This was written for a forgotten serenade's One Word Prompt Competition at HPFC, as well as for one of my entries to Lady Phoenix Fire Rose's Lady's Writing School Early Idea Looking for Teachers! Sign Ups CLOSED! CHALLENGES UP! Challenge.
My prompt was "irksome", and I'm entering this to try out for the Spelling and Grammar section of Lady's challenge.
Lily loved the quiet of the library; it was always nice and cool – refreshing after the stifled mugginess of the rest of the castle. There were no silly pranks going off in every which way there, and Potter had never stepped foot in it. It was her sanctuary, her hideout, her favourite place.
Sometimes.
The chair she lowered herself into creaked ominously, threatening to break under her weight. The squeak made her think of fingernails scratching down a chalkboard, and Lily shuddered. The many books she held topped over and onto the table, crashing loudly. The smell of old books hit her nose in a wave, overpowering for a second. She hoped no one minded all the commotion she was causing.
Her quill scratched at the parchment as she worked. Each flip of a page brought a new flurry of dust into the air, and Lily was almost sent out of her chair at the resulting sneezing attack.
Wiping her nose and cursing life, Lily dipped her quill into the inkpot.
Lily wrote about the second Goblin Revolution in the seventeenth century, returning to her work like the studious, hardworking scholar she was.
The dim light of the library made her eyes water quickly, despite her frequent blinking. Still, she fought on and continued.
Lily was the only person in that section of the library. She was alone under the looming shelves filled with tomes about obscure topics. There were no decorations around the library, as all the walls were covered with books. There was a clearing amongst the shelves, and a small table had been placed there.
Lily sat at that table, working furiously.
And then she heard the ticking.
There was a large grandfather clock near the entrance to the library. It was charmed to increase in volume as the library's closing time approached. It also had the side effect of distracting everyone so fully that it was as though that were the original purpose.
The ticking went on and on, dragging Lily away from the succinct conclusion she had been ready to write. What a shame.
How annoying, as well.
She was close to growling when she caught herself counting out the ticks. She had gotten nearly to the five-hundredth when she realized what she was doing and made herself stop. She considered the option of charming earplugs, but decided against it. Instead, she tried to focus.
Tick, tick, tick, tick – Lily threw her head back in frustration, red hair flying around in frustration.
She closed her eyes and tried to relax, knowing she would not get any work done in the common room, due to noise and distractions in the form of James Potter.
Composed once again, her gaze moved to the book in front of her.
Suddenly, she heard muffled voices, somewhere in the library. They were just quiet enough to be heard and identified by her. However, she couldn't make out any of the words. The low drone pounded at her eardrums, an unfortunately noticeable sound drowning out her thoughts and making any kind of work an unattainable goal.
She slammed her book shut, trying not to breathe in the mildewed smell that came from the action, and stood up sharply.
The squeak of the chair grated on her nerves, and in frustration she pushed it over. It clattered to the floor, the sound of it echoing around the space and in her head. Lily scowled at no one.
She stalked out from her hiding spot, seeking out the infuriating people that had dared break her peace and quiet.
No one was there. She did find a few sixth years diligently at work – as she should have been.
A wave of annoyance passed through her, what was wrong with her? Why was she being so impulsive and easily distracted? She was as bad as James himself!
Lily reluctantly returned to her table. She could hardly stand the sight of it, cluttered as it was with various, large volumes about boring subjects she couldn't focus on completely, even on a good day.
She made a pile of books relating to the Goblins on the top left corner of the table, left the middle empty, and left the rest of the books on the top right corner. Feeling slightly more organized, Lily arranged her quills by size, picking up her favourite and dipping it in her inkwell. Deep breaths came in through her nose and left through her mouth, and Lily felt calm.
Once again, feeling refreshed and ready to tackle anything, Lily returned to her long essay for History of Magic.
Some thumping began. It appeared to be coming from the other side of the shelf.
Lily told herself, firmly, not to pay attention.
There it was again, and then a few mumbled words.
Lily gritted her teeth and tried to center her attention on the article she was reading.
A male voice sounded out, and then a high-pitched, girly giggle.
Lily's mind wandered against her will. What could be going on there? Was someone being held captive, with the attacker tickling relentlessly?
A wide smile lit up her features at the thought. She was being silly, why should some noises be bothering her?
But what if it was something serious that she should go and put a stop to?
Then, there was a low groan and a hiss that circled up her spine and made goosebumps appear on her arms. A violent shiver went down her back as she sat up shock-straight. Alarm bells rang in her head, and she felt a heavy dread come over her.
Were they- How could they-? Her thoughts were jumbled and the irritation from earlier returned with a vengeance. What kind of lunatic would come and ruin her favourite place in the world by doing such a vile thing?
"… Defiling the books and the library," she muttered under her breath as she angrily shoved herself into an upright position. She stomped around the aisle, glad for once for the cover of darkness in the more secluded areas of the library.
She saw movement, two people writhing and being generally ignorant of rules, down at the end of the aisle.
"Ahem," she cleared her throat. Immediately, the noises stopped and there was a frantic scrambling, presumably for clothes. "I believe this is a library, not a brothel."
There was anger in her voice. "Some people here are trying to work," her voice cracked at the last word, displaying her stress. "And would appreciate it if all noises ceased. If you could leave and do what you are doing elsewhere, I'd thank you. However, I would especially appreciate it if everyone could just be quiet and leave me be!"
She turned around but stopped and called over her shoulder, "Stop being so bloody irksome and maybe I won't report you to McGonagall."
They made no movement toward the exit.
"Are you both daft?" Lily shouted, pushed past the breaking point. She whirled around to face them again. "Leave! Leave right now and don't come back. You obviously don't understand what libraries are meant to be used for, and do not deserve to be here. I have spent the entire day prancing about classes and dealing with whiny teenage girls. It's part of being a Prefect, I guess, and that's fine. I refuse to be so thoroughly interrupted and distracted while doing my work. Now, go!"
Finally, they began to move. She turned so that they could get dressed.
The girl filed out quickly, head down so that her hair could cover her face as she stepped past the light. Lily stuck her tongue out at the girl's back, a rather infantile move on her part. She didn't care.
"We were distracting you, were we? I bet you liked it," James whispered into her ear, a lazy smirk on his face. She jumped about a half-metre into the air, coming back with hands ready to slap. There was no blush or anything on his face, surprising given that she had just caught him doing... that in the library. She had a feeling that he had chosen that spot simply to anger her.
"Get out!" She shrieked. "You annoying arse. You're stupid, idiotic, crazy, obnoxious, horrible-"
"Miss Evans, kindly be quiet and stop your yelling!" The strict tones of Madam Pince broke through her verbal assault. "Such language is not permitted; you are disturbing others. I demand you leave immediately."
Lily flushed and muttered an apology. As soon as the librarian turned her back, however, she made a silent motion of despair.
Why was it always her?