Fourth Year – Part Four
The fourth years were giving much homework during the Easter holidays, in which none of the Marauders and girls went home to. Instead, they worked on tables in the Gryffindor common room, going through notes and writing essays, since exams were less than two months away. Life was passing quickly for the two groups, and they knew that next year they would have to decide their future.
"This is so stupid!" cried James, banging his fist on Intermediate Transfiguration. "Why are they giving so much homework?"
"Our O.W.L.s are coming up soon," nagged Lily, frowning at her History of Magic essay.
"We take them next year!" exclaimed James incredulously. "I mean, what the hell…"
Remus raised his eyebrows. "You could do with a better attitude, Mr. Potter," he said, in a mock-McGonagall voice. "You wouldn't want to land in detention again, now, would you?"
"And the Quidditch Finals are coming up," added James, as if that settled the point.
"They're more than a month away," said Lily briskly. "Quite worrying."
"You care more about the stupid exams than the Quidditch Final," he accused, pointing his finger at her direction.
She rolled her eyes. "Well, obviously. I'm not a virtuoso at Quidditch, so why should I care? Of course, I would love Gryffindor to win the Cup, but there are no guarantees, since the Slytherins cheat so much. The exams, though, you can prevent from failing them."
"Show-off."
"Excuse me?" said Lily indignantly. "I am so not!"
"I am so not," mimicked James.
"Shut up, Potter!"
"Shut up, Evans!"
"Will you two put a cork on it?" roared Sirius. "I'm trying to do my Charms essay here."
"I'll do it for you, Sirius," offered Lily, giving him an over-sweet smile.
He brightened. "Really?"
"Nah. I was just testing you."
This did not put Sirius in a good mood for the rest of the day.
Jennifer and Remus were having whispered conversations in which all the other friends were jealous of. They still managed to maintain a healthy and snog-full relationship, unlike the others, namely Sirius and Arabella, who were sitting on opposite sides of the room. Not healthy…or full of snogging.
"Don't be too hard on everyone, Lils," said Violet, who was peering at James and Sirius over her Potions essay. "They need a break. All this studying and homework is getting to our heads. We're not as clever as you are."
"Yeah, Evans, listen to Vi," said James, nodding.
"Potter?"
"Yeah?"
"Shut up!"
"Gee, no need to yell."
"You do know that I'm trying to live up to a Prefect badge, right?" asked Lily.
"Er—no. Why would you ever want to do that?" James was surprised.
"Well, it does look good when you apply for a job."
"Look good? Who cares! Being a Prefect will so ruin my reputation as a prankster."
"I second to that," came Sirius' voice from across the room.
"Well, it will," continued Lily, not looking up. "I mean, especially if you're going to become an Auror."
James perked up. An Auror? The Potters have always had a long line of Aurors, starting from the beginning of time. His parents were Aurors, his grandparents were Aurors, his great-grandparents were Aurors, and so forth.
"Well, I will, of course," he said confidently. "My family have always been Aurors as far as I can remember."
Lily stared at him. "Well, then, you should be preparing right now! I hear it's a very difficult path."
"Why should I?" asked James lazily. "We're only in our fourth year—"
"—and graduating from Hogwarts in three years," she snapped back. "You should be thinking about your future right now! Besides, don't think you can be an Auror so easily, Potter, just because you have a whole line of Aurors in your family. I hear you have to get an 'Outstanding' on your Potions O.W.L. to even take Potions in sixth year. And you know how important Potion knowledge is to Aurors, Potter."
James nodded. "The only reason why we don't do good in Potions is because of Hurst. Dumbledore will do something about his attitude toward everyone except for Slytherin."
Remus sighed. "Really, why don't you guys, like Sirius says, just put a cork in it? I'm trying to do my essay for Wickham…"
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Oh, please, Remus, you don't even need to concentrate for that. You basically know Wickham's speeches by heart."
Remus turned red, but said nothing.
Neither Lily nor James mentioned their kiss that occurred nearly two months ago. They both accepted it as something done because their hormones were working overtime again, and because too much stress leads people to do unexpected things. They both dismissed it like it never happened, and continued to argue and shake up Gryffindor Tower. Yes, things were getting back to normal again for Lily and James.
