Chapter Eight
When they 'awoke' they were again on the couches, but both fully clothed this time. Lily and James broke apart almost reluctantly, and then, as was becoming custom, blushed. Lily didn't think that she had ever blushed this much in her life before! The time was 1:05.
Lily said, "Maybe now we should put the potion in the Slytherins' drinks?"
"Definitely!" James told her. "So back to my dorm?" "Yeah. And then we'll come back here, get the bottles, and then to the kitchens."
"Right. Let's go." This time, there were no interruptions. In less than ten minutes, Lily and James were safely in the kitchens under the invisibility cloak, with the bottles. There were no house-elves to be seen, but they decided to keep the cloak on just in case. There were the four house tables, directly under the ones in the Great Hall above. And each was set with plates. Milk was already bottled, cutlery was set out, and there were jugs on the tables for the pumpkin juice and water. On further inspection, the jugs were empty, but Lily felt sure that they would be filled in the morning and the house elves wouldn't even look into them. She told James, who agreed.
They spread the potion evenly among all of the pitchers, and still had half a bottle left. They decided to stopper it and keep it in the head girl's bathroom, just in case. And then, at 2:00, they went back to their own dorms. Lily fell asleep immediately. She was tired out, and would need to wake at seven to be in the Great Hall for eight. She definitely wanted to be there to see the Slytherins' reactions.
Lily was staring into James's eyes. She was smiling, as was he, all traces of their previous discomfort lost.
"So we're in love a second time?" he asked her teasingly.
"We never were out of love. It's just that here, we know we have to be in love, and don't have any of the excuses we do normally."
"Meaning when we're awake, we're still in love, but we know we shouldn't be?" "What do you mean, when we're awake?"
"We won't remember this again, except in a dream. Therefore, we're not conscious, not awake." James told her.
"Well, I certainly feel awake! See, if we were asleep, you wouldn't feel this," and Lily kissed him. He felt it. As did she, the pleasant lurch in her stomach, the warmth where they were in contact with each other, the fire in their lips, their mouths. "Well?" she asked, as she withdrew a while later.
"I think I felt it," James said, smiling again.
"You sure?" Lily asked him, playfully.
"Well…" It was all the invitation Lily cared to wait for. Then they were kissing, and somehow James's robes fell to the floor, followed by his shirt. They moved to the sofa, and then… Lily woke up. It was, according to her watch, three in the morning. She had dreamed two hours worth, but it had only taken an hour. She smiled and snuggled further down in her bed. It was worth losing two hours of her life to be able to have these dreams, even if she would only admit it to herself now, in the dead of night. She was warm, and comfortable, and soon, she was back asleep.
They were on the couch. Lily moved in closer to James, and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Three times lucky," James whispered. Lily was sure that he was smiling, but she didn't want to move to look up.
"I know. But… three strikes and you're out. This will probably be the last time. I doubt we'll be this careless again. Accidentally, anyway."
"You're right. Let's make the most of it?"
"In a minute. But first… we got a bit carried away last time," Lily reminded him. Where they might have gone… the thought made her shiver slightly. James stroked her hair, and his voice when he spoke was soothing.
"It won't happen this time. We won't let it. Not… yet." Lily snuggled closer into his shoulder, noting the smell of… Jamesness about him.
"Not for a while," Lily said decisively. "After we're married… or at least, engaged. When we're thinking clearly."
"Yes. Now can we make the most of it?"
"Wouldn't you prefer to sit here and talk for an hour?" Lily found herself asking, maybe in retribution for his teasing in the last two… times. But he didn't even answer her question. He just placed his hand under her chin, and moved her face so he could kiss her. This was James, gentle, warm, kind, and a very good kisser.
When she felt herself fiddling with his buttons, he guided her hands away. And in a break for breath, he whispered in her ear, "Someday, Lily, we'll marry."
And she, in turn, whispered back, "Someday. Someday." They went back to kissing, and were happy. For now.
