Potters, a History

Chapter 10. Exams and Everything After

"Finitus Incantatem," Elisabeth said, pointing her wand at Narcissa's mouth. She could speak.

"I can explain everything, really, I can..." Narcissa pleaded, mind racing. But can I rationalize this away? It was hard enough with Peter...

Elisabeth planted her hands on her hips. "Then start explaining." But Narcissa never got the chance.

"Who the hell are you?" came an oily voice from the direction of the fireplace. Elisabeth spun around.

"L...L...Lucius?"

"No, you stupid twat, that's my name," Malfoy said, sauntering over to an extremely frightened looking Elisabeth.

Narcissa didn't know whether to be pleased or alarmed, but at least she could speak. "That's Elisabeth. She Polyjuiced herself..."

Lucius cut her off. "I heard that part... something off about the whole conversation, I thought. Knew you wouldn't be stupid enough to Floo that room, anyway." He frowned, examining Elisabeth. "So. You're Elisabeth Norris, hmm? Norris the nosey, didn't they call you?"

She would have scowled, but frankly, she was too scared to move even the muscles in her face. Shit, she thought. Shit shit shit shit shit.

Lucius sighed, clearly annoyed that he had to take time from his busy schedule to deal with this. "So, Elisabeth, may I ask why you have my girlfriend tied up in the corner of your common room?" He pulled out his wand. She flinched. Clearly amused, he flicked the wand in Narcissa's general direction. Narcissa, now unbound, rubbed her wrists as Lucius arched an eyebrow. "Nothing kinky, I hope, Cissa?"

She glowered at him. "Honestly, Lucius, of course not. You know how I feel about that." There was an awkward pause. "Look, I'm sorry you got dragged into this, I think I can handle it from here, though."

"Mmmm, yes, you've done such a smashing job so far," Lucius drawled. Narcissa narrowed her eyes at him. "Going to erase her memory, going to oblivate her completely, right? Dumbledore won't notice that..."

"What, do you have a better idea?" Narcissa shot back.

"As a matter of fact, I do." Elisabeth was beginning to look distinctly uncomfortable. He smiled at her charmingly. "Oh don't worry, I wouldn't dream of using Crucio on school grounds. By the way, if you were going to be an Animagus, what would you be?"

Elisabeth's forehead knit up in confusion. What a weird question at a time like this... "Um, I suppose a cat, just like McGon..." Before she could finish, Lucius had swiftly and easily turned her into a rather scrawny, dust-coloured cat, which immediately sped under the nearest sofa.

Narcissa was too stunned to do anything for a moment. Then she turned to Lucius. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Imitating an Animagus transfiguration gone wrong," he snapped.

She opened her mouth as if to argue and promptly shut it, thinking over the situation. "She can't turn back?" He shook his head. "She's going to be a cat forever?" He nodded, looking quite smug. "And we're just supposed to hand the cat over to Dumbledore and say, 'Here's Elisabeth, she thought she was smart enough to do the transfiguration on her own, but she wasn't?'" He nodded again. "Oh. Well, terrific idea then."

She crouched down to scoop up the Elisabeth-cat, who yowled and scratched until Narcissa performed a slightly modified dragon-claw clipping spell. She had to admit to herself that it was an excellent solution - not that she'd ever tell Lucius that, no need to make his ego any bigger than it was already. The transformation was wandless, so no Priori Incantatem would be performed on Elisabeth's wand... and nobody would think to try Lucius's wand, of all people's. Hers would be clean, so she was above suspicion, even if anyone did recognise the spell as a false one. And most Hogwarts students (even, sad to say, most of the faculty as well) thought that the Ravenclaws were so sure of their own abilities that they'd attempt any spell without a second thought. It would be viewed as an unfortunate accident and nothing more.

"Have any other housemates that need to be disposed of?" he smiled, irresistible once more.

Narcissa smiled back. "No, thank you, but if you could get rid of Potter before our match this weekend..." He tilted his head in contemplation. "Kidding, Lucius, I was kidding."

He pouted at her. "Shame, he always got on my nerves. Well, in that case, I suppose I better be going." He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the nose, and the Elisabeth-cat swiped at him with an ineffectual paw. Not to be deterred, he froze the creature with another quick spell, giving him (rather conveniently, Narcissa thought) time for a longer kiss. She was practically breathless by the time he broke the embrace.

"Ta," he said with a smirk, as he disappeared into the fire. As soon as he was gone, Narcissa dropped the stiff, scrawny cat on the sofa, and let out an ear-piercing scream. Fixing a horrified expression on her face, she pretended to inspect the poor cat. She would look completely innocent when her housemates, whose feet she could already hear stampeding down the stairs, discovered her, "discovering" Elisabeth.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You're kidding," Sirius said, looking up from his "Beaters Monthly" magazine. "Narcissa Drake?"

"Gee, Sirius, say it a little louder," Peter whispered, going quite red. "I'm not sure the entire dormitory heard you."

