It was one of those autumn days in which the wet sleet was falling in ever-increasing amounts, tearing the still yellow leaves off of slick, black branches and plastering them to the muddy, slightly slushy ground.

I, being the stupid cow that I am, had assumed that I had at least a couple of free hours outside before the storm hit. Like always, I was wrong. Okay, maybe I’m not always wrong. In fact, Remus would say I’m always right, just to be sweet, that’s the way he is. Sirius would gasp dramatically and pretend to faint if I was ever wrong; he always loved to tease me if I’d miscalculated something. Peter would go along with either Remus or Sirius; he didn’t often have an opinion of his own, but you couldn’t help loving him anyway. And James would say it doesn’t matter if I’m right or wrong, I’m perfect just the way I am.

That’s the Marauders for you. Though they’re all the best of friends, along with me of course, sometimes they can be as different as cats and dogs. Or should I say rats and dogs and wolves and stags. I frowned as I thought of their illegal animagus forms, for although we had all been best friends since third year, I was still put out that they hadn’t let me become animagus too. Even thinking about it then made me angry, and, moving quickly and carelessly in my annoyance, I unknowingly stomped myself into an overly large, overly muddy, mud puddle. Go figure. I let out a small but frustrated scream of rage. I probably could have done something about it, getting my feet unstuck I mean, but I was simply too tired and too cold and too wet to do anything about it, so I plopped my arse down in the muck to join my feet and prepared to wait.

And it was like that five long, miserable minutes later that James found me.

I heaved a sigh of relief through my chattering teeth as I saw him saunter out of the castle. I knew he had seen me, for he waved. I waved back and, as he started toward me in an infuriatingly slow and ambling pace (which I knew he did only to tease me), examined him with narrow eyes. He was rather tall, and although he was lean, he had strong, wiry muscles that could only be gained through years of Quidditch.

I laughed as he shivered through his thin cloak; he was even more stupid than me sometimes. Imagine, coming out in that kind of weather, dressed like that. At least I had brought a scarf. Honestly.

Anyway, by now he was almost at my little mud hole, and he was absolutely soaking. As he got within five meters of where I was seated, I struggled vainly to stand up, but it seemed that after five minutes of sitting in the nasty muck, my arse was stuck as well as my feet, so I gave up and glared up at James, now right in front of me and shaking with barely concealed laughter. I knew him too well by now, so I knew that he was trying not to laugh so as not to hurt my feelings. Obviously he didn’t know me that well, for I wouldn’t have been offended if he had burst out laughing. Ah well. Just another perfect opportunity to tease him!

“James Potter,� I said in an icy cold voice, “what the hell are you laughing about?�

He vainly tried to cover up his laughter. It was quite funny to watch, actually. He would snort every now and then and his face would break into this huge smile, and then he’d try to become solemn again. In fact I think it was harder for me to keep from laughing at him that it was for him to keep from laughing at me, but, unlike his face, mine stayed cold and angry.

“I’m-I’m not…� (here he laughed again) “laughing at-at-at-you, I’m…BUAAAAUUUGH!!!!!!� (here he finally collapsed in the mud, laughing like a madman.) “You look so funny!�

Here my mouth twitched as I struggled to suppress a grin, but I strengthened my death-glare and asked in a dangerous voice, “What on Earth are you talking about?�

He looked up from where he was now lying in the mud and noticed my death glare. He gulped visibly. “Now, Lily,� he said cautiously, “you have to admit that it’d be funny if you found me sitting in the mud with my face streaked brown with dirt and rain and—well, you get the picture. You’d be laughing, wouldn’t you?�

“You’re like that now and I don’t find myself laughing,� I replied coolly. Although I really want to laugh! I added to myself, inwardly grinning wickedly at James’ discomfort.

“Well, er—� James began, but I cut him off with some exasperation.

“James, will you ever know when I’m using sarcasm?� I asked, finally softening my expression and smiling at him in false pity.

He looked up at me with a puzzled expression, and I sighed inwardly. Honestly, he can be so thick sometimes. “I-was-being-sarcastic!� I said slowly so as to make sure he understood what I was saying.

At this his mouth dropped open and he seemed to be working out in his brain what had just happened. I waited patiently until he still hadn’t said anything for like a minute, then I cleared my throat meaningfully. He looked up at me with a huge beam on his face and broke out laughing. I raised my right eyebrow in silent question, and he understood exactly what I meant.

“Of course I’ll help you up, just as soon as I get up myself,� he replied to my unspoken query, his hazel eyes sparkling behind his muddy glasses. He fought to free himself from the thick muck, and it was only a matter of seconds before I was unstuck as well.

“Thanks, for that,� I said gratefully, wiping my muddy hands on my robes before I realized that it was no use; they were both equally muddy. James noticed and, as we started back towards the castle through the growing sleet, he proffered his own robes, which weren’t quite as muddy as my own.

We continued up to Hogwarts in a comfortable silence until we got to the Whomping Willow and I realized that the full moon was tomorrow night.

James must have been thinking the same thing, for he said grimly, “I hope this weather clears up before tomorrow.�

I nodded quietly, not really wanting to think about it.

“I hate Greyback,� James growled, his face tight with anger.

I nodded once again; Fenrir Greyback was the werewolf who had bitten Remus and it was because of him that Remus had to endure pure torture every month. But it didn’t just affect him once a month. He did his best to hide it, but Remus was always exhausted and sickly during the few days before and after his transformation, and he was quieter now than he had been before; quiet and, because of his fear of putting others in danger, unwilling to make many friends.

James must have noticed my obvious discomfort with the subject, because he put his arm around my shoulders and steered me once again towards the great castle of Hogwarts.
“’S’alright, Evans, he’ll be fine,� he said softly.

“I know,� I replied quietly, and then I fell silent once again, my teeth chattering.

“How long were you out there, anyway, Lily? You look half frozen!� James asked, glancing at me a bit worriedly from the corner of his eye.

“A couple of hours, but this rain only started up about forty five minutes ago.�

“Forty five minutes in the cold sleet!� James exclaimed. “C’mon, Lils, we’d better get you up to the Common Room before you get pneumonia.

“Alright, Mum,� I joked, shivering nonetheless.

We reached the main door of Hogwarts after what seemed like an eternity, and by then I really was half frozen. We pushed open the heavy wooden doors and they creaked to admit us into the warm building. I was exhausted and freezing so I just leaned on James and he led me up to the Gryffindor Common Room just as I was beginning to fall asleep on his (quite comfy) shoulder.

The red, overstuffed chairs and couches were occupied by the other three Marauders, and Jackie Williams, my other best friend, was sitting in front of the fire in her Rolling Stones pajamas reading a book. We were the only Gryffindors still at Hogwarts during the Christmas break, along with a couple of snooty girls who were, sadly, in Jackie’s and my dorm.

Anyway, as soon as James and I got in the Common Room they all looked up from what they were doing. Jackie gasped and ran over to me.

“Lily, dear, whatever happened to you?� she asked in a dramatic English accent; Jackie lived in America during the holidays, but she loved pretending to have British accents just to make fun of me.

“I found her outside, just sitting in the mud,� James replied for me, “though why she was out there I have no idea.�

Jackie glared sternly at me with her sparkling black eyes. “Now, Lily,� she started, picking up her normal accent again, “what have I told you about having tea parties in the mud? Now I suppose I’ll have to clean you up and get you all warm and do all the other things a good mother is supposed to do when she finds her baby’s been out in the rain.�

Sirius Black raised an eyebrow while Remus, Peter, and James sniggered.

