Lily Evans: A History

Chapter 7 - Sirius goes soprano

    It was a very disgruntled Lily Evans that slipped out of bed at eight a.m. on September 1rst. She had stayed up late the night before to clean her room and make sure everything was packed away.

    Unfortunately, at eleven o'clock, she had realized she hadn't finished her charms essay and had hastily sat to work on it. So running on five hours sleep, as opposed to her normal nine, was enough to make her not care that she looked like hell (the mirror had said so as she passed) as she dragged herself downstairs for breakfast.

    After nearly two weeks at James' rather large house, Lily could find her way around it without problem. She stretched her arms as she padded down hall and staircase, towards the kitchen. When she arrived, the first thing she noted is it was unusually quiet. Eyebrows tangled up in confusion, she pushed the door open and walked in the dining room.

    Harold Potter was sitting at the table, The Daily Prophet open before him. Remus sat opposite of him, a book and parchment out before him. He was loading his quill with ink when Lily came in. "Morning Remus, Mr. Potter," Lily addressed, dropping into a seat next to Remus.

    "Good morning Lily," Mr. Potter replied, not looking up from his paper. His eyes looked darker this morning with rings around his eyes like Remus had after a full moon. Lily wondered what time he came in from work last night. James' father was an Auror, and with Voldemort attacking more frequently, he was home less and less.

    "Oh, hey Lily," Remus mumbled, his quill scratching across the parchment again. "I can't believe I forgot about the essay Professor Flitwick assigned."

    "Me, too," Lily replied as Bott the house elf sat a plate of pancakes before her. "I only finished mine last night."

    Remus shook his head when Bott tried to shove a plate of pancakes at him as well. "I already had two plates," he told Bott, lifting his tired eyes from his parchment long enough swat the eagle feather quill in the air.

    "As you should," Bott replied, picking the plate up off the table. "You would be feeling better if you ates a big breakfast, my Mum always said so." He took the plate into the kitchen, mumbling to his self.

    Remus chuckled, shaking his head. "I'd call eight pancakes big."

    Lily nodded, pouring syrup over her own plate. She had only taken one bite when the door to the dinning room crashed open and James and Sirius came running in the dining room. Tator was chasing them, a soapy frying pan in one hand. "Master James!" she shrieked. "Master Sirius! You get back here this minute!"

    James and Sirius ran around the table, Tator chasing them, twice. On the third turn James suddenly stopped just next to his father, Sirius colliding into him. Both of them toppled over, Sirius atop of James. "Get off!" James grumbled.

    "You're the one that stopped!"

    James, as if realizing that indeed, it was his fault, said nothing else, but got off the floor. Again he stared at the paper his father was holding. Mr. Potter, noticing where James, and now Sirius, was looking, folded the paper while clearing his throat. "You boys need to get your breakfast, we have to be at the train station about ten thirty."

    "Dad--" James began, but Harold shook his head.

    "Eat your breakfast, boys," he said in a sterner voice that Lily had yet heard him use. Surprised, Lily silently took another bite of her pancakes, shooting James a questioning look.

    He shrugged slightly, glancing uneasily at the paper laying beside his father's plate, and took his seat at the table. Bott hurried in with two plates of pancakes to sit before the boys, and Tator must have given up on lecturing James and Sirius, for she was gone.

    They ate in silence, punctuated only by the scratch of Remus' quill. Lily wondered what was going on. What had James and Sirius seen on the paper? And why didn't Mr. Potter want them to see it?

    After breakfast the peace was shattered in Potter Manor. Lily snapped Morgana's (now bigger) cage shut with a snap and looked around. She was completely packed. She began to drag her trunk into the hall where she seen Olivia Potter pushing the door to James' room open. "James, here are your--"

    "MUM! A little privacy?" he bellowed. Sirius ran out into the hall to laugh as Olivia continued into the room.