"So, Lily," started James, hoping it was a casual voice. "What are you going to do for the summer?"
Lily reflected for a moment. "Why, I really have no idea…"
"You can come to my house over the summer," he said quickly.
She raised her eyebrows. "Oh, can I? Even though we hate each other?"
James' eyes were pleading. "Oh, please, Lily? Besides, my mum already sent me a letter asking if my friends and your friends could come over the summer again."
"Oh, really? And when was this?"
"A couple of weeks ago. I think Quaffle planned it, because he went away one night, and didn't come back for three days, returning me with my mum's letter."
"Quaffle?" Lily snorted. "You named an owl Quaffle?"
"Hey! I am a Chaser, after all!" James was indignant.
"Quidditch obsessed," she muttered.
"What was that?"
"Oh, nothing."
"If you think I'm weird," he continued, sniffing, "then you should know that Sirius named his owl Bludger."
Lily laughed. "Oh, God, boys and Quidditch. Very incurable indeed."
"Quidditch is life," said James solemnly.
"Are you serious?"
"Nah, he is." He pointed to a dark-haired boy scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment.
She rolled her eyes. "How tacky."
"Did you do something to Snape today?" asked Arabella suddenly.
James grinned at her sheepishly. "Why, my dear Figgy, why would I ever do such a thing to Severus?"
Lily could see his jaw twitch slightly.
"Oh, please," said Arabella, snorting. "I just saw him on the grounds with purple hair, an even larger and more crooked nose, and feet the size of trolls." She raised one eyebrow curiously.
"He had to be punished," mumbled Sirius from the table.
"What?" Arabella looked around at him.
"Yeah. He started to insult my family."
"But I thought you didn't like your—"
"I don't like my family—despise them, in fact. But they're my family all the same, you know? And besides, he was directing most of his insults at Andromeda, who's my favorite cousin."
Lily vaguely remembered Sirius introducing them to a tall girl with thick black hair, warm brown eyes, and a Gryffindor Prefect badge on her chest last year. She had been very kind and funny, and Lily had liked her. Andromeda was in her seventh and final year at Hogwarts this year, and as Sirius noted with a tone of fright and pride all at once, that she was Head Girl.
"An's nice," piped up Violet. "She's a really good Head Girl too, organizing the special events and everything…"
"Yeah," said Sirius briefly. "Nita needs to lighten up a bit, though. No wonder Ted thinks she's a bit stiff."
"Nita?" Remus looked up questioningly and reluctantly from his essay.
"Oh, pet name," he returned vaguely.
Lily smiled. "So…has James told you about his summer plans?"
"What summer plans?" they all asked.
She gave an accusing look at James, who shrugged.
"Hey, you were the first one I told."
"Oh, really? I'm so flattered."
"Well?" asked Sirius impatiently. "Go on then, James, tell us!"
"Mum's invited you all over my house for the summer," said James. "So she told me to ask all of you and get an answer as soon as possible."
"Well, of course we're going!" cried Jennifer, who was silent the whole time.
"My mum's also invited you all over, too, this summer," said Violet shyly. "So, James, maybe we can do half and half."
"Cool!" exclaimed James enthusiastically. "I'd love to meet your parents."
"Thanks…" Violet blushed in embarrassment.
"Sounds like a great plan to me," approved Arabella. "Vi, James, go tell your parents that we'll be happy to come over, and thank them, too."
Just when things were actually getting friendly between Lily and James, and Arabella and Sirius, a loud voice roared through the common room, startling everyone.
"Potter! Black! Where are you? Quidditch practice right now!" It was Wood's sharp voice, as he scanned the room quickly with his voice.
Sirius groaned and James sighed.
"Oh, come on, Wood, give us a break, will you?" pleaded the former. "I mean, poor Georgie"—he jerked his thumb toward the Seeker—"nearly broke his neck last practice."
"That's because you sent a Bludger at him, Black," snapped Wood. "What about you, Potter? Any complaints to make like your friend?"
"Oh no, Captain," said James, smiling sweetly. "Why would I ever? I absolutely adore Quidditch practice! I mean, I practically live off Quidditch."
"Good, good." Wood was very pleased, beaming at his Chaser. He nodded to Lily and said, "Evans."
