Pumpernickel
~| Chapter 1 |~

"Dumbledore's having a ball? You mean the dancing kind?" asked a very shocked Sirius Black. "Well, what the bloody hell for?"

"How should I know, Padfoot? I just found out about it," mildly stated his partner-in-crime, James Potter. He turned to their light-brown haired friend. "Moony, what do you have to say about this?" James asked because he knew Moony would say something very intelligent.

The young man they called Moony was actually named Remus Lupin, but was nicknamed Moony because of his once-a-month horrific transformation into a werewolf.. Remus appeared to give this matter some serious thought before finally looking up at his friends.

"I think we'll have a very good time," he grinned devilishly. "Now all we need are girls to go with." He rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

"Moony, you wolf!" laughed Sirius. Then when he realized his pun on words, he howled (no pun intended) with laughter.

"Is Padfoot making fun of himself again?" asked their other friend, Peter Pettigrew, as he came down from their dormitory.

"Not enough so that they can admit him to St. Mungo's, Wormtail," answered Remus with mock sadness. All four boys were now sitting in the Gryffindor common room in their usual spots: the two armchairs and sofa in front of the fire.

After a few moments of silence (which was quite rare), Sirius spoke up. "I know who 'Lovemaster' is going to ask," he taunted, adding a shake of his head to the word "Lovemaster".

"Who?" asked the other three.
"Who is 'Lovemaster' or who's he going to ask?" asked Sirius, slightly confused.
"Who is 'Lovemaster'?" asked an impatient James, already knowing the answer.

"'Why dear Prongs here," answered Sirius slyly, bowing somewhat clumsily from his seat.
James scoffed. "Me? A 'Lovemaster'? Honestly."
"Well, yes, you've had you're eye on a certain...flower. Need I say more?" Sirius snickered.

"Padfoot, you just can't drop that can you?" asked Remus, shaking his head in an amused sort of way.

"I'm confused," confessed Peter, looking from one man to another.

"Buddy Pads here is speaking of Lily," explained James. His gaze shifted over to the desk where said pretty redhead and her best friend, Aleydis Figg, were doing their homework, or so he thought...


"A dance! Lily can you believe it? A real, co-ed dance!" whispered Aleydis excitedly. Her long blonde hair covered her now very flushed cheeks. Her deep, brown eyes twinkled with the latest news about Hogwarts.

"Leda, aren't dances usually co-ed? If it wasn't it would just be an intermediate ballet performance, since none of us are Russian," remarked Lily. Her long fire-red hair was pulled back and her bright green eyes had reluctantly pulled themselves away from her homework to look at Leda. Leda laughed, then peeked over at the four boys sitting in the common room joking about only God knows what.

"I wonder," Aleydis began slyly, "who James is going to ask..."

"What?" Lily snapped out of another homework daze. She had to learn the difference between "ehwaz" and "eihwaz" for her Ancient Runes test.

"I said that I wondered who James was going to ask. Maybe...you?"
"Why would James ask me?" asked Lily dubiously, fixing a slight frown on her pretty face.

"Hmm...Probably because he fancies you!" Leda nearly shouted. After a furious "Shh!" from Lily, she lowered her voice. "You're his best friend, why wouldn't he?"

"I am not his best friend. Sirius is; I don't see James asking Sirius."

"Lily, you know what I mean! You are the only girlfriend that he has."
"Don't you mean girl that's a friend?"
"Lily Evans!" Aleydis burst. This caused her to get a few weird looks from the Marauders (a.k.a. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter; though why they had chosen such an odd name was beyond any of the other students).

Lily quickly waved at them and called, "yep, that's me! Lily Evans!" She turned back to Leda and smiled a winner. "Calm down Leda, I was only joking."

"Lily, it would be bloody magnificent if you two got together."

"I doubt it. He's got an entire fan club to choose from. One of which I noticed you're not in." At this, Leda blushed furiously while Lily giggled madly. "Ah ha! I've caught you in your own web! The club you subscribed to was the 'Sirius Black Club' was it not?" Lily pushed herself as far away from the reaching arms of Leda while laughing her head off.

"Evans, you're dead!"
"Hahaha! I was right!" Leda sat back down and leaned her head in to talk with Lily how she felt about Sirius.


Meanwhile, on the couch and armchairs, the boys that called themselves the Marauders were puzzling over what the two girls could possibly be amused at. Remus turned back to James.

"Prongs, you have to admit, she is quite easy on the eyes," he said.
"You've a way with words, Moony."
"I'm forced to agree with Moony. You should go for it. Besides, since when has James Potter not gone after what he wants?" Sirius challenged.

“If I ask her to the dance, emphasis on the word 'if', I'll do it because I want to, not for my reputation. It would be rude to ask Lily if I'm only doing it for a name."

"Why didn't you just say 'conceited'?" asked Peter. Sirius gave him a lethal look.
"Who do you plan on asking, Wormtail?" In most cases, Sirius would've sneered, but Peter was a Marauder, so he couldn't. Or wouldn’t.
"I'm not sure. I was thinking of just going solo and asking multiple girls to dance."
"Peter the Pimp," mumbled Sirius under his breath.

"What about you, Moony?" asked James.
"I was thinking of asking Gwen Welliston," Remus smiled somewhat sheepishly. Then Remus gave a sideways glance to Sirius. "Who're you asking?"

"Well, I don't mean to brag..." he said, giving everyone a very pitiful excuse for a modest look. Then immediately looked like he was deep in thought. "I'm hungry for some Figg Newtons."
"Ooh, where?" asked Peter, his small, beady eyes growing wide.

"Wormtail, he's talking in riddles again," answered Remus, rolling his eyes. "I'd bet he's talking about Aleydis Figg."
"Moony, dear Moony, you are the most observant of the Marauders! I nominate you for the MOM of the Year award!" Sirius suggested happily.

"If you haven't noticed by now, I am lacking in the ovarian and estrogen departments. Not that I'm complaining," replied Remus, with a slight shudder.

James shook his head at his friends' very odd sense of conversation. "So," he began, "what's our adventure tonight?" he asked, carefully changing the subject. Immediately, a mad glint jumped to Sirius' eyes.

"I say tonight's a prowler night. I say we go on the grounds, hell, maybe even the forest!" He had lowered his voice so much that all the other Marauders had to crowd around him to listen and converse equally.

"That's a good idea. We haven't been on the grounds at night for a while. We could just get attacked by giant spiders or anything else that crawls in the night..." worried Peter. "Besides, remember what happened last time?" He dropped his voice to the bare minimum of a whisper. "Moony almost got loose!"
"He could've gotten a free dinner for us with that owl, though," Sirius pointed out.

"Ugh," James groaned as he tuned out his friends. His gaze slowly but surely made its way back to Lily. You know, she is kind of pretty when you think about it...Then James caught himself. What am I saying? This is one of my best friends here! I've known her for six years, why am I thinking this now? Hmmm, six years...I remember that day...


(Six years and some months earlier)


The Leaky Cauldron stood black and unnoticed by Muggles as per usual. Eleven-year-old Lily Evans took her mother's hand without any encouragement and walked inside with her father and mother.

"Good day!"
"Top o' the mornin' to yeh!"
"Hello, hi, nice to meet you," nervously responded Daisy and Robert Evans. Mr. Evans bravely walked up to Tom, the old barkeeper, and in a low voice asked how they would go about getting into Diagon Alley.

"Oh, just follow me, I'll show you," he responded jovially. He led the Evanses to the back of the Leaky Cauldron and spoke before opening the passageway. "Seeing as you're Muggles, I'll give ye a bit of advice. Get this girl a proper wand so she can open the passage." He smiled as he opened the passageway and added, "go to Gringotts first so you can exchange you're money!" The Evans family smiled at him before walking into the melee of Diagon Alley.

~|~


"James, can you believe it, we're a step closer to going to Hogwarts!" shouted Sirius Black.

"I know Sirius! You've said that about a hundred times already!" yelled an equally excited James Potter. The boys had been best friends for as long as they could remember and were going to finally be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry together.

"I know, I know! I'm just so excited!" Sirius began to run around insanely in circles, a very difficult feat to master, considering that Diagon Alley was crowded shoulder to shoulder, elbow to elbow, and foot to foot. In his fit of insanity, he crashed into a redheaded girl, promptly knocking her to the ground. "Oops..."

"Sirius, you clod!" laughed James. He ran over to help her off the ground. The girl took his hand and with her free one, brushed the long red hair from her eyes and revealed them to be a deep green color. At just eleven years old, James' heart skipped a beat and he had to blink before saying, "Sorry about that, my friend was just let out of St. Mungo's and was celebrating his freedom."

"Um, what's St.-St Mungo's?" asked the girl, her lips slightly quivering into a smile.
"The wizard's hospital, of course! I'm James Potter." He stuck out his hand to shake, still breathless.

"I'm Lily Evans. Nice to meet you," she said, returning his handshake. James vowed never to wash that hand again...well, for that day at least (he had a feeling his mum would yell if he didn't). Lily leaned forward and whispered, "I hope you were joking about your friend."

"Of course he was!" butted in Sirius. When I say "butted in" I literally mean he butted in. He shoved James out of the way by hitting him with a full-force side blow. "Hello, I'm Sirius Black, and I am two days older than James. If anyone here is criminally insane, it's him. You best stand back." Lily laughed at the pair of boys.

"Well, I'd better get back to my parents," she said, somewhat worried. As she scanned the crowd, though, her smile turned into a worried frown. They were not to be found! Lily felt raw, cold panic sneak up from her navel and work its way through every vein in her tiny body. "They-They're not here..." Her eyes grew huge.

"That's fine. You can come with us. We've got to go to Gringotts and get our money first anyway," said James, trying to comfort her.
"What's Gringotts? I think I've heard of it."

"Oy James! She's a Muggle! Ok, well," started Sirius, but was interrupted by Lily.
"What's a Muggle? That's the second time I've been called that today."

"A Muggle is someone with no magical blood in their veins. There's plenty Muggles that become witches and wizards, though," James assured her.

"As I was saying, Gringotts is the wizarding bank. It's run by goblins, butt-ugly they are," Sirius commented as he passed one while walking into Gringotts. The goblin gave a sort of growl, and Sirius scampered inside, away from Lily's side. Though amused, James and Lily followed him at a quick pace, wanting to avoid other goblins. Each looked for their parents. Relief warmed Lily when she spotted hers and ran over to them, wrapping her arms around her mother's waist and giving her a big smile.

"Lily, we were so worried about you!" cried Daisy, hugging her back.
"I was okay, though! Meet my new friends who brought me here! That's Sirius Black, the chap dancing around; and here comes James Potter." Lily smiled brightly at James when he sidled up next to her. "James, this is my Mum. Mum, this is James."
"Nice to meet you Mrs. Evans. Sirius here knocked Lily over. He's a real klutz." He paused to take a deep breath. "Could she come with us around Diagon Alley?" He smiled sheepishly.

"Well, I must confer with Mr. Evans, but I'm sure it will be fine." Daisy smiled and walked over to her husband. At once, James, Lily, and Sirius all crossed their fingers and closed their eyes, wishing for the answer to be yes. Daisy soon returned with Robert and a couple who were obviously James' parents. The man had unruly hair and silver eyes, and the woman had jet-black hair and brown eyes.

"We will allow Lily to walk with you, but we will stand just outside of the shops," announced Robert. Beside him, Daisy smiled widely and gave a thumbs-up to Lily.

"Wicked!" exclaimed Sirius. The Evanses exchanged their money while the Potters and Sirius got their money from their vaults. Everyone met about thirty minutes later and walked out of Gringotts. James, Lily, and Sirius stood out front of Gringotts with huge grins on their faces.

"Where should we go first?" asked Lily, dreaming of the new books she could get.
"Books, or else we'll be waiting all day," said Sirius. Lily perked up at the idea of hundreds of books on completely new and fascinating subjects.
"Wait, shouldn't we get our cauldrons first to put our books in?" James reasoned. The three friends smiled at eachother and set off for the cauldron shop.


~|~


Three hours later, Lily's, James', and Sirius' cauldrons were full. They had each gotten their books, robes, and potion ingredients, and James' and Lily's parents were getting them owls. Lily knew there was something they still needed...

"WANDS! We forgot to get our wands!" exclaimed James, completely shocked with himself.

"No, we just saved the best for last," Sirius asserted.
The three of them warily made their way to Ollivander's and ended up meeting their parents there.

"Mum, could you perhaps hold my things? I need to find a wand," Lily asked.
"Of course, dear."

The boys and Lily then left their things with their parents and went inside. One boy was already trying a wand. His black hair was slicked back in a manner that left the seer with the distinct feeling that grease had been rubbed in his hair. Waiting was another boy. His hair was light brown, but his eyes could not be seen, for they never made contact with anything but the floor. He also looked very sickly. Since there was only one seat left, James and Sirius let Lily have it, causing her to sit next to the anti-social boy.

On a normal spurt of kindness, Lily turned to him. "Hello there," she said. The boy's expression clearly showed his astonishment at being spoken to.

"Sirius, mate, look at this bloke." James stepped up and helped Lily through the introduction process. "I'm James Potter, this fellow is Sirius Black, and the lady we are accompanying is Lily Evans." James gave a very gallant bow.

"Um...uh...hi...My name is Remus. Remus Lupin," he said rather quietly. Over the next five minutes, James, Lily, and Sirius brought Remus out of his shell and all became quick friends. By the time all their wands were picked out, it was agreed that the four of them would meet at the train station at ten-thirty on September first. Sirius, James, his parents, Lily, and her parents walked back to the Leaky Cauldron after saying good-bye to Remus. The Evanses and the Potters and Sirius parted ways at the fireplace.

"Bye James, Bye Sirius!" Lily called to them as she walked out the door. The boys waved at her together, and stepped into the fireplace.


"James, what do you think? James. James!" James felt a very hard knock on his head.
"It's vacant, Padfoot," answered James, who just realized he was back in sixth year, already at Hogwarts. He was back in the present... "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"Prongs, buddy, if you're going to stare at her, don't make it so obvious," Sirius said lowly.
"I wasn't staring," James shot back indignantly.

Remus gave him a look of bored amusement. "Well, I've got to go. See you later," he said, winking all the while. The remaining three Marauders quietly bid him good-bye and watched him disappear through the portrait hole.


Later that night, around two o'clock in the morning, Lily woke up with a start. She'd had another severely confusing dream. She sat up, shook her head, then climbed out of her four-poster bed. She glanced around to make sure no one was awake, then walked over to the window and threw it open. She heaved a great sigh, more out of mild frustration than anything else. It had been another dream about that white stag. He (she assumed the stag was a he since his body language was full of arrogance) was beginning to get on her nerves since she had never seen a white stag in her life. Why the hell would she dream about one? She'd read up on it of course, but the books said the stag represented a repressed sexual drive, which she knew was definitely not true.

Lily sighed again and finally focused her gaze on the school grounds below. When her eyes reached the edge of the forest, she couldn't believe them. The white stag was walking (well, prancing) on the grounds with an absolutely enormous black dog. On the stag's back was a mouse and in between the stag and dog was a...werewolf?

Well, I think I'm still dreaming, she thought. She pinched herself and it hurt very much, so chances were that she was definitely not dreaming. Lily leaned out the window as far as she could without falling to get a closer look. Right at that moment, the stag looked up and straight at her. Lily's jaw dropped as she gazed into the pure silver eyes and nearly lost her balance on the windowsill. Slowly, she backed away and climbed into her four-poster bed, depending on sleep to claim her. It didn't.

The alternative choice was to take a book and read in the common room. So, she grabbed the nearest book, Hogwarts, A Revised History, and crept down to the common room. She settled into the big scarlet sofa in front of the fire and began to read. A few minutes later, however, someone came through the portrait hole and collapsed next to her on the couch. That someone was James Potter.

Pumpernickel
*~| Chapter 2 |~*

"Wow Padfoot, that was a close one..." James' voice dropped about an octave very quickly. Sitting next to him was Lily Evans. He wasn't sure if this was Lily Evans: Friend, or Lily Evans: Prefect.

"Hello James," she said, looking straight at him. She hadn't really expected him to waltz through the portrait hole. However, he was always out after hours so it wasn't a surprise. It was a very good thing he wasn't a prefect, he would've completely disgraced the name.

"Oh, Lily! Um...hello! How are you today?" Why is she here? Did she know it was me? James tried to sit up, but immediately fell back in his seat with a groan. He clutched his side in pain.

"James, what's wrong?" asked Lily, now mildly concerned. What stupid affliction did he sustain now?

"Oh it's nothing. Just a little um...well, it's more of a..." he stuttered. "I'm fine," he huffed, pulling a hand through his unruly hair. He blew it out of his eyes and revealed a bloody cut on his temple.

"James, you're obviously hurt."
"Evans, for the last time, I'm fine-" he made a move to get up, but Lily pushed him back with her hand.

"Shut up," she ordered. James sputtered. "Listen to reason for once. You've sustained injuries in the middle of the night that you cannot cure on your own. How would you explain this to Madam Pomfrey? Did you fall out of bed because of a particularly nasty nightmare?" Lily gave him a superior look. "That's what I thought. Aparecium Aqua!" she whispered. A bowl of water appeared out of thin air and Lily maneuvered it with her wand to float in the air near her hand. She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and dipped it into the water. With one hand, she brushed James' hair away from his temple. With the other, she dabbed at the cut.

"Ev-Lily, aren't you going to ask me how I got this?" James asked skeptically. He raised an eyebrow, but found it put him in a lot of pain, so he brought it back down.

"No, because then I'd be obliged to report whatever wrongdoing you were...doing...to Professor McGonagall. Besides, I don't really want to know," she calmly explained while she healed the cut with her wand. She sat back, examining her work. Then, when she was satisfied, she smiled and looked him in the eye. "I know you're hurt somewhere else."

