Sixth Year – Part Three
Lily mentally scolded herself as she walked back to Gryffindor Tower slowly. She had just accepted Mark Goldstein on a date! She felt awful, and the thought of James made her stomach drop even more. How could she have been so stupid as to accept?
"Hey, Lily!" said Violet cheerfully, walking next to her.
"Oh, hey, Vi," said Lily distractedly. "Where we you?"
"Oh, I was—er—" She blushed.
"Don't tell me: off with Jackson again?"
"Yes." Violet was extremely red.
"Aww…were you two snogging?"
"Lily! Now, tell me what's wrong."
Lily sighed. "I—I'm going out with Mark Goldstein."
"What?"
"I'm going out with—"
"Yes, yes, I heard you!" exclaimed Violet impatiently. "But why? What about James?"
"Violet, please." Lily squirmed uncomfortably. "I don't know what came over me! I just accepted him when he asked me out!"
"Lily, you're going out with Mark Goldstein, the Ravenclaw prefect who just broke up with the Head Girl of last year. What were you thinking?"
"I wasn't thinking," said Lily desperately. "Vi, you have to help me!"
"What's going on here?" asked Sirius, coming out of the portrait hole with the rest of the Marauders. "I thought I heard a racket outside…"
"She's going out with Mark Goldstein!" shrieked Violet accusingly. "I was just telling her how perfectly ridiculous—"
"I know that, Violet!" snapped Lily.
However, Sirius was gaping soundlessly at the latter. "You…you're going out with that git?"
"He's not that bad," she said weakly.
"But—" He shot a glance at his best friend, who looked away.
"Sirius," said Remus sternly, "let her be. You aren't Lily's mother, and neither are you, Violet."
Everyone suddenly turned his or her attention to James, who was silent throughout the argument. Sirius crossed his arms and glared at Lily and Remus, while Violet stared at the floor.
"What are you looking at me for?" said James irritably.
"Aren't you going to say something?" said Sirius nastily. "About this whole misunderstanding?"
"It isn't—" began Remus, but James cut him off.
"Why should I? Moony's right, Padfoot: mind your own business. Lily can date whoever she wants to."
Lily gave a sigh of great relief. "Thank you, Potter." She said the password to the Fat Lady and went to her dormitory, leaving everyone else speechless outside.
Arabella smiled at her friend as she collapsed onto her bed. "Hey, Lily."
"Bella, please don't get mad at me. I have to tell you something."
She raised an eyebrow. "As long as you don't say you snogged Sirius, I really wouldn't care."
"I'm going out with Mark Goldstein."
Like she said, Arabella wasn't angry; in fact, she looked quite calm and serene. "Everyone makes mistakes."
"You know?"
"Lily, I'm your best friend. I know that Mark isn't the best for you, but I guess you had to go out with another boy in order to realize your true feelings for James."
"I feel so horrible for hurting him like that. He tried so hard…"
Arabella smiled widely, and Lily frowned. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Oh, nothing." She put on an innocent face. "I'm not looking at you."
Lily merely rolled her eyes in response. However, the thought of being Mark Goldstein's girlfriend made her cringe inwardly.
Good job, Evans, she thought to herself. What in Merlin's beard were you thinking? Mark Goldstein's an idiot, remember?
She went down the staircase, and collapsed into a comfortable armchair in the common room, where James and Sirius were playing chess by the fire.
"Hello, Evans," the former greeted cheerfully. The latter merely grunted in response.
"Hello, Potter, Sirius," called Lily.
"Why aren't you with your boyfriend, Evans?" spat Sirius bitterly. "I'm sure he misses you very much by now. Who knows, you can always sneak up in the Ravenclaw common room and up to his dormitory any time soon…"
"Padfoot!" hissed James, glaring.
"I'm trying to back you up here, Prongs, there's no need to get upset," he snapped back.
"All right, why are you angry, Sirius?" demanded Lily, tears prickling her eyes.
"I know you fancy James, but no, you just had to go with Goldstein."
"Sirius, I told you! It was an accident!"
"Huh! Yeah, right, it is."
Lily looked around at James for support, but he looked away, turning red and concentrating on his chess pieces. She shot daggers at him, but he wouldn't look at her at all after a while. A surge of anger ran through her, and she decided to pay Mark a visit.
She went out the portrait hole, hoping to have some sign of where the Ravenclaw common room was. After about ten minutes of wandering around the whole castle, Lily had no such luck. For one moment, she wished that she had the Marauders' skill of able to find any place at Hogwarts, as she slouched to the library in defeat. To her delight, Mark was there along with his friends, Ulysses Boot and Samuel Corner.
