Chapter 11: Hogsmeade
October 1976
With the arrival of Halloween a Hogsmeade trip was scheduled for the day and all of Hogwarts was excited. It was the topic of many of conversations and Lily's friends planned and plotted what they would be doing that day. It was rumoured that Dumbledore had procured the most popular band of the day: The Exploding Cauldrons. Above such triviality, Lily was thinking how many things had changed since coming to really know James and his friends. It was shocking for Lily to be around the boys and not feel annoyed by them, and though it was odd to admit, they actually could act like human beings most of the time.
As she was getting dressed and putting on a warm jumper, she thought over the developing relationship between Sirius and Tory. It was well known that they would flirt whenever the two groups would get together, which was quickly becoming a daily occurrence. Many students had started hailing them as "the couple" but how long they were to stay as that Lily didn't know, and she wasn't sure that their relationship was even 'official' yet.
Nicole was acting differently around Remus, but it was so subtle that it took a few weeks for Lily to notice the change. Nicole had always been one to stay as herself, no matter whether she had a boyfriend or not, but it was disconcerting to see how she easily would spend so much time in the company of Remus instead of her own friends. Lily thought that it was a good match, but at the first opportunity alone with the girl she would ambush her and demand answers for herself. It was as they were walking to breakfast together that she finally found her moment. Tory was supposed to be eating with Sirius and Kathleen hastening to the library to tidy up an essay for Transfiguration that she wanted to go over before she turned it in to Professor McGonagall later that day.
"So, Nicole, you and Remus are getting pretty friendly as of late." Lily said as Nicole flushed red.
"I… I don't know what you mean, you very well know that I've been on friendly terms with Remus for years, and you also know that all we're doing is studying in the library." she said defensively as her cheeks slowly returned to their usual colour.
"Oh I know, but I've just noticed how much time you're spending with him and I think it is wonderful." Lily whispered as a group of first years noisily made their way to the Great Hall laughing and pushing each other as they strode passed the two fellow Gryffindors.
"We're not going out." Nicole said flatly.
"But why not? We both know that Remus is so sweet and I know you two are definitely good for each other." Lily insisted.
"Because we aren't a couple, just very good friends." she looked sternly at Lily. "I know all of Remus's good qualities, but I can't be in a relationship right now. It wouldn't be fair to him or me if we got involved. It's very important to me to do well on my studies if I want to get a good position at St. Mungo's as a councillor and you know it's true."
Lily didn't like the logic of that statement but she quickly pushed the thought away and said adamantly, "I know that you want to do well, but it doesn't mean that you have to give up a chance with him, because I know that he also wants to do well on his N.E.W.T's and he wouldn't scorn you for wanting to work. Many people have juggled personal and educational lives at one time and still managed things enough to have their lives going the way they planned them. You do realise that, don't you?"
"Yes, but," Nicole started to say but Lily talked over the top of her rebuttal.
"No buts Nicole, either you'll have him or you won't. There's no in-betweens."
Before Nicole could come up with a reply they had arrived in front of the large oak doors that were spread open and the smell of food overtook their senses, pausing their conversation. Quickly, Lily walked over to where Tory was sitting in Sirius's lap and rolled her eyes at the sight. She walked over and sat next to Sirius, very aware of the fact that Nicole didn't follow her but instead had gone over and sat next to the fifth year prefects. Ignoring that, Lily instead pulled a flask of Pumpkin juice and poured herself a glass and as she did so she looked up and met the eyes of James Potter. When she caught him staring at her he gave her a quirky grin as he greeted her.
"Good morning Lily." he said as he started to stand up.
"Morning,"
"I'll see you later. I have to deliver an owl to my parents. See you in Transfiguration."
Lily had just taken a bite of her toast so she just nodded and then waved as James stood up and walked out of sight. She looked over at Nicole and saw to her dismay that her friend seemed to be laughing at some joke and was obviously avoiding her. Lily turned to her left and watched as Tory fed Sirius grapes, but it wasn't Tory he was studying.
"What is it?"
Sirius cleared his throat. "I don't what it is about you, but that boy's got it bad and he can't help himself when he acts like he does. You gonna let him take you to Hogsmeade?"
Lily had just taken a sip of juice that resulted in choking and sputtering as she asked, "W…what? Are you serious?"
"Of course, I'm Sir…"
"So help me, Sirius Black. If you tell me that joke one more time, I will hex you as never before, because I know you know exactly what I really meant." said Lily, unsmiling.
Sirius just rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, yeah I know what you mean." He took a breath. Tory slid of Sirius's lap and sat on his other side watching the conversation with interest.