"Nope, I'm not," he said a little too quickly. He faked a charming smile, gritting his teeth all the while.

"You may be the cleverest of our class, but you most certainly are not the best liar." James sighed in defeat at her words and began unbuttoning his shirt. Lily's eyes doubled in size. "What are you doing?" she asked in alarm. He's not part of a strip club, he's not part of a strip club, she told herself.

"What does it look like? I'm unbuttoning my shirt." He grinned evilly and brought his twinkling eyes to her alarmed ones. "Did I unnerve you?"

"No," Lily scoffed. "It's not like I haven't seen you this way before. Remember in second year you took a certain swim in the lake?" Lily smiled. "Starkers, I believe."

James' jaw fell. "How did you know about that? Well, I mean, that was a dare..."

"You bragged about it for two years after the fact. How could I have not? Now, where is this other injury?" James finished unbuttoning his shirt, and Lily didn't need him to confirm where it was. A long red gash stretched across his abs, looking like it was extremely irritated. Lily took note that said abs were nicely developed (most likely from all that damn Quidditch he played). She took a deep breath, then wiped off the area with her handkerchief. She picked up her wand and quickly healed the cut with a handy little charm Professor Flitwick had taught her. When it was finally healed, Lily smiled.

"There we go, good as new. You'll definitely be able to play Quidditch." She stood up and began to clean things up by waving her wand at them. Wave at the bowl-POOF!-bowl gone. Simple cleaning charm on the handkerchief, no stains at all. When she stood up straight, she felt hands on her shoulders turning her around.

"Thanks Evans," said James in the sincerest tone Lily had ever heard him use.

"It's no problem. I just don't want to know what happened." What came as an answer was a huge shock. James kissed her full on the mouth. He pulled her closer and closer; so close that Lily could hear his heart beating wildly. Or was that hers? It came as such a shock, Lily didn't think of what she did next. She returned his kiss. James had never kissed her like this. As a matter of fact, he had never kissed her period. Lily threw her arms around James’ neck and forgot everything.

About what seemed like an eternity later, James finally broke the kiss and looked at Lily's deep-green eyes, swimming with emotions. Shock seemed to be the most occupying. Lily's movements seemed much slower than normal to herself. She brought her fingertips to her mouth so slowly it was as if there were five dragons hanging on her arm. She brushed her fingertips on her bottom lip and was obviously still in shock. She made open and closing movements as if to speak, but nothing exited. She was breathless. James took Lily by the shoulders and set her down on the couch, in fear that she would collapse.

I must look like a gaping fool! She thought to herself. "James, why did you do that?" Lily finally asked, putting on a composed front.

"I have to have a reason?" he asked, thoroughly confused.

"Er...is that a rhetorical question?" Lily asked timidly, half-smiling. This broke the tension by James laughing. It wasn't a forced laugh, so things were beginning to get back to normal, though they both knew they never would be.

"That's the first time I ever used that as a 'thank you'," James remarked with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Um, congratulations?" There was a moment of awkward silence.

"I have to go to bed," said Lily. She made to walk to her dormitory when she turned around again. "Why do your friends call you Prongs?"

"Oh, um, they...er, find it amusing..." answered James, quite bewildered by this question.

"Oh, I was just wondering..." Before she turned back around, though, Lily leaned forward and gave James the lightest of kisses on his lips. She quickly broke away, though James nearly pulled her back by the hair. She gave him a quirky smile. "That's the first time I've ever used that as a 'your welcome'. Good night, James." And she finally went up the stairs to her dormitory.

James sat on the common room sofa for some time before two people burst through the portrait hole. He didn't even notice that it was Sirius and Peter, let alone that anyone else was even in the common room.

"James! Moony almost got away because you weren't doing your part!" Sirius scolded, sounding like a mother hen.

"Yeah Prongs, you gave us a real scare," put in Peter.

"What the hell distracted you anyway?" asked Sirius. He looked at James curiously.

"A Lily." With that, he got up and walked to their dormitory. Shaking their heads, Sirius and Peter followed, Peter muttering all the while, "I still don't get it."


Two weeks later, Lily was sitting at her normal table in the common room doing her homework half-heartedly. She was, in a way, still moved about the kiss James had given her. Shaking the absolutely delightful memory out of her head, she bent down to return to her homework. Less than a minute later, though, she abandoned her Charms essay to glance at James sitting by the fire with his friends. She happened to look up at him at the exact moment that two seventh year girls, Holly Lightwood and Beth Patil were strutting towards the Marauders. Their reputations preceding them, it was obvious that Holly had her eye on James and Beth had hers on Sirius. The two girls were easily considered the best looking by most of the male population in the school, so it was hard to deny them their prey.

Holly and Beth stopped directly in front of James and Sirius sitting on the couch and hitched their hips. They were quiet, but it was easy to get the gist of what they were saying. The girls were asking James and Sirius to go to the ball. Lily watched with interest as the two boys looked at each other, then shake their heads simultaneously at the girls.

Then James said loudly for the entire common room to hear, "Nope, sorry, we've already got dates!" The identical looks of pure and utter shock on the girls' faces was enough to have Lily in a fit of mad giggles. Aleydis looked at her from across the table where she was reading Witch Weekly.

"What is so funny?"

"Hahaha...Lightwood and Patil were just turned down by James and Sirius!" she eagerly whispered amid her giggles.

"And why would you be happy about that?" asked Leda, with a skeptical expression on her face.

"Oh, um..." Lily hadn't told Leda about the kiss. She subdued her giggles and said, "The irony ceases to escape me…Never mind." Leda shook her head, trying to get thoughts of how insane Lily was out of her head as Lily bent back down to her essay. Out of the corner of her eye, Leda watched the two girls run up to their dormitory in humiliation. It had been common knowledge who the girls were planning to take and ahem...do afterwards. The very thought made Leda chuckle.

Lily felt a jarring motion and was about to tell Leda off for kicking the table when out of the corner of her eye she noted there was someone next to her. James had pulled out the chair next to her, and in so doing, jarred the table.

Turning back to her work, Lily said, "Hello James."

"Will you go to the ball with me?" he asked. Lily's head snapped up in shock and pain as she slammed her knee into the underside of the table.

"Go to the ball? With you?"

"Come on, Evans, I'm not that bad looking. Use a Disillusionment Charm if you like. They're your specialty." He smiled at her.

Please, Please, Please, he begged in his mind. It felt as if his heart decided to fail at that moment while Lily paused. Aleydis kicked Lily under the table.

"Oh, yes," said Lily absently.

"So you'll go with me?" James could feel his heart start beating again.

"What?"

"You just said yes, didn't you?" His heart stopped again.

"Oh, I did, didn't I?" Lily shot darts at Leda with her eyes, then turned to James. "Of course I'll go with you."

James gave a very relieved smile as his heart began to pump blood through his cold, lifeless veins one more time. "Great." At that moment, Sirius sidled up next to Aleydis.

"Say, Aleydis," he started.

"Leda. My name's Leda," she corrected, smiling.

"Do excuse me, Leda." Sirius cleared his throat and started over again. "Say, Leda, would you be ever so kind as to accompany me to this smorgasbord?"

Leda attempted to keep a very serious expression on her face. "Isn't smorgasbord a mass of food?"

Sirius gave her a reprimanding look. "Shh!! No one's supposed to know!" Then he curled his lip in a puppy dog expression, making Leda laugh.

"Yes, I'll go with you, Sirius." Sirius let out a war cry so loud, that everyone in the common room jumped. Ignoring their protests, he plucked Leda off the chair and began to dance around the room with her in a jig.

"It seems like those two are getting along famously," said James to Lily. She made a noise of agreement, but wasn't quite paying attention. James squeezed her neck a little, as much to annoy her as to make her stop writing. She turned to face him and didn't have to fake a smile.

"Yes Potter, how may I help you?" James leaned forward on the chair he was currently sitting backwards in.

"Should we go matching or surprise each other?" he asked. Lily seemed to think upon the matter very hard; for a whole thirty seconds.

"I think we should surprise each other. I think we trust each other's judgement."

"Too true." Then he lowered his voice by so much that Lily had to lean in to hear him. "Did I offend you the other night when I kissed you?" He looked a little worried.

"James you couldn't offend me if you tried. Besides, I kissed you back, didn’t I?" Lily smiled again.

James' face brightened considerably. "That’s true. Well, best be going to bed, I wouldn't want to stay up too late, eh?" He winked at her when she gave him a suspicious look. "See you tomorrow, Evans." With one last squeeze of the neck, he walked up to his dormitory. Peter sat playing a game of wizard's chess against the chessboard, with Peter badly losing, and Sirius was finishing the last jig with Leda. Sirius dropped Leda back in her chair, kissed her hand lavishly while bowing, and skipped up to the boys' dormitory.

Completely out of breath, Leda sat in her chair chuckling as Lily returned to her work. Soon after though, Lily gave a frustrated huff and slammed her book shut.

"I can't concentrate, I'm going to bed. 'Night Leda." She gathered her books in her arms and swooped up the stairs. By eleven o'clock, the common room was completely empty.


In the boys' dormitory, James lay in his four-poster bed, staring at the top, thinking of Lily. She seemed to be all he could think about these days. Not even Quidditch was keeping his mind occupied. He still remembered what it had felt like to kiss Lily, even though that had only been a few seconds. James couldn't describe for his life what that had felt like, but he knew that it was the best feeling he had ever had in his entire life. She had been so surprised, he recollected. He had been surprised. They were close friends, and he had never thought of kissing Lily, let alone in that way.

Although now that I do think about it, it's not half-bad. He smiled at the devilishly appealing thought that entered his mind. Then another slammed into him, pulling him out of slumber and causing him to sit up in bed. Am I in love with Lily? James shook his head to disperse the thought. It was quite different to think about it now that he was fully awake. Involuntarily shivering, he reached over, picked up his glasses, and put them on. Very slowly and quietly, he crawled out of bed and grabbed his Invisibility Cloak from his trunk. With his wand in hand and the Invisibility Cloak covering every inch of him, he snuck out of the room and down the stairs to the common room. Making sure no one was in the common room, he turned and crept up the girls' stairs, stopping halfway to use his wand.

"Lumos!" he whispered. A narrow beam of light shot out of the end of his wand, lighting the otherwise dark path. Much better, he thought to himself. He walked past six doors, waving his beam of light on them, reading the name plates. Finally, he came upon the "Sixth-Years" door and took note that it was slightly ajar. James tapped the door cautiously with his foot, and it easily opened without creaking.

Amazingly, all the bed hangings were open, making it quite easy for James to peek in during his search. He passed the other sixth years: Alice, Gwen, Kendall, and Leda, and finally saw the red hair he was looking for. It was quite pleasurable to be invisible and sneaking into the girls dormitory in the middle of the night. He'd done it before to play harmless pranks on the girls. He snickered; harmless. Sweeping his gaze around the room quickly, he tiptoed over to Lily's bed, then sat on the chair next to it. He sat for a few minutes simply watching her sleep, with a thought of how mad she might be if she caught him. Suddenly, he had a brilliant idea.

James jumped up and ran to the window, which was thankfully open. He skimmed his gaze over the lake, and when he found what he was looking for, carefully aimed his wand at the edge of it.

"Accio water-lily!" he muttered, concentrating hard. Seconds later, a lily from the lake flew into his outstretched hand. Carefully, he recovered himself in his cloak and laid the delicate flower on Lily's pillow next to her head. As he was bent, he figured, what the hell? And kissed her softly on the lips. Pulling away, he watched Lily sigh, and turn in her sleep, causing the white flower to become caught in her long red hair. Right then and there, James would've given anything for her to be awake.

Silently, and with very strong will, James walked back out the door, leaving it ajar, and quickly walked back to his dorm, grinning madly. Then, he was back in bed and nearly asleep.

I am a hopeless fool, he told himself.


Lily woke up the next morning to the viciously bright sun shining in her eyes. I knew I should've closed my hangings, she thought to herself, while attempting to glare at the sun. Trying to prolong the inevitable as much as possible, she slowly opened her eyes, and was puzzled by a white blur caught in her hair. She sat up, blinked a few times, and pulled the "blur" out of her hair. A freshly picked water lily. Lily held it gently in her fingertips as she searched underneath her pillow for her wand. Pulling it out, she cleared her throat and sat up straight.

"Revelare!" she murmured. If the Revealing Charm worked as it was known to, colored sparks would emit, telling you what it was given for. Black for evil, white for good, blue for sadness...She watched as red sparks emitted from the lily. Red for love. Lily's eyes widened as she realized that whoever left it on her pillow loved her. Lily snuck a quick glance over at Leda. She was in the same position she had been in when she fell asleep, so this wasn't just some prank.

Looking back at the lily, it dawned on her. Whoever the white stag was in her dreams was who loved her. Jumping out of bed, she began to pace in front of the window. She was too excited to be cold in the flimsy satin nightgown she was wearing.

Obviously, the stag was a symbol. Dreams were full of symbolism. In her dream last night, the stag had walked into her dormitory, carrying the lily in its mouth. It had laid the delicate flower on her pillow and watched over her. But I just saw a stag the other night, that would mean this is an animal or person. An Animagus! Lily's eyebrows flew up at her revelation. Whoever this person was, they were an Animagus! Mental note to self: go to library later and research Animagi.

Lily continued her pacing, but there was more vigor to it this time. Who can I tell this to without getting a huge laugh in the face from? Think Lily, think! Ah! I'll talk to James! Grabbing her robe, she quickly put it on, then ran down the stairs with the lily in hand. She couldn't have known she was taking the exact route James had taken mere hours earlier. She skidded to a halt outside the "Sixth Year" door, then realized where she was. Shrugging the many rules out of her head that she, a prefect, was breaking, she walked inside.

Quietly, Lily walked to the side of James' bed and shook him. Scowling, she poked him one more time, taking note that his chest was looking just as good as the last time, and healing well. Rolling her eyes at the inability of men to wake up, she poked him again. This time, he grunted and his arm flew up and around her waist. Lily didn't have time to be shocked, because he pulled her down, through the hangings, and onto the bed next to him. Ignoring that his hand was creeping up her back and pulling her closer to him, she took her free hand and punched him in the shoulder. She failed to notice, however, that his free hand had grabbed around the comforter.

"Ah ha!" yelled James. He threw the comforter over whoever was next to him in bed (he just knew it was Sirius, though the thought slightly disturbed him). Tackling the person, he straddled them to keep them in place.

"Sirius I've got you now! Ha ha ha ha!" Then he delved into a "try-and-escape-and-catch-again" game with "Sirius�, laughing madly to himself until he heard a much louder voice.

"James, you're talking in your sleep! SHUT UP!" yelled Sirius.

"How can you be sleeping if you're underneath my comforter?" laughed James.

"Prongs, I'm standing right behind you." James turned around to find a very pissed off Sirius. Sirius lethally narrowed his eyes and chucked a pillow at James’s face.

Glasses askew, he wondered, "Then-whose...?" He looked back at the comforter and saw some red hair and white satin escaping from under the comforter. James quickly closed the drapes of his bed, then pulled the comforter off Lily.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed, completely amazed that she had broken school rules and utterly shocked with himself for not being able to tell the very obvious difference between males and females.

Lily took a few deep breaths to unflush her very red face before she spoke. When she did, she looked very uncomfortable. "Well, it's a bit stupid, really. See, I woke up this morning and found this on my pillow." At this point, she held up the lily that luckily hadn't been damaged. She continued in a soft voice. "I had a dream about a white stag laying it on my pillow. The weird thing is, I've never seen a white stag in my life until a few days ago." Then she proceeded to tell James her entire theory, not noticing his eyes going wide with panic and his breathing becoming more rapid. As he handed back the lily to her, she shrugged and continued, "I know you're probably wondering why I'm telling you this. It's because you're the only person I knew wouldn't laugh; and I didn't think would brutally attack me." She ended the last part slowly and with narrowed eyes.

"Sorry about that," he said sheepishly.

Lily bit her lip. "You won't laugh, will you?"

"No, of course not."

"Thanks James, it means a lot to me." Leaning forward, Lily gave him a kiss on the cheek, and hugged him. Extremely satisfied with how things were working out, James wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her back. After a minute, Lily pulled away. "Well, I have to get ready. See you later."

"Get ready for what?" he asked, slightly confused.

"James! It's the last day before term ends! It's a Hogsmeade day!" she nearly scolded. She climbed out of James' bed and ran back to her own dorm, hoping she wouldn't be seen.

When she arrived back in her room, she put a Lasting Charm on the lily so it would stay alive for a few more days. Humming to herself, she walked over to her wardrobe and pulled out her cloak, robes, a pair of slacks, and a white sweater. She quickly got dressed, brushed her hair, and with one last sniff of her flower, she grabbed her cloak and headed down to the Great Hall. She stopped halfway out the door, though, remembering Leda was still in bed. Lily leaned down and shook Aleydis awake.

Leda gave a big yawn and stretched lazily. “Wha--?� She opened one eye. “Lily, have some decency, it’s a Saturday!�

“Come on Leda, get up!� laughed Lily, shaking her back and forth. “We have to go shopping!�

At the magic word “shopping�, Leda’s eyes flew open. “How could I’ve forgotten?� Quickly, she got dressed and grabbed her moneybag from her trunk. The two friends exited Gryffindor Tower at a slight run, passing the four Marauders who were on their way down to the Great Hall. Leda and Lily sat down and began to spoon the nearest foods onto their plates. Just as they began to eat, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter sat down next to them.

“Morning, everyone!� said Remus, being back from his “trip� for a week now. The remaining Marauders then proceeded to greet everyone a good morning in several different languages, Sirius finally ending with “Swedish Chef.�

“Lily, how long are you staying in Hogsmeade? I wasn’t sure if Professor Dumbledore wanted us to come back early or not,� said Remus. Lily’s fork froze in midair. She had completely forgotten about her prefect duties.

