Hey guys! Sorry for the long break in updation (I know that's not a word). I've got a fever and to top it off my four year old cousin was here and, well, I was preoccupied. Merry Christmas everyone! Since I kept you waiting so long I'm updating again tomorrow…or maybe later today… Enjoy! And Review (:
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the story line
Previously:
Sirius' Occlumency Diary
So, Frank proposed to Alice today. Should I propose to Hestia?
"I'm so tired!" Hestia grumbled, as she and Lily collapsed on the sofa in the Heads' dorm.
"I hate wedding planning," Lily sighed, leaning her head back on the sofa.
"I promise you I am never getting married,"
"As if Hest," Lily snorted. They had spent the whole day, after classes, planning Alice's wedding with Alice. Gwenog was Alice's maid of honour, but since Gwenog wasn't there, Lily and Hestia, the bridesmaids, were helping Alice.
"Why are we planning now anyway?" Hestia whined, and Lily rolled her eyes.
"We've been over this! Alice wants to have it done before NEWTS, so she can concentrate on NEWTS when they come around"
"Pain in the bum if you ask me," Hestia muttered, and Lily chuckled, "By the way, you're my maid of honour," Hestia added, and Lily's eyes widened.
"Don't tell me you're getting married too!" Lily gasped, turning to Hestia, who turned slightly pink.
"No! You think Sirius would propose? Merlin, no, I'm just telling you in advance," Hestia grinned, and Lily rolled her eyes.
"You're mine too," Lily chuckled, and Hestia squealed.
"Really?" Hestia squeaked, jumping up and down. Lily rolled her eyes and hid her face in her hands. Only Hestia Jones.
"Hello lovely ladies," Sirius said, striding into the room. He was dressed in his Quidditch robes and was drenched. Lily looked out the window and saw that it wasn't raining, and scrunched her nose, realizing Sirius was probably drenched in sweat.
"Hello," Hestia said happily, walking over to hug him, and Lily winced. Hestia shrieked and jumped away from him, "are you covered in sweat?" Sirius grinned at her and took a step towards her. Hestia shuddered and walked over to Lily, "He's all sweaty!" she groaned, and Lily laughed.
"You haven't seen Prongs," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. Right on cue, James walked into the dorm.
"That. Is. Gross." Hestia declared. James was completely drenched, and his hair was shining with sweat.
"Only real men sweat," James said, grinning, and Lily snorted, "OI!" he yelled, and Lily winked.
"What were you girls doing?" Sirius asked, rolling his eyes at James.
"We just got back from wedding planning," Lily grumbled, and Hestia groaned next to her.
"I am never ever ever getting married," Hestia sniffed, and Lily grinned at Sirius, who turned pink. James sighed and walked over to Lily, who leaned away.
"Merlin no, go shower first," she said, pointing imperiously towards the bathroom. James bowed down to her, rolling his eyes, before walking over to the bathroom.
"I'm going to go," Hestia said, standing up and stretching. She looked at Sirius, who smiled up at her.
"Go ahead, I'll come later," he said, and Hestia shrugged.
"See you later," she said, kissing him on top of his head, before sauntering out of the dorm, Sirius watching her.
"Hi?" Lily said uncertainly, and Sirius turned to look at her, grinning.
"Why so uncertain Lily-flower?"
"Well, you usually go everywhere with Hestia," she shrugged, and Sirius narrowed his eyes at her.
"Are you implying that I'm whipped?"
"I don't need to imply it," Lily said cheekily, and Sirius growled playfully.
"I needed to talk to you so I stayed," Sirius huffed, crossing his arms and looking away from her. Lily giggled.
"Speak"
"No you're being mean to me!" he whined, and Lily rolled her eyes.
"I'm sorry," she said sarcastically, and Sirius shook his head.
"Like you mean it!"
"No thanks I'm good," she chuckled
"Lily-flower!" he whined, and Lily rolled her eyes
"I am very sorry for being mean to you Sirius," she said, accentuating each word. Sirius grinned and Lily had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes, "you needed to talk to me?" Sirius coughed and looked down at the floor, causing Lily to raise her eyebrows, "what is it?" she asked gently.
"I don't know how to start," he said, looking down at the floor.
"From the beginning?" Lily said, her mouth twitching, and Sirius barked a laugh.
"Well, I guess, erm," Sirius said, looking down at his hands and twirling his fingers.
"What brought it up?" Lily asked helpfully, sensing how uncomfortable he was.
"The wedding," Sirius said, and Lily nodded.
"What is it in regard to?" Lily asked, and Sirius guffawed.
"Why so formal Lily-flower?" he chuckled, and Lily's face split into a smile.
"You weren't speaking!" she shrieked and Sirius laughed.
"It is in regard to, well, my relationship," he said, and Lily's eyes widened.
"Are you planning on proposing?" she asked quietly, and saw Sirius' eyes widen.
"Maybe, well not planning, more like, thinking about it?" he said uncertainly, but Lily had started shaking her head earlier.
"Why?"
"Why what?" Sirius asked awkwardly
"Why do you want to propose?" Lily asked quietly, and Sirius looked down at the floor, "Just because Frank proposed doesn't mean you have to," she said, and Sirius looked up at her with earnest, confused eyes
"But his reasons!" he said, standing up and putting his hand in his hair, "They made perfect sense! What if something does happen and I never get to do this?" he asked, and Lily stood up, putting her hands on his forearms, as she could barely reach his shoulders.
"Sirius Black, his reasons made sense, but Hestia is not Alice," she said, and Sirius looked down at her, "I know Hestia is the most eccentric thing ever," she rolled her eyes and Sirius grinned, "but she wouldn't say yes. And I know that it would hurt you. And I know that Hestia does love you. So don't propose, please," she said, and Sirius sighed.