"But honestly, are you going to let James ask you out, because I know he's been looking forward to this chance and I know it would really mean something fierce to him if you'd say yes. I'm not saying you have to, but I just want you to know that he really fancies you and," he lowered his voice so much so that Lily had to lean forward to hear him add, "and I think that he's fancied you longer than you and I'll ever realize. But that's my opinion, so take it as you will."
For once, Lily actually thought that Sirius was being completely and genuinely serious.
-xx-x-x-xx-x-x-xx-
As the afternoon arrived, the girls called it a day of no homework and that they had to do something fun together like they had in previous years. The girls were sitting together in a heap in the middle of their dormitory floor. They had pulled off their duvets, had cocooned themselves in them, and then had retrieved their pillows and either sat on or lay atop them.
Although Nicole and Lily acted stiffly toward each other they had no qualms with Kathleen or Tory, so the afternoon was spent laughing and talking about – what else? – boys and their uses or subsequent drawbacks.
"So Kathleen, have you gotten up the nerve ask Jonathan Kirk if he would like to accompany you to Hogwarts yet? I know that you aren't the only one in this castle that has eyes for him," Tory said.
Lily had a feeling that it must be true since Tory was always the one to have the most reliable information on such things as budding relationships, but Kathleen only stared down at her fingernails and didn't respond.
Tory became impatient and sat up and said, "Come on Kathleen; give us something good to chat about! We're waiting here!"
She mumbled a unintelligibly sentence.
"What?" the three said together excitedly.
Kathleen took in a huge breath, sighed, and then said, "He asked me already, and said yes." Everyone froze at these words, but then Lily snapped back and she squealed in delight.
"That's magnificent Kathleen! Why ever did you not tell us sooner?"
Before Kathleen could speak she was tackled as her three friends collided as they all when to give the girl a congratulatory hug. The result was a large pile of arms and legs, at which Kathleen seemed to be having trouble breathing, so the girls quickly scurried off and she was left to massage her bruised throat. After a few minutes of everyone catching their breath and settling back into their spots they sat staring at Kathleen until she admitted quite reluctantly, as though it was taking herculean effort to get the words out.
"Earlier today he cornered me after Herbology and then actually asked me to go with him and well, I of course said yes!" the girl crowed, overcome at the prospect of going anywhere with her crush.
Lily was happy that the boy finally noticed Kathleen and did something about it. As Kathleen continued however; colour drained from her face and she suddenly looked guiltily up at her friends and whispered, "But then I didn't want to tell you guys since it's been a tradition to go together on the first Hogsmeade trip of the year."
Lily sat up in shock, Kathleen's growing attachment to Jonathan had become quite transparent to her closest friends and it was astonishing that their friend would think of others when one of her biggest dreams had just come true.
"Now I can't speak for all of us, but I think that it's about time Jonathan dredged up some brains and finally noticed what a gem you are. I would add that you shouldn't care what we do because this is something you've been waiting for for some time now, besides, who knows what will happen between the two of you if you go? There's nothing like the present, I say."
The others quickly agreed with Lily's sentiments and Kathleen beamed brightly and let out a relieved sigh.
"Thanks guys, it means a lot to me that you don't mine if I break tradition to go with someone else this time."
Nicole spoke up when they had fallen silent.
"Umm, I have to confess that I won't be going with you either actually," she said, trying not to make eye contact with her friends; and Lily noticed that she seemed to be especially hesitant to meet her eye.
The Marauders were tightly wrapped in their cloaks as they made their way through the grounds of Hogwarts and to the lakeside. They had wanted to go to the lake and escape the castle since every Gryffindor seemed to be in the common room because of the outside being so cold, but the four friends had come to except the cooler temperature thanks to their monthly escapades for the last year.
When the group got comfortable on the bank they sat down and started planning how they would be spending the upcoming Hogsmeade visit. Naturally, Sirius was the first to admit that he and Tory had been planning on going to Hogsmeade together, but what was shocking of the whole arrangement was that Peter would be walking with them until they actually reached the village (If I can live that long, seeing as they will be probably be glued together at the lips," he had said). Although Peter didn't say what he was going to be doing, they quickly dropped the subject when it was clear that Peter wouldn't be telling any of his mysterious plans he had there.
James was surprised when Remus admitted that he had asked Nicole to go with him and she had said yes. James felt giddy at the thought of asking if Lily she would like to come with him to Hogsmeade. His friends, especially Sirius, started wolf whistling and nudging him in the ribs as though they could read his thoughts, but he ignored them and concentrated on how she might act when it come to. He knew that she probably didn't want to go as a "couple", so he would be sure to make that clear when he asked her. He wasn't sure what would happen after he did, but he was really hopping that she would say yes. Somehow though, he didn't think that she would say no, because it seemed to him that she was coming to enjoy his company after all.