“I’m not sure. You just reminded me now. Damn, now I’ll have to budget time.�

Seeing Lily’s predicament, Leda spoke up. “Well, if we leave now, we don’t have to worry about that.�

“Good point,� Lily responded. Without further ado, they got up and after telling the Marauders to meet them at Zonko’s in an hour, rushed off. No sooner had they left, the Marauders leaned together.

“We’ll have to do something about Snivellus soon. He’s become increasingly irritating over the past few weeks,� said James with anger in his voice. Sirius offered some very descriptive gruesome suggestions about what they could do to him, then turned to Remus who had not said a word.

“Come on, mate, it’s just a bit of fun,� Sirius said, smiling at him.

“No comment,� he answered, with a grin on his face.

Completely unaware as to what was going on, James kept talking, “…I mean, did you see the way he looked at Lily this morning? It makes me sick!�

“Why were you talking to yourself this morning, James?� asked Remus, eager to change the subject.

Distracted, James replied, “Oh, Lily had to tell me something.�

Peter’s eyes widened in childish amusement. “Do you mean you--�

“No, you dolt! Wormtail, we would’ve heard that!� exclaimed Sirius.

“She showed me a flower she’d found on her pillow this morning. She wanted to tell someone who wouldn’t laugh at her,� James explained. He seemed to become very interested in his eggs as he said, “I think I’m in love with her."

Peter began to laugh in hysterics. “That’s funny, James. Now, what do you really think she’ll be like in be--�

“Wormtail, I’m serious.�

“How did you come to that conclusion?� asked Sirius quietly.

“I don’t know. I think it was when I turned down Lightwood. I could just be hallucinating.� A few minutes later, the Marauders finished breakfast and made their way to Hogsmeade.

Pumpernickel
*~| Chapter 3 |~*

In Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions, Lily wandered aimlessly around the shop looking for a set of dress robes. Aleydis was in the dressing room, trying on what seemed like her 100th pair of robes. Lily turned as Leda walked out of the dressing room with the robes on and did a few twirls. The robes shimmered slightly and seemed to be made of real gold thread that matched her hair. Leda brought her head up to look at her friend.

“Well, what do you think, Lily?” she asked, smiling and twirling.

“Wow,” Lily said in awe. “They’re perfect! Sirius won’t be able to keep his eyes off you! You had better buy them, or else I’ll force you to.”

“Ah, well, the sacrifices I make for all magic people,” Leda answered with a grin and bounced back to the dressing room. Less than a minute later, Leda walked out of the dressing room and to Lily’s side. “We need to find you a pair of robes!”

“I don’t see anything, though,” said Lily with her face in a mild frown.

“So spin in a circle with your arm outstretched and the first pair of robes you touch, you buy,” Leda suggested with a shrug.

Lily’s face turned to an expression of stunned disbelief. “What if they’re horrid? What if they make my arse look big?”

“Lily, you need to have an arse for it to look big. Go on, it’s all part of the risk.” Leda smiled evilly, giving Lily an overwhelming sense of foreboding. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and began to spin. When she was satisfactorily nauseous, she stopped and opened one eye. Immediately, her other eye popped open and her jaw dropped in amazement at her luck. Her finger had landed on the most gorgeous set of emerald green robes she had ever seen.

“Oh, Lily! They’re beautiful! They match your eyes. We’ll have to see which of us can make our dates drool longer,” challenged Leda. The girls paid for their robes and requested that their robes be sent to the school. The clerk said it was no problem and to have a Happy Christmas.


In Honeydukes, James was busy biting on his lip. Sirius came up and thumped him on the back.

“Prongs, what are you worrying over? It’s all going to ruin your teeth anyway. That’s the beauty of it!”

“I’m thinking of what to get Lily for Christmas. I can’t decide what’s good enough.”

“Well, if you’re going to run off, you’ll have to promise to tell me where you were last night,” said Sirius, grinning evilly. He could ask, even though he already knew.

James smiled back. “Sure Padfoot.” He blew out a deep breath. “I can’t get her candy. No jokes either. And she has more than enough books. I’m going to Merlin’s Magical Jewels. Meet you at Zonko’s, ok?” Without waiting for an answer, James swept out of Honeydukes and up the lane to the jewelry store.

A bell rang somewhere deep in the store when James walked into Merlin’s Magical Jewels. He wandered around for a bit, careful not to trip and break the tiny glass figurines on the shelves, then walked up to the counter. An elderly man stood behind the counter with his hands lightly folded, reminding James of Albus Dumbledore.

“Hello young man. How may I help you?”

“I’m looking for a Christmas present for this girl. It’s hard to decide what to get her, though.”

“Ah yes, I see. How about a nice, self-polishing robe clasp?” The man held up an extremely shiny clasp in the shape of two wands crossing each other.

“No, she likes to do things herself.”

“Not to worry! How about a nice, lunar alarm clock? It will let her know when the best time of the month is to do certain things. See? On the full moon, she should beware of werewolves.”

James tried to push the angry comments out of his mind and nearly lost. “I don’t think she’d fully appreciate the clock,” he said evenly. And neither would I, he added in his head.

“Merlin’s beard, this girl better be special!” exclaimed the exasperated clerk after displaying nearly everything in the shop.

“She’s very special,” James responded sincerely. He swept his gaze over the display of necklaces and found the perfect gift. The chain was made of pure silver and the small Celtic cross that had an intricately woven strand of emerald was silver as well.

“That! That’s the one I want!” he practically shouted.

“Why didn’t you say that to begin with?” With a simple Summoning Charm he brought the necklace down from behind him and onto a plump red velvet pillow.

“Can it be engraved?” James asked breathlessly.

“Sure, what do you want on it?” His wand was at the ready.

“‘Lily Evans.’ And embellish, it please.” The man waved his wand and in beautiful script Lily’s name was now on the back of the cross. “It’s perfect. Thanks,” James said as the man laid it gently in a box with cushioning.

“Thirty Galleons please.” James handed him the money and called, “Keep the change!” as he ran out the door. He failed to realize he’d given the clerk fifty Galleons.

“Love-sick fool,” he muttered.


James flew into Zonko’s, completely winded. While shoving his way through the thick crowd of Hogwarts students, he spotted Sirius, Remus, and Peter standing near the Dungbombs section with Lily and Aleydis. He noticed the girls were trying to stay as far away from the Dungbombs without completely abandoning the three boys. With a smile on his face, James tucked the tiny box in the pocket of his robes and walked over to his friends.

“James! They won’t come over to the Dungbombs section! I don’t know why; it smells fresh as a cowfield! Go Bessie, go!” Sirius said gaily. Leda wrinkled her nose and took a step back. Lily was pinching her nose and speaking at the same time.

“It smells horrible Sirius! How can you possibly stand it? It smells like someone’s arse!”

“Lily, it can’t be that bad. I can’t smell anything,” added Remus with a smile.

“We should drop some at the ball,” suggested Peter, his mouth forming a wide grin and his eyes forming a wide grin, his eyes widening in excitement.

A five-strong voice shouted, “NO!” James, Sirius, Remus, Lily, and Leda all yelled at Peter at once.

“Ok, ok, it was just a suggestion. Sorry,” he grumbled.

“Lily, look at the Fog Floors!” laughed Leda, grabbing her arm. As soon as the girls were out of hearing, Remus sidled up to James.

“So, what did you get Lily?” he asked in a low voice. James quickly scanned the crowd to make sure she wasn’t looking before pulling the box out of his robes. After looking at the cross for some time, Remus glanced up at him. “She’ll love it,” he reassured him. As James breathed a quiet sigh of relief, Remus tilted his head as if listening to something. “Here come the girls.”

“Hey Marauders, we’ll meet you at the Three Broomsticks. We’ve forgotten to do something,” she explained. They quickly made their way out of Zonko’s Joke Shop and went up the lane to Merlin’s Magical Jewels.

“I just couldn’t get him a prank thing, he’s got too many. Besides, why should I encourage his naturally mischievous mind?”

“Do you think I should get Sirius something?” Leda wondered.

“Sure, get him something with dogs. You know he loves them” They walked into the warm shop and went straight to the counter. No one was there, so Leda began to walk around, perusing the mobile glass figurines. No less than thirty seconds later, Lily heard a crash indicating something had been broken. She hurried over to Leda, who was searching her pockets for her wand.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it. Reparo!” Lily called, pointing her wand at the broken glass.

“Thank you, young lady. That is very nice Charm work. Now, how may I help you?” said the clerk.

“I’m looking for something for this bloke…” she told him as they walked back to the counter.

“How about a nice robe clasp? It self-polishes, too.”

“No, thanks. He’d break it anyway. No glass, I think he’d break that too. He’s a real klutz, you know. Although lately he hasn’t tripped over anything…I don’t know if Sirius’ foot counts, but…” Leda and the clerk cleared their throats. “Right. Sorry. Ooh, may I see that?” she asked, pointing to the Celtic cross necklace. The clerk laid it carefully in her hand and Lily looked it over. “This is beautiful. The chain has the right amount of masculinity, too, for that big head of his. I’ll take it. Oh, is it possible to get it engraved?”

“Yes, what would you like?”

“James Potter, please.”

“Certainly. Potter, what an odd name.” With a wave of his wand, the cross was engraved. He wrapped it in the box and handed it to Lily. “Thirty Galleons, please.” Lily searched her pockets and a frown came over her face.

“I only have ten Galleons! I’m so sorry, sir!” The clerk waved away her apologies.

“Someone just gave me twenty Galleons change with their last purchase. Just give me what you have.”

With a nervous look on her face, Lily nodded and smiled. “Um, ok.” She handed him her money and as soon as the money had exchanged hands, the little box with the cross was in Lily’s hand. The clerk turned to Leda.

“And you, miss?”

“May I purchase this dog figurine?”

“Of course, ten Galleons, please.” Leda counted out the exact amount of money and picked up the bag with the figurine in it. The girls walked out, extremely pleased with their purchases.

“That dog figurine is so cute! It moves every once in a while. Sirius will love it,” said Lily as she cooed over the figurine.

“That necklace is something else though. What I wonder is, what kind of fool would give someone twenty Galleons in change? Anyway, you’d better put that box away so James doesn’t see it.” At this, Lily nodded, and hid the box in her robes just in time.

A voice shouted from behind her, followed by an extremely large gust of wind that picked her up and dropped her when she floated five feet from the ground. As she hit, Leda ran over to help her up.

Lily’s head shot up; her eyes hot as fire, her voice cold as ice. “Snivellus Snape, how good of you to come to Hogsmeade. Wash your underthings lately?”

Snape paled slightly, but retained his greasy smirk as his accomplice stepped out from behind him, Lucius Malfoy.

“Snivellus, Malfoy, say what you want, then get out of here,” snarled Leda.

Ignoring Aleydis, Lucius sneered at Lily, “What are you doing in a wizarding village, Mudblood? If you haven’t noticed, only magic-folk are allowed here.”

Lily narrowed her eyes. “Then what are you doing here? Legally, you’re not a wizard,”’ she retorted. Next to her, Leda suddenly drew her wand and shouted, “Silencio!” just as Snape and Malfoy had drawn their wands. Though Leda hit both of them with a Silencing Charm, both of their curses hit Lily, one in the chest and one on her side. Immediately blood began to drip from gashes in her side and chest. They are not getting away, Lily told herself. Raising her wand, she aimed for their quickly retreating backs and yelled as hard and fast as she could, “STUPEFY!” They fell over, no more of a concern to Lily; she had bigger problems. Whereas the blood had started at a drip, it was now quickly trickling out of the wounds and down all her clothes.

Parallel to where they were standing stood the Three Broomsticks with nearly all of the customers’ faces pressed against the front window to see the scuffle outside. Wondering what was going on, James jumped up and stuck his head out the door. His spine instantly started prickling at the sight of Leda in the middle of the street, supporting a profusely bleeding Lily. Forgetting about his coat, he ran over to where Leda stood with Lily sagging against her.

“Come on Lily,” urged Leda, but it was of no use.

“Did I—get the—slimy—gits?” she asked weakly, clutching her side. Her eyes started to become unfocused. Snapping out of his daze, James went to the other side of Lily to support her. Giving up on stooping down to help her, he swept her into his arms, resting her head against his shoulder. He began to walk as fast as he could down the road to Hogwarts with Leda at his side. When he looked down at Lily, he wished he hadn’t. The bottom of her beloved ivory sweater was completely red from the bleeding gash in her side.

Finding his voice, James tried to soothe her. “You got them, don’t worry. You’ll be fine; it’s nothing Madame Pomfrey can’t handle. Hey, you just fixed me up a couple of weeks ago, right? Come on Evans, you’re going to pull though. I think this is just a publicity stunt.” He didn’t realize he was babbling until he looked at Lily’s face and saw she was out. He turned his head to Leda.

“Who did this to her?” he asked in a voice filled with anger.

“Snape and Malfoy, they got us as we came out of a shop,” she answered quickly.

“Right. Ok.” His mouth was set in a firmly determined line. “You can carry her the rest of the way. Here you go.”
Leda looked at him in mild horror. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked in disbelief.

“Killing Malfoy and Snivellus of course,” he answered as if she had asked what he thought of the weather.

“Oh no you don’t. Lily will be in a complete panic when she wakes up. She’ll want you there.” Before James could decide to turn around with Lily in his arms, Leda continued, “Snape threw her on the ground, Malfoy called her Mudblood, Lily hammered the logic out of them, and they attacked.” She soon found that this statement did not help matters.

“Oh, and I suppose you stood there cowering, not helping?” he said in an accusing tone.

“James, don’t be a git right now. We already have two on our hands. I silenced them, making it so their curses would not have full effect,” she said evenly. “Otherwise, she’d have died on the spot.”

“Thanks,” he muttered grudgingly. He looked up the road they were on to Hgowarts. Just a little further, we’ll be ok. “She’s so bloody though.” James jumped when he realized he had said that out loud. What if she was already dead, and he was holding the lifeless corpse of this beautiful girl? Stop that James. She’s not dead, she’s not dead. They burst through the front doors, and on a surge of desperation, ran to the hospital wing.

“Madame Pomfrey! Madame Pomfrey, come quick!” shouted Leda.

“Yes, yes, I was just having my afternoon tea. Oh my gracious!” she exclaimed when James came rushing in with Lily. Carefully, he laid her on the nearest hospital bed (thankfully, not occupied) and hurried Madame Pomfrey over.

“Stand back Mr. Potter, Miss Figg.” Lighting her wand, she opened Lily’s eyes one at a time and shined the light in them. “She’s alive, but lost a lot of blood. We’ll need the Headmaster.” No sooner had she rushed to the bell to call the Headmaster, when James began to storm off. Leda ran and dragged him back, much to his protests.

“Come on, James, you can kill them later. Sirius and the others have got them. Trust me when I say you should stay here,” emphasized Leda. Shooting one last withering glance in the general direction of Hogsmeade, he nodded and took a step forward just as Madam Pomfrey came rushing back in.

“Ms. Figg, I’ll need you to put Miss Evans in her pajamas.”

“Ok, but what about the…er…blood?”

“I don’t want to risk a Cleaning Charm, so we’ll need some washcloths and water.” Pomfrey waved her wand at the bedside table, a basin of water and some clean washcloths appearing. With another wave of her wand, a set of pajamas that would fit an eleven-year old appeared in Leda’s arms. “I’ll be looking for some Blood-Replenishing Potion…” With that, she swept away, leaving Leda and James to their own devices.

“I’m really not helping, you know.”

“James, shut up for once.” In a flash of robes, Leda whipped the curtains around the bed closed. Quickly and gently, she removed Lily’s dirty cloak and sweater.

“Here James, be useful,” she ordered and threw them over the curtain. Easily, James caught them and threw them on the nightstand. Next came her slacks and, thankfully for James, nothing else. Then, Leda opened the curtains again, revealing Lily lying in the bed, covered with a blanket.

“Here, I’ll put her stuff in a laundry basket.” Turning around, she sneaked the small box out of Lily’s cloak while James sidled up next to the bed. He grabbed a cloth and soaked it in water, then began to carefully wipe some off the drying blood that Leda had missed. When he reached her neck, her eyes fluttered open, looking straight at James.

“You and Leda saved me,” she said quietly. “I owe you.”
“So kiss me later. Go back to sleep now, you’ll need it for the ball.” He pasted on a false grin.

At the mention of the ball, Lily’s eyes widened. “The ball…It seems so far away.”

At that moment, Albus Dumbledore, and Professor McGonagall swept into the room, followed by Madam Pomfrey.
“So, Poppy, how is she?” asked McGonagall, looking quite terrifying.

“She’s lost a lot of blood Professors. I am going to give her some Blood-Replenishing Potion. I recommend rest and that she be alone,” Madam Pomfrey emphasized the word while nodding meaningfully at James.

“Please Professor, let James stay…Leda will be…”

“Aleydis will be back with Lucius Malfoy and Sniv—Snape. Those were the two who did this,” James finished for her. Lily squeezed James’ hand as a sign of thanks. Noting the fury in James’ eyes, Dumbledore held up a hand to stop any further comments.

“James and Leda may come and go as they please. They must both however, not abuse this privilege and take into consideration the other people in the hospital wing.”

“Of course, sir. I just don’t want to leave her alone,” James said. Apparently satisfied with the response, the three adults walked away to have a private conversation.

“Poppy, what are her chances of survival?” asked McGonagall.

“Oh please Minerva, don’t be so morbid,” smiled Dumbledore.

“She will be fine once I give her the potion. She can be released in one week.”

“My dear Madam Pomfrey, the Christmas Ball is in two nights. I think she will heal quickly enough by then.”

“You will be speaking to the elder Malfoy, Dumbledore?” McGonagall stated rather than asked. Dumbledore merely nodded as Sirius, Remus, and Peter walked in, carelessly dragging Snape and Malfoy after them.

