Heya! Yet another chapter here… enjoy! And review after you're done reading, pretty please!
Disclaimer: I own like, none of this. Exempting the plot. And Sirius' lines. I might own him too. Oh, and Gred and Forge. But they're not in this fic. Oh well.
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Lily laughed as she threw a snowball in James' face. However, her laughter was soon cut off as he charged her and picked her up.
"James, put me down!" She shrieked. Now it was his turn to laugh as she pounded her fists on his back.
"So you want me to put you down?" He asked.
"Yes!"
"If you say so," He replied with a grin as he dropped her into a snowdrift.
"Potter!" Lily yelled, and James fell down on top of her.
"You called?" He asked, his face only inches from hers. Sirius jumping and landing on both of them ruined the moment, however.
"Jim-bob and Flower, what are you two doing? We need your help with the south wall!" He gestured to the enormous red and gold castle that had formed under the guidance of Lily and her charmed snowman, and to the now collapsing south wall. "The Slytherins started to knock it over," He said angrily, pointing to the bright green tower across the field.
"I would help, Sirius," Lily said patiently, as if explaining to a small child, "But I seem to be stuck here."
"Oi! James, get off of the lady!" James groaned, and tried to hold himself off of Lily by pushing himself up, but only failed miserably.
"Why don't you get off of me first, and then I'll move," He muttered.
"Lil' ol' me?" Sirius said bashfully, "I can't way more than a twig."
"How about a tree branch?" Lily replied. Sirius grinned as he leaned over James' shoulder, kissing Lily before rolling off of them.
"Padfoot!" James roared, and started to chase after Sirius, but fell flat on his face. Rolling onto his back, he looked at the seemingly innocent Lily. "Nice, Evans. Nice. Please don't tell me you enjoyed that." Lily started laughing, and picked up another handful of snow, ignoring a lingering feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Now then, Mr. Potter," She said threateningly as James got up slowly. "Prepare to meet your doom." Lily threw the snowball at his face, but he ducked and it sailed over his head.
"Now then, Miss Evans," He replied mockingly, "That was a terrible throw. Missed me by a mile." Turning to see what, or whom, it had hit, James finally understood the look of shock on Lily's face. "Er... why, hullo Minnie!"
Professor McGonagall used the sleeve of her robes to carefully wipe off her face and her spectacles.
"I'm so sorry, Professor!" Lily exclaimed. "I was throwing it at Po- James, and-"
"I can see that, Miss Evans," McGonagall replied calmly. She crouched down and then lobbed a snowball at Lily's face, before tossing one back at Sirius, who had taken time during McGonagall being distracted to try and find a hiding spot. Teaching Minnie the art of being a teenager, as he put it, had proven a whole lot easier than he had first thought, and at the moment he was starting to wish he never had gotten the idea in the first place. "And don't think I've forgotten about the detentions, Mr. Black!" She said loudly as she chased after him.
Sirius yelped before running as fast as he could. "Darnit, Minnie, I was hoping you'd forgotten!" He shouted back as he dodged another snowball.
James chuckled before glancing at Lily, who was standing still.
"Did- Did Professor McGonagall just throw a snowball at me?" James nodded slowly, and laughed outright at the look on her face before wiping said shocked face clean with the sleeve of his robes, which were already quite wet. This just succeeded in making the mess on Lily's face worse, and would hold testimony to the fact that because of the snow's presence James did not realize the tears on her cheeks until after several minutes.
"Lils?" He asked hesitantly. "It was just a snowball. I mean, Minnie throwing it at you would have to be a shock, but you don't have to cry about it-" He broke off as Lily sniffed loudly and rubbed her face with her somewhat dry sleeve.
"Hah James," She said cheerfully, but he could still see tears in her eyes, "I fooled you!" Deciding to play along with her game, he swore and tackled her.
"This is what you get for trying to fool me!" James shouted, and started to tickle her mercilessly.
"Potter, stop!" Lily shrieked, and James smiled slightly. Although it didn't seem like Lily had forgotten what was troubling her, she had put it aside for the moment and was having fun. Rolling back on top of her, he looked into her eyes. This time, the moment was not ruined by Sirius, but by the fact that Lily was still crying silently.
"Flower, what's the matter?" He asked, and put his hands on the snow on either side of her head to hold himself up.
