Where Life Leads

Chapter Thirteen

Over the next two weeks, the truth about Belinda Yaxley spread throughout the school like fiendfyre. By now, every student knew that Lily and James had been responsible for her capture after coming across her threatening a student. Rumours were rampant about who the student was, but by tacit agreement Lily and James refused to indulge anyone's curiosity.

Professor Slughorn's return was greeted with so much enthusiasm that all of his classes turned into impromptu parties on his first day of resuming teaching. He also held Slug Club party that Friday in place of the one that had been forced to be cancelled. Lily, however, was only able to stop in for a short time since she had to patrol that night- a fact that James had been particularly happy about. The party was strictly members only, and he wouldn't have been able to go, even if Lily had deemed to invite him.

Something had changed between Lily and James since that night with Yaxley. It was almost as though they were avoiding each other by accident. Anytime they tried to get a moment alone, they were interrupted. In the common room it was by their friends or a younger student with a question. Their patrols, for the most part, were done in silence and every time either of them tried to broach the subject a Prefect, an out of bounds student or, in one instance, a teacher would cross their path, interrupting them.

Even escaping to their Heads' common room didn't help matters, for whenever they managed to get there, they had homework, patrolling schedules and a million other things to work on.

But even though they never had a real chance to talk, there was a strange energy surrounding them whenever they were near each other. And even though neither of them had mentioned anything to any of their friends, it was obvious they suspected something was afoot. Lily often caught Marlene looking at her with an odd look on her face and the astute Remus would quirk an eyebrow each time Lily and James got into an argumentative discussion pertaining schoolwork.

By the time the weekend was over, life had taken on a monotone glow. Classes were dull since each new spell they were learning was just an extension of a previously learned one. Potions was the only course that was still interesting- and that was only because next week they were going to start brewing the Polyjuice Potion. Of course they had learned the theory of the potion in fifth year- in fact, there had been a question about it on their O.W.L.- but brewing the potion before they were of age had been out of the question. Too much could go wrong and the Ministry did as much as it could to control its use. It would be the most complex potion they had ever worked on and Lily was looking forward to the challenge.

Of the outside world, the information the students were receiving was sketchy. The Daily Prophet reported only titbit of information and Lily knew there had to be more to the stories it was printing. As if anyone would believe an entire family would just disappear without a word. Julie McGavin, a third-year Ravenclaw, had no idea why her family left, or where they went to. She knew her mother would have mentioned something in one of her many letters. She also knew that her father was a strong supporter of Muggle-borns in the Ministry. And even though her family was pureblooded, nowadays it was not something you advertised if you wanted to remain unharmed.

When her frustration with the Daily Prophet reached its peak, Lily owled her parents and requested that they send her a copy of the Times once a week. The differences between the two papers were drastic. The Times had no qualms about reporting the increased number of violent disasters that were occurring throughout the Muggle World. A few of them, of course, were natural occurrences, but Lily was becoming adept at picking out those which were caused by magic. The frequent fires were the most obvious clue that the catastrophes were Voldemort's work. There could only be so many "gas leak", "the stove was left on" and "a lit cigarette was in the dustbin" excuses before they began to get repetitive and unbelievable. Especially when most of the accidents occurred at notorious Muggle places. Not to mention that even though many of the witnesses who were interviewed reported being unsure of the exact order of events, all of their stories matched word for word. Which suggested to Lily that they may have been Obliviated.

And today was no different. The Sunday paper Lily's parents had sent her reported that the east wing of the British Museum had to be closed for several days due to a security breach. Security cameras had managed to capture the form of a skeleton masked figure running through the corridor of ancient artifacts. The Times reported that nothing had been stolen, but that the Museum wanted to figure out how the person had managed to break in.

Lily set the paper down and stared off into space. She only broke out of her thoughts when James shook her shoulder gently.

"Lily, it's time for Potions. Are you ready to leave?"

"Yeah," she replied, shoving the paper into her bag to peruse later. "Let's go."

