- Rating:
- PG
- House:
- Schnoogle
- Characters:
- James Potter Lily Evans
- Genres:
- Action Romance
- Era:
- Multiple Eras
- Stats:
-
Published: 06/07/2003Updated: 01/08/2013Words: 389,988Chapters: 59Hits: 80,010
Lily Evans: A History
Bethany
- Story Summary:
- A story of Lily's life from pre-Hogwarts to marrying James Potter. How she coped with growing up with Petunia to her friendship with the four boys that would change her life - and eventually the course of history - forever.
Chapter 20
- Posted:
- 10/16/2003
- Hits:
- 1,582
Autumn slipped away as Halloween came and went, bringing with it the beginning of the Quidditch season and a small amount of distraction for Lily. With homework, Quidditch, and her and Kassie's extra Divination classes, Lily barely had time to think about all the problems at home. Gryffindor won their first two matches of the year; the first one against Slytherin and second against Ravenclaw. Emily was often seen giving her team pep talks through out the day, reminding them all that if they beat Hufflepuff after the winter holidays, and Ravenclaw beat Slytherin, they would be in the final running for the Quidditch Cup. The second week of November, Lily and Kassie walked into a commotion in the common room. Emily Tankard, the Gryffindor fifth year Chaser and Captain of the Quidditch team was pacing back and forth in front of her team members. Lily shot James a look that clearly said 'I'm glad I'm not in your shoes.' He nodded back an affirmative. Emily pulled on her blonde hair as she paced. "This isn't good. This isn't good." "Come on, Emily, it's not so bad. If you start try-outs now, you'll have someone good by the Hufflepuff game," David Lang insisted. Lily only knew he was a Beater and a seventh year, she couldn't understand what the problem was. Emily looked livid. "How can you back out now? We have two games left! Three if we get a shot at the Cup!" "Calm down," James said soothingly. His fellow Chaser glared him back in his seat. "Do you have any great ideas Potter?" Emily snapped. It was that moment that James eyes darted towards the boys staircase and Lily, who hadn't paid attention earlier, saw Sirius standing there. He was nodding vigorously at James. Emily had turned away. "Now, as I was saying-- "Actually, yes, I have an idea," James suddenly said and Sirius jumped up in the air. "I know who we can replace David with." All six of James's teammates looked at him, Emily with her hands on her hips. Sirius had his hands clasped together in what looked like silent prayer. The silence continued. "Well?" Emily glanced around, trying to see what James was looking at. She turned and came face to face with Sirius Black, who promptly fell to his knees, his hands still in prayer position. "No! No, no, no, no!" "Please Emily!" Sirius whined, crawling forward a little and giving her his patented 'puppy-eye' look. "Please!" "I need a Beater, Sirius Black, not a prank war!" "I'll be good!" James, Lily, Kassie and a few other students in the common room snorted. Sirius threw them all a quirky grin before continuing his pleading. "Just give me a chance?" Perhaps it was the puppy-eye look Sirius was giving her, maybe it was because she was cornered and without a Beater, or perhaps she knew in the long run Sirius would probably be an excellent Beater. Whatever the case had been, after allowing Sirius to grovel for about five minutes, Emily nodded. Sirius exploded. He jumped up, pulling Emily into a fierce hug and kissed her cheek. "Sirius! I thought you were going to be good?!" "Thank you!" he repeated, hugging her again even as she pulled away and pushed him into a seat. Sirius was as nonplussed as ever. He leaned back in his chair, giving James a high-five and grinning like a madman. After they finished their meeting, James and a still very excited Sirius came over to the table where Lily and Kassie were sitting with Peter doing homework. "Congratulations!" Peter said as Sirius pulled a seat out, turned it around and sat down. "Thank you," Sirius said, doing a slight bow at which Kassie rolled her eyes at. "How come you needed a Beater half way through the season?" Lily asked James who had taken a seat on Sirius's other side. "David said he couldn't do practice and study for his N.E.W.T.s. Emily was beside herself with worry." James snickered. "She probably still is. If I didn't know Sirius was an excellent Beater, I'd be worried we'd loose the cup as well." "Never fear, Sirius Black is here!" Sirius announced. A new voice snorted and they turned to see Professor McGonagall standing behind them. No one had even heard her come in. She put a hand on Sirius's shoulder. "Mr. Black, do you not have somewhere you're suppose to be?" Sirius turned his head towards their Head of House with an innocent look that neither fooled his friends, or their Professor. "Come on." "What?" James spat, looking up at Sirius, who grinned. "You have detention? For what?" Sirius got up, throwing a grin over his shoulder. "Stink bomb in the staff room." James looked rather upset for reasons Lily couldn't place. * * Things didn't settle down much as November slipped away. The air became colder, making Care of Magical Creatures seem more like torture rather than class. Lily's regular Divination classes were as useless as her extra ones, and only serving to make Trelawney upset that