Chapter X - Fairy Tales
Author's Note: I do not own the Brothers Grimm's story of Cinderella.
Aaron led her over to a bench along the path and they sat down. He smiled at her. "Thanks for not deserting me tonight. I know that I was being the world's biggest arse."
Lily smiled a little at those words. An arse definitely covered it. "Yes, you were. I don't know why you couldn't have just told me that you didn't know how to dance. I would have been okay with that. I could have taught you before hand."
He grinned a little and crossed his ankles. "I guess I was just a little embarrassed. I feel like when it comes to you, I keep putting my foot in my mouth."
She nodded, feeling a little better now. Was she finally going to get to understand what was happening between her and Aaron? Why he seemed to be weird sometimes?
"Yes, I noticed. Aaron, I heard that you don't like muggle borns."
He sighed. "No, that's not true. It's just …" he turned to look at her, taking her hand in his. "It's just that my dad is pretty prejudiced for that kind of thing and I'm ashamed to say that I think some of it has rubbed off on me. I want to change though. I really like you, Lily. I don't see how you are any different."
"I'm not," Lily said, her voice a little tense now. "And the fact that you would even say that to me, worries me. You're not better than me because you have magic in your family. It doesn't make you a better person or a better wizard."
"That's not what I'm saying!" Aaron exclaimed, looking a little panicked now. "I don't want you to think that! You're one of the smartest witches in our year! You're brilliant, actually!"
She smiled a little at that, softening a little. She understood where he was coming from. If someone were to ask her about France's National Rugby Team. She would probably start ranting about it because of her father's strong dislike for that team had been distilled in her. But it didn't necessarily mean that she actually felt that way.
"I get it, Aaron. We'll be okay, just please try to take a little more interest in the things that I like. Like the Gryffindor Bandits tonight, they sang wonderful muggle songs. I love to read muggle books and plays. You would enjoy them if you gave them the chance." Lily explained.
Aaron grinned. "I don't like to read, but everything else, I'll give it a chance."
"Sounds good to me."
Aaron leaned over and gently pressed his lips to hers. Lily leaned into him, letting the kiss take over. When he pulled back she smiled at him, even though her heart was pounding in fear.
Why was there nothing there?
"Lily?" A smooth familiar voice asked.
Lily's heart raced and her entire body started to tremble. What was he doing here? Since the beginning of school she had managed to avoid him and now … the fear that swept over her ashamed her.
"I need to speak with you for a moment, if your date doesn't mind?" He asked, somewhat timidly.
Lily shook her head and automatically shifted her body so that she was closer to Aaron. "I need you to go." She said quietly. So quietly that she wasn't even sure that he had heard the words.
"Uh, it doesn't look like she wants to talk to you, Snape." Aaron said, not really sure what was going on.
Lily pointedly stared down at her hands only turning when she heard a familiar voice save her from having a small breakdown. She wasn't ready to face Snape yet. Not now. Not when she had barely even been within thirty feet of him in the last six months. She couldn't handle it.
"Mr. Snape, I need you to come with me, please." McGonagall insisted, stepping up near them.
Snape simply nodded and turned to follow McGonagall. McGonagall gave Lily a small reassuring smile before leading Snape off into the castle.
"Are you alright?" Aaron asked, running his hand up and down her back.
Lily shook her head, ashamed of the fact that she was fighting off tears. "No." She turned into his arms, but he didn't support her the way she wanted him too. She wanted to be engulfed in his embrace, to feel safe. Instead, he gave her half an arm and patted her back awkwardly. "Aaron, I'm sorry I think I need to end the night."
"What's wrong? You're not upset over that Slytherin, are you?" Aaron demanded, eyeing her warily as she stood up.
She shook her head. "I am a little, but also, I have a bit of headache. I had a great time. Thank you."
He nodded. "Well, I'm going to stay at the party a little while longer. It's not even midnight."
Lily trembled and hoped he didn't notice. Couldn't he see that she just needed some support right now? "Can you walk me upstairs?"
Aaron rolled his eyes. "Seriously? You have a headache, I think that you should just go on up peacefully yourself. It will be quiet and it will be better for you." He leaned over and kissed her lips. "Goodnight."
She watched him walk into the castle and she wrapped her arms around herself, fighting back the tears that threatened her eyes. She had pissed him off. She hadn't meant to, but Snape's sudden appearance … She hesitated before standing up. Surely she was perfectly capable of walking upstairs herself. She thought about finding Alice, but shook her head. Hopefully Alice was snogging Frank Longbottom. She could go upstairs herself, after all, McGonagall did have Snape … she would be fine.
Lily walked slowly, heading back into the castle. She was watching her feet and jolted when she bumped headlong into someone.
"Wow, watch it, Evans, don't want to walk into a suit of armour," James said, grinning at her. Her eyes met his and his smile faded. "What's wrong? Are you okay? Where's the douche bag?"
She shook her head. "I'm fine." Her voice shook and she closed her eyes. She was not going to make a scene. She was not going to make a scene in front of James Potter.
James pulled his military uniform off, transfiguring it into a jacket and slipped it over her shoulders along with his arm, tugging her close to him. "You're shaking like a leaf, Lily. Did Aaron do something?"
"No, no. Aaron is great. I'm fine honestly, just a little cold. Thanks for the jacket." She insisted, pulling it a little closer to her.
