Marauders Chapter 18: Hogsmeade
Hello everyone! Thank you so much for everyone whose been reading this fic. It's such a joy to write and I really appreciate reviews so if you're enjoying, please let me know. Also, just so this is cleared up…Lily's boyfriend is named George, not for any particular reason, just because I am super unoriginal when naming characters and looked up "British boy names". And my brain decided that George sounded great but couldn't realize that there was a reason…no excuse…I'm sorry George Weasley.
Lily made her way into the dormitory, overnight bag slung over her shoulder, smiling from the doorway at her roommates. The group of them were sitting together on Marlene's bed whispering, and immediately stopped talking when they noticed Lily's lurking presence, obviously having been discussing her situation and inevitable return.
"Lily," Susan said, standing up and moving towards her.
"Hey Sue," she said, pulling her in for a hug.
"How you doing?" She asked, holding Lily at arm's length, and scanning her features for any signs of residual distress. Lily sighed, letting her false smile fall as she glanced at the girls all shooting her nervous glances before looking down at their hands in their laps.
"I'll be alright. Just trying to move forward." Lily said, looking across to the others. Alice actually made eye contact with her this time, giving her a sympathetic gaze before shooting a stern look at Marlene who was still gaping like a fish after Lily's unexpected entrance.
Marlene nodded, breaking out of her stupor to say: "We're here for you. Whatever you need."
Lily smiled, a little more genuinely this time.
"Thanks Mar," She said, moving towards the bed, and pulling her in for a hug too.
"Alright, am I the only one feeling the group hug?" Mary said, all of the girls laughing before leaning in and holding each other in one big lump on Marlene's bed, reunited at last after a long weekend apart.
Lily fell easily into the warmth of their embrace, feeling somewhere close to whole again for the first time in a while. Despite the ache that still filled her heart, and the sting of recent loss, Lily knew that there were a few things she could always count on: the scent of Marlene's floral perfume, the soothing tone of Alice's calm voice, the warmth of Mary's endless kindness, and the gleaming white of Susan's toothy grin. And with friends like these maybe she could fashion herself a new family, one that could never replace the one she'd lost, but could maybe fill the hole they'd left all the same.
Lily made her way through the Hogwarts halls, trying to ignore the whispers that followed her after her lengthy absence the week before. Rumors spread fast in this school, especially surrounding the tragic deaths of families of muggleborns, and Lily did feel genuinely guilty at the nasty looks and occasional hexes sent Severus' way. It wasn't just him, of course, a large amount of Slytherins taking a beating after one of Gryffindors' own went through an unspeakable loss, but Lily preferred to hold onto the hope that James had given her that there had been no remarkable circumstances surrounding their death. And it was quite difficult to do that with the number of rumors swirling around her twenty-four/seven. She was startled out of her thoughts by an arm around her shoulders and a kiss on her cheek. She laughed, turning to the head of blonde curls she knew was awaiting her.
"George, hey." She said, unable to keep the smile off her face at the sight of him despite the anguish still churning in her stomach.
"Hey Lily, how are you?" As had been the norm the past week his expression immediately changed to one of concern, and Lily tried very hard not to show her resentment in her reply.
"George, I'm fine, ok? I really don't want to talk about it anymore."
He put up his hands in surrender, trying to lighten the mood.
"Ok, understood."
Lily nodded, scanning his face for any sign of anger, but to her relief finding none.
"So, how was your potions exam?" He asked, trying to change the subject.
Lily jumped on this topic gratefully. "Incredible, you know I've got Slughorn handled." She said with a smirk.
"Yeah, it certainly seems so." He said, smirking back. "You'll be at the Christmas party?"
"Wouldn't miss it." Lily replied.
"Good." He said.
He checked his watch then looked back to her.
"Look, I've got to get to class, but I'll see you at dinner." He leaned in to give her a quick kiss which quickly became a light make out session in the middle of the school hallway. Lily giggled, rubbing the back of her neck, as a blush reached her cheeks.
"See you at dinner." She said.
