Thanks to everyone who keeps reviewing! I love you guys! You're all so cool! LOL! Anyways, now that that's out of my system… Why do I keep posting so many chapters at a time, starborn? Just so I can be done with this story and move on to it's sequel, which I liked writing and my friends liked reading more than this one. Honestly, I think all of you will like it better too. So, THAT's why. But I'm so glad that you all like my story so much! Please, keep reviewing it!
Chapter 13
An Evening with Prongs
The rest of November crept past in a hazy fog and a blast of icy wind. The chilly December weather was steadily growing colder, and Lily's holiday spirits were rising like the pale sun. To Lily's dismay, very few people signed up to say at Hogwarts over holiday break. Lily always signed up, because it was so much better than being at home with only Petunia for company. But Belle and Madison were both bubbling over with Christmas excitement and couldn't wait to return home to their families.
Professor McGonagall was one of the few teachers who did not lighten up on assignments and homework. But other than her, all the teachers were in a warm, Christmas mood.
With a very heavy, lonely, heart Lily said goodbye to her friends as they all loaded into the horseless buggies and casually rolled away to the Hogsmeade train station. And, with even more sadness, Lily returned to the Gryffindor common room to curl up with a book and read until Christmas came around.
But, of course, the only Gryffindors who decided to stay behind were two quiet first years, and the muraders. Sirius seemed intent on ruining Lily and everyone else's holiday by letting off dung bombs, and running around the common room making noise. James was the only one who could calm him down long enough to make it count.
"It's Christmas Eve! It's Christmas Eve!" Sirius bellowed as he bounced down the dormitory stairs as though no one could hear him. "God, Lily! Could you be any more un-festive?" He said sadly, floping down on her lap, and shoving her book out of her hands.
"Sirius! Get the hell off me!" Lily yelled, pushing Sirius to the floor with a loud thump. "And I'm perfectly festive, without you sitting on me, thank you very much."
"Oh, come on, Lily. Not even a speck of green or red on you!" Sirius groaned, indicating his own red and green Christmas tree sweater. "Where's your Yule Tide Joy?"
"All my Yule Joy upstairs in my trunk. And there it will stay." She snapped, grabbing her book off the floor and shoving her nose into it. Sirius chuckled, and adjusted himself on the floor.
"Remus is out 'sick' again…" Sirius said softly, looking around the deserted common room. "We're going to visit him tonight."
"And why are you telling me this? I might rat you out, remember?"
"I know you wouldn't do that." Sirius said practically. "Besides, maybe you could come too…"
"Me? I'm not an Anamangus like the rest of you law-breakers." Lily said, not looking up from her book. "I could get killed… and so could you."
"I'm not going to get started on that again." Sirius sighed. "We could protect you… you don't actually think James and I would let Moony bite you, do you?"
"Moony?"
"Yeah, Remus." Sirius shrugged.
"I don't get it… do you all have nicknames or something?" Lily asked. "Whenever you talk about each other you give them strange names… like Moony, Rattail, softfoot…and what is it? Proogs?"
"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs." Sirius corrected. "Yeah, it's our nicknames. Remus is Moony because of his…er, problems with the moon. Rats have a worm-like tail, hence Wormtail for Peter. Dogs have padded feet, right? So I'm Padfoot, and James is Prongs… because he just is." He shrugged. "It works, doesn't it?"
"Sure." Lily said. "It all makes sense now."
"Well, I have to go get James in a holiday mood…Later." Sirius said, grinning evilly.
"See you." Lily said, returning to her book.
A few hours later, McGonagall pulled Lily and James out of the common room and led them down to the kitchens.
"Now, I know this is asking for a lot from the two of you, but you're the only one's I trust to do this. Instead of eating the Christmas feast in the Grand Hall, I need you to oversee the house elves." McGonagall replied, as she tickled a pear in a large painting of a bowl of fruit. The pear laughed, and the portrait swung open.
"'S okay with me." James shrugged. "Why, though?"
"Well, Madam Morible of the Muggle Art class is sick, and this is usually her job. You two should feel very honored to take up this job, so in you go!" McGonagall said, shoving Lily inside and closing the door with a snap.
"Okay then…" Lily said. "What exactly are we supposed to do?" But before James could answer a large group of two foot high house elves approached them. Each one was dressed in a purple towel hung over their shoulders like a toga with the Hogwarts crest stamped on it in gold.
"Hello Sir and Miss!" One with a large, squashed, pink nose replied. "I is Minky. We is so happy to see you, sir and miss!"
Lily and James exchanged looks.
