L'amour interdit

By: Leesh

Chapter Three: The Mixed

Sirius stared at the letter with disgust at his mothers' words. Yes, he expected harsh words like that towards him, but never to James. His mother feared his parents; feared what they would do if they ever caught wind of her treating James the way she treated Sirius. As Sirius mulled over the letter, he didn't notice the door open, and someone walking up behind him.

"What are you doing?" said a voice

Sirius spun around and came face-to-face to the owner of the object he was holding. Lost for words, he stuttered. "I came in here... I was looking for my Divination extra-credit assignment... James! How... What? You have to tell her!"

James waved him off and snatched the letter away from him. Giving him a death glare he said in a low voice. "You don't understand. I won't tell her, and neither will you. What you've read will remain in this room and between only us. Got it" Sirius nodded. "Listen, Padfoot," James continued "I'm sorry, but I can't tell her! She wouldn't understand! She'd be afraid... she would run!"

"Ay, mate. I have class." And with that, Sirius left the room, leaving James alone to his thoughts...

*

Lily sighed with triumph and flopped down on the bed in front of her, as she finished laying the last of the flowers in the vase. She was in Gryffindor Tower, setting up an unused girls' dormitory for the guests expected to arrive later that day. According to Dumbledore, the room hadn't been used since the 14th century, when Lord Jacob of Squire had come to power. He, like many muggles, saw Hogwarts as the ruined Canterbury Castle, sending those who were said to have conspired against him to their death at Caneterbury Castle. However, Lord Jacob was unaware that even magicals helped muggles...

As she sat, mulling over her thoughts, she realized for the past ten minutes she had been starring at the floor... specifically a floorboard which seemed to be somewhat loose. Curious, she stood up and walked towards the board which held her attention. Lily's heart began to pound as she realized she didn't just find a loose floorboard... but that there was something underneathe it. Pulling out her wand, she muttered, "Wingardium Leviosa!" and the floorboard began to move upwards. Quickly, without losing concentration on the spell, she dove underneathe the floorboard and picked up the object. Examining it, she realized it was a letter of some sort.

It was written on parchment as thick and brittle as the bark on a tree. It smelled of ageing pine, yet it was so fresh... A slight draft blew from the window above her head, picking up the scent, driving her senses mad... She could almost imagine being in a large pine forest, overwhelmed by this smell which was driving her thoughts amiss. She was standing in this forest... alone, she believed... A strong breeze surrounded her. She could hear her name being called amongst the trees...

"Lily... Lily, come to me..."softly...

And then it stopped. Lily was sitting in the guest dormitory, her hair amiss, her breathing ragged. What happened? she thought. Gasping, she looked at her watch. "A quarter to five?! Shit!" Raising to her feet, she quickly recovered the floor board which was now laying beside her to it's rightful place. She grabbed her wand and the parchment and quickly ran down the stairs and outside to where all of the students were waiting to greet the new guests. Lily ran right into James, who then fell to the ground, bringing Lily down with him.

Out of breath, Lily huffed, "I'm so-so sorry, James! I thought I was going to be late!"

"It's alright, Lily!" James was still a little shocked...

"Ahem... could you two please stand up? I'm sure you can continue with your love-making ceremonies somewhere else, when you're alone?" James glared at Professor Cianchobia. He was the Potions Professor, and needless to say, he was quite an asshole. Lily, who was very red in the face, proceeded to get off of James, and straightened herself out. As she whiped the dirt off her clothes, she could hear a commotion begin behind her.

"Look! Here come the carriages! She, like all the Prefects and Professors were standing up front, and being 5'3, she couldn't see very well. However, those at the back seemed to be giving a very good commentary."

It was only a matter of minutes before the first carriage rolled up right in front of Lily, and out came six students who seemed to be third years. They stared up at Hogwarts in an awed silence. Davey Roothsjaw and Margarot Corntooth, fifth year prefects of Slytherin House rushed forward to greet the six students. They introduced themselves, and led them to the Great Hall, where they would be sorted into their new houses. Twelve carriages in total arrived, and each time prefects of a house would rush forward, greet the students and proceed to lead them to the Great Hall. The students of Hogwarts were ecstatic about the new students, and it wasn't a surprise to Lily that she could hear some boys saying how "hot" one girl was, or how the girls would giggle over a couple of the boys they had seen. As the last group entered the Great Hall, Lily and James proceeded to lead Hogwarts students into the Great Hall, where the students sat at the appropriate house tables.

Professor McGonagall was found to be placing a stool at the front of the Great Hall; upon it sat a hat. Unrolling a parchment, she announced the first name on the list:

"Alecfort, Amy" A tall, black girl walked forward. Her eyes were a piercing blue; she had a beauty that almost rebounded upon anyone who looked at her, but then the sadness which filled her eyes, masked the true beauty which she held. She sat on the stool and placed the hat upon her head, which took a moment to announce it's decision.

"Gryffindor!" the hat shouted, and Amy was greeted by a loud cheer at the Gryffindor house table.

