#jily I love you I won’t let you be erased

[mourningliliesmorningglories]

James who hears Regulus’ sarcasm in Lily’s voice and Lily who sees Pandora’s zest for life in James.

James who hears Regulus’ laugh in Lily and Lily who feels Pandora’s touch in James’ hands.

James who learns love isn’t limited and Lily who learns that to live is to love.

[keepingupwithpotters]

here comes the sun (derogatory)

This is a lil something for lovely @efkgirldetective 's summer of jily 🌅

watching the sunrise/sunset + I've been saving all my summers for you

James tries not to glare at the rising sun like it has personally offended him, he really does, but it’s hard to admire the slowly appearing slivers of fire in the sky when they are counting down the minutes until Lily has to leave.

He chances a glance at his watch. Well, technically the last day of summer had ended six hours ago. It doesn’t count until sun has come up though, right?

If he can get his logical thinking skills back, he’d remember it had been many years since the last time he had actually watched sunrise on the 31st of August and not Lily Evans. The soft wine of dawn is a light reserved for memorizing her. To think there are nine months ahead of him with no chance to gaze upon her is agonizing so he starts his studious once-over again, trying to commit every little detail to memory with tenderness and care.

His eyes stutter this time after they leave the freckles on her nose. He was too busy grieving over how they wouldn’t be there the next time he sees her to realize her lips had swollen remarkably after their shared pack of sunflower seeds. As the need to taste the salt from her lips rises, he finds himself scowling at the discarded bag at their feet this time.

It also had been many years since they opted for their childhood snack on their last day. Ever since they discovered they can now buy booze from the little shop by the beach, their farewell had been filled with drunken shenanigans that usually ended in the sea. It seems they are both feeling nostalgic today, their childhood leaving a briny taste behind in their mouth.

The naive desire to spend time with your friend until the last possible moment has persisted on, finding them on a bench with chipped white paint by the sea once more. They’d call it tradition on the days they feel sentimental, or when they find themselves in need of an explanation on why their friends should leave now, albeit this has only happened once.

James marvels on the friendship she had built with the Marauders once again, the rhythmic sound of waves blurring the lines between his memory and dreams. Because he did dream about it; laughing with Lily Evans until the four o’clocks close, feeling her knee touch his thigh as they sit around in a crowded circle… The sweet smell of the flowers clings onto the day, he tries to use it to quell his melancholy and anchor to the moment.

James knows, and knows well, why he’s feeling down and glum, but he can’t for the life of him figure out what put Lily in such low spirits after everybody left. He remembers regretting, for a brief moment, that they are all mates with Lily now because he can’t get her to himself alone, he also remembers feeling relief after they disappeared. He even remembers Sirius’ suggestive wink after he said goodbye to Lily, a gesture, James hopes, only he saw.

He feels the need to speak before he starts panicking about whether Lily understood what that wink meant or not.

“I heard your folks yelling about selling the beach house.”

That’s certainly one way to delve straight into the root of the problem, he thinks. More like his problem actually, he still doesn’t know what Lily’s problem is.

He can see he startled her with this one. “It’s not my parents really,” she sighs after a beat, “Tuney is the one behind this bright idea.”

He doesn’t have to look to feel her displeased face as she adds, “Well, it’s probably one of Vernon’s economic advices. You know how she latches onto anything he says.”

The little information he has learned does nothing to dissuade his fears, except for giving him a peace of mind that at least it wasn’t Lily’s idea.

“And,” the impatience creeps in slowly, “what’s the verdict?”

“What? You’re telling me you haven’t eavesdropped until the end of the big spectacle?”, she teases in good humor.

“I had to leave my honored duty after Petunia’s voice reached a certain decibel, I’m afraid.”

She grins devilishly. “That means you haven’t heard my voice reach even higher levels.”

And just like it came, the smile leaves her face suddenly. “We won’t be selling the house Potter, don’t worry. They’re just gonna have to leave the swans out of the wedding plan.”

“Not the swans,” he gasps dramatically, desperate to bring the smile back to her face.

He can see her fighting a slight tilt in the corner of her lips, still salty, when she says, “Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

They are silent once again, with James much more relaxed this time. He can even feel himself starting to enjoy the new colors up above, heart filling with tangerines while he tries to figure out if “we” means he is invited to the wedding.

His peace is disturbed with Lily’s “And what about– “. She takes a deep breath before continuing. “And what about your plans for the next summer, hmm? A road trip? Can’t believe I first heard about it from Sirius and not you.”

Does he feel a sense of hurt in her voice? A lot of things start to make sense at once; her inexplicable withdrawal after the guys had left, her silence when they talked excitedly about their summer plans… He doesn’t want to let himself hope but it’s such a fickle feeling that it founds a place under the indigo sky anyway.

“It’s not a definite plan yet.” He hesitates before he rushes through, “I don’t even think we’ll be doing it to be honest, it’s not really our type of scene.”

She actually does look amused this time. “What? Three months spent all over Europe is not your idea of a fun summer?”

“Nah, Evans. You know I’ve been saving all my summers for you.”

He would blame his sleep deprived brain for this later on, saying it wasn’t his fault if being awake for 21 hours made him insane. (He’d also be thanking his lucky stars for it, building a shrine for that bag of sunflower seeds)

Then he sees her smile while looking at the sun and all the worries about blundering are erased, the warmth of her joy filling his insides more than the gold of the new day. After all the sun is rising, Lily Evans is returning next summer, and there is hope in the sky. They will be together once again on the 1st of June because the sunsets on the first day of summer are for remembering.

(He just needs to tell Sirius there is a slight change in the plans for their summer trip)

[sweeethinny]

Colors

started with a one shot because I wanted to write about someone fighting with Snape during an Order meeting (because God knows I would)

ended with me writing three moments of a world where jily lives, Sirius and Hestia happen, and it takes place in 1995

TW: the first one shot - BLACK - talks about an anxiety attack, so if you don't want to read about it, just skip to the next color: YELLOW

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Black. {respect, death, isolation, fear, loneliness.}

Sirius felt like he was going to lose his mind, and he probably would.

Memories of a past he tries so hard to forget keep coming back to him at night, preventing him from sleeping, which automatically prevents him from living as a normal human being.

But it's only when Dumbledore forbids him to leave the house for anything - Moody thinks he's too unstable - that Sirius freaks out.

He breaks everything in the attic, absolutely nothing escapes his anger. He rips up stupid family portraits, smashes stupid ceramic cups, burns old newspapers that proudly displayed a picture of the Black family on the cover - a photo he wasn't in. Sirius feels he could blow up that house if it weren't for James, Lily and Harry living there. It's basically what keeps him from ending that stupid legacy that haunts him like a death spell.

He picks up that stupid box of pictures he hid before before everyone arrives - because he's ashamed -, and starts burning them one by one with his wand, hating more than anything to notice there aren't any pictures of him in there. He's been completely erased from the family, and Sirius thinks it's a pain that will never go away.

Watching Regulus's cheerful face burn through photo after photo, enrages him even more. The golden boy, the most perfect of all, while he has his name burned on the wall, and everything that could show that were two brothers before, erased like a single misspelled word in a letter.

He doesn't exist there, only his bedroom remains, which is one of the rooms he avoids the most, although it's the only one left to prove that he once lived there.

He hates that house, he feels like marching to his parents' grave and screaming at them, and screaming at that stupid portrait of his mother until there's no more air in his lungs, because she did that to him. She's turned him into this unstable madman who needs to be chained indoors like a dog while the others work for him.

Before he could do anything else, James intervened.

And at first Sirius hated him to do that, because how could James care so much for someone like him? He wanted to scream and push James from upstairs, wanted him to leave him alone, but suddenly he didn't want any of that anymore. Then Sirius began to shamelessly cry like a child on his best friend's shoulder, sobbing as if someone had hit him.

James didn't say anything, because he was a good friend after all, just stood there, hugging Sirius and hoping that whatever happened to him would pass and he'd calm down.

Sirius felt like crap for not being as good as James.

"I'm here with you," James said, as he would say to Harry or Lily. ''Everything will be fine.''

''No, James, you know it’s not that easy, I... I can't stand being in here anymore, there's a memory wherever I look, I... Dumbledore took everything I had left, I want my freedom back, I want my motorcycle, I want my wife I want my house...'' Later, Sirius would be embarrassed for sounding so weak, but right now, he couldn't care less.

"Hestia will be here in a few days, and… it will all be over as quickly as it started, you'll see, by Christmas you'll be back to your routine."

