“What’s that?” asked Mary, looking up from the Defence essay to which she was making last minutes corrections.
“My blue folder. I need to find the notes from the last prefects’ meeting to show to Professor McGon “ UGHH!” She pulled a face as she looked at her hand, now covered with something gooey. “Merlin, I’d forgotten about that bag of treacle toffee. Must have melted in this weather.”
“You’re very forgetful all of a sudden,” Sirius remarked casually as he grinned at Mary. “Not getting distracted by the Head Boy, are you?”
Lily turned around and resisting the urge to poke out her tongue settled for giving Sirius one of her ‘looks’. (She’d practised them since her third year, imitating Petunia). “I haven’t seen Potter since Herbology,” she replied scornfully.
“Hey, Evans, you dropped this in ... uh ... the library,” called James as he walked through the door. He was carrying something in his hand “ her journal.
“Not since Herbology, eh, Evans?” Sirius cooed, adding to Mary, “Blushing is not a good look for your mate, is it?”
Giggling, Mary agreed, “Why don’t you just admit that something is going on with you two?”
“Because it’s NOT!” shouted both James and Lily simultaneously.
“We have just decided that as we have to work together, it’s best for the school if we don’t argue,” Lily explained coldly. Taking the book from James and determinedly not looking him in the eye, she began to pack her things away.
James bent down and picked up a magazine that she’d tossed on the floor. He was about to hand it to her, but catching her sly wink, he thought better of it, instead stuffing the magazine under his robes. He cleared his throat. “Anything interesting in the paper, Padfoot?”
Sirius yawned. “Not really. Someone won a load of Galleons betting on the Arrows’ game. The Goblins aren’t happy and want an investigation, but then they’re never happy.” He chucked The Prophet on the table. “Wish I could win some money,” he grumbled. “I hate being skint.”
“What happened to the inheritance from your Uncle Alphard?” Mary asked, her eyebrows raised in amazement. “He left you masses!”
Sirius scowled and looked across at James. “Well, after I bought the motorbike, James’ mum and dad thought I was being irresponsible, so they sort of stopped me spending anymore.”
“Am I hearing right?” Lily said and started laughing. “Since when has anyone been able to stop you doing what you want?”
James started grinning and, vaulting over the back of the sofa, landed alongside Sirius. “My Ma and Pa are very good at playing the guilt card. They persuaded Padfoot to open a bank account.”
Mary and Lily collapsed with mirth. “Sirius Black, responsible. Oh sweet Merlin, pinch me, I must be dreaming!” Mary exclaimed.
“You won’t be laughing when I have my own pad,” Sirius declared airily. “My house-warming party will be legendary.” He smirked. “So watch out, ‘cause I might not invite you if you keep taking the piss.”
“Oh, Sirius,” Lily sighed. “Face it, you need girls at your party and as Mary and I are the only witches you haven’t tried to pull ...”
“It’s quite insulting, actually,” Mary said idly, not sounding in the slightest bit offended. “I’m starting to think there must be something wrong with me.”
“Mary, my sweet,” Sirius said as he stood up and stretched. “The only thing wrong with you is that I’d get hexed to pieces by one of my mates if I went anywhere near you.”
“Not to mention her sister,” Lily put in. “Have you made up with Martha yet?”
“Nope,” Sirius replied. “She knows where I am. Meanwhile I shall console myself with the new girl.”
Lily frowned. “What new girl?”
“Uh, American, I think,” Sirius said and started to smile. “Bloody gorgeous. I bumped into her coming out of Professor Fawcett’s classroom. She said she was an exchange student.”
“Since when has Professor Dumbledore -” began Lily, but then shook her head. With the prospect of war looming, she knew the Headmaster was keen to extend the hand of friendship to other countries and especially other schools. “What’s her name?”
“Jill,” Sirius replied dreamily, “Jill Munroe. Beautiful big blue eyes “ or maybe they were green? Wonderful long blonde hair that sort of flicks back, and wow, what a pair of ... lips.”
“Professor Fawcett’s got an American wife,” Lily said, ignoring Sirius’ insinuation and mime that obviously referred to the new girl’s chest. “Perhaps it’s his daughter.”
Sirius snorted. “Not looking like that. Fawcett’s an ugly bugger. Anyway, I’m off. See you at lunch.”
“Where are you going?” Mary asked, pulling on his arm. “Martha will be back soon. Perhaps you could ...”
“Nope,” Sirius replied. “I said I’d meet Remus and Peter in the library. You coming, Prongs?”
“Uh...” James had started reading The Prophet. Engrossed in the article, he shook his head. “Nah, you go. I’ll see you later.”
As Lily watched Sirius leave, she frowned. Mary had picked up her homework again, and James was still reading the newspaper, but she wanted to talk.
“Have either of you met this new girl? Jill Whatsit?” she asked.
James shook his head, but Mary nodded. “She was in my Muggle Studies class. She’s pretty amazing, actually, and told us all about Muggles in America.”
“So where’s she staying?”
“In with us, of course,” Mary said as if that explained everything. “Lily, we talked about this last week.”
“Did we?”
Mary stood up and smirked. “I think I’ll join the boys in the library. Sirius is right about you. You’re definitely distracted by something ... or someone,” she said, giving James a knowing glance.
