Hello fellow Fanfic readers! I hope that everyone is well and had a good
week. Well, to your delight, as well as mine, I have posted the new
chapter. I hope that you all enjoy it. I can't wait for you to read it.
Since I feel like chitchatting I was wondering if any of you have visited
the new J.K. Rowling website. If you are as mad, crazy HP fans as me you
probably have. The information on that sight is very illuminating. I can't
wait to see what is behind the door.
I want to take a second to answer some repeating questions that I have gotten concerning my story. Yes I am going to continue the story once James and Lily have graduated from Hogwarts. I plan on writing until their untimely deaths. I might write a Harry Potter story from it also, as things in this story will apply to him, but I have not decided yet. It depends on whether or not I can come up with some good ideas worthy to be compared with JK Rowling.
Well kids, it's my favorite time! SHOUT OUTS!!!
AnniePADFOOT- To answer your question, I smoke a lot of pixie stixs. The purple ones give me crazy visions to which I put into the story. Oh man, there is that damn leprechaun again trying to steal my pixie sticks. I gotta go!!
Sammy Solo – Sammy, Sammy, Sammy!!! What's up girl? I'm glad that you caught the innuendo. Faith is such a sarcastic bad ass, but I love her spirit. I didn't want to have James openly profess what he did for Lily. James has secrets, as you well know, and I like it that he has a little mystery with Lily. (I got your lightsaber. I'm waiting for the right moment to attack, but he never sleeps! I'll send it back when I accomplish the "task" you mentioned. Pray for me that I will succeed.)
Amanda- Thanks for the wonderful review! I've read other pranks too and I wanted to make sure that I didn't copy them. So one night as I was smoking some pixie stixs I came up with this great idea. To answer your question, Voldemort will make an appearance. Lily and James have to defy him three times right? But when and how is the question. Muwwwahhhhhaaaa
Alicia Spinnet - Stop or you'll make me blush! Well you can keep going if you want to lol. I'm glad that you liked the prank. Hehehehe I was wonderfully horrible. (Don't worry about Marvin. I have a hoard of weapons that people have sent me and I am waiting for the right moment to strike. Your bow will play an intricate part in my plan.) Thanks for the official title that you gave me! I must not let it go to my head. But I will make Marvin bow to me for I am Stephanie Queen of Fanfiction.
Padfootlet – Wow do I feel like the biggest arse lol. I didn't know that Harry was referred to as Prongslet. Where the hell have I been? So if Sirius is your daddy than does that make me your mom? OH my long lost daughter! Lol j/k On a more Sirius note (hehehehe couldn't help myself) I love the plushie. Lions, Tigers and Leopards oh my! I can beat them. I have a three-headed dog that I got from a 'friend' that eats little pussycats like that for breakfast! You know I'm just kidding and that I love you lol.
SPASH Panther- Yup all Slytherin's, even the innocent ones fell victim to the prank. The perfect revenge for all horrible, disgusting Slytherin's. I suppose that even Peter thinks that they are bad. But we all know what a good judge of character he is. Thank you for reviewing and please review again to let me know what you think of the next chapter.
LJstagflower4e/JCtigerwolf4e – Hey Rebecca! ( in a gospel voice) I CAN FEEL THE LOVE!! I CAN FEEL THE LOVE! You like Marvin? Yeah I like Marvin too. (He is trying to kill me!) He is a nice guy. Anyway, I'll ttyl!
Padfootedmoony – Bubbles is a troubled soul. If I had to live in Michael Jackson's mansion I think I'd jump out the window. I think that I feel worse for the chimp because James can defend himself. Life is so unfair for poor monkeys.
Hairyhen- I'm glad that my chapter finally motivated you to review lol. My mission is complete. Well maybe not, since I have three-quarters of the story to still write. Oh well. Hopefully another one of those chapters will motivate you to write again. Thanks for the review and I hope that you keep reading my story and dropping a line every now and then.
Flyingwind33 – Nestle! What's up girl!! I'm ecstatic that you like the chapter. It was really fun to write. Don't worry, Bellatrix and her little cronies will get theirs. I love writing the patrolling scenes and the dorm room scenes. I can let the characters be truly themselves in those scenes. I'm sorry that it has taken me more than week to update. Please don't hate me!
Aimee – HA! I have another person to join my crusade against the most low- some, foul creatures on the face of the planet: Goats. I understand how busy things get, especially this time of year, but hang in there cause it's almost over. I'm glad that you finally decided to register with fanfic. It took you long enough j/k lol. According to my story, it's about 178 pages. I can't believe that you printed all of it. Your parents must be upset at the waste of ink. Oh god, you showed it to your teacher (hides her head in fear). English wasn't one of my best subjects so I hope that she doesn't pick it apart. (Bites nails and wets herself as she hides under the desk)
Julia- When I see your name on the review all that plays in my head is the Beatles song "Julia". Good song. You are from Catalonia, Spain? That is awesome! I'm so flattered that you like my story that much to go to the cybercafe! Just don't get in trouble with your parents cause I would feel horrible. I'm glad that you like Faith. She is a more extreme version of myself, or ourselves since you are like her too. I hate Bellatrix because she killed off Sirius. He was my favorite character too from the moment I read about him in POA. Lily and James are very real to me too and I wish that I could live them sometimes to escape the humdrum that is the bore of my life. Anyway, keep reading and I hope to hear from you soon!
MooningOverMoony- Hey Claire! What's up girl? I want to read your story since I now have some free time to do it. To answer your question I am planning on writing after Hogwarts. It's going to be fun hehehehehe. I have some great ideas that I can't wait for you to read, although most of the stuff I write is off the top of my head or things that I have spurned over for a week. That's why it takes me so long to update. Anyway, keep reading and reviewing cause, as you know, I always look for your "ego-boosting and lovely reviews!"
MissSiriusBlack – I'm glad that you liked the chapter. Now that I have some free time I definitely plan on checking out your story! Hopefully I'll read it soon. Keep writing and reading and reviewing.
AurorLina- (Blushes) Aww, stop or you'll make me blush. Thanks for the always sweet and inspiring reviews. The story is 178 pages after this chapter. According to fanfiction it's like 90,000 words. That's a lot of senseless babble on my part lol. I'm so glad that you are enjoying my story and I hope that you continue to read it. I'll email you when the new chapters are posted so that way you don't have to keep checking the fanfiction page.
