Chapter 6: Working On a Plan
After class, Professor McGonagall asked if she could see Lily and James quickly before they headed to their next class. Lily looked at Marlene fearfully; Marlene just gave her a quick smile and left. Lily took a deep breath and steadied herself. Being around James made her a bit queasy. I can do this, she told herself.
Lily and James stepped up to McGonagall's desk.
"Yes, Professor?" asked James politely. Lily was too nervous to even speak. God, his voice is so…wonderful. She smiled.
"First of all, I would like to congratulate the two of you for making Head Boy and Girl," she said, looking between the two. "It has been far too long since the last Heads were Gryffindors."
"Thank you, Professor," said Lily and James, proud that Professor McGonagall was praising them so kindly.
"You will both know that with these titles come responsibilities as I mentioned in your letters," she continued, "And I expect the two of you to be able to support these responsibilities along with your NEWTs as I mentioned in class today," she said.
"Of course, Professor," replied James. Truth be told, neither one of them had listened to a word of the NEWTs lecture from McGonagall as they were distracted by other things…
"As you know from your prefect days Miss Evans, that you are required to patrol the corridors after hours to ensure that students are in their dormitories. Yes Mr. Potter that means you have permission to be out after hours, although I trust that you will not abuse your powers for unrelated tasks," said McGonagall looking at James. He nodded guiltily. Lily bit back a laugh; he looked absolutely adorable.
"Patrolling will start tomorrow night starting at 11 at night until one in the morning, understood?" Lily and James nodded. "You will patrol for the rest of this week and you will have a prefect meeting Saturday to determine patrolling schedules to be alternating between you and the prefects. There will be monthly meetings after that so please schedule the patrols for one month. I trust that you will not let me down."
"And Mr. Potter, Quidditch tryouts should be held soon. I am really hoping to win the cup this year Mr. Potter," said McGonagall. "Thank you. You are dismissed." And with that, Lily and James headed out the door to their next class; Charms.
"So, what exactly do we do on these patrols?" asked James, as he was never a prefect.
"Well, we basically just walk around the entire castle at night and check broom closets, empty classrooms, etc. for students out of bed," replied Lily.
"Hmm. Interesting," said James. "I'm guessing you caught Sirius a couple times with some friends." He knew full well that Lily had caught Sirius out of bed, Remus had told him.
Lily rolled her eyes. "I swear that almost all the girls at Hogwarts have liked him at one point," she said disgusted, "Really, they should get a hold of themselves."
"You've never had a crush on him, have you?" asked James nervously.
"NO! I would never like him like that, he's not my type anyways," replied Lily, blushing.
Interested, James asked, "What's your type then?" But he never found out; Lily knocked on the door leading to the Charms classroom.
"Come in!" shouted the high, squeaky voice of Professor Flitwick. Lily entered first, grateful that she did not have to answer James' question. She probably would have told him too. That was the kind of effect he had on her.
"Ah, Miss Evans! And Mr. Potter! What a pleasure to see you again! Congratulations on making Head students. Miss McKinnon here, informed me that you were speaking with Professor McGonagall, correct?"
"Yes, Professor," Lily answered and smiled. Professor Flitwick was Lily's favourite. Mostly because he taught her favourite class. She took a seat next to Marlene as James moved towards Peter. Remus and Sirius were sitting together in this class.
That day, they were just doing review from previous years, starting with the easiest spells such as Wingardium Leviosa and more complex spells they had learned during their sixth year. Lily was grateful for this lesson as it got her working instead of being forced to listen to boring lectures, causing her mind to stray to thoughts of James Potter. Now she could concentrate on the spells and be free of those distracting thoughts. She sighed contently. She loved Charms.
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Charms was always a perfect class to have a quiet conversation. The class was full of movement so there was constant noise. James quickly whispered what had happened in front of him where Remus and Sirius were seated. Sirius looked insulted that Lily would say such a thing but got over it quickly from James' look. Remus merely laughed at the two of them.
"Prongs, try and avoid conversations like that, it'll just lead to awkward moments and probably trouble," advised Sirius. "Wingardium Leviosa," Sirius' pillow lifted a couple of feet in the air before he returned it to his desk.
"Yeah, Prongs. Avoid conversations concerning Sirius and everything will be fine," said Remus, fully knowing that that was not was Sirius had meant.
James snickered and Sirius swiped Moony to the back of the head, ruining Remus' levitation charm. He started laughing.
"Just try and get to know her more, become her friend, someone she can trust. Don't ask her out until you're certain that she'll say yes. It would be a good idea to get to know one another more before jumping into a relationship," mimicking Marlene's words without even knowing it.
