A/N: Yes, I have started a chaptered fic, much to my chagrin. It's not like I have time anymore. But still, this came and bothered me and so I wrote it. I'm starting out on chapter two.
Many many many thanks to my beta Take to the Sky or Amber. (Go read her stuff, much better then mine).
Chapter One
Harder to Breathe
King's Cross Station was packed on September first. Not that it wasn't usually packed, but today, one of the guards mentioned to another, it seemed more full of… weirdoes.
It was true. Young people with large, old fashioned trunks and cats (and don't forget the owls) were crawling all over the place. There were people in cloaks wandering about. They seemed to be gathering around the area of Platforms Nine and Ten, but many of the guards just didn't notice.
The "weirdoes" were good at this game.
One guard pointed out a family of brothers and a mother and father. The boys seemed to be about the same age, fifteen or sixteen. The mother was fussing over the taller one, tugging at the longish black hair. She complained loudly, "Sirius! You need to cut your hair."
The young man laughed. The smaller one went red. "Mum." He muttered.
"Oh James," the mother said. "It's not as if your hair—" someone bumped into the short woman and she turned to look at the person losing her train of thought.
"Now boys," the father began.
"Dad!" The short one—James was it?—said. "Not until we get on the platform!"
"Besides," the taller one said with an impish grin, "Remus is a prefect this year, he'll keep us in order."
"Remus didn't keep you from sneaking off school grounds last year," the father said.
"Oh, but really Mr. Potter, we'll be good and listen to Remus this year," Sirius said. James snorted.
The mother shook her head. "If I had legal guardianship over you Sirius Black—" she was cut off by Sirius bending down and hugging her.
"I can still call you mother, and therefore will." Sirius kissed the small woman on the forehead. "Doesn't matter that you're not my real mother."
Tears formed in the woman's eyes and she hugged her surrogate son tightly before turning to the smaller young man. She patted at his hair.
"James," she said despairingly.
"Oh, mum," James complained. "I know my hair is a mess! It's not my fault! You don't fuss over dad this way."
"But you grow yours out more darling." She reached up and patted at the tuff of hair that refused to be patted down.
Sirius made a face at James. James returned the favor.
"James, stop it. You too, Sirius."
James looked at his mother. "How do you know this stuff?"
"I'm your mother, James Potter, of course I know when you're both doing things you shouldn't." Mrs. Potter pulled a handkerchief out of her handbag and began to rub a spot on James' nose.
"Mum!" James backed away. Mr. Potter smiled down at his son.
"Marie, it's all right. I think we need to get them onto the platform."
James smiled gratefully at his father before beginning to push his trunk and owl forward. Sirius followed suit.
They casually leant against the barrier between Platforms Nine and Ten, chatting to each other about random things that wouldn't make them seem too odd.
Suddenly they slipped through the barrier and disappeared.
The old guard who was sitting near by blinked. He swore he had just seen two boys disappear. Rubbing his eyes and deciding his old mind was playing tricks on him, he forgot almost at once the magic he had seen that day.
James Potter and Sirius Black arrived on the other side of the barrier without mishap. Mr. and Mrs. Potter appeared not long after and helped the boys to the gleaming red train that stood at Platform Nine and Three Quarters.
If James had been Muggle-born (Muggles being non-magical people) he would have been more amazed by the variety of things and people surrounding him. They passed by an Indian boy who was showing off his snake. He'd apparently learned how to charm it without magic over the summer. Girls with their long hair pinned up in curls (created by magic, so they were perfect and not frizzy). Boys carrying around modles that actually moved. There was even a boy who was saying goodbye to his mother and what seemed to be his dog (though James knew that it was his father, a result of a Transfiguration "experiment" gone wrong).
Then he saw her. Lily Evans was standing beside Jolene Alexandria. They were frowning at the throng before them. Jolene was a chaser on the house Quidditch team and Lily Evans was one of the house prefects.
That didn't make her special to James. No, Lily Evans was just—he couldn't describe it. Sirius noticed James' gaze and shook his head.
"James, don't start it this year."
James ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up at odd angles, as if he had stuck his head out of a car window going seventy. Lily Evans noticed James and a look of disgust crossed her face. She turned to Jolene and they moved away.
"You know she hates you!" Sirius whispered as the Potters came to say goodbye.
"That doesn't—"
"Now boys!" Mr. Potter began.
James groaned and Sirius put on his "I'm-pretending-to-listen-to-the-speech-I've-heard-ten-times-now" face.
"I don't want to get a letter from Dumbledore saying that you've—"
"Oh Dad, we're not that bad," James said with a wicked grin. "We haven't blown up a toilet yet."
Mr. Potter sighed exasperatedly. "Marie can you—" the whistle blew and James looked up excitedly.
"We have to go!" He hugged his mother and father and darted onto the train. Sirius yelled a hurried thank you and hugged them.
"Don't blow up a toilet!" Mr. Potter yelled as the train began to move. James grinned.
"We will!" he yelled as the train turned a corner. Laughing to himself, James turned to see Sirius struggling with his trunk.
"Urgh, James what did you put in here?" Sirius said trying to push the trunk with his leg.
"Bricks, to whack people with," James replied moving around Sirius to the other side of the trunk.
"Snape included in that list of people you're going to whack?"
"Of course, Padfoot." He picked up his end, and Sirius picked up the other.
"Ouch. James, why do you pack bricks?"
"You try fitting all the books I need in your trunk."
"I did fit them!"
"Shut up."
They hoisted it to the top rack and moved to Sirius' trunk, which James found was heavier than his own.
"Merlin, Padfoot, what did you put in here?"
Sirius gave James a smile that made him look like the devil. James was scared.
"You filled every crack with dungbombs didn't you?" Lily Evans stood in the doorway, her emerald green eyes fierce and annoyed.
"Evans!" James cried, pushing the trunk higher. Sirius pushed it onto the rack and then turned to the redhead.
"Ah, the pretty Lily, what can we do for you, love?"
"Go away," Lily replied.
"Can't," James answered back.
"And why not?"
"You're standing in the door."
Lily went red. "There's another door going the other way."
"Presumably you would be going that way if you're facing that direction, so we'll be walking with you." James smiled charmingly.
Lily glared at him. James ran a hand through his hair. With a look of pure annoyance Lily stalked past them.
"Wait up, love," James cried walking behind her.
"Bugger off, Potter," Lily snapped. "I'm not your 'love,' don't call me that, and stop running your hand through your hair."