"Wood," acknowledged Lily.
"Good advice you gave Potter there, Evans. Now he's learning real teamwork."
From the background, James turned crimson and quickly left Gryffindor Tower with his broom to the Quidditch field.
"You're—welcome," said Lily, confused.
"Yes. Well, anyway…where's Potter? Poor boy must've already gone to the field. Yes, I like spirit." Wood gave a maniacal smile and left, dragging a resisting Sirius behind him.
"That was—interesting," commented Remus, as they left.
"Poor guys," said Peter with sympathy. "Once I ran into Wood, and he wasn't—er—having the greatest day."
Everyone flinched at what must have happened, as apparently, Peter did not want to talk about it just yet, still twitching at the memory.
"Wood's always been a bit in love with Quidditch," said Remus apologetically. "Don't know why…it's been in his blood, though. His dad nearly had my mum's head when they were in school because she missed the practice before the final game…she played Chaser," he added.
"Anyway, back to summer plans…" said Arabella hastily.
"We can't," Jennifer pointed out. "James isn't here."
"Oh, right."
"Let's play Truth or Dare!" said Lily excitedly.
Everyone groaned, and Jennifer said, "But, Lily, then we can't do any good ones since James and Sirius aren't here. We could always dare you or Arabella to kiss James and Sirius, respectively."
Both girls that were mentioned made a face at their friend, while Violet stifled a giggle.
"How about chess?" suggested Remus.
"Remus, you always want to play chess," said Arabella, rolling her eyes.
"That's because he always wins," added Jennifer reproachfully.
"I say we watch the Quidditch practice," said Lily, tired of watching her friends argue.
Peter's face brightened; he obviously didn't want to hear arguments any longer, either. (A/N: Stupid git he is)
So they all filed out into the empty stands and observed the Gryffindor Quidditch Team play. Wood, seeing his very own House members watching them with eager eyes, worked and pushed his team even harder than before, wanting to impress his fellow Gryffindors with their training so far.
"Wood!" cried James, clutching his sore arms. "Give us a break! My arms are about to fall off and break."
"Ah, don't be a wimp, Potter," shouted Wood.
Sirius rolled his eyes and grabbed Cassia Newman's bat (she's the other Beater), and sent a Bludger flying over the Forbidden Forest.
Cassia grinned boyishly. "Nice one, Black."
"Oi! Black! You almost had my head there!" shouted Ben Volga, one of the other Chasers, who narrowly missed the flying black ball.
"S'ry, Ben," apologized Sirius, reddening. James snickered.
"Black, quit fooling around!" snapped Wood impatiently. "We want to give our fellow Gryffindors a good image here…" He looked over at where the Marauders and girls were sitting at.
Sirius looked over as well, and his eyes widened. "Wood! Why didn't you say so? I would've tried so much harder if we actually knew people were watching us! Hey, there's Remus and Peter, James. H-ey guys!" He waved.
Lily snorted from the stands. "Looks like Sirius finally figured out we've been sitting here for fifteen minutes."
"He was always an unusual case," said Jennifer, nodding in agreement, hiding a smirk.
"Poor kid," added Remus.
"Newman and Black, get your head back on earth!" screamed Wood. "We have the final game in one week, and you two are fooling around."
"Sorry, Jay," said Cassia, grinning, as she waved at Lily, Arabella, Jennifer, and Violet. "We were just having some fun."
"Yeah, well…" Wood trailed off, shaking his head. "C'mon, Cass, don't make me be soft on you." He smiled fondly at her.
Sirius' jaw dropped. "You two are going out?" he demanded, hiding a grin.
"Er—sort of," said Wood grimly.
"We are," confirmed Cassia, kissing Wood in the front of the team.
Jason Wood was a very red Keeper the rest of the practice.
"I can't believe a girl can soften up Wood," said Arabella in awe, after practice was over.
"Yeah," said Sirius, still smirking at the news. "He was jealous when I took Cassia's bat."
"Wood is capable of jealousy?" said Lily, her eyes widening. "Besides Quidditch, I didn't know he cared about anything or anyone else."
"Oh, Wood's head-over-heels for Cassia," said James matter-of-factly. "It's been so obvious…he's asked her out last month."
