Chapter 1: The Start of Something New Here
"Oh Alice! What if I don't want to go to that god-awful party? Huh?" Lily protested, watching Alice fret around her bedroom, trying to locate her sandals.
"Well Lily, you're stuck with me. And Frank will be there!" Alice replied, then smirked. "And who knows? There may be someone interesting over there…"
"Huh?"
"Boys, Lily. Boys," Alice laughed and shook her head. "Oh Lils…"
Lily glared at her best friend who chuckled and bent down to check under the computer desk. "Here they are!" she exclaimed, her beige shoes discovered. Sighing, Lily feigned reading her novel, instead staring at the text without absorbing it. It wasn't that she hated parties; she liked going out, but Alice's continuous attempts to match her up with every boy she met became exhausting after a while. And honestly, she wasn't sure about changing schools.
She was going to attend Hogwarts High in the fall, a change from her all-girl Beauxbatons Academy, founded by a French aristocrat, Madame Maxime. She and Alice had been attending the private institution for 5 years, and were supposed to enter their 6th year. But, due to a sudden move for her mum's job, Lily was going to Hogwarts, the public high school in Gryffindale, thirty kilometers from Ravenbourg, where she currently lived. It was going to be hard leaving Alice, and even harder adjusting as a junior.
Sighing, she placed her novel on the side table and stood, entering her closet. "Fine. I'm coming," she announced to her companion.
Shrieking in glee for a moment, Alice grabbed a dress from the chair and rushed to Lily, stuffing it into the girl's arms. "Here! I've already picked out a dress for you!"
"Why am I not surprised..." Lily muttered, audible enough for her to hear.
"You shouldn't be" Alice replied wittily, heading out of the room to change in the bathroom. Lily held the dress in front of her to inspect it. It was pretty nice. She locked the door and changed.
Alice came back in minutes later, sauntering up to the makeup table where Lily already sat, brushing her thick auburn hair. "Oh Lily, that looks so pretty on you!" Alice squealed, a wide grin painted on her face. She took a comb and started to untangle her short brown locks.
Rolling her eyes - but smiling - Lily finished her hair, leaving it down and getting up from the chair. She flung herself back onto her bed, grabbing her book. She had put on a simple dress: a high-low that had straps; it was cream-colored with a floral print. After Alice had finished her light makeup, she picked up her purse and beckoned to her friend, and together, they put on their footwear and left the bedroom.
…
Alice parked her car in the beach parking lot and the two girls exited and walked down to the beach, where a large bonfire was already going, teenagers chatting around it, drinks in hand.
"I can't wait to see Frank!" Alice exclaimed.
"You've been saying that for the past half hour!" Lily giggled, shaking her head at her friend's antics.
Frank was Alice's boyfriend who she had had for a year. They were positively infatuated with each other. Frank was about six feet tall, with light brown hair, dimples, and a lovely smile Alice just adored. He could be the boyish person he was, and he could get serious when needed. Though Frank lived in Gryffindale, they had a strong relationship, and today he had invited Alice and Lily to the town bonfire gathering, where most people there were attending Hogwarts High.
The two approached a tent on the beach near the fire where some people were grilling burgers and chilling. Locating her boyfriend, whose back was turned to the girls while he stood chatting, Alice began to sneakily tip-toe towards the unsuspecting teenager. Lily grinned at Alice's idea and walked slowly towards Frank as well, following and watching her friend. Alice suddenly sprung, wrapping her arms around his torso tightly as she hugged him, squealing.
"WHAT TH-" Frank started, turning his head around rapidly, but he stopped when he saw the grinning girl. Face breaking into a beam, Frank laughed and grabbed Alice, spinning her around a little, and planted a kiss on her rosy lips. "Didn't expect you to do that, Alice!" he exclaimed.
"I'm full of surprises," she replied cheekily. Chuckling, he noticed the smiling redhead and came up to her, hugging her.
"Good to see you, Lily," he greeted warmly.
"Nice seeing you again, too," she replied. He smiled and then pulled her hand as well as Alice's to the interior of the tent.
