The Long Way

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Chapter 1

The girls' bathroom was bustling between classes. Mops of hair ran back and forth, bumping into each other and stumbling here and there. Smaller first and second years were pushed to the walls while the older sixth and seventh years hogged the dozen mirrors that hung along the wall opposite the door. Around the one in the corner, three sixth year girls were gathered. The tall, buxom blonde leaned her shoulder against the wall on the side of the mirror, and exchanged a catty grin with a dark-haired girl across from her. "So, how long do you think it'll take her to look pretty this time, Evie?"

Evangeline Green, the dark-haired girl leaning in a mirror image, grinned back, her cheeks almost hiding her hazel eyes. "Oh, I'd say at least an hour, Moira. Well through History of Magic. You know how she loathes the class. I'd say a complete make-over is an acceptable reason to skip." The two girls giggled at the object of their conversation, a slender girl with long auburn hair.

Lily Evans was bent over the sink and staring into the mirror in front of her as she reapplied her make-up for the third time that day. She smiled in spite of herself at her friends. She knew they didn't mean any harm, but feigned offence. "I can't believe you, my own friends talking about me as though I were some vain little prat."

"Aren't you?" Moira Yaxley teased, her eyebrows innocently in the air.

Evie laughed at Lily's now honest expression of shock. "Oh, don't take it seriously, Lil. You know we don't mean it."

"Of course not," Moira said, straightening up and brushing Lily's hair back to keep it from falling into the sink. "I suppose we're just jealous."

"What?" said Lily, again shocked.

"Yes, I'm afraid it's true," Moira continued. "It seems we just need to admit it to ourselves, Evie. We'll never be able to compete with Lily for--"

"Don't!" shouted Lily, her eyes big. She wasn't too anxious to let the word spread about whom she had been fancying lately. In a school with so many students, it's amazing how quickly news flies.

Evie pursed her lips. "Oh honestly, Lil, you don't really think we'd tell, do you? After all you made us go through to get it out of you?"

Moira raised an eyebrow sullenly. "It's a wonder you didn't force us into an Unbreakable Vow of silence. Nice to know you trust your best friends."

"Guys, you know how completely embarrassed I would feel if it got out," Lily whispered nervously. "I mean, he's just so..."

"Handsome?" said Evie.

"Sexy?" said Moira

"Oh, those eyes!" Evie rolled her own.

"That voice," added Moira, deepening hers.

"Stop it!" hissed Lily, a deep flush coming to her cheeks. But she couldn't help a small smile cracking, as she was giving an inventory in her mind very like the ones her friends were discussing out loud.

Moira let out a deep sigh. "Well, we'd better get a move on. No point getting detention for such a boring subject and having to listen to Professor Biggs drone on again! Besides" - she lowered her voice, and the three girls leaned their heads together as they walked out the door - "something tells me he's not much into the rebellious type." She gave Lily a huge, pointed smile.

"Oh, I don't know, Mo." Evie grinned as well. "Look at his friends."

A few days later, Lily, Moira and Evie were huddled on the floor of the common room, cramming for their upcoming Potions test. The Gryffindor common room was still full, as most of the students had come from finishing dinner. Lily was sitting with her back barely touching the wall behind her, crouched over her book. Moira and Evie were, as usual, sitting cross-legged caddy-corner to her. Moira was tapping her quill on her paper rhythmically, gazing out the window just over Lily's head. Evie was picking at the ends of her hair. Neither seemed to be paying much attention to the fact that Lily was periodically glaring in their direction and heaving huge sighs of indignation. Lily shook her head after a particularly loud sigh, violently whipping her long auburn hair around.

"All right!" Moira exclaimed.

Lily looked up. "You can't expect me to keep covering for you in class, you know. This isn't quite fair to me."

Evie shrugged submissively. "I know, Lil, but you know you're the best in the class, as well as Sluggy's favourite Muggle-born protégé."

"His only Muggle-born 'protégé'. And please don't call me that."

Moira scrunched her nose. "Call you what? It's not like she said -"

"I don't mean that!" Lily hissed. "I mean Slughorn's 'protégé' or anything the like. I don't enjoy feeling connected to that man at all. He creeps me out."

