Chapter 25

Visitor

Disclaimer- Not Mine.

Previous Chapter...

"Open up." Sirius said through the oak door.

Lily let out a loud groan. "Get the hell away Black." She snapped.

Sirius glared at the closed door. "Bloody wench..." He muttered.

"Good thinking Sirius. Let's insult her before we ask her to do something for us." Remus joked.

"Uh Lily, it's James." James said. "Can we come in?"

Lily set down her brush and walked out of the bathroom. She threw the door open to reveal the three boys. "Since when do you knock?" She asked. Her eyes narrowed at the three of them. "What do you want?"

"Nothing..." Sirius's voice seriously lacked conviction.

"Just tell me." Lily said, pointedly at Remus and Sirius, ignoring Sirius as best she could.

"We need your help." James said, handing her the piece of parchment. "With this."

Lily frowned and took the parchment. She read it over slowly, her brow furrowing deeper as she did. "What is this? Don't tell me you made it up." She said in a slightly frustrated tone.. "Cause potions like this are-."

"The Ministry made it." James replied.

"But there is no such thing as a potion that will help a-a werewolf lose some of his characteristics on the full moon." Lily said, handing the potion back. She knew many wizards had devoted their lives to figuring out some type of potion. Lily would know. The night she found out Remus was a werewolf, she spent the entire night in the library trying to figure out something that might have helped him.

"It's just been invented." Remus said, following her to the bathroom door as she went back to brushing her hair.

"If it's just been invented, it's probably not accurate. Loads of wizards have tried to make potions like this and none of them have worked." Lily replied, slowing combing her fiery red hair.

"Could you try?" James asked. Sirius looked hopefully at her but he didn't say anything. He wasn't going to risk her helping Remus by opening his mouth, even if it meant swallowing his pride.

"Try what?" Lily asked. "This potion? Are you mad?" She said, her voice louder than it was before at the very idea of the question.

"Look, we know you could brew this potion better than anyone at this school, teachers included." James urged.

"A-and we really need your help." Remus said. "I need your help."

"I was thinking..." James began, as he shut the door to the dorm. "Now I know Sirius especially isn't going to like this at first but let me explain." James lowered his voice in talked in a whisper. Even though, he was in the safety of their dorm, he always found it better to be safe and remain quiet, than go blurting out any Marauder business loud enough so a boy passing their dorm could hear in. "What do you say about making the girls Marauders?"

"No way!" Sirius yelled at his idea. "Over my dead body will you ever do that!"

"But what if Julia was apart too. Than-." James began, trying to tell Sirius his plan.

"I don't want your whore of your girlfriend to-." Sirius blurted.

"Sirius, please." James said as calm as he could.

Sirius shook his head. "It's not going to happen."

Peter, clearly, did not want to be apart of this argument and truthfully, he didn't care either way. Remus however, sat down silently thinking over what James had said. "Why not Sirius?" James asked. "I know you hate Lily but think about it for a second. If Julia's one, she'll be forced to see you. And it's not like she would say no to being a Marauder. I know she wants in just as much as Lily."

Remus nodded. "He has a good point, Padfoot."

"The more time Julia spends around you, the more she's going to start to forgive you." James encouraged.

"You don't know that." Sirius snapped.

"Yes I do. Because she's going to get used to the way things were before. Trust me Sirius, she will." James assured.

Sirius shook his head, "But I don't want Lily anywhere near me if I can help it."

James sighed and shook his head. "Look Lily is doing us a big favor by brewing that potion and not to make her a Marauder but Julia, would be stupid." James said. "If Julia's one than so is Lily."

"Come on Sirius." Remus spoke up. "It makes perfect sense. Besides, they both have been wanting to be one since first year. And in first year the only reason we didn't let them in was because they were girls." He truthfully recounted.

Sirius sighed. It was two against one. "Fine but if Lily says one damn thing about me and Julia I swear on my life that I'll..." His voice trailed off.

So it was settled.


Sirius let out a loud groan as he threw the letter he was reading down on his desk. "Excuse me Mr. Black. Is my class boring you or something?" McGonagall asked the boy after his disruption.

"Oh," Sirius said, looking around at all the eyes on him. "No. That's not why I was groaning."

McGonagall raised a thin light brown eyebrow at him. "Do I even want to know what you were doing?"

Sirius shrugged, "Probably not." He said, trying to sound nonchalant about it.

James grinned and shot a side-way glance at Sirius. "Please do share with the class?" She persisted.

Sirius looked back at James with a slightly annoyed look on his face. Teachers were always badgering him for something or other. "It was nothing Professor."

