Proving Me Wrong

PROVING ME WRONG

CHAPTER 19

"A Purple Knight"

The sky outside the kitchen window was grey with dark purpling clouds swelling across it like bruises. They were plump and heavy with rain that refused to fall, bearing down upon the little terrace house with oppressive force. There was an ominous rumble. Lily's eyes strayed to the window, momentarily forgetting about the boiling kettle as she waited for the flash of lightning to come. No fork of white appeared in the sky, however, but another roll of thunder came nonetheless, followed by a howl from the bloodhound next door. The last of the Halloween fireworks were being set off. Having already used the biggest and most spectacular rockets the previous night, the children of Little Whinging were left with the smaller, cheaper firecrackers, which often only made noise. The result was a cacophony of rumbling, howling, squealing and crackling, which seemed to be concentrated on the Evans's back garden.

The kettle whistled, piercing through all other sounds, and with a sideways glance at the plum coloured clouds, Lily lifted the boiling kettle off the stove and poured the scalding water into a mug. She removed the teabag from the mug a minute later, and sat down at the kitchen table, lifting the bottom of the tablecloth onto her lap like a blanket.

It was two o'clock in the afternoon and Lily was in the house alone. Well, practically alone. Petunia had gone to play tennis with Yvonne and her father was still out for the count in his bedroom. Although she hated herself for doing it, Lily had cleaned the mess he had made in the kitchen the previous night. He hadn't just smashed a plate, but spilled a fizzy drink and left the fridge door wide open. The milk had turned by the time Lily got up that morning and the pop had dried to the floor like sugary glue. She'd had to change her socks twice before being smart enough to put on a pair of shoes.

Thinking of clothes, Lily looked down at what she was wearing. Whoever had packed her trunk must not have known where she was going, as they didn't include any of Lily's Muggle apparel in the assortment of clothes. As a consequence of this, Lily had been forced to search her bedroom wardrobe for something to wear. The only garment she had found that actually fit her was a flower print skirt that she had bought several summers ago. She was clearly a bit taller than she was at age fourteen, but since she wasn't planning on leaving the house Lily didn't really mind the way the skirt ended halfway up her thighs.

She wondered what James was doing. Something hilarious, she imagined with surprising fondness. This reminded her of Thursday night, and of James's sincere declaration of like". Lily's reaction still made her flush with embarrassment; all of that thinking about signs and James not looking like a toad and Dorcas Meadowes. Lily had thought that the idea of James fancying her wasn't terrifying, but two days later she knew it was. Merlin, the idea of going out with a boy seemed totally ludicrous: going almost everywhere together, holding hands, hugging, kissing! Lily found it impossible to imagine herself doing any of those things, let alone the many other activities that most normal Seventh Years revelled in. Then a mental image of a naked James Potter exploded into her mind and Lily clapped a hand over her eyes, silently berating herself for thinking such things and for being so easily flustered by them.

The only excuse for her lack of panic on Thursday night was that, privately, she had been waiting for it to happen. She knew what James was going to do. Although Lily wasn't socially adept when it came to boys, she instinctively knew what it meant when a boy- when a man, looked at her in that way.

James had been doing it for quite some time.

He obviously hadn't realised he was doing it, Lily thought, or else he would have been a bit more subtle. Then again, James never was one for subtlety, and maybe all boys were like that and it was Lily who was acting strangely about the whole thing. But no matter if this was normal behaviour for teenage wizards, Lily was sure that James wasn't aware of how blatantly he stared or that it was this, not their friendship, which sent rumours about their secret love flying around the castle. When they joked in the evenings about the silly stories they'd heard during the day, Lily knew that the gossiping would stop if James did. But she'd rather wrestle a troll than have that conversation. It was uncomfortable enough feeling his eyes on her all the time without actually discussing it with him, and when she had said, "I can't," she was telling the truth. To freely give someone that much power over her was suicide in Lily's eyes. That would just be asking for it.

And what is more, thought Lily, James couldn't possibly like her that much. It was an infatuation, pure and simple. Yet even the thought of someone being infatuated with her made Lily cringe. She was quite sure that James would go off her in while, (but hopefully not completely as she did like having him as a friend) and set his sights on someone more suited to him, someone who knew lots about Quidditch, like Dorcas. Lily once again found herself thinking that James and Dorcas would make a good couple.

"Dorcas Potter," she said aloud. Then she nodded with a slight smile on her face.

Lily sipped her tea. As she replaced her mug on the table her face stilled.

"Lily Pot-"

The telephone rang. Had Petunia been in the house Lily would have let it ring until the last possible moment before answering, acting as though she didn't care if it woke Graham Evans up. But her older sister wasn't there, so Lily gave up pretence and got to the phone before the third ring.

"Hello?" she spoke quietly into the receiver.

"Petunia, please," came the brusque voice.

Lily scowled at the sound, "Who, may I ask, is calling?" she asked in a falsely polite tone.

"Put Petunia on the phone," the person demanded.

"Who is calling?" persisted Lily.

"GET PETUNIA!"

"Oh, it's you Vernon," she exclaimed in mock surprise, "Why didn't you say so? "

"PETUNIA!"

"I'm afraid Petunia isn't in right now..." said Lily, twisting the cord around her finger, "And I don't think she'll be coming back because her eyesight returned this morning and she realised she's been going out with a complete swine all these years. Ran screaming to the hills she did."

