Disclaimer: Characters and settings are property of J.K. Rowling. What you don't recognize is mine.
Author's Note: This is not, I repeat, not, the sequel to 'A Marauder's Girl.' Yes, this is set in the Marauder time frame, but it's an entirely different story. The character names might seem familiar, but I've changed quite a few personalities from that story, and this should not be taken as related in any way to that universe. You've been warned.
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Time of Our LivesChapter 3 – Trials and Tribulations of War
August 1976
In the days leading up to the imminent beginning of her seventh year at Hogwarts, Lily spent a good deal of time pondering her rather odd exchange with one Lucius Malfoy. Janine had gone home ages back to spend time with her father, as her mother went away nearly every summer. Good friends though they were, Janine did not confide everything in her, but Lily could tell from her slightly downtrodden expression as she'd left the Evanses' house that there was something in particular she didn't like about being home during the summer. Lily wisely hadn't pressed, but she resolved to find out during the course of the year.
Dorcas, in the meantime, had called out of the blue about two nights after their drinking session in the Serpent's Tongue. Lily had a sneaking suspicion that the other girl was slightly tipsy when she called, as she kept giggling every other sentence. Nevertheless, Lily assured her that she was home safe (never mind that it had been two days since then) and to enjoy herself, which it seemed like Dorcas was doing anyway.
I do wonder what Malfoy wanted to say to me, she mused, staring out the window thoughtfully. I never did find out, did I? Something to do with the war, he said. She paused. He couldn't have wanted me to join his side; that would be ridiculous. I'm a Muggleborn. Like his high-and-mighty Lord would want a lowly Mudblood like me in his ranks. Lily straightened up. Well, that's his loss, isn't it? Not that I'd ever join anyway.
Lily sighed and turned her attention to a pile of textbooks that seemed to be glaring at her. It was already two weeks in August, and Lily hadn't even begun her summer work. Some Head Girl I'll be, she thought rather morosely. She'd gotten the letter only three days before, informing her of the decision. She was thrilled, although she'd expected it, but that enthusiasm quickly evaporated as she realized just how much work she was going to have in the coming year.
Well, you wanted it, she thought, and pulled one of her newer textbooks towards her. She'd only been to Diagon Alley yesterday to buy all her new books, and there were quite a lot this year. Seventh-years were often required to attend seminars on topics not covered in their classes. From what Lily's Head of House, Minerva McGonagall, had told her, these seminars had only become a recent addition to their course-load, since the official beginning of the war.
While Lily had no problem whatsoever with learning more to prepare herself for their war-stricken world, she did object to the amount of work they'd received because of it. McGonagall had told her, quite sternly, that the homework was required, as they would attend more than one seminar on the particular topics, and no, the homework was not optional, and certain seminars were mandatory. Take, for example, the one on Magical Ethics.
Lily fully understood the need for it in times such as these, particularly since Bartemius Crouch, head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, had recently given Aurors license to use the Unforgivables as they saw fit. People were uneasy with the thought of spells and potions that, although they required permits to use, could do so much harm if used incorrectly.
Although Lily understood the need for precaution, she personally had to agree with Bartemius Crouch in one respect: the ends did justify the means, at least in times of war. She had always considered herself a very ethical person, but certain times called for drastic measures. And with so many people being murdered left and right, she could hardly blame such drastic measures.
Lily glanced at the essay topics she had to choose from: (1) Describe, in detail, why permits are of particular importance in regards to more complex and powerful charms, potions, and Spellwork, or (2) Choose a particular potion or spell from the list given, and discuss its uses and whether or not such uses are ethical, with particular emphasis on given situations, and if and how the usage of such potion or spell can and should be controlled, or (3) Take a stance on the subject of the use of Unforgivables in recent times, and state your opinion. Be certain to back up your claim with evidence, with particular emphasis on given situations.
Lily bit her lip. The first one was sufficiently vague, and the third was a hot debate at the moment, one that most parents discussed at dinner parties whenever the conversation lagged and a new topic had to be brought up. Most were likely to do one of those two, as they were undeniably easier and required less research. The second one, however, was specific and would have to be researched in detail.
