Light of Sunrise by rivers of gold
Summary: Many questions remain unanswered about Lily and James. Was James always an arrogant bully? Did Lily really hate James, or was there something more behind her angry reply at the lake? And whoever said Lily was a bossy bookworm? Join the marauders and their friends as they go through Hogwarts, and experience pain and joy, tears and laughter...as they realize that no matter how dark the night may get, the Light of Sunrise will always follow.
Categories: Marauder Era Characters: None
Warnings: None
Challenges:
Series: None
Chapters: 12 Completed: No Word count: 41924 Read: 34258 Published: 02/06/06 Updated: 10/18/07

1. Glow of Magic by rivers of gold

2. Bright Horizons by rivers of gold

3. Sparkle of Friendships by rivers of gold

4. Flickering Destinies by rivers of gold

5. Flashes of Time by rivers of gold

6. An Icy Glitter by rivers of gold

7. Illuminated by rivers of gold

8. Alight With Mischief by rivers of gold

9. Beware The Glare by rivers of gold

10. A Shadowy Discovery by rivers of gold

11. Clouded by rivers of gold

12. Light at the End by rivers of gold

Glow of Magic by rivers of gold
Disclaimer: There’s no way I could make up a world this wonderful. It’s all Jo’s, except for some extras I throw in. ;)

Chapter 1: Glow of Magic


Lily Evans tossed her dark red hair over one shoulder as she came down the stairs to the kitchen. The radio, which had turned on automatically, sang its usual morning jangle as Lily opened the refrigerator. She suddenly paused while pushing things aside to search for the milk.


What is the newscaster saying? “...something like an aurora borealis. Two eyewitnesses swear they saw blue and yellow lights in the evening sky yesterday. Most odd--”


Lily shut the radio thoughtfully, cutting off the newscaster’s voice. I didn't see anything...a pity. That sounds interesting. She put the milk on the table and opened a cabinet for a bowl and cereal. She barely caught a mug as it began to slide off the edge of the shelf and breathed a quiet sigh of relief, placing it further back to prevent it from falling again.


She heard the click of the mail slot as she carried her breakfast to the living room. The post can wait a few minutes. She reveled in the peaceful stillness of the first sunlit hours, when nobody would tell her that food belonged only in the kitchen, and Petunia wouldn't be complaining loudly that she found some of Lily's books in her room.


Yes, she was definitely a morning person. That is, whenever she got up in time to enjoy the peaceful morning hours. She sighed contentedly as she finished her cereal, and put the bowl and spoon away after soaping and rinsing them. Washing your own breakfast dishes was a family rule.


She raised her face to the sunlight pouring in through the kitchen window, then went to the front door and returned with a stack of envelopes. She settled in the living room once more, a recliner this time, and flipped through two bills, a toothpaste advertisement, a coupon for a major department store, another bill...suddenly she stopped. She stared at the heavy yellowish parchment on her lap. Who uses this type of stuff nowadays? And--wait a minute--it’s addressed to me!


“Lily Evans, “ she read. “The Kitchen, 46 Elmwood Rd, Redhill, Surrey.”


A sudden fear overtook her. How could anyone have possibly known I would be in the kitchen? Am I being stalked? Her eyes involuntarily glanced at the window, but she saw nothing but the gently waving branches of an oak tree and puffy white clouds barely moving against a pale blue sky.


Maybe she should wait for her parents before opening the letter. Yes, that was the wisest thing to do...she wouldn’t open it.


Or would she? Naturally inquisitive, and of a somewhat impatient nature, Lily couldn’t help turning over the envelope to search for some sign, some clue to the identity of the sender. She looked oddly at the old-fashioned red wax seal. She could make out a lion, a serpent, an eagle, and a badger. Or something like a badger, anyway.




Feeling slightly reckless, and knowing she might be horrified at the contents of the letter, she nevertheless broke the seal and eased the letter out. Dropping her eyes to the first line, she read, “We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”



Her mouth fell open, and for a few seconds she couldn’t think. Then she quickly read the entire letter, her eyes flying over the parchment. A slow smile spread across her face. Could this be true?

She had always loved magical fairy tales, and had never completely believed that magic didn’t exist. And now, it seemed as if her dreams had come true...maybe there was such a thing as magic.



Or maybe this was all just a great joke, cooked up by her next-door neighbor and best friend, Tamara Lorens. Yes , that makes perfect sense, she thought. Logic kicked in. Tami knew of her hope that magic was still alive, and Tami also knew that if she was awake, she'd get the mail.



In retrospect, it was a good thing she hadn’t waited for her parents before opening the letter and worried them for nothing. Another thought suddenly occurred to her, and she realized that the envelope had not been stamped or postmarked. That confirmed her suspicions. Tami would’ve been able to just slip the envelope in through the mail slot.



The hope and longing that had flared briefly inside her at seeing the letter died. She grinned. Ooh, Tami. You’re gonna get it this time.



She ran to the backyard, climbed the stone wall that bordered their property, and was beneath Tami’s second floor bedroom window in three minutes. Before she had a chance to call her friend’s name, the window flew open and Tami waved.


“Come on up, the door’s unlocked!” Tami called.



Lily opened their back door and bounded up the stairs. This was like her second home, and Mr. Lorens was sort of like an older brother to her. Lily didn’t have any brothers or boy friends-that is, friends who were boys--and thought Mr. Lorens was nice.


Often, his work would take him away from home for a few days, and if he couldn’t take Tami along, she would stay either at her aunt’s or at Lily’s house. Lily smiled, remembering their last sleepover. They had watched a movie and eaten popcorn and chocolate till they felt sick. They had stayed awake, talking, till after midnight. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if magic were true?” Lily had asked dreamily.


Tami had nodded with an odd look on her face. “Yes, it would be....” her voice had trailed off into a yawn and they had both gone to sleep soon after.


That was probably what gave Tami the idea to send the letter.


“Lily?” Tami called. “Did you faint or something?”


Lily looked up to the head of the stairs. Tami had a huge grin on her face and beckoned to Lily. “We have so much to talk about! Come on up!” she said excitedly.



Lily smiled. Tami was pretty, with brown wavy hair, light brown eyes, and a faint spattering of freckles on her nose. But it wasn’t her delicate features that made her likable so much as the twinkle in her eyes, the dimples with her smile, and her enthusiastic, fun-loving personality.


“Merlin, Lily--we haven’t spoken in ages !” Tami said.


After hearing Tami use ‘Merlin’ as an exclamation for years, Lily had gotten used to it. When she'd gone and checked up Merlin, and discovered he was some ancient wizard, she had asked Tami why she used it, but had never gotten a clear explanation. So she just took it in stride, and now barely noticed when Tami used it.

Lily grinned and began climbing the stairs. “Since when is the definition of ‘ages’ one day?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. She reached the top and high-fived Tami, who was so excited, she was practically jumping. They walked down the hall to Tami’s room and sat on the bed.


“So, did you get it?” Tami asked, delight written all over her face. “I just got mine...ooh, I’m so happy!”


“What?” Lily was suddenly surprised. What’s going on? Didn’t Tami send that letter?

“What are you talking about, Tami?” Lily asked quickly.


Tami’s face fell. “What? I mean...I don’t understand...you didn’t? You should’ve! I mean, you’ve always been able to....”



Tami stopped suddenly, her eyes wide, a hand on her mouth. “Don’t tell me you didn’t get one. Merlin--please don’t tell me you didn’t get a letter this morning.”



“Tami, what’s going on? I did get a letter this morning, but--I thought....” Lily’s voice trailed off as Tami began jumping all over the room. A miniature glass unicorn fell off the windowsill and shattered, but Tami didn’t seem to notice.


Lily preferred this Tami to one that was shocked and upset. She watched amusedly for a few minutes as Tami began loudly singing a song she had never heard, something about “Montrose Magpies” and “faster snitches.”

“Tami? You’re mad,” Lily proclaimed, and grinning, she stretched out on the bed. “When you feel like explaining, I’ll be right here.”

“Dad!” Tami yelled. “Lily’s gotten her letter! I told you she would!”


Mr. Lorens walked, smiling, into the room. “Congratulations, Lily. I’m happy for you, and obviously Tami’s thrilled.”


Lily was now more confused than ever. Suddenly, the truth hit her. The hopeful feeling she had buried earlier that morning rose up again. “You mean...that letter. It’s true?”

“Of course, you idiot!” Tami replied. “Oh, I’m so excited I can barely breathe!”


She turned to her father. “Dad, the unicorn fell again. I’m sorry. I’ll have to find a different place to put it. Could you please fix it for me?”


“Of course, darling,” he replied.


Lily looked from one to the other. How could it have fallen again? Didn’t it shatter every time it fell?

“Watch, Lily,” Tami said. “You’re about to see your first real magic show.”


Lily realized that Mr. Lorens was holding a thin wooden stick in one hand. He pointed it at the shards of glass, said ‘Reparo’ lazily, and blue sparks shot out of the stick. Lily gasped as the hundreds of tiny glass fragments rose into the air and reformed into the lovely glass unicorn they had been before.


Lily could feel her heart pumping forcefully. Was that magic? “What...what just happened?” she asked weakly. There was a pounding in her ears. She didn’t dare to believe....


“Oh, Lily.” Tami hugged her tightly. “The secrets are finally over. I’m a witch, and so are you.”


~*~



“I still can’t believe you kept it a secret all these years,” Lily said over lunch. “I knew I wasn't imagining it when that photograph in your living room winked at me last week," she added, grinning.


They had spread a picnic blanket in the Lorens’ backyard, and they laughed and talked as Tami told Lily everything she had ever wanted to know about magic. Mr. Lorens had promised to take them both to Diagon Alley the next day, and Lily’s parents were going to come along, too.


They were thrilled that their daughter was a witch. At first, they hadn’t believed her, thinking it was just her imagination running wild again. But after Mr. Lorens had spoken to them and proved that magic did, in fact, exist, they had been ecstatic.


“I always had a feeling Lily was special,” her father had said, smiling.

“Oh, darling. To think that you’ve been chosen....” her mother had said joyfully.


They had spoken for a while, her parents beaming the whole time, and then Lily had gone back to talk to Tami.


“Wait till you see Diagon Alley. It’s amazing!” Tami said. “My first memory of Diagon Alley is when I was five. I had gotten a strawberry ice cream, and after I ate it, my hair, skin, and clothes turned bright red. They stayed that way for a week,” she recalled, laughing. “My mum thought it was a great joke.”


Lily’s thoughts turned to Mrs. Lorens. She had been a veritable ball of energy, always busy, and always laughing or smiling. Tami was just like her.


Mrs. Lorens had died a year earlier in a terrible fire that had ravaged the Lorens’ home. The house had been rebuilt quickly, and Mrs. Lorens’ presence could still be felt all over the house. Photographs of her laughing and smiling hung in every room. All the memories Lily had of Mrs. Lorens were happy ones.


Tami’s voice cut through Lily’s thoughts. “It wasn’t an electrical fire, you know. Mum had been trying to transfigure something, but didn’t realize it had been ‘sealed.’ It..it exploded in her face and set the house on fire...I still can’t believe my mum could make a mistake like that. She was so good at transfiguration, head of her department at the Ministry. It’s so awful....”

“I know,” Lily said. “I miss her.”


“Me, too,” Tami whispered, tears welling in her eyes. “All the time.”


Lily put a comforting arm around Tami’s shoulders and they leaned back on the blanket, watching the clouds move gently across the brilliant blue summer sky.


~*~




Tap, tap, tap. James Potter sighed and rolled over underneath the covers. He had been in middle of a good dream--he was watching a Quidditch World Cup game, and the teams were at a tie, 70-70. Now he’d never know who had won.


Oh, well. You couldn’t have everything in life. Or at least that’s what his mum was always telling him. James smiled and stretched, pushing a hand through his messy black hair.


There were two weeks left to summer, which had been enormous fun. He grinned as he remembered some of the finer points of the summer, which included turning his mum’s favorite set of china dishes into rabbits.


With pink, rose-patterned fur.


He couldn’t help it. He had been forced to sit through a formal dinner one day with some of his father’s partners from the Ministry, and he had felt the boredom and impatience building in him until he couldn’t stand it.


Then something in him went pop and everyone’s dinner plates had started scampering around the table, nibbling at the lettuce in the salad bowl. James had laughed uproariously and had been sent up to eat dinner in his room, which was what he had wanted anyway.


His mother had calmed down rather quickly, considering that she had just been embarrassed in front of several important Ministry wizards, and his father had transfigured all the rabbits back within two minutes. Nobody was harmed except for the salad, which nobody would touch.


James knew his parents were secretly happy about his frequent “accidents”. They would’ve been horribly disappointed if their only son turned out to be a Squib. With this knowledge in mind, he usually managed to avoid punishment when he got into trouble involving magic. But the furry dinner plates had been the last straw for his mum and dad, and so he’d been sent up to his room.


Big deal. He loved a good prank. The only thing that bothered him about the rabbits was that he couldn’t take full credit for them, because he hadn’t been thinking specifically of rabbits when his magic had taken control.

That would all change once he went to Hogwarts. Once he had a wand and had learnt a few good spells, he would be able to prank people intentionally. He couldn’t wait.


The tapping sounded again. James walked to his window and threw it open. The handsome brown owl sitting on the windowsill hooted. It stuck out its leg, which had a letter tied to it.


James calmly untied the letter and the owl flew off. He stared after it for a second, then seized the letter and turned it over. The red wax sealing the envelope had a lion , an eagle, a badger, and a serpent imprinted on it.


James let out a joyous yell.


“James?” a voice floated down the hall. “Are you all right, dear?”


“I just got my Hogwarts letter, mum!” he shouted. Finally.


He tore the envelope open and extracted the heavy yellow parchment. His eyes quickly scanned the letter.


“Yes!” he cheered, punching the air above his head. He had been waiting for this moment for years.


Mr. and Mrs. Potter walked into the room, laughing. “Looks like we’ll be making a trip to Diagon Alley today, hmm?” his father said.


“I think this calls for a celebration breakfast.” Mrs. Potter smiled.


“Yes!” James cheered again. “Can we have waffles?”


“Of course, darling,” his mother answered. “And we’ll have chocolate ice cream on top.” She turned to leave the room. “Hurry and get dressed, James, will you?” she called over her shoulder. “We should get an early start if we want to spend the day in Diagon Alley.”


James, grinning, turned to get dressed. This was the perfect ending to a wonderful summer. He would get his own wand today, and the independence that came with it. He was more than ready to learn magic.

He absently stroked his pet Kneazle, Tiger, as his intelligent hazel eyes gazed out of the window over their expansive grounds. He watched one of their many Aethonans canter along the fence of the pasture it was in and take off gracefully, soaring through the air.


That instantly made him think of Quidditch. He smiled. He was good at Quidditch, and he knew it. His skill was a combination of a natural talent for flying he had inherited from his mother, and a dexterity that he had developed through practice. Hogwarts had a Quidditch team. He couldn’t wait till he was old enough to try out.


With a huge grin on his face, he finished getting dressed and left the room, Tiger following him down the stairs to the kitchen.

A/N: I'm feeling rather poetic today, so let me remind you all that a review to a fanfic writer is like water to a rose...without them we shrivel and dry up.
Well, not really. ;D But I'd really appreciate it if you left a review.
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Bright Horizons by rivers of gold
Chapter Two: Bright Horizons

Lily’s bright green eyes darted back and forth, trying to see everything at once and commit it all to memory. She didn’t want to forget even one second of her first time in Diagon Alley. Petunia had opted to go to a friend’s house for the day rather than come along, and Lily frowned slightly at the thought. She and Petunia had always gotten along reasonably well, but Petunia wasn’t taking the news that Lily was a witch as well as Lily had hoped she would.

“Told you it’s amazing, didn’t I?” Tami said from beside Lily.

Behind them, Mr. Lorens was talking animatedly to Lily’s parents, explaining what the vendors were selling. “Broomsticks, oldest mode of magical transport; collapsible cauldrons, so glad those came out, having to lug around a three-gallon cauldron was a pain--”

Lily’s parents smiled at each other, then at Lily, and let him talk uninterrupted.

“Let’s go to Gringott’s first and exchange your Muggle money, shall we, and then we can spend the rest of the day shopping.” They began to weave their way through the crowds in the direction of the wizarding bank.

“It’s run by goblins,” Tami said.

“Goblins? What do they look like?”

“Real creepy. And the way they stare at you down their long noses....Urgh,” Tami said, wrinkling her nose. “But don’t you ever dare mention that when they’re around. They’re very proud, and if you insult them....Hey, we’re here.”

“What happens if you insult a goblin?”

“Well, let’s just say they’ll fight to defend their honor with no regrets about who gets killed in the crossfire,” Tami said darkly.

The bank was cool, and quiet compared to the shouting of the vendors and the general noise of the crowd outside. Goblins are extremely creepy, Lily thought, but wisely didn’t speak her thoughts out loud.

Lily and her parents waited in the lobby and exchanged their pounds for galleons while Mr. Lorens and Tami went to their underground vault. After they were sufficiently loaded with gold, they made their way out into the street again.

Their first stop was Ollivander’s, to get them both wands. Then they went on to buy robes, school books, and supplies.

“Dad, can we go off on our own for a while? Please?” Tami asked, a hopeful look on her face.

“Well, I did want to take the Evanses for a butterbeer, so if they have no objection--”

“Yes! Thanks, Dad,” Tami said, when the Evanses shook their heads and smiled. Lily grinned at her parents and the adults and children went their separate ways, dividing their many packages between them.

“Good. Now we’ll have two hours all to ourselves.”

For a while they just window-shopped, stopping at a street vendor to buy crushed ice that changed flavors every few minutes.

“Yum. Mine’s pineapple now. What’s yours?” Lily asked.

“It’s--” Tami paused as she tasted her ice. “Ew, coconut. I hate coconut. How much longer till it changes?”

Lily laughed. “Let’s swap. I don’t mind coconut.” Talking and giggling, they continued up the street.

~*~


“Oh, look!” Lily said, pointing to a colorful shop window. “It’s a pet shop.” One of the many things the two friends had in common was a strong love for animals.

“Now there’s one place we’ve got to go,” said Tami, and they walked into the shop together. Surprisingly, the shop was not smelly at all, and filled with a combination of weird sounds. Lily and Tami could hear humming, squeaking, meowing, growling, barking and an occasional pop or bang.

There was a rustling sound, and with a whirring of feathers, a large green bird with a bright red beak landed on a wooden perch near the front counter.

“Where’d that come from?” Tami asked.

The bird blinked. It ruffled its feathers, glared at Tami, and squawked, “My name is Xenobe. Feel free to look around; help will be with you in a moment. And I think you are the rudest of your kind I have ever met.” With this statement, it turned its back on them and flew off into the back of the shop.

“What did I do?” Tami asked amusedly as she turned to Lily.

“Search me,” Lily replied, grinning. “You sure got on her bad side, though. What did she say her name was? ‘Any bee?’”

“It’s okay,” a deep voice answered from behind them. They whirled around and came face-to-face with a tall, smiling wizard with a goatee. “Xenobe’s mine. She’s very temperamental, and I think she’s the rudest of her kind I have ever met. And I didn’t choose her name, either.”

He winked at them, and Tami and Lily grinned.

“Have a look around, and if there’s anything you want, ring for me,” he said, pointing to a dented silver bell on the counter.

They nodded, and began walking up and down the aisles. There were little cards next to each cage describing the animals and their magical properties. That’s considerate, Lily thought.

They passed a cage of completely silent bright orange birds. “Fwoopers,” the card read. “This African bird’s song can drive the listener to insanity. A Silencing charm will need to be performed once a month.”

As Tami and Lily stood there, first one and then another began to sing, until they were all singing. The song was achingly beautiful, and caused all thought to vanish from Lily’s mind. Her feet stopped hurting, her stomach stopped growling. All that mattered was the song, the song, only the song--and Lily felt her life would end if the birds stopped singing....

“Silencio!” a voice shouted, and the birds fell silent.

Lily blinked and shook her head confusedly. She and Tami were both breathing hard, as if they had just run down the aisle instead of walked.

“Are you two okay?” came the worried voice of the shop owner.

Lily and Tami nodded. “Thank you, sir,” Tami said.

“Yeah, no problem,” he answered. “Sorry about that.”

He muttered under his breath and moved up the aisle. “Effing assistant forgot the charm again. I swear I’ll kill him this time….” His voice trailed off as he turned into the next aisle.

Lily quirked an eyebrow and Tami smirked at his near usage of a four-letter word. After a while, they reached the back of the shop and encountered an open glass rectangle with what looked like little puppies inside. “Happy Birthday,” Lily read. “These Crup puppies are six weeks old today. They will be ready for sale in just one week.” Upon closer inspection, they realized that the brown-and-white puppies all had forked tails.
“Ooh, how sweet!” Lily said, putting a hand into the box and calling softly to the puppies. On her left, Tami did the same. The puppies stumbled toward them and began rubbing against their hands, licking and chewing their fingers.

“I’m definitely going to get one of these when I graduate Hogwarts,” Tami said. “You can’t get a license for these unless you can control them from being ferocious to Muggles. We don’t have that power yet.”

“We will soon,” Lily replied, as they turned reluctantly from the Crup cage and began making their way back to the front of the shop.

“Yeah. We will,” Tami said dreamily.

Suddenly, a furry white creature with a black face hurtled down the aisle, its tail flicking Lily lightly on her leg as it passed. A few feet away, it raised its head, turned back, and trotted toward them, rubbing against Lily’s bare legs.

“Look. She’s wearing a collar. She belongs to somebody.”

A boy with messy black hair who seemed about their age strode down the aisle. “Tiger! There you are.” He was carrying a bag in one hand and a leash in the other.

Tiger looked at him with her intelligent dark eyes, but didn’t move from beside Lily.

“That stupid bird thought it would be funny to untie her leash,” the boy said, making a face. There was a familiar whirring of wings, and ‘that stupid bird’ was zooming down the aisle.

“What did you call me?”

Xenobe landed on his shoulder and dug in with her talons. “Hey. Ouch! I just”I--get off!” The boy yelled as Xenobe began beating him around the head with her wings.

“Take that, and that, you horrible boy!”

Tami and Lily hung back, torn between amusement and concern for the boy’s facial features. Then they heard, “Accio Xenobe!” from somewhere behind them, and the bird zoomed backwards out of sight, shrieking and cursing.

“I hope you get eaten by a starving Thestral!” The boy shouted after her. Tiger ran to him and leaped effortlessly into his arms, and his anger disappeared. “Thanks for nothing,” the boy said affectionately, scratching Tiger behind the ears.

Tiger purred, licking the boy on his cheek.

“I’m James Potter,” he said, coming up to them and sticking out a hand.

“Lily Evans. Nice meeting you.”

“Tami Lorens. Likewise. Are you a first year at Hogwarts?”

James nodded. “You?”

There were nods all around.

“Tiger likes you,” James said, addressing Lily. “That’s a huge compliment. Kneazles aren’t very trusting by nature.”

Lily smiled. “Oh, is that what she is? She’s pretty.”

“Yeah,” Tami said. “How old is she?”

“Three. I’ve had her since she was a kitten.” James grinned proudly. “Well, anyway. I’ve need to go. Nice meeting you, er....” his voice trailed off as he looked at them apologetically.

“Lorens.”

“Evans.”

“Nice meeting you too, Potter,” Tami said. Lily nodded in agreement.

James walked off with Tiger at his side, now with her leash attached securely to her collar.

“Wonder if he’ll be in our house,” Lily said. Tami had briefed her about the four Hogwarts houses and what they represented.

“We’ll find out soon enough.” They walked out into bright sunlight, squinting against the glare.

“Oh! They’re here,” a voice called. Lily’s parents and Tami’s father strolled over. “All done, girls?” Mr. Evans asked.

“Yeah. It was brilliant. Thank you,” they chorused.

“Can we have lunch? I’m famished.”

“Me, too.”

Mr. Lorens smiled. “Well, now that you mention it, I know of this lovely little Italian restaurant....”

“That sounds great. Let’s go!”

~*~


“You should be proud of the fact that I’m normal! Lily’s a witch! She’s some kind of odd freak!” Petunia was screaming, her face red in anger. After a day of silence, she had lost control. “Anything Lily’s ever done has been wonderful. When she put a frog under my pillow last month, she thought that was funny! I’m sure if I would ever have received such a letter, you’d have chucked me straight out!”

“Petunia! That’s enough. You know that’s not true. We already agreed on the fact that the frog escaped from the box Lily was keeping it in and hid under your pillow. Lily did not place it there intentionally. Your mother and I love you both equally, whether you’re witches or not.” Mr. Evans put a placating hand on Petunia’s shoulder and threw a desperate look at his wife.

“You’re lying, and you and I both know it.” Petunia shrugged off her father’s hand and angrily stormed from the dinner table. “I hate you! I hate you all!”

Lily gasped and burst into tears. Sobbing, she ran up the stairs to her room.

“No, Lily. Wait!”

Two doors slammed, one after the other. Mr. Evans took a deep breath and released it slowly. “All right,” he said, addressing his wife. “You go take care of Lily, and I’ll do my best with Petunia.”

They walked up the stairs together and parted at the landing. Mrs. Evans knocked at Lily’s door and walked in. Lily was lying face down on the bed, sobbing into her pillow.
“Lily, darling.” Mrs. Evans sat on the edge of the bed, gently stroking Lily’s back. “I’m sorry about the things Petunia said to you. She was just, er, surprised, that’s all.

“She...she said I was...abnormal...a...a freak,” Lily sobbed.

“That’s not true, Lily. You’re very special, and very lucky to be going to Hogwarts. Your father and I are both so proud of you.”

Mr. Evans walked in, closing the door quietly behind him. “She wouldn’t let me in,” he mouthed. He joined his wife on the side of the bed. “Lily, we’re both so happy that you’ve been accepted into Hogwarts. I don’t know what we ever did to deserve a daughter this wonderful.”

Lily sat up, her body still shuddering with dry sobs. “You...you don’t think I’m-weird?”

“No, Lily. The way I understood it, there are about a thousand students at Hogwarts. I seriously doubt it’s an institution for weird people. And even if you would be, we’d still love you, flower.”

