The Almost Prank
Chapter 19
a/n: Sorry for the late update. All I can say is that I had a bout of writers block.
"What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals! ". - (Act II, Scene II Hamlet).
The Potter Mansion was thick with the air of tension the next morning when James joined Lily, Remus and Sirius in the dinning room. In fact the tension between his best friend and his fiance could be cut with a knife. "What do you mean by entering my room, Sirius," Lily screamed. "I could have been changing in there for all you know."
"But you weren't," Sirius responded. "You weren't even in there until after I came in. In fact your bed had not even been slept in."
"How do you know?" Lily stormed.
"Ah, ee, er, um," Sirius stammered running his hand through his shoulder length black hair. "No reason. I just gathered that by the state of your bed."
"I could have made it," Lily stated glaring at Sirius. "I am not a slab unlike some people in here." At this comment Remus who had been following the exchange with an amused look on his face burst out laughing. At the sound of Remus laughter Lily wiped out her wand and pointed it at Remus and screamed, "Silencio."
James who was about to say something to Lily when she wiped around and said, "Do you want me to use this on you too?"
"No," James muttered raising his hands in front of him and backing a way. "I think I will just disappear." As he was backing a way he grabbed his invisibility cloak and started to put it on.
"Oh no you don't," Lily exclaimed lunging at James. "You will stay here and deal with your friend I have work to do." With that Lily stormed out of the room slamming the door.
"What did you do?" James asked Sirius with a smile on his face.
"Well, Lily found me in her room," Sirius started.
"Actually, Padfoot," Remus muttered after removing the silencing charm. "I believe Lily found you in her bed. Doing something that you had no business doing there."
"It's not like she uses it," Sirius muttered. "Someone has to use the bed. Besides mine was already a mess. Plus her bed is more comfortable. And I was missing my old room."
"I do not think I want to hear this," James said covering his ears with his hands.
"It is not like we haven't seen Lily sleeping before, Prongs," Remus murmured. "She did share our room for the past four months."
"That was different," James replied. "She knew you guys were there. She did not walk into the room thinking no one was there to find one of you in her bed. Besides, Padfoot, the only one that should be in her bed is me."
"Well if she was in her bed instead of yours I would have gone to my own," Sirius responded. "But as she was with you I figured I could use hers."
"I am going to go find her," James exclaimed shaking his head. "I just hope I can calm her down. I have never seen her this mad in a long time. When you get her mad you really go in for the kill."
"Well, you know what they say," Sirius muttered to James retreating back. "Anything worth doing is worth doing right."
As James left the dinning room he took a piece of parchment out of his back pocket and scanned the map on it for any signs of Lily. He finally spotted her in her room so he quickly ran up the stairs taking them two at a time. When he entered Lily's room he found her changing the sheets with one of the house-elves help. "You alright?" James asked from the doorway.
"Get out of here, James Potter, and leave me a lone,"Lily screamed at him. "Get out now or else."
"OR else what?" James smirked entering the room.
"Or else I'll hex you," Lily muttered taking out her wand.
"Yeah right. You think you are all that with your wand, but what about with out it. Accio wand." Immediately Lily's wand flew into James hand and he placed them in the nightstand putting a magical lock on it. "Now what are you going to do?"
Lily slowly walked over to James and turned him around until his back was towards the bed with his knees up against it. "This," Lily said as she pushed him unto the bed and straddled him. "What do you think about that?"
"I thought you wanted me to leave," James murmured sliding his hand up Lily's leg. "You have made that all but impossible you know. " Just then the words started going off. "Merlin," James muttered rising from the bed and unlocking their wands. "Why does this always happen. Something always interrupts us. I'll go see what is going on. Take the secret passage way and hide."
"James, I don't think that will be necessary," Lily muttered casting a quick glance at the map that James had dropped on the table. "I'll just go talk to him." James just shook his head as he followed Lily out the door and down the stairs.
"Mistress Lily has a visitor," one of the house-elves said when it meet Lily on the last flight of stairs. "Tabby send him to drawing room."
"Thank you, Tabby," Lily said bowing to the house-elf. "Please bring up some tea."
"Right a way, Mistress," Lily responded with a low bow and disappeared to the Potter kitchen with a pop.
"I don't like this," James muttered placing his arm around Lily. "I'm coming with you."
"I'll be fine, James," Lily murmured. "Go have fun with Sirius and Remus. I'll find you when I am done. Besides I think Sirius is still smarting from this morning."
"Fine, Love," James said reluctantly. "If you need anything don't hesitate to call. We'll be watching the map. If anything happens we'll come running."
"I am sure you will," Lily replied as she opened the door leading into the drawing room. Lily stopped at the door as she took in the figures in the room. She knew that if it had been up to James the occupants of the room would have never made itout of the room without being hexed. "Severus, to what do I owe the privilege?"
"You have been around the Potter's to much," Severus Snape stated with his costumery sneer in place. "I liked you better when you spoke in normal English. But as you asked Siusan wanted to see you."
"I see," Lily stated doubting that was the only reason Snape had crossed the threshold of the Potter Estate. "Here I thought you missed my company."
"Actually, I was wondering how you were doing," Snape responded. "It can be quit tiring here. Plus I heard about the fiasco on the night of the Ball. I assume the muggle they were referring to was your uncle."
"Yes it was. But I am fine, How have you been doing? You look paler then you were in school."
"I'm fine. I can take care of myself as you know. Your future husband made sure of that well we were in school."
"Why is it that we always have to come back to this?" Lily asked with a grimace. "Ever since I started seeing James we have had this discussion. I am sorry that you feel betrayed, Severus, but I love him. This will not come between our friendship. I have told you this time and time again."
