It was raining hard at 8:55. Lily stood underneath a bare tree in one of the school’s courtyards, jean coat over her head.
“How can a perfect sunset turn into a storm in half an hour?” Lily grunted to herself. “Oh, yes, Maya told me to take a raincoat, but did I listen? Noooooo!!!! I have to listen to Seers more often!”
She ran to the next tree. All the little raindrops hanging onto the loose leaves trickled onto her face and onto her schoolbag.
She jumped over a puddle, but accidentally landed in a deeper one. She bit the corner of her lip and stood in the puddle while her sneakers became more and more soaked with water.
“Damn! Is James Potter really worth going through all this trouble?” She stepped out of the puddle and leaned her right foot against the courtyard wall. With one tap of her wand, she transformed her soaked sneakers into waterproof combat boots.
“There,” she sighed, happily even though her hair was clogged with water and her shirt was soaked. “I’ve always wanted a pair of those.” She tightened the shoelaces and checked her watch again.
8:57 PM.
She ran around the corner, just as an entire cascade of water slid off the ceiling of a wall.
“Oh my gosh! I do NOT believe this!” She tapped her head and her entire body became waterproof. “Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
She walked through a stone arch, cautiously in case more water decided to annoy her.
As she stepped into the courtyard with the unicorn fountain, she instantly regretted her decision of meeting place.
The unicorn fountain was in the middle of a barren stone patio, overlooking the lake. The fountain was almost as big as two of the horseless carriages lined up together. In the middle was a little island with a stone figure of an unicorn rearing, water shooting out of its horn.
It would have been a sweeter place to be, if it weren’t raining and she wasn’t going to meet Potter here.
She picked up her bag and protected it from the rain.
Raindrops splattered in puddles all around her. She saw her face in every single one of them, but no Potter.
Maybe he’s forgotten already, she thought.
She looked back at her watch.
8:59 PM… 9:00 PM.
“He has fifteen seconds,” she whispered to herself, “… Ten… 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.”
She looked up from her watch and scanned the scenery. No sign of the Head Boy.
She sighed and was about to return to the Gryffindor Common Room, disgruntled and indignant, when she bumped into the person standing behind her.
~
“You really though I wouldn’t be here, Evans?” James asked a startled Lily Evans.
God, she looks really pretty, he sighed.
“How long,” she demanded, “have you been standing there?”
“For fifteen seconds,” James guessed, “More or less.”
Lily nodded and folded her arms. “You’re stalking me now?” she asked.
“No,” he said, “You invited me here.”
“I had to!”
“It was you’re own free will.”
“Whatever,” Lily scoffed, “I don’t like you.” She walked past him and into the covered walkway, where it was dry. James followed her.
“O.K. Be like that,” she continued, “But let’s just get to work on the ideas.”
She sat down on the floor and spread some pieces of parchment out on the stone floor. James sat down, realizing he hadn’t brought a quill or an inkbottle either.
He gritted his teeth, foolishly, watching Lily take out her own supplies.
“You didn’t bring anything?” Lily noticed.
“I did!” With one whip of his wand, a small table, several quills accompanied by ink appeared out of nowhere. “Lumos,” he finished, and his wand illuminated the writing area.
Lily picked up the parchment and piled them on the desk. “Thank you,” she said as indifferently as she could try to do.
~
Half an hour passed, and Lily was scribbling down on her last piece of parchment decorations for the End-Of-The-Year Feast.
“What should the graduates wear?” she asked James, who was sitting opposite of her, drawing the Great Hall plans. She was surprised that he was actually putting his mind to good use and not pelting her with plaguing questions of visits to the next Hogsmeade trip.
“Definitely not black,” he dissuaded, “I’m getting pretty tired of it. Seven years is enough. I don’t want to say good-bye to the best place in the world while wearing that depressing color.”
“Then what?”
“Uh… how about they wear a colored cloak that represents their house colors? And they can have a brooch with their house animal on it. Underneath can be the formal dress or suit of their choice.”
“That sounds alright. Just as long as you don’t bewitch the brooches to make them bite their wearers, or something else that germinates in your mind.” Lily made a small note in the corner of her parchment.
She tied all the papers together and put them in her bag. “I’m done. You?”
“I’ve been done.”
“Then what have you been drawing?”
James folded up his papers and pocketed them. “Nothing important.”
“Don’t show me a hideous portrait of myself again.”
