“Lily, hurry up! We’re already late to the party,” Kelly called through the bathroom door.
“What time is it?” asked Lily, who was attempting to tame her long red hair.
“We have to leave now,” Kelly answered. “Meredith left with Sean half an hour ago and the boys are waiting for us.”
“Okay, I guess I’m ready,” said Lily. She slipped a barrette into her hair and left the bathroom.
“Wow, Lily. Are you trying to impress someone?” Kelly teased, raising her eyebrows as Lily came into the bedroom. Lily’s form-fitting green dress clearly eclipsed Kelly’s simple blouse and skirt.
Lily blushed slightly but protested in indignation. “I’m not wearing anything special.”
“If you say so,” Kelly said as they left their dormitory.
After they had descended the staircase, the two girls found Andy waiting for them alone.
“Where are the others?” Lily asked as Andy put his arm around Kelly’s waist.
“Remus wasn’t feeling too well so James, Sirius, and Peter took him to the Hospital Wing. James said he and Sirius would meet you at the party.”
“Sirius was invited, too?” Lily asked, surprised, as they climbed through the portrait hole and started down the corridor.
“He has a date,” explained Andy.
Lily rolled her eyes. Everyone knew that Sirius would not have been invited to a “Slug Club” party without having a date. Even though he was smart enough to be in the N.E.W.T. Potions class and could concoct a decent potion if he wanted to, he was not one of Slughorn’s favorite students. He usually partnered up with infatuated girls who tended to do most of the potion-making while Sirius joined James in causing mayhem in the classroom. Just last week he had managed to slip an unknown ingredient into his potion, which exploded and left the room smelling like onions for days.
To Lily, the walk to Slughorn’s office seemed to take much longer than she remembered. Though Kelly and Andy tried to make small talk with her, they always reverted back into lapses of silence. Furthermore, seeing Andy and Kelly walk with their arms around each other made Lily feel like a third wheel. Each time they found their conversation dying her thoughts would stray to James and what he and the other Marauders were doing. Over the past month it had become easier and easier to talk to James and even to the other Marauders. Ironically enough, Lily found herself wishing she had James to talk to at that moment rather than her best friends.
A little after eight, Lily, Kelly, and Andy arrived at Slughorn’s office where they found the party in full gear. The room was very cramped and noisy and Lily quickly separated from Kelly and Andy as she made her way through the crowd, looking for James.
“Lily! How are you?”
The redhead turned around to see a very large man grinning from ear to ear and looking very odd in his orange suit and black bowler hat.
“Good evening, Professor,” replied Lily, glancing around for anyone she knew so she could excuse herself.
“I am thrilled that you came tonight, Lily,” boomed Slughorn. “I always enjoy it when my best students come to my little get-togethers. That draught of peace potion you made today in class was outstanding by the way. Did you happen to bring anyone with you tonight?”
“Uhh…I’m supposed to meet James Potter but I haven’t found””
“Potter? I just saw him a moment ago,” said Slughorn, looking around the room. “Well, we can’t have you standing here all alone. I’m sure the boy’s around here somewhere.”
With that, Slughorn grabbed Lily’s arm and pulled her into the crowd.
“Professor, this really isn’t necessary. I’m quite capable of finding him by myself,” Lily protested as they squeezed between two large witches, but Slughorn did not seem to hear her. Soon enough, however, he found James, Sirius, and Sirius’s date gathered around the punch bowl.
“There you go, Lily. I’ve found your date for you,” Slughorn announced.
“Oh, he’s not my d”” Lily started but Slughorn had already disappeared into the crowd again. She looked over at the boys, who were looking at her curiously.
“What was that about?” asked James.
She shrugged her shoulders. “No idea.”
“He just wants to make sure his little Potions princess is taken care of,” said Sirius jokingly. He took a last sip from his glass of punch and then put his arm around his date’s waist. “Vanessa and I will leave you two alone now,” he said with a wink. Then he leaned over to James and Lily and added quietly, “We’ve got an appointment with that dark corner over there.”
James chuckled at Sirius’ bluntness while Lily just shook her head. Sirius’ behavior was not surprising for he had been this way for years. He was a heartthrob at Hogwarts and almost always had a girlfriend. James, on the other hand, was very popular among the girls, too, but did not date as much as Sirius did. Instead he had chosen to spend the last six years pursuing Lily.