"Please, take a seat! We is most pleased to have you here!" Minky replied, shoving James' knee causing him to tumble backwards into a chair that another elf was holding out. "Can us house elves get you something?" She asked, blinking her tennis ball sized blue eyes.
"We can serve you anything!" Another shouted over Minky's shoulder. "Have some tea and eclairs!" The little elf handed Lily a large try, and pushed her into a chair.
"You is not needing to be doing anything! Us house elves have the Hogwarts feast under control." Minky replied, as another elf pushed past her to dump candies in James' lap.
"I'm Lily Evans… and this is James Potter…" Lily spluttered as another elf tried to shove a cookie in her mouth.
"Such a pleasure to meet you Lily Evans! And Mr. James Potter! Such a pleasure!" Minky cheered. She allowed herself to be shoved out of the way as more elves brought Lily and James food.
"Minky!" An elf hollered. "Siry is needing help! The tray is too heavy for little Siry!"
"So sorry, Mr. Potter and Miss. Evans. Minky must assist her fellow elves… the Hogwarts feast is about to begin!" Minky said shrilly and she left them. The other elves followed Minky away and Lily finally had a chance to look around the kitchen.
It was positioned directly beneath the Grand Hall and there were replica house tables laden with golden plates. All over the walls were shelves of spices, and soapy dishes. Some elves were tending to a huge fireplace in a far corner, and others were hovering over pots on the many stoves. Most elves were carrying the heavy trays of food over the long house tables' counterparts.
"Can we help?" Lily asked tentatively. But the she wished she hadn't the room went suddenly quiet.
"Shouldn't have said that." James whispered.
"NO! No no no!" Minky hollered. "Mr. and Miss must sit! Us house elves can take care of everything! Minky would have to shove her hands in the oven for letting Lily Evans suggest it, miss!"
"All right! I'm sorry…" Lily replied. "I didn't mean to offend you. We'll just sit here and be waited upon." She added softly.
"That's what they like." James shrugged. "Just deal with it." He added, popping a sucker into his mouth.
"Whatever." Lily said. "At least we don't have to do much work."
"Mr. James Potter, sir?" A very young elf said softly, tugging on James' sleeve. "Bumby needs help." Lily guessed this elf was no more than 3 years old.
"How can I help you, Bumby?" James said kindly, pulling the lollipop out of his mouth and leaning on his knees so he was at the small elf's level.
"Bumby is in charge of carrying the desserts to the table… but Bumby is too small." The elf replied. "Could sir help him?"
"Certainly!" James replied. "Where are they?" Bumby pointed to a huge cake that was at least twice as long as the small elf. "Lil… you uh…?"
"Help? Sure." Lily said, taking one end of the cake as James took the other. "One, two, three…" They lifted the large cake and placed it on the table.
"Bumby thanks you, sir and miss!" Bumby cheered. James and Lily returned to their seats, and the elf hopped into James' lap. "Sir tell Bumby a story?"
"Er, okay…" James said, looking to Lily. "What do you want it to be about?"
"An elf! Like Bumby!" The elf giggled.
"All right, I can handle that:" James cleared his throat, and Lily watched him, smiling slightly. "Once upon a time, in a far away place… there lived an elf by the name of Bumby." When the young elves heard James' story begin, they all clustered over and gathered around their feet. Lily soon had two in her lap.
"Bumby was a small elf, and didn't think much about a life other than the one he had. But that changed the day he met another elf whose name was- what's your name?" He asked the other elf in his lap.
"Hildy, sir!" The elf squeaked.
"…Whose name was Hildy. Hildy was also small, but had a big heart, and loved adventures."
"I do not, sir!" Hildy interrupted.
"Do not bother James Potter! He is telling a story!" Bumby shrieked. "Continue Mr. Potter, sir!"
"Yeah, anyway: So Hildy loved adventures. One day, Hildy invited Bumby to join her on a wild expedition to the center of… er… Wartshog Mountain-"
"That's Hogwarts all inside out!" The elf in Lily's lap shouted.
"Yes… anyway," James said, rolling his eyes so only Lily could see.
James continued his thrilling tale about Bumby and Hildy. The elves screamed at the frightening parts, and cheered loudly at the end when the elves returned home with vast treasures.
James and Lily weren't excused from the kitchens until long after the feast had ended. James had been forced by the elves to tell story after story, until his throat was hoarse and he could hardly speak. So, yawning and stretching, they made their way up to the Gryffindor tower. But to their misfortune, the Fat Lady was not in her portrait.
"Great!" James moaned. "What'll we do now? We won't be able to get back inside until she gets back, and God knows how long that will take!"
"We could bang on the door and see if someone will open it from the inside…" Lily suggested.