Playing along, I stuck out my lower lip and said, “But mommy, it’s so fun to have tea parties in the mud!�

“Yes, I know, dear, but my little Lily-poo might catch a cold, and we wouldn’t want that, would we?� Jackie was a very talented actress, and for a second I almost believed she was my mother.

“Yes, mommy,� I replied, sighing with false reluctance. By now the Marauders were cracking up at our performance, rolling on the floor with helpless laughter, and both Jackie and I turned and took a bow for them.

As I bowed down for the second time I couldn’t help but laugh as well, and suddenly I was coughing, a dry and hollow cough, and a cough that promised a good cold tomorrow. Jackie pounded me on the back until I stopped coughing, seconds later, and I looked up with watery eyes to see Remus and James looking at me with concern. Sirius and Peter were still on the floor, hopelessly tickled.

“Er, Lily, d’you want me to get some medicine from Madame Pomfrey or something, cause it’ll just take me a second to-.�

“No thanks, James,� I interrupted him quickly; I didn’t feel terrible yet and the cold would probably be gone in no time, whereas the taste of Madame Pomfrey’s disgusting (albeit helpful) brews stayed in your mouth forever. I smiled feebly and insisted, “I’ll be fine by tomorrow; you’ll see. I think I’ll just go upstairs and rest awhile.�

James shut his mouth, and then opened it again, looking a lot more cheerful, though I knew it was an act. Really, the boy couldn’t be bothered to stop—well, stop bothering you.

“Well, then,� he said brightly (apparently too brightly, for Sirius and Peter, who had now been kind enough to grace us with their attention, both glanced at each other and fell into hopelessly-girlish giggles, while Remus just looked on blandly), “G’night!�

I yawned widely, my jaw cracking. I truly was getting more exhausted by the minute.

Jackie looked at him oddly and then nodded her head. “Yes, well, same to y’all,� she said equally brightly in an utterly southern accent, beaming around at all of them.

“Night,� I muttered, stifling a yawn with my hand. I hadn’t realized I was so tired, and I had suddenly acquired a pounding headache.

“What time is it?� I murmured quietly to Jackie as I trudged up the stairs to the girls’ dorm.

“Seven,� she answered lightly, a wicked smiling playing about her lips.

Normally I would have been appalled at the idea of going to bed at seven at night; that night, however, it seemed perfectly reasonable. Of course, I probably wouldn’t get to sleep until around eight, because Jackie was a bit on the talkative side (okay, she was one of the most talkative people I knew, but not in a selfish or ditzy way, in a nice, keeping-the-conversation-flowing kind of way).

Sure enough, as soon as we walked into the empty dorm (Rachel and Lindsay, the two snobbish girls who were in Jackie’s and my dorm, had insisted on moving into one of the other girls’ dorms, as apparently, they ‘couldn’t stand us�) Jackie pounced on the first bed she saw and, when I remained standing at the door, she pointed to the bed opposite hers and said, “Sit.� I complied and as soon as I was seated she leaned forward, her chin-length black hair shining in the soft light of the room, and examined me with narrow eyes as if searching for something. I was used to her searching look, her “unnerving� look, so I only yawned, closed my eyes and murmured, “Wake me up when you’ve finished your assessment of my character.� I could practically feel her grin.

“It’s already done,� she said, and I opened my eyes reluctantly to look at her expectantly. Her grin faded and she bit her bottom lip as if she didn’t know where to begin.

“What’s going on with you and James?� she asked finally, her gaze probing my face softly for any stray thoughts that might show my feelings, but I was an expert at hiding my feelings. This time though, I was truly surprised by her question, and she saw it.

“Me and James?� I repeated dumbly, feeling completely lost.

“Yes,� she continued warily, as if approaching a wild animal. “I mean your--you know, relationship.� She moved her hands about vaguely, as if to explain it better.

“I still have no idea what you mean,� I answered bluntly.

“I mean, it looks like there’s something between you two,� she persisted, her eyes locked on mine.

“Well of course, we’ve been friends for four years now!� I said, though now I knew what she was really talking about. “And if you’re implying that we like each other as more than friends, I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about.� And I honestly didn’t. There was absolutely nothing except friendship between James and me, absolutely nothing!

“Of course,� Jackie said distractedly, her look still searching. “But Lily, he seemed awfully concerned about you when you started coughing down there just now. And you should see some of the looks he gives you during class. Are you sure he doesn’t fancy you?�

“Absolutely,� I stated firmly. “You’re imagining things. James is my friend and I’m his. That’s all.�

“if you insist,� Jackie said uncertainly, and she suddenly smiled, a bit too wickedly for my liking; whenever she smiles like that I know she’s up to something.

“What are you up to, Jackie?� I asked warily, narrowing my eyes, though the whole “suspicious� effect was somewhat ruined by a huge yawn that practically split my head in two.

Jackie’s cinnamon colored face immediately took up a innocent look and she merely said, rather loudly, “Good night, dear.�

I made a face; I hated being called “dear� by somebody in a condescending way, and Jackie knew the exact way to sound condescending. Her ploy to distract me from our conversation was successful. I scowled and said in a sweet voice, “Good night to you, too, Honey Bunchino,� which just so happens to be a phrase that Jackie cannot stand. That night however, I heard Jackie smirk, which I knew to mean, “Is that all you can come up with? Puh-lease.�

I smiled to myself in the darkness, thinking, Wow, we know each other way too well.

And it was like this that I fell asleep, without a thought for poor, lovesick James Potter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except myself.


A Long Way in Coming


The next morning I was awoken, quite rudely I may add, by a glaring ray of sunlight creeping into our dorm and alighting upon my neat and organized side of the room, a perfect contrast to Jackie’s rather, er, messy, side of the room.

I wanted, like any other normal person, to stay in bed until I actually felt like getting up, but I hated wasting a good Saturday on just sleeping. So, instead of sinking even farther into the warm blankets and drifting off to sleep, I glanced groggily at my muggle watch, surprised to see it’s blinking numbers show that it was already eleven in the morning. I never slept that late! Half of me was angry at Jackie for not waking me up, and the other half was glad she had let me sleep—I was still exhausted.

Nevertheless I kicked off my sheets and pulled myself out of my warm bed. I shivered as the cold air hit me like a wall of ice, and glared at the open window as I slid into my fuzzy green slippers.

“Just like Jackie,� I muttered as I pulled my equally green and fuzzy bathrobe around me and shuffled to the window to close it. “She gets hot and opens the window, then doesn’t close it when she leaves. Damn her and her crazy internal thermometer. Only she would be hot on a morning like this.� I turned from the window and dragged myself to the bathroom, still shivering and muttering angrily to myself. (As you may have already guessed, I am not a morning person).

I stopped in front of the bathroom mirror and sighed at my reflection. My already creamy pale skin was, as always in the mornings, even paler than normal, making the tiny red freckles dusted across my face stick out even more than they usually did. My dark red hair, hastily pulled back the night before, had all but fallen out of the ponytail, the dull strands falling two or three inches below my shoulders. My half-closed eyes looked, as James always said, greener than emeralds, but had slight bags under them. I sighed again, thinking, I'll be fine once I've showered

“Having fun admiring yourself in the mirror?� a dry voice said from behind me. I jumped, caught unawares, but recovered quickly and whipped around to glare at Jackie. She was perfectly awake and beautiful, as always, smirking at me with one hand on her hips and leaning casually on the door frame.

“Actually, I was! I think I’m quite pretty don’t you think so?� I joked, my face perfectly serious, posing like I was a model.

“Oh, absolutely,� Jackie replied equally gravely. “If,� she added, “you’re going for the whole ‘Severus Snape’ look.� And with that she burst into totally unneeded laughter. I glared once again, then shut the bathroom door in her face, ignoring her rude cackling.