“Oh, come one. It’s not THAT bad! And the other one wasn’t ugly!” James tried to defend his last sketch of Lily holding his hand by the lake. He tapped the desk with his wand and it disappeared, along with the quills and inkbottles.
“It was a revolting stick figure!”
“You’re lucky I didn’t draw you in greater detail.” James grinned mischievously.
“You little-!!!” Lily gave James a playful push, and started walking back to the Gryffindor Tower.
They were halfway finished with their walk Lily’s mind was swirling with horrible images of James coming out of the flaming dungeons.
“About the fire, are you alright?” she asked.
“Yeah, Madame Curtis healed all my burns… but that bloody git, Snape.” He clenched his teeth together.
“Oh.” Lily didn’t say anything to counter James’ anger. She was beginning to hate Snape just as must.
Everyday, her stomach became even more and more upset. Her parents were in danger by the passing hour. She desperately wanted to tell them and Dumbledore.
“Potter?” she asked quietly.
“Yeah?”
“Can I borrow Godric?”
“Sure, why?”
“I can’t use my owl.”
“Why not?”
“I just can’t.”
~
Back in the common room, James was just about to say good night to Lily, when Sirius, Remus, and Peter raced down the boy’s dormitory stairs.
“James! James! You’ve been followed!” Sirius unfolded the Marauder’s Map and tapped it with his wand, muttering “I solemnly swear I am up to no good” so Lily wouldn’t hear. The map of the school blossomed on the parchment and Remus jabbed his finger at a speeding dot racing through the corridors, labeled “Regulus Black.”
“My bloody brother was following you guys the entire time!” Sirius moaned.
“Did you see him?” Peter questioned.
“Please tell me he didn’t get away!” Remus peeked behind him at Lily, who was as pale as the parchment.
“A… a Slytherin followed me?” she asked. She was breathing unusually quickly. “How close was it?”
“Pretty close,” Peter said, “If you had turned around, you might have seen him.”
“James, can I use your owl now?”
“He’s in the owlery right now. I could go down and deliver the letter for you.”
“Without being seen?”
“I have my ways of not being caught.”
Lily nodded and disappeared into her room. A few minutes later she returned with a letter. She whispered a spell and the letter became tightly sealed. Before handing it to James, she said dangerously, “Do not dare open it.”
James nodded, took the Marauder’s Map, and walked out of the potrait hole.
A few hallways from the owlery, he looked around and opened the letter and read what Lily was so worried about.
Dear Mum and Dad,
Remember the letter I wrote to you saying that I was having a great time at Hogwarts? I lied. Things are not going well. There is a Dark Lord killing wizards and muggles, and he has some supporters here at Hogwarts.
One night, I was doing patrols when I stumbled across their secret. Please don’t be alarmed. I’m unharmed and in good condition. It’s just you that are in danger. The supporters of the Dark Lord, or “Death Eaters” as their appropriate name, have proposed to me an inescapable deal. If I revealed their identities, they vowed they would kill you both. For the past days, I did not want to risk that. But now it seems that I have no choice.
Please, I am begging you! Please flee. You are not safe where you are. Go to my friend, Julianne’s, house. I gave you all my friend’s addresses before I went back to school. Show tyem the letter and it will explain everything,
Love,
Lily Evans
His mouth dropped open. Death Eaters at Hogwarts? Right under Dumbeldore's nose?
Who?
Names raced through his head as he called Godric down from his perch.
Malfoy... Bellatrix Black... Snape.
James snarled with hatred. Godric, sensing his master's anger, picked the letter out of his hands and flew off into the night.
As he sped back to the Gryffindor Common Room, the shadows and painting of the school no longer seemed friendly and welcome. They seemed to reach out for him, to tear him apart.
He checked the map again and saw Regulus Black standing by Severus Snape.
James yelled as loudly as he could, arousing several portraits from their sleep.
He was furious beyond insanity. How DARE Snape bribe Lily! And even Sirius knew about it. His best friend!
He walked up the staircase that had been recently crumbled. He pointed his wand at one step and growled a curse that he had never used. The step glowed for a moment, but resumed to its original stone color.
“This is for those bloody Slytheirns, may all their feet fall through that step.”
James jumped over it, because if he stepped on it, his foot would fall through.
“It’s the least I can do.”
AN: This was the birth of the infamous "trick step" that Neville Longbottom's inept foot always forgets to skip. Anyway, I hoped you liked it! Read and Review, or I will punish you all with my awsome potato powers! Fear me!
In case all of you are tired of waiting for me to update, I do have some poetry, too! Please read and review my poems, too!