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Last Time: Spinner's End is a dreary place to grow up, Lily is quite glad to get away. She and Alice are best friends, but rather different. James is a jerk. Sirius is a tragedy, and Remus is even more of one. Peter is a Marauder (AKA, not forgotten). Vanessa (Lily and Alice's good friend) used to date Caradoc Dearborn, but he cheated on her with her old best friend Waverly. Mary is the other girl in their dorm.
Disclaimer: Lily Evans, James Potter and all related characters belong to J. K. Rowling. This is written for entertainment purposes only. Everything you recognize is JKR's, while OCs are entirely my own creation. The quotes at the beginning and end are not mine unless otherwise stated; I will try to credit them as best as I can.
"If you want to know where your heart is, look where your mind goes when it wanders."
-Unknown
Chapter Two: Dream A Little Dream
(September 2, 1975)
James was soaring around the Quidditch pitch on his new Nimbus 1700. The conditions were perfect for Quidditch, which he was playing two-aside with Remus, Sirius, and Peter. It was really quite unfair, seeing as James far exceeded all of them in the sport, but he had teamed up with Remus, who was easily the worst, in an attempt to even the odds.
As there were only two players per team, any of them could catch the snitch, so when James spotted it far off on the right side of the pitch, he zoomed away, leaving Peter, who had seen it too, far behind. As soon as he got close, the tiny golden ball zipped away, zigzagging and spiraling and trying to throw him off the trail, but James never took his eye of the target. He chased it all over the field—around the goalposts, through the stands, close to the ground, and high in the air—before it flew out of the boundaries of the pitch all together.
Odd, thought James, as he followed it out over the castle and towards the mountains beyond. And it was, indeed, odd, for snitches were charmed to remain in the designated area of the Quidditch arena.
James grew more desperate as the sun set and still he had not caught the snitch. He was far into the mountains now, and flying more slowly. The snitch seemed to be weary as well, for its wings fluttered half-heartedly.
Dark clouds moved in, and the rain began to fall. James contemplated giving up and returning to the castle, but just as he had made up his mind to do so, the snitch zoomed straight toward him and into his outstretched hand.
Thunder crashed, but it seemed dim in the faint gold glow emitting from the tiny winged ball.
Suddenly, James found himself being violently shaken.
"James!" yelled Sirius. "Oi! James, wake up!"
James reluctantly opened his eyes to find Sirius hovering over him, shaking his shoulder.
"Wazgoinon?" he mumbled, his voice slurred with sleep.
Sirius rolled his eyes and went over to his trunk, which he searched through until he found the black pants and white oxford that all the boys wore under their robes. "Breakfast, dumbass. Get up before all the good stuff's gone."
James hoisted himself out of the bed and looked around the dormitory. It already looked as though it had been hit by several demolition spells, which was not abnormal for the four boys.
"Where are Remus and Peter?" James asked as he pushed a stack of old books and parchment off of his trunk so he could open it.
"Remus dragged Pete out of bed about half an hour ago so they could get their schedules changed."
James pulled on his oxford and tied his red and gold tie. "To what?"
Sirius shrugged as he examined his clothes in the mirror. He seemed to decide that they didn't look quite devil-may-care enough, so he un-tucked his shirt and rolled the sleeves up to his elbows. "Dunno," he said casually. "I was having a good dream."
James decided not to say "me too," as he was still uncertain if the dream had been anything more than frustrating. Instead, he ran a hand through his hair and pulled on his robes. "You ready?"
"'Course I am. Why do you think I woke you up?"
James rolled his eyes as he and Sirius left the dormitory, his dream completely forgotten.
Sympathy
Upon entering the Great Hall for breakfast, Sirius purposefully kept his eyes off the Slytherin table, where his younger brother, Regulus, was undoubtedly sitting. Instead, the older Black sauntered across the room, winking at a rather attractive blonde seated at the Hufflepuff table.
He slid easily onto the bench beside James and glanced around for Remus and Peter. The former was having some sort of conversation with Lily Evans and her friends a little ways down the table, and Peter stood arguing with Professor McGonagall.
Marlene McKinnon took the seat on Sirius' other side, her friend across from her, and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"All right, McKinnon? Mason?" he asked, his tone casual.
"Glorious," said Marlene as she poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice. "The new edition of The Arts should be arriving today, and there is this article I've been simply dying to read about this sculptor…"
Sirius toned her out, as he was used to doing. Marlene McKinnon worked very hard to come off as interesting, and she failed rather miserably more often than not.
Marlene was a decent looking girl, with pale skin and a pointed face. Her raven hair always lay perfectly flat, and she never went anywhere without a hearty layer of eyeliner.
She would never admit it, of course, but Marlene was very insecure. She had a strong-willed mother who expected her to be the same, and a father who was brilliant at everything he tried. Her brother and sister were individual, smart, and funny, and Marlene often felt rather dull by comparison.
Flippant and shallow, Marlene would have done better in Hufflepuff or Slytherin, and she was used to snide remarks from other students telling her so.
"Oh! Look, the mail!" she exclaimed, causing those around her to automatically turn their heads upward in search of their owls.
A regal great grey dropped a letter onto Sirius's plate and flew across the Great Hall to join Regulus at the Slytherin table. The older Black rolled his eyes—even the family owl liked his younger brother better.
Without really caring what the letter contained, Sirius unsealed it to find his mother's disjointed script.
Sirius,
As you are aware, you still have a chance to fall back into the favor of your father and me. However, should you choose the path of a blood traitor once and for all, I forbid you from speaking to Regulus while you are at school. The Dark Lord himself has asked about the two of you, and I will not allow you to ruin your brother's chances at joining the Pureblood cause. As I said, both of you were asked after, and therefore you have this opportunity to do us all proud and make the right decision. I can only trust that you will.