"Heard what?" came Remus's voice from up the staircase. He pushed open the dormitory door and flopped on his bed.

Sirius smirked. "Peter snogged Nar-cisss-a," was his singsong reply.

Remus gasped. "You're kidding. Narcissa Drake?"

"Why does everyone say that?"

"Because she's dead shaggable," Sirius offered.

"And I'm not?" Peter looked both hurt and outraged.

"Well..." Remus replied, neatly ducking Peter's "Shakespeak" charm. He made a mental note to have a little chat with Lily about that.

Peter, however, was being serious. "Is it really that difficult to believe that I might have a pretty girlfriend? I mean, you're a sodding Dark Creature, and you were with Lily for almost a year. She's nothing if not shaggable." Remus's jaw dropped. "And you, you're with a different girl every five seconds, most of them are pretty nice looking. Nobody seems shocked about that. What makes you so different than me?"

Sirius looked down at his hands. "Nothing, I guess," he mumbled.

"Exactly. Nothing. I'm a human being too, I have feelings, I have a right to be happy, same as you. And if it takes a Ravenclaw to recognize that..."

"Peter, I didn't mean for you to take it that way," Remus started.

"No, of course not, nobody ever means to offend me, you just pick on me all the time and I'm supposed to shrug it off like it doesn't mean anything that even my best mates think I'm a pathetic excuse for a wizard."

"What? That's not it at all," Sirius said, rubbing at his eye with a maroon sweater sleeve. "Nobody ever said you were pathetic."

"We all make fun of each other anyway, don't we?" Remus asked tentatively.

"Yeah, but it's different," Peter slumped down on the bed. "You're all smarter than me, you all know you're smarter than me, and..."

"Well, we all study harder than you, too," Sirius pointed out. "I know sometimes it seems like all James and I do is hex stuff, but we're in the library almost as often as Lily. And Lupin here comes with us quite a bit."

"It's not just grades though. I mean, you all know I'm practically a squib..."

"And we're your mates anyway," Remus said gently.

Peter looked up glumly. "Honestly?"

"Honestly," Sirius replied, smiling sincerely.

"Well... if you're really my mates..." he bit his lip, looking from one to the other. "I need to tell you something."

Remus chuckled. "Of course. Especially if it has to do with your girlfriend's arse."

"No," Peter smiled. "But close..."

Just then the door to the dormitory swung open again. James was sporting a lopsided grin and waving a crisp piece of enchanted parchment. "Who wants to go Christmas shopping in Hogsmeade?"

"Ooh, ooh, me!" Sirius shouted, bouncing off his bed and tackling James, who was now making muffled choking sounds. "Oh! And we've got a secret to tell you, Jamesie-pooh."

"Mmph... gerroff!" James finally succeeded in pushing the larger boy off of him. He straightened his glasses. "What?"

Peter was once more blushing wildly. "I snogged Narcissa," he volunteered.

"You're kidding. Narcissa Drake?" As Peter threw up his hands in disgust and stomped down to the common room, James looked about, terribly confused. "What? What did I say?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"What do you think of this one?" he asked, holding an exquisite emerald pendant up to the light. His three friends sighed.

"'S nice, James. Buy that one." Sirius could barely stifle his yawn. He leaned over to Peter. "D'you realise we've been sitting here for two hours now?"

"Are you sure? I mean, I think it would be nice with her eyes, don't you, but I wouldn't want it to be overkill, and besides, it is Christmas, and I don't want her to get teased because of the green and her hair..."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Who but us d'you think would tease her anyway?" Seeing the smirk spreading across Sirius's face, he threw him a look. "And we promise we won't tease her, don't we Sirius?"

"Hmm? Oh, of course. Never would have thought of such a thing." As soon as James's back was turned, he poked his tongue out at Remus. "You have to spoil all my fun, don't you?" he whispered, annoyed. "I'd just thought of a lovely charm to make her clothes all glow-y, like Christmas lights."

"Oh, honestly, James, just buy her something. Anything. You know whatever it is she'll blush and giggle and be pink for days, because it's jewellery from you," Peter said, rather more snippily than was usual. He didn't seem to notice the looks that Remus and Sirius were exchanging. Where was this coming from?

James turned, looking hurt. "But I want it to be perfect..."

"JUST BUY IT ALREADY!" roared the remaining three Marauders, in an almost perfect unison. James grinned.

"Okay, then, I will." His companions gave a sigh of relief, only to groan again, two seconds later: "But I feel like there should be something else..."

As the foursome exited Erskine and Bowles, though, Remus had a rather brilliant idea, most likely saving them three hours of searching for The Perfect Gift (spoken reverently, in much the same way that The Marauders' Map had been). "How about a pet?"

James's eyes lit up. "A Puffskein! That's perfect. I remember back in third year, Care of Magical Creatures..." he sighed, staring up into the sky. "It was the first time she ever talked to me..."

