Author's Note: Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter! I love hearing what you are thinking. Also, I apologize profusely for being MIA for five weeks now. I have no reason other than that my muse abandoned me, so rather than force it and give you all a half-rate chapter, I waited until I found it again (which happened to be when I visited California for a week; apparently even muses need vacation.) To make up for the extremely long wait, I tried to make it a nice, long chapter! That's all I've got to say, so enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: I am not J. K. Rowling and so do not own Harry Potter (or his parents).
Chapter 8
For the past hour and a half since dinner was finished, Lily had been standing near Slughorn, allowing him to parade her to all of his 'friends'. She was getting tired-and a bit annoyed, if she was being honest with herself-with the whole process. It had been a long day, and an even longer week. All the professors were apparently determined to prove that just because OWLs were done did not mean that Sixth Year was to be a breeze. Lily had barely had any time free all week, between classes, the homework load, practicing Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense spells on her own time, and her various Prefect duties. She was exhausted and just wanted to sleep.
And clearly Slughorn had noticed.
"Are we boring you, m'dear?" he said after she yawned for the what had to be the twentieth time in as many minutes.
Lily quickly shook her head. The last thing she wanted was the current contact she was meeting to think her uninterested. The only problem was, she couldn't for the life of her remember this bloke's name. She knew he was a worker in the Department of Mysteries, an
Unspeakable, as they were known to other Witches and Wizards.
"No, I'm sorry, Professor," she said quickly, reaching out and touching his forearm with a placating hand. "I've just had a lot on my plate recently, with classes, homework, and Prefect duties, as well as tutoring some of the younger students-"
"Say no more, say no more, Lovely Lily," Professor Slughorn said amiably. "Broderick, I think it is time for us to bid Miss Evans a good night. Everyone must get their rest eventually, no?" He finished with a chuckle and steered the Unspeakable into a crowd of other Slug Club members.
Lily sighed and rubbed her forehead with her hand. Now if only I could find Marlene and get out of here before Severus finds me, Lily thought as she scanned the crowd. Snape had kept his distance for the most part as long as Lily was with Slughorn. She was fairly certain it was more because Rosier was at the party than out of respect for Lily's wish to not speak to him.
"I was wondering when Slughorn would lose his grip on you," Marlene said from behind Lily.
Lily spun rapidly, caught off guard by the blonde. "Where've you been? You should have rescued me ages ago!"
"What, and let our dear Professor bother the rest of us? No, thank you," Marlene responded huffily. "Besides, I was busy." She said the last bit with a sly grin on her face and a mischievous twinkle in her baby blue eyes.
Lily raised her eyebrows. "Okay, you can tell me about this thing that kept you busy while we head back to Gryffindor. My feet are killing me!"
Marlene rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that look. Those shoes look fabulous with those dress robes."
Lily muttered in complaint as they forced their way through the crowd to the exit. Marlene had essentially forced her to wear three inch heels that no one would see because they "went with her outfit". Lily hadn't had the will to fight Marlene on it at the time, so she had worn the shoes-and the pretty, flowy black skirt and deep blue top under the dress robes that she could wear to the Marauders' party in Gryffindor Tower.
"Okay, spill it," Lily demanded as they were walking up the first staircase.
Marlene got that grin on her face again, the overly-content-with-herself one that made Lily so curious. "Turns out Cresswell is pretty good at more than just languages, Lils."
"Oh Merlin, Marlene, is that really what you were doing the whole time I was with Slughorn and his collection?" Lily asked, exasperated.
"What can I say? He's a good snog!" Marlene said, lifting a shoulder and giving Lily a satisfied smirk.
"You going to go with him for a while then?" Lily asked. "Or was it a one-time deal?"
"I think I'll stick with him," she answered nonchalantly. "If he's interested."
Lily rolled her eyes, but let Marlene prattle on about Dirk Cresswell during their walk. Marlene wasn't really looking for a serious relationship at any given time. She would snog someone she was interested in, and if she liked it well enough, would keep snogging him until she decided she didn't want and/or need him anymore. That was just how Marlene was, and Lily was fine with it, but Lily was only interested in snogging someone she would want to call "boyfriend", and that was the end of the story for her.
"How much do you want to bet as soon as the Portrait Hole opens we won't be able to hear each other speaking?" Lily said casually as they turned the corner to Gryffindor Tower.
Marlene scoffed and said, "How numb do you think I am? I'd lose that bet in a heartbeat."
"Well it is midnight," Lily protested. "Maybe they all got tired?"
