The Story of Lily

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Story of Lily

Chapter Eleven: Part One of the Ski Trip (Sorry, I couldn't think of a better title)

Lily's breath caught in her throat as she looked out the window at the Swedish Minister of Magic's home. The view was gorgeous. Feet of snow covered the ground, sparkling like precious gems. The forest was beautiful also, and very picturesque what with the snow covered pines everywhere.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" someone whispered in her ear.

Lily knew it was James. He placed his arms around her waist and leaned on her shoulder.

"Yeah, it's breathtaking," Lily whispered back.

They stood there, drinking in each other and their surroundings until the very formally dressed butler stiffly told them dinner was ready.

It was their first day at the Minister's house, and for Lily, her first time out of the country, for that matter. She had just put her bags in the room she was sharing with Gwen, and they both regretfully left the room.

"Oh, James, there you are, dear!" Katharine Potter spotted her son and Lily as they headed into the dining room. "Lily, it's wonderful to see you again," she said sincerely to Lily, pulling her into a hug.

"You too, Mrs. Potter," Lily replied, equally as sincere.

"Lily!" Harry Potter boomed, standing up. "A pleasure, as always," he said, embracing her tightly and winking.

Lily blushed slightly, aware that the entire group was congregated in the dining room and beaming at her.

Lily had gone home with Ella the week before and spent the majority of her free time at Gwen's house. Gwen's mother Elizabeth had gotten extremely teary when she greeted Lily and Minister Watson had hugged her for what seemed like extra long. She was very glad to be back in their company.

After the Lupin's greeted her, she noticed the older man who was sitting at the head of the table. His black hair was streaked gray and he had very tan skin. He was dressed in rich clothes. Minister Watson beckoned Lily over and she did so, quite nervously.

"Minister Heinz, this is Lily Evans." Minister Watson told him courteously.

Minister Heinz smiled at her and she smiled shyly back. He shook her hand.

"It is nice to meet you, Miss Evans," he said, in a heavily accented voice.

"Thank you, you too," Lily replied.

"And, George, her aunt was the Adviser, correct?"

Minister Watson looked down at Lily. "Actually, Berthold, she is the Adviser."

There were no collective gasps, as Lily would have thought, except for Minister Heinz's and a woman who Lily hadn't noticed before that had to be his wife.

Minister Heinz looked shocked and then he bowed deeply to her and took her hand. "This is a great honor," he said. "I have met your aunt, and at the time, she was not much older than you are." He smiled at her. "Miss Evans, this is my wife, Sacha Heinz."

"Nice to meet you," Lily said cordially. Mrs. Heinz merely smiled and said her thanks in a very accented voice.

They sat down, Lily in between Mrs. Lupin and James. The food was very good; a traditional Swiss meal. They went to bed very full. A maid had been up in Lily and Gwen's room and had put their things in drawers.

Gwen collapsed on her side of the bed and laid a hand on her stomach. "Uh," she moaned. "I think I'm going to be sick."

Lily laughed. "You shouldn't have had seconds, then!"

"Shut up," Gwen moaned again.

There was a small knock on the door and Mrs. Potter peeked her head in. "Girls, how about a nice cup of tea before bed?"

"Sure, thanks, Mrs. Potter," Lily said brightly, tying her dressing gown on and dragging Gwen out of the bed. "Where?"

"In the living room on this floor. We've got a lovely fire going."

The two girls followed her into the brightly-lit room where the huge fireplace was roaring. There was a table with all sorts of tea (Lily chose Earl Grey) next to the fire. She found a blanket and sat down on the couch with Gwen. Soon, the boys emerged from their quarters (James and Sirius were in the room across from Lily and Gwen and Remus and Peter were to their left). James got a mug of tea and sat down next to Lily while Sirius sat next to Gwen.

"James, have you ever skied before?" Peter piped up before Lily got the chance to say anything.

"Yeah," he replied, looking very eager.

"Is it hard?" Peter squeaked.

"No, no, Pete, you'll be fine," James said reassuringly, patting his friend on the shoulder.

