James Potter gets the shock of his life
The hard thing was going to be picking the right memory. Was it normal for your strongest memories to all be bittersweet, or was that just her? Finding out she was a witch? Irrevocably connected to losing Petunia. Her friendship with Severus? Feeling really seen for the first time? Grinning at each other, elated when they were the first two in the class to pull off the Draught of Living Death because of the extra reading theyād done together, huddled in the library?
But then, that same afternoon, when she walked up to join the queue outside Transfiguration, his Slytherin friends had held their noses, mimed vomiting, exaggerated looks of disgust on their face. She tried to just ignore it. James Potter and Sirius Black had retaliated unthinkingly, an en masse Petrificus Totalus so the group of Slytherins were on the ground before Lily could do so much as blink. Sheād not thanked them. Not looked at them, at any of them. Sheād just set her shoulders, turned on her heel and walked in the other direction. There were other Muggleborns in the class and the Slytherins didnāt react nearly as strongly. She didnāt know what she could have done to earn such stand out hatred, even before You-Know-Who had empowered people to say what they really thought. And Severus had just stood there, saying nothing, refusing to even look at her.
Nothing that involved him, then.
āYou got your memory ready?ā Mary broke into her reverie.
āYeah, I was just thinking about that,ā Lily sighed. āItās kind of slim pickings. Iāve just not had that much pleasure in my life recently.ā
āSorry to hear that, Evans. If only there was something I could do,ā came a polite voice from above her.
Lily shut her eyes, knowing what she was going to see when she opened them. James Potter had slid onto the bench next to her and was smirking as he spooned potatoes onto his plate.
āDonāt be creepy, Potter.ā
He held a forked potato aloft on the way to his mouth, and looked almost sheepish. āOh come on, Iām only kidding.ā He looked at her so earnestly she couldnāt help softening. āYou know what my memoryās gonna be?ā he went on, brightly.
āWhat?ā Lily indulged him.
āSlughornās Christmas party last year.ā
āOh yeah, that was fun,ā Lily smiled back, pleasantly surprised. What was this? A nice friendly reminiscence about a time theyād both enjoyed?ā
āSpecifically,ā he went on.
Here we go, Lily thought.
āThat green dress you wore,ā James feigned a dreamy expression, staring into the middle distance. āYou remember the one. You were pulling at the hem of it all night like you were worried it was too short even though I kept telling you it looked magnificent and-ā
āOh my god, I am not listening to this,ā Lily threw her spoon down and disembarked the bench as gracefully as she could.
āWhat?ā James called after her, loud enough for the whole hall to hear. āI liked it because it matched your eyes!ā
He was so unabashed, so gloriously unbothered about looking like an idiot that she couldnāt help laughing. Now that heād stopped bullying Severus, stopped hexing people in the corridors, his advances had transitioned from incredibly aggravating to kind of a running joke for everyone. Lilyās smile slipped when she saw Severus, watching her from the Slytherin table. His black eyes were on her, unfathomable. She lifted her chin and stalked past.
Severus Snape didnāt own her, and heād made his choice.
Having left lunch early, she was the first to arrive to Defence Against the Dark Arts. She sat there, nervous and twitchy as the others trickled in. Mary flopped down next to her.
āYou canāt leave the table every time James Potter sits next to you,ā Mary said. āYouāre too thin as it is,ā pinching Lilyās waist for emphasis. Lily squirmed.
āI donāt leave the table whenever he sits next to me!ā
āOkay, but you do. And I donāt see why. He really likes you, he makes you laugh-ā
āHe does not make me laugh. Heās laughable. Thatās not the same-ā
Lily cut herself off as the door banged open and a group of Slytherins sloped in. As usual, Severus didnāt look her way as he went to sit on the other side of the classroom.
Moments later, the Marauders came in roaring with laughter at a story that Sirius was telling.
āā¦ so basically every time Pince says the word quiet, the sonorous charm activates, and-ā
āSettle down, settle down,ā Professor Vance said as she swept into the classroom behind them. The Marauders laughter died away. Everybody else was already silent.
āOkay. Thereās only one way to get good at this, and even then, without a real dementor, well. Itās not the same. Thatās why youāve got to be good. Really good. So. One at a time, up the front, so we can all learn. Who wants to go first?ā
Nobody volunteered.
Lily felt Professor Vanceās eyes land on her. This often happened, being Head Girl. But she was fresh out of Gryffindor courage today.
āMiss Evans?ā
Mulciber, one of Severusās Slytherin friends, gave a small cough designed to poorly disguise the word, āMudblood!ā
A few people gasped, and the Slytherins tittered. From the back of the room came a scraping sound and Lily turned to see James Potter pushing his chair back and making to stand up, but being dragged back down by Lupin.
āWeāll get them later,ā she heard Black hiss.
Lily turned back to the front of the class and stood up herself.
āIāll try.ā She made her way up to Professor Vance.
āYou know the theory. Just concentrate on that memory,ā Vance said quietly, before moving to the side of the room. Lily nodded and turned to face the class. Her eyes met Mulciberās close-set, piggish gaze. Mulciber sneered, his eyes narrowed. Lily determinedly kept her face impassive, until finally, he looked away. Lily lifted her chin, then faced the rest of the class. Without intending to, she locked eyes with Potter, just for a second. Free of mirth for once, his face reflected the determination she felt. He gave a small nod, a tiny gesture of encouragement, and she felt bolstered.
Lily closed her eyes, and pictured her parents. Her mother and father. She thought about the first time she had brought them to Diagon Alley. Buying them an ice cream at Florian Fortescueās, their delight as they watched the conga line of charmed strawberries dance along the counter. Her motherās awe as she craned her neck to see the highest shelves of Flourish and Blottās, her fatherās face of anticipation as he took a tentative sip of Ogdenās Old Firewhisky. The classroom disappeared. The Slytherins disappeared. They couldnāt tarnish what she had.
Lilyās voice was clear and confident, āExpecto Patronum!ā
She knew it had worked when warmth coursed through her. When she opened her eyes again, she saw silver mist erupting from the tip of her wand, taking shape. It was something with four legs. A horse- but no, its head was still blossoming, it had ā antlers?
It was a stag. It was the most beautiful thing sheād ever seen. It stretched its neck back toward her, lowering its antlered head in greeting. Then, it cantered gracefully around the room, before returning to her outstretched wand, and with a blink of its eyes, it was gone. Lily stared at the space where it had disappeared. The classroom was, for a moment, completely quiet. Then the spell broke.
The Gryffindors whooped and cheered. Lily looked towards her friends, and started to smile, still in a small amount of shock. But then she saw four faces at the back of the classroom, and they brought her up short.
Peter Pettigrewās mouth had dropped dumbly open.
Remus Lupinās eyebrows had shot north to his hairline.
Sirius Black had dissolved into silent laughter, shaking his head in disbelief.
James Potter looked completely stricken, his eyes wide with an emotion she couldnāt name.
