Chapter 3:
All things considered, the first week in the Potter household passed pleasantly for Lily. She spent her days cleaning, arranging the house and helping Madeleine in the kitchen, yet she didn't feel like a maid at all. Madeleine treated her like a younger sister, even though she didn't talk much, and Mrs. Chambers was also affectionate toward her in her strict way. It felt almost as if she had a mother and a sister there; she could spend the quiet evenings with them, reading and talking or just relaxing. Maxwell the gardener rarely recognized her presence, but after a week Lily was so used to seeing his tall figure walking around the grounds through the windows on the top floor that she couldn't imagine the house without his sulky silence at dinner-time.
As for Potter, she managed to get used to his presence after a few days. He spent most of his time outside or closed in the study, so between meals Lily saw very little of him. He never spent his evenings in the sitting-room with the women. Lily didn't really care what he was up to in his spare time, until once, while arranging the library after supper, she glanced out the window and saw him walking beside Maxwell to the cabin at the end of the estate, wearing a long dark coat against the evening chill. They appeared to be discussing gravely some extremely serious matters.
On Tuesday afternoon a group of wizards in handsome robes arrived at the house and enclosed themselves with Potter in the drawing room. It was supposed to be Mrs. Chambers's job to serve them tea, but her hip was particularly sore after she fell on Potter's broom in the hall the day before (Lily enjoyed watching him squirm unpleasantly as the housekeeper scolded him from her seat at the kitchen chair where Lily and Madeline helped her sit). So the task fell to Lily.
She straightened her apron and arranged the disobedient edges of her hair in front of the mirror outside the drawing room before she lifted the tea tray and went in, walking as straight as she could, like Mrs. Chambers had instructed her. The wizards in the drawing room weren't impressed, though; In fact they didn't even notice Lily's entry, even when she put the tray down on the table and began pouring the tea. They were engrossed in a serious conversation about the couches in the center of the room while Potter sat hunched in one of the armchairs, staring out the window with obvious boredom. He was the only one to notice Lily's entrance. He seemed particularly pleased to see her, as if he thought she was going to put him out of his misery.
"If you inspire to have a wizard's rights you have to contribute something to the wizard's society," one of the guests, a bearded old man, growled while Lily poured the tea. "Goblins are entitled to rights because of their contribution to the economy. However, vampires and werewolves are not entiteld to make such demands when they do nothing but harm!"
"That's exactly how the cycle of violence continues," said a young wizard, a little older than Lily and Potter. "I'm not keen on giving them rights, believe me, but it's better to compromise with them than to have them swear allegiance to He- Who- Must- Not- Be Named!"
"Why mustn't he be named, anyway?" Potter interrupted the conversation in a bored tone. His guests stopped talking and stared at him. "I reckon," he went on as Lily put a steaming cup of tea in front of each guest while listening to his words with interest. "Anyone who calls him that simply doesn't know his name and is embarrassed to admit it, Or just can't pronounce it. It's a pretty long name... Thanks," he thanked Lily heartily as she served him the tea, "Voldemort."
The guests moved uncomfortably, exchanging glances.
"Come on, say the name," Potter insisted, and suddenly Lily realized he wasn't joking. "Voldemort, Vol- de- mo – "
"This is enough!" The bearded wizard interrupted him, his voice trembling slightly. "We are all aware of your loss, Mr. Potter, but it does not give you an excuse to behave in this manner!"
"So how am I supposed to behave?" Potter defied, placing the tea cup down on the side table and splashing a few drops on the polished surface. Lily hurried to clean it up and put a coaster under the cup. "Like I'm shrieking with fear every time I hear his name? Like he's something divine, inhuman, that I'm supposed to be afraid of? Well, I'm sorry to tell you this, but he's not. And when you act as if he is you're only making him stronger."
An awkward silence spread through the room. The guests looked at each other as if trying to find a way to leave without being rude, all without exchanging a word.
"Just leave," Potter spared them the embarrassment with validity. "You've invited yourself, so you can show yourself out, too."
Agitated and embarrassed, the guests stood up and exited the drawing room as one. Lily followed them to the door, not knowing whether she was to escort them and give them their coats, as she had done when they came. As if he read her mind, Potter said, "Forget it. The less polite we are the less chance they'll ever come back."
Lily closed the door the shut off the sound of the guests grumbling in the hall. Potter took his teacup and went to the window while Lily piled the used teacups back on the tray. She pretended to be busy with the dishes while she considered asking Potter about what had happened, and about what she thought she understood from the conversation.