"Everyone will be asleep." James frowned, sitting against the base of the picture. "We may as well just sit and wait."
"I guess…" Lily sighed, sitting next to him. "That was, er, really sweet what you did for those house elves…"
"What? Tell them stories?" James replied, removing his glasses and rubbing his forehead. "It was easy… telling stories comes easy to me."
"Really?" Lily said. "I could never tell stories… maybe it's just because my parents never read to me as a kid or anything."
"They didn't?" James asked, astonished. "Wow. Why not?"
"I don't really know." She shrugged. "They were always really busy… they left for work early, and came home too late."
"What about when they were home?"
"They were too busy 'relaxing'." Lily said. "They just never had time." But James still looked apprehensive.
"What do you mean- 'relaxing'?" He asked. "Like, sleeping? Or like…"
"Like drinking." Lily said quickly. "I don't really want to talk about it."
"Drinking?" James replied. "Was everything okay? Did they hurt you? What happened, Lily?" James pressed. He turned to face her, but she avoided his eyes.
"Yes, everything was fine… and still is, okay?" She muttered. "Please, I really don't like talking about it."
"You can tell me, you know." He whispered. "I wouldn't tell anyone else."
"I know you wouldn't." Lily said shortly. "I just don't want to talk about it. End of story." She replied.
"Okay. I understand." James said. "And I'm sorry."
"Why would you need to be sorry?"
"I don't know!" James sighed. "You just didn't seem to have a very cheery childhood… or at least, not like mine."
"So you pity me because my childhood was different from yours?" Lily asked. "Is that what you're saying?"
"No!" James defended. "I just think every kid deserves to have a story told to them- at least once."
"Well, I didn't." Lily snapped. "And up until now, it didn't bother me much…"
"But now it does?" James asked. "Is it because you just realized you've been deprived?"
"I have not been deprived, James." Lily said hotly. "I just grew up differently than you. It's not easy growing up overshadowed by an older sibling…"
"You have and older sibling? I didn't know that." He said softly. "Did they go to Hogwarts?"
"Are you kidding me?!" Lily exclaimed. "Petunia hates magic. If she received a letter she'd probably kill herself - and her new husband would probably help her."
"New husband?"
"Yeah… she's getting married to some Vernon Dursley this summer." Lily said. "A Muggle through and through. I wonder what he'll say when he finds out I'm a witch… I can't wait to tell him!" She chuckled.
"I never knew all this about you Lily." James said. "This is kinda cool."
"Sure. I guess." Lily shrugged. "And what about you? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"Nope. Just me, and my parents." James said. "But they spoil me. Oh God! Listen to me! I even admit it!"
"I think it's good that you can admit it. Then you learn when enough is enough." Lily said wisely.
"I guess." James said. "It just bothers me when they think I'm too young to handle the truth about things. Like when my grandpa died: they tried to keep it from me for at least a month, until they were sure that I could handle it. But by that time, I had figured it out for myself and I had already accepted the fact that he was gone. I was really pissed about that one. My dad and I get in fights a lot. They're always about whether I can go places on my own or with my friends- they wouldn't even let me go to Diagon Alley with out them there. It gets so frustrating! They act like I'm a piece of glass… or too young to do anything."
"That must be hard for you." Lily sympathized.
"It's worse!" James ranted. "They never let me make my own decisions… or do what I want, or be with who I choose… They're so controlling! My mom freaked out the first time I got a detention, so I just stopped telling her. Just imagine what she'd say if I told her that Remus was a werewolf! She'd probably march over here and bring me home before you could bat an eye.
"See, you're lucky." He continued. "I bet your parents wouldn't care who you hung out with. I bet they wouldn't mind if your were friends with someone different. And I'd bet anything they won't care when you tell them about our detention."
"No." Lily said softly. "You're right… they wouldn't care."
James talked about his family like they were a burden. How could he? Lily had to strive her whole life just for her parents to say "Good job, Lily!" or "We're so proud, Lily!" She had only heard her mother and father say that once- at that was when she got her acceptance letter to Hogwarts. They rarely gave her gifts- let alone spoiled her. She never even got a pat on the back for getting top marks last year.
Sure, it seemed like she had this fantastic freedom that some kids could only fantasize about. James obviously wanted it- why didn't she?
Maybe because that with this freedom came a price she was not willing to pay. Lily would choose James' embarrassing parents over her drunk ones any day. Even Madison disliked her parents. She called them boring and stupid, and annoying. But Lily would give anything for her parents to look at her the way Madison's parents looked at Madison.
"I didn't mean to offend you, Lily…" James said softly into the silence. Lily hadn't realized she had been spacing out- lost in her thoughts- this whole time.
