Took me a bit longer this time to update... sorry about that. Hopefully it was worth the wait!
'There are more dead people than living. And their numbers are increasing. The living are getting rarer.'
EUGENE IONESCO, Rhinoceros
"So, er, are we alright again?"
Lily looked up from the catalogues from Twillfit and Tattings (not that she'd be buying anything from them – that stuck up French girl shopped in there), that they'd sent on her request for the ball. Not many places sold regency-era styling though, so Lily was a bit tight for options. Unless she decided to brave the inevitable insults and buy something from a muggle shop. That actually merited some consideration, she decided, because maybe she would be able to alter it a little so the fashions would suit the wizarding world better. After all, charms was her best subject.
"Lily?" James cautiously prompted "Er, did you hear me?"
Lily scowled, but the overwhelming feeling of apology James was projecting through the link made it somewhat hard to stay mad at him for any length of time. And she was still too shocked about the whole 'arranged marriage' thing to bother being angry.
"Yeah. I heard you." She muttered. What could she say in this situation? Nothing, that's what! 'Oh, hey James, I heard about your marriage. Congrats. Really chuffed for you; she seems like a right bitch. But she's pretty so it's okay, right' just didn't seem to cut it.
The portrait swung open making Lily turn in shock, grabbing her wand.
"Feisty." Sirius commented lazily, strolling in "Say, Prongs, you wouldn't have a plan for Mission:Frog, would you?"
James's face darkened into a shocking leer "Not yet. Of course, a led weight and a nice, deep lake sounds like a good idea at the moment."
It didn't take Lily long to work out what they were talking about, and she awkwardly stowed her wand. "Black. How do you know the password?"
Sirius threw an amused glance at her over his shoulder "Really, love, I'm a marauder. We know everything."
Lily's eyebrows crawled up her forehead
"What the hell have you done to your eyebrows?" Sirius asked with a snicker "Looks like someone took a cutting-charm to them while drunk!"
Lily's face flooded with colour, and she spluttered with rage. Maybe all those years when she'd hated James, it had actually been Black who was more annoying. Mind you, birds of a feather flock together, and all that. Did that mean she was too weird to have any 'birds of a feather'?
"Lily, what is it with you these days, drifting off into your little world?" James asked, dragging her back to earth "Are you... are you alright?"
Sirius laughed before Lily had an opportunity to answer "She's a few pints short of a piss-up, that's for sure."
Lily's lip curled and her eyes sparked with anger. Rich red hair flying and hands on hips, she stalked over to Sirius. Unfazed, he gazed down at her with one eyebrow cocked, mouth playing with a light smirk.
"Hey, baby." Sirius flirted "Did I mention I like feisty girls?"
Lily snarled "Did I mention I'd like to see you run over by the Knight Bus?"
Sirius laughed "Hey, this one's got balls, Prongsie-Boy, messing with a Marauder like that. I like it. Got any hot friends, Evans?"
Lily faltered. No, she didn't have any hot friends. She didn't really have any friends at all. She half-heartedly considered hexing him until he regretted even mentioning it, but all the fire had gone out of her. Running a weary hand over her forehead, shoulders slumping a little, Lily stepped back away from Sirius and glanced over at James. She could feel a little trickle of worry from their link, but it barely reassured her enough to keep from crying.
"No, Black, I don't have any friends." Lily said quietly, before leaving the stunned boys and locking the door to her room behind her, shutting herself in the sanctuary it provided.
Lily slid down the wood door, back resting on it with her knees pulled up, hugging them to her. She didn't notice at first, but she could still hear everything (well, most of it, and it was a little muffled) that James and Black were saying
"... Can't just go saying those things, Sirius!"
"Why not? It was funny, you have to admit. Plus she looks all hot when she's angry like that. You can't honestly expect me to believe you didn't notice how hot she was? Surely, I mean you had this whopping big thing for her last year, and the year before that!"
