"Girl Got Game"
By: Liebling
Updated On: 26 December 2006
Chapter Eleven
"The Spinster Race"
:-:
We stared. For how long, I'm not quite sure.
"Erm…"
"Uh…"
"Je peux pas respirer," I can't breath, he said.
"Merde, désolée!" I gushed. A dead body was never a good thing to have on one's hands…I quickly leapt off of his chest (drool) and pulled him to his feet, wiping off his sweater in a fret.
Any excuse to touch his chest, really. Merlin, I'm horrible.
"C'est pas grave," he dismissed. Not a problem. James bent down to pick up the provisions he had dropped.
"Is that French Chocolate?" I asked, wide-eyed and staring at the half-opened parcel.
"Erm, actually yes," he said, sounding surprised, perhaps by my lingual switch.
I eyed the packaged with a curious look.
"You eat a lot of chocolate for a bloke," I said. Even more than Remus, I mentally added. And he was like a walking-talking vending machine. Bah, I hated men and their incredible metabolisms.
He looked mildly defensive, "They're gifts," he sniffed.
"Aaah, from a secret admirer, perhaps?" I asked with a sly grin even though it was rather forced when I could feel my heart sinking a little.
James looked a tad uncomfortable. As a matter of fact, he actually looked shy. How could I have never noticed this before? James Potter was absolute rubbish when it came to girls! No wonder he took it terribly when Danielle broke up with him!
"Lily Evangelista from Arques, France at your service," I introduced myself in order to give him an escape route and extended a hand.
"James Potter, Surrey, England. Nice to meet you,"
"Likewise. Sorry about the head-on collision," I said, giving an apologetic smile, "Still quite haven't figured out how to brake,"
Wait, was I…was I flirting?
He smiled crookedly but it still reached his eyes, "Don't worry about it. I didn't mind the fall too badly,"
AND WAS HE FLIRTING BACK?
"Do you want to get a drink?"
Woho, where did that come from, Lily?
James gave me a clearly surprised look. Bet you anything he wasn't half as surprised as I was…
"To make up for it, I mean!" I added in a hurry, "I think I might've broken a box or two," I prodded the parcel.
James studied me for a moment, "Sure," Pause, "Actually, you look rather familiar. Do you come here often?"
I grinned widely and waggled my eyebrows, "Mister Potter, that was the worst come-on line I've heard in a while,"
James groaned and matched my smile as he covered his face with a free hand.
"I can't believe I just said that,"
I laughed and we began to walk down the road.
"This is my first time here," I lied smoothly, "I'm just staying for the evening. Do you go to Hogwarts?"
"Yup, I'm a sixth year," he said, "You?"
"Six year, too," I answered, "So…do you play Quidditch?" I asked in what I hoped sounded like an innocent voice.
His face seemed to brighten, "My parents swear that I could ride a broom before I could walk," We laughed, "I play chaser for my house team at the school,"
"Are you lot any good?"
He smiled charmingly, "I think we're going to do pretty well this year," his eyes told me that he thought that we were the best there was.
"Hmm," I said thoughtfully, "What do you think is your team's strongest points?"
James stopped walking and narrowed his eyes a bit, "You're not a spy for Slytherin are you?"
The thought never occurred to me, "Slither in where?" I feigned confusion again.
"Slytherin is another house team that we play before the holidays." He said stoically, "I just wouldn't be surprised if they hired someone to get information on our tactics and strategies."
"Now, now, I'm sure they wouldn't do that," I had to force my eyeballs not to roll, "After all, Quidditch isn't everything," I said in an aloof sort of voice. At James stony look I added, "But it's right up there with oxygen," We laughed, but I made it a point to avoid talking about bringing up Quidditch again.
We found a small quiet-looking café and sat outside and were almost immediately approached by a waiter and ordered a round of Butterbeer.
"Help yourself," he offered, sliding the pile towards me generously. My eyes widened slightly and began shifting through. I lifted a box out of the way to find a small card flutter on the table. James was opening a small pack and hadn't noticed my finding it.
A small peak wouldn't hurt anyone…
I didn't read the whole thing because my eyes were dragged towards the bottom.
"Danny…?" I read off the card, my heart stopping for a split second. I was suddenly left feeling cold and dismayed.
"It's short for Danielle," he explained without any hint of bitterness as he reached out to take back the card embarrassedly. I already knew this, of course, but I suppose that James Potter didn't want people thinking that he had a guy in France sending him chocolate. People might talk…
"Girlfriend?" I asked, feigning oblivion and curiosity.
What was left of his smile disappeared, "No, it didn't work out between us," he said and I couldn't help but wonder if I would be learning anything else about their relationship as Lily Evangelista, "We write to each other every now and then," he then said, "Just to keep in touch. I'll send her some pumpkin pasties and she'll send me chocolate,"
"Sounds like a fair deal," I nodded, still silently hoping that their relationship was just as platonic as he described it, "And it's not awkward between you at all? I mean, if she knows that you still like her?" I was pressing a sensitive topic, I knew, but I was still curious.
He shrugged.
"There's not much I can do about the fact that the feelings aren't mutual. But we're still friends which is—wait, I never said I still liked her!" his eyes snapped up to mine and I looked away pretending to be busy opening another pack.