Lily hugged her father and kissed her mother on the cheek. “Thanks, Mum….Dad. I love you.”

“No more tears, dear. You’re going to Hogwarts with Tami! You must be the luckiest girl in all of England.”

“Don’t worry about Petunia. She’ll come around, you’ll see.” Her mother sounded hopeful, and her father smiled. But Lily felt, somewhere deep inside, that something had changed permanently between herself and Petunia. Something irreparable had been broken in their relationship, and though they might pretend differently, things would never be the same again.

Her parents stood to leave the room, and Lily smiled. I have the most wonderful parents in the world.
And, a cruel voice in her mind added, the most horrible sister.

~*~


James lay stretched out on his Tutshill Tornados bedspread, eating pumpkin cookies. He gazed at a Quidditch poster that hung on the opposite wall. It showed Roderick Plumpton making his record-breaking capture of a snitch. The game had been over in three-and-a-half seconds. Tornados fans hadn’t been sure whether they should be euphoric or disappointed, and James grinned at the thought. Plumpton had style.

Tiger leaped noiselessly onto the bed and lay next to James, throwing a paw over his chest. He rubbed the fur between her ears gently. There’s still plenty of daylight left, he thought musingly. Maybe I could“

“Mum!” He yelled. Tiger glared and flounced out the door, tail held high.

“I’ve told you not to yell, dear. If you want to tell me something, come here.”

James stood and brushed cookie crumbs off his shirt. He took the stairs two at a time and jumped the last three. “Can I go riding, Mum? Please?”

“I don’t know, James. You know I don’t like you taking out the horses before they’ve been exercised.”

James rolled his eyes. He’d been riding since he was eight, and his mother still didn’t let him ride the horses unless they’d had ‘the tickles taken out of them,’ as his father put it.

“Middy was out today. You can ride him,” Mr. Potter called from the next room.

“Thanks, Dad!” James exclaimed, and made his way outside. Inside the stables, he took an enchanted key from its hook under a little bronze sign labeled “Midnight”. He walked down the broad aisle and breathed in the smells of sawdust, hay and horse.

He called to the horses as he passed them, stopping to stroke their noses and let them whiff at his fingers. “Hey, boy.” This was Derry, a Granian, noted for their speed. “Hello, girl.” Penny, one of their many Aethonans, her chestnut coat gleaming.

Reaching Middy’s stall, James whistled softly. “Hey, Middy. How are you today?”

He stretched out a hand and petted the Aethonan’s velvety nose. “Would you like to go out for a while, mate?”

The chestnut stallion whickered softly in reply. James unlocked the stall and carefully led Middy outside, replacing the key on its hook. He walked Middy to the pasture and swung himself up on his back. “Let’s go, Middy. Take me for a ride.”

Middy began trotting, then cantering. Raising his beautiful head, Middy neighed joyously. He was galloping now, running flat out across the field. James could feel the muscles on Middy’s back tense, then he spread his wide, powerful wings and rose into the air.

James cheered. “That was brilliant, Middy!” Soaring through the air, with his black hair whipping back from his face, James could see every mile of their expansive grounds.

“Would you like a plum, Middy? Let’s go to the orchards.” Middy banked to the left and began descending. They landed gently in a grove of plum trees, and James slid off Middy’s back. He picked two ripe red plums and held one on his palm. Middy leaned forward and delicately ate the plum from James’ hand, while James ate the other.

They stayed there for a while, James thinking about how much he loved flying and horses and summer plums and the sweet smell of grass where Middy’s hooves had crushed it. Too soon, it was time to head back, and they rose into the air once more. James stroked Middy’s neck and recalled the way his parents’ eyes lit up when they talked about Hogwarts. The setting sun threw its last few rays over them and Middy’s chestnut coat shone copper and gold. James sighed contentedly and gazed at the purple and orange clouds on the horizon. Times were changing. In just two weeks, he’d be on the train to Hogwarts. He couldn’t wait. “Hogwarts, here I come!” he shouted into the wind.


A/N: Did this chapter make you smile? Frown? Yawn? Let me know in a review! ;)
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Sparkle of Friendships by rivers of gold
Chapter Three: Kneazles Are Sensitive

The scarlet engine of the Hogwarts Express puffed smoke out over the platform. “Bye, Mum. Love you, Dad. Don’t miss me too much,” Lily said with a little smile on her face.

“Now, that’s impossible, Lily,” her father replied. “Have fun at your new school, lovely flower.”

“Don’t forget to write, darling,” her mother added. “We’ll think of you every day.”

One last hug and kiss, and Tami was pulling Lily towards the train. Pushing their trunks before them, they stepped off the platform and onto the train. They waved goodbye as the train began to move, till it went around a bend and the people on the platform disappeared.

Lily and Tami were still standing in the corridor. In keeping with her impatient nature, Lily nudged Tami with her elbow. “We’d better find ourselves a compartment.” They began walking down the corridor, glancing into compartments as they passed them.

“Not this one, there’s a prefect meeting going on inside...see their badges?”

“Oohh, looks like somebody’s ink bottle smashed in this one. I wonder if it stains permanently.”

“That one’s full...Merlin, they’re huge. Must be seventh years.”

In every compartment, people were beginning to settle in, taking out food, quill and parchment, things to read or games. “Hey,” Lily said. “Doesn’t that animal look familiar?” She inclined her head towards the next compartment.

“Merlin, yeah! It’s the kneazle from the pet shop. Now we know there’s at least one first year in there...let’s see if there’s room for us.”

Lily slid open the compartment door and they stepped inside. “Hello...any room in here?”

A boy with thin dirty-blond hair and bangs looked up from the crossword puzzle he was doing in the Daily Prophet. “Looks like it,” he said ruefully, gesturing at the five seats left, one of which was occupied by the kneazle.

Tami and Lily heaved their trunks onto the overhead rack, panting slightly with the effort, and sat down next to the kneazle and across from the boy. The kneazle instantly jumped onto Lily’s lap, purring. Lily petted her gently. “What was her name again?”

“Her name’s Tiger.” The boy with the messy black hair stood in the doorway, looking curiously at Lily. “How’d you get her to come to you?”

“I didn’t. She sort of just...jumped onto me.” said Lily.

“Oh. Hey, didn’t I meet you two in Diagon Alley?”

“Yeah, that’s us.”

The boy took the seat next to Tami.

“What was your name again?” Lily asked.

“Potter.” He opened a bag of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans. Biting into a green one, he made a face and spit it out into his hand.

“Ew! That’s disgusting-did you have to do that?” Tami yelled, sliding as far away from him and his spitty hand as she could--which wasn’t much.

The blonde boy glanced up. “You didn’t expect him to actually eat the nasty thing, did you?”

“Merlin, yeah! Better than spitting it out!”

The blonde shook his head. “Girls,” he muttered, and went back to his crossword.

James shrugged, then fished around in the bag and took out a red bean. Popping it into his mouth, he chewed experimentally for a few seconds, then swallowed. “Not bad. Cough potion.”

“Yuck.” Lily made a face. She reached up and took a bag of oatmeal cookies out of her trunk. "Now these are good."

“What kind are those?” James asked interestedly.

“Oatmeal. They’re homemade.”

“Hey, that’s cool...I’ve got pumpkin. Wanna trade?”

“Well...you can have a cookie, but I’m not touching anything from your spitty hands.”

“Ew. Neither am I,” Tami added.

James narrowed his eyes in annoyance. “You know what? I don’t think I want your cookie.”

“Suit yourself,” she answered drily. She had always enjoyed irritating the boys at her old muggle school, particularly because they were always looking for ways to annoy her. Which had never been too easy for them, she recalled, smiling slightly.

Tami made a point of turning her back to him and engaging Lily in conversation, sharing the oatmeal cookies between them. James looked the other way and tried to pretend like he didn’t notice, or care, that the girls were ignoring him.

Lily and Tami saw right through this act, but didn’t remark on it. Lily glanced over at him occasionally, but only when he wasn’t looking, of course. She began to feel just a bit sorry about the way they had treated him. Granted, what he did was gross, but maybe they had overreacted just a bit...

After ten excruciatingly long minutes for James, during which Tiger still sat on Lily’s lap, purring comfortably, and he felt he would die of boredom, the door slid open. James looked up and saw a short boy with long, straight, black hair.

“Hey,” the boy said. “Don’t suppose I could sit here?”

“Why not?” James asked. Finally, a distraction from those two irritating girls.

“Got thrown out of the other compartment I tried.”

“Why’s that?” James asked curiously.

“Ah. Now there’s a good question.”

Lily and Tami looked up, curious.

“Did you do something against the rules?” The blond boy asked.

“What rules?” Lily and James asked simultaneously. Lily grinned. Maybe this Potter boy wasn’t so bad, after all.

The blond boy’s face turned slightly pink as he bent once more over his newspaper. Great job, he thought disgustedly. That was definitely the right thing to say.

“We haven’t been told any rules yet, so how could we break them?” James demanded, with a side glance at Lily.

“Good point, that.” The black-haired boy nodded. “Tell it to the prefects.” He threw himself into the seat next to the blonde boy. “I’m starving. Anybody with food feeling generous?”

“Want an oatmeal cookie?” Lily offered.

“Nah, I can’t stand oatmeal. Used to have to eat it every morning, cold, till I began making my own breakfasts.”

“You make your own breakfasts?” James looked amazed.

“What’s the big deal?” Lily said haughtily. “So do I.”

“Oh, come off it, Lily, the only thing you know how to make are eggs,” Tami said, laughing. “And why are you acting all stuck-up about it?” she whispered in Lily’s ear.

James and the black-haired boy laughed in a friendly way. Though they hadn't heard Tami's whisper, Lily flushed. “Thanks a lot, Tami.” She said, shooting Tami a dirty look. Hardly anybody but Tami could insult her like that, and get away with it. Maybe that was because somewhere, buried deep in Lily’s subconscious, she knew that she needed to be criticized sometimes, and was grateful for it...or maybe it was just because of the loving way Tami said it, almost as if it weren’t an insult. Whatever the reason, Lily didn’t mind Tami criticizing her, as long as it didn’t happen too often. But in public...that was too much.

“Oh, come on now, don’t go and get all insulted,” the black-haired boy said. “The only thing I know how to make is toast. And I burned it this morning.”

Lily smiled reluctantly, feeling slightly better.

“So, anybody got any food?” The boy asked.

“How about a pumpkin cookie?” Asked James.

“You’ve got pumpkin cookies? You serious?”

James nodded.

“No, wait. You can’t be Sirius!”

“Why not?” James asked, taking out a cookie as proof.

“Because I’m Sirius. Sirius Black.” He paused, suddenly doubtful. “Unless you’re named Sirius, too?”

Lily quirked an eyebrow at Tami, who rolled her eyes.

“No...I’m James Potter.”

“Well, good to meet you James, and all the rest of that rubbish our parents brainwashed us to say.” Ignoring the girls’ disapproving expressions, he took the cookie James held out and stuffed it into his mouth. “Yum. They’re homemade, aren’t they?” he asked through a mouthful of cookie, spraying crumbs everywhere.

“Yes.” James made a face at the two girls, who had moved to the farthest possible side of the compartment, with disgusted looks on their faces. “See, he likes them!”

“Why, wasn’t I supposed to? Did you just poison me or something, mate?”

James liked the easy way Sirius used the word 'mate'. “Nah, I ate one too, I swear. Have another.” James got up and sat himself next to Sirius, extending the bag of pumpkin cookies and taking one himself.

Tiger raised her head and meowed softly, and James threw her a cookie. "Though you're a traitor," he muttered. She caught it in her mouth and ate it slowly, blinking innocently at him and dropping crumbs on Lily’s lap.

“Well, the girls haven’t introduced themselves, have they? Tut, tut. Where are your manners?” Sirius asked, smirking slightly.

“I’m Lily Evans.” She said this cooly, and raised an eyebrow. Evidently, she didn’t think too much of Sirius’ manners.

“And I’m Tami Lorens. You’ve got crumbs on your shirt.”

“Fancy that. I’ve always wanted that to happen,” he said.

“Why, haven’t you ever eaten a cookie before?” Lily asked sarcastically.

“No.” He stared at her unwaveringly. “I haven’t.”

Lily raised her eyebrows, wondering what he meant. Was it possible he’d really never eaten a cookie? Preposterous.

“So, James...have you tried out your wand yet?” Sirius asked, cramming another cookie into his mouth.

“Yeah. Didn’t get anything but sparks, though. How about you?”

“Oh, I got more than sparks, mate, much more.”

“What did you get?”

“Flames. I snuck into the rule-kissing prefects’ meeting up in front of the train and set their trunks on fire.”

“You what? How did you do that?” Lily asked, a reluctant smile creeping onto her face.

“Simple matter of knowing the right words.” Sirius winked.

James grinned. Sirius was definitely his kind of guy. He began telling Sirius about some of his summer escapades. When he got to the dishes-that-turned-into-rabbits story, Sirius had tears of laughter in his eyes.

“Ha! Merlin, that’s a good one. I’ll have to try that one on my mum sometime.”

James glanced over at Tami and Lily, who were ignoring the boys again. They were discussing, of all things, shoes. ““I mean, I like buying shoes, but I’m not obsessed with them the way some teenagers are. I wonder if we’ll be like that someday?”

“Yeah, I have two favorite pairs of shoes, but I have this teenage cousin-remember Martha? She has twenty-seven favorite pairs. And she has another thirty pairs just sitting and molding in the closet.”

“Do shoes mold?” James muttered to Sirius.

Sirius snickered. “I wouldn’t ask if I were you.”

“...you’re wearing pretty shoes, you make a good impression on--”

“Speaking of shoes...” The blonde boy glanced up. “I can’t figure out this crossword hint. It says, ‘In the Muggle story of Cinderella, what were the main character’s shoes made of?’”

“That’s an easy one.” Lily said. “Glass.”

“Glass?” He repeated incredulously. “No wonder I couldn’t figure it out. What kind of person would wear glass shoes?”

“It’s a fairy tale.” Lily retorted. “Er-that means it’s a made-up story. So not everything has to be realistic.”

“Oh. It’s odd, though. Thanks for the answer.” And he bent once more over his newspaper.

Lily stared at him absently for a few seconds, then turned to Tami. “Actually, with magic, glass slippers probably could exist. They’d be unbreakable, and have a cushioning charm...”

Sirius stood up and stretched. “Looks like that’s going to keep them busy for a while,” he said to James. “Let’s go ‘explore the train.'” Sirius winked, taking out a little wooden box with holes drilled in it.

James stood and cleared his throat. “Er...excuse me, Evans; can I have my kneazle back?”

“Gladly. Sorry, but I never asked her to come to me in the first place, I dunno why she“Ow!” Lily exclaimed, as Tiger dug her sharp claws into Lily’s thigh. “What was that for?”

James shrugged. “It's never a good idea to insult Tiger. Let’s go, girl.” Tiger leaped lightly off Lily’s lap and followed James and Sirius out of the compartment.

“Well, that was rude,” Lily remarked, raising an eyebrow.

“Hey, no fair,” the blonde boy said. “It’s his kneazle, after all, and you did insult it.”

“Lily gaped at him. “I don’t believe you’ve introduced yourself?” She said stiffly.

“Remus Lupin. And I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you mad, I just--”

“That’s okay. Maybe“maybe you’re right.” She turned to Tami. “I guess we should apologize to Potter,” she said seriously. “We haven’t been too nice to him.”

Smiling slightly, Remus leaned once more over his crossword puzzle. Five minutes later, the door banged open and James and Sirius burst inside. “That was brilliant! Did you see the look on that short girl’s face?”

“Okay, boys; do we even want to know what you just did?” Tami asked, knitting her eyebrows.

“I thought you weren’t talking to me?”

“Oh, that. Er“we’re sorry.” Lily looked sideways at Tami.

“We“er“we started that argument, and...”

James looked surprised. Then he grinned. “That’s okay.” The look on his face, however, seemed to indicate that it was more than just ‘okay.’

“So...what did you do?” Lily asked.

“Ah.” James and Sirius looked at each other and smirked. “Well, we sneaked into a compartment of third years...” James paused dramatically, “...and released these!”

Four tiny green frogs jumped out of a box Sirius was holding. The boys were expecting the half-shriek that came out of Lily’s mouth, but not the words that followed. “Oh, they’re so cute!” And she knelt and cupped one in her hand. “Oohh...it’s so tiny, so...alive. I love baby frogs.”

Lily looked up at the boys’ astonished faces and then caught Tami’s eye. The two girls burst out laughing. “Merlin! Dear, sweet Merlin,” Tami gasped. “Were we supposed to be afraid of them?” And she erupted into laughter again.

“Well, yeah,” James said, bemused. “Or at least disgusted. The third years were.”

“Goodness,” Lily said, giggling after every few words. “To think that...hee, hee, hee...I would be afraid of a frog...ha, ha, hee...I bring at least ten of them home every summer!” Lily was laughing so hard, tears were leaking out of the corners of her eyes.

James looked impressed; Sirius, annoyed. “Merlin, I don’t see what’s so funny,” Sirius said sulkily.

“Sorry,” Lily said, still laughing. “But you were going to prank us and then laugh at our expense, so it’s only fair that we’re laughing at you instead.”

Sirius groaned. “Hey, you!” He said, addressing Remus. “Maybe you could support us here? I mean, we’ll be three against two! You’ll raise the stakes in our favor.”

Remus looked at once hopeful and wary. “What exactly do you want me to do?”

Lily thought he looked a bit uncomfortable, as though he were unsure of the ground he was treading.

“Never mind.” Sirius sighed. “Go back to your crossword.”

As Sirius knelt to collect the frogs, Lily thought she detected a hurt look in Remus’ eyes. For the smallest part of a second, he had a wounded, defeated look on his face, then it was replaced by a carefully closed expression. Was she the only one who had noticed?


A/N:

Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
Did you like the chappie?
Please review!











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Flickering Destinies by rivers of gold
Just a few words for my wonderful reviewers: Thanks a lot, guys; I really appreciate it!

Chapter Four: Flickering Destinies

A few hours later, with the sky turning steadily darker, it was time to change into their school robes. “Okay, guys, get out--we need to change,” Lily told the boys.

Remus reddened slightly and left immediately.

“What makes you think we’d want to stay?” Sirius asked with a smirk. James didn’t say a word; just smiled and followed Sirius out.

“That Black boy has an attitude,” Tami said.

“Yeah, but he’s cute,” Lily replied indulgently. They changed quickly, unsure when the boys would get back. “Ah, privacy,” said Lily. “Rare and precious.” She sighed. “I’m getting hungry--it’s been hours since lunch.”

Tami’s stomach growled loudly. “Yeah, me too,” she said, laughing. They had just sat down when there was a loud crash from the corridor.

“Blimey. What's happened?” They ran to the door and looked out. All along the corridor, heads were peeking out of compartment doors. “Oh! Dear, sweet Merlin,” Tami said, slowly shaking her head. Lily’s mouth was wide open in shock.

The food cart that the smiling witch sold sweets out of had crashed, and food was thrown everywhere. Standing in middle of the mess were two very familiar boys...Black and Potter.

“What on earth?!” The food witch, no longer smiling, strode down the corridor. “What were you thinking? As soon as you two get sorted I’m speaking to your Heads of houses. You’re each getting a detention. I can’t believe the audacity....” Lily shut the compartment door, effectively cutting off the witch’s voice.

“Wow. That was fast, wasn’t it?” Tami looked mildly impressed.

“Yeah,” said Lily. “Excellent show.”

“Uh huh. Well, they definitely got the attention they were looking for.”

“Yeah. And the punishment they deserved. I do feel sorry for that nice witch."

“What? We were so not doing it for the attention!” Sirius said loudly from the doorway.

“Yeah, that was just a side bonus,” James added, grinning impishly.

“You got that right, mate.” Sirius high-fived James.

“Well, then, if you weren’t doing it for attention, why in Merlin’s name did you do it?” asked Tami, her hands on her hips.

“Ahh. It was all about money. The one force that rules the world. And, of course, for the challenge.”

“What are you talking about?” Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well...some fourth year told us, ‘I bet you can’t make the smiling witch mad.’ So we said, ‘Sure we can.’ So he said, ‘Okay, let’s see if you could make her mad enough to get the first detention of the year.’ So we asked him, ‘How much you wanna bet?’ So he said, ‘Five galleons.’ So we told him to make it six so that me and James here could split it more easily. He agreed and, well, you saw the rest.”

“You bet we did,” Tami muttered.

“I think you should rephrase that, Tami,” said Lily, winking.

Sirius grinned. He took three galleons out of his pocket and handed them to James. “All yours, mate. Great job.”

James smiled broadly and pocketed the gold. “Anytime.”

“So?” Sirius turned to the girls expectantly. “Care to comment?”

Lily raised an eyebrow. “Not really. I think you two got enough attention for today.”

The train slowed, and began pulling into Hogsmeade Station. A voice came from behind James and Sirius, who still stood in the doorway, looking slightly disappointed. “Excuse me, guys, you’re blocking traffic.” They turned to see Remus.

“Oh, sorry,” said James. “Hey, what do you say to our little show before?”

“Oh, that. Er...it was definitely, er...daring.”

“Yeah, it was, though, wasn’t it?” Sirius grinned. “Here, let me help you with that.” Remus removed his trunk from the overhead rack with Sirius’ assistance.

“Thank you,” Remus said carefully.

“Yeah, no problem. What was your name again?”

“Remus Lupin.”

“Okay...see you at the sorting,” James said.

“Yeah.” Remus nodded and left, dragging his trunk behind him.

James, Sirius, Lily and Tami left the train soon after and joined a knot of first years standing on the platform, uncertain where to go. Then, “Firs’ years over here!” a voice called, and they followed a giant of a man with bushy hair and beard down a winding road that led to a large lake. There were many small boats anchored near the shore.

“No more’n four to a boat!” the huge man shouted.

“I think his name’s Hagrid,” Tami whispered.

Lily and Tami joined a blonde girl they didn’t know who was sitting alone in a boat. She ignored their greeting, and the boats started forward, heading for the opposite shore. Pretty soon, they could make out twinkling lights through the mist, and then a large castle came into view.

“So, Lily. This is the fairy-tale castle you always dreamed about. All you’re missing is the prince.”

“Yeah.” Lily smiled, gazing up at the castle. “It’s a dream come true.”

~*~


“All right. Time for the Sorting.” Professor McGonagall was back, and the first years nervously followed her the Great Hall. A fraying black wizard’s hat sat on a stool in the center of the hall. It sang a long song about the four Houses and they qualities they stood for. When it finally finished, everyone applauded politely. Then there was silence, as Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a long parchment in one hand.

“Berl, Sara.” The blonde girl who had shared their boat. “Slytherin.” The table to the far right applauded.

“Black, Sirius.” The hat took its time with him. Then, finally, it said ‘Gryffindor’ in a respectful tone. There was a long moment of silence. Then the table on the far left exploded into cheers. “Oh, well done, Mr. Black,” Professor McGonagall said, beaming. “Well done.”

Lily was puzzled. What's going on? Oh, well, I’ll find out later, she thought.

A few more names were called, two Hufflepuffs and another Slytherin. Then, “Cruz, Danielle.” A slim girl with Spanish features started forward and tripped. There was a collective gasp. Danielle rose, very red in the face, and was declared a Gryffindor one minute later. She ran to her table, talking very fast and to nobody in particular. “My God, did you see me fall? Flat on my face! That was absolutely mortifying“I felt like I would die on the spot! And when I....”

Meanwhile, the Sorting was continuing. “Evans, Lily.” Lily walked nervously to the stool and put the hat on. After about ten seconds, the hat shouted, “Gryffindor!” She walked to the table and sat down, crossing her fingers for Tami.

Ten minutes later, Tami was sorted into Gryffindor. “Yes!” Lily cheered. They high-fived each other as Tami sat down. “Now we’ll be in the same dorm and everything!” Tami said excitedly.

“Lupin, Remus,” McGonagall called, and Remus walked up to the hat, twisting his hands and looking, perhaps, more nervous than anybody else had looked. The hat took about five seconds, then shouted, “Gryffindor!” Lily could see that the wizard with the long, silver beard““that’s Dumbledore,” Tami whispered“looked immensely pleased.

When "McAllen, Scott," was sorted into Ravenclaw, the girl named Danielle who was sitting further up the Gryffindor table groaned loudly. "No, Scott! Why?"

About five minutes later, a boy-Peter Pettigrew-was sitting on the Sorting stool. After a long three minutes, the hat finally called out ‘Gryffindor’ in a dubious voice. The boy, his face covered in sweat, came to sit at their table.

Two more students were sorted, and then “Potter, James” was called. “Come on, mate, don’t fail me now,” Sirius muttered under his breath. Three seconds later, when James was sorted into Gryffindor, Sirius cheered wildly and ran over to him, slapping him hard on the back.

“Looks like we’re stuck with the troublemakers,” Tami said, shaking her head and grinning.

“Yeah. Not that I mind. They’ll spice up school for us,” replied Lily, smiling back at her.

Ten minutes later, there was one girl left to be sorted. Looking very at ease, despite being the center of attention, "Zehnwirth, Debra" was sorted into Slytherin. Lily and Tami watched the pretty, black girl walk, straight-backed, to the table on the far right.

“You saw how she wasn’t nervous at all?” Tami asked wonderingly.

“Uh huh. She’s cool.” Lily replied. “Very confident.” A huge platter of chicken suddenly appeared in front of her, and the rest of the table filled with food as well. Everyone dug in, stuffing themselves. “Wow,” Lily remarked. “Impressive.”

“Now this is what I call a feast!” Sirius exclaimed, his plate piled high with food.

“You’re going to eat all that?” Lily asked amusedly.

“Of course!” And Sirius began eating like he’d never seen food before.

There was a sudden meowling sound. “Tiger!” James exclaimed. “You were supposed to stay in the dorm...how’d you find your way down here?”

“She probly follered the shmell of food,” Sirius said, his mouth bulging.

James picked her up. “Never mind.” He fed her a piece of chicken, which she ate slowly, crunching the bones, and then just sat, watching everyone eat and washing her whiskers.