-xx-x-x-xx-x-x-xx-
James fidgeted nervously with his tie and his fingers fumbled with it as he tried loosening it. His last class of the day (Defence against the Dark Arts) had just ended and he knew that the time had come and it was now or never.
Distantly he heard Sirius teasing Peter about something he had done earlier that day, but he quickly shut them from his thoughts and tried to concentrate on what he would say when he could get to Lily by herself.
It seemed only seconds had passed when he arrived before the Fat Lady. Clearing his throat, Remus gave the password (Bat wings) and they clambered in. The common room had many students, but the quartet seemed to be the first to get to the common room from their own age group. The boys all started for their dormitory at once, but James begged off and sat at a nearby table that faced the portrait hole so that he would know when Lily entered the room.
James dropped his bag at his feet and took in a breath to compose himself. It didn't work but he tried to settle his stomach anyway. To occupy his mind he thought over his last Quidditch practice that he had held.
Sirius, as one of the beaters, had been very lively and that had kept the team in high spirits when the weather turned bitter. Having his best friend on the team was both good and bad sometimes, but last night it was a good thing. Sirius was popular with the general populous of the school, excluding the Slytherins of course, and last night it had come as a blessing when the players started to moan.
James just hoped that his team would get used to the cold, because the first match of the season would be in a few weeks and it was Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw. Thinking back, James made a mental note to work them harder if they had started to complain about the cold, so that if he worked them hard enough they would either be too tired to complain or too hot to be complaining about the cold air. But before he could think anymore on the subject the Fat Lady's portrait swung opened to reveal Lily and her friends. After walking into the common room the girls made their way upstairs.
James jumped to his feet and dashed to the girls. Lily jumped when he flew to her side but she didn't say anything other than, "Good afternoon James."
He almost had forgotten what he had wanted to ask her until her friends started giggling and the room temperature seemed to be getting uncomfortably warm. Thankfully Lily shushed her friends and told them to go up without her and they did go up but Nicole still shot a smug knowing look in his direction. Self-consciously he cleared his throat and motioned her to follow as he walked to a more remote part of the common room.
She trailed behind looking grim and that worried him more than anything she could have done. Did she know what he was doing and didn't want to hurt his feelings by turning him down after getting to know him better? Did that mean she had already been asked and was going to go with someone else? Again he cleared his throat, and out of habit, ran his hand through his hair making it stand on end. He looked at her face and saw to his relief that she had started to crack a smile.
Bolstered by this show of warmth he finally spoke, "So, how's your day been going?" he cringed when his voice broke on his last word. She ignored this. "Interesting." was all she said. Reprimanding himself for making idle chitchat, he went straight to the point.
"Lily," he paused for the smallest moment, "Would you like to visit Hogsmeade together? Don't feel pressured over it; it can be just as friends since I know that you're not looking for a boyfriend or anything."
She didn't respond right away, but when she did her answer made his breath caught and he thought he might fall in a dead faint.
"Yes James, I would love to go with you as friends." After his brain had started functioning again he grinned and he was sure that he probably looked a bit mad grinning widely enough that his cheeks hurt.
"Great!" he shouted excitedly. Thankfully no one in the room seemed to care enough to look over at them.
"Okay, I guess I'll go. Bye! I'll see you later Lily!" he said and then he quickly gave her a peck on the cheek and hurried off to tell his friends the fantastic news.
Lily stood there motionless in shock. He had kissed her on the cheek! He had kissed her! Although it had been short it had been nice. She put her hand to her cheek, and though it had not been a novelty for she had had boyfriends before now, but the gesture had been so sweet that she had never felt so touched before. He had kissed her like it was second nature or something of the sort. She was shaken from her thoughts as she was bowled over by two third year girls that had ran straight into her, and how they didn't see her she would never know, but after several minutes of 'sorrys' and many 'I'm fines', Lily finally made it up to her room. She must have still looked shocked because as soon as she had made it through the door Nicole looked up at her speculatively.
"What happened? Are you okay Lily?" she asked.
"Um, I… I'm not quite sure," Lily said haltingly. "James asked me to Hogsmeade and I assume that he knows that most of my friends are going with someone else, so I said yes and he told me it would be just as friends. And then he … kissed my cheek."
It might have been an explosion because all at once her friends scurried to her side and started talking over the top of each other and Lily could only make out snatches of what they seemed to be saying.