Remus leaned over to Sirius, who looked as though he was about to be ill from the sheer sappiness of it all. "Was I ever that bad?" he whispered.

"No, mate, not at all," he replied, rolling his eyes. Peter nodded in agreement.

The sandy-haired boy sighed. "Guess he deserves her, then, doesn't he?" Sirius had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. "Besides," Remus called out, "It'll keep her nose nice and clear."

"Huh?" James snapped out of his reverie. "Oh... yeah... that too..."

Peter cleared his throat. "I believe, then, that a trip to Eeylops is in order?"

Sirius nodded. "Let's go see if Rosie'll let us borrow her fire..."

As expected, Rosmerta greeted the foursome with a big smile - and in Sirius's case, a sly little wink that made the tips of his ears go flaming red. "Hi, Rosie... er... we need to do a little errand in Diagon Alley... mind if we borrow your Floo?"

She set down the glasses of Firewhisky she'd been carrying. "Of course. What's the special occasion?"

"Buying a Puffskein," James said, trying not to blush - and failing miserably.

"Oooh, for who? I didn't know you had a girlfriend, James," Rosie smiled inquiringly.

"I don't, really... I mean, she's not my girlfriend," he explained face redder by the second. "She... uh... helps me with my homework sometimes."

Rosmerta leaned in close to James's face, one jet-black eyebrow arched almost to her hairline. "Who? Give it up, or no Floo," she teased.

He looked at his feet. Somehow it was so embarrassing to tell Rosie about this. "Lily Evans," he mumbled.

The other eyebrow shot up. "Realllly...." She looked over to Remus, who was nodding frantically. She gave a little shrug. "She's cute. You really think she'll go for you, James?"

He smiled. "I hope so."

"Okay, okay, you passed the test. Go ahead." Peter, Remus and James flung themselves into the fire one at a time, and when they had gone, she sent Sirius off with a light smack on his arse. He turned around, not quite startled, but still a little red. "You owe me one, Mister Black," she grinned.

He grinned right back. "Just let me know where and when and I'll repay you gladly." Rosmerta, however, was not one to let a customer run up a tab - she grabbed him and gave him a long snog. When it was all over, Sirius blinked a couple times and staggered into the fire, a bit dazed. As he rematerialized in a corner of the Leaky Cauldron, he could not ignore the smirks on the faces of his three friends. "Oh, sod off, all of you. She's only five years older than us, you know..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Gryffindor common room was much quieter for the remainder of December (except, of course, for the post-Quidditch victory party), but this was hardly unusual. As boisterous as the house could be at times, its two main troublemakers were concerned more with their grades than their pranking; and everything got a little calmer when exams period rolled around.

Which is not to say that there wasn't any practical joking. Sirius had done a little sleuthing to determine the origin of Katharine's uncommonly nasty batch of Bertie Botts, and as a result, James had been stuck hiccupping enormous, pink, heart shaped bubbles whenever Lily was around. James felt that this would not have been so bad, except that nobody could perform the countercurse properly but Lily. She, however, thought the whole thing was so adorable that she refused to cast it ("It just makes prefect's meetings so much more enjoyable," she had explained).

The rest of the school found the incident to be quite entertaining as well. Violet giggled and begged Sirius to perform the spell on Donald; Snape and his Slytherin friends (the Sylvia incident forgotten) were delighted that Potter looked like such an idiot all the time. Not that the amusement was limited to the students, in fact, Remus could have sworn that he saw Dumbledore's eyes twinkling merrily as he watched the pair carefully eating lunch together. Professor Cinna claimed to be annoyed by the distracting bubbles, but even he couldn't conceal a silvery smile as he watched James attempt to mix a tricky concealment potion between hiccups.

After a week and a half, though, Lily was finally forced to relent.

"Evvie - hiccup - we have - hiccup - a Charms practical - hiccup - tomorrow. D'you think - hiccup - it would be - hiccup - too much trouble - hiccup - to... y'know?"

She reached her wand out and popped one of the massive bubbles. "Oh, I suppose. But I'd better be getting an excellent Christmas gift. Expelliorum orbis!" The bubbles disappeared in a spray of pink vapour, and James breathed a sigh of relief. She smiled at him. "Just watch out around Valentine's, I might be tempted to cast it again."

"Please, Merlin, no," he pleaded. "I don't know if I could go through another potions lesson with Cinna trying to decide whether he wants to glare at me for interrupting his lecture or laugh at me because I look like such a prat. Speaking of, how's the lycanthropy project going?"

She looked startled. "You know about that?"

"Of course. How long did you think Remus could keep it from me?"

She shrugged. "It's been going okay, I guess. I found a spell to identify the differences between the proteins in werewolf blood and regular wizard blood... we saw one in particular that looks like it could be causing the bulk of the change. We put it into some rats and they almost immediately turned were, but they didn't change back. We're still not sure how that works, how it switches back and forth every month, but if we could figure out a way to get the proteins out of the system, or inactivate them..."