"Lily!" He cried in delight when he saw her. "How's my sugar?"
Lily cringed inwardly again, but forced a smile, amid the sniggers of his friends.
"Don't embarrass the girl, Mark," chided Ulysses.
Mark grinned, but his smile faded all of a sudden. "That Potter wasn't bothering you, was he, Lilikins? 'Cause it's a well-known fact that James Potter has a strong fancy for you."
Lily smiled. "He's been very supportive of me, thank you, Mark."
Sam shifted slightly in his seat and smiled shyly. "James wouldn't do such a thing, Mark. He's got dignity, that boy."
Mark narrowed his eyes. "Since when have you been on the side of the Gryffindors. You not included, of course, Lily."
"James is my friend," said Sam defensively. "He's a good guy, and he knows when to back off."
"So how are you, Lily?" He plainly ignored his friend's comments.
"I'm fine, Mark."
"Look, Lily, I want to give you the password to our common room, but Frieda would never let me. You know how that girl is."
"Quite true." The conversation was beginning to become extremely tedious. Even though Mark was decent looking and was pretty nice, he was very dull. But then, nearly all Ravenclaws were.
"Why are you all at the library anyway?" she asked, trying to start another topic of conversation again.
"Studying, of course," said Mark, looking as though it were obvious.
"For what, exactly?"
"Well, for our N.E.W.T.s, of course!"
Lily raised an eyebrow. Merlin, this boy is crazed! I'm not even studying for the N.E.W.T.s yet, and I always study earlier for everything! We still have more than a year, for Merlin's sake!
"That's—er—nice."
"Isn't it?" He bounced happily.
Sam rolled his eyes. "Never mind him, Lily; he's just hyper because Marie—ouch!" He rubbed his arm on where Mark had just punched him. "Oh! Er—I mean Manie, Mark's sister, just owled him, saying that she's coming home. She's an Auror in Egypt."
Lily looked suspiciously at Mark, who nodded emphatically. She had a strange feeling that the three boys were lying, but pushed it no further.
"I still think Potter's pining for you, Lily," said Mark impatiently. "You don't like him, do you?"
"Oh, of course not!" she exclaimed a bit too quickly. Well, she wasn't entirely lying; she didn't like James too much.
Ulysses raised an eyebrow. "You sure, Lily? 'Cause James likes you a lot. He took you to Hogsmeade and everything."
"He did what?" said Mark angrily. "You didn't…kiss him, did you?" He looked anxious.
"No!" Lily shook her head. "Never."
"Good." Mark visibly relaxed, but Sam gave her a knowing smile.
"Hey, Lily, could I talk to you for a minute?" asked the latter.
Mark narrowed his eyes. "Hey, Boot, if I catch you snogging my girlfriend—"
Sam rolled his eyes. "Oh, shut up, Mark. I won't do anything to Lily; I have a girlfriend myself, after all."
Lily followed Sam to the back of the library, and asked curiously, "Yes?"
"Look, Lily, it's a mistake to be dating Mark."
She blinked. "What?"
"I mean, I know I'm Mark's best friend, but I know that you don't like him. Do you deny it?"
Lily looked away. "No," she replied quietly. "I don't know why I'm going out with Mark. I just wasn't thinking properly when he asked."
"You like James Potter."
Her eyes widened. "What—?"
Sam snorted. "Oh, come off it, Evans! I've seen the way James looks at you, and I've seen the way you look at him. Don't deny it."
"I suppose," she sighed. "But I don't want to like Potter! He's an arrogant git, a bullying prat, and…"
"All right, I get your point. But he's changed, see? Don't you see it? He loves you well enough to change himself. That's something guys like us don't do very often."
"So what's your point?" said Lily, narrowing her eyes.
"I don't think you should go out with Mark anymore." He took a deep breath.
"But he just asked me out today."
"So? You two aren't meant for each other. Just listen to me, Evans: James Potter is head-over-heels for you, and you two are really meant to be. Do me a favor and go out with him the next time he asks you."
"What?"
"I'm not joking," he said desperately.
"Why do you care, Samuel? Ravenclaws aren't too fond of Gryffindors, since they think that they're too bold and such."