Lily, James and Sirius met up with Lizzie outside of the Great Hall to walk down to the dungeons together. Once they reached the classroom every thought and conversation was now directed towards the Polyjuice Potion. Almost everyone was nervous about brewing it - and with good reason.

It wasn't just because it was difficult to make, it would also take a long time to brew. Like any potion, the measurements had to be precise, and certain ingredients had to be gathered and added at specific times. But the Polyjuice Potion required the lacewing flies to be steeped for exactly twenty-one days, and if everything else wasn't added correctly beforehand, the potion would be completely useless and potentially harmful to the drinker.

Professor Slughorn appeared in the classroom in his usual jolly disposition. He waddled up to the front of the room and leaned back in his desk chair, observing his students curiously. After a few minutes he let out a giant laugh.

"You all look as though you've been petrified. Except, of course, for you, Lily," he said with a smile towards her. "I can always count on you to be as calm as the lake on a sunny day." He paused to glace around the room one more time. "Remember that you won't be able to add the fluxweed until Friday. There will be a full moon Thursday night and you will all need to gather what you need then. Well, what are you all waiting for? Get to work!"

At once there was the sound of benches scraping against the stone floor as everyone got to their feet and headed to the storage cupboards for the ingredients. Lily held back against the mad rush, preferring to wait until everyone else had gotten what they needed. James looked back over his shoulder and threw her a wink as he elbowed Sirius out of the way to get to the lacewing flies that he wanted.

Lily rolled her eyes at him in return and then turned to speak to Lizzie who had come to stand next to her.

"I think my toe is broken," Lizzie complained. "Rosier stamped on it pretty hard. And he's no lightweight," she added under her breath.

"I doubt your toe is broken," Lily laughed. "Bruised, perhaps, but not broken."

Lizzie stared down at her foot and wiggled her toes. "I suppose. I can move my toes without screaming, at least."

"Here you go, Lily." James bounded over to them. "I managed to get you some lacewing flies before Sirius took them all."

"You might have got her the lacewing flies, but I've won this battle with the pixie dust I collected for the fair maiden!" Sirius all but shouted. He got onto his knees to present Lily with a tube of sparkling powder.

"Honestly, Sirius," Lily said, snatching the tube from him. "I don't know how you even got into this class. There isn't any pixie dust in the Polyjuice Potion. And, if you do add it, you'll probably end up looking like a cross between a goblin and Hagrid."

James snorted with laughter, as Sirius turned pale and ran his hands over his face as though checking that all of his features were in place. Lily rolled her eyes and returned the tube to the cupboard it belonged in. By now everyone else had picked out what they needed and Lily was able to gather her ingredients without bumping elbows with anyone.

She walked back to her table and began to calmly prepare the ingredients for the potion, every so often referencing back to her notes to make sure everything was as it should be.

By the end of class every student had finished the first part of making the Polyjuice Potion and Slughorn was extremely pleased. He had expected at least one person to mess up, but Lily figured everyone was being extra careful since this potion was so complicated. Now all they had to do was collect the fluxweed and add that and the lacewing flies before letting it stew.

Once Slughorn dismissed them, Lily, James, Sirius and Lizzie made their way to Transfiguration, which Lily - for once- felt no need to go to. All they were going to do today was learn a different way to alter appearance from what they had been taught last year, something that Lily had already researched for extra credit.

The usual chatter greeted them as they entered the classroom. Lily and Lizzie headed to their seats next to Marlene while James and Sirius wandered to the back where Remus and Peter were waiting for them. Peter had an eager look on his face and as soon as James reached him, he leaned over to whisper something in his ear, to which James laughed at uproariously, turning a few heads. Lily shook her head slightly as their antics even as she mentally reminded herself to ask James what Peter had told him.

McGonagall entered the room and called them all to attention, asking them to pass in their homework. Then she proceeded to pick on people randomly to find out what they remembered about altering appearance on themselves and others. Partway though the lecture, Lily lost interest. She glanced over her shoulder at James to see that he was doodling absentmindedly on a scrap of parchment. Shaking her head, she leaned back in her chair and let her thoughts wonder.