The sorting continued on for about a half hour, sorting people like Phillip Pimkerque, into Slytherin, June Kelly into Hufflepuff, and the Syker brother's into Gryffindor. Finally, the last name was called, and Dumbledore stood up.

"Before I welcome you toHogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I would like to introduce you to our Head Boy and Girl, James Potter and Lily Evans, both of whom have prepared a speech for you all today." James and Lily stood up to a cheerful applause and proceeded to the front of the Great Hall. They stood in front of the table the Professor's were seated at, and looked out at all the students.

"Welcome," began James, "to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! This is a time of a shift in the magic world; both good and bad. In these times, it is important to keep ties with others in the magical world, so as to prevent the evil which lurkes in our world. Over the past three years, the Dark Lord has been gaining power, and it is easy to say that nearly everyone in this room, has somehow been affected by his presence. Hogwarts has gratiously opened it's doors to students who have been affected by Voldemort, James broke off as collective gasps echoed around the room. With this, we ask that you treat the new students of Hogwarts with respect, and welcome them into our home. These are your new classmates, and your neighbors for the rest of the year. Now, I would like to turn it over to Lily."

Lily smiled at James before continuing where he left off. "No one here is going to lie to you about Lord Voldemort." Lily ignored the gasps and conintued on, "instead, we are standing up here tonight to let you all know that we are in the darkest times ever seen in our world. It is going to be a tough struggle to beat he we call the Dark Lord. Because of this, many students may have a difficult time with the things going on outside of Hogwarts walls. To help these students, a psychiatrist has been placed within Hogwarts for all students who wish to seek help with any problems they may have. As well, the prefects, teachers and Head Boy and Girl are working together to try to make this year at Hogwarts an enjoyable year to help ease the frustration and fear echoing through our hallways. If anyone has any problems, please feel free to see any of us. We are here to represent and help the students of Hogwarts. Thank you."

An eerie silence echoed the Great Hall. The silence was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. James and Lily looked at each other before cheerfully (as possible) said in unison, "and without furthur ado, Professor Dumbledore!" Cheers and claps echoed throughout the Great Hall, however it was quite clear that some were still going over Lily and James' speech. Dumbledore spoke his usual words of wisdom before clapping his hands together and saying those famous words of "Tuck In" By then, almost everyone snapped out of their reverie and began to dig into the food which was piled on the tables.

James and Lily made their way over to the Gryffindor table, sitting on either side of Sirius who was happily stuffing his face with mashed potatoes and gravy. Remus, Eddy and Chloe were gaping at Sirius, wide-eyed. "Uh, Sirius..." trailed Remus, "You know, there IS going to be a breakfast tomorrow... You know, pancakes and kippers?

Sirius looked up from his plate full of potatoes. A chorus of "ew's" rang amongst the group of friends as they saw the mixture of potatoes and gravy mashed around his mouth. "You're so fucking sick, Sirius,"laughed Eddy who pushed away his food. "I'm sorry, but I've lost my appetite."

"I haven't!" yelled Sirius and immediately returned to eating his beloved food.

*

Remus, Lily and James were leading the new transfer students to Gryffindor Tower, making plenty of stops along the way to show them various aspects of the castle, warning them of Peeves the Poltergeist and the moving staircases. The moods of the new students seemed to rise a bit, as Remus and James excitedly told them of Filch the Caretaker, and the pranks which were periodically played on the Slytherins. Lily, of course played no roled in the childish behaviour and continued to give commentary on their surroundings. After an hour of endless wanderings, James and Lily bade goodbye to Remus and the students at the Heads' portrait of Galighy the Great.

"Pumpkin Pasties," muttered Lily, who walked over to the couch opposite the fireplace, and flopped down.

"Tired?" asked James, lifting her feet up so he could sit at the end of the couch.

"Mmm, very." A silence overwhelmed the two as Lily lay on the couch, her eyebrows knitted in thought and concentration. Suddenly she looked at James, and in a soft voice began voicing her thoughts. "James, do you think what Hogwarts is doing is right?" Seeing the look of puzzlement on James's face she continued quickly. "I don't mean about welcoming them into Hogwarts and whatnot, because I wholeheartedly agree with that, but we're seperating these students into houses, singling them out... when we're supposed to be promoting keeping ties within Hogwarts and the rest of the magical community... Oh.. I don't know! Nevermind." Lily sighed and proceeded to allow herself to fall into deep concentration again, before James interrupted her thoughts.

"I know what you're trying to say, Lily. Dumbledore has to have his reasons, right? But I do agree with you... it doesn't make all that much sense..." James trailed off and looked at Lily who was soundly sleeping. Laughing gently, he stood up and carefully picked her up so as not to disturb her, and carried her to her room. Gently, he layed her down on the bed and covered her with a blanket. Bending down, he kissed her on the forehead and exited her room, before making his way to his own, where he too fell into a deep sleep.

