Author's Note: Chapter 5 already! And the story is gaining followers! You guys rock! I always get so excited when I see TFD has new followers/favorites, or I write this well enough to get reviews :) Thanks everyone! Please let me know what you think about the story, I love to hear from you! Now, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I am still not J.K. Rowling, which is unfortunate, so I still do not own the Harry Potter Universe.
Chapter 5
The first few weeks of school passed by in a haze of Quidditch-obsessed students trying out for their respective teams. Lily was fairly certain no one was more obsessive over the sport than Sirius Black and James Potter, though. Before the tryouts, Lily couldn't go a day without Sirius complaining, to her or Remus or James or anyone else who would listen, about being forced by his best mate to re-tryout for the games.
"You know I'm the best bloody Beater in this school!" was a common phrase to hear from Sirius. Lily even smacked him upside the head after he said it to her for the twentieth time. During Potions classes, Lily had taken to Silencing Sirius so that she could focus and tell him what to do without having to listen to him complain. Everyone in the class cheered the first time she did it.
But, by the end of the second week back at Hogwarts, all of the teams were put together, and some people were disappointed to not make it onto a team, but mostly people were relieved the stress was over. The captains could finally go about their normal routine without being harassed by all the potential players. This meant that James-and his fellow Sixth Year Gryffindors by extension-could finally have a meal in peace.
By the end of the first month back at school, everyone-James included-stopped being surprised by the fact that Lily Evans was willingly hanging out with the Marauders. It had become such a frequent occurrence that people were more surprised if she wasn't with them. Lily was actually really close with Sirius, being forced into close proximity with him every Potions class. She was even sort of friends with Peter; she thought he was odd, but overall a decent enough bloke, though she was sure that if he hadn't been friends with the Marauders she probably never would have noticed him. Peter sort of faded into the background, he was just one of those people not destined to live life in the limelight.
What surprised Lily the most about hanging out with the Marauders was their complete lack of superiority as a whole. They were shockingly not very self-involved. Yes, they thought they were fantastic, but when they were with each other, all they thought about was having a good time. And they were more than willing to bring Lily into the joy that was their lives. Lily found herself laughing more in the first month of Sixth Year than she could remember in her first five at Hogwarts. And she didn't once have to tell the Marauders (mostly James or Sirius) off for hexing anyone. She was fairly certain they gave it up, since she hadn't heard anything about a confrontation with the two black-haired boys involved from anyone, and it made her proud of them, and relieved and happy that she didn't have to be angry with them.
The end of the first month at school also saw the Prefects planning the first weekend trip to Hogsmeade. Remus and Lily were sitting in the weekly meeting, held in the Staff room on the ground level. It was always a long trek for the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Prefects, so the meetings were typically scheduled for right after dinner time on a Friday night so that they didn't have to make the trip through the castle twice.
"And the last topic of discussion: Hogsmeade," the Head Boy said. "How does two weekends from now sound to everyone?"
Most people were making noises of approval. Lily and Remus shared a frowning glance. Two weekends meant the next full moon, meaning Remus wouldn't be able to go on their first Hogsmeade trip.
"Why not make it three weekends from now?" Lily said. "That would put it the weekend before Halloween. Wouldn't it be better to allow the students a weekend away from Hogwarts closer to the holiday? Maybe have the more rambunctious ones burn off excess energy so that they won't cause trouble for every during Halloween?"
The Head Boy started nodding slowly, thinking it over. "Good idea, Lily," he finally agreed. "It might be a little farther away, but that gives all the students more time to plan for the trip anyway. Three weekends then?" This time everyone quickly agreed. Since it was the last subject they needed to talk about, everyone just wanted to be done with it so they could go to their respective dormitories.
Everyone filed out of the room, Lily and Remus letting the others leave first. Once they were in the Entrance Hall, Remus casually threw an arm around Lily's shoulders and they began to make their way up the stairs.
"You are the best, Lily," Remus said.
"I know," Lily agreed, laughing. "It's taken you long enough to figure that fact out, though."
Remus fake-scowled at the girl who had become one of his very best friends. "Seriously, though, thank you, Lily."
