The Reunion of a Lifetime
Chapter One: An Unusual Beginning
"Is there anything more cliché or torturous than a class reunion?" Lily Evans demanded of her dark haired best friend as they shopped in Diagon Alley. "I never want to relive my school experiences ever again and it's only been five years. Could they at least have the decency to wait a decade?"
"What are you talking about?" Arabella Figg asked, giving her friend an odd glance before picking out a pink robe. "You've never even left school. By the way, does this robe make me look chubby? I never think I look nice in pink," she held it up against herself in silent contemplation.
"See? That's exactly what I'm talking about," Lily said while examining the stitches on a forest green robe. "Shoddy workmanship, and that's not your color Bella. But, see, now we have to go through the agonizing ordeal of making ourselves look just the same as we left Hogwarts. Or better. And nobody's going to remember me in a way that I'd appreciate."
"Look on the bright side, Lily," Bella said as she paid for a necklace. "Snape will know you."
"Ugh, Bella you're horrible," Lily exclaimed pushing Bella out the door into the bright sunlight of Diagon Alley. "That was a cruel and unusual comment."
"Yes, I know," Bella said smugly. "Let's got to Hogsmeade. I have a craving for some Honeydukes candy."
"Sure," Lily moved them into a back alley from which they could apperate easily. "I have to get out of here, shopping for robes and talking about Severus is starting to make me believe that I really am going back to school to be tortured by my peers. That is depressing." Lily shuddered.
"It wasn't that bad." Bella patted her friend's shoulder. "You were Head Girl with Mr. Popular James Potter."
"That conceited, pompous oaf?" Lily said in a shocked tone. "You know I would never have admitted it then but I thought he was the cutest boy ever. I think I even had a crush on him."
"And you never told me?" gasped Bella. "Why Lily," she sniffed, "I thought you were my friend!" Bella pouted before looking up and giggling. "You were wrong, you know," she added after a second. "Sirius Black was the most gorgeous fellow ever!"
"Oh, yes. I remember you mooning over him for maybe a second. Or was it a minute? All day? Now I remember, six years!" Lily rolled her eyes.
"He's probably married by now," Bella said slapping Lily upside of the head.
"Hold on," Lily said taking out her wand. "Ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." Bella sighed. "Have I ever told you I get motion sickness traveling this way?"
"Only about a million times," Lily muttered, shaking her wand. Half a minute went by until they tumbled onto the bottom of the grassy hill by the Shrieking Shack.
"Rats," Lily muttered. "I never can manage those landings."
"Don't worry yourself, Lily." Bella said tucking her wand back up her sleeve. "More than half the wizarding populace can't apperate properly. I've the actual numbers hidden somewhere at home for an article I never wrote."
"Oh really?" Lily looked at her friend in surprise. "Isn't that a comforting statistic then."
"It's true, you know. I think the averages are somewhere around 62 percent. At least you don't leave half of yourself behind. Lincoln Noxly did that the other day and the Ministry had a hell of a time covering that up. You won't believe how many people actually walk by Old Ben."
"Oh, yes." Lily said sarcastically. "No one ever tours a clock that's known through out the world."
"I know!" Bella said oblivious to the sarcasm.
"For goodness sake, Bella, that clock is like the Eiffel Tower!"
"And how many people do you think have heard of the Eiffel Tower?" Bella scrunched her nose up. "It's practically unknown!" Lily contented herself with a mild snort. Even with Muggle Studies, most wizards remained blissfully ignorant of muggle life.
"Anyway Lincoln has had his apparition license revoked and the Ministry was scrambling to fix everyone's memories. I don't-OH MY GOD!" Arabella gasped with a horrified expression. She covered her mouth with her hand.
"What?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow. Arabella was known for taking off on dramatic streaks.
"I don't think anyone's put Lincoln back together yet!"
Lily collapsed on to a bench laughing.
"It's not funny Lily! If he isn't back together, Janet Kingswallop will lose her job. She's supposed to put him back to one piece and I don't think anyone's even told her yet."
Lily only laughed harder. She knew she shouldn't have but some things were too funny to pass up.
"It's so nice to know you care so much about everybody's income, Lily." Bella said flushing.
"Isn't it though?" Lily panted, trying to catch her breath. "I think we should return to an earlier and safer conversation." Lily decided as she allowed Arabella to pull her off the bench. "Just so I don't go into hysterics again.
"I don't even know what we were talking about," Arabella sighed. She thought for a moment. "Oh yes, we were discussing our soul mates."
"Hmm," Lily obviously hadn't been listing for she hadn't even protested the comment about herself and James Potter. Instead, she was looking at the sign plastered on Zonko's window. SALE! it read with pictures of dancing firecrackers.
"As I was saying," Bella coughed. "Sirius is probably married by now." She coughed again. "I said, Sirius is probably married by now…."
"Uh huh...," Lily answered absent mindedly. She hadn't the faintest idea where this conversation was going. "So?"
"Well now is where you say something comforting because he didn't marry ME." Bella informed her.
"Oh right," Lily paused to contemplate what would be most humiliating to the Sirius they had known during their Hogwarts days. He had been notoriously vain. "Well, I bet he has a pear shape by now from all those days he spends watching old Quidditch games from way back when. No doubt he'll have old cottage cheese and crumbs in a tangled beard because he doesn't move from his seat on the couch." She paused and looked at Arabella for approval. Arabella snickered and nodded her head.
