CHAPTER 39
LILY

The week back at school was very different than the past six first weeks. For one, they were seventh years, and looked upon as gods. If James Potter had not been loved before, he was now. Not to mention that Sirius had had the same luck as him. Yet something had changed in them. They had deflated their heads, and somehow now dealt with the fame without hexxing anyone in sight. Of course, there was an exception for their favorite Slytherin.

"Come back here, Potter!"

James snickered as him and Sirius stepped out of the boy's loo on the fourth floor. It was very entertaining to see Snivellus being attacked by a toilet bowl.

"I think his nose is still a little flat from that car door, don't you reckon?"

"Most definitely, Padfoot."

The other thing that was different with seventh year, was that James Potter had gotten a letter a week before school had started. Inside had been a badge with letters that read, "Head Boy" on it. He couldn't believe it. Out of everyone in seventh year, he was picked to be Head Boy?

He had invited Sirius over for lunch one Sunday, and had shown him the badge. Sirius had almost choked on his tea.

"What the hell is that?" he said, snatching it from him and examining it, "This is a joke, right? James Potter, Head Boy?"

Remus hadn't believed it either. He had responded to James's letter with a short owl that read:

You're not fooling me this time.

Peter, on the other hand, announced that he knew all along that it would be James.

He had wondered the entire week who had been chosen as Head Girl, and he hadn't been a bit surprised when he was called to the front of the train, along with Remus the Prefect, to meet with his new partner in crime. Upon walking into the room, students that he had never seen before stared at him.

"You're in the wrong room, Potter," one of the sixth year prefects said, "This is for the prefects."

"I'm Head Boy," he pointed to his badge now dangling off of his Hogwarts robes, "I think I'm in the right place."

Remus gave a small laugh when he saw the faces on the rest of the students as they stared at James.
"Hey, good job, James."

He turned around to face Lily Evans, standing in the corridor, waiting to get into the small compartment. On her robes was a shiny badge that read "Head Girl."

James smiled, and mussed his hair, "Thanks," he said, trying to stay calm. She had talked to him without an insult. Maybe things were changing for the better.

"And you, too," he said, "I mean, good job on being Head Girl. So, I guess we're going to be seeing a lot of each other, hey?"
Lily smiled slightly, and then edged past him and Remus into the compartment, "Glad to see you haven't hexxed anyone yet."

***

Other than that, Professor Nanes had decided that she wasn't getting anything across to her class, and had resigned. The boys were very disappointed with an old man with a hump walked into the room the first day of school.

Hogwarts was the same, though. Nothing had touched it over the summer, even if the world around it was crumbling slowly. The walls still stood as strong as they had for a thousand years, and the students took comfort in knowing that as long as Albus Dumbledore was Headmaster, they would be safe from any dangers the Dark Mark would throw at them.

But there were still quarrels inside the school. Mostly concerning Snape. Snape had been looking down his nose every time he saw Remus in the corridors, or in class. Then he would acquire this look on his face of pure disgust and continue on his way.

"He does that again, and I'll give him one good on that ugly greasy head of his," Sirius barked after him as they passed in the hall.

"Just be quiet," Remus said, "He knows he's bothering you. Just don't pay any attention to him."

But this was like telling a dog not to bark, and Sirius took no heed of Remus's warning. James, on the other hand, was having a more difficult time trying to keep up with his studies and being Head Boy at the same time. He had even had to opt out of September's full moon adventure.

"What?" Remus exclaimed as James got into bed that night, "Are you serious? You're leaving us?"

"I have to," James said, "I have so much work to do. Not to mention that the Head Boy and Girl are supposed to meet and discuss plans for this year. The meeting's the same night as the full moon. I can't go this time."

"Oh, well, that's too bad," Peter said through a yawn.

"You know who you're turning into?" Sirius said, exasperated, "You're turning into him," he jutted a finger over at Remus, "What happened to you, Prongs?"

James shrugged, and felt his head touch his pillow, "Nothing. I just -"

"Oh, I know what this is about," Sirius smiled as he jumped into his own bed, "It's about a certain Head Girl that you want to see, isn't it?"

"Getting beat out by a girl again," Remus shook his head, "Oh, James, we knew it would come."

