Summary: It is the last year of Lily and the Marauders at Hogwarts. The year when Lily and James get friends (first They are Head Boy and Head Girl, but they will have other duties than being responsible for Prefects and helping to keep the order at Hogwarts. The Order of the Phoenix is taking shape (ever wondered when that picture of Moody’s was taken?) and Voldemort is rising.
Categories: Marauder Era Characters: None
Warnings: None
Challenges: Series: None
Chapters: 1
Completed: Yes
Word count: 4762
Read: 1573
Published: 01/05/06
Updated: 01/05/06
1. - by joanna
For Light Shall Prevail
“Lily, could you please hurry up?” her mother called her.
“In a minute, I've forgotten to pack my chess set!” Lily shouted back, but she didn’t really know why she bothered. It wasn't like she would have anyone there to play with. Her only friend left after their fifth year and since then, Lily didn’t let anyone get near to herself.
“Dear, dear,” Petunia said as she stepped into the room. “Have the freaks in your world have no brains to discover a game by their own? You have to play our games?”
“Sod off, Petunia!” Lily told her and shut the lid of her trunk. She looked around and nodded; yes, she had packed everything, and besides, the Hogwarts Express would leave in two days.
“Lily, we’re going to be late, dear!” her mother called again.
“I’m already here, Mum!” Lily said dancing out of her room and gave her a hug and a kiss.
“Good girl. Now, where is my hat?” she asked, looking around searching, but Petunia handed her the hat. “Thank you, my dear,” her mother said and caressed her hair. “Your father will be home for lunch, would you be so kind and help him? You can watch telly after that,” she told her older daughter. Petunia was watching reruns of her favourite TV series The Cuckoo Waltz.
“Of course, Mother!”
“Well, we better hurry up, then. We’ll be back around 5 p.m.,” she said looking at Petunia, as she came to the door to lock it up after them.
“Alright,” she acknowledged with a nod and shut the door.
“What’s wrong with her?” Lily asked her mother.
“Oh, Lily, dear, nothing, she doesn’t like wizards, that’s all.”
“But why not? She doesn’t know any of us. Well, except me. Does she hate me?” it dawned on her.
“No, of course not. She is only afraid of the unknown.”
“Maybe I should invite some of my fellow students for the last day of the summer. So she just got to know them.”
Of course none of them would accept her invitation, well, except maybe James Potter, Lily thought.
“Well, I think it would be a brilliant idea for the next summer, dear. Right now, I don’t think she would be delighted,” her mother told Lily, not looking at her.
Lily looked at her mom's face and then shrugged her shoulders. Well, she won’t let Petunia ruin her day. After all, she was going to go shopping at Diagon Alley! They caught the tube and it took almost an hour to reach their destination. As it was Lily’s birthday and she just became Head Girl, her mother and father promised her that she could spend some of her inheritance from her long deceased grandmother.
When they got to the Leaky Cauldron it was almost midday, so they decided to lunch there. Lily looked around excitedly; it was definitely where she belonged. She loved it so dearly, that not even Petunia’s bitter remarks could take the joy away she felt whenever she was in her world. She saw some familiar faces, mostly students from Hogwarts with or without their parents. She also saw a funny looking family, the man had red hair and her wife was holding a little child in her arms. Two boys, both with flaming red hair, were chasing each other.
“Bill, Charlie!” the woman called after her sons and then sighed exhausted. “Arthur, please.”
“Boys!” her husband called after his sons and the older boy stopped at the seriousness in his voice. “Didn't you just hear your mother?"
“Yes, Dad. Sorry, Mom!” the older boy said and caught his still running brother at the sleeve. A tall man appeared and he greeted the whole family cordially. He shook hands with the man, hugged the woman and gave one galleon each to the boys.
“Finally Gideon,” the woman said with a sigh and looked around. “Where is Fabian?”
“Well, he is here somewhere,” the man said and looked around. “Probably chasing girls,” he admitted grinning. Lily thought that he was a very handsome wizard.
