Disclaimer: Harry Potter and anything that you read here which sounds like something out of Harry Potter probably is, and I just want you to know that he and anything else related to him is not mine. Yet.
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Alright, I know. What the hell could I possibly tell you about going to a deserted island for about a week? I mean, look at me; I'm a wreck. My hair's basically all but fallen out, no thanks to Lockhart; I haven't slept a wink in days for fear of ambush; what advice, could I possibly give?
This.
If you, at any point in your life, are offered the following, do not take it, no matter how great you think you would have done, or how wonderful this excursion sounds (especially if your school basically never takes you on excursions). Do not take this opportunity. Just run. Bolt like lightning.
See, at Hogwarts, we were given the chance to go and see a History of Magic Museum, just over the ocean a bit. The ten people who got the highest scores on our recent History of Magic test would be able to fly on over there by broomstick. Exciting, yeah?
No. Oh, dear Merlin, no.
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I tapped my fingers anxiously on the table at breakfast. I can't stand tension, suspense and all that crap. It basically sends me into a nervous meltdown.
"Calm down Lily," my friend Emmeline Vance told me calmly. She looked at me over the top of her reading glasses that she had gotten over the previous summer. She made me feel like some kind of inferior bug, looking at me like that. "I'm sure we're all able to go. We studied together and everything."
I didn't say anything in reply, but my mouth twisted nervously, and my fingers tapped faster.
Dorcas Meadowes, another friend of mine, had been watching my fingers for some time now.
Suddenly, her hand leapt out and slapped mine.
"Ouch!" I yelped, snatching my now practically-dead hand off the table and stroking it with my other hand. "What the hell was that for?"
Dorcas shrugged, a small smile playing on her lips and a sparkle in her blue eyes. "Me and my sister play that game all the time."
"It wasn't a game!" I hissed, staring at my bright red hand in shock. "I'm nervous!"
"Lily, look, we all know you passed, okay?" said my third friend Vanessa Keene. "With bloody flying colours," she added under her breath. She's always been jealous of me. But we're such great friends I hardly even notice it anymore.
I stared at her for a moment, and then I blinked slowly. I pretended I hadn't heard her grumble. "Just passing," I said in the voice I used when explaining things to my two-year-old cousin, "isn't good enough."
Vanessa raised her eyebrows at me, and continued to eat her breakfast.
Emmeline shook her head, folded up her Daily Prophet and took off her glasses with all the grace of a professional businesswoman. "We'd better be getting to class," she said, stuffing the newspaper into her bag. "Before Lily explodes from the sheer pressure of it all."
I gave her a mock glare and followed my friends out of the Great Hall and to our History of Magic classroom.
After about ten minutes of anxiously waiting outside the classroom, which was way worse than it would have been if we'd stayed in the Great Hall, the rest of our class wandered over and the door to the classroom opened.
Professor Binns drifted out and through him we could see Professor McGonagall standing behind.
"Come inside, students," said Professor Binns in his usual monotone.
We filed inside, most of us chattering loudly. I was quiet, trying to hold my head high and make it look like I wasn't nervous at all.
I so bloody was.
We took our seats and Professor McGonagall took a sheet of parchment from Professor Binns. "I will now read the names of the ten winners who shall be accompanying me on the excursion. Please settle down, Mr Black," she added disapprovingly.
Most of the class turned to stare at the back row where the four infamous Marauders sat, but I resisted the urge and waited patiently, staring at Professor McGonagall.
"With a perfect score of fifty," began Professor McGonagall, "Lily Evans."
I let out a huge sigh of relief after realizing I'd been holding my breath. I shot my friends a wide grin, and Vanessa and Dorcas signalled for a high-five.
"Only half a mark below that," continued Professor McGonagall, "James Potter."
A whoop of triumph came from the back row, along with a few shouts of, "Yeah!"
"Next, with forty-eight and a half, Vanessa Keene."
Vanessa smiled, happy to be second. Emmeline looked a little miffed, but otherwise we were all proud of our Vanessa.
"After that, both with scores of forty-eight," said Professor McGonagall, "Remus Lupin and Dorcas Meadowes."
Emmeline now looked awfully cheesed off, but she hid that face well when Dorcas turned to her for a high-five.
Some cheers from the back row for Remus were heard.
"With forty-seven and a half, Emmeline Vance."
Emmeline smiled graciously, but I could so tell she was jealous.
"On forty-seven, Polly Oxford."
"Who the fudge?" said Vanessa, rather loudly. How very G-rated of her.
I looked over to the other side of the classroom, where a girl with bleached white blonde hair sat, politely accepting congratulations from the girls around her.
Polly wore a look of utter pride and she turned to give me a smug glare of triumph.
I stared blankly back at her obviously emotionally-muddled face.
"With forty-six and a half," said Professor McGonagall, and she let out a small sigh, "Sirius Black."
"YEAH!" came an extremely loud yell. I twisted in my chair to look.
Sirius had grabbed Potter and they were singing some kind of victory song, loudly and obnoxiously.
"That's enough, settle down, settle down," ordered Professor McGonagall. She looked back down at the parchment and seemed just a little startled. "With a score of forty-six, is Peter Pettigrew." Professor McGonagall looked over to Professor Binns. "Really?" I saw her mouth at him.
Professor Binns shrugged his ghostly shoulders.
Loud slaps from a number of high-fives echoed from the back row.
Professor McGonagall looked at the last name on the list and seemed startled. "And, somehow, Gilderoy Lockhart was the tenth person, with a score of forty-four out of fifty."
The classroom was silent with pure disbelief. Lockhart, score a top ten place? You've got to be kidding us, I thought.
"Woo hoo?" I heard Gilderoy say uncertainly.
Professor McGonagall ignored him and gave the rest of the class a sharp glare. "The rest of you scored under thirty. I am extremely disappointed." Then she gave a small sniff. "I shall see the ten winners tomorrow, in the Entrance Hall at nine o'clock sharp. Do not be late." She left the classroom.
The classroom buzzed with chatter, with most people talking to one winner or another.
"I can't believe we all get to go!" said Vanessa excitedly. "And with the Marauders, no less!"
"Great," I said, not trying to hold back the sarcasm.
"Oh Lily," said Dorcas, giving me a small shove. "It'll be so much fun. Just you wait."
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Hi there! Welcome to old fans, and those new folk who've stumbled across this.
I'll have to admit this: Yes, this is the old 'Weather's Here, Wish I Wasn't' but it's better now. Well, I don't know; was the old one that bad? I couldn't stand it, that's all. I promise you all that this will get updated and I'll resist that urge to delete again. :D
So tell me what you think! I'm happy to hear any feedback!
And loads of hugs, kisses and thanks to my two mates Nessa and Nikki.
Nessa: Thanks for the name and the idea to put you in this and get my stories going again. Your character will show up way more, I promise! And thanks for everything else too. :D
Nikki: Thanks, lad, for, you know, never giving up on getting me to get this back up.
This is dedicated to you guys!
And to all my extremely faithful readers and reviewers who have decided to pop by!