Basic Summary: In first year, a shy and timid Lily Evans signed a magical contract, preventing her from dating anyone in her house. Thus far, it's been simple enough to honour the contract, but when James Potter becomes less-prattish, and Lily develops feelings for him, what will she do??
Disclaimer: All right, the idea of an 'untouchable' (as far as I know) goes completely to Ruth3, and it's absolutely brilliant. I'm in love with the concept, and considering she hasn't updated since late December (2003), I thought I'd have a run at it. So, major plotline credit goes to her, everything else is just from my brain, aside from J.K. Rowling's characters.Chapter 1: Cyn's Mistake
Cynthia Brown rolled over in her half-sleep for the fourth time in the past minute, restless with guilt. It had been over five years now, but it was only now that her mistake was causing other people pain, and truly taking an effect on her friends, especially Lily.
'You can't date within your own house, so no one from Gryffindor...'
It was one of those things that Cynthia knew now she would regret, but she had been so childish as a first year, a brat. She didn't know Lily Evans then, so why would she have cared?
'You'll be popular, and everyone will love you…'
She could remember that moment vividly; she had replayed it several times in her head already. Lily's innocent face and eager-to-please smile were imprinted in her mind forever, and she hated it.
It was hopeless to try and sleep, so Cynthia gave up, her soft blue eyes flickering open and adjusting to the darkness that surrounded her. Brushing a strand of long, dirty blond hair from her face, she pushed the heavy quilt off her, and climbed to the edge of her double-sized bed, slipping on a pair of fluffy pink slippers before stepping down onto the cool floor.
Without thinking about it, she did what she normally did every time she couldn't sleep since around the beginning of second year. She left her dormitory and sleeping friends, walking down the steps into an empty common room draped in red and gold. Garbage and food littered the floor, but as tired as she was, Cynthia managed to navigate her slippers through the mess, and up the boys' dormitory stairwell, stopping at a landing in front of a dark oak door, labeled '6th Year', with a piece of parchment spellotaped beneath it, reading 'Marauders' Lair. Ye be warned.'
Cynthia smirked, and pushed the door softly, allowing it to creak open before entering the dark room herself. Her eyes well adjusted to the darkness, Cynthia made her way effortlessly toward the bed she knew Sirius Black occupied. She drew the curtains back, before slapping him across the top of his black-hair head.
"Wha?" Sirius's face lifted from the pillow and looked around, completely disorientated. His long, jet black hair was plastered to his face, and sticking up at odd angles, resembling his best mate James's hair uncannily.
"Looking quite nice there, Sirius." Cynthia said in a mocking tone, a smile plastered across her tanned face.
"Cyn?" Sirius groaned, slowly sitting himself up in his bed. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I couldn't sleep, Siribunny!" Cyn whined, using the nickname her mother had given Sirius when they were younger, just to pull his strings. Of course, it worked, and Sirius hopped out of bed, retrieved an invisibility cloak from a trunk across the room, and led Cynthia out of the dormitory, down the stairs, and out the portrait hole doorway. Once outside in the corridor, Sirius flung the cloak over them, making them invisible to the human eye.
This was a tradition for the two whenever Cynthia couldn't sleep. She'd wake Sirius, and he'd take her down to the kitchens for hot chocolate and a chat. Not many people at Hogwarts, the school they both attended, knew of this sensitive side of Sirius Black.
Cynthia Brown was born into one of the oldest Wizarding families in Britain, and had met Sirius at the tender age of seven through her mother. She grew up having her every wish attended to, and taught that she was better than the rest, molding her into a bitchy, spoiled, self-interested girl who believed she was superior to others. Sirius had grown up in the Most Noble House of Black, easily several centuries older than Cynthia's family. However, he didn't take to his family's ideals concerning muggle-born wizards, and had run away only a summer ago, now in residence with the Potters.
Both Sirius and Cynthia were very popular at Hogwarts, both being members of Gryffindor house and in the same year. Sirius was a member of the self-titled group, the Marauders, which consisted of himself, his best mate James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, three other boys in his year. The Marauders were infamous pranksters, every girl wanted them and every boy wanted to be them. And Sirius knew it. Cynthia, as a friend of the Marauders and also being very beautiful, was also exceptionally popular – every boy wanted her, and most of the girls hated and envied her, since she was such a bitch.
However, proximity to Lily had caused Cynthia to become much nicer, at least when Lily was present, and a tad more considerate towards others' feelings.
