Author: Laurahonest
Chapter 10: Revelations
Post Date: 7/14/07
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to Harry Potter. That right belongs to J. K. Rowling and she is just nice enought to let me play with her toys.
Author's Note: Thanks to BlueJello for editing this. Without her many errors would exist.
"What is going on up here?" James asked slyly.
"Marlene, I am your best friend, why didn't you tell me about this?" Lily whined.
"Were all of the arguments just cover for this?" Remus queried.
Marlene just blushed and Sirius tried to act nonchalant.
"How long has this been going on?" Alice asked, "Just answer that first."
"For about thirty minutes," Sirius answered.
"Is today the first time that it has happened?" Lily asked quietly.
"Yes, Lily, today is the first time ever." Marlene responded.
"You were going to tell me weren't you?" Lily pleaded.
"Of course I was, as soon as we were alone." Marlene reassured her friend.
Lily smiled as she and Alice grabbed Marlene and ran off toward her room. "We'll be back in a while," Lily called over her shoulder to the boys. Once they were in her room, Lily and Alice grilled Marlene until she finally cracked.
"Whoa!" she cried. "I give, I'll spill everything, from the beginning. It started just before break. Not the physical aspect that you just saw!" she held up her hands to silence the questions from her friends, then continued. "I'll explain everything. I wasn't sure that I wanted to come here because I had a little crush on Sirius. I wasn't sure that I wanted to spend the entire break in such close quarters with him. When I found out that both of you were coming I decided that it wouldn't be too bad, and if necessary, I could grab one of you and enlist you to help keep me away from him. Of course, coming also kept me out of mum's kitchen all break. On the way here, after everyone else fell asleep we had a conversation that really touched me. He was so kind and understanding. He offered to let me stay with him if I ever needed to. I started to hope that he might like me just a little bit as well. The bracelet that he got me for Christmas also helped with that. Then last night at the ball he told me that he liked me and asked me out. Before I had time to answer you came and got us to go to bed. I think that is why he suddenly remembered our chess tournament. He wanted to get me alone to continue our conversation. I needed some time to think though, so I turned him down. I still wasn't sure when he came and woke me up this morning. We talked a little about it this morning during our tournament but people started coming in before we got anywhere with the conversation. Then when you sent us up here Sirius sat down and forced me to sit down on his lap. We finally got to say all that needed to be said and Sirius asked again. This time I said yes. We had just started snogging when you all walked up the stairs."
"Why didn't you mention your feelings before?" Lily asked.
"I don't really know. I think I wanted to figure out my feelings and try to figure his out before I told anyone else how I felt," Marlene explained.
"And you needed to do that without anyone else's feelings confusing things even more," Alice finished for her. "Believe me, I know how that feels."
"I do too, Marlene," Lily agreed.
"So you guys aren't mad that I didn't tell you before now?" Marlene asked hopefully.
"Of course not," both girls answered together.
"We do expect all of the juicy details from now on though!" Lily added.
After that they went back out in the hall to find the guys and finish the break together.
The next morning everyone traveled back to King's Cross to get on the train back to Hogwarts and all of the parents went home. There was a depressed end-of-the-holidays feel to the platform while everyone was saying their goodbyes. The holiday had been so fun that no one wanted to see it end.
It was February 13th and all of the seventh year Gryffindors were sitting in the common room, studying. Lily scribbled something on a scrap of parchment and passed it to James.
James, no cupids, puppies or teddy bears following me and throwing rose petals tomorrow. I want a normal Valentine's Day!
James wadded the paper up and tossed it into the fireplace with a mischievous grin. Then he went back to work, looking like the model of innocence. Lily turned red and scribbled another note.
James I mean it! Nothing stupid! I want to be a normal couple. I don't want to stand out because of the 'present' that you bewitch to follow me around!!
James smiled sweetly as this note flew into the flames as well. He almost laughed when he remembered how embarrassed Lily had been in fifth year. He had charmed a teddy bear to follow her around throwing rose petals and asking her out for him. It hadn't worked but it had been very funny, at least to him. Lily had definitely not agreed. He had sported pink hair for a week afterwards.
