Living A Legend
Book 1- A Clash of Wills
Chapter 15- Flowers and Beards
James woke up suddenly, his stomach cramping. He ignored it and turned over on his side. The pain in his stomach was only partly due to hunger. Missing his brother had left a hole, which seemed to take over his entire body.
Sitting up restlessly, he noticed that everyone else in his dorm was still asleep. Sirius's bed was empty however. James sighed, and was about to lie back down when he noticed a strangely shaped package about to fall off of his bed. James darted his hand out and grabbed it just in time, wondering at the soft squishy feel beneath his fingers.
Curiously, James unwrapped the napkin to reveal a piece of thick chocolate cake. James wrinkled up his forehead, perhaps Sirius or one of the others had brought it up for him. He ate it slowly, savoring the sweet stickiness as an easy and temporary escape. When it was gone he sighed and lay back down, the overwhelming emptiness returning swiftly. Just before he fell back asleep, James reminded himself to ask Sirius about the cake in the morning.
"Lily! Lily!" Get up quick!" Brittany shook her friend awake. "You've got to come see this!"
It took effort, but Lily roused herself from bed. "What in god's name is it Brittany? You sound like you've been hit with an overdose of a cheering charm!"
Professor Flitwick had tactfully decided to introduce the class to cheering charms the previous afternoon. Some students had laid them on a bit strong.
"Oh Lily, it's wonderful, you have to come and see. Hurry! No time to get dressed!" Brittany insisted, not the least discouraged by Lily's morning grumpiness.
"Where's Dora? Where are all the others?" Lily asked as she noticed the room was empty besides the two of them.
"They are already out there. You have to see it Lily! It's beautiful!
Allowing her friends to drag her groggy self down stairs and to the door that led out onto the Hogwarts grounds, Lily grumbled and complained adamantly.
All of her complaining stopped abruptly the second she walked out the door. Lily's breath caught in her throat and every miserable thought left her head as she paused in the doorway.
It had been raining the entire winter, but today the sky was perfectly clear and the sun was out, casting light directly on the lake.
All around the ground were yellow flowers, so thick that it was not possible to walk without wading through them. Students were frolicking and dancing in the fields of yellow. But the breathtaking thing, the thing that overshadowed all the rest of the beauty of the moment was not the sudden eternity of flowers, but what lay in the lake.
Reflected across the lake was a smiling reflection of the famous John Potter, larger than life, and illuminated by the sun. It was so beautiful and so perfect that Lily shed a tear for joy. John was gone, but he would never truly fade.
"Isn't it amazing," Brittany whispered.
Lily nodded, in rapture, tears flowing swiftly down her cheeks. "It's perfect."
Brittany joined Dora who was lying in the flowers, taking in the rich aroma, but Lily wandered off to the wade in the lake, staying near the borders, as she did not want to disturb John's image. She touched upon it lightly, running her fingers over the surface.
"It's a miracle," she whispered.
"Isn't it?" Sirius responded in her ear, causing Lily to jump about a foot in the air, and fall on her but in the Lake.
"You!" Lily accused happily. "You did this!"
Sirius took a bow. "Yes, it was I. Sirius Black, the living miracle maker."
He then flinched expecting Lily to slap him or do something rash as was her habit. But Lily only smiled and did something unexpected. She leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you Sirius."
Sirius smiled at Lily in a new way, and dashed off to enjoy the moment.
Lily waded in the lake a while longer and then happily collapsed in the flowers, lying still with her eyes closed, taking in the floral aroma and bathing in the tranquility of the moment.
Someone tapped her shoulder a minute later. Lily opened her eyes and saw Remus.
"Lily," he said with a smile, "Look."
Remus motioned over to the entrance of the school and saw nothing. She was about to turn to ask him what he meant, when the door swung open and James stood on the steps, staring about with the wide eyes of an eleven year old.
Lily rose from her bed of flowers and watched him diligently as his mouth dropped and then amazingly, he smiled.
Soon another face exited the building, and Dumbledore stood beside James, with his arm around his shoulders. The two were smiling and Lily saw a tear glistening in the old man's eye.