Fifteen minutes later, most people, excluding Sirius, had satisfied their appetites somewhat, and Tiger had wandered off. Talk at the table had gravitated toward Houses. “My father was in Ravenclaw,” said Tami, “but he’ll be thrilled when he hears I’m a Gryffindor. My mother was a Gryffindor,” she added softly.

“My parents were both in Gryffindor,” James said, “but I don’t think they’d’ve cared where I went, as long as I did well there."

“Ha.” Sirius had finally paused in his eating rampage. “My mum’ll probably kill me for not being accepted into Slytherin. She warned me that whatever I did, I shouldn’t end up in Gryffindor, because, she says, ‘Gryffindor’s for saps.’”

“Is that true?” Lily asked, creasing her forehead.

“Of course not. If my mum forbade me from going here, it’s probably the best house.” Sirius grinned.

“But I don’t understand,” a girl on his left piped up. “Isn’t what your mum wants important to--”

““My mum’s a lying bastard,” Sirius cut in angrily. The girl gasped. “I don’t give a damn what she wants,” he continued. “The hat didn’t even consider Slytherin, which is what she would have preferred, so obviously, it’s not the best House for me.” Sirius glowered, staring into the distance. “If she can’t accept it...accept me, the way I am, that’s her problem.”

There was a stunned silence. That’s why there was such a big deal about him being sorted into Gryffindor, Lily thought. Everyone assumed he would be a Slytherin.

Just then, the food melted off their plates and were replaced by sweets. With everyone grabbing at the delicacies, the awkward moment was effectively smoothed over. Sirius took a chocolate ice cream and, brooding, stabbed a spoon hard into the soft, brown dessert. Within minutes, however, Sirius had joined James in an enthusiastic discussion about Quidditch; and his anger was forgotten, at least for the moment.


A/N: Yup, it’s me again. Did you like this chapter? Please review!
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Flashes of Time by rivers of gold
A/N: A special thank you to all my reviewers! I love you, guys! *Hugs everyone*

Chapter 5: Time Flies



“Wake up sleepyhead...Get out of your bed...Don’t fall on your head...” Tami was sitting on the window seat; singing very loudly, and very off-key.

Lily squinted in the bright sunlight that flooded their dormitory and groaned. “You used ‘head’ already,” she said vaguely.

“Did I?” Tami shrugged. “Oh, well...I always suspected I suck at poetry. Now I’m sure.”

Lily groaned lagain, louder this time. “Where is everybody? And when’s first class?” She yawned.

“At breakfast, and you have twenty minutes. I would’ve let you sleep longer, but, you know, it’s the first day, and all that.”

“What?! Goodness, you know I like to be up early on school days...”

“Yeah, but we went to sleep late last night, and you were sleeping so deeply, I couldn’t bear to wake you up.” Tami smirked. She loved pushing Lily’s buttons.

“Whatever. Just do me a favor and don’t do this again.”

“Okay, fine...anything you say, Lily. But you’ll be eating your words on the weekend. I’ll wake you up at dawn.”

“Arghh. I give up,” said Lily exasperatedly, throwing her hands into the air. “I need to get dressed. Now.”

“She finally gets it.” Tami grinned. “I brought you up breakfast, by the way. You’re welcome.”

“Oh. Er...thanks.” Lily took a moment to feel abashed. Tami would never let her start the day without breakfast. “What on earth would I do without you?” Lily asked, heading for the bathroom.

“Go hungry!”

“Ha, ha,” Lily called back, her voice muffled by the sound of running water.


~*~


“Sirs,” a voice squeaked anxiously, “it is ten minutes till breakfast is cleared from the tables...and twenty-five till first class. I have been ordered to make sure that...Sirs! Wake up!”

Suddenly, each of the boys felt a jolt somewhat like an Electrifying Hex, and were completely and thoroughly awake. And furious. “I’m going to kill the little monster,” Sirius growled, looking around for the house-elf that had woken them up. He harbored an intense hate towards house-elves in general, because Kreacher, the house-elf at his house, was extremely loyal to his mother; and therefore treated Sirius with measured dislike.

“Too late. He’s gone,” James replied, yawning. “My body’s still in summer vacation sleep mode...wonder where Tiger is.”

“My body never was in summer vacation mode,” Sirius said darkly. “My mum had me up at dawn every day. I really need to catch up on some sleep-maybe I should skip class...”

Remus groaned. He had dark shadows under his eyes, and looked somewhat worse than he should’ve looked just for lack of sleep. The full moon was just a few days away. “I’m dead tired. And it’s not a good idea to skip first class, Sirius,” he said, deadpan. “Wait till second class.”

Sirius laughed, a barklike sound. “Okay, maybe I’ll take your advice, mate.”

Remus’s eyes lit up, and with a sudden newfound energy, he jumped out of bed and hurriedly began dressing. James and Sirius were casual about their newfound friendship, but to Remus, having friends was an extraordinary experience. He wasn’t used to his peers treating him as an equal, because all his neighbors had known he was a werewolf.

To have people his own age treat him like he actually mattered, not like he was just some monster,meant a lot to Remus. His self-worth had been badly damaged by one too many taunts; but now that he had James and Sirius, who treated him with respect and affection, his spirit could begin to heal. Granted, they didn’t know he was a werewolf. And he wasn’t planning on ever telling them. He knew how they would react...why ruin a good thing when he had it?

“Look, I don’t mean to rush you, mates, but we’ve got five minutes till breakfast is over...and kick the bloke in that last bed, there-he hasn’t made a sound yet.”

“Maybe he’s dead,” Sirius said hopefully, “and then we’ll have to talk to the authorities and we won’t have to go to class!”

A moan came from the boy in the last bed; the one they hadn’t met yet, having been too tired the night before for introductions.

“No such luck,” James said, straightening the robes he had thrown on and bending to tie his shoes.

Remus grinned, pulling on a pair of socks.

“Too bad.” Sirius ran a comb through his hair. He sighed. “We should stock up on food and keep it in our dorm for emergencies like these.”

Remus looked thoughtful. “Good idea. We’d have to find out where the kitchens are, though.”

“We’ll work on it.” James stood. “We’ve got four minutes...let’s go. I’m starving.”


~*~


Remus, you were right, Sirius scrawled on a spare piece of parchment. First class with McGonagall was okay, but this class is about as interesting as watching flobberworms mate. Sirius lobbed the parchment across the aisle and Remus caught it.

His reflexes were good, one of the few perks of being a werewolf. He unfolded the note and raised his eyebrows. “When have you ever seen flobberworms mate?” he whispered.

“Oh, shut up,” Sirius retorted.

There was a time when those words would’ve made Remus flush in anger and embarassment, but now he merely smiled, realizing that it was said playfully.

“What’s James doing?” Sirius muttered, deciding that in Binn’s class there was no point in using up good parchment; Binns wouldn’t recognize a disturbance if a dragon flew through the window. Well. Maybe then he would. But whatever.

Remus turned in his seat, James was sitting behind him. “Hmm. He’s drawing something...hold on a minute,” he mouthed at Sirius.

A minute ticked by. “Oh, nice! It’s a broomstick,” said Remus.

“Let me see,” Sirius articulated silently.

James folded his parchment and aimed it at Sirius. It landed on his desk, sending a quill skittering. Sirius unfolded it quickly. “Ah. It’s a Nimbus 1500. Newest model.”

“You recognized it?” asked James, smiling.

“Yeah. It’s a pretty accurate drawing...I saw one in Diagon Alley.”

“I wish I had one of those,” said James longingly, just as the bell rang.

“Don’t we all?” Sirius retorted.

~*~


"What a long week this was,” Tami said, stretching her arms. Most of the Gryffindors were in their common room, Tami and Lily included. They had just completed their potions homework. “You definitely have a talent for this, Lily. You knew half the answers without checking the book.”

Lily smiled mildly, and scratched Tiger gently behind one ear. “Thanks. It was a good idea to get homework out of the way. Now we have the rest of the weekend off.”

Lily had proven to be a natural at potions. This had come as somewhat of a pleasant surprise to her, because she hadn’t realized that muggleborns could be of equal standing to purebloods, who had been familiar with magic all their lives. She gently removed Tiger from her lap and watched her saunter away, tail held jauntily high.

“What’ll we do tomorrow?” Tami asked.

“Dunno. Sleep late, for a start. And we could go about on the grounds, I guess, and enjoy the last few warm days left this year.”

“But I thought you said, you don’t want me to let you sleep late anymore...” Tami said mischievously.

“Oh, you“!” Lily crumpled a parchment and threw it at her. Tami just laughed as it bounced harmlessly off her head, and they maneuvered their way across the common room, together, to put their books away.

Meanwhile, James, Sirius and Remus trooped into the common room. They headed towards one of the few empty couches left and threw themselves onto it. “Why is our curfew so early?” Sirius griped. “First years aren’t allowed to do anything.” He couldn’t stand rules, having had too many of them at home, for too long.

Remus shrugged. “What would we do? We don’t know our way around this place, yet. Maybe we should start figuring out how to find the kitchens.”

Sirius got up and stretched. “Good idea. Then we’ll be able to eat, at least, when we haven’t anything better to do.” He grinned. “Although I can’t think of many things I’d rather do than eat. Let’s go upstairs, though, it’s too noisy down here.”

“Aw, come on, Sirius...we just sat down,” James complained.

“Don’t be so lazy, mate. Come on up. Your bed’s much more comfortable, anyway.”

“Touche`,” James muttered, following Remus and Sirius upstairs.

“Have you seen that other boy around?” James asked when they reached their dormitory. “The one that sleeps with us?”

“His name’s Peter Pettigrew,” Remus said.

“How did you know that?” Sirius demanded, looking amazed.

Remus rolled his eyes at him. “I asked,” he replied.

“Hmm. I reckon we could talk to him every once in a while, you know,” Sirius said, as though the idea hadn’t occurred to him before.

“I reckon we could,” James replied thoughtfully. “After all, he does share our dorm. We can’t ignore him for the next seven years, can we?”

“No, not really,” Remus said drily.

“Ah, that’s what I thought,” Sirius said. “A pity.”


~*~


The month of October began without much incident, but Sirius' eating fifty-four chocolate frogs in a row at the Halloween feast definitely broke the record.

There had been bets going around as to when he was going to be sick, but when he got to the forty-ninth, he merely belched loudly, and although his face was slightly flushed, continued eating, utterly disgusting the girls.

"That is so revolting," Lily muttered, green eyes narrowed.

"Boys," Tami said, shaking her head. "Let's get out of here."

"Take along some food, we'll eat it upstairs."

"Okay." Tami grinned and reached for a mound of chocolate frogs.

"No!" Lily groaned. "Please, no frogs."

Laughing, they piled licorice wands, cauldron cakes, taffy dragons, sugar unicorns, and pumpkin pasties into their arms, then headed for their dormitory.


~*~



5 Nov. 1971
Dearest Mum and Dad,

Me and Tami have become mates with another girl in our year, Danielle Cruz. She never stops talking, seriously! I know Tami’s a chatterbox, but she can’t compare to Dani. You couldn’t shut Danielle up if you paid her, honestly. She’s really sweet, though; very nice, and smart, too. Everybody can’t help but love her. I wish you could meet her, but she’s going home to Wales for Christmas. She has a third year brother, Justin, in Ravenclaw. He's sort of cute, for a boy.

I’m having a fantastic time in Hogwarts! It’s definitely my favorite place in the entire world, except for home, of course. The holidays’ll be here soon, and me and Tami’ll be coming home! Too bad we can’t bring Dani along, too.

Send my--Lily hesitated. Then she lowered her quill decisively, and continued writing.--love to Petunia.

Love you and miss you,

Lily


~*~



28 Nov. 1971
Dear Dad,

I can’t believe it’s already the end of November. Time sure flies when you’re having fun! And boy, are we having fun. Lily is an absolutely marvelous witch, just like I knew she would be. Don’t worry about me, though, I’m not bad either! And Dani keeps us all smiling. She’s really a dear.

That boy I mentioned in my last letter, James Potter, got into a serious scrape yesterday with Mr. Filch. Apparently, Potter’s kneazle and Filch’s cat got into a disagreement over something, and were having a grand old catfight in the Entrance Hall.

Mr. Filch was going to give Potter a detention for a month, but just then Professor McGonagall came along and asked Tiger-that’s Potter’s kneazle-what had happened.

I reckon, being a cat animagus, the Professor can talk to cats. So anyway, she let Tiger and Mrs. Norris each tell their own version of the story, and decided that Mrs. Norris provoked Tiger. She scolded them both, though, and told them off for not behaving like ladies. Can you imagine that?!

And then she said that Potter couldn’t possibly have stopped that fight from happening, as he hadn’t even been there when it started, so it was entirely not his fault. Filch was furious, of course, and Tiger had such a self-satisfied expression on her face-as if she had planned the whole thing. I couldn’t stop laughing the entire day.

Hugs and kisses,
Tami

P.S. Mrs. Norris’s left ear was torn almost clean off, but all Tiger got was a scratch on one leg. Ha!

P.P.S. Only two-and-a-half weeks till the hols!


~*~



10 Dec. 1971
Dear Dad and Mum,

We-that is, Sirius, Remus and I-have finally found the entrance to the kitchens. We knew it had to be somewhere underneath the Great Hall, but there were more than a hundred paintings down there, all of food, and it took ages to find the right one. Especially since the house-elves hardly ever use the entrance.

Thanks for that tip about having to tickle a pear, Dad--

“Oh, why did you tell him?” Mrs. Potter asked. “We had to figure it out ourselves.”

“Shush,” Mr. Potter replied, laughing, and continued reading the letter from their only child.

--it narrowed the search considerably. Though there must’ve been a hundred pears down there.

Mr. Potter laughed. “Yeah, well, I didn’t make it too easy for him.”

The house-elves are very friendly and helpful, and now we’ve all the food we could possibly want.

Remus's grandmother hasn't been feeling well lately, although the healers haven't yet diagnosed exactly what is wrong with her. He's going home to be with her this weekend...I hope she feels better soon.

Tiger is busy exploring the castle, and every other day she’ll show me some new shortcut she’s found. She manages pretty well on her own, but every once in a while she’ll get stuck in one of those disappearing steps and realize that she still needs me, or at least my help, sometimes.

Some days I hardly see her, and she’ll come back at the end of the day, purring and fed. She’s having a great time here, whatever she’s up to. So am I.

Only six days till the holidays; we’ll be home soon!

XOXO James

P.S. Send the horses my love, especially Middy, and give them each an apple from me.


A/N: I would love to hear what you think...please leave a review!








Back to index
An Icy Glitter by rivers of gold
Chapter Six: An Icy Glitter

"Oh, dear Merlin! We’re here, we’re here..." Danielle was bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I totally love the holidays, don’t you? John’s picking me up because he rents that flat in London, anyway...I wonder if he’s here already."

John, the oldest of Dani’s three elder brothers, had graduated Hogwarts four years earlier and worked at an apothecary in Diagon Alley.

Danielle stood on tiptoes, trying to see over the crowd at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Lily quirked an eyebrow at Tami, who grinned. Dani’s excitement was contagious. Besides, who didn’t love the holidays?

"Calm down, Dani," Tami said soothingly. "I’m sure your brother’ll be here for you soon." The platform was packed, and very noisy with parents exclaiming over their long unseen children.

"Yeah, but what if he’s not? What if he got delayed, or something, and then I’ll have to wait here for, like, ages and get all cold and hungry and tired...and I’ll be terrified! Dani clasped her hands together and tapped one shoe nervously against the wooden platform. Then she set her chin resolutely. “Okay, Lily, Tami-he’s not here. I reckon we’ll just have to--"

"Were you looking for me, by any chance?"

Danielle whirled around to see her brother. "Oh! John! There you are! How’d you find me? It’s so crowded here!"

"Followed the sound of your voice," he said, grinning and rolling his eyes.

Lily and Tami smirked. Danielle frowned for a moment, but then she grinned widely. "I know, I know, I can’t stop talking today...but come on; I’m so excited! I mean, it’s like, finally the holidays!"

It wasn’t just around the holidays, though, that Dani was so exuberant. She was this way all year round. She always blurted out exactly what she was thinking and feeling, sometimes with embarrassing results.

Even though she was often very blunt, nobody was able to stay mad at her for too long because she never held any grudges against her friends and family. She loved everyone, unconditionally, unless they intentionally hurt her. In which case, she would never let them forget it, and would make sure everyone else knew about it, too.

She had a neighbor she hadn’t spoken to in over two years, because he always teased her and had embarrassed her purposely once at a party. As far as she was concerned, people like that didn’t exist, so she swore to ignore him forever. And she had never broken a promise. Yet.

"Okay, whatever," said John. "I know you’re excited and all, but we still have to make a stop at my flat before I take you home. Let’s go."

"Write to me...see you after the holidays!" Dani called to her friends.

"Okay, bye," said Lily, smiling.

Tami grinned. "Bye, see you."

"Bye, Lily, Tami!" Dani called. "I’ll miss you tons!"

"I bet your ears will appreciate the holiday," John said, winking at them as he put Dani’s trunk onto the trolley he was pushing.

“Hey!” Danielle punched him lightly on the arm. “Was that an insult, you big bully?” She waved to Tami and Lily and melted into the crowds with her brother, bickering lightly with him.

“Merlin, she cracks me up,” Tami said, laughing.

Lily smiled and nodded. “Yeah, she’s cute.”

Weaving their way through the crowds, they kept a lookout for their parents while watching the other students being greeted by their relatives. “Come on boy, I don’t have all day,” a voice said harshly from about ten feet away.

The girls turned to see Sirius Black standing next to a tall, dark-haired, rather handsome wizard. His appealing features were obscured, however, by the hateful look on his face.

“Is that...Sirius’ dad?”

“I hope not,” Lily answered, pursing her lips.

“Your mother was right, I should’ve let you walk home,” the tall wizard continued ruthlessly. “You ungrateful piece of dragon dung, did you have to go and get sorted into Gryffindor? Disgusting.” He spat onto the platform at Sirius’ feet.

“Eww,” Lily whispered.

Sirius kept his eyes focused on the ground, a slight scowl on his face. “I didn’t choose which house to go into, Father,” he said quietly, his teeth clenched.

“You bloody well did, boy, and you know it.” He walked off, not bothering to see if Sirius was following.

“I guess that answers my question,” Tami said to Lily in a dismayed whisper. “Oh, Merlin. Dear, sweet Merlin...that was awful.” Tami shook her head in shock and disbelief. “He has to go through that every day for the rest of the holidays?”

“My God,” Lily said. “I didn’t know he had it that bad...no wonder he’s always badmouthing his parents. It’s probably his only outlet to express his frustration and anger...” Lily bit her lip and knitted her eyebrows together. One thing she couldn’t abide was bullying. The concept of hurting someone defenseless, especially if they were younger than their oppressors, absolutely horrified her. And in this case, the person bullying Sirius was a parent...That is just so wrong, she thought. Unjustifiable.

“Hi, Dad!” Tami yelled suddenly, waving wildly at her father.

Mr. Lorens strode over to them. “Hello, Tami, Lily.” He hugged his daughter tightly and smiled at Lily. “How are you doing, flower?” he asked Lily, using one of her father’s favorite nicknames for her.

Lily grinned and rolled her eyes. That name always made her smile, and Mr. Lorens knew it. “Just fine, thanks,” she answered. “Where’s my dad?”

Mr. Lorens laughed. “He had a bit of an accident in the kitchen. He decided to try this new recipe for stuffed turkey he found somewhere, on account of your mother telling him he should help out for the holidays.” He grinned.

Lily smiled. “What? Dad decided to cook? My goodness...whatever next?” They loaded their trunks onto a trolley and headed for the entrance to the platform, pushing their way through the throngs of people crowding the small space.

“So, what happened?” Tami asked curiously, once they had left the noisy station and were seated in the Lorens’ warm, magically-reinforced car.

“Ah, he--er--put the turkey at too high a temperature, I think, and it exploded inside the oven. Sprayed stuffing all over, too.” He laughed again.

Lily and Tami laughed too. “Yup, sure sounds like Dad,” Lily said. “I don’t think he’ll ever get the hang of cooking. I mean, he’s great at gardening, carpentry...loads of stuff. Cooking’s just not his department.”

“You bet it isn’t,” Mr. Lorens replied, grinning.

“Oh, come on, Dad, you can’t cook either,” Tami interjected in defense of Lily’s father.

“Merlin knows, I can’t. Ah, well, you’re right, Lily. Not all of us were made to be chefs. Now, girls, tell me all about Hogwarts. I do miss that place.”

~*~


“Wake up, wake up; it’s Christmas!” Tami danced across Lily’s bedroom and pulled the window shade up, flooding the room with weak dawn light.

Lily pulled her horse-patterned quilt up to her chin and groaned loudly. “Ohh...my head...I’m so tired. What time is it?”

“Around six. Don’t you like to get up early? Aren’t you always boasting that you’re a ‘morning person’?”

“Yeah...but that’s only if my body wakes up on its own, fully rested. And that happens maybe twice a month,” Lily replied, yawning hugely.

“Ha. So you’re a morning person twice a month?”

“Shut up, Tami.” Lily gave her an evil look and rolled over, pulling her quilt over her head. A few quiet moments passed, Tami sitting quietly on the edge of Lily’s bed.

“Well,” she said brightly. Lily groaned again. “Now that you’re up anyway, don’t you want to open your presents?”

“Tami,” Lily said slowly, shaking her head. “Don’t you remember that my family doesn’t unwrap the presents until everybody’s up?” Sighing, she sat up in bed and drew her knees up to her chin. “Though now that I think about it, you’ve probably woken everyone up.”

Lily’s mood improved drastically as her pounding headache slowly began to disappear, and she finally began comprehending the significance of the day. It’s Christmas! she thought.

“Nah, they’re all still sleeping. Your family could sleep through an earthquake. Good thing we don’t get them around here. Now come on, could you get out of bed already?!”

Lily laughed and swung her feet out from under the covers, sinking them into the soft, lilac rug at the side of her bed. She stood and stretched slowly. “You win, Tami. I’m getting up. I’ll be over at your house in about fifteen minutes, and we can play Gobstones or something till everyone else wakes up.”

Tami grinned. “All right! You always beat me at Gobstones, though.” She laughed, a musical sound Lily loved. “Hurry up,” she called over her shoulder as she left the room, causing the tiny particles of dust, which had been gently floating downward in the light shining through the window, to swirl wildly...as if they were celebrating, too.

~*~


Tiger, curled up on a soft, leather window seat; yawned delicately, laid her head on her paws, and closed her eyes contentedly.

“Ahh.” James leaned back in his chair, replete after a huge Christmas dinner. “I can’t eat another bite...I swear, I’m more stuffed than that turkey was.”

Mr. Potter laughed and ruffled his son’s hair affectionately, causing James’ naturally untidy hair to become even messier. “I’ll take your word for it. Go on outside then, and get some exercise,” he said, winking.

“Can I go flying?” James asked excitedly. Although he hadn’t gotten the new Nimbus 1500 he had wanted for Christmas, his family owned many good-quality broomsticks and he was itching to fly again. At Hogwarts, after all, the teachers were afraid to let the first years fly without supervision, because so many students claimed to have flying skills when they actually didn’t even know which end of the broomstick was front.

And supervision meant not flying too high, or too fast, or too far...the list was endless.

“If it’s all right with your father you can, dear,” his mother said fondly. “Be back before dark, though.”

“Just let me disillusion you, James,” his father said. "That new cloak of yours won't stay on while you're flying."

He was referring to the fantastic Christmas present James had received from his elderly grandfather. Grandpa Potter's wife had died years ago, and he lived alone, barely spending any gold. On occasion, he'd indulge in ridiculously expensive gifts for his only grandson.

This time, he'd gotten James an invisibility cloak. James had already thought of a thousand different ways it would come in handy at Hogwarts. He couldn't wait to use it.

With a tap of his father’s wand, James blended into the chair he was sitting in. “Thanks, Dad!” he said, and took off at a run, heading outside to the broom shed.

“Take along a hat!” his mother shouted after him.

~*~


Flying miles above the ground, the crisp air whipping his hair back, James couldn’t imagine anything he’d rather be doing. He loved everything about flying. The speeds he could achieve...the distances he could cover...the sheer feeling of power that came only from flying high above the earth.

After a while, though, it occurred to him that he would enjoy it much more if he weren’t alone. Growing up as an only child, James had accepted the fact of having to be without people his own age most of the time, but he’d never gotten completely used to it. He loved having friends, and realized that he would enjoy flying much more if Sirius or Remus were soaring beside him.

For some unexplained reason, the image of Lily Evans popped into his head. It wouldn’t be bad to have her up here in the air, either, he thought. A different voice in his head said, Merlin, she’s a girl! What on earth do you want a girl up here for?

The arrogant voice went unanswered, however, and James flew on, a thoughtful expression on his handsome face.

~*~


“Okay, don’t move! Nobody move...” Tami reached out with two trembling fingers that held an Exploding Snap card. “This castle’s almost done...”

Leaning over her nearly completed card castle, Tami slowly began lowering the card onto the top. “Ha! See, Lily, I told you“AAHH!” She shrieked and jumped back as the castle exploded and burst into magical flames. “Jinx it. I was almost there...”

Lily laughed uproariously. “Ha! You knew that was going to happen, why’d you shriek so loudly? You just lost the bet.”

Earlier, Lily had told Tami that she could be first to read the new novel Lily had gotten for Christmas...if Tami could build a castle out of Exploding Snap cards without the castle exploding before she was done. As if that was possible.

It was the first novel she owned that was written by a witch, and she was looking forward to reading it. The witch was quite famous in the magical world, and Tami had already read several of her books and was dying to read this one, too.

“You’ll get it right after I finish it,” Lily said, grinning hugely.

Tami had gotten her an enchanted hairbrush, "For when you get up late, you warped morning-person." Lily could choose from fifteen different styles and the brush would create them for her.

As for Petunia...Lily frowned. Petunia, clearly wishing to make up for her outburst before Lily left for Hogwarts, had gotten her a very expensive...ballpoint pen. Which I’m never going to have any use for in Hogwarts, Lily thought, shaking her head.

