The Next Great Adventure (A Marauders Fan Fic)

Chapter Fifty Four

Chapter Fifty Four

The first dawn of the new year found James and Sirius curled up together on the sofa, snoring as Lily gazed out of the window. Flurries of snowflakes drifted past and her eyes followed them absentmindedly as she thought about what had happened and what was to come.

It gilded the roofs of the London houses, and she wondered how many people under those roofs knew what was happening. Nobody out there knew how Artemis, an older member of the Order, had been attacked by Death Eaters at her home. Only the day before yesterday had the Order discovered that and Lily was still shaken.

The snow continued to fall as January passed, filling the streets with slush and rendering the city nearly as grey and miserable as when it was raining. Lily trudged endlessly from her flat to St. Mungo’s and back again as the days wore on, her face buried in her scarf and her hands buried in her pockets. Every single person she passed was hunched over, fighting to avoid the chill of the wind.

Lily’s birthday dawned equally dreary, with a steely sky which hung over her and threatened rain. It held off, however, until midday, when the promised rain fell as snow. James and Sirius had already been and gone, promising to return later that day, and Peter appeared while Mary and Alice were visiting them with a present in his hands. “I’m sorry Lily,” he said as he hugged her, “but I can’t stay long. Moody wants me to do something for the Order so I’ve got to go kind of soon.”

“It’s alright Pete, I understand. It’s nice to see you anyway. How’ve you been?” They settled into comfortable chatter, continuing with ease once Peter had left.

Later that afternoon the four girls were sitting on the sofas, much as they used to do in the common room. “But I think the real question,” Alice said as she sipped her tea, “is whether you would rather have to dress like a house elf or actually look like one.”

“Would you be as short as a house elf or…?” Cassie asked.

“No you’d just have their ears and nose and massive eyes but you’d be human sized.”

“Could you Transfigure anything or cast a glamour spell?” Mary asked.

“Nope. You have to look permanently like a house elf.”

“Obviously I would dress like one,” Lily replied. “You can get loads of pillowcases and duvet covers and make something pretty cool.”

“That’s true,” Cassie agreed. “You could get patterned ones and coloured ones and start new fashion trends…”

“Exactly!” They fell silent for a minute and Mary glanced at her watch with a frown. “Well I should probably get going,” she sighed. “It’s already half four.”

“Yeah same. If I leave Frank for much longer he’ll probably try to cook dinner… The last time he did that he set it on fire,” Alice chuckled as the other girls burst into laughter. “And, of course, we need to give you time to get ready for your big date with Mr. Potter.”

Lily rolled her eyes as Alice winked at her and said, “Don’t be stupid Alice, it’s not important and it definitely won’t take me four hours. I could use your help anyway.”

“Yeah we know you could,” Mary teased as she stood up and shrugged her coat on. Alice followed her lead and, as the four of them moved slowly towards the door, Lily grabbed her friends in a hug. “Do you really have to go?” she asked, her face pressed against Mary’s shoulder. “Can’t you stay for a little longer? We haven’t seen each other in ages.”

“No,” she replied sadly, “I have a whole load of books to read and you need to beautify yourself for your boyfriend.”

“No she doesn’t, James would be happy with her whatever,” Cassie said.