    "James Potter, I've diapered your bottom long enough to know what it looks like. Now, here are your socks and--"

    Sirius would have been beside himself with laughter, had Remus and Peter not been on either of his sides in hysterics. Lily couldn't help giggling as well. Olivia came back out into the hall a moment later, shutting James' door behind her. "For goodness sakes, I bought him those boxers. Like I don't know what they look like." She must have been talking to herself, because she started slightly when she seen the four of them in the hall. Nevertheless, she smiled. "Are you all packed Lily?"

    "Yes," Lily answered, nodding.

    "And you boys?"

    Sirius, Peter and Remus looked slightly guilty and turned on their heel to head back into their room. Olivia shook her head. "It's a mad house around here." She glanced at Lily's trunk. "You need some help dear?"

    Lily nodded and Olivia waved her wand, muttered something, and the trunk floated between them. Lily grinned as Olivia guided the trunk down the stairs to sit beside the front door. "There we go," she said as the trunk softly landed.

    "Thanks," said Lily and she sat Morgana's cage atop it. Her voice was punctuated by a squeal and a flash of a house elf running up the stairs, shrieking James' name. "Oh my," Lily giggled as Bott ran after Tator, waving his hands in the air.

    "Indeed," Olivia replied, looking thoughtful. "I wonder what those boys have done now?" she laughed.

    It turned out that it wasn't James at all, though later he confessed that he wished he had been in on it. Sirius, Remus and Peter were the guilty party. Unlike most wizarding families, the Potters had a separate house in which to keep electricity run machines like a washing machine and drier. It seemed the three boys had switched out the liquid clothes detergent with liquid dish soap. The result was that the entire laundry room was flooded in bubbles. Tator lectured the boys for a full ten minutes before they escaped her, claiming they had to pack.

    Finally, at ten minutes after ten, Mr. Potter managed to get everyone in the car (he borrowed it from the Ministry) and they were off to King's Cross Station.

    They arrived with twenty minutes to spare. They went through the walls between muggle platforms nine and ten, which served as the barrier between the muggle station and the wizard's platform, nine and three quarters. After all of their trunks and various cages had been put on the train, Mrs. Potter hugged them all. "Have a good term dears," she said as she let go of Lily. "And please try to behave," she said, eyeing the four Marauder's. She sighed at the looks on their faces. "I'm wasting my breath, I know," she told Lily in an undertone.

    The whistle blew and the five of them boarded the train. As it began pulling away, Lily stuck her head out the window. "Thanks for having me over Mrs. Potter!" she called, waving.

    "You're very welcome dear," Olivia replied, smiling.

    The train gained speed and Lily sat back, watching the train station fall further and further behind them. Suddenly all four of the boys in the room with her stood up, pulling their wands out. Lily raised an eyebrow. "Where are you guys going?"

    Sirius chuckled evilly, Remus and Peter following him into the corridor. James gave Lily a completely innocent, and completely guilty smile. "We have to go make sure we remember, eh, all the magic we learned last year."

    "And test some jinxes we found over the summer," Sirius added as they disappeared into the hall.

    Lily grinned, shaking her head. It seemed that this year was bound to be more fun than the last where those four were concerned. With nothing else to do, she pulled out her Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 and began reading.

    She hadn't read but about ten pages when the compartment door slid open and a tall girl stuck her head in. "Excuse me, but, could I sit with you?" she asked, looking uneasy.

    Lily nodded, waving her hand to the empty seat across from her. "There's four more in here with me, though at the moment they're planning mass destruction somewhere."

    The girl gave Lily a blank look, but entered the compartment and sat across from Lily. The girl looked about the same age as Lily, though Lily couldn't be sure because she was so tall. She had long solid black hair that was nearly to her waist and bright violet eyes with freckles scattered on her nose. "Eh, my names Lily Evans. What's yours?" Lily said uncertainly.

    "Kassandra Phillips. Everyone just calls me Kassie, though," she added, rolling her eyes. "I'll answer to just about anything."

