On Sunday morning, the violent blizzard left Hogwarts covered in a glistening blanket of snow. As Lily peeked out of her dormitory window, she spotted several students trudging through the icy depths in their black cloaks and multicoloured scarves. She shuddered involuntarily. The very idea of having wet coldness pressing against her body disgusted her. She was definitely staying inside again today. Besides, she had more pressing matters to deal with.
After a healthy stretch, she sidled out of her four-poster just in time to see Susan Ross emerge from the bathroom. The tall and gangly brunette had a towel wrapped around her head and wore her trademark smirk when she spotted Lily looking at her. “Eager to start a new term, are you, Evans?”
“Well, I’m probably not as eager as you are, dear, seeing as you’re positively bouncing off the walls with excitement,” said Lily simply as she pulled her long red hair into a bun. Keen on avoiding another egotistical conversation (she had enough of that with James), she quickly gathered her clothes and headed into the washroom.
Twenty minutes later, she was dressed and ready to go. She stood in front of the full-length mirror for one last check, and was absolutely horrified to discover a very red, very painful spot just above her left eyebrow.
“No!” she groaned, leaning forwards to inspect it more carefully. “Not before start-of-term”argh!” Flinching at the burst of pain as she touched it gently, she released another growl of frustration. She pulled her wand from her skirt pocket and pointed at the offensive pimple, ready to curse it off, when she stopped. She eyed her reflection for a moment and then, with a sigh of resignation, she tucked her wand away again.
“Not worth losing an eye over.” Resolutely, she straightened her sweater and started for the staircase. There was a small buzz of chatter in the common room, and when she reached the bottom step, she spotted James, Remus, a group of second years, and a couple of fifth years lounging by the fire. James, whose round eyeglasses were perched on top of his head, grinned and waved at her. She smiled back and headed towards him.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” she greeted them, immediately flumping into the space next to Remus on the double-seat couch.
“Hey Lily.” James acknowledged her with a smile, but then directed his attention to the essay he was writing. Lily surveyed the scene. James’s sleeves were rolled up and some of his fingers were ink-stained”signs that he had been finishing his homework early this morning. Remus, on the other hand, had an Arithmancy book open on his lap, but he wasn’t reading. He was watching James with a slightly bored expression, as if waiting for the latter to say or ask him something. Lily bent forwards to look at the title of James’s essay: The Ancient Roman Arithmancy Symbols and Their Corresponding Connotations.
Rolling her eyes, she reached up to whisper in Remus’s ear, “Playing tutor again?”
“In a way,” replied Remus, running his fingers through his sandy blond hair. “He’s finished seven of the nine essays due tomorrow without my help. That’s a feat within itself, I reckon.”
“So, Lily,” said James loudly, breaking up their conversation. He stared at her intently, his hazel eyes more recognizable without the reflective barrier of his glasses. “Are we all set to go to Sluggy’s party?”
“I believe so,” answered Lily casually as she fingered her charm bracelet. “If you can guarantee that you’ll have all your homework and Quidditch practice finished by then, I can’t see any reason why we can’t go.”
An impish grin spread on James’s face as he added a few more sentences to his essay. “Your obvious faith in me is touching. They won’t assign us any homework this week, you wait and see.”
“James, we’re in our seventh year. I assure you, they will.”
James shrugged this comment off nonchalantly and replaced his glasses on the bridge of his nose. There were another few moments of silence as he wrote until the very end of the parchment. Both Lily and Remus were drifting away in their own worlds, undoubtedly thinking about the same thing: Slughorn’s Party. It didn’t help that James was so eager, so excited about lily finally agreeing to accompany him to any event alone. Lily was anxious. She couldn’t help but think about the numerous things that could happen, whether they were appealing or not. The apprehension threatened to stir her resolve, but she held her ground.
Stealing a sidelong glance at the bespectacled young man before her, she weighed the chances of him doing something stupid. He had never tried to kiss her before; nor had he tried to get her alone in a broom closet or any other location that Hogwarts couples frequented. Yet, there was no telling what he could do, especially with his best friend, Sirius Black, present at the party. Who knew what diabolical scheme they could come up with? Then, another question hit her. Would he really take advantage of me?
