Summer of Fourth Year
Lily grabbed her trunk and her owl, Hannah, and stepped into her fireplace. Luckily her parents had gotten their fireplace connected to the Floo Network. She grabbed a handful of sparkling green powder from the mantelpiece and dropped it, and called out, "Potter Mansion!"
She, her trunk, and her owl were spinning and swirling fast in a whirl of colors and places, until finally, she landed with a thump in the Potter's exquisite family room.
"Lily!" cried Mrs. Potter, hugging the tired girl. "How are you dear? James was so anxious to know when you'd be coming!"
"Where is he?" asked Lily groggily. She still didn't like the aftereffects of Floo traveling.
"Oh, he's upstairs in his room, getting ready," said Mrs. Potter, sighing. "He insisted on wearing his dress robes for some reason. He usually avoids wearing them."
"That's because he wants to impress Lily," said a gruff voice from behind them. Mr. Potter smiled benignly at Lily and shook her hand.
Suddenly, four great bounds were heard from the upper floor of the house, and minutes later, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Arabella pounced on Lily's arrival.
"We were waiting for you!" the latter shrieked, hugging her best friend tightly. "Jen and Vi are getting here later, since they have plans."
"Where's James?" Lily asked, yet again.
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "What, no hello, and you're asking for Jamie?" He smirked.
Lily whacked him. "Oh, shut it, Black! No, seriously, where is Potter?"
"He's indisposed," said Remus solemnly.
She sighed and rolled her eyes, muttering, "Boys."
"James is getting ready," informed Peter, seeing that his other two friends weren't giving Lily an easy time. "He's trying to put on his green dress robes, but they're a little too—er—small. He's tried to use magic, but we managed to get him away from his wand."
"Has he?" said Mrs. Potter in exasperation. "I'd better go help him out…really, making such a fuss!" She winked at Lily and went upstairs, clutching her wand.
"Why does he want to put on dress robes?" wondered Lily aloud.
Sirius burst out laughing. "Oh, don't be so think, Flower. You know why our dear Jamsie wants to get all dressed up. It's because of you."
"Why, I don't care if he's dressed up or not," said Lily in tones of surprise.
Arabella rolled her eyes and whispered to Sirius, "She still doesn't get it."
"Made up now, have we?" Lily raised one arched eyebrow.
Her best friend blushed. "Oh—we're getting along better."
"After she dumped Diggory," added Sirius in a lower tone, so that only Lily could hear.
"We'll help you take your trunk up," offered Remus.
Lily thanked him, and everyone lugged up the heavy trunk, while Arabella carried Hannah. They took it up to the closest room and laid down the trunk and owl. Lily saw that she had it to herself, as no one else's things were up there.
"We all get our own bedrooms this time, huh?"
Sirius smirked. "Bella tried to share it with you again, but Mrs. Potter refused to have more than one person to a room. Said she didn't want to be forcing less space for us."
Just then, James had entered the room with his hair as untidy as ever, and wearing green dress robes that brought out the few tints of green in his eyes. He grinned and waved at Lily.
"Oh, hey, Lils," he called.
"I see you've dressed, Jamie," said Sirius innocently.
James whacked him on the back of his head. "Shut up, Sirius."
"What did I do?" He put on a puppy face.
Arabella rolled her eyes. "Please, Sirius, no one falls for that anymore…except for the idiot girls at Hogwarts."
"Even you don't like it anymore, Bellsies?" Sirius pouted.
She laughed. "Oh, I give in. I swear, Sirius, that pout of yours is totally irresistible."
He smiled triumphantly. "Ha! So the girls at Hogwarts aren't the only ones that fall for my charm."
"You have no charm, Sirius," said Remus, laughing. "James takes up all your glory."
"Nah, I say we're even, Remus," said James evenly.
"So, what do you guys want to do?" asked Lily, bored of the conversation.
"Zonko's," said Sirius at once.
"Gladrag's," shot back Arabella.
"Oh, dear God, here we go again," muttered James, rolling his eyes. "How about Quality Quidditch Supplies?"
"No more Quidditch!" they both shouted.