    "I'm just Lily," Lily answered dumbly, to fill in the silence that had once again filled the air. "Sometimes James or Sirius will call me Lil, but only when they are wanting something."

    "I like your name," Kassie suddenly blurted, then blushed. "It was a nightmare trying to learn to spell my name as a child."

    "I could imagine," Lily replied, putting her book aside. Kassie eyed it strangely. "Standard Book of Spells" Lily said, showing her the cover. "I had nothing else to do, so I thought I'd give it a look over."

    "So you're in second year?" Kassie asked.

    Lily nodded. "What year are you in?"

    "Oh, eh, actually, I'm not sure," Kassie explained. "I was suppose to start last year, but my mum was ill and I had to take care of her and my brothers and sisters. So, I don't know if I'll be in first or second year. My mum tried to keep me up on my studies, but I lacked. Professor McGonagall is suppose to give me some tests to see how far behind I am."

    "Oh," Lily murmured. She really didn't know what to say. "Well, I'm sure you won't be too far behind and then perhaps you'll be in second year."

    Kassie nodded vaguely, sitting back against the wall and propping her feet up on the seat. "So, who were you talking about that was causing mass destruction?"

    Lily grinned, also propping her feet up. "James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black--"

    "Someone called?" a voice interrupted and Sirius stuck his head in the door, grinning. Lily rolled her eyes, clearing saying See what I mean?

    Sirius swaggered in, followed closely by Remus. Both of them smiled what they must have thought was charming smiles at Kassie and bowed to her. "Two fourths of the Marauders, at your service," Remus announced.

    "Two fourths?" asked Lily blankly, looking behind them. "Where's James and Peter?"

    "Somewhere," Sirius answered vaguely. "So, who's your new friend here Lily?"

    "Kassandra Phillips this is Sirius Black and Remus Lupin," Lily said, pointing at each as she said their names. "She goes by Kassie."

    Suddenly there was a crash in the hall, followed by running feet as suddenly the other two fourths of the Marauders appeared. James shoved Peter inside and closed the compartment door, making a grab for his trunk. The commotion in the hall grew louder as James took out his invisibility cloak, threw it over himself and Peter and said "Shhh! Act normal!"

    Sirius and Remus fell down in a seat just as the compartment door was thrown open. Standing in the hall, a scrowl ten times worse than normal on his face, was Severus Snape. Of course, the scrowl was the only thing menacing on him. Probably because he looked like he had stuck his finger in a light socket, had he known what one was. His normally greasy long hair was standing on end and frizzy as all get out. Lily burst into laughter despite how hard she tried to keep it down. Sirius, Remus, and even Kassie joined in.

    "Where the hell are they?" he growled, looking around the room, straight through where Peter and James stood.

    Sirius gasped for air, trying to speak, but he seemed to be beyond words as another wave of laughter made him double over. Snape reached for his wand, but even laughing as hard as they were, he wasn't faster than Remus who had his pointing at Snape before the latter had gotten a good grip on his. "Unless you want some well placed boils with that hair, you'd better not," Remus said, deathly quiet. Sirius now had this wand out, too.

    Snape snarled, his black eyes slanting as he did so. "You'd better watch your back this year," he warned, his voice nothing over a deadly whisper.

    He turned on his heel and Lily took our her own wand. "As should you," she whispered just loud enough for the five in the compartment with her to hear. She mumbled something else, so low that no one understood her, and suddenly Snape's hair was a shocking pink color.

    Sirius fell to the floor, doubled over, holding his ribs as he laughed. Kassie closed the compartment door just as Peter and James lost their hold on the invisibility cloak and it fluttered to the ground as they gasped for air. "That *gasp* was *gasp* great!" Peter squealed, his face blood red.

    Lily giggled, putting her wand away. "I do hope the slim ball figures out how to get rid of it," she said, looking smug.

    Kassie raised an eyebrow, Remus also looking curious. "Why?" the latter asked.

    "Because the only way to get rid of it is to curse it on someone else," Lily replied, giggling again.

