Under the Nose of a Foe

Lurking Under the Nose of a Foe

Pumpkins and Squeaky Spoons

In the distance, there was a tiny little window that dimly illuminated the ebony night of October 30^th, 1981. There was a swishing of cloaks; it was the only sound that could be heard, aside from the constant chirping of the crickets and the silence of the night. A jagged nose pressed against the frosted window of Godric's Hollow and chuckled in triumph. "At last," he muttered.

Beyond the window, a couple laughed merrily while telling stories about the Headless Hunt and the origins of Merdiva, an ancient witch that intruded dreams and caused dreadful nightmares. They were busy carving pumpkins and eating various candies, oblivious to the fact that just outside their home their death was being plotted.

Lily and James were chasing each other around the house. James, being the typical devious prankster, was chasing Lily with a jack-o-lantern that he had bewitched to follow her around. Lily, becoming quite peeved at the idiocy of the situation, conjured a hammer and attempted to smash the pumpkin to bits, but the ridiculous grin that James had carved into it seemed to grow even wider at the prospect of Lily's failure. James smirked and puffed his chest out with a sense of pride. In an act of retaliation, Lily whispered a charm that turned James's skin a pale, tangerine color. A moment or two later, a foolish-looking stem emerged from the top of his head.

"Lily! This is completely uncalled for! My pumpkin only followed you around. I have a giant stick emerging from my head," James whined. He looked absolutely ridiculous. Lily erupted into a fit of laughter. Seeing the invincible James Potter look as though he would make a scrumptious pumpkin pie wasn't something you would see every day of your life. Declaring victory upon herself, she muttered the counter curse and James returned back to his normal state, which wasn't a sight for sore eyes.

"Whatever happened to the Marauder Code of Honor, James? Rule 14.720 clearly states that if one is done an injustice, retribution must be made that is even worse than the original," Lily stated as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "An eye for a head, remember?"

"Yeah, but you're not a Marauder," replied James. He realized what he had said was wrong after he saw the look of melancholy wash over Lily's face and her eyes blink slowly in incredulity. She had always considered herself a Marauder, even though the boys had never officially inducted her into their "society". He had never intended to make Lily feel insignificant or left out, but it was just a guy thing. There was no way she wanted to go through the silly induction ceremonies that were necessary for being deemed a Marauder.

There was a silence between them that could've easily made a stranger go tense. Lily and James were the only couple who could radiate such dynamic feelings. Lily gazed into James's eyes. Oh, how she could get lost in them. They were the color of red firewood, and they were strategically speckled with bits of lime green, adding just enough lightness. They were bright and optimistic. A simple glance into his eyes would reveal everything about his past, his present, and even his future. To those who weren't close to him, he might appear to be stoic, but to those who were fortunate enough to know him, he was like an open book. A stranger could gaze into his eyes and see his vital desire for mischief. Without mischief, he was very distant and bored. Many might view this as a negative quality, but in a world where evil reigns, he is the heartbeat of the world, the epitome of youth and good will. His eyes were certainly the window to his soul. She could see that he was regretful about what he had just said, so she jumped into his arms and he whirled her around. They never apologized to each other. They never had to. Love means never having to say you're sorry. Lily giggled as she experienced the feeling of Cornish Pixies dancing around in her stomach

A high-pitched giggle resounded through the room. Lily and James looked admiringly at one another and they both rushed to Harry's pumpkin seat.

"You like that, Harry?" James asked. His voice hinted that if Harry even so much as smiled, he would most likely tickle Lily until she cried.

Harry beamed at his father and his jade eyes twinkled in the dim, candlelit room. A twisted smiled appeared on James' face and he slowly turned toward his wife, who was reaching for the wand she had left on the table. Before she could even utter the word "Accio", James had already hurdled himself on top of her and began to tickle her mercilessly. She beat her fists against his chest.

"Get off of me you great oaf! I can't breathe! Get off, James," she bellowed. Her face was turning a miraculous shade of ruby and James had to resort to the body binding charm. Once she was immobile, he leaned down and kissed her passionately. She had to give into his kiss. Who could resist the impeccable charm of James Harold Potter? The one who rushed to open doors for her. The one who smiled at strangers and helped them when they dropped their books. And the one who always pulled the dinner chairs out for the ladies. Yes, he was Prince Charming. Lily was the only one lucky enough to snag him. Yes, he kissed with passion. He kissed as though nothing else mattered and everything in the world was perfect. But to him, it was because he had Lily Marie Evans Potter.

