The Mirror of Erised, pt. 3

After losing publicity to the Marauders’ Christmas Eve Party, Slughorn recruited seven students in their fourth or fifth year to his Slug Club. Among the recruits, for her skill in Potions and traits as a person—her wit and kindness—Lily was chosen. For having been the first 11-year-old Quidditch player in eighty years and decent enough at Potions, Harry was chosen. Severus was also recruited, for being one of the best, if not the best, Potions students in the school. Aluria was the last to be chosen the day after she hexed a Ravenclaw, though several of her famous distant relatives had influenced Slughorn’s decision.

The first meeting with the new members was a formal Valentine’s Day Party, and everyone could bring a plus one. All of the staff was invited as well.

Severus and Harry jointly counted Raven and Remus as their guests, and of course Lily chose James.

Few people were excited for the party, even those with dates. Most boys could recycle their dress robes from the Christmas Eve Party, some scrambled to have some sent in. Harry had brought most of his wardrobe in Hermione’s purse, which included dress robes from his fourth year and a pair he wore to all events he was invited to as The Boy Who Lived. 

Most girls, on the other hand, had the same conversation over finding new dress robes as they had for the Christmas Eve Party. Only a few people from each year attended, so Harry and Severus only had to listen to it in passing.

On the night of the event, the boys waited in the common room for their plus ones. Remus pulled at a loose thread in his tattered sleeve and informed them, self-consciously, that the robes had been his father’s.

Raven and Lily walked down the steps together. Lily wore a knee-length white dress with shimmery, pink tights. Her hair and make-up were done similarly to Raven’s.

“Hi.” Raven curtsied to the boys, a little sarcastically. She shifted in her black shoes and looked between Harry and Severus, unable to meet Remus’ eyes. “Ready to go?”

“Really nice,” Remus managed, as he cleared his throat.

“What?” She turned to him in surprise. It was the first time he’d spoken to her in months.

He swallowed. “Er, you look nice.”

Raven smiled. “Thank you.” To fill the uncomfortable silence, she added, “Cassandra did all the girls’ hair and makeup. She would’ve let me borrow her dress, which is pink, but it was too short on me.” Raven glanced at Severus, who was staring at Lily, then back at Remus, who was staring at her.

Harry considered Raven. “I like the black.” Honestly, though, Harry couldn’t have cared less, especially when there were more important things to worry about. But it mattered to her.

Slughorn’s Office was draped with deep ruby, light pink, and silver hangings. Fairies flitted overhead, gravitating toward the chandelier in the middle of the ceiling. House-elves weaved between the staff and students with platters of food lifted high above their heads. Charmed, musician-less instruments played from the corner of the room.

Soon after they arrived, Sirius (brought by Aluria) dragged James, Remus, and Peter (who was brought one of James’ fans) away to talk to a man with a rugged, athletic appearance. Lily joined Aluria and the two of them half-talked, half-sulked in the back of the room.

Remus returned twenty minutes later. “He was a Quidditch player they like. I couldn’t hear very well.”

Raven nodded and asked Remus, “Do you want to get some air?” He shrugged, taken by surprise, and followed her into the corridor.

After a minute or so, Harry and Severus, both bored, decided to join Raven and Remus outside of the party. Remus had spent the past months not talking to her, supposedly to protect her, but Harry knew there was more to it. After shutting the door, Harry spotted them down the hall. They were talking, quite close, and Raven was fidgeting.

Then she kissed him. Remus backed up against the wall, hands resting at her sides. Her hands cradled his face.

Harry and Severus crept back into the party, suddenly very patient for their return. To pass the time, they ate and talked about the people at the party. Severus had a lot to say about the Slytherins, but when Harry pointed out one in particular, he abruptly fell silent. “We should go.” Severus had ducked his head.

The Slytherin was tall, bulky, and must’ve been in his seventh year. “That’s one of them?” He couldn’t imagine someone of that age being capable of what was done to Severus.

“Hey,” Remus said. “Were we gone long?” His shoulder grazed Raven’s, and their faces were both a tinged pink.

Harry checked his watch. “Only…fifteen minutes.”

“Oh. Well, we were just…” Remus searched for an excuse.

“Where’ve you been?” James put a hand on Remus’ shoulder, then threw a smile over his own. “There are some girls interested in meeting you. I’ve told them some of the classics. They’re even flirting with Peter. C’mon.”

Remus mouthed “sorry” to the others and let James lead him away.

