Hello everybody! Thanks to anyone who's stuck around this long, and for any new readers welcome!
I'm really excited to get more into the order mission stuff, as I personally Headcanon that Dumbledore was recruiting out of Hogwarts just like Voldemort. I also love having the opportunity to put Lily and James in a room together and see how that relationship might have developed.
Anyway, I will see you all in the next chapter!
The slug club was a tradition going back to Slughorn's early years as a professor at Hogwarts. It never discriminated from pureblood to muggleborn. Slughorn was an old man, set in his ways, believing that being raised in the wizarding tradition afforded certain benefits, but someone like Lily Evans came along too often for blood to be the primary reason for a wizard's skill. Unfortunately, a number of his students failed to share his more progressive views.
"Honestly, if those mudbloods keep coming back to stink up the meetings I don't know if it's worth going." Rosier said, seated next to Mulciber who snorted uglily at the rather weak joke.
The Slytherin sixth years were lounging together in their common room, Wilkes and Avery looking up from a game of wizard's chess at Rosier's comment. Snape was sitting in a dark corner, working on a potions recipe, but even he closed his new notebook at the interesting turn in the boys' conversation.
"We've taken care of quite a few, and the Dark Lord is certainly helping keep them down." Mulciber replied, his father having kept him informed of the various activities of the Death Eaters that were not being reported in the Prophet.
"What do you think, Snape?" Avery spoke up, the quietest member of their little gang sitting contemplatively as the others discussed this problem.
The group of them had been quite busy, hexing muggleborns who had been invited to the rather exclusive club, encouraging them not-so-delicately to stay away or bat bogeys would be the least of their worries. One Gryffindor muggleborn had been left alone at Snape's behest, but the others were growing restless. Why should she be an exception?
"The other houses have been talking about boycotting the whole thing. If they go through with it, the mudblood issue resolves itself." He said in his slow, drawling way.
"So, we hurry along that plan?" Alfred Wilson spoke up, a fifth year who, like Snape, kept his halfblood status rather quiet.
"I've said it before. There's one mudblood who will stop all the others coming if she decides to end her tenure." Avery said.
Snape twitched at that, but he held his tongue watching the wheels in the group's head slowly creaking like rusted grandfather clocks. At least Avery was somewhat of an intellectual equal; otherwise, Snape didn't know how he would have lasted six years with this group of cretins.
"So, we do her like we done the others." Mulciber spoke up, and Avery sneered cruelly in response.
"Lily Evans won't be persuaded by some juvenile hex, and good luck getting close enough to even try." Snape said, his face betraying nothing as his heart raced within his chest.
"So, we make an example of her, a bigger scene, unless you've got a problem with that Snape." Avery said, waiting for any sign of weakness or hesitation, but Snape just rolled his eyes and went back to his book.
"You know where to find me when it's time." He said.
They needn't have bothered scheming because between the general distaste for the slug club, George, Snape, and Belby's anticipated attendance, and Alice deciding she was going to skip the meeting this time Lily had already decided that she didn't feel much like participating this month. She found herself alone in the library when a creaking sound alerted her that she was no longer alone.
"Remus?" She called out.
He had mentioned something about possibly meeting up with her, but the mystery assailant didn't reveal themselves. Lily grabbed hold of her wand, turning back to her book when the creaking sound met her ears again. On edge, Lily decided she could finish her essay in the Gryffindor common room, beginning to pack her bag when a familiar voice called out her name.
"Lily," She turned, wand at the ready, as her former best friend approached her with a nervous countenance.
"What do you want Severus?" She asked, lowering her wand at his rather pathetic look and continuing to gather her things.
"I want to talk to you about Slughorn's next meeting." He said, his carefully crafted occlumency useless against those emerald eyes.
"What about it?" Lily asked, immediately suspicious.
"I just don't think you should go is all." He said.
This was the wrong thing to say, evidently, because Lily's disinterest in the event was immediately reinvigorated given the prospect that she was not welcome.
"And why is that Severus?"
He tried to fish around for a suitable lie, but Lily was his weakness, always.
"Mulciber and Avery were talking about going after you, but if you say you're not gonna go…"
"I'm not going to cower before slime like Mulciber and Avery, Severus. You should know me better than that."
"Then do it for me. Please, Lily, I'm asking you, begging you, stay away."
"Why should I?" She asked.
He approached her and felt tears prick his eyes as she winced.
Quietly, he said, "As a favor to me, I would like you…"
"I owe you nothing Severus. I'll be at that party, even if your pathetic friends leg lock me and I have to jump the whole way."
She turned on her heel, leaving her former best friend helpless to stop what was coming for her.