‘’It's not true, Prongs, you know it's not. We've been in this shit for years now, I feel like I'm going to die any second.”

"You won't, I won't let you," James promises, hugging him even tighter.

Yellow. {light, warmth, relaxation, optimism, joy}

Hestia first entered Grimmauld Place during the night, a storm was falling outside and her body was cold and tense. She just wanted to see him, for Merlin's sake, just make sure he was okay. She made sure not to make so much noise because Lily said in the letter that there was a horrible portrait of Sirius' mother who would scream if you woke her up, and Hestia didn't have the patience for that.

She's had horrible days now that she's had to travel further into the woods—which doesn't help her research at all—and has been prevented from talking to him. Hestia had only spoken to Lily once, and she told her that Sirius was not well, which was nothing new as he had to go back to his parents' house and Hestia knew that it would torment him much more than it already did.

But when she arrived in the kitchen she noticed him there, sitting alone at the table, a half-empty bottle of wine and an empty glass in front of him. Sirius had his back to her, but Hestia didn't need to see him to know he had a serious expression on his face.

"You shouldn't drink this time of night," she said, her voice sounding a lot more worried than she imagined it would.

Sirius jumped up from his chair, wand already in hand, gray eyes bulging as he watched her warily. ‘’Tell me about our first time.’’

Hestia laughed. "Only you to ask me that question," She sighed. ''We were at the Potter's house, Euphemia had made the bed in the guest room for me, so I went to say good night but you started kissing me and when I saw it, I was half naked on your bed, wearing a black lingerie, and you was saying you wouldn't let me out of there ever again… Anything else?''

Sirius didn't answer her, just lowered his wand and walked over to Hestia with a face so worried she almost didn't recognize him, his arms enveloping her in a warm, familiar hug that made her bury her head in his shirt, feeling a little foolish for wanting to cry.

"I've missed you so much," Sirius said, his lips against her hair, damp from the rain and a little oily from days without washing it. “Merlin, I thought I was going crazy.” He denies it. "I went crazy actually."

"Lily told me," Hestia hugged him even tighter, wanting Sirius to understand that she was really there, that he wasn't alone. ''How are you?''

"Absolute shit…" He snorted, pulling away from her enough that Hestia could look at him more cautiously. Sunken eyes and cheeks, big dark circles, long hair, stubble… Her heart aches. “But you're here now, so we're stuck in this shit together. You can't run away from me anymore, Jones.”

''Not at all, Moody forbade me to leave the house after I got back, something about,'' Hestia pauses, remembering the unfriendly conversation they had, and how the auror yelled that ''her out-of-control husband nearly killed them ''. Sirius would probably think it was his fault that she couldn't go out anymore. Which was half true, but then again, Hestia didn't help herself when she lost her temper and yelled at Moody back. "About him and Dumbledore not wanting to take chances with one of us out of the house."

“They think I'm crazy, don't they?” His jaw tensed, his gray eyes seeming to burn. "Well, I'm sorry if I didn't keep quiet when I heard someone talking shit about my godson and calling him a liar."

"You don't help Harry at all if you keep threatening other Aurors."

"I know." He sighed, leaning his forehead against hers, keeping his eyes steady on hers. There was a faint booze smell to him, but nothing to make her think he was completely drunk. "But you know how I am."

"I know," Hestia placed her hands on his face, making a brief caress of his cheek before leaning in to kiss him. "I love you, but I prefer you without that beard."

"I was thinking of making it look like Dumbledore's." Sirius chuckled softly, his eyes still closed and his lips touching hers.

"Do that, and you'll never see the middle of my legs again."

"Ouch, it's not fair," He looked at her, his gray irises gleaming in amusement as he pouted softly.

"Take it or leave it, Black." Hestia pulled away from him, grabbing her suitcase from the floor. “I need to take a shower.” She arched her eyebrows. 'Will you keep me company?'

“Of course, I hear this house is very haunted, so I'll have to stay with you to protect you from the ghosts.” They walked out of the kitchen, taking slow steps so as not to wake the fucking portrait.

''Thank you so much, I'm terrified of haunting.'' Hestia smiled, letting him lead her to his room - which looked strangely untouched - and then to the bathroom, with Sirius talking non-stop about how he would protect and secure her, so that Hestia didn't have her foot pulled during the night.

“We'll have to sleep cuddled together so that doesn't happen.” He took off his shirt, and Merlin, how she missed him. "And no clothes." Sirius waved his wand at the water to fill the tub, then unzipped his pants and took them off along with his underwear.

''I'm sure yes.''

Red. {passion, lust, war, danger, violence}

It is during a meeting of the Order that Hestia loses her temper.

She was sitting next to Sirius and holding hands with him, as they usually are, talking quietly about everything and nothing while Molly doesn't come down and McGonagall doesn't arrive. Everyone is there, she knows it, and every now and then someone looks at the nearly untouched glass of firewhiskey in front of Sirius, but she doesn't care, she keeps talking to him and making him chuckle softly, saying how indecent her new panties are just because she likes to tease him.

And because things are getting more and more tense.

Living in that house didn't just affect Sirius, but she too, and every now and then Hestia finds herself close to breaking everything in sight, blind with rage that Dumbledore has trapped them there like a lab rat, thinking that if Sirius doesn't explode that house, or that damned picture of his mother, she goes.

Anxiety gnaws at her inside and every day she wakes up thinking that this will be the last, tomorrow they will return to their home, safe and sound, enjoying their freedom again, and Hestia won't have to worry about talking portraits and a elf that pisses her off, no matter how kind she tries to be.

But when Snape speaks - something she's been ignoring since he arrived - she just can't take it anymore.

''Like Black could do anything, being trapped in here.'' He says, in that petulant tone he's been throwing at her, Sirius, James and Lily every meeting, and Hestia's chest burns, finally finding a good target to take out all her anger.

She knew Lily said it was best to ignore him, she tried to do it, but Hestia couldn't do it anymore, not when Dumbledore trapped them there now that they were no longer useful making them almost insane. Driving Sirius insane! How can he trap him in the only house he knows would affect him, in an environment where for years he's been frowned upon and unloved, making him wake up the demons that have long been sleeping.

Sirius was getting sick in there and Dumbledore couldn't care less.

Without saying a word she reached for her wand at her hip, standing up and nearly knocking over the chair behind her, making everyone look at her as she sewed Snape's mouth shut and stopped him from talking any more, eyes getting huge in his face.

"Speak one more time of my husband and I'll kill you, and I'm not even kidding," Hestia said, her voice low and her eyes hard on that coward. ''I've killed a lot of Death Eaters in the last few years, and I would have done it to you in a blink if Dumbledore hadn't convinced himself that you're worth some shit. But I don't believe it, Snape, I know you, you're nothing more than a scared coward who runs when sees the boat sinking, so think twice before talking about my husband, because I can kill you without you even seeing where the spell came from.'' She undid the invisible ropes that they kept his mouth shut, and the man let out an exaggeratedly long breath of air, but Hestia didn't mind.

She sat back down, feeling her heart beat much faster than normal, hot blood rushing through her veins and making her feel feverish.

Sirius smiled, putting his arm over her shoulder and staring at Severus near the other end of the table, his eyes blazing with anger but still looking too scared to speak. Coward.

It didn't take long for the meeting to start, obviously Dumbledore being an idiot every time he needed to talk to her, probably wanting to remind her who was in charge here, like he did at Hogwarts. Well, she hadn't been his student for years now, so she couldn't have cared less about it, honestly.

[spideyxmee]

The Moon's Dark Side Loves Better

A/N: Hi everybody! Thank you for giving time for this short oneshot of a (messed up) scenario I had.

On a serious note, please read in caution. This mildly contains serious topics which I won't specify in case I spoil everything. If you have any trauma or anything in regards to serious and disturbing topics, please proceed with caution or just don't read this at all and move on to the next fic.

Lastly, it is not my intention to hate/bash any canon characters.

I hope you would enjoy it!

socials | ao3 | intro

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Word Count: 3k+

Warnings: Specific traumas I won't specify (please go to the next fic if you don't want to see any), some swear words

Pairing: Lily/Male OC, Jily

Genre: Dark

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Elio Gebber was a normal Ravenclaw with a pure heart. He was always kind-hearted and sweet to everyone he came across. The teachers adored his witty attitude in class and his clean reputation. It attracted a lot of people, even the ones older than him. He had attractive features that could charm anyone, long dirty blond hair, and grey-blue eyes. You could see his confidence in the way he walks and talks.