James laughed halfheartedly. "Come on Lily, you think it's sexy, don't you?"
Lily growled softly. "No."
"Come on, you know—"
"Potter," Lily whirled and glared at him. Her face was red, her eyes sparkling, her hair falling softly in waves around her face. James had never seen a more beautiful girl in his life. "Get it into your fat head that I hate you. Go away and stop bothering me."
"I will if you—"
Lily turned and walked away. James stared after her, looking slightly hurt. "She didn't let me finish my sentence," he said to no one.
Sirius appeared and looked at him. "Come on, Prongs, can't do everything."
"Can't have everything," James whispered before turning to his friend.
"Let's find Moony and Wormtail," Sirius said. Together they headed up the train.
The compartment in the front of the train was full. Lily sighed and forced herself onto the seat next to Severus Snape. It was the only seat available; otherwise she would have avoided it like the plague.
Severus Snape, the sixth year Slytherin prefect, was a loner. His hair was greasy, and Lily suspected that he never washed it. Making a face she turned to look up at the Head Boy and Girl. Andrew Cunningham was a tall Indian boy with sharp features. Kerri Lifty was a short dark young woman. They stood in front of the prefects and smiled at them.
Andrew's smile was endearing, Kerri's was nice. Still, it was slightly unnerving to have two people staring at you, smiling, Lily thought.
"Well, you're all prefects," Andrew began.
"Still," Kerri cut in. There were a few giggles. Andrew paused and his smile grew broader.
"Yes, still." Lily looked sideways at Snape, trying to figure out how to get away from him. She shifted forward.
"You all should have received your badges again; they'll need to be on your robes at all times," Andrew said gently. "I know they're such an annoyance."
"Your duties for this year are the same as last year," Kerri said. Some of the fifth year prefects looked as if they were going to say something when she continued.
"But it is procedure for us to tell you again. Also, fifth years need to know. We should introduce ourselves to them and they to us."
Lily sighed. This was going to take forever.
"Prefects are here to ensure that order is kept in common rooms, the halls, the Great Hall, classes, everywhere in the school basically," Andrew said dryly.
"You aren't allowed to take points off of houses. Well, you can, but it's not going to affect the scoring," Kerri said.
"We're responsible for events. Halloween and, as long as enough people are staying for it, Christmas," Andrew said. "Kerri and I have been thinking about a Halloween ball, instead of the normal feast. It's up to you, though. We'll discuss it next time we meet. Am I forgetting anything, Kerri?"
"We have to patrol the corridors every now and then during the ride, and sometimes when there are emergencies at school. We have to help teachers when they need help. Er… that's about it."
"So we'll introduce ourselves," Andrew said. "Go by year, seventh year first and so on and so forth. Oh, and we should go first. I'm Andrew Cunningham."
"Kerri Lifty," Kerri said. "You should say your house and year, Andrew."
"Oh, right. I'm Hufflepuff and in seventh year."
"Ravenclaw, seventh year," Kerri said. They nodded at the Head girl.
"I'm Jamie Johnson, seventh year, Gryffindor." Jamie looked around the group with a non-committal shrug.
"Samantha Newburg, seventh year, Gryffindor." Samantha grinned easily at the group.
They went on and on until they got to the sixth year prefects. "Remus Lupin."
Remus looked tired. He sounded tired. His grey eyes were flecked with yellow and his face was lined. A bruise was creeping from under his collar. "Gryffindor, sixth year."
"What happened to your neck?" a fifth year girl asked.
Remus smiled slightly, "I fell and rolled over a huge rock."
There was a hiss of empathetic pain. Kerri finally said, "Well, we should go on."
"Lily Evans, Gryffindor, sixth year," Lily said. She tried to catch Remus' eye, but couldn't.
"Severus Snape, Slytherin, sixth year," Snape sneered out.
"Adair Mulciber, Slytherin, sixth year." Adair was a dark young woman who resembled Snape slightly. Lily thought that she had heard they were distant cousins, or related through marriage to each other. She couldn't remember which.
"Rea Cunningham, Ravenclaw, sixth year." Rea resembled her brother closely. They both had the sharp features and dark skin and hair.
There were other people, but Lily stopped listening, not really caring who else was there. She knew them all anyway. It didn't really matter that she wasn't listening.
Instead she contemplated Remus. Was he lying about the rock, or did he really fall on his neck as a… Remus glanced at her and smiled slightly. Last night had been the full moon, so maybe it was true. She winced.
Lily remembered because she hadn't been able to sleep. Instead she had stared into the sky thinking about Hogwarts and escaping from Petunia.
Petunia had been especially bad this summer, her snide comments more biting then ever before. Their parents had been out more often, and Lily had found no way to escape from her older sister. Petunia was getting married in the summer. Lily didn't know him, but all Petunia would do was make fun of Lily and gush about Vernon. When Lily had seen pictures she had seen a fat man with no neck and dark hair. "He looks like a pig." Lily had muttered on day.
Having said that, Petunia had asked her to do better. The sad thing was, Lily thought, she probably couldn't.
A bony finger went into her side. On reflex Lily grabbed it and bent it backwards, but Snape pulled out of her grasp before she could inflict real pain to him.
"Get out of my way you filthy little—"
Lily got up and walked away before he could finish his sentence, having no interest in talking to Snape.
James and Sirius had found Peter Pettigrew, and they were waiting for Remus to appear. It was taking longer than usual and James elected to go out and look for their friend. Sirius and Peter were wrapped up in a game of exploding snap.
Several people said hello to him as he walked towards the front of the train. He nodded and smiled politely. The Slytherins avoided him and, in general, James avoided them. He didn't want an excuse to get into Lily's bad side any more. Well, the only person that it would be terrible to see at the moment would be Snape.
And there he was, walking down the hall, hooked nose and greasy haired. The hairs on the back of James' neck rose. Snape's hand was already on his wand. James pulled out his own wand.
"Snape," James spat.
"Get out of my way, Potter."
"You're in my way," James said with narrowed eyes.
They brought their wands up at the same moment and faced each other.
"James," a tired voice said from behind Snape. "Leave it, James."
"Moony, how was your summer?"
"I saw you two days ago, you dolt. Get your wand away from Snape and come with me."
"I can't quite yet, Moony."
"That's right, run away coward," Snape sneered.
Remus sighed and walked right through the confrontation, dragging James behind him. "James, give it up."