The next morning, James Potter uncharacteristically still asleep, was woken by the enthusiastic screams of his best friend.
"Wake up Prongs!"
"Wha' happened?" He grunted, looking up blearily at the face of Sirius Black, shoving his glasses on to better see what was happening.
"It's your birthday, idiot, and we are going to have a proper celebration if it kills Moony."
Remus looked up at that, rubbing the sleep from his own eyes. Peter was still snoring softly in the corner, although his grunts were becoming steadily more awake as Sirius' loud voice pulled him out of his slumber.
"Sirius, I figured we would just do something quiet. We have classes tomorrow anyway." James said, glancing still worriedly at Peter. It had only been a few days, after all, and James didn't want to push him too far.
Sirius just scoffed. "Come on Prongs, it's the perfect time to test out our day party theory." He said.
"Padfoot, I thought we agreed Minny would not enjoy that." James replied, though there was a twinkle of mischief in his eye.
"Which is why we called it a theory, and all good theories need testing. Come on Prongs." Sirius said, putting on a little pout.
"Doesn't it seem a little unfair that all three of us get a big party and Moony doesn't get one?" James asked, but he smirked as he knew that Sirius would have been expecting this argument.
"That's the best part. A joint party is on the agenda today, so Moony put on your party pants and get ready." Sirius said, tossing a pair of trousers Remus' way.
Remus shook his head good-naturedly at Sirius but moved to the bathroom to get changed. Peter was awake now, yawning widely as he pulled himself from the comfort of his bed.
"What's all the racket about?"
"We're having a Sunday afternoon bash Wormtail, to celebrate our two best friends finally becoming men." He smirked at James who gave him a light shove.
"Last I checked I'm not the one who only needs to shave once a week." He teased, but Sirius brushed him off, scratching endearingly at the patchy bit of stubble he'd managed to grow so far.
"Yes, but as your elder, whatever I say goes. Now come on Wormy, we have some work to do." Sirius grabbed Peter by the arm before he could even change out of his pajamas, dragging him towards the common room.
"How many people did you invite to this thing Padfoot?" James called after him.
"Just a few." Sirius said turning around with a wide grin before moving downstairs, a nervous Peter in tow.
James waited for Remus to finish in the shower; he was a little tired with another full moon rapidly approaching, but it hadn't become bad enough yet that he couldn't enjoy the day. When James got out of the shower the Potter family owl, Ash, was outside pecking on Gryffindor tower's window.
James let the familiar bird in, stroking its feathers as he untied the package from his leg. Ash twittered at him affectionately before taking off, and James opened the gift, smiling at the watch nearly identical to Sirius', although his had a JP engraved into the front. A note from his mother and father accompanied it.
James,
Seventeen years old. Wow. We are both so proud of the man you are steadily becoming. We can't wait to see you grow and flourish beyond Hogwarts, but you've still got one more year to take in as much knowledge as you can. Make it count. You are going to accomplish such great things. Happy birthday son. We love you.
Mom and Dad.
James wiped what was totally not a tear from his eye and made his way downstairs where a number of Gryffindor house members were setting up banners and streamers and various other party decorations.
"It's 8 in the morning." James said, "What's got everyone so chipper?"
"Lily whipped up a pepperup potion." Susan answered as she used her wand to raise some balloons into the air.
James looked over to see Lily among the early rising party-goers aiming to set up before the main guests began to arrive.
"Evans?" James said, approaching her with a raised eyebrow.
"It's a joint party if you recall. I'm doing it for Remus. He didn't get a proper celebration, and you guys did so much for me and Marlene, I just wanted to return the favor."
"Alright. How can I help?"
Lily shrugged, handing James a roll of spellotape as she hung up the p in happy, taking little pieces of tape from James as she went along. Finally, the sign was complete, and James couldn't help but regard Lily with a curious expression.
"Why didn't you just hang it up with magic?" He asked.
Lily paused, and James was confused by the look on her face. She almost looked nervous, an emotion he was not used to seeing from the unflappable Lily Evans.
"Sometimes I like doing things the more traditional way you know? It's just, more rewarding or something."
James looked at her sheepish expression and couldn't help but smile.
"That makes sense. You were a muggle for eleven years, after all." He said, handing her the tape, and moving over to Sirius who had called his name.
He didn't notice Lily's mixed expression at the term, nor did he see that she had walked out of the common room until he turned back and saw her familiar form missing from the decorators. James shrugged it off, figuring she ran to the bathroom or something, and turned to Sirius who was waiting impatiently.
"Yeah, what is it Pads?"
