Sneaky trick
The day ended with the entire cast and crew gathering to hear what Minerva McGonagall, the director, had to say:
"Alright, everyone, that’s our wrap-up for day one!" Her announcement was met with enthusiastic applause and whistles. The boys exchanged fist bumps and hugs with the cast and crew. Standing atop a crate, McGonagall looked sharp in a sleek grey suit, her hair tied in a slightly messy bun, and round glasses perched at the tip of her nose. She exuded power, yet her usual sternness was softened with a comforting warmth.
"I know the challenges everyone faced to make today happen. Thank you for welcoming me as the new director of this project. If it’s up to me, we’ll have a series without major hiccups, yielding fantastic results. I hope to see the same teamwork tomorrow. Good night, and get some rest."
A cheer erupted, and slowly the crowd began to disperse.
"Great job today, McKinnon!" James grinned at Marlene. The two had just wrapped up filming a few scenes together, and Lily couldn’t help but notice they had fantastic chemistry as the leading couple.
Marlene was a impressive actress. It was evident how her gaze transformed from passionate when looking at Aaron to indifferent the moment they shouted "Cut!" and she was looking at James.
"Wait, did you guys kiss today?" Sirius interjected, his voice brimming with exaggerated disbelief. "I can’t believe I missed it!”
"No…" James laughed, blushing slightly. "Not today, Black!"
"Padfoot!" Sirius corrected, grinning. The boys were already adopting their nicknames.
"Those nicknames are stupid," Marlene rolled her eyes with a clever expression. "And besides, they’re not inclusive. Where are the girls' nicknames?"
"Exactly, Marls!" Mary chimed in, draping an arm around Marlene’s shoulder. "We need a feminist revolution on this set. You lot get far too much attention."
"It’s only natural, darling," Sirius quipped, winking at Mary, who stifled a laugh and looked away.
"You’re all so full of yourselves!" Marlene exclaimed, throwing her hands up dramatically, much to the boys' amusement.
Lily looked around and realised it was time to guide them to pack up and leave. She spotted Peter eating leftovers from the buffet, but Remus didn’t seem to be anywhere.
Her concern grew as she searched the set. Frank noticed her worried expression and asked, "Hey, are you alright?"
"I can’t find Remus," Lily replied, a little out of breath.
"Oh!" Frank softened his expression. "I saw him going into the dressing room. He’s probably grabbing his stuff."
"Oh," Lily finally exhaled. "Thanks!"
"Hey," Frank called out as she was about to walk off. "Good job today. I don’t know when you got here or what you did, but they seemed much more focused today."
"Oh, it has nothing to do with me," Lily replied. "I literally arrived just a few hours ago. I think they were terrified of losing this job."
"And they should be," Frank pursed his lips, and Lily took it as her cue to leave.
The girl hurried to the dressing room, which she had seen earlier was actually a large storage area for the crew’s backpacks. The door was made of plastic because, like everything there, it was set up only for the recordings.
But when Lily, suddenly and without much thought, opened the door, she came across something that made her freeze.
Remus was shirtless, which would already have been embarrassing in any other situation, but this one was way worse. The boy’s back was slightly hunched, giving her a full view of a skin that seemed patched together.
The scene lasted no more than a second before Lily quickly stepped back and shut the door, but she clearly saw scars, bumps, and discoloured patches across his skin, around his spine.
"Sorry!" Lily shouted a little bit squeaky, but trying to sound as natural as possible, as if she hadn’t completely invaded Remus’s privacy.
"I’m coming out!" came a weak but embarrassed shout from inside.
The seconds that followed felt like hours. I can’t believe I did the same thing Sirius did with that trailer.
But that was different, right? She was there to actually supervise these boys, even if she had messed up.
She tried to push the thoughts aside when Remus opened the door and started walking toward the group, without so much as a glance, his expression stiff. He didn’t say a word to Lily, and she, feeling guilty, said nothing to him either.
When they joined the rest of the group, everyone walked silently toward the van. In truth, Lily heard whispers and low laughter but couldn’t focus on what they were saying.
She just wanted to leave quickly. Finally, rest and enjoy some peace without having to play the bad cop.
Lily noticed the girls were also heading to the van but didn’t ask questions, assuming they were hitching a ride. She knew they lived in a small apartment near Nurmengard Street.
"Is everyone here?" Lily asked, her voice subdued.
"Yes!" Sirius replied, leaning against Filch’s window. Lily found it odd that he was answering her after actively ignoring her all day.
Lily just nodded and noticed everyone watching her intently, tension filling the air.
She looked up, and everyone began moving, awkwardly climbing into the van. Mary sat on Sirius’s lap, warning him not to "try anything funny." Lily wanted to say something about boundaries but decided to let it go.
The back seat now felt ven more cramped as Marlene sat with her, refusing to sit on anyone’s leg.
On the way, Peter played some upbeat rap on his MP3, and Filch kept asking him to turn it down, saying it would hurt Mrs. Norris’s ears. The cat still rubbed heavily against the front seat while everyone squashed into the back.
James and Peter began freestyle rapping, each taking turns improvising lines with surprising synchronicity.
"Who knew you two were the rappers of the group?" Mary teased.
