AUTHOR NOTE: November 2022
Am I piece a complete crap? Yes. Has it really taken me over 10 YEARS TO FINISH THIS STORY? You bet your bottom-dollar it did! Have I redone this story a few times, edited it a bit more, and then come to you now, post a slightly modified version? YES. Is it in the full glory as I desire it? Maybe not. But it has the key events I wanted and so. There.
Slight Spoiler (?) If you had read up to the Dursley wedding (previously Chapter 14 - Now Chapter 22), most of the events that have taken place STILL HAPPENED SOME, I've just slightly edited the timeline of it to what I felt fit better. It may be easier to reread and start from the beginning...
NEVER GIVE UP. Thank you for your patience and those who stuck around. TRULY I've thought of you nearly every day - AND I hope you enjoy!
"Hey, think we can make a trip to Spintwitches on Saturday? I have got to get a new cleaning kit for my broom."
"Only if we stop by Scrivenshaft's first – I can't find any of my quills."
"That's because you keep giving them away."
Lily leaned back against the heels of her hands, enjoying the warmth of the sun against the cooler air. "Or maybe someone just doesn't return them."
"I return them," Marlene retorted.
She hummed, opening her eyes to give Marlene a sardonic look. "Right."
Marlene made a noise of discontent, but didn't reply. Lily moved her gaze to pan across the expanse of the Great Lake, listening to the soothing sounds of the water lapping against the shore not too far from them.
"Hey!" Dorcas called in greeting as she ambled down the hill towards their study spot, Emmeline following closely behind. "Thought we were meeting by the tree?"
"I wanted to enjoy the sun a bit more," Lily explained, crossing her ankles in front of her, shifting her face back towards the sun's light while closing her eyes.
"Had nothing to do with the Marauders having taken up residence beneath our tree, would it?" Marlene asked wryly as Dorcas and Emmeline seated themselves into a circle.
"Not at all," Lily replied coolly, cheeks a bit warm – obviously due to the sun.
"Mhm," Emmeline observed, shucking off her cloak. "Impossible to get any sun except away from the tree."
She squeezed her eyes tighter, blocking out the shape of the sun through her eyelids. "Right."
"So what're we working on?" Dorcas prompted, taking mercy.
Marlene huffed. "This damned Divination essay. There's only so many ways you can describe the shape of tea leaves, I swear."
"We were just talking about this Hogsmeade trip this weekend, too," Lily commented, opening her eyes and shifting her hair over her shoulder out of her face. "You have any plans?"
"Nothing besides the usual. I guess we need to grab the candy for the 1st years?" Emmeline said. "Merlin, can you believe it's already Halloween weekend?"
"No," Marlene lamented. "I can hardly keep track of time as it is."
"But we know what that means," Dorcas said with a smirk. "Halloween weekend…?"
"The annual Halloween Game," Lily murmured with her own responding grin.
Emmeline laughed. "Spooky and stressful. Not sure I like it falling on a Sunday this year."
"Better than Saturday like last year," Dorcas pointed out. "There were way too many other students out."
The group made mutual sounds of agreement. It hadn't been too hard to play off running into the other students, as it was a Saturday night, but the ghosts of the castle are often more active on Halloween than any other nights.
"We'll definitely have to be more careful, since there's more of us," Lily agreed.
"Has anyone told the boys?" Dorcas asked.
Reflexively, Lily glanced towards the group of students in question.
Sirius was laid out on his back, arms crossed over his face as he undoubtedly napped, while Peter sat cross legged beside him, hunched over a book. Remus sat back against the trunk of the tree, shaded by the sun as he scribbled furiously against a piece of parchment. Beside him, James sat with his legs stretched out in a manner similar to her own, a rolled up piece of parchment in his hands as he repeatedly tossed it up into the air and caught it.
His sleeves had been rolled up to his elbows to expose the tanned skin there, something she recently noticed he did quite often. It was almost rhythmic, watching him pitch the makeshift ball up and catching it.
"I volunteer Lily," Dorcas declared.
"Seconded," Marlene said quickly, shifting into a straighter position.
"What?" she blurted. "Volunteer for what?"
The three laughed in amusement. "Tell them about the Game on Sunday," Marlene instructed.
"What, now?"
"Better now than never," Emmeline cut in. "Who knows – maybe they already have plans."
"Why don't we just wait until dinner?"
"What, are you avoiding them for some reason?"
Lily scoffed. "No, of course not."
"Then go tell them," Marlene prompted, shooing her.
"Can't I just enjoy some time outside?"
"You can still do that – over there."
"Guys," she complained.
"Go on," Emmeline said. "Just a quick stop. You can come right back."
"God, I'm not ten," Lily gripped, dusting off her hands. She stood, dusting off her skirt and adjusting it carefully, checking for stray pieces of grass.
"Quit procrastinating," Marlene quipped.
"Git," Lily sniped, mindful to kick the girl's foot as she stepped over her.
"Oi," Marlene cried. "My essay!"
Lily didn't turn back to apologize, bracing herself for the trek up the hill. Why was she so self-conscious anyways? There wasn't a reason to be. The awkwardness she felt was only in her mind – there was no true foundational reason for it, she rationalized. Nothing had changed. So what if James was fit? She knew that. Most of the school knew that. Why should she suddenly care?
Get over it, she commanded herself, quickly approaching the foursome.
Hearing her approach, James was the first to look up and make eye contact, a grin pulling at his lips. "Hello," he greeted, catching the dummy ball once last time.
"Hello boys," she responded, suddenly unsure what to do with her hands.
"Evs," addressed Sirius from beneath his arms, face still buried.
"Hey, Lily," Peter said distractedly, turning another page.
"How can we help you?" Remus asked, peering up at her, raising his hand to shade the sun.
"I came by to check about your plans for this weekend," she explained.
"Hogsmeade?" Sirius inquired with interest, raising his head.
"Actually – Sunday," she clarified. "Halloween. If it all works out, we usually try to hold a game on that evening. Makes things more exciting."
In a way that appeared practiced to them, the four boys communicated silently with each other, using only their eyes. She watched in amusement as their eye contact ping-ponged around the circle.
"We're in," James confirmed.
"Just like that?"
"Of course," he scoffed. "You think we have better stuff to do on Halloween?"
She laughed. "Don't you guys normally… have something planned?"
"If you're referring to all of our past escapades that happen to occur on or around Halloween," Sirius started, "those never happened and had nothing to do with us."
She huffed another laugh. "Alright, sure. We'll see you guys at noon for the study session then."
James was grinning as he ran his hand through his hair. "Looking forward to it."
-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-
When Hogsmeade Day arrived, the weather had only gotten colder. By the time Lily and Marlene made it down to the courtyard, many of the students had already left, only a few younger students milling about.
Lily shivered against the cool breeze, pulling her jean jacket a little closer around herself, somewhat regretting wearing her maroon, calf length wrap-skirt.
"Scrivenshafts first?" she prompted, linking arms with Marlene.