"Yeah, but I know I'll kill myself," Remus said miserably.

"Now, Moony, have faith in yourself!" James laughed.

Lily looked between them, hoping to find some clue that would tell her why they used such nicknames for each other. James was called Prongs; Remus was called Moony; Sirius was called Padfoot; and Peter was called Wormtail. When she had asked James, he looked down at her for some time, until he finally said he would tell her someday. She couldn't help but feel slightly put out, but she trusted that James would tell her eventually.

"I'll try," Remus said, putting on a brave smile.

Lily smiled warmly at him. "Remus, I feel the same way!" she laughed, "I know I'll fall flat on my face!"

Remus smiled, truly smiled, at her and stood up, draining the last bit of his tea. "Well, I'm off to bed," he smiled again at them and began walking to his room.

"Pete, how about you go with him?" James asked innocently, winking at Lily.

"I suppose I will, if you want me to, that is, James," he said, blushing.

"Yeah, you go ahead, I'll be there in a bit."

"Oh - alright," Peter said hastily, getting up heavily to his feet and walking to their room.

Lily looked over at Gwen who was chatting, it seemed, almost affably with Sirius. Lily shot her friend a secret smile and sighed happily. This would be a perfect time to tell James about Sirius's 'crush'.

"Hey James," she began, "have you noticed that Sirius has been acting, well, strange around Gwen lately?" she whispered to him.

He looked at her with amusement. "You mean, stranger than usual?"

"James!" Lily grinned and punched him lightly threw her blanket.

"Okay, okay. Yes, I have. Why?"

"Because," Lily whispered dramatically, "he likes Gwen!"

"Oh, I knew that," James said.

Lily looked at him in disbelief. "Well, were you just not going to tell me?"

"No, I knew you already knew too!"

"Oh," Lily said, feeling quite put out.

James grinned and put his arm around her. "Cheer up, Flower."

Lily smiled. "James!" she said suddenly. "Why don't we try our luck at matchmaking?"

"Sounds good to me." He sighed as he looked over Lily's head to Sirius and Gwen who were squabbling with each other. "They're certainly not going to get anywhere without help."

"Yes," Lily sighed. "And since Gwen has been such a good friend, I feel like I should do something, you know?"

James nodded. "Yeah, but the question is, what?"

They puzzled for a minute, until James exclaimed, "I've got it!"

"What?" Lily asked eagerly.

"We leave them somewhere for a while! Like shut them in a toilet or something!"

Lily started laughing, until she realized James wasn't. "You - you aren't serious," she chortled. When he nodded, she said, "James! You want to lock them in a toilet by themselves? They'll kill each other!"

"No," he said slowly, "no, if they really do like each other, then they'll be snogging when we come and unlock them."

"James, are you sure this will work?" Lily asked worriedly, her brow creased.

"Yeah, of course it will, Lily," James said confidently. "And plus, the worst they can do is kill each other, right?"

"James!"

~*~*~*~*

Lily frowned at her boot. "These are so uncomfortable," she complained to Gwen.

"Don't worry," her best friend said confidently, "you'll get used to them."

"It stinks that everyone here is a Muggle," Sirius remarked, walking rather difficulty over to the bench where the girls were, "otherwise I would get your mum to put a Cushioning Charm on these boots."

"All right," Mrs. Watson said, barely distinguishable through her thick Muggle ski coat, scarf, and hat. "Does everyone have skis, boots, and poles?"

There were nods and sounds of affirmation. "Yes, well then, I'll go pay," Mrs. Watson pulled a wad of Swiss Muggle money out of a pocket in her coat.

Lily started to try and snap her skis on, but Gwen stopped her.

"No, Lils, you have to put them on outside."

"Oh," Lily said, feeling disappointed.

Mrs. Watson returned. "Okay, everyone, bundle up!" She smiled warmly and replaced her scarf.

