disclaimer: any characters or etc. herein you recognize belong to J.K Rowling ; I'm just borrowing.
Chapter Thirteen
The Dark Mark was discovered in two separate accounts occurring late last night and early this morning. The first appeared just before midnight over a residence in Appledore, Torridge wherein the four bodies inside have since been identified as those belonging to Alistair Crowley, 43, his wife, Cynthia, 42, and their two children: Ian, 17, and Dot, 10; all were victims of the Killing Curse. On October 16th, the bodies of Timothy Crowley and his wife, Winifred, both 76, parents of the late Alistair Crowley, were discovered in similar fashion in their home in Nottingham. The second Dark Mark appeared in an alleyway off London Ct. in the Kettering District where a single body was found. The Ministry have not yet released any information on that victim.
Placing his newspaper down, James craned his neck up and down the packed Gryffindor table, searching for a certain stroppy Head Girl.
Spotting her a little ways down, reading from a Daily Prophet, James stood, his abrupt movement drawing attention from Sirius, Remus and Peter.
"Back in a minute," he said before any questions could be asked, extracting himself from the table. He made his way over to where Lily sat and stood behind her.
"All right?" he asked gently.
Except for the sudden tensing, she gave no other acknowledgement that she'd heard him.
Given that she'd been studiously ignoring him and any of his attempts at conversation for the past three days, he'd been expecting that. He had rather hoped though the news about Ian Crowley would have softened her up a bit.
No luck, it seemed.
Had it been yesterday, James would've ignored her ignoring him and kept up a running conversation, in hopes that something he said would break through her charade of deaf and blindness to trigger a response. But, seeing as all that had accomplished was leaving him with a blue face, he'd go with a different tactic today: He'd wait.
James adjusted his stance into a more comfortable position, as he suspected he'd be waiting a while.
The minutes began to tick by.
Lily continued reading her newspaper, pretending he did not exist.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
James began to whistle softly to himself, the tune of the new Screaming Dragons song.
It wasn't until the middle of his fourth rendition that he noticed the stares. He might have considered stopping, had a wave of annoyance not radiated off of Lily at the precise moment. He didn't know if it was the whistling, the attention, or both that had caused it, but whatever it was it appeared it be working. The waves continued to emanate off of Lily over the next few minutes, until they reached such a battering strength that James was sure he'd felt a whisper of air ruffle his hair, and then finally, at long last:
"You saw it."
She spoke without turning around but James hastily wiped off the triumphant grin that had spread over over his face anyways.
"I did," he answered, even though it'd been more of a statement than a question.
He waited for Lily to reply. She did not.
"I'm sorry," he said.
"For what?" she asked.
James blinked at the odd question.
"Ian Crowley."
"Why?"
"Well," he said taken aback. "You knew him."
Again she was quiet.
"I mean," he added. " I don't know how well you knew him, or how you two got on, but you did know him..." he trailed off lamely at the end.
"I did." she agreed.
Silence stretched out between them.
Obviously this line of conversation was going to get him nowhere.
"Ever heard of the Screaming Dragons?" James asked, and managed to catch Lily so off guard she actually turned to look at him, eyebrows raised.
"Sorry?"
"Screaming Dragons. They're a musical group," he explained. "Good stuff. They've got a new song out. I don't know if you heard me before but I was whistling it."
He'd only meant it as a joke, but Lily's stone-faced reaction made it clear she was not amused. James waited for the acerbic comment that was sure to follow, but none came, instead she merely turned around and James found himself back at the start. Except this time he felt no hope, only weariness.
"Budge up."
James sat in the space the third years sitting beside Lily made for him, and turned to her. She looked as if a broomstick had been shoved up her bum.
"Look," he started in a reasonable tone. "I didn't come here to badger you about" - he lowered his voice - "you-know-what. I just wanted to check in on you. Have a civil conversation."
"Or," he added when she didn't even bat an eyelash at him, "We don't have to talk. We can just sit here in amicable silence. I'll drink this pumpkin juice here and you an go on reading that page you've been staring at for - what has it been now? Twenty three min-"
James was cut off by a loud wail.
Chatter at the Gryffindor table came to startled halt as people exchanged bewildered looks with one another, and cast about for the source of the noise. They didn't have to search for long.
A steak of black and gold raced down the walkway between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. It took James a moment to realize the blur was a girl; her robes a flurry of fabric and blond hair streaming out behind her as she ran. And then the several more girls passed by. A gaggle of clucking girls, who followed the first as she wove a path across the Great Hall, until one by one they burst through the Entrance Hall doors and disappeared into the hall outside, out of sight.
