For Train Rides Could Never be Longer
She tried applying as much force as she could muster , but the trunk would not budge , it seemed to be as stubborn about staying as she was about leaving .
"Bloody MULE!" she yelled
"Let me help you there , Lils"
"Thanks Danny" she said breathlessly
Danielle, being Lily's best and oldest friend , smiled and dismissed the matter. She was a very polite girl. She was also , fascinated with rebelling against anything and everything that was put down as a stereotype , or unwritten rule.
Once in grade school , the teacher had let it 'accidentally' slip that good girls baked cookies (obviously in the hope that this comment would motivate some of the insecure youths into actually putting the dammed cookie batter in the oven). This did not have the desired effect on Danielle, much to the teachers' dismay, the 'turd-of-a-child' had dumped the cookie batter on her foot and ran away screaming bloody murder. Poor professor has never been the same, since , wizard grade school is much different from muggle, instead of the cookie batter harmlessly (although grossly) slide through the woman's plump toes, 'Madam Mitsfy's Magical Misfit Chocolate Chip Cookie Batter' had turned her already oversized foot an unbecoming shade of puke-green, with quite unpleasant violet undertones (not to mention the foot was now the size of a dragon's) .
Yes , well , Danielle Weasley was a very special girl, she loved to keep up with her families traditions , she'd told Lily so the first time they ever met .Lily had taken offence at this(since she knew Danielle's family were purebloods) and told Danielle that she was muggle-born , she'd been quite shocked though , when Danielle had broken into a dazzling smile and stated "Even better , my parents will absolutely adore you". The Weasleys were a family whom , according to Danielle, "Had fame for being a bunch of mud-blood lovers and blood traitors". Lily disregarded the common opinion of the Weasleys , and marveled at Danielle's family. They were the kindest purebloods she had ever dreamed of meeting , of course , that was something else the Weasleys rebelled against , purebloods were supposed to be arse-wipes.
"No prob, why didn't you just levitate it? We are still allowed to do magic here , you know" Danny said , clearly perplexed.
Lily slapped her palm to her forehead.
"I'm really not smart , ya know" she said after Danielle stopped laughing.
" 'course ya are" smiling , a bit sadly she added "I'm sorry about this summer , Lils , you know I would love for you to stay with us, right?"
" Of course I do , Danny ! You've apologized three thousand times!"
" Yeah well , just making sure you heard me the first two thousand ninety nine times"
They laughed, Lily , looking at her still pitying friend said,
"Seriously , Danny , it's aright, mum'll be thrilled anyway , she's been sending me letters with tear streaks on them ….ridiculous , really. Though the tear streaks could be Petunias' I'm sure she isn't ecstatic to see her 'FREAK THAT HAD TO HAVE BEEN BORN ON ANOTHER PLANET' sister keeping her company all summer, after all , I'm not even sure if that goop wore off yet , I figured one does not ask that sort of thing in letters"
Both girls were in gales of laughter, every time it died down a bit ,one would have some sort of animal-like giggle and they would be at it again.
They remembered the events of their fifth year summer, very vividly , actually. Danielle had not been able to stay half the summer with her older brother , Arthur ( whom had been busy getting his degree in Muggle Studies) had spent the time with Lily and her family. Her mother had been excessively content with the idea , filling the weeks before Danny's arrival with eccentric cleaning , while spending the weeks after it compulsively feeding the poor girl. Lily's father , as usual , had been silent , although the aura that followed the usually eerie quiet was different , somehow approving , speculative but overall , anxious. He loved to see his daughter happy. Lily's parents had been wonderful , they had their quirks as every other adult did , occasionally overfeeding or causing awkward silences after asking things like "so.. how is your boyfriend?" or ... " look at her in that picture! She was such a scandalous little thing, flashing her bum at everyone who passed us , she didn't bother to tell me I had forgotten to put her knickers on" .
Petunia though, loathed the idea, which was small surprise to all , really. She spent that summer practicing favorite phrases such as " One freak is enough" or throwing a fit down the staircases about how Lily and her freak-friend (yes , original , I know) had poisoned her into kissing a toad on her bed stool, while Lily made the same journey saying that just because she had kissed Vernon Dursley , it did not mean she had given her any poison , it only explained that Petunia had gone completely bonkers in their Dad's pipe smoke. In her opinion , Pet' could not have been more loud ,ignorant , arrogant or obnoxious.