"We’ve been practising since we were kids," James said proudly, grinning at Peter.
"Wait…" Marlene’s voice cut in from the back. "Since you were kids? How come I didn’t know you two already knew each other?"
"We went to school together!" James explained. "Pete here was my right-hand man for all our pranks."
"Wow," Mary said, raising an eyebrow sceptically. "It’s wild that you’re working together now. What are the odds?"
"Seems like everyone knows each other in this industry," Peter said, scratching his neck uncomfortably. "My dad works with documentaries."
"Oh!" Marlene let out a slightly mocking laugh but didn’t say anything else.
So Peter was admitting to nepotism? That was a bit pathetic.
Lily rested her face against the window, watching the scenery pass by. It was getting dark, and her phone told her it was nearly eight in the evening. The lifeless streets of the MTV warehouse district were slowly being replaced by the glowing lights... of London.
Wait a minute! That was the opposite direction they were supposed to be heading. Lily furrowed her brows, noticing that no one else seemed bothered by the sudden change in route. In fact, when she glanced to the side with a puzzled look, Marlene met her gaze with a guilty expression.
Oh my god, you sneaky bastards!
- - -
"Look, it wasn’t like… a secret!" James defended himself. "You just didn’t ask!"
"It was on the schedule that we’d go straight home after filming!" Lily snapped, clearly annoyed.
"Lily, come on…" Remus turned to her, his face calm but firm. "We’ve been well-behaved, and honestly…" He met her eyes directly, as if he knew something no one else did. "We deserve this."
Lily swallowed hard, the memory of the incident flashing in her mind.
"Doesn’t matter!" she shot back, turning to face everyone in the van. "Taking all of you to a nightclub is practically IMPOSSIBLE for one PR person! It’s the perfect environment to ruin all your reputations at once!"
"We’re not kids," Sirius muttered, head down.
Mary shoved him lightly in the chest.
"What Sirius means is that we’ll behave, okay, Lily?" she said, blinking her big brown eyes at her. "Marlene and I can help keep an eye on them."
"DO NOT INCLUDE ME IN THIS!" Marlene and Remus yelled in unison.
Remus continued, "I’m not as reckless as the rest of these playboys!" He flicked his hair back dramatically. "I know how to behave at parties."
"And I’m not babysitting anyone!" Marlene shot back, narrowing her eyes at the so-called golden trio.
"Besides, no one’s even going to recognize us!" Peter piped up, glancing around for some kind of validation.
"Well…" James’s guilty expression betrayed him.
"Oh, you’ve got to be joking!" Mary clapped her hands on her thighs in frustration.
"It’s just because of my parents!" James protested. "And it’s not all the time… Sometimes people say I look familiar but can’t actually place my name."
"I get it, mate." Sirius gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Mary, however, glared at him in disbelief. "My parents are always in the spotlight too…"
"See!" Lily nearly shouted, eyeing the small space of the van as if calculating whether yelling at Filch to turn around would actually work. "This is the perfect recipe for your names to spark a buzz…" They all looked at her with hopeful expressions. "And not the good kind."
Their faces collectively fell.
"Just one beer!" James pleaded. He turned to the others for backup. "One hour tops, then we head home."
"Yeah!" Peter chimed in. "No one will even notice we were there!"
"Pfft!" Sirius tried to stifle a laugh but stopped when James shot him a glare. "We’ll be… professional," he added, albeit less convincingly.
Lily thought hard, her gaze shifting between the group, who were all looking at her like abandoned puppies.
“I’ll have to check with my boss.”
“That’s fine, that’s fine…” James agreed quickly, nodding. “It’s a start.”
Lily pulled out her phone, scrolling through her contacts until she landed on Slughorn’s name. It was late, and she hated to bother him, but it felt like the safest move.
The phone rang a few times as Lily stared at the floor of the van, avoiding eye contact with the group to keep herself from feeling pressured.
“Lily?” A smooth, playful voice answered. “Good evening! Is everything all right?”
“Mr. Slughorn!” Lily greeted, her voice tinged with embarrassment. “I’m so sorry to call this late, it’s just…”
“Go on!” Slughorn encouraged, though he sounded hurried.
“Well, it’s just that… the cast wants to go to a party after filming, and I haven’t even gone over the guidelines for that sort of thing and—”
“How was filming?” Slughorn interrupted.
“Everything went smoothly, but—”
“That’s fantastic!” Slughorn exclaimed, and Lily let out a breath of relief. “Well, Lily, let them go, alright? Just keep an eye out for any trouble, and the moment you sense paparazzi, get them out of there, understood?”
“But sir, I—” Lily tried to explain her concerns about some of their less-than-appropriate behavior.
“Enjoy yourself too, Lily!” Slughorn interrupted again, clearly eager to end the conversation. “Have a beer, alright?”
“Alright, sir.” Lily conceded, resigned. “Goodnight.”
“Have a great weekend!” Slughorn said cheerfully before hanging up.
As Lily slipped her phone back into her pocket, all eyes were glued to her, looking as though they might devour her whole.
“He said yes.”
The van exploded into chaos, with cheers so loud they practically rattled the windows. The commotion got so wild that Filch slammed on the brakes, turned in his seat, and gave them all a stern lecture.