Lily looked over at James, recalling how arrogant and annoying he had been in the past and how she had often wished he would disappear forever. For some reason, she couldn’t remember exactly why she had so strongly disliked him.
“Do you want something to drink?” James asked, waving his hand towards the punch bowl.
“No, I’m not thirsty, but I am a bit hungry. What do they have to eat here?” Lily replied.
“Well,” began James making his way down the refreshments table. “There are bite-size ham sandwiches, strawberries, apples, grapes, treacle tart, chocolate éclairs, oh, and look, Slughorn managed to get some of Honeydukes’ specialty chocolate!”
Lily made a face at the last option. James stared at her in bewilderment.
“You don’t like Honeydukes’ chocolate?” he asked, astounded.
“I don’t hate it. I just don’t particularly enjoy it,” Lily explained.
“You might as well have told me you hated Quidditch,” James continued. “I don’t know if I can be friends with you anymore.” He shook his head, pretending to be disappointed, but a smile spread across his face and Lily knew he was teasing her.
“I will have a bowl of strawberries, though,” Lily said, reaching over to spoon the fruit into a bowl.
“No, allow me,” James said, taking the spoon from her. “I am your date after all.”
“James, it’s just strawberries. I can get them myself.”
“I know. Still, let me get them for you.”
James spooned out a bowl of strawberries for Lily and treacle tart for himself and motioned for the two to sit down at a nearby table to eat.
“So, are there any other foods you don’t like that I should be aware of?” asked James, giving her a smile.
“No, not really. I like most other foods. What about you?”
The raven-haired boy thought for a moment and then shook his head. “I like everything and will eat anything.”
“Anything?” asked Lily, raising her eyebrows.
“Yup. How else would I have grown so much over the summer?”
“Yeah, I did notice that you’ve gotten a lot taller since last year.” She hesitated before adding, “You look good.”
“You do, too, Lily. I didn’t say it earlier, but you look really pretty tonight.”
Lily felt herself cheeks turn pink and she quietly thanked him as she looked down at her strawberries. So, he had noticed. She had debated with herself what to wear to the party for the longest time and had finally chosen to wear her newest green dress, which she knew accentuated her emerald eyes. She didn’t know why she had chosen the dress, but something inside her wanted to look her best in front of James.
Eating her last strawberry, Lily tucked her hair behind her ear and looked towards the center of the room. The loud and upbeat music had been replaced by a slower song and several couples were dancing. She saw that one of these couples was Andy and Kelly and she smiled to herself.
“Lily.”
Lily turned and looked at James. He gave her a small smile and cocked his head slightly towards the dance floor.
“Would you like to dance with me?”
At his question, Lily felt her heartbeat quicken. Her first instinct was to say “yes” but part of her remembered the last six years and how arrogant and annoying he had been. She was having a good time with James but she wanted to make clear that there was nothing more than friendship between them.
“I guess one dance couldn’t hurt…just as friends though, right?”
James’ face fell ever so slightly and then he nodded. “Of course. It’s only as friends.”
Together, they left their seats and walked to where the couples were dancing. She looked at James and awkwardly placed her hand on his shoulder. He took a step closer to her and slowly slipped his arm around her waist. At his touch, Lily felt her cheeks flush and she looked away.
“Come on, I’m not going to kiss you or anything. You can take my other hand,” James teased.
Suddenly, Lily became aware of her other hand hovering close to her body and then embarrassedly took James’ hand.
A few moments went by in silence before James spoke.
“I can’t honestly be that bad of a dancer, can I? You look so uptight.”
“No, you’re not a bad dancer. I just…I…”
“Just relax. It’s just a dance.” He gave her an encouraging smile and Lily felt her body loosen a bit. He was right; dancing was not that big of a deal.
As the singer ended the song on a long low note, another slow dancing song began. Only slightly aware of her surroundings now, Lily felt James let go of her hand and slip his other hand around her waist. Her hand joined her other hand around his neck and as she moved closer to James, she caught the smell of his cologne.
They danced in silence for most of the song, enjoying each other’s presence, until over James’ shoulder, Lily spotted Meredith and Sean walking over to where they were dancing. Her heart rose up in her throat. If Meredith saw Lily dancing with James, she would think that they were an item for sure. Not only would she be upset, but she would be even angrier at Lily for lying to her about her relationship.
“Lily?” James asked suspiciously, raising his eyebrows. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Excuse me while I go to the bathroom, okay?”
