The Stronger One, pt. 3

Christmas holidays approached. Snow dusted the grounds. Students dozed off and chatted in the classes leading up to vacation. A high level of anticipation ran through the school. The last Hogsmeade trip of the term rustled by in a flurry of bright wrapping paper, flashes of gleaming coins, and the tingling warmth of butterbeer. 

All of the Gryffindor third years were staying at school, except Aluria, Florence, and Cheresse, who were not aware of this phenomenon until it was too late to change plans. Harry suspected that James had made sure they wouldn’t find out, probably to limit distractions between him and Lily.

The first day of the holidays was guaranteed to be eventful; Severus was going to get revenge. The plan was subtle, but effective. Severus agreed to not seriously injure James, and Harry agreed not to get in the way. They’d spent the weeks after James’ scheme by tuning Severus’ imitation of James, which was now, after some toning down, frighteningly accurate.

“Hey, Walker!” ‘James’ came into the common room through the portrait hole, addressing Harry, who was playing cards with Lily. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”

The room was almost empty. The Marauders had snuck out to Hogsmeade even though it wasn’t a visitation weekend. No one except Harry knew about these periodical escapades. 

“What’s your problem?” Lily set down her cards and turned towards ‘James,’ as though moved by the instinct to protect Harry. 

“There’s no problem.” ‘James’ ran a hand through his hair. He whisked the cards between  them off the couch and sat down, his back to Harry.

“Hey, what the hell?” Harry stood up. ‘James’ hardly glanced at him. “If you don’t go, Jacob, you know what I’ll do.” 

Harry’d given Severus that bit to say; if Lily asked about it later, Harry could tell her James had previously used harming Severus as a means to get what he wanted.

Harry went upstairs, then hurried back down, hidden under his Invisibility Cloak.

“...that’s why I used Polyjuice Potion. Severus got what he had coming to him.” 

“But they attacked me! What does that have to do with Severus?”

“It’s doesn’t matter — I saved you, didn’t I?” ‘James’ brushed aside a strand of her hair, then placed his other hand on her cheek. He leaned in, then — SMACK!

Lily shot up from the couch and pointed her wand at him. “If you touch me again, I will hex you.” She faltered, tucked the strand of hair behind her ear, then ran up to the girls’ dorms.

The upperclassmen girls sitting across the room snickered before continuing with their conversation.

‘James’ gaped in surprise for a second, then he left through the portrait hole, since that was the way the real James would come back through when he got back from Hogsmeade. ‘James’ used a Disillusionment Charm to conceal himself as he snuck back upstairs.

“Good job, mate,” Harry said, stuffing Hermione’s purse among his things before Severus could catch sight of it. 

Severus smirked. “Thanks.” He’d used another potion to reverse the effects of the Polyjuice Potion and was almost back to his old self. He stowed a replica of James’ glasses underneath his bed, then straightened and looked about the room. 

“Did it go well after I left?” 

“Yeah, she slapped me.” Severus grazed his cheek with his fingers. “I hope she gives him hell when he gets back.”

Harry nodded in agreement, then paused in thought. “Where’s Raven? I haven’t seen her.”

Severus shrugged. “Me neither. I’m going to go wash up.” 

“Okay,” he replied over his shoulder, already moving downstairs. He felt oddly like he was Severus’ parent for noticing that the boy had become more active in his hygiene. Harry didn’t know if it was from being around him more, being around Lily more, or both.

Raven wasn’t in the common room. “Hey, Lily, Raven!” he called up the girls’ dorm stairs.

“Lily’s washing up. Raven’s not back yet,” said a fourth year, eyebrow raised, as she walked past. 

“Thanks.” Harry turned and strode to and out of the portrait hole. He followed the route most Gryffindors took to and from the Tower, hoping to run into Raven. Sure enough, he saw her   curly black hair from the staircase below him.

“Raven! Raven?” She stopped at the foot of the stairs and peered up at him, face streaked with tears.

“Jacob.” She ran up the stairs and threw her arms around him.

“What happened?" 

Raven leaned away from him and wiped her eyes.

Harry flinched in surprise. “Merlin…” Her face was covered with words. Traitor. Mudblood-lover. Disgrace. Stupid. Ugly. Dead.

“But you left the Slytherins a year ago. Why would they still—”

“They said I ‘no longer had protection.’ So whatever James said when he pretended to be Severus—” 

“But Severus said he told them off.”

“Maybe they don’t listen to him anymore.” Raven pulled the sleeves of her robe over her hands, which were also covered with black writing. 

