A/N: Hi! Sorry this took so long! I won't talk for long here, on with the chappie. Here comes the plot!!
DISCLAIMER: Not mine: anything you recognize from the books. Mine: Lena, Ally, Kim, the Slytherin girls, etc.
Chapter 10: The Plot ThickensJames and Lily ran down the road, laughing.
"They'll never find us!!!" Lily exclaimed gleefully.
"And you know what that means," James said.
"They can't make us stop kissing," Lily said, in a singsong voice. James pulled her into an alleyway, pushed her against a wall and kissed her. She didn't complain. Her head was still really fuzzy and she couldn't think of anything else to do but kiss him. He pulled back.
"You're only taking advantage of me because I'm drunk," Lily said.
"I'm drunk, too," James said. "You could just as easily be taking advantage of me." Lily giggled.
"I wasn't feeling your—" she started, but he kissed her again.
"Are you complaining?" James asked. She shook her head, giggling.
"Can I tell you a secret?" she whispered.
"What?" James whispered back.
"I think I'm in love with you, but you can't tell anyone."
"Ok," James said. "Why can't I tell anyone?"
"Because … because I said so," Lily answered.
"I love you too," he said. "You'd best keep it to yourself, too."
"So no one else can know," Lily said.
"Can I kiss you?" James asked. Lily didn't answer, just pulled him closer.
*****
"I lost my best friend, I lost my best friend," Lena said, dazedly. Sirius put his hand on her shoulder soothingly.
"It's ok, Lena," he said. "We'll find them. They can't have gotten far."
"Let's spread out and search," Remus suggested.
"Or, you know we could just sit here and wait to see if they come back," Frank said sarcastically. They lit their wands and set off through Hogsmeade.
"I swear, I'm fitting a bell on him," Remus said as he walked away with Peter and Kim.
*****
"Where do we even start to look?" Sirius thought aloud.
"Try to think like they think," Lena suggested.
"Ok," he said. "I'm James. I'm Head Boy, the second most fanciable male in Hogwarts. I'm drunk and have been harboring a secret crush on Lily for almost seven years. She's drunk too." Lena grinned.
"I'm Lily. I'm Head Girl and very responsible I'm the top Charms student in the world. My greatest ambition is to marry Paul McCartney, but I'd settle for James if I could only swallow my pride and tell him that I really like him. But that'd take a miracle. Or something to lower my inhibitions. By the way, I'm drunk. So is he." They looked at each other for a split second before declaring in unison:
"Check the alleyways."
*****
"So this was an eventful night," Ally said.
"Never a dull moment when those lot are around," Frank said, smiling. "My friends refuse to come out anymore. They say it's too risky."
"But you've never been caught?" she asked.
"No, but we nearly always come very very close," he said. "Take tonight. Rosie almost caught Lily and James drunk, which would have increased the likelihood of her telling Dumbledore. At the moment we're walking around Hogsmeade with our wands lit in the middle of the night. Anyone could see us. But I have no doubt that we'll make it back to the castle unnoticed."
"Do you come out with them often?" Ally asked.
"A good bit, yeah," he said. "They know how to have fun."
"Dangerous fun," Ally said. "Where are they?"
*****
"What good would a bell do?" Peter asked.
"You'd hear it ringing whenever he was near," Kim said. "So you'd know where he was."
"Sounds a bit stupid to me," he said. "Wouldn't it get annoying when you could find him?"
"Never mind, Pete, it's only a saying," Remus said.
"It's like looking for a needle in a haystack," Kim complained.
"What—" Peter started.
"Nothing, Peter," Remus said.
*****
"It's alright," Lena called across to Ally and Frank, who were searching a few feet away. "We've found them." Ally signaled to Kim who was at the opposite end of the street. Kim and the boys came up to where Lena and Sirius were standing.
"They're at it again," Sirius said. And they were, even worse than before.
"Disturbing, isn't it?" Remus said.
"It wouldn't be so bad if they knew what they were doing," Ally said.
"James has dreamed of doing that for a while," Peter said.
"So has Lily," Kim said. "We have to stop them."
"Yeah," Lena said. She stepped forward and dragged James back. "Break it up," she said. Before either of them had time to protest, they were bundled into the passageway and were on their way back to the castle. Squishing under the cloak, Remus cast a silencing spell. The charm came in useful when Lily burst into song halfway there.
"Everybody's got something to hide except for me and my monkey," she sang. James tried to join in, but was hampered by the fact that he didn't know the words.
"Maybe we should have reconsidered," Kim said as they neared the portrait hole. "Put the silencing charm on them."
"That would have been a good idea about ten minutes ago, Kim," Ally said. "Bit useless now that we're here, though." She stepped out and gave the Fat Lady the password. The portrait yawned and swung open. They pulled the cloak off once they were inside and took Kim's idea as they climbed the boy's staircase. They cast a silencing charm on Lily and James.
