Fools
September 1st 1973
The car ride to the train station was quiet. Petunia had not joined them and the familiar hope Grace used to feel no longer lingered, Petunia would not join them to the train station ever again, and maybe that was for the best. The silence ate away at them until their mother broke it by clearing her throat as they pulled into the parking lot.
“Remus and James were lovely boys weren’t they?” She nudged her husband who quickly sensed the meaning of why his wife had brought him into this.
“Yes,yes very lovely, James, i think he was particularly lovely, wouldn’t you think Lily?” He asked smiling convinced he had been more than subtle.
“The hell is that supposed to mean?” Snapped Lily
“Lily language”sighed their mother,the obvious dissapoint towards her husband causing her eyes to roll.
“Nothing, nothing just he seems like a very nice young man who seems to be very interested in you and we know you’re getting around that age where boys are all you can think about-”
“Boys are not all I think about” Lily quickly interrupted her father , “And even if they were James Potter would not be one of them!”
“Well Lily-“started her mother
“No! James Potter is an insufferable twat with an ego larger then the tower of hair on his head!”
“Seemed like you enjoyed suffering this summer then.”giggled Grace
“Grace!” Lily quickly slapped her sister across the face. Grace looked up at her sister quickly In utter disbelief, Lily was mean sometimes but she had never hit anyone, Lily’s eyes immediately welled up in tears.
“Oh my god, Grace I’m so sorry”she spat out as tears trickled down her cheeks.Their parents gaped at Lily in utter silence.
“You slapped me!”yelled Grace
“You were being rude,you were pestering me,you knew that was a crude joke to make!”
“You didn’t have to hit me?!”
“I know! I know I’m sorry!”
“Um, Lily, don’t hit your sister, wow I’ve never said that to you” their fathers said letting out a small laugh
“Stop, I'm sorry!“ groaned Lily, shoving her face into her hands.
“Girls it’s 10:50! Out of the car go!” yelled their mother in panic pulling Grace from the backseat and kissing her on the cheek then quickly grabbing Lily kissing her in the cheek and wiping away the last few tears.
“I love you” yelled the girls as they hoped out of the car and darted towards the station.
Platform 9 ¾
“Where are Grace and Lily” asked Regulus as he stared at his watch along with the four other boys in the compartment that even with just them felt slightly cramped, Sirius, James. and especially Remus had grown, Remus was an awkward kind of tall,his limbs seemed too long for his torso,his face was discolored especially near his eyes,which were significantly darker but he had also started to experience acne, James had gained an inch off two but his muscles had started showing and Sirius had gained maybe an inch, but his hair had gained at least 3 yet both their faces seemed flawless aside from the dirt on James’s nose. Sirius wore his hair in a loose bun on the back of his head accentuating his jaw, Peter had stayed more or less the same with the addition of a few pimples. Regulus had gotten a little taller and a little slimmer and a lot more jealous of Remus.
All of a sudden the girls rushed into the compartment entirely out of breath sitting down in the nearest spot open to them which put Lily next to Regulus and Grace in between James and Remus.
“Bloody hell, where have you two been?” laughed Sirius
“Sorry we’re late” gasped Lily in between breaths
“Yeah Lily hit me” added Grace
“What?” All five boys gaped at Lily
“Grace stop it!” Whined Lily, “grace made a… comment and it was very rude and frankly she was asking for it” she said
“Holy shit what did you two blokes teach her this summer?”asked Sirius eyeing Remus and James.
“Certainty not that” laughed Remus smiling at Grace
“Most certainly not”. She smiled and her eyes quickly caught Regulus tense at her response .
“Reg, how was your break” she asked giving him her full attention
“Long” he smiled, relaxing at the shared eye contact, he had missed her and the fact that she had spent all summer with Remus and James and not with him didn’t help.
“You all have your forms right?” Asked James eyeing Peter who proudly whipped his out of his pocket.
“Yes Sir, Kreacher signed it, I think deep down he likes me” said Sirius
“Shit! I forgot to get my form signed” Lily started rummaging through her bag for a pen.
“Lily Evans, language!”yelled James caught completely off guard by the version of Lily he saw now.
“Shut it Potter” she sneered scribbling her mothers signature on her form.
“Bloody hell who are you?“
“What are the forms for?” Asked Grace, handing Remus a chocolate frog she had snagged from the trolley on the way in. He silently stared at the frog and smiled, confused on why she continuously did this.
“Hogsmeade visits for the third years” said Regulus, breaking his eyes away from the chocolate in Remus’s hand.
“Regulus?” a soft voice echoed their cabin revealing a thin girl with straight black hair with an under layer of platinum blonde pulled into a loose bun,
“Cissa, what are you doing here?” asked Sirius gazing at her newly dyed hair and suddenly Lucius Malfoy appeared behind her.
Sirius shot up from his chair and stood by the door of the cabin while Regulus moved forward to cover Lily, shooting a look at Remus and James to do the same to Grace.
“She’s here to invite you to our wedding Regulus” said Lucius, peeking over Sirius' shoulder.
“Cissa, seriously? You’re marrying him? He’s horrible, you know he is, you know what he’s done, what he does!” Sirius blocked Lucius' view and stared at his cousin who refused to meet his gaze.
“How dare you insult me like that, you filthy blood traitor, Narcissa will have nothing to do with you, or you’re mudblood friends, you are the worst of us Sirius, you don’t deserve to be a Black and quite frankly I’m doing Narcissa a favor removing that tainted title from her name she’s finally joined the right side.” Lucius shoved Sirius to the ground and pressed his wand to his throat.
“Lucius” Narcissa grabbed at her fiancés sleeve in efforts to make him retreat
“Quiet Narcissa!”he shouted, causing her to quickly let go and take a step back.