Lily sighed. "We could go swimming at the nearest pool," she suggested.
"Hey, that's a great idea! We have a pool in our backyard," said James, relieved that Arabella and Sirius had stopped arguing.
"How big?" asked Bella suspiciously.
"Er—fair size."
"Are you kidding me?" Sirius practically shouted. "Jamie's pool is HUGE! The deepest is ten feet!"
"Nine," was James' modest reply.
"Really?" Lily was amazed. "Well…let's get going then!"
"Er—Lils?" Arabella looked around awkwardly. "I didn't bring my bathing suit."
Lily's smile faded. "Neither did I."
Sirius, Remus, and Peter all coughed, shaking their heads.
James grinned. "Well, we can go to Gladrag's today and you can all get one."
"Oh yeah." Arabella looked cheerful again.
"How are we going to get there?" asked Lily curiously. "Floo Powder?"
"Well, what else? We can't get there by a Portkey, we're not old enough to Apparate, and broomsticks would take too long."
"But what about Jennifer and Violet?" asked Remus doubtfully.
"Oh, we have to wait for them," said Lily at once.
"All right." James nodded in agreement. "In the mean time…"
"We play Truth or Dare!" squealed Arabella.
Lily raised her eyebrows. "I thought you didn't like Truth or Dare."
"Oh…" She smiled evilly. "I think we are able to play now…"
Lily didn't even ask.
"All right then." She turned to her best friend. "Lily, truth or dare?"
She thought for a moment. "Dare."
"Kiss James," said Arabella lazily, without much apparent thought.
Sirius and Remus gave her appreciative smiles, and she nodded, grinning back.
Lily sighed. She knew it was coming, and she may as well get it over with. She went over to a very red James and kissed him.
Sirius cheered. "Go Flower!"
"Bella, truth or dare?" queried Lily innocently.
"Truth," said Arabella, not wanting to kiss Sirius.
"Do you still have feelings for Sirius Black?"
The room was silent. Everyone turned to look at Arabella, who had flushed pink.
"I-I—yes," she said, with a tone of finality.
Sirius stared at her in wonder. "You're—you're serious," he choked out.
"No, you are." A smile tugged at her lips.
He grinned at her. "Go out with me?"
Arabella sighed. "Oh—all right. But only if you promise me one thing: try controlling your hormones so you don't leave me heartbroken again."
"I promise, Bellsies, with my heart and soul…forever."
And then—with a bit of encouragement from their best friends—they kissed, for the first time in almost a year. Everyone smiled and cheered as Arabella and Sirius broke apart, breathless.
"Finally!" roared James in approval.
"Oh, Bella!" Lily hugged her friend, tears rolling down her eyes.
"Oh, gosh, what have we missed?" Jennifer and Violet came into the room, puzzled at the crying and laughing.
"Bella and Sirius have made up!" screamed Lily, hugging her two other friends. "After so long!"
Both girls cheered as they congratulated a blushing Arabella.
"My God, how did you do it?" asked Violet, impressed. "After so many attempts!"
"By a simple game of Truth and Dare, my dear Vi," said James, sniggering. "It was all Lily's idea, too."
"Yes—thank you, Lils," said Sirius, grasping her hand eagerly. "You've no idea how much this means to me. I swear, Bellsies and I will make it up to you by getting you and Jamie together…"
"What?" cried Lily, drawing her hand from Sirius' grasp. "You will not do anything of the such!"
"Of course we won't, Lily," reassured Arabella, after giving her boyfriend a glare. "We wouldn't think of it."
"Bella, you told me just this morning that—"
"What?" demanded Lily sharply.
"As much as I'd love to stay and see arguing," said Jennifer in a droll and sarcastic voice, "I think that we came here for a reason, and that was to NOT hear arguing all summer."
"Whoever made that promise?" asked James curiously. Without waiting for an answer, he said hastily, "Actually, we were planning to swim in my pool."
"You have a pool?" gasped Violet.
James nodded. "Did you two bring your bathing suits?"
Jennifer gave him a funny look. "Of course not, James!"
