AN: Special thanks to Tribot and PhantomPotterGirl for the great ideas for costumes! You both rock!
Wow, it's 5:30 am here and I just finished this so if there are typos/grammar mistakes I am not surprised, but I do apologize for them! I really got into writing this chapter even though I felt somewhat strange listening to Halloween music and writing a Halloween chapter in May, so I just couldn't sleep until I finished it. It is super long, and I am super tired so I'll just keep this short. I'm sure you all would rather read the chapter than what I have to say here anyway. Enjoy!
Oh, and by the way, I don't own Harry Potter. I just use writing fanfiction as an excuse to stay up ridiculously late. I really hope that's not the sunrise I'm starting to see.
"Oh yeah, who's a sexy pirate?" asked Sirius as he smirked in the mirror. He roved an approving eye up and down his scarcely clad body. His ruffled white shirt was open to just above his belly button, his black pants were tight and clinging to his muscular legs, and a red bandana was tied around his head. "I think I'm ready for a little booty."
"Can you stop staring at yourself in the mirror for one minute? Some other people want to use it," complained Peter from behind Sirius. They were in their dorm room getting ready to make an appearance at dinner and Sirius had been staring at himself in the mirror for the past fifteen minutes.
"And what are you supposed to be?" asked Sirius, raising an eyebrow at Peter, who was dressed in a long black robe.
"I'm a dementor, see?" he asked as he pulled the hood over his face. "I may just have to kiss a few naughty girls."
"I applaud you for finding a costume that will cover your face, that can only help you with the ladies, but why would any girl want to kiss a dementor? Wouldn't they run the other way?" asked Sirius. "You're kind-of making it even harder for yourself, because the ladies will finally make the connection that kissing you would be a fate worse than death."
"Maybe if you were wearing this costume girls would run the other way. I, however, won't have any problem with them. In fact, they'll be begging me for a kiss," said Peter arrogantly as he stood up taller.
"You know it doesn't count if you use the imperious curse on them first, right?" asked Sirius.
"Oh shut up, Padfoot. For someone who talks so much about how the ladies love you, I haven't seen you kissing any girls lately," said Peter.
"How long has it been since the last time you tricked a girl into kissing you? About seventeen years?" asked Sirius.
"Are you two still arguing?" asked Remus as he entered the dorm. "I will banish both of you from this room if you don't shut up."
"Ah, Moony, all finished?" asked Sirius.
"Yes, it's all ready. Now all you have to do is make sure every Slytherin takes a sip of firewhisky," said Remus as he drew back the curtains from around his bed and collapsed in a heap in the middle of it.
"What are you doing, Moony? Aren't you going to get ready?" asked Peter.
"I don't know. I don't really feel like going to the party tonight," admitted Remus quietly, aware of how angry the admission was going to make Sirius.
"Not go! You can't not go to our last Halloween party at Hogwarts! It's un-Marauder of you!" said Sirius in an appalled tone.
"I'm not really feeling like much of a Marauder right now," said Moony sulkily to his red comforter.
"Mate, you need to snap out of it! This is pathetic! I know you're upset about Hannah, but it's not healthy to pine after a girl so much! Look at Prongs!" said Sirius.
"You don't know anything, Pads. I'm in love with that girl," said Remus.
"Oh no you bloody don't. Get that L-word out of your brain. There'll be none of that tonight. I will drag your sorry butt out of bed and transfigure your clothes into whatever the bloody hell I want if you don't get up and start getting ready yourself. I will not let you sit here and mope about some girl! Now get in the shower right now!" roared Sirius.
"I think he popped a blood vessel in a forehead. Way to go Moony," said James who had just entered the room in the middle of Sirius's impassioned speech.
"You better remember that the next time you start moaning about Lily," said Sirius as he turned back toward the mirror and fiddled with the bandana on his head.
"Duly noted," said James, rolling his eye s at his best friend.
"Well, I'm not waiting any more for Moony. I'm hungry and the Halloween feast is my favorite," said Sirius, "But he better be down at dinner in TEN MINUTES or I will come back up here!" he bellowed through the door. "Coming Prongs?"
"I'm only saying yes because I'm afraid of what might happen if I say no," said James.
"That's right. You will fear and tremble before me, the Dread Pirate Sirius. I take no prisoners. Unless they give me access to their precious jewels," said Sirius.
"Sorry, mate, all of mine have Lily's name written all over them," said James.
"And that is why you are pathetic," said Sirius as he swung open the door and hopped up onto the banister. He slid down the banister on his feet, jumping off and tumbling to the ground at the end. "And I am just too damn sexy for you."
"I'm sure they'll be here soon," said Lily as she caught Hannah glancing toward the door to the Great Hall once again. "You know the Marauders, they take longer to get ready than any girl I know."
"Oh, I was just looking for Carrie, I don't know why you would mention the Marauders," said Hannah, a faint blush coming over her cheeks.
"Did someone say Marauders?" asked Sirius as he sat down across the table from Hannah and Lily.
"Hi angel," whispered a voice at her ear as arms came around her and pulled her close to a warm body. Lily shivered as his warm breath came in contact with her bare neck.
"Hi James," said Lily, beaming as she turned to take in his appearance. He was wearing tight black pants, a black shirt that was buttoned only halfway up, and a black leather cloak. He had also used a spell to grow his hair so that it now just reached his shoulders.
"Just call me Van Helsing," said James in a husky, sexy voice.
"Well, Van Helsing, I love your hair like this," said Lily, running her hand through his soft hair.
"You look heavenly," said James.
"Lily, are you going to introduce me to your friend?" asked Sirius, interrupting the romantic moment between Lily and James. He barely looked up at the girls as he piled his plate with food.
"Er, sure, Sirius. This is my friend Hannah, whom you've known for the past six years," said Lily in a teasing tone.
"Hannah? Moony's Hannah?" asked Sirius, finally looking up from the mountain of food piled on his plate.
"Well, I wouldn't say," began Hannah, blushing again.
"Hannah!" said Sirius as he leaped over the table and pulled her into a hug. "I am so glad you're ok! Now Moony will stop being so pathetic and he might let me start copying his homework again!"
"Well, I guess you're welcome, then," said Hannah as she pushed Sirius away from her. He was pecking her cheeks all over and she was getting uncomfortable as she noticed that several people were watching them.
"Sirius, found a new girl to slobber all over?" asked a disapproving voice from behind Hannah. Hannah froze, recognizing the voice instantly. In her mind she heard him whisper sweet, heartbroken words to her, but she didn't know if they were simply a dream or if they had actually been spoken by Remus.