"It's fine." Lily said, smiling gently. "I just don't understand how you can say those things about your parents. I… I would love to have a family like that."
"I'm sorry…" James said. "You look tired… you can sleep if you want. I'll wake you up when the Fat Lady comes back."
"Yeah, okay." Lily said, yawning. She slouched down on the ground until she was comfortable. She slowly closed her eyes, and dipped into a dream.
"Lily!" a voice shouted from far away… "LILY! Wake up!"
Lily was jerked out of her slumber and found her self at the foot of the Fat Lady's portrait. James was shaking her violently, calling her name. Lily put a hand to her forehead. She felt a cold sweat, and she wiped her face with her sleeve.
"God, Lily." James whispered. "Are you okay? You were screaming and rolling on the floor…"
"James…" Lily said hoarsely. "It was awful… my dad… he was yelling…"
"It was only a dream, Lily." James reminded her softly.
"No!" Lily moaned. "It happened. Two summers ago…"
"It was just a nightmare Lily…" James said. But the look on his face showed he didn't even believe himself. "A bad dream…"
"You don't understand." Lily sobbed. "I remember! Only my mom and Petunia knew…"
"He didn't hit you did he?" James asked seriously, as though seeing her for the first time.
"No…"
"But he yelled at you…"
"Called me a bitch…" Lily whispered. "And other horrible things… he was drunk- really, really, drunk. He came home at almost midnight, and threw me to the floor. I don't know what he was going to do, but Petunia took him outside and did something… but when he came back inside, he apologized… he was crying…"
"Lily…" James said. "That's… awful."
"Oh God…" Lily murmured, wiping tears off her face. "I never told anybody that…"
"It's okay… go back to sleep…" James said. He removed his Hogwarts robe and covered a trembling Lily with it. "Go to sleep."
Chapter 14
The Worst Morning Ever
"James! How could you!?" Lily heard someone say. She unwillingly opened her eyes to see who was standing over her.
"Sirius… what do you want?" James asked groggily. He slowly pulled himself into sitting position.
"What happened last night, James?" Peter asked. "We waited and waited…"
"James! I thought we had something special!" Sirius moaned playfully. "But I just don't know… I can't trust you anymore!"
"Shut up…" James snapped.
"Then where were you at the feast? And after?" Peter pressed. "We came back to the common room and you weren't there…"
"Lily and I had to man the kitchens with the house elves…" James said, nodding towards her.
"Man the kitchens? Man the kitchens?!" Sirius said, wiping a fake tear off his face. "That was our favorite pastime… oh James!"
"Lily, is this true?" Peter asked.
"Yeah… it's not that big of a deal…" She said, shrugging.
"Not that big a deal?!" Sirius shouted in agony. "You're a home wrecker, Lily Evans! James and I were perfectly happy until you came along!"
"Padfoot…" James said warningly.
"Don't you Padfoot me!" Sirius muttered. "We're through, James Potter! You hear me?"
"Damn, Si! Enough's enough!" James scolded.
"Yeah yeah… okay." Sirius said. "Can't a guy have any fun?"
"And nothing happened… right, Lil?" James protested.
"Nothing at all." Lily sighed.
"Okay…" Peter said slowly. "But Remus will not be happy about this… we waited in the common room for you for hours!"
"But then you fell asleep, of course." James grinned. "So how is this all my fault? Moony will understand. So we missed one full moon- big deal!"
"We've been planning this one for the past two months, James!" Peter shouted. "This was the time we were going to head into Hogsmeade, remember?"
"Peter, it's not that big of a deal…" Sirius said softly. "Calm yourself…"
"Whatever. I'm going to find Remus." Peter sighed. "But James, I really am surprised you'd put a girl before your best friends… I mean, come on…"
"Peter! How many times do I need to say it? Nothing happened! And besides, this is Lily we're talking about… like something would happen between us anyway…"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lily asked. "Are you suggesting I wouldn't be good enough for you, Potter?"
"Now I never said that…"
"You just did!" Lily said. "I guess I'm just not pretty enough, or something. Oh! Right, I forgot… you only date tramps and blondes." She snapped.
"Good one!" Sirius laughed and James shot him a look.
"First of all, I don't date tramps, and I've only dated 3 blondes. And I never said…"
"Please! Grow up, James." Lily sighed, shaking her head.
"Hello?!" Peter called. "What about Remus?"
"What about Remus?" James said.
"Well, if it weren't for little Lily over there, we would be sneaking back into the common room right now…" Peter said hotly.
"So now everything's my fault!" Lily shouted. "What exactly did I do?!"
