Previously: During Rawlings's first DADA class, James and Sirius openly mock her. Rawlings takes it in stride and lets them try to attack her, but Rawlings quickly disarms them. By the end of the lesson, she's earned their respect. Rawlings tells Lily that her escape from Bellatrix has interested Voldemort, and she offers to give Lily private lessons.


Chapter 35: How Not to Charm Witches

James roughly shoved the ancient, dust-covered volume quite forcefully in front of Remus, rudely blocking the words on The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3 that Remus had previously been trying to read. The force James had used accidently released a second cloud of dust into the air, and after some coughing and waving away of the excess particles, Remus uncertainly examined the new material in front of him, curiously flipping through a couple of pages to skim over it quickly before he glanced back up at his friends, one eyebrow raised in confusion to silently ask them what exactly the moldy old book was for.

"That's the step-by-step process for Animagus transformations right there," explained James rather proudly. "I know that we've been getting little bits from books we've read, but that has everything about the actual transformation right there."

Still a little skeptical, Remus leaned closer to get a better look, and after reading through several parts, he let out a low whistle.

"This details a lot of preparation for the final spell, James. And that's just if you can get it right. Are you sure you want to go through with this? It's … well, it looks very difficult, and there's all kinds of warnings about the different things you can make mistakes on."

"Nah," joked Sirius, giving a casual wave of his hand, "Don't worry about us, mate. It'll be easy as Doxycide."

"Sirius," warned Remus, "If something goes wrong…."

"It won't," said James confidently. "Like Sirius said, don't worry about us. Besides, we also have a plan to get some other things that might help us help you with your little … furry problem. You know how McGonagall was showing us her Animagus form just a little bit ago in class?"

"Yes …" said Remus slowly, not looking like he wanted to know where James's train of thought was going. Their Transfiguration classes would ironically be about Animagi for the coming weeks, and it was only yesterday that the Marauders had watched McGonagall transform into a cat in front of their eyes, and the little show had received much applause both from their classmates and themselves.

"We're hoping she still has some of her notes left that we may be able to use," said Peter.

Remus raised an eyebrow skeptically and said flatly, "By that, I'm assuming you mean stealing from Professor McGonagall?"

"Not stealing," protested Sirius, "Just borrowing."

"Stealing," – Sirius gave him a meaningful glare at those words – "Sorry, borrowing from where exactly? I'm sure McGonagall has a lot of places she would stuff old notes of hers – and not to mention she succeeded with the Animagus transformation years ago."

"They'll probably be in her office somewhere. Y'know, in one of the drawers that will have about an inch of dust on them," said Sirius. "James and I splattered some frog spawn on her ceiling yesterday and let her catch us. We had to clean up all that stuff, but we got a pretty good look around her office. The only thing is that several of her cabinets are locked, and we need more time to get into them."

Remus sighed.

"I'm assuming that you're just letting me know and not asking for my permission."

James grinned.

"You know us so well, Remus."

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ 1973 ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

"You know, I've heard that Professor Kettleburn is supposed to be quite good," said Alice as they made their way towards where their first Care of Magical Creatures class would take place, which was the Middle Courtyard. "A bit eccentric, but still a pretty awesome teacher."

This was the first time Lily had a class in one of her new subjects, and she was not quite sure what to expect. Care of Magical Creatures had been one of the classes she had been looking forward to the most, almost as much as Arithmancy though decidedly less than Divination since she was only taking that class to keep Mary company. It was the first class of hers that would be held outside, and it was also the only class that all three of her Gryffindor friends were taking. Actually, many people had signed up for this class, though she was not sure if it was simply because many people would rather learn with real, live creatures or if it was due more to Professor Kettleburn's popularity, which she had heard was very high.

When they finally reached the courtyard, Lily saw that a couple of other students had also shown up early, all of them Slytherins, which was apparently who they would be sharing the class with – again. She would have been thrilled if she had been in Severus's class, but unfortunately Severus was not taking Care of Magical Creatures. Instead, it was his friends, such as Mulciber and Rosier, who she was stuck with.

"Hello!" called a cheerful voice as Lily and her friends approached, and Lily took great care to keep some distance between herself and Mulciber. "I take it that you four girls are also taking my Care of Magical Creatures class?"

The speaker was a short plump man with a jolly smile on his face. His wispy grey hair could not cover up several bald spots that looked as if something had burned his hair away completely on those areas, but that was not the only part of his body missing: he had no left leg as it had been replaced by a wooden leg with a rotating joint at the ankle and the knee, and he was also missing several fingers. Lily had seen him up at the staff table several times, usually talking to Hagrid, and she assumed that this was Professor Kettleburn.

