Day One
(Lily POV)
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"UGH! SOMEONE PLEASE TURN OFF THAT BLOODY RACKET?" Beside me, Marlene McKinnon rolled over in her sleep, done with her screaming, and let a small dap of drool spill out of her mouth.
I stifled my giggle and silenced the spell I set on my wand to wake us up. As usual, Alice Fortesque was happily bouncing around the room, collecting her things.
"Morning, Lily!" she chimed to me, a large smile stretched about on her face as she picked up her comb ad began running the device through her hair. And, same as every day for the past six years, she gave up as it got caught in her hair and smiled sheepishly at me.
"By any chance would you mind doing my hair?" And I, being the bestest friend ever, agreed to help her, like I did every day.
As I sat up and commanded her to sit in the chair in front of the mirror we had attached to the desk that had come with the room, I smiled and grabbed the comb from her outstretched hand.
While I ran the comb through Alice's hair, Marlene sleepily began to wake up and eventually trudged to the bathroom, where the commenced to begin singing... loudly. Wincing as I heard her hit the chorus of Hot Cauldron of Burning Love, I looked to Alice exasperatedly through the mirror.
"One of these days, she has to learn that she simply can not sing!"
Alice smiled and laughed merrily as I began to twist her hair into complicated braids, eventually knotting them perfectly in a little bun at the back of her head. Smiling at my handiwork, I let her up and began to pull on my uniform.
"What's she singing today?" came a groggy voice behind me. Looking back, I smiled at Dorcas Meadows.
"Hot Cauldron of Burning Love," I replied, rolling my eyes. Dorcas followed my action and slowly crawled out of bed.
Done with getting dressed, I finally faced the mirror and began brushing through my dark red wavy hair. I let it down for today, admiring the way it fell over my shoulders.
"...BURNING LOOOOOOOOVVVVVEEEEEEEEE!" Marlene finally finished, entering the room dressed in her uniform, then proceeded to drop herself into the chair Alice had recently evacuated. "Fix my hair, Lily Darling?" she asked, making her voice pouty.
I rolled my eyes and picked up my wand, silently drying her dark brown hair, then straightened it completely- just the way she liked it.
As I began to walk away, Marlene reached out and grabbed my hand. "Do you think I should cut it?" she asked, hesitantly fingering her waist-long hair.
I examined her facial expression, than her hair as I hesitantly nodded.
"Great, could you cut it? PRETTY PLEASE!"
Dorcas, behind her groaned and patted her stomach. Alice mimicked the action and sent me a pouting expression.
"Maybe after class," I said.
Marlene screamed in joy and jumped up, hugging me tightly. "THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK-"
"Yeah, yeah, we get it- Lily's a saint," Dorcas complained, "Can we go eat now?"
Smiling, I sent a small spell to her hair, making it perfectly curled. When it looked fine, I nodded, grabbed my bag, and was out the door before they even realized I had taken out my wand.
As I walked through the common room, I smiled and waved at many people I passed.
"LILY! WAIT FOR US!" cue Marlene. She waved her arms frantically while running to catch up with my long strides. "WOOPS SORRY, THERE, LITTLE GUY!" she cried as she knocked down a third year in her impatience to get to me. Sometimes I wonder why she's my best friend.
Oh yeah- free entertainment. Good stuff right there.
When she caught up to me, Marlene nudged my shoulder with her own and grinned cheekily.
"Here comes your own personal stalker," she whispered in my ear. I turned- which wasn't really necessary because I already knew who she was talking about. How many stalkers could a girl have?
James Potter. Member of the Marauders, most popular boy in school (probably most handsome too, but don't tell either him or Sirius I said that), and probably the most insufferable and annoying person I have ever met.
Many girls in the common room stared as he and his best friend, Sirius Black, made their way to where Marlene and I were standing.
Seeing that they were coming our way, I pushed Marlene through the entrance, almost knocking over a first year in my rush.
"Sorry- urgent getaway!" I cried back to the boy.