She could hear James sighing, and almost imagine him rubbing a worried hand through his hair, ruffling it.
"Look, Padfoot, I know I might have had a thing for her, hell I still think she's gorgeous, but you'd have to be gay not to. But I'm getting married. Married. M-A-R-R-I-E-D. To a half vela. From France. I'm not sure if you're quite getting it."
"So? It's not like you like this French babe, is it? Although personally I think her and Evans are pretty even; both are hot, but neither are exactly easy company, are they?"
"Lily's not that bad." James defended quietly, so quiet Lily had to strain to hear him
"Not that bad?" If she'd had any doubt about what James had said, Sirius had just repeated it loud enough for even the Slytherins, down in their dungeons, to hear "Mate, she's bloody mental!"
"She's going through a rough time, Paddy."
"Rough time? I went through some fairly rough times, and you don't see me walking around with a ten foot pole stuck up my ass!"
"Well, it's a bit different for Lily." James continued
"Lily? Lily? Not Evans anymore, huh? And what's this crap about dancing? Jamie, my old pal, you hate dancing with a passion!"
"You said you were alright with that!" James exclaimed "Bloody hell, I was just doing her a favour!"
"Yeah? Why should you? What's she ever done to you other than turn you down repeatedly and be nothing but horrible, cold and uptight?" Sirius shot back
"She helps me with the Head stuff." James mumbled, but he didn't sound convinced
"Bollocks!" Sirius shouted "That's utter, complete bollocks! Merlin's left testicle, James, don't get drawn in by her sob story! You and I both know that without Moony's help, you'd have crashed and burnt with the Head's wotsits months ago! And that ball, right, you've practically done everything for it! And then you still run around begging teachers on bended knees to let poor little Lily fucking Evans off the bloody hook when they really should be letting you off the hook!"
Silence, and Lily held her breath, the odd tear trundling down her face like a lazy snake on a cold day.
"Padfoot, I know you feel like you're losing your best friend." James began
"No I don't!" Sirius butted in "I don't!"
James ignored him "But I just want you to know, that you're not. I know we haven't done any pranks, really, this year because I've been so busy with everything, and I get that you're irritated about that. But please. Please just bare with me here. I need your support, not you being a snivelling little brother like you are being now."
Silence, again
"Fine." Sirius muttered eventually "Fine, so long as Evans actually does something to help."
Lily bit her lip. She supposed Black did, actually, have a point. She was trying to help by doing things like tidying up and doing the laundry, but in all honesty James probably didn't even notice. Maybe she could offer to help him with his work, but she didn't want to seem like she was saying she thought he was failing. Besides, she wasn't getting that much higher grades than he was.
Then she heard the floorboards outside her room creak, and shot up, swiping her tears away angrily and throwing herself into the chair by the mirror, so whoever it was outside her door wouldn't realise she'd just been listening into their conversation. Er, more like argument, actually.
"Evans?" Sirius called from behind the door "Er, look, I'm sorry I said some of that stuff, but I think I have a point."
"Sirius!" Came James's reprimand
"Er, anyway, Could we come in?" Sirius finished, opening the door and striding in before she could answer.
The three parties stared at each other, Lily taking in James's much-messier-than-usual hair, a sure sign he was stressed and had been ruffling it like her mother had done bed sheets, Black with his hands in his pockets, looking a little sheepish.
"I want to help." Lily said, breaking the silence "I, er, was listening in... sorry about that... and I think Black has a bit of a point. So, if there's anything I can help with?"
"Listening in? Listening in?" Sirius burst out, only to be stopped by James
"Thanks, Lily. That's really good of you. I'm not really sure what you can do, but it's the thought that counts."
Lily fidgeted a bit, hand going reflexively to twiddle a strand of hair, knotting it and braiding it. "Well, I couldn't help but hear about your, ah, marriage. That you don't seem too pleased about. Is there anything I can do to help with that, maybe? I'm not sure what, though. Actually, that was a stupid idea. Ignore me."