McGonagall nodded. She hadn't really expected an answer from him. "I would suggest you listen in this class Mr. Black seeing as your grade could use some serious improvement."

Sirius rolled his eyes and slumped back in his seat, taking the letter in his hand. "Now where was I..." McGonagall continued.

Sirius's eyes scanned the parchment once more:

Dear Mr. Black,

I do hope you have learned your lesson with associating yourself with the other kind. I must insist that you write back confirming that you have learned this before I can let the matter drop. Please send the letter as soon as possible.

Mr. Black.

Sirius grabbed a piece of blank parchment and quickly scribbled.

You'll be happy to know that every single person you hated me 'associating myself' with are now out of my life. They all hate me. And I have learned a lesson. That I should have ignored your pathetic letters because you're all talk and nothing else. You miserably bastard.

Stick it

S.B.

It did release a lot of his anger, though it might not have been the right way to do it. After watching the ink dry as McGonagall droned on, he folded the letter neatly and stuck it in his pocket with all intent on mailing it later.


Lily plopped down on one of the royal red sofa's stationed in the Gryffindor Common Room. She looked around at the packed room while she waited for James to get down. Some people, particularly the first years, gave her funny looks, wondering why she was wearing a dress on a Saturday night when there was no place to go in Hogwarts except where she was now. Other people, of course, remembered James was her boyfriend and only God knew how many tricks he had up his sleeve.

"Hey Lils." A voice said from behind her and she turned around to see James. She smiled and stood up.

"Hey to you too." The two linked their arms together and managed to slide through the door way still arm in arm. "Where to?" Lily asked.

"I thought we might get something to eat." James replied as they headed down the stairs, keeping a look out for any teachers along the way. He knew any professor wouldn't be so forgiving as to let two students roam around the castle hours without a punishment.

Lily looked at him and raised an eyebrow, "The kitchens?" She asked.

James shook his head. "Nah, I was thinking Madame Puddifoots."

"And how are we going to do that without anyone noticing us walk out the front doors?" Lily asked. "I don't think that cloak of your's is going to allow a huge door to be unlocked, opened than shut again unnoticed."

James grinned mischievously. "Don't underestimate me."

James led Lily down a corridor opposite the front gate. They kept walking until the corridor ended, leaving the two of them facing a stone wall. Lily looked around for a sign of a secret passageway but saw none.

To keep the suspense, he shot Lily a sly smile before pulling out a stone brick on the left wall. Behind the hollow stone was a small lever. After pulling it, he stepped back and watched a stone door slide open in front of him.

Lily shook her head, "I wish you wouldn't keep all this a secret. I mean you know every secret corridor in this school."

"I'm not keeping it a secret if I'm showing it to you now." He rebutted.

Lily frowned, not wanting to press the matter any further. This, after all, was their anniversary and there was no sense in arguing.

James shrugged, "After you." He gestured his hand to the dark passageway in front of him.

Lily nodded and stepped into the passageway. "Lumos." She muttered before moving on down the tunnel. "So where exactly does this lead out to?" She asked.

"Right next to the front gates of Hogwarts." He explained. "But don't worry. I've got us a ride from there to Hogsmeade."

"A ride?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

James nodded, "Uh huh."

"What kind of a ride?" She questioned.

He shrugged lightly. "You'll just have to wait and find out."

Lily frowned, "I hate secrets."

"It's more of a surprise."

Lily mockingly glared at him. "It's the same thing. Both of them keep-." Her voice couldn't be heard as she disappeared into a side corridor.

"Lily?" James asked after the light in her wand went out. He squinted in the darkness as he reached for his own wand.

"Experlliarmus!" A deep voice shouted, sending James's wand out of his hand. "Don't move or you'll never see her again."

James's mouth dropped. "Lily?" He questioned.

Lily let out a muffled scream behind the hand that was holding her mouth tightly shut. "Back out of the corridor." The voice yelled at James but he just shook his head. "Get out boy!"

James didn't make a move. He stayed where he was, his hands up by his head as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. He could make out an outline of a tall man holding Lily close to his chest. He wasn't sure who the man was though.

Lily felt a curse hit her in the side of her throat. Nothing hurt her but she screamed. It was like she had no control over her vocal cords. It finally hit James then that whoever this was, wasn't playing games. His breathing began to get rapid as he stepped back towards the entrance of the passageway.

"I said get out!" The voice shouted again.

"Don't worry Lily. It's going to be fine." He assured her. But it was James who needed more assurance than Lily.