"YOU'RE CERTAINLY NOT COMING TO THE WEDDING!" roared Vernon Dursley before hanging up.

Lily's face slackened. "Wedding?"

The garden gate clanged outside and Lily saw her sister through the living room window. Dropping the receiver, she went to the front door to wait for Petunia, but then changed her mind, choosing instead to open it and run down the garden path towards her.

"You're getting married?" cried Lily.

Petunia's mortified expression did not deter her.

"Who told you?" demanded Petunia, her face white as a sheet.

"Vermin of course- I cannot believe you didn't tell me. I- I didn't even know you were engaged!"

"Keep your voice down!" hissed the blonde girl. Brandishing her tennis racket, she added, "And get into the house before the entire street hears you."

As soon as they were inside with the door tightly shut, Lily rounded on Petunia, "Does Dad know?"

Petunia rolled her eyes, "Of course he knows, you nitwit, how do you think it's all being paid for? But don't you dare bring it up when he's awake; do you hear me? Talk about it and he'll be furious. And pick that telephone off the floor, we don't have those - Home Gnomes - here to do everything for you."

Lily hung up the phone without a word. She had always believed that Petunia would have somehow made herself forget the stories Lily had told her about Hogwarts; it was astounding that years later she could still recall random, though inaccurate, titbits of information such as the existence of house elves.

Foolishly, Lily was shocked that Petunia, her only sister, hadn't told her that she was getting married. Feeling as though she was looking at a stranger, she asked, "When is it?" in a low voice.

"The 24^th of March."

Lily put her hands in the pockets of her skirt, looking at the carpet. "Were you even going to tell me?"

Petunia went to put her racket in the cupboard under the stairs, and her reply was muffled in the pokey space.

"What?"

The older girl straightened up and closed the cupboard door. "Stop being so melodramatic," she said in a tired voice, "Of course I was going to tell you." She looked at her sister, "What are you wearing?"

"When? A week afterwards?" Lily pressed on, playing on Petunia's exhaustion. "There's not much point in knowing now anyway, seeing as I'm officially uninvited."

"Uninvited? Who told you that you were uninvited?" asked Petunia, her nostrils flaring slightly.

Lily felt a rush of affection for her sister. So long had it been since Petunia had acted in anyway like a big sister that Lily had forgotten what it felt like.

"Your...ugh...fiancé." The word stuck in her throat.

Petunia laughed and the alien sound made Lily start. Then the blonde's expression suddenly sobered and she looked at Lily. "You're coming," she stated matter-of-factly.

"But what about my 'abnormality'? You actually want me there? Mingling with all your friends? With Vermin's family?" asked an incredulous Lily, following Petunia into the kitchen.

"Not particularly, no," was Petunia's blunt reply as she washed her hands.

"Then, wh-"

"I need a bridesmaid who suits mauve."

Lily's heart sank.

"I told Yvonne half an hour ago that you were being my bridesmaid. You know what she looks like; her swarthy skin would look hideous against any shade of purple. My wedding photos would be ghastly- how many times have I told you to use a coaster?"

Petunia pointed at the ring underneath Lily's mug of tea as though it were cat excrement.

Lily didn't apologise, but quickly placed the mug in the sink and wiped the table twice with a cloth. Petunia told her to do it a third time but Lily refused, feeling quite inhospitable toward her older sister.

"And what on earth did you do to the floor, my shoes are sticking to it. I came home early because it looked like rain and I didn't want to get them wet, and you destroy them anyway."

"It's not going to rain until tonight at the earliest, Petunia, and I didn't do anything to your shoes." Lily nodded her head in the direction of the first floor, where Graham Evans was still sleeping.

"Oh," said Petunia and didn't complain after that. She changed out of her tennis dress and five minutes later was on her hands and knees in the kitchen, furiously scrubbing the tiles.

Before she left the room in disgust, Lily said, "She was waiting outside the house in her car last night." There was no need to explain who 'she' was.

Petunia stopped her fervent scouring but didn't lift her head.

At the same time, both girls said, "He's getting big."

***

A pair of fourth year boys stuck their heads out of their dormitory door and gazed up the spiral staircase of Gryffindor Tower, in the direction Seventh Year dorm, from whence was drifting the sound of music. Strange music.

"Ooh, I bet you're wondering how I knew

About your plans to make me blue,

With some other guy you knew before.

Between the two of us guys,

You know I love you more.

It took me by surprise I must say,

When I found out yesterday.

Don't you know that I heard it through the grapevine,

Not much longer would you be mine.

Oh I heard it through the grapevine,

Oh and I'm just about to lose my mind.

Honey, honey yeah..."

The two boys looked at each other and shook their heads. That was definitely not the Wizarding Wireless they were listening to. Seventh Years were barmy. The fourth years retreated into their room and shut the door tight.

A moment later James Potter descended, "Of course I'm going to Quidditch practice. A little bit of rain won't stop me." he called up the stairs.

Sirius Black followed, his black curtain of hair flopping as he bounded after his best friend. "Mind if I come along for the fun?"

"Why not," said James with a grin, "Although I find the smell of wet dog revolting."

Sirius whipped out his wand but this time James was faster, and Sirius's ankle was jerked up into the air by an invisible hook.

"Ah, you've been practicing, I see," cried the dangling Sirius knowingly as James continued down the stairs, bringing the black-haired boy along with him.

"Since yesterday?" James cocked an eyebrow, "No, I've just lost all trust in you not to attack me."

