as she sighed in impatience.
"Can't you guys become friends?" asked Remus mournfully.
"No!" they both yelled.
"You guys, are you going to help Siri and Bella, or what?" questioned Jennifer wearily.
"Of course we will, Jenny!" exclaimed Lily in surprise.
"THEN STOP BLOODY ARGUING!"
"All right," said both Lily and James in a small voice.
"Good." After Jennifer calmed down a bit, she discussed the plan with Lily, James, and Remus. After a few minutes of whispering and planning, James jumped up.
"You mean we get them to hate each other?" he shouted in surprise.
"No, you git!" said Lily impatiently. "Not even close to what we're doing! We get Sissy Lambert and Frank Longbottom to be Sirius and Arabella's girlfriend and boyfriend, respectively. Then those two will get jealous, obviously, so they make up and there we have it, folks, our old, favorite couple again!" Her voice dripped with sarcasm and bitterness.
"All right, then, no need to be angry."
The foursome then dragged Violet, who was bullying her brain to turn a frog into a goblet, out of the girls' dormitory where they were meeting, and all hurried to find Sissy and Frank. They found them sitting in opposite sides of the common room, studying for the exams, and they begged them to assent to their plan. Sissy, being the sweet and kind girl she was, agreed heartily to contain the "Figg and Black" couple again, but Frank had rebelled. He had said something about being an Auror when he graduated out of Hogwarts, and needed top grades every year, so he had no time for "wishy-washy nonsense". Lily, Jennifer, and Violet had begged him with tear-filled eyes and James and Remus made him unlimited promises and deals. Finally, Frank assented, feeling slightly warm that the five would do anything to make their two friends happy again.
"So I have to be Sirius' girlfriend?" asked Sissy, rather nervously. "But—I don't think he even knows my name!"
"Well…" Lily looked warmly at the frightened second year. "Don't worry, we won't let Bella kill you, but…"
"Sirius will date any girl at this point, don't worry," assured James, smiling.
"What about me?" demanded Frank. "This is so stupid, I can't believe you dragged me into this, James."
"Oh, please, Frank, you know how your daddy told you to look out for little Jamsie before my first day at Hogwarts." He pouted.
Frank sighed. "Oh, very well, but what should I do? I don't like the looks of that Arabella Figg, she's far too giggly and frivolous for me."
"Frank, you don't have to date her for real, it's part of our plan," said Lily, sighing. "Can't you agree to anything we tell you? Besides, Bella's not giggly; she's a clever and sweet girl. She just turned bad because of a certain someone named Sirius Black."
"Fine," said Frank helplessly. "I won't complain again. But what is it that I have to do?"
"Seduce Arabella, and dump her, the same time Sissy dumps Sirius." Both jaws dropped, looking shocked at the very idea of "seducing" and "dumping".
"You have to be kidding me!" cried Frank.
"Isn't dumping someone too mean?" asked Sissy timidly.
"Don't worry, we won't get mad," said James brightly. Lily slapped him on the arm.
"Guys, I know it's a bit too much, but it won't be real. Sirius and Arabella lo—er—like each other too much, so they won't get heartbroken. Now, if this plan backfires like last time"—Lily glared at James—"you will be personally injured and tortured for the rest of your life, Potter."
James winced. This better work or my life will be ruined, he thought gloomily. See Sirius – see how much I do for you?
-
"So…Arabella," said Frank, his voice shaking. "Would you like to maybe go out with me for some time?" After many hours of practice, the five third years had made the stiff and rule-abiding fourth year a slick and social one.
"Er—sure," replied Arabella doubtfully. She was surprised at the change that overcame Frank Longbottom, since he was usually more strict than even the prefects who patrolled the school to scold any rule-breakers…namely, the Marauders.
"Great!" exclaimed Frank, maybe a bit too over-enthusiastically. "How about tonight? Meet me at the portrait hole at seven o'clock."
"Sure," said Arabella, biting her lip. Frank grinned and left to study again, glad that it didn't take much effort at all.
Meanwhile, Sissy was smiling a bit too much at Sirius, who grinned back, rather hesitantly.
"S-so, y-you want t-to g-go t-to—" she stuttered, but Sirius kindly finished her sentence for her.
"To maybe have a study session together?"
"Y-yeah, t-that."
"Sure!"
"Great…" Sissy trailed off, a bit embarrassed at how terrible it went. Oh well, at least a third of the mission was accomplished. Then she had to spend more time with Sirius and—dump him. Sissy gulped at the latter.