"…kissed you!"
"…here I thought it wouldn't…"
"…Wow, that was…"
After several minutes of chaos, exclamation and hugs Lily was able to extract herself from the din and walk to her bed. From her seat she said over her friends' enthusiastic chatter, "It was only on my cheek!" But the girls didn't seem to hear her or if they did, they just ignored it.
"I knew he would do it one of these days," Nicole said confidently.
"Yeah," Kathleen agreed wholeheartedly. "It's been coming along for ages."
The girls seemed to be in a frenzy and Lily guessed that they would stay occupied long enough for her to get away. She watched for several minutes until she knew they weren't paying close attention to her and then she slid off her bed and left the room quietly.
Wanting to think in peace, but not having a clear notion of where, Lily decided that a nice chat with Hagrid would be enough. Lily realized that she hadn't yet visited him this term and thought that now would be a good time to resolve the matter. She walked through the common room like a shadow and passed along the corridors thinking hard. If James really liked her and even kissed her however briefly on the cheek, could that possibly mean that he might want something more than just a Hogsmeade visit between friends at a later time?
No, she said to herself. She had just remembered that it was just a few days ago that she had had a fabulous time with him and they hadn't done anything but joke around and talk about things that she would have with her girl friends. After considering the thought, she made her way to Hagrid's hut.
It had been a while since she posted a letter to her parents, and so she made a mental note to remember to write one as soon as she got back from Hagrid's. Satisfied, she walked in earnest to one of her dearest friends.
Lily arrived in front of Hagrid's house but he didn't seem to be inside when she knocked so she made her way back behind his hut and found him tending to his garden that was filled with very large pumpkins.
"Hello Hagrid," she greeted warmly.
"Hello Lily," said Hagrid turning to face her with a smile. "You finally remembered where I live, did ya?"
"Yes, sorry, I've been busy."
"I've noticed," Hagrid's eyes crinkled at the corners and said, "Yeah, I've seen you and James Potter out on the grounds together a lot o' times lately."
Lily fought down a blush that tried to paint brightly on her cheeks, but thankfully she felt the hotness drain from her face slowly.
"So, are you working on the pumpkins for the feast?" she asked, wanting to change the subject more then anything else.
"Yeah," Hagrid said. He seemed to guess what she was doing, but he just said, "They're comin' along great. Going to get real big, ya' see?"
"Yes, it'll be great, come Halloween."
"Well, no use staying out here in the cold, how 'bout a cuppa?"
"Oh yes!" Lily said. She had just realised how cool it had gotten, even with her heavy cloak.
"So, are you going with your friends to Hogsmeade?" he asked as he poured her a cup of hot tea. It was an innocent enough question, but her body betrayed her as her cheeks flared an intense crimson. Why oh why did she have to blush so much? It had to be an illness. Hagrid noticed and looked at her questioningly.
"Actually no, they're all going with other people, so umm, James asked me to go with him just as friends instead of going alone. By myself."
She stressed the words just as friends, but Hagrid ignored it and said, "Friends huh? And I noticed you called him James – not Potter or anything insultin'. What's that mean?"
Lily was becoming increasingly embarrassed at the line of questions. But she wasn't sure how she was supposed to respond to them.
"Well we're no longer enemies, if that's what you're asking, but I wouldn't be so bold as to say that we're more than friends because we're not! No," she said with a shake of her head. "No we're not. We are just really good friends now."
Hagrid didn't speak but Lily didn't like the look on his face and the minutes passed agonizingly slow. Desperate to leave, she downed her tea in few hasty gulps and said after a moment of silence, "Thanks for the tea Hagrid, but I had better go, I want to send a letter to my parents before dinner, so I'll see you later."
He nodded, still wearing the odd expression and opened his cabin door for her and watched as she walked back up to the castle alone. Although it was only a little after four, the grounds were empty as the wind blew the cold hard air through the empty lawn.
-xx-x-x-xx-x-x-xx-
Pulling in a deep calming breathe Lily mustered up enough courage to open the door to her dormitory and poke her head in and see if her friends were in there. Mercifully there only seemed to be Kathleen in the room sitting on her bed reading a very large tome.
"Where are the others?" Lily asked her.
Kathleen looked up from her book and paused a minute before responding.
"Tory went off with Sirius somewhere and Nicole headed to visit the library about fifteen minutes ago. Where did you go?" she asked suspiciously. What she was being accused of Lily didn't know, but she responded calmly and dignified. She straightened up to her full height and said, "At Hagrid's. I'm going to write to my parents. I'll see you at dinner."
