Disclaimer:
1.
It's not mine.
2.
It's not mine.
3.
oh, yeah, it's not mine.
It's
all J.K.R.'s.
By the time our first day back was through, it felt like we had never left. Already the teachers were burying us in homework; my friends and I were chumming around like we always did; and Potter and I had three loud shouting matches. It felt good to be home.
The rest of the week past quickly, full of gossip and homework and speculation about Dumbledore's surprise and of course, shouting at Potter.
It seemed like every moment I turned around there he was with his stupid messy hair, teasing a little first year, making up crude rhymes about Filch, or hexing Severus Snape. Of course as his fellow Gryffindor, and the only prefect in the school not afraid to put him in detention, I was constantly reprimanding Potter. Which for some reason he didn't seem to mind. It was infuriating: I would yell at him, he would yell back, we'd both walk away angry, but three minutes later (I timed him) he'd be back to usual annoying self.
Why thank you. You're not annoying now, but back then... Urgh! You used to make me so mad! Hmm, you know, I kind of picked up on that, funnily enough. Maybe it had something to do with you screaming at me every 27 minutes. I didn't... wait a minute! You timed me in between yelling spats? It was something to do. I don't believe it. Fine. I'm just going to eat some more pinapple. By the way, in seventh year you only yelled at me every 26.43 days.
La, la, la, I'm ignoring you. I'm pretending that you didn't waste seven years of your life doing one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard of. I'm going back to the story...
All my friends thought that I was suffering from denial, that I secretly loved Potter, but I knew the truth. I hated Potter! Hate is a strong word, but it was true for Potter, because he made me sick!
It was hard to ignore Potter, he was so loud and mean. But on the first Saturday back to school, something completely took my mind off Potter...
+
"Hurry
up, Margaret," called Katherine. It suddenly was the end of the
first week. After all the homework we had been given, it felt like we
had been at Hogwarts for weeks. Now we were hurrying down to
breakfast with a wonderfully relaxing weekend stretching ahead of us.
"Hurry up, Margaret!" Katherine repeated impatiently. Margaret was not a morning person, and so was slowly, and grumpily, making her way down the dormitory stairs into the common room. When Margaret finally reached the bottom stair I grabbed her arm and pulled her quickly out the portrait hole.
"Ugh. Remind me again why we're up at the break of dawn?" Complained Margaret, shaking her arm out of my grasp. "And why we're in such a hurry."
I exchanged an exasperated look with Elise. "Margaret, dearest," I said, my voice sweetly sarcastic. "Is the wittle cutie sweety-pie grumpy this morning?"
Margaret glared at me, pushing her long dirty blond hair behind her ears. She hated being made fun of, which made it so easy to do. "I am not a baby, Lily," she replied, "And I just don't like being up so early."
Elise laughed. She had been up since six, out running with me. Her dark red hair was slicked back into a high ponytail, and her large brown eyes were alert and peppy. "Early? It's seven thirty-six in the morning. That is not early."
"For a Saturday it is," Margaret shot back, trying to flick her sister's ear as we walked through the halls, the morning sunlight streaming in through the windows.
"Hey, stop bickering, you two," I said as we arrived at the Great Hall. "Let's just have some breakfast."
Since it was a weekend there were few students in the Great Hall. Most were still in bed, undoubtedly snoozing away, sweet dreams of no classes dancing in their heads. In fact there were only three people each at the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables, and no one at the Slytherin table. Professor Dumbledore, his long white beard shining in the morning light, was the only teacher at the High Table. His long bright red robes (apparently embroidered with gold nifflers) shone noticeably from across the room. When he saw us enter the Great Hall, he smiled and waved.
"Good morning. I'm glad to see that not everyone in the school is still asleep," he called.
With the exception of Margaret, we all grinned at Professor Dumbledore. Sitting down at the Gryffindor table I immediately reached for a large plate of toast and my friends reached for plates of food, too.
Twenty minutes later, as more students were beginning to trickle in for breakfast, Bridget looked up. "So, Lily," she asked, over a large plate of waffles, "What are we planning to do today?"
"I was hoping we could go for a swim in the lake," I replied, but didn't have a chance to say anything else, because at that moment Dumbledore stood up, banging on his glass with a spoon.
"My I have your attention, please," he called over the heads of the many students who were now seated around us. "It is time, being still the first week back to school, to announce the surprise that we," here he nodded at the few other teachers who were sitting with him, "have been planning." There was suddenly a great hush in the hall. I sat up straight listening intently to Dumbledore. To my disgust I saw Potter enter the hall at that moment, but I tried to ignore him as I listened to Dumbledore. "Although the entire school is not assembled here, those who are still asleep will just miss out on the fun." He winked at the sea of faces gazing up at him. "Remember, the early gnome gets the worm. And now, the moment that I am sure you have been waiting for..."