"Well, we're going to go to Gladrag's for bathing suits for Lily and Arabella…"
"I prefer you to buy a bikini," interrupted Sirius, winking.
"Oh, brother," moaned Lily, rolling her eyes.
"MUM!" hollered James. "Can we go to Gladrag's to get a couple of bathing suits? The girls want to go swimming!"
"Oh, James, why in such a hurry?" said Mrs. Potter, coming in. "All right, then, let me get my purse."
Half an hour later, they all finished their shopping (Sirius was severely disappointed when none of the girls bought a bikini), and were heading to the nearest shop from where they could use the fireplace.
"Oh, no," groaned Lily, "it's Snape."
It wasn't only Snape; it was the whole gang of Slytherins and their parents. Mrs. Potter stiffened as she saw Mrs. Black simpering to her two daughters, Narcissa and Bellatrix.
"What are they doing here?" hissed Sirius venomously.
"Sirius!" Mrs. Black smiled at she saw him. "What brings you here?"
"Oh, just shopping with my friends, Aunt Tricia," he spat.
Mrs. Black didn't look at all taken aback by her nephew's attitude; in fact, she sneered at him.
"Why, hello, Mrs. Potter," she said coldly.
"Mrs. Black," said Mrs. Potter shortly.
Mrs. Black's gaze fell onto the girls. "Since when did your family befriend Mudbloods, half-bloods, and half-Squibs?" she asked rudely.
Mrs. Potter reddened. "For your information, Tricia, they are neither of those descriptions."
"Oh?" Her gaze then fell on Violet. "You're Evelyn Thatch's daughter, aren't you? You look like your mother all over again, girl." To their great surprise, she actually smiled. "Your mother was a good friend of mine, she was."
Violet looked affronted. "Yes, ma'am," she said respectfully.
"What name do you take? Violet Thatch?"
"Violet Walker, ma'am," she replied, horrified at the very thought of having a name like Violet Thatch.
Mrs. Black's warm expression changed. She glared coldly at her. "Eve give you that lousy name of Walker, did she? Well, well, she has changed since I've last seen her. How is your mother?"
"She's fine, ma'am."
"Has she punished you?"
"F-For what?" stuttered Violet nervously.
"For being a Gryffindor, of course." She stated it like it was the most obvious answer in the world.
"N-no."
"No? And why ever not?"
"Mum's proud of me being a Gryffindor, ma'am." Violet was now an extremely shade of red. Mrs. Potter glanced nervously at her.
Mrs. Black sighed. "Not the Evelyn I used to know. Does she love that no-good father of yours?"
Violet couldn't stand the questions any more. "My mother can be whatever she pleases to be, thank you. My mum loves my dad, so you needn't say anything ill about her at all!"
Everyone was stunned. Only Lily and Sirius were grinning like there was no tomorrow, while Mrs. Black's lips tightened.
"We'd better go now," said Mrs. Potter hurriedly, ensuring that there was no need for another world war, "It's nice meeting you, Tricia."
"Indeed," said Mrs. Black wryly, as she steered her daughters away.
"You really needn't be anxious, Potter," said Mrs. Snape, sniggering. "After all, you Potters have always been quite powerful."
"I'm sure," said Mrs. Potter coolly. "Come along now, dears, we don't need to stick around here any longer."
When they got back to the Potter Mansion, Mrs. Potter collapsed into the nearest chair and sighed.
Mr. Potter looked worriedly at her. "Are you all right, Sarah?"
"I'm fine, Dan, I'm fine. We just met some—er—unfortunate people along the way."
"The Snapes and the Blacks," said James quickly.
Mr. Potter looked angry. "What did they do?"
"Nothing," said James truthfully. "Just made a few nasty comments about—" He looked over at the girls hesitantly.
"She called me a Mudblood, Jennifer a half-blood, and Arabella a half-Squib," provided Lily.
"It's all right, though," said Arabella at once. "I'm used to insults."
"People say you're a pureblood," said Sirius curiously.
"Well, my mum's a Squib," she said, without a trace of embarrassment.
"Who said all this?" thundered Mr. Potter, still furious.