Luthein – You don't need to say more. Your review explained everything. Thanks for reading and taking the time to review. I hope that you keep reading and reviewing!
RebelSheep – The Banana Theater is always on from 3 am to 4 am every morning. I recommend taping it because I like to sleep during that time. If you missed it, I have it taped and I can let you borrow it.
im happy and i know it - I always feel bad when a reader tells me that they get in trouble for reading my story. Please don't get yourself grounded because of me, I would feel terrible. (I was grounded a lot as a kid and it is never any fun) I hope that you like this chapter and that you continue to read it. Hopefully you won't have to sneak on anymore lol.
COPYRIGHT: This story is all mine! All mine!!! It only belongs to me and no one else. This is my creation and I HAVE BROUGHT IT TO LIFE!!!!
HEY KIDS!! It's time for the DISCLAIMER!!!!
Greetings,
Welcome to Marvin's Corner. Due to my rising popularity among the distinguished readers of this (coughs) wonderful story, I have decided to have my own little column where I will update you on what you should, I mean what I recommend that you should listen to or watch. This week's album of the week is Maroon 5. This week's movie of the week is Troy for those of you that are of age. I want to let all of you know that I have taken over the overseeing and writing of this story. (Stephanie screams in the background: HE IS A LIAR! Send Help A.S.A.P!!) (A loud crack is heard and Stephanie screams) Never mind that, I have mice. Yummy, tasty mice. Anyway. I have no interest in claiming Harry Potter as my own. (My creation is complete and JKR brain will soon be mine and I can forget about the untalented Stephanie.) Also, there have been to many owls here lately expressing concern about Stephanie. She is fine and living a wonderful life in her cage, I mean room. I hope that you enjoy my chapter as it is very good, if I do say so myself. (Stephanie screams: I WROTE IT! HE WANTED TO PUT IN A SCENE WHERE JAMES EATS PETER ANIMAGUS FORM FOR DINNER!) (A deafening boom and there is silence.) Sorry, the radio was on too loud.
Cheerio, Marvin the Puma.
Chapter 19: Black Letters
The hexes from the Marauder's prank took an additional three days to wear off completely. Unfortunately the high that pumped through the boys was slowly squashed as the overwhelming load of homework, prefect duties and quidditch practice increased as the month came to a close. Before Lily had realized it was already Halloween. As Lily, Remus and Peter walked the grounds of the castle, Lily noticed how crisp and cool the weather was. The grounds were alive with the brilliant oranges and yellows that were so accustom to fall. The Giant Squid was lazily backstroking around the lake and several students had made a pile of leaves and were jumping into them.
"Beautiful time of year isn't it," stated Remus looking around.
"It is," agreed Lily. "I think fall is my favorite time of year. The weather is just perfect and the whole country looks like it is glowing."
"Almost like a beacon for the snow," grinned Remus. Lily laughed slightly and nodded her head.
"Are we going to the pitch?" asked Peter, walking slightly behind them.
"Well, we would get cursed at if we didn't, wouldn't we?" sighed Lily, steering towards the pitch. She had promised James that she would peek in on his practice at some point. Although she would never fully admit it to James, in fear of giving him a bigger head at quidditch than he already had, she secretly loved watching him zoom around the quidditch pitch, instructing the others and performing amazing dives and catches.
"We couldn't have picked a nicer day to play hooky from homework," said Remus, bringing Lily out of her thoughts.
As they strolled toward the pitch, the Gryffindor Quidditch team became more visible as they flew around the pitch. Lily, Remus and Peter took seats in the Gryffindor stands and watched as James shouted out instructions for the team to follow.
"They are fairly good this year," said Remus as Sirius batted away a bludger.
"I think they will win the cup for sure," squeaked Peter as Tennyson and Zelter whizzed past them.
A half and hour later James's voice boomed across the field telling the team to hit the showers. Lily, Remus and Peter made their way out of the stands and onto the field.
"Good practice," greeted Lily as she hugged James hello. She noticed that he was very sweaty for it being such a cool day.
"Yes, actually it wasn't bad at all," said James, grabbing his clipboard and checking it over. "I think that Zelter and Tennyson are finally working out their kinks."
Lily smiled and nodded her head. She wasn't at all versed in quidditch and found that it was easier just to take James's word for it. A loud clanking of wood drew her attention toward the middle of the field. Faith and Sirius had their clubs drawn like swords and were playfully dueling around the middle of the field. Apparently this also caught James's attention as he looked up from his clipboard; his brow furrowed in their direction.
"Hey you two! Knock it off will you?" shouted James as Sirius had Faith on the run. "Gits," muttered James as he looked back down at his clipboard and scribbled a few notes on the paper he was examining.
The remaining Gryffindors on the field were now laughing and cheering as Faith and Sirius's duel carried on. Liz and Remus shouted words of encouragement as they intensely dueled by them. Lily could not help laughing as the playful insults and tauntings flew back and forth with every clanking of the clubs.
"Ha! Victory is mine!" shouted Sirius knocking the club out of Faith's hand and bending down to fling her over his shoulder. "Now I shall take my reward into the locker room."
"Put me down you git!" laughed Faith, half-heartedly trying to get down. Sirius withdrew his wand and sent the two clubs into the quidditch box. He walked over to James and Lily with Faith still lying over his shoulder, laughing hysterically.
"Did you have fun?" asked Lily as they stopped in front of her, James, Peter, Remus and Liz.
"Loads," smirked Sirius, playfully slapping Faith's butt as all seven of them made their way to the locker rooms.
"Looks like you finally met your match Faith," grinned Liz, looking into Faith's smiling face as her and Remus walked behind Sirius.
"Nah, I let him win," said Faith. "It makes him feel useful."
"Sure you did," smirked James. "That's what the loser always says. Just ask Peter." James gave him a playful pat on the shoulder. "He uses that excuse all the time." Peter blushed and looked at the ground.
"You know love, you really need to cut back on those desserts," huffed Sirius as he threw Faith up in the air a little to adjust her position on his shoulder.