    Their compartment was probably by far the loudest with laughter as the afternoon wore on. Several people from their house stopped in to chat. Around lunch time Gabrielle came in to tell them that Snape had cursed the Slytherin's Prefect's hair pink and was in trouble.

    The longer they talked and joked, the more open Kassie became. By the time they arrived in Hogsmead they found out that she had two sisters and three brothers, her and her youngest sister was the only ones in the family to show any magical talent, they lived on a farm, her father died two years before and she had a knack for charms, just as Lily did.

    Just minutes before they pulled into Hogsmead, Lily ran the boys off so her and Kassie could change into robes. The train slowed to a stop before James, Sirius, Remus and Peter returned, and Kassie and Lily got off the train without them.

    "First years this way!" a familiar voice called out. Hagrid waved a hand at Lily as he seen her, smiling.

    Kassie stopped dead. "Wh-whoa!" she mumbled, her eyes huge.

    "Don't worry," Lily assured her, moving ahead with the other second years and above. "He's really nice."

    "Reckon I'm suppose to go with the first years?" Kassie wondered, looking around at the group of first years. They all looked terribly short next to her.

    "Probably, so you can be sorted."

    Kassie nodded, not looking like she entirely knew what "sorting" meant and followed Hagrid. "See you at the feast!" Lily called, silently hoping Kassie was sorted into Gryffindor. She imagined they could become really close friends.

    Lily walked with the rest of the school towards large carriages that would take them to the castle. She still hadn't spotted James, Remus, Sirius or Peter and wasn't very hopeful of finding them in the huge crowd when suddenly someone grabbed the back of her cloak.

    She nearly screamed when she turned her head and seen James' glasses flashing in the moon light. "In here!" he said as she turned completely to see all four Marauders in the very last carriage. She climbed the steps, sitting next to Remus and Peter.

    "You prat!" Lily hissed at James, one hand on her neck. "You scared me!"

    "A little jumpy, no?" Sirius quipped.

    "With you four on the loose, hard not to be," the red head retorted just as the carriages jarred and then began moving.

    In a blur of sounds, colors and the like, the Welcoming Feast was under way at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Lily sat happily between Kassie (sorted into Gryffindor almost the moment the hat was placed on her head) and Mundungus Fletcher, a fourth year. The food was as great as it ever was and Lily was just getting second helpings of corn when Kassie suddenly stopped dead in the middle of her sentence, her mouth agape. Lily tried to follow her line of vision, but couldn't figure out what happened.

    "Kassie, you alright?" she asked, looking puzzled.

    "I-" Her voice halted and Lily seen Severus Snape cross the room, looking smug with himself, and sit down at the Slytherin table. Just then the remaining food from dinner disappeared to be replaced with deserts. Kassie looked like she may scream. "Don't--" she hissed, catching the attention of James and Remus. "Don't eat anything."

    "What?" Remus mumbled, his hand on a pastry he had made a grab for.

    "Why?" James asked, dumbfounded.

    Sirius had also caught the conversation and hadn't yet put anything into his mouth. Unfortunately, Peter had been paying little attention to his friends as he was currently in conversation with Madison. He took a bite of the cookie in his hand and Kassie visibly cringed.

    "Quick! Get him to the hospital wing!" Kassie said, standing up and advancing towards Peter. James, Sirius, Remus and Lily all jumped to their feet. No one seemed to know what was going on, but the grim look on Kassie's face wasn't one they wanted to argue with at the moment.

    They had no more got Peter outside the Great Hall's oak doors when he wretched violently. Lily's face turned green as well, as though she might be sick with him. James made to push her away. "Go get McGonagall," he instructed. Lily nodded as Peter gagged and spewed again before she turned and ran into the Great Hall.

    "Make sure no one else eats those sweets," James instructed Kassie. Sirius had made a run for the nearest bathroom and now came back bearing towels. Kassie ran off at Lily's heels.

    "Come on, mate," James said as he helped Peter to stand up properly with Remus' help. "Let's get you to the hospital wing."

