Framboise et Coquelicot

Chapter 7

: Of Skeletons and 'Autumn Fantasies'.

When Lily studied her reflection in the mirror on the last morning of October, she wondered where the frightened and insecure girl of the past months was. Her eyes were clear and her face looked fresh and rested. Since her birthday, life had been as smooth and normal as it could be in a wizarding school since her birthday, and her past worries, if not forgotten, were no longer an obsession.

Her breakdown in front of James back in September was one thing she couldn't explain any more. She couldn't remember clearly what was said, but she felt she had blown things utterly out of proportion. However, she couldn't complain about the results since she was now conscious of the importance of their strange friendship, and things were altogether much better between them.

After the chaos Voldemort had managed to create in Diagon Alley last July, a flock of the best-trained Aurors was on his trail, and he seemed to be lying low for the time being. As usual, thinking of the Diagon Alley attack made Lily's heart go out to Marian, who had suffered so much because of it. She fervently hoped it wouldn't be long before the dark wizard and his supporters were locked securely in the sinister prison of Azkaban.

Something soft brushing against her leg broke her train of thought. It was Cléobulle, who wanted to be let out of the room for his morning stroll.

"Alright, alright," Lily said, turning away from the mirror. "I suppose it's time for me to go too; I've already skipped breakfast and I don't want to be late for my first class."

She picked up her school bag at the foot of her bed, made sure her Prefect badge was clean and prominently visible and opened the door of the empty dormitory. Cléobulle sneaked through it and set off down the stairs to the common room in a flash. Lily didn't have to worry about letting him out through the portrait hole since it seemed he knew of other ways to come and go as he pleased. The Pet Tracker Howard had given her for her birthday would allow her to see how her cat got out, but she had never used it to date and didn't plan to do so unless he went missing for an alarming amount of time. She had the velvet bracelet in the pocket of her robes, but she only played with the little charm to occupy her fingers. After all, even cats deserved to have their secrets.

And besides, she had other things on her mind at the moment. Two things, to be precise, and the first one was Remus' mysterious condition.

She had a very good idea as to what it might be. She had been observing him and the boys closely since his release from the Hospital wing, and Lily was by no means a dense witch. A list of symptoms she'd written down and a visit to the library had provided her with two solutions: either Remus' family was really prone to falling sick, or Remus was a werewolf. She was leaning towards the second solution, especially after she had finally put together the pieces of information unwittingly given by Madam Weasley about the silver, the wound and the poison. But she needed to be certain of it. And the first concrete step to discovering the truth was going to be made this morning.

Walking briskly along the corridors, she made her way to the Great Hall, hoping to catch Marian before she left for the first class of the day. Luck was with her, and her friend was just getting up from her seat when Lily arrived at the Gryffindor table. She grabbed a cold piece of toast with one hand and Marian's arm with the other.

"I need your help with something," Lily whispered on the way to the dungeons. It was Friday morning and they had Double Potions with the Slytherins.

"Explain." Marian calmly freed her arm from Lily's death grip and adjusted her the strap of her school bag on her shoulder.

"I need you to find another partner for Potions today. There's something I want to discuss with Peter in private without looking suspicious. Remus has left to visit his old grandmother and it's the perfect opportunity."

"You think that it won't look suspicious that you're sitting with Peter in the first place?"

"Not if we make it look like you and I had an argument and don't want to sit with each other."

"But we're doing the advanced Dreamless Sleep Potion today!" Marian protested. "With Remus away, there'll be an odd number of students in the class, and I don't want to do that potion by myself; it's quite complicated."

"I bet you could do it with your eyes closed," Lily countered. When she saw Marian wasn't pleased she hastily added, "But I'm not asking you to sit alone today; someone else won't be here this morning and you'll have a partner."

"Who?" asked Marian suspiciously.

"Well, I know from a reliable source that Avery got into a nasty accident yesterday at Quiddicth practice, and he'll be in the Hospital Wing for the remainder of the week. So you see, you'll be able to work with -"

"There's no way I'm sitting with Snape, Lily."

Marian had gone red, and her voice was frantic and high-pitched, totally unlike her usual tone.

Lily knew she was asking a lot: there was no love lost between Marian and Severus Snape, and the two were in fierce competition to get the better grades in Potions. But the opportunity she had been trying to find for the past two weeks was unexpectedly presenting itself, and she couldn't let it pass. Class was the only place from which Peter wouldn't be able to escape if she asked provocative questions.

"I'm sorry I have to ask you this, Marian. But please, do it for me."

The two friends had stopped in front of the classroom, and students were walking past them to take their seats. Marian looked for a moment at the lonely figure of Severus Snape, already seated at his usual desk in the front row. Turning back to face Lily, she saw James, Peter and Sirius turning the corner and walking towards them. She heaved a big sigh and whispered, "You owe me big, Lily."

