Author's note: I HAVE RETURNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been awfully lazy lately.
take note that my recently written stories are a lot shorter than previous
others have been.If it's gonna make you guys feel better, this is a LONG
chapter. to me, at least. I'm tempted to split it in half, but who knows
when I would put up the second half? So I'll give you the whole chapter!
Doesn't that make you all feel special?
Disclaimer: Same as before. unfamiliar characters belong to me; familiar ones belong to JK Rowling.
Chapter 5- The South Tower
James was released two days later and reentered the common room in a sour mood because Lily had forgotten to visit him again. His mood changed when he entered the dormitory, where the Marauders were alone doing their homework.
"Hey, I'm back. what've I missed?"
Remus stood up from his bed.
"The full moon's tomorrow, so we'd best go to Hogsmeade tonight. Oh and by the way, welcome back!"
Sirius and Peter were ashamed of not welcoming James back right away, Peter merely muttered, "Welcome back," while Sirius ran up to him.
"Welcome back! So hey, is the team ready for the game against Ravenclaw next Saturday?"
James sighed.
"Sirius."
"What?"
"You shouldn't have reminded me about that. now I have to go schedule training sessions with Sean and Sophia. Get on your way to the Three Broomsticks, I'll go meet you there in a little while." As James went down to the fourth years' boys' dormitory to find Sean, he heard Remus scold Sirius saying,
"What kind of a welcome was that? He was relaxed before you asked him that. Now he's going to get stressed again!"
"What? He's missed two days of classes and Quidditch practice. the stress had to return anyway!"
Then James smirked when he heard Remus bang his head a couple of times on a bedpost and Peter laughing hysterically. He ran back up to his dormitory.
"Change of plan, bring the cloak with you and just wait for me outside the statue. Then we'll go together," he said as he took the Marauders Map (which they created especially for when Remus transformed each month) and put it in his back pocket.
After seeing Sean and Sophia, who were both in the library, James made his way towards the statue of the one-eyed witch when Jillian spotted him in one of the corridors. Before James could go hide himself somewhere, Jillian approached him.
"James! Hey, where've you been these past few days?" she asked sweetly.
James decided to shoot her down.
"Who in the heck are you?" he said, shaking his head as he continued on the way to the statue.
"Jillian Conten. come on, I know you know me."
She moved in front of James like a barrier. James was the point where he knew he'd throw a fit, but luckily, he spotted Lily coming down the hall. With a low motion of his hand, he motioned Lily to come get Jillian while talking to her.
"Look, I'm too busy right now to stop and talk right now; I'm pressed for time, really," James said anxiously.
Jillian looked confused for a moment, then said,
"Oh, so you're headed to the South Tower? Are you meeting someone there?" James improvised on the situation. It would be a while before he could get to Hogsmeade.
"Yeah, I'm going there with someone."
"Oh, can I go with you?"
"No you can't, I'm going on prefect duty. with Lily." Then he broke eye contact with Jillian and shifted to Lily, who had just reached them. Lily had a slight idea of what was going on; Jillian was trying to flirt with James, but he wanted to be anywhere else in the school, perhaps even Filch's office, than there.
"Here I am, sorry I took a while, I cleared out the West Tower by myself in half an hour. And that's supposed to be the easiest place to clear out all the lovebirds in this school."
James nodded.
"Ok, well, um, see you later Jillian. You should get back to the common room; it's getting late and if any teachers see you, Gryffindor might lose house points."
Jillian faked a sigh and turned around to leave.
"Ok, I'll go back to the common room and find something to do."
As she walked further and further away from the corridor, she was dismayed that James, or Lily, did not call her back.
James turned to Lily once he was sure Jillian was out of hearing distance.
"Um, so. do you want to go up to the South Tower anyway. for prefect duty I mean," he said, turning a bit red mid-sentence.
Lily smiled in response to James' redness. "Fine with me, except I've never been there so you'll have to lead the way."