With that Lily flounced out of the door (after getting the necessary items), strode to the portrait hole, and made the long trek to the Owlery. She didn't want to sit on owl droppings as she wrote her letter, so she situated herself on the stairs leading to the top of the Owlery and composed her letter to her parents.
Dear Mum and Dad,
Sorry for not getting to you sooner. It's been very busy this last month, so it hasn't occurred to me to write until now. Has Petunia gotten settled in her new home yet? I haven't received any news from her, so you'll have to report to me. Do you remember the boy that we met in Diagon Alley before the school year? Well James Potter really has changed this summer for the better and, believe it or not, I've actually befriended him.
The Hogsmeade trip is on Halloween again this year, but all of my friends are all pairing off and Tory is now dating Sirius Black, another boy you met this summer too. Just today James asked me to go with him to Hogsmeade as friends, which we are JUST friends! Dad please don't let Mum get any ideas and stop her from planning my wedding, because I won't be marrying James and besides, I'm not even dating him.
Lily paused; she didn't know what else to say. Should she confide that she has been spending a lot of time in James's company? She had even started wondering if she was starting to feel something toward him that wasn't wholly platonic. Everything was happening so fast and she felt so confused. She knew that he felt some affection toward her, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to get into a relationship, but then words came to her. Her words that she had said to Nicole just this morning.
"No buts Nicole, either you'll have him or you won't. There are no in-betweens."
Lily rolled her eyes at the irony of the whole thing. But did she think that she might want to be in a relationship with him? The whole thing was getting ridiculous. After thinking for a few more minutes she decided against telling her parents anymore than she already had and just finished up her letter instead.
I don't have much else to say right now, but I hope this letter finds you all right and I hope you can get back to me soon. I love and miss you both.
Lots of love,
Lily
She stood up and went into the Owlery and picked a school owl at random and watched as it flew off into the far distance. Her stomach grumbled at its neglect and she realised that it was indeed almost dinner time. With one last look out at the darkening sky she turned to the door to join the other Gryffindors in the Great Hall.
James shot up in bed, at first thought it had been Sirius doing something to him, but looking around him he saw nothing but his friends sleeping in their four posters. He then remembered what today was; Halloween, which meant the Hogsmeade trip was also today. He looked at his watch and groaned. It was just about four-thirty in the morning. Great. It was too early to for anyone to be awake, but now that he was awake James couldn't settle his excitement or nerves enough to sleep.
Wishing that he could fall asleep eventually he got up and reached for his glasses, a pair of slippers, his dressing gown and his Invisibility Cloak. He thought that if he got something hot to drink he might be able to get back to bed for a few more hours before everyone else started to wake up. Fixing everything to rights, he quickly made his way through the castle in silence.
Rubbing his eyes wearily and covering a yawn he made it to the picture of a bowl of fruit. He reached and tickled the pear and watched as it giggled and turned into a doorknob. Letting himself in, he was immediately bombarded by tiny squeaking house-elves on every side. Covering another yawn he asked for a cup of tea and some muffins and whatever else they might have lying around.
In minutes they had pulled all the stops and he was presented with a ridiculous amount of food and his requested cup of tea. He ate a couple tarts and a muffin, but he didn't really taste them, he was only thinking of what the day might end up being like. Although he'd been dreaming of this day for a long time it still didn't seem real to him. He felt like he was in an alternative world, because where else would Lily actually like him enough to agreed to go with him to Hogsmeade? Just them. Alone together. It just didn't make sense!
Around five he started to feel tired again, so he thanked the elves and plodded his way along the familiar path to the Fat Lady's portrait. Sluggishly he trudged up the stairs and padded his way to his bed. With a sigh he fell into bed, slippers and all, falling asleep in seconds.
-xx-x-x-xx-x-x-xx-
"Okay James act cool. You don't want to loose your head over a little thing like a Hogsmeade visit, do you?" he asked his reflection in the lavatory mirror before him. His reflection didn't answer. He again picked up his comb and tugged it through his hair half-heartedly and after a few minutes he gave it up as a bad job and returned to his room. Checking to make sure to grab gloves, his cloak and a scarf, James left his dormitory and walked down into the common room. Lily was waiting at the bottom of the landing that lead up to the boys' dormitory, and when she saw him she smiled widely.
"Are you ready?" she asked.
"Yes. Have you been waiting long?"
"No, just about five minutes is all."
"I think we should get going, yeah?" James asked tightly. He was anxious to leave the castle grounds and the day could only get better from there in his opinion.
"Yes, let's." said Lily.
