JK Rowling owns this universe. I'm just playing in her sandbox. Thanks to my beta, Katie.
The next afternoon, after Quidditch practice, all four of the Marauders sat around the fire in the Heads' office. James knew that Lily would be none too pleased to discover that the biggest troublemakers in school were using their official workspace to coordinate illicit activities, so he made sure that she was safely ensconced in the library before he brought the other boys round.
"So they were talking about Halloween?" Remus furrowed his eyebrows and stared into the flickering flames.
"And some kind of task," James added. "Snivelly seemed to think that whatever is going down on Halloween night will be a risk to a bigger mission. That, and the fact that the whole group of them are the biggest candidates for joining up with the Death Eaters after school, has me concerned."
"I still say you're blowing this out of proportion, mate." Sirius shook his long hair out of his eyes and shrugged. "Don't forget, I had a front row seat to the pureblood mania for years. Even a fanatic like Lord What's-His-Face isn't going to recruit teenagers who are still in school to execute some grand plan of evil, death, and destruction. More likely they're planning a big prank on Halloween and don't want to get detention for it."
"That's not what it sounded like to me," James said stubbornly.
"But you didn't hear the whole conversation, right?" Peter spoke for the first time. He had been silent during the discussion, listening intently with a worried little frown creasing his forehead. "I mean, they're definitely planning something, but maybe it isn't as...sinister as you think?"
"Where that lot is involved, how can it be anything BUT sinister?" James ran a hand through his hair, tugging on the ends so it stuck up in the back. This habit exaggerated a cowlick that had caused his mother no end of annoyance over the years, but James didn't mind, especially since the girls thought it made him look roguish.
Sirius jumped to his feet. "I think Pete's right," he said firmly, and Peter grinned thankfully. "And I also think that this whole thing has been a wake-up call!"
Remus wrinkled his nose and turned away from the fire. "What do you mean?"
"Do you realize it's nearly Halloween and we haven't done anything truly spectacular? The castle has been downright dull!"
"We've done..." Remus trailed off. "Hang on, Padfoot may have a point."
"We shouldn't be planning spectacular pranks," James said faintly. "I'm Head Boy. Moony is a prefect. We have to...uphold the rules and all that."
"So we won't get caught," Sirius wheedled. "Come on, Prongs. All work and no play makes James a dull boy. We never see you anymore. What would it hurt to charm the pumpkin pasties at the Halloween feast with a color changing charm?"
"Better yet, charm the pasties so that anyone who eats them starts changing colors!" Peter exclaimed.
"That's the spirit, Wormy." Sirius clapped him on the back and looked up hopefully at the other two.
"Well..." Remus started, before stopping and looking up at James.
James hesitated for a long time, staring at the floor. Things with Lily were going well and pulling a large-scale prank seemed to be a giant step backwards. Still, Sirius had a point...
"You'll never get close enough to the pasties before the feast to charm them. Even if you did, the house elves would never forgive us for ruining all their hard work. We'd be personas non grata in the kitchens for the rest of the year. "
"He's back!" Sirius cheered. "Excellent. What do you suggest, then?"
"As Head Boy," James said with a devious grin, "I happen to have open access to all the decorations for the Halloween feast...including the pumpkins that get carved up and suspended over the house tables."
:o:o:o:o:o:
An hour later, Lily stumbled through the doors of their office. She had spent the entire day in the Library, digging through bookshelves and poking her nose in every nook and cranny she could think of for the letter that Gideon Prewett seemed to think that Dorotea Brooks had left for her. Mary MacDonald had sat at a nearby table doing her Charms homework and occasionally giggling at Lily's single-minded pursuit of the letter.
James had shooed his friends out minutes earlier, when Remus happened to see her coming on their map.
This map was a rather unique magical object, and as far as they were aware, nothing like it existed anywhere else. It had taken the boys nearly a year to make, but by the end of their fourth year they had perfected the magic enough to risk enchanting an old scrap of parchment.
It was a rather tricky combination of experimental transfiguration techniques that James dug out of Transfiguration Today and charm work that cooperated directly with the protective network of spells that kept the castle safe. Breaking into the security network had actually been the most complicated part of the whole thing.
The trick, they discovered, was to cast the spell in such a way as to convince the castle that their intentions were friendly. It was a lot like staring a hippogriff directly in the eye and hoping you don't get trampled. Remus had hypothesized that if something went wrong, the creation of the map could have triggered a massive protective reaction with untold consequences.
Luckily, nothing went wrong.
As completed, the map was an intricate detailing of every corridor, stairway, secret passage, and classroom in Hogwarts, along with its surrounding grounds. Not only that, but it kept track of every inhabitant, living or dead, human or nonhuman. Each person, animal, house elf, or ghost was represented by a tiny dot, and with a little patience it was possible to know where anyone was at all times.