"Nothing's wrong," She insisted. "Now, if you would-" Here she broke off to push James off of her, and rose shakily. "I just want to go back to the dorm now." As James rose to follow her, he distinctly heard her mutter, "Why am I so bloody emotional about this? I shouldn't be. I can handle my own problems-"
"Lily, you can always tell me." She shook her head and kept walking, but James put his hand on her shoulder, effectively stopping her. "Lily, come on. What's bothering you."
She looked up at him briefly, before lowering her gaze to the snow covered ground. "I'll tell you what's bothering me, Potter. You are. Would you stop? It's none of your business."
"What if I want to make it my business?" He asked.
"I would have to tell you to stuff it. Now, I am heading up to the dorms. And again, I don't want you to disturb me." James sighed, but kept following her.
"Tell me what's wrong, Evans. Did I do something? Did Sirius do something? Does this have to do with schoolwork? Head's duties? Does this have to do with the holiday's-" He broke off as Lily let out a sob. He walked closer to her, and then turned her around. "Lily, you can always tell me." She shook her head, but when James enveloped her in his arms she put her head on his shoulder and cried. James raised his hand and stroked her hair timidly as Lily let out her emotions. After she seemed to calm down, her sobs dying down, she said quietly,
"I want to go to the dorms now. And mention this to anyone, and I will hex you to infinity and beyond." James smiled inwardly. At least this was the old Lily he knew how to deal with.
"As you wish, my fair lady," He said as he bowed. Offering his arm, he grinned with surprise as Lily took it, and led her back to their dorms.
As he quietly said the password and the portrait to the Head's Dorms opened, Lily pushed past him and started to open her door. Seeming to think about it, she turned back around and strode to where James was standing, still in front of the entrance.
"Thanks, James," Lily said softly. "You're doing the best you can. I just need to be alone now." James nodded, surprised that she had thanked him, but was even more surprised when she, after a small inwardly debate, stood on tip-toe and kissed his cheek. With a small half-smile in his direction, she turned and disappeared into her room.
James smiled as he heard Lily lock her door, and resisted the oh so tempting urge to run around, shouting something along the lines of, "She kissed me of her own free will! Momentous occasion! Something to tell the children!" However, kissing him on the cheek wouldn't spark the same amount of attention as a full snog, so he decided to keep his mouth shut. He turned and walked through the portrait hole, fully intending to go back outside and tell the Marauders what happened, but stopped dead in his tracks.
"I can't go outside," He said quietly, "I have to help Lily." Looking ruefully over his shoulder in the direction of the locked door, he sighed. Forgetting the fact that she had said numerous times she wanted no help, he started to pace the hallway. After earning himself a few stares from passerby, he decided that the best place to think would be his old dormitory in the Gryffindor tower, where he had thought up all of his past pranks.
That was where Remus found him two hours later, with a deep mark in the carpet depicting his path.
"Oi, Prongs!" He shouted, but James appeared to be muttering to himself.
"Flower… holidays… upset… went to see parents…"
"James?" Remus asked hesitantly, and James seemed to snap out of his trance.
"Hey Moony," James asked while trying to locate his cloak, "Where would past copies of the Prophet be?"
"Well, the library for starters-" James made a face, but walked out of the dorm and towards, Remus presumed, the library, conveniently forgetting the fact that he had a life-long ban from the library since fourth year.
"Really, Madam Pince," James whined, "I promise I won't cause any trouble. I need to look at the newspapers!" Noticing that his voice had risen a few notches, he lowered it. "You remember Miss Evans, don't you, Madam?"
Madam Pince smiled. "Ah yes, Lily Evans. Delightful young girl. Never comes in here and disrupts anyone else." She looked pointedly at James.
"And I'm really sorry about that, ma'am. You see, that day I had gotten very upset because some of the Slytherins called someone a very nasty name, and I felt the need to hex them! I didn't mean for it to happen in the library!" Madam Pince sighed. James was putting on the puppy dog eyes for all he was worth and although his look was not as perfected as Sirius' was, it still did damage.
"What did you need, Mr. Potter?" He grinned.
"You see, I was hoping to get the chance to look at some back copies of the Daily Prophet. It's an… assignment that I've brought upon myself. The Head Girl suggested it, ma'am." Madam Pince sighed again.
"Back shelf, you can sit at the second table to the front. But if I hear one noise out of you, or out of any of your friends-"
"I understand perfectly. And might I say, the spectacles look very nice on you. They go well with your skin tone."