"So what's wrong now, Cyn?" Sirius asked as they reached the kitchens, and he tickled the pear in a portrait, which swung open to reveal the vast kitchens of Hogwarts, and several house elves. Sirius pulled the cloak off them, messing up their bed-head even more.
"I dunno. I just can't sleep." Cynthia lied. She knew what was bugging her, but she definitely couldn't tell Sirius, it was against the rules of the magical contract she had made Lily sign in first year. She could remember it vividly.
She had strutted into the Great Hall in the line of first years, beaming proudly and knowingly as the other first years looked about the room in awe. The bewitched ceiling, floating candles – Cynthia had seen it all. Her father was on the Board of Governors for the school, she'd stayed at Hogwarts several times during the summer. The sorting had flown by, since she was one of the first to try on the old hat, and so she sat at the Gryffindor table until two other first year girls, Alice Prewett and Lily Evans, joined her.
"Hello!" Alice said brightly, sliding into a seat across from Cynthia. "I'm Alice Prewett, and this is Lily Evans."
Lily had given a weak nod as a greeting, blushing bashfully and sliding onto the bench next to Alice.
"I'm Cynthia. Brown." Cynthia had offered carelessly, flipping her hand upwards boredly.
Alice smiled awkwardly, Lily remained silent, and it was then that Cynthia developed that accursed thought. She realized she could have some fun with this Lily Evans, who was so shy she would never succeed at Hogwarts.
"Want to do something fun, Lily?" Cynthia asked innocently, a mischievous grin flitting across her face.
Lily shrugged quietly, so Cynthia continued. "Do you want to become an 'Untouchable'?"
"An 'untouchable'? What's that?" Lily asked timidly, confused.
"My mother used to tell me about them as a child. There hasn't been one at Hogwarts for about twenty years now. They sign a magically binding contract, and cannot date anyone in their house. But, as compensation of sorts, they become extremely popular, and everyone knows them." Cynthia explained, a fake smile plastered across her lips.
"I don't like the sound of that…" Alice warned softly, but Lily nodded, silently agreeing.
Cynthia had conjured up the contract by the next morning, and Lily hadn't hesitated to sign it.
She understood now, after becoming friends with Lily that very day, why Lily had signed it. Lily was a muggle-born and knew no one and nothing about the magical world, except for what she had read in her schoolbooks. Lily was a shy girl, and the concept of being popular was both foreign and exciting.
Under the influence of Cynthia and the warm support of Alice, Lily had opened up and escaped her shyness, and Cynthia had learned what a kind, thoughtful girl she had manipulated. Spending more time with Lily, Cynthia discovered Lily to be a very caring, understanding person, who was also very opinionated and a great listener, but under her sweet exterior she had a fiery temper.
The magical contract had compensated her of course, and Lily was one of the most popular girls in the school, not only because of her looks, but also her stunning personality. Lily was indeed pretty though. She had long auburn hair that fell in soft layers down past her shoulders and framed her oval face, accentuating her porcelain-like complexion and her vivid green eyes. Lily hadn't needed the contract to become popular, but she was bound to it. It hadn't really affected Lily that much, until she developed a crush on her fellow prefect, Remus Lupin last year, and James Potter started chasing after her.
James Potter was the only son of Harold and Eve Potter, Sirius's best mate and fellow Marauder. Known within Hogwarts as a 'desirable' boy, he was tall, but well built, with untamable black hair, tanned skin, and soft hazel eyes.
Since the beginning of fifth year, James had been very open about his feelings toward Lily – he asked her out every day, pranked and hexed people in front of her to impress her, and pushed her buttons just to get a rise out of her. Lily found him exceptionally irritating, deciding he was only after what he couldn't have, but Cynthia knew that James's feelings were deeper than that. He had admitted it to her, drunk after a party celebrating a Quidditch Cup victory. He was in love with Lily.
"Here. Drink." Sirius said with a sleepy smile, offering Cynthia a mug of hot chocolate that had just been delivered by a crew of excited house elves.
"Thanks." Cynthia murmured, taking the mug and taking a small sip.
"So you're not going to tell me what's wrong, are you?" Sirius asked, though it was more a statement of fact than a question.
"I would, but I'm not… allowed." Cynthia offered tactfully.
"Allowed? Who's stopping you?" Sirius asked, confused and amused simultaneously, and too tired to take anything seriously.
