Previously: Lily's friends learn that she doesn't like Valentine's Day. Mary is crushing hard on Gilderoy Lockhart. Prominent witches and wizards are starting to disappear. While Voldemort hasn't come out in the open yet, people are beginning to realize that something bad is going on. James's suspicions of Remus's "sickness" continues. James wonders why Lily and Snape hang out together. When Remus mentions that Lily had some control over her underage magic, James doesn't believe him. Lily and James are forced to partner up to practice dueling in DADA. They duel and banter. Mary and her bully Belvina Travers interrupt them by getting into a physical fight.


Chapter 17: The Promise in the Prank

It was final exam time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the air thick with the mutters of hundreds of terrified students as they studied in small groups or by themselves. The curfew had been extended for kids to spend extra time studying in the library, and though many were tempted, there was no room for students to sneak around the castle doing Merlin knew what. Their time was instead devoted to cramming last bits of information on notes and practicing spells they had learned over the past school year.

Lily could hardly believe that an entire school year had already gone by while she sat on the grass in a little circle with Marlene, Mary, and Alice while they studied and ate the snacks she had taken from the breakfast table. An entire school year full of duels, Marauder's pranks, and hanging with all her friends had passed her by quicker than Riley Wallows could fly on a broomstick, and while she longed to see her parents and sleep in her own bed again, there was a rather large part of her that did not want to leave the castle she had come to see as her home away from home.

"For the love of Merlin, why couldn't I have started studying weeks ago?" growled Lily in frustration as the four of the Gryffindor girls lounged in the small hill overlooking the Black Lake, the brilliant June sun beating down on them relentlessly – for that part, Lily was deeply grateful she had learned the Cooling Charm back in April.

"Relax, Lily. If anybody's bound to get an Outstanding in every subject, it's you," said Marlene as she produced a mirror from her bag and ruffled her hair, checking her perfect face from all directions before giving a high-pitched sigh of satisfaction and putting it back into her bag. "You and Remus are the only people who could resist Binns – by the way, I need to borrow your History of Magic notes again – and all the teachers absolutely adore you."

"That doesn't matter, Marlene!" said Lily as she desperately searched for her notes on the Wand-Lighting Charm for Banks. "For all I know, I'll be sent home packing because I failed Herbology … or … or … Transfiguration – what about Transfiguration, huh? Professor McGonagall said that I'm hovering between an Acceptable and Exceeds Expectations right, Marlene, and I can't have an Acceptable!"

She knew her panic was a little more over-the-top than necessary, but Lily simply could not settle her nerves.

Marlene gave her a flat look.

"Oh, no, the horror," she said sarcastically, her voice even flatter than her expression. "Give me a break, Lily. Even if you say that it's your worst subject, you're going to get at least an Exceeds Expectations. Guarantee you."

Lily chose to ignore the last comment – Marlene was the last of them who had to worry about Transfiguration, seeing as she was one of the best in their class behind only Severus and (much to Lily's ire) Potter, Black, and Mulciber.

"Hey, Lily, how would you explain the Levitation Charm?" asked Alice curiously with a quill between her teeth, completely unaware of the conversation she had interrupted. She was currently pouring over all her past Charms notes with Mary, both of them scribbling on various pieces of parchment. Even considering that Charms, Potions, and Defense Against the Dark Arts were by far some of her best subjects, Lily was thoroughly convinced she was going to receive a solid P on her exams.

"The Levitation Charm lifts objects into the air with varying lengths of time and heights depending on the skill of the caster," said Lily automatically, pouring over her recently retrieved Defense Against the Dark Arts notes.

"Nerd," muttered Mary as she and Alice copied down Lily's answer before Mary tried to cast the charm on a pile of rocks that formed a small cleft in the green hill, but Mary was only able to get the rock she was levitating a few feet in the air before it fell back down to the earth.

Lily stuck out her tongue childishly, first at Mary and then at Marlene, who had given her a very pointed look when Lily had first answered quickly before turning to Alice and saying, "Alice, quiz me on Herbology. Sprout will have my head if I don't start studying."