Lily sprang up from the flowers and skipped over to James, forgetting their differences. Dumbledore gave her a knowing look as she joined them on the steps.
Reaching out gently, she took James's hand and led him to the lake. Lily stood back as he reached the sparkling water, and watched as he tentatively reached out a single finger and touched the water. Lily was not sure if it was her imagination, but it seemed to her that in the reflection, John's smile grew wider.
Sirius's tribute exceeded any magic Lily had experienced at Hogwarts. For once, the troublesome first year had managed to use his talent for something worthwhile.
By nightfall, all the flowers had disappeared, and the lake reflected nothing but the night stars, but the magic of the day remained vivid in many hearts.
Sirius Black, the biggest prankster in all of Hogwarts, (besides perhaps James), had succeeded in healing the school. In the days to come, people began to accept John's death, and learned to move on in their lives.
James too, seemed to be much better. He attended classes again, and though he underwent periods of sadness and regret, he learned to laugh once more, without feeling guilty.
The school had mourned John Potter, and they had celebrated his life. Finally they had learned to live their own lives, and to continue to laugh. Sirius had done all this.
By the next week, Lily and James were back to fighting like cats and dogs, and Sirius was back to being his annoying self. Dora was back to messing up charms, and Peter was back to being the pitied one.
It turned out that life went on for the students at Hogwarts, as life has a tendency to do.
"Today it is time for me to talk about something which may be frightening to some of you. It is not a pleasant subject, and many of your parents will object to this lesson, but I feel it is something that needs to be told. If any of you feel uncomfortable, you are free to leave," Professor Lacy spoke solemnly, during one Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.
Lily glanced nervously and Dora, who was her lab partner in the class. Dora smiled at her friend, looking even more nervous than Lily.
"It's time to talk about Voldemort," Lacy said softly, glancing with compassion at James.
Lily, who sat in the front fought back the urge to look at him, so she did not see the way James failed to flinch when the name was uttered. She did not see the way he sat back straight and tall in his chair (well as tall as a 5 foot eleven year old could be).
Professor Lacy sat down at her desk and took a deep breath. "As all of you doubtless know, Voldemort has recently been found responsible for several killings. It seems that his number of followers and his number of victims have both been rising at an alarming pace. I feel that it is very important that you are taught how to deal with an encounter."
Lacy paused, taking in the mood of the room. "You have all learned basic hex blocking techniques as well as counter curses to some of the more common and simple curses. None of this will help you a bit if you come face to face with a wizard like Voldemort. This is a wizard who deals in the Unforgivable curses, the curses that cannot be blocked or evaded. This is a wizard who would not hesitate to kill any one of you. Nothing that you have learned so far will be enough to save you, if you end up in a situation where you are placed at the mercy of a wizard like Voldemort."
Lily bit her lip. Her urge to turn and look at James was growing, but she knew that it would not be right to turn around. If only she had sat in the back.
"The one thing that can save you," Lacy continued, "is your use of common sense. First of all, I will be teaching you to avoid putting yourself in a dangerous situation. Second I will be teaching you how to get out of a dangerous situation, when all odds are against you. Third, I will tell you what to do if you ever stumble upon a dangerous scene, such as arriving home to find the Dark Mark looming over your house."
The lesson was one of the most captivating that any of the students had experienced all year, and there was no magic involved. Everyone listened avidly, and there were no disruptions or complaints. In light of recent events, everyone found that the lesson was relevant.
When class was dismissed, Professor Lacy requested James stay after class for a moment, and Lily gave in to her urge to look at him. She was impressed by the strong way he handled it. He looked determined, more than anything, and for an instant Lily was afraid. James had listened to all that Professor Lacy had said, but somehow Lily wondered if the chance came for James to meet Voldemort, if he would truly do the safe thing and remove himself from the situation, or whether he would seek some sort of retribution.
The thought passed as soon as it came and Lily went off to lunch, giggling with her friends.
One afternoon in Charms class James offered Lily a piece of gum. Lily accepted, a sign of how far she had let her guard down since Sirius's tribute.
