Summary: It’s the Marauders last year together, and they’re more cunning and mischievous then ever. But Voldemort and his followers are at their peak and fears are rising. Blood runs colder as Lily's life takes a turn for the worse. Troubles are thickening. It seems James and his friends has more coming their way then they're ready for.
Categories: James/Lily Characters: None
Warnings: None
Challenges: Series: None
Chapters: 2
Completed: No
Word count: 4058
Read: 4134
Published: 11/27/05
Updated: 12/08/05
1. Turn Around by Ausra Cerise
2. Bittersweet Christmas by Ausra Cerise
Turn Around by Ausra Cerise
Chapter 1: Turn Around
Severus caressed Narcissa’s face, smooth as baby skin before allowing his fingers to dangle in her hair. It felt like silk slithering in his hand. The falling snow dripped off her hair only to be followed by another layer. A whiff of flakes clouded around him making him inhale sharply and sneeze in her hair. In return she covered her mouth in disgust and soon erased the incident from her memory.
Narcissa sighed. The frozen jasmine and evergreen bushes around them added just the right touch. It was a starless night underlying the black rush of the sky. Just the way she liked it. She let out a seductive breath and crossed her arms around Severus’s waist. “I don’t want any shadow’s cast.”
Severus looked at her curiously before following her gaze to the flickering candle he had brought. It did flash their shadows across the snowy scenery. “Oh, no one’s out this late at night.” He felt Narcissa’s hands scythe away. She propped her arms up on her hips just so with that same nasty glare plastered on her face when things didn’t go quite her way. Apparently such an unattractive charm moved Severus to put out the candle. He groaned, bent over behind him towards the stone pedestal and blew.
A certain two Marauders grinned in secret as the candle burned brighter than ever in the icy air. “What do those two see in each other?” There was a false pity in James voice.
“Thankfully they don’t see it in anyone else,” Sirius said. A wave of snickers followed as they watched Severus so confused sweating to blow out the candle.
Narcissa was embarrassed. “It’s a shame you’re not a wizard,” she said sarcastically. “Otherwise you could magically put out that candle.”
Severus stumbled for his wand. “I was just about to try that,” he shot back. “Spegneralisis!” The candle flame was doused in a heavy red coat of slime, which quickly melted the wax as well. It dripped over the metal rim it was being held in. He was still unsatisfied. “You can bet Potter and Black had something to “ hiccup!” A string of golden bubbles floated out of his mouth.
“Don’t remind me of him,” Narcissa said referring to Sirius. “God, I see enough of my cousin during the summer.” She was cut off her rant with another bubbly golden hiccup from Severus.
“Aw,” Sirius cooed, “We shouldn’t allow Snape to have all the fun.” With a quick whip of his wand Narcissa’s joints buckled and she broke down in a fit of laughter as if some imaginary force was tickling her. Severus hiccupped bubbles yet again. Meanwhile the white candle molded itself back to its form standing proud upon its holder. The hot flame burned twice as bright and better than before.
“A gag “ ha ha - candle!” Narcissa managed to gasp out.
Severus cursed between a hiccup and gripped the candle. He broke it in half but the candle still persisted in burning. He screamed in frustration only for another hiccup to interrupt his rant as he threw the broken bits through a pass in the garden. They stopped half way in the air and dropped unexpectedly as if hit with a sudden gravity. “Candles that bounce off the air?”
James and Sirius watched Severus slowly make his way toward them, crunching the snow with each step. “I thought this cloak was supposed to make us invisible?”
“It doesn’t make us intangible,” James said looking down at the broken gag candle they had bought. Actually it had been a gift from Remus. It was a shame he and Peter had to serve detention with the Quidditch Coach, Madam Hooch tonight after being caught soaking the Slytherins’ team robes in a potion. It had made horrible itchy boils pop up on their skin during practice. Suddenly their invisibility cloak was whisked off them.
“You “ ‘hic!” Snape was livid. He snatched Sirius’s posed wand and thrust it on the ground. The wand landed with a “plop” as it hit the snow along with the cloak. James immediately canceled the charm he had placed on Snape.
