CHAPTER 4
Chapters
Light shone through the windowpanes of Lily's room the next morning, trying to shake her awake. Her dark red hair was strewn about her pillow, her green eyes remaining closed. The baggy, blue sweatshirt she wore to Truth or Dare was all crumpled, and her sweats were rolled up from all the times she moved her legs as she slept. Recognizing the bird's familiar jovial chirp from outside, Lily's eyes steadily opened. She lay in bed, staring at her ceiling for a couple of minutes.
Today's the day, Lily. The last first day of school. I wonder what classes I have today...I really would enjoy Potions; it would be just wonderful to be partnered with Chloe, working on complex potions. Oh, and the library is finally open for business! How exciting! Ugh...I hope I don't have History of Magic this year...the subject is just so dull! It is so easy that I pass notes with Ana practically the whole time. Merlin, I hope the Marauders aren't in many of my classes to distract me. They are way too rowdy! Anyway, I might as well get up. Take a deep breath, and...
She shot up from her bed, her blue comforter flying to the opposite side of the bed. Lily briskly put her messy hair up into a bun, and made her bed. She made sure that all of the pillows were aligned just right, and that there wasn't a wrinkle in the sheets. Then, she trudged over to the bathroom to take a quick shower.
When her warm feet touched the cold marble floor, she shivered a bit before continuing on her way to her shower. She made her way to the blue-marble-type shower closest to her. Before taking her clothes off, she grabbed a maroon towel and placed it on the hook right outside the shower curtain. She looked right and left, making sure James wasn't in here. Lily made sure she couldn't hear any footsteps, before undressing herself and stepping into the hot shower. Seconds later, she thought that she heard someone come into the bathroom, but assured herself that it was nothing. It was probably nothing. Right? After a minute or two, she forgot about it and began to hum a popular muggle song, "Your Song," by Elton John. She applied her shampoo and conditioner before quietly singing the lyrics.
"And you can tell everybody this is your song / It may be quite simple, but now that it's done, I hope you don't mind / I hope you don't mind that I put down in words-" she sang, smiling as she grabbed the soap.
"How wonderful life is while you're in the world!" James shouted from his shower across the hall.
Startled, Lily stopped singing and poked her head out of the shower, feeling a twinge of annoyance in the back of her mind. James's head was just outside the shower curtain as well, smiling smugly with a glint of mischief in his eyes.
"Evans, why don't you continue? We were doing so well!" he asked innocently, flashing his pearly white teeth at Lily.
"Potter, do you mind? I am trying to shower. I already have to deal with your regular voice; I don't need your attempted singing one," she snapped, as she took her head away from the curtains.
"Testy this morning, Evans?" James mocked, shouting over the noise of rushing water.
"Before you came in here, I was perfectly okay. Now, yes, I am testy, thanks to you," she sneered, shutting off the water and grabbing the towel.
"Aww, I'm not that bad!" James said, miming being hurt.
"Unfortunately, you are," she said, wrapping the towel around herself.
"Maybe you could give me lessons, Evans! It would be a good thing for us to develop a 'professional' bond, and that is just the way to do it, right?" James suggested, stretching his hands over the shower so Lily could see that he put air quotes around professional.
"No. Not even a chance."
James's face fell as he scrubbed soap on his muscular arms. "Are you sure?"
"Actually, sure. I would love to."
James jumped with excitement, almost tripping in the shower. Lily chuckled to herself. "Really?"
"Nope."
"Ugh, you're the biggest bugger, Evans," James shot back, growing a little cross that she had tricked him.
"Not nearly as much as you," Lily retorted, smiling at her achievement. Before he could spit out what he would call a "witty" comeback, she left the room to get dressed.
She decided to wear blue bell-bottom jeans and a soft pink shirt that had her pristine, clean, porcelain shoulders showing. She put her hair up in the usual half-a, letting her wavy red hair run down to her elbows freely. At the moment, her lovely locks were full of snarls, so she decided to force a brush through her hair one hundred times. It was a trick her mother had taught her to do when she was very young. The method not only made sure that all of the knots were taken care of, but also added shine and volume to her hair. After that, she returned to the bathroom to brush her teeth. James was there as well, dressed in a loose white t-shirt and jeans. He apparently didn't know how to manage his own hair; it was sticking up in various places messily. However, she didn't know if anyone did. She grabbed her blue toothbrush and began to brush her teeth. James looked like he was on the verge of exploding from the odd silence between the two for the next several minutes. Bravely, he strived to break the ice with the question he had been picking up the courage to ask her.
