Monday, February 5, 1978
Lily stepped into the empty potions classroom and took a deep breath. The familiar damp, musty air met her nostrils as the cold seeped through her clothes. Despite the dim, chilly atmosphere that some would consider unwelcoming, Lily felt instantly at home as she crossed the classroom and entered a small room through a door at the back. A table in the corner held various potion ingredients and tools, and a large cauldron stood in the center of the room with a wooden stool beside it. Breathing out the tension of the day, Lily dragged the stool over to the table and began to prepare the ingredients she would need.
Once she had chopped and mashed the roots and herbs necessary for the potion, she combined the ingredients and left them to simmer. As she waited for the potion to boil, her mind wandered to her conversation with Seven the previous evening. I hope they make up tonight, she thought, aiming her wand at the flames under the cauldron to raise the temperature. She hadn't seen them exchange a word since yesterday morning, but it was only a matter of time. Remus hadn't looked this miserable since the last full moon, and Seven had barely looked at any of them when she had sat down across from them at breakfast.
The potion emitted a soft hissing sound as it began to boil. Lily tossed in a bowl full of armadillo bile, then nodded in satisfaction as the potion changed color and slowed to a gentle simmer. She calculated she had around thirty minutes until the next step was necessary, so she left the workroom and slipped into Slughorn's potions storeroom next door. Her eyes scanned the shelves, taking stock of the variety of ingredients and noting anything missing. After an anxious glance at the door, her hand darted out and plucked several items from the shelves, tucking them into her bag with a conspicuous clink.
With the necessities obtained, she returned to the workroom and pulled a book from her bag. The simmering potion filled the air with a warm, fragrant steam as she sat down and began to read. Every so often she scratched a word or phrase onto a piece of parchment. When she sensed the simmering begin to speed up, she looked up to see the steam thickening as the potion turned darker. She stirred counterclockwise with her wand, counting ten stirs before switching direction, then added in two more piles of ingredients before returning to her book.
"Are you multitasking?"
Lily started; her book fell to the floor in a flutter of pages as she turned and saw James standing in the doorway. Heart pounding, she bent to retrieve her book, then checked the potion to ensure nothing had been tossed into it in the commotion.
"Sorry, did you think I was Snivellus coming to ogle you while you lean over your cauldron?"
He grinned and crossed the room, grabbing her hands and pulling her up beside him. A stray lock of hair had fallen into her face, damp from the steam, and he pushed it back before resting a hand against her face and pressing his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around him and allowed herself to lose track of the bubbling potion and her abandoned notes as he pulled her closer.
"My potion's going to be ruined," she whispered when he pulled away for a breath of air. "I have to stir it again."
He grinned and released her, gesturing at the cauldron. "Well, stir it so you can get back to snogging me."
He fell silent as she counted stirs and tried her best to ignore him. The potion demanded her full attention, but in the small workroom she could smell his soap and feel the heat of his eyes on her.
"You're distracting me," she complained once the potion was safe for a few minutes.
"I'm not even talking." James sat down on the stool and tugged her down onto his lap. "How was I distracting you?"
"The same way I distract you when you watch me in Potions and forget to stir or add ingredients." She ran a hand through his hair, still damp from his after practice shower. "It's hard to concentrate when you're standing there looking all sexy."
He grinned. "It's a miracle anyone ever manages to get anything done, when I'm distracting them with my sexiness."
"Why do I encourage you?" she asked, rolling her eyes and turning her head to kiss him. "Don't let me forget to stir again in five minutes."
After stirring the potion once again, Lily poured it into small glass vials labeled Blood Replenishing Potion with the date printed underneath. She counted the vials twice, then took one and slipped it into her bag.
"You sure Slughorn won't notice?" James asked, eying the vials doubtfully.
"I doubt it." Lily Vanished the little bits of roots and leaves strewn across the table, then put away the knives and other tools she had used to prepare the ingredients. "I did out the calculations. The recipe should yield between 10-12 vials, depending on how precise you are, so he'll just assume I'm not brewing at 100% efficiency."