"Free butterbeer, Lils. And sweets. And whatever else those boys felt like coming up with."
"True," Lily sighed. "Alright, let's get this over with."
They gave the Fat Lady the password, and as soon as she swung open, a wave of noise washed over them, bathing them in the joy of the party. Both girls laughed as they climbed through the Hole. The Common Room was completely decked out in oranges, yellows, reds, and black in celebration of Halloween. They shared a look and took off for the Girls' Dormitory stairs, pulling off their dress robes on the way and tossing them up as far as they could. They would grab them on their way upstairs.
"C'mon, let's find Mary and Emmeline!" Marlene shouted, though Lily more read her lips than heard her. She nodded in agreement, a huge smile across her face. Lily mouthed 'dance floor' to Marlene, knowing Mary and Emmeline would be there more likely than anywhere else. After two months of school, and only one weekend for a Hogsmeade visit, a party was the perfect excuse to let loose, dance, and forget about responsibilities for the night.
"Lilykins! McKinnon! You finally made it!"
Sirius spun Lily into an impromptu dance, flailing limbs and all. Lily laughed and spun and got so caught up in the moment that she tripped over her own feet. She was falling, and thinking how her night couldn't have ended on a worse note, when a pair of strong arms caught her around the waist and jerked her to her feet-and right up against the hard, muscle-toned body of none other than James Potter. Lily's breathe caught in her throat. Her hands were gripping James' shoulders tightly, so tightly she was surprised he wasn't complaining from pain.
"Nice of you to drop in, Evans," James said smoothly, his mouth close to her ear so he didn't have to yell, pulling Lily into a smooth dance to flow with the slow pulse of the music.
He was wearing a red button-down shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, that Lily couldn't help thinking clashed horribly with her hair, and his ever-present black slacks. Other than Hogsmeade weekend, Lily couldn't remember the last time she had seen James wear anything besides his Hogwarts robes or black slacks.
"Told you I'd try to make it, didn't I?" Lily responded once she caught her breath after her nearly extremely embarrassing moment. "And thanks for catching me, James." Lily flashed him her million-watt smile, the one she used to painstakingly hide from him.
"I'll catch you any time you ask me to, Evans," James said, giving her his customary crooked grin. "Just say the word, and I'm there."
"Yeah? How about catching me a drink then?"
"We saved some for you upstairs!"
"We?" Lily asked, cocking her head to the side slightly.
"I wasn't going to pass by this opportunity to get Lily Evans drunk, now was I?" Sirius said from behind Lily.
Lily stopped dancing in favor of staring down Sirius, her hands in fists at her hips.
"Now Mr. Black, are you suggesting that I am a light weight? Because I'll have you know a couple Butterbeers are not enough to get me tipsy!"
"Who said it was Butterbeer up there?" he replied with a wink. "Saved the best stuff for our favorite Gryffindors."
"Oh, so you saved it for yourselves then?" Marlene teased.
Sirius glared at the blonde. "And just for that, you are not allowed any of it!"
Marlene pouted at the grey-eyed boy until his hazel-eyed counterpart said, "It's alright, Marlene, I have my own stock you can have some of."
"You're the best, James!"
"I know," he said with a smug, crooked grin on his face.
"Marlene, you're ruining all my hard work of deflating his head over the years!" Lily complained, smirking at James to let him know she was sort of kidding.
"Admit it, Evans, you were just pretending to hate us," Sirius yelled over the noise in the Common Room.
"You wish, Black!" Lily said saucily as she continued shoving her way to the middle of the dance floor. She could make out Emmeline's tall frame and her light brown hair was curled as it usually was when she went to a party. "Emmy!"
Emmeline couldn't hear Lily over the noise of the crowd and the blaring music. She was dancing wildly, Lily presumed with Mary since she didn't see a guy anywhere near her friend. Lily kept shoving her way through the throng of Gryffindors, ranging between 2nd and 7th Year students, followed closely by Marlene, James, and Sirius.
"You finally made it!" Mary yelled right in Lily's ear, startling her quite a bit, which was surprising given the amount of noise already going on.
"And it's still going strong!" Marlene cheered, bouncing around to the music.
"You lot stay right here while I get the rest of my stash!" Sirius shouted to the group.
Lily rolled her eyes. "It's like he always forgets he's a wizard, with a magic wand, and a spell for almost anything you want to get done!"
Sirius was already halfway through the crowd though, so he didn't hear Lily's Accio, and since it was so loud he also couldn't hear the bottles zooming down the staircase. He did notice when one of them hit him in the forehead, however, nearly knocking him down the bottom three stairs he had made it up.