“We’ll figure it out. I’m sorry, I wish I could’ve done something…” 

Back in the dorm, Severus performed the countercurse and returned Raven’s skin to normal. He seemed suspiciously familiar with the spell, leading Harry to believe he’d cast it on someone before. 

“I didn’t know that they would do this. I told them to disregard what I said that day—” 

“Okay.” Raven averted her eyes. 

“Did you do anything to them? Did you say something that would’ve—” 

“I didn’t do anything, unless you count ‘betraying’ them. Is that what you mean?” 

“Yes, well, I already knew that part. I said they wouldn’t let it alone, that they’d make you regret it, didn’t I?” 

Raven glared at him and stood up. “I’m going to bed. Goodnight.” 

+++ 

Lily didn’t confront James the following day, but she acted much colder to him. Severus was at first delighted to mouth him off to Lily, but after realizing she didn’t want to talk about it, he sulked for a while. Raven and Lily were getting along best out of their group of four. Both were trying to figure out what James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were planning. The Marauders (which they had yet to be called) had been nearly caught by Filch on one of their late-night adventures. After that, they could be seen smuggling things under their robes, in too much of a flashy way for it to be secretive. 

“Hello, mates,” James said that evening in the common room.

“Hello.” Harry was the only one to respond. 

James breezed right to the point, handing Lily an envelope. “Monday, at nine o’ clock, we’re having a Christmas Eve party. You…” he surveyed the others as though pained, “...and a few guests can come.” 

Lily turned her nose up at him. “Well, Filch might invite us to a party, so I have to say no. But maybe in eighth year.” 

James just stood as the group laughed. Then he almost smiled to himself before leaving to join with the Marauders. 

Saturday ended and Sunday quickly wound down to the evening. The Gryffindors left all at once to get to the party, which was in a room apparently nearby. Remus had been delegated to guide the Gryffindors, Peter led the Ravenclaws, Sirius met up with the Hufflepuffs, and James was (with the help of Peeves) in charge of distracting Filch. 

“Okay, I have to cast a Blindfolding Charm, just to protect the location of the room.” Remus moved along their ranks, wand out. “Take someone’s hand, and I’ll give directions.”

Lily took Harry’s right hand, Raven took his left, and then everything turned to a fuzzy, dark gray color. 

It took the group about three minutes to get to their destination. Only when they were inside did Remus remove the charm. 

It was the Room of Requirements.

Harry knew this by the quality of the set-up; the Marauders couldn’t have decorated this well on their own. There were two long tables topped with food that spanned opposite walls, four circular tables in the back of the room, and a dance floor in the center of the room. Music from a radio and snow from the ceiling drifted in the air. Lanterns, glowing white, hung above the guests. 

“Welcome, everyone!” James bounded up from behind the small crowd, who were still adjusting from the Blindfolding Charm. “This is the first annual Christmas Eve Party, hosted by yours truly, James Potter…” He bounded to the back of the room, the other Marauders in his wake, “and by my devilishly handsome friends, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew!” Each stood before their own large, silvery, throne-like chair. 

“Happy Christmas Eve, and let the festivities begin!” 

The students, composed of six Ravenclaws, twelve Hufflepuffs, and seven Gryffindors (excluding the Marauders), spread around the room.

Lily, Harry, and Raven lagged behind the others. “I wonder where they found this place.” Lily searched for a flaw. “The food seems mediocre,” she decided, doing her best to ignore James, who was casting silver sparks from his wand to entertain a group of girls. Not a moment later, he was walking in their direction, eyes shifting between Lily and any reflective surfaces he found on the way. 

“Hello, Evans,” he said, taking a cookie from the table next to him.

“Potter.” Lily turned so her back was to him. “Jacob, you were telling me about Quidditch?"

“Hang on — what do you think of the party?” James swept in to face Lily.  

“Do you want us to leave, James? That’s what I hear you asking.” 

“No, I…” James’ eyes turned down. Harry thought he appeared quite pathetic, and that Lily wouldn’t fall for that tactic, but to his surprise, she softened ever so slightly.

“The party’s fine.” 

James cheered up instantly. “Really? Well, I’m glad I was able to throw such a brilliant party, Lily. Thank you for your continued support of our marauding.”

“That’s not what I —” 

“Would you like to dance?” James cut in, producing a silver rose from his wand.

“No.” An orb nearby glowed in sync with her cheeks. 

“Well, I tried. Tell Snivellus I’m sorry he couldn’t make it. Cassandra!” He took the girls’ hand. “Hi, want to dance? Lovely!” He whisked through the crowd with the fourth year on his arm. The orbs gravitated to the dance floor, spinning over James and Cassandra’s heads.