neither she or Kassie had had recent visions. Since the girls weren't having real visions, Professor Trelawney seemed to be making some up for herself, to take care of the over- sight. "How dare she?" Kassie shrieked, throwing her hands up in the air as they descended the stairs from the North Tower on the last day of November. "Like I'm suddenly going to turn Death Eater, burn down a town, and spend the rest of my life in Azkaban." They were heading back from one of their more interesting extra Divination classes and Lily's head was pounding very unpleasantly. The shrill exclamations her best friend were making wasn't helping matters. All the way to Gryffindor Tower Kassie muttered things under her breath like "crazy" and "stupid old bat", slowly getting louder until an all out rant ensued the longer she thought about it. Lily had tuned her out by the time they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. Kassie continued on, sometimes calling Trelawney things that even Lily disapproved of, as they entered Gryffindor Common Room. The first thing they noticed was that there was a large crowd around the bulletin board and the loud voices were very happy about whatever they were reading. "What's going on?" Lily wondered aloud, watching James and Sirius jumping up and down like small children just to their left. "Hogsmeade weekend!" Alexis gushed, pushing her way back through the crowd to where they stood. "This weekend!" Kassie's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! I forgot all about that." Lily did too, but wasn't about to admit it to Alexis, whose face had just dropped to stare in disbelief at Kassie. "Are you mad? How can you forget about Hogsmeade? It's the only all wizard settlement in Britain. I've been there with my Mum a few times. There's great shops, and we can get butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks." Lily must have had a queer look on her face because Alexis elaborated. "Oh, it's a drink. It's... well, it's great. You'll have to try one." She squealed like a small school girl and rushed over to Kathleen and Gabrielle who had just come in the common room. "Hogsmeade, this weekend!" Lily sighed. "Sometimes I feel so... left out." "Don't," Kassie said seriously. "You could stump most of the people in this room with your knowledge of Muggles." Lily rolled her eyes, not quite sure if that was a good thing or not. Kassie paid her no mind. "Come on, let's get started on this stupid star chart Trelawney assigned." Nodding in an offhand way, Lily walked past the Marauders who were discussing the joke shop in Hogsmeade and to a deserted table to drag out parchment and books to make a star chart. Half an hour later, she was still staring at blank parchment. Well, not so blank, Lily thought idly. She had managed to write her name and draw a very likely looking horse. Kassie pushed a few stray hairs from her face and blew out a long breath. "I hate this." "Mmmhmmm," Lily muttered, adding some antlers to the horse. "According to this, I have two planets and one sign in my twelfth house." Kassie grimpsed. "I think that's one planet too many." "What house is that?" Lily asked, trying to draw herself out of her stupor and actually work on her assignment. "House of subconscious," Kassie explained, showing Lily a part in their book. "Gemini and Venus I understand. It means that I like to dream and daydream. But Uranus... that doesn't make sense to me." "Why?" Lily asked, feeling her stupor win over her effort to pay attention. "Uranus is the planet of all things weird. Is it trying to say that I like day dreaming about weird things?" "Don't you?" Lily retorted, throwing Kassie an innocent grin. "Ha," Kassie muttered, taking her wand out and erasing her last calculations. "How about we work on yours, shall we?" "Can we not and say we did?" Lily asked as Kassie took over Lily's parchment and began writing. Unfortunately (or fortunately, in Lily's opinion) Kassie didn't get to finish or even get a good start. Right about that time a small Snitch came zooming down the boys staircase and in the common room. Following it were two toy brooms, one with a small toy figurine in green and the other in red. James and Sirius weren't too far behind them. The entire common room stopped what they were doing to watch as Sirius and James commanded their respective toy brooms with their wands, both trying to catch the Snitch first. "Bloody hell, stay still!" Sirius yelled, standing up on one of the tables in hopes that being higher off the ground would somehow help his toy to win. James laughed, easily flicking his wand to move his figurine. "What would be the point in a Snitch that stayed still?" Soon a small crowd began gathering, cheering either James or Sirius, whichever happened to be closer to catching the snitch. Lily and Kassie, resigned to the fact that they wouldn't get much work done, put their books away and started cheering as well. All the noise, though, didn't bode well for not rousing some other occupants of the castle. In particular, their Head of House. And it was James and Sirius' misfortune that she came in just as the toy snitch was hovering around the portrait hole. "OH!" Professor McGonagall gasped as the snitch flew straight at her, only moving in just enough time to miss the top of her head. The toy brooms weren't so accurate. "Ow..." Sirius