Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Harry Potter universe.
III. WHEN EVERYONE IS IN HOGSMEADE…
Ever since Flitwick announced the pairs in which Gryffindors will be working during the project Lily and James stubbornly refused to speak to each other. Even when they met in the school corridors they just pretended to look in different directions and not notice anything. They didn't even argue anymore. It was just as if this two had some kind of silent agreement - they lived their own lives in peace and didn't disturb each other.
This met with huge disapproval from the teachers who, after learning about the project, hoped that it would not only be a chance for students to broaden their knowledge about the healing spells but also for teamwork. They simply couldn't understand - and it irritated them to no end - why this didn't work in case of James Potter and Lily Evans. However, nothing seemed to work in case of James Potter and Lily Evans. Involuntarily those two became subjects of many discussions held in the teachers' room. Only Dumbledore didn't seem keen to express his opinion on the matter, sitting silently in his favourite chair and sipping tea with a knowing smile on his face.
Teachers weren't the only frustrated ones. The current situation wasn't what Remus, Sirius, Peter and Alice hoped for. And they couldn't understand why their plan was failing miserably. After almost a month of watching Lily and James closely they were sure of that. They resorted of all sort of tricks such as Alice taking Lily's attention on purpose just so they would bump into James and the rest of the Marauders. But it didn't change anything. The two still seemed determined on not speaking to each other. The Marauders jumped to different kinds of conclusions as to why they behaved in such a way. Remus even put forward the hypothesis that they were all wrong and Lily and James weren't meant for each other after all. However, Alice convinced him that they just needed to take a completely new approach and give the couple some time. But after three weeks even she admitted that they've had enough time. And not only did they refuse to talk but also didn't even start their Charms project. And it was October already.
So when a Hogsmeade trip was announced, Alice decided that it was a perfect time to take action. Others couldn't agree more.
On Friday afternoon, just before the trip, Alice walked into the dormitory. She had a really good day and was humming a cheerful tune to herself. Lily was already in the room, working on something, probably the essay for Transfiguration which was due Monday. Alice cringed at the thought of that very same assignment just waiting for here. She would eventually sit down to it, now there were more pressing matters to take care of. She plopped down on her bed, still keeping an eye on her friend.
"Hey, Lils" she exclaimed probably a little too cheerfully as Lily gave her a weird look. "What's up?"
"Oh, just the usual" Lily replied casually, brushing a strand of her red hair behind her ear.
Once again she turned her attention to scribbling something on the piece of parchment. Alice smirked.
"I was just wondering... if you could just lend me some of your and Potter's notes for the Charms project. Frank and I are both bright plus we have Remus but we can't compare to you genius. I bet you must be finishing by now."
Lily tensed and slowly put the quill down. Looking at her, Alice smirked again as she knew the state of Lily and James's project perfectly.
"What do you mean you have Remus?" Lily asked both to change the subject and because she was curious.
"Oh, haven't you heard. We're finding the information together with Remus and Sirius. It's much more fun with them. For example yesterday we were making a list of all the spells we might include and eating pumpkin pasties. I still don't know where they got those from but I'm not complaining!"
Lily stared at her, completely bewildered, trying to process all the new information. She couldn't believe that Alice was joining forced with Sirius and Remus of all people.
"But they're Marauders" she protested.
Alice just shrugged.
"So what? I told you, they're fun. And they're really good to work with, even Sirius. Anyway, what about those notes?"
"We don't have anything, okay?!" Lily exploded. "Not a single spell!"
"It's not very surprising as you've been avoiding Potter for three weeks straight" Alice noticed.
"I have not been avoiding him" Lily tried to defend herself. "Just... how is it possible that you are able to work with all of them, even Black, but I can't handle one Potter?!"
Alice looked at her friend, trying hard not to laugh out loud. Lily sometimes really liked dramatizing, especially when it came to James.
"You know what, Lily" Alice said truthfully. "I think that the blame is also on you. Maybe just try and have a civil conversation with him for once. Tomorrow is your chance. Instead of going to Hogsmeade, you can just stay in a nice quiet castle and work on your project. If it doesn't work out... Well, you can at least say that you tried."
Lily considered her friend's words for a while. Normally she wouldn't be willing to listen to the advice she just received but it was after all Alice who was currently successfully working with both Remus and Sirius.
"You know what?" she said. "You're right"
She got up and stormed out of their dormitory. The next thing Alice heard was her voice from the Common Room where she must have cornered James while he was sitting there with his friends.
"Tomorrow, Potter, we' re doing our project" she heard Lily announce. "And I don't want to hear any complaints"
Alice sighed to herself.
Yes she thought to herself. We've got a long way to go.
With a satisfied smile she sat down at her desk and took out the Transfiguration textbook.
James Potter was staring at the back of a particular redhead as she turned on her heel and walked back to her dormitory. He couldn't say that he liked the way Lily Evans, of all people, was bossing him around. She behaved as though it was his fault they were doing this damn project together.
