Author's Note;; This is my first fic in a long time, so don't be surprised or turned off if it's not the best in the beginning. No, I don't own Harry Potter or any of JKR's characters. I only wish I did…Now, I understand that Emmeline Vance as well as other characters might be different in my story from when they were actually 'alive' or in how they were described in JKR's books. Too bad. Deal with it.
"…Final Projects?"
"What do you mean final projects?" The redhead was suddenly aware of what was going on around her. For the past five minutes, she had been half-asleep, lost in a riveting daydream if you would be so bold as to imagine studious Lily Evans daydreaming. She quickly glanced around, the blush dancing across her cheeks like a rough wildfire spreading through a forest of white trees. Apparently, she had woken from her trance a little louder than she had originally intended to. Then again, she hadn't intended upon breaking her trance at all. The girl met every gaze with the deepest expression of apology set onto her face. Her gaze traveled to that of the librarian, Madame Prince, knowing that the only thing that was stopping her from giving her the scolding of her life was the fact that Lily was of great help to the elderly librarian between her study times. Embarrassed, she turned back to her friends' bewildered glares, blocking herself from the rest of the students with a wall of fierce red hair. The two stared at her, mouths a gape, amazed that for once, they knew something Lily Evans did not.
Emmeline Vance, a tall girl with spectacular chocolate brown hair and a matching pair of big brown eyes, was the first to break the silence. "Why should you care? I'm sure you've already did them, anyway." Lily rolled her eyes, ignoring her friend's attitude. Instead, she looked to a blond, blue eyed girl that sat in front of her, Hailey Morgan.
Picking up on the hint, Hailey smiles softly and began to speak, careful to keep her voice well below a whisper. "She's right, love. You have turned them all in. Well, all of them except the Muggle Studies one, that is." Upon seeing Lily's eyes widen and her mouth drop, Hailey's voice became flustered and nervous as she struggled to get the words out as quickly as possible as to not cause any grief to her friend. "Oh! Don't worry, Lils. No one's turned them in. It's one of those 'do it over the summer, hand it in next year' type things," she finished her speech, sending the red a reproachful look before returning to her homework.
The shallow breathing subsided, Lily turned back to Emmeline. She was always amazed at how different each of them were from the others. There was Emmeline, the…confident one. The Gryffindor sixth year had a reputation for breaking a lot of hearts among the class, as well as breaking a few hearts that we're in her house, nor were her age. Emmeline always carried an attitude on her shoulders. One of those 'I'm better than you, but you don't know it yet' attitudes that got on your nerves after a while. Lily had met Emmeline when they were in their second year. Lily was being picked on by a group of sixth year Slytherin who had taking turns splitting her bag. Emmeline stepped in and the two of them were able to successfully fire off some good hexes that sent the Slytherins running for the hospital wing. Ever since that day, Emmeline had stuck to Lily like glue.
Then there was Hailey, the quiet one. Hailey and Lily met on the train to Hogwarts in their first year. It wasn't a heroic, exciting story to tell like the one that involved Emmeline, but it made Lily crumble anyway. She remembered walking past Hailey in her compartment, sitting alone, watching the other students walk past in their already-established groups, the look of longing in her eyes. Feeling for the girl, Lily introduced herself and the rest was history. The two certainly were closer than Lily and Emmeline, or Hailey and Emmeline were and it would always be that way. They, however, were sure to include Emmeline in everything they did, for they loved her. Emmeline was Lily's fun-time friend and Hailey was Lily's friend on a deeper level. Lily's moment of reflection was interrupted by Emmeline's icy glance.
"What?" She snapped, to which Lily just shook her head.
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."
Elsewhere, outside near the lake, to be exact, a group of boys where playing a nice game of cat and mouse with the giant squid.
"Sirius, on your left!" A boy with untidy black hair, glasses and a lanky build shouted over his shoulder just as s tentacle emerged from the black window, threatening to come down upon another boy with longer, tidier black hair. The other boy looked to his left, a smirk playing across his gorgeous features.
"Got it!" He shouted back to the other boy, moving out of the way just before the tentacle came into contact with the ground, just feet from where he had stood previously. This time, it was his turn to call the shot. He looked around, keeping his eyes on the water. Soon enough, another tentacle emerged from the lake, this time, in front of a boy with sandy brown hair and a worn face. Sirius smiled, putting his hands to his mouth. "This one's yours, Remus!"
