CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-FOUR
During the second week of August, Jane and the boys got their school letters. As they sat around the breakfast table, the Potters' family owl flew inside and dropped the three letters on the table. James' had landed with a slight thud, and the three friends looked at each other for a fleeting second before grabbing for his letter to see what was inside it. Jane got to it first and held it out of James' reach.
"Give it here," James said, lunging at her. "It's my letter."
Jane grinned and tossed the letter over to Sirius who ripped it open. He quickly turned the envelope upside down, and two little metal badges fell out into his open hand; the letter fluttered to the table. Sirius picked a badge out of his hand and held it up.
"Looks like we've got our new Quidditch captain," Sirius said, tossing the silver badge over to James who just smiled down at it happily.
Sirius looked back down at the other pin in his hand, and his expression changed immediately.
"No way," he said in an unbelieving tone.
"What?" James asked, trying to see what else was in his hand.
"It's got to be a mistake," Sirius muttered.
Jane walked over to Sirius' seat and peered over his shoulder. Her jaw quickly dropped open once she saw what he was holding. She couldn't believe her eyes. Surely, Dumbledore was losing it.
"What is it?" James asked.
Jane and Sirius both looked up at him with shocked faces.
"I think you're Head Boy," Jane said, still not entirely sure this was correct.
"Ha ha, very funny," James said sarcastically.
Sirius shook his head.
"She's not joking, mate."
Sirius revealed to James the shiny badge in his hand with the words "Head Boy" on it. James' eyes went wide, and he grabbed for the badge almost immediately. He turned it over in his hands repeatedly.
"I think Dumbledore's finally lost it," Jane said to Sirius, and he just nodded in agreement.
Mr. Potter, whose breakfast had been growing cold as he got ready for work, finally joined the three teenagers at the table. With a flick of his wand, he warmed the food on his plate and picked up the Daily Prophet, which Mrs. Potter had sat beside his plate.
"Morning, kids," he said, opening the paper and pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.
Jane and Sirius muttered a hello, but James stayed silent, still staring at the little badge in his hand. Curious about the lack of the kids' usual cheerful responses, Mr. Potter peered over the top of his paper at them.
"What've you got there, son?" he asked, having spotting James staring intently at something in his hand.
James slowly looked at his father, his face full of confusion. James held out the badge for his father to look at. Mr. Potter took the little pin and once again pushed his falling glasses back up the bridge of his nose.
The kids watched as Mr. Potter's face was slowly overtaken with a look of pure surprise and shock. He quickly shot out of his seat, bumping the table, and Jane grabbed onto her glass of milk so that it wouldn't tip over. Almost tripping over himself, Mr. Potter ran back towards the kitchen calling:
"Cassandra!"
The three friends raced each other to the kitchen door. James reached the door first, pressing his ear to the keyhole of the door. Jane lay on the floor and listened from the crack under the door. Sirius had to settle for trying to listen through the door itself as he pressed his ear against it.
They couldn't hear everything, but they were able to make out a few muttered words:
"Do you think they meant to send it to him?"
"Do you reckon we should write the school? Just to make sure?"
"No, no. Surely, Dumbledore wouldn't have made such a mistake."
"So, is he really Head Boy?"
"I just can't believe it. Our James, Head Boy!"
Jane and Sirius sniggered at some of the things that were said as James just scowled. Very suddenly, the door was pulled open. James and Sirius, who'd been leaning on the door, fell forward, tripping over Jane who was already on the floor. She quickly covered her head with her arms as they fell.
Rolling over, Jane pushed the boys' tangled legs off of her and looked up into the beaming face of Mrs. Potter. Before James could straighten his glasses, he was yanked up from the floor and being squeezed to death by his mother.
"Oh, James!" she said. "We're so proud of you! So, so proud!"
Jane and Sirius watched as James' parents praised him for his, frankly undeserved, achievement.
"This is a bigger disappointment than when Remus told us he was a prefect," Sirius said.
"I think it's great," Jane said. "We'll get away with so many things."
Sirius nodded in an approving sort of way.
"I still think Dumbledore's lost it though," Sirius said.
"Yeah, wonder who he picked as Head Girl?" Jane responded.
"Snape?" Sirius suggested, looking at her with a smirk.
Jane looked up at him, and they both burst into fits of laughter. The school year hadn't even started, and they already knew that it was going to be great.
The following Monday, Jane received a distressed letter from Lily. Over the course of the summer, Jane had found out something very shocking from Lily's letters. Petunia was actually getting married. Jane wasn't sure what kind of person would marry someone like Petunia, but Lily had assured her that he was even worse than her sister.