Her thoughts were interrupted by James noisily rolling up his finished essay. He tossed the parchment into his bag and pulled out a fresh piece, and then leaned forward to address Remus. “Who are you going to Sluggy’s party with?”
Remus looked at him for a while before responding, “I’m asking Julia Bennett out today.”
“Oh, you are?” James raised his eyebrows slightly, his eyes darting from Remus to Lily. “Why the sudden change of mind?”
“Apparently, Lily said ‘yes’ to you first, didn’t she?” replied Remus lazily as he closed the book in his lap and stretched. Afterwards, he stood and brushed the dust off his pants. “I’m going to see if I can find her. See you both later.” He nodded at James and smiled at Lily, before heading out of the common room.
Lily and James were left alone, but the latter didn’t strike up any conversation as he normally did when given such an opportunity. Instead, he was concentrating on his Potions textbook, looking up the various uses of unicorn horns. Lily inwardly marvelled at how hard he studied when he had his heart in the right place. James didn’t have the best study habits, but when he was intent on getting his lessons done, he would, and he’d pass with flying colours. James had a brilliant mind, and Lily never doubted that. She just often wondered why he chose to use his brilliance in less than respectable ways sometimes.
Sighing, she stood up and said, “I’m going to grab a bite to eat, James. I’ll see you later.”
“Take care, Lily,” he murmured distractedly as he furiously wrote on his parchment. Lily allowed herself a small smile before turning around and leaving Gryffindor Tower.
~*~
Later that day, with all his homework done, James met up with Sirius, Remus, and Peter in the entrance hall. Remus had just informed them that Julia agreed to accompany him to the party, and he looked very pleased indeed. Sirius leaned against the wall with his heel casually propped up behind him, smiling amusedly. Peter poked Remus in the ribs and exchanged a knowing glance with James. James returned it with a roguish wink. The Marauders were known for tricking not only other people, but also themselves. And Mr. Moony has just presented himself as their new victim.
Making a mental note to talk to Sirius about their new prank later in their dormitory, James spotted a group of green-and-black clad students emerging from the doorway leading to the dungeons. His eyes narrowed automatically. Seeing the change in his visage, the others followed his gaze.
“Still strutting around, is he? The greasy slime ball,” spat Sirius hatefully. The boy Sirius was referring to, Severus Snape, paused and turned to whisper something in another boy’s ear”one who bore a striking resemblance to Sirius.
“I thought the Hogwarts Express wasn’t arriving until later tonight,” remarked Peter, looking at Sirius in askance.
Sirius’s eyes glittered with fury. “I thought so too.”
James saw the muscles in Sirius’s forearm tense as he gripped something inside his robes. “Padfoot . . .” he began, but Sirius was already a quarter of the way down the hall in the general direction of the Slytherins.
“Goddamnit,” hissed James, and he sprinted after his best friend. “Padfoot! Padfoot, get back here.” He looked behind him briefly to ask for Remus’s help, but his two other companions had followed him as well.
“Regulus!” shouted Sirius as he advanced towards the six or seven students huddled together. The smallest of the lot, a fifth year with Sirius’s black hair and grey eyes, but with a thinner face and longer nose, whirled around at the sound of his name. The boys around him glared spitefully as Sirius neared them.
James skidded to a stop, allowing Remus and Peter to go on ahead of him. He stared at the duel about to unfold, and for the first time in his life, James Potter hesitated. Maybe I should go get Lily . . . . This sudden thought startled him. He had never considered calling Lily before, not when it involved his friends and the Slytherins. He had always been able to either keep his friends in check, or keep the duel under wraps, but they were in the entrance hall. Even Hagrid would be able to hear them from his hut.
Suddenly, there was a dazzling blast of light from Sirius’s end, and several of the Slytherin boys crashed into the opposite wall. Shouts of curse words and hexes mingled with the audible zing! of the spells, creating a deafening din. James gripped his wand tightly, strengthening his resolve. He ran towards the manic exchange of hexes, not to join in, but to attempt to stop it.
Before he could even yell out a word, a particularly strong spell hit him square in the chest and sent him flying across the marble floor. A crowd of students had gathered at the scene, eagerly watching for the outcome of the duel. James was sprawled on his back, the area where the curse hit him throbbing in pain. Just then, someone knelt down by his side and a familiar voice spoke,
“James”James, are you all right? Can you hear me?”