He spun around, seeing where the bottles ended up, and hung his head in what Lily knew was his representation of shame. "Lilykins, you're a genius!" he said when he pushed his way back through the crowd.
"Or you are just a really bad wizard, mate," Remus commented as he pushed his way into the group behind Sirius. "How was Slughorn's, girls?"
Lily shrugged and sent a sly look Marlene's way. "My night was significantly more dull than Marlene's was, at the very least. Too bad Cresswell isn't a Gryffindor, huh Marlene?"
"You're going with Dirk now?" Peter asked curiously as he squeezed into the conversation. "Isn't he a year below us? And a know-it-all Ravenclaw?"
"He sure knows it all when it comes to kissing, at least," Marlene said with some sass, causing Emmeline and Mary to laugh uproariously.
Sirius had been portioning out the Firewhisky and was passing around the cups.
"A toast, then," James said, lifting his cup in front of his face. The others followed suit, except Lily, who was sniffing hers cautiously.
"Lils, what are you doing?" Mary asked.
"I've never had it before. It's called Firewhisky. Is it actually going to burn my throat?"
Sirius snorted in his attempt not to laugh. "Lilykins, just drink to the toast and try it."
Lily frowned at him. "I don't like trying food items without some mental preparation."
"You don't like trying anything without some mental preparation," Marlene muttered so that her statement was swallowed up by the party noise. Then she said at a normal volume, "James, continue!"
"To a very Happy Halloween, and a brilliant start to our 6th Year!"
"Hear, hear!" Sirius said before his cup went bottoms-up and his Firewhiskey disappeared down his throat.
Lily took a more careful route, taking a tiny first sip in acknowledgement of the toast, letting the flavor of the drink roll around in her mouth. Unfortunately, that is not the way Firewhiskey was meant to be drank.
Lily's face turned deep red.
She hurriedly swallowed the sip before coughing and sticking her tongue out with her mouth wide open, trying to cool the burning-hot sensation now consuming her tongue, gums, and the inside of her cheeks. She shoved her cup into someone's hand, not even noticing the others laughing hysterically at her.
"That's bloody awful!"
"Language, Miss Evans!" Emmeline said through her gasps for air.
"You're not supposed to savor it, Lily," James said, still struggling to not laugh too hard at her. "It burns worse the longer it's in contact with anything. That's why your stomach gets all warm and tingly once it gets there."
"No one could've told me that before the damn toast?" she asked incredulously.
"And miss out on the hilarity? Why would we do such a thing?" Remus commented.
"Remus! You're supposed to be the nice one!" Lily said.
He shrugged. "When it suits me."
"In other words: when he hasn't been drinking for the past three hours," Peter translated.
"That would explain it," Emmeline said.
"It's always the quiet ones we have to look out for," Mary added.
"Speaking of quiet, is it just me or did this party shrink in size?" Marlene asked.
Lily glanced around the room. It as true. The music's volume was down a little, and all of the younger students were gone, leaving mostly 5th through 7th Years in the Common Room. Those who were left had toned down the party, separating into groups of friends to chat or goof off until they all went to sleep.
"Apparently we were not destined to enjoy much of this one, Marlene," Lily said calmly.
"I'm surprised you enjoyed any of it," her friend retorted. "Usually I have to beg you to come, and then you would only sit in a corner and sulk the whole time."
"I like the change," Remus said. "It makes me feel less like a slacker in my Prefect-ly duties."
Lily chuckled and winked slowly at her slim, sandy-haired fellow Prefect. "It's my intention to keep enjoying all these crazy times in Gryffindor Tower, so don't worry about being the slacker again Remus."
"Who are you and what have you done with Lily Evans?" Mary said mock-seriously.
"She's locked in my closet at home so I have plenty of hair supply for the Polyjuice Potion I need to take every hour," she replied with a completely straight face, and proceeded to walk off, leaving the boys stunned.
"I think I like the new Lily," Peter commented. James and Remus nodded silently, James with a dumbfounded look on his face and Remus with a content smile. Sirius sighed happily and clasped his hands behind his head. He was the first to follow after Lily to a couch by the fire, shortly followed by Peter, his quick little steps a direct contrast to Sirius' slow, smooth saunter.
"You guys are good for her," Marlene said softly to James and Remus before she wound her way across the room to join the others by the fire.
"It's not even NEWTs this year!" Sirius complained loudly, as he had been doing for the last hour.
