PROLOGUE

"For myself, those things that have died, in dying, entered my own heart."
--Rainer Maria Rilke

November 3, 1981


Albus Dumbledore sat alone in his office. It was very late in the night, and even the more talkative of portraits were soundly asleep. The past few days had flown by. Such triumph, such joy. And yet, such deep, profound loss.


The war was over at last, or so it seemed. Dumbledore wasn’t as sure as most. Could Lord Voldemort really have been vanquished forever? Yes, what happened at Godric’s Hollow was powerful, but was it really enough? And did it require the noble sacrifice of two of Hogwarts’ brightest students?


He knew the answer to that question. Yes, of course he knew. James and Lily Potter were dead. But they were not the only ones. Would they and the others be remembered by history? Or would they all just become footnotes in the story of the Boy Who Lived?


And of course there was the matter of Harry. Tiny little Harry Potter, bereft of his parents barely after he could say their names. Harry was now totally alone in the world; any semblance of the life he would have led was now shattered.


The silence was deafening.


As he frequently did in times of trouble or great contemplation, Dumbledore removed his Pensieve from the shelf behind his desk. He sat the great basin on his desk and stared at it for a moment, no emotion registering on his careworn face.


As the silvery surface twinkled and shimmered Dumbledore withdrew his wand from his sleeve. He aimed it at the Pensieve’s liquid depths and twitched his arm upwards. Ten ghostly figures slowly emerged from the liquid, their bodies spun out of the translucent matter. The Gryffindor Class of 1978.


For, Dumbledore had come to realize as the losses sank in, this class had suffered more than any from Hogwarts in recent memory. The Class of 1978 as a whole had been absolutely torn asunder, it was true. They, more so than any other class at Hogwarts had truly felt the rise of Lord Voldemort. The Class of 1978 had produced heroes, had produced villains, all because they had the misfortune of being of the precise age that Lord Voldemort desired of his followers�”and his victims.


Yes, each House had seen casualties. Hector Harkiss and Athena Coddington from Ravenclaw. Two Hufflepuffs had died and a third was missing, all because of their outright support for Muggles. The Slytherins of 1978 had suffered casualties as well, but, as Dumbledore noted with a heavy sigh, they were mainly on the other side. All five Slytherin boys from that year had become Death Eaters. Where had he gone wrong? What had he, what had Hogwarts done to turn these young men to evil?


And his thoughts turned again to Gryffindor. To Godric’s House. To his House. Why had they suffered so much? Why had they been targeted? Five students dead. Five. More than Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw combined. One student in Azkaban. Not more than twenty-one years old. Two in hiding, though for how long? The Death Eaters had found Lily and James. And, what really shook him, two Gryffindors had completely given up Magic and had gone to live as Muggles. The war, the strife, the struggles had so completely nauseated two people that they had relinquished their blood, their inheritance, their talents. They were so disgusted with what the Wizarding World had come to that they had left it for good. What kind of a world was this?


The figures continued rotating in the air above the Pensieve. Lily, James, Gwendolyn, Sirius, Diana, Remus, Artemia, Janus, Marlene, and Peter. As he stared a little while more at their vaporous figures, Dumbledore felt the most profound sorrow on his heart.

The early morning sun filtered brightly through the curtained windows in the small town of West Camford. All up and down Hanover Road men and women were rolling out of bed to greet the already stifling July morning. Teapots and ceiling fans hummed to life as morning routines began along the road, and the daily post flopped unceremoniously through its appointed metal slot in each door of the tree-lined street.

At number 17 Hanover, however, this ritual was met with great anticipation. Petunia Evans sat with bated breath right behind the door in the front hall, for today�”July 20�”was the day; the day that Veronica Grant’s invitation would arrive. As Petunia sat nervously smoothing her purple nightdress, her mother and father chuckled. The Evans family had heard nothing but party rumors for the past two weeks from Petunia’s thin-lipped mouth. Never had Violet and Spencer Evans seen their daughter more excited! But on this morning, a much more exciting and much more important letter would drop into Petunia’s outstretched hands. A letter that would greatly outshine the gold embossing of Veronica’s invitation. A letter that would begin a chain reaction, and that would eventually take Petunia’s life in a most unwanted direction. However, this letter was addressed not to her, but to her little sister, Lily…

As the clock struck eight, Petunia heard the familiar creak of the mail slot, and a jumble of envelopes came tumbling onto her lap. Glancing desperately at the pile of standard-size white envelopes, her hopes faltered, and she feared the worst. Then suddenly, an enormous sapphire-blue envelope with gold calligraphy was wedged through. Petunia shouted with glee at the coveted invite, and hardly noticed a second large letter that shot through the slot a few seconds later. If it had not been for the wild beating of her heart, Petunia would have heard a distinct ruffle of wings outside the door. If the blue envelope had not been the sole focus of her attention, she would have noticed the oddities of the second letter. Its envelope was of a thick, creamy parchment. It was addressed most bizarrely to “Miss Lily Evans, the Third Bedroom, West Camford, Kent.” There was no postcode. No, Petunia noticed none of this, not even the archaic crest in the upper corner, nor the thick red seal on the back of the envelope. She merely scooped it up along with the other mail and proceeded in a daze to the kitchen.

Upstairs in the very third bedroom mentioned on the strange envelope, Lily Evans had been awoken by her sister’s delighted yell. She grumbled, turned over, and tried to fall back asleep, but the sun blazed too brightly through her soft white curtains. Sighing, she slowly sat up and swung her legs over the bed. Undoing her ponytail was somewhat of a challenge, as her thick red hair had a knack for tangling. As she yanked and pulled, Lily cursed the nascent morning, not knowing that this day would change her life. She stumbled blindly down the stairs, still rubbing sleep out of her eyes, and groaned at the familiar voice in the kitchen.

“…and Jennifer said there was going to be a live band and that we were having lobster as one of our main courses! And here on the invitation, it says to bring a bathing suit, so we must be going for a dip somewhere! Oh, if only I could have thrown such a party when I turned thirteen, I�””

“Petunia, dear,” her mother interrupted in a strained voice, “you had a fabulous thirteenth. We had thirty people over for Heaven’s sake!”

“Well I know that mother, but we didn’t have lobster now, did we?”

Violet knowingly ignored this remark and let her eldest daughter continue with her ramblings. She smiled as she saw Lily roll her eyes and walk into the kitchen to grab some toast. Violet picked up the stack of mail that Petunia had carelessly discarded, and shuffled through it. “Oh Spence, dear, your subscription to Stamp Collector’s Weekly is almost up! Will you renew it? Spence? Spencer!” Mr. Evans finally looked up from his paper.

“I’m sorry love, what did you say? I was reading this fascinating article…”

“Oh yes, always a fascinating article, eh? I said that your subscription to Stamp Collector’s Weekly is almost up!” Lily giggled as she saw her father’s eyes go wide in shock, and then snatch the notice from his wife’s outstretched hand.

“What! How can that be? I signed up for 24 months, not 12! I’ll have to phone them right away!”

“Darling, it’s Saturday. No one will be in the offices. Just calm down and go back to your paper. I’m sure the stamps won’t have gone anywhere by Monday…” she continued to rifle through the stack of mail. “Oh Lily, look, there’s something here for you! And what nice handwriting! Is one of your friends having a party too? My, they certainly don’t know how to address an envelope, do they? I wonder how it even got here!”

Lily put down her half-eaten toast and stared at the envelope. It was very large and very thick, and she admired the seal briefly: Four animals entwined themselves around a large letter “H.” It was a strange way to mark the return address, but it must have been from her friend Sandra Howard; the only friend she had whose surname began with “H.” She pried the envelope open and two letters fell out. The first was written on a fancy letterhead bearing the name “Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.” Lily rubbed her eyes, thinking this to be some sort of trick of the light. Surely there wasn’t really a school for witches! They didn’t exist! She read on, muttering under her breath. “Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, Order of Merlin First Class, Grand blah blah blah, what is this? Dear Miss Evans, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of�”what? Mum, will you take a look at this?”

Mrs. Evans put down the spatula she was holding, and picked up the letter. Her eyes widened as she skimmed its contents. “Lily, is this some sort of joke? Can you think of anyone that would like to make us all have a good laugh?”

“No mum, I can’t! I think it’s… I think it’s real!”

“Oh honestly, are any of you listening to me?” Petunia chimed in. “I was just telling you the guest list, but nobody’s paying me any attention at all!”

“Not now, Petunia. Lily’s got a most interesting letter.”

“What, Lily Evans? My sister got a letter? Let me see!” The letter once again changed hands, and once again, the reader got a shock. “You, a witch! Well, that about fits, you freak!”

“Petunia!” Violet shouted, and reprimanded her eldest, while at the same time profusely congratulating her youngest. “Lily, this is remarkable! I always knew you were special, but I had no idea you were a witch, did you? No, of course not, otherwise we would have expected this! Spencer! Spencer! Look up from that confounded newspaper for a moment, would you! Lily has exciting news! She got a letter�”she’s a witch!”

“Oh, smashing good job, Lily,” he said sarcastically. “Turn my boss into a newt, would you? I’d love a holiday.”

“Spencer!”

“Well Vi, darling, you can’t actually think that the letter is real, can you? It’s probably just a cheap joke!”

“Spencer, LOOK at the letter! This is not cheap!”

“Well then it’s an expensive joke,” said Spencer with an exasperated sigh as he took the letter.

“Speaking of things that are expensive,” chirped Petunia, “I’ve heard that the Grants are shipping in thirty Andalusian horses from Spain!”

“What a load of rubbish, Petunia. Anybody important enough to do that would have enough sense not to invite you to her party! Your ugly mug would scare away all those beautiful creatures!” Lily was still fuming at Petunia’s remark about her letter. Finally, Lily got some recognition, but Petunia, as usual, demanded all the attention.

I’m no freak, thought Lily as her temper flared up inside. I’ll show you a freak, Petunia. Lily imagined great tufts of purple hair sprouting out of Petunia’s perfectly coiffed head. The thought made her laugh. The sight that greeted her when she opened her eyes made her laugh even harder. The vision was actually happening! Petunia screamed as coils of outrageous purple cascaded their way down her back. Great jets of pink hair followed, and stood up straight on top of Petunia’s head. Blue fuzzy strands came out of her ears next, and Lily was doubled over on the floor. Petunia was wailing something awful, but Violet and Spencer were staring transfixed. The bacon on the stove was burning, and the Hogwarts letter hung loosely from Spencer’s hand as he looked at his daughters, then at his wife.

“Great Scot,” he said in an amazed whisper. “You are a witch!” He and Violet swooped down and embraced their grinning daughter in a giant hug, while a sobbing Petunia ran hurriedly out of the kitchen.

“So can I go Mum? Dad? Can I?” Lily was giddy with excitement. A few strange things had happened to her before, but nothing like this. Thoughts reeled through her head, and she imagined a grand manor filled with tall, robed people running around with pointy hats and magic wands, pulling rabbits and doves out of top hats.

“Well, I don’t know, what do you think, Spence?” But Spencer was now staring open-mouthed at the second piece of paper.

“Look at this list of supplies! Robes, cauldron, potion supplies, a magic wand! It’s all here! Where are we going to get this? In London?”

“So that’s a yes, Dad? I can go?”

“I should say so! I can’t wait to see the stores that we’ll go into! Do you think that witches and wizards have their own stamps?”

“Oh, always you and your stamps!” Violet teased. “Lily, of course you may go. Your father and I are thrilled! Now, how do we RSVP? It said something about an owl… Yes, here: ‘we await your owl by no later than July 31.’ Well that’s something, isn’t it! We haven’t got an owl! Do you suppose they mean Petunia’s parakeet? I daresay that even if we could fit a letter onto those scrawny legs, Petunia would never let us use him! Maybe we need to go buy an owl! But then again, how would it know where to send the letter? I suppose�””

“Mum. Mum! MUM!” Lily tried in vain to get her mother’s attention. “Mother! Stop the rambling! There’s an owl right there!” She pointed at the window above the sink, where a great barn owl was perched on the sill, hooting impatiently. Lily pushed back the curtains and flew open the window, and the owl hopped in and landed on her arm. Violet hurried to the junk drawer and grabbed a pen and paper.

“Let’s see… what do we say? ‘Dear Mr. Dumbledore and Ms. Mc’�”what was her name? Oh yes, ‘Ms. McGonagall….’”

Lily beamed with joy as the letter was finished and the owl flew away. Violet beamed and fussed with her daughter’s hair, then yelped as the fire alarm alerted the family to the presence of the burning bacon. Spencer stared in wonder at his daughter, then smiled and resumed his newspaper reading. Petunia’s moans could still be heard from upstairs, and there was no doubt she was imagining the horror of attending Veronica’s party now…

***

Meanwhile, in a wealthy neighborhood in Wiltshire, another young wizard was about to receive a very similar letter…

“James, boy, what’s the date?”

“Er… 20 July I think.”

“Wonderful! Today’s the day then!”

James Potter, a bright-eyed, messy-haired boy of eleven was just sitting down to breakfast in the spacious dining room at 423 Lancaster Crescent. His father, Charles Potter, was a well-dressed elderly gentleman with slightly knobby knees who worked as a barrister for Gringott’s, the Wizard Bank. He took great pride in defending the bank’s claims to the jewels they found overseas, and took even more immense pride in his only child, James. Today was the day that James would undoubtedly get his Hogwarts Letter.

“What day is it, Charles?” James’ mother was Grace Divine Potter, a kindly, warm woman who worked in the Department of International Magical Cooperation at the Ministry of Magic. She, too, was proud of her bright young boy, but was forever frustrated with his unruly hair. She was fiddling with this very hair when James looked up, an eager look upon his face.

“Mum, today’s the day I get my Hogwarts letter! That is, if I get in and all.”

“Of course you’ll get in!” Charles boomed. “Every Potter for six generations has gone to Hogwarts, and probably before that too, but no one could keep decent records, the prats. You’re Hogwarts bound, and likely to be in Gryffindor, too! Fancy a try for the House Quidditch Team?”

“Do you really think I could make it, Dad? I mean, I have been practicing a lot with Sirius, whenever he’s at the summer house.” Sirius Black was James’ extremely fun-loving, extremely wealthy best friend, whose family had a summer house�”well, more of a summer mansion�”a little ways away from the Potters. But before Charles could elaborate on James’ sure skills with a broomstick, Grace interjected.

“Oh, I don’t know James. It’s so dangerous, flying around on those brooms so high! You and Sirius give me a fright every time you practice! And they don’t take first years anyway, right Charles?”

“But they might make an exception for you, eh James? I reckon you’d make a fine Seeker!”

James reckoned that too, but didn’t say anything. It would be silly to get his hopes up when he hadn’t even technically been accepted at Hogwarts. Oh, come off it, he thought to himself. Of course you’ll get in. You’re a Potter! This thought put a smile on his face.

Sure enough, James had just started into his second round of sausage and eggs when the Potter’s mail owl rapped on the window. Mrs. Potter stood up, opened the window, and took the mail along with the Daily Prophet that the owl clutched in its beak. She casually shuffled through the letters and bills, pretending not to notice the identical looks of anticipation on her husband and son’s faces. It was when she started nonchalantly reading the newspaper that Charles cleared his throat.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Grace said sweetly. “Were you expecting something?”

James grinned as she handed him the traditional cream-colored envelope bearing the Hogwarts crest and seal. He ripped it open, and a look of delight came over his face. After he skimmed the acceptance letter, he handed it to his father. Charles grunted approvingly and said, “You’re lucky you won’t have Professor Dippet as Headmaster. If you ask me, it was more like Professor Dipshi�””

“CHARLES! Not in front of James!” But Grace’s scolding was merely a formality�”it seemed that she also was relieved that Hogwarts was under different management.

“Yes sir, James, you’re in for a real treat. Professor Dumbledore was always my favorite teacher at Hogwarts�”he taught Transfiguration, you know. He’s a fine man, though. A fair headmaster. An honest man, and a right powerful wizard if I ever did see one. Now let’s see that supply list…”

James handed it over, and silently contemplated what Hogwarts would be like. He always heard tales of the amazing castle, with its trick staircases and alleged hidden passages. A smile crept onto his face as he imagined being the first to find all of them. Charles and Grace beamed at their happy son, and began scheduling the trip to Diagon Alley.

“I say we go right away, don’t you think, Grace? Get a jump on it?”

“Well, I’m absolutely swamped at the office this week. We have a council on Wednesday with the Albanian minister, and Transylvania will no doubt pop in on Thursday. There have been awfully strange reports from Eastern Europe… Dark reports, and it’s giving me gray hairs!”

A look of concern came over Charles’ face. He pulled Grace onto his lap and said soothingly, “You know, you don’t have to work anymore, dear. We certainly don’t need the money, and the job gives you so much stress!”

“Of course I know that, Charles, but I want to work. Uniting the magical world has become so much more important recently. You know, when Albus Dumbledore, bless his soul, got rid of Grindelwald back in ’45, I thought everything was going to be on the upswing, but it seems to be steadily getting worse. I just think that�”oh, sorry James dear,” she stopped abruptly at James’ expectant look. “I shouldn’t be complaining about work when we’ve got such an important thing to plan! What say we go into London around the thirty-first, and get your supplies before August rolls around, okay?”

“Thanks Mum, that sounds great! I can’t wait to talk to Sirius!” His wishes were answered, though, as a handsome young face popped into view of the window. Sirius Black stood outside, clutching his Hogwarts letter, a triumphant grin on his face. James beckoned him in, and Sirius slipped swiftly through the open window. Grace fussed half-heartedly that he could have fallen and hurt himself, but James and Sirius didn’t hear. They were too busy catching up.

“I didn’t know you were back at the summer house from London, Sirius!”

“Yeah, we Flooed in this morning. Mother kept complaining that I couldn’t Apparate yet, said a proper wizard my age would know how. Guess she doesn’t really care that it’d be illegal, eh?” James laughed, along with his father. The Blacks were a notoriously haughty upper-class family whose distinguished tastes often clashed with those of their roguish son. “Anyway, we’ll be here until the thirtieth, then back to Grimmauld Place, and next day to Diagon Alley, I think.”

“Smashing! That’s perfect! We’re going into town then, too. Wonder if Quality Quidditch Supplies would let us have a go on the new Cleansweeps!”

“Oh boys! I hear there’s a new line of Nimbus broomsticks coming out.” Charles couldn’t help but join in. He fondly remembered his own Quidditch days… “Aritcle in yesterday’s Prophet called ‘em the Nimbus 1001 line. Said the broomstick would still have all the handling of a Cleansweep, but it fixed the braking problems of the Nimbus 1000 and added a Drafting Charm!”

“Blimey!” chimed the boys in unison, and the rest of the morning was filled with delusions of grandeur atop a shining new Nimbus 1001.

***

Around midday, Grace Divine Potter received a most unpleasant scare as she went about her business in the kitchen. A burst of emerald green flames and a screeching voice made her jump and she turned around to see the head of Algea Black�”Sirius’s mother�”in the middle of her kitchen fireplace.

“Oh, good morning, Algea,” she said cordially. “You gave me quite a fright!”

“I did? Well, my apologies, Grace,” said Mrs. Black, not sounding apologetic in the least. “I suppose my ungrateful son is causing trouble at your house right now?”

“Oh, Algea, you know Sirius is no trouble for us! We love having him ‘round!” Grace struggled to keep her tone even, though the wretched woman’s words made her blood boil. How a woman like that is fit to be a mother...

“Hmm...” said Mrs. Black, her lips pursed into a thin line. “Well, I’d rather him be home right now. His Uncle Arcturus is coming by the house later today and you can no doubt see he looks a fright; we’ve got to get him cleaned up somehow. Best if we could scourgify his filthy mouth, but apparently that child-rearing technique is frowned upon these days.”

All Grace could manage was a laugh she hoped didn’t sound too false. “Well Algea,” she said, hoping to end the conversation before smoke started spouting from her ears, “I’ll certainly go track him down and send him right home. Not to worry. Tell Nigellus we said ‘hello.’”

“My husband is not home�”he’s gone to meet his brother.”

“Right, well, I’ll just go get Sirius, then.”

“Thank you,” responded Algea, but her head had disappeared from the flames before the words were fully out of her mouth.

Grace slowly unclenched the fists she had been making and cringed at the lines where her fingernails had cut into the flesh of her palms. “That woman!” she screamed to no one in particular.

“I gather my dear mother has just popped in for a visit, Mrs. Potter?” Sirius said with a forlorn smile from the kitchen doorway. James stood behind him, and both boys were flushed in the face, their brooms slung over their shoulders.

“Nothing says ‘good afternoon’ like a chat with Mrs. Black,” James said gaily.

Grace attempted another laugh, this one just as false as the last. Her eyes softened, though, as she looked at Sirius. The poor boy. But the universe had ways of righting itself... “Well, Sirius, she wants you home as soon as possible. Apparently your Uncle Arcturus is coming into town.”

“Bloody brilliant,” he scowled. “I probably won’t bee seeing you all again until London, then. Uncle Arcturus usually likes to take a full week to explain to me how much I’m shaming the family name.”

“Well, you could always try one of Viridian’s new hexes! I thought the Cross-Eyed Confundum one looked good!” James added hopefully.

“Right, well if I pull that, I won’t be seeing you all ever again. It’d be straight to Azkaban for me.”

“Oh tosh, Sirius. The day a boy like you goes to Azkaban... Well anyway, do you want to use the fire? We have more than enough Floo Powder...” Grace trailed off, the proffered jar of Powder in her outstretched hands.

“No thanks, Mrs. Potter. I think I’d rather walk. But thanks anyway, and thanks for having me over today,” he said as he headed for the door.

“Not a problem at all, Sirius. And you know you’re welcome here any time you want. Any time at all.”

“Thanks again, really. Bye, James.”

“Later, mate.”

Sirius walked across the Potters’ perfectly manicured lawn, cut across a few fields and through a garden or two, and was soon in sight of the Black summer home. He sighed. What wonders awaited him this time? Well, at least the summer home was better than Number Twelve in London. The summer home meant proximity to the Potters, and a great deal more freedom�”relatively speaking, of course.

But at Number Twelve... Well, Algea and Nigellus Black were unlikely to let their least favorite son have any sort of fun in London if they had anything to say about it. So his daily routine proceeded unaltered, as it had for the last eleven and a half years. Every morning he would be awoken by the violent arguments between his mother and father, by the distraught grumbles of the hated house-elf Kreacher, by the snide remarks of his great-great-grandfather Phineas Nigellus, whose portrait unfortunately hung in his dank and dark bedroom. And every morning he longed to get away from this house and from his family. From his maniacal parents, from his simpering younger brother, from the relics of the Black family that greeted him at every waking moment as he walked around the house.

What exactly had he done to displease them? It didn’t really matter. Ever since he had let slip the barest hint that he did not, in fact, hate Muggles. Ever since he had occasionally helped Mrs. Hagemeyer from next door, or talked to the Lupins two doors down, or had any sort of contact with any Muggle… His parents were just determined to hate him. Everyone in the family seemed determine to hate him. Yes, there were exceptions, and he relished trips to Uncle Alphard’s house, or clandestine rants with his cousin Andromeda. But they were few and far between, and becoming more rare with every passing year.

But what he loved most were his family’s frequent trips to the country. And though the Blacks’ summer house was visited often by the dreaded Malfoys, it was only a few minutes away from the Potters. And therefore, Sirius could see his second family�”his real family�”as often as he liked.

But there was always the inevitable return to the Realm of the Blacks. And now, that time was imminent. Lord, thought Sirius as he approached their house, even our summer house looks like something out of Grindelwald’s imagination... Who puts gargoyles on a summer house in Wiltshire?

As he stared up at the ugly, twisted beasts glaring back down at him, Sirius was apprehended by his mother. Apparently mistaking his happenstance gaze at their décor for a severe offense against the family, she harangued him with her millionth lecture about the disgrace of the blood traitors in the family. And as soon as she had stopped ranting about her accursed brother-in-law, she set in on scolding him for taking so long to return from the Potters’ house. And so continued just another day in the life of Sirius Black. How he longed to be free from it all...

***

Nigellus Black emerged out of nowhere in the middle of Grimmauld Place in London. He had no need to conceal himself from ordinary Muggles�”they were too stupid to notice an Apparating Wizard, even if he popped up right in front of their noses. Muttering to himself about the sorry state of the world, he crossed the street and entered his family’s imposing brownstone, Number Twelve.

Merely two doors down, however, existed a family who would indeed have noticed an Apparating Wizard, especially if he popped up right in front of their noses. But the Lupins were not formally acquainted with the Blacks even though their son Remus was about the same age as the two Black boys. No, the Blacks had not cared to stoop so low as to introduce themselves to the “commoners” of Grimmauld Place. And the Lupins could never be bothered to introduce themselves to a family who seemed so supercilious, so above everything and everyone on the street. So two Wizard families remained blissfully ignorant of each other. At least for the time being...

Earlier that morning, at Number Ten, Remus Lupin had awoken with a start. How many days left? Heart beating like a drum against his chest, he glanced at the lunar calendar taped next to his bed. He breathed a small sigh of relief, however, when he noticed that the full moon was still two full weeks away.

He was a werewolf. Every twenty-eight days as the moon approached full, Remus was staunchly reminded of this fact. Every twenty-eight days he dreaded what happened to him as the moon waxed, and then rejoiced gleefully as the terror passed and the moon began to wane. But the glee was only temporary, for as sure as Merlin’s beard was white, the lunar cycle would happen again.