It would be the perfect opportunity, as the trip presented the perfect timing for Lily to grab a gift for Marlene's impending birthday in November. As what commonly happened in Scrivens, Marlene would get bored and wait outside, allowing Lily the chance to grab a quick gift. What, exactly? She wasn't sure yet.
"But cleaning kit," Marlene sulked, unaffected by the cold weather.
"Scrivens is on the way," she pointed out as they exited the courtyard onto the brickway path.
"Which means we can stop by on our way back to the castle," Marlene disputed. "Come on, please?"
"Alright," she sighed, allowing herself to be pulled along by her friend.
As they made their way towards the small village of Hogsmeade, Lily noticed that many of the natives to the small town were sparse; mostly just students milling about. It made her curious, all too aware that outside the walls of Hogwarts there was still the imminent chance of an attack happening – in non-wizarding and wizarding communities.
Nearly unnoticeable, were the wizards dressed in uniforms, set between nearly every other shop and surveying the small group of crowds. Aurors, Lily realized with an anxious twitch.
Marlene pulled her through the doors of Spintwitches, into the chaotic shop filled to the brim with flying gear, equipment, and students.
On a positive note, Lily thought, she could at least scope out what she might be able to get Marlene for her birthday, something she'd struggled with her past birthday. The blonde herself would no doubt be too distracted to pay attention to her.
Just as expected, Marlene released her grip on her arm and darted towards the nearest display stand, fawning over little bits and bobs. The redhead followed dutifully, peering around into the chaos.
"You know, if you want to become an Auror, you'll have to get used to the idea of a broom," Marlene commented.
"That's what Apparition is for."
"Not always," the blonde said, matter of fact. "Marc said so."
"No."
"Yep," Marlene grinned, moving onto the next arrangement full of pro-Quidditch team memorabilia.
"It's not like I'm afraid of flying," she murmured, tracing the outline of a random team's banner.
"I didn't say you were afraid."
"It's just – they're practically death traps! If I recall from 1st Year, it was you who careened out of control and nearly knocked me off my broom."
Marlene waved her off. "Faulty school brooms. I grew up on a broom, you know."
"Right," Lily scoffed, recalling a past summer visit to her friend's house, where Marlene had gotten a huge telling-off for riding her broom unsupervised.
"You know, you could always practice. You can take a jinx to the face, but you won't fly a broom?"
"I'll add it to my list of to-dos," Lily said deadpanned, flicking a string of tinsel hanging off of a brightly colored tinsel stick.
"Mckinnon," James's voice called from behind them, making her jump. "Be sure to pick up that new trimmer we talked about. It'll help sharpen your broom's turns."
"Aye, captain," Marlene answered, giving a mock salute. "On the list!"
They watched her disappear into the crowd. Lily turned towards James, a bit overly aware of his closeness due to the store's close quarters.
"Hello," she offered.
"Hey," James responded with an easy smile before turning away, clear that his only intention had been to talk to Marlene.
"Oh, wait!" Lily blurted impulsively.
He turned his head back towards her with a curious look.
She searched the nearby vicinity, locating Marlene's blonde hair towards the back of the store. "I was actually hoping for your help, maybe. Marlene – her birthday is coming up and I'm not quite sure what she'd want from here."
"And you thought you'd ask me?" James asked with a curious smile. "Aren't you her best mate?"
Lily waved a hand uselessly, nearly knocking a box of paraphernalia clean off the shelf. "I've no clue what to look for. She's already on the lookout for a cleaning kit. What else could she possibly need?"
He chuckled, taking his eyes off of her to scan the nearby shelves. She waited patiently while he searched for something specific. Finally, he seemed to find what he was looking for, brushing past her to pick up a box the size of a niffler. He handed it to her.
"A… repair kit?" she asked dubiously. She turned it over in her fingers, reading over the contents of the box. It felt a bit too impersonal.
"With the way that Marlene flies, she needs it," he said, tapping the side of the box.
Lily hummed in acknowledgment, eyes dropping to where his hand was still touching the box. She glanced back up at him through her eyelashes, curious if he hadn't pulled away intentionally.
"Lily!" Marlene's voice called through the crowd.
"Shite!" she gasped, searching over her shoulder towards her voice. "Here," she said, practically shoving the box back into his hands and then digging into her jacket pocket for a handful of coins. "Do you mind buying this for me? I'll grab it from you later, if that's alright."
James rolled his eyes with a grin. "Making me run your errands?"
"Please," she implored in panic, attempting to drop the change into his free hand, hoping it was enough to cover the cost.
He accepted them discreetly, stealthily tucking the box behind his back just as Marlene appeared beside them, looking a bit harassed.
"Well, bollocks. They were all out of the trimmers; I had to put in an order for it to be mailed," she complained. "At least they had plenty of cleaning kits in stock." She held up a bag in her grip.
"Rotten luck," James sympathized. "I'd better get going, though. Said I'd meet the others outside of Zonko's. See you ladies later."
"Bye," Lily responded with a wave. He sidestepped Marlene, turning back to give Lily a wink and smirk as he raised the box in farewell.
"Ready to go?" Marlene asked, drawing Lily's attention back to her.
She smiled, relieved. "Let's get out of here. We should swing by Honeydukes before we meet up with others."
"Sounds great to me."
Later, as both of the girls entered into the Three Broomsticks with arms full of bags, out of breath, and looking ruffled, Emmeline released a low-whistle.
"What happened to you?" she asked with concern as Lily dropped the bags onto the floor next to their table.
Lily plopped into one of the open seats and brushed the loose hairs out of her face. "Fifty percent off all candy," she huffed. "It was a madhouse."
"I'm pretty sure I caused a bloody nose," Marlene confessed, taking her own seat beside Lily. She placed her own overstuffed back onto the table, catching a stray chocolate frog before it fell onto the floor.
"Mar," Emmeline chastised, plucking a box of jelly beans from the blonde's bag.
Marlene shrugged, lacking remorse. "It was only a 2nd Year. And the shopkeeper cleaned him up before it started gushing everywhere."
Lily chuckled, recalling the scene. "It was pretty bad; but it cleared out the shop for a little bit. I don't think he's going to be returning to Honeydukes anytime soon."
She scanned the lowly lit room, unsurprised to find it busy, teeming with more students than residents of the village. "Where's Dorcas?"
Emmeline pointed across the room towards the bar, where Dorcas was collecting butterbeers for the table. In a surprising find, Dorcas was being distracted by her fellow 7th Year, Thomas Burke. The blonde laughed and placed a hand on his arm.
"Huh," Lily mused, pulling off her jacket and reaching for a jelly bean as Emmeline offered it. "Alice?"
"With Frank." Emmeline raised her thumb towards the opposite way, where the couple was sitting, cuddled in a compact booth.
"You'd think this is Valentine's over Halloween," Marlene slouched in annoyance.
Emmeline snorted, offering another jelly bean.
"I could really go for a butterbeer right now," Marlene called loudly across the tables, trying to gain Dorcas's attention from across the pub. It failed to work, but succeeded in attracting the eyes of many annoyed patrons.