"A big oaf? Is that what I am? I always thought it was: incredibly charming stud with a tight six pack and a smile to die for," James said as though he was appalled by Lily's witty statement. "But, if Lily says I'm an oaf, then an oaf I must be."

"Are you hungry, my incredibly charming stud with a tight six pack and a smile to die for husband," she asked. She raised one eyebrow, as she always did when she was being inquisitive. It was one of the many traits that James admired about her.

"I wish we could go out to dinner," James said grimly. "I'd take you somewhere nice and romantic." Going out to dinner was one thing, but he desperately longed to be able to play a spirited game of Quidditch in the meadow with Floren Merscue, one of his former classmates who loved quidditch almost as much as he. They would play until the sun went down and Lily called him inside for dinner. He was so hungry by that time, that he didn't even bother to take off his Quidditch robes or wash up. Lily didn't mind this at all. She was captivated by him whenever he wore his uniform and it took all of her energy for her to not throw herself at him. He longed to walk outside and sit on the lawn, waiting patiently for Serum, his owl, to bring the Daily Prophet. He yearned to have a visit from his best friend, Sirius Black. All of this was impossible now that the Fidelius Charm had been cast. His life had been so simple before. Now it was complex and he wished that he hadn't taken any of those little things for granted. But Voldemort was going to be defeated and James would soon enough be out by the meadow chasing Quaffles with Sirius. They couldn't leave the house. At least not for a few months until the spell matured and they were inevitably protected from foes. He cursed Voldemort and all of his filthy Death Eaters under his breath. He snapped back to his senses and remembered that he had been having a conversation with Lily. "I heard that they opened a new restaurant in Hogsmeade. I think it's called the Squeaky Spoon. All of the spoons make a screeching noise if the soup is too hot to eat. Isn't that brilliant?"

"That sounds rather interesting," Lily said sarcastically, but it was quite an interesting idea. Who would've thought of something like that? She sat down in one of the many chairs in the parlor. A smile found its way to her face. "James, I've just had a brilliant beyond brilliant idea!"

"What? What is it," He exclaimed. Lily was always one to come up with great ideas. She was just so creative, a desirable aspect for any Marauder.

"Go on up to Godric's Study. I have to get a few things ready. I should be up there in a minute." Lily grabbed a few things out of a drawer and summoned all of the house elves to the kitchen. She then informed them of her surprise for James. She delegated the instructions to all eight of their elves and sprinted up the stairs to Godric's Study to meet James. He was looking over one of the newer books that automatically appeared on the bookshelves when they were newly published, Cassius Casca's Guide to Wizard Entertainment. It was a trial subscription from Flourish and Blott's.

"Stay here for a minute, darling. I have to finalize all of the preparations," she said, trying to disclose the excitement in her voice. She gently closed the solid oak doors of the study and retreated to her favorite room of the house, The Room of Erised. She closed her eyes before she entered. The room would become whatever you desired and would return to a dull room once the large oak doors were locked. She imagined a room full of busy people, the smell of food cooking, dishes clattering in the very back, and everything else associated with The Squeaky Spoon. When she opened her eyes, she saw exactly what she had imagined. One of the house elves came in behind her and asked her what she needed from him. She explained that he was to act as a waiter and wait on them when she gave him the "signal". The elf was dismissed and Lily began working on charming the spoons. When the final preparations had been made and everything was ready, she returned to Godric's Study to retrieve James. Apparently he'd found Casca's Guide to Wizard Entertainment boring and had started reading Quidditch throughout the Ages for the thirty-seventh time.

"It's ready," she said, sneaking up behind him and leaning over his chair. She kissed him on the cheek and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Finally! I've just about read every book in this library," he raved, but stopped abruptly when he looked up at her face "Lily Marie! What in the world is going on? You look like you've just discovered Godric Gryffindor's secret chamber.

"No, I did that a few years ago, silly. Follow me."

James followed her into the depths of Godric's Hollow, the mansion that he'd inherited when his father died, until she stopped at the entrance to The Room of Erised. He looked towards the ceiling, where an antique sign that read "The Squeaky Spoon" swung as though a gust of wind was rushing about the corridor.

"You didn't," he said apprehensively. Her little scheme seemed to make sense. He couldn't have asked for anyone more loving or devoted than her. She was always good to him, performing little acts of love such as this. He just wanted to hug her and never let go. She made his life worth living. Their love would never falter. It would continue on till the morrow, just like the waves would crash against the shore for all of eternity.