A pause of silence followed the aftermath before the whispers broke out.
"What do you reckon-" began James turning back to Lily, and stopped himself short at her expression.
She was staring at the still swinging Entrance Hall doors, wearing a look James couldn't quite discern, but it made him slightly suspicious.
"Do you know what that's about?" he asked.
Her eyes slid to him, for a moment it looked as if she were going to share something, but then a cool mask slid over her face.
"You'd better get back to your seat," she said, and returned to her newspaper. This time, instead of reading it folded flat on the table as she had been doing, she shook the thing out and disappeared behind it.
Eyeing the black and white print shield, James considered ignoring her dismissal, but then thought better of it. Best not to push her.
"Better had," he agreed, standing. "See you around."
She didn't respond, but he hadn't really been expecting her to.
xxx
Later that afternoon during a double Potions lesson, as Professor Slughorn was in the middle of sharing another one of his long-winded stories with the class, a knock came at the door.
James, who was in the middle of drowning out Professor Slughorn as he diced up slugs, didn't notice. Nor did he hear Professor Slughorn speaking to him. He did however feel when Sirius flicked his ear.
Jerking in surprise, James's knife slipped.
"You wanker," he berated Sirius, without real heat. "I could've lost a finger."
He glanced over at Sirius, who nodded toward the front of the dungeon room, and turned to find Professor Slughorn staring at him expectantly from the doorway.
"Come along now, Mr. Potter," said Slughorn. "Best not to keep her waiting…"
"Who, sir?" asked James bemused.
"Professor McGonagall, of course," said Slughorn, sounding surprised that James did already not know this.
"You've been summoned," Remus supplied helpfully from the next table, probably sensing James's mounting confusion.
"But I haven't done anything," James protested, bewildered.
"No need to worry, my boy," chortled Slughorn. "This has to do with Head matters."
What Head matter would require him being pulled out of a lesson for? By Professor McGonagall, no less?
Curiosity piqued, James stood and made his way to the door. Stepping out into the corridor, he was surprised to find two other people already standing there. Lily, who he hadn't realized had also been summoned, and an unknown Hufflepuff girl who must've been sent to collect them.
"Finally." she said as soon as she caught sight of James. "This way," she added and started off down the corridor.
"Hold on," said James a few minutes later, pausing. "I thought we were going to see Professor McGonagall?"
"We are." the Hufflepuff girl said without stopping.
"Her office is -"
"We're meeting her outside the Prefects meeting room."
"You know where that is?" asked James, without thinking.
"Of course," said the girl. She threw him a nasty look. "I'm a Prefect."
"Oh." said James, feeling stupid. "Right…"
Beside him, Lily made an an unkind sound. Something between a laugh and a tsk.
He chose to ignore it.
"Why are we going there?" he asked the Prefect.
"That's where McGonagall asked me to bring you," she snapped, apparently still sore about James's blunder.
"Yes," said James patiently, "But why?"
"I don't know," said the Prefect defensively. "None of us do. We were all just told to report to the meeting room."
So it wasn't just James and Lily that had been summoned but all of the Prefects as well. Interesting.
"What do you reckon?" he murmured turning to Lily. "Any ideas?"
He hadn't expected her to answer, so he was surprised when she did:
"None aside from the obvious."
"Which would be?" he prompted.
"It's serious," she said simply.
"They did look rather...grim..." the Prefect noted thoughtfully.
"Who?" asked James and Lily simultaneously.
"Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout."
"Professor Sprout?" James echoed. "She was there too? Anyone else?"
"No. Just them," said the Prefect.
"What were they doing?" pressed James.
"Looking grim, apparently," said Lily dryly.
"Talking. Whispering," answered the Prefect.
About what? James wondered.
Or perhaps he'd said it aloud, because Lily said, in a finalizing tone that made clear the conversation was over, "We'll find out soon enough."
The entrance to the Prefects meeting room was a door concealed in the brick of the wall, guarded by a suit of armor who required you to recite the school motto. As they approached it, they found Professors McGonagall and Sprout also standing guard, they were exactly as the Prefect has described them: grim faced and whispering.
The whispers stopped abruptly however, when James, Lily, and the Prefect were sighted.
"Thank you, Miss Padmore," Professor McGonagall said to the Hufflepuff girl. "You can join the others now."
She waited until the Prefect had disappeared into the meeting room, and the door melted back into the wall, before rounding on James and Lily.
"I trust you both have read - or have heard by now, the news about Ian Crowley and his family?" She said looking between them.
Upon their nod of confirmation, Professor McGonagall took a deep breath as though preparing herself.