I stripped off my flannel pajamas, freezing, turned the shower on to full heat and jumped in.


Ten minutes later I walked out of the steaming bathroom, towel wrapped around my hair like a turban and another towel wrapped around my body.

Jackie, who had previously been enchanting a paper crane to flap its lime green wings increasingly quickly around our room, looked up and immediately fell to the ground at my feet, bowing and kissing the floor, a mocking smile on her pretty face.

“How may I aid you, Most Powerful Sultan? Or would it be Sultan-ess, since you’re a girl?� She sat up and grinned impishly at me. “I bet you’re wanting one of those medicines now that all those little bacteria have settled down in your throat, don’t you?�

“Jackie, you are too cruel,� I replied, the corner of my mouth turning up at her random silliness nonetheless, as I maneuvered my way across her side of the room to my wardrobe, where I pulled out a worn and faded pair of jeans and a navy blue shirt. “Actually,� I remarked teasingly as I pulled on the shirt, “I feel fine. In fact, I’ve never been better!�

“Girl, your immune system is unnaturally strong. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you sick, come to think of it.� Jackie wondered at the marvel of it, shaking her head ruefully.

“But I think I heard somewhere,� I continued, ignoring jackie, “that colds are extremely contagious; I bet you’re going to need one of those medicines—�

“So,� Jackie interrupted me quickly, standing up only to seat herself on her bed again, “do you have anything planned for today? You know, a snowball fight, making Christmas cards, anything that has to do with something we here on Planet Earth like to call the Christmas Spirit? Or do you still plan on studying for that Potions test Slughorn had the nerve to give us? Stupid git thinks he can give us a test the first day after break, doesn’t listen to anything we say, no, he doesn’t, he’s just a self-righteous, no-good…�

I rolled my eyes at Jackie’s now incoherent muttered complaints about Horace Slughorn, the Potions teacher. I didn’t much like him myself, but I wasn’t going to come right out and say so.

“Jackie,� I said, breaking into her ceaseless grumbles about the unjust theory of testing, “that is an important exam, and you need the studying!�

She stopped her mumbled tirade and glared at me. “Lils, I may need to study, but I don’t care about Potions. You’re the one who cares about Potions, but you have all the info down like that. So let’s just take a break this weekend, please?� She ended this little speech by gazing imploring at me with her wide, dark eyes.

“Oh, well, I suppose I don’t see any harm in taking one day off,� I finally relented, giving into her irresistible puppy eyes as I unwrapped the towel from my hair and proceeded in brushing it out.

“Yippee!� she cried, jumping out of bed and clapping her hands like a delighted child. “C’mon, then, we don’t have all day!� she said to me, her eyes sparkling, as she grabbed my hand and tugged at it expectantly.

“Hold on a bit, I haven’t eaten breakfast!� I protested, performing a simple drying spell on my hair and pulling it into a tight ponytail.

“Well, me neither! Did you think I would eat without you?� Jackie cried indignantly, still tugging at my arm persistently. “C’mon, let’s go already!�

And laughing, I let her pull me out to breakfast.



Jackie and I burst into the Common Room late that evening, giggling with excitement, rumpling the thick red rug as we slid hurriedly to a stop and levitated our huge basin that just happened to be filled to the brim with white, hard-packed snowballs to float slowly behind the large red couch. We then proceeded to bound over the couch, perfectly in-sync of course, and tumbled to the ground breathless with laughter.

It took some minutes to calm down again, seeing as we had just had a tremendous snowball fight that happened to show no signs of stopping anytime soon, but after a considerable effort both Jackie and I managed to quiet ourselves until our silence was quite satisfactory.

Once Jackie and I were both crouched and motionless behind said couch I felt that it was safe to breathe again. After another two minutes when nobody had come bursting in the Common Room looking for us, I shifted slightly from my uncomfortable position and faced Jackie.

“Jax,� I breathed cautiously, using her nickname, “d’you think they’re coming?�

Jackie turned at my inquiry, her dark eyes sparkling, and put a finger up to her lips at the same time as murmuring, “Any minute now…�

We grew silent, and at the first sound of feet stomping in the outer hallway, we eyed each other wickedly and readied our wands. James was laughing loudly at some joke Peter had made (probably unintentionally; the poor dear wasn’t the dullest tooth in the dragon’s mouth, but he wasn’t the sharpest, either), and we could hear Sirius’ noisy, barking laugh at something one of the portraits had said.

My mouth twitched into a smile at the thought of Adrelia, the young, flirtatious witch in the portrait right by the Fat Lady’s. She was always making not-so-subtle remarks about Sirius’ astonishing beauty, and he did absolutely nothing to stop her. He was as immune to flattery as I am to colds, which I am, just to clarify, by no means immune to. I simply don't get sick very often. Speaking of colds, though…

I felt a steady, creeping itchiness tickle the inside of my nose, which twitched in spite of itself. I sniffed heartily as I heard James utter the password (ghastly grindylows) and signaled frantically to Jackie that I was about to sneeze right as the Fat Lady swung open. Jackie frenziedly waved her wand about my face, paying no mind to my eyes and actually poking them (accidentally, of course) once or twice. It only took a few moments, however, for her to perform the simple anti-sneezing charm. Don’t ask me who invented that one, all I know is it’s etremely useful.

By this time the three Marauders (Remus had already gone to the hospital to get ready for his transformation) had made it to the to the center of the common room, and in five more steps they would be within good firing range. Thankfully, they had been so loud they hadn’t even noticed the noise Jackie and I had made over the, er, sneezing episode.

“I wonder where Jackie and Lily went off to in such a hurry,� Peter commented slyly, and I saw him glance quickly over to the couch where we were and give a barely perceptible smile, before his chubby features smoothed into their normal confused expression.

Jackie and I ogled at each other in wonder; how had Peter, of all people, figured out where we were hiding?

“I have no idea, Peter. D’you think they had to use the loo?� James continued, his face a perfect mask of slight puzzlement. I glanced at Jackie from the corner of my eye only to find that she was also glancing at me from the corner of her eye, and I knew we were both considering the same exact thing; Should we surrender? At once, we both smirked; we didn’t know the meaning of surrender.

“Or maybe,� Sirius went on with a wicked grin, and all three boys started advancing slowly to the couch, “they’re right in this room, just waiting to ambush us with a rather large tub of snowballs…�

Now, up until that very moment, Jackie and I had been trying to ignore the fact that they knew exactly where we were and were also knowledgeable about the “rather large tub of snowballs� we had. We were not, however, as stupid as coconuts, and we both simultaneously and wordlessly decided that whatever small chances existed for us to win this little ambush (can you win an ambush?) would be lost if we did not fire right then and there.

We stood up from behind the couch. We registered the none-too-surprised look on all their faces. We watched them smirk and raise their wands. We smirked and raised ours in turn, ready to fire our snowballs as soon as they made any sign of sending couch pillows magically our way. We were counting on them being ready for the barrage of snowballs they were soon to receive, but we were confident we could overcome them. What we weren’t counting on was them having their own rather large tub of snowballs that had been hidden under a certain unnamed invisibility cloak.

“Fire!� Jackie yelled (a bit unnecessarily, I mean it was a bit obvious that that was the perfect moment to shower them with our lovely volley of snowballs), drawing her wand behind her so it brushed her back and then flinging it forward suddenly so that a perfect line of five snowballs abruptly hurled toward Sirius. I hastily imitated her movements and another line of snowballs flew straight at James.

I think they all got hit a total of twice. Jackie and I got hit fifteen times. The rest of the many snowballs were littered around the room (not melted in little puddles, because we had put anti-melting charms on them) from when we had missed our selected targets.