Danny and Lily had mutely decided to truly give Petunia something to scream about . Deciding on something simple , the pair figured they should sabotage her shampoo , simple , yes , yet effective. While purchasing their school supplies in Diagon Alley , they had stopped at a local beauty shop and bought 'Madam Mitsfy's HAIR LOCK' ( Danny had blindly trusted the woman after her life changing experience) thinking it was perfect for the occasion. Hoping the potion worked as well as it advertised , they had poured half it's contents in Petunia's shampoo , the other half in her conditioner ( no chances for failure) .
" Madam Mitsfy's HAIR LOCK , guarantees (after considerable smothering ) you will be dancing centuries of balls with that perfect hair you worked so hard on .literally." the mischievous pair had read that night , after hearing Petunia announce to the household she would be bathing for the next hour , since Verny would be picking her up in two , and she wanted to wash her hair.
Well, they had much fun that summer, dancing in daises , smelling them , and sneezing them back in place, remembering with merry laughter how the potion wasn't as reliable as it claimed , but for their purpose , it had functioned better than either could have imagined. 'HAIR LOCK' had turned a horrid shade of bubble gum peach after a couple of hours of smothering , it had become so hard …well , a soccer ball had hit Pet's head one day… and a week later , it had barely shifted it's position on her skull. Lily and Danielle had received stern punishments from Mrs. Evans , although in their opinion , any deed was worth the pain , they only wished they could have seen dear old Verny's mug when he'd caught sight of Pet's new hair style.
"Arthur says he'll be able to come with us to Switzerland ( since our family can only do this kind of thing once in a while) but under the condition that we let Molly come with us , I don't believe mum minds , she practically wet herself when Arthur asked that girl to marry him , of excitement .Now she'll be insufferable …. Lils? Are you listening?"
Lily had been looking out the window of the compartment , it was foggy and stained , they had just passed Hogsmeade and she was dreaming of the summer to come and her mum's roast beef , she could almost taste it.
"Huh? Oh! No…sorry"
" Anything in particular I am being ignored for? Anyone?" Danny raised her brows expectantly.
Lily laughed " Ummm , yes actually , Mum's roast beef" Danielle joined in, tossing her short hair out of her eyes.
Lily always thought her friend was beautiful when she laughed , something she rarely did with anyone besides Lily , also something some Witch-Weekly reporter-lovers had deemed romantic suicide. Danny had intense electric blue eyes , that always seemed to be analyzing something you did not see or understanding some joke you were oblivious to. Her short brown hair , whom she referred to as 'hay smeared with dung' colored, had a lot more volume to it than was usual , (although it did favor the girl) Danny swore it was some spell Arthur had done while still in Hogwarts that had gone completely haywire , having kept her in bed with , instead of swollen hair , a swollen brain. She claimed that the volume of her hair was a result of the immense amount of static her huge brain produced. Lily doubted it , and told her so , which Danny had dismissed as "you simply do not have enough of an open mind" tapping her head knowingly.
"Wonder what she'll put in the stuffing this year…" Lily said reminiscing
" Stop that Lily, one would start to believe that Black finally rubbed off on you" Danielle stated jokingly.
"What!" Lily said clutching the left side of her robes as if mortally wounded , or offended "Never! If you say that , then you are one of THEM"
"Them?" Danny asked confusedly
"Yes! Them !" Lily looked around as if crazed " You are now a traitor and FIEND! ON GUARD" Lily yelled pulling out a quill from her inside pocket.
"NO! Don't!" Danielle whimpered
" 'Should have thought of that before you betrayed me Wesley! ON GUARD!"
Lily jumped on Danielle , tackling her to the floor of their compartment , madly tickling her with her quill, until Danny yelled .
"What?" Lily asked , worried
"HA!" Danny screamed triumphantly, now taking out her own quill.
Neither noticed the stifled snickers from two boys under an invisibility cloak , they were having too much fun .
The boys were having their own conversation .