"It has been brought to the school's attention that a student has gone missing. Cora Branson, a sixth year student from Hufflepuff house," she added quickly before the question could be asked. "It appears Miss Branson was romantically involved with Mister Crowley before his departure from Hogwarts in October. After learning of his murder during breakfast this morning, Miss Branson was overcome with grief and fled the Great Hall."
"We saw her," said James as understanding dawned. So that was what all the commotion had been about this morning.
He looked sharply over at Lily as another thought struck him.
Had she recognized Cora this morning? Had that been the reason for her funny expression?
It seemed possible. Lily had been Heads with Ian, and they'd both been Prefects before that. She'd probably seen Cora and Ian together before…
Lily must have felt James's questioning eyes on her, but it seemed she'd gone back to ignoring him as she remained determinedly focused on Professor McGonagall.
"According to Miss Branson's friends," McGonagall was saying, "they escorted her back to the Hufflepuff dormitories wherein she insisted on being left alone. When Miss Branson's friends returned to check on her during break, she wasn't there. They missed several lessons this afternoon searching for Miss Branson, before Mr. Filch found them and Professor Sprout was alerted to the matter."
"They were very distraught," Professor Sprout said. "Very worried." Until then, she had remained so silent in the background, James had forgotten she was even there. "I don't reckon Argus's threats to chain their ankles to ceiling of his office helped matters," she added tartly, sharing a look with Professor McGonagall, who patted her shoulder comfortingly.
"He does that to everyone," said James.
"Professor Dumbledore has called for a search amongst the Prefects and yourselves to locate Miss Branson," continued McGonagall. "All the Prefects have already been summoned and are awaiting your instruction. When Miss Branson is found, she is to be brought straight to the Headmaster's office; the password is Allsorts. Once she's arrived there we will send notice to those who are still searching, and everyone will return to the meeting room for further instructions if necessary. Do you have any questions? No? Alright then, I think it's best you attend to the Prefects now. Come along, Pomona."
Together Professors McGonagall and Sprout set off down the corridor, whispering once again.
Lily turned to James abruptly.
"We should assign each Prefect a section of the castle or grounds to search," she said coolly. "We'll cover more ground that way and prevent people from searching the same places twice."
"Sounds good," said James but Lily wasn't even listening, she'd already turned back around and was speaking to the suit of the armor.
"Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus."
As soon as James and Lily stepped foot into the Prefects meeting room, they were met by sixteen pair of eyes staring at them expectantly. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and then, all at once, the assembled Prefects began to talk:
"What's going on?"
"Has there been an attack?"
"Where are McGonagall and Sprout?"
"Settle down! Settle down!" Lily attempted to bring the room to order but the Prefects paid no heed.
James pulled his wand from his pocket and held the tip to his throat.
"Quiet."
Although he'd whispered the word, his voice still boomed around the small room, startling everyone into silence.
"Thank you," Lily said primly. It was directed at the Prefects, not at James. "We know you have a lot of question but before we can get to the answers, there's something we need to address first." She looked around the room, seeming to make sure she had everyone's attention before continuing, "As you may, or may not know Ian Crowley, our former Head Boy, and his family, were found dead last night-"
"Murdered by Lord Voldemort," corrected James.
"Don't say his name!" exclaimed a wide-eyed fifth year boy, looking scandalized.
His sentiment was shared by several others.
Lily shot James a nasty look.
"A moment of silence," she announced loudly over the ensuing panic, "in honor of Ian and his family."
Quiet fell once again.
"Now," Lily continued after the moment had passed, "to answer your questions about why we've all been brought here." The Prefects attention became rapt. "Professor Dumbledore has called upon us to help find a missing student."
Judging by the looks the Prefects shared, this was not what anyone had been expecting.
"Her name is Cora Branson, she's a sixth year Hufflepuff. She was Ian's girlfriend. She became very upset after hearing the news of Ian's death-"
"Murder."
"-this morning." finished Lily, ignoring James, "The last time she was seen was several hours ago when her mates escorted her to her dormitory room. We will assign each of you a section of the castle to search in and you are to remain in your designated area. If you find Cora bring her to the Headmaster's office, the password is Allsorts. Once she's found you will all be notified and need to return back here. Any questions?"
"Is this mandatory?" demanded a bored looking sixth year Slytherin Prefect from the back of the group.
"Yes." replied Lily shortly.
"We'll keep that suggestion in mind, though, Hawthorne," added James. "Should we ever have to search for you, rest assured, it'll be on a strictly volunteer basis. I wouldn't expect to be found if I were you."