James didn't look convinced. He moved her over to the bench in the atrium and sat her down. "Don't move."
She watched him hurry off and sat there, eyes roaming and desperately hoping not to connect with the dark eyes of Severus Snape. Why had he wanted to talk to her? Why had he approached her like that? He had left her alone … he hadn't said anything to her since the incident. Why now? She trembled again at the thought as his voice rang in her ears.
"I told you that I didn't need the help of a filthy little Mudblood like you!"
She shut her eyes tight as a warm arm dropped over her shoulders. "Lily, what's wrong?" Sirius' voice asked close to her ear.
"Nothing, I'm fine. Potter didn't need to get you," she insisted turning to glare at James.
Sirius' eyes met that of James' as James shook his head at his friend. "Come on, Lily, let's go back to the common room."
Lily simply nodded and let Sirius lead her away. It was only when they got into the deserted common room and Sirius pushed her into a chair by the fire that she spoke. "Snape."
"What?" He asked, kneeling down in front of her.
"He wanted to talk to me."
Sirius' eyes hardened. "Why?"
She shrugged, letting the tears fall now. "I don't know. I panicked, Sirius, I just panicked and I just had to get out of there. I made Aaron mad and I told him the night was over, that I had a headache, but I was … I know I'm stupid, it's so stupid to be afraid." She buried her face in her hands and Sirius moved to sit on the arm of the chair, wrapping his arm around her.
"It's not stupid, Lily. It's okay for you to panic. I won't let him hurt you." He promised.
Lily turned and when Sirius placed both of his arms around her, to engulf her in a hug, she cuddled desperately and cried. It was about five minutes later when she pulled away. "Thank you."
He grinned at her. "You're welcome. You know, James pulled me away from Tia … I was going to score."
Lily laughed, rolling her eyes. He always knew how to change the subject. "She's probably still waiting for you."
Sirius laughed and stood up. "I hope so. You okay?"
Lily nodded. She was okay now. "Yeah. Thanks."
"No problem. James could have comforted you, you know, but interesting that he came and got me rather than do it himself."
"I'm not interested in James Potter, Sirius."
Sirius simply grinned. "Alright. Goodnight, Lily."
Lily watched him head out of the common room and sighed. Sirius Black to the rescue again. He was a constant surprise.
"Is she alright?" James asked the moment he spotted Sirius.
Sirius nodded, grabbing a glass of wine from the table. "Oh yeah, she's fine. She just isn't feeling too well and then kind of yelled at Aaron and now she's worried that he's mad at her. She'll be okay. She's heading to bed though."
James eyed his friend. "I don't believe you."
Sirius' eyebrow rose. "Prongs, would I lie to you?"
"Yes."
Sirius laughed and reached to grab Tia's arm as she walked past them. "True, but in this case …" he trailed off to grin at Tia. "Tia, my love, sorry I had to leave." He tugged her up against him and slid both hands down to cup her bottom.
"Black!"
Sirius squeezed Tia's bum as he turned to grin at McGonagall. "Hi McG!"
"Hands off!" She insisted.
Sirius removed his hands and smiled at her. "I'm just having some fun."
McGonagall simply glared at him before she turned and headed in the other direction.
Sirius grinned at Hestia. "Wanna squeeze my bum now?"
James rolled his eyes. "Now it's my cue to leave."
Tia smiled at that and instead of grabbing Sirius' bum reached down and slid her hand underneath the uniform he wore and stretched it slowly across his crotch.
"Yeah, bye," James muttered, hurrying off.
Sirius simply grinned at her. "Is it time to leave the party, babe?"
Tia nodded and kissed him softly. "I think it might be."
Sirius' grin widened. "Excellent."
Lily had tried to wait up for Alice and Hestia, but she had fallen asleep close to one. When she woke the next morning, her friends were sleeping in the beds next to her. She showered quickly, dressed, added a little make up and pulled her hair back into a pony tail before heading downstairs for breakfast.
She was just about to step into the Great Hall when she heard her name.
"Miss Evans?"
She turned and offered a smile for her head of house. "Good Morning, Professor."
McGonagall nodded. "Can you come into my office for a few minutes?"
Lily nodded and carefully followed her to her office, taking a seat in front of her large desk. She watched as McGonagall made herself comfortable and folded her hands in front of her.
"Miss Evans, I have to say, I'm worried about you."
Lily shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "I'm sorry, Professor, I know I shouldn't have froze like that last night."
McGonagall smiled sympathetically. "I know you think that I'm an old foggy, but I remember what it's like to be young and in love." She reached across the desk and placed her hand on top of Lily's in a surprisingly maternal gesture. "I can't imagine how hard it is to be at school with Mr Snape. He is truly sorry for what happened and has no memory of it. But as Mr. Black stated over the summer, there is no way to prove or disprove that. I have been working to make sure that the two of you have no contact, but things happen."
"Thank you, Professor," Lily said quietly, pulling her hand away and folding them in her lap. "I … I'm scared to talk to him. Just the sound of his voice last night … it was like I was re-living it."
"I know. I saw the panic in your eyes. Did young Mr. Bridgeway assist you at least?"
Lily shrugged. "No, I made him mad, but Potter and Sirius did."
McGonagall nodded. "Good. Miss-Lily, I know that I am probably the last person that you would like to speak to, but if you need anything, please do not hesitate to come and see me. I want only what is best for you."