"This is wrong , Padfoot"
"Oh shut it ! I for one would never believe you to be a Marauder , Prongs"
" No one would care what you had to say anyway , Padfoot , accept it "
"Yeah well… back to the present issue!"
"Which was what exactly?"
"It was ..ah…um" Sirius furrowed his brow , looking very handsome almost puke-worthy so "well….It'll come back to me I suppose"
"It never com-"
He hadn't been able to finish his sentence , Lily having hurtled herself on Danielle , simply stunning him and Sirius into silence.
" See , Prongs? You would never get to see this side of Lily if you weren't spying on her" Sirius whispered fiercely in his ear.
"Well , that's encouraging !" James said sarcastically
"Stop being so bloody sensitive!" he muttered angrily " I think I'm going to fix this bizarre pairing" Sirius said diabolically , drumming his long fingers together.
"What!" James whispered back , scared
"Nothing to worry about, I will just give you two some alone time"
"Or get some alone time with the real reason you brought me here" James said , finishing his thought .
Sirius smiled wickedly "stay under here" he said casually "until you think it's the right time to come out , give you a hint , wait until she is so bored, she will even talk to you"
Before James could change his mind , Sirius was out of the invisible barrier. Before making his entrance, he decided to check his appearance once more , and for the two hundred twenty-fifth time that day , took out his pocketed mirror (one which he would never admit to owning) which was a lively shade of pink , him having stolen it from an innocent five-year old the summer past. With that done , and a favoring swish of robes , Sirius opened the compartment door he had been spying on for the past fifteen minutes , and said
"Helloooo there, you lovely vixens, I was just passing by ..you know….patrolling…. and I heard a loud comment about roast beef" glancing in Danielle's direction , he added "couldn't resist"
"Ah , of course" Lily said humorously
"Black"
"Weasley… last name basis now are we?"
"Always have been , Black"
"Ah… is it imperative?"
Lily raised her eyebrows , " word of the week Sirius?" she asked jokingly
He smiled , "No actually , it's my word of the month …took me a while that one did" letting out a hardy laugh.
Danielle sat there , awkwardly looking out the dingy window, Lily and Sirius had never been on bad terms , boding over the infatuation James had on her , but she was never in on it. In fact , I didn't want to be ….Black is an annoying prick in my back side , she told herself , then she felt blood rush to her cheeks as she over-analyzed what she had been thinking.
Lily glanced at her friend , she was glaring at the window , again , Danny always seemed to be glaring at a random object when Sirius was around. She knew Danny had a bit of a crush on him ( Like very other female in Hogwarts , except Lily of course) , although she wouldn't admit it under horrendous torture, not even to Lily .But Lily figured it out , how could she have not? She spent every waking moment with the girl , (except the occasional bathroom trip , or summer vacations). Lily noticed when Danny's ears would perk up , much like a dogs , when Sirius announced his monthly candidates for trips to Hogsmeade and secret meetings in the room of requirement , and cursed his name to the abyss when her name wasn't called , announcing him a superficial git and womanizer.
" Nothing to interest you here , I'm afraid, we ate it all" Danielle said , wakening from her stupor.
" Yeah well , there are other things that interest me…." Giving her a shameless gaze.
Their eye contact seemed to make the air around them crackle. Lily determinately faded into the background.
"Since there is no …interest… here you want to accompany me to get some?" Sirius asked
Danielle gave him a confused look, he laughed "Do you want to go get something to eat?" he inquired again, sparing Lily an I-will-murder-you look when she opened her mouth to reply.
"Oh!" Danielle exclaimed , as if that had been the furthest thing from her mind "Now you sound more like yourself, Black…why not , I have been craving some 'Exploding Excrements' , you think she has those?"
Sirius positively blinded them with his beaming smile "Of COURSE she does!" he yelled.
Danielle laughed , then stopped suddenly , remembering there was someone else in the room , "You want anything Lils?" she said it forcefully, saying more, DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT SAYING ANYTHING , or I'll rip your head off and use it as a chamber pot!
Sirius tended his hand out for Danny to grope , Lily was surprised to see , more on the tending than the groping, but she had sat down next to the window gloomily , and the new-found lovers had only eyes for each other's bums, so noticed nothing interesting about Lily's gape and left without a wave.
