Okay, here is a new story from me. I know I said I wouldn't write too many at once, but a friend of mine - Tonks not Nymphadora - asked me to write one from an idea she had, kinda like a Co-Writer. So, here it is...
The day had not been going very well for any of the Gryffindor seventh years. They had one more N.E.W.T test to go, but they were working just as hard as they had when the first test came. This was because the last test was to be a DADA test – one they were all taking. Since the rise of Mouldy-wart (as they liked to call him, back in the day), everybody had become increasingly worried about safety. As a result, more Aurors were needed to patrol around the Ministry and take down Death Eaters, hence the accent in DADA students.
"Oh, Miss Evans."
Lily turned to find Hedgerow, the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, rush down the stairs towards her. The whole grade was waiting quietly in the hallway outside the Great Hall. Once the professor reached her, she took a few deep breaths before continuing. Mrs Hedgerow was a very young, skinny lady who always wore a lot of makeup and rather high stilettos. The seventh years turned their attention towards the two since there was nothing left to amuse them.
"Yes, Professor?"
"Here is...your essay...back!" she puffed, steadying herself with the wall. She held out a scroll of parchment to Lily, which she gracefully took.
Lily was a very beautiful young woman with a fiery temper. She had flaming red hair to match and sparkling green eyes. Lily was a committed sort of person and was easily top of her class. Apart from Transfiguration – James topped that, not that she would admit it.
"Thank you, Professor."
"Please, call me Flick."
That is what Hedgerow always said to her elder students. Flick's real name was Felicity but she never really responded to it much. She preferred Flick. Naturally, the Marauders called her that and McGonagall protested. "Professor Hedgerow, NOT Flick!" Ha. As if they would listen.
"Okay, Flick."
Flick smiled before running back up the stairs and disappearing around the corner. Lily shoved the parchment into her bag and continued talking with her friends.
"I'm going to fail," one of them was whispering under her breath.
Melissa Newham had always been a worry wart. She was the shortest of the lot, mostly by about three inches. Melissa had curly brown hair and dark brown eyes. She was a lovely girl to get along with; her only bad point was her clumsiness. She could have you hanging off a railing when only seconds ago you were walking down the stairs. Mel was also amazingly cheeky.
"No you aren't, Mel. Remember all that studying we did?" her other friend asked.
Christie Williamson was a very smart, pretty girl. She was the tallest of the three and just loved a good book. She had creamy blonde hair and blue eyes with a tinge of grey. Christie could be found at the library with Remus almost any day of the week. She hated heights and could barely watch Quiddich, although, she had read thousands of books about it and probably knew more about the sport than one of Potter's fan girls.
"How could I not?" Mel replied.
And it was true. How could she not after Christie all but tied Lily and Mel to their chairs and forced them to study. Mel was always complaining that is was 'such a bore'. Lily knew what was best and decided to keep her mouth shut. This way, she wasn't the one who got extra bad dares the next time the group played truth or dare. Poor Mel.
"Chill!" Lily said, leaning against the wall, trying to calm her nerves. "The practical is up next and we all know we will ace it so... shush."
"Oh. Really mature, Lily: Shush." Christie remarked, sarcastically.
"I didn't think it was very mature," murmured Mel.
Typical. Mel wouldn't know sarcasm if it was dancing in front of her in striped pyjamas. Then again, most people would be wondering how sarcasm can wear pyjamas. But, that's not the point.
Lily breathed in fresh air. It was good to have all the exams over and done with.
"I think I did well," she said, sitting down in the shade of a tree.
Mel huffed. "Yeah? Well...neurgh." She stuck her tongue out and plonked down next to her, right in a puddle of snow. She didn't realise, though.
"I reckon I did okay," said Christie, sitting down gracefully on a small rock.
"I reckon I did okay," mimicked Mel, throwing her arms around.
"What's got your knickers in a twist?" Lily asked, frowning at her friend.
"You weren't the one wrestling a blue flamingo off an old man, were you?"
Neither of them answered. They didn't want to know. They also knew it was best to stay clear of Mel when she was in a bad mood.
"So, who is staying for the Winter Holidays?" Lily asked once Mel had calmed down safely.
"Me," Mel said sadly. "Mum won't let me stay at home by myself since I set the oven on fire."
"Where are they going?"
"Australia, on a school camp."