She had, however, thanked Petunia enthusiastically and promised that she ‘couldn’t bear to use it’ and would keep it in a special place on her shelf.

Petunia had looked a bit put out by her response-after all, pens were made for writing, not being stared at-but what was Lily supposed to have done? She had gotten accustomed to writing with quills, and didn’t have any use for pens anymore.

Petunia was doing her best to be nice throughout the holidays, but every once in a while, Lily would catch Petunia scowling when she thought Lily wasn’t looking. Petunia’s attitude hurt Lily more deeply than she would ever have cared to admit. It’s not like I prevented her from being a witch, too, she thought, and sighed.

“Lily, you idiot, what are you sighing for? It’s Christmas! Let’s go to the park and kick around a football. Race you to the front door!” And she was out of the room as fast as if a Hebridean Black were chasing her.

Lily stared absently at the doorway through which Tami had just left. She knew that Tami was, if possible, missing her mother today more than usual, because of all the happy memories of past Christmases that were probably resurfacing. She understood that Tami was putting up a wildly happy front, while she was actually very upset inside, and Lily decided to get her to talk about it at the park. If she wouldn’t talk about it first, Lily knew Tami would probably end up crying all night.

“Oh, Lii-ly!” Tami’s voice floated upstairs. “Guess what? I won!”

“Hey, that’s not fair,” Lily called back, sitting up on the bed and beginning to laugh. “You started first!”

“Well, come on down then, and I’ll race you to the corner! I’ll beat you again, wait and see.”

“Okay, wait,” Lily said as she headed out of the bedroom. “I’m coming.”

~*~


“You despicable boy, why haven’t you finished setting the table?” a voice shrieked. “Your grandparents will be here in exactly eight minutes!”

“Mum! I did my half. Regulus should do the other half!”

“Don’t get smart with me, boy,” Mrs. Black snarled, striking Sirius hard on the cheek. Sirius fought the urge to draw his hand up and rub at the stinging place.

“I never divided the table into halves. Regulus is obviously otherwise occupied, so set the damn table NOW!" she shrieked, and strode from the room.

Sirius glowered at Regulus, who was seated in a leather armchair near the fire, composedly finishing a chocolate frog. Regulus glanced carefully at the door through which his mother had exited and walked towards Sirius, pulling another frog out of his pocket. “Want a frog?” he asked.

“No, thanks,” Sirius muttered. “I’m okay.” Regulus shrugged in response and left, quietly closing the door behind him.

Sirius scowled. Regulus was afraid to defend him in front of their mother, and with good reason. Regulus knew that the minute he openly supported Sirius, Mum would abuse him, too. So he opted for the easy way out and kept quiet at the sidelines, sometimes even assisting with the abuse. A true Black, Regulus would rather save his own arse than do what was right.

Mum’s abuse had tripled since Sirius had been accepted into Gryffindor. This had confirmed, in her opinion, what she was always telling him-that he was worthless dragon dung and not fit to carry the name of the noble house of Black.

Sirius’ scowl became more pronounced. “All right, Mum,” he muttered. “I’ll set your damn table.” He strode over to the tall glass cabinet sitting in one corner, where many Dark artifacts and potions were kept. Unlocking it with a tap of his wand, he stared at the assortment of bottles on the third shelf, deliberating which one to choose. Ah, yes. Perfect. He reached for a clear crystal decanter filled with bright blue liquid.

His mother had poured a spoonful of that down his throat the day she bought it, "To make sure it’s authentic." And indeed it had been. Sirius’ mouth had gotten so severely burned, he hadn’t been able to speak for a week, much to his mother’s delight. It hadn’t left him with any lasting physical damage, but the hate he harbored towards his mother had, justifiably, intensified.

Now, Mum, you’ll finally get a taste of your own potion, Sirius thought vindictively. He carefully poured a capful onto his mother’s plate, where it instantly disappeared. But any food that touched it would absorb the invisible potion, and her mouth would burn like the fires of hell...

Sirius’ eyes gleamed as he replaced the bottle on its shelf. He finished setting the table quickly, then walked quietly out of the room. He closed the door gently and leaned against it, staring unseeingly up the darkened, deserted hallway. “Happy Christmas, Mum,” he whispered, smiling to himself in a satisfied way. But the smile was a bitter one, devoid of any real happiness or fulfillment.



A/N: So, did you like it? This chapter is one of my favorites...and free brownies go to everyone who reviews!

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Illuminated by rivers of gold
A/N: Thank you Maddie for your help with the title, and thank you to all the wonderful people that add sparkle to my life: Kerian, A Excess of Phlegm, HPdiva, Songbird, Lee_chic, kaammini the kreacher, babekitty92, mudblood princess (love ya), fire_temper, hopelives4ever, Quiditch fan, ms weasley, SiriuslvnSirius25, hogwarts wannabe, and midnight_me. This chapter is dedicated to you all. And it’s extra-long because I haven’t updated in so long. Have fun!





Chapter Seven: Illuminated


“Oh, no!” Tami exclaimed suddenly, sitting straight up in the squishy yellow armchair she’d just dropped into. “I’ve just realized--that transfiguration essay on ‘Same-Material Switches’ is due for tomorrow, too!”

“Oh, great,” said Lily, and removed the Sugar Quill she’d been contentedly sucking on from her mouth. “Now you remember? You said there was only Care of Magical Creatures for homework!”

Tami raised her eyebrows, then glared at Lily. “Yeah, well...why do I have to remember everything? Maybe you should start marking it down, for a change.”

Lily had an almost uncontrollable urge to laugh and relieve the tension building up between them, but previous experiences had shown her that this would annoy Tami even more, so she swallowed the chuckle that bubbled up. Besides, now that she thought it over, there was nothing remotely amusing about the situation.

When have we ever worried about homework? She always did reasonably well in school, but never fussed over her work like some other students did.

Tami had never focused much on homework, either, but that had been Muggle homework. Lily had always envied the way Tami’s dad would wave it off if she ever got bad marks in school. Now Lily understood, though, that the reason for that was because it had been muggle homework. Lily was sure that if they started failing their subjects in Hogwarts, Mr. Lorens would be very disappointed in Tami.

And Lily didn’t want Mr. Lorens to think badly of her, either. Besides, Lily’s parents had always expected her to do well, too, and that didn’t change whether she attended a muggle school or not.

Since her arrival at Hogwarts, she was finding it difficult to be bothered by trivial matters. She was so happy to actually be in a genuine, honest-to-goodness magical school, that she couldn’t get herself really worked up over something as mundane as homework.

But she was sure she’d feel different about it in the morning, when they would have to face their displeased professors. She stared absently at the scrap of parchment lying on the table, which she had filled with doodles of cats and flowers, and crumpled it in frustration, clenching it tightly in her fist. What are we going to do? she thought despairingly.

By the third week of January, the holidays felt like ages ago, and they were knee-deep in homework that threatened to increase to chest-deep. The novelty of doing magical homework had pretty much worn off, and now they rarely ever did their work the day it was assigned. The spells they were learning were frustratingly simple, and the first years longed to perform powerful magic.

Of course, as Professor McGonagall told them every time they complained, the higher levels of magic would be unattainable unless they mastered the basics first...but still. Who wanted to write an essay on the theory of levitation rather than just levitate something?

Nobody the girls knew. Except for one swot in fifth year who sat with his books and parchment and muttered to himself at odd intervals. But they didn’t really know him, of course, so he didn’t count. They’d only ever heard him speak once-after they laughed loudly at a joke Dani made-and that was to let them know that if they didn’t shut up he’d hex them. So they changed their favorite couch to the squishy yellow one near the staircase instead of the faded red one near the fire.

Lately, they’d been pushing off their homework for the last day possible, but it had always gotten done in time for class. Until now.

“So,” said Lily, stating her thought aloud, “what are we going to do? We might need to check some stuff up at the library, and we’ve only got twenty-five minutes till curfew.”

“Don’t look at me.” Tami shrugged and glanced away.

“Okay guys, shut up,” Dani chimed in, looking up from the book she was reading. “I’ve got a great idea!”

“Oh, fancy you telling us to shut up,” Tami said grumpily. “You talk more than both of us combined.”

“Oh?” Danielle raised her eyebrows. “Maybe I do. I’ll shut up, then. My fantastic idea will stay right here,”-she raised one finger and tapped her left temple gently-“and I’ll leave you two to gripe at each other while you write your essays! How’s that?” She picked up her book resolutely and hid her face once more behind it.

“Aww, come on, Dani...” Lily interjected. “At least tell me!”

“Hmm...” Dani peered around the edge of the book, then smiled widely. “Okay. You gotta hear this.” She bent to Lily’s ear and moved away a strand of dark red hair. Lily’s green eyes opened wide as Dani murmured softly so that Tami couldn’t hear.

“Wicked!” Lily grinned. “Dani, you’re a complete genius!”

“I always thought so,” Dani replied, smiling. Then she winked at Lily. “But thanks for confirming my opinion.”

“Ah, you can’t leave me to do the essay on my own!” Tami exclaimed.

“Says who?” Danielle replied coolly, staring into Tami’s light brown eyes, which were wide open in outrage.

“Come on, Dani...You know I didn’t mean it!”

“Do I?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. “How would I know?” Dani tried to keep a smile off her face as she sensed an impending victory.

Tami let out a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Dani,” she said slowly, “I’m sorry, okay?”

“No problem.” Dani grinned and punched her lightly on the shoulder. “Now, my plan is...”

~*~


“I dunno,” Tami said doubtfully, after hearing Dani’s idea. “You think he’ll do it? We’ve never really met him-I mean, you’ve introduced us, and all, but we’ve never really spoken to him, and--”

“Now that I think of it that way,” Lily said slowly, “it is sort of rude to go to him just when we need his help with homework...”

“Oh, come on. Scott’s not like that at all. He says he thought you were very nice when he met you, and Merlin’s beard, we’ve been friends for years. Even if he didn’t want to do it for you, he’d do it for me. But anyway, he’d do it for you, too-he’s really nice.”

“I think only you should go, Dani,” said Lily decisively.

“What? I’m not going there myself this late! I mean, the Bloody Baron’s bound to show up just at that bit where the corridor on the second floor is dark, and--”

“Hey, okay,” Tami interrupted. ‘We’ll walk you till the corridor before the Ravenclaw one, and we’ll wait next to that statue of Brian the Bighearted--”

“While you go talk to Scott,” Lily finished.

“Hmm.” Dani pondered this idea for a moment, then nodded. “Okay.” She led the way out of the Gryffindor common room and closed the portrait as Lily and Tami exited behind her.

“And since he’s a Ravenclaw, he probably got the homework right,” Lily said thoughtfully as they set off for the Ravenclaw common room.

“Exactly,” said Dani, grinning.

Scott McAllen was Dani’s best friend and next-door neighbor back in Wales. When they’d been sorted into different houses, Dani had been inconsolable, at first. Then, after she’d made friends with Tami and Lily, she realized that having more friends didn’t take away from her friendship with Scott.

Dani and Scott hung out together a few hours a week, and Tami and Lily had, so far, not joined Scott and Dani in their walks around the castle and grounds, despite both Dani and Scott assuring them that they could, and asking them if they would join them. Tami and Lily had felt uncomfortable...after all, they were friends with Dani for a few months, while Scott had years of friendship behind him. Also, Scott was sort of shy when Dani wasn’t around...

Dani understood Lily’s and Tami’s hesitance to combine the friendships. They were, of course, different-after all, she had millions of small jokes and memories with Scott, and sometimes all it took was a glance for one to know what the other meant to say. Still, Dani wished sometimes that they could all hang out together. She’d decided not to push the matter and figured that with time, the girls and Scott would become more comfortable with each other. Until then, she had Scott all to herself...and she didn’t really mind.

~*~


Tami and Lily huddled next to the large marble statue of Brian the Bighearted, shivering a bit as a draft blew down the corridor, probably the fault of a window left carelessly open somewhere nearby. The torches on the walls flickered a little, but didn’t go out.

“I swear, it’s nearly as cold here as it is in the dungeons.”

Lily nodded at this pronouncement and hugged herself, trembling slightly from the chill. “Should’ve thought to bring a cloak.”

A passing prefect glanced at them and pointed at his watch. Tami nodded to show they got the message. “Puffed-up toad,” she muttered as he turned the corner. “We know what time it is.”

~*~


Dani leaned against the wall opposite the Ravenclaw entrance tapestry, waiting for a Ravenclaw to arrive so that she could ask them to call Scott for her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move next to her, and leaped away from the wall with a small shriek as a beetle scurried downwards.

“Dani!” a voice exclaimed, and there was Scott, rounding the corner. “Are you okay? It’s twenty-five minutes to curfew, you know.”

Dani rolled her eyes. “I know.” She shuddered. “I can’t stand all these bugs. They’re so horrid.”

“Bugs?” He raised his eyebrows. “I haven’t noticed. It makes sense, though, because there are cracks and tiny holes all over the walls. Think of it this way-we’re making all this bright light and noise in their homes, and they’re just scared and trying to find someplace to hide.”

“Yeah, I reckon I see what you mean...so should I feel sorry for them?” Dani asked.

Scott shrugged, and tossed his head as a strand of golden brown hair fell over his left eye. “If you want to. So what’s up? Why’d you come over here?”

“Oh, that. Um...tell me, have you done your Transfiguration homework?”

Scott grinned, a dimple showing in one cheek. “Why do you ask? Have you been promoted to prefect?”

“Very funny. Ha, ha,” said Dani dryly. “Okay, I’m in a bit of a tight spot...see, I just realized I haven’t done it--”

“Why’d you leave it for so late, Dani?”

“Oh, so now you’re the prefect?” she retorted.

Scott laughed. “You’ve got a point there. Okay, yes--I have finished my homework, and yeah, you can have it...but I want it back at breakfast tomorrow.”

“Fine, I’ll be done with it by then.”

“Come on in, then,” said Scott, and whispered the password to the silently pacing werewolves on the tapestry that concealed the entrance. They paused and snarled softly, then Scott pushed aside the tapestry, motioning for Dani to enter ahead of him.

In the common room, Dani flopped onto a spare couch while Scott went upstairs to get his bookbag, and felt several Ravenclaws staring at her. Usually the only Gryffindors that came in here were older students, especially if they were dating a Ravenclaw. Thank Merlin the couple status isn’t a requirement to be allowed into the room. That would just be...weird.

Scott walked over to her with his eyes lit up. “Guess what I got today?”

“Um...I dunno. What?”

“Agrippa!” Scott was an avid Famous Witches and Wizards cards collector, and he was missing only six cards. Agrippa was particularly rare; it was rumored that only ten of them were printed every year.

“Really? Let me see!” Dani bent over the card and inspected the wizard’s weather-beaten face. His eyes were kind, though sort of sad, and his nose was rather long. “Wow, he looks...noble.”

“He was,” Scott replied. “He once stayed in a city that was nearly wiped out by plague to care for the few sick people that were left.”

“Amazing.” Now the wizard smiled a little, but his eyes remained sad. Dani stared a few minutes longer, than tore her eyes away. “Well, keep it somewhere safe.”

“You think you have to tell me that? I will. And if I ever want to sell it, it’s worth a fair amount of gold to really dedicated collectors.”

“Yeah.” Dani yawned. “Oh! I’m sorry about that, it’s just that it’s the end of a really long day...”

“That’s okay, don’t worry about it. You need to get going, anyway. Here’s the essay.” He drew a tightly-rolled parchment out of his bookbag. “And there’s no need to copy it all“it’s three feet long.”

“Copy?” Dani asked, grinning. “Who said anything about copying? We’re just gonna use it as...er...an outline.”

Scott smiled widely and winked as he escorted Dani to the entrance. “Whatever you say. Just remember, I want it back by breakfast tomorrow, no later.”

Dani shrugged. “Sure...’night. And thanks.”

“Anytime,” Scott replied, punching her lightly on the shoulder as she left the room.


~*~



“I’m so bored,” said Sirius, as he flopped onto a couch in a corner of the Gryffindor common room.

James, sitting at the scratched oak table next to the couch, frowned slightly as he reread the paragraph he’d just written. He crossed out the third sentence, then grinned and slammed his books shut. “All done.” He collected his books, parchment and quills which he’d spread over half the table and threw them into his bookbag. “I’ll be back in a few minutes; just going to put these away.”

“No problem, mate. I’ll be right here,” Sirius replied. “And see what Remus is up to, he’s been in the dorm much longer than he said he would be. Do me a favor, and don’t get stuck up there, too, okay?”

“I’ll do my best.” James grinned and headed for the staircase.

Sirius’ eyes followed James as he traipsed upstairs, then he was alone next tho the flickering fire. A bunch of sixth year boys sat down on the couch next to him, and Sirius thought he heard the clink of hidden Firewhiskey bottles. Sirius had always helped himself to alcohol at number twelve, Grimmauld Place-he never thought it as his house, and especially not as ‘home’-and it irritated him that here in Hogwarts he had no access to the drinks he sometimes wanted. Not that he was an alcoholic, but sometimes he could really have used just a few shots of something strong.

Like, for example, last week Monday. And Sirius’ thoughts focused once more on the scene he’d been trying to block out ever since it had happened.

He’d known he wasn’t off the hook when his mother completely ignored the fact that he’d liberally poisoned her Christmas dinner. She didn’t have any proof he did it, but then again, she never waited for evidence before blaming and punishing him. So it had unnerved him when she didn’t mention a thing about it. She hadn’t even shown any discomfort after her initial painful reaction, and he later found out that she had an antidote hidden.

But of course, it wouldn’t occur to her to test the antidote on me after she poisoned me, he thought angrily, remembering the time she’d poured the evil liquid down his throat. The punishment he’d endured last week had been worse, in a way, and he was still feeling the repercussions. Literally.

He raised a hand to his right shoulder, touching it gingerly. This time, his dear old mum had waited till he returned to school and was nicely settled in after the holidays. He’d just pushed the entire incident from his mind, chalking it up to a victory on his side, when his mum struck back.

James, Sirius, Peter and Remus had been at dinner in the Great Hall, which was packed to its capacity. It’d been a long day, and Sirius filled a plate with chicken and baked potatoes. He’d just raised a chicken leg to his mouth, barely taken a bite, when he saw it.

“Hey, check that out,” James said, motioning at the pure black owl soaring towards them. “I’ve never seen--” He cut himself off, his voice rising in surprise. “Hold on, it’s headed for our table!” The owl landed next to Sirius, knocking over his goblet with one wing as he eagerly gouged a bite of chicken with his curved beak. He helped himself to James’ pumpkin juice, then took off, circling the Great Hall once before exiting through an opening high on the wall.

“Well,” Remus started, “that was sort of rude...” he trailed off when he saw Sirius’ face, eyes fixed on a red envelope sitting next to his plate. Smoke began rising from the edges of the parchment.

“No,” Sirius muttered, his face white. “She can’t have. She can’t.” He could feel curious eyes on him-apparently, many people had noticed the owl’s arrival. It was unusual for an owl to deliver anything in the evening at Hogwarts.

“What--” Peter started, and the envelope suddenly burst into flames. A high, screeching voice echoed around the Great Hall, yelling Sirius’ name.

“Sirius Black!”

“Yeah, mum,” Sirius snarled. “Make sure everyone knows exactly who you’re yelling at.”

“You filthy piece of vermin! You thought you could get away with something as abominable as that?! You vile bit of disgusting flesh! You aren’t fit to feed the most gruesome acromantula“no death is good enough for you! You stinking bit of...”

Her voice went on and on. Almost everyone was staring at Sirius with shocked looks on their faces, wondering what on earth he’d done. Walburga Black had a seemingly endless supply of curse words, and she barely refrained from using words that would’ve made even the toughest seventh year raise an eyebrow in surprise.

Professor McGonagall leaned over and whispered to Dumbledore. “Not that I think we should interfere in family affairs, but don’t you think this is a bit too much for--” She gasped as Walburga finally lost control and shrieked an especially foul word.

Dumbledore shook his head sadly. “I don’t know what he’s done, but nothing short of mass murder should warrant such language. And even then...” He stood decisively and drew his wand. “Finite Incantatem!” he shouted.

Nothing happened. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. “Silencio!” he said, waving his wand emphatically. The wailing voice of Walburga Black continued.

Sirius groaned and buried his head in his arms. She’s bewitched it, it’s never going to stop...never... Small mutterings started up. Nobody had ever seen Dumbledore unable to resolve any sort of problem.

Then, as Walburga launched more deeply into her vile monologue, encouraging the Slytherins to deliver as many hexes as possible from her to Sirius, Dumbledore suddenly smiled and strode over to the Gryffindor table.

“Agaumenti!” he yelled over Walburga’s shrieks, and water spilled onto the burning envelope and began to spread in an ever-increasing circle on the table, cascading over the edge.

As the flames hissed and sparked the voice crackled as well, breaking off, then starting up again, but this time unclear and garbled. Dumbledore continued pouring water, one final shriek sounded, and the flames went out.

Dumbledore sighed. “I’m sorry, Mr. Potter, Black, Pettigrew and Lupin. It appears the water has soaked your robes...kindly go upstairs and change, you wouldn’t want to catch cold. And it seems a terrible inconvenience to come back down afterwards...I’ll send dinner up to your common room.” He pointed his wand upwards, rotating it quickly, and blue sparks flew out of it, disappearing before they reached the ceiling.

“Thank you, sir.” Remus stood up. The Great Hall was murmuring, some students eyeing Sirius with pity, others-mostly the Slytherins-smirking and poking each other. Every head turned to follow James, Remus, Sirius and Peter as they left the Great Hall.

“Good old Dumbledore,” Remus said as they began climbing the stairs. There was a long silence, during which none of the boys looked at each other.

Sirius’ face was red with anger and embarrassment. James turned towards him. “I’m--” He paused awkwardly. “I’m sorry, mate.” Remus and Peter nodded.

Sirius turned tortured eyes towards James. “It’s...I reckon it’s better this way,” he muttered. “Now you know what the old hag’s all about...” his voice trailed off and he bowed his head, staring at the hem of his robe as it swished around his moving feet.

In all the months James had been friends with Sirius, he’d never seen him so...beaten. Though Sirius had occasional outbursts about his parents, seeing Sirius so dismal was unnatural, disturbing. The boys were silent for a while, trudging up steps and through tapestries.

When they reached the common room ten minutes later, they ate the sandwiches lying on the central table-courtesy of Professor Dumbledore-and chatted lightly, tactfully avoiding the subject of what had just occurred in the Great Hall.


Now, a week later, they still didn’t talk about it, unless Sirius mentioned it. Sirius appreciated that they were giving him the room he needed. Although I’ve got to tell James someday about what I did on Christmas. He’ll love that. Sirius grinned and stretched, then grimaced as his tender right shoulder made contact with the back of the armchair.

Some fifth-year Slytherins had taken Walburga Black at her word, and begun bothering him whenever there were no teachers present. His sore shoulder was the remainder of a bullying incident just yesterday, when Sirius had tripped on his way out of Potions and banged his shoulder hard into the stone wall.

Of course, the Slytherin had denied that he’d had anything to do with Sirius’ fall when Sirius confronted him, but Sirius hadn’t missed the fact that the Slytherin had been pointing his wand at him, jinxing him.

Sirius scowled as he stared into the flames. His mother had ensured that if she wouldn’t be here to torture him, other people would do the nasty work for her. He sighed, watching as a new stick of wood appeared, hovered over the fire for a moment, then fell onto the flames, which hissed hungrily and immediately began licking at the dry wood.

He knew most mums loved their children, but to him the entire concept was foreign. His mother had never shown him any affection whatsoever. In fact, his earliest memory from his childhood was when he was about five, of his mother hexing him so that he couldn’t move or speak and then leaving him in a broom closet for two days.

But still, she was his mother. And he couldn’t suppress the natural urge he often got, wanting to please her, hoping that this time, she’d forgive him for whatever she hated him for. He usually did the odd and sometimes demented tasks she set for him willingly, whenever it didn’t involve hurting himself or anyone else. He was desperate to earn her love and respect. But it never happened...

~*~


James took the stairs two at a time, climbing them till he reached the first years’ dormitory. He opened the door and his eyebrows went up in surprise. “Remus? Why are you in bed, mate?”

Remus sat up quickly and shrugged. “I was just a bit...tired, that’s all,” he said, not quite meeting James’ eyes as he spoke.

James raised an eyebrow. “If you say so.”

Remus had avoided showing his exhaustion so far before and after his visits ‘home’, but more often now, he was slipping up. Not for the first time, he thought of how much easier it would be if his friends would know about his condition...No. I’m not going to tell them. They’d never talk to me again...

James chucked his bookbag on the floor next to his night table, then came over and sat on Remus’ bed.
“Oh, and I was talking to Peter,” Remus added.

“Hullo, Peter,” James said, smiling at him. “What were you two talking about?”

Peter smiled back shyly at James, before nodding at Remus. “You tell him.”

“Well,” Remus started, “remember we really wanted to pay back that Slytherin fifth year, Robinson--the one that trip-jinxed Sirius in the Charms corridor last week?”

James nodded slowly, knitting his eyebrows. “Yeah...”

“Okay, so Peter, here,” said Remus, raising a hand in Peter’s direction, “had a marvelous idea.”

“You did?” James asked Peter excitedly. “What is it?”

“Erm...” Peter looked slightly uncomfortable under James’ inquiring glance. He wasn’t sure what sort of reception his suggestion was going to get.

Remus nodded at him encouragingly.

“I thought...you know how we’ve learnt levitation in Charms?”

James nodded. “Go on.”

“So I thought, we could levitate his goblet right after he’s filled it pumpkin juice, and--”

“Let it fall onto him!” James completed, his eyes sparkling. “Brilliant!”

Peter grinned. “You think so?”

“Yes, I really do,” James responded. “Just let me go get Sirius up here-we can’t discuss this in the common room, it’s too crowded-and we can work out all the details!” James bounded to the door and pulled it open.

~*~


Back in the common room, Sirius sighed, debating whether or not he should ask the sixth years for a swig of firewhiskey. He glanced over at them-their conversation was steadily getting louder-and changed his mind when he saw their flushed faces. If they were drunk already, they probably wouldn’t be feeling too generous.

