Chapter 1: Discoveries
It had been a long day for one Lily Evans, Head Girl of Hogwarts.
After muttering the password to the dorm’s guardian, she stumbled sleepily into the Heads’ common room. The room was set in glistening gold and deep crimson, the colors symbolizing Gryffindor house. Against the opposite wall there was a door that led to the generous library, on the right wall was a spiraling staircase that led up to her room, and the same on the left wall, leading to Head Boy James Potter’s room.
James Potter was two months older than her, but he still acted as if he was five years old. He had unruly jet-black hair that stuck up in the oddest of places, hazel eyes that shone Gryffindor gold when filled with amusement or passion and were framed by round, wire-rimmed glasses, and a slightly crooked nose that was just a tad bit too long. A big fan of the wizard sport Quidditch, and being captain and chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, James had a toned muscles and tan skin.
Since fourth year, he has also been known for his infatuation with Lily. He’s asked her out countless times, but every time Lily had to say no with a variation of the reason because he was too arrogant and cocky, and he needed to deflate his head.
He was one-fourth of a group that called themselves the Marauders. The other members were Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. They were known for being effortlessly handsome and bright, and for their pranks.
Remus, Lily mused as she trudged up to her room and into her adjoining bathroom to fill the tub, was subtler about his fame. He liked to keep quiet and actually studied, even though he didn’t need much. His light brown hair and teal eyes gave his features a soft, friendly look, and he would be Lily’s favorite Marauder had she been forced to choose.
He would be absent for days at a time every month, but sometimes when Lily would volunteer in the hospital wing, she would see him there, shredded to bits. It wasn’t something that comforted her.
Sirius was the rebel and James’s second-hand man. His long black hair fell elegantly into his eyes so he could charmingly brush it to the side when it got in his way of vision. Though he didn’t play Quidditch, Sirius also had a fit body. His mysterious gray eyes sparkled with mirth more often than not, and the only time they didn’t was when he was faced with a Slytherin.
He was the black sheep of his family. Being old-fashioned purebloods, they believed Muggles and Muggleborns should be done away with, or at least should be completely cut off from the Wizarding world. Sirius opposed this, and was abused for it. Whether it was verbally, physically, emotionally, Lily didn’t know. But she did know via Remus that Sirius moved in with the Potters sometime in sixth year. Everyone that has Black as a last name had been sorted into Slytherin house compared to Sirius’s Gryffindor.
She poured in some citrus-scented bubbles before slipping into the steamy paradise. With a moan, Lily sank until the water of the tub was up to her chin, and closed her eyes.
Peter was a chubby little blonde with baby blue eyes. His voice never did deepen like the other threes’ did around second year. He was always so nervous, so apprehensive, that it was quite a delightful bit of entertainment when someone snuck up on him and whispered boo in his ear. At that he would squeak like a mouse and scurry away. He mainly tagged after James, Sirius, and Remus. Lily recollected when he’d gotten a crush on her in fourth year.
He’d asked her out to Hogsmeade, the wizard village, secretly so James wouldn’t have found out, and he’d looked so utterly vulnerable and anxious that she’d been compelled to say yes. He’d simply looked like a puppy that’d been kicked too many times and was just waiting for the final blow.
Speaking of which, she just realized that James hadn’t asked her out for the past several weeks. It was frightening, really. One just never knew what he had up his sleeve.
There was a tiny voice in her head that suggested that maybe he’d finally grown up after all this time. Maybe he’d poked a pin in his head and let all of the air out.
Maybe he didn’t like her anymore.
Not knowing whether to be relieved or distressed at this thought, Lily stepped out of the bath refreshed and shriveled like a raison. In some strange way, the water had actually woken her up more than made her drowsier, so, grabbing a book from her room, she decided to go sit in front of the fire for a while after she’d dried and dressed.
As dramatic as Shakespeare was, after an hour of Romeo and Juliet Lily fell into a light doze with the book open on her stomach.
What seemed like minutes later, when in reality it had been four hours, she jolted awake when she heard the portrait hole open. Rubbing at the grit in the corner of her eyes, she slowly sat up and turned.