"I love it when you get all technical with your potions talk." He picked up her book and the sheet of parchment tucked underneath, holding it up so he could read her notes.
She reached for the parchment and stuffed it into the book, then placed it into her bag next to the vial and stolen ingredients. "Just doing some research."
"Hmm." He ran a hand through his hair and frowned, and she was sure he was going to press her further, but instead he shrugged and slipped an arm around her. "Well, now that you've finished, am I allowed to distract you again?"
"Let's go back to the common room," she murmured.
"But that's so far away." He took her hands and led her backwards until his back pressed against the stone wall behind the cauldron. "And Slughorn has given you permission to use this workroom."
"Permission to brew potions in here, not to snog."
"Did he specifically say you weren't allowed to snog in here?" His lips were next to her ear, and his warm breath tickled her skin. "Because if not, then I don't see the problem. And I'm standing here looking all sexy…"
"You're such an arrogant arsehole," she said, her words catching in her throat as he trailed kisses down her neck. She pulled her wand from her pocket and pointed it at the door to lock it, sighing as she gave in and allowed James to distract her.
Remus sat slumped in his chair by the fire, a textbook open in his lap although he hadn't absorbed a word. Across the room, Seven had just returned from Quidditch practice. She had parchment spread out in front of her, but he could tell from the scowl on her face that she wasn't getting much done, either. Her hair was still damp from the shower, and her shoulders were tense from what he assumed was a long, grueling practice. He longed to push the damp strands of hair out of her face and rub the tension from her shoulders, but something held him back. They hadn't spoken since the previous day, and every time he thought about apologizing, he felt a heavy, sick feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Go talk to her, you idiot," Sirius said, tossing a crumpled piece of parchment at Remus's head and cheering when it hit its mark and bounced into the fire. "Clearly you're both miserable. What's the point of dragging this out?"
"Don't lecture me about dragging things out," he snapped. "You and Mary dragged things out for almost a month when you were fighting."
"You do have a point, Remus," Mary said. She lay on her stomach in front of the fire, finishing a Herbology essay and eating Bertie Botts. "Even still, you should go talk to her. Shouldn't he, Peter?"
"What do I know? I've never been in a proper relationship," Peter said without looking up from his parchment. "You'd be better off asking Moaning Myrtle."
"What, are you just insulting yourself now so I don't have to?" Sirius asked as he aimed another bit of parchment at Remus. "That's right thoughtful, Pete."
"I figured I'd save you the time."
Remus felt the bit of parchment lodge in his hair, but he resisted the urge to fish it out. Maybe if he ignored it Sirius would tire of the game and find someone else to annoy. Not bloody likely, he thought, frowning as he watched Sirius reach for another piece of parchment. Annoying me is his favorite fucking activity.
"Well, I reckon Moaning Myrtle would tell you to go for it," Mary said, examining a bean before tossing it into her mouth.
"You're right. She's not exactly shy, is she? Good old Murty." He grinned and added, "Prongs has started calling her Murty. It's a cute nickname, isn't it?" He smirked, then crumpled another piece of parchment and tried to land it next to the first, but Remus drew his wand in an arc and the parchment burst into flame and evaporated in midair.
"I'm not going to talk to her, and you harassing me isn't going to change my mind. And quit chucking parchment at me!"
He fixed Sirius with a sullen glare before returning to his essay. A few moments passed in silence, then something more solid than parchment ricocheted off the side of his face and landed in his lap.
"Padfoot, do you have a fucking death wish?" he said, picking up the red Bertie Botts and whipping it back in Sirius's direction.
Sirius reached out and batted the bean away, his reflexes honed from tears of catching Quaffles thrown by James with little or no warning.
"Death threats aren't very prefecty, Moony," Sirius said, giving a sanctimonious shake of his head.
"Prefecty isn't a word," Remus snapped.
"You're not a word." Sirius rolled his eyes and held out his hand to Mary.
