Second Year, Frost and Vampires
Saturday January 6th 1973
With her cheek rested against the damp windowpane of the train carriage, Lily felt the steady and rhythmic vibrations of the wheels on the tracks, the monotonous thundering of iron against iron. The Scottish hills sped past, covered in layers of frost like crystalline domes in the landscape. It had been hard having to leave home again after the winter holidays. There was an ache in her chest that got bigger with every hill that seemed to shrink to the background.
After Christmas Eve, Lily had tried to keep her Hogwarts ramblings to a minimum, since it was evident that her sister didn`t enjoy them as much as their parents did. Which Lily could understand, it was a world Petunia wasn`t a part of and she supposed it made her feel left-out.
They had spent the days between Christmas and New Year`s Eve sledding down the hill next to their local playground, making snowmen in the front yard and decorating biscuits. It had felt like it had when they had been little girls, when Christmas had felt like the most magical time of year. Only obviously, it had been different than back then, for now everything was coated with a layer of things unspoken and things already said. Petunia remained solemn, quiet, sometimes breaking through in laughter that would split her face open like overripe fruit. But mostly it felt like there was a thin veil hanging in front of her sister that Lily was unable to penetrate.
The night before Lily had had to board the train back to school again, there had been a soft knock on her door. Before she had been able to answer, her bedroom door had creaked open and Petunia had come tip-toeing in on stockinged foot, her slight silhouette illuminated by Lily`s nightlight, casting an almost transparent shadow on her wall.
Lily had opened up her duvet and let her sister into her bed, cold hands grazing the backs of her own as she clambered in. Neither of them had said something at first, only the high breathing of Petunia audible, warm and sour against her face. The clock on her nightstand ticking away the minutes.
`Please, don`t go tomorrow.` Petunia had whispered suddenly, her voice breaking.
Lily had tried to look at her sister, but there was too little light in the room to be able to make out her sisters features.
`Don`t go.` Petunia had repeated, softly.
`I have too.` Lily had whispered back, feeling her eyes brim with tears.
`You don`t have to.`
`I do.` Lily had replied. `It`s part of my life.`
`I`m also a part of your life.`
At this Lily had swallowed hard. Of course her sister was part of her life. Maybe her sister was the most of her life. It was never easy to leave her house in Yorkshire. The walls surrounding her felt like a second skin, the room she lay in the beating hart of it all and her sister the pulse she swore she could feel in her own veins.
She had wanted to say a million things to her sister, but words never seemed to come when she needed them too, so she stayed silent.
`I`m suffocating in this house.` Petunia had whispered. `It`s like without you in it, the walls are closing in on me.` she had let out a shuddering breath. `I can`t believe childhood is over.`
`It`s not over.` Lily had replied. `We`re still children.`
`Maybe you are.`
Lily had wiped a tear of Petunia`s cheek, her skin felt cold and in the glow of her nightlight it looked almost translucent, the blue veins close to the surface.
`I`ll be back in June.` Lily had spoken into Petunia`s hair, the stray hairs tickling her face.
They had fallen asleep like that, limbs tangled and Lily`s back bent in such a position that she had woken up with all her ligaments hurting. That had been this morning, she had taken her trunk and she had driven out of Yorkshire, away from Petunia again.
Sunday January 7th 1973
They had still a day left until classes would start again and Lily had vowed to Marlene and Mary that they would use this last day of the winter break to spent it on pleasant, non-school related activities. Which Lily thought was a bit unfair since it was early morning and Marlene had already set out to practice on the quidditch pitch, which neither Mary nor Lily considered a particularly pleasant activity. Though, Lily could hardly blame Marlene, since the highly anticipated Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match was just short of a week around the corner. And though Lily denied it, she wanted just as much as everybody else to completely crush the other team.
Mary was still sound asleep in her cot, so Lily was on her own in the common room. She sat in an armchair in front of the fire, cradling a cup of steaming hot tea in her hands while absentmindedly gazing at the swivelling flames as they liked the wood. She had a poetry book she had gotten for Christmas splayed open on her lap, but she was unable to concentrate, every time she came to the bottom of the page she felt like she hadn`t understood a word of what she`d read. Her mind kept wandering off towards Petunia.