"You should talk," said Faith, giving the ground below her a cross look. "I work out five times a week. When was the last time you ran or lifted anything heavier than a bottle of butterbeer?"
"Hey now," interrupted James, "don't go making fun of my best mate's appearance. It has taken him many years to get that butterbeer stomach and frankly I've grown rather attached to it." The group laughed as they neared the locker rooms.
"Why James, I never knew you felt that way," joked Sirius.
"Do I have something to be worried about?" asked Lily, playfully grabbing a hold of James's arm. James threw his arm around Lily and gently squeezed her.
"Of course not," said Remus from behind them, "just gain a butterbeer stomach for yourself and James won't be infatuated with Sirius's."
"Okay, will you put me down now?" asked Faith as they reached the separate locker rooms. "Your bony shoulder is going to give me a bruise."
"There is nothing bony about me," said Sirius, putting Faith back onto her feet. "I'm all muscle Madame." He flexed his arm muscles. Faith shook her head and lightly hit him on the arm he was flexing. He darted for her, but she ran into the girl's locker room before he could grab her.
"Will you wait for me?" asked James, turning to look at Lily.
"Yes, but only if you hurry," joked Lily. "I want to reach dinner before it is all gone."
"Fifteen minutes. You can time me." James bent down and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Starting now!"
He ran off into the locker room. Lily couldn't help but smile as the frock of jet-black hair ruffled in the breeze and his sweaty, dirty form disappeared into the shadows. Lily walked into the girl's locker room with Liz and took a seat on one of the benches as the other girls washed the sweat and dirt off of their bodies. Faith's voice rang through out the locker room. Lily laughed to herself. Even without a radio, she still sang in the shower. Twenty minutes later and several songs that the girls could not help but join in singing Lily, Liz and Faith emerged from the locker room in high spirits.
"You are five minutes late?" teased James looking at his watch as the girls walked towards the four boys, who were leaning against the gate.
"Well, girls take longer showers than boys do," said Lily, slipping her hand into his.
"That is one thing that I could never understand," said Sirius, throwing his arm around Faith's shoulders. "Why does it take girls a bloody week to get ready for anything?"
"Don't over exaggerate, it doesn't take us a week," said Lily, as the group made their way back up to the castle. "We just have extra tasks to perform in order to make us more beautiful than we already are."
"I don't think that it is possible to make yourself more beautiful than you already are," smiled James, giving her hand a loving squeeze as Lily's bright green eyes stared into his hazel ones.
"That's only because you have never seen us without make-up or having our hair at least semi-done," said Faith chiming into the conversation. "I for one will never be seen in public without at least having put on some make-up. We don't all want to go around looking like Liz," teased Faith as she gave Liz a mischievous smirk.
"Well some of us don't feel it necessary to wave the wand over our face until we look like a common street walker," laughed Liz, returning the teasing shot. "But I think that it should be brought up that we won't take as long getting ready if 'someone' didn't have to sing every bloody song she knows."
"That's what that horrible sound was coming from your locker room? Your voice?" asked Sirius, looking at a laughing Faith.
"What can I say, I wasn't blessed with the talent to sing," she shrugged her shoulders.
"Well needless to say, even if you cut out all of that stuff it would still take you guys an hour to get ready. I think it is built into your very being as girls," laughed James.
"Here, here," piped in Sirius as Remus rolled his eyes and shook his head in amusement. "You know guys have it right. We get in the shower, rub soap all over us, wash our hair with that same bar of soap, rinse off and done. Five minutes tops."
"Five minutes?" asked Remus, looking at Sirius from over the top of Liz's head. "Mate, you take longer showers than the rest of us."
"Your shower length is something to be compared with a girl's," laughed Peter.
"Pete I would gratefully spend an extra five minutes in the shower if that is what it takes to not smell like you," joked Sirius as the group entered into the castle. Peter blushed and looked at the floor.
"Are you going to take that from him?" asked Liz to Peter. Peter looked up at her apologetically.
"Ah come on Liz. Pete knows I'm only joking, right Pete?" said Sirius as he clasped him on the back as they walked through the Great Hall doors.
"Wow, look at this place!" said Remus as he stared at the lovely Halloween decorations.
The Great Hall was beautifully decorated with floating Jack-O-Lanterns. The group sat down at their usual seats and immediately the four boys began to dig into the pile of candy apples, sweets, donuts and pumpkin pie that cluttered up the table.
"You lot are going to get a stomach ache if you don't cut down on the sweets and eat some real food," instructed Liz, looking at the four boys with concern. "All of that sugar isn't good for you."
"Yes Healer Corentine," joked Remus affectionately, although not stopping from helping himself to another slice of apple pie.
The feast was quite enjoyable. James couldn't remember ever having such a good time. For the first time in a long time his life felt complete. The Quidditch team was looking the best it had in two years and he was confident that they were contenders for the Quidditch Cup. Also, expect for a few meetings and patrolling duty, the Head Boy duties were not as bad as he thought they were going to be. But most importantly, things with Lily were going absolutely wonderfully. He couldn't help but look at her and feel totally mystified that she had finally decided to be his girlfriend. He cherished every single moment they spent together and he was looking forward to the holiday when he could spend some real time with her outside of Hogwarts. James even found that his best mates were more enjoyable lately. He had not seen Remus this happy in a long time nor Sirius for that matter. James was rapidly coming to consider Liz and Faith as good friends also.
James looked around at his friends. He wished that they could all stay at Hogwarts forever just like this. As he went to pour himself another glass of pumpkin juice a dozen small dots in the enchanted ceiling caught his eye. He squinted and looked harder at the dots. They were moving rapidly and becoming more visible by the second. A loud screech cut the happy chatter ringing through out the Great Hall in half. James's whole body had frozen as he looked upon a dozen speeding owls with dread.
"James! You're spilling the pumpkin juice all over the table," shouted Lily in surprise as the pumpkin juice ran onto the table and spilled all over her meal. Lily took out her wand and vanished the spilled juice. She reached over and grabbed the pitcher out of his hand and put it on the table. "James did you not hear me? James, what's the matter?"
She followed his gaze up at the ceiling. Her heart filled with dread at the sight she saw. She knew what this meant and she prayed silently they the owls would turn and leave the Great Hall, hoping that they had made a mistake.