"Don't give him any, Mary," Remus said, keeping his eyes fixed on the box of Bertie Botts until Sirius retracted his hand and flashed him an innocent smile. "I'm not in the mood for things to be thrown at my head."
"Well, who's ever in the mood for that, really?" Sirius reasoned. "If you wake up in the morning hoping someone will throw things at your head, you might need to reevaluate your life choices."
"You also might need to reevaluate your life choices if you enjoy letting ghosts watch you shag." Remus returned to the book in front of him, scanning the page to find his place. He really should have gone to the library, but now it was too late to bother.
"I never said it applies to just any ghost," Sirius protested. "I wouldn't let the Bloody Baron watch. That would just be weird. Back me up, Macdonald!"
"I think I'd rather the Bloody Baron, to be honest," Mary mused. "At least he'd keep quiet instead of giggling and making little comments under his breath."
"I know I've said this before, but you two are the strangest couple," Peter said.
"We can't be the strangest," Sirius argued. "Somebody must be into weirder things. What about Macyntire and Pomfrey? Bet they've shagged in front of Peeves and Nearly Headless Nick."
"They're not a couple," Remus began. "And even if—"
The rest of his words became a strangled cry of outrage as a handful of Bertie Botts rained down on his head.
"Gotcha!" Sirius said, watching with satisfaction as Remus picked up the beans one by one and tossed them into the fire. "Knew you'd get distracted if I mentioned Pomfrey. She'd never date Macyntire, by the way. She deserves better than that tosser."
"Sorry, I did try to stop him," Mary said, flashing Remus an apologetic smile as he shook a stray bean from his sleeve. "I don't condone wasting Bertie Botts."
"That's alright. I'll just go to the library." Remus stood up, sending two more beans to the ground with a soft clatter, and gathered up his books.
"No, don't go," Sirius urged. "I'll behave, I promise."
"You never behave," Mary said, grinning. "But if it helps, Remus, I'm almost out of Bertie Botts."
"No, it doesn't help, because he'll just find something else to throw at me. I'll be back later."
With an irritated wave he strode from the common room, trying not to glance in Seven's direction on his way past. He was halfway to the library when something fluttered to the floor. Bloody hell, he thought, scowling as he Vanished the bit of parchment he had forgotten to remove from his hair. Fucking Padfoot.
Tuesday, February 6, 1978
"I'm glad it's our turn to patrol together," Remus admitted as he and James descended a staircase side-by-side. "I was afraid Lily might've bullied you into switching with her so she could bully me into talking to Seven."
A sheepish expression flickered over James's face, but then it cleared, leaving only his usual relaxed grin.
"Yeah, she tried, but I won out in the end." He slowed at the bottom of the staircase and peered behind a suit of armor, then continued at their leisurely pace. "She means well, but she just can't help meddling in other people's business."
"I'm aware." He scowled as he remembered the pointed looks she had shot him all through breakfast when Seven had sat only a few seats away from them. Later during Herbology, Lily had made so many attempts to broach the subject that he had asked to switch seats with Peter, even though it meant he had to take an extra turn pruning theVenomous Tentacula. The stings on his hand still smarted, but it had been worth it to dodge Lily's prying questions.
"She loves you," James said, a pleading note in his voice. "She wants you to be happy."
Remus paused outside of a broom cupboard and shot James a sharp look. "Are you talking about Lily or Seven now?"
James grinned. "Both, I guess," he said, pulling open the broom cupboard and illuminating its empty interior with the beam of light from his wand.
"Just let me make an absolute mess of things on my own, alright?"
James laughed and set off down the corridor again. "If you insist. But—"
"I do insist," Remus interrupted. "Hey, what are you doing for Lily for Valentine's Day?"
He smiled to himself as James launched into a monologue on the pros and cons of charmed jewelry, satisfied that he had bought himself at least twenty minutes of Seven-free conversation (even if it was a largely one-sided conversation).