He grimaced. "Just do it and stop asking so many questions. Look, you want to know? I'm in debt to James Potter. Once, in our second year, I wandered off to the Forbidden Forest, on account of a dare from my friends. Centaurs attacked me, and James saved me. I had no idea what he was doing there himself, but he saved my life, Lily! When we were only twelve, too. He's a good guy, and I want to do a favor for him. So please go out with him and make him happy."
Lily stood in stunned silence. Here she was, standing at the far corner of the library, and a Ravenclaw, who happened to be one of her boyfriend's best friends, telling her to ditch Mark and go with James. Her mind was jumbled with all sorts of different emotions, as she stared at Sam, gaping.
"I don't like him," she finally said.
Sam sighed. "Hogwash! Of course you do! You're just in denial, that's all. You'll come around sooner or later, I suppose. See you around, Lily." He waved and walked out of the library, leaving Lily by herself, pondering his words.
"He's a good guy, so please make him happy."
Lily blinked and shook her head wearily. She had gotten herself in a huge mess, and she had no idea how to get herself out of it.
***
"Our sixth year is almost over," said James sadly, as he stared at the homework in front of him. "Can you believe it, Padfoot? We'll be seventh years soon!"
"What?" snapped Sirius, shaking out of his trance. "What did you say, Prongs?"
"I said—" began James, but Remus cut him off.
"Oh, forget it, Padfoot. What're you thinking about anyway?"
Sirius faced his three best friends, looking grave. "I'm thinking of proposing to Arabella."
James choked. "We're only sixteen, some of us seventeen! That's a bit too early for marriage, Padfoot."
"So? I'll propose next year, then."
Remus sighed, which caused the other three to stare at him.
"What's wrong, Moony?"
"I don't think I can be with Jennifer anymore."
"WHAT?" cried Sirius.
"I'm a werewolf," he continued, unfazed. "It wouldn't be safe for her."
"Oh, you know damn well that—"
"I know she loves me," he interrupted. "But do you know how miserable she'll be? Dealing with my transformations for once a month in our entire lives? She won't like it, even if she does love me! I want her to be happy, and with a husband who won't cause her pain and loneliness."
"Moony, you're not making any sense at all," said James, shaking his head. "Jennifer doesn't care…"
"Sure, she thinks she won't, but she will!"
"Remus," squeaked Peter, "why would she care?"
"Yeah, that's a good point," said Sirius aggressively. He wasn't too pleased with Remus' concept.
"Padfoot, you don't understand girls too well. They want a husband who can spend time with them. They want carefree lives! They want lives where they wouldn't have to worry about their husband because of his werewolf transformations."
"You're wrong, Moony! Jennifer isn't like regular girls, and neither are her friends—I understand Bella!"
"Padfoot, you remember that prediction Trelawney made once in our second year. Or was it our third? Anyway, she said that I would find love, but lose it, to protect the girl I loved. That means Jennifer."
James snorted. "You believe that old bat? She was probably just bluffing it, as usual."
"But Prongs, it sounded like she was real that time," said Remus earnestly. "Maybe Trelawney isn't a fraud as we might think."
"Yeah, and Voldemort believes in love," said Sirius, rolling his eyes, as Peter cringed at the name.
"Don't joke, Sirius," he pleaded. "I'm serious."
"No, I am."
"Padfoot!" exclaimed James, sighing. "Will you stop with that stupid joke already?"
"Gee, sorry, Prongsies, what's up with you?"
"I'm sick of you acting so childish about everything. Moony's in a dilemma, and you're making another crack about that stupid pun. Can you act like your name, for once?"
Sirius stared at his best friend, and gulped, looking around at Remus and Peter, who were just as bewildered as he. "Sorry, Prongs. I guess I can't really live with a gloomy atmosphere."
"It's all right. I'm just a bit stressed, that's all. Sorry, Padfoot."
"Is it about Lily? I can't believe she's going out with Goldstein. I mean, she even said she liked you."
"But I gave her a chance to discover her feelings for me," he returned, his eyes glued to the window outside of their dormitory. "I said that she can even date other boys until she realizes them, and I won't get jealous."
"You said WHAT?" demanded Sirius furiously. "Prongs, that would be the most stupid thing you've ever done in your life! What the hell were you thinking?"
"Sirius, calm down," said James smoothly. "I admit it wasn't so smart, but I really want to give Lily a chance."
"Hasn't she already had almost two years to think this over?" he growled. "I swear, Lily's nice, and she's my friend and everything, but sometimes she can be so damn stubborn and blind! I mean, girls are so difficult."