Behind me, Sirius barked with laughter- not unlike a dog- and said, "No need to apologize, Lily Flower, that's probably the most action the kid's ever gotten from a species of the opposite sex."
Despite our rush to get away from them, James and Sirius's long strides easily caught us, and by the time Sirius was done talking, they had caught up. Sirius, ever the case of an annoying prat, decided that was the best time to throw his arm over my shoulders and smile at me like he had probably smiled to many girls before me.
And I have to admit, Sirius and James were nowhere near ugly. Sirius must have been graced with lucky genes because I have seen his brother and trust me- they do not look related. With mischievous grey eyes and a crooked grin, Sirius had no trouble getting any girls he wanted. Not to mention his elegantly messy black hair that always seemed to fall in just the perfect way to make girls swoon.
But trust me; I was not one of those girls.
Sirius was more like my annoying brother who wouldn't go away. Only he seemed to encourage his best friend to go out with me, not leave me alone.
That leads me to James Potter: warm hazel eyes, tanned and toned skin (don't ask me how I know the toned part- totally different story), and dark messy hair that he always seemed to run his hands through (making it even more messy giving him the look that he either just got out of bed or got off his broom).
They were both part of the marauders, which contained four boys in out year- Peter Pettigrew (who is both gross and creepy- honestly, I don't understand why they hang out with him, but hey, who am I to judge?), Remus Lupin (who is the kindest guy I know, despite the fact that many people believe that werewolves are vicious creatures), Sirius Black, and James Potter.
Marlene smacked Sirius for his rude comment to the poor first year and glared at him. "You didn't have to be so mean- he was only a first year, you git!"
Marlene has hated Sirius ever since he snogged her in third year, then claimed he was too drunk to know it was her. I couldn't blame her, but I knew that he had only been joking around with the comment.
"Ouch, that hurt me, Marls, that hurt me right here!" Sirius dramatically pointed to his chest and I smiled slightly. He was such an idiot- but he was an adorable idiot, you had to admit to that.
"Ok, Pads, you can let go of my girl now," James Potter said, running a hand through his hair and smiling charmingly.
I glared at him and caught Sirius's arm as he was taking it off my shoulders.
"I'm not your girl, Potter; I'm not an object that someone can win as a prize! Just stop acting as if you own me!" I yelled, glaring viciously.
I dropped Sirius's arm dramatically and hauled Marlene off with me, smiling slightly at the dumbstruck look of the two boys.
"I will never understand women," Sirius muttered behind us.
Once we were out of hearing range (which took a while because they kept on walking), Marlene and I burst into giggles.
"They are such idiots!" Marlene exclaims. I nodded; too busy laughing to say anything. Holding onto Marlene for support, I wiped the tears from my eyes.
Those two could never tell when a girl was just messing with them.
"Come on, I am STARVING now!" I cried, pulling Marlene hungrily towards the doors to the Great Hall, where I could smell the odors of the delicious breakfast awaiting me.
"Oh my gosh- Lily! Over there, look! Carson is so staring at you! Well, not like a bunch of other guys aren't, but seriously!" Marlene suddenly whispered into my ear as I headed towards Gryffindor table where our friends were waiting, probably confused as to why we got there after them when we were so far ahead of them before.
I looked towards Ravenclaw table and sure enough, there was Carson, staring intently at me. When he saw I caught him, he smiled and waved, then went to talk to one of his quidditch friends beside him.
I shrugged my shoulders at Marlene, and then loaded my plate with French toast with maple syrup, bacon, sausage, and scrambled eggs. What? I was hungry.
"Morning, Lily," came a light voice from my right. I quickly swallowed my last bite of French toast, and then turned to smile at Remus Lupin.
"Hi, Remus! Morning to you too!" I said brightly. Then, upon seeing his appearance, I whispered, "Is it close to that time?"
He nodded slightly and murmured, "Tomorrow."