"No," whispered Liz, "Not Ministry owls."
Everyone in the Great Hall, including the teachers, was now staring transfixed and horrified at the approaching owls. Within a matter of seconds the owls were swooping down upon students and dropping black envelopes in their wake; leaving the owner to bawl madly at the table. James grabbed Lily's hand immediately and gripped onto it tight. He stared completely spellbound at the owls as they dove above the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor tables. Lily found herself gripping onto James's arm as a gray owl made its way towards their section of the Gryffindor table. Lily and James both held their breaths without even realizing it. The owl dove lower and headed straight at James. The owl flew past him and landed in front of a sixth year girl sitting one seat down from him. James let out a soft sigh of relief and loosened his grip around Lily's hand. The whole group let out a sigh of relief, as they looked at each other in silent prayers of thankfulness.
The Great Hall, which was just filled with happiness and laughter thirty- seconds before, was now filled with cries of hurt and pain. Friends were hugging and trying to console grieving friends. Some people had run out of the Great Hall to grieve in solitude or to send letters to see if loved ones were safe. Lily looked up at the staff table. Teachers were walking over to students in their houses trying to offer guidance. Professor McGonagall walked over to a boy and a girl that Lily knew were brother and sister. She hugged the girl and Lily could see her speaking soft words of condolence to her as she cried wildly on her shoulder. Lily looked at Professor Dumbledore. He sat grim faced in his chair as he gazed upon the scene in front of him. A yellow letter was resting in front of him. After a few minutes he slowly got to his feet. Except for muffled sobs and cries, the Great Hall fell almost silent.
"Everyone is to return to his or her dormitories," he said softly. "Anyone who is in need of console is to address the Head Girl, the Head Boy or the house Prefects, who will take you to see a professor. Classes will be cancelled tomorrow and arrangements for the students who need to return home will be made."
Dumbledore sat back down in his chair and stared at the envelope. Lily, James and Remus got up and began to gently escort students out of their seats and towards the doors of the Great Hall. A first year boy and a third year girl were crying silently as they got up from the table and passed Lily. Lily felt her heart breaking in the horribly familiar way that had happened so frequently lately. She looked at James, who was still a little pale. She thought for sure that that owl was destined for him. A horrible pang of guilt rested in her stomach. She couldn't help but feel relieved that not one of those letters had her or James's name on it.
Lily, Remus and James lead their house back to the common room. Once inside the common room, many students had retreated to their dorm rooms. A few students sat at couches or tables or choose to blankly stare outside the window as they sat upon the sill. Lily, James, Remus and several other prefects were expected to stay in the common room in case anyone needed to talk to a professor or as a first barrier to stop them from doing something stupid. The group had occupied the couches by the fire and none of them seemed to want to move nor talk. They mostly stared into the fire or out the window. Lily rested her head upon James's shoulder and he immediately flung his arm around her and pulled her into his side. Remus had his arms around Liz and he absentmindedly stroked her blonde hair as she stared out the window. Faith and Sirius were sitting next to each other, but Faith had her legs pulled up to her chest and was gazing into the fire as Sirius half- lay with his arms crossed at his chest and glaring transfixed at the floor. Peter sat in a chair and Lily saw his eyes darting nervously around the room.
The group sat there in silence for at least two hours. They had all experienced this situation at least a dozen times in the past few years. So far they had all been lucky enough not to receive the dreaded black letter. However, every time the Ministry owls penetrated the Hogwarts castle they knew that they were one step closer to having one land in front of them. Even though all of them had cheated the ill-fated letter delivery once more it did not ease any of their fears. Once in a while someone would make eye contact with another, but never resulting in anything more than a sigh. Finally around nine-thirty, Lily couldn't take it anymore.
"I wish I knew what was going on," said Lily quietly, staring into the dying fire.
"We'll find out soon enough. I suppose it will be all over the papers tomorrow morning," said James, flicking his wand to ignite the fire. It blazed brightly causing everyone to take on an orange shadow.
"I bet it was a Ministry operation that went wrong," said Liz, vaguely looking around the cozy little couch circle they had created. "There have been a lot of Ministry operations in the paper lately."
"No, it wasn't," said Faith grimly.
"You don't know that," said Liz softly, looking at Faith from across the circle.
"Well all I know is that when there is a Ministry operation, even if they are unsuccessful they always take down at least one Death Eater," said Faith, still staring into the fire. "I don't know if you noticed but no Slytherin received a black letter. This was a pure Death Eater attack."
"Bloody bastards," swore Sirius, still glaring at the floor.
"When is this all going to end," sighed Remus.
"Well it is probably safe to conclude not anytime soon," said Liz leaning closer into Remus.
"The scary part is that in eight months we are going to be facing these problems. There will be no Hogwarts to protect us from these attacks," said Lily in a distant voice.
The group sat there in silence letting the words sink into their souls. Next year at this time, it could be any one of them that is attacked. Next year at this time they could be gathered to mourn a fallen friend. Or worse, they could not be there at all. Lily looked around at her friends. All of them were struggling with their own thoughts and fears about the future. Lily tried not to allow herself to think about which of her friends would fall to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or his Death Eaters.
The group silently agreed to turn into bed around eleven o'clock. Lily knew that no grieving Gryffindor would come down tonight. It was still to fresh and usually the students wanted to be alone. Lily got into bed and tried to close her eyes. She didn't know when she drifted off to sleep. She was walking through a dark corridor towards an old oak door where yellow light escaped from underneath it. She approached an old oak door and pushed it open easily. The light blinded her for a moment and she blinked. Upon opening her eyes she saw Dumbledore, James, Sirius and Faith sitting at a table. They all looked mournful and Lily saw that Faith was sobbing uncontrollably. Lily felt her heart sink inside her chest.
"No!" she said. Lily crumpled to the floor in heavy sobs. "I was to be the first! I was supposed to be the first!" Lily buried her head into her black robes. She felt a gentle, but strong hand touch her back. Lily looked up into Dumbledore's kind face. His eyes were sad but he voice was steady.
"Lily, there is something you must know," he spoke quietly. "This was no accident. It was a warning for you."