Out loud she said harshly, "I'm sick of you looking after me as if I was a baby, Lily. I can take care of myself and decide who I want to trust enough to be friends with. If you're not happy about me going to the Ball with Gregory Wentworth it's your problem, not mine."

Marian left Lily standing there and marched into the classroom. She slammed her bag onto the desk next to Snape and sat down without looking at him.

Back in the corridor Lily smiled sheepishly at the three boys who were looking at her dumbfounded.

"Mind if I sit with you Peter?" she asked. She had no problem trying to look disorientated and a bit upset; she hadn't known Marian was going to the Christmas Ball with Wentworth, and it was true that she wasn't happy about it.

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"So Peter, do you know if all the silver's gone from Remus' blood?" Lily asked casually as she sprinkled a bit of powdered camomile into the bubbling cauldron.

Peter's hand slipped, and he nearly chopped off his finger instead of the liquorice roots disposed in neat rows in front of him. Hiding a smirk, Lily started to idly stir the potion and went on. "It's a wonder he lasted so long. Poor Remus; silver in his body is one of the worst things that could happen to him, isn't it?"

Peter opened and closed his mouth like a fish a few times before he could utter a sound. "Wh-what do you mean?" he finally squeaked.

Lily leaned close to him, still stirring, and whispered in a conspiratorial tone. "Well, surely you know he should avoid silver like the plague because of his ... err ... condition."

She watched with glee as all the blood left Peter's face, and he looked helplessly in front of him at the backs of James' and Sirius' heads. Oblivious, the two friends were diligently working on their potion. They usually tried to mess up Snape and Avery's work, but Marian's presence at the side of their favourite target stopped them this time. Knowing that no help would come, Peter gulped and turned to Lily.

"How long have you known?"

Lily was surprised to obtain her answer so quickly and so easily. She had done well to seek out Peter instead of James or Sirius, both too sharp and cunning for their own good. Not that Peter was an idiot; she was rather fond of him, but he was, unfortunately for him, lacking cool and self-control under pressure. "I've known for a while," she lied smoothly, reaching out to take the knife out of his trembling hand. "A werewolf is easy to spot when you're specifically looking for one."

"Does anyone else know about it?" Peter asked fearfully, opening his eyes wide.

"No-one else knows and no-one will."

Some colour came back to Peter's face at these words and he seemed to regain a semblance of composure. He looked suspiciously at Lily.

"How come you never told us?"

Lily smirked. If he thought he would destabilise her with that... She started to chop the liquorice roots herself, staying silent for a while, pretending to ponder the question.

"I wanted to see how long you would go on lying and hiding it from me," she said at last. "You were never going to tell me, were you?"

"Dumbledore made us promise we wouldn't tell anyone."

She should have guessed Dumbledore knew of Remus' condition. The man seemed to know everything that went on in the castle.

"I see." Lily nodded noncommittally and added the roots in the cauldron. She was really enjoying making this potion. For once, they weren't using too many bizarre or slimy ingredients, and what they were preparing was close to a Muggle concoction. For her part, she wouldn't mind drinking it if the need ever arose; it smelled much better than the standard Dreamless Sleep potion they had made back in fourth year.

"You, err, you want me to tell Remus that you know?"

Lily turned back to Peter sharply. "No. Don't say anything, not even to James and Sirius. I wasn't meant to discover anything, after all."

"Alright," Peter said uncertainly. "If that's what you want..."

"That's what I want, Peter," Lily said with finality, extinguishing their little fire with a flick of her wand.

The potion was ready to be tested, bottled and sent off to refurnish Madam Weasley's stock.

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At the end of the lesson, Lily was about to follow her classmates out of the room when she heard Professor Septimus ask Marian to stay behind. She waited in the doorway, not meaning to eavesdrop but catching the conversation all the same.

Professor Septimus was a kind wizard who had already seen many winters. Lily liked him because he didn't seem to favour a particular house, unlike some other teachers. He was particularly fond of his two best students, Marian and Snape, and Lily had seen him taking a particular interest in their work during the lesson. It must have been a pleasing surprise for him to see them working together.

"How are you doing with your Potions project, Miss MacMillan?" he asked.

"I think I'm doing fine, Sir," Marian answered proudly. "I'm moving slowly, but it will be worth it."

Septimus nodded. "If you are happy with it, then that's fine. But I want you to know that if you ever want to change and choose something else you can tell me. You are working on something very advanced, and more than one wizard broke their teeth on their cauldron while attempting to do the same thing as you."

"I know I have very little hope of finding the real antidote I want, Professor. But I won't give up and there's nothing to lose," Marian said determinedly.