Severus seemed to take no note of this or at least didn’t want to make note of the charm’s release. Instead he shoved a gesture at Narcissa, who was laughing so hard her face was rosy. “End it!”
“Sorry,” James tucked his wand away. “It’s not in my power to stop that one.”
Snape was about to throttle him. He swatted out his wand from the insides of his cloak. “Stupefy!” The wand burst in a frenzy of glitter and crackling sparks, also compliments of Remus. The remains were followed by laughter supplied by the phony wand itself. Snape threw down the leftover confetti in his hand. Now he really did look like he was ready to kill somebody.
“Hey, Greaseball,” Sirius said, “Catch!”
Snape caught the flying object. He rolled it over in his hand to examine it only for it to explode in his face. Sirius smiled, “Perfect timing.” The stench of the dungbomb was instantaneous. He grasped the sleeve of James’s cloak to grab his attention. They ran leaving heavy tracks in the snow.
James and Sirius stopped running to catch their breath. They turned around to watch the end of their work, along with the small chaos they had left behind.
“Now that was some fine work, my friend,” James said as a playful smirk scrawled across his face. He gave Sirius a complementary slap on the back. “Did you see the look on Severus’s face?”
Sirius gloated in the spotlight. “Priceless. Of course, I can’t take all of the credit.”
“You’re right.”
There was a gasp and a harsh crack on the ice as they neared the school. “Nice James, real smooth,” Sirius said.
No answer.
“James?” The ground began crackling beneath his feet. He warily looked down to see that beneath the layer of snow was a layer of ice. Under that he could see water seeping from the cracks.
The good cheer suddenly ended. “James! Are you all right?” Sirius yelled. He took a step forward only to find the ice hiss and spit even more under the weight his feet. As quickly as the ice shattered he changed into a form of a black dog and jumped, landing on his leathery feet. The ice seemed to support him now. Not far away from him was another crevice. His breath dropped into his stomach.
Sirius’s padded feet were like feathers on the ice. He stood over the open water in the ice. Without thinking he changed back and jumped into the bitter waters. His brave and stupid attempt didn’t last long and he was soon out, gasping for air and grimacing at the cold. Digging through his soaked robes, he searched for his wand. “Fire,” he thought. “I need to melt this ice.” But he couldn’t find it. “Damn it!” He thrust down his arms in exasperation. “I’m gonna kill him.”
He changed back into a dog and ran across the frozen lake hoping to make better timing. Once by the garden, he skidded around and scanned frantically in the snow. Luckily, there was that bulky invisibility cloak to be spotted. And where there was the cloak there was the wand, but as luck would have it the cloak was now gone from its spot. All that was left was an imprint and no wand.
Snape and Narcissa were still in the garden, recuperating from the prank. Narcissa’s charm was now replaced by a very nasty mood. Snape hugged her; trying to cheer her up.
“Give me back my wand, you slimy git!”
Severus whipped around, startled by Sirius’s voice. “Why would I do such a stupid thing after what you did to us?”
“James’s in serious danger,” he said straight out. He hoped the urgency in his voice would help.
“You’d think this being his last year he could defend himself.” Narcissa replied. Her voice was as cold as her looks. She pulled out his wand and taunted him with it. Sirius made a grab for it, but she yanked it away and gave it to Snape.
Sirius gritted his teeth. He snatched for his wand again but Snape pulled it back. He was losing patience. “I’ve never hit a woman before,” he threatened.
“Don’t even think about it,” Narcissa said.
“I wasn’t talking about you.”
Snape huffed. He handed Sirius the wand. He seized it and ran as fast as he could around the corner.
Even before he was on the lake, he aimed his wand. “Succendo!” The streak of flames blasted through the icy air. It melted the snow, and the ice easily. In a small radius anyways but it was enough. He cast another spell upon himself in order to breathe underwater and jumped again into the lake, relieved that the cold was bearable for a moment anyways.