When the lovebirds rounded the corner of Lily's compartment (yes it was now Lily's , Danny had been excluded from ownership privileges completely) she made a very rude gesture to their retreating backs , quickly dashing back into her compartment , for fear of having been seen , she was a prefect after all, perhaps for this reason she didn't notice the rather loud snickers coming from no where in particular.
…
It had been about fifteen minutes since Danielle had decided to abandon her to the vultures. Lily silently cursed Sirius Black for stealing her only form of entertainment, then cursed herself for not being more social. She could not get over the initial shock that Danny would actually leave her for Black's ever shifting attention.
Merlin, I am just so bored! I never thought it would be possible…this is torturous! She thought .
"I am happy for her" she told herself , out loud (perhaps just to hear a voice in the now seemingly endless compartment) then she scolded herself for her sarcastic tone of voice.
She flung herself on the long seat, she noted the leather was pealing , she made a mental note to never be this bored again because it made her think like her mother. Suddenly she decided she could not stand the sight of the compartment seat and turned face up so she was facing the ceiling. She found herself searching the cracked (and peeling) once-white-now-some-color-resembling-turd paint for familiar faces , THIS IS RIDICULOUS! ARGGGGGGG- she was snatched from her furious thoughts by a clearing of throat.
Her prayers were answered ,by a rather ironic higher being, no? YES she thought bitterly, after seeing who exactly had so smugly trotted into her compartment and seen her desperately bored expression.
"Lily! Always a pleasant visit"
"Potter" she said cautiously, she didn't miss the sudden change from 'Evans' to 'Lily', she had to admit she liked last name basis better , it kept the conversation comfortable, (in her opinion) and as an added plus , made her feel cool .
"Mind if I sit?" he asked gesturing to the empty seat in front of her, the part that wasn't taken up by Danielle's gigantic bull frog.
'Peti' , abbreviation for 'Petite' was not a sarcastic name ,it actually had been quite appropriate , when Danny had bought the amphibian , it had been a tadpole. Something must have gone severely wrong in the puberty department , because it grew to confusingly large proportions. Danny had insisted that Arthur had fed 'Madam Mitsfy's MIRACLE GROW' to it when it's first signs of acne appeared , of course , she had failed to mention that 'Miracle Grow' was actually a product for lawns.
Lily was smiling stupidly, truthfully , every story Danny told was amusing to her , whether it be something about Peti , or her arse , it was Arthur's fault.
Potter , having mistakenly taken her mad grinning as a yes , sat down next to the grotesque , and croaking amphibian. He was amused to see that the over-proportionate toad had a tiny bow wrapping three hairs on it's wide head , finally blurting out his first thought , he asked
"That thing isn't yours , it is?" he sounded disgusted, moving a bit closer to the window in the hopes of preventing any contact with the animal, he grimaced when his robes brushed it's small leg.
"No" Lily said giggling "it's Danny's , never understood why she loves it though , I'm not even being superficial , it's a special breed that squirts some foul liquid at innocent passerby's , she's gone to the Hospital wing with me Merlin knows how many times! And still , she can kiss that thing every morning , it's amusing to watch , but horrid to experience"
James looked petrified, now actually squishing himself onto the compartment wall,
"Does it do it randomly?" he asked terrified.
"Oh no , she's very picky , only does it to her enemies" she said amusedly , nodding in remembrance "just don't look at her in the eyes for too long"
She burst out laughing when James blanched, then said "Don't wet yourself , Potter , it only hates me , apparently"
"Thank Merlin" he sighed
"Hey!"
"No offence intended , I just meant I worked hard to get my face the way it is , perhaps not as hard as Sirius , but hard enough , and I would mind if that thing squirted it's body liquids at me"
"Ha. So… what are you doing here?"
"Well, I was abandoned… Don't look so shocked! It's possible!" he said defensively "and I decided to take a walk"
"A walk to my compartment?"
"Well…no , not exactly , I was going to the front of the train to get the witch's trolley…but … I saw something I didn't need to , and realized you would be alone" he ended this with a self satisfied smile.