Anyway, the point was, after a very quick and fun five minutes, Jackie and I were sorely losing. We had to think fast in order to hang on to whatever remaining dignity we had. And so, I did what I had to; I applied a multiplying charm on our one remaining snowball so that it morphed into ten equally sizeable hard spheres of snow. I then added another simple charm that would cause said snowballs to collapse as soon as they hit the certain person, so that they would slip with all their freezing coldness into the worst places, making the previously mentioned people who would be hit with the previously mentioned snowballs wince, gasp and dance around.

My plan was genius.

And it worked perfectly. Jackie and I revelled in their identical expressions of terror as the snowballs neared them, and we laughed wickedly as all three of them winced, gasped, and danced around, and we gave each other a high five and headed jogged up the stairs before they could retaliate; we knew how to stop when we were ahead.

“That was perfect!� I exclaimed to Jackie, giggling madly from exhilaration. “Absolutely brilliant!�

She laughed along and then replied, “I know, it was fun.�

Once we reached the top of the stairs we turned around and smiled sweetly at the defeated Marauders, waving to them.

“Thank you, oh Powerful Marauders, for deigning to have fun with us this day,� Jackie said in a mockingly humble voice, flourishing her long red hat and bowing.

“What she said,� I added, grinning.

Peter was still dancing around and making little yelping noises, making Sirius eye him with bemusement and offer to remove the snow magically, as he and James had done.

“Oh,� Peter, replied to Sirius’ offer, blushing (but still hopping from foot to foot), “well, I guess that’s good, er, thanks then, Sirius.�

“Right,� Sirius answered, his tone slightly disdainful, but he performed the charm quickly.

This only put Jackie and me into yet another of our giggling fits that we get when we’re so tired we’re hyper.

“�Night, M’rauders,� we chorused, and they all waved to us, all saying different things: Peter beamed and said cheerfully, “Good night! See you tomorrow, then!�; Sirius bowed dramatically, saying, “It was a complete pleasure spending the day with you, my ladies, a complete pleasure.�; while James murmured so softly I could barely hear, “’Night, Lily,� which for some reason made me blush, though I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why. Why had he ignored Jackie?

Our goodnights said, Jackie and I, yawning from the day’s play, stumbled into our dorm. I brushed my teeth (Jackie, being the lucky girl that she was, had perfect teeth without ever doing anything with them) and slipped into my pajamas before jumping onto my bed.

“’Night, Jax,� I said thickly through a yawn. But she wasn’t done with me yet.

“So,� she started off innocently, “I wonder why James is ignoring me.�

“What d’you mean, he’s ignoring you?� I asked. I was ready to go to sleep, but I wasn’t going to pass up a good conversation, and besides, I was curious as to why James hadn’t said goodnight to Jackie as well. “I mean, he just, er, forgot to say goodnight to you,� I continued, slightly awkwardly.

“Right,� She answered sarcastically. She sat up in bed and eyed me thoughtfully. “He was looking at you awfully intensely, Lils.�

I sat up, indignant with disbelief. “What do you mean, ‘intensely’? I didn’t notice anything different.�

Jackie rolled her eyes. “Well, yeah, I mean he always looks at you like that! Lils, don’t you see, he likes you! A lot!�

I snorted, but the serious look on Jackie’s face made me doubt my utter certainty a little. “Impossible,� I remarked casually as if to reassure myself that it really was impossible. Could James like me as more than a friend? This only made me snort again. No way.

“Impossible!� I repeated more firmly. “James and I have been friends for three years now, there’s nothing else between us except friendship. And besides,� I added, a bit sadly, “he’s perfect. He could have any girl in the school he wants, why would he choose me?�

“What’s that I hear? Is that Lily Evans being jealous?� Jackie exclaimed, a small smile growing on her face.

“No,� I replied, my own face growing hot as I realized what I had just said. “Wait a second,� I suddenly said, realization dawning upon me. “Jax, you don’t like James, do you?�

Her mouth dropped open so wide I could have shoved my head in there and she wouldn’t have noticed. Wouldn’t have been a good idea, though. She gets bad breath, sometimes, from the not brushing her teeth, you see.

“Are you kidding me?� she finally yelled. “He is so not my type!�

This sent me into a fit of laughing, seeing as Jackie didn’t really have a “type�. She was totally independent, she had never had a boyfriend, and I honestly didn’t know if she ever would.

Jackie smiled wryly and opened her mouth to begin again, but I cut her off before she could start.

“Jackie, seriously, just let it go, James and I could never—I mean, we would never—well, you know, we’re just—we’re just friends, honestly, so can you just let it go? Please?� I was practically pleading, but you had to understand, this was a bit of a difficult subject for me. If James liked me as more than a friend, I would die of embarrassment, not to mention our friendship being ruined. No, James and I would never work out.

Jackie seemed to understand some of this, and she nodded her head and settled back into her bed.

I sighed with relief and lay down as well, blowing out the lantern by my bed and pulling up the covers.

“’Night, Lils,� Jackie said in contrite tones.

“�’Night, Jax,� I answered warmly.

That night, however, sleep didn’t claim me as quickly as it usually did. However many times I tried to push a certain messy-haired, bespectacled, charming boy to the back of my mind, he insisted on being in front. However many times I tried to worry about Remus out there, transforming painfully, my thoughts would return to James, and I would wonder what he was thinking. Damn Jackie and her thought provoking conversations.

I rolled over impatiently and waited for sleep to come. Sleep was a long way in coming.


A/N: Phew, chepter two is done! Yay! Well, I have yet to write chapter three, but with the help of the mods it'll be up soon. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story! Oh, by the way, I'm not going to say that I won't update til you give me fifty million reviews, but a quick, 20 second review would be nice. Thanks a million!

Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry was not in a good mood.





It wasn’t actually the building that was in a bad mood, of course; it was the students that inhabited it, myself included. The constant exams were getting on everyone’s nerves, even those who didn’t have to take any, and the fact that Quidditch matches and Hogsmeade trips kept getting cancelled due to the exceptionally horrible weather did nothing to lift the heavy curtain of grumpiness that lay thickly over the entire castle. The only one who seemed totally unaffected by all of the gloominess was Dumbledore. And so it was only fitting that, one month into the new year, he was the one to break the tension that held the whole school in it’s unrelenting grip.





***





Jackie and I sniggered into our glasses of carrot- and orange-juice, respectively (Jackie had a weird thing for carrot-juice in the mornings, though she couldn’t stand it any other time) as James, Sirius and Peter (Remus was in the hospital again—he had had an especially nasty full moon two nights ago) walked in, all looking as tired and disheveled as I felt. James’ hair, of course, always looked like he had just gotten into a fight with his broomstick, but Sirius could be just a teensy bit vain at times. Hence the perfectly groomed curly black locks that all the girls fell in love with (including the Slytherins, but excepting Jackie and me; we knew how much time he really spent on his hair every morning, and believe me, it wasn’t the “two seconds� he told all of his female admirers). Today, though, he hadn’t taken the time to pay any attention to his hair, and believe me, you could tell.





Anyway, we continued chuckling and snorting into our drinks until we saw the murderous looks on their faces that warned us not to crack a single joke as they reached our table. At that point we swallowed our giggles (and our juice; I forgot to do that once and stained my robes beyond repair), tilted our heads in the same directions and chirped our a sweet and docile “good morning�. They grunted in response as they reached for toast, cereal, muffins and eggs, although Peter offered a small smile before digging into his breakfast.





Sighing, I scraped the remains of my now-congealed oatmeal from my bowl and into my mouth. Everyone had been very tense due to the huge workload lately, but honestly, if Jackie and I could make an effort at cheerfulness, the least they could do was manage a simple “good morning�.