"If that's all," Lily said over the appreciative laughs and snickers from several Prefects, "Let's get a move on…"
Once everyone had been assigned an area of the castle to search in, Lily dismissed them and they all began to make for the exit. James held back, waiting to bring up the rear, and as everyone scattered, hurrying off toward their destinations, he slipped off for his own.
xxx
It was pure luck.
Or perhaps, Lily amended, it was pure intuition. Whichever it was, she was grateful for it. After all, it was the reason she had looked back, and if she hadn't, she would not have caught James sneaking off in the opposite direction of where he should have been going.
It didn't take her long to catch him up.
"You're going the wrong way."
James glanced back at her, but if he was surprised he didn't show it.
"So are you," he remarked.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"Gotta fetch something," he replied shortly.
"Can't it wait?"
"I'll be quick."
"It wasn't a question."
"I'll be quick," he repeated firmly.
Lily opened her mouth, a barrage of protests on the tip of her tongue, but then thought better of it and snapped her mouth closed. It took some effort.
Arguing would only prolong the endeavor, she reasoned to her mouth. Not to mention it would a waste of breath.
"What're you doing?" James asked a moment later, glancing back at her.
"What does it look like?" she snapped testily (because it was still taking effort). "Following you."
James stopped mid-step.
"We don't have time to argue," she warned plowing ahead. She had no idea where they were going, but seeing as they were climbing a staircase, it seemed like a safe guess to keep going up.
"Evans-"
"You said you were going to be quick about this."
There was a pause, and then footsteps started up behind her. A moment later James bypassed her to take the lead once again. Judging by the clench of his jaw she'd glimpsed, he seemed to be exercising effort as well now.
xxx
"Fiddlesticks."
James didn't wait for the portrait of the Fat Lady to finish swinging forward; he dashed through the gap into the entrance hole, and was already halfway across the deserted common room by the time Lily scrambled in after him.
"Wait here," he ordered, pulling open the door to the staircase leading up to the boy's dormitories. Taking the stairs two at a time, he quickly scaled the seven flights up to the seventh year floor. Entering his empty dormitory room, James went straight for the trunk at the end of his bed.
Sifting through the mess inside, he unearthed several spare robes, school books, a few broken quills, ink pots in various colors, scrap rolls of crumpled parchment, socks that were well in need of the wash, empty sweets wrappers, and a host of other things - all of which he tossed carelessly onto the floor - but not what he needed.
Abandoning his trunk, James crossed over to his bedside table and rifled through it's contents (more sweets wrappers, general odd bits and ends, several magazines - only two of which which were of a slightly risque manner - and the snitch he'd neglected to pack away after last night's Quidditch practice), then checked under his bed, which housed his broomstick and several pairs of shoes but nothing else. James moved onto Sirius's side of the room and repeated the process, turning up only more of the same. That went for Remus's and Peter's sides of the room too.
Pushing himself up off the floor, James scrubbed a hand roughly through his hair. A few fluffy clumps of dust floated down.
One of them must have it on them then. Which meant a trip back to the dungeons.
First though, he'd have to get rid of Evans.
James headed back for the door.
If only he could just accio the damn thing. He couldn't risk having it wiz about the castle tho - James stumbled forward.
He'd stepped right into a pile of upended things. Freeing himself from a pair of robes that had twisted around his left ankle, he tossed them aside and something fell to the floor. A thick, folded piece of parchment James recognized instantly.
Triumphant, he dropped to floor before it, and pulled out his wand.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
xxx
Lily's foot was beginning to hurt from the taping.
What in the name of Merlin was he doing up there?
She threw another glower at the door to the boy's dormitory James had disappeared through - she check her watched again - fifteen minutes ago.
Right, enough was enough.
Lily wrenched open the door and marched up the steps. Reaching the seventh year floor, she zeroed in on the only open door.
"Do you actually know the meaning of quick?" she demanded storming into the room. "Because this is not it."
...and apparently she was speaking to the furniture.
"James?" she called out uncertainly. Perhaps she'd chosen the wrong -
"I guess we're even then."
Lily whipped her head around but there no James to be seen.
"Seeing as you apparently don't know the meaning of 'wait here." His disembodied voice finished.
"That was fifteen minutes ago!" Lily shouted indignantly to a bed frame. "I got tired of waiting. If you haven't found whatever you've torn apart this room looking for - or is it like this all the time? In which case I pity the House-elves - it'll have to wait until later!"
The bed frame didn't reply.
Neither did James.
Lily stepped further into the room, navigating around the precarious piles of possessions littering the floor.