"What are you two going on about?" James huffed, "I don't like Evans, if that's what you're implying. You saw how she yelled at me last year. She's just a girl."

"We're not implying anything. We're saying it out loud and clear. You're ditching us for a girl," Sirius said.

James blew out his candle, and the room was dark. It was a good thing, too, because he was turning bright red, and a smile was coming across his face.

***

"Well, I'll see you in a bit," Remus said, stepping out of the portrait hole. Madam Pomfrey was waiting outside in the corridor.

Sirius and Peter grimly looked to James, and then quietly made their way up to the dormitory room.

James shrugged it off, and shuffled his papers as he got ready to meet with Lily next to the fire.

A few minutes later, the dormitory door opened again, and shut itself. The common room was filled with students, trying to get the last bit of homework finished. Yet footsteps could be heard that didn't belong to any of the seated students, and then finally the portrait hole opened, and shut closed.

They were gone. James was alone.

"Hey," he looked up, and saw Lily standing there, holding her own papers in her arms. She casually took a seat on the armchair, and crossed her legs.

"How are you," James asked nonchalantly.

"Pretty well off, you?"

"I'm holding up," he said, and then was going to add something, but Lily plopped her papers on the table in front of them, and said quickly, "Well, I thought that we would start with the Halloween feast. There are a lot of arrangements to make. We need entertainment, and I thought that a band better than Davey Gudgeon's would be better for this year …"

"Hey, Evans?" James interrupted.

Lily looked at him, peeved. It seemed that she had spent all evening trying to figure this all out, and he wasn't even listening. She sighed, "What, James?"

"How do you do it?"

"How do I do what, James?" she asked.

James grinned, "Do it, you know? Being perfect every minute of the day. I've been trying, and I can't do it. You have a perfect gene or something?"

Lily raised her brow, "What?"

"Okay, so that was stupid," James sighed, "Look, Evans, we've known each other for like --- what, seven years now? --- and every time that I try to ask you --- something happens. Well, I guess that isn't true, because I did ask you … but I remember something about you pushing it back in my face."

"Ask me what," Lily was very confused by now, and she was fidgetting with the hem of her robe sleeve.

"Well," James took a deep breath in, and then mussed his hair, "Hogsmeade is coming up in October, and I was just wondering if you may be interested in . I don't know . going with me to the Three Broomsticks for a nice drink of butterbeer?"

Lily's shoulders sagged, and then she looked back at the papers on the table, "James, I -"

"If you're going to reject me again, just … just don't say anything," James cut her off, "Please. I don't think I can take another one ---"
"James ---" Lily started again, "It's not you, it's ---" but James waved his hand, and grabbed his papers.

"I knew it was stupid," he said, "Who would have ever thought that Little Miss Perfect would ever fall for me? Well, it just goes to show that I am a stupid egotistical git, huh?"

"James."

"What?"

Lily gave a small, hesitant smile, and said, "It would be great to go with you."

James blinked, and stared at her, "What did you say?"

"I said I'll go," Lily said.

"I know what you said, but why did you say it?" James said, "You --- you haven't ever --- who are you and what have you done with Lily Evans?"

Lily laughed, and then crossed her arms, "The same could be said about you. I suppose we're both just … growing up perhaps."

***

"Oh, so now you don't only ditch us on the night of the full moon, but at Hogsmeade too, huh?" Sirius barked as they walked to Potions, "And it isn't just any girl. No, it's not Elise. It's Morgana, Queen of the Underworld."

"Lily isn't that way," James argued, "She's really not that bad, actually."

"That's what you think," Sirius huffed, "Just wait until she sprouts fangs and claws."

"Hey!" Remus shouted from behind them.

"Sorry," Sirius said over his shoulder, "But Prongs, she's practically a she-devil! Have you ever seen her when she gets mad? Her eyes glow red, and her hair stands on end! And if you look closely, you can see her left eye twitch. Now what sort of stable person is that? She isn't human! She never gets a bad mark on her classwork! She's Head Girl! She's the most popular girl in school!" he paused, "Are you sure that someone didn't pay her to go out with you?"

"Padfoot -"

"No, I'm serious," Sirius said as they stepped into the Dungeons, "What if it's a bet? I can see it now: All of her giggly friends sitting around at night, betting on who they can get Lily to go out with. And one of them says, 'What about Potter?' And she fully despises you, mate. Admit it. And so they say that Lily couldn't last a week with you. She makes a bet with them, and she's out to get money. I bet you anything that's what it is."