Sometimes the transformation was worse than usual. Sometimes he roared and raged and thought of a face�”the face of the werewolf that had bitten him. He never fully recalled his thoughts as a werewolf, but that face would come back to haunt him in his human dreams. He could not escape it, just as he could not escape what he was. What he had become.

His parents had dealt with it the best they had been able to. A fully qualified witch and an intelligent Muggle man, they could nevertheless neither prevent their son’s transformation, nor aide him while he was transformed. So they left the country home where Remus had been bitten, moved into an old brownstone in a forgotten corner of London, and shut their son away behind iron doors every twenty-eight days. They shut him away and attempted to shut away the howls and memories that came from behind those doors.

The iron doors led to an iron-and-magic-reinforced basement, which in turn led to the sewers deep under London. The Werewolf had free reign of his own section of sewer, nothing to keep him company but the rats and his inhuman thoughts.

It was no surprise Remus looked weak and tired before every full moon. And it was no surprise that sometimes people took notice of his appearance as the full moon approached. With four or five days left until the full moon his hair usually started to grow a bit, and get a little wild. His canine teeth would lengthen slightly�”not really noticeable to anyone but Remus, but just a sad reminder for him. Two days left brought a definite downturn in his character, both emotionally and physically. His skin paled, his hair would sometimes fall out. And the day of the full moon? It was best to just not be around him... But today was solidly in the middle of the cycle. These were the best days, the happiest days. And today specifically was even better and happier than normal, for he had just received his Hogwarts letter.

Finally, some sense of normalcy. Remus, thanks to the grace and foresight of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, would be able to attend Hogwarts. Hogwarts. His mother’s alma mater, the best school for witches and wizards in the world, and what he had been dreaming about since he was a little boy.

And yet, as his eleventh birthday had come and gone in March, Remus had become extremely apprehensive that Hogwarts, realizing his disability, would not admit him into the school. His parents had done some research and found out that Hogwarts had never admitted a werewolf. But then Professor Dumbledore had contacted the Lupins and told them of his plan for Remus. He could go to Hogwarts. He would go to Hogwarts. He would be normal, or as normal as he could be.

He had had more than an eleven-year-old’s share of disappointments. But this was a fresh start. This was a new beginning. Albus Dumbledore had some excellent and intelligent plans for his unique pupil, and Remus was looking forward to Hogwarts more than he had looked forward to anything in his life.

But he still had his doubts. Oh yes, he had doubts. Would other students find out? Would he be shunned? Humiliated? Rejected? Would they shy away from him because of what he was, just like so many before?

“Remus, you cannot change what you are,” Headmaster Dumbledore had said in a visit with Remus and his parents. How true his words were. Remus had merely nodded his head and risen from his chair, resigned to face the facts.

“But,” Dumbledore continued, drawing him back. “You can change what you become.”

I can. And I will.

***

In another forgotten corner of London another boy was reading his Hogwarts letter. Peter Pettigrew sat at the small breakfast table in the kitchen, his father beaming down at him, his stepmother glancing anxiously at the letter.

“It’s a very good school, Frances,” said Douglas Pettigrew. “I went there myself, and Nora did, too, of course. That’s how we met.”

“But you’re not thinking of sending him there to meet his future wife now, are you, Douglas?” asked Frances Madden-Pettigrew.

“Well of course not, but still, Hogwarts really is just the most wonderful place, and I really think Pete could do well there!” replied Douglas, twisting his hands together just as his son was wont to do.

“I just think... Douglas, you know how Peter is about making friends. And now that he has a little group at Sudbury, wouldn’t it be best to keep him there? His marks will improve and he won’t be so far away from home...”

“Well, having him so far away won’t be nice, that’s right, Frances. I suppose... Well, I suppose I�”I mean we�”could think the decision through a little bit more, but�””

“Yes, I think that’s a good idea, Douglas.”

They continued speaking as if Peter wasn’t even there. Not like it mattered to him. Though he was usually perfectly aware of and attentive to his father and stepmother’s conversations, on this particular morning he was far too concerned with the hallowed piece of parchment he held in his hands. And he knew that this time, nothing his stepmother said would keep him away from Hogwarts.

Not that Frances had any ill intentions toward her stepson. She just was not a witch and thus did not understand the importance of the aforementioned letter. She had, however, raised Peter from the time when he was very young, his mother Nora having died while he was still a toddler. And she definitely was a persuasive woman, as her husband Douglas could attest.

“But, on the other hand, my dear,” said Douglas, casting a nervous glance at his son and lowering his voice, “It is entirely possible that staying at Sudbury will remind him of... Of... Well, of...” He was unable to finish his sentence, and Frances saw that tears were gathering in his already watery eyes.

“Of Nora and of Elaine?” Her husband nodded. “Yes, that is true, I suppose. But sending him away will only increase his homesickness and will no doubt trigger unhappy memories, Douglas.”

He nodded again and increased the velocity of his twisting hands. “Why don’t we�””

“�”ask him?” His wife finished his sentence. “Yes, why don’t we.” She turned to Peter. “Peter, dear, you don’t want to go to this school, do you? Hadn’t you rather stay here, close to your father and me and your friends at Sudbury?”

Douglas made a small noise of protest at the way his wife had directed the sentence, but his fretting was quelled as Peter shook his head, his sandy-blond hair tossing back and forth. “Ma’am,” he said, addressing her in his usual way. He had never been comfortable calling her ‘Mum.’ “I really think I should go to Hogwarts. I really want to go to Hogwarts. And I think Dad agrees, right Dad?”

Douglas nodded, his eyes again filled to the brim with tears. Frances gave a little sigh and picked up the Hogwarts letter. “Well, we’ll think about it, all right boys? We haven’t made a decision yet, understand?”

Father and son agreed but exchanged a glance that Frances missed. The matter was decided; there was no doubt about that.

***

And so the pieces were set for a game of such grand scale. The magical quill of Hogwarts had merely transcribed names into a book, not realizing the scope and magnitude of this task. And Minerva McGonagall had mailed the letters without the slightest inkling that in just a few short years such a storm would be brewing on account of these children. Not even Albus Dumbledore could have foreseen the ends of the paths these students would eventually walk. But they all started at Hogwarts...

Lily could hardly sleep the next ten days for thinking about being a witch. She had taken to running to the library every possible moment to research witches, wizards, warlocks�”anything, really. However, her queries only turned up fictional wizards, like Gandalf and Merlin. So she read The Lord of the Rings and The Once and Future King. Mrs. Evans once poked her head through Lily’s open bedroom door only to see her daughter point at a dusty old top hat rummaged from the attic and mutter something that sounded like “Abracadabra.” Violet chuckled as no white rabbit emerged, only a moth and some dust mites. Lily only sighed. “Do you think I’ll be able to do it, Mum?” she pondered, turning her head slowly towards her mother. Violet sat on the bed and pulled Lily close.

“Do what, Lil?” she prodded gently.

“Oh, you know, cast spells and stuff. I mean, maybe it was a mistake! Maybe the letter was meant for some other Lily Evans, and I don’t have magical powers! And d’you think there’ll be anyone else there with, well, no offense or anything, but d’you think there’ll be any other kids from non-magical families? I’m just so worried!” Lily fiddled with her shirt nervously as she raised her glossy green eyes at her mother.

“Lily, whoever this Albert Dumbledon is�””

“Albus Dumbledore, Mum.”

“Right�”him. Anyway, whoever he is, he must be smart, right? To have that magic school and keep it hidden from all us non-magic folks? Hmm? And if he has sense enough to do that, then he certainly has sense to know which kids to pick. And that’s why he selected you! It was not a mistake, I’m sure you’ll be magicking things all over the place in no time at all. And if you want more proof, have a look at this. That owl dropped it off this morning while you were up here becoming the next Houdini!” She winked and dropped another thick envelope into Lily’s hands.

“Right. Thanks, Mum. This will set me straight,” she said unconvincingly. Unless it’s a note confessing the mix-up! It wasn’t. Instead, out fell a train ticket marked for September the first and a letter, written again by Minerva McGonagall, which gave instructions on how to buy the required supplies. Lily’s brow furrowed when she got to the address of the “Leaky Cauldron”�”a pub that was the first stop for supplies.

“Charing Cross Road? But there’s no pub there, only Stevens Records and that giant Humphrey Book Barn. This can’t be right!”

“Well, maybe it’s new!” hypothesized Mrs. Evans. “Although, I can’t imagine a huge market for a pub on a busy street like that! Maybe it’s more like a café! I’ll bet it’s really chic! Then again, maybe not, if it sells all these magical things. Right? This Cauldron place is where we’re going to buy your supplies for the term?”

“Um… I don’t really know, Mum. The letter just says to go there, not necessarily shop there…”

“Well either way, we’ll go on the thirty-first, ok? That’s when we’ve got to drop poor Petunia off at that dratted extravaganza, so we’ll just swing through London as well. Your father has taken off work because he’s near fainting at the thought of a magic supply store, although I told him not to get his hopes up for any exploding stamps or anything. I keep telling him…”

But Lily heard no more of her mother’s musings as Mrs. Evans wandered out of the room, still talking to herself. The only thought focused in her mind was this Leaky Cauldron, and whatever wonders lurked beyond its doors. She imagined a grand department store somehow wedged in between the two huge shops that bordered it. Talking clocks and sparkly dresses were just making their debuts in her mind’s eye when her reverie was interrupted by Petunia.

The eldest Evans daughter had remarkably sorted out her hair crisis with lots of hard work and hair dye, and Petunia considered her new hairdo quite stylish. Nothing, though, could ever bring Petunia to forgive her sister for almost ruining the “bash of the century.”

“So, Lily,” she sneered. “I suppose you’re still excited about your little freak school. Well, don’t get too worked up, because I heard Mum and Dad saying that you fell for their plan splendidly.”

“Petunia, don’t talk about things you don’t understand,” Lily shot back, although her curiosity was piqued. What plan?

“Ha! I guess you thought this school was real, right? Well it’s not! You’re a silly git, because Mum and Dad set up the whole thing as an excuse to ship you to some boarding school in Check-oh-vakia. Didn’t you guess that?”

“Do you mean Czechoslovakia? Petunia, do you have any idea what’s coming out of that mouth of yours, or have the hairspray fumes just got to your head?” This retort was met with a momentary look of disgust, but Petunia regained her composure.

“You can talk all you want, but if you put the clues together, you’ll see it’s just been a big joke. Look, McGonagall is the name of Dad’s boss, and Dumbledore is some nonsense word in the children’s book Mum’s reading for her class! Hogwarts? That was the name of a talking pig in a cartoon, and… and…” It was clear Petunia was running out of ideas. Lily seized the opportunity.

“Oh really, Petunia. Dad’s boss is named McGonagall? It must be his first name, because his surname is McCauley! And the book Mum’s reading happens to be a nonfiction one about that American John F. Kennedy�”she finished the children’s novel two weeks ago. As for the pig named Hogwarts? Wow, Petunia, that was a stroke of sheer brilliance. You’ve got me there. But really, come off it. It wasn’t a joke.”

Disgusted, Lily turned back to her letter. Petunia sat for a minute, trying to figure out how Lily had bested her. Finding no logical comeback, she resorted to her now-trusted comment of “freak” and stormed out of the room. Lily sighed, but couldn’t help a giggle. How long had Petunia been planning that one?

***

The morning of the thirty-first dawned clear and bright. Lily jumped out of bed as soon as she felt the sunlight on her face, and hastily put on her favorite jeans and a tank top. Not stopping to brush her hair, she raced downstairs, anticipating a quick breakfast and an even quicker departure to London. She was greeted, however, with an empty kitchen, and a clock that read ‘6:30 AM.’ She grumbled, and ambled into the living room to flip on the television. As soon as she sat down on her preferred overstuffed chair, however, she realized just how tired she was. Her eyelids slowly drooped as she listened to a dim report from the foreign desk: “Officials in the small, Communist State of Albania today report more strange fires in their densely forested regions…” Lily was asleep in less than a minute. When Spencer and Violet came downstairs two hours later they found her, open-mouthed, snoring loudly as cartoons blared. Spencer roused her gently as Violet went to start making French toast.

Soon mother, father, and daughter were sitting down to the table. A clunk on the staircase nearly made Lily choke on her juice, but she recovered in time to see Petunia stumble in on four-inch white heels. The rest of her outfit was even more comical. She wore tremendous bell-bottom jeans with a hem that dragged on the floor, paired with an outrageous pink tank top with fuzzy yellow fringes around the sides. A different earring graced each ear: one a large silver hoop, and the other a long golden chain. Her hair, if possible, was even more shellacked with hairspray than usual, and a lime-green headband was held firmly in place by pins. Lily gagged again as she caught sight of Petunia’s makeup, and had to dip under the table to hid her snort. “Good morning, all,” said Petunia casually as she sat down to the table. “French toast this morning?”

Mrs. Evans just stared mutely at her daughter. Mr. Evans, however, did have something to say: “Is it… is it a costume party, Petunia?”

Petunia looked mortified at the very thought. “Oh no, Father,” she drawled sweetly. “This is the latest fashion,” she added with a haughty lilt, as if speaking to these mere fashion mortals required vast amounts of time and effort. Lily chuckled as she took a bite of French toast. Not even her most fearful temper could have conjured up this mess.

An hour later, Lily watched bewildered from the backseat of the family car as Petunia clambered in, tripping several times on her hem. Petunia shrugged it off as if nothing had happened, and prodded her father to get on with the driving. Lily heard a faint mumbling from him, and something about a chauffeur, but then they were off. It seemed to Lily like the drive to London had never taken so long, and she was dismayed that her parents insisted on meeting the Grants once they arrived at the “party grounds.” However, to Lily’s delight, these grounds were nothing remarkable�”merely a picnic table set up next to a tent. A small group of children were milled around one lone pony, and the air definitely did not smell of lobster. Lily squirmed with glee as she saw the disappointed look on Petunia’s face. The day was getting better and better.

Finally, after the Evans had practically dragged Petunia out of the car, they arrived in London. Spencer dropped Lily and Violet off right near the record store and went to park the car. When he returned, he found his wife staring blankly at the space (or lack thereof) between Stevens Records and Humphrey Book Barn. There certainly was no pub there. However, his daughter had a most peculiar look on her face, and kept glancing back at her parents. She turned hesitantly back to the storefronts and asked, “Can you see it?” As the answer was a resounding ‘no,’ she took her mother and father’s hands, and led them slowly to the point where the two buildings touched. Passersby must have gaped at the sight: three people, hand-in-hand, slowly walking toward a solid wall. However, as the trio neared the spot, the strangest thing happened. Suddenly there was a pub there! A run down, dirty little tavern with a battered sign proclaiming ‘The Leaky Cauldron.’ Lily professed triumphantly that she had seen it all along, but all the elder Evans could profess was shock.

“Well! I never! I suppose… has it always been there?… but no…” said Mr. Evans.

“So much for it being chic!” exclaimed his wife.

But Lily was fascinated. Letting go of her father’s hand, she pushed open the creaky old wooden door. Inside, she found a dimly lit but clean bar, with little tables everywhere. It smelled faintly of ale and cedar, and all sorts of strangely dressed people were staring at the clearly non-magical trio that had just walked in. The Evans felt like spectators at some sort of new-age fashion show, as robes of emerald, scarlet, and deep purple greeted them from all angles. A middle-aged, balding man suddenly looked up from behind the bar and waved them over. With a huge gap-toothed grin, he pronounced himself Tom, the proprietor of the pub, and then said: “And you must be Muggles!”

“Muggers!” said Violet, in a state of shock. “I should think not! I say, are all you lot this rude? We certainly did not come to rob you or pick your pockets!”

“No, no, darling, not muggers, I think he said Muggles… Different ending.”

“Oh.” Mrs. Evans tried her best to apologize profusely as the color drained from her face. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry, you see, we have no idea what sort of thing this really is, our daughter got a letter and our other daughter’s hair turned purple and there were owls, and then we walked in between two buildings and then…” However, her attempt was in vain. Tom the barkeep looked at her with a strange twinkle in his eyes, and then laughed.

“Beggin’ your pardon, Ma’am. Common mistake. Muggles, you see, are what we wizarding-type call non-magical folk like yourself. Best to get acquainted with that term, ‘cause it’ll come up a lot now that you’ve got a witch in the family!” He turned his kind eyes down toward Lily, who was still red from her mother’s embarrassing mix-up.

“Yes! Well that makes perfectly good sense then! Muggles… A most fascinating term!” Spencer remarked as he stared around the bar. Violet was still struggling to form a coherent sentence, and Tom just chuckled more.

“Excuse me, Tom?” Lily said timidly. “I got a letter from Ms. McGonagall saying that I was to come here to buy my supplies�”can you show them to me?”

Tom again turned to her. “Certainly, miss, but you won’t be buying supplies in the ‘Cauldron.’ Diagon Alley’s the place to go for all your term needs.”

“Oh…” Lily’s eyes showed her confusion. “Well, where�””

“Go out of the pub into the small patio back there, right? Then take your wand and tap… Blimey, that’s right,” he said, smacking himself on the forehead at Lily’s glance. “Ain’t got a wand yet, do you? Well, go over to that man at the table in the corner there�”yes, in the blue robes, and introduce yourself. He’ll take you out into the Alley. All right then?”

“Thanks so much Mister... Tom! By the way, I’m Lily Evans, and these are my parents, Spencer and Violet.” Tom shook everyone’s hands and offered them all a drink, which they promised to have as soon as the shopping was over. The three then went to the aforementioned table, with Mrs. Evans still shouting apologies over the low din of the crowd. Upon reaching the table in the corner, Lily tapped the wizard on the shoulder. “Excuse me, sir, but my name is Lily Evans, and I’m going to Hogwarts this fall, and�””

“Hogwarts!” the man jumped up as his hat slid off his head. He was another kindly-looking wizard with knobby, roughened old hands and a small scar down his right cheek. “Hogwarts! Mighty fine school, mighty fine school. Went there myself of course, more years ago than I care to remember! Name’s Bartholomew Bainsfair, and it is certainly a pleasure to meet you, dear Lily. These must be your parents! Hello, hello. And I suppose you want to enter Diagon Alley! I’m afraid that’s out of the question though, unless you can answer me a few questions.”

Lily felt all the color leave her face as she looked at Mr. Bainsfair with growing horror. She didn’t know anything about the wizarding world, how on earth would she be able to answer questions? Mr. Bainsfair seemed to sense her dread as he burst into a raucous laugh, “Oh, only joking! Only joking! Come right this way, out this door, there you go.”

Lily (feeling thoroughly relieved) and her parents stared blankly at the solid brick wall before them. Maybe this Bainsfair fellow was actually as crazy as he seemed… But he continued: “Tap this brick… Eh… which brick? Oh yes! This one! And voila! Behold the magic!”

The Evans beheld it. It seemed to Lily the most magnificent thing ever. Two trash bins suddenly slid to the side of the small enclosure as the tapped brick wriggled and squirmed, then joined its fellow bricks in re-arranging themselves to form a giant archway. The sight beyond the arch greeted the family as nothing before ever had. Bartholomew smiled a knowing smile, and Lily dimly heard, “You’ll be wanting to go to Gringott’s first�”that big marble building over there. They’ll exchange your money for you.” Lily nodded, not fully aware that her mouth was gaping open, and stood transfixed beneath the entryway.

The hustle and bustle in Diagon Alley was nothing more than it would have been on Kensington Street at Christmastime, but it was so much more colorful! Witches and wizards (she assumed) of all shapes and sizes poured in and out of the rustic-looking buildings, with various and sundry bundles tucked under their arms. All sorts of merchandise spilled out from myriad stores lining the twisting, cobbled road. Lily stood rooted to the spot, and only moved when her father made a half-formed comment about currency exchange�”though it was hard to hear him over the squawking of owls and lively clamor of hundreds of witches and wizards doing their shopping. They slowly made their way to the grand white building at the head of the street. Nearing the entryway, Lily looked up and saw an ominous message engraved in the white stone. An involuntary chill ran down her spine as she saw two uniformed creatures opening the door for her and her parents. Are these…dwarves? Elves?

“We are Goblins, madam, and if you’d please be so kind as to not stare.” Apparently Violet had asked one goblin the same question Lily was thinking, and she�”like her mother�”colored at the reprimand. Fully embarrassed, yet with satiated curiosity, the Evans walked into the large hall of Gringott’s. A long counter was at the back, and hundreds more goblins were perched on tall stools behind it, performing all sorts of odd jobs. Wizards stood in queues in front of the counter, and the Evans joined one of these lines.

When it was their turn, only Lily had enough sense to stop gaping and speak, but the goblin beat her to it. In a slightly perturbed, yet forcibly civil voice, he said, “Yes, you must be a Muggle bound for Hogwarts. I’ll give this to you quick, so take mental notes, please.” He held in his gnarled palm three different coins; one bronze, one silver, and one gold; small, medium, and large-size, respectively. “The small bronze one,” he gestured, “is called a Knut. K-N-U-T. The medium one is a Sickle. S-I-C-K-L-E. And the largest one, that’s a Galleon�”yes, like the sailing ship, and spelled just the same. Now, here’s the tricky part.” He grinned a sinister grin. “There are twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, and seventeen Sickles to a Galleon. I’ll repeat that�””

“Oh, no need, um… Sir. I think I’ve got it. Twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, and seventeen Sickles to a Galleon?” Lily reeled off.

The goblin looked dismayed at being cut off, and fixed Lily with a curious stare. “All right, a good memory, I see. Well, are you any good at arithmetic? How many Knuts to a Galleon, eh?” Lily supposed she could have figured it out given a little time and some paper, but this goblin look very agitated, and her shaky confidence was wavering.

Instead, she said demurely, “Um… I’m not sure, Sir, but do you know the exchange rate for our… um, Muggle money?”

“Of course I know the exchange rate! I work at a bank!” he snapped. “How much Muggle money are you wanting to exchange?”

Here, Spencer stepped in. “I think 300 pounds ought to do it for now.” He handed over the crisp notes, and received a medium-sized scarlet bag with a large embroidered “G” near the tassel. The goblin next proceeded to fill the bag with handfuls of Knuts, a few score of Sickles, and a couple dozen Galleons. He smiled curtly and reminded them that Gringott’s did accept private bank accounts, should any money wish to be transferred into the young lady’s care. Spencer thanked him, and the three moved out of the pristine marble hall back into the hubbub of Diagon Alley. Mr. Evans was remarking at how efficient the bank seemed, and lamented that the bank he worked for could not hire goblins. “They are so to-the-point, don’t you think Vi?”

“Oh, yes dear,” said Mrs. Evans distractedly, as she looked around in wonder. None of the three knew where to start first. Fortunately, the bustling crowd jostled them into the doorway of a large shop called Flourish and Blotts. It was a giant bookstore, but unlike any shop Lily had ever seen. She was used to the immaculately organized rows of stores like Humphrey Book Barn, and this store was anything but immaculate. Books of many different sizes and colors were piled haphazardly on dusty shelves that went from floor to ceiling. Many of them talked, read themselves, turned colors, or changed places. The subjects were amazing as well. In the Animal section, Lily saw books on dragons and unicorns�”two creatures she was sure did not exist. The Fiction section screamed (sometimes literally!) titles like The Hag Who Came in from the Cold and Spells and Sensibility. Lily reluctantly made her way toward the crowded “Textbooks” area, expecting to find a more mundane selection of books, but as she withdrew her list, she was excited once more. She gazed in awe at the selection of texts, and imagined the classes that would be taught from these pages.

***

“Are we walking, Mum, or taking the car?” Remus Lupin asked as the clock struck ten on the morning of the thirty-first.

“I think your father wants to walk�”Charing Cross really isn’t too far from here, you know. Right, John? We’re walking?” Rhea Lupin asked her husband.

“I think so. What is it, five days ‘til? You’ve probably got a bit of pent-up energy, eh Remus?”

His father was, of course, referring to the upcoming full moon. “Four days, Dad.”

“That’s right, that’s right. I should have guessed by the state of your hair!” He winked at his son.

Remus managed to smile back. His Muggle father tried so hard to make light of the situation whenever he could. It’s not like it was a generally laughable state, being a werewolf, but John Lupin really had no way of knowing how much pain his son went through twelve times a year. So Remus would indulge him.

It was true, also, that he had a lot of pent-up energy. He wasn’t sure if this was due to his impending transformation or to the extreme nervousness he was starting to feel about Hogwarts. Everything about his schooling had been settled with Professor Dumbledore, of course, but today�”the journey to Diagon Alley�”would be Remus’ first test for himself. There would surely be Hogwarts-bound students doing their shopping today, and Remus was determined to act perfectly normal and, if he could, make some friends.

An involuntary shiver ran down his spine as he looked outside the foyer windows to Grimmauld Place. It was a sticky summer morning, but he still felt so cold. Nerves. It was all nerves. His foot started twitching�”a purely animal instinct he hadn’t yet learned to master. “Should we go, then?” he asked his parents, who were now looking at him with their usual mix of pity, worry, and pride. It was a funny thing to see his parents regard him this way. Few people could wrangle such a combination of feelings into one look, but the Lupins had most definitely mastered it. Day in, day out, the same look. Remus sent them a look of his own, imploring them to please get a move on.

So the Lupins departed. As they drew near Number Twelve, Remus saw the Black family cross their own threshold onto the street. The Lupins and the Blacks rarely interacted with each other. In fact, the Blacks were considered by almost everyone on the street to be extraordinarily supercilious and not to be dealt with. And that, apparently, was how Mr. and Mrs. Black liked it.