She handed out her notes to Alice, but Alice waved them down.

"I'll quiz myself at the same time. Don't hand me the notes," she said sitting up a little straighter while screwing up her face in concentration to think of a good Herbology question to ask Marlene.

"Showoff," stage-whispered Mary, still focusing on the rocks she was trying to levitate.

Alice ignored her and said, "What … is the proper way to care for … a Moly?"

While Alice and Marlene went back to their little back-and-forth study session, Lily found herself spacing out, instead choosing to study more for Defense Against the Dark Arts, but once she realized that she could do no more with that subject, Lily switched to the much harder Transfiguration. It did not matter what her friends' assurances were, Transfiguration was the single class that would break the rest of her exams.

The notes she had taken several months ago on Switching Spells might as well have been Gobbledygook for all she was getting from them, so grabbing her bag, Lily announced, "I'm going to go see Professor McGonagall. You want to come?"

The last part was to Mary, who looked like she desperately needed a break from the Levitation Charm she was trying to improve upon.

Mary jumped at the sound of her name, and the rock she had managed to rise ten feet above the ground clattered to the ground once her concentration broke.

"Sure, Merlin knows I need help in that subject," said Mary, scrambling to her feet.

Leaving Marlene and Alice to their own devices, Lily and Mary hurried towards the stone castle to find Professor McGonagall. Many classrooms they passed were chockfull of fifth years and seventh years, cramming endlessly for their O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s that they would soon be taking. Although the teachers had piled on homework for Lily, she knew that it was nothing compared to fifth and seventh years. Occasionally peeking into the study sessions, she felt her stomach drop. A glance of all the advanced magic those kids were doing, she knew that it would be impossible to survive fifth year, let alone seventh year.

"Look, it's Emmie!" whispered Mary as the two girls passed a classroom on the ground with the door open.

Indeed, the Gryffindor prefect was practicing a bunch of spells that, if Lily had to guess, she would say it was for Transfiguration. Emmie was currently helping a girl that Lily recognized as Alexandra Hopkirk, the Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, by demonstrating a wand movement. Chaser star Riley Wallows and a girl who, if the games in the common room were any indication, was addicted to Exploding Snap looked on. Assessing the wand movement critically, Alexandra Hopkirk then mimicked Emmie, and the teacup on the table disappeared with a pop – yep, Lily definitely would not be able to survive fifth year.

Trying to be as silent as silent as possible, Lily quickly but quietly tiptoed past Emmie's little study group – all of them were most likely very frustrated and wound up from all the late nights, and she did not want to be the one who got on the wrong side of any of the formidable fifth years. Mary followed suit, and no sooner had they rounded the corner when Mary ran into somebody and let out an oof!

"What are you two Muggles doing here?"

Mary gritted her teeth at the high, reedy voice – the speaker was none other than Belvina Travers. She seemed to be one of the only people in Hogwarts with the ability to anger the caring, sweet-tempered Mary to such a point that the two of them would break out into a fight, which had already happened on several occasions. Reid Selwyn, her friend who Lily saw as little more than an equally smart lackey, stood beside her, smirking at the two of them.

"You're not wanted here, Belvina, you or Reid," growled Lily, her lips set in a firm scowl at the pair.

Belvina slinked forward, her lanky form visible even from beneath the bulky Hogwarts school robes. There was a glint to her eyes as she firmly ignored Lily, instead directing her words at Mary, who had shrunk back a little.

"You know, Mary, there's a little rumor going around that you're actually the daughter of a Squib? Has your grandmother died of shame yet?"

Beside her, Reid let out a shrill giggle not unlike Petunia, as if she found it to be the funniest thing ever.

Mary swallowed nervously before rebuking her with a voice that, though she was trying desperately to attain a sense of dignity, still shook as she said, "That's right, Belvina. Do you want to stay here longer so I can show you just how much magic skipped to my generation?"

Belvina smiled wickedly at Mary, as if seriously considering her threat as a challenge for a duel.