Afraid of being caught for staring, she turned around and there was an odd looking little wizard with a violet top hat. He was just greeted by an older looking wizard, who had wheezy voice and greying hair.
“What are you going to buy with your money, Lily?” her mother required her attention.
“I don’t know. Books, quills, new robes, maybe a broom or….” she trailed off.
“A broom? You’ve told us that you don’t like flying,” her mother said with a hint of fright in her voice.
“Well, it’s time to get used to it. I’m a witch and in my last year at Hogwarts I want to give it another try. Maybe I wasn’t ready for it in my first year, but I’m ready now,” she told her mother resolutely.
After lunch they went to Gringotts to exchange Lily’s Muggle-money. And then Lily dragged her mother to Madam Snip, where she tried on several robes and then decided for a very elegant one, in the colours of red, gold and emerald green. It looked rather Asian because of the colours, but it suited Lily’s eyes.
“You should have tried on that green one with the silver clasps, too,” her mother suggested, as they stepped into Flourish and Blotts. Lily sighed; sometimes it was very hard to have Muggle relatives. They just couldn’t understand that you can’t go around in green robes (especially not with silver claps!), unless you want to insult your House and your family. She bought about twenty books, as she had always wanted to. There were so many of them, but every year Lily just bought her school stuff. Well, except one book, Hogwarts, A History. That was a birthday present from her father in her first year. One of her new purchases was Quidditch Through The Ages. She also bought some very useful books for Charms, her favourite subject at school and for Potions, her second favourite. To tell the truth she even bought a book about Transfiguration, although Transfiguration was her least favourite subject.
*
Two days later Lily was standing in front of the Hogwarts Express. She successfully resisted the temptation to look at her Head Girl badge again. She was so glad, she couldn’t even think about anything else. She got a letter from Professor McGonagall, her Head of House and newly appointed Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She listed her duties as Head Girl, beginning with the briefing for the Prefects on the train. She had a compartment for herself, well not just for herself but for the Head Boy and the Head Girl. And that’s where her worries began to surface. What if it is Snape? Snape had good grades. The first compartment was theirs. Lily looked around and caught some Ravenclaw girls staring at her. She smiled at them but they didn’t smile back. She looked around for Gryffindors, but couldn’t see anyone. She sighed disappointed and then decided to board the train.
“Do you need a helping hand, Evans?” she heard a familiar voice.
She smiled before turning around. Finally a Gryffindor, even if it was only Sirius Black, she was glad to see one of them.
“Well, I won’t mind, Black,”
Sirius heaved her trunk onto the train and then brought it into the compartment. Lily looked at his chest, but there wasn’t any badge. She was a bit disappointed. Even Black would be better than Snape.
“Well, I should get going,” he said.
“Couldn’t you stay a bit?” Lily asked him unsurely and not daring to look at him. She was still frightened of the possibility that Snape was appointed as Head Boy.
Sirius cast a measuring look at her, but nodded.
“Well, how was your summer?” he asked her.
“It wasn’t that bad,” Lily said with a shrug of her shoulders.
“Well, maybe better than mine,” he said and gave a short barking laugh.
“Why?” Lily asked, showing real interest. Deep in his voice she could hear the bitterness.
“I severed ties with my family, as James had phrased it so euphemistically.”
Lily looked at him tentatively as if she wanted to say something.
“Spill it, Lily!” he looked at her.
“Well, you are better off without them,” she told him. She already knew his brother, Regulus and his cousins, Bellatrix and Narcissa. “Where have you spent the summer?” she asked then seemingly worried.
“The first two weeks at home, then I went to James's place. His folks are really nice.”
“Where is he?” Lily asked and looked around, as if James could jump down from the rack.
“His mother wanted to buy him something at Diagon Alley, they should be here soon.”
“And where are the others?” she asked him.
“Remus and Peter were supposed to meet me,” Sirius said in a casual tone.
“Well, I don’t want to hold you back,” Lily said apologetically.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Lily! They are big boys,” he stated and laughed again.
“Can I ask you one more question?” she looked at him curiously.
“Sure,” he said with a nod.
“Why do they call you Padfoot?” she blurted out the question.