Walburga B. Black
As always, her name was signed with a proud flourish, and Sirius pulled a face.
"Anything important?" asked James, feeding toast to his barn owl, an unopened letter in his hand.
Sirius shrugged. "No. She's warned me to stay away from Regulus, but why I would ever want to go near him in the first place…"
James just nodded and Sirius was grateful.
"Oh!" squealed Marlene suddenly, causing James and Sirius to flinch slightly. "Just look at this sculpture…"
Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year
Lily and Remus were talking about their Prefect duties when the mail came. Lily, whose parents had no owl, did not expect anything, but Vanessa received The Daily Prophet, which contained a grim black headline. Vanessa gave Lily, Alice, and Remus a worried look before picking up the paper and reading it aloud.
FAMILY OF THREE ATTACKED IN YORK, TWO DEAD, ONE MISSING
Andrew Barber, his wife Lucinda, and his son Logan were attacked early last night while at the greengrocers in York. The four wizards responsible claimed to be 'Death Eaters,' followers of Lord Voldemort, and produced the image seen above.
Vanessa stopped for moment and showed them a photograph of a glittering green skull with a snake emerging from its mouth.
Andrew and Lucinda Barber were both Muggleborn, which leads investigators to believe that the attackers are affiliated with Lord Voldemort or fully support his Pureblood-only campaign, as they stated.
These wizards were masked and vanished before they could be apprehended. Witnesses claim that Andrew and Lucinda were violently tortured before they were killed, and the alleged Death Eaters took eleven-year-old Logan with them when they Apparated. His current whereabouts are unknown, but the Ministry is launching a full investigation headed by Auror Hamish Williamson. For an inclusive interview with Williamson, turn to page 7.
"I've heard of him, Williamson," said Remus. "My mum used to be an assistant in the Auror Offices. She never thought too highly of him."
"Nor do I," Lily agreed, motioning to the paper. "Anyone who has time to give an interview while they should be out searching for a missing boy can't have all their priorities straight, can they?"
"He's probably just trying to give the people some peace of mind," Alice reasoned. She took the paper and turned to the specified page. There was a photo of a middle-aged man with a beak-like nose and long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. "Yes, listen," the witch continued. "I have assembled a team of highly qualified Aurors who are on the case as we speak. I have never known them to fear anything and there is no case that Octavian Conrad cannot solve."
Vanessa took a sip of pumpkin juice before saying, "Let's hope so. I mean, what if it was Owen or Claude?"
"If it was either of your brothers, your parents would be out there searching, too," Lily told her friend with a small smile. "And they would find him. But I know what you mean. That poor boy. I can't imagine what this must be like for him."
"Morning all!" sang Mary MacDonald, plopping down on Alice's side. She had a grin on her face that seemed sorely out of place amid the somber looks of the others.
"You're certainly in a good mood," Alice observed. Lily imagined that the curly-haired brunette must not have read The Prophet.
"Well, of course I am!" exclaimed Mary, buttering a piece of toast. "Not only is Gemma Kirkley finally dating Sam Bennett—I saw that coming ages ago—but did you see that article in the Entertainment section of The Prophet? The Corrupted Pixies are releasing their new album soon and they're holding a concert in Hogsmeade to kick it off! I'm going to speak to Gideon about getting a Hogsmeade trip that day."
She said all of this very quickly.
Lily and Remus exchanged a look as Mary happily took a large bite out of her toast.
"Mary?" asked Vanessa. "Didn't you see the front page?" She held up the paper to support her point. "A little boy got kidnapped."
The other witch shrugged. "They'll find him. The Aurors are trained for that sort of thing, aren't they?"
"His parents were killed," Alice elaborated.
"And tortured," added Remus.
Mary's face fell momentarily. "Oh…well… Look! Here comes Derek—I'd best be off."
They hardly had time to bid her goodbye before she had reached her boyfriend halfway between the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor tables.
"Why is she avoiding this?" asked Vanessa absentmindedly.
"Maybe that's her way of dealing with it," Lily answered, watching Mary chat animatedly with Derek. "Perhaps she just can't face it. Mary's so happy most of the time, maybe she doesn't really know how to handle something so depressing."
"Hmm," muttered Alice, resting her chin on her hand and following Lily's line of sight. "Hopefully all of this Voldemort business will be over before she has to learn how to handle it."
"Hopefully."
Who We Are
James and his friends joined the queue of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. There was a macabre sort of feeling in air after that morning's paper. An Auror had arrived during breakfast to question a second-year who had been the Barbers' neighbor, and having the tall muscular wizard walking the halls kept the tragedy fresh in everyone's minds.
They were soon distracted, however, when Constance Malfoy paused on the way to her own class. She was surrounded, as usual, by a fairly large group of rather brutish Slytherins, but the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws were hardly intimidated.
"Thought you were going to get off easy today, did you Bones?" Constance drawled, her voice high-pitched and haughty. Edgar Bones looked over, bored, from where he stood with his friends. As was his usual, he remained silently passive.
"Your daddy's in the paper again," Constance continued, waving the newspaper around for everyone to see. "Most people don't want to read about him when some family has been murdered, but he just can't seem to be faithful to your mum, can he? Last year it was that actress, and now a maid? What is this world coming to if our own Minister for Magic sinks so low?"
"You're one to talk, Malfoy," sneered Sirius, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. "I'd take a look at the company you keep before you insult anyone else."
Constance raised her perfectly sculpted eyebrows in a challenging sort of way, and everyone knew she was thinking blood traitor, but at that moment, the door to the Defense classroom was opened and the Slytherins were forced to move along to their own class.
Bellatrix Black was stunning with her lustrous dark hair and sparkling eyes. There was a definite resemblance between the witch and her younger cousin, Sirius. She could not have been older than twenty-five, and her robes were a bit less modest than what most of the teachers wore.