“So, where do you want us to dump these two pieces of sh—Professor McGonagall! Hello!” sang Sirius, covering up his soon-to-be ill use of language.

Meanwhile, Poppy walked over to Lily and forced her to drink the absolutely disgusting Blood-Replenishing Potion. As soon as she left, James grabbed Lily’s hand and began to talk to her about not really anything. He broke off, however, when Leda walked over.

“Leda, could you give James my box?” Understanding, she nodded and reached in her pocket, then handed James the box containing Lily’s present to him. Leda then backed away, making an excuse to go see Sirius. “This is what we were getting right after…” she didn’t need finish as James pulled out an identical looking box.

“Lily, I’m going to give you your present.” Without further ado, James opened up the box and held up the cross for her to see. “I even got it engraved. Do you like it?”

A broad grin lit up her face as she struggled to hold back a small laugh. “It’s lovely. You’ll want to open your box, I imagine. It’s your Christmas present from me.” She nodded to the unopened box in his lap. She closed her eyes while James opened his present. She opened them again when he exclaimed under his breath, “Bloody hell!”

“We got each other the same thing,” she stated rather obviously.

“Great minds think alike.” Grinning like the Cheshire cat, James hooked the cross around his neck, then proceeded to put Lily’s around her neck. “You’ll be out of here in no time, you know. You’re that stubborn,” he added more to himself than her.

“Oh, I will, will I? And I thought you were conceited…” She left the implication hang. Taking a shallow breath, she said, “I’m really tired. You don’t mind if I just…” Not bothering to finish the request, she dropped into a deep sleep.

“No, of course not,” he answered quietly. He kissed her lightly on the lips, then settled himself in the chair and got ready for a long night. Less than a minute later, however, Aleydis showed up with Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Sirius gave his friend a minute, then loudly cleared his throat. James jumped with a start and looked at his small audience.

“She just fell asleep.”

“Prongs, you should probably eat,” Remus suggested.

James sighed. “I’ll stay here.”

“We’ll all be leaving,” Sirius pointed out.

“Yes, but what if she wakes up and--”

“Lily isn’t going to wake up for a while,” Leda responded.

“Alright…” Recognizing defeat, James reluctantly pulled himself out of his chair and followed the gang to the Great Hall.


The following morning dawned bright and with a hint of snow in the air. If one looked out a window, they would see the sun reflecting off the lake. The same bright sun shone through the window over the bed Lily slept in. She woke up, feeling a thousand times better than she had before. She sat up, stretched, and admired the sun for some time before she tuned into the arguing voices at the end of the hospital wing.

“Miss Figg, if you come back around tea time, I’m sure she will be awake by then!”

“Please Madam Pomfrey! Professor McGonagall wants me to escort her back to the common room, and besides, it’s a lovely day; shouldn’t she get some fresh air to help her get better?” Leda begged. “See, I even brought her fresh robes!”

“Oh all right!” Madam Pomfrey gave in.

“Oh come on, Madam Pomfrey! Have a heart! I already--” Leda stopped abruptly, realizing the nurse had given her consent. “Wow! Thanks!”

Lily sat up against the hard headboard of the hospital bed. Reaching behind her, she pulled the pillow up so she could rest on it.

“Miss Evans, how do you feel?” inquired Madam Pomfrey.

“Oh, much better. May I go back to the common room? Please?” Lily pleaded, using the same tone of voice that Leda had used only seconds earlier. Before answering, Madam Pomfrey took her temperature, felt her pulse, checked her reflexes and her eyesight, and would’ve proceeded into a full physical examination, but Lily asked again if she could go.

Madam Pomfrey set down her wand and sighed, “I suppose.” She said it rather reluctantly while Lily and Leda shot each other victorious looks. “However, if you feel any dizziness, drowsiness, a headache, a stomachache, begin to have the shivers and/or hot flashes, you are to report to me immediately.” She ordered.

Not paying attention at all, Lily gave her a mock salute while slipping her robes over her head and said, “Righty-ho captain!” Talking and laughing about nothing in particular, Lily and Leda wove their way through the Hogwarts corridors and towards the portrait of the Fat Lady and their common room. They didn’t realize they reached their destination until the Fat Lady screamed at the top of her lungs, “PASSWORD!”

“Pumpernickel!” laughed Lily.

“Thank you!” barked the Fat Lady, her cheeks bright red. The girls simply laughed again as they climbed through the portrait hole. As soon as Lily and Leda walked in, they were surrounded by a swarm of people.

“Lily, you’re back!”

“Welcome back Evans!”

“Aleydis, you won’t believe what hap--”

“Lily, is it true you cut Malfoy’s willy off?” shouted one person.
Lily’s eyebrows shot up in astonishment. “I excel in Charms, not curses,” she answered with a smile.

Aleydis and Lily made their way through the throng over to where the Marauders were sitting, in front of the fire. Sirius jumped up when Leda walked over; his expression looking as if his birthday, Christmas, and New Year’s had all come at once.

“You lasses will not believe what happened!” He was jumping up and down out of sheer glee. “So, Leda, guess.”

“I couldn’t begin to imagine,” she remarked, shifting her twinkling eyes to Lily. “Have you four discovered another secret passage?”

“I wish, but no. Even better: Malfoy and Snivellus were given detention for two whole months and…here’s the best part…Dumbledore is making him write a four-parchment essay on how Muggle witches and wizards help the magical world!” He doubled up in laughter, tears streaming out of his eyes. Remus thumped him hard on the back, and Sirius once again breathed.

James spoke up from the chair he was sitting in. “So, Lily, how are you feeling?” He lifted his head to connect his eyes with hers.

“Much better.” She smiled, then slowly walked up to him and leaned down, grabbing his chin. She planted a long kiss right on his lips, in the middle of the now silent common room. Currently unable to move, James sat where he was and succumbed to the unexpected “torture.” Releasing his chin, Lily pulled away from him, and pushed her hair out of her face. He looked quite stunned, which was exactly how Lily wanted him.

“The debt is repaid, Potter.” Before James could clear his mind and figure out what the hell she was talking about, Lily left him, following Leda up to their dormitory.

“Lily, you’ll have to explain whatever that was after I show you our robes,” said Leda calmly, though her insides were ready to burst from excitement.

On Lily’s bed lay her emerald green robes. She sighed at the beauty of them and in disbelief at her luck that she had found this particular pair of robes. She had to touch them one more time, feel their soft texture. Not wanting them to get dirty or forgotten about, she hung them up in her wardrobe and turned to face Leda who had done the same.

“Can you believe all of this?” asked Lily.

“No, not really. Speaking of which…What was that downstairs with James? You know what, let’s start at the beginning.”

Lily gave her a mildly confused look, but said, “Okay…”

“First, you guys are friends in first year. Then, for some reason, you get mad at him in second year--”

“He was making fun of a bunch of first years, plus he was completely arrogant! Did you see the way he would--”

“Yes, yes, I know! Don’t talk yet. So, you get mad at him in second year and hate him until this summer, when you send me an owl asking if I think James is really that arrogant or just plain stupid. Then, we find out we’re having a ball, of all things. James, the person whom you now think isn’t “all bad”, asks you to said ball and you say yes. Now I see you kissing him in the middle of the common room, which, by the way, used to be completely uncharacteristic of you. What gives?” Leda shoved her hands on her hips and bored her eyes into Lily’s.

“I was wondering when you would ask that…Well, I’m not sure what happened. I think he may have…Well, I don’t know…He may have matured.” Lily said, biting her lip. Looking up at Leda, she saw she would have to continue. So, she proceeded to tell about her unnerving dreams of the stag and what had happened weeks ago with James. When she finished, she dropped her chin to her chest and hugged her knees. “So, doctor, what do you say? How long do I have?”

Leda gaped at her. “I don’t believe it. I seriously don’t believe it! You’re in love with James!” She began to laugh hysterically. “This completely explains everything!”

“What? No, Leda, you’ve got it wrong. I don’t lo—I couldn’t possibly…Oh sweet Merlin…” She didn’t find this nearly as funny as Leda did.

Wiping tears from her eyes, Leda said, “well, we’ve got to go back downstairs.”

Lily dropped her mouth in horror. “Why? I can’t go down and look at him!”

“Well, first of all, you’re now the hero of Gryffindor Tower and are expected to reenact your heroic tale, and secondly, you should see James. You know what this means, don’t you?”

“What?” Lily asked miserably, afraid to find out.

Leda grinned. “You get to be the sexy vixen.”

“Vixen?”


“You know, it sure is taking a long time for them upstairs,” James said, trying to put on an air of ease to the words.

“If she’d fainted Prongs, I think we would know,” commented Remus, who was playing chess with Peter, and winning.

“Yeah, I guess.” Just as James began to slip back into a melancholy state, the girls walked down, looking fabulous in his opinion, and laughing about something or other; probably a girl thing.

“Hey guys,” they said rather absently. They sat on the couch, then went right back into talking.

“You know, those robes look a lot nicer since yesterday,” Lily commented, sending James a very private, sly look.

“I think the robemaker must have put a Shimmer Spell on them,” Leda pondered.

“I don’t think this day could get any better." Lily smiled and looked around her beloved common room. As her eyes landed on the portrait hole, Professor McGonagall walked through carrying a scroll in one hand and a quill in the other. She walked directly to the middle of the common room and cleared her throat. There was silence immediately.

“Good morning, Gryffindors. I have an announcement about the ball.” At this, a few people gasped, fearing it had been cancelled. “Professor Dumbledore has decided to set up a court for this ball” (a communal release of breath). “You are to select one male and one female student from your house and nominate them for King or Queen. At the end of the ball, one couple will be selected as the King and Queen and they will dance the last dance together.” McGonagall rolled up the scroll, then peered at everyone over her glasses. She waved her wand, producing a fresh piece of parchment. “I will now need your votes for who will represent our house.” All at once, people shouted various names. McGonagall held up a hand. “One at a time, please!”

“I nominate Dumbledore and McGonagall!” shouted someone.
“Only student couplings, Mister Wood.”

“I nominate Sirius Black and Leda Figg!” called Lily. She grinned at Leda, who was speechless, for once.

“I second that!” shouted James from his seat near Lily. This was followed by a number of other agreements along with Lily and James.

“Ha!” laughed Leda. She grinned evilly at Lily. “I nominate James Potter and Lily Evans!” There were many more assents for them than for Sirius and Leda until Sirius stood up and crowed, “Hell yes!”

“Mr. Black!” exclaimed McGonagall. Immediately following this delightful outburst, there was a similar burst of applause for Lily and James.

“So, is it decided then? The King and Queen candidates for Gryffindor are James Potter and Lily Evans,” stated McGonagall.

“God save the queen!” shouted Peter.

The entire Gryffindor Tower then proceeded to rally for the Queen of England the entire day and well into the night, pausing once when McGonagall came back up and asked them to please keep it to a dull roar.

Lily and Leda had gone to bed early, but full of excitement. They were to spend the next day exploring the grounds with the boys before going to change for the ball.

Pumpernickel
~| Chapter 4 |~

The next morning, Lily woke up to a white sky. Jumping out of bed, she ran to the window and smiled as pleasure ran through her at the sight of the Hogwarts grounds covered in snow. It appeared there would be a snowball fight that day, instead of a day of exploration. Sighing over the memories to come, Lily walked back to her bed and sat down. She twiddled her wand through her fingers, trying to decide what to do. As her mind ran through numerous charms she could use to make a cup of tea or some toast, she looked around her dormitory at her fellow sixth years.

There was Alice Connelley, who was completely in love with the Hufflepuff sixth year, Frank Longbottom. Well, we know who’s going to be voted ‘most likely to get married’, Lily thought. Then there was Kendall James, who seemed to always be happy, no matter what the situation. Next to her bed was Gwenyvere Ann Marie Welliston, commonly known as Gwen, who fancied Remus and would be going to the ball with him. Gwen, who was quite often very quiet, perfectly complemented Remus. Smiling, Lily looked to her right and her best friend, Aleydis Figg. They’d met on the train to Hogwarts and been inseparable since. Leda was like the sister Lily never had. More like sister I always wanted, she corrected herself, thinking of her prat of a sister, Petunia.

Sighing again at how lucky she was to be going to Hogwarts at all, she pulled herself out of bed and over to her wardrobe. She selected a series of warm pants, many layers of tanktops, t-shirts, turtlenecks, and sweaters, and finally, her spare cloak. Humming to herself, she poked Leda, hoping she would wake up. Luckily, she did and was up quickly and explaining what exactly they were going to be doing that day.

“Here’s my plan: Gwen, you, and me will go down early and pick a good spot where we can make our snow fort. We’ll build it quickly, make some snowballs, and then you can bewitch them to fly at the boys. Then, we wait until they come out, thinking they’re up before we are, and ambush them!� Leda quickly explained all of this while changing into her many layers of clothing, not giving Lily a chance to say anything. During the rundown of her plan, she also woke up Gwen by pulling her blankets off of her and shouting, “Good morning, Sunshine!� With a muffled curse, Gwen rolled out of bed and stood up, blearily looking up at Lily and Leda.

“What’s going on now?� she asked, mildly irritated. She blinked her bleary blue eyes a few times before looking up at Lily.

“It snowed!� Lily answered brightly. “And Leda’s awake. Those are two miraculous feats of nature.�

“Omigosh, Gwen! I have the perfect plan of what we’re going to do to the boys!� Without any further inquiries, she re-explained her plan, this time to Gwen, who yawned.

Twenty minutes later, the three girls, resembling very large Stay-puff marshmallows, walked down to the Great Hall and quickly ate breakfast, vowing they would beat the Marauders. Giggling, they ran out of Hogwarts and over to a line of bushes where there was a particularly large snowdrift. They began to create the perfect fort, alternating between the three to make snowballs.

“Phew. This had better be good enough,� huffed Gwen. Her normally pale cheeks were rosy from the cold. “We’ve got to have at least a hundred snowballs here.�

“All that’s left is to charm them,� hinted Leda.

“I don’t know Leda. It will take the fun out of it, though, won’t it?� asked Lily.

“Of course not! This time, we can actually hit our targets instead of trying to lead them,� pointed out Leda with a wide grin on her face.

“Good point.� With a word, the snowballs glowed, then all floated about an inch in the air.

Gwen grinned wickedly. “They won’t know what hit them.�


“Wake up you old ingrate! Come on, how do you expect us to hit the girls with snowballs if we’re not down there?� shouted James, rocking Sirius back and forth on his bed. Giving him up as a lost cause, he moved over to Remus’ bed and was about to start a very loud and long rant challenging his manhood when Sirius tackled him from behind and onto Remus’ bed, consequently landing on Remus.

“Ingrate? Who’s an old ingrate, you slime eating bubotuber!� growled Sirius. His insult would have been perfectly believable if he hadn’t laughed immediately afterward. Laughing with Sirius, James immediately began an impromptu wrestling match.

“Prongs, Padfoot, as delightful as this occasion might be, you will both need to remove yourselves from my impaired legs,� said Remus, sitting up and glancing at his friends who were currently wrestling at the foot of his bed. When they didn’t comply, he merely kicked them off the bed. With a loud and resounding thud James and Sirius landed on the floor, knocking their heads together like a bunch of coconuts.

“So what was this about girls?� Sirius asked, finally getting up off the floor.

“I said before, that we’ll have to get down to the grounds ahead of the girls so we can surprise them,� stated James, scratching his head as he looked for his gloves. Seeing them under Sirius’ mattress, he pulled them out.

“Hopefully they didn’t get down there first,� said Remus, as he got out of bed. Before James could respond, though, another loud thud distracted him, this time coming from the window. Rushing over to it, he flung it open and stared down, looking for the culprit. Spotting red hair, he grinned.

“Oy! Evans! What gives?�

“We challenge you to a snowball fight!� she called up to him with a come-hither smile.

“You’re on!� Closing the window, he turned to Remus and Sirius. “We’ve been challenged. Let’s go kick their butts.�


“Ok, get ready girls! Here they come!� giggled Leda. The three friends hurried behind the fort as soon as James dashed away from the window.

“Maybe we should camouflage ourselves,� suggested Gwen. Immediately, she began to cover her dark blue cloak with snow. Taking Gwen’s suggestion to heart, Leda flopped down in the snow and began to roll around, covering every inch of her cloak.

Five tantalizing and freezing minutes later, the girls watched with subdued giggles the boys rush out the front doors. They shoved each other around in a playful manner, falling over and tripping themselves. When they got closer, the girls could hear from their hiding spot the boys laughing and joking.

“When do we go for them?� whispered Lily. She pulled her wand out, having it at the ready to Banish snowballs.

“Wait for the perfect moment,� smiled Leda. As the boys got directly in between their fort and a very large bush covered with snow, Leda’s lips curved into a smile and she nodded.

With something akin to a war cry, Gwen, Leda, and Lily jumped out of their hiding places and Banished snowballs at the boys. All three boys stopped dead in their tracks, staring in disbelief at the wall of snow coming straight toward them.

Being the first to think in the two seconds they had before the snow hit them, Remus pulled out his wand and cried, “Impedimenta!� The snowballs stopped mid-float.

Feeling much more confident now, James and Sirius grabbed their wands out and seconds before the snowballs started moving again, they sent them back toward the girls.

“Hey! That’s not fair!� Gwen shouted, hands on hips. Then with a squeak, she dived behind their fort, barely missing a snowball. Lily and Leda were not as lucky. The two friends were pummeled with snow and promptly fell over. Not waiting a second, the three girls jumped up and ran at the boys, snow flying around them.

“Bloody hell!� Sirius yelled, drawing the two words out as he ran in the opposite direction. He dived behind a large bush, followed by James and Remus. Huddled behind the bushes, James, Sirius, and Remus gulped air.

“Oh mates, this is gonna be short. They’re using magic! We’ll be killed!� wailed James.