* * *
Currents of water whipped around him. The lake was sharp dark, especially at night. James couldn’t make out what was following him. The hostile waters threatened his presence and the icy pressure of the cold was like a vice tightening around his chest. His robes dragged him down and the more he swam for the surface, the further he dragged down.
He nearly gasped (and it was a good thing he hadn’t) as he felt an unpleasant slither wrap around his arm. He snatched it and immediately attempted to jerk the thing off him. But instead, it pulled him gently towards the currents. A satiny voice broke the dangerous silence with a bubbly giggle.
James thirsted for a breath. The stale air in his lungs wasn’t going to last any longer. But the more he struggled, the worse the aches in his chest became. His body was burning and the muscles in his throat felt as if they were being torn apart. He twisted his body and kicked his ankles, struggling against whatever was holding him down.
“Do you want to get away from me that badly?” came a soft call.
“This thing’s going to kill me!”
Bitter water filled his chest; he coughed and fought not to breathe. But he was shivering uncontrollably now and the pain seared his vitals.
And then came a cooling, numb stir within him and he allowed the darkness to drown him. The more it deluged him, the less he fought it.
* * *
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Bittersweet Christmas by Ausra Cerise
Chapter 2: Bittersweet Christmas
“Lily!”
Lily glanced up from the rolls of parchment and books at the sound of her name. She marked a page in her textbook, “Sparks and Flight “ Charms Level 5” and set down her inky quill. Her best friend, Carol came through the Gryffindor’s common room, obviously ecstatic over something. Her coffee-colored hair was flipped out at the ends of her shoulder as it always was and she grinned.
Lily smiled back and rushed over to her friend who plopped down over by the closest plushiest couch by the fire. Lily plopped down right next to her.
Carol had something hidden behind her back. “You’ll never believe this, but I got them! Okay. Close your eyes.” She said impatiently.
Lily leaned back and relaxed, closing her eyes.
“Look!” she said in conceded victory. She held two white cards poised between her fingers as if they were poker cards.
Lily flashed open her eyes only to be crestfallen. Blank cards. How anticlimactic.
“I reserved them as soon as I could when I heard they were coming. You wouldn’t believe how fast these sold out!”
Carol looked up at Lily. Apparently she was expecting Lily to share equal enthusiasm about this.
But Lily didn’t dare say a word. The lack of her own excitement dimmed the gleam in Carol’s eyes.
All of a sudden, Carol broke down in laughter. “Ack! I can’t believe I did that! I’m so stupid.” She flipped the cards around so Lily could now see what was on the proper side of them. “My mistake.”
It took Lily a second to register what they were. She plucked one of the cards from her friend’s hand. Tickets to the upcoming “Velvet Rain” concert! Anyone with a vein of magic blood in them knew who the wizarding world’s hottest band was. And Lily and Carol absolutely adored them. “Oh my God! How did you “,”
“Okay wait.” Carol was grinning wide. “You have to see this.” She whisked out a pair of black Velvet Rain spaghetti tops.
Lily jumped up and practically smothered her friend. “You’re the best!”
Carol handed to her friend the gifts. She threw off her thick outer witch robes and slipped on the new shirt. Modesty didn’t cross her boundaries. “We leave in three days for the holidays! Think of it as an early Christmas present.”
* * *
Sirius had no idea which direction he was going. The brief relief of warmth quickly waned off. He wouldn’t be surprised if the bubble of air over his head froze over. An unexpected shock jolted his heart at what he was watching.
James.
Two merrows were with him. One was adjusting his glasses over her own eyes; the other had his scarf wrapped around her neck. The garments barely stayed on in their attempt to float away.
Fear swept through Sirius as he saw James lifeless, not resisting against anything the merrows chose to do to please their own childish desires. There was a thick strand of kelp binding his wrist. The other end was wrapped around one of the merrow’s. She giggled and swam around him as if he were a long lost friend that had popped on in for a visit.
“Stup-,” Sirius stopped in mid-spell. He remembered it was forbidden to use magic on the Mer people. Though why he remembered a rule like that in a situation like this was beyond him. “Expelliramus!” The wad of kelp in the Mer’s wrist snapped. Sirius didn’t waste any time in grabbing his friend around his stomach and swimming towards the surface.