Mel's parents were both teachers at a muggle school, even though they were both magic. Christie's mother was a muggle and also worked at a muggle school – only, a different one. Her father worked for the Ministry as a reporter. He had to inform all the departments of important events and had chances to go all around the world.
"Mum said I could choose what I want to do. I think I'll stay," said Christie, curling a strand of hair around her finger.
"I'll stay, then!" exclaimed Lily, laughing at Mel who was dancing around, completely oblivious to the stares she was getting from the seventh years nearby. And the wet patch on her robes.
After dinner, the three friends sat around in the Common Room, warming themselves up by the fire. Most of the students were in bed, save the seventh year Gryffindors and a few late-night homework-doers (as Mel called them).
"Oi! Evans!" James called from the other side of the room.
"What, Potter?" Lily called back, irritated.
"McGonagall wants to see us now."
"Why didn't you tell me before, you dolt?"
He shrugged and met Lily at the door to the Head's Office – who had been dragging out her goodbyes to make James wait. When they entered, Lily noticed McGonagall looked slightly different. Not, completely different...tired different.
"Now, Miss Potter, Mr Evans-"
"It's Mr and Mrs Potter!" corrected James. Lily hit him on the shoulder.
"Right," shrugged McGonagall, ignoring the comment. "You are late."
"Yes, Mrs Potter here needed to say goodbye to her friends."
"Potter!" McGonagall warned, finally taking in what he had said.
"Sorry, Minnie."
McGonagall scowled. Potter grinned. Lily yawned.
"Now, back to the main issue of this meeting, as you well know, winter is fast approaching. One month until holidays, to be exact. Since many students are staying at Hogwarts for safety issues," Lily and James nodded. "Professor Dumbledore has suggested a Winter Ball."
"Cool," James muttered.
Lily inwardly gulped. If there was to be a ball, there was also a lot of planning to be done. If there was planning to be done, there were a lot of jobs to do. If there were a lot of jobs to do, Heads were always called. Lily didn't like that one bit.
"So, as Head of Gryffindor, it is my duty to ask you two to help plan the event. All you need to do is assign jobs to the Prefects and take on what they can't handle. Is that clear?"
James and Lily nodded.
"You may leave."
Lily and James quietly made their way to the Head Dorms – which the entrance was situated between the Portrait Hole and the fireplace. Their rooms were separated by a large bathroom, which they shared.
"Goodnight, Potter."
"Goodnight, Mrs Potter."
The next morning, Lily was the first up. She had a quick shower and walked down to the Common Room and back up to the Girl's Dorm. She walked into Mel and Christie's room and threw pillows at them.
"Get lost!" Mel yelled, diving further under her doona.
"Morning, Lils," said Christie, standing up and walking to the bathroom to get ready.
Christie was a much better morning person than Mel. Lily could remember when Christie and she had to drag Mel out of bed by her legs and attack her with pillows, the other week.
"Up!" scorned Lily, pulling the sheets away from Mel.
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Mel...!"
"Fine."
Mel slid out of bed and slowly walked to the bathroom. By then, Christie was stepping out, leaving the room for Mel to get ready. It was still very early but both Lily and Christie were used to it. After all, they were both morning people. Unfortunately, Mel wasn't and took no less than one whole hour to brush her teeth, let alone get ready.
"How are you?" Lily asked Christie, sitting on her bed next to her.
"I'm okay. I miss sharing a dorm with you, though."
"Same. But you guys know you are welcome to come up to the Head Dorm for sleepovers."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Before either of them could continue, a scream came from the bathroom. Lily and Christie stood up and ran to the door.
"Mel, are you okay?"
"I got shampoo in my eye!" Mel winged.
"Tough."
"Shut up, Christie!"
"Hey, Lil said that. Not me!"
"Tough!"
Christie sighed. Mel was too clumsy for it to be normal.
"I'm going on a bear hunt. I'm going on a bear hunt. I'm gonna catch a big one!"
"Mel!"
"I'm gonna catch a big one! I'm not scared. I'm not scared."
"Melissa!"
"Oh no!"
"Oh no!" Christie joined in.
"Christie, not you too."
"It's a big puddle of mud!"
"It's a big puddle of mud!"
"Can't go around it."
"Can't go around it."
"I'm serious, guys. Stop it!"
"Gotta go through it."
"Gotta go through it."
"Yuck!"
"Yuck!"
"Please, cut it out."
"We're going on a bear hunt."
"We're going on a bear –"
With all the force she had, Lily threw her hands up and covered their mouths. "I told you to stop it."