"... it would keep him from changing at all," James finished. "That's brilliant."

"Yes, well, let's see if it works first before awarding me a Nobel Prize." Lily's voice was a bit wary, but she was smiling all the same.

"Order of Merlin," James corrected. "I'm not sure you could submit that research to the folks in Sweden."

"No, probably not," she admitted. Then she changed the subject. "Can I ask you a question?"

He pretended to think for a minute. "Oh, I suppose. So long as it has nothing to do with your Christmas present," he grinned.

Lily smiled inwardly. She had it on good authority that the Marauders had spent quite a bit of time in search of The Perfect Gift. But that would come in good time. "How come you call me Evvie all the time? My granddad used to call me that when I was little, and I don't think anyone's used that nickname since."

He cocked his head at her, debating exactly how sappy he was going to sound. "Well... you just really remind me of my grandma's friend, Evelyn. Everyone used to call her Evvie... she was a Muggle, lived in London... an expert on Egyptian archaeology. She helped my aunt break some curses when she was doing her work at Hamunaptra. My grandma said she was very smart, and from the pictures I've seen, she was really pretty, too."

"She sounds fascinating."

"She was. That's why you reminded me of her."

Lily blushed. "James, how many times do I have to tell you? I'll help you with your charms studying even if you don't massage my ego."

He held up his hands defensively. "Oh, sorry, I forgot, girls hate it when boys tell them they're pretty and clever."

"Well, when you hear it as much as I do," she joked.

"Actually," his face looked grim now, "I could use a little last minute refreshing on charms before tomorrow. Since I haven't been able to get much practical review done the last two weeks..."

Lily knew that this was completely untrue. Sirius had told her during Astronomy that James's "bubble problem" only existed when she was around, he would have had plenty of time to practise his casting otherwise. But she didn't think she would mind spending a little time reviewing with him; she'd almost forgotten how nice it was to have a hiccup-free conversation with him. "Sure. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I'm having trouble with my Amatus," he said innocently. "Could I practise on you?"

"You've got to be joking."

He gave her a lopsided smile. "Oh, so you're feeling a bit peckish already?"

"James, seriously, do you need to study or don't you? I still have ten pages of Herbology notes to get through, and I..."

"Lily, what you need is to relax. I'm sure you know Herbology cold and even if you didn't, it's not until Friday anyway."

She looked up at him sceptically and said, not a little sarcastically, "Relax? Me? During exams week?"

"Yes. It'll take three seconds. And I have just the thing." Seemingly from out of nowhere, he produced a Muggle radio. "Runs off of magic," he explained, turning it on. Ella Fitzgerald's smooth voice floated out.

"Of course it does, electricity doesn't work in here," she replied, not quite able to say no to the pleading pair of puppy dog eyes that were staring up at her. And this was one of her favourite songs. "Is this what you really came for?"

He seemed to think about it for a moment and then nodded happily. "It's just as much for me as you, I've been feeling much too serious lately. All this studying, bleck."

Lily sighed. "One would think that hiccupping pink bubbles for two weeks would keep just about anyone from feeling serious for long."

He stuck out his hand insistently. "Come on, let's go. I hear you need some practise before the Christmas Eve feast and I know you don't want to look silly in front of all three of us who'll be here. You need to be prepared."

"James," she got to her feet, not quite reluctantly. "I do believe you're mocking me."

"Come now, you know I'd never do that," he said softly as she slid into his arms. Contrary to what he had insinuated, Lily was not a bad dancer at all, particularly when partnered with him. Like most eligible young men from proper wizarding families, James was an excellent dancer, and Lily could follow a lead as well as any witchly debutante. She felt light as a feather as he spun her around, then pulled her in close. "Gee, baby, ain't I good to you," he murmured into her ear.

"Oh, sometimes, I suppose," she replied with a grin. As he spun her out again, she exhaled deeply and let her mind clear - but not before she wondered how it was that James always seemed to know exactly what she needed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Marcus Parkinson was in a better mood than he had been all week. A massive blizzard had kept the entire student body of Hogwarts at the castle at least until the first of January, and he'd not been happy about it. Though he was not alone in his desire to go the hell home, most students were taking it fairly well. The Hufflepuffs had begun an inter-house snowball fight, which had been amusing initially but annoying by its fifth day, taking a turn for the worse when the "primary-colour" houses had begun ignoring each other and flinging their icy projectiles solely at the Slytherins. The Gryffindors had, unsurprisingly, been the most enthusiastic participants; this sparked a flurry of vengeful creativity in Slytherin house. It was as a result of this creativity that Marcus was slipping quietly through the portrait hole to Gryffindor Tower, a malicious grin plastered across his face. "I can't believe nobody noticed. They should be out by now, right?"

"Shut up," Snape hissed. "They'll hear you if they're not."

"They'll see you if they're not," came a voice behind them. Snape jumped.