"In," she said, her voice was low and scratchy. Without another word, she turned and sauntered back up to the front of the room.
James made to sit down in the back of the class, as usual, but noticed that there was a name plate on the desk that read Derek Greene. Sighing, he scanned the room, praying that he did not end up next to Amata Blane, a girl so intelligent that she had no social sense whatsoever. He had received many strange love letters from the girl in the past in which she had declared him "almost as lovely as a 0-and-Puss game of Gobstones"—whatever that meant.
To his delight, Amata seated herself across the room next to Meredith Dye, who was a kind, if unattractive, girl who looked as though she was trying to give Amata a welcoming smile.
His own happiness vanished quickly, however, when he saw his name plate resting directly beside the one that read Evans, Lily.
"Damn," James swore under his breath as he threw his stuff down next to hers.
Lily Evans had always rubbed James the wrong way. She had a high-and-mighty attitude that clearly showed that she thought everything she did to be better than James's "impudence," even though she herself was often unfair and rude. She put on an angelic appearance with everyone, and the students as teachers adored her, but James knew that it was all an act. He was the one that pushed her just far enough that she showed her true colors, and they were far from white and gold. She had yelled at him and cursed him until he could hardly think straight, all because she could never take a joke.
That was possibly what bothered James the most: Lily had no sense of humor whatsoever. She took everything the wrong way and could not see that his little pranks were all in good fun. She said it was because James had bullied her back in First Year, but he had just been trying to make her laugh. The only person that he had ever meant to harm was Severus Snape, who was the creepiest bloke in their year, more-so even than Byron Mulciber, a Slytherin who cursed people for fun, or Euan Ackerley, a Hufflepuff that lived in the library and ate parchment. Snape followed Lily around like a lost dog, pretending to be her friend, while he dabbled in the Dark Arts when she was not around. He was two-faced, like Lily, but far more vile, and James had never been able to stand it.
"I'm not thrilled with this, either, Potter," she told him coldly, having heard his quiet exclamation. "Just don't speak to me so I won't have a reason to hex you."
"Of course, Your Majesty," James said dryly. "As long as you don't put me in detention."
"Then don't be a prat," she hissed back.
"Prig," James sneered.
"Git."
"Swot."
"Quiet, please!" Professor Black ordered.
It was only then that James realized how close he and Lily had gotten. Their faces were inches apart; he could clearly see the bright red that was blossoming across her cheeks and feel her warm breath against his lips.
Her eyes, which he had known were green, seemed to be more than just that. In her anger, they seemed to come alive, and they danced with a golden light.
He hurtled himself back immediately, almost falling out of his chair. He was not supposed to notice those things about her. She was Evans—the Prefect, the snob. She was the girl who would never say yes to him, and he was not sure that he would enjoy it if she did. The two of them were only ever meant to argue.
Lily did not seem to have detected anything odd about the situation, for she merely sent him a scathing glare and set about finding her ink and quill.
She was pretty, James decided absentmindedly. Too-skinny, certainly, but her red hair was long and fell about her thin shoulders in a flattering sort of way. She had a straight, pointed nose that wrinkled slightly whenever her expression changed, and her lips were a light pink color. He knew she had a pretty smile, though he had never been on the receiving end of it. He liked the way her teeth were too big for her face and how they all showed when she smiled.
Wait.
No.
This was Evans. It didn't matter what she looked like, because she would always have that better-than-you attitude. That pretty pointed nose would always be in the air. That extra-large smile would never grace her lips in his presence.
He pulled his books toward him and rested his arms on them, putting his head down and refusing to look back at Lily.
"As you all are aware," Professor Black was saying, standing in front of the blackboard, "This is the year in which you will take your O.W.L. exams. These tests are vital to your futures and your career choices, so I would advise you all to think very carefully about what you wish to do when you leave Hogwarts. You will need at least an E on your Defense O.W.L. in order to continue the course on the N.E.W.T. level, and almost all professions require a N.E.W.T. in this subject." She spoke in a slow way, and her voice broke occasionally. It was unnerving.
"Yeah?" asked James aloud, ignoring the professor's odd manner of speaking. "What about Quidditch?"
The woman looked at him for a moment with a calculating expression. Then she turned to the rest of the students. "Well? Can anyone answer Mr. Potter's question?"
"Quidditch doesn't require anything but skill," Lily said, an annoyed expression on her face. "Why bother learning anything if you're just going to go get it all knocked out of you by Bludgers?"
"Correct, Miss…?"
"Evans," answered Lily.
"Miss Evans makes a good point," the professor continued, but James was no longer listening. Instead, he was observing the disappointed look on Lily's face.
"What?" he whispered, and one of her eyebrows raised slightly.
"Nothing," she told him, turning her head back to the front of the room.
James, however, was persistent. "Come on, tell me." He moved his chair a little closer to hers and she sighed in aggravation.
Her eyes snapped back to him. "Do you really plan to just breeze through school pulling pranks and learning nothing? You can't play Quidditch for the rest of your life, you know. Even in the Wizarding World athletes have an expiration date."
James rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair, noting that she pursed her lips after asking questions. "It doesn't matter," he told her. "My family has enough money that I wouldn't have to get a job for the rest of my life. I can do whatever I want."
"Then maybe you're lucky," she whispered back. "But maybe not. I don't think it would be a very fulfilling life to never have to work for anything."
"Miss Evans, will you read the passage on the board for the class?" asked Professor Black, breaking into their conversation.
With an almost pitying look at James, Lily sat up a little straighter and turned to the board.
"The best way to defeat an enemy or opposing force is to know it intimately. The more one knows about a thing, the easier it is to find its weaknesses."