Lily had bought her ski things the day before. She had a coat, bibs, a hat, a scarf, and a very thick pair of socks on. She stood up wobbly, with help from James, grabbed her skis and poles, and walked very clumsily outside. She was pleased to note that Peter seemed to be having a much worse time than she was, and fell a few times.

Finally, they all were assembled outside: Mrs. Watson, Mrs. Potter, Mrs. Lupin, Remus, Sirius, James, Lily, Peter, and Gwen.

"Hello, are you the Watson group?" A man who spoke in a broken English/Swiss accent approached them with two other people. All were wearing bright yellow ski jackets with the ski resort staff crest on them.

"Yes, we are," Mrs. Watson shielded her eyes and looked at the man. "Would you be our ski instructors?"

"Yes, we are," the man beamed. "I am Jose. This is Yvonne," he pointed to a woman behind him who was wearing ski goggles. She waved. "And this is Kathy. She is British, as you are," he gestured to the last woman.

"Australian, actually!" she chirped.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you," Mrs. Potter said.

"Yes, you too," Jose said briskly. "Now, who here has ever been skiing?"

Mrs. Watson, James, Gwen, and Sirius raised their hands.

"All right, you will come with me. The rest of you will be split up into two groups," he said, and began helping his group with their skis. Once they were ready, they set off to the chair lift, grinning excitedly and waving.

"All right, mates!" Kathy said, clapping her gloved hands together. "I'll take this pretty red head here," Lily obediently stood next to Kathy, "And...hmm...aren't you two mum and son?" She gestured to Mrs. Lupin and Remus.

"Yes," Mrs. Lupin said, patting her son's shoulder, which was as high as she came up to on him.

"Okay, then, I should split you up...you there, come with us, and then, you, come as well," she gestured to Mrs. Potter and Remus. "Rosa, you set?"

"Yes," the other instructor replied in decent English.

"Good, good! Then, you can take your lot over there and we'll stay here," Kathy said, not even waiting for a reply. "Now, first we should get acquainted," she said, and then pointed at Lily.

"Lily Evans," Lily said.

"Pleased to meet you, and you?" She then nodded her head at Mrs. Potter.

"Katharine Potter."

"Nice to meet you, and you, laddie?"

"Remus Lupin."

"Jolly good! Now, you lot've never been on skis before, have you?"

Katharine, Remus, and Lily shook their heads 'no'.

"Okay, first what you want to do is put your toe in the ski, yes, you've got it, Lily, and push with your heel. It should snap - yes! Like that, Katharine...no, no, Remus, you've got it all wrong..." she pushed down with Remus's heel and it snapped. "Good, now use your poles to steady yourselves and do the other one."

Lily dug her poles into the ground and pushed. The ski made a reassuring snapping noise.

"All right, everyone in? Good! Now, let's start with the basics..."

~*~*~*~*

Lily, Katharine, and Remus returned to the Minister's house, laughing, their faces red with the cold, but happy none-the-less. They stacked their skis next to the door and began taking off their outerwear.

"Oh, Remus, that last fall was hilarious," Lily was laughing as she struggled with her coat.

"Yes, I agree, quite funnier than the one before that!" Katharine giggled.

"Yes, it's all good fun poking at Remus, isn't it?" Remus said good-naturedly.

"Quite, our favorite thing to do," Lily teased.

"Lily, you were marvelous. I won't be surprised if you start on an intermediate course tomorrow!" Katharine praised. She had insisted that Lily call her Katharine.

"Oh, you really were wonderful too, Mrs. - I mean, Katharine." It still felt odd to her, though.

Suddenly, the door opened right behind the three and Peter and Mrs. Lupin stamped in, both chuckling and covered in snow.

"Peter and I took a few good falls," Mrs. Lupin said, smiling at Peter.

"It seems so! You're covered in snow!" Katharine exclaimed.

"Ah, they're home, George!" Harry Potter boomed. "Katharine, my snow angel, how did you do?"

Katharine laughed. "Snow angel, Harry?"

"Well, you certainly look like one," Mr. Potter winked and hugged her tightly. "And how did Miss Lily do?"

"Oh, Lily was wonderful," Remus said, struggling with his ski boots.