James sighed as he placed the eighth copy of the Daily Prophet on the table. Reaching for the ninth, he almost brushed past it, for it was the Christmas Day edition. Sure enough, on the front cover was the entire staff of the Prophet, wearing what looked to be Santa hats and dancing while holding cups of Butterbeer and Firewhiskey. However, once the idea hit his mind that Lily's problem had to do with her family, he wanted to rule out the major and easily checkable suspicions. Opening the edition, he thumbed through the pages carelessly, knowing that any muggle news would have been near the end, before the quidditch section.
As he turned a page advertising Parker's Pensieves ("Photos are great, but a pensieve lasts forever!"), he noticed Sirius hovering at his elbow.
"Prongs?" Sirius whispered, carefully keeping an eye on Madam Pince, who was glaring at him. "Why are you in the library?"
"Research," James replied, still looking through the paper.
The look on Sirius' face suggested that the word pained him. "Research?" He repeated. "Why would you have to do bloody research?" James put his hand over Sirius' mouth to quiet him, and met Madam Pince's eyes apologetically.
"Eww!" He yelped quietly, and wiped his hand on the shoulder of Sirius' robes. "You licked my hand!"
Sirius shrugged. "I needed to talk. The need to hear my own voice is too great." Noticing James' look, he continued, saying, "Plus, my fan club is right over in that direction-" He broke off to wave at them, "And you were making me look very undignified. Now, if I could talk again?" James nodded seriously. "Good. Well, I was wondering if we could get out of the library now. I bet Pince has trained the books to attack." James just immersed himself in the newspaper again, flipping past another advertisement, this time for Quality Quidditch Supplies. "Woah, back it up there, mate," Sirius said somewhat loudly, and turned the page back over.
"Hmm, the Nimbus 500… fastest one so far, Jim-bob. Now then, which Hogwarten should I ask to buy it for me?" James just shook his head furiously.
"Sirius, I'm researching. You do know what that is, right?"
Sirius looked shocked that James would make such an accusation. "Of course I know what that means! I'm smarter than everyone thinks! I can count without using my fingers and toes!" James just shook his head sadly.
"Well, I need to research this alone. Could you go-" However, he stopped as he flipped into the muggle news section of the paper, and leaned over until his nose was almost touching the parchment. Sirius leaned over as well, but instead of looking intently at the words on the page, he looked at James.
"Prongs, why are you looking at muggle news? Quidditch section is right here, and-"
"Bloody hell, Sirius!" James said loudly, then covered his mouth. Looking over at Madam Pince, he started babbling something along the lines of, "I'm sorry, he provoked me, don't throw me out!" when Sirius poked his side.
"James-"
"Not now, Sirius!" He hissed, and went back to apologizing to Madam Pince.
"No, really, James-"
"What Sirius?"
"Isn't that Flower's house?" He pointed at the picture taking up most of the page, depicting a team of Aurors rushing around the remains of a quaint little house. James completely forgot about Madam Pince, and brought the picture up to his nose, trying to get a closer view. Sirius shook his head and placed the paper back on the desk, performing a quick charm before gesturing for James to look again. James nodded his thanks, for the picture was now much bigger and he could see the detail. He was hoping it wasn't Lily's house, but his hopes were dashed as he saw the small P.E. and L.E. embedded in the walkway. James hung his head, and then read the article.
More Muggle Attacks Prompt Ministry to Take Action
by Rita Skeeter, Junior Reporter
Amidst the burning rubble of this poor muggle's home lies the hopes and dreams of a family, crushed by the arms of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. As more frequent and vicious muggle attacks occur, the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, has this to say,
"The threat to our kind is not great. We are all easily protected, and even a magical child could defend itself against this quote on quote 'Dark Lord'. We will defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and we will be able to go back to our normal lives. We will be sending protection to aid the muggles, but we must think of our own kind first if these attacks were to escalate, which they will not."
This junior reporter expresses the idea that Mr. Fudge is completely right in every aspect, and will continue to do a brilliant job as Minister of Magic.
The names of these muggles were not released. Connections have informed us at the Prophet that there were surviving members of the family, but one does not know whether they were a part of the attack. If you have any information regarding this event, or past attacks, please do not hesitate to owl us at the Daily Prophet immediately.
Banging his head on the desk, he only resulted in Madam Pince grabbing him by his ear and pulling him out of his seat.
"I warned you, Mr. Potter. Any shenanigans and you would be out of my library. Now do not come back. Ever."