"For example, Miss Evans, who would you consider to be your closest friend in this room?"
"Alice," said Lily, pointing to the petite blonde witch who was seated next to Sirius a few tables over.
"All right, so say that Alice did something horrible to you and you wished to get revenge. What about her would you attack?"
James watched Lily bite her lip and glance at her best friend. "I don't really want to say anything," she said uncomfortably. "Even if we aren't fighting it would hurt."
Alice looked relieved and James almost found himself admiring Lily's choice. Almost.
"Fair enough," said Professor Black, though there was a strange gleam in her grey eyes. "Do you have an enemy in the room, Miss Evans?"
"Erm, I'm not entirely certain if enemy is the right word, but I suppose it would be Potter."
Bellatrix raised her long dark eyebrows at the coincidence of placing the two next to one another.
"I suppose the two of you fight, then?" she asked.
Lily nodded.
"Then what do you say to him?"
"Well… I call him arrogant and egotistical and immature and impudent mostly."
"And Mr. Potter, what do you say to her?"
"I call her a prig," said James. "And I tell her that she's too high-and-mighty, and that she needs to find a sense of humor."
"And are either of your insults effective on the other?"
James glanced at Lily, who met his eyes and the two simultaneously shook their heads. "Not really."
"So there are worse things you could talk about?"
"Of course," Lily answered immediately. "But he doesn't know me well enough to be aware of any of them."
"Same," said James, vaguely wondering what she could be hiding. Lily Evans seemed to have everything anyone could want (except a sense of humor, of course).
Professor Black grinned and cast her eyes around the rest of the students. "You see? This is a perfect example. Miss Evans knows her friend so well that she would know exactly what to say to hurt her should the desire ever arise. However, she keeps Mr. Potter at a distance, so neither of them knows the other intimately enough to be able to… cut each other down."
"So are you saying that we'll be studying Dark wizards?" asked Olivia Montague, a know-it-all if James ever met one. "So that we know them well enough to 'cut them down'?"
Professor Black smiled; it was a mirror image of Sirius. "Exactly, exactly. What better way to destroy your enemies than to learn all you can about them?"
James tried not to look it, but he was rather impressed with this new Defense teacher. The bloke from the year before had spent more time worrying about the students being in dress code (which was hardly enforced by anyone else) than in teaching them any magic. But Bellatrix Black seemed to have the right idea, and in his lifetime, James had seen more than enough to assure him that there was some goodness in the Black bloodline.
"Now," the professor continued, "with your partner, make a list of every Dark witch or wizard that you can think of. The Purebloods will find this easier, so rest of you may use your textbooks."
There was a brief silence before students began turning to one another and pulling out parchment and quills. James watched as Lily scrawled both of their names across the top of her paper. She paused and met his gaze.
James realized that she was waiting for him to say something, so he leaned forward slightly and shrugged. "Well, Grindelwald, obviously."
"Obviously," Lily repeated, writing Gellert Grindelwald. "And of course, there was Herpo the Foul and Elladora Black, though I'm not sure Professor Black will appreciate that one."
"Yeah, but didn't Elladora live about a hundred years ago?" James commented. "I doubt anyone would be bothered by it anymore."
Lily chewed her bottom lip for a moment, looking lost in thought, before scratching both names onto the parchment. "What about Merwyn the Malicious?"
"Never heard of him," James answered, growing rather bored with the assignment. "But he sounds as though he fits the criteria."
Lily rolled her eyes as James lounged back in his chair. "Merwyn the Malicious was a wizard who lived back in the medieval times and invented loads of Dark Magic."
"Bully for him," James yawned. "Clearly you know what you're talking about. Why ask me?"
With a glare: "I don't know."
She was silent for a moment and James took the time to observe her again. Her dark red hair was tied back, pulling it all away from her face, which was narrow and defined. There was an odd sort of look in her eyes that he could not place—it was something almost…haunting. But that was not really the right word. It simply looked as though she had seen more in her life than he would have expected from the Prefect.
It was almost intriguing.
But this was Lily Evans, and James did not think of her like that.
He then went about ignoring her until the period was over.
"Everyone, pass your lists to the front of the room," said Professor Black. "I'll compile them and we'll start with the earliest on the list and bring it up to present day. No homework."
Appreciative sighs could be heard throughout the room as the students stood up and made their way out into the hall.
Book of Me and You
As always, Severus Snape spent his break outside with Lily. He had never been particularly fond of the outdoors, having grown up in the smoggy environment of Lantern City, but Lily said that it was refreshing, so he followed her out every day.
"It was odd, Sev," Lily was saying as the two of them sat on a low stone wall in one of the courtyards. "It was like Mary refused to even acknowledge that anything happened."
Severus smiled at his name on her perfect lips. "Maybe that's just how she deals with things."
Lily smiled then, and said, "That's what I told Vanessa, but still… How could someone just ignore the fact that two people were murdered?"
"You're talking about the one with the curly hair right?" Once Lily nodded, he continued, "She's not exactly bright, is she? I've always thought she was a bit of a slag."
"Mary is not a slag," insisted the witch, frowning slightly. "And she's plenty bright. I don't know why she wanted to avoid conversation so badly."
Severus shrugged. "You asked. I'm just giving my opinion." He did not mind her argument, mostly because he knew that she would defend him in the same manner.
"I know," she told him and pushed a strand of hair that had fallen from her ponytail behind her ear. He knew she would not apologize, though, however snappy her retort. She would never say she was sorry for protecting a friend.
"How's Professor Black, then?"
Lily shrugged. "She seems to know what she's talking about, at least. But she partnered me with Potter, and that put a bit of a damper on the class."