The boys knew better than to involve themselves in the business of Lucius Malfoy, he was aggressive but not stupid , Grace did not know better.
“Get the hell off of him” she stood up and pushed Lucius back causing him to fall on the floor.
“Grace, stop it!” Regulus stood and grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him, Lily had her eyes closed and sunk into her seat. Following Regulus, the rest of the boys stood up drawing their wands while Remus helped Sirius up.
“You filthy little mudblood!” Sneered Lucius shoving Remus and Sirius out of his way.
“How old are you, 17? Picking on 13 year old boys, your future family at that, you can’t me this immature and a prejudiced cunt” yelled Grace from behind the boys, Sirius followed by letting out the loudest laugh. Lucius quickly raised his wand but before he could cast anything Lily grabbed her wand, stood on her seat and pointed it at Lucius.
“Silencio, locomotor mortis” Lucius went silent and his legs locked.
“Lily!” James moved through the crowded cabin to her seat and grabbed her wand.
Everyone stared at Lucius in unnerving silence, “Cissa, take him to a cabin, lock the door, I know you have calming drought on you, trains make you anxious, give it to him, and please, try and reason” pleaded Regulus, she nodded her head and took Lucius by the hand seemingly dragging him away to the nearest cabin. He turned around quickly glaring at Grace.
“Grace, you can never do that again, you don’t know what the Malfoy are capable of, you don’t know what the Blacks are capable of”
“Regulus, you saw what he was doing!”
“It doesn’t matter!” He shouted
“He’s right Grace, thank you and all, especially for calling him a cunt, but the Malfoys and the Blacks are more dangerous than you think” Sirius sat down with Remus leaning against him.
“He can’t get away with treating people like that.” murmured Lily sitting down extending her hand to James for her wand back.
“I doubt Lucius will reason with Cissa, both of you stay near one of us at all times ok?”said James handing Lily her wand and taking a seat next to her, Peter sat next to a James twirling his wand in silence.
“What did Lucius mean when he said that Narcissa joined the ‘right side”’said Peter looking up at Regulus and Grace who remained the only two still standing.
“I don’t want to know” sighed Regulus
“But you have an idea” said Grace sitting next to Remus
“Maybe?”
September 15th,1973
Hogwarts
There was talk of a man, no one said his name because no one really knew who he was, but he was known as “The dark lord” Regulus and Sirius had overheard stuff back at Grimmauld Place, Regulus had learned more through the older Slytherin students, people had begun picking sides, those with blood purity, and those against. Those in slytherin whom were against it wouldn’t say it but Regulus was sure there were quite a few, the ones who lurked away when the conversation would pick up, those who only gave nods at approval when their blood purist friends would ask, it was a small rumor, not many of the kids believed it and since there was nothing in the daily prophet and nothing said at school aside from the words of students, there was nothing to worry about. Grace left for breakfast with Ari and Regulus, she went to class with them,she went back to the dorms with them, she was only ever alone in the bathroom in her dorm. Lily was the same, always surrounded by Mary and Marlene, two of Lily’s friends in Gryffindor, Marlene was on the quidditch team with James and Sirius. Quidditch tryouts were later that week so any chance they could Regulus, James and Sirius urged Grace out to the pitch in order to get her ready.
“I have to say Gray you’re not bad.”smiled Regulus pulling up to her on his broom.
“I know” she smiled circling him
“Oye Grace! Lily needs you!” Sirius shouted from the field uncomfortably standing next to a crying Lily. She quickly flew down with James following behind.
“What happened, are you ok?”
“Um something with Sev” she whispered wiping her eyes
“What happened!” James landed and rushed over to her
“Nothing James, it’s ok I just need to talk to Grace.”
James looked over at Grace waiting for her to decide what to do.
“What did he do Lily” she asked
“He?”asked James, staring at Sirius who had backed away from them.
“It’s nothing it’s stupid” she muttered
“Lily” Grace tipped her chin up so that she would look at her.
“Mulciber called Mary a mudblood and, well Sev, he didn’t know I was there. I was behind the corridor, and he laughed so Mary made a comment about me, he called me a stuck up know it all who can’t mind her own business .”
It wouldn’t phase a lot of people,but Lily had never spoken poorly of Severus, even when he bullied the boys, even when he let Regulus get hurt by Sol, if she knew the truth she probably would’ve still defended him, and if there was one thing Lily hated being called it was a know it all, Lily had studied hard all her life even in their old muggle school, she enjoyed reading and math and the adjustment to learning about the wizarding world had been difficult for her, all of this Severus knew.
“Lily you’re not a know it all” said James
“He’s right Lils, do you have any clue why he might say something like that”
“He’s friends with Lucius, ever since whatever happened with Regulus, he’s been attached to Lucius, they’re in Slughorn's club together.”
“Lucius”muttered James
“Don’t be stupid and go after him ok Potter, I’ll sort it out”she wiped her tears and turned to leave before James grabbed her arm.
“Can you give us a second please?”he looked to Grace,Sirius and Regulus, Grace waited for her sisters nod and eventually it came and they all walked away.
“What James” Lily looked at his hand still stuck on her arm
“You’re not a know it all, personally I think you’re really smart, I mean you’re best in every class even better than Remus.You defend your friends like hell and you don’t take any shit, Snapes a bloody arse and you shouldn’t be wasting your time with that greasy git” James let go of her hand quickly when he realize he was still holding on.
“He’s my best friend James, you’re not much better bullying him the way you do”she muttered
“Alright we’ll I’m not calling you a know it all”
“But you’ll call him a greasy git”
“Fine Lily whatever”
“I appreciate what you said, but you’re going to keep bothering him aren’t you?”
“Only if he keeps bothering you”
“You’re a fool Potter”
“Only for you”