Lily Evans began her sixth year with a game plan.
She had spent a large portion of her summer break finalizing the details, and was quite satisfied. She had a lot more down time now that she was no longer friends with Severus Snape, and quite a fair amount of that time was spent dodging Petunia.
She said nothing of her plan as she boarded the Hogwarts Express. She and Mary squealed with delight when they saw each other, and found a compartment with the other two Gryffindor sixth years. They gossiped with Leda Wood and Amelia Bones, who had indeed returned to school. She was much more subdued than she had been previous years; the others were careful to avoid the reason she had left school early the last year, but she surprised them by bringing it up herself.
“I suppose Dumbledore told you all the reason Stephen and I left early last spring?”
Lily nodded cautiously. “He said You-Know-Who…”
“Killed my family, yes.” Amelia’s expression was hard. “We don’t really know why”they think that maybe he wanted them to join up, and they refused.”
Leda lay a hand on her best friends arm. “I’m so sorry…” she began, and trailed off, at a loss.
Amelia shrugged, and looked out the window. There was silence for a long moment. Then she said, “And that’s why I think I’ve got to do something about it, you know? I don’t know that I could be an Auror, but I want to do something…I want to make sure that there’s still justice somewhere…”
“What about a career in Magical Law Enforcement, or something?” asked Mary. “Instead of catching the Dark wizards, you can decide their sentences.”
Amelia nodded, considering. “I hope I didn’t get too behind with classwork,” she said, and they hastened to reassure her.
Lily saw someone standing at the door of their compartment out of the corner of her eye, and turned her head. She thought she saw Severus Snape disappear down the corridor, but she couldn’t be sure, so she put it out of her mind.
Night was falling by the time they started to put on their robes. As the neared the castle, Lily grabbed Mary’s arm and pulled her aside.
“Listen,” she said, “I did a lot of thinking over the summer, and I’ve decided that we need to hang out with Potter and his gang more often this year. Maybe start by sitting by them at the banquet tonight?”
Mary clapped her hands delightedly. “Have you finally noticed them?” she said. “I wasn’t sure you’d ever warm up to them! You were quite mean to poor James last year, but I bet if you were nice enough now he’d forget all about that and ask you out again””
Lily stopped her with a quick shake of her head. “I don’t want to be friends with them,” she said, her eyes smoldering. “I want to bring them down.”
---
A few train cars down, the four Marauders lounged in a compartment together.
“This year,” James was saying, “this year is my year.”
“Your year to do what?” asked Sirius, stretching his arms over his head and yawning. “Invent a broomstick that will reach the moon?”
“Find a way into the girls’ dormitory?” piped in Peter.
Sirius grinned. “Avoid detention for the first week of school?”
“Convince the house elves to serve nothing but dessert?”
“Get Lily Evans to go out with you?”
“Persuade McGonagall to not give us homework?”
Sirius and Peter high-fived, guffawing.
Remus noticed the stricken look on James’s face. “You guys,” he said quietly, “I think you guessed it.”
Sirius shook his shaggy head, snorting. “Nah. Thos things are all impossible.”
“I dunno,” Peter said. “Maybe not the detention thing…”
Sirius tilted his head to the side, considering. “Nope. That too.” Both of them sniggered again.
Remus, with considerable dignity, ignored them. “It’s Lily, isn’t it?” he asked briskly.
James nodded miserably. Sirius was overcome with such an uncontrollable fit of giggles that Peter had to pound him on the back to make him breathe.
“After last year?” asked Sirius. “Sorry mate. You know I love you, but I think it may be time to move on from this Lily Evans fantasy of yours.”
James scowled at him.
“You never know,” Peter said reasonably. “Women want to be treated with kindness and respect. It’s probably not to late for James to redeem himself. Self-confidence is the most important tool when wooing a member of the opposite sex, and a little politeness goes a long way. And don’t forget, a smile is the sexiest thing you can wear.”
The other three stared at him. Sirius raised an eyebrow. “Wormtail thinks you’re sexy,” he informed James.
Peter went scarlet, muttering something about “My mother’s self-help books…knew they were stupid…”
James grinned, but then shook his head. “I will!” he said emphatically. “This year. I can do it.”
Sirius shrugged, looking doubtful. “I don’t know, Prongs,” he said. “Evans seems to go for the upstanding Prefect type. You just aren’t gentlemanly enough for her. I think she’s looking for the kind of guy who opens doors, pulls out chairs, doesn’t play any pranks ever…face it. You just aren’t her type.”