A few moments later, Lily noticed some of her classmates giggling, but she ignored them, more intent on perfecting her shrinking charm. She found it extremely useful, as it allowed one to shrink down any item, such as luggage that was too heavy to carry. Lily managed to shrink a large vase into one smaller than her fingernail, which was better than most of the other students.
"Uh, Lily," Brittany tapped her on the shoulder.
"Brittany! I'm trying to concentrate. I almost have it perfect," Lily cut her friend off.
"Fine, whatever!" Brittany giggled.
Soon the twittering progressed into full scale hysterics and poor Lily couldn't help but take notice.
"What is it?" she asked Brittany frantically, blushing from head to toe.
Brittany smiled and shook her head, withdrawing a pocket mirror from her purse and handing it to her friend with a slightly evil laugh.
Lily held the mirror up to her face slowly, and promptly screamed and ran out of the classroom in humiliation. She had sprouted a full mustache and sideburns, as well as a great deal of nose hair, and her beard was coming in nicely. To top it off, all of her newfound facial hair was a bright red. Lily was horrified and angry. She was almost to embarrassed to see Madame Klase.
Madame Klase laughed when Lily entered the hospital wing. "James again? Or Sirius?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "James. He is going to die!"
"Oh, don't be to tough on the boy deary. When I was your age there was a boy who tortured me like that. His name was Zachary," Madame Klase reminisced pleasantly. "In fact he did this very thing to me once. He gave me a potion which made me grow a beard. I was very angry!"
"Did you hate him?" Lily asked hopefully.
"Of course. I couldn't stand him, until about seventh year. Things started to change," the nurse sighed.
"I hate boys!" Lily sighed angrily, an interesting combination.
"Oh you won't forever. Wait until you meet that somebody special, then everything will change," the plump nurse assured her. "Men aren't really so bad, though they do have their faults."
Lily looked at Madame Klase curiously. "Are you married?"
Madame Klase laughed. "Yes Deary."
"What's your husband's name?" Lily asked nosily.
The older witch sighed. "Zachary Klase deary."
Lily was silent after that. She could not understand why any woman would marry someone who tricked her into growing facial hair. Lily decided that Madame Klase was a little weird.
Beardless and none the worse for the wear, Lily returned from the hospital wing in time for dinner. She was happy for the opportunity to dump a glass of cider into James's messy hair. "I hate you James!" she shouted passionately as ever, before sitting down comfortably between Brittany and Dora.
Her feud with James was becoming a comfortable tradition, and strangely enough, Lily almost enjoyed it despite herself. Well, at least she enjoyed being the one to dump cider in James's hair.
With March, came better weather, and students began to wander outdoors once more. The lake had become James's favorite hangout, and Lily spent as much time as possible avoiding that area.
Yet she could not help but stop by for a laugh when James and Sirius had preformed another "miracle" and managed to somehow levitate Severus above the lake, dressed as a mermaid, complete with a fake tail and a seashell bra.
The two were assigned detentions from Dumbledore, whom arrived on the scene to sigh sadly and comment that the two boys could change the world if they applied their talents to something other than humiliating other students and wreaking havoc.
"Where would be the fun in that?" Sirius laughed.
The two ended up polishing doorknobs.
"I think that Dumbledore's running out of creative detention ideas," James reflected cheerfully one morning, after receiving his detention notice. "I'm still beating you Sirius. I have seven detentions and you only have six. I'm going to win."
Sirius laughed maniacally. "Oh, you are terribly mistaken if you think you have a shot. The competition is on! I have been letting you off easy, but now it's time to kick it into gear!"
"You guys are insane!" Remus chided. "I'll stick to not having to polish doorknobs for the rest of my Hogwarts career, thank you very much."
"Aren't you afraid you are going to get expelled?" Peter interrupted, sounding nervous, as always.
None of them noticed the wizened old wizard standing watching them from the teacher's table. None of them saw him smile, remembering his own youth. Dumbledore watched the four marauders with a twinkle in his eye, amazed as always at the resiliency and innocence of youth.