Finished with breakfast, slightly put out with the Marauders and thoroughly ready to enjoy a day outside in the sudden (and welcome) warmth and sunshine, I stood up, startling Jackie from an apparently intriguing study of toast, and, just as abruptly, sat down again.





“Damn,� I muttered, my good mood slipping away like water in a tub. “I forgot. Prefect’s meeting today. Damn.�





Jackie looked at me amusedly and returned to her examination of her toast while patting my back in false sympathy and saying, “Ah, the prices of perfect Prefect-ness. Lily dear, when you were born perfect, you knew you would have to take on these kinds of responsibilities when you got older. After all, you’re perfect! Hence, you were chosen for prefect. While I am the farthest possible distance from perfect. And so, I get to indulge in the activities that un-perfect people are totally able to participate in.�





Glaring at Jackie, I sullenly focused on folding my napkin into an origami star box to amuse myself. There were still twenty more minutes before the meeting was scheduled to begin, and I felt like wasting my last moments of freedom before the inevitable boredom, pointlessness and eventual doom the Prefect’s meeting would bring.





“Er, Lily,� James said rather unintelligibly, meeting my eyes for the first time that morning but still managing to shovel even more bacon in his mouth. He paused to swallow and I gestured impatiently at him.





“Yes?� I asked with annoyance, and he made a jerky hand movement towards Dumbledore, who happened to be standing up and raising his hands for silence. I lifted an eyebrow at James and grinned, knowing that for Dumbledore to be making an announcement during breakfast (he believed, as I do, that breakfast is a most important meal, and should not be interrupted) it must be important enough to cancel the Prefect’s meeting.





Maybe he’d say that the Hogsmeade trips would begin again next weekend, or maybe all the Professors had decided to cancel all the exams; an unlikely thought, but it was possible. And as much as I loved exams (I’m not a totally play-by-the-rules, always-study-never-play kind of person, but there’s a sort of satisfaction I get from taking-and doing well on-exams), I wasn’t crazy enough to be pleased about the daily tests and pop quizzes we kept getting in all of our classes, not to mention the homework.





Suddenly I realized that Dumbledore was speaking and that I had been zoning out. I’ve been zoning out a lot lately, I mused to myself, taking a small sip of orange juice and tapping my foot against the floor to no particular rhythm. I bet its all the homework we’re getting nowadays. I just haven’t been getting enough sleep, that’s the problem. And my lack of sleep has absolutely nothing to do with thinking about a certain Jam-. Realizing I was zoning out yet again, and also not wanting to follow that line of thought, I all but dropped my glass of juice onto the table and leaned forward intently, cheeks burning at my strange thoughts, and concentrated on listening to Dumbledore.





“…and so I have decided that it is high time I played a prank!� Dumbledore finished, a smile playing at his mouth and blue eyes twinkling merrily from behind his spectacles.





My mouth dropped open in surprise. Dumbledore? Pulling a prank? Impossible. I must have missed something. It’s got to be a hallucination, I told myself weakly. It’s got to be lack of sleep again. Yet a quick glance at my classmates told me that they were just as shocked as I. I shook my head in disbelief and slight amusement at our young headmaster (well, he himself wasn’t young, it was just that he was a rather new headmaster for Hogwarts—this was only his fifth year as professor).





“Yes, I know what you all may be thinking: ‘Is it truly proper for our headmaster to pull a prank on the rest of the school?’ And my answer to that question is that in this circumstance, yes, it is not only proper, but it is necessary. You might not have noticed the strain that all this work has put on you-� (this raised a few skeptical eyebrows and brought out some snorts from the bolder students) “-but we as your professors have, and I think that the time has come to put an end to all of the anxiety and tension that your work has brought to you this past month since vacations. As of this morning, whenever any student feels like studying, doing homework or any kind of schoolwork in general, said student will suddenly have a headache, backache or tongue-ache, whatever ailment necessary to detain that student from studying. Oh, it won’t hurt them much, it’s not really anything serious,� he hurried to assure us as indignant cries rose up from the professors’ table-apparently they hadn’t been let in on it-but everything was quickly silenced with a roar of approval from the entire school.





I looked around in dismay at the students cheering themselves hoarse and grinning in jollity as I absently chewed on a piece of buttered toast—how could everyone be so excited? Sure, we’d be getting out of a few days of school, but we would get so very behind in our classes, and what’s more, it would be a terrible example to set for all the younger students! Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed James’ and Sirius’ occasional harmless pranks (well, maybe slightly more regular than occasional) but only so long as they were totally harmless—otherwise, I made sure to give them a good, well-deserved lecture.





I groaned as I thought hopelessly of the Herbology exam we were going to have had first hour the following Monday, and of all the hours I had spent studying The Dangers of Plants: A Thorough Study of the Wonders of the Butober the night before.





As soon as the thought of that exam was in my head, I had a fierce headache. “Ow, ow, ow,� I muttered, screwing up my face in pain and gripping my forehead.





“Lily, are you alright?� Jackie asked, concern plain on her face.





“I’m fine, I just have the worst bloody headache ever, cause of that stupid bloody spell Dumbledore just did,� I answered her, gritting my teeth.





The pounding in my head grew louder and more painful as I concentrated on not concentrating on the exam. Unfortunately, the more you try not to think about something, the harder it is not to think about it. The pain increased once again, until it was nearly unbearable. I put my elbows on the table and closed my eyes, swallowing the wave of nausea that threatened to take me. Oh, Merlin, this was embarrassing. I was probably the only one who was sick from thinking about exams.





“Lily? Lily what’s wrong? Jackie, what happened to her?� I heard James’ worried voice over the thunder of students exiting the Great Hall to go and enjoy a homework-free Saturday outside. Or was it the thunder in my head that I heard? I couldn’t tell, I only knew I had to answer James.





I opened my eyes, blinked a few times to clear away the stars, and then forced myself to smile through the pain. Sirius, Peter and James were staring at me anxiously like over-protective brothers. In fact, that’s pretty much what they were to Jackie and me.





“I’m just fine, guys, honestly.�





“Right,� Peter said dryly, “and I’m a Quidditch star.� (At this he gazed wistfully into nothing for a moment, probably wishing he was a Quidditch star, before returning his gaze to me.) “Lils, you don’t have to pretend you’re fine, we’ll just go up to Dumbledore and ask him to take the spell off of you.�





“Yeah,� Jackie put in, “I’m sure he’ll understand.�





Sirius and James just stared at me. I growled in frustration. I hated it when they acted like that. Like overprotective brothers, I mean. But then again, even Jackie and Peter were acting a little bit too concerned. Honestly, I only had a headache from thinking about the Herbology exam.





No! I told myself frantically, don’t think about that! Don’t think about exams! But the information that I had studied the night before persisted in showing itself and making me see it inside my head, and the headache I hadn’t noticed had subsided renewed itself with fresh vigor. With a cry of pain I put my head back in my hands and shut my eyes tightly, barely aware of Jackie’s soothing voice telling me that they were taking me to the Infirmary and that Madame Pomfrey would help me.





I felt a pair of strong arms envelope me from behind and I weakly sagged into them. “Sirius, can you help me with her?� James’ voice sounded so far away; but if he wasn’t holding me, who was?





Suddenly I realized that everyone sounded far away. I must be fainting, I thought dreamily as I drifted away even farther. That’s interesting. I’ve never fainted before. And with that last thought, I lost consciousness.

“Shoo! Shoo, I tell you, she’s not yet ready for visitors!� Madam Pomfrey’s sharp voice broke through the fogginess in my head as I stirred and groggily opened my eyes.