---
“Lily,” Mary hissed as they entered the Great Hall, “I don’t understand! Isn’t this just a little…juvenile? Not to mention, you’ll be breaking about twenty school rules into pieces. I’m always up for a little fun, but…ugh!” she sighed heavily as Lily strode forward towards the Gryffindor table, and plopped herself down, right next to James Potter.
Mary rolled her eyes and sat across from her, between Remus Lupin and Marlene McKinnon.
“Oh!” she exclaimed, noticing the badge on Marlene’s chest. “You’ve been made Head Girl!”
The seventh-year beamed, and opened her mouth to reply. On the other side of the table, Lily had turned towards James.
“Good summer?” she asked.
He looked at her blankly for a moment. “I”um, yeah, I…not bad, yours?”
Behind him, Peter murmured under his breathe, “Smooth.” James aimed a kick at him, but missed, and hit the leg of the table. Plates rattled. Lily seemed not to notice.
“It was all right. Get your O.W.L. scores? How’d that Potions tutoring help?”
“Well, I don’t think even extra lessons with Slughorn could have helped me out on that one, but I passed! Although I think the fact that I finished the exam at all means that I Exceeded Expectations…”
Lily laughed lightly, and James grinned at her. Behind him, Sirius was not even trying to disguise his shock, his mouth hanging open. Remus elbowed him, leaning forward to eavesdrop shamelessly as Lily asked James what classes he was continuing with for his sixth year.
---
Later that night, as Amelia and Leda slept, Lily had hopped onto Mary’s four-poster, jolting her awake.
“All right,” said Lily, brushing her hair out of her face as Mary rubbed her eyes sleepily. “I’ve compiled a list of Ways to Bring Down James Potter and Company.”
Mary looked as though she was about to say something, but Lily ignored this, and kept going. “First, I’ve decided that we need to focus our efforts primarily on James and Sirius. They’re the ringleaders.”
She slid off of the bed and began to pace. Mary wondered how long it would take Lily to notice if she just went back to sleep, and decided not to risk it.
“Our main targets,” Lily was saying now, “are Potter and Black. Our objective: to prank and humiliate them in public, as they have so often pranked and humiliated other people.”
Mary yawned widely, and Lily ignored her. “We are targeting,” she continued, “everything that makes them popular: their charm, their looks”well, Black’s looks anyway, Potter’s already too scruffy”and their friendship with each other.”
Mary blinked doubtfully at her. “You’re going to try to sabotage their friendship?” she asked. “Isn’t that…I don’t know Lily, that just doesn’t seem right.
Lily shrugged uncomfortably, and looked away. “Not permanently or anything,” she said, sitting on the edge of Mary’s bed and sighing. “I just…I need to get even. For everything that happened last year.”
“I know, but like this? Pulling petty pranks, acting like this? Will it really help?”
Lily looked at her for a long minute, then nodded. “It’ll make me feel better at least. And it could be fun! They certainly seem to love it.”
Mary looked unconvinced.
Sev would have been game. The thought popped, unwanted, into Lily’s head, and she scowled. “Come on,” she said, poking Mary. “Are you in or aren’t you?”
Slowly, Mary nodded. Lily grinned wickedly.
---
Lily went down to breakfast early the next morning; she always did on the first Monday of classes. She ate alone, waiting for schedules to be passed out, her mind wandering between the challenges of her upcoming sixth year, and the bout of rule-breaking, prank-pulling mayhem that she intended.
Halfway through a forkful of scrambled egg, she was interrupted by the fluttering of wings close to her face. She jumped; the owl dropped a letter on her plate, and flew away.
It was early for mail call”recovering from her momentary fright, Lily looked around. Most people hadn’t come down for breakfast yet, and no other owls had streamed through the hall. She picked the letter up off her plate and opened.
Lily, it began,
I’ve wanted to apologize for everything that happened at the end of last year so many times, but I haven’t been able to think of a way to get you to listen to me. I don’t blame you”it’s not something I’m proud of. I just wanted a chance to apologize”no excuses, no accusations. I am sorry for it all. I would have liked to be your friend…I hope one day, we still can be.
Lily turned the letter over, looking for a signature; there was none. The bottom of the letter was simply scrawled, Yours.
She gazed upward, almost unconsciously, at the Slytherin table. Severus was conspicuously absent. She shook her head to clear it, shoved the letter in her bag, and turned towards the entrance to the Great Hall; Mary was entering with a sleepy looking Sirius Black. Professor McGonagall was beginning to move down the tables, schedules in hand. Lily learned forward towards her; she had other things to worry about now.
Trickster by Willow Rosenberg
Chapter Notes: Sixth Year, return to Hogwarts!-----