James smiled a little and shook his head "Thanks for the offer, but I doubt anything short of insane would change my parent's mind."
Sirius, however, was staring pensively at Lily, before a wide smirk burst over his face like an egg being cracked. In fact, Lily felt sure there should have been a light bulb above the boy's head.
"I've got such a good idea."
That evening, at dinner, Lily found herself eating in the Great Hall. It wasn't something she liked to do; she felt stupid sat on her own when everyone around her was chattering happily, so usually she would gather her dinner and retreat to a safe place to eat it. Unless Frank was there without Alice (a rarity in itself), then she might be brave enough to sit with him.
"So, what do your parent's do?" Pettigrew asked, oblivious to the sudden tense postures of both Lily and James.
"They, erm, they... they... they... I don't know." Lily stuttered out
"You don't know?" Sirius asked, incredulous "Honestly?"
"Um... yeah." Lily said, sipping at her vegetable soup, ignoring James's disgusted look. Clearly he had meant it when he said he didn't like vegetable soup.
"Drop it, Sirius." Remus said lightly "I'm sure there are more interesting things to talk about. How is teaching Dance Class going?"
Lily smiled gratefully at him "Oh, Dance Class is actually more fun than I thought it would be, although it's kinda irritating that the students are so rubbish at it. I guess everyone is, when they start. I mean, the amount of times James fell over when I was first trying to teach him doesn't bare thinking about."
"How come he picked it up so fast if he was so bad at it?" Sirius asked, looking suspicious
"Er, lots of practice?" James offered, picking at his roast beef
Remus, Sirius and Peter all turned to look at him in blatant disbelief
"So, er, any of you boys like the Holyhead Harpies?" Lily asked awkwardly
"Oh, Peter's little sister used to like them, but she died two years ago." Sirius said blandly
Peter gave a sad smile "Sophie was a huge fan of Gwenog Jones, actually. Always badgering Mum and Dad to take her to a signing after a match. In the end, I got her a signed poster for Christmas one year. She treasured it like it was made of solid gold."
Lily's mouth was open slightly, and she closed it before anyone would notice. How could Peter talk about the death of his sister so... normally? It had only been two years! She didn't think she'd ever be able to talk about her parents quite so normally, never mind about in two years time.
"How... this is a rude question, alright, so you don't have to answer. Er, how on earth can you talk about her so normally?" Lily asked cautiously.
Peter looked up, surprised "You know, Lily, the pain of losing a loved one is not something you can even begin to understand until you've gone through it. People theorize and sympathize and try to empathize, but the truth is that no matter what anyone tells you, your pain for losing whoever it was, will always be unique to you. For me, every time I see converse shoes or a net skirt in a lurid green colour, which admittedly isn't often, I cry my eyes out."
The other three Marauders stared at Peter in outright shock. Lily assumed it was because Peter never really voiced his opinion much, or said something so full of wisdom.
"But don't you ever feel like... like mourning your sister will weaken you, make you more vulnerable?" Lily asked, unable to help herself
Peter's eyes met Lily's and a spark of understanding flowed. Peter bowed his head, his limp, watery features saddening "Lily, I can honestly tell you that if someone walked up to me now and told me they could get Sophie back, I would do anything, anything in the world to make that happen. And yes, that terrifies me."
The rest of the meal passed with awkward silences and enough pointless small talk to make Lily wish she'd done as she usually did and eaten in the Head's common room.
The next day Lily woke to that subtle quietness that suggested snow. With a wide grin, Lily flew out of bed, fingers crossed, and pressed her nose elegantly (er...) against the windowpane. There! There it was! Snow! Perfect and new and crisp like new sheets of paper, as soft and yet harsh as her mother had been, as new and yet age-old as her father. It was perfect, Lily concluded, and she dressed eagerly.
