Hi everybody!! Just wanted to thank those of you who reviewed. I decided to give you all a nice big cookie...now hold out your hand and presto! its there!!!.eat the yummy yummy cookie while you enjoy my update!!
Chapter 11. Troubled Dreams and Lily's Concern
The passage leading to the Gryffindor common room lit up with torches the moment Lily, Gwen, and Liz stepped through the door. Soon after, the door closed behind them with a small 'thud'. It wasn't long before Lily and the girls started to walk through the winding route with excitement. It thrilled Lily to know that she would have a way to go to and fro this passage to visit her friends now.
They walked for what seemed like a couple of minutes before she could see light seeping through a crack in the wall. Stopping in front of it, an outline of a small door appeared. Lily turned to her two best friends. "Are you ready?" she asked, just for the heck of it. The two other girls nodded back before Lily reached for the doorknob and turned it slightly. She then stuck her head out of the door before opening it all the way to climb through. Sure enough they were in the empty Gryffindor common room. They all walked out and as they did so, the door behind them disappeared without a trace.
"So, I'm guessing you have to say the password again in order to get back," Gwen thought out loud.
"I hope so. Let's try it just incase," Liz suggested as she stood in front of the wall where the door had been just a few seconds ago. They were in a rarely used corner of the common room, which was a good thing too, since Lily didn't want anyone else knowing about the secret door other than her friends and maybe James's.
Liz studied the wall carefully before she took out her wand, tapped the wall with it, and whispered the password. Luckily, the door reappeared, giving Lily a sense of relief.
"I'll see you girls tomorrow morning then?"
"Of course, Lily. We'll see you in the morning. Good night, dear," said Liz before giving her friend a hug and slowly making her way up to her dormitory. "Gwen, are you going to bed yet?" she called out over her shoulder as she kept on walking.
"Yeah, I'll be right there Liz. Just gimme a moment."
"Ok, night then." With that said, Liz left the common room and went up the stairs to the girl's dormitory.
"What's on your mind, Gwen?" Lily asked, knowing Gwen all too well and knowing that something was bothering her dear friend. She grinned as Gwen sighed before she spoke. "I think I'm starting to like Sirius," Gwen spoke in a rush, her cheeks blushed as she waited for Lily to make a comment. Lily just smiled, knowing already that Gwen had feelings for that one particular Marauder. "I know," she simply replied.
"Wha-?! How did you-?! Oh, you and Liz are good," she said playfully. "You two really know me a little too well."
"Well what do you expect from your two best friends?" Lily grinned again.
"Don't get me wrong. I know you guys know me, but I just didn't think I was making it that obvious."
"Don't worry about it. I doubt Sirius even has a clue. And if he does, then he is just good at hiding it."
"Yeah," Gwen sighed. "So, what do you think I should do? I dunno if I can handle being around him so much and have him not know how I feel. You know that's just not my kind of thing," the pretty blonde added frankly.
Lily laughed at Gwen's bluntness. And she was right. She just wasn't the kind of girl to keep her feelings all lock up inside.
"Oh, my dearest Gwenivere. Whatever will I do with you?" Lily said lightheartedly. Her friend looked at her in an odd manner. "Now Gwen, you know what I say never really settles well with you, sooo, why don't you just do what you think will be for the best. And honestly, I've never really been too fond of Sirius Black until this year, but I have a feeling that you two would be quite a pair." Lily smiled brightly at Gwen.
"Are you serious about Sirius?" Gwen asked, not realizing that what she said sounded a bit amusing.
"Yes, I'm serious about Sirius. I'm starting to get used to a couple of the Marauders— but don't get any ideas," she added before Gwen could say anything. Gwen only rolled her eyes and sighed. "So, you think I should tell him then?"
"Yes, but do it only when you feel it is right… and if you want, I could probably ask Remus for some information on this little matter. That is…if you want me to." Lily's voice trailed off in thought. She had just realized that it had been a long while since she last spoke to Remus.
"Would you do that for me?! Please?!! I would really like to know. Damn it, why do I have to act like some stupid, giddy, school girl?!" she scolded herself.
"Gwen, you are a giddy school girl." Lily replied knowing that would make Gwen laugh.
"Speak for yourself. Ah, well I should let you get to bed. Thanks, Lils. I don't know what I would do without you and Liz."