"We need to start searching for Cora Branson. If I have to put a Leg-locking curse on you and drag you with me, I will," she threatened. "And don't think for a second," she added, giving a wide berth to a heap topped by a pair of pants, like a cherry on an ice-cream sundae, "that I won't inform McGonagall and Dumbledore about this utter, selfish, waste of time."
She toed a lone sock that looked in desperate need of a wash, aside.
"James!" she yelled frustratedly into the responding silence. "I wasn't joking about that Leg-locking curse you - what's this?"
Lily eyed the swath of silver fabric peeking out from a nearby open trunk that had caught her eye. She studied it for a moment, then reached inside the trunk and pulled it out.
It was a cloak. Made of a material that felt like liquid water in hand and had an almost fluid, iridescent shimmer to it.
"I've ... never seen a cloak like this," she said softly, examining it with intrigue, and a bit of awe.
"I expect not."
Lily dropped the cloak with a start as James made a sudden appearance at her side.
"What is it?" she asked, recovering instantly and bending down to pick it up again.
A hand wrapped around her elbow.
"Family heirloom," James said, yanking her back up before her fingers had even neared it. "Let's go."
She stumbled backwards as he pulled her along to the door.
James kept his hold on Lily all the way back downstairs, across the common room, and out the portrait hole.
"You can release me now," Lily said dryly, as they emerged into the corridor, but James was already doing so.
"As if I were the one holding us up," she muttered, straightening out her sleeve. "If you didn't want me touching your precious 'family heirloom' you could've just - where are you going?" she demanded suspiciously.
She'd looked up to find James already halfway down the corridor.
"Shortcut." He called back simply.
Shortcut? A shortcut to where? A shortcut to the third floor? Where he was supposed to be searching for the girl? Lily fought from hurling those questions at him.
It didn't matter. She should just let him go. One of them at least should be really helping to find Cora.
Resolved, Lily turned away from the sight of James's retreating back and marched away.
Or at least started to.
Then again...why should he be allowed to muck about the castle doing Merlin-know what?
Redetermined, she spun on her heel and took off at a jog. This time, when she caught him up, he didn't attempt to argue.
xxx
This was the way to the Owlery.
Lily voiced this sudden realization aloud, shooting James an accusing look. Both of which he ignored.
She stepped in front of him.
"I don't know what you're playing at," she said, glaring up at him, "but you can't just go gallivanting all over the bloody castle, fulfilling whatever whims you have!"
"I'm not gallivanting," James said, calmly stepping around her. "I'm walking."
"Why are we going to the Owlery?" Lily demanded after him, staying stubbornly rooted in place.
"We're not going anywhere," he replied. "I'm going to Owlery. You're just following me."
"I'm serious, James-!"
"No…" He'd reached the tower stairs that lead up to Owlery room now, "You're Lily.", and for the second time, vanished through a door leaving her behind.
Fuming, Lily rushed after him.
"Do you have any regard for someone other than yourself?" She thundered up the stone steps. "A girl is missing. We're being depended on to help find her!"
James did not respond.
"You know I reckoned you could it. I really did," she said. "I admit, at first, I thought Dumbledore had gone mad, then the shock wore off and I realized he must've chosen you for a reason. More than just an attempt to reign you in. Of course, you wouldn't take the responsibility seriously and it drove me mad. After our row though, it seemed like you'd finally decided to pull you head out of of your arse, and things were going well. But this," she shook her head, "this right here? Proves you are as far from Head Boy material as one could get. And not only is Dumbledore mad for thinking otherwise but so am I! As soon as this search is over I'm going to straight to Dumbledore and demanding he revokes your badge. Mark my words, James Potter!"
"Lower your voice, will you?" said James sounding pained. "This stairwell echoes."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Lily snarled sarcastically, "is it interfering with your ignoring me?"
James snorted a laugh.
"That's rich."
"What?" she snapped.
"You've been ignoring me for the past three days!" he pointed out indignantly.
"With good reason too."
"Evans..." sighed James in a world weary tone Lily didn't care for, and recognized as a preamble. Probably to another one of his speeches to convince her to accept his bribe.
"No."
She had had enough of those over the past three days. She'd only been pretending to be deaf, after all.
"Evans-"
"No!"
Even Lily winced as her sharp voice echoed. It managed to shut James up though, and they climbed the rest of the way up in silence.
When they entered the Owlery room, Lily switched her attention to her feet, so as to avoid the many owl droppings and pellets that littered the straw covered floor, which meant she didn't notice James come to a stop in front of her until she crashed into him.
"Oof!"