She smiled at that. "Thank you." She started to stand up and then hesitated. Maybe McGonagall would have the answers she was looking for. "Professor, can I ask you something a little personal?"
"You can ask."
Lily sighed and swallowed carefully. "Alice convinced me to agree to go on a date with Aaron. I like him and my mum was telling me before I came back to school that I couldn't let my fears of what happened in June stand in the way of me going on dates and that not all boys are going to hurt me. Alice told me the same thing, that I have to climb back upon the horse so to speak."
"That's very good advice," McGonagall replied.
She nodded. "I thought so. Aaron and I started dating in October, right before the Hogsmeade trip … but … I like him, he's nice and he's smart and good-looking but … when he kisses me …" She blushed, "I'm sorry, this is inappropriate."
McGonagall smiled at that. "It's alright, get it out. I think you need to."
"When he kisses me, I don't feel anything."
She glanced at her quizzically. "What do you mean?"
Lily shrugged and twisted her hands in her lap. "I don't feel anything. He doesn't make my heart race or my palms sweat it's just … wet … I guess I wonder … do you think that I could be broken?"
McGonagall sighed and stood up, coming over to sit in the chair next to her. She smiled warmly at her. "No. Not even a little bit. You have proven that you are a strong and resilient young woman, Miss Evans. You admitted what happened to you, you've moved past it and have been brave enough to start dating. You have succeeded at that. I don't believe that you're broken."
Tears welled up in Lily's eyes and she quickly swatted them away. "Then what's wrong with me, Professor?"
"Have you ever considered that no matter how handsome and nice and smart Mr. Bridgeway is, that maybe the two of you just aren't compatible? Sometimes, there just isn't any chemistry."
"Really? You think that could be the problem."
McGonagall chuckled a little. "It could be. You come to your own conclusions on that one. There's only four days left until Christmas break and maybe by the time you come back in the New Year you will have made a decision. But look at it this way; if you weren't raped in June and were dating Aaron and had this problem, what would you do about it?" She stood up and flipped open a book on her desk. "Now why don't you head down to breakfast, I think that you might have some thinking to do."
Lily smiled at her head of house. "Thank you."
McGonagall's lips curved just slightly. "You're welcome, but don't let it get around that I have a nice side."
Lily laughed. "I won't. Have a good day, Professor."
She headed back down to breakfast feeling much better and thoughts zooming around in her head. She definitely had a lot to think about.
It wasn't until around lunch time that Lily was able to track Aaron down. She found him in the library surrounded by textbooks and busy at work. She hesitated before stepping close to him.
"Aaron?"
"Hmm?" He asked, not really paying attention.
Lily took a seat in the chair next to him. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
He turned now to look at her. "I'm not sorry I stayed, if this is what that is going to be about. I had a great time with you and I had a great time after you left. The party was brilliant."
She smiled now. She hadn't meant for him not to have a good time. "Aaron, that's not what I … I just wanted to apologize for bailing last night and for acting the way I did. I was having a great time last night too."
Aaron nodded at her, turning his body so that they were facing each other and bringing his voice down to a whisper as Madam Pince glared at them from a few shelves over. "It's alright. I was a prat too, I should have walked you upstairs."
"Yeah, you should have." She whispered back, making him grin. "Aaron, would you like to come home with me during Christmas? Meet my family."
He smiled at her. "As much as I would like to, my parents have a lot going on. I have to go home first and figure out their plans are, but then I'm sure I could spare a day or two to see what the Evans Family is like."
Lily leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thanks. I'll let you get back to your homework now."
Aaron grinned and took her hand in his. "Well, you could stay and snog me instead." He leaned in to kiss her and Lily hated herself for hesitating. She put herself into the kiss, extremely disappointed when there wasn't anything there.
She pulled away and smiled. "As much as I would like that, you have a lot of work to do. I'll see you later."
She kissed his cheek and then hurried out of the library, her heart pounding in her chest. She had barely turned the corner when Alice grabbed her arm.
"Where have you been?" She hissed, her voice almost frantic sounding.
Lily laughed. "Wandering the castle?"
Alice glared at her. "I have been looking for you everywhere! I am going to burst!"
Lily grinned and took a seat on the floor of the castle, leaning against the wall. "Did you find him again?"
Alice's face flushed as she took a seat next to her friend. "We danced all night and he kissed me like ten times. They were really great kisses!"
"I bet. Frank's a hottie."
She grinned broadly and turned so that she was facing Lily. "I didn't tell him who I was though."
"Alice, why not?"
She shrugged, trying not to look so uncomfortable. "I don't know. I was scared. He kissed me goodnight and walked me back to Gryffindor Tower, but that was all I would give him." She crossed her arms in front of her. "Lily, you made me look so pretty last night … he's not going to like me as me."
Lily shook her head and took her friend's arm. "That's not true. Anyone would be stupid not to see you as a hottie."
"I vouch for that," James said, grinning down at the two of them. "I've always found you to be very sexy, Alice."
Alice's face heated. "W-w-what?"
James grinned. "This bloke sounds pretty damn lucky."
"Potter, what do you want?" Lily asked, a little annoyed by his interruption.
His hazel eyes met hers and they softened a little. "I wanted to check up on you. I know Sirius insists that you were fine last night, but you didn't look fine to me."
"What?" Alice asked, turning to look at her friend. "What happened last night?"