"What?" said Lily in between sobs. "How is this a warning for me? She is dead!"
Dumbledore took a deep, steadying breath. He looked over his glasses and his blue eyes pierced into Lily's. "Voldemort is coming for you."
I want to take a second to answer some repeating questions that I have gotten concerning my story. Yes I am going to continue the story once James and Lily have graduated from Hogwarts. I plan on writing until their untimely deaths. I might write a Harry Potter story from it also, as things in this story will apply to him, but I have not decided yet. It depends on whether or not I can come up with some good ideas worthy to be compared with JK Rowling.
Well kids, it's my favorite time! SHOUT OUTS!!!
AnniePADFOOT- To answer your question, I smoke a lot of pixie stixs. The purple ones give me crazy visions to which I put into the story. Oh man, there is that damn leprechaun again trying to steal my pixie sticks. I gotta go!!
Sammy Solo – Sammy, Sammy, Sammy!!! What's up girl? I'm glad that you caught the innuendo. Faith is such a sarcastic bad ass, but I love her spirit. I didn't want to have James openly profess what he did for Lily. James has secrets, as you well know, and I like it that he has a little mystery with Lily. (I got your lightsaber. I'm waiting for the right moment to attack, but he never sleeps! I'll send it back when I accomplish the "task" you mentioned. Pray for me that I will succeed.)
Amanda- Thanks for the wonderful review! I've read other pranks too and I wanted to make sure that I didn't copy them. So one night as I was smoking some pixie stixs I came up with this great idea. To answer your question, Voldemort will make an appearance. Lily and James have to defy him three times right? But when and how is the question. Muwwwahhhhhaaaa
Alicia Spinnet - Stop or you'll make me blush! Well you can keep going if you want to lol. I'm glad that you liked the prank. Hehehehe I was wonderfully horrible. (Don't worry about Marvin. I have a hoard of weapons that people have sent me and I am waiting for the right moment to strike. Your bow will play an intricate part in my plan.) Thanks for the official title that you gave me! I must not let it go to my head. But I will make Marvin bow to me for I am Stephanie Queen of Fanfiction.
Padfootlet – Wow do I feel like the biggest arse lol. I didn't know that Harry was referred to as Prongslet. Where the hell have I been? So if Sirius is your daddy than does that make me your mom? OH my long lost daughter! Lol j/k On a more Sirius note (hehehehe couldn't help myself) I love the plushie. Lions, Tigers and Leopards oh my! I can beat them. I have a three-headed dog that I got from a 'friend' that eats little pussycats like that for breakfast! You know I'm just kidding and that I love you lol.
SPASH Panther- Yup all Slytherin's, even the innocent ones fell victim to the prank. The perfect revenge for all horrible, disgusting Slytherin's. I suppose that even Peter thinks that they are bad. But we all know what a good judge of character he is. Thank you for reviewing and please review again to let me know what you think of the next chapter.
LJstagflower4e/JCtigerwolf4e – Hey Rebecca! ( in a gospel voice) I CAN FEEL THE LOVE!! I CAN FEEL THE LOVE! You like Marvin? Yeah I like Marvin too. (He is trying to kill me!) He is a nice guy. Anyway, I'll ttyl!
Padfootedmoony – Bubbles is a troubled soul. If I had to live in Michael Jackson's mansion I think I'd jump out the window. I think that I feel worse for the chimp because James can defend himself. Life is so unfair for poor monkeys.
Hairyhen- I'm glad that my chapter finally motivated you to review lol. My mission is complete. Well maybe not, since I have three-quarters of the story to still write. Oh well. Hopefully another one of those chapters will motivate you to write again. Thanks for the review and I hope that you keep reading my story and dropping a line every now and then.
Flyingwind33 – Nestle! What's up girl!! I'm ecstatic that you like the chapter. It was really fun to write. Don't worry, Bellatrix and her little cronies will get theirs. I love writing the patrolling scenes and the dorm room scenes. I can let the characters be truly themselves in those scenes. I'm sorry that it has taken me more than week to update. Please don't hate me!
Aimee – HA! I have another person to join my crusade against the most low- some, foul creatures on the face of the planet: Goats. I understand how busy things get, especially this time of year, but hang in there cause it's almost over. I'm glad that you finally decided to register with fanfic. It took you long enough j/k lol. According to my story, it's about 178 pages. I can't believe that you printed all of it. Your parents must be upset at the waste of ink. Oh god, you showed it to your teacher (hides her head in fear). English wasn't one of my best subjects so I hope that she doesn't pick it apart. (Bites nails and wets herself as she hides under the desk)
Julia- When I see your name on the review all that plays in my head is the Beatles song "Julia". Good song. You are from Catalonia, Spain? That is awesome! I'm so flattered that you like my story that much to go to the cybercafe! Just don't get in trouble with your parents cause I would feel horrible. I'm glad that you like Faith. She is a more extreme version of myself, or ourselves since you are like her too. I hate Bellatrix because she killed off Sirius. He was my favorite character too from the moment I read about him in POA. Lily and James are very real to me too and I wish that I could live them sometimes to escape the humdrum that is the bore of my life. Anyway, keep reading and I hope to hear from you soon!
MooningOverMoony- Hey Claire! What's up girl? I want to read your story since I now have some free time to do it. To answer your question I am planning on writing after Hogwarts. It's going to be fun hehehehehe. I have some great ideas that I can't wait for you to read, although most of the stuff I write is off the top of my head or things that I have spurned over for a week. That's why it takes me so long to update. Anyway, keep reading and reviewing cause, as you know, I always look for your "ego-boosting and lovely reviews!"
MissSiriusBlack – I'm glad that you liked the chapter. Now that I have some free time I definitely plan on checking out your story! Hopefully I'll read it soon. Keep writing and reading and reviewing.
AurorLina- (Blushes) Aww, stop or you'll make me blush. Thanks for the always sweet and inspiring reviews. The story is 178 pages after this chapter. According to fanfiction it's like 90,000 words. That's a lot of senseless babble on my part lol. I'm so glad that you are enjoying my story and I hope that you continue to read it. I'll email you when the new chapters are posted so that way you don't have to keep checking the fanfiction page.
