When You Wish Upon a Star

When You Wish Upon a Star
by Christabell

Chapter Nine: Of Sweet-Talking and Sagen

Lily climbed down the ladder, following the trail of would-be-divinators, smiling. She had just finished teaching a class of Divination, after telling the professor off. She paused, wondering what she would do about Dumbledore. Professor Augur was sure to complain to him. She jumped down, neglecting the remaining steps, and ran to catch up with Remus and Tiffany. The two were deep in conversation, but Lily couldn’t resist the childish temptation to jump on their shoulders and scare them.

“Boo!” she yelled. Tiffany started, and screamed.

“My god, Lily... you scared the crap out of me!” she exclaimed, giggling. Laughing, Remus and Lily joined her.

“So how’d I do?” Lily questioned.

“Awesome! I think I might have actually learned something in that class - I don’t think that’s happened before... to anyone,” Remus answered. “I mean, I already knew some stuff before because of... yeah. You know.” The girls nodded understandingly.

“Yeah, it’s best for you to know about the moon and what it might do while you’re out there,” sympathized Tiffany. Lily moved to open her bag, starting to take out her schedule.

“Don’t even bother. Potions - All 7th year Gryffindors and Slytherins.” Lily groaned.

“That means Lucius will be there, won’t he?” she asked, fearing the answer. Remus nodded.

“And Snape, the slimy git,” he added, Tiffany agreeing. Lily looked annoyed.

“Have you ever tried to actually talk with him? He just might not be as bad as you think he is,” she snapped slightly. Tiffany looked abased, but Remus looked angry.

“That bastard has gone out of his way to get James, Sirius, Peter and I expelled anyway possible.”

“Is this something involving that tree that Dumbledore mentioned at the sorting? He made a point to stare at you four and Snape...” Lily guessed.

“Somewhat, I guess.”

“Well what happened? I’ve been meaning to ask you since it was mentioned.”

“It was a couple of years ago now - fourth year I think. Snape had done something especially rude and annoying - I don’t even remember now - but Sirius lost it. He told Snape to go out to the Whomping Willow if he really wanted to see what happened to me every month. James and Peter found out that night when they looked on the map and saw him heading down there. James rushed out, and when Snape refused to believe him, he threw a minor stunning spell at him, and levitated him back into the school. But not before he saw me, and what I was. He went to Dumbledore and tried to get me kicked out, as well as the other Marauders.” Lily gasped.

“Thank god that didn’t happen...”

“I honestly can’t blame him for trying. I was, and am a dangerous beast, and Sirius deserved to get in trouble, after risking the lives of several people. He explained that it had just been a joke, and he hadn’t thought about the consequences whatsoever. Snape didn’t believe it, and he brought his family into it, who proceeded to begin to pressure Dumbledore to expel Sirius, and send him to Azkaban.”

“My god... what happened then?” Lily asked in shock. While she knew something big had happened, she hadn’t expected it to be this weighted.

“Sirius and I didn’t speak for weeks, which hurt both of us. I was so furious for what he had done, but eventually, we came to terms. Dumbledore managed to persuade the Snapes that Azkaban would not be necessary for an intended prank. Snape never forgave Sirius for what he did, and believes that all of us had it in for him, even though James saved him from becoming what I am.”

“Wow....” Lily trailed off. They walked in silence down to the dungeons. Tiffany, though she had already heard bits of the story, hadn’t heard the full explanation before now. She sighed happily. Remus was always so brave, never allowing anyone to pity him for his condition. She had gotten to know him during their third year, and she had instantly felt something for him. She always did go for the mysterious type. The two had grown to trust each other with their lives, and Remus had reveal everything to her. Instead of making her scared of him, like he thought it would do, it had only made her admire him more - he was so strong, and it was truly amazing. She stared at him, smiling slightly. She had been waiting for the right time to divulge her feelings for him for almost half a year now. She blushed instantly as Remus glanced over at her, looking away. Seconds later, they reached the dungeon, and for once, Tiffany thankfully entered the room, away from Remus’ inquisitive eyes.

“Well, who do we have here?” The professor asked rudely. “You already think that you can come here late on your first day and get away with it?” Lily looked shocked.

“Umm, Professor? I just got out of teaching my class. I had to wait for everyone to leave before I did.” The professor looked skeptical.

“And why should I believe you? This is a very unlikely story.” Lily smiled.