"He was…"
"And now he's not," Remus said opening the compartment where Sirius and Peter were still playing exploding snap.
"Moony!" Sirius cried without looking up. "Good to see you. You look wonderful."
"Glad to know," Remus said falling into a seat. He closed his eyes and leant against the wall. "Now be quiet while I sleep."
"You don't need us to be quiet!" Sirius said as the cards exploded. "That was so on your turn, Peter."
Peter nodded sadly and collected the cards. His watery blue eyes were calculating something as he shuffled his deck, but no one noticed as Sirius slipped next to Remus and touched the bruise on his neck.
"Ow," Remus complained.
"Remus!" James snapped. "You pulled me away from Snape. I could've cursed him to Christmas, and then he would have been in even more pain." Sirius laughed. Remus sighed and opened his grey eyes.
"And have Lily Evans walk up and find you doing that? I know how much she matters to you. If you're trying to change your behavior so you aren't so big-headed, then you can't go about cursing Snape whenever you see him."
"He was going to curse me."
Remus rolled his eyes. "Sirius get your hand off of my bruise." Sirius took his hand off of the bruise and slipped onto the floor again. Peter handed him a deck and Sirius riffled through it.
"Urgh, Peter, can you shuffle at all?"
"I shuffled quite well; you might not have a good hand," Peter replied.
"Come off it, Wormtail, you can't shuffle."
"No, you just have a bad hand," Remus said, leaning over his friends shoulder to look at his cards.
"Shurrup, Moony," Sirius muttered shuffling the cards around.
James looked at Peter's hand. "Evenly matched. All the good cards are in the deck."
"Prongs!" Peter cried, covering his cards. "Don't tell Sirius the game."
The cards suddenly exploded in Sirius' hand. "Ahhh!" Sirius cried out. He opened his hand to look at the cards. "They shouldn't explode in your hand."
"But there's a warning on the box that says they might," Peter said, pushing the tin case over to Sirius.
"Argh," Sirius said. "I have to shuffle then." He grabbed the cards, his blue eyes intense as he bridged them. James sat back to watch, his hazel eyes amused.
"Sirius, you trying out for the team this year?" James asked.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "You've asked me that about ten times this summer. I'm thinking about it." He pushed the cards around in their pile before dealing them out.
"Remus?"
"I can't, the schedule conflicts with the full moon too often," Remus said.
James sighed. "Wish you could, you're an excellent beater. Peter?"
"I could never match up to any of you. I think not." Peter said.
"Oh come on Pete, you could—"
"No, I don't think I will."
That ended the discussion about it, but it didn't stop James from bugging them for the rest of the train ride.
James was the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, top Chaser in the Hogwarts league. Scouts were already looking at him for England's team. Remus was probably the best beater at Hogwarts, but due to unfortunate circumstances, he was unable to do anything for a three day period at the full moon.
Lily found the compartment with her group of friends quickly. Jolene Alexandria, Rea Cunningham, and Ava Livington looked up as she entered the compartment.
"Lils! You're here finally!" Jolene said jumping up. Lily smiled at her best friend.
"Hello, Jo, Rea, Ava."
Rea smiled and said quietly "Hello."
Ava grinned and hugged Lily. "What took you so long? Rea got her really quickly…"
"I had to check that my bag got on the train. I didn't have time to check that it did."
Jolene ushered her into a seat and they settled down for a talk about their summers.
"What did you do, Rea?" Lily asked.
"We went to Cornwall. It's very pretty down there," Rea said quietly. She was always quiet.
"I wish we had gone somewhere. I had to spend the whole time with Petunia sighing over Vernon Dursley, her fiancé." Lily made a face. "She's twenty and getting married already. I can't image being married at twenty."
"Are you invited to the wedding?" Jolene asked.
"Unfortunately yes. Mum insisted that I was invited. It's at the end of the school year, so I'll be off the train to a wedding," Lily said. "What did you do with your summer, Ava? You seem tanned."
"My parents sent me to Greece."
"And you didn't invite me?" Lily said sarcastically.
"I would've if I could've, but you know how my parents are. I didn't want to push it with asking for other people to come." Ava smiled. "It was so lovely out there."
"Lucky." Lily sighed. "I wish I had gone to Greece."
"The men down there are positively delicious," Ava said with a grin.
"Bet their everything compared to Americans."
"How was America, Jo?" Lily asked.
Jolene made a face. "Horrible. It's so much stickier over there and we did all the museums, again. I mean, it's not like we don't go back every year. And my cousins are so evil forcing me to do a British accent and being all British. It's so annoying."
"Aw, honey, I should have brought a Greek guy back for you," Ava said.
"The guys were okay over there, though," Jolene said with a grin.
"Who did you meet?" Lily asked.
"No one particularly special. They just have some very nice blokes over there. In New England that is. I couldn't tell you about the other states and regions." Jolene grinned at her friends' reactions. Jolene's mother and father were both American, but they had moved to England for her father's job. Every summer they went to visit relatives. The last time Jolene had been in New England, however, was when she was seven.
"Do tell, Jo," Ava said.
"Yeah, what're they like?" Rea asked.
Lily smiled as Jolene began to tell them.
The fields they were passing were getting wilder and wilder and the light was fading. Lily occasionally stuck her head out of the door and looked up and down, checking for troublemakers. But if there were any, they were staying away from Lily's compartment.
A few times she and Rea got up and walked up and down, just to make sure, but most of the time they stayed in their compartment, talking and catching up.
It was dark by the time the Hogwarts Express pulled up at the Hogsmeade Station. The platform was a mess of students. The new game keeper, Rubeus Hagrid, loomed over the heads of the students calling to them, "Firs' years! Firs' years o'er here."
Lily helped direct the first years towards the huge man. Hagrid, as everyone called him, was twice as tall as a normal man and equally wider. Though he looked slightly mad, he was kind and gentle with no temper to speak of. Lily had made friends with him when she was a first year. He had only just become the head game keeper, as the old one had refused to resign, and Hagrid was already doing all the work that he would have done as the head game keeper in the first place.
Lily waved to him as she noticed two second years fighting about something. She hurried over to them as they started to push at each other.
"What happened?" Lily asked, grabbing both by their robes.
"He stole my rat!" the boy complained. On his robes was his badge, and on the badge there was a badger and an "H" for Hufflepuff House.
Lily turned to the other boy, whose badge, with the silver serpent and the green "S," proclaimed him as a Slytherin. "Where's the rat?"