"So...Evans, do you want to have breakfast on the balcony today?" James shakily asked.
Lily seemed to think about it for a moment, her green eyes unfocused. "Sure, I guess that would be all right. But I don't want any funny business," she answered cautiously, putting away her toothbrush.
"I can't promise that," James said with a half-smile, mussing his hair nervously.
"I know," Lily said. "But try not to. It's a beautiful day outside and I want to enjoy the fresh air and some French toast."
"I'll try."
"You'd better," Lily said, fixing her hair.
"I will."
She looked at him and gave him a soft smile. "Fine. Well, I will meet you out there."
She strode out of the room into the common room. Hurriedly, James once again ruffled his jet-black hair and straightened out his shirt. He tried different smiles into the mirror, trying to mimic the best one he could muster. He looked himself over, making sure that he didn't have stubble, and that he didn't have anything wrong with his appearance.
He gave the mirror one last practice grin before practically running to the balcony.
Panting when he reached it, his face fell when he saw a note left on a seat for him. In delicate, careful handwriting, it read:
Potter,
I just remembered that since today's the first day, we have to eat breakfast downstairs to get our schedules. Sorry, we will eat breakfast on the balcony another time. Get downstairs quickly, before they throw out your schedule!
Evans
He frowned down at the crumpled note, and threw it into the nearest trash bin. He got his shoes on, and immediately made his way to the dining hall.
When he entered those astronomical doors, his ears were greeted with excited chatter of new classes, possibly new teachers, and eventually trying to catch up with everyone. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all huddled together with Lily, Ana, and Chloe at the far side of the Gryffindor table, exchanging schedules. Sirius seemed to be shouting, maybe even cursing, at the manila piece of paper in front of him. Remus was chuckling at his reaction, and Peter was timidly shaking his head back and forth between Sirius's schedule and his own. Lily and Chloe were having a thrilling conversation about the similarity of their schedules, while Ana gulped down her pumpkin juice.
"Hey, guys," James said, sitting himself down in between Sirius and Peter. Ana gave him a kind nod, Chloe waved, and Lily said, "Potter, your schedule's right over there." She pointed at the envelope in front of Remus.
"Prongs! We have Potions together!" Sirius exclaimed loudly, giving him a clap on the back.
"How do you know?" James asked, grabbing his schedule from Remus.
"Um...I opened it?" Sirius said in an obvious tone of voice.
"Wait...if you have Potions with Sirius, you have it with all of us! Meaning, since you are Head Boy, you have to be partners with the Head Girl!" Ana said, grinning.
"WHAT!" Lily shouted in horror, completely forgetting about talking about advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts with Chloe.
"I guess it's fate, Evans!" James said, grinning.
"Um, no. It's more like bad luck," Lily shot back, crossing her arms.
"You still testy from this morning, Lily-Flower?"
"Well, I was okay until you came along. You are good at doing everything that I tell you not to do, aren't you, Potter?" Lily said, her bright green eyes becoming slits.
"Yes, yes, I am!"
"Ugh, you're impossible!" Lily huffed, rolling her eyes.
"That's what you love about him, Evans, admit it!" Sirius chimed in, laughing.
Lily stared daggers at both friends, who were laughing for a while. Ana, noticing this look, snorted into her pumpkin juice. Chloe whispered, "Somebody's in trouble!" to no one in particular. Remus gave Sirius and James a warning look, motioning for them to stop before Lily got into attack mode. Peter hit James on the shoulder, pleading with him to stop, which made Sirius and James only laugh harder. Lily stood up, her lightly freckled face irate.
"If you ever make that accusation again, you will be sorry. Very. Sorry." Lily said this menacingly, causing the laughter to die down and the happy air to turn cold and frightening. Everyone's heart seemed to stop in their group, as she picked up her books and stormed out of the entrance hall with her new schedule in hand.
