Firelight washed over the library in warm orange waves, casting deep, comfortable shadows into the corners. It was late, and thus the room was fairly empty of students, but here and there a table was occupied, heaped with old tomes and scattered parchment.
Hunched over a pile of Transfiguration books, Lily Evans and Alice Hooper wearily bent their brains to finishing a particularly gruesome essay assigned by McGonagall. Heaving a sigh, Lily flipped half-heartedly through an archived copy of Transfiguration Today.
‘Do you have any idea what the six sub-principles of transfiguring crustaceans to crockery are?’
Alice looked up from The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Five, a somewhat glazed expression in her eyes. ‘What?’
‘Six sub-principles. Crustaceans to crockery.’
A smile twitched at the corners of Alice’s mouth. ‘Crustaceans to crockery?’ she asked, her voice thick with suppressed laughter. ‘Why on earth would anyone want to transfigure crustaceans into crockery?’
‘And why,’ added Lily, beginning to giggle, ‘would anyone invent six sub-principles for doing so?’
Alice laughed outright, earning a disapproving glare from Madam Pince, and closed her textbook with a soft thump. ‘Lil, this is hopeless,’ she groaned, a snicker still playing about her lips. She rubbed her bloodshot eyes. ‘I’m so tired I can’t think anymore. Why don’t we finish this in the morning?’
‘I’ve that Potions test to study for in the morning,’ Lily yawned, but she tossed Transfiguration Today back onto the table.
‘Dunno why you bother,’ Alice groused good-naturedly. ‘You’re brilliant in Potions; you could hand old Slughorn a cauldron of pumpkin juice and he’d think you’d invented some marvellous new serum.’
But Lily wasn’t listening. She had just seen four very familiar students enter the library. ‘Oh no,’ she said softly. ‘What are they doing here?’
Alice looked up, registering the presence of their fellow Gryffindors and affectionately-dubbed Marauders: James, Sirius, Remus and Peter. ‘Good,’ she commented. ‘Maybe we’ll get some entertainment after all.’
Lily rolled her eyes, frowning slightly as the four friends chose a spot two tables away. Madam Pince had already swooped by them, glowering in warning of the dire consequences that would befall them should they speak above a whisper.
‘I hope not,’ she grimaced in answer to Alice. ‘I don’t feel up to exercising my powers as a Prefect tonight.'
‘Relax,’ her friend advised, ‘Remus Lupin’s with them, maybe he’ll keep them in check. Meanwhile, at least we can enjoy the eye candy.’ She was watching the way Sirius lounged in his seat, firelight glancing off his glossy black hair.
‘Alice,’ Lily whispered in mock scandalised tones. ‘What about Frank?’
Alice blushed a little, but tossed her head all the same. ‘If Frank Longbottom ever plucks up the courage to actually ask me on a date, I shall refrain from observing other handsome members of the male race,’ she stated primly. ‘In the meantime, I have to do something to amuse myself.’
‘He will ask you. Mary said she heard Jonathan Craig say that Frank was planning to ask you next Hogsmeade weekend.’
‘We’ll see,’ said Alice dubiously, but she looked pleased. Then her expression turned guarded. ‘What about you? Has Snape gotten around to asking you out?’
Lily rolled her eyes. ‘Of course not. It’s not like that between us.’ And it was getting less like that by the day.
‘Um-hmm.’ Alice looked extremely sceptical. ‘It might not be like that for you, Lily, but you can’t tell me Severus Snape doesn’t fancy you. He practically drools whenever you look at him.’
‘Oh, please,’ Lily rolled her eyes, but it was more to put Alice off. She had never let herself acknowledge that that uncomfortable aspect of their friendship might exist.
Alice narrowed her eyes. ‘Weren’t you going to have a talk with him?’
‘Yes,’ Lily sighed, rubbing her temples, ‘I already did. At the train station, and again, sort of, on Monday. He wasn’t happy about it.’
‘But he hasn’t changed anything.’
Lily couldn’t answer. She found herself wishing her friend would move on to a different subject.
Alice watched her carefully. ‘Lily…I know I was never exactly supportive of this friendship, but…well, he really isn’t very nice. You should hear the stories about what he gets up to with the Slytherins.’
Lily frowned. It felt too familiar to her face these days. ‘I know,’ she brooded.
‘Do you ever think…it might be time to, you know, break it off? You’re not obligated to be friends with him if he makes you uncomfortable, Lil.’
She smiled at the concern in Alice’s voice. ‘Don’t worry. If something needs to be done, I’ll do it. It’s just…hard to see an old friend changing, is all.’
Silence fell between them. Lily watched idly as Sirius Black levitated several quills and began dropping them on Peter’s head. Remus threw Sirius a long-suffering look, and James shoved him lightly. Subsiding, Sirius said something teasing to James that made the other bristle indignantly.
‘Snape’s not the only one changing, you know.’
‘Hmm?’ Lily asked, watching James splutter as Sirius snatched Remus’s Prefect badge and pinned it on James’s chest.
‘I said, Snape’s not the only one who’s changing. I think there might be a glimmer on the horizon.’ Alice leaned in, her round face knowing. ‘Why don’t you give him a chance?’