"And you knew this all along and didn't tell me?" asked Sirius, pouting. "For all we knew, we could've sold the news to Rita Skeeter, the ditzy Hufflepuff second year."
"Well—er—" James blushed. "Once, when I was our equipment, I accidentally saw Wood and Cassia snogging behind his locker. Wood made me promise not to tell anyone."
"You can actually keep a promise?" asked Lily skeptically.
Remus snorted. "You know he only did it just so he wouldn't get kicked off the team."
"Hey, what happened to our Marauder oath?" exclaimed James indignantly.
"It went away," was the former's brief reply.
***
"Voldemort's getting stronger," whispered James in alarm, as he held up the Daily Prophet.
"He's what?" demanded Sirius, turning white. "That nutter?"
James handed him the article with shaking hands.
A New Era of Dark
By Ian Harpchord
The Ministry is very sorry to report the fact that a new era of a Dark wizard is about to begin. This man fashions himself the name Lord Voldemort, and he has already begun to get some followers into the Dark Side.
As you all may know, our own Albus Dumbledore had defeated the latest Dark wizard, Grindelwald, in 1945. This Voldemort, as he calls himself, has captured many people's opinions about Muggle-borns. He claims that they should be rid of in our Wizarding world and that the purebloods rule again.
"The bloke is crazy," commented one witch. "He's wanting to get rid of Muggle-borns, yet they're the ones who have been making our word a success for years after the defeat of Grindelwald. I say that this Voldemort is a fraud."
This probably explains why that there are so many Muggle deaths and disappearances for the last few weeks. A mad mob, calling themselves "Death Eaters", raided the Ministry of Magic headquarters and had announced that the Dark Lord will rise and will not fall.
Our Minister, Millicent Bagnold, is urging the magical community to remain calm. She claims that this is just another wizard who wishes to have his face on the paper and who won't, or can't, do anything drastic. But there are many doubts among everyone, because many of them believe that Voldemort has the right idea. He wants to get rid of Muggle-borns and anyone who dares to contradict him—but how will he do that?
"Well, the Ministry agrees that he's a rather—odd person, but harmless," said Lily hopefully, as they finished reading the article.
"Yeah, but the Ministry has been wrong about a lot of things before," said James darkly. "They said that Grindelwald was an old fraud too…and look how he turned out to be. I think we should all be worried, instead of remaining calm. You saw how he threatened me at the beginning of the school year and said that he'd do anything to get me on 'his side'."
"Maybe he's the one that kills us," said Lily, frowning.
No one said anything.
Everyone else in the Great Hall didn't seem to even notice the front-page article in the Prophet—except for the Slytherins, who were unnaturally giddy.
"Their parents are probably part of those Death Eaters," said Violet unhappily.
"I agree," said an unknown voice.
They all turned around to see Frank Longbottom, Alice Hart, and Andromeda Black glancing down at them, smiling slightly.
"Er—" James had nothing to say.
Andromeda nodded at Sirius. "Our whole family's a mess. They all believe that what this Voldemort is saying is true."
Sirius was outraged. "They BELIEVE the guy that threatened James twice?"
Frank looked at James quickly. "He threatened you?"
James shrugged. "Yeah. I didn't think it was such a big deal, though…"
"It is," said Alice urgently. "You must tell Professor Dumbledore about your meetings with Voldemort. He's a serious one, him. He means what he says."
"Your parents are tracking him down," added Frank.
"They are?"
"Well, yes. The Aurors were sent by old Bagnold, who doesn't believe a word that anyone is saying about Voldemort being harmless."
"But she wrote that everyone should remain calm!"
"Ha! That wasn't her," said Andromeda, snorting. "That was the idiot who wrote this article—the Harpchord guy, or whatever is name is. He seems to think that he knows that he's talking about, writing all this trash down."
"So you think he's not just someone who seeks attention?" asked Lily in a hushed tone.
"Nope." Alice shook her head. "Dumbledore thinks he's something too—that's why he looks all worried at the staff table."
Frank grinned at her. "You were always observant, Alice."
"Were?" demanded Alice threateningly. "Don't you mean are?"
"Oh, of course," he faltered. "Yes—are, I mean."