"Sorry," Evie said, "I only meant, well, you're his favourite, and well-earned!" she quickly added at the look on Lily's face. "I mean, you are the best in the class - maybe even our year - for Potions. I just meant we're lucky to be friends with not only the best Potions whiz in the school, but the kindest, most generous, charitable, understa-"

"Okay, okay, I'll walk you through it all," Lily interjected, shaking her head. She wasn't really angry, or even annoyed. "I just don't like feeling...."

Her voice trailed off as her gaze slipped past the two girls sitting in front of her to a group of figures walking behind them. Suddenly, her stomach tightened and her neck felt warm. She saw him walking across the common room with his three usual companions: Peter, a small boy who was trailing somewhat behind, with a pointed nose and mousy hair; Sirius, a tall, slender, handsome boy with chiselled features and narrow shoulders; James, with his careless hair and glistening eyes that were currently lit up in some apparently exciting story he was telling. And finally, Remus.

Remus, with his broad shoulders and quiet voice. Remus, with fair hair and eyes, walking, smiling, laughing at the others. He always was so much quieter than the rest, yet fully engaged. They made their way to the boys' staircase quickly, much more quickly than Lily realized, for time had truly seemed to stand still.

"Now who's slacking off?"

Suddenly, reality slapped her, and her eyes refocused on Moira and Evie, who were both grinning at her so wide, she felt her face grow even warmer.

Lily turned her nose even closer to her Potions book, embarrassed to be caught.

"Still," Moira continued, "I can't say as I blame you, although he definitely wouldn't be my pick of the litter."

Evie laughed. "Oh, little Petey caught your fancy, has he?"

Moira gave Evie a playful shove. "Too right. I love the boys to be half my height." She laughed. "No, that Sirius Black. He's an edgy one, isn't he?"

"Dangerous, more like," Evie returned, now more serious. "You know, he's the only one in his family to not go to Slytherin. They're terribly pure-bloody-minded, if you get my meaning..." She said these last words with a pointed look in Lily's direction.

Lily flushed yet again.

Moira brushed it off. "Oh, but he's not there, is he? Obviously, he's different. But still, a Black! You know his family's got to be well off, and he's always mouthing off to the professors or picking fights with the Slytherins. So, you know he's got that "bad-boy" attitude, but he's not really all bad. Although," she grinned devilishly, "I wouldn't mind finding out just how bad."

Lily tried to block the conversation out at this point. Study, study, study, she thought. Don't pay them any attention. Potions, Potions... And yet...

Her mind was not on her book, nor on the conversation taking place in front of her. Her mind was following the slender boy with fair hair to his dorm, watching him take off his tie and shirt, revealing what she was sure to be a hard chest and a flat stomach, and tried to hide the grin that was creeping onto her face as her friends talked what seemed miles away.

The next day, Lily, Moira and Evie were eating lunch in the Great Hall when a first-year Gryffindor boy with dark hair came running in and whispered hurriedly to another by the door. Whatever news it was spread like wildfire towards the girls. Each student received the bit of information, quickly passed it on and then stood and ran out the door. Finally, Barty Johnson, a seventh-year, leaned past Lily and her friends and said to another seventh-year boy, "Black and Potter are duelling Snape and Nott, and they got 'em backed into the Whomping Willow!"

"Ooh!" Moira squealed. "C'mon, Evie. Let's go watch!"

Lily moaned. "Aren't you two tired of watching their antics yet?"

"Lil, you're such a bore!" Evie teased. "Why not come with us? You know he'll be there trying to stop them!"

"In which case it'll all be over before we get there, won't it?" Lily pouted.

"Whatever," Moira said, grabbing Lily's arm. "We're not giving you a choice. You're going with us."

"Hey!" Lily yelled as her two friends hoisted her to her feet and dragged her outside.

"Easy, Lil," Evie said. "If you don't fight us it'll go a lot easier."