"My aunt," said Sirius heavily.
The Potters gave him looks of great sympathy.
"We'll be at the pool, Mum, Dad," said James quietly, as he motioned the others to follow him.
***
"I hate my family," said Sirius, as they got comfortable within the pool. "You saw them today. Go ahead, go say something bad about them."
"Well, I won't pretend I like them," said Lily boldly. "But they're not too bad, I guess."
"Lily, they're terrible," corrected Sirius bluntly.
"All right, they are," admitted Lily.
"Sirius, stop moping," ordered Arabella. "Summer is for fun, not for moaning and groaning."
Lily suddenly gasped.
"What?" Bella looked at her strangely. "Did I say something wrong, Lils?"
"Our O.W.L.s are coming up this year!"
"So?"
"So? They decide our whole future, practically. We should study right away."
"Are you mad?" exclaimed James in alarm. Studying during the summer did not appeal to him. "We have the whole year!"
"It's only a matter of time," said Lily, feeling mortified at not remembering.
"Lily," said Remus gently, "calm down. Life isn't for studying, you know. You need to have some fun in life."
"Oh, really?"
"Of course."
"Lily," said James seriously, "Violet and I will give you your best summer yet. We'll take you to every place in the Wizarding world, and you'll soon be fresh and ready to start our fifth year at Hogwarts."
Lily smiled. "You seem to make it sound so easy, Potter."
"But of course. I am a Marauder, after all, and we Marauders know our fun. We promise, Lily, that you'll have the best summer yet."
"Yes, Lils, we promise," chorused everyone else.
"But—" She thought for a minute. "All right, then. But we'd better still get time to do our holiday homework."
"Well, obviously. McGonagall would bury me alive if I didn't do my homework, and Hurst would give me a month's worth of detention."
"We're trying to break the detention record, James," said Sirius, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Oh, of course. We always welcome detention. Never mind then, I'm skiving off Potions homework."
"Well, I'm not," said Lily rather huffily.
"Then don't. I don't care what you do."
"Lily," said Arabella, exasperated. "Just enjoy yourself, will you?"
Lily sighed. "Oh, fine, I'll take a break. Happy now?"
"Yes."
Sirius suddenly grabbed Arabella from behind, and the two went plunging into the water, laughing. He took her face gently in his hands and kissed her passionately. The two were oblivious to the rest of their friends goggling at them.
"That is disgusting," commented Jennifer, wrinkling her nose.
"As if you don't do enough of it with Remus, Jen," teased Lily, secretly happy since her friends were snogging again.
"We don't…snog," said Jennifer matter-of-factly. "It's so—"
"—not us," finished Remus.
James snorted. "Yeah, yeah, it's not like the rest of us care how you two kiss, anyway."
"Enjoying yourself, I see, Mr. Potter," said a cold voice.
Everyone was startled and turned around to see Voldemort beaming at them with his hungry red eyes. Sirius and Arabella let go of each other quickly and glanced at Lily and James.
"What do you want?" spat James angrily.
"What do I want? Well, Potter, since you've told me that you'll never join me, I have no choice but to kill you."
"What have I ever done to you?"
"By marrying the Mudblood and having the child that will destroy my reign of dark," said Voldemort evenly. "So if I kill you and the Mudblood, no one can destroy me."
Lily and James glanced at each other, panic in their eyes. They were going to be killed by this nutter, and they couldn't even use magic to defend themselves, since magic was not to be used during the holidays. Lily closed her eyes and was ready for the blow. She had a short life, and a great one as well. She just wanted to say good-bye to her friends and family before she left the world.
Fortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Potter had come outside to check on them and to bring them some refreshments. Voldemort's eyes widened as he saw them.
Mrs. Potter dropped the eight glasses of lemonade she held on a silver platter. "Voldemort!" she hissed.
Mr. Potter glared. "Good afternoon, Tom. Lovely day, isn't it?"
Voldemort's eyes narrowed. "Potter and Potter…how lovely." He sneered. "I am here to kill your son and future daughter-in-law."
James' parents exchanged looks of great surprise.