The students know nothing about Elio's hobbies and personal life. He would let others talk about themselves rather than tell something about him. Others describe him as reticent, while others call him mysterious, but this didn't stop students drool all over him.

It all changed when he showed interest in Lily Evans suddenly at the start of his 5th year. Though he was a year younger than her, he didn't care at all what others say. The news spread like wildfire and eventually alerted Lily's other courter James Potter, who was the complete opposite of Elio. But he was as popular among students.

"He's no match for me, right, Sirius?" James asks his best friend for reassurance that his long-time crush would eventually pick him rather than that "nerd." His best friend, Sirius, offered to bully and threaten Elio until he wouldn't even mention Lily's name. James was mature enough to turn down his offer and be a better man for his love.

"Hi, Evans!" Wearing a charming smile, the sanguine Ravenclaw leaned into a pillar to talk to the redhead in front of him at the Gryffindor table.

"You look wonderful today. Would you mind having some Butterbeer with me this Saturday? I would like to get to know you better."

Lily was staring at Elio, astonished. The whole table chattered, and the event eventually reached the far Slytherin table.

"Damn, that was smooth,"

"Maybe I should take him out, huh, Prongs." Sirius's gay heart leaped, while his group of friends shushed him and comforted the down James while he can only watch as the girl he liked for many years gets taken by a boy below his year. He refused to do his old tactics of aggression and respect Lily's decision.

From all the peer pressure, she agreed to give Elio a chance at dating. From what she knew, he was decent boyfriend material, but she would also like to know other things about him. They met up in the Three Broomsticks and had a successful date. He was nice enough to pay for everything they would buy.

On their second date, they enjoyed playing with the fallen leaves and buying candy at Honeydukes. He had great humor. He asked if she would like a kiss, both knew it was too quick for that, but he presented a muggle chocolate Lily adored called Kisses.

For their third date, a month later, they announced that they were officially dating. Elio knew everything about her. Now it's his turn to share things about himself. He told her that he had a hard childhood and didn't like sharing it with anyone. She understood him and promise to avoid mentioning it in the future.

"Hey, Lily! How are you doing?"

An old friend of hers, Frank Longbottom, approached them while sitting at a table in the Three Broomsticks. He was visiting Hogsmeade for a break from his Auror training. She tried to hug him, but Elio was being overprotective and pushed Frank hard away from her. It was the first time anyone saw him being physical.

"Elio! That is so unnecessary," she pulled the boy back and stared at him in shock while asking herself why he was out of character.

"This is my friend, Frank. Frank, this is my Boyfriend, Elio." She blushed while she helps her friend stand up from the fall. The boy that wore a dark expression didn't even apologize and sat down again. He wanted the other two to sit down and ask questions that sound too protective for other people but seem normal to him.

Frank had to go and was only passing by to say hello. The boys both looked at each other intensely. That wasn't a good first impression with Lily's close friend.

As they walk back to Hogwarts after their date, Lily asks Elio if he was ok and grabbed his hand. It was cold and clenched tight.

A few dates came and go, but it got worse and worse. Elio became more aggressive over Lily's simple mistakes like misplacing borrowed things. He turned into a two-faced idiot that seems nice when people were looking. But when alone with his girlfriend, Elio sounded manipulative and self-centered. He wanted the love of his life to be perfect just for him.

After no time at all, she broke up with him. He threatened her that he would die if she broke up with him, but this didn't work on the bright woman at all. She was over his idiotic tactics and two-faced ass.

She told the whole school about him, but none of the students believe her. Elio became depressed and suicidal, and Lily was the one he blames. The entire school despised her, and rumor spread that she only dated Elio for his popularity and looks. The teachers could only do little for the broken-hearted's well-being. Their respective House heads talked to them he looked in a better state. Lily has no proof of abuse to accuse him.

"Lily, can we talk?" James patiently waited for her to come out of their House Head's chamber. Now is the time to at least comfort her.

"Since when do you call me by my first name, Potter?"

It was hard for her to hold back tears from her talk with Professor McGonagall. The teacher offered to look more into her ex for her. But that's all she can do for now.

"I-" Before he could get to say anything, she attempted to walk away. James went in front of her to stop her and gave her a concerned look. Lily stood straight and raised an eyebrow.

"I am here to say that I trust you and know that you would never lie about what Elio has done to you. You can always come to me if you want to talk."

She doesn't have any reason to trust the toe rag back after what he's done to her ex-best friend in their previous school years. But from what he's done this year and the Shrieking Shack incident, she feels that James is a better person and less of a toe rag.

Weeks went by, and the two talked more and more each day. Elio thought this was preposterous and made a scene breaking down and crying every time he sees them together in public. People around felt sorry for him and criticize the two friends that were soon to be a couple.

The school soon didn't care about the drama anymore and focused on other things, which Elio didn't fathom would happen. He hid and kept a low profile for years.

On his 17th birthday, Elio obliviated his mother to erase every memory of him. His mother, Sharon Gebber, didn't care about her own child. Ever since his mother and father divorced in the summer before his 5th year, his mother abused him. She would often use him as a slave and never notice the achievements that he did so that his own mother would pay attention. This lead to his thirst for recognition in public.

Elio successfully erased her mother's memory so she could fuck off his life. He learned about the power of the spell for a specific plan of his. But clearing his mother's memory was just a practice run.

After he graduated, Elio took a job at the daily prophet to earn some money. People there think he's mental. He credits every team achievement to himself and seeks attention every chance he gets.

And even after five years, he was still not over his "love" for Lily. Elio wanted her to love him since he believes that he deserves her.

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While Lily was shopping for baby Harry's stuff at Diagon Alley, she came across an old friend of hers. Elio was sitting at Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour, writing on a notepad about news from Gringotts. She winced as she recalled all the unpleasant memories of him shouting and making her feel bad about herself. Though it was a long time ago, it still left a faint scar on Lily.

When Lily was about to turn away, he looked up, and they met eye-to-eye. He ran up to her and was about to hug her until she stood back.

"Oh Merlin, Lily! How are you?"

She thought of getting mad at him and ignore him for the things he did. But she thought, what if he's changed? He's matured physically, maybe emotionally and mentally too.

"I'm ok. How about you?" She talked slowly, and her voice was softer than usual.

They sat down and chatted for a bit. Lily was clearly uncomfortable, while Elio was very talkative and talked about himself a lot.

"He didn't seem to change a bit." She thought as she prepared an excuse to leave.

"Elio, I think it's time for me to go."

"Oh, you're already about to leave? Why so soon?" he smiled and talked at the same time, looking like a maniac planning. Which he indeed was.

"I have to really take care of my son, excuse me." she grasped her bag hard, trying to hold back the tears as she watched the same smile Elio wore when they dated fade. She left sniffling and wishing that her spouse, James Potter, to be on her side. But he was protecting their 2-month-old son from the dangers ahead.

"Son?" Elio realized that his first love has had a family with another guy. He gave out a psychotic laugh and cried his heart out. People around stared as the adult threw a child-like tantrum.

Lily heard this from far away, but she learned to never look back.

While crying, Elio thought of something. He then chased Lily and decided that it was time for his plan.

He cornered her in a dark alleyway between shops. He covered Lily's mouth with his hand and chanted a spell to stop her from making any noise. He then snatched her wand, tied her feet, and tied her arms behind her with rope from his wand.

"I have wanted to do this ever since I heard rumors of you and that Potter guy's marriage. Now you and he have a child! I can't stand it, Lily. I thought you loved me!" He stopped and scanned around the environment. "Bystanders will notice all my shouting."

"How about we talk at my humble flat here in London. How does that sound?" Elio wrapped his arms around his sweet childhood sweetheart. Lily tried to scream in hopes that someone or anyone would help her. No sound came out of her mouth as she shed tears silently. She fought her best against the stronger, more muscular man armed with a wand she wished she had.

After not long, they apparated together to his flat. To no surprise at all, his place was eerily clean, and the walls painted white. It pretty much looked like a well-furnished white torture room.

"Sit, my love." Elio dragged Lily, holding her arm with his nails sink into her skin. He locked all the doors to keep Lily in his living room as he'll get some water.

When he left, Lily tried to remove her arms and legs from the rope, but she had no luck. She tried to wriggle her limbs out and cut the ropes using sharp objects around. Alas, none of her tactics worked.

Elio returned, seeing Lily with her face wet with tears.