James stood there leaning on the wall for support as he gulped down breath after wheezing breath. He had a rainbow of bruises that varied from the size of a baseball to the head of a nail. His hair was matted down with a combination of sweat and… Lily knew it was blood. The foul stench filled the room. Scrapes and gashes sliced his flesh.
Finally getting her body to move, Lily jumped up and crossed to him. When he opened his eyes and looked at her in a daze, she could see that his eyes were dilated from shock, leaving only a thin rim of golden iris. He tried to tell her something, but she only shushed him gently and supported him back to the couch. Concern for his well-being outweighed dislike for his attitude at the moment.
Lying him down on the couch and draping a conjured blanket over his limp form, she quietly said, "Stay here. I'll be right back." She hurried up the stairs and to her bathroom where she kept medical supplies.
She’d decided she wanted to be a healer when she left school so she’d been volunteering at the infirmary, helping the nurse, Madam Pomfrey, with some of the patients. Lily figured it would be a good head start on her training. She’d also been taking extra courses in Potions to learn to concoct advanced healing potions. She’d been allowed to keep some of the potions for herself. Now, she grabbed a few she thought would be helpful.
He looked like he’d just died a horrible and painful death when she returned to him. In fact, for one helpless moment, Lily actually thought him dead. But the knotted muscles in her stomach relaxed as she saw him raggedly force a breath into his lungs.
Setting her supplies on the floor and kneeling next to him, Lily asked, “Where does it hurt most, Potter?” He kept his eyes closed as he lifted a heavy finger and pointed to his side. “All right. Potter, you have to stay conscious. Watch me if you have to.” It didn’t surprise her when he did just that.
A deep and wide slash was traced along his side. Lily held her breath, and then let it out in a whoosh when she saw that his ribs hadn’t been severed. Sucking in a deep breath, she began sterilizing.
She worked for an hour in silence, concentrating on stopping the blood flow, cleaning then bandaging the lacerations. She was relieved to find no broken bones, and after a while he was breathing easier. She finished by cupping the back of his neck and lifting his head so he could take the necessary potions.
Recovering him with the blanket, she took her supplies back upstairs to put them away. She didn’t think there was any need to go to the hospital wing. A proud smile curled her lips and she straightened her back. As arrogant as it was, she thought Madam Pomfrey couldn’t have done better herself.
But what had happened? How did he come to be as he was? Now that the initial crisis and worry have been handled, there were questions that needed answering. With a stiff nod to herself, Lily went back downstairs and sat beside him on the couch. She just noticed something: Where were his glasses?
“You must be blind as a bat. Do you have a second pair of eyes in your room?” she asked him.
He nodded. “Summon ‘spectacles.’” She put them on for him after they’d flown into her hand because he was stiff as a mummy wrapped in all of those bandages. “Thanks,” he muttered.
”You’re welcome; I need the practice. Now, you know as well as I do that I’m not letting you come stumbling in here half dead and then not here explanations, so start talking.”
He looked torn. After a moment of thought, he vowed, "I'd never break a confidence."
"Even if it killed you?"
"I'm willing to give my life for a friend."
Lily raised an eyebrow, the only evidence of her surprise with his determination. It must have something to do with the other three, she deduced, for it to be so important that he stay quiet. She took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh, it might be awhile before she could crack open this nut.
Before she could try other tactics, though, there was a commotion on the other side of the portrait hole. With a glance at James that said, I’ll check it out, Lily got up and opened it.
The portrait was of a great white stag that pranced around in a garden of white lilies. She’d always wondered if the lilies stood for her, but couldn’t ever figure out what symbolized James. It crossed her mind that it could be the stag, but she didn’t know why it would be.
Now, it seemed the stag was ready to charge Sirius, if only it could get out of the portrait. Sirius looked equally as miffed. Apparently he’d been trying to get in, but hadn’t known the password.
“Black, what’re you doing here?”
“James there?” he demanded to know.
“Bloody and battered, yes.” Relief seemed to race over his features. When Lily took a closer study, she saw he, too, was pretty beaten up. What on earth had they been doing? “Where are Remus and Peter?”
Smoothly he evaded the question with another question. “Is he all right?”