"I'll go grab them," Lily offered, moving to stand. It was easy enough to dodge and maneuver around the busy tables to get to her friend at the bar. She politely cleared her throat to announce her presence between the two 7th Year Gryffindors. "Hey, Dorcas."
"Lily," Dorcas greeted, pleased. Lily could tell she was a bit charmed by the 7th Year's advances.
"Evans," Burke greeted with a clean smile as he turned towards her. "How are you?"
"Doing well, thanks," she smiled genuinely, reaching around Dorcas to grab the three bottles that had been set on the bartop. "Just collecting the drinks for the girls." She gestured towards their table.
"Oh, right, I'm keeping Dorcas from you," he apologized, catching sight of Emmeline and Marlene (who was openly glowering) back at the table. He raised his hand in a friendly wave that they returned (a little less enthusiastic on Marlene's part).
He turned back towards her. "Meadowes was just telling me about your Halloween ritual."
Lily nearly spat out the sip of butterbeer she had just taken, raising a brow at her friend. "Oh. Was she?"
He nodded, looking sincerely interested. "Sharing candy with the 1st Years, like the muggles do for tradition. I don't think I've noticed you guys doing that before."
From beside her, Dorcas was giving her an insulted look, as if offended Lily thought she had revealed the secret of the Game.
"Oh, right," Lily said, recovering. "It's their first Halloween at Hogwarts. Want to make it fun, beyond just the big feast."
"It's brilliant," he agreed. "Adds to the festivities."
"Fun muggle tradition," Dorcas admitted. "I think the kids appreciate the candy more than the sentiment, though."
He laughed, nodding. "Say, would you two want to join Danny and I at the Halloween feast tomorrow?" He pointed at his fellow 7th Year classmate further down the bar, nursing his own butterbeer.
Lily recognized him quickly; tall and blond. Daniel Rochester.
"Sure," Dorcas said, pleased. She gave Lily an expectant look, silently persuading her to say yes.
"Alright," she affirmed, thinking little harm could come of it.
"Cheers," Burke said with a pleased smile. "I bet he'll be as pleased as I am that you two can join us."
"We should probably get back to our table," Lily advised, holding up the bottles. "Before Marlene comes over and grabs us."
"I'll see you later," Burke said with a disarming grin, raising his own goblet in farewell.
"See you, Burke," Dorcas replied, looping an arm through Lily's.
When they walked away far enough, Lily hummed in interest. "When did that happen? What happened to Olivia?"
Dorcas shrugged, taking a large gulp of her butterbeer. "Olivia's done. I'm tired of her waiting to make a decision."
"I'm sorry," she said earnestly. "I know you care a lot about her…"
"It's no good crying over spilt potion," Dorcas waved her off. "Besides, Burke's fit, isn't he?"
Lily glanced back over her shoulders towards the boy, where he had rejoined Rochester. "He is," she agreed. "Don't go getting lost in his eyes, now," she teased, nudging her friend so that she moved more quickly towards their table.
Marlene was pouting when they'd arrived. "What was that all about? I'm dying of thirst." She accepted the bottle from Lily, making a show of taking a long drink.
Lily smirked as she sat down in her spot. "Dor's got a date," she said in a hushed tone. "With Burke."
"That bellend?" Marlene teased. "Tell me more."
Dorcas scoffed. "He's fit. Besides, Lily's agreed to a double-date."
Lily laughed derisively, taking another sip of her butterbeer. "I did not."
"Were you not just standing there with me?" Dorcas retorted. "Burke invited Rochester – it's a double-date."
Lily waved her off. "I'm there for moral support. Burke wasn't asking for me to be Rochester's date."
Dorcas gave her an incredulous look, glancing back over her shoulder towards the two Gryffindor boys seated against the wall.
Now skeptical, Lily followed her friend's gaze towards the other side of the room. Her eyes met Rochester's. He raised his glass in a silent greeting, a pleased smile on his lips.
She reluctantly raised hers in return, twisting back towards her friends, moaning in sheepishness. "I didn't think he'd think of it as a date."
"Of course he thought of it as a date," said Marlene with an eyeroll. "That's all seventeen and eighteen year old boys think about. You know, among other things."
Lily took a long swig of her drink, rolling her own eyes.
Dorcas hummed. "It's not going to hurt anyone if you join him for dinner. If you don't like him, just don't see him again. Simple as that."
"Except in the corridors, the Common Room, and for meals," Lily said disparagingly.
"Except for corridors, Common Room, and meals," Dorcas agreed.
Emmeline laughed. "Well, at least he's a 7th Year – so only for the rest of the school year."
"Silving lining," Lily acknowledged with a wry smile.
"Unless," Marlene cleared her throat. "There was someone else you'd rather be seeing the rest of the year."
Lily glared balefully at the blonde. "No," she said in a clipped tone. "No one else."
She didn't miss the look her three friends shared.
"Knock it off. No one else, okay?" she snarked. "Can we move on?"
Her friends looked properly chastised.
From her rucksack, Emmeline pulled out handmade paper bags decorated with witches' hats and potion bottles. Marlene dumped the large bags of candy onto the tabletop, the chocolate and sweets nearly taking up the entire table.
Dutifully, Lily pulled out a piece of parchment from her jacket, having written out the names of the 1st years during the last Prefect meeting. She laid it out in front of them. "Two girls. Three boys."
"Definitely less than last year," Emmeline noted somberly.
"Did we get too much candy?" Dorcas asked, as a way to break the odd silence.
"Nah," said Marlene casually. "Means loads for everyone, yeah?"
Lily nodded. "Seems like there'll be plenty leftover for us," she smiled, trying to ease the tension a little. It worked.
"I get the extra lemon drops," Emmeline cut immediately.
"Merlin, please take them all," Dorcas complained. "Who even likes those?"
"Me," Emmeline replied definitively, grabbing one to unwrap and pop it into her mouth.
Lily laughed as she made a sour face. "They're all yours," she assured. "As long as I get the leftover sugar quills."
Marlene huffed. "Don't you always get the chocolate frogs?"
"No, that's me," Dorcas corrected, plucking out a lone frog and tearing it open. It nearly got away, hopping across the table in a clumsy manner to escape.
After their fair share of freebies, the girls got to work; packing, organizing, and sorting out the different types of candy as best they could. Once evenly distributed into the bags, Lily raised her wand and with a quick swish, tied the bags with a neat black and orange bow.
"Nicely done," Emmeline complimented, testing the durability of the tied knot.
"Thanks," Lily replied, pleased.
"These look great," interrupted Burke, having approached them without being noticed, Rochester accompanying them. "I can't wait to see how the 1st Years will react."
"I'm sure they'll love 'em," Rochester vowed.
"Thanks," the girls chorused back.
"We were just heading out," explained Burke. "Wanted to stop and say goodbye – and we'll see you later? Feast tomorrow?"
Dorcas gave him a brilliant smile. "We'll see you."