He began to sigh again, but it changed into a yawn, and he stood resignedly. James is taking too long. He headed for the stairs leading to the boys’ dormitories, kicking a table leg as he went.

~*~


Halfway down the curving stairs James collided hard into somebody. “Oh, Merlin! I’m sorry, I--Sirius?” James asked as he straightened up and saw who he had bumped into. “I thought you were going to wait downstairs?”

“Well, yeah, but it was taking you a bit too long, so I reckoned I’d come up and see what was keeping you both,” Sirius replied, with an injured expression, rubbing his shoulder. “And that hurt, James. Now I can’t move either one of my shoulders.”

“I’m really sorry,” James said again. “But you’ve got to hurry upstairs, Peter had this absolutely wonderful idea...”

“He did?” Sirius asked, somewhat surprised. “What sort of idea?”

“About revenging ourselves on that fifth year that trip-jinxed you yesterday,” James replied.

“Really?” Sirius asked, his eyes brightening. “Now that I’ve got to hear.”


A/N: So...you like?? Tell me, tell me!!



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Alight With Mischief by rivers of gold
A/N: Now, the problem with listing all my reviewers’ names as a way of expressing my appreciation can backfire nastily. First, I often forget to go back and add names to the list after every new reviewer. And second, I don’t want the guilt of accidentally forgetting to put up a name.

Let me assure you, however, that I know EXACTLY who reviews, and it really means a lot to me. There will be a wine-and-cheese party for reviewers, because I’m totally a cheese addict. For those of you that are underage, there will be pizza and soda. The entrance fee is one review. Cheers!


Chapter Eight: Alight With Mischief

It was at breakfast the next morning when they realized the flaw in their plan. James sat down with a thump at the Gryffindor table, one shoe still untied, his hair flying in all directions. Sirius had already loaded his own plate with buttered eggs and kippers, and pushed the half-full bowl across the table at James.

“Looks like it’s gonna snow again,” Sirius noted, waving his fork at the tall, latticed windows.

“It’s not going to work,” James told him, slightly out of breath.

Sirius paused with his fork at the edge of his mouth and raised his eyebrows. “What isn’t?”

“Our plan,” James said, filling his plate with eggs, tomatoes and stuffed olives. “Trouncing Robinson. We can’t do it.” He swallowed a large mouthful of eggs and reached for the water jug that sat in the center of the table.

“Why not?” asked Remus. His eyes were slightly bloodshot and his was face paler than usual. He began spreading butter on a piece of toast, then paused and sniffed the dish of butter. “Does this butter have an odd smell, or is it just me?”

Peter glanced up from his kippers. “It looks okay.”

James raised the dish to his nose and sniffed. “I don’t smell anything.” He looked perplexedly at Remus. “I reckon your sense of smell is sharper than mine.”

“Yeah, that must be it,” Remus said hurriedly, suddenly looking distracted. He bit into his butter-smeared toast and wrinkled his nose. “It tastes alright, I reckon.”

Sirius eyed him. “Why’re you making that disgusted face, then?”

Remus shrugged. “I don’t like toast and butter much, that’s all.”

James shoveled another forkful of eggs into his mouth while he contemplated Remus’ reply. “Why are you eating it, then?” he asked around a mouthful of food. “Have some eggs. Or take your toast with jam.”

“Eggs....” Remus made a face. “Maybe. But definitely no jam.”

Sirius raised an eyebrow at this. “You ate eggs last week with no complaints,” he pointed out, filling his goblet with iced pumpkin juice and taking a large gulp.

“Right.” Remus flushed suddenly, the effect quite spectacular on his unusually pale cheeks. “Well...that was last week.”

“You’re going mad, mate,” Sirius muttered.

If only you knew how right you are, Remus thought. If only you knew.

James, ever the gentleman, frowned at Sirius. “Shut up and finish eating your breakfast.”

“Yes, Daddy,” Sirius said in a high-pitched voice, and proceeded to fill his plate liberally with a second helping of everything except the olives.

James rolled his eyes and turned to Remus. “You’re looking a bit peaky, though. You need nourishment. What do you fancy today?”

“I dunno.” Remus shrugged and grimaced as he broke off another bit of buttered toast and stuffed it into his mouth. “Bacon, maybe. Ham....” he paused, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he considered foods he found tempting. “Beef stew would be good. Also turkey, chicken, steak....”

“Hmm.” Sirius, finally full, pushed his plate away and drained his goblet. “Do we have time to stop at the kitchens after Transfiguration?”

Peter, glad to be of help, quickly dug into his bag and pulled out a worn schedule. “We do. We get ten minutes’ break after Trans.”

James met Sirius’ eyes and nodded. “Good. We’ll stop by the kitchens, then, and get some food for Remus, here.” He nodded in Remus’ direction.

“Oh, you really don’t have to--” Remus started.

“Too late,” James cut in smoothly. “I’ve already decided I’ll be wanting a chocolate éclair after Trans. So we’re going anyway.”

“You’re always wanting an éclair,” Remus muttered, and grinned when James punched him playfully on the shoulder.

Sirius, though his appetite was satisfied, speared a slice of tomato and stuffed it into his mouth. “But what were you saying before, James? Why can’t we do it?”

“Oh. That. Well....” James put down his fork and knife and automatically wiped his mouth on a napkin. Growing up as an only child and having to eat meals with his culturally refined parents gave James some advantages. Compared to most boys his age, James’ manners were flawless. He did have several habits that still annoyed his parents, though. Like spreading jam on his toast while he held it in the palm of his hand. Or spiking a knife into the stick of butter instead of scraping it gently over the surface. Or folding one leg and sitting on it rather than putting both feet on the floor....

“Okay,” James continued, his face serious. “Can you see the Slytherin table? At all?”

“No,” said Sirius, squinting as he tried to spot it through the mass of students that filled the Great Hall. “It’s blocked by about three hundred people. But what does that have to do with...oh. Blimey. I do see a problem.”

James sighed and pushed a hand through his hair, messing it up even more than it was already. Levitation was difficult to perform at a distance. And even if they were extraordinarily skilled with levitation, they would still need a clear shot at Robinson. Or his goblet, anyway. If someone at the Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff tables stood just as they did the spell...well. It would be amusing, but for the present, a waste of time. Today they wanted a laugh at Robinson. No one else. And the chances of them getting Robinson while they were at the opposite end of the Great Hall were nearly nonexistent.

Remus pondered this new development. “If you could just stand over there....”

“Oh, and you reckon Robinson will just let me stand there and point a wand at him, do you?” Sirius asked sarcastically.

“No.” Remus gazed at the owls now swooping low over the tables, delivering the morning mail. “You’re right about that. But....” He fell silent, pushing his toast around with his fork absentmindedly.

Sirius flinched as a large gray owl flew past them, and quickly scanned the mass of owls for a flash of black, but it didn’t seem as if the Black owl would be making an appearance this particular morning. Thank Merlin.

Remus shook his bangs out of his eyes. “If only I had some decent food...I can’t think on an empty stomach.”

“If-if we knew an-an invisibility spell,” Peter began hesitantly, “it would be simple to merely stand right next to the Slytherin table....” he trailed off. James, Sirius and Remus were staring at him, openmouthed. Then Sirius grinned and slapped him on the back.

“You’re a genius, mate!” Sirius exclaimed.

“Blimey, how could I overlook something like that?” James said, shaking his head. “I’m such an idiot. I can’t believe I forgot all about it....”

Peter grinned. “You know an invisibility spell?”

“Nah,” said Sirius, rubbing his hands together and grinning. “He has something far better than that, don’t you, James?”

James smiled widely and nodded.

“See,” Sirius continued, “he has an in--”

This sentence was abruptly cut off as James clapped his hand over Sirius’ mouth. “A little louder, maybe?” James hissed. “Does everyone in Hogwarts have to know? Then they’ll all be wanting to borrow it, or worse, steal it.”

Peter’s face reddened. “I didn’t--”

“Oh,” James added hurriedly, “we’re not hiding it from you. We’ll show you upstairs.”

~*~


“You have a“what?” Peter asked in a hushed voice.

“An invisibility cloak. Really. My granddad got it for me this past holidays.”

“But-but those are so rare...it must’ve cost a fortune.” Peter gazed at James in awe.

“I suppose,” James said, a tad impatiently. “Do you want to see it?”

“Can I?” Peter asked, his voice reverent.

James smiled and slid off the bed. The leg that had been folded underneath him prickled slightly as walked over to the trunk at the foot of his bed and eased it open. Peter, who had followed him across the room, gasped audibly. James’ trunk was empty.

“It’s been stolen!” Peter whispered, staring into the trunk. When he looked again, he realized that there was one broken quill lying on the bottom of the trunk.

“Whoever’s stolen it left behind evidence,” said James confidently. “Peter, pick up that quill, please.”

Peter leaned down and stretched out his fingers. Two inches into the trunk, his hand was stopped in midair by something that felt soft and cool….He glanced up at James, bewildered.

“Pick it up,” James repeated, grinning widely.

Peter took hold of the smooth, silky substance and pulled…and he was staring down into the messy contents of James’ trunk, underwear and dirty socks mingling with library books and cartons of Kneazle treats. Clenched in his fingers was a shimmering, gray cloak.

“Wow,” Peter said, his voice hushed as he gazed at the cloak in his hands. “Brilliant.”

Peter handed the cloak to James, who wrapped it around his waist. Peter gasped as the bottom half of James’ body disappeared. Then James draped it over his head like a burnoose and left only his right hand outside the cloak, waving it around slightly. Peter’s eyes were open wide as he stared at the spot where the rest of James had been visible just a moment before.

“Okay, enough of the demonstration,” said Sirius, checking his watch and beginning to look slightly bored. “We’ve got to go, James, so put it away.”

James removed the cloak and stuffed it into his book bag. He nodded. “We’ll work out a strategy during class.”

~*~


“Okay,” James affirmed as they headed towards the Great Hall for lunch. “Let’s go over this one more time. Me and Sirius are gonna be under the cloak.”

Sirius grinned and flexed one arm, trying to show off nonexistent bulging muscles.

“Peter and Remus,” James continued, “you’ll be standing a few feet away as lookouts. If Robinson figures something out, or the teachers are looking our way, you begin a loud conversation about how lame you think the Chudley Cannons are. Make sure you’re not next to any Cannons fans, though, or you’ll get yourselves into a heap of trouble.”

Remus glanced at Peter and nodded. “Okay.” Then he raised his head, sniffing the air. “There’s beef stew for lunch!” he crowed, and quickened his walk.

“Honestly,” James started, “you care more about food than--”

“Your sense of smell is bloody brilliant,” Sirius said at the same time. “I mean, I can’t smell anything yet. Can you?” he asked Peter.

Peter shook his head. “Nope.”

“Whatever,” James said impatiently, “ but Remus ate nearly an entire chicken less than two hours ago when we stopped by the kitchens--”

And,” Sirius continued, talking over James, “my sense of smell is supposed to be pretty good. I mean, it’s better than James’, anyway.”

James glared at Sirius indignantly and stopped speaking.

“So if you can smell what’s for lunch while we’re a few floors above the Great Hall,” Sirius concluded, “your sense of smell, Remus, is bloody amazing.”

Remus flushed and muttered something under his breath. I need to be more careful.

“What?”

Remus took a deep breath. “Nothing.” He shook his bangs out of his eyes and took the stairs down two at a time, one hand lightly coasting the railing.

“You’ll get your beef stew,” Sirius panted from right behind him. “I’m hungry, too. But first, we’re taking care of Robinson.”

“Of course we are,” Remus answered, and grinned.

~*~


“Ouch! Sirius!” James hissed.

“Shut up! What?”

“Get off my foot!”

“Oh.” Sirius glanced down absently and moved his foot.

“Merlin,” James muttered under his breath as he rubbed his foot as well as he could through the sneaker.

“Sorry,” said Sirius. “It’s just hard to walk at your pace and stay under the cloak at the same time....”

“Yeah, I know.” James straightened up and glanced at Remus and Peter, chatting a few feet away. A coterie of Ravenclaw girls were giggling loudly next to them, and Remus and Peter’s conversation was barely audible.

Sirius drew his wand and pointed it at Robinson, who was seated less than five feet away at the Slytherin table. “Wait,” James said hastily, and pulled Sirius back a few feet as a crowd of Slytherins went by in order to get to their table.

The invisibility cloak covering them fluttered slightly, and James pulled it closer, making sure they were both still concealed. “Okay, now,” he whispered. “Swish and flick, remember, and--”

“I know.” Sirius pointed his wand at Robinson’s full goblet, and said ‘Wingardium Leviosa!’ as loudly as he dared. The goblet began rising slowly into the air, and Sirius grinned, pushing it even higher. Just a bit more, and then“

“Sirius!” James’ whisper was frantic. “Move!”

Too late, Sirius turned and saw the Ravenclaw clique heading their way. There was no time....

*


Thump. Several things happened in quick succession. Sirius fell as a Ravenclaw bumped into him, and landed hard on the stone floor, pulling James with him. The levitated goblet trembled for a moment in midair and then dropped onto Robinson’s lap; he jumped up and cursed loudly, trying to shake the pumpkin juice off his robes before it seeped into the fabric.

And a Ravenclaw brunette who had been giggling with her best mates a moment before scowled at Remus, who was suddenly standing in front of her. “Pardon,” Remus said hurriedly. “I was talking to somebody, and I didn’t see you coming....”

She pushed past him. “Whatever.” She never noticed the stray sneaker lying on its side next to the bench, and didn’t miss it when it disappeared a minute later.

*


“Idiot,” James moaned as he lay sprawled next to Sirius. “Get up. I dunno how much of us is covered. And we’re bound to get stepped on sometime soon.”

Sirius pushed his palms off the floor and raised himself to his feet, putting out a hand to help James up. They straightened and made sure the cloak was secure, then Sirius grinned and prodded James. “Aw, look at him.” Robinson was scowling and yelling at a fellow Slytherin, gesturing at the wide wet patch on the front of his robes. He strode furiously down the length of the table, presumably heading for his dormitory to change.

“Ooh, look,” a gossipy Hufflepuff next to the doors whispered loudly. “The front of his robes is absolutely soaked...looks like he, er, drank a bit too much and couldn’t hold it.” Her twittering mates giggled at her insinuation and pointed at Robinson, whispering behind their hands.

Robinson’s scowl grew more pronounced as he slouched past them, his ears and neck bright red.

~*~


“Yes!” Peter cheered. “We did it!”

“You bet we did,” said Sirius filling his own goblet. “Did you see the look on his face?”

James pushed the bowl of beef stew toward Remus. “All yours,” he said, grinning broadly.

“Remus, mate,” Sirius said, turning to him and slapping him on the back. “That was bloody brilliant, the way you pretended that Ravenclaw bumped into you.

“Ah, it was nothing.” Remus grinned. “Only the work of a genius. I’m surprised, though. My mind usually doesn’t work well on an empty stomach.”

But it wasn’t empty, James thought, bemused. Remus ate plenty when we stopped by the kitchens after Trans.

Remus ladled stew onto his plate and began eating enthusiastically. Beef stew is always good. But near the time of full moon, it’s a lifesaver.... Remus cleared his plate and took a second helping. “By the way,” he started, then stopped, eating his stew pensively.

“Yeah?” Sirius looked up from the baked potato speared on his fork.

“Er. Well,” Remus said, “my auntie’s Augerey Fever has started up again, and my mum wants me home just in case...well. I’m going home day after tomorrow.”

James gazed thoughtfully at Remus, the steam from a cup of freshly steeped tea leaves blurring his features. “It’s her third relapse now, isn’t it?”

“Well...” Remus said uncomfortably, staring out the large windows, through which fat snowflakes could be seen falling, “yes.”

“Blimey,” said James quietly. “I hope she turns out all right.”

“Yeah,” Remus added hastily, “me too.”

~*~


Early the next morning, James was woken by a pillow shot at his head. He groaned and sat up in bed, noting the brilliant blue sky outlined in the dormitory window. His eyes lit up. “Is it....?” he mouthed at Sirius, who was standing by the window in his pyjamas.

“Yes!” Sirius cheered. “It’s a perfect snow day!”

James grinned and stretched. The sun had hardened the fluffy snow that fell yesterday just enough for it to be easily sculpted. Tiger leaped lightly onto his bed and nudged his hand with her head until he softly rubbed the fur behind her ears. She purred and settled on his lap.

‘Let’s use the cloak!” Sirius exclaimed.

James wrinkled his forehead in thought. “Hmm....”

“Come on, mate! Imagine, a cliquey group of girls, trying to stay as dry as possible in their designer robes and boots, and we bombard them with snowballs! And, of course, they don’t know what’s happening and they can’t retaliate, because we’re off the path and under the cloak!”

“The cloak won’t cover all four of us,” said James, burying one hand in Tiger’s long, silky fur.

“I’ll stay behind a snowbank and make snowballs,” Remus mumbled from underneath his blanket, “and then I can stand on the path and watch or just stay out of sight.”

James turned his head quickly and raised his eyebrows. “What? You sure, Remus?”

“Yeah, no problem,” Remus replied, his voice heavy with sleep. “There isn’t much strength in my throwing arm, anyway.”

“What are you talking about?” Sirius demanded, throwing himself back into his bed. The bedsprings squeaked in weak protest as his mattress bounced. “Your arm was just fine last week when you wrestled those Every Flavor Beans away from me.”

Remus groaned. “Whatever.” His voice was muffled through the blankets, but James thought he sounded considerably more awake now.

Sirius shrugged and headed for the bathroom, grabbing a towel off his shelf in the cupboard. James raised an eyebrow and stroked Tiger steadily, eyes narrowed at the lump under the covers that was Remus. “Very eloquent, Remus,” he muttered.

~*~


Lily, Tami and Dani were moving leisurely over the snow-covered grounds after their Herbology lesson, their feet sinking deep into snow whenever they ventured off the path. “I’m so hungry,” Dani said. “I hope we don’t have that weird squash stew for....” Her voice trailed off. “What’s going on?”

A group of Ravenclaw fourth years ahead of them on the path had just started shrieking and gesticulating wildly. “Are they....” Tami started worriedly, and then her look of concern morphed to one of amusement. “Someone’s throwing snowballs!”

Indeed, Lily could see great blotches of white on the girls’ dark cloaks, and even as Tami, Dani and Lily watched, three more snowballs came pelting out of nowhere. “You think it’s Peeves?” Lily asked.

“Nah. He never comes out of the castle.”

“Then how are they doing it?”

“Well,” Dani said, “if they were invisible--Justin told me about invisibility cloaks, but there are spells for making yourself invisible as well--then it would be really easy to just stand there and throw the snowballs.”

Justin, Dani’s Ravenclaw third-year brother, was always tossing random bits of information her way, which she would run by Scott to make sure they were true. Half the time they weren’t. But that piece about invisibility cloaks was true enough. Though they were really rare and expensive, they did exist.

“Maybe they’re just hiding behind that snowbank,” Lily said thoughtfully, eyeing the thick shrubbery surrounding that particular area. “Let’s go see.”

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Tami asked, and grinned when Lily high-fived her.

They walked off the path casually and circled around the trees, stopping in a thick cluster of pines about fifteen feet away from where the snowballs were flying. “Ha, we got them,” Dani said quietly, and pointed through the branches at the deep snow. It had been recently disturbed by many footprints, which all stopped abruptly at one point. One footprint broke off halfway through, the toe of the print gone. Even as they watched, another footprint appeared out of nowhere, pressing snow down hard, and a snowball zoomed out over the path.

The girls grinned at each other, and by unspoken agreement they all knelt behind the pines and began building a stockpile of snowballs. Lily knew that there was a chilly breeze blowing“her breath came in clouds as she bent to pack snow between her gloved hands--but she didn’t feel the cold as she regarded the snowbank, planning her shot. An icy wind snuck inside her cloak and she barely noticed, automatically pulling it tighter around her while hefting the snow she held to feel its weight. “Okay,” she murmured. “I’m going first.”

Tami and Dani nodded and stood up beside her, each of them armed with a snowball or two. Their cheeks were pink and their eyes sparkled mischievously, and suddenly Lily fully appreciated that they were her friends. They were assisting her with something that was definitely asking for trouble, and they were enjoying every second of it, just like she was. Lily grinned broadly as she drew her arm back, stepped around the edge of the trees, and flicked her wrist in one smooth motion, sending her missile whizzing at the spot where the snow was most crowded with footprints.

Her snowball hit clear air with a soft thud and stuck there, a flattened blob of snow suspended in midair. “Ow! What was that?” a voice called in astonishment, carrying easily over to the girls.

“Go, Tami,” Lily whispered, and Tami threw. Lily thought the voice they had just heard sounded like Potter’s, but she couldn’t be sure.

“I think--” another voice started, but the sentence ended in a yelp as Tami’s snowball reached its mark.

“Come on,” Lily muttered. “Are you guys wearing a cloak, or not?”

Dani’s snowball, thrown a second later, answered her question. It veered to the right of where she was aiming and caught the edge of the cloak, dislodging it slightly so that half of someone’s head was visible. Definitely Potter, Lily thought jubilantly as she spotted his trademark, messy black hair, disheveled even more than usual by wind and snow.

“Okay,” Dani muttered. “We have maybe one minute before they decide to head over here. I say we each throw one more and then run for it.”

“Excellent,” said Lily. “We’re each only going to get one shot, so let’s try and make them count, shall we?”

James threw the cloak off, exposing Sirius and Peter beside him. His eyes swept over the trees, trying to decide from which direction the attack had originated. As he turned to Sirius with a questioning look on his face, he was just in time to see a large bit of snow land on Sirius’ collar. Sirius shouted as snow began trickling down his neck. Immediately after, James got a mouthful and began sputtering. Peter dropped to the ground and missed the shot that was meant for him, which sank deep into the snowbank behind him.

Their surprised faces were quickly replaced by indignant ones. “Hey!” Sirius shouted. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Same thing you were,” Lily called spiritedly from their hiding place. “Throwing snowballs at people who haven’t a chance of retaliating.”

“I’ll show you retaliate!” James exclaimed, heading for the trees at a run with Sirius and Peter close behind him.

“Let’s go, move!” Dani cried, and promptly fell over a rock. Tami groaned and held out a hand to help Dani up, and there was one frozen moment when Lily thought the boys would reach them before they left, but then the girls were all up and running, leaving the trees deserted. Lily’s laughter emerged in panting bursts as they ran to the wide path milling with students, where they could disappear into the crowds heading towards the castle.

The boys arrived at the path approximately five seconds after the girls did and pulled up short, scanning the faces nearby. But they were too late“the girls were gone. Remus, however, was working his way towards them. “Brilliant,” Remus called, barely containing his laughter. “Excellent show!”

“Just stand there and laugh,” Sirius grumbled. “Awfully nice of you, I must say.”

“Oh, pity you couldn’t watch yourselves,” Remus said, his face red from suppressed laughter. “It was absolutely hilarious.”

“Did you see who they were?” James asked, beginning to smile. Remus’ merriment was starting to rub off on him.

“Sure I did. You can take a guess, though, there aren’t many girls who would’ve done something like that.”

“They were girls!” Peter exclaimed.

“That’s it,” Sirius moaned. “I can now officially die of mortification.”

“I suppose it was Lorens, Evans and that friend of theirs?” James inquired, thinking of how they never acted like typical girls. There was that business about the frogs on the train when they first came to Hogwarts, and throughout the year James noticed how they were always one of the first to jump into any fun situation, even if it involved getting dirty, wet, or jinxed. And if the occasion involved wandwork, they stood their ground, jinxing back and playing dirty if the situation called for it.

“Exactly.”

“All right, I’m dead,” Sirius lamented. “Beaten by a few girls....” He shook his head woefully and removed his soaking wet gloves as they headed for the castle.


~*~


“It was you,” James said when they confronted the girls at dinner. “And you’d better apologize, or we’ll--”

“You’ll what?” Dani grinned. “It’s your word against ours. And besides, certain people I know in Ravenclaw wouldn’t mind finding out who the cheeky students were that ambushed them today.”

“And? You think we’re afraid of them?” Sirius demanded heatedly.

“Nah.” Lily smiled. “Why should you be? Of course, they do know lots more curses than you do. And though it’s against school rules to attack another student...well, if they’re angry enough, who knows what they might do....” she let her voice trail off suggestively.

Sirius growled under his breath and glared at them. “What makes you so sure about that? I know plenty of good curses.”

James threw Sirius a look, shook his head, and murmured something, after which Sirius got up and stalked off, James, Peter and Remus right behind him.

Remus grinned at the girls over his shoulder as he left. “I must congratulate you, though. That was some excellent aiming on your part.”

The girls smiled broadly as they focused on the boys’ receding backs. “Yes,” Tami murmured. “That was good.”

*


“Traitor,” James muttered at Remus after they left the Great Hall, but he smiled. “You’re right, though. Much as I hate to admit it, I can’t find a single fault with the way they handled things today. They used really excellent tactics...pity they were against us.”

Sirius shook his head. “You’re just going to write the whole thing off?”

“Mate,” James replied, slapping Sirius genially on the back, “part of a good strategy is knowing when to back off.”

“Because you’re afraid?” Peter asked.

“No,” said Remus. “Because you’re not.”



A/N: Hello, wonderful reader! Now, I know for a fact that more than half my readers don’t review.... :( If you read this and you liked it, why don’t you drop me a line? I really do appreciate it, you know. :D
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Beware The Glare by rivers of gold
Chapter Nine: Beware the Glare


“It’s not fair,” James grumbled, flopping into an armchair. “Why can’t first years go to Hogsmeade?”

On this late Saturday morning at the end of May, the Gryffindor common room was nearly deserted. Most students, taking advantage of the sunny weather, were outside lolling about on the castle grounds, or at Hogsmeade. A few swots were presumably huddled in the library, preparing for their upcoming finals.

“You’re still sore you lost that last Gobstones game,” Sirius remarked casually, his voice drifting up from the thick, dark red rug he was comfortably sprawled on.

“Am not.”

“Are too,” Peter cut in. “And I win, again.”

Remus groaned and dodged the stinking, greenish liquid the Gobstones squirted in his direction, then pulled out his wand to clean the smelly green puddle on the floor.