How could I be so thick? Whenever I trust Potter for only minutes, it just blows up in my face. Vexed, she sat herself down on one of the benches outside of the Entrance Hall, and for a couple minutes just sulked in place, before she heard a strange shuffle of feet echo in the distance.
A boy swooped around the corner, with black, greasy hair, pale skin, and cold, black eyes. When he noticed her sitting there alone, he nearly tripped over his own feet. His black eyes met hers, and Lily felt her insides twist with more hatred than could possibly be imagined.
"What are you staring at, Snivellus?" Lily said coolly, with not a hint of sympathy in her voice.
Snapping back to the reality of the situation, he haughtily replied, " Nothing. Just wondering why you are out here by yourself."
"It's none of you business," she said, waving away the comment.
"It's Potter, isn't it. What did he do?" Snape challenged, sitting himself down next to her.
"It's none of your bloody business. Now piss off," Lily hissed through her teeth, before gathering her books and trying to get as far away from him as possible.
"Lily, how many times do I have to tell you I am sorry?" Severus shouted after her.
Lily stopped in her tracks. She whipped around, looking angrier and more annoyed than Snape had ever seen.
"If you think for one second that I have forgiven you for that day, you are sadly mistaken!" she screamed back, her hands becoming fists at her sides.
"It was fifth year, Lily! I am sorry!"
She turned around slowly and headed for the nearest room, anxious to get away from him. Her anger was going to rip her apart, and she wouldn't let it do that to her. She calmed herself down as she walked down the Potions corridor, taking one breath after the next, slowly and deeply. Lily half-expected that she was on the verge of having a heart attack from all the stress and anger she felt, but she knew that wasn't the case.
Without warning, a familiar click-clack of heels echoed throughout the hallway. Before she knew it, Professor McGonagall had approached her, with an unusual look of sadness upon her face. Lily thought she saw a flash of sympathy race across her usual stern eyes. Minerva sat down beside her star student, and from the looks of it, was very troubled by her actions.
"Miss Evans, do you need someone to talk to?" she said in a soft, low voice that startled Lily a bit.
"No, I'm fine, Professor," Lily said, taking her eyes away from Minerva's.
"I know when people are lying, you know," she replied carefully.
Lily's eyes wandered over to her favorite teacher's, tears welling up in her eyes every second. She started to tremble a little bit, and for the first time in her life, Professor McGonagall hugged her.
"I-I just ha-hate w-when p-p-people make presumptions!" Lily sniffed, letting go of her teacher, and wiping away a tear rolling down her cheek. "And I a-also dete-e-st the thought of s-someone thinking that j-just because they did s-something in the past, it doesn't m-m-matter."
"Miss Evans, life is like a puzzle," McGonagall replied, rubbing Lily's back gingerly. "It's full of things that you don't want to happen, and things that are rather confusing. You can't know it all. You just can't." Lily's tear soaked face began to dry as her wise teacher continued. "But eventually, as your life rolls by right before your eyes, things will unravel as you grow and learn, and you will find out the right move to make to complete the puzzle."
Lily wiped the residue of tears off her face, and with a watery smile she said, "Thanks, Professor. I think I understand now."
"Good, good," McGonagall said, nodding her head, before lurching up from the bench. "Run along, now; you must get to your next class. Potions, I believe?"
Lily grinned and said, "You guessed it. I will see you later, Professor."
"Take care, Miss Evans," she said, her normal voice returning, and the stern look in her eyes back once again. She turned around curtly and walked off to the Transfiguration hallway to begin her first class.
Lily made a brisk trip to the loo, making sure that her eyes didn't look too puffy or red from crying. She reached into her school bag and pulled out some concealer, applying it under her eyes just to be sure. She clicked the cap back on, threw it into her nearest pocket, and rushed out of the bathroom at the precise moment that Sirius and James were walking by. She pulled them aside, away from the bustling crowd of sixth years.
Before Sirius or James could open their mouths, Lily said, "Look, guys, I am so sorry. I have been acting like a lunatic lately, and I knew you were just kidding, Pads. I really am sorry."
"You don't have to tell me. I knew you'd come 'round." Sirius said with a smile, giving her a flirty wink, and earning himself a glare from James.
"It's okay, Evans. I forgive you," James said, as a half-grin tugged at the corner of his mouth when his eyes came upon those green eyes.