She then hooked her elbow around his as they walked down through the castle together. When she touched him, his brain froze and his heart beat a rapid tempo, but after a second he got feeling and thought back into his brain and they started their descent.
-xx-x-x-xx-x-x-xx-
"Butterbeer?" James asked. He and Lily had just sat down at a table in the back of the Three Broomsticks and he was going to get a couple of drinks after winning a disagreement about who would be paying.
"Yes please," Lily relented.
"Right 'o, be back in a tick."
James sidled around the many tables filled with rowdy Hogwarts students and wizard folk chattering loudly from every direction. When he reached the bar he came face to face with Madame Rosmerta, the very pretty owner of the Three Broomsticks, and asked for two tankards of Butterbeers.
"Just two James? What are Remus and Peter doing that could possibly prevent them from sitting with you and Sirius?" she asked looking around the bar in search of Sirius.
"Sirius?" James asked. "I'm not here with Sirius, where did you get that idea?"
Madame Rosmerta leaned forward and James quickly looked up and tried to concentrate on her words carefully, "Well it's just that you're always together with Sirius when you come here on a Hogsmeade visit and it's quite unusual of you two to be separated, so whom are you with then?"
"He's off with his girlfriend and my other friends ditched me so I'm here with Lily Evans. She got deserted by her friends too." James said with a wide smile.
Rosmerta spotted Lily sitting in the back and then nodded. "Right. I'll bring your drinks to you in a moment and that will be six sickles apiece."
James paid the barmaid and then walked back to his seat next to Lily, who he noticed was gripping her wand tightly in her lap as she waited for him to return. He frowned, for some reason Lily was shooting an annoyed glance at the bar.
"Is there something wrong Lily?" he asked curiously.
"What?"
James noted at once that her face had cleared of all emotion and turned into innocent bewilderment. "Why were you looking so irked just a minute ago?" he said as he indicated with his head to the front bar.
"I was?" she asked shocked. "No I wasn't!"
James heard the honesty in her voice and stared at her, just confused as she was. "What do you mean you don't know? How could you not know that?"
"No. I was just watching you order drinks. Why would I…" but she was interrupted as Madame Rosmerta appeared in front of their table and served their drinks. James looked up and grinned mischievously at the barmaid, "Thank you ever so much."
Madame Rosmerta looked over at him and winked. "Have fun today, and that goes for you as well Lily." Rosmerta faced Lily and blinked in surprise. Again Lily had something less than a pleasant look on her face and this time she was staring straight at Madame Rosmerta, seeing this Madame Rosmerta quickly scurried away and went back behind the bar to serve her customers and staying far away from Lily.
James chuckled. He couldn't help it. Lily was (dare he even think it) acting, oddly enough, jealous. Lily looked at him questioningly but he just shook his head disbelievingly. They talked about charms and transfiguration technique, the opening Quidditch match and James told her about some different manoeuvres he wanted his team to try. For her part, Lily looked genuinely curious at his explaining of the different Quidditch moves, but after a quarter of an hour they went into more neutral subjects.
When silence descended on the table James ruffled his hair and asked, "Would you like to leave?"
Lily took the last drag from her Butterbeer and wiped her mouth on her napkin and stood up pulling on her cloak and gloves while James quickly finished his. Together they edged around the other tables and out the doors.
The wind had settled down to a light breeze so that Lily and James casually walked down Hogsmeade village and window browsed until Lily said that she was getting low on ink and wanted to go into Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop to pick up a couple bottles, loyally James followed and watched as she selected her things and went to the till to pay for them things.
"Honeydukes next?" he asked grinning. It was amazing that he had finally got a chance to go the Hogsmeade with Lily.
"I thought you would never ask!" she again took the initiative and all but dragged James as she made a beeline for the sweetshop. He hurried and they entered the crowded shop and Lily expertly manoeuvred around all of the other students picking an assortment of sweets, and mostly just ones that consisted of chocolate. James trailed behind and grabbed a couple of bars of Honeydukes famous chocolate bars and a package of Sugar Quills for himself. After finding all of their favourites sweets they marched up to the till and paid for their purchases and went back out into the surprisingly mild, late October weather.
It was still early afternoon so they decided to wander down the little lanes of Hogsmeade that they had never explored before. After strolling along for a few minutes in silence they happened upon a small children's play park that was deserted. When Lily saw this she squealed in delight and ran to the swings and promptly sat down and called to James, "James! Come and join me!"
It wasn't often that James could say that Lily smiled at him in earnest and completely of her own volition, without the aid of anyone or anything else around them. Until recently, that is. Grinning he jogged over to the swings and sat down and started pumping his legs and matched Lily's pace on the swing. He glanced over at her, saw her staring, and then pulled a funny face and that made her start laughing as she swung higher and higher. He didn't think that he'd ever heard anything so beautiful before in his life.