She bounced off his back and nearly toppled over.
"Why'd you stop?" she demanded angrily, readjusting her glasses and rubbing her smarting nose. "Have we reached the 'shortcut'?"
"Look." said James.
She did. And stared.
There, asleep in the straw, at their feet, was a girl. But not just any girl...
"Is that…? But… -how?" Lily whispered stunned. "How did you…?"
"Better wake her," said James. "If she hasn't turned into an ice lolly," he added.
That snapped Lily into action. While the glassless windows in the Owlery made for easy comings and goings for the owls, it was not ideal for prolonged visits - or naps - for those without feather in the winter.
Lily gently shook the sleeping girl's shoulder.
"Cora?... Cora?"
She awoke with a startle, bolting upright, and blinked dazedly up at Lily and James.
"Hi Cora, I don't know if you remember me? I'm Lily Evans, Head Girl," said Lily, "And that's James Potter, Head Boy."
"Whatreyoudoinghere?" Cora asked her voice slurred with sleep, and looking muddled.
"We were going to ask you that," said James. "Bit cold, don't you reckon?"
"We were looking for you," explained Lily. "Nobodies seen you since this morning. You've given everyone a bit of a scare. Dumbledore called a search."
"What time is it?" asked Cora looking, and sounding, more awake now.
"Just past three o'clock," said James, checking Lily's watch.
"Oh, nooo," Cora moaned dismally, scrambling to her feet. "Am I in loads of trouble?" she gazed between them imploring.
There was a piece of straw stuck in her hair. Lily sincerely hoped that was all that was in there.
"I don't know," Lily answered truthfully.
"I doubt it," said James. "Dumbledore's a sympathetic fellow. McGonagall'll probably lecture you a bit, though," he added pulling an empathetic look.
"Speaking from experience?" asked Lily dryly.
"I just-" Cora swallowed thickly, "I just wanted to visit Benedict."
"An owl?"
She flushed slightly at James's question.
"Sounds stupid I know, but he was"- she took a deep breath - " I-Ian's. He gave him to me when he - when he left."
Lily stepped forward to give Cora a comforting hug.
"I'm sorry about Ian, Cora" Lily said sincerely. "We only worked together for a short time but he was always very kind to me."
A few tears slipped down Cora cheeks, and she wiped them away hastily looking embarrassed.
"What say we get out of here?" James suggested gently. "Before it starts snowing."
xxx
"Are you going to tell me how you managed it?" Lily asked James quietly as they made their way to Dumbledore's office.
"Managed what?" asked James, feigning ignorance.
"Finding Cora," Lily whispered, mindful that the girl walked only a little ways in front of them.
"Just lucky, I suppose."
Lily was not convinced by his casual attitude.
"Do you have a crystal ball hidden in your dormitory or something?" she asked wryly. "I don't remember you attending a lot of Divination lessons."
"Perhaps it's a natural talent," retorted James.
Lily sighed unhappily.
"I suppose that's a 'no' to telling me then."
"I told you: it was luck. If you don't like my answer-"
"Don't believe it, more like."
James shrugged as if to say: that's your problem, not mine, and Lily dropped the subject.
For now.
xxx
"Allsorts."
The stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to Dumbledore's office leapt aside, the wall behind it splitting in two to revealing a spiral staircase.
James made to follow Lily and Cora up, but a low, rumbling voice gave him pause:
"Haven't seen you in a while." The gargoyle remarked. "Where's the other one?"
"Dutifully heading off to his next lesson, I imagine," James replied, stepping onto the slowly ascending staircase. Behind him, the gargoyle emitted a strange sound. Almost like a snort of laughter.
The stairs carried James, Cora and Lily up, up, up until it came to an abrupt halt outside a highly polished oak door.
"Perhaps you should do it," Lily said to James, gesturing to the brass, griffin shaped door knocker. "It may be wondering where you've been as well."
One knock was all it took; the door swung open and Professor McGonagall stood before them.
"You're delivery, Madame," James said, tipping his hat.
A flash of relief crossed over McGonagall's face, and then it was gone, replaced by her usual prim expression; she ushered them into Dumbledore office.
For someone who'd found himself in the Headmaster's office a number of times over the past several years for various mischievous wrongdoings, it might be expected that James would have an aversion to being inside Dumbledore's office. That was not the case however. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Since his first visit there he'd found the space oddly comforting, and now, there was the added nostalgia of past visits.
James grinned to himself. Good times.
"Splendid." As always, Dumbledore was seated behind the enormous claw foot desk in the middle of the circular room. "Splendid," he repeated surveying James, Cora and Lily as they lined up in front of of him.
