Chapter Nine: This is War
The day had come to a dreary close. The minute the train had pulled into the station, rain began pouring down on the castle.
James found himself safely on his warm bed, staring dully at the ceiling while the rain beat mercilessly against the windowpane. Sirius was snoring loudly to his left, and Peter was crouched over his desk, examining his Zonko's and Honeyduke's purchases. Remus, however, was absorbed in some novel, situated on a chair in the corner.
James frowned and reached in his pocket for a piece of candy, which he threw at Remus playfully to get his attention. "Don't look so serious, mate! Your brain might implode or something."
Remus was not amused.
Peter glanced up, but only momentarily. The anger and resentment that lingered in the air was quite obvious. He awkwardly went back to checking the expiration on his Fizzing Whizbees, but kept an ear open.
The smile was frozen on James' face. What was Moony's problem? It was just a bloody joke for Merlin's sake! "Don't tell me your knickers are still in a twist about this afternoon, Moony." He kept his voice light and jovial.
Still, Remus' eyes were plastered intently to the words of his book. He flipped a page and nudged the reading glasses back upon his nose.
Now James was just getting irritated. He grumbled and slumped back against his pillow, trying to ignore the deafening silence. James despised silence.
"Oy." He leapt up and perched himself at the foot of Sirius' bed and nudged him sharply. "Padfoot. Oy. OY. Wake up."
Sirius muttered something, and stuck his foot right in James' face. Glowering, James shoved his leg off, forcing Sirius to tumble to the floor.
"Ow! Bloody hell, what the-?" Sirius awoke with a start and grasped the bedpost to pull himself up. His eyes landed accusingly on James. "What was that for?"
"You're asleep too early."
"So you hit me?" He rubbed his wound and curled back up. He glanced at the clock. "It's only eight! I can sleep at eight if I like!" With that, he pulled a blanket over him and collapsed back into bed.
The compartment faded back into silence.
The only sounds penetrating the room were the whistling of wind upon the glass and the monotonous smacking of Peter's Drooble's Best. He couldn't take this.
"Moony."
Silence.
"Moony."
Still silence.
"Moony."
Remus cleared his throat and flicked another page.
"Ignoring me now, are we?" James growled. "Real mature, Remus."
Remus snorted uncharacteristically. "Right, because what you did to Lily was."
"I knew it!" James leapt to his feet. "Why are you so hung up on it? It was a prank, Remus. Remember? Me, Prank King. Joke funny. Ha. Ha. Or did you miss a step back there?"
Remus sighed and snapped his book shut. "You can't go around treating everyone like they're beneath you."
"And what if they are? Huh? Maybe they deserve what they get."
"Lily didn't deserve what you did to her. Nor is she beneath you. She's got more than you'll ever have."
"I knew it!" James hissed, almost hysterical. Sirius was fully awake now and contemplating whether to intervene or not. "You fancy her! Just like Sirius said."
Sirius raised his eyebrows and held out his hands defensively. "Hey, now...no need to drag Padfoot into this..."
"Fancy her?" Remus stood up to face James. "No, but I respect her. And that's more than you can say for yourself."
"She's a stuck up goody goody! It was for her own good. It put her in her place."
Sirius frowned and eyed James' clenched fists, fearing that he may have to intervene if James decided to hit Remus...which he'd never done.
"I think it's you who need to be put in their place, James. If I recall correctly, you were the one pining after her for years until-"
"Come on!" It was Sirius who interrupted them. He too was now standing and edged in between them. He shoved James back into his bed and Remus followed. He spotted James' trembling fists. That boy had far too short of a temper for his own good. "Take a walk, James."
With that, James shook his head furiously and leapt back up, wrenching open the door and then slamming it behind him. He stormed out of the common room and began pacing up and down the corridors, not paying much attention to where he was at or was going.
His mind was clouded with anger and frustration, so when he slammed into the slender figure of a little girl, he hardly took notice. She peered up at him behind large, thick spectacles and simpered at his fierce glare. "Watch where you're going." He barked.
The girl flattened her mousy brown hair with a wavering hand and tried to stand up.
"Leave her alone!" Burst a voice from behind.
James turned. Oh, great.