Raven’s gaze moved from Remus to Lily, who was still talking with Aluria. She turned back to Harry. “I’m gonna go over there for a tic.”

“Okay.” They watched her go, hugging Lily and Aluria before gesturing at the Marauders. It was clear that Lily and Aluria had already been complaining about them. 

They watched as James started laughing and put a hand on one of the random girls’ shoulders. Lily rolled her eyes, but Aluria and Raven appeared concerned. It went on like this for the rest of the evening; the Marauders drifted from group to group, socializing, as the three girls loitered in the back. Severus and Harry kept to themselves, occasionally speaking to one another, though there wasn’t much to talk about.

At eleven, the girls went to the Marauders and seemed to inform them that they were leaving. Remus faked a yawn, saying he’d join them. James leaned in for a kiss, and Lily offered him her cheek instead of her lips. Sirius hardly acknowledged Aluria.

Severus and Harry followed the back of the group out of Slughorn’s Office.

“What did James want you for?” Raven asked Remus.

“I dunno, he has a thing about all of us being together, especially at events with other people.”

Raven nodded and reached for his hand. Remus hesitated, then entwined his fingers in hers. “I thought you just wanted to be friends. Last year, that’s what you told me.”

The group, now spread apart into pairs, went up the stairs that led to the seventh floor. “I liked you, but I thought you didn’t know what you wanted yet.” She lowered her voice. “You fancied Lily, then chose me. It was hard for me to get over being your fallback, your second option.”

Remus slowed. “And I wasn’t yours?”

Harry tugged Severus back. The boy had been trying to listen in, and had heard the bit about Lily. “He fancied her?”

Harry shushed him. “Yes, but not anymore.” He stalled, not wanting Severus to hear what Remus might reveal about Raven.

Severus matched Harry’s pace. “Was it like that in your time?”

“I don’t know. You don’t have to worry about it.”

“Who did Raven fancy before him?”

“I don’t know. I think Remus got the wrong idea about something.” They stopped talking as they passed Raven and Remus.

“…But you weren’t,” Remus was saying. “You aren’t.”

“It’s okay.” Raven paused, and Harry could tell she was waiting for them to be out of earshot. “I know I was hypocritical.”

The common room was mostly empty, but there were a few students who asked how the party went. Aluria and Lily both replied, “Fine,” and continued up the stairs without stopping to chat.

Raven and Remus stopped at the foot of the girls’ dormitory stairs. “Goodnight,” Raven said. She checked to see if anyone was looking, then kissed him on the cheek.

“G’night,” Remus replied, a bit dazed.

The next day, everyone knew about Raven and Remus, ruining any plans they might’ve had to keep it quiet.

Also, Harry found out that the feature, or the moral, of the stories James had been telling was what he was calling his group of four. Before Valentine’s Day the day before, Harry had been the only one who knew that they called themselves “the Marauders”.

James tried to explain to Lily that he hadn’t meant to ditch her at the party, that she was overreacting, and that he’d been trying to build his—the Marauders’—reputation. It took a while before he realized Lily wouldn’t accept anything he had to say. Eventually, he offered to take her on a date to Hogsmeade.

“Yeah.” Lily observed the rowdy students around them. “It’ll be good to get out, with just us.”

James piled his plate with food. “So, where in Hogsmeade sounds romantic?”

“Well, it doesn’t have to be romantic, that’s not really the point—”

“Hang on.” James stopped chewing and pointed his fork at her. “I thought that was the point.” Then he continued eating, as though she couldn’t say anything to argue that.

“No, I just want to spend time with you.”

“Right, so like a belated Valentine’s Day.”

“No, James, I don’t care about the details, or the specific reason for doing something, I just want to have time for us.”

James nodded slowly. “Okay, then how about the Three Broomsticks?”

“Great.” When James opened his mouth in frustration, Lily added, “I wasn’t being sarcastic! That’s great, yes, let’s go.”

Sirius and Peter peered at Remus and Raven over their breakfast. As James began to walk away, Sirius jumped up and whispered something in his ear. James’ face split into a grin. He reached over and clapped Remus on the back, causing the boy to choke on his toast.

“What the hell?” Remus spluttered, turning around.

“Congrats, mate! And to you, too,” James added, putting a hand on Raven’s shoulder. “We’ll talk later,” he muttered to Remus, before rejoining Lily.

“I wasn’t expecting that reaction,” Raven said to Remus.