Dumbledore gestured dramatically with his left hand. A long piece of blank white paper drifted from the ceiling into his hand. "After much deliberation," Dumbledore continued, "Your illustrious teachers and myself, have decided that for one week the students will be given the task of running the school." There was an outbreak of excited talk at this. I looked around excitedly at my friends. We were all grinning hopefully. The babble of talk died out immediately, though, the moment Dumbledore began speaking again.
"This is an honor only available to older students," Dumbledore continued. "By older students I mean sixth year and up." Elise and Katherine immediately stood up in anger. They were fourth and fifth year students, respectively, but their age had never deterred them from hanging out with the older students. Now, though, it was clear that they wished they were older.
"That's not fair," shouted Katherine.
"I'm sorry you feel that way, Miss Welch," said Dumbledore, smiling down at her, his blue his twinkling. "But the age limit is set." Dumbledore turned back to face the whole hall, and Katherine and Elise sat down disappointedly. "Now, then," Dumbledore said, "The positions that you will be filling are all the faculty and staff currently at Hogwarts. That means that only sixteen of you will be chosen." The sixth and seventh years in the Great Hall groaned. There were over one hundred sixth and seventh years, the odds of being chosen were slim (really they were almost nonexistent).
Dumbledore waved the long sheet of paper in the air. "This," he said, "Will be placed on the wall outside the great hall. Those wishing to enter should write their names and the positions that you would most like to fill. All though you may sign up for as many positions as you wish, you will only be selected for one job. The results will be announced in exactly one week, and you will take over in six weeks from last Monday." He sat down again, leaving a very excited group of teenagers, practically buzzing with excitement.
+
James,
what are you doing? Trying
to see how many kumquats I can eat in 6 seconds. Apparently, now that
I'm dead, my swallowing reflexes have gotten faster, so that my
record right now is 23. You
can swallow 23 kumquats in 6 seconds? Yep.
That
is so unbelievably... cool! Let me try! You tell the story for a
while. Okay...
+
"So,
Prongs," asked Sirius as we made our way out of the Great Hall.
"You gonna enter? Sounds like too much extra work to me."
I was about to reply in the affirmative, but at that moment a certain fiery haired (and fiery tempered) girl walked past. "Hide me," I moaned, ducking behind Remus and Peter. From between their robes I watched Evans walk past.
Once she was safely heading down the corridor, I straightened up and shouted at her retreating back, "Want to go out with me, Evans?" Then I cowered behind Remus again, rumpling my hair, as Evans looked around to see who had shouted. "Why are you laughing?" I asked Sirius, Remus and Peter as I stood up again.
"I'm laughing because they're laughing," replied Peter. "I didn't see anything funny, but they might have been amused by the fact that Dumbledore had pancakes with syrup on them for breakfast for four days in a row."
Totally nonplussed, I stared at Wormtail. "What! How is that funny. That's the most random piece of useless knowledge I could ever imagine."
Moony rolled his eyes at me. "You're so dense sometimes James. We were laughing at you."
"Huh?" I looked at Remus and Sirius confused. "What'd I do that was so funny?" Spotting Evans returning back down the marble staircase, I dove head first behind Sirius, knocking him and Peter to the ground. I hurriedly pulled my robe over my head and lay very still on the floor.
From under my robe I could hear my friends laughing hysterically, and Evans' perplexed, yet sarcastic voice saying "Nice look Potter, very attractive." I flattened myself even further on the floor, pretending I was a rug. She must have talking to someone else. I mean, if I couldn't see her, then she couldn't see me, right? Hearing her footsteps walking away I cautiously raised my head, removing my robe from my head and stood up cautiously. She was heading up the marble staircase. "Come on, go out with me already, Evans!" I called to her, turning and tripping on my robe so that I fell onto the floor, as she stared at me, a look of utmost revulsion on her face.
Remus and Sirius were still laughing uproariously. "Prongs," gasped Sirius, weak with laughter, "You're hopeless."
+
Remus
and Sirius had stopped laughing long enough for us to go back
upstairs and grab our brooms and head out to the Quidditch pitch.
Once in the air, soaring through the sky with the wind in my air, I
felt more alive than I had all summer. And gazing down at the tiny
figures of Sirius and Peter wrestling with the bludgers gave me an
idea. An excellent idea on how to get Lily Evans to like me. But I
wasn't going to tell Remus. He might not approve. All I
needed was a few grapefruits and a sheet, oh and about two dozen
first years.
Thirty-five.
Huh?
Thirty-five what? Kumquats.
You
can eat thirty-five kumquats in, in... Six
seconds. 5.92 seconds actually. Lily,
you broke my record? That's not fair! You're
just gonna have to live with that. Hee, hee! But,
how can I live with that... when I'm dead! A/N:
Okay, I know I haven't updated in a long time and I'm really
sorry! But, I had my semester exams last week, and I had no energy at
all. I'm back though, and still alive... I think.Let me know how
I'm doing: reviews make me happy, and when I'm happy, I write
more! And, oh yum! My dad just gave me a brownie and it looks really
good and tasty and yummy and chocolately, so I'm going to eat it
and post this tomorrow. Tomorrow I guess will be Monday…
Ciao,
Lucinda