"Good to see things going back to normal."

"I agree." James stopped in the middle of the Common Room, an upside-down Sirius at his side. "Wait here," he said, before passing through the door into the Head Boy and Girl's dormitory.

"Potter! Don't leave me here like this; I'm a sitting duck for anyone with a dungbomb! Get your arse back here!"

A smirking James reappeared in the doorway. With a flick of his wand Sirius fell to the floor in a heap. He got himself to his feet and walked towards the Head Boy. James stopped him.

"You can't come in here, it's against the rules. McGonagall told me specifically in September not to let any of you in."

Sirius's eyebrows shot up. "You are taking the piss, aren't you?"

"No, I'm ser-"

"Stop there," said Sirius, before pushing past James into the Heads' dorm. James sighed and closed the door. At least I tried, he thought.

Sirius let out a low whistle as he surveyed the common room. "Everything makes sense now. It's not Evans that's keeping you locked up in here all the time; you don't want to leave. Speaking of Evans, you haven't forgotten about her, have you? 'Cause yesterday you said you were going to look for her."

"I know what I said and I didn't forget," answered James quickly. He went up to his bedroom to get his Quidditch gear and his Cleansweep. "It's just I was thinking last night - you know the way everything is clearer when you transform - well, I was thinking that there isn't much point in trying to find Lily- er...Evans, because if Dumbledore's hidden her she'll be as safe as houses." He pulled his Quidditch uniform over his head. "And besides, what am I going to do if I do find out where she is? Owl her? Not bloody likely." The memory of Thursday night was still fresh in his mind. His mouth twisted into a grimace as he thought about it more. Merlin, he'd acted like a complete fool! He hadn't given Padfoot a detailed account of the 'I LIKE LILY' fiasco and wasn't keen to either. "Nah, the best thing is to wait until tomorrow."

James emerged from his room with his arms full. He looked about for Sirius but couldn't see him anywhere.

"Padfoot?" he called.

"Over here."

"Wha- how did you get up there?"

James stared across to the top of the opposite staircase, where Sirius was standing waving. No klaxon was blaring and the stairs were as normal.

"It's the shoes, Prongs. Didn't you know?" He nodded to his pair of shoes on the common room floor and James noticed that Sirius was in his socks. "The stairs aren't magicked to tell girls from boys, but to tell girly shoes apart from boys' shoes. Socks are neutral." He grinned at his own genius and turned to enter Lily's bedroom.

"Padfoot!" James rushed down his staircase.

"What?"

"That's private."

Sirius started laughing and opened the door. "Now I know you're taking the piss. As if you didn't come in here yesterday."

James frowned, "Yeah, but- "

"But nothing, Potter," he walked in. "Evans wouldn't mind anyway, we're friends now."

James threw his Quidditch gear to the floor and kicked off his shoes. "You obviously don't know Lily." He ran up Lily's stairs, "She'd hex your balls off if she caught you snooping around her room."

He reached the top to see Sirius bouncing on the Head Girl's four-poster bed.

"Where does our Head Girl live, Prongs?" enquired Sirius as he jumped off the mattress and onto the floor.

"Er...Surrey, I think," replied James distractedly, watching Sirius like a hawk, certain he was going to break something. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that there was no sign of Lily's trunk, a piece of information that would have been useful to know the previous morning.

"You think?" Sirius pulled open the top dresser drawn and began rifling though Lily's undergarments as one would flick through a vaguely interesting magazine.

"Oi! Put those frilly - whatever they are - back," ordered James, striding over to Sirius.

"Not very adventurous, tut tut, Lily, I'm disappointed."

"For fuck's sake, Sirius, stop messing about. I've got Quidditch practice in five minutes."

"You know I've realised that you only use Muggleisms when you're really angry."

"Really?" snapped James. He slammed the drawer closed, but not before Sirius had plucked a black brassiere from the array.

"Aha!" He cried in a 'eureka' tone of voice, swinging the garment in James's face. "Who do you suppose she's wearing this for?"

"Shut up. Give me that," he ripped the bra from Sirius's grasp, already tired of the torment. He was more angered by the fact that he was getting quite hot in the face rather than the fact that Sirius was acting like his normal obnoxious self.

"If you wanted it so much, Prongs, you could have just asked. I know, why don't we put it back in the drawer- "

"Good idea," growled James.

"- And tomorrow you can ask Lily yourself if you can keep it. That's much more polite, wouldn't you say?"

Sirius laughed at James's glare.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop. Before you bloody cry," said Sirius, rolling his eyes.

"Thank you," James replied and made his way to the door, "Come on, I'll be late if we don't hurry."

Sirius started chuckling again.

"What?" snapped James, turning around. He followed Sirius's eyes. "Oh- shit."

He shoved the bra back into Lily's top drawer, and without meeting Sirius's gaze said, "Come on."

They arrived at the waterlogged Quidditch Pitch shortly after the rest of the team, who were huddled like sardines in a tin beneath the shelter of the changing room entrance. At the appearance of their captain more than one hopeful face fell in disappointment. The more experienced players knew that it would take a natural disaster (and perhaps not even then) to prompt James Potter to cancel Quidditch practice. Giving the impression that the torrential rain was but minor distraction, James and Sirius took their time walking across the pitch, almost strolling through the muddy ground as though it were a summer's day. But between the pair of them they knew that Sirius was reacquainting himself with the place. They had not been down to the pitch together, nor alone even in Sirius's case, since the day of Lily's fall and their ensuing scrap.