Remus Lupin, werewolf and intellect extraordinaire, raised his gaze, locking in on the tentacle. He moved as well, arriving at the side of James Potter, the boy with the messy hair. "Oh, yes, let's go outside and play with the squid. What fun, Jamesie!" The boy rolled his eyes, pushing to get the words out of his mouth as his breathing threatened to stop. It was apparent that they had been outside for quite some time. Though annoyed with his friends' choice, he understood that it was his turn to call the shots next. He scanned the lake, unable to hide the smile that appeared on his face as the silky white arm of the squid rose from the lake again. "Peter! Your turn!" All eyes focused on a stout boy with blond hair and a mouse-like face. Remus heard the sharp intake of breath on James's part as the tentacle swept in Peter's direction.
The boy quickly dodged the arm, landing on the ground inches from where her had stood. Suddenly, the four boys erupted in cheers and applause; it had been the first time that Peter had successful dodged the squid all day. The boy rose to his feet, smile spread upon his face and arms pumping in the air. Satisfied, the group retreated to a shady tree, well out of the squid's reach.
"Bloody fantastic, don't you think so Padfoot?" James Potter questioned, his eyes shining with excitement and adrenaline, while his forehead shone with the sweat from that afternoon's activities. He was breathing heavily and was obviously tired, but he wasted no time diving into conversation as the group took their seats under the tree's protective arms.
Sirius Black looked to his friend, nodding vigorously. "Of course! I came up with it. It's bound to be brilliant if it's an idea by Padfoot, mate," he smiled triumphantly, his enthusiasm met by several groans from the boys surrounding him. Remus, amused, looked to the boy, his brow raised in suspicion.
"So, I expect that upsetting the Fat Lady was an amazing choice on your part, wasn't it?" The group laughed, reminded of Sirius's latest escapade. The boy had decided to insult the Fay Lady, resulting in her refusing to let him into the common room, password of not. He spent his night asleep on the floor outside the portrait hole.
Sirius opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly silenced by James. "If I were you, Padfoot, I'd keep your mouth shut this time." Defeated, Sirius slumped back against the tree, arms crossed against his chest, earning another round of laughter from the three boys.
Peter Pettigrew, the mousy boy, was next to speak. "Did you guys finish all of your projects, yet? I still have Arithmancy, Divination, Transfiguration and Muggle Studies to finish…" His high-pitched voice was both thoughtful as well as curious as he spoke. Hearing the question, Sirius perked up again, always ready to outshine someone.
"Of course! Moony, Prongs and I are done. It didn't take very long, actually. Shorter than expected, but then again, I am Sirius Black," he puffed out his chest as he spoke, only to be pushed back down again by James.
"Actually, you're not done, Sirius," Remus began, his studious voice ringing clear through the noise of the after noon. "None of us are done. Our Muggle Studies projects have to be done over the summer in a real muggle environment, remember? We were told about it that day you and James decided to play Quidditch with balls of paper and pencils for beater's clubs."
"And Snape's head as the goal posts, don't forget that part, Moony!" Peter squeaked. Remus looked to him with a nod and a smile.
"Of course. What was it again? Ten points for every time you hit him in the back of the head, was it? Twenty points if the ball stuck to his hair, right?" Just as before, the group burst into a fit of laughter, the image of paper balls sticking to Snape's head too much for them to endure. As the laughter subsided, Sirius was still left with the prospect that he still had one more project to finish.
"You're kidding, right? What the hell are we supposed to do? A 'Muggle environment'? I think I'll die…" Dramatically, he slumped over, gasping for breath and holding his chest.
Remus ignored him, continuing to explain the project. "We're getting our assignments tomorrow, Padfoot. Now, if you would be so kind as to reincarnate yourself so we can go to dinner, I'd really appreciate it," she spoke with mild amusement, lifting himself off the ground with the rest of the students around them, Peter eagerly following; he couldn't resist the mention of food. In fact, the word 'food' meant almost as much to Peter as it did for James an Sirius.
James gave Sirius a sharp poke in the ribs before lifting himself off of the ground as well. "Come on, Mate. You can reincarnate yourself as a giant Snape-pecking bird if you wish." He smiled, wishing for a chance to see Sirius pecking Snape on the shoulder during dinner.
Sirius, on the other hand, had other plans. "Please, I'm not that dumb. I'd must rather be a Snape-eating shark, thanks!" He said gruffly as she brushed himself off, pushing past the group and heading for the doors that lead back into the castle, low growling noises erupting from his chest.
The other boys stood in awe for a few seconds, but quickly joined Sirius, choosing not to mention that a shark wouldn't survive on land, nor would they growl like a cat.
Author's Note;; See? Not the best, is it? It'll get better, I promise.
I'm also on the look out for a beta for this fic. If you're interested, let me know.
READ AND REVIEW, PEOPLE! I don't write these things for my health.