She sighed. She could almost hear the seminar leader, whoever he or she was, asking students to discuss the three topics and what they had written about. She decided, at once, that she would hear far more about those two topics than she would ever want to, and decided on impulse to pick a particularly obscure potion for her essay.
Pulling her new Ethics textbook towards her, she began to flip through, humming. She glanced at the list, and saw a number of familiar potions and spells: Polyjuice Potion, Amortentia, Cheering Charms – Lily raised her eyebrows at that, surely those weren't dangerous? – Veritaserum… The list went on. Lily could understand the reasons for a good few of them, although she snorted when she saw the word Alcohol scribbled on – what the devil did that have to do with Magical Ethics? It wasn't even a potion or a charm…
Lily sighed. Many of them were commonplace, and none particularly struck her interest. Perhaps Polyjuice, or Veritaserum… she stopped, suddenly, astonished, as she looked down the list and caught two words: Felix Felicis.
Lily sat back thoughtfully. Well, that was certainly interesting. She'd never thought of that one before. It would be a bit difficult to take a stance on that, wouldn't it? After all, it only made people lucky, so what sort of harm could come from that? The way things were, everyone could do with a bit more luck.
Frowning, she pulled her Potions textbook towards her and began flipping through it, searching the index and then finding the correct page. She read: Felix Felicis, otherwise known as the 'Good-Luck Potion.' This potion is well known to make its drinker lucky and able to succeed in nearly every endeavor they undertake. Dosage depends on the weight of the drinker in question and the potency of the potion. Side effects, mostly caused by excess or over-dosage, include giddiness, recklessness, and overconfidence.
She scowled. Well, that was sufficiently vague to tell her absolutely nothing. She'd heard of the potion before, naturally, and knew everything she'd just read. Well, obviously I'm going to need more research, she said thoughtfully. I'll have to head to the library, I suppose…
A knock came on the door; Lily shut her books and glanced up just as Petunia entered, her thin face bland of any sort of expression. "Dinner's almost ready," she said quietly.
"I'll be down in a minute." Petunia had been much more bearable since Janine had left, for which Lily was profoundly grateful. "Thanks, Petunia."
"Right," her sister replied stiffly. "See you, then." Lily heard her step down the stairs, and mused thoughtfully on her older sister. Lily had never fully understood Petunia's unflinching hatred for anything magical. It might have been because Petunia was not magical herself, but Lily would never dare tell her sister so. Things were bad enough between them as it was.
When Lily sat down at the table at lost, her parents looked at her expectantly. Clearing her throat, Lily explained, "I was flipping through my texts." Carefully avoiding Petunia's eye, she continued, "We've got to attend seminars on all sorts of subjects and things this year, and I had an essay to write for Magical Ethics…" As she detailed the essay, the topic she'd chosen, and the stance she planned to take, she noticed from the corner of her eye that Petunia was growing more and more sullen, merely pushing her food around her plate rather than eating it.
Her parents, on the other hand, seemed absolutely fascinated by what their younger daughter was telling them; Mr. Evans kept interrupting to ask questions as Mrs. Evans repeatedly shushed him. Lily glowed slightly under her parents' praise as she finished, but she noticed that Petunia was scowling fiercely down at her plate as though it had insulted her. She sighed, and asked boldly, "So, Petunia, how're things going with Vernon?"
If she'd hoped to include Petunia in the conversation with this question, she was about to be let down. "As if you care," she snapped, grabbing her half-eaten plate and storming into the kitchen. Lily glanced down at her plate and heard her sister rattling around, making lots of noise, followed by the tell-tale bumps as Petunia stormed up the stairs.
"Don't worry, dear," soothed Mrs. Evans. "She's just a bit jealous of all the wonderful things you're learning, that's all."
Yes, thought Lily wearily. I think that's precisely the problem.
The following day, Lily sat in the magical library at Diagon Alley, all thoughts of Petunia and her parents pushed from her mind. She was surrounded by ancient tomes, including Moste Potente Potions, for which she'd had to argue with the librarian for a good half hour, explaining that it was for a school assignment, even going so far as to wave the assignment in his face, which fortunately bore the school insignia, and convinced him to lend it to her with a stern warning.
"Hi, Lily!"
