Disclaimers: *monotonous voice* I own nothing… I don't even own the bed that I'm sitting on as I write this. Sad ain't it…
O! Oooooooo! I do own something! I own this plot! I own Paul! I own Kerr! I own Professor Hinks! *counting on fingers* I own Kate! I own… I own… I own the Second years that can do nothing other than giggle and look stunned/curious…
I own 6 things! *punches air with fist* Score!
Oh ya. Also, any relation to people living or dead are purely coincidental… bla, bla, bla…
Do I really have to do this?
Powers That Be: Yes! *in deep booming voice as thunder crashes, lightening strikes and the earth quakes*
Ok, ok! I'm doing it already!
Any relation to people living or dead are purely coincidental, I earn no money doing this, I wanted to do it for fun [don't you people feel lucky?] and most of what is here is owned my J.K. Rowling, but the book Wraith Squadron is owned by Michael A. Stackpole which is in the Star Wars universe.
Now that I feel very small and insignificant… on with the story!
Ya, ya. Shut up already and get on with it!
AN: an American/British dictionary – this will be put into the beginning of every chapter just to make it easier for Canadian/USA etc. readers.
Plait – braid (in hair)
Klutz – idiot, person who can never get anything right… yada, yada, yada…
Shambles – mess, muddle, disaster… bla, bla, bla…
Trainers – running shoes.
Thick – stupid, dumb, dense… need I continue?
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Unforgettable, In Every Way
Part I - In Which There is a Giant Hoola-hoop
I dashed into McGonagall's classroom, an excuse on the tip of my tongue, just waiting to be said. Fortunately, she seems to be late – late?
Since when has she ever been late?
I shook my head, not my problem.
Walking over to my bench, with my partner John from Hufflepuff already seated there, I passed unnoticed, as usual. John deliberately ignored me as I dumped my stuff on the table beside him.
"Well I didn't want to sit here either," I said to him, his childish antics grating on my nerves.
It wasn't my fault that McGonagall decided to seat us herself, and it had to be the Marauders luck that they were kept together in the back row! Typical!
I quickly pulled out my books for the lesson as John's friend Paul, also from Hufflepuff, slipped from his desk to come and talk to John.
Just predictable of my bad luck, my Star Wars book, Wraith Squadron, simply had to fall out at the same time –sliding off my teetering pile of books and onto John's side of the table.
The side that John had spent several minutes in the last lesson emphatically lecturing me that it was his side and he didn't want my elbow, my quill, or any of my books there.
So, unsurprisingly, Paul swooped in on the book as soon as he reached the table.
"John! You never told be that you have a new Star Wars book!" Paul didn't even notice that John was sitting there with a confused expression on his face. He carried on, "As soon as you read it, can I borrow it?" he asked, noticing the bookmark near the end and looking up at John for confirmation.
I groaned and closed my eyes, realizing that I was in for it. 'Well Lily,' I told myself, 'You always told your
self that you wanted to stick up for yourself, now's as good a time as any!"
I took a deep breath, "It's mine!" I said as strongly as I could, my eyes conveying a dare that anyone argue. While I hadn't really intended to convey any threat, it appeared to come across that way… oh well, too late now.
Paul looked at me with surprise, just seeming to notice me, as if I'd suddenly apperated, and then shrugged, tossing my book back… "So Lily, can I borrow it?"
I glanced up at him, stunned. I had lowered my eyes and turned my features to stone to avoid showing emotion as I prepared for an immediate and loud rejection and was completely stupefied at the new turn of events.
Realizing that I hadn't said anything for too long a time for anything to sound natural as Paul was now looking at me uneasily, I answered numbly, "Um… sure, I'll give it to you when I'm done with it…"
At least, I think that that's what I said, as Paul nodded once and then strode quickly off to his bench – although, that might have been because Professor McGonagall had just entered the room and demanded in her sharp tones that our books should have been out quite along time ago and we should have been at out places, ready to start the lesson as soon as she had come in. She then turned sharply and started to write with quick jabs on the slate-board which page of our book we should turn to and then proceeded to set us some very tedious work on the theory of something-very-important-and-very-dull.
I worked hard on the first question, ignoring with long practice the noise that the Marauders created from the back two benches, but after I finished the question, I just couldn't seem to concentrate.
I kept my quill hovering over my paper, automatically tipping it back and forth to avoid ink drops and to make it appear that I was still writing if the professor looked up from her desk.
How long I stared off into space I have no way of telling, but I was brought back to the present day by a quick movement in the corner of my eye. I tilted my head slightly to the side to see who it was and was unsurprised to find that it was Paul and his desk-mate Kerr surreptitiously glancing at me, and then quickly looking away as I casually glanced over at them.
How did they think that I didn't see them looking? I questioned myself. The 'immediately looking the other way' is a dead give away! They may as well pretend that something in my direction caught their eye, and not make it obvious that they're looking at me….
Wait a second… Why are they looking at me? What possible reason do they have to look at me?
Again they looked over at me and then away, as panic started to rise inside me, causing my eyes to go wide. I deftly touched my plait, but not a strand was out of place.
'Well, it's not like any hair would be out of place!' one part of my mind responded, the part firmly grounded in reality and showing no indication of leaving, 'you've perfected that charm ever since second year! No wisp of hair would dare to be out of position!'
So why are they looking at me!?
Luckily, before I had a fit or something, McGonagall called that it was time for our next lessons, and for us to please – as if she gave us any choice in the matter – finish the next ten questions for homework. She expected them ready to be handed in as soon as class started, woe betide anyone who did not. She then disappeared back into her office adjoining her classroom with a swish of green robes, to prepare for the next lesson.
