academic curiosity

The three women began their strange progression at the family car and ended it at the solid-looking brick wall that for wizards and witches, led to the Platform 9 & 1/3. They didn´t notice it of course but they had caught the interest of and were observed by at least a handful of men, the most important of these a young man who was standing by a muggle coffee vendor just outside the station.

The three women didn´t see him, but the vendor eyed the young man suspiciously. He had paid for a coffee earlier and as he had fished around his pocket for payment, the vendor had caught sight of several large, bizarre golden coins. Then when the young man had finally found money, he had stared at it with a bemused grin as if he didn´t know quite what to make of it. The vendor had at the point assumed that he was a foreigner, but then the young man spoke, in a perfectly domestic Northern dialect. The vendor became distracted with several surly children and the young man stood by and kept quiet.

"Be safe, please," the oldest of the three ladies said in a almost pleading voice. She was speaking to the shortest of the trio. This one was pretty and her figure put the young man in mind of an old-fashioned pinup girl.

The young man knew the girl with the figure, he had it memorized practically. He watched the older woman with a good deal of interest as she turned and then spoke to the other of the trio, a very skinny muggle girl who looked quite put out. "Petunia... Aren´t you going to come and say a proper farewell?"

The skinny muggle´s angry expression was familiar to the young man, but that´s where the familiarity ended. It was the mother that offered the best family resemblance.

"Don´t make me gag, mum," the pinup said dryly, turning and revealing her face to the young man as she trudged forward, carting a trunk and a cage containing one owl. "And I promise, anyone who tries to mess with me is going to get blasted in the ass." She said this, patting a pocket of her coat.

The young man had to go in the station soon himself, but he hardly realized that he was following them quite stealthily, so not to interrupt them.

"Watch your mouth!" the mother admonished harshly. "You sound like one of those god awful men that hang about your father´s shop all day!" The woman shuddered and added, "I don´t wonder why that nice boy never came back..."

At this the skinny muggle laughed happily.

Lily turned slowly and retorted, "Venkmen left the country to study wand trees. A very fascinating pursuit."

The young man saw that she rolled her eyes. He smiled.

"I think it sounded lovely," her mother argued as Lily stood back to start her running dash through the brick wall that led to the platform for the Hogwarts Express.

"There are better things to be doing these days!" Lily replied angrily and almost started her run into the wall. But then she fumbled, dropped her hold on her cart and hugged on to her mother.

"I love you, mum." The young man couldn´t hear her say it, but saw her mouth form the words softly.

Then she turned and went through, the owl in the cage hooting.

The mother watched the wall for a while, blinking at it and causing a few, in the young man´s opinion, stupid, muggles to glare at her deviation from normalcy.

The young man was watching, enchanted (already deciding she was the source of magical blood) when the lady caught his eye and offered him a polite smile. He was too startled to smile back before she turned away, leading the disgruntled sister, Petunia, back into the car park.

Besides the one cage containing one Little Owl called Asta, Lily was carting a trunk filled with robes, spell books, potion bottles, a small glass box filled with a taxidermic glumbumble, a cauldron and various other items of importance to her. On top of the cage perched several folded newspapers and one high liter pen marking a page where she had left off reviewing the wizard´s war. A job she planned on returning to as soon as she escaped the Prefect´s carriage. She would of course also have to make sure she stayed out of Slughorn´s sights or else he´d make her sit in his carriage the whole trip listening to the boring lives of rich students who had equally boring relatives who blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blahed.

The semi-frantic hub bub on the platform would have been funny if she had remembered to have coffee that morning, but all she could do was squint around as the entire Longbottom clan made a ridiculous, over-sentimental show of sending off Frank, as if he was going into the war instead of the protection of Dumbledore´s Hogwarts.

Just beyond, through a couple scenes of family chaos belonging to students she didn´t know, Lily could make out the sight of Alia Bashir refusing a long slender package that a nice-looking older man with Alia´s dark features was trying to press on her. Soon grandparent-looking people were yelling at her about it and the argument was only settled after a platform attendant passed by looking at them and the slender package suspiciously.

"Flying carpet," Alia informed Lily as they both hauled their trunks through the crowded corridor of the train two minutes later.

"You didn´t take it?" Lily asked, amazed.