"I need you to go down to the kitchens. Roxie has a lot of stuff prepared, but I need you to pick up the order so to speak."
James nodded. "You got it." He checked his watch. "I should have time to grab a bite to eat before practice too."
"Come on Prongs it's your birthday. You can't be serious."
"Of course not, that's you."
"Prongs," Sirius protested, shooting James an apprehensive look.
"I'm not going to lose the house cup because my team wasn't prepared Padfoot." James replied. "Practice is on. We'll come to the party after."
"Yeah whatever." Sirius said turning back to Marlene who was shooting him an impatient glare.
James left through the portrait hole, heading downstairs, when he heard clumsy feet chasing after him.
"Prongs, can I go with you?"
He saw Peter following behind him and nodded.
"Yeah, whatever." He said. "Padfoot getting under your skin?" He asked, noticing that Peter was still in his pajamas.
"Yeah, I couldn't even change."
"Here," with a wave of his wand Peter's pajamas were replaced with his robes from upstairs.
"Thanks Prongs," Peter muttered.
They walked the rest of the way in silence, Peter fidgeting and cracking his knuckles, while James' mind was elsewhere. He had never put much stock into his birthday. It was just another day of the year, as far as he was concerned, and although he was excited to get his apparition license and be able to use magic outside of school, he had much bigger concerns on his mind. The upcoming quidditch match, for one; he felt a lot of pressure as captain to get his team up to scratch.
Lily, for her part, had far greater concerns than quidditch. Marlene would tell her it wasn't wise to go wandering the halls on her own, on a Sunday no less. The professors were largely absent, returning home to be with their families or, for those who called the castle their home, spending some well-earned free time in their respective quarters. However, Lily refused to hide herself away like a coward because of a blood status that was beyond her control. She thought of her parents, all she had endured in this past year, and she welcomed the threat that Snape had presented. Let them try to hex her, curse her, use dark magic to turn her into a toad like the old cliché. She would fight back with everything she had, and she would never back down.
At that moment, Lily slammed into someone rushing through the corridors, and she let out a pathetic sounding yipe, falling on her butt as she cursed herself for the ridiculous noise. She leapt to her feet and drew her wand in an instant, shocked by the sight of a terrified first year Hufflepuff looking up at her with wide eyes.
"I'm sorry," Lily said, shoving her wand into the pocket within her robes. "Here, let me help you."
She bent down to gather up the papers that had flown from the younger student's hands. From her knees, Lily spoke up:
"What's got you in such a hurry?"
"Some older boys told me to leave the library." The girl said in a meek tone.
Lily scrunched up the last paper, a parchment covered in meticulously taken transfiguration notes.
"I'm sorry," Lily choked out, smoothing the paper best she could before handing it back.
The spooked child didn't say another word, continuing on her terrified sprint back towards the kitchens and so the Hufflepuff common room.
Lily didn't hesitate; she walked towards the source of the danger, the library.
Peter and James arrived at the great hall first where they scarfed down some breakfast, stopping at the kitchens on the way back to the common room.
"Happy birthday Mr. Potter. Please wish Mr. Lupin a happy birthday from us as well." Roxie said, James smiling at the little elf affectionately. They had grown close with the elves in the kitchens over so many years sneaking down there to nick food and he was blown away when he saw the spread they had prepared for his and Remus' birthdays. There were the usual pastries and other sweets, a large number of chocolate frogs and other wizarding candies, and a three-tiered birthday cake with their names written on top in clumsy script. But James' eyes went wide at the full turkey the elves had roasted for them, along with a charcuterie board, various chips and homemade dips, and a row of sandwiches stacked three levels high like the cake, all cut in the shape of quaffles and snitches.
"Wow, you guys have really outdone yourselves." James said, the elves in the kitchens beaming with pride as he and Peter muttered wingardium leviosa carrying the food up to Gryffindor tower, two curious Hufflepuff girls catching sight of them as they walked past their common room.
"Big party?" One of the students, a beautiful fifth-year with sleek black hair and a olive-skinned complexion, asked. James believed her name was Mia.
"What else?" James replied, smacking Peter upside the head as he got distracted by the girl, the tiered cake teetering dangerously in midair. "We'll see you there then?" He said, the girls giggling as he and Peter made their way up to the common room, James taking over the cake as Peter nearly bungled the spell again, tripping over his own two feet and losing a couple of sandwiches along the way.
They moved the food into the common room to great cheers and James basked in the glory of it all, his pride nearly getting the better of him as he considered the prospect of cancelling practice to engage in revelry with his admirers. But he had a duty to his house, and so when Sirius conjured a table out of thin air James simply set the food on top, reluctantly moving upstairs while the party began. He tossed an apple at Remus, who was dressed but lying in bed. He caught it without looking up, a cold washcloth draped over his eyes.