The Blacks had two boys, Remus knew. One was just as bad as his father�”Regulus was his name, or something funny like that. The other, however, at least smiled at Remus whenever he passed. Sirius. Sirius Black. Though the Lupins had moved to London from the country three years previously, Remus and Sirius had only ever had three or four encounters�”one involving an extremely tense moment and the accidental setting-on-fire of the bushes in front of Number Eleven by Remus. He had been so nervous that day, on edge as the moon was approaching, and if Sirius had found out he was a wizard�”well, then there would be no way there would ever be a possibility for friendship. Surely the Blacks would not hold for such nonsense. And though Remus definitely recalled the curious look on Sirius’s face, neither boy had ever spoken about it again. Actually, they hadn’t spoken to each other at all since then, but that was beside the point.

“Hello, Mrs. Black,” said Rhea as politely as she could.

As expected, Mrs. Black gave no response, merely moved the wrinkled corners of her mouth into what could perhaps have passed for a smile. Perhaps.

Remus glanced at Sirius just in time to see him roll his eyes. Remus had trouble stifling his laugh, and flashed a covert grin at Sirius. Regulus Black, the younger boy, watched the exchange with a frown, but didn’t say anything.

“Bye, Remus!” Sirius called suddenly as the Lupins moved on. Remus turned around, unsure of whether to risk a wave. He decided to give a little one to Sirius, carefully avoiding the eyes of Mrs. Black, who was no doubt infuriated with her son.

“Horrible, horrible family,” Rhea said under her breath. “I didn’t realize you were friends with one of the boys?” She was giving Remus another one of those looks...

“Oh, I’m not really friends with him. I’m actually really surprised he knew my name. But yeah, he’s not too bad.”

“Still, you should watch out for him. Don’t want him or his family to... get wind of your... situation,” John said to his son.

Remus nodded, though it pained him to do so. Was he doomed to be perpetually friendless? Because nobody could ever... get wind of his... situation? When his parents put all those pauses in their sentences it was almost as bad as the Lupin Look. Remus hated that they had to speak in code like that. But surely it was for the best...

***

After a brief, brisk walk, the family passed through the Leaky Cauldron and into Diagon Alley. “So your father and I are going to go to Fortescue’s for a bit, all right? And then we have to run a few other errands. Do you think you can get your cauldron and Potions supplies while we’re gone, and then we can all go to Ollivander’s?” Mrs. Lupin had a look of profound nostalgia in her eyes as she stood in the middle of the street. Remus nodded, and she handed him a bit of money from the sack. “OK, then, we’ll see you in a bit. And don’t just spend all your time in the bookstore!” she said, perhaps a bit too loudly. It wouldn’t be the best first impression if his fellow students knew he preferred Flourish and Blotts to Quality Quidditch Supplies.

“All right, Mum!” he said, going a bit pink. But as soon as his parents were out of sight, he did, in fact, head for the bookstore. There was something about the smell of old books that Remus really loved. Maybe it was the notion that they were permanent, unchanging�”well, maybe not all the books in this store�”but at least most of them. There was nothing quite like curling up with a good book. It was one of the only things that calmed him down before his transformations. Not like he didn’t enjoy Quidditch, mind you. Quite the contrary, in fact. He just wasn’t obsessed with it like most eleven-year-old boys, and had no real intention of trying out for his House Team once he got to school. But his copy of Quidditch Through the Ages was definitely careworn.

He was examining the new fiction selections by the front window of the store when something, no, someone caught his eye. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said to no one in particular. It couldn’t be....

Remus placed the book back on its shelf and peered out the window again. He pushed the door open and began to make his way across the street, weaving in and out of the crowds of people. No, really, it couldn’t be...

“Sirius?” he called, finally arriving in front of Eeylop’s Owl Emporium, where Sirius Black was indeed standing.

“I knew it!” said Sirius as he looked up and caught sight of Remus. His eyes grew wide with excitement. Remus thought he looked like he might start jumping up and down. “I just knew it! You’re a wizard, aren’t you?”

Remus nodded and grinned, an immense wave of relief washing over him. Somehow just knowing that Sirius was like him, would understand... All of his anxieties of the day began to fade away. Sirius Black was a wizard. Just to make sure, though, he asked: “And you?”

“Of course! This is brilliant!” Sirius said, shaking his head. “I can’t believe, after all these years...”

“Well, it’s not like your parents let us associate with each other,” Remus said. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, though, he turned bright red, and rushed to apologize for any impudence. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean that your parents... I didn’t mean to say... I�”” he stammered.

“Don’t worry about it, mate. You’re absolutely right�”they’re nutters,” Sirius said, casting a quick glance around to make sure said nutters weren’t anywhere near.

“Where are they?” asked Remus, hoping he hadn’t offended Sirius too much.

“Probably down Knockturn Alley. I think my Mum fancies the owner of Borgin & Burkes.”

“Seriously?” Remus said with a laugh. “I’ve always wanted to go down that street�”just to see what there is.”

“Not much. It’s actually a bit boring. I mean, there is some good stuff in Borgin & Burkes, but it’s pretty nasty...” Sirius trailed off, looked thoughtful for a moment, and then shrugged. “Anyway, are you going to Hogwarts, then?”

“Yeah, this will be my first year.”

“Mine too! Which House do you want to be in?”

“Oh, Gryffindor, for sure. My mum was in Gryffindor when she went.”

“Your parents are Wizards, too? How did my parents miss that?” Sirius asked, wide-eyed.

“Well, only my Mum’s a witch�”my Dad’s a Muggle.”

“Does your Mum use magic around the house?”

“A lot of the time, yeah. It’s really interesting, actually. I’ve kind of lived in this half-magic, half-Muggle world. It’s kind of hard to explain. But she talks about Hogwarts all the time. She loved Gryffindor. If not Gryffindor, I think I would like to be a Ravenclaw.”

“Yeah, Ravenclaw wouldn’t be too bad. Gryffindor would be good, too. Really anything but Slytherin. Oh, it would make my parents so mad!”

“Why?” asked Remus, a bit horror-struck. Did Sirius have some sort of death wish?

“Oh, quite literally everyone in my family has been in Slytherin. Creepy gits. My parents think it’s the only way I can redeem myself for being such a lousy son.” Sirius gave a casual shrug, as if he was not the least bit interested in redeeming himself.

“But you don’t plan to do that at all, do you?” Remus asked with a smile.

“Not if I can help it!” said Sirius with a bit of a grin as he looked at his wristwatch.

“Oh, am I keeping you? I can go...” said Remus, glancing back at Flourish and Blotts.

“No, not at all! I’m supposed to meet my friend here, but he’s late, of course. If he ever shows up, I’ll introduce you...”

***

The very James Potter that Sirius was so anxiously awaiting was in Diagon Alley, but had yet to find his friend. Charles and Grace�”who had Apparated to Diagon Alley�”had met their son in the Floo Arrivals building, and were now insisting on discussing the course of the day with him, though he was drastically late for meeting Sirius. Quality Quidditch Supplies was so close, and yet so far....

“Let’s have a look at that reading list, son,” said Charles Potter. James handed it over, bouncing up and down on his toes impatiently. “These books are as old as I am, Grace!” exclaimed the elderly gentleman as he perused the list.

“I didn’t think that was possible!” she joked, winking at James. “Let me see… why, I guess you’re right. Old as dirt.”

James chuckled, while Mr. Potter chose to ignore the remark, and instead turned to his wife. “But seriously, Grace! We used these books when we were at Hogwarts!”

“Well I can’t imagine there have been huge developments in Transfiguration or Herbology or Potions�”they’ve probably been using these books for generations!”

This statement was met with a grunt by Charles, who returned the list to James. “Well, if you’re going to be using these books, the classes’ll be no sweat for you, James, that’s for sure. Lots of homework some nights, but nothing you can’t handle,” answered Charles.

“Your father’s right,” Grace chimed in. “First year classes are only the basics. It’s O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s that you need to worry about, but not for a few years.”

“Those are the big exams, right?”

“Yes, but I’ll wager you can wrangle up twenty or thirty Outstanding O.W.L.s, right Grace?” said Charles with a sort of proud grunt.

“My! Thirty? I don’t think that’s even possible, but we’ll just wait and see, right?” She looked positively certain James could get thirty, though.

“OK, well, can I go meet Sirius now? I’m really late...” James said, grabbing his father’s pocket watch and glancing at the time.

“Oh of course you can. Go, go!” said Grace. But as he ran away she pulled him back and tried to straighten his hair, but to no avail. She sighed and smiled at her son, whose bouncing had reached new heights. “Give me your list, Crazy, and I’ll pick up your supplies for you.”

“Thanks Mum!” he said, pressing the list into her hand. “See you in a bit!” He dashed away, leaving the Potters smiling in his wake.

It only took a few minutes for James to find Sirius, even through all the commotion and confusion of the Alley. He was talking animatedly to a tall, pale boy outside Eeylop’s Owl Emporium.

James snuck up behind Sirius, putting his finger to his lips to keep the brown-haired boy silent. He arrived just in time to hear Sirius say something as he looked at his watch: “I’m supposed to meet my friend here, but he’s late, of course. If he ever shows up, I’ll introduce you. His name is�””

“James Potter,” he said, interrupting Sirius and thrusting out his hand.

Remus grinned as Sirius jumped. “Oy, Potter, you scared me! Cheeky little bugger.”

Remus kept grinning as he shook James’s hand. “Hi, I’m Remus Lupin.”

“Get this, James: he’s lived two doors down from us in London for years, but I had no idea he was a wizard! I guess I always suspected it, though, right Lupin?”

“Yeah, especially after I accidentally set Mrs. Hagemeyer from next door on fire when she scolded me!” James and Sirius both laughed.

“But that old hag deserved it, always hitting me with that blasted cane,” Sirius joked.

“Oh, I hate that thing! She really is a crotchety old lady, isn’t she? Well anyway, here I am, Remus Lupin, a wizard through and through, completely able to set people and things on fire.” He smiled again.

“Excellent,” Sirius grinned, somewhat mischievously, as if he was already planning targets.

***

About an hour later, Mr. and Mrs. Lupin intercepted the three boys inside Gambol & Japes to take Remus to Ollivander’s, and James and Sirius decided to meander over to Madam Malkin’s for their robes (stopping, of course, at Quality Quidditch Supplies along the way).

“So Remus is your neighbor?” James asked as the boys joined a queue for their robes inside the crowded shop.

“Yep. Lives at Number Ten!” said Sirius as he idly fiddled with a rotating bowtie in a bin along the wall.

“But your parents never told you he was a wizard?”

“Ha!” Sirius said, putting down the bowtie (which was now emitting sparks). “I doubt they knew.” Pulling himself into an upright and perfectly haughty imitation of his father he said, “Nigellus and Algea Black do not mingle with the other inhabitants of Grimmauld Place!” Returning to his normal, slightly slouching posture he continued: “Anyway, even if they did know it’s not like they’d let me talk to him! But at least now I can have somewhere to sneak off to when we’re in London. It’s unbearable there usually.”

“Is he nice? I mean, I guess you don’t know him much, but...”

“Yeah, he’s pretty quiet, I think, but he did set that cow on fire, so that’s pretty neat! You should have seen the old biddy flame up! No permanent damage, of course, but oh man!”

James laughed as a harried shop assistant called him up to a vacant platform and started measuring him. After being fitted the boys moved to the back of the shop to pick up gloves and such, and were avidly discussing Quidditch (once again) in a back corner of the store when they heard a now familiar voice from the front�”Remus was talking to a redheaded girl near the hat racks. James had never really paid attention to girls before, mainly being concerned with all things Quidditch, but something about the redhead made him forget about silly broomsticks�”at least for a moment. She was quite pretty. “Who’s that with Remus?” he asked, trying to sound casual.

“I don’t know mate, but it looks like they’re coming this way,” Sirius said.

***

As soon as she had collected all her textbooks, Lily took some money from her parents to go and buy her robes. A small chime sounded as she walked through the door of Madam Malkin’s Robe Shop. The main room was brightly lit, but smelled of mothballs. Lily was reminded of her late grandmother’s house. Three platforms for measuring stood in the middle of the room, each occupied by a young person with arms outstretched. A small queue was forming along the wall, and Lily joined it behind a tall, pale boy with longish brown hair. He gave her a small smile, turned to face the front of the store, and then turned back. He stuck out his hand, perhaps a bit timidly, and smiled again, wider this time. “Hi. I’m Remus Lupin. Going to Hogwarts?”

“Yes, I am! I’m Lily Evans. Are you going, too?”

Lily instantly liked this boy, her first Hogwarts friend! He seemed at once calm, yet slightly nervous. He had an easy, affable air about him, and she soon found herself engaged in conversation. “So, how long have you known you’re a wizard?” she asked.

“Well, all my life! My mum is a witch, and my dad’s a Muggle, but he’s fascinated by the whole thing, so I was pretty much brought up on it.”

Lily laughed at her stupidity. “Oh. Yes, I suppose you would be. It’s just weird for me, because I found out only ten days ago… It’s a big shock!”

“I’d bet so. I don’t know many Muggles at all�”besides my Dad, of course, so I can’t really imagine. Although I did just find out my neighbor was a wizard, so I guess that’s kind of strange… Oh wait, I think this is me next.”

Sure enough, Remus was called to a vacant block, and Lily giggled as a tape measure began flying all around his body. She thought it a little unnecessary to measure between his nostrils, but then again, maybe that was some strange custom in this world… She herself was called up shortly after Remus, and a haggard-looking witch began taking her size. “Hello, miss,” she said shortly. “I ‘spose you’re excited for school and all… I know I can’t wait for this frenzy to be over, right? Well, what’ll be your wand arm, missy? Right or Left?” she asked as the tape measure began swarming around with some black cloth, which soon wrapped itself around her body.

“Um… I guess right…” Lily was right-handed, and she assumed this was the correct choice. She stared in wonder as a small, pencil-thin pocket began sewing itself into the robe’s sleeve on her left side.

“Right. That little slot there’s for your wand… Easy access, eh? Quite an ingenious invention; it’ll save you the trouble of keeping it in your pants pocket! Well, you’re done now. Hats are over on the east wall�”self-serving, thank Merlin, gloves are in that bin by the back, and cloaks are hanging on the west wall. Here are your three work robes. Thanks for shopping at Malkin’s. NEXT!”

Lily gathered her bundle, amazed at the speed with which the robes were made. She then moved to the hat wall, where a pointed red hat seemed to be selling itself to Remus. He politely listened to its sales pitch, and then moved toward the all-black section. She caught up with him there. “It’s so much easier in the Muggle world, you know,” he said as he tried on various black hats, “without talking clothing. That was the third hat that tried to sell itself to me!” Lily giggled again, and picked up a hat. In tandem, they moved towards the bins to collect their dragon-hide gloves. As they neared the cloak wall, Lily caught sight of two boys laughing gaily amidst some leopard-print wraps. Remus also saw them�”evidently he knew them, as he steered Lily in their direction.

“Remus!” called out one as they approached; a taller boy with longer, black hair and twinkling gray eyes.

“Hey, Sirius. Hey, James. This is Lily... Evans, right? She’s going to Hogwarts with us.”

“Excellent!” Sirius said with a somewhat mischievous grin. Lily blushed. “Lily, it is great to meet you,” said the boy as he extended his hand without even an air of nervousness. “I myself am Sirius Nigellus Black, and I plan to be a Gryffindor. My ugly friend here is James Potter, and he plans to be Seeker for Puddlemere United, or Minister of Magic, at the very least.” The three boys laughed. Lily pretended to, although she was overwhelmingly confused.

Sirius must have perceived this. “Wait a tick! I think we’ve got ourselves a Muggle-born!”

“Oh yeah, forgot to mention that,” said Remus.

“No problem at all, mate. We’re mighty pleased to meet you, right James?” answered Sirius.

James opened his mouth, but no words came out. After an agonizing few seconds he finally came up with a lackluster, “Yes, very.”

Lily faltered. Sirius’s boisterous greeting had caught her off guard�”mainly because she had no idea what half of it meant; it seemed filled with nonsense words to her. She shook Sirius and James’s hands in turn. “Um… Thank you, I think.” she managed to spit out, feeling supremely dim-witted. Frantically searching around for something, anything to say, she blurted out the first question that popped into her head: “Um… is there really a Minister of Magic? In the government?”

James laughed. Apparently he had found his voice: “Well, not in your lot’s government, no offense. We keep our own ministry. Keeps Muggles from bungling things up.”

“Oh,” said Lily softly, thinking that perhaps she should have kept silent. Great. This boy doesn’t like Muggles. I’ll bet he’s only being polite and doesn’t really want me at Hogwarts at all! He must have sensed her discomfort, though, as he began to backpedal very quickly.

“Well, er, I don’t mean to say that all Muggles are prats, of course. Most of you are fine. But you know how people in the government always have a tendency to… er…” It was clear James didn’t know the first thing about politics or the prats in the government. He continued, though, with apparently renewed confidence. “I didn’t mean anything by it, I just…” Lily merely smiled cautiously as he trailed off. “Right then. Now that I’ve messed things up, somebody else take over!” Remus jumped in, as Sirius was laughing uncontrollably at James’s way with words, or lack thereof.

“Do you all want to go to Fortescue’s for some ice cream?” Remus asked, his eyes darting between the two boys and Lily. Lily nodded emphatically. Sirius was still laughing, but managed something like a nod. James, however, was far from laughter. He felt that he had wronged things up something awful, and a guilty feeling kicked around in his stomach. As he watched Remus escort her to the door he couldn’t help but feel a tiny pang of jealousy. No, it wasn’t tiny. It was pretty big, and growing with each step she took. James was driven out of his gaze by a slap on the back from Sirius, who gestured to the door of the shop, which Remus and Lily had just exited.

Together the two boys walked out into the street. As they neared the ice cream parlor, however, they saw that Remus and Lily had been sidetracked near the entrance to Knockturn Alley. James smiled as he saw Lily scrambling to pick up some packages from the ground, then groaned as he saw who they belonged to. A pretty, if somewhat haughty-looking girl with thick, dark brown hair stood glaring down at Lily with a look of utter disgust on her face. Behind her stood a few boys, some who were approximately twice Lily’s size, and none who looked at all pleasant. James and Sirius hurried over and helped Lily gather the packages. “You’ve got some suspicious books here, don’t you think, Bellatrix?” James sneered as he grabbed a black book titled 101 Unbeatable Jinxes.

“Oh, Potter… What a nice surprise.” She returned his sneer. “And Sirius, what joy,” she said. James saw Sirius roll his eyes as Bellatrix Black surveyed him, a look of complete disgust etched on her face. “Cavorting with Mudbloods now, are we? I doubt that your mother will be very pleased!” She had an awfully chill voice, and James started to retort, but Sirius beat him to it.

“You leave Lily out of this, Bellatrix. She’s got nothing to do with you or your friends, and we’d all like to keep it that way, all right?”

“Fine with us, cousin dearest.” Sirius’s insult had apparently not fazed her in the slightest. “We’ve long learned not to associate with Mudbloods. I just wish you would have the same sense, but I guess there’s one in every family…” Her entire company sniggered, then walked back into Knockturn Alley. Lily was beet red, and murmured her thanks to Sirius.

“It’s no problem, really, Lily. I just hope you didn’t get frostbite when you ran into that frigid… well, into my lovely cousin Bellatrix Black,” he responded with a smile.

James smiled at Sirius’s remark, but felt jealous all over again, and mentally kicked himself for not defending Lily first.

“Yeah, she doesn’t seem very friendly,” Lily said with a short laugh, although she didn’t feel much like laughing on the inside. “And what did she call me?”

“Mudblood,” James answered, jumping at the chance to help Lily. “It’s a really, really awful term for someone like you. I mean,” he stammered as Lily’s face fell, “what I meant to say is it’s a really, really awful term for wizards and witches who are Muggle-born.”

“They say it because it makes it sound like your blood is dirtier than theirs�”which is supposedly pure and all. But there are a lot of magical things in the world, and blood is just blood no matter what,” Remus added quietly, a somewhat forlorn look on his face. “You can’t change what you are, after all.”

“Oh, I see. Thanks for explaining it to me. I guess I shouldn’t let it upset me, though. Insulting my blood doesn’t really insult me, does it?” She managed a weak smile, though it really did upset her quite a bit.

The three boys just nodded in agreement and the somewhat more sullen foursome continued on towards Fortescue’s.

***

Lily pondered the day’s events the entire car ride home. Diagon Alley had been remarkable through and through. Her mother was enthralled by the bookstore, Flourish and Blotts. Her father, on the other hand, had returned to Gringott’s three times to admire their banking system. As a result of these trips, Lily now had a pretty sizeable account in vault number 117. But it was neither the shops nor the bank that Lily thought about now. It was the people. Three people, in particular. Remus had fast become a close friend. There seemed to be a common thread woven between the two, and they had promised to correspond over the next month.

She couldn’t quite tell what had drawn her to him. He wasn’t as crazily outgoing as Sirius and he was much better at expressing himself than James… But she knew these were just trivial matters. No, she thought that maybe the connection was deeper. Though they both got along well with James and Sirius, she couldn’t help but feel that she and Remus were sort of outsiders, and this comforted her. He was shy but not withdrawn. He was friendly without being aggressive.

The other two boys confused her, however. It was clear that all three were good friends or well on the way to becoming good friends, yet Sirius and James had seemed so different from Remus�”so bold; arrogant even. They hardly seemed eleven years old. She was still taken aback by some of their remarks, and also didn’t understand many of them. Lily just supposed that wizards were raised differently, especially as she thought of the slightly sinister group she had run into near Knockturn Alley. They seemed to dislike Muggles very much, which she assumed was normal. After all, lots of groups disliked each other in her world; this distaste was probably bred into them. She was amazed at the difference though, between that girl and Sirius. Could they really be cousins? He was so fun and kind, and she was, well, not. I guess it’s usual to have one oddball in the family, she thought. Didn’t that Bellatrix even say as much? “There’s one in every family”? Sadly, though, she very much suspected the oddball in the Black family might actually be Sirius.

A thousand stars blinked sleepily at her in the darkening night sky. Her parents were having a lively discussion about the Owl Post (her father was very disappointed at the lack of exploding stamps), and Petunia had gone home with a friend from the party, leaving Lily alone with her thoughts. She glanced over at her new magic wand, lying in a beautiful mahogany box. Ollivander’s wand shop had been a highlight of her day, despite the fact that Mr. Ollivander was more than a little creepy. She had foolishly waved around two or three wands without a clue as how to work them. Finally, Mr. Ollivander’s long, spindly fingers had placed a thin, light wand in her hand. Immediately, she felt giddy all over. The chosen wand (made of willow, ten and a quarter inches long) had shot out many green and gold sparkles, and Lily was delighted to hear that it had a hair from the tail of a unicorn hidden in its swishy depths.

The revelation that unicorns did actually exist (dragons, too!) was only one of the many wonders of the day. She and the three boys had sat down for some ice cream at a fabulous parlor (she couldn’t remember the name), and Sirius, Remus, and James told her all about the wizard’s game Quidditch, a look of glowing delight on their faces. The thought of witches flying around on broomsticks made Lily giggle as she thought of the American television show “Bewitched.” She asked the boys if any of them wiggled their noses to cast spells, but they stared back at her as if antlers had recently sprung out of her head. Note to self: she thought. Not familiar with television shows.

In fact, Sirius and James hadn’t seemed familiar with many of the topics she had mentioned. Telephones were relatively unheard of, stamps also, and they had never even seen the London Underground, much less ridden on it. Lily could think only of the huge gap that must exist between their two worlds, and hoped that she could work hard enough to cross it….

The last remnants of sunlight sneaked below the horizon as the Hogwarts Express pulled into the station. As the train’s brakes screeched, Lily awoke. Groggily she stared at the dark and empty compartment, a profound sense of confusion settling in. But she only had a moment or two to wonder where her traveling companions were before Sirius poked his shaggy head through the door. “Oh, you’re up,” he said with a smile.

“Yeah, when did I fall asleep?” Lily asked.

“Um, I think somewhere around the third round.”

Lily blinked in confusion.

“The Third Round of the Quidditch World Cup�”James and I were trying to predict who’d be in it. You don’t remember this? It was between Ireland and Nigeria, and James said that if Pritchard was in top form and Shaughnessy’s foot healed, Ireland would�””

“OK, OK, I remember!” Lily interjected before she was subject to any more prognosticating. “What a shock that I dozed off,” came her sarcastic reply.

Sirius completely missed the sarcasm. “No kidding! We were going to explain some technical maneuvers to you, but you were out cold, so we went to see some of our other friends. You’ll meet them, soon, I’m sure.”

“Oh, all right,” said Lily, feeling very left out and very hungry. Her stomach gave a slight rumble.

“Right!” Sirius exclaimed upon hearing the noise. “I almost forgot�”we saved you one of these. Come on now, let’s get our stuff; James is already off,” he said gaily as he tossed her a small package. She unwrapped it and jumped as a brown frog wriggled out. It smelled faintly of chocolate, but Lily was far too scared to think about this. “Aw bugger, you let it get away!” shouted Sirius as the frog did indeed hop out of the compartment. “Chocolate Frogs,” he explained. “They’re right good to eat when they’re not all rowdy. At least you still get the card, though.”

If the notion of moving candy wasn’t crazy enough for Lily, the notion of moving pictures definitely was. She stared in shock as the small picture of a dashing young wizard winked and blew kisses. “Orestes the Overt” proclaimed the card, and Lily blushed as Orestes moved into a very suggestive position.