Lily blushed. "Did you fall?" Mr. Potter inquired.

"No! Not once!" Katharine exclaimed, hugging Lily's shoulders.

"Good," he said, his eyes sparkling. He took Lily's icy hand. "Oh, my! Dear God, your hand is freezing! Come, come into the living room! There's a marvelous fire."

He led Lily into the comfortable room where tea was being served. Mr. Lupin looked up and smiled at his wife and son. "How did it go?" he asked quietly. Mrs. Lupin went and sat next to him, Remus on his other side.

"And my women are still out there?" Minister Watson smiled.

"Yes, they were in a separate group," Lily explained, putting a lump of sugar in her tea. She sat down next to Katharine.

"We're back!" Sirius's unmistakable voice carried through the hall. Lily grinned and set her teacup down and raced into the hall.

They were all looking totally composed without one spot of snow on them.

"Lily!" Gwen shrieked, grinning hugely.

"Lily!" Sirius mimicked.

Gwen glared threateningly at him and he smiled charmingly. James and Lily shared a secret smile and he winked.

"So, how was your skiing?" Lily asked, still smiling.

"Oh, it was great!" Gwen gushed, her face shining. "What about you?"

"I love it, Gwen! Thanks so much for inviting me!" Lily said, hugging her best friend tightly.

"Oh, don't mention it," Gwen said.

"Oh, don't mention it!" Sirius mimicked in a ridiculous voice.

Gwen made to kick him but he moved out of her way swiftly and ran behind Mrs. Potter, who was standing in the doorway, laughing.

"Sirius Black, you come out here and face me like a man!" Gwen sad furiously.

"Gwen Watson, you couldn't make me, even in your dreams!" Sirius answered, smiling at her charmingly again.

Gwen rolled her eyes and turned to Lily. "Is it just me, or is he incredibly annoying?" she demanded, her eyes blazing.

"No, it's just you, because-"

Lily placed her hand over her boyfriend's mouth and smiled quickly. "Because you're the only one who he likes to annoy, Gwen," Lily covered quickly, glaring slightly at James as she removed her hand.

James shifted and Lily poked him in the ribs with her elbow. "Yeah, that's right," he quickly said.

Gwen removed her hat irritably and Sirius cautiously made his way back next to the door and took off his ski boots. He smiled winningly and she softened barely.

Lily cleared her throat. "James, would you help me in the kitchen?" she inquired casually.

"Sure," he said, getting the hint.

He followed her into the kitchen and she put her hands on her hips. "James, you ought to be more careful."

He grinned at her and put his hands on her hips. "I'm sorry, I will."

Lily softened her angry demeanor light years away as she stared into his chocolate eyes. They leaned in and kissed softly. Lily's heart soared as she melted into him, enjoying his sweet taste.

They pulled back, Lily's emerald eyes shining.

"I could get used to that," James said, tracing her cheekbone lightly.

"Mmm, I already am," Lily said, closing her eyes and enjoying his touch immensely. She opened her eyes regretfully and sighed. "We need to put our plan into action," she murmured, inhaling his boyish scent.

"Yeah," he pulled back to look her in the face. "I say we do it today."

"Yes, but how?"

"Simple. We find a closet and trick them into going in there together."

Lily laughed softly. "I thought it was a toilet."

"No, no, a closet's nice and dark," he said finally.

"Alright, I suppose," Lily smiled. "But which? There are so many choices!"

"I say the one in the basement so no one will hear them."

"James!" Lily hit him lightly. "How long are we going to leave them in there?"

"Oh, a few hours should do it," he said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.

"Well, if you're sure." Lily sighed. "You know, we are putting a lot on the line, here. I could lose my brother and my best friend."

"Yeah, I could too. But," he said cheerfully, "they'll forgive us eventually!"

Lily opened her mouth to say something, but James placed his mouth on it so she was unable to even recall what she was going to say anyway, much less voice it.

~*~*~*~*

Lily cautiously approached Gwen, who was fuming and brushing her hot pink hair. "Gwen, it really isn't a bad color, dear."