    It took a while, as Peter kept getting sick and Sirius finally managed a spell to clean it up rather than wipe it up, to get to the hospital wing. Madam Promfrey sounded like an angry chicken as she helped Peter to lean over a basin. The three boys left Peter to the nurse and went back out into the corridor to wait.

    "What do you think that was?" James said, his eyes locked on the wooden door.

    "I don't know what, but I can just about tell you WHO," Sirius spat.

    "Snape," the three recited together. "Getting us back for his hair?" James continued, looking thoughtful. "Or warning us against anymore pranks on his behalf?"

    "That was the wrong way to go about it," Sirius growled, his ice blue eyes narrowed as they heard Peter vomiting again. "Our pranks are all in good fun, this is much more than that."

    "Payback will be hell, agreed?" James said.

    "This means war," Sirius replied, Remus nodded by his side.

    They might have continued their conversation had the distinct echoing of heels not meet their ears. Looking livid, Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor House, came up the stairs. She was followed closely by Lily and Kassie.

    Their head of house went ahead into the informatory while Lily and Kassie stayed with the three boys. "How's Peter?" Lily asked as soon as the door shut behind McGonagall.

    "Same," Remus replied.

    James had a thoughtful expression on his face as he stared at Kassie. He waited until she meet his gaze before opening his mouth. "How'd you know?"

    "A gut feeling?" she said hopefully, shrugging. "I seen Snape looking distastefully smug about something, coming in late to the feast, and then dessert just happened to appear--it all seemed strange."

    Everyone nodded, but Lily was staring hard at Kassie. She seemed to be hiding something. Passing it off as the afternoon's paranoia, Lily sighed. "Poor Peter."

    The door to the informatory opened again, revealing Professor McGonagall. She looked as Lily had earlier, thought slightly less green around the edges. "Back to your common room," she said. "Pettigrew will be staying here tonight, there's nothing you can do."

    "How is he?" James asked, starting to walk down the stairs since it stood to reason that Professor McGonagall wasn't moving until they did.

    "He'll live, Potter," she answered shortly. As they continued to their common room, she suddenly spoke again. "You missed this year's notices. Most of it was a repeat from last year; stay away from the Forbidden Forest, the Whomping Willow and other such things that I expect my second years to know," she glanced at Sirius and James before continuing. "If any of you are so inclined, Quidditch try outs are Saturday. Gryffindor is up for a new seeker, chaser, beater and keeper. Perhaps this year we'll get a good team together." The last part was mumbled under her breath.

    They arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady that guarded the door to Gryffindor Tower. "Good evening Professor McGonagall," the Fat Lady said as they approached, eyeing Sirius, James and Remus. "A little early in the year for trouble, isn't it boys?"

    "Good evening," McGonagall replied. "They aren't in trouble yet. Though I daresay it shouldn't be too long now. Pixie dust." Sirius grinned.

    The portrait swung open and the three boys and two girls climbed in. "Miss Evans, if you would show Kassie where the dorms are. Good night to you all."

    Lily and Kassie bid good night to James, Sirius and Remus and headed up the stairs to the girl's dorms. They had no sooner made it half way up when the door to the second years room flew open and Gabrielle, followed closely by Kathleen, came out.

    "Lily!" they said together. "Did you know about this?" Kathleen demanded before Gabrielle could form the words.

    "Know what?" Lily asked, looking puzzled.

    "Our room! There's six beds in it!" Gabrielle explained.

    The confusion on Lily's face suddenly made way for realization. Lily and Kassie continued up the remaining steps, went in the second year girl's dorm and found indeed it held six beds. Though amazingly enough it didn't seem any more crowded than last year.

    "Hey!" Kassie said, a grin breaking out on her face. "That's my trunk!" She ran over to the bed that had appeared between Alexis and Madison's bed and started jumping up and down. "I'm in second year dorms!"