“Well, Lily, dear, that’s almost the only question I cannot answer, unless you would go on a date with my best mate and then marry him. Maybe then,” he said, smiling mischievously.
Lily couldn’t decide whether to curse him or to strangle him on the spot, so she threw a look full of daggers at him.
“Well, I should get going; I’ve heard the Head Boy has arrived.”
Lily cast a panic-stricken, pleading look at Sirius.
“You don’t know who it is?” he asked with an all-knowing smile.
“I don’t care who it is, unless it’s Snape. It isn’t Snape, is it? Oh, I hope not, if it’s Snape, you have to stay here with me! Sirius, please! Pretty, pretty please,” the words poured out of her mouth at a speed that made Sirius’ head dizzy.
“It isn’t Snape,” he told her reassuringly.
Lily looked at him, sighed relieved, and then spontaneously hugged him. That’s when she heard another familiar voice.
“He's here, Moony,” James told Remus, as he stepped inside the compartment. “For Merlin’s Beard, what is going on here?” he asked, looking suspiciously at Sirius.
Lily let out a relieved sigh; James had the Head Boy badge attached to the front of his robe.
“Lily asked me to stay,” Sirius told him, a smile playing on his lips.
James looked at Lily, who was red as a lobster.
“Well, well, who would’ve thought,” he said not even trying to hide his bitterness and disappointment.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Prongs!” Sirius slapped his shoulders. “Lily was waiting for Snape,” he said, the smile still on his lips.
Lily glared threateningly at Sirius and James looked at him as if he had grown three heads since this morning. He turned to Lily for the explanation, seeing that he won’t get it from Sirius.
“I’m the new Head Girl…” Lily began.
“Yes, I know,” he threw in.
“How come? I didn’t know you were the Head Boy.”
“Well, I’ve asked McGonagall. She was in the Leaky Cauldron this morning,”
“Really?” Sirius asked him.
“Yeah, just after you have left us, Padfoot,” James added. “You were saying…” he said, turning to Lily.
“To tell the truth, I was afraid,” she said, lowering her head.
“You?” James asked her sceptically.
“Yes, me. I was afraid of Snape being the Head Boy,”
“Oh, I see,” James said and Lily saw as he looked at Sirius gratefully.
“Well, then we should get going,” Sirius said and was about to leave for the third time.
“Don’t be silly, you can stay here,” Lily called after him. “And you, too, Remus.”
“Thanks, Lily,” Remus acknowledged her kindness.
“Where is Peter?” Sirius asked.
“He is with Clover,” Remus and James told in unison.
“Clover?” Lily asked.
“Yes, you know her, she was a Prefect two years ago,” James informed her.
“No, I don’t seem to remember,” Lily said and shook her head.
“She is in Hufflepuff,” Remus added.
“How does she look like?” Lily asked them.
“Like a blond Moaning Myrtle,” Sirius whispered.
“Oh, I know now! That wasn’t nice, Sirius,” she told him reprimanding.
“But now you know who she is,”
“And she and Peter are a…” she trailed off.
“Couple, yes,” Sirius ended her sentence.
“Well, good for them,” Lily said and then sat down again. “What time is it?” she asked and looked at the boys questioningly.
“Quarter to eleven,” James said, coming out of his reverie about Lily’s beautiful hair.
They sat there, the three friends joking and Lily laughing at their jokes. In the last two years this was her happiest time ever. Finally James looked down at his watch again and stated that it was five past eleven.
“Why haven’t we started yet?” Sirius wondered and wanted to open the compartment’s door. He was thrown back onto his seat. Everybody looked at him questioningly. James tried to open the door, too, but suffered the same fate. That’s when the train started to move. Lily looked out of the window and saw that the platform was empty but for a little witch with a child in her arms and two red-haired boys beside her.
*
After dinner in the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall led Lily and James to their dormitories. Muggles would have called it a large apartment. They had bedrooms and bathrooms for themselves and two spare bedrooms.
“You can invite friends,” Professor McGonagall explained to them, “but they cannot sleep here regularly,” she said and looked at James.