"Go ahead, but you can't do anything, Mary. Your blood's almost as bad as Evans's, and Daddy will have your dear Grandmamma back in Azkaban faster than you can say "unfair" if you so much as charm my shoes. I think the Azkaban guards miss her already," she said, still smirking.

Mary's face reddened with anger, and she started towards Belvina. However, Lily caught her bracingly before turning to glare herself at Belvina and say, "I wouldn't test our patience if I were you, Belvina. Leave now, or I won't bother to restrain Mary when she hexes you so thoroughly Madam Pomfrey will have to send to you to St. Mungo's for a very long recovery."

Snorting at them, Belvina said, "Oh, please. Give me a break – what good would either of you be against someone like me or Reid."

Reid puffed her chest up at those words, trying to seem bigger than she really was.

Lily's eyes flashed with anger.

"If you can't remember clearly, I'll refresh your memory: the last time somebody picked a fight with my friends and me, they undeniablycame off worse. How about you first ask how Avery's head is doing – or his arm for that matter. When it comes to moronic hags like you, I'm not above settling fights the old fashioned way – Muggle and magical," she snarled, twirling her willow wand in her fingers for emphasis.

Mary laughed nervously at that, and Belvina gaped at her like Lily had just slapped her before hastily covering her surprised look up with a nasty sneer.

"Watch yourself, Evans. I could make your life a living Hell. Daddy will –"

"You're daddy," interrupted Lily tersely, "won't be able to do shit when I'm through with you. C'mon, Mary, let's get out of here."

She took her friend's arm and dragged her way without so much as a second glance, leaving Belvina and Reid just standing there like the idiots they were.

It was quiet for the rest of the walk down to the Transfiguration department, save for the pictures who were doing whatever pictures did during the day. Approaching the door to McGonagall's office, she had expected it to be like that for most of the castle since it was exam time, but the silence was abruptly interrupted by Professor McGonagall herself.

"– DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD SOME STUDENTS ARE WORKING RIGHT NOW? FIFTH AND SEVENTH YEARS ARE IN THE PROCESS OF TAKING TESTS THAT COULD AFFECT THEIR ENTIRE FUTURE, YET YOU FOUR THINK IT'S FUNNY TO STEAL NIFFLERS FROM PROFESSOR KETTLEBURN AND SET THEM LOOSE ALL OVER THE SCHOOL? DETENTIOIN FOR ALL OF YOU, AND IF I HEAR SO MUCH AS A PEEP FROM ANY OF YOU FOR THE REST OF EXAM TIME, YOU – ARE – GOING – STRAIGHT – TO – THE – HEADMASTER'S – OFFICE!"

At the very easily heard yells through McGonagall's door, Mary and Lily looked at each other, shrugging. Unless she was mistaken, they had just walked into one of the fabled Marauders vs. McGonagall face-offs. While it was incredibly rare for the Marauder's to get caught red-handed with their numerous pranks, the few times they were caught by McGonagall, legends said that students could hear the sound of McGonagall's shouts for several corridors. Besides, if what Lily had heard about what happened at breakfast was only the slightest bit true, then McGonagall had very good reason to yell at the Marauders.

Lily silently motioned for Mary to follow her to McGonagall's open office door, and pushing the door open a little wider, they peeked to see the scene: quailing under a red-faced and furious Professor McGonagall, all four of the Marauders stood humbled before their head of house. Remus shuffled his feet nervously, and Pettigrew chewed his nails furiously, no doubt biting them past the stubs. Both Potter and Black looked like they were trying their hardest not to smirk under McGonagall's glare.

"Merlin's beard! You four are giving me more grey hair in one year than all of my students combined!" continued McGonagall angrily. "If you so much as even think about causing any more trouble for the rest of the year, know that the consequences will be very, very severe."

"We're sorry, Professor McGonagall. It won't happen again," muttered Remus, casting his eyes downward.

McGonagall frowned deeply as she said, "I don't expect that any of you will be able to keep that promise, Mr. Lupin, but for everybody's sake, at least hold off until the end of final examinations. Do I make myself clear?"

Black raised his head and winked at McGonagall, giving her a grin much like the one Potter would give Lily on occasion.