"Ok." George replied, backing up with his eyes on Lily until he had to turn the corner. Lily giggled again, and done with classes for the day, made her way to the library. They had just had another full moon and Lily had spent enough time distracted from helping Remus in any way she could.
A few weeks went by after the funeral, with little activity, school keeping Lily sufficiently distracted. And, of course, there was also her side project. Remus was still getting sick once a month, and Lily hadn't forgotten her promise to research a way to, if not cure him, make him feel better at least. His most recent transformation didn't go unnoticed, and Lily was one of the first people to visit him in the hospital wing, besides the Marauders of course.
"So, how are you feeling Remus?" She asked, hesitantly, not wanting to upset him with pity after so many weeks of trying to buck that notion herself.
"Ready to roll for Hogsmeade this weekend." Remus said with a smile, fewer scars visible on him this month, other than a cut on his lip. "Hey, no pity, alright?"
He replied, immediately picking up on what Lily had been so afraid of showing. Lily tried to speak up, but Remus spoke again before she could.
"If you think this is bad you should see the other guy."
Lily laughed a bit, but Remus grew somewhat sober. Padfoot had gotten his licks in this full moon, but Moony had fought back with a vengeance, and in his wild state really injured Sirius for the first time during a full moon. The group had actually had to debate taking Sirius to the hospital wing with Remus, before James left without a word under his cloak and returned with a vial of Essence of Dittany. He didn't say where he'd gotten it and the boys didn't ask, pouring it over Sirius' wounds while Peter helped Remus to the hospital wing. Lily tried to school her emotions for Remus, laughing half-heartedly at his attempts at humor, and just trying to keep him company. But Lily was never all that good at hiding what she was feeling, and Remus quickly changed the pace of the conversation when he noticed her shooting nervous glances across his hospital gown, as if terrified at what injuries might lurk beneath the surface.
"Lily I promise you if I'm struggling, you'll be the first to know. I'm better than ever, ok?"
Lily nodded, touching his arm lightly. He smiled back at her, and Madame Pomfrey promptly came into the room yelling about Remus having had plenty of visitors for that day and needing his rest. Lily nodded, making her way to the library to continue with her research, which had started to take up any spare time she wasn't already devoting to her studies. It had become quite the obsession, but Lily argued that it was justified because it would help not only her friend Remus, but all werewolves in the wizarding world. There was no way that this was distracting her from the weight in her heart every time she pictured her parents' faces, no way at all. She was just about to call it quits for the night, her eyes going buggy from so many hours staring at the page when she heard a familiar voice.
"Werewolf bites?"
She jumped out of her skin, closing the book immediately and turning to see George behind her.
"Sorry," He said with a smile. "I just haven't seen much of you these past weeks, and Marlene said you might be in the library. Thought I'd bring you some dinner."
George held in his arms a plate piled high with food that he must have taken from the kitchens. She thought to herself that she really didn't deserve him, as she grabbed a piece of bread from the spread, not feeling all that hungry for the third night in a row.
"George, this was so sweet. I'm so sorry I've been so distant…"
"No apology necessary. I'm just glad to see you. So, what's the interest?"
At her confused glance he gestured to the book which she had so rapidly closed, and Lily felt her face get hot with the effort to think of a good enough lie.
"Um…just some supplementary reading for…um…Defense Against the Dark Arts." Lily said, her poker face not any better in the face of her boyfriend who knew her all too well.
"Lily, you can tell me." His face grew pale. "You haven't been bitten…"
"No, no nothing like that." Lily interrupted him before he could fall down that hole. She sighed before relenting, figuring that maybe George could actually be helpful with this venture, so long as she didn't mention who it was for.
"Alright, I was just thinking that there are all these werewolves out there in the wizarding world, and no one has ever found a way to cure it. So, I've been…"
"What? Trying to find a cure for lycanthropy?" George asked, looking equal parts impressed and intrigued, the gears in his head already turning at this prospect.
"Or at least something to make it easier." Lily said.
George seemed to be thinking for a moment, making a decision about something. Lily bit her lip, nervous as to what his reaction was going to be. Pureblood wizards didn't take too kindly to werewolves, after all, seeing them as halfbreeds, a lesser species.