Remus glanced at Sirius and Peter, who were obviously still discussing the new relationship. “Er, Raven, If they say anything to you, ignore it. They like you, of course they do, but you were involved in the Dark Arts for a while, so they…”

Raven blinked, then nodded. “Okay. I get it. I don’t mind, I wasn’t planning to get along with them. It’s only been a day, let’s not worry about it.”

After breakfast, Harry and Severus, not wanting to stay cooped up inside Hogwarts, decided to follow the others’ lead and go to Hogsmeade. They went to the Three Broomsticks and sat down with their butterbeers.

“There’s Potter.” Severus nodded toward James and Lily. Harry noticed one of the Marauders’ victims, a fifth-year Hufflepuff, was sitting nearby with his back to them, oblivious.

Eventually, when the Hufflepuff got up to leave, he spotted James. The boy froze, then saw that Lily was with James and relaxed a little.

“Hey, Marcus,” James said as the boy walked past.

Marcus hesitated. “Oh, hi.” He nodded once and continued walking.

Lily smiled, first at James, then to herself.

On occasion throughout the day, Harry and Severus happened upon Lily and James. Harry noticed that none of the students were fearful or cautious around James liked some used to be.

Harry didn’t know what would be harder on Severus: if James still acted like a toerag and Lily didn’t mind, or if James won Lily over by acting kind to everyone. The latter, to most, seemed to be the reality. But Harry knew his marauding days would continue.

After Hogsmeade, Harry and Severus went up to the dorm to straighten up before starting on their assignments.

Severus stopped sifting through his things and sighed. “Why are you still here?”

“Oh, I can leave, if you want—” Harry started for the door.

“No, I mean, why haven’t you gone back home?”

Harry turned toward Severus, surprised. “You asked me to stay.”

Severus ignored this. “The longest anyone’s gone back in time is five hours. I’ve read about time travel. There was a witch, Eloise Mintumble, who traveled back 500 years for five days. When the Ministry got her back, her body had aged 500 years, and she died. Not only that, but her five days led to twenty-five people being unborn. The Tuesday after she came back was 60 hours long, the Thursday after was four hours. It screwed up time.”

Harry shook his head. “I don’t understand—”

Severus stood. “I don’t either. You’re putting everyone in danger, including yourself—”

“…But why are you worrying about it now? It’s been four years.”

“Because Lily and Potter are together, and it’s going to stay that way. You’re at the end of the story. You’ve been here long enough, and there’s nothing left for you to do.”

Harry forced himself to believe that Severus was wrong. “Why do you want me to leave? So you can join the Slytherins again without me telling you the Dark Arts are wrong?”

“No, I want you to leave to prevent you from fucking things up anymore than you already have.”

They glared at each other, then Harry reached under his shirt and pulled out the Time-Turner.

Severus looked between Harry and the device. “That’s not what Time-Turners usually look like. I didn’t realize it until reading about time travel—where did you get that?”

“Ginny gave it to me.”

Severus sighed. “I know, but who gave it to her?”

Harry shook his head. “I don’t know. I never really wondered how she could have got a Time-Turner like this. All the ones in my time were supposed to be destroyed. It’s been years since the day I left, but I think I remember her avoiding answering me when I asked her where she got it. I assumed she got it from someone who was grateful that I killed Voldemort.”

“Don’t say his name!” Severus hissed. Then he turned away, clearing his throat. “What if a Death Eater gave it to her?”

“No. That’s not it. Can’t be.”

“They could have been trying to fuck up the future. What if she doesn’t know who it’s from? How do you know it wasn’t a Death Eater?”

“Ginny is smart, and besides, all of his followers went into hiding. If they needed to change something, they would’ve done it themselves.” He took the Time-Turner off his neck and studied it. “There’s something else, though…it’s more advanced than what the Ministry had; I’m not dead, or sick, and it let me go back further than five hours, easily. It has six rings instead of two.”

“You didn’t answer my question about leaving.”

“Last June, you asked me to stay. So I’m going to stay through this year.”

“What if people are dying in your time just because you wanted to feel better?”

“If that’s going on, someone would’ve gotten me. I feel like I came back for a reason.”

Severus began to pace. “You know your reason; you told me what it was.”

“There’s something more than that, though.” Harry sat down and studied his hands. “And I haven’t figured it out.” He realized something. “Severus, they’ve only been together—actually, even been friends—for two months. You’re acting like my dad is; like he and Lily are married. So snap out of it.” Harry paused, then tried to sound less harsh. “It’s not over yet. I still have a chance, and so do you.”