"Good because I am not ready for marriage," he grinned, and Lily smacked his arm
"Then why, for the love of Merlin, were you going to propose?" Sirius shrugged, and Lily rolled her eyes, "Go take a shower," she said, taking a step back from Sirius, who grinned down at her.
"Thank you Lily-flower!" he said happily, and hugged Lily, who screamed and attempted to push his sweaty body off of her.
"Get off me!" she squealed, but Sirius laughed and hugged her tighter.
"Pads get off the girlfriend," James yelled from the bathroom, and Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Yes sir!" he yelled, saluting in the direction of the bathroom. Lily giggled, and Sirius messed her hair up, dodging her slaps, and walked to the door, "I'm going to shower!" he announced, and Lily snorted.
"Good to know," she grinned, and Sirius winked.
"Don't think about me too much," he grinned, before walking out of the dorm. Lily shuddered as she realized Sirius' sweat was still on her, and walked to the bathroom door.
"What?" James yelled as Lily knocked on the door. Lily kept knocking and she heard James exhale angrily. She bit back a laugh and continued to knock, "I am going to kill you," he said, pulling open the door, to see Lily, "oh it's you," he said happily, and Lily rolled her eyes.
"Who else would it be?" she asked, and James rolled his eyes.
"I thought it was Padfoot," he said, and Lily giggled, "It's cold," James pouted, and Lily looked down to see him in nothing but a towel. James smirked, as Lily turned red and turned to look away from him.
"Well go wear some clothes," she said awkwardly, and James grinned down at her.
"Is my nakedness making you uncomfortable," he grinned, and Lily rolled her eyes. She walked around James into the bathroom, "Where are you going?" he whined, and Lily chuckled.
"I need to shower. I'm covered in Sirius' sweat," she shuddered, closing the door behind her. James chuckled, and walked up to wear clothes. When he got back down, it was to see Lily, completely dressed and showered.
"How did you do that so fast?" he gasped, and Lily rolled her eyes.
"You used up all the hot water!" she whined, and James laughed.
"You realize you could have made it hot with your wand right?" Lily flushed and James guffawed, "You forgot about magic," he said, rolling his eyes, and sitting down next to Lily, to turned to glare at him.
"I didn't forget! I was preoccupied," she shrugged, and James shook his head.
"What could possibly occupy you in the shower?"
"I was thinking!"
"Why are you always thinking?" he laughed, and Lily stuck her tongue out at him.
"Because I have stuff to think about!"
"What stuff?"
"Lot's of stuff," she shrugged, and James rolled his eyes.
"Doesn't help Lils,"
"Well, for one, I was thinking about Quidditch tomorrow," she said, and James face paled.
"I'm scared," he said, and Lily smiled at him.
"You will be fine," she said, kissing his cheek
"How are you so sure?" he whined, lying down on her lap. Lily stroked his hair and leaned down to kiss his forehead.
"Because I am"
"What else?" he asked, and Lily raised her eyebrows, "were you thinking about?" he finished the question and Lily laughed.
"Well, what Sirius was just talking to me about," she shrugged, and James guffawed.
"The proposal thing?" he asked, and Lily nodded her head, rolling her eyes, "Sirius gets confused easily," he smiled fondly, and Lily grinned
"I've noticed, why did he ask me if he'd already discussed it with you?" she asked, turning to look at James, who sighed.
"Apparently, since you're Hestia's best friend you'd give better advice than me," James said, rolling his eyes.
"What advice did you give him?"
"I said that he should do it properly," he shrugged.
"Define properly"
"Well, firstly, he isn't ready for marriage. It's a huge step and you should only get married if you want to," he shrugged, and Lily rolled her eyes.
"Why are you so bloody mature? It makes me feel like a child," she shook her head and James laughed, "It's as if you've already planned your proposal," she grinned, and James blushed, "You have?" she squealed, and James shook his head, looking anywhere but at her.
"No…"
"Tell me!" she commanded, and James looked up at her
"Why would I do that?"
"Because I'm asking," she stated, and James laughed, "Why wont you tell me?"
"I don't want to talk about it," he said sternly, standing up. Lily pouted and James laughed, "Come on," he said, holding his hand out to her.
"I'm tired where are we going?" she asked, and James scoffed.
"You can't get that tired planning a wedding," he chuckled, and Lily gasped, and smacked his arm, "Why are you planning it now?"
"Because of NEWTS," she said, and then her face paled, "Oh Merlin NEWTS are next week!" she shrieked, and James rolled his eyes, "I need to study," she squealed, and made to run up the stairs, but James grabbed her around the middle, and pulled her up, "Put me down James Potter!" she yelled, slapping at his arms, and James laughed.
"Unlikely Evans. You need to learn balance," he said, and started to carry her out of the dorm.
"James I need to study!" she whined, and James rolled his eyes, "What if I get a P? Or a D? Or a T?" she yelled, the pitch of her voice getting higher and higher with each question.
"Lily, I don't think you could get a T even if you tried," he chuckled, and Lily turned to narrow her eyes at him.
"Oh be quiet James! I need to study! I need to get good results!"
"Lils if you pass this down to our children I will kill you," he muttered, and Lily turned to him, eyes wide.
"So you planned our proposal and our children?" she said, and James laughed.
"Lily I've been planning everything since I was eleven," he chuckled, and Lily grinned at him.
"If our children are that pathetic then I will kill you," she grinned, and James narrowed his eyes at her.
"I am not pathetic. I'm sorry if our children end up loving people," he scoffed, and Lily rolled her eyes, "I hope they don't get your tendency to ignore their feelings," he grinned, and Lily rolled her eyes.
