James Potter woke up on Saturday morning to find his arm wrapped around a certain redhead that had been plaguing his dreams for almost six years. He couldn't move. He wouldn't move. Lily had her hands holding on to his. That was when he remembered all that had transpired the night before. That was also when he remembered what Lily had said to him during a stormy night almost four years before.
Lily and James were sitting alone in the common room. Everyone else had gone up to bed. Lily was reading a book in one of the comfortable armchairs located near the fireplace, and James was watching her read.
"All right, Evans?" he asked, breaking the silence.
"Yes, Potter," Lily said, evidently annoyed. "Everything is fine."
"Well," James said smoothly, "I was just wondering, because most girls are afraid of thunderstorms. If you are, you could always come to me!" James looked across the room at her hopefully.
"Potter," Lily stated sharply, standing up to go to her dormitory, "I trust you'll find that I'm not like most girls. I, for one, enjoy thunderstorms, so if you don't mind, I would appreciate it if you find someone else to use your cheesy pick-up lines on."
"Lily?" James whispered quietly into her ear.
"What do you want, James?" Lily asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes groggily. "I was sleeping!"
"You're not afraid of thunder," James said triumphantly, wagging a finger at her.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Lily asked, peering at the clock on the wall. Suddenly, it hit her. She turned to him, cheeks red and eyes wide. He was smirking.
"That means that you weren't afraid last night," James said, sitting up next to her and smiling widely. "So, you could've stayed in your own room, no problem!"
Lily's eyes went even wider, if that was possible. Her blush now matched her hair color as she stared at him in horror. "How do you know that?" she asked in a small voice.
"You told me at the end of second year," James said simply.
"And you remember?" Lily squeaked nervously.
"Lily, dear," James said, moving closer to her and putting an arm around her shoulder, "I remember it because it was the first time I talked to you without you yelling at me…you only threw a couple of well-placed insults at me, instead."
Lily giggled sheepishly and stood up. "Well, I suppose I should get back to my own room," she said awkwardly.
James let his arm, which was around her shoulders moments before, to drop down beside him with a flop. "Okay," he said, as if in a daze. Merlin, this girl's confusing, he thought to himself as he watched her walk out of his room silently.
When Lily was dressed she knocked on his door. "James?" she said. "Can I come in?"
"I guess," he said gruffly. He was determined not to let her get to him like she did the night before.
"I think it's best if you don't tell anybody about last night," Lily said, twisting her hair around her finger. "I'm sorry."
When James didn't answer, and just kept rummaging through his drawers for a sock, she left the room.
James, however, was not one to keep a secret from his best friends. As he told Remus and Sirius what happened (Peter was again nowhere to be found), they looked at him in astonishment.
"So then," he said, finishing, "she says that she wants to just forget about it, and walks out of my room!"
To James's surprise, there was someone else listening in to the hushed conversation they were holding in a corner of the Gryffindor common room. "Well, she's obviously very confused right now," a quiet voice said from behind James.
"Shayna!" James shouted, jumping up from his armchair in surprise. "Did you hear the whole thing?"
"I heard enough," Shayna said quietly, sitting down next to Sirius. "Don't you understand how Lily's feeling?" she asked James, giving him a scrutinizing look.
"No," James said bluntly.
"Well, she's obviously feeling hurt, since you were ignoring her this whole week. Then she's feeling guilty, because she feels that it's her fault that you were ignoring her. She thought that she did something wrong. She also feels guilty that she faked you out last night. And she's also feeling really confused."
"Why's she confused?" Sirius asked seriously, his eyebrows furrowed down in a frown.
"Well," Shayna said with the air of someone who was stating the obvious, "she used to fight with James. Things used to be simple. James was madly in love with her, and she wasn't. Ever since the end of sixth year that's changed, and she's obviously very confused because things have complicated themselves quite a bit." She took a deep breath before continuing. "Oh, and she's also worried about her sister, who hasn't had a civil conversation with her since the rise of Voldemort."
"What's Voldemort got to do with her sister?" James asked, ruffling his hair. "Lily is Muggle-born, I thought!"
"Yes," Shayna said, "but somehow Petunia—that's her sister—blames Lily for it. Don't ask me how she got that idea in her head. Anyway, Lily's been really depressed about that. From what I heard, she and her sister were best friends before Lily was accepted into Hogwarts. So, Lily's hurt, guilty, confused, and depressed. Oh, and she also fancies James, so that could complicate things, too."
"But," Sirius said, one eyebrow raised in confusion, "how can one person feel so many things at once?"