"Well…how did it go?" asked Jennifer excitedly, as Sissy and Frank went to their meeting spot again.
"Awful," replied Sissy, at the same time Frank said, "Great!"
The five of them raised their eyebrows questioningly and were about to say something, but Arabella and Sirius stormed into the common room, screaming at each other.
"YOU MEAN YOU'RE HAVING A STUDY SESSION WITH THAT BLASTED LONGBOTTOM?" roared Sirius.
"WELL, HE'S NOT THAT BAD, YOU KNOW! WHAT ABOUT YOU, YOU'RE GOING WITH SISSY LAMBERT, THE MOST PATHETIC AND SL—" cried Arabella. Sissy's eyes widened, and tears formed in them.
"ARABELLA FIGG AND SIRIUS BLACK, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SCREAMING FOR?" bellowed James, standing up angrily. "I MEAN, SERIOUSLY, FRANK AND SISSY ARE JUST GOING OUT WITH YOU GUYS BECAUSE WE ASKED THEM TO! YES, THAT'S RIGHT, WE DID! YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE YOU TWO BLOODY LOVE EACH OTHER, FOR GOD'S SAKE, AND YOU WON'T ADMIT IT! SO WE TRIED TO GET YOU GUYS JEALOUS AND MAKE UP ALREADY. BUT IS IT WORKING—NO! NOW YOU'RE BLAMING EVERYTHING ON FRANK AND SISSY, WHO HAVEN'T DONE A SINGLE THING WRONG!" He huffed and stormed off to the boys' dormitory, furious.
Everyone stopped what he or she was doing in stunned silence. Even Lily was speechless, mouthing something about ruining their plan in silence. No one said a word, until Sirius swallowed all of his pride for the last few weeks and apologized, while Arabella did the same, vice-versa.
"Are we together again?" he asked softly.
Arabella nodded. "Can we be together again, Sirius?"
"Of course." When they kissed, the whole common room erupted in cheers and whistles. Even some girls had tears in their eyes, beaming at the romantic scene that lay out before them.
Lily started to cry. It was beautiful, how romance could be repaired and restored when the two lovers swallowed their prides and apologized and made-up. But why she really cried was because it could never happen to her. She made a vow to herself never to fall in love with any boy ever, and to live and die as an old maid for the rest of her life. Little did Lily know, however, that she had fallen in love with a certain messy-haired boy ever since the first day of Hogwarts, back at King's Cross—but didn't realize it.
***
"Lily, can I tell you something?" An older James Potter was almost shaking as he chafed his hands.
"Sure, James," replied the redhead, puzzled as to why James was so nervous.
"I-I think—I know—that I love you, Lily Roseanne Evans," he said firmly.
Lily's eyes filled with tears. "Truly, James? Do you mean it?"
"With all my heart and soul."
Lily smiled weakly and said, "Well, I've never felt this way about any boy before, but I love you, too, James Henry Potter."
James' eyes widened, and he cradled Lily's face in his hands and kissed her deeply. Lily enjoyed every moment of that kiss. Sure, James had kissed her before many, many times, but this kiss was different. It wasn't a friendly kiss; instead, it showed how deeply they cared for each other, and how far those roots of love went. They were oblivious to their six other friends watching them with great smiles, but only saw themselves and knew that they were in love.
"What the—?" Lily awoke the next morning, and checked the time. Great, it was only six o'clock in the morning, and she was ready to bet that her friends wouldn't be awake until about eight or nine, since it was Saturday. She got dressed and went down to the common room, and pulled out Hogwarts, A History.
"Lily?" Lily turned around to see the brown eyes of James Potter scrutinizing her closely.
"Potter? What are you doing down here at this hour?"
"I could be asking you to the same thing."
"I—I had a dream again, and I couldn't sleep any longer, so I came down here," said Lily quickly, thinking of the first phrase that popped into her head.
"Really? Same with me! It was something about—" He cut himself off, blushing furiously.
"About…?"
"About…me telling you that I loved you, and vice-versa. But it was when we were older!" he added quickly.
"That's the dream I dreamt about."
James looked relieved. "Really?"
"Yeah—I can't believe I would love you later on. It's scary." Lily shivered.
"Hey! I resent that!"
"And I don't!"
"Will you two shut up already?" They turned around to see Frank Longbottom at a table, with piles of books and parchment stacked high above him. He was reading Intermediate Transfiguration and scribbling notes on a piece of parchment.