Gwen slowly turned towards Lily. "Lily," she hissed, and Lily cowered, "I HATE Sirius Black!"

Lily winced. "Now, Gwen, you don't hate him, you just think you do!"

"No, I know I do!" she snapped, turning back to her hair. "To think, I was STUPID enough to take a lolly-pop from him!"

"Gwen, it'll wear off in a few hours," Lily said as a last ditch attempt to get her to warm up to Sirius again. She checked her watch. Right now, James was persuading Sirius to look for something in a closet. She was supposed to be downstairs in about three minutes. "Come on, let's go downstairs...James said the basement had a secret passage!"

"Lily, there are secret passages all over Hogwarts!" Gwen snapped again, but followed her friend out of the room, down three flights, and into the cold basement.

"Hey James!" Lily called, unnaturally loudly as she paused at the bottom of the stairs. "Have you found that secret passage yet?"

"Yeah!" he replied, as unnatural as she, "come on and see it!"

The two girls walked into a large room with a closet that was open. They heard rustling from inside - Sirius.

"Here, Gwen, why don't you go first?" James asked, stepping aside.

She irritably stalked into the closet and James shut it and locked it. "Yes!" Lily whispered.

"Hey James, there's no-"

"Sirius, what're you doing in here?!" Lily heard Gwen ask.

"I'm looking for the secret passage. What are you doing?"

"The same - ouch! That was my toe, you bloody git!"

"Sorry!" Sirius said sarcastically. "Anyway, James, there isn't a secret passage." They heard him turn the doorknob. "Hey! James, the door's stuck! James!"

Lily and James were shaking with silent laughter.

"Oh, Sirius, move, would you?" They heard Gwen shove him aside and turn the doorknob herself. "Hey, Lils, the door's locked." She paused for a moment, and when Lily didn't answer, she yelled, "LILY! THE DOOR'S STUCK!" with definite panic.

"Move, Gwen!" Sirius cried. There was more scuffling, and then the sound that could only be Sirius throwing himself against the door.

"Sirius, that is never going to work! HELP! Lily Carolyn Evans, GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

"Sorry Gwen!" Lily said cheerfully, leaning against the door.

"Yeah, sorry!" James said, leaning next to her.

"What do you want?!" Gwen demanded.

"We want you both to sort out your differences, and face your feelings," James said slyly, grinning at Lily.

"Face our-" Sirius spluttered.

"I haven't got any idea what you're talking about!" Gwen yelled, panic-stricken.

"No, you do, my dearest Gwen," James said slyly. "Now, if you all agree on something, we'll let you out. It's as simple as that."

"Yes, and we'll check up on you each hour, don't worry!" Lily said, grinning at James.

"Lily-"

"James-"

The both began at the same time, but cut off and Gwen said huffily, "It won't do us any good to protest, Sirius."

"Nope, it wouldn't!" James said cheerfully.

"Please don't kill each other," Lily begged.

"No, I'm not going to kill her when I get out. I'm going after a certain BEST FRIEND and SISTER when I get out." Sirius growled.

"Padfoot, my friend, Lily and I are only looking out for your best interests, right Lils?" James said, placing an arm around her shoulders and grinning at her.

"Right," Lily confirmed, smiling up at him.

"Well, ciao, we must be off!" James said merrily as he steered Lily out of the room.

"Oh, my GOD they weren't kidding!" Gwen exclaimed, as she and Sirius began pounding on the door.

James shut and locked the door behind him, and the noises were quite muffled. "And you did put the voice box in there?" Lily asked as they made the long journey up the stairs.

"Yep," he said as he pulled a blue box out of his pocket. He pushed a button and Gwen and Sirius's voices came through it.

"I'm going to kill her!"

"I'm going to kill her too!"

"NO! You kill James, and I get to kill Lily!"

"Who says?"

"I do!"

"What if I don't want to kill James?"

"Get over it, because I'm killing Lily!"