grumbled under his breath. "Oh no." "Indeed," James replied, yanking his wand only about two seconds too late. Professor McGonagall's lips were so thin they were little more than a pencil line. She snatched both toy brooms from the air and a pathway between the students appeared as she marched towards Sirius and James. They both slid their wands behind their backs. "Too late," she noted, nodding her head towards them. Her cool exterior only seemed to enhance James and Sirius' nervous stance. They both swallowed audibly but had enough sense not to make excuses. "Your classroom, tomorrow night?" James asked meekly. McGonagall studied them. Nobody moved. Finally the breath she had been holding in came out her nose, and Lily could have sworn she seen a small amount of smoke, as well. "No, I don't think so," she said. "My detentions seem to do either of you a lot of good. How about detention with Mr. Adams?" Both boys groaned. "Tomorrow night, seven sharp. I'll tell him to expect you." Without another word she turned on her heel and went back out of the portrait hole. The silence stretched for another half second. "I still got one up on you," Sirius said smugly. "No you don't," James replied. Lily wondered what he meant until he continued. "We've both had detention at the same time." "I had to stay after in Muggle Studies the other day." "Doesn't count," James retorted, taking the wind from his best friend's sails. "Only detentions outside of school hours." Sirius suddenly perked back up, looking superior. "I had detention a couple weeks back for letting that dung bomb off in the staff room." James opened his mouth, but didn't seem to be able to form words. His mouth shut with an audiable snap. Sirius laughed. Lily looked at Kassie in disbelief. "Are they comparing detentions?" "You didn't know?" Kassie laughed as the crowd broke up and started heading off to bed. "They made a bet to see who could get the most detentions this year. Actually, I think they are attempting to set a school record." "Of all records to want to break," Lily laughed. * * The first Hogsmeade trip of the year dawned bright and bitterly cold. The wind swept across the grounds, causing Lily to pull her cloak tighter around her body to keep from getting a chill. Together she and Kassie followed the rest of the third year and above students past Mr. Adams, who was checking their names against a long roll of parchment he held. The walk to the village seemed to take forever in face of Lily and Kassie's excitement. By the time they arrived, soft flakes of snow had started falling from the sky, but melting upon contact with the ground. "We're going to have a cold winter," Kassie noted when a flake fell on her nose. "If it's already snowing." "I don't mind," Lily replied, grinning stupidly as she caught a snow flake and watched it melt in her hand. "I love the snow." Kassie gave her best friend a withering look, but trekked on. A few moments later Lily stepped into Hogsmeade for the first time in her life. Everything was beautiful, with the flakes gently falling around them. The shop doors opened and closed, small bells ringing as witches, wizards, warlocks, goblins and other magical people came and went. Lily felt a smile on her lips as they passed the post office and saw owls of every shape, color and size going in and out. The doors to the Three Broomsticks opened and a roar of laughter and talking flooded out before halting again as the door closed. Lily took in everything; from the Gladrags Wizardwear (New! Form-fitting robes! You'll never need to buy another size!) to Zonko's Joke Shop (where she could make out James, Sirius, Remus and Peter in the window). She smiled happily, forgetting all her worries and troubles as she dragged Kassie in every shop they came to. "Oy!" Kassie said as Lily pointed to the Shrieking Shack on the hill excitedly. "I'm hungry! Can we get something to eat?" the black haired girl begged in a whiny voice, dragging her feet into the ground to keep from being pulled along by Lily. Lily stopped, giving a last longing look towards the hillside. "Ok," she replied, turning thoughtful green eyes to Kassie. "Where do you want to eat?" "The Three Broomsticks, where else?" Kassie replied, grabbing Lily by the arm much as the red head had done all day. "Come on! I hear it calling my name!" Laughing, the two girls burst into the pub, the heat attacking their numb faces and making them sting. They pulled off their cloaks, shaking snow flakes from their hair and approached the bar. "Two butterbeers, and two of the fish and chips special, please!" Kassie said to the man behind the bar, nudging Lily. "Give me some money." Lily rolled her eyes and dug in her handbag for some silver coins that she deposited in Kassie's hand. "Hello ladies," a voice behind them said and Lily turned to see Sirius Black grinning. "Fancy seeing you here." Sirius leaned between them and hollered: "OY! Four butterbeers!" Kassie elbowed him. "I'm standing here," she said, rolling her eyes and rubbing her ear. "I noticed," Sirius smirked back. He put some coins on the counter, grabbed the tray of butter beers and nodded his head towards Lily. "Why don't you sit with us?" Lily glanced over to Kassie who was now holding her tray of food and drink. "Sure," she replied, not seeing any death glares shot her way. She took her own