"Don´t be silly, they´re illegal, haven´t you heard? They´d have thrown me in Azkaban and with my luck I´d have had Ada as a bloody cell mate!"

Lily laughed before it sunk in. "Wait... Ada´s in prison?"

"You haven´t HEARD?!" Alia repeated, in shock. "She had a trial with two other wizards and they were all found guilty. She beat the murder charge though. She´s in for two years, for the crime of collusion and plotting against the Ministry or some rubbish like that... You honestly hadn´t heard?"

"I thought she might have been cleared... The Prophet said nothing about it!" Lily sighed, thinking of the likelihood of anyone surviving through two years in Azkaban with the Dementors.

"Well, her father was making a big scene outside the Ministry, with good reason if you ask me. Sending an underage witch to prison!" Alia growled. Lily smiled weakly at this observation. "They had to erase the memories of no less than twenty-seven muggles after Mr. Mac Fusty´s performance! Maybe to save face the Ministry prevented it from being printed..."

"What did he do?" Lily asked in quiet wonder. She was too confused to address the issue of Ada Mac Fusty being locked away in Azkaban. Her Ada Mac Fusty!

"I´m not sure, my cousin at the Ministry didn´t tell me that part. I was given the impression that it involved bad language, bellowing, fist shaking and a bit of nudity. The apple doesn´t fall far from the tree does it?"

"It certainly doesn´t," Lily replied as they looked into a empty, tranquil cabin room.

As Alia nudged the door open with her hip, a few boys in their year passed looking at them without misgiving.

"All right Evans... Alia," James Potter greeted Lily and his Beater.

"James," Alia murmured with a smile.

They stuffed their things in one corner and Alia was unusually quiet for a few minutes before finally Lily, in deep suspicion, asked her what was the matter.

"Oh, nothing," Alia sighed wistfully.

"I have to go to the prefect carriage, I´m late-" Lily began and sure enough Alia jumped up to hold her back.

"Don´t you think James looked rather more handsome than usual just now... Or was it just me?"

Lily snorted. "Is this a trick or something?"

"I don´t remember him being so tall last term... And his hair was neater then it used to be! And he-"

"Looks very pretty, yes, yes," Lily interrupted. "What of it, are you leaving off Sirius Black now?"

"Course not!" Alia snapped. "What are you, mad? Is there a law against wanting more than one boy?"

"At one time, there should be!" Lily laughed. "It would save people a lot of problems."

"You´re jealous?!" Alia cried.

"Of what? Your ability to be in love with half the school?!"

"No, I mean about James," Alia replied with a smile.

Lily did not like the way Alia was saying Potter´s name. She paused at the door. "I´m not following you."

"Well, if you fancied him too, you´d be unlikely to be able to compete with me..."

"AH, THANKS!" Lily cried angrily, hands on her hips.

"Well," Alia continued, "Don´t take it personally!I just meant that I´m on the Quidditch team with him and all. And everyone knows how Quidditch is his runaway favorite thing ever. He´s always approved me every year without tryouts..."

Lily debated whether to inform her that Potter had himself said that Alia was a bigger hinder to him than help when it came to Quidditch, but she decided against it quickly.

"You should eat something," Lily suggested with a grin. "I think you´re blood sugar is low or something. Next you´ll be telling me that we have to compete for Severus Snape!"

"So then you won´t get in the way?" Alia asked in a hopeful voice.

A bit flattered, Lily didn´t answer, but stuck out her tongue and left.

******

"How many O grades did YOU get?" Frank Longbottom was asking everyone imperiously.

The Start of Term Feast was underway and as usual, Dumbledore had not made any speech before the appearance of the food.

"Can some one shut him up?" Debra hissed to Lily and Alice Milton. "He won´t be bloody satisfied until at least half the school knows he got top scores in all his subjects!"

"ALL of them?" Alice inquired while Lily wondered what Longbottom had done to put Debra off him. Last she remembered the two of them had had a bit of a romance, or at least the pretense of one out of boredom.

"Not Transfiguration," said Sirius, cutting in to the girl´s conversation. "Didn´t you see how that desk up and ran out of the room in the middle of the practical exam?"

"That was Frank?" Lily sighed happily.