“We’ve got finals coming up,” James remarked, his eyes closed as he leaned back in his armchair. The sun was bright on his face and he breathed deep, inhaling the sweet summer breeze that drifted lazily into the room.

“You want to study?!” Sirius looked horrified. He prided himself on getting excellent marks with a minimal amount of studying.

“Nah.” James grinned. “I mean, we’ll have to study sometime, I suppose, but not now.”

“We don’t have to be holed up in here all day,” Peter said. “Why don’t we go outside to our tree?”

“Because,” Remus replied, frowning as he pushed his bangs aside and gazed out of the window, “someone’s using our spot.”

James’ head jerked up. “Really? I thought we’d made it clear enough that whoever insisted on sharing that tree with us would pay.” Grinning at the memory of the frogs and various insects they’d planted in the book bags of the students that had stolen their spot during the last few weeks, not to mention the hexes that had followed; he stood, stepping over an unmoving Sirius, and joined Remus at the window.

The grin slid off his face. “No way.” Nearly everyone in their year and some girls from the years above had been intimidated by their little demonstration, which the boys been happy to repeat whenever the need had arisen. But not quite everyone had been impressed . . . though that didn’t necessarily have to make much of a difference.

Some students just didn’t care for the spot under the willow tree. And some liked it well enough, but didn’t think it worth arguing for. But then, there were people who did like it, and also thought it worth the bother . . . and it didn’t help that these particular students weren’t much affected by a few commonplace frogs or spells. And these particular students had proved themselves quite capable of defending themselves . . . .

James groaned loudly.

“Oh, come on,” Sirius grumbled. “You two are blocking all the sun. And making me darn curious.” He pulled himself to his feet slowly, stretching his arms, then ambled leisurely towards the latticed window, pushing himself between James and Remus.

There was a moment of silence as he gazed out the window. “Oh, Merlin. You think they chose that spot on purpose?”

“I wonder,” said Remus pensively, his eyes dancing. “Let’s go find out.”

~*~


Lily threw herself onto the grass under a willow tree. “This seems like a good enough spot,” she called to her friends, who were standing at the edge of the circle partially enclosed by the drooping willow branches. Tami and Dani nodded and came over to where Lily lay, settling themselves comfortably.

Scott was already there, leaning against the tree trunk with a drawing pad on his lap. He had chosen this spot. Dani propped her head on one elbow as she turned onto her stomach, and sucked slowly on a Sugar Quill as she watched him draw.

Tami sat with her legs stretched in front of her, her palms on the grass behind her as she raised her head to the dappled sunlight filtering through the branches. The arrival of the summer sun had increased her freckles, so that now they were scattered all over her face instead of just on her nose and cheekbones.

She was one of those rare girls that actually liked freckles, and always held her face up to the sun so that they should multiply. She didn’t like her bushy curls as much as she did her freckles, though, so it was a good thing the sun didn’t affect her hair.

Lily, lying on her back with her hands under her head to cushion it, closed her eyes and inhaled the air perfumed with flowers and grass and sun and the Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans she was sampling. The Beans always smelled sweet and sugary, no matter how delectable or terrible they actually tasted, and that was part of the allure of eating them. You never knew what you were going to get . . . it was a chance you took every time you ate one.

Lily frowned as she considered a red bean. Come on, what are the chances of this actually being cherry -flavored? She considered for a moment, then bit off half the bean. “Oh, gross,” she said aloud.
Tami, who had been watching her out of the corner of her eye, grinned. “What was it?”

Lily sighed. “Blood. You’d think they’d try to put at least one good flavor into every bag . . . I haven’t had a single decent flavor today.”

“Blimey, I don’t know why you bother,” Dani said, shaking her head. “Want a Quill?”

“No. Thanks anyway,” Lily replied, inspecting another bean, black this time. Why on earth should I exchange the adventure of Beans for the ordinary sweetness of a Quill?

Tami rolled onto her side, supporting her head on one elbow and facing Scott. “Can we see your drawing?” she asked.

His face relaxed from its focus on the pad for a moment, and he smiled. “Soon. I’m almost done.”

Tami reached into her pocket and drew out a pack of Exploding Snap cards. “Anyone fancy a game?”

“Wait for me,” Scott said absently, his gaze still focused on the parchment he held. “I’ll be done in a few minutes.”

“Okay,” said Dani, “I’ll set up meanwhile.”

Tami shrugged and handed over the cards, which Dani began counting and dealing out. Dani was elated that Lily and Tami had finally warmed up to Scott. After months of hesitation, they were finally all comfortable with each other, and had been so for the past three weeks. Dani had never felt happier than she did at that moment, sitting with her legs crossed under her on the sun-warmed grass of the Hogwarts grounds.

The grass was dotted with dandelions, and Lily picked one, holding it in front of her face and letting the soft fluffs brush her cheek. She sat up slowly and reached for another one, then took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she blew softly, freeing the seeds from their stems. They floated about her, landing on her hair and clothes like a memory of snowfall.

Tami and Dani soon followed suit, picking their own dandelions. “Make a wish,” Dani said, and winked before she blew half the seeds off with one breath.

Tami puffed lightly at her dandelion several times, experimenting with harder blows and softer huffs, till all but one seed were gone. No matter how much she blew, it held fast to the stem. She shook her head, smiling ruefully.

“Does that mean I don’t get my wish?” Sighing in resignation, Tami finally plucked the tiny white ball of fluff with her fingers and let go, watching it spiral away.

The dandelion spores floated in the breeze, swirling around them. They brushed off the few that stuck to their hair and robes and watched them drift slowly, spinning and dancing on an updraft of wind. Then they were gone.

“Nice,” Scott said, smiling to himself, almost as if he were amused.

Well, pardon me if he thought that was funny, Lily thought, her face heating up.

“Easy, Lily,” he said quietly, his light blue eyes centred on her face. “I wasn’t laughing at you. Look.” He held up the drawing pad, and Lily’s mouth fell open in surprise when she saw the wild dandelion sketched there, its spores free and drifting around it.

“Blimey,” said Dani, after a pause. “But that sort of thing happens all the time. To us, anyway.”

“That doesn’t make it any less extraordinary every time it happens,” said Scott, still smiling slightly as he tucked the piece of charcoal he’d been using into his back pocket. “And that drawing would’ve been dreadfully commonplace and boring if not for you all holding its real-life counterpart just a moment before.” He shook his head to get a stray golden lock out of his eyes. “I don’t believe in coincidences.”

“It wouldn’t have been commonplace, anyway. I like it,” Tami remarked, her head tilted as she inspected the drawing with a seriousness unusual for her. “It’s not perfect, but then, does anything ever look exactly the way we think it should? When we can understand that not everything has to appear unblemished, and that what appear to be flaws are actually part of the wholeness, that is when we realize that the . . . situation had always been more perfect than we thought it was . . . perfect for that time, or that place, or that . . . person.”

Lily frowned for the tiniest second before carefully masking her expression. She doubted Tami was still talking about dandelions. Does this mean she’s finally accepting the death of her mum, and not just masking misery with cheerfulness?

The circle was silent for a few minutes, and Tami flushed slightly. “Whoa, did I just say that?” she asked, wrinkling her freckled nose and grinning.

Scott smiled widely and winked at her as he placed the drawing pad on the grass beside him. “Well, are we going to play? Who’s first?”

~*~


James, Sirius, Peter and Remus strolled across the grounds, heading for their favorite spot under the willow tree. Sirius had gotten hold of Peter’s Gobstones and was tossing them into the air, not really making an effort to catch them, but swearing under his breath every time he had to bend to pick up a fallen one.

The edges of the willow’s branches brushed the ground in some places. Leaves brushed their heads as they entered the wide, shaded circle surrounding the willow trunk.

James looked over at the spirited group sitting nearby. Judging by the sounds, they were playing Exploding Snap. Lorens, that freckled Gryffindor first year; and McAllen, a blonde Ravenclaw he didn’t know too well, only that they shared the same Care of Magical Creatures class; looked up and waved.

Evans and Cruz hadn’t noticed the boys’ arrival“they were intent on their game. But at a nudge from Lorens, they looked up as well. Evans grinned, tossing her red hair over her shoulder as she raised her head. Cruz waved, her eyes dark and twinkling, then they bent once more over the cards they held.

James smiled back and cleared his throat, preparing for a long speech, during which he told them exactly why this spot could be held by no one but himself, Remus, Sirius and Peter. As he started to mentally go through all his reasons, he found himself, surprisingly, at a loss for what to say. What could they say? The girls and McAllen had been here first, and there was no way anyone could put a claim to any spot on the Hogwarts grounds.

If we would be able to prank them . . . James sighed. He hadn’t yet found an area where the girls were vulnerable, and he couldn’t decide if it was worth jinxing them over a patch of grass. Besides, they would probably jinx back, and what would be gained? A few detentions and perhaps a bed in the Hospital Wing, if the spellwork got nasty. And the boys’ spot still wouldn’t be secured.

He shook his head, then led Peter, Sirius and Remus around the trunk and settled himself on the other side, out of view and earshot of the girls and McAllen.

“Um,” Peter started, “weren’t we going to send them packing?”

“Nah. I changed my mind,” said James comfortably.

“Oh?” Remus inquired, smirking slightly. “Care to tell us why?”

“Well, the thought occurred to me that it isn’t fair to monopolize this spot,” James began.

“Right,” Sirius said slowly, his eyes still on the Gobstones he was juggling.

“I mean,” James continued, “it’s a really good spot, and other people deserve to enjoy it, too.”

Sirius dropped a ball, swore softly, and let the other ones scatter in all directions. “You mean to say,” he said, “that you, James Potter, are actually that self-sacrificing?”

James flushed. “Well, maybe! I mean . . .”

Sirius laughed. “Sorry, but that’s a load of troll boogers. I think I know the real problem.”

“And what exactly is the problem?” asked Remus. “I thought you’d do anything to protect this spot, James. Or at least that’s what you said less than two days ago.”

“Go on, tell them,” said Sirius spiritedly, now chewing on a blade of grass. “I’m surprised they haven’t yet realised it for themselves, but perhaps we can blame this infernal humidity. It’s bound to make anyone woozy.”

“I like the summer sun,” Remus protested, frowning at Sirius. “And what’s with the high vocabulary? And because you, for once, clued in on something before I did does not mean that I--”

“‘Infernal’ is my new word for this week,” Sirius interrupted casually. “Do you like it? It describes so many things around Hogwarts. Robinson, for one, and that ugly kid Snape, and this humidity . . .”

“It’s too strong a word,” Remus replied, shrugging. “No, I don’t like it.”

“Ah,” Sirius sighed, “at least you know what it means, so you can appreciate me using it. I’ll just have to utilise it without your approval, then, won’t I?”

“Oh, shut up, mate,” Remus grumbled. “You know you don’t need my permission. And you don’t have to use big words to impress me.”

“Yeah, you’re impressed even without--”

“What have you got to tell us, James?” Peter asked, calmly breaking up their light quarrel as he searched around in the grass for the Gobstones that Sirius had carelessly dropped.

“He has nothing to tell us,” Sirius said decidedly. “Let’s do it, James.”

“Give me a few minutes to think it over, Sirius. I’m trying to decide if it’s worth it.”

“Why not?” Sirius asked recklessly. “It’ll make this boring, hot morning a bit more exciting.”

James gazed at him for a moment as he considered dueling the girls. His parents had taught him all about honor and nobility, and those ingrained lessons were making it hard for him to agree with Sirius. “It’s only one patch of grass. There are others we can claim.”

Sirius shook his head. “It’s not about this clearing so much as the fact that they’re rubbing this in our faces. No one will ever bother listening to us again if we can’t stop a few petty girls from stealing our spot. And if we can’t protect one spot, how will we guard a different one?”

James pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. He hated making such decisions. If they challenged him first, he would fight them, but he hated being on the offensive with a bunch of girls.

“Besides,” Sirius coaxed, “we never paid them back for that snowball fight.”

“That’s true,” James said slowly, wiping a drop of sweat that was trickling down his neck, still frowning. Then his face brightened. “Okay. We’ll go over there, but remember, they’re girls. No serious hexes or curses. Just small stuff.”

Sirius nodded. “Blimey, I don’t want to hurt them. Only . . . er . . . overpower them. We just have to prove our point.”

“Exactly,” James agreed. “And also, we won’t start the duel. We’ll do our best to provoke them. Then, if they start, fine. If they don’t, we walk away. Is that clear?”

Sirius grinned and stood up, pulling out his wand. He inspected it for a moment, then stashed it back into his pocket. “Crystal. But you know, you’re way too noble sometimes. They deserve to get beaten, and trust me, we will beat them. Last time they challenged us, the circumstances weren’t fair.”

“Hmm,” said Remus, raising an eyebrow. “A duel.”

“Nice,” Peter added. “This should be interesting.”

“So,” Remus turned to Sirius. “You’ve taken it upon yourself to entertain us all on this infernally hot morning?”

“Exactly,” said Sirius smugly. “Do you have any objections?”

“Not at all,” Remus replied tranquilly. “I’m looking forward to seeing how it’ll shape out. And I’ve been wanting to try out this new charm for a while.”

With that agreed on, they all stood and strode over to where the girls and boy sat, contentedly playing Exploding Snap.

“Good morning!” James called, smiling widely as they drew closer. “Are you having fun?”

Tami looked up at them suspiciously, the freckles on her forehead jumping as she frowned and raised her eyebrows. “As a matter of fact, yes. But I doubt you care. What do you want?” she asked curiously.

James stared at her, his eyes narrowed. “You’re right, actually. I don’t really care if you’re enjoying yourselves. I’m just here to warn you that if you don’t move, you’re definitely not going to be having fun.”

“And why should we move?” Scott demanded, standing and facing them, his cards scattered on the grass behind him. “Because you decided so?”

“Precisely,” said James. “This is our spot. We warned that anyone who sat here would have to face the consequences.”

“You knew about this, Scott?” Dani inquired, still sucking on her Sugar Quill. “You intentionally sat here?”

“Oh, yeah,” Scott said disgustedly, his blue eyes flashing. “I heard about their selfishness concerning this place. And it’s about time this idiocy was stopped.”

“Watch who you’re calling an idiot,” Remus said softly, waving a hand to discourage a passing fly from landing on his shoulder.

Sirius pulled out his wand.

“No!” James shouted, taking hold of his wrist. “Wait.” He glared at Scott’s furious expression and questioned, “You’re not planning on moving, then?”

Scott almost smiled. “No, it’s not on my agenda for the near future.”

“How about we duel for the spot?” Sirius asked. “The winner get rights to it forever.”

“You’re going to fight the girls?” Scott narrowed his eyes.

“No,” Lily said, her bright green eyes stormy. “They’re not going to fight us.” Her face began turning red in anger.

“Uh oh,” Tami muttered to Dani. “Last time she looked like that, she ended up being grounded for a month.”

“What happened?” Dani asked, grinning.

“Remind me to tell you sometime when we’re not being threatened by a bunch of overheated boys,” Tami replied, turning back to the argument.

“And why in Merlin’s name shouldn’t we fight you?” Peter was asking, with raised eyebrows and a smirk.

“Because,” Lily replied, nodding decisively to her friends as she stood up and pulled out her wand, “we are going to fight you.”


A/N: Wow, these kids are really being obnoxious. I got bored of all the sugary sweetness and decided to exchange my Sugar Quills for Every Flavor Beans. If you disapprove, blame the infernal heat. ^_~
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A Shadowy Discovery by rivers of gold
Chapter Ten: A Shadowy Discovery

Lily took short, panting breaths as she tried to keep her anger in check. Her temper didn’t emerge very often, but when it did it could seize her with the power and destruction of a hurricane, until she could no longer control her words and actions. For this reason, she usually tried to curb her emotions before they reached boiling point.

Now she clenched her jaw and turned away, forcing herself to take deep breaths of sweet, grass-scented air. Still, she needed an outlet for her anger. In a duel, it was the participants that stayed cool and focused that usually triumphed. Anger, though it sometimes improved the performance and outcome of certain spells, would be a hindrance, not an asset. With this in mind, she pointed her wand straight up into the air and yelled the first thing that came to her mind. “Puterumpo!”

There was a sound like a minor explosion, and birds flew out of their roosts in the uppermost branches of the willow, shrieking. Thick green smoke billowed out of Lily’s wand tip, completely enveloping the clearing.

“Interesting,” Sirius said, raising his eyebrows. “Does each side get to display their powers before--” He cut himself off, a disgusted grimace forming on his face as the smoke began fading out into silver mist. Pinching his nostrils, he loudly said, “Bleagh!” which just about summed up everyone’s feelings at the moment. A powerful stink resembling rotten eggs and dead mice now filled the clearing.

“We could’ve done without that, Evans!”

Lily was half amused and half speechless. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she mumbled, “That spell never…it never actually worked….”

“It sure did this time.” Peter wrinkled his nose and waved a hand in front of his face, trying and failing to push away the shimmering, stinking mist.

In the middle of her shocked stupor, Lily noticed out of the corner of her eye the oddest expression on James’ face. He was looking at her almost speculatively, head tilted to one side, one corner of his mouth turned upwards ever so slightly. His eyes were warm, but she couldn’t tell with which expression. It looked almost like respect…but there, now it was gone, and Lily wasn’t sure for a second if she had imagined it or not.

Shaking her head, wondering why she even cared, she turned to fully face the boys. Now James had a mischievous glint in his eyes, and nudged Sirius with an elbow. “Well, mates, I reckon it’s time to show a bit of what we’ve got, don’t you think?”

Remus smiled, with a be-my-guest wave of his hand; then Sirius grinned widely and yelled, “Detrudaccido!”

Tami was instantly knocked off her feet and landed hard on her ass, wincing.

“Oh, Merlin.” Dani, who was standing closest, hissed in annoyance at the boys and held out a hand to help Tami up.

“Idiot!” Scott said heatedly. “We hadn’t started yet--”

“You’ll find, McAllen,” Remus slowly enunciated, “that it doesn’t pay to insult a friend of mine. If we hadn’t started yet before, we have now. Modulcanto!”

And the fingers on Scott’s wand hand, his right, began moving up and down rhythmically, as if he were playing a complicated piece of music on the piano. No matter how he tried, Scott was unable to sufficiently grip his wand in his flying fingers.

“Petrificus Totalus!” Dani shot at Remus, but he dodged it.

“Fusio Aqua!” Peter shouted, waving his wand at Lily, but his aim was ruined by James, who staggered into Peter after being hit with a jinx from Tami. Peter’s spell was harmlessly absorbed into a tree, and James found his balance after a moment and carefully shouted, “Compingere Femsurped!” as he pointed his wand at Dani.

Dani, always fast to panic, shrieked when she realized she couldn’t move her legs apart. When Tami whirled to see why Dani had screamed so alarmingly, she let her guard down for a moment and didn’t know to dodge the full body-bind Sirius aimed at her. Tami, fully bound, instantly toppled into Dani, and Dani, unable to separate her legs, couldn’t brace herself. They both fell, Dani’s arms pinioned between them.

Scott, aiming left-handedly, hit Remus with a dizziness charm, which wouldn’t have worked quite as well if Peter hadn’t accidentally swung his elbow backwards into Remus’ temple just as Scott performed the charm. The combined result was severe; poor Remus went down on his knees, clutching his head and moaning.

Soon afterwards Scott was hit with an itching jinx, and the hand not moving gracefully up and down was now employed in scratching mindlessly at every bit of skin it could reach.

Sirius smirked and shook his head in pretend reproach. “Now, son,” said Sirius patronizingly, smoothing a beard on his chin that didn’t exist, “You’re in public, you know. Try and behave yourself.”

Scott scowled but didn’t reply, and Sirius turned away to face the still-standing duellists. Now Peter, Sirius and James all stood against Lily, her chin set determinedly. Lily tried not to panic, but with the three of them getting ready to close in on her, she couldn’t help but feel apprehensive.

“Cease fire!” James suddenly decided. “I’m calling a truce. Let’s make a deal.”

Lily raised an eyebrow, sceptical that James wanted to call a truce, especially since the boys were clearly winning. James pinched the bridge of his nose and narrowed his eyes slightly, always a sign that he was thinking hard. “We’re going to win, and you know it,” he said matter-of-factly, raising his shoulders once and letting them fall.

Lily didn’t think she could fend off three wizards at once, and though she really didn’t want to admit that, it seemed she had no choice but to agree with James. “Okay, so?”

“I have an idea. We won, so we should have exclusive rights to this clearing, forever.”

“Right. But technically, you didn’t win, because I’m still standing.”

“My train of thought exactly,” he replied, grinning. “So since we haven’t really won, I think we should share this spot, forever.”

Sirius made a loud noise of disbelief. “James! What are you--?”

But when James turned to him and winked, Sirius realized that James had something else up his sleeve, and promptly shut up. Lily, however, was nobody’s fool, and didn’t miss the half-smirk on James’ face. “What’s the catch?”

James opened his eyes wide, trying to look innocent. “I wouldn’t call it a catch, exactly, it’s more like a…” he ran a hand through his hair, trying to find the right word. “A pact,” he decided.

“A pact,” Lily repeated, pressing her lips together.

“Right.” James grinned wider than ever. “You, Lily Evans, will agree that on the last Saturday of every May as long as you’re alive”by the way, the last Saturday of this May is next week”you will help us with anything we might ask you to help us with.”

“Help you?” Lily felt a shiver of dread run up her spine. What was she getting herself into?

“Or otherwise aid, assist, support, lend a hand and…abet,” put in Sirius, who by now had cottoned on.

“Whoa.” Peter glanced at Sirius. “Impressive, mate. Especially that last word, whatever it was.”

“Of course,” Sirius said carelessly. “So, Evans…what do you say?”

“I…” Lily glanced undecidedly at her friends.

“Your choice, Lily,” said Scott, shrugging while bending to scratch the back of his left leg. “I can’t help you get out of this one.”

“Too right, you can’t,” Sirius said smugly. “Thanks to me.”

“And me,” Remus called somewhat hoarsely from where he sat on the ground a few feet away. Dani tried to add something derisive, but her voice was muffled by Tami’s arm.

“Well, Evans, I give you one minute. Agree or disagree?”

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Lily creased her brow in thought. She and her friends really wanted to be able to use this clearing at their leisure, and for the boys to let them do so was an undeniable victory for Lily and her friends. The rest of the first years would be in awe. She also didn’t want to end up lying immobile and undignified on the ground like two of her friends currently were, or scratching unmentionables while blushing furiously, like Scott was doing at this very moment.

On the other hand, who knew what kinds of horrible things the boys would dream up for her to do? “It’s not going to be anything…well, bad or…disgusting, is it?” she asked tentatively.

“Define ‘bad,’” said Peter, cocking his head.

“Fifteen seconds left, Evans.” James watched her thoughtfully, his eyes probing her face. “We won’t make you do anything we wouldn’t do.”

“Er.” Lily tugged her bottom lip between her teeth. “For some reason, I don’t find that comforting.”

James laughed. But actually, what was the worst the boys could do? They would all be in school, for Merlin’s sake. “I’ll do it.” She spoke quickly, before she could change her mind.

James had that odd little smile on his face again. “I knew it,” he whispered jubilantly while Sirius and Peter cheered. Remus, trying not to worsen his headache, simply smiled.

James said loudly, “Shake hands, then, Evans, and repeat after me: ‘I agree to do anything Potter, Black, Lupin or Pettigrew tell me to do, whether it’s a single demand or a united one, as long as it’s something they would do themselves. I am honour-bound to agree to their requests only on the last Saturday of every May for as long as I live--’”

“Wait a minute,” Lily interrupted. “I’m not going to be your servant the entire day. Beforehand, you’re going to decide on one or two major things that you want me to do, and that’s it.”

“Now, see here, Evans,” said Sirius. “You’re not really in the position to bargain--”

“Nah, she’s got a point,” Remus called. Sirius frowned sulkily.

“Okay.” James shrugged. “Get over it, Sirius. You can’t always be right. We’ll decide on one big thing or a few small ones. That’s what I had in mind, anyway. So, to continue the interrupted pledge, ‘you, Lily Evans, will agree that if you ever refuse any demand that we consider reasonable, you will submit yourself to any punishment we might dream up.’ And we’re going to write up this whole thing on parchment after lunch, and we’re all gonna sign it.”

James stuck out his hand. And Lily, heart pounding against her ribs, shook it.

~*~


After all the jinxes and hexes had been removed, and everyone was more or less back to normal, they all set off to the castle for lunch. Scott was still scratching his left arm intermittently, and Remus’ headache had cleared up only after he had eaten the Chocolate Frog Peter offered. The two groups walked separately.

“I can’t believe you just did that, Lily.”

Her friends clustered around her. “Not that we particularly disagree”I’m glad we’ll be able to use that clearing--”

“It’ll be just you that has to do all the weird stuff they dream up, though. I hope they don’t--”

“”but I don’t know if I’d have been able to do that. That took guts, I mean, really--”

“”make you do anything really horrible, like--”

Lily absently tuned out her friends, who were all talking over each other. She smiled and nodded, but was otherwise silent, her thoughts whirling. Had she made a mistake by agreeing? Would she regret it someday?

~*~


A little way up the path, James was being lauded by his friends in their own way. Basically, they all congratulated him while Sirius beat himself up over why he hadn’t come up with the good idea first.

“Now, James, old boy. I have on several occasions told you how clever you are--”

“Not that I recall.”

“Aw, come on. Don’t interrupt. I have never doubted your intelligence”why are you making that weird face? You’re ruining my congratulations speech.”

“I didn’t say anything this time,” James pointed out to Sirius. “You cut yourself off.”

Sirius huffed. “Well, my point is--”

“Finally,” Remus murmured.

Sirius shot Remus a dirty look, then turned back to James with a smile. “--that was brilliant, mate.”

“See? That wasn’t so hard,” Remus said in a loud whisper, grinning at Sirius.

“You--!” And Sirius began chasing Remus up the drive to the castle, Remus laughing all the while. There wasn’t a chance that Sirius could draw equal to Remus. When he wasn’t weakened by the nearness of the full moon, his werewolf reflexes made Remus the fastest runner of the foursome, impossible to catch up to.

“Crap!” Sirius muttered under his breath after a few moments of futile running, and earned himself a punch on the shoulder from James.