Much to her surprise, James was just about to step through the portrait hole, all bundled up with three hats on, an old Gryffindor scarf and a wide grin on his face. He turned and watched her, eyebrow cocked with a question
"Lily?" He said
"James." Lily returned, suddenly realising why she'd woken so early – James must have woken before her and seen the snow, then been so excited that Lily felt it through the link even though she was asleep
"Lily." James repeated, mischief sparkling in his eyes as he took her arm and guided her, with her many layers and fair-isle hat on top of her wild red hair, out through the portrait
"James." Lily copied, a grin curling at her lips with their foolishness
"Lily."
"James."
"Lily."
"James."
"Lily."
"James."
"James."
"Lily." Lily said, before stopping suddenly and looking confused "Wait, wasn't I saying James?"
James grinned widely and pulled her out through the newly-unlocked (if Filch, who was lurking nearby was anything to go by) door and onto the white blanket of snow
"That you were, Lily dear."
Lily nodded as if she agreed and lagged a little behind James, pretending to be taking in the scenery. Of course, his mischief had added to her own high spirits, and she was in the mood for throwing a snowball at an unsuspecting James. The only thing she had to do was control herself so James didn't get a hint of it through the link.
Clasped in her mitten-ed hands sat the innocuous orb of snow. Really, Lily thought, it was so much more beautiful than the glass ones used for Divination. Her moment of pause made James turn around and eye her curiously. Damn it, Lily though. There went her chance at getting him unawares.
"Lily?" James said
Lily, mind made up, walked closer and closer to him, keeping eye contact in the hopes he wouldn't look down and notice what was in her hand. Soon enough she was toe-to-toe with him, looking up at his sparkling hazel eyes with a partly-hidden grin on her face. Oh he so wasn't expecting this.
"Lily?" James croaked again
"James." Lily returned, lifting the snowball and pressing it forcefully into his face and then running, laughing as she went, full pelt for Hagrid's hut.
"Lily!" James yelped, clawing at his face in shock. Peals of laughed tumbled out of Lily's mouth as she crouched behind a crate of... well, she wasn't sure she wanted to know what it was. After all, it belonged to Hagrid.
She glanced over her shoulder, taking in the grounds in the early morning's warm glow. The Whomping Willow was swaying lightly, having already shaken the snow off its branches. The Black Lake was frozen partly, only a sliver in the middle still liquid. Lily liked to think she could see the Squid waving a tentacle out through the hole every now and again, but then again it might have been her imagination. The tops of the trees in the Forbidden forest were coated with white, as if someone had made a tree-sandwich. The world felt muted and peaceful, as always when it snowed. Petunia didn't like the snow; it was cold and wet. No, Petunia was of the same mindset as her father – winter was the gift of the devil, and should be avoided at all costs. Unusually, Lily's mother agreed with Lily. The beautiful, blonde woman would forgo her heels and dresses, instead donning waterproof trousers and numerous woolly jumpers, joining Lily with their jolly red sledge and wiz down the hill at the back of the village hall until they were both panting with exhaustion.
WHUMP!
"Merlin, James! It's cold!" Lily shrieked, shaking her wet hair like a dog, dislodging the snow "Oh I'm so going to get you for that!"
Almost an hour later the remaining three Marauders bounded eagerly out into the snow. Lily saw their upside-down forms making their way through the sky of snow as she lay on her back next to James in her indentation of a snow angel.
"Huh." Sirius said, looking down at the two of them "Huh."
Lily smiled up at him, feeling warm despite the day's low temperature "Huh yourself, Black."
And much though Sirius tried to prevent it, a small smile tugged at his lips. Then, as though to make sure no one thought he was going soft, he scooped a huge handful of snow up and poured it on top of her. With a shriek she jumped up, grabbing James as she did so
"Run for cover!" She yelped at him, running for the huge wooden doors of the entrance hall
James howled with laughter as the two of them stumbled and ran their way up the snow-covered path. Eventually Lily ground to a halt, panting for breath. She gazed up at him, cheeks flushed from the cold and hair soaked, shivering lightly. Their breath came as clouds in the morning air and both their eyes shone.