"I bet our children will be good at school," she grinned, and James raised his eyebrows, "well you get good grades, albeit without trying," she shrugged, and James scoffed.
"I hope they're troublemakers," he grinned, and Lily smacked him.
"James Potter my children will never do anything mischievous like you. I will not allow you to pass down your talent for trouble," she scoffed, and James laughed.
"Talent for trouble?"
"Yes, talent for trouble."
"What's talent for trouble?" Remus asked as they walked into Gryffindor Tower, "and why does it look like you're restraining Lily?"
"It's my talent apparently, and because she wants to go study for NEWTS," James chuckled, and Remus guffawed.
"Well I agree with the talent," he said and grinned at James, who narrowed his eyes playfully, "And really Lily, you have a long time until NEWTS and you already know everything," he sighed, but Lily shook her head frantically.
"I don't!" she squealed, and Remus rolled his eyes.
"Didn't you get all Outstandings on your OWLS?" he asked, and Lily blushed, "Exactly, you'll be fine," he said, and Lily sighed.
"Fine, stop me from getting good grades," she sniffed, and walked out of James' arms to walk to the comfortable armchairs by the fire where she saw Hestia.
"Hello," Hestia said happily, and Lily grinned, sitting down next to her, "What were you all arguing about?"
"NEWTS," Lily huffed, and Hestia snorted.
"Were they trying to tell you you'd be absolutely fine and stopping you from studying?" she asked, and Lily nodded vigorously.
"Amateurs," Hestia scoffed, and Lily laughed.
"What?" Alice asked, sitting down next to Lily
"Remus and James were they trying to tell Lily she'd be absolutely fine and were trying to stop her from studying," Hestia snorted, as Remus and James sat down, and looked at Hestia incredulously.
"Idiots," Alice chuckled, and turned to look at Lily, "Lily, you will not be fine, you still need to study, but you should take a small break," she said, and Lily nodded.
"I'm going to go to the kitchens," Lily said, standing up, and Hestia raised her eyebrows.
"You never go to the kitchens!"
"I know," Lily shrugged, and James stood up, but Lily shook her head, "I'm not taking you, especially you," she said, and James pouted.
"Can I come?" Alice asked, and Lily grinned.
"Yes you can," she said, and Alice stood up happily, linking her arm through Lily's, "Hest?"
"It's good I'm going to sit here," Hestia said, and her friends waved before walking away, "We perfected knowing about Lily's studying by the end of first year," she snorted, and Remus laughed.
"You alright Hest?" James asked, and Hestia nodded. James looked at her and Hestia slowly shook her head, "Thought so, what's wrong?"
"I don't know! Sirius is being weird!" she said, and James looked at Remus, who rolled his eyes, "Did I do something?" she asked, and they both shook their heads violently.
"You did nothing Hest, he's just confused," Remus chuckled, and Hestia visibly relaxed.
"Thank you," she said happily, "for a moment I thought he was either going to dump me, or propose to me," she said, and stood up, "I think I'm going to catch up with Lily and Alice," she said, and skipped out of the room. Once she was gone, James and Remus burst out laughing.
"That's so ironic!" James wheezed.
The next morning, Lily woke up to hear the sound of banging coming from James room. She got out of bed wobbly, and walked over to James' room. The door was open and she looked in to see him doing his usual pre-Quidditch workout; sit-ups, push-ups, stretches. She sighed and walked back to her room, pulling the covers over her head.
"Lily!" Hestia squealed, and Lily sat up to see Hestia and Alice standing in her room, "we're going to be late! The game's soon!" Hestia squealed, and Lily's eyes widened. She jumped up and pointed her wand at her clothes.
"Nice," Alice grinned, and Lily rolled her eyes, before running down the stairs to brush her teeth.
"Let's go!" she yelled, and the three girls ran down to the Quidditch Pitch.
"Prongs calm down!" Sirius said, shaking James, who was hyperventilating, which was normal for Quidditch games.
"James, you get to kick Diggory's bum," Tonks yelled from the other side of the changing room, and James smiled weakly, "And Lily's out there, so you have to win," she said, and James grinned over at Tonks.
"Thanks," Sirius sighed over his shoulder, and Tonks shrugged, "Only cousin I actually like," he mumbled, and James raised his eyebrows, "She's Aunt Andromeda's daughter," he said, "she's Bellatrix's sister, but she married a muggleborn so they disowned her," he said, and James nodded.
"Let's kick some Hufflepuff butt!" Marlene yelled, raising her beaters bat. Sirius grinned and raised his own bat, hitting Marlene's. The Gryffindor team, led by James and Sirius, made their way onto the Quidditch Pitch, and were greeted by cheers from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. Hufflepuff and Slytherin, obviously, were booing at them, but it didn't bother them. James searched the crowd and saw Lily up in the stands, cheering, wearing a Gryffindor shirt with 'Potter' written in bold gold letters. James grinned at her and turned back to the pitch, and saw Amos Diggory, Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain, standing in front of his team, glaring at James.
"Now I want a nice clean game, from all of you," Madam Hooch, the new, young, Quidditch referee said, "Captains, shake hands," she said. James took a step forward and attempted to squish Amos' hand, as Amos did the same. James felt a smirk rise on his face as he saw Amos wince a little, "Mount your brooms," Madam Hooch yelled, and James swung a leg over his broom.
"Good luck!" he yelled to his team, and heard them yell back.
"Go!"
The two teams soared up into the air and James felt his tension dissolve as he felt the wind in his hair, making it messier.