Pulling away from James, Lily dashed into the crowd but in her haste she collided into Kelly.
“Excuse me, Kelly,” Lily said, trying to move past her friend. Kelly, though, took in Lily’s flustered appearance and grabbed Lily by the arm.
“Lily, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. I was just going to use the bath…”
Lily faltered at Kelly’s raised eyebrows.
“Lily, I’m not stupid. After being your best friend for six years, I know when something is bothering you.” Then Kelly gave Lily a small smile and spoke in a gentler tone, “Talk to me, Lils. What’s wrong?”
“Fine. It’s nothing really important though. I was dancing with James and””
“Whoa, what did you say? You were dancing with James?” Kelly’s eyes danced with amusement and she wore an ‘I told you so’ smirk.
“Kelly, do you want to hear the rest of the story or not?” protested a blushing Lily.
“Fine, I won’t interrupt again.”
Lily described her dance with James up to the point where Meredith and Sean appeared.
“And…,” said Kelly, looking a bit disappointed at Lily’s anticlimactic story. “Did Meredith come over and talk to you?”
“No. She didn’t even see us, or at least I don’t think she did. I left as soon as I saw her.”
Kelly was silent for a few moments before replying, gently, “Lily, are you sure you’re not just feeling guilty about having feelings for James when Meredith likes him?”
Lily dropped her jaw. “Kelly! You know I don’t like him! We’re only friends, if that!”
“Hmm, I don’t know. From what you just told me, it sounded like you were enjoying dancing with him,” teased Kelly. “But I will tell you that Meredith seemed pretty content with Sean so if I were you, I’d try to find James again. He’s probably looking for you.”
With Kelly’s encouragement, Lily made her way back through the crowd until she spotted a boy with dark and untidy hair standing with his dark-haired friend, who had his arm around his date. Smiling to herself, she started to walk towards James, Sirius, and his date until a petite blonde girl came into view. Olivia Brooks was standing with the boys, twisting a strand of hair with her finger and smiling broadly.
Seeing this, Lily stopped dead in her tracks. Sirius had apparently told a joke and Olivia was hunched over laughing. When she stood up again, she wiped her eyes and placed her hand on James’ shoulder for support. James was turned away from her so Lily could not see his face, but she saw him lean over and whisper something to Olivia which set her off in another fit of laughter.
“Why didn’t he come after me?” thought Lily, her mind racing. “Would he really rather spend his time with that dumb blonde?” Clenching her fists and fighting off unexpected tears, Lily turned around and ran out of Slughorn’s office.
Once she had left the party, Lily aimlessly wandered the halls until she found an empty classroom where she could be alone with her thoughts. Even after seeing James show an interest in the small, flirtatious sixth year, Lily could not seem to get the bespectacled boy out of her head. Though it was awkward and uncomfortable at first, she remembered how much she had enjoyed dancing with him. The music, his smell, and the way she could block out the rest of the world and all her problems in it…
Suddenly, Lily heard footsteps and a voice outside the classroom. Rising from the chair she was sitting in, she tentatively walked over to the door and peeked out the small window and saw Peter Pettigrew walking down the hall muttering to himself. Quietly, she opened the door and caught a few words of what he was saying.
“‘Slug Club!’ How could I not have been invited? I’m smart, I’m responsible.” He looked at his watch. “Merlin, they better not be late! They’re probably in there snogging girls. Moony will have already transformed by now! Oh, there you are!”
Lily took a step back into the classroom so as not to reveal her presence but could also still watch. James and Sirius appeared from around the corner and greeted Peter.
“Sorry we’re a bit late, Wormy. Prongs couldn’t keep his hands off of Brooks!”
“No!” said James, indignantly. “She couldn’t keep her hands off of me!”
Sirius rolled his eyes. “Same thing. Did your small brain wonder what happened to Evans, though?”
“Lily,” whispered James, his eyes widening. “I’ve got to find her. If she saw me with Olivia, she’ll never talk to me again!”
“We don’t have time for that!” whispered Peter. “And keep your voice down or someone will hear us.”
With that, James pulled a silvery cloak out of his pocket and tossed it over the three boys and, to Lily’s surprise, they disappeared. For a moment, she thought they had apparated but then she reminded herself that no one could apparate on Hogwarts grounds.
Looking more carefully at the spot where the boys had disappeared, Lily saw a single foot.