"I am very thankful for your support, Padfoot," James huffed, and sat down in his seat, "Remind me to do the same honors for you when you get your next girlfriend."

"Well, my next girlfriend won't be Lily Evans," Sirius said, "And so it'll be a better pick than yours."

***

Hogsmeade weekend came slower than usual. James had been thinking about all of the things that he and Lily would talk about over lunch. Quidditch, music, school, the weather. He had made a list out in his mind of topics that he could switch to if he grew desperate.

Finally the day came, and he found himself trying to tame his hair in the mirror next to his bed. Sirius came up from behind him, and placed an object on his bed. James looked at it, and sighed.

"Sirius -"

It was one of a pair of mirrors that they had bewitched in second year. Snorks had caught them trying to boobey trap a step on the fourth staircase leading down to the Slytherin common room, and had put them in separate detentions. After that, they had enchanted two mirrors to work as a way of communication between the two of them.

"Come on, just in case you need some help," Sirius said, "I'm holding onto mine."

"I don't need help, Sirius," James shoved the mirror back at him, and Sirius looked darkly at him. He narrowed his eyes, and then said, "Whatever."

James, who was still taming his hair, heard Sirius walk back to his own dresser, open a drawer, throw the two mirrors into their proper place, and slam the drawer shut.

"Have a good time," he said testily as he walked to the door, and then slammed it behind him.

***

He was to meet Lily at the Three Broomsticks at twelve o' clock. He had gotten there early, to find a table and try to settle his nerves. He didn't feel hungry at all. In fact, he felt like he was going to throw his breakfast up. His knee nervously jumped up and down, and he was picking at a sliver on the table. What if they just started fighting again? What if it really was a bet, like Sirius had said?

He looked at his watch. 12:03. She was late.

What if it was a joke? What if she didn't show, and he was stuck waiting at that table for the entire day?

"You sure you don't want to order anything, James?" Madam Rosmerta asked him for the third time since he had arrived.

"I'm sure," James said, "I'm waiting for someone."

"A girl?"

"Yeah," James said glumly. Madam Rosmerta gave him a funny look, and went to the next table.

12:06. James was banging his head against the table. He was so stupid to think that Lily would actually show. He felt anger boil up inside of him. He was so stupid! His head hit the table. Thunk. Stupid! Thunk. Stupid! Thunk.

"You're gonna give yourself a concussion doing that."

James shot up, and looked at where the voice had come from. It was Lily Evans, dressed in a very nice dress. Her hair was down, and brushed to a shiny red. Her green eyes glittered in the candlelight of the pub. She was so beautiful.

"You're late," James said. He felt like a real idiot. She had seen him hitting his head on the table. How idiotic did he look now…

"Not really," she checked her watch, "Your watch must be fast. It's twelve right now."

James felt his hopes rise. So she wasn't planning on standing him up. Madam Rosmerta, seeing that his date had arrived, bustled over to the table, ready to take their order.

"So, you must be the lucky girl," she said to Lily. Lily smiled politely back, and then gave a quick glance to James, "What will it be, then?" Rosmerta asked them.

"Well, I think I'll take a butterbeer and the special," James said, handing her the menus.

"And for you?" Rosmerta looked at Lily.

"The same thing, I guess," Lily said, and then gave her her menu as well.

"Give it a few minutes," Rosmerta said, and then turned to James, "Oh, and by the way. Dung wanted to say hi. I bumped into him in town a few days ago. He looked sort of jittery, but I talked to him anyways. Just passing along the message."

"Thanks," James said, and then turned back to Lily. Lily had that confused look on her face again.

"You know the waitress?" she said quietly.

"She's not the waitress," James corrected her, "She owns this place. And me and the guys come in here a lot. She knows all of us."

Lily nodded, and then folded her hands, "Oh."

"So," James said, "Looking forward to the new Quidditch season?"

"I guess so," Lily said, "How about you?"

"I'm psyched about it," James said, "Can't wait to start playing. Professor McGonagall was talking to me, and she wants me to apply for Team Captain. Our first game is in November."

"Against who?" Lily said, slightly interested.

