Chapter Summary –
"James is wicked cool!" Johnny protested.
"Lovely."
"He likes you, you know."
"Unfortunately," Lily sighed.
"He says you're hot," Johnny pointed out with a shrug.
Chapter Title – Gorgeous Tights
Somehow the best night of my life turned out to be the worst experience I have ever had. Mr. Charming wasn't so charming after he kissed me. It was weird, incomprehensible. I can't even begin to explain what had happened. One minute I was on cloud nine and the next, I was falling into this bottomless pit of sadness. The worst part of all of this was the fact that I couldn't see my two best friends. Madam Pomfrey had limited my visitors to the headmaster and my head of house when I had regained consciousness. I'm not allowed to see my friends until tomorrow. Bugger that. I want to see them now.
"Lily Evans."
Lily groaned and pulled her covers closer to her body. It was then that something started touching her nose. A pale arm tried to swat it away, but the object kept petting Lily's nose in a disturbing way. One green eye opened and locked with Rhiannon Cromwell's shimmering blue eyes.
"Morning, Princess Red," Rhia said playfully as she kept stroking Lily's freckly nose.
"You can stop that now," Lily pouted.
"Not until August and I aren't pissing our pants in fret."
Lily's eyes wandered past her best friend to where August was standing looking perplexed. They were in regular clothes as Lily looked down to see she was still in her witch costume. Oh, that was embarrassing. The redhead swatted at her best friend once more; and to Lily's delight, Rhia stopped the annoying nose rubbing.
"You scared us shitless," Rhia commented seriously as she sat down on the edge of the hospital bed.
"What happened?" Lily asked.
"You were dancing with Gorgeous Tights, you kissed him, and you fainted."
"Gorgeous Tights caught you when you fainted," August commented. "Professor Dumbledore came running towards you and asked what happened."
"Gorgeous Tights was baffled."
"Why are you calling him Gorgeous Tights?" Lily inquired with irritation lacing her words.
"Because he looked absolutely scrumptious in those tights," Rhia supplied.
"Rhia came up with the name and it stuck," August divulged.
Just then, the infirmary door opened and revealed Sirius – who still wore those ridiculous dog ears – and Remus. They took in the scene before them. Sirius strolled up towards Lily's bed and sat down on the edge next to Rhia. The bed gave an ominous creak as the weight shifted to one side. Remus walked towards August and stood beside her.
"Already in the hospital wing and today marks the opening day of the competition," Sirius stated. "Do you have no shame?"
"Sorry if I was brutally attacked," Lily's words were mixed with sarcasm.
"You were not attacked, Poppet," Sirius protested.
"It felt like it, Retarded Poppet."
"Owe!" Sirius shouted as he grabbed his heart with a pained expression covering his face.
"So what happened when you kissed Gorgeous Tights?" Rhia questioned. "Was it more than you thought it would be?"
Sirius pulled a face of mock amusement. A smile inched on his face that made him look preposterous. His eyes wandered from Rhia to Lily back to Rhia and then back to Lily. The redhead wanted to smack him upside the head for being an idiot, but Rhia was in the way.
"It was horrible kissing Gorgeous Ti – oh, now you got me calling him that!" Lily exclaimed.
"Why was it horrible kissing Gorgeous Tights?" Sirius questioned as his face fell.
Lily could remember the agonizing pain in her chest. Just thinking about it made her chest ache. The green flashes of light flashed through her vision. The screams and laughter rang through her head. It was horrible, the feeling and the pain.
"It hurt," Lily replied when she realized everyone was staring at her.
"Love hurts," Rhia retorted with a smirk.
"Not like this."
Rhia and August gave her weird looks. Sirius looked slightly on edge and disappointed. Remus looked as though he half expected this to happen. The looks unnerved Lily a great deal, but she kept her mouth shut. The prefect tried to come up with something to say that sounded utterly stupid and funny, but was having a hard time thinking up something that would ease the room.
"So I'm expecting you all to send me wonderful gifts while I'm in the hospital," Lily cracked a smile as she spoke.
"Psh, you think I have money to do that?" Sirius questioned.
Rhia rolled her eyes and got up from the bed. August made a noise in her throat. Remus just looked completely uncomfortable with everything. Then there was the fact that her friends had come to visit her without Madam Pomfrey's permission. The matron walked into the infirmary and started shouting for disturbing the peace. When she shouted, she looked pointedly at Sirius.
