Mischief Managed Chapter 6, a harry potter fanfic

Disclaimer: JK Rowling created and owns all Harry Potter related material that I may reference in the course of my story… but the plot is mine, thank you very much!!!

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed!!! I would like to point out at this point that Lily does not hate James. In fact, I think ( or rather, I know) she thinks he's quite a nice guy. I've gone to the trouble to explain Lily's point of view on James in this chapter, just to clarify the situation for everyone. Anyway, read on for a chapter of mistaken intentions and marauder mischief! Reviews are always appreciated, especially if I get an extra ten before next chapter xx - Lexie

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chapter Six: In which the Marauders go marauding and James loses his temper

Every night that week, Emmeline had been sitting in the common room with the girls. Alice was in love with Frank Longbottom, and while Isadora and Marlene were fascinated, Emmeline was bored with all their "talks".

Instead she focused her attentions on the three boys in the far corner, who appeared deep in discussion. Remus Lupin was extremely pale on Monday night, and as the week progressed he continued to look even worse. Emmeline liked Remus quite a lot, having had spent some time studying with him and Lily in the library last year. Now, Lily seemed to be too busy to meet up for their weekly meetings, and without her the little threesome had fallen apart.

Some nights, James joined the boys. Emmeline noticed their difference immediately. Sirius became more animated, Remus made more of an effort to look lively, and Wormtail was more eager. She felt sad, now, watching the three of them alone. Without James, the Marauders seemed deflated, which she could relate to. Emmeline missed Lily just as much, if not more so.

Lily seemed to be too busy these days to visit her friends. She was always on patrol, or spending time with the fabulous Art, or studying. And really, Emmeline didn't find Art that fabulous. He was egotistical and selfish, and thought so highly of himself that Emmeline was surprised Art hadn't suggested renaming Ravenclaw Quidditch team the Soaring Scamanders, or something equally as vomitous. And the team wasn't even that talented!

Emmeline stood up decisively. "I'm going to visit Lily," she told the surprised girls, who nodded, sent their greetings with Emmeline and returned to their discussion of children's names.

Emmeline let herself out of the portrait hole and made her way down the closest staircase. The Head's tower was on almost the opposite end of the castle to the Gryffindor tower, but luckily for Emmeline, her path fell directly in line with the Ravenclaw common room. As she passed the corridor that led toward it, she was tempted to go and ask if she could see Benjy Fenwick. But that was stupid because she had only spoken to the quiet, handsome Fenwick three times, and Emmeline didn't think she would know what to say.

So instead, she headed for the Head's Tower, and quite by chance ran into James Potter.

"Hi Em," he greeted her softly, hands shoved deep in his pockets, a frown creasing his brow.

"Is Lily in the tower?" Emmeline responded almost immediately, then kicked herself mentally. Of course Lily was in the tower. From the look of James, it seemed she wasn't alone, either.

"Scummy there too?" she asked, in a softer voice. James nodded sadly.

Emmeline smiled kindly, amazed that Lily had refused to notice this wonderful, sensitive boy who stood before her, miserably suffering the effects of unrequited love.

"Hold in there James," she told him kindly.

He smiled sadly. "Oh, I will," he reassured her. "Lily's worth it. I'm just not sure I deserve her."

Emmeline scoffed. "That's ridiculous," she told him. "You're three fold nicer and smarter and more talented than Scummy. Lily just… can't get past his looks I guess."

James laughed wolfishly. "Thanks, Em. That makes me feel much better. Scummy's more attractive, is he? I always thought he looked a little girly."

Emmeline rolled her eyes. "Fishing for compliments, are we? Yes, Art is very pretty. But I think you have nicer eyes."

James nodded slowly, looking very thoughtful. "Do you fancy a trip to the kitchens, Em?" She must have looked surprised, because James immediately sought to clarify his offer. "I guess we're both a little lonely without Lily, that's all. And my misery would sure love some company."

Emmeline looked up at him thoughtfully. "You really do like her, don't you James?"

He nodded shortly, a faint tinge of red staining his cheeks. "How about that supper, Vance?"

Emmeline laughed. "Fine, then, Potter. Lead the way."

"Art?" Lily asked, lying in his arms on the bed.

They had just finished a particularly intense kissing session, and as usual her boyfriend now chose to lie in silence.

"What, Lily?"

"Am I attractive?"

Art sat up, raising his eyebrows. "I think so. Potter thinks so too. Mind you, I haven't seen much of you to tell. But from what I've seen, Lily, you're very beautiful."

Lily nodded shortly, and waited for Art to lie back down. Instead, the boy stood up, tossing the blonde curls from his eyes.

"Actually sweetheart, I have to go. I promised I'd see the boys tonight, I knew you wouldn't mind."

Lily nodded again, and left it to Art to show himself out.