“Well then, let’s call a truce and say no magic,� Remus hinted.

“Now why would we want to do that?� demanded Sirius.

“Sometimes, Padfoot, I have to wonder if you weren’t dropped on your head when you were born,� James snickered. Sirius seemed to consider this. It was entirely plausible, considering his family wouldn’t think twice about it.

“Sirius, they’re girls. Do you honestly think they can throw with any sort of aim?� asked Remus, sounding exasperated

“Hmm, that does make sense…�

Taking a deep breath, James jumped out from behind the bush and toward the oncoming force of the girls.

“Hey! We call a stalemate!�

Lily stopped dead in her tracks. “What? Are you crazy, Potter? We just got started!�

“That’s debatable Evans. Anyway, we say no magic, because it makes it more enjoyable if we do this the Muggle way.�

The three girls looked at each other with suspicion in their eyes. There couldn’t be anything wrong with no magic. Nodding, Gwen, Leda, and Lily put their wands away. Lily immediately felt uneasy. No magic? This isn’t going to go so well…

Grinning like a maniac, James dashed behind the trees and a second later the boys appeared with snowballs in their hands. Imitating the girls’ war cry, the boys ran at them. Deathly afraid, the girls sprinted back to their fort and began hurling snowballs as fast as they could. They didn’t worry about aiming. That was trivial. Gwen happened to hit James in the leg, but it didn’t slow him down. Lily hit Sirius in the stomach by complete mistake; she’d been aiming for Remus, who was about fifteen feet to his left. Leda didn’t hit a blessed thing…Not even the stationary tree.

When they ran out of pre-made snowballs, Gwen, Leda, and Lily abandoned their fort and attempted to outrun their pursuers.

“All right gents, let’s get our girls!� Sirius howled with glee. He immediately began to catch up to Leda and chased her in circles around a very large oak tree. Remus dashed after Gwen, who was waving her arms in an attempt to release herself of the surge of adrenaline running through her body. James caught sight of Lily and ran with all his might toward her.


Lily took it as a personal challenge when she heard the boys pursue them even after they had abandoned their fort. She ran with all her strength, ignoring the snowballs at her back. She was getting more sluggish due to how much snow there was and the effort of getting to a good hiding place. Spying a willow tree, she ran toward it. Seconds later though, she was knocked flat on her face in the snow. Without time to recover, she was flipped onto her back and the snow cleared from her face by a gloved hand.

“Hi Evans,� James teased. Not being able to help herself, she laughed out loud and “wrestled� herself away from him and back toward the willow. He let her get a few feet away before tackling her again, this time trapping her legs so she couldn’t move.

“You know, you really have to learn to walk,� he mused.

“Potter, I will cause you a large amount of physical pain if you don’t get off me right now!� she exclaimed, failing miserably to keep a smile from her face.

“You’re not very good at protesting,� he pointed out, leaning down to her. Her breath caught in her throat as he loomed closer. Her gaze shot between his lips and his eyes, which she knew were focused completely on her. When his lips were a centimeter from hers, her gaze locked on his eyes. Not wanting to give her the opportunity to genuinely protest, he gently kissed her. Finally releasing her long-held breath, she sighed, quickly remembering how much she really liked this. As James pulled away, Lily wrapped her arms around his neck, not giving him chance to move. James was very nearly shocked. She opened up to him and he could feel it. He kissed her again, this time longer and not so gentle. Lily swore she could hear some swelling behind her ears and fleetingly remembered a trip to the beach and listening to the ocean in a seashell. James finally pulled back and lay his head on her shoulder. Lily breathed deep, trying to steady herself. All she succeeded in, though, was sending sparks out of her wand. With an embarrassing yelp, she jumped (as much as she could with James’ full body weight on top of her).

“Are you ok?� James asked, slightly concerned.

“Oh, of course. It was just my wand, it, umm, let loose some sparks. I didn’t do it on purpose, it just did…� She trailed off, her cheeks turning pink when she looked him in the eye. To her relief, though, James laughed.

“Mine did the same thing,� he chuckled. Unable to do otherwise, Lily began to laugh as well.

Without warning, James flipped them over so that he was now lying in the snow and Lily was sprawled on top of him. Using as much dignity as possible, Lily sat up, somehow still straddling James. When her lips quirked into a slight frown, James shook with silent laughter. Deciding to play his game, she leaned down and propped her elbows on his chest, then her chin on her hands and looked him straight in the eye. He was preoccupied, however, with running his hands up and down her sides.

“So, Lily, does this mean we’re going out?� That simple question was just enough to throw Lily off balance, her elbows falling, and her landing on top of James with a very unladylike “oof!� Not waiting for an answer, he flipped her back over; they were now where they had started.

“Lily, what do you say?� His eyes had an emotion in them that Lily couldn’t believe. He’s practically begging me, she thought.

“James, I’ve never had a boyfriend,� she babbled. Good God girl, not now!

He grinned down at her. “I know.�

Lily let out a nervous giggle. “I guess you would.� After a moment, she continued, “this is going to make me seem slightly daft, but does this mean you like me?�

“More than you could ever know,� he answered sincerely.

She grinned back at him. As a sly look crept into her eyes, she grabbed a handful of snow in each hand and dumped it on James’ head. The contrast of his jet-black hair and the pure white snow made Lily laugh. He jumped up and pulled Lily with him.

“Oh, think I’m funny, do you?� he asked in mock anger. Without preamble, he threw a perfect snowball right into her face. The rest of the afternoon had them throwing snow at each other and snagging the other for a quick kiss.


Later that night, James, Lily, Sirius, Leda, Remus, and Gwen trudged into the Gryffindor common room. They all immediately collapsed into the chairs nearest the fire and lay as still as the dead. At one point, Peter walked over to them, having missed all the fun.

“Ok, so who wants to go raid Filch’s office?� he asked, rubbing his hands together greedily. “It’ll save us at least twenty Galleons at Zonko’s.� None of the remaining three Marauders had the energy to lift their heads. There was, however, a very distinct sounding “Ugh� from the general direction of Sirius. Looking disappointed, he shuffled away to their dormitory.

After another five minutes, the girls began to stir. “I don’t know when I’ve had more dirt under my nails. It wasn’t even this bad when we repotted Mandrakes,� Leda complained, closely examining her fingernails. “Well, I’m off to the showers, and bed. Good night everyone, ‘Night Sirius.� She blushed slightly when she said his name and looked at him. Quickly, she turned and ran to the girls’ dormitory.

Sighing with exhaustion, Lily and Gwen began the very slow process of getting up. James currently had Lily trapped on the armchair. She sat on his lap and his arm curled around her waist protectively. She looked at him; his eyes nearly closed and head slightly tilted back. She was swamped with an indefinable emotion that she didn’t care to examine at the moment.

“James, I’ve got to get up,� she said wearily. His response was to grip her waist tighter. She lightly chuckled. “Come on, unless you want me to be eternally dirty.�

He popped open an eye. “But you would still be with me on this very comfortable armchair. Now isn’t that tempting?� he grinned boyishly.

Smiling with him, she leaned down and kissed him lightly while pulling his hand away from her waist. “Good night, James.� With that, she and Gwen walked up to the girls’ dormitory. All three boys, who were nearly men, watched their girls walk to their dormitory.

“How’d we do today?� Remus asked slyly.

Sirius grinned and pretended to buff his nails on his shirt. “I’m no longer the most sought after bachelor in the school.�

“Gwen and I have a mutual like for each other; we’re giving it a try,� Remus replied.

When Remus and Sirius turned to James, Sirius didn’t give him a chance to answer. “We know you two are an item. First, let me say, ‘FINALLY! WHAT THE BLOODY HELL TOOK YOU SO LONG?’ And second, did you make any fire under that willow tree?�

“Our wands both shot sparks. Does that count?� joked James.


In the showers, all three girls stood underneath scalding hot sprays, kneading the sore muscles in their arms and backs.
From one stall, Leda asked sleepily, “So who’s going out with who now? I’m going with Sirius. More details tomorrow, when I’m lucid.� She yawned.

“Well, Remus and I discussed our feelings for one another today, after the inevitable snow fight. We agree that we really like and respect each other, so we’re going to see what happens if we’re boyfriend and girlfriend. It should prove to be very interesting. He’s a hell of a kisser. I never knew of some of those things you can do in the limited space between a bush and the Herbology greenhouses,� Gwen replied.

“Too many details!� Leda whimpered. “I’m begging you, don’t overload my brain just yet.� After a lapse of a minute or so, Leda called out to Lily in the stall next to her. “What about you, Lily? Are you going to confirm what we already suspect?�

“Yes, James and I are a couple. I didn’t realize he liked me like that. I have to say, though, he’s also quite a kisser,� Lily said, filling her voice with her smile.

“Great, we’re now going out with the cleverest, most popular, most mischievous boys in school,� Gwen confirmed. “I sure hope their idea of a good date isn’t to share their detention.�


The next day was cloudier than before, and it happened to be Christmas Eve. Lily got up earlier than she wanted to because she had to help with final decorations for the Ball. Throwing on a spare black robe and grabbing her wand, she dragged her feet down the stairs, into the common room, where she saw James still lying on the armchair from last night.

Just look at him, she thought. He must’ve been in that same uncomfortable position the entire night. Walking over to him, she kneeled down in front of the armchair, watching his serene expression of sleep. Lily still couldn’t believe that James liked her, let alone even asked her out. Last night, she’d done the typical see-if-his-last-name-sounds-good routine. Lily Potter; she’d shuddered then, and shuddered now. It sounded foreign. Above all things, Lily had to figure out her real feelings for James. She liked him, that was for sure, but deep down, what did she feel? She feared loving him. The fear originated from somewhere not in her and she couldn’t understand why. It probably originates from him having so many girlfriends, and me not having any. Any boyfriends, that is.

Struck, Lily nearly kicked herself. What am I doing? We haven’t even been going out for twenty-four hours! Completely disgusted with herself, she stood up and brushed off her robe just as James opened his eyes.

“Good morning 'Green Eyes'.�

Lily smiled at him. His voice croaked slightly from just waking up and his hair stuck on end. “Good morning. I’m just on my way to the Great Hall. I have to finish with the decorations,� she explained.

“Ah yes, the ever-important Christmas decorations. No chance I can distract you, can I?� he grinned evilly.

“Ha, no. I’ll see you later though.� Placing her hand on his shoulder, she leaned down and kissed him softly. Fulfilling a desire he’d always wanted to do, James reached up and dragged his hands through her long red hair. “I really have to be going now,� she said; and with a final kiss on the cheek, she was gone.


An hour and a half later, Lily walked through the halls of Hogwarts, making sure the decorations were in the right spots. Some of the portraits didn’t like the ivy around their frames, but they would have to live with it. Hagrid, the gamekeeper, had been a big help in carrying the Christmas trees. Using Levitating Charms, Lily had strung the lights and ornaments. Hogwarts was now completely bedecked. Professor Dumbledore said he would set up the Great Hall for the Ball, so that all that was left for her to do was go outside with her friends.

She meandered through the halls, going whichever way pleased her, knowing she’d end up at Gryffindor Tower eventually. She thought to the future and what it could hold. She sincerely hoped she would become Head Girl. She loved to have authority over others; not for the feel of power, but to help them and guide them. Content with how life was turning out to be, she arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady, told the password, and hurried up to her dormitory to change into snow clothes.

Ten minutes later, she ran through the halls and burst through the front doors. She jogged around toward Gryffindor Tower and found her friends: they were already in the middle of a very heated snowball fight. In her absence, Sirius had replaced her, and Peter had come out to side with Remus and James. She ran over to Leda, Gwen, and Sirius and saw they were simply throwing as many balls as fast as possible. The only person who managed to hit the opposing team was Sirius.

At Lily’s arrival, Gwen gave an exasperated huff. “It’s about time. These two lovebirds here have been crowing to each other ever since we got out here. I need you to either hit them or help me. You could do both if you wanted,� she generously offered.

Ducking behind the snow fort wall, she began to make snowballs and throw them at James. After another three hours of snow fights, couples running off for a few minutes to themselves, and simple goofing around, everyone went inside for tea.

After changing into comfortable clothes, Lily grabbed a book for one of her classes and carried it down with her to the common room. She stopped, though. Now she was torn as to where to sit. Normally, she sat at the table by the window with Leda and Gwen. Now that she was going out with James, she wasn’t sure if she should sit with James by the fire or at her normal table. Compromising, she settled on an armchair near his and began to read. Soon, though, she began to lose interest and even dozed off, wondering where everyone could have gone.

She dreamed of sorrow and happiness; tears and laughter. She heard a woman scream in agony, but so distantly that it sounded merely like the wind between two rocks. A flash of green light filled the plane of her dream. Unknowingly, she whimpered in her sleep before being pulled sharply out of her dream. When her eyes popped open, her first sight was James standing above her, his hands on her shoulders, his eyes full of worry and concern. Without a word, he lifted her into his lap, sat on the armchair, and hugged her tight.

“What happened?� she whispered. She had no memory of her dream, just impressions, bad ones. She wrapped her arms around his neck, grateful for the support.

“Don’t worry about it now. It was just a bad dream,� he assured her. He stroked her hair, almost as if he were comforting a child.

“No, seriously, what happened? I don’t remember anything,� she told him, sitting up.

“You were whimpering in your sleep, almost like you were afraid of something,� he said quietly.

“Oh,� she said, understanding. In an attempt to distract her, he asked, “So what were you reading?�

“Just supplemental reading. I had an itch to learn about the history of some symbols for Ancient Runes, so I picked up this book at the library.� Her eyes brightened up considerably as she began to describe the book. At his amused expression, she stopped.

“What is it?�

“It’s just that I don’t think even Professor Vector could make this interesting.� She looked confused, so he simply laughed and they headed down to supper hand in hand.


“Merry Christmas!�

“Leda, come over here so I can kill you,� Gwen grunted from her bed. She moaned when Leda spread her hangings and the sun shined in her face.

“Come on Gwen! Don’t be such a wet rag! It’s Christmas!� Leda sang. She began humming “Deck the Hall� as she jumped onto Lily’s bed, throwing her onto the floor. Leda danced around the dormitory, effectively waking everyone up with her horribly off-key singing. Alice shut her up by throwing a large pillow at her face. It didn’t stop her, though. She skipped back to her own bed and began to unwrap presents.

Rolling her eyes, Lily climbed back onto her bed and began to unwrap her presents, too. She smiled when she realized she already wore James’ cross around her neck. When she was finished, she hugged her friends, thanking them for their presents.

“Hey, let’s go see the boys!� Gwen suggested now that she was wide-awake.

“Excellent idea,� Lily grinned. Together, Gwen, Leda, and Lily ran down to the common room and up the steps to the boys’ dormitory. They burst through the Sixth Year door shouting, “Merry Christmas!�

Lily ran over to the window and threw open the shades as Leda and Gwen ran to Sirius and Remus’ beds, respectively. Smiling, Lily ran over to James’ bed and threw open his hangings. His face was smashed into the pillow and the comforter covering him to his waist. Without wasting a moment, Lily jumped onto his bed and leaned down so her lips were even with his ear.

“Merry Christmas James,� she whispered. His ears visibly perked up, but he didn’t move his head. He mumbled something incoherent due to the pillow covering his mouth. She laughed. “What was that?�

He rolled over and faced her. “Merry Christmas to you too. Are you going to make it a habit of waking me up? I could definitely get used to this.� Laughing, she leaned down and kissed him. He didn’t object at all; he simply brought his arms around her and smiled.

“Sorry, but I think it’s a holiday thing.�

“Well, will you ladies be up for another snowball fight which we will, inevitably, win?� asked Sirius, with no small amount of smugness. Leda’s eyes narrowed at him from her position at the end of his bed.

“We’ll beat you yet,� she answered, her voice full of determination.


Hours later, at four o’clock, the girls trudged up to their dormitory, preparing to get ready for the ball. They had been defeated once again, to their absolute pleasure. All three girls took long, hot showers and slathered themselves with sweet-smelling lotions. Once they got back into their room, they performed the ever-sacred female ritual of getting dressed.

Out of her wardrobe, Gwen pulled out pale lavender robes that reminded Lily of hyacinths. With them, she had clear plastic shoes that showed off her legs.

Holding up the shoes, she explained, “My mum and I had to go to a Muggle shoe store to get these. I swear, that is one of the oddest things I’ve ever been to. I can see why you have a love affair with shoes, though,� she added to Lily, who was notorious for melting at every pair of shoes she spotted.

“Well, Sirius won’t be able to peel his eyes off of me with these robes,� she said proudly, displaying her gold robes. The shimmer in them was nothing compared to Leda’s eyes, brimming with happiness and joy. Lily and Gwen smiled with her. No words were needed to tell Leda how great that night would be.

Turning to her wardrobe, Lily pulled out her emerald green robes and sighed again. She was really quite happy that her finger had landed on these and not on the lurid, big flowered robes right next to them. She pulled them on, and then rummaged through the bottom of her wardrobe for a pair of shoes. She gave a sound of triumph as she found a pair of strappy high-heeled black shoes. She danced over to her bed, sat down, and put them on. Turning her foot this way and that, she gave a nod of approval. All three girls met again in the middle of the room and surveyed themselves in a large mirror.

“We look hot,� joked Leda.

“Beware of ice cubes then,� Gwen warned.

There was nearly an hour left until seven, when the ball would begin. That time was reserved for the most important part: hair and makeup. Standing in front of the mirror, Gwen fingered her curly brown locks.

“I’ve not the slightest clue as to what to do with this mess.� She pulled out her wand and twirled it, considering. As a smile formed on her face, she cleared her throat, pointed her wand at her hair, and muttered a Severing Charm. In an instant, some of her hair fell off, and her hair was now chin-length, as opposed to shoulder-length, as it had been seconds earlier. “Much better.� She turned and primped her hair. “Anyone else?� she asked saucily. Leda and Lily looked at her fearfully.

