It was the middle of December and the grounds of Hogwarts was covered in snow. The second trip to Hogsmeade had just ended and Lily Evans was sitting in the Library finishing off an essay for the ghost Professor Binns. She was actually enjoying herself for the first time since James had told her he loved her. Lily was just writing her last sentence when someone shut the book she was getting her information from. The dust danced in the air and Lily looked up to see April and Jenny staring at her. They looked slightly annoyed and determined.
"Hi you two" Lily said quietly so as to not disturb anyone else in the library.
"We have a bone to pick with you." April said.
"What is it about?" Lily asked.
"James." Jenny answered. Lily's face went pale.
"Give me a few more minutes, I've just got this last sentence to write and I'm finished." Lily said.
"No, now." April said.
"Here?" Lily asked nervously. Jenny and April both nodded. Lily sighed and put her quill down. Jenny and April both pulled up chairs and looked at Lily expectantly.
"What do you want to know?" Lily asked.
"Why have you been avoiding James?" Jenny asked. "You were getting along so well with him and we even thought that you two might actually get together but suddenly you two are avoiding each other." Lily kept her mouth shut while Jenny spoke to her
"And Sirius says he's really depressed" April said slightly annoyed.
"He's lost his enthusiasm for Quidditch, which I thought was impossible" Jenny said.
"And the Halloween prank was cancelled" April said with despair
"What happened?" Jenny ordered Lily to tell her
"And tell us the truth because we can tell if you're lying." Jenny said. Lily looked at her friends nervously. There were a few other people in the Library and they had obviously heard April and Jenny on their little rant. Lily didn't really want to talk about what had happened but she knew she had to tell April and Jenny soon.
"Well, I don't really want to talk about it here." Lily said. She picked up her quill but April snatched it away.
"No, tell us." April said.
"Please Lily." Jenny asked slightly gentler then April. Lily frowned then nodded.
"Fine." She said. She leaned closer to April and Jenny so that no one would hear her but them. They leaned in as well. "James told me he loved me." Lily whispered. April's mouth dropped and Jenny stared at Lily. In their shock Lily got her quill back and wrote the rest of her sentence.
"What did you say?" Jenny asked as she recovered.
"Nothing." Lily said putting her parchment into her bag.
"You what!" April shouted.
"Shh!" snapped the librarian. April glanced at the librarian and ignored her. She turned back to Lily.
"Do you love him?" April asked.
"I don't think I do but I'm not sure. That's what I've been doing since he told me" Lily said.
"You've been thinking about it for two months, you must know by now." April said.
"Well, to tell you the truth, I really don't know. We had only just gotten to know each other when he told me and it kinda freaked me out." Lily said. She blushed and smiled slightly as she remembered the night he told her. She still couldn't believe that she had asked James to stay with her while she had a bath.
"What?" Jenny asked noticing Lily blush. Lily bit her lip and looked at the table.
"The night he told me, I kinda asked him to stay with me while I had a bath but he refused. It was when Lee was attacked" Lily said, April looked at her like she had reached a sudden realisation.
"That's why you didn't say anything when you got back that night." April asked. Lily nodded and picked up her bag. She got up and headed out of the library. April and Jenny both followed her.
"Whoa, wait Lily, you got to tell us more." Jenny said.
"It's not a big deal." Lily said. "I have a Prefect meeting to get to."
"Ok, but do something for us Lily." April said.
"Depends what it is." Lily said.
"Talk to James. Have you seen how depressed he is?" April said. Lily thought for a while.
"I'll think about it." Lily said. She pushed past April and Jenny and hurried to the Gryffindor Common room.
Behind a book case the Slytherin Seventh year girl, Shirley Parker, thought over what she'd just heard. This would make for some good conversation.
* * * *
"Hey Evans." Said the Slytherin seventh year prefect, Jeffrey Benson, as she went into the Prefect common room. He gave her a look that showed no friendliness but lust and in return got a look that could have killed every Slytherin if looks could kill. Lily hated the Slytherin Prefects. She hated Slytherins, full stop. Everytime one of them passed they were trying to trip her up, hex her, they'd shout shings at her just because her parents were non-magic folk.
"Wanna come by the Prefect bathroom today?" He drawled. Lily looked at him confused before quickly taking her seat near the head of the table. James wandered into the room about five minutes later. As April and Jenny had told her, James looked tired, depressed and just down-right miserable. Had she, Lily, done this to him? She found it hard to believe. The Slytherin Prefect got up and made his way to Lily.
"You know, I'm less likely to say no to an invitation to watch you bath then Potter, even if you are a mudblood" He muttered in her ear. Lily stood up and held her wand out at him.
"How do you know about that?" She asked him. Everyone in the room stared at Lily. That meant almost all the prefects in the school.
"Everyone knows about you and Potter" Jeffrey said, amused at Lily's reaction.
"What about us?" James asked from across the table.
"That you." Jeffrey pointed at James, "turned her down when she was having a bath" James stared wide-eyed like this was new news to him. All the Prefects, except the Slytherin ones, turned to each other and started whispering.
"Who told you?" Lily said, her eyes narrowed dangerously.
"I don't know, someone in the common room. I thought you were the goody goody mudblood bitch but it turned out you're just a common hoe, just like the rest of the girls in this fucking school" Jeffrey said. That was enough for James, no one insulted Lily like that. He jumped on the table and launched himself at Jeffrey.
"James!" Lily said reaching for James as the two boys rolled to the floor. James landed on top and he lifted his fist ready to punch Jeffrey. Lily grabbed his arm before he could let it connect with Jeffrey's face.