"This is great. Now I get to make the reintroductions and he'll be so happy that I've reunited both of you that he'll have to let me copy his potions essay," said Sirius with a gigantic smirk on his face.
"What are you talking about Padfoot?" asked Remus as he narrowed his eyes at his friend and came a bit closer. Hannah was still frozen, both anticipating and dreading the moment when their eyes would finally meet again. She knew that this moment was pivotal. When she turned around Remus would either be ecstatic or indifferent. If he was indifferent she didn't know if she could take it. She would be devastated.
"Remus, old friend, I would like you to say hello to someone you might know who has recently returned to Hogwarts," said Sirius. He clamped his hands on Hannah's shoulders and slowly turned her around.
Hannah kept her eyes on her feet for a moment. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Remus' scuffed trainers. There was a great silence that seemed to cut through the noise in the Great Hall, and all Hannah could hear was her blood pulsing in her eardrums. Slowly Hannah peered up through her eyelashes, gazing up Remus' body until her eyes met his shocked blue irises.
"Hannah?" he whispered in a quiet voice as he looked her all over, taking in every inch of her body.
"Hi, Remus," said Hannah shyly, also in a quiet voice. Time itself felt like it was paused as they stared at each other, a million thoughts running through both of their heads.
"So, are they just going to stand there looking like idiots all night?" asked Sirius in a loud whisper. "Wait, Remus, where's your costume? You cannot go to our party without a costume!"
"Shut it, Black," said Lily as she smacked him in the back of the head, "You are about as romantic as a pile of dung. If you ruin this for them I will personally make sure that no girl kisses you for the rest of the school year."
"Well, you can try, but as persuasive as you are, I don't think you'll be able to convince them. You see, I'm irresistible," said Sirius.
"Black, how irresistible do you think you'll be once I tell all of the girls about your bet to kiss all of the attractive girls before graduation day?" asked Lily threateningly.
"James, you didn't tell her!" said Sirius in a betrayed tone.
"Sorry, mate, Lily and I talk about everything," said James.
"Well, I have lost my appetite! I am just going to take this plate of pumpkin pasties and leave! I can tell when I'm not wanted!" Sirius bellowed. "Well, maybe I'll grab some turkey for the road. I have a lot of girls to kiss tonight and I don't want to be low on energy. But now I am leaving and I hope you all feel bad about how I was betrayed!" Sirius said in a wounded tone as he began to turn around. "You know what? Maybe I'll grab a few rolls before I go, you know the houselves make some lovely rolls. But now I will take my meager meal and go elsewhere, away from those who have wounded me so." Sirius once again began to turn towards the doors, but he stopped midway through and turned back toward the table. "But really, what are rolls without butter and some marmalade. You know I love marmalade. It's such a pretty color, and so tasty! There is nothing on earth as good as marmalade on a warm roll! But now I'm going! I can tell you I am truly distraught over your treatment of me! I thought you were my friends. Well, adieu! I wish we could part of much better terms, but alas, it is not within my power!" Sirius had just barely turned his head to the door when he whipped it back toward the table. "Oh, is that treacle I spy with my little eye? Hmm, you can't have a balanced meal without treacle. The only useful thing my mother ever said to me was to never waste good treacle, you know. So maybe I should cut myself a slice-"
"Sirius?" said Lily in a sharp tone.
Sirius looked over at Lily. He was balancing plates and bits of food precariously in his arms, with a quasi-innocent look on his face. "Was there something you wanted to say to me, Lily dearest?"
"Yeah, if you sit down and shut up I'll forget this ever happened and I'll forget all about your moronic bet," said Lily.
"Well, it's not a gracious apology, but I guess I'll just have to be the bigger person and just accept," said Sirius.
"Now, shh! Let Hannah and Remus get back to their romantic reunion," said James. Lily, Peter, and James all turned to stare at Remus and Hannah, who both blushed.
"But James," began Sirius.
"Shut up, Padfoot!" hissed James.
"James," said Sirius again.
"Pads, not now!" said James.
"Jamesie?" said Sirius again.
"What do you want?" exploded James as he turned just in time to see Sirius drop all of the plates he was holding. The pumpkin pasties went skittering all over the floor, hunks of turkey flew over the tabletops, a few rolls landed in several drinks, knocking them over, the dish full of marmalade flew over Sirius' head, dropping a huge glob on the center of his head, and mini treacle tarts rained down from the ceiling.
"I think I'm going to drop the plates," said Sirius in a defeated tone as marmalade dripped down his face. "Mmm, I do love marmalade."
A stunned silence fell over the Great Hall as all eyes were focused on Sirius and the mess he'd created. The professors at the staff table half rose from their chairs, staring at the mess but too stunned to think of what to do. Dumbledore had a bit of a twinkle in his eye as he covered his mouth with his napkin. Had it not been for McGonagall's stern glare Dumbledore probably would have been chuckling. And had it not been for Peeves' entry into the Great Hall and his subsequent incitation of a food fight, McGonagall would have descended upon Sirius to hand out a detention.
Hannah watched all of this chaos with a stunned, though ecstatic feeling. She was so glad to be back at Hogwarts, where anything could, and usually did, happen thanks to the Marauders. Though she had been nervous about how people would treat her when she returned from St. Mungo's, she had found that everything had gone back to normal. The only person who still made her nervous was Remus. Although he had looked happy to see her when she'd first seen him, he hadn't really said anything to her yet. She had hoped that there would be something between them during her week of recovery. She had thought of little else during her monotonous hours in the hospital. But maybe he didn't think of her the same way. Maybe he just wanted to be friends.
While the rest of the room was still focused on the food being hurled by the unruly poltergeist, Hannah turned back to Remus and caught him watching her. He blushed as he caught her gaze, and then he looked away. As she took in his shy expression, Hannah realized that she would have to be the one to make the first move. If she didn't, they would both continue to stand there like idiots in such a tense, uncomfortable moment. She would just have to get over her nerves and tell him how she felt. Hannah was just about to say something when Remus glanced up at her and smiled shyly.
"Hannah, I-It's good to see you. I'm really glad you're alright. If you'll excuse me," said Remus in a flustered tone. Before Hannah could say anything Remus had turned and hurried out of the Great Hall. Hannah stood and stared after him for a few seconds before she turned back to the table and sank down onto the bench. As food flew around above her head and all around her she sat numbly at the table. All she could think about was the way Remus had fled the Great Hall. He had run away from her, and she couldn't for the life of her figure out why. What had she done? Had she ruined everything between them, or was there nothing there from the beginning?