Luthein – You don't need to say more. Your review explained everything. Thanks for reading and taking the time to review. I hope that you keep reading and reviewing!
RebelSheep – The Banana Theater is always on from 3 am to 4 am every morning. I recommend taping it because I like to sleep during that time. If you missed it, I have it taped and I can let you borrow it.
im happy and i know it - I always feel bad when a reader tells me that they get in trouble for reading my story. Please don't get yourself grounded because of me, I would feel terrible. (I was grounded a lot as a kid and it is never any fun) I hope that you like this chapter and that you continue to read it. Hopefully you won't have to sneak on anymore lol.
COPYRIGHT: This story is all mine! All mine!!! It only belongs to me and no one else. This is my creation and I HAVE BROUGHT IT TO LIFE!!!!
HEY KIDS!! It's time for the DISCLAIMER!!!!
Greetings,
Welcome to Marvin's Corner. Due to my rising popularity among the distinguished readers of this (coughs) wonderful story, I have decided to have my own little column where I will update you on what you should, I mean what I recommend that you should listen to or watch. This week's album of the week is Maroon 5. This week's movie of the week is Troy for those of you that are of age. I want to let all of you know that I have taken over the overseeing and writing of this story. (Stephanie screams in the background: HE IS A LIAR! Send Help A.S.A.P!!) (A loud crack is heard and Stephanie screams) Never mind that, I have mice. Yummy, tasty mice. Anyway. I have no interest in claiming Harry Potter as my own. (My creation is complete and JKR brain will soon be mine and I can forget about the untalented Stephanie.) Also, there have been to many owls here lately expressing concern about Stephanie. She is fine and living a wonderful life in her cage, I mean room. I hope that you enjoy my chapter as it is very good, if I do say so myself. (Stephanie screams: I WROTE IT! HE WANTED TO PUT IN A SCENE WHERE JAMES EATS PETER ANIMAGUS FORM FOR DINNER!) (A deafening boom and there is silence.) Sorry, the radio was on too loud.
Cheerio, Marvin the Puma.
Chapter 19: Black Letters
The hexes from the Marauder's prank took an additional three days to wear off completely. Unfortunately the high that pumped through the boys was slowly squashed as the overwhelming load of homework, prefect duties and quidditch practice increased as the month came to a close. Before Lily had realized it was already Halloween. As Lily, Remus and Peter walked the grounds of the castle, Lily noticed how crisp and cool the weather was. The grounds were alive with the brilliant oranges and yellows that were so accustom to fall. The Giant Squid was lazily backstroking around the lake and several students had made a pile of leaves and were jumping into them.
"Beautiful time of year isn't it," stated Remus looking around.
"It is," agreed Lily. "I think fall is my favorite time of year. The weather is just perfect and the whole country looks like it is glowing."
"Almost like a beacon for the snow," grinned Remus. Lily laughed slightly and nodded her head.
"Are we going to the pitch?" asked Peter, walking slightly behind them.
"Well, we would get cursed at if we didn't, wouldn't we?" sighed Lily, steering towards the pitch. She had promised James that she would peek in on his practice at some point. Although she would never fully admit it to James, in fear of giving him a bigger head at quidditch than he already had, she secretly loved watching him zoom around the quidditch pitch, instructing the others and performing amazing dives and catches.
"We couldn't have picked a nicer day to play hooky from homework," said Remus, bringing Lily out of her thoughts.
As they strolled toward the pitch, the Gryffindor Quidditch team became more visible as they flew around the pitch. Lily, Remus and Peter took seats in the Gryffindor stands and watched as James shouted out instructions for the team to follow.
"They are fairly good this year," said Remus as Sirius batted away a bludger.
"I think they will win the cup for sure," squeaked Peter as Tennyson and Zelter whizzed past them.
A half and hour later James's voice boomed across the field telling the team to hit the showers. Lily, Remus and Peter made their way out of the stands and onto the field.
"Good practice," greeted Lily as she hugged James hello. She noticed that he was very sweaty for it being such a cool day.
"Yes, actually it wasn't bad at all," said James, grabbing his clipboard and checking it over. "I think that Zelter and Tennyson are finally working out their kinks."
Lily smiled and nodded her head. She wasn't at all versed in quidditch and found that it was easier just to take James's word for it. A loud clanking of wood drew her attention toward the middle of the field. Faith and Sirius had their clubs drawn like swords and were playfully dueling around the middle of the field. Apparently this also caught James's attention as he looked up from his clipboard; his brow furrowed in their direction.
"Hey you two! Knock it off will you?" shouted James as Sirius had Faith on the run. "Gits," muttered James as he looked back down at his clipboard and scribbled a few notes on the paper he was examining.
The remaining Gryffindors on the field were now laughing and cheering as Faith and Sirius's duel carried on. Liz and Remus shouted words of encouragement as they intensely dueled by them. Lily could not help laughing as the playful insults and tauntings flew back and forth with every clanking of the clubs.
"Ha! Victory is mine!" shouted Sirius knocking the club out of Faith's hand and bending down to fling her over his shoulder. "Now I shall take my reward into the locker room."
"Put me down you git!" laughed Faith, half-heartedly trying to get down. Sirius withdrew his wand and sent the two clubs into the quidditch box. He walked over to James and Lily with Faith still lying over his shoulder, laughing hysterically.
"Did you have fun?" asked Lily as they stopped in front of her, James, Peter, Remus and Liz.
"Loads," smirked Sirius, playfully slapping Faith's butt as all seven of them made their way to the locker rooms.
"Looks like you finally met your match Faith," grinned Liz, looking into Faith's smiling face as her and Remus walked behind Sirius.
"Nah, I let him win," said Faith. "It makes him feel useful."
"Sure you did," smirked James. "That's what the loser always says. Just ask Peter." James gave him a playful pat on the shoulder. "He uses that excuse all the time." Peter blushed and looked at the ground.
"You know love, you really need to cut back on those desserts," huffed Sirius as he threw Faith up in the air a little to adjust her position on his shoulder.
"You should talk," said Faith, giving the ground below her a cross look. "I work out five times a week. When was the last time you ran or lifted anything heavier than a bottle of butterbeer?"