"You know us too well, Minnie," he said playfully.

McGonagall's nostrils flared at the name Potter and Black had the nerve to call her and repeated sternly, "Do I make myself clear?"

The Marauders all nodded, but Lily could not help but wonder about the other pranks they were bound to pull.

"Good," said McGonagall, seemingly satisfied. "Your detentions will take place with this Saturday at five o' clock. You all will be helping Madam Pomfrey clean the Hospital Wings – no magic, mind you, but since you've had detention enough times, I will assume you know the drill. Now away with you. Go. Get."

McGonagall ushered the Marauders out of her office, and Lily watched them trail past while she and Mary hid behind a small torch pillar.

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ 1971 ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

"We're still planning on the end-of-the-year prank, right?" whispered Peter nervously as they made their way to the Gryffindor common room after the McGonagall Lecture they had just been forced to endure had finally finished. Sirius had been dying to see if any of what the students in Care of Magical Creatures class had said was true, and since it was not that hard to steal from little old Professor Kettleburn, the Marauders had decided to see for themselves whether or not the rumors of Nifflers were at all true.

Needless to say, it had been quite a disaster for the students who had been at breakfast later that morning. Unfortunately, only about half the Hogwarts population had been there when James signaled the all-clear, but it had still been a sight to see – until McGonagall had finally successfully tracked them down later that afternoon.

Sirius snorted.

"Of course we are, Pete. In fact, I think that we should make this a habit – start the year off with a prank and end the prank. What better way to make sure that Hogwarts remembers us when we leave?"

"Leave?" squeaked Peter nervously. "I don't want to leave Hogwarts."

Sirius rolled his eyes at that and said, "Relax, Pete – that's still a bajillion years away. No need to get your wand in a knot quite yet. But what do you think, James? Think we have those biannual pranks?"

James grinned at that. "I think that's a wicked idea," he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. What did you have in mind?"

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ 1971 ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

Lily stifled a yawn as she and the other three girls descended the grand staircase for the last time as first years. The last exam (for Lily and her classmates, it had been Transfiguration – probably the worst class to have last if you asked her) had finished earlier this afternoon, and the end-of-term feast was the last thing to check off her to-do list before the Hogwarts Express departed from the train station tomorrow morning, though unlike everything else this week, she was looking forward to this event.

Or rather, she thought she was.

A small crowd had gathered at the front of the Great Hall, and the first thing that Lily realized was that the doors were closed. Never once during the entire school year had she seen the doors closed – ever. Others were obviously just as confused as she was, and as she drew nearer and nearer, she noticed that people were already scattering, all heading in different directions – about one-fourth were descending the steps leading to the lower levels while some were walking outside, and those left were heading back up the grand staircase the same way they had just come down.

"What's going on?" wondered Mary aloud, leaning away from a couple of people who were pushing the opposite way.

"Don't ask me," said Alice, shrugging helplessly.

Just beyond the heads of the other students gathered, Lily spotted the white edge of a sign, but that was about all she could make out because everybody else's heads were blocking her view of the sign, leaving her to stand there without any hope of an answer as to what was going on.

Marlene, the tallest of the four, stood up on her tiptoes, but it was not long before a frown returned to her face as she muttered, "If only that group of blokes would move, then I could see."

As if answering Marlene's prayers, several people moved aside, and Lily and her friends scuttled through the open spot to get a better look at what all the fuss was about, and as she silently read the sign, she was probably only one of many students to be surprised by what the sign said.

Due to the unfortunate explosions of Dungbombs and Stink Pellets in the Great Hall, the end-of-term feast has been relocated. Please visit your respective head of house for information on where to go. They will be waiting in their offices.

Lily's frown deepened as she read the words. Though she suspected that the Marauders were responsible, that did not explain the reason behind the sign – it would make more sense for a professor to be standing there to give directions to everybody all at once. However, since her three friends were already falling in step with the crowd of Gryffindors making their way towards McGonagall's office, Lily saw no better choice but for her to follow the others.