“Oh, come on Madam Pomfrey, we wouldn’t disturb her or anything,� Jackie’s voice pleaded with the unyielding nurse. “She’s my best friend!�



“Yeah,� James’ voice broke in angrily, “and she would want to see us!�



“I’m sure she would, and she will see you soon, providing you get out of here and let her rest!�



Struggling to sit up, I licked my dry lips and managed to call out, “No, don’t go! I think I can see them, Madam Pomfrey.�



I heard rapid footsteps coming my way, and quick as a flash the spotless white curtains were whipped away from my bed and a very red and piqued Madam Pomfrey. She wore her usual gray robes and her glasses hanging slightly askew that made her look rather like a stern but kindly grandmother.



“Well,� she sniffed, after examining me for a moment and making sure that I wasn’t “too worn out�, “I suppose you can come in then.� Before the words were all the way out of her mouth Jackie plus the Marauders dashed in inside the infirmary in the most undignified way and crowded around my bed like a bunch of anxious mother hens.



Jackie was the first to get her rushed question out. “Lilyareyouokay?�



I laughed and shook my dark red hair out of my eyes, which Jackie took as a sign of my okay-ness, and promptly jumped on my bed (taking great pains to avoid crushing my legs) and hugged me with all her might. I think I heard a few vertebrae crack, actually.



“Lily, we were so worried about you!� Jackie gasped as she pulled back, her dark curls swinging about her anxious face, but her eyes softened in relief when she saw that I was truly better.



“What exactly happened?� I asked, taking advantage of the Marauders’ silence ( they surrounded my bed with a strange mixture of satisfaction and relief that made me think once again of mother hens).



“It was the Slytherins—�



“The charm, it was--�



“You got too much--�



Jackie silenced them all with a single glare, then turned her softened but still grim stare on me. “You fainted.�



I rolled my eyes in exasperation. “Really, Jackie, I had sort of missed that. I fainted? Really! Why, I had no idea!�



Jackie beamed, apparently taking the appearance of my ever-present sarcastic side as a sign of my recovery.



The boys still looked furious, though, and I don’t think it was my sarcastic comment that put that livid expression on their faces. Except Peter, of course; he’s the only Marauder who I’ve never seen angry, not to mention furious. Sirius, though, cracked his knuckles with what he probably thought a menacing expression on his face. Come to think of it, he’s actually pretty good at that expression. Honestly, though. He can be such a drama king sometimes.



James face was dark with fury; if I didn’t know better, I would have thought that he wanted to kill someone. But James, kill someone? Why, the very thought of it was preposterous!



Even Remus, usually mild-mannered and self-possessed (although the quick, dry wit that flowed out of him effortlessly while he was around his friends often countered his calm outer countenance) looked angry.



“To put it bluntly,� Remus said lightly, his face suddenly calm, “a few of our lovely Slytherin friends did some quick, er, thinking…�



“Slytherins can’t think,� Jackie interrupted angrily, a scowl now upon her face as well.



“…and somehow managed to do a repelling charm on the charm Dumbledore put on our breakfast. You know the one—the charm that gave you the headache for thinking about exams?� (at this I nodded impatiently). “Well, really they just did a repelling charm that only worked for their breakfast, and somehow-don’t ask me how, I have no idea-they sent their portion of the charm to a random area of the Gryffindor table.�



“Yeah, I’m sure it was random!� James snorted derisively. “They probably sent the charm straight to Lily just because she’s muggle-born! Stupid Slytherin gits.�



“As you can imagine,� Remus continued as if James hadn’t said a thing. “the effects of Dumbledore’s charm would have given you only a mild headache, nothing serious at all, but the effect of that charm multiplied four times and applied onto one person--well, you get the idea. I gather from Jackie that you had a pretty nasty headache.�



I suddenly remembered that Remus had been in the infirmary recovering from the full moon, and I wondered how long I must have been unconscious for him to appear completely recovered.



“Oh, Remus, I totally forgot!� I exclaimed. “How do you feel after the full moon?�



Remus smiled at my evident concern. “Well, you’ve been out for a full day now, so it’s been three nights since then. Even though the two days right after it were particularly miserable for me, I was pretty quick to recover afterwards.�



“I was out for a day?� I asked incredulously. “That’s impossible!�



“Not hardly, since it’s true,� Jackie put in, a smile quirking up the corners of her mouth.



“Yeah, who knew that Lily Evans could go a full day without studying, reading, doing homework, or doing any other such unnatural activities.� That joking comment earned Sirius a playful swat on the arm from none other than yours truly.



“God, Sirius, can you get any more dramatic!� Jackie remarked teasingly as Sirius danced around the room, wincing in pain and cradling his “injured� arm.



“Oh, sure, this coming from the girl who acts and sings non-stop!� James cried in mock-indignation.



“What, you don’t want her to sing?� I asked playfully, knowing what he would say and what Jackie’s reply would be.



“Of course I don’t want her to sing!� James said in obvious sarcasm. “She’s got such a terrible voice—� just to let you know, Jackie has the most beautiful voice I’ve ever heard; it’s not fair for one girl to have that much talent! “—that it would be impossible for me to want her to sing!�



“Well,� Jackie said in a sing-song voice, her large dark eyes twinkling mischievously, “you can’t always get what you want.�



“What eloquence, what wonderful eloquence Mick Jagger has!� I said, shaking my head in solemn yet joking wonder.



“I do believe that is one of their best songs! I mean, really, you can’t get better than a song that starts out with I saw her today at the reception, a glass of wine in her hand. I knew she was gonna meet her connection. At her feet was a foot-loose man. Totally nonesonse lyrics that, when he sings them, make sense.�



The boys all grinned and rolled their eyes in perfect unison. Actually, Sirius might have been a bit off. Just by a hair though.



But really, they were all so used to Jackie breaking into song at random moments, they seriously should have seen that one coming.



One thing you should know about Jackie and me; we’re both crazy about music, namely, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and a few random classical pieces such as Mozart’s Requiem. But that’s beside the point.



By now the infirmary had gathered a much more light and happy atmosphere and I was feeling wide awake and not at all weak.



Suddenly, during the easy conversation and joking between us that came only with years of friendship, a thought came to me.



“Hold on, who took my headache away?�



“Dumbledore,� Peter piped up. “He came up to the infirmary immediately after you got here and took the charm off you himself!�



“Well, it’s not as if anyone else could have done it, seeing as they didn’t know the spell Dumbledore used in the first place,� Sirius said, as always, slightly disdainful of Peter’s not-quite-up-to-speed thinking.



“You should have seen James, though, he was so angry at Dumbledore at first that I swear he would have gotten himself a detention for the whole year if Dumbledore had been anyone other than he is,� Jackie put in, her eyes glinting in mischief.



James blushed and protested, “Well, how was I to know that it wasn’t Dumbledore’s fault Lily fainted?�



“Well, really James, I just fainted, it’s not like I was dead or something,� I said, a part of me wondering at James over-protectiveness, another part smiling ecstatically because he was so worried about me.



That’s weird, I thought to myself, suddenly confused. James is always over-protective of me, and I’ve never felt happy about it before! Hmm, must be the after-effects of the potion.



I looked up from my thoughts to find everyone looking at me with amusement, and I realized that someone must have said something. "Sorry,� I said, grinning apologetically. “What did you say?�



“Well,� Sirius said, “we were just wondering if you felt well enough to come out of this stuffy infirmary and go outside with us to enjoy the day.�



“Wait a second,� I said, confused again, and then horrified. “You guys are skipping class to visit me! Go on, you’ve got to get back before you miss something important! Hurry up!�



Apparently they found something funny with my comment even though I was perfectly serious.