-()-

"I've decided that homework is useless," James commented, tossing his Defence book on the floor.

Lily tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and looked up from her Transfiguration essay. "Why do you say that?"

"Because all it does is annoy students and give teachers more work to do."

Lily laughed at his reasoning. "But it also gives students who don't do well on tests a chance to keep their grades up. And it lets the teachers know how students are progressing so that they can change their teaching method if need be. Besides," she added, handing his book back to him, "complaining about it isn't going to make it go away. You might as well just get it done so you can do something more interesting."

James grabbed his book back, sliding off the sofa and onto the floor next to her. "That doesn't mean I have to like it," he complained. "I mean, take this Defence essay for example. Why does it matter to Professor Lowbard what we would feel if we could see thestrals. And for that matter, what do thestrals have to do with Defence? We're seventh years - we should be doing something more productive than talking about creatures!"

Lily put her essay down and looked over at him, finally understanding why he was getting so upset over such a straightforward homework. She studied his profile carefully before responding. He cheeks were tinged with anger and he was clutching his quill tightly in one hand.

She reached over and gently removed the quill from his hand and laced her fingers though his instead. "Is it hard trying to put what you would feel into words?" she asked him calmly.

"No, it's just none of his business, is all." He concentrated on her fingers, refusing to meet her gaze.

Lily shrugged. "Then just make it up. He won't know any better."

Shocked, James looked over at her. Lily shook her head at him and gave him a rueful smile. "If it's upsetting you this much then that's the only thing to do, isn't it?"

He starred at her for several moments before replying. "I can see them, you know. The thestrals."

"I had been wondering," she told him honestly. "I thought that might be why you put off doing the essay for so long. We were given it two weeks ago."

"Yeah, well...I was only twelve and he shouldn't have been there in the first place." His voice was full of bitterness.

"Who shouldn't have been?"

"My Uncle Charlus." He paused for a moment before continuing. "He wasn't allowed over very often. My dad was much older and had always looked out for him. But then he went and married Dorea Black - Sirius' great-aunt, funnily enough. Anyway, their family has always been heavily into the Dark Arts, and Uncle Charlus began to get deeper and deeper involved with them. He was starting to lose control over himself." James shook his head and looked up at the ceiling. "I don't even know why he was there in our living room that day, or what he was doing. Dad had told him ages ago that he wasn't allowed over while I was home from school. But whatever spell he was experimenting with must have been too strong for him because it killed him. And he had no idea that I had been standing in the doorway watching him."

James let go of her hand to wrap his arms around his knees as he stared off into past. "He just screamed and fell over. His face was blistering, as thought he was burning from the inside out. I hate the Dark Arts," he added venomously. "All they do is ruin lives."

They sat in silence for several minutes, until Lily spoke up curiously, "Are they as horrifying to look at as their pictures? The thestrals, I mean."

"Worse, but only because every time you see one, you remember why you can see them in the first place."

"You should put that in your essay," she told him, leaning her head against his shoulder.

He nodded thoughtfully and began to run his finger though her hair. "I never told anyone, you know. Well, Sirius of course," he amended, "but no one else. Not even my parents know. I ran up to my room before anyone had the chance to see me."

"I'm glad you told me. I think I'm beginning to understand you more and more each day."

James grinned over at her.

He plucked his parchment from between the pages of his book and reached over her arm to reclaim his quill. Balancing his book on his knees for a writing surface, he began to scratch away.

It wasn't until Lily was rolling up her finished essay that she Lily noticed that the scratching had stopped. She glanced up at him to find him watching her pensively.

He smiled faintly at her and reached over, tucking a stray piece of hair back behind her ear. "Let's do something fun," he said suddenly, tucking his own essay into his book once again.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, but we have at least two hours yet before we have to patrol," he replied jubilantly. "Let's just wander around until we find something." He got to his feet and pulled her up after him, a bright grin across his face.

Lily laughed, glad to see that he was out of his mood.

"We could go down to Hogsmeade."