"No problem…even though it's not like I do much but let you confide in me, of course. By the way, you have told Liz, right? She does know?" Lily asked with raised eyebrows.
"Ha, of course Liz knows. She was the one who pointed out my odd behavior in the first place," Gwen smirked. "Heh, she's a bright one I'll tell you that."
"If that's all, then I better get going. See you tomorrow, Gwen. Good night."
"Night, Lils, and thanks."
Lily then turned to face the wall where the door once was. She whispered the password under her breath and opened the door to go in. Just before she closed the door she told Gwen not to tell anyone about the passage and to advise Liz to do the same. After that, she closed the door behind her and walked alone in the small corridor back to her common room.
---------------------------------------------------
James woke with a start the following morning. He had woken up at the break of dawn with something disturbing on his mind. For the past few weeks since his encounter with Dumbledore, he had been having a reoccurring dream. A dream in which involved him and Lily.
They were in a dark, cold dungeon. He couldn't place exactly where he was but he knew it wasn't Hogwarts. He had this eerie feeling that someone was watching him from behind but every time he would turn to check, no one was there. All around him he could hear and feel something ominous in the dungeon. The back of his neck prickled with a cold chill and he waiting for the worst to appear.
Lily was standing close to him; curiously close, with her hand on his arm and her wand ready for any sort of attack or movement from the dark corners of the room.
They walked through the dungeon until they reached a door. James felt a cool rush of wind behind him so he turned to check what it was. Once again, there was nothing there. But just as he was about to turn to look at the door, a figure came out from the shadows and walked…
No.
Glided toward them.
A laugh emitted from this hooded figure and evil eyes could be seen from under the cloak that it was wearing. The figure then reached out a hand and pulled down his hood to reveal an almost handsome looking man.
There was something strange about this fellow though. He looked like a man but he had an unreal evilness coming from him, almost as if it was evil that was seeping out of his soul and into the air, cold and heavy, making it hard for James to breath; his warm breath came out of him like a thin smoke, it was too cold in this place. The man's face showed that of a charming person but the way he presented himself gave out an eerie feeling. This was certainly someone that no one should mess with.
Chills ran down James' spine as he grabbed Lily and pushed her behind him, shielding her from this person. She yelled in protest but was quickly quieted after he gave her a stern glance.
"Come. Follow me in my path to greatness. You know Dumbledore cannot give you what I can, James Potter and Lily Evans," said the man suavely, though his voice dripped with wickedness. It reminded James of the snake that tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. "Both of you could do vast things on my side. And I promise that you will be rewarded greatly if you don't resist. Come." The man smiled charmingly at them.
"Never!" James shouted instantly. "We will never join you and your group of mass murderers!! And whatever you can give us is nothing that we certainly care for! Not even all the power that you say you possess could make us turn to you!!!" James finished, his voice showing no fear. He could feel the sweat on the palm of his hands, making him grip his wand firmly.
"If that is what you want, then so be it!" shouted the wicked man as his face turned malignant. "I will kill you first and then your little Mudblood girlfriend."
James was now ready to duel. The first spell came from the man; a green light shot from his wand before James had time to shout out his first spell.
"No!" screamed Lily. It was then that she pushed James aside as the green flash came towards him.
Then James woke up.
This was the dream James kept on having and each time it was getting worse and worse with more and more details. He sighed, as he got ready for school. What could this dream mean, he wondered. Did this mean that they would embark on a battle with someone so evil? Did this mean that Lily would end up risking her life for him? But he would not allow her to do such a thing and he would not allow himself to think about this nightmare any longer.
James cleared all thoughts of his terrible dream from his head, got his robes on and walked towards Lily's room and knocked lightly on the door. This was a new part of the routine that he had created for himself in the morning.
Every dawn he would go to Lily's door and wake her up for school. It was just as Gwen and Liz had said. Lily was not a light sleeper and she was definitely not a morning person, unlike himself. But just as he was about to speak through the door, he heard two voices come from behind him.
Without another thought, he swiftly took out his wand and pointed it at the two arrivals. (a/n: James was taught to always have his wand with him…he's so smart :D)
"Whoa, James! What do you think you're doing pointing your wand like that in people's faces?! Didn't your mother ever tell you that you could poke someone's out out like that?" Sirius said teasingly. Remus soon arrived next to Sirius looking dreadful. It was coming close to that time when Remus would be changing into a werewolf.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I just didn't know it was you two—hey! How did you get in, anyway?!" Bewilderment was written all over James' face.