“Who’d you get?” asked Sirius as he leaned over to see. “Oh, that randy bloke. He’s a lively one, isn’t he?”

Lily giggled while Orestes started gyrating wildly, then tucked him in her pocket as she stood and followed Sirius out of the compartment, out of the train, and onto the platform.

Through the twilight she could dimly make out a sign proclaiming “Hogsmeade Station” before she was jostled away by the dozens of children congregating on the station platform. The older children marched off to the right clutching cats and hats and toads while the first years grouped themselves awkwardly to the left. A great, booming voice turned them all around, however, as the largest man Lily had ever seen shouted through the crowd. “Firs’ years! Firs’ years! Over here!” Lily gaped at him. It looked like he could fit her entirely in one of his hands.

The giant man smiled at all the dazed faces and introduced himself as Rubeus Hagrid, “But yeh can just call me ‘agrid,” he said with a wink. “Keeper of the Keys and Grounds up at the school.”

As the first years continued to mill around the giant man, Lily looked around for James and Sirius and found them off to one side, whispering excitedly to each other. She moved up next to them. “What are you guys talking about?”

“Oh, we’re just sizing up the first years,” Sirius said, though his words were barely audible over the thunderous Hagrid.

“Sizing them up? Sizing us up, I mean?”

“Yeah,” James responded. “We’re trying to peg who the other two Gryffindor boys will be.”

James and Sirius had explained the House system to Lily on the train, so at least she knew what a Gryffindor was (and secretly wanted to be one, though she wouldn’t let that slip to either of the boys). “But you said the Sorting happens when we get to the school, right?”

Sirius let out an exasperated sigh. “Well, technically, yes. But you can sometimes tell who’s going to be in what house miles before the Sorting. For instance, everyone from “The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black” has got their slimy arses plunked in Slytherin. I, of course, plan to change that.”

James grinned and nodded. “And I’ll be a Gryffindor, because it generally runs in the family, and every Potter since… well, since ever has been a Gryffindor.”

“And we were talking to Remus, and he figures he’ll be a Gryffindor, too. His mum was, and he said if his dad had been a wizard, he probably would have been.”

Lily couldn’t find anything to say, but her hopes of being a Gryffindor were fluttering away quickly. How could she compete with people like James and Remus? People whose families had always been in the House? Or people like Sirius, who were absolutely determined to be in the House? She only had a vague notion that she wanted to be in Gryffindor, and that was mainly because Sirius and James hardly talked about the other three houses except to insult them!

Perhaps James noticed her forlorn expression. “Lily, don’t worry about the Sorting. You’ll probably be a Gryffindor, too. And if not, you’ll definitely be a Ravenclaw, and that’s the next best house.” He sent her a sincere grin. It was probably the nicest thing James had said in the few weeks she had known him, and it did reassure her a bit.

“But if Potter has anything to do with it, you’ll be in Gryffindor!” Sirius said with a wink that caused James to elbow him in the stomach. Sirius doubled over, but Lily wasn’t sure if it was from the hit or from laughter. James just looked uncomfortable and diverted his eyes. Lily tried to pretend she hadn’t heard anything, but she smiled a little nonetheless.

The sun was setting fast, and Hagrid was now calling for the first years to follow him down a steep, sharp path, single file. Lily walked ahead of Sirius and James who were still whispering. Every once in a while Lily would catch a fragment of a name, but she wasn’t really paying attention. She was mainly trying to drink in her surroundings, which even in the darkening night were magnificent. The night was sort of chilly and Lily was wondering how long the walk to the castle was when she heard Hagrid’s voice announce that they would get their first glimpse of the castle in a few seconds. Sure enough, the path widened and all of a sudden the students were standing on the bank of a grand lake. Its glossy black surface sparkled brilliantly in the light of the full moon, the same moon that was now illuminating the awe-inspiring Hogwarts Castle.

Lily could hardly speak. The castle was absolutely breathtaking. It was just as she had imagined. No, it was better than she had imagined. Even Sirius and James seemed to be a bit struck by its elegance, for they stopped their whisperings for a few seconds. The groundskeeper Hagrid seemed lost in the moment as well: it was a full minute before he came to his senses and told the students, albeit a bit teary-eyed, to board the little boats that were tied to the shore.

“Four to a boat, please!” he called. Lily approached one of the boats, having some serious misgivings about whether or not it could carry her and three other people across a lake… But as she was about to step in the boat, the pallid, waxy-haired boy she had seen on the train with Lucius Malfoy jumped in front of her and into the boat. “Sorry,” he said to her, though he didn’t look it. “This boat’s taken.”

“Oh, I see,” Lily said, stepping back and raising her eyebrows in surprise. That was kind of rude, she thought, but was willing to let it go. Unfortunately, her friends were not.

“Slimy git!” Sirius approached the boat. “That was her boat! Get out of it!”

“Sirius, really, it’s OK. We’ll get into another boat.” Lily was backing away from the situation. She did not want to get into trouble on the first day! No, not even the first day�”the first hour that she was at Hogwarts! If only Remus was here!

“No, Lily, it’s not OK. It is, in fact, really rude. So budge up, greaseball!” James had now joined in the fracas.

But neither Lily nor the boy in the boat had an opportunity to respond. Hagrid had gotten wind of the dilemma and called out, “Hey, whas’ goin’ on over there? Four to a boat; hurry up now!”

Lily grabbed James and Sirius by the arms. “Come on, guys. Really, we’ll just get into another boat.”

The boys followed, but reluctantly, and the threesome found themselves safely seated in another vessel. “You didn’t have to call him greasy,” Lily told James in a low whisper as she climbed in the boat.

“Sirius called him slimy!” James cried in indignation, taken aback that Lily was criticizing only him.

“Well, OK, that’s not much better. I mean, thank you for coming to my rescue and all, but it’s not worth getting into an argument over!”

James just grunted in response and joined Sirius in sending nasty glances over to the boy, whose stolen boat was now filled with three additional boys.

The tense silence was soon broken, however, as a pretty blonde girl approached the boat. “Excellent,” murmured Sirius under his breath, and nudged James in the ribs. Lily suddenly got a distinct feeling that she was not going to like this girl.…

“Hi, mind if I join you? All the other boats are full.”

“Sure! No problem. Step aboard.” Sirius said gaily. Lily snorted at his abundance of glee, and smiled when she noticed the blonde girl seemed to think him rather silly as well.

“Thank you so much. My name is Diana, by the way. Diana Denham.” She reached out and shook their hands in turn. Soon Diana and the boys were deep in conversation about the merits of Gryffindor House. Great, thought Lily, more competition.

The boats glided smoothly across the opaline surface of the lake, through a curtain of damp ivy, through a cavernous underground tunnel, and finally came to rest on a murky, rock-strewn shore that must have been somewhere underneath the castle. As they scrambled out of the boats, Lily noticed a girl with frizzy brown hair and glasses next to her, shivering slightly and muttering something about caves. Hagrid shepherded the students up a pathway cut into the stone, his lantern casting odd shadows along the rock surfaces. A flight of slippery stone steps followed the rocky pathway, and then they were at the massive, carved oak front door of the castle.

Hagrid knocked three times on the door, which was immediately thrown open. A tall woman stood on the threshold. She had a slightly pinched face and looked rather severe, but when Hagrid said, “Here are the firs’ years, Professor McGonagall,” she managed a thin-lipped smile.

“Thank you, Hagrid. Follow me, students. And welcome to Hogwarts. As you heard, I am Professor McGonagall. All of you have been receiving correspondence from me all summer long, and I do hope you have followed my instructions explicitly.” She sent them another smile, though it was not quite as reassuring. Lily began to doubt that she had followed all the instructions correctly. Professor McGonagall continued as she ushered the students through the great oaken door. “I am Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts under Professor Albus Dumbledore, your Headmaster. I am also the Transfiguration Master and Head of Gryffindor House.”

Lily saw James and Sirius exchange glances wide-eyed with fright. She smiled. Surely this stern woman would not be as yielding to their mischievous ways as they had hoped. Lily was more concerned about what a “Transfiguration Master” was. It sounded to her more like an action figure than a teacher.

The students got a brief glimpse of the grandiose entrance hall before being led into a small antechamber off to one side. They could hear the low din of hundreds of voices in a room off to their right, but in the dark room filled with first years there was no talking. The students all dutifully listened to Professor McGonagall as she explained the Sorting and the House Championship, then watched as she turned from them and walked out of the chamber.

The silence was punctuated by a few short-lived whispers, but the first years all seemed to be feeling the same nausea-inducing mixture of nervousness and anticipation. Lily felt like she had a hundred Chocolate Frogs hopping around in her stomach. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Professor McGonagall returned, a stool, a hat, and a scroll in her arms. “Follow me, please,” she said curtly, and led the students back through the entrance hall and through a large set of double doors.

If Lily thought the entrance hall was splendid, it was a broom cupboard compared to the room that the students now stood in. The Great Hall was absolutely radiant. Lily wanted to freeze time just so she could adequately take in the sight. She couldn’t decide what she liked more: the huge, crowded tables, the thousands of candles floating in the air, or the resplendent table at the front of the hall and the smiling faces of the teachers that sat there. But then she saw the ceiling. It seemed to be bewitched to mimic the night sky, because Lily saw the same round moon that had just guided their journey across the lake.

She was still staring up at the ceiling when the line started to move. The students marched along the back wall of the room, then up the middle between two of the tables filled with students. Lily’s anxiety kicked into overdrive at the thought of so many hundreds of eyes staring at her, but she kept her head straight and soldiered on. Professor McGonagall lined them up in front of the staff table, and Lily caught a glimpse of a beaming man with the most incredible beard before she turned around to face the other students.

Professor McGonagall next placed the old raggedy hat on a small stool and stepped back. There was a deafening silence in the hall, and Lily wondered if something had gone wrong. But before she could give voice to her concerns, the hat’s brim burst open and, like the hats in Madam Malkin’s shop, began to speak. No, began to sing:

Before she had time to compose her thoughts, though, and actually decide which house sounded best for her, Professor McGonagall had unrolled her parchment, a raven-haired girl had put the hat on, and “Aldeberan, Selene,” became the first Slytherin. Lily watched her prance over to the Slytherin table where she spotted the all-too familiar faces of Bellatrix Black and the rest of the gang. Sirius and James were hissing so loudly they sounded like steaming teakettles.

A corpulent blond boy, “Aubrey, Bertram,” became the first Hufflepuff. Then came “Avery, Deimon,” another shrewd-looking Slytherin. A girl and a boy were then sorted into Ravenclaw, and Professor McGonagall called “Black, Narcissa” to the stool. Over her shoulder Lily could see Sirius gagging himself. Lily giggled, despite the fact that many eyes were still trained upon her. Narcissa�”of course�”became a Slytherin. Then it was time for Sirius.

The hat seemed to take a longer time for him than it had for the other students. At one point, Lily was sure she saw Sirius’s body shaking, as if he was having a good laugh with the hat. Sure enough, after a moment or two more the hat yelled “GRYFFINDOR!” and Sirius emerged, positively beaming. The Gryffindor table looked confused for a moment, but upon registering the looks of abhorrence plastered all over the Slytherins, the whole table broke into applause. As Sirius strode over to join the Gryffindors, he shot one backwards glance at the Slytherins, as if to signify that that part of his life was now over.

A few more students were called up to the stool, and for a while it seemed that Sirius would be the only Gryffindor. But then “Denham, Diana,” the pretty blonde girl from the boat, put on the hat and within moments was pronounced a Gryffindor. Lily couldn’t help but feel her spirits sink just a fraction of an inch, especially when she saw the look James shot Sirius, and how the latter scooted over on the bench to make room for Diana.

She was still looking at the Gryffindor table as “Elphick, Erwin” became a Hufflepuff. And then Professor McGonagall called her name. She heard the “Evans, Lily” as if she was miles underwater and McGonagall was calling to her from on shore. The world seemed to shift in and out of focus, and Lily had the most bizarre feeling that time was slowing down as she walked to the hat. Her insecurities sprang up again, and this time she was sure the hat would tell her what no one else had: that she didn’t belong at Hogwarts, and she should get back on the train and go home.

But the hat, in fact, had other plans for Lily: “Ahh yes, Miss Evans,” a soft voice said in her ear as soon as she was enclosed in the darkness of the hat. “We have a few choices for you, don’t we? You would do all right in Ravenclaw, I suppose, but that’s not what you want, is it now?” Lily didn’t know if she should say something or not, but she thought ‘no,’ and apparently that was enough. “Yes, I thought not,” the hat continued. “It seems that you are somewhat determined to get into old Gryffindor’s house! Great students have come out of that house. Very great indeed. And I think you could be one of them. You’ve got quite a bit of anxiety, that’s true�”perhaps the friendly Hufflepuffs could help you out with that.” ‘No,’ thought Lily again. “Ah ha, I thought you would think that. Just a test, just a test. Yes, I suspected this from the first instant I plopped down on your head. You’ve got all the qualities of a GRYFFINDOR!”

Lily managed a weak smile as she whipped the hat off her head. She looked over to the table and saw Sirius giving her a thumbs-up. No, she saw Sirius giving James a thumbs-up, but as soon as he saw Lily, he hastily put his thumb down, smiled, and beckoned her over to the Gryffindors. All down the length of the table she was greeted and patted and shaken, so by the time she reached Sirius at the end of the table she was grinning quite broadly. He gave her another reassuring smile and Diana Denham congratulated her. Lily inhaled a deep breath and turned her attention back to the Sorting. It wasn’t a mistake! she finally let herself think. And this time, she believed it.

The girl right after Lily, “Goldsmith, Artemia,” had also become a Gryffindor, but Lily didn’t notice until Artemia appeared at her side. Startled, she moved over and Artemia sat down. She was a short black girl with braided hair and a wide smile. “Which of the boys do you want in Gryffindor?” she whispered in Lily’s ear. Lily giggled and answered truthfully that she hadn’t really surveyed them. Artemia grinned and pointed to James. “I’m hoping for him. Although that blond boy isn’t too bad, either!” She had indicated a tall blond boy standing next to the “greasy” boy that had stolen her boat. Lily just gave Artemia a noncommittal grunt and turned her eyes back to the stool, where “Killeffer, Janus” was taking off the hat and walking toward the Gryffindor table. It looked like Sirius and James did not know this boy, as they both just shrugged at each other.

Lily was one of the few in the Great Hall who noticed the gap between “Lovegood, Basil” (“RAVENCLAW!”) and “Lycans, Fiona” (“RAVENCLAW!”). But she looked sideways at Sirius and over to James, both of whom gave her knowing stares. “Lupin, Remus,” should have filled that gap, but none of them knew where he was.

Her thoughts strayed to Remus for a while, and she zoned out of the Sorting. Where on earth was he? It seemed so strange that something would be so important that he would miss his own Sorting! Lily wondered if another boy would take his “place” as a Gryffindor�”at least, take the place that Sirius and James had arbitrarily awarded him. Her fears increased as “Pettigrew, Peter,” the small, mousy boy that had been with the Slytherin gang on the train became a Gryffindor. James and Sirius exchanged a brief look of confusion, but then James was called up to the hat.

While the hat was deliberating with James (which didn’t take very long at all), Lily welcomed Peter. He looked out of place here, too, and nervously took his seat next to Artemia. He was fidgeting with his hands in his lap and every once in a while stealing a glance at the Slytherin table. But nobody over there was paying him any attention, either.

Artemia let out a small cheer when the hat shouted “GRYFFINDOR!” for James. He seemed to be pretty familiar with a few of the older students at the table�”probably friends of the family, Lily surmised. But he reserved his biggest smiles for her and Sirius, and took the spot between them. “Excellent!” Sirius exclaimed. “I don’t think any of the rest of those boys could be a Gryffindor, which means the last place will go to Remus!” Sirius had a point. Lily looked back at the line-up in time to see “Shingleton, Gaspard,” become a Ravenclaw, and only two boys remained to be Sorted. One was a great, burly boy with a distinctively evil air about him (astonishing, as he was only eleven years old and many yards away!), and the other was the boy who had stolen her boat. The boat-boy moved up to the stool next as Professor McGonagall called his name: “Snape, Severus.”

“Did she say Snivellus?” James asked with a grin. Artemia let out a laugh that was perhaps a bit too hearty, but James apparently didn’t notice. Sirius called out, “I knew it!” as Snape was made a Slytherin. Two girls became Ravenclaws, followed by a girl for Hufflepuff, and then the burly boy (“Wilkes, Orcus”) moved over to join Severus Snape at the Slytherin table.

With that, the Sorting was over. Professor McGonagall put away her scroll and carried off the stool and Sorting Hat. There was another silence in the Hall before the Headmaster stood. “Hello, dear friends, old and new. I am your Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, and all I can say is welcome to a new year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!”

The “hurrahs” were deafening. All around the Hall, students stood up and clapped. Many began to bang their golden goblets on the tables. A few hopped up on the benches and stamped their feet. Dumbledore smiled broadly as he surveyed the scene. He wore a purple hat and half-moon spectacles, and his eyes were joyful behind them. He raised his hands to quiet the Hall, and the commotion eventually died down.

“Well,” Dumbledore continued, his eyes still twinkling. “Before our excellent feast, I would like to say a few words to you all. As you all know, a school is only as good as its staff and its students, and I know we have the finest of both assembled right here before me, as evidenced by that amazing display of affection for our fair institution. Now for the start-of-term announcements. Due to an unprecedented number of thestral births, the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds even for classes until our gamekeeper Hagrid can sort out the situation.” Dumbledore glanced down at Hagrid who gave him a little salute. The Headmaster smiled and turned back to the students: “And after that, I’m afraid the Forest is still very much Forbidden. But you should see the thestrals!” When this remark was met with silence, Dumbledore merely cleared his throat and continued. “Also, our caretaker Mr. Pringle has recently told me that if he finds another Dungbomb anywhere in the school, he will have no choice but to resign. Take that as you will,” Dumbledore concluded mysteriously, though the corners of his mouth were twitching as if he was trying to conceal a smile. Lily noticed that many of the other teachers were disregarding Dumbledore’s discretion and smirking broadly.

“Finally, dear students, I have a few teaching announcements. Professor Alexander Datum has been hired to fill the Arithmancy post vacated by dear Professor Parks. And the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts Master will be filled by Professor Vindictus Viridian. Please give all the teachers a round of applause, if you will.”

The students respectfully obeyed. Lily saw Sirius lean over to James and heard him say, “Viridian for Dark Arts! Excellent! He’s written some amazing books about jinxes!”

“And now, dear friends,” Dumbledore spoke again with a chuckle. “It is time to eat. To celebrate the superb talents of the Hogwarts kitchen, I have had the staff prepare a bevy of extra desserts for you. A little welcome gift from me to you. I hope that this year, while your teeth may rot, your brains will not! Tuck in!”

Another thunderous round of applause�”or maybe just the sound of hundreds of stomachs rumbling. Lily gaped for about the six-hundredth time that evening as food appeared miraculously on the serving platters and plates in front of her. In the time it took her to marvel at all the food Sirius and James had snatched up most of it, but she managed to salvage a couple of chicken drumsticks, some mashed potatoes and gravy, a piece of lasagna, a goblet of pumpkin juice, and�”of course�”some of the dozens of desserts. If she got to eat like this every day all year long, perhaps she really did belong at Hogwarts!

All too soon the Feast was over, and though Lily felt as if she would need a crane to hoist her upstairs, she got up and followed the Gryffindor prefects through what seemed like miles and miles of staircases and corridors. Finally they arrived in front of a painting of a very fat lady in a pink dress. One of the Gryffindor prefects greeted the fat lady and said to her, “Mundi sapientum!” At the sound of this password the entire portrait swung forward, revealing a hole through which all the Gryffindors crawled.

There was no time to admire the plush common room, though it was very tempting with its warm, crackling fire and careworn sofas and armchairs... The prefects ushered the students to their respective dormitories and soon the common room was empty, its fire dwindling. Lily had barely enough energy to shake hands with the remaining Gryffindor girls�”Marlene McKinnon and Gwendolyn Hightower�”before she collapsed in her bed. She had only been at Hogwarts for a few hours, and yet she knew they were some of the best hours of her life. With this happiness still radiating in her head, Lily fell soundly asleep.

Remus awoke for his first full day of Hogwarts fully clothed in his bed. He was only vaguely aware of how he had ended up there�”his transformation, as always, was largely a blur. Colors, shapes, movements... and pain. But Professor Dumbledore’s plan of the Whomping Willow tree and the abandoned shack seemed to have gone off without a hitch. Next time I’ll just have to try and remember to change into my pajamas before I get into bed, he thought.

As he pushed his hands on the bed to sit up, however, he noticed a new scar along his right forearm, peeking through the ripped sleeve of his shirt. Great, he thought with a grimace. That would be just one more thing to hide from his friends and fellow Gryffindors.

Gryffindor. He had arrived to Hogwarts hours before the Hogwarts Express, hours before the rest of the students�”the normal students. Best to get him hidden well in advance.... But Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall had taken him aside yesterday to formally Sort him, and the ratty old hat had granted his wishes and placed him in Godric’s House. The Headmaster had been especially pleased, giving an impromptu speech about the merits of the House and how Remus had indeed already shown enormous amounts of courage in his life thus far. And Remus had smiled and nodded, for who in his right mind would challenge the wizard that was making the rest of his life possible?

But in the minutes he had sat in the decrepit shack before he transformed he had taken a great deal of time to contemplate his situation. He was alone, completely alone, in a ragged old house, with nothing to keep him company but a broken-down piano and the thought of a school just a few hundred feet away and yet totally out of reach. He definitely didn’t feel courageous. Wouldn’t courage be the ability to tell his friends, tell his enemies, tell the world that he was a werewolf? Not hide behind walls and doors and tunnels? And lies? Wouldn’t courage be the ability to shout from the rooftops that he was different but not necessarily dangerous? Wouldn’t courage be the ability to overcome this affliction?

No. It could not be overcome. There was no cure. And his parents (and Professor Dumbledore) were right: now was not the time to go public with his disease, if you could call it that. Later, they said; all will be revealed in due time. But did they have to look so grim when they said it?

“Remus!” came a voice from the bed next to him, shattering his reverie.

Remus felt his frown fade away at the sight of his friends. “James, Sirius,” he said. “All right, then?”

“Yeah, we’re fine. Bloody brilliant! Good to see you, mate,” said Sirius with a wide-eyed grin. “But where were you last night? When did you get in?”

It was time to start the charade.

“Oh,” said Remus, directing his eyes toward the tops of his four-post bed. The first lie. “I just wasn’t feeling well, and I didn’t want to get the rest of you sick.”

Sirius didn’t say anything in response, just looked quizzically at him. James opened his mouth to speak, but shut it again. After a brief moment he said, “Well, it’s good to see you better.” And Sirius nodded in agreement, although Remus was sure a look had passed between the two of them.

He swallowed. “Well, I should probably go find Lily and apologize for being gone. Is she in the girl’s dormitory, do you know?”

Sirius let out a short laugh. “Yeah, she’s probably in there, but whatever you do, don’t try to climb the girls’ staircase.” He pointed to a large bruise on the underside of his arm. “I made that mistake last night�”you should have seen McGonagall’s face. She almost took a point away from Gryffindor for all the noise I caused, but I managed to talk her out of it.” He looked quite pleased with himself.

“What happens when you try to climb the stairs?”

“Oh, nothing much, except the whole thing turns into a bloody stone slide and there are bells and whistles and you fall and whack yourself on the floor!” Sirius pretended to look upset, but Remus could tell that he was quite proud of his endeavor, and probably plotting ways to get around the security measures. “And you want to know the worst part? The girls can come into our dormitory no problem. The one�”Gwendolyn, I think�”made quite a show of rubbing it in my face.” He grinned even wider.

James started to laugh. Remus just shook his head. “I guess they think you’re just not trustworthy, Sirius. Although I can’t imagine what would make people think that!”

Their laughter was suddenly joined by a squeaky giggle from the other side of the room. Remus whipped his head around�”he had completely forgotten there were two other boys in the room.

“Oh, that’s right,” said James, registering the look of surprise on Remus’s face. “You haven’t met the other two Gryffindors. This is Peter Pettigrew,” he said, gesturing to the squeaky-laughed boy, who waved. “And that over there is Janus Killeffer�”in a coma, the way he’s sleeping.” Remus waved to the snoring form, which did not, in fact, return the wave. “Peter, this is Remus Lupin,” James finished the introductions.

“It’s nice to meet you, Remus!” the round-faced boy said.

“You too, Peter. Sorry I wasn’t here to meet you last night.”

“Oh, that’s not a problem at all,” Peter said, almost toppling over as he climbed out of bed. “Um, Sirius, James, do you all want to go down to breakfast? I think I’m going to go now.”

“Why don’t you go ahead, Peter? I want to relax for a few more minutes. We’ll meet you down there, though, yeah?” Sirius said with a yawn.

“Sure, no problem. Remus, do you want to come now?”

Remus glanced over at James and Sirius, both of whom merely shrugged. “Yeah, sure, Peter. I’ll bet Lily is already up, too, so we can meet her down there.”

***

Lily had, in fact, already awoken. All five Gryffindor girls had been unquestionably too tired the night before and had decided to fully introduce themselves in the morning. Miraculously�”as tends to happen at slumber parties�”all five girls woke up within two minutes of each other the next morning. With nervous laughs and sleepy-eyed smiles they looked around the room.