As Jane read Lily's latest letter, she couldn't help but feel a rejuvenated hatred for Petunia. She had known Petunia was unpleasant and, quite obviously, jealous of her little sister, but to not have Lily as a bridesmaid in her wedding was a new low for Petunia. Apparently, Lily had just found out, and she was very upset about it.
Jane wasn't quite sure how to make Lily feel better, so she invited her to meet them at Diagon Alley that coming Friday. Jane figured that talking about it over a big bowl of Florean Fortescue's ice cream would make Lily feel a little bit better.
When Jane told James that Lily would be joining them at Diagon Alley, he was filled with a new sort of confidence, not that he needed it.
"I'm telling you guys, this is my year. I'm Head Boy. I'm captain of the Quidditch team. And this is the year that I finally get a date with Lily Evans," he told Jane and Sirius eagerly.
"Always the optimistic, aren't you, Prongs?" Sirius said, clapping James on the back.
"I have a whole new technique this year," James told them seriously.
Jane and Sirius exchanged doubtful looks before looking back at James.
"Yeah?" Jane asked. "What is it this time?"
"I've decided that I'm not going to try as hard. I'm just going to be myself."
James smiled triumphantly as though this was an ingenious plan. Sirius let out a bark of laughter.
"Mate, you've been being yourself for the past six years, and I think it suffices to say that Evans doesn't seem to like the real you all too much," he said.
"Hey, I'm a new man," James said.
"Why? Because of that stupid Head Boy badge?" Jane asked, grinning.
"It's not stupid," James defended.
"He might be on to something, Janie," Sirius said. "That little badge might not impress us, but Evans?"
Jane shook her head.
"Lily's gonna see right through that badge. She's not an idiot," Jane said.
"Hey, I've changed!" James defended.
"Yeah, you're much taller now," Jane teased.
James gave her a reproachful look. Of course, Jane supposed James was kind of right. He had changed a little bit, especially after their fifth year. He was a bit more matured now, not that he wasn't still childish a lot of the time. Now if he could only knock his ego down a few notches.
"Oh, sod off, both of you," James said; Jane and Sirius just sniggered at him.
"Don't get all offended, Prongs," Sirius said.
"Yeah, we're only teasing," Jane said, smiling. "Sort of," she added as an afterthought.
James rolled his eyes and elbowed her.
When Friday finally came, James could be found looking at himself in any reflective surface and messing up his black hair much to his mum's chagrin.
"Honestly, James, I don't know why you want your hair to stick up in all directions. You look like you've just rolled out of bed."
"It's called style, Mum," James said.
"Well, it looks ridiculous," she told him.
When they got to Diagon Alley, Remus and Peter were already waiting for them, both of them demanding to see James' Head Boy badge because they needed to make sure that it wasn't just a big prank. Remus had already written Jane to ask if James was telling the truth, but she figured he just needed to see it for himself.
"This is absolutely unbelievable," Remus said.
"I know," Sirius said. "Took us a while to get over the shock too."
Remus shook his head.
"No, you don't understand. Head Girl is—"
"Jane?"
Jane turned around to see a shock of red hair, and she smiled.
"Hey, you made it," Jane said, giving Lily a hug.
"What were you saying about Head Girl, Moony?" Peter asked.
Lily perked up at this.
"Head Girl? I'm Head Girl!" Lily said. "I meant to tell you in that last letter I wrote, but I forgot," she told Jane.
Remus shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away. Everyone else sort of gawked at Lily. Peter was looking back and forth between Lily and James, waiting for someone to tell her who Head Boy was.
"That's great!" Sirius said. "Because James here is Head Boy!"
For a moment, Lily laughed awkwardly as though she thought it was an attempt at a joke. However, her laughter faded away when she saw that no one else was laughing.
"You've got to be joking," she said seriously. "There's no way Dumbledore made you Head Boy. He just wouldn't!"
James looked affronted at her statement and crossed his arms.
"Well, why not?" he challenged.
"You-you get into too much trouble!" she replied.
"I'm top of the class," James countered.
Lily opened her mouth to say something but shut it again. James sort of had a point. He was top of the class. He was also Quidditch captain, and most of the teachers loved him. Lily sighed and shook her head before looking to Jane with a worn expression.
"This year is the worst," Lily groaned, and Jane patted her on the back.
James gave an exasperated look and threw his hands up.
"I didn't do anything!" he defended.
"She's not talking about you," Jane said before turning her attention back to Lily. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"What's there to talk about? My sister hates me, and I don't know why," Lily said quietly. "That's about all there is to it."
