Living in Shadows [Harry Potter Fanfiction]

Chapter Eight | Hogsmeade, December 1976

Chapter Eight

Hogsmeade, December 1976

            Snow fell gently from the sky, cascading in white swirls; it caught in Hazel’s hair as she leaned against the stone wall, eyes on her book. It was just two days until Christmas, and the Hogwarts students who weren’t going home were in Hogsmeade, wandering about and enjoying the snow.

“Hazel!” Hazel looked up to see Lily, bundled up in her winter cloak and Gryffindor scarf.

“Lils!” the girls ran to each other, hugging tightly and laughing; they hadn’t seen each other since summer at the fair, because Hazel hadn’t needed to come to Hogwarts in the past four months.

“How’re you?” Lily asked as they began to walk down the road “You haven’t owled in a week.”

“I was…working.” Linking arms, Hazel smiled “But let’s not talk about that-how’re the boys?”

The boys are what Hazel called the Marauders, and she’d bugged Lily insistently about information on them-even Remus, who she was in contact with. She’d been surprised to find a letter from him a few days after the fair, saying he hoped she was okay and that he’d had a great time. The letters had gotten longer and longer, more and more frequent; Hazel enjoyed writing to him, exchanging books and stories. Remus told Hazel about school, the Marauders and Lily; Hazel told Remus about her travelling for ‘work’ (although she never said what her work was).

“The boys are fine,” Lily said “Although James is still persistent as ever.”

“Could you just say yes already?” sighed Hazel and Lily gasped.

“No!”

“Why not?”

“Because-because he’s James!”

“So?” grinning, Hazel stopped so they could look in the Honeydukes Sweetshop window. “He’s smart, witty-we both know he likes you more than he let’s on. You’re not just a crush, Lily; he genuinely cares about you.”

Suddenly flustered, Lily concentrated very hard on the display of sugar quills in front of her “He doesn’t, and besides-I don’t even like him.”

“Oh, I think you do.” Tugging her down the street, Hazel smiled over at her best friend “You should give him a chance Lily, forget for a second the immature kid who pulled your pigtails first year. Everyone deserves a chance.”

“I don’t know, Hazel…” said Lily nervously “It’s James; he picks on Severus, he’s cocky and arrogant-I don’t know if I want to give him the satisfaction.”

Opening the door to the three broomsticks, Hazel gave Lily’s arm a reassuring squeeze “You don’t have to-tell him he’s got one chance and let him do the best he can. There’s not much else to it.”

            In the corner of the Three Broomsticks sat the Marauder’s, two empty chairs beside them. Each had a butterbeer in front of them, a bowl of crisps in the middle. James glanced towards the door every few seconds, Sirius was making eyes at the girls a few tables over, Peter was stuffing his face, and Remus was…oddly nervous.

“Are you sure she said they were coming at one?” James said again, craning his neck to see the door better.

“Yes, James, I’m sure.” Remus was shredding the label of his drink with his thumb, something he did when nervous.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, Merlin James, relax!” cried Remus, letting out a long breathe of air.