"Diana! I thought you said you weren't coming," Marcus whispered.

"Yeah, well, I figured you two goons could use some help. This look familiar?" Diana Pucey, still in the forest green robes she'd worn to the Christmas Eve feast, held up a limp piece of garland. "It tried to attack Evan Rosier. Then it stopped and decided it would rather sing show tunes. I somehow doubt that was the intended effect."

Snape glared at her. "Seriously. Can we be quiet? I don't think I need to remind you that poisoning students, breaking into Gryffindor Tower and then hexing all their Christmas decorations is a rather serious offence. It's not Potter I'm worried about overhearing us."

Marcus rolled his eyes. "Fine. Should I talk in code, then? Ets-lay oh-gay."

"Ery-vay unny-fay."

The trio crept along the perimeter of the Gryffindor common room where, as planned, every student who'd partaken of the Christmas Eve feast was unconscious. Fully satisfied that none were awake, they stepped out from the shadows.

"Aw, isn't that cute," Diana said sarcastically, gesturing toward the couch where James and Lily were cuddled up, unconscious. Remus, Sirius and Peter were sprawled out next to them.

"Nauseating, more like," Marcus did in fact look as though he was about to be sick.

Snape only nodded. "I'll do the tree?"

"I'll do the garland," Diana replied, smirking.

"Okay. I'll... uh..." Marcus looked around. "Put all the first year boys in dresses?"

"Sounds good. Make sure the garland pays special attention to that lot," Snape said, gesturing once more to the Marauder-filled couch. "But leave the girl to me."

Diana lifted an eyebrow. "You sound like a movie villain, you know that?"

"Oh, shut up." Then he smiled to himself. "You know, this will almost be worth missing Christmas at home." Just before the three Slytherins left through the portrait hole, he slipped a small package underneath the Gryffindor tree.

To Lily. Merry Christmas, from Your Secret Admirer.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Remus rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked up, somewhat surprised to find himself curled up next to Sirius. Looking around a bit, he was even more surprised to find pretty much every single Gryffindor dozing in a chair, on the floor... Violet Brown and her beau, Donald, seemed to be asleep standing up in the corner where, if Remus remembered correctly, they'd been snogging last night, even in the absence of mistletoe. Wait... mistletoe? Wasn't today Christmas?

He nudged the lump of black hair that was snoring uproariously into his shoulder. "Sirius? Padfoot? PADFOOT!"

"Huh? Wha-" Sirius squinted up at him. "Remus, what are you doing in my bed?"

"We're not in bed, you git, we're on the couch," he replied, unable to shake the mental image of himself and Sirius - and it wasn't even close to being a full moon. "I think all of Gryffindor tower's fallen asleep in the common room."

"Odd," Sirius said, finally starting to wake up. "Wonder why that is."

Peter was groggily coming awake as well. "Cissa... wha... hunh?" He turned and found himself next to Sirius. "Gah!"

"Morning sweetie pie," Sirius grinned, ruffling Peter's blonde hair. "Think we should wake up the real lovebirds?"

"Oh, you shush, you know they're not," Remus protested.

"I give it until she opens up that package," Sirius pronounced.

"Oh, I don't know, I still think she's feeling guilty about our friend Moony over here," Peter said. "No amount of jewellery's going to fix that. She needs absolution. How do you feel about the whole thing?"

Remus shrugged. "Well, I have to admit they look adorable together." James had his arms wrapped almost protectively around Lily, and they both looked rather comfy in their corner of the couch. "But you know, I was the one who told her she should go with James."

Sirius frowned. "Really?"

"Yes," he sighed. "Repeatedly. I want her to be happy, you know, and..."

Peter stood up. "You did the right thing, Moony."

"I know." He stared at the two of them sleeping for what felt like forever, part of him aching to be in James's place. But the look of absolute contentment on both of their faces... "And I have to do it again."

Just then, Lily opened her mouth in an enormous yawn, knocking James's glasses off as she stretched her arms outward. She blinked. "Hey, party in the common room," she said. "What's going on?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Sirius replied. "Hey, sleeping beauty! PRONGS!" he shouted, waking James and everyone else.

James squinted. "Oh... morning everyone. Where the devil are my glasses?"

Lily had already leaned over to retrieve them. "Are you always this grumpy in the morning?" He wiggled his eyebrows as though to say, You'll just have to find out yourself, now won't you? She rolled her eyes: Not bloody likely, you snore like a chainsaw. Sirius watched this wordless exchange with amusement.

Remus, however, pretended to be oblivious. "So! Merry Christmas everyone, I suppose. Is it too early for presents?"

Sirius needed no further encouragement, and quickly pointed his wand over at the enormous tree, which was radiant with maroon and gold faerie lights. "Accio presents!" Large piles of gifts immediately stacked themselves neatly at the feet of each student.

"Cor, ruddy useful spell, that is," one amazed first-year shouted out, and the common room erupted in giggles. Soon enough, the sound of tearing paper could be heard from all corners.