Longbottom, who could hear them clearly, glowered. "For your information I got a `E´ in Transfig!" he bellowed, puffing out his chest and turning to share his plans of becoming a Auror with a group of Gryffindors.

Lily ate her treacle tart with a smile. Along with Sirius, his three mates Peter, Remus and Potter were sitting opposite and just a few people down from herself. Alia was unusually silent, obviously forming a game plan of some sort. Silence in a person like Alia Bashir, Lily found, was slightly unnerving at these times.

"James, what classes are you dropping this year?" Alia suddenly asked.

Uh, oh, Lily thought.

"Only Care of Magical Creatures," he answered between bites.

"Not Muggle Studies too?" she continued.

Lily took a big bite and stared at the conversation Debra and Alice were now having next to her about Longbottom.

She heard Potter´s reply. "No, that´s my favorite subject."

Alia took a moment to ruminate and then replied, "I always figured your favorite subject would be Transfiguration or something... You are the top of our class in it."

Lily, unable to resist the temptation turned back to them.

Potter looked up at Alia. "Top four."

"Beg pardon?" she asked.

"Top four," Potter repeated. "I´m only one of the top four."

"Still, that´s quite impressive..." Alia seemed to feel that she was losing him with talk of academics. She changed tact. "So are you going to let me back on the team this year?"

"Why wouldn´t I?" Potter replied with a look of surprise. "After you bloodied that wretched Diggory´s face in the last match. That was so beautiful," he stated serenely.

Alia, glowing now, was opening her mouth to reply but Potter started talking to Remus beside him. "Look at that one," he hissed, pointing discreetly.

Lily turned and saw that a sweet-faced, pudgy little boy, a newly inducted first year, was trundling past them.

"He´s shocking..." Potter told Remus. "They should put that face on canisters of chocolate. Were we ever so angelic looking?"

"You always rather recalled the diabolic," Remus said chuckling.

"Lily, what classes are you taking this year?" Alia suddenly asked her, with a sheepish, imploring smile.

"I´m not sure..." she mumbled. "I never got my OWL results in, so-"

"What?!" Remus asked loudly.

Lily started and repeated. "I´m just hoping it wasn´t a hint or anything... You know... We aren´t bothering to send your scores and don´t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out type of thing," she muttered.

"Well, it´s a huge mistake, clearly!" Sirius said with a hint of his upper class indignation. "I would have been banging on McGonagall´s door first thing demanding explanation if it were me!"

"Yeah but you´d be banging on her door any now," Peter murmured with laughter, as Potter started jabbing at Sirius.

"It´s that big pointed hat," Remus sniggered into his plate of goulash.

"Ignore them," Sirius insisted, staring at Lily. "I´m sure the owl just got sidetracked or something. Half of the owls coming in at Grimmauld were detained or lost this summer. It´s not that uncommon lately..."

"Really?" Lily asked. "What´s Grimmauld?"

"That´s where Padfoot lived," Peter informed with the air of authority that the kind of people who rarely get to be sure of any bit of information have.

"The Ministry actually snatched most of the Owls..." Sirius said with what Lily was surprised to see was a bit of pride. "My family are dark arts lovers. Big into... Into HIM and the Death Eaters. The Minister herself is after my mum for `Bothersome Comments Said During Important Meetings´ AND `Attempted Strangulation of Ministry Official´!"

"Don´t forget `Causing Bad Relations with Foreign Ministers´," Potter added and all four boys laughed.

Lily wondered at it.

"But doesn´t it upset you? It would me..."

"I don´t live with them anymore," Sirius confided, looking sideways at Potter. "And you know personally what I´ve got to deal with in just my cousins alone!" he said with a rueful smile at Lily. "Or have your forgotten dear old Bellatrix, who ran right out to get branded into Lord Voldemort´s pure blood livestock!"

He said Voldemort´s name so quickly that it took him several seconds to realize he said it at all. He blinked as Lily felt Alia cringe against her and she saw that even Longbottom´s lot had heard and were staring in horror.

Potter stared at his friend with expression that Lily couldn´t decipher.

Lily tried to ease the tension. "No, I haven´t forgotten. Nor have I forgotten Narcissa... Didn´t she marry that huge, scary bloke... God, what was his name?"

