If It's Love, Then I'm Happy
Lily walked up the stairs to her transfiguration teacher's office nervously. She hadn't done anything wrong, had she? Dumbledore must have some other reason for calling e to his office, she told herself firmly. The stairs were cheerily lit by lavender candles that smelled of flowers, and the steps were a comforting white marble. She paused as she neared the end of the staircase. Voices were drifting from behind the oak door, one angry, one calm.
"But I cannot see how you can give such a responsibility to such a young pair of students!" said a deep and forbidding voice. The soft creaks of wood told Lily that he was pacing the length of the office. Dumbledore, however, took no note of this, for it was his same composed voice that answered, but Lily was sure that there was anger in his eyes. They were the only things that gave away his true feelings.
"Trust me, these students are fully prepared to what I will ask of them."
There was a sigh, but then the voice, not so angry now; more like defeated said, "Very well."
Lily flattened herself against the wall as the Minister of Magic himself hurried down the stairs, pausing only for a brief nod of recognition to the Head Girl.
"Only two days in school and already arguments," thought Lily with a sigh. She had been wishing for the honor of being Head Girl since she had entered Hogwarts, but she found it much less rewarding than she would have thought. She didn't mind the patrol, but she did mind the Head Boy – James Potter, who had been her mortal enemie since her first year, when he tried to steal her pumpkin pastry. Insufferable git, tall and annoyingly handsome, playboy..
Lily frowned slightly, remembering how annoyed she had been when she had found out that for the rest of the year she had to share a common room with James. Shaking the thought out ofher head, she continued up the stairs, and walked into Dumbledore's office.
The old professor sat at a large desk made of a polished, honey-colored wood. Scrolls of Parchments were arranged in a pile at the corner, and a certain number of quills laid near them. Before his desk were two armchairs.
"Ah, Ms. Evans," said Dumbledore warmly. "I have been expecting you. Do sit down."
Lily was hesitantly settling herself into a chintz armchair when James Potter burst through the door.
"I didn't do it!" he exclaimed breathlessly, leaning on the wall and panting. "It was all Siri-" But he stopped short when he was Lily staring at him. "Evans?" said James disbelievingly. "You finally got yourself into trouble?"
Dumbledore smiled, his eyes twinkling merrily. "You are not in trouble," he said kindly. "At least for the moment," he added, eyeing James. "Please sit down, Mr. Potter."
Relieved, James sat down in the armchair, arms crossed, and an unreadable expression on his face. They both looked expectantly at Dumbledore.
When the headmaster looked up, Lily was shocked to see that he seemed to have grown much older. His eyes were dull, and newfound wrinkles were clear on his face.
"Lily, James, I have a mission for you."
Lily looked up, surprised. James' eyes widened, as he sat forward in his chair to listen better.
"What for, Professor?" said James curiously.
"Well,... You both know very well about what is going on in the wizarding world. Voldemort is growing stronger, and the death toll has been mounting steadily. The Minister of Magic has asked me to take charge of the prevention of further homicides caused by Voldemort. Unfortunately, I cannot take these measures fully myself, for I must also be on the spot of these crimes directly after. Therefore, I was given the task of choosing a team of – say, detectives, who must do everything possible to predict. If you two become good enough, you will be asked to become aurors after you leave the school. I think you two will find it rather enjoyable. What I want you to do is act in secret to try to predict Voldemort's next moves. I trust you to be very secretive about this, which means you cannot even tell your friends. You must work on this as often as possible, in a small room that I will tell you about in a minute." He stared at the disbelieving faces before him.
Lily and James gaped at the Headmaster, clearly shocked.
"I – I – how? How do we do this?" stuttered Lily.
"Well, that is for you two to find out. I do not know how you shall do, but proceed rationally and with a lot of common sense as well as imagination. I suggest reading a number of the famous muggle author Agatha Christie's novels," said Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye. "As these might give you the good 'detective spirit'. As soon as you have a little bit of information, I want you to rush it to me. Even something you aren't entirely sure of – anything you find could be important. Ah, I almost forgot. Take this."
The wizard summoned a box off of a high shelf. It was rather small, about the size of a small fist, and made of a peculiar wood. The Head Boy and Head Girl stared, confused, at the box.
"Go ahead, open it!" said Dumbledore.
Lily took the box and looked at the gold lock that kept it closed. She brushed her finger along it, surprised at how beautiful the lock was up close. She saw an inscription on the side. "Latin, professor?" she inquired.
"Yes. It says that only a person worthy of what lies inside may open it."
"Are-are we worthy of it, sir?" questioned James.
"Yes, yes, of course! That is why I chose you."
Lily place her fingers along the side of the box, where small marks resembling finger prints had been engraved in the box. The lid creaked open slowly, revealing a lining of greenish velvet. The object placed inside seemed very ancient, like it had not been cleaned in centuries. It was a foggy sphere, with little gold incisions creeping over it like vines. It sat on four small golden legs. Lily touched it cautiously, and then took it out. It felt surprisingly warm in her hand, like someone had been holding it recently.
"Um... professor... What exactly is it?" asked James.