"You weren't making any noise!" James exclaimed once the charms had been taken off.
"Neither were you!" Lily said, giggling.
"I'm going to kiss you again," James announced.
"Oh, no you're not," Lena said, dragging him away from Lily.
"Why won't you let us kiss?" Lily asked.
"If you two still want to kiss when you're sober, no problem," Sirius said. "We won't have any objections. But until then, we won't let you." Lily pouted. Lena ducked out and returned a few minutes later with al the girl's pyjamas. She took Lily into the bathroom and helped her into her pyjamas. She sent her back out to the room. She had grabbed the nightdress she had been wearing the night before. She should have taken something different, but it was too late now.
Sirius was trying to sort out the sleeping arrangements. If Remus slept at the end of Peter's bed, Ally and Kim could sleep in his bed. Once Lily and James were knocked out with the sleeping potion, they could throw them on James' bed. He didn't think it would be fair asking Frank to give up his bed, so that just left one bed. And him and Lena. That was out of the question, anyway. As if on cue, Lena came out of the bathroom, wearing the nightdress she had been wearing that morning. Now that he thought about it, her sleeping in his bed wasn't such a bad idea … he shook himself.
"Boys, could you give me all your potions things?" she asked. The boys obliged, and Lena set up the cauldrons.
"Will you have all the ingredients?" Peter wanted to know.
"Yeah," she replied. "They're pretty basic potions. No awkward things like frozen billywig stings."
"Where did you learn how to brew them?" Remus asked.
"I worked at St Mungo's the summer before last, brewing potions," she told them.
"Really," Sirius said. "What kind of potions?"
"Sleeping potions, Pepperup, and others," she said. "I'll brew the sleeping potion first and once they're knocked out I'll start the others."
"Yes, speaking of the sleeping arrangements," Sirius said. "I thought Ally and Kim could sleep in Moony's bed—"
"I have no problem with that," Remus said winking at the girls.
"Down, boy," Sirius said, smiling. "I was going to go on to say that you could sleep at the end of Peter's bed. Frank wasn't involved; he only came for a quiet drink. I don't think he should have to give up his bed. We can put Lily and James in James' bed once they've taken the potion. And …"
"I'll be brewing the potion, so I won't be sleeping anyway," Lena said.
"I was going to say you could use my bed," Sirius said, and Remus and Peter exchanged amused glances. "Not while I was there. I was going to sleep on the floor."
"Aww how chivalrous," Lena said, ruffling his hair. She tipped the last ingredient into the potion and stirred it slowly. She ladled it into two glasses and handed one to Sirius.
"Give that to James," she instructed. Once the potion had been administered, Lily and James fell fast asleep. Ally and Peter floated them onto James' bed as Lena sat down and began brewing the other potions. She set up both Remus' and Peter's cauldrons and began adding ingredients. Remus asked her why.
"I'm going to separate them," she explained. "One potion will sober them up and the other will cure their hangovers tomorrow. When I give it to them." She continued to add ingredients. Sirius marveled at the way her hands flew across the cauldrons, measuring, mixing and pouring.
"You like potions, don't you?" Remus asked.
"Yeah," she replied, not taking her eyes from the cauldrons. "I love the way all the ingredients come together."
"Have you ever made any really difficult ones?" Peter asked. Lena blushed.
"She has!" Kim exclaimed. "Tell us Lena!"
"Fine, " she said. "Polyjuice, but it's hardly the most complex."
"When?" Sirius asked. "Why?"
"McGonagall asked me to brew it before the attack last Easter," she said, her face growing somber. She was listening to what they were saying; yet concentrating fully on the potion.
"Us?" Ally asked.
"Me and Sevvie," Lena said. "As you can imagine, it was a hoot."
"Poor you," Sirius said pityingly. "Makes sense, though, the two top Potions students."
"Fat lot of help it did, though," Lena said. The friendly atmosphere had disappeared. The room was uneasy. They hadn't talked about it much, but Dark forces were rising.
The war was starting. They all knew it, and they knew it would get worse before it got better. That was why Lena hadn't worked at St Mungo's last summer. Her mother wanted to protect her. More and more of the potions being brewed were to relieve the effects of Dark curses. Mrs. White felt Lena deserved one last peaceful summer before she was forced to go out and face it on her own. For seven years Voldemort had been slowly rising. People were disappearing more often. The wizarding world was steeling itself to fight back.
Last Easter had been the most horrifying incidents yet. The Dark side planned to rob Gringotts, and Dumbledore had been tipped off. Using the potions brewed by Lena, Snape and other potions students, a group of Aurors disguised themselves. The Death Eaters attacked Gringotts, but the Vaults they robbed contained leprechaun gold, placed there on Dumbledore's orders. As the Death Eaters attempted to escape through the streets of Muggle London, the Aurors were waiting at the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron.