A few minutes later, they ran into Peeves outside of the Charms classroom and told him off for graffitiing the blackboard. He repaid them for their troubles by pelting them with chalk before zooming away, cackling.
"Stupid poltergeist," James muttered, rubbing the side of his head. "Next time I'm just letting him do his filthy graffiti. I bet Flitwick would laugh, anyway."
"You mean Clitlick?"
Remus turned and saw Lily approaching them, a causal smile on her face as she slipped an arm around James and leaned in to kiss him.
"Evans, what are you doing here?" James asked, feigning confusion.
"I got bored. Sirius and Mary went upstairs, and Peter's still doing Transfiguration, but I'd finished all my homework so I came to find you," she said brightly, leaning her head against his shoulder. "I missed you."
"Aww, Evans."
"Cut the shit." The sheepish surprise on their faces made Remus chuckle in spite of his irritation. "Lily, I know you're here to try to persuade me to talk to Seven, and I'm not interested."
"I would never try to tell you how to handle your relationship!" She put a hand on her chest in mock-indignation. "What happens between you and Seven is your business, not mine."
Remus was laughing in earnest now. "No offense, but when have you ever left something alone simply because it wasn't your business?"
"Rude!" Lily crossed her arms and glared at him in mock outrage, suppressing a giggle. "If that's how you feel, I may as well go back to the common room."
"Bet you won't," Remus muttered.
"I would, except then I'd still be bored, and I walked all the way down here already." Lily began strolling along beside them, linking arms with James. "But I won't even mention Seven, I promise."
Remus raised his eyebrows. "If you say so."
They made their way along the third floor, peeking into the trophy room and checking a recess behind a statue of a bald wizard. The conversation stuck to safe topics, and Remus began to let his guard down as they discussed a possible Valentine's Day prank. Seven was far from his mind when Lily stopped in front of a large mirror to check her reflection.
"She hardly ate anything at dinner," she remarked as she adjusted her ponytail and straightened her blouse. "And I didn't even see her at lunch."
A sick weight slid into the pit of Remus's stomach, and he heaved a sigh.
"Who?" he asked.
I can play dumb, too, Lily, he thought, enjoying the annoyance that flashed across her face.
"Celestina Warbeck," she snapped. "Who do you think I mean, Remus? She misses you. And you obviously miss her, so what's the point in torturing yourself?"
"Funny, this is an odd way of not mentioning Seven."
"Yeah, I thought we were going for a more subtle approach?" James said, taking Lily's hand and kissing her cheek.
"Well, this one seems to be too thick and stubborn for the subtle approach," Lily said, jabbing a finger in Remus's direction. "I'm losing patience. Why can't anyone just talk about their feelings?"
"I seem to remember having a similar conversation with you back in September," Remus observed, glancing sideways at her and grinning. "Or did I completely make up the fact that it took you and James ages to stop dancing around it and get together?"
"That was different," Lily said primly. "You and Seven are already together. Why can't you just sit down and talk to each other?"
"I'll talk to her when I'm ready to talk to her. I know you're trying to help, but I assure you it's not helping. And not that I don't enjoy your company, but if you can't patrol with us without hounding me about Seven, maybe you should go back to the common room, because you're driving me mad, and I know you haven't actually finished the Transfiguration homework."
She stood there, blinking at him as her expression wavered between outrage and amusement. Finally she gave an exasperated sigh and crossed her arms.
"Fine. I'll see you later, then," she said, turning and stomping away without even giving James a kiss goodbye.
"Are you meant to go after her?" Remus asked.
James shrugged. "Nah. She's the one who's always going on about how we're shirking our responsibilities when we sneak away and snog instead of doing proper patrols. I can't leave you to patrol alone — that would be a breach of the Head Boy bylaws or something."
Remus raised his eyebrows. "Is shagging in the Head Office also a breach of the bylaws, or…?"
James laughed and led the way down the corridor to check an unused classroom. "That is a bit of a gray area as far as the bylaws are concerned."