"Hufflepuff," James said, "And they're a pushover, really. Haven't had a good team since first year."

Lily seemed to be nodding off to sleep. She was not at all interested in this conversation. James sighed, mussed his hair, and checked off a topic off of his mental list. Next topic: school.

"So, how's school?" James asked, floundering.

Lily shrugged, "Same old, same old. Let's not talk about school. It's the weekend."

Another topic off of the list.

Next topic: Weather.

"It's pretty sunny out."

Lily gave out a laugh, and then leaned back in her chair, "You're trying too hard, Potter."

James stared at her, "What?"

"Conversation isn't that hard to make," Lily said, "Calm down. I'm not going to bite you."

James sighed, and mussed his hair, "I'm not so sure about that."

Lily laughed again. She had a beautiful laugh. A pure voice.

"Look, I'll show you," she said, "You have any brothers or sisters?"

"One," James was eyeing her. What was she up to?

"What's her name?"

"Wendy," James said, "And you? You have any sisters?"

"Yeah," Lily said, and her expression became saddened, "Petunia. We used to be close. When we were younger and all, but after she found out what I was … well, let's not say she was as open-minded as my parents."

James nodded, "Me and Wendy never really got to know each other. She's been out of the house for a while now. Ever since I was nine, at least."

Lily nodded, "That must be different. Growing up an only child."

"Well, not really," James said, "Sirius mostly hung out at our place for a while. He didn't have . I mean, he was always welcome."

Lily nodded again, and said, "You two seem to be pretty close."

"We are," James said, and then didn't add anything to the reply. Lily looked at him, as if studying him. He looked back.

"What?"

"Nothing," Lily said, "It's just that … I never thought that you would be like this."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, you're not like anything I thought you were," she said, "I thought it was a definite mistake when they put you as Head Boy."

"Oh, well, thank you for the honesty," James muttered.

"No, really," Lily said, "You just always came off as a … well, you know …"

"An arrogant git?"

"To put it nicely, yes," she looked down at her hands, "I was thinking about not showing today."

James's eyes flared. So it had been true! She was thinking about leaving him high and dry, alone with only Madam Rosmerta to take pity on him!

"But I'm glad I did," she said, and her green eyes flickered up to look at him. They were like emeralds, and had a life of their own. Her skin was so pale, so fair. His heart fluttered.

"Really?" he choked.

"Yeah," she said, her lip curling into a small grin, "I am."

"Here are the drinks," Madam Rosmerta appeared at James's side, and set two butterbeers on the table, "The food will be ready in a minute."

"Thanks," Lily said quietly, and James muttered a thanks as well. Lily took a swig of her drink, and then went back to talking, "So," she continued, "What do you want to do after we get done eating?"

"You want to do something else?" James said. He hadn't brought a lot of money. It had to be cheap. He was paying for lunch, after all. Or maybe Lily should take her pretty little purse and open it and pay for it if she wanted to go spend more time that he could be spending with Sirius and Remus and Peter.

"Yeah," Lily said, "My friend Elise says that the Shrieking Shack is pretty scary. Want to go check it out?"

James gulped, "The … the Shrieking Shack?"

"Oh, now don't tell me that you're scared of all those rumours," Lily chortled.

"I'm not scared," James said, his heart racing, "I … I just don't know why we have to go there when there's so much else to do. Zonko's and Honeydukes are only a few stores away ."

"I've been there millions of times," Lily said, "Come on. Don't you want some adventure?"

James took a swig of his butterbeer. Oh, if only she knew how many times he had been to the Shack. And how many "adventures" he had had.

***

"They say it's the most haunted place in England," Lily informed him as they climbed the hill to the Shack, "The villagers say that on some nights, you can hear the screaming of the violent spirits. The door creaks open, and there are voices. Not to mention the rattling windows. They cause a ruckus in there."

"Yeah," James mumbled, trying not to make eye contact with her.

"And if you listen, there's this long piercing howl," she said, pointing to a window. It was boarded up with decaying wood, "From that room right there."

"The lavoratory?" James said skeptically.

Lily frowned, "No, that's supposed to be the bedroom in which Lady Harring was killed by her rich husband."

"No, it's a toilet seat," James argued.

"And how would you know, James Potter?" she said, looking back at him. He shrugged.