"And they're off! Gryffindor team, captained by James Potter, great bloke, has lost a prized player, Ms. Gwenog Jones, who I danced with by the way," James turned to see Remus sitting in the commentary booth, and chuckled, "who is now playing for the Holyhead Harpies, I know right, and has been replaced by second year Nymphadora Tonks," he said, and James saw Tonks blush out of the corner of his eye.
"It's Tonks!" she screamed to no one in general, and James grinned.
"Hufflepuff team, led by Amos Diggory," Remus said bitterly, "the twat,"
"Mr. Lupin!" McGonagall yelled, audible to the whole stadium. The stadium chuckled.
"Sorry Professor. Anyway, let's get on with the game. Tonks has the Quaffle, and has passed it to McLaggen, who passes it back to Tonks, who dodges a nasty bludger aimed by Hufflepuff's bulky beater, sorry mate I don't know your name, nice dodge Tonks! She has swerved, she's shoots, and…she scores!" cheers erupted around the stadium and James reached his hand out to hi-five Tonks as she flew by, "That's ten-zero to Gryffindor! Oh look now, Diggory is yelling at his keeper. Bloke's got a set of lungs on him, as I'm sure we all know. Sorry Professor! Anyway, Hufflepuff's chaser Daniels passes to Smith, who is hit by a bludger aimed by Sirius Black, who has told me to say that he is one good looking bloke, happy Sirius?" James saw Sirius put thumbs up at Remus, and laughed along with the rest of the stadium, "Odd bloke that Sirius Black, anyway, Smith drops the Quaffle, which goes into Belby's arms, who take a shot and, it's saved by the keeper, bollocks, and the keeper drops the Quaffle as McKinnon aims a bludger at him, and Tonks grabs the Quaffle and she scores! Well done Tonks!" he yelled, jumping up and down and cheering.
The game went on for a long time, and it was only about four hours later, the score being 300-270 to Gryffindor when Remus gasped, "looks like Diggory's seen the Snitch! JAMES!" he screamed, and James turned around quickly, to see Amos speeding in the opposite direction. James felt his heart race and he sped up, flying over towards Amos. He saw a glint of gold, and leaned down, heading over to the golden snitch. He flew across the pitch until he was shoulder to shoulder with Amos, "C'mon James!" Remus was yelling into the mike, jumping up and down. McGonagall wasn't bothering to yell at Remus for taking sides, as she was yelling similar things. The snitch went in for a dangerous dive, and the two captains dove after the snitch, going into an almost vertical dive. Amos reached his hand out and James felt his stomach drop as his fingers scraped the Snitch. James thrust himself forwards, bumping into Amos and sending him swerving off course, and his fingers wrapped around the snitch. He pulled out of the dive triumphantly, holding the snitch in one arm over his head, a grin on his face.
"GRYFFINDOR WIN!" Remus screeched into the microphone, before throwing it to McGonagall and jumping over the barrier to hug Lily and Hestia, who were screaming and jumping up and down. The rest of his teammates, who were all screaming into his ears, slammed into James and the Gryffindor blob lowered itself slowly to the grass.
"PRONGS MATE WE DID IT! WE'RE IN THE HOUSE CUP!" Sirius screamed, and James grinned happily. They reached the ground and the whole of Gryffindor seemed to be streaming into the field, screaming. James saw Lily and held his arms open, and she launched herself into them, wrapping her legs around his waist.
"JAMES YOU DID IT!" she squealed, and James spun her around in a circle.
"SIRIUS!" Sirius turned just in time to catch a sprinting Hestia, who tackled him to the ground, "SIRIUS BLACK THAT WAS AMAZING!" she screamed, and Sirius laughed as he got to his feet, pulling her with him.
"IT WAS!" he yelled back, and Hestia grinned leaning up to kiss him.
"HOUSE CUP!" Remus yelled happily, and ran over to hug Tonks, who turned bright red, "YOU WERE AMAZING!" he yelled, and Tonks turned a fiery shade of red.
"Thanks," she said, smiling up at him, and Remus grinned down at her.
"AFTER PARTY IN THE COMMON ROOM!" Peter yelled, and the whole of Gryffindor cheered.
"POTTER!" James turned to see McGonagall running over to them, tears streaming down her face, "YOU DID IT!" she yelled, and James grinned up at her. She pat James on the back before wiping her eyes with her cloak, "AND YOU!" she screamed, turning to Sirius, who raised his eyebrows. She pat a bewildered Sirius on the head before walking away, and Lily burst out laughing, as did the rest of her friends.
"Now there's nothing left but NEWTS," Alice groaned, and Lily turned around to smack her in the arm. James turned around and saw Amos Diggory, dejected, walk away sadly, throwing his broom to the floor, and James grinned.
"I think I can take that on," he grinned, and leaned down to kiss Lily. He had everything he had ever wanted, what reason was there not to be happy?
"Really everybody this is enough," McGonagall said, parading into the Gryffindor Common room close to 4 in the morning, where the celebration was still in full swing.
"But Minerva!" Sirius said, swaying over towards her, a bottle of Firewhisky in his hand.
"Mr. Black where did you get that?" she said sternly, looking at the bottle of Firewhisky. Sirius grinned cheekily and threw the bottle over his shoulder, and Remus caught it, before holding his arms out to McGonagall.
"Dance with me love?"
"Ms. Evans!" McGonagall yelled, ignoring Sirius and walking over to Lily where she was sitting on James in the armchair. Lily's head snapped up towards her and she felt her face pale, "Ms. Evans it is 4 in the morning!" she screeched, and Lily nodded, standing up.
"But Professor, it's a celebration, and we have Professor Dumbledore's permission to throw the party," she said, and McGonagall's argument faltered.
"You have permission?"