He made sure to pass by the statue of the one eyed witch to give to the other three boys the Marauders' Map to show he wasn't going to Hogsmeade. Once James gave it to him, Sirius took the map under the cloak, opened it, put his wand on its surface and said softly, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," and the map of Hogwarts and its inhabitants appeared before their eyes.
"So, where is Prongs going? And with who." Remus said, looking for James' dot. Surprisingly, Peter was the first to find him with.
"Lily???? And they're heading to the South Tower!"
Sirius let out a huge grin.
"Ah, don't we all love second chances. how about we all ask him how it went later?"
Remus and Peter nodded and Peter then said,
"Now can we go to Hogsmeade?"
"Dissendium!"
Remus cast the spell on the statue after making absolute sure nobody was around. The three boys made their way to Hogsmeade. James led Lily to the top of the South Tower and upon finding nobody there (which was a first!), the two sat down on chairs to rest before making their way downstairs.
"Lily?"
"Hm?"
"Thanks for paying me a visit the other day in the hospital wing."
"You're welcome, but I'm sorry I didn't go to visit you again."
"Mm, why didn't you come back?"
"Something came up."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Lily was quiet for a while, then said,
"Do you remember me talking about Alex over the summer?"
"I met him when we were all at that restaurant during break, yeah."
"Well, it turns out that he's a new student here."
James' head sharply turned to her.
"That's got to be torture."
Lily nodded.
"Exactly. He was out of my life for a while, and now I have to encounter him everyday all over again. At least I don't have to talk to him, but still, yes, it's torture."
"If I may ask, what actually went wrong between Alex and you?"
Lily smiled. No one had ever asked her that and was pleased with that fact.
"For one thing, I saw him everyday and the pleasure of seeing Alex ceased. And then when our parents started talking about betrothal, his personality changed, like he owned me or something. I need my personal space; I can't handle the same person always being with me. Maybe when I decide to get married, but not now."
"You're planning to get married?"
"It's very possible. I don't know to whom, but I have many years ahead of me before time runs out."
"Lily! Don't think about that yet! Life should be taken little by little, otherwise you're rushing yourself."
"I'm not rushing myself."
"Good."
They smiled at each other, but before anything else could happen, they saw somebody standing in front of them with a cold smirk on his face. It was Lucius Malfoy.
"Well, well, well. Lily Evans and James Potter together at the South Tower. I'm surprised."
Lily was speechless; it was the first time this sort of thing had happened to her. James was also like that for a moment but nervously said,
"This is not what it looks like, Lucius."
"Are you sure? Alone in the South Tower, inches away from each other's faces. I still keep my opinion. Now as far as taking points." Lucius thought hastily,
"Ah. twenty points each from Gryffindor for sneaking around the castle after curfew."
Lily snapped to life.
"But we're prefects, and the only difference between you and us is that you can take away house points!" she said angrily.
"Fine," Lucius said coolly.
"Since this is the first time prefects had ever done this, you're clear. Otherwise, don't expect me to be this nice. Now get out of here, there's some business I have to settle."
A minute later, Lily and James were halfway through making their way down the tower. Neither of them had talked since their encounter with Lucius.
"Lily?"
"Yeah?"
"Sorry you had to go through that, but you made a very good point about the difference between Heads and Prefects. Is there anything I can do to make up for it?"
Lily was surprised at the offer. Not only that, but she didn't know how to answer.
"I can't think of anything right now."
James silently prayed it was the right time to say it.
"Do you still want to know who said to McGonagall that you weren't on the train September 1?"
Lily perked up.
"Oh yes, please, tell me who it was."
James stopped, took a deep breath and said,
"It was me."
Lily stopped short and turned to him.
"Really?" she asked softly.
James merely nodded. Lily smiled at him. Her smile was so enchanting that he couldn't help but smiling as well. Then he came up with an idea. He continued down the stairs.
"Come on Lily, I want to show you something," he called.
Lily quickly followed him.
"What're you going to show me?"
