A/N: Hello! I'm back! I know it took me a long time, but here it is, chapter 8! I hope you all like it! Thank you all for reviewing, it really makes my day! Shows me that you care ;) Anyway, this chapter was slightly influenced by recent problems in my personal life (even if there isn't a powerhungry mentally ill wizard after me, there are somethings I decided to incorporate), but the plot was kept untouched. Also, I love this U2 song, and I felt it fits the story to a T. So please read and tell me what you think! Special thanks for Pippapear, AnAspiringAuthor, Searchingforstories, Shetladance and TheShatteredBeloved for their lovely revies last chapter and as always to Lunar Sphynx my awesome Beta! PA
Chapter 8 – Sunday, Bloody Sunday
She woke up with a smile on her face. It had become a recurrent occurrence. She wasn't exactly a morning person, but all of the sudden the prospects of a new day and all of its possibilities were awfully enticing. Her days now had a lot more laughter and a lot less yelling, and she quite liked it that way. Somehow in the space of three days the two of them had managed to strike something that resembled a friendship, and unexpectedly, albeit only for her, she had gotten a deal package. Four for the price of one; it was the Marauder way. That was one thing she would never complain about.
She smiled while putting her hair up in a neat ponytail, all along humming a soft tune. She liked singing; she had a good voice, not great, but sweet and pretty - just enough for her shower singing ambitions - very few people knew that about her. She looked at the image reflected in the large mirror. Red hair, green eyes and light freckles were all she could see. She never thought herself beautiful (although she was); in her opinion she was cute at best. She took a step closer and examined her reflection. It was strange to see herself so up close. She knew she had her father's eyes and hair, but that anyone that knew her family could tell you in a heartbeat. She noticed now though that her features had outgrown the childish roundness and she now held a striking resemblance to her mother's classic profile. She was thin and she always thought she was a tad too tall. Her chest wasn't what she would wish for but she felt her long legs somewhat compensated for it.
Taking a step back she did a small turn and stopped staring at the large mirror again, the smile never leaving her face. She never understood why he was so obsessed with her; he could have much prettier girls. She specifically remembered Tanya Morton, a beautiful olive-skinned brunette with startling yellowish eyes one year their senior that was publicly head over hills in love with him. Her smile broadened: somewhere deep down she had always enjoyed him running after her; it gave her some kind of validation to have James Potter want her, even if she would deny it to her own reflection. To be the object of his desire was, to say the least, confidence boosting, since each and every girl in school dreamed of having a Marauder, him and Sirius especially, so much as look their way.
She returned to her room and sat on her bed edge to put on her old sneakers, her mind wandering to the boy who was now the most constant topic of her divagations. After their little "prison break", like he called it, he had walked her back to her tower and they had talked for what it seemed like minutes but had been in fact hours. She could still hear his husky voice saying in that ever teasing manner of his "Well, well, Lily Evans, not so hard to catch after all… Tsk, tsk. I expected more from you." And she could picture his slight grin perfectly in her mind's eye. And when they got to the entrance to her dorm she didn't want to go in, to leave him, and again he surprised her (he seemed to do that a lot) by plopping himself down on the ground.
"So, Miss Evans, how's it like, being Head Girl?" – He asked in a newscaster's mock tone as she stared at him in a startled way.
"What on earth are you doing?" – She had asked baffled.
"Don't really feel like walking all the way back now, so I thought, if you'll indulge me, we could continue our chat." – He shrugged nonchalantly, but at the same time gave her a pleading look. "So… Head Girl?"
"Tougher than I thought." – She had replied sitting down in front of him. She didn't realize just then, but she had just succumbed to the infamous Potter Charm.
And they had stayed there for a long time; the longest conversation she ever had with anyone, except for Alice, about anything and everything. It was just so strange that they could sit there and feel so normal, but the strangest thing was how much he seemed to get her; it was just so easy talking to him, like nothing was taboo and sarcasm was a second language. She now gave a full-fledged smile: he was just as quick as she was, and that was an accomplishment in itself. It had been some sort of a surreal night; having him all to herself, knowing bits of him a little better and allowing him to get to know her more at the same time. She found he was just as hard to read as she had thought; his answers and demeanor somehow managed to get her comfortable, startled and curious all at once. No one had ever had that effect on her and she had the slight suspicion no one else ever would.
