A companion piece to Leila Potter.
"Umm, Remus, could I have a minute?" asked Harry as he entered the Weasley's kitchen. Remus had volunteered to make dinner as Molly wasn't feeling well. Her sons agreed that she must have been feeling dreadfully ill if she was letting someone else cook in her prized kitchen.
"Sure, Harry. What's on your mind?" asked Remus kindly, as he gestured for Harry to sit down.
"Well, I was wondering-I mean-you've mentioned how my dad and ...Leila got on so well. But...what about her and mum?" he asked, stammering after mentioning Leila's name. Remus picked up on it, but said nothing. He supposed it was just odd for Harry, having a blood relative not connected to the Dursleys.
"You want to know how Lily and Leila got along," he repeated slowly. This is going to be interesting. "Well," said Remus. "I guess I could tell you. Mind you, it's not a pretty story." At Harry's look he hastily amended, "at the beginning at least. Lily and Leila were the best of friends. Once they muddled through a few things."
"Like what?" asked Harry curiously.
"You know, I assume, that your mother had, quite a temper. Well, so did Leila. And let's just say that Leila was extremely protective of James. More so than Sirius, and that's saying something." Remus took a deep breath. "It all started the first night of 7th year. Leila had just been announced as a new student to the whole school at the start of the feast. She was sorted with the first years. Her choice of course." He grinned wryly. "However, when she sat down at the Gryffindor table and everyone was either congratulating her or whispering, Lily and Leila had round one."
(1977)
"You're Lily Evans."
"Yes," the redhead said uneasily. Potter's cousin is quite odd, she decided. She had spent half the time either glaring or simply staring at Lily like she was an interesting but disgusting bug or speaking Spanish and teasing her cousin, the new Head Boy.
"You know," said Leila, "I still don't understand why they call them Head Boys and Girls. Because that just holds all sorts of suggestive connotations. Eh, Remmy?" she joked, nudging her good friend Remus on the arm.
"Leila, it only holds "connotations"," said Remus, making air quotes with his fingers, somehow still managing to look pale and withdrawn despite the laughter on his face, "if someone, like you, has their mind in that very dirty gutter we talked about."
"What gutters?" Leila said with a laugh. The rest of the Welcome-Back feast went on smoothly, in spite of the Marauder's start-of-the-year prank. Just when pudding had appeared with all sorts of desserts to consume, a big bang went off. When the cloud of strangely pink and sparkly smoke dissipated, everyone looked around, confused. There was no sign of trauma, of colour changing dishware, of red and gold Slytherins. Had the Marauders lost their touch? Everyone wondered. The answer was no. 10 minutes later, people started noticing that something odd was happening. Clothes were disappearing. In fact, so were bodies. Several girls shrieked. Minutes later everyone was invisible, save for their heads. Students looked at each other in wonder and confusion. Then stage two began. Slowly, music started up. It was a Beatles song, the infamous Yellow Submarine. More people yelled and shrieked as they realized that they had no control over their invisible bodies. Everyone started dancing, their bodies being manipulated by some unknown source.
"Potter! Black! Lupin! Pettigrew!" screamed McGonagall, dancing wildly. "Stop it this instant!" The Marauders paid no heed, as they too were dancing uncontrollably. Remus and Sirius were doing the Disco while Peter was performing the macarana. Leila and James were jitterbugging together, laughing like crazy.
The entire time Dumbledore had simply smiled and danced the waltz with Slughorn, who seemd very uncomfortable. However, after a few more minutes of dancing to the Beatles and Abba, he swished his wand and the students suddenly stopped dancing. Losing their footing, everyone collapsed, then broke into laughter.
"Brilliant idea. LeiLei. That invisible part. People are gonna have bruises tomorrow," laughed James, as he lay against his cousin. He wiped a few fake tears from his eyes as he said, "I'm so proud."
"Ah, shaddup!" Leila said, shoving her cousin off of her and standing up. "It's all in a day's work," she joked as she dusted herself off.
"Uh oh, Prongs. Minnie and Evans at 2 and 6 o'clock," whispered Sirius. James just sighed and turned to face the two angry women.
"POTTER! You are Head Boy! This is not how a Head Boy is supposed to act. On the train, I'd thought you'd actually start to grow up but I see that I was wrong! You are still nothing but an arrogant, bullying, no respect for the rules toerag!" screamed Lily.
"Miss Evans," said Professor McGonagall coolly, "I think I can manage it from here." Flushing, Lily stepped aside.
"Mr. Potter, I will see you and Ms. Potter along with the rest of your little troupe in my office at 8 o'clock. Understood?" said the Professor, her nostrils flaring.
"Yes Professor," replied James. He fervently hoped his Head Boy badge was not jeopardized. It was the only way to win over Lily, plus he was actually looking forward to the year as Head Boy, strangely enough. Though, if he ever said that to his best mate, Sirius Black, he probably would never live it down.
"First of all ...who was specifically responsible for tonight's prank?" asked McGonagall. The four boys and Leila were seated in front of the Transfiguration Professor's desk, where she surveyed them with a tight face.
Leila rose her hand in answer to the question. "Please, Professor. We're not ignorant. We know that there's a war going on," explained Leila. "And we just wanted to take the worries away from the students, if only for a few moments. And remind them that this is Hogwarts. Life is normal. Well," amended Leila thoughtfully, "as normal as you can get in a school of teenage magicians."
The Marauders grinned at that. James felt pride at the way his cousin was so easily manipulating the Deputy Headmistress. The Marauders had a hard time of it, as McGonagall never believed a word James or Sirius had ever said.
Professor McGonagall visibly deflated. "All right, since it's your first night here, I won't give you dentention." The Marauders gaped at that unexpected news. Minnie was never that kind. "But I will be taking away 15 points," McGonagall added.
"Of course, Professor," said Leila sweetly. McGonagall rose.
"Now, I suggest that you five head off to bed. Where I daresay Ms. Evans will be having a few words with you Mr. Potter." With that, the professor swept out of the room. The five teenagers looked at each other and bolted.
Something was up with that cousin of Potter's, she keeps glaring at me! Lily didn't understand Leila Potter's animosity towards her. They barely knew each other!
"Look, do you hate me or something?" demanded Lily, once they reached the 7th Year Girls dorms. They had both retired to bed at the same time, unfortunately, bemoaned Lily. She was not looking forward to this confrontation.
"Let me put it this way, Lily," said Leila sweetly, as she advanced towards the Head Girl. "You just stay away from my cousin, got it."
"Umm, we're Heads," said Lily, starting to get annoyed. The nerve of this girl.
"Oh I know. I meant outside of Head business. I don't need you breaking his heart again. Got it?"
"What! Potter is the most arrogant, bullying toe-rag I've ever met. He's the one who's been nagging me all these years," she fairly screamed at her new roommate, her quick temper getting the better of her.
"Well, you're the one who's been nasty right back at him," she yelled back. "So just stay away."
"You're a bitch, you know that."
Leila walked right up to Lily and looked her squaredly in the eye. "And you're just a stuck-up, prissy, can't bend the rules, wand up her arse, bitchy red-head." She smiled coldly. "So I guess we're even."
And with that, she stalked over to her new bed, and shut the hangings around her.
Lily just stared in shock, standing still in the middle of the dorm. No one, no even a Slytherin, had ever said that.
"Umm, Lily?" said Mary MacDonald hesitantly. "You going to bed? You know. So I can turn off these lights."
"Yeah," said Lily, shaking her head. "I'm going."
And with that, the 7th year female dorms were silent.
Leila 1; Lily 0, thought Lily miserably. With that, she rolled over and fell asleep.
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