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size for once, Potter?" It was Lily, fuming. Her cheeks matched the vibrant auburn of her hair. "Are you alright, Madeline?" She pushed past James and helped the small girl up.
"I'm fine..." She mumbled, dusting off her robes.
James rolled his eyes. "Shouldn't you be crying in the loo or something?"
Lily ignored him and focused on Madeline. "Everyone's been looking for you. Especially Charlotte..."
"Yes, well...I've been, er...busy," she replied. James tapped his foot impatiently. Madeline shied away and picked up her book bag that had taken a spill with her. "I'm going to get back. She'll be furious, I'm sure."
Lily shook her head after Madeline as she scurried away down the halls. "What's wrong with you?" she turned accusingly back to James.
"Me?" He looked affronted.
"Yes, you," she growled. "Honestly, James. You have some nerve. Do you plan on tormenting every girl in this castle?"
"Don't get your knickers in a bunch, Evans," he brushed her off with a hand. "And don't act like the victim. You deserved what was coming to you."
"And what makes you think I even care about the nasty trick you pulled on me?"
James snorted. "Remus seems to think you care."
"Well Remus can mind his own business. I can fight my own battles."
His eyes widened, bemused. "A battle is it?"
"Isn't that what this is? A Prank War?" Lily took a fierce step toward him.
James laughed. "Please. I've hardly begun. If a war is what you want, love, your wish is my command."
Lily's emerald eyes lit up. She clasped her hands delightedly. "Excellent! You can start by surrendering your Invisibility Cloak."
James immediately blanched. "My...what...?"
---
How she'd figured it out, James didn't know, but Merlin was she a pain in the arse now that she did.
"Ow! Watch it. James!"
"Shut it. This was your idea. I don't even know what you're doing. And what's that lumpy thing under your cloak?"
"Mind your own business," Lily hissed, hugging Crime and Punishment tighter to her body. If this plan was going to work, and she was going to keep the upper hand on James, she had to make sure he never saw what it was she was returning. "Now go faster. I don't want Filch catching us."
James shook his head. "Seeing Lily Evans break into the library. This is one of those things I never expected to witness before my death...and yet, it fits most appropriately."
"Shush!"
"Hey. I've done this before. I think I know what I'm doi-"
SPLAT. James slammed face-first into the double doors of the library.
"Slick." Lily gently pried open one of the creaking doors and ushered James inside. This was quite invigorating! She wondered if this was the reason James was always getting into trouble. Some sort of rush, or high. She also wondered if he too got the same tingling sensation in his arms and light-headedness she was feeling.
"Are you alright?" James eyed her strangely.
"Me? Oh, I'm fine. Fine!" Her voice was a tad shrill. More so than she would have liked. And was it her or was it getting a bit warm?
"Are you hyperventilating?"
"Huh? Er...no...I...I'm...fine. Just...fine." Lily was scanning the empty library like a hawk. Just then, James ripped off the cloak and began wandering around. "James!" she squealed. She about killed herself tumbling over a chair grasping for his arm. "Are you insane? Someone will see you!"
"Lily. There's no one here."
"Oh..." she grumbled. "Fine." She pulled off the cloak and laid it on the chair she'd tripped over.
James was examining a large, peeling old text.
"What are you looking at?" Lily grimaced. "You don't read-" She stopped dead. He was holding Crime and Punishment. How did he-? "James!" she shrieked, leaping over to him. "Give- that- back you pilfering little-!"
"A book? All this trouble for a bloody book?" He gaped at the text in awe, eyes lit with amusement.
"It's not just 'some book,' James," she spat. "It's Flitwick's. It's his prized possession and I took it. I never should have, but..." she took an exaggerated breath "I did."
James watched her silently a moment then burst into laughter.
She quickly clapped a hand over his mouth. "Will-you-be-quiet?" She hissed.
He pried her hand off. "I can't believe it!" Tears of laughter were streaming down his face. He wiped them away and tried to calm himself. "All for a book. A real rebel, you are, Lily. Really. I'm proud."
"Shut-up-" she groaned breathlessly, jumping up and down in desperate attempts to reach it.
James smirked and held it above his head. "Well, well, well. Doesn't this seem familiar? Let's see...what did I do in this situation last time?"