She hopped the steps towards Great Hall, the shoelaces on her navy blue All-Stars now firmly tied. She continued humming one of her favorite songs from the Ramones, one her sister absolutely loathed like she did with most things Lily liked. She sighed, running her hand against the cold metal of the banister. These last few days had completely changed her life around. She could still see the shocked face of Mary's when Sirius came over at Divination and sat by them. They quickly found out everything was more fun with Sirius Black around, even (if not particularly) Divination. And pretty soon she had come to find out that nearly everything was much more fun with a Marauder around; apparently now they were on friendly terms with them and that had caused her friends to go absolutely ecstatic. If before she thought those four boys were just crazy, now she was positive they were absolutely mental, but that only added to their charm, because, boy, were they fun.
She knew Remus was sarcastic, but now she knew exactly how much. She found out that Peter was much like a Monty Python one man show and Sirius, well Sirius was an entertainer. He, much like his best mate, could laugh at himself easily and was just too likeable for his own good. And James, he was the hardest one. He was smart, truly smart, and witty, and he just had a way about him that it seemed he had a special aura, a magnetic quality that drew people in. He made things look simple even when they weren't. He liked the struggle; he liked challenges. She sighed. Maybe she wouldn't be able to figure him out so fast.
She approached the Gryffindor table, her mind still elsewhere. She scanned the room looking for her friends and found them quickly. But her eyes fell upon something much more interesting. He was sitting three sits down from Mary, in the Marauders usual spot. He and his friends were talking in a hushed manner and he had that look. And that grin. Sirius and Remus were smirking and nodding, sometimes they would interfere and the four of them would chuckle, and Peter, well Peter just looked in awe; and she knew at once what they were doing. It was a prank in development.
She sat by her friends and wished everyone a good morning. Alice stared at her in shock for her inability to talk before she had coffee was well known. She just shrugged and pulled the coffee jug closer. She glanced at his direction and couldn't look away for at that precise moment something happened: he was laughing. That same laugh she had heard when he had been alone in the Astronomy Tower, and she felt like she had just been washed over by a huge wave of easiness and confidence, happiness even. She smiled widely, pouring her coffee but her eyes never left him. She was staring and multitasking wasn't really one of her talents, so pretty soon there was a puddle of steaming liquid in front of her. Mary shook her and she let out a small scream because of the approaching hot fluid when it vanished. She looked up and was met by a pair of amused (too amused if you asked her) hazel eyes.
"Careful, Evans." – Came his husky voice. "That stuff will kill ya, you know?"
"No kidding, sunshine." – She retorted giving him a dirty look and expecting the beginning of one of their little banters. But he laughed again and again she was completely thrown off by it.
How could it be that she had spent over six years with him and had been completely oblivious to that sound she didn't know. All she knew was that now it affected her way too much. It was one of those sounds that stirred something in you, like when someone dragged their nails across a blackboard or when you couldn't close the bathroom sink's handle properly and the incessant dripping just bored holes in your sanity. But James' laugh was something else entirely. God, that laugh. It made her mood feel lighter; the small hairs on the back of her neck rising up slightly and the muscles on her shoulders relaxed a little. Therapy in a sound. She knew she was already hooked in him, but now apparently, she was further down then addicted. She was pathetic. She scoffed at her own stupid behavior and piled some waffles in front of her hoping no one had noticed her strange disposition.
And then the owls swooped in and Lily could feel herself biting her lip with a little too much force. Normally it wouldn't have been so terrifying, but at that precise time it was nothing short of dreadful. The Great Hall was swamped with owls holding black envelopes, the ones that could make you cry before even reading their contents. If one of those envelopes were for you, it meant that your life had already changed, that a piece of it was forever touched by horror. It meant Voldemort could touch you. She felt tears come to her eyes and held in her breath. The group of seventh year Gryffindor students watched with apprehension the flying birds. There was just too much black.