"Sorry, Frankie," apologized James, smirking. "Didn't know you would be up at this hour studying for the bloody exams."
"They're important," he replied stiffly, and Lily snorted. Even she didn't care that much about exams.
"Really, Frank, relax. Even I'm not worrying about them, and I was nearly having heart attacks last year."
Frank smiled at Lily. He had always liked her, because she was extremely clever and loyal. But then again, he favored James and Sirius out of all of them for their friendship. Everyone knew that Sirius Black and James Potter was the best duo of pranksters Hogwarts has ever seen, along with Remus Lupin and the fourth follower, Peter Pettigrew. They were a legend. Frank's father had told him to look out for little James two years ago, when James was just starting Hogwarts as a first year. The Potters were always the Longbottoms' closest friends, and James and Frank were also neighbors, as well.
"Yeah, well…Dad still wants me to be an Auror, so—"
"Aww, Frankie, Frankie, I'm going to be an Auror, too, when I graduate from Hogwarts, and I'm not worrying about anything," interrupted James confidently.
Frank rolled his eyes. "Well, young James, I don't know how you get top grades even though you don't study, but I sure don't have your special talent."
"Sh, hush up you two, I hear something!" whispered Lily.
They all watched in anticipation as to what the rustling noise was. Soon enough, Arabella and Sirius were coming down the stairs, snogging along the way. Frank tried his best not to snort, while Lily and James' jaws dropped. Usually those lovebirds were the last to get up after Jennifer and Remus, but they happened to be the first today. Probably couldn't resist a good snog session, mused Lily, grinning.
James thought it was extremely amusing to break up the heated snog. "So nice of you to join us, Mr. Black, Ms. Figg," he said, trying to sound like Professor McGonagall. Arabella and Sirius jumped off each other, and looked around wildly, only to see the amused faces of Lily, James, and Frank.
"Oh, you—" Arabella shook her head, laughing. "James, you got us again."
"Frank, what are you doing up so early? I usually thought the fourth years were the last to get up," said Sirius, grinning.
"Well, Black, even I couldn't resist such a display of affection between you and Ms. Figg," said Frank dryly. Lily and James laughed, while both Bella and Sirius blushed furiously.
"What's all this ruckus?" asked Jennifer, as she and a sleepy Remus came down the staircase.
"Bella and Siri-boy here were giving us a bit of a show here," replied James amusedly. Remus cleared his throat while Jennifer smiled.
"Oh, did you, Bella?" she asked teasingly. "What was it? Snogging or kissing?"
"Snogging," the whole common room said, minus Sirius and Arabella.
-
"My God, hurry up!" cried Lily, as they raced through the corridor. "We'll be late for our Transfiguration exam, and then what'll McGonagall say?"
"Lils, calm down, McGonagall likes you, she won't kill you," panted Arabella. Jennifer and Violet were sprinting behind.
"Oh, if I get a bad grade on my exam, Potter will be dead as a doornail," Lily growled, as she pushed the Transfiguration room open. McGonagall was already grading the fifth person on how to turn an apple into a pigeon, and turned in surprise to see the four panting girls race into their seats. Behind them, the Marauders sniggered loudly, congratulating each other quietly at a job well done.
"Ms. Evans, Ms. Figg, Ms. Walker, Ms. Dean, what is the meaning of this?" cried McGonagall.
Before any of them could reply, Violet screeched, "It was Potter, Professor, Potter and his gang. He put glue on the floor where we were walking, and we took ten minutes to even move!"
Professor McGonagall was taken aback. Usually Violet Walker was a quiet and reserved girl, and Evans, Figg, and Dean did the talking when they were in trouble. She glared at the four sniggering boys and said sharply, "Is this true, boys?"
Sirius put on a puppy face. "Why, why would you think that, Professor? Surely the girls just fed Violet a cock-and-bull story about us doing that; you know we'd never."
Professor McGonagall glared at them menacingly. "I'd hate to give you detention for the last few weeks of school, but you must have some sort of punishment. You will play no pranks from today until the last day of school." Everyone gasped; they knew that this was something the Marauders couldn't do.
James spluttered. "B-but, P-Professor, we have so much planned!"
"Well, Mr. Potter, maybe it's time to actually study like Ms. Evans does." She beamed at Lily, who smiled smugly at James. He glared at her. Suddenly, Lily felt guilty having the Marauders not play any pranks for the rest of this year. She knew that she and her friends depended on them entertaining the girls. Without them, everything would be boring.