"Madam Pomfrey!" Sirius called as he jumped off the bed. "It's been too long!"
Sirius ran up to Madam Pomfrey and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. The girls watched in amusement. The matron pushed Sirius away from her and yelled at everyone to get out. Lily sulked at this. She didn't want to be stuck in the infirmary by herself. The redhead asked the school nurse if she could go with her friends, but was sadly mistaken. Lily raised a freckly hand and waved at her friends as goodbye. Rhia and August each gave her a hug before departing. Remus gave her a wave and a smile. Sirius had hugged her and gave her a small peck on the cheek.
The next hour was spent asking the nurse if she could leave every few minutes. Madam Pomfrey was so fed up with the redhead, that she had discharged her a day early. Lily jumped out of the stiff hospital bed and practically ran to Gryffindor Tower. When she reached the Fat Lady, the prefect was out of breath and had managed to announce the password. The portrait swung open to allow Lily entrance. The 'Marauders' were sitting in the corner as they poured over a book. Rhia and August were exchanging essays.
"I'm back!" Lily declared her presence as she flopped down next to August on the couch.
"Thank-you," August commented with her voice filled with sarcasm. "I really didn't notice you were back until you said something."
"It's kind of hard to miss her," Rhia replied with a smirk.
"Har. Har, " the redhead let out a fake laugh.
"It's not our fault you royally suck at life!"
"I may suck at life, but I'm wickedly amazing," Lily retorted brightly.
"Sometimes I seriously worry about you, Lily," August spoke sincerely.
"Worry? I don't worry. I know she suffers from a mental illness," Rhia replied with a smirk spreading across her face.
"I don't suffer from lunacy, I actually enjoy every single minute of it."
"I'm enjoying the idea of visualizing you with duck tape over your mouth," Rhia smiled.
"I enjoy the idea of visualizing you get sucked into a black hole," Lily snapped back.
"Ladies! Ladies!"
Sirius Black made his way over towards the couch and sat down next to Lily. His arm found it's way around the redhead's shoulder. The prefect let her head fall on Sirius's shoulder as she closed her eyes. The boy started to play with the fabric on Lily's shoulder.
"Tomorrow we have classes," Sirius spoke. "That means the competition is going to be in full course."
"We have an announcement on nicknames," James Potter said sourly.
"I don't think I want to know," Rhia declared.
"Too bad," James retorted angrily.
"What's your problem?" Lily asked as she opened her eyes to look at the teenager in front of her.
The boy's brow furrowed as lines appeared on his forehead. His hazel eyes darted from Lily to Sirius – whose arm was still resting comfortably around the prefect's shoulder. James muttered something incoherently under his breath and turned his attention to Rhia and August. He was obviously upset about the affection Sirius showed towards Lily, which made Lily incredibly happy. The redhead snuggled closer to the eldest Black feeling content as Potter's scowl grew.
"Peter's nickname is Wormtail," James announced.
"Wormtail?" August questioned with a look on confusion etched on her face.
"So pretty," Rhia said condescendingly.
Lily watched James intently. His body language was stiff and uncomfortable with a mixture of anger and betrayal. He seemed so mad at Sirius. His eyes kept darting over towards his best friend with a hurt look. Lily wished she could see Sirius's face, but it would be too noticeable if she turned around and watched his face.
"Lily, Poppet," Sirius spoke up, "You're beautiful pet name that us boys have come up with will be the one and only, most fantastic-"
Lily rolled her eyes. Sirius couldn't make anything easy, could he? Just when the redhead had expected Sirius to utter the nickname, the portrait hole burst opened and a very livid Professor McGonagall stepped inside. Her eyes burned into the 'Marauders'. It was then that she screeched, "POTTER! BLACK! My office now!"
"We didn't do it!" Sirius shouted. "I've been hanging out with this lot all day!"
"Yeah, Professor, Cromwell and Diefendorf can vouch for us!" James exclaimed.
"I don't care if the Minister of Magic can vouch for you!" McGonagall uttered. "What you did this time was unacceptable! Lupin! Pettigrew! I want you to come too! I have no doubt you two were in on this!"
"What did we do, Professor?" Sirius whined.
"Casting illegal hexes at Bertram Aubrey! Does that ring a bell?"
"Oooh," Sirius said thoughtfully. "That would be a problem, wouldn't it?"