Andromeda smirked. "Alice is the only one who can control Frank. Poor guy. He's in love with her." She shook her head gloomily.
"What about Ted?" asked Sirius slyly.
His cousin turned red. "What about him?"
"He snogs you ever hour of the day! You two are sick." He made a face.
"Aww…shut up, Sirius."
"With pleasure, Nita."
Andromeda rolled her eyes. "I don't know how you get 'Nita' from 'Andromeda', but maybe that's just your way."
"Sirius is an oddball," said Arabella brusquely.
"They've had a bit of a—falling out," whispered Lily, so that only Andromeda could hear.
"What happened?"
"She caught Sirius in a total lip-lock with some Ravenclaw," she replied quietly.
Andromeda's dark eyes widened. "He cheated on her?"
Lily nodded sadly, looking over at where Arabella was still sulking, but glancing at Sirius now and then with hurt in her eyes.
"Poor girl. I didn't know my cousin could be so…" Andromeda couldn't find the words.
"Player-like?" suggested Lily.
"Yeah." She laughed. "So…who're you with?"
Lily turned red. "What makes you think I'm with anyone?"
"Well, a pretty and smart girl like you isn't single for very long. I see that you and James Potter hit it off quite nicely."
The redhead flushed. "Oh, stop, An. Potter's my enemy."
At this, the older Black raised an eyebrow. "Enemy? He doesn't seem to tick off any of the other girls here at Hogwarts." She smirked.
"An, Potter hexes people when he's bored, especially Snape, even though I hate the latter as well. He has the biggest ego in the world—yes, even larger than Sirius'—and he struts around the school with a stupid Snitch all the time. Git."
Andromeda burst out laughing. "Oh, Lils, give the boy a break. Everyone's an idiot at fourteen. Heck, everyone's an idiot at fifteen as well. He'll grow out of it. Besides, he looks like he's in love with you, seeing how James keeps looking your way every now and then."
Lily sighed. "That's what everyone says. I don't understand why."
"It's because it's true, Lily, dear. James is all over you, and the only reason you can't see this is because you're blind. You're overlooking his good qualities and only blaming him for shallow qualities that nearly every boy has at the age of fourteen or fifteen."
"He—" Lily shook her head. "Why does he show off all the time?"
"Lily…" Andromeda sighed in frustration. "Don't you see? He only shows off in front of you. Sure, he might show off here and there when you're not around, but it's mainly to impress you. He knows how you hate him so, so James wants to impress you with his talents so that you can like him."
"What—you mean, he does this because he likes me? Not because he's just an arrogant show-off?"
An laughed. "Oh, you're a funny girl, Evans. My answer is—of course, obviously! Though I do think James does cross the line sometimes…"
Lily snorted at the understatement, but didn't say anything.
"Why, you do look like you're having a fine time with my cousin, Flower," said Sirius kindly, as he glanced over his shoulder at the redhead.
"We're discussing Lily's love life," said An, laughing.
Lily's three friends suddenly scooted over. "Ooh…so, what'dya find out, Medie?" they asked eagerly.
"That Lily despises James Potter."
Jennifer snorted. "Nothing new there. That's so old news. What else?"
"That's about it. Lily was quite surprised to find out that James showed off most of the time because she was around."
Arabella chuckled. "Well, it's about time she found out reason number one!"
"Hey!" exclaimed Lily in mock outrage. "I'm still here, you know!"
"We know, Lil," said Arabella.
"That's why we're saying this," added Violet, grinning.
Lily sighed. "Oh, Vi, I have no idea what has happened to you. You're a different person than last year!"
"Good or bad?"
"Well, you would be good if you stopped teasing me about Potter."
"Nope, sorry, Lils, but that's something that I must do until you realize that you like James," said Violet, smirking. "Of course, I don't tease as much as Bella and Jen—"
"So true," agreed Lily.
"—but I do tend to go overboard a bit sometimes. So I'll give you a break."
"D'you still like Peter now?" asked Jennifer casually.
Violet blushed. What was she to say? No, I'm sorry, Jenny, but Peter's too stupid and bumbling for me. Would she dare? After all, Peter didn't catch her interest anymore. Of course, she never thought of him as "eye-candy", as most girls like to say, but she still liked him all the same. Now Violet realized that the "like" she had for him was pity—pity that he wasn't as smart, popular, or good-looking as the other three Marauders. She felt terrible for ever deceiving him so.