"James, we're Head Boy and Girl. We can't leave the school grounds without permission. Besides, we wouldn't get back in time for our patrol."

"Spoilsport." He grinned at her and went over to his desk to dig around in his school bag. "Let's set these off then," he suggested, holding up a bag.

"Dungbombs? Gross! It takes days for the smell to wear off. And we can't do something like that. We're-"

"Head Boy and Girl, I know." He placed the bag on his desk and sank down in his chair. "You're no fun. I bet you've never played a prank in you life."

Lily smiled cunningly at him. "You would lose. Remember that time all of Sughorn's robes were pink for a week?"

James' mouth dropped open. "No way! That was you?"

"And Janice, Linda and Marlene." Lily shrugged. "Nothing to it."

"It took both Dumbledore and Flitwick to break the charms. They couldn't figure out what combination of spells was used. And everyone thought we had done it. McGonagall even gave us detention!"

"That was the idea," Lily laughed.

James was shaking his head, unable to fathom it. "But you love Slughorn. He's always giving you points and stuff."

Lily huffed. "It gets old after a while. I mean, he's nice and all, but there's only so much fawning I can take. That was the week after I had won the National Student's Potions Essay Contest. He wouldn't stop talking about it." She walked over to look out the window. "You know," she said after a moment, "it won't be too cold out with a warming charm. We could go flying for a bit."

James perked up. "Really?"

"Sure," Lily said with a shrug as he walked over to stand next to her. "It's not too windy out and I enjoyed it last time as much as I hate to admit it. No one has the Pitch booked, do they?"

"Nope, it's free tonight."

Lily grinned brightly at him, glad to see his mood had improved so drastically. "It's decided then. Let's go get the brooms and our coats."

They walked to the Gryffindor common room and then up to their dorms. Lily pulled a jumper over her head and put on her trainers. She grabbed her coat, tucking her want into a pocket, and James' extra broom (she still had it from when they had gone flying at the beginning of the year) before going back downstairs.

He was waiting for her at the portrait hole and they happily made their way down to the Quidditch Pitch. It was slightly colder than Lily had expected it to be and she cast a quick warming charm over them both before pulling on her gloves. A glance at James showed that he was putting on the Quidditch glove she had got him for his birthday.

"Are they working out well for you?" she asked him.

He grinned at her. "The best." They reached the pitch and James immediately jumped onto his broom. "Race you to the other end," he said before taking off with a whoop.

"No fair!" Lily called after him. "You could have at least waited until I was ready!"

He was already at the other end. "Where's the fun in that?" He flew steadily back over to her and waited for her to mount up.

She was more comfortable getting onto the broom this time around. James had been right - it was rather like riding a bicycle. She moved her hands into position and then kicked off the ground.

James had already looped once around the Pitch, and now he came over to join her. The two of them flew around for several minutes before James fetched the Quaffle from the Quidditch shed.

He gave Lily an easy smile when he tossed it to her and she managed to catch it one-handed without losing her balance on the broom. Grinning, she threw it back and then laughed as he missed it.

"I did that on purpose, you know!" he called to her as he dived to pick it.

"If you meant to do that, then my name isn't Lily Evans!" she called after him.

"It doesn't have to be," James said, flying back up next to her.

"What do you mean by that?"

James shook his head at her and grinned, handing her the Quaffle. "Don't worry about it. Now, throw it again. I'll get it this time if you aim it better," he teased.

Lily stuck her tongue out at him and threw the ball at him head. He caught it easily and tossed it back.

They passed the rest of their free time exchanging insults each time either of them missed it. Naturally Lily was on the receiving end of most of them, but James just joked that he was getting back at her for all of the times she had yelled at him before.

Her hands were slightly numb from the cold by the time they had to stop for their rounds. James had permanent smile plastered on his face and he cheerfully unwound his scarf from around his neck and wrapped it around Lily's head.

She pulled it down off of her eyes so that she could see and balanced her broom over one shoulder before linking her arm through James'. They walked up to the castle, laughing happily and hoping that there weren't any students out of bed that they would have to take points from.