But it went horribly wrong. The Death Eaters responded quickly, killing several Aurors and running out into Muggle London. The remaining Aurors followed, but the Death Eaters set fire to the Leaky Cauldron. Twenty civilians died in the fire, and ten Aurors. The Leaky Cauldron had just been restored.
"They didn't tell us that it was for the attack, I guessed," Lena said.
"At least you helped," Ally said.
"Yeah," Lena said but didn't sound convinced. She couldn't help thinking that it took them an hour to correctly identify the Aurors that had died; they had to wait until the potion wore off. She continued to add the ingredients. They lapsed into silence again.
Kim was thinking of her mum again. Her birthday would have been today. She only knew because she found all her things in the attic. Her dad never liked to talk about her mother, it probably hurt. Kim couldn't help but feel that she was responsible for her mother's death. Who else could be to blame? Her mother died when she was born. If she hadn't been born, her mother would be alive right now.
Ally put her arm around her best friend. She knew what Kim was thinking even though she'd never said it aloud. Her best friend was blaming herself. Kim rested her head on Ally's shoulder. Ally noticed that Frank was staring into space.
Frank couldn't get the image of his brother out of his head. His older brother, Neville, had been one of the Aurors that died. He could remember his mother's protests when Neville wanted to be an Auror in the first place. But Neville got his own way. And he had been at Diagon Alley last Easter. Frank knew his mother wouldn't be too happy with him becoming an Auror, too, but Frank felt he needed to. He needed to continue the work Neville had started.
Sirius picked at the hem of his trousers. He glanced up at Lily and James.
"How'd they get drunk, anyway?" he asked, hoping to lighten the mood.
"A drinking game," Peter told him.
"What kind?" Lena wondered.
"Um … it had something to do with you two," Kim said, avoiding Sirius and Lena's eyes.
"I see," Sirius said. "And were they the only participants?"
"Well they were the only ones who got really into it," Frank said. "But at the beginning, we all joined in."
"I have a good mind not to brew the potion at all now," Lena said, but she continued nonetheless. One by one they staggered to bed. Soon there was only Sirius and Lena left. Lena stirred the potion and giggled.
"What's so funny?" Sirius asked.
"Double, double, toil and trouble," she recited, leaning over the cauldron so that her face was illuminated by the bluish glow emanating from the simmering liquid.
"Fire burn and cauldron bubble," he finished. They grinned.
"The Weird Sisters, hand in hand," she said, gripping his hand.
"Posters of the sea and land," he said, scooting closer to her.
"Thus do go, about, about
Thrice to thine and thrice to mine
And thrice again to make up nine," Lena recited.
"Peace, the charm's wound up," they whispered together, and she kissed him. They broke apart, smiling.
"I'm sure Shakespeare meant that to be spooky," Lena said.
"He wouldn't mind us turning it around a little bit," Sirius whispered, and kissed her again. He couldn't get enough of her lips … and she didn't seem to be complaining. She pulled him even closer, and he deepened the kiss, opening his mouth slightly. She pulled back slightly, and looked at him for a second. She kissed him again, allowing his tongue to explore her mouth. The pulled away again a few minutes later.
"The potion …" Sirius said.
"Let it brew," Lena said.
"Will they be ready, though?" he asked.
"The sobering one is," she said. "It's cooling.
"And the other one?"
"So they'll have a hangover for a bit longer," she said, waving her hand. "They deserve it, for playing drinking games about us." Before he had a chance to protest, she kissed him again.
"I love that Shakespeare twat," Sirius mumbled when they broke apart again. Lena laughed and ladled out the now cooled sobering potion. She woke Lily up and fed the potion to her, and did the same with James. They fell straight back to sleep.
"You knocked them out cold," Sirius commented.
"Dad got me Shakespeare's complete works for my birthday," she told him.
"That sounds like fun," he said. "How many plays did he write?"
"Lots," she said. "Dad told me to act out all the famous romances with you."
"I don't have to be told twice," he said, taking her hand. "Which one first?"
"I don't know," she said. "We are a lot like Romeo and Juliet."
"What makes you say that?" he wondered.
"Well, the star-crossed lovers who come from warring backgrounds," Lena explained, nodding towards Lily and James.
"I suppose," he said. "But I know one difference."
"What?"
"I know we'll have a happy ending," he replied.
*****
Rosmerta carried the glasses from the table back to the table while humming along to the jukebox. Muggle music really wasn't that bad, she thought. The man in the corner put down his pint suddenly and walked over to the bar. He left a pile of coins on the bar and walked out the door. He Disapparated to a seemingly derelict castle. He lifter up his sleeve to a guard, who waved him along.
