A Marauder's Guide to Falling Together

Chapter Five

"Lily!"

The girls were exiting the great hall after the welcome feast. Lily had just been excusing herself from their group to help the prefects with the first year students when her name rang out through the crowd. Marlene would have been expecting James except that he had already walked up beside her to accompany her on their rounds.

"Snape," James said tonelessly before Lily had fully turned around.

"Lily," Snape seemed aggravated and somewhat frantic. "We need to talk. Now."

"James and I are quite busy with head duties at the moment Severus," Lily said sharply.

"I don't know what Dumbledore was on when he decided to make you headboy!" Snape ignored her and had rounded on James. A couple of students had stopped around them, curiously looking in on what appeared to be an impending fight. "You are reckless, irresponsible and enjoy putting others lives in danger!"

"Nothing to see here," James bellowed sternly at those passing by. To Marlene's surprise he turned his focus on her and Mary. "That includes you too McKinnon, MacDonald."

"Er – " Mary seemed off put at his authority. "We'll wait up for you Lily."

"Severus," Lily was lowering her voice. Marlene and Mary were of the few students left within ear shot of their conversation as they headed down the hallway after the retreating crowds.

"Did he tell you what he did?" Snape's eerily calm voice cracked in the distance. "How could he possibly make you head boy after what you did! And I bet you've got Lily all convinced that you're this perfect guy now, haven't you? Maybe I should enlighten her."

"Please Snape," James was almost begging him. "Now is not the time..."

And then the girls rounded the corner and the voices became too muffled to distinguish. Marlene already knew what Snape was referring to but Mary looked at her with curiosity, clearly eager to find out from Lily later what he had been going on about.

"What do you think has him riled up?" Mary asked quietly when they had moved out of earshot.

"I'm not too sure," she lied innocently enough and Mary seemed to accept her answer as genuine.

Despite Mary's promise to wait up for Lily she gave up when the common room had deserted at midnight and she couldn't stifle any more yawns. Marlene was certain that she and James probably had some last minute head duties to prepare for but she couldn't help but think that Lily might be burying his body somewhere if Snape had truly managed to tell her what he appeared to be telling her when they had left the trio.

Lily was uncharacteristically the last one to wake up the next morning. Marlene was at first surprised when she awoke to find the curtains still closed around Lily's bed frame and only after she had showered and gotten dressed had Lily stirred from her slumber and made an appearance. However, she must have been out extremely late if it warranted such a sleep in on the first day of classes.

"Don't you think it's a bit late to be waking up?" she questioned her friend but Lily merely yawned before brushing past her and into the bathroom where she closed the door firmly behind her and only emerged a short while later looking a bit tired but just as radiant as ever.

They were running behind for breakfast so they only had the opportunity to snatch a piece of toast which they consumed as they hurried along the corridors leading to the dungeons. Marlene hadn't taken the opportunity to question how late Lily had been up but by her tired appearance it appeared that it was quite late.

She was also unusually quiet but brushed it off when Mary had voiced her concern over it.

"It's nothing," had been her reply but this answer didn't satisfy Mary's growing frustration that Lily had refused to divulge details from her evening.