Before || A Marauders Era Story

Chapter Eleven: Lily

"So..." Lily stood awkwardly across from Severus in front of the library, wondering how to ask him if he'd received the next note. "My friend wanted to get me a note. Did they give it to you, by any chance?"

"What?" Severus asked, confused. "No, I didn't get anything."

Lily frowned. "Sev, are you sure?" 

"Yes, I am!" 

"Alright. Well, tell me if you do, er... get anything." Lily shrugged.

"I wi--" Severus was cut off when he stumbled back and fell hard on the floor.

"Sev!" Lily cried, leaning over him. "What was that for?"

"I didn't mean to! Someone pushed me!" Severus said angrily, scrambling to get up. 

"Oh, don't be silly," Lily told him. "We're the only ones over here!" 

"I bet it was that Potter git!"

Lily crossed her arms and sighed. "Look, you know I don't like him, but that seems a bit far-fetched. Maybe you just...fell over."

"Did not!" Severus replied, crossing his arms as well. Lily rolled her eyes. 

"Whatever. Let's just do our homework, yeah?" 

"Right," Severus nodded, pushing open the door to the library. 

ϟϟϟ

"What's the note say?" Dorcas asked when Lily entered the common later that day. 

Lily shook her head. "Nothing. I mean, there was no note. He didn't have it."

"Maybe he was lying." Marlene suggested. Lily huffed.

"Why would he?" 

"Why wouldn't he?"

"He's my friend!" Lily said. "I know he wouldn't."

"Maybe he just doesn't have the note yet," Dorcas grinned. "And he'll have it soon."

"I guess we'll see," Marlene shrugged. Lily felt a bit frustrated they just left it at that, but nevertheless she shrugged as well and sighed. 

"Who do you guys think is writing the notes, anyway?"

Marlene gave her a blank look. "I have no clue whatsoever."

"Me neither," Dorcas shrugged. 

"Maybe someone's just pulling a prank on us." Marlene suggested.

"But we can't ignore them just because that's a possibility." Lily crossed her arms. "Because it's not worth if it's not a prank." 

"Yeah," Dorcas agreed. Marlene nodded, twirling her hair around her finger thoughtfully. 

"Anyone want to play chess with me?" she asked after a while. Lily brightened. 

"Sure!"

As she found out soon after, wizards did not play the same chess as muggles. 

"I mean, I suppose it's cool," Lily said, watching one of the chess pieces whack the other off the board. "But...what's the point?"

Marlene shrugged. "It's just better this way. Besides, you're so distracted by the chess pieces, you're letting me win."

She was right. A couple minutes later, Marlene had won the game fair and square.

"Ugh!" Lily shook her head. "I barely ever lose at chess."

"Ha! Oh well," Marlene smirked. "I guess I'm just better than you are."

"Please," Lily scoffed. "Rematch."

"Alright." Marlene agreed. She'd barely spoken when someone came in through the portrait hole and through the common room towards them.

"Lily?" A girl with pigtails and freckles tapped her on the shoulder, and Lily recognized her as Emma, the other Gryffindor girl in their year. "There's a boy standing outside by the portrait, he says he needs to talk to you. But the Fat Lady won't let him in. He's a Slytherin."

"Severus!" Lily exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "Thank you, Emma." She apologized quickly to Marlene and turned to find Severus. 

"Is this what you were looking for?" asked the greasy-haired boy standing near the Fat Lady. He held up a folded piece of paper.

"Yes!" relieved, Lily snatched the paper out of his hand. "Thanks." 

"What is it?" Severus asked. 

"I'm not quite sure." Lily lied, putting it in her pocket. "See you tomorrow?"

Severus frowned. "Okay."

Lily gave him a quick wave and turned around.

"Got it," Lily told Marlene when she was back in the common room. "Where's Dorcas?"

"Dormitory." Marlene replied. "Let's go up there." 

They quickly rushed up the stairs to the dormitory and Lily sat down on the edge of her bed. She unfolded the note and hurriedly read it. 

Transfiguration classroom. Midnight. Tomorrow.

"This is not good." Lily said. 

"What?" asked Marlene. "It's not like Professor McGonagall will be in the classroom at midnight."

"We could still get caught!" Lily argued.

"We could also be super lucky?" Dorcas said. She sighed when she saw Lily and Marlene's expression. "Yeah, yeah, okay... Well, we could try not to get caught." 

Lily groaned. "We are going to get in so much trouble."

"Maybe, or maybe not." Marlene shrugged. Lily sighed. 

"Look, if I get expelled, I'm going to back to living as a muggle. And--"

"You're not going to get expelled, Lily." Dorcas assured her. "And if it's that important to you, we'll go without you."

Lily gave her an affronted look. "Um, excuse me? No way!"

"See?" Marlene asked, laughing. Lily rolled her eyes. 

"Whatever. It's time for dinner now, anyway." 

She'd barely finished speaking when the other two girls scrambled towards the door. 

"Good, I'm starving!" Marlene exclaimed. Lily shrugged her shoulders and followed.

"Hey--there's no one here." Dorcas stopped in the doorway of the hall. The Great Hall was completely deserted. 

"Huh?" Marlene asked. Then her eyes widened. "Wait, it's only five o'clock." she turned to Lily in exasperation, hands on her hips. "Really, Evans?"

"Haha, fell for it, " Lily grinned, sticking out her tongue. 

"Says the one I've tricked thousands of times in wizards chess today." 

"I mean, the moving chess pieces take some time to get used to." Dorcas offered.

"Exactly." Lily agreed.

So they went back up to the common room and spent their time playing chess very competitively until dinner, speaking occasionally of plans to get the next note.