She narrowed her eyes. “He’s fine, I cleaned him up. Wasn’t too difficult, seeing as I’ve been sort of apprenticing with Pomfrey.” She paused. “What happened, Sirius?” she asked slowly. When he went stiff, she added, “I think I have the right to know.”
He seemed to consider this, but then took on a split expression much like the one James had just given her a minute ago. She turned around in curiosity when he looked over her shoulder and met James’s gaze. They appeared to have an eye conversation and Sirius said aloud, “He trusts her, James. She’s patched you up. Might as well tell her. Don’t worry about Moony, he’ll understand.”
As much as she hated being talked about as if she wasn’t just right there, Lily let it pass. Who’s Moony? What’s the big ordeal?
Sirius turned back to her and worked up his infamous smile. “Just came to see if he was all right. Thanks, Evans. You’re a life saver.” He chuckled a bit to himself. “Maybe a little more literally than I’d like to think.”
He started to quickly walk away, but she called, “Wait, you should let me clean you up. You look just as bad as he did.”
Over his shoulder he replied, “Trust me, Evans, I’m no where near as bad as he was, but thanks anyway. By the way, what’s the password?”
Glancing around to make sure no one could overhear, she answered, “Aurora Borealis.”
He nodded, turned a corner and was gone. Heaving another sigh, Lily went back to sit next to James on the couch where he still lay boneless. He had his eyes closed under the glasses.
“So, what’s the story?” No answer. Quieter, she said, “He was right, you know. If it’s that important to keep a secret, you can trust me to not tell.” She brushed imaginary dust off her knee. “I’ve never been much of a gossiper, anyway. I usually leave that to Jessica, Aurora, Guinevere, Unity, and Daphne.” She hesitated, but decided it couldn’t hurt. She put her hand over the one that lay on his chest. “You can tell me, James.”
Later when she would look back on this moment, she knew it was when he opened his eyes and gave a rare stare of deep affection, her heart simply leaped out of her chest and fell into his hands. At the moment though, all she felt was her pulse skip a beat and her heart slowly turn over with a burning sensation. And knew she would never be the same.
Holding eye contact, he turned his hand under hers and linked their fingers. She realized he was testing her. He’d seen the change of emotions in her eyes, her glistening emerald eyes, and knew he had to have her. She had to be his forever. She knew this, just as she knew there would be no sense in fighting fate. She’s a realist, knowing that when things happen, they were somehow meant to.
Silently, they both accepted this new road they had to travel and discover. Together.
”Throughout first year we”Sirius, Peter, and I”noticed strange things about Remus.”
“His family have very low immune systems,” Lily sarcastically interrupted with a nod.
James chuckled. “Never bought it? Neither did we, especially after he told us the pet duck he’d had at home died and needed to go home to spread its ashes in the river. But, we let the fact he was lying to us go because it must have been quite important to earn that alibi. But when he started coming back scratched and bruised, we got more concerned. So, in second year, we studied the clues he didn’t cover and looked it up. Lily, Remus is a werewolf.”
Her eyes widened and the hand he held went cold and clammy. He squeezed it gently and continued before she could find her voice. “We confronted him about it, told him we knew and how we found out. It really surprised us when he paled to resemble a ghost. He was embarrassed and crushed. He thought we were going to desert him and tell the whole school. When we told him we wouldn’t, he didn’t even allow himself to believe us. We tried to convince him to trust us, but only when we made the proposition did he take us seriously.”
Still in a bit of shock, Lily croaked, “Proposition?”
“We told him he wasn’t abnormal in the slightest. He didn’t believe it. So, we became abnormal with him.”
She was recovered enough to not miss the perfect opportunity. “I don’t think you needed to change anything to do that.”
James merely smiled and said, “Not much, just our entire appearance.” She looked at him with skeptical confusion. “For the better part of three years we worked on it. Mastered it in fifth year. Lily. Sirius, Peter, and I… We’re Animagi.”