"Great, just great" he commented. "So what the fuck am I supposed to do now?"
He looked expectantly at his three friends sitting beside him, waiting for them to come up with some brilliant ideas. Sirius just shrugged in response and motioned to Remus, clearly suggesting that it was his job to think. The werewolf just sighed.
"How about the advice I gave a month ago?" he asked. "About making an effort?"
James scoffed.
"How can I make an effort here? Maybe I should stare harder at the books. This is sooo going to help" he said sarcastically.
Remus considered his words for a second and decided that James actually had a point. This wasn't going to impress Lily in any way unless…
"And why don't you come prepared?" he suggested. "You know, don't just rush there with your careless attitude and let Lily do all the job. Bring some notes or something"
"The only problem is that Prongs doesn't have any notes. He doesn't make notes" Sirius reminded them. "You're the smart one, Moony, you make notes"
Remus just ruled the idea out as it was obvious that James wasn't in possession of any notes on the healing spells and was about to roll his eyes at Sirius for his last comment when it struck him. For once in his life Padfoot actually did have a point! He started rummaging through his pockets, hoping the find that one piece of parchment which just must have been there.
"Ha!" she shouted, raising the find high in the air. "I've found it."
"What exactly is it?"
"This, James" he explained. "are your notes for tomorrow's learning session with Lily. This was actually the first draft of the list of spells we wanted to include in our projects and we made quite a lot of amendments over time but I think this will do anyway. Now… you go there give Lily the parchment and say something intelligent"
James broke into a grin and punched Remus on the arm to show his gratitude.
"Sounds like a plan. Thank you, Moony, you're a genius"
"Don't mention it" Remus said nonchalantly but nevertheless he looked quite pleased with himself.
The sun flowing through the window of the dormitory woke Lily up. She turned around in her bed so that she now faced the wall and closed her eyes tighter. She really didn't want to get up yet. Alice's idea to work on the Charms project with James Potter today seemed much less brilliant now. To be honest, Lily didn't even know what on earth possessed her to agree to that. Maybe it was the fact that Alice could work with everyone so well. Oh yes, Lily was jealous although she probably wouldn't admit it even to herself.
She lazily opened one eye and glanced at the nearby watch. Which made her jump out of bed and run to the bathroom as fast as she could. It was already midday which meant she had little time left before her meeting with James. Why didn't Alice and Jane wake her earlier? She could only thank god that she wasn't one of those girls who needed hours to get ready for the day. It wasn't even ten minutes before she was sprinting down the staircase, her bag full of books on the healing spells, quills and rolls of parchment.
Potter was already there, sitting by the fireplace and reading a book. He had changed from his school robes and into a simple Muggle shirt with stripes on it and jeans. He didn't notice her at first so she creeped behind him and tilted her head so she could she the title of the book. Quidditch through the Ages. Well, not that it was anything surprising. Suddenly James noticed her.
"Ah, Evans, I already started to think that you're not going to show up" he said. "So… where are we going?"
"Library" she replied without a second thought.
Library was the answer to all the problems. You could find additional materials there plus it was Lily's favourite place to study. It was so quiet and peaceful, no other place in Hogwarts could compare to it. And it smelled of old books which In Lily's opinion was the best smell in the world. She inhaled deeply as soon as they got there and dragged James to her favourite spot by the window.
"Okay, so what do we start with?" she asked James, putting out her quill.
In response James threw a piece of parchment onto a table between them. Lily eyed it carefully as if she expected it to suddenly explode.
"What's this?" she asked.
"Notes. I read a little bit about all those healing spells" he shrugged seeing her curious look. "And don't have to look at me like that. Contrary to all the popular beliefs I also study. Sometimes"
Lily lowered her gaze to stare at the table in front of her. She didn't really feel right with the way she treated James. Maybe Alice was right saying that Lily was a little biased against him. Sure, he didn't spend all day hovering over books but that didn't mean that he never in his life opened a textbook. This was a conclusion she drew herself and it turn out to be wrong.
Wanting to occupy herself with something, she reached for the piece of parchment and scanned it. It was a detailed list of all the healing spells she knew and even some she had no idea about. It didn't really contain much information but it was a good start nonetheless.
"I'm sorry" she mumbled, not meeting James's eyes.
"You've got nothing to be sorry for" he assured her cheerfully. "It's not as if I've taken an unusually big liking to books and studying. I prefer Quidditch"
Lily smiled at him uncertainly.
"Well, that was quite an impressing bit of learning if you ask me"
Suddenly James stopped rocking on the chair and looked at her with a shocked expression. For the slightest moment Lily saw the third year boy who would just do everything for Lily to appreciate him but then James's expression was business-like again.
"So… what now?" James asked to change the subject. "Should we look for some books?"