x -- x -- x -- x -- x -- x
He got up early and went running. He liked the early morning smell and the way everything was quiet and undisturbed. He loved the feeling of his feet pushing off the soft ground, the imprints of his passage clear. He liked how the freshness of the air filled his lungs and how right then he didn't need to think about anything else, worry about anything. It was just physical: one foot after the other and calculated intakes of breath. He smiled looking at his wristwatch; he was half way done but it felt like he had just started. He passed a blossoming branch and squinted trying to identify what kind of tree it belonged to. He quickened his step, setting new goals for his workout. He never liked things that were too easy. He smiled when he remembered her running in front of him; her red hair flowing behind her like a soft fire curtain. He chuckled. Fire wasn't soft. That's what she did to him; she drove him absolutely crazy.
As he ran he thought about how much their relationship had changed and how it seemed to be at that turning point. He wasn't naïve when it came to girls, he knew how to play that game. But with her it was somehow different, with her everything had to be just right and one wrong move could get back at square one. And he was making progress, deliberate, slow progress. He had talked to his friends and now they hung out with her and her friends more often. It wasn't an in your face, there all the time sort of thing, it was more, "let's be friends but one step at a time" kind of deal. And so far everything was going great. He passed that same flowery branch again and smiled. He remembered talking to her for hours that day. It was a strange kind of wonderful to be in his shoes that day. They had shared and they had laughed and he thought she knew too that they were setting the ground for something else. He sprinted even faster now, and reentered the castle.
Once he got done showering, he left with his friends for breakfast. Sundays were always undisputedly fun, mainly because Sirius loved Sundays and he wanted everyone to love them too. It was do-nothing, laugh-hard, prank-your-mates and eat-like-there's-no-tomorrow official day for the Marauders and therefore life was always a little bit better on a Sunday. They left for the Great Hall in their usual chatter that included laughing at Sirius and making fun of Peter. He said hello to some of the portraits and Peeves hovered past them running after Filch's gruesome cat.
While they walked to their table, they said hello to some friends and winked at some of the more susceptible females: they always got a kick out of the faces they made. They sat down in their usual spots, saying hello to Alice and Mary, who were already there. He was a bit disappointed that she wasn't there yet. He slapped himself mentally. Could he be any more whipped? Stupid sodding idiot. He swore at himself. He refocused his attentions to his friends, and pretty soon he was listening to Sirius' recounting of his previous night encounter with a lovely, but slightly idiotic, Hufflepuff. As he downed another waffle trying hard to stifle a laugh over the ending of his friend's tale, he let his eyes search for her once more. Nada still. He sighed and concentrated on joining his friends on their usual Sunday chore: prank planning.
They were deep in their conniving activities when he sensed she was near. He lifted his eyes and saw her walking towards the table in a very distracted way. She was smiling and he felt his heart flutter. She wasn't wearing her uniform (another reason to love Sundays) but a fitted dark brown knit and jeans. And the navy snickers he knew so well. He smiled at the sight of them. He loved that she was the kind of girl that would choose comfort over looks, and that she just didn't seem to care about was in fashion or out. He knew she liked her uniform to be always pristine, but all in all, she was at ease in her own skin. He forced his eyes away from her and reentered the Marauders' world.
As they planned a particularly crazy, funny bit, James couldn't help but chuckle. Pretty soon the four of them were chuckling and the amount of stupidity and nonsense was so much he had to laugh out loud. That was the thing about having friends like his; life was never dull. But then he heard Mary shaking her and she let out a small scream as she saw the small, but rapidly moving, puddle of hot coffee she had made. He swished his wand and it was gone. He looked at her trying to hold in his laughter; it was so unlike her to scream like that. They locked eyes and he couldn't resist and teased her. She threw him a dirty look and gave him a childish reply causing him to let out the laugh he had been holding in. And then, as swiftly as the wind could change, everything went dark.
x -- x -- x -- x -- x -- x
It was eight o'clock in the evening and she was sitting in the Headmaster's office for the very first time in her life. While she waited for him, her eyes kept wondering over all the strange, sometimes even bizarre, things perched on the crowded shelves and walls. She wanted to touch them, shake them, maybe even open them, but of course she wouldn't. She knew exactly why she was there, and she wished she didn't know. She wished she didn't know that so many people had been hurt and many others killed. She wished she didn't know that crying had been the overpowering sound that replaced James' laughter that morning. She wished she knew what to say but she wished even harder that she wouldn't have to say anything. She wanted to wake up from the nightmare she was in. But she couldn't. She sat up straighter when she heard someone clear his throat in front of her.