They made it to the end of the fourth floor corridor and were about to climb the staircase that led to the fifth floor when there was a shuffling sound and Lily emerged from a shortcut hidden behind a painting of frogs.
"Sorry, I know I said I would leave you alone, but I've just spotted Seven coming back from the library, and she looks like she's dying to talk to you." Several dark red strands had pulled free from her ponytail, and she was slightly out of breath. "If you hurry, you can catch her before she goes up to bed."
"Evans, did you run here?" James asked. "All the way from the common room?"
"Well, yes," she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"You made good time. I'm impressed. Maybe you should join me on my run tomorrow."
Lily laughed. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves." She turned to Remus with an expectant look. "So are you going to go talk to her? I can take over patrols for you."
For a wild moment Remus considered taking Lily's suggestion. He imagined jogging up corridors and taking stairs two at a time to burst into the common room and plead with Seven to take a walk with him. She would take his hand, and he would beg her to forgive him, and then they would retreat to the reading spot where they would forget all about the whole stupid fight.
James's voice brought him back to reality. "You could just go see if she wants to talk," he suggested. "And you can come find us if she doesn't."
"No," Remus said, shaking his head and banishing the image of Seven's tear stained face from his mind. "Thanks for sprinting all the way down here, Lily, but I'm going to give it more time."
She sighed and shot him a disapproving look. "Fine." She gave James a breathless kiss before turning and disappearing through the concealed shortcut.
"You've got to admire her commitment," James said as they started off down the corridor again. "She really wants to see you happy."
"Yeah, well." It sounded too dramatic to say out loud, especially to James, but the loss of his happiness seemed like a small price to pay if it meant Seven was safe and unburdened. "Maybe she should save her efforts for a more worthy cause. Why doesn't she try to find someone for Wormtail?"
James ran a hand through his hair and chuckled. "Pretty sure she's already working on that. She has this idea that he would really hit it off with Cindy Montgomery."
Remus frowned as he considered the idea. "Do you think so?"
"Not at all, but I know better than to argue when Evans gets something in her head." A sheepish expression clouded his face as he added, "Don't bother teasing me about how I let Evans have her way all the time, because I'm still my own person and I make my own decisions, but, well…" He lowered his voice and looked at the floor as he added, "Evans is really pretty, and it's hard saying no to her."
They had returned to the discussion about Valentines Day gifts as they ascended a staircase to the fifth floor.
"I thought you had decided on the charmed necklace," Remus said, wondering why James didn't just get Lily a book and be done with it.
"Well, I've been wondering whether it's a bit cliche," James said. "Charmed rings seem less cliche, but I really want the first ring I give her to be her engagement ring."
Remus stopped short and gazed at him in astonishment. "Have you decided to propose, then?"
"Oh." James grinned, the smile lighting up his whole face until the happiness radiated from him in waves. "Well, it's meant to be a secret because I've only told Padfoot, but I plan to talk to her dad over Easter holiday, and then I'll ask her, probably at the beginning of the summer."
James's bliss was tangible, and Remus felt his own irritation ebbing away.
"I know it's mad," James said, misreading Remus's silence. "It's so soon, and we're so young, but it was always going to be Evans, you know?"
"I think it's brilliant," Remus said, returning James's smile. "Congratulations, Prongs."
"Well, don't congratulate me yet," James said. "She still has to say yes."
"She will."
Only a few minutes later they were checking a broom cupboard when Lily appeared, striding down the corridor that led to the prefects' bathroom. Her brisk pace and crossed arms gave her a businesslike air as she drew to a stop in front of them.
"Hi again," she said, smiling brightly. "I know I said I was really going back to the common room, but I've just thought of something."
"I bet you have," Remus mumbled under his breath. James smirked, but Lily seemed not to hear.
"I was thinking," Lily went on. "What if you wrote Seven a note? That would be less intimidating than talking to her in person, and then you would have a chance to get all your thoughts out in the open."
