Chapter 13: Sleep's Her Salvation.
26th November, 1976.
'I should not have drank so much last night! Argh!' I scolded myself as I walked (more like stomped) towards the Gryffindor Common Room. To mumble in my sleep about that horrendously embarrassing dream in the Great Hall? Merlin, what kind of luck is that! I just hope I didn't shout out names of people I know because that would have just been icing on the cake. I have this condition (?) wherein my dreams constitute my friends or people that I know but they're usually playing some character from my favourite muggle fairytaled. It's extremely weird. I expect you to not tell anyone about it.
Anyway, I was just about to reach the Portrait Hole when my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps, getting closer by the second. I was sure it wasn't James because his footsteps wouldn't be that loud if he were following someone, he had too much prank experience for that - git. I was about to enter the Common Room when he tapped me on my shoulder. Damn it! Severus - he had to come now, didn't he? When I was pissed already!
"Snape," I said, deliberately putting malice in my tone as I called him by his last name. "I thought I made it very clear we were done talking. Why don't you move along and gossip with your little Death Eater friends, yeah?"
His expression slightly faltered but his usual indifferent face was back in a second. It was as if he never detected the detestation in my voice. He said, "It's good to see you too, Lily."
"What do you want, Snape?" I asked annoyed.
"Just thought I'd tell you that it isn't too late to back out from the tournament yet."
I had really had enough of him, I was already done with the first task, and I had done well too! Plus, I was hungover and seeing his stupid face made me feel even more sick than usual. Couldn't he just leave me alone?
I replied hotly, "So you can actually think now, can you? Piss off Snape! You should have thought before calling me a goddamn Mudblood!" His faced contorted into one of rage, but as I've stated before, I was tired of him.
I quickly turned around and entered the Gryffindor common room; leaving Snape outside and not wanting hear another fucking word out of his mouth. I didn't look back again and rushed across the Common Room and up the stairs to the Sixth Year Girls' Dormitory.
As I slammed the door, I could see James standing down in the Common Room. He looked as if he wanted to say something but the door was shut by then. I just crashed on my bed making a mental note to hex Sirius because he was the one who disturbed my sleep in the first place. What I didn't do was set an alarm on the only muggle thing that worked at Hogwarts.
26th November, 1976.
"Lily, Lily! Oh shite, this isn't going to work. LILY ELIZABETH EVANS, GET YOUR ARSE OUT OF BED!"
"I'm up, I'm up! Merlin's left, saggy—Marlene? What time is it?"
"7:30 - you've been asleep for nearly 20 hours Lily."
A uniform clad Marlene was standing in front of me, telling me that I had slept for twenty fucking hours straight! My jaw just hung open. I guess I do have a condition - Hypersomnia, maybe? I quickly ran into the bathroom and took a shower. I got dressed and magically dried my hair. Marlene and I ran down the stairs to the Great Hall, carefully avoiding all the trick stairs. We ran into Sirius, once there.
"Lily, mate, how are you? I thought you were dead and someone was particularly upset about it."
"Shut it, Sirius. You're the reason yesterday was so ugly. I'm going to hex the lights out of you one of these days."
"Yeesh, feisty!" he said.
I looked at the breakfast in front of me; bacon, eggs, capers and pumpkin juice. Aah, Hogwarts has the best meals! I dread leaving Hogwarts and the food is one of the main reasons why.
"Aw, fuck! We have double potions with the Slytherins first thing after breakfast." James said dejectedly. I don't know what he dislikes more—Potions, Slytherins, or our Potions Professor, Slughorn.
I, on the other hand, love potions. I was kind of looking forward to Potions because of all the tournament madness lately. Potions made me feel normal. Don't get me wrong, I love every other class too; in fact I was looking forward to them too because it felt like I hadn't had a normal study day since the tournament began. But Potions kind of links me with reality when everything else seems to be slipping away. The only downside to it is that Sev- Snape will be there. But whatever I'll just concentrate on my brew.
We reached the dungeons and a differently set class welcomed us. Instead of the usual benches that accommodated a pair, there were round tables for six people. And up ahead at the front of the room was a long table with two cauldrons and a tiny vial with a clear gold liquid. I had a feeling I knew what that vial contained.
Also, everything smelled weird. And then I realise that one of the cauldrons must contain Amortentia - the most powerful love potion ever brewed. And I was shocked. Why in the name of Circe's left foot did Professor Slughorn think it would be appropriate to have a cauldron full of Amortentia when a group of hormone-rushed sixteen year olds was going to attend the class? All my panicky thoughts were pushed aside when Professor Slughorn entered the dungeons.
"I see you have made yourselves familiar with the different arrangement of our class today. Mind you, today is no ordinary class. We're going to have a little competition, to play along with the tournament mood here at Hogwarts. But then again, we already have a champion amongst us, don't we Miss Evans?" Slughorn said that last line with a chuckle.