Improvising, Leda twirled her wand around her head and her long blonde hair flew into a curly mass on top of her head. Lily still stood in front of the mirror, staring at her red hair. It was wavy, not curly like Gwen’s or straight like Leda’s. She couldn’t think of anything to do with it and feared she wouldn’t figure it out in time. Abruptly, she turned around to face Leda and Gwen.

“Help,� she begged. Coming to the rescue, Gwen pulled her away from the mirror and over to Leda. Together, they pulled out their wands and began twirling and muttering around her hair. If she hadn’t known there was a thing such as magic, she would have sworn they were muttering some witchly Barbados enchantment. Her scalp tingled slightly before Gwen and Leda stepped away. When she turned back to the mirror, her jaw dropped. They hadn’t done much, but what they had done made Lily beyond grateful that they were her friends. They had done a messy bun style, but more intricately woven to have pieces of hair looping in and out of others. She breathed a quiet sigh of contentment and turned back to her friends.

“This is going to be the best night of our lives,� she predicted.


In the boys’ dormitory, the Marauders didn’t need to take nearly as much time as the girls to get ready. All of them had gone with black robes, as they had been the easiest to pick out. James looked at his reflection in the mirror, which kept pointedly looking at his hair. Rolling his eyes, James made a vain attempt to flatten his hair, but to no avail. He knew it wouldn’t lie flat, and besides, he preferred it like this. All four of them were ready rather quickly.

“Well, shall we go downstairs?� Remus suggested nervously. He kept picking at the cuffs on his robes and his stomach lurched. For once, he was positive he wouldn’t be able to eat a thing. As felt Sirius. And James. Peter, who had never gotten a date, strolled around the room, oblivious to his friends’ nerves and whistled a tune.

As they started downstairs, they were all deathly silent. Finally, Sirius broke the uncomfortable silence.

“If you all were any happier, I swear I would need to tie you to the ground from bouncing form excitement.� The humor was forced, but helped to lighten the mood as they entered the common room. Brightening somewhat, they interacted with the other boys who filled the common room and waited for their dates.

By chance, James glanced at the girls’ dormitory stairway and felt his heart give one powerful thump in his chest before falling flat at his feet. Lily walked down the stairs, tendrils of auburn hair around her face, and clad in the green that perfectly matched her eyes. Prominent on her chest, hanging from a silver chain, was the cross he had given her when she was in the hospital. Unconsciously, he ran a finger over the cross under his robes, and then pulled it out. She finally stopped moving, and he realized she stood in front of him, smiling.

“You’re beautiful,� he murmured, touching a hand to her cheek. Under his fingers, her skin heated and pinkened on her cheeks.

She tried, really tried, to come up with a clever response. All she came up with, though, was, “You don’t look so bad yourself.� He grinned, completely dazzling her.

After about five minutes, it was finally time to go down to the Great Hall for the Ball. Everyone squeezed through the portrait hole and surged down to the Great Hall, chattering the entire way. When they arrived, a collective “ooh� emanated from the group.

Strings of garland of metallic blue, red, green, gold, silver, and black were strung across the ceiling, mingling with the light snowflakes that fell. Each wall had a flag on it, one for each house. In between them were large green wreaths with bright red bows that spoke of Christmas. Giant Christmas trees stood along the walls like sentries. One wall was opened up into a courtyard that Lily suspected Professor Dumbledore had made for them. The tiny, circular tables that were all along the Hall and seated eight people at a time completed the entire scene.

As the Gryffindors entered through one door, the Slytherins entered through another. The person in front, leading the Slytherins, was unmistakable. Somehow, Lucius Malfoy had weaseled his way into the Ball. It had been common knowledge throughout Hogwarts what Malfoy had done to Lily, and many were surprised that he would have the audacity to show his face at such an event. The feeling quickly passed, however, once Dumbledore clapped his hands and motioned to everyone to sit.

“Merry Christmas, students of Hogwarts!� he began. “It is well known, I imagine, that we have set up a court for our Ball. I will announce them by house, and would appreciate it if they would stand up when they’re names are called.� He smiled at the entire group of students. “From Ravenclaw, the nominees for King and Queen of the Ball are Lawrence Brocklehurst and Liz Miller.� A round of applause came from the Ravenclaws and the rest of the students as a couple, both of them very tall, stood and bowed. “From Hufflepuff, the nominees are Richard Brown and Mia Fletcher.� More applause followed. “From Gryffindor, we have James Potter and Lily Evans.� All the Gryffindors roared as loud as they could while everyone but the Slytherins clapped. “And from Slytherin, the nominees are Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black.� The Slytherins, in turn, clapped and roared, with Malfoy smirking in the middle of it all. Deep down, James felt his blood boil. He suppressed his rage, and instead took Lily’s hand and calmed himself.

“The King and Queen will be announced towards the end of the ball. For now, though, enjoy food and drink, and please welcome The Peppermint Sashes!� Everyone cheered loudly as five wizards jumped onto the stage, dressed in robes of white with red and pink stripes on them. They cued up their instruments and began to play a fast, rock-style song.

Jumping up, James dragged Lily to the dance floor and began a very quick…something. Lily wasn’t quite sure what he was doing, but it looked to be like a mixture between a chicken scratching for food and an ungainly two-step. She looked at him, torn between horror and amusement. She decided the best thing was amusement.

“Come on Lily! The whole point of a Ball is to dance!� At Lily’s blank look, he laughed and pulled her close to him. He wrapped his hands around her waist as her arms came around his neck. He pulled her closer, which she hadn’t thought possible. He began to dance, slowly and in a manner Lily would not have done in front of teachers if she had been able to think about it. He grinded his hips suggestively against hers, making her relax and laugh. Neither of them noticed as they slowed considerably, although the music was still pulsing and fast. Now, they were simply swaying.

“You wore my cross,� he said softly. He demonstrated by running his hand up her back and lifting her cross from her chest. On the back was the engraving, which he still marveled at.

“Of course. And you wore mine.� She imitated him by pulling it out from under his robes and waved it a little in front of him. They grinned at each other, kissed, and each tightened their hold. In her mind, Lily whispered, I love you, James Potter.


Three hours later, the energy level that had existed at seven o’clock was no longer existent. Nearly everyone was collapsed on a chair somewhere in the Great Hall. Only one couple had not walked off the dance floor yet, and that was Sirius and Leda. Lily sat slumped in a chair near Remus and Gwen, waiting for James. He’d had to use the lavatory, so she’d taken a rest. Dumbledore stood now, calling for the students’ attention.

“It seems to me, that now that you have all had your fill and are satisfactorily exhausted,�—“Ugh�—“I will announce the winners of the King and Queen nominations. First, though, I would like to commend you on your behavior through this first Ball.� Very worried now, Lily jumped up and walked out to the terrace to look for James. Not immediately seeing him, she followed a path away from the school, searching for him. Behind her, she vaguely heard Dumbledore say James’ name and then hers. They had won! She did a quick twirl of victory and skidded to a halt.

The sight that greeted her stabbed twin knives of hurt and anger right into her back.

Pumpernickel
~| Chapter 5 |~

Twin demons of hurt and anger slammed into Lily at the sight. Her breath caught in her throat, and her heart seemed to be unable to decide if it would stop or go faster. The red haze of anger did not affect her yet. She had to get over the hurt first.

There, on the path in front of her, stood James with Holly Lightwood wrapped around his waist like a vice and his hands firmly on her butt. Holly seemed to be quite busy with James’ ear as he simply babbled. At the first sob that caught in Lily’s throat, the hurt cleared away immediately. It was replaced by anger. The dreaded red haze prevented her from seeing James’ struggles.

James knew this wasn’t good. He’d known it wouldn’t be good the minute Lightwood had followed him out to the terrace. When he’d coolly told her where to put her proposition, she’d become infuriated. He had been pleased, though. He’d realized that when Holly had asked him that very tempting question, he’d refused. He knew he’d either had to be gay or head over heels in love with Lily. Since he knew he didn’t swing that way, there was obviously only one answer left. When Holly had jumped him, though, he’d become very annoyed. As he had tried to pull her off, she’d only clung tighter, and he’d happened to look up and see Lily.

Her mouth was slightly open, and she seemed to be fighting for air. He swallowed hard before saying her name, all the while doing his best to rid himself of the catlike Holly.

“Lily!� She shook her head in one violent gesture. Her tumble of auburn hair seemed to be coming loose.

“James, how could you?� she whispered before running down the path and to the castle. On the way, she ran into Leda, Gwen, Sirius, and Remus. They couldn’t have stopped her if they’d tried. She ran past them blindly. Leda and Gwen, sizing up the situation, strode over to James.

Leda stopped a foot away from him with her hands on her hips. Gwen stopped as well, and both glared at him as if he were the son of the devil.

“Give us one reason why we should help you,� Gwen hissed. She ignored his struggles and Holly, repositioning to attack James’ neck.

James let out a grunt as he tried to push Holly off him, yet again, with a none-too-friendly shove. “Here’s one: because this snake won’t get off me and I’ve got to see Lily.� His tone had enough desperation in it that made Gwen and Leda reconsider with a simple glance at one another. Leda walked forward, and with no regret whatsoever, grabbed a fistful of Holly’s long hair and wrapped it around her hand. Mercilessly, she tugged. Hard.

The force was enough to surprise Holly and have her release James from her stronghold. She cried out in pain and began to wail, “You stupid, low-life bitch!� She practically snarled before Leda tugged again. Instead, she resorted to whimpering, “Jamie! Tell this girl to stop! She’s hurting me!� James, who wasn’t listening, made a sound of disgust.

“You’re trespassing, dear,� Leda retorted.


Lily had no idea where she was going. The way to Gryffindor Tower was so ingrained in her mind that she didn’t have to think twice about turning right down this corridor, or skipping the sinking step up the next staircase. Tears flowed freely down her face, but she would not let herself cry; not yet. She couldn’t get that image out of her mind. A beautiful girl wrapped around James, and he not doing anything to stop it. Her shoulders shuddered as the image flashed through her mind, bright and viciously clear. She nearly sobbed out the password and ran through, not stopping until she reached her bed. No sooner had she landed on the bed then she cried uncontrollably.

An amount of time later, Lily had no idea how long she’d been crying, Lily lay on her bed, feeling weak and exhausted. She hadn’t bothered to change out of her dress robes; she’d had more important things to worry about. Now, though, she stripped from her wrinkled robes and slipped into her warm, fleecy pajamas. She climbed into bed and dragged the hangings around herself. If asked as to how she felt, she would have said numb. However, being numb means to be unable to feel. She was certainly feeling a lot right now.

In the dark, Lily couldn’t sleep. She’d have sworn she was exhausted a minute ago. She rolled over onto her side, and stared into the dark. Then, she allowed herself to do something she’d been trying to avoid. She thought.

Lily began with the ball. They’d held each other tight the entire night and Lily had repeated the words I love you like a mantra through her head. She’d been thinking about giving them to James. She believed that once you said the words, there was no going back. You could feel everything and be ready to burst, but if you didn’t say the words, it wasn’t clear. Tears gathered behind her eyes again as she remembered the slow dances they’d had together. When one threatened to spill over, she furiously wiped it away and thought back farther. She went all the way back to the night James had collapsed on the sofa next to her and in a great deal of pain.

Refusing to forgive him, her mind shot back to the image of Holly and James wrapped together. She focused in on little details in the picture now. How Holly’s legs were wrapped around his waist, and how, she now realized, James’ arms weren’t on her butt. They were actually on her hips and trying to drag her away from him. Probably so they could go somewhere where I wouldn’t go, she told herself. A part of her screamed furiously that that wasn't true and she was making stupid, weakling excuses. Abruptly shutting off that part of her mind, she closed her eyes, determined to go to sleep. She did, but slept fitfully.


Downstairs, the portrait hole flew open. Leda stomped inside followed by Sirius, Gwen, Remus, and James. As soon as James reached her, she whirled on him.

“Just what the hell did you think you were doing?� she shouted. What few people were left in the common room immediately halted their sleepy conversations. The look on Leda’s face reminded most people of a hippogriff ready to attack.

“Can we please leave the shouting portion to Lily? I think she’d enjoy it more,� James practically begged.

“No! She won’t do this anyway, therefore, you’re going to deal with me!� The volume of her voice was as loud as before and made James flinch.

“Look, I wasn’t doing that on purpose with Lightwood,� James began.

“Oh, so it just happened?� Leda said sarcastically.

“Let me finish. I was outside taking a walk. I’m allowed to do that. Holly jumped me, not the other way around.�

“Oh, so it’s Holly now is it? On first name terms are we?� Leda growled furiously. A few feet away, Sirius muttered to Gwen, “you’d think they were going out.� Gwen nodded sagely, not really listening.

“Will you be quiet and let me explain?� James shouted back, matching her volume. Then his anger, previously poked and prodded, now boiled to the surface. “Why am I even trying to justify this to you? Lily’s the one who needs to hear this.� He started toward the stairway, but found himself effectively blocked by Gwen.

“Think about it, James. If we take your word to be true, we can help you get Lily back. If we don’t, then it’s tough luck for you. Besides, you need to explain this to everyone because you know that by morning Lightwood will have her own version of events spread throughout the school even though she was obviously wasted through most of it.� James hunched his shoulders in defeat. Pleased about this small victory, Gwen continued.

“Now, you have quite a track record as far as girlfriends go. We know that has been on Lily’s mind since you’ve started dating. Even before then, she could see how many girls you hang out with. Tonight when she saw you and Holly, it seemed as if everything she’d feared had come true. You’d bypassed her for a prettier girl.�

James flopped down in a couch and said in a miserable voice, “How could she think that? Why would I even think about looking at another girl when I have Lily? I love her.�

Leda and Gwen exchanged amused looks. “So you’ve told her this, have you?� Leda pushed.

“Well…No. Don’t actions speak louder than words?� James demanded, beginning to look quite confused.

“With Lily, sometimes words are considered an action. If it’s an extreme emotion, like love, there is either a black or white answer. Yes or no,� Leda finished in an ominous voice. Satisfied that she had done her best friend duty of making James even more miserable, she stood up. “Well, I’m going to bed.� She hugged Sirius and with that, she was gone.

“I’m going to go, too. Should sleep while I still can. Good night.� Gwen kissed Remus and quietly went up to bed. Remus and Sirius both took spots opposite James in armchairs.

“Well, what do you think mates? Have I completely messed up my relationship with Lily?� James asked sullenly. Remus and Sirius gave each other baffled looks.

“James, we’re guys. We can’t do all that deep stuff. It’s too…deep,� Sirius decided.

“Obviously, it wasn’t a wise idea to go for a walk, but you can’t change that. Lily’s also very upset,� Remus pointed out, cutting to the thick of things. “You’ll just have to win her back.� James granted him a half-hearted grin.


Leda and Gwen crept into their dormitory, feeling very much like imposters when they spotted Lily’s closed hangings. Respecting her friend’s privacy, Leda motioned to Gwen to meet her in the showers. They grabbed their toiletries and snuck just as quietly back out. When they got to the showers, there were only a few girls there. Leda and Gwen immediately took the most remote showers.

“So, what should we do?� Leda asked. She glanced over at Gwen.

“I don’t know. We could respect her privacy and not bother her and wait till morning, or just go in and begin our campaign to get her and James back together tonight.� Gwen offered the suggestions that first came to her mind.

“Who said they were getting back together?� Leda smirked. Gwen’s eyes rounded in shock.

“Are you telling me you’re not going to help get them back together? Why, I can’t believe that you would--� Leda cut her off with a laugh.

“Are you kidding? I want them to be together more than anything in the world. If we let Lily know that, she won’t speak to us. Now, she’s not very good at holding a grudge, so this will pass over in about a day. However, with the constant reminder of Holly and James in the same house, this really doesn’t help. We should make her hate him so that when she finds out how crazy he is about her, she’ll be completely shocked and won’t believe her luck.� Gwen’s expression clearly showed what she thought, but she voiced it anyway.

“That is ludicrous. You think you’d take the easy way and simply talk, but nope, you’ll use deception and misdirection to bring her, ultimately, onto the right path. More to the point, is Lily even capable of hating someone?� She paused and seemed to consider the full weight of the plan. Then she grinned wickedly. “It sounds perfect. I just hope she doesn’t hate us by the end of this.�

Leda smiled at Gwen, her eyes shining. “She can’t hold a grudge,� she nearly sang.


Lily woke up the next morning with a weight on her shoulders. Once her mind cleared, she realized it was hurt feelings about James. She took a deep breath to calm herself and focus. I will not think about that again, she vowed. James is a lowlife bacteria-digesting amoeba and I will not have anything to do with him ever again. Part of her was very pleased. She urged it to come out and, hoping it would last through the day, began to sit up in bed and get ready for the day ahead. Her routine was interrupted, however, when her curtains flew open, revealing Leda and Gwen with looks of sympathy on their faces. Gwen was holding a tea tray that had toast, juice, and a number of pastries.

“The man should be thrown in a shower of undiluted bubotuber pus,� Gwen said without regret.

“Then, they shower him with gold and sic a niffler on him,� Leda finished, reciting her line with conviction.

Lily smiled gratefully at her friends. Who needs a fool of a man when I have such great friends? Leaving the rhetoric in her mind, Lily made room on her bed for them to sit. They did, each grabbing a pastry and some juice.

After a few minutes, Lily finally spoke. “So, did you two go back to the dance?� Gwen and Leda both were thunderstruck. That hadn’t been an anticipated question.

“No, of course not! We came back up to bully James. Besides, we’re your friends, where’s the logic in going back to the dance when you’re hurt?� Gwen asked.