“Well, if no one wants to start, I will,” said the girl with the curly, dark blonde hair in the bed to Lily’s right. “My name’s Gwendolyn Hightower. Some people call me Gwen, but then again some people have a death wish,” she said with a laugh. “I’m from Kent, I have two brothers named Arthur and Chadwick. And yes, my parents are crazy for giving us strange names, but that’s that!” She threw her hands up in the air with a laugh of mock exasperation.

“Do your brothers go here?” Lily asked.

“Yeah. Well, one of them. Chadwick is a third year in Gryffindor and Arthur is three years younger than me, so�”fingers crossed�”he’ll be here soon!”

The girl to the right of Gwendolyn spoke next. She was a somewhat short and stocky black girl with her hair in a million tiny braids, and Lily remembered her from the Sorting Ceremony the night before. “All right, then, I guess it’s me next! I’m Artemia Goldsmith, umm... what else... I’m eleven, obviously, but I’ve got my birthday in a few weeks�”the 30th. I’ve got a little sister named Antaria, and I think my parents beat yours, Gwendolyn, for the weirdest names!”

Gwendolyn smiled. “Is Antaria going to come to Hogwarts, too?”

Artemia shrugged. “We’ll see, I guess. That’s about it for me, though.”

Lily noticed that Artemia’s answer seemed a little tense, but she wasn’t sure if anyone else picked up on it...

“Well, if we’re going around the circle, then I guess I’m next!” said the girl next to Artemia. She wore glasses and had frizzy, kinky brown hair and a lopsided smile. “My name is Marlene McKinnon, and I guess some people call me Marly, but I like that just about as much as Gwendolyn likes Gwen, so there you go!” She let out a nervous laugh, and Lily smiled as she recalled this was the girl from the boats who didn’t like caves. “I have a brother who’s also a third year in Gryffindor, and�””

“Michael McKinnon? Is that your brother?” Gwendolyn asked with a sly grin.

“Yeah, do you know him?”

“I do! He and Chadwick are good friends�”my parents had him ‘round to dinner a few times over the summer, and�”” She stopped, clearly on the verge of saying something else, bit her lip, and smiled. Then she cupped her hand to her mouth and said in a loud whisper, “And he’s really cute!”

The non-McKinnon girls erupted into a fit of giggles. Marlene just nodded as if she’d heard it a million times before. “So I hear. He’s really great, though. He’s like my best friend.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet. I wish I could say that about my sister�”she’s dreadful,” Lily said with a sad smile.

“Am I next?” said the petite blonde girl to Lily’s left, looking up from fiddling with her fingernails and apparently deciding not to weigh in on Lily’s dreadful sister. Lily wasn’t surprised to see that the voice belonged to Diana Denham, the one that had ridden in the boat with her and James and Sirius�”the one Lily was getting distinctly bad vibes from. “I guess I am,” Diana continued with a laugh. “Well, my name is Diana Jacquelyn Denham, but you can call me Di�”a lot of people do. I don’t have any siblings, but I am kind of a Metamorphmagus, which is good.”

“What is that?” Lily asked, her curiosity overtaking her jealousy.

“Well, a full-blown one can change her appearance at will, like make her hair go crazy and pink and change her face and stuff if she wants. I haven’t really developed the trait fully, but I think if I work on it I could be really good.”

“What can you do with it now?” asked Gwendolyn, one eyebrow raised skeptically.

“Mainly change my hair color a bit. I’ve been able to turn it sort of dark brown and make it go all curly, but it kind of gives me a headache, so I don’t do it that much.” She let out another tinny laugh. “Anyway, you’ll probably meet my owl sometime today. Her name’s Jacquelyn. And I guess that’s all!”

The other girls smiled their welcomes at her and then turned their eyes to Lily. She stammered a little before starting. “Well, I, uh... I’m Lily Evans. Lily Violet Evans�”my family has this thing about naming girls after flowers. Violet is my mum and my sister�””

“�”The dreadful one?” Gwendolyn interrupted with a grin.

“Yeah, her,” Lily grinned back. “Her name’s Petunia. She really is a cow, but you can’t change your blood! Oh, speaking of that, my parents are both Muggles and Petunia too, and I really don’t know anything about being a witch, so if I’m kind of slow, forgive me!”

“Don’t worry�”I’m half-and-half. My mum’s a Muggle,” said Artemia. “So I’ll probably be behind, too.”

“My dad’s not a wizard, either,” said Diana.

“Are you two pureblood?” Lily asked Gwendolyn and Marlene, who both nodded. “That’s cool. But you’re not like pureblood wizard freaks, right?” she added with a nervous laugh.

Marlene shook her head vehemently as if the very suggestion troubled her deeply. Gwendolyn, on the other hand, paused. “Well, I really hate Muggle-borns and I think they’re filth that shouldn’t be allowed in the school.”

A resounding silence followed. Even Diana stopped fiddling with her nails. Right when Lily was about to open her mouth to say something, Gwendolyn let out a huge bark of a laugh. “I’m kidding! I’m only kidding! I couldn’t care less what’s in your blood. No offense, of course.”

Lily let out a huge sigh of relief and she ran her hand through her hair. “Wow, you really had me scared for a minute. Sirius and James�”they’re two Gryffindor boys in our year�”were telling me about some really crazy pureblood maniacs, and well, I thought you might be one! I was so scared!” Her eyes widened.

“Oh God, no. I’m definitely not one!” Gwendolyn put her hand on her chest as if to swear under oath that she was not a pureblood wizard maniac. Then she cocked her head to one side and said, “Wait�”Sirius. That’s the boy that tried to come up to our dormitories last night, yeah?”

“Oh, that’s definitely Sirius,” Lily said.

“Wicked! I love how we can go up there but they can’t come up here. Bloody brilliant, the architects of this castle,” Gwendolyn responded, shaking her head in wonder.

“Wait, tell us more about Sirius and James! They were the boys in our boat, right? How do you already know those two?” Diana interjected, Lily’s connections suddenly much more fascinating than her nail polish.

“Three, actually,” Lily said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “There’s a boy called Remus Lupin who wasn’t at the Sorting last night, and I met them all in Diagon Alley a few weeks ago.”

“Why wasn’t he at the Sorting?” Marlene inquired, a look of horror on her face. “Can you do that? Can you miss the Sorting?” She looked around, perhaps hoping Professor Dumbledore would pop in and assuage her fears.

“I guess so,” Lily shrugged. “Come to think of it, I should probably go find him. Do any of you want to go to breakfast now?” Marlene, Artemia, and Gwendolyn nodded. “Diana?” Lily asked.

“Oh, you four should go on without me�”I take a while to get ready.”

“Are you sure? We can wait,” said Gwendolyn at the precise moment that her stomach gave a huge rumble.

Diana smiled. “No, really, go ahead. I’m sure I’ll see you down there in a bit.”

“OK, then!” Lily said, and the four girls hurried to get dressed and began to make their way through the labyrinthine passages of the castle and down to the Great Hall.

***

Lily and Remus found each other at breakfast in the Great Hall. Remus apologized again and again that he hadn’t been on the Hogwarts Express, but Lily assured him that the trip wasn’t bad at all. Marlene still was in fits about Remus missing the Sorting. “What happened? Was Professor Dumbledore upset? Did you get placed into a House?”

Remus smiled. “Hi, I’m Remus Lupin, by the way,” he said as he extended his hand. Marlene blushed and shook it, but soon fixed her curious stare upon him once more�”though the flush did not readily leave her cheeks. “And I just felt really sick a few days ago, so my parents sent an owl to Dumbledore and he took care of everything. Thankfully nothing bad happened, and best of all, I still get to be a Gryffindor!”

Marlene seemed to recover from her shock and accept that it was, indeed, permissible to miss one’s own Sorting. Lily smiled, but a little voice was knocking about in her head. Something doesn’t sound right, she thought. He felt really sick? But his note said...

She wasn’t able to answer her own inquiries, for the party of Gryffindors was at that moment joined by the rest of their fellow first years: James and Sirius, followed by Diana and another boy who looked like he hadn’t completely woken up yet.

“Hello, chums!” said Sirius brightly as he hopped onto the bench. “I believe it’s introduction time. My name is Sirius Bla�””

“Oh, we know who you are,” interrupted Gwendolyn. “Professor McGonagall kept muttering your name after you tried to come up to our dormitories last night. She said it was the fastest time ever for a first-year to find out about�”and break¬�”that rule!”

“Well done, Sirius!” said James. “Your first school record.”

“First of many, I’d guess, though probably none I’ll be able to write home about,” Sirius said in response, smiling as he filled his goblet with orange juice. “All right then, Gwendolyn�”yes, I know who you are, too�”how about you finish the introductions for me? I’ve already met Diana, and Lily, of course.”

“OK. This is Artemia... Goldsmith?” Gwendolyn said, gesturing to Artemia. “Yeah, Goldsmith. And this young lady right next to me is Marlene McKinnon.”

“McKinnon?” said James, nearly choking on a bit of his scone. “Is your brother Michael McKinnon? The Gryffindor Seeker?”

Marlene nodded, and James continued. “He’s brilliant! I was at the match against Hufflepuff last year with my Dad. He caught the Snitch in ten minutes. Ten minutes!”

“Well,” said a voice over James’s shoulder. “It helps that the Hufflepuff team is absolutely dreadful. Besides Bagman of course, but he didn’t have much to Beat at in that match, did he now?”

Marlene beamed up at her brother Michael who was now introducing himself to James and Sirius. Lily felt Gwendolyn poke her and heard her whisper: “What did I tell you?”

Gwendolyn had been one hundred percent correct in her assessment of Michael. He was tall and trim and, in a word: “Dreamy!” Lily giggled back to Gwendolyn.

Michael had finished receiving James’s praise and was about to leave when he caught sight of Gwendolyn. “Oh, hey Gwen!” he said, giving her a little wave before walking away.

“I thought you didn’t let anyone call you Gwen!” said Lily, nudging her.

Gwendolyn just smiled into her porridge. “So anyway, to finish the introductions: Artemia Goldsmith, Marlene McKinnon, Lily Evans, Diana Denham, and I’m Gwendolyn Hightower.”

“All right! Your brother plays Quidditch, too! Chadwick, right?” James asked, turning his head around, no doubt hoping to see Chadwick Hightower standing behind him as his friend had.

“Yeah, Chad. He’s Chaser. Pretty good, I guess,” Gwendolyn said with a shrug and a smile. “Don’t get your knickers in a twist, though, he’s all the way down at the end of the table.”

Sirius laughed and clapped James on the back. “My friend, one day young Gryffindor first years will be twisting their knickers for us.”

“So what are your names?” Marlene asked, trying to steer the conversation from what she feared was more dangerous knicker-twisting territory. But James wasn’t quite finished with the Quidditch talk.

“Why not this year?” James asked, looking at Gwendolyn. “Now that we’re friends and all, do you think Chadwick or Michael could set us up for a trial?”

Gwendolyn laughed. “Well, I can ask, I guess, but I think the team’s pretty set. At least, that’s what Chad was saying this summer.”

“Oh, well, in that case...” James said morosely as he picked up his spoon and pointed at each Gryffindor boy: “Janus Killeffer, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, James Potter.”

“Well, James Potter, you seem to have flung a bit of porridge onto your friends, there,” said Gwendolyn, pointing at spots of brown goo on Peter’s and Sirius’s robes.

James blushed. Remus laughed. Peter giggled. And Sirius decided to eat his bit of porridge.

“Delicious,” he said, bringing the robe up to his mouth and licking off the offending spot. “Thanks, mate. I was looking for something to finish off the breakfast.”

Lily scrunched up her face and stuck her tongue out. “I can’t believe you ate that off your robe!”

“Where do you think my robe has been, the rubbish bin?” said Sirius. He picked up his spoon. “Really, Lily, you should try it. It’s quite good.” He aimed his spoon at Lily, who threw her hands over her face. As he flicked the spoon, however, he directed it toward Gwendolyn, and the glop landed splat on her sleeve.

“That,” he said with a wicked grin, “is for rubbing it in my face that I can’t come up to your dormitories. Yet.”

Gwendolyn raised her eyebrows in appreciation, licked the porridge off her robes, and nodded in approval. “Excellent,” she said as she loaded up her spoon, preparing to fire a retaliatory shot.

Marlene looked around frantically. “Guys, can you please not start a food fight on our first day of classes! Professor McGonagall is watching!”

The combatants both hesitated for a while before reluctantly lowering their spoons. Something about the Professor’s look made them feel that perhaps today was not the best day for a porridge melee.

“So which tables are for which houses, do you think?” Lily asked, trying to break the short silence that ensued.

“Well, that lot over there is no doubt Slytherin,” Sirius said, his prior joy rapidly escaping. “You can just feel the evil coming from them, can’t you?” When no one seemed to share his view, he continued. “Plus my cousins are over there, and everyone’s favorite boat-stealer. What was his name? Snivellus?”

“Severus,” said Janus, speaking for the first time and shocking the whole table. “Severus Snape. And they’re not all bad, you know.”

There was a long silence as everyone stole glances at Sirius and Janus. Marlene looked like she might faint from the tension.

“You’re friends with them?” asked Sirius, clearly straining to remain calm.

“Some of them, yes. Some of our families are in this Society together.”

“Oh, we know about the Soci�”” Lily started to say, but stopped short as James and Sirius both shot her looks.

“Right. Well, I think they’re a bunch of slimy toads,” Sirius said, sending one death glare to the Slytherins and another�”though slightly less malevolent�”to Janus.

“They’re not all bad! Really, that’s all I’m saying,” Janus said, shifting uncomfortably under Sirius’s stare. “Some of them are nightmares, yes. I mean, I don’t like Severus Snape at all, but a few of the second-year boys are pretty nice. That’s it.”

Sirius apparently deemed this acceptable, for he relaxed his stare and his face broke into a grin. “That’s fine, then. As long as you don’t like Snivellus, bec�””

“Because he stole Lily’s boat!” James finished triumphantly.

Janus smiled and Lily gave a little snort. “Thank you, James, for continuing to defend me against that horrible event.”

“No problem at all, Lily,” he said, completely missing her sarcasm.

“So do we actually go to classes at this place?” asked Remus, successfully diverting the conversation to a less awkward plane.

“Yes,” said Artemia as she pointed down the table. “It looks like Professor McGonagall is handing out schedules now.”

Professor McGonagall soon reached their section of the table and gave them each a piece of parchment.

“Boys, tuck your shirts in, please. And fix your ties. We Gryffindors must look sharp, especially on the first day of classes!”

“Yes ma’am!” said Peter as he rushed to straighten his knot. McGonagall gave him an appreciative nod and moved down the table.

“Ugh,” said Gwendolyn as she glanced at her schedule, ignoring Sirius as he mimicked Peter. “Potions first, right after breakfast. That won’t be pleasant. Let’s hope the professor doesn’t make us use any fish eyes or newt’s hearts in this morning’s potion�”I don’t think my stomach can take it!”

“Fish eyes? Seriously?” Lily asked, disgusted�”and slightly intrigued.

“Yeah, well if the potions we make here are like the potions my mum brews at home, anything can be added. And I do mean anything.”

Lily groaned. Although it would be kind of cool in a strange, disgusting, squishy way to mash up a few fish eyes, she agreed with Gwendolyn, and wondered if she should have gone easy on the porridge at breakfast.

She was about to reach for another piece of toast when Marlene gave a shout and alerted them all to the fact that the Great Hall was starting to empty. Students were gradually rising from their seats, slinging their bags over their shoulders, and moving in the direction of the classrooms. She grabbed the toast anyway and stood up to follow her fellow Gryffindors off in the direction of the Potions dungeon for her first Hogwarts lesson....

They were having class in a dungeon... a dungeon! Lily had never been in a dungeon in her life. Of course, she had never really been in a castle either, besides a few touristy visits. Goosebumps erupted all over her arms as she walked through the stone archway that served as the door to the Potions classroom. The students’ cauldrons had been deposited earlier�”by whom, Lily did not know�”and now stood simmering next to rows of tables. Lily shivered again as she realized she was about to do her first real magic! Well, Potions didn’t require the use of her wand, but still....

As the ten Gryffindors took their seats (all ten Ravenclaw first years were already seated), Lily took notice of the large man at the head of the room. Professor Slughorn, as he introduced himself, was a rotund man who distinctly reminded Lily of a walrus. But he was nice enough, she thought. He spent a good ten minutes name-dropping, though, as if his students really cared that by his help Chester Clevenger had quickly ascended the ranks of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes.

But then began the discussion of actual Potions-related material, which was absolutely fascinating to Lily. She had occasionally tried to help her mother with the family’s cooking (Violet Evans needed all the help she could get!), and was delighted to hear Professor Slughorn compare his classroom to a kitchen. “And if one of you could whip up a potion for some candied pineapples, well that would be mighty fine indeed,” he said with a hearty wink.

He then proceeded to introduce some basic potion ingredients from their supplies, asking various questions about them. Lily was beyond ecstatic when her answer on the correct use of Bishop’s Weed in Love Potions scored her five points for Gryffindor. Gwendolyn, who was sitting next to Lily, raised her eyebrows and looked at her, clearly impressed. Lily smiled and then whispered guiltily that her answer had been based on luck alone�”the only potions she had happened to read about during the summer were Love Potions. This made Gwendolyn grin even wider.

But Lily’s five points for Gryffindor were soon overshadowed by the tremendous effort of one Gaspard Shingleton, a Ravenclaw boy who had apparently memorized his copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. If the buttons on Professor Slughorn’s waistcoat were about to burst already, Lily thought they would only last a few more seconds the way he kept puffing up his chest with pride at Gaspard’s answers. After answering a few questions about animal ingredients in potions, Gaspard launched into a lecture on precisely how to use Mooncalf dung to its fullest extent in common fertilizer potions. Sirius, at a great contrast to the beaming Professor Slughorn however, merely groaned and whispered to James that he’d like to find a sample of Mooncalf Dung to demonstrate precisely how to use it to its fullest extent by chucking a bit at the back of Gaspard Shingleton’s fat head.

Lily tried not to laugh as she copied down notes from Gaspard’s monologue�”after all, how would she feel if it was Sirius and James making fun of her? But as the blond boy launched into a flowery description of the exact silvery hue of the dung, Lily began to agree with them. As he rattled on about the Mooncalf’s full moon dances, Lily glanced to Remus, sitting to her left, expecting him to be laughing along with his friends, but he had a rather pained expression on his face. Checking to make sure Professor Slughorn was still absorbed by Gaspard, she whispered to him: “Are you all right, Remus?”

It took him a moment to respond, and when he did he absentmindedly rubbed his right arm, and his eyes were strangely glazed over. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired, I guess. Still sick, maybe.”

Lily nodded and was about to say more as Professor Slughorn spoke. “Well, Mr... Shingleton was it? That was quite a recitation! Yes, quite good indeed. Keep that up, son, and perhaps it’ll be you at the head of this class one day! Oho, yes indeed.” He pulled out a gold pocket watch and gave a shout. “Well class, it seems that our first class has already ended. Pity we didn’t get to brew anything today, but not to worry, not to worry. We’ll be making some excellent potions soon enough.” The class started to rise from their chairs when Slughorn opened his mouth again. “And for homework,” he said to the general mumble and disgust of the class, “Please read the introduction to your textbooks and write a short essay�”six inches or so�”on your favorite weed and its uses in potion making. And congratulations to Mr. Shingleton and Miss Evans for their correct answers today!”

Lily blushed as she gathered her books up and filed out of the classroom. Her blush deepened as Gaspard sidled up next to her and stuck his hand out. “Gaspard Shingleton. Pleased to meet you.”

“Lily Evans. You too,” she said, shifting her books to grasp his hand.

“I see that you have a talent for Potions,” he said, continuing to walk beside her.

Lily laughed, but stopped abruptly when she saw that Gaspard was serious. “Oh,” she said, “I don’t think I do... I mean, I only answered one question! And that was just lucky.”

“I see,” he said. “Well anyway, you answered more questions right than almost anyone else, so that’s something!” He smiled and ran ahead to catch up with the group of Ravenclaws walking ahead of them.

“Lily,” said Sirius, now walking beside her and thrusting out his hand. “Shaspard Gingleton. I see that you have a talent for Potions,” he said, puffing out his chest and doing his best Shingleton impression. Before Lily could shush him, Sirius continued. “You may have noticed that I have a talent for collecting Mooncalf dung. It’s just a gift, I suppose. Anyway...”

She interrupted him. “Sirius! He can hear you!” But she was laughing right along with the rest of the Gryffindors.

“What an idiot!” James said, joining Sirius. “‘I see that you have a talent for Potions?’ How can he see that?”

Apparently James was the only one who didn’t realize how this comment sounded, as he balked at the stares on all the Gryffindors’ faces. Eventually he realized his gaffe, however, and corrected himself. “Oh, come on. You know I didn’t mean it like that. I meant how could he realize you have a talent for Potions�”which I’m sure you do, of course�”by you answering just one question!”

“It’s OK, James, I know what you meant. And I agree. I just got lucky with that question, anyway. I didn’t know the first thing about Mooncalf dung, or whatever he was rattling on about.”

“Well, you certainly know about it now!” said Remus, sending Marlene into a fit of giggles.

“I just hope we don’t have to use any of Gaspard’s favorite stuff anytime soon,” Gwendolyn chimed in.

There was a chorus of agreement, and then Sirius and James started talking about their next class, Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Viridian.

“He’s wicked brilliant. His curses are amazing!” said Sirius, a look of pure joy on his face.

“Yeah, like, did you read about the Hair-Loss Curse in his newest book? I’m dying to try it on someone!”

Lily’s hand flew protectively to her head, as if James would just jinx her right there.

“Maybe he’ll demonstrate some hexes today in class?” Peter suggested.

“Awesome!” James and Sirius said in unison.

“Probably not, though. I mean, I doubt we’ll get to see anything practical since it’s the first day of class,” said Remus, a bit crestfallen.

“Yeah, but at least no Gaspard Shingleton in this class,” said James.

“Just the Slytherins,” Sirius countered, making James groan.

“Oh, that is so much worse...”

And the rest of the Gryffindors listened as Sirius and James launched into another verbal attack on the detriments of Slytherin House, which lasted all the way until they reached the classroom.

***

Remus’s guess that they wouldn’t do anything practical on the first day was soon proven wrong. The Gryffindors had barely taken their seats when Professor Viridian appeared from a concealed door at the head of the class. He was tall and pale, with black hair and piercing blue eyes, and as he started speaking, Lily got goosebumps for the third time that morning. “I suspect many of you have at least heard of�”if not read�”some of my books,” he said, twirling his wand between his fingers as he stood and surveyed the class. There was a general murmur indicating that yes, the students had read the books, and, in Sirius’s case, had practically memorized them. “Excellent,” replied Viridian in a raspy whisper, and Lily was staunchly reminded of Count Dracula. “In that case,” he continued, “would anyone care to demonstrate some of my hexes?”

There was another round of murmurs as classmates looked around the room. Did any of them dare to volunteer? Lily didn’t have the first idea about how to do any of the spells, so her hands stayed firmly by her sides.

Sirius, on the other hand, couldn’t have been more obvious if he had set his arm on fire. His hand shot up as soon as the words were out of Viridian’s mouth.

“Excellent,” said the professor again. “And your name?”

“Black, sir. Sirius Black.”

“Excellent, Mr. Black. Please step to the front of the room.”

Sirius hopped off his chair and practically ran to the front. Lily glanced to her left and saw James give Sirius a brief thumbs up. “Should I just cast the spell, Professor?” Sirius asked.

“Oh no, Mr. Black. You need a target, of course.”

“Right, of course! Er, should I aim it at the wall, then?” Sirius looked confused. Surely, surely he wouldn’t be casting spells on fellow students on the first day of class!

“I believe Mr. Black needs an assistant, class. Are there any volunteers?”

The class looked just as confused as Sirius. Surely, surely they wouldn’t be hexed on the first day of class!

After a few moments of silence, however, one boy seated near the front of the room raised his hand. Lily couldn’t see his face from her seat, but she had an inkling who it was. Professor Viridian confirmed her fears almost immediately. “Ah yes, Mr. Snape. Thank you for volunteering.”

“How does the professor already know Snape’s name?” James asked Remus in a harsh whisper. Remus just shrugged. “Oh well,” James continued, his eyes narrowed. “Sirius will tear him to shreds. Just you wait.” James had a strange look of anticipation etched on his face. Remus and Peter also looked excited. Janus wasn’t really paying attention�”it seemed to Lily that he was trying valiantly just to stay awake. To her right, however, the Gryffindor girls were looking worried. At least Marlene and Diana were. Artemia seemed to be in the same vein as Janus with her head propped up on her hand. Gwendolyn, sitting next to Lily, leaned over and whispered, “I thought this was supposed to be Defense Against the Dark Arts!”

Lily nodded. “I know! I can’t believe this is happening on the first day!”

“Wicked, isn’t it?” Gwendolyn looked almost as excited as James.

Though she didn’t quite agree, Lily just nodded again as Sirius and Severus looked ready to start. Well, Severus looked ready. Sirius did look determined, but turned again to Professor Viridian. “I just send the hex at him?” As the professor merely nodded, Sirius grinned and squared himself against Severus. “All right, then!” He opened his mouth to say the hex, but before the word was formed, Severus pulled out his wand, aimed it straight at Sirius, and shouted something�”Lily wasn’t quite sure what he said.

Sirius stumbled backward and hit the wall. He stood there, gasping for breath, and raised his wand with a shaky hand. No words came out of his mouth, however, and it looked like he was having serious difficulty breathing.