“I heard that.” James grinned. “When Remus decides to run, there’s not a chance that you can catch him, mate.” The cool breeze blowing up off the lake ruffled their hair, and James looked up at the sky, which was blue with only a few puffy white clouds floating by. “My idea is a decently good one, though, isn’t it?”

“Oh, yeah.” They finally caught up with Remus, who’d stopped running as soon as Sirius had. “I’m gonna be counting the days till next Saturday,” Sirius declared, throwing an arm around Remus’ shoulders. Sirius, Peter and James chatted animatedly as they walked further, and didn’t notice the stricken look that suddenly replaced Remus’ good-natured expression.

~*~


Over the next few days, Lily couldn’t stop the feeling of dread that slowly grew in her. Every time the boys passed her in the corridors, or met her in a classroom or the common room, they would smirk and wink. This was disconcerting, making it seem as if they already had something planned and were waiting until the weekend to spring it on her. Which was probably the case.

Whenever her nervousness showed signs of surfacing, Lily reassured herself with the fact that at least they weren’t allowed to go to Hogsmeade. While this usually irritated her, now she was relieved. Whatever ridiculous plan the boys came up with, they would have to do it on grounds, and risk being seen by professors. This cheered her up slightly. Whatever they were planning, it couldn’t be too bad.

She kept a cool expression whenever she passed them, shrugging and smiling politely in exchange for their smirks and teasing comments. There was no point in worrying about something she couldn’t change. If she had to express concern, though, she definitely wasn’t going to do it in front of them.

~*~


“Jinx it,” Sirius muttered on Thursday after passing Lily in the Charms corridor. “She doesn’t look the least bit worried.”

James laughed. “Why should she? She has no idea what we have planned for her.”

“What do we have planned?” Peter asked, rummaging around in his book bag for a package of Drooble’s Blowing Gum.

“I’m working on it.” James shook his head. “There’s still some time left till the weekend.”

“Not that much time left,” Remus said, looking worried.

“I said I’m working on it. You got any ideas, Remus?”

“Ah, no…actually, I don’t think I’m gonna be here this weekend.”

“What?!” This exclamation came from all three, Peter, Sirius and James.

“Are you insane?!” asked Sirius. “You can’t miss this!”

“Why aren’t you going to be here?” James’ eyes were narrowed as he studied Remus.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that…I…”

“Is your grandmother sick again?” fired James. “Does your mum make you come home every time she gets a cold? You must’ve gone home because of her at least five times this year.”

“My…don’t insult my mum! She knows what she’s doing!” Remus tried to keep an indignant expression, but inside he was beginning to crumble. He had actually used the grandmother excuse six times already since the beginning of the year…were his lies that obvious?

“Did she send for you, then?”

“Yeah. Yeah, she did. She…didn’t say why, just that it was very important.”

“I’m sure it is,” Peter said sarcastically.

“I don’t remember you getting an owl,” Sirius put in shrewdly.

“I…my…Dumbledore…” Remus mumbled, starting to panic. His mind was blank. What in Merlin’s name could he tell his friends to convince them?

“Dumbledore? What about him?” James asked sceptically.

“It…it was really important, and she didn’t want the message lost, you know, so…so she sent it through Dumbledore,” Remus gabbled.

“Hmm. I don’t know if we--”

“Good afternoon, Misters Potter, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew.” Remus looked gratefully up at the wrinkled, smiling face of the headmaster, who had just appeared at the turn of the corridor.

“I daresay,” Dumbledore continued, “that I heard you fine gentlemen mentioning my name. You spoke of only good things, I hope?”

“Well…yeah, sir…I guess…”

“Of course, sir…”

Remus suddenly realized that this was the perfect chance to present tangible proof to his friends. “Professor Dumbledore,” he said boldly, “I was just telling my friends about the message you received from my mum, saying I was needed at home this weekend.”

James, Peter and Sirius looked up curiously, expecting Dumbledore to deny it. “Ah, yes.” Dumbledore nodded. “She said it was quite urgent, I remember. We don’t allow students to leave grounds for just any reason. Your mother’s claim, however, was valid. You leave tonight?” The question was addressed to Remus.

“Yes.” Remus nodded. “I’m leaving tonight.”

“Best of luck to you, then, and be well.” Dumbledore smiled. “I’m afraid I must be off…so many things to do…” And he swept past them and left the corridor.

“Wow.” James looked at Remus in awe. “Did Dumbledore, the headmaster of our school and one of the greatest wizards alive, just have an entire conversation with you…or was I dreaming?”

“You weren’t dreaming, mate,” said Sirius. “Bloody brilliant, Remus.”

They continued on towards their next class mostly in silence. Sirius and Peter went in first and ran to get good seats, in the back of the classroom. Right before Remus entered, though; James took hold of his arm and smiled apologetically, for doubting him. “We’ve got less time than I thought, mate,” James told him. “When will you be back?”

“Sometime Sunday,” Remus replied. “Probably at night, like after dinner.”

“Alright, then. You and I need to attend a secret meeting this afternoon…you can help me plan what to do tomorrow. So even if you won’t be here, you’ll still have had a part in what’s gonna happen on Saturday.”

“What secret meeting?” asked Remus.

“I’ve just arranged it, mate.” James grinned. “Only you and me, Remus. Just the two of us.”

James grinned even wider when he saw the look of complete surprise and delight on Remus’ face.

~*~


After breakfast on Saturday morning, Sirius, James and Peter headed to the common room to discuss the plan. As far as Sirius and Peter knew, there was no plan.

James hadn’t told them about his secret meeting with Remus two days before. All Sirius and Peter knew was that Remus had been starving Thursday evening, so James had gone down with him to the kitchens for a bit of food. They had been gone a really long time, but still, they came back with a basket full of food, so the boys merely assumed it had taken a while for the house-elves to pack up all that food.

Sirius lounged in an armchair, legs hanging over one armrest. “So, mate. What are we going to do?”

James stretched out on the thick rug in the exact same position as Tiger, his Kneazle. He rubbed Tiger’s back, burying his fingers in her long, luxuriant fur, then threw a toy mouse a few feet away. The enchanted mouse behaved almost exactly like a real one; it ran toward crumbs and away from people and cats, and squeaked.

“Go on, chase it!” James urged, prodding Tiger with one finger. She opened her eyes reluctantly, eyed the mouse for a minute or two, then sniffed disdainfully and turned away, closing her eyes once more.

James roared with laughter. “Merlin, you’re so lazy on warm days! It’s a good thing we don’t care if you’re a mouser or not.” He knuckled her head gently and she sighed, half-asleep.

“James!” Sirius exclaimed. “Will you stop fooling around? What are we gonna do with Evans today?”

“We could study,” said James lazily, imagining Remus winking at him.

“You can’t be serious!”

“You’re gonna use her for a study aide?”

“Did I say that?” James grinned at the sight of their wide-open mouths. “What do you say about sneaking into Hogsmeade?”

“Now you’re talking!”

“How are we gonna manage that?” asked Peter.

“With Evans’ help, of course,” said Sirius, laughing at Peter.

~*~


“And remember not to panic!” With this last bit of advice, Lily’s friends waved and turned away.

Lily waved goodbye, her smile a bit strained now, and reluctantly followed the boys into the shadows of the castle. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll find out soon enough, Evans.”

After about five minutes of walking around the perimeter of the castle, James stopped and inspected the wall carefully. Then he tapped a stone with his wand, murmured a spell, and beckoned for the others to follow him through the entrance that suddenly materialized in the castle wall.

Lily found herself in a narrow tunnel, with walls of grey stone. She fingered her wand nervously as they walked on, and when there was no more light filtering in from the entrance, she lit her wand. Peter and James lit theirs, too. “Where’s Remus?” she asked after a minute or two.

The boys glanced at each other. “He’s away for the weekend.”

“Why?”

James shrugged. “He’ll be back Sunday night.” With her curiosity left unsatisfied, Lily fell silent.

James led the group, followed by Lily, then Sirius and Peter. They had been walking for what seemed like ages to Lily, but was probably only about ten minutes, when she noticed that the walls glistened in the wandlight. She touched a curve in the wall a moment later, to brace herself as the path began winding downwards, and her hand came away wet with slime. “Ew!” she exclaimed, her voice echoing eerily in the tunnel.

“Shush, Evans.” This came from James, who had been startled at her sudden shout. “We’re almost out.”

Now Lily noticed that the light was changing from black to blue…then they turned a last corner and she gasped. They were standing at the top of a slightly steep incline about twenty feet high, with worn stone steps carved into it. At the bottom, gently lapping against the stone, was water.

“Is this…the lake?” Lily asked as they began descending. Tied to iron hooks driven into the stone face were rowboats”at least fifty of them.

“Yeah, and these are the boats we crossed the lake with when we arrived. See that path?” To their left was a stony beach, with a path leading upwards. “That’ll lead you to the front doors of the castle if you follow it. We used that way at first, when we wanted to come here for--”

Sirius elbowed him, and James abruptly cut himself off. “But anyway,” he continued, “that became too risky, always using that path near the front doors. I mean, it’s always full of people. So we scouted around a bit down here, and found that other tunnel.”

James fell silent, concentrating on not losing his footing, and Lily looked around with wide-open eyes. When she had last been in this cavern, on her first night at Hogwarts, it had been dark”all the students had quickly followed the light of Hagrid’s lantern, anxious to be out of the cave. Besides, she’d been nervous about the Sorting, so she hadn’t paid much attention to her surroundings then.

But now the sun shone through the hanging ivy and into the wide entrance of the cavern, sparkling off the water, and she could fully appreciate the beauty of the underground cave. When they reached the bottom of the steps, Lily saw that there was a flat ledge running parallel to the bottom, wide enough for two people to walk side by side. The ledge gradually faded out into the stony beach Lily had seen from the top of the steps.

The edge of the lake where they stood was shallow, with the water only about a foot deep, and she could see tiny fish darting past in the clear water. The boats bobbed gently, barely moving. Lily smiled as she took in the utter peacefulness of the water-filled cavern.

But then she remembered that if the boys had brought her here they must have had some mischievous plan in mind, and her pleasure at this different side of the lake dampened considerably. “So…what are we doing here?”

Her question was answered when James pointed to a boat and said, “That one looks okay.” Sirius and Peter nodded and began untying the boat. “Wait!” Lily exclaimed. “You’re taking a boat across the lake?”

Sirius lifted an eyebrow, grinning impishly. “What else would we do with a boat?”

“We’re headed for Hogsmeade, actually.”

“But…isn’t it against the rules for first years to go to Hogsmeade?”

“Maybe you should be asking if it’s against the rules to borrow a boat.”

“Is it?” asked Lily.

“I dunno. We’ve never borrowed one before.”

Lily fought the urge to smile, then let out a long breath. “I forgot,” she mumbled.

“What did you forget?”

“I forgot to mention in that pact we signed that you wouldn’t make me do anything against the rules.” She sighed. It wasn’t like she never disobeyed the rules, but she hated being roped into breaking the rules together with them. They were probably breaking at least five rules by going out on the lake…especially since they were headed for Hogsmeade.

“We would never have agreed to sign that, anyway,” James replied, shrugging.

“Come on, Evans,” Sirius called from where he sat in the back of the boat with Peter. “We haven’t got all day.”

Lily bit her lip. She agreed that it was unfair that the first years couldn’t go to Hogsmeade. And the choice of getting into the boat or not had already been made, when she signed that parchment.

“Evans. You promised.” James spoke evenly, his words mirroring her thoughts.

Oh, jinx it, she thought now. If I have to go, I may as well go with pride. She ran past James and charged into the water, the fish scattering in fright, then hauled herself into the already untied boat, taking the front seat. James looked surprised at her sudden decision.

“Hey, Potter,” she called, smiling broadly. “Looks like you’re rowing.”

James flung himself carelessly into the boat, splashing water on everyone, and grabbed the oars. In two slow pulls, they were ten feet away from shore. Suddenly, there was a yowl, and Tiger, who had appeared out of nowhere leapt off the ledge, landing in Lily’s lap with her claws extended. “Ow! Potter, what’s with your Kneazle?”

James groaned. “She thinks she needs to protect me or something. She follows me anytime we do something that she thinks is wrong…I think my parents put her up to it.”

“Maybe we should turn back, then,” Lily said.

“No way!” Sirius crossed his arms.

“Tiger…come on, Tige. We’re going on anyway. Will you stay in the cavern if we drop you off?”

Tiger hissed, the fur on her back rising.

“Okay!” James held up his hands in defeat. “But you hate water, and this lake’s full of the stuff. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Tiger yawned, ignoring James, and burrowed into Lily’s lap, where it was dry and comfortable.

James pulled on the oars again, and pretty soon they had left the cavern entrance behind them and were out on the lake. Light glittered on the surface of the water, and Lily tilted her head to the sun, closing her eyes. A cool breeze swept over them, and Lily had to work hard to contain her sigh of pleasure. She stroked Tiger, who had draped herself comfortably across her jean-covered legs. If this was the worst the boys could think up, then she had been foolish for worrying.

Ten minutes later, the boat sprang a leak. When James noticed he was up to his ankles in water, he stopped rowing, wiping sweat off his forehead. “Sirius?”

“Yeah?”

“Was there this much water in the boat when we left?”

“Er…Blimey!”

“Oh, great. The boat’s leaking?” Lily asked incredulously. She had been keeping her eyes on shore to check if anyone had noticed the lone boat out on the lake, and hadn’t noticed the rising water in the boat.

“Trust Sirius to pick the one boat that leaked,” James muttered.

“Excuse me? You’re the one who picked this boat.”

“Well, you agreed!” James sighed.

Sirius shrugged. “Maybe they all leak.”

“Sure.” Lily snorted.

Peter squinted at the opposite shore. “We’re halfway there.”

“We’ll never make it.”

Tiger raised her head and was following the conversation with obvious alarm, digging her claws into Lily’s arm. Lily yelped and pushed her off, and Tiger splashed into the bottom of the boat, screeching. James hauled her up by the collar and tried to calm her down, but she was panicking and wouldn’t listen.

Suddenly, the boat rocked wildly. “What’s going on?” Peter shouted.

James swore. “We’ve been spotted.” Tiger hissed when the boat shifted again, her eyes narrowed to slits.

“Oi!” Hagrid stood on the Hogwarts shore, gesticulating furiously. “Come back!” he roared.

“Sure,” Sirius muttered. “Why in Merlin’s name would we?”

“Oh, great.” Peter moaned. “I’ve an idea why.” A barnacle-covered tentacle shot out of the water right next to the boat. Peter yelled, digging into his pocket for something to defend himself with, and came up with a pack of Self-Shuffling cards, which he threw at it. The cards glanced harmlessly off the tentacle and sank into the depths of the lake.

“Brilliant, Peter,” Sirius groaned, half-laughing. Two tentacles appeared on the other side of the boat, creating small ripples as they slowly waved in the water. When Sirius prodded one experimentally with an oar, it curled around the oar quickly, the tentacle pulling the oar into the lake and nearly taking Sirius with it.

“Whoa! I don’t think they would hurt students, but still--”

“Oh, please. How can it tell if we’re students or not?”

Lily shook her head. The water in the boat was now halfway to their knees. “Anyone know any good spells?” The water was frothing around them, sloshing over into the boat, and a tentacle hooked onto the side of the boat.

“Do we abandon ship?” Sirius asked, his eyes wide as he moved as far as possible from the tentacle nearest him.

“No.” James smiled ruefully. “The ship abandons us.”

The four tentacles now hooked onto the left side of the boat jerked once, and the small boat capsized, tossing them all into the water. James swallowed a mouthful of fishy water and gagged. He went under again and saw a waving mass of tentacles fading into the depths, carrying the boat in the direction of the cavern.

He pushed to the surface and swore, treading water. A burst of red light shot at them from the shore, and suddenly they were all bobbing like ducks. “Well, that’s a good thing,” said Lily. “Now all we have to do is swim, sort of. Thank Merlin for magic.”

Sirius was grinning as he pushed his wet hair back from his forehead. “Well, mates, I trust we all know how to swim?”

James rolled his eyes. “I forgot all about buoyancy spells.”

“As if you could’ve performed one even if you had remembered.”

“Hey, you never know.”

Tiger bobbed over to James, hissing furiously. After she had made certain he wasn’t going to sink, she jabbed one of his hands with her claws and took off, heading for shore as fast as her waterlogged paws could take her.

“Merlin.” James grinned. “She’ll never forgive me. She can’t stand cold water.”

“Even if there are fish in it?” Lily asked, and began laughing.

James rolled his eyes, fighting a smile, and struck out for shore. “There’s a nice crowd forming,” he called over his shoulder.

“Oi!” Hagrid shouted, his deep voice carrying over the lake. “What’re yeh waitin’ for? Get yerselves back ter shore!”

“Does anyone else catch the faint smell of detention?” Sirius smirked and paddled for shore, with Peter and Lily following him.

~*~


They struggled out of the water slowly, their soaked clothing weighing them down. James was barefoot, having kicked off his sneakers as soon as he landed in the water. Peter had a scrape on his knuckles from some rocks near shore. But they were all grinning broadly.

Even Lily had a little smile on her face. Their escapade had been sort of fun, and though she would never admit it to the boys, she would enjoy her friends’ envious expressions later. Now she busied herself with wringing her shirt. It’s a good thing we don’t have to wear our robes on weekends. Their weight probably would have dragged us to the bottom immediately.

Many of the students grouped around Hagrid were smiling, and one or two even applauded. “Yeh thought yeh’d get away with summat like that?” Hagrid growled, but his black eyes twinkled.

“Well, sir,” Sirius said politely. “It was definitely worth a try.”

“And there’s nothing like a cool swim on a hot day, sir,” James added.

Hagrid’s beard twitched. Then he straightened, suddenly serious, as Professor McGonagall strode over to them, her face white.

“Great Godric! What on earth were you thinking?! You could’ve drowned!” She shook her head, staring down at them. “I expect better from my Gryffindors. You know that.”

They shuffled their feet uncomfortably and looked at the ground, waiting for her tirade to end. “Five points each from Gryffindor,” she said, and Lily let out a slow breath. It could’ve been worse.

But McGonagall wasn’t done. “Misters Black, Potter and Pettigrew, you will each receive detention.” She turned to Lily, her face softening a little. “And you, Miss Evans, I am surprised. Though perhaps not as much as I would have been at the beginning of the year. Since this is only your second major misdemeanour, you will not receive detention. But next time,” she continued, her nostrils flaring, “you will.”

Lily nodded, teeth chattering slightly when a cool breeze suddenly came and went. James looked at her with raised eyebrows, and Lily knew he was wondering what her first ‘major misdemeanour’ had been. Ha, James had probably been thinking that she never did anything against the rules. Honestly, did boys think all girls were goody-goodies?

“Now, I suggest you go up to your dormitories and change. Gentlemen, you will receive notice about when and where to serve your detentions. Good afternoon.” And she strode away, tucking a stray hair back into her tight bun with a spare pin.

~*~


“Twenty points from Gryffindor. That’s it,” Tami announced to nobody in particular.

“I wouldn’t write it off so casually,” said Dani. “Imagine, having to sit detention at the end of the school year! Please, if I’m not busy studying, I want to have time to do what I want.”

It was nearly midnight, and the girls’ dormitory, not to mention several others, was still abuzz with retellings of the boys and Lily’s daring adventure that afternoon. There was a thunderstorm raging outside now, and the windows were shut tight against the rain and wind. Lily sat on the window seat, reading a mystery by one of her favourite wizarding authors.

“I wonder why Remus wasn’t there,” she remarked casually, looking up from her book.

“Maybe he went to visit his sick grandmother again. I heard him talking about that once.”

“Maybe,” Lily replied. “I saw him once right after he returned from visiting home, and he looked absolutely wrecked.”

“Poor bloke,” said Dani. “It must be depressing to have a sick grandmother all the time.”

Lily leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes, feeling the beginnings of a headache. She didn’t add that Remus’ body had been as broken as his demeanour. She had only caught a glimpse of him through the doors of the Hospital Wing right after he had arrived, but that had been enough to horrify her.

His face had been dreadfully mauled, with long gashes and large purple bruises on his cheeks and forehead. His arm had been twisted oddly, and Madam Pomfrey had half-carried him to a bed, clucking her tongue.

The thing that had confused Lily, though, was that Madam Pomfrey hadn’t been as appalled as she usually was anytime a student got hurt. She had almost seemed to have been expecting it. But how could she have been? Unless Remus was physically abused every time he went home…but then why would Dumbledore let him go again and again?

Lily sighed. She hadn’t told her friends about what she had seen. It had seemed somehow private, and even she’d felt guilty for seeing what she had. But that didn’t stop her from worrying. She was very sensitive, and didn’t like to see other people hurt. If there was something wrong going on, she’d find out. She would keep a lookout on Sunday for Remus, she decided, and check to see if he was okay when he arrived.

~*~


Around three o’clock in the morning, Lily suddenly awoke with her throat on fire. Her chest hurt when she breathed, and her head was pounding. Oh, great, she thought dazedly. I’ve gone and gotten ill from getting dumped into the lake. Then she fell back asleep.

It was nearly dawn when she woke again, coughing and shivering uncontrollably. Dani was kneeling near her bed, nearly crying. But then, Dani was always overly emotional. “Lily!” she cried. “You’re awake! We couldn’t get you up…and your coughing was so bad…and your skin was burning hot”it probably still is”anyway, Tami went to get Madam Pomfrey, so don’t worry.”

Lily nodded, still coughing. She gratefully took the glass of water Dani gave her and gulped it down between her coughs. Her throat felt raw when she finally stopped coughing and fell back against her pillows. She closed her eyes. Next thing she knew, Madam Pomfrey was fussing over her. “Oh, you poor dear.”

Lily lay still as Madam Pomfrey performed a few spells over her, then told the nurse that she felt freezing cold, she had a huge headache and it hurt when she swallowed. Madam Pomfrey tsk-tsked reprovingly. “Augurey Fever, I thought so. That should teach you to go jumping into lakes, you poor dear.” She withdrew a vial from her pocket and poured it into Lily’s glass, and Lily drank it.

Her throat stopped hurting, though it still felt as if it was stuffed full of cotton balls. The pounding in her head lessened slightly, and though she was still cold, she no longer shivered.

Madam Pomfrey nodded. “That should keep you for a few hours; at least you’ll be able to sleep comfortably till morning. I want you in the hospital wing tonight, and probably for the next few days. We’ll see how you handle the Fever.”

Lily nodded. Her limbs felt weak as she pulled herself out of bed and packed a small bag with a change of underwear and a few other necessities. She grabbed a sweater and pulled it on, then headed for the door.

“Where do you think you’re going, dear?” Madam Pomfrey asked, her voice amused and slightly insulted. “You think I would let you walk in your condition?” She conjured a stretcher and Lily sank gratefully onto it.

“Oh, and you two,” Madam Pomfrey turned to Tami and Dani, and gave them vials of a differently-coloured potion. “Drink this; it’s a preventive potion. It may stop you from coming down with the Fever.” Then she added, under her breath, “Though if you’re going to get it, the potion’s probably too late. The Fever’s contagious in the three days before the effects start showing…oh, well.” Still mumbling to herself, she levitated the stretcher.

“Feel better, Lily,” Tami said anxiously, clutching the vial Madam Pomfrey handed her. “We’ll come and visit tomorrow!”

~*~


Lily slowly opened her eyes, her head pounding furiously and her throat hurting. For a moment she was slightly disoriented, then she remembered that she was in the hospital wing. It was cloudy outside, so the room was dim. But when Lily glanced at her wristwatch she saw that it was nearly eight in the morning.

She burrowed further into her pillow and closed her eyes, deeply grateful that she didn’t have to get up. Her legs wouldn’t have supported her, anyway. She sighed and raised her head, reaching for the potion on her bedside table. Madam Pomfrey had told her the night before that if she awoke with her throat burning, she could drink the potion.

So now she swallowed the cherry-coloured potion, hoping it would help her fall back asleep. Before she sank back into her pillows, she glanced around the hospital wing, wondering who her fellow patients were. A big boy she recognized as the Keeper for Ravenclaw was on the bed to her left, snoring lightly. At the far end of the room was an older girl she didn’t know, and two beds over to her right the curtains were pulled nearly shut. But if she craned her head maybe she could see…no way. That wasn’t Remus Lupin, was it?

How could it be Remus? He wasn’t supposed to return until late evening. James had said so. But he had probably come back early, for it was unmistakably Remus who laid there, one long scratch running down his face but otherwise looking unscathed. Who knew what shape the rest of his body was in, though….

At that very moment, he opened his eyes and looked right at her. For a minute he seemed confused, then the confusion changed to shock. She looked right at him, not moving an inch. His eyes met hers imploringly, and in a flash Lily knew the unspoken question he wanted answered.

Lily put a finger on her lips, nodding once. Then she pretended to lock her lips with a key and put the key away safe in the drawer on her bedside table. Remus laughed. The sound was low, but it brought Madam Pomfrey from her quarters, all bustling and business. Remus mouthed ‘Thank you’ at Lily, then turned to the nurse.

Lily thought she heard an apology from Madam Pomfrey before the curtains around Remus’ bed were pulled completely closed, effectively hiding Remus from her sight. She laid her head down, finally feeling the effects of the healing potion settle into every limb. Then she slept.

~*~


Lily yawned. The wing was well-lit now, and when she glanced at her watch she saw that it was nearly eleven. Midmorning break was at eleven-fifteen, and she wondered if her friends would have time for a quick visit between classes.

Glancing around, she saw that the Ravenclaw keeper had left; his bed linens were neatly folded. The curtains around Remus’ bed”that is, if she’d really awoken and seen Remus, and he hadn’t just been a feverish dream”were pulled tightly closed.

She was bored. Sometime during the early morning she had awoken and tried to go to the bathroom, but Madam Pomfrey had appeared almost instantly and refused to let her leave her bed, so Lily had resigned herself to using the bedpan, embarrassing as it was. She didn’t feel nearly as weak now, though, and decided that to entertain herself she’d risk a trip to the bathroom. She hated using that bedpan.