"I didn't!" the boy squeaked indignantly, his voice cracking and ruining the effect.
"What do you think you're doing, Evans?" it was a Slytherin fifth year prefect. Lily couldn't remember his name. I should've paid attention. He had pale skin and dark hair, with piercing blue eyes.
"I'm settling an argument."
"Reynolds is in my house, I can settle it." Someone jostled against the fifth year's arm. "Oy!" he turned and then stopped when he saw Sirius Black hurrying on wards. An expression of… Lily couldn't place the expression, it was pain and fear and hatred.
"I can settle this argument," Lily said coolly. "Reynolds, give Bagman the rat back."
"I didn't!"
"You put him in your pocket!" Bagman cried.
"I did not!" Reynolds cried.
"Do I have to turn out your pockets?" Lily asked.
"Evans, you aren't—"
"Go to other business," Lily said, looking up, her emerald eyes glittering. "I can settle this argument."
The blue eyes narrowed. "Mudblood," he hissed before walking away. Lily sighed. Mudblood was a terrible insult. It was used for Muggle-born witches and wizards in a diminutive way. Lily couldn't care less, as she hadn't grown up with the term, but after five years of hearing it, it was getting annoying.
"Reynolds, the rat," she said holding out a hand. The other one was still holding on to the boy's robes.
"Fine." Reynolds reached into his pocket and handed a rat to Bagman. "I won it fair and square."
"No. You cheated," Bagman cried.
"Go different ways to the carriages. Now, or I'll report you to a teacher for gambling," Lily said. Throwing glares at each other Reynolds and Bagman walked away from each other.
Lily found Jolene, Rea and Ava in a horseless carriage and joined them. She made a face as she sat down. "Second years fighting about a rat. They were gambling, but I didn't know until after the argument was settled. Rea, who's the fifth year Slytherin prefect?"
"Which one?"
"The guy one."
"Regulus Black," Rea replied making a face. "Nasty fellow."
"Black, is he related Sirius Black?" Lily asked. She felt stupid. She knew this already, but for some reason she didn't want the girls to know about her friendship with Remus. it had been going so well. Remus was always talking about Sirius and sometimes Regulus would come up in the conversation. She had never really looked for him though.
"Of course," Ava put in. "Sirius is the odd ball of the Black family. Haven't you heard about them?"
"I don't follow Black's life," Lily said.
"The Blacks are definitely on the Dark side of the law. They say Regulus is joining with the Dark Lord," Ava said. "Of course, I have no idea what's true and what's not, rumors are everywhere though."
"But Sirius is in Gryffindor?"
"Oh, he ran away over the summer. He's camped out with the Potters. Sirius isn't for the Dark Arts," Ava alleged.
With a small frown Lily considered this; Remus hadn't written her over the summer to tell her that... The carriage came to a stop outside Hogwarts and they jumped out and up the stairs. All thoughts of Sirius' family were pushed from her mind for the time being.
James looked at the staff table. Flitwick, the Charms Professor, a tiny little man, was talking enthusiastically to the potions teacher, Professor Salsus. Salsus was a young woman in her mid-twenties from France with a sharp tongue. Next to her was Professor Sprout, the Herbology instructor, who was talking to Professor Excido, head of the Slytherin house and Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Then there was Professor McGonagall's empty seat. The strict Transfiguration teacher was greeting the first years. Dumbledore sat at the center of the table, his beard glowing and his blue eyes sparkling.
A sudden hush fell over the room as McGonagall entered carrying a three legged stool and a rather old hat. She placed the hat on the stool as the first years came in. There was a silence until a rip in the brim of the hat opened and it began to sing.
Oh many, many years ago
There lived four great wizards
Who on this land did bestow
A great gift, of great renowned
It was a school for the young
A school for those gifted with magic
And from this school sprung
Many great minds
For years and years
The four founders did divide
The peers
To a separate house for each
For Gryffindor, only the brave
Did he admit
For Slytherin, the grave
And the cunning
For Ravenclaw, the bright
With eager minds for learning
And dear Hufflepuff, without a fight
Did take the rest into her house
And for many years they worked in peace
Not a care for the outside world
But the founders did know they would cease
And have no way of dividing the students
They thought and thought
Of a solution to their problem
And Gryffindor caught
Me off his head and gave them an answer
So they put some brains in me
And let me decide
And let me see
Where you should go
So put me on your head
Don't be afraid
From this I'll spread
You into the houses four
Applause sounded through the hall and the McGonagall stepped forward. "I will call out your name and you will come forward, put on the hat and be sorted. Ackerley, Kissa."
James' stomach growled and he tuned out the rest of the sorting, waiting for the food to appear on the great platters before him. He concentrated very hard on the food appearing, hoping that he might be able to get it to come early.
It didn't work.
Lily picked at her dinner. She wasn't really hungry anyway. She was never very hungry, really. She ate because she knew it was good for her, but tonight she felt more tired than anything else. Her mind was in a whirl from being back at school. The summer was over…at last.
Yawning widely, Lily looked up at the head table. Dumbledore was rising and the crumbs were leaving the golden plates.
"Welcome, welcome to another year at Hogwarts. I hope all of your summers were agreeable and sunny. While in South America it seemed to rain more than it does here."
Laughter filled the hall and Dumbledore smiled over his half-moon spectacles.
"Well, a few start of term notices. First years will note that the Forbidden Forest is, as the name would suggest, forbidden. Argus Filch, our caretaker, has taken over full time this year. Rubeus Hagrid also had taken over as gamekeeper. We hope our old helpers live long and happily, and please welcome our new helpers."
Lily grinned at her big friend.
"Last year we lost some great Quidditch players, but we hope to get some new talent at the Quidditch tryouts during the first week of October. If you have any questions contact James Potter, Garrick Ackart, Edward Van Alsttyne, or Anne Sullivan, who are the Quidditch Team captains."
A girl at the Hufflepuff table looked up sharply and went pale. Several people grinned at her. Other's patted her on the back.
"The prefects this year are doing something different for our Halloween feast, so look out for announcements from them. And now you all seem tired. First years to your prefects and off to bed with you all."
There was a quiet roar as everyone got up and began moving away from the Great Hall. Lily stood up and yelled "First years!" Remus joined her. Elijah Scarborough, a fifth year prefect, hurried over to Lily. She, Jamie and Samantha began gathering the first years.