Sighing, she stood up, closing the book and deciding she would try if she could see Marlene flying over the pitch. Still nursing her cup of tea, she strolled over to the window. Remus sat in the windowsill, staring off into space, a puzzled look on his face, a book lying slack on his lap.
Lily looked out the window, not spotting Marlene, but seeing James on his broom diving towards the ground, only to pull up just in time before he would hit the muddy pitch. Lily`s hart plummeted to her stomach, for a second there she thought she had almost witnessed the death of James Potter.
`What the hell is he playing at?!` she yelped and nervously took another sip of her tea.
Remus turned his head slightly and looked startled, as if he hadn`t noticed her standing there before. `Nervous energy.` Remus shrugged his shoulders, seemingly unbothered by his friend`s reckless behaviour.
`James Potter, nervous?` Lilly huffed, that pretentious show-off seemed to have the emotional life of a toothpick. `I had no idea he was capable of such complex emotions.` She still stared out of the window, now also locating Marlene, who was practicing bat swings on the muddy pitch.
`Oi!` Remus spat indignant, not looking at Lily. `It`s not been an easy Christmas for him, ok?`
`Ok, ok.` Lily replied, feeling guilty. `I know he is your friend.`
She tried to look at Remus` face to see if he was mad at her for taking a hit at James, but the boy kept being turned away from her, his face cast in the shadow of the bay window. `How was your Christmas?` she asked.
`Great, thanks. You?` Remus replied curtly.
`Brilliant.` she beamed, through it felt forced and she felt like she might strain her cheeks. `Mum and dad finally let me get an owl.` It wasn`t a complete lie, some of it had been really nice.
`Oh, t`riffic.` Remus replied noncommittal.
`What about you?`
`Got some books.`
Lily nodded, she knew Remus liked to read, he was rarely seen without a book. `From your…` Lily faltered, how could she put this delicately. `Um, from the people you live with?`
So much of Remus was a mystery to her and it didn`t matter how hard she tried, it seemed like he just didn`t want to let his guard down. Nothing she said seemed to appease him.
`No, from my friends.` Remus turned to look at her now and Lily noticed red angry scars crossing his face.
`Oh…, of course, yeah.` she replied, trying to act like she hadn`t noticed the scars at all. Lily stared out of the window, past Remus, making a purpose effort not to look at his face. Deciding not to comment on them or ask questions.
Remus rose from his dwelling and walked away from Lily, book clutched in his hand and head bent to the ground. Lily stared after him. The scars had looked serious, deep and raw, they must have been inflicted over the break. Those were scars that only someone with a lot of internal turmoil could possibly inflict on themselves. Again, she thought about Petunia.
***
Red cheeked and windswept, Marlene stepped back into their dorm room. She had encountered Lily in the common room on her way up and Mary was sitting on top of her duvet, peering over a copy of the Witch Weekly that Marlene had brought along with her from back home.
`Alright.` she nodded at Mary, unwinding her scarf from her neck, letting it breath again.
Mary looked up, still sleepy eyed, and gave her a beaming toothy grin. Cat was lying against her thigh, purring loudly.
There was a pile of old muggle magazines Mary had brought along for Marlene laying on her bedside table. Both Mary and Lily were Marlene`s window into the muggle world. Sometimes she wondered how things would have been for her if her dad hadn`t abandoned her mum. Maybe she would have been brought up completely differently. It startled her how different things could have been. All those what-if`s. She felt somewhat embarrassed to have so little knowledge about half her heritage, though she supposed, she could hardly call it heritage since she had never known her father. Maybe it was for the better. Maybe she would save herself a lot of hurt by letting that box be left unopened. Though, the comment her mum had made about Marlene and her brother not being safe in their home, since they weren`t purebloods, was nagging at the back of her mind.
The conversation she had overheard in the kitchen kept replaying itself in her head, like a never-ending loop. She had been too nervous to ask her mother about it. Besides, she felt sure her mother wouldn`t like to find out Marlene had been listening in on it. So, she tried not to think about it too much, though it was extremely hard and her nails had been the victim of her anxious ponderings.