“Wormtail, can you transform now? My foot is sticking out,” a voice whispered.
Curious at the cloak the boys were hidden under, Lily emerged from the classroom and followed the sound of their whispers. What could the boys be doing and why were they hiding under an Invisibility Cloak? Her first thought was that they were playing a prank or sneaking off to the kitchen to get food but a part of her felt that this was something more than Marauder jokes.
Lily was able to follow the boys’ footsteps and whispers all the way out of the castle. Once they reached the grounds, the boys waited for Madam Pomfrey to leave a pale and sickly looking Remus and then threw off the cloak.
Quickly finding a hiding spot behind a tree, Lily attentively watched the boys leave the nurse and make their way down to the Whomping Willow tree. A small rat jumped out of Sirius’ arms and scurried over to press a large knot at the base of the tree which froze the attacking branches. Sirius, James, and Remus quickly slipped under the tree while Lily sat dumbfounded in her hiding place.
What were the boys doing under the Whomping Willow? How had they known how to freeze the ferocious tree’s branches? Was Peter Pettigrew an Animagus? An infinite flow of questions racked Lily’s brain. She had seen Madam Pomfrey bring Remus outside. Did other faculty members know about the excursions during the night?
Should she alert a teacher that she had followed the boys and seen them slip beneath the Whomping Willow? The responsible, Head Girl part of Lily debated with her curiosity but in the end, she decided to stay behind her tree and wait for the boys to come out.
Fifteen minutes passed and Lily began to doze. It was getting late and she was sure that her friends were looking for her. Gazing up at the full moon, Lily was about to get up to go back to the castle when she heard a noise from the Whomping Willow.
She turned towards the enormous tree and saw the tiny rat reemerge from under the roots. A few moments later a large black dog climbed out from beneath it followed by a magnificent stag, though she wondered how it physically managed to do so. Finally, a grisly werewolf pulled itself up and out from under the tree and let out a ringing howl into the night.
Lily dropped her jaw as she saw the four creatures run about the grounds. Could these be the four Marauders? That would explain their silly nicknames: Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. Would that mean that Remus was the werewolf? Now that she thought about it, he usually looked very ill and missed classes about once a month.
As Lily sat in shock, taking in everything she had seen so far, she did not notice that she had been spotted. The werewolf let out another chilling howl and lunged towards her, teeth bared and saliva flying. More frightened than she had ever been in her life, Lily sat frozen to the spot. She could not seem to move from where she sat and when she saw the werewolf’s jaws hovering right above her face, she could only close her eyes, cover her face, and wait to be torn to pieces.
Suddenly, she heard the sound of hooves charging and peeked through the spaces between her fingers. The stag rammed into the werewolf’s ribs, throwing him several feet away from Lily. As the werewolf started to get up, the great black dog ran over to the scene and tackled the werewolf back to the ground. The werewolf fought back and the two animals were jaw to jaw, biting and clawing each other.
The stag nudged Lily and motioned for her to get on his back. Lily obliged, though her attention was still fixed on the dog and the werewolf attacking each other. As the stag galloped off, the dog broke free of the werewolf and the two animals ran off out of sight.
The stag’s gallop slowed down and eventually stopped in front of the castle. Lily slid off the stag’s back and watched as he transformed back into a human.
“Lily, are you alright?” James asked her concernedly, putting a hand on her shoulder.
Heart still pounding, she managed a nod.
“Are you sure? Because if you’re hurt, I’m sure Sirius can handle Moony for a little bit while I take you to the””
“James,” interrupted Lily, holding up a hand. “I’m fine. Just…I’m just…”
“A little shaken up?” he finished for her.
She nodded, giving him a small smile.
“Well, I guess you should probably head back and get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow, Lily,” James said as he turned to head back towards the Whomping Willow.
“Wait!” Lily suddenly called after him.
He turned around with a questioning look etched across his face.
Without even planning to do so, Lily leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Thanks for saving my life, James,” she whispered in his ear.
As she hurried inside the castle, Lily looked back and saw James rooted to the spot with his hand over the spot where she had kissed him.
More than Meets the Eye by lilybobily7
Chapter Notes: Disclaimer: The characters you recognize belong to JKR.
Thanks a bunch to my beta for helping me with this story!
Hope everyone enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Endnotes: So how was it? Good? Bad? Okay? I'd love to hear what you think!