But to Lily's surprise George just said: "Lily that's incredible. I'd like to help, if you'll have me."
"Wait, really?" She asked, not expecting more than a casual mention of support if the response was positive at all.
"Can't let you do all this research on your own can I? Besides, something like this could help a lot of innocent wizards."
Lily couldn't help it, she pulled him in for a kiss right then and there, and he took a seat next to her, pulling a book towards himself.
Marlene sat in the Gryffindor common room, trying to rub her eyes free of exhaustion after spending the last three hours writing and rewriting her charms essay. She smiled as a familiar pair of arms wrapped around her and a familiar set of lips pressed a kiss to her cheek.
A sultry voice whispered in her ear: "Ready for Hogsmeade this weekend Mar?"
"Of course." She said, smiling as she turned to return Sirius' affection with a kiss of her own. She paused, biting her lip: "But…"
"What?" Sirius asked, his easy demeanor not leaving despite Marlene's clear anxiety.
"I sort of…don't want to leave Lily alone for this one. I mean, George isn't coming, something about a big project, and I just…"
Sirius smiled, happy to see the normally so unshakeable Marlene so flustered. He grabbed a hold of her soft hands in his own rough ones, bringing her rambling to a stop.
"Hey, hey, it's fine. We'll make it a group thing, my friends and yours."
"Our friends don't exactly have a history of getting along Black." Marlene said that anxiety still in her eyes but eased slightly by this new prospect.
"Oh come on, Lily loves Moony, and Susan and James are quidditch mates…and Peter, well…Mary needs someone to pair up with doesn't she?" He said.
His mind was already planning the day: him and James flirting with Marlene and Susan while Peter stumbled through his own awkward flirtation with Mary, just as Remus talked some intellectual nonsense to keep Lily distracted. It would be perfect.
"And Alice?" Marlene cut in, adding another girl to Sirius' fantasy which was not an unpleasant addition.
"The more the merrier." Sirius said with a wink.
"She has a boyfriend, Black." Marlene replied, rolling her eyes.
"Come on, she's still with that Longbottom bloke?" He teased back.
"Yes, and they are very happy, so you and your mates aren't going to go messing with any of that or you'll be facing the wrath of a very angry auror." Marlene said.
Frank had graduated the year before and began auror training first thing, jumping straight into the fight against You-Know-Who. Part of Sirius admired the hell out of that, wanting to jump right into the fire with him. But another part of him knew that he wouldn't just be fighting strangers; he would be fighting family, some closer than others. He really didn't want to think about the unpleasant concept of facing his brother on some bloody battlefield, and quickly shook the thought out of his head, trying to get back into the easy banter he and Marlene shared.
"Auror in training," He mocked, "and I'm not scared of Frank Longbottom."
That wasn't true. Frank Longbottom was a superb wizard, and Sirius knew he would make an even more talented auror. But he would never give Marlene the satisfaction of knowing that.
"Well then you can go and tell him that when he finds out you flirted with his girl."
She had called his bluff. He was impressed, not that he would ever let on to that either. But Marlene knew, because Sirius had subtle tells behind his mask. His mask was full of cracks with the people he loved, a twitch of a brow, a slight lightening of the eyes, a quirk of his mouth, and she could read him like a book. Yes, Marlene knew Sirius, and she knew exactly what he was going to say before he finally gave in with the words: "Alright, whatever, I suppose we can forgive one addition."
"You're the best." Marlene said, a suggestive hint in her tone, as Sirius let his eyes slip ever so slightly to those lips he had come to know so well.
"I know."
Say what you will about Sirius Black, arrogant, haughty, or just confident, but there was something irresistible about the way the boy carried himself, and Marlene couldn't help but melt into another kiss to the chagrin of the Gryffindor common room who promptly shouted at them to "Get a room!". Now all she had to do was convince her still grieving best friend to give herself a break and allow herself to just let loose and have some fun for the first time in so many weeks. Somehow Sirius' lips on hers filled her with a glow that convinced her she could manage it.
That night Marlene waited up for Lily in the common room. She got in late, as usual, having been avoiding her friends since their cathartic hugfest weeks before. They were normally all asleep, or at least pretending to be for her sake, in the dormitory but Marlene was not allowing her to avoid her any longer.