Marlene sat down on her bed, unlacing her boots, untangling the knots.
`He`s so dreamy.` Mary gushed.
Marlene groaned, pulling off a boot, `We`re not talking about Black again, are we?`
`No, no, no,` Mary replied, indignant. `Look!` She held up the magazine in front of Marlene`s face.
`What am I looking at?` Marlene asked confused, grabbing the magazine from Mary`s hands.
`Louis de Pointe du Lac. He models for Witch Weekly.` Mary gushed.
Marlene peered at the page, her eyes having trouble focusing as a result from having beaten bludgers around all morning.
`Mary!` Marlene let out, snorting loudly. `That`s a Vampire.`
`So?` Mary asked, jutting her chin out.
`He transfigured in the 18th century. He is literally centuries old.` Marlene responded, looking at the pale blue eyed man on the page.
`Oh, rubbish.` Mary huffed and snatched the magazine back from Marlene.
`I`m not kidding.` Marlene laughed. `He might be dreamy, but don`t let that fool you. That man`s a Vampire.`
`Very funny Marlene. Vampires aren`t real.` Mary laughed and practically started drooling over the page again.
`Mary! They are!` Marlene replied insistent, sitting down next to Mary and petting Cat.
The door opened and Lily came in, looking solemn, an empty mug dangling from her hand. Marlene had noticed Lily being drawn into herself ever since they had boarded the train back to Hogwarts and she wondered what was going on with her friend.
`Lils, can you please tell Mary that Vampires are real!`
`Oh, yes they are real.` Lily answered, setting down her mug on her nightstand and sitting down on the bed, next to the other two girls.
`You two are messing with me.` Mary said, frowning.
Lily shook her head, `Mary, do you even pay attention in class?`
`I do!` Mary huffed, indignant. `I just though they were joking when mentioning Vampires. I mean it`s like saying Werewolves are real.` she laughed.
Marlene started laughing; Lily stared at Mary widening her eyes.
`No!` Mary sprang up, face falling, dropping her magazine down on the bed, scaring Cat away.
`Oh, Mary.` Lily snorted. Marlene was clutching her sides, heaving with laughter.
`Why did nobody tell me!?` Mary yelped indignantly.
`We thought you knew!` Lily cried. `I mean, we are witches for gods sakes. We`ve got literal ghost roaming the halls.`
`Vampires are real!?`
`That`s what we`ve been trying to tell you.` Lily responded, giggling.
`And that Louis bloke is one?` Mary snatched up the magazine again and stared wide-eyed at the page. `But-` she stammered.
`Here, let me see.` Lily grabbed the magazine from Mary. `Oh yes, he`s fit alright.`
`We`re way past that!` Mary cried, still sounding distressed. `You mean that I could just encounter a vampire anywhere? That a vampire could just crawl in through our window?!` she looked wide-eyed at Marlene.
`Well, no- I mean, you`d have to invite them in first.`
`Oh my God.` Mary let herself fall down on the bed, but only in a matter of seconds she shot up again. `Is- Is Snape an actual vampire then? I mean I thought we were just joking.`
`No, Sev`s not a vampire!` Lily yelped immediately, but then she scratched her brow. `I mean I don`t think he is.`
Marlene burst out in a fit of laughter and picked the magazine up from the duvet, looking at the man again who was batting his eyelashes in front of the camera and clenching his jaw. Maybe it was the fall of the light, but she really didn`t see what either Mary or Lily were talking about. What was it about this man that intrigued them so much?
She flipped through the entire magazine, the familiar faces of various wizard celebrities flashing by, most of which she and Mary giggled over in the common room all the time. The majority of the time she was just giggling along with Mary, not sure what they were laughing about. It was rarely that she liked the wizards Mary seemed to swoon over, but maybe she was just picky. Surely, it was hard to top someone like James, who was the best quidditch played in their year, she supposed. Everybody could top Sirius Black, that annoying bastard.
Throwing the magazine down on the bed, Marlene said, `Let`s not talk about boys anymore. Come on, you two promised me we could go ice skating today.`
Not much later the three of them were trudging towards the Great lake. Luckily, they had been able to lend some skates, since neither Lily nor Mary had a pair of their own.