“Lily, we don’t have classes!� Jackie exclaimed, a wide grin nearly splitting her face in two.



I smacked my hand to my forehead, feeling utterly stupid, and they all broke out in laughter. Of course we didn’t have classes, that had been the whole point to Dumbledore’s charm!



Pulling my blushing face out of my hands, I turned to glare at the Marauders. “You don’t happen to be laughing at me, do you?� I asked them, my voice icy. Outwardly, I must have appeared furious, though inside I was smiling widely; this trick could be played on them time after time. Well, except for Remus, of course. He always saw through my angry act.



James, Sirius and Peter stopped laughing suddenly, glanced nervously at Remus, who was laughing even harder at their slightly panicked expressions.



“Well, we’d, er, better get going,� Sirius stuttered, turning hastily to leave and motioning the other Marauders. Peter and Remus turned to go, Remus still laughing, but James hesitated a second.



“Yeah, we’ll get the picnic together. You are coming to the picnic, aren’t you Lily?� he asked, still looking slightly nervous, probably expecting a fiery explosion of my mighty wrath and fury.



I snorted and rolled my eyes, dropping my coldly angry mask. If he had been closer, I would have ruffled his already messy hair affectionately. “Of course I’ll come to your picnic, you silly toad, providing Pomfrey lets me out of here.�



At this James broke into a happy grin, then he turned and followed the other Marauders. As they left the infirmary, I heard Peter say to James in confusion, “But I though she was mad at us!�



Jackie, who was now off of my bed and sitting on the chair right beside it, looked at me and we both broke into laughter.



“You don’t think we’re too cruel to them, do you Jackie?� I asked my friend, wiping a tear from the corner of my eye.



“Oh, never,� she replied, her twinkling eyes giving away her grave face. “After all, the two most conceited boys in Hogwarts do need to be taken down a peg or two every once in awhile.�



Giving a little giggle, I threw the covers off of me and proffered my hands so that Jackie could pull me up.



Standing up and obliging me, she pulled her short hair into a quick ponytail and said to me absently, “The picnic really should be fun. It’s a gorgeous day, as you can see, and even though everyone’s outside, I don’t think anyone’s taken our spot by the lake.�



I straightened my clothes quickly, wincing at their wrinkled state, and then looked up at Jackie.



“Hey Jax, you don’t mind if I take a quick shower before going outside, do you?�



“Of course not,� she replied, “But I don’t know how James’ll take it if you’re too late.�



I rolled my eyes in exasperation as we walked outside the infirmary. “Oh, please, Jackie, you’re not still harboring that idea that James and I are madly in love, are you?�



Jackie blushed slightly, but lifted her head confidently. “Of course I am, that boat’s not going to sail away from my harbor until you admit to James while looking him in the eye that you do not like him as anything more than a friend.�



Blushing at the very idea, I picked up our pace a bit but decided not to say anything.



Jackie rolled her eyes at my behavior, then murmured something to herself that I barely caught. “The first symptom of being madly in love: denial.�



I turned and hit her in the arm playfully, and we laughed all the way up the stairs to our dorm as we remembered the Marauders’ expressions when I had pretended to be angry with them.



“They are too gullible, sometimes,� I said to Jackie as she opened the door to our room.



“Well, you must like gullible, because you seem not to mind it too much in dear Jamesie-Poo!�



I threw a pillow at my best friend, then ran into the bathroom before she could retaliate. Just as I closed the door I heard a thud and cackled evilly as I realized Jackie’s pillow must have missed me by a hair.



“And once again Lily Evans triumphs!� I cried out jokingly.



“Ah, but does Lily Evans have any ammunition to use once she gets out of the shower?�



Laughing and shaking my head at my friend’s playfulness, I walked over to the shower and turned on the water.

It really was a beautiful day, with the sun shining brightly, but not beating down like an oven, and the sky was a perfect, clear blue. It was only January 9, so by rights it should have been freezing with snow on the ground, but that winter had been an unusually mild one, with very little snow and the temperature always slightly above freezing. And even the muddy (yet frosty) ground could be modified to accommodate a large group of underage witches and wizards looking for a picnicking ground; Professor Cole, the herbology teacher, had supplied us with boxes of Instant Green-Grass Pellets: Perfect for Picnicking! that were really nice. It was a rather odd sight, actually, all of those islands of perfectly springy, dry (so as not to wet your arse), green grass surrounded by somewhat more dirty, er, dirt.





Anyway, Jackie and I were walking down to the lake to meet the Marauders for a picnic (surprise, surprise!) since classes had been let out for a few days’ worth of vacation. I had just showered, having previously been released from the infirmary after recovering from an embarrassing fainting incident. No need to go into detail about that.





As I was saying, we were walking down the hill in a companionable silence, wearing our Muck-No-More rain boots so as not to muddy ourselves. Although, just for the record, I have nothing against mud; just against eating when I’m muddy. And I was hungry, having not eaten for a full day.





“Hard-boiled eggs,� Jackie was saying. “And lemonade and fried chicken and cake.�*





I laughed, a warm happiness bubbling up inside of me that I always got when I was outside in the springtime. “And why are you so hungry, Jackie? If I remember correctly, I was the one who went a full day without eating or drinking or doing a single thing.�





“Ah yes,� Jackie said, attempting to look wise, “but if I remember correctly, I was the one who fasted as a protest against unconsciousness the day you were in the infirmary.�





“Right,� I said dryly, jumping over a long, shallow puddle, “I’m sure you didn’t eat a single thing.�





“You know it!� Jackie replied with a cheeky grin.





Passing by a small group of Hufflepuffs, I accidentally splashed up a puddle and sprayed a couple of them on their arms with some muddy water.





“Oh, gosh, I’m sorry,� I said, pausing for a second to apologize with a friendly but apologetic smile that only slightly wavered when one blond boy, a third year I think, glared at me and sneered,





“You should watch where you’re going, Mudblood!�





I blinked, taken aback though not that hurt (I had been called “Mudblood� too many times for it to affect me by then), and I could tell that Jackie was more surprised and angry than I. She only lost her temper once in a blue moon, though; her anger was a cold, tight fury, always kept on a tight rein, while mine got…carried away sometimes.





“And here I thought that Hufflepuffs were supposed to be nice,� I said sarcastically, trying to make light of the situation. “C’mon, Jax, let’s go.� I had only taken one step when the same boy called out from behind me,





“Walking away, are we? And here I thought Gryffindors were supposed to be brave.� I stopped suddenly, my foot frozen in midair. Being called a Mudblood I could take. But a direct insult to Gryffindor? That I wasn’t going to take.





I whirled around, and I knew my eyes were probably sparkling in anger in a face that was reddening with irritation. Jackie’s cool fingers on my arm and murmured: “just walk away, Lily, don’t lose your temper, let’s just go now,� did nothing to ease my anger. Oh, it was far too late for advice on not losing my temper; it had taken off with me barely clinging to the reins, and it wasn’t going to stop until it wanted to stop.





“Not that you would know anything about bravery,� I spat at the blond, freckled boy, “but the thing is, being brave means doing what’s right, not what’s easy. Now,� I continued, my face assuming a pleasant expression as I fingered my wand, “it would be incredibly easy for me to hex your little Hufflepuff arse into oblivion right now, but that wouldn’t be very morally right, would it?� his face darkened in anger, but his companions (two other boys, both with black hair, but one with blue eyes and the other with green, and two girls, both blond and brown eyed) were obviously trying to placate him just as Jackie was trying to—wait. Jackie wasn’t even standing by me.





Turning around and looking for her in confusion, I suddenly saw her jogging over towards a group of four boys who I reckoned to be the Marauders. She stopped a few yards away from them and yelled something at them that I couldn’t quite make out. They all stood up suddenly and followed Jackie as she walked back to where I was.