"Can you stay here for a while?" He asked before she could find an excuse to stay. "I haven't spoken to anyone my age for ages."
"School ended less than two weeks ago," Lily said, leaving the tea tray.
"It's a long time for me," Potter said, starting to act more like himself again. He set the teacup down on the windowsill and sat down in a nearby armchair to watch his angry guests cross the windy grounds, not without the slightest satisfaction.
"What about your friends?" Lily asked.
"Remus and Peter are spending time with their families, and Sirius is looking for an apartment in London," Potter told her. "We write eatch other, but it's not the same. We're inseparable at school."
Lily always wondered how those four didn't go crazy. She couldn't imagine what it was like to be surrounded by the same three people every day, all day long. Solitude was to precious for her. But it seemed that this group of boys, who liked to call themselves the Marauders, had long since become one entity.
"I wish you weren't so nervous around me," Potter said suddenly. He gestured to his armchair's twin.
That caught Lily by surprise. Determined to prove to him that he wasn't making her uneasy she removed her apron and sat down in the chair opposite him, looking out. It was a clear, cool day, and the distant gleam of the sea on the horizon could be seen from afar.
"Do you always treat your guests so rudely?" She asked as the guests began to Disappearate outside the estate's bounds.
"I try, yeah," Potter replied lightly. A smile tugged at the corner of Lily's mouth as she rolled her eyes. He added more seriously, "Truthfully, No. Only when they're shallow and arrogant."
"I think they just wanted some free tea," Lily said. Potter grinned lightly. Carefully, Lily asked, "Were they friends of your parents'?"
"No," Potter replied sourly. "My dad didn't like them either. They're related to us, I think. I'm not sure exactly how. Remind me to ask Sirius."
"I'm just cleaning your house, I'm not your secretary."
Potter laughed. "True. So don't remind me, maybe I'd rather not know which one of them I'll look like when I'm old."
They both laughed. She never thought she could have a pleasant conversation with Potter. In light of that, she decided not to bring up the subject of his parents.
On Sunday after the service Lily called home from a payphone in town. She rocked on her heels nervously as the dial tone played in her ear. After a few moments she decided it was enough and hung up with a sense of relief. On the previous week Petunia hadn't answered the phone either, so Lily assumed she must have taken their father to church or to a walk in the park. At least she tried to reach out.
Calming her conscience by thinking of asking Mrs. Chambers to go out for a little while in the middle of the week to try calling again, Lily got on the bicycle and started paddling out of the sunny village back towards the house.
The country road was already a familiar and consoling place, between the fields and then right into the woods on the road that led to the ocean, riding on the path that kissed the river, over the bridge and then on the road that led directly to the estate. The ride was long, but Lily enjoyed every moment peace.
That day, however her peaceful ride was interrupted. She went through the bend that bypassed a rocky lump sticking out of the river, and then she was in sight of the bridge. Three figures stood there, leaning against the stone railing while watching the clear water rushing underneath. One of them, thin and fair-haired, raised his hand over his head and waved.
"Oh no..." Lily murmured to herself. She rode as slowly as she could towards the bridge, hoping they might get tired of waiting and leave, but they didn't. She got off the bicycle at the foot of the bridge and drove them by her side until halfway through, where she met the three remaining Marauders.
"Lily, hi," Remus Lupin greeted her kindly. He was the only one of the four she could actually call a friend. In fact, he was the only one she could tolerate. He was a good hearted boy and diligent student, and he and Lily had become close friends since they had been made Perfects the year before. But his close friendship with Potter and Black prevented them from ever having a true friendship.
Lily never understood why he felt the need to be part of that group. She could understand Pettigrew, maybe he had such a low self- esteem that he had to run around after more popular boys. But Remus was well liked among the other students, even among the girls, regardless of his ruthless friends.
"Hey, Remus," Lily replied, looking at him and then at the other two with uncertainty. Pettigrew blushed fiercely as she looked at him and pretended his laces were untied. Black, who was leaning against the railing nonchalantly, greeted her with a short wave and a smile that other girls would blush to. She had no doubt Potter had told them she was working for him, and she had been waiting for a mean joke on Black's behalf, accompanied by Pettigrew's petulant laugh, but it never came.
"What are you doing here?"
"We're visiting James."
"Yes, but what are you doing here?" She gestured to the bridge where they stood. "The house is another fifteen minutes away. Don't you use the Floo, or Appearate?"
For some reason the question embarrassed Remus, who smiled a strange smile at her and scratched his neck.
