That day floated by very well. Lily and James joked, jibed, and laughed their way through Charms, Transfiguration, and free before sitting together at lunch. The Gryffindor seventh years all laughed and talked animatedly. Emmeline was even especially nice to Peter Pettigrew, who Lily noticed always seemed to be a little behind the other boys. Emmeline obviously had realized this as well because she commented to Lily as they trudged down to Potions.
"Pettigrew is a bit off, isn't he?"
James and his friends lagged behind, doing something or another with a paper Lily presumed to be a homework roll. Dorcas nodded.
"He's just slower than they are. They don't leave him out intentionally and I don't think he feels a thing. I think he's just happy to walk down the halls with them."
"Black doesn't always go out of his way for him," pointed out Emmeline. "He's not always nice…"
"I'm sure Sirius just overlooks Peter sometimes. He's not rude on purpose," mused Marlene thoughtfully. Lily and the others exchanged looks which Marlene thankfully missed.
"Marlene, I've dated Sirius Black. Fifth year, remember? He's rude when he doesn't think you're worth his manners, which as they stand are not so valuable—" Here Dorcas elbowed Emmeline and she quickly shut up, but Marlene didn't appear to have registered this slander against her supposed crush.
"James takes time for Peter though," added Dorcas with a glance at Lily. "He makes an effort for him at least."
"Yes, he does, doesn't he? Him and Remus," said Lily fondly, flipping back her hair.
"They're all very nice," Marlene concluded just as they reached the Potions dungeon. Professor Slughorn sat at his desk going over papers and delicately popping crystallized pineapple into his mouth. Lily heard Sirius snicker faintly before he took a place next to Marlene. She assumed her own position next to James just as Caradoc dashed in, looking at little harried.
"Come now, take your places," announced Slughorn pompously while heaving his rotund, green-robed body out of his chair. "I'm handing back to the Amortentia review essays, full marks for Lily again I say, and Severus as well...not bad for you either Miss Meadowes here you are. Perhaps you'd like to give out the rest of these essays, Lily, and mind you don't peek. I've got important things to finish up at my desk…"
"Like his newest box of sweets," muttered James as Slughorn took his seat again behind his pewter cauldron. Lily took the rolls of parchment and nudged James in the foot before handing him his own essay. She went around the room with an increasing heartbeat as she approached the Slytherin table.
Snape and Rosier were deep in conversation as usual but Rosier caught Lily moving towards them and muttered something incomprehensibly to Snape. They were quiet and glowering by the time she placed their homework on the desk.
"Yours and yours, Rosier," she said coolly. Rosier's eyes narrowed even as his mouth curled into a displeasing smile.
"Read about your Auror friends this morning, Evans? Nasty bit of a shock for you then…" Lily bit her lip in fury. How dare he say something like that about the Longbottoms? Her fingers itched to wipe that smug look off of his sneering face but she contended with saying in a voice of ice,
"You pig. You wouldn't know anything about friends, would you, you disgusting slime?" With one last look of contempt and anger, Lily whipped around and strode back to her cauldron. James' arm encircled her almost immediately; he was casting black looks in the direction of Snape and Rosier.
"Did they say something?" asked James in a carefully neutral tone that wasn't fooling Lily for a moment.
"About the Longbottoms," she replied darkly, vicious slicing her rat tails. "That snake Rosier—"
"Again?"
"Yes," Lily answered. "He's dirt James. Don't go getting yourself expelled over him." James' arm only tightened once before he let go to chop his own rat tails at an alarming rate. Lily forced herself to take a cooling breath before she looked up again. Both Sirius and Dorcas were glaring at the Slytherins as well.
…
The rest of Lily's day was markedly better. After dinner, the seventh years sat around the Gryffindor common room together, doing homework (or goofing off) in companionable amicability. Lily and Emmeline chuckled as James changed Remus' hair to a lurid green and back. Remus retaliated by shooting a spark of purple light that made James' hair the greasy, stringy consistency of Snape's. James shrieked in exaggerated horror and doused himself from water from his wand. He was not so pleased when Sirius added soap bubbles and nearly engulfed his head in pink foam. A Tickling Charm flew at Sirius' face and he dived out of the way. All chaos broke out when it hit Dorcas on accident.