Okay, Remus she had to accept because he hadn’t had a choice in becoming a werewolf, and still doesn’t have the choice to transform or not. But it’s not the same with the other three. She stood instantly and planted her fisted hands on her hips. “Are you insane? No, don’t answer that.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she locked eye contact with James again, her irises had darkened to a passionate forest green. “That was a completely idiotic thing to do. You could be sent to Azkaban if you’re discovered and aren’t registered! Which you aren’t, last time I looked at the files in the Ministry.”
She started to walk away. James stayed where he had sat up on the couch because he knew from experience she wasn’t finished. She whirled around a few paces away. “How could students have the power and wit to do that? Don’t you dare smirk at me, Potter. But honestly, only a handful of very powerful witches and wizards have been able to do human transfiguration on such an advanced level!” She paused a moment, then lifted an accusing finger to point at him. “You’re lying to me. You have to be. This is low, Potter, even for you.”
She hadn’t taken five steps when James grabbed her arm and spun her around. He glared at her, his face enraged with pride for himself, and for his friends. He kept his hands firmly gripping her upper arms. In a dangerously low hiss, he warned, “Don’t you ever insult me like that. Ever. I would not have told you the Marauders’ deepest and darkest secret only to have you spit it back in my face. If you can’t handle the truth, I’ll obliviate it from you’re memory.”
“You wouldn’t dare”“
“I would. Don’t test me.”
And she knew he would, to protect his friends’ exposure if not his own. He looked so fierce at the moment that for one of the rare times in her life, Lily cowered. Her eyes lost the glow of anger and filled with fear. She had seen him indignant, sure, but never this… she couldn’t find a word to describe the expression of anger, betrayal, and pride on his face.
James noticed her shrink back, and checked himself. And was appalled to find him hold her arms tight enough to bruise. Astonished by his own actions, he let go of her as if she’d burned him. Eyes wide, he retreated to the couch, where he sat and immediately buried his face in his hands in shame for treating a woman in such a way. If his father had seen that…
She noticed her breathing was ragged and did her best to steady it. She clenched her fists because they were shaking. Trying to moisten her suddenly dry mouth, she swallowed hard.
For a single moment, she’d thought he would hurt her. She could have laughed at herself now. James wouldn’t deliberately do that, and he’s been known to have quite the temper, and also an admirable control on it. If it’s ever been unleashed, it would only have been on a Severus Snape. Maybe other Slytherin’s as well, but he’d most likely say they weren’t worth it.
He loved his friends, and wouldn’t stand for them to be mocked or insulted if he was within hearing distance. That was a trait she could wholly admire.
The room was shrouded in silence. Only the fire Lily had rebuilt crackled. Looking at him beat himself up in self-hatred, she didn’t see the cocky prick that was always showing off. And now that she though about it, he hadn’t been that prick for a while. Being named Head Boy had made him deflate his head considerably, and she had to admit he was doing as good a job as she with the title. A year ago, heck, six months ago, he would have stood on top of the badge, not behind it.
The man she saw now, though, had learned to tell when it was time to play or time to be serious. He had a good sense of humor, and didn’t boast about his money status ever chance he got. He didn’t wear top-of-the-line dragon hide boots, or dine like a Malfoy for every meal. He was agreeable, open-mined”but he wouldn’t stand prejudice. Thinking about this, she unexpectedly swelled with pleasure and pride that a pureblood such as him would take interest (that’s an understatement) in a muggleborn like her.
She could like him. But it was too late for that. Far too late. Seeing him this humble, this ordinary, had her realizing she’s already in love with him.
With a soft smile curling her lips, Lily quietly sat down next to him. Leaning over, she gently took his wrists and pried his hands away from his face. He kept his eyes downcast.
“James, look at me,” she commanded barely above a whisper. He obeyed, and looking into his eyes had her heart burning as it had before. She released his hands to cradle his face. Something flashed in his eyes as a faint line of wonder appeared between his brows. She moved in until their faces were an inch apart. “I believe you.”
She kept her eyes on his as she brushed her lips lightly over his. Then she hesitated, and the world seemed to freeze. When she could bare it no longer, she closed her eyes and crushed his lips with hers. It jolted him enough that his hands flew to her hips. Getting into it, Lily slid her hands from his face down around his neck and linked them.
“I hate to interrupt your medical treatment…” came the voice of a very amused Sirius Black.