"Oh, thank Merlin!" breathed Professor Sprout, putting a hand to her chest. She sat in one of the chairs that stood in front of Dumbledore's desk. The other chair was occupied by Madame Pomfrey, who stood and ran a critical eye over Cora.
"Pepperup Potion," she announced, and dug into the dragon skin bag sitting on Dumbledore's desk, extracting a vial that she pushed into Cora's hands, with a brisk, "Drink."
Cora looked less than keen about this instruction, but wisely didn't protest. She swallowed the contents of the vial in one gulp and began to cough violently, steam pouring from her ears.
Professor Sprout leapt to her feet in an instant.
"Have a seat, dear." She steered Cora into her vacated chair.
"Despite the unfortunate circumstances that bring you here, Miss Branson, I am happy to see you," Dumbledore said once Cora's coughing had subsided, smiling kindly at the girl.
"Thank you, sir," croaked Cora, sounding guilty.
"And my thanks to you both." Dumbledore turned to James and Lily. "For your swift finding."
"Of course, sir." said Lily demurely.
"Any chance of house-points?" asked James.
"James!" Lily gasped aghast, throwing him a murderous look.
"Really, Mr. Potter," tutted Professor McGonagall rolling her eyes.
"Cheeky!"
This came from one of the portraits hanging on the walls of Dumbledore's office. James did not know if they were usually outspoken, but they always piped in when he was in there.
"Worth a go," James shrugged, unabashed. "Just reckoned it would be a nice change of pace. Seeing as I do so often contribute to the loss of them."
"You could of course," Lily grit out quietly to him, "stop doing whatever it is that causes you to lose them in the first place."
"And I believe it's best for you to leave now," Professor McGonagall added, shooing him and Lily toward the door with a sweep of her robes. "Before that moment occurs again..."
"Just a moment, Minerva."
Everyone turned their attention to Dumbledore.
Behind the half moon spectacles perched on his nose, his eyes were twinkling.
"Mr. Potter makes a valid point."
"Albus-"
"I award thirty points each to Mr. Potter and Ms. Evans," Dumbledore went on smoothly. "For services to the school."
Professor McGonagall's lips thinned considerably.
"That's very kind, sir," said Lily immediately. "But not ness-"
"Thanks, very much, sir!" James grinned at Dumbledore, taking hold of Lily's arm and towing her along as he backed to the door. "We'll just leave it to you now. See you around, Cora."
No sooner had James closed the door behind them, Lily wrenched her arm away and began to shout.
"You are unbelievable! It's amazing really, how you manage to constantly surprise me. I can't believe you spoke to the Headmaster that way!"
"I can't believe you were about to decline house points," James said calmly, stepping onto the staircase which automatically begun to wind down.
"Points we shouldn't have gotten in the first place!" She leapt after him. "Forgive me, that my moral compass isn't as skewed as yours," she sneered, "but I didn't think it right to accept house points we didn't deserve."
"Why shouldn't we deserve them?" he asked. "We were asked to help find a missing student and we did. Mission accomplished."
"We're Head Boy and Girl, our responsibility is to serve the school. We shouldn't be rewarded for something we're supposed to do!"
"If Dumbledore sees fit to give us house points-"
"It wasn't his idea! It was yours!"
The stairs came to a halt.
"Technically," James pointed out, stepping into the corridor. "It was joke. I wasn't really expecting him to do it," he admitted.
Lily huffed.
"There's a time and place for jokes-"
"Whenever they're funny?"
"To someone other than yourself," she snapped back witheringly.
"Dumbledore seemed to like it enough," he said. Sensing Lily was gearing up for what was sure to be the start of another long temper tantrum fueled lecture, James quickly went on:
"You know," he said thoughtfully, turning abruptly as though suddenly struck by an idea, ignoring her indignant squawk as she nearly crashed into him, "I reckon you should wait for Madame Pomfrey to come down. She could give you some Skelegrow. Help you grow that funny bone you're missing."
Lily's look of confusion melted into a deadpan expression.
"Ha-ha."
"That wasn't a joke, Evans," James said only half-joking, resuming his stroll.
"Everything's a joke to you," she muttered, surly.
"Not everything."
This time she did walk into him.
"Stop that!"
"When I offered to help you with your career aspirations in exchange for your helping me out of a tight spot for instance…" he said.
"You mean," she glowered up at him, "when you were attempting to bribe me into helping you win a bet you'd just admitted to have been acting upon for the past two months by pretending to be my friend to manipulate me into going out with you, therefore winning you said bet?"