Lily made her way through the portrait hole, frowning when she saw Marlene sitting up in one of the comfy armchairs with a book propped open on her lap. But she resigned herself to whatever Marlene felt was so important to say to her.
"Ok, what's up?" She asked.
Marlene looked up, as if she had just become so engrossed in her book that she had lost track of time, although they both knew that she had been anxiously awaiting her friend's return.
"Hogsmeade this weekend, you're coming with us." Marlene said. It wasn't a question.
"Mar, it's fine I really don't feel like it anyway; George and I were just going to have a quiet day in." Lily tried to argue, using the feeble excuses she had been using to avoid breakfast, lunch, dinner, almost anything the past few weeks.
"I don't think you understand. This isn't a choice, Evans."
"Marlene." Lily frowned, not used to her calling her Evans or taking such a serious tone.
But Marlene was not budging. Lily needed this. She needed to live again, the dead were dead, but the living had to go on, for their sake.
"We're going as a group, one last Gryffindor outing before the holidays."
"Gryffindor?" Lily asked, wondering if Marlene meant what she thought she meant.
"Yeah, well, I figured we haven't spent enough time with our housemates and…"
"You mean they're coming?" They both knew the "they" Lily was referring to.
"Give them a chance Lily." Marlene asked, with that classic seductive lilt that so many boys found irresistible.
Lily rolled her eyes but smirked a little bit at Marlene's tactics. She finally sighed, which Marlene immediately knew meant she was budging. "Potter's not going to be a toerag this time?" She asked, but Marlene could read the subtext. She was coming, but Marlene patted the spot next to her in the chair, which Lily flopped into, laying her head on Marlene's shoulder.
"Sirius assured me he's going to be on his best behavior."
"Fine, whatever, I'll go." Lily said, as if she had still been mulling it over.
"Wonderful. Now come on, you need to get some sleep." Marlene said, grabbing Lily's arm and dragging her towards their dormitory.
Lily smiled, following willingly. This clearly meant a lot to Marlene, and she was sure George would understand her taking a few hours off from their little side project. Besides she figured if things took a turn for the annoying, she could always stick by Remus. And it's not like this is the first time she's been forced to spend time with James Potter, and after everything he'd done for her…after he was with her during the hardest time in her life, maybe he deserved the benefit of the doubt.
The day before the Hogsmeade trip Lily approached George at their usual spot in the library, full of nervous energy, though she wasn't sure why. He looked up and offered her his sweet smile, noting her body language but trying to respect her wishes that he not be overbearing.
He settled on a simple: "Hey, how are you doing?"
"Good, um, I just came to tell you…I think I'm going to go to Hogsmeade after all." She said, wincing a bit in anticipation of his response.
He seemed to deflate just a little bit, but tried to perk back up, knowing how much it probably meant to her.
"Oh alright, would you like me to come? I don't know that I can stay the whole day but…"
"No, it's fine we're going to do a girl's day sort of thing. It should be nice." She replied.
"Sounds like just what the doctor ordered. I'm sure you'll have a great time." He said with a kiss. "Now, let's get back to work."
He shifted over a little bit and Lily took her seat next to him, research documents and books spread out along with all of their notes on werewolf transformations and habits. Lily wasn't sure why she lied to George because she knew for a fact that this wasn't just a regular girls' day. But she really didn't feel like being lectured on the immaturity of the Marauders, and in particular to be careful around James Potter. So she moved on, accepting her mind's reasoning, and getting back to working on a cure for Remus.
The day of the Hogsmeade trip dawned bitterly cold, the wind whipping against any exposed skin, and heavy snowfall greeting their walk to the village. The group had agreed to meet in the common room at 10, and Lily was surprised when she found James already up and waiting at 9:30. They stood around awkwardly while their roommates finished getting ready, Lily picking at a thread on her sweater as James doodled on some parchment, coating his hand in ink in his efforts to hide whatever it was he was drawing. She assumed it was a new prank idea that he didn't want getting out for the prefects to stop, and didn't think much of it. Finally, Remus made it downstairs, still looking sickly, but loads better than when Lily had visited him in the hospital wing just a few days prior. They started discussing schoolwork and Lily noticed James visibly roll his eyes before turning back to his drawing. She ignored him, happy to have someone to talk to until the others made their way down.
