Be Here Now
Disclaimer: As far as I know, I don't own Harry Potter. *cries*
A/N: Wow! I'm at chapter ten! I hope to get to at least thirty chapters. That's my goal, and I hope to reach it! You guys can help me get there by motivating me by reviews! Are some of you getting frustrated with the lack of L/J? Sorry!
Eclare LJ and Percabeeth: First off, thank you so much for being a constant reviewer. It truly means a lot! Yes, I know. Alice and Frank is an amazing couple. And maybe James will…
Without any more babbling… CHAPTER TEN!
x.o.x.o.x.
As Lily runs into the Gryffindor common room, she bumps straight into Maya and her best friend, Katie.
"Evans," sneers Maya, giving Lily the once-over.
Lily glares at her. "Santiago," she replies curtly, making to move past the two girls.
"No way. What do you think you're doing with my boyfriend?" Maya stops her abruptly.
Lily scoffs. "Um… planning the Halloween ball?" she offers.
"Don't play dumb with me, Evans," snarls Maya.
"You would know all about it, wouldn't you, Santiago? I mean, that's truly what you are," retorts Lily cuttingly.
Maya opens her mouth, but can't find a quick retort.
"Golden Boy Potter isn't here to save your sorry arse, Santiago," snaps Lily.
"Is that so?"
Lily whirls around, withdrawing her wand. "This is my fight, Potter, and let me fight it," she snarls dangerously.
"Oh, but you see, that's my girlfriend. So I'm afraid I'm going to intervene," James says smugly.
"I don't think you are," snaps Lily.
A split second later, a resounding smack is heard. Lily had slapped James hard straight across the face. Already a red handprint is forming.
"If you try to stop me, Potter, I swear you will find yourself under all the hexes, jinxes, and spells that I know how to perform powerfully," threatens Lily.
Behind James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Frank approach. "Hi Lily-petal!" greets Sirius.
Lily smiles briefly at him before turning her wand back on her fellow Head. "Hello Sirius." She glances past the boys. "Frank! What the hell did you do to Alice? She caught you snogging another girl and is currently moping around crying in the girls' dormitory!"
Frank groans. "She saw?"
"Yes! Now tell me what that was all about!" orders Lily.
"I-I… It was a pure mistake, Lily! That girl just grabbed me! I have no idea what her name even is!" Frank says helplessly, throwing his hands up.
Lily narrows her eyes suspiciously, but points with her left hand up the stairs. "Go tell her, then."
As Lily's back is turned, Maya had withdrawn her wand and sends a nonverbal curse toward Lily.
Lily hears the whizzing sound and whips around. "Protego! Impedimenta!" she returns, her wand flying.
"Protego! You filthy little… Mudblood!" spits Maya.
Lily's temper flares. "Stupefy!" she says softly and dangerously, pointing her wand at Maya. She falls over backward, Stunned, as Lily does the same to Katie. "What are you still doing here, Potter? Aren't going to prance around insulting Muggle-borns like a Slytherin?" She can feel tears welling, but she forcefully pushes them back. "I'm going to my dorm, and if you know what's good for you, stay out of it," she snaps, hurrying toward the secret passage that leads to the Head Common Room.
James stares after her, feeling an unfamiliar sensation in the pit of his stomach.
x.o.x.o.x.
Lily enters the Head Common Room, bypassing it immediately. Her bare feet sink into the plush scarlet carpet as she pads toward the door inscribed with her name on it. She pushes the door open with a lot of force, slams it closed loudly, and throws herself onto her purple comforter. Before she can fully relax, an owl appears at her window. Automatically, she recognizes it as Marlene's. Wondering why Marlene would owl her, she pads over and grabs the letters gratefully.
Lily,
I have included Dad's letter, a letter from each of us, and a letter from your cousins arrived at our dorm by accident.
Marlene
Lily smiles at the thoughtfulness of it all. Her cousins from America (Ashley, Emma, Emily, and Caitlin) had written as well! She reads Mr. McKinnon's letter first curiously.
Dear Marlene,
I know you must be extremely angry with me at the moment. Stacey McKinnon is as well. You, Marlene McKinnon, are not an angry person. I can only hope you aren't very angry. I apologize for making you keep that secret all these years. I never did think your mother would find out. For the time being, your mother will be Ms. Thomas, her maiden name. No, we are not divorced, though we are separated. Meredith, my mistress, is pregnant again. As I no doubt know your mother told you, you have five half-siblings: Kelly, Krista, Mike, Peter, and Ryan. The one on the way is a girl, and we've decided to name her Penelope. If your mother finds fit not to forgive me, I will divorce her as wished and perhaps marry Meredith. After all, it only makes sense, for we have five, almost six, children together.
Dad
Lils-
I apologize profusely for my foul brother and his slut of a girlfriend. She had no right to go around calling you… you know, and James had no business not defending you! I swear, he's changed so much! I truly hope you feel tons better, Lil.
Always,
Hils
Lily-
Thank you so much for comforting me in a way Hilary and Marlene couldn't. They're both wonderful, but they have no idea what it is like to be in love. We are young yet, just seventeen, but love doesn't have boundaries, does it? I will get Frank back somehow. Thank you, Lily, and I'm so sorry for the emotional pain you have endured so strongly for the past weeks.