"Not joining the party Moony?" James asked, concern lacing his voice.
"I'll be down in a bit. You've got practice anyway, figure the two of us can arrive fashionably late."
James smiled, looking Remus up and down, concerned about his pallor and sickly countenance.
"Have some of that apple and if you show up before me, I won't be too bothered alright?"
"Alright," Remus said, his brow still furrowed in pain as he prepared to attend a party despite his impending transformation.
James quickly threw his quidditch robes on, collecting the rest of the team from the common room who reluctantly abandoned the festivities to follow their captain.
"Come on Potter we can take one day off." Marlene's younger brother William whined, glancing back up the stairs where his friends were all celebrating without the two boys for whom the party was being thrown.
"McKinnon, if you'd rather be partying feel free; I've got plenty of first years who would love the opportunity to be lead beater."
William had a sour look on his face for the rest of the walk, the group arriving at the pitch and taking off one by one. James remained on the ground, eyes on the sky.
The sun was high, and there weren't any clouds, which would allow for a slight glare. Still, it was near perfect quidditch conditions, and James' grin grew fit to bursting as he kicked off, the rush of wind tussling his already disastrous hair.
"Alright, let's try Red 45." James called out.
Lily stood outside the entrance to the library, an ugly chortle letting her know exactly who had scared off the child she had slammed into in her flight from the library. Snape's warning whispered in the back of her mind, but she tuned him out. She stormed through the library doors, finding Mulciber and Avery standing together by the restricted section, chuckling at the little girl's misfortune.
"Little bitch didn't even try to fight back." Mulciber said.
"Good on her, at least some of them know their place." Avery replied venomously.
"Not all of us." Lily made herself known, not flinching at the leers of the two boys like lions catching sight of a particularly juicy gazelle.
"Evans, just the mudblood I've been looking for." Avery said, taking a threatening step towards her.
"Careful Avery, Madame Pince is right in her office. One scream from me and you're finished at Hogwarts." Lily said, although she had just arrived and had no idea where Madame Pince spent her weekends.
"Well then let's take care of that." Avery said, not willing to test her bluff. He pulled out his wand and threw a nonverbal spell Lily's way, but she was quicker.
She blocked the Silencio with a shield charm, striking at Mulciber before his dull brain could even pull out his own wand.
"Stupefy," he was prone on the ground and suddenly the fight was one-on-one.
Avery didn't look scared though; in fact, he looked practically delighted.
"Now you're talking." The boy said with a crooked grin.
A flurry of hexes and curses left both of their wands, Avery's actually drawing blood above Lily's left eye. She recognized the whispered spell from nearly a year before, thinking about the blood that Snape drew from James Potter that day. Full of fury and pain, Lily lost focus, Avery shielding himself easily from her stunning spells and a well-aimed furnunculus curse, which would have caused painful boils to erupt all over his stupid face.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Avery shouted, Lily feeling her entire body go rigid, cracking her head hard against the marble library floor as the taller boy approached.
"You shouldn't have fought back." He said, kneeling down besides Lily's frozen form.
She was helpless, completely at Avery's mercy, and she was not above admitting that she was terrified.
"Mr. Avery, what have you done to my library?" Madame Pince, who had not in fact been in her office but out for lunch in Hogsmeade while the duel took place, returned just in time to find splintered wooden shelves, a toppled marble bust, and her books scattered in various states of disrepair across the library floor. At the center of it all was Avery, kneeling beside a seemingly unconscious and bleeding Lily Evans.
"There won't always be a professor around to save you, Hogwarts or no." He whispered to her as Pince approached the scene. "Spread the word for us, that meeting Thursday is a mudblood-free zone." He spat on Lily's prone face just before Madame Pince pulled him away by the ear, catching sight of Mulciber reviving from Lily's stunning spell and dragging him along as well. She sat them at one of the tables mere feet from Lily as she was forced to watch, paralyzed.
"You two will sit here and wait for the headmaster. This is beyond anything I've ever seen, disgusting behavior. If I have my way, the both of you will be expelled."
As if waking from a fury-induced dream, Madame Pince remembered the victim of the two boys, still lying on the floor of the library. Although Pince had a reputation for being a hard-lined woman, she didn't hesitate to run to Lily's prone form and gently release her from her petrified state. Lily was mortified when a single sob escaped her almost against her will, Mulciber and Avery snickering at her from their seats, for which Madame Pince shushed them loudly. She then muttered a healing incantation, creating a passable stitch for Lily's cut although the skin was still pink with scar tissue and her head still pounded from where she'd slammed it against the floor.