"Tell me about it." Frank entered their dormitory, grinning slightly.
"Hey, Frankie," said James lazily. "How goes it?"
"Fantastic!" he replied with enthusiasm. "You were right, James. I had to tell Alice about my feelings, or I would've regretted it later on. Thanks, mate, really."
"You have to take the N.E.W.T.s soon, and all you're thinking about is Alice?" said Sirius dubiously.
Frank gave a sideways glance at the elegant-haired boy in front of him. "What were you thinking about when you took your O.W.L.s?"
"Arabella," he admitted shamefully.
"Exactly. Sirius, when you're in love, you tend to think about nothing but your object of affection."
"Too true," said James with a tone of sadness in his voice.
Frank smiled sympathetically. "No luck with Lily?"
"She's going out with Mark Goldstein," spat Sirius, as if it were a swear word. "I thought Lily was bad enough admitting her feelings, but she's gone too far!"
"Is that what's bothering you?" asked Frank, looking at his younger neighbor.
"Yeah. So…what made Alice change her mind about you?" He abruptly changed the subject.
"Oh!" He brightened at once. "Well, I told her the day before Valentine's Day. I found her crying in the common room late at night, so I comforted her. She told me that Sturges Diggle had broke up with her for Trish Vance, so I took my chance. I poured out my soul to her, and she admitted the same feelings. So now we're back together again. Thank Merlin, too, since Dumbledore looked as if he were going to die from all the arguments we had this year with each other." Frank grinned sheepishly.
"I'm glad everything's worked out for you," said James dismally.
Remus' expression softened. "Don't worry, Prongs, everything will be fine."
"Easy for you to say," he spat bitterly.
"Look, this is what happened to Jennifer and I," he said briskly. "Jennifer had been in love with me for nearly a year—"
"Don't start, Moony," snapped James. "I've been in love with Lily since last year. And you and Jennifer were second-years back then! This is different; we're sixteen, going onto seventeen. I have only one year left, guys, to win Lily's heart."
The Marauders were quiet after this. They had finally realized that James was right: he had only one year left to win Lily before she lost interest completely, or if another man captured her heart. They knew that James was devoted to Lily even more than Quidditch (which was a very hard thing to distract him from), and would do anything for her. But if only Lily could see that love was right in front of her and that she was too blind to see a thing.
"It's all Lily's fault," said Sirius after a while of silence.
"Huh?" mumbled James incoherently. "What are you on about?"
"It's Lily's fault, not yours, mate. She's the one who's too blind to see the fact that she's in love with you, too. Oh, why do relationships have to be so complicated?"
"Well," began James, "I think that you're going a little too far as to say that it's actually someone's fault…"
"Oh, shut it, James!" his best friend cried.
Frank stared at the pair. "Look, James has a point, Sirius."
"You need to control that temper of yours, Padfoot," said Remus sternly. "You can't just go blowing off the top to everyone like that."
Sirius glared but did not answer.
"Hey, Siri," cooed Arabella, jumping onto her boyfriend.
The rest of the boys snickered loudly while Sirius flushed crimson.
"Hey, Bella," he mumbled.
"How come you can get into our dormitory?" demanded James, "but we can't get into yours?"
"That's because the Founders thought that boys were more untrustworthy than girls," she replied smugly.
"Does Lily like Snape?" asked Sirius suddenly.
Arabella raised an eyebrow. "Where did you get that idea?"
"'Cause she's always standing up for Snape and stuff. I mean, Snape doesn't like her anymore, but if she fancies him…"
She burst out laughing. "Oh Merlin, you have to be the thickest person alive, Sirius! Of course Lily doesn't like Snape!"
"Does she hate me?" asked James, looking forlorn.
Arabella blinked in surprise. "No. Why do you ask? Lily adores you, but she won't admit it. Give her some time, James. I have to admit, though, that she does take advantage of you. She just doesn't realize how lucky she is to have someone like you to care for her, James."
"Amen to that!" cried Sirius.
"Do you hate Lily or something now?" asked Remus, rolling his eyes.
"As a matter of fact, I'm not feeling too chummy with our dear female friend Lily at this point."
"Sirius!" exclaimed Arabella, staring at him. "You don't mean that."
"Indeed, I do."
"Should I leave?" queried Frank uncertainly, looking from Sirius to Arabella. "I don't mean to impose…"
"Nonsense!" snapped Arabella, waving her hand. "You're welcome to stay, Frank, if you want. You'd understand our problem, after all, since you have a steady girlfriend who returns the feelings you have for her. Now, why do you think Sirius hates Lily?"