Amid impatient cries to hurry, James unlocked the door of the changing rooms and the team tumbled in through the doorway, thankful to be shielded from the elements if only for a brief period. "Right," said James, getting everyone's attention as he shut the door with a snap. With his hands behind his back, he walked into the centre of the room. The only dry things on him were his glasses, thanks an indispensable charm that his mother had taught him. His untidy black hair was plastered to his forehead, and a puddle of rainwater was forming around his feet as rivulets of water ran off his cloak and onto the floor. "I've got a confession to make."

Eyebrows raised and a few joking comments about coming out of broom cupboards were made.

James's eyes twinkled behind his glasses as he shook his head. "No, I'm not in love with Sirius Black over there." All eyes flicked over to Sirius, who leant elegantly against the tiled wall, looking drenched but polished. "Although I must admit he is stunningly attractive. No, I have to admit that I've neglected you all quite a bit so far this year."

There was an outcry of 'don't be stupid' and 'of course you haven't', as well as 'shut up you idiot' from Sirius.

"No, no, I have," James continued determinedly, "We aren't half as much prepared as I would like for this match against Hufflepuff next week, Ravenclaw won't be easy either, and Slytherin are - it kills me to say it - looking good. And we haven't even thought of how to approach them, let alone beat them."

James looked at the glum expressions on his team's faces and felt a tinge of guilt. "I don't want to hurt your confidence, because we are good, but-"

"Not good enough," droned his six team mates.

James smiled as he looked at them. Then his smile grew wider as his eyes fell on Jarvis Clarke, the new beater. "You know, I've just remembered something. We haven't given Jarvis here a proper introduction to the team."

Soon everyone was smiling like a Cheshire cat. Except Jarvis Clarke, of course.

"I'll get the... beans!" cried Quigley, the other beater, running out of the room.

"I'll get the... bath!" shouted another.

"I'll get the balloons!"

"I'll get the... Boggart!"

"I'll get the...er...Bludgers!"

One by one, the Gryffindor Quidditch team left the room. Sirius took his leave with Mullet, the chaser, so that only James and a pasty-faced Jarvis remained.

"And I'll get the beater," said James with a lopsided grin.

He pulled the burly boy to his feet. "Up you get, Clarke, we still need to practice after this, better be quick." He brought him over to the door. "Wait here. I'm going to leave, but when I say, you come out, alright?" Jarvis gulped and nodded. James winked at him and slipped out.

Five minutes later, above the thundering rain, Jarvis heard his captain call, "Come out, Clarke" through the door. He steeled himself for what was about to happen. With his chest puffed out and his eyes shut tight, he reached for the door handle and pulled.

There was a blinding flash and a puff of purple smoke followed by howls of laughter. Jarvis opened one eye. "Oh, for fuc- you lot are right evil gits."

His team mates only laughed in response. Sirius Black, the one holding the Wizarding camera, snorted, "The look on your face! Ah, that's one for the album."

The Quidditch practice lasted hours and it was fully dark by the time a thoroughly soaked James Potter and Sirius Black returned to the castle. As they ascended the marble staircase, which was deserted save for the Grey Lady, Sirius said, "You said Evans lives in Surrey?"

Struggling to remember what his best friend was talking about, an exhausted James frowned. After a few moments of blankness, he replied, "Yeah, yeah, I did, Padfoot."

"Whereabouts?"

"Well, I don't know, do I?" was James's grumpy reply, shifting the broomstick across his shoulders.

"You - supposedly Evans's closest friend in school - don't know what town she lives in?"

"No, have I failed a friendship test out of Teen Witch or something? Why do you care anyway?"

Sirius shrugged. "I was just thinking - no, really - that if you didn't know where Evans lived, it's unlikely that anyone other than Dumbledore or McGonagall would know."

The pair traipsed up the corridor towards Gryffindor Tower. "And?" prompted James.

"She's probably just at home, then."

"Oh, right." James muttered, then he yawned.

James stopped at the turnoff to the Heads' corridor and his eyelids were drooping as he bid Sirius goodnight.

"See you tomorrow. Hogsmeade, right?"

"Yeah. I want to talk about Regulus as well."

"Oh yeah, we'll work something out, Padfoot. No worries. Night."

James collapsed onto his bed before eleven o'clock, looking forward to sleeping in till at least noon the next day. Before he fell into a deep sleep he remembered that his Head Boy duties meant he wouldn't have much free time at Hogsmeade to discuss Regulus. It was with this annoying thought on his mind that James Potter nodded off.

Five minutes later, however, he started and sat bolt upright. His eyes went wide and his face paled. "She's home," he spoke in a tense whisper, his heart pounding wildly. He scrambled out of bed, looking for his shoes, his glasses, and his wand.

James found the small circular mirror in his trouser pocket. "Sirius Black," he almost shouted into it. Sirius's drowsy face appeared.

"Prongs? What's -"

"Sirius, get the lads up. Lily's in trouble."

***

Lily Evans woke suddenly. She looked at her surroundings, she was in her bedroom, and down at her clothes. She had fallen asleep on top of the covers and now she felt clammy and uncomfortable. Pulling back the net curtain, she peered blinking out of the window at the black night. It still had not rained and it seemed that the stars were in hiding. The alarm clock on her bedside table showed eleven o'clock. Lily wondered what had woken her.

