Muggle

Fifth year

The sound of rushed, excited footsteps made James, Sirius, Remus and Peter drop the Dungbombs they had been holding.

"I've got you now," called Filch, his footsteps speeding up. "Students out of bed! My, my, how you will be punished…"

"Run?" squeaked Peter.

The four Marauders split up, each one sprinting in a different direction, the evidence of their pranks left where they had been standing. Filch spluttered loudly, and James guessed correctly that the smell of the Dungbombs had, by this time, reached him. Then the footsteps were back. Filch was following him; the others were safe. James ran onwards, and finally the sound of the footsteps had faded. But he wasn't safe yet. As he looked around, he was dismayed to find himself at a dead end. A tapestry depicting someone who seemed to be trying to teach trolls ballet was hung opposite the huge wall which was just that – a wall. The footsteps echoed in the distance. Filch was coming. James paced quickly before the wall, racking his brains. Where could he hide? He needed a place to think for a while, to plan what to do next.

A place to think, a place to think, a place to think, thought James. There had to be one somewhere.

All of a sudden, a door materialised out of nowhere in the place where the wall had been. James didn't give it a second's thought, simply hurrying inside. He breathed his relief, scanning the room for another exit. There was none. His throat constricted in panic again, as he tried to think about what to do. Filch would surely find the door, open it as James had done and find him inside…

"POTTER?"

He started, and turned in the direction of the voice. His eyes sprung wide open, for there, on a pile of beanbags, sat Lily Evans, her eyes swollen and tears streaking down her cheeks. She held a crumpled letter tightly in her right hand.

"What in Merlin's name are you doing here?" she demanded.

"Shh!" said James. "Filch is coming. You need to be quiet, otherwise he'll–"

"He won't find us," snapped Lily. "No one's found this place in years apart from me – and now you."

"What? Why?" asked James, relaxing slightly.

"Because," said Lily sharply.

A few beats of silence passed.

"Because?" pressed James.

Lily exhaled in frustration. "This is… this is the Room of Requirement, Potter. It only opens to you when you really need it. I needed a place to think and to cry, and so it–"

"What's wrong?" asked James, staring at her tears.

"Nothing that concerns you," she said. "Now if you don't mind, I came in here for some privacy, and I'd love it if you–"

"I can't leave!" burst out James. "Filch is outside, trying to find me!"

"Can't you ever leave me alone?" Her body trembled as she gave into more tears.

He had never seen her cry before, and it made him feel helpless, uncomfortable, to catch her off-guard, in a moment that was evidently supposed to belong only to her.

"What's wrong?" he asked again. "Lily, I…"

"You want me to tell you, so that you can make some stupid joke about it?" snapped Lily. "No thanks."

"I won't!" he promised.

"Yes you will," she said bitterly. "You always do. That's what you're like, Potter. Everything's just a big joke to you."

"I've grown up," he said.

"So there aren't any more late night pranks or hexing of innocent students?" she said scornfully. "Why don't you tell me how, in fact, you came to be out of bed so late?"

"Well, I don't hex innocent students anymore, if that's any consolation," he said defensively. "And despite what you think, Evans, I don't make fun of everything. Serious things, for one."

"Are you grown up enough to realise when you're not wanted?" she said.

"I care about you, Evans!"

She let out a sardonic laugh. "You care about me? You don't even know me!"

"I know you don't think so, but I really do!" he countered. "And whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be ok. I know it's—"

"My parents are dead," she said, and her words, although spoken quietly, cut like a knife through his own. "Killed by Death-Eaters! But of course. It's not murder. They're only Muggles." Her voice broke on every word.

Fresh tears racked her, and she buried her face in her knees, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably. James could only stare in shock, pure disgust and loathing rising in him for the Death Eaters.

"What about your sister?" he ventured, after a while. "Is she all right?"

Lily nodded. "She was with her boyfriend, Vernon. She's staying with him now. She sent me this letter. She still…" She swallowed a ragged gulp of air. "...hates me, but thought I ought to know that our parents… my parents…"

James moved awkwardly towards her. When she made no move to flinch away from him, or even, as she had done several times before, slap him, he snuck a careful arm across her shoulders. Lily, to his utmost surprise, leaned into him, trembling with the weight of her grief.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"For my parents or for your always being a pig?" asked Lily, attempting a joke.

"Both," said James truthfully. "I just can't help myself sometimes, especially with Sniv– Sorry, I didn't mean to mention… it just slipped out."

She had stiffened. Then she gave one derisive laugh. "That's what he's going to be doing when he leaves this school, isn't he? Killing Muggles and Mudbloods."

"Don't call yourself a–"

"Why not?" snapped Lily, glaring up at him. "I'm the daughter of Muggles. A Mudblood. That's what I am."

James didn't know what to do; there was nothing he could do. He felt a deep rage for the Death Eaters, he hated them, the murderers, the propagators of that disgusting word.

"Don't tell anyone about this," she suddenly said. "No one, not even Sirius Black."

"Do you mean about your – your parents, or about the room?" asked James carefully.

"Both," she said. "I don't want anyone's pity. Other people have had family members killed, I'm not the only one. And about the room, too. I don't want to sound selfish – don't think that – but this room has been kept a secret for years and years. The only people who find it are the ones who stumble across it. Can you imagine what it would be like, what it would be used for, if everyone knew?"

"My friends won't–"

"Promise me," she said firmly.

And, unable to look away from those entrancing eyes, he nodded. "I promise. It's our secret."