"The girls told us about the new passageway they found in here last night. How come you never told us that there was one in the first place?" Sirius asked with a pout upon his lips.
"I had forgotten about it. McGonagall had told Lily and me about it at the start of school, but it must have slipped my mind."
"Ah, no matter. Now we can sneak in here and bother you anytime we like. Isn't that great?!" said Sirius excitedly.
"Yeah, just peachy." James replied sarcastically.
"Jeez, what's your problem Prongs?"
"I'm not sure…it's nothing really. I've just been thinking too much," James lied, not wanting to mention his nightmare to them just yet.
"Sure, well let's start heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast. I'm starving!"
"Hold on, I need to wake up Lily before we go," James said, turning towards the door and knocking on it lightly. "Time to get up, Sunshine, the earth says hello." (eek, there I go again with Johnny Depp movies: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!!! )
"Eeer, ok." Lily moaned through the door.
At that moment, James heard a fit of giggles from behind him. Sure enough, he turned to see that Sirius was against the wall trying to hold in his laughter. James gave him a look and Sirius just exploded with laughter.
"SUNSHINE? THE EARTH SAYS HELLO?!! Oh My God, James! That's the funniest thing I've heard all morning. Do it again! DO IT AGAIN!!!! Hahahaha! SUNSHINE!!"
"Shut up, Padfoot," Remus tiredly smirked at James before he pulled the hysterically laughing Sirius towards the door going out of the dormitory. "We'll wait outside. You get your stuff and finish waking Lily up," he finished groggily.
"SUNSHINE! Hahaha!!" Sirius continued laughing until they were out in the corridor.
The only thing James could do was grin at his over-reacting friend before he knocked again on Lily's door to make sure she got out of bed. Just as he finished knocking, he heard shuffling and then the turning of a doorknob.
He stood aside as the door opened to reveal a disheveled looking Lily in her pajamas and a bathrobe.
"'Morning," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes and yawning loudly.
"Good-morning," he replied. He had never seen Lily in her pajamas, and frankly he hoped that this wasn't the last time. She wore a long, pale-green, silk nightgown with white lace on her neckline. It was very whimsical and gave Lily a fairy-like appearance.
But before James could comment on her appearance, Lily had already closed the door to the bathroom and started up the faucet for the tub. James just shrugged, grabbed his things from his room and headed out of the dormitory before Remus and Sirius started to think that he and Lily were up to something very perverted.
The morning had started out nicely for Lily. In her Arthimancy (a/n: I'm not sure if I spelled it right…please tell me if I didn't) class she was able to answer all the questions without a second thought. For the past week she had not been able to comprehend the new subject in her class and she was beginning to think that Arthimancy just wasn't one of her best subjects anymore, but today she felt as if everything was going her way and she was finally able to understand everything that her professor was lecturing about.
She sat next to Remus, who seemed to be having the worst of time. She noticed that he seemed to be looking a bit paler these past few days and she was worried that he might be coming down with the flu or something much worse.
At the moment, he was huddled over his textbook, face flushed and hands trembling, trying to write down notes on their professor's lecture.
"Remus," she whispered over to him and he jumped up in his seat.
He was so consumed in his work that she seemed to have startled him.
"Ah, sorry Lily, I'm a bit out of sorts at the moment. What's on your mind?" he asked, his lips forming a polite smile but his eyes betrayed him, showing the exhaustion that he was feeling.
"Remus are you ok? You look…. horrible," she said with concern. Not realizing how rude she sounded.
"Oh, do I really?" his polite smile was beginning to fade into a face of complete fatigue.
"I'm dreadfully sorry, Remus. I really didn't mean to sound that blunt. I'm just… worried about you. You look terribly sick and I really think you should ask to go to the nurse. I mean look at you, you're practically trembling." Lily ended in distress.
"I'm fine, really. Thanks for being so concerned, Lily."
"Oh, ok, Remus. But if you need help with anything just ask, ok?" Lily replied sympathetically before she continued with her assignment. She had wanted to ask him about Sirius and if he liked Gwen but now just didn't seem like the time to do it…she would have to catch him on a better day.