"I always imagined my first kiss at a moment like this." Lily's mouth seemed to say before she had control. Then she blushed a furious shade of magenta and twiddled a strand of hair sheepishly "Ohmygosh I didn't just say that, did I? I did, didn't I? Oh Merlin... just ignore me, alright?"
James laughed, and Lily relaxed a little when she realised he would be feeling her overflowing embarrassment for the situation. At least if he knew how embarrassed she was he wouldn't push it. And, true to her prediction, he just smiled lightly and shook his head
"Maybe one day you'll get your wish." He said, if a little awkwardly before changing the subject "Now... maybe some breakfast? And, I know I never thought I'd say this, but we really ought to do some school work. We'll get really behind otherwise, and then we won't be able to teach dance class."
Lily nodded at his sensible suggestion, and the two made their way to the great hall leaving a trail of melting snow behind them, laughter from those still outside ringing in their ears. Lily had her usual muffin and mug of tea; James a fat sausage and egg sandwich. Frank raised an eyebrow at her soaked appearance, which she returned with a cheeky grin. Merlin, she felt on top of the world today.
Finally they settled in the study area and pulled out their respective work. Lily scowled irritably at the questions on her DADA work. 'If there is a whole section of magic that the ministry classes as Dark, is there (or should there be) a whole section on Light magic, if such a thing exists?'. Well, Lily thought, she hadn't got a clue.
She supposed the Patronus charm was Light magic... but she couldn't think of anything else. Did that mean that all other magic was Dark? Or did it just prove that magic was, in fact, Grey? Certainly there were many ways to kill someone with a seemingly innocuous spell. Take the colour-changing charms for example. All one needed to do was change the colour of a level-crossing light at the right time, and you could kill tens, maybe even hundreds of muggles in one go. A heating charm like the one used to make hot drinks could be used to heat just about any liquid, and the human body certainly contains numerous liquids. An enlargement charm would kill if used to enlarge the brain until it burst out of the skull, a shrinking charm could do similar if used on, perhaps, and the heart until it was too small to perform its function.
Lily shuddered at her startlingly dark thoughts. Did that mean everyone had both Light and Dark in them – in other words, everyone was a slightly different shade of Grey, or did it mean she was going Dark herself?
"James... do you think I'm Dark?"
"What?" James asked, looking up from his Transfiguration essay "Of course not. What on earth made you think that?"
Lily shrugged "My DADA essay actually."
James rolled his eyes "The guy's such a deep thinker. We've not actually done anything this year other than have philosophical debates, which aren't exactly going to help us against You-Know-Who."
Lily went to defend her professor, but fell silent again when she realised James's point had merit. She nodded instead and returned her attention to the question in hand, yet her mind still wandered. The fact that the war was encroaching on her life faster and faster so she felt as if Hogwart's was the only white stain on a dark sheet. Like being stood on a remote desert island surrounded by the harsh, cold ocean. While Lily knew she excelled at written work, she was no match against a Death Eater. She wouldn't even be able to defend herself long enough to get away if the need arose, and that terrified her. She'd always relied on the fact that whatever teacher she had would teach her enough for her to live a full and happy life, but now she was beginning to question if that was true anymore.
Maybe... no, she'd always wanted to be a healer, she shouldn't change that, not now when it was actually within her grasp. But, damn it, she didn't want to die young! She wanted to go to Cambridge and she wanted to get married and have kids (after she was thirty, obviously) and then she would steadily climb the ladder at St Mungo's until she was head of a department (preferably Paediatrics) by the time she retired. Then she wanted to move somewhere warm (Italy, perhaps) and live in a beach house, and apparate back to England every now and again to see her grandchildren.