I nodded. "I'll get you some chocolate and the potion," I said, smiling at him. I've known about Remus's 'furry little problem' since second year, when I was reading through my DADA book and saw a section on werewolves.
Ever since then, I had tried to help him in every way I could. I always gave him chocolate (because it helps everything, duh!) and once I heard about the Wolfsbane potion that was supposed to help with the transformation, I started brewing that for him too.
"So, who did their Transfiguration essay yet?" Dorcas asked, smiling sheepishly. We all looked over at her.
"The one due today?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow. She cowered slightly and nodded. I rolled my eyes at her.
"Yeah, I'm sure everyone got it done, sweetheart," I said, my lips twitching.
"Here, take mine- just make sure you change some of the words so she doesn't think you cheated," Alice said, reaching into her bag, then producing her extensive essay on animagus. It was almost as long as mine.
"Who's cheating?" asked Sirius, sliding into the seat beside Alice- across from me. "You naughty things," he said, shaking his head- but his cheeky smile betrayed him, making it sound more like he was making an innuendo.
"Shut it, Black," Marlene snapped, her back stiffening as she saw her ex-boyfriend walk by... with his girlfriend.
I nudged her affectionately, silently saying: it's ok, you got me.
I could tell she was glad. But Sirius didn't have time to say anything else because James and Peter got there that very second, sliding in to the group easily- well, Peter was kind of out there, but who really cares? Well, I guess Peter would...
Just then, the mail came as a flurry of owls throughout the whole hall, breaking off any discussion we were going to have.
I had one fall in front of me and I went to grab the little pink paper attached to the leg, but then I saw that it was a stack of pink papers with just one small note on the front on the only sheet of white paper there. It read:
Dear Lily,
Please hand out one copy of these pink papers to everyone in Gryffindor house. Thanks and hope you enjoy!
Signed,
No One you need to worry about.
I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion, but then saw one person from each house with the same stack of pink papers.
Shrugging, I waved my wand and levitated a piece of paper to each person in Gryffindor.
Looking at my own, I saw the title and was immediately weary.
THE NOTE
THE PERFECT GUIDE TO FINDING THE SCOOP ON ALL
THE HOTTEST PEOPLE IN HOGWARTS!
Hello fellow Hogwarts students! This is the perfect gossiping paper you have all dreamed about! Here you will learn about the latest in the lives of the most popular people in Hogwarts- yes that includes the teachers! For the first order of business, I would like a shout out to all the people who got the letter I sent out earlier this week (I have no idea who go them, I just told random owls to bring them to 50 random students) and responded telling me who they thought were the most popular and the hottest people at our school! First up are the girls (this only goes to number FIVE, ladies!)
1) Lily Evans (no surprise there, right- all people sent her back as hottest and most popular, so CONGRADULATIONS, LILY EVANS!)
2) Arianna Wood (come on guys, you have to admit: sporty and pretty- whole package right there! she, like Lily Dearest, came back as second for both hottest and most popular in every paper I sent out! CONGRADULATIONS ARIANNA WOOD!)
3) Marlene McKinnon (so sent back as the third most popular, but not the third hottest- she was the forth hottest, but whatever: CONGRADULATIONS)
4) Dorcas Meadows (sent back as the third hottest- an actual shocker for me, but oh well- but she was the forth most popular and I was going by that- sorry sweetie but CONGRADULATIONS anyway!)
5) Alice Fortesque (total sweetheart, you are! I have actually talked to you and you are probably the number one sweetest person I have ever met! But you weren't voted as fifth hottest, but definitely fifth most popular and as I said before, that's what I was going by! -the fifth hottest was Stephanie Deryl... I must have gotten this paper to a few horny fifth years!)
Ok, I had to admit that was both flattering and funny. I looked over at Marlene, who was laughing hysterically- she hated Stephanie Deryl (aka: the girl that her ex-boyfriend cheated on her with, then continued to date after Marlene broke up with him).
Ok, now for the boys!
