Back To The Old House ♡ Marauders Story

chapter ten year one- the dinner party

Lily was spending increasingly less time with her friends, and more time holed up in the library working on schoolwork. It was so easy to fall behind but she was determined to stay at head of the class. She didn't have any trouble in potions however, her and Severus, along with a Hufflepuff girl named Emmeline, were doing outstandingly well with little effort. But while she was doing quite well in her other classes, they required far more work on her part.

In fact, she had just recently received an invitation from Slughorn to go to a Christmas dinner party with some of his other students. To her delight, Severus had also been invited. When she was studying in the library he was almost always there, but it had become difficult to spend time with him otherwise, as neither of their friends, to put it lightly, enjoyed the company of the others.

But today Severus was not there next to her. Today she sat alone in the nearly empty library. She looked around for her friend again, who was supposed to meet her a half hour ago. Instead, she saw Remus Lupin walk in. Once he noticed that she was there, she waved him over. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, then sat next to her with his books in hand.

"Sirius and James are practicing their singing skills at the moment, a bit difficult to focus in the dorm. Are your roommates with you?"

"No, I was supposed to meet Severus but he hasn't shown up yet. Probably just got held up in the common room. Anyways, did you get an invitation to Slughorn's Christmas party?"

"Nope. I think he likes me fine but I'm definitely not one of his favorites, not like you. James got one though, apparently his father was very good at potions." Lily tried to look happy at this news. She may like Remus but she was not particularly fond of his friends, James especially. Remus didn't seem to believe her acting, however. "He's not a total prat, you know. When he's not acting he's actually pretty sweet."

Lily didn't know how to respond. To give James Potter a chance would be to renounce her friendship with the only person who was there for her for years. "And Severus isn't all bad either. I think he's acting too. With his friends, y'know?" Remus nodded and they both started writing on their parchment, neither of them appearing to want to continue on the subject.

After a stretched out silence, Lily finally spoke. "Are you staying for break?"

"Yeah, my dad wanted me home at first but we decided it best that I stay. You?"

"My parents want me back. I don't know though, I didn't leave things very well with my sister."

Remus thought for a moment. "Well, you have to see her at some point. What better time than the holidays? It's a short break in case it doesn't go well. Avoiding people only works for so long." Lily scrunched her eyebrows. "But if you decide to stay, I'll be here." A warm smile appeared on both of their faces and they silently returned to their work.

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The ice cream Slughorn was holding had long since melted, however he had been talking for so long he didn't seem to notice.

"Yes, yes, I knew Hector quite well. I only taught him for a year but I knew he had something special in him. Glad to see he proved me right!"

"Have you ever been wrong?" An older boy with freckles asked sycophantically.

Lily thought she saw a flicker of darkness on Slughorn's face, but that disappeared as soon as it had come. "Ah, there you are Waylen, my boy. This is Waylen Scamander, he is the son of Newt Scamander. If you don't know who that is, he is the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. How is your father, Waylen?"