"Nothing, Alice, I just had a headache and left the party around twelve. Potter is overreacting." She turned away from him and smiled at her friend. "As are you. I think you need to go find him and tell him who you are. He was enchanted by you last night and he will be just as much today, even without your costume."
Alice opened her mouth to argue and Lily placed her hand over it.
"Don't argue with me. I know I'm right. Now go, right now!"
She pushed Alice off and Alice looked back at her a little unsure. "Lily …"
"Go, Alice!" Lily demanded, a huge smile on her face. "Frank is going to love you."
Alice's face lit up and she nodded, hurrying off in the other direction.
"Frank Longbottom? Oh yeah, he and Alice would be perfect for each other!" James said, grinning now.
"We were having a private conversation, Potter."
James grinned at her and leaned up against the wall. "I noticed, but I thought that I could help out."
Lily's eyes softened a little. "That was really nice what you said about, Alice. She never sees herself as very pretty."
"She's gorgeous. I was merely stating a fact. She's not my type, but that doesn't mean that I can't notice that she's rather lovely." He explained, smiling now. "Sometimes, I can be helpful."
She rolled her eyes. "More often not."
He laughed. "True. Look, first, I did want to make sure that you were okay. I was really worried last night."
"I'm fine, Potter. I was fine last night. I just think something didn't agree with me that I ate or something."
He nodded. He wasn't sure why he was positive that she was lying but he was. "I see, well I'm glad that you're feeling better then."
"Okay, well see you around."
"Actually, Evans, wait!"
Lily turned around again to face him, hands clenched at her sides. "What now, Potter?"
He gave her a slow smile. "I finished The Man in the Iron Mask. I really enjoyed it and was kind of horrified by the fact of one brother hiding another away like that."
Lily nodded. "Yeah, it was a little darker I suppose."
He gave her a lopsided grin. "I was hoping to get my points down for the paper before the holidays and last time, talking about it with you, really helped me out." When she only crossed her arms in front of her chest, he sighed. "I was hoping that you could spare me a few minutes of your time."
Lily sighed. She was annoyed with Potter.
First because he had interrupted her private conversation with Alice.
Second, because he had mentioned her panic attack to Alice.
Third, because she was angry that she desperately wanted nothing more than to sit down somewhere and talk about books with him. Which was completely unacceptable because she was positive that she loathed Potter.
But it was Christmas time and it was for academic purposes and realistically he hadn't hit on her in a long time. She needed to be nice.
"Sure, I would like that."
His smile widened and she swallowed carefully at the sexy cleft in his chin. "Great! Let's go to the student lounge. Unless, you'd rather stay in this hallway?"
Lily shook her head and followed James to the student lounge down the hall. They took a seat on the chesterfield and Lily glanced around. There were a few first years in there, but it was fairly empty otherwise. "So, you enjoyed it?"
James nodded, trying not to point out that the couch seated three people yet Lily had chosen to leave a whole cushion empty between them. "Yeah, I did. So Louis XIV, in this book, had a twin brother but you can't have two kings so they had to pick one. I found it kind of fascinating."
Lily glanced at him quizzically. She knew that she shouldn't still be surprised by the fact that he was genuinely interested in these books, but she was. "Why?"
He shrugged and leaned back, stretching his long legs out on the floor. "Well, the fact that the one brother, King Louis, was born first, doesn't necessarily make him worthy enough to rule the country. Why not look at the politics of them both and see which one had better ideas once they became of age to rule? From what I could see, the one they chose was pretty much horrible. He was more interested in shagging and having lots of money than he was at being King. His country was starving."
Lily nodded, shifting more so that she was facing him. "That's not how it works. Has the magical world ever had a King?"
James nodded. "Yeah, we did, but he was elected. It stayed in the royal family line but there was always a choice over who it would be. We could see what was happening in the Muggle World and how their horrible choices of keeping it in the family and electing the oldest or one closest to the throne to be their leader had continually failed them. It worked well from what I understand, but we ended up with just Ministers instead by the eighteenth century anyway."
"Well, as you said, it didn't seem to work well in the muggle world, but sometimes it did. The rule was, not just for royalty purposes, that the first born son inherited everything. If you had a brother, even one year younger, it would be your decision on what he received at the death of your parents because everything would be left to you." She explained, curling her legs under her cross-legged style. "The monarchy was the same. The first born son became King, end of story. If they had daughter and then a son, the son was still King, the daughter never became Queen if they could avoid it unless through marriage. The fact that twins were born, one was older than the other so he was eldest."
"I get that," James said carefully. "I just don't think its right is all. To put his brother away in a prison, wearing only an iron mask to hide his true identity was extremely difficult for me to grasp. The fact that they wanted to replace the King with his twin brother was interesting. How did they know that he would be a better ruler?"
"I don't think that they did, but he was the only option that wouldn't result in treason and by replacing him with someone who looks exactly like him, then they could do it in secret and not cause a revolution within France."
James nodded. "That makes sense. I enjoyed how much of the same story continued. They were constantly battling the idea of loyalty; what it meant; how it fit into what they were doing; how it fit into D'Artagnan and his ideas and feelings on it. But at the same time it was still about adventure and honour, which was the same as The Three Musketeers. I did like it."
Lily smiled at that. "I'm glad. So what are you going to write about?"