"Right, I think we've got them all," Kern Pepin said. Elijah nodded and they turned to look at the thirty-six frightened first years.
"Hello, I'm Samantha Newburg. I'm the seventh year prefect for the girls."
"Jamie Johnson, seventh year for the boys."
"Lily Evans, sixth year girls," Lily said.
"Remus Lupin," Remus said rubbing his eyes and yawning. "Sixth year."
"And tired," Lily added. Remus smiled and the first years seemed to relax a little.
"Elijah Scarborough, fifth year boys." Elijah grinned at the first years. "Hey, it's not too bad. Wasn't the sorting painless?"
"I dunno, the hat was kind of tight on me," one of the first years said.
They all laughed.
"I'm Kern Pepin, fifth year girls," Kern said when the laughter died down.
"We're your prefects. If you have any problems, concerns, anything, come to us. If someone gets sick, come and get me or Jamie. We're the top dogs in the prefect ranks," Samantha said.
"You'll probably get lost on your first day," Jamie started.
"First week," Remus said.
"First year," Elijah said.
"Don't worry about it, everyone gets lost. The castle's always changing. Staircases move, people in portraits move, you'll notice, but really the most important route is getting from Gryffindor Tower down the kitchens—I mean Great Hall." Jamie grinned at the first years. "Come on, we'll show you the best route. Six people to a prefect, go to the one you want and they'll be your mentor for your first year."
The first years came up and chose their prefects. Lily had six girls. Julia Wallock, Leola Allsburg, Genevieve Eberlee, Jennelle Dunstan, Caroline Lawley and Willow Denton gathered around her. "Hello, girls," Lily said as she tried to fix their names in her mind. "Shall we head up then?"
They nodded and Lily led them out of the Great hall. She wasn't looking where she was going when she opened the door, and ran straight into James Potter.
"Get out of—oh, Evans and the ikkle firsties," James said doing an almost perfect impression of Peeves, the poltergeist.
"Get out of my way, Potter," Lily snapped.
"Are the ikkle firsties scared of a big sixth year?"
Lily pushed him out of her way forcibly. "Come along and ignore the bastard Potter."
James stared after her as the first years giggled. "There'll be hell to pay for that Evans," he whispered. "Hell to pay."
Lily entered her dormitory and fell onto her bed. The Gryffindor colors were everywhere. Her cloak was hanging over a chair; robes neatly lay on the seat, with the Gryffindor scarf of red and gold. The curtains on her bed were scarlet and the trim all around was gold. Lily felt like she had never left.
The other girls were brushing their teeth and combing their hair and doing other necessary things, but Lily just wanted to go to bed. She slipped off her robes and then opened her trunk, pulling out her nightgown. It was soft and smelled faintly of crushed lavender.
Her mother had packed her trunk while Lily had been doing last minute errands with her father. Little flowers of lavender from her garden were scatters in the trunk. They reminded Lily fiercely of home. With a sigh she slipped the nightgown over her head and went to brush her teeth.
She looked at herself in the mirror and sighed again. Her red hair was loose and wavy. It frizzed around her face and looked knotty. Too tired to care too much about her hair, Lily stared at her pale face, covered by a few freckles and her almond shaped green eyes. She spat out her toothpaste and rinsed. Without a glance at the mirror, Lily went back to her bed.
She slipped into bed and closed the curtains around her four poster. Sleep came swiftly and she began to dream. It was an odd dream where she was either dancing with James Potter or with Sirius Black. Jolene moved in between them, her face covered in tears.
It was six fifty two. Eight minutes until Lily would appear. James waited in the common room. He was sitting in the chair closest to the fire, arms spread out along the back, and entirely invisible. At least he would be for eight minutes and thirty two seconds more. He didn't want to be visible when Lily appeared.
Seven minutes and twenty seconds.
Seven minutes and ten seconds.
James had never noticed the way the paintings (seven minutes) in the common room were not of people. It was odd.
Six minutes and fifty seconds.
There was a scratch on his watch, grabbing the corner of his robes he rubbed at it.
Six minutes and thirty seconds.
Did he read his watch wrong? Oh shit, he was reading it four minutes slow. Which meant—the invisibility charm on him flickered and died. Swearing profusely James dived behind a big couch as the last ten seconds of time he before—
A loud scream echoed down the girl's staircase. A livid Lily entered the common room covered in a sticky orange substance. James couldn't help himself. He began to roll around on the floor in convulsions of laughter.
"JAMES POTTER!" Lily shrieked, pulling out her wand. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"
"Orange juice," James said, calming enough to notice her wand. With a quick grin he darted out of the common room.
He was still laughing at the image of Lily Evans covered in orange juice when he entered the Great Hall. He was greeted by six first year girls throwing their orange juice at him.
Even his quick reflexes didn't save him. He was soaked. His laughter stopped and James stared at the six girls who were eating and chatting together. "Now wait just a minute!" James said walking up to them.
Water was poured all over his head. "Don't talk to my girls, Potter," Lily said primly. She was immaculate. Her robes, which had been soaked, were pristine and her hair was curling softly on her shoulders, very much dry.
"What was that for, Evans?" he cried.
"Orange juice is very hard to get out. I'm sure you wouldn't know that, though."
Lily fluttered her eyelashes at him and walked away. The six Gryffindor girls grinned at each other before bursting into a fit of giggles.
The day had begun with five liters of orange juice falling on her head. Most would say it was a bad way to start the day. Lily was inclined to agree.
Lily thought it was a good omen for the year though.
After all, she had then managed to get back at James. Plus, it was still early in the day. And she had obviously been very kind to her first years, as they had, without being asked, drenched James in orange juice.
With a smile on her face Lily began to butter some toast. Sirius Black slipped into the seat opposite her and smiled drowsily in her direction. He poked several sausages onto his plate and added some bacon to the pile before pouring himself a cup of juice. Lily frowned.
"All that meat with give you a heart attack," she said.
"Ah well, you only live once," Sirius said taking a bite out of his bacon. "I don't expect to live past forty anyway."
"What?" Lily stared at Sirius. "Why not?"
"My family will probably kill me so that Reg—" Sirius yawned and scratched his chin, "—ulus won't have to share the property. My mother's tried poisoning me twice already. Not to mention two of my aunts putting snakes in my room when I was three." Sirius scratched behind his ear. Lily stared at him.
"Surely your family doesn't want you dead though," Lily said, aghast.