Her father's muffled voice drifted in under the door. He had left the house minutes after getting dressed that afternoon, without so much as a word. It was Petunia who had surmised that he had gone to the pub to watch football. When Lily had gone up to her room at around ten o'clock he still had not returned, meaning that he must have just arrived back. It was always a bad idea to be awake when Graham Evans came home at night, and even then it was still possible that he would wake one of his daughters up to 'talk.' Last night Lily had been lucky that he had changed his mind about coming into her room. It seemed that it was Petunia's misfortune tonight.

Lily got out of bed and quietly crept across to listen through the wall which separated her own room from Petunia's. She pressed the left side of her face against the cool wallpaper, her green eyes wide and alert as she struggled to hear.

"You can't wait to get away, can you? Doesn't matter who with, as long as they'll have you." Graham Evans's tone was soft and glacial, but Lily could detect the slur in his words.

"No, Dad, it's not like that," was Petunia's meek reply, "I - I love Vernon."

Her father's callous laughter sent a shiver down Lily's spine.

"You don't love that pig of a man. You love his money, and his car, and his house. All you want, Pet, is to get your hands on what he's got. Leaving me to foot the bill."

"Vernon offered to p- "

Lily flinched at the loud slap. Petunia whimpered.

"I know what Vernon offered to do, Petunia Evans - to make a fool out of me! The fat bastard would just love to throw that back in my face a few years down the line, wouldn't he?"

Lily remembered Petunia's warning earlier; she hadn't been exaggerating about their father's antipathy towards the topic of the wedding.

"Wouldn't he, Petunia?"

Smack.

"WOULDN'T HE?"

Smack.

Lily threw open her door and strode across the hall to find Petunia curled up in a ball on her bed and Graham Evans bearing down on her. "Leave her alone!" screamed Lily, feeling sick with fear and disgust. She walked right up to her father. "What about your promise? Or have you forgotten already? Just leave her alone for God's sake!"

Her father gave her a black look over his shoulder. "Get back to bed."

Petunia's eyes begged her not to go. Lily knew she couldn't have left, even if she had wanted to. She had to protect her sister.

I won't use my wand, I cannot use my wand, thought Lily, no matter how bad it gets.

She straightened up. "No."

"Get into bed now, before I make you!"

Her eyes narrowed to slits and she stared darkly at her father. "Go to hell."

Her lunged for her, and Lily ran for her life. Everything seemed to slow down as she dashed down the stairs. She could hear her father's footsteps behind her, pounding with her heartbeat. At the bottom she turned to bolt for the kitchen, but shrieked as her father grabbed hold of her long auburn hair. He had her now. Her father jerked her back, and Lily was cast to the ground, her head crashing on the tiled floor. The guttural scream released from her throat rang through the house.

***

The gravel path crunched loudly beneath the feet of the four eighteen year olds. The rain had stopped and the night had cleared to reveal a crisp navy sky.

"What the hell is going on?" shouted Sirius, stopping a few hundred yards away from the gates of Hogwarts. Peter and Remus came to a halt. "Who knows?" panted Remus, who had insisted on coming along, and was still wearing his pyjamas underneath his coat.

James kept running, "Hurry up!" he roared over his shoulder. The other three caught up with him and James gave the werewolf a sideways look. I shouldn't have let him come, he thought angrily. But it was too late now for that. It might be too late for anything.

James cursed loudly and ran faster. He skidded into the wrought iron gates and began scaling them. He reached the top, now level with the two winged boars which flanked the entrance to the school, and recklessly jumped off. He landed badly on his ankle, groaning in pain.

"What in the name of Ptolemy are you playing at?" barked Sirius through the gates at James. He rattled the railings. "Are trying to get yourself killed?"

James got to his feet and glared at the three boys on the other side. "Just climb the bloody gates. I'll worry about me."

Peter muttered something as he clambered up the twisted iron poles.

"What?" snapped James.

Peter looked at him through the railings, his frustration plain. "I said, the only thing you'll worry about is Evans, not yourself. You don't even bloody care if you get yourself expelled or killed."

James turned and limped off to the road into Hogsmeade.

"See! You can't answer that, Prongs. 'Cause he's right!" Sirius yelled after him.

"Stop wasting my time! Climb or leave!"

They climbed.

James pulled out his wand at the edge of the road, summoning the Knight Bus. Through the steamy windows of the purple triple-decker James saw a sea of faces among the bedposts: the bus was packed with witches and wizards, being the day after Halloween, and James was glad of this, as it meant that four Hogwarts students could go easily unnoticed.

James jumped on and tried to keep his head down as he paid the minimum fare, refusing the offered extras. "No, no I don't want a toothbrush, or hot chocolate...or a 'surprise'," he glanced warily at the leering conductor. Saturday nights were always the worst time to get the Knight Bus.

James looked around and was relieved to see Sirius, Remus, and Peter getting on the bus behind him. Leaving the conductor, who was now watching the aristocratic Sirius very closely, they pushed their way through the throng, and each found a space to sit. James perched himself on the edge of a bed occupied by a wisp of a woman who was snoring noisily and her bags. Sirius gently rolled the little witch over toward the window, leaving three quarters of the mattress empty. Remus lay down beside the ancient lady, too tired to feel properly sorry about stealing her bed, while Peter and Sirius seated themselves on the floor, resting their backs against the frame.