"See you later, Lily," Rochester said with his own grin.
"Bye," she replied with a wave, watching as the two 7th Years wove their way towards the exit.
"Rochester's sure gotten dapper," Emmeline, chin resting in her hand.
Lily guffawed loudly, pressing a hand to her heart. "Vance!" she teased. "How scandalous, you talking about a bloke like that."
Her friend smiled slyly, shrugging. "If things don't work out…"
Lily laughed, using her wand to flick a lemon drop towards the girl's face. Emmeline dodged it successfully, sticking her tongue out at her.
"Alright, alright," Marlene interrupted with a laugh, having taken the misdirected lemondrop to her cheek. "Didn't you need to get to Scrivens?"
"Yes," she confirmed, taking another look over the bags. Em, Dorcas, think you can take the rest of these bags up to the castle?"
"Of course," Emmeline responded, pulling out a large Honeydukes store bag. "We'll leave 'em in your dorm."
"Perfect," she said, pulling her jacket back on. "Mar, let's go."
She braced herself for the colder air before they left the pub, pulling her jacket more tightly around her as the wind whipped her skirt around her legs. "God, is it supposed to storm?"
"It seems like it," Marlene said over the howling wind. "Let's get there quick and then we can head back up to the castle."
They linked arms again, trudging against the wind as they made the way back up the main road of the village, sidestepping the occasional student, the pathways becoming less busy.
Lily stumbled to a halt when two figures barreled out from the alley perpendicular to the sidewalk, nearly pulling down Marlene with her.
"Watch it," Mulciber snarled, quickly double-taking when he caught sight of Lily's notable red hair. "Mudblood."
"Oi," Marlene shouted. "What did you just say?"
"Oh, no. Little Gryffindor's going to have to take points for a bad word?" Avery sniped with a dark look. "Go ahead."
"Just let us through," Lily said plainly. "We aren't bothering you."
"Well maybe you are," Mulciber said. "Ever thought of that?"
"How about you quit being a bunch of cunts?" Marlene demanded.
Avery curled his lip, digging his hand into his pocket.
"Okay, stop," Lily snapped. "We're going." She tugged at Marlene's arm to pull her along, but stopped short when Mulciber stepped in front of her. "Knock it off."
"I heard the Ministry picked you for the apprenticeship; same as Snape. You think you deserved that spot?"
"Move."
"All you mudbloods and blood traitors are so entitled."
Marlene stepped forward. "Mulciber, if you know what's good for you, you'll shut the bloody fuck up."
Mulciber continued as if he hadn't heard her. "I bet they picked you because they felt sorry. Trying to keep the peace and all that. Too scared to ruffle the feathers. The Ministry is in bloody shambles and all their worried about is you fucking mudbloods."
Lily reached for her wand in her waistband, drawing it and holding it aloft. "How about you do as Marlene requested and continue on your way, Mulciber?"
He looked down the barrel of her wand, marginally wary. "Yeah, we'll do that, Evans. We'll be seeing you around."
"Still looking forward to that ride, mudblood," Avery uttered into her ear as the two Slytherins brushed past them, his shoulder knocking into hers.
"I bloody hate those two," Marlene snarled. "How are they even allowed to attend school with fucking manners like that?"
Lily was watching them amble down the road, their dark cloaks whipping around them from the wind. "I have no idea," she murmured, feeling chilled. "Come on, let's hurry before they decide to turn around."
-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-
"Wha's going on?" Lily mumbled, rubbing tiredly at her face after her Sunday midafternoon nap. She felt where the pillow creases had left lines on her face and winced.
"Dinner!" Dorcas sang, having entered the 6th Year girl's dormitory with a hop and a skip the next day, running a brush haphazardly through her hair. "We've only got 30 minutes til the feast starts."
Lily blearily looked about the empty dorm room, brain foggy as she woke from her dozing. "That's plenty of time, Dor."
The 7th year huffed, hopping up to sit at the foot of Lily's bed. "Still. Wanted to give you plenty of time to wake up and become cognizant."
"I appreciate it," she replied dryly, rubbing her eyes. "God, I needed that nap."
"Ready for the Game later?" Dorcas asked with a smirk.
"Of course," she said, pulling herself up into a seated position. She yawned and stretched.
Dorcas repeatedly tapped her on the knee over the sheet impatiently. "Well, get to it, then. Get dressed."
"My, you're impatient," she commented with a grin, throwing off the covers. "Eager for your date?"
Dorcas rolled her eyes. "Don't tease. I'm ready to, you know, move on."
She frowned slightly, sliding out of the bed towards her trunk. "What did Olivia say to you?"
The blonde released a long sigh, ruffling her bangs as she leaned against the post of the bed. "What didn't she say? I'm too serious – not serious enough – her parents wouldn't approve, she's looking to move abroad, etcetera, etcetera."
Lily winced. "I know I've said it before, but I'm sorry. That's pretty shite of her."
"Thank you," Dorcas replied. "I just have to – get her out of my head. I'm bloody tired of trying to prove myself with her."
"And you shouldn't have to," she affirmed, pulling on a pair of long pants. "She should appreciate you for you."
Dorcas sniffed, brushing her hair out of her face. "Thanks, Lily. Oh, yes, wear that," she pointed, gesturing towards the cream-coloured fleece sweater she loved. "Makes your hair stand out."
"It's lucky the elves were able to get all the blood out of the fabric," she remarked, pulling it towards herself. She ran her hand over the sleeve of the sweater, the collar of it, free of any stains.
"Honestly, would've been good for Halloween," Dorcas teased.
Lily laughed, pulling it over her head to slip it on. "True. Maybe I'll have to cast a dye charm to bring it back."
"Pomfrey would pull you from the feast, thinking you've got a real nose bleed or something."
She snorted. "Also true. I'll leave it alone then. Where are the others?"
"Down in the common room. They've yet to join you in your pre-game napping ritual."
"It honestly does wonders." She pulled on her shoes then headed towards her nightstand to grab her hairbrush. "How else are we supposed to stay awake and alert till two AM?"
"By sheer willpower."
"I haven't got enough of that."
Dorcas snorted this time. "I don't think that's quite true."
Lily shrugged, tying her hair half-up so that it was out of her face, frowned at the crease that was still indented on her cheek from her pillow.
"Ready?"
"Sure," she said, checking herself over in the mirror one last time. "We meeting them in the Common Room?"
"Down at the table," Dorcas supplied. "I said we'd meet them down there right before the feast started."
"Excited?" Lily asked.
Dorcas shrugged. "I don't think Burke is a forever thing, but he's a nice enough bloke."
"High praise from one such as yourself," she teased, letting Dorcas lead the way out of the dormitory.
Dorcas suddenly laughed, recalling a memory. "There was one time in 5th Year Potion's class – his cauldron blew up into his face; he was hairless for over a week – eyebrows, hair, gone."
Lily giggled, jumping over the trickstep behind her. "I think I remember that. Wasn't he sort of blue for a bit there, too?"