He shrugged, turning more on the couch to face her. "I'm not sure yet. It helps to talk to it out with you, mostly because you've read it as well which helps a lot. I think I might discuss the role of the Musketeers in this novel and how it strengthens or weakens the premise of the story."
"Why?" Lily asked, a little intrigued by his choice.
"Well, by this book they are older. They've been through a lot and they were loyal to the King's father and now they had been entrusted with the new King. I want to look at that relationship. They saw the new King grow up, but is he worth the same respect and esteem that his father was? Why were they automatically loyal? I would like to look into that and what it meant to be loyal and to have honour during this time period and see if I can find something to help me out." He explained, looking thoughtful. "Does that make sense?"
Lily smiled at him. It did make sense. "Yes, it does. I think that you're going to have a brilliant paper, James."
He grinned at her. "Have you ever noticed that you only call me James when I've said something to please you?"
Lily's eyes hardened. "That's not true, Potter!"
James laughed. "See? I've annoyed you and you called me Potter. No matter. Do you have another book choice for me?"
She bit her lip to keep her angry retort down. He was annoying. She was having a perfectly nice conversation with him and then he had to go and tick her off. She took a deep breath before she spoke.
"Can I see your book list again?"
He nodded and tugged the folded up piece of parchment out of his pant pocket. "We don't have to stick to this list, but he said we can only read two books by the same author out of the six and we had to have at least three different authors by the end. This list is just a guideline."
Lily nodded as she scrolled down the list. There were some good ones there, but nothing that she would have suggested. She shook her head as she looked through it. "I have a suggestion that I think you might enjoy. It's from my personal collection. My father bought it for me for Christmas two years ago. It had only just been released then and its by an American author."
"Okay. What is it about?"
Lily grinned now. "Actually, the entire book is cloaked in satire."
"What is satire?" James asked, looking at her carefully. "I've never heard that word before."
"Seriously?" Lily asked in surprise.
James' eyebrow rose. "What is it?"
Lily smiled at him now, adjusting her ponytail as she spoke. "Do you know what sarcasm is?"
James rolled his eyes now. "I wasn't born yesterday. Sirius Black is my 'serious' best mate, remember?"
Lily laughed now. That had been a stupid question on her point. "Alright, fair point. Well, satire is a type of literature than can be written that is constantly using sarcasm, irony, ridicule et cetera in explaining something or how it works. One of the most famous satirists is a French writer from the eighteenth century named Voltaire. Anyway, this book contains a lot of satirical content, even the author himself uses irony and satire to write about how he wrote the book."
James glanced at her quizzically. "I'm not completely following you. I get what satire is, but not what you mean about the novel."
She sighed. "Okay, wait here." She hurried out of the room and up the four flights of stairs to Gryffindor Tower. When she got to her dorm, she dug through her trunk until she found the book that she was looking for and then grabbed her book of fairy tales as well before she hurried back to the second floor student lounge and sat back down next to James, this time without the middle cushion between them. She shoved the book under his nose. "Read the cover page."
He glanced down at the red book and read: "The Princess Bride. S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure."
Lily nodded at him in approval, "Keep going."
"The 'Good Parts' Version Abridged by William Goldman. So this Goldman bloke abridged the original book?" He asked.
Lily shook her head, grinning broadly now. "This is where the satirical content comes in. William Goldman is the creator, author and entire genius behind the tale of The Princess Bride. When you start to read it he talks about how he loved this story by Simon Morgenstern that his father used to read to him as a child. But he made up Morgenstern, he made up the idea of the whole story. So when he talks about stuff he cut out, it never actually existed."
James grinned at her as he worked to wrap his head around what she telling him. "Okay, let me get this straight, so this book was written by Goldman about how he came to take the story from Morgenstern who he created to create the story about the story that he was going to tell?"
"Exactly."
"Um … so what exactly is this book about then?"
Lily smiled at him and opened the book. "It's a classic tale of true love and high adventure. But I always thought that it was like a fairy tale told in a way that mocks the modern day fairy tale."
"What's a fairy tale?"
"What? You don't know what a fairy tale is?"
James shook his head. "No, is it about fairies?"
Lily laughed and curled her legs again, turning to grin at him. "Not at all but sometimes. What kind of stories did your parents tell you? Like children's stories?"
He shrugged, pleased with how close she was sitting to him. He could smell the soap she used, cucumbers and vanilla and he wondered if her hair smelt the same. He swallowed carefully. "You know, the usual ones, Babbity Rabbity and the Cackling Stump, The Tale of the Three Brothers, The Warlock's Hairy Heart, you know the ones."
She shook her head. "No, I don't. Apparently muggle stories and wizarding ones don't transcend the barrier. Fairy tales are stories about make-believe things."
"Why are they called fairy tales? Fairies aren't make-believe."
She grinned. "But muggles think they are. Sure, you'll find the odd person here or there who believes they are a witch, believes in fairies and supernatural things, but most people don't. Fairy tales were written hundreds of years ago to show children the dangers of the world and the more modern ones are essentially princess stories. For example, one of my favourites is Cinderella." She grabbed the big Brothers Grimm book and opened it up to the story. "You know this one?"
"I don't think so. It doesn't sound familiar." He leaned over to look at the story and shook his head. "What is it about?"
Lily smiled. He didn't know the tale. She couldn't believe it. But maybe she had known after all why had she felt compelled to bring this book down as well? "It's one of my all time favourites."