Lily woke up again, but this time it was half past six. She found herself repeating, over and over in her head, "Someday, someday." It made her feel warm inside, as much as it scared her. Had James proposed marriage? Had she accepted? But then, it had felt so right. Maybe someday they would… Lily cut off in that line of thought straight away. She had been under the influence of the love potion, there was no way those feeling were real. But a quickening of her heartbeat when she thought of James contradicted her thoughts. Okay, so she did like James. Had she liked him before the love potion? Yes, she had. But had she liked him? That was another cauldron of frog guts. She had liked him, and she had enjoyed kissing him as a forfeit. That was answer enough.
Did he like her? When they took the potion the second time. They were both convinced that it didn't work because they were both already in love. Maybe that was the idea of the potion. The potion made two… feel in love, and then it let them lie back and objectively watch their thoughts, feelings, and actions. Some would probably hate themselves for it, others…? Others would be glad the potion had revealed to them their true feelings. These feelings were true; there could be no other words for it. They did love each other. James said… well he hadn't actually said anything. But he had implied, strongly, that he loved her, or thought he loved her. They needed to talk. But first, Lily would research an anti-blushing charm. James could do with one too.
Meanwhile, there were other things to think about. Like getting up and showering, and then going to the Great Hall so she could get good seats. She got (reluctantly) out of bed, and saw that no one else was up yet. Well, that could be remedied. With a very handy spell that Sirius had actually discovered, but Lily had bribed him into telling to her, she shot jets of water at her friends' faces. Mia, Kate, Trinity, and Lisa all woke with a start.
"Lily!"
"I'll get you!"
"You're dead!"
"I was asleep!" Were the general responses, and then a collective,
"AARRGH!"
They ran after her, but Lily just held up a hand and grinned.
"I have something planned for today," she told them, "and you all have to be in the Great Hall in forty-five minutes. Which means we have to shower. I'm going off to the Head Girl bathroom. I'll meet you in the Hall?"
"What have you got planned, Lil?" Kate asked. She was the only one that used the nickname, and she usually did it to aggravate Lily.
"Nothing, if you call me that!" Lily retorted. "You'll all find out later. See you!" With that, Lily grabbed her school robes and left for her bathroom.
She was showered, with dry hair, in half an hour. Lily went back to her dorm to get her school stuff, and then sat on her already-made bed (house elves were so useful) to wait for her friends to finish showering. She did not have to wait long, and soon they all appeared, together. Kate had a load of make-up on, as usual. And, as usual, she looked like she had just stepped from the cover of a fashion magazine.
At Lily's enquiring look she grinned, and said, "I think Jeremy is going to ask me out today. He's really sweet… a Hufflepuff." Lily shook her head in mock disapproval but then smiled.
"So, ready to go?" Lily asked
"Just about. So what's this you've got planned?" Trinity asked.
They walked to the Great Hall trying to make Lily tell them what the surprise was. All that she would tell them was that it was something that she and James had planned and pulled off together. They cajoled and begged and threatened, but Lily refused give them any hints. At last they arrived in the Great Hall. It was quarter to eight, and breakfast began at eight. The food was not yet on the tables, although a few students were there already, the Marauders included.
Lily walked over, and slid into a seat next to James. Sirius was whining.
"Please, James, tell us what you've got planned!"
"No, I won't!" James told him. It seemed he had also told them that something would happen this morning. Sirius rounded on Lily.
"Tell me! You planned it with him!" Trinity slipped into the seat next to him and kissed his cheek. He grinned at her briefly, but turned back and looked at Lily expectantly.
"I'm not telling you! I haven't told them, either." Lily gestured to her friends, who were all now sitting at the table.
"Pleeeeeaaase?"
James and Remus rolled their eyes at the same time, and then laughed. Peter was looking from Lily to James expectantly, his eyes open wide.
"What is it, what is it?" he whined. "Tell me!
