It Only Hurts When I Breathe

Chapter 9

James and Lily's budding romance sent shockwaves throughout the school. No one had expected the prim and proper Lily Evans to ever give in to the prankster James Potter's wooing.

"She's given him a love potion," argued the many members of the Official Unofficial James Potter and Sirius Black fan club. They were still trying to figure out what Grace Prewitt had given Sirius to keep his attention so long.

"He's holding her under Imperius," said nearly all of the male population of the school. After all, Lily Evans was beautiful and very popular.

The professors gave each other knowing glances. They had been waiting for this moment since the two students had set foot inside the school. Finally, at the end of their sixth year, it looked like something was about to happen. Then Mrs. Norris was found mewing loudly in the Library attached to a chandelier by her tail. Filch had been furious and it had taken several days for him to calm down and stop taking his rage out on random students. Although James protested his innocence, Lily was furious and ceased all negotiations for a relationship.

The last month of school passed quickly, although without much complaint from the sixth year Gryffindors. Lily and James had just recently been able to engage in somewhat polite conversation lasting fifteen seconds or less again after the Mrs. Norris affair. Grace and Sirius had blown up at each other again and weren't on speaking terms. There was an uncomfortable silence in the compartment where the Gryffindor sixth years had squeezed into until everyone began ignoring them and chatted about their summer plans.

"Well, mum, dad, Hugh and I are going to Corsica," Morgana told Remus and Carrie. "What about you, Remus?"

"My Gran lives in Swansea, so I think we're going to visit her," Remus replied.

"Oohh I love Wales," Antonia chimed in. "We're going to Spain and Morocco. What about you, Peter?"

Peter looked up, startled because he had just been staring at her chest. "Me? Oh, my mum said that we might go to London for a few days. She's not well, you know so we can't go very far."

Several of them snickered; London definitely wasn't as exotic as Corsica or Morocco. "That sounds lovely," Lily said, punching James in the ribs as he had been one of the ones laughing.

Peter blushed. "Thanks, Lily."

"Where are you going, Lily?" Carrie asked.

"Grace and I are going with my family to Bermuda. We're both going to learn how to surf," she replied.

Grace snorted. "I doubt that. More than likely I'm going to be carted off to some muggle hospital for the entire summer after I make one go at it. All I'm going to do is soak up some sun and drink piña coladas."

The rest of the compartment snickered at the thought of Grace lying in one place long enough to get a tan.

"C'mon, Grace," Lily pleaded, "it's going to be so much fun."

"I highly doubt you'll end up in the hospital," Antonia reasoned.

Grace shrugged. "Whatever, I still don't understand those muggles and their ridiculous hobbies."

"That's rich coming from a girl whose brother-in-law collects plugs," Lily snorted.

"So Lily, isn't this -surfing- when you stand on a board and ride on top of waves?" Sirius interrupted, acting oblivious that she had been talking to his ex-girlfriend.

Lily gave Grace a quick glance, warning her not to let her temper get the best of her. Grace returned a subtle wink, already forming a plot in her mind. She knew exactly what Sirius was going to do this summer: snog loads of girls, fly around the countryside on his motorbike, the one Grace had been dying to see but would never admit it, and come back in the Fall with dozens of stories about his adventures. She wouldn't ever be able to top that, after all, she didn't have a flying motorbike, but she could come up with one story that would turn him positively green with jealousy- a boyfriend. She grinned to herself. Her plan may not win him back, but then again she wasn't altogether sure she wanted that self-centered, egotistical, pig-head again. However it would prove that she was totally and completely over him, which may not be true but it would look that way.

After a while the conversation shifted from summer plans to the upcoming school year. They all shared the same feelings of excitement that they were almost graduated and the feelings of dread that they would be leaving their almost home of six years.

"We're going to have to make this year special," Antonia said. James and Sirius gave each other knowing looks. "No, not pranks you loonies, just having fun."

"You're right," Lily agreed, "this is going to be the best year of our lives, so we'd better not take it for granted."

The girls were planning on pillow fights and "girls only" outings to Hogsmeade. The boys were plotting various pranks and stunts they would pull so that Hogwarts would never forget the Marauders. Either way, all of them knew that the threat of Voldemort and his Death Eaters was growing darker every day and there would be few days left where they could be as care free as they were now.