"What?" exclaimed Mrs. Potter. "Kill James? And—his future wife? Are you mad?"
Voldemort snorted. "I am not. Now hand over your son, or you will be dying along with him."
"MUM!" screamed James. "No, don't sacrifice yourself, NO!"
Mr. Potter looked gravely at James. "James Henry Potter, your mother and I have brought you into this world, and we're going to keep you in this world. We've already lived a good life here, and I want you to, too."
Lily's insides lurched. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were going to get themselves killed—for her and James!
"No, Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter, don't!" she cried sharply. "It's—it's all a trap."
Voldemort narrowed his eyes. "Quiet, Evans."
"No! You're just a lousy, no good bum who thinks you can take over the world! Well, you're not! And I'm not going to allow it. That's right, kill me instead."
James' eyes widened. "Lily, no! If you kill Lily, you'll have to kill me, too."
"And me," said Sirius.
"And us," said everyone else.
"You're making this too easy." Voldemort grinned and raised his wand. "AVADA KED—"
"Stupefy!" cried Mr. Potter.
"Protego!" shouted Mrs. Potter.
Voldemort fell backwards and his face narrowed. "You'll pay for this." He left with a whisk of his cloak.
Everyone went in stunned silence. Lily and James wouldn't meet anyone's eyes, because it was their fault that Voldemort even bothered to come. Oh, why did they have to get married?
"It's time you get back inside," said Mrs. Potter quietly.
One by one, they slowly crawled out of the pool, dripping and shivering. Lily and James avoided eye contact and slowly dressed and went up to their separate rooms.
"Lils?" It was Arabella, and she looked at Lily with concern. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Bella," said Lily groggily.
"Lily Evans, I've been friends with you for five years now, and I know when something's not right. Now what is it?"
Lily sighed. "I just feel so guilty for having you guys in danger just because of James and I…"
"Lily, don't feel sorry," Arabella replied firmly. "We'll be by your side forever."
"Really?" She smiled brightly. "You mean that, Bells?"
"Of course, Lils. You're my best friend."
"Aww…are we interrupting something here?"
Sirius was standing by the doorway of Lily's room, dragging a resisting James Potter behind him.
Arabella rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Sirius."
James grinned. "Yeah, Sirius, shut up."
Sirius stuck his tongue out, and his eyes widened suddenly. He whispered to James, "It."
James looked alarmed as well and both of them rushed out of the room, grabbed Remus and Peter, and went into James' room, shutting the door behind with a slam.
"Do we really want to know?" said Lily amused.
"Nope," replied Arabella, shaking her head helplessly.
-
"We're done," said James gleefully, his voice suddenly hoarse. "We're done! Come on fellows, we have something to celebrate about!"
Remus laughed, as James did a jig in the air.
"Let's see if it works first, though," he said seriously.
James screwed up his eyes in concentration, and a faint "pop" was heard. Then, a moment later, a magnificent pure white stag took his place. The other three Marauders' eyes widened with awe and amazement, as they bent down to pat the majestic stag.
Sirius then followed and changed into a black dog. Remus laughed at this, and rubbed his belly and under his ears. Sirius the dog barked and wagged his tail with a friendly gesture.
"Sh! Sirius, everyone will hear you," hissed Remus testily.
Peter then, with extreme difficulty, managed to turn into a rat. James and Sirius were pleased at this, and chased the frightened Peter around in James' spacious room, with Sirius bouncing and James prancing.
When everyone changed back, they were startled to see tears in Remus' eyes.
"Are you all right, Remus?" asked James worriedly.
Remus gave them a watery smile. "This has got to be the best day of my life, guys. Are you sure you want to break the law just for me?"
At this, both James and Sirius wrapped their arms around Remus in a brotherly hug, while Peter watched awkwardly. No one seemed to notice his hesitation, however.
"We'll stand by your side forever, Remus," said James solemnly.
"Forever," echoed Sirius in agreement.
"We should come up with nicknames for ourselves," said Peter suddenly. "You know, to make a mark of ourselves."
"Peter?" said Sirius, grinning.