tray and they followed Sirius across the pub to a round table where James, Remus and Peter were laughing uncontrollably. "Look who I found!" Sirius announced, putting the tray with the drinks down. The three boys turned laughing faces to the new comers. "Hey Lily," James said instantly. Remus nudged him. "Hi Kassie, Lily," he said, throwing a sideways glance to James who seemed not to notice. "Hi," Peter said, taking a long swig of his butterbeer. Kassie and Lily scooted into the booth between Remus and Sirius and began eating while the four boys discussed the Quidditch game later that afternoon. "Ravenclaw is sure to win," Sirius said, slamming his bottle down on the table for effect. "They have a better team." "But Hufflepuff has a better Seeker," James retorted, reaching over and picking a chip off Kassie's plate. She glared at him. "He hasn't missed a Snitch yet." "Even against us," Peter reminded them. Sirius and James groaned and reached over to smack the back of his head. "Ow... What'd I say?" Remus nearly spit his butterbeer out as he laughed, trying not to choke. "That's a sore spot you've hit, I think." Peter rubbed the back of his head. "How'd you like the game last week, eh? Slytherin is in tie with Gryffindor as far as Quidditch points now." James, Sirius and Remus all smacked him on the back of the head. Peter groaned. "Can you feel the love?" "I'm sure you'll be feeling it tomorrow morning," Lily noted. Peter sent a glare her way, too. "Okay, new rule. No more hitting the small person." Sirius held his hand up, pointing at Peter. "You can't make a rule." "Why not?" Peter whined. "You make them." "Only with three fourths vote."* Peter rolled his eyes. Kassie and Lily shared a look, but obviously the four boys either didn't notice their confusion, or simply didn't care. "I want to hit Honeyduke's," Sirius announced, getting up and stretching. "You coming?" Heads nodded around the table as James, Peter and Remus moved out. "We'll see you around, then?" James asked the girls, who were still seated. "Ok," Kassie replied, not really knowing what to say. After the Marauders left she turned to Lily. "What was that about?" Lily chewed thoughtfully on her chip, swallowing before answering. "The rules, you mean? I don't know." "I'm sure we'll find out," Kassie replied. Lily only nodded. "You ready to go?" "Sure," Lily said, moving out of the booth and standing. "We're heading up the hill?" "If you insist," Kassie said uneasily. She noted Lily's odd look and held her hands up defensively. "I've heard it's haunted up there. Really violent spirits." Lily laughed out loud before realizing that Kassie wasn't joking. The black haired girl didn't even crack a smile. "You're serious?" "Nope, but I am," another voice said. Lily turned, only to grown at seeing Sirius standing behind her. He laughed, his blue eyes dancing merrily. "Yes, yes, you don't need to say it." "Can I anyway?" Kassie replied sweetly. "No," Sirius said. "Well, what I came back for, besides this," Sirius said, reaching over the table and grabbing his drink. "Was to see if you would like to join us?" "Why?" Lily asked, giving him a quizzical look. Sirius shrugged uncertainly. "Eh, it seemed like a good idea?" Kassie shrugged, walking past Sirius, but Lily could have swore she saw a small smile playing on her lips. "If you insist," Kassie replied, walking ahead of them. Sirius' eyes seemed to glow. "Well, don't let me twist your arm or anything, Miss Kassandra." As the two of them started bickering, Lily followed, suddenly feeling very much like a third wheel. They put their cloaks back on as they headed out of the pub and past other shops towards Honeyduke's. When they entered the sweet shop, the first thing Lily noticed was Peter, about four inches off the ground. "What's wrong with him?" she gasped, looking around. No one else seemed to think anything unusual about a person hovering above the ground. Remus chuckled. "Fizzing Whizzbees," he explained, showing Lily a package of large sherbet balls. "You eat them and they make you levitate." He grinned at the look on Lily's face. "Don't worry, he'll come down in a minute." "Ooh! Look!" Sirius said, squealing like a school girl as he came over carrying a bag. "Pepper Imps!" Lily hated to think what would happen when they ate those. But she did have to admit that the shop was one of the most interesting she had been in so far, including the Dark Art Detection section in Dervish and Banges. There was every kind of sweet imaginable, including some for those with a taste for the more interesting variety. Before they left she had a bag filled with everything from basic Chocolate Frogs to Sugarquills. Sirius and James looked like they would be feeling the effects of their sugar high from now until next Tuesday. "Where to now?" James asked as they left the shop, carrying bags of sweets. "I want to see the house on the hill, the one they say is haunted," Lily said excitedly, pointing towards the end of the street they were on. She turned back around, noting how Remus's face seemed to have lost some of its color. "It's not haunted," James said seriously, looking like he really wanted to change the subject. "It's just a rumor." "Rumor?" a voice creaked beside them. All six of them jumped and spun around. An elderly witch stood beside them, her faded violet cloak half hanging off