"Yes, sir," said Marlene. "Are you Professor Kettleburn?"

"That I am, Miss …"

Here, he looked at Marlene expectantly, and she hastily gave her name: "McKinnon – Marlene McKinnon."

"Well, Ms. McKinnon, I'm glad that you've joined us, and who might your friends be?" Professor Kettleburn asked curiously, glancing down at a clipboard that no doubt held all their names on it.

"Lily Evans, sir," said Lily before gesturing to the other two. "This is Alice Prewett and Mary Macdonald."

"And don't forget James Potter," shouted another voice from behind Lily.

Lily closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning around. The four Marauders were currently strolling across the courtyard, Potter and Black in front while Pettigrew and Lupin tagged along behind them, but at the moment, Lily's attention was focused only on one of them.

She had not yet talked to Potter since Stoughton's memorial service at the end of last year, though she had certainly seen him several times. He did not look that much different from last year except that his height had gained a couple of inches and he was ganglier, but what Lily really wondered was if she would be sharing classes with Potter, the arrogant Quidditch player and person who absolutely loved to tease Severus, or if perhaps this was the boy who had comforted her on the beach after Bellatrix murdered her teacher right in front of her.

Lily remembered it like it was yesterday: so many of her friends had offered her a shoulder to cry on, but it was Potter who had brought her the briefest moment of happiness during that dark week, who had given her the strength to set foot in the Great Hall to say good-bye to Stoughton one final time. Somehow, the boy who took pleasure in dumping ice-cold water on her head and turning her hair bright green had managed to distract her from the haunting images of Stoughton's blank eyes and that unforgiving flash of green light that had followed her everywhere ever since that fateful day.

Potter caught her eye as he approached the professor with his friends by his side, and for a fleeting moment, there was the same warmth in his eyes, but that disappeared in an instant when he flashed her a haughty smirk and, quite unabashed, said, "Hey there, pretty lady."

Lily blinked, quite confused with the sudden change in Potter's demeanor, and responded in a flat voice.

"Come again?"

Beside him, Black stared at Potter with his mouth agape, Pettigrew rubbed his ears as if worrying that he had misheard, and Lupin looked just as dumbfounded as Lily herself was – they possibly were wondering if their friend had gone completely and totally bonkers – but Potter paid them no mind, his grin widening even more as he wiggled his eyebrows and said smoothly, "I was just stating that you're looking quite fine this morning, Evans."

"Potter, are you flirting with me?" demanded Lily, narrowing her eyes in dislike.

Potter winked and said, "That depends – do you want me to flirt?"

Lily gave an astonished snort.

"No," she said flatly, and she quickly moved to stand on the other side of her friends, all of whom were also staring, shocked by Potter's abrupt forwardness, but they were also torn between amusement and disapproval.

"What was that all about?" whispered Marlene when the Marauders were far enough away not to overhear.

Lily shot one more glare at Potter before turning back to her friend and muttering, "I have no idea."

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ 1973 ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

"Are – you – out – of – your – bloody – mind?!" hissed Sirius as they made their way up to the Gryffindor common room from their first Care of Magical Creatures class using one of the many shortcuts they had discovered during their time at school. "You're absolutely barking if you honestly thought it would be a good idea to flirt with Evans of all people – Evans, mate! You know, that same chick who's always threatening to tattle to McGonagall on us?"

James glanced back at the courtyard through the window they now stood near before answering, "She's quite the looker, Sirius. Haven't you noticed?"

"Oi, James! Focus!" yelled Sirius, punching his stomach to draw his attention away from the courtyard. "This is Evans you're talking about! Since when do we like Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes?"

The punch worked well enough to distract him from thoughts about Lily, and James gave his friend a sheepish smile.

"Well, she's … you know … for one thing, her eyes are absolutely gorgeous – what? Don't give me that look, Sirius."

"Oh, I'm gonna give you this look," said Sirius, not even bothering to cover up his utter astonishment. "You seem to forget, mate, that Evans is not exactly your biggest fan – or for that matter, when has she ever shown anything but dislike towards us?"