"Yeah?" His worst fears were nearly confirmed.
"That's a brilliant idea! I vote myself as—um—"
"Padfoot," supplied James helpfully.
"Yeah! And James is Prongs."
"Remus is Bushtail," added Sirius, trying not to laugh.
"WHAT? I vote for Moony."
"Cool. Pete, you're Wormtail."
"All right," agreed the small boy.
"Together, we're Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs!" cried James, grinning like there was no tomorrow.
"And we're the mischief-makers of Hogwarts," continued Sirius.
"And will never be separated no matter what," added Remus.
"Even when James marries Lily."
James whacked Peter in the back of the head at that comment, but only halfheartedly.
"Aww…shut it, Peter!"
The four of them laughed. However, none of them knew how much they would suffer in the incoming years. Two will die, one will become a traitor, and the last one will only have memories of the "good old days" that they shared, but without a trace of mischief in any of his thoughts.
***
The girls weren't at all curious as to what the boys were up to lately. In fact, they didn't even care at all—they knew that they were probably planning another new prank on Snape, so what was the use of wondering? They were, however, interested in the Marauders' funny new nicknames that they had started using that summer.
The Marauders had not told the girls about their Animagus identities. For one thing, they knew that Lily would nag them and say that they'd end up in Azkaban. For another, they were afraid that Jennifer might blame Remus on leading them off to no good.
However, their stay at James' house flew by, and soon enough, they were all packing and getting ready for the leave to Violet's house. All six of them, excluding Violet and James of course, had written to their respected homes by owl mail, saying that they would be at Violet's house for the rest of the summer. Mrs. Walker had promised the parents that she would bring them to Diagon Alley the week before school started, to buy their school supplies.
Violet was terribly embarrassed when they all stood in front of the fireplace. Her home wasn't at all like James' mansion, which was large and comfortable, and was afraid that her friends would disown her. So she prepared a speech for them before they all left for her house.
"Look, my house isn't exactly great…" she began, but they all protested and told her that they didn't care at all what her house was. Violet was relieved and took a handful of Floo Powder from the container on a nearby table, and cried,
"Walker residence!"
They all followed her, and soon fell onto the floor of a medium sized family room, not too big, but not too small. It was quite spacious, and Lily felt at home at once.
"There you are, Violet, dear," said Mrs. Walker, smiling at them all. "Come on in, kids. Violet, you must introduce your friends to me."
So Violet bashfully introduced each and every one of them (Mrs. Walker had agreed wholeheartedly when Arabella made a statement about Lily and James being a couple).
"And you're all in Gryffindor?" she queried in awe.
They nodded, feeling a sort of pride bursting inside of them.
"That's wonderful! I've always wanted to be in Slytherin, but, well, I guess the Sorting Hat didn't listen to my pleas." She laughed nervously.
As if on cue, Mr. Walker rambled in, saw Violet and her friends, and hugged his daughter and grinned at her friends.
"Ah, so you're the famous Lily Evans and James Potter," he said, smiling widely. "Yes, I've heard all about you two."
Lily and James looked at each other, and then at a guilty-looking Violet standing off in a corner. They raised their eyebrows at her, and she blushed.
"They're going to get married," stated Sirius, nodding seriously.
"Oh, is that so?" Mr. Walker laughed.
Everyone relaxed from then on. Mr. Walker had a nice, cheerful laugh, bubbly and meaningful. Peter even had the audacity to smile at him weakly from his nervous disposition.
"Well, let's get settled then," said Mrs. Walker briskly. "Violet, you can share your room with one of your girlfriends, and two of your other girlfriends can stay in one of our guest rooms." A pause. "Boys, I'm afraid the four of you will have to share one room. But no worries, it's quite roomy, I'm sure the four of you fellows will fit nicely…"
"We don't mind," said Remus politely, and the other three Marauders nodded.
"I'm sharing a room with Lils," said Arabella at once. "No offense, Jen."
"None taken," said Jennifer, grinning. "You two are best friends, after all."
"Glad you understand, Jenny."