"I realize that. Hard feelings just die hard. I don't think I will ever get over my feelings. However I would like the opportunity to make small amends. I came here to talk about the wedding. There was not a lot of information in the paper. I would really like to attend. I would bring Siusan of course."
"It is to take place here in two weeks. I would love for the two of you to attend. From what I understand it is costume for the more influential families to attend the weddings of the other families. So I just assumed you would be invited."
"You are true in part. However, the Potter's do tend to go against the grain in some things. As a rule Potter's and Black's do not get a long. In fact there is a long time feud between the two families. As there is with the Snape family. I am surprised you were never told of it. So I would not be surprised if an invitation did not go out to the other Black's or the Malfoy's nor the rest of my family for that matter. IF an invitation does not come for my family I will respect your wishes as well as the Potter's and come myself."
"I understand," Lily muttered pouring some tea.
With much reluctance James watched as Lily entered the drawing room before he made his way into the dinning room he had left earlier in search of his friends. Finding the dinning room empty he proceeded outside hoping that his friends were in the garden or at the quiditch pitch that was on the grounds. He was in luck when he noticed both Remus and Sirius in the garden helping his mother prune the bansai. Even though the house-elves would have gladly done this task Linda Potter had insisted that this small bansai garden be cared for by her and her a lone. Well the other gardens were cared for by the house-elves themselves.
"Who was at the door, dear?" Linda Potter asked looking up from the bansai she was trimming with a smile on her face. Even in the faded muggle jeans and tee shirt Linda Potter preferred to wear while she worked in the garden she was the picture of the aristocrat she was.
"A friend of Lily's from school," James replied with a grin as he chose a tree to work on. In all honesty he enjoyed working in this garden with his mother. It was calming how he could make these small trees grow how he wanted them to. It gave him a sense of control that nothing else had. He remembered a conversation seven years earlier that had taken place in this same garden.
Flashback
James and Linda were out working in the bansai garden one early morning both in jeans and tee shirts on a sunny day. "James, be gentle," Linda admonished softly. "You know the trees feel your emotion. What is wrong? Did something happen at school that you are not telling me?"
"Sorry, mum," an eleven year-old James muttered. "I was just thinking about Sirius. I told you about him. His family is very cruel to him. I wish we could do something for him."
"He is one of the Black's right," Linda Potter wondered. "It is no surprise that his family would be hard on him. The Blacks and Potters have never really gotten a long. Your father and I are very proud that you are able to look beyond names. As for wanting to do something why not invite him to stay for a while."
"Could I really?" a very energetic James asked bouncing around the garden.
"Of course, dear," Linda replied with a smile as James continued bouncing a round the garden. "I think we could even spare a corner of this garden for you and your friend. There is no better healing to be had then the joy of making a plant do ones bidding."
End Flashback
From that day on a corner of the garden had become the Marauders and that is what found Remus and Sirius hard at work when James joined them. "You seem upset, Prongs," Sirius muttered as James studied the tree next to his.
"I was just wondering why Snape is here," James replied picking up a pair of pruning sheers from the pile of tools on the ground.
"Lily and Snape always did get along," Remus muttered from his own tree which he had decided to try and coax into an umbrella. He had been working on this particular tree for the last three years. "I wish this tree would listen to me. I have been nurturing it for the last three years and it still wants to do as it sees fit. It is just as stubborn as you are, James."
"Thanks, Moony," James muttered from his spot in the garden. "I always wanted to be compared to a bonsai. You have to find the inner soul of the tree. All bonsai have an image that is waiting to come out. You just have to find it."
"Easy for you to say," Sirius muttered trimming the last wild branch from his tree. "You always get the desired effect from your trees."
"I have been doing this since I was four," James responded. "Mum had me out here before that but never let me prone the trees before then. You should have seen some of my first works they were disastrous."
"So what did Snape want?" Remus asked returning to the original subject.
"I have no idea," James responded. "But who would have thought a Snape would come here for a simple visit. It is unheard of."
"Of course who would have thought that a Black and a Potter would be working in a garden together," Linda asked dusting the dirt off her jeans. "It is dark times that we are in. We all must keep our friends and family close."
"And or enemies closer," an amused voice finished from the entrance to the garden. "I thought I might find you here, Linda."
"Albus, when did you arrive?" Linda asked walking to the headmaster.
"I just arrived," the headmaster replied with the twinkle in his eye. "I needed to talk to James and Lily if I may. "
"Of course," James responded. "I'll go get Lily. She has a visitor in the drawing room. They should be done any minute."
"I can wait," Albus Dumbledore said walking into the garden. "This gets more beautiful every time I come. The five of you are doing such a good job. Tell me have you had any word from Andrew lately."
"The last we heard was that he had narrowed it down to a wizarding family," Linda muttered. "I just hope it is not a Dark Arts family. I would hate to see what would happen to that little one if it landed into the hands of a dark wizard."
"It would be far worse if they were one of Voldemort's followers," Sirius remarked with a grimace.
"Hattie sorry, Sirs and Mistress," a house-elf said with a low bow. "Master Richard has just arrived."
"Thank you, Hattie," Linda said with a nod. "Would you please serve lunch out here. I will go talk to Richard."
"Right a way, mistress," Hattie stated with a low bow brushing her ears on the ground. "Mistress Lily's visitor left a while ago."
"Do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?" - (Act III, Scene II Hamlet).
a/n: Siusan's name is spelled the Gaelic way. It means Lily, but as of yet Lily does not realize it yet. Please review. Even if you want to flame me. That is alright. I love you guys. I will try to get back to my regular updates. As soon as I get over my intermittent writer's block that seems to strike every once in a while. This was suppose to be a one shot but everybody kept wanting more so here we are now at chapter 19. There will probable only be a few more chapters in this story and it will continue with "Snape's Revenge" and "Peter's Betrayal"