"We decided to travel the Muggle way," Black interrupted, not phased at all. "We took the train. Wicked, isn't it?"
"Yeah, wicked," Lily replied. The way Remus kept smiling at her was a bit suspicious.
"Shall we?" He changed the subject, gesturing to the road. Lily nodded and began to roll her bike beside him, while Black and Pettigrew walked a little behind them.
"How was your summer so far?" Lily asked with some concern as they walked along the side of the road.
Remus wore a worn autumn jacket even though the day was warm, and his face was pale. When they both became Perfects at the beginning of fifth year he told her that he had a rare magical illness, which was why he was missing out on a lot of classes every month. Lily didn't investigate the nature of his disease, only made sure to show her concern when it was clear that he was feeling ill again.
"It's been fine," Remus replied. "I mostly spent time with my parents, nothing special. How about you?"
"Potter must've already told you everything," Lily replied, not without a trace of resentment.
"Well, yes, but it's not the same as hearing it from you," Remus said wisely.
Lily shrugged, feeling a little bad for being hostile. Remus was always nice to her, even during the peak of Black and Potter's cruelty.
"It's nice here," she said. "Very peaceful. Potter isn't so bad when he's separated from Black."
Remus laughed and looked over his shoulder at Black and Pettigrew, who were trying to get rid of an obsessive fly that clung to Pettigrew. "Unfortunately, it's going to end soon."
Lily didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"But he's different now," Remus continued in a more serious tone. "He matured a lot this year, since he lost his parents."
"I noticed," Lily admitted. Her childhood ended in a single day when her mother died. The feeling must have been heightened for Potter, who had lost both parents in one day, and had no siblings to share the grief with. Even if only for a short while.
They then moved on to lighter topics: The appointment for Head Boy and Girl, the finals, and to classes they were taking next year. Before Lily realized how long it had been they reached the wooden side gate that marked the side- road up to the house, which lay like a sleepy cat on top of the grassy hill. An earthy trail led off the main road through the marshland where Maxwell's house stood directly to the kitchen's back door.
Lily propped the bicycle on the wall of the house, next to Madeleine's spice patches and Maxwell's heavy work boots, and went into the kitchen. The three guests followed her without hesitation, as if they were at their own home. Lily expected to see Madeleine working on Sunday lunch, but instead of the cook in the middle of a huge and uncharacteristic mess was Potter, his sleeves rolled up and an apron around his waist.
His friends surrounded him immediately, mocking the apron affectionately and bursting into jolly chatter and jokes. When the four of them were together, in the event that they weren't in the act of a nasty trick or right after one, they always made Lily feel a combination of warmth and envy.
"How was church, Evans?" Potter asked her, and Lily became aware that she was standing and staring at them in silence. There was a strip of flour on Potter's cheek and on his glasses, and he looked exceptionally cheerful, in contrast to he's gloomy behavior that week.
"All right," she replied, feeling slightly embarrassed to be around the merry Marauders. In an attempt to dispel the tension and stir back to familiar waters, she asked, "Where's Madeleine? I'm supposed to help her with lunch."
"I gave her the rest of the day off. I'm cooking today," Potter said as Remus took off his coat and began to wash his hands. Black was tasting the half- cooked food when Potter hit him on the back of the head and said,"Are you going to help out or not?"
"I'm making sure you're not about to poison us," Black replied, pushing Potter's hand. "Could use some pepper."
In response Potter scattered black pepper on his friend's head. Black sneezed and everyone laughed, Lily too.
"Miss Evans, a word, if you will?" Mrs. Chambers appeared in the kitchen door. Slightly embarrassed, Lily followed her out of the kitchen, leaving the four boys behind.
"Master James' friends will be staying in the guest rooms," Mrs. Chambers said. "They are our guests, so they should be treated with no less respect and obedience than the young master."
Lily nodded obediently, although she wasn't really keen on cleaning up after four teenage boys or to have to take orders from Black.
A loud bang came from the kitchen, followed by a roar of laughter.
"I'll call you when lunch is ready," Mrs. Chambers said, glancing toward the kitchen anxiously, "I only hope there would be a kitchen left afterwards."
Finally lunch was served, and Lily had to admit that it was particularly good, even if it wasn't Madeline's cooking. The atmosphere around the table was cheerful and especially pleasant: The Marauders joked around, Black teased Maxwell, who stood his own with surprising wit, and Mrs. Chambers shared with them stories from her school days. She was certain she would change her mind very quickly, but Lily was glad Potter had reunited with his friends.