Severus would never tell her, but his heart sang whenever Lily made a derogatory comment about James Potter. The arrogant Chaser had been trying to get Lily to go out with him for as long as Severus could remember, and even though Lily always declined and thought that Potter was merely taunting her, Severus dreaded the day when she was convinced otherwise.
"I should be going," said Lily, glancing at her watch and tossing her bag over her shoulder. "I've got Divination and that's on the other side of the castle."
He nodded and gathered his own things and the two parted ways.
Best Is Yet to Come
Divination.
It was far from Lily's favorite subject, and it certainly did not help the situation to be cramped in a tiny room in one of the highest towers in the school with twenty-three other people. It was easily the most crowded fifth-year class on its time slot, as the other options were Magical Law and Ancient Runes.
Lily might actually have taken Law, but Alice had pleaded with her to do Divination instead. Of course, the redhead could not fathom why exactly Alice loved the class so much, since she was one of the worst at the subject.
Vanessa had refused the invitation to join them, and had chosen the much more difficult path of Magical Law, so Lily found herself seated at a tiny, cramped table with Alice, Mary, and Waverly.
Sirius and Peter, the only two of the four that had taken Divination, were at the table directly to their right, and it sat so close that if Lily moved, she would elbow Sirius in the ribs.
It was not a pleasant environment.
The few windows in the room where latched shut, and thick curtains obscured any natural light that might enter the room. It was lit, instead, by the eerie glow from the crystal balls that lined the shelves and by a few floating candles at shone blue.
Professor Elvira was a short, squat woman with eyes that were held in a perpetual squint (some said this was because she was always looking beyond, Lily thought it was because she lived in a dark room). She had extremely frizzy hair so black it looked almost violet and a downturned nose.
"I have placed copies of The Dream Oracle on your tables," the professor told them in her wheezing, squeaky voice. "Interpreting dreams is not only a useful way to determine the future, but also a way to help one understand the present. If you would, please," she paused to give a hacking cough, "tell one another your most recent dreams and use the books to interpret them."
Lily flipped open the copy that sat in front of her and strained her eyes to see the pages in the dark. She looked up, wondering who would be first.
"I'll go," Alice said brightly. "I've been having this recurring dream that I'm walking through the woods—it might be the Forbidden Forest, I never really can tell—and I come to a fork in the road. I never go anywhere I just stand there."
"Woods…woods…" Lily muttered, flipping through the yellowing pages. "Here we are. The woods represent a journey that one is taking or will take. They show a desire to express what is inherent in you, and for the mind and emotions to move in their own way. Therefore, when dreaming of the woods, one often will face a personal journey to become who they truly are."
Alice grinned. "Keep going, what about the fork in the road?"
Lily turned back to the front of the book and read, "A fork in the road represents a choice. If one path is dangerous while the other is safe, it could show that the decision you must make shall be easy. If the two paths are the same, it represents a much more difficult choice. If, in the dream, one moves forward onto one of the paths, then the decision is already made. If one stays at the fork, then the choice is yet to be presented to them."
"Do you think it's true?" asked Mary, her aqua eyes wide. "Can you think of any big decisions you might have to make?"
Alice thought for a moment before she shrugged and smiled again. "I don't know. Not that I can think of, but maybe that's the point. We're trying to predict the future, so we can't already know what's going to happen."
"Sirius, come on," whined Lois Li, a Hufflepuff girl that was sitting beside him, and her voice carried over to Lily and the others. "You must remember one dream."
Lily and Alice looked at each other and rolled their eyes. They were quite used to girls flirting with Sirius, and it had gotten old.
"I don't," said Sirius, but something in his tone told Lily that he was lying. "I don't think I even have dreams."
"You must," Taylor Moon, another girl at his table, told him in a sweet voice. "Everyone dreams."
"Why would Sirius need to dream when he can have the most beautiful girls in the school while he's awake?" said Peter, coming to Sirius' rescue.
Lois and Taylor giggled. And it was true, Lily supposed. The two girls were rather stunning with long legs and flat stomachs and perfect hair and pretty faces. But they knew they were good-looking and flaunted it, which had always bothered most of the Hogwarts girls.
"How are we doing, girls?" rasped Professor Elvira, suddenly appearing behind Alice.
"Decently," Waverly answered truthfully after jumping at the older witch's arrival. "We've established that Alice has an important decision coming up."
"O-ho!" the squat little woman exclaimed delightedly. She coughed violently before she shooed Lily out of her seat and plopped down next to Alice. "Give me your palm, dear, I must know more!"
Alice looked thrilled and Lily had to smile. The blonde had never before received such positive attention from the Divination professor.
"Yes… yes…oh. Oh my," Elvira muttered, her squinty eyes opening wide for an instant.
"What?" asked Alice, yanking her hand away and staring at her palm as if it would miraculously start spouting out the answers she wanted.
"You will have great tragedy in your life, dear one," the little woman said quietly, however, the room had gone completely silent, so it was not difficult to hear. "Matched only in the greatness of the love you will find."
Alice furrowed her brow in confusion, and Lily knew that her own face must look the same. "What kind of tragedy?" the redhead asked warily.
Elvira seemed to speak more to herself than to any of the students. "But is it truly tragedy," she mumbled, "if she affects so many lives for the better?"
"What are you talking about?" Alice's voice was shaking.
As if noticing that Alice, Lily, and the others were there for the first time, Elvira snapped out of some sort of daze and merely shook her head.
"The curse of the Seer," she told them wisely, "is that we are never able to see the whole picture. We receive bit, pieces, but we are left to string the broken, incomprehensible fragments together."
"Meaning…?" prompted Mary, leaning forward slightly.
"Meaning that I see darkness and light, but both obscure more than they illuminate."
With that, she returned to her desk in the far corner of the room and refused to acknowledge the students for the remainder of the class period.