They didn't say anything for a long time, just enjoying the calm and quiet. James couldn't help stealing a glance at Lily when he thought she wasn't looking. He flushed when she caught him at it, he decided a distract was needed.
"So, is this something you like to do during the summer Hols?" James asked.
"I certainly wish I could have. But it wasn't really feasible with my older sister's wedding. We had to prepare for that and get all the things that go along with a wedding done, so it was a busy summer for me. Too busy really."
"Are you close to your sister?" James was staring at Lily and he was surprised at Lily's reaction to what he thought would be an innocent question.
"Who? Petunia? Are you kidding me?" Lily said as her brow wrinkled in irritation. "No. Petunia and I haven't had a civil conversation since we went to Diagon Alley just over five years ago. I was young then and I was so excited to finally understand how I could do such extraordinary things after years of confusion and I was sure that my sister would think it lovely too. I never expected Petunia's reaction. Growing up we were like any two sisters: fighting, laughing and sharing everything and anything, and we always knew we loved each other and I would sure she would except me for me,"
Lily paused and James was surprised that she would confide such a personal experience with him, but he didn't want to ruin the moment so he kept quiet.
"I was wrong, so very wrong. After we arrived home I went and put my things away except my wand, which I just wanted to show Petunia. Which is when we had a huge row and had our initial falling-out. All I had ever wanted from her was her approval, but of course she hadn't taken it well, instead of the approval I had imaged she recoiled from me as though I was some venomous snake and shrieked, 'Get away from me you… you… freak of nature!' "
James was appalled at the attitude of this so-called sister of Lily's. He was surprised at her ability to remember everything so clearly and without the least bit of hesitation on her part. He wondered if she had ever told anyone this story before. He wondered if her parents even knew.
Lily jarred up trying to think of a way to go on from here. By this point they had both stopped swinging and just stayed unmoving in their seats. Lily drew in a huge breath and stiffly stood up and trekked woodenly over to a patch of grass and sat there instead, but that didn't stop James from going to sit next to her and lightly wrapped his arm around her slender shoulders.
"You think of this a lot, don't you? And I bet you haven't gotten past it by the looks of things." The last part, Lily realised, was a statement. She sighed and nodded mutely. "I didn't always feel so angry toward Petunia, but after so many years you begin to realise that angry words are better than tears being shed over the whole thing. When she first reacted that way I was shocked and hurt, but primarily hurt, so instead of trying anything subtle I acted impulsively and bristled, attacking right back.
" 'You're just jealous!' I remember screaming, and I easily saw that I had hit a nerve because Petunia's eyes widened as her alarm grew. But denial is Petunia's specialty and quickly tried to dissuade me from this notion.
" 'I do not! Why would I want to be some freak that attends a freak school with others that are… are… so unnatural as you?' Never in my short life had Petunia ever said anything so harsh or spiteful to me before, and especially to my face, but unfortunately she wasn't finished. 'That's right sis, mum and dad may be happy over this oddity but that doesn't take the freakishness out of a FREAK like you!'
"My retort died on my lips and I could feel that I was about to lose my composure, so with my wand clutched in my fist I flew to my bedroom and I didn't come out for the rest of the day. To this day I still don't know what Petunia said to my parents, but I do know that they never came to check on me and it was from that moment on that I never trusted anyone as much as I had trusted Petunia. Well, until today that is."
It wasn't until she had finished her tale did Lily realise that she had started crying, but as her tears fell James was there to quickly wipe them away and he pulled her tightly to his side to comfort the hurt girl. With great apprehension Lily cautiously stole a glance at James to see his reaction to the whole affair. He wasn't talking or speaking and that worried her, but that didn't last too long.
"That's the way she talks to you now?" the irate boy shouted in the total quiet around them.
"James! Not so loud!" she admonished, but he didn't seem to have heard her.
"Why that… well I don't think there is a word enough worthy for her…"
Lily gave a shaky laugh and said, "Would 'inconsiderate, monstrous and intolerable old cow' do you enough justice?"
James shook his head determinedly, but Lily still saw the smirk that twitched around the corners of his mouth.
The two talked and James cracked a few jokes to lighten the mood and they stayed in the park until the cold Scottish wind picked up fast and they left for the castle; both found themselves getting more excited for the upcoming feast as they walked closer and closer to the castle.