"I don't—" objected Sirius.
"I think that Sirius is just stressed out with everything, that's all," said Frank serenely. "He's almost a seventh year, and that causes stress for all of you. And he has to deal with certain issues that I don't think you want to know about." He winked at the boy, who flushed in response. "You should respect his feelings, Arabella. After all, with his best friend having unrequited feelings returned, you would feel some tension between his best friend's object of affection."
"You speak so eloquently," she said dreamily. "How do you do it, Frank?"
"Hey!" said Sirius jealously. "Don't talk to Frank like that; I'm your boyfriend, remember?"
"Whatever." She rolled her eyes.
Frank looked highly amused at the couple's exchange of "words". "It's from experience, I guess. I never knew that I spoke so 'eloquently', as you phrased it. But when you're a seventh year, about to propose to your girlfriend and start a new life, you get a bit wiser."
James looked up from Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland. "You're proposing?"
"Yes," said Frank loftily. "And if she agrees, you'll be best man, James."
"I will? But what about Juan and Sturges—?"
"Oh, them." He waved the question off to the side. "Juan is turning out to be a player and a complete and utter jerk, and as for Sturges, he did break Alice's heart, though I'm secretly thanking him on bent knee for it."
Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Arabella laughed, while James grinned. "Thanks, Frankie. That means a lot to me."
"Hey, no problem, James."
"Who's the maid-of-honor, then?" pushed Sirius.
"One of Alice's friends, no doubt."
"Yeah, probably," replied Frank distractedly.
"Well, I'd better go." Arabella stood up and kissed Sirius, ignoring the catcalls that followed. "See you later, guys."
"Isn't she amazing?" said Sirius, watching his girlfriend dreamily as her footsteps diminished.
The other boys snickered at Sirius, shaking their heads mournfully of the thought of their friend, "Siriusly in love".
***
James had never felt this bad in his whole life. Sirius, his best friend, had told Snape how to allow entrance to the Whomping Willow and see Remus. What he was thinking at the time, James had no idea, but the very thought of Sirius being responsible for a death made his insides twist together like tangled knots.
Dumbledore peered through his moon-shaped spectacles at the three boys in front of him. "You do know the seriousness of the situation, don't you, boys?"
"Yes, sir," they chorused. Sirius had not even bothered to make another joke about his name being used.
"Mr. Black, I don't know what you were thinking for allowing Mr. Snape to have full view of Mr. Lupin as a werewolf. But I do assure you, if Mr. Potter was not there to save Mr. Snape, then there would have been severe consequences. You would have been expelled, along with your friends, and Mr. Snape would have been bitten. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Professor," he mumbled in reply.
"I expected better of you, Sirius." The boy looked up in surprise. It was the first time Dumbledore had actually used his give name before. "Even though I knew you as a boy who took risks, I did expect you to at least know that you were almost the cause of a student's death."
"Sir, I'm sorry," said Sirius solemnly, "I really am."
Snape made a noise that sounded oddly like a snort, but didn't say anything.
"I do believe you are," said Dumbledore, with a glance at Snape. "You will be happy to know that no points will be taken from Gryffindor, because of the courage Mr. Potter showed tonight in rescuing Mr. Snape."
"Thank you, sir," muttered Sirius, looking close to tears.
"There will be no punishment for me, will there, Professor?" asked Snape anxiously.
"No, Mr. Snape, there will not, for tonight. But I must warn you, do not try any more risky dares in the future, for it will land you in trouble and danger."
Snape nodded, glaring at James and Sirius.
"And now, Mr. Black, if you would please leave. I wish to speak to Messrs. Potter and Snape alone."
Sirius left, with a sympathetic and apologetic smile to his best friend.
"Mr. Snape," began Dumbledore, "I am to say that you are, from this day, in debt to Mr. James Potter, for saving your life."
"I'm what?" said Snape, staring at James.
"In debt to James. For he saved your life, though it was in rather different situations. However, he did prevent you from dying or becoming a werewolf, so you must still be thankful."
Snape was now mouthing wordlessly, his hatred for James inflating all the more.
"I'm glad we understand." Dumbledore looked rather amused. "You two may go."
James and Snape left the office, thanking the Headmaster.
"I can't believe I'm in debt to you, Potter," spat Snape. "Whatever the Headmaster says, I'm still not thankful. I'd rather die or become a werewolf than to be in debt to YOU."