Lily felt a clench around her heart, she will never invite anyone. She sadly smiled at McGonagall.
“And since you share this living room, you should consult each other before inviting someone for a sleepover.”
“Your friends are always welcome,” Lily told James.
James nodded and wanted to return the offer, but Lily waved him off.
“Alright,” Professor McGonagall said with a slight nod. “Settle down and have a good night” she told them and left. “Oh, I almost forgot! The bedroom of Miss Evans can’t be visited by you, Mr. Potter.”
“Well, this is a huge dormitory,” James said, clearly as an attempt to hinder Lily on leaving.
“I’ll go and unpack my things,” Lily declined, turned on her heels and hurried into her own bedroom.
“Lily?” James called after her, gentleness in his voice.
“Good night, James!” Lily told him, but didn’t turn. Suddenly she felt tears welling up in her eyes.
Later she heard that Sirius, Peter and Remus arrived, but she wasn’t in the mood of company. And then around midnight, she suddenly woke up. She donned her robes over her pyjamas and hurried outside.
“Professor Dumbledore,” she whispered as she saw the Headmaster stepping inside their living room.
“Sorry for disturbing you, Miss Evans, Mr. Potter,” he greeted James with a nod towards the young man.
“Hullo, sir,” James returned the greeting and grinned at the professor.
“Well, I have a favour to ask of you,”
“Yes, sir?” they replied at the same time.
“I have some guests with me and I want them to come and go undetected. Your dormitories are the closest to my office. Could we use your spare bedrooms?”
“Well, sir…” James began, but then nodded.
“Of course, Professor,” Lily said with a smile.
“Thank you,” Dumbledore told them and then ushered three wizards and two witches inside.
Lily was taken aback as she saw that they were all familiar to her: the man named Gideon, the wizard with the violet top hat and the wizard with the wheezy voice. She could even remember that two days ago the witches were too in the Leaky Cauldron.
“Well, let me make to introductions and then you can go back to sleep.”
“This is Dorcas Meadows and Emmeline Vance, Miss Lily Evans, our new Head Girl,” Dumbledore named the witches.
“Well, I was Head Girl too,” Dorcas Meadows smiled at Lily.
“Dedalus Diggle, Elphias Doge and Gideon Prewett, Mr. James Potter, the Head Boy.”
“Welcome!” James told them as they shook hands with him. Dumbledore upon seeing that his guests were taken up cordially wanted to leave. He said goodnight, but then turned back.
“Oh, and Mr. Black!” he called after Sirius.
“Yes, sir?” Sirius stepped out. Remus and Peter followed suit.
“…and Mr. Pettigrew, Mr. Lupin,” Dumbledore acknowledged them with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes. “Please, feel free to play any pranks that could cause enough havoc to divert attention from my guests.”
“Your wish is our command, sir,” Sirius said with a bow, and Dumbledore left the scene chuckling.
They stood there, the guests and the students looking at each other, until Lily broke the silence.
“Well, we have Potions tomorrow, I have to sleep. Miss Meadows, Miss Vance, this way, please.”
“Good night, Lily!” James called after her.
She didn’t turn, but this time she had no urgency to cry, rather to smile.
“He is head over heels for you,” Dorcas Meadows remarked as Lily escorted them into the spare bedroom.
“So he says,” Lily said, playing the indifferent.
“And you?” Dorcas pressed on.
“He was arrogant and egoistic,” she told her, stifling a yawn.
“Well, we will have enough time to talk this over,” Dorcas told her with a wink and then Lily said good night to the ladies.
“Oh, by the way,” she turned back before leaving their bedroom. “Was the train late because of you?”
“Yes,” Emmeline Vance admitted.
*
On the last day of September, Lily arrived back to her dormitory. She peeked in and as she didn’t see anyone in the living room she went in. She wanted to hurry to her room and put away her broom.
“Hullo!” Sirius's voice stopped her in the middle of her tracks. He was sitting on one of the plush couches.
Lily turned around and tried to hide the broom behind her back.
“What is that in your hand, Lils?” he inquired curiously.