"No!" Lily and James said, at the same time. They ignored their friends' pleas for a while, until it was finally eight o'clock, and the food and drink appeared. James looked at Lily, who nodded at him.
"Look over at the Slytherins," James suggested. Everyone did so, with expectancy. James and Lily glanced at each other, both wearing identical evil grins.
"This should be interesting," he said quietly, and then they too looked at the Slytherin table. All of the Slytherins were eating, and three were drinking from their cups. Lily watched expectantly, and the three dropped their cups and turned to Snape together, as if on cue. They immediately stood up, and rushed over to him, and then they were kissing him and fighting each other off. Snape looked very confused, and then four more Slytherins came to join the first three. Four of the seven were boys, and the look on Snape's face was priceless. Lily thought the best part was when Lucius Malfoy came up and elbowed Crabbe and Goyle in the stomachs to get to Snape. Snape, meanwhile, was looking very confused and scared. The Gryffindors were roaring with laughter, the Hufflepuffs smiling, and the Ravenclaws were all smirking. It seemed that nobody liked Snape, and everyone could laugh at seeing the whole of Slytherin house make prats out of themselves.
Soon, all apart from three Slytherins (who had obviously caught on that the drinks were making the others do this), the whole house was fighting for a chance to kiss Snape. Snape himself was trying to escape, but the throng around him was too much. He was looking very frightened. By now, all three of the other houses were practically rolling around laughing, and most of the teachers were shaking with suppressed laughter. Dumbledore stood, at last, and walked over to sort out Slytherin. He couldn't reverse the potion, so at last he had all of the teachers and prefects (bar the Slytherin ones) bind the Slytherins to their chairs. The prefects were reluctant, but tried not to let it show.
When finally all were restrained, Lily and James rejoined their friends at the Gryffindor table. As they were returning, Peter called out,
"Three cheers for James and Lily!" That let the cat out of the bag. The Marauders and Lily's friends silenced him desperately, but it was too late. Professor McGonagall came over and told Lily and James that they had three detentions apiece, and twenty points each from Gryffindor. Everyone agreed that it was worth it, and students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff came over to congratulate them. All in all, it was a successful prank. Peter left, embarrassed that he had caused them detentions.
Finally, they had to go to classes, but the Slytherins were still restrained in their seats. They would miss out of an hour of classes, because they wouldn't be fit to go until ten o'clock. Snape was allowed to attend classes; the potion had only increased his self-love. The three Slytherins who hadn't drunk decided it was best to fight their bonds, and pretend to be under the potion's influence so as to miss class.
At lunch, Lily went, as usual, to the library, but this time she was looking up a cure for blushing. She at last found a charm that ought to be suitable. It would allow her to blush or not at will, and should last a week if performed correctly. Lily crossed her fingers and uttered the charm, hoping that it would work. She tried to blush, and immediately felt her face heat up. She tried to stop, and it seemed to be working. Satisfied, she memorised the charm, and then set off to find James.
He was also in the library, but not working. Instead, he was reading Quidditch Through the Ages. Again.
Lily drew him aside, and said, "We need to talk."
"You can't break up with me! We're not even going out!" He smiled, and added softly, "yet."
"That's sort of what I want to talk to you about."
"It's nothing bad?"
"I don't think so."
James looked at her searchingly for a moment, and was about to reply when a third year Ravenclaw came up, and told them that they were both wanted by Dumbledore, in is office, now.
"Thank you. We'll go at once," Lily told the girl, who nodded.
"Did you do that thing this morning?" the Ravenclaw asked.
"Yes, that was us," James told her, winking.
The girl blushed bright red and mumbled, "It was really funny," before fleeing. Lily pointed her wand at the girl and muttered the charm after her retreating back. It should help her. Then she, with some forethought, did the same to James. If they were going to talk tonight, the less visible embarrassment the better. James would unconsciously restrain his blushes, without even realising that he was doing so.
