CHAPTER 21
Disclaimer: I don't own anything
A/N - I am so sorry for the long wait. Real life caught up with me...
"Did it work?"
"No, it never would work anyways,"
The three boys are sitting on James's bed, Remus with his wand out and all three sitting around scattered pages of Lily's diary,
"What made you think that a healing charm would work on a notebook?" Remus asked James, utterly bewildered,
James shrugged, "I don't know,"
James paced around the dorm, nervously circling the beds and running his hand through his hair,
"What am I going to do?" James asked, to nobody in particular, he continued pacing, making Peter, who is furiously scribbling on a piece of parchment and looking at what the other three is doing at the same time, slightly dizzy,
"Prongs, how about you pretend that you didn't break it, but someone else did?" Peter asked, trying to stop James from making him dizzy,
"That's actually a good idea, but..." James stopped in the middle of asking his question and a look of glee lit up on his face, he jumped up and clapped his hands together, "I got it! We will pretend that..."
On thursday after class, Lily voluntarily sat beside the Marauders at dinner,
"Why, Lily, how are you doing this fine evening?" James asked, passing the potatoes to Lily, who took it unwillingly, splatted a few on her plate, and passed it along,
"Potter, you do remember that you agreed to find my things?"
"Of course I remember, but it can wait after dinner, anything can wait after dinner,"
"Meet me in the common room then," Lily said, and stood up, leaving the contents of her plate untouched,
"Lily, aren't you going to finish your food?"
But Lily didn't answer, she's already out the great hall and climbing up the marble staircase, James merrily picked up Lily's plate and shoved her untouched potatoes in his own plate, when asked with a questioning glance from Remus,
"It's not good to waste food," he merely said, and started wolfing down a combination of potatoes, turkey, and eggs.
"Lily?" James entered the common room with his usual casual and careless demeanor,
"Potter, do you have any idea where my lost item is?"
"I might have some idea if you would tell me what it is." James said, plopping down on an armchair beside Lily,
"It's a notebook, with pieces of parchment hanging taped together and stuck inside," Lily said, looking slightly uncomfortable, "Can you find it for me? I will find a way to repay you if you did, I promise!"
"What will you do to repay me?" James asked, leaning forward in his armchair, a sly grin threatening to creep up his face, "What are your offers?"
"I don't really know, I can't really pay you money, since you obviously don't need them,"
"How about you go on a date with me at three broomsticks if I find it?"
"Hey! That's hardly..." Lily started, but James looked at her and she stopped, "Fine, but only if you find it."
James, doing a happy dance inside of him secretly, stood up and walked up the spiral staircase leading to his dorm,
"Where are you going?" Lily asked, turning around in her armchair to face him,
"I'm putting my things away, just give me a second,"
"Alright,"
"Padfoot, is it in position?" James asked, struggling for breath due to his sprint up the staircase, which he started as soon as he's out of Lily's sight,
"Yes, I put it in during potions class today, when I pretended to have a headache and fell on the floor,"
"Perfect," James said with a mischievous smile.
"Potter, do you have any idea on how to find it?" Lily asked, jogging to keep up with James's fast walking pace,
"Not exactly,"
"What do you mean not exactly?" Lily asked, "Then what are we going to do? Just wander around aimlessly until we chance upon it?"
"No," James said, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "I'm going to ask the paintings to scout the four different common rooms for me, since every common room has a photograph or a painting."
"Really?" Lily asked, stopping abruptly when James arrived at a painting of a serene girl with black flowing hair and dressed all in white, sitting on a chair and gazing out at the sea with a dazed expression,
"Hello, Selena,"
The girl in the painting turned her head slowly to face James and Lily, and dazed smile on her lips,
"Hello, James," Selena said, her eyes half closed, "And Lily,"
"Wait, how do you know my name?" Lily asked, looking at the Selena,
"Well, you could say that I'm the spymaster of the paintings, I know everything about everyone." Selena said, her eyelids dropped slightly, looking like anything but a spymaster, with her flowing white dress and dazed expression,
"Well, Selena, we have a favor to ask you," James continued, smiling at Selena, revealing his neat, white teeth,
"Name it dear, and we'll talk about the price," Selena said, her careless demeanor suddenly serious,
"Have you seen who took my notebook?" Lily stepped forward, reciting this line like she's said it over and over before,
"Oh, you mean that diary you keep?"
Lily's face visibly darkened, "How did you know?" she spluttered, embarrassed,
"Oh honey, didn't I tell you? I know everything about everyone," Selena smiled sweetly at her, and said, "I even know that time when you had to go to Professor McGonagall when you ran out of-"
"Stop!" Lily squeaked, her face the color of a tomato, "Where is my notebook?"
"Why the hustle, dear?" Selena said leisurely, making Lily very irritated, "and we have to talk about the price first before I can tell you."
"What's the price, then?"
"Well, that Argus Filch, he was a terrible student, by the way, he put a curtain on the painting in his room, I think he suspects the spy system behind the paintings of Hogwarts." Selena said, shifting in her chair so she's facing them, "I can no longer see in his office, and the dog in the picture is getting awfully irritating, coming to me whenever someone is bored of him, so I want you to remove the curtains from Filch's office and make sure he never puts curtains up again."
"Sure!" James said carelessly, having access to Filch's office at least once every week, this is not a hard task, "Now, can you tell me where Lily's Diary is?" He said, smirking at the word 'diary'
"Well, I will call someone," Selena said. She clapped her hands quickly twice and a monk appeared, "Go fetch the four common rooms,"
"Yes, my lady." the monk said, bowed, and ran out of sight only to reappear in the next painting of a donkey.
Selena looked at the both of them with a dazed expression while Lily and James shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. After a few minutes of awkward silence, the monk reappeared with a rather large lady in a yellow puffy dress, a snake charmer holding a giant cobra, a very bored looking teenager, and a old wizard with a long beard.
"Lady Selena," they all said together, "What have you called us here for?"
"I want to ask if anyone has seen Lily's dairy." She said, gesturing to Lily with a wave,
"I believe I've seen it," the snake charmer said, looking at Lily sideways,
"OK." Selena said cheerfully, "You may go."
After everyone is ushered out of the painting by the monk, Selena said, "There you have it, it's in your year's dorm in the Slytherin dorm, I think it's the bed farthest from the door, the one next to the window."
"Thank you, Selena,"
And before Lily can say anything, James took her hand and ran off.
"Slytherin boys dormitory, forth year" he said with a smirk.
REVIEW!