“Ask Remus or Tiffany or anyone else who just came from Divination. I ended up teaching it because I happen to be a True Seer, unlike Professor Augur, who insisted that she learned more everyday. A True Seer doesn’t have anything left to learn. It comes to them naturally. When I told her this, she got annoyed and sarcastically suggested that if I knew so much, why didn’t I teach the class. She left, and I got a class. I am very sorry to prevent you from teaching everyone the fine art of potions. It was one of my favorite subjects at Durmstrong, but also the hardest. I do love a challenge. Potions is so fabulous.” He looked shocked at her story, but even more so, her enthusiasm for his subject. No one ever liked it, let alone a Gryffindor.

“Well, if that is the case, I suggest you go sit down. My name is Professor Sagen. I am the Head of the Slytherin House. Who are you?”

“Lily, Lily Evans,” she replied sweetly.

“And how much did you cover at Durmstrong?”

“Quite a bit that involved illegal substances and materials, and other potions concerning the Dark Arts, and stuff of that nature. We did go over other stuff as well, but it was mainly things that I doubt we were allowed to be brewing.” Sagen raised an eyebrow as she shrugged off the wrongful things the school had done.

“Alright, very good. Class, open up your books to page 23 quickly. I am disappointed that you haven’t done that already!” he barked at the class, his mood changing quickly. “Get into groups of two now, or else I’ll choose the groups for you, and make sure you’ll be miserable,” he threatened. Lily glanced around, and caught Severus’ eye. He nodded, and she gathered up her belongings and made her way over to his table. As everyone got settled in, she noticed that they were the only Gryffindor/Slytherin pair. Arabella had placed herself in Sirius’ lap, which had changed after a sharp “Figg, get off Black - save that for later,” while James was working with Peter, Remus and Tiffany had ended together, leaving Mari and Melanie. The rest of the class was the Slytherins, who had paired up among themselves.

“Nice job handling Sagen. Usually, if anyone says anything that might prove him wrong, he goes crazy, and hands out detentions to anyone who speaks after that, and takes away house points for looking the wrong way or something idiotic like that. You’re definitely going to be one of his favorites.” Snape smiled slightly. “But you said that you were teaching Divination? How strange!” he exclaimed.

“I know... isn’t it? I was so surprised by how things turned out, but I do like teaching. I got to help out back at Durmstrong - once my teacher discovered that I was a True Seer, she allowed me to help her teach. The other kids resented me for that, calling me a teacher’s pet. It didn’t help that I got 100% on everything in most classes. But especially that one. I couldn’t get less than that. It’s impossible!” she laughed. They were interrupted by Sagen’s voice entering their ears.

“If you don’t mind SHUTTING UP!” The room became dead silent. “Much better. Now, we are going to be making Concino Vita. Does anyone know anything about this potion?” Nobody moved. Then, as if on cue, both Severus and Lily raised their hands tentatively. “Well, Miss Evans and Mr. Snape. Which of you shall I pick? Perhaps Miss Evans might be willing to make her debut here in class. Miss Evans?”

“Well, I’ve studied a bit of Latin as an elective before, so judging from the name, I suppose it could be a potion that reveals your future?” Sagen nodded.

“Five points to Gryffindor. Nice job. Concino Vita is an extremely difficult potion to make, but tough. You have to be able to brew things twice as hard by the end of the year, you might as well start the hard work now. This potion, like Lily told us, shows your future. Not how you will live or what you will be doing, just how you will look roughly five years from now If you look at the page in the book, it will tell you exactly what to do. The ingredients will be up here. Before you get something for the next step, I will have to check your cauldron. If you screw up this potion, you could be fatal. I don’t want any stupid mistakes.” Lily glanced at Severus.

“Let’s do this!” she said excitedly. They quickly completed the first step, and moved on. Within minutes, they were finished. Severus was the best potion maker in the class by far, and with Lily’s combined skill, the potion was almost easy. Sagen walked over, examining it carefully.

“Perfect. We can use you two as the example. Class, come over here. These two have finished their potion. It should work perfectly.” He took out two glasses, and, filling it with the potion, handed one to Lily first. “All you need to do is drink it. You will be fine.” Lily nervously lifted the glass to her lips and took a large sip. She began changing, growing taller, and her figure growing slightly fuller. Her hair lengthened till it was at mid waist, and it curled beautifully. All the males in the class gasped in awe, as the girls commented to themselves on her stunning beauty. It wasn’t that Lily was not pretty as she was. It was just that this lady of her future was absolutely breathtaking. Seconds later, she changed back, blushing at the number of people staring at her. She quietly sat down, ignoring everyone, thoroughly embarrassed. The crowd around her slowly dissipated, and she turned to Severus.