James Harold Potter I mean it!!! You will be single faster than Sirius can find food!
James outright laughed as he read this note. That got the attention of Sirius. He dove at James and ripped the note out of his hand. As he read it, he started to laugh then passed it on to Peter.
"Trouble in paradise already, Prongsie?" he laughingly asked, "Lily, that is very fast. You have a chocolate bar in your bag and Marlene has bread crumbs in her hair."
"Shut up, Sirius!" James retorted. "All right Lily, no puppies, cupids or teddy bears will follow you around tomorrow."
"You promise?" she questioned.
"I promise," James replied a little sulkily.
"Good," she said. Lily flicked her wand and the note that Peter was holding was incinerated. He yelped as it singed his fingers. James just smiled and shook his head.
At breakfast the next morning at exactly 8 o'clock, an owl flew in with a single red rose for Lily. The note simply said 'To: Lily Love, James.' Lily gave James a kiss on the cheek and whispered, "Thank you," as she got up to go to her first class. Lily conjured up a small bag of water around the stem of the rose to keep it fresh.
At 9 o'clock, just as Professor McGonagall was ready to start Transfiguration, another owl flew in with another single red rose for Lily with another note 'To: Lily Love, James'. McGonagall ignored the owl and started class as Lily slid this rose in with the first one.
At 10 o'clock an owl flew into Professor Flitwick's class with another rose and the same note 'To: Lily Love, James'. Lily blushed as red as the rose that she was holding when Professor Flitwick sighed, clutched his heart, and said, "Ah, young love," in a dreamy tone of voice.
At 11 o'clock a fourth owl flew in the common room window while Lily was studying during her free hour. This one carried a rose and the same note as the three previous owls. Lily just took the rose, removed the note and added it to the three prior roses.
At noon, Lily was sitting down to lunch when the fifth owl came in with the same rose and note 'To: Lily Love, James'. Lily took the roses up to her room and conjured a vase for them up there. She assumed that this would happen every hour until she received a full dozen roses.
Owl number six flew into the beginning of Potions and startled professor Slughorn. Lily sighed as she conjured another bag of water around the stem of the rose. The owl and its burden gave Professor Slughorn an idea. He told them to close their books, then started writing on the board. When he was done he had a potion with no title. He asked if anyone knew what it was. No one was surprised that Severus Snape and Lily were the only ones who did. "It is a revealing potion. It will reveal basic facts about items that are dropped into it," Severus answered, when he was called on to speak.
"Good, Severus. Now, Lily, can you expand on that answer any?" Slughorn asked.
"It is also used to reveal the intentions of the senders of gifts and letters," she added.
"Very good," Slughorn praised her. "Now let's get going on making this potion. When you are done, if it works, you can take it and use it on your Valentine's Day goodies"
The seventh owl interrupted Professor Kettleburn's lecture on Hippogriffs. He examined the rose and its note before allowing Lily to add it to her little bag of water. James was asked to stay after class.
By the time the eighth owl arrived Lily was starting to get irritated. Professor Miller almost hexed the owl when it interrupted Defense against the Dark Arts. This sparked an impromptu lecture on wand safety and knowing exactly what you are aiming for when you cast a spell.
Professor Binns didn't even notice the ninth owl as it flew right through him to deliver the same rose and message: 'To: Lily Love, James.' Lily really thought that a herd of stampeding Hippogriffs wouldn't be enough to make Professor Binns wake up and take notice.
Owl number ten made its appearance in the common room again and Lily just sighed as she removed the rose and its note. The eleventh owl received the same treatment.
At seven o'clock the Great Hall was settling down to dinner when the twelfth owl arrived with what Lily thought would be the last rose to complete the dozen. She assumed that this would be the last time that day that she would find the same note on the same beautiful long stem rose. Lily reached for it absentmindedly and was surprised to find that it was not real. It was a cloth rose that looked incredibly real. She looked at the note expecting to see the same simple message that had been on the others. She was wrong. This note said, 'I will love you until this rose wilts and dies.' Lily's eyes were huge. Marlene shook her.