On the walk to the village the boys were shivering violently under their cloaks, Sirius having refused Lily's cloak-warming charm leaving the others unwilling to accept it out of a stubborn show of male pride. James was the only one who seemed warm as ever and, lacking any other explanation, Lily began to wonder if his boisterous mood was literally warming him from the inside out. He kept all their spirits up, laughing that contagious laugh that even got Lily chuckling from time to time, forming snowballs with his wand to throw at the other boys. He flirted with Mary and Susan, and even Marlene for that matter, teasing Alice but never crossing the line and being surprisingly quiet around Lily until about halfway to Hogsmeade.
"So, you finally break it off with that Greg bloke?" He said, Lily stopping her conversation with Alice when she realized that James was addressing her directly for the first time all morning.
"George and no we're still going strong Potter." She replied simply.
"Well, whenever things go south feel free to let me know." He said, moving up so they were walking side by side, Alice dropping back to whisper something to Susan and Mary which Lily was certain was about her and James by the muffled giggles behind her.
She felt her ears go red, and clenched her jaw with suppressed rage, trying to stay relaxed despite how absolutely infuriating James Potter was.
"If things go south, I assure you Potter you'll be the first to know." She said.
"Well, I'm touched. I am really good at makeup hugs, talks, other makeup things."
He replied suggestively, but before he could continue badgering her further Sirius walked in between them shouting loudly: "Ok Zonko's anyone?"
Lily looked up, realizing that they had already made it to the village. In her frustration with James, she had hardly noticed. The group nodded, seeming to decide that Sirius' suggestion was as good as any, and made their way towards the popular joke shop. When they made it inside the group broke off into more familiar pairs, Lily and Marlene giggling over some love potions while Sirius grabbed James practically by the ear over towards their usual pranking section.
"Prongs I thought I told you to be on your best behavior today."
James rolled his eyes, choosing to move his eyes away from Sirius' disapproving gaze and towards a pack of dungbombs.
"I am, but I'm not going to act weird." James said, a bit of embarrassment lacing his tone which confused Sirius given his friends' usual confident demeanor, even where Lily was concerned.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"Lily doesn't need weirdness right now she's had enough of that for a lifetime. And if I have to throw myself under the bus to keep her mind occupied than, so be it." James said.
"So, you're flirting with Lily to distract her." He said, trying to give his friend the benefit of the doubt.
"Yeah, I guess so." James said, still not looking at Sirius, eyes shifting to a new intriguing item called a Fanged Frisbee which piqued his interest.
Sirius paused for a minute. It sort of made sense, keep Lily's mind occupied, that was the name of the game anyway, the reason Marlene had asked him to organize this whole charade. He looked at James, so sheepish and unsure of his plan, but falling back on familiarity in his desire to keep Lily from thinking about why he might be treating her differently. He couldn't help but feel his heart swell with pride at his friend, who would do anything, make any sacrifice just to keep everyone else's spirits up. Sirius had noticed James' overeager act that morning, but he had just assumed he had had a bit too much coffee or something. Instead, he was taking any tactic that seemed to work to get Lily smiling again. Sirius couldn't help but fall back into old habits himself at this realization.
"So, you think she might actually say yes this time?"
"That...would certainly be a bonus." James replied cocky persona back in place.
"Bet you ten sickles she throws another drink in your face before the day's out." Sirius said with a smirk.
"Oh, you're on Pads." James replied, shaking his hand.
After Zonko's the group trudged to Honeydukes through the snow, grabbing some sweets, and deciding that their feet and noses would benefit greatly from some warm mugs of butterbeer. They made their way to the Three Broomsticks where Rosmerta immediately lit up seeing the boys walk in.
"Rosy, did you miss me?" Sirius said, arms wide in the hopes of a hug to which Rosmerta just shook her head.