"You're a real problem, Lily." Peter said coldly. "I think we'd all be smart to stay away from you. Right, Si?" He said, turning to Sirius, as though for approval.
"No, Peter. What are you saying? Lily's awesome…" Sirius said, looking bewildered.
"Please! She's a freak! All she wants to do is tear the marauders apart!" Peter shouted. "You saw what she did to you and James… and now look what she's doing to us!"
"Peter, I never-" Lily began.
"Pete, you're being thick. You're the one who-"
"Don't talk to me! See what's happening? It's all her fault! Now you're sticking up for her instead of me! That's not how it's supposed to work, James!" Peter scolded. "Just wait till I tell Remus!"
"And what will Remus say?" Sirius asked. "I'll bet you five Sickles he won't give a shit."
"Si, you don't have five Sickles…" James reminded softly.
"Oh right." Sirius said. "Let's make it two Knuts then…"
"That's not the point! It's Lily! Don't you see? She's ripping us all apart!" Peter yelled. "And Remus will care!"
"I'll care about what?" Remus said, walking casually around a corner. "Where were you guys last night?"
"That's what I'm trying to tell them!" Peter shouted. "You missed us last night, didn't you?"
"I didn't really care much…"
"Ha! I'm two Knuts richer, baby!" Sirius cheered, doing a little victory dance around the corridor.
"It was Lily's fault!" Peter screamed, ignoring the fact that Sirius was prancing around behind him. "She's ruining everything!!"
"I'm doing no such thing!" Lily yelled. "And I'm sorry I'm bothering you all so much."
"What?" Remus said. "I'm confused… what's wrong with you, Lily?"
"Forget it! All of you! Just drop it!" James shouted.
"No, James! It's us, or Lily!" Peter said. "Take your pick."
"Come off it, Peter. I'm not choosing. No one else cares anyway." James said. "I'm going to bed."
"You can't go back in the dormitories, James. The Fat Lady's still gone." Peter reminded him. "So choose."
"I'm not."
"Yes, you are! Or we'll leave!"
"No we won't…" Remus said. "James can spend time with Lily if he wants to…"
"Who says I want to?"
"Well who says I want to spend time with you?" Lily cried. "No one ever asked me!"
"Shut up." James sighed.
"You shut up." Lily snapped back.
"This is officially the worst morning ever!" James said, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Everyone just back off!"
"What did I do?" Remus asked innocently.
"Nothing!!" James screamed.
"I'm not backing off until Lily does." Peter said, staring coldly at her.
"I have backed off!" She shouted. "You all can have your fun… I don't care!!"
"First you follow us around-" Peter said.
"What? The werewolf thing?" Lily asked.
"- then you try to tell Dumbldore our secret-"
"I never did!" She moaned.
"- next you try to pull Padfoot and Prongs apart and nearly succeeded-"
"I did not!"
"- and now she's trying to divide the rest of us! She's a lousy bitch!" Peter howled. Lily took a deep breath and recalled the dream last night…. She's a lousy bitch…
"Peter, shut up." James said softly. James looked cautiously at Lily. He remembers too. Lily thought.
"What?" Peter said angrily. "Don't tell me to shut up…"
"Looks like I just did." James said. "Leave her alone. You're accusing her of stupid things…"
"She must have poisoned you or something… you're acting weird, James." Peter chuckled nervously. Lily knew he didn't really want to make James mad.
"I've had it!" James shouted again. "I'm outta here." And he stormed down the hall.
"James-!" Peter shouted after him. He glared at Lily, and then tore off behind James calling his name. Remus shrugged and followed.
"I got a Knut, I got a Knut, I got two Knuts hey, hey, hey, hey!" Sirius sang, dancing around again.
"You don't even want to know how wrong that sounds." Lily scoffed before she took off towards the Grand Hall for breakfast.
"It's not really true, is it, Lily? What they're saying about you and James?" That was all Lily heard over the next few days. That was all anyone wanted to talk about. Lily and James. James and Lily.
"NO! God damn it, NO!" Lily would scream. "Whatever they're saying: NO!"
But people didn't want to hear any of that. And to make matters worse, Peter was feeding these rumors with evil grins.
"That's right… I saw them." He smirked. "Lily and James. Has a nice ring, doesn't it?"
Lily couldn't stand it. The whole idea was horrible. Lily and James. Ha! It really was laughable. The only people who believed Lily were Madison and Belle. Madison actually found the whole situation very funny.
"I can't believe they would think- you? Please! You're so… responsible!" She laughed. "In their dreams!"
But there was a look on her face when she said this that made Lily uneasy. Almost like she wanted to be in Lily's place- a jealous gleam in her eye. But she must have just imagined it.