It had been five weeks since Halloween and winter was in full force on the Hogwarts grounds. The teachers seemed to take this as an excuse to give more and more homework in the weeks leading up to break. All the 6th Years were getting more and more frustrated and anxious, particularly Sirius, James, and Peter. Granted, Peter was always anxious when it came to school; it was in his nature.
However, James and Sirius were usually done with assignments in no time; they were naturally brilliant at Transfiguration and Defense, and simply did not care about getting perfect scores. They typically did enough work and put enough effort into it that they passed their classes - some with flying colors - and still had plenty of time to goof off, pull pranks, and do other such Marauder-esque activities. What they were not used to was assignments being so complex and in-depth and long that they actually had to try in most of their classes. And James and Sirius were not happy about it.
"Padfoot, honestly," Remus said through a sigh. "If you would just focus and get it done, we could move on to planning a prank, or building a snowman, or whatever else it is that your heart desires at the time."
"Moony, this is painful. I think my hand has cramped," James said, dropping his quill with disgust and shaking out his hand.
"Is this the right order for ingredients, Remus?" Peter asked, shoving his parchment in his friend's face.
"Prongs, you'll live. And let me see that, Wormtail," Remus said with a snap in his tone. He was thoroughly annoyed with his friends. If they would leave him be, he could potentially be done already. That was why he preferred studying and working with Lily. She was quiet and diligent about her own work, leaving him to his own devices. "I've turned everything wrong red, including grammar for you, Pete."
"You're a life saver, Remus," Peter said reverently.
Remus just grumbled and buried himself back behind his Charms textbook.
"Hey, Lily!" Sirius called suddenly, completely uncaring that he was in the middle of the library. "Over here!"
"Run while you can!" Remus emerged from behind his book to warn her. "You'll never get your work done if you don't!"
The redhead continued to wind her way around the tables and right towards them, though. Remus was silently thanking whoever was watching over him. With Lily there, James and Sirius at least would leave him alone, and Peter could split his questions between the two of them.
However Lily did not take a seat, like they were all assuming she would.
"Hi everyone," she said cheerily, as if she hadn't a care in the world.
"Lily, save us!" Sirius said desperately. "It's all going to suffocate me! I'm going to get lines on my perfect face!" Lily's eyebrows tilted up at the last statement.
"Your face will be fine Sirius, homework cannot actually suffocate you, and I am not here to rescue you or James in the first place," she said before turning her focus back to Remus. "You never came out to meet me for patrol so I figured I should come find you," Lily explained to Remus' confused expression.
"Noooo!" James said in an overly dramatic, long-held word.
Lily rolled her eyes. "This is why I do my work in my dorm now."
Remus haphazardly shoved all his things in his bag, threw it over his shoulder, and practically ran with Lily out of the door. "Lily, I am so sorry! I forgot we had patrol…" Remus halted suddenly. "Wait, we don't have a patrol right now. That was yesterday. I remember because Sirius was mad I wouldn't go with him to the kitchens."
Lily grinned mischievously and continued walking down the corridor. "They don't have to know that, do they?" she asked over her shoulder.
"Lily, you honestly are the best."
"How about we go find a quiet classroom to practice those Charms and Defense spells?"
There was one last Hogsmeade trip planned before half the population of Hogwarts would be gone for two weeks of freedom. It was set for the Saturday of the first weekend of December, and needless to say, everyone was excited for it. Lily loved buying her parents' christmas gifts in Hogsmeade. They were always so thrilled by the simplest bits of magical items she bought them. And Petunia didn't need to know that her newest item for her wardrobe was bought in a wizard store; what she didn't know couldn't come back to bite Lily in the future. Lily had even managed to find something for all her guy- and girl-friends. She was satisfied they would all appreciate the presents, whether or not they were the best or most perfect thing they got that year.
Lily had decided to wander on her own to get her shopping done. She hated the pressure or shopping for Christmas with others around her. She always felt like she had to justify what she was buying to them, even though it was none of their business. So there she was, freezing her bum off, walking down one of Hogsmeade's side streets, when she hears an intense, whispered conversation going on right around the corner. She always hated interrupting people when they were talking that fiercely; they tended to give the evil eye. So instead of turning the corner, she waited where she was, trying not to overhear what was being said. And failing miserably at it.
"-can't do that! He's expecting all of us to be there, the Saturday between Christmas and New Years. You can't not show up!"