In between she was used to be called Lils by Sirius. She even liked it, but of course, she never told him.
“It’s a broom,” she confessed, as she saw no use of denying. She knew that Sirius would learn what is it, one way or another.
“And why do you need a broom?” Remus asked her from a deep wing chair. Now she saw that Peter was sitting next to him in the pair of that chair.
“Well, for flying,” Lily told them, trying to play down the importance of her "flying sessions".”
“And I thought you hated flying,” James joined the conversation.
“Well, after today I maybe really should,” Lily told them with a painful smile, while rubbing her left thigh.
“Are you hurt?” James asked worried.
“Define hurt,” Lily said and smiled teasingly at him.
“You should go to the infirmary,” James suggested.
“James, I’ve fell off of a broom, I won’t go to the infirmary and broadcast it,” she said shrugging off his worries. “I can live with bruises.”
“And how comes that you are flying?” Sirius demanded to know.
“Well, I thought I’m a witch and it is time for me to learn "the fine art of flying"," she told him in a mocking voice.
“I could―” James wanted to offer, but he never ended the sentence.
Lily was worried, Dorcas’ plan wasn’t working and she knew it was her fault. She knew that she turned him down far too often. Sometimes she wished for a Time Turner, she read about them when she was researching for an essay on Time Travel for Professor Vector. Maybe that way she would be able to correct her mistakes about James
“Well, if none of you offers me to help than I think I can just give up,” Lily told them and marched towards her room.
She looked back and saw James glaring at Sirius whose mouth was already open. He winked at Lily, whose cheeks flushed and then shut his mouth.
“I could help you,” James’ voice stopped her.
“Well, thank you. Next Saturday?” she asked.
“Uhm―” James hesitated.
“You can go, James,” Remus told him.
“No. Sorry, Lily,” he said and lowered his head.
“It’s because of me,” Remus decided that Lily deserved to know.
“Oh, I was so stupid! How could I forget that it’s full moon next Saturday! Sorry,” she apologized and then smiled gently at Remus.
“You knew it?” Remus asked taken aback.
“Yes. Since our O.W.L. year,” she confessed. “Those questions in the DADA-test―” she trailed off.
“Thank you,” Remus whispered.
“For what?” Lily asked astounded.
“That you tolerate me in your dormitories,” Remus told her.
“Don’t be silly! Oh, I have just figured out something!” her eyes widened. “You three are―”
“Don’t say it aloud!” Sirius warned her.
“But how? And when?” Lily sat down next to James.
“Well, in our fifth year and after studying hundreds of books,” Sirius told her.
“Hundreds is maybe a bit exaggerated, Padfoot,” James said and grinned at his friend.
“Well, then dozens,” Sirius said with a shrug of his shoulders.
“And I thought you were studying all those years in the library!” Lily said and laughed out loud. “What do you think, why are they here?” she asked, inclining her head towards the guest rooms.
“Only Dumbledore knows,” Sirius told her.
*
Three days later she was watching her two guests pack.
“I don’t want you to leave,” Lily said and looked pleadingly at the two young women.
“Lily, dear, I know you feel lonely, but you are not,” Dorcas said and put her hair behind her ear.
“But I’m alone,” Lily said.
“You are not. You have friends here at Hogwarts,” Emmeline Vance stated. She was cold in the first two weeks of their stay, but then she got very friendly indeed.
“You have James, Lily,” Dorcas told her. “You should let him to love you.”
“But―” Lily wanted to protest.
“Lily, he likes you very much,” Dorcas interrupted her, seemingly getting a bit impatient. “And I think he is not the boy he once was. He got his head deflated.”
“You have talked with Sirius about us?” Lily asked and looked suspiciously at her.
“Yes. And Lily, he says that James really fancies you.”
Lily’s cheeks flushed and then nodded.
“I like him too,” she confessed and not only to her friends, but to herself too.
“I knew it,” Dorcas said and smiled triumphantly at Emmeline.
“I didn’t say I thought it otherwise,” Emmeline defended herself.