The memory of the hug they had shared on the lake flickered in James's mind's eye, and he felt a tingle of warmth trickle through his body from where Lily's arms had touched him. It had been months, but he still remembered it clear as day: those precious moments they had shared, the playful smile she had given him when he challenged her to a skipping stone contest, the tinkling laugh that echoed the voices of the angels. It was the first time that the two of them had ever shared an intimate connection, and his mind had refused to stop dwelling on that moment ever since.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, will you?" barked Sirius, once again drawing James back to the present. "We have more important things to worry about – like our plans to get into McGonagall's office when she's on night patrol for instance. That's gonna take time to plan. Don't tell me that you've already forgotten about our promise to Remus – you know, our friend."

Those words, more than anything else, grounded him firmly, and James snapped his head up at that, his thoughts once again linking together more coherently at Sirius's reminder of their plan. Evans would have to wait – right now, his friends needed his help, and the plans needed those notes if they were ever going to have a hope of succeeding in the Animagus transformations.

Just then, a dull clanking noise echoed through the corridor, and the two of them pulled up short.

Glancing at Sirius, James whispered, "What was that?"

Sirius approached the intersection ahead of them, looking much like a dog who sniffed something strange in the air. Looking both ways, Sirius turned back with a shrug and said, "Must've been one those first years running into something. 'S probably nothing. C'mon, James."

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ 1973 ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

"I'm still just trying to figure out how you've managed to get private lessons with Professor Rawlings," said Alice from her spot on her four-poster bed. She was currently sitting crisscross and leaning on her fluffy pillow that she held in her arms while a thunderstorm raged outside. "I mean, it's pretty sweet and all, but I didn't even know that professors could give private lessons. You must've really impressed McGonagall with your Knockback Jinx or something to warrant this kind of attention."

"It's not like that, Al," said Lily with a sigh. She herself rested on her own bed with her legs dangling over the side, just watching for the clock to signal it was time to leave for her first private lesson with Rawlings.

"It's – I'm – I don't know … it's complicated."

She had not intended to wait with Alice before the lesson, but she also had not realized that Alice had declined to join Marlene and Mary when they announced their intentions to attend a Charms Club meeting, Marlene because she was simply bored and Mary because she needed to build her confidence. So now Lily could do nothing to avoid the questions that Alice threw her way as she waited for four o'clock to come around, and after Lily had finally relented and admitted what she was doing just sitting around the dormitory, Alice's inquisitive nature only gained more momentum.

"Well," said Alice slowly, "First off, who had the idea for the private lessons in the first place – you or Rawlings?"

Eyes closed, Lily exhaled once before answering, "Neither of us came up with the idea – Dumbledore did."

"Why?"

If Lily was being honest with Alice, her answer would have been something like: Only because I had been there when Bellatrix Black murdered Stoughton, and now Voldemort wants to keep an eye on me because I was able to escape with my life and Stoughton was not, and somehow he thinks that means that I've got a talent for complicated magic, so because of that, Dumbledore wants Rawlings to teach me how to defend myself should Voldemort ever decide to come looking for me.

But Lily was not being honest with Alice. She had never told anybody about that night save for Dumbledore and Petunia. Even though Lily knew with utmost certainty that Alice, her one of her best friends and closest confidant, would stand by her side no matter what happened and would be the first person to offer a shoulder to cry on every single time without fail, she still could not bring herself to open up about that horrible night. It was just … too painful. Stoughton's cold, dead eyes troubled her enough as it was.

So she just shrugged and said rather lamely, "I dunno."

They sat there in silence for a while, and Lily did nothing but twirl her wand between her fingers absentmindedly as she watched the clock on her bedside cabinet, silver and white sparks occasionally flaring from the tip of the willow wand. A couple of times, Alice opened her mouth as if she were about to say something, but she closed it just as quickly. Perhaps it was the sleepiness the steady thunder and rain had lulled them into, or maybe it was the somber attitude Lily took whenever the memories of Stoughton's murder surfaced, but whatever the reason, they simply sat in silence.

Finally, the clock read 3:55 p.m., and Lily slowly dragged herself to her feet as she told Alice, "I've gotta go. See you later."

"Bye," said Alice from where she lay on her bed.

There was not much activity when Lily reached the common room, as most people were either snoozing in chairs by the fire or racing to finish their homework by the time classes started again on Monday. The only odd thing Lily noticed was that while the Marauders were there, they sat huddled in a corner instead making the racket they usually did. She still had not forgotten Potter's advances on her during their first Care of Magical Creatures class earlier, but at least for right now, he seemed too absorbed by something that Remus was whispering to pay much attention to her, so Lily hurried past to the portrait hole.