The surface of the water was frozen solid and gleaming in the sun, almost blinding them as it came into view. Marlene sat down on the bank, slipping her skates on her feet and fastening the laces. She had been able to skate as soon as she had been able to stand on both her legs without falling over. Just like swimming and flying, gliding over the smooth surface came as a second nature, as easy as breathing.
`Oh, I don`t know if I can do this.` Mary whimpered. Marlene knew Mary was terrified of water and all activities surrounding it.
Lily was already on the ice, slipping and sliding, looking very much like a baby dear.
`Here,` Marlene extended a hand to Mary. `It`s really not as scary as you think.`
Mary hesitantly grabbed onto Marlene`s hand and she hoister her up to her feet. Marlene skated backwards as she pulled her friend over the ice. `Just lean on me.` Marlene spoke softly.
`I`m scared.` Mary whispered, bottom lip trembling.
`I know.` Marlene replied. `But I won`t let go.`
Lily swooshed passed them, plaid flapping behind her, she was more walking on the ice than actually skating, but she hadn`t fallen yet and that seemed to be enough for the redhead.
Marlene pulled Mary forward, slowly but steadily gliding forwards.
`What if I fall?` Mary whimpered.
`Maybe.` Marlene replied. `But I`ve got you.`
Behind them, Lily slid down, very leisurely as if in slow motion, laughing all the way. When she came to a halt on the ice she splayed out her limbs and moved them back and forth, as if making a snow angel. At this Mary was able to crack a smile and Marlene felt the hands that were gripping her relax and ease into her own.
***
`I still don`t know why this needs to happen now.` Marlene crossed her arms over her chest.
It was after dinner, Lily was sitting on a stool in their shower, a towel slung over her shoulders and Mary leaning forwards, holding an apple slice behind Lily`s ear.
`Please don`t hurt me.` Lily whimpered, looking anxious as Mary moved closer to Lily`s ear with the piercing needle.
`Then you need to hold still.` Mary replied. Her hand was steady, yet she was still ever so slightly scared that she might just prick Lily in her face.
Her sister, Gabi, had gifted her a couple of piercing needles and a bottle antiseptic for Christmas, without the knowledge of her parents obviously, and Mary had taken them along with her to Hogwarts. Thinking that she could maybe pierce a couple of her fellow students and make some money of it. However, she had promised Lily almost a year ago that she would pierce her ears when she and Marlene had gifted her earrings for her birthday. So, before she could start her little business, she would need to first take care of Lily`s lobes first.
`Lily, I`m serious, stop moving.` Mary put her hand on top of Lily`s head to keep her still.
`Don`t you need ice for this?` Marlene asked. `You know, to keep it from swelling?`
Mary shrugged her shoulders and tried to steady Lily`s head.
`You do know what you`re doing, right?` Marlene asked, sounding nervous.
`Yes, yes, Marlene,` Mary huffed. `I do know what I`m doing. Lily`s earlobes aren`t just going to fall off after this. I just need to-`
`Ow!` Lily yelped as Mary stuck the needle through her lobe.
`There. One done.` Mary said satisfied and slipped an earring through the small wound in Lily`s ear.
`Maybe I`ll do just the one,` Lily said, standing up. `You know, do the whole pirate thing.`
`Oh come on, Lil, stop whining. Sit down and I`ll do your other ear.`
If Mary was being honest Lily did look a bit peaky and she was scared she might just pull a feinting act on them. Marlene had sat herself down on the toilet lid and was biting down on a strand of hair, eyes skittering between Mary and Lily.
`No,` Lily leaned in close to the mirror, inspecting her ear. `No, I`ll keep it like this.` she nodded, lips pressed together.
`You`re scared.`
`Am not!`
`Scaredy-cat.` Mary replied in a sing song voice. `Come on, let me do your other ear.`
`I`m not a scaredy-cat.` Lily huffed, outraged.
`Miaow miaow.` Mary sang and wagged her piercing needle in the air. Cat sauntered into the bathroom, squeaking loudly and looking confused as to where the noise was coming from. Marlene snorted.
`Fine.` Lily scowled and plonked herself down on the stool again.