"Madam Pince," He began, but was cut off by her glare. "Er… do you think I could have a copy of that edition?" She looked over her shoulder at Sirius, who was currently personifying the idea that puppy dog eyes do get you what you want, and sighed.
"I suppose so. But don't come in here again!"
James and Sirius fled the corridor, and walked towards Gryffindor tower.
"Well," Sirius said after a few minutes of silence, "Do you want to talk to her, or should I?" James shook his head, and then replied,
"Lily wants to deal with this on her own. I think she needs to deal with it on her own. You remember when we er… crashed that party she was having in fourth year?" Sirius smiled as he remembered.
"Ah yes, the summer bash."
"Well, I hung around after you left-"
"So that's why I got lost!" James shook his head, chuckled, and then continued.
"Anyway, I hung around after you left, and heard Lily's sister Tuna-face say that Lily was a freak and it was all Lily's fault the party was ruined."
"Well, that's hardly true. I did bring dungbombs." James sighed.
"Yes, I know Sirius, it was your fault. What I'm trying to say is that Lily might think it's her fault. And right now, nothing we say will help her. Plus, I don't want her throwing anything at me or hexing me."
Sirius nodded sagely. "Wise choice, wise choice."
"So we'll do everything we can to cheer her up. And don't tell Moony or Wormtail. No one except us knows. So, Operation Cheer up Flower is a go?"
"Perfect. Although I think it needs a different name. How about Operation Use Sirius' wity genius and mad skills to cheer up the person who should be in love with Prongs who is Padfoot's best friend?"
"No Sirius."
"Hey, I tried."
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Aight, okay, so now that I've hit the 3rd chapter, maybe I should do some reviewer responses. Yup xD Oh, and I'm going on vacation for Memorial Day weekend, so don't expect a chapter after this one for at least a week. I have vacation, then my final exam spanish oral presentation (MY teacher is evil) and my art final project along with exams… but luckily only like, a week left of school. It doesn't feel like it though. For instance, I'm sitting here wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants, cause it's freezing. It should be warmer out x.x
Anyway, responses!
Ghausia: Heh xD Poor Sirius. He gets a few good (happy) lines though.
Yellowcard-1991: Wow, thanks. I'm updating as soon as I can xD Now, if you could just convince my english teacher that I'm a good writer… I've had B's the entire year, and my mum is getting angry. Well, she should be angry, considering she's a college english teacher herself.
REally, having an English Teacher for a parent is so not fun. Long car rides are spent reviewing vocabulary. And having debates about whether or not Shakespeare wrote his plays. Oh, and then whole "I'll just let my English teacher parent read over my essay!" Yeah, no fun. She reads my essays, tells me that they're carp, and makes me re-write it. I even did an experiment, though. I wrote one essay the morning it was due. Like, an hour before school, I started it. Another paper I started 4 days beforehand, had my mom go over it, and then revised it. The paper I wrote the morning of I got an A, the paper she revised I got a B. And they were both short stories. But enough about me complaining, back to the responses xD
grinningangel: Okay, so it WAS going to be only two chapters. And then I realized my chapters would be uberly long and I didn't want to deal with that. Plus I know my dear friends have short attention spans –dodges thrown stapler-
FanFictionFantom: Glad to hear you like it xD Your name keeps reminding me about Phantom of the Opera. My friend is so obsessed with that… I pretend to play piano whenever I hear it xD Found this really cool rock version of the opening, complete with electric guitar… well, I'll stop babbling xD
Blue mariposa: I love L/J's too xD I dunno, reading stuff like Hr/R and H/Gin just doesn't cut it. I guess cause the series is still being written, and I want to see what JK Rowling writes. Of course, I'll read it. I'll read anything, really. I just prefer L/J's, heh xD
Tuttleh: PNG Yay you reviewed! And Yay, it's in character. I was having a problem with that, heh xD
Ashey (Peppy): Yesh you should have signed as Ashey. Do I call you anything else? xP Yay, glad to hear you liked it. And I'm glad I made Sirius not seem stupid. Although I think a few of the lines I'm giving him soon are stuff I've said, so he might turn out more stupid than originally planned x.x OH well xD
So after you've finished reading this, review tons, so when I come back from vacation I can be like "Aw, I have reviews! Now I'll go do my spanish final project." And if you think it's terrible, tell me what to fix. I've written most of this starting at around 7 PM ish, taking a break for dinner. And for dessert. Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite! -yawns and falls asleep-