As they approached the door the led into McGonagall's office, it became clear rather quickly to Lily that they would not be getting any answers from their head of house anytime soon since there was yet another sign on the door that read:

We're very sorry, but we found that it would simply be easier to let everyone know what they will be doing at the same time so as to avoid any confusions. Please proceed to the Quad where you will receive further instructions.

Lily, already wary from the first sign's ominous directives, now firmly believed more and more that this was all just one wild goose chase set up by the only four boys devious enough to waste people's time that could have otherwise been spent at a delicious end-of-term feast, chatting with friends and daydreaming about the freedom summer promised. Although along with the annoyance she felt, there was also a small part of her that was truly curious to see what exactly these signs would lead to.

"What in Merlin's name is going on here?" wondered Alice aloud, just as flummoxed as the next person.

Though many people grumbled about this whole wild goose chase, everybody within the immediate vicinity started to head towards the Quad as the sign told them to and, considering that there was nothing else for her to do, Lily and her friends followed the rest of the crowd soundlessly.

It did not take them long to reach the Quad, but that did not make it any less annoying for Lily as she stepped onto cobbled pathways that she and thousands of others had walked many times before. Glancing at the other people who had joined her, and judging from the other houses that were spilling out into the Quad wearing frowns that were identical to many Gryffindors, Lily guessed that the sign which had hung on the door to McGonagall's office was not the only one – there were likely copies on each head's door. There were also some teachers scattered among the students, looking just as confused.

Up ahead, there suddenly came a round of exasperated groans and some cries of "Seriously?!" mixed in with plenty of swearwords.

Lily stood up on her tiptoes to try to see what was going on, which was when she spotted yet another sign, much to her ire.

"Again?" demanded Alice angrily, for she too had spotted the sign.

Though Marlene said nothing, her grumble was still very audible as she started to push her way through the growing crowd, waving the other three girls forward to join her. Lily and Alice had managed to squeeze into the open spot right behind Marlene that had yet to be refilled with the people she gently nudged away, but poor Mary was not quite as quick and was left to scramble after her friends before she lost them. It did not take them long to make out the words.

We must regretfully inform you that due to the proximity of the castle walls, we found that this might not have actually be the best spot for our announcement. For your safety and the sake of this lovely little castle, please relocate to the training grounds where you will be a guaranteed a much better seat for the upcoming show.

"Show?" echoed Mary, who had finally caught up with the rest of them. "What show?"

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ 1971 ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

"Remind me again: is there a reason why I'm the one doing this?" demanded Sirius, staring at the ground that was gradually getting farther and farther away.

"You didn't mind the height last night," replied Remus evenly, keeping his wand trained on Sirius.

Per Sirius's suggestion, they had spent the last night on some "borrowed" broomsticks sticking the fireworks that James had managed to bribe Vallender and some of his friends for all along the barrage that separated the training grounds from the rest of the bare land surrounding Hogwarts, taking great care to connect each fuse to the next so that they only needed one person to light them at one time. They had all been on broomsticks during that, but as the school broomsticks had a tendency to move around even when they were supposed to be stationary in the air, Sirius had the great idea of levitating a plank of wood up to the necessary height and then tying it to the torch holders so that they would not have to worry about any of those malfunctions Shooting Stars were prone to.

Of course, Sirius had failed to mention that he had simply assumed Peter would be the one stuck with that task even though it was Sirius's idea in the first place.

"That's because I could control what I was on," called Sirius, now far enough away that he had to raise his voice to be heard. "Now, it's one wrong move and I'm practically dragon food."

"Oh, quit being such a baby, Sirius, and just hurry up already" James shouted back at him, cupping his hands to his mouth to make himself heard.

"You're welcome to come up here and help me," yelled Sirius as he quickly tied the ropes that dangled from the plank to the iron torches that stuck out of the wall at frequent intervals.

"Sorry, Sirius. Pete and I already have our jobs – actually, we need to get going right now if we want to stay on schedule," said James, pulling the Invisibility Cloak out of his pocket with a small flourish.

"Then go do your job," shouted Sirius, clearly still not happy with the arrangements.