“Was I really that awful, Severus?” He looked at her, amazed.

“What would make you think that? You were... unquestionably stunning. I mean, you already are now, but I think you gained quite a few admirers in the past minute.” Lily felt her face flaming, more so than it already had been.

“Thanks. I guess that when I saw everyone just staring at me, I assumed that I had turned into something hideous.” Her companion laughed.

“Anything but. Well, I guess it’s my turn now.” He raised the glass to his mouth, much more confidently than Lily had, knowing that their potion was safe. Seconds later, he spurted upwards, towering above Lily’s 5’5”, at least 6 feet tall. His hair grew shinier and longer, stopping at mid-length, and his body filled out, showing signs of his physical strength. When he returned to his former appearance, Lily began to laugh.

“Never knew you were one to go for the whole ‘Tall, Dark and Handsome” thing,” she giggled.

“Eh, you never know...” he said, chuckling. Lily looked around at her classmates. by now, mostly everyone had completed the potion. She gasped as she saw James transform.

“Holy crap...” she muttered. Years of Quidditch obviously paid off, looking at his well–defined muscles. His hair didn’t change though, still the jet black mess that, coupled with his smile, made girls sink to the floor. He changed back, he found himself looking at Lily, who was openly staring, her amazement apparent. As their eyes met, she turned away, blushing, pretending that she had been looking the other way the entire time.

“Hmmm... that was interesting,” James mused aloud. “What was that about?” Peter looked confused.

“James, unless you have forgotten once again, I still don’t have the ability to read your mind. What are you talking about?” he asked.

“Lily. As soon as I turned into this me, I noticed that she was just staring at me in amazement or something. It was just strange.” James shrugged. “Oh well.”

“Will everyone please raise their hands if they were able to complete the potion?” Professor Sagen interrupted their conversation. The entire class raised their hands. “Very good. Maybe you aren’t as incompetent as you were last year. 10 points each to Mr. Snape and Miss Evans for finishing first and allowing me to use them as an example.” The two students smiled at each other. “Class dismissed.” Everyone filed out of the room quickly, hurrying to get to their next class. Severus suddenly found himself being shoved into an empty classroom, and pushed up against the wall.

“Severus, have you been taught nothing? Why the hell did you partner up with the mudblood?” Lucius hissed. Severus smirked calmly.

“Why do you think? If I get her to trust me, then we will be able to get her on our side. She is a very excellent witch, no matter what her blood may be. I doubt that our Master would want someone like that fighting against him when he knew there was a chance to have her on our side. Just think, Lucius. Everything I do is in the best interest of our Master.” Lucius grinned evilly.