So the eight of them trouped upstairs and went into their respected rooms. Lily and Arabella hauled their trunks into the smaller guest room, while Violet and Jennifer went into Violet's room. The boys took the larger guest room.
"This room is so nice," whispered Lily in awe, as she stared at the baby blue room with a beautiful sparkling rainbow on it, that really flashed as the sunlight hit it.
"It's heavenly," agreed Arabella, sighing in content. "Violet's house is so nice."
The boys were also very pleased with their room.
"It's very large—even larger than Prong's room—and it's not too girlie," said Sirius, looking at the room up and down.
"And it even has a book of pranks," added James, staring at 1000 Jokes and Pranks.
"Oh, old Snivelly will never be the same," sighed Sirius dreamily.
"I'll get my mum to invite you guys and the girls over next summer," said Remus thoughtfully.
"You guys can come over my house, too," piped up Peter.
Sirius looked awkward. "Gosh, I really wish I could invite you and the girls over my house, but my dear old mum"—he scowled fiercely—"is rather peculiar about certain people. She'll never accept any of you…and for stupid reasons too. Regulus always haunts me because he says that I made friends with Muggle-borns, half-breeds, half-Squibs, and our family rivals."
"We're your family rivals?" said James in amazement.
"Yeah, or so my parents say. They're all idiots though, mate, so don't believe a word they say."
"Dinner is ready!" called Mrs. Walker, and the four boys bounded down the stairs, eager for their second favorite hobby—eating.
Lily found out that Mrs. Walker was a exceptional cook; it was light and airy, melting into their mouths like ice cream. She had made baked potatoes, fried chicken, sweet pea soup, a variety of pies, and a scrumptious, plump chocolate cake. Even Jennifer, who had the smallest appetite of a human, had ate joyfully and with reverie.
"This is delicious, Mrs. Walker," mumbled Sirius, through a mouthful of apple pie. "I've never had such great food in years."
Lily looked positively revolted at his rudeness, but the Walkers merely chuckled.
"Why, thank you, Sirius," said Mrs. Walker appreciatively.
"I'm glad you appreciate food, Sirius," said Mr. Walker, nodding. "I love it too. The Hog's Head had a new sort of dessert come out; they gave out free samples. Have you tried them? They're delightful."
"The cherry creams!" exclaimed Sirius eagerly. "Yes, yes, they were awesome!"
James laughed at his best friend. "I must compliment the potatoes, Mrs. Walker," he said sincerely. "My mum could never make baked potatoes. Would you mind if I got the recipe?"
Lily stared suspiciously at him, and wondered if the Marauders were trying to woo Mrs. Walker, as she was beautiful, even though she was decades older than themselves. But no, they looked sincere and honest, so she decided that they really thought Violet's mother was a wonderful cook.
"We saw that prank book of yours, Mr. Walker," said James mischievously. "The Slytherins are in for it this year—"
"—Snape is," finished Remus, glaring at James and giving him a "that's-not-tactful" look.
Comprehension dawned on James' face and he hastily tried to correct his mistake.
"Oh, I mean, there's some bloke named Snape that we love to taunt, and he so happens to be a Slytherin—"
"That's quite fascinating, boys," said Mr. Walker, forcing a fake smile. He glanced nervously at his wife.
Lily glared at James.
"You prat," hissed Arabella menacingly. "You know Mrs. Walker was a Slytherin! Not all Slytherins are bad, you know."
"It slipped," whispered James sheepishly. "I never meant it to go…"
Lily stood up abruptly.
"Mrs. Walker," she said in a sweet voice. "May I be excused?"
"Of course, Lily." Mrs. Walker smiled, not giving away her true feelings at the moment.
Lily grabbed James' wrist and dragged him into the room she was staying in. She shut the door softly behind and glared at her companion.
"Do you know how much heartache you've just caused Mrs. Walker? How can you be so tactless?"
"Me, tactless?" roared James. "It just slipped! Not everyone can think before they say, unlike Little Miss Perfect Evans. I am sorry!"
"You—" Lily stopped. "Potter, you infuriate me. Get out of this room."
"My pleasure," spat James bitterly, as slammed the door behind him.