He looked down at the book in her hand again. "Can you read it to me? It doesn't look too long."
She laughed. "You want me to read Cinderella to you?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Would you?"
She smiled at the thought. "Alright." She turned and opened it to the appropriate page and started to read:
"The wife of a rich man fell sick, and as she felt that her end was drawing near, she called her only daughter to her bedside and said, 'dear child, be good and pious, and then the good God will always protect you, and I will look down on you from Heaven and be near you.' Thereupon she closed her eyes and departed. Every day the maiden went out to her mother's grave, and wept, and she remained pious and good. When winter came the snow spread a white sheet over the grave, and by the time the spring sun had drawn it off again, the man had taken another wife. The woman had brought with her into the house two daughters, who were beautiful and fair of face, but vile and black of heart. Now began a bad time for the poor step-child. 'Is the stupid goose to sit in the parlor with us,' they said. 'He who wants to eat bread must earn it. Out with the kitchen-wench.' They took her pretty clothes away from her, put an old grey bedgown on her, and gave her wooden shoes. 'Just look at the proud princess, how decked out she is,' they cried, and laughed, and led her into the kitchen.
"There she had to do hard work from morning till night, get up before daybreak, carry water, light fires, cook and wash. Besides this, the sisters did her every imaginable injury - they mocked her and emptied her peas and lentils into the ashes, so that she was forced to sit and pick them out again. In the evening when she had worked till she was weary she had no bed to go to, but had to sleep by the hearth in the cinders. And as on that account she always looked dusty and dirty, they called her Cinderella. It happened that the father was once going to the fair, and he asked his two step-daughters what he should bring back for them. Beautiful dresses, said one, pearls and jewels, said the second. 'And you, Cinderella,' said he, 'what will you have.'
"'Father break off for me the first branch which knocks against your hat on your way home.' So he bought beautiful dresses, pearls and jewels for his two step-daughters, and on his way home, as he was riding through a green thicket, a hazel twig brushed against him and knocked off his hat. Then he broke off the branch and took it with him. When he reached home he gave his step-daughters the things which they had wished for, and to Cinderella he gave the branch from the hazel-bush. Cinderella thanked him, went to her mother's grave and planted the branch on it, and wept so much that the tears fell down on it and watered it. And it grew and became a handsome tree. Thrice a day Cinderella went and sat beneath it, and wept and prayed, and a little white bird always came on the tree, and if Cinderella expressed a wish, the bird threw down to her what she had wished for.
"It happened, however, that the King gave orders for a festival which was to last three days, and to which all the beautiful young girls in the country were invited, in order that his son might choose himself a bride. When the two step-sisters heard that they too were to appear among the number, they were delighted, called Cinderella and said, 'comb our hair for us, brush our shoes and fasten our buckles, for we are going to the wedding at the King's palace.' Cinderella obeyed, but wept, because she too would have liked to go with them to the dance, and begged her step-mother to allow her to do so. 'You go, Cinderella,' said she, 'covered in dust and dirt as you are, and would go to the festival. You have no clothes and shoes, and yet would dance.' As, however, Cinderella went on asking, the step-mother said at last, 'I have emptied a dish of lentils into the ashes for you, if you have picked them out again in two hours, you shall go with us.' The maiden went through the back-door into the garden, and called, 'you tame pigeons, you turtle-doves, and all you birds beneath the sky, come and help me to pick the good into the pot, the bad into the crop.' Then two white pigeons came in by the kitchen window, and afterwards the turtle-doves, and at last all the birds beneath the sky, came whirring and crowding in, and alighted amongst the ashes. And the pigeons nodded with their heads and began pick, pick, pick, pick, and the rest began also pick, pick, pick, pick, and gathered all the good grains into the dish."
"Wait, birds helped her?" James asked, his voice full of disbelief.
Lily smiled at him. "Shh and listen to the story. 'Hardly had one hour passed before they had finished, and all flew out again. Then the girl took the dish to her step-mother, and was glad, and believed that now she would be allowed to go with them to the festival. But the step-mother said, 'no, Cinderella, you have no clothes and you cannot dance. You would only be laughed at.' And as Cinderella wept at this, the step-mother said, 'if you can pick two dishes of lentils out of the ashes for me in one hour, you shall go with us.' And she thought to herself, that she most certainly cannot do again. When the step-mother had emptied the two dishes of lentils amongst the ashes, the maiden went through the back-door into the garden and cried, 'you tame pigeons, you turtle-doves, and all you birds beneath the sky, come and help me to pick the good into the pot, the bad into the crop.' Then two white pigeons came in by the kitchen-window, and afterwards the turtle-doves, and at length all the birds beneath the sky, came whirring and crowding in, and alighted amongst the ashes. And the doves nodded with their heads and began pick, pick, pick, pick, and the others began also pick, pick, pick, pick, and gathered all the good seeds into the dishes, and before half an hour was over they had already finished, and all flew out again. Then the maiden was delighted, and believed that she might now go with them to the wedding. But the step-mother said, 'all this will not help. You cannot go with us, for you have no clothes and cannot dance. We should be ashamed of you.' On this she turned her back on Cinderella, and hurried away with her two proud daughters. As no one was now at home, Cinderella went to her mother's grave beneath the hazel-tree, and cried - 'shiver and quiver, little tree, silver and gold throw down over me.' Then the bird threw a gold and silver dress down to her, and slippers embroidered with silk and silver."