her shoulders, revealing a head full of white hair that reached her mid-back. Her black eyes looked at them in astonishment. "That's no rumor," she continued, staring up at the house with what could only be called terror. "I heard them myself, just a few nights ago. There's something dark in that house, spirits that won't rest. I'd stay clear if I were you." She walked away without another word, leaving them all speechless. "Well, isn't she a bundle of good news?" Sirius said, finding his voice, as well as his sarcasm, still in check. Lily still thought he looked uneasy about something. "I agree with James, though. There's nothing to see." "Then it won't hurt to go up there, right?" Lily pressed. She was rewarded with another long silence. Finally Kassie shook her head. "I'll go up there with you Lil, if they are afraid." "We aren't afraid," James replied instantly. Lily was quiet sure that at least Peter was, he looked nearly as pale as Remus. She wondered what the big deal was. Kassie and her started towards the house, soon to be followed reluctantly by the Marauders. The house sat at the top of High Street, over looking the town of Hogsmeade. A wooden fence lined the property, which was in dismay, to say the least. The grass had grown at least knee high, which only added to the over all spookiness of the place in general. All the windows and doors had been boarded up tightly and Lily could have swore she could feel magic radiating off it. She shook herself, unsure why she suddenly felt they shouldn't be here. She glanced around at her five silent friends, and caught the oddest look on Remus. He was standing back and staring at the building with the up most anger and loathing on his face. She reached a hand out and gently laid it on his arm. He turned to her, his gray eyes meeting her own and suddenly Lily fell to the ground with a kind of grace that made it seem like she had folded over on purpose. The bright day was gone, to be replaced by night. Clouds littered the sky, the full moon playing peek-a-boo every now and then. Lily sat up, blinking rapidly. The cloud passed once more over the moon, casting darker shadows on the school grounds. How she had gotten back at the school, she didn't know. And why was it dark? But her thoughts were interrupted by the presence of a cat, just feet before her. It was orange and more than slightly bowlegged as it prowled low to the ground, as if reading to pounce. "Crookshanks!" a female voice whispered, frantic. Lily looked around in puzzlement, seeing nothing but the cat. "No, go away, Crookshanks! Go away!" "Scabbers -- NO!" This time a male voice penetrated the air, and Lily stifled a scream as a boy appeared out of nowhere, chasing something that was moving through the grass quickly. The cat bounded up, chasing after whatever was in the grass, the boy quick on their heels. "Ron!" the female voice shrieked in a kind of desperate moan. Lily watched as yet two more teenagers appeared, a silvery invisibility cloak falling behind them. They, too, bounded after the first boy and the cat. What they were all after, Lily never found out. The only thing she did know, was that the boy in the very back of the line was James. Why he was here, who the girl and other boy was, remained a mystery. And would remain so, for at that moment something hard stung her face and she gasped, sitting up. Kassie's face was hovering above Lily's, and she was as white as if she had seen a ghost. "Lily!" she gasped, her hand still raised from the slap she had just hurled towards her best friend. "Are you ok?" Lily brought her hand up, rubbing the side of her face as Sirius, James and Remus came into view. "Why did you slap me?" Lily asked, trying to sit up. The world spun unpleasantly as she did, making her shut her eyes with a soft groan. Kassie looked from Lily to her outstretched hand and blushed feverishly. "I-I'm sorry. But you were having a vision, and twitching, and I didn't know how to get you--" Lily rolled her eyes, giving her a slight smile as she finally managed to sit up. "Didn't Professor Trelawney tell you not to disturb a person having a vision?" It was approximately two seconds after the words left her mouth that Lily realized her mistake. Sirius, Remus and Peter were all standing around, various looks of amazement, disbelief and something akin to horror on each face. She moaned. "Cripes." "You can say that again," Kassie retorted, rolling her eyes. "Cripes," Lily repeated obediently. "You can--" "Don't," James told Sirius, giving him a warning look. "Twice is enough to get the point across." Sirius shrugged, giving them all a quirky grin. "It's my job to be annoying." "You fulfill it nicely," Remus told him. "You have visions?" Peter asked, seemingly paying little attention to the exchange going on around him. "Real ones?" Lily blushed so red that it was hard to tell where her hair line stopped and her forehead began. Quickly she got to her feet, dusting off her robes. "Actually, I don't think that one was too real. Unless James knows someone named Ron?" She turned questioning eyes to James, who looked equally confused. Sirius gave a low whistle, obviously not ready to begin serious conversation. "Lily's having visions about James?" Kassie snorted, trying to hide the smile that wanted to creep up on her face. "Way to go, mate." James ignored him. "Do-er-you