Swiftly, Mary grabbed a hold of Lily`s other earlobe and pressed the apple slice against the back of it, before nimbly weaving the needle through. Lily didn`t give a peep as Mary slipped the earring in.
`There we go.` Mary said satisfied and patted Lily on her back. `Good girl.`
With her hands gently touching her lobes, Lily inspected her ears in the mirror, moving from side to side.
`You like?` Mary asked, feeling a bit anxious.
`Hmmhmm.` Lily nodded approvingly. `Will they bleed though?`
Mary shrugged. `Don`t think so. Mine didn`t.` she replied. `But if Snape starts sniffing you up and down, then you should probably put some antiseptic on it.`
`Mary! I already told you, Sev is not a vampire.`
Marlene, who had diverted her attention to Cat and was twirling its soft fur, chuckled.
`So he says.` Mary replied pointedly. `We don`t have proof, do we?`
`I guess not.` Lily shrugged. `But, I`d take his word for it. I mean, I don`t think he could attend Hogwarts otherwise. Right?`
`Still, isn`t there some way we could weasel it out of him?` Mary asked. `Like a potion.`
`There`s veritaserum.` Marlene spoke up, ushering Cat back into the other room.
`Lil, you`re in Slug club, can`t you secure us with some of that?`
Lily sighed exasperated. `We`re not going to use veritaserum on my friend. I think it`s illegal anyway.` then she snorted. `Besides, could you see me asking Professor Slughorn for a highly classified potion, just to make sure by best friend isn`t a vampire?`
Marlene went to stand wide legged, puffed out her stomach and put her thumbs behind the hooks in her trousers, screwing up her face.
`Ah, my dear Lily. Now, what did you say, trying to see if our boy Severus is a vampire, eh?` Marlene spoke in Slughorn`s pompous voice.
Mary chuckled, Marlene was a master at imitating their Professors.
`Now, my dear, dear girl. Though, I apricate your avid enthusiasm, I`m afraid some things must remain a mystery. Even to the brightest of us, eh?`
Lily burst out laughing and clutched her sides, doubling over.
`Ok, ok,` Mary heaved. `Fine. I understand. We can`t just drug Snape and drag the truth out of him. But, I`m convinced he`s a vampire and I`m going to carry garlic in my robes, just to be sure.`
`You know the garlic thing is just a myth right?` Lily laughed. `It doesn`t actually keep them away.
`Oh, great. Right. Vampires are real, but the garlic thing is not. Of course.` Mary threw up her arms exasperated. `Lily, you read too much.`
Though Mary was somewhat joking with the vampire thing and Snape, she was still relieved to always be wearing her mother`s bracelet with the little cross on it. Gratefully, she moved the beads on her wrist back and forth.
Monday January 8th 1973
The first day of their second semester started off with Transfiguration, which Mary thought was highly annoying and when she had heard Lily`s alarm go off that morning at six she had considered skipping the lesson all together.
She and Marlene took a seat in the back, while Lily took her usual seat up front, huffing at them as she did so. Mary propped her head up on her elbows and gazed around the classroom, trying to locate Sirius. That way she would have something to stare at for when McGonagall would go on and on about turning animals into objects, which if she was honest, Mary thought was rather repulsive.
Her breath stocked in her throat and she blinked rapidly when she noticed a boy she didn`t recognise sit in Sirius` usual seat. The boy was small and because his hair was shorn close to his scalp, she almost mistook him for Lupin. But the short bristles were darker than Remus` and when he turned his head slightly, Mary almost gasped. It was Sirius. The unfamiliar boy was Sirius. He was hunched over and without his usual bravado, but the pale and pointy features were unmistakably those of Sirius Black. He was steadfast ignoring his friends who were trying to get his attention.
Mary nudged Marlene. `Look.` she whispered.
Marlene looked up from her text and her mouth fell open as her eyes fell on Sirius. `What-`
`I don`t know.` Mary whispered back, cutting her off.
Mary hadn`t a single clue as to what had happened to Sirius over the holidays. However, she was determined to find out. If there was someone who could find out what was going on, it was her. She liked to consider it her special gift.
///