Heat crept up to Lily’s cheeks. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound vengeful.� She paused, contemplating a third piece of toast. Deciding there was no harm in it, she plucked it off the tray and nibbled, thinking about her next words. She swallowed, but kept her gaze on her toast when she spoke. “I won’t mind if you still hang out around the Marauders. I can’t keep you away from Remus and Sirius.� Gwen and Leda exchanged worried glances. It appeared their plan to make Lily “hate� James would be very, very tough.

“Lil, just realize that it doesn’t mean we’re abandoning you. If you are feeling uncomfortable one night, then just call us over,� Leda assured Lily. A single tear leaked out of Lily’s eye. She brushed it away impatiently.

“I’m not going to let him get away with anymore of his troublemaking schemes,� she announced proudly, lifting her head. Leda saw a gleam in her eye.

“Yeah, Lily, don’t let him try to walk all over you!� Leda encouraged. Giving Gwen a meaningful look, Gwen piped up, “yeah! Don’t just stand there and have him strut around Gryffindor Tower like this!�

Lily’s eyes brightened at the thought of pulling James down off his high horse. It’s about time, she thought. Very pleased with herself, she grinned evilly. "I’m going to the library to finish my homework.�

“You already finished it,� Leda pointed out.

“Hm, I forgot…Well then, time to research.� She marched out of the dormitory and straight to the showers leaving Leda and Gwen sitting on her bed, perplexed.

“Research what?� Leda asked.

“I don’t know, but it’s not going to help our plan,� Gwen pointed out.

“Maybe it could, but we’d have to start sowing the seeds now.�

“Why don’t we see where Lily takes it? I mean, she could lead to being very upset with him without our help,� Gwen mused.

“That would be a lot better,� Leda admitted.

“And easier,� Gwen finished. The two friends sighed together.


Five more days passed and the beginning of the second term started. Lily had spent most of her time in the library researching whatever it was she on about. This didn’t bother Leda and Gwen at all. She was most likely figuring out a way to get James back, which made them all the more happier.

One night, the Marauders, Aleydis, and Gwen sat in the common room around the fire. Peter sat with Sirius and Remus, who were amusing the girls with tricks and bad jokes. James sat a little apart from the group, brooding. Finally, he slapped his hands against the arms of his chair and stood up.

“I’ve had enough of this.� He strolled to the bottom of the girls’ staircase, but stopped abruptly. “Lily, come down here, we need to talk.� Lily must have been standing at the landing of the staircase, because Leda could hear a muffled “No� drift down the staircase. James gripped his hands into fists, trying to control himself.

“Why do I have to come down?� she asked, filling her voice with sarcasm and insult. James looked taken aback. Steeling himself against punishment, he started up the stairway and was stopped jerkily. A shower of silver sparks flew down the staircase. A high-pitched wail sounded and the stairs smoothed to form a slide. James appeared at the bottom of the stairs on his face. He pushed himself up, gaping at the stairway. It hasn’t done that before! Lily came sliding down, her prefect badge shining on her chest. She walked by James as if he wasn’t even there. She walked up next to Leda and Gwen. She leaned down conspiratorially.

“Did you know,� she began, her voice carrying through the room, “that’s there’s an old fashioned rule about that staircase? Apparently, someone decided to disable it, embracing the ‘free love’ concept. I thought it was time it was reinstated.� Gwen bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing and Leda stared at the floor. James’ expression would have been comical if the hurt had not shown itself when Lily walked by, completely disregarding him.

Down the slide shot Holly Lightwood, landing on her butt. She pulled herself up, looking flustered. At Lily’s none-too-innocent look, she cleared a warpath toward her.

Uh oh was the single thought that passed through Lily’s mind before she stood in the shadow of the much taller girl.

“What did you do?� Holly growled threateningly. She stood a head taller than Lily and used all of the extra height to her advantage.

“You would know if you’d been down here about thirty seconds earlier,� she responded smartly, hating herself for her shaking knees and clammy hands. Here was the real reason behind what Lily had done. If the rule was reinstated, no male could walk up the girls’ staircase. James wouldn’t be able to “visit� Holly, or any other girl for that matter.

Completely forgetting the night of the ball, or having a selective memory, James strode into the middle of Lily and Holly.

“Holly, go away, she’s just taking care of a school rule.� Both pairs of eyes shot to him and glared at him. Holly’s hazel eyes had confusion in them. Lily’s green darts had anger and hurt.

“Go away, Potter! I’m handling this. I don’t need your help,� she said lowly.

James sputtered. “What? All I’m doing is--�

“What? What are you doing, huh? You don’t need to poke your big head into every situation. Did you know that there’s a very good chance that this conversation has absolutely nothing to do with you?� Gwen and Leda exchanged impressed looks. James’ mouth had become a large, gaping hole. For once, no words could escape him and for the first time in his life, he knew what everyone meant when their heart split completely into two.

Holly stood by, utterly confused, but amused. “Well, I can see my work here is done,� she mused. Lily turned back to Holly, ignoring James.

“Now, did you have a problem?� Lily tried to keep her voice pleasantly polite, but instead it came out as a dagger.

“Um, no. I was just wondering what you did…Yeah…� Without any further response from Lily, she hurried away.

Quite proud of herself, Lily left the common room at a near swagger. James sank into a chair across from Leda and Gwen. “She must still be upset about the dance. You guys have got to help me.� Leda had to stifle a smile as the next step to her plan was falling into place.

“My advice would be to leave her alone. Then again, that might make her distance herself more from you. So maybe you should pursue her. Actively.�

“Obsessively,� Gwen put in. James slanted her a look.

“I’m not going to become some weird slave to her.�

“Did I say ‘obsessively’? Oh, I meant…’incessantly’!� Gwen exclaimed, thinking of it on the spot. James continued to look at her as if she were half-sane. “I’m going to find Remus.� She waved a little goodbye and bounced off, leaving Leda to her part.

“So you think I should really go after her?� he asked.

“Of course. You’ll break her down. I’ve known her for years; it’s impossible for her to hold a grudge. I’m surprised she’s lasted this long.� James had a contemplative look. Finally, he sat up straight and got up. “Where are you going?�

“Research.� With that, he left.

Leda cast her eyes at the ceiling. “Research. No wonder you two are made for each other.�


Surprisingly, Lily could hold a grudge. In classes where she and James sat next to each other, she would simply pretend he wasn’t there; not that she didn’t already. She would completely ignore him at all meals. She acted as happy as ever, but everyone noticed a difference in her. Her smiles didn’t reach her eyes, which were shadowed. When she thought no one was looking, she would glance at James with longing. Both parties were absolutely miserable. In Gryffindor Tower, no one knew whose side to take. They all knew of James’ new quest to win Lily back and of Lily’s determination to avoid him at all costs.

At the beginning of term, there had been a slight scuffle between two Slytherins and two Gryffindors. The argument? Who the winners of the King and Queen of the ball were. To the Gryffindors, Lily and James were the winners. To the Slytherins, Lucius and Narcissa Black, Sirius’ cousin, were the winners. All four had been sent to the hospital wing and returned to classes within a few days.

Now we come to the beginning of February. Due to Lily’s ingenious use of magic on the staircase, couples needed a new secret place to snog. Lily’s new venture was to find the place and set everyone straight about school rules. One night after the lights had gone out, she prowled the castle looking for couples. She was lucky and found a few in empty classrooms and sent them on their way.

As she walked down a corridor in an upper floor of the castle, she heard a clank down the hall. She quickened her pace and came to the classroom from which the sound emanated. She peeked her head in and was very sorry she had. Inside was James, messing around with a piece of parchment. As she was about to sneak away, James started in his chair, stuffing the parchment in his pocket and spinning rapidly. He attempted a look of surprise.

“Ah! What are you doing here, Evans? Prowling at night? Now why would you do that, you’re a prefect!� He shifted his gaze when she cut him into tiny pieces with her dark green stare.

“Don’t even get me started, Potter. Why are you out and about after dark? You do know that’s against school rules, right?� She scoffed.

“Why are you out?� he asked, trying to make her forget what she was asking him. It worked with most of the teachers.

If it was possible, Lily’s eyes seemed to glare even deeper into James. “What have you got there?� She pointed to his pocket and the paper sticking out.

“Spare parchment,� he answered innocently, if that was possible.

“Yeah, right, and I’m the Minister of Magic.�

James hung his head, seemingly defeated. “Alright, I confess! I was writing a sickeningly disgusting love letter to you asking for your forgiveness. That’s what you want right?� Horrified at the idea of any love letter (whether real or fake) addressed to her, Lily spun on her heel and continued down the corridor toward the Astronomy Tower. She heard pounding footsteps behind her and had to resist the teasing temptation of a few good hexes or jinxes.

“So, can I help with your prefectly duties?� asked James, pretending the previous conversation hadn’t even happened. Lily nearly said yes, anxious to liven up the incredibly dull and unnecessary job of finding the secret snogging place. She brusquely waved him off when she remembered the whole reason she was wasting her time like this. It was walking right next to her, hair tousled unbelievably.

“Why do you insist on torturing me like this?�

James visibly jerked at the question. “Torture? I’m not torturing you! Torturing you would be tying you to a bedpost and slowing tickling your foot with a feather while a vat of boiling bubotuber pus hangs above your head, waiting to spill at the first instant you move.�

“That was rather inventive,� Lily admitted.

“Thanks. So, can you forgive me?� Lily stopped then and turned to face him.

“You’ve been asking me this for nearly a month. My response has always been no. If you’re too thickheaded to grasp the concept of me not liking you, then use a Severing Charm on your head to deflate it.�

James ignored everything she had said except for liking him. “Like me? Lily, you damn near--� He stopped as his eyes crossed to look at the wand pointed at the tip of his nose. Lily’s mouth bowed in a frown of fury, her eyes nearly slits of jade.

“Don’t you ever bring that up again, do you hear me? I’ll hit you with every hex and jinx that was every invented! You’re lucky I haven’t already!�

“I didn’t know a prefect could threaten other students. Pretty impressive powers.� He was extremely satisfied when sparks emitted from her wand, burning his nose slightly. He could tell she was about to hex him and was saved when her head turned to stair up a staircase. The Astronomy Tower! Of course! Lily thought. She turned, leaving James in her wake as she bounded up the stairs. She found about seven couples, each huddled into a shady spot (even though it was already dark) of the landing.

“Okay everyone, time to go! You shouldn’t be out after hours! Go back to your houses or I’ll deduct points!� she said loudly enough so everyone could hear. Luckily, everyone got up without a fight. When Lily got to the end of the staircase, she was mildly annoyed to find James still there.

“What are you still doing here?�

“Waiting for you,� he answered honestly. Lily began to walk at a steady pace to Gryffindor Tower.

“Why, James?�

Ah ha, James thought. She still knows my name, that’s a good sign. “I’d like to talk to you.�

“We have talked. We have nothing more to discuss.�

“Lily, I want you to understand something. I wasn’t purposely chasing Lightwood.�

“Look, James, she’s a beautiful girl. I can definitely understand if you have…urges for someone like that.� At this, James grabbed Lily’s shoulders and shook her.

“Lily, I don’t want Lightwood, okay? I want you, and to answer your question, not like that. We had something. We were friends before anything! Can you honestly say that you have no more feelings for me, whatsoever. Make that positive feelings.� He glanced at the portrait of the fat lady and absently said, “Pumpernickel� before trying to continue. When he turned back to Lily, he saw her eyes were glittering, but not with anger. They glittered with tears.

“James, that’s the problem. I have feelings for you. More than I care to explore. You hurt them. How could I ever trust you again, even as a friend? By knowing me as well as you claim to, why can’t you see what is so pitifully obvious?� Turning away, she walked up the stairs to the girls’ dormitory and didn’t look back.

Pumpernickel
~| Chapter 6 |~


Lily stalked down the lengthy corridor in a very bad temperament. She had taken on duties that normally didn’t require the least amount of anyone’s attention, let alone a rule-obsessed prefect. Her bad temperament only increased with the continued presence of the person “innocently� following her. James had made it a ridiculously annoying habit of accompanying her, uninvited, on her prowls for insurgents. She scowled at the reminder of her companion as he spoke.

“Did you know another way to get to--� he began.

“No. I go this way,� Lily interjected, trying to silence him. She continued on, nearly yelling when James grabbed her and began dragging her in the opposite direction.

“If you go this way, you’ll save yourself a lot of time and pain.�

“That’s to North Tower! I’m going in the opposite direction!� Lily’s eyes narrowed as he continued to half-carry-half drag her to a dead-end, empty corridor. He stopped in front of a portrait of a particularly large woman with a boil on her particularly large nose.

“Potter, if you’re going to tell me this is the woman of your dreams, you can save it. I’d rather clean up dragon dung.�

“You should know,� he muttered under his breath. He reached up and touched the disgusting boil, causing the portrait to swing forward and revealing a large, gaping hole. Before Lily could ask any questions, she was shoved none-too-lightly into the hole. She shivered at the difference in temperature.

“What is this place?� she asked, mentally yelling at herself for being so stereotypically female.

“Oh, a secret passage,� he said nonchalantly. “Filch knows about it, so we’ve got to be quiet.� Lily turned her head in his direction to ask a question, but walked straight into the wall.

“Bloody hell!� she cursed loudly.

“Hold my hand so you don’t walk into another wall,� James advised from a few feet to her right.

“Not on your life.�

James made a noise of disgust. “It’s not like I have cooties.�

“Ha, ha. Very funny,� she drawled, filling her voice with sarcasm. Instead, she nipped at the collar of his shirt with her fingertips.

This is the closest I’ve been to him in a long time, she realized. Quickly, she mentally shoved the thought away and focused on the task at hand.

What was the task at hand?

Ah yes, go to the Astronomy Tower and send all students back to their houses. So why didn’t she send James back to Gryffindor House? A valid question she was too coward to answer. Lily tuned back in to her journey through the unknown passage with James. Luckily, she noticed they were going up an incline. Moments later, she and James were at the top of the Astronomy Tower.

“Welcome to the Astronomy Tower. You may proceed forward and wreak havoc on its current inhabitants,� James announced like a game show host. Lily gave him a bland look before stalking onto the landing. There were about twenty people standing around and didn’t even notice Lily. She threw her shoulders back and began to bellow at the top of her lungs.

“Everyone return to your houses now! You are disobeying the after hours rules of Hogwarts! Return to your common rooms immediately!� All twenty figures jumped up, startled. Lily could see from their frightened looks that she was…wrong (a very disturbing thought). Professor Sinistra walked out of the shadows and gave Lily a questioning look.

“Can I help you Miss Evans? You seem to have interrupted my first year Astronomy class.� Lily’s jaw hung open for a full minute before she cleared her throat and attempted to speak.

“I’m sorry Professor. I…went to the wrong tower.� She backed up to the doorway, then quickly ran back down to where James leaned against the entrance to the secret passage.

“So, find any culprits?� he asked, closely examining the ceiling.

“Did you set this up, Potter? Did you purposely make a fool of me?� She stormed by him down the corridor, completely ignoring the secret passage.

“Why would I do that?� he asked, feigning a look of innocence. When she didn’t respond, James quickened his pace to match hers.

“There’s a Hogsmeade visit this weekend,� he began. “Would you like to go there with me for Valentine’s Day?� he invited. Lily abruptly halted and turned to face him.

“How many times do I have to tell you--�

“I’m sure it’s the most painful thing in the world for you to pretend to get along with me,� he said sarcastically. “You wouldn’t go as my girlfriend, but as my friend.�

Lily resumed walking for the sole purpose of doing something.

“Don’t you ever wonder what would have happened if we had…you know…stayed together?�

Lily glanced briefly at him and responded, “I don’t think about that, and neither should you.�

“Discounting the statement of you telling me what to think, it seems getting back together is absolutely against your wishes. Can you settle for being friends again?�

The truth was, Lily missed talking to James, joking with him, playing “harmless� practical jokes with him. She didn’t think she could ever trust him enough again to give him her heart, but there couldn’t be any harm in being his friend. She rolled the concept over in her mind and found she had already made the decision.

“I’ll be your friend, but that’s as far as it will ever go.� James fought to hold back a grin. She was acting exactly as planned.


The morning of the Hogsmeade trip dawned clear and beautiful, a sign that winter would soon be over. Many couples were off to Hogsmeade this weekend because it was Valentine’s Day. James, Remus, and Sirius accompanied Lily, Leda, and Gwen to Hogsmeade, attempting to be dashing gentlemen. The façade lasted for a full minute before Remus began an impromptu snowball fight.

After a half-hour of hurling snowballs at each other, the group managed to invade Honeydukes. Lily spent a comparatively small amount before going outside for a breath of fresh air and to be alone. Remus, unnoticed, followed her out.

“It’s nice out here, isn’t it?� Lily asked. She danced a little to stay warm and turned to Remus when he didn’t respond. He was looking quite ill as of late and looked especially pale today. “Remus, are you feeling all right?� she inquired, now concerned. “Are you upset over Gwen?� she suggested. Immediately, she realized how foolish of a question that was. Had there been anything wrong between Remus and Gwen, she would’ve heard it.

Remus took a careful breath before responding. Looking at his feet, Remus mumbled, “There’s something I want to tell her, but I don’t know how.�

“Are you…interested in someone else?� she said lightly (at least in her opinion).

Remus snapped his head up to look straight at Lily. His gaze was hard at her, not soft like she’d expected. “Why would I look at anyone else?�

“I was just wondering,� Lily grumbles, feeling like the lowest of single-celled organisms.

“You know, for such an intelligent person, you can be quite thick when it comes to matters of the heart. James wasn’t cheating on you. You know that; you’re too smart not to know and too stubborn to accept that you two were the celebrity couple of the school.� Lily, stunned into silence, gaped at the normally soft-spoken Remus. Remus gave her a pointed look as their group of friends burst out of the candy shop.

The day was rather uneventful, considering the meandering students and joyful inhabitants of Hogsmeade. You have to discount, of course, James getting thrown out of Zonko’s, though he was one of their most “valued� customers. Also, the incident with the keg of butterbeer and a stray goblin will remain singularly in the minds of those who witnessed it. One event worth mentioning was the run-in with Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black.