"Stop it James, do you really want to lose your badge?" Lily said pulling James to his feet. James straightened his robes.
"I don't care." He said.
"I do." Lily said. "I'd rather have you as head boy" she added in a whisper. James stared at her for a moment before nodding.
"Ok." James said obediently. He was about to go back to his seat when he fell into Lily as Jeffrey threw a hex at his back.
"That's not fair." Said Lee Chang as she got up and held her wand out. A few other prefects got up ready to fight. Lily had difficulty breathing and wondered for a few seconds what was going on when she realized that James was on top of her.
"James." She said breathlessly. Someone pulled James off and helped Lily to her feet. Lily looked up into the face of Remus. He was looking quite pale and tired.
"Are you ok?" he asked. Lily nodded. Lily looked at James to see him just coming round and managing to support himself on his feet.
"James?" Lily said, putting a hand on James' face and looking into his eyes concerned.
"Have I died?" he muttered. Lily smiled and gave him a quick hug, relieved that he was ok. She felt James tense for a moment before she let go and gave him another smile.
"What is happening here?" McGonagall asked strictly as she came in and saw the prefects pointing their wands at each other.
"Nothing Professor" Lily said. "Prefects." The prefects all sat down and tucked their wands back into their robes. McGonagall didn't look convinced but sat down in the seat at the head of the table as she caught sight of Jeffrey on the floor.
"What is Mr. Benson doing on the floor?" McGonagall asked.
"He was insulting Lily so I tried to stop him." James said rubbing the small of his back where the hex had hit him. McGonagall nodded slightly, she wasn't one to show favouritism but she knew that it took a lot to make James Potter attack someone for a girl. Benson must have been quite rude.
"What is it with you and Slytherins Miss. Evans?" McGonagall said to Lily. Lily felt her face go red as a few prefects asked what that meant. "Miss. Parker, please take Mr. Benson to the Hospital wing, we will start the meeting and then we'll update Mr. Benson later." Shirley Parker nodded and tried to haul Jeffrey to his feet and when that didn't work she used a spell and hovered him out of the room.
"Now, Prefects. I have four lists of the pupils who have chosen to stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas break. This is only the first list. Pupils may go home or they may decide to stay at the last minute. I would like the older prefects to sort out these lists for me and then inform the House elves." McGonagall said handing the lists to Lily, who passed them down but keeping the Gryffindor list for herself. "Also, I would like for Prefects to patrol in pairs from now on, this is due to an incident that happened a few months ago and measure are now being taken to prevent such incidents again. The new Prefect Rotas will be up on the notice boards, you may go." McGonagall said. "Oh, I would like to speak to the head students please, so Miss. Evans, Mr. Potter, would you mind staying." The two nodded and the other prefects started to file out of the common room. Remus turned to James,
"Padfoot and Wormtail will meet you later." Remus said. James nodded and looked at the table as if contemplating.
"What is it Professor?" Lily asked attentively.
"Lily I have noticed that you have been the focus of several.attacks by the Slytherin. I would like you to travel with another person at all times if possible." McGonagall said. Lily frowned at this but nodded.
"Anything else?" James asked.
"Yes, the headmaster would like to know the precise date of the ball. He is very anxious as to when it is." McGonagall said with a slight smile.
"February fourteenth. Or Valentine's day. It turns out that that day will be a Friday so we were hoping that the fourth years and above could get half the day off school" James told McGonagall
"Fourth years and above?" She enquired.
"Well, we feel it's not suitable for anyone below the fourth year unless they are invited by someone older then them." Lily said.
"Very good thinking. I'm sure that the headmaster will give you permission." McGonagall said.
"Oh, and we also would like there to be a Hogsmeade weekend the weekend before." James said.
"That can be arranged. Well thank you for your time you two." McGonagall got up to leave. "Potter I suggest that you try and keep your temper with anyone who insults your girlfriend." McGonagall said with a smile.
"I'm not his girlfriend" Lily said. McGonagall gave her a knowing nod and left.
"Alone again?" James said as he got up from his seat.
"Yeah." Lily said uncomfortably. She had been trying to avoid situations like this for a while. There was a few moments of awkward silence.
"Well, I have to Go, Marauder business but when you feel like talking to me again or even telling me how you feel in an insult, let me know." James said coldly as he left the room. Lily felt like hitting the table. She didn't get up however and glanced at the list that McGonagall had given her. As usual her name was at the top of the list. Below it was April's name. Jenny wasn't staying this year as her family wanted to spend the Christmas together after the attack on Lee. Lily sighed and stuffed the list into her bag. She got up and left the prefect common room for her dorm. As she entered the Gryffindor Common room April and Jenny jumped to their feet.
"Did you talk to him?" Jenny asked
"Sort of." Lily said.
"What does that mean?" April said suspiciously.
"He attacked Benson for me." Lily said. Jenny frowned while April looked amused. "Somehow the Slytherins all know about James and I." Lily said frowning. "It's going to be all over the school tomorrow."
"How do you know? It might just be-"
"All the prefects know!" Lily said, collapsing on a sofa. April looked at Lily sympathetically before sitting on her stomach.
"Look at the bright side, it'll give you and James something to talk about." April said. Lily poked April as she said this.
"Get off." Lily said.
"Not until you talk to James" April said.
"How can I if you're sitting on me and he's busy with Marauder business." Lily said trying to mimic James on the last few words.
"Never do impressions." April said seriously, "Not even of James." Lily nodded.
"And how's that essay for Transfiguration coming along April?" Lily asked casually. April's eyes widened before she ran off to their dorm room to go and get her homework. Lily started laughing and got a reading book out of her bag.