Lions Inside¹ | James Potter

twenty-nine

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(Stolen Dance//Milky Chance)

12th of June, Thursday, 1975

"I don't know what this means," Remus said, studying the Latin book in front of him. 

Sirius leaned over. "'Ignorance is bold and knowledge is bliss', and it has nothing to do with your Herbology homework, yet everything to do with school."

"You can read Latin?!" Remus exclaimed, looking at him in shock. "You can read?!" James quipped, his head shooting up as Sirius spoke. "That's cold, Potter," Sirius mumbled with a glare.

Andrea and Peter chuckled along as Sirius kept pouting for the next twenty minutes. Packing up their things, they all left the library at a late hour, ready for the weekend to start tomorrow. But just as they reached the Portrait Hole, Andrea let out a guttural groan. "What?" Remus chuckled at her antics.

"I forgot my History of Magic paper at our table," she sulked. Getting no sympathetic looks from any of her friends, Andrea turned to James with puppy-dog eyes. James quickly squeezed his eyes shut. "Nope. NO. You left it; you go back for it."

"Some gentleman, you are," Andrea grumbled, kicking his leg playfully. James stuck his tongue out at her. "Never said I was, smarty-pants. Now walk on back there and reflect over the fact that we won't always be there to help you out of your problems." Andrea rolled her eyes but turned on her heel and headed back to the library to grab her homework.

"That was some tough love, right there," Peter muttered, looking after Andrea with sad eyes. James quickly guided his shorter friend through the Portrait Hole. "That's how they learn." 

As Andrea returned to the library, grabbed her homework and left again, she heard someone in distress in one of the corridors. "I've never done anything to you, so just LEAVE ME ALONE!" Andrea heard a much too familiar voice cry out. 

Taking a sharp right, Andrea headed in the direction of the voices and quickly came across a group she never wanted to see alone again. Lily stood clutching books to her chest as a much taller Avery and Mulciber stood over her.

"So, what, you think if you work hard enough at school, we're gonna forget you're not a real witch? You can try as hard as you want, you're never gonna be a real witch. Ever."

"Hey, here's an idea. Why don't you pick on someone your own size," Andrea said in a steady voice that did not match the bubbling rage inside her. "Yeah? Like who?" Mulciber mocked, looking down his nose at her.

"Like me." In the blink of an eye, Andrea had wandlessly tossed Avery away from Lily, pulled out her wand and shot the full Body-Bind Curse at Mulciber. She grabbed the hand of a stunned Lily and quickly pulled her along to their Common Room.

"You're gonna pay for this, Russo!" she heard Avery call out.

"That - was amazing! You're great at spells!" Lily complimented her as they climbed the stairs to the girls' dorms together. 

Not wanting the evening to end, Lily invited Andrea to a sleepover in their dorm instead.

They shared her bed, staying up most of the night whispering and giggling about Avery's face when he flew backwards.

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13th of June, Friday, 1975

"Why are you hiding behind me? What did you do?" A second later, McGonagall walked through the portrait hole, her face a storm of rage. "Never mind, I think I can connect the dots," Remus chuckled.