The bus shot off like a rocket and James was hurled back onto the bed, landing on top of the woman's luggage. The greasy conductor appeared moments later. He rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet and in an oily voice asked, "And where might your destination be, young gentlemen?" His pale eyes strayed to Sirius and he smiled suggestively. Sirius's grey eyes stared at him impassively through his black curtain of hair, as he made sitting on the floor look extremely elegant and refined. The conductor's sneer faltered after a few seconds of this indifference.

"14 Murdock Villas, Little Whinging, Surrey." James had pulled a rather old looking letter from him pocket and was reading the address written on the envelope in emerald green ink. The Hogwarts crest was stamped on the back.

"Very well, young sir," was the conductor's reply before moving off, keen to be away from Sirius's disconcerting gaze.

Sirius snorted at the wizard's retreating back. "Does it look like I'd be interested? I mean, I'm not - you know - but if I was, does it look that I would be interested in that?"

James was tapping his feet anxiously on the floor even though there still was a twinge of pain in his right ankle. His stomach churned and twisted with terror and guilt. If he hadn't been such an idiot he would have known where Lily was and got her out of there by now. He remembered seeing her mutilated back and closed eyes, refusing to be sick on a crowded bus. Then he suddenly felt angry with the redhead as nausea swept over him. Dumbledore wouldn't have sent her away without telling her where. Lily would have sat there and let Dumbledore send her home without a word. She would rather go back to...whatever it was...rather than show a sliver of weakness to the Headmaster. James smiled bitterly; he would have done the same. It was the Gryffindor curse.

"Was that Lily's Hogwarts letter, Prongs?" came Remus's gruff voice. The old witch had thrown her arm across him and was squeezing him tightly like a teddy bear. "Gah - she's breathing on my ear - are we going to her house?

"What sort of trouble is she in? It can't be -" Peter lowered his voice, "the Death Eaters, can it?"

James opened his eyes. The fact was that he didn't even know. Lily had never told him who had beaten her, he just knew that it happened at home. James vowed that if he got her out of this tonight, he was going to make her tell him everything. I deserve to know, he thought.

"It's not Death Eaters, Wormtail. We just have to get her out of that house. If we don't - no - we have to get her out. Leave it at that."

***

Something wet trickled over Lily's ear as her head lolled to one side. Her father stepped over her limp body and went into the kitchen. Lily lay lifelessly at the bottom of the stairs, feeling the blood seeping out of her; terrified that this was the end. The back of her head felt hot and throbbed with bursts of pain. The light of the upstairs landing burned her eyes and Petunia's fuzzy outline appeared. Lily opened her mouth, forcing herself to make a sound; "Petunia."

Petunia rushed down the stairs and fell to her knees at Lily's side, her pink nightgown pooling around her. She made to pull Lily's head into her lap, but gasped and stopped. Lily looked around and saw Petunia's hands. Her fingertips were bloody.

"Petunia, please, please, help me," Lily sobbed, clutching her older sister's hand. "Is it bad? Is it bad?"

Petunia looked into the kitchen at her father. Her expression was one of disbelief as he sat nursing a glass of whiskey, watching the scene in the hall with obvious detachment. "Ring an ambulance, then," he muttered before taking another sip.

Petunia was on the phone almost as soon as he said it. Meanwhile, Lily rolled onto her stomach and managed to push herself off the ground. Her entire body shook. From her hands and knees she managed to stand. Using the wall as support she made her way over to the door and slumped against it. She couldn't hold her head up, instead letting it drop down onto her chest.

Lily listened to Petunia as she made the call. "Hello, ambulance please, yes. Hello, my- my sister's fallen down the stairs - her head - she hit it off the hall floor. Tiles. Check what? Yes, yes she's conscious. I will, I will. Oh, alright. So, you're coming? Okay. Please, please hurry."

"Always so clumsy us Evans girls, aren't we?" Lily said bitterly. She raised her head ever so slightly, "Aren't we, Dad?" she called into the kitchen opposite.

"Stop, Lily," hissed Petunia, watching her sister fearfully.

"How many times is it now that I've fallen down the stairs? Three? Four?" Lily spoke over her sister, her words slurring slightly. Her vision was becoming hazy and her eyelids were heavy. Lily felt her body sway and she slumped further down the door. It was getting hard to stay awake; she wanted nothing more than to fall asleep. But even as consciousness left her, she continued her mocking. "I am a very clumsy girl. I'm lucky to have such a nice dad who will look after me when I hurt myself." Through the strands of hair falling messily over her face, Lily's green eyes met her father's, and she gave him a caustic smile. Then her eyebrows furrowed as she remembered that she did have someone else to look after her.

"James," she whispered. "Petunia, get James, will you? Please, get James. He'll tell us all a joke, it'll be funny, so funny." She wished for nothing more than to be back at Hogwarts with James Potter.

"Of course I'll get James, just stay awake, Lily."

"No you won't. You hate wizards. And James is a wizard." She reached up and unlatched the door. "I'm going," she said to her father, who didn't look up from his drink. "I'm sick of this place. I'm sick of you."

"Lily, stop please. Don't - the ambulance is on it's way," was all Petunia said.

Lily slowly pulled open the front door, "Okay, Petunia, I'll stop." She smiled drowsily at her sister. "I'm just going to go and wait outside for the ambulance." Lily managed a few unsteady steps down the garden path before she heard her father call her.

"Lily, get back here," he growled. He was angry, as she knew he would be.