Lily shrugged, looking at Remus with her startlingly green eyes. "It's really not a big deal, Remus. Hogsmeade wouldn't be the same if you weren't there." Remus continued to look at Lily even after she turned away. She would never know exactly how much her action in the meeting meant to him. "Besides, who else would help me keep Potter and Black in line?"
'Potter' and 'Black' had ceased to be derogatory names for Lily. She used them as terms of endearment instead, just as 'Evans' had become James' own personal name for Lily. None of her other friends called her Evans, and if they did, it was never said in the same tone that James used. It was the same tone he used no matter what he called Lily, the one that told everyone he was still in love with her.
"So I take it you are planning on joining us then?" Remus asked. "For the trip to Hogsmeade?"
Lily made a noise somewhere between a scoff and a laugh. "I don't think I could handle the four of you for a full day."
Remus gave her a look out of the corner of his eye. "Don't you do that most days anyways?"
"Only when the majority of that time is spent in classes," Lily argued. "The four of you for an entire day without the few constraints Hogwarts imparts on you…" Lily shuddered while Remus objected to being lumped in with James and Sirius' antics. "No, thank you." Remus looked a little crestfallen at this last remark, so Lily added, "But maybe we can all meet up for some lunch and drinks in the Three Broomsticks?"
"That sounds-" Remus began agreeing enthusiastically when he was cut off.
"Well what do you know? Potter's Mudblood girlfriend is making a date with one of his best friends behind his back."
Lily whipped around, pulling out her wand at the same time and aiming it directly at Avery's chest. Remus made a similar, more restrained move, turning slowly and keeping his wand held loosely, half-raised in front of his body. The wanna-be Death Eaters had been more and more vocal about their distaste of sharing the school with those they considered to be 'impure'. He knew this confrontation had been inevitable, facing down Avery, Mulciber, and Rosier, all with their wands drawn, but he had been hoping they wouldn't be outnumbered.
"It's none of your business who I make plans with, Avery," Lily said in her most haughty tone. She had gotten really good at it, with all the practice she had on James over the years. "And I am not James Potter's girlfriend."
"Ooo, the little redhead's got some fire in her," Mulciber taunted, waving his wand in slow little circles by his side.
"You all should already be in your Common Room," Remus stated in his Prefect voice, resisting the urge to pull a James and just hex Mulciber. "What are you doing all the way up on the Fourth Floor?"
Rosier smirked; he was by far the most intelligent of the three of them, which begged the question: where were Snape and Wilkes? The whole lot of them usually travelled in a pack. "Wilkes got knocked off his broom during Quidditch practice. Got a nasty bump on his head, so we were just being concerned friends, visiting our mate while he's confined to the Hospital Wing," Rosier answered.
Lily scowled, knowing full well that they were most likely telling the truth, but still not liking her situation at all. She had been avoiding lone run-ins with Slytherins all month. She didn't want to deal with the name-calling that came with the territory, but now she realized she should have been worrying about a lot worse than name-calling. These boys were hoping to be recruited to Voldemort's inner circle when they left Hogwarts, maybe even before they left. They would do a lot worse than call Lily names, if given the chance. And wandering the halls with just one other person, no matter how skilled they both were, just was not a good plan for their safety.
"Well get a move on down to the dungeon before I decide to dock points for you lot being out of bed too late, regardless of the reason," Lily commanded, trying desperately not to show her fear.
"Is that a threat, Miss Perfect Prefect?" Avery growled out at her, his wand hand twitching ever-so-slightly. "I don't like threats."
"None of you are Prefects, and so none of you are allowed out of your dormitories at this hour," Remus said. "Get out of here before we stop being lenient."
Rosier's eyes narrowed in anger, and his wand arm came up to point directly at Lily and Remus. "Do you really think you are in the position to be ordering us around? It's three against two, and what do we care about a few House points at this stupid school?"
Lily gulped, and she swore the Slytherins could hear it even from five feet away. She knew that Rosier meant it, and that he spoke for all of them. She also knew they wanted to hurt her, just because she had Muggle parents.