"Good, now let's find R-"
"We're here!" Peter shouted, tugging along Remus, Chloe, Ana, and Summer.
"Hi, Pete. Thanks for the help," Lily said jovially, which made Peter get all giddy inside.
"We thought we'd lost you!" Ana said dramatically, pulling Lily into a hug. Chloe stood there awkwardly, along with the others.
Ana managed to peek out of the hug and shouted, "It's called a group hug, you gits! Come on in here!"
With murmurs of embarrassment, they all joined together in a warm, big hug.
"I like being this close to Ana!" Sirius sniggered to James, who snorted.
Minutes later, they pulled apart, and headed down the dark corridor.
They promptly ran towards Potions with Professor Slughorn. Lily sat in the front with Remus, Chloe, and Summer. Remus was sitting in between Summer and Chloe. Summer was forming a list in her head of who should be on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, while Chloe was pretending to read her new Potions book, but was actually looking at Remus through her eyelashes. To Lily's surprise, James slid into the seat that was formerly Severus' and smiled at her. Ana arrived late, on account of Peeves throwing ink bottles at her head. She quickly took a seat next to her friends.
Sirius made his casual way to his seat in the back, but immediately pushed Thomas Flint, a Ravenclaw, out of his seat, so he could sit next to Ana. She chuckled a little in her head at Thomas's astounded face, his new robes riding up to show his knickers. The friends were all now in the front row. Severus took a seat behind Lily, who sniffed and ignored him.
Slughorn clapped his hands and divided them into pairs to make a certain type of potion. Chloe and Remus were paired up to make a potion that cured as many afflictions as possible; Sirius and Ana were picked to create an antidote to a poisonous substance, and Lily and James were chosen to brew a potion as similar to Polyjuice Potion as possible, without the extra weeks of brewing. Summer, who was the remaining person without a partner, joined Remus and Chloe. She was allowed to pick her group because she was a member of the Slug Club, for having a relative on the Holyhead Harpies and for her skill in Quidditch and Transfiguration. The students all went to work.
James scribbled on a piece of parchment to Sirius, since they were not allowed to talk about anything except potions. He cast a charm on it that made the piece of paper look like a potion ingredient to Slughorn's eyes, changing every time it touched someone else's hand. It read: Oi, Padfoot, this class is hard!
Sirius: YOU have Lily, Prongs. Summer and Ana and me aren't very good in this class.
Lily: It's SUMMER, ANA, AND I, Sirius! And James! Stop writing and help me!
Remus: She's right.
Sirius: Moony, she just corrected my grammar! She's almost as bad as you!
Chloe: Why is it that boys think their heads know everything?
Summer: Yeah, and what's it with men and asking directions?
Ana: Last year, you guys got lost in Hogsmeade and spent hours walking around! Why didn't you ask??
Sirius: Men do not ask.
James: He is right. It's just something that is unacceptable for men to do.
Summer: Blimey, Padfoot, don't you carry a map in your head? Hogsmeade is building and you should have paid attention to McGonagall on where not to wander.
Sirius: What's the fun in that?
Ana: So you don't come back with bleeding feet? Wormy was also complaining that you guys were out for hours.
Lupin: Two. Two hours. I said, "We can ask THIS guy over here..."
Sirius: Oh, Moony, be quiet. We found our way home, didn't we?
Lupin: Again, after two hours! I still can't believe we almost got killed by those show grindylows.
James: Well, I guess they didn't like their cage being jiggled and knocked to the ground.
Lily: Say, did you think of magic, or did you just run?
Sirius: We Stunned-
Ana: You ran, didn't you?
Sirius: No.
Ana: Liar.
Sirius: BOLLOCKS! Okay, so our feet bled, we almost got killed, and a bartender spilled his firewhiskey on us, and we ran into a Death Eater, but-
Lily: WHAT?? You ran into a Death Eater??
James: It was pathetic. One good Stunning spell and Incendio got rid of him.
Lily: You should have just asked for directions! You could have died!
James: Well, we didn't!
Lily: You could have!!
James: We're here, Lily. We're fine.
Lily: HMPH!
James crumbled a peppermint leaf, which Lily snatched out right away. "What are you doing? That will inflame the drinker's nostrils!"