"You gave it back." She hissed through gritted teeth.
"Did I?" he tapped his chin. "I don't recall..."
"Yes, well, GIVE IT!"
"Shhh..." He placed a finger dramatically to his lips. "Someone might hear you."
Lily grimaced. "Is that so? Well let's give them something to hear."
"Oh…" James' eyes lit up. "Well, Lils, how coquettish of you…AUUGH!" Lily had blasted James with a jetstream of fire from the tip of her wand directly at his face.
James ducked just quickly enough that only a few hairs were singed on his head. After a moment of frozen shock, he jolted upright. "Are you bloody crazy? You almost blew my head off?"
Lily smiled sweetly. "Oh. Did I now?"
James narrowed his eyes. "Right then. I was going to treat you kindly since you're only a girl…" he gingerly rolled up his sleeves. "But that was then and this is now!" In a flash, he whipped out his wand and shouted something inaudible to Lily, because she too was screaming something, her wand waving madly in James' direction.
Bam! Lily and James were both blown backwards. Lily felt her head hit a bookshelf hard with a crack. She felt a cold trickle coming over her lips, and touched the place under her nose. She pulled back her hand. Her nose was bleeding. But that quickly became the least of her problems, for she reached her hand up higher on her face and felt something distinctly like fur. Oh no….no!
"Potter!" She shrieked. "What have you done to my face?"
James was just dusting off his cloak. Apparently her spell had missed him. He shrugged and straightened the collar of his shirt. "Just a mild improvement, Lils."
"Mi-mild-" she trailed off grievously. She turned her head to catch a blurry glimpse of herself in the reflective metal siding on the bookshelf. She craned her neck desperately. Oh Merlin. That prick! Red fur was sprouting out all over her face and her ears were becoming steadily more pointy and large. She whipped around to face James. He was now rolling in silent fits of laughter.
"You-you-" she could barely spit out the words she was so furious. "YOU-TRANSFIGURED-ME?" She screamed this last part so loudly, it was a wonder Filch didn't come running.
James guffawed and spun around in a circle, bowing to an invisible audience, furiously proud of himself. "You look stunning as a fox! It suits your sly, twisted, snitch-like personality."
"Snitch?" She bellowed. "How dare you! I have a duty to this school," she puffed up her chest despite the fact she looked like a walking transfiguration explosion, "and you know it! Now put me right, Potter, or I'll have you expelled!"
"Oh please." James brushed away her threat. "Poor perfect Lily couldn't bear to have one moment of fun."
"I have fun!" Lily scratched her hindquarters. When she realized what she was doing, she ripped her hand away. "I can be rebellious too," she said with what she hoped was a sultry voice, then blushed furiously when she realised she was absentmindedly stroking her whiskers.
"Ha!" he bounced nimbly up onto the overturned chair next to her and pulled her back by her puffy tail.
"Ow!"
"Stealing a book? Really, Lily. Fabulous work." He clapped loudly near her now-sensitive ear.
She sniffed suddenly. What was that smell…?
James laughed. "What are you doing?"
Lily's little black nose was in the air, sniffing wildly. "I smell something…and…do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" He glanced around the dark, empty library. "A mouse? Aw…are you hungry?"
She ignored him and followed her nose and ears. The faint crackling sound grew louder. It was coming from behind one of the bookcases. Curious as usual, James leapt down and tagged along behind her.
Suddenly the library was not so dark. A raging fire was crackling and spitting behind several bookshelves, spreading faster.
"Bloody hell!" James jumped back. "You caught the library on fire!"
"I-I-I did not!" Lily whimpered. Oh Merlin. She had. She was the one who used the fire charm that missed James. "What do we do?" She turned to James, frozen in panic; her nose no longer twitched and her fur was on end.
James frowned and grabbed her by the shoulder, wrenching her away from the now leaping flames. "We have to get out of here."
"Get out of here?" Lily cried. "We have to put it out!"
He glared at her as he dragged her along. "Do you know any charms for that?" Lily was silent. "Exactly." He snatched up his Invisibility Cloak and shoved the protesting Lily out the door.
"We have to tell someone!" She cried.