Startled, Lily glanced up and smiled. Bonnie Robertson was the only Hufflepuff out of their close group of friends, which included Lily herself, Janine, Dorcas, and another Ravenclaw girl named Samantha Griffith. Bonnie was heavily laden-down with books, and Lily quickly jumped up before the shorter girl toppled over.
"Thanks," said Bonnie with relief. "Working on your summer work, then?"
"Magical Ethics," said Lily, waving her parchment of notes. Bonnie nodded understandingly.
"Ooh, yeah, I just finished that one last night – er, this morning. Mum's really been on my case, wants me to get all my work done as soon as possible. Doesn't matter that she's a Muggle and doesn't understand a word of what I'm writing; she still insists on reading it all through for errors." She made a face. "She told me I need to pull up my Transfiguration grade, and I don't think she even knows what Transfiguration is."
Lily had to laugh at that. "I just tell my parents I'm doing well and they've got nothing to worry about," explained Lily, which wasn't precisely true. She normally gave her parents a full breakdown of what she was doing at school, but since she got excellent grades anyway, it hardly mattered. It felt rather churlish to say this to Bonnie, however, and so Lily kept it to herself.
"Yes, well," said Bonnie, sitting across from her. "What's your topic? I was going to do the one on the Unforgivables, but then I thought everyone would do that, so I just picked the first one. I got a letter from Sam, too," added Bonnie, "and she says she's doing the third one, just because her dad's a Ministry official and all, so he knows a lot about it. Any idea what Dorcas and Janie are up to?"
Lily pursed her lips. "No. I haven't heard from them in a bit. We went out a couple of weeks ago," she added, glancing at Bonnie, "and we invited you along, but you didn't pick up your telephone. And Sam's not here, so—"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I must've forgotten to tell you. I was visiting my Auntie in Edinburgh for a week, so that might have been why." Lily nodded understandingly. "Where did you girls go?"
"The Serpent's Tongue," said Lily, and the name brought back memories of that night. Bonnie had to smirk, just slightly, and the look seemed almost foreign on her face.
"Oh, I see. Janine's choice, I bet, wanting to hook up with Travers. Can't imagine why; did you know he shoved me out of the hall last year after exams and called me a filthy, worthless Mudblood?" Bonnie's cheeks were turning red with anger. "Who does he think he is?"
"Just ignore him," said Lily soothingly. "He's a git; it's not worth wasting your time trying to justify his actions. And don't bother telling Janine; she'll just say he's acting up, have a chat with him about it, and he'll be pathetically nice to you in front of her, but even worse when she's not around."
"Ah. Been on the boat with this one, have you?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "Numerous times. I've finally given up. He can call me what he likes. Doesn't change the fact that I beat him out every year in Arithmancy," she said with a satisfied smile. Bonnie laughed.
"You beat most of us out in our subjects, Lily," said Bonnie smilingly. "So, then: are you Head Girl?" Lily smiled, slightly. "Hah! I knew it!"
"Please be quiet," said a cool voice. "You're in a library, you know." Lily scowled at the old librarian, and he skulked off. Bonnie quieted a bit, but she was no less enthusiastic.
"Ooh, I knew you would be; you were a shoe-in, though Sam will be jealous, I know she's always wanted the position…" Lily winced, slightly. Especially in the last year, her friendship with Sam had been a bit strained, as the other girl had been engaged in a fierce competition for the badge. Nevertheless, Lily had still expected it, and was not surprised when she'd received it. Sam, on the other hand, was likely to be slightly bitter.
"I suppose I have some damage control to do, then, don't I?" she sighed. Bonnie nodded sympathetically. "Well, I'm sure she'll get over it soon."
"Eventually," agreed Bonnie. She glanced at Lily's stack of books. "My, you're doing quite a bit of research, aren't you? What's your topic?"
"Felix Felicis." Bonnie gave her a puzzled look, and Lily remembered that Bonnie wasn't in her N.E.W.T. Potions class. "Potion that makes you lucky."
"Oh! I think I read a reference to that, once, in something…" She screwed up her eyes, trying to think, and then shrugged. "Well, never mind. I suppose you have quite a bit of research to do, then?"
"Not as much as I thought. I'm really just making sure everything I've gotten is correct so far. After all, most of it is about the ethical part, and that's mostly things I have to come up with on my own."