‘What?’ Lily turned to her friend, fully attentive now.
‘James Potter. Why don’t you give him a chance?’
‘Potter?’ Lily could hardly believe her ears. Alice certainly knew how she felt about James Potter.
‘Oh, go on,’ Alice urged, in an uncharacteristic show of impatience. ‘He’s fancied you since First Year; just give it a shot.’
‘He’s an arrogant bully,’ Lily returned coolly.
‘He’s not that bad. Well, OK, he’s pretty bad, and I know they all fight with Snape, but that’s mutual,’ she pointed out fairly. ‘Anyway, there’s another side to Potter. When he’s not being a git, he can be nice. I’ve see him and Black and Pettigrew in here a lot lately—maybe they’ve decided to hit the books.’ She grinned. ‘I haven’t heard many horror stories this term.’
‘It’s only November. Give them time.’
‘Maybe what he needs is a good woman.’ Alice smiled, her eyes sparkling with the potential for romance. ‘Come on, Lil, think of all the gossip you could bring back to me! One date never killed any—oh, speak of the devil,’ she broke off abruptly as James Potter rose from his seat. Black and Lupin watched him, barely hiding smirks. Pettigrew was giggling.
Bracing herself, Lily narrowed her eyes as James made his way towards her.
‘You’d better say yes,’ Alice muttered beside her.
Lily had no time to respond, because James Potter was upon them, grinning his Quidditch Captain grin. A sense of foreboding settled in her stomach.
‘Hey, Evans. Late night studying?’
‘Yes,’ Lily answered warily. ‘You too?’ If he said yes, she would know he was lying.
‘Nah, we’re just doing a little extra-curricular research. And Peter has some Astronomy work to do.’
‘Extra-curricular research?’ she repeated dubiously.
‘It’s nothing bad,’ Potter amended hurriedly. ‘Just a project of Remus’s.’
‘Mm-hmm,’ she murmured, semi-convinced. She generally trusted Remus Lupin to do the right thing. But she knew that was not what James had come to tell her. ‘So, what do you want?’
Next to her, Alice sighed in what Lily knew was disapproval. She hadn’t meant to sound so abrupt, but James Potter always made her a bit tense.
‘Well…’ he faltered, his grin slipping a little. ‘I—I came over to say—that is, I just wondered if you would—er, I know you don’t exactly—’
‘Spit it out, lover-boy,’ Black called from his seat. James shot him a glare (as did Madam Pince), but seemed to regain his cool.
‘What I really want is a date with the prettiest girl in Hogwarts.’ He winked, finessing the recovery.
Lily glanced past him to where Lupin was pretending not to listen. Black hurriedly ducked his head over a book to follow suit, but Peter gaped openly. She suppressed a sigh, wishing he would stop asking her out when so many people were watching. Acutely aware of Alice’s eyes on her profile, she tried to think of a tactful rejection.
Potter renewed his grin, tilting his head in a winning way. The seconds stretched, and she was drawing a blank. She stared hopelessly back at him.
‘Why?’ she asked.
A flicker of a frown crossed his face. ‘Why what?’
‘Why do you want to go out with me?’ Interestingly, she found she was genuinely curious.
Potter blinked in surprise. ‘Why? Well, I mean, look at you! You’re gorgeous!’
Lily narrowed her eyes and he backtracked swiftly.
‘I mean, that’s not all! You’re, you know, smart and—and good at Potions and stuff—’
Behind him, Lupin winced discreetly and Black put his head on the table in despair.
Taking pity on him, Lily smiled wryly. ‘Thanks. But I’m sorry, I won’t go out with you.’ She began organising her notes.
‘Oh.’ He seemed to deflate. ‘Why not?’
Not wanting to be harsher than she had to, she shrugged evasively. ‘I just don’t think we’re right for each other.’
‘Well, what would I have to do to be right for you?’ he demanded.
Was he ever going to get it? She looked him directly in the eyes. Straightforward, hazel eyes, challenging her.
‘Stop cursing everyone within reach, for a start.’
‘I don’t curse everyone, ’ he objected. ‘Just a select few, who deserve it.’ He grinned again, clearly trying to charm her. She did not appreciate the effort.
‘Stop doing stupid things just to get attention.’
‘What can I say, Evans? How else will I get you to look at me?’ Impossibly, his grin broadened, and he made to sit down next to her. The confidence in his face was downright insulting. Irritation flared.
‘Then just stop being James Potter, because I would never in a million years go out with him,‘ she retorted, glaring.
James froze, and straightened slowly. Disappointment and hurt touched his eyes, surprising her unpleasantly. She was unaccustomed to him actually taking in what she said to him. Belatedly, she wished she had been kinder.
He nodded. ‘All right, then. I can take a hint. Guess I’ll turn in for the night.’ He gave a weak little smile and slowly returned to the others. At their table, Black patted him sympathetically on the back.
‘It’s amazing you don’t get more dates with that warm, fuzzy attitude of yours,’ Alice reproved, once she was sure he was out of earshot.
‘Let’s just drop it, all right?’ Lily begged wearily. She suddenly felt drained, and returned to her Transfiguration homework reluctantly.