Lily let out another, this time intentional scream as she attempted to pull herself from the man's grip. The man held onto her even tighter as she squirmed away from him.

"Don't tell a damn soul." The black-masked man said.

James nodded. "Yeah okay." He whispered as he put a hand behind him to guide his way to the door.

But for the man, James was walking too slow and he was far from being patient man. "I said go!" The man yelled, cutting James off. James stumbled back stunned, still looking at the him. The man let out a frustrated sigh before bellowing, "Crucio!" The spell hit Lily with horrifying perfection.

Lily screamed in pain and the man let her fall to the ground, knowing she wasn't going to go anywhere. James took a step towards Lily instinctively. "Are you thick? I said leave!" The man shouted. Lily let out a groan as every part of her body ached with the most excruciating pain she had ever felt in her life. She didn't know what it felt like to die, all she knew was that it couldn't be worse than this. No matter what way you went.

Lily's eyes locked with James for a quick second as she whispered through the pain, "Go."

James had no choice.


"Hey." Remus said, taking a seat in the adjacent library chair next to a black haired girl. "Everything okay?"

Julia looked up from her book, which she really wasn't reading. "I'm fine. I'm just finishing this reading for potions..." She said before flipping the page of the book.

Remus nodded even though he knew she was lying. That was the first time she had flipped a page in the hour and a half they had been there. "Let's take a break." He suggested. "We can get something to eat in the kitchens if you want."

Julia nodded slowly before getting up and packing her books up. "Yeah, we've been working for a while but if you wouldn't mind," She began. "Can we go somewhere else? I just-the kitchens...They just-" Remind me of Sirius. She thought but didn't dare say.

Remus didn't need to hear the rest of her sentence to know what she wanted to say. "Alright sure. How about the prefect lounge?" He suggested.

Julia smiled and nodded, "Yeah. I've never been in there."

"Okay." He said, watching Julia's eyes fall to the ground again. He frowned and let out a soft sigh. He just didn't understand why Sirius had done it. If Sirius loved her so much, then why had he treated her like crap? Remus put an arm around her in an attempt to comfort her. "Hey, don't look so sad."

Julia shook her head. "I'm not sad." She unconvincingly said.

Remus gave her a soft smile. "I don't believe that." Digging into her bottom lip, she shrugged "Come on, it's this way." Remus said, leading her down a side corridor.

Julia, determined to break the silence, said, "So how is Olivia?"

Remus chuckled, "You know, you're the first one to ask about her. I mean out of us Gryffindors."

Julia frowned at that thought. She hadn't realize how long it was since her and Remus really talked. "Oh, well I'm-."

Remus shook his head. "Don't it's fine." He said. He took a deep breath before explaining, "Well, we broke up."

Julia's mouth dropped as she turned to his. "You what?"

"Broke up." He repeated, not meeting eyes with her.

"But-why?"

Remus shrugged, "It was hard, her being in a grade younger than me." He shook his head before continuing, "I guess it was mostly because I missed hanging out with you guys. I mean, I couldn't really do that with her. It wouldn't be the same."

"I miss hanging out with everyone too." Julia said before she could stop herself. She knew she was mostly the cause for the split in their friendships and she never stopped feeling guilty about it.

"Things will work out." Remus said with conviction, though he didn't feel any.

"I hope so."

A look of shock crossed Remus's face. Julia frowned and opened her mouth to ask what was wrong when Remus called, "Julia look out!" But he was too late.

A swirling red and yellow spell hit her in the back of her head. Julia let out a deep breath as she felt her legs turn into jello. Her head was spinning as san arm close around her waist. She was aware of everything going on around her, but she couldn't make sense of any of it. It was like she was dreaming or hypnotized. "Remus?" She said, as she watched him being pulled back towards the library. She didn't know who was pulling him.

That smell. That smell was the only thing she could make sense of. It swirled around her nose at the same time the arm around her waist did. It was a smell she could always recognize. It was the smell that only belonged to one person.

She wearily turned her head around, like in slow motion, a swirl of images blurring together. Her eyes landed on a man in a black-mask. Even with the mask on, she knew exactly who it was. "What are-" She slurred before collapsing into the man's chest.

And that was all she would remembered.


A/N- I'm so happy that I'm not stuck on this story anymore!! Yay! I finally know which direction I want to go it. So you can be expecting more updates sooner.

On the 16th this story will have been up for 8 months. I can't believe that. I can still remember the first day I started it. Sniff Sniff.

Anyway, you can probably guess what's going on here so I won't say anything about the chapter...

Please review...

Kait