"Sure," Lily shrugged, and McGonagall sighed.
"As long as nobody is asleep in classes tomorrow this party may continue," she growled, and walked out of Gryffindor tower.
"Tomorrow's Sunday Minerva!" Sirius yelled, and McGonagall sighed
"Fine, but you have to clean up this mess, I'm instructing the House Elves not to do it," she huffed, and ignoring a lot of protests, stormed out of Gryffindor Tower.
"We have permission?" James asked, standing up so he and Lily were less than an inch away from each other.
"No," she grinned up at him, and James raised his eyebrows.
"Lily Evans did you just lie to a teacher?" he gasped, his mouth twitching, and Lily rolled her eyes, "I think we're having a bad influence on you," he chuckled, winding his arms around her waist, and Lily giggled.
"Why is Lily so giggly?" Hestia asked, sitting on the sofa next to Alice. Lily had been giggling for an hour now.
"I may have slipped her some Firewhisky," Sirius grinned, falling down on the recently vacated armchair.
"Sirius Black you did what?" Alice said, turning around to look at him with a grin on her face.
"He gave Lils Firewhisky," Remus laughed, walking over and throwing Sirius' bottle back at him, "You're lucky I can catch," he muttered, sitting down next to Alice.
"My head hurts," whined Lily, and everyone chuckled.
"Back to the dorm?" James suggested, and Lily nodded like a child, "See you tomorrow," he chuckled, and held his hand out to Lily, who took it. Lily stumbled and James rolled his eyes, before picking her up and taking her back to their dorm.
"James," Lily said for the hundredth time.
"Yes Lily?" he replied, amused. She had been asking him pointless questions for the last few hours.
"Would you ever feed a Hippogriff a Pop Tart?" she asked, and James looked down at her questioningly.
"What is a Pop tart?"
"It's a breakfast food," she said, and James rolled his eyes.
"No I would not feed a Hippogriff a Pop Tart because I would eat it," he said, and Lily giggled.
"James,"
"Yes Lily?"
"I'm tired,"
"It's about bloody time," he muttered, and stood up, holding his hand out to Lily, "I'll take you to bed," he said, and Lily grabbed his hand. He dropped her down on her bed, and tucked her under the covers.
"James," she said as he was leaving. He chuckled and turned around to look at her.
"Yes Lily?"
"I love you," she grinned, and James laughed.
"Go to sleep Lils."
"James,"
"Yes Lily?"
"Nothing," she shrugged, before going to sleep. James chuckled and walked out of the room.
"My girlfriend is crazy," he muttered to himself.
"Lily?" James sat up and looked around, "Lily?" he asked in a louder voice, worry flooding through him. He had had a dream in which Voldemort had threatened to kill Lily. He jumped out of the bed, ignoring his pounding head from the party, and ran down the stairs, "Lily!" he yelled through the bathroom door.
"What?" the door opened and Lily stood there, rubbing her eyes, "Why are you yelling?" she asked, looking up at him and James felt relieved as he looked into her green eyes. He pulled her into a hug and Lily hugged him back before looking up at him, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he said, and Lily rolled her eyes.
"You're so strange," she chuckled, kissing him on the cheek, before grabbing his hand, "let's go down for breakfast I'm hungry," she said, and James grinned down at her.
"I think Padfoot is having a bad influence on you," he chuckled.
"I think Black has something coming for him. Sneaking me Firewhisky. How dare he!" she growled and James laughed, throwing his arm around her shoulders and kissed her on top of her head, "I don't like you," she said narrowing her eyes at James, who guffawed.
"I'm dying Lils how could you," he said sarcastically, gripping at his chest, and Lily rolled her eyes, the corners of her mouth twitching.
"Sirius Black!" she yelled, stomping over to where Sirius was sitting at the Gryffindor Table. He turned and grinned cheekily at her.
"Lily Evans," he said, mimicking her tone, and James guffawed, covering it up with a cough when Lily turned to glare at him, "Lily-flower are you angry at me?" Sirius said innocently, and Lily narrowed her eyes at him, "I will take that as a yes," he winked, and Lily's mouth twitched.
"Give up Lils," Hestia said, rolling her eyes. Lily sighed and sat down next to Hestia, "What are you going to do today?" Hestia asked, and Lily's head snapped up.
"I have to study!" Lily squealed, realizing their first NEWT exam was that Thursday.
"Of course you do," Alice said, rolling her eyes, from where she was sitting next to Sirius.
"See you later," Lily squealed, jumping up and running out of the Great Hall.
"Here we go again," Alice groaned, slamming her forehead on the table, and Hestia sighed.
"If you can't find her for the next few days, it's because she's in the library," Hestia said to James, who laughed.
"HESTIA!" James yelled up the girls' staircase in Gryffindor Tower.
"YES JAMES?" Hestia yelled, before walking down the stairs.
"Lily wont shower!" he whined, and Hestia groaned.
"ALICE!"
"Yes?" Alice said, reaching the bottom of the stairs.
"Lily won't shower," James said again, and Alice laughed, he groaned, and Hestia patted him on the back sympathetically. They reached the Heads dorm to see Lily sitting at her desk, surrounded with textbooks.
"Hey Lils," Hestia said, sitting down next to Lily, who didn't acknowledge their presence, "Okay so she's not going to hear anything we say, James, you come up behind her," she said, and James raised his eyebrows, "We had Gwenog last time," Hestia explained, and James chuckled. He stood behind Lily's chair and Alice sat down on the other side of Lily, "Now, on the count of three, we pick her up," Hestia said, and James guffawed, "1…2…3!"
They grabbed Lily and lifted her up in the air, "Put me down!" Lily squealed, but they ignored her.