"Your sister's a heartless hag," Jane said.
"That's an awful thing to say," Lily scolded, but Jane just shrugged.
"Come on, Janie," Sirius said. "I thought we were going to Quality Quidditch Supplies. I need more broomstick polisher."
"You guys go ahead," Jane said. "Lily and I are gonna walk around a bit. We'll catch you up."
Sirius shrugged and he and the rest of the boys walked down the street. Lily and Jane walked into Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions, talking about Petunia as they pretended to look at merchandise.
"It's just really hurtful, you know? I always just kind of assumed that I'd be a part of her wedding one day. Now, it's just like I'm another name on the guest list," Lily said, sadness creeping into her voice as she picked up a brew-it-yourself book only to put it back down.
"Well, it isn't your fault," Jane assured her. "Petunia should be proud to have you as a sister."
Lily gave a half-hearted smile, and Jane sighed.
"I promise that whenever I get married, you'll be the maid of honour," Jane said. "Or matron of honour if you get married first."
Lily smiled.
"Thanks."
Jane smiled and shrugged, picking up something called Sleekeazy's Hair Potion. Lily looked at it.
"Lemme see that."
Jane handed Lily the container.
"'Hair potion and scalp treatment,'" Lily read aloud. "'Suitable for all hair types. Makes hair more manageable.'"
Lily turned the container on its side and squinted at the fine print.
"'Side effects may include itching, burning, and unique results for redheads,'" she continued. "What do you reckon that means? 'Unique results?'" Lily asked.
Jane shrugged.
"I dunno, but I wouldn't chance it if I were you."
Lily put the hair potion back on the shelf and looked for another one that was more redhead friendly. Jane and Lily bought a few things that they probably didn't need, and they left the shop.
"I guess it's for the best," Lily said. "The bridesmaid dresses are horrible."
Jane chuckled.
"Well, that's one way to look at it."
While outside the shop, the boys found them. They mainly listened to Sirius complain about how the Braking Charm on his broomstick needed to be recalibrated. As they walked through the crowded street, they all talked amongst themselves. So far, James had been managing to not say anything remotely offensive. It was one of those rare moments in which Lily and James were actually getting along.
Finally, they came to a stop at Florean's, buying sundaes and milkshakes and ice cream cones. Pulling up chairs from other tables, they all managed to squeeze themselves around one of the tables outside of the ice cream parlour as they ate. Jane was finished with her ice cream first, and she was already eyeing Sugarplum's Sweet Shop that was just across the street.
"I'm gonna go buy some Cauldron Cakes," Jane said.
"You just ate a whole sundae," Remus said.
"They're for later. Midnight snacks and such," Jane told him. "I'll be right back."
"Wait for me!" Peter said, quickly slurping up the rest of his milkshake.
Sirius followed the two as well, muttering something about wanting some chewing gum, leaving Lily, Remus, and James still sitting around the table. James watched as Lily pushed the last few spoonfuls of her sundae around with her spoon.
"You gonna eat that?" Remus asked, pointing to her uneaten cherry.
Lily shook her head, and Remus grabbed it and popped it into his mouth, plucking off the stem.
"You're the best," he said, and Lily just gave a small smile.
"Apparently, not everyone feels that way," she said.
James frowned slightly at the sad tone in her voice.
"Jane told me about what your sister's doing," he kind of blurted out.
Lily looked up from her sundae and stared at him. James figured he should keep talking since he'd already started.
"She sounds awful," he said. "She's probably just jealous, you know, because of how pretty you are."
Remus covered his face with his hand and held back a snigger. Lily smiled and blushed in spite of herself.
"Thanks," she said quietly, and James smiled because finally said something to make Lily Evans smile.
Remus removed his hand from his face and looked curiously up at the sky.
"What's that?"
James and Lily pulled their attention away from each other and looked up at the sky as well. Dark clouds seemed to be rolling in unnaturally fast. Deafening thunder boomed from above them, sounding as though the sky itself was splitting apart.
James' brow furrowed with worry.
"That's not normal," he said.
"What kind of magic is this?" Lily asked, never having read about anything like it before.
"Dark Magic," James muttered.
That was when the screams rang out in Diagon Alley. It all happened so fast. All around them was pandemonium. Left and right people were Disapparating; others were calling out for loved ones desperately.
James spotted the Death Eaters first, a crowd of them walking down the alleyway, shouting out Unforgivables. Some people were fighting back; some were running; some were being victimised.
Suddenly, the shop adjacent to Florean's was hit with a curse that sent glass and bricks flying everywhere with a loud explosion. James, Remus, and Lily all instinctively ducked under the table, and James protectively shielded Lily's body with his own as the chaos grew around them.