"That's right! But he still had a good sense of humor about it," Dorcas chuckled. "Had to assure everyone he was not rooting for Ravenclaw at that next match."
The Common Room was nearly deserted, most of the students having already headed down to the Great Hall for the feast. In an unsurprising manner, Lily caught sight of the four marauders, sitting crouched in front of the tea table in front of the hearth.
"What're you planning?" she demanded in her prefect voice as they came up behind them.
The four boys jolted in surprise. Peter reached forward to snatch the large piece of parchment from the table and hastily rolled it up out of sight.
"Evans," James acknowledged calmly. "Meadowes."
"Obviously something," Dorcas commented.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said wryly. "We aren't planning anything."
Lily smirked. "Oh, it certainly doesn't seem like it. Anyways, I'm off the clock. You guys heading down to the feast soon?"
"Following right behind you," Sirius confirmed. "Save us all some seats."
"Right," she said with a laugh, turning to leave with Dorcas.
When they'd entered the Great Hall, they spotted Burke and Rochester seated further down the Gryffindor table where the 7th Year boy's usually sat. Rochester caught sight of them first, knocking his elbow into Burke's to grab his attention.
Burke turned, a pleased smile on his face as they approached, standing in a gentlemanly fashion as the two girls neared. Silently, Lily approved – maybe Burke would be good for Dorcas. He directed the two girls to sit between himself and Rochester.
"Hello, Rochester," Lily greeted with a smile, turning to take in the lavish decorations on the table. It was filled to the brim with pumpkins and small skeletal figurines.
"Call me Danny," he insisted with his own smile.
"Danny," she agreed.
"Can I grab you something to drink?"
"Sure – I'd love some of the grape juice, if you don't mind?"
"Of course," he replied easily, reaching to collect an empty goblet and the carafe of juice, pouring the drink for her. "No pumpkin juice?"
"I hate the stuff," she informed him with a smile. "Too strong of a taste." She glanced over her shoulder towards Dorcas, where she and Burke were already well into a conversation, talking animatedly with each other.
"So how's that Transfiguration coming along?" Danny asked, handing over the goblet before pouring himself a glass.
Lily chuckled. "Wish I could say better, but I hate to lie."
Danny laughed. "I feel that. 7th Year won't be any easier, I'm afraid."
"So another year of panicked studying," she surmised.
He grinned humorously. "Pretty much."
She huffed in an exaggerated manner. "Any luck with your Arithmancy?"
"Runes," he corrected with a sly grin. "But it might as well be Arithmancy with the lack of understanding I've got."
"Now, numbers I can understand," Lily contended, reaching out to grab onto a gummy bat from inside a decorative pumpkin and taking a bite. "Numbers make sense."
"Something you'd never hear me say," Danny joked, accepting a gummy as she offered. "So Thom was telling me how you guys like to help celebrate Halloween with the 1st years. That's really sweet."
"Yes, I think that was one of the things I missed the most about coming to Hogwarts. I mean, not that there wasn't enough to keep me busy. But I always missed the trick or treating."
"Yeah, I always got dragged to my aunt's Halloween parties. They were more for adults, than anything. All I remember is sulking. Didn't even get candy."
Lily sympathized. "Definitely doesn't sound like the most fun."
"You'll have to let me know if you guys have any candy left over – I would love some."
"I'm already fighting to get some leftover candy. I'm not sure I should share."
He laughed. "Well, I'm sure we could work something out."
Her shoulders raised in a shrug. "Depends on what you've got in mind –"
Their attention was pulled as Dumbledore called for the rooms' attention, clearing his throat loudly enough for all of the hall to hear.
"Welcome to this year's All Hallowed Hallowe'en Feast!" he called. "Please continue to enjoy the confectionaries and delicious offerings as you take a moment to enjoy the musical presentation by the Frog Choir, directed by our very own wondrous Professor Flitwick, accompanied by our resident ghosts."
The rest of the Great Hall fell dutifully quiet as the students queued up in front of the professor's Head Table. Flitwick stood before them, using his wand as a composer's stick, ready to assist in orchestrating.
The students of the choir started to hum, singing in acapella to a familiar rhythm.
Lily's brow furrowed. "Surely they don't do the same song every year."
Dorcas laughed beside her. "Flitwick loves his Shakespeare."
The frogs in their hands opened their wide mouths and out came a deep, croaking, "trouble," in time with the lyrics, "double toil and trouble."
Many of the students around them laughed and giggled at the display as it continued on through to the chorus, the frogs chiming in at opportune moments. Lily found herself rather impressed. "They've got them learning new vocabulary."
The Great Hall suddenly filled out loud ghoulish, howling, harmonizing into the choir's singing until the Ghosts of Hogwarts revealed themselves through the walls and windows. Peeves burst through the Great Hall's doors, carrying a large set of cymbals.
"Oh, Merlin," Danny groaned, catching sight of him. "That's new." Lily laughed.
Peeves clanged the metal pieces together – offbeat – and the students below where he was hovering shrieked and clapped their hands over their ears. She winced when he zoomed over the next able, clapping the cymbals together three more times with a giddy shriek.
The frogs ended on a low note, their croaks hanging in the air for a few seconds longer.
The hall fell silent for a moment as the audience processed what they had just experienced. A Hufflepuff suddenly stood up and whooped, clapping vigorously. His nearby neighbors copied his movements and soon the student body was clapping and applauding as well.
Flitwick waved at the reaction, pleased at the positive reaction, then turned to motion the choir students to return to their tables.
"Well, that was something," Burke declared. "Definitely different from the dancing pumpkins last year."
The four laughed together as the rest of the table began to dig into the food that appeared on the table.
Dinner, besides the occasional fear of being dive-bombed by a loud Peeves, passed easily, Lily content to find that carrying a conversation with Danny was rather easy.
"Here, you can have the last sugar quill," he offered her.
"Thanks," Lily said gratefully, accepting it. "They're my favorite."
"I'll have to remember that."
"Speaking of quills," she challenged. "I believe I lent you mine and you've never returned it."
He laughed. "I suppose you're right." He made a show of checking his pockets, coming up empty-handed. "Guess I'll have to replace the one you let me borrow."
"You're lucky I haven't taken points."
"From your own house?"
Lily nodded solemnly. "I can't let thieves get away with stealing things."
Danny laughed. "Fair. Hold me accountable, I insist."
"I think I'll have to," she replied gravely. "Can't let people think I'm –"
A scream echoed from the Entrance Hall through the closed doors.
"What was that?" Dorcas demanded in a worried tone.
Another scream echoed.
Those nearest to the Great Hall's entrance, shuffling away in hurried movements. Lily stood, on alert, as she pulled her wand from her waistband.
"Students, remain calm!" Dumbledore called out over the rising hysteria. When she looked towards him at the head table, he was still seated, a small smirk playing over his face as he watched over the students.
A loud THUD rattled the hinges of the doors.
A younger student nearby shrieked. "What's happening?" she cried.