"Are you alright, dear?" Pince spoke in the softest tone Lily had ever heard from her, as she wiped any remaining tears, along with Avery's spit, from Lily's cheeks.
"I'm alright, professor." She said, standing up and rushing to the library door, ignoring Madame Pince's shouted protests that she needed to go to the hospital wing.
Lily didn't cry, save that one overwhelmed sob following her depetrification. She had been humiliated, yes, and being at Avery's mercy for even a moment had been beyond terrifying, but Lily knew that she had been through more difficult times than being spit on by a narrow-minded bastard. Losing her parents was still the worst thing that had ever happened to her, and that fresh wound kept her moving forward without tears as she climbed the stairs towards Gryffindor Tower. Surprisingly, Professor McGonagall was standing just outside the portrait of the Fat Lady, and, knowing what awaited her within, Lily found herself covering for her classmates calling out in a voice not her own:
"Professor!" It was cheery and relaxed, the opposite of Lily's internal state.
Parental loss or no, she was in no way in a good mood, but her voice would suggest otherwise. McGonagall turned towards the sound of the familiar voice.
"Miss Evans, I was just looking for you."
How could she have heard so soon? Play it cool Evans.
"I was at the library." She winced, but why lie now?
"I should have known. No rest for our best and brightest after all, come with me I need to speak with you about something quite urgent."
"Can't it wait until tomorrow, Professor?" Lily asked, eyes not willing to meet McGonagall's.
McGonagall was a sharp woman, and it didn't take occlumency to read the deepset hurt on Lily's face. As much as that joyous tone had reached her voice on the first try, Lily had never been good at hiding her emotions. Unfortunately, this couldn't wait.
"I'm afraid not, come along." McGonagall said, pulling Lily back down the long staircase and towards her office.
"I'm not in trouble, am I Professor?" Lily asked, nerves starting to build up over the duel despite how poorly she had fared.
"Not at all, Miss Evans. Why on Earth would you think that?"
"No reason." She said.
McGonagall shot her a concerned look at that, thinking to herself that she should really set aside a time to check in on the fragile girl, but for the moment she simply unlocked the door to her office and invited Lily in with a wave of her hand. Lily walked in, taking a seat in the chair set in front of McGonagall's desk, and the older woman followed suit, taking her own seat behind. She then reached into a drawer to grab something as Lily grew distant, eyes unfocused as she wondered if maybe her near brush with danger had affected her more than she initially thought.
"Biscuit?" McGonagall said, much to Lily's surprise.
She was holding out a tin of ginger snaps that Lily found herself graciously accepting, taking a bite and being reminded near instantly of the cheering cookies James Potter had once given her. However, this memory was not an entirely pleasant one, so she tried to focus on the matter at hand.
"What is this about, Professor?"
"Miss Evans, I wish I could say that I called you in here to check up on you, give you a biscuit and ask how the year has been, but unfortunately I have been asked to summon for a more important purpose."
"What do you need?" All business now, but Lily was an expert at putting others before herself, a trait that she would never guess she shared with one James Potter.
"It's not me. Professor Dumbledore has asked you and Mr. Potter to meet with him."
"Professor Dumbledore? Potter?" Lily took in both names simultaneously, trying to reconcile them.
She was convinced McGonagall was tricking her somehow because of her confrontation with Avery. Dumbledore was going to expel her, but why would he want her to bring Potter along? Unless, he wanted to assign Potter as some sort of protection detail. Could he do that? Force her to spend time with the most annoying boy in their year because he didn't think a poor little muggleborn could keep herself out of trouble?
"Miss Evans, I see your mind spinning as I speak. You are not in trouble. Dumbledore requires both yours and Mr. Potter's presence this evening, and the reason will be revealed to you in due time. Here's the password." McGonagall slid a thin slip of paper across her desk towards Lily who took it and put it in the pocket of her robes. "Please pass along the message to your fellow Gryffindor…"
McGonagall said, the implication clear that she did not wish to interact with James Potter on her day off, rightfully so. Lily couldn't say she wanted to interact with him either.
"And make sure he brings you both under that cloak of his."
"Yes Professor," Lily said, a bit surprised that McGonagall knew about that particular item and hadn't yet confiscated it.
She left McGonagall's office, deep in thought about the day's events. She hardly noticed her feet taking her onto the quidditch pitch until she was halfway there, her subconscious associating James Potter with the sport so thoroughly. She also knew when they practiced from Susan, and despite her concerns that they might have skipped for James' birthday celebration, the scarlet and gold players were flitting around above the stands as always on Sunday afternoon. She kept walking, trying to fill her brain with curiosity over Dumbledore's cryptic meeting rather than devastation and fear over Avery's vicious attack.