"Oh, love. Don't cry. I'm here. Drink some water." He wore his demented grin again. He was talking to her like nothing happened between them. It was like they were dating again.

She shook her head and bit her lip, making her facial expressions more emotional and angry.

"Wouldn't hydrate, ey? Not drinking water and keeping hydrated is bad for you, baby."

He raised her chin and looked at her face with awe. Lily tried to bite his finger off, but he pulled it away immediately.

"Ah, a little feistier than I remembered." Elio came closer to her lips as he prepared to kiss her. She gave him a painful headbutt, giving both a throbbing headache.

"Ok, Lily. I have had enough. We will come to my room and have some fun playing, won't we?" He sprung to his feet while rubbing his head to relieve the ache. His voice and face were a mix of angriness and excitement.

Knowing what he means, she got to her knees and attempted to talk, "Why, Elio. Please, I have done nothing but be nice to you."

He stopped from pulling her into the bedroom. He sat to her level to meet her eyes.

"That's the point. You did nothing to make me happy." Elio continued to pull her. The chains he used to attach Lily to the bed were ready. The whole room was filled with candles and rose petals, all ready for their steamy night.

"Don't resist me, my Lily! I deserve your love. I need your love." He clenched his teeth, making his words sound hard and scary.

It was the last thing she heard before all of her trauma.

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The morning sun arose. Elio prepared eggs and toast for breakfast without releasing Lily.

"Your bed in breakfast is here, love!" He places the small table on her lap. Elio was covered in bruises which he calls hickeys. The sleeping Lily was the most bruised, not just physically.

Elio obliviated her, confident that he replaced all of her memories with false memories of both of them together, being a happy and normal couple. He didn't know that he messed up.

"If you ever tell anyone about all this, I will kill you and your whole family."

He was removing her chains and undoing the silencing spell when he heard a knock on the door. Aurors arrived at his house for the interview he needed for an article. It was scheduled for 8 pm, but they misunderstood it for 8 am.

While Elio was away attending the Aurors, Lily woke up remembering everything except Elio's face and identity. She did, in fact, hear the mysterious man's threat involving her family. Lily wanted to get out immediately. She found all her stuff and clothes in the room. Luckily with the help of magic, she left out of the window and gently fell to the ground without scraping her already damaged body.

Elio returned to the room after chatting with his guests. He found no one there. He thinks this was mind-boggling and impossible. He prepared all this thoroughly, and he saw no one to blame but himself. The thought of it made him ask his guests to leave his home and throw things around the house.

Lily healed her scars that left unnoticeable traces at first glance and then apparated back to her home. She told the worried Order of the Phoenix members and her panicked husband that she went to her muggle friend's house that had no telephone. She also assured them that she was unable to contact anyone since it was an emergency.

⌇⌇⌇⁃⌇⁃⌇⌇⁃⌇⁃⌇⌇⌇

"James, I'm pregnant."

Her husband celebrated while carrying and dancing with baby Harry in his hands. While he was happy, Lily worried if it was actually her husband's baby she's bearing.

The whole Order of the Phoenix knew. Others say to be careful of this new baby because they know that the he who must not be named is coming for their first child.

While doing an interview at the Leaky Cauldron, Elio looked terrible. Dark circles under his eyes, and he reeked the smell of alcohol. The good-looking young man was nowhere to be found. He worked day and night, punishing himself for losing "his whole world."

He was a workaholic without any motivation for any other things, even the news of Lily's second child he overheard from a random person at the bar.

"I deserve this miserable life. I don't deserve happiness, and most importantly, Lily." he thought after wrapping up the interview and ordering alcohol.

⌇⌇⌇⁃⌇⁃⌇⌇⁃⌇⁃⌇⌇⌇

After a long day of work, Elio didn't stop find stories for work. His workaholic ass made him travel far. He reached West England just for the story about the undiscovered magical creatures around the area.

While searching around a village called Godric's Hollow, he heard a familiar scream. In a house, he saw a silhouette of a woman fall to the floor through a window. Elio wanted to see what happened, but he didn't want to be a suspect. So he covered any trace of him like wearing removing his shoes, wore gloves, and summoned a hairnet. It looked ridiculous but at least he won't be seen by the Aurors as a suspect.

He rushed inside to see James Potter, lifeless. He then realized. Lily must be the woman. He hurried up the stairs thinking about multiple things. "What happened? Will I report this? Who did this? This might make a good story. Is her child dead too? Is Lily dead?"

The first thing Elio saw was a swaddled, blonde infant cooing. Despite the cries of the toddler and her inert mother, she remained calm and silent. The sight of the infant made Elio's heart warm. She looked a lot like him.

His sharp and quick mind made it seem that this little bundle of light that reflected his past beautiful self's features is his own child. The thought pushed his panic buttons. He told himself, "I have made enough mistakes. I let Lily down and abandoned her. I will fix all of them."

Elio left the house with the child, and still, she didn't cry.

He did everything he can for his child. He quitted his job, changed his identity, and started a new life just for his child. He met a woman and he planned to obliviate her into thinking they have a family, and the girl is their child.

Without knowing it, Elio's wand was broken when he chanted the spell. He forgot all his memories that involved Lily, which was a lucky coincidence. The bad things he did to her? Kidnapping Lily's child? All forgotten.

He also forgot his act of acting to be nice and friendly to his "family." Elio's personality changed to match the kind of person he pretended to be.

He's successfully released a magazine of his own. He raised his girl to be better than his old self, even after his spouse died when their daughter was nine. The smart, little Ravenclaw girl loved everyone better than the person she reflected. And after all the bad things Gebber has done before, he helped some hero complete his mission.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ

This was the life of Xenophilius Lovegood.

[ginnympotter]

72/73 for jily please! Love these writings :)

A/N: thank you! i combined the two. hope you like it! :)

“Lily Evans, are you drunk?”

“Shhh,” she said, and as he reached her she put her hand over his mouth. “My reputation is at stake here.”

James laughed, moving her hand and intertwining their fingers. “No worries, Head Girl, I won’t deduct any points from you.”

She shook her head. “It’s not that.”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Then what-“

“I bet she couldn’t handle my signature drink, The Blackout by Black,” Sirius said from the couch across, smiling victoriously.

James gasped as he looked at the almost finished drink in her hand. She did not protest as he snatched it from her and put it on the coffee table between them and Sirius. “You gave her that? What the hell is wrong with you?”

Sirius put his hands up. “Don’t blame me, she agreed to it!”

“How do you feel?” James asked her, concerned.

“Dizzy and nauseous. Not even any of the fun parts of being drunk,” she lamented.

“That’s the magic of The Blackout by Black,” Sirius explained, pride in his voice. “The journey is different for everyone, but the destination is always the same: blacking out. You’ll get there, don’t fret.”

“Why do I get myself wrapped up into your lot’s marauder madness?” Lily moaned, putting her head in her free hand. “Sirius, I’m going to kill you, then myself for being such an imbecile.”

“Not if the drink gets to you first,” Sirius mumbled.

James rubbed his girlfriend’s back soothingly. “I leave for 30 minutes and my best mate almost murders my girlfriend with her permission. Great.”

“Do you have that little faith in me?” she asked, her voice muffled by her hand.

“Lily, I can’t even survive that drink.”

“Well, you’re a lightweight.”

Sirius laughed loudly. “Too true.”

James snorted, affronted. “No I am not.”

Lily lifted her head back up and did something that indicated she was trying to roll her eyes, although she couldn’t quite get there. “You literally had to go to the hospital wing after the last Quidditch victory because you got so drunk.”

“That wasn’t because I was too drunk, that was because someone,” James emphasized as he glared at Sirius, “distracted me while I was trying to levitate myself!”

“Well maybe if you weren’t so pissed, you wouldn’t have lost your concentration,” Sirius quipped, throwing back a shot of firewhiskey.

James groaned, and Lily leaned her head on his shoulder. “So when did you almost fall victim to this drink?” she asked.

“He’s the reason it was invented in the first place,” said Sirius, smirking.

“What d’ya mean?” she mumbled, eyes closed.

“You tell it, Prongs,” said Sirius, as he got up. “I’m going to go get myself a butterbeer. Want one?”

“I’m fine, thanks mate,” James replied. As Sirius walked away, James let go of Lily’s hand and instead wrapped his arm around her waist, tucking her closer to him.

Lily snuggled closer, nuzzling her face into his neck. “So what’s the story? Why were you the inspiration for this poison?”