"Lily, what is it?" she asked. Lily handed the rose to Marlene so that she could read the note. "Aww that is so romantic!" she squealed."James, where did you get such a good idea? Sirius should take lessons from you."
James just smiled and said nothing. Sirius leaned over and kissed her.
Later that evening, James and Lily went for a walk on the grounds. They were walking slowly, holding hands, and staring up at the stars. "Sorry if the twelve owls were a few to many," James apologized.
"It is alright, James," Lily replied. "I was starting to get overwhelmed but it was sweet."
"I meant what that last note says," James said. "I will always love you, Lily Evans."
"I love you too, James Potter," she softly answered him.
"How long have you known that you loved me?" queried James.
Lily looked up at the stars for a minute before answering him. "I have admitted my feelings to myself since Christmas, when I agreed to go out with you," she said. "But, I think that deep down I loved you long before that." Lily blushed before going on, "I had a crush on you back in third year. I didn't want to admit that I liked you back then because you were so arrogant."
"Really, you liked me way back then?"
"Yeah, but if you do any victory dances I will erase your memory," she threatened, as she raised her wand.
James stopped the dance he was about to start and reached for her hand. "You have made me a very happy man, Lily. I don't know what I would do without you," he said softly.
"Let's not think like that, James. I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon, and unless there is something you aren't telling me, there is no need to think about 'what ifs,'" she gently admonished him.
"No, I don't have any plans that you don't already know about. Oh, wait, one thing we haven't discussed yet." He paused when Lily gave him an odd look. "I think that we should have about twelve kids." James fought to keep a straight face when he saw the dumbfounded look on Lily's face.
Lily gathered her wits and responded with, "Only a dozen, I was thinking more along the lines of two dozen. Heaven knows we'll have the room." James nearly fell over at this statement. "What is wrong, James, can't take a little joke?" Lily teased him. She laughed as the color rushed back into James' face as he realized that she had been teasing him.
James shook his head to clear it. "You are good, Lily; you really had me going there for a few seconds," he told her. "Seriously now, the next Hogsmead weekend is in two days. I suppose that I should ask you even though we are dating. So, Lily, will you go to Hogsmead with me?"
"Well, I sort of have plans with my other boyfriend, but maybe I can rearrange them," Lily teased. James took the news like a man; he just rolled his eyes at her.
In 1967 the village of Hogsmead had put large warning bells near every building. The idea was that if one place was under attack they could ring the bell to summon aid from the rest of the village.
Headmaster Dumbledore had liked the idea. He had decided that with the growing threat of Death Eater attacks, the school should be linked to the system. He felt that the school could aid in the defense of the village and the village could help defend the school. A bell was erected on the school grounds. Dumbledore had put certain charms in place to allow the village bells to be heard on the school grounds and vice versa.
N.E.W.T. level students would be allowed to participate in a special defense program. There was a strict application process to be allowed in the program. These students were shown many of the school's defenses and how to cast some of the charms. They were trained to aid the villagers during attacks and to defend the school should anyone ever be brave enough to attempt to attack it. The selected students were shown certain apparation points in the school. Knowing the spots was only part of it, Dumbledore taught them a very complicated spell that had to be performed before they could apparate. These places students and faculty could apparate from but no one was able to apparate to them. Once a student or professor apparated away from the school they could not apparate back. The closest that anyone could apparate was just outside the front gates. To be let back in a message had to be sent to Dumbledore or the Deputy Headmaster.
In 1977, the system had not been used since its inception. Many of the villagers knew that it was only a matter of time. Lord Voldemort had been secretly growing stronger for the last ten years. They still hoped that he would be defeated. Professor Dumbledore seemed to be the only one that he was scared of. Many people were starting to question if Dumbledore wasn't also afraid of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Dumbledore rarely left Hogwarts, and he had turned down many offices in the ministry. It made the villagers wonder if he would even come to their aid if they called for him. They were about to get their answer.
Author's Note: Don't Kill me!! Please review. Thank you!