James smiled at the box as the two continued squabbling. "Kind of humorous to think our best friends are fighting over which of us to kill."

"Yeah, it is rather disturbing." Lily agreed.

They entered the living room. It was deserted except for a lone figure in front of the large fireplace. Lily recognized him as Peter immediately because of his pointed nose and bulk. He seemed to be rubbing his forearm and wincing every once in a while. Lily shot a questioning glance at James and James looked back, worry etched in his handsome features.

"Peter?" he called to his friend.

Peter jumped a mile into the air and turned around, breathing heavily. "Oh - hi - hi James, Lily," he stared at the floor as he said their names.

"What's wrong, Wormtail old buddy?"

There is that blasted nick-name again! Lily though with frustration.

"No-nothing, James," Peter stuttered nervously, still staring at the floor.

"Is there something wrong with your arm?" James asked gently.

"No!" Peter exclaimed in a high, slightly terrified voice as he jumped up, "Why - why would there be something wrong with my arm? There's nothing wrong with my arm!"
"Okay, if you're sure..." James said, still looking quite doubtful.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine, I think I'll go take a kip!" and he scampered out of the room, faster than Lily had thought possible for a boy his size.

Lily sat down next to James. "Wonder what's wrong with him?"

James shook his head, looking miserable. "I don't know. He's been acting - well, different since he came back this year. I think it's maybe because...well, maybe it's because he feels left out," James said, looking terribly guilty. "I mean, Sirius and Remus and I, we never try to leave him out, but sometimes, he just gets shunted to the side, you know?"

"Yeah," Lily said, rubbing his back comfortingly, "I'm sure it's just a phase. He'll get over it."

"I hope you're right," James said, sighing again.

"James," Lily said, pausing, wondering if this would be a good time to ask him about the nick- names again.

"Yes?" he prompted, sensing something was up.

"Well, I know you said you would tell me later...is this a good time?" Lily blurted.

"Tell you what later?" James asked, looking bewildered.

"Well, you know those nick-names you use? Why?"

James sighed heavily. "Lily," he broke off, and looked as though he was thinking very hard. Suddenly, he lifted his eyes to hers and said quickly, "Lily, have you ever noticed how Remus disappears a lot?"

"Yes," Lily said, furrowing her brows. "Yes, to visit his mother...I didn't know she was so sick. She doesn't look it."

James swallowed. "Well, that's because she's fine. She has been in perfectly good health for as long as I've known her."

"Alright," Lily said slowly, "then why does he go visit her?"

"He doesn't," James said shortly.

"Then where does he go?" Lily asked curiously, wondering where this was going.

"He - he goes to the Shrieking Shack."

Lily gasped. "You mean, that horrible haunted house in Hogsmeade?"

"Yeah."

"What? Why?" Lily demanded.

"Because - well, Lily, he's a werewolf."

Lily's jaw dropped. "A - a werewolf?"

James nodded. "Yes. But Lily, please don't tell."

"I won't, but a werewolf?" Lily's head spun. Gentle, kind Remus was the last person she would ever dream to be a werewolf!

"I know," he sighed, "it's horrible."

"When did you find out?"

"Beginning of second year," he said, smiling at the memory. "We cornered him and told him we knew where he really went each month. He hadn't told us because he was afraid that we would shun him, like all the other friends he had made. He was ready to have us disown him, but instead, we found something that would help him. He was quite surprised we wanted to be near him."

Lily's heart went out to Remus. "How did you find out?"

"It was easy," James shrugged. "We studied the moon charts, found out that his Mum was never sick, via me asking my Mum, and we followed him under Dad's Invisibility Cloak one night."

"Wow, and to think, I never even suspected a thing!" Lily shook her head in surprise. Then a light bulb clicked on in her head. "But I should have! When I showed him my silver bracelet, he went pale and left in a hurry! And in fourth year, with the Boggart, it turned into a moon! All though, I didn't know it was a moon at the time." She thought for a moment, and then her eyes lit up. "And that's why his name is Moony!"

James grinned at her enthusiasm. "Yep, you're right on target."