"Yes, I did, for you," she replied and she had to resort to biting her lip because she was blushing madly. James was, to say the least, really impressed with what she had done for him. She could tell by the way he tensed up and his jaw dropped. James always did one of two things when he was nervous. He either ruffled his hair or tapped his fingers against his opposite arm. She took his hand, once he stopped tapping his fingers, and opened the doors to the "restaurant". There were many people in the room. Some of them were eating at tables, others were huddled around the Wizard Wireless Radio, and the rest were casually chatting with the server at the bar. James approached one of the many people and touched him. As soon as his fingers made contact , the person formed a silvery mist and dissolved into thin air. In the back of the restaurant, dishes clattered and the food sizzled on the magical grills. James was in complete awe of the place. What a transformation! The last time he had been in this room it was a serene garden where he had brainstormed new Quidditch plays. He was determined to become a chaser for the Chudley Canons.

"How may Blinky help Master James and Misses Lily this fine evening," inquired the voice of one of their many house elves. As large as their house was, Lily and James employed the house elves, not enslaved them. They thought it was against the will of any living being to do so. The house elves had adapted to this idea and were quite happy, as happy as a house elf could be with working tirelessly.

"A table for two, Blinky," Lily responded, since James was still mesmerized by the realistic details of the room and was unable to speak for himself.

They sat down near a window that had been charmed to look like the exterior of Hogsmeade. In the corner window, Zonko's was barely visible. This was quite a relaxing place to be considering they hadn't been involved with any type of civilization for quite some time. Lily cast James's attention toward the spoons. He was overwhelmed by the articulate manner of Lily's charm work. It had always been one of her best subjects. Lily was talented in many areas, so it was quite difficult to declare which one she excelled the most in. James ordered the soup of the day, Chicken Tongue Soup. Lily said it sounded revolting and refused to kiss him for the rest of the night. Blinky, the waiter, bowed and scurried off towards the back of the room to get their meals.

"Lily," James said softly.

"Yes, James," she replied. She didn't look up at him. She was focused on reading the menu, which the elf seemed to have forgotten.

"This is absolutely wonderful. I love you." James never knew how to express his words exactly, but he seemed to get the point across quite well. Lily looked up. She didn't say anything, just smiled. She knew he couldn't describe the feeling anymore and she admire the thought of him being baffled.

When dinner had concluded, they locked the doors to The Room of Erised and all of its contents dissolved into thin air. Lily was startled when James unexpectedly picked her up and carried her down the steps to the parlor. The room was tastefully decorated in shades of gold and scarlet, as both of them had been prominent students of Gryffindor house. The marble fireplace crackled and sparked a romantic aura throughout the room. James went over to the baby grand piano and tapped it twice with his wand. It started to play a Mozart tune that both he and Lily adored. Lily enjoyed playing a wide selection of Muggle music on it, but tonight she was going to be a little too preoccupied to be playing any piano. James walked back over to the antique velvet couch where Lily was sitting. He lay on top of her and moved his arms up and down her hips. Then, he looked into her eyes, her beautiful, brilliant, green eyes. They were the color of the newly emerged leaves of Spring. With her auburn hair and emerald eyes, the fire that burned inside Lily could light the world. And one day, knowing Lily's powerful ambition, it probably would. He moved on and kissed her neck, working his way up slowly. Once he reached her lips he moved in a little more. This little love scene was soon interrupted by a loud bang and a cloud of smoke. James rubbed the soot from his eyes and peered through the smoke.

"Wormtail," James shouted. He immediately jumped from the position that he and Lily were in, knowing that Peter would feel a tad bit uncomfortable having jumped in on this situation. He was so excited to see one of the Marauders. It seemed as though an eternity had passed since the last time they had all been together. Peter rushed over to James and they gave each other the "manly pat on the back" and tapped their wands together, this was the infamous Marauder greeting. "Why are you here?

"What? Can't a guy just come over and see one of his best friends every now and then," Peter joked. His insides were twisting about and his palms started to sweat. He looked around and smiled at all of the familiar pictures on the elegant mantle. There was the one with all of the Marauders at graduation, the one at James and Lily's wedding, a picture of James and Sirius playing quidditch, and a few random pictures of Harry. Peter wanted to disapparate and forget all about his "duties", but he was sure James would be a little suspicious if he popped in and popped out without any particular reason. They were, after all, in a time of uncertainty. He stole a quick glance at the window and saw a pair of red eyes staring at him intently; these eyes belonged to the one and only Lord Voldemort.