need to see Professor Dumbledore Lily?" Lily shook her head and continued to dust off her robes, though there was little more she could do for them. "No." She gave one last glance at the house, and suddenly understood something that had stayed beyond her reach before her vision. The look on Remus's face... the screams heard just a few nights ago... Her eyes meet Remus's again and an odd sort of shiver passed over his face. "Let's go back," Kassie said, still looking worriedly at Lily. The red head nodded, not looking at the house again, but starting back down the hill in silence. Remus looked very happy to be walking away. * * Peter and Sirius seemed to believe that Lily's visions were the greatest gift of all time. They also seemed to believe that she could conjure these visions at any time, about anything. In fact, they bugged her so much that James nearly took both their heads off that evening in the common room. "Leave her alone." His voice was calm, but Lily had never seen him stand so firm. Both Sirius and Peter sat obediently, crossed their arms and proceeded to pout for a few minutes. Remus looked up from his book, shook his head in a dejected sort of way and threw a smile at Lily which she returned half-heartedly. She again stared back down at her own book, but the words she read wasn't registering in her mind. Her thoughts were on what Dumbledore had said. Tell no more than necessary about your visions.... She was quite sure it wasn't necessary that Sirius and Peter know. Suddenly their silent studying (or pouting, in the case of Sirius and Peter) was interrupted by James standing and putting his book away. "Come on Sirius, we have detention." The other black-haired boy stood, looking put-out. They left, the portrait slamming shut behind them. Lily once again tried to read her book, but it seemed to be a doomed project. Several first years in the corner were getting loud, disturbing everyone else. Several glares were sent their way, which they ignored dutifully. Remus shut his book closed with a snap. "Peter, want to play chess?" "Sure," the shorter boy replied, looking relived to shut his own book. Lily thought perhaps he was only studying because Remus was. "I'll go get my set, since yours don't like me too much." Peter dashed up the boys staircase, leaving Remus putting his books away. Lily closed her own book, stowing it away in her own bag and turning to get more comfortable. Peter returned a few minutes later, carrying his set of chess and set them up on a table between him and Remus. They played intensively for a rather long time. Lily flinched each time one piece hit another and sent it flying off the board. Obviously Remus wasn't too good at chess. Lily suddenly saw a superior grin cross Peter's face as he declared; "Checkmate." "What!" Remus exclaimed, checking the board over. Peter leaned across, speaking very slowly and clearly as if Remus were a small child. "Check. Mate." Remus grumbled, glaring at his pieces. "Best two out of three?" Peter laughed, setting the pieces up again. "Sure, but you'll only lose." Lily watched them begin again, but her mind was elsewhere. Kassie had gone up to bed, declaring that they had bored her to sleep. The common room was emptying out slowly and Lily knew she should be going to bed herself. The flames in the fireplace simmered down to nearly nothing and still Peter and Remus played. "Christmas vacation is in two weeks," Peter suddenly said. "Check." "Are you going home, then?" Remus asked, studying the board with a watchful eye. His pieces were all pointing in different directions, obviously confusing him. Peter scrowled. "Yeah. My mum would have a coronary if I didn't. Want to come over?" "I can't," Remus replied, throwing a half glance up at his friend. Peter nodded, as he understood. "Check." "Wonder what's keeping James and Sirius?" Peter said, not glancing up from the board. "Mr. Adams probably worked them to death and now they're in the infirmary, Remus replied with a solemn shake of his head. "At least Madam Promfrey can fix anything quickly." Their conversation died from there, but it got Lily to thinking. She would go home in two weeks, even though the thought of seeing Petunia was enough to make her wish that the next two weeks would never end. But her mother and father needed her. She had to go home. To a place that would never be the same again. A world without magic, without her father running about... Suddenly an idea struck Lily. She stood up so quickly that both Remus and Peter whipped their heads around to stare at her. "You okay Lily?" Peter asked, glancing around nervously. "Yes," Lily replied, smiling. She walked towards the portrait door. "I couldn't be better." "It's after curfew," Remus said, watching her pushing the door open and climb out. "Be careful." Lily waved, not really listening to what he said and not caring. She just had a brilliant idea and nothing short of the castle exploding would keep her from finding out if she was right. Determinedly she raced through the halls, down stairs and to the third floor where a stone gargoyle stood alone. There was only one problem. She didn't know the password. "Sugarquill?" she asked timidly. The gargoyle didn't move. Lily blew out a frustrated breath. "Bertie Bott Beans? Pepper Imp? Chocolate Frogs?" Still the gargoyle remained put. Lily stomped her foot. "Open already!" "I'm afraid it won't listen." Lily gasped and spun around. Standing behind her was a tall wizard with a long white beard and equally as long white hair, wearing robes of deep blue with sparkling stairs on them. His twinkling blue eyes surveyed her over his half moon spectacles. "H-Headmaster," she gasped, her heart racing. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to speak with you..." "Indeed?" Professor Dumbledore tilted his head to the side, studying her. "Actually, I was heading down to the kitchens for a warm cup of cocoa. Care to walk with me?" Lily nodded, falling in step with the powerful old wizard. They descended the stairs. Dumbledore stepped on the trick step, and Lily, who knew exactly where it was (how many times had she been stuck in it?) stared. The wizened old wizard chuckled. "There are advantages to being the Headmaster, Lily. But just in case the stairs are in an ill mood, you may want to jump." Lily did as she was told, jumping down and rejoining him at the bottom. They crossed the Great Hall to the doorway that lead to the kitchens. Dumbledore reached up, tickling the pear which giggled, then produced a handle. After they placed their order with the house elves, Professor Dumbledore turned a serious face to Lily, who had nearly forgotten that she had asked to speak with him. "Now, you wanted to speak with me about something?" "Yes," Lily squeaked, jumping as a house elf appeared at her elbow holding a steaming cup of hot chocolate. "I wanted to ask you something about my dad. You see, he is paralyzed from the waist down." Dumbledore nodded, taking a sip from his own cup as he stared at her over the rim. Lily surged onwards, talking in a gush about the idea she had earlier. "Well, I was thinking about Madam Promfrey, and how she can fix everything with magic. And I was wondering, if it's possible, to help my dad walk with magic?" her voice squeaked at the end from the possibility of seeing her father get up from the wheelchair. Eyes shining with hope, she watched the Headmaster. For a moment he stopped drinking from his mug and Lily had the impression her question may have caught him off guard. She was sure that was a school record, for she doubted that precious little ever surprised the Headmaster. She waited pensively for an answer. Dumbledore put his now empty mug on the table, thanked the house elves and motioned for Lily to follow him. Concerned, Lily did as she was instructed, and silently they made their way up the stairs and through the empty halls. "Lily, there is something you must understand," Professor Dumbledore began quietly, not looking down at Lily has he walked. "Muggles are different than wizards. Very different. Because there is no magic running through their veins, magical treatments don't tend to be effective when applied. Madam Pomfrey can cure anyone in this school, because they are magical and their bodies respond to the treatment of such." He paused, finally looking down at Lily, who had tears trapped in her eyes. "Do you understand?" he asked quietly, placing a comforting hand on Lily's shoulder. The red-haired teenager nodded, though she didn't understand. Didn't understand how she was a witch, and had power to do great things; but not the power to help her parents. Didn't understand how her parents could have a child with magic, while they had none. Tears of frustration burned behind her lids, but Lily pushed them back with a deep intake of breath. They had stopped in front of the stone gargoyle that blocked the entrance to Professor Dumbledore's office. Lily sighed deeply, giving the Headmaster a watery smile when she patted her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Lily." "Thank you sir," Lily replied, not meeting his eyes. She knew she would see sympathy there, and she didn't want it. She wanted him to help her make things right. "Good night," he said softly. Lily nodded, turning and walking away. She made it to the end of the hall before looking back. The hall was empty. * * Much to Lily's distress, the next two weeks flew by in a flurry of homework, food fights (generously provided by the Marauders) and pranks (provided by James and Sirius, who were still neck-and-neck for the most ever detentions). The last day of school seemed to go on forever. She sat in Transfiguration, half asleep and half watching the clock. Five minutes to go and no more school for two weeks. Had she been paying more attention, she might have noticed the Marauders were being exceptionally good. In fact, so good that they were getting quiet a few curious glances. Professor McGonagall looked up often from her book, her eyes narrowing behind her square spectacles. But every time she looked up all four boys were paying rapt attention. Which could only mean they were up to something and putting on quite an act to get out of the trouble it would cause. Professor McGonagall obviously didn't know about the detention war being waged between the two leaders of the group. Two minutes, Lily thought to herself, wanting desperately to close her book but knowing that she would get in trouble for doing so. At least Professor Flitwick had given up teaching class today and instead settled on retelling stories of some of his more trouble-making days in school. Lily was quite afraid he had given the Marauders ideas. One