"Magic."
She nodded. "Fairy tales almost always involve magic. 'She put on the dress with all speed, and went to the wedding. Her step-sisters and the step-mother however did not know her, and thought she must be a foreign princess, for she looked so beautiful in the golden dress. They never once thought of Cinderella, and believed that she was sitting at home in the dirt, picking lentils out of the ashes. The Prince approached her, took her by the hand and danced with her. He would dance with no other maiden, and never let loose of her hand, and if any one else came to invite her, he said, this is my partner. She danced till it was evening, and then she wanted to go home. But the King's son said, I will go with you and bear you company, for he wished to see to whom the beautiful maiden belonged. She escaped from him, however, and sprang into the pigeon-house. The King's son waited until her father came, and then he told him that the unknown maiden had leapt into the pigeon-house. The old man thought, can it be Cinderella. And they had to bring him an axe and a pickaxe that he might hew the pigeon-house to pieces, but no one was inside it. And when they got home Cinderella lay in her dirty clothes among the ashes, and a dim little oil-lamp was burning on the mantle-piece, for Cinderella had jumped quickly down from the back of the pigeon-house and had run to the little hazel-tree, and there she had taken off her beautiful clothes and laid them on the grave, and the bird had taken them away again, and then she had seated herself in the kitchen amongst the ashes in her grey gown.
"Next day when the festival began afresh, and her parents and the step-sisters had gone once more, Cinderella went to the hazel-tree and said - 'shiver and quiver, my little tree, silver and gold throw down over me.' Then the bird threw down a much more beautiful dress than on the preceding day. And when Cinderella appeared at the wedding in this dress, every one was astonished at her beauty. The King's son had waited until she came, and instantly took her by the hand and danced with no one but her. When others came and invited her, he said, this is my partner. When evening came she wished to leave, and the King's son followed her and wanted to see into which house she went. But she sprang away from him, and into the garden behind the house. Therein stood a beautiful tall tree on which hung the most magnificent pears. She clambered so nimbly between the branches like a squirrel that the King's son did not know where she was gone. He waited until her father came, and said to him, the unknown maiden has escaped from me, and I believe she has climbed up the pear-tree. The father thought, can it be Cinderella. And had an axe brought and cut the tree down, but no one was on it. And when they got into the kitchen, Cinderella lay there among the ashes, as usual, for she had jumped down on the other side of the tree, had taken the beautiful dress to the bird on the little hazel-tree, and put on her grey gown.
"On the third day, when the parents and sisters had gone away, Cinderella went once more to her mother's grave and said to the little tree - 'shiver and quiver, my little tree, silver and gold throw down over me.' And now the bird threw down to her a dress which was more splendid and magnificent than any she had yet had, and the slippers were golden. And when she went to the festival in the dress, no one knew how to speak for astonishment. The King's son danced with her only, and if any one invited her to dance, he said this is my partner. When evening came, Cinderella wished to leave, and the King's son was anxious to go with her, but she escaped from him so quickly that he could not follow her. The King's son, however, had employed a ruse, and had caused the whole staircase to be smeared with pitch, and there, when she ran down, had the maiden's left slipper remained stuck. The King's son picked it up, and it was small and dainty, and all golden. Next morning, he went with it to the father, and said to him, no one shall be my wife but she whose foot this golden slipper fits. Then were the two sisters glad, for they had pretty feet. The eldest went with the shoe into her room and wanted to try it on, and her mother stood by. But she could not get her big toe into it, and the shoe was too small for her. Then her mother gave her a knife and said, cut the toe off, when you are queen you will have no more need to go on foot. The maiden cut the toe off, forced the foot into the shoe, swallowed the pain, and went out to the King's son. Then he took her on his horse as his bride and rode away with her. They were obliged, however, to pass the grave, and there, on the hazel-tree, sat the two pigeons and cried - 'turn and peep, turn and peep, there's blood within the shoe, the shoe it is too small for her, the true bride waits for you.'
"Then he looked at her foot and saw how the blood was trickling from it. He turned his horse round and took the false bride home again, and said she was not the true one, and that the other sister was to put the shoe on. Then this one went into her chamber and got her toes safely into the shoe, but her heel was too large. So her mother gave her a knife and said, cut a bit off your heel, when you are queen you will have no more need to go on foot. The maiden cut a bit off her heel, forced her foot into the shoe, swallowed the pain, and went out to the King's son. He took her on his horse as his bride, and rode away with her, but when they passed by the hazel-tree, the two pigeons sat on it and cried - 'turn and peep, turn and peep, there's blood within the shoe, the shoe it is too small for her, the true bride waits for you.' He looked down at her foot and saw how the blood was running out of her shoe, and how it had stained her white stocking quite red. Then he turned his horse and took the false bride home again.
"'This also is not the right one,' said he, 'have you no other daughter?' 'No,' said the man, 'there is still a little stunted kitchen-wench which my late wife left behind her, but she cannot possibly be the bride.' The King's son said he was to send her up to him, but the mother answered, 'oh, no, she is much too dirty, she cannot show herself.' But he absolutely insisted on it, and Cinderella had to be called. She first washed her hands and face clean, and then went and bowed down before the King's son, who gave her the golden shoe. Then she seated herself on a stool, drew her foot out of the heavy wooden shoe, and put it into the slipper, which fitted like a glove. And when she rose up and the King's son looked at her face he recognized the beautiful maiden who had danced with him and cried, 'that is the true bride.' The step-mother and the two sisters were horrified and became pale with rage, he, however, took Cinderella on his horse and rode away with her.