"A magical contract." Cynthia replied, hiding her sadness under a superior tone.
"Ooh, aren't we condescending today!" Sirius taunted playfully, taking a sip from his own mug.
"I'm amazed you used such a big word, Siribunny. Condescending… wow, that's thirteen letters long!" Cynthia replied, wearing a look of utter astonishment.
"Oh, shut it, Cyn." Sirius muttered, glaring at her.
Cynthia just smiled, knowing not to continue with their playful fight, as Sirius was obviously tired. But their playful banter had removed 'Lily the Untouchable' from Cynthia's thoughts for the moment. There was nothing like taunting Sirius to get your mind off things.
After finishing their mugs of hot chocolate and chatting about the upcoming quidditch match versus Hufflepuff, the duo returned to Gryffindor Tower, parted at the girls' stairwell, and fell asleep for a few more hours, before Cynthia was awakened, promptly at seven o'clock, by Alice Prewett.
Alice was Cynthia's other best friend, and she, Lily and Cynthia formed the most popular girls in Gryffindor house, if not the school. And they were only sixth years. Alice was the peacekeeper of the group, since both Cynthia and Lily could be stubborn at times. She was a playful girl, quiet, and Lily and Cynthia's confidante. Alice was an amazing listener, and when the other two girls had problems, Alice was there to listen and offer moral support.
"Morning Cynny!" Alice sang happily, jumping on Cynthia's bed, causing Cynthia to bounce up also, and groan in response.
Alice was a morning person. Cynthia and Lily were not. She could hear the shower on the girls' bathroom; meaning Lily was already up, though probably not awake. Alice, on the other hand, looked like she had been up for hours. Her soft blond hair was in ringlets, which were now disheveled, a bright smile on her face caused her brown eyes to twinkle.
"Al… It is seven o'clock in the morning." Cynthia muttered, as if that statement alone gave a veritable response.
To Alice, though, it didn't. "So?"
"It's Saturday." Cynthia added patiently. "We don't have class."
"So?" Alice repeated, dropping herself onto Cynthia's bed.
"I could sleep for another four hours!" Cynthia exclaimed, looking at Alice as if she were insane.
"You could," Alice agreed, "But then you'd miss the match. And watching Gilderoy."
"Bugger! I forgot!"
Immediately Cynthia threw the bedspread off her legs, grabbing some clothes from her trunk, and dashing toward the bathroom, nearly knocking Lily to the floor as she flew by. Lily laughed, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
"Finally got her up?"
"Yeah. Had to jump on her though. We're going to be late." Alice muttered, glaring at the door. Since fifth year, Alice had been dating Frank Longbottom, a fellow Gryffindor in their year, and missing him play (as a Chaser on Gryffindor's quidditch team) was not to her liking. They still had to have breakfast.
"Missing more time for Potter to annoy me? Damn." Lily replied sarcastically.
"Lils, he's not that bad."
"I know, Al, but… I can't." Lily sighed softly, giving her friend a quiet smile. "Sometimes I wish I could tell him he's wasting his time…"
"I know, but you can't." Alice finished, returning her friend's smile, before lightening the mood a bit. "Lils, you can't wear just that, you'll freeze!"
"You're probably right." Lily agreed, looking down at her attire, a pair of jeans and a white tank top. "Can I borrow your green jumper?"
"Sure." Alice replied, tossing the green sweater over to Lily just as Cynthia barged back into the room.
"I'm ready! Hurry, we'll be late for breakfast!" Cynthia screeched, yanking her friends' arms and leading them down the stairs, into the Gryffindor common room.
The girls hurried down to the Great Hall, Alice fixing Cynthia's hair as they clambered down the main stair well. The corridors were pretty much deserted, as everyone was at breakfast, chatting with excitement and anticipation for the quidditch match that would take place today. Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. The girls entered the hall, Alice and Lily ignoring the looks of admiration from all around the hall, Cynthia basking in them, and slid into the only remaining seats across from the Marauders.
"Morning, Lily. You're looking lovely this morning." James Potter said with a cocky grin, looking up from a letter.
"Sod off, Potter." Lily replied sharply, helping herself to some bacon. You're wasting your time. I can't.
Qu'est-ce que tu pense? Please review and let me know what you think! Once more, please read the disclaimer. Idea of an 'untouchable' goes completely to Ruth3… My own little take on the idea.