Hannah rose from the table and quietly walked towards the exit herself. She kept herself composed as she walked down the aisle to the door, only ducking when she saw food flying towards her. No one noticed as she exited the Hall, no one came after her. It was almost as if she had never returned at all. She felt like a ghost as she ascended the stairs to the seventh floor, as she walked down floor after floor of empty corridors. She felt tears trickle down her cheeks as soon as she realized there was no one around. Several of the paintings called out to her as she waltzed past them, asking if she was alright, but she ignored them. When she arrived at the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy she paced the wall before the entrance to the Room of Requirement thinking only of a place to curl up and let out all of her despair. Once the door appeared she rushed into the room. She collapsed in tears on the couch once she took in the familiar room that she and Remus had used several times. Books lined the shelves, a comfy couch sat in the middle, and a roaring fire sat before the couch. Hannah lay on her stomach across the couch and finally let all of her frustration and disappointment escape.
"Have you seen Hannah?" asked Lily. McGonagall had just broken up the food fight and had instructed all of the students to get out of her sight. There was a swarm of students exiting the Great Hall and Lily couldn't see Hannah anywhere.
"No, I haven't seen her since before the food fight," said James, "but she must be with Remus. I don't see him either."
"I donght finks shehs wivth im," said Peter as he bit into a chicken leg, juices dripping down his chin.
"Ugh, you can't take Wormy anywhere. Your eating habits are truly disgusting, mate," said Sirius, who was covered in mashed potatoes, gravy, peas, and every other food imaginable.
"Pads, you probably shouldn't ever comment on anyone else's sloppy eating habits," advised James as he flicked some pudding off of his leather cloak.
"I've never felt so gross in my entire life. I think I need to go back to our dorm to clean up. I don't think a cleaning charm will be enough," said Lily as she ran her fingers over her now food-coated hair.
"I think I'll join you, Lily," said James, throwing an arm around her shoulders.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't," said Sirius, winking at them.
"Wait, you guys distracted me. Did anyone see Hannah?" asked Lily, once again scanning the crowd exiting the Great Hall.
"She ran out of the Hall shortly after Remus left," said Peter.
"Wait, why did Remus leave?" asked James.
"Well, how should I know? I just saw them talk for a minute, he looked all nervous, and then he ran out. Hannah looked kinda weird, she sat down at the table for a bit, and then she walked out," said Peter.
"How did you see all of this? And how are you so clean?" asked Sirius suspiciously.
"Well, I didn't want to get my costume ruined," said Peter defensively.
"You didn't," said Sirius in shock.
"And I was really hungry," said Peter.
"You hid under the table?" asked Sirius.
"I wasn't hiding. I just ducked under it for a little bit," said Peter.
"Wormy, you are supposed to be a Marauder! Marauders do NOT hide under the table when there's a food fight going on! Marauders fight for the glory! They stand proudly amidst the chaos and do their very best to make the fight as memorable as possible! I mean, did you see when I leaped up onto the staff table and rained mashed potatoes down on all of the professors? I may get detention for the next month because of it, especially because I think I got some caked into McGonagall's bun, but I went for it. I am pretty sure everyone will never forget that moment as the mashed potatoes smashed into her face and her eyes bugged out of her head and she screamed "SIRIUS BLACK" at the top of her lungs," said Sirius, looking very pleased with himself.
"Or afterward as you dodged her hexes as you jumped from table to table," said James, chuckling himself.
"I have to say, I am just shocked that she would actually try to attack a student, especially her favorite student," said Sirius in a mock-disparaging tone.
"Will you all stop talking? Something's wrong with Hannah and Remus, and it's up to us to figure out what it is and fix it," said Lily.
"Oh no, you are not going to turn me into some sappy matchmaker. Tonight is Halloween, and we have to get to our party. Let Moony mope if he wants to, I'm sick of trying to get him to snap out of it," said Sirius.
"It's ok, Lily. I'll go talk to Remus. Sirius can go get everything ready for the party, and you can find Hannah. Sirius, give Lily your mirror. Lily, after you've talked to Hannah contact me with your mirror. We'll meet up and go to the party together. I'll see you later," said James, pecking her on the cheek before he rushed off to the Gryffindor boys' dorm, expecting Remus to be holed up in his bed.
"Hey, what about me?" asked Peter as everyone else rushed off.
"Oh, come on Wormtail. You can help me get the drinks ready," said Sirius, rolling his eyes.
"REMUS!" James bellowed as he entered the seventh year Gryffindor boys' dormitory.
"Go away, James," said Remus quietly.
"Un-Uh, I will not. Not until you tell me what the bloody hell happened," said James as he ripped the curtains around Remus' bed apart.
"It's not your problem, James. Just leave me alone," said Remus, "I'm sure you want to get back to Lily."
"You're right, mate, I do want to get back to Lily. But I've got a problem. You see, she had to go after Hannah who ran out of the Great Hall after you walked away from her. So I need to know what happened so that I can help Lily fix whatever happened, preferably before the night is over so I can enjoy some time with my girlfriend," said James.
"Hannah was upset?" asked Remus, lifting his head up to look at James.
"I didn't see her leave, but I assume she was if Peter saw her run out of the Great Hall," said James.
"Ugh, I'm such an idiot," said Remus as he pushed the hair out of his face in a very Sirius-ish manner.
"Yeah, you are. Now tell me what you did and why you did it, and I'll fix everything," said James. He sat down on the edge of the bed and waited not quite patiently for Remus to begin.
"I just choked, James. I started thinking about when she got hurt, and about all of my worries that her life would be ruined by going out with me, and how we can't have a future so why start anything, and how incredibly beautiful she looked, and how much I had missed her, and how I loved her so much and was so grateful that she was alright and back here that I couldn't say anything. I'm sure she thought I was a moron, staring at her like that without saying anything. So I finally just told her that I was glad she was back and practically ran out of the Great Hall," said Remus in a frustrated tone.
"Oh, wow. Er, ok, let's see. How do we fix this?" asked James, messing his hair up, a habit that meant he was thinking hard. "Well, I think we have to find her and sort this all out. You have to grow a backbone and just tell her how you feel, Moony."
"How can I tell her how I feel and open her up to tell me how she feels when she doesn't know the truth about me?" asked Remus.