Reach Out
(Meanwhile)
"I never want to go to Defense again," Vanessa groaned, banging her head on the table in aggravation. She was seated in the disorderly Magical Law classroom, where Professor Towler seemed at home amidst clutter.
"Was the new professor that bad?"
The brunette looked up, only to find herself sitting at a table with three people of the male persuasion. It had been Benjy Fenwick, a Hufflepuff, who had voiced the inquiry.
"It wasn't Professor Black," Vanessa answered him. "Just...never mind."
She could not tell three boys of the woes of being forced to sit beside her ex-boyfriend, Caradoc, for the entire hour and a half that was Defense Against the Dark Arts.
Just then, a heavy book thumped onto the table, making all four fifth-years jump. It was leather-bound and black, with cracks along the spine and crinkled yellow pages.
"They do not make copies of this book anymore," Professor Towler, a handsome man with wavy blonde hair, blue eyes, and a straight smile, told the class. "You can tell that these copies are very old. Some of them are held together by Spell-o-tape and magic. Others are clinging on all on their own. It's quite miraculous, really. Students have been using these books since before I became a teacher—they've been beaten to the point where any normal book would have fallen apart, but these—"
"Yes, yes, that's great and all," interrupted Constance Malfoy, looking impatient. She was at a table with Severus Snape, Caradoc Dearborn (Vanessa avoided looking at him at all costs), and Euan Ackerley, whom Constance had scooted as far away from as possible. "But are you going to tell us what the books are?"
The Slytherin had picked up her own large black book and was turning it over in her hands, looking for a title.
"Right!" exclaimed Towler, startling Euan, who had been nibbling on a corner of his textbook. "These books date back to before 1692, which was when the International Code of Wizarding Secrecy was established by the International Confederation of Wizards. At that time, I'm sure you know, the Supreme Mugwump was Pierre Bonaccord, who wanted to give rights to trolls so that…"
Vanessa tuned the Professor out for a moment and glanced around her table, which consisted of James Potter, Edgar Bones, and Benjy Fenwick. None of them looked like they knew what a "Supreme Mugwump" was, much less who held that title in the Seventeenth Century.
That was the entire class—eight people. Almost everyone in Vanessa's year had taken Divination, and even the Ancient Runes class had a higher number of students than Magical Law.
"So this is the law then?" confirmed Edgar when Towler paused to take a breath. "These books, I mean. They contain all of Wizarding Law?"
"The Code of Secrecy, some of the original charters, the Underage Laws, Guidelines for half-bloods—werewolves, centaurs, mermaids, the like. It includes most of the Werewolf Code of Conduct, Wand Use, and quite a few general rules," the professor elaborated.
"So… yes?" Benjy asked under his breath, and Vanessa, James, and Edgar could not help but laugh.
"You may look through the books with the others at your table," Towler told them. "We mightn't be able to learn everything by the end of the year, as we'll have breaks, and I'm sure classes will be canceled at least once for one reason or another—flu, explosions, protests, attacks, you name it. Though actually, we don't have many explosions in this part of the castle. There aren't any physical magic classrooms in this wing; it's just Law, History of Magic, and Arithmacy here. Of course, there was that one enormous potions disaster a few years back that took out almost every class in the school…"
"Long-winded, isn't he?" Benjy commented as the four fifth-years carefully opened their textbooks and began scanning the table of contents.
Benjy reminded Vanessa of Sirius Black in quite a few ways. It was not only his shaggy hair and grey eyes, but also his sarcasm and laid-back attitude that connected him to the Gryffindor in her mind.
Edgar, on the other hand, was the most gentlemanly boy Vanessa had ever met. His father, Jethro Bones, was the Minister of Magic, and Edgar had grown up being groomed for the press. He was smart—a Ravenclaw—but he always seemed so alone.
"Painfully so," James groaned in answer to Benjy. Vanessa nodded in agreement and Edgar looked like he was hiding a smile.
"Let's see…" Vanessa mumbled as she scanned the faded pages. "The original charters look interesting. They were written at the time when the Wizarding World split from the Muggle World."
"Guidelines for half-bloods," James scoffed, looking disgustedly down at a picture of a rampaging werewolf and a vampire luring a young girl away from her family. "That's ridiculous. Don't they realize that half-bloods aren't any different than us?"
"I didn't know you cared so much," Benjy commented, appearing slightly amused.
James, however, did not seem to take the matter lightly. "I do," he stated, his voice almost harsh in his conviction.
"Those laws were written long after the original charters and the first draft of the Code of Secrecy," Edgar explained calmly. He brushed brown hair from grass green eyes and rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke. It was a habit of his that they had all seen portrayed in The Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly. "When we split, the wizards that made up the government were firm believers in equality amongst all magical beings, but when the goblins rebelled in 1754, those same wizards' sons decided that magical creatures needed to be separated from humans."
"Which really wasn't a good idea," Vanessa noted. "Didn't that just lead to more rebellion?"
Edgar nodded. "There were six consecutive uprisings after the new laws were passed regarding separation. The goblins led them all, but the werewolves aided their cause each time, and occasionally the goblins were able to recruit centaurs, giants, vampires, and merpeople to fight as well, which led to a divide between full-blooded Wizards and everyone else."
"And the wizards didn't learn?" asked Benjy, who had stopped lounging in his chair and was leaning forward in interest.
"I wouldn't say that," said Edgar, playing the politician. "The government had reasons for what they did. They wouldn't isolate half of the magical population for something shallow."
"I consider prejudice pretty shallow," argued James. "Even if they had valid reasons back then, all it is now is intolerance for people who have the potential to be dangerous."
Vanessa thought about this for a moment. She had never really considered it before, but James was right. "Of course," she began slowly, "wizards have the means to be dangerous as well—more-so, even, in a lot of cases. Look at Voldemort and tell me that wizards don't hurt each other just as much as anything else."