Another thud against the doors shook the frame – until the doors burst open and in flowed rolling plumes of dark gray smoke. Loud howling, not unlike that of a wolf, reverberated from the smoke and another student screamed in fear.
The crowd waited with bated breath, tense with terror.
Lily squinted, trying to get a good view as something moved just beyond the screen of smoke, catching sight of something white moving.
A boy near the doors shouted, startled with a skeleton jumped through the doorway, landing clumsily on its feet – and then –
Did some sort of jig?
Lily laughed in disbelief as another skeleton shimmied through the smoke into the Great Hall, falling into step beside the first skeleton.
"Is that the Badger Shuffle?" Danny asked incredulously, craning his head to watch as a third, and then a fourth skeleton joined the dance.
"Oh, my God, you're right," Lily laughed, settling back into her seat beside him.
The scared looks on the other student's faces soon morphed into that of laughter and amusement as more skeletons filtered in through the smoke, jiving and prancing between the tables.
"I don't think I've ever seen anything like this," Dorcas mused as a skeleton sashayed past their seats at the table.
Soon, the sound of laughs and shrieks of mirth echoed through the large room, especially when one of the skeletons danced towards the Head Table, merengue-ing and salsa-ing in front of McGonagall.
Dumbledore looked absolutely delighted by the show, while McGonagall looked less than impressed, crossing her arms over her chest in a display of displeasure.
The spectacle itself only lasted a few minutes – the skeleton's bony hands rattling together in some odd rhythm, until they all simultaneously raised their arms and clapped at once – the impact of their hands clattering loudly – and then disappeared as they exploded into a shower of glitter and sparkle.
The students nearest groaned in dismay, covered in glittering powder. Lily winced on their behalf – glitter was not easy to get rid of.
"Brilliant," Burke snickered as a second of our applause rose up and filled the Great Hall for a second time that evening.
"Marauders?" Dorcas pondered.
Lily scoffed with a grin. "Of course, it had to be," she murmured, joining the cheering. She craned her head around to look for them, but they couldn't be found.
"Definitely going to miss that," Danny admitted as the students began to settle.
"Right?" Dorcas agreed. "At least Lily here gets another year."
"With the marauders?" Lily clarified. "I don't think you'll be much jealous about that."
Danny laughed. "Not just them. All of it. Our last Halloween feast. Last chance to see a skeleton grinding against the professor's table."
"You've got a wand," she teased. "If you really wanted to see a skeleton gyrate, you could probably conjure it up whenever."
He snorted, nodding his head. "You're absolutely right. I'll have to find the spell so I can save it for whenever I fancy a dance with a skeleton."
After they shared another round of sweets and candies (that hadn't been contaminated by the exploding glitter), Lily checked the time. "We should probably head up to the Common Room to get the trick or treat bags ready for the 1st Years before they all head up. Dorcas?"
"Right behind you," she acknowledged over her shoulder.
"Are you heading up, too?" Lily asked Danny.
He shook his head. "A bunch of the 7th Years are meeting in the courtyard – since it is our last Halloween."
"That sounds fun," Lily said as she smiled graciously when he offered his hand to help her stand from the bench. "Dorcas and Emmeline going?"
"They've been invited," he confirmed. "Spoke to Emmeline earlier during Runes." He said the class name with emphasized distaste to get her to laugh. "Come on, Burke. Meadowes. Let's head out."
When they exited through the doors, the four stopped short at the sight in front of them.
The Entrance Hall was elaborately madeover to look like the Forbidden Forest, fog settled over the floor that was covered in moss and spindly tree roots. The ceiling overhead was spelled to look like the outside sky – but unlike the current weather, it was dark, rolling clouds, lightning flashing overhead.
A loud boom of thunder startled a nearby 5th Year, who screamed in fright and darted forward towards the stairs. "Tilly!" Jacquelyn, the 5th Year Gryffindor cried out, moving to follow but stumbled. "Oh, EW!" she screeched, having stepped into a foul, mud patch. "What IS THIS!"
Lily bit back a laugh at the girl's expense.
"Oh, yeah, I'll definitely miss stuff like this. A bit trickier than a simple conjuring spell for a skeleton," Danny mused to her, raising a hand to move a dangling branch covered in moss out of their way.
She hummed in agreement, somewhat stuck in awe at the complex display. "I think the stairs are this way."
"I think we have to take this path towards the courtyard doors," Burke guessed, pointing towards a path covered in darkness. "At least I hope so. Meadowes, you coming with?"
She smirked at him. "I said I'd meet Emmeline back in the Common Room. I guess we'll find out if we took the right paths when we meet later."
Lily gave it two days before she'd catch the two snogging in a broom closet somewhere.
Burke returned her smirk with a wink. "Sounds like a plan."
"I'll see you later?" Danny asked Lily while the two others were distracted. "Maybe a study session for Transfiguration."
She laughed. "I might take you up on that offer," she said, involuntarily thinking about how much fun she had watching James help the other students with the same subject.
"Catch you later," he said, following Burke into the darkness.
"That went well," Dorcas confessed, pleased.
"Sure seems like," Lily teased, motioning the older girl to go first.
They marched into the murkiness of the replicated Dark Forest, Lily grimacing as the ground shifted and mashed under her feet, mud and dirt sticking to the soles of her shoes.
"Filch will be furious," Dorcas mused, picking up her feet carefully. "This is going to trek all over the castle."
Lily laughed, ducking under a low-hanging branch – was that a bat hanging from it? – but silently agreed. Soon, they could peek the staircases through the trunks of the trees and fog. "Bloody hell, how did they manage all of this in such a short time?"
"Hell if I know," Dorcas laughed, nearly tripping over a root. "But it's bloody brilliant. You'd think they would've stuck around to enjoy the reactions."
Lily hummed, stepping through the last of it onto the bottom step of the staircases and following Dorcas. They came upon the Fat Lady's portrait. "Headless Horseman," she supplied, but the portrait remained still.
The Fat Lady shrugged and fanned herself.
"Headless Horseman?"
Dorcas reached forward and tried to pry it open. "Did the password change?"
She frowned. "No, it should be good until tomorrow morning."
"Head-less Horse-man," Dorcas pronounced slowly, as if the Fat Lady couldn't hear her. "Come on, open up, you!"
Lily stepped closer, suddenly cautious, as she pulled her wand out. "Another prank?" she raised her wand to press against the frame. "Finit–"
The portrait swung open without warning and the two girls jumped back in alarm as more smoke spilled out of the portrait.
"What –"
A shrill screech deafened the girls.
Dorcas gasped and pointed through the smoke – Lily nearly fell back a second time as a grey figure slid out of the fog, howling as it flew towards them – its face was sunken, empty sockets – it looked like a deformed banshee.
The girls screamed in alarm – and the figure exploded into a great cloud of glitter and sparkle.
From inside the portrait, Lily could hear sounds of gleeful laughter. She waved her wand in a quick swirl, clearing the smoke from the air. Disappointingly (as she knew it would), the glitter remained behind.