Book 1- A Clash of Wills
Chapter 15- Flowers and Beards
James woke up suddenly, his stomach cramping. He ignored it and turned over on his side. The pain in his stomach was only partly due to hunger. Missing his brother had left a hole, which seemed to take over his entire body.
Sitting up restlessly, he noticed that everyone else in his dorm was still asleep. Sirius's bed was empty however. James sighed, and was about to lie back down when he noticed a strangely shaped package about to fall off of his bed. James darted his hand out and grabbed it just in time, wondering at the soft squishy feel beneath his fingers.
Curiously, James unwrapped the napkin to reveal a piece of thick chocolate cake. James wrinkled up his forehead, perhaps Sirius or one of the others had brought it up for him. He ate it slowly, savoring the sweet stickiness as an easy and temporary escape. When it was gone he sighed and lay back down, the overwhelming emptiness returning swiftly. Just before he fell back asleep, James reminded himself to ask Sirius about the cake in the morning.
"Lily! Lily!" Get up quick!" Brittany shook her friend awake. "You've got to come see this!"
It took effort, but Lily roused herself from bed. "What in god's name is it Brittany? You sound like you've been hit with an overdose of a cheering charm!"
Professor Flitwick had tactfully decided to introduce the class to cheering charms the previous afternoon. Some students had laid them on a bit strong.
"Oh Lily, it's wonderful, you have to come and see. Hurry! No time to get dressed!" Brittany insisted, not the least discouraged by Lily's morning grumpiness.
"Where's Dora? Where are all the others?" Lily asked as she noticed the room was empty besides the two of them.
"They are already out there. You have to see it Lily! It's beautiful!
Allowing her friends to drag her groggy self down stairs and to the door that led out onto the Hogwarts grounds, Lily grumbled and complained adamantly.
All of her complaining stopped abruptly the second she walked out the door. Lily's breath caught in her throat and every miserable thought left her head as she paused in the doorway.
It had been raining the entire winter, but today the sky was perfectly clear and the sun was out, casting light directly on the lake.
All around the ground were yellow flowers, so thick that it was not possible to walk without wading through them. Students were frolicking and dancing in the fields of yellow. But the breathtaking thing, the thing that overshadowed all the rest of the beauty of the moment was not the sudden eternity of flowers, but what lay in the lake.
Reflected across the lake was a smiling reflection of the famous John Potter, larger than life, and illuminated by the sun. It was so beautiful and so perfect that Lily shed a tear for joy. John was gone, but he would never truly fade.
"Isn't it amazing," Brittany whispered.
Lily nodded, in rapture, tears flowing swiftly down her cheeks. "It's perfect."
Brittany joined Dora who was lying in the flowers, taking in the rich aroma, but Lily wandered off to the wade in the lake, staying near the borders, as she did not want to disturb John's image. She touched upon it lightly, running her fingers over the surface.
"It's a miracle," she whispered.
"Isn't it?" Sirius responded in her ear, causing Lily to jump about a foot in the air, and fall on her but in the Lake.
"You!" Lily accused happily. "You did this!"
Sirius took a bow. "Yes, it was I. Sirius Black, the living miracle maker."
He then flinched expecting Lily to slap him or do something rash as was her habit. But Lily only smiled and did something unexpected. She leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you Sirius."
Sirius smiled at Lily in a new way, and dashed off to enjoy the moment.
Lily waded in the lake a while longer and then happily collapsed in the flowers, lying still with her eyes closed, taking in the floral aroma and bathing in the tranquility of the moment.
Someone tapped her shoulder a minute later. Lily opened her eyes and saw Remus.
"Lily," he said with a smile, "Look."
Remus motioned over to the entrance of the school and saw nothing. She was about to turn to ask him what he meant, when the door swung open and James stood on the steps, staring about with the wide eyes of an eleven year old.
Lily rose from her bed of flowers and watched him diligently as his mouth dropped and then amazingly, he smiled.
Soon another face exited the building, and Dumbledore stood beside James, with his arm around his shoulders. The two were smiling and Lily saw a tear glistening in the old man's eye.