"Well, the way I see it, there are only two options, Moony. You can either tell her how you feel and keep your secret, or you can trust her and tell her your secret. I don't think that it's a good idea to just not tell her how you feel unless you want to cut her completely out of your life. When you love someone like you love Hannah it's really hard to be just friends with them," said James, smiling sadly.
"What do you think I should do?" asked Remus, biting a fingernail.
"Honestly, Moony, I'm not sure if I should tell you what you should do, but as your friend, I would advise you to tell the truth. It's also hard to be in a relationship with someone you love when it's all based on lies," said James.
"You're talking about Lily?" asked Remus.
"Yeah. I feel really guilty that the only reason she's going out with me is because I lied to her, but I don't want to lose her either," said James. "So I think you should tell Hannah your secret. From what Lily's told me about her, you can trust her to keep your secret even if things don't work out."
"Maybe we should both tell the truth," suggested Remus.
"She's going to hate me if I tell her I lied to her, Remus," said James.
"Maybe she won't. Anyone can see how much she loves you. Maybe she'll just be glad you told her before she found out," said Remus.
"Maybe," said James.
"That's it, we'll make a promise right now that we'll both tell the truth," said Remus, rising from the bed.
"Alright, we'll both tell the truth," said James, taking a shaky breath.
"Great, now let's find Hannah and Lily. I have a feeling I know where Hannah went," said Remus, rising from the bed with a new determination.
Lily decided to check the girls' dormitory first in the hopes that Hannah would have returned there to find Carrie. When she entered the dormitory, however, it was empty. She wondered where Carrie had gone; she hadn't seen her in the Great Hall. After she looked in the bathroom and determined that no one was in there either, she exited the Gryffindor common room and decided to search through all of the girls' bathrooms starting with the one closest to the Great Hall. The search was slow and Lily was having no luck. Lily had loved the mystery that came with the vastness of the castle ever since she first arrived, but now that she was looking for someone it was just annoying.
"Where are you Hannah?" Lily asked in frustration after she exited the fourth bathroom she had checked. At this rate she would be searching for the rest of the night. The castle was pretty empty and Lily suspected that most people had wandered to whatever secret location the Marauders' party was held in. Every student in the castle had received an invitation to the party that revealed the location of the party as soon as it started. It was a pretty impressive bit of magic, actually. If anyone besides the intended recipient looked at the invitation it would look like a scrap bit of parchment. James had explained that there was also a tongue tying jinx that went along with the parchment so that no one could talk about the location, or even the existence of a party. That ensured that no staff or faculty would be able to break the party up. Of course, the faculty knew that the party was happening, but they couldn't stop it. Lily suspected that Dumbledore could have done something about it if he wanted to, but luckily the headmaster had a much more developed sense of humor than most of the other staff members.
"Lily?" asked a voice from behind her.
Lily whirled around, suddenly realizing how vulnerable she was in an empty corridor on the third floor. She hadn't seen anyone else in ages. When she turned around she saw a figure emerge from the shadows. It was tall, with dark hair, and a rather large nose.
"Snape, what are you doing here?" asked Lily sharply.
"I certainly don't have to tell you that," said Severus in a cold voice.
"Actually, if you haven't forgotten, I'm the Head Girl," said Lily.
"So? I'm not breaking any rules by walking down a corridor at eight o'clock, am I?" asked Severus.
"No, but by the look on your face I can see that you're up to something that would break the rules," said Lily, eyeing him up and down before she scanned the corridor behind him.
"Why don't you run along back to your boyfriend, Evans? Have you forgotten what happened the last time you wandered down empty corridors by yourself?" asked Severus. He peered behind him through the dark corridors before looking back at her.
"Why, are you and your friends going to try to jump me again?" asked Lily, reaching her hand into her clutch to pull out her wand with a shaky hand.
"You want to be very careful, Evans. You're not as safe in this castle as you'd like to think. I'd hate to see something to you," said Severus in a fierce voice.
"Are you threatening me, Snape? Are you going to hex me yourself?" asked Lily in incredulity.
"No, of course not, Lily. In case you don't remember, I risked my neck to save you from the professor in the tunnel to Honeydukes. I would never hurt you," said Severus, his tone beginning as a hiss and ending tenderly. He reached a hand out and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"Don't you touch me, Snape," said Lily, batting his hand away from her.
"So nothing I do could ever redeem me in your eyes? I will always be an evil Death Eater to you?" asked Severus. "You will only ever think of me with contempt?"
"Severus, I didn't want things to turn out this way. I didn't want you to become a Death Eater. If you would just turn your back on them, if you would help us fight against them, then we could be friends again. I know that deep inside of you there is a good man, but each decision that you make, each decision that brings you closer to the Dark Lord, shrinks the good person I knew. Won't you let me help you?" asked Lily.
"You can't help me, Lily. I can't turn my back on them. It's too late. They'd kill me, and not even Dumbledore could stop them. But tell me one thing," said Severus, moving closer to Lily until they were mere inches apart. "If things were different, if I had never joined the Death Eaters, would you ever choose me over Potter? Would you ever consider being with me?"
The question hung in the empty corridor. Lily stared into the eyes that still held a bit of warmth. She tried to think clearly about what might have happened between them in an alternate universe where he wasn't descended from a long line of Slytherins, if she wasn't a muggle-born, if Voldemort hadn't come to power and started his campaign of hatred, if Severus hadn't been caught in the tide of Death Eaters, if she hadn't fallen in love with James. But there were way too many ifs, and Lily couldn't even imagine a universe where she wasn't in love with James. As soon as she thought about it, though, she saw Severus' eyes turn cold. She knew he was gifted at legilimency and wondered if he had tapped into her mind or if her eyes had given everything away.
"Severus," said Lily quietly.
"No, don't say anything," barked Severus.
"I'll always be grateful that you saved me, Sev," said Lily, using the nickname she had said so often in their childhood, "and I'll always remember that there is some good in you. Try to remember that."
"Oh, you still think there's good in me, do you?" asked Severus, a coldness coming over his face. "Would a good man do this?" he asked as he cast a silent petrificus totalus spell that pinned her to the wall. "Would he pin you to a wall and steal a kiss that you would never give of your free will?" asked Severus as he caressed her frozen cheek, lowered his mouth down to hers, and then released the spell just before his lips touched hers.