"Then why do you have nick names? You and Sirius and Peter?"

"Lily, we wanted to help Remus, right? And you know that we couldn't be with him in human form, so," he paused for a moment, and then lowered his voice, "we became Animagi."

Lily's breath came in a sharp gasp. "You - that's advanced magic! Even some of the most powerful, certified wizards can't do that successfully!"

James smiled wryly. "I know, but we can, and did."

To his surprise, her face lit up and she smiled widely. "Can I see?"

He looked at he for a moment, and then wordlessly took her upstairs and into a spare room. He shut the door firmly. "All right, here goes."

And with a faint pop! he was gone, and in his place was a gorgeous white stag. Lily's breath caught in her throat. "Oh James," she murmured, petting his neck and threading her fingers through his snow-white mane. He bumped her gently with his nose and she smiled at him. "Prongs," she said, her eyes brimming with unexplained tears. "I get it." He popped back into his regular body and she hugged him. "Oh, James! You were magnificent!"

He simply smiled. "Can you figure out Padfoot and Wormtail?"

Lily thought hard. "Hmm, well, cats have padded feet...is Sirius a cat?"

"Lily, it's also his name."

"Sirius...Oh! The dog-star! Is Sirius a dog?" she asked eagerly.

"Yep, you hit the nail on the head." James smiled.

"Oh - right, and that must mean Peter is a...a - worm?"

"No, but he has a tail that look's like a worm."

"Okay...a mouse?" she asked hesitantly.

"No, but you're really, really close."

"Oh, a rat!"

"Exactly, my flower," he grinned and steered her out into the hall. "We should go check on Gwen and Sirius...damn, I think I left the voice box in the living room..."

"James Potter!" Katharine's shrill voice carried up the stairs.

"Yes, I did, and Mum's found it, I'll bet you a Galleon."

"No, I think you're right," Lily said as they hurried down the stairs. Katharine Potter was standing with one hand on her hip, the other holding the blue box.

"Sirius!"

"Gwen!"

Lily and James cried at the same time. For it was true, both Gwen and Sirius were standing on either side Katharine, looking quite smug.

"James, did you lock them in the closet?" Katharine asked. Lily could practically feel the heat radiating off of her.

"Well, you see, Mum, Lily and I had their best interests in mind," James said, as though it was the most logical thing in the world.

"Lily, you were in this too?" Katharine's tone was disbelieving.

Lily bit her lip and nodded.

"What possessed you...?" she spluttered.

"Well, Mum, they were going to kill each other or someone around them, so we figured that it might do them good if they were stranded together," James said, quite philosophically.

Katharine sighed. "James," she shook her head and smiled. "I suppose it was stupid of me to think we could go somewhere and you wouldn't pull a stunt of some kind."

"Mum! You call this a stunt?!"

"James, I will not punish you if you promise not to lock someone in a closet again. Deal?"

"Yes, all right," James said miserably.

Katherine smiled in spite of herself and ruffled his already untidy hair. "That's my good boy, Jimmy."

"Mum!"

"Sorry, James dear." And with an amused sigh, she left the room.

"Well, Lily how about we erm, go...somewhere..." James said as he backed away from Gwen and Sirius.

"Yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea, James," Lily said nervously as she fumbled for the doorknob.

"No, you aren't going anywhere, I'm afraid," Remus said slyly as he locked the door and smirked at them through the glass panel on the other side.

"Remus, Remus no, you wouldn't!" Lily pleaded.

He simply smiled deviously and Lily immediately saw the side of him that enjoying pranks. She lost herself for a moment, and turned inward, thinking of all the harmful things said and done to people who couldn't help being different. Remus, for example, and how he didn't deserve to be shunned just because of something that happens to him once a month. He wasn't a monster, and he didn't deserve to be treated like one.

~*~*~*~*

Later that evening, Gwen shared with Lily that something did happen between her and Sirius in the closet. No matter how hard Lily pried, the only thing Gwen would say was that she thought they wouldn't be fighting any time soon.