James’s eyes threatened to pop out of his head as the pain gradually sneaked up his neck. “Lily?” he managed. He couldn’t breathe; something was pushing against his windpipe, depriving him of air.
“I’ve called McGonagall,” said Lily, as she waved her wand on top of his chest. The pressure in his neck slowly decreased, and he gasped for air. Slowly and painfully, he sat up, only to see a look of complete disgust on Lily’s face. She helped him to his feet and tucked her wand inside her robes, glaring all the while at the brawling students just a short distance away.
Suddenly, there was a loud, ear-piercing bang, and the three Marauders and the group of Slytherins all zoomed to a particular spot on the wall, where the hung spread-eagled on the cool marble. The student body burst into laughter at the comedic sight, but the intimidating figure of Professor McGonagall descended the stairs, causing the students to fall silent.
James watched her guardedly, already anticipating what was about to happen. McGonagall paused at the foot of the stairs. A look of unimaginable anger was on the deputy headmistress’s face; James had never seen her mouth so thin. Everyone waited with bated breath for what she was about to say.
After a few agonizing moments, she spoke, “Detention.” Her voice was sharp like a whip. “All of you.” Her eyes swept over the eight boys”three Gryffindors and five Slytherins. “And you.” She stared directly at James, her nostrils flaring. “I expected better from you, Potter, but apparently, ‘Head Boy’ doesn’t suit you.”
“Professor, please,” began Lily, but McGonagall cut her off.
“Not now, Miss Evans.”
“Professor, I assure you James didn’t take part in the duel,” Lily pressed on. “He wanted to stop it, but he was hit by a Tracheal Hex. He wouldn’t have been able to join even if he wanted to. Which I hope he didn’t . . .” She turned to narrow her eyes at James. “. . . because then I have to apologize and let him step down.”
McGonagall gazed at James sternly. “Is that true, Potter?”
“Yes, Professor,” James managed to say amidst his surprise and confusion. Of course, there were other instances where he didn’t participate in any ruckus with the rest of the Marauders, but it was the first time that Lily had ever stood up for him. Usually, she sided with the administration, no matter how much he tried to dissuade her from doing so. The deputy headmistress eyed them both suspiciously, probably wondering if James had cast the Imperius Curse on Lily. It was indeed an unusual situation, especially considering the two Heads’ history, but the professor’s trust in Lily prevailed.
“Very well,” she huffed and turned to the other boys. “Twenty points apiece from each of your Houses, and detention for two weeks.” After rendering them all with another particularly frightening glare, she flicked her wand so that the eight students were released from their magical bindings, and turned to climb back up the stairs.
After a thorough exchange of dirty looks, the Gryffindors and Slytherins separated, and Sirius, Remus, and Peter joined the pair by the stairs. Lily rounded on them at once.
“Congratulations boys, you just lost Gryffindor sixty points,” she fumed.
“Thank you, love. We couldn’t have done it without you,” retorted Sirius. “No thanks to James, of course.” He shot a steely glare in his best friend’s direction; James easily recognized Sirius’s admittedly superb acting skills. If there was anything Sirius loved more than long, drawn-out detentions, it was inducing drama.
Remus was talking quietly to Lily when Sirius yanked him roughly away. “No fraternizing with the enemy, Remus, you know better than that.” He completed his act with a very condescending look at Lily, and a commanding “Let’s go, lads. There’s nothing more to see here except law-abiding sods.” He then led the two boys away, but not before he flashed a furtive wink at James.
James fought the urge to laugh out loud; he had more pressing matters on his mind. Turning slowly towards to the girl beside him, he started, “Lily . . .” just as she uttered, “James . . . .”
They looked at each other for a moment; again, James tried hard to fight the laughter rising in his throat. The look on Lily’s face wasn’t of one who was amused. Clearing his throat, he continued, “I”thank you. That was very nice of you.”
“Aren’t you the least bit resentful that you don’t have detention?” Lily folded her arms across her chest and raised an eyebrow at him.
James smirked. “If I said I wasn’t, you’ll forever think of me as a bloody hypocrite.”
Lily stared at him for a fleeting second, before she rolled her eyes and started up the stairs. Grinning broadly, James followed her, eagerly looking forward to an amusing banter in the Head’s Lounge about whether he was a hypocrite or not.