"Jolly good!" exclaimed Professor Towler, who had been listening. "I like where this conversation is going! We'll have to discuss this. Mr. Snape, would you and Mr. Dearborn move your table over here? I want all of us to hear this." He turned back to Vanessa and the boys. "Did you know that there have been more 'evil' wizards than any other species? Of course, most of them aren't taught in school, and still more have never been recorded in books. There was one wizard by the name of Dietrich who was the actual mastermind behind World War II. He's never mentioned, since wizards prefer to place the blame on a Muggle, but in actuality…"
Vanessa stopped paying attention again when the other table bumped against her own, causing Constance's belongings to spread out over both tables. The blonde scooped them up, but she conveniently left that morning's Daily Prophet in front of Vanessa, and it was open to the article that the Slytherin had taunted Edgar with earlier that morning.
MINSTER FOR MAGIC FACES NEW SCANDAL
Jethro Bones, Minister for Magic for the last seven years, was caught in bed with the Bones family's 36 year-old maid Saturday night. The Minister himself is 53.
Bones was photographed entering and leaving a hotel with actress Antonia Amper last year, and the scandal was hastily smoothed over with alleged bribery on the Minister's part. However, up-and-coming journalist Rita Skeeter, 24, managed to obtain photographs of the Minister performing illicit acts with the maid inside his own home. The contents of the photos are too erotic to post in The Daily Prophet.
Bones's wife, Lenore, 48, refused to be interviewed. She left journalists with the comment, "I have no intentions of abandoning by husband. We shall work through this together."
Their two children, Amelia, 19, and Edgar, 15, are unavailable for interview at the present time, but Skeeter plans to speak with them on the subject at the first available opportunity. Neither child had anything to say during the Amper Scandal, and Skeeter speculates that they are "bursting with emotion and finally ready to expose their father for what he truly is." Look for her debut biography Jethro Bones: Minister or Monster? to be released in early November.
Such scandals have been the undoing of past Ministers, and it is up to the Wizengamot to decide upon Bones's fate. He will appear before the committee in a public trial on September 20.
Disgusted, Vanessa pushed the paper away and met Edgar's eyes. They were guarded.
"What do you think, Miss Reese?" asked Towler.
"Huh?"
"Miss Malfoy was just saying that wizards are doing the half-breeds a favor by limiting their rights. She says that it's not evil to protect them."
Vanessa scoffed, crumpling the newspaper before answering. "I think that Malfoy is completely wrong. Wizards are human, and the things that they do to each other and to beings that they consider less than them are vile in every sense of the word."
"Do you speak of the Death Eater attack in this morning's Prophet?" Towler inquired.
Edgar met Vanessa's eyes again. His expression did not plead with her to forget what she had read; it was simply curious as to her opinion on the article.
"The attack was horrible and inhumane and wrong, yes. But what is also wrong is the fact that journalists go out of their way to get a 'good story' on public figures." She held up the wrinkled newspaper to prove to her point. "And that those who read the paper take every word as fact. They make judgments on people based on what they read about them, and sometimes, that can be just as evil as what Voldemort does."
"How do you mean?" prompted the professor, perched on the balls of his feet.
"She means that the people of the press are nothing more than vultures, and that those who listen to them without question aren't any better," said Benjy, glaring at Constance. "There's a war starting up out there and there's a whole page of the Prophet dedicated to tearing the Minister down. What if he stays in office? He needs the faith of the people more than ever, but will they be able to give it to him after reading something like this?"
"Who's to say he'll stay in office?" sneered Constance. "My uncle Abraxus holds a good deal of sway in the Wizengamot, and I know he'll make sure that Mr. Bones is removed from his position."
"But that's just the thing," James spoke up. "I don't know which side you're on in this, Constance, but I would like to think it's the same as the Minister, and me, and the rest of us." As he motioned to those sitting at his own table, Vanessa found herself surprised at his seriousness. "And what we don't need is to all be fighting amongst each other when Voldemort is out there. He's surely waiting for when the Ministry is at its weakest—which will be the time between an old Minister and a new one. If we kick Minister Bones out of the Ministry, we're playing right into Voldemort's hands."
"So you think it would be best to keep Minister Bones, in spite of all this controversy?" asked Towler, practically bouncing up and down in excitement that the conversation was so deep.
"Definitely," James nodded. "Everyone has their vices, don't they? Frankly, I don't give a damn who he's shagging as long as he keeps the Wizarding World in check, and as far as I can remember, he's done a good job with that. The rest of it—that's family stuff. We shouldn't even know about it."
"Mr. Bones?" Towler asked then. "It's your father. What's your take on the issue?"
Edgar thought for a moment. "I think that we have to trust the people of the Wizengamot to do what they believe is best for the Magical World." Then, with a pointed look at Constance: "We have to hope that they don't submit to outside influences or bribes, and that they make the right decision for everyone."
"Come on, Bones," Severus Snape scoffed, speaking for the first time. "Not that I care, but you must have more of an opinion than that."
"You should care, Mr. Snape," Towler told him excitedly, waving his hands around dramatically as he spoke. "This is your future we're discussing!"
However, no respond was allowed from either Snape or Edgar, for the bell rang signaling the end of the period.
"Fine, fine," Towler stated as everyone packed up their things. "Your homework is to write an essay conveying your thoughts on this issue: Should we keep the current Minister for the sake of stability, or should we remove him because of his actions and hope the next person to fill the spot is more 'honorable?' You may write as much or as little as you wish, as long as you answer to question. I will see you all again on Friday."
Can't Fall Down
The Evening Prophet arrived that night at dinner, and Lily borrowed Marlene's copy while the fourth-year flipped through her new edition of Witch Weekly.