"It wasn't multiple hexes, Professor," James spoke up, "just a couple."
Sirius unwrapped his arm from around the prefect and stood up. He stretched his arms over his head, which caused her shirt to lift slightly to reveal some skin. Several girls giggled and blushed as they saw it. Sirius yawned and sauntered over towards McGonagall. Remus had walked over towards McGonagall as well. Peter looked as though he were going to piss his knickers when James had grabbed the chubby boy's arm and hauled him up. They too walked towards their head of house. The five then walked out of Gryffindor Tower.
"Do they always have to get into so much trouble?" August asked aloud.
"That's what they do best," Rhia countered aloofly.
"Illegal hexes?" Lily inquired; she seemed to be the only one who was upset about that bit of information. "Why would they want to do something against the law?"
"Attention," Rhia replied, "you know that, Lily."
"Does Potter not get a lot of attention at home?"
Rhia snorted loudly, which caused several students to turn and look at her. Lily rolled her eyes. Why didn't she know anything about her fellow classmates? Was it because she was a Muggleborn?
"James is spoiled rotten," Rhia pointed out. "He gets everything he asks for. His parents let him do whatever he wants to – well; his father really isn't in the state to do anything against it. His mother has been through so much that – well, it seems as though she's convinced if she does everything James wants then he won't end up like his brother."
"You mean Beau Potter?"
"Well, yes, it was a huge tragedy, scandal even."
"What exactly happened?" inquired Lily.
"It really isn't my place to say…"
"How do you know about it then?"
"My mother works very closely to Von Potter, they're friends actually," Rhia answered. "Both Healers, very high up too. You know my mum heads the spell damage ward. Von heads the Dai Llewellyn ward."
"Dai Llewellyn?" Lily questioned with a puzzled look.
"It's the bite ward, nasty business really."
"Right."
Lily stood up, knowing full well that Rhia wouldn't tell her anything. Even though the girls told each other everything, there was a golden rule in the Cromwell family that overruled it at times. Apparently, Pureblooded families didn't divulge secrets of other Pureblooded families to those who weren't Purebloods. Lily had heard Rhia's mum say that once when Rhia was telling her about the Longbottom's two summers ago.
The redhead walked out of the common room and started walking aimlessly around the corridors. She let her legs lead her. She wanted so badly to go up on the Astronomy Tower, but hated going there ever since her run-in with the Divination professor. Lily took a deep breath and made her way to her favorite tower – Divination professors be damned.
Lily opened the wooden door and stepped out onto the veranda. There were two first years standing there, Johnny Cromwell and someone Lily couldn't place. The prefect strolled over towards them. It wasn't before long that Johnny noticed her coming and groaned. The redhead smiled knowingly as she hoisted herself up to sit on the ledge of the tower.
"What are two first years doing up here all alone on a beautiful Sunday afternoon?"
"Figuring out the best way to throw someone off the Astronomy Tower without getting expelled," Johnny replied cheekily.
"Oh, I often ponder that as well," Lily told them. "Every time Severus Snape gives me one of those creepy looks, I want to grab his greasy hair and push him off. Then again, I wouldn't mind James Potter falling off as well."
"James is wicked cool!" Johnny protested.
"Lovely."
"He likes you, you know."
"Unfortunately," Lily sighed.
"He says you're hot," Johnny pointed out with a shrug.
"Johnny, a girl doesn't want to be called hot," the redhead replied. "That's the last thing a girl wants to be called. They want to be called beautiful or pretty or gorgeous or something equally as nice. Promise me you'll never call a girl hot."
The youngest Cromwell looked thoughtful for a second before stating that girls were too emotional, weird, and had cooties. He smirked at Lily and then left with his friend. The prefect looked sour for a few seconds before shaking the words from her head. Johnny didn't mean them; he was just trying to push the prefect's buttons.
Lily looked down at herself to see she was still in her Halloween attire. Groaning loudly, the redhead jumped down to the floor and treaded back to Gryffindor Tower to change into some jeans and a t-shirt. She felt like an utter idiot, but held her head up high. She walked into the common room to see Rhia and August sitting in the exact place they were when she left. The redhead walked up the stairs and into her dormitory to change into some comfortable clothes.