"Hey now," interrupted James, "don't go making fun of my best mate's appearance. It has taken him many years to get that butterbeer stomach and frankly I've grown rather attached to it." The group laughed as they neared the locker rooms.
"Why James, I never knew you felt that way," joked Sirius.
"Do I have something to be worried about?" asked Lily, playfully grabbing a hold of James's arm. James threw his arm around Lily and gently squeezed her.
"Of course not," said Remus from behind them, "just gain a butterbeer stomach for yourself and James won't be infatuated with Sirius's."
"Okay, will you put me down now?" asked Faith as they reached the separate locker rooms. "Your bony shoulder is going to give me a bruise."
"There is nothing bony about me," said Sirius, putting Faith back onto her feet. "I'm all muscle Madame." He flexed his arm muscles. Faith shook her head and lightly hit him on the arm he was flexing. He darted for her, but she ran into the girl's locker room before he could grab her.
"Will you wait for me?" asked James, turning to look at Lily.
"Yes, but only if you hurry," joked Lily. "I want to reach dinner before it is all gone."
"Fifteen minutes. You can time me." James bent down and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Starting now!"
He ran off into the locker room. Lily couldn't help but smile as the frock of jet-black hair ruffled in the breeze and his sweaty, dirty form disappeared into the shadows. Lily walked into the girl's locker room with Liz and took a seat on one of the benches as the other girls washed the sweat and dirt off of their bodies. Faith's voice rang through out the locker room. Lily laughed to herself. Even without a radio, she still sang in the shower. Twenty minutes later and several songs that the girls could not help but join in singing Lily, Liz and Faith emerged from the locker room in high spirits.
"You are five minutes late?" teased James looking at his watch as the girls walked towards the four boys, who were leaning against the gate.
"Well, girls take longer showers than boys do," said Lily, slipping her hand into his.
"That is one thing that I could never understand," said Sirius, throwing his arm around Faith's shoulders. "Why does it take girls a bloody week to get ready for anything?"
"Don't over exaggerate, it doesn't take us a week," said Lily, as the group made their way back up to the castle. "We just have extra tasks to perform in order to make us more beautiful than we already are."
"I don't think that it is possible to make yourself more beautiful than you already are," smiled James, giving her hand a loving squeeze as Lily's bright green eyes stared into his hazel ones.
"That's only because you have never seen us without make-up or having our hair at least semi-done," said Faith chiming into the conversation. "I for one will never be seen in public without at least having put on some make-up. We don't all want to go around looking like Liz," teased Faith as she gave Liz a mischievous smirk.
"Well some of us don't feel it necessary to wave the wand over our face until we look like a common street walker," laughed Liz, returning the teasing shot. "But I think that it should be brought up that we won't take as long getting ready if 'someone' didn't have to sing every bloody song she knows."
"That's what that horrible sound was coming from your locker room? Your voice?" asked Sirius, looking at a laughing Faith.
"What can I say, I wasn't blessed with the talent to sing," she shrugged her shoulders.
"Well needless to say, even if you cut out all of that stuff it would still take you guys an hour to get ready. I think it is built into your very being as girls," laughed James.
"Here, here," piped in Sirius as Remus rolled his eyes and shook his head in amusement. "You know guys have it right. We get in the shower, rub soap all over us, wash our hair with that same bar of soap, rinse off and done. Five minutes tops."
"Five minutes?" asked Remus, looking at Sirius from over the top of Liz's head. "Mate, you take longer showers than the rest of us."
"Your shower length is something to be compared with a girl's," laughed Peter.
"Pete I would gratefully spend an extra five minutes in the shower if that is what it takes to not smell like you," joked Sirius as the group entered into the castle. Peter blushed and looked at the floor.
"Are you going to take that from him?" asked Liz to Peter. Peter looked up at her apologetically.
"Ah come on Liz. Pete knows I'm only joking, right Pete?" said Sirius as he clasped him on the back as they walked through the Great Hall doors.
"Wow, look at this place!" said Remus as he stared at the lovely Halloween decorations.
The Great Hall was beautifully decorated with floating Jack-O-Lanterns. The group sat down at their usual seats and immediately the four boys began to dig into the pile of candy apples, sweets, donuts and pumpkin pie that cluttered up the table.
"You lot are going to get a stomach ache if you don't cut down on the sweets and eat some real food," instructed Liz, looking at the four boys with concern. "All of that sugar isn't good for you."
"Yes Healer Corentine," joked Remus affectionately, although not stopping from helping himself to another slice of apple pie.
The feast was quite enjoyable. James couldn't remember ever having such a good time. For the first time in a long time his life felt complete. The Quidditch team was looking the best it had in two years and he was confident that they were contenders for the Quidditch Cup. Also, expect for a few meetings and patrolling duty, the Head Boy duties were not as bad as he thought they were going to be. But most importantly, things with Lily were going absolutely wonderfully. He couldn't help but look at her and feel totally mystified that she had finally decided to be his girlfriend. He cherished every single moment they spent together and he was looking forward to the holiday when he could spend some real time with her outside of Hogwarts. James even found that his best mates were more enjoyable lately. He had not seen Remus this happy in a long time nor Sirius for that matter. James was rapidly coming to consider Liz and Faith as good friends also.
James looked around at his friends. He wished that they could all stay at Hogwarts forever just like this. As he went to pour himself another glass of pumpkin juice a dozen small dots in the enchanted ceiling caught his eye. He squinted and looked harder at the dots. They were moving rapidly and becoming more visible by the second. A loud screech cut the happy chatter ringing through out the Great Hall in half. James's whole body had frozen as he looked upon a dozen speeding owls with dread.
"James! You're spilling the pumpkin juice all over the table," shouted Lily in surprise as the pumpkin juice ran onto the table and spilled all over her meal. Lily took out her wand and vanished the spilled juice. She reached over and grabbed the pitcher out of his hand and put it on the table. "James did you not hear me? James, what's the matter?"
She followed his gaze up at the ceiling. Her heart filled with dread at the sight she saw. She knew what this meant and she prayed silently they the owls would turn and leave the Great Hall, hoping that they had made a mistake.
"No," whispered Liz, "Not Ministry owls."