    Lily couldn't help laughing at Kassie as she jumped around the room. It took a minute to explain to the other girls how and why Kassie had skipped first year, but they didn't seem to mind one bit. The more the merrier, it seemed.

    It was well past midnight when the girls finally turned in. As Lily blew out her candle and drew the curtain hangings around her four poster bed, she couldn't help but feeling like she was finally back where she belonged.

    For a scarce moment, Lily had no idea where she was when she awoke the next morning. She sat up, staring at the red curtains on her every side in something akin to amusement. Surely this was a dream, she knew she would never decorate her own room this way. It wasn't long, however, until she realized that this was her room, or at least, the room she shared for five other girls. She wasn't at home in Little Whinging at all, but at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The first day of her second year.

    Anticipating her classes, she hastily pulled the curtains back and slid onto the floor. The other five occupants of the room where still asleep, the only sound was their soft snoring and the birds outside the open window. Carefully she threaded over to stare out across the rolling lawns of Hogwarts.

    The Forbidden Forest looked lush, green and inviting with the sun peeking over the tree tops and shining onto the grounds. Just off to the left she could see a stadium structure that was the Quidditch field. Barely visible from the top of the Gryffindor tower where her dorm was, she could see Hagrid walking across the grounds towards the forest, his large boarhound trailing along behind him.

    Quietly she pulled a clean set of robes from her trunk and went to shower. When she returned, her room mates still were not up. With nothing better to do, she started down the steps towards the common room.

    Gryffindor common room was deathly quiet this early in the morning. The clock sitting on the mantel place read six-thirty. Lily sighed, it would be another hour before the hustle and bustle of students getting ready for class thundered through. And quite frankly, Lily was bored for someone to talk to.

    And then, obviously because she had been hanging around the four Marauder's entirely too long, a brilliant idea came to her. Looking around to make sure that she indeed was alone, Lily took off up the staircase to the boys dormitories, checking every name list as she went. At the very top she found all four names she was looking for on one door. It was too easy, and too tempting to pass up. Pushing the door open as quietly as she could, Lily slipped into the room, shutting the door behind her.

    All three of them were still asleep, the curtains drawn on their beds and the window closed. Creeping over to the first bed, she recognized James' belongings laying on the floor. From what she could tell, Sirius was in the next bed, followed by the empty bed where Peter should be and then Remus.

    Laying in James' open trunk was a box of Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks. Grinning to herself, Lily pulled one out, backed up against the door incase she needed to escape quickly, and pulled the string.

    It was pandemonium in seconds. James shot out of this bed, fell through the curtains, tripped over the blanket that was wrapped around his legs and fell to the floor. Remus appeared out of his bed, wand drawn, eyes wide and Sirius was screaming. A scream that sounded distinct fully feminine.

    And for all their effort, they found Lily sitting on the floor in front of the door, laughing so hard tears were rolling down her cheeks.

    The firework zoomed past James' head as he groped for his glasses, hair sticking up, if possible, in more directions than normal. Realizing they weren't being attacked, Remus' wand hand dropped to his side as he stared.

    Lily finally gained a hold over her breathing, an impossibly wide grin still on her face as Sirius pointed his finger at her. "You- You're--"

    Lily stood, still shaking from laughter. "Going to get it? Going to tell every person in this school who will listen that you scream like a girl?" Lily said helpfully.

    Sirius, still searching for words, shook his head. "You're not suppose to be in here!" he finally spat, looking for all the world like he had been caught in his birthday suit. "You're a girl!"

    Silence answered this shrill statement. James raised one eyebrow, glancing sideways at Sirius, who's finger was still in the air, pointing at Lily as though she had grown three heads and was about to do the can-can. Then suddenly, James, Remus and Lily burst into fits of laughter at once.

    "What is so bloody funny?" Sirius grumbled, pulling his curtain hangings around his bed and disappearing from sight.

    "Sirius isn't a morning person," James explained.