"Alice door!" Hestia yelled, and Alice kicked the door open, still keeping a firm grip on the squirming Lily. They paraded inside and the two girls left Lily with James, running to the shower to turn it on. James lowered Lily into the shower area and Lily spluttered as the water hit her face.
"But I need to study!" she whined, and the three of them rolled their eyes.
"Okay, James, you stand in there with her until she is done, we are going to go back to sleep," Alice said, before walking out of the bathroom with Hestia, "good luck getting her to sleep," she chuckled, and James sighed.
"James," Lily whined, and James just shook his head, standing in the shower with Lily.
"Shampoo," he said, handing her shampoo to her. Lily narrowed her eyes at him and opened the bottle. James, satisfied, stepped out of the shower, dried himself off, and sat down on the bathroom counter. Lily stepped out of the shower and dried herself off before glaring at James, who grinned at her.
"Why did you call them?" she laughed, and walked over to James, who sighed.
"It's nice to have my girlfriend back," he chuckled, and Lily rolled her eyes.
"I haven't gone anywhere!" she said, and James laughed, kissing her on top of the head.
"Now go to sleep," he said, and Lily shook her head vigorously.
"No I have to study!"
"No, you have to sleep."
"But I need to study!"
"No, you need to sleep!"
"James Potter!"
"Lily Evans!"
"You are incorrigible," Lily muttered, and James, who had given up on arguing, carried her over his shoulder into his bedroom, "why can't I go to my room?" she asked as he threw her onto the bed, and crawled under the covers.
"This way I can make sure you actually sleep," he said, and Lily rolled her eyes.
"That's not why," she said, and James chuckled.
"Head out of the gutter Lily," he chuckled, and Lily rolled her eyes, before hugging his torso.
"Fine I'll go to sleep," she muttered, burying her face in his chest, and James chuckled, before wrapping his arms around her and going to sleep.
Thursday came around to find all the seventh and fifth years in frenzy. The Gryffindor seventh years were acting very strange.
James Potter was pale, reading over his Defense Against the Dark Arts notes, as it was their first exam.
Peter Pettigrew was hastily skimming through his textbook.
Sirius Black was not eating.
Alice Prewett was practicing for the practical.
Hestia Jones was reading over Lily's notes, panicking, as they were more precise than her own.
Sirius Black was not eating.
Lily Evans and Remus Lupin, however, were completely calm.
"What is wrong with you two?" Sirius hissed over at them, where they were chatting and eating breakfast.
"I believe we are, what you would call, prepared," Remus chuckled, and Sirius rolled his eyes.
"I'm going to be fine. So is Prongs," he said, nudging James, who rolled his eyes at Remus, putting away his notes.
"Then why are you panicking?" Hestia challenged, and Sirius grinned at her.
"Hestia love, Marauders never panic," he said. They all turned to look at Peter, who had yelled out in frustration and run out of the Great Hall, "I take that back," Sirius said, and Lily laughed.
"At least we had lives for the past week," James winked at Lily, who blushed, but stuck her tongue out at him. James chuckled, and walked over to sit down next to Lily, "Good luck," he said kissing her on the cheek, and Lily smiled at him.
"You too," she grinned, and James smiled, kissing her on the mouth.
"Eating breakfast here!" Remus said, turning around, and the couple laughed.
"Time to go," Frank said in a shaky voice, holding his hand out to Alice, who took it.
"Let's do this!" Sirius yelled, and the whole hall chuckled.
"Evans, over there, Potter, back there," Flitwick said as they reentered the Great hall, which had been changed to an exam hall.
"Good luck," James said before kissing Lily on the cheek and heading over to his seat. Lily sat down and looked around for everyone. She saw that James was only a few rows behind her and to the right, and grinned when she caught his eye. Alice was sitting a few desks away from James. She saw Hestia sitting a few tables behind her to the left, and Sirius was sitting a few rows in front, waving at Remus, who was trying his best to ignore him. Sirius turned to James, and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Alright, you may begin!" the examiner said, and the sound of turning pages filled the whole hall.
51. Identify three features of a werewolf
The Marauders and Lily grinned down at the question, before filling it out.
"I can't believe they kept that question!" Sirius laughed, as the Marauders filed out of the Great Hall together.
"Brilliant question," James nodded in agreement, looking around for Lily.
"I put down the snout, and the eyes, but I couldn't think of the other," Peter said, and the three other rolled their eyes at him.
"You run around with one every month! How thick could you get?" Sirius asked, receiving a smack in the head by James when Peter looked down at the floor.
"Lily-flower!" Sirius said happily, running over to hug Lily where she was standing with Hestia and Alice.
"Hi Sirius," she chuckled, "How'd you guys like question 51?" she winked at the rest of the Marauders, who grinned at her.
"I see you're in a significantly better mood," James said, winding his arms around her waist.
"Well, the written section wasn't so bad, and we have an hour until the practical, so I'm going to relax for about 45 minutes," she grinned up at James, who chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose.
"You will be fine," he said, putting his arm around her shoulder as they walked out towards the Marauders infamous tree with the rest of their friends.
"I suggest we practice!" Sirius declared, flopping down into the grass at the base of the tree.
"Sirius how do you practice for a Defense practical?" Alice said exasperatedly as she lay down with her head in Franks lap.
"You practice on others," Peter piped up, and the girls snorted.
"Not a bad idea," Lily grinned, pulling her wand out and pointing it at Sirius, who yelled and hid behind Hestia.
"My boyfriend ladies and gentlemen," Hestia chuckled, kissing Sirius on the cheek.
"He hid behind you so you'd get cursed instead? Chivalrous," Frank snorted, and everyone chuckled.