"No, I don't like him anymore."
The three girls breathed a sigh of relief, while Andromeda listened with curiosity.
"Thank the Lord," praised Lily. "We thought you'd go daft and elope after Hogwarts with Peter. Violet Pettigrew…too chunky, if you ask me."
"Now, Violet Diggory sounds romantic," noted Arabella with a suggestive hint.
Violet now laughed uncomfortably, while Lily and Jennifer stared at her.
"I thought you were going out with him!" exclaimed Jennifer.
"Are you kidding me? He's an arrogant derk."
"Who's an arrogant derk?" asked James curiously, ending his conversation with Frank.
"Diggory," was the succinct reply.
"I knew you'd come to your senses to know," said Remus, nodding in approval.
Sirius didn't say anything, but his cheeks turned rather pink. Maybe this is another chance for me to ask Arabella for forgiveness, he thought.
"Christ! Is Sirius actually looking serious for once?" teased Andromeda, tugging at her cousin's locks.
All the girls looked at her jealously. One even had the audacity to say, "Hey! Hands off my man, girl!"
Medie snickered. "Don't worry girl," she called back, "I won't take your man. He's my cousin, after all."
At this comment, both Narcissa and Bellatrix shot nasty looks at their sister's directions. None of the Blacks really liked Andromeda, because for one thing, she was a Gryffindor, and for another, she didn't despise Muggle-borns and was just like "that Sirius".
"Ooh, Narci and Trix are shooting daggers at you, Mede," acknowledged Sirius. He carefully avoided calling Bellatrix "Bella", as most people did, since he didn't want to offend Arabella.
"Oh, well. They're just jealous that I have Ted and they don't have anyone but lousy Slytherin bums." Mede continued to bunch on a piece of toast, oblivious to the incredulous stares she was getting.
"You do know that Narci and Trix hate you, right?" asked Sirius tentatively.
"Of course, it's so obvious. I know they're not jealous of Ted, either," she added, seeing Sirius' dubious expression. "They think that he's lousy because he's Muggle-born. What a bunch of crap!"
"Yeah, well, breakfast is over, and we have to get to classes," said Frank hastily. "We'll see you around guys."
"Don't forget to tell Dumbledore about Voldemort," added Alice.
James nodded, sighing. Why does everything happen to me?
-
"Yes, James, I'm very glad that you've chosen to speak to me," said Dumbledore gravely. "Voldemort will gain power, and he will try to gain your support. But whatever choices you make, Mr. Potter, I hope that you can make the right ones."
James nodded and looked at Lily, who was next to him.
"Sir," she began, rather nervously, "would you think that, perhaps, Voldemort was the one who killed James and I?" She wrung her hands.
Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "It could be a good possibility, but one does not know for sure. You may go now."
Lily and James left, not hearing Dumbledore groan and say, "Dear God, I think they've figured it out."
"Dumbledore thinks that Voldemort is the one who killed us," said James at once, heading toward Gryffindor Tower.
"He did say that," pointed out Lily.
"I know, but it was obvious, by the way of his voice, that he knew it, too."
"Have we actually had a normal conversation?" mused Lily in mock surprise.
James pretended to gasp. "Oh my God, I think we just did!" He said in a high-pitched, falsetto voice.
"What are you laughing about?"
They both turned around to see Wood and Cassia clinging to each other, smiling amusedly at the supposed enemies being decent to each other.
"Oh, hello, Wood," said James in an offhand voice.
"I see you and Cassia have been keeping each other company," said Lily suggestively.
Wood turned bright red. "We were just—er—strolling."
"Yeah, just walking and talking by the lake," said Cassia with warm cheeks, as she winked at Lily.
"When's the big day?" teased James.
"Next August," said Wood sarcastically.
"Oh! Two months after you graduate from Hogwarts, eh?"
"You got that right, Potter."
"I thought you didn't like James," said Cassia to Lily in surprise.
Lily shrugged. "I don't like him. I hate him."
The fifth year looked at her in surprise. "Are you serious? Then why are you guys talking to each other like old friends?"