"I'm not coming back." Lily replied as some of the grogginess lifted in the night air. She began to walk faster down the path and then Petunia called, "Lily, come back! Please, before-"

Lily looked around and saw her father striding through the front door like a raging bull. "Stop right there!" he barked. Lily broke into a run. Just as she started thinking that her luck had finally run out, a miracle occurred. A purple triple-decker bus appeared out of nowhere in the street in front of her house.

"Thank you, God!" she cried into the night. The Knight Bus would save her. She ran faster towards it, though the way the world spun around her made her want to stop. Her father's shouts chased her through the garden gate and she dimly noted Petunia's sobs. She made it out onto the street just as the doors of the Knight Bus opened and four teenage boys piled out.

***

James Potter had barely got a glimpse of Lily Evans's house before the girl herself slammed into him at full tilt. His vision was obscured by her mass of red hair and she would have taken him to the ground had it not been for his three friends catching him before he went down. James lifted Lily up and held her away from him so he could look at her critically. She swayed slightly on her feet. Is she drunk? James wondered.

"Lily?"

Her eyes slid into focus, "James?" She stared at him as though she had never seen him before.

"Get back here, young lady," snarled the man marching down the garden path. The muggle was taller and much broader than the seventeen-year-old wizard, who felt quite scrawny in comparison. James Potter knew immediately that this was her father. He also knew instinctively that it was his handiwork he had seen on Lily's back in September.

"Who the hell are you lot?" he demanded, glaring at James who was holding Lily.

James watched as Lily's pupils dilated in terror. Her head whipped around to lock eyes with her father. Then she looked at James, "James, go, he'll kill you," she mumbled, releasing her grip on the collar of his leather jacket and trying to shove him away.

She made to move back towards her house and James's mouth fell open. "Lily, what are you doing?" he exclaimed incredulously, gripping her tightly.

"Get back into the house, Lily," snapped Mr. Evans.

"Get onto the bus, Lily," cried James, who felt his stomach turn at the thought of leaving here without her. James looked to his friends for help, at a loss. The three boys looked blankly back at him, having no idea what was going on.

This wasn't how he had planned it.

"Sirius, get her onto the bus," ordered James. Sirius gave her no option but compliance as he and Peter bundled her onto the purple vehicle.

"LILY!" roared her father, who couldn't see the Knight Bus or Lily inside it. James watched him scan the street for any sign of his daughter. "What did you just do?" he spat at James.

A strange siren sounded in the distance and James felt Remus grip his shoulder and pull him back to the doors of the bus. "We have to go, now."

James complied, walking backwards onto the bus and letting the doors close. But he didn't take his eyes off the middle-aged Muggle however, who had been watching James's movements with hooded eyes. Though he was invisible to Lily's father, James still took an involuntary step back from the doors as the man flung open the gate and stalked out onto the street.

"LILY!" he roared, searching in the dim orange light of the streetlamps. Unbeknownst to him, Lily was mere feet away.

On the bus James glanced at the driver. "Open the door for a second," he said. The old wizard gave him a look as if to say 'it's your funeral' and opened the doors.

"LILY!" the muggle yelled again.

James Potter moved forward and called to her father. "I hope you got a good look at her, 'cause she's not coming back here ever again, you fucking bastard."

Graham Evans stared around wildly, unable to see the owner of the voice. "You're dead next time I see you, you little shit," he threatened, "Do you hear me? You think she'll thank you for this? You stupid prick. I'm her father! What are you, wizard? What are you? I'M HER FATHER!"

James had one foot on the pavement before Remus jerked him back ("Are you insane?") However James Potter knew that Lily's father had got a good look at him. He would remember his face: the wizard who had stolen his daughter.

"Any longer here and we'll never get home," remarked the bus driver, before putting his foot down on the pedal. The Knight Bus shot off like a cork out of a bottle.

Remus stayed up at the front to pay their fares while James forced his way to the back to where Sirius, Peter, and Lily were sitting. It was the bed with the old witch again, except now it seemed as though Sirius had pushed the tiny woman even further into a corner of the mattress and piled her baggage around her like a child's fort. Sirius had taken James's seat on the edge of the bed while Peter stood, leaving a space for Remus to lie down. The sleeping Lily was propped up with her back to the window at the bottom of the bed, her legs lying across the mattress.

Sirius gave James a severe look when he reached them, surprising the Head Boy. "This is what you drag us out of bed in the middle of the night for? To be a designated driver for Evans when she's piss drunk?" The black-haired boy gestured to Lily's head resting very low on her chest. "When you said she was in trouble, I thought it was a life or death situation, not that she was about to get an ear-bashing from her old man for being hammered."

James couldn't believe what he was hearing, hadn't they all just seen what had happened?

"Hang on- was I the only one who saw what went on back there? Did you not see?"

"Yes, I did, but did you? She didn't look in dire need of assistance, Prongs."

"Look at her clothes even," added Peter, "Looks as though she was having a good time tonight." He gave James an apologetic look.

James surveyed Lily's attire. He had never seen her wearing anything like this at Hogwarts; the skirt barely covered her arse, for Merlin's sake. The sickening possibility that he had been wrong, and that Lily hadn't needed saving in the slightest, swam to the surface of his mind. She was out having the time of her life while I was worrying like an old woman, he thought bitterly, trying not to imagine what filth had been ogling her that night. He glanced at her bare legs and turned away in disgust, unable to look at her as she slept.