"Lily? Could I… er… talk to you?" Snape asked Lily the Tuesday after Lily was locked out of the common room.
"Um, sure… What about?"
"You and James…"
"Oh God, not that again!" Lily sighed. "Nothing happened. The thought is just gross… you didn't really believe that, did you?"
"I… of course not, Lily!" Siverus said, glancing around nervously. "I just wanted to hear it from you. I know that your much more… respectable than that."
"Thank you." Lily said, smiling. "I'm glad you see it that way."
"Yes, well." Snape shrugged, going slightly red. "What else can I say? I mean, James is so…"
"Immature?" Lily suggested. "I quite agree."
Snape chuckled slightly. "Well, I was going to say stupid… but immature works as well." Lily must have looked a little apprehensive, for he quickly added, "Although, he can be very… er… good too, I suppose…"
"No, what you said was right." Lily said, starting to feel a little awkward. "You don't have to go back on your beliefs just because someone might not agree…"
"You don't think he's a pompous airhead?" Siverus asked, raising his eyebrows. "I always thought you didn't think highly of him."
"Who says I do?"
"No one… but you just… never mind." Snape sighed.
"No, what?" Lily pressed. "Say it."
"Nothing, I… it's nothing." Snape repeated. "Really."
"Oh, all right…" She said softly.
"Lily, can I ask you something?"
"Um… I guess so…" Lily said, shifting nervously. She looked around the deserted hallway. She had a good idea what was coming… Snape obviously liked her. Please… don't ask me out… Lily prayed.
"I, er, think rather highly of you… and um…"
"Yes?" Lily winced, preparing herself for the worst. What would she say? Snape was just strange… she didn't want to date him…
"LILY!" Someone shouted from down the hall.
"Madison?" Lily replied, sighing with relief. A rescue!
"It's Peter… come quick! He's kinda talking about you and James again…" Madison gasped. "James is getting pissed… and McGonagall's on the way… if she hears…"
"Let's go…" Lily said quickly, dashing up the steps. "See you later, Siverus."
When she got to the common room, Peter was making another scene. Only this time, He was shouting at the top of his lungs at James and the other Marauders, trying to convince them that Lily was unworthy.
"Get with it!" Peter yelled. "She's a freak, James! I just can't believe you would-"
"We didn't! You're the one who's blown this way out of proportion. Nothing happened, Pete. As if I would do anything with Lily…"
"And let's bring out Lily Evans…" Madison cheered, leading Lily into the room. "This is just like that Terry Stinger's talk show!"
"Terry! Terry!" Some younger students shouted in unison.
"Madison… what's going on?" Lily ventured. "Where's McGonagall?"
"I just said that to make you hurry." Madison shrugged. "I'm so clever, aren't I?!"
"Are you joking?" Lily said in astonishment. "What is this?"
"A blessing in disguise!" Madison said. "We're going to work this whole thing out in front of the Gryffindor common room, with your host: ME!" She grinned.
"Madison…"
"I'm serious!" She said, flashing a smile. "Now take a seat." She shoved Lily into a chair and other kids pushed Peter and James into chairs on opposite sides of her.
"So tell us… what happened, James?" Madison began.
"This is stupid…" Peter said.
"Answer the question!" A third year shouted.
James rolled his eyes. "Lily and I were asked by Professor McGonagall to help down in the kitchens during the feast. We weren't allowed out until late at night. When we came up to the portrait hole, the Fat Lady was gone, so we camped out under her frame and waited for her to come back. That's it."
"Then what happened, Peter?"
"Sirius and I found him on our way to breakfast." Peter sighed. "This is stupid…" He repeated.
"Let's get Sirius up here." Madison suggested and Sirius strode proudly up and sat down in Madison's lap- much to her embarrassment.
"Er, all right…" She said, giggling. "Let's here your side…"
"Well," Sirius began, faking a sob. "As I'm sure you all know, James and I have been very happy together these past few years." He paused for a few laughs from the second years. "But, when Peter and I were heading downstairs for a harmless breakfast, I saw them sleeping on the ground."
"Innocently?"
"Well, I suppose so…" Sirius said. "But STILL! I must say, Lily Evans is a home wrecker!!"
"I'm sorry, Sirius!" Lily shouted playfully. "James is just so irresistible…" She shrugged, rolling her eyes and laughing.
"I just don't know if I can accept that…" Sirius sobbed. "You're ruined my life and my long lasting love!"
Lily was glad that the Gryffindors were laughing and obviously starting to see the stupidity of the rumor Peter had started.
"Sirius…" James moaned, getting down on his knees. "I still love you…"
"How do I know you won't go off and do this again?" Sirius cried, wiping fake tears off his face, and sticking his nose in the air.