Lily stomped into the office and threw down her book bag, which spilled out onto the floor. James, who had been concerned she would immediately sense that intruders had been in the room, stared at her quietly for a few moments before daring to speak.
"Something wrong?"
"How is it," she sputtered, "that you can be in this castle for less than a week and manage to locate your Head's letter, and I have searched the entire library and the fifth floor Charms classroom for weeks and haven't seen hide nor hair of mine?"
She was seething mad, and it showed. Her face was pale and bloodless, but her ears were as red as her hair, which fell in tangled curls around her shoulders.
She was so beautiful it was hard for James to look at her.
"I am a bit of a magnet for the mysterious," he said cheerfully. She glared.
"Dumb luck?" he tried again. Her scowl deepened.
"Do you want me to help you look?"
She sighed deeply and plopped down on the floor. "You wouldn't know where to look any better than I do. It's a waste of time. I just got it into my head that it would help..."
James approached her slowly, and when she didn't protest, sat down next to her. "Help with what, exactly?"
"Nothing ever phases you, does it?" The words came out hushed and garbled. "You just keep on coasting along, acing your classes, running the Quidditch team, finding your bloody secret letter..."
"I'm hardly coasting," he scoffed. She made a tsking sound, but he shook his head fervently. "Honestly, Lily, this has not been an easy year. The boys were just taking the piss out on me because we've been here for nearly two full months and we haven't pulled anything big."
It was the wrong thing to say.
"Oh, right, because your definition of a challenging schedule is one which precludes the planning and executing of pranks liable to get you expelled."
"Now, Evans, don't hear what I didn't say," he said sternly. "You know we don't do anything dangerous, and it's practically expected that we get into trouble by this point. And frankly, I'm mostly talking about how little time I've had for my mates so far this year.
"On top of that," he continued when she didn't respond, "I'm studying or patrolling or doing homework or trying to get some semblance of organization into my Quidditch plans every night of the week. I'm lucky if I get a free Saturday to just take a breather. You're not the only one who's struggling. Now, either tell me what you're hoping Tee's letter will help you with, allow me to help you look for it, or take a deep breath and move on with your day."
Lily stared at him in shock. James just didn't talk to her like that as a rule. She was so surprised by the stern look in his eye that she accidentally told him the truth.
"Uh...I guess I'm hoping she has some advice on what comes...next."
His forehead creased. "Next?"
"You know." She gestured helplessly. "After Hogwarts."
"Why would that be in a letter about how to be Head Girl?" James felt hopelessly lost, but he was unwilling to let it go just yet.
"I don't know, I guess I'm just feeling a little desperate. It's stupid." Lily sank down onto the soft rug in front of the hearth and covered her eyes with one hand. "You must think I'm insane."
"Well, yes, but that's hardly a recent development."
When she didn't smile, he sat down next to her and patted her shoulder awkwardly. It was the nearest he'd been to her in a long time, and despite the fact that there was nothing remotely romantic about the situation, his heart sped.
In a most unexpected turn of events, she sighed and leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. He let his hand linger on her back, gently rubbing circles into her shoulder.
"Do you ever worry about the future?"
"Of course," he said. "Everyone does."
"I'm not talking about the everyday kind of worries." She was barely speaking above a whisper now, and James had to strain to catch every word. "There's so much going on in the world these days, and sometimes I'm not sure that I fit anywhere."
"Why would you say that? You fit right here." He had meant Hogwarts, but after he said it he realized that it would be easy for her to interpret his words as a come on. Most unusually, Lily let the comment pass without a word.
"I don't. Muggleborn, Mudblood, whatever you want to call it." James made an indistinct snarl of protest at the derogatory term. "There's a war starting over whether people like me have any rights in this world. And seven years living in the magical world have ruined me for anything else. I can't go home, but I can't stay here."
"I know it must feel that way, but Lily, there are people who are outraged by the things that have been happening. Just because one bloke is putting on airs and stirring up the pureblooods—"
"He's murdering people, James." Her voice grew stronger. "Killing them because they're not magical enough, or of some noble heritage. Not only that, but he's getting away with it. If no one stops him, who's to say that I won't be among his victims?"
"That won't happen." He shook with fury at the very thought. "For one thing, I won't let it."
She snorted. "Spoken with the true arrogance of a barely of-age wizard who hasn't even got facial hair yet."
"I resent that!" He dropped his arm and looked down into her face. She smirked up at him, and the heaviness of the moment seemed to fall away. "I'll have you know that I use a rather clever charm to keep my face smooth and hairless like this. It takes work!"
"James Potter, you are absolute rubbish at Charms. If you tried something like that you'd probably end up completely bald all over."