"Hold that thought," James said, getting to his feet. "I've got one upstairs that I need to bring down." The puffskein, which had been feasting on all his old potions papers for the last two weeks, was one of the few things he couldn't get away with putting under the tree. He returned quickly with his hands behind his back. "Sorry, but this one has to go first. Lily?"

She looked up. "Um, I'll take what's in the left hand."

Obligingly, James stuck out his left hand, in which a small, custard coloured ball of fluff was quivering.

Lily immediately went a bit mushy. "A Puffskein! Oh, he's adorable..." she scooped him up and immediately began petting him gently. "What's his name?"

"No name, yet. I figured those honours belonged to you."

She smiled down at it. "Hmm... I think I'll call you... Thampos." She looked up to see four questioning faces. "It's Greek, for furry."

Peter giggled. "How fitting. Um, if you don't mind... can we open our presents now?"

"Of course!" Lily answered, but the flurry of wrapping paper had already begun.

Sirius unwrapped an enormous stuffed teddy bear that he hoped was from Katharine, while James started in on a pile of presents from a multitude of Quidditch fans. "What am I supposed to do with twenty chocolate frogs?" he asked, bemused.

"Give them to me!" was Peter's immediate solution.

The four all oohed and ahhed over Narcissa's gift to Peter, an elegant pocket watch which would always tell the time to their next meeting. James and Lily had both received small packages from Dumbledore - thick, woollen socks, embroidered with the Gryffindor crest. All of them received broomstick-servicing kits from Sirius's father ("Oh, this'll do my ancient Galaxy a world of good," Lily remarked sarcastically). Around the room, exclamations of joy, and the occasional "Eurgh! Toenail!" from a Bertie Botts recipient indicated that the rest of the Gryffindors were enjoying their Christmas morning.

Lily and Remus exchanged gifts while Sirius and James compared the quality of presents from would-be girlfriends. Lily's was a small packet of Fizzing Whizbees and a journal that would record your thoughts if you left it open.

"Since I know you don't have time to write a journal," Remus explained.

"Oh, it's perfect," Lily smiled shyly. "Here, have yours. It's homemade, but I worked on it for a long time."

He unwrapped a small phial full of what looked like iridescent purple gelatine mixed with ketchup. He looked up at her in amazement. "Is this...?"

"No, no, not yet. But it should help with some of the things... um... you might not feel quite so sick," she said quietly. "It should decrease your libido a little, and you shouldn't feel as restless or... um... violent as normal. It worked really well on our rats. And, I think it doesn't taste half bad. I added some mint to it."

Remus looked at her for a moment, then flung his arms around her. "Thank you," he whispered.

She smiled genuinely. "Anything to help out a friend. Oh, and it's free refills, too."

He cleared his throat. "Uh, I think James was waiting to give you something."

"Another gift?" She looked over, and sure enough, James caught her eye. "I'll be right back, I guess," she said, starting to get up.

"Actually, wait. There's something I have to tell you." She looked at him, and he saw in her eyes a mixture of concern, hope and dread. "I want you to be with him."

"Remus, I-"

"No, really. I watched you two sleeping this morning and you just looked so peaceful and content and happy, and I don't want what happened with us to come between you two. I mean, I think it's pretty obvious how you feel about him, it just seems like you're holding back because you feel like I'd be upset. I just wanted to tell you that it's really, truly okay with me."

She didn't say anything for a moment, just looked into his eyes. Then she stood up. "Well, I guess I'd better go open that present then, hmm?"

"Yeah," he said, smiling. And also, I love you, he thought, as he watched her walk across the room.

"Two presents? Honestly, James, this little guy is more than enough." She took Thampos out of her pocket. "Hey, look at that, he ate all my lint." Its little pink tongue began eagerly cleaning out underneath her fingernails.

"Puffskeins are useful that way," James grinned. "I guarantee your room will be dust free as long as you have him around. Um, this gift has less practical use, but I hope you'll like it anyway." He handed her a small box. The wrapping was unmistakeable.

"James, this is from Erskine and Bowles," she said, eyeing the package as though it might bite her.

"I know, I bought it, remember?"

"They're awfully..."

"Well, it's not like I don't have the money," he said. "What else am I going to spend it on?"

She shrugged. "I know, but you shouldn't..."

"Just open it. Please? I want to give this to you."

She took it a bit reluctantly. But when she opened it, she couldn't imagine that she'd ever protested. "Oh, James, it's beautiful," she breathed. "And that's... that's a real..."

He nodded. "And, it's charmed to bring the wearer good luck."

She laughed softly. "I think anyone who gets a necklace like this is pretty lucky to begin with," she said, holding it up. The delicate filigree of the chain sparkled in the light streaming through the arched windows of the common room. "Fasten it for me?" she asked, sweeping up her hair.