"Well, you didn't stop me!"
"It's a partner project, but you're screwing it up!"
While Lily and James argued, and while Lily tried to work on the potion, the rest of the gang, even Remus, began to note-pass again.
Remus: Do any of you know why our mixture is turning into pus?
Summer: I don't know!
Chloe: You put in porcupine quills with the ragweed, didn't you? This won't even cure boils!
Remus: You knew that?
Chloe: I can be pretty AND smart, Remus!
Remus: Sorry...I didn't mean that. Hm...this is tricky, this potion...
Sirius: So am I.
Ana: No, you have all the girls fawning over you, but you manipulate and torture them into doing what you want.
Sirius: Do I detect a hint of jealousy in the fair lady's words?
Ana blushed angrily and wrote back hastily: NO! It's just rude how you treat all the girls, except Lily and a few others. You use them for a few weeks or a month, and then you toss them away like quills!
Sirius: I do not! Some last over a month! Look at my ex-girlfriend!
Ana: Why would anyone without broken broomstick twigs for brains date YOU, then?
Sirius scowled and practically threw the note, disguised as a bezoar, at James, who had made a hand gesture at him to pass it.
James raised his eyebrows when he saw Ana's reply - he saw Ana furiously waving her wand over the now clear mixture - and wrote back with a cheeky smirk: Oh, burn, Padfoot! Oi!
Meanwhile, Chloe leaned over Remus to uncork pomegranate juice and pour it in. Her hair tickled his nose and he desperately tried not to sneeze. What if he did? What if he got his germs all over her? Would she be mad? Of course she would! But-
Summer then asked Remus for his opinion on dropping in a mandrake root, and he nodded as he pointed to his Potions book that mandrake helped heal wounds. She smiled at him, her flower-scented perfume gently weaving into his nostrils, the apples in her cheeks glowing bright red.
Remus shook his head to clear his thoughts - an idea from Muggle comics - but it didn't work. Why was he thinking this way? Yes, he did have crushes, but it was as if Chloe and Summer were poking his heart, making it swell until he feared it might burst.
He had a sudden fear. Which one?? Chloe was one of the smartest girls in school and was a prefect, like he was. She was beautiful, too, with corkscrew hair that reminded Remus of the sun dappling a field of flowers. Already, he and Chloe were studying together at the library and had lots of debates. To his surprise, he found out that her brother was a werewolf, and she supported him. Her parents, while they never directly said that they disliked werewolves, were stiff-friendly, like socialites to people they obviously didn't like, but didn't want to break their nice facade. Chloe and Remus challenged each other, from Shakespeare to Wizarding laws to prices. He and Chloe worked together like a seamless team.
Chloe was perfect. But Summer? She was pretty, like a poet gazing at the simple beauty of a flower. She wasn't the smartest, but she was a fantastic Quidditch player. Even though Remus personally liked keeping his feet on the ground, he admired Summer's ability to weave through obstacles and perform last minute triumphs that could bring tears to people's eyes. Summer was always cheerful and spontaneous, drawing people and happiness like moths to a flame. He loved laughing with her or teaching her. The delight on her face when she learned a new technique made him give out a rare smile.
Remus was so confused that he nearly put a black beetle instead of a root into the cauldron.
James, meanwhile, leaned over and wrote a note on the disguised parchment in careful handwriting. He pushed it over to Lily. Her eyes fell on it and she raised an eyebrow. Lily wrote in delicate strokes back: Why do you want to meet me on the Quidditch field at 11:00 tomorrow night?
James: There's a meteor shower! I thought you'd like to see it. We can have a picnic, too.
Lily: Is everyone else coming? The Marauders and my friends?
James hesitated as his quill shook in his hand. He replied: Yes.
Little did he know what he was getting himself into...
Remus's group finished as Slughorn clapped his hands and announced that the time was up. Slughorn gave out points for his favorite potions. He beamed at Lily and James's - mostly Lily's - potion, and he smiled at Remus, Summer, and Chloe's potion, which wasn't as good as Lily's, but was still satisfactory. He winced at Sirius and Ana's, which was bubbling furiously, but raised his eyebrows when it fixed the cracks and kinks of the desk. Wormtail and Agnes got a frown, as their potions were starting to eat at their shoes.