James cleared his throat, nervous. He never told her this before, but he supposed he had nothing to feel embarrassed about anymore with her. “Remember when you started dating William Coster in sixth year?”

She made a gagging noise. “Uch, don’t remind me. I have tried to actively erase that from my memory.”

“Yeah, well, the night I found out about it, I was trying to do the same.”

Lily leaned her head up to look at him. “Huh?”

“I was crushed,” he told her honestly. “It was also the same night that we lost our match against Slytherin. So I told Sirius to put me out of my misery, and that I didn’t want to be able to remember the night. And thus, The Blackout by Black was invented.”

“Did it work?” she asked in a small voice.

“In blacking me out? Like a charm. In making it so that I wouldn’t see you and Coster for the next three months together? Not so much.”

She frowned sympathetically. “I’m sorry, James.”

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for,” he reassured her. “It all worked out in the end, didn’t it?”

She pulled away a bit, her eyes glazed. “Can I tell you a secret?”

“Of course.”

“I didn’t even like William that much,” she whispered. “Towards the end, I mean. And now, don’t reinflate that beautiful head of yours, but part of the reason I chucked him was because I realized I was starting to fancy you…but only a bit!”

James grinned, warmth filling his chest at this newfound knowledge.

Before he could respond, Lily snorted. “Oh, don’t look so smug about it.”

He laughed and caught her face in his hands. “I love you,” he told her as his thumb gently stroked her cheek.

“I love you too,” she responded, before moving in and kissing him. Even while intoxicated, Lily knew how to kiss James in a way that practically rendered him immobile.

She pulled away a minute later and said, “People are staring.”

James opened his eyes and looked to their right. “It’s just Sirius.”

“Well, I see three of him.”

Sirius chuckled, plopping back down on the other couch as James tried to get Lily up. “Alright, Evans, let’s get you some water and food.”

Lily stumbled as she stood, holding onto James’s arm tightly. Then she pointed to the right of Sirius, most probably where one of the three of him she saw was. “I will emerge victorious, Black!”

“Sure, I’ll see you tomorrow morning for your memory quiz.”

[moonysfrexckles]

Looking Back- Jily

September 1977

“You weren’t in Transfiguration yesterday,” murmured Sirius.

James kept his attention on his work, sketching with long, dragging strokes of his quill. “I didn’t feel well.”

“Neither was Evans.”

Now, he paused. His eyes flicked to the front of the room, just once, before landing on Sirius. His friend was watching him with carelessly raised eyebrows, looking entirely blasé about the whole thing. James saw the slackness of his mouth, however, curling into a little smirk, and a sparkle in his dark eyes that gave away how terribly amused he was by this fact.

“What a coincidence,” James swallowed. “She mustn’t have been feeling well either. It’s probably flu. That’s contagious.”

“Indeed,” said Sirius.

The two boys lapsed into a knowing silence. James said, “We weren’t-“

Sirius let out a bark of laughter. “Oh, I know. Even if you were someone else, which you’re not, and Evans could stand being alone with you for more than five minutes, which she can’t, I wouldn’t think that of her.”

James didn’t reply. His eyes, almost absently, trailed to her. She’d shoved her flaming hair up, away from her face, and she was laughing at something that Mary had said.

Sirius had asked him once, when they were still baggy in their thirteen years, why he fancied the pants off of a ginger. It had been the middle of the night, and James had been awake because the butterflies in his stomach- heck, they weren’t even butterflies, they were stampeding elephants- fluttered more erratically than the stars he could see out the window. Sirius didn’t sleep anyway, it transpired, and the two boys whispered deep into the night. James couldn’t answer him. He didn’t know how to tell his best friend that there was something in Lily Evans’ eyes, something that made him speechless… and James Potter was never speechless. He was always on the highest speed, the highest volume, but Lily Evans made the world slow down and go so quiet all he could hear was his heart beating.

He couldn’t exactly pinpoint the moment, but every time his eyes fell on her, the feeling was reinforced, and it hit him like a wave, buckling his knees and taking him out completely. She turned, and caught him, and smiled. It was a small and hesitant smile, but it shone from her lips like sunbeams.

Sirius was watching him when he blinked and looked back at his friend. “What?”

Sirius smiled knowingly, but shrugged and got on with his work. James prodded his arm. “What!”

“Nothing!”

“Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“No, but you’re thinking it.”

Sirius burst out laughing, putting his quill back down, and regarded his friend with raised eyebrows. “If you knew what I was thinking, why did you have to ask?”

James muttered something, but turned away. The two boys worked quietly, and that smug smirk still clung to Sirius’ lips when James stopped again and said, “It was her sister’s birthday yesterday. They don’t get along because she called Lily a freak over her magic. Rosier’s comments got to her and I just- I can’t get it out of my head. She has to prove herself in two worlds, Pads. She doesn’t belong in either of them, not completely. She’s not welcomed in either of them. Have you ever just been struck by your privilege? By how tough other people have it in comparison to you?”

Sirius stared at his friend and huffed. He said, “Everyone has it tough, James. My family’s Gringotts account goes back centuries, and yet here I am, disowned and penniless, ostracised from one side because I won’t conform and distrusted by the other because I still have my mother’s blood in me.

“Evans has it tough. But she’s a fucking cookie to crack. If it’s her against the world, I’m inclined to feel sorry for the world.”

James laughed at that. He glanced at the board, and picked up where he left off, copying down the notes.

Sirius didn’t let him do so for long. He leaned in, voice dropping so low James had to strain to hear it. “Speaking of tough times- tomorrow.”

He didn’t have to ask to know what Sirius was referring to. James followed his friend’s gaze, but didn’t let it linger. He didn’t have to stare for long to notice the way Remus’ shoulders sagged, as though he was constantly piggybacking his secret around with him. There were dark crescents under his eyes, and his skin was pallid and taut, stretched over his skeleton tightly as though it was two sizes too small. His hand kept slipping as he wrote, but his grip on it was so firm his knuckles were white.

“I don’t have a lesson in the afternoon so I can make sure it’s empty,” said James.

Sirius nodded. “It’s getting worse.”

“It will be stress,” said James, but he wasn’t sure.

“Exams haven’t started yet though. He doesn’t seem overworked.”

“Remus always seems overworked,” James countered, laughing slightly. “He’s either that harried he gives the rest of us second-hand stress or he’s so relaxed he could be high.”

Sirius nodded again, but he didn’t carry on working, nor did he look at anything but the grooves in the desk. “He’s sleeping less. I can count how many hours he slept last night on one hand,” he said. “I don’t know what it is, but not even his Potions are helping. I think he’s stopped taking them.”

James opened his mouth, then shut it. He wondered how he had missed that. He always checked Remus had taken his Potions and was sound asleep before he even allowed himself to consider closing his eyes. He prided himself on knowing when the people he loved began to stumble, but James looked at Sirius, at his pristine hair and dark eyes and skin flushed with life, and he remembered how he had looked on his doorstep two years ago in the rain and thunder. He’d have to pay closer attention.

“Are you sleeping?”

Sirius didn’t even falter. He grinned. “Like a baby.”

And yet, James wasn’t sure whether he could believe him. Once you’d seen the lightening, it was hard to accept the blue skies that followed.

Flitwick stood on his books at the front of the room, tapping his wand against the blackboard. “You can pack up now.” As if on cue, the bell chimed. “Oh! Before you go, homework, please! Don’t forget to give me your homework or it’s detention- yes, Mr Graham, just because you are part of my House doesn’t mean you’re off the hook!”

The two boys jumped to their feet, shoving their paper in their bags and putting the lids on their ink. James noticed Remus freeze in the corner of his eye. His body collapsed in on itself, even more so than it already had done. He quickly grabbed his homework out of his book, murmured a spell to erase his name, and scrawled Remus’ at the top. He took Sirius’ too and piled them together before he jogged to the front and handed them both in, smiling brilliantly at the teacher.

He packed the rest of his stuff away, and his eyes snagged on a certain redhead leaving the classroom. He called her name. She waited for him outside.

“How are you feeling today?”

Lily looked up at him. She reached half way up his chest. Mary was talking to Peter, who had blushed a fantastic shade of red, and Sirius and Remus stood on the other side of the corridor, grinning like the idiots they were. James ignored them.

“I feel better,” she replied, tucking her hair behind her ear. She had a fresh face today, and it glowed pale in the September sun.

He smiled at her. It felt so natural- his lips just curled up all on their own. “Good. That’s good.” He swallowed. “You ate some breakfast this morning.”