“You are a smart one, aren’t you? Get her to trust you with anything. No, get her to love you. She will not go against you then. This is an excellent plan. I shall reveal it to our Master at once.” He walked off, leaving Severus alone. Severus slowly sank down against the wall. He would have to warn both Lily and Dumbledore of what had happened. He didn’t want to put Lily in danger.

~~~~~~~~

Lily pulled out her schedule for the last time that day. Transfiguration. That wouldn’t be too challenging, after what she had done at Durmstrong, though she had worked very hard there to stay at the top of the class. Charms was what she really excelled in, though, thanks to both her skills, and her wand, which was built for charms work.

“So... does anyone else have Transfiguration next?” she asked, hoping that someone could show her the way. Only James spoke up.

“Yeah, I do. We better get there soon. It’s taught by Daphne Burns, the head of Gryffindor. Unlike most of the other heads, she refuses to show any favoritism for her house. So we’ll still get detention if we’re late,” he added. The two sped off, James in the lead. He kept on wondering whether he should ask her about what had occurred in Potions, but finally decided against it. It probably hadn’t been anything. They made their way into the room, and found their seats. Before James could sit down next to Lily, another boy shoved him aside, stealing the seat. James walked off before a blond pulled him down next to her, in a very flirtatious manner. He turned his attention away from her, and back to the boy Lily was now speaking with. He could barely make out their conversation over the din of the other students.

“Hi, you’re Lily, right?” the boy asked excitedly. She nodded.

“The one and only. Who are you?”

“My name is Chris Julian. I’m a Ravenclaw Prefect.”

“That’s cool...” Lily feigned interest.

“So umm, Lily....” he trailed off, seeming extremely nervous. “I was wondering if you’d like to go to Hogsmeade with me sometime soon?” Lily stared.

“I don’t know. You don’t even know me,” she stated. “How could you know if you want to go with me?” Chris fidgeted in his seat.

“Well, it’s just that you seem really nice. And umm... I’d really like to get to know you,” he replied hopefully.

“So why wouldn’t you just ask me to go as friends or something? And why are you so nervous?” She held her laughter in as he squirmed under her gaze.

“I don’t know. You’re just really pretty and whenever I’m near a pretty girl, I lose it. I just want to impress them so badly it backfires!” he exclaimed.

“Chris, I’m sorry to point this out, but what makes you think that you wouldn’t act like this if we went out?” He looked puzzled.

“I... probably the same thing. You’re right. I’m sorry to have bothered you,” he said apologetically. Lily placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t be. I’d be glad to go to Hogsmeade with you, but not on a date,” she said kindly. He smiled at her.

“Thanks, Lily.” He got up, finding a seat next to another Ravenclaw. James stood up, much to the dismay of the girl he was sitting with, and plopped down next to Lily.

“So what was that about?” he inquired. Lily blushed.

“Chris, well, tried to ask me out. He wanted to take me to Hogsmeade,” she admitted. James felt jealousy kick in.

“Oh,” was all he managed to say. “I hope you guys have a great time, then.” Inwardly, he cursed. It had only been a few of hours and she already had a new boyfriend.

“Thanks, James. I’m sure we will.” James glared at her.

“Nice of you to move on so quickly.” Lily laughed.

“No, you have it all wrong. He was asking me out, but I said no. We’re only going as friends. Besides, I couldn’t go out with him when I still...” she stopped. “Never mind.”

“Tell me, Lily. What were you going to say?” James pushed.

“Really, it was nothing, James. Nothing.” Any further questioning was halted as a pretty, middle–aged women entered the room, smiling brightly.

“Hallo class! How’re y’all doing today?” she asked in a Southern accent. “For those of ya who don’t know me, I’m Daphne Burns, but you really oughta call me Daphne. Professor Burns makes it sound like I’m some old lady, and I just can’t stand for that. Oh, and hallo to you! What’s you’re name?” she inquired of Lily. Lily smiled. She was getting used to this.

“Lily Evans, pleased to meet you,” she replied pleasantly. Daphne proceeded to ask about how far she had gotten at Durmstrong, and found herself shocked at the horrible things that had been done there.

“Well, Lily, darling. You won’t have to worry about anything like that here.” Lily smiled at her.

“That will be very good. Transfiguration isn’t my strongest subject, but knowing that a mistake could cost someone’s life didn’t help much before. It was always so nerve wracking. I’m sure it will be better here.” The class went by without a hitch, and Lily found it much more agreeable than it had been the past few years. Though she had a bit of trouble at first, James was more than willing to help her out. She had asked him for assistance after five unsuccessful tries at turning her mirror into a stuffed animal - a puppy. Transfiguring things had always been exceptionally easy for James, and he didn’t mind helping anyone if they found the assignment difficult. After watching Lily attempt the spell one more time, James made a quick diagnosis.

“You’re saying the words right, so that can’t be the problem. It’s all in your wrist. How you move it and when you do. Look at how I do it.” Lily watched as he performed the spell perfectly. She tried again, but still failed.

“I’m so stupid. I can’t even do a simple spell,” Lily whinned. James laughed.

“No, you aren’t stupid. And the spell isn’t easy. Here, let show you.” He leaned over and placed his hand on top of hers, grasping the wand firmly. “Now say the spell,” he instructed. Lily spoke as James moved their hands at the correct time. They both grinned as a stuffed puppy popped up between them.

“Thanks a lot, James,” Lily said, looking up at him. They sat there for a minute, just staring at each other, before James glanced away. He looked down at the ground, before realizing that his hand was still holding hers.

“Sorry,” he muttered. He sighed. Everything was awkward between them since they broke up, and it was really getting to him. Luckily, the class ended a minute later, and James and Lily quietly made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. Only once did James attempt a conversation, just to realize that Lily was either too deep inside her own thoughts, or was simply ignoring him. They entered the tower, and Lily went straight to her dorm. It was deserted save Melanie, who was sitting on her bed, reading a book.

“Mel... I...” she looked up, urging Lily to continue. “I was such an idiot to dump him. Just being in class with him today has shown that. I still like James.”

“Well, tell him!” Melanie exclaimed. Lily looked at her sadly.

“I can’t. I can’t go out with him.”