"I love you, Si…" James joked, scrambling on his knees over to the chair that held Sirius and Madison. Students laughed and pointed their fingers.
"I… love you too, James!!" Sirius squealed, and James leaped up and they hugged dramatically. Lily began to applaud as she laughed.
"And I promise I won't ruin your happy family ever again, Sirius." Lily added as he pulled her into the hug.
"I accept your apology, Lily." Sirius said. "But this is your warning… stay away from my hubby. No touchy-touchy, you hear?"
"Trust me: I will." Lily said. She cast a quick glance at Peter and saw he was scowling in his chair.
"Why were you talking to Siverus earlier?" Madison asked a few hours later.
"I think he was going to ask me out…" Lily winced. "Gross, huh?"
"Ew!" Madison squealed. "Hey, Si! You gotta hear this!
"What?"
"Snape was going to ask out Lily!" Madison shouted at him. "Can you believe it? Horrible, isn't it?"
"Siverus Snape? I pity you, Lily!" Sirius grinned. "Care to play a prank on him? I haven't had a detention in ages!"
"You can… I think he might take it the wrong way if I did…" Lily chuckled. "But you feel free too. Maybe you could lock him out of his dormitory!"
Sirius smiled maliciously. Lily could almost see the cogs in his mind turning steadily trying to come up with a plan.
"James-a-roo!" Sirius shouted.
"Yeah, my dear?"
"I have a nice little prank… care to join me in working out the details?" Sirius said, batting his eyelashes.
"Of course, my darling! Let me just beat Remus at this chess game and I'll be over there in two shakes of a lamb's tail!" James said, chuckling at their own stupidity.
"Your pal Lily gave me the idea…" Sirius said, grinning at her as James came to join him.
"Did she?" James said. "Well, if it's as horrendous as the pajama one…" He replied, glancing at Lily.
"It's not." Sirius said shortly. "We're going to lock them out."
"All of them?" James said, knowing immediately what his friend was talking about, even thought Lily didn't have a clue. "How will we manage that?"
"You'll see…" Sirius grinned maliciously.
Chapter 15
Moony's Explanation
A few weeks passed and there was no more mention of Lily and James' night outside the common room. In fact, everything was rather quiet. But one morning in the beginning of February, the Slytherins came bursting back into the Great Hall after dinner looking confused and angry.
"We can't get back in!!" Lucius declared. "We've been locked out of our common room, Professor Walter!"
"What's this?" Walter, the head of Slytherin house asked. "What's going on?"
"We've been locked out of our House! The stone wall has sealed itself shut." Lucius repeated. "And my friend is locked inside…"
"Who's locked inside?" Professor Walter wondered.
"Siverus Snape, and a few others. They didn't come to dinner, so the culprits must have shut the wall then." Lucius whispered coldly.
"The culprits?" Dumbledore asked from the head table. His eyes twinkled slightly as though he yearned to burst into laughter. "And are you certain the wall didn't just close by itself? It tends to do that occasionally…"
"Sir, I can assure you, the wall did not close by itself. As a well-respected Prefect, might I suggest who the culprit- or should I say- culprits might be?" Lucius said angrily.
"You may suggest, but I may choose not to believe you." Dumbledore replied.
Lucius looked flustered for a moment and looked to a fellow Slytherin before responding.
"I can honestly say, Headmaster Dumbledore, sir, that James Potter and Sirius Black have committed this shrewd and childish prank. They should be punished immediately." Lucius demanded, casting a cold glance at the Gryffindor table.
"And, my dear Lucius, can you prove to me that Mr. Potter and Mr. Black are responsible for your common room wall closing? I think we should get Mr. Filch, the caretaker, over to your entrance and see what he can do. Any punishment will be decided by their Head of House- if James and Sirius are even to blame." Dumbledore said sternly. But his mouth broke into a smile, and he watched Lucius intently from the Head Table.
"But sir, I think…"
"I think you have made your point, Lucius, and you should meet Filch at your common room door. Thank you for alerting me of this problem." Dumbledore said.
The Great Hall rang with laughter as Lucius and the other Slytherins stormed out of the Hall.
The next Saturday, Lily, Belle, and Madison left their common room to meet the other students to head into Hogsmeade.
"Oooh! I can't wait until winter is over!" Madison complained as they stepped out of the horseless carriage and out into the bitter cold air. They hurried through the village and headed straight toward the Three Broomsticks for a drink.
"Hey, Lil, look who's here…" Belle teased as the Marauders walked into the pub shivering and pulling off their scarves.
"Lily!" Remus called. "Can we talk for a moment?"