About an hour into their practice, James sped towards the goal post following a well-calculated pass from Olivia, but he threw wide, distracted by the shock of red hair now sitting in the stands. He landed roughly after running their first play, tussling his hair as he approached Lily, his broom over his shoulders. The rest of the team had stopped play to watch the drama unfold intently.
"Evans, what brings you onto the pitch this fine morning?" James asked, glancing nervously at his teammates, Susan whispering something to Jane, the two girls giggling as James shot them an irritated look.
"Dumbledore." Lily replied, without much pretense. James grew serious.
"What does he need?" He asked.
"He wanted me to ask you to meet with him tonight, and to bring me with you under your cloak. I don't know anything else."
James nodded, focused now only on Lily, and the secret meeting that Dumbledore was inviting them both to.
"Of course, we can sneak away from the party if it's still going on." He said, glancing at the mostly healed scar above Lily's eye. "What happened there?" He asked.
"You should see the other guy," Lily replied, but James frowned at that, trying to move closer.
Lily grimaced at that, and he backed off showing her his hands allowing his precious Nimbus to fall to the ground, a couple twigs breaking off the tail. But James only had eyes for Lily.
"Sorry, you just didn't have a cut all this week, so…"
"I'm alright, Potter. Thank you for caring, really." She said, her sincerity surprising her.
"Ok, let me know if you need anything, yeah?" He said and she found herself nodding yes to his offer, although she knew she would never take it.
James turned back to his team, Jane having landed behind him to see if they would continue.
"Well, I better get back. I guess I'll see you tonight." James said, mounting his broom and preparing for take-off before Lily grabbed his arm.
"Just a bit of advice, Jane is weak on her left hoop; that's how Susan scored so much on her. If I can notice it the other teams can, so maybe try and work on that?"
James watched as Lily sauntered off the pitch admiring her more than ever, before he kicked off and scored the next 6 goals on Jane's left, leading to an intense practice session ending with her saving near 50% up from 10. The group was pleasantly surprised at James' leadership skills, and he cursed himself knowing that now he owed Lily Evans for the tip.
The group returned to a horde of drunken Gryffindors, joining in the uproar immediately, Sirius feeding the birthday boys shot after shot, Remus' cheeks glowing red, an uncommon smile plastered across his face. Lily was sipping on a glass of firewhiskey, chatting with Alice and Mary, looking significantly more relaxed than when James had seen her earlier. He noticed the scar was gone, replaced by smooth skin probably from a visit to Madame Pomfrey. He still wondered how she'd gotten it, but James was no stranger to secrets and decided given Lily's assistance with the party he could respect her not revealing this particular mystery…for now.
James finally had to cut himself off from the liquor portion of the festivities, anticipating his meeting with Dumbledore later that evening, but that didn't stop him from joining in the games and general merrymaking. He laughed as the group hoisted himself and Remus on their shoulders singing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" with such enthusiasm, encouraged by Sirius, that McGonagall made her way into the common room, an unusual occurrence for the middle of the day.
"Detention for all of you and 70 points from Gryffindor! Honestly, not even trying to hide it and in the middle of the day!" She shouted, noting the bottles of empty firewhiskey and butterbeers littered throughout the common room, along with a handful of third years who had snuck in puking in a corner. Some of the older Gryffindors had managed to avoid the onslaught of detention slips that day, having sprinted upstairs at the sound of the portrait hole opening, but the majority of the 5th through 7th years received detention, including all 6 Gryffindor prefects. This was quite the record, and the Marauders prided themselves on it for the rest of their time at Hogwarts.
"I would have expected better from you Miss Evans and Mr. Lupin, drunken fools the lot of you," McGonagall kept up her rampage, Remus' unfocused eyes hardly taking in her words as Sirius tried to hide his laughter. "Take these students to the hospital wing, Miss Evans and Mr. Roberts." McGonagall said, pointing at the seventh year prefect who, like Lily, was not showing any overt signs of intoxication. The third years who had lost the contents of their stomach were guided swiftly to the hospital wing while McGonagall continued reaming out the group, James and Sirius finally faced with their discontent when she informed them that as the ringleaders they would be spending the next month scrubbing the bathrooms for Filch while their wands sat safely locked in her office. Finally, it seemed McGonagall had screamed herself hoarse, still muttering about "irresponsible hooligans" and "don't know what you were thinking" as she waved her wand, vanishing the remaining alcohol bottles, leaving the group in silence. The Gryffindors stayed still for a minute, letting everything sink in before they all began to laugh, still tipsy and caught off guard, filled with a giddiness that only rulebreaking can bring, finding themselves falling apart at the seams with the joy of a party well-done. They clapped James and Sirius on the back, the boys unable to feel any guilt for the joy that they created.