Lily glanced at Professor Viridian, but he was still just nodding his head as if calmly appraising the situation. She looked to the other side of the classroom. Most of the Slytherins were laughing or cheering. She glanced to Remus. “Should we do something?” she asked frantically.

“I don’t know!” he said, looking to James.

James, however, knew exactly what to do. He stood up, knocking his chair over in the process, and aimed his wand directly at Snape who was now looking quite smug. “Lacrimate!” James shouted. In an instant Snape had doubled over, and appeared to be sobbing. Tears were streaming down his face, and he, like Sirius, was struggling for air.

Sirius, however, had finally gotten a good lungful. He pushed himself off the wall, directed another curse at the weeping Snape, and fell back onto the wall for support. For a second, Lily was sure the curse had missed, as nothing happened. But then a large chunk of Snape’s long, black hair fell off his head and to the floor. He looked up through his tears, positively livid, and raised his wand. But he couldn’t seem to decide which boy to hex first, James or Sirius.

“Why doesn’t the professor do anything!” Marlene cried, her hands on her face.

Perhaps Professor Viridian sensed the tension though, for he stepped forward and gave his wand a little flick. Sirius stood up of his own accord and Severus stopped crying, though there was still a good chunk of his hair missing.

Remus and Lily looked at each other, both worried. “That wasn’t supposed to happen, was it?” asked Remus.

James answered, looking almost as livid as Snape. “No. That slimy git hexed Sirius�”caught him off guard. Slimy, slimy little b�””

But before James could finish his thought, Professor Viridian began speaking. “Excellent, students, excellent.”

“Excellent?” someone to Lily’s right muttered.

“A wonderful display of three of my favorite curses.” Viridian brought his large, pale hands together in a slow clap. The rest of the students looked around anxiously before eventually clapping as well, though their applause was less than enthusiastic. “Mr. Snape, tell the class which hex you used.”

“The Ton-of-Bricks Hex, Professor,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Exactly. And what does that curse do, Mr. Black?”

“Well, it seems to cause the recipient�”that is, me�”to feel like he’s been hit with a ton of bricks, sir,” he said, shooting a murderous glance at Snape.

“Aptly named, is it not, Mr. Black?”

“Very, Professor.”

“And Mr. Potter, what spell did you use in defense of your comrade Mr. Black?”

James, still standing, answered. “I used Lacrimate, sir. The Crying Curse.”

“Yes, and it was very well-applied. Many people do not see the purpose of this curse, and indeed, it seems trivial upon first thought. And yet, as Mr. Potter has just showed us, when applied with the right amount of force, it is quite powerful, is it not, Mr. Snape?”

Snape just sneered.

“Finally, Mr. Black applied one of my newest creations, the Hair-Loss Curse. The results are obvious, as I’m sure you all can see.” He gestured to the lock of hair on the ground at Snape’s feet. “Thank you very much for being guinea pigs today, Mr. Black and Mr. Snape. And thank you for demonstrating the noble thing to do, Mr. Potter. Please take your seats now, and will the rest of the class open to page ten of your textbooks?”

As the class shuffled through their bags to bring out their books, Sirius returned to the table, rubbing his chest a bit. “I hate to say it, but that’s a good hex he hit me with,” he said with a smile. “Not bad for the first day of class, eh?”

The boys laughed, clearly relieved that Sirius wasn’t still angry. Lily was relieved, too, although for the rest of the class, she couldn’t help but notice the lethal looks Sirius kept shooting at the Slytherins.

***

After lunch the Gryffindors headed to their lesson with Professor McGonagall: Transfiguration. Here, Lily learned that a Transfiguration Master was, in fact, not an action figure, but rather a very strict witch.

Professor McGonagall gave the class a brief lecture on the merits and importance of Transfiguration, a warning on the consequences of misbehavior in her classroom, and rounded the speech off with an explanation of their first activity: turning matchsticks into needles.

As soon as she had distributed all the matchsticks, Professor McGonagall demonstrated the incantation and wand movement, and within a heartbeat her match turned into a shiny silver needle.

Lily looked down at her own match lying perfectly still on the table. She had absolutely no idea where to begin. It didn’t seem possible to change it into a needle. It was a matchstick! She inclined her head and looked around surreptitiously. Her classmates were all muttering their incantations and waving their wands, but Lily couldn’t even remember what Professor McGonagall had said to do. Finally, after a few minutes of feeling utterly hopeless and after a quick consultation with Remus, she pointed her wand at the matchstick and muttered the spell.

After she recited the incantation, Lily was elated, for she saw something shoot out the tip of her wand. This elation was short-lived, however, as her match ignited, leaving a black soot mark on her desk. She looked around, hoping nobody had seen her faux-pas but, of course, everyone had. Blushing, she raised her hand. “Um, Professor McGonagall? Can I have a new matchstick, please?”

The omnipresent wrinkles on Professor McGonagall’s forehead shifted into an even deeper frown as she placed a replacement matchstick in front of Lily. As soon as the professor had turned back to check on the other students’ progress, Lily heard James give a little laugh. She looked over to the table he was sharing with Sirius just in time to see the latter pull a shiny, silver needle�”the exact silver needle she was hopelessly striving to produce�”from his pocket.

“My cousin Andromeda told me this is what McGonagall always has students do on the first day. I thought I’d give it a spin, see if she buys it,” he whispered conspiratorially to James, placing the unneeded match in his pocket. “Professor!” he said, this time much louder and with much more flair. “Professor McGonagall, ma’am! I think I’ve done it!”

Professor McGonagall turned around slowly, her face the definition of skepticism. She walked toward Sirius and James’s table, each step deliberate, each glare piercing. Lily would have cracked under such a stern gaze, but Sirius kept his smile plastered on. After what seemed like hours, the Professor reached the table and bent low, her spectacles sliding down the tip of her nose as she examined the needle.

Like a drill sergeant inspecting his troops, Professor McGonagall inspected the needle from all angles. She picked it up, held it to the light, rolled it around in her fingers... Finally, she spoke. “Well, Mr. Black, it seems that you’ve done it.” She placed the needle back on the table as Sirius flashed a huge smile around the classroom. To his right, James was trying very hard to bottle up his laughter. “However,” Professor McGonagall said, turning her sharp gaze from the needle to Sirius’s face, “There is just one more test I must do, just to make sure, Mr. Black.”

Sirius’s grin faltered for a moment, and Lily thought she saw a look of panic pass across his eyes, but within an instant he was smiling again. “Sure, Professor. Do whatever you need to do.”

“Thank you, Mr. Black,” said McGonagall, her eyes little more than slits. She pulled her own wand from her sleeve and tapped it at the needle. Of course nothing happened. Sirius’s grin was now in severe danger of disappearing completely. “Just as I thought, Mr. Black. This needle was never a matchstick. Three points from Gryffindor for your cheek.”

Sirius was gaping in disbelief. “Oh, come on, Professor! It was a joke!”

“Yes, and I admire your pluck, Mr. Black, but my decision is final!” But as she turned around, Lily saw that the corners of her mouth were twitching, and she broke into a slight, pinched smile as she shook her head.

And though Sirius and James both came close, no one truly Transfigured the matchstick that day.

***

The rest of the week rushed by. On Tuesday morning they had the exciting combination of Professor Flitwick and Charms, followed by the less-than-stimulating History of Magic. Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs had Herbology together in the greenhouses outside, and Professor Sprout was delighted that no one was attacked by the Venomous Tentacula on the first day.

Wednesday night at midnight they climbed to the top of the tallest tower for Astronomy lessons, and Lily went slightly cross-eyed by looking through the telescopes for so long.

By the end of the week Lily felt like she had a pretty solid idea of how the year was going to go, though she was dismayed at the amount of homework the teachers had already piled on.

“Well, I guess we can’t learn it without practice, right?” she said one night as she and Gwendolyn worked on Defense Against the Dark Arts.

“Yeah, but I’m just not seeing how writing about these hexes is going to make us be able to use them, you know?” Gwendolyn responded, flipping through her copy of one of Viridian’s books.

“Good point. Hopefully we won’t have to use the jinxes, though!” Lily said. Though if one was to be so often in the company of Sirius and James it was best to keep oneself armed!

Sirius and James had already begun to establish themselves as troublemakers. One of them nearly always volunteered to perform the hexes in Professor Viridian’s class, with Severus Snape nearly always on the other side. And Lily swore that Professor McGonagall still swept over Sirius with a scrutinizing look every time he entered the Transfiguration classroom.

But all in all they were fun to be around, and pretty handy when she needed help with some of the more complicated Transfigurations. In fact, Lily was building herself quite the little support network.

Gaspard Shingleton had taken to sitting next to Lily in Potions, which was fine. He was very good, if a bit pompous.

Madam Pince, the school’s authoritarian librarian, had taken a strange liking to Marlene McKinnon, so Marlene and Lily could almost always work there undisturbed.

Gwendolyn, it turned out, actually enjoyed History of Magic, so she was always a font of information on whatever goblin rebellion they happened to be studying. Lily couldn’t quite get over the fact that their teacher was a ghost. And Remus had a strange affinity for Astronomy, and could go on for hours about the movement of planets and stars.

Such was Lily’s life in the first few months at Hogwarts. She was happy. Her anxieties were kept almost always at bay, she had good friends and good fun, not to mention good food, and best of all she was constantly in awe at the wonders of magic and all that it could do....

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Another Year Gone

It was a cloudy spring day and the Gryffindors were huddled in the Common Room. Nobody really felt like working, but it seemed like nobody really felt like talking either, so an unusual silence lingered in the air. Sirius was lying horizontally across an armchair and flipping lazily through a magazine while Gwendolyn was writing a letter to her parents. Remus was reading, James seemed to be napping, and Lily was staring idly into space. Sure, they all had stacks of homework to do, but clearly no motivation.

“Where’s Peter?” James asked, abruptly jerking awake and breaking the silence.

“I think he and Janus were hanging out with Jack Bobbin and Mark Hughes,” Remus answered, not bothering to look up from his book.

“Oh, the Slytherins,” James said, his voice full of disdain.

“Give it a rest, James,” Gwendolyn said, still focused on her letter. “Jack and Mark are perfectly nice.”

“Yeah, it’s the rest of them we’re worried about,” Sirius said, tossing his magazine to the ground and leaning back in his chair.

Gwendolyn groaned. “Not you, too.”

Sirius didn’t respond. Lily stole a glance at him from the corner of her eye. He didn’t look very upset. In fact, he was probably just bored and wanted Peter around for entertainment. Lily sighed inwardly. It didn’t seem fair how the boys treated Peter sometimes, but she surmised that it probably wasn’t her place to say anything.

Just as Lily was about to go back up to her bedroom, Peter clambered in through the portrait hole.

“Hey guys,” he said in his high voice, plopping down on the sofa next to Remus. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing!” they all chimed in unison.

“How were the Slytherins?” James asked, barely masking his scorn.

“Pretty boring, to be honest,” Peter said with a shrug.

“Why do you hang out with them?” Sirius asked, his tone a little sharp.

“Well, my dad used to work with Mr. Bobbin, so at first it was just because Jack was a familiar face,” Peter answered defensively, and a bit nervously. “And then Janus knows Mark Hughes, so they just all formed a little group. But they’re not as exciting as you all,” he hastened to add.

Gwendolyn snorted. “Yeah, we’re a real barrel of monkeys over here.”

Peter smiled, but his smile faded at Sirius’s next question. “Wait, doesn’t Mr. Bobbin work for Lucius Malfoy’s father? Abraxas, or whatever his name is?”

Peter shifted a bit. “Yeah.”

“So does that mean your father works for Lucius Malfoy’s father?”

He shifted again. “Well, he used to, yeah. But that doesn’t mean anything. In fact, my dad quit because Abraxas was such a git.” Peter puffed out his chest in a little bit of filial pride.

“Didn’t you ride on the Hogwarts Express with Lucius Malfoy first year?” Lily asked. She had suddenly remembered seeing Peter trailing behind the gang of Slytherins who so repeatedly called her “Mudblood.” Not that she would ever accuse Peter of doing the same, but it was interesting. She hadn’t even given Peter a moment’s thought back then. It was funny how things changed.

Peter shrugged, but when he spoke his voice was a bit squeaky. “I knew him, that’s all. I didn’t want to ride on the train by myself; it was my first time!”

“You could have sat with us,” James exclaimed, gesturing between himself and Sirius.

“Well I didn’t know you then, did I?” Peter responded with a smile. James just grunted in response, so Peter continued: “Look, why all the questions? Did I do something wrong?”

“No, Pete, we’re just bored. These blokes have nothing better to do,” Remus answered, jerking his thumb in the direction of James and Sirius.

“Yeah, sorry for the interrogation,” James said, blushing a bit and cocking his head back. “I’m just going insane over here. Wish we had Quidditch practice today.”

“I don’t,” Sirius said. “I bloody hate Quidditch practice.”

“Liar,” Gwendolyn said, finishing her letter and picking up Sirius’s magazine from the ground.

Sirius again had nothing to say, but he did manage to kick Gwendolyn’s chair with one of his dangling legs. She just smiled.

It seemed as if they would all descend into silence again when there was a tapping at the window nearest James. He looked up to see his family owl flapping anxiously, a letter tied to his leg. He opened the window and untied the letter, patting the owl on the head and then watching it fly away.

“What’d you get?” Sirius asked, keen for something to talk about.

“Letter from my parents,” James answered. “They always write me on Saturdays, but forget to post their letters until the afternoons.”

Sirius’s face fell. Clearly news from James’s parents wasn’t enough to keep him occupied. But the news must have been of interest to James, for after a few minutes he groaned and crumpled up the letter. “I told them!” he exclaimed, tossing the wad of paper to the ground.

“Told them what?” Peter asked.

“They joined that bloody Society again,” he said.

It was Gwendolyn’s turn for a question: “Which Society?”

“The Society of Pureblood Sorcerers,” he responded.

“Oh, they’re the ones that went all crazy during Grindelwald’s time, right?” she asked, eliciting a nod from James.

“I mean, they got a lot more normal for a while�”that’s when my parents joined,” he explained, “but then the Malfoys took over and everyone went mental again, and so they left. But then, this Christmas, there was an election and my mum’s friends, the Parkhursts, got elected to lead the thing and they’re not crazy.”

“Well, that sounds good. What’s the problem?” Remus asked.

“Apparently I was the only one who saw this coming, but there is now a need for ‘new leadership’ within the Society,” James said, shaking his head.

“What, there was a takeover or something?” Remus again asked.

“I guess! I don’t really know what happened. I think it was all pretty sudden, but the Parkhursts are out.”

“Who’s in?” Gwendolyn and Lily asked at the same time.

“That’s the thing: my parents didn’t say. The letter makes it seem like nobody’s in charge for right now, which can’t be a good thing. Anyway, it’s all very strange, and I told them not to bother joining again.”

“Too right! Bunch of pureblood freaks. Well, not your parents, of course,” Sirius said from his armchair, his brows furrowed in anger.

“Yeah. Anyway,” he said again, Levitating the crumpled-up letter with his wand and winging it into the fire, “I don’t want to talk about it anymore. No point, really.”

There was a chorus of agreement and everyone went back to his or her idling, without another moment’s thought about the ‘new leadership’ in the Society of Pureblood Sorcerers.

***

A few Saturdays later, James received another letter from his parents, and though it did not mention the Society, it did make for a good conversation starter. His father had written out a list of all the elective classes at Hogwarts, their pros and cons, and his personal recommendations for James.

A special time of year was upon the Gryffindors. Their schoolwork was in a bit of a pre-exams lull and it was the Easter holidays, but rather than relax, they were faced with a new challenge: choosing elective courses for the next year. They were all knee-deep in pamphlets and leaflets and recommendations from older students and parents, and while everyone had some idea of what he or she wanted to do, no one had a completely finalized schedule. But everyone had a preferred method of choosing classes.

Sirius was a fan of the question, “What do you think the easiest ones will be?” He posed this very query as he, James, Remus, and Peter clambered through the portrait hole. James was clutching his dad’s letter in his hand; he hadn’t much let it out of his sight for a day or two. He turned to face his friend and answered, “I don’t know. Muggle Studies, probably.”

“Yeah, and Care of Magical Creatures, I bet,” Sirius nodded in agreement.

James consulted the letter. “It looks like my dad doesn’t really recommend it though. He says I won’t learn too much.”

“No problem here,” Sirius said with a shrug as they reached their favorite corner of the room.

“Sirius, for as smart as you are, you sure are dumb,” Gwendolyn said from her seat. She was surrounded by pamphlets and had made her own lists, it seemed.

“It’s a tough life, Gwen. It’s a tough life.” He sat down on the couch next to her and picked up the pamphlet on Ancient Runes. “Yuck,” he said, his face contorting into an obvious grimace. “Why would anyone in their right mind take this class?”

“Hey!” she said, snatching it out of his hands. “I’m taking it, and I think it’s going to be fascinating!”

“I agree,” said Lily, who had just finished flipping through the pamphlet. “And I think you guys should really consider it.”

James perked up at this comment and looked at Sirius, his eyebrows raised. “I mean, it doesn’t look that bad, mate!”

Sirius rolled his eyes. “No thanks, James. Sounds like a class for smart people who care. I’m more interested in what Diana’s taking.”

Diana shook her blonde hair and laughed, apparently not taking Sirius’s comment as an insult. Lily groaned inwardly as Diana spoke. Try as she might to stomach “Di,” Lily just couldn’t tolerate her sometimes. “Care of Magical Creatures, of course! And probably Muggle Studies, because I’m half-Muggle, so it’ll probably be super easy.” She gave another tinny laugh and went back to examining her fingernails.

“See?” Sirius said, gesturing to Diana. “That’s the kind of attitude I admire in a student.”

Marlene shook her head and looked up from her color-coordinated, cross-referenced lists. “Diana, this is our best opportunity to study something really interesting, and you only want to look at pictures of Muggles driving cars? I don’t understand!”

Diana sneered at Marlene. The two girls, being on complete ends of the studious spectrum, often did not get along, and everyone felt the tension in the air thicken as Diana continued her stare-down, one eyebrow raised haughtily. Finally, she seemed to make up her mind what to say: “Whatever, Marlene. I’m going to take classes that will make me happy. You can suffer through Arithmancy, but don’t come crying to me when you have homework up to your ears.”

She got up from her chair and crossed the room to sit with her best friends, Galina and Adriana, who were both a year ahead. Marlene sighed and turned her attention now to Sirius, who could tell a reprimand was coming.

“Look, Marlene, don’t even start,” he said, pre-empting her attack. “I’m not just going to take easy classes, so settle down.”

This seemed to satisfy Marlene, for she smiled and turned back to her Arithmancy pamphlet.

James groaned. His decision had not gotten any easier in the past fifteen minutes. He turned to Remus, who was comparing pamphlets on Muggle Studies and Arithmancy. “What are you taking, mate?”

Remus sighed and shook his head. “I have no bloody idea. Arithmancy looks really good, but so does Ancient Runes, and if you all are taking Care of Magical Creatures, I want to take it, too. This is impossible!”

“Maybe you can sign up for more than two electives?” Peter suggested.

Gwendolyn shook her head. “I talked to Professor McGonagall about it, and she says it’s possible, but she doesn’t really recommend it. I guess having two electives in addition to all our normal classes gets really busy.”

“And don’t forget about Quidditch practices,” Remus added.

“Yeah, and Hogsmeade visits start next year!” Sirius exclaimed.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Lily asked, puzzled as to why a few Saturday trips would consume a large portion of Sirius’s time and energy.

“Well, with regular access to Zonko’s, we’ll really be able to step up our pranking capacity,” James responded as Sirius nodded.

“Think of the inventory at that store! I hope we get to go to Hogsmeade every weekend.”

“Do they have a class on how to put up with idiotic friends?” Gwendolyn asked as she rolled her eyes.

“Oh, Gwen, we were going to let you in on the planning, but if you think we’re just idiotic, I guess we’ll scrap that,” Sirius said in mock consternation. Gwendolyn looked worried for a moment, but must have realized that Sirius was kidding, for she shrugged nonchalantly.

“What you forget, Sirius, is that I have plenty of ideas on my own, thank you very much.” Whether or not this was true Lily didn’t know, but she wouldn’t put it past Gwendolyn. Sirius just nodded appreciatively.
“All right, I’ve had enough of these pamphlets,” Lily said, shuffling her papers into a stack. “Let’s do something. Does anyone want to take a walk with me?”

Marlene and Gwendolyn nodded and the three girls said their goodbyes and climbed out the portrait hole, leaving the four boys in the Common Room.

James looked forlorn as he picked up Lily’s discarded Arithmancy pamphlet. “Arithmancy. I really don’t want to take that.”

“So don’t,” Sirius said matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, but Lily’s going to take it,” James responded quietly.

“So?”

“I don’t know...” James hesitated. “It would be nice to be in the same classes as her.”

“Aww, you’re going to miss your girlfriend when she doesn’t sign up for Care of Magical Creatures?” Sirius teased, twisting his face into an exaggerated pout.

James ignored him. “Why does she have to be so smart?” he sighed.

Remus looked at James, his eyebrows creased menacingly. “James, you are just as smart as her. You would do fine in Arithmancy if you put in a little effort, I’m sure. And you too, Sirius.”

“Thanks mate, but I’m not going to sign up for a harder class just to chase after a girl,” Sirius said. “Besides, Diana is taking Care of Magical Creatures, and she’s prettier than Lily anyway.”

James’s face flushed in anger, but he didn’t say anything to Sirius. Instead, he took one more glance at the Arithmancy packet, then tossed it back on the table and stood up. “OK, I’ve had enough, too. I’m going to go to the Quidditch pitch. Anyone coming with me?”

None of the boys made any move to get up, so James clambered out of the portrait hole by himself, Arithmantical thoughts still percolating in his mind.

***

After everyone finally settled on classes, school picked up the pace again. The rest of April flew by, as did May, and before they knew it, the Gryffindors were facing final exams. But the exams passed without too much fanfare, and everyone did just about as well as they expected.

They were all now sitting by the lake on a lazy June afternoon. People had started to pack up their trunks as the Hogwarts Express would leave the next day, but they had a few hours of blissful freedom before the Leaving Feast.

Students were sitting in clusters all around the edges of the lake. Gwendolyn and Lily had taken their shoes off and were dipping their toes into the water. Marlene was afraid of the Giant Squid, so she was a little more removed from the water’s edge. And the boys were lying down, basking in the sun.

“Did you all hear that Dumbledore sacked Professor Benton?” James asked.

“What? No!” Gwendolyn said, jerking her head around to face James. “Why?”

“For being the worst bloody Defense Against the Dark Arts professor in the history of time,” Sirius said, shaking his head. “I didn’t learn a bloody thing this year.”

“Oh sure you did,” James said. “You learned how not to teach a class. And that sometimes, second-year students are more knowledgeable than their teachers.”

Sirius and Gwendolyn laughed, but Remus and Lily did not. “That’s not fair, James,” Lily said. “She was obviously nervous, and really young! Can you imagine teaching classes to all these obnoxious students? It would be really hard. Give her a break!”

“OK, fine! You don’t have to jump down my throat! Sirius insulted her, too, you know,” James said, throwing his hands into the air defensively.

“Well...” Lily stalled. “Shame on you, too, Sirius.”

Sirius just shrugged. “It’s not my fault she was bad, Lily.”

“She had to have some merit,” Remus said rationally. “Professor Dumbledore wouldn’t have hired a bad professor on purpose.”

“She was probably the only one who would take the job because of the curse,” Gwendolyn said, nodding her head knowingly. “I’m telling you!”

“Oh, you and that silly curse,” Remus said. “Just because the job has a high turnover rate doesn’t mean that it’s jinxed.”

“Fine, believe what you want to believe,” Gwendolyn said. “But you won’t see me rushing to apply as soon as I graduate.”

“That’s probably also because you hate Defense Against the Dark Arts,” Sirius added.

Gwendolyn shrugged. “Fair point.”

Lily glanced at her wristwatch. The afternoon was rapidly evaporating. She lifted her feet out of the water and slipped her shoes back on. “OK,” she said, pushing herself up off the grass and dusting off the seat of her pants, “I’m going to head back up to the dormitory for a bit before the Feast. See you all in a little while.”

As she trudged back up the hill to the castle, Lily was struck with the same melancholy that had hit her the year before. She was glad school was done for a while, but she was facing another summer of nothingness, and that prospect did not seem too exciting at all. She knew that the minute she stepped off the Hogwarts Express and into her parent’s car it would be back to a life of Petunia’s whining, of loneliness, and of waiting.

But things weren’t really so bad. Gwendolyn had already promised that they would spend lots of time with each other over the summer, and Lily thought that maybe she would just stay for weeks with the Hightowers. It wasn’t a bad idea, especially since Gwendolyn’s brother Chadwick would be around, and Lily had developed something of a crush on him.

She smiled inwardly as she reached the Fat Lady and spoke the password. As she climbed into the Common Room, she felt another wave of joy, this time mixed with pride. The Gryffindors had again won the House Championship, and the Great Hall would be draped in scarlet and gold for the second year in a row.

Lily waved to a few people as she climbed the circular staircase leading to her dormitory. As soon as she entered the room she collapsed onto her four-poster bed and stared at the ceiling, reflecting on the past nine months. It had been a good school year. Very good, in fact. And as she stared at the ceiling, she was quite sure that even better times were just around the corner.