Lily sprang up from the flowers and skipped over to James, forgetting their differences. Dumbledore gave her a knowing look as she joined them on the steps.
Reaching out gently, she took James's hand and led him to the lake. Lily stood back as he reached the sparkling water, and watched as he tentatively reached out a single finger and touched the water. Lily was not sure if it was her imagination, but it seemed to her that in the reflection, John's smile grew wider.
Sirius's tribute exceeded any magic Lily had experienced at Hogwarts. For once, the troublesome first year had managed to use his talent for something worthwhile.
By nightfall, all the flowers had disappeared, and the lake reflected nothing but the night stars, but the magic of the day remained vivid in many hearts.
Sirius Black, the biggest prankster in all of Hogwarts, (besides perhaps James), had succeeded in healing the school. In the days to come, people began to accept John's death, and learned to move on in their lives.
James too, seemed to be much better. He attended classes again, and though he underwent periods of sadness and regret, he learned to laugh once more, without feeling guilty.
The school had mourned John Potter, and they had celebrated his life. Finally they had learned to live their own lives, and to continue to laugh. Sirius had done all this.
By the next week, Lily and James were back to fighting like cats and dogs, and Sirius was back to being his annoying self. Dora was back to messing up charms, and Peter was back to being the pitied one.
It turned out that life went on for the students at Hogwarts, as life has a tendency to do.
"Today it is time for me to talk about something which may be frightening to some of you. It is not a pleasant subject, and many of your parents will object to this lesson, but I feel it is something that needs to be told. If any of you feel uncomfortable, you are free to leave," Professor Lacy spoke solemnly, during one Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.
Lily glanced nervously and Dora, who was her lab partner in the class. Dora smiled at her friend, looking even more nervous than Lily.
"It's time to talk about Voldemort," Lacy said softly, glancing with compassion at James.
Lily, who sat in the front fought back the urge to look at him, so she did not see the way James failed to flinch when the name was uttered. She did not see the way he sat back straight and tall in his chair (well as tall as a 5 foot eleven year old could be).
Professor Lacy sat down at her desk and took a deep breath. "As all of you doubtless know, Voldemort has recently been found responsible for several killings. It seems that his number of followers and his number of victims have both been rising at an alarming pace. I feel that it is very important that you are taught how to deal with an encounter."
Lacy paused, taking in the mood of the room. "You have all learned basic hex blocking techniques as well as counter curses to some of the more common and simple curses. None of this will help you a bit if you come face to face with a wizard like Voldemort. This is a wizard who deals in the Unforgivable curses, the curses that cannot be blocked or evaded. This is a wizard who would not hesitate to kill any one of you. Nothing that you have learned so far will be enough to save you, if you end up in a situation where you are placed at the mercy of a wizard like Voldemort."
Lily bit her lip. Her urge to turn and look at James was growing, but she knew that it would not be right to turn around. If only she had sat in the back.
"The one thing that can save you," Lacy continued, "is your use of common sense. First of all, I will be teaching you to avoid putting yourself in a dangerous situation. Second I will be teaching you how to get out of a dangerous situation, when all odds are against you. Third, I will tell you what to do if you ever stumble upon a dangerous scene, such as arriving home to find the Dark Mark looming over your house."
The lesson was one of the most captivating that any of the students had experienced all year, and there was no magic involved. Everyone listened avidly, and there were no disruptions or complaints. In light of recent events, everyone found that the lesson was relevant.
When class was dismissed, Professor Lacy requested James stay after class for a moment, and Lily gave in to her urge to look at him. She was impressed by the strong way he handled it. He looked determined, more than anything, and for an instant Lily was afraid. James had listened to all that Professor Lacy had said, but somehow Lily wondered if the chance came for James to meet Voldemort, if he would truly do the safe thing and remove himself from the situation, or whether he would seek some sort of retribution.
The thought passed as soon as it came and Lily went off to lunch, giggling with her friends.
One afternoon in Charms class James offered Lily a piece of gum. Lily accepted, a sign of how far she had let her guard down since Sirius's tribute.