"I think our day party theory still needs a little work Pads." James said.
"I disagree; I think it went perfectly." Sirius said, grinning at the chaos of the Gryffindor common room still covered in food wrappers, streamers and ash from the fireworks the boys had set off earlier.
"Jury's still out." James replied.
"Anyway, happy birthday Prongs." Sirius said, handing him a neatly wrapped package which James ripped open curiously.
He smiled brightly as Sirius fidgeted, uncharacteristically nervous.
"Don't go soft on me now Padfoot." James said pulling Sirius into a hug, the enchanted photo album full of pictures of their adventures throughout their years together held tight in his hand.
There were moving pictures from pranks, parties, Quidditch matches, Christmas parties, and even an entire spread dedicated to pictures of the two boys in their Animagus forms, taken diligently by Peter. James squeezed Sirius tightly before pulling back, smiling at the boy who had become his brother. Sirius shrugged it off, flipping hair out of his eyes, before catching Marlene's eye across the room and moving to join her. James chuckled, walking upstairs to sleep off the remaining alcohol's effects before meeting up with Lily that evening.
James caught Lily in the common room at 8 PM sharp. They exchanged awkward greetings before James gestured for Lily to proceed through the portrait hole. When they were sure they were alone in the hall James whipped out his cloak, draping it over the two of them as they moved slowly and silently across the castle, only the sound of their breathing and shuffling of feet breaking the quiet.
"I am sorry for the whole detention thing." James said, as they moved through a particularly tight corridor to try to break up the awkwardness. Lily looked at James with mild surprise at the apology, but she shrugged indifferently.
"We all knew what we were getting into, and you and Sirius got the worst of it. Besides, it was fun." She said, smiling wryly up at him. She would never admit that she had welcomed the distraction-along with the alcohol-after the day she'd had.
James nodded, grinning as well, nearly tripping when Lily came to an abrupt stop in front of the gargoyle that opened to reveal Dumbledore's office.
"Chocolate Frogs" Lily said, the statue moving back to reveal a staircase which led upstairs to Dumbledore's office.
They ascended the staircase together, walking through the headmaster's open door after only a slight pause. The teenagers approached the intimidating form of their older Headmaster who donned a set of deep purple robes for the occasion. As if sensing the tension, Dumbledore leaned back in his chair in a relaxed position, glancing at Lily with what looked like great sadness. However, the second she caught sight of it, it was replaced by the professor's regular impassive mask, and she couldn't help but wonder if she had imagined the depth of the emotion he impressed upon her.
She was sure she had misinterpreted it when the man said, cheekily as ever, "Mr. Potter, I heard you had quite the birthday celebration."
James felt his face turn crimson at the knowing look in the Headmaster's eye, and he gulped fumbling over himself as he tried to conjure up an explanation.
"Well, you see Professor, I was…"
Dumbledore put up a hand.
"As I understand, Professor McGonagall has adequately handled your discipline. I hope that this time you might learn a lesson on overindulgence?" James nodded, smiling sheepishly at the familiar twinkle in the headmaster's eye. "On to business, I understand you are both staying for the Easter holidays."
"Yes sir," Lily replied, James glancing at her before nodding as well.
That sadness revealed itself once more, but Lily ignored it. She didn't want pity. Whatever Dumbledore needed her for, she was up to the task, despite the tragedy of recent events and the difficulties she had faced this afternoon.
"I have a task for the two of you, similar to one Mr. Potter performed for me last term."
James recalled the mysterious letter that he had hand-delivered to Professor McGonagall under Dumbledore's instruction.
"Professor, what exactly did James do for you…"
"Never mind that, Miss Evans. This new task, much like the first, is not a dangerous one nor is it difficult, but it is no less important."
Dumbledore looked at the both of them over the tips of his long fingers, his piercing blue eyes seeming to gaze into James' very soul. His silvery beard glittered in the candlelight, and on anyone else it might have looked menacing, but this was Dumbledore and James trusted him.
"Whatever it is I'll do it." Dumbledore's smile quirked up at James' response. "Sir," He added on rather hastily.