"I didn't miss the trouble you bring to my pub Sirius Black."
"That didn't answer my question." Sirius said, arms still open and eyebrow raised.
Rosmerta chuckled, pulling him into her embrace, offering a hug to James and Remus in turn. When she moved to hug Peter the boys hooted and hollered, and she glared at the group of them, grabbing a drink off a tray and handing it to him. Peter, for his part, blushed furiously when she gave him a kiss on the cheek along with the mug, and that just led to more claps on the back and laughter as the group finally took their seats. The girls and Remus got their mugs next, James and Sirius being the last ones to receive the golden liquid which warmed them to their core.
"Come on Rosy can't you get us something a little harder?" Sirius asked when she placed his mug in front of him.
"Yeah, what's a nip of firewhiskey between friends?" James asked next, a sort of handsome pout crossing his face.
"I'm not going to be responsible for you boys returning from my pub drunk off your arses." Rosmerta said with a not unfriendly look to lessen the scolding tone.
She left the group to their drinks. James and Sirius turned around to the girls, shrugging.
"It was worth a try." Sirius said.
"One of these days we'll break her down." James said.
"Yeah, don't hold your breath." Remus said smirking as he sipped at a cocktail.
Sirius nearly did a double take, looking back at Rosmerta who was conveniently engrossed in conversation with some old wizard on the other side of the pub.
"How'd you manage that Moony?" Sirius asked in disbelief.
"It's called earning trust you should try it sometime." Remus replied, causing Lily to snort butterbeer out her nose. This in turn caused Marlene to spit up butterbeer all over her front, Sirius having to pat her on the back to break her out of her half-coughing half-laughing fit.
"Yeah whatever." James replied, faking a moody pout once again, but secretly feeling a burst of warmth at seeing Lily genuinely laugh for the first time that day.
After their butterbeers the group decided they had had enough of the freezing village for the day, and they looked forward to curling up for a lazy afternoon by the fire. The boys were still shivering as they made the long trek back, even James having a hard time hiding the wet chill that had sunk into his bones. Lily rolled her eyes, before falling back a little bit and turning to James who was walking slowly beside her.
"For God's sake, Potter, just hand me your cloak."
"I think I'll keep it on thanks Evans." He smirked, pretending not to know what she was talking about.
"I already did the charm for Remus and the girls just hand it over will you?"
"Moony? Traitor."
James said, but he glanced at the girls and said traitorous friend looking far more comfortable than himself, Sirius, and Peter. He finally sighed and slowed to a stop, handing his cloak over to Lily who muttered a spell under her breath, handing the cloak back to James.
"There, that's better, right?"
He wrapped himself in the cloak, pulling it as close as he could get it. He immediately felt the warmth surround him, as if he was wrapped up in a furnace. The toasty feeling spread across his upper body and down to his toes and he looked at Lily in absolute awe.
"Wow this is actually really impressive Evans." James said.
She smiled with pride at the compliment, not used to such outright flattery from James Potter of all people.
"Well, thanks." She said, "Took me a while before I could get it to stop at the right temperature. Now, you think Sirius will hand his cloak over so poor Peter can stop freezing?"
They glanced at Peter who was trying to act a lot tougher than he was, and utterly failing, while Sirius was cowering under his leather jacket, which provided far less protection than the others' thick cloaks.
"Well, considering I broke first, I'm sure he'll let you do it now, but..." he paused, considering how to phrase his next request, "any chance you could be swayed to make this afternoon a little more interesting?"
Lily almost said "no" outright, anything that caused that look in James' eye couldn't be good. But something about the genuine side of him she'd been seeing so much more of lately caused her to ask a question she was sure she would regret.
"What did you have in mind?"
"Nothing much just a slight…adjustment." He said, that trademark James Potter mischievous smirk playing on his face.
Lily bit her lip, glancing at Peter and Sirius, and back at James.