"Lucius Malfoy!" Potter hissed, rubbing the side of his neck.

"Snivellus´ hero married to his sweetheart!" Sirius said snidely, but obviously enjoying that at least one person he didn´t like was suffering from the situation.

"Wait, what?" Lily cried. Alia too was leaning forward with the greatest interest.

"Snivellus," Remus imparted with distaste, "was in LOVE with Narcissa for years... But he was a few years too young and a few GAJILLION galleons too poor I think."

"And I´m sure that slimy mop on top his head didn´t help matters," Debra said with a giggle.

"And he hero-worshipped Malfoy," Potter explained, watching Lily spin a spoon on the table.

"Well, who wouldn´t?" Alia joked. "All that flowing blond hair and big blocky shoulders... Like the cover of a cheesy romance book."

"Yeah, those things are terrible," Potter agreed with a smile. Professor Tonks had covered cheap novels in their second quarter of Muggle Studies class last term.

They all fell silent for a moment.

"I like them," Lily said smiling at her spinning spoon. She had chosen the spoon in case it spun out. How ever much Longbottom got on her nerves she didn´t want to impale him with her fork tonight.

"I like Native-American themed romance novels," she continued, trying to appear earnest as possible.

"Like Sitting Bull?" Debra giggled wildly.

"Geronimo!" Alia cried in delight, confusing a good deal of people who couldn´t help but overhear her. "With huge muscles! And a loin cloth!"

"Oh yeah, give me some of THAT," Lily replied and they all laughed. "No, I don´t think I´m woman enough for that, sorry."

Potter reached over and stopped the spoon´s spinning with his finger. "It´s making me woozy," he explained.

"You should see him on a ferris wheel," Sirius added. "Or rather, you should see the people in the seats below us..."

Peter mimicked someone gagging, in case the girl´s didn´t understand his meaning.

"Ew," Debra protested. "People are trying to eat here," she sniffed, but she smiled at Black to soften it.

Lily regarded Sirius for a moment. There was something sort of distracted and self-involved about him that prevented him from aware that he had the hearts of easily a quarter of the sixth year class.

While the others fought over the last apple tart, Lily kept glancing over at the staff table trying to discern whether any of the teachers were looking at her strangely. She had always been a fair hand at most the lessons, but what if something went hideously wrong? What if she had gotten overconfident and failed everything?

She made eye contact with Professor Slughorn and he waved merrily at her.

"You going to carry on with Potions?" Alia asked her.

"Yes, hopefully. If I´m sure about any part of the exams, it´s that I did well on Potions..."

******

And it was in NEWTS Potions where Lily was stationed in front of her new cauldron the following morning.

Only ten others were in the class with her, a shocking thing in her opinion but Slughorn seemed to have expected the turnout.

Most of the people who kept the class were from Slughorn´s house. Severus Snape, Osman Shodwick, Flavia Ire and Nicholas Madley sat together at the table in the corner.

The lone Slytherin apart was Eddie Carmichael, who of course upon seeing Lily sat across from her and promised to share a sample of the new mushroom he had grown out of a lovage mixture.

"A highly psychedelic experience," he promised ecstatically.

"Hasn´t anyone told you yet that the sixties have ended?" Lily sighed, not bothering to mention the fact that lovage causes impetuous behavior.

"But organized crime is always in style," Bernie replied and squinted at Eddie until he was handed something under the table.

"How did I end up at the table with you people?" Lily demanded, staring at the table in the middle where Frank Longbottom (the future Auror of England) was holding court with Dawn Hirsute and Betty Shacklebolt.

Part way through the first lesson (on love potion!) a tall, good looking boy entered the class with every appearance as if he owned it and handed Slughorn a rolled up bit of parchment tied with a ribbon.

"From the Professor McGonagall," he stated with a bored tone.

"That´s Sirius´ younger brother ain´t it?" Bernie asked Carmichael quietly. His eyes were narrowed on the back of the boy´s head.

"Yeh, think it is," Eddie affirmed with vague interest. "He´s a bit of a prig though... Not like good ol´ Sirius. Regulus is straight as an arrow. Sirius told me his bro´s a bit of a mama´s boy."