"As they passed by the hazel-tree, the two white doves cried - 'turn and peep, turn and peep, no blood is in the shoe, the shoe is not too small for her, the true bride rides with you,' and when they had cried that, the two came flying down and placed themselves on Cinderella's shoulders, one on the right, the other on the left, and remained sitting there. When the wedding with the King's son was to be celebrated, the two false sisters came and wanted to get into favor with Cinderella and share her good fortune. When the betrothed couple went to church, the elder was at the right side and the younger at the left, and the pigeons pecked out one eye from each of them. Afterwards as they came back the elder was at the left, and the younger at the right, and then the pigeons pecked out the other eye from each. And thus, for their wickedness and falsehood, they were punished with blindness all their days."
Lily closed the book. "This is the original. It has changed over time about Cinderella instead getting a fairy godmother who casts a spell on her to have a beautiful gown and glass slippers, but she has to be back at midnight before the magic runs out and she leaves one glass slipper behind for the Prince. The magic words are 'salagadoola mechica boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo, put'em together and what have you got, bippity-boppity-boo!' But anyway, the moral of the story has stayed the same; those who are wicked are punished and those who do what is asked of them and are good and pious and they live happily ever after."
James nodded. "It sounds nice, but magic wouldn't run out at midnight."
Lily giggled now. "And spells aren't bippity-boppity-boo!"
"Well, our stories are similar, to warn kids about using magic when they are not allowed and not to steal parents' wands, etc. So, this Princess Bride is a love story then; a fairy tale?"
"Kind of," Lily said. "But it has a lot of adventure to it as well. Here," she opened the book again to the first page and began to read: "This is my favourite book in all the world, though I've never read it. How is such a thing possible? I'll do my best to explain.' This is where it gets complicated, Goldman goes on to discuss how he first heard the Morgenstern tale, but in real life, this is all part of the story that he wrote."
"Alright, I understand that part fine I'm just not sure what the book is about. Is it like Dumas' books?"
"Definitely not. Here, let me find the one thing that he created his father saying about it, I think that it explains it very well." She flipped through the pages skimming and then grinned. "Aha! Here it is: 'Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifullest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passions. Miracles.' That is what this book is about."
"Well, that definitely sounds interesting." He took the book from her and opened it to read the description on the inside flap. "The Princess Bride is a timeless tale that pits country against country, good against evil, love against hate. This incredible journey and artfully rendered love story is peppered with strange beasties monstrous and gentle, memorable surprises both terrible and sublime, and such unforgettable characters as Westley, the handsome farm boy who risks death (and much worse) for the woman he loves; Inigo, the Spanish swordsmen who lives only to avenge his father's death; Fezzik, the gentlest giant ever to have uprooted a tree with his bare hands; Vizzini, the evil Sicilian, with a mind so keen he's foiled by his own perfect logic; Prince Humperdinck, the eviler ruler of Florin, who has an equally insatiable thirst for war and the beauteous Buttercup; Count Rugen, the evilest man of all, who thrives on the excruciating pain of others; Miracle Max, the King's ex-Miracle Man, who can raise the dead (kind of); and of course, Buttercup, the princess bride, the most perfect, beautiful woman in the history of the world.' Hmm, sounds kind of interesting. Muggles talk about giants?"
Lily grinned now. "Kind of. Definitely have a different perception then of what they actually are so don't be surprised to see that they are actually nothing like giants."
James grinned at that. "Brilliant, well this sounds really great and entertaining. I look forward to reading it."
"Good. I think Professor Wallace will get a kick out of you reading this as well as it is something a little different than usual and very modern." Lily supplied.
He nodded. "Thanks. And thanks for reading Cinderella to me. It was a great story." He placed the book in his lap and he smiled at her. "So, are you anxious to head home for Christmas?"
"Yeah, I miss my family. What about you?"
"Yeah, me too. Um, my parents are going away this year on holiday. My dad wants to treat my mother to a second honeymoon, but my mum's all concerned to go and leave Sirius and I alone. I told her not to worry about it, but its Christmas and she doesn't like the thought."
Lily nodded. "That makes sense. So Sirius will be with you then? Good, I was worried that he was going to spend Christmas alone."
James laughed. "Not a chance. First of all, he has officially moved into my house and second of all, my mother would never allow him to stay at his house for such an important holiday. Besides, he would just invite himself over anyway."
"I'm not surprised to hear that. Any idea what your parents are going to get you this year?"
He grinned. "I asked for the new Nimbus, but I don't know, I'll probably get clothes or something. What about you?"
She smiled. "I'm not sure. I asked for some new clothes and such. I don't really know what I want."
I want you, he thought to himself. "Yeah, its hard this time of year."
She nodded. "Well, I hope you enjoy the book and your holidays." She said, standing up now.
He smiled. "I will, thanks for your help again."
"No problem. Um … Happy Christmas."
"Happy Christmas." James said as he watched her hurry off and out of the room. He held the book against his chest and sighed. He would definitely do his best to enjoy the holidays but he couldn't help but prevent that nagging voice in the back of his mind from telling him that he would enjoy them a lot more if Lily was part of them