Lily was so stunned by the events that it took her a minute to realize that she had been released. Severus pulled her in towards him and tried to deepen the kiss, but Lily pushed against him as hard as she could and he stumbled backwards. She clattered to the floor beside him and scrambled to her feet as quickly as she could.
"So that's it? You want to be evil?" asked Lily, staring at him as tears clouded her vision. "You want to hate and fight and steal? You wanted to prove to me that you're not a good person? Congratulations. I'll never make the mistake of thinking you're a good person ever again."
"Evans, I'm," began Severus as he got up from lying in the middle of the corridor floor.
"What could you possibly say after what you just did?" asked Lily.
"There's nothing I can say to make it right, but I don't regret what I did. Maybe that makes me evil. But at least now I know what it's like to kiss you. I've wanted to kiss you for such a long time," said Severus.
"You're pathetic!" hurled Lily. "I should hex you right now-"
"Severus," called a voice from further down the corridor.
"Lily, you need to go," said Severus with a panicked look on his face.
"Don't you call me that! We are not friends, Snape!" Lily said angrily.
"Evans, you need to get out of here right now. I'm not kidding," said Severus in a warning tone.
"Why should I? Maybe I should just stick around and see what you're up to," suggested Lily.
"Evans, the Professor is on his way here right now. He'd love nothing more than to find you here in an empty corridor by yourself," said Severus, "Please, just go."
"The Professor?" asked Lily, feeling her body begin to shake.
"Yes, Evans. I can't protect you. Go, now," said Severus.
Lily turned and ran away from Severus and the approaching Death Eaters. She ran as fast as she could while remaining fairly silent. Her heart was beating erratically as she ran up a flight of stairs, all of her thoughts focused on the Professor. Once she was up the flight of stairs she began moving as quickly as she could without worrying about how much noise she was making. Once she had reached the Heads Common room, the only place she would feel safe, she collapsed on the couch and began crying. She couldn't stop thinking about the terror and anger she had felt when Severus had stolen the kiss from her, and when she had heard that the Professor would be coming.
When Lily heard a voice from her beaded clutch she nearly screamed. When the voice called her name again, she recognized the voice as James' and she quickly pulled the mirror out, relieved to see James' face.
"Lily," said James again.
"James," said Lily in a shaky voice. She cursed herself for not making sure she was looking alright and that her voice sounded alright. She wasn't sure that she wanted to tell James what had happened with Severus.
"Oh, Lily, where are you?" asked James.
"I'm in our common room. I couldn't find Hannah," said Lily, suddenly remembering her search for Hannah.
"That's alright. We found her. Remus is talking with her right now, and I think it's a bit of a private conversation. I'll come find you and then we can head to the party," said James. Lily could see that the background was moving behind him.
"That's really good about Remus and Hannah. I hope they can work everything out," said Lily.
"I'm sure they'll be fine. By the looks of things they'll be kissing within the hour," said James. "It got a bit uncomfortable being in the same room with them."
"Yeah, I can imagine," said Lily quietly.
"Hey, you," said James as he pushed the door to their common room open.
"James," said Lily as she rose from the couch and ran over to him. She threw her arms around him and buried her head in his chest. She tried to keep everything together, but she couldn't stop a few tears from trickling down her face.
"Are you ok, Lily?" asked James as he pulled back from her and tried to look her in the eyes. She kept her eyes lowered.
"Sure, fine," she said quietly.
"Lily, what's wrong?" asked James.
"I really don't want to talk about it right now, James. I just want to go to the party and have a good time," said Lily, finally looking him in the eye.
"Are you sure? I don't care about the party, Lily. I care about you," said James.
"Yeah, I want to go, just let me get cleaned up a bit and then we can head to the party," said Lily.
"Ok, but we'll talk tomorrow," said James nervously.
"Tomorrow," said Lily as she hurried to her room and cast a quick silencing charm before allowing herself a few minutes to cry.
Remus and James had hurried to the Room of Requirement after their short talk. Remus paced before the wall and when he opened the door he was relieved to see that Hannah was inside of it. He was relieved, that is, until he saw that she was crying. He had really messed up with her yet again.
"Hannah?" Remus said quietly as he walked towards her.
"What are you doing here?" Hannah asked. She wiped her eyes and sat up, but she refused to meet Remus' eyes.
"Hannah, I'm so sorry for how I acted back in the Great Hall. I, well, I really have no excuse for how I treated you except that I was so nervous about talking to you that I couldn't think of what to say," said Remus.
"You were nervous about talking to me? Why would you be nervous, Remus?" asked Hannah.
"Well, because I've been thinking about you non-stop since the attack. If I'm being honest, I've been thinking about you for years before all of that, and I wanted to tell you all of that, about my feelings and thoughts, when I saw you, but I was afraid you wouldn't feel the same, and then you were standing in front of me and I was so glad to see you, and so relieved that you were alright, and I missed you so much while you were gone, and I'm rambling like a blithering idiot," said Remus uncomfortably as she rubbed the back of his head.
"That's what you were nervous about? Remus, that's silly," said Hannah, laughing as she stood up from the couch and wiped under her eyes once again.
"I don't really see that this is a funny moment," said Remus, "I just bore my heart to you, and you find it funny? Ouch."
"No, Remus, I'm not laughing at you. I'm only laughing because I feel the same way about you, but when you ran away from me I was afraid you could see that I liked you and ran so you wouldn't have to deal with my awkward confession and your subsequent rejection of me," said Hannah, laughing again.
"You really do? You feel the same way about me?" asked Remus in a wondrous tone.
"Of course I do, Remus. I've thought about you for so long, watched you from a distance, but I never imagined you could care for me," said Hannah.
"How could I not care for you Hannah? You're beautiful inside and out. Your smile makes me feel better even when I'm tired and not feeling well. I've watched you from a distance as well, and I've imagined kissing you so many times," said Remus, a blush coming over his cheeks.
"Right, I think that's my cue to leave. Er, I'm not really sure why I even stayed at all. I'll just be going now," said James.
"James," said Hannah before he could leave.
"Yeah?" asked James, turning back toward her.
"I just wanted to say that I think you and Lily are so good together. I've never seen her happier than she is now. Just don't do anything to screw it up," said Hannah playfully.
"Right, I'll try not to screw it up," said James, "It really is good to see you back here, but I'll let Remus express that to you. See you both later." James exited the door and as soon as he did Remus crossed the distance between him and Hannah and pulled her into his arms.
"I really have missed you, Hannah," said Remus.
"Can I tell you something strange, Remus?" asked Hannah.