Lily laughed, and she closed her eyes, wrinkling her nose. “What have we said about watching me eat, Potter?”

“Habit,” he said, blushing. He scratched at his neck, hoisted his bag higher up his shoulder.

“Well, I have to go to class.” She turned slowly, and walked back to her friend.

“Have you got any plans for this weekend, Evans?” he asked casually.

Lily stopped, and sighed. She turned to look at him. “Potter, it was one dance. I’m not falling in love with you after one dance.”

The breath left his lips as a shaky laugh, and James offered her a courteous smile, bowing his head in defeat. He made to turn around and carry on his way to class, but something jumped in Lily’s throat, and she said, “James!” He spun on his heel, so quickly he nearly fell. She smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear again. “Maybe I tripped a little.”

The smile grew across James’ face slowly and lopsidedly, and he nodded, eyes sparkling behind his glasses. He waited there, smiling at her, and Lily hesitated. She laughed a little, turning back around to carry on her way to class. She looked back though. James counted it as a victory.

[padfootagain]

All That The Wind Carries (IV)

Chapter 4 : What Being a Head Boy Implies

And another chapter edited! More Jily on this one but still a bit of Blackinnon, because I love Blackinnon…

Hope you like it!

Word Count : 5000

He was late. He knew Lily would be mad at him. He didn't want her to feel like he was letting her down on the very first day, but he had had to take news of Sirius. And well... he also had to make sure to tease his best friend with his brand new relationship with McKinnon. He reckoned that if Sirius had wanted to seduce her, he would have done so long ago. But still, teasing Sirius was one of his favourite things in the world, he couldn't waste an opportunity, could he?

Now he was running down the corridor, hurrying throughout the school. He had to find Lily at the cafeteria. He took a look at his watch.

17:10.

They were supposed to meet at 5 pm.

Fuck...

She was going to kill him.

Here it was, the end of James Potter.

He bumped into a wall, failing at turning at the corner, and he resumed his running, massaging his painful arm.

He looked at the time again.

17:13.

He could see the picture perfectly.

Murderer : Lily Evans

Weapon : Wand

Cause of Death : Broken skull after having been cursed so hard he flew across the whole city and finished hitting the Elizabeth Tower, staying stuck into the giant clock.

At least, the authorities would have the precise hour of his death...

17:15

And on his tomb, he knew perfectly what Sirius would write : "Here rests James Potter, the only trouble maker who managed to get Head Boy when he received more than 300 hours of detentions over the years. Well done, Prongs. You fucked up your reputation."

He made a mental note to make sure to erase Sirius from his last will.

17:17

Finally, he reached the door of the cafeteria. He stopped on the threshold, taking a moment to partially catch his breath. But he didn't have the chance.

The door was open, as always. Apparently, the cafeteria was always open. During their two last years, the students could always have fruits and drinks, and most students used the room to study when they had to work in groups, as they couldn't talk in the library. So when he leaned against the doorframe, and looked inside the room, he saw her there, sitting near the window, looking at the grounds. The light was soft, pale after the rain of the previous hours. Her hair looked like a halo of flames, her eyes greener than the grass in spring.

He couldn't catch his breath, his heart had stopped anyway.

He reckoned he needed to correct the circumstances of his death.

Murderer : Lily Evans

Weapon : that little smile on her lips

Cause of death : Heart attack after being awestruck

Engraving on his tomb : "Here rests James Potter, who's heart was too fragile to face Lily Evans' beauty. Well done, Prongs. You're a lovesick moron."

He struggled to swallow, trying to calm down the butterflies in his stomach, but it wasn't working at all.

Hell, he was so pathetic when it came to her.

He walked into the room, coming closer to her. Now, he could see the shy freckles that stained her cheekbones and nose.

Hell, she was so...

"Hey," he breathed as he reached her table.

She started, looking up at him.

"I'm sorry I'm late," he went on, sitting next to her. "I was talking with Sirius. I had to check if he was alright after what happened at lunchtime."

"Don't worry," she reassured him. "I was late too actually. I spoke to Marls. I just arrived two minutes ago."

James let out a relieved sigh.

"Okay, I was afraid you'd be mad at me for being late."

"It's okay."

She picked up her quill and a piece of parchment.

"Alright, we have to pair up the prefects and decide when they will do their patrols. The ones in their 7th year will have to be paired together, 'cause they won't start their patrols until we're back at Hogwarts."

"All right."

"Some extra prefects have been chosen by the Heads of House so that there are enough prefects in Hogwarts. McGonagall gave me a list of their names. We'll go to Hogwarts on Sunday, and have a meeting with the prefects. We'll have to make sure the meetings fit with the Quidditch practices. Do you know when you will do the tryouts?"

"Probably this week."

"You have to tell McGonagall so that she can put a note in the Common Room. You should do that as soon as possible."

"I'll talk to her tomorrow."

"Okay. So, first, we have to do the pairings, that's the most urgent thing we have to do."

"What if we pair up two people who hate each other together?"

"They have until Sunday to change the pairings, they'll tell us by then. As long as they mix up with other houses, it's fine."

James nodded. He took a deep breath, before diving, trying to sound very natural.

"Do we have to do rounds too? As Head Boy and Head Girl?"

"Yep, we do," she nodded, reading the list of the prefects' names.

"Hmm... Do you think we should be paired together?"

She looked suspiciously at him.

"I mean... between Quidditch and Head meetings and the NEWTs... It's gonna be a bit complicated to get organized, don't you think?" he explained. "If you add to that two different moments for our rounds, it's gonna be impossible for us to talk about Head duties."

She stared at him for a moment, her eyes narrowed, trying to read through him.

"Potter?" she said in a firm tone.

"Yeah, Evans?" he answered in his most innocent tone, that he often used with McGonagall when she caught him and his friends red-handed.

"It's not one of your twisted way to ask me out, is it?"

"Of course not."

She clenched her jaw, glaring at him now.

He was awful at lying. He had always been awful at lying. His cheekbones always reddened when he lied. It was discreet, almost invisible, but when you learned to see this detail, it was impossible to be fooled by the boy.

And as a Gryffindor girl, it was a question of survival for her and her friends to know how to read through his and Sirius's lies. She had learned the trick long ago.

"I won't go out with you, Potter. I thought I had been clear over the years..."

"That's not what..."

"I won't go out with you, not now, not ever."

"I know that."

"I told you once that I would rather go out with the Giant Squid, and I meant it."

"I know you did."

"So..."

"So... that's not why I proposed the two of us to be paired together."

She slightly wrinkled her nose, clearly not convinced. She seemed to think for a moment.

"If you want, you can still pair me with Remus," James added, trying to reassure her. "I mean... he's one of my best friends, I'm not going to complain."

Actually he would. He would cy all night long until Sirius would get bored and cast a sleeping spell on him. And he would hate Remus till the end of his days.

Actually, no, not until the end of his days. Moony was too kind, he could never stay mad at him for more than a day. But James would stop talking to him for an entire day, that was for sure. Even if Remus didn't have anything to do with it, it didn't matter, he would have to pass his nerves on someone eventually.

"Actually, you have a point," Lily sighed, tearing James away from his thoughts. "With Quidditch, we'll never manage if we don't do our rounds together. All right then, let's do that."

"We don't have to if it's a problem for you."

"No, no that's all right. And if you actually do ask me out during one of our rounds I'll attach you and leave you during the entire night hanging at the Astronomy Tower. Is that clear?"

He smiled. This crooked smile of his that annoyed her so much.

Oh Merlin...

"That's a deal, Evans," and his smile turned into a grin.

She nodded, writing their two names next to each other on the parchment.

It took them half an hour to pair up the prefects (James hated the idea of pairing Gryffindors and Slytherins together, it seemed like a form of torture to him, and it took a while for Lily to convince him). Organizing the rounds took them 20 minutes more. And during all this time, they didn't fight, nor shouted. He didn't give her one of his lines, and she didn't get irritated every time he opened his mouth.

They both reckoned that their relationship was improving.

"We'll see about the events we have to organize with the Muggles tomorrow after lunch," she told him as they were folding the parchments.

"We could meet here. I don't know for you, but I don't know my way around quite yet," he answered.

"No, me neither."

"Have you been to the dorms yet?"

She shook her head.

"Do you think we'll have dorms for ourselves, like in Hogwarts?"

She shook her head again.

"I don't think so."

He struggled to hide his disappointment. Sharing dorms with Lily was one of the rare good sides of being Head Boy...