"I have great faith in you, my dear." Septimus smiled. "And I will give you a piece of advice too." Marian nodded and the professor went on. "You can go and see Belinda Browning in Hogsmeade, tell her you came on my recommendation and she will help you. I know she's up to her elbows in brioche batter now, but she is still an exceptional Potions brewer."

"Thank you, Professor."

"You're welcome, child."

When Marian turned to leave the classroom and, noticing her friend standing at the door, she smiled the happiest smile Lily had seen her give in weeks. Marian waited until they were out of earshot of Septimus before exclaiming, "Oh, Lily! I'm going to work with Belinda Browning! The Belinda Browning! I know I should be angry with you for making me work with Severus, but I'm really too ecstatic for that! I'm going to McGonagall right away to ask her if I can go to Hogsmeade on special permission tomorrow. I'll see you in History of Magic!"

Completely oblivious to the fact she had just called Snape 'Severus' for the first time in her life, Marian took off at an amazing speed and Lily found herself walking alone to the Great Hall to get some lunch. Now that she had tricked Peter into giving her the confirmation she needed, she was free to concentrate on her second big task of the day. And for that she would have to talk to Howard.

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The brief visit from the Board of Governors last month hadn't changed anything in the running of the school as yet. They just toured the school, spoke with the staff and had a long meeting with Professor Dumbledore. They weren't too discreet when they walked the corridors, and it wasn't hard to listen to their conversations if you wanted to. Being a prefect, Lily had paid close attention to what was going on, and she hadn't liked one bit what she'd heard.

It seemed than quite a few of the twelve governors weren't keen on providing a magical education to Muggle-born children. Only a couple of them were strongly against it, though; the others seemed to want to have Muggle-borns pay tuitions to attend Hogwarts.

.

Lily had read in Hogwarts: A History that the four Founders of the school prided themselves on providing a quality education for everyone, no matter their social status. 'Tuition' and 'Hogwarts' were two words never used in the same sentence until now. The uniforms, books and other supplies had to be bought, but everything else was free of charge. The Ministry of Magic paid the teachers their salary, and rich, powerful wizarding families made donations to the school. The use of House Elves played a great role too, and although Lily felt a bit uncomfortable with the fact they weren't paid, she knew it helped support the policy of the Founders about a free education.

The 'Muggle-born bashing', as she called it, was becoming bad enough amongst the students, and it would surely get out of hand if it were known that the Governors themselves were being unnecessarily narrow-minded.

That was the reason Lily was looking for Howard Clint after the end of lessons. Owing to the preparations for the Halloween Feast, the weekly Prefect Meeting had been rescheduled for tomorrow, and it was absolutely fine with Lily: if she could convince Howard today, the Muggle-born issue would be addressed tomorrow. Although Howard didn't have a drop of Muggle blood in his veins, it was his duty as Head Boy to stand up against unjust discrimination and harassment. The only glitch in Lily's argument was that the discrimination and harassment were quite insidious and nearly impossible to prove. All the known 'victims' refused to testify, fearful of reprisals. Lily had comforted quite a number of young Muggle-born girls since she had been appointed a Prefect; they seemed to be the favourite targets since they weren't likely to challenge their adversaries to a duel after being insulted. And Lily was sure that the students suffering the worst abuses kept quiet and would never approach a Prefect.

Lily shrugged off these discouraging thoughts and kept looking for Howard.

She found him in the Entrance Hall. He was busy directing three fifth year Prefects, showing them with his wand exactly where he wanted the enchanted skeletons to be hung. It was a tricky business since the Fixing spells were applied on strategic bones so that the skeletons wouldn't fall apart once they were hung high on the walls.

Howard was surprised to see her, since he knew how much she hated decorating the rooms for special occasions.

"Come to hang or to be hung?" he joked.

"Neither." Lily frowned at the walls covered with spider-webs. She hated Halloween. "I'd like to talk to you for a moment. Somewhere private if possible. I trust you can leave your diligent workers alone for a while."

Just as she finished her sentence, the skeleton the three Prefects had been carefully levitating lost its left leg, which fell on the stone floor with a clatter.

Howard sighed. "All right you lot, go and check on the pumpkins in the Great Hall. I have to leave for a while. We'll carry on with the skeletons when I come back."

Lily took him to the small room used to 'park' the first years before the Sorting ceremony. No one ever came in here and they would be guaranteed privacy.

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Eating her pumpkin pie that evening, Lily found it hard to join in with the merry mood of her schoolmates. Her conversation with Howard hadn't been a total disaster, but she had failed. Howard, in his gentle but firm Head Boy voice, had told her that he couldn't bring up the Muggle-born issue as there was no concrete evidence of them being treated differently to the others. He was sure that it was nothing to worry about anyway. Lily knew him well and she guessed he wasn't being completely honest, but he had refused to reconsider his decision when she asked. She told herself she wouldn't be angry with him: he was right about the lack of evidence. Besides, she had tested the waters with the other Prefects during the past few months, and none of them seemed too keen to broach the subject.