"What exactly did you see?" her eyes were wide
"Oh no! nothing like that , just Sirius being the sick prick he is , wooing , you know …being...sweet , it was sickening , I could feel the bile coming up my throat, so I turned around as quickly as possible , trying not to run over first years , and ended up here"
"Good" she breathed out a sigh "I just thought…well , never mind…" she turned red
"Well , I really don't need much imagination , just enough of a perverted mind" he laughed
" But you already have that , don't you?"
"Enough of one? No , I have a full one" he tapped his skull "it works in circles, always , kind of annoying really, I'll be walking in the halls , see something on the floor and think 'hey that looks like my-"
He was interrupted by a spurt of laughter from Lily "Hahaha.. I -haha- thought-I was- hahaha-the –only- ONE!" she kept laughing , until she finally realized what she had said , gasped and covered her mouth , as if to take them back.
Both burst out laughing .
"You?" James asked incredulously
"Well…yeah.., it's called hormones , you know , but don't tell Danny , she thinks of me as a 'freak of nature' since I have no reaction whatsoever to her obsessive quill gestures" she showed him by sticking up a finger and placing it though an 'o' she made with her other hand and burst out laughing " I never really found that very funny , but , do you remember the time Peeves was yelling about a pencil stuck up his arse?" she laughed at his un-believing expression "yes , that was me, Remus taught me that spell"
"Wow, never would have believed it of you"
"Just goes to show you"
"Yeah…guess it does" he smiled , receiving one I return.
He stayed in her compartment for the rest of the ride, except for the occasional time when he would get up to get them something to drink.
Lily hated to admit it , for it almost ripped her tongue to say it , but Potter was almost…. Tolerable…scary thought. She was surprised that in the time she spent with him , she did not blow up , not once , although she would throw something at him on occasion , either for fun or to deflate his ego, but time with James Potter ran surprisingly quick, most of it almost pissing with laughter.
They chatted about their coming summer , and both their parent's outrageously grand cooking ( James's phrase , not Lily's ), the weather, teachers , favorite spots on Hogwarts grounds , sweets and Quidditch.
Once , James started talking about how well and fast he caught the snitch, and how when the wind tore at his hair so favorably and handsomely so , the crowd went wild.
Then , seeing Lily roll her eyes at him he said , "What? I never said I wasn't vain"
And they wet themselves again.
There was even a time when James came and sat next to Lily , with the excuse of showing her a scar on his upper neck, where according to him, a dixie (which from his description were the cousin of the pixie , with sharper teeth , crueler intentions and annoying twittering wings) had bit him on his way back home from Quidditch. She had only accented because she thought it incredibly amusing , she had heard , that dixies were in fact harmless, they roamed around bushes eating dirt and dead leaves , and had no teeth ,if they were the cousin of the pixie , it was simply because of the similarity in their names.
While she examined the scar (which she had a hard time finding, despite James's assurances that it was huge ), adding a couple of 'ooo's and 'ah's or in occasion, 'that must have hurt' s , she realized that their faces were barely inches apart, while James realized he could smell her, causing him to resemble a tomato. Lily noticed , of course , and sat back , a bit confused, and , to her intense dislike, she could not tell him to sit on the other side of the compartment, where he had been sitting before, she thought it incredibly rude.
After that , conversation drifted awkwardly to silence and back again , both too tense to make the atmosphere comfortable. Just when Lily started to wonder if she would have to change robes with Potter , Danielle arrived , with Sirius.
She was blushing profusely, along with Sirius, she seemed overjoyed , actually , she looked ready to burst . When she saw Lily , she let go of Sirius and skipped to her , kissing her on the cheek , after the initial shock, Sirius did so too. Lily appeared frozen in place .
"Oh.. Helooooo James! How are you? Good? Good! What exactly are you doing here? wait…I don't care , so don't answer that question" she sang .
Lily made a show of gagging behind her back, James snickered.
"Could you leave? We have to change , and as much as I like a healthy breeze , I like to do it in private , thanks" Lily said , pointing an accusing finger at both boys.
"Aright Lily , bye . Bye Danny" Sirius winked
"Bye Siri" she breathed
After one last incredulous look at Danny , James said "G'bye Lily"
"G'bye…James" Lily smiled , closing the compartment door.