But, if she became an Auror... then she'd be trained to fight. Then she'd be able to actively stop this war. Then she'd be safer, in a perverse sort of way, because even though she'd be fighting, she'd also be able to defend herself.
"James, do you think I'd make a good Auror?"
James sighed and looked up from his work "I don't know, Lily. I want to be an Auror myself, but both my parents are against it. They don't want me hurt, you see. But... I mean, you've seen, first hand, the harsh realities of, well, war... maybe you're actually better prepared for it than I will be."
Lily nodded thoughtfully, twiddling her hair a little. James did have a point. But before she had the chance to ponder it further, the bell rang and they both had to rush to be there in time for the sixth year Slytherin dance class.
"Settle down!" Lily called, more confident than her first classes "Quiet!"
"Right, we're starting with a demonstration, and then we'll see how good you are without being taught. Then we'll try to improve what we have." James informed the bored-looking students
Lily huffed a little, irritated that anyone would find dancing boring, and yanked her hair up in a bun. James set the Wireless playing and took her hand gently, pulling her into a soft pose to start from. Her eyebrows rose in pleased surprise that he had taken the initiative without her help. The tune was a less well known melody, lilting and Irish at its roots. In Lily's mind the dark floors gave way to huge rolling hills, valleys and cliff-tops, the white-washed walls to forests of oaks, heath land and stone circles. And the only thing she noticed in it all was James's concentration, tongue caught between his teeth and eyebrows furrowed.
Lily's face, in contrast, was a wide grin born of the fact that she was barely guiding James at all. Sure, she gave the occasional nudge in the right direction, but he was actually leading! She'd never danced like this before, surrendering control to someone else, but she liked it. It made her feel safe yet free, open and closed at the same time. Invigorating by its own accord but much more relaxing. And he was twirling her and they were gliding and flying and falling, the rhythm of their footfalls and the music melting together.
The applause from the watching students drew Lily back to earth. Standing with her back to James's chest, his arms snugly around her as they naturally fell from their dancing positions, she began to explain the simplest waltz to the now much more attentive students.
Tired yet content, Lily and James lounged by the fire in their common room, James playing chess against his chess set, Lily browsing Madam Malkin's catalogue. Her eyes were drawn to a rich kingfisher blue dress with a square neck line and ruched sleeves. The bodice was laced with a delicate cream, and Lily loved it. It fit the regency era bill, plus Lily knew she looked good in that colour. She bit her lip in excitement as she drew her pen and circled it. A tiny rush of magic drained from her into the parchment, and then a scrap of material appeared in her lap.
James glanced up and raised an eyebrow at Lily "Found a dress you like, then?"
Lily grinned and nodded, running a light finger over the material before handing it carefully to James "You like it?"
James took it and feigned interest "Yeah, it'll look good with your hair."
"Really?" Lily asked, almost curious
James laughed loudly "Nah, Lily dear, you know I have absolutely no idea about that kinda stuff."
Lily smiled ruefully at him "Yeah, silly me."
James shook his head lightly as he tossed the material back to Lily "So, that's a great dress for the Yule Ball, but what about the Potter ball? Can't have you wearing a dress twice, can we?"
Lily's mouth popped open "Only wear it once? Are you mad? That's classed as a 'whopping great big waste'!"
James moved a pawn lethargically forward before shrugging when it got smashed to smithereens by the opposing rook. "Lils, that's the cultural difference, see. A pureblood would be horrified at the mere thought of wearing a dress twice, whereas you would consider it a waste not to."
Lily glared at him "I hope you're not making a jab at muggleborns, Potter."
James looked genuinely surprised "No, of course not. I mean, I won't lie – both my parents are very strictly purebloods. My mum, for instance, was a Black before she was a Potter. Hell, they're trying to force me into an arranged marriage! But, I mean really, of course I'm not against muggleborns. I, er, I think you're brilliant."