"Sure. I guess…" Lily shrugged. He motioned for her to follow him back outside, so Lily left her mug of butter beer unwillingly behind.
"What do we need to talk about?" Lily asked. But Remus didn't answer.
"Let's go for a walk." He suggested. Lily shrugged again and they left the warmth of the Three Broomsticks behind.
Snow began to fall lazily down upon the village. Its icy droplets slid out of the clouds like water from a leaky tap. Lily shivered.
"Remus, why can't we stay in the Three Broomsticks? It's freezing out here…" Lily moaned softly. Again, Remus stayed silent.
"Is everything okay, Remus?"
"Do you think less of me because I'm a werewolf?" Remus asked suddenly.
"What? Are you joking?" Lily stammered.
"No, Lily, I'm dead serious. Ever since you found out I was a… a werewolf, you've been trying to convince people that I shouldn't be allowed at Hogwarts." Remus replied solemnly.
"Remus, I…"
"I never asked James and Sirius to become Anamangi. They wanted to. I never wanted to put anyone in danger of me. Dumbledore was so kind to me… I would hate to destroy his trust in me by telling him that I allowed them to become illegal Anamangi."
"How has Dumbledore been kind to you?" Lily asked curiously.
"He convinced Headmaster Dippet to let me into Hogwarts, despite my… er, disability. He wanted me to have a normal childhood and become a wizard like all my friends." Remus replied. "But Peter told me you are planning to tell Albus about James and Sirius, and how we go out at night…"
"When did Peter tell you this?" Lily asked.
"Just last week." Remus shrugged. "But Lily, you can't. I don't know what would happen if word got out I was a werewolf. We'll be more careful when we go out… I'll make sure of it!"
But Lily pushed this aside. "Why did you think I was prejudiced against werewolves?"
"Only because you started acting different towards me after you found out." Remus said, his face hardening. "I'm sorry about what happened that night, Lily. I never meant to try to hurt you. Sometimes, I can't control myself. But whenever James and Sirius… and even Peter are with me, my animal instincts are almost driven from my mind completely."
"I'm sure they are." Lily sighed.
"But, Lily, please! Don't tell Dumbledore about them being Anamangi. There's no telling what he would think. What if he expelled me, Lily? I couldn't live with that…" Remus begged.
"Remus, as I've said to James, I was never really planning on telling Headmaster Dumbledore. It was only a threat." Lily replied.
"Oh, thank you Lily!" Remus sighed. "You don't know how much this means to me and the Marauders."
"I'm sorry I was so… prejudiced. I never really realized-"
"Forget it." Remus said. "Really. I've been facing that my whole life."
"How long have you had… your condition?" Lily wondered politely.
"As long as I can remember." Remus said. "When I was very young, I was bit by a what my family thought was just a wolf. But then, around the full moon, I would transform and they knew that was no ordinary wolf. There was nothing we could do. My parents just set me out into the woods every full moon so I could become a wolf."
"Then what?"
"Well, then I was accepted into Hogwarts, thanks to Dumbledore. He's a great man, Dumbldore. He came up with the plan to hide me in the Shrieking Shack during the full moon. During my transformation, I had the urge to bite people… but I couldn't. So I took to biting myself. People in Hogsmeade heard my screeches of pain, and thought there were ghosts. Dumbldore fed this rumor." Remus paused, then continued.
"But now that James comes to visit me in his animal form, I've been preoccupied and I've stopped biting myself. We've had so much fun together as animals. There are no boundaries!"
"But, Remus!" Lily said. "You must realized that roaming the school at night is horribly unsafe! That's what I've been trying to tell you. You could run into anybody… like me." She reminded.
"Lily, we're careful. That was the smallest of slips… and our first mistake in a long, long, time." Remus said. "And you weren't even hurt."
"Luckily for me!" Lily said. "But what if James and Sirius couldn't have stopped you? What if you wouldn't let them?"
"But they did… and I do." Remus corrected. "And there's never been any problems before. Can't you let us have a little fun?"
"Not when my friends are in danger." Lily said.
"Well, then. I guess I can't convince you anymore than that." Remus said. "And I really am sorry you had to get involved in this."
"I'm heading back inside." Lily said. "I suppose I'm glad we had this talk, Remus. And I'll try my best not to be so prejudiced."
"Wonderful." Remus said. "I couldn't expect any more than that from you."
As Lily turned to walk back inside, she glanced at Remus. His face was chapped and his sandy hair was wind blown, but the way he looked at her gave her a confidence that he was extremely trustworthy.
"But you will be more careful?" Lily asked. "For my sake?"
"Anything for you, Lily." Remus replied with a grin. "Anything."