He praised Severus and Avery on their Draft of the Living Dead, though Avery had let Severus do most of the work. He gave out points to a select few, which were Lily, Summer, Chloe, Remus, Severus, and a Ravenclaw named Helen Waters.
They went out for break. Sirius caught Ana's arm on the way out. "Hey!"
"Don't touch me!" Ana snapped angrily, jinxing his hand with the Stinging Hex. Sirius yanked his swollen hand back, hurrying after her, not bothering to perform the counter curse.
"Ana, wait! I don't understand why you're upset!" Sirius called.
"Ask Scarlett! Or the other girls you dated and maybe cheated on!"
Sirius's mouth fell open. "What??"
"You heard me! You don't think I've heard the rumors? 'Ooh, Sirius Black is so hot; he was with twenty girls in sixth year; is Padfoot a naughty nickname for something? Look at his abs! Look at his hair! He dumped that girl last week, etc., etc., ETC.!" Ana screamed back at him. Some were turning to stare, but Sirius and Ana kept their gaze on each other.
"I didn't cheat on anyone. And I didn't go out with twenty girls sixth year," Sirius said slowly. "I wish you'd stop making assumptions about me."
"Excuse me? You're the womanizer on campus! You've dated almost every girl your or close to your age!" Ana yelled. "Scarlett was the last one, huh? Or can't you keep track? You broke up with her so easily! Is that all a girl is to you??"
"I had the impression that you were overjoyed at our break-up," Sirius replied dryly. He was at his boiling point. They were now at the lake where the Giant Squid resided. "Maybe YOU want me. Maybe you want me to kiss you, to hold you. Maybe you are just a jealous bitch!"
A stinging slap resounded in his ears and his cheek was reddening as Ana pulled back. She shoved him into the lake and ran away so he wouldn't see the tears streaming down her pale face.
"Sirius! How dare you say that?!" Chloe exclaimed, outraged at his comment.
Sopping wet, Sirius emerged from the Black Lake with a black look upon his face and replied, "She deserved it. That bloody-"
"DON'T!" Lily interrupted, an angry look painted across her face once again. "If you ever say that to her again, I swear I will smack you so hard your head will spin!"
"Did you just defend her, Evans! She was all up in my face, gabbing on about how I did...those things with half our grade! It's not, and believe me when I say it, not true!" Sirius said, approaching Lily, who cowardly stepped back the closer he got to her.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" James roared, pushing Sirius out of the way, guarding Lily with his arms wide open. Lily stood in place with shock.
"Don't tell me you're on their side, too, Prongs! I thought you were my best mate!" Sirius said, his eyes narrowing.
"I never said that you did those things," James said, lowering his arms.
"Mates, it's not worth it," Remus said softly to both of them, trying to make peace, as he always had.
"It really isn't. All of you are best friends; don't tear yourselves apart because of a small problem. You are all better than that," Summer said, struggling to keep Sirius from punching James in the gob.
"Why should you, of all people, try to keep them apart? You're not even their friend!" Chloe said, her voice rising as she pointed at Summer.
"What? I am just as much their friend as you are!" Summer said, forgetting about the boys, as she stepped closer to a very indignant Chloe.
Lily stepped into action, dusting off her Head Girl Badge. "Stop it! ALL OF YOU!" All of her mates stopped arguing and stared at the redhead with her hands in fists. "How could you all be so heartless? We are all friends, including-" Lily's eyes flicked to Chloe's. "-Summer. She has done so much for all of us. And Sirius, I agree with you, but that gives you no right to call Ana a... rhymes with witch. James," Lily said, blushing, "thanks for 'protecting' me. And lastly, Remus, thanks for trying to help me out."
Lily took a deep breath, as did her friends. She gave them all a stern look and added, "I am going to have to take fifty points from Gryffindor, though, no matter what you say. Our behavior was just outrageous and repugnant." Sirius was about to protest, but James shook his head at him, signaling for him to shut up. "I hope we can be more of what the average student would call 'admirable' next time."
Lily steadily turned around, and began to walk to the castle. She waved her hand in the air as she turned her head to look at her mates. " C'mon, we have our next class!"
All of the students near the lake scrambled around to grab their belongings before sprinting over to the magnificent castle.