Dumbledore was there. His usually twinkling blue eyes were now absolutely serious. She looked over the wizard in front of her. Some days, like when the Marauders threw an especially witty prank or when he was eating one of his favorite candies, it was hard to believe that long bearded man to be the most powerful wizard in Britain. But right now, as her eyes surveyed him, she had no doubt he was. Instead of sitting down on his chair, he rounded the cluttered desk and stood in front of him.
"Thank you for coming, Miss Evans" – The headmaster started. "Although I'm sure you know why I asked you to come here, there might be some things that come as a surprise to you."
Lily nodded slowly but her mind was racing. The door opened quietly and Professor McGonagall stepped in with her usual proud demeanor denouncing her weariness over the day's events. She greeted them stiffly and then moved to the opposite side of the round room.
"As I was saying before, Lily, today was a dark day for the wizarding world." – Dumbledore restarted. "And today's occurrences will undoubtedly take a heavy on all of us, some more than others tough. Did you manage to talk to Mr. Diggory today, Lily?"
"No, sir." – She said, comprehension and anxiety dawning on her.
"I'm afraid I am the bearer of bad news then." – The blue eyes behind the half moon spectacles were darker now. "Mr. Diggory's family has suffered a severe blow. His parents were submitted to ruthless torture, which led to his mother's death and his father's commitment to St. Mungo's. Amos has already left the school grounds to visit him and prepare other arrangements. It is a very sad day, indeed."
Lily was holding back her tears with great effort; she wasn't close to the Head Boy but they were friendly and she couldn't imagine what he was going through. She swallowed hard, lifting her head up to meet his once again.
"But I'm afraid this is not all, Lily dear." – Professor McGonagall interfered in a soft tone foreign to Lily's knowledge of the severe witch so far.
"Minerva is quite right." – The powerful wizard continued. "As he left the school grounds today, Mr. Diggory made known to us his desire to abdicate his position as Head Boy." – Dumbledore paused slightly, fidgeting with the ends of his beard. "He believes that even after his return to the school, which we're unsure of, he won't be able to meet his obligations with the necessary diligence."
"But I'll help him." – Lily pleaded even tough she knew it was futile. "I can take charge of things and take over until he's ready to come back."
"That's very sweet, dear, but I don't think Mr. Diggory is changing his mind." – McGonagall replied sternly.
"Which leads to the reason we've asked you here." – The Headmaster said a soft but serious tone. "We need to select a new Head Boy and, although we have some ideas of our own, we thought it would be in the school's best interest to hear yours."
"You want my ideas over whom should be the new Head Boy?" – She asked in disbelief, receiving in return a polite nod from the wizard in front of her.
Her mind spun so fast she didn't know where she was anymore. The scenes from the day's events replayed in her head. She remembered Marlene's face, another Gryffindor seventh year, when she read the envelope that said that her grandmother had been killed and that her brother had been gravely injured. Her younger brother. She remembered how people started crying and hurls of pain and grief took over the morning's meal that moments before had been filled with happiness. She remembered how friends turned to each other for support and how for a few minutes she was at a loss for actions and words. She remembered then, that just as she was standing up to try and help somehow, he was already there. He had already taken matters into his own hands and had commanded his friends and Quidditch comrades to split up and help out. She watched as he told Alice to help out Frank Longbottom, and Sirius to go sit by a sobbing third year while he piled chocolate chip cookies, muffins and brownies in a platter and walked towards Marlene, who was sitting still in shock with tears running down her face. She saw him motioning to Remus towards the Ravenclaw table where Dorcas Meadows was literally shivering. And suddenly she felt her mind clear.
"James Potter." – She said in a clear resolute tone looking at the two elders in front of her.
A/N: Ha! Finally! Its been in the works for a while but now here it is: James is Head Boy! Bye, Amos (like Sphynx said, this guy can't catch a break!). Hehe. But I promise more surprises next chapter!