"You can tell me whatever you want," said Remus happily.
"I dreamed about you while I was in my coma," said Hannah, "you said you were sorry about how you acted that day, and that you wanted me to wake up, and well, you said something else that was pretty odd. At first I thought it all really happened until you said that you were a, well, a werewolf," said Hannah.
Remus stiffened around Hannah, realizing that in this moment he had to choose whether to tell her the truth or to lie to her. He took a deep breath and looked down at her. "I think we should probably talk, Hannah."
"What about?" asked Hannah, wondering at the sudden change in topic.
"Let's go sit, shall we?" asked Remus.
"Alright," said Hannah, allowing him to pull her to the couch.
"I don't want you to be frightened about what I am going to say. You are perfectly safe at the moment," said Remus. "And I want you to know that I won't think badly of you if you decide that you cannot associate with me anymore. I would completely understand if you wouldn't want to be involved with someone like me. Believe me, society certainly does not make it easy-"
"What are you saying, Remus?" asked Hannah. She put her hand on his shoulder and looked up at him.
"I'm saying that what you remember from your coma wasn't a dream. It all happened. I did tell you that I am a werewolf because it's true. I am a werewolf," said Remus ashamedly.
"Oh," said Hannah.
"I-I'll leave if you want," said Remus, starting to stand up.
"Hold on, Remus. I'm not rejecting you. I'm just trying to process what you just told me," said Hannah. Hannah looked over at Remus, at his nervous and shame-filled expression and her heart melted for him all over again. Sure, he turned into a werewolf once a month in the presence of a full moon, but he was still the kindest, gentlest, most handsome man she had ever met, and she wasn't about to throw all that away because of something that he couldn't control.
"I know it's a lot to take in," said Remus. "But like I said, you don't need to worry that you'll upset me. Being with me will only make your life more complicated, and the last thing I want to do is anything that will upset you. I care for you a lot, Hannah, and I would never do anything to cause you pain. So if you want to leave and pretend this whole thing never happened, I completely understand-" Remus was blithering away again, completely unaware that Hannah was trying to get his attention. So she did the one thing she knew would get him to stop talking. She crossed the small distance between them and kissed him innocently on the lips. She enjoyed the shocked look on his face as she pulled back.
"Why would I ever care about what anyone else had to say? I care about you too, Remus, and I want to be with you," said Hannah.
"Are you sure? You do know that as a werewolf it will be nearly impossible for me to get a job in the wizarding world after graduation. And people may look at you differently if they find out that you're dating a werewolf. And I'll always have to be gone on a full moon, even if it falls on our anniversary, or your birthday," said Remus.
"Remus, I don't care about all of that. Besides, I can think of a few things I would prefer for your lips to do than tell me why I shouldn't be with you," said Hannah.
"You're a lot less shy about physical displays of affection than I imagined," said Remus.
"That's only because I've been wanting to kiss you for so long," said Hannah.
"Well, don't let me keep you waiting any longer," said Remus as he leaned down and pulled her in for another kiss.
Lily took a few deep breaths to calm herself down before she went back out to the common room to meet James. Her hair and outfit were now clean, but she was still feeling a bit shaky after the events of the night. But now all she wanted to do was to relax and spend some time with her boyfriend. And maybe some firewhisky would help her to forget all the bad things for the night.
"I'm ready," said Lily as she walked to the couch that James was sitting on.
"No, I don't think you are yet. There's one thing you forgot," said James as he rose and pulled her close to his body.
"And what is that?" asked Lily breathlessly as she stared up into his gorgeous eyes.
"You forgot to let me kiss you senseless," said James in a minty breath as he lowered his lips to hers. She relaxed into the kiss and truly allowed him to kiss her senseless. Everything else melted away except his arms, lips, and tongue. She no longer felt afraid or angry. All she felt was a massive wave of love washing over her. During their kiss she could see everything, she could see herself walking across a bright, sandy beach in a long white gown, she could see James lounging beside her without a shirt, she could see him crawling on top of her, she could see kids and grandkids. She knew in that moment that there would never be another guy who could take his place in her heart. He was it for her, her one true love.
"Lily," James sighed as he pulled back, "I love you."
"I love you, James," said Lily. She leaned into him again as she felt a bit dizzy and weak in the knees.
"Are you ready to go to the party?" asked James in a husky voice.
"Well, let's at least make an appearance," said Lily regretfully, "we wouldn't want you to completely miss your last Halloween party at Hogwarts."
"Yeah, we can go for a few minutes. And if we happen to want to leave a bit early," said James, smiling sexily at her.
"If we get a bit bored at the party," said Lily, smiling back.
"We can always come back here and find something better to do," said James.
"I'm sure we could think of something," said Lily.
"Ok," said James, taking a few steps back. "I need to not look at you right now, because if I do, we'll never leave this room. You look beautiful as an angel, by the way."
"And you look way too sexy as Van Helsing," said Lily. "I didn't know you read Dracula."
"I did take Muggle Studies for many years," said James, "It was the only book that looked interesting when the professor assigned for us to read a muggle novel."
"Ah, I might just have to give you a few books to read. I think you might like them," said Lily.
"How about you wait until after we've graduated? I have about as many books as I care to look at right now," said James.
"Sure," said Lily.
"Well, let's go," said James.
They walked down the corridor and down many staircases to reach the doors to the castle. Once they had snuck out James pulled Lily across the lawns toward the cave that they had turned into a party center. The walk didn't take very long, and soon they were entering the cave.
"We set up a bit of a haunted house section at the entrance. If you're scared just hold onto my hand and close your eyes," said James in her ear.
They walked forward and immediately their vision was obscured by thick fog. Lily could hear the howl of wolves, the hoot of owls, and screams. As she walked forward she felt the temperature drop. Suddenly a bat swooped down in front of her and she screamed and clutched onto James who was kind enough to see if she was alright before he began laughing. They walked for a few more seconds as the sounds increased before a man wandered into her path with a hatchet stuck into the top of his head. He screamed at her, "You took my eyeballs! Where are my eyeballs?" Light flashed across his face to show empty sockets where his eyes should have been. Suddenly Lily felt something slimy appear in the hand James wasn't holding and she screamed again. The man lurched forward and grabbed the slimy things out of her hand, heedless to Lily's panicked screams. He held the slimy things, which turned out to be eyeballs, up to the light and stuffed them back into their sockets. Then he disappeared into the fog.
"You ok?" James whispered.