When Dorcas and Lily ducked through the doorway, they were unsurprised to find the four marauders were just inside the common room, having seen the girls' reaction to the dummy banshee.
"Ha, ha, very clever," she said, trying to shake out some of the glitter from her hair.
Sirius cackled, lounging back on the couch with his feet up on the table. "You're the ones who fell for it."
"Why'd you have to use glitter?" Dorcas asked in a churlish manner, trying to knock off some from her shoulders and sleeves.
"Sirius considered something far worse," Remus countered.
"Oh, ew," Dorcas scoffed. "I don't want to know."
"Pixire Dust seemed just as evil," James inserted with a grin.
Sirius waved his hands, motioning for them to step away from the entrance. "Now hurry up and move before the next group comes in."
"That dust better be cleaned up by the time the night is over," Lily warned, biting back a smile. "Or you'll be finding it somewhere else."
The four wizards 'ooh'ed at her threat, raising their hands in surrender.
She probably should be chastising them a bit more (or at least Remus, of all people) but had to admit that it was in the Halloween spirit. "Carry on," she said, hoping not to regret it later.
Marlene, Alice, and Emmeline were already in the dormitory, picking through the trick or treat bags.
"How come you're not covered in pixie dust?" Lily demanded.
Marlene laughed. "We were behind a bunch of other students – they took the brunt of the glitter blast."
"How lucky," Dorcas snarked, brushing more glitter off of her hair onto Marlene's bed.
"Oi!" the blonde complained. "Don't be a git."
"Alright, come on, let's distribute these," Lily interjected before they got into it. "I don't think we'll have to do anything fancy, like a trick, considering the boys seemed to have taken care of that tonight already."
The girls chuckled in agreement.
"Em, you and I can take these over to the boys' dorms. Alice, Dor, drop these off in the girls?"
"What about me?" Marlene asked.
"You can put all the candy you stole from these bags out onto your bed – we can share when we all get back," Lily teased, grabbing two of the bags so that Emmeline could grab the third.
Marlene groaned. "How did you know?" She slid off of Lily's bed towards her own, throwing open her trunk.
"Because I know you," Lily said. "Collect it all and we can meet in the Common Room." She held the door open for the others, splitting off from Dorcas and Alice as she and Emmeline made it back into the Common Room.
She had to bite back a laugh as a set of 4th year boys stumbled through the portrait hole. One of their screams had echoed rather piercingly throughout the tower.
James and Sirius had collapsed fully onto the couch, breaking down into rambunctious laughter.
They entered into the 1st year boy's dormitory, fortunately empty. Emmeline nearly tripped on a spare set of shoes, glaring at the offensive items. "Maybe we should clean up the dorm," she offered with narrowed eyes.
"That might scare them too much," Lily joked, but not rejecting the idea immediately as she glanced around the dorm. She placed each of her two bags onto the beds individually, mindful of where she stepped. "Ready?
"Let's get out of here," Emmeline said, holding the door open. "I forget how gross they can get."
She laughed. "Oh, hey, Danny mentioned you guys were going to head down for a 7th Year gathering?"
Emmeline nodded, following her down the stairs. "He mentioned something during class. I was thinking of going."
"You should," she observed. "He, Dorcas and Burke were talking about how it's your guys' last year and all. You could come back with plenty of time before the Game."
"Danny said something to you, though?"
"He did," Lily confirmed as they entered the Common Room. She spotted Marlene, and the other two girls in their usual spot.
Emmeline hummed. "So, how did the date go?"
She shrugged. "I think Dorcas and Burke are definitely going to end up snogging before the weekend's over."
"Oh, blimey," Emmeline laughed. "You realize it's already Sunday?"
"I do," Lily confirmed as they joined the others.
"Sh, sh," Marlene ordered, pointing towards the entrance.
As if on cue, the next group of students had attempted to come through the portrait hole; a 3rd year girl let out a piercing screech.
"We probably shouldn't laugh," Lily murmured, trying to cover her amusement.
Emmeline was shaking her head vigorously, covering the lower half of her face with her sleeve. "We really shouldn't."
Marlene's eyes were already streaming with tears. "Did you see her reaction? She nearly clawed that other girl's face off."
They sat together for a bit longer, enjoying the spare candy among them as they watched the next few groups of students wander in. The Marauders' were only able to get a few more good scares in; word seemed to have gotten out about the trick.
"Dor, Em, you heading down to the courtyard?" Lily prompted.
Dorcas dusted off her hands and nodded. "Still look alright?"
"Besides the extra pixie dust, gorgeous," Marlene teased. "It adds a glow about you."
"Thanks," she said deadpanned.
"Say hello to Burke for us," Lily teased.
"I'll say hi to Rochester for you," she retorted. "Come on, Emmeline, let's go."
Alice stood up, as well.
"Where are you going?" Marlene questioned.
The brunette looked sheepish. "Frank's invited me down. I thought I'd go visit to kill time before, you know, our session."
"I see," Lily said in mock disappointment. "Jumping ship to hang with the 7th Years."
Alice shrugged. "What can I say? Frank does better favors."
"Ooh," the girls chorused in a teasing manner.
"See you later," she farewelled, following the others out.
"And then there were two," Marlene mused, popping another jelly bean into her mouth.
"And then there were two," Lily quietly agreed, attention caught as the boys in front of the entrance laughed again, loudly, as they teased Dorcas, Alice, and Emmeline on their way out.
"You going to say something?" Marlene prompted.
"About what?"
Marlene smirked, shook her head. "Nothing. How'd the date go?"
"I think Dorcas could really like Burke," Lily answered, cracking apart a sugar quill so she could suck on a solid piece.
"Dor would like anyone," Marlene grinned. "What about yours?"
"My date? With Rochester?" she shrugged. "He's nice. We had a nice time."
"But no spark?"
Lily frowned, waved her hand. "I didn't really think of it like a date."
Marlene hummed, folding the lid of her jelly beans closed. "That's telling, I'd say."
She raised a shoulder with indifference. "I could see hanging out with him more. We get along really well."
"Hm, romantic," Marlene teased. "Sounds like it could be a wild, torrid affair."
Lily snorted, sliding another piece of a sugar quill into her mouth to crush it between her teeth.
"You're suddenly invested."
"You're my best mate," she pointed out. "I'll always be invested."
"Right," Lily agreed, amused.
"'Sides, I don't think blond is really your type."
She rolled her eyes. "And how do you know my type?"
"You're my best mate," Marlene repeated. "I might even know you better than you know yourself."
LIly chuckled, conceding to the point.
"Okay, I think I might go take a quick kip up in the dorm before our session. Grab me if anything happens before then?"
"Sure," she agreed, accepting the box of jelly beans and shifting her legs so Marlene could pass by.
When Marlene had disappeared into the stairwell that led up to the girls' dormitory, Lily let her eyes wander around the living space, flitting between the different groups of students who remained behind.