"Doesn't this place look absolutely smashing?" he asked happily. The two girls looked around, noting the grills with their heavy aroma, as well as the group of boys roughhousing in the waters, the gathering of girls roasting marshmallows around the fire, the karaoke machine setup where two boys were making a complete fool of themselves, amused smiles plastered on their faces, and couples enjoying the ocean.
"You guys really outdid yourselves!" Alice complimented. Frank smiled and kissed her again. Lily eyed the two, who were now… busy with each other, and left the snogging pair to explore.
….
"LEAN ON ME!" he yelled into the mic, enjoying his best mate's expression as he cringed at his voice. "When you're not strong!"
"And I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on!" The spectacled boy to his right continued, still recovering from his friend's "singing".
Before the "talented", handsome teenager could continue, a corpulent boy marched over to the outlet installed in the platform and promptly yanked the plug out of the socket, sighing in relief when the machine turned off.
"OI! That was uncalled for!" the screamer cried out in rage. "I was doing pretty brill until you ruined it!"
"It was necessary, as anyone in earshot would lose their hearing," the short boy replied, smirking.
"Fine then! If no one appreciates my spectacular singing talent, I'll leave! But don't come crying to me to sing again when little James over here screws up!" the boy said. He jumped off the small wooden stage and crossed his arms, his face in a haughty expression.
"No one appreciates your "singing" Sirius," James commented, and then smirked, saying "well, no one but those girls over there." Sirius looked at the group and winked, which the girls noticed and proceeded to giggle and smile flirtatiously at him.
Sighing, James looked around the beach, enjoying the view. Sirius didn't even like singing, but it did attract birds… That was just Sirius's thinking, being the guy that he was. Shaking his head, he observed the scenery when all of a sudden, his hazel eyes locked onto a figure walking near the stage, wandering around. He studied her. She's definitely not from here, he thought. Then, he started to really notice her.
Her auburn hair was long, and framed a pale heart-shaped face. She was chewing at her rosy lip as her emerald eyes flicked around, observing Sirius and the girls with a slight shake of her head. She was… simply breathtaking. He continued to watch the girl, smiling involuntarily at her ambling. Even when his mate returned from flirting, he was still watching her.
Sirius cocked his head to the side, observing him while signaling to Peter, who just shrugged. Sirius looked where he was, and noticed the wandering redhead. Smirking, he decided to frighten her. Sauntering over, ignoring James' sudden protest as he realized his intentions, he came up to her and spoke quietly, "Boo."
Spinning around swiftly, Lily saw a tall raven-haired boy smirking and relaxed.
"Haven't seen you before," Sirius commented.
"Oh! You wouldn't have. I'm Lily," she replied.
"Sirius" he spoke. Glancing back at his best mate, who was eyeing them while running a hand through his already messy black hair, Sirius decided to have a little fun.
Yanking Lily's hand, he pulled her towards the stage and his shocked mate, eyes wide as he glared at him. Chuckling, he escorted (more like pushed) Lily up the three steps, and onto the platform. He signaled to Peter, who understood and turned on the karaoke machine. Grabbing the two microphones and handing one to each nervous teenager, he said slyly "You guys will be thanking me for this." He stepped down and cued for the music to start. Peter turned it up and a tune had started.
Well then, Lily thought, you do always end up in the most awkward of situations.… Nice going. Ignoring her thoughts, she recognized the tune and glanced over at the tall boy. He was staring at her in shock, his eyes clouded with confusion and… something else. She couldn't quite place it, though. Smiling weakly at her companion, she clasped the microphone tightly, waiting for him to start.
What the hell had Sirius done? James though, panicking. The pretty redhead was right next to him, and he had frozen momentarily at the shock of her. Mentally face-palming himself and hoping that he wouldn't mess up, he started to sing.
Living in my own world, didn't understand.
That anything can happen, if you take a chance.
Inhaling deeply, Lily summoned her nonexistent courage and sang.
I never believed in what I couldn't see… I never opened my heart, to all of the possibilities.
Startled, James stared at the girl next to him, shocked. She had such a gorgeous voice, and he fell deeper into some foreign emotion. Sirius stopped his flirting and spun around, watching the redhead with shock and awe. Didn't know she had in her…. he thought, and abandoning his conversation with a brunette, he watched her sing and James' shock with humor.
Together, they sang.