1) Sirius Black (totally not a shocker- come on, guys, you got to admit, this guy is seriously sexy! That aside, he was actually tied with #2 for most popular, but one vote ahead for hottest, so I took that one! Sorry #2! I LOVE YOU BOTH!)
2) James Potter (oh yeah, real shocker here! -note the sarcasm, please! - Charming, sexy, and smart! Someone get me a fan! CONGRADULATIONS, JAMES POTTER!)
3) Carson Darrols (everyone voted this Ravenclaw hottie for number three in the whole school! he is also most likely love-sickly staring at Lily Evans- same as James Potter, but what's so different than that! OOOOH, you better watch out Lily Flower! I know pretty much every guy in the school must already love you, but really girl- this male attention is just not fair! CONGRADULATIONS CARSON DARROLS!)
4) Remus Lupin (most likely the sweetest guy you will ever meet! I was passing by when I saw him helping to pick up this huge mess a first year created when they dropped their bag and their entire ink bottle shattered- then he comforted the poor girl! I don't know about you guys, but Remus Lupin happens to be one of my favorite guys in this whole school -and I really do love the guys at this school- CONGRADULATIONS TO REMUS LUPIN!)
5) Amos Diggory (So I don't know how this guy got on this paper as the fifth hottest and most popular guy at Hogwarts since HE'S A TOTAL JERK! YOU FREAKIN GIT! YOU JUST BREAK UP WITH ANY OL' GIRL BECAUSE SHE WON'T SLEEP WITH YOU, YOU- ok, never mind, I'm not even going to talk about this...)
ANYWAY, ONWARDS TO THE GOSSIP!
Point One: I think many people will agree with me when I tell Sirius Black that his chewing with his mouth open is highly gross and he could really stop it! ...but I guess he's still pretty sexy...
Point Two: I just recently caught said sexy, messy eater Sirius Black having a rather close conversation with one Lily Evans the other day and it seemed to me that they were getting pretty cozy with each other! - What do you think guys? Is there something there? Are they just friends? Friends with benefits, maybe? I do think they would be soooo cute together but, sorry Sirius darling, I like James and Lily together much better! What if you all start fighting over her? I think I am in agreance with many of the girls in our school when I say that it would be a damn shame if either of you got hurt- but then again, I also saw the eyes of Carson Darrols and Amos Diggory on Lily Evans as well! Oh, that sounds dramatic! ...Especially when Amos Diggory has a girlfriend. Oh poor Lily Evans! Whatever shall happen to the girl who captivates so many hearts of the wizarding community? Stay tuned, folks!
Point Three: Marlene McKinnon looked pretty hot and close with a certain Hufflepuff Seeker the other day-cough Gilderoy cough Lockhart cough-! Could this turn into something more? Are they together already? Is this all just a plan to make McKinnon's ex (Marcus Sterling) jealous? By the looks she's been getting lately from him, I can tell he wants her back. But what was the cause of their dramatic break up, anyway? Was it centered on Marcus's current girlfriend, Stephanie Deryl? Oh goodness the drama of it all!
Point Four: I would just like to remind Peter Pettigrew that boobs are not foreign delicacies, so he should stop staring at every girls' as if they are going to disappear any minute- trust me, boy, you most likely are not going to be getting any of that any time soon! ...no offense or anything, it's just annoying when I look over and you're staring at mine, then look over again and you're staring at someone else's- I'm not going to name her in the fear that you will be hunted down...
WELL, THAT'S ALL FOR NOW! UNTIL NEXT TIME!
WITH LOVE,
Wouldn't you like to know my name?
I stared at the pink parchment for a second before looking up around me. For once the whole Great Hall was silent as they soaked up everything in the pink letter. Was I really the hottest and most popular girl in Hogwarts? No, this had to be some kind of prank! ...Right?
"Pete... Whose grapes were you looking at?" Sirius asked the boy sitting beside him in bewilderment.
And just like that, the whole Great Hall was erupted in laughter.