"Hmm," said Bonnie, and Lily could tell that the other girl was starting to get slightly bored by all the talk of potions. "Well, I've just got to check out these books and then get on back home, Mum wants to make sure I'm actually working and not shopping—" Bonnie rolled her eyes. "But before I go, d'you know who the Head Boy is this year?"
"No idea," said Lily, studying her. "Do you?"
"No, sorry," said Bonnie. "You and Sam are the only ones I've seen or heard from all summer, and Sam's got no idea anyway. Ask Janie or Dorcas, why don't you – one foot in the wizarding world, eh?"
"Both feet, in Janine's case," answered Lily, her attention already returning to her work. "It was nice seeing you, Bon."
"Oh, you too. Have a good rest of the summer!" she added brightly. "We'll see one another on the train I expect."
"Naturally. Same compartment as usual?"
"As usual," agreed Bonnie, and she gave a last wave before heading to the desk at the front of the library. Lily sighed, and sank into the dusty tomes around her once more.
The library remained quiet for a time; it was a nice Thursday afternoon, and most people were doing their shopping or were at work, or they would have been, were it not for the war. Lily knew from experience that the emptiness of Diagon Alley today had nothing to do with it being a Thursday – nobody wanted to be present in case an attack came at Diagon Alley. It was only at night that people felt safe to venture in Diagon Alley to enjoy themselves, but that was because all suspected Death Eaters were out enjoying themselves as well, sometimes in more ways than one. Lily shook herself to rid herself of those thoughts. It didn't matter, either way. She was in the library. Certainly no Hogwarts student would be caught dead in a library during the summer hols; not, of course, unless they were Lily.
"Psst!"
Lily's head snapped up, partially out of annoyance. The old librarian had disappeared, for which she was glad, but there seemed to be a hissing noise coming from a bookcase off to her right. Frowning, she stared at it – and to her shock, saw a pair of gray eyes staring back at her. Forcing herself to believe she'd imagined it, she bent low over her book.
"Hey! Psst! Evans!"
"What?" she snapped in an irritated whisper. She had a good idea of whom those gray eyes belonged to, but the person she was thinking of wouldn't be caught dead in a library any day, let alone one during the holidays.
"Come here!"
"If you want to talk to me," said Lily crossly, "you come here. I'm busy."
"You're right in the view of the win—" The voice cut off abruptly, and seconds later, a shadow fell across her. She glowered up at the librarian. What the devil had she done that he was insisting on checking on her every few minutes?
"Are you almost finished?" he asked in a nasal voice.
Lily gave an impatient sigh. "No, I'm not done, and when I am, I'll let you know, thanks." She added waspishly, "So there's no need to keep hanging over me." She thought she might have heard sniggers from behind the bookcase, but she forcibly ignored them.
The librarian sneered at her and disappeared. Lily waited until he disappeared from sight behind some bookshelves on the second level, and then snuck behind the bookcase to see a grinning Sirius Black. She sighed impatiently again. "What d'you want, Black?"
He grinned at her. "To say hi, Evans. So, hi, Evans."
"Yes, hi," she replied. "Can I go back to my book now?"
"What're you doing in this place? It's a beautiful day out, and—"
"I am working. What are you doing?"
"Well, I saw you when I went on my lunch break," he explained, "and decided to see how our favorite redhead is doing. By the way, why did you send back that album? Didn't you want it?"
Lily paused. "I already had it," she finally lied.
"Ah. Well." Sirius looked as if he didn't quite believe her, and Lily was more than aware that she hadn't done a very convincing job of lying, particularly as said album was nearly impossible to find. "You could have sent a letter saying so," he finally said at last.
"Wasn't worth the effort," she replied with brutal honesty. "So, you've said hello; can I go now?"
"Evans – it's a beautiful day. Take a break from working, or somebody might mistake you for a Ravenclaw. Go outside. Eat some ice cream. Point at people obnoxiously and laugh. Have some fun."
Lily crossed her arms over her chest. "I have work to do," she said. "I don't suppose you've finished all your essays, Black, but then I've never known you to do an honest day's work in your life, so that shouldn't surprise me."
"I've only got two left." Lily stared at him in astonishment. "Most people don't want to come into the apothecary. It smells bad enough on its own, let alone on a hot day. I have lots of spare time, so I spend all my free time doing my essays or reading." He shrugged. "Not much else to do, anyway. Which one are you on?"