In a gratified moment, she caught sight of the one of the 1st year boys rushing down the stairs to his fellow classmates, his trick-or-treat bag held tightly in his hands. He found his friends quickly, showing off the bag, pointing up towards the stairs. The other two jumped up and followed excitedly, sprinting up the stairs.
"Seems like a nice treat," James commented, having watched the same scene.
Lily glanced up at him, where he stood over the couch she had snuggled into. "It does," she agreed with a proud smile.
"Mind if I join you?"
She gestured towards the empty cushion beside her, moving into a cross legged position. "Be my guest."
He slid into the space, jostling the springs of the couch so that she was forced to shift, her knee knocking into his thigh.
"That was quite the show at the feast," she said wryly.
James shrugged, his own proud smile turning the corners of his mouth up.
"And the Entrance Hall. Filch is going to go ballistic," she chuckled. "How did you all pull that off?"
"I have no knowledge of what happened to the Entrance Hall," he protested.
She rolled her eyes. "Well, at least Dumbledore looked brilliantly impressed."
"Did he?" James asked in surprise, grinning widely. "That's lucky."
Lily laughed, knocking her fist into his shoulder. "Very lucky. McGongall didn't look too pleased to have a skeleton dance in a rather risque way in front of her."
James laughed aloud, covering his mouth as he shut his eyes in imagination. "Bloody hell, I would've loved to see that."
"A bit sad you had to miss it," Lily agreed with her own laugh. "It's fortunate there weren't any guests this year too. She might've not been so forgiving."
"Merlin, could you imagine Madeye Moody if he'd been there?"
She threw her head back against the cough, laughing with mirth. "Oh, God, I would've loved to see that."
"Probably wouldn't have made a good impression," James mused. "I think he's heard enough about us already."
"Oh, I don't doubt it."
They fell into companionable quietness, watching the students mill about the room, chattering.
"Ready for the Game tonight?" he asked after a while.
She turned her head to find him watching her and grinned. "Of course. You?"
"Of course," he mimicked. "Just hope I'm on your team."
A smile pulled at her own mouth, but she rolled her eyes. "You're just tired of losing."
He nodded once. "I've only won one of these games – and I was on your team."
"My team lost in the last game," Lily pointed out. "I'm not guaranteeing anything."
"You did create the game," he retorted.
She rolled her eyes. "It's not like I created it from scratch," she denied.
He gave her a look.
"We've talked about this," she said hastily.
"Do you get nervous about playing?" he asked curiously.
"Every time," she said solemnly, plucking a stray thread from her sleeves. "It's totally fun, and more than exciting, but…"
"Nerves," James acknowledged kindly.
"I guess you'd understand, with the Quidditch matches and all that."
He nodded, shifting so that he could more comfortably sink into the couch. "It puts you in a weird place," he agreed. "Like your heart can't quite catch up with your nerves."
"Exactly," she said ardently. "Exactly that. Like it's stuck in your throat and it's a bit hard to breathe because you're so excited?"
"It's both incredibly annoying and exhilarating at the same time."
She grinned, settling back to match his posture. "I'm so glad you get it."
He huffed a laugh. "And you said you wanted to be an auror – before, when you told me about the apprenticeship? Is it because you think that'll give you the same feeling?"
Her shoulders rose in a shrug, somewhat guarded by the question. "I just want to help people – do something about all that's been going on, you know? I think back to our 1st year, when I first truly started to learn more about the wizarding world. About how amazing this all could be."
James inclined his head in understanding, but she could tell he didn't quite get her meaning.
"I know you grew up with magic, elves, the Floo, broomsticks – all of this – so it's not like you've known anything else."
He winced, defensive. He opened his mouth to respond, but she stopped him. "No, no, I don't mean that in a bad way, honestly. I just mean that… learning that there was this whole other world of that – completely overwhelming. Well, I knew a small portion of it – from Snape – but going to Diagon Alley, riding the train and seeing Hogwarts for the first time. Mind blown."
"And then you learn about what… families like me had to go through. To earn their place at this school, in this society. I get scared that it's all going to be taken away – before I've even had a chance to really live it."
"But sure, I could go into potion-making, or charmwork. Hell, I've even thought about teaching, but… when I think about what I could be doing for others… there's no other choice, I think."
She turned to look at James, a bit embarrassed at her spontaneous speech.
He was staring at her intently, eyes flitting over her face, as if processing what she had said.
"Sorry," she said sheepishly.
"Don't be," he assured.
She cleared her throat and tucked a loose chunk of hair behind her ear. "Have you thought much about after school?"
"No," he said honestly, after having a moment to recover. His jaw clenched as he considered. "I guess... I haven't tried to think about it too closely."
"What do your parents think?"
James brought his hand to his chin, thinking it over. "They've only ever expressed that they want me to be happy. Mum, especially."
She thought back to the woman she had met weeks before, her kind smile and warm eyes. "She doesn't want you to join the ministry – or the school board?" Lily asked wryly.
He chuckled. "Nothing of the sort. Or at least, not that she's said."
They both turned as the portrait entrance opened and in ambled the rest of the 7th years, laughing and chatting as they made their way into the common room.
"She did seem lovely," Lily reflected aloud. "I know I said it before, but I was pretty snarky when we talked about it. But I mean it; she was very kind."
"She has to be to let Sirius stay with us," James commented.
"No, that takes patience."
"Patience and kindness."
"None of the qualities you seemed to have inherited," she teased, reminiscent of their previous conversation.
"Besides being insufferable," he acknowledged in recollection.
They grinned at each other. He held her gaze.
Suddenly and inexplicably shy, Lily glanced away, choosing to instead watch the 7th years who had just entered mill about. Dorcas and Emmeline stood beside Burke and Rochester, still chatting amiably. Dorcas leaned closer to Burke, reaching out to touch his arm once more. He looked incredibly pleased by this, slanting his body over her, mirroring her body language.
"I should probably head upstairs," Lily remarked, shifting to stand. "Don't like to stay too late in the Common Room on these nights."
James nodded, watching as she raised from the couch. "Only an hour and half," he commented, checking the time.
She grinned. "I'll see you then."
If her heart was beating a bit more quickly, it was only because James had mentioned the Game – it was only ninety minutes to midnight; she always got anxious during this odd time.
"Lily!"
She turned, expecting James to have followed – but was surprised to find Rochester. "Hey Danny," she replied warmly.
Lily was aware of James's eyes on them as Rochester approached. "Hey," he said, coming to a stop beside the couch. "I just wanted to wish you a Happy Halloween before bed."
"Thanks," she replied, a bit self-conscious. She shifted so that they took a few steps away, Danny following. "I'll have to get you some of that candy tomorrow."
He chuckled. "Don't worry about it. I'll grab some more next Hogsmeade trip. If you want to join me?"
"Oh." She reached to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. "Yes, maybe we'll run into each other at Honeydukes," she deflected.
He nodded with a grin, not putoff. "Sugar quills, right?"
She chuckled. "Yes. Happy Halloween, Danny."
"See you later, Lily," he said as she turned on her heel and departed towards the girls' dormitory staircases.