More people joined them, and the music grew in volume. 

“Happy Christmas, everyone,” Remus greeted the three, smiling. His hair was combed back like James’, only it was cooperating much better.

“Hey, Remus. You don’t think you could put James on a leash, could you?” Raven smirked, leaning towards him. 

“No. Maybe Sirius, though.” They laughed; Lily smiled a bit, confused. “I, er, I came over to ask if you wanted to dance?” Remus tilted his head, trying to be casual. He was turned towards Jacob and Lily while he said this. 

Raven blinked. “Oh, you mean me. Sure, I’d — yeah.”

It was down to Lily and Harry. “Want to sit down?” Lily nodded and they went in the back of the room. Harry didn’t mind being left out, but Lily seemed to be feeling sorry for herself. 

“You don’t want to dance with him, do you?”

Lily blinked. “No! Why would I want to...don’t be ridiculous.”

Harry nodded and peered over at Remus and Raven. She was laughing, he was wearing a goofy sort of half-smile. A fast-paced song began, and they danced more quickly, without any particular pattern or style.

Lily’s foot bounced to the beat until she caught James looking at her. She tilted her chin up and turned her head. 

“I’m surprised the Slytherins haven’t crashed the party yet,” Harry said, attempting to bring her out of her thoughts.

“Mhm. Oh, no, no! I just look at him once and he thinks…Now he’s coming this way.” 

James waltzed to their table. “Hello again, Evans. Did you try the trifle? It’s amazing. The elves can do so much under such short notice —”

Lily stood up, cutting him off, and walked away, towards the entrance of the room. 

“Wait! If you stay, I won’t bother Snivellus for a week. Fine — a month. I can do a month.”

Harry, as he hurried to keep up with Lily, imagined that she rolled her eyes. “I’m sure the food was delicious,” she tossed over her shoulder. And they were out the door.

The corridor was silent, and the door had disappeared behind them.

“You didn’t make a deal with James,” Harry noted, after a pause.

“Yeah, and that surprises you? He’s an idiot if he thinks saying things like that will make me like him. Anyway, why did they act all secretive when they brought us here? And I thought we were farther away from the Tower.”

Harry replied with a shrug, but he knew why; the students couldn’t be allowed to see the door materialize or move location. What he didn’t know was why Lily’s feelings for James were changing so quickly.

+++ 

Harry’s eyes opened. The room was dark, but it was morning. Lately, when he had to get up for school, every muscle in his body would ache to stay in the warmth and comfort of his bed. This, to him, made no sense, as he was where he wanted to be. But he was tired. The bright pieces of his past were weighing him down as the dark load of his past lightened. 

Christmas was the exception. He crawled out of bed and started a fire in the common room’s fireplace. Just as his eyes began to close with the lull of the flames, two first years crept down the stairs, whispering loudly and shushing each other. 

“Happy Christmas,” they said automatically, before going off to sort through their gifts.

“Happy Christmas,” Harry said. He directed this to them and to Raven, who approached the couch with her eyes only half open. 

“Yeah, you too,” Raven replied—or, at least, Harry figured this is what she said; she had buried her head in a pillow.

“Long night?”

Raven lifted her head up and pushed her dark hair out of her face. “Mhm. I went to bed at...two? That means I got five hours.”

“Was it fun?”

She squeezed the bridge of her nose, blinked, then yawned. “Actually, yeah. I mostly talked to Remus. By midnight, nobody was dancing, so they just told stories and we all played games. James and them can be annoying, but it was worth it to stay. It’s too bad he was being a jerk to Lily.”

“No big surprise there. So, did you dance a lot with Remus?” 

“Why?” Raven studied him, eyes steady, alert, for the first time. 

“I’m just asking.” 

“I suppose. Well, I danced with a couple other people, too. You know Gilderoy? The short, blond Ravenclaw? Really full of himself?" 

Harry nodded, wincing a bit.

“He danced with all of the girls...on a bet, apparently. He barely came up to my chin.” Her eyes wandered. “He annoys the hell out of Remus.” She glanced back at him. “Anyway! I have your gift.” She picked up her sketchbook from the table, sifted through it, and produced a sheet of paper. “Here.”

Harry examined it while she continued talking. “My mom didn’t give me any Christmas funds, because she doesn’t approve of you all. That’s fine, I don’t approve of her, so.”

“This is fantastic, thank you.” It was a sketch of his Quidditch equipment; his goggles, gloves, and the hilt of his broom. 