Lily scowled at her but said nothing. She looked at her hand; it still felt sticky from the toffee. “Perhaps they’re right,” she said to James. “I am becoming forgetful.”
“Am I too distracting?” James replied.
“Definitely,” she whispered.
“Same time tonight?” he mumbled.
“Mmm, should be okay, but ...” She stopped speaking as Martha entered the common room, and shifted away from James. “Not the usual place. Check the magazine, page seventeen, okay?”
James always liked Lily’s magazines. For a start, she got her mum to send them to her so they were Muggle magazines. Then there were always the quizzes. Under the cover of the desk, whilst Professor Fawcett was droning on and on about the advantage of non-verbal spells, which James had mastered in his fifth year, he started reading the ‘Which Charlie’s Angel Are You?’ quiz. He had no idea what a Charlie’s Angel was, but it turned out he was Kelly Garret; beautiful, reckless and a crack shot. Then he started reading a letter on the problem page about a girl who wasn’t sure if she should go steady with her boyfriend. He frowned slightly, wondering if Lily had written it.
He understood her reservations. After so many years of leading separate, but parallel lives, that only touched when she was shouting at him, Lily wanted to take things slowly and without the ‘help’ of their friends. For his part, he knew Sirius would be unbearable as soon as he found out, but then his mate was unbearable anyway, so James didn’t see what would change.
“POTTER!” roared Professor Fawcett, the wart above his lip quivering. “I should not have to tell you every single time to pay attention!”
“Uh ... sorry, sir.” James tried to stuff the magazine into his bag, but the professor was too quick for him and snatched it out of his grasp.
“Mindless rubbish!” the professor yelled. “Filling your brain with stupid Muggle nonsense.”
“Yes, sir, sorry sir,” James babbled. “Uh, could I have it back? I promise I’ll put it away.”
“NO!” Fawcett was scowling at the magazine as he leafed through the pages.
Briefly, James saw Lily’s handwriting on page seventeen and caught the word ‘Slughorn’. He sat back, not needing to argue anymore and grinned at his friends as the professor walked off.
“Why were you reading a girls’ magazine?” Peter whispered.
“Fit birds,” James replied. “Why else?”
Remus raised one eyebrow, not commenting, but James saw him nudge the other two and heard the three of them stifling snorts.
Bloody hell, Lily, he thought. Can’t we just get this over with?
To escape the witterings of Sirius, who was still, along with Remus and Peter, going on about the new girl, James decided to skip down to Slughorn’s storeroom early. He’d met Lily there once before and was surprised she’d suggested there again because it wasn’t the most conducive of places to meet for a snog. The Charms classroom was much better; Slug’s storeroom smelt funny and was far too close to the Slytherin common room for comfort.
Entering the dungeons, he gripped his wand tight, and kicked himself for not bringing the Cloak, but Lily had no idea of its existence and he didn’t want to waste time with explanations tonight.
He heard a noise and ducked into an alcove just in time to see Avery and Regulus on patrol.
“Have you seen the way she walks?” he heard Avery say. “She sort of glides.”
“You’re lucky she’s in your year,” Regulus complained. “And now she’s staying with those Gryffindor girls, I doubt any of us will get a look in.”
“I’ll give her something to look at,” Avery replied, sniggering. “Once she cops an eyeful of me, she is not going to want to leave me alone.”
“What are you going to do “ drug her?”
“Oi! I don’t need Amortentia to pull “”
“You haven’t been out with anyone for months!”
“I’m choosy.”
James stifled a snort. He was grinning to himself and quite forgetting that these were two of his enemies talking. Regulus sounded uncannily like Sirius at times. Then he heard their footsteps falter.
“That’s not a bad idea, though,” Avery said. “At least it would stop your bloody brother “ or Potter - getting their paws on her.”
Shit, if they come back this way, then they’ll see me. James held his breath and strained his ears as he tried to hear Avery’s deliberations.
“Slughorn will know,” Regulus replied. “He was moaning about ingredients going missing today. Asked me if I knew anything about it.” He paused, and peeping out, James saw Regulus smirk. “I didn’t tell him we’d nicked that Euphoria Potion. He still thinks we were happy after that Quidditch win.”
To his relief, James heard Avery mutter in agreement and then the two Slytherins walked back to their common room. As it was a Friday night, he was fairly sure they’d slack off and not patrol again. Now all he had to do was edge across to the storeroom and wait for Lily.
There was a special trick to opening the storeroom door; Lily had showed him the last time they were there. Being one of the professor’s favourite pupils, Lily had been entrusted with helping him prepare ingredients, so she knew about the trick fourth bolt that needed easing off slowly otherwise it started squawking. Opening the first three bolts, James crouched on the ground and, with both hands, carefully slid the bolt out of its groove.
With a creak, the door swung open, propelling James forward onto the floor. The room was dark, but somewhere he could see the faint Lumos light of a wand. “Lily?” he murmured hopefully as he looked around him and came face to face with ... “Oh, no, you’re not ...AGHH!”
James reeled as a hex struck him full in the face. Just before he crashed to the floor, he reached out and grabbed his attacker. He felt something break in his hands before he landed unconscious in a heap by the workbench.