By the time she had reached the classroom, Rawlings was already there, sitting at her usual spot on top of the teacher's desk. Lily did not have the faintest idea as to what to expect, and nothing in the classroom offered any additional hints as it looked pretty much the same as it always had whenever she had a Defense Against the Dark Arts class. The only promising thing she saw was that Rawlings had her wand out and was twirling it in her fingers as she watched Lily cautiously approach.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Evans," said Rawlings with a smile. Spotting Lily's bag around her shoulder, she pointed with her wand and added, "You won't be needing those books. Merely your wand will suffice for right now."

Lily plopped her bag on the nearest desk and withdrew her wand from her robes. "So what exactly will we be doing? You never actually gave me any specifics."

"Well, we'll start with a couple of questions," said Rawlings, hopping off her perch and landing gracefully on the floor in front of Lily. She really was tiny, barely matching Lily's own height even though she was a full-grown woman. "Such as … how advanced would you say your skills are? Which spells do you already know? I know that McGonagall thinks you're talented, but I always prefer to hear about skills straight from the source."

Lily gave a noncommittal shrug at the question.

"I mean, I can hold my own well enough. I do fine with the Knockback Jinx and Disarming Spell, but it's usually the charms I've learned so far that I use when I'm practicing dueling with somebody else."

"Charms?" repeated Rawlings. She did not look confused per se, but she did seem more inquisitive. "Such as?"

"Sometimes I charm some things to distract my opponent so that I can hit them with a Knockback Jinx or Disarmer while they're busy," explained Lily, hesitant about what Rawlings would think of her rather unconventional method of dueling, and then she hastily added, "Because, y'know, it's easier than me trying to avoid their spells."

Rawlings bit her lip as if contemplating before she said, "Well … it sounds like you've got a pretty decent defensive strategy for somebody your age, but it sounds like your offensive techniques could use some improvement."

"Just because I usually prefer to use the charms Professor Flitwick taught me doesn't mean that I haven't beat other people," said Lily, feeling some need to defend her style.

"I'm not saying that your way doesn't work, because it does, but usually you've only been up against other thirteen-year-olds," reminded Rawlings. "However, my job is to prepare you for the real world, not school fights, and in the real world, you'll be facing wizards who are more than willing to use horrible curses that you haven't even dreamed of using. If and when you do face those kinds of people, you must treat them like you would treat a sixth or seventh year right now."

With a casual flick of her wand, Rawlings silently conjured a basic dummy that stood without any support. She flashed a grin at Lily and stepped to the side before instructing, "Right, I want you to show me your most powerful spell. It can be any spell you want, so long as you consider it your best."

Well, that sounds easy enough, thought Lily as she focused on the dummy in front of her and prepared herself. The Knockback Jinx had always been her fallback, and it was not without good reason that the other students in her year were cautious whenever that signature blue light flashed from the tip of her wand.

Barely giving it a second thought, Lily yelled, "Flipendo!"

With the required flick of her wrist, the blue streak burst from the tip of her wand just like it had all the other times Lily used the jinx. She had been expecting the dummy to fly backwards on impact, but before the jet of blue light could even hit the dummy, something else intercepted the Knockback Jinx in midair. It was not the Shield Charm Rawlings had used during their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class, where the shield merely reflected the spell, but it served the same purpose when the shield absorbed Lily's magic, spreading it thin until there was no harm that could be done.

"What?" Lily wondered, momentarily stunned by the interference. "I don't – I don't understand. My Knockback Jinx has worked just fine whenever I've used it before."

There was a wry smile to Rawlings's lips as she shook her head.

"That's what everybody does," she explained patiently. "They just send jinxes at targets without ever really focusing. I want you to try again, but this time, concentrate on your target. Don't just think of the spell itself; think of the effects."

Nodding, Lily readied herself one more time. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, envisioning what Rawlings had just instructed her to do before opening her eyes once more and refocusing on the unharmed dummy in front of her.

"Flipendo!" she yelled.

The invisible shield Rawlings had created was still there, but this time the blue light did not disintegrate on impact; instead, it bypassed the shield without losing much of its strength and hit the dummy, shoving it backwards into the air before the dummy hit the stone wall behind it with enough force to knock one of the arms loose before the dummy and its now amputated arm slid to the floor in a motionless little heap.

Rawlings smiled when she glanced over the desk to see exactly what had become of the conjured dummy before turning back to Lily and saying, "Well done, Evans. That's certainly a start."


I'm really hoping that Lily and James's gradual change from rivals to lovers is coming across the way I want it to. I'm hoping to portray not just Lily's, but James's development through their years at Hogwarts as well. Thoughts?