In my haste to get out of the classroom, I accidentally knocked my case of quills onto the floor. The case opened on impact and quills littered the floor around the desk and stool. Still determined to race out of the classroom, I quickly stooped down to retrieve them, but in the process I forgot that I hadn't closed my bag properly.
Needless to say, the entire contents of my bag were strewn everywhere. What I had tried to make a quick get-away, had turned into shambles. I was disappointed to see the whole class leaving before me, even the usual slowest ones.
In frustration, I crouched down onto the balls of my feet and reached for the nearest books, so that I could shove them back into my bag. One was just out of reach, and as I stretched for it, I over balanced and toppled onto my side. My feet were tangled in my robes and my bag landed on top of me. I could feel my cheeks heating up from embarrassment and my thoughts went hazy. It was like my body was going too fast and my brain couldn't catch up – why did I have to be klutz?
From just inside my now spherical vision, I could see a pair of scruffy trainers, the laces trailing after them, poking out from underneath a black robe that was too short.
"Just what I need," I muttered under my breath, "an audience."
I glanced up and to my surprise met the gaze of Kerr.
"Enjoying the show, are you?" I snapped, sarcasm and annoyance dripping off every word.
Kerr shuffled uncomfortably under my gaze, but still remained silent, his eyes unable to leave mine. I stared back at him.
We would have stayed like that forever if the next class hadn't startled us with their loud voices as they tramped along the corridor, their goal this classroom.
"Um… I was going to offer to help you…" Kerr began, with a surprisingly deep and husky voice.
"Oh…" I said, unable to think of what to say. I winced at how high pitched my voice came out, "um, by all means, help away."
He smiled hesitantly, shrugged and dropped down on his haunches, gathering my books into his arms with ease from where they were on the floor. He stood up and came over to me, taking my bag out of my fingers from where I was still sprawled and expertly placing my books inside, slinging the bag over his shoulder along with his in one easy, fluid motion. He then looked expectantly at me, bringing me back to reality with a crash.
"Oh, right," I attempted to stand up, but I forgot about my feet being tangled in the hem my robe and ended up tripping and bashing into Kerr, effectively knocking him over. We ended up in a tangle of arms, legs, robes and books –
Just as the next class came in.
"Oops," I muttered, embarrassed, my cheeks heating under the curious stares of the other class.
Kerr and I sorted ourselves out from the mess on the ground, as the second years looked on. A flush had started creeping up Kerr's neck, even though his face kept a cool and collected expression.
'Ha!' I thought, feeling like I had just scored a major triumph, 'So he's not carved out of stone, he can get just as embarrassed as I am – he just hides it better.'
We quickly cleared out of the classroom and almost sprinted down the hall and out into the grounds, high-pitched giggles emitted from the second years chasing us.
We had just sprinted down the stone steps that led into the Entrance Hall when I realized that Kerr was still clutching my bag, and panting quite heavily. I stopped, Kerr halting at the same time and looking over his shoulder to see what the hold-up was.
I decided to adopt a no-nonsense attitude and approach him straightforwardly;
"Why are you doing this?"
Kerr stared at me dumbfounded, "We're late for Herbology and you ask me why I'm doing this?"
So I could crack his cool demeanor.
"It doesn't matter if we're late for classes, you have Professor Hinks wrapped around your little finger… this isn't part of some Dare, is it? Because if it is –"
"Is what part of some dare?!?"
"You being kind to me and actually noticing me," I stated, pronouncing every syllable carefully, as if I were speaking to a child. "What did Paul Motherwell say to you about me?" I asked, suddenly suspicious, "I didn't -"
Kerr started laughing, shaking his head as he looked at me with amusement in his eyes, "You have a one track mind, do you know that?"
I stared at him, my mouth opening and closing but with no sound coming out – doing my best impersonation of a goldfish. There wasn't much I could say to that!
He turned and started walking briskly towards the greenhouses, which were just around the corner. I trotted to catch up.
"At least let me carry my own bag, Greenwood!" I protested, trying to wrestle it off his shoulder, but he clung on to it, "Some Quiddich training you have, you're out of breath already!" I exclaimed, hoping that the remark would somehow convince him to give me my bag back.
No such luck.
"In case you have been blind, def and thick for the past four years, Quiddich is on brooms," he informed me, still walking quickly, his long legs forcing me take two steps to every one of his.
"Ohhhhh! Those sticks that fly with people on them," I nodded, pretending that I had just gotten it.
Kerr, rolled his eyes but played along, "… where the Quaffle is thrown about and scored in giant hoops –"
"Ahhh, the basketball and the giant hoola-hoops!"
I looked over at him, we were nearing the greenhouses, but he hadn't answered. Instead he cast a confused expression at me.
"What's an… an oola… oola-oop?" Kerr scrunched his face up in the effort to pronounce the word correctly, creating an extremely comical expression.
I laughed and shook my head at the idiocy of how the question sounded, my plait of hair swinging behind my back, and continued laughing until we entered the greenhouse.
There, I found I had intermittent bursts of uncontrollable giggling – drawing the attention of the class to myself. I only had to look over at Kerr, who again had a confused expression on his face, to succumb to fits of laughter once more.
It wasn't the question that was funny, in a sense, it was… oh, I don't know. The heat must have fiddled with my brain – even though it's near the end of November.
My partner, Kate from Ravenclaw gave me 'the look' out of the corner of her eye, as if she were sizing me up. And eyes kept flicking from Kerr to me and back to Greenwood, unsure of what to make of it – if anything.
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End Note:
Read and review people…
Read and review…
Please?