He clapped a hand over her mouth and shoved her along. "No…we don't." He pulled the Invisibility Cloak over their heads and jetted down the hall.
Lily's furry head was spinning. What had she done? She blasted James with that spell…and he ducked and the flame must have…Oh Merlin…she had set the library on fire!
"Bloody hell…" she moaned.
James shushed her suddenly and flattened her against the wall. His nose was in her furry cheek.
"James, what on earth-"
"Shh!" he clapped a hand over her mouth. And she quickly saw why. Edith Baldric and Eric MacClean were making their Head Boy and Girl rounds. Eric was motioning animatedly with his hands, describing some sort of Quidditch move. Edith pulled a yawn and glanced at her watch.
"Eric, it's near eleven. I've an exam tomorrow. I haven't seen a single student out of bed."
Eric shrugged. "I suppose you're right. Alright then…let's go."
They turned and made their way back past Lily and James again. Lily was frozen stiff with fear. James kep rubbing his nose for some reason and let out a little snort.
Eric's hefty figure froze. "Wait."
"What, Eric?" Edith replied dully, glancing at her watch again.
James' eyes widened and met Lily's.
Eric crept back down the hallway a ways so that he was standing a mere two centimeters from them. "D'you smell that?" He sniffed the air around him, his ruddy cheeks glowing. When he turned, he nearly rammed his backside into James. James automatically flattened his body against Lily's. He was very warm, she noticed…
Lily's face went beet red. This was positively inappropriate closeness, no matter what the situation.
"Smell what?" Edith yawned. "Honestly, Eric, I'm going to fall over here." She brushed the long dark strands out of her bloodshot eyes.
"Yes…alright." He moved away from them.
Just then James released a sneeze so loud, Lily swore her whole body shook. James clapped a hand over his mouth and exchanged looks of fear with Lily.
Eric and Edith blurted out in unison, "Bless you." They froze and looked at eachother. Then, shaking their heads, kept walking back to the dorms.
As soon as they were around the corner, James ripped off the Invisibility Cloak, gasping for air. His hazel eyes were red and puffy, and he kept sniffling. "Bloody allergies!"
"Well it serves you right for making me look like this!" Lily burst.
"Oh calm down. The hex is already wearing off." He blew his nose in his sleeve.
Lily cringed and dug around in her bag for a mirror. He was right. The fur was fading fast. She felt behind her. The tail had already disappeared. "That was too close a call, James."
"Lily, relax." James picked some red fur off his collar. "You've committed a great crime against the school today. I'm very proud of you."
"But it was an accident!" Her stomach lurched at the thought of making James Potter proud. She couldn't lower herself to his level. "We have to go back and put out that fire." She said resolutely.
"Are you kidding? The whole library's probably been wiped out by now- Lily! Lily!" But she wasn't listening to him. She was already running back towards it. There had to be some way to put it out. Lily went through all the hydro charms she could think of…but none could be enough to quell the beastly flames she saw when she returned. Leaping wildly behind the glass doors of the Library, the fire crackled and smoke. There was no way she could put this out! All of the books, gone! What was she going to do?
A sharp pain was stabbing her chest and her lungs began to tighten. Heee-huuhhhh-heeee-hhhuuuuhhh…Deeeep breaths, Lily. Heee-huuuuhhh…Blast! There was nothing about burning down school property in Detoxify, De-stress, and Don't Explode- Literally- for the Modern Witch. In fact, very little in that book was helpful. She was going to have to have a word with Melinda about that…Lily was suddenly beginning to feel very dizzy…She could hear footsteps in the distance and some yelling. And before she knew it, James had thrown the Cloak over her and she was being dragged indelicately away from the fire.
She didn't remember much after that, just James ushering her toward the girls' staircase.
"Lily, everything will be fine," She heard James whisper, his eyes twinkling mischeivously, "as long as you don't get caught."
It was at that moment, as James disappeared up the stairs and she made her way slowly back to her room, that she had done something absolutely, insufferably, inconceivably horrible. She'd made the most terrible mistake a prefect could make. This was worth being expelled for.
And everything was now riding on the hope that James Potter kept his mouth shut.
Lily no longer had any real leverage. The tables had turned. The odds were now in his favour…