A crusty, pale hand rested on his shoulder, another pair of hands stroked his face and hair. “Play with us,” they chorused.
Sirius glared at the merrows, daring them to come any closer. He kicked his legs away from them, and continued swimming with James up to the surface. This was not an easy task. The two merrows watched with amusement before kicking their powerful tails and helping the two towards the surface. They even went so far as to lift them up onto the sandy outer banks.
Sirius’s dark hair was plastered against his eyes but didn’t bother with wiping strands back. “James,” he gritted his teeth and turned him over front facing up. His skin was a distorted pale and he wasn’t breathing. Sirius looked up towards the nightsky for a moment as if praying for a miracle. “Damn it, you can’t let this happen!” He had to get James to the Hospital Wing.
Sirius managed to get James’s limp arms around his own shoulders. His head lulled beside his. Fortunately, a gate to the school was close by. As they approached, James stiffened and coughed up a wave of lake water. Even before Sirius stepped into Hogwarts he was shouting for help. No one was around to hear. He stumbled past, shoes sloshing with sand and water. He yelled again for anyone, cursing upon the thought that curfew had to have been an hour ago.
“Dear, oh dear,” Nearly Headless Nick stopped in mid-float. “Got into some trouble I see.”
“Nick!” Sirius gasped. “Quick, James is hurt. We need to get him help.”
“James Potter? I barely recognized him without his glasses.” Nick was quick to react. “I’ll go fetch Madame Fay.”
* * *
Lily sat hunched over her papers once more. Carol had waited for her to come up to the girl’s dorm, but had fallen asleep by the fire. This essay for Professor Flitwick was about as pointless and boring as watching a block of ice try to melt outside.
The Griffindor portal slid open as Remus and Peter stepped through. “Good evening, Lily,” Remus said. Peter shuffled behind him.
“Oh, hi Remus.” Lily had to say out of all the Marauders, she liked Remus the best. He was a kind, respectable person, and not at all arrogant. Speaking of arrogance, she didn’t see Sirius or James with them. “Where are your partners in crime?”
“James and Sirius? Are they not here?”
Lily was surprised. “No, they’re usually with you two. Where were you anyways?” She watched Remus take a seat by the fire, wondering if he was all right. He always seemed sick, now more than ever.
Peter yawned and staggered up the stairwell to the boys’ dorm. “I’m going to bed,” he announced.
Remus glanced up, “Good night, Wormtail.” He closed his eyes for a second time and let the fire’s heat brush his skin. “We were serving detention with Madame Hooch. Washed and polished all the Quidditch robes and broomsticks “ for all the teams.”
“I assume Padfoot and Prongs didn’t get caught?”
Remus was wide-eyed for a moment at to how she knew their nicknames. But then again, Lily was quite an observant girl. She could figure that much out. “Oh no, they did have their fair share in what happened to the Slytherins. And of course, Madame Hooch suspected it was either James or Sirius, or the both of them together as usual.”
Lily wasn’t at all surprised.
“But Sirius and James told me earlier today how they were busy making “preparations” for tonight. So Peter and I went ahead and confessed before Madame Hooch pointed fingers at anyone else.”
Lily watched him drift off and close his eyes. It concerned her. “Are you feeling sick?” She had asked that question more times then she could count. But he denied it every time and more often than not walked away.
“No,” he said. “Just tired.” He rose from the red couch he was lying on and walked towards his dorm. “Sweet dreams.”
She was right. Lily smiled, “Good night.”
* * *
Madame Fay was more jumpy then ever when a patient walked in. “What have you boys been doing this late at night!” she exclaimed. Her fit nearly woke up all her other patients in the wing. She set James on the closest bed and immediately began resuscitating him. He coughed up more water with each breath.
“Is he going to be okay?” Sirius demanded.
Madame Fay was far too busy to listen.
Nicolas, who was still with him, slid in front of Sirius and tried to coax him out of the wing.