"Hey this brings back memories," Sirius said, ignoring Frank and looking over to where Snape was sitting down a few feet away from them, "Just like after our Defense OWL. How nice," he snickered, pulling out his wand. James looked down at Lily, who was looking at the other bank of the Black Lake.
"How about we don't?" Remus said, looking at Lily, who looked up to see the Marauders looking at her.
"I'm sorry I wasn't listening," she said, and James rolled his eyes, "Okay fine I was. I don't care," she shrugged, and Remus raised his eyebrows, "You have to practice don't you?" she grinned at Sirius, who yelled gleefully.
"Lily-flower you're the best," he said happily, and picked her up, swinging her around.
"We're not going to do it," Remus said, and James gave him a grateful smile.
"Moony!" Sirius whined, and Remus rolled his eyes, "The Head Girl said it was okay!" he said happily.
"Head Boy says no," James grinned, and Sirius' jaw dropped as he looked down at James.
"I hate the Head Boy," he muttered, and put Lily on the floor, "C'mon Head Girl," he said, holding his hand out to her. Lily rolled her eyes and Sirius grabbed her hand, walking away, in the opposite direction from Severus.
"Where do you think you're going?" James said, grabbing Lily from behind around the waist.
"She is coming with me," Sirius declared, and James rolled his eyes, picking Lily up, "Everyone hates me," Sirius whined, stomping his foot and Hestia got up to wrap her arms around his neck.
"I don't hate you," she grinned, and Sirius beamed down at her.
"I knew there was a reason I loved you," he grinned, kissing her and Hestia chuckled, "I have an idea!" Sirius declared.
"Congratulations," Frank said sarcastically, and they snorted.
"I have an idea!" Sirius repeated, ignoring Frank, "I say we throw Lily-flower in the lake," he said happily, and Lily gasped.
"Why me?" she asked in a high voice, and Sirius grinned down at her.
"Because you caused us Marauders six years of James whining about how 'She wont talk to me'," he chuckled, Lily and James turned bright red as everyone laughed.
"Why are you blaming me for his incessant whining?" she asked, and James coughed.
"Excuse me?"
"Sorry," she grinned, kissing him on the cheek, and James rolled his eyes.
"Prongs are you on my side?" Sirius said happily, and James nodded, picking Lily up.
"JAMES!" Lily shrieked, kicking and slapping at him.
"I'll help!" Sirius said happily, grabbing Lily's feet. James grinned at him and held Lily's hands in his.
"HESTIA! ALICE!" Lily shrieked over at her friends, who were too busy laughing to help, "REMUS!" she yelled, and Remus shook his head as he wiped his face from tears of laughter, "FRANK?" Frank winked at her and Lily exhaled angrily.
"Ready Lily-flower?" Sirius asked happily, as he and James began to swing her back and forth. Lily screamed and shook her head, "Alright. Three, two, one, go!" he yelled. Lily felt the boys release her and flew in the air, screaming, with her eyes squeezed shut. She crashed into the freezing water with a splash, and pushed herself to the top, shivering, giving all her friends death glares. James grinned as he noticed how incredibly un-threatening she looked, with blue lips and chattering teeth. Lily pulled her wand out and pointed it at all of them, and they all flew into the lake, screaming.
"LILY YOU MESSED UP MY HAIR!" Hestia screeched as she resurfaced, swimming over to Lily. Lily noticed how the Marauders, seemingly unaware to the arctic temperatures of the water, were swimming around happily. Lily screamed and swum away from Hestia, and shrieked as something rose up in front of her. James laughed as Lily screamed, and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Go away," she said, smacking at his chest, and James shook his head, dropping kisses all over her face.
"Get a room!" Hestia said, pulling Lily away from James and dunking her, "I can't believe you did that!" she yelled, laughing. Lily resurfaced, spluttering and splashed water at Hestia. Alice, Frank, Peter and Remus got out of the water, drying off, and laughed as the girls had a splash fight.
"Don't drown my girlfriend!" Sirius yelled, pulling Lily off Hestia, whom she was now dunking.
"Let go of mine!" James yelled, tickling Sirius, who yelled and let go of Lily, fighting off James.
"Sirius Black, I had no idea you were so ticklish," Hestia giggled as she made her way to the bank, followed by Lily. The girls got out of the water and dried themselves off with their wands.
"Prongs how could you! That was our secret!" Sirius shrieked, swimming after James, who was swimming away, laughing. James climbed out of the lake, dried himself, and ran to hide behind Lily. Sirius climbed out, and, not bothering to wipe himself, ran over to Lily, who shrieked.
"Sirius I don't permit wet dogs to come near me," she said, waving her foot at him and Sirius stopped, before throwing his head back and laughing.
"Nice one Lily-flower!" he wheezed, drying himself off, before throwing his arm around Lily's shoulders.
"Lily it's time to go in," Remus said, and Lily's face drained.
"WHAT? ALREADY?" she shrieked, and Remus nodded sadly. She took a few deep breaths before walking towards the Great Hall. James ran over and grabbed her hand and gave her a hopeful squeeze. They reached the corridor outside the Great Hall once more and they all hugged each other before taking their designated places in line.
"BLACK!"
"Yes Minerva love,"
"I have called you twice!"
"Oh sorry to keep you waiting," he said, and with a grin to his friends, marched into the Great Hall, head high, "see you on the other side Lily-flower!" he yelled, and Lily giggled as Sirius twirled into the Great Hall.
"Daniels, Diggory, Edwards, Evans," McGonagall called a little while later. Lily turned around and got encouraging smiles from her friends, before gulping and walking in. The hall was set up exactly as it had been for OWLS.