"Magical Ethics," she said at last, still quite unable to believe that Sirius Black had gotten further on his summer work than she had. "I'm doing Felix Felicis; I don't suppose you've started yours yet?"
"Ooh, finished that one first. That's the easy one, it is; you can just get the basics about the potion and then bullshit your way through all the ethical nonsense." Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh, God, don't tell me you're actually researching it? Evans, what's wrong with you? You're making more work for yourself!"
Lily could think of no way to reply to this, so she settled on saying, "You're a lazy sod."
"Most likely," he agreed with a grin. "I did mine on the Draught of Living Death and why the Ministry requires the maker to own a permit beforehand. I did loads of nonsense about how, if the ingredients are bought all at the same time or even over the course of a short period of time, the owner of the apothecary has to let the Ministry know so they can investigate." His grin widened. "Advantages of working in an apothecary, Evans."
"Sounds terribly boring to me," she retorted, although she couldn't help but be impressed. It was obvious that most of what he'd needed had been at hand, and when stating whether or not the permits were a reasonable restriction, he'd clearly made up what he wanted.
"Yep. Four rolls of parchment, that one. It's the easiest one, Evans, I suggest you get started on that bloody awful Transfiguration work on duplication. Most of the books in this place are already checked out," he informed her, and added innocently, "but the Potters have a fairly extensive library, so I'm sure James would be willing to lend you a few books if you were to—"
"Sod off, Black!" Lily cried, only remembering halfway through to lower her voice. Sirius sniggered at her again. "All right, you, I understand that you're Potter's PR or whatever, but I am not interested. I never have been. I didn't want to date Potter last year, the year before that, or the year before that. And, as is evidenced by past trends, I still do not want to date him."
"You don't know him."
"I don't want to know him; that's the point I've been trying to make for years!" Lily started to huffily stalk away; Sirius grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
"All right, all right, just forget it. It was just a joke, Evans, don't be so uptight. Now come on, check out your books and we'll go have ice cream together. I'll tell you how Meadowes and I took Jamie on a drinking spree; you can tell me how you went off with Malfoy. I'll even carry your books for you," he wheedled.
"How did you know about all that?" she asked suspiciously. "Me and Malfoy, I mean?"
"Meadowes told me so, obviously." He looked surprised. "I imagine it wasn't a secret, and she did say you were just talking. Weren't you?" he added, just as suspicious as she'd been.
"Very much so. As if I'd consent to touch Malfoy; I told him to bugger off not ten minutes after we started talking. All right," she finally agreed, "ice cream. But any comments about how wonderful Potter is, and I—"
"My lips are zipped," he told her, motioning so. "Come along now, Evans. I'll get your books for you."
Lily felt a bit less irritable once they'd reached the ice cream parlor. Mr. Fortescue knew her quite well by then, and he was more than happy to sneak the pair of them free sundaes. Sirius cast her an odd look. "You know old man Fortescue?"
Lily glanced up at him. "Oh, yes. See, when I hit about fifteen, staying at a Muggle home did get dreadfully boring, so I started coming here quite a lot during the summers. Once or twice, before sixth year, Mum even let me spend the night in the Leaky Cauldron. I suppose Mr. Fortescue just got used to seeing me here, and he started giving me free ice cream on his slower days." She didn't add that Mr. Fortescue had confided in her, once, that most of his days were slow, what with the war. Nobody wanted to stop for a bite of ice cream; they just bought what they needed and rushed back to the relative safety of their homes, barely pausing to chat or even breathe. Lily could believe it; in the weeks after an attack (which were getting more and more frequent), Diagon Alley was always noticeably emptier than usual. Even now, there was nobody about; Diagon Alley was unusually (or usually) empty, with only the occasional witch hurrying by with her parcels, not making eye contact. Lily tried to summon up a smile and turn her thoughts to lighter topics. "He's a very nice man."
"Sure," said Sirius agreeably. "You know who else is a nice man?"
"Don't you dare—"
"I was going to say Jonathan Thatcher," said Sirius with a smirk, "but I've no idea whom you were thinking about." Lily glowered at him. Why was it that every time she saw Sirius Black, she wanted to do nothing better than strangle him?