"Don't be ridiculous. Whoever said I was to be absent is full of it." Lily froze. She would know that whisper anywhere. It used to be her he would whisper to, after all. "Honestly, find better sources. Or better yet, stop stalking me altogether. I have proven my loyalty."
"Well then why don't you ever want to play with us?"
"Because I am not that crude."
Lily was so confused. What was Snape rumored to not be attending? What didn't he want to play that was crude? And then it hit her. What other 'game' could one of Snape's new friends want to play other than tormenting Muggles and Muggleborns? It made Lily almost physically sick to think about.
"Besides, I have better ways in which to serve the Dark Lord…"
Lily couldn't stay and listen any longer. She threw a hand over her mouth and tore off down the street in the opposite direction she had originally been heading. She rounded the nearest corner and kept running until she was back on the main street, about a hundred yards down from where she could see Severus and Rosier having a heated discussion. Lily dashed into the Three Broomsticks, hoping beyond anything that someone was in there that she could run to.
She spotted the messy black hair, and then the long elegant black hair, as well as the sandy and blonde hair-boys across from them. She shoved her way as quickly as she could through the crowd and wormed her way between Sirius and James. All four boys startled at the sudden appearance.
Remus recovered the fastest. "What's wrong, Lily? You're really pale. And I think shaking."
"What did you do, stay out too long and freeze yourself?" Sirius teased, but still reached an arm around her back and rubbed his hand up and down her arm to help warm her up. And then he realized she was actually quite warm. "Uhhh, Lils…."
"I knew it was happening," Lily began, using a voice barely above a whisper. "I mean, I know it is happening. I know Voldemort is recruiting, and I know a lot of people are joining his cause, whether by choice or because he is forcing their hand. But I never wanted to hear my best friend talking about how he could best serve his lord." Lily was still so disgusted and horrified with the conversation she had overheard that she didn't catch her own mistake of still terming Severus her best friend.
"He was talking about what?" James said more than asked in a carefully neutral tone.
"The slimy git," Sirius spat, then said to Lily, "Sorry," with a sheepish look on his face.
Lily surprised them all when she said, "By all means." And she waved her hand in front of her, as though making way for an important person. "If that is truly the path he is following and believes in now, maybe he is a git. I just wish he stayed the same as he was when we were kids and he brought the magic into my life…" Lily trailed off.
The enormity of her emotional upheaval had passed, and she just wanted to sit for a while. She didn't notice that while James was running a hand soothingly up and down her back, his other was fisted rigidly on his thigh with his knuckles turning white. He was so angry. Angry that Snape could be friends with Lily all those years and not see that Voldemort is wrong. Angry that Lily had overheard him talking about his future Death Eater status. And angry that she still got so torn up about her ex-best friend's activities.
He knew it was wrong to be mad that she cared. It was such a Lily thing to do: care about someone, anyone, even if they didn't deserve, want, or need the caring. She was just that type of person. It was one of the most important things he loved about her. James was determined to put a smile back on her face, so he turned the conversation rather tactlessly to the impending Christmas.
"Christmas is by far the best Holiday ever!" Sirius was saying ten minutes later. "No school for two weeks, tons of presents, awesome breakfast AND dinner, and did I mention no school?!"
"And I'm just saying that New Year's has it's upsides as well!" Lily argued back. "Is no one allowed to have a different opinion on the best holiday around him?" she asked the other three.
"No, not really," Remus said immediately, taking a swig of his Butterbeer.
"We came to the conclusion it's easier to let him have Christmas be the best," Peter added.
"At least out loud," James finished.
"So you all think of different holidays as the best?" Lily clarified.
James shared a look with Sirius. "I don't. Christmas is the best invention. Ever."
"I'm rather partial to Halloween," Remus whispered conspiratorially.
Peter stayed quiet on the matter. Lily was fairly certain he was afraid of disappointing all of them by saying something different from any of them, so he didn't even want to take a side. Lily felt bad for him; it must be hard to be so unsure of yourself that you couldn't ever speak your own mind.
"Well this is a rather pointless argument anyways," Lily said.
"No, a pointless argument would be whose socks are better," Sirius said.
"Or which blade of grass is the best," James added.
Lily dropped her head to the table and very quickly lifted it up again. "And on that note, I am going back to the castle." She stood and grabbed her bag of purchases. "I'll see you boys later. When you're making more sense again."
Author's Note: Thanks for reading everyone! Sorry for the abrupt ending, but it's 2am here and I have to work in the morning, so there it is. Please leave me a review, let me know how I'm doing. Any thoughts or concerns?