“No problem. I didn’t have much time, but I’m glad you like it.”

“Here’s your gift. I’m terrible at wrapping, by the way; this is what they did at the store.”

Raven ripped away the wrapping. “Auto-Enchanted Parchment for Motion Portraits and More: Adds Motion While You Create!’That is so cool! Thank you.”

Harry smiled, then noticed Remus. He was shuffling over, hair ruffled, mouth agape in a yawn. He carried his gifts in his arms, ignoring the second years who bolted past to the tree in the corner of the room.

“Hello Raven. Jacob. Happy Christmas.” He handed them their gifts and sat down. He glanced at Raven, then down at his foot. “My toe still hurts.”

They both laughed. Harry almost asked for one of them to tell the story, but decided against it. 

Raven’s gift from Remus was a necklace featuring a small pewter charm of a wolf. Harry got an assortment of things from Zonko’s Joke Shop. He gave Remus a large bag of candy (mostly chocolate, his favorite) in return.

Raven’s drawing to Remus was of Hogwarts, which Harry realized suited him. It was as much of an escape to Harry as it was to Remus. Did Raven draw Hogwarts for that reason? 

By now, most students were in the common room. 

“Oh, that’s right, you two don’t know. Apparently Dumbledore found out about the party— probably from the elves or a Slytherin or something—” 

Raven cut in. “Well, it’s not right to assume. Either way, he caught James and Sirius, just them, so they probably got back to the dorms really late.”

“Happy Christmas,” said Lily, filling the last space on the couch.

“Happy Christmas,” they replied. When Severus joined them, they finished exchanging presents. Harry got Severus a box containing an assortment of rare potion supplies and got Lily a book on advanced charms. Lily gave Remus a thick gold scarf, Raven a number of Muggle items (Raven was taking Muggle Studies and thoroughly enjoyed it), Harry the record album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (she assumed that, as a Muggleborn, he had a record player), and gave Severus the book Advanced Potion Making. 

Severus didn’t have anything to give. He appeared uncomfortable, but he didn’t say anything about it. Raven’s drawing to him was of a black bottle spewing out clouds of dark smoke. 

At noon, James and Sirius bounded downstairs, smiles wide, voices rising over the buzz of the others in the common room. They climbed onto one of the tables, gestured Peter and Remus up with them, then James cleared his throat.

“Thank you to everyone who came to the first annual Christmas Eve Party last night. As you know, after clearing up, Dumbledore caught Sirius and I.” He paused. “We talked for a couple hours in his office, but not to discuss our punishment. He wants to help us throw an official Christmas Eve Party every year in the Great Hall.” Excited murmurs followed his words. “You have to admit, the old man can be pretty cool. So, thanks again for coming and we’ll see you next year!” 

Everyone returned to what they were doing. For the small moment after James’ announcement where there was near silence, Harry could hear a persistent tapping on the window across the room. An owl was scowling at him as it pecked the glass. Harry got up, crossed to the window, and let the owl in. The bird offered the envelope on its leg and took off as soon as it was relieved of the weight. 

To Jacob, the front of the envelope read. Inside, there was a letter and four tickets to see the Wigtown Wanderers vs. the Ballycastle Bats.

“What’s that?”

“It says, ‘Dear Jacob. Happy holidays! Hope school is going well and that the Gyffindor Quidditch team is kicking ass. I am writing to invite you to the last game of my season with the Wigtown Wanderers. Our last game April 13th, the Saturday before Easter. A ton of people go, second most to the World Cup. I figured you could invite three other people (please not James). We’ll be staying with my parents in a tent up by the field, an area reserved for players and their families. And the super rich. Let me know if you’re able to go. It’ll be loads of fun! Hope to see you soon, Violetta Rosquit.’” 

“Sounds exciting!” Lily said. Raven nodded, Severus didn’t react.

“Well, then, do you all want to go?” 

Severus glanced at Lily, waiting for her to reply. She was lighting up with enthusiasm. “Of course! That would be so fun—I’ll write my parents now. C’mon, Raven.” 

Severus watched them run upstairs, then turned back to Harry. “I don’t want to go.”

“You don’t want to spend time with Lily?”

Severus narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t know that was the point.”

“Would you rather be here alone with James and them?” 

“I wouldn’t be alone.”

“Not technically, I guess. Look, it’d be good to go.”

Severus scoffed and averted his eyes. His sneer fell into a frown. “I suppose...it’d only be a few days.” He glowered at Harry. “But I’m not going to enjoy it.”