    "I am, however, a vengeful person," Sirius told her, crawling out of his bed again and heading for the door. He did look like being shocked awake wasn't his preferred method of waking up. And Lily did feel sorry -- but not sorry enough to stop from grinning.

    As soon as Sirius was out of sight, James and Remus both came over and bowed to Lily, causing her to laugh even harder.

    By breakfast Sirius had woken up enough to find the humor in Lily's prank. He hadn't, however, forgotten his promise on revenge. And though they all knew he would be as good as his word, Lily didn't have time to think about what was up his sleeve. Professor McGonagall had passed out course schedules during breakfast and they had to head out to the green houses for Herbology class.

    The Gryffindor second years (including Kassie until she took her tests the following weekend) gathered outside with the Hufflepuff second years to await Professor Sprout. A short, plump witch, Professor Sprout had gray hair that stuck out at odd angles from under her hat and usually had a great deal of dirt and grim under her nails.

    She beamed as she neared the second years, clapping her hands. "Morning class!"

    "Good morning Professor Sprout," everyone answered back.

    "Today we will be heading into green house two. Follow me." Everyone filed into the green house, lining two sides of a table filled with large mushroom looking plants. "These are--"

    Professor Sprout was interrupted by the glass door to the green house opening, revealing Peter. He looked paler than normal and slightly sweaty. Hurriedly he handed a note to Professor Sprout who glanced at it and then nodded. Peter hurried up the table to stand between Remus and Sirius.

    "You ok?" Remus asked.

    Peter nodded, bringing his hand up to wipe a trickle of sweat from his forehead.

    "You sure?" James asked, looking worried.

    "Mr. Potter, since you were paying such close attention, I shall ask you to explain to everyone about the Horklumps."

    James looked up quickly and Lily just knew for sure that he was about to loose Gryffindor points. It seemed, however, that she was to be much mistaken. "The Horklumps look like an over large mushroom, only when you approach them they release a purple fume that can be harmful if inhaled. If contained and used properly, the fumes will kill most insects that dwell on gardening plants without hurting them."

    Professor Sprout looked like she was crossed between being pleased he knew the answer, or angry that he had answered like someone paying close attention to her every word. She smiled slightly at James, who was giving her his best get-out-of-trouble grin and shook her head. "Very good Potter, ten points to Gryffindor."

    They spent the rest of class with masks on while containing the fumes in large air containers. It was rather boring work and by the time the bell rang Lily's arms were sore from pulling the suction on the containers to suck in the fumes.

    Next they headed off to Transfiguration. This was without a doubt James and Sirius' best subject, though whether it was because they liked the subject or liked harassing their teacher, no one was sure.

    Professor McGonagall was now in her second year of teaching. But as she proved the year before, she wasn't to be walked on because of it. She was a stern witch who expected everyone to follow the rules to the letter. Although Lily often wondered if she had given up on James, Sirius, Remus and Peter yet.

    "Good morning Professor McGonagall," Sirius greeted loudly as he entered the class room and took his seat next to James. "You look lovely as always."

    McGonagall peered at him over the rim of her spectacles as if surveying a suspicious looking animal. "And you look like you're up to something, Black."

    Sirius faked a look of hurt, leaning back and holding one hand to his chest. "Professor, I'm deeply hurt by your accusation."

    "Hmph, we'll see," McGonagall told him as she stood up. Lily could have swore she seen a small grin on her face, though, before it turned stern again. "Welcome to your second year of Transfiguration. Today we'll just be doing some refreshment on what you learned last year." She pulled out a glass container full of beetles. "Each of you should come up and get six beetles. You will transfigure them into buttons by the end of class."

    Within five minutes Sirius and James had twelve perfect black buttons between them. Remus finished not shortly after. By the end of class Lily was staring at them with a glare, looking down at her own five buttons--and the one that refused to stop running across the table. She felt rather good about hers, though, when she seen what a hard time Peter was having. He had one button, two dead beetles and his other three beetles were currently scattering over the table, avoiding his wand.