*

Lily awoke the next morning to the sound of the shower running in the bathroom. The scent of cinnimon wafted through the bathroom doorway, immediately waking her up. Sitting up straight, she realized she was in her clothes of the previous day and mumbled. No wonder I'm so hot and icky, she thought. Stumbling, she walked to her dresser and pulled out her uniform for the day, putting it on her bed. As she heard the shower shut off, she grabbed a towel from her bottom drawer and opening the bathroom door. She walked in completely oblivious to the situation, and began tearing off her shirt and pants.

"Lily!" called a voice. Lily turned around and faced the person who called her voice. She could feel her whole body turning red as she saw a very naked James Potter looking at her, clearly shocked that she was standing there.

"Oh, why... Hello James!" said Lily in a high-pitched voice. Lily was taking in his nice form. She had of course seen him topless... but never, should we say, bottomless?

James tried to supress a grin, and wrapped a towel around his waist. Moving closer to her, he whispered into her ear. "I showed you mine, now it's your turn to show me yours."

Lily glared at James and with a temper only red-heads have, screamed at the top of her lungs, "James Potter, get out!" James shielded himself from her wrath and laughing, quickly exited the bathroom, allowing Lily to shower, and... cool off?

*

It was the last class of the day, Potions, and Professor Cianchobia was in a particularily nasty mood today. They were to work in partners and brew Veritaserum, the Truth Serum, and have their partners drink it at the next full moon, when it was mature. Lily was paired up with Chloe, on account that she was still quite embarrassed about the morning's events with James. Of course, no one knew about it, or so she thought.

"So," started Chloe as soon as Cianchobia was out of earshot, and yelling at Shelly West and Adam Grubbly-Plank, "is he... BIG?"

Lily's eyes widened and sent a death glare in James' direction, before looking at Chloe who was trying her absolute hardest not to burst out laughing. Seeing the hilariousness of the situation, Lily started to laugh and replied, "I thought a broom in between the legs would damage him... but it seems as though it did his goods well..." The two girls burst out laughing, and couldn't contain themselves until Cianchobia threatened them with two weeks worth of detention. James, Sirius, Eddy and Remus sent Lily and Chloe a puzzled look which only made them start a new bout of silent laughter.

*

Dinner was an enjoyable affair for the group of friends, who sat around talking about the day's events... Of course, Lily and James were the targets of endless teasing from the Marauders. As the final course appeared on the table, Lily was about to dig into a chocolate eclair, when she noticed someone looking at her. Turning her face, she saw a boy who she had seen in Transfiguration earlier that day. He had chocolate brown hair and blue eyes. He seemed lost in the world... so mysterious and troubled. She smiled at him, and immediately, he turned away as he realized she had caught him starring at her. Puzzled, Lily stood up and walked towards the end of the table where he was sitting. He looked up from his plate as he saw her walking towards him and blushed.

"Hello," Llily smiled, "my name is Lily."

"Hi, I'm Pierre..."

"Aren't you in Transfiguration with me? You sit by the window?"

"Yeah, I am..." he trailed off and looked at his food once again.

"Pierre, would you like to sit with us? I don't think you really want to sit with all of the first years," said Lily, laughing.

"Sure!" Pierre stood up happily and Lily lead him towards the Marauders and introduced them all to Pierre. All smiled, and Lily moved over so Pierre could sit in between her and Chloe.

"So," said James "what school did you go to?"

"Durmstrang," replied Pierre, "and I hated it."

*

Lily walked into her dorm room late that night, as she had become accustomed to in her seventh year. Homework loads were enormous, and it was often that she didn't ge tto be until around one in the morning. Realizing that tonight the House-Elves would be doing laundry, she put all of her dirty clothes in the hamper in the bathroom. Picking up her pants from the previous day, she checked the pockets and realized that there was something in her pocket. Taking out a piece of parchment which was carfully folded, memories of the previous day flooded her mind. Excitedly, she opened the parchment and began to read the letter...

*

A/N: Omg, I am so sorry, everyone! I realy have no excuse for my ignorance in updating. The excuse that exams were in full swing is used up... lol, they were done three weeks ago. I FAILED MATH!! A word to the wise-do your work if you expect to pass!!! I was so used to swinging by and never doing my homework, yet accomplishing grades of A's and B's, then POOF! I get into grade 11 and alas, my high marks plummet because of not doing homework.

I've been accepted on a government program in which only 600 students in all of Canada are chosen! Yay! Go me... I'll be gone from March 27-April 3, and won't be updating from March 22-April 10th, probably... but I am on March break before those times, so I may update two or three chapters. I am working hard to update weekly or every two weeks. I WILL keep this going, I promise! And it's a promise I will keep.

Just so you know, this chapter is 2925 words long to make up for my ignorance (not including authors note!!!). Again, I am truly sorry!

I have livejournal if anyone wants to check it out! feel free to leave me a comment! You can see my craziness!

Expect an update by mid-the end of this week! Keep a look out! I hope everything is well with everyone!

Please leave me a review and tell me what you think. Flames are welcome too! I just want to know that enough people are reading this and want me to continue on with it! thanks...

-leesh