"Lily, go to Examiner Anolly at the very end," McGonagall said, "Good luck," she said, patting Lily gently on the shoulder, and Lily gave her a nervous smile before walking over to the examiner.
"Hi," Lily said and the examiner grinned at her. The examiner was female, no older than 40, who had kind eyes, which instantly made Lily feel calmer.
"Hello Ms. Evans, is it?" she asked, and Lily nodded, and the witch smiled once more, "Okay, can you please produce a patronus charm?" Lily grinned and closed her eyes, thinking of that afternoon in the lake.
"Expecto Patronum!" she said, and the silver doe burst out of her wand and pranced around them. The examiner grinned at it and turned to Lily to continue her questioning. After she had asked her significant amount of questions, she smiled at Lily sweetly, "Well done dear, you may go,"
"Thank you," Lily smiled, before walking out of the doors. She saw Sirius sitting under the Marauder tree and ran over to him, sitting down next to him.
"Lily-flower!" he said happily, putting his arm around her shoulders and Lily grinned at him, "how'd it go?"
"Pretty well I'd say," she grinned, "You?"
"Examiner asked me to produce a patronus, and then the stupid dog jumped on her," he chuckled, and Lily laughed, "In my defense, it was the attractive young examiner.
"Sirius she was no less than 40!" she squealed, and Sirius shrugged, winking at Lily, who rolled her eyes, "You are incorrigible"
"No, I'm Sirius," he winked, and Lily laughed. Before long, Remus, Hestia and Frank joined them, and the five of them spent their time laughing and discussing the examination underneath the Marauder tree, waiting for their friends.
"Pettigrew, Potter, Prewett, Smith, Snape," McGonagall called, and the three Gryffindors walked in together, "Potter, examiner Anolly," she said, and James grinned, heading over to the youngest examiner.
"Hello," he said politely, and the examiner smiled at him.
"Hi there Mr. Potter, now, can you please begin with a patronus charm?" James grinned and the silver stag shot out of his wand. Across the hall, he saw a doe erupt and turned to see Severus Snape controlling the doe, and his stomach flipped. Severus Snape really was in love with Lily, "A stag? Well that's interesting. I recently instructed a female with a doe," she said, wagging her eyebrows and James laughed.
"Yes that would be my girlfriend," he chuckled, and the examiner nodded, smiling.
"Makes sense," she grinned, before continuing with the examination. Once he was done, James walked out of the Great hall, after Alice, while Peter was still getting instructed.
"James!" Lily squealed, running over to him and wrapping her arms around his torso, "how did it go?" she asked, and James grinned down at her.
"Well, the examiner commented on our patronus compatibility," he chuckled, and Lily laughed, "But other than that, smooth sailing," he grinned, and Lily smiled up at him.
"That's great James! Now I'm going to go study for tomorrow!" she said, but James grabbed her wrist.
"Lily its Potions tomorrow. You know everything about it by heart," he rolled his eyes, and Lily shrugged.
"There's nothing wrong with being prepared," she said defiantly, and James rolled his eyes.
"There is something wrong, however, with ditching your boyfriend and friends to study," he said cheekily, kissing the tip of her nose, and Lily rolled her eyes.
"Fine, blackmail me," she muttered, as James led her over to the tree, "So how do you study so well anyway?" she asked, as they sat down under the tree, and James blushed.
"He relates everything to you," Sirius snorted, and Lily raised her eyebrows.
"It's quite a productive way of studying, and it helps us remember too," Remus shrugged, and James threw him a grateful look.
"Give us an example!" Alice said, sitting up straighter.
"Okay let's do it for Potions tomorrow," Lily said, sitting up straighter.
"Yes, this way, Lily can continue her obsessive studying, and I can learn about your secret talent," Hestia grinned, sitting straighter on Sirius' lap.
"Fine," James said, pink, but rolling his eyes.
"Okay, lets see," said Remus, scratching his chin, "Polyjuice Potion!"
"Polyjuice Potion is the potion that changes appearance, and I don't want Lily to change at all. Also, it takes a month to brew and is dangerous if a mistake is made, which is basically how life was every time I asked Lily out," he shrugged, and Lily turned bright red as everyone laughed.
"Wow that was amazing, okay, erm, Felix Felices!" Hestia said excitedly.
"Easy," James shrugged, playing with Lily's hair, "If taken by a person, it guarantees all endeavors for one day to succeed. I wanted Felix Felices so that when I asked Lily out the next time she would say yes," he grinned at Lily, who stuck her tongue out at him, but with a smile on her face.
"Amortentia!"
"Oh even I can do that," Lily scoffed, "It is a love potion that arouses powerful feelings in a person by sending off scents which they find most attractive. This reminds James of me as it is my scent of Orchids from my shampoo that he smells when it is made, and it is the potion that we were brewing together that practically got us back together," she shrugged, and James laughed.
"Exactly!" he said, kissing Lily on the cheek, and everyone laughed.
"James, marry me," Hestia said, leaning forward, and Sirius yelled.
"No no, mine," said Alice, and Frank guffawed.
"Why?" Peter asked curiously.
"Because, that was so cute!" Hestia squealed, and hugged Lily, who was laughing. James turned bright red and ruffled his hair.
"I can't believe you actually do that," Lily chuckled, and James grinned down at her, before leaning down and kissing her. They were back in the Heads dorm and Lily had decided to listen to James study instead of her own method.
"It combined studying with something I like to learn about," he shrugged, and Lily blushed.
"Okay I am going to sleep now," she declared, standing up, and James grinned up at her.
"I'll go in a minute, need to study some more," he said, and Lily nodded, before walking away.
"Good night James!"
"Night love,"
Merry Christmas everyone! Review!