"Good idea Moony, thanks mate," said James.
"Anytime, Prongs," replied Remus.
"Hey, what about 'Thanks Padfoot for giving that wonderful piece of advice and always being there for me'?" asked Sirius disappointingly.
"Er, thanks Padfoot, for um…that wonderful piece of advice," said James.
"And…?" egged Sirius.
"Oh! And for always being there for me?" said James.
"Thank you," replied Sirius.
Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius.
The class continued on with the seventh year students practicing what they had already learned in order to practice for their NEWTs. Right when they finished rehearsing sixth year material, the bell rang.
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Lily was slightly calmer after Charms class. Her nerves always went haywire when James was around. Her stomach would lurch and she wouldn't be able to think straight. Previous years, Lily was able to control her feelings more, but this year was definitely different. She was sure that once she got control over her nerves, it would be very easy to talk with James, like last night. She breathed deeply. She couldn't think of James. He was the reason that she couldn't get a hold of herself.
Lily walked towards the Great Hall for lunch with Marlene, Nicole and Melissa. They were chatting quietly about their classes. So far, they had to read the first two chapters in the Transfiguration textbook for tomorrow and a four-foot essay in Charms for Friday. Lily was going to have a bit of trouble balancing her work and her Head duties.
Lily and her friends sat down at their usual spot at the Gryffindor table. As they put food on their plates, the Marauders walked towards them. Lily fidgeted nervously.
"Why, hello there Ladies!" chanted Sirius. "Mind if we join you?" he asked.
Lily gulped. Oh no.
Marlene quickly glanced at Lily and replied, "No, go ahead."
Lily inwardly cursed Marlene. She told Marlene what happened to her when she was around James. Marlene was doing this purposely, she knew it. She wasn't ready for this.
The boys sat down, Sirius sitting beside Lily, Remus beside him. James sat down next to Marlene who was across from Lily. Peter sat down next to James.
"So, I wonder what the new Defense teacher will be like," chirped up Melissa.
"He looks kind of like a pushover to me," replied Sirius.
Remus rolled his eyes. "Padfoot, he does not look like a pushover, just a bit shy…but who can blame him, it's his first day," replied Remus.
"Well pushover or not, I'm not looking forward to Defense, all these different teachers are enough to give me a headache," said Nicole.
"When do we have Defense anyways?" asked Sirius.
"Right after Potions, which we have next," answered Marlene.
Lily and James remained quiet throughout the conversation unless spoken too. They were both afraid they would say something stupid around one another that would embarrass them in front of the other.
"Hey, Lily. What's the matter with you?" asked Sirius.
"Oh, me? Erm, just tired, didn't get much sleep last night," she replied.
Sirius, Remus and Marlene smirked at her. Sirius and Remus did because they knew of Lily's nightly adventure and Marlene because she knew that wasn't the reason at all.
"Hey James, you look kind of out of it as well, are you okay?" asked Marlene.
"Oh, uh yeah. I'm fine," he replied, not looking at Lily.
Again, Sirius, Remus and Marlene smirked, but this time at James. Marlene did because she thought of the midnight excursion, and Sirius and Remus because of how James got like this around Lily.
Sirius, Remus and Marlene all exchanged a knowing glance as the bell rang. The eight seventh years stood up and made their way towards Potions class.
Lily walked ahead with Nicole and Melissa as James walked with Peter. Marlene, Sirius and Remus lagged behind.
"So boys, what do you suggest we should do about Lily and James?" asked Marlene quietly.
"So, you mean that Lily actually does like James then?" asked Sirius.
"Well obviously. Didn't James tell you what happened yesterday?" she asked, rolling her eyes.
"Of course he did. But how're we supposed to know what 'I never hated you' means," asked Sirius.
"Uhmm. Maybe exactly what you think it means," replied Marlene.
"AHA! I told you Padfoot," said Remus.
"So, wait. Lily never hated James then? I was all a show?" asked Sirius, thoroughly confused.
"Yup."
"Why?"
"Don't question the actions of a female," replied Marlene.
"I will never understand you women,"
"Good," Marlene rolled her eyes again. "So, now that we got that covered, what do you suppose we do?" she asked again.
"I think we should lock them in a broom closet," replied Sirius.
"No, Sirius. We are NOT locking our best friend in a broom closet," Remus said. Sirius pouted.
"Fine," sighed Sirius. Marlene looked between the two boys strangely.
"Okay then, I think we should just hang out more and more so that James and Lily will be forced to talk some more and gain confidence around each other!" exclaimed Marlene in a whisper.
"Great plan! Then, we can lock them in a broom closet!" he said happily.
