Accio Evans

Chapter 32: Conflict

January passed so quickly that if you blinked you missed it. February chugged past at a faster pace than the Hogwarts Express. March brought temporary relief in the form of the Easter holidays which ran through the beginning of April. Lily fell more deeply in love with James than she ever thought possible. Hestia and Sirius bickered like an old married couple. Alice broke down with the pressure of NEWTs, which Lily promptly reminded were only months away, and had to be consoled by Frank. Jessica received regular letters from her family, Dylan had got a new job in Diagon Alley and Jake was working in a part time job in the ministry. The death eater attacks became more frequent and almost every day there was a new report of a muggle born family being murdered which made Lily feel sick with worry. The ministry seemed to be doing nothing and James was sending angry owls to his parents almost every day complaining about the Ministry's ineffective actions. Peter was drowning in school work and Remus well, he was revising thoroughly already; most of his nights, when not on prefect patrols, were spent with Lily in the library going over incantations, spells and ingredients for potions, much to the distain of James and the others who found this incredibly boring. Hestia, although she wouldn't admit it was already revising and Jessica, despite her confident outer shell, was feeling sick with worry about her NEWTs. Sirius on the other hand brushed off the threat of the looming exams.

"I'm Sirius Black – I'm going to ace these exams and you know it Evans." He quipped, to which Lily threw him a dark look and settling back to the transfiguration homework which McGonagall had set them, the third piece this week.

"I just don't understand this!" Lily almost screamed, slamming her quill down onto the table in the common room with frustration; she hated not understanding something. Several younger students eyed her cautiously, knowing the red head's fiery temper. With not long to go until their NEWT transfiguration exam Lily was panicking, if she couldn't master the theory behind some of the spells then she wouldn't be able to pass the exam – and in Lily's mind, anything part from an O was unacceptable. "Help me James!" she pleaded, squeezing James' arm, hard. Waking up from the dream he was having about he and Lily getting married, James was greeted by the red head herself, staring back at him desperately and somewhat furiously – it wasn't his fault that the sofa's in the common room were ridiculously comfy and that it had been a full moon the night before - he was tired!

"Help me James; I can't get my head around it." Lily moaned, hanging her head in her hands, and if James the transfiguration genius couldn't explain it to her then no-one could. James sighed, being brilliant at transfiguration came naturally to him he never had revised it, and being stuck with Lily moaning for hours on end trying to explain it was something that he couldn't be bothered with today.

"Well Lily," Sirius interrupted from Lily's other side, leaning back on the sofa he stretched his hand sighed above his head and stifled a yawn, like James he had probably been dozing too; James and Sirius were the only ones brave enough to be around Lily when she was revising or doing homework – bar Remus who seemed to have a calming effect on her. Hestia had learned very early on in their Hogwarts days, if Lily was revising you left her well alone unless you wanted her to hex you.

"Shut it Black – I'm talking to your boyfriend." Lily snapped. James snorted, Sirius burst out into bouts of raucous laughter and the first years in the common room turned round to stare confused.

"Is Potter going out with Black?" one of them whispered.

"I thought he was going out with Evans?" another whispered back.

Lily hung her head in her hands again – it was clear, not much revision was going to be done with the two marauders around.

"Lily!" came a shout from the other side of the common room. Lifting her head, Lily saw Remus standing in the open portrait hole gesturing madly for her to follow. Sighing, she heaved herself from the chair and packed her things quickly into her bag, she hurried away towards Remus who was still grinning in their direction. As Lily made to leave James shot his fellow marauder a dark look, Remus grinned and winked as Lily scrambled out the portrait hole and he followed.