"Yeah," said Lily, although she was shaking slightly, anticipating the next thing that would pop out at her.
They hadn't walked for too long before a crazed woman jumped out in front of Lily. "What a lovely head of hair you have, my dear. You wouldn't mind if I just chopped it off, would you?" asked the woman in a deranged voice. She pulled a long machete out from nowhere and raised it above her head. Lily tried to pull away but she was suddenly stuck in place. Before she could do anything the blade came down on her neck and when she opened her eyes she looked all around, panicked to see that when she looked down she saw grass right beneath her. She looked up and saw her headless body. She screamed a blood-curdling scream before James squeezed her arm and she blinked. Once she opened her eyes again everything was back to normal.
"It's alright, Lily. It was a spell. It wasn't real," said James.
"Are you trying to kill me?" asked Lily. She felt her heart beating quickly in her chest.
"I'm so sorry. We should have just skipped ahead to the party. Do you want to do that now?" asked James.
"How much is left?" asked Lily.
"Just one more thing," said James.
"Ok, I can do it," said Lily. "Let's go."
After a few more seconds of walking they came upon a clearing that was free of fog. Lily was on edge, waiting for something to pop out at her, but nothing did. For several minutes they kept walking until all of a sudden Lily stepped down and felt herself sinking. Her legs were sinking in the ground beneath her. She struggled to get out, but the more she struggled, the quicker she sank. Soon she had sunk up to her waist, and then her shoulders, and then she had completely sunk into the mud. It was covering over her head. Lily closed her eyes and when she opened them everything was dark. She reached a hand out and found that there was a silky material not too far from her face. She pushed on the silk and found that there was a flat, hard surface just beneath the silk. Suddenly a tiny bit of light came into her vision and she screamed. At first it took a few moments for her brain to figure out where she was, but once she focused she realized she was in a coffin. She screamed and beat at the wooden ceiling but it was hard and didn't give. She screamed and kicked and beat at the top frantically. Although it seemed like a long time, after only thirty seconds the lid lifted off and James was standing before her, offering her a hand to help her up. She glared at him and stood up on her own, seeing that they were now in a cavernous room that was super crowded with people dancing and drinking. Dance music was pulsing through the cave and everyone seemed to be having a good time.
"Ah, Lily, care for a drink?" asked Sirius, who was standing by a massive punchbowl that was set up before a row of coffins just like the one Lily had just emerged from.
"Sirius, I think she needs a moment," said James.
"No, I need a drink after what you just put me through," said Lily. Lily took the orange-looking drink from Sirius and gulped it down quickly, feeling the burn as it went down her throat.
"I'm really sorry, Lily, but I did ask if you wanted to skip the next part," said James.
"And had I known I would be banging on the lid of a coffin I would have said yes," said Lily. "That really wasn't funny. I was terrified."
"I'm sorry. I promise that I will tell you everything planned for the next Halloween party the Marauders throw and let you decide if you want to go through it or skip it entirely. Am I forgiven?" asked James.
"Almost," said Lily.
"And what more do I have to do to earn your forgiveness?" asked James.
"Why don't we start with dancing and then we'll figure the rest out," said Lily.
"That sounds perfect to me," said James as he led her to the dance floor and pulled her into his arms. Once again Lily relaxed in his arms. She let him lead her through a slow, gentle dance despite the fast tempo music that was playing.
"So am I forgiven yet?" asked James after a few minutes of dancing.
"Almost," said Lily again.
"And what do you want me to do now?" asked James.
"Well, you could kiss me," said Lily, smiling up at him.
"Why didn't I think of that?" asked James as he smiled down at her and pulled her even closer, lowering his lips to hers.
The kiss only lasted a few minutes before Lily felt someone slam into her from behind. Lily pulled away from James and turned just in time to see Carrie grab her arm and drag her away from James.
"Oww, Carrie, what are you doing?" asked Lily, peering angrily at Carrie who had a sour expression on her face.
"So you know why my ex-boyfriend Dave broke up with me, huh? He couldn't put up with me, right?" snapped Carrie.
"Carrie, what are you talking about?" asked Lily.
"That's what you said to me, the night we got into that big fight," said Carrie with a steely tone.
"I really don't know what you're talking about," said Lily, starting to get angry at her friend's attitude.
"Oh stop playing dumb, Lily. Merlin, you're so pathetic. Running around letting everyone lie to you," said Carrie.
"Would you just stop being cryptic and tell me what exactly you're talking about?" asked Lily.
"Carrie, that's enough," said James in a sharp voice. "I don't know what your problem is-"
"My problem? I think you should be more concerned with your problem," said Carrie, "You know, that massive lie you told when Lily woke up from her coma with a big chunk of her memory missing. It was so convenient for you, wasn't it?"
"I think you should shut up, Carrie," said James firmly.
"James, what is she talking about?" asked Lily, staring from one to the other. They were both glaring at each other.
"Oh, I don't care if you tell her about our massive fight at the beginning of the term and that we hadn't been friends all year until she woke up from her coma, because I don't want to have a self-important, nosy, self-righteous slag for a friend anyway," said Carrie. "Oops, did I say that all out loud? Oh well, now she knows."
"We, we fought? We're not friends?" asked Lily as she stared at Carrie.
"Oh, looks like she's catching on. Should we tell her your secret now?" asked Carrie, glaring at James.
"James, I don't know what's going on. What is she talking about?" Lily asked James.
"Let's go, Lily. I'll explain everything as soon as we get back to our common room," said James, starting to tug her towards the exit of the cave.
"So you're just going to pull her away so she can't hear the truth? Are you going to tell her more lies so that she'll stay with you?" asked Carrie, stepping in front of them.
"Carrie, get out of our way," growled James.
"Why, you don't want me to tell your girlfriend how you two got together?" asked Carrie.
"James, how, how did we get together?" asked Lily, feeling a sinking in the pit of her stomach.
"Lily, we'll talk about it as soon as we get back to our common room, like I said," said James.
"No, I want you to answer me right now," said Lily, planting her feet on the ground and pulling her hand out of James' grasp.
"Lily, we should go somewhere private where we can talk. It's much too noisy and there are way too many people here. Let's go somewhere else," said James.
"He's just afraid to tell you that he made your whole relationship up, Lily," said Carrie loudly over the music.
"What?" asked Lily equally as loudly, looking back and forth between Carrie and James.
"Lily, you have to understand," said James.
"So it's true?" asked Lily.
"You're not listening to me, Lily. There are things you need to understand about our relationship before your accident," said James.