-xx-x-x-xx-x-x-xx-
Lily laughed as she and James entered the brightly lit common room where students just coming from Hogsmeade were warming up at the fireplace and the younger students were chatting impatiently about the upcoming Halloween feast. Still chuckling over James's last witty remark Lily started to pull off her cloak, but before she could do more than extract one arm when it was quickly shed with the help of James. Lily turned to him and smiled brightly as she took her cloak from him.
"Thank you kind Sir," she said playfully.
"My pleasure dear Lady," he quipped as he bowed low to the ground.
Lily laughed again; the girl couldn't remember the last time she'd had as much fun as she had in this one afternoon in a long while. Quickly dashing up the waiting stairway Lily called to James that she would see him later at the feast and then pulled open the door to her dormitory.
The redheaded girl was surprised to find the room devoid of anyone since it was usually tradition that the girls would talk and laugh about the trip spent in Hogsmeade before they walked down to the feast together; but instead the room only had silence thick as dense fog.
Feeling a little hurt Lily took a shower to calm and soothe her and after several minutes of peaceful contemplation of the day Lily got out and wrapped her hair in a towel and piled it high on her head. She brushed and dried her hair until it shined and then picked out a clean uniform and dressed in the hush.
Lilt consulted her clock and saw that she still had an hour before the feast began and so she decided that she would sketch out whatever her mind conjured up. Lily took up her sketch pad and pencils that lay on her side table and let her fingers do the rest. The mindless drawing felt good it was nice to do so effortlessly and it was only when she was halfway finished with her picture did Lily realise that she had started one with James sitting on his swing smiling mischievously.
This new development surprised her. It wasn't that her newfound friendship was shocking, it was only how close they had gotten after so short a time and it was astounding how she had already memorized his face decently enough to draw him reasonably well.
Her pencil paused over the paper as she stopped to examine her work more closely. The raven hair was in its usual disarray and Lily giggled embarrassedly as she noticed how much care had gone into the workings of his face and she could feel her cheeks flame with heat and she was thankful that she was alone and no one was there to question her blushing so violently over her sketch of James Potter grinning his oh so charming smile.
-xx-x-x-xx-x-x-xx-
When Lily entered the Great Hall she quickly scanned the Gryffindor table and spotted Kathleen sitting next to Jonathan Kirk and his friends as they sat chatting before the start of the Halloween Feast. Then Lily's eyes fell upon the rest of her friends sitting with Remus, James, Sirius and Peter. Finding them she quickly made her way down to them and sat in her customary seat in between Nicole and Tory.
"Hey Lily, where've you been? Everyone's been waiting for you." he said as he smiled warmly at her.
"I've just been in the dormitory milling around until the feast started. What have you guys been doing?" Lily asked.
"Well, Sirius and I met up with those two." Tory said motioning to Nicole and Remus. "In the late in the afternoon in Hogsmeade and we decided to head to the castle together. It was then that we came across Peter as we were walking up the lane. It was about an hour ago that we bumped into James outside and we've been talking together on the grounds until about twenty minutes ago. We all decided to wait for you here since we knew you would be coming at any time."
"Well, That explains a lot. I was wondering if you girls had abandoned me for the worst kind of boys." Lily teased as she glanced at Sirius.
"Hey Lily you wound me! Look at the wonderful example I am to James here, he wouldn't be half the troublemaker he is if it wasn't for me! Everyone loves a rebel!" Sirius said with a hand to his heart and a sad puppy dog expression on his face.
Lily couldn't help but laugh at him and the others quickly joined in.
"I don't think we'll be seeing Kathleen anytime soon," said Nicole after everyone had stopped to catch their breath. "Hey, maybe by now she'll only go by Kathy." The girls turned to the end of the table and saw Kathleen giggle at something Jonathan had just said.
"I can't wait to see her tonight. I'm not letting her go without taking the Mickey out of her a bit when we get back to our room," said Tory with a feral grin on her face; Sirius chuckled appreciatively.
Lily rolled her eyes at the immaturity that Tory and Sirius seemed to have in spades. It was true that she loved them for it, but sometimes it could be too much.
The group talked about their respective dates (or non-date, Lily insisted) and what they did. Lily didn't mention the little park that she and James found nor did she say what had transpired there. Thankfully, James didn't bring it up either.
So, what did you think? Do you like the latest chapter? I don't like the ending very much, because it's a hanging sentence it's bugging me, but I can't think of any other way to end it! The end was supposed to be in James's PoV, but he couldn't think a proper paragraph for me there at the end, so it's just going to have to do!
Please review? Thanks for reading!
~bkwrmgrl87
P.S.
Check out my profile every once in a while to find out what I've got coming next!