“When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions.”
--William Shakespeare

October 15th, 1975

The clock struck ten as Albus Dumbledore reached across his great oak desk for a certain piece of parchment. It had arrived earlier that morning from the Auror Department at the Ministry of Magic, and from one Auror in particular: Stephen Mantooth, a recent graduate of Hogwarts, who was Dumbledore’s chief informant within the Ministry. Not that the Ministry was generally uncooperative, but Stephen made sure Dumbledore knew every bit of Voldemort news that came across his desk. And with the recent upsurge in “incidents” related to Voldemort, there certainly was a lot of news. Unfortunately�”in Dumbledore’s opinion�”not all of it was released to the public, and who could be sure where the Ministry would trend in the future? Certainly during Grindelwald’s years of terror there had been significant lapses of judgment on behalf of the entire Wizarding government. It was incumbent on Dumbledore to have the most current news regarding the situation. He had to do anything within his power to prevent another Grindelwald from taking control.

Dumbledore felt a pang of guilt in his stomach as he thought of his former friend, but forced himself to move on. There were other, more pressing matters to deal with. He located the memo and read it for the third time that morning:

To: Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster, Hogwarts School
From: Stephen Mantooth, Junior Auror, Department of Magical Law Enforcement
Re: Potential Spies

Professor Dumbledore,
Too many reports from the Department have been surfacing for me to not tell you this: the Ministry suspects there may be spies within Hogwarts’ walls. Sources are unclear as to the identity of the spies; most likely faculty and staff, but perhaps students as well. If no spies currently are working at Hogwarts, the Ministry suspects that You-Know-Who may try to place informants in the school some time in the not-too-distant future.

Might I also caution you, sir, to be keen for any news on the Society of Pureblood Sorcerers. It is too early to say anything concrete about the Society, and it is also extremely risky as many members are generous patrons of the Ministry, but speculation exists as to their motives. I certainly believe they may be in league with You-Know-Who, and if they aren’t now, they may be in the future. Of course, this is not official Ministry suspicion by any means, but you always told me to trust my instincts...

Again, sir, I urge you to contact the Ministry should you feel you require any additional assistance or protection at Hogwarts, and also to contact the Ministry with any information regarding the V. case.

Best regards,
Stephen

Dumbledore folded up the memo and pushed it to the side of his desk. Stephen’s words rang true: Dumbledore was sure he had hired staff with... questionable loyalties in the past. In fact, even a few Grindelwald supporters had been in the employ of Hogwarts back in the 1940s. Not that Voldemort was anywhere near as powerful as Grindelwald. Yet...

Dumbledore had never really considered the possibility of student spies, though, or at least never let himself consider the possibility. He always tried to see the best in his students, even those who were misguided. But Tom Riddle had been Dumbledore’s student, after all, so the headmaster surmised that perhaps it was time to investigate. After all, the students at Hogwarts were just the right age to be trained to become Riddle’s minions. Old enough to make their own decisions and yet still too young to know exactly what they were getting into. It was a terrifying prospect.

Even more terrifying was the thought that Riddle could actually command such a loyal following. The spate of killings had not subsided in the many months since Riddle’s grand proclamation of himself as “Lord Voldemort.” True, there had been few incidents as destructive and terrorizing as that first fateful night, but Dumbledore knew the worst was yet to come. There was a long road ahead of the British Wizarding Community, and perhaps that of Europe, Asia, the world? Where would Riddle stop? People were too slow to take action. If Riddle really had started recruiting young, impressionable minds, then the time for action was certainly upon those on the side of good, and that time was now.

And yet, was action even possible at this point? Dumbledore thought back to Stephen’s letter. Stephen Mantooth, a bright, intelligent, aggressive Junior Auror was too afraid to say Voldemort’s name, even in a letter. Sure, there had been people too scared to utter the name before, but they had been the uniformed masses, not Aurors in the Ministry of Magic, whose very job depended on the absence of fear.

Dumbledore had noticed this trend more and more in recent weeks, and this thought scared him more than anything. If, after only such a relatively short time of Voldemort’s existence, people were already so afraid of him, what could possibly happen next? More importantly, what could be done to combat it?

The problems were mounting, rising proportionately with fear. And soon, Dumbledore feared, soon it would be too much.

“I believe ‘trounced’ is an appropriate word for this situation,” James said as he and Sirius plopped onto a couch in the Gryffindor Common Room. The Gryffindor Quidditch Team had just come back from a pre-season scrimmage with Ravenclaw�”a scrimmage that many Gryffindors had watched�”and a little bit of a celebration was beginning to brew around them. James had climbed through the portrait last and to the loudest applause, and Remus assumed he had purposely delayed himself in the changing room so as to make his grand entrance… He certainly deserved it after a stellar performance in the match, but it still made Remus laugh.

Remus watched him now, basking in his self-created limelight. As fellow team members clapped him on the back, a gaggle of second-year girls ogled him from a corner, pausing every now and then to turn away and whisper amongst themselves. Even Peter looked enthralled. Remus smiled and shook his head. James and Sirius were always the stars, and it could be quite entertaining to see people fawn over them. He swung one leg over the side of his armchair and looked at his friends. “Your hair’s all messed up, James,” he said with a laugh. Indeed, it looked like James had literally just hopped off his broomstick.

Diana Denham, a fellow Gryffindor third-year, happened to be walking by at that moment. “Oh, I like it like that, James,” she cooed, brushing her fingers lightly across the top of his hair. James had raised his hand almost to his head, about to pat it down, but at her touch, he sat up straighter. “Really?” he asked, his arm still perched awkwardly in the air.

“Yeah,” she said with a smile. “It looks so windswept. Don’t you think, Lily?”

“Sure. Windswept,” Lily answered from an armchair to Remus’s right, not even looking up from the Daily Prophet crossword puzzle she was working on.

James whipped his head around to Lily. “Really?” he asked again, his voice perilously close to squeaking this time. “Well, I guess I’ll keep it like this!” He even ruffled it up a little bit more before finally dropping his arm.

“Well, mate, we can’t all have naturally gorgeous locks like me, but if Diana likes it, it must look good,” Sirius said with a wink, tossing his own dark hair playfully. Diana giggled and walked away, casting a fleeting glance over her shoulder at the Quidditch stars.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Sirius let out a low whistle. “Boys, I tell you, that is one pretty girl,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m thinking about asking her to Hogsmeade. What do you think?”

“I thought you were going to ask Rena Sorenson from Ravenclaw,” Remus said, getting a nod of confirmation from Peter.

“Yeah, that’s what you told me yesterday,” chimed the sandy-haired boy.

Sirius wrinkled his nose and cocked his head slightly to the side as if plumbing the depths of his memory. “Oh, yeah,” he said, nodding slowly as a look of recognition dawned on his face. “I totally forgot about that. Is it okay to ask two girls to Hogsmeade?”

Lily snorted from her armchair, still concentrating on her crossword. “Nice, Sirius. Really classy.”

“Well, it’s not like I would tell them they were both going with me!” he said, raising his eyebrows as if this was the most obvious point in the world. He whacked James on the arm looking for support. “Come on, Potter, back me up! How am I supposed to choose?”

Remus turned his head just in time to see James shift his gaze from Lily to Sirius. “What?” he blurted, as if startled back from a daydream. “Choose? Oh, um, yeah, Rena, probably.”

“That settles it, I guess,” Remus said to Sirius, though he couldn’t help but notice that James continued to steal furtive glances at Lily, who was�”as always�”completely oblivious. Remus smiled. He knew that James had a bit of a crush on Lily. How could he not know, when his friend stared at her every chance he got? It seemed, however, that Lily had no idea. At least, if she did know, she had never mentioned anything to Remus. Remus was suddenly possessed by the idea that maybe it was time to push things along a little bit. He cleared his throat. “Who are you going to ask, James?”

James’s head shot up and he looked straight at Remus, terror evident in his hazel eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words were slow to come. “Er, um…” he stammered, glancing again at Lily who still had yet to look up from the puzzle, “I don’t know, Remus,” he said, shooting daggers at his friend. “I hadn’t really thought about it.”

Remus couldn’t help but laugh. Okay, so his plan had backfired and now James was probably a bit miffed at him, but the look on his face was priceless. It was a mixture of embarrassment and hopefulness, if such a thing was even possible. And was that a tinge of anger? Remus laughed a little bit louder and winked at Sirius.

“Come on, Potter,” Sirius said, closing the book he was browsing to join in on the fun. “Just yesterday you were telling me that you had a few options, right?”

“Now that you mention that, Sirius, he was saying just that!” said Remus, looking again at Lily. Though her head was still down, it was now cocked a little to the side, and it looked like she hadn’t filled in any crossword answers for a while.

“I don’t know what you all are talking about,” James attempted to state forcefully, though his face had colored a violent red. He cleared his throat and ruffled his hair again with his hand, his eyes darting left and right.

“I don’t remember either,” Peter added, winking at James. James mouthed “thank you” to him then turned to glare at Sirius and Remus in turn.

There was a long silence where neither Remus nor Sirius knew what to say, both knowing they should probably concede the game or there would be hell to pay. Sirius’s eyes still twinkled as he calculated how best to proceed, and Remus chuckled again, but softer this time. It was amusing to see James�”usually so cool under pressure�”crack like this. He looked to his right and saw that Lily’s quill was moving again. The moment had passed.

Finally, the silence was broken when Gwendolyn came over to see if anyone wanted to go to dinner. Lily agreed and the girls headed for the portrait hole. As soon as they were gone, though, James rounded on Sirius and Remus.

“Why the bloody hell did you two do that?” he asked, his face still a bit red. “You know I was planning to ask her!”

“Yeah, so why didn’t you just do it, then?” Sirius asked. “We were only trying to help you.”

Remus agreed. “James, I’m pretty sure she knows you like her. I was just trying to nudge you in the right direction.”

“Well, I’m not going to ask her with you lot sitting around gawking at us, am I? You know, if Pete hadn’t jumped in to save me, that could have been pretty awkward!”

Peter beamed, but Sirius just laughed. “Could have been? No, mate, I think awkwardness was successfully achieved.”

James groaned. “Great. What are my chances now? Did she even look up from her bloody puzzle?”

“No, sorry,” Sirius said, clapping James on the back. “Better luck next time.”

“If there even is a next time,” James groaned, resting his head in his hands. “She’ll never say yes. As it is, she’s probably going with that damn Snivellus.”

“That grease-monster?” Sirius asked, his face the picture of disbelief. “James, you’re off your rocker.”

“No,” he insisted. “They’ve been together a lot these past few weeks. Not that I’ve noticed or anything,” he added under his breath as he massaged the back of his neck.

“So? They’re friends,” Remus said, reluctant to get into another Snape-and-Slytherin bashing session, which were threatening to become a daily occurrence.

“Friends? With him? I thought they just shared an obscene love for the library.” Sirius shuddered. “Mate, that throws her very sanity into question. You might want to rethink this crush of yours.”

James groaned again. “What does it matter anymore?”

Sirius threw his book down. “Oh, come off it! What happened to James Potter, all-star Chaser? Would he ever get discouraged like this?” he asked, his brows creasing into a frown. “She’s just a girl. Last time I checked, there are plenty more practically lining up to get a little bit of that Potter magic.”

“She’s not ‘just a girl,’ Sirius,” he said, furrowing his own brows, but then his face softened. “But you’re right, I suppose.”

“‘Course I am! Now let’s go eat.” And without another word, they all headed for the portrait hole and down to the Great Hall.

A few hours after dinner, James found himself alone in a corner of the Common Room. Well, he wasn’t entirely alone: Lily was there, but for the attention she was paying him, he might as well have been alone. She had moved on from her crossword puzzle, but was clearly deep into whatever she was working on now. He wanted to talk to her, wanted so badly to, but just couldn’t muster the nerve.

He cleared his throat. No reaction from Lily. He tried again, a bit louder. Still nothing. Time for a different approach. “Hey, uh, Lily?” he asked. She turned her face toward him, though her eyes were still trained on her book. He continued: “Are you working on Herbology right now?”

“No,” she said. “Ancient Runes.”

“Oh, okay.”

More silence. This was impossible! He and Lily never had problems talking to each other when the others were there, but, he realized with a sigh, they had never really had a conversation one-on-one.

“Are you going to work on it anytime tonight?” he tried again.

“No, I’ve finished it.”

She was cutting him no slack. Time to do things the James Potter way. Time to be direct. “Lily,” he started.

“James,” she said with an exasperated sigh, finally raising her eyes from her book, “I’ve done my Herbology. I’ve finished my Transfiguration and my History, too, and I’ve put them all away, so chances are I can’t help you tonight. Find someone else.”

He bristled. “Wow, Lily, no need to jump down my throat.”

She sighed again, but softer. “I’m sorry, James, it’s just that this translation is really hard and I’m pretty tired.” She ran one hand through her thick red hair, and James felt his stomach swoop.

“Fine. It’s just�”” he began, then decided not to continue. No need to make her night more stressful.

“It’s just what?” she asked, looking at him, twirling her quill through her fingers.

“Nothing. Never mind. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said as he gathered up his books and made to head for the staircase to the dormitory.

She closed her textbook and sat up straight in her chair, tucking her quill behind one small ear. She pressed her arms into the chair and stretched her back, rolling her neck from side to side. “James, if you don’t tell me what, it’s going to distract me all night, so you might as well come out with it.”

“Really, it’s nothing,” he said, unable to take his eyes off her hair as she brushed a strand behind her ears. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted to go with her anymore, if tonight was an accurate projection of how their date would be�”she agitated and he dumbstruck. He slung his bag over his shoulder, but he hadn’t even taken a step before she spoke again.

“James!” she implored.

“Fine. Fine. Look,” he said, ruffling his hair, one hand gripping the strap of his bag in an attempt to conceal how his hands were shaking. “I was just wondering if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me, but clearly you’re busy right now, so just… never mind.”

A moment passed. “Oh,” she said softly, looking down at her lap. “Um, that’s really sweet of you.”

“Don’t even bother, Lily, if you’re going to say no. It’s okay. Really.” Have fun with Snivellus, he wanted to shout, but he restrained himself. James didn’t know why, but he felt so angry with her. She hadn’t done anything to deserve it besides snap at him, but she always snapped at him. Tonight, though, he really didn’t want to hear her say no. “Good night,” he muttered, and headed for the stairs, leaving a still-silent Lily behind.

The next day, Remus was perched on a stool in the Secret Greenhouse. The boys were to have their weekly meeting to discuss progress on their Animagi transformations, but they were late. Of course. They had made a few strides, Remus thought, but there was still such a long way to go. Sometimes he doubted if the project would ever happen. But if Sirius, James, and even Peter were anything, they were determined. Remus smiled as he thought back to that night a little more than a year ago when they had made their pact right here in this very greenhouse. Though none of them were anywhere close to being Animagi, Peter’s plants had grown nicely, which was something.

Peter himself opened the door to the greenhouse just then, and stood a bit awkwardly on the threshold for a moment. “Hi, Remus,” he said loudly. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, Peter, how are you?” Remus said slowly, raising one brow in question.

“I’m great, thanks!” Peter was still standing there, holding the door ajar, his words coming out awkwardly�”more awkwardly than usual.

“You can come in, you know,” Remus said, gesturing with his hand and nodding at the door. “The Venemous Tentacula isn’t biting just yet.”

Peter gave an unnatural chuckle and stepped in the room. “Right you are, friend!” He walked slowly over to the table and began to check on his plants. “So, Remus,” he said, casting a glance to an empty corner of the room. “Do you like Sirius or James better?”

Remus laughed. “That’s a random question. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, no reason,” Peter said, glancing again at the empty corner again and smiling mischievously. “I just wanted to know. Which one?”

“Why do you keep staring at that corner?” Remus asked, squinting his eyes and peering at Peter.

A nervous laugh escaped Peter’s lips and he spilled a packet of seeds onto the metal table. “Oh, no reason,” he repeated, scooping them nonchalantly back into their packet, though Remus noticed his voice had jumped a few pitches higher.

“No reason, huh?” Remus asked, finally realizing what was going on. “No reason at all? You just happen to keep glancing at that empty corner for no reason, right?”

“Yep! That’s it! No reason,” Peter said, his voice rising higher still. He was now looking at the corner every few seconds.

“So,” Remus began, picking up a trowel from the table and spinning it around in his hand, “If I were to chuck this sharp, pointed trowel directly at that corner, you would have no problem with it?” He raised the trowel over his head and looked inquisitively at Peter, who had now begun to sweat.

“Um,” Peter squeaked, “I guess not! Nope. Throw away!” He twisted his hands furiously in front of him.

“All right, here I go. One... two...”

Remus was almost to three before Sirius and James suddenly appeared in the corner right where he had been aiming. “Okay, you win, Remus!” Sirius said. “You caught us.”

“I am victorious!” Remus yelled, dropping the trowel and pumping his fist into the air.

“Were you really going to throw that thing at us?” James asked, gesturing at the gardening implement glinting menacingly near a group of Puffapods.

“I told you not to sneak up on me in the Invisibility Cloak or you would pay the price, did I not?” Remus smiled brightly.

“Fair enough, fair enough,” James conceded. “We’ll only sneak up on Peter now, I suppose.”

“Hey!” Peter exclaimed. “I helped you with this plan! I was going to get Remus to admit which one of you he liked better.”

“That is true, Pete,” Sirius said, “And we thank you for that, though it would have been an exercise in futility: we all know everyone likes me more. Boys, girls, animals, Puffapods, Pete Pettigrew, you name it.”

“Are you sure about that?” James asked, hopping up onto the counter, a wry smile playing at his lips.

“Yeah, why?” Sirius said, perching himself on a stool and carefully unwinding a vine that had just twirled itself around his arm.

“Well, it’s just that I can think of at least one girl who doesn’t like you more,” he said, his grin positively wicked now.

“Lily doesn’t count, Potter. Everyone knows she and Remus have their ‘special bond,’” he said, using his fingers as quotation marks. “Although, I’m not sure if she even likes you more than she likes me, so I don’t actually see your point.”

“I actually wasn’t talking about Lily,” James said, a bit defensively, though he quickly regrouped. “I was talking about Diana.”

“Oh, were you now?” Sirius scoffed with a roll of his eyes. “Come on, James, she clearly likes me better. In fact, I think I’m going to ask her to Hogsmeade tonight!”

James smirked. “I’m afraid you’ll find that she’s already taken.”

“Yeah, by who?” Sirius was off his stool now, his arms crossed over his chest, the vine creeping slowly back over his shoulder.

“By yours truly, my friend,” James said. He leaned back on his hands and looked at Sirius as if waiting for applause.

Sirius looked angry for a moment, then confused, but then he broke into a smile and punched James on the arm. “Eh, you can have her, Potter. You were right in thinking I should choose Rena Sorenson.”

Remus laughed. “You don’t even care, Sirius?” Sirius shook his head, and Remus followed suit. “Unbelievable, you two. Heaven forbid you’re ever separated. I don’t think you could coexist if you didn’t share everything.”

“That day will never happen,” Sirius said, freeing himself once more from the vine to trap James’s head underneath his arm and ruffle his hair. “There you go, Jamesey-boy! I’ve made your hair just how you like it.”

James laughed and wrestled his way out of Sirius’s grasp. “Just how she likes it, you mean!” He scooted sideways on the countertop as Sirius lunged playfully at him again, missing by a millimeter.

“What happened to Lily?” Remus asked as Sirius and James kept play-fighting. “I thought you were going to ask her?”

“Well, I did,” James said, locking Sirius’s neck under his arm until he cried mercy. Releasing the dark-haired boy, he hopped off the table and turned toward Remus. “I asked her yesterday night.

“And she said no?” Remus was genuinely surprised. He didn’t think Lily actually harbored feelings for James, but he was pretty sure she didn’t like anyone else either, so why not?

“Yep. Don’t really know why,” James said with a shrug, though Remus perceived a faint air of defeat around him.

“Well,” Sirius said, resuming his position on the stool, “I’ve always said that�””

“Yeah, yeah, that Diana is prettier than Lily. I know. Prettier, maybe. But not better, Sirius.”

“Just like you and me!” Sirius said, giving James another playful punch on the arm.

“Which one is prettier and which one is better?” Peter asked, looking genuinely interested as he doused his plants with a stream of water from his wand.

“More importantly,” Remus said, not giving the boys the satisfaction of deciding who was prettier, “did Diana ask you to Hogsmeade?”

“She sure did!” James said, his spirits perking up a bit. “Right after I asked Lily, in fact. She cornered me in the Common Room and pretty much demanded that I go with her. It was quite interesting.”

“It always is, my friend,” Sirius said with a noble sigh. “It always is.”

This sent the four of them into a fit of laughter, and it was a full minute before they could even talk about their Animagi progress.

“I guess I’m excited to go,” Lily said as she twirled a lock of hair around her finger. “I just kind of wish...” She trailed off, and looked down at the table.

Lily and Gwendolyn were sitting together in the Great Hall during one of their free periods. The Hogsmeade visit was just a few days away, and this was the first year that they could go, so naturally the event had been met with some excitement among the third-years. But Lily, seeing the coupling that automatically took place among the older students and reflecting on her own awkward interaction with James, couldn’t help but wish that a certain someone would ask her. Unfortunately, that certain someone happened to be the brother of the certain someone sitting across the table from her right now.

“Kind of wish what?” Gwendolyn asked, checking her translation against her Ancient Runes dictionary.

“Nothing,” Lily said, returning to her own parchment.

“No, tell me!” Gwendolyn said, looking up from her book. “You wish what?” Her signature playful grin was traveling slowly across her face.

Lily couldn’t help but blush: Gwendolyn could read her like a rune. “I wish it was going to be warmer this weekend,” she lied.

Gwendolyn didn’t buy it for a second. “Yeah, right. This is about a boy! Who? Who?”

Lily scoffed. “I can’t believe you think I’m that shallow!” she said, feigning offense.

“Oh, sure, take the high road. I’ll have you know, though, that I remember what you said to me at the beginning of the year,” Gwendolyn said, waving her quill accusingly in Lily’s face.

Lily was genuinely puzzled. “What did I say?”

Gwendolyn batted her eyelashes and twirled her dark blonde curls in a convincing�”if not slightly exaggerated�”impression of Lily. “‘I don’t know, Gwendolyn... I think third year’s going to be really hard with school and everything. Maybe I shouldn’t even think about boys!’” Gwendolyn dropped her strand of hair and looked at Lily, her mouth twisted into a smirk. “Answer to that, my friend.”

Lily blushed again. Gwendolyn was right: she had said that over the summer. “Well,” she started, wondering how to talk herself out of the situation, “I guess... people change, right?”

“Fair enough. I’ll even believe you if you tell me who you want to ‘change’ for!” There was a momentary pause, then Gwendolyn tentatively asked, “It’s not that Severus Snape, is it?” Her round face didn’t bear a look of judgment, but she certainly seemed cautious.

Lily frowned. “No, it isn’t, but if it was him, would there be anything wrong with that?” She was tired of people always jumping to conclusions about her newfound friendship with Severus, and had expected more from Gwendolyn. Sure, he wasn’t as handsome as James or Sirius, and he paled�”quite literally�”in comparison to Chadwick, but that hardly made him a bad person. She was beginning to wonder if the friendship was really worth all the hassles it had caused in just a few weeks of existence.

The truth was, she really enjoyed his company. They had spent countless hours huddled together in the library working on the mysterious tablet�”whose meaning yet remained elusive�”and she found him to be interesting and unashamedly honest�”a quality often lacking in her other male friends. Being with Severus was refreshing on many levels. Like Remus, he appreciated her intelligence and wasn’t afraid to interact with her on matters scholarly. True, he offered no substitute for the buoyant enthusiasm of James and Sirius, but at times said buoyancy was grating. Severus was quieter and more reserved, though Lily was almost positive there was something fierce inside him. It scared and fascinated her at once. Still, if she kept encountering judgment at every turn, maybe whatever fierceness there was would never be discovered…

Gwendolyn noticed her friend’s displeased expression and began to backpedal. “No, of course not! It’s just… I don’t know him that well, I guess. I mean, that’s it. Really.”

The matter hung precipitously in the air for a moment before Gwendolyn smiled again. “If it’s not Severus,” she said easily, “who is it?”

“Oh, look at the time!” Lily exclaimed, glancing at her wristwatch. “Free period’s almost over.”

Gwendolyn, who didn’t wear a watch, grabbed Lily’s arm from across the table and twisted it to look at the time. “Liar! We still have two whole minutes, which is plenty of time.”

“I’m not going to tell, Gwendolyn,” Lily said, trying to keep the mood light, though she knew that when Gwendolyn got hooked on an idea, there was hardly anything that could stop her from seeing it through. A trait no doubt enhanced (for better or worse) by the boys...

“Okay, then I’ll start guessing. You’ll have to answer eventually. There are only so many boys at this school!”

“Guess away, Gwendolyn, but I’m not going to confirm.”

“Sirius,” came Gwendolyn’s first guess.

“No, but interesting to see that you thought of him first.” Lily was trying desperately to turn the tables on Gwendolyn.

“Please,” her friend scoffed, waving her hand dismissively. “Sirius is good for a few things in this world, but I think being a boyfriend is almost certainly not one of them.”

Lily raised one eyebrow in disbelief. “Well, I’ll just say that I’m not the only one who has noticed something between you two, so take that as you will.”

“Uh-huh, sure, Lily,” Gwendolyn said, making a ridiculous face and again waving her hand. But Lily noticed a small smile materialize at the corner of her lips as she looked down at the table. Gwendolyn coughed and turned her head back up toward Lily, and her eyes seemed unusually bright. “Next guess: James.”