"We are?" exclaimed Lily in horror. "Oh, my reputation, what have I done?"
Cassia snickered. "Aww…c'mon, Lily, James isn't that bad. He's cute and funny and sweet."
"You have a boyfriend," said Lily pointedly.
"So true," she sighed. "If I didn't have old Jason 'ere, I would certainly chase after James. But he's a hard one to catch, hey? I hear that nearly all the girls at Hogwarts go after him, but he'll only settle for one girl." She looked at Lily, smiling knowingly. "The poor guy's in love with you, Lil, give him a break for once."
Lily was in shock. "You really did not mean that."
Cassia shrugged. "So what if I did?"
As Lily and James went through the Fat Lady's portrait, Lily collapsed onto an armchair by the fireplace.
"You're not that tired, are you?" asked James.
"Leave me alone," was her only reply. He shrugged and went upstairs to the boys' dormitory.
Thoughts were racing through Lily's brain.
He only shows off in front of you…
He'll only settle for one girl…you…
The poor guy's in love with you, Lil…
James is usually an all-around nice guy…
What did Lily think of James now…now that she knew the truth?
(A/N: I could have left you in suspense…but I'm such a nice person who rarely leaves cliffhangers [I hate those, don't you?], so I've decided to continue the chapter…)
***
"Full marks, Ms. Evans!" cried Wickham, as Lily performed various jinxes, hexes, and counter-curses in front of him.
Lily beamed proudly and took a seat, squeezing a pale and white-faced Arabella by the hand reassuringly. Arabella's turn was next.
As Bella performed her practical exam, James was trying to catch Lily's eye. He had forgotten about Lily for about three months, but for some reason, he couldn't handle "Lily withdrawal", as he called it. So he was staring at Lily the whole time while Arabella did her exam. Sirius was leaning against his chair, oblivious to the staring female eyes on him, while Remus and Peter watched Bella's exam carefully.
After some time, James had become addicted to Lily's thick, dark red hair and didn't hear at first when Wickham called his name.
"Mr. Potter, if you would be so kind as to do your exam now," said Wickham, amused.
James jumped. "Oh—er—of course, Professor. Sorry 'bout that."
He plaintively ignored Sirius' snickers and Remus' knowing smile.
At the end of Defense Against the Dark Arts, the fourth years were given a break for lunch. Everyone crowded in the Great Hall, still red-faced and shaking from their exams.
"Care of Magical Creatures and Divination tomorrow," said Jennifer, breathing a sigh of relief. "Only two more subjects to go."
"I didn't find it that bad," admitted Arabella, still sweaty from Wickham's penetrating blue-eyed gaze as he examined her wrist movement and tone of voice.
"It was awful," moaned Violet. "Wickham was staring at me…and I did the Disarming Spell wrong. I said 'Expelligarmis' instead of 'Expelliarmus'. It was so humiliating and I felt like an idiot."
"We all make mistakes," said Peter softly, and Violet felt badly at once for ever thinking him stupid and worthless.
"Thanks, Peter," she said quietly and went back to poking at her food again.
"Aww…Peter has a girl!" chanted Sirius enthusiastically.
Sirius found the fact that the last two exams were quite relieving and not as stressful as the last ones he took. He was fair at Care of Magical Creatures, in which Professor Kettleburn thought he was very gifted in. And in Divination, Sirius was an expert liar, making up terrible horror stories about tragic occurrences, much to Trelawney's delight. He'd say that he would have a nosebleed on Monday, get into a brawl with James on Tuesday, get a five out of ten on his Potions essay on Wednesday, and so forth.
"I hate Divination," said Lily sadly. "Trelawney's always given me funny looks whenever I told her that I was going to pass every single end-of-the-year exams this year."
James gave her a funny look and Sirius started laughing.
"Lily," said Remus, trying not to laugh, "haven't you figured out Trelawney's secret yet? You're supposed to tell her some bad news about yourself, like maybe how you're not going to pass the exams this year, but will fail. She likes it when we predict horrific news about ourselves. You can always get into detail and say that you will die a tragic death involving one of the Unforgivables."
Lily snorted. "Well, at least that would be true."