"I have my ways."

"I bet you anything that it's Lady Harring's bedroom," Lily said, "And you can still see the blood marks on the wall, behind the bed."

"Or behind the shower curtain, whichever one," James grinned, "Lily, it's a loo."

Lily got a determined look on her face, and then brushed past him and headed towards the old door.

"And may I ask what you're doing," he said, following her.

"I'm going to find out," Lily said, and turned the handle.

James was in awe. He watched the Head Girl step into the Shack and into the darkness.

"Seriously, what have you done with Lily Evans?" he asked as he followed her into the living room.

It looked like it always had. Torn up furniture. Scratched and bloody walls. Worn stairs. Only a little bit of sunlight dodging through the boards of the windows. He sighed, and then gave out a snort when he saw Lily's look of horror.

"Come on now, you aren't scared, are you?" he mused, and walked towards the staircase.

"Of course not," she followed him up the stairs, and to the second floor. Just as it had been last June. Nothing ever changed here in the Shack. But still, Lily was in awe of every single detail.

"They must be very violent," she commented as they walked down the corridor, "Look at these claw marks."

She touched one of Remus's signatures on the wall. It had dug through the torn wallpaper, and into the second layer of interior. Dried, maroon blood was splattered above the mark. James shuddered.

"Yeah," was all he was able to say. Lily's pale fingers looked so angelic next to the evil scar of the wall. He swallowed.

"Come on," she said, and then counting the windows from the right corner, made her way to a closed door that led to the toilet.

"Now this should be the bedroom," she said, "And I'll be nice enough not to say 'I told you so.'"

She opened the door, and her face dropped when she saw the shower curtain. She shut the door quickly, and then looked testily at James.

"I told you so," he said.

"How did you know it was a bathroom?" she demanded.

He shrugged again, "I have my ways," he repeated.

SLAM.

"Can you believe him?"

James and Lily turned around quickly. There were voices coming from downstairs. Someone had entered either from the trap door or the front door. The voice sounded familiar.

James groaned.

"Come on, Padfoot. We knew that it was bound to happen."

Lily looked at James, and it was at this time that he saw her eye. He felt his throat go dry. Sirius was right. It did twitch!

"Well, I don't blame him. She is very attractive …"

"Oh, shut your mouth, Wormtail," Sirius's voice came, "This is the second time that he's left us for her."

"I'm hearing some jealousy in your tone, Padfoot," Remus said.

The three of them were down in the living room. What were they doing here? James was frozen on the spot. Lily was suspicious. She was still staring at him. Her hair seemed to become a little wilder. Her eye was twitching faster.

"I have no idea what they're doing here," James whispered.

"Did you hear that?" Peter's voice came.

James froze, and Lily, with a defiant look on her face, pushed past him and back down the stairs.

James quickly hurried after her. This was not going to be good.

Sure enough, as they reached the bottom of the staircase, they came face to face with Sirius, Remus, and Peter, huddled together and looking around for the origins of the whisper.

Sirius's eyes shot to the appeared couple at the foot of the stairs, and his mouth dropped.

"Padfoot, it isn't what it looks like," James said.

Sirius grew darker, and he glared at James, "Oh, you have done it this time. Oh, have you done it this time."

"What are you three doing in here?" Lily was staring at Remus for an explanation.

"We could ask the same of you," Remus retorted.

"Yeah," Peter interjected.

"Sirius, it was her idea to come in," James explained, "We weren't ."

His eyes were hollow, "So you think that on the first date you can show her our old place? You think you have that right, hey, James?"

"Your 'old place?'" Lily turned on James now, "You want to tell me what's going on?"

James looked to Lily, and then to Sirius, "Sirius, really. Don't be so stupid. I didn't tell her anything."

"Tell me what!" she shouted.

"Keep your voice down," Remus said, "The walls are thin."

Lily looked to Remus, and then crossed her arms, "And I would have thought better of you, Remus Lupin. You are a prefect."

"And you're Head Girl," he argued.

"Oh, why don't we just tell her everything now?" Sirius barked, "Now that's she's here and all! Go ahead, James. Tell Morgana all about it!"

"What did you call me?" Lily shouted.

"All right, everyone just calm down," Remus said, "Sirius, stop. Lily, please just . just sit down."