"No, Sirius! We are NOT locking them in a broom closet. GIVE IT UP ALREADY!" said Remus, frustrated.
"FINE!" shouted Sirius. James, Peter, Lily, Nicole and Melissa all looked back at them, confused.
"Haha, sorry guys…Um, Sirius here just agreed to, uh, yeah," Marlene tried. "Hey look guys! We're at Potions!" shouted Marlene.
"Good one McKinnon," whispered Sirius in Marlene's ear.
Remus just shook his head and entered the classroom.
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In Potions class, Lily sat down with Marlene as usual.
"What was that all about?" asked Lily, still confused.
"Oh, nothing. I was just asking Remus about Transfiguration," covered Marlene.
"Why couldn't you ask me?" asked Lily, furrowing her eyebrows.
Marlene raised an eyebrow at her friend. "Do you think you could've actually answered my question, Miss Evans, with all the daydreaming you were doing?" asked Marlene teasingly.
Lily blushed and looked away, "I wasn't daydreaming," she mumbled lamely.
Marlene merely laughed as Professor Slughorn entered the class.
"OHO! Now isn't it my favourite group of students!" he exclaimed, his giant belly wobbling as he made his way to his desk. "Lily dear! How was your summer? Practising Potions, I'm sure!" Professor Slughorn always favoured Lily and Snape in Potions and never cared if he showed too much favouritism.
Lily grimaced noticeably, but Slughorn didn't see it. "Just fine, thanks, Professor," she answered. She hated when Slughorn would single her out during class.
"Of course, of course! I am sure that your skill hasn't disappeared during the summer either! Shame that you're not in the Slytherin House!" he said.
Lily rolled her eyes. "Professor, I was meant to be in Gryffindor, you know that. And plus, it was the Sorting Hat's decision, not yours," she replied.
"Right again my dear! Right again!" he praised, even though Lily had meant it as some sort of insult. Lily could call him a beefy, irritating, inconvenient man, and Slughorn would still praise her for her use of adjectives or laugh at her sense of humour.
"Alright then class! Let's start today's lesson! We will be starting with a rather difficult potion today and will be done in partners. Turn to page 364 please," said Slughorn.
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James entered the classroom after Remus and sat down next to him.
"What was that about, mate?" asked James.
"Oh, nothing. Just catching up with Marlene. Haven't talked to her since last year," said Remus.
"Oookkayy," replied James, not thoroughly convinced. They sat in silence until Slughorn entered the class.
"OHO! Now isn't it my favourite group of students! Lily dear! How was your summer? Practising Potions, I'm sure!" he said.
James hated it when Slughorn would do that to Lily. Anyone but Slughorn could tell that she hated it; she even tried to insult him so he wouldn't favour her for a change.
James sat there fuming about Slughorn bothering his dear Lily, that he didn't notice everyone get up to gather their materials. James would be working with Remus in Potions today, so even if James didn't do anything, they would still receive top marks.
The rest of the class passed by without much event, Slughorn praised Lily and Marlene and Snape and his partner for their wonderful work and as usual, passed everyone else by with just a word of 'well done'.
The seventh years made their way to the Defence Against the Dark Arts class, none of them enthusiastic about having a new teacher. They really didn't think he'd be that good just by the looks of him.
Professor Gripul was a short man, with pale wrinkled skin. He had a long nose with glasses and dull brown eyes. Indeed, as Sirius had remarked, he looked to be a bit of a pushover.
"Good afternoon class," he said. The seventh years were surprised to hear that he had a strong fierce voice. "Welcome to your seventh and final years of Defence Against the Dark Arts. My name is Professor Gripul and I am your new Defence teacher."
"First, we will be reviewing the material you have covered in your previous years. Who can tell me what you have done so far?" he asked. Lily raised her hand. "Yes? Miss…"
"Lily Evans, sir. We have covered magical creators such as Boggarts, Grindylows and also Unforgivable curses."
"Very well, we have much to cover," he said. "Now that you are in your final year at Hogwarts, I must prepare you for what lies ahead."
Professor Gripul started his lecture about some dangers of the wizarding world. He talked about Voldemort and how they must be prepared for anything. He definitely was not a pushover.
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Finally the day was over and the seventh years were drained. They had received homework in every subject. Note taking in two classes and four essays. How they were going to manage was a mystery to them. Lily was never a procrastinator and got to work right away in the library. Other people like Marlene, Sirius and James, however, preferred to spend their time complaining about all the homework they had to do in the Common Room.
"Blimey! We have four essays to do! How am I going to finish all of those with Quidditch and Patrolling?!" James said.
"How about getting some extra help from a certain Head Girl?" said Sirius, eyebrows moving up and down suggestively.