A few moments later, Lily noticed some of her classmates giggling, but she ignored them, more intent on perfecting her shrinking charm. She found it extremely useful, as it allowed one to shrink down any item, such as luggage that was too heavy to carry. Lily managed to shrink a large vase into one smaller than her fingernail, which was better than most of the other students.
"Uh, Lily," Brittany tapped her on the shoulder.
"Brittany! I'm trying to concentrate. I almost have it perfect," Lily cut her friend off.
"Fine, whatever!" Brittany giggled.
Soon the twittering progressed into full scale hysterics and poor Lily couldn't help but take notice.
"What is it?" she asked Brittany frantically, blushing from head to toe.
Brittany smiled and shook her head, withdrawing a pocket mirror from her purse and handing it to her friend with a slightly evil laugh.
Lily held the mirror up to her face slowly, and promptly screamed and ran out of the classroom in humiliation. She had sprouted a full mustache and sideburns, as well as a great deal of nose hair, and her beard was coming in nicely. To top it off, all of her newfound facial hair was a bright red. Lily was horrified and angry. She was almost to embarrassed to see Madame Klase.
Madame Klase laughed when Lily entered the hospital wing. "James again? Or Sirius?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "James. He is going to die!"
"Oh, don't be to tough on the boy deary. When I was your age there was a boy who tortured me like that. His name was Zachary," Madame Klase reminisced pleasantly. "In fact he did this very thing to me once. He gave me a potion which made me grow a beard. I was very angry!"
"Did you hate him?" Lily asked hopefully.
"Of course. I couldn't stand him, until about seventh year. Things started to change," the nurse sighed.
"I hate boys!" Lily sighed angrily, an interesting combination.
"Oh you won't forever. Wait until you meet that somebody special, then everything will change," the plump nurse assured her. "Men aren't really so bad, though they do have their faults."
Lily looked at Madame Klase curiously. "Are you married?"
Madame Klase laughed. "Yes Deary."
"What's your husband's name?" Lily asked nosily.
The older witch sighed. "Zachary Klase deary."
Lily was silent after that. She could not understand why any woman would marry someone who tricked her into growing facial hair. Lily decided that Madame Klase was a little weird.
Beardless and none the worse for the wear, Lily returned from the hospital wing in time for dinner. She was happy for the opportunity to dump a glass of cider into James's messy hair. "I hate you James!" she shouted passionately as ever, before sitting down comfortably between Brittany and Dora.
Her feud with James was becoming a comfortable tradition, and strangely enough, Lily almost enjoyed it despite herself. Well, at least she enjoyed being the one to dump cider in James's hair.
With March, came better weather, and students began to wander outdoors once more. The lake had become James's favorite hangout, and Lily spent as much time as possible avoiding that area.
Yet she could not help but stop by for a laugh when James and Sirius had preformed another "miracle" and managed to somehow levitate Severus above the lake, dressed as a mermaid, complete with a fake tail and a seashell bra.
The two were assigned detentions from Dumbledore, whom arrived on the scene to sigh sadly and comment that the two boys could change the world if they applied their talents to something other than humiliating other students and wreaking havoc.
"Where would be the fun in that?" Sirius laughed.
The two ended up polishing doorknobs.
"I think that Dumbledore's running out of creative detention ideas," James reflected cheerfully one morning, after receiving his detention notice. "I'm still beating you Sirius. I have seven detentions and you only have six. I'm going to win."
Sirius laughed maniacally. "Oh, you are terribly mistaken if you think you have a shot. The competition is on! I have been letting you off easy, but now it's time to kick it into gear!"
"You guys are insane!" Remus chided. "I'll stick to not having to polish doorknobs for the rest of my Hogwarts career, thank you very much."
"Aren't you afraid you are going to get expelled?" Peter interrupted, sounding nervous, as always.
None of them noticed the wizened old wizard standing watching them from the teacher's table. None of them saw him smile, remembering his own youth. Dumbledore watched the four marauders with a twinkle in his eye, amazed as always at the resiliency and innocence of youth.