"I can't believe that Lily Evans, smartest witch in our year, hasn't figured something that obvious," said James sarcastically.
She glared at him. "Well, at least I can pass Charms."
James sighed. Here we go again. Charms.
Evans can never think of anything original, can she? he asked himself. I mean, seriously, she's so competitive.
Sirius had voiced his thoughts. "You know, Lily, you can come up with some new insults for Jamie-boy. I mean, seriously, you always mention Charms every time he smart-mouths you."
"Well, in all the other classes, he's even with me," said Lily snootily. "So why should I bother? Charms is my best subject, and I have the best wand for it."
"And I have the best wand for Transfiguration," said James smugly.
"You don't need to act so stuck-up about it, Potter."
"Yeah? Well, Transfiguration is cooler than Charms."
"Is not."
"Is too."
"Well, it's better to play pranks when you're better at Charms."
Lily had struck a chord. James didn't know what else to say. She knew that pranks were one of the most important things for James, so she had to say something.
James sighed in defeat. "Fine, you win."
"Have we stopped arguing now?" asked Remus.
"Yeah."
"About the summer…" began Violet.
"We go over my house first, right?" asked James, his interest perked up slightly.
"Er—sure, that's the plan."
"Great! Mum already knows, and she's really excited to have you girls over."
"What about us Maraudies?" asked Sirius, pouting.
James rolled his eyes. "Please, Sirius, my mum said that she's had you over my house long enough to be excited anymore."
"Whatever. I really wish that I could invite you guys over my house, but…well, you know my family." He looked awkward.
Everyone nodded, feeling sympathetic for Sirius. They all agreed that Sirius had the worst family, and that they would stick up for him no matter what.
"I can't stand stupid bloody Trelawney," said James, groaning.
"You have to humor her," said Sirius matter-of-factly. "Here, let me show you amateurs how it should be done." He screwed up his face and made a pitiful puppy dog pout. "Oh, Professor Trelawney, I think I see death before me! I will be stunned by my cousin, Bellatrix Black, and then fall through the archway of death! Oh, dear, what shall I do? Please help me!" He pretended to let out great sobs that alarmed many of the fellow students.
They all rolled their eyes. Sirius was a seriously (no pun intended) pathetic sight at that very moment.
-
Lily spotted her family at King's Cross and went over to hug them. Mrs. Evans hugged Lily tightly while Mr. Evans simply beamed at his daughter proudly. Petunia was skulking near the car as usual.
"We're so proud of you, Lily!" exclaimed Mrs. Evans through tears. "You got the highest grades in your exams! Congratulations!"
"Yes, Lily, I'm so proud to have such a clever daughter," said Mr. Evans, smiling and nodding.
James went over and greeted Mr. and Mrs. Evans.
"Lily's going to be at your house this summer?" asked Mr. Evans, grinning in amusement. "Don't do something rash now."
"Steve!" His wife was scandalized. "What are you trying to put into these children's heads?"
"I was just joshing, dear," he replied, pouting.
Violet had come over too, to introduce her parents for the first time.
Mr. Walker had curly brown hair and roguish hazel eyes that danced with mirth when he saw Lily and James together. He was quite tall and had a genial air about him that made many witches smile dreamily at the sight of him.
Mrs. Walker had dirty blond hair in rifling waves. Her dark blue eyes sparkled as she laid a hand on her daughter's shoulder, proud to have a Gryffindor in the family again. After all, she had done her family shame by being Sorted into Slytherin, which, in their opinion, was a Dark House. But she didn't turn out to be a nutter who tried to take over the world, did she? Apparently not. And she had married a Gryffindor, which settled loose ends among the family members on her side.
"We'll keep in touch," said Mr. Walker, smiling at the Evans.
Lily and James nodded awkwardly at each other, afraid to say anything, for they felt as though everyone was watching them. But as green eyes met hazel ones, there was a bond of understanding between them, and there was no need for words.
- - - - -
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns everything and I own nothing
A/N: Hallelujah! I updated in TWO days! Can you believe the luck? Two days! Usually I take at least a week, or sometimes even a month to get one chapter going. Ah, it's probably because I practically have no life, staying at home with nothing to do. Oh well. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Again, I thank all my reviewers! You guys are so faithful! *smile*