He did his best to look affronted, but in the end, the tiniest hint of a smile on her face undid him. The two collapsed into helpless laughter.
"Imagine you bald," Lily giggled, tears coming to her eyes. "You'd look like a British Ghandi with those round glasses!"
"Ghandi?"
"A famous muggle." Lily waved the question away and hiccuped, recovering from her fit of giggles. "Oh! I forgot. Professor McGonagall wanted to make sure that we knew Halloween night means extra patrols. You and I will are expected to be out in the corridors from nine to midnight, and we need to make sure that there's a pair of prefects assigned to each hour as well. It's a favorite night for troublemaking, as I'm sure you are aware."
James' face fell. "Three hours of patrol? On Halloween?"
"That's the high price of the mantle of authority, James," Lily said with a wry smile. "Instead of partying back in the common room or sneaking out to Hogsmeade, you'll have to enforce discipline with me."
"Sneaking? I don't sneak!"
"Right," she scoffed.
"Hey," he said after a few second. "You're smiling. Feel better?"
"You know what, Potter? I do."
:o:o:o:o:o:
Later that week, Lily was studying with Alice and Mary in the library. That is, Lily was studying while Alice and Mary were doggedly trying to get her to gossip about the boys in their year.
"Come on," wheedled Mary. "If you had to pick...Henry Jacobs or Remus?"
Lily threw down her quill in frustration. "Henry Jacobs is a prat. I don't know how those Ravenclaw girls stand the sight of him."
It was a bit harsher assessment than perhaps Henry deserved, but Lily had been trying, and failing, to complete a complicated set of Arithmancy equations for the better part of an hour.
"So you choose Remus?"
"No, of course not. Remus and I are friends. We're practically colleagues. That's inappropriate."
"Okay, Professor McGonagall." Alice rolled her eyes. "Come on, unbutton your robe a little and play the game."
"I know why she doesn't want to pick Remus," Mary said slyly. "It's because he's one of James's best mates."
"Don't be silly," Lily sniffed. "I just don't think this game is any fun."
"Here's one." Alice leaned forward on her elbows with a bright gleam in her eye "Severus or James?"
She and Mary looked expectantly at Lily, whose face turned bright pink.
"I am not going to answer that!"
"Oh, come on, you have to have an opinion," Alice pressed. "Especially now that you've been able to spend so much...up close and personal time with James."
"I need a different book." Lily stood up in a rush, her cheeks burning, and practically fled from the table. She didn't stop until she was hidden safely among the ancient tomes that filled the west side of the library. Students didn't usually come to this part of the library unless they were desperate for a quiet hiding place, or, for many of the older students, a quiet place to snog.
"Lily?"
Severus's voice broke into the peaceful silence of the library, though he was practically whispering. Lily gave a little shriek and jumped.
"Sev! What are you doing back here?"
He stared past her, as if trying to formulate the right answer.
"Sev?"
Reluctantly, he looked back at her face, his dark eyes searching. "I came to warn you."
She leaned back to really look at his face. He looked drawn and tired. "Warn me? About what?"
He moved his lips soundlessly for a moment, then stared at his feet. "Stay in your common room after curfew on Halloween, all right?"
"Be serious, Sev," she protested. "I'm Head Girl. Halloween means extra patrols, not less."
"Have someone else do it for you then. Have Potter," he begged, suddenly looking up into her eyes. He reached out and gripped her shoulders. "Lily, you have to listen to me. I know we haven't been close, and maybe you're right to not trust me, but I care about you."
"Let go of me!" She frantically tried to shake him off and groped for her wand, but Severus just pushed forward, pinning her against the shelves.
"Things are happening that you can't protect yourself from," he warned in a harsh, low voice. Slowly, he reached up a hand and traced a hesitant finger down her cheek. She flinched at his touch, and there was pain in his eyes when he spoke again. "I can protect you, if you'll let me. You'll never come to any harm, I promise."
Her shoulders ached where he was holding her. "I'm being harmed right now! You're hurting me, let go!"
"Promise me you won't be out on Halloween," he insisted.
Finally, she felt her wand at the bottom of her pockets. Stretching her fingers as far as they would go, she managed to pull the tip up into her fingers and get a solid grip on it.
"I can't do that," she said. "Now let go of me, or else."
He let out a harsh cackling laugh, and it was so different from his usual sly chuckle that Lily's mouth went dry. She felt as though she were watching her former friend come unhinged.
"What are you going to do, take House points?" he wheezed. "As if any of that matters anymore!"
"Stupefy," she whispered, managing to aim her wand through her robes. His eyes slid back and he fell.
"Twenty points from Slytherin," she whispered shakily, before fleeing from the stacks and back to the safety of her dormitory, completely forgetting her book bag in the process.
A/N: Sorry for the gap between postings. Thank you for reading, and for your reviews :)