By this time Regulus had turned away from Slughorn and passed their table to exit. Lily looked up and saw the fourth year was just looking away from them. He was the picture of Sirius when he was in fourth himself, but that he was a inch or two shorter and his hair was kept back from his face.

As he swept passed, Lily saw a bit of white flash from his hand and slide across the table in her direction.

It wasn´t until after he was long gone and Slughorn had began explaining in a entertaining manner how and why the one potion Snape couldn´t perform was a love potion, that Lily registered that Regulus had slipped her a message of some kind.

"Is that for you?" Bernie asked, still with his eyes narrowed into slits.

"I dunno,"Lily prodded at it with her long wooden stir spoon.

"Can´t be for me," Eddie explained. "That little mite never wants anything to do with ordering my products."

"Maybe he´s had a change of heart?" Lily joked. "Fourteen is the perfect age to start recreational drug use. Just in time to stunt your growth!"

"Well, in that case I won´t take it personally," Eddie replied. "Open it," he added motioning to the folded parchment.

She hardly needed telling twice. She tossed aside her spoon and opened it under the table, much to the boys´ indignation.

"What´s it say then?" Eddie moaned impatiently.

"It isn´t a threat is it?" Bernie asked darkly. Bernie was used to the feeling of adversity at school, his father having been wrongly accused of the kidnapping of a foreign Minister last year. James Potter had made a great effort to make his life miserable, but later helped him in some way, Lily never knew how. It was that she had stepped up for him as well, that Bernie had taken to her.

Lily looked at him and recited the contents of the letter as Slughorn caught Flavia trying to cork a bottle of the love potion and hide it in her robes.

"I have something that will interest you. Meet me at Barnabas the Barmy at seven thirty. R.B."

Both boys snorted.

"I just bet he does, that little weasel!" Eddie bellowed, causing Slughorn to look over at them.

As he made his way over Bernie hissed to Lily, "You gotta go! Even if that little snake tries something you can take him-"

"Miss Evans! I´m hardly surprised to see that you´ve finished your love potion already... Ah!" He leaned into the cauldron and inhaled deeply. "The scent of a burning fire, candied pineapple and.... Well, yes. Perfect! That message was from McGonagall by the way. It contains a certain star pupil of mine´s OWL results..."

Lily was snatching at the scroll that appeared at his side immediately, screaming.

When she opened it her screams continued and instead of shooshing her as any other teacher would have done Slughorn beamed at the spectacle she made with pride. He had evidently already saw the scores.

"Two Outstandings!" she mouthed at Slughorn with delight.

"Yes, in Defense Against the Dark Arts, a most worthy subject and Potions of course! I had no doubt in my mind that you would do quite well, my dear. And surely this requires a celebration..."

The proposal of a party just for Lily´s exam grades caused a couple glares in the room (Snape and Frank Longbottom) and more than a couple raised eye brows (everyone else). Lily perceived it all but didn´t care whatsoever. This was the one of the rare times that she was indulged disgustingly and she intended to reap the benefits to their fullest extent.

"This weekend, I think!" Slughorn continued with a excited grin. "I have a few new students who you should be acquainted with and of course Madam Rosmerta´s finest mead will be in order."

Lily folded her results away with the message from Regulus Black and marched out of Potions to Transfiguration where she received absolutely no fanfare.

Their were quite a few more students here than in Potions, though Lily wondered at it. McGonagall was very strict about admittance into her class.

She found a seat and quickly accessed the situation. Potter´s group were all there, even Peter. Longbottom again and he was leaning over the table at Sirius and making a sour face. Lily hoped that he was relating the party Slughorn was throwing this weekend. Potter and Black were part of the Slug club only when the little rotund man was able to corner the two boys. Maybe they´d make an exception for Madam Rosmerta´s finest? Alia and a few of her other friends were there and a number of faces she hardly ever saw anywhere but corridors between classes.

Before McGonagall started class she shared the Regulus note with Alia and Nann Green.

"Oooh!" Nann let out immediately. "He´s quite handsome, even though he´s only a fourth year..." The three girls instinctively looked across the room at Sirius, possibly to pick out any semblance to the younger brother. But if they found any they didn´t share them.

"I think it might have something to do with information," Lily said, attempting to stamp out the romantic thread straight off. She certainly had no plans on considering a fourth year, a Slytherin such as himself or a noted dark arts fan.