She approached Sirius much like James, under the guise of keeping it quiet. She finally convinced him to allow her to charm his jacket as James had already proven himself the greater coward, and he didn't ever have to know anyway. Given their walk was so slowed by the snow that they couldn't even see the castle, and it was either this or earn himself a one-way ticket to Azkaban by revealing his animagus form just to get some relief Sirius begrudgingly nodded. He dragged Peter down with him without hesitation, which was also part of James and Lily's plan. Lily whispered the charm, but with a slight adjustment as James had suggested. At first the two boys shuddered in relief, the warmth of the charm spreading from their bodies down to their toes as it had done for James and the rest of the group who had accepted it. But it didn't take long for Lily's…adjustments…to take effect, the heat increasing with every second the cloaks were on the boys.
"Hot! Hot!" Sirius and Peter shouted, ripping their jackets off as they were overtaken by the sensation of walking too close to a fire or stepping into a shower with the heat turned up all the way. They quickly realized that the charm had taken effect on all of their clothes, and Peter began working to remove the heavy amount of layers which he had piled on that morning. The other girls along with Remus had heard the shouts and stopped to see what the commotion was about. It took them seconds to survey the chaos, laughter overtaking the group as well as a few passersby who were also turning in from Hogsmeade a little early.
Sirius was far quicker than Peter, having refused to wear anything more than a long sleeve T-shirt under his leather jacket, which Lily hadn't expected. He was quickly relieved from the burning only to realize that he was now clothed in only his boxers and undershirt in front of the respectable crowd which had gathered in response to the noise. The group was howling at how the tables had been turned. Mercifully, Lily had stopped the charm at underwear, scolding James for even suggesting they take it further than that.
At the sound of James' raucous laughter overtop of everyone else Sirius shouted: "Oh, you are dead Prongs!"
But there was laughter in his eyes as he chased after James. Peter was still struggling to strip off his clothes, the discomfort clearly getting to him.
"Here Peter let me help." Lily said with one last chuckle, quickly muttering the countercurse to Peter's instant relief.
"Thanks Lily." Peter said, chuckling himself at his misfortune and beginning to gather the layers he had removed.
"Sirius?"
Lily turned to counter the spell on Sirius' clothes as well, but Sirius was still chasing James through the snow, clothes and dignity having long been forgotten. Lily laughed loudly along with the others as James leapt and bounded over snowbanks to keep Sirius from getting to him.
"Quit your laughing Evans you're next!"
Sirius shouted as he finally managed to catch James, tackling him to the ground. He shoved James' face into the snow, glasses and all, so fiercely that they actually snapped in half.
"Alright, Sirius get off him and get your clothes back on before you freeze."
Lily said, still laughing at his antics, but feeling a slight unfamiliar worry in her chest over the state of James' nose if Sirius got any more aggressive.
"Cold's never bothered me." Sirius said as his teeth chattered.
Marlene rolled her eyes, grabbing Sirius' clothes from the snow-covered ground and taking them to Lily.
"Warm them properly Lils?"
Lily laughed, muttering the proper charm. Marlene nodded, smiling as she brought Sirius his trousers and shirt.
"Serves you right not layering up in winter time." Marlene said as Sirius pulled his pants on first than the jacket over his shirt.
"Yeah well, I like to pack light. Damn, this spell is actually alright when you're not burning me alive Evans." Sirius said, a mischievous smile playing on his face.
She laughed back.
"You more than deserved it Black after all the crap you've pulled."
"Fair enough." Sirius replied, happy as everyone else to see Lily smiling so wide again.
James stood up, muttering "Reparo" to fix his broken glasses before shooting Lily a dazzling smile that made her feel a flutter in her stomach that nearly made her gag because no way had James Potter illicited that feeling. The crowd began to disperse, making their way back to the castle now that things had calmed down. James, meanwhile, made his way over to Lily and spoke softly, so that only she could hear.
"You know, this is the first time you haven't yelled at me for one of my pranks."
"Don't hold your breath Potter." She replied, shoving that fluttery feeling down again. Because no she was not feeling what she thought she was feeling, and James Potter was a git and a toerag and teaming up with him this one time was a necessary evil to get to Sirius who was just as bad as James if not worse. At least that's what she repeated to herself that night and the next morning until she saw George and all thoughts of those feelings were replaced with the taste of George's lips on her own, and the far more pleasant butterflies that his presence created.