Hogwarts seemed to be in blissful denial, Lily thought sombrely as she looked around the Great Hall. Every one seemed to be having fun tonight. Even the teachers were relaxed, and they laughed readily at the students' antics.

Lily moved her eyes back to her slice of pumpkin pie. She had been staring at it morosely for a while when a hand on her shoulder made her jump. She turned in her seat and saw James standing close to her, a smile on his face. He jerked his head toward the doors, not speaking the question she wouldn't have heard with all the noise around them. Lily nodded and they left the hall together.

They didn't go far though, and sat down on the porch under the lantern, as they had done nearly two months ago. It was chillier than back in September, and the lantern - transfigured into an unfriendly-looking pumpkin for the occasion - was casting an eerie light on the front steps this time.

"You know, you never told me why you don't like Halloween, Lily," James said conversationally as he reclined against the wall.

"Maybe because you never asked." Lily cast a warming charm on her and James' robes to keep the cold away and conjured a small blue fire she set in front of them. With that and the comfort of the strong shoulder she was leaning against, Lily felt quite cosy.

"Well, I'm asking you now."

"There isn't a particular reason. I've never liked it for as long as I can remember, and I'm even a little afraid of it."

James chuckled. "You, afraid of dancing skeletons and grimacing giant pumpkins? I would never have guessed."

"Don't be silly. I can dismember skeletons and smash pumpkins quicker than Sirius can hex Snape. It's just that the possibility of the dead walking the Earth for a night doesn't agree with me. I think it's Death I'm afraid of, actually."

James put a reassuring arm around her shoulders. "You're not going to die anytime soon Lily, and certainly not on a Halloween night," he said gently.

"I know. There are three hundred and sixty four other days for me do die on, so I suppose I can safely say I have a very slim chance of leaving this world on the thirty-first of October."

"We're too young to be talking about death," James chided. "Here, I've got something to cheer you up."

He delved his free hand into his pocket and took out a white paper bag with three big Bs printed in red on it.

"James! You sneaked into Hogsmeade again!" Lily reprimanded sternly. But she wasn't able to keep her façade for long, and broke into a broad smile. "Did you take some 'Autumn Fantasies'?" she asked eagerly, snatching the bag from his hands. "Oh, I could kiss you right now. In fact, I will." And she gave him a quick peck on the cheek, not caring that she was acting like a ten years old. Besides, she knew that James didn't mind, since he was laughing and his eyes were twinkling.

Lily opened the bag and fished out the two large brioches for James and herself.

"Now, that's what I call a proper treat," she said, her mouth full. "Pumpkin pie is good but it doesn't compare with Belinda's creations."

James laughed again. "You can have mine if you want. I've never been too fond of the 'Autumn' ones."

Lily shook her head, laughing too. "I want to be able to fit through the portrait hole when we go back to the Tower. Which one is your favourite, anyway?"

"The Winter ones. I've always been a hopeless case where chocolate is involved."

"The 'Winter Gourmandises' are good too," Lily agreed, licking fig cream from her finger.

"I guess I have to eat my brioche then, since you don't want it." James sighed.

Lily snorted. "You say that as if it were torture to do so, you poor delicate thing."

They ate their brioches in silence for a while before Lily decided to ask a question she had been tossing and turning in her head for quite some time now.

"James, do you think you could teach me how to block and dodge curses like you do?"

The question had come so out of the blue that James nearly choked on his brioche. "What?"

"I know we did that in class at the beginning of the year, but I'm no good at it," Lily went on. "I went to see Howard for his first duel in the Competition and I was really impressed. It was beautiful to watch. It's too late to enrol in the Club now, and I thought that maybe you could teach me..." she faltered and grew hesitant. "But if you don't want to or if you don't have time it's okay."

Lily's head was resting on his shoulder and James twisted his neck to look at her. "Is it important to you, Lily?" he asked.

The flickering of the blue fire gave his eyes the most bizarre expression and Lily gulped. "Well I... I mean ... it would be useful if I ever have to defend myself, you know ... in case I meet some unfriendly wizard who will want to ... to..." She realised she was babbling and shut her mouth.

"Is it important to you, Lily?" James repeated quietly.

Lily looked away from his gaze with difficulty and fixed her eyes on the fire. Her 'yes' was barely whispered but James heard her.

"We can start tomorrow if you want. We're playing Ravenclaw in the morning but we can meet in the Duelling classroom after lunch. I'll ask Raven about it."

"What about the Prefect Meeting?"

"It's scheduled for five, we'll have time."

Silence re-settled itself between the two friends, and it was Lily who broke it again.

"James?"

"Yes, Lily?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

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TBC....