"The feeling is mutual, Severus," said James calmly.
"You—" Snape glared. "You planned all this! You bas—"
"Now, now, Snivellus, there's no calling names," chided James pleasantly. "I do hate you, of course, but now that you owe me a favor…" He grinned wickedly.
"You haven't changed a bit, Potter."
"Thank, you, Snivelly. I'm guessing that you were about to say that I'm still the 'arrogant berk and prat who doesn't deserve the attention he gets.'"
Snape silently seethed and stalked up to his common room, not looking back.
James chuckled slightly and headed for Gryffindor Tower. When he got through the portrait hole, he found the Marauders (excluding Remus) and girls all wide-awake, and nagging him with anticipation.
"Well, what happened?"
"What did Dumbledore say?"
"Is Remus all right?"
"Is Snape expelled?"
James snorted at the last question, whose owner happened to be Sirius. "Dumbledore just told us that Snape was in debt to me, since I saved his life."
"You saved his life?" repeated Lily doubtfully. "What exactly happened?"
"I told Snivellus how to get to Remus," said Sirius dully, not meeting anyone's eyes.
"YOU DID WHAT?" hollered Arabella, causing everyone to jump with a start.
"Do you want to wake up the whole Tower?" hissed Jennifer angrily.
"Sorry."
"Sirius, you didn't," said Violet, wide-eyed. "You told Snape how to get to Remus? At the night of the full moon? How thick can you get?"
"It was a joke," said Sirius timidly. "I was just getting fed up with Snape following us around, his wand pointed upwards, always trying to get us in trouble for something. I was sick of it! So I told him, since he called Lily a Mud—Mud—a you-know-what. He also insulted all of you, so I couldn't stand it any longer. And then Prongs saved Snape just in time when he heard what I had done." He hung his head down in shame.
"How did you save Snape?" asked Lily. "When you could've gotten hurt as well?"
James took a deep breath and looked at Sirius and Peter, who understood what was coming next. "We have to tell you girls something."
"Okay," agreed Jennifer, nonplused.
He took a deep breath. "We're unregistered Animagi."
The girls exchanged looks of great surprise and shock. Whatever they planned the Marauders to say, it wasn't this.
"How?" asked Violet, her voice shaking.
"We started to make the potion in our second year," said James, undaunted. "Our plan was to make Remus' transformations less painful. And we finished in the summer before our fifth year started. I'm a stag, Sirius is a dog, and Peter is a rat. We follow Remus on every full moon to the Whomping Willow. Peter presses the knot, which freezes the tree, and we go off with Remus. Sometimes we even go to Hogsmeade…that's why we know all these secret passageways, and we eventually created the Marauder's Map."
Sirius took a blank piece of parchment from his robes and tapped his wand on it lightly. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Words began to scroll in curling letters, and secret passageways that the girls had never seen before appeared on the map.
Lily looked at it in awe. "How did you make this?"
"Simple," said James modestly. "Each of us used our talents to make it. It would've been challenging if it was a one-person job, but we all pitched in."
"And no one else knows?"
"Why would we tell anyone else? It'd get us into big trouble. But we can trust you girls, since you've been our friends for nearly six years."
"We won't tell a soul," said Arabella firmly.
Sirius coughed. "Look, Lily, I'm really sorry about the way I've been acting lately. I guess I just didn't want to see you 'together' with Goldstein."
Lily gave a gentle smile. "It's all right. I broke it up with him last week anyway. I was going to tell you guys, but you seemed intent on either hexing Snape or exploring the grounds."
James blushed, and smiled slightly. "Yeah. Well, I can't say I'm glad—"
"Elated," interrupted Sirius, grinning.
"I don't want to sound rude or anything, but I'm really glad you did. Mark's a good guy and all, but he's not exactly someone you'd want to date. I mean, he plays with girls' hearts too much. He dumps one of the former Head Girls, and then he dumps the other sixth-year Ravenclaw prefect all in one week."
"And I thought Sirius was bad," said Arabella, snorting.
"Hey!"
The two groups retired to bed, but Lily caught up with James before he went up to his dormitory.
"James? Can I talk to you?"
He shrugged. "Sure."
"Look, what you did tonight…it was really brave."
"It was nothing."
"But you don't like Snape," she insisted, "so it must've been hard for you to save his life when you have ill will toward him."
