A short story
Disclaimer:I don't own Any of the Characters (except Rebecca and Taylor.)
Summary: At the beginning of their Sixth year, Lily snaps at Alice and James get's into trouble.
Courtesy of James Potter
"He's such an ass," Lily said huffily while doing her transfiguration homework. Lily looked up to see Alice and Rebecca looking at her funny, "What!" she said angrily, her two best friends had been acting weird all week.
"What'd he do this time?" Alice asked twirling her wand in her fingers; Lily saw a glint of silver on her finger.
Lily reached out and snatched up her hand tossing the wand aside. "Hey! Lils don't…"
Lily interrupted Alice looking at the silver ring on her finger. "What's this?" she demanded pointing to it.
"What? Oh err…Frank finally popped the question." Alice said almost sheepishly.
"And you said yes?" Lily said glancing down at the ring in disbelief.
"Obviously, Lily," Rebecca said rolling her eyes in Lily's direction.
"Yes, I said yes," Alice said defensively. "What else would I say?"
"He just asked you right out of the blue! Here at Hogwarts." Surely not was Alice just pulling her leg.
"It wasn't out of the blue!" Alice said looking at Lily incredulously. "We've been going out for two years!"
"You're only seventeen and you're already engaged…" Lily said trailing off.
"Yes, I am." Alice said defiantly. She pulled her hand away from Lily who was still clutching it.
"Do you even really know him, why did he propose here?" Lily said firing off questions.
"Merlin's beard, Lily, Just congratulate the poor girl already and stop harassing her." Rebecca said frowning, what was Lily's problem?
"Lily…" Alice said cutting off a stream of questions coming from Lily. "I am old enough to take care of myself I don't need you or anyone else for that matter telling me what to do."
"Do your parents know? Do his?" Lily demanded her long forgotten Advanced Transfiguration, Grade 7 falling off her lap and getting splattered with ink.
"Yes they both know, and they both approve." Alice said her brow furrowing. "What's the big deal?"
"Marriage is a big deal, it's not something to take lightly," Lily said with conviction.
"I love Frank don't you go suggesting that I don't!" Alice said standing up, towering over Rebecca and Lily.
Lily looked up bewildered, "I never said…"
"Lily!" Alice said angrily. "You haven't been right since we got here on the train! I suggest you go deflate you're ego and straighten your head." Alice pointed towards the door.
Heatedly Lily complied, stomping across the room—leaving her books behind—and out the door.
James Potter walked down the corridor stuffing his invisibility cloak into his robes, he was more than a little frustrated with Sirius at the moment. Honestly why did he have to be dating two girls at once—for the thrill of it?
He had lost some respect for Sirius this night, he had expected better from him. The part that really got him the most wasn't that he was cheating on Taylor—she quite frankly was a bitch—it was the fact that he had left James to clean up all the pieces.
He planned to give Sirius a good talking too when he made it up their dorm but at the moment he wasn't in the mood to see Sirius. He was afraid of what he might do before he calmed down.
Damn…James was bleeding, a scratch on his arm was trickling slowly down to his elbow—He would admit Taylor sure had an arm, and long fingernails—he tore of his tie and dabbed it clean.
"Get in a Duel?" Someone called out from the end of the hallway, he knew who it was—of course—even before he had even saw her. He would recognize that voice anywhere. He put his hand above his eyes to shield out the light of the setting sun pouring through the window; he could just see her red hair turned lighter by the beaming rays of sun. And he could see her green eyes, even from that distance and with the sunlight blinding him.
He couldn't tell if she was trying to pick a fight but he didn't think she was, for one she wasn't standing up and shouting at him—though she was still glaring. He reckoned she wasn't and walked over and slid down the wall to sit next to her. "Something like that." James said holding the tie to his wound.
"You'll ruin it you know," Lily said with her eyes closed head leaning up against the wall, it was like she was trying to soak in all the sunlight. It wouldn't surprise him if she was.
"Ruin what?" James asked confused, his shoes were squeezing his feet—he hadn't really noticed it all that much when he pulled them on and ran downstairs trying to keep the clawing girls off of each other but…these were far too small.
"Your tie," Lily said simply, her eyes still closed. James grunted in response looking carefully down at his shoes. Carved into the heel were the initials P.P. in Peter's shaky handwriting. God, Peter's feet had to at least be two sizes smaller than James own.
He wished he could take them off but he was worried what Lily might smell—do my feet smell bad, god, I don't want to find out. He would just have to sit there uncomfortable and talk to Lily or leave and not talk to Lily, Talking to Lily, definitely the best option.
"So did you win?" Lily asked out of the blue.
"Win what?" James asked, he didn't get her train of thought.
"The Quidditch match. No, git, the duel." She said sarcastically. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up pulling her knees to her chest.
"It wasn't a duel, but I guess you could say I won." James said warily running his hand through his hair for something to do with them. His hands always had to be moving, they couldn't just sit there calmly—like Lily's were.
"I assume that's why you're so sad?" Lily asked ignoring the fact that he was running his hands through his hair once again.
"Sad?" James asked raising an eyebrow. "No. Pissed, yes."
"Why?" Lily asked closing her eyes again.
"Sirius," James said in one word explanation. "Why are you sad?"
Lily opened her eyes and turned to look at James. "It's your fault."
"My fault!" James said, surprised. "How could it be my fault?"
"Because, you were throwing spitballs at me all during Potions."
"What's that have to do with anything?" James asked puzzled. That had been kind of fun, how angry she had gotten when one landed in her hair.
"So I was mad at you, and took it out on Alice. Did you know she's getting married—by the way—to Frank?" Lily didn't seem to be paying much attention to James.
"So it's my fault that you took out your anger on Alice?" James asked slowly wondering if he got it right.
"Yea, it's your fault."
"I think this is the longest conversation we've ever had." James said thoughtfully.
Lily suddenly jumped up and was towering over James, he looked up at her face as she said, "First and Last conversation."
She turned and started to leave when James called after her. "Later Evans!"
She responded by sticking out her hand and making an obscene gesture. James chuckled and as soon as she was around the corner pulled off Pete's ugly old shoes.