The train finally pulled to a stop at the platform and the students rushed to get their trunks. After a few minutes of jostling and Lily's repeated attempts to make the younger students stop trying to force their way out and listen to her, as she was a prefect, students began pouring off of the train and into their parent's arms.

Grace looked around for a moment before she caught sight of her parents. She whooped in delight as her brothers and sister followed behind them.

"Oh, Grace, it's so good to have you home," her mother said as she wrapped her in her arms.

Grace's father hugged her next. "How was it?" He asked, referring to her school year.

She shrugged. "Well enough. I passed all of my classes."

Gideon laughed. "Leave it to Gracie to only care if she passes or not." He rumpled her hair and grabbed her in a one armed hug.

"So, little sister, is there anyone we should be concerned about?" Fabian asked, motioning his head back at Sirius, who was standing several feet away with the Potters.

Grace rolled her eyes. "Not anymore. I'm done with that git."

"Whatever you say," Gideon replied knowingly.

Grace stuck her tongue out at him and threw an elbow at his ribs, but he quickly darted out of her reach and made a face. When their parents' turned away to talk to Lily's parents, Grace gave Gideon a rude hand gesture and turned to talk to Molly.

Although Molly had nearly been of age to attend Hogwarts when Grace was born, the two sisters had gotten fairly close over the years. Now the elder sister was juggling three rambunctious boys

"Where's Bill?" Grace asked her sister as she only saw little Charlie holding his mother's hand and Percy on her hip.

"Oh, he's playing at the Tonkses with little Nymphadora, bless Andie for watching him for me."

"How's Arthur's job going?"

Molly's face turned solemn. "All this business about that You-Know-Who has got nearly everyone at the Ministry working over. Arthur's even assisted with some of the raids on suspected Death-Eater houses with the Aurors; they've needed the help so bad." She sighed and tried to soothe Percy as he had started to fuss. "I just worry that he's putting himself out too much, he's been so active in the Ministry that he might make himself a target."

Grace smiled sympathetically. "Don't you worry about Arthur, Molls, he's a fine wizard, he knows how to protect himself if he gets into trouble."

Molly managed a weak smile in return. "Of course he is." She wrapped Grace up in a hug and whispered, "I did need some reassurance, though. Thank you."

"Anytime, Molly," Grace replied as they parted.

Grace left her family chatting with Lily's parents long enough to say her goodbyes and promises to owl each other to her friends.

She spoke with Remus' parents for a moment before setting off to find her best friend. Grace wove through the crowds of students and parents before she caught sight of Lily. "Lils!" she shouted above the crowd. "Oy Lily!"

Lily turned her head and Grace realized that she had been talking to David Carmichael, a Ravenclaw and one of her former boyfriends. Grace winked at Lily to acknowledge this and Lily laughed, their secret code puzzling David. "I'll owl you when we're coming to pick you up."

Grace grinned. "See you in a couple of weeks then."

"See you," Lily replied.

Grace moved back though the crowds to her parents who had loaded her trunk onto a trolley and were saying their goodbyes to several of the other parents. Grace's siblings excused themselves as they only had time to see Grace off the train; Molly was picking Bill up and finishing her housework, and Gideon and Fabian were returning to the Ministry. Gideon was an Auror and Fabian worked in the Department of Magical Transportation.

"Ready?" her father asked.

She nodded. "Let's go." The Prewitts followed the other families waiting to get across the barrier and into the muggle train station and once on the other side, found a quiet place in the station and apparated home.

The Prewitts, although an ancient wizarding family, had never seen the need for a lavish ancestral home the way some other families did. Located the area known to muggles as the Lake District, the Prewitt family home was a medium sized house made of grey stone with deep blue shutters. Mrs. Prewitt's passion for gardening had caused the garden to creep up from the back of the house until it completely surrounded the house with both magical and muggle flowerbeds.

They had apparated right in front of the simple white wooden fence separating the property from the road. With her trunk floating along behind her, Grace opened the gate and led her parents up the stone walk to the front door of their house. Once inside she took her trunk upstairs and began to unpack. She finished in about an hour and returned downstairs to help her parents with dinner, where the three of them sat eating and discussing the previous school year. A few hours later an exhausted Grace left her parents in the living room listening to the wireless and made her way up the familiar stairs to her bed, where she quickly drifted off to sleep.