"Look, Lily, I may be cold-hearted, or so you think," said James, "but I don't believe in trying to get people to be murdered. Snape isn't what I'd call innocent; I'd bet my whole life that he's a Death Eater, or planning to be one. But he's still a human being, though hard to believe it, and I don't believe in murdering people who haven't done anything. I mean, I know I've been torturing him since our first year, but I don't really have a good reason for it, I must admit. I don't know why I ever hexed him before."
Lily smiled. "You've really changed."
James shrugged his shoulders once more. "I'm not great or anything."
"Of course you are. You're smart, you're brave, and heck, you're even nice at times!"
He raised an eyebrow. "I'm glad that I at least seem decent to you."
She sighed and closed her eyes. "Look, James, I'm really sorry for treating you so horribly since our fifth year. I still don't have feelings for you as you do for me, but I'm really trying."
"Er—" James didn't know what to say.
"I know I've been taking advantage of your love for me, so I'm apologizing. You were always a good guy, James; I'm sorry I ever thought of you otherwise."
"Look, let's just sever all those hatred vows we made in our earlier years," said James, now smiling as well, "and come to a consent. Friends?"
"Definitely friends."
The whole of Gryffindor Tower burst into applause, as each and every Gryffindor stood by their dormitory doors and clapped so loudly that James was surprised to find that McGonagall wasn't telling them off yet. But then he found the answer to his puzzlement: McGonagall was too busy herself clapping to even tell off any of her students. This brought great shock to the two sixteen-year-olds.
"What?" said James dumbly.
"You're finally at least friends!" cried Sirius, whooping loudly. "Finally! We've waited for six-and-a-half years, Prongs, and it's finally happened! Congratulations!"
Lily and James could not manage to utter a single word throughout this whole celebration.
"Ms. Evans, Mr. Potter." Professor McGonagall smiled happily. "Congratulations to you as well."
"Professor?" whispered Lily, still in shock. "I…I don't know what to say."
"Just don't get into another argument with Mr. Potter, and I will be fine."
Everyone laughed at this, even McGonagall, who they've never heard even utter a single sound of delight before.
It was certainly a day—night, rather—of surprises.
***
"Well, when next year comes, we'll all be graduating," said James sadly, looking at the castle gloomily. "Hogwarts was my second home."
"Yeah, I'll miss it," said Sirius. "It was the only place where I could find people who liked me."
"Sirius, you're my brother…and I mean it." James turned to his best friend. "Don't think that no one cares for you outside this school."
Sirius grinned widely and hugged James, nearly crushing him. "Thanks, Prongs."
"Are we interrupting something?" asked Jackson slyly, as he walked closer and held hands with Violet.
Violet rolled her eyes. "Boys…always so suggestive and perverted."
"Don't you know it, Vi."
"Oh, don't start snogging in front of us!" cried Sirius, shielding his eyes from the couple, who had leaned closer to each other for the past few seconds.
"Oh, please, Padfoot, it's not like you and Arabella haven't done the same thing to us," said James, chortling.
"Well, that's different. I never said I liked watching other people kiss each other; I just said that I enjoyed kissing."
"Ugh!" Violet shuddered violently. "Sirius, shut up."
"So guys," said Sirius, changing the subject, "are we game? Meeting at Moony—er, sorry—Remus' house? And Jen's?"
"Sure," said Jackson, shrugging. "I don't want to intrude, though. I mean, you guys have been friends since first year, and I only joined your group 'cause I'm dating your friend."
"Nonsense," said James, waving it off. "You're welcome anytime, Jack. 'Sides, we need an eighth person, since Peter will be off in Switzerland for the whole summer."
"Splendid." Jackson smiled widely. "I've never really had friends like you guys before…my Ravenclaw ones aren't very loyal, to tell you the truth. All they want to do all day is study, work at the Ministry later on, and find a 'nice and serious' girl to settle with, and teach their children how to be just like them. I swear, they don't approve of me dating Violet, since they think we're 'too young'."
James and Sirius laughed, while Violet turned pink.
"Bad luck, mate," said Sirius, shaking his head. "They sound like typical Ravenclaws to be. But you should've been a Gryffindor; don't know what the Sorting Hat was thinking when it made you a Ravenclaw."
"It was probably for the best, anyway. It's probably because all the Bradleys have been in Ravenclaw since the beginning of time. Not a single one of us have been in another House, so I guess the Sorting Hat was just doing me a favor and helping me not get lectures by my parents of how I disgraced our Ravenclaw bloodline."
"Oh, definitely a Gryffindor," said James.