    Lily sighed, picking her button back up and putting it in the pile with the rest as Professor McGonagall came around to check. "Very good Miss Evans," she said with a smile until Lily's one button took off across the table again. She raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. "Excellent Miss Phillips," McGonagall beamed as she noted Kassie's six buttons.

    Again Lily couldn't help but feel that Kassie was hiding something. For someone who suppose ably hadn't been to school before, she didn't seem to be lacking in their studies. Shrugging it off, Lily gathered her books as the bell rang and they headed to lunch.

    After lunch the second years headed off to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Fully expecting to see Professor Ricochet when they filed into the classroom, Lily was surprised to find an old man seated behind the desk. What very little hair he had left around the crown of his head was a bright white, nearly whiter than Dumbledore's. His face was covered in age marks and his pale watery eyes seemed to be completely colorless except for the pupil.

    As soon as they were all in their seats he looked up, glancing around the room. "Are you all here?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly. Everyone looked around, puzzled. Unaware of what a strange way of taking role that was, the man slowly got to his feet and came around the desk.

    From the full view they now had, it was easy to see that his man was short. Very short. Lily doubted that he would have been taller than her when he wasn't hunched over like a hunchback. He blinked wearily at the class, as if he could think of about a handful of things he'd rather be doing.

    "I'm sure you are all wondering about what happened to Professor Ricochet. As most of you know Voldemort (here a couple of the students in class flinched noticeably) is getting stronger. Ricochet, being a rather valuable Auror, was called for active duty. My name is Professor Kittle, I will be here this year while Professor Dumbledore makes arrangements for a permanent teacher."

    No one said a word. Professor Kittle's white eyes glanced around as if half expecting someone to question his story and then walked around to sit at his desk again. "I would like to see how far this class has gone in the lessons, as Professor Ricochet, not having anticipated going back on active duty, did not leave notes." He banished a stack of parchment and began passing them out. "Take your time. And if you would be so kind, I want to see what you know, not your neighbor."

    And for some unexplainable reason his watery eyes landed directly on Peter and Remus who were seated together. He stared at them so quickly Lily wasn't sure if she was seeing it or imaging it. But nevertheless Peter squirmed uneasily.

    The test was long, longer than their final exams, it seemed. Just before the bell was due to ring Lily finally put her quill down and looked back down the parchment once more. She was sure that had this been a real test she would have failed it for sure. She had no idea what a Billywig was, how to stop a Kappa from attacking, or how to kill a werewolf. (Knowing what she did about Remus made her glance up when she came that question, but Remus acted no differently.) And as far as she knew there was only three breeds of dragons, not ten.

    At last the bell rang and everyone passed their parchment to the front and gathered their books. Once they were out of ear shot from their new Professor, Lily gave an exasperated sigh. "Well, that went well..." she said sarcastically.

    "What?" Kassie asked, confused.

    "That test. I didn't know a lot of that stuff. Were we suppose to learn that stuff last year? I don't recall talking about half of it!"

    Kassie shrugged, readjusting her book bag on her shoulder. "Perhaps you just forgot some of it over the summer. I thought I did ok, all things considered."

    They made their way up to the Gryffindor common room to drop off their bags. Just as Lily and Kassie were coming back down the stairs, they could hear arguing softly in the common room. Curiously Lily descended the rest of the stairs carefully and walked around the wall.

    The first thing she noticed was Remus' face was pale. Paler than normal, that was. He was sitting at the end of a table with Sirius, James and Peter with his head in his hands. Lily stopped uncertainly, but when they noticed the two girls in the room they stopped talking.

    "Perhaps we should take this to our room," James suggested softly, looking serious. Lily wanted to ask what was going on, but with a pointed look to Kassie, James silently told let Lily know it wasn't worth her breath.

    They watched as the four boys walked up the staircases. Just as they rounded the corner Sirius clapped his hand on Remus' back and said, "Don't worry about it mate, you know it doesn't matter to us."

    While having an idea, Lily could only speculate on what that meant.