Lily could hardly remember ever having so much fun as she and the girls walked back to their dorms, water-logged and laughing. Dorcas wrung out her robes and claimed the bath first while Lily changed for patrols, wringing out her wet hair as best she could. She snapped on a fresh pair of robes while Marlene puzzled over whatever spell had turned her curls into sunflower yellow spikes (no one knew who cast it). Lily adjusted her badge and hurried down to the common room to meet James. She was still trying to dry her hair with drafts from her wand when he grabbed it out of her hand and pulled her into the corridor amid catcalls from Sirius and Peter.
"Why did you do that?"
"Because I like your hair wet, looks nice."
"I look like a drowned rat."
"Do not
"Do too."
"Do not because I say so."
"And your word makes it so, does it Potter?" asked Lily impetuously.
"Yeah, it basically does. Now are we going to snog?" James questioned baldly, moving closer with an interested look in his eye. Lily giggled at James' forwardness and took a step back.
"If you want…"
"And I do."
"…then we can go to the Astronomy Tower." James rolled his eyes.
"Why would we do that?"
"Privacy."
"I'd prefer people seeing us at it, actually. Might give them the right idea—"
"Are you serious?"
"No, he's inside." Lily winced and latched onto James' arm. She led him towards the stairs as the Fat Friar puffed out one portrait and into another.
"That was an awful joke." James laughed affectionately.
"Yes, it is. We've been using that since practically first year; he hates it."
"I can imagine why…"
On the way to the Astronomy Tower, Lily and James ran into Filch, who said he was after Peeves but Lily thought he was after them.
"Well Peeves isn't here, is he?" said James dismissively. "Move along then, Lily and I have to patrol." Filch ground his yellowed teeth.
"I am still faculty Potter, and I'll be mentioning your cheek to Professor McGonagall."
"You do that, sir," James replied with a very sweet and very false smile. Filch hobbled a few steps closer; Mrs. Norris twining around his heels.
"Just mind that you and the Head Girl keep to patrolling, or you're as good as students out of bed."
"I'll remember that."
"You'd better, Potter, or I'll have you like that." The caretaker snapped his fingers. With a seething smirk, Filch shambled away. James kept walking towards the tower but Lily tugged his arm.
"We can't go now. He knows. He really wants to nail you for something; how rude of him to think we were lying—"
"Lily," pointed out James humorously, "we were lying." She paused.
"Well alright then. We'd better take a shifty in the dungeons." James groaned magnificently and Lily laughed at his disappointment.
"This Head Boy business is a real pain-in-the—"
"Shut up, why don't you?"
Everything else went as smooth as silk until Lily was about to go up her staircase and something transmitted in her brain.
"James," she said suddenly, feeling a leaden thud in her stomach. "Last night, the Slytherins. They were saying something about attacks before we walked in, and then Frank and Alice were hit by that cursed music box today, and then just before in Potions, Rosier mentioned them to me…Think they knew about it beforehand?"
James stiffened and Lily saw taut lines appear on his face. He rumpled his mussed black hair with his free hand.
"You're sure they were talking about the Longbottoms last night?"
"No, but they were saying something about attacks…"
"Could be any attacks though…" James was musing half to himself in a very cold voice. Lily touched his arm.
"Just saying. Goodnight James."
"Bye Lily," James kissed her but he was preoccupied as he climbed his own stairs. Lily went off to bed that night with a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature of her cozy bed.
I couldn't resist the serious Sirius joke. That's all I have to say. I apologize for it but we all have weaknesses and puns are mine. This is mostly a filler chapter since the big Hogsmeade thing is coming up.
Thanks everyone, glad you enjoyed the last!