I know…
That something has changed
Lily smiled.
Never felt this way!
And right here tonight,
This could be the start of something new! It feels so right, to be here with you, oh!
James' and Lily's eyes locked as they sang, the world a blurry memory, as they were in their own world.
And now looking in your eyes,
I feel in my heart,
The start of something new!
They sang melodiously. Lily let out a nervous giggle, staring into the boy's hazel eyes, framed by wire spectacles, while he stared into her emerald ones, both in awe. A small crowd had gathered in front of the platform, dancing and cheering for them. As they kept singing, they kept grinning at each other, as James often ran his hand through his hair and Lily blushed. When they finished the duet, the crowd erupted into cheers and shouts, and an especially loud wolf whistle from Sirius as Peter clapped in joy.
Letting out a chuckle, James looked at her and shouted "James!" over the noise.
"Lily!" she replied loudly, a smile just as wide as his painted across her face. They both leapt off the stage, and the crowd congratulated them.
"LILY!" Alice screamed, hugging her suddenly in a tight embrace. "That was amazing!"
"Thanks" she replied in joy. Looking around, she tried to locate her singing partner in vain. Deciding to find him after, she embraced an excited Frank and lots of strangers.
"Well, I didn't expect that from you darling," Sirius said laughing. Lily spotted him near her in the mob and came close to him, smiling.
"I don't think I expected that either," she replied. "Where is-"
"Oh, James! A certain redhead is searching for you!" Sirius shouted into the crowd, getting his best mate's attention. As they were taller than most of the teenagers, Sirius could find him immediately, besides the fact that they had known each other for 10 years and it was difficult to miss James' messy head of hair. Whipping around, he saw Sirius' grin and his heart sped up. Her. He pushed himself through the already dying crowd and reached the two.
"I'll leave you two, then," Sirius said jovially, and with a wink to James, he strolled away.
Ruffling his hair, James cleared his throat and looked at the redhead, whose hair was a little tousled from the crowd earlier and with her sparkling green eyes. Gulping nervously, he said "So, that was some singing up there."
Laughing, Lily replied "Yeah, I guess so. We did well, didn't we?"
"Yes. We-" James said, a small smile on his face at her words. "I haven't seen you around before."
"You wouldn't have. I'm from Ravenbourg. My friend's boyfriend Frank invited us."
"Oh, so that's where the mystery bird is from!" he exclaimed.
Lily stared in confusion. "What?"
"Frank never told us anything about his girl before, just that he had one."
"Oh," she said. "And you're from Gryffindale, right?"
"Yep," he confirmed, smiling. "Hey, do you want to-"
Suddenly, a loud crack of lightning shattered the peaceful conversations on the beach and it started to pour.
"Shit!" James exclaimed. "Come on!" he said, and grabbed Lily's slender arm, pulling her with him to the tent, where everyone was taking cover. Taking a newspaper on one of the picnic tables, James whacked Sirius' head with the rolled up paper playfully. "I thought you confirmed no rain tonight!"
"I did!" Sirius growled back, a thoughtful gleam in his eyes. "The weather channel reported no rain, so I don't know." Turning back to Lily, who was observing the rain and the dead bonfire, James spoke.
"What school do you go to?" he asked, curious.
Turning to face him, she replied "Beauxbatons." He nodded in recognition, and she continued. "I'm actually attending-"
All of a sudden, Alice came up next to Lily. "We should go." Lily looked at her in confusion.
"Why?"
Sighing, Alice answered. "As much as I don't want to leave, we should. It's probably going to keep raining for the rest of the night, so there's no point staying. And it's getting late as well."
Lily nodded in agreement. "You're right." Smiling politely at James, Alice left to wish Frank goodbye.
She was already leaving? James was disappointed slightly. He got an idea, and inquired, "Can I have your number?"
Lily looked at him, and with a slight blush that was fortunately concealed by the night, she said "Sure." They exchanged numbers. "So I guess this is goodbye," she stated.
"Yeah," he said, a tinge of sadness in his tone.
Waving, she turned around and ran to the car, where Alice was already waiting, and they left. The whole ride home, Lily pondered. He was certainly something. He could sing. He was nice. He was good-looking. And he was just… something.