Lily almost nodded but then she remembered the stack of her own books that were still in her bag, waiting to be used.
"Actually I think that I have something that might help us" she said and stared taking out all sorts of textbooks, encyclopaedias and dictionaries.
James could only stare at the impressive pile next to him with disbelief but at the same time slight amusement.
"Quite a collection you've got here" he commented.
"Well, I'm considering the career of the Healer after I leave Hogwarts"
Lily didn't even know why she shared this piece of personal information with him but James just nodded, clearly lost in his own thoughts. Maybe about his own career.
"Okay, now, what's the first spell on the list..."
And it started. They spent the next few hours going through all the possible textbooks for all the possible classes and tons of other books with had anything to do with healing and making notes. Exactly at five p.m. Lily dropped her quill and stretched her arms. Flitwick certainly wasn't joking when he said that the projects wasn't going to be easy. They were only in the middle of the list and they have been working really hard.
"No way, we're doing anything else today" she announced to James. "I'm just too tired"
"Good for you" he said, secretly thankful that she decided to end this torture. "Another page and I think that my eyes will just flow out"
Lily smirked at the comment as she started to pack all the parchment, quills and books while James was putting all the stuff they got from the library back on the shelves under the careful eye of Miss. Pince, the librarian, who clearly didn't trust him with her precious books. As soon as they were ready, Lily stormed out of the library with the intention of going to her dormitory and thinking anything suitable to eat. Her last meal was the Friday dinner and she was starving.
"What are you doing for the rest of the day, Evans?"
She nearly jumped at James's voice as she totally forgot that she was still there.
"I'm going to my dormitory and finding something eatable as I missed breakfast and dinner today. And what about you, Potter?"
"Well, now that you mention it" James said. "I'm quite hungry myself. Maybe I'll take a little trip to the kitchen…"
"Wait, you know how to get to the kitchen?" Lily asked in disbelief.
"Course I do. I'm a Marauder after all. We just know this sort of things."
Suddenly James grabbed Lily's hand, catching her of guard and pulled her down the corridor.
"Wait, Potter, where are we going?"
"You said you were hungry so I thought I'll take you with me" he explained.
Lily considered the potential risks of such a trip. She wasn't really sure that they were allowed to visit the Hogwarts kitchen but on the other hand there was hardly anyone in the castle today, they won't get caught. And there was always the lure of a delicious dinner cooked by the House Elves which was definitely billion times better than remains of sweets Lily could find in her dormitory.
So she let James drag her through the empty corridors, dropping Lily's things in the Gryffindor Common Room when they were passing it. Then they made their way to the ground floor where James stopped in front of the large painting with a bowl of fruit on it. Lily instantly got sceptical. She was there thousands of times and she never saw the sign of kitchen. Maybe it was just another prank. She opened her mouth to yell at him but stopped when the painting swung open revealing a dark narrow corridor. Lily stepped into it, not entirely sure that she did the right thing when the painting swung back, shutting them in darkness. She let out a surprised yelp.
"Go ahead" she heard James's voice somewhere behind her back.
"Okay, Potter, I will" she said in a threatening voice. "If it is another one of your stupid jokes I swear that I will hex you to Hogsmeade and back and you won't be able to walk for a week"
James just laughed. Lily took a step, then another one and soon enough she was walking quite fast through the corridor. It was getting more narrow and shorter every second so finally they resorted to walking on their hands and knees. Lily didn't have really good feelings about the state of her clothes.
Finally, after what felt like eternity, Lily saw light in front of them. She fastened her pace and soon enough she was gazing through a hole in the kitchen wall, just below the ceiling. Underneath there were thousands of House Elves. Gracefully, Lily swung her legs over the side of the hole and jumped down, followed closely by James. They were immediately noticed by one of the Elves.
"Mr. Potter" he squeaked, sounding absolutely delighted. "It's a pleasure to see you, sir. What can we do for you, sir?"
"Nice seeing you too" James acknowledged the creature. "We would like something to eat if it's not a problem, sir."
"Oh, it's not a problem, not a problem at all" the Elf said and bowed, disappearing in the crowd of others.
James took Lily by hand and led her to a small table for two in the corner of the room which she didn't notice before. She rested her head on her hand and stared at the working Elves. It was quite fascinating, being in a Hogwarts kitchen. Once she was glad that the Marauders knew all the castle's secrets and that James decided to share some of his knowledge with her.
After a meal of baked vegetables, delicious turkey and chocolate cake looking so glorious that Lily still quite regretted that she had eaten it they decided to go back to the Gryffindor Tower as it starting to get late. Lily was about to walk through the portrait hole when James grabbed her hand again. She looked at him in question.
"It was a great day" he said. "Thanks, Evans"
And then he walked past her and disappeared in the Common Room.
AN: Don't worry, James and Lily won't become a couple for the next couple of (or more) chapters. And I'm back which means that I will probably post more regularly. Yey!