As they both made a movement to take the quill that laid on the table, their hands collided, their fingers touching softly.

They stared at each other for a moment, perfectly still.

Lily saw James biting his tongue, probably to avoid one of his cocky remarks to pass his lips. He slowly took his hand away from hers.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"It's okay," she mumbled as well, blushing.

Somehow, they couldn't manage to look away from each other.

She hated him. Hell, he was so fucking annoying all the time.

But... she had to admit he had beautiful hazel eyes...

She cleared her voice, picking up the quill and finally tearing herself away from his stare.

"Let's go. I have to find Marlene before diner time," she said.

James nodded, closing his bag while he tried to slow down his racing heart.

"And I have to see the boys."

"All right then..."

They walked out of the cafeteria together, and stopped before parting in the corridor.

"Could you make sure that all the boys have their trunks tonight?" she asked James. "I'll check for the girls."

"Sure," James nodded.

She brushed a lock of her red hair behind her ear, making his heart jump against his ribs.

"See you later then," she said.

She sounded like she was uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"See you, Evans."

She turned on her heels and hurried down the corridor.

James stared at her as she walked away. He heaved a sigh, throwing his head backwards. He had managed to behave the entire time. He reckoned that their colliding hands had fucked up everything though. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

He missed the image of Lily turning one last time towards him before disappearing around the corner.

------------------------------------------------------

"I can't believe you’ve spent all this time talking with Sirius."

Marlene rolled her eyes.

"Alice, we just talked."

"First you make a bet," Alice went on, ignoring her friend's remark. "And then you spend two hours talking with him alone in a corridor."

"Yes, you're right, we talked. He happens to understand my situation way better than anyone else does."

"He's not an orphan," Alice reminded her friend. "And it's Black we're talking about. He's the heartbreaker of Hogwarts."

"I know that. I'm missing your point though."

"I'm just saying that he's not the most reliable bloke on this school."

"Well, of course, now you're going to brag about your boyfriend," Marlene rolled her eyes.

"No..."

"That's what you always end up doing, Alice. As if Frank was perfect."

"He is though."

"For you. Not for us," Marlene replied, pointing at herself and Lily.

"She has a point," Lily nodded.

Alice didn't reply, merely planting her fork into her potato.

Suddenly, Sirius Black was standing right next to the girls.

"Hi there!" he exclaimed merrily.

Behind him, his four friends were waiting for him at the door of the cafeteria. He ignored Lily's and Alice's surprised look, and directly turned to Marlene.

"Our faithful Captain will set up the trainings for this Sunday. You'll have to be there, we need a chaser."

Marlene nodded.

"What time?"

"No idea for now. But don't plan anything for that day."

"All right."

"Oh... and I've sent James on a mission to find when the first trip to London is supposed to take place."

Alice and Lily exchanged a curious glance. But Marlene merely raised an eyebrow, trying to refrain a smile.

"And... how could that be any of my concerns?"

"You owe me a drink," he replied with a cocky smile.

"And I have a bottle of firewhiskey in my trunk."

It was his time to raise an eyebrow.

"I guess you won't need to wait for the trip to London to honour your debt then."

"That will depend. You never mentioned when I was supposed to pay you a drink."

"Why do I reckon that this will depend on my performance as a trouble maker?"

"Let's say that I'll be more inclined to pay you a drink if you avenge me well."

His typical crooked smile appeared on his lips, his eyes shining with mischief.

"Is that a bet?" he asked, his voice daring.

She shrugged.

"Why not?" she accepted.

"You'll give me that drink within 3 days after the prank if I win."

"And if you lose, you'll have to wait for London."

"That's a deal."

They shook hands.

Lily cleared her throat.

"I'm afraid I've misheard you..." she said, looking at the two smiling Gryffindors. "Did I hear about pranks?"

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Evans... stop being a prefect for a second."

"I'm not a prefect anymore. I'm Head Girl."

"Even worse..."

"We can't take the risk of creating any incident with Muggles, Black!"

"I know that. That's why I'm not going to target Muggles. Only the good old cockroaches that have been transformed into Slytherins."

"Black..."

"Evans, you should trust us really..."

"Wait... us! Don't drag Potter into this."

Sirius chuckled, raising an eyebrow.

"Since when do you care so much about James getting in trouble?"

"I don't care about him. But he's Head Boy. And that's a lot of work. With the NEWTs, I can't handle everything on my own. I need him to stay in this school."

"Yeah... I believe you..."

"If you don't want to die young, I'd advise you to shut your mouth."

"Relax, Ginger Devil. I won't have a bad influence on our deal old James. He's already good at jumping into trouble anyway."

He ignored Lily as she opened her mouth to answer, and turned towards McKinnon again.

"Good night, McKinnon."

"'Night, Black."

And Sirius turned on his heels, whistling merrily, joining his friends and walking out of the cafeteria.

Alice and Lily stared at their friend.

"What?" Marlene asked innocently, eating a piece of bread.

"What the hell is this all about?" Lily asked her, glaring.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about. What is this whole story of pranks all about?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------

"What... you made another bet with McKinnon?"

Remus stared at him, his reprobating look plastered on his face. This look he used every time Sirius or James would misbehave.

Which meant every single day, often several times a day.

"Yep," Sirius nodded. "She asked me to avenge her from the Slytherins. And don't give me that look, Moony. I'm being chivalrous, like a real Gryffindor. I answer to the call of a damsel in distress."

"Chivalry my arse. Marlene is everything but a damsel in distress."

"Hey, you were not against setting a prank earlier today," Sirius reminded the werewolf.

Remus blinked.

"I've never said I was against the idea of setting a prank against the Slytherins."

"But...?"

"But I'm worried about your intentions towards Marlene. She's very kind, you know?"

"I know. And my intentions are to win this bet and get a free drink."

"You and firewhiskey..."

"An old love story."

"An awful idea," Remus corrected his friend.

The door of the boy's dorm suddenly opened on Frank Longbottom and Caradoc Dearborn. Sirius stopped them, waving his hand before him.

"Watch out! Big prank in preparation. If you want to sleep, put a sound-proofing spell on your curtains. Or you get out."

"What do you think we did the second we set a foot in this dorm?" Frank asked back, before walking towards his bed.

The beds were four-posters, very similar to the ones at Hogwarts actually, except that the covers and the curtains were not red and golden, and the beds were not set up in circle, but aligned against the two longer walls of the rectangular room.

Eleven beds were set in this dormitory, for only six boys in Gryffindor. None of the Marauders was very happy at the idea of sharing their dorm with new boys, but it didn't look like they had a choice anyway. They guessed that the five remaining beds would belong to Muggles, but they had not arrived yet.

The four Marauders had taken the four beds the further away from the door, and were now sitting cross-legged on the floor between their beds, in the middle of the room.

"You all have all your things, by the way?" James asked the newcomers.

They both nodded, frowning.

"Sure, why?" Caradoc asked.

"Lily asked me to check if all the boys had their trunks."

"That's why you disappeared after we arrived here?" Remus asked his friend.

"Yeah, I went to check for the other houses."

All the dorms were set in the same corridor. And James had to admit that he didn't like having his dorm so close to the Slytherins. But again, they didn't have much choice anyway.

"Oh... so Ginger Devil is making sure you're acting like a good little Head Boy..." Sirius mocked his friend.

Sirius received a Bertie Bott's Jelly Bean in the face in response.

"I have to behave this year," James told him. "Because it's my last chance with Lily, and because Dumbledore seems to rely on me for everything to be fine with the Muggles..."

"Wait, wait, wait..." Sirius interrupted his best friend, his eyes wide in horror. "You're not going to abandon us, are you?"

James rolled his eyes.

"Of course not, Pads. We are the mischief makers of Hogwarts. And that won't change. I just... need to deal with Head Duties as well. And Quidditch. And my NEWTs. And Lily..."

"If you turn into a prefect this year, I swear on Merlin's beard, James Potte,r I'll turn you into a toad and throw you in a cauldron full of snakes."

"Hey, I'm a prefect," Remus protested. "See, you can plan pranks and be a figure of authority."

"You're not a figure of authority, Remus," Sirius corrected him. "You're the kindest bloke in Hogwarts."

"You know what I meant."

"Sirius, I swear, I won't turn into an angel," James reassured him.

The door of their dorm suddenly opened, filling the room with the sound of laughs.

The five Muggle boys who were studying with them entered, stopping their conversation as they entered the dormitory and saw the Wizards.