minute. Lily lifted her head just as a loud popping noise echoed in the room. One glance behind her showed that James, Sirius, Peter and Remus had all hidden under their desks. Lily knew that the best thing to do when faced with a situation like this was to follow the leader. Lily and Kassie had barely ducked under their own desk when Professor McGonagall let out an almighty screech as her chalk, pencils and several of the books in the room suddenly transfigured into small Christmas tress. Not just any trees, however. These trees were singing Christmas carols to the top of small high-pitched voices as several other things in the room exploded, sending confetti over everyone. "Damn it," Sirius muttered, glaring out from under his table to the one across where Remus was crouched. "I thought those were suppose to go off two minutes after the bell?" Remus shrugged, grinning nevertheless. At that moment the bell rang shrilly and every Gryffindor in the room bolted for the door, including the Marauders. McGonagall was speechless. She watched the trees gather around her desk, all singing a different Christmas song in something even Lily wouldn't dare call harmony, with her mouth gaping open. "Happy Christmas!" Sirius yelled over his shoulder before the four boys suddenly ran with more speed than Lily would have earlier given them credit for. Suddenly, Professor McGonagall found her voice. "PETTIGREW! LUPIN! POTTER! BLACK!!" She came running to the door, her face flushed. "You can't get away! You're in my house!" Lily and Kassie burst into giggles as they rounded the corner. The Marauders were nowhere to been seen. Several of the Gryffindors from their year were telling friends from other houses what had happened, each face lit with excitement and laughter. By the next day, however, Lily wasn't laughing. She had had it up to her ears with the singing trees, which, incidentally, wouldn't go away no matter what the teachers did. She had a sneaking impression that Professor Dumbledore could get rid of them, but was making no motion to do so. She had caught him laughing as a few of them burst into the Great Hall at dinner, doing a horrible impression of "Oh Holy Night". Professor McGonagall had caught up with the Marauders not too long after class. Her voice had been sharp, clear and Lily could have sworn she saw her smile. "I've never in all my years--" "That's not so many years, Minerva," Sirius said, looking genially upset that Professor McGonagall considered herself old. "Don't call me--" She was interrupted this time by a tree flinting past, singing. She jammed her finger towards it. "Get rid of them!" Every head turned to Remus, who bit his lip in a manner that suggested he hadn't thought ahead enough to consider how annoying the creatures could be. But Lily knew that face. Remus knew exactly how long the trees would be around, and no doubt had made it so they would sing for several days. Remus Lupin was without a doubt the Marauders' secret weapon. He always looked so innocent, so thoughtful and helping that no one suspected he was the brains behind most of their most successful operations. "I'm sorry, Professor, but I believe the time release on the spell is seventy-two hours." Professor McGonagall went pale. "Sev-sev--" "Seventy-two hours," Sirius replied helpfully. James smacked him upside the head. Their Professor looked thunderstruck. --End Chapter 20.
Author notes: *The Rules - I saw this on a fic called "A Time Before Tears". I am NOT
trying to steal this brillant idea, only borrow it. It is hilarious, to
say the least. Please don't come after me!
I'm sure you're all wondering: "Singing Christmas trees?!" Well, work
with me here! They are the brightest students in the school! Just think
of those cute little trees at the mall that have eyes and sing. My aunt
has one that even dances. :D
Now, because I haven't done this in a while (please forgive me!!) here
are answers, comments, etc. to reviews:
First off, PLEASE!! draw fanart! I would absolutly LOVE some fanart of
this story. *_* I actually asked the update group for some fanart, but
everyone said they couldn't draw. And, lessee, oh! Sirius' name. Sorry
about that. I heard it said when J.K. was doing the live reading at
Prince Albert Hall, and it sounded like serious. Plus, on the
pronouncation guide on scholastic, it's pronounced that way. (I like
it, personally... hince why the pun has appeared here again..) James
and Lily aren't going to be rushed (I hope!) but I do feel that James
will have an impending crush on her for a while, so I'm trying to get
that set up. The Dark Forest bit, yeah, that's because I'm American and
they changed it over here (at least they didn't in book 5!) Sorry! I
have a wonderful British-editor now who catches my mistakes for me :)
The bit where Lily wrote to James and not Kassie will come to light,
but not right this moment. But, yes, that will be brought up between
them and addressed.
That's all I can think of. Any questions, email me, or put it in a
review. If you would like to (self promotion!) join the Lily Update
group. Send an email to: [email protected] -- we
have fun :)
Ok, so I'm finished with my "little" author notes :D I'm heading to
Florida tomarrow, just for the weekend, though. Chapter 21 will be up
soon!
Join the group! Draw fanart! Eat cheese! :D (at least the latter is
good for you, no?)