Narcissa walked straight into Lily and gasped as if just noticing what she had done. “Oh, I am just so clumsy. I am dreadfully sorry,� she snickered.

“Narcissa, destroy that robe immediately. It’s ruined with the Mudblood’s filth,� Lucius drawled in a long, slow, voice.

“You take that back!� shouted James and Sirius at the same time.

Narcissa gave her cousin a measuring look. “Cousin, I could never understand what went wrong with you,� she wondered aloud, aiming a killing look at Sirius.

James and Sirius stepped forward, inviting Malfoy. Unnoticed to them, Narcissa sidled up to Lily’s side and whispered, “Just wait until the Quidditch match, you disgusting creature.� Luckily, Leda grabbed Lily’s hand to keep her from hexing Narcissa (her best class was Charms, after all). Instead she whispered back haughtily, “So, Narcissa, how does it feel to have a juvenile delinquent as a boyfriend?�

Gwen walked in between Lucius and Sirius and James, ready to stop a conflict. “Come along boys, he’s not worth it. James, you’ve got the Quidditch match to think of,� she added in a low voice. That one statement stopped James in his tracks. If he got in a fight now, he’d surely be kicked out of next week’s Quidditch game. He was the Gryffindor Seeker and could not afford to be expelled from the game. With one last masculine warning look, James backed up and hurried away. Sirius followed his lead by backing up as well and jogging after James, Remus bringing up the rear. Lily, Leda, and Gwen, walked behind them at a slower than normal pace.

“What did Narcissa say to you?� Gwen asked softly.

Lily’s breath puffed as they sped up. “She said, ‘just wait until the Quidditch match.’ I wonder if that’s an invitation of sorts. Gryffindor will win, so I suppose it’s not for an after-game victory party.�

“I wonder if Narcissa will fight with her nails or her teeth,� Leda said, trying to get Lily mad. It worked.

“I could beat her any day whether with magic or Muggle way!� Lily exclaimed. Then she realized what Leda had done. She looked over at her friend. “I’m not fighting her.�

“Who says it’s a fight? And even if the threat was aimed at you?� Lily thought about the pure logic of it. She had no proof of who the threat would be aimed toward. As Lily’s mind raced, she found the simple conclusion that made sense in her gut.

“James!� she gasped. Behind her, Leda and Gwen exchanged victorious looks. “We have to tell him Malfoy will sabotage the Quidditch match!� She began to jog slowly before Gwen stopped her.

“Think about this: if you tell him now, you know he’ll go after Malfoy and he’ll be kicked out of the game.�

“You cannot tell him,� Leda agreed. Lily’s eyes widened.

“I can’t just--�

“You can,� Gwen began; and Leda finished, “and you will.�


The next week showed increasing animosity between the Gryffindors and Slytherins. The night before the match, Gryffindor Tower was in an uproar. Everyone was excited about the next day’s game to the point where no one was bothering with sleep. Sirius, to expel his reservoir of energy, was performing a remarkable act of acrobatics. Peter accompanied the act by singing “The Man on the Flying Trapeze� extremely off key. James, with the help of Remus, was transfiguring various objects into balloons and noisemakers.

At midnight, however, the captain of the Quidditch team, Bucky Thomas, shouted to the entire team that it was time to hit the proverbial sack. Much to the common room’s sorrow, they trudged up to bed, followed by Sirius’ rendition of “Ninety-nine bottles of Butterbeer on the Dragon’s Hide.�

Lily sat observing everything from a corner of the common room. She alternated between chewing on her lip, tapping her toes, and chewing on her lip and tapping her toes at the same time. With a huff of exasperation, she jumped up from her seat and began to pace. I have to tell him about Malfoy, she thought over and over. If I don’t, something might happen. Lily resorted to biting her fingernails. She decided to tell him. But when? If I tell him now, people will see me voluntarily talking to him and will get ideas. If I talk to him later, he’ll be half-asleep and I’ll be breaking school rules. Lily stopped herself. What am I doing?! She walked quickly over to James and caught him halfway up the boys’ dormitory staircase.

Lily nearly lost her nerve at James’ surprised expression. “I need to tell you something,� she stuttered. “Something about the…the Quidditch match.� Phew, there, I told him!

“I know how to play if that’s what you’re worried about,� he remarked.

Lily rolled her eyes. “That’s not it. I know—I mean, I think something will go wrong at the Quidditch game tomorrow.� A little of the twinkle left James’ eyes, yet he still joked.

“Slytherin losing is not a bad thing.�

“James, stop being dumb! I think Malfoy will sabotage the match.� James turned completely serious. He stepped down to be eye level with Lily.

“Are you positive?� His unnerving stare tied her tongue in several thick knots.

“I’m pretty sure,� she said weakly.

“And how did you find this out?� he pressed. If he got it out of her quick enough, he may have enough time to do something about it.

Lily nearly gave in. Nearly. Before she could, she developed some courage and put a brave front on. “I found out. It’s your job to decide what to do with the information.� She quickly turned and, surprisingly, was facing James again.

“How sure are you?� he asked again, pronouncing each word carefully.

“I told you. I’m pretty sure.� With that, she pushed past him and down the stairs.

Great, James thought. Now I also have to worry about Malfoy as well as looking for a miniscule flying golden ball. I should try not to worry about it. Yeah…Right.


Students woke up the next morning no calmer than the night before. The morning dragged on with agonizing slowness as every Hogwarts student waited impatiently for four o’clock, when the Quidditch match would begin. For James, it was perfectly normal to have a few nerves. He had more than usual, however, which extremely irritated him. He tried to shove them away by goofing off more than he typically did. Sirius, noticing his friend’s slight panic, was assisting him by acting like a complete buffoon. Remus had left at noon to go somewhere that no one knew. The remaining Marauders had covered his absence, almost. Only Lily really kept wondering about where Remus had gone.

His disappearances are pretty frequent, she thought to herself. About once a month he disappears and his friends act as if nothing is wrong. Do they even notice? The very statement shocked Lily. Of course they do! So why do they cover him? She mulled over this for a few minutes. Could he be a…Oh, stop it, Lily! This is Remus we’re talking about. He couldn’t possibly be that sort of monster! Unknown to Lily, her facial expression betrayed her.

James happened to look over during a bout of merriment and called over while laughing, “What’s the matter, Evans? You look as if you’ve seen a werewolf!� He laughed even harder and fell off the chair he was standing on.

You have no idea how close you are, Potter. She glanced over at him, laughing like a loon. A sudden thought struck her. Wait! James would know if Remus was a…werewolf. Why don’t I just ask him? As she stood up to go to James, though, Bucky came down and announced it was time for the team to head down to the lockers.

Twenty minutes later, Lily, Leda, and Gwen followed the rest of the school down to the Quidditch pitch. All three friends felt a twinge of apprehension as they passed the Slytherin stands. Lucius and Narcissa both looked down their noses at Lily, who looked straight ahead. Although chairs were available in the stands, no one used them. Every student stood on the balls of their feet, anxious for the match to begin.

“Welcome Hogwarts students (and staff) to what promises to be a suspense-filled event!� shouted the announcer, Blake Dickinson, a seventh year Ravenclaw. “I give you Slytherin: Avery, Nott, Smythe, Bowman, McClellan, Yoo, and Kierney!� The Slytherin stands erupted with cheers and applause as their team flew onto the field, looking smug in their green and silver robes. “And their brave opponents, the Gryffindors: Bower, Duncan, Thomas, Wilder, Angle, Wood, and Potter!� The Gryffindors cheered louder than anyone; enough, even, to drown out the Slytherins’ “boos�.

The fourteen players took their places in the air. The referee, Professor Chamberlain, stood on the ground with the balls waiting to be released. He looked at every team member.

“You all know the rules. Let’s follow them.� With that, he blew his whistle and threw the balls into the air. Smythe, a Slytherin Chaser, seized the Quaffle and raced down the Quidditch pitch toward their hoops.

Blake gladly commentated on everything. “Smythe dashes for the hoops, but Wilder chucks a Quaffle at him! Nice one, Wilder. Wood steals the Quaffle and races for the hoops—Go, Wood, Go! I have a bet on this match! Sorry Professor,� he added to Professor McGonagall.

James sat on his broom high above the action in the pitch below. Though he had only two eyes, he watched Kierney, the Slytherin Seeker, and one other eye on Lily in the Gryffindor stands and on Lucius in the Slytherin stands. He was smart enough to know that Malfoy would find a circuitous way to sabotage the match.

He snapped out of his reverie at the sound of Blake’s magnified voice. “WHAT IS POTTER DOING UP THERE? KIERNEY’S GETTING THE SNITCH!� James shoved his broom in a dive, racing, racing to get the tiny golden ball. Luckily, Wilder sent a Bludger Kierney’s way and she was forced to swerve. The move she made was enough for James. He urged his broom forward and felt pure joy when his hand closed over the Snitch. He hadn’t noticed the sky had darkened and thunder was beginning to rumble.

As fat drops of rain began to fall, Blake crowed, “And Gryffindor wins with a marvelous save by James Potter!� James tuned into the sounds around him. The Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs all cheered loudly, assisted by Blake, who still possessed the magical megaphone. The Slytherins, however, wore looks that were reminiscent of those most often seen at a funeral. James forgot all of that when he was lifted onto the team’s shoulders.


Back in the stands, Lily, Leda, and Gwen were jigging to their victory.

“Oh, what a magnificent game!� Gwen shouted from her position on top of a chair.

“I know! James was up there day-dreaming and he came out of it like that!� Leda demonstrated by snapping her fingers. On impulse, she grabbed her wand and shot red and gold sparks high into the air. The rest of Gryffindor followed suit, showering everyone in sparks of color.

“What’s even better is that Malfoy didn’t ruin the match!� Lily said, more to herself. As they exited the Quidditch pitch, Lily saw “Lucius & Co.� loitering around the edges of the crowd of students. I think I spoke too soon. The thought was pushed away as Sirius swung Leda into his arms. The two began to laugh and talk in their own little mutterings.

“I’ll catch up with you guys later,� Lily said impulsively. When all three gave her strange looks, she searched for a reason. “I’m going back to meet James.� The look of triumph that passed between Leda and Gwen did not go unnoticed to Lily. For once, though, she decided not to say anything. With a wave, she pushed her way though the oncoming crowd.

Lily had nearly reached the pitch when she was pulled out of the tightly packed crowd. Her blood began to boil when she realized who had pulled her out.

“Snivellus. Lucius. Narcissa,� she said, looking at each person as she said their names. “Such a surprise to see you three together. And Narcissa, you’re outside. I do believe I see a delightfully pink pigment to your skin.� Lily forced herself to stay calm. She didn’t actually expect Narcissa to do anything. Snape and Malfoy, though, were another story. Warily, she stuck her hand in her robe pocket and clutched her wand.

“That’s what we enjoy about Mudbloods,� Lucius said conversationally. “They almost always have amusing returns to everything we say.� Before he’d finished his sentence, Snape drew out his wand and shouted a curse at Lily. Lily’s wand was out and she blocked the curse easily with a Shield Charm. The invisible wall held for Lucius’ curse as well.

Think Lily, THINK! “Stupefy!� she cried. Lucius, chicken that he was, dove behind Narcissa, who took the Stunning Spell and promptly fell over. Lily began to jog backward hoping to find someone to help her. She did literally run into someone, but they would definitely not help her. Another Slytherin goon grinned malevolently down at Lily. He pushed her to the ground and began to crack his knuckles menacingly. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Lucius and Snape striding over to her, smirking. And idea popped into her head. Please, Merlin, let this work.

From the ground, Lily pointed her wand at Snape and Lucius. “Impedimenta!� she shouted. She hit Lucius and repeated the spell to hit Snape. By this time, it was pouring rain and the Slytherin goon had caught onto her and made caveman grunting noises. She Stunned him and jumped to her feet as Lucius began to slowly come out of the curse.

Lily aimed and yelled, “Petrificus Totalus!� Lucius’ arms snapped to his sides and his legs clapped together. He fell over, face-first into the muddy grass with a satisfying squelch. Total surprise overwhelmed her as her wand flew out of her grasp. Snape! The greasy-haired Slytherin smiled thinly at her. When she took a step forward, he shot sparks at her.

“Tut-tut,� he teased. “Isn’t this an awkward position, Evans?� He opened his mouth to say more, but a look of surprise came over his face. Behind her, Lily heard a voice shout, “Stupefy!�

Lily picked up her wand at her feet and turned to face James. He glared furiously at the four Slytherins surrounding them on the ground.

“I could have handled that myself!� Lily shouted at him, equally furious. In her mind, she silently thanked him over and over.

“Why weren’t you with Sirius, Aleydis, and Gwen?� he asked, barely restraining his emotions.

“I was coming back to congratulate you. Apparently, I was mistaken; you don’t need congratulations,� she answered coolly. Dusting off her robes, she began to walk away.

“I haven’t gotten congratulations from you though,� he said, catching her arm. She looked back at him with an amused expression.

“I don’t want to contribute to the inflation of your already big head, Potter.�

James tried another tact. “You should have stayed with Sirius,� he told her angrily. “You knew they would try something today.�

Lily’s eyes flashed at him. “I warned you about the Quidditch match, okay? I thanked you for helping me out of a sticky situation. What more could you possibly want?� She poked him in the chest. “And another thing: why are you treating me as if I'm the Queen of England? I’ve no royal blood, so don’t treat me as if I have bloody royal blood!� She poked him in the chest through the entire rant, trying to prove her point. The last time she poked him, he grabbed her hand and held it in both of his.

“You have no idea how good that feels.�

“I’m practically punching you, how could it--� She drifted off to think about it and still had no idea what exactly he’d meant. Instead, she settled with muttering, “Pervert.�

“Lily, I’m tired of this.� Lily looked up at James.

“Tired of--�

“I don’t think we can be friends,� he stated.

Lily’s mind began to panic. No, this can’t be happening! What will I do if I can’t even talk to him? She no longer felt the falling rain. She was completely soaked, but didn’t even notice. Apparently, neither did James.

James pointed his wand in the direction of the pond. “Accio lily!� he muttered. Lily’s eyes widened as the delicate flower floated into her hand. James began to sing, which froze Lily to the spot.

"Your green eyes with their soft lights

Your eyes that promise sweet nights

Bring to my soul a longing

A thirst for love divine..."

“James, what are you doing?� Lily asked with a nervous laugh. He simply smiled and continued,

"...In dreams I seem to hold you

To find you and enfold you

Our lips meet and our hearts too, with a thrill sublime.

Those cool and limpid green eyes,

A pool wherein my love lies

So deep that in my searching for happiness

I fear that they will ever haunt me..."

Lily simply stared at James. Her mind was as blank as a fresh piece of parchment.

"...All through my life they’ll taunt me.

But will they ever want me?

Green eyes, make my dreams come true."

James took Lily’s hands. The scent of her namesake drifted between them.

“So how about it, Green Eyes?� he asked with a small smile. Before she could answer, Lily had to solve the puzzle that was confusing her brain.

“You’re the one who gave me the first flower.� Her mind raced back through all her dreams of the stag to the one where he’d given her the lily. Her closed eyes flew open at the impossible realization.

“But how could you--� James answered with a smile and a flash of blue-white light. The silver stag nuzzled Lily’s shoulder as she brought her hand up to stroke his nose.

“Prongs,� she breathed. The magnificent light flashed again and Lily’s hand now rested on James’ cheek. He brought up his hand and covered hers. He wasn’t sure how to interpret her expression. She looked surprised and amazed, but who knew what was going on in her head, behind her eyes?

“Lily?� he ventured.

Lily’s chest heaved as if it were her first breath. The contrast of her quiet voice startled James.

“You’re an Animagus. You’ve been in my dreams for months,� she whispered, studying his face in a new light.
Could it be? James wondered. I recognize that look. Merlin’s beard, let me be right.

“I don’t know what to say,� she started slowly.

James grinned. “How about, ‘I love you James’?� Lily answered by jumping into his arms and squeezing him with all her might. She wrapped her legs around his waist (much in the way that Lightwood had done once before) and her arms around his neck.

“I love you James.�

James could have strangled her for taking so long; he loved her that much.

“And I love you, Lily.� They kissed under the rain then, reminding Lily of the black and white Muggle movies she loved.

When they separated, they looked at each other and grinned. “We’re lovesick fools,� they said together. They held hands as they made their way to Gryffindor Tower.

“You haven’t congratulated me yet.�

“What do you need congratulations for?� Lily asked.

“On winning you—I mean, the match,� he answered, trying a sheepish tone.

Lily gave him a wicked sidelong glance. “Congratulations.� She turned her head to give him a considering look. “I didn’t know you could sing, Potter.� Her lips curved as he began to stutter.

“A once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, let me assure you,� he huffed. They reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. “Is there any chance you can undo that staircase thing?� James asked, running a hand down Lily’s back. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips before answering.

“Fat chance.�

“What? Why?�

“It’s an irreversible curse. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History. It was put in with the castle, but apparently, someone figured out how to undo it. I don't know how, though,� Lily explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Pumpernickel.� The Fat Lady swung forward and Lily and James stepped through the portrait hole. “Besides, I’m a prefect. It would be unethical if I did.�

“I can be very persuasive. Are you conveniently forgetting the fact you just Stunned three of your fellow students?�

“Two,� she corrected. “You got Snape.�

“Ah yes, I did,� he said with a look of satisfaction on his face.
The moment they walked back into the common room, Leda pounced on them. “You two had better be back together, or I’m breaking out the Spellotape,� she threatened.

To answer her, James swept Lily into his arms and began to walk towards the boys’ staircase.

“It took you bloody long enough!� Leda yelled after them.

Life is good, Lily thought as she looked into James’ eyes.