"Oh." Lily said, a faint blush gracing her cheeks "Well, sorry about that then."
James waved it off "So, keep looking for another dress. Try and find a pale one, maybe a cream or a white one."
Lily's eyes narrowed "Why?"
"Er... tradition? I think you'll look good in those colours? It'll do with the snow?" James offered "Okay, because I know Apolline will be wearing a white dress, and I think it will help if my parents see you both wearing similar dresses."
Lily scowled "I still can't believe you got me to agree with this. But, well, in for a Knut, in for a galleon, right?"
"Right." James agreed looking relieved as he turned back to his chess game. He seemed to be losing it despite the fact that he was, essentially, playing himself. Lily wondered how on earth that was even possible. With a smile Lily grabbed another catalogue and began browsing. The time of year, though, was wrong for pale dresses – they were all darker, more wintery colours. Perhaps that was what had drawn Lily's eyes to the kingfisher blue dress – it's colour had made it stand out.
With an irritable huff, Lily grabbed the only one with white dresses on the front of it – Nancy's Nuptial Necessities. She really didn't like the idea of buying a wedding dress when it wasn't her wedding. It felt wrong, and she was loathed to do it. Besides, nothing took her eye anyway. With a quiet growl, she tossed the shiny, colourful parchment aside.
"There's not a single white dress that I like." She announced, stalking into the kitchen area and making herself a mug of tea "You want a cup, James?" She called, only to jump when his hand fell softly on her shoulder
"Please. White, one sugar." He replied "You know, if you really can't find anything, we can just have a dress custom made."
Lily passed James his tea and slipped her hands around her own mug "Do I look like I'm made of money? Really, James, not everyone has a Top Priority vault at Gringott's, you know."
James shuffled uncomfortably "Well, seeing as it's sort of my fault you need a second dress anyway, I'll happily pay for it."
"I couldn't let you do that!" Lily protested, leaning against the side-board and looking up at him
James stared at her blankly for a good minute or two. Lily was beginning to think he was seriously ill, when he suddenly jerked backwards, flushed a furious shade of red and turned around under the pretence of adding more milk to his tea.
"James?"
"Lily." James returned, still facing away from her
"James." Lily said, a little exasperated
"Lily." He continued
"Stop it, James. What's the matter?" Lily asked, getting irritated "Why did you just drift off like that?"
James's jaw tightened and his hand shot through his hair "Er, I was just, erm, I was... I was, ah, er, thinking y-you see... yeah, thinking."
"Thinking." Lily deadpanned "Really."
"Yep." James continued, more confident "Thinking."
Lily shook her head, laughing quietly "Well alright then. You're clearly not going to tell me. Anyway, it's late. I'm off to bed; see you in the morning."
Lily drained the remaining dregs of tea, leaving just the leaves in the bottom, to form curious patterns Lily couldn't care less about. Perhaps if she had bothered, she would have been surprised. Instead she cleaned it with a charm and set it back on the mug tree, before smiling lightly at James and retiring to her room. Had the night not been so quiet, she might have missed the heavy sigh James gave as he gathered his chess pieces, left his mug of now too-milky tea on the table and exited through the portrait hole, Marauder's Map and his invisibility Cloak securely in his hand.
I'm a little worried that I seem to write a good majority of speech, and perhaps not enough of everything else. Am I paranoid, or am I finally picking up something that I should make better? I'm awful at proof-reading my own work, and while my best friend usually beta-reads for me, there just hasn't been time, what with Christmas getting in the way. Bloody Christmas. Bringing all that joy and light and hope. How very dare it. Er... moving onwards...
Anyone who guessed that James's fiancé is actually Fleur's mum, you were right. There was only one of you. The rest of you should be ashamed of yourselves! We'll try another one... can anyone guess what Sirius's bright idea is?
Christmas, being the season for goodwill, would be an excellent time to leave a review. Even if you wouldn't usually bother. Go on. Make my Christmas. Please.