"'Course they do. I'm all for the good side, and they're completely on the opposite side of the scale. That's why I didn't go home this summer. Don't plan on heading the twelve Grimmauld place ever again."
"But—"
"Ms. Evans, your schedule."
"Thank you, Professor." Lily accepted the sixth year schedule. She made a face seeing her first subject was Herbology with the Ravenclaws.
"Yech," Sirius muttered. "Herbology."
"You're still taking Herbology? I'd think that you would have dropped it," Lily said. "You never seemed to like the class."
"I got full marks on the test so Professor Sprout insists that I continue taking it." Sirius sighed. "Bloody bat."
Lily shook her head. "Professor Sprout is a sweet woman. Her knowledge is so extensive, I can't image the kind of person who will take over her job."
Frank Longbottom and Alice Pettigrew slipped into the seats next to Lily and muttered hellos. Alice was in Hufflepuff, but she and Frank had been going together for over three years now. One was never seen without the other. Lily smiled at the happy couple. She couldn't imagine finding the right person at age thirteen, though.
Peter Petigrew, Sirius Black's friend and Alice's cousin, appeared and started towards the table. James was close behind him, clean now.
She was done with her toast so she said goodbye to Sirius and smiled at Frank. Alice had her back to Lily.
It wasn't until she reached the front door that Lily realized that she had had a pleasant conversation with Sirius Black. She stopped and looked back at the Great Hall. He was tired. She thought. That must explain it.
James sighed. Peter looked at him from across the room. "What?"
"I have Herbology first," James said.
"I have Muggle Studies first."
"Ouch," James considered his schedule. "I can't believe you didn't drop it."
"I was going to, but then Professor Tealther told me that if I dropped I might lose a very good chance at a job in the ministry. You know how mum is about the ministry. So mum forced me to take Muggle Studies. I never really liked Herbology, anyway."
James sighed. "Ah well, you'll miss all the fun."
"Remus is with me."
"Remus dropped Herb?"
"No, he's just taking the N.E.W.T. Herbology class."
James rolled his eyes. "He'll be Head Boy and leave us in the dust."
"You know Dumbledore doesn't choose the smartest people for Head Boy and Girl, otherwise Ravenclaws would always be getting it," Peter said. "Come on, we have to get to class." Peter picked up his bag and James jumped off his bed. They left the common room and walked to the Great Hall. James went out of the front door and Peter went down a corridor to the right.
The wide sweeping Hogwarts lawn was beautiful to behold. It was as green as—as—Lily's eyes.
…
Or something equally as green. James couldn't think of anything that was quite the same shade of green except Lily's eyes. Or maybe every shade of green looked like her eyes.
Maybe Sirius is right when he says I need to find a new obsession. He thought as he crossed by the lake where the giant squid was basking in the light. The greenhouses where Herbology was taught came into view and James began to jog, seeing he was a bit late. He caught up just in time to squeeze through the door. Lily was just in front of him.
It was dark inside the greenhouse. A spell had darkened the windows to give the plants proper shading.
"Hello," Professor Sprout said quietly. She was a plump woman, rather short, with fly away brown hair. "We will be studying a very interesting plant today. It's sleeping right now and I don't want to wake it up, but when I pair you all off, I'll wake it up and you will be pruning it. It's quite simple, just cut off the brown and yellow leaves."
Lily put her hand in the air. "Excuse me, Professor, but what exactly are we pruning?"
"We are pruning a Sleeping Snap Dragon," Professor Sprout said. "Can anyone tell me the properties of a Sleeping Snap Dragon?"
Lily's hand was first up. "Yes, Ms. Evans?"
"The Dragon has a head and fangs. From the fangs there is a fluid that is used in truth telling potions. It's the most potent form of the athian species."
"Excellent, take five points for Gryffindor." Lily smiled. "Yes, as Ms. Evans said, the fluid from the 'head' of the 'dragon' is quite potent. In order for the plant to produce the fluid, however, it must be pruned and carefully looked after. Now I'll come around and pair you up."
James tried to find Sirius, but he was at the front of the room talking to Jolene Alexandria, a chaser on his team, and oblivious to James' frantic motions.
Professor Sprout began to move among them, giving out pairs.
Lily, too, it seemed, was anxious to get Jolene's attention. A Ravenclaw girl looked over at her and waved. Lily groaned as the girl was paired with a Gryffindor with black hair. Professor Sprout reached her and smiled.
"Ah, Ms. Evans, please work with Mr. Potter." She moved on before Lily could say anything.
"Work with Potter?" she whispered, looking for some comfort. Jolene was safely working with Sirius. James groaned.
"Well, Lily, seems like we're working together," James said sauntering over and grinning.
"Oh, fuck off," Lily snapped.
"I don't see why you're so mean to me, Lily," James said, dropping the smile. "I've never done anything to you."
"Never done—what was this morning?" Lily sputtered, her green eyes flashing.
James considered her point. It was true that he particularly liked pranking Lily. But still, it was always a joke.
Professor Sprout was at the head of the class again. She clapped her hands and then said, "Careful now, I'm about to wake the plant." With a swish and flick of her wand she muttered a word. The lights went up and there was a scream.
Suddenly they all saw the plant. It went several times around the room and seemed to have no roots at all. It was a stem that went on and on, as thick as James' waist and bright fierce green (The same color as Lily's eyes when she's about to scream at me.) little leaves came off of the side at intervals. Their stems to the plant were as thick as James' middle finger. The leaves, huge and broad. Lily moved forward and gently touched one of the yellowing leaves. James followed behind her.
"To remove a leaf you have to place a square around the base of the stem and have someone else pull it away, otherwise you will cause the plant to convulse and cause it pain," Professor Sprout said. "I'm afraid it might strangle a few of you in the process, so be very careful."
While Professor Sprout was talking, the plant had begun to move. Very slowly, it seemed to be coiling and moving away from the light (or trying to find cover). Professor Sprout gently stroked it and it stopped moving, shuddering in what James thought was pleasure.
"If it starts to move too much just stroke it gently and continue when it's calmed. Right, let's get started."
The class looked at the plant before rolling up their sleeves and moving towards various parts of the plant. James and Lily moved in different directions.
"There are more leaves over there," Lily hissed.
"Exactly. I don't want to do more work," James said.
"We're doing this for a class. The more we finish, the better our grade."
"It's all about grades to you; don't you understand that we're here to learn?"
James ran a hand through his hair, though unlike other times, it was just out of annoyance.
