Four days later, Sirius receives word from Zonko that their order has arrived. The four friends plan to meet in the classroom next to the statue of the One-Eyed Witch at eight o’clock. With Lily Evans on constant watch, they have to make it a point to remain apart the entire day “ interacting only during classes and meals.
This exasperates Lily, who is determined to catch them in the act of whatever it is they are up to. Since they share many classes, keeping track of them during the day is fairly simple, but as soon as class ends, they quickly depart the classroom, making sure that they all take a different route to their next class. This forces Lily to pick and choose which of the mischief-makers she will follow. Her only hope is that her due diligence will eventually convince them to not go through with whatever they have planned.
She still has no idea what they are up to, but based on recent behavior, she is certain that whatever it is, it’s going to happen soon. Lily follows each of the four boys in turn that day and it doesn’t seem that they are up to any sort of tomfoolery, but that itself makes her even more suspicious.
After dinner, the four assailants split up again. Convinced that whatever they are going to do will happen at night (although she wouldn’t put it past them to try something in broad daylight), Lily decides to tail Peter. She has found that he is the easiest to trail, but not because he is dimwitted. She had learned a long time ago never to underestimate any of them. In fact, in her opinion, Peter was every bit as sneaky as James or Sirius. She often thought that even James, Sirius and Remus underestimated their friend Peter.
Still, when she tried following him earlier in the day, she was literally able to walk right next to him without him noticing her. The one time that he did notice her was only because another student had said hello to her while passing in the corridor.
James, Sirius and Remus have already left the Great Hall without showing any sign of expediency. Lily catches sight of Peter, and follows him towards the marble staircase. She trails behind him a bit as he scurries up the stairs on his squat legs. He turns the corner into the second floor corridor. Lily bounds up the stairs to see where he is going, but when arriving, finds nothing.
“Where did he go?” she ponders.
Lily slowly walks down the darkened corridor. “Could he have gone into one of the classrooms?” she wonders. Lily moves towards the nearest classroom, and reaches for the handle. Just as she is about to grasp the handle, Lily feels something brush the back of her leg. She jumps and presses her back to the wall, her heart pounding in her chest.
“I-Is anyone there?” she forces out while trying to catch her breath. “Peeves if that it you, I’m going to hex you into next week!”
Lily looks around to find that the corridor is as empty as when she first found it. She has finally suppressed the lump in her throat when she feels something crawl up her leg. She lets out a scream, and hops about on her left leg while trying to kick off the large rat that has a hold of her foot.
The scruffy looking rat finally lets go, and Lily runs down the stairs screaming. The rat stands triumphantly on the banister at the top of the stairs, squeaking a cheerful laugh before scuttling up to the third floor.
James, Sirius and Remus are waiting anxiously in a third floor classroom.
“Where the bloody hell is he?” James asks curtly.
“According to the Map, he’s making his way up the stairs now,” replies Remus. “He should be at the door any second.”
James turns towards the door, expecting it to open. Instead, the three boys see a ruddy-looking rat squeeze through the gap beneath the door, before watching it transfigure into their friend Peter Pettigrew.
“It’s about bloody time,” scowls James. “What kept you?”
“I had to ditch your girlfriend on the second floor… She was following me,” squeaks Peter, which draws giggles from Sirius and Remus.
“Well, that explains the yell we heard,” barks Sirius from beneath his chuckle.
“I was watching you two on the Map. I was wondering what you two were up to,” adds Remus. “For a moment, I thought that you were getting fresh with James’s doe.”
The three friends chuckle at James’s expense as his face grows a bright shade of red. “Will you three gits get off it?” James sneers. “Evans hates my guts. I would never let her get close enough to even give me a hug because I would be afraid she were looking for a good place to stick a knife.”
The three friends shoot knowing glances between each other before breaking into another fit of giggles.
“Alright-Alright, you three have had your laugh, now let’s get going!” orders James.
“Wormtail,” whispers Sirius. “The entrance to the passage is pretty tight. You’ll probably have to transfigure into a rat to get in. It would probably be a good idea if you scout out the cellar when we get there to make sure that no one is there.”
Nodding his head, Peter changes into a rat, scurrying up Sirius’s leg and into his coat pocket.
Remus checks the Map to make sure that no one is nearby before they exit the classroom. They shuffle their way behind the statue of the One-Eyed Witch. Sirius pulls out his wand, taps the statue and says, “Dissendium!”
The back of the statue opens up, and the three boys climb in and slide down the shoot leading to the secret tunnel to Honeydukes. After Remus disappears down the shoot, the entrance to the passage closes, remaining hidden from any unsuspecting passer by.
Several hours later, the door to the Room of Requirement creaks open. James slowly pops his head out to see if there is anyone in the corridor. The coast looks clear, so James hesitantly steps out into the hallway.
So far, everything is going according to plan. They were able to pick up their order from Zonko’s, and smuggle it into the castle without incident. Just as Sirius had warned, their contraband had cost considerably more than James had expected, but he still felt that it was worth every bronze knut.
James creeps down the corridor, peaking around every corner. He is beginning to regret sending Sirius and Remus back to the dormitories with the Map. James makes it to the stairs leading to the portrait of the Fat Lady. He is only a few steps away from the portrait hole when he sees a flash of light out of the corner of his eye. Suddenly he finds himself pinned against the wall.
“Gotcha!” squeals a familiar voice.
“What is your problem, Evans?” quips James, as he peals himself from the wall.
“You can’t talk your way out of this one, Potter!” smirks Lily. “I caught you red-handed. You’re going down for this!”
“Going down for what?” James snarls. “Breaking curfew?”
“Just come clean, Potter. I KNOW that you are planning something!”
“Come off it, will you? I’m going mental with you trying to pin everything that happens around here on me.”
“That’s because you are responsible for everything that happens around here!”
James can’t help but pause because he knows that she is right. “You know what?” James quickly changes the subject. “I think that Sirius is right… You do have a crush on me. Why else would you be waiting out here in the dark for me?”
Lily’s face flushes bright pink. “I-I… do not… You are the most arrogant, revolting, pig-headed…”
James takes a hold of Lily and pulls her into a kiss that interrupts her tirade. She struggles at first, but soon closes her eyes and her flailing arms fall to her side. Lily begins to lose herself in James’s lips, but is soon brought back to reality when she hears a soft squeak. Her eyes dart open, and she pushes James away from her. Angry and confused, Lily slaps James across the face before turning on her heel, and disappearing into the hole behind the portrait of the Fat Lady.
James looks down to see a scruffy rat at the foot of the stair. “Thanks a lot, Wormtail,” quips James while rubbing the red handprint on his cheek, as Peter transfigures back into his human form, sporting a silly grin on his face.
“And by the way, where the bloody hell were you? You were supposed to be standing watch outside the Room of Requirement,” mumbles James.
“Mrs. Norris came by… I think she thought that I was her dinner.” Peter shutters, garnering quiet laughter from James.
“Come on Peter,” says James as he puts his arm around his friend. “Lets get some sleep. We have a big-big day tomorrow!” James says with a wry grin as the two friends slip into the portrait hole leading into the Gryffindor tower.
A Marauder's Tale by NctnlBst
Chapter Notes: This chapter is kind of short, but it sets up the big reveal in the last chapter. Still, I'm sure that you James/Lily shippers will like it. Enjoy.
Once again Thank you to my Beta Reader Kask.