Smirking at her obvious exasperation with me (or rather, my temper), I smiled and shook my head in amusement, almost forgetting where I was and who I was fighting with. Until I heard the annoying boy yell out “sternumentum!�.





“What the—� was all I managed to say before I was hit full-on by the lovely little hex and started sneezing violently and repeatedly. Which is what the hex does, of course; it makes you sneeze. Violently and repeatedly. Not the most impressive hex, but after only fifteen seconds of sneezing non-stop…well, you get the idea.





“Merlin, Charlie,� one of the girls was saying to the blond boy fiercely, “you didn’t have to go and do that! There’s nothing wrong with muggleborns, how many times have we told you! And besides, she’s a prefect!�





Charlie, the nasty, arrogant, egotistical, stupid, prejudiced brat said to the girl, “Look, Emma, you’re a really good friend, and I don’t want to argue over this whole mud-blood business. So can we just let this go? Besides, she was about to hex me.�





I rolled my eyes as I covered my nose in preparation for another sneeze. I had not been about to hex him, but if he wanted to say that, fine. Let him lie if he wanted to. At least that would keep him from figuring out that I was about to attempt a nonverbal spell. I had begun practicing in the beginning of fifth year, and so had had about six months experience. While my work wasn’t perfect, I should be able to get it with a few tries. Now. if only I could remember how to do that counter-curse…





I saw the black haired, green eyed boy raise his wand in my direction and readied myself for the nonverbal protego spell to defend myself. “Sternumentum!� the boy shouted out, and I had time for only a moment’s confusion before I thought Protego! to ward off his spell.





I saw his eyes widen in surprise before he started sneezing. Too late, I realized that he had shouted the counter-spell. Oh, great job, Lily, I thought, you just hexed a little third year. Not that you meant to, but still; you should have remembered that the counter-spell for sternumentum is sternumentum. You should have remembered that it works like negative and positive numbers; say it once, and it hexes the person, but say it twice and it’s like two negative numbers being added together—they cancel the negativity out. Duh. You knew that.





Feeling utterly stupid, I soundlessly muttered sternumentum and my sneezes stopped. I looked up, my anger forgotten in my embarrassment, and found that the green eyed boy I had (accidentally) hexed wasn’t sneezing. Figuring that one of his friends must have undone it for him, I readied myself for an uncomfortable apology.





Suddenly, I felt James’ arm on my shoulder. Don’t ask me how I knew it was James; I don’t rightly know myself. But I looked up at him in relief and smiled gratefully at his presence. His face was stony as he studied the five Hufflepuff’s standing there. I looked around and saw Remus, Sirius, Peter and Jackie standing there too, their expressions varying from furious (yes, that would be Sirius, acting once again as the over-protective big brother) to slightly amused (Remus, the ever calm and slightly superior one) to relieved (Jackie; she was relieved I hadn’t killed one of the little third years) to confused (who else but Peter?).





Anyway, so we were all standing there, the five third year Hufflepuff’s versus us, the six fifth year Gryffindors. I opened my mouth to say something and couldn’t speak for the pain in my throat. James’ arm tightened around my shoulders and I glared up at him, trying to communicate silently with him through my gaze, and I think he understood I was mainly okay, just a bit scratchy in the throat, because his grip loosened once again.





“What happened here?� A voice suddenly interrupted our silence. All eleven heads turned to face Professor McGonagall. “What happened here?� she repeated impatiently. “I heard that there was hexing going on here, and I’d expect two Prefect’s to be capable of taking care of everything, but if you were participating in the hexing…�





Remus and I looked at each other and winced in a mixture of guilt and annoyance at these last words.





“You see, Professor,� one of the Hufflepuff girls said, Emma I think her name was, “our friend Charlie here decided to insult Evans there, called her a mud-blood and all that, and Evans got all mad and worked up and said something about bravery and then her friend Williams over there—� here Emma nodded to Jackie, who nodded back with a smile “—walked away and while Evans had her back turned Charlie hexed her with Sternumentum. So she was sneezing like crazy, and then John here was going to perform the counter-curse, but Evans didn’t realize that so she deflected it and John started sneezing like crazy, but then Evans remembered the counter-curse and performed it on herself and then Evans’ friends came over here and then you came. I think that’s about it.�





I blinked, blown away with her quick explanation. Goodness, but she could talk!





“Don’t be silly, Miss Thompson,� McGonagall sniffed at Emma, “how could Miss Evans deflect the counter-curse if she was sneezing as crazily as you say she was?�





“I did the nonverbal Protego, Miss McGonagall,� I croaked out.





She raised a single black eyebrow. That was all the emotion she could show despite being impressed with my progress in nonverbal spells. We weren’t even to start practicing them until next year. Merlin, but she was a strict one. “Well,� she said sternly, though perhaps not quite so sternly as she had spoken moments earlier, “I must say that I’m impressed, Miss Evans. But, despite the fact that you apparently acted solely on self-defense, you still attacked a student, and that merits some punishment. Namely, a detention.�





I groaned to myself as Charlie smirked at me. Did I really need a detention? McGonagall knew I hadn’t done anything wrong, I was sure of it. So why had she punished me?





“As for you, Mr. Purperen,� McGonagall nodded towards Charlie, “you shall be serving a detention as well, for lack of respect and for attacking a fellow student, not to mention a Prefect. What’s more, she was unaware of your intentions at the time. I will speak with your Head of House, Professor Cole, and arrange the detention with her. You will receive notice of the details later this evening.�





Merlin, she was like an avalanche! Just running over every little attempt at a protest made by Charlie until he just stood there sullenly staring at the ground. I silently applauded her for taking the wind out of his sails so efficiently.





“Oh, and fifteen points shall be taken away from Hufflepuff,� McGonagall added looking all the Hufflepuff’s in the eye. She inclined her head slightly towards them. “If you will excuse me, I need to be going. Miss Evans, if you would please follow me.�





She took off at once, leaving me no choice but to go with her. I followed two paces behind her and looked behind me to stick my tongue out and roll my eyes at my friends, who laughed and tried to look sympathetic. Suddenly, they all seemed to realize that our picnic had just been ruined, and their faces fell comically, making me burst out giggling.





McGonagall turned to face me. “Do you find anything amusing, Miss Evans?� she asked dryly.





“No,� I replied evenly, my face quickly becoming somber. She blinked at me once, gave me the tiniest of smiles, and turned back around to walk again towards the castle. I gaped at her, standing still in the mud while she got far ahead of me. Had she really smiled at me, of was it just my imagination? Or maybe she’d had a bit of an involuntary twitch in her mouth? I didn’t know, but it suddenly occurred to me that our Transfiguration teacher might not be quite as strict as she made herself out to be, and I resolved to try and get her to loosen up a bit during the detention. After all, she was only fifteen years older than myself, having graduated only thirteen years before. Okay, so that is a bit of an age difference, but hey...maybe she was just a kid at heart!





She turned around to see me nearly fifty paces behind her and made an impatient gesture to me. Sighing to myself (how could I have gotten a detention during vacations?), I hiked up my skirts (well, actually I was wearing jeans, but if I had been wearing a skirt, I would have hiked it up) and sloshed through the mud to catch up with Professor McGonagall and my upcoming detention.





This is going to be an interesting afternoon, I thought grimly, a detention given for no reason by my own Head of House, who by the way happens to be a slightly strict and wacked-out teacher. Hearing (and feeling) my stomach rumble, I suddenly remembered I hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning, and that I was absolutely starving. Yep, I said to myself sarcastically, this is going to be a great afternoon.