Not for the first time, she wondered what Art saw in her. Not a lot, obviously, as all he ever spoke about was himself, and it seemed that all he thought about, regarding her, was that she had a pretty face and that he hadn't seen her naked. Lily sighed. She hoped there was more to love than this, she really did. But who knew? Petunia had married a fat, ugly, foul tempered, well off man. Vernon did not appear particularly affectionate either, and perhaps this was the normal thing. Maybe love was about selfishness.

Lily made her way down stairs, feeling the need for a good book. Searching the study, she was pleased to discover a small, tatty copy of muggle fiction hidden between two old spell books. Pride and Prejudice was exactly what she needed.

Lily woke up to the sound of laughter. Sitting up on the lounge, her book slid to the floor unnoticed as she saw James and Emmeline enter the common room together, laden with a small feast. Both stopped when they saw her, looking surprised.

Lily was equally as shocked. James and Emmy?

"Ummm… hello?" she asked.

James smiled. "What happened to Art?" he asked tightly.

"Oh, he left ages ago."

James and Emmeline exchanged a look that Lily couldn't read. They seemed to come to an agreement, however, and moved forward to set the food down on the table in the centre of the room.

"Ice cream, Lily?" Emmeline offered.

Lily frowned. "Can I have a word with you for a moment, Em?" she asked cautiously.

James and Emmeline exchanged another secret look before Emmeline nodded. Lily promptly dragged her into the study and shut the door.

Turning to her friend, she raised her eyebrows. "I thought you liked Benjy?"

Emmeline's mouth gaped, surprised, but Lily pushed on.

"Not that I mind, I think it's nice that you've found someone. Potter is nice enough, and Merlin knows it means he might grow up and stop annoying everyone if he has a girlfriend… But I guess I just wanted to tell you I'm happy for you both."

Emmeline looked at Lily hopelessly, shaking her head. "You idiot," she giggled. "James and I aren't together!"

It was Lily's turn to look equally as shocked. "But – you two, just then…"

"I was coming to find you, and I found him instead looking sad, and he told me you were with Art, so we went to the kitchens together. I cheered him up, because he's my friend and team mate and he looked sad, Lily. There's nothing else there, I promise."

"Huh," Lily responded stupidly. "If you say so, Em. You two look good together."

"Save it, Lily," Emmeline told her patiently. "He's only got eyes for one girl."

"Really?" Lily asked, surprised. "I've never noticed. Who?"

Emmeline felt like smacking her head against a wall at this point. Instead she shrugged. "That's for me to know, and for you to find out," she told her mysteriously. "Now if you'll excuse me, my ice cream is melting."

"Where have you been?" Sirius hissed as James slipped out from beneath his invisibility cloak to join the Marauders in the seventh year dorm.

James shrugged. "Busy, sorry. I got here as soon as I could."

Sirius frowned. "Nice commitment, mate. Anyway, Moony left about an hour ago so we've got to hurry if we want to catch him."

The grounds were eerily quiet as the boys made their way across the grassy slopes toward the Whomping Willow. The lake glowed in the moonlight, still and silent and glassy. A breeze ruffled through the trees of the Forbidden Forest, and somewhere not too distant something moved about the undergrowth. When they arrived within 10 yards of the tree, which was contentedly still and silent, Peter transformed from beneath the cloak and dashed off to hit the tree root which would freeze the willow's wrath. That done, James and Sirius slipped out from beneath the cloak, which James folded and placed snugly hidden amongst the tree roots, before setting off down the tunnel.

"Hello," Remus greeted them shakily as they entered single file into the Shack, always cautious. Remus' skin was tinged a particularly greyish colour, and his skin was damp with sweat.

"I think you'd better trans- ERGGGHHHH!"

James flinched involuntarily at his friend's howl of pain. He looked away, unable to bear the sight of Remus' transformation, even though he'd seen it many times before. Remus' body would freeze, and then all at once his limbs would elongate, looking as though they threatened to tear his skin. His skin… grey increasingly greyer, and sprouted patchy grey tufts of hair. His skull would lengthen until it was all angles, very sharp, and resembled nothing of the kind, gentle boy James knew was trapped inside. And his eyes…. Remus' wonderfully soulful eyes transformed into hard golden stones with pinpricked pupils, glinting with malice.

With a thought, James too transformed. The stag within him panicked, as always, at the claustrophobic nature of the shack. James felt a paw on his shoulder, and turned to regard Sirius, a great, shaggy black dog with sparkling, deep black eyes, who was watching him solemnly.

There wasn't a lot of time for solemn understanding however… the werewolf was released. He sat, panting on the hearthrug, and staring at the dog, stag and rat in a rather confused fashion. It wasn't that he was interested in eating them. It was more a question of what they were doing there.

Seeing Remus like this inevitably caused the boys to experience a sharp pang of sadness. He obviously didn't recognise them. Nor would he recall their inevitable adventure the following morning. Remus received small consolation in the outrageous and oft-exaggerated tales of their escapades the following morning as he recovered.

Thankfully, there was one time that Remus would never remember. It was enough that he had to deal with the possibility that he would have harmed Snape.