He reached around her neck, fumbling only a little with the clasp. As the pendant came to rest in the hollow just between her collarbones, he had to suck in his breath. Even with her hair tangled in knots and wearing the dirty robes she'd slept in, she was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen.

"James? James." He realised that she was talking to him again.

"Oh, um, yeah. Yes. What?"

"What exactly does this mean?"

He looked at her, not sure what to say. "Um... whatever you want it to, I guess. I mean, I know we're just good friends, but..." She leaned in and touched her lips to his. In the middle of the common room, Peter groaned and handed Sirius a fistful of sickles.

"Okay, really good friends," James grinned.

Lily frowned. "But I think you should know, I liked you even before you gave me this necklace. I don't want you to think that's the only reason that I'm..." This time, it was James who interrupted, with a kiss that lasted a good deal longer than the first one. By now, quite a few of the Gryffindors had noticed the two prefects snogging - and quite a few of them began cheering. Lily blushed.

"Oh, right, there's people around," she said, a bit guiltily.

Just then, Remus tapped her on the shoulder. "Lily... I really don't mean to interrupt, but I found this in your pile of presents. It was down at the very bottom."

"To Lily, Merry Christmas from your secret admirer," she read. She looked at James. "This isn't from you too, is it?" she teased.

He shook his head, seeming to have regained his composure. "Nope, I think two is enough."

She looked around. Nobody seemed to be paying any special attention to her. Besides, she wasn't getting any particular vibe from the box, not one associated with a Gryffindor anyway. A fleeting picture of Severus Snape had flitted through her head, but she dismissed that idea as ridiculous. He hated her genuinely, she'd have to be blind not to realise that.

"Guess I'll open it, then," she said, to no one in particular, unwrapping the package to reveal a small box. Odd, she thought. She flipped open the lid.

And all hell broke loose.

The tree began shooting its needles at a group of unsuspecting third year girls, who began shrieking. The faerie lights, apparently offended at having been held captive and motionless for so long, zoomed angrily around the room, nipping at students and causing general chaos. The opalescent glass orbs that had been hanging on the tree began flinging themselves at any Gryffindor unfortunate enough to get in the way.

"Alright, everyone, wands out! Wands out!" James shouted, and Sirius began stupefying every faerie he could. Until, of course, the garland decorating the staircase came to life and wound itself around his neck.

"Erk! Somebody!" he choked out. "Help!"

"STUPEFY!" bellowed Remus and James in unison, but the serpent-like garland only paused for a moment. Sirius was turning purple.

"We need more casters," Remus gasped.

"We need Lily," James muttered, more worried than he let on. She had disappeared the second she'd opened the box.

"EVERYBODY! On three, cast a stunning charm at the garland! Aim the best you can!" Remus yelped. "One, two, three... STUPEFY!" This time, at least ten Gryffindors had taken aim. The garland uncoiled itself and fell to the floor, but a few spells had collided in midair, causing fresh pandemonium.

"I'll take care of the tree," Peter said, and with one quick spell, the tree was burning merrily but harmlessly.

"Quidditch players!" James yelled over the din. "Accio yourselves some clubs and start Bludgering those faeries."

"First years!" Sirius hollered. "Go find McGonagall." Then he blinked, taken aback. "What the hell? Why are you all wearing dresses? Ah, sod it, go get McGonagall anyway."

The sound of faeries slamming into the walls began to overcome the sound of their shrieks, the ornaments had finally all broken themselves, and the tree was beginning to burn itself out. All the students in fifth year and above were stupefying as quickly as they could, while the younger forms had shielded themselves behind various pieces of upholstered furniture. Eventually, the situation seemed a bit more under control. Except for one thing.

"Where did Lily go?" Remus asked quietly.

Sirius was concerned, too. "Yeah... is she okay?"

"I don't know," James answered. "She kinda, um, disappeared as soon as she opened that box."

The four Marauders looked at each other uneasily for a few seconds, though it felt like an eternity to James. What are we going to do? They all exchanged worried glances, silent until...

"To the map?" Sirius suggested.

"Brilliant," Peter confirmed, and the four raced up the stairs to the sixth year dorms.

"IsolemnlyswearIamuptonogood," James shouted at the map, barely pausing to unroll it before giving the command.

I don't think that's the truth, the parchment replied.

"Oh, no," Sirius breathed.

"Now what?" James asked, panic creeping into his voice.

"Quick, quick, think up a prank. Someone!" Remus shouted, much more loudly than was necessary.

"Uh, er, um... Snape! We'll turn his robes invisible. We just need to know where he is," Peter yelled. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Sirius wrinkled his nose at the very thought, but it appeared to have done the trick; the map revealed itself.

James touched his wand to it. "Show us Lily Evans, please." Her name glowed a bright red. "The dungeons," he muttered. "How did I know a Slytherin would have something to do with this?"

Five minutes later, the four were striding purposefully down a cold, underground hallway. "It's this room," Remus said, pointing at an extremely heavy looking door.