Everyone in the Great Hall, including the teachers, was now staring transfixed and horrified at the approaching owls. Within a matter of seconds the owls were swooping down upon students and dropping black envelopes in their wake; leaving the owner to bawl madly at the table. James grabbed Lily's hand immediately and gripped onto it tight. He stared completely spellbound at the owls as they dove above the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor tables. Lily found herself gripping onto James's arm as a gray owl made its way towards their section of the Gryffindor table. Lily and James both held their breaths without even realizing it. The owl dove lower and headed straight at James. The owl flew past him and landed in front of a sixth year girl sitting one seat down from him. James let out a soft sigh of relief and loosened his grip around Lily's hand. The whole group let out a sigh of relief, as they looked at each other in silent prayers of thankfulness.
The Great Hall, which was just filled with happiness and laughter thirty- seconds before, was now filled with cries of hurt and pain. Friends were hugging and trying to console grieving friends. Some people had run out of the Great Hall to grieve in solitude or to send letters to see if loved ones were safe. Lily looked up at the staff table. Teachers were walking over to students in their houses trying to offer guidance. Professor McGonagall walked over to a boy and a girl that Lily knew were brother and sister. She hugged the girl and Lily could see her speaking soft words of condolence to her as she cried wildly on her shoulder. Lily looked at Professor Dumbledore. He sat grim faced in his chair as he gazed upon the scene in front of him. A yellow letter was resting in front of him. After a few minutes he slowly got to his feet. Except for muffled sobs and cries, the Great Hall fell almost silent.
"Everyone is to return to his or her dormitories," he said softly. "Anyone who is in need of console is to address the Head Girl, the Head Boy or the house Prefects, who will take you to see a professor. Classes will be cancelled tomorrow and arrangements for the students who need to return home will be made."
Dumbledore sat back down in his chair and stared at the envelope. Lily, James and Remus got up and began to gently escort students out of their seats and towards the doors of the Great Hall. A first year boy and a third year girl were crying silently as they got up from the table and passed Lily. Lily felt her heart breaking in the horribly familiar way that had happened so frequently lately. She looked at James, who was still a little pale. She thought for sure that that owl was destined for him. A horrible pang of guilt rested in her stomach. She couldn't help but feel relieved that not one of those letters had her or James's name on it.
Lily, Remus and James lead their house back to the common room. Once inside the common room, many students had retreated to their dorm rooms. A few students sat at couches or tables or choose to blankly stare outside the window as they sat upon the sill. Lily, James, Remus and several other prefects were expected to stay in the common room in case anyone needed to talk to a professor or as a first barrier to stop them from doing something stupid. The group had occupied the couches by the fire and none of them seemed to want to move nor talk. They mostly stared into the fire or out the window. Lily rested her head upon James's shoulder and he immediately flung his arm around her and pulled her into his side. Remus had his arms around Liz and he absentmindedly stroked her blonde hair as she stared out the window. Faith and Sirius were sitting next to each other, but Faith had her legs pulled up to her chest and was gazing into the fire as Sirius half- lay with his arms crossed at his chest and glaring transfixed at the floor. Peter sat in a chair and Lily saw his eyes darting nervously around the room.
The group sat there in silence for at least two hours. They had all experienced this situation at least a dozen times in the past few years. So far they had all been lucky enough not to receive the dreaded black letter. However, every time the Ministry owls penetrated the Hogwarts castle they knew that they were one step closer to having one land in front of them. Even though all of them had cheated the ill-fated letter delivery once more it did not ease any of their fears. Once in a while someone would make eye contact with another, but never resulting in anything more than a sigh. Finally around nine-thirty, Lily couldn't take it anymore.
"I wish I knew what was going on," said Lily quietly, staring into the dying fire.
"We'll find out soon enough. I suppose it will be all over the papers tomorrow morning," said James, flicking his wand to ignite the fire. It blazed brightly causing everyone to take on an orange shadow.
"I bet it was a Ministry operation that went wrong," said Liz, vaguely looking around the cozy little couch circle they had created. "There have been a lot of Ministry operations in the paper lately."
"No, it wasn't," said Faith grimly.
"You don't know that," said Liz softly, looking at Faith from across the circle.
"Well all I know is that when there is a Ministry operation, even if they are unsuccessful they always take down at least one Death Eater," said Faith, still staring into the fire. "I don't know if you noticed but no Slytherin received a black letter. This was a pure Death Eater attack."
"Bloody bastards," swore Sirius, still glaring at the floor.
"When is this all going to end," sighed Remus.
"Well it is probably safe to conclude not anytime soon," said Liz leaning closer into Remus.
"The scary part is that in eight months we are going to be facing these problems. There will be no Hogwarts to protect us from these attacks," said Lily in a distant voice.
The group sat there in silence letting the words sink into their souls. Next year at this time, it could be any one of them that is attacked. Next year at this time they could be gathered to mourn a fallen friend. Or worse, they could not be there at all. Lily looked around at her friends. All of them were struggling with their own thoughts and fears about the future. Lily tried not to allow herself to think about which of her friends would fall to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or his Death Eaters.
The group silently agreed to turn into bed around eleven o'clock. Lily knew that no grieving Gryffindor would come down tonight. It was still to fresh and usually the students wanted to be alone. Lily got into bed and tried to close her eyes. She didn't know when she drifted off to sleep. She was walking through a dark corridor towards an old oak door where yellow light escaped from underneath it. She approached an old oak door and pushed it open easily. The light blinded her for a moment and she blinked. Upon opening her eyes she saw Dumbledore, James, Sirius and Faith sitting at a table. They all looked mournful and Lily saw that Faith was sobbing uncontrollably. Lily felt her heart sink inside her chest.
"No!" she said. Lily crumpled to the floor in heavy sobs. "I was to be the first! I was supposed to be the first!" Lily buried her head into her black robes. She felt a gentle, but strong hand touch her back. Lily looked up into Dumbledore's kind face. His eyes were sad but he voice was steady.
"Lily, there is something you must know," he spoke quietly. "This was no accident. It was a warning for you."
"What?" said Lily in between sobs. "How is this a warning for me? She is dead!"
Dumbledore took a deep, steadying breath. He looked over his glasses and his blue eyes pierced into Lily's. "Voldemort is coming for you."