Then she sighed. "Go on, then. Who's this Thatcher?"
"Came into the apothecary a few days back. I've a sneaking suspicion that he might be our new Defense professor."
Lily perked up. "Really?" she asked with a great deal of interest. "What makes you say so?"
"Nothing, just was saying to Mr. Jones – my boss – that he'd be spending a lot of time at Hogwarts." Sirius's eyes twinkled. "Well, the only available position is for Defense, isn't it?"
"I suppose," she answered, slightly doubtful now. "Although, you know, he might just be doing a seminar."
Sirius deflated slightly. "Hadn't thought of that. Anyway, he seems a decent bloke. Used to work in the DMLE," he continued, "or at least that's the gist of what he was saying. I think he may have been a Hit Wizard. Said he's doing a favor for an old friend."
"Interesting." Lily sat back thoughtfully, ignoring her melting ice cream. "Did he seem – I don't know, knowledgeable?"
"No idea, really. Just heard him chatting a bit, and when he spotted me, he asked if I went to Hogwarts and what I thought of my courses. Then he asked where I wanted to go in life."
"What did you tell him?"
Sirius grinned. "I told him I planned on becoming a male hooker in the slums of Knockturn Alley." Lily's jaw dropped. "Joking, Evans. No, I said I was thinking about going into the Ministry. Which I am. Preferably, you know, to get rid of the idiots who run us now and then slowly start my world domination plan, though I didn't tell him that." He gave Lily a pitying look. "Oh dear, now I've told you my secret. I suppose I shall have to kill you, then."
Lily gave him a dry look. Without deigning to reply, she spooned ice cream into her mouth. "You've been working all summer?" she asked him, smoothly changing the subject.
He gave her an amused glance. "In the apothecary," he agreed. "Haven't seen a lot of Potter because of it, too."
"And his name comes up. Inevitably." Lily's voice was coolly sarcastic. "I give up. It's absolutely worthless to try and carry on a normal conversation with any of you idiots, because his name always comes up and then you go on about how wonderful he is and it doesn't seem to strike home that I don't care—"
"Evans, take a deep breath." Sirius was giving her that infuriating smirk again. "All I said was that I haven't seen him much because I've been working. In case you haven't noticed, I've yet to sing his praises."
"Today," she said scathingly.
"Yes, today. I may sing them tomorrow, but it hardly makes a difference, as it's very unlikely that I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled and dug into her ice cream, having already finished his. She gave it up as a lost cause and pushed the bowl towards him, to his obvious delight. "Can't we just enjoy a pleasant conversation?"
"I've never had a pleasant conversation with you in my entire life, Black."
"Yes, well, when have you ever bothered to have a conversation with me at all?"
"Third year," replied Lily with an exasperated look. "You talked about James. For an hour." She smiled briefly. "Almost thought you were lovers."
Sirius snapped his fingers; she stared at him. "Were we that obvious?"
"That is an aspect of you that I never wanted to know about," she said dryly, and stood up. "Fun though this has been, Black, I must be getting on. Because as much as I enjoy spending time with you like this—" Her rolled eyes were an indication that she'd never enjoyed anything less, "—I do have quite a bit of summer work left to do. So if you'll excuse me…"
She started away, but his voice called her back. "Evans." She turned; his expression was a bit hard.
"If you're about to sing Potter's praises now that I'm leaving—"
"Merlin, is that all you think about?" His voice was slightly disgusted; he immediately controlled it. It startled Lily to realize that he was actually annoyed with her. "I wasn't just seeking out the displeasure of your company. I came to warn you."
"Did you." Her voice was indifferent. "What about?"
His black hair had fallen attractively into his face, but since the third year (or the fourth, rather, Lily admitted without shame, for there was nothing wrong with fancying Black even after realizing he was a pillock, because he was very handsome), that sort of thing had stopped causing her heart to flutter.
"Malfoy's a royal bastard," he said at last, "and he didn't seek you out for the displeasure of your company either, all right? He obviously wanted something." His eyes hardened. "Don't give it to him."
"If you're suggesting that I'd have sex with Malfoy, you're as far off as you could be," she informed him. He rolled his eyes.