Moira giggled and the three made their way around the castle to the growing crowd. They could see different shades of light glowing from the centre, reflecting on the massive willow. As they grew closer, Lily noticed the crowd was unusually quiet, which allowed the few voices to be heard shouting off a bevy of curses and counter-curses to the excited gasps of the surrounding students.

"Flabra Nott!" Lily heard Sirius shout, and a glow of blue light shone. The students gasped and Lily could hear a large thud followed by a grunt of pain. They arrived in time for Moira and Evie to push a cluster of second-year Hufflepuffs out of the way enough for them to see over.

Eliazar Nott was pushing himself up from the ground, Severus Snape standing defensively in front of him.

"Nice blasting curse, Padfoot." James Potter nodded to his friend, grinning. He held his mahogany wand aloft, his arm fully extended and pointing at Snape.

"You're cock-sure of yourself now, Potter, when you have your fans around you," Snape sneered. "But what are you without them?"

"I don't know." James shot back. "You?"

Snape spit at him in anger as Nott rose behind him. "Petrificus--"

"Oh no, you don't!" James flicked his wand back at Snape, shooting a blue spurt of light at him. Snape tried to leap out of the way, but the curse winged him and sent him spinning through the air, landing very near the Willow, which immediately became animated.

"He can perform nonverbal spells already!" Lily exclaimed, aghast.

"I know!" Evie giggled. "Isn't he amazing?"

Lily pursed her lips. I know he's not stupid, but still, I'm a much better student than he is, and I can barely pull off a quick Accio without getting a headache!

The students shrieked in amazement. Lily looked. Sirius was on the ground, shaking his head. As he sat up, his dark, chin-length hair fell dramatically in front of his face, and his nose ran with blood.

Nott laughed heartily as Snape ran from the Willow's massive swinging branches. James ran over to Sirius, still pointing his wand at his opponents. "You 'kay, mate?"

Sirius struggled, with James's help, to his feet and nodded, blood still streaming down his chin and shirt. Strands of hair clung, matted in blood, to his paling face. Lily noticed his hand was shaky as he held up his wand. He tried to stop his nose with his free hand as he shouted weakly, "Dormito!"

Instantly, the laughing Nott slumped to the ground, unconscious. Several girls, including Lily and Evie, screamed.

Snape nudged Nott's head with the toe of his shoe. "Oh, shut up!" He bellowed at the shrieking girls. "He's only asleep."

Remus now sprang into action. Lily took a breath. Where has he been? Why hasn't he put a stop to this? A prefect, after all...

"You alright, Padfoot?" Remus put his hand on Sirius's shoulder. Sirius shrugged it off and with a theatrical flair threw his head back, still plugging his nose.

"'Course," he replied. "Take bore thad a little dosebleed to kill be, you doh."

"C'mon, guys," Remus said, "isn't this enough?" Remus took Sirius by the shoulders and began turned him toward the castle. James stood, glaring. "You won, all right?"

James nodded slowly. "You're right, Moony. I guess we'd better get Padfoot to the infirmary before he bleeds himself to death all over me." He turned with Sirius and Remus and began to follow them.

"Running away, blood-traitor?" Snape called from behind him. "Let's see how well you hold up when you've got no one to hide behind. Serpen--"

Remus spun and pointed his wand over James's shoulder. "Protego!"

Snape finished his spell before he realized what was going on, and the snakes he had sent flying out of his wand at James bounced against Remus's shield charm and hit him smack in the face.

The crowd roared with laughter as Snape shrieked and ran, leaving Nott limp on the ground with a snake curling around his ankle.

"Professors!" someone shouted, and the crowd began running in a dozen different directions, except for Remus, Sirius, James and Peter, who made their way calmly back to the castle.

Lily followed Moira and Evie, who were recounting the duel over and over again, each time with added embellishments. Lily was thinking about it, too.

Those idiots. What were they thinking, duelling out in plain day like that? They're going to get it for sure, although Sirius has already gotten it. I don't want him to bleed himself to death, but I have to say, I hope it teaches him and James a lesson. Probably won't, though. It's a good thing Remus...

Lily grew warm inside. The thought of him heroically jumping in to stop the fight and then protect James like that made her, well, proud.