"Lily," Remus said, taking a deep breath and counting to three in his head to avoid snapping at her, "I don't need any more advice about Seven."
"But I thought maybe you could leave the note in one of her books," she continued. "Like you used to do when nobody knew you were dating."
"Oh, that's actually a good idea," James said.
Lily beamed and slipped her hand into his. His face lit up as he basked in Lily's approval, and he leaned in to kiss her, skillfully avoiding Remus's exasperated glare.
"I appreciate your suggestions, but if I want any more, I will request them," Remus said. "Now, you should really go finish the Transfiguration. And if you're done, go help Pete, because I guarantee he could use some help."
"But–" she began, looking to James for help, but he was studying his shoes as though he'd never seen them before in his life.
"Check his conclusion, he always tries to throw in new information and it drives McGonagall mad," Remus said.
"You're impossible," she said, glaring at him for a moment before she whirled around and headed back the way she had come.
"You sure you want to marry her?" Remus asked once she was safely out of earshot.
"Yeah, I'm sure." James clapped Remus on the back, then started towards the east wing corridor. "Sorry, I know she's a bit much, but–"
"–it's because she cares, I know," Remus finished, privately wishing Lily would care just a bit less. "But if she appears again with some half-baked scheme to get me to talk to Seven, that's it, I'm never letting her borrow a book again."
"Bloody hell, Moony, what a threat," James said, laughing. "I guess you mean business."
"I do. Now come on, let's keep moving before she comes back and tries to convince me to fly a broom outside Seven's window and serenade her or something."
James laughed and followed him down the corridor. "She'd only suggest that if you really make her angry, seeing as you're almost certain to fall off the broom and die a very painful death."
They made it to the sixth floor and had just sent two terrified Hufflepuff second years back to their common room when Remus caught sight of a familiar head of dark red hair appearing around the corner.
"What now?" he said, shaking his head in exasperation. At this point, it was easier just to laugh.
"Don't give me that look, I was just going to tell you that maybe you should show up and watch her practice, and then you could talk to her afterwards," Lily said, jogging to catch up to them as they continued down the corridor.
"She won't like that," James said, frowning. "It'll throw off her concentration. She takes Quidditch very seriously, Lily."
"But you're the one who told me she was off during practice yesterday," Lily insisted. "You said she kept missing instructions and wasn't flying to her usual standard."
"Was she?" Remus asked, a stab of guilt shooting through him at the thought of his behavior influencing Seven's flying ability. She never let anything get in the way of her focus on the pitch, not even broken bones or the death of a former teammate. If James said she was off, then he must have hurt her worse than he had thought. Just thinking it made him want to wrap her in a tight hug, although he knew that would be counterproductive.
"Er, well…" James ran a hand through his hair and shifted from foot to foot. "I just meant that her flying wasn't the best I've ever seen it. But, I mean, it was quite windy, and it was hard to hear my instructions, and Bubbles was also a bit off, although that might have been because he was stoned…" He grimaced and shrugged. "Anyway, I'm sure she'll be back to her usual brilliant self tomorrow."
Lily sighed. "Why don't you care about getting them back together? I'd be devastated if we weren't talking."
"Well, so would I." James's eyes widened as he rested a hand on her shoulder and met her gaze, an earnest expression on his face. "I'd be a mess."
"You would?"
Her fingers cupped his face, and then she leaned in and kissed him, tangling her fingers in his hair. Remus stood there, studying the floor and trying to tune out the soft snogging sounds teaching his ears.
"There's a broom cupboard…" Remus said, waving his hand vaguely, then watching in silence as Lily led James down the corridor. They disappeared behind the door of the aforementioned broom cupboard, and Remus stood there shaking his head, trying to decide between amusement or annoyance. Settling for a combination of both, he set off down the corridor to finish the patrol, grateful for a few minutes of quiet in which he didn't have to defend his relationship choices. As he wandered through the dark corridors, however, his thoughts drifted to Seven even without Lily's prompting, and he found himself wondering whether she might have been right after all.