"I wasn't referring to sex, Evans, although if you want to shag Malfoy, you're more than welcome to. I don't care, although James might. What I mean is, he really wanted something. I know Malfoy. He's probably going to marry my cousin. I don't particularly like him, but I've been forced to associate with him, and I do know one thing about him: if he didn't want something from you, he'd hardly lower himself to speak with you. To him, you matter less than a Bundimun. So unless you had something he needed…"
"I doubt I have anything he couldn't get elsewhere," Lily interrupted. "So don't concern yourself over my welfare, Black."
"I was hardly worried for your welfare, Evans," he replied just as coolly. "I was referring to the welfare of the Wizarding World as a whole, in particular the students at Hogwarts. Or didn't you notice that Malfoy is a Death Eater?"
Lily paused. "You've no proof of that," she said at last, very carefully.
"Do you believe, for even a moment, that he isn't?"
Lily looked around carefully, to ascertain that nobody was looking, and then sat down again. "All right, I don't," she finally said in a lowered voice, "because you're right, he probably is a Death Eater. I still don't see what—"
"Evans, if you want me to compliment you, I will. You're smart. Very smart. One of the smartest witches to come through Hogwarts; everyone says it." He gave her an exasperated look. "That's enough to entice Malfoy and the like he serves. They'd want you on their side. Losing you would be…"
"…Ridiculous," she finished. "Black, I'm Muggleborn. I'm the very thing they hate."
"If they needed you badly enough," he replied, "I don't think it would matter." He gave her a twisted smile. "Although they would probably kill you after you'd served your purpose."
She frowned at him. "Everyone tells me that you are fully capable of spouting off poetry and romantic witticisms at the drop of a hat, but you never seem to do so around me. I can only conclude that these rumors are just that – rumors and lies – or that you're in love with me and are thus incapable of being anything but a malicious prat around me."
"I'm not malicious," he said, pretending to be injured. The air relaxed; the tension vanished and Lily's shoulders relaxed. "Nor am I in love with you, Evans, I reserve that right for my best mate." She rolled her eyes at that, unable to summon up the energy to glower. "So get on with you, then. I've given you my warning."
"Finally," she said with some relief, and hoisted her books further in her arms and began to walk away. To her exasperation (but not to her surprise), he called her back once more.
"Evans!"
"What, Black?" She turned, impatient to leave and deposit the heavy books somewhere – preferably on her bed or her floor.
His face was inscrutable. "Be careful. Okay?" And with that, he left his ice cream (well, hers) half-eaten and walked back into the apothecary.
Lily waited until he was out of sight, before sighing. "As if I'd ever be anything but," she murmured, and clutching her books tighter, she apparated home.
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A/N: I apologize for the length of time it took to update. I've been so busy that I scarcely have time to breathe (Free time? What is this free time you speak of? Certainly nothing that exists in my life), and if you can believe it, this chapter was already WRITTEN and I only just got around to editing it. I also stopped editing halfway through because I got bored so if you see mistakes, feel free to point them out and I'll fix them. Speaking of mistakes, I spotted one in the author's note at the end of the last chapter: I said there that Andromeda was five years older than our friends, which is impossible, as it makes her the same age as both Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Black, and I know that in my version, Andromeda and Bellatrix are most definitely NOT twins. So, Andromeda is four years older. My bad. On the note of Andromeda, if you do the math, you may discover something odd. (You probably wouldn't do the math, unless you're an anal-retentive freak like I am. I'm a sucker for details.) In any case, the oddity goes something like this: Nymphadora Tonks is born in 1973. Andromeda Tonks, nee Black, graduated in 1973.
You do the math on that one.
If I ever get around to writing my Andromeda/Ted fic (which I hopefully will; it's already in the works), her entire scandalous history will be revealed. Look out for that one, would you? On the note of other fics, Shades of Grey is coming along. I swear. I just happened to have this one written, so it took me all of two minutes to get it ready to post once I was satisfied. SoG 2, on the other hand, is not even written yet. It's in the makings, though. Keep a sharp eye out for it!
Drop me a review and I will be motivated to write sooner. On a bright note, I have a nice long weekend coming up, and though I have plenty to do over that weekend, I will try and make the time to write if I can. Thanks for being patient! Peaches