Jane had just finished paying for her Cauldron Cakes when she heard the commotion. She looked at Sirius and Peter before they all ran outside the shop. Jane dropped the little packaged cakes on the ground as she took in the sight before her.
Bloodcurdling screams pierced her eardrums. Dust and debris was in the air all around her. People were shoving past her, and Sirius grabbed onto her arm tightly to make sure they weren't separated. Peter was sticking closely to her other side. Sirius tugged on her arm, trying to get her to move.
"Come on! Let's get to Gringotts!" he shouted at her and Peter.
The three friends ran through the crowds of people, pushing and shoving their way down the street, trying not to lose each other. Gringotts wasn't ideal, but it was the safest place in Diagon Alley.
Jane was wondering if James, Lily, and Remus were okay. She called out for them as she ran, but her voice became lost in the mix of other voices that were screaming or crying out.
When they reached the steps of the bank, they saw a crowd of frightened people already bombarding the doors which had been sealed shut at the first sign of danger. The bank wasn't letting anyone in or out.
Sirius pulled Peter out of the way as one of the masked Death Eaters fired a curse into the crowd of panicking witches and wizards. Jane stumbled backwards down the bank steps as she watched three of the people at the back of the crowd be knocked to the ground by the single curse.
The three friends ran in a different direction, trying to find another safe place to take refuge in. As they ran, they dodged curses and flying debris. Sirius pointed his wand behind them and shouted:
"Incarcerous!"
An unsuspecting Death Eater instantly fell to the ground, bound and gagged. Another Death Eater quickly severed the ropes with a swipe of his wand before honing in on Sirius.
"Stupefy!" Jane shouted, a red light flying from her wand only to be blocked rather easily by the Death Eater.
Jane's eyes widened as he stalked towards her, wand raised. She back-peddled, almost tripping over a discarded shopping basket.
"Diffindo!" Sirius shouted, and the hanging sign for Flourish and Blotts separated from its post and fell, hitting the Death Eater in the head and knocking him unconscious.
A small smirk appeared on Sirius' face, and Jane let out a grateful little laugh despite the situation. Their luck, however, faltered when the first Death Eater Sirius had hit snuck up on them. With a violent jerk of his wand, a large, deep gash appeared in Sirius' side.
Jane's small smile vanished as she and Peter were splattered with Sirius' blood. For a moment, Jane was unable to move, staring at Sirius in shock and listening to him cry out in anguish as Peter hit the Death Eater with the Full Body-Bind Curse. Peter quickly grabbed Sirius' wand up from the ground and tried to pull his injured friend into a nearby shop.
"Jane! Help me!" Peter said, snapping Jane out of her mortified trance.
Peter hooked his arms under Sirius', and Jane grabbed his legs. Together, they carried him into a shop whose door had been blasted off one of its hinges, causing it to hang precariously in its frame.
They took refuge behind one of the stores' shelves and lay Sirius on the floor. Jane yanked down a decorative cloth from the top of the shelf, sending glass bottles of who knows what toppling down on top of them. Jane pressed the cloth to Sirius' wound, and he clenched his teeth, swearing under his breath.
Jane was crying hard, her tears mingling with the drops of Sirius' blood on her cheeks. Peter was looking around and trying to say something to her, but all she could hear was this loud ringing in her ears and the faint sounds of people still screaming in the street.
"Jane!" Peter shouted, shaking her by her shoulders roughly.
Jane finally took her eyes off Sirius long enough to look up at Peter with wide, bloodshot eyes.
"Look at where we are! Mulpepper's!" he said. "You take that Healing Theory class! There's got to be something in here that can help, right?"
Jane's racing mind tried to make sense of what he was saying. Mulpepper's? Mr. Mulpepper's Apothecary! Jane thought back to her lessons at Hogwarts and nodded, trying hard to compose herself. She cleared her throat.
"Y-yes," she said. "H-hold this. Keep pressure on it," she instructed Peter, jumping up quickly and running to the back of the shop.
Jane jumped over the counter and searched frantically through the already pre-prepared potions and ointments.
"Hurry up!" she heard Peter call.
"I'm trying!" she screamed back, crying once again but more out of frustration with herself rather than fear.
Finally, she found what she was looking for. With shaking hands, Jane grabbed a little bottle labelled: Essence of Dittany. She scrambled back to her friends.