He didn't notice Lily cast the charms, but set off immediately to Dumbledore's office. Lily caught up with him, and asked, "Do you think it's because of the love potion?"
"No," James reassured her. He added, "I mean, he'll talk about it, of course, but there will be something else too. I've pulled so many pranks that he's given up talking to me. Besides, he finds them funny, even if he won't admit it."
"I guess," Lily said doubtfully. She was slightly worried, because she hadn't been to Dumbledore's office very often. But then they were there, and Dumbledore was calling out for them to come in. His eyes were twinkling, but otherwise his face was grave. As they seated themselves, he said,
"I have good and bad news, punishments and praise to deal out. Which do you wish to hear first?" His eyes didn't lose their twinkle, and his lip twitched.
At the same time, both Head Students said together, "The bad."
Dumbledore's lips twitched again. "Right," this time, his eyes did lose their twinkle, "We have found out the reason for the snowing in of Hogwarts. First of all, it was Voldemort who was behind it, or rather, one of his followers. This Voldemort, or 'Lord Voldemort' as he calls himself, is a dark wizard of quite a formidable power. Few, of course, know this, but he used to attend Hogwarts, and was once Head Boy. That goes to show that anyone can be corrupted, although I now have reason to believe that he was already corrupt when he received that position. But again, that is beside the point. Voldemort is making a name for himself, inspiring fear in the wizarding population.
"According to what I and others gather, he snowed in the school for a number of reasons. Firstly, he is rather… wary of me. I believe he wished to prevent me from chasing him up immediately. Secondly, he wanted to show the wizarding world that he has the power to trap us all inside of Hogwarts. He believes that it will inspire fear in witches and wizards everywhere, imprisoning the 'great Albus Dumbledore.'" The headmaster's tone was sarcastic here, but Lily had a feeling that this reason was probably true. Dumbledore was indeed a powerful wizard. "Thirdly… the snow-in was tantamount to some rather major… attacks. He went after some of the more well-known wizarding families, trying to convert them to his cause. The ones we know of refused, of course, and were… killed. Do you know the Prewetts? They were… one of the families that was wiped out. I believe there is a Selena Prewett in Ravenclaw, a third year if I am correct. She has only one older sister left; the rest of her family has all been killed."
Lily nodded sombrely, letting all of the information sink slowly in. Another dark wizard was on the rise, a very powerful dark wizard. It was good to know that they were safe while with Dumbledore, but… all of the other families were not. The good, honest, noble wizarding families would be wiped out. Unless the Ministry got their act together, it wouldn't be hard for Voldemort to get rid of the wizarding families one by one. But… looking at Dumbledore's face, Lily could see that he intended to do something. He had recently turned down a position at the ministry to remain headmaster of Hogwarts, and he was still influential in the Ministry of Magic. Professor Dumbledore would do something.
"As to the other… I have a complaint about you. Several, in fact." The twinkle resumed residence in Dumbledore's eyes, and the corners of his mouth twitched again. "One could say that the entire of Slytherin house if out for your blood. Yes, that would be very apt, and the head of Slytherin has already had numerous complaints." Lily tried, with great difficulty, to keep her face straight. She would bet the Slytherins had been complaining!
"However, as I see it, it is the two of you who are responsible for today's… adventure. I presume you both know that the brewing of love potion is forbidden on Hogwarts' grounds?"
James spoke. "I have never brewed a love potion on Hogwarts' grounds, sir," James said, perfectly truthfully.
"I don't doubt that," Dumbledore replied. "You did, however, make use of a love potion, did you not? I believe young Pettigrew incriminated you." James nodded.
"Yes, I did use a love potion," he replied. He left out Lily's part in it. Before she could say anything, however, Dumbledore cut in,
"Didn't Lily have anything to do with it?" James's mouth opened again, and Lily wasn't sure whether or not he would lie. She got there first, though.
"Yes, professor, we both put the potion in the drinks."
"Indeed. I presume the potions have no lasting affects, excluding the two hour… session this morning." It was a question, one that Lily answered.