"Any news on the Death Eater attack?" Alice asked while Lily scanned the paper. "Have they caught the suspects yet?"
Lily shook her head sadly and looked up at her friends. "No, the Ministry doesn't know the identity of the wizards, so they don't have any leads. It says here that the team that's on the case will be coming to Hogsmeade to question the storekeepers about any suspicious activity."
"But what about the little boy?" asked Vanessa worriedly, leafing through her own copy of the paper.
"Nothing so far," Lily told her sadly.
"Oh, you lot! You have to read this!" squealed Marlene suddenly, and Lily, Alice, and Vanessa turned to look at the younger witch that sat across from them.
Marlene laid the magazine she had been reading down in front of the three of them. The page contained a large picture of Amelia and Edgar Bones, followed by an article titled Minister's Scandal Has Repercussions for His Children, by Rita Skeeter.
Vanessa huffed in aggravation and pushed the magazine away. "Why are you reading that rubbish, Marlene? We know Edgar. All that that article is going to do is blow the whole situation out of proportion."
"But Mr. Bones is the Minister for Magic," Marlene insisted, taking the discarded magazine and placing it neatly in her bag. "How can you not care that he's a bad person?"
Alice came to his defense before Vanessa could say anything else. "Jethro Bones is not a bad person. I've met him quite a few times and he really does have the peoples' best interests at heart. So what if he's made a few mistakes?"
"They're pretty big mistakes if you ask me," said Marlene with conviction.
"They're only big because he's the Minister," Lily told her gently. "If it were anyone else, no one would care. They would go about their business as usual. However, since he's the Minister for Magic, everything he does is analyzed and criticized more than it should be."
"And like Vanessa said," Alice continued, "we know Edgar. The only 'repercussions' he's facing are the ones caused by these articles."
"Fine," complied Marlene. "Merlin, no need to attack me."
"Sorry," mumbled Alice.
"Yeah," agreed Vanessa. "I had this discussion earlier in Magical Law. I guess it's not really fair to say the same things to you as I said to Constance Malfoy. It's just…you didn't see the look on Edgar's face. It was so…complacent. And I guess I just felt bad that he's the only one who really has the right to an opinion on this, but he can't have it because the press will get hold of anything he says and use it against his dad, you know?"
Marlene nodded. "Well, he might be able to have an opinion after the hearing on the 20th. If Mr. Bones gets kicked out of office, then the family will be free to do whatever they want."
"Mm," said Lily with a hint of sarcasm. "What a happy thought."
After dinner, Lily parted with Alice and Vanessa to go to the library, where she planned to meet Severus to work on homework. Before she reached the fourth floor, however, a small noise caught her attention.
Noticing no one in the main hall where she walked, Lily turned down a somewhat narrow corridor, lit by the orange glow of the torches and by the weak moonlight streaming in through the high windows.
The little girl was nearly invisible in the shadows, but Lily could make out her thin form sitting on the floor with her knees curled up to her chest. She could not have been older than twelve.
Lily hesitated, unsure of what to do. However, as another sob escaped the girl's throat, Lily knew that she could not simply leave her there. Instead, she cautiously made her way over to where the girl sat and slid down the wall next to her.
The little girl looked up in surprise. Her face was blotchy and tear-stained. "You-you're Lily E-Evans."
Startled that the young girl knew her name, Lily only nodded. "What's your name?"
"Harmony P-P-Proctor."
"What's wrong, Harmony?" asked the Prefect gently.
She sniffed loudly and wiped her eyes on her sleeve before reply. "W-well," she began, her voice shaky from crying, "Did you h-hear about that b-boy, Logan B-Barber?"
"Of course," Lily answered. "It's in The Prophet."
Harmony nodded and wiped her eyes again. "Th-that Auror that c-came, Oct-ta-tavian Con-hic-rad," she hiccupped. "He qu-questioned m-me about L-Logan because I-I'm their neighb-b-bor."
"Oh," Lily sighed, realization coming over her. "You were the second-year Dumbledore mentioned when he told us about the Auror coming."
Another nod. "Mr. C-Conrad wasn't n-n-nice to me at all."
"What did he do?" Lily asked, suddenly wary of the bulky man that had been in the building the entire day.
"H-he j-just got really m-mad when I didn't know wh-what happened or wh-who would w-want to attack L-Logan. He y-yelled at me."
Lily wrapped her arm around the little girl's thin shoulders, unsure of what else she could do. "At least it's over now."
"B-b-but Logan is st-still missing!" Harmony insisted. "And I-I can't help. W-what… what if they k-kill him t-too?" The last part was whispered, as though it was the first time all day that she had voiced this fear aloud.
Lily could not truthfully say that she thought it was unlikely that the Death Eaters would kill Logan Barber. She thought for a moment in the dim torchlight, watching it dance on the wall across from her before she gave the girl's shoulder a squeeze and said, "The Aurors will find him. They're good at what they do."
She inwardly winced knowing that they might not find him alive.
Unwell
James Potter was rarely alone. During the day, he was surrounded by the hundreds of students that lived in the castle, and at night he and his friends were always up to something.
So it was almost an odd feeling to sit by himself under his invisibility cloak at the top of the Astronomy Tower. The world was quite, save for the gentle breeze that blew over the low stone walls. Stars twinkled overhead, but James was not looking at them. Instead, he unsealed the letter that he had received at breakfast that morning. It had been burning a hole in his pocket all day, but as soon as James had recognized the untidy script, the wizard knew that this was a letter he needed to read alone.
He scanned the contents twice before sighing in relief.
I hope that you liked it! I'm kind of just…eh about this one. I like the next chapter much better. Anyway, let me know what you think about this one!
As always, spoilers, chapter playlists, etc. on the blog.
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Love Always,
Kayla
Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.
-Robert Brault