"Evvie? You in there?" James shouted, rapping loudly on the door. "She's not answering."

"I can see that," Sirius replied a bit flippantly. Remus and James both glared at him. "Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood a little..."

"Alohomora!" Peter bellowed at the door. Much to everyone's amazement, including his own, it sprung open.

"Getting a little better with the charms, I see," Remus remarked, a bit troubled. Something was definitely going on with him, between this and Narcissa... he just didn't know what.

James rushed in to find Lily slumped out on the floor of the dungeon, a small cut on her forehead and her leg twisted at a sickening angle underneath her. "Someone, go get Madam Pomfrey! Hurry!" Sirius, knowing he was the fastest of the four, immediately sped off to the infirmary.

"How could this happen? You can't Apparate anywhere on Hogwarts grounds, how could they have gotten her from there to here?" Peter asked shrilly, clearly unnerved.

James looked at him darkly. "I'm sure there must be a way if you don't care about the safety of whatever you're transporting." He turned back to Lily, who definitely did not seem to be waking up.

"Ennervate," Remus whispered hopefully, pointing his wand at her still form. But nothing happened.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Lily felt vaguely as though she was floating. Her head ached more than she could ever remember, more even than when she and James had watched the Death Eater gathering. She rubbed at her eyes, and when she opened them she was startled - she was in Surrey, standing in front of her front door. She barely paused to wonder how she got there before pushing on the door (oddly enough, already slightly open) and walking into the foyer.

"Mum? Dad?" she called. Though there was no answer, she could hear the voices from the living room. "Petunia? Mum?"

"Sort of strange to have the kids gone on Christmas, isn't it, Roger?" her aunt Rose's voice came from the kitchen.

"A little," her father answered. "But there was nothing we could really do about Lily being snowed in at school, and Petunia... well, you know she can be strong-willed sometimes, and she really wanted to spend Christmas with Vernon."

"Daddy? No, I'm not stuck at school, I'm here!" Lily cried, running toward the kitchen. But still there was no reply. She stopped abruptly; he continued the conversation.

"What do you really think of Vernon?" her aunt asked, a playful smile on her face.

"Auntie Rose?" she asked in a small voice.

"Oh, he's a polite enough chap, most of the time... does have sort of a temper though, doesn't he?" he chuckled, slicing up a large potato. "To be honest, I prefer Lily's friends from school. They're quite the troublemakers, but you get the feeling that they would never hurt a flea."

"DADDY!" she screamed, as loudly as she could. A long, icy shiver ran down her spine.

Her father stopped and looked around. "It's strange, you know, I almost feel like Lily's here."

Close to panic now, Lily dashed out of the kitchen and into the dining room, the living room. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents... all ignored her. Everybody was here. And nobody noticed her. Nobody saw her. She made her way back to the foyer, sobbing hysterically, the pounding in her head unbearable.

And then she saw why. The front door swung open of its own accord, and a black-cloaked figure swept in, followed by two others. Lily, horrified, could do nothing but watch as they made their way into the kitchen. If they were who they appeared to be... "Where is your daughter?"

Her father dropped his knife, the clang of the blade on the kitchen tile made her aunt jump. "She's... neither of them are here. Who are you?"

"Silence! You lie. It's Christmas, she must be here."

"I don't know what you're on about, barging into our home like this," her father started.

"Please, no, Daddy, no, don't argue, don't argue," Lily sobbed as her father continued.

"... but neither of my daughters is at home."

"Where is she, then?" the leader's voice was dangerously controlled... and somehow, so familiar...

Her father took a breath and straightened. "Why would I tell you?"

"Avada Kedavra!" A thin beam of sickeningly bright green light hit her aunt between the eyes, she keeled over.

"AUNTIE ROSE!" Lily shrieked.

Though her father's resolve appeared to waver for a moment, he stood firm. "I don't know what the hell you just did to my sister, but I..."

The cold voice interrupted. "I don't think more heroic speeches are necessary, Mr. Evans. I can see we'll be getting no help from you. Pity, though." He turned to his two companions. "Fry them all."

Lily fell to her knees, weeping silently as the skull with a serpent in its mouth glowed green over Surrey.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In the infirmary, her eyes suddenly flew open. She screamed.

"Lily! Dear Merlin, Lily, are you alright?" James sounded half as terrified as she.

She gasped, feeling more relieved than she could ever remember. "Oh, James, thank God. I had the most horrible nightmare..." He slid himself onto the bed where she was now sitting up, wrapping his arms tightly around her as she continued. "I... I was at home, and my entire family was there, but they couldn't see me, it was like I didn't exist or something, and then these Death Eaters came in and... and..." she choked on the words.

"Shh, shh... it's alright, Lily, everything will be alright..." he stroked her hair gently. "It was just a dream, everything will be..." he stopped, heart sinking to the bottom of his stomach. A jet-black owl had just flown in the infirmary window.