Remus joined them a few minutes after and lay down on the bed next to the old witch, feeling by this stage almost as if he knew her. There was silence among the group for the next ten minutes as no one wished to talk about the pointlessness of what they had just done.

James was staring morosely out of the window into the pitch black when the bus gave a jerk and everyone was thrown forwards. His eyes flicked over to Lily, whose head had slid down the window, smearing the glass with -

"Fuck."

James leapt up from where he was sitting and turned Lily's head to the side, revealing a large purple lump that was oozing blood.

"What the -" said Sirius in a hushed voice. "I didn't do that."

James watched Peter's eyes flick to the back of Lily's head and then to her face.

"She's not sleeping," whispered Remus, sitting up, his face paler than before, "I think she's unconscious."

James Potter stared at Lily's blank expression in horror. "Lily?"

He paused and waited in vain for her to respond.

"Evans?" said Peter, stepping in closer.

Sirius had turned around in his seat and was prodding her limp form. "Evans, wakey wakey," he said.

James pulled her up against him, so that she was almost kneeling on the bed. He shook her, "Lily, come on. Wake up, Lily. Wake up. You weren't drunk, were you? You weren't even out tonight. Ah, Merlin - please, wake up. Wake up, Lily. Wake up."

"Wake up, dear," came a feeble voice. The old witch had obviously been roused by the commotion, but did not seem very shocked to find five teenagers in the bed with her. She peered over her suitcases curiously at the attempt to revive Lily.

James would not allow himself to panic. Shifting Lily's weight to his left arm, he reached into his back pocket for his wand. "Enervate," he whispered, pointing it at the Head Girl.

Lily's eyelids fluttered open to reveal bewildered emerald eyes. She glanced at James's face and then to his left arm wrapped firmly around her. "James?"

"Hm?" was his reply, as he watched her eyes.

She moved her face close to his. "Is this a dream?"

James's answer was cut off by Sirius's snort. "I'm sure it is for one of us," he muttered, giving James a pointed look.

Lily removed herself from James's arms and clambered off the bed. She was fully alert now, and also fully aware of the throbbing lump on her head and of what she was wearing. She noted the presence of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Facing James, she asked, "What are your friends doing here? Why are you here, for that matter?"

"We came to rescue you, o fair Lily of the valley," sang Sirius.

Lily's jaw clenched as Sirius crooned about their epic quest, all the while keeping her eyes fixed on James, who stared defiantly back at her.

Lily felt herself tremble with rage. How dare he? How dare he come after her, to her home, in some dim-witted act of heroism? She had never wanted anyone to see her like that- to see her father (for Merlin knows James must have guessed who he was.) And what was worse, he brought his mates along for the ride. While it appeared as though they knew nothing about James's reasons for his night expedition, she still felt like she wanted to be sick.

As the seconds ticked slowly past, the tension grew.

James Potter couldn't take the silence. How dare she be angry with him for rescuing her? He had risked his neck to save her, and now she had the gall to glare at him? No bloody way.

"What else could I have done?" he spat suddenly. Everyone flinched except for Lily.

She put her hands on her hips. "What else could you have done? Nothing! No one asked you to do anything, James Potter, not a thing."

"Oh really?" he retorted. "I wonder what other marks you would have had if I had done nothing; that bloody lump looks bad enough." Lily reflexively touched the back of her head as she glowered at James. "What would you have been like tomorrow? Would you even have made it back to Hogwarts?"

"Don't be an idiot, I would have been fine," Lily snapped, belying her earlier fears. She glanced at the three wizards who were watching the exchange with rapt attention. ("I think they're speaking in some sort of code," whispered Sirius to the tiny witch who was also listening.) Remus Lupin caught her eye. She really didn't want to have this conversation in front of him, especially; he would figure it out sooner than the other two.

James folded his arms. "Oh so now I'm an idiot? Well, excuse me for trying to SAVE YOUR LIFE. I didn't realise how rude it was of me."

Lily shook her head incredulously. "Rude? James, that doesn't even come close. How dare you come to my house? How dare you. I can't believe you even did that, let alone taking your friends along! Did you even think this through? What about my trunk- my books, my clothes? What am I going to tell Dumbledore? Did you even consider how I would feel before you came?"

James was silent.

"Of course you didn't think about me. All that mattered tonight was how you would feel if you didn't do something."

"That's not true," argued James. Then his eyes flickered and he licked his lips; "Would you even have told me - if you had come back tomorrow - where Dumbledore had sent you?"

Lily's look made her answer clear.

"You would have just hidden it, wouldn't you?" He ran a hand through his hair. "I thought...I thought... after September you let me in - you let me know. I thought that you would let me know again."

"I didn't let you know, James. It was a slip, a mistake." Lily's tone was regretful, as though she was explaining to a child that Santa Claus wasn't real. "You are my friend. But that night I was tired, I hadn't eaten, I was in pain; that's why you found out about all of this."

"So, what is this, you and I?" demanded James, trying hard to forget about Thursday night. "Is this just a way of keeping me quiet, us being friends? Because real friends want to tell each other about themselves, Lily, that's what their for."

Lily sighed, "I'm not most people's friend, James, I thought you knew that."

James obviously wasn't satisfied with that answer.

The redhead looked at her hands and then at James again. "And besides, I've never told anyone about what you know. I wouldn't know where to start."

The Head Boy held her gaze. "Start at the beginning."