Lily glared at him. "You think you're so cool, cutting classes, doing everything half-arsed, if you don't do it well and properly the first time—"
"I'm tired of you telling me what's wrong with me. I think I know by now."
"Then why don't you change?"
James stared at her.
"I have."
"Oh, so much. I've barely noticed anything that's changed about you."
"But something has, as you said, you barely noticed. It implies that something has changed."
Lily went red. "Stop playing with my words."
"I will if you go out with me." James could have slapped himself. He knew how annoyed she got when he asked her. He also liked the way her face went redder and redder until she either stormed off or yelled at him. He would enjoy seeing her fail at something in Herbology.
"I wouldn't go out with you if you were the last man alive," Lily spat.
"Why would you go out with me?" James asked.
Lily stared at him. "I wouldn't go out with you unless it was in a way to get you laughed at."
"Well, I can arrange for that."
Lily could have slapped herself. she shouldn't have given him a way to get her. "Get me in America and give me the right light and then we'll see." She snapped. At least now he didn't know what the "right light" was and he'd never get her in America. Ever.
"I think I might," James said, nodding to her and turning around.
"WHAT?" Lily squeaked. "You have to stay here and help me prune this plant!"
"No, I don't. We can both fail for today." James didn't turn around as he walked out. Now, how to get her in America with the right light…
James walked towards the lake without thinking about it. He was trying to come up with a way to get Lily to go to America when he bumped into his least favorite person at Hogwarts.
Severus Snape.
"What are you doing out here Snape?" James asked.
"That's none of your affair." Snape's gaze was at a rather ugly tree that was a little way off from the Forbidden Forest. The Whomping Willow. James felt sweat forming on his lip. Snape was looking into it again, that couldn't be good. Slimy git.
"Get out of my way, Potter," Snape spat.
"You bumped into me!" James cried, he reached into his pokect. He had to distract Snape, keep him away from the tree. And cursing him wouldn't be too bad.
"I did not bump into you, you walked into me. Get your head out of the clouds, if you have any brain left to—"
James had his wand directed at Snape. Snape, equally quick, pointed his own at James.
"I'm faster at spells—"
"Expelli—"
"OY!" A voice yelled over the lawn. James and Snape looked up to see the new caretaker… Argus Filch, coming down the lawn. "You aren't allowed to duel unless given special permission by Dumbledore or one of the teachers." Filch had watery yellow eyes and stringy brown hair.
James noticed the cat at his feet, who shared her master's eyes. He took an immediate dislike to the thin animal.
"You'll be coming up to the castle now. With me." Filch seemed to take pleasure in bringing them up to the castle and forcing them the long way around to his office. James sighed as they passed a passage that would bring them straight to where the old caretaker's office was. But they didn't go there.
Instead they went down through the dungeons, and then back up a small staircase that looked like it would fall under the weight of the cat, let alone three people. But, as all things in Hogwarts were, it was held up magically. Neither James nor Snape cringed as they walked up it. They didn't see Filch gingerly make his way up behind them.
They walked down the corridor and then up a flight of stairs to the Charms corridor. James sighed, knowing that they could have cut off ten minutes by taking a passage in the front hall.
Down the Charms corridor and through a door at the end, through a huge chamber and then down some stairs into a smaller corridor. James knew Hogwarts better then anyone else at the school, well, he, Sirius, Remus and Peter did, and he was now lost. But Filch knew exactly where he was going as he pushed them up a another rickety staircase and then down another corridor and finally into a small office. Chains hung from the ceiling and the desk was a clutter.
Filch, his eyes alight, darted around the room. He pulled a few papers from the piles around the office. He sat and withdrew a quill from the desk drawer. It was long and black and rather sinister looking.
"Names?" he barked at them.
"James Potter," Severus Snape said.
"Severus Snape," James said, with a glare at Snape.
Filch looked at them. "Don't name each other," he snapped.
"James Potter." James said, rolling his eyes.
"Severus Snape," Snape replied.
"Crimes... dueling on school grounds, impersonating another student, smart mouthing a teacher—"
"You aren't a teacher!" James cried.
"Talking back." Filch licked his non-existent lips and looked at James triumphantly.
"Don't try and get around me, boy."
James stared at the man. He was happy to be getting them into more trouble. He wanted Lightoff back. Lightoff might have been strict, but at least he didn't take pleasure in giving out punishments.
"Suggested punishment—" James groaned silently. Argus Filch was going to get in the way this year. A lot.
Lily left Herbology seething. She had gotten a zero on her first day. She had tried to explain to Professor Sprout that James left, meaning that she couldn't prune the plant at all, but Professor Sprout had to go deal with a small crisis (someone had pulled a leaf out without their partner and the plant was beginning to wrap around the girl's hand).
Lily had stormed out of the class at that point, looking for James, ready to murder him. Her path brought her around the lake and to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. A small wooden house stood nearby. A huge pair of galoshes that were extremely muddy sat just outside the door.
Lily decided not to go on her rampage and to go and visit Hagrid in what was left of the class time. She moved towards the house and rapped on the door. There was a loud bark and several yips as the door opened. "No!" a gruff voice said. A huge foot appeared in the crack, effectively blocking the way of a small boarhound puppy.
"Hello, Hagrid," Lily said.
"Lily Evans, yeh came ter see me." Hagrid frowned. "Don't yeh have class?"
"I do, but I er… can I explain it to you inside?" Lily asked.
"Oh, right." Hagrid backed up slightly. "Careful, they're just starting ter run around."
Lily entered quickly and shut the door behind her. The puppies ran at her ankles and jumped up. She smiled and knelt down. "Did Holly have puppies?"
"Yeah," Hagrid said with a huge smile. "Aren't they beau'iful?"
Lily usually lied when Hagrid asked this question. But then again, it was usually about a dangerous creature that might bite her head off. "They are beautiful," Lily said, tugging at a bone that one of the puppies had brought to her.
Holly, the mother, appeared, her tail wagging fiercely. She trotted to Lily and began slobbering on her robes. Lily scratched behind the older dog's ears. The puppies whined at her.
"Cup o' tea?" Hagrid asked, moving over to the fire.
"Yes, please."
"Now, are ye going ter explain what happened?"
Lily sighed and looked at her feet. "It's really my fault. I got into a fight with Potter during Herbology."
"James Potter?" Hagrid swung the arm where a metal kettle was hanging out over the fire towards him. He carefully pulled it off the hook and poured the boiling water into a tea pot. "The Quidditch cap'n?"