"Like the fact that you hated him for six years as he constantly embarrassed you by continuously asking you out in very public ways, and for being, as you said, 'an arrogant toe-rag'," said Carrie.
"Carrie, I said shut up. This doesn't concern you," bellowed James.
"You lied to me, James? This whole time we've been together has been a lie. Our whole relationship has been a lie?" screamed Lily. As she yelled at him suddenly she remembered years and years of times she yelled at him. She remembered the numerous times he asked her out and how it made her blood boil. She remembered how he arrogantly fluffed up his hair and played catch with a snitch. As she came out of her flashback she stared at James with contempt.
"Lily, come on. Before your accident you were trying to apologize to me. You learned quidditch so you could win me over," said James. "So I may have lied, but if you hadn't been injured, we would have gotten together anyway."
"And why the bloody hell would I ever apologize to you? As far as I can see, you're just as arrogant and insufferable as you've always been," spat Lily.
"Lily, please. Let me explain. Let's talk about this," pleaded James.
"You're seriously deluded if you think for one second that I will let you explain anything," said Lily.
"Don't let him lie to you any more, Lily, he never cared for you. It was all a game to him. He wanted to see how long he could string you along. You're now the laughing stock of the entire school," said Carrie.
"Lily, that's not true," said James.
"How do I know you're not lying to me, James," said Lily. Her brain betrayed her and she suddenly remembered kissing James, him comforting her just a few hours ago, kissing on the quidditch pitch, flying together. Tears sprang to her eyes as she realized that it had all been a game to him. He had been toying with her.
"Because I would never do that to you, Lily. I love you."
"Look, he's just trying to mess with you some more. He doesn't love you," said Carrie.
"I don't know if he's telling the truth or not, Carrie, but I do know that you're a waste of my time, so why don't you just leave. If we're not friends then why don't you just go away?" asked Lily.
"Oh, I will," said Carrie, "you just forgot something."
"What's that?" asked Lily scathingly.
"This," said Carrie as she took a cup full of pumpkin juice off of the table and threw the juice all over Lily's face. As the pumpkin juice ran down her face Lily remembered her fight with Carrie. She remembered the Great Hall full of students, Carrie's horrible comments, and their hitting and scratching fight.
"We're not friends," said Lily simply.
"That's right, we're not. So are you going to just stand there?" asked Carrie.
"No, I'm not going to just stand here," said Lily, wiping as much of the juice off of her face as she could before turning back toward Carrie and rushing at her. She pulled back her fist and sent it flying toward Carrie. "I'm going to beat the stupid out of you."
"You are such a waste of space," hurled Carrie as she lunged at Lily, fists flying all over the place.
"Sirius!" James screamed.
"What?" said Sirius, who was walking towards all the noise anyway. "What's going on?"
"Carrie and Lily are fighting," said James.
"Again? Chick fight!" said Sirius happily.
"You know what we have to do, right?" asked James.
"Why, I think everyone's enjoying it," said Sirius, pointing to all the people who were crowded around, watching.
"Sirius!" James said.
"Fine, but you get Carrie this time. I'm not getting kneed by her again," said Sirius.
"Fine, just grab Lily and get her out of here," said James tiredly.
"Aye, Aye Captain," said Sirius as he dove through the growing crowd and grabbed Lily around the waist. Lily kicked and screamed, but Sirius just threw her over his shoulder and made a beeline for the exit. He was halfway to the castle before he let her down again.
"If I let you down do you promise you won't run back to the party?" asked Sirius.
"No, that slag was wasting my time," said Lily. "I'm too good to waste my time hitting her."
"Exactly, so let's head back to the castle. I'm sure James will be back soon," he said.
Lily took a deep breath, trying to salvage as much of her control so that she didn't start weeping on the spot. "Why would I care what Potter does?" Lily asked sharply.
"What exactly happened at the party?" Sirius asked in dread of what he would hear.
"Lily, wait," said James as he ran across the lawn toward her.
"James, I swear to Merlin that I will hex you if you come after me," screamed Lily.
"Lily, you can't believe everything Carrie said. Not all of it was true. You have to believe me," said James. He tried to get in front of her and block her path but she kept dodging him.
"Oh I don't believe everything she said, but I know that it is true that I hated you for years before my accident," said Lily.
"But you wanted to get together with me. You liked me," said James. "Don't you remember that?"
"No, I don't. The last thing I remember is screaming at you in Diagon Alley before the term started," said Lily.
"But Lily, you came to like me. I changed. Tell her Sirius," begged James.
"It's true Lily, you were trying to win him over before your accident," said Sirius.
"And why would I believe you, either. You lied to me, too. You went along with James' plan to lie to me and tell me we were a couple when I woke up," said Lily.
"Oh, so that's what the fight was about," said Sirius with a frown.
"As I recall, this was all your idea," said James angrily, "as you can see it's worked out so well."
"Er, yeah, I'm just going to go back to the party," said Sirius, "see you later."
"Thanks, mate," said James sarcastically. "You're a real help."
While James and Sirius had been talking Lily had begun walking towards the castle again. James went after her and reached her just before she pulled the door to the castle open. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back toward him.
"Let go of me, Potter," Lily screamed as she tried to kick his shins.
"Lily, just let me talk with you," said James.
"I really don't want to hear anything you have to say," said Lily, "It's been a really long day and I just want to go to bed."
"Lily, please, please listen to me," said James desperately.
"I really can't take it right now. If you care for me at all you'll just let me go," said Lily.
James sighed and dropped his hand from her shoulders. He watched miserably as she walked away from him, her shoulders hunched up around her ears and a miserable sniffling noise trailing after her. He followed her at a distance to make sure that she was alright, and only entered the common room after a few minutes. When he walked into the common room it was empty and Lily's door was shut. James threw himself down on the couch and tried not to think about his disastrous night.
AN: Well, I really hope you enjoyed the chapter even though I'm sure it may have frustrated you a bit. Sorry...Lily and James are just being so annoying, aren't they? As always, I would love any feedback, suggestions, comments, questions, or really any words you would like to send me. You could just send me a review that has nothing to do with the chapter. Perhaps a fun fact. Did you know that a gold fish would be white if it was left in a dark room all of its life? At least that's something I vaguely remember reading in a fun facts book years ago. So really, I just want to hear something from you.
Thank you again for being awesome reader! I can't wait for the next chapter which should be up some time next week.
Love you all, and happy fanficing!
Littlemisskrissy