Unstopping the bottle, Jane told Peter to move his hands. Jane lifted up Sirius' shirt carefully before dropping some of the brown liquid into his wound. Almost immediately, Jane could see the gash healing before her eyes, and she sighed in a slightly relieved sort of way. Jane gave Sirius an awkward hug, and he winced in pain, but he didn't protest.
Suddenly, the front windows of the shop exploded, and the shattered glass flew everywhere. Jane tensed up, squeezing her eyes shut and hugging Sirius tighter to her, and she stayed like that for what felt like an eternity until the screaming outside eventually died down.
Peter peeked over the top of the shelf to look out the window.
"I think—I think they're gone," he told Jane and Sirius.
Jane pulled herself off of Sirius and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. Sirius struggled to sit up, and Jane helped him.
"St-stay here," she said to Peter. "I'll be right back."
Jane quietly crawled over to the window, trying hard to avoid all the broken glass on the floor. She grabbed onto the windowsill and cursed when one of the sharp shards slit open her finger. She balled her hand into a fist and watched as blood seeped through the spaces in between her fingers. She cradled her hand to her chest and chanced a glance over the windowsill. Dust clouds from collapsed buildings were clearing away, and most of the people were gone now, including the Death Eaters.
Jane scrambled to her feet and made her way to the door which had fallen down. She stepped over it and walked cautiously outside, wand raised. She looked around her, and her breath caught in her throat as she realised that there were bodies on the ground. She fought back the tears stinging her eyes and forced herself forward.
Jane's heart felt like it stopped when she saw a girl with a shock of red hair lying face down and lifeless in front of the shop across the street. Jane ran over and dropped to her knees beside the girl's corpse. Turning the girl over, Jane was greeted by cold, blue eyes instead of the green ones she'd feared she'd see.
Jane stared at the woman for a while, into those eyes that would never again see the world, and she felt her stomach twist up. Suddenly, her mind flashed back to her mother. It was like Jane was there, on the bathroom floor again, staring into her own mother's lifeless eyes.
Jane jumped up and backed away from the body as fast as she could. She didn't want to go back to that place.
A hand grabbed Jane's shoulder, and she immediately whipped around, pointing her wand at the perpetrator.
"It's me! Jane! It's me!"
Jane lowered her wand, and a wave of relief washed over her when she saw James standing there. She let out a breath that she didn't know she'd been holding in, and threw herself at him. James squeezed her tightly, and she buried her face into his chest.
Remus and Lily appeared behind James.
"Where's Sirius and Peter?" Remus asked, and Jane pulled away from James.
"They're in Mulpepper's," Jane said in a constricted voice.
"Guys?"
They all turned to Lily who was looking up at the sky and in turn looked to the sky as well. There amongst the clouds, hovering above Diagon Alley, was a large skull with a snake coming out of its mouth.
"The Dark Mark," Jane whispered in a shaking voice.
About that time, Peter walked out of the Apothecary, trying his best to keep Sirius on his feet. Remus rushed over to help.
"Careful," Jane said, running over to them as well.
Sirius managed a small smirk.
"When am I ever careful?"
Jane shook her head as Sirius winced in pain.
"Mum!" James yelled, and Jane looked over to see Mrs. Potter stumbling out of Flourish and Blotts, holding her left shoulder.
James ran over to his mother, and she gave him a hug. He pulled away and looked at her arm with concern.
"What happened?"
Mrs. Potter ignored the question.
"Are you all right?" she asked, looking her son up and down to make sure he still had all of his limbs.
"I'm fine, Mum, but—"
"Oh, Sirius!" Mrs. Potter said as Remus and Peter approached, supporting Sirius.
"I'm okay," he assured. "Janie's fixed me up."
"You're not okay," Jane told him. "You still need to go to the hospital."
"Mum, what happened?" James asked again, motioning to her shoulder.
"It's nothing," she said. "Got hit with a curse or something. I'm sure it'll be just fine."
"All these people," Lily said sadly, looking around at the bodies that littered the street.
James walked over to her and put a comforting arm around her shoulders, and she closed her eyes and let a few tears run down her cheeks. Slowly, other people started to emerge from their hiding places. Some were reuniting with their friends or families. Some were calling out for someone else. Some were mourning over dead loved ones. And some were too afraid to do anything but stand there.
As Jane and James alleviated Peter and Remus of Sirius so that they could go find their parents, Jane looked up at the sky once more. And in that moment, the reality of the situation hit Jane like a ton of bricks. She had read about the attacks in the paper, heard about the disappearances. She had seen the aftermath of the attack on Hogsmeade and known that the world was getting worse. However, this was the first time she'd experienced it first-hand.
The war wasn't just on its way anymore. The war was here, and it was just getting started.