9: A red lily.
Mai met up with the three girls; Lily, Alice and Mary in the library. Lily, long, elegant and beautiful, Mary; short, plump, but with the most amazing brown eyes and Alice, tiny and roundfaced. They were all great friends in different ways, but Mai had always had the best connection with the red-headed Lily, who now…quite obviously, was crushing on Mais' other best friend.
"Hey Mai, we were just talking about you…or, well, about your friend." Mary said with glee in her brown eyes and glanced at Lily, who blushed furiously. Mai smiled crockedly and nodded.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, that Remus Lupin guy. Apparently, our dear friend Lily here has a slight crush on him." Lucy said and grinned broadly, nudging Lily in the ribs in the process. Lily grimaced and looked apologetically at Mai.
"I'm sorry, I was going to tell you sooner, but they forced it out of me. I guess I've been acting quite transparent, haven't I?" She said awkwardly. Mai smiled and sat down beside her.
"Quite. So, what exactly is it that you like about him?" Mai asked. It felt strange, too strange as Lily got a dreamy look on her face and a smile that was just plain… creepy.
"He sits beside me in charms sometimes, and he's so kind and smart, and he's got this mysterious aura that I just can't place. He cares for people, it's nice. And unlike other guys I get to know, he hasn't tried to hit on me. Not once." She said and smiled. Mai was surprised, but tried to hide it by messing around in her bag to find the homework for Transfiguration.
"So…the reason you like him, is because he isn't that kind of interested in you?" Mai asked after gathering her thoughts.
"No, you got it wrong. I like him for him, not the fact that he's totally uninterested. I think I would have liked it if he was interested in me." She spluttered, blushing again. Mai laughed and shook her head.
"I hear you."
"Sooo, could you put in a good word for me?" She asked. Mary and Alice was listening in with wide eyes and grins. Both had boyfriends of their own, even though they tended to change them as often as they changed socks.
"Er, do you think that's such a good idea?" She asked uneasy, knowing she couldn't do that to James. He genuinely liked Lily, even though he had a strange way of showing it.
"Oh, I'm sorry. You like him too." Lily said embarrassed. Mai gawked at her and held up her hands in front of her.
"No, no, no, it's just that…James…"
"Ah, I see. I don't want to put you in a difficult position with your friends of course. I can handle it. As long as I know you support me." Lily said and smiled. Mai felt relief flow through her, washing away her worries and left her refreshed and clean.
"Of course." Not entirely meaning it, as she was still kind of protective of Remus. After that they left the conversation and worked on their homework instead. It gave Mai plenty of time to think about what had just happened, and what it probably would lead to. She wasn't sure she liked where her mind was taking her. When she realized she had read the same page four times she gave up on studying and packed the transfiguration book into her bag again. She bid goodbye to her friends and left the library, walking back towards the Gryffindor tower.
Of course, her luck had run out that day, and as she turned the corner, she had three Slytherins waiting for her. They were grinning ruthlessly and they had their wands at the ready. That's all she noticed before the hex met her chest and Marcellus' cold, humorless laughter registered in her brain.