They reached the door leading back into the castle, but before Lily could say anything, James whispered into her ear saying,
"Be absolutely quiet, stay by me, and you'll find out soon."
Lily nodded and both slipped into the castle.
Disclaimer: Same as before. unfamiliar characters belong to me; familiar ones belong to JK Rowling.
Chapter 5- The South Tower
James was released two days later and reentered the common room in a sour mood because Lily had forgotten to visit him again. His mood changed when he entered the dormitory, where the Marauders were alone doing their homework.
"Hey, I'm back. what've I missed?"
Remus stood up from his bed.
"The full moon's tomorrow, so we'd best go to Hogsmeade tonight. Oh and by the way, welcome back!"
Sirius and Peter were ashamed of not welcoming James back right away, Peter merely muttered, "Welcome back," while Sirius ran up to him.
"Welcome back! So hey, is the team ready for the game against Ravenclaw next Saturday?"
James sighed.
"Sirius."
"What?"
"You shouldn't have reminded me about that. now I have to go schedule training sessions with Sean and Sophia. Get on your way to the Three Broomsticks, I'll go meet you there in a little while." As James went down to the fourth years' boys' dormitory to find Sean, he heard Remus scold Sirius saying,
"What kind of a welcome was that? He was relaxed before you asked him that. Now he's going to get stressed again!"
"What? He's missed two days of classes and Quidditch practice. the stress had to return anyway!"
Then James smirked when he heard Remus bang his head a couple of times on a bedpost and Peter laughing hysterically. He ran back up to his dormitory.
"Change of plan, bring the cloak with you and just wait for me outside the statue. Then we'll go together," he said as he took the Marauders Map (which they created especially for when Remus transformed each month) and put it in his back pocket.
After seeing Sean and Sophia, who were both in the library, James made his way towards the statue of the one-eyed witch when Jillian spotted him in one of the corridors. Before James could go hide himself somewhere, Jillian approached him.
"James! Hey, where've you been these past few days?" she asked sweetly.
James decided to shoot her down.
"Who in the heck are you?" he said, shaking his head as he continued on the way to the statue.
"Jillian Conten. come on, I know you know me."
She moved in front of James like a barrier. James was the point where he knew he'd throw a fit, but luckily, he spotted Lily coming down the hall. With a low motion of his hand, he motioned Lily to come get Jillian while talking to her.
"Look, I'm too busy right now to stop and talk right now; I'm pressed for time, really," James said anxiously.
Jillian looked confused for a moment, then said,
"Oh, so you're headed to the South Tower? Are you meeting someone there?" James improvised on the situation. It would be a while before he could get to Hogsmeade.
"Yeah, I'm going there with someone."
"Oh, can I go with you?"
"No you can't, I'm going on prefect duty. with Lily." Then he broke eye contact with Jillian and shifted to Lily, who had just reached them. Lily had a slight idea of what was going on; Jillian was trying to flirt with James, but he wanted to be anywhere else in the school, perhaps even Filch's office, than there.
"Here I am, sorry I took a while, I cleared out the West Tower by myself in half an hour. And that's supposed to be the easiest place to clear out all the lovebirds in this school."
James nodded.
"Ok, well, um, see you later Jillian. You should get back to the common room; it's getting late and if any teachers see you, Gryffindor might lose house points."
Jillian faked a sigh and turned around to leave.
"Ok, I'll go back to the common room and find something to do."
As she walked further and further away from the corridor, she was dismayed that James, or Lily, did not call her back.
James turned to Lily once he was sure Jillian was out of hearing distance.
"Um, so. do you want to go up to the South Tower anyway. for prefect duty I mean," he said, turning a bit red mid-sentence.
Lily smiled in response to James' redness. "Fine with me, except I've never been there so you'll have to lead the way."
He made sure to pass by the statue of the one eyed witch to give to the other three boys the Marauders' Map to show he wasn't going to Hogsmeade. Once James gave it to him, Sirius took the map under the cloak, opened it, put his wand on its surface and said softly, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," and the map of Hogwarts and its inhabitants appeared before their eyes.