Ugh! As much as I loved potions, I really do not like how Slughorn includes me in every speech that he makes. So, I just pretended like I hadn't heard him say anything that had the word 'Evans' in it.
"Before you begin brewing, can anyone tell me what each of these caldrons and the little vial contains? These are going to be crucial for today's class." My hand shot up involuntarily and meanwhile my brain had a big question. Was Slughorn going to ask us to brew one of the three? "Miss Evans. Please enlighten us."
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "The cauldron to the right contains Amortentia; the most powerful love potion in the world, but only if it is brewed correctly and with care, otherwise it has the capacity to create disasters we can't even imagine. The vial contains Felix Felicis, more commonly known as Liquid Luck. This potion, even in a small amount, can give its drinker luck and from the moment he drinks it, everything will favour him till its effects wear off, provided, of course, the potion is brewed well. As for the other cauldron, I am not too sure."
"Very good, Miss Evans! Five points to Gryffindor. The last cauldron, it contains Veritaserum. A very powerful potion that can make its drinker spill his darkest secrets by just taking one sip. This potion makes its drinker say the truth no matter how hard he tries to resist it. It is widely used by Aurors while interrogating criminals these days. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Today you will be brewing the Draught of Living Death, and not in pairs like you usually do. You will each brew the separate potions," this statement earned a few grunts, "However, the three who brew it the best will get to choose from these three potions and will each get one vial of the potion they choose."
This got me really excited. If I wanted to prove myself to stereotypical Purebloods, this was my one chance and I wasn't about to let it go. Sirius, James, Remus, Peter, Marlene and I were on the same table. Frank and Alice were on a table with of the nicer Slytherins (they were scarce), Merlin knows what's up with those two.
I carefully read the recipe for the potion and started brewing. Sirius and I were usually the ones who did well in Potions, the others were good but Sirius and I were a notch better. The time passed like sand slipping away from a hand. In no time, Slughorn was at our table evaluating our brews. As far as instructions went, I was at par with what my potion should look like by the end, but I was still nervous. He looked very happy with Sirius' potion and I gave Sirius a small smile and a thumbs-up. Sirius winked at me knowingly.
Then after what seemed like forever, Slughorn was next to me. I was looking at him anxiously as he assessed my potion. Ugh! It was taking him ages to check it. He, then, finally looked at me.
He said with a smile, "Precisely what I expected of you, Lily. Very well done."
I didn't realise I was holding my breath, I exhaled and it felt so good. But I still had one more person to beware of. Severus had natural talent for potions. He was better than me and Sirius and understood potions like they were people.
Soon, Slughorn was done evaluating everyone's potions and called us all up to the front.
"Alright. The three best brewed potions were, in order of evaluation, Sirius Black!"
Our table enthusiastically clapped and so did the others. The Slytherins' claps were a bit half-hearted.
"Lily Evans!" I couldn't hear the claps over my heart beating in my ears as I made to the front and stood next to Sirius.
"And finally, Severus Snape!" His Death Eater buddies clapped and hooted when he came towards the front. "Now you may choose the potion you want."
My eyes instantly fell on the vial of golden yellow Liquid Luck and I grabbed it. Snape went for the Veritaserum, I felt like he thought he would need it for his Dark Magic tasks and stopped I myself from hurling an insult at him. Sirius, being the Ladies' Man he was, quite obviously chose Amortentia.
"Congratulations to you! You can leave the class now. And remember, Miss Evans, you can't use Felix Felicis in any of your tasks!"
Merlin! Of course I wouldn't use it in my tasks. What does he think I am? A cheat... or worse a Slytherin?! Couldn't he let me have my moment in peace?! But, I was way too happy to let this comment get to me. I gave him a fake smile and started towards the Great Hall for lunch.
"Hey Lily!" I looked back at the person calling my name. It was James.
"Yeah?" I asked him once he reached me.
"You got some secret to brewing the perfect potions all the damn time?" he asked, stepping close.
"Well, even if I did I wouldn't tell you now, would I?" I said nudging him away.
James pretended to look offended and pulled the pouty face. It was enough to set me laughing. Everyone around us just gave us odd looks. I ignored them, I shall mind my own business, and so should they.
Soon, lunch filled the empty golden plates in front of us. Roast chicken! Yum!
"Hey Alice, what do we have next?" Marlene asked Alice because she was the only one who could remember the schedule without looking at the parchment.
This question interrupted Alice's conversation with Frank, she quickly looked at us and said, "Double charms with the Hufflepuffs of course." She then resumed her talk with Frank.
Sirius turned to me, "Say Lily, you know what Longbottom and Prewitt are up to?"
"Hell if I know, Sirius. I've been trying to ask Alice but she isn't around much anymore. Pretty sure something's going on though."
He smirked at this and I continued to relish that heavenly roast chicken.
"Pete, slow down mate."
"Buf Pwongs, it fooooo good!"