"Continue."
"Of course, he's miserable because he didn't marry you," Lily put a pout on her face. "And he waddles like this." Lily demonstrated down the side walk of Hogsmeade. "There will be a dozen children trailing along behind him like a row of ducklings." The words had worked their magic for Bella was cracking up.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I have to know who you're imitating. It's quite comical." A figure came up the walk. He was tall and thin, well muscled with a tan. His black hair was tied back in a pony tail and he had a motorcycle magazine under one arm.
"Do I know you?" Lily flushed and dropped the impression. He looked eerily familiar.
"Possible. My names Sirius Black, Ladies Charmer," he flashed a grin that made Bella tremble.
"Are you serious?" asked Bella.
"I think I just said that," he said looking at her oddly.
"May I see your hands for a minute?" Lily asked hoping he wouldn't recognize her.
"Sure?" Sirius held his hands out for inspection after shoving a flashing advertisement for a flying motorbike into his leather jacket.
"You need to wash them sometime," Lily said to him.
"Er," Sirius stared at her.
"Im afraid to say he doesn't have a ring, Arabella, so he's not married."
"Nor does he have a pot belly."
"I don't see a dozen duckling children around here."
"And he certainly doesn't waddle."
"No pout." They ignored the man in front of them while continuing their conversation.
"Well, I guess we were wrong." Bella sighed.
"We would have found out anyways tomorrow," Lily comforted her.
"Was that impression supposed to be ME?" exclaimed Sirius in shock.
"Uh, we got to go," Bella stammered.
"It was nice seeing you again Sirius," Lily called as they raced up the block and disappeared into the milling crowd.
"WAIT A MINUTE!," he yelled. "WHO ARE YOU?"
The two succeeded in ignoring him. "Did you see his face?" gasped Lily through fits of mirth as they fell through the door of the Three Broomsticks.
"I can't believe this!" Bella said gripping the table. "Of all the times to run into a guy I still had a crush on it. He had to choose the worst possible moment didn't he?"
"Well after all he is Sirius Black," Lily said as she took deep breaths to calm herself down. "It was only to be expected. At least I know that he didn't recognize me."
"Just how do you know that?" Bella asked.
"Arabella Figg!" Lily exclaimed. "Are you implying that there isn't a difference between me as the obese Gryff and now?"
"Of course there is," Bella fumbled to recover. "But it's been three years by now so I'm used to you this way."
"I'll take that as a compliment," Lily said with a crooked grin. She patted her trim waist. "I'm hoping me and this thing will stay friends for a while. I was huge in Hogwarts."
"In case you didn't know, Lily Evens," Bella said gulping down the last of her butterbeer, "you still are in Hogwarts. And you weren't that big!"
"Hah, that's a joke," Lily snorted. "Lily Pat is so fat," she chanted in a shrilly voice.
"Katie Leconte made fun of everyone, not just you." Bella said firmly.
"That didn't stop her from making my seven years at Hogwarts a living hell." Lily said broodingly. "I think I need to get drunk before tomorrow."
"Let's at least get some robes first, Lily," Bella said while counting out a tip for Madame Rosemerta.
"And then we are going to get good and drunk Bella Fig," Lily said in a commanding tone.
"Being a little tipsy is fine with me after this past half hour," Bella said.
"So where do we want to get our robes?" wondered Bella aloud as once again they wandered around in the bright autumn sunlight of Hogsmeade.
"I don't know." Lily said. "Say, Bella, there's this kid named Harry in my Charm's class and he is just like James Potter."
"So we haven't gotten over James Potter yet either, Lily?" Bella inquired with a sly grin on her face. As a columnist, she had a nose for gossip- almost as strong as that dreadful woman Rita Skeeter.
"Okay so maybe I haven't." Lily admitted shaking her head.
"And all this time I never knew," Bella announced, debating whether she should be sulking or not. While they were chatting they didn't notice the sun leaving them until it was almost pitch black.
"Lily," Bella said nervously. "I think we're in Knockturn Alley." The narrow alley they were traveling through had slime covered walls and was crowded with crones and other various forms of shifty people.
"How did we jump from Hogsmeade to Diagon Alley?" Lily asked shivering.
"I don't know Lily but I don't think I like this," Bella backed up a couple of steps and accidentally knocked a hag. The two young women moved closer together as an sinister wail pricked their necks and sent goose bumps up their arms.
"Sod it all, I hate being scared," Lily muttered to Bella. "And I hate not knowing what's out there."
"I couldn't agree with you more."
"You know, they say Voldemort's been getting more wizards and witches as followers in the villages," Lily was scaring herself now.
"Not to mention we're in Knockturn Alley," Bella stated while rubbing her arms.This was not the most healthy situation to be in by her book and she was more than ready to go home and be comforted by her cats and a warm mug of hot chocolate.
"I'm from a muggle family," Lily started but then a neon blob rose into the sky and lengthened into a skull.
"THIS CAN'T BE GOOD!" Bella sang shrilly as the skull and snake began to pulse. Masked figures began to come out from behind trashcans and corners.
"Mudblood, Mudblood, Mudblood," they chanted as they advanced upon the two helpless adults who had been stricken with fear, like deer in the headlights. The blood pulsed in Lily's ears and then.…