"Ready, Peter?" asked James, looking to his friend who held the next and final sign in his hands. Peter gave a twitchy nod, and without a second thought, James threw the cloak over the two of them, and then they were off.

There was already a decent amount of people showing up, and it was clear from their expressions of confusion that the Marauders' plan had not yet leaked through the school. James and Peter hurriedly navigated around them, taking care to keep the cloak from slipping off and revealing them, and at last they managed to get to the side entrance to the castle without much incident. It took a little maneuvering, but they finally made it to a narrow set of stairs leading up to the levels overlooking the training grounds.

Once inside the stairwell and safely hidden from any prying eyes, James whipped the cloak off the two of them and stuffed it back into his pocket. If anybody else had been looking, it would have seemed like he and Peter had Apparated, but just like what usually happened, they were careful to take off the cloak away from any wandering eyes so as to avoid any incriminating questions.

"Come on, Pete," whispered James. "Most people are here already."

He started up the stairs two steps at a time, leaving Peter to hurry along after him. Occasionally they reached a spot that offered a view of the grounds, and James managed to catch glimpses of the training grounds, which filled up with more and more students each time they reached the newest level. Every time he spotted the ever-growing crowd, the sense of urgency rose – if they did not pull the prank soon, people would just end up leaving, and then they would have no more audience.

With one last leap, James reached the balcony, though Peter was still struggling up the stairs, panting and sweating from the exercise. In the distance, he could just see the top of Sirius's head above the wall where all their fireworks lay hidden from the crowd's curious eyes. There was the briefest moment where Sirius sent up some green sparks with his wand, which James quickly matched with his own green sparks.

"Peter, where's the sign?" whispered James just as Peter pushed himself up onto the last step.

"Here," said Peter, showing him the sign.

It was not really a sign per se. After running out of shelves taken from the second years' dormitory – which apparently they had yet to realize were missing – Remus had simply nicked a spare bed sheet from the laundry. Right now it was folded up under Peter's arm, but James quickly laid the sheet on the floor, searching for the two long ropes that they had attached to the corners. Once found, James tossed one to Peter before quietly moving to the railing and tying the ropes securely around it, careful to stay crouched in case anybody down below happened to look up.

When they were done, James took a step back to admire their handiwork, grinning triumphantly.

"You ready, Pete?" he whispered.

Peter nodded and rubbed his hands excitedly before saying, "Definitely."

Holding his wand out, James sent more sparks into the air, only this time they were red, signaling for Sirius to proceed with the plan.

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ 1972 ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

"If nothing happens within the next minute, then I'm leaving. I don't care how many Dungbombs are still stinking up the Great Hall," growled Marlene, looking around the training grounds impatiently.

"Agreed – I'm hungry," said Mary just as her stomach gave one large grumble.

"Do you even know why we're here?" asked Alice, still searching their surroundings from some clue as to what they were supposed to be waiting for. "I mean, what is even the point of sending us chasing diricawls?"

Lily could not think of anything to say to her best friend, so she simply shrugged, just as lost as Alice was. However, her confusion did not last long – because at that moment, it became very clear what exactly the sign had meant when it said "show".

The fireworks started at one end of the wall separating the training grounds from the rest of the school's property, each one lighting approximately one second after the next as they exploded in a single-file line of bright flashes and showers of sparks. Once the first couple of fireworks had started to go off, it evolved into a display with the sole purpose to overload Lily's senses with marvelous, multi-colored beams of light and loud bangs.

Lily could not help herself – she laughed.

Those behind the fireworks might have delayed the feast, but at least the little show was proving to be quite amazing. And Lily was not the only one who enjoyed it. All around her students had much the same reactions – some pointed to the fireworks (rather useless considering how obvious they were) with expressions of amazement, some clapped and wolf-whistled, and others simply watched the spectacle with only a smile on their faces as they were content to be entertained.

The fireworks did not last long, but they also were not the final part of the prank as it turned out.

When Lily had finally turned her back on the now finished firework display, she and every other student found the last sign hanging over the entrance back into the school.

Look closely. Those aren't fireworks – they're Fanged Frisbees.

Let the games begin!