I looked at Peter, his mouth was stuffed with roast chicken, so stuffed that a smidge more and food would actually fall out of his mouth. Ew. I decided to concentrate on my food. Didn't want to miss Charms for my tardiness - It is my favourite class.
"Mr. Potter and Mr. Black, I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for your lateness."
"Sorry, Professor Flitwick, Professor Slughorn wanted to talk to us."
Oh, I bet James and Sirius were off setting dungbombs in Filch's room. Those Marauders will never grow up.
"Fine, take your seats. Today, we will be practicing Silent Charms." Professor Flitwick squeaked.
Silent Charms - YAY! Okay, that might have made me sound geeky but, in my defence, I have been wanting to do Silent Charms ever since I came to know what they were in Second Year.
"For these charms you have to concentrate really hard on the spell you want to perform and visualise it in your head. We will start with some easy charms like the Levitation Charm. Let's start with Miss Evans."
I took my wand and pointed it at one of my quills and concentrated very hard on Wingardium Leviosa. I was nervous because nothing really happened at first and then very slowly the feather started to levitate and the entire class broke into an applause.
"Bravo, Miss Evans! Let's continue. Once you have achieved it, you will keep practicing with slightly more difficult spells. I have listed some you can start with on the board."
I kept practicing and Remus learned it soon after me. Remus and I, being the kind people we are, started helping everyone else.
Slowly, Alice managed to master her non-verbal charm, followed by Sirius, who punched in the air as soon as his feather rose; James, who carefully levitated his parchment and I could see amazement in his eyes; Marlene, who high five-ed me after her quill was set down; Frank, to whom Alice gave a huge smile and a thumbs up, was successful next; Mary, nervously finished her first try, and finally, Peter, who was just happy to have accomplished it.
The class was soon dismissed and we rushed to classrooms around the middle courtyard, where our next class Transfiguration would take place.
Now, I'm not exactly rubbish at Transfiguration but half of the time in that class I have no idea what's going on. Even Peter manages to get better grades than me in Transfiguration and it frustrates me slightly. Okay, you're right, it frustrates me a lot.
Anyway, when we reached there, the large classroom was already filled with Ravenclaws. Being the early birds that they were (no pun intended), they had reached class before even McGonagall could come in.
I sat down on my usual spot... in the back. This was one class where I always sat in the back. Because it was irritating when everyone was told to transfigure something, I was usually among the last ones to get it done. Also, I shared my desk with Peter, which just got awkward at times when we literally said nothing to each other the entire class.
When McGonagall started the class today, she immediately set us up to the task of conjuring birds. Yes, that's right, conjuring birds out of thin air! I looked around like a fool. Apparently, we had studied the spell and the hand movement in the last class. It's funny how I do not remember doing any of that.
"Hey, Pete?"
"Yeah, Lily?"
I swallowed all my pride and asked him, "Would you mind teaching me how to conjure those birds?"
"Er, no, of course not," he spoke quickly and then remained silent.
"Well, go on then..."
"Okay. So you have to say 'Avis' and move your wand like this" he said while showing me the movement.
It looked sort of like those V-shaped birds that I used to make on my drawings as a child. I drew out my wand and repeated the movement Peter showed me.
"Like this?" I asked. He clicked his tongue in disapproval.
"No you're doing it wrong, Lily," he said as he grabbed my hand (which still held my wand) in his and repeated the movement. "Like that."
'Oh okay," I said.
Then I suddenly heard the chirping of birds and I looked around the classroom to see who had conjured the birds. I turned out to be James, of course, but what was weird was he turned to look at me at the same time. He was beaming at first so I smiled at him but then his eyes zeroed in on something in front of me and he looked kind of angry. I shot him a confused look but then I realised what he was looking at. My hand... and Peter's hand... locked together.
Peter then quickly dropped my hand and it hid the table with a thud.
"Ow!"
"Sorry Lily. It's just - you know how he gets when he's, you know..." he trailed off.
"Jealous?" I asked him incredulously.
"Yeah, that. Don't tell him I said that, though," Peter said quickly. He didn't say anything at all after that.
I actually caught James glaring at Peter many times during the class and Peter could do nothing but send apologetic looks in his direction. I felt bad for the poor guy and I decided I would give James a piece of my mind later.
Soon after Tranfiguration was over, we all left the class for the Great Hall, where we would all have supper. I thought of cornering James but when my stomach started rumbling... Well, you can say I have my priorities sorted. So, obviously, I chose food over James Potter.
When we reached the Great Hall, Marlene said, "Sirius, how do you manage to reach the Great Hall before us even if you left after us?"
"That's a secret, McKinnon. The only thing I can tell you is that my nose is as powerful as a dog's." For whatever mundane reason, the boys sniggered at this.
And then Peter said, "Ooooh! Shepherd's pie and treacle tarts."
Any conversation that was going on was left hanging because this was everyone's favourite dinner after a long school day. It was a good Monday after all the Wizarding Tournament mess. And I just longed to lie on my bed again.