Alice
Lily, dear-
Be strong. Be the strong Lily we know.
Marlene
Lily!
We haven't heard from you in a long time, and vice versa! How is Hogwarts? This sounds immensely intriguing, because the Salem Institute of Witchcraft and Wizardry is absolutely no match to any of the European magical schools. The SIWW is quite good for American standards, but we hear Hogwarts and Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are all real nice. Tell us about your school life, personal life, and most importantly, your love life! Why haven't Aunt Rose and Uncle Andrew written in so long? They used to write weekly, but we haven't heard from them in nearly four years. We're worried, Lily, please tell us. Write back soon, cousin, it'll be nice to hear something from our dear cousin!
Love,
Ashley, Emma, Emily, and Caitlin
Lily smiles slightly at the last letter. Later, she knew, Hilary, Alice, and Marlene would be bombarding her with questions about why Ashley, Emily, Emma, and Caitlin and their parents hadn't brought her in. Sure enough, the magical parchment they had created back in third year started glimmering. Each girl possessed one, and they carried them around everywhere. This was sooner than she had expected, but Lily decides to speak with her friends. After all, they were the only ones truly there for her. Grabbing the parchment from her desk, Lily plops comfortably back onto her bed, pulling out a large quill.
Lily, Hilary, Alice, Marlene
Yes, guys?
Why didn't your cousins, aunt, and uncle take you in?
I knew you were gonna ask that.
Well, tell us!
Guys…
Lily, tell us, okay? We're always here for you.
I know that, Hilary.
Please, Lils?
Oh, alright. My aunt and uncle and cousins have no idea that my parents are dead.
Oh Merlin. Didn't they attend the funeral?
Do you expect there was a funeral? Petunia fled the country with her hippo of a boyfriend after selling the house, I disappeared into thin air, and any other relatives were either in the States, France, Canada, or Sweden.
Petunia truly didn't even stick around enough for her parent's funeral?
There wasn't one.
That's terrible, Lily. How did you survive that?
The same way you are surviving this, Alice, Marlene, Hilary. This is a dark time of our lives, but we will make it through. Love conquers all. Remember that.
Lily pulls her quill away from the parchment and leans back.
x.o.x.o.x.
"You may go," Lily says, dismissing the weekly prefect meeting. As the prefects file out silently, she leans back, passing a hand over her face.
That had been one tense meeting. The Head Boy and Girl didn't speak to each other; much less speak to each other. Remus and Hilary stayed behind, watching the Heads.
"Take a picture, it'll last longer," snaps Lily, catching their gazes.
Hilary coughs lightly, tearing her gaze away from her best friend and twin brother. "Sorry," she murmurs.
Lily shakes her head, staring out the classroom window into the darkening sky. It isn't dark yet, but that stage before darkness. "No, I'm sorry, Hilary. For the past three days, I've been short with all of you. Remus, I'm sorry as well. I've just been so stressed and piled with work," sighs Lily, leaning back in her chair.
"Perfectly understandable, Lily," Remus replies kindly. Despite his kind voice, however, his face is ashen, and his eyes tired. Tonight was the full moon.
"I'm sorry for scheduling the meeting tonight, Remus. But this is the day we always have the meeting, and it might have seemed suspicious," Lily apologizes.
Remus shakes his head. "It's fine, Lily, I understand. I think it is time to go," he says, making to exit the room. "Goodbye, James." Even the Marauders had drifted slightly apart from James.
"Goodbye Remus," James replies, also staring into the night. He hadn't been on a full moon excursion at all this year.
Hilary rises. "Bye, Lils. Goodbye, James." She and James had become more civil toward each other, though clearly were not in the same relationship as before.
Lily shakes her head. "I'm coming, remember? Potter," she snarls before exiting the room behind Hilary and Remus.
James watches them curiously, and rises to exit as well.
x.o.x.o.x.
Lily, Marlene, Alice, Hilary, Remus, Sirius, and Peter stand near the Whomping Willow. Night is falling quickly now, blanketing the sky in a dark blue quilt speckled with silver called stars. As the moon begins showing, Lily, Marlene, Alice, Hilary, Sirius, and Peter disappear. In their places are animals. Remus begins the painful transformations. Lily's doe ears pick up rustling, but she passes it off as wind as Remus is nearing full werewolf state. Marlene's cheetah ears also pick up the sound, but like Lily, she calls it wind. Alice, as a Chihuahua, skips ahead with Hilary as a German shepherd. And the October full moon begins.
x.o.x.o.x.
Lily, exhausted, stumbles into the Head Common Room at nearly two in the morning. Surprisingly, none of them suffered large injuries that night, just one or two scratches per person. Before Lily can get to her door, though, James Potter blocks her path.
"I know," he says simply.
Lily gasps inaudibly. Right away, she knows what he's talking about. "What?" she asks, feigning innocence.
"Drop the act, Evans. I know. And it wasn't especially kind of you to take my place like that." With that, he disappears with a swoosh.
Lily stares after him, partially impressed and half scared. Would he tell anyone? Would he tell Maya?
x.o.x.o.x.
A/N: That was a longer chapter than usual. :D I hope you enjoyed it, and to tell me that you did, please review! Until chapter eleven…
~TrueLoveis4ever