The werewolf was still looking toward the stag, dog and rat questioningly. He lifted his nose in the air and sniffed. Clearly displeased by the stale, musty smell of the shack, he whined.

Sirius and James exchanged a nod and approached him. Remus panted, still unsure of what to make of them. He sniffed again, then grinned a wolfish grin, recognizing their smell. Remus stood up and wagged his tail, ready for another adventure. Sirius padded toward the door and stood on his hind legs, turning the handle with his paws…

Several gruelling hours later, as the door to the Shrieking Shack closed, Sirius, James and Peter transformed back into themselves. With their animagi forms disappeared the numerous cuts and bruises that had been carved across their bodies during the night. Weary, the three exchanged a look of exhaustion before retreating down the passageway.

James whispered his password to the Carved Witch, and promptly snuck back into the Head's Tower, fully expecting that Lily would be asleep. It was, after all, well into the early hours of the morning. However, fully contrary to James' expectations and much to his horror, Lily seemed to be standing in the middle of their common room. He rubbed his eyes, exhausted and hopeful that he was mistaken.

"Nice of you to come home," the Head Girl murmured dryly.

James gulped. He definitely was not mistaken. Lily had waited up for him; not only that, Lily was wearing a bathrobe that finished just above her knees. He closed his eyes, trying not to stare at her lovely slim legs.

"Why did you wait up?" he managed, looking extremely guilty.

Lily surveyed the boy standing before her. His shoulders dropped with exhaustion; his hair was sticking up at all ends, looking particularly messy. His handsome face was drawn, and there was a wary, fearful look in his eyes that she did not understand.

Although, really, Lily conceded, there was a lot she did not understand about Potter.

Like, for instance the fact that he was terribly modest about… well, everything, unless she was around. In fact, the confident and charming Head Boy tended to morph instantaneously into an arrogant bully any time she came within his vicinity. It was as if Lily hadn't been properly introduced to the real James Potter, as if she hadn't been allowed to see the real him. And this puzzled Lily to no end, because she knew that he was by no means a horrible person. In fact, unbeknownst to James she had spied him outside the library one day in fourth year rescuing a Hufflepuff boy from several Slytherins, and Lily felt that was probably one of the bravest things she had seen anyone do, considering the Slytherins were sixth years. So, in actual fact, Lily was quite aware that 'Potter' wasn't as horrible and self-absorbed as he pretended to be – which made his moments of stupidity all the more disappointing.

"Li- Evans?" James asked. He was quite concerned, because she a) didn't seem to be talking to him and b) nor did she seem particularly angry. Rather, Lily Evans looked sad.

"I know that you and your friends go out every full moon, Potter," she told him. "I just would have thought that you and Remus and Black might have shown some responsibility for your actions by now. Do you have any idea how dangerous the forest is?" she asked him gently. She had purposely omitted Peter, whom she knew would simply follow his three friends anywhere.

James opened his mouth slowly, and stared. "That's… that's… that's NONE of your business, Evans," he finally managed to announce, his voice a few degrees below cold.

"I just think you might consider growing up and thinking about the consequences of your little escapades, Potter," Lily replied, not one to be easily rebuffed.

"It's none of your business," James repeated stonily. Lily opened her mouth once more to argue, and he cut her off swiftly.

"We're not as silly or immature as you might think, Evans, sitting in the Head's Tower feeling so superior to us mere mortals. Maybe you should grow up and stop looking down on us. Bloody hell! You can't loosen the reigns enough to consider that we know exactly what we're doing out there, you can't trust our instincts or us because you are always right. You couldn't even lower yourself enough to go on one stinking date with me, Lily. Am I so terrible? Maybe it's you who should grow up, Evans."

James turned away, rather aware that Lily's face was burning and her eyes were looking distinctly teary. That seemed to get the message across, he thought brutally as he climbed the stairs.

Lily remained in the middle of the common room, blinking furiously. Stupid, she chastised herself. I deserved that. He's right, I shouldn't have pried. And while the rational side of Lily was blaming herself for James' outburst, the irrational and highly emotional side was slowly disintegrating into a state of self-worthlessness and misery. Was she so callous that she had driven away someone who had reputedly cared about her so deeply? And Art, Lily supposed, would have had exactly the same reaction. Lily bit her lip to stop it wobbling. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Realizing she was standing barefoot in the middle of an empty common room at three in the morning, Lily slowly turned and made her way back up to her room, careful to be quiet.

James listened to Lily getting ready for bed. He sat cross-legged on his own, utterly disgusted with himself. He was always a bit tense after a full moon, something that he was sure was related to the highly-strung nature of his animagi. But to take this out on Lily, who only seemed genuinely concerned, if a little nosey… was completely unacceptable by James' own standards. It was the sort of behaviour, James concluded miserably, that he would expect from Scummy.

Not feeling at all tired, James waited until the sound stopped in Lily's room before quietly making his way back down stairs to sit in front of the fire. James didn't feel much like sleeping.