"Point is: I was entirely serious about it."
"As was I when I said no."
She turned her nose up, and sidestepped him.
James scrutinized her retreating back.
"Is it because of that moral compass you spoke of?"
"Partly."
"What's the other part?"
"That I have absolutely no desire to help you."
"Doesn't what you'd be getting in exchange outweigh those little tidbits?" he wheeled, following her.
"Not in the least," she replied coolly.
"What is it about my offer that offends you so much?" James demanded truly at a loss.
"I believe...," Lily began with mock thought, "it's the part where you reckon I could so easily be bribed."
"On the contrary," he countered, "I never expected it to be easy."
"You reckon it possible though."
"Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never is, but always to be blessed:
The soul, uneasy and confined from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come."
Lily whipped around to stare at him.
"How do you know Alexander Pope?" she asked. "He was a Muggle poet."
"I know quite a lot of Muggle poems," shrugged James.
"Why?"
"It comes in handy."
"When?"
"Well... I've found Muggle girls are often easily impressed when one can sprout off tosh like that."
"You amaze me."
Shaking her head, Lily turned around and resume walking.
"That's the second time you've used that word," noted James." I'm starting to get the feeling you're not being complimentary."
"I'm not a Muggle girl you know," she said. "I'm not easily impressed."
"Oh, I know that. If you were, we wouldn't be in this position."
"On the contrary." She was mocking him. "We wouldn't be in this position if you weren't such an egocentric arsehole."
James sighed dramatically.
"Must you always go there?"
"Unlike you, I prefer to tell the truth," Lily retorted.
"Mmm, but do you listen to it?" he asked.
"Meaning?"
"You're being an idiot."
She turned on him again.
"Sorry?" she demanded, looking dangerous.
"I'm offering you an opportunity any other prospective Auror would leap at the chance for," James explained, "and your turning your nose up at it because of a petty grudge."
Lily crossed her arms and gave him a level look.
"There's another part," she said.
"What?" asked James confused, then remembered. "What?"
"I don't want help from people who'd think nothing of giving it to someone they'd never met before, or knew anything about, just because their son asks them to."
"It's not like that," he asserted earnestly. "My parents trust that I would only ask for someone who deserves it."
She gave a hollow laugh.
"Little do they know, all someone has to do to 'deserve' it is help their son win a stupid bet."
"I wouldn't have offered it if I didn't think you deserved it," he argued.
"You wouldn't've offered if you didn't need my help," she corrected.
"You wouldn't help if I didn't."
"I am not helping you."
James ran a rough hand through his hair.
"I feel like we've been here before," he grumbled to the floor.
"That's because we have," Lily replied. "We're going 'round in circles. I say no and you proceed to drive me mad because you won't accept it."
"Don't say no, then. Say yes. Break the cycle." He beseeched, looking up at her.
"I gave that go already, if you'll remember," she said pointedly. "It didn't work."
"I didn't have a choice, then. You'd backed me into a corner," he said, frustrated. "If I'd accepted your date, I would've just proven you right. That all I was after was getting you to say yes. I had to say no. I had to prove you wrong. That was the only way I was going to have a shot of getting you to actually agree to it later on. Of course," he muttered to himself with a snort,"I realized shortly after that there was no absolutely no chance with you."
"Are you even listening to yourself?" Lily demanded with disbelief. "You just explained your plan to manipulate me into thinking everything I thought wasn't true, when in fact it was, and you honestly expect me to make any sort of agreement with you?"
"You don't trust me-"
"Of course I bloody don't!"
"I'll do whatever it takes to change that. Tell me what is, and I'll do it," James said seriously.
"Trust isn't changed, James. It's earned," she said almost sadly, then she turned around and walked away leaving James to consider her words.
Surprise!
I honestly hadn't planned on taking this long to update, guys. Since I already had a very clear idea of how I wanted this chapter to go, I really expected to post it not soon after the previous chapter was posted. I should've known better. Whenever I have everything clear in my head, it's always harder to match it in writing.
A few people have mentioned that I should add more of Lily and James's internal thoughts, and I have been trying to make the effort to do that. Once again the whole head vs. paper thing comes into play here because I know the thoughts behind the words and actions so well, I don't realize when I need to explain it for the readers. This is the only story I've written where I've really struggled adding the characters internal thoughts/voices, and I think it's because I don't know exactly what they are yet. I'm sort of figuring it out as I go along. Which is great from a writing standpoint, but from a reader's, I understand that it can be a confusing thing so I am working on it.
Thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! It really is motivation to keep going when you know someone is looking forward to it.
:) - GoddessoftheMaan