“Are you just going to go through the boys in our year?” Lily said as she rolled her eyes, though she felt her heart rate speed up. She hadn’t told anyone about James’s botched attempt to ask her to Hogsmeade, not even Remus. She wanted to tell Gwendolyn, but knew that she would never live it down...

“Yes, unless you tell me that he’s in another year,” Gwendolyn said.

“Nope,” Lily responded.

“‘Nope’ as in ‘No, he’s not in another year’ or ‘Nope’ as in ‘No, I’m not going to tell you’?” Gwendolyn asked, her eyes narrowed.

“Well, that’s just for you to figure out, I suppose!” Lily shot back playfully. Anything to avoid talking or thinking about James Potter would be good at this moment.

“Fine, fine,” Gwendolyn said. “But, my dear, how ‘bout a taste of your own medicine: I’m not the only one who has noticed something between you and James.” Gwendolyn’s smile was downright mischievous, with just a touch of superiority.

Lily tried desperately not to blush yet again. Though she, of course, had no designs on James, it was always fun to entertain the idea that someone liked you. On the one hand, when he had asked her the other day, she had to admit that she had let her imagination run free for just the barest of seconds. On the other hand, James had never made any secret of the fact that he was enamored with her, so she should have felt flattered all the time�”which she didn’t. Annoyed was the most common feeling, actually. Somehow, the fact that he had actually taken action on his feelings made her even more annoyed. She didn’t like him. She didn’t want to like him. Why had he asked her?

Still, she caught herself feeling just a tiny bit of elation at Gwendolyn’s words. This couldn’t happen! She willed the annoyance take over again. She shook her head vigorously as if to confirm to both herself and Gwendolyn that she didn’t like James. “Wrong, whoever said that,” she said, perhaps a little too forcefully. “Totally, completely, one hundred percent wrong.”

“All right, all right!” Gwendolyn said, throwing her hands up in front of her. “I get the picture. Not James!” Gwendolyn paused, her gaze returning to the table as she idly traced a pattern in the wood. “But if he asked you, would you say yes? Just to have someone to go with?”

Lily almost confessed that he had, in fact, asked her, but she stopped herself in time. “Nope. I already have someone to go with.”

Gwendolyn was confused. “Who?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

“You, silly!” Lily said, sending her sweetest smile across the table.

“Oh, me, you say? How do you know I’m not already going with someone?” Gwendolyn teased, stacking her books and parchment up into a neat pile, then proceeding to shove them all haphazardly into her bag.

“What? Seriously? Who?” Lily demanded, just as they heard the familiar tone signaling the beginning of the next period.

“Saved by the bell!” Gwendolyn said with a laugh as she slung her bag over her shoulder and trotted toward the door, leaving Lily scrambling to catch up in her wake.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: Skirmishes

Remus could feel the beads of sweat gathering on his brow as the Gryffindor third-years marched toward Hogsmeade. Everyone else was calm: Sirius joked around with Peter, Lily and the girls were deep in conversation, and James walked awkwardly ahead, Diana giggling at his side. Only Remus had something to fear, and said object was looming around just a few more bends.

Of course he was overreacting. He often did. After all, who in his or her right mind would see a dilapidated-looking shack and immediately conclude that it was the monthly hiding place of an underage werewolf? No one. Only problem was, Remus knew plenty of Hogwarts students out of their right minds. Three were walking in front of him.

He had nothing to fear from James, Sirius, or Peter. He knew his secret was safe with them. But what if someone else found out? What if a Hogwarts student managed to undo all the protective spells, break into the shack, see the scratch marks, correlate the howling noises with Remus’s absences… The list of paranoias went on and on, and Remus looked around with palpable trepidation.

“It’s near here, isn’t it?”

Lily’s voice made him jump. She had managed to extricate herself from Gwendolyn, Marlene McKinnon, and Artemia Goldsmith and had crept up on poor Remus. He swallowed and nodded as he looked at her. “You should be able to see it in a few minutes.”

“Can we go visit?” Sirius asked from Remus’s left, making him jump again.

“Um… I’d really rather we didn’t, if that’s OK,” he said, wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans. “Don’t want to arouse suspicion and all that, you know.”

“Oh, come on, mate! No one’s going to piece it all together. I’d love to have a look at it!” Sirius was�”as always�”indefatigable.

“Yeah, we want to see it, Remus!” Peter chimed in. He at least looked more supportive than Sirius, as if he wanted to see the shack out of concern for his friend, not novelty.

“Guys, give him a break. Would you want to go there during the days you weren’t… you know…” Lily said, frowning mainly at Sirius.

“It’ll be a whole new perspective!” came yet another voice. James had entered the conversation, and for a moment Remus panicked, sure that he would have Diana in tow. “Relax,” said James, picking up on his friend’s sudden mood swing. “She’s walking by herself up there. Lily, you wanna go keep her company?”

Lily snorted. “Nothing would please me more.”

“Great!” he said, totally missing her sarcasm. “I just need a break…”

“James, I’m not going to go baby-sit your girlfriend because you finally realized what the rest of us learned so very long ago: Diana Denham is annoying as sin.”

“A little sin never hurt anyone,” Sirius said, eyeing Diana’s bouncing blond curls.

Lily rolled her eyes. “Gross. Maybe you should go walk with her, Sirius.”

“I would, love, but I’ve got to stay back here and convince good ol’ Books-for-Brains to let us see his hut.”

“Not going to happen, friend,” Remus said, with surprising conviction. He inhaled slowly, closing his eyes as he did so.

“Fine, fine,” Sirius relented, apparently giving up the game. “Guess we’ll just have to be satisfied with Zonko’s.”

“Hey, that’s not too bad, Sirius. We need to restock on Dungbombs, and it couldn’t hurt to pick up some other stuff,” Peter said, his eyes aglow with thoughts of untold pranking glory.

“Uh oh,” James muttered, breaking Peter’s trance. “The hen is returning to the roost.”

“What?” Peter asked.

James nodded a few feet ahead of them, where Diana had turned and started walking toward them, her hands on her hips.

“‘The hen is returning to the roost’? What kind of saying is that?” Lily asked, raising an eyebrow in scorn as she crossed her arms.

“I’ve been experimenting with animal metaphors recently,” James explained with a grin, and the four boys laughed at their private joke. Remus felt a pang of guilt for not telling Lily, but he had a hunch she would find out about their Animagi trials before it was all over…

Meanwhile, Diana was drawing ever nearer. Lily apparently shrugged off James’s farm reference: “Well, that’s nice. And I’d love to stay and chat but�”oh wait! �”no, I wouldn’t.” She veered away from the group and meandered back toward Gwendolyn, but was still in earshot when Diana reached the boys.

“James, you silly goose! You totally left me up there! I had no idea you were gone until I realized I was talking to myself! Don’t you leave me again!” She batted him playfully on the arm and James managed to eke out a sheepish smile.

Remus couldn’t see the expression on Lily’s face, but he would bet good money that it was a smirk.

***

“It’s just… of all the people in the world, he has to go out with her?” Lily’s face was twisted in disbelief, and she couldn’t stop shaking her head. They had been in Hogsmeade for about twenty minutes and Lily and Gwendolyn were in Gladrags Wizardwear.

“I though you didn’t like him, Lil,” Gwendolyn asked, one eyebrow cocked though she hardly looked up from the dress robes she was inspecting.

“I don’t. Gwendolyn, I really don’t. But he is my friend, and I have no idea what he sees in Diana Denham.” Lily wasn’t much for fashion, so instead she stared blankly at a wall, picturing Diana and James together. It was not a pleasant thought.

“I have an idea: cute face, blonde hair, painted fingernails… Sirius raves about her like there’s no other witch on the planet.”

“Ugh,” Lily shuddered. “It seriously makes me sick sometimes. She’s just so… fake. Everything is about her. She’s not funny, she’s not smart, she’s not even nice. The only thing she’s got going for her is that she’s a Metamorphmagus. And if that’s all James is interested in, then I’m glad I…” She stopped short.

“You’re glad you what?” Gwendolyn asked, her all-too-familiar mischievous grin on her face.

Lily blushed. “Nothing. I’m glad I don’t like him. I’m glad they’re together. Whatever, it’s out of my hands. May they have a happy life and a hundred babies.” She hastily rifled through a box of broaches, turning her eyes away from Gwendolyn’s grinning face.

Gwendolyn snorted. “I think you’re taking it just a bit too far, Lily. One Hogsmeade trip does not a relationship make, much less a marriage. I give the whole thing three weeks, tops. He’ll get sick of her. He’s too clever for someone like Diana. She’ll get annoying and he’ll get back to his unrequited love for you.”

Lily’s blushed deepened, but she furrowed her brow, idly running her hands over the silver and gold pins. “Even if he had a crush on me at one point, it’s over now, that’s for sure. And I don’t care, anyway. He’s a stupid, arrogant toerag with messy hair, and if he wants to chase blondes all day long, he’s more than welcome to in my book. Come on, let’s go to Zonko’s.”

Gwendolyn just shrugged and followed her out of the store.

***

Despite being safely ensconced in the library after the Hogsmeade visit, Lily still couldn’t shake what was irking her. She jumped in her chair as she looked up and saw a person sitting across the table from her, but relaxed as she saw it was Severus.

“Hey, Sev,” she said, absentmindedly massaging one shoulder, her eyes closed.

“Hey, Lily. Are you all right?” His pale face was filled with genuine concern, and for the briefest of moments, he inched his hand forward to touch her arm, before yanking it right back.

She opened her eyes and inhaled deeply. “I’m fine. It’s just… ugh,” she groaned. “It’s just stupid James Potter.”

“Has he done something to you?” In an instant, the concern became anger, and his nostrils flared at the end of his crooked nose.

“No, no, it’s nothing like that. He’s just being particularly annoying today. Did you know that he and Diana Denham are going out?” Lily wasn’t even sure Severus knew who Diana Denham was, but she could tell Gwendolyn was getting tired of hearing about the whole situation. Lily’s rambling diatribe had carried on from Gladrag’s to Zonko’s to Honeyduke’s and beyond.

“That Metamorphmagus?” Severus asked, looking up from his book. “She might be the most annoying person in our entire year. Maybe even the whole school.”

Snape’s voice was dripping with disdain as he returned his attention to his book, not caring to give Diana a second thought. Lily felt a surge of happiness swell inside. Severus’s instincts about people were rarely wrong, and if he could see through Diana’s phoniness, maybe there was hope… Hope for what? she thought to herself, though her self did not answer…

But it was time to stop thinking about James Potter.

“I didn’t see you at Hogsmeade, Sev, did you go?” Lily asked across the gnarled table from Severus, who looked up sharply.

“You went? Did you go with anyone?” he asked, his dark hair falling around his face. Lily nodded, and a look passed over Severus’s face, at once panic, worry, and anger. “Who?” he demanded. “Was it Potter or the traitor Black?”

Lily furrowed her brow and sat backwards in her chair. “Whoa, Sev, calm down. I went with Gwendolyn. And what makes Sirius a traitor?”

Severus regained what little color he had and looked away, twitching his quill around in his hands. “Nothing, never mind. Sorry. Let’s just get to work.”

“Ugh,” Lily repeated for the umpteenth time, running a hand through her thick red hair. “I’m getting pretty tired of this tablet. I don’t think we’re ever going to crack it. Not until we’ve had a lot more practice with Ancient Runes, anyway.”

Her friend frowned. “Do you want to give up?”

“No…” she said haltingly. “It’s just�”and I know you’re against this�”but it’s just that I think we should ask Professor Montgomery about it. I’m sure he can help us!”

“We don’t need his help,” Severus scoffed. “Anything he could tell us is in these books, so why bother?”

Lily pursed her lips and blinked, turning her head to the stack of books towering over Severus. “I guess,” she said, reaching across the table to grab the topmost of the pile and pulling it down to the table, which it hit with a dull thud, raising a cloud of dust in the process. Lily coughed as she pried open the ancient book.

“Lily, if you want to stop the project…” Severus began, but Lily knew he couldn’t finish the sentence. He certainly didn’t want to stop researching the complex carvings on the tablet, and Lily didn’t yet have the heart to make him, though she was increasingly creeped out by its eerie silence. It simply refused to yield its secrets, and Lily didn’t know how much more she could take.

“No, no,” she reassured him. “Let’s keep going. At least for a few more days.”

Across the table, Severus looked pleased.

***

“Anyone up for an adventure?” Sirius asked a bit too loudly Saturday morning, a week after the Hogsmeade visit.

The Gryffindors were arranged in their usual corner of the Common Room, doing their usual Saturday morning activities. Any break from the usual would be welcome relief. Remus noticed many heads shot up at Sirius’s question, and James looked visibly relieved to stop working on his Potions homework.

“What’s the adventure?” Gwendolyn asked, sounding a bit suspicious, and with good reason: the last “adventure” Sirius had promised turned out to be a bit of a bust: the Prefect’s bathroom�”while quite nice�”was hardly the gold-plated wonder chamber that Sirius had promised.

“It won’t disappoint, dear Gwennie. And this adventure is tailor-made for the Quidditch enthusiasts among us,” he said with a wink.

Gwendolyn rolled her eyes. “Just so you know, most of us have already seen the pitch, Sirius. Prepare to be underwhelmed, everyone…”

Sirius strolled over to Gwendolyn’s chair and leaned in until he was mere inches from her face: “Trust me,” he said with a wink.

It only took a few more minutes of convincing before Remus, James, Peter, Gwendolyn, and Lily had “signed up” for the adventure, and soon they were bundling up in the Common Room, climbing out the portrait hole, slipping through the front doors, and marching toward the Quidditch pitch. When the stadium loomed only a few feet in front of them, Sirius stopped and threw up his hands. “Prepare, friends, for your adventure.”

He turned around and thrust a hand into each of his jean pockets, emerging seconds later with two huge bags of Dungbombs and a wicked grin. “Shrinking Charm,” he said by way of explanation. “Never thought I’d have to use that one�”bigger is better, after all.” He winked again and Gwendolyn groaned. Remus chuckled. If Sirius weren’t an actual wizard, he would have made a wonderful Muggle “magician.”

“Wow, Sirius: a freezing cold day, Quidditch pitch, and two dozen Dungbombs. What an adventure!” Gwendolyn said dryly. “I think I’d rather be doing my Charms homework.”

“Will you please be patient?” he chided. “I’m about to explain the plan!” Gwendolyn raised her hands in agreement, then folded them across her chest. “All right,” Sirius continued. “I have found out, thanks to a tip from our dear friend Peter Pettigrew, that today the Slytherins are holding emergency Quidditch tryouts to replace two fallen members of their team. Members fallen�”I might add�”thanks to the mighty Beater’s bats of the Gryffindor Quidditch Squad.”

James burst into applause. “Here here!” he shouted gamely.

Remus smiled: an earlier scrimmage between Gryffindor and Slytherin had indeed sent two Slytherin players to the infirmary, but he had been told they would make a full recovery…

Sirius seemed to read Remus’s mind: “While those dumb snakes will make full recoveries, their darling mothers believe the rigors of the game are just too demanding for the less-than-human creeps. Therefore, the powers-that-be at Slytherin have been forced to tap into their reserve of dim-witted peons.

“Our mission,” he continued after a brief pause, “is simple: sabotage.”

It was mildly amusing to see the spate of different reactions to Sirius’s words. Remus himself was wary�”as he was with most of the boys’ plans. James and Peter, of course, looked game as ever. Even Gwendolyn seemed excited, her earlier doubt quashed. Only Lily reacted with trepidation. “Come on, Sirius. Just let them have try-outs,” she said. “It’s freezing out here anyway.”

“Oh, come on, Lil. We can have a little bit of fun. They’re just Dungbombs!” Gwendolyn was speaking to Lily though her full attention was on Sirius, who grinned.

“That’s the spirit, Gwen! Just Dungbombs. All we have to do is sneak into the stands and wreak a little havoc. We’ll be back by the fire in half an hour�”I promise.”

Lily sighed but made no move to return to the castle, so Sirius drew the gang into a huddle and whispered instructions: “We’ll split into three teams. James, you and Peter go to the north side of the pitch and Remus and I will cover the south. Girls, you’re lookouts for now�”” Gwendolyn let out a cry of protest, but Sirius continued: “For now. Take some Dungbombs if you must, but it’ll work best as a two-front attack. James, follow my lead. Girls, red sparks if you see something fishy. If the plan goes to pot, it’s every man for himself. Got it?”

All present nodded in agreement, then Sirius made them stick their hands into the circle. “One, two, three, GRYFF!” he chanted softly. They lifted their arms and then separated into the teams and flanked the stadium.

Remus followed at Sirius’s heels as they stole up the stairs and into the pitch. Crouching low behind the seats Remus could just barely make out the Slytherin team and potentials, currently having some sort of meeting on the ground far below the goal hoops. In the stands, close the ground, Professor Slughorn�”head of Slytherin�”slumbered gently.

“Is Slughorn going to be a problem, Sirius?” Remus asked, nodding in the professor’s direction.

“Doubt he’ll even wake up,” Sirius whispered, opening up one of the bags. “And we’ll be in and out so quick, there’s no way he’ll notice. No we have just enough time to get set up.” He withdrew a Dungbomb from the bag and Remus was surprised to see it was bright gold instead of the usual brown. “I made some adjustments,” Sirius said by way of explanation, and Remus grinned. If the Dungbombs were gold, they would look exactly like Snitches zooming around the pitch.

“Brilliant,” he said, genuinely impressed with Sirius’s plan.

“Thanks, mate,” Sirius responded, his dark eyes intently focused on the action below. “Now all we need to do is wait for them to take flight�”oh, here they go! Get ready.”

Remus withdrew a Dungbomb and his wand and waited for Sirius to make the first move. As soon as there were a good number of players in the air, Sirius tossed his golden bomb in the air and whispered, “Wingardium Leviosa!” It flew out of the stands and into the fray, zooming left and right as Sirius jerked his wand. He held up a hand to steady Remus: “Not yet. Give it a minute.”

As soon as a potential Seeker had caught sight of this “Snitch,” Sirius nodded to Remus who sent his own Dungbomb zipping into the air. Sirius grabbed another and chucked it out toward the field, catching it with his wand and making it fly in tandem with the original. Soon, Remus saw that James and Peter had caught on, as three or four more small objects glinted in the sun from the north end of the pitch. Remus kept his eye trained to the middle where Gwendolyn and Lily were on lookout duty, but no red sparks flew.

The Quidditch try-outs quickly descended into chaos as the boys kept adding to the number of balls in the air. Soon the Dungbombs vastly outnumbered the people. A wicked grin spread across Sirius’s face as mayhem erupted in the air. “And in just about ten seconds, phase two of the attack will begin.”

“What’s phase two?” Remus asked.

“Just cover your nose, mate,” Sirius said, bringing a piece of his robe up to shield his face.

Time-release Dungbombs. Of course, Remus thought. Sirius had planned this well.

“Three… two… ONE,” he chanted under his breath. Sure enough, no sooner had the words escaped his mouth then Remus was able to detect a faint odor and the telltale foggy gas of the Dungbombs as they exploded in the air, sending Slytherins careening in all directions. A few unlucky players found themselves unable to avoid collision and Remus watched as one tumbled toward the ground, pulling up just in time to save himself. However, the force of his maneuver was too strong and he came rocketing toward the stands, right where Remus and Sirius were crouched. In a matter of seconds, he had flown close enough to stare the two boys right in the face, and Remus paled as he saw that the boy on the broom was none other than Severus Snape. This will not end well.

Sure enough, Severus’s eyes widened in frenzy and he whipped his broom around to the still-panicking Slytherins, shouting and pointing in Remus’s direction. “IT’S GRYFFINDOR!” he yelled with maniacal rage. “BLACK AND LUPIN. THEY’RE UP HERE!”

Remus sat bolt upright as he and Sirius nearly twenty Slytherins change direction mid-air and come flying toward them, wands at the ready. He gripped his own wand and racked his brain to come up with any plan that would get them out of the situation as anything but fertilizer for the Quidditch pitch. It gave him a moment’s cheer to see Peter and James tearing around the stadium coming for backup, but still, four against twenty? The outlook was grim.

The mêlée began soon enough. Some Slytherins dismounted their brooms and attacked the Gryffindors in the stands, some flew in tight circles around the battle. Remus had no idea what jinxes, curses, and hexes were flying from their wands, all he knew is that no one was getting out unscathed. Jets of green and red flew all around them, and Remus was amazed to see how many Slytherins were stumbling.

He had no idea how long they were fighting before they all heard a booming voice and saw the imposing figure of Horace Slughorn shooting loud bangs into the air with his wand. “STOP! CEASE AND DESIST, GENTLEMEN!” he shouted, his face a mixture of rage, panic, and… was that pride?

Slughorn waded into the crowd and started pulling the Slytherins away from Remus and his friends. A few last spells bounced off the stadium benches before Slughorn quieted everyone down and turned on the Gryffindors. “Masters Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew, you should be ashamed of yourselves. Rarely in my tenure have I seen behavior like this. Thirty points from Gryffindor for each of you, and two detentions a piece on top of that.”

“That’s not fair!” Remus heard from somewhere over his shoulder, but the voice belonged to an unexpected source: all the boys whipped around to see Lily and Gwendolyn standing a few rows behind them. Lily was glaring at Slughorn, her hands on her hips. “Professor,” she continued, “the Slytherins were equally at fault! In fact, they were the ones who started the brawl!”

James smiled at Sirius, but Remus’s attention was diverted to a look that passed between Lily and Severus Snape, and Lily seemed to lose a bit of her boldness. He didn’t have time to think about it, though, as his train of thought was interrupted by Slughorn’s stammers. “Miss Evans! I’m surprised to see you here… but, well… hrm… I suppose the Slytherins should not be without punishment, right you are as always, but it is hardly fair to say that they were the instigators! And�”might I add�”any accomplices will also lose points!”

“We’re not accomplices, Professor,” she said hastily. “Just witnesses.” Gwendolyn nodded at her side. “Anyway, perhaps their punishment shouldn’t be as severe, but they’re at least partially to blame!”

Slughorn nodded and reluctantly docked points from members of his House and the whole thing was over as quickly as it started. The Slytherins gathered together and headed back toward the castle with Slughorn leading the way and Severus bringing up the rear. He turned back toward the Gryffindors and Remus could see a shallow gash on his cheek. Remus felt Lily tense beside him, but Severus’s glare was directed only at Sirius and James.

“Nice flying, Snivellus,” Sirius whispered, and Snape made a move toward him, but must have caught the pleading look in Lily’s eyes, for he turned around and hurried the rest of the Slytherins along.

The Gryffindors waited a few moments before speaking, and it was Lily who broke the silence. “Well done, boys,” she said. “Really great adventure.” Her face was the picture of disappointment and she shook her head at Sirius and James.

“Oh, come off it, Lily. They deserved it,” Sirius said, scoffing at her.

“Yeah, and they wouldn’t have even known it was us if Snape hadn’t nearly fallen off his broom,” James added.

Lily’s frown deepened but she said nothing more.

They silently wound their way down the long staircase to the ground and trudged toward the castle. Remus saw Gwendolyn look at her wristwatch and smile. “Hey, at least Sirius kept his promise: the whole thing took less than thirty minutes!”

Peter laughed and Remus managed a small smile, but the other three said nothing the whole way back to Gryffindor Tower.

***

A few hours after the Quidditch debacle, Severus met Lily in a small courtyard off the Great Hall. Madam Pomfrey had apparently mended the cut on his cheek, for hardly any trace remained. Lily wondered for a moment about the boys’ injuries, but realized it was harder than usual to feel any sympathy for them.

She twitched the corners of her mouth into a smile of greeting as Severus leaned against one of the great stone columns. The bitter November wind howled around the courtyard, kicking up bits of dust and leaves that swirled around the bottom of Lily’s robes. She shivered against the cold and rubbed her arms.

“Severus, I’m sorry about today�”” she started, but the pale boy held up a hand to silence her.

“I don’t understand why you’re friends with Potter and Black, Lily. They don’t deserve you.”

Lily blushed, startled at his words, and unsure how to respond. She had expected him to be disappointed in her for her encouragement of Slytherin punishment, but this was disappointment of a different kind, and it caught her off guard. On the one hand, there was no denying that James and Sirius were awful to Severus for largely undeserved reasons. On the other hand, despite their flaws, Sirius and James were her friends. For better or for worse, right? But how much ‘worse’ can it get’? she couldn’t help but think.

“Listen, Sev,” she started. “I don’t know why they’re so awful to you, and I wish you could just ignore it and not retaliate�”not that I blame you for what happened today�”” she added quickly. “But the fact remains that they’re in my life, and I can’t just cut them out. We’re together all the time, and they’re good friends with Gwendolyn and Remus, and I’m not going to… I can’t just stop spending time with them.”

“Well,” Severus said, a strange smile playing at his thins lips; “I guess it’s lucky for us that familiarity breeds contempt.”

Lily smiled back, though she didn’t mean it. Something in his expression was deeply troubling to her, and she kicked the ground nervously, eager for a change of topic. He was still leaning calmly against the pillar, his black eyes intensely searching her face. She blushed again and broke his gaze.

An owl hooted somewhere in the distance, its call borne on the back of a fierce wind that stung Lily’s cheeks. “Let’s go inside,” she suggested. “It’s getting really cold out here.”

Still Severus stared. After a few too many seconds, he spoke. “No, I’m going to stay out here for a while longer. You can go in.”

“Oh, OK,” she said. “Well… see you later.” She hesitated before turning on her heels and heading for the warmth of the castle, acutely aware that his eyes remained trained on her until she vanished from his sight.