Lily sighed. Why was she so nasty to James?
Well, technically, you weren't so nasty at Potter, said a voice inside her head.
"Who are you?" demanded Lily.
I'm your conscience, of course. Didn't you know that? I thought someone with brains like yours would know everything.
"Leave me alone!" she screamed.
Why should I? I am a part of you, Lily Evans. Besides, I'm not really another person. I'm just another part of you. You're talking to yourself, in other words.
"What do you man I wasn't so nasty at Potter?"
Oh…that. Ha! Of course you weren't nasty to him. You were just saying what you thought best. I understand, Lily. But you see, James is more complex and complicated in character than you think.
"What? What are you talking about?"
To put it bluntly, Lily Evans, James Potter is in love with you. I know we're all only fifteen, as I get that speech very often, but really, I'm not joking. He just doesn't like it when you act all bossy and stuff.
"I was not bossy! I was just telling him what's to be expected of him."
EXACTLY! Bingo! He doesn't want you to tell him what's to be expected of him. He's a big boy, Lily, he can take care of himself. Oh, and by the way, no one's perfect, so don't blame him for his little blunder tonight.
"Lils? Who are you talking to?" Arabella was next to the doorway, staring at her.
Whoops. I got to go now!
"My conscience," replied Lily flatly.
"Are you all right?" Arabella plainly ignored her odd answer.
"I suppose. It's just that Potter—"
"Oh." Arabella rolled her eyes. "It's about Potter again, is it?"
"Well, what else?"
"Look, Lily, I think you and James should be friends. I mean, he's not all that bad."
"Easy for you to say, Bells; his best friend is your boyfriend."
"Lils, I'm trying to help here!" whined Arabella, pouting.
Lily laughed, shaking her head.
"Anyway, I really do think you and James should have a little get-together thing."
"Bella…"
"Oh, fine! Do whatever you want then. But promise me you guys will be friends in our sixth or seventh year. At least be decent to him in our sixth year."
Lily thought for a moment. "Promise."
"Are you sure you're going to keep that promise?"
"'Course, Bellsies."
Arabella narrowed her eyes. "Don't use that nickname, Lily Evans. It's making you like Sirius."
Lily promptly stopped talking.
Her friend sighed. "Lily, James is a good guy. Just—give him a chance, won't you? I know he'll improve—"
She snorted. "Bella, we all know that Potter has the biggest head in the world."
"All right, so he's a little too self-conscious of himself, but he's a really nice guy, once you know him. I know he'll give you a good shoulder to cry on or a good ear to listen to if you know him better."
"I've known him for five years, Arabella."
"Ugh! Fine, I'll shut up now and stop trying to convince you into anything."
Lily rolled her eyes, smiling.
In the boys' room, Sirius was currently badgering James with questions about their little confrontation in Lily's room.
"For the last time, Padfoot, nothing serious happened! Why don't you just leave me and my life alone?"
"Oh, but it's too easy and fun to annoy the hell out of you, Prongs," said Sirius, his eyes twinkling.
"And it's quite easy for me, I assure you Padfoot, to kill you with the Killing Curse if you don't shut up now," said James quite calmly.
Remus chuckled.
Sirius sighed impatiently. "All right, look here, Prongs. You like Lily—love her, even. Why don't you just admit it?"
"Because it's not true!"
Sirius exchanged meaningful looks with his friends and mouthed, "Well, I tried."
James lay on one of the beds, thinking. Surely they weren't serious when they said that he loved Lily! But whenever he thought of Lily, he always had a goofy smile on his face. Did it mean something? He didn't hate Lily, that was for sure. He loved her thick red hair and those dazzling green eyes that shimmered in the dark. James groaned, and closed his eyes, letting his dreams settle his feelings.
- - - - -
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns all and I own none.
A/N: All right, this was the WORST possible chapter that I have ever come up with. I am SO, SO sorry that this chapter was so crappy, but I did try. Don't worry, though. If you're disappointed, then you won't be when I start the fifth year. That's when all the drama starts *grin*
Thanks again to all my reviewers!