"Fine, twenty points from Slytherin since you don't want to move along," Lily said, sounding much more confident than she felt. "Whether you get to your rooms or not, I am tired and not on duty tonight, so Remus and I will be going."
Lily reached for Remus' hand, and just as she was about to make contact, she was blasted off her feet and into the wall behind her. Her breath left her in an 'oof' as she made contact with the rock wall, and then she fell to the ground in a heap, her vision blurry and her lungs not functioning correctly. She was desperately gasping for air, trying to keep enough in her body so that she wouldn't pass out. During all this time, she could make out flashes of light, though her mind couldn't process exactly what they meant.
"Lily!"
She tried to turn her head to the familiar, yet not-quite-recognize voice, she really did. Her head just didn't want to turn until she stopped seeing black stars over all the flashes.
"Lily, are you okay?" Remus' face swam into view for Lily. She didn't answer him, but did give him a very confused look. "James and Sirius showed up," he answered her unspoken question. "Can you move everything? Fingers, toes, head?"
Lily nodded, answering the last part, then held up her wand-free hand in between their faces and moved her fingers around. She was amazed, and happy with herself, that she had held onto her wand throughout her attack.
"Help me up?" she said, keeping her hand in front of her face for Remus to pull her up by.
He grabbed her hand and wrapped his other arm around her waist to pull her to her feet. Once she was stable, Lily waved her arm in a big arc, throwing up a Shield Charm between the furiously dueling Gryffindors and Slytherins. The fighting stopped immediately. Rosier, Mulciber, and Avery all glared at Lily, silently promising more of the same treatment in the future.
On the other hand, James and Sirius bolted to Lily's side. Sirius pulled her into a hug, leaving an arm around her waist to help her walk away from the scene of the fight.
"Do you need to go to the Hospital Wing, Lily?" Remus asked in a calm voice.
"Does she need to go to the Hospital Wing?" James asked furiously. "What kind of question is that? Of course she-"
"James," Lily said softly, halting his tirade instantly. It was the first time she had ever called him James. Even in his anger, his heart couldn't help but leap for joy. "I'm fine, mostly. My back hurts, and it's a little hard to breathe, but I really do not want to be stuck in the Hospital with Wilkes for company tonight."
James scowled at the mention of another member of the Slytherin gang he had just been fighting off, and nodded in agreement. "Alright then, but just let us help you the rest of the way to Gryffindor, yeah?" he said as he took up his position in the front of the group. Remus and Sirius each kept an arm around Lily, holding most of her weight between them.
"You had me worried there, Lilykins," Sirius said in a light tone of voice. Lily now knew that it was his way of trying to ease the tension. "Scared half my life away, swear to Merlin."
Lily half-smirked, half-grimaced. "I was really hoping they wouldn't actually start a fight," she explained. "I was trying to grab Remus to pull us both away from them, took my eyes off of them for a split second, and next thing I know, I'm hitting a wall. Bloody bastards."
"Ugh, I thought you knew better than that, Evans," James said, half-teasing, but mostly meaning it. "You could duel against me and give me a run for my money. Why in the world would you give them an opening like that and not me?"
"Didn't want to give you the satisfaction, Potter," Lily said with a grin. "I needed to deflate your head some way, since clearly calling you names had no affect, you arrogant toe-rag."
The insult was no longer an insult. It had morphed into Lily's version of teasing James, rather than being used to try to hurt him. James grinned at her over his shoulder, glad she was sounding like herself again. The rest of the journey to Gryffindor Tower passed without incident, and when they were finally in the Common Room, Lily flopped on her stomach onto the only empty couch left.
"Don't hog the whole thing, Lilykins!" Sirius demanded, pulling Lily's legs up so that he could sit, making Lily giggle. Lily's feet ended up splayed on his lap.
"Too tired to move, Sirius," Lily complained. "Don't make me."
"It's fine," Remus said, making his way to Lily's head. "I think I can manage to move you for you." He jerked his wand up and gently levitated Lily enough that he could slip onto the couch next to Sirius with Lily's shins over his own legs. James just decided to sprawl on the floor in front of the couch, his head close to where Lily's was resting on the cushion.