"Hey guys," said Arabella brightly, as Lily, Jennifer, and Remus followed her close behind.
"Hello," greeted Jackson, waving amiably.
Jennifer burst into giggles. "You know, Jack, Vi's lucky to have you as her boyfriend. You have got to be the sweetest boy alive."
Remus glared. "What about me, Jenny?"
"Oh, of course, you too."
"Yeah, and all I have is a boy who does nothing but snog and play pranks all day," said Arabella wistfully.
"You know you love it," retorted Sirius, winking roguishly.
"Oh, sure." She scoffed.
"We're still meeting at your house, right, Remus?" asked Lily. "And Jen?"
"'Course," the couple replied.
"Mum has to meet Remus anyway," added Jennifer, looking rather flushed. "She's been hounding me about him ever since she found out that I've been dating him since second year. We were young, but I must say, it was true love." Remus slipped his arms around her shoulders.
"Your Mum will love him," assured Lily.
"I don't know," said Remus nervously. "What about my—condition?"
"Dad would probably give a fit, but Mum won't mind," said Jennifer optimistically.
Remus groaned.
"What condition?" questioned Jackson curiously.
"Oh, nothing," said Violet hastily.
"Lily, can I talk to you for a moment?" asked James, taking a deep breath.
"Sure." She followed him out to the lake, where there was no one in sight. "What is it?"
"You know I love you," he began, "and I just want to tell you that maybe you can give me a chance in our last year at Hogwarts. Can you please consider it, Lily? I've wanted you to become my girlfriend ever since fifth year, and now, a year later, I still have my heart to it."
Lily's eyes widened, and a single tear escaped her eyes, as she sniffed. "Oh, that was so sweet, James! And yes, I will consider your offer this summer." She smiled as she hugged him.
James felt a surge of elation spread through his body, as his heart began to lighten considerably. Impulsively, he leaned down and captured her lips with his. It wasn't a passionate or heated kiss, but a sweet and slow one. Surprisingly, Lily had not objected, and the younger children who passed by them could see that the couple were obviously in love, though Lily could not see it yet herself.
And further away from the lake, their friends were smiling at the kissing couple, glad that they finally realized that they were truly meant to be together.
They finally pulled away after a while, since the horse-less carriages arrived. They all managed to fit into one, and it was a long ride before they arrived and boarded the Hogwarts Express. They then proceeded to fit into one compartment, and chatted throughout the whole trip. The only person who didn't talk much was James, for he felt too happy to utter a single sound.
The Potters found their son nearly skipping with his trolley as he approached them. Mrs. Potter was quite puzzled at his ebullience, but Mr. Potter smiled knowingly and shook his son's hand.
"Finally did it, eh?" he asked, winking.
James looked at his father in surprise, but nodded eagerly. "You got that right, Dad. You see? The Potter charm does work."
Mr. Potter laughed. "It isn't the Potter charm, son; there's no such thing. But I'm happy for you, because you look like the spit-image of me twenty years ago when your mother finally agreed to have me."
James sighed happily again and waved to Lily. A sudden realization came to him: his friends were right all along. Ever since first year, they were so intent on making James believe that he and Lily were "meant to be". And now, he found that they weren't at all mistaken as he had thought they would be.
- - - - -
Disclaimer: I own nothing and J.K. Rowling earns everything.
A/N: All right, sorry it took me forever again! This chapter totally sucked, and I'm sorry about it :( And I'm really sorry to say that I can't continue this story until a long way from now, because my mom said that I have to concentrate on my SATs (*rolls eyes*), rather than my writing. But I'll be back next year, hopefully, or maybe by the end of September. I'm really sorry about it, but you know, parents control you until the age of eighteen, and that's five years from now for me :P
Thank you to all my reviewers of Chapter 23:
Kady Rilla Wholi – Hey! I liked that quote too! Thanks for reviewing!
Princess Punky – Gracias!
Dara Maeko – I know, it is sweet *sigh* I hope it isn't TOO fluffy though ;)
alli – I hope those three hours weren't a total waste for you!
Erynwen – LOL! I promise you that they will be together by part one of seventh year, and there will be no squabbles either :D
Kat44 – Oh, of course I HAVE to give a special thank you to you! You reviewed my chapters thoroughly, and with detail. THANK YOU VERY MUCH! :D
SilentMidnight – I'm glad you enjoy it!
Brook – Who dies? My characters? LOL!
Agloechen – Hope this was quick enough for you :)
X-Girl X-File – Well, I've updated!