Later that day, she kept an eye on Remus, making sure that nothing bad happened to him. Luckily, she was able to convince him to go to the Infirmary to get checked by Madam Pomfrey. Sure enough, there was something wrong with him, but Madam Pomfrey said nothing more then that he had to stay in bed and that Lily should get back to class.
It wasn't until Potions when Lily told James and Sirius about Remus being in the hospital wing.
"Potter, you do know that Remus is sick and in the Infirmary, right?" she said during class as she passed James's table. They were all gathered in groups of threes and were working on a drought to keep vampire pigeons away. (a/n: how original right:P I had nothing else to think of)
"Yeah, I heard," he said nonchalantly, cutting up some poison bark of a fig that would be put in the potion.
"And you're not worried?!" she asked, appalled at how he didn't seem to care.
"Nah," Sirius interrupted, "Remus is usually always sick."
"Well, don't you think there might be something really wrong with him if he's always getting sick?" she asked rather angrily.
"No, he'll be ok. Don't worry about it, Evans" James said, now placing the bark in the boiling cauldron.
"Jeez, you guys are some kind of friends," Lily replied in a huff before she went back to her table to help Gwen with their potion, which looked like it was about to blow up any minute.
Right after class, Lily decided to go to the infirmary to check on Remus.
When she got there, she was informed that Remus was too sick to be visited. By now, Lily was really worried, and didn't want to leave the infirmary until Madam Pomfrey told her what was wrong with her friend. But after a few seconds of arguing with the nurse, Lily was thrown out.
Upset and confused, Lily made her way to her dormitory to pick up one of her books for her next class. She was already late so she began to jog to her dorm.
She jogged out of the infirmary and no more than a few steps, rounded a corner and bumped into someone short and stubby, making the person fall over.
"Oh, sorry," she mumbled, rubbing her hurt shoulder. She soon realized that she had bumped right into Peter Pettigrew.
"It's alright," he said in an almost frightened voice. Lily looked at him before she noticed two boys and a girl near a suit of armor behind him. It wasn't until she got a better look when she recognized that they were Slytherins: Lucius Malfoy, Serverus Snape, and Bellatrix Black.
Throughout her years at Hogwarts, Lily couldn't stand these people. Lucius Malfoy was a snobbish boy with almost platinum blonde hair; to Lily, he had a face that always looked as if he had just stepped in a pile of smelly dung. Back in their first year at Hogwarts, Malfoy use to pick on Lily because of her muggle family. It wasn't until Lily finally perfected her charms when she taught that Malfoy a lesson. Serverus Snape was another one of those annoying boys that always seemed to try and know everything. He had long, greasy black hair, and his nose was way too big for his face. When she had first met Snape, she had nothing against him, yet one time in their 5th year, when James and Sirius were doing their usual bullying on Snape, she tried to help him but all he did was call her a Mudblood and tell her to bug off. That was all she needed before she grew to dislike him and not care when James would pick on him. As for Bellatrix Black, she was a tall gangly girl, with long black hair. She always wore dark eye shadow that made her look almost vampire-like. She too had a streak for hexing muggle-born witches and wizards just for the fun of it. Lily never had any run-ins with Black but she had heard some gruesome stories. She was a grade younger than Lily, which was mostly the reason why Lily didn't know much about her.
From what Lily could see, Malfoy, Snape and Black were in a very hushed conversation, they then looked towards Lily and Peter and both scowled. Lily was about to tell them to go to class, but they quickly left before she had a chance to say anything.
"Peter, what's wrong? You look as if you were running from something," said Lily.
"No, nothing's wrong. I was going to my class," Peter squeaked. Lily felt something strange was going on so she questioned Peter again.
"Were those Slytherins by that suit of armor threatening you or something?" Lily asked with a quizzical brow. Peter only answered with a vigorous shake of his head and a squeaky 'no'.
"Are you sure, Peter? Because if they were bothering you then we could tell the headmaster about it and he'll sort it out," she said sternly. Peter only answered with a nod and assured Lily that nothing had happened. He then said good-bye before running off into the direction Lily had just come from. ''How odd," she said to herself and she watched the boy waddle off. Without another thought, Lily turned quickly to continue jogging to her dorm to get her book.
OooOo what's little Peter up to, huh? he seems somewhat secretive doesn't he? i think so. that lying son of a- rat? i dunno ok well i'll be back soon!!! thanks for reading and please review!!!