"Where's Peter, by the way?" Lily asked. It was odd to see these three without Peter tagging along as well.
Sirius and James chuckled mischievously. "He landed himself in detention," Sirius said. "Clumsy idiot got himself caught after we finished setting up our last prank."
Lily laughed, remembering the prank fondly. They had changed all the Slytherins' badges to say some form of profanity. It was a harmless prank, as far as the Marauders were concerned, but it was all the more hilarious because none of the Slytherins had noticed until they were in the Great Hall for breakfast and the other Houses started pointing and laughing.
"I don't think I've ever seen you laugh at one of our pranks before this year, Evans," James commented. "When did your sense of humor change so much?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "You really think it changed?" She looked into James' hazel eyes and saw that he meant it. He actually thought she had hated the Marauders' pranks before this year. "I never hated them," she answered candidly. "I always admired them, and would only grudgingly admit they were amusing to Marlene, and then swore her to secrecy. I never laughed because I didn't want to encourage you. I didn't want you to think there was anything I liked about you. I don't want to know how much worse you could have been about asking me out than you already were when you thought I didn't like anything at all about you." Lily added a grimace at the end.
James blushed a little, embarrassed because she was right. If he had thought she liked him in any way at all before, he would have been even more relentless than he was. "Sorry about that, Evans."
"Oh Merlin, please say we have that on video!" Lily said, earning questioning looks from James and Sirius.
"No electronics at Hogwarts, remember Lily?" Remus said.
"I know, but really?" Lily complained. "I never thought I'd hear an apology from James Potter of all people!"
"What's a video?" Sirius asked, still stuck on the part he didn't understand.
"A Muggle invention to record real-life events. It's like Wizard photos, the moving images, but the image is always the same," Lily explained.
"Huh, interesting. Now James!" Sirius said, his focus rapidly shifting. "How could you apologize? Marauders never apologize!"
"Ah, knew we'd find you lot down here with all the sudden noise," Marlene said from behind the couch.
"Tell him, Marlene!" Sirius exclaimed.
"That you lot never say you're sorry?" Marlene said. "No way. I'm not enforcing that one, because I'm still waiting on an apology from you, Sirius Black, for turning my beautiful blonde hair green in Second Year."
Sirius laughed, and even Remus chuckled, at that memory. Marlene had stuck up for Lily when she was arguing with James and Sirius about their pranks, so Sirius decided to turn her hair green when he couldn't think up a good enough come-back.
"I had nearly forgotten about that one," Lily said through her laughter. "Or how about the time you all stuck everyone to their seats in the Great Hall, saying it should be mealtime all day?"
"That was a classic," Remus agreed, sighing overdramatically in contentment.
"Unfortunately it was also far too easy for McGonagall to reverse," James said sadly. "Lasted about a minute, it did. We'll need to find a better Sticking Charm the next time we want to do something like that."
The five Gryffindors spent the rest of the night recollecting old pranks, until someone finally noticed that Lily had fallen asleep.
"That's strange," Marlene remarked. "She never usually falls asleep anywhere but her own bed." The three Marauders shared a glance, and Marlene caught the significance of it. "What happened?" she demanded.
Remus sighed, and then explained the whole confrontation. By the end of it, Marlene was shaking with ill-contained rage. She was ready to snap when James wrapped his hand around her forearm.
"Act normally," James said. "Please. She was shaken up really badly, and I don't think she wants to dwell on it. She made a decent effort at changing the subject, at least."
Marlene deflated quickly, mostly because she was so worried about her best friend. "What are we going to do?" she asked quietly, and rhetorically.
"Keep her safe, of course," Sirius answered immediately even though he knew Marlene wasn't expecting or looking for an answer.
James looked to his best mate and nodded, then said, "We've got most of the same classes anyway, so it should be easy to stick to her. We won't leave her on her own anywhere outside of Gryffindor. There's no way I'll let her get hurt like that again."
Marlene stared solemnly at James, then at Remus and Sirius.
"I'm really glad she doesn't hate you lot anymore," Marlene said. "Thank you for being there for her."
James just smiled a sad smile. "I would have been there for her, even if she kept on hating me. And I will always be there for her now."