"Sirius," she said, her voice oozing with disgust, "just because you have the emotional capacity of an eyedropper doesn't mean we all do." She stood up and looked at James. "Please," she said, and her voice was kinder as she spoke to him, "please keep in mind what Lily's feeling."
James nodded, shocked at how complicated a girl's mind was, and stood up. "I'm going down to the Great Hall for some breakfast," he said quietly. "Coming?"
Sirius and Remus stood up and walked down with him, still discussing what to do about Lily.
James and his friends were still talking when the Daily Prophet was dropped in front of him by a big barn owl. He gave the owl a knut and continued talking while unfolding the front page. "I mean, I really don't understand why she can't tell me what she's feeling," James was saying to Sirius and Remus. "I mean, I could help her out and maybe even—" he stopped mid-sentence as he saw the front page.
Mysterious Explosion Kills Twenty—Ministry Officials Baffled
Late last night, an explosion in a crowded Muggle area killed twenty people, five of which were wizards. A mysterious symbol is floating above the street. It is a skull with a serpent protruding from the mouth instead of a tongue. Ministry officials are unable to identify the symbol, though they are able to confirm that this and the explosion were the effects of extremely powerful magic. Using this evidence, the Minister of Magic is quite sure that the attack was by the wizard Voldemort, who is rising to power extremely fast and striking fear in the hearts of wizards and witches all over the world. He is quickly becoming known as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, because of the public's fear of him.
"This man must be taken very seriously," the harried-looking Minister of Magic replied after being questioned. "Investigations are being made, and we have the top Aurors on the case right now. Obviously, we can't tell you who, because if You-Know-Who's supporters are reading this then they will alert him immediately. The only thing the Ministry of Magic can do is to warn people to keep together and learn protective and elusive spells to keep them out of harm's way."
Some of these charms include the Fidelus charm, which makes the house it is charmed upon unable to find, unless the Secret Keeper tells its whereabouts. There is also a charm to make the house Unplottable, so that the house cannot be targeted without prior knowledge of it's (for more the full story on protective and elusive charms, turn to page A5)
James handed the page to Remus, who scanned it quickly, a scowl becoming more pronounced on his face with every line he read.
Professor McGonagall came over to the Gryffindor table, towards where James was sitting. "Potter," she said briskly, "please come with me. There is an urgent matter that I wish to discuss with you."
"Yes, Professor," James said, standing up and jogging after her, as she had already started walking out of the Great Hall and to her office.
"Potter," she said gently as she shut the door to her office, "please sit down."
"If it's all the same to you, Professor," James said quietly, "I think I'd rather stand."
"Very well then," she said, and her voice rang out in the quiet office. "As you know, your parents have joined a secret organization founded by Professor Dumbledore called the Order of the Phoenix."
"Yes," James said nervously, "I know that. But I don't see what that has to do with—"
"Let me finish, Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall said sharply. "They have been called upon by both the Order and the Minister of Magic to aid in the search for Voldemort."
James gaped at her open-mouthed. It was enough that Lily had slept in his bed last night and was now refusing to talk to him. It was enough that Voldemort and his supporters had blown up twenty people last night for the fun of it. It was too much to cope with to have both his parents search for Voldemort. "You're lying," James said, his voice shaking. "No, they can't have done." He was shaking his head violently, and his hands were balled up into fists.
Professor McGonagall put a gentle hand on his shoulder and eased him into a wooden, straight-backed chair. "Listen, Potter," McGonagall said gently, "I know that this must be hard, but they have accepted. They had to. They are the best Aurors in the Ministry, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were almost as good as Alastor Moody. Please understand."
"Yes, Professor," James said dejectedly. "I understand."
"Very well, Potter," she said, her voice now with its usual brisk tone, "that is all. You may leave."
James got up out of the chair and turned to leave. He knew where he was headed. It was a Saturday, and there was only one place he could think of.
I need a place to sit and think, he thought, pacing on the seventh floor opposite the painting of Barnabas the Barmy. I need a place to sit and think. I need a place to sit and think. A door popped up on the bare stretch of wall. "Finally," he breathed, and pushed his way in, looking for a place to be alone. Surely the Room of Requirement would be empty. After all, he and the other Marauders discovered it!
He walked in and saw that he wasn't alone. "Lily?" he asked in disbelief.
A/N: Thanks to everybody who reviewed! This is one of the "not junk-ish chapters", and where the story's actual plot comes in…it's kinda sad, but my friend is reading it and she says its good. I hope you guys think so, too! Review, please :)