“But I would like you to stay,” Lily told them.
“Lily!” Sirius knocked on the door, interrupting their conversation.
“Yes?” Lily opened up.
“They are waiting for us,” Sirius told her, his voice indicating that he was slightly nervous.
Lily, Dorcas and Emmeline went into the living room where they’ve found quite an assembly. Professor Dumbledore was sitting in the middle of the room. Next to him sat Professor McGonagall. In the far corner she saw the Gamekeeper of Hogwarts. And around the room were sitting not only the three guests and the Marauders “as Lily was used to call them by now“ but more than a dozen other wizards. Lily saw a young man to sit next to Gideon and they had such a striking resemblance, she had to assume that he was his brother, Fabian. The red-haired man whose wife and sons Lily saw on the platform was sitting next to them. However, Lily saw more familiar faces. Alice and Frank Longbottom were Gryffindors, they graduated in her second year, Frank being Head Boy and Alice was a Prefect, if memory served Lily right. She knew Sturgis Podmore, too. He was a Ravenclaw and took his N.E.W.T.s when Lily took her O.W.L.s. Dorcas and Emmeline sat down next to a beautiful woman, Lily hesitated a moment, but then went to the Marauders. She sat down next to James. Sirius took place on her other side. Lily cast one last look around and discovered the Keeper of the Hog’s Head too. Looking at him, she saw the resemblance between him and Dumbledore. She was itching to ask James whether he knew that the Headmaster had a brother, but didn’t dare. Everyone was looking at Dumbledore.
“We may begin, I think,” Dumbledore said with a smile, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes this time.
Lily caught herself clinging onto James. She was frightened but at the same time ready to go to battle. She looked at James and saw a slight smile playing on his lips. He squeezed her hand, but then turned back his attention to the man, who was speaking.
“Do we agree?” the one-eyed Auror asked them finally.
Half an hour ago, as he first spoke, Sirius whispered to her that he was probably the best Auror in Britain and that even the Blacks spoke his name with fear. Half an hour ago the Auror rose and told them everything about the Dark Wizard, who was out there fighting an almost invisible war against Half-Bloods, Muggles, and to him unworthy creatures. It was so invisible that even Wizarding families didn’t know about the ongoing fight. At last he told them that they had to do something, they had to withhold this Dark Wizard from gaining more power and more supporters.
Everybody nodded. Dumbledore stood up and looked around.
“I see lot of faces before me. I know that you are ready to go into battle,” he said and looked at Lily. “And I’ll have to send you into those battles,” here he paused a moment, as if contemplating what to say next. “There will be losses and I don’t know when this war ends. But there is one thing I’m sure of. If we don’t take up the fight against the Dark Side then he will win. Voldemort will have supporters and he won’t be noble to ask them for their support. He will blackmail them, he will curse them, he will torture them. Some of them will go to him voluntarily, some of them out of fear.”
After another moment of pause he continued: “Our task is to hold him in leash, otherwise not only the Wizarding World, but the Muggle World would be lost to him. Our task is to be vigilant,” he said and now looked at the one-eyed Auror, “and look out for possible threats. Our task will be to warn the innocent, to help them, to protect them and to save them. For light shall prevail and darkness must be restrained.”
“Do we have a name?” Sirius asked breaking the silence that followed Dumbledore’s speech.
“Yes, Sirius, we do have a name,” Dumbledore said and smiled at him. This time there was a twinkle in his eyes. “We are the Order of the Phoenix,” he announced and in a burst of flames a crimson-coloured bird with golden tail-feathers appeared out of thin air. Lily gasped, but James leant over and whispered to her that this was Dumbledore’s phoenix, Fawkes.
“We should take a picture,” Sirius suggested.
“Because then you could show off with it for your grandsons,” Lily said and grinned at him.
“That’s right. What about a party of chess later?” James asked, whispering.
Lily looked at him and then shook the head to clear her mind.
“Well, I’d love to,” she said and smiled at James. “I have a chess set,” she announced. And now I have someone to play with, she added in thought.
Many thanks to Jules_411, my beta reader!
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.