Christie and Mel shrugged.
This was a regular occurrence during dinner. Mel just loved to bug Lily and Christie some times joined in. And a few times, Lily would just give in and sing along. Normally it wasn't the same song, but Mel had started loosing her imaginative side. Lily didn't know how many more times she could hear the song and not explode.
"Aw, Lily. They were just having some fun," said Sirius, sitting in the seat across from her.
"What do you want, Black?" Lily asked, still silencing Mel and Christie.
"Nothing. I'm just eating."
Lily sighed, took her hands away and continued eating. Mel and Christie high-fived over Lily's head and then they too dug in. A few moments later, James and Remus joined Sirius and within seconds, Mel, James and Sirius were in a full-on Quiddich conversation.
"Oh, before I forget, training is on tonight," interrupted James.
Lily dropped her fork. "What?"
Mel and James gave her shocked looks. "Training...tonight..."
"But we were going to have a sleepover, remember?" Lily asked Mel, upset.
"Hey, it's okay. I'll re-schedule training. You guys can still have your sleepover."
"Aww...thanks James. That is really lovely of you," said Mel, smiling up at James.
"No problem. Training is re-scheduled to...now!"
The smile dropped off Mel's face.
"Are you guys coming to training?" she asked, slightly annoyed.
Christie and Lily nodded. They always came to training, rain, hail or shine. But what Mel didn't know, is Lily and Christie would normally be asleep for half of it. She just couldn't see from up there.
Lily and Christie walked up all the stairs to the top section of the Quiddich stands. By the time they sat down, they were completely out of breath.
"2674 stairs," Christie said, taking deep breaths.
"You're kidding!"
"No, I'm not."
"Well, that was the best work out I've had for a while."
Mel, James, Sirius, Remus and the rest of the team walked onto the pitch. James was the seeker, Sirius and Remus were beaters, Mel, Cassidy Jones and Kelly Green were chasers. And last, but not least, was Damien Young as the keeper. They were easily the best team in the competition. This year was no different. Gryffindor hadn't been beaten in any game since James Potter joined. Now, as expected, he was the Captain. He had been leading them to victory for the past five years.
"There they are," Christie said, pointing down onto the field.
There was really no need; the team was wearing bright red and gold. They were virtually un-missable. The girls waved.
"Yep. There they are."
Mel walked out of the dressing rooms, carrying her broom. It wasn't as fast as some of the other brooms, but it was stable and that was exactly what the clumsy players needed.
"Come on Mel, you'll do fine," said Damien, putting an arm around her shoulders. That was what most of the team did, since she was the perfect height to be an arm rest.
"Yeah, but last time I kept dropping the ball."
"Mel?"
"Yes?"
"Stop worrying. It's your 17th birthday in two days. Be happy."
Mel kept walking and soon they were on their brooms, doing laps around the field. James was almost overlapping her, on his fast broom. Mel was behind. As usual.
"James!" she yelled as he came up next to her.
"Hmm..?"
"I can't keep flying this broom!"
James sighed. He rode right up close to her and sat on the back of her broom.
"Hop on mine. Take it for a test flight."
Mel carefully moved from her broom to his, with a bit of help. James hovered next to her for a while as she got used to the shiny wood.
"Wow!"
"Yeah, I know. Just do one lap and tell me how you felt."
Mel sped off toward the other side of the pitch. At first she was a bit wonky from the new amount of speed, but by the time she was halfway around, she was like a speeding bullet. As she came around the corner, she tried to brake. She over shot James by about ten meters and whacked herself in the head with the stick.
"Are you okay?" James asked, flying towards her.
"Yep, just need to practice braking."
"Yeah." He turned around to where the rest of the team was waiting. "Water brake!"
Lily and Christie walked out onto the field just as practice was finishing up. They walked up to Mel who was talking to James.
"...practice catching. You'll do fine."
"Thanks." She turned to her best friends. "Hey guys!"
Lily and Christie hugged her.
"You didn't see my embarrassing training run, did you?" she asked, blinking away tears.
"You did really well. Cassidy and Kelly threw too hard, that's all."
Mel moped up her tears with the back of her hand and they all walked back to the castle.
"Sleepover still on?" Lily asked as they climbed the first set of stairs.
"Sleepover still on!" they replied before running all the way back to the Common Room.
Okay, how did you like it? It took me a few days to get it perfect. I would really appreciate some reviews...
RG
Love you all!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