"Please, Professor, maybe you can tell them to clean up the Trophy Room, or something?" Lily begged. "Please, don't give them such a punishment; my friends and I don't care too much about a bit of glue." Arabella, Jennifer, and Violet all nodded vigorously.
McGonagall was surprised. This certainly was a day for surprises! "Very well, Ms. Evans. Potter, you and your little gang will be cleaning up the Trophy Room tomorrow evening with Mr. Filch."
The Marauders looked relieved and thanked Professor McGonagall.
-
"Lily, wait up!" Lily turned around to see the Marauders running after her.
"Yeah?"
"Look, we're real sorry about the prank and all, and we just wanted to thank you for saving our skin in Transfiguration," said James sincerely. Lily smiled.
"No problem, it was nothing. Oh, and that reminds me"—she smiled mysteriously at them—"How would you like to come to my house this summer? You know, experience what it's like to live your life as a Muggle and all…if you don't have plans already."
"We'd love to!" the four Marauders shrieked.
"Good, 'cause I wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer, anyway."
"Lils, we always knew you had a good heart," said Arabella, smiling, as the girls caught up with their friend.
"You're one out of a million, Lily," said Violet warmly. Jennifer hugged her friend.
"Yeah, we can look all we want, but we can never find a friend as great as you." They all entangled into a hug, while the boys made a face.
"Too sappy," they chanted.
The girls glared at them. "Well, deal with it."
***
"Have you got everything planned out for the summer, Evans?" asked James, as he dragged his trunk alongside Lily's, as they were prepared to leave for the Hogwarts Express.
"Er—actually, I forgot to owl my parents yesterday," admitted Lily.
"WHAT? How can you forget? What if they say 'no'?"
"They won't. My mum absolutely loves people related to you, and my dad never minds anything. Just don't be so sure about Petunia, though…" She trailed off, feeling a surge of anger.
"Are you all right?"
"Yeah. Let's go get a compartment before we have to sit with Snape and Malfoy."
They found an empty compartment at the very end of the train and were soon joined by Sirius, Arabella, Remus, Jennifer, Violet, and Peter. Lily and James had a heated argument about how irresponsible the other was, while Jennifer and Remus battled in chess, and miraculously, for the first time, Jennifer had beaten him.
"Don't feel so bad, Remie," she cooed, kissing him deeply.
"Yeah, you shouldn't get mad at your wife," mocked Arabella. "Jennifer Lupin, it's rude to show such affection to your husband."
"Bella…" Jennifer rolled her eyes.
Meanwhile, Lily and James were still arguing.
"Ugh! You're so irresponsible, you big, fat egotist!"
"Well, you're so perfect, Ms. I'm-So-Great-Because-I'm-Perfect!"
"Four-eyes!"
"Carrot-top!"
"Bird's nest!"
It was quite uneventful for the rest of the train ride, until James and Lily had finally stopped bickering as they went to their parents.
"Mum! Dad!" Lily raced into her parents' arms and ignored Petunia, who was skulking about as usual.
"Mum…could maybe my friends come over this summer?" she asked eagerly, looking from her mum to her dad.
Mrs. Evans beamed. "Of course, dear! Will you be inviting James?"
Lily rolled her eyes. How much did her mum love that egotist? "Oh yeah, he's invited, Mum." And she added, after her mother struck up a conversation with the Potters, "Unfortunately."
"You know, Lily, I'm not that bad," said James, grinning, as he came over to where Lily was.
"You aren't? I never would have guessed," said Lily sarcastically.
"You know, for freaks, you two would make a cute couple," said Petunia sullenly, as she smirked evilly.
Lily chose to pointedly ignore Petunia's comment, though it was stuck at the back of her mind.
"Well, Potter," she said, trying to smile, "I can tolerate you now, at least."
James shrugged. "That's an improvement. I can tolerate you, too."
They both headed to where their parents were, wondering the same thing. Would they ever become friends? And after that…lovers? Both Lily and James shook their heads at the last thought, not believing it at all, though they hadn't realized that they had already fallen for each other from way back in their first year.
- - - - -
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling does, etc., etc.
A/N: All right, here's the deal: my story is going nowhere at this point, and I'm really bored, so I would appreciate some feedback as to what should be improved and what I should emphasize in the summer of their third year. So, please help! Thanks! *smile*
Yeah! Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix comes out in…*counts*…in around two months! Yep, I'm so lazy, so I don't feel like doing any math. After all, I am on vacation :D