"Yeah, him." Lily moved over to the table, trailing the six dogs.
"Yeh hate him, don't yeh?" Hagrid asked, pulling two rather chipped mugs down from a shelf.
"I don't know anymore. He said some things that really got to me. Like that I keep telling him what's wrong with him." Hagrid passed her a mug. Holly rested her head on Lily's lap, and Lily continued to scratch the dog behind her ears.
"Has he changed at all?" Hagrid asked, settling down and taking a gulp of his tea.
"I haven't really been looking for changes. I mean, I guess…" Lily stopped herself. "No. Not at all."
Hagrid didn't say anything, but looked at her with a knowing expression. Lily didn't meet his eye as she began her tea. She knew what he was thinking, and the thing was, she didn't know if it was true or not.
One of the things about detention that James hated the most was missing what his friends were doing. The first night, for example, Sirius, Remus and Peter were working on their map of Hogwarts while James went to McGonagall for detention.
"Have fun, James," Sirius said with a grin. He held up a small hand mirror and James grinned too. At least he could watch what they were doing now.
He got to the Transfiguration corridor before he realized that he had forgotten his mirror. Now he would be stuck not knowing what his friends were doing with the map. He couldn't go back because he was going to be late as it was. He hurried into McGonagall's office sheepishly.
"Potter," she said, her lips pressed together.
"Sorry, Professor, got lost, Peeves."
McGonagall was no fool. She knew that James and his friends knew the school better than anyone else.
"You are no longer a first year, Mr. Potter. You can't use that excuse anymore, as I have told you since your second year."
James sighed. "You know, Professor—"
"Enough, or you'll talk my ear off all night and you'll have to come again." James shut up. "You'll be cleaning the desks in seven different classrooms and putting the notes on the boards. The notes can be done by magic, because I know what you do with chalk, but the tables you will be using this—" from thin air a bucket and some rags appeared "—to clean the desks."
James stared at her. "But, Professor—"
"Get to it, Mr. Potter, or you'll be here all night."
Defeated, James slumped out of the room, bucket in hand. Growling about unfair punishment, he entered the first classroom. It was the first years' Transfiguration classroom. The desks were covered with small notes in ink and scratches. James made a face. He swore he had never written on the desks.
Well, until he came to the seat that had been his. An 'LE' surrounded by a heart and some scrawled notes to Sirius were enough for him to remember. He swore after the first room that he hadn't written on the desks in second year.
Again he was proven wrong. He was sitting next to Lily that year. She had written something about him having a huge head and needing to stop thinking he was the best simply because he had gotten on the Quidditch team. He had replied with snide comments about redheads.
James decided that he should give up and just say he remembered writing notes to Remus on the desk in third year. He found them. Most of them were about becoming Animagi and how he was dolt for not realizing—the words were scrapped out and a note from Remus was underneath them. YOU IDIOT!
Fourth year he sat next to Jolene and the notes were mostly about who would be captain next year. They were in fierce debate: Jolene swore that Denis Mercer would be the captain; James, of course, had thought himself.
Fifth year he sat next to Peter. They had talked a lot about the Animagus plans, too. And then a single note said: YES! I'VE GOT IT!
James moved on to the sixth year classroom and looked at Lily's desk. There hadn't been enough time for anyone in his class to write their own notes. There was a note to a one Catherine Docut, reminding her of an Arithmancy equation. Kat Louis had scrawled in a FL KL 4EVA. One Tom Riddle had written down in a different language something James couldn't read. It looked rather like snakes gathered together in pattern…. Like the sewer system.
The seventh year classroom was filled with who had fucked whom that year. James sighed as he washed over the names that might have been there for seven or more years. Gareth had done it with Julie, one of the notes proclaimed pregnancy and a marriage. There were notes about who was to come to the wedding and who was not.
Finally done, James vanished the dirty water and rags before bringing the bucket back to McGonagall.
"Good night, Professor," James said. He trudged towards Gryffindor common room. There was a soft mew and James looked down to see Filch's cat arching its back as it moved around a statue. She stared at him with yellow eyes.
"Shoo," he muttered. The cat didn't move. "Get out of here."
The cat turned and trotted off. James suddenly had a bit of paranoia. She was going to get Filch. Darting forward James dashed for the common room. He was out after hours—the portrait of the fat lady that was the entrance to Gryffindor tower was just around the corner.
The cat had reappeared and Filch was just behind her. "Ah, Mr. Potter, out of your common room after hours. I'll write you up."
James groaned. "I was just coming back from my other detention—" he started.
"And I think I'll add talking back to your crimes," Filch said. "Get to your common room."
Muttering profanities under his breath, James slipped into the common room. He glanced at his watch. It was only five minutes after nine. Grumbling about caretakers, James flopped into a chair beside Sirius.
"Hey, why didn't you call us?" Sirius asked, holding up the mirror.
"Forgot mine. Besides, wouldn't have been able to do anything with it. I was washing all the desks. Merlin, I forgot how much we wrote on them." James shook out his arms. "Tough work."
Remus smiled slightly. "Well, anything interesting you found?"
"No, other than I was right about who was going to be Quidditch captain in fourth year. Remind me to tell Jo." James pondered for a moment. "I wish I could send Filch down the tunnel to you, Moony."
Remus went pale. "You wouldn't," he whispered.
James looked at his friend. "No. No I wouldn't. Sorry for mentioning it. He's just so aggravating! I was five minutes after curfew and he gave me another detention."
Remus, somewhat calmed by James, looked at his watch. "How did he find you?"
"There's something weird about his cat. It's like she leads him to troublemakers."
"Mrs. Norris isn't a normal cat," Peter put in. "She chased me for an hour, but she didn't eat me. Tried to get Filch to notice me, but all he did was put traps down. I think she knew that I wasn't really a rat."
The four pondered it for a moment. "She could be magical…" Sirius said.
"But Filch is a Squib," Peter said. Everyone turned to stare at him.
"How do you know that, Peter?" James asked.
"I overheard him talking to one of the teachers while I was in the dungeons," Peter said, a faint sheen of sweat appearing on his pudgy face. He wasn't used to people paying this much attention to him.
"Why were you in the dungeons?" James asked.
"Getting stuff for the map," Peter replied smoothly.
"How did the map go, by the way?" The focus shifted and Peter relaxed. He didn't like people noticing him. A shadow of the other three, always their shadow.
A/N: Review!!!