"A Virtus Spes," whispered Lily, not believing that so rare an object sat before her. James' eyes widened as he realized that indeed, the legendary objects sat before him.
"So you have heard of it!" said Dumbledore. "Virtus Spes means brave hope in Latin. What do you know of it?"
"Well, I know it is legendary and that only two of were made... And that their existence was not believed to be," answered James.
"I... I thought that... that it was only a legend!" said Lily.
"Well, that's obviously not true, is it?" said Dumbledore, smiling.
"I...I read books about it. It was the wizard Harold Tueor who made it in the legend. Which I guess must be reality... He made it under the strain of keeping his descendants safe from the dark wizard Grindelwald. But... Has this not an incredible power, professor?" said Lily.
"Entirely correct, Ms. Evans. There are two, the one you have before you, and the one I am about to give to you." He pulled out a second orb identical to the one Lily was holding and handed it to James. "It enables you two to communicate with each other. It also answers questions about any event happening in the past... It holds information on much, and once in a while can reveal a crucial prophecy... Though that is not in its habits. You may ask any question, it will answer, as long as the events are past. You must use it to make sure your hypothesis about who will next be killed by Voldemort are correct... I must warn you though, that through this you will see horrible, dark things. You will see scenes of what Voldemort has done... A sight I wish I could keep from you, but I cannot. You must always remember that as long as this is in your hands, you are safe. Ms Evans, Mr. Potter, a great responsibility has befallen you. I am sorry to have to give you this great responsibility, but I must. I have no other choice. Remember not to tell anyone, I must insist on that. Not even the other professors. You may leave now."
He nodded at them, and Lily and James stood up. "And about the room you will be in," he said, making them turn around to face him. "I can tell you nothing except to use your minds. Please be careful," he added seriously.
James carefully placed the Virtus Spes back in its box, and picked up the box with extreme care. They headed out, realizing the weight that had been thrust on their shoulders.
They walked in silence through the dark halls of Hogwarts, glad that all the other students were in bed. They had never been able to stand each other. For first year through fifth year, they had always insulted each other. But then, James' cousin, Eliane, transferred to Hogwarts from Beauxbatons. She was in their year, and soon Lily and her became the best of friends. Eliane and Lily started hanging out with the Marauders, and though James and she still disagreed, fought, and insulted each other, they began to be able to stand each other... When they learned that for the first time in centuries, two students of the same house were appointed Head Girl and Head Boy, they knew that something bad was going on, and that they would have to work together.
"I guess we have to be friends now," said James suggestively.
"I don't think so," answered Lily sharply. "We can work with each other on this, but that doesn't mean we will be friends,"
James shrugged. "Whatever. Lelani Mefano," he added to a portrait of a mermaid, who giggled at James and swung on her hinges to let them in.
They walked into their common room. Lily, clutching her box, made for the stairs into her room. James, however, sat down at the couch and opened his box, staring at what was inside.
"What are you doing?" said Lily impatiently.
Surprised, James looked up. "There is a parchment in here," he said slowly.
Lily came over to where James was sitting and, taking a seat next to him, peered over his shoulder at the inside of his box. Inside, beside the sphere, lay a piece of old, wrinkled parchment she had not noticed before. She untied the ribbon around it and rolled it out. Black ink crawled across the page. She read carefully, James frowning slightly as he tried to concentrate on what Lily was saying instead of the heavenly smell wafting from her hair….
What does it say?
She handed the parchment to James and headed to the fireplace. She touched the sculpted mantel in various places, until she found what she needed. A latin inscription- the same one she had earlier found on the box!
"It's here, James," she said.
James took the box and headed over to well Lily stood. He watched as she hesitently placed the thumb of her right hand on to the inscription. The stones moved over and left a wide opening next to the fireplace.
They headed in, and found a fairly large chamber. The room had a low ceiling, just barely high enough for James to stand without hitting it. Two large armchairs were placed in front of a large fireplace. A small coffee table lay between the armchairs and the fire. James picked up the parchment that Lily had been reading earlier and read it.
"Evans... It says we have to put the box here, and leave it here."
"Alright then." She said nervously.
They placed the box on a thin table lying between the two armchairs. They then walked over to an enormous bookcase stretching across the three other walls, and on both sides of the fireplace. The shelves were filled with book upon book.
"All the books from the restricted section of the library!" said James with an intake of breath.
"How would you know?" said Lily suspiciously.
James flushed red. "Oh, well, you know, just a guess," he said feebly, to which Lily rolled her eyes.
The bottom shelves of the book case were filled with material needed- maps of all the towns in England in alphabetical order, maps of the world, quills, parchments, ink bottles...
"Well, we've got everything needed," said James.
"Yeah," said Lily, sounding a bit dazed.
"It's a bit late to work now, though," said James, checking his watch. "It's – wow, its 2:30 already? G'night, Lily."
"Goodnight, James," said Lily, smiling faintly. She didn't even notice they had used each other's first names.
A/N: I hope you like! This is only half of the original forst chapter... lol! More soon...
Review!
K.J.