The corridors were maze-like, twisting and turning, but he knew the way. He passed another guard, lifting up his sleeve to pass on. He knocked on a heavy mahogany door.
"Enter," a voice came from inside.
"You called, master?" the man asked, bowing low.
"I did, Mulciber," Voldemort replied. "We are discussing new recruits."
"Yes," Cephus Malfoy said, unrolling some parchment. "In seventh year Slytherin: Lestrange, Snape, Rosier, Wilkes, Nott, Avery, Crabbe, Goyle and my son Lucius."
"How many can be counted on?" Voldemort demanded.
"Lucius," Cephus replied.
"Rosier and Wilkes?"
"I'd say so," Dolohov spoke up. "And the same for Nott and Avery. We can approach Snape, Crabbe and Goyle."
"And the females?" Voldemort wanted to know.
"Narcissa Kepler, Carina Casey, Morag McFadden, Elsbeth McTervish and Maebh Raftery," Dolohov recited.
"Let's move to the Gryffindors," Malfoy said.
"The Gryffindors?" Mulciber asked.
"As it is your first year as part of my inner circle, you have a lot to learn," Voldemort said. "Every year I not only keep an eye on new recruits, I look at the likely opposition. In most cases, the ones that provide the most trouble are the Gryffindors. Cephus?"
"Boys: Potter, James – pureblood – father Derry Potter; Lupin, Remus – pureblood – father Jeremiah Lupin; Longbottom, Frank – pureblood – father Samuel Longbottom; Black, Sirius – pureblood – father Josef Black—"
"They pose a threat," Voldemort interrupted. "Especially if … And the females?"
"White, Lena – halfblood – Muggle father, mother's maiden name Prendergast; Evans, Lily – Mudblood; Davies, Alice – Mudblood; Rookwood, Kimberly—"
"Quite. According to my sources, they are a very serious threat. But what is even more dangerous is if …" Voldemort trailed off. "We do not, under any circumstances want these two groups to fuse. We do not want heirs to be born. We must keep them apart at all costs. We must keep a close eye on them, gather more information."
"Master?" Mulciber said.
"Yes?"
"I was in the Three Broomsticks tonight, and there were Hogwarts students there. They had Gryffindor cloaks and they looked around the right age," he said.
"And?" Voldemort prompted.
"Well, there were nine of them," Mulciber continued. "Some Peter person, his was the only name I didn't hear Cephus call."
"Were they close?"
"Yes, they all came together. Both the boys and the girls. Four in particular were particularly close."
"How close?" Cephus asked.
"Very close," Mulciber replied.
"Which four?" Voldemort asked shortly.
"Sirius and Lena were the names of one couple."
"Black? Does Josef know what his son is mixing with?" Cephus wondered aloud.
"I don't know. His son is in Gryffindor?" Dolohov asked.
"It can happen to the best of men," Voldemort said. "Look at Rookwood. And the other couple?"
"James and Lily," Mulciber answered.
"Potter and Evans?" Cephus asked. Mulciber nodded.
"That is the most dangerous of all," Voldemort mused. "You are dismissed."
The three men bowed and left. Outside the chamber they turned to each other.
"Do you know Black?" Mulciber asked.
"Yes, I went to school with him," Dolohov said. "He was sent to Durmstrang by his parents. Wasn't his wife in Slytherin?"
"Yes," Cephus said. "No brains."
"Same as her husband, then," Dolohov muttered.
"If they're so anti-Muggle then why aren't they part of my force?" Mulciber asked. Cephus snorted. Dolohov rolled his eyes.
"Black? Risk his life for our Master? Never," Dolohov said. "But he won't like this turn of events."
"I'll get Lucius to keep an eye out," Cephus said. "Apparently Potter and Black are very popular so anything to do with their love lives is bound to be all over the school." His Mark burned again. He turned and opened the door again.
"I have decided there is no time to gather more information," Voldemort said. "We must act fast."
"Yes, master," Lucius said. Voldemort waved his wand and a piece of parchment flew to Dolohov.
"Find three Death Eaters to carry this out, and soon." With another flick of his wand, the door closed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Sorry! Things have been mad. School, school, school, school, school. My mock exams have just finished and I have taken a weekend completely free of study. Just me, my Beatles CDs, my uncles Beatles video (the film 'Help!') and a big pad of paper to write on.
It's taking me so long to get chapters out, and I'm really sorry but it's going to get worse. Oral exams in French and Gaelic (it's compulsory to study the Irish language in Ireland. I hate it!) are starting in six weeks. Mon dieu! Then there's little or no time until my actual exams. But wait until summer … you won't be able to move for updates!
I really really really don't want to loose my loyal reviewers, Beauty-Queen1979 and WaNdA. I love you guys, please stick with me!!! Please be patient!!! I'm sorry!!