"So, where is Prongs going? And with who." Remus said, looking for James' dot. Surprisingly, Peter was the first to find him with.
"Lily???? And they're heading to the South Tower!"
Sirius let out a huge grin.
"Ah, don't we all love second chances. how about we all ask him how it went later?"
Remus and Peter nodded and Peter then said,
"Now can we go to Hogsmeade?"
"Dissendium!"
Remus cast the spell on the statue after making absolute sure nobody was around. The three boys made their way to Hogsmeade. James led Lily to the top of the South Tower and upon finding nobody there (which was a first!), the two sat down on chairs to rest before making their way downstairs.
"Lily?"
"Hm?"
"Thanks for paying me a visit the other day in the hospital wing."
"You're welcome, but I'm sorry I didn't go to visit you again."
"Mm, why didn't you come back?"
"Something came up."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Lily was quiet for a while, then said,
"Do you remember me talking about Alex over the summer?"
"I met him when we were all at that restaurant during break, yeah."
"Well, it turns out that he's a new student here."
James' head sharply turned to her.
"That's got to be torture."
Lily nodded.
"Exactly. He was out of my life for a while, and now I have to encounter him everyday all over again. At least I don't have to talk to him, but still, yes, it's torture."
"If I may ask, what actually went wrong between Alex and you?"
Lily smiled. No one had ever asked her that and was pleased with that fact.
"For one thing, I saw him everyday and the pleasure of seeing Alex ceased. And then when our parents started talking about betrothal, his personality changed, like he owned me or something. I need my personal space; I can't handle the same person always being with me. Maybe when I decide to get married, but not now."
"You're planning to get married?"
"It's very possible. I don't know to whom, but I have many years ahead of me before time runs out."
"Lily! Don't think about that yet! Life should be taken little by little, otherwise you're rushing yourself."
"I'm not rushing myself."
"Good."
They smiled at each other, but before anything else could happen, they saw somebody standing in front of them with a cold smirk on his face. It was Lucius Malfoy.
"Well, well, well. Lily Evans and James Potter together at the South Tower. I'm surprised."
Lily was speechless; it was the first time this sort of thing had happened to her. James was also like that for a moment but nervously said,
"This is not what it looks like, Lucius."
"Are you sure? Alone in the South Tower, inches away from each other's faces. I still keep my opinion. Now as far as taking points." Lucius thought hastily,
"Ah. twenty points each from Gryffindor for sneaking around the castle after curfew."
Lily snapped to life.
"But we're prefects, and the only difference between you and us is that you can take away house points!" she said angrily.
"Fine," Lucius said coolly.
"Since this is the first time prefects had ever done this, you're clear. Otherwise, don't expect me to be this nice. Now get out of here, there's some business I have to settle."
A minute later, Lily and James were halfway through making their way down the tower. Neither of them had talked since their encounter with Lucius.
"Lily?"
"Yeah?"
"Sorry you had to go through that, but you made a very good point about the difference between Heads and Prefects. Is there anything I can do to make up for it?"
Lily was surprised at the offer. Not only that, but she didn't know how to answer.
"I can't think of anything right now."
James silently prayed it was the right time to say it.
"Do you still want to know who said to McGonagall that you weren't on the train September 1?"
Lily perked up.
"Oh yes, please, tell me who it was."
James stopped, took a deep breath and said,
"It was me."
Lily stopped short and turned to him.
"Really?" she asked softly.
James merely nodded. Lily smiled at him. Her smile was so enchanting that he couldn't help but smiling as well. Then he came up with an idea. He continued down the stairs.
"Come on Lily, I want to show you something," he called.
Lily quickly followed him.
"What're you going to show me?"
They reached the door leading back into the castle, but before Lily could say anything, James whispered into her ear saying,
"Be absolutely quiet, stay by me, and you'll find out soon."
Lily nodded and both slipped into the castle.