"What?" James gawked at Remus, "What are you doing?"

"We barely know her!" Peter squeaked.

Lily gave a look to Peter, and Peter became silent.

"Go ahead, Lupin," Sirius snarled, "Tell her all about it."

Lily, having that defiant look about her again, sat down on the couch, and Remus sat across from her on the edge of the table. He took one more look at Sirius and James and Peter, and then said, "We always come up here during our Hogsmeade visits."

James and Sirius looked at each other.

"Why?" Lily demanded.

"Well," Remus continued, "We think it's funny to stir up the spirits for the villagers. You know, give them a show. We've been spending time up here making noise since third year. You know, banging on the walls. Howling. Screaming. Doing our duty as violent ghosts."
Lily's face dropped, and then she looked at Sirius, "That's it?"

Sirius, who was at loss for words, quickly nodded. James followed his example, and Lily seemed satisfied for the moment. She stood up, and then looked at James, "Well, if we're done with the dramatics, I would like to go back to school."

Remus's shoulders relaxed as James, stunned, walked her out of the house. He gave one more glance to Sirius, who was fuming by the door.

Outside, Lily was very quiet. She didn't say a word the entire way back to the village's main road. It wasn't until they were walking out of Hogsmeade and back to Hogwarts that she opened her mouth.

"I know there's something else that you four have been up to," she said, "I don't know what it is, but there's something that you don't want me to know about."

"I ---"

"Don't try to help your case," Lily interrupted him, "I'm going to find out, though."

It was more of a fact than a statement. And James didn't doubt for one moment that she someday would. She wasn't stupid.

James walked her to the girl's dormitory entrance, and then turned back towards the boys' side of the tower.

"Hey, wait a minute."

He turned back around toward Lily. She was still very beautiful. He mussed his hair.

"What?"

She smiled, "You want to go out again sometime?"

He was stunned. She wanted to still see him? After the Shrieking Shack, she was still going to go out with him? It was a miracle!

"Yeah," he said dumbly, "Sure. When?"

"I don't know," Lily said, "How about to the Quidditch match between Slytherin and Ravenclaw? It's in two weeks. After your first game."

"Sure," James said, and then he turned back towards his room. He was walking on clouds as he opened the door.

Lily Evans had asked him out.

***

Lily Evans had asked him out.

The hallway seemed a bit longer as he stood there, staring down the way to where two Gryffindors sat on the ledge in complete contentment. And she was smiling. She was happy ---

And he was touching her. Black mussed hair, thick stupid glasses, lanky arms and pasty hands touching her beautiful, wonderful skin. Her green eyes looking to that … git …

"Severus?"

Severus turned away from the sight. Staring blood at Lucius.

"She --- she --- how could she?"

"She's a filthy little creature, Severus," Lucius said, "Now --- what are you doing! Snape!"

Snape was rushing forward, his throat stinging with vomit, his stomach churning, his hands numb. Lucius grappled him and threw him from his path. Neither Lily nor James saw them only a throw away.

"What are you doing."

"If I --- I can change this ---"

"Pull yourself together! For God's sake, Snape!" Lucius pressed him from the girl, and Snape grew weak. A sniveling, pathetic whelp ---

"Really! If he could see you now, like this over a ---"

"I told you not to call her that. Ever again."

"She ---" and a great red slice of blood went across Lucius's cheek. Lucius, a dainty hand pressed to the red, grew quite grave with his friend, "Now you do that ever again and I shall do much more than some elementary spell I made when I was bored in Potions."

And Lily gave out a laugh. She laughed. Her eyes were not looking to him, bent over in utter grief, but him. That damned little --- piece of --- she was looking at him like ---

Once, once when they were young, they sat under trees and she laughed. She touched his hand and kissed him on the cheek. She said she wouldn't let anyone in the world hurt him --- she knew him.

And now they were strangers.

Lucius held out his wand, "Now are we to do it or not?"

Severus snatched Lucius's wand from his thin white hand and held it murderously in his own grip, "I'll figure out the details before tomorrow morning."

"That's my friend," Lucius clapped him on the back, and Snape, furious tears in his eyes, tore from the corridor.

And it was then Severus decided something quite important: James Potter would die. And he would be the one to do the deed.