"Well, looks like we're gonna share our dorms together as well," a blond boy, named Richard, said.

"Looks like it, yeah," James nodded.

The four Marauders exchanged a glance. They couldn't prepare their prank if the Muggles were around...

"So... how was your first day?" Joey asked them.

"Fine enough," James nodded.

"We heard about a fight, is that true?" a dark haired boy, named Albert, asked.

"Well... depends on what you heard," Sirius replied.

"We heard you all had been fighting against another group from your school. And that you were punished quite badly for it."

"Not so badly," Sirius replied. "I just got detentions."

"Why did you fight? What happened?" asked Joey, eager to know about the story.

Sirius merely shrugged.

"I just punched a guy in the face."

"Why?"

"He said something not so kind to a friend of mine."

"So you punched him?"

"It's more complicated than that."

"The rumor says it was because of a girl," Richard said, letting himself fall on the bed closer to the door. "What did the guy do? It's about your girl?"

"Marlene is not my girl," Sirius replied. "Lestrange mocked her on her family."

"And?"

"And her entire family was killed during the summer."

"Oh shit..."

A long silence settled into the room.

"Talking about girls," Joey suddenly blurted out, "are there any girls from your school who are... taken? I mean... this ginger girl looks..."

"Absolutely not available," James finished for him, glaring.

"You two are together?"

"No."

"But you're trying to make her go out with you."

"Yep."

"So..."

"So if you get near her I'll turn you into a cockroach."

"Can you do that?"

James picked up a Jelly Bean, his wand, and a second later, a cockroach was running across the room.

Joey struggled to swallow.

"Alright, maybe not this one then..."

"And Alice is my girlfriend," Frank warned the Muggle boys.

"Alice? The brunette?" Richard asked.

"Yes."

"What about the blond?"

He looked at Sirius, but the boy merely shrugged.

"I don't reckon she's going out with anyone at the moment."

"You're not together then."

"Of course not," Sirius snorted.

"Well, I don't know... you punched a guy for her."

"We're not together."

There was a knock on the door.

"Turn off your lights," a woman told them. "It's curfew."

The Muggles heaved a sigh and walked towards their beds.

"Who's that?" Peter asked.

"That's Mrs. Peddington," Richard answer."She's the groundkeeper. She's..."

"A pain in the arse," Joey finished in his friend's stead.

"Hell... A woman version of our good old Filch?" Remus asked his friends.

"And I thought we would be rid of this guy," James sighed, standing up.

"So... there's a curfew in the dorms?" Sirius asked the Muggles, standing up as well.

"Yep, 10 pm. And everybody is woken up at half past six," Joey nodded.

"That sucks."

"Welcome to Saint Peter Prison."

James carefully waited for the Muggles to be talking together, before turning towards his three friends.

"We won't be able to talk about pranks in the dorm," James whispered.

"What do you propose?" Sirius asked.

"I propose we explore our brand new school," James answered with a grin, his eyes shining with mischief.

"Tonight?"

"Why not?"

"I'm not sure Lily would be very pleased if she knew the Head Boy was breaking curfew, and walking throughout the school in the middle of the night."

"Lily doesn't need to know that. And don't you think that I should know my way around this school, as Head Boy?"

"I think you should know every corridor."

"Exactly."

"And secret passages, so you can save students faster all around the school."

"You're perfectly right."

"And every way to get out of the school too, to prevent students from escaping."

"Absolutely."

"Oh... no, don't tell me you're thinking about what I think..." Remus breathed.

Sirius and James looked at each other, grinning.

"We need a Map!" they both whispered in unison.

"Oh Merlin... we're gonna get ourselves in trouble," Remus moaned.

"Relax, Moony. We'll wait till they're all asleep," James said, nodding towards the Muggles. "And then, we'll get out, using the invisibility cloak."

-------------------------------------------------

"Peter, stop walking on my damn foot!"

"Not my fault you have big feet, Padfoot."

"I beg your pardon? My feet are perfect, thank you."

"Moony, hurry up."

"We shouldn't be here... You're Head Boy for Merlin's sake!"

"Oh... damn prefect..."

"I don't reckon you were complaining on the fact that I'm a prefect when I used it to get you out of trouble."

"Shh... I heard something."

They all froze, listening closely. None would doubt Sirius's senses. He spent so much time in his Animagus form, his senses as a human had sharpened immensely.

He guided his friends towards the wall, getting out of the way of whoever could walk down the corridor. Outside, the moon and the stars were barely visible with all the clouds that covered the heavens. Remus made the light at the tip of his wand disappear.

Peter opened his mouth to speak, but Sirius shushed him, placing his palm on his friend's mouth.

This time, the sound of footsteps was loud enough for all the boys to hear.

They patiently waited until a little, quite fat woman would appear at the corner of the corridor. She was holding a torchlight in her hand, and seemed to be patrolling all around the school. They guessed it must have been this Mrs... Peddi... something that the Muggle boys had told them about earlier that night.

And indeed, she looked a bit like Filch. She had the same grumpy expression on her face. Except that she was three times bigger than him, that she wore big glasses that made her eyes look like the eyes of an insect, and her blond hair was attached in a high bun that was bigger than her face.

Sirius bit fiercely his lip to avoid his laughter to be heard. And he could feel that James had the same reaction, as his friend started shaking slightly next to him.

The Muggle passed slowly before them without noticing the hidden boys, and she disappeared around the next corner, climbing up a flight of stairs.

The boys slowly walked in the opposite direction, waiting until they had walked down a flight of stairs to finally light up their wands again and allow themselves to whisper again.

"Oh Merlin!" James chuckled, chocking with his laughter. "What the hell was that?"

"I thought Filch was ugly, but hell, she's even worse," Sirius nodded, laughing as well.

"She seems to be as bad-tempered as he is," Remus nodded.

They were now in a corridor downstairs, not far from the grounds.

"What time is it?" Peter asked.

Remus checked his watch.

"Almost two in the morning."

"I'm starting to be exhausted."

"You're always tired anyway," Sirius replied.

"He's got a point though, I'm tired as well," Remus told his friends.

"Well, let's see what we managed to cover tonight," James proposed, and Sirius picked up the piece of parchment he had folded into his pocket.

"We have all the area around the dorms," he said. "We also have the fourth, third and second floor of the left wing. And most of the second floor of the right wing."

James nodded slowly.

"This school is much more little than Hogwarts. I reckon that at this rate, we could have finished to explore it in two, maybe three nights."

Sirius nodded.

"We'll have to think about labels as well, to avoid this Mrs. Pedd... something."

"Peddy sounds good."

The four boys chuckled.

"Alright, we also have to talk about that prank against the Slytherins," James reminded his friends.

"We could... turn all their hair green," proposed Peter.

"How old are you again?" Sirius replied harshly. "Plus, brewing a potion is too long, we need to do it quickly, set the record straight."

"What about making their things disappear during class?" Remus proposed.

James and Sirius slowly nodded.

"That could be fun," James said, thinking hard.

But a grin formed on Sirius's face.

"Oh... Prongs... I'm a genius. A fucking genius. You're going to love that..."

"What?"

"They're keeping our owls in the school, right?"

James stared at his best friend, a smile creeping up on his lips.

"What could you possibly want to do with owls?" Remus asked suspiciously.

"We'll need owl treats," Sirius told James.

"I don't dare to imagine what your crazy brain has invented again," Remus shook his head.

Sirius shushed his friends once again.

"I heard something again."

"We definitely need a map..." Peter whispered.

The noise of a breaking window pierced the night.

"What was that?" Remus asked softly.

"Not dear old Peddy," Sirius breathed.

"What do we do?" Peter asked, his voice shaking slightly.

"We go take a look," Sirius and James answered in unison.

Remus, James and Sirius all started to walk towards the noise, dragging Peter with them.

"Are you sure we should do that?" Peter asked.

"Yes, we're sure," Remus replied, shushing his friend.

They hurried towards the grounds.

"Can you smell that?" Sirius asked.

"It smells like... something's burning," James nodded.

They hurried even more towards the source of the noise, Remus pulling Peter with him by now.

They froze when they heard the sound of voices.

"Come on, hurry up!"

"We must get out of here!"

"It's working! Look!"

"Yes, I can see it's working! That's why we need to get out before we are the ones to burn, instead of these monsters."

The four boys turned a corner, and had only time to catch a glimpse of the shape of a man jumping by a window and onto the street.

On the other side of the corridor, the wooden door leading to the grounds had been broken...

...And was burning.

***************************************

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