She crept out of bed, the patches of sunlight on the wooden floor warm against her bare feet, and had nearly reached the bathroom when Madam Pomfrey materialized. “Merlin’s beard! Why are you out of bed?!” The head nurse’s face was appalled.

“I’m sorry, ma’am. I really needed to use the bathroom, and--”

“Why, pray tell, couldn’t you use the bedpan? What do you think it’s there for?”

“I…well, since I’m nearly there, maybe I could just nip into the bathroom, ma’am?”

Madam Pomfrey huffed. “All right. But I don’t want to see you out of bed again until I say so, understand? And you have exactly five minutes before I come in to fetch you.”

Lily nodded and closed the bathroom door behind her, chortling. Yes, it had definitely been worth it. The look on Madam Pomfrey’s face…she dissolved into giggles, and her lips were still twitching when she settled herself back into bed.

“Pretty good,” a voice said, and Lily realized it was coming from the direction of Remus’ bed. He had pulled the curtains open slightly and was watching her.

“I’ve never dared to do that in all the times I’ve been here,” he said, smiling.

Lily laughed, then turned sober. “I’m not going to tell anyone I saw you here, Remus,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

He nodded. “Thank you.”

“But in exchange for my silence, you’re going to tell me why you always come back from your grandmother’s so badly hurt.”

“What?! I…” He shook his head, lowering his voice. “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”

“Yes, I do,” she insisted. “If you want me to keep that a secret as well, I will, but you’re going to tell me.”

He opened his mouth to reply when the bell rang for break. Almost immediately, they could hear students rushing by, talking and laughing. Shaking his head, Remus pulled his curtains closed.

Lily adjusted her bed so that she could sit up, and arranged the pillows against her back. In what seemed like no time at all, the doors swung open and her friends ran in. “Lily!” Dani was out of breath. “Our morning classes today were at the opposite end of the castle…we had to run all the way here…how are you feeling?”

“I feel better.” Lily grinned. “At least I’m not coughing the way I was yesterday.”

Tami, also drawing sharp, quick breaths, smiled at her. “Yeah, that was really scary. I don’t want to live through that again.”

“On the plus side, you get off on all the classes!” Dani exclaimed. “It’s so boring now; all the professors are just quizzing us in preparation for finals…”

“Yeah, you’re not missing much. But we figured you must be really bored here, so we brought you these,” said Tami, reaching into her book bag and pulling out three of Lily’s favourite books.

Lily grinned. “Thanks! That’s just what I needed.”

“Oh, and during lunch break we’ll come over. I’ll bring something to play…maybe a game of Exploding Snap?”

“That sounds great.” Lily smiled appreciatively.

“I’m really sorry we can’t stay any longer now, but we need to stop at the library to drop off some books…the old hawk will kill us if these books are even one minute late.”

“Sure, I’ll be okay. See you later,” said Lily.

“Yeah, later,” they chorused, and left the wing.

Lily was still smiling five minutes later when Sirius and James trooped in. She raised her eyebrows. This should be interesting. She felt an urge to glance in Remus’ direction but refrained and kept her eyes focused on the boys.

“Lorens told us you were sick,” said Sirius, wide-eyed.

“Yeah, I am,” said Lily, purposely making her voice hoarser.

“Well…if…I mean--” James mumbled.

“If…er…we--”

“Pardon? I didn’t really catch that.” Oh, Lily was immensely enjoying this.

“Er…if you, you know, got ill because of being in the lake yesterday, well…I mean…we’re sorry.”

“We are,” Sirius echoed.

Lily laughed. The boys looked so repentant, it was funny. They were never sorry after a prank; apologizing to her must have cost them a lot of pride. “It’s okay,” she said, her voice returned to normal.

James looked at her curiously. “Really?”

“Yeah, Potter. Much as I would have liked to blame you for my illness, Madam Pomfrey says that this is probably my fourth or fifth day with it.”

“How long does it last?” asked Sirius.

“About a week.”

“Wow. So you’re guaranteed at least two more days in here?”

“You think that’s a good thing? Come a little closer, and I’ll give it to you, too.” She didn’t bother adding that at this point the disease was no longer contagious. Both the boys retreated a few steps, looking wary.

“By the way,” said Lily, unable to restrain herself. She had to know if the boys knew. “Is Lupin back yet?” Lily thought she heard the curtains around Remus’ bed rustle.

“No,” said James, looking puzzled. “I told you, he’s not getting back until after dinner, probably.”

“Oh.” Lily nodded.

“Why do you ask?”

“No reason. I was just curious.” She rearranged her covers, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. Did this count as betraying Remus’ trust? She’d just wanted to know if he’d confided in his friends. Apparently not.

“Well, anyway,” James started, just as the bell rang. “We’ll be off, then.”

“Later, Evans.”

“Later, Black, Potter.”

~*~


“You agreed not to tell!” Remus exclaimed later, when he was sure nobody was listening.

“And I didn’t,” replied Lily calmly. “I just wanted to know if anyone knew your secret.”

“Nobody knows,” he said, his face pale as he stood next to her bed. The gash on his face was mostly healed, and Lily wondered again why Madam Pomfrey couldn’t heal it completely, especially since Remus had been admitted to the ward for nearly a day. Remus was also limping slightly, and Lily puzzled over this as well. Who or what could’ve hurt Remus so badly that even Madam Pomfrey couldn’t totally heal him?

“Then I’m going to be the first,” she decided. “You’re going to tell me.”

“Or what?” Remus demanded.

“I’ll tell everyone I saw you back a day early, and let you deal with it.” Lily would do no such thing, but Remus didn’t know her that well, and believed her.

“Okay.” His shoulders slumped, and Lily felt a moment’s guilt for forcing him into agreeing to tell her. “I’ll tell you when you’re back at school. But you’ll have to promise not to tell anybody anything.”

“Fair enough.” Lily nodded. “See you then.”

“Yeah…see you.”

Remus left the hospital wing, and Lily stared after him for a moment, wondering what he was going to tell her. That he would tell her the truth, she was certain. She just had no idea of how shocking the truth would be.



A/N: And so ends their first school year. Oh, and I don’t speak Latin. So if I’ve terribly butchered up the Latin when I made up those spells, I apologize to all you Latin-loving individuals out there.
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Clouded by rivers of gold
Author's Notes:
I'm back! Finally! And hopefully, this time the dreaded Writer's Block will leave me alone for a while...I can't promise steady updates from now on, but I'll try my hardest!


~Chapter Eleven: Clouded~


A sheet of dark red hair fell across her face as Lily pressed her nose against the smooth, cool glass of her bedroom window, where raindrops gathered into streams and slowly trickled down. A steady rain fell outside, pattering and splishing unhurriedly. Lily sighed quietly; gazing at the growing puddles outside, then turned away from the window and threw herself onto the bed. There was literally nothing for her to do while she was cooped indoors. She had read and reread all her books, and Tami had gone away with her father for two weeks. Petunia had some summer job that she was being all mysterious about, and even though Lily was dying to know what it was, she wouldn't beg to find out.

Okay, that wasn't strictly true. She had already begged, and that hadn't worked, so she had been forced to resign herself to the fact that Petunia wasn't going to tell her what her mystery job was anytime soon. Besides, Lily didn't care. Not really. Let Petunia have her secrets. Merlin's beard, Lily definitely had some of her own...

She lay on her back with her hands folded behind her head, eyes closed as her mind drifted back to that conversation she had had with that Lupin boy just before they left Hogwarts.

~*~


"Evans!" A hand clutched her arm and dragged her down a mostly deserted hallway. Lily saw one third year glance up curiously as Lupin grabbed onto her.

"What…Lupin? What do you want?" she asked, as he led her to a broom closet and promptly shut the door behind them.

"Lupin?" Her voice emerged with a half-laugh underlying the words. "You do realize this looks kinda...dodgy, right?"

He just stared at her, his face mostly in shadow. A bit of afternoon light crept in under the door, but not enough for Lily to see Lupin clearly. "Lumos!" said Lily, lighting her wand and holding it aloft. "Lupin? You okay?"

She was starting to become just a bit uncomfortable with the whole situation. What if someone saw them go in? Or come out together? What would everyone think? She tried hard to keep herself from tapping her foot, and said somewhat anxiously, "Will you please tell me what's going on?"

"Do you..." Remus began hoarsely, and then cleared his throat. "Do you remember...er, in the Hospital wing, when you made me promise to tell you--?"

"Of course!" Lily interrupted. She hadn’t forgotten how, a few days ago, she had basically coerced Lupin into promising that he would tell her where he really went every month… "Your secret! So, what is it?"

He looked up into her expectant eyes, and she was surprised at the vulnerable expression she saw in his.

"What is it?" she asked in a softer voice, and suddenly she felt a strange foreboding. Whatever this secret was, she didn't want to know. With a sudden certainty, reinforced by the odd look on Remus' face, she abruptly realized that this secret was too big, too dangerous for her to know. She saw Remus open his mouth again to speak, and she almost told him to stop...but she didn't. Her mouth stayed shut, her eyes wide open.

"I'm...different than you are, Evans," he said.

“Well, of course you are,” she said teasingly. “You’re a boy, and I’m a girl. That’s different.”

“No, Evans…don’t…there’s nothing remotely funny about this,” he said hoarsely.

She grew somber when she heard his tone of voice. He sounded terrible.

“So…different, huh? How do you reckon that? Are you somehow…er…ill?" she asked, sympathy filling her completely.

"In a way, yeah."

There was a beat of silence. Their eyes met briefly over the glow of her wand.

"Actually...no. I'm a perfectly healthy human being...most of the time." Then he froze, waiting for her reaction.

She shook her head. "I don't understand."

"I..." He laughed bitterly. "Okay. I'm afraid to tell you. I know what you'll do after I tell you. You'll run, as fast and as far as you can. And the worst part? If you were me and I was you, I'd do the exact same thing."

"What...what are you?" she said at last, her voice low and shaking. Her heart was pounding fast and loud.

"I'm… a werewolf."

With a loud gasp, Lily dropped her wand. It clattered into a corner and suddenly the closet was shrouded in shadows. She stretched out a hand for it and touched Remus, who had been reaching for it as well. With a small shriek, she jumped back, fumbling for the bolted door.

"Open the door! Let me out!" she yelled, terrified. He clapped a hand over her mouth, stifling another shriek. Once more she was very aware of her racing heart. She felt it pulse in her neck and wondered if Remus could hear it, too. She wondered if it made him want to attack her right now...she didn't know very much about werewolves, but she did know that they were seemingly regular people who changed shape into murderous, bloodthirsty wolves. And now she was locked in a dark broom closet with one.

"Lily...please," he said brokenly, slowly removing his hand.

"No," she gasped. "Don't talk to me...just let me out."

"Evans, I need to explain. Please let me explain. I promise I can't, won't hurt you now."

He gave her back her wand, which he had retrieved from the dusty floor, and all of a sudden she felt quite silly, though still terrified. "You're not going to change now?" she asked slowly.

Remus shook his head. "I only change when the light of the full moon strikes me."

"And when's the full moon?"

"In three weeks. Evans, I would never hurt you willingly. Or anyone else. This is what I am trying to explain...this is my secret. Every full moon, I go away so that I won't hurt anyone by accident."

She nodded mutely, realization slowly sinking in. He wasn't going to hurt her. Not right now, anyway.

"Do you understand?"

She nodded again.

"And you can't tell anyone. Swear to me that you won't tell anyone. You have to swear it, Evans!"

"I..." How would she keep this secret? How in Merlin's name would she control herself from blurting it out? And how would she explain her sudden fear of Lupin to her friends? Because she realized, without a doubt, that she would be avoiding Lupin from now on. Some part of her knew that he wouldn't hurt her. But a bigger part of her was horrified. A voice in her head was chanting, ‘Run, run, run!’

"I swear I won't tell anyone," she said at last, and Remus let out a long breath.

"And I dunno if--"

"Do you think you--"

"Go ahead." Remus lifted his lips into a small, sad smile. "What were you going to say?"

"Well, it's just..." She bit her lip hard, avoiding his eyes. "I just don't know if..."

"I know," he said. "You don't know if you'll be able to treat me normally again. Well, that's a fairly normal reaction for you to have."

For all the normality of the situation, he still looked very upset and disappointed. Lily just felt like hugging him, to dispel some of the frustration in his eyes. She wanted to assure him that everything would be okay, let him know that she wasn't afraid...but she couldn't. She was afraid. Tears rose to the surface and she blinked them back. "I'm sorry."

Remus shook his head. "Just...Merlin." He ran a hand over his face. "Just think about it, okay? Think about it over the summer, and maybe when we get back..."

"Maybe," she echoed. Maybe, after the summer, she would be able to look at him without judging him, talk to him without her adrenaline pumping. But now, she just wanted to leave, get away from him.

"I'm sorry," she said again, and stumbled out of the closet, squinting against the sudden light. She didn't look back as she trudged down the corridor, her heart heavy with Remus' secret.

~*~


Lily groaned, rubbing her eyes. She had fallen asleep in the quiet afternoon. She combed her hair with her fingers, wincing as her left hand, which had fallen asleep, prickled uncomfortably. Then she stood up, heading for the kitchen. She took out a can of tuna and opened it with an electric can opener, smiling wryly as she thought of her wizarding friends. They would laugh and ask odd questions if they saw what she was doing. After fixing herself a plate of tuna, tomatoes and pickles, she carried it up to her room, ignoring the internal reminder that spoke in her mum's voice: ‘Lily, no food in the bedroom, please!’

As she ate, she thought about Lupin. She remembered how upset he was when he realized that she was just as afraid of him as he worried she would be. She hadn't seen or spoken to him for nearly two months, and had gotten over her fear, somewhat. But she dreaded meeting him again. Lily feared that the moment she saw him, all the panic and terror would come rushing back...and she didn't want that to happen. If anyone needed a friend at Hogwarts, it was Lupin.

Ignoring another chastening inner voice, Lily licked the fork, and then her fingers, clean. She decided that she would try her hardest to get over her fear of Lupin. After all, she couldn't be his friend if she was terrified of him.

~*~


Miles away in Scotland, Dani, her brother Justin and her best friend Scott were fooling around, racing their broomsticks on a secluded moor. The sun beat down almost harshly, and they were all tanned from spending hours out in the sunlight. Scott pulled up ahead of Dani and cheered loudly for himself.

“Woohoo, I won! Told you I would!”

“Ah, c’mon mate, that’s not exactly fair,” said Justin. “You have the fastest broom, that ya do.”

“Exactly,” said Dani. “Switch brooms with one of us, and then you’ll see who’ll win!” She grinned, and then mouthed at Justin, ‘Me.’

“Okay, then, I have no problem with that,” Scott said jovially. “Come on down and we’ll switch.”

As they zoomed downwards, Dani suddenly felt dizzy. They hadn’t been very high, just about fifteen feet above the ground, but all of a sudden the ground seemed miles away. Dani couldn’t focus…everything in her sight grew hazy…and then she blacked out completely.

“Whoa!” Justin shouted. “Is she okay?” He had seen Dani slump forward on her broom. Just in time, Scott reached out for her as she began falling off, and pulled her onto his broom. Justin grabbed Dani’s abandoned broom and hurtled to the ground while Scott and Dani followed more slowly.

“Dani! Dan! You okay? Dani, wake up!” her brother yelled frantically when they touched down.

“What the hell are we supposed to do?” Scott asked, his eyes frantic. “Is she breathing?”

One minute later they had established that she was indeed breathing, but still unconscious. “What do we do? Carry her home?”

“I suppose…I dunno what happened to her! One minute she was perfectly fine, and the next…”

Justin had just gathered her into his arms, prepared to carry her the whole twenty-minute walk home, when she stirred in his arms, groaning.

“She’s saying something!”

“What…what the hell happened?” she asked hoarsely.

“That’s what we’d like to know!” Justin retorted sharply, his expression creased with worry. “How do you feel?”

“Like a troll bashed my head in,” she said slowly. “My head is absolutely pounding. Feels like it’s on fire.”

“Just a headache, then?”

She nodded slowly. “A headache. But not just a headache. A really, really bad one. Let’s go home.”

“Not gonna argue with that,” Scott muttered, his blue eyes wide with concern, and the two boys began heading for home with Dani beside them, leaning on them occasionally for support. She still saw black spots every few seconds and was afraid of collapsing again.

“There we are, almost home,” Justin said at last.

“Yeah, home,” Dani echoed, and then her vision blurred. “I think it’s happening again…” she moaned, her voice low, and then she crumpled, the boys barely catching her before she fell to the ground.
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Light at the End by rivers of gold
The smell of burning oil rose through the floorboards and creeped underneath the door. It curled around a girl lying on the floor, a slightly worn-out rug beneath her to cushion the hard surface. Her head was pillowed on her hands and she seemed pensive, chewing lightly on her lower lip.

Then she raised her head and sniffed, her delicately upturned nose wrinkling. Tilting her head, she could now discern shouting from downstairs...her mum was yelling, clearly angry about something.

Frowning, Lily grabbed a pillow and wrapped it around her head, covering her ears completely. Now there was only blessed silence surrounding her. No accusations, glares or reprimands. The smoky smell lingered, however, and she buried her nose in the rug.

*


"How stupid are you?" Mrs. Evans said loudly, her brown eyes cold and hard.

"I just--I wanted--"

"I told you to do ONE thing! One single, solitary thing, and you muck it up?"

"Tess," Mr. Evans said tiredly, "you know I'm--"

"Yes, and I DON'T CARE!" she yelled. "You're rubbish in the kitchen. When will you learn to JUST STAY OUT?!"

Letting out a sharp breath, Mrs. Evans wheeled around and stormed out of the kitchen. Mr. Evans simply stood there for a moment, looking slightly shell-shocked. Then he scraped the blackened contents of the burnt frying pan into the rubbish bin and put the pan into the sink to soak in soapy water.

He went to the front hall, collected his coat and umbrella, and left the house quietly, closing the door behind him. It was only half-past ten on a Sunday morning, and he felt as if he had been left out on a clothesline during a hurricane.

Light rain pattered on his umbrella and he wondered if it was too early in the day for a drink. Or maybe two.

~*~


An hour later, Lily had left her place on the rug and retreated to the sanctuary of her bed. She had been up late the night before, reading a novel about werewolves. The book was so sympathetic towards werewolves that Lily involuntarily thought of Lupin, and how innocent he seemed. Of course, it was a Muggle book so it couldn't be counted on to be accurate. Her schoolbooks, the ones that portrayed werewolves as bloodthirsty monsters, were bound to be more accurate. Weren't they?

Lily rubbed her eyes. It had been after four a.m. when she finally fell asleep, and she had been expecting to sleep until morning turned to afternoon. However, being a light sleeper, she had awoken a little after eight to hear loud bickering from her parents' bedroom; after which she was unable to fall back asleep.

Ever since Lily had come home from Hogwarts at the beginning of the summer, she could sense that something had changed while she'd been gone. The house was thick with tension and uspoken words, but whenever she inquired into this her parents assured her that everything was fine. She was tired of hearing them reassure her while their eyes flashed daggers at each other.

~^~


When she had coaxed Petunia into coming for a walk earlier in the summer so they could talk privately, she was surprised at how shattered Petunia seemed. "Oh, it's been simply awful while you were away!" she wailed. "They didn't fight in front of me at first, just like they're trying to hide it from you now. But then they simply couldn't contain themselves, and they had the most horrid rows..."

Sniffling, Petunia allowed herself to be embraced by Lily's awkward, fumbling hug. Petunia didn't understand any more about it than Lily did, but at least she wasn't blocking her out.

They had gone on to the park and sat on the swings peacefully, rocking back and forth. Petunia felt a little uncomfortable at first, claiming she was too old to be on a swingset, but when Lily pushed off from the ground, her legs pumping to propel her as high as possible into the air, Petunia smiled involuntarily and joined in.

Lost in the moment, Lily had closed her eyes and raised her face to the sun as the wind mussed her hair. Then her sister's voice fell on her ears, mingling with birdsong and the low sound of traffic from the street behind them.

"I've really missed you, Lily," Petunia told her affectionately. "It's been so dull and...solemn without you around."

Lily smiled at the compliment, her green eyes glowing as she slowed her swinging and looked her only sister in the eyes. "I missed you too, Tuney. Only you were so angry when I got my Hogwarts letter, and then the whole year I..." she trailed off hesitantly.

"I was, I know. Angry, I mean. And it was horribly childish of me," Petunia told her firmly. "I've had a few long talks with Mum, and I've realized...well, we each have our own talents. If yours happen to be more complicated and intricate and tied up with magic than mine, so be it."

"Wow, you really have come to terms with this, haven't you?" Lily teased, a little smile on her face though she was still unsure of Petunia's feelings.

"Completely," Petunia assured her. "Though the frog bits do worry me sometimes...we'll not let this sort of thing happen again, okay? I won't let anything come between us ever again. Sisters for life!"

"Sisters for life," Lily echoed, and then, because she felt too much like an angel after Petunia's passionate speech, her smile broadened and she pushed her sister off the swing, tumbling with her on the sand and laughing as Petunia shrieked that her shirt was getting dirty.

~^~


Now Lily's eyes brightened with reminescence, and she resolved to go to the park. Tami was camping with her dad and Petunia was at her job in the gardens, but there was no reason Lily couldn't go on her own. She was leaving for Hogwarts in less than two weeks and, silly as it seemed, she wanted to bid farewell to all the places that held such vibrant summer memories for her.

She had planned on making a quiet escape, perhaps leaving a note so that her mum wouldn't worry, but it seemed she was out of luck this particular morning. When she reached the kitchen on her way out the door, her mum was sitting at the table, her head in her hands.

"Mum," she started, but stopped with a short intake of breath when her mum looked up, her face streaked with tears.

Lily had seen her mother cry perhaps twice before in her entire life. Neither of those were pleasant times. Her mum had to be really far gone in her misery to let her children see her cry.

"I'm a horrible person, aren't I?" Mrs. Evans whispered, her soft blue eyes searching through Lily's striking green ones, exactly like her husband's.

"No, Mum! Of course not..." Lily was frightened, shocked and had no idea what she was supposed to do. She briefly considered going ahead to the park like she'd planned, but her mother looked so miserable. She sighed, the slight sound inaudible between her mum's sniffling.

"Cup of tea?" Lily asked.

"What?" her mum said distractedly. "Oh yes...I suppose..." But the next instant she had grabbed Lily's arm, her fingers clenching tight. "What should I do?" she asked brokenly, and Lily's heart turned over in her chest.

She loved her mum. Despite her faults--and yes, over the summer she had come to realize that the mum she used to idolize did in fact have faults--she was a good person, and a kind one too, most of the time. Lily didn't understand what had come between her parents, and she had no clue how to fix it.

"Apologize?" she ventured slowly. She expected her mum to nod, or sniffle some more, but in fact she did none of those things. Mrs. Evans laughed. Loudly and derisively, almost as if she were laughing at herself.

"Apologize?" she echoed. "Oh no, love, it's far too late for that..." she shook her head, composing herself in an instant. "I'm sorry, Lily. You shouldn't have to see me like this."

"Won't...won't you tell me what's wrong?" Lily tried, the back of her throat prickling.

"Dear me. No...it's complicated, love. You don't know...you wouldn't understand." Her mum sat still for another minute, and then stood, mumbling "No" once more under her breath.

Lily was tempted to throw back a sardonic reply, but stayed silent, biting the inside of her cheek. Her mum was right--she had no idea what was going on. And since it didn't seem as if that information would be forthcoming in the near future... "Mum, I'm going to the park for a bit. I'll be back in a couple hours or so, is that all right?"

But she was already turning to the door and putting on her rain jacket as she spoke. Her mum nodded absently and turned away, heading up the stairs. Lily looked back once when she reached the door, and saw that her mother had paused on the upstairs landing and curled herself into a shaking ball of misery. She felt oddly like she was trespassing and darted out the door quickly, feeling guilty that she couldn't think of anything to say or do that would make her mum smile.

The light rain intensified as she walked down the street, and soon it was pounding with a drumming regularity, rippling into puddles and curtaining the world.

Not the best day for the park, Lily thought idly, glad that her jacket had a hood. Still, a simple jacket didn't do much against a deluge of cold rain, and she stepped beneath the awning of a baker's while she waited for the rain to lessen, wondering if she should just turn around and go straight back home.

~*~


The spray of a passing car flew up at him, drenching him in muddy brown water. Idly, he glanced down at his jeans and dark t-shirt, barely registering how wet he was. What did he care? It was only rain.
And sometimes rain could wash away the dirt of the world, if only for a little while, enveloping everything with that fresh, clean dampness...but here was the indelible proof that the dirt had to go somewhere. You couldn't just flush things away and hope for them to disappear. The ugliness of the world would always cling to some people more than others, and whether it was their own fault or not he didn't, couldn't, know...

He shivered, just once. Enough to remind him that he was caught outdoors, in a cold rainstorm, with no protection. The Muggle clothes he wore seemed silly and pathetic, and he longed for his favorite robe, wrapped around him with its familiar warmth.

Raising his gaze as he waited to cross the road, his dark hair plastered to his hollow, pale cheeks, he saw the light at the end of the tunnel. A baker's shop, with an awning stretching out over the street. He briefly observed that someone had already taken temporary shelter there, and as he slid under the awning, breathing a sigh of relief at being out of the immediate onslaught of the cold storm, he looked sideways, a quick glance, just to discern who it was that shared his temporary shelter.

And then he looked again, emerging from the tunnel and into the light; his dark eyes widening in surprise and some deeper, tormented emotion, quickly shoved out of sight.

"Lily?" he asked, his voice slightly hoarse and grating.

She turned, her green eyes luminous and curious, and he witnessed the very second that her gaze recognized him. He waited for any sign of distaste to crowd her face, as it did nowadays with nearly everyone he knew. But instead she grinned, throwing her arms around him shyly.

"Oh, Sev," she said happily, her eyes dancing.

His imagination conjured a thousand things she might say next, after barely speaking to him for an entire year. But of all the things he imagined, what she said was so very like her old self, the one he knew and loved, that he instantly forgave her for her cold silence the year earlier, though she had not yet attempted to defend herself against it.

She looked briefly into his eyes, smiling. "You are so very wet."
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