"Shut it, Padfoot," said James, blushing slightly.
"Aww, James is blushing, isn't that cute," cooed Marlene, mockingly.
James scowled and blushed even more. Marlene smiled at him and realized how much James liked Lily and told herself to make a harder effort to get the two together.
"Okay then, maybe I should get started on that homework, after all it won't get done all by itself," she turned and winked at Sirius, looking in James' direction.
Sirius understood the signal and hoped up, "Yeah, me too. See ya Prongs."
"What? You're leaving me here? Where are you going?" he asked confused. Sirius was doing homework on the first night back?
Marlene had already left the Common Room with her things and Sirius had to follow her. "Yeah, I was just gunna go to the Kitchens…kind of hungry," he said thinking quickly.
"But, Padfoot, we just had dinner and you ate like a pig," said James, somewhat disgusted.
Sirius shrugged, "A growing boy needs his food," he answered and left.
He caught up with Marlene and they started walking towards the Library to fetch Remus.
"How're we gunna get Remus out of the Library without looking suspicious?" asked Marlene.
"Do not fret, Marly, I'll handle it," said Sirius mysteriously.
"Okay…" replied Marlene.
They arrived at the Library and Marlene went to go inside.
"Wait a second, McKinnon. Wait out here, I'll get Remus. If you come in, Lily's going to tell you to stay," he said holding her back.
Marlene huffed, "Fine,"
Sirius smirked and entered the Library. It was so quiet. It was like someone had put the Silencio charm on everything. This was only his second time in the Library, his first being when Remus forced him in fifth year to study for OWLs.
Sirius looked around for Remus and Lily and found them sitting at a table in the back.
"Hello there, Remus and Lily. How are you on this fine evening?" he asked a little loudly. He got a piercing stare from Madame Pince. Remus stifled a laugh and Lily just stared at him
"What are you doing here, Padfoot?" asked Remus. He knew the only reason Sirius would enter the Library willingly was if he really needed to talk to one of the Marauders or if he was in trouble.
"Well, Moony. It just so happens that I needed your assistance in…umm picking some flowers for a certain…animal?" said Sirius.
Remus instantly understood and stood up. "Sorry, Lily. I have to go help Sirius. See you later," he said.
Lily looked at them oddly, "You need to help him pick flowers?" she asked.
The two boys glanced at each other. "Yeah, of course. Sirius is a bit colour blind and he can't tell which colour to get for his…uhh…friend," he finished uncertainly.
She furrowed her eyebrows. "Okay, good luck with that," she returned to her work after shaking her head slightly.
The two boys left the Library quickly and met Marlene outside. Remus was shaking with laughter.
"Picking some flowers, Sirius? What a lame excuse!" he said chuckling.
Sirius scowled, "At least I didn't tell a complete lie!" he countered, "Colour blind? Really, Remus," he said rolling his eyes.
"What are you two talking about?" asked Marlene, looking between the two of them. Remus was still laughing and Sirius was still scowling.
"Nothing, nothing. Okay so what are we going to do?" asked Remus.
"Well, think of more ways to get James and Lily together without making it totally obvious," replied Marlene.
"Okay, well we already agreed to hanging out more, what else can we do?" asked Remus. "And we are NOT locking them in a broom closet," he said as Sirius was opening his mouth.
"I wasn't going to say that!" said Sirius angrily. He pouted.
"Oh, sorry Padfoot," said Remus, laughing at Sirius' face. "What were you going to say?"
"Well, um…Fine! That's what I was going to say," said Sirius, defeated.
Remus laughed again and Marlene just shook her head.
"Do you know what I think?" said Sirius, speaking up again. "I think that this meeting is completely pointless. I mean, what else could we possibly do without making it obvious?"
"Well, I told Lily to just get to know James a bit more before actually having a relationship," said Marlene.
"Whoa. That's what I told James," replied Remus. "And I told him not to ask her out until he was positive that Lily would say yes," he added.
"Well done. I think that will be good for both James and Lily," said Marlene, impressed.
"Okay then, this meeting was completely pointless as I said. Now, Remus can go back to homework, I can go back to doing nothing with James, and McKinnon can go back to doing…whatever the hell you were doing," said Sirius.
"Fine, whatever," replied Marlene.
"Okay then, I really don't think it's necessary to have another one of these meetings unless something goes terribly wrong. Which I doubt will happen," said Remus, confidently. "Now I must get back to Flitwick's essay." And he left.
"So, Marlene, what are you going to do now?" asked Sirius.
"Um. Maybe I'll go back up to the Common Room, and hand out with Nic and Mel," she replied.
"Alright then. Want to walk up together?"
She shrugged, "Sure, why not?"