The prefect didn't feel like walking around aimlessly, her legs hurt and there was still a tinge of discomfort in her chest. Lily walked over towards her bed and plopped down upon it. She pulled a book ("The Complete Index of Spells") from her trunk. She flipped in the back of the book to look for green spells. Noting the page number, Lily flipped to page 386 and read:
"The spell that emits the richest green pigments from a wand is none other than one of the most feared spells in the history of the Wizarding World. Avada Kedavra is most commonly known as the Killing Curse. No one has ever survived after being hit with this particular curse. It is highly illegal and is rightfully classified as an Unforgivable Curse. Using this curse will land you a lifetime in Azkaban Fortress.
If Lily could have seen her face, she would see she was deathly pale. Why in the world would she see the Killing Curse's green flash? Why would she feel it hit her square in the chest? Who was Mr. Charming or Gorgeous Tights or whatever he went by now? Was Lily a seer who foresaw Mr. Charming killing her? What about that Voldymelt? Was he going to kill her? It was all too much to think about and worry about.
As the time passed on, Lily's dorm mates started filing in the dormitory to get ready for bed. An hour ticked by and Lily knew that they had all fallen asleep. The redhead grabbed her journal and made her way downstairs to write about today's events and what she had uncovered. She sat her petite form into the comfy chair by the blazing fireplace. The scratching of her quill was the only thing heard in the deserted common room. That was until the portrait hole to Gryffindor Tower opened.
Two boys came stumbling into the common room and took no notice of Lily. The redhead slouched in the chair so that the two teenage boys wouldn't see her. They were evidently drunk. Sirius Black let out a bark like laugh before he fell down on the floor. James Potter kicked his friend in the leg.
"Ya're a bad friend," James slurred.
"Get off my back!" Sirius's words slurred too.
"Ya know I like her, and you had to have her fall for ya."
"She don't like me, Prongsie, and I don't like her," Sirius said as he pointed a finger at his best friend. "She's really funny though. Quite quirky."
"Ya gotta help me," James said as she plopped down next to Sirius. "She likes ya and ya're a idiot."
"Gee, thanks. Ya are a great friend."
"Fer one, stop being a arse around her," Sirius told him as he sat up and placed an arm around his friend. "Ya say the stupidest things."
"Eh, I can't help it," James shrugged. "Ya stupid plan didn't exactly work either."
"Give it time, Prongsie. Give it time."
Lily watched out of the corner of her eye as Sirius tried to stand up only to fall down. James didn't even attempt to get up, for he was down for good. He pulled out a bottle from inside of his robes and took a swing. Sirius had decided to lie down, which his head resting in James's lap. His eyes were closed as though he decided to go to sleep. James took another swing of the bottle before he passed out.
The redhead stood from her chair and looked down at the pathetic heap on the floor. Sirius was drooling slightly on James's leg. The bottle – which Lily saw was Firewhiskey – was still clenched in James's hand. The boy's mouth as opened and soft snores were escaping.
A difficult choice was now at hand. Levitate them up to their beds or let them face humiliation tomorrow morning by their fellow classmates. Lily didn't want to be mean and leave them, but it served them right for drinking so much that they passed out. Besides, if she wasn't down there then they would have been embarrassed anyways. The redhead stepped over the two boys and made her way up to her dormitory, forgetting about Killing Curses, Gorgeous Tights, and everything in general. With a smirk etched upon her elegant face, Lily slept quite well that night with images of James and Sirius being excellent nap buddies.
Lily didn't know it at the time, but everything would seem less complicated as she got older. Everything that was a hazy gray would soon turn into black and white. Good would be defined from evil. Love would be defined from hate. You had heard that she would have to decide between resisting or serving, and that she would choose resistance. Now you must understand that she would have to decide between what is right and what is easy – which would be by far the hardest decision she would ever have to make. Lily's sense of bravery and nobility would force her to choose what is right. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she did anything else. The Sorting Hat had told Lily in her first year that she was "Brave beyond recognition, smart as a whip, sly as a fox, and too noble for her own good." Lily Violet Evans was told she belonged in every Hogwarts House, but in the end, the small redhead was placed in Gryffindor. Why you ask? Because in the end, Lily's bravery is what she would be remembered for.
Author's Notes – Sorry this is so late! Been terribly busy that I didn't get to revise it! I need your help, however. I simply cannot think of nicknames for Lily, August, and Rhia! I have one for Lily, but it's not very good. So please, tell me your opinions in a review or E-Mail, and I'll pick the ones I like the best! I answered the following reviews in my livejournal: Danu3 and Darkdestiny2000.