"Yeah, me as well, whatever you need Professor," Lily answered, trying to gauge what exactly it was they would be up against by the look on James' face. He was determined and…stoic. To bring James Potter down from mischief to a serious state of mind took something drastic, and when Lily met Dumbledore's gaze for the second time he all but confirmed it with a solemn quirk of his eyebrow, as if to ask: are you ready for this? She nodded back, imperceptibly, and he spoke up again without missing a beat so that James wouldn't notice this unspoken interaction.
"Wonderful, I will give you both more details at the start of the holiday." Dumbledore said, eyes now focused permanently on James, overlooking Lily almost completely. She liked it better that way; it allowed her to consider Dumbledore's words without having to worry about schooling her true feelings. Lily wasn't a fool. A task like this, assigned under cover of darkness to a prefect and a well-connected pureblood had to have something to do with the man whose name no wizard dared speak. Everyone knew Dumbledore had been working tirelessly to build up forces against him, assist the ministry where he could. She considered this as she stood, preparing to leave, looking at James expectantly when he remained seated. She read something in his expression, a question left unanswered, and perhaps a fear of judgement from his long-time crush listening in.
"I'll wait outside," Lily said, leaving James alone with the Headmaster for the first time…in all his years as far as he could remember.
"What is it Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore said in that way that suggested he already knew the answer.
"Sir can I ask you something?" James said, realizing afterward that the question was rather redundant.
As if reading his mind again, Dumbledore said, "I figured that is why you remained behind. What is it you'd like to know?"
"It's just," James paused, picking at his fingernails, while trying to come up with an explanation that didn't sound rude. "I know I'm not bad in school, but with everything that happened today-"
"You were wondering why I picked you?" Dumbledore said, mind-reading again.
"Pretty much." James said, almost relieved that he didn't have to spell it out to the old man. "Remus would be excellent for this sort of thing, sir, and he's prefect and everything."
"Mr. Lupin is not who I need for this particular mission." Dumbledore replied. "And as for why I picked you I think you know that you are talented, well situated, and not lacking in courage."
James felt his ego inflate under the praise of a man considered to be the greatest wizard of all time.
"But no, you are not the best man for this job."
And just like that his ego was popped like a cheap, party balloon.
"Why then have I picked you?" Dumbledore asked.
James blinked back at him blankly, not having the faintest idea anymore why Albus Dumbledore would have possibly selected him if he truly wasn't the best option.
"I see a great potential in you James Potter that I think can be fostered and grown." Dumbledore said, James catching on immediately to his meaning.
"So, this is like a test then?" He said, and Dumbledore wore a look of great discomfort, but he soldiered on.
"I don't intend to lie to you Mr. Potter. I am concerned, given your history, that you don't exactly play well with others. I have paired you with Miss Evans in the hopes that I might be wrong. It has been known to happen."
James found that very hard to believe, but he wasn't about to prove himself as the idiot who disappointed Albus Dumbledore.
"I won't let you down sir." He replied, all his Gryffindor bravado showing in that one statement, chest puffed out with pride.
"I should hope not." Dumbledore responded, that same twinkle in his eye. "Now, I believe Miss Evans is waiting for you so that she might get some sleep after today's merriment."
James blushed again at that, taking the dismissal, and heading out after Lily who was leaning against the wall at the bottom of the staircase. The gargoyle closed the office's passageway behind them as James joined Lily against the wall.
"What was all that about?" Lily asked, James approaching her and draping his cloak over the two of them again.
"Nothing," James said.
He then fell into the confines of his mind, and Lily shrugged, content to be alone with her own thoughts. This latest development with Dumbledore had put things in perspective; she would still walk tall regardless of any danger Mulciber or Avery posed, but times were far too dire to allow something as silly as her stubborn pride to color her decision-making. She wouldn't attend the meeting this week, not because Snape asked her not to, but because it represented something she could no longer be a part of. Remus might think she was overreacting, putting too much weight behind a silly club, but James Potter's words from months before echoed in her mind: "bottomfeeders, the lot of them, just trying to scrape their way to the top by making stupid connections". The remaining members of the Slug Club were far worse than bottomfeeders; they were the lowest of the low, evil vermin who had driven away anyone worthwhile just looking for the opportunity to further their education. Lily was determined to make a change come next year, work towards more muggleborn participation, but change took time and she had more important things to focus on at the moment: a mission with James Potter chief among them.
For his part, James was thinking about what Dumbledore had said, implying that he didn't quite have faith in him. He understood it; James Potter had never been one to inspire the faith of an authority figure, but for the first time in his life he wanted to prove that he wasn't just a troublemaker. He wanted to be someone better because he had a feeling in his chest that what Dumbledore had them doing was more than just passing notes. This was something important, or else Dumbledore wouldn't have requested it, and James did not intend to let Dumbledore down.