"He´ll likely want something in return," Alia agreed with this, nodding.

"I wonder what it will be?!" Nann sighed.

"You can find out tonight if you want," Lily offered and then she told them where the rendezvous was to be held.

******

Lily arrived at the portarit of old Barmy early and kept a nonchalant lookout for Regulus Black. She had purposely came empty handed, ducking into her dorm after Herbology to drop off her bag.

As seven came and went she began to suspect that it was all some sort of trick when Regulus came strolling along looking more like Sirius than ever.

There were some certain dissimilarities and Lily was noting them as he approached and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Well?" she said, a bit miffed that this fourteen year-old had kept her waiting.

"You got my message," he said.

Lily simply looked at him.

"I want something you have!" he blurted.

Lily looked up at the ceiling for a moment and then back at him. "Surprise, surprise. A person who wants something," she replied with a faint smile. "Do you need help with something Regulus?" she asked.

"No!" he snapped, clearly offended. "It´s a thing, not a service that I want. But don´t you want to hear what I have for you?"

"Are you talking dirty to me, Regulus?" Lily said with amusement.

Apparently used to being diverted and made fun of by someone two years older, Regulus ignored this and went on, "Maybe I should just show you a bit..." and he pulled out a papery bundle from his trouser pocket.

"Letters?" Lily asked, looking down at the bundle with a great deal of interest.

"Yes. There are three or four of them. All written by James Potter to Sirius..."

"Excuse moi?" Lily gasped. What made this little fourth year think she would want to read their private correspondence? Was it THAT obvious!

Regulus now was smiling. He perceived that she had been unnerved somehow. She recalled then what Sirius had been saying the evening before about their mail problem at Grimmauld.

"I figured you´d want them as they are about the war and a part people are planning for you to have in it." Regulus said this last bit with obvious relish. Lily sighed with relief that it had nothing to do with her crush on Potter´s hair do, but stared at the bundle with a open mouth. He HAD to be making it all up.

He said, "I had the feeling you hadn´t heard any of it yourself. Only people with important connections would have known anything about it, considering... Well, you can find out yourself. Another reason I thought you would be curious is that there are some..." Regulus grinned wickedly. "There are uh, other things too." He saw that she caught his meaning and didn´t elaborate any further.

"Okay. Obviously I´m a nosy heffer," Lily replied dryly. "But before I say I want them, what is it you want in exchange?" The urge to snatch the letters and give him whatever he wanted was overpowering. But she knew she would likely have to turn him down. She looked down at the bundle longingly.

"You have a photograph. It´s of Muggle origin. I want it. No questions asked."

Lily finally removed her gaze from the bundle of letters and stared openly at him. She opened her mouth and then shut it again.

She knew what he was referring to, strangely enough. The photo was of a man in old fashioned dress. It was small and in black and white. It had been a rather eclectic gift for her birthday from Dale Percy, her old friend who had dropped out of Hogwarts to pursue a muggle education and take care of his mum, who was also a muggle.

What a pureblood little twit like Regulus, smug and rich as could possibly be would want with such a insignificant item Lily could hardly imagine. Let alone how he had even known about it´s existence. Everything about the request was at once curious and unlikely.

The photo could mean nothing to the boy, it had no magical properties to speak of. Lily had checked after receiving it, not knowing why Dale would of all things send her a random old photo... In fact, she had began to assume that it was because it held a tiny resemblance to James Potter. Dale and Ada had teased her about Potter a bit, before one had ditched magic for the simple life and the other landed in prison at sixteen.

The idea of Potter came about with the photo after a series of disturbing dreams where he wore the same costume the man in the photo wore, right down to the shadowy top hat.

Lily shook off these thoughts and quickly agreed to the exchange.

"Here you go," Regulus handed her the letters.

Surprised, Lily took them and said, "Don´t you want the photo first? I don´t have it on me."

"No, I trust you," he said with a shrug.

"And you put some curse or hex on these," she shook the letters at him, "so I get some nasty rash or something if I don´t bring it to you."

He shrugged again and with his wicked smile, turned away and left.

Lily tore off to find a secluded place where she could pry into the private lives of Sirius and Potter in peace.