Under different circumstances, Sirius would have taken into consideration the spirit's feelings. But he ignored his sweet-talk and walked right through him. “Madame Fay! Is he alright?”
She jolted her head towards him for a second before looking back at her medical cabinet, knocking different bottles and papers off the shelf in her hurry. “Nick, could you get him out of here. He’ll wake the other patients.”
“Sirius," Nick tried. "I’m sure he’ll be fine. Why not check back in the morning?”
Sirius opened his mouth to say something but gave in. He left silently.
* * *
Lily skimmed through her parchments of paper, which were stuffed with drawn out sentences and theses. She carefully placed her work away and walked over to wake Carol “ on second thought, she looked very peaceful where she was. Perhaps she’d let her sleep there for the night.
The sound of the Gryffindor entrance opening startled her. She whisked her head around to see Sirius, soaked and tracking clumps of sand on the ornate carpets. He glanced over to see Lily by the fire. Without a sign of gesture or acknowledgment, he climbed the steps to his dormitory.
“That’s odd,” she thought to herself. “Coming from a boy who’s so energetic and egocentric not to brag about the latest events of his night.”
But Sirius came back down; wearing fresh dry clothes while lugging his sopping robes back down. He plunked them by the fire harness. It looked for a moment as if he were going back to bed; but he took notice that there were others in the room. “Late night studying?”
There was a silence until Lily realized she and Carol, who was currently sleeping were the only one’s the room. “Yeah,” she answered, rather embarrassed for the hindrance. “I was finishing that essay for Professor Flitwick due tomorrow.”
Sirius looked confused.
“About the different scenarios for charms and their negative or positive outcomes?” Heaven forbid they were in the same class together.
Lily saw the light flicker on.
“Uhhh,” he groaned. “That stupid essay is due tomorrow?” He let out an exasperated sigh before sinking on a nearby chair. “At least I did that Herbology homework.”
Lily caught her breath in her chest. “What homework?”
“That 5000 word essay, also due tomorrow about the effects of mixing red hair and crushed snake guts together.”
She felt uneasy after that comparison. “You almost had me believing that.”
“You’re no fun,” he said sarcastically.
Silence fell over the common room again, aside from Carol’s snoring. She gazed up to where a wide mantle piece was overhanging the fireplace, and above that was an oblong window. She could see the puffs of snow falling; it relaxed her, almost as much as rainy days did. It took Lily till now to realize something was missing. “Where’s James?” she asked. By now she had moved from the worktable and sat round the fire with Sirius.
“In the Hospital Wing.”
Lily’s stomach had a butterfly caught in it, but her reply to the news was calm. “Why? Was there an accident?”
“It was Snape’s fault.”
“Severus?” She wasn’t at all surprised at his answer and relaxed. “It’s about time one of your pranks on him backfired.”
“No, it was going all well till he threw that broken candle at us.”
Lily cocked her eyebrow at this. “Candles? Are you trying to tell me James was hurt by a flying candle?”
“No, silly.”
“Then what happened to him?”
Sirius laughed all of a sudden, which took Lily by surprise. “Since when did you start caring so much about him?”
Lily blushed a little, hoping it wouldn’t show. “It’s not my concern,” Lily told herself. “His only goals in life are to win the Quidditch Cup and seduce me.” But when that crossed her mind, she only blushed more. It wouldn’t show anyways; she was in the shadows on the fire. “I guess I’m more curious to why you’re soaking wet from head to toe”, she said with composure.
His jovial mood stopped all at once. He was still hardly smiling as if contemplating what she had just said. “I forgot.”
“You forgot?”
“I meant”, he corrected himself. “I forgot I came down here to forget.” He stood up, apparently unsatisfied with Lily’s company. “I’m going to bed.”
Lily watched him stand to leave then turned her head and stared at the snowfall. She allowed her worries to drown. “Carol?”
Her friend sucked in a deep breath and grinned about something. A good dream maybe?
Lily dropped it. No point in awakening her friend, she simply wanted someone to talk to after that uncomforting conversation with Sirius. Before she knew it, she had curled up on some nearby quilts and fallen asleep by the hearth.
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