"Yes, sir, but nothing important. The potion causes the drinkers to not remember what they were doing during the time that they were under its influence," Dumbledore nodded, "but they will remember in a dream the events of those two hours. Other than that, there are no lasting effects, excluding maybe much thought over the drinker's relationship with the object in question."
"I am glad you researched the consequences before you carried out your prank." Lily hung her head guiltily, as did James. If they had been looking, they would have seen Dumbledore lose control of his grin, but they weren't. By the time they did look up, the professor was looking suitably grave again. "I believe you have each received three detentions and twenty points were taken off of Gryffindor?"
Lily nodded, as did James.
"Well, that brings me to my good news. Your detention will take place this Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings. On the Wednesday and the Thursday, you will report to Professor Sprout, where you will occupy your time with her, removing salt from the earth."
"That's good news?" James asked with disbelief. Lily was shocked at his forwardness, but Dumbledore chuckled.
"No, Mr. Potter, that is fitting retribution for your prank this morning. The good news has yet to come." James smiled embarrassedly. He didn't blush… possibly thanks to Lily's charm.
"The good news… if you will permit me to tell it?" Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, and James nodded. Lily had a feeling that he would he blushing right now if it wasn't for her charm. "Your detention on Friday night will be one similar in kind to your detention of last Friday, assisting with an important project, which I would trust few others but yourselves to do. I won't tell you the details now, satisfactory to say you will hear of them this Friday. We can only hope you don't end up… stranded again." He smiled. "As to the praise… it takes skill to brew a love potion, especially without any guidance or assistance. I respect you for understanding and dealing with the… liabilities… responsibly and maturely. Few others would have done so in such a manner." It seemed Dumbledore knew then, of the three slip-ups. Or, at least of one of the slip-ups. Lily was already grateful for her anti-blushing charm.
"Thank you, professor." She murmured.
"Also… I don't believe I gave you credit before for the mean feat of surviving in each other's company, for two nights, without panicking or doing something overly… irresponsible." Lily knew he was referring there to the potion, and once again avoided a blush. She loved this charm! "Doing that deserves some recognition, so I give it to you in the form of house points. Ten each, for both of you. You have earned it. It is unfortunate that they partially cancel out those you lost for your prank earlier, but I do believe that the detentions will make you regret your actions. I have heard that removing salt from the ground is tedious." Here, Dumbledore allowed himself a smile. It was really a quite evil smile, Lily thought. "That is all I have to say. Unless you wish to ask anything, you are free to go."
"No, professor, thank you." James said. Lily shook her head, and she too thanked Dumbledore. Then they both left.
"That gave me… things to think about," James told her.
"Me too. Come on, we're nearly late for class." It was true, and they both had to rush to history of magic.
Later on, that evening, Lily sat in the common room. She was with her friends and James's, and the group was just talking. Remus had decided to go to bed. The other were yawning, but showing no signs of wanting to go off just yet. James caught Lily's eye. It was apparent he remembered her wish to talk, and that he wanted her friends to go. He looked at Lily pointedly, and then said,
"Well, I'm tired. I don't know about you guys, but I'm off to bed."
The boys all agreed, and Lily said,
"I think I'll stay down here and read for a bit. Don't let me delay you, I'll come up later." The last part was directed at the others. They all accepted it, but Mia gave her a funny look, and the girls went up the stairs. Lily really did read her book, and waited for James to come back down. After half an hour, she was beginning to wonder if he really was going to come back, when she felt something cold on the back of her neck. She whirled, and saw James taking off his invisibility cloak.
"Oh, were my fingers cold?" he asked innocently. Lily glared with mock ferocity.
"Oh ha ha. I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show up."
"No, I knew you wanted to talk, and I daren't disobey your wishes!" He grinned, and then continued, "Actually, I think we need to talk, too."
"Good. Do you want to sit?" James sat.
"Right. Now, about last night…"