I offered him a piece of his own chocolate, "So…you're basically in your moping stage of the post break-up?" I decided.
James shot me a look as he took it, "I am not moping," he scowled before popping it in his mouth.
I waved him off carelessly, "Say what you will. I'm a girl—" God it felt so good to say that out loud, "—I know these things. What other boy wanders around on his own with a bundle of chocolate while his friends are inside a nice warm café with foreign French girls?"
He regarded me with a look that a five year old might when he's been outsmarted by his mother, "How long have you spoken English?"
"My whole life," I said, sounding more confident than I felt, "My father was English and my mother was French. Oh, hey, pass me that piece of the buttermilk chocolate, would you?" I didn't feel like elaborating on the death of my parents almost a year ago.
James slid the wrapper across the table and watched as I devoured what was given, "You eat like Sirius," he said flatly.
I rolled my eyes thoughtlessly, "Sirius could eat a cow if he was hungry enough," Upon James' surprised look of my mysterious knowing of his best friend that Lily Evangelista had never met before I mentally cursed. Hastily, I added, "Charlotte and my friends told me that he ate a lot when I was at the Three Broomsticks,"
"Oh," he said, "So you're here with your classmates then?"
I nodded mutely (my mouth was full).
"So then why do you need the almighty powerful relief of French Chocolate?" he asked me. I was happy to see the light tone and even mild sense of humour in his voice.
I felt bad when I had to counteract it by having my eyes darken, "Let's just say that a family member wants me to be something I'm not," I tore off a large piece of chocolate and munched furiously. Merlin, I could just feel it all go right to my hips. Looking for another piece of endorphin-filled goodness, I stared at the table between us with a sombre stare.
"We have a problem," I stated suddenly and James snapped his head up and looked at me, concerned, "We're out of chocolate," I said sadly.
He stared at the empty table.
"Bollocks," we muttered together.
"I'm still depressed," James admitted stonily.
"Ditto,"
We sat in silence and stared at the empty wrapper, each of us waiting for the other to come up with an idea.
"Hogsmead doesn't sell French chocolates, does it?" I said stoically.
"Nope," he answered with the same tone.
"No one in all of England sells real French chocolates, do they?"
"Nope,"
"It's not possible to conjure French chocolates, is it?"
"Nope,"
More silence.
"It's not possible to apparate or floo to France for a quick trip, is it?"
"N—wait, what?"
In France, we had to be seventeen to get our apparating licence. That's why I assumed the girls had chipped in their money to buy a train ticket or something here. But in the United Kingdom, however...
"Can you apparate?" I asked James with a sudden rigour.
"Yes, I just got my licence at the beginning of summer," He leaned back and studied my widely grinning face, suddenly in understanding, "No," he said sternly, "Not going to happen. I've never even apparated two people before!"
"Oh come on," I whined, "Don't be such a spoil-sport,"
"I'm not a spoil-sport," he muttered moodily, folding his arms and glaring.
"Then quit being stupid," I told him, "We're both depressed and lacking in the chocolate department which therefore merits us a reason to apparate to France to get some!" It was simple logic!
"I don't even know you!"
I rolled my eyes. He had a point however. James had only known Lily Evangelista for less than an hour, I realised upon glancing at my watch. It was just past nine. The annoying thing was that he had known me for a couple months, never having realised it.
Partially because he was too busy being an arse.
"James, I'm not going to rape you," I told him in a serious tone with my hands on my hips. He gave me an incredulous look, "We need chocolate," I informed sternly him for the umpteenth time as I pointed to the wrapper-infested table.
We locked eyes for what seemed like forever. Or five seconds. Whatever.
"You're right," he conceded with a sigh.
I scoffed again, "Of course I'm right. That comes with the privilege of being Lily Evan...gelista." Nice save. Deserves an award, I say.
"I know a small muggle shop on the coast," he added.
"Brilliant!"
"And it has every single type of chocolate imaginable,"
"Even better!"
"And I get a discount,"
"What are we waiting for?" I shouted, grinning like a maniac, I.E. like always do, "Let's go!"
When James Potter shot me the fully intentional carefree smile, something inside my stomach disappeared. And seeing how I was already missing an organ in there, (remember that pesky appendix?), the selection was limited. He clasped my hand tightly and whatever feeling that had left my stomach returned and nearly went up my throat when we apparated.
It was like sucking a watermelon through a sodding straw. I felt nauseous and waited the extra split-second for it to end.
When our feet touched the ground, my eyes were still clenched painfully shut.
"Um...Lily?"
"Mmm,"
"We forgot to pay for the drinks,"
"Hmm,"
"And," he said after a moment's hesitation, "I don't...I don't think this is the shop,"
My eyes snapped open to see his slightly sheepish and nervous face.
"Aw hell! Where did you apparate us to?" I demanded, stepping away from James to stare at him accusingly.
"I don't know! I told you I've never apparated with someone else before!" he replied defensively.
We both looked around wildly, neither of us recognising our surroundings. James Potter and I were in a dark basement of some sort with just a single flickering light bulb. I assumed that it was a warehouse, or the bottom of a store.
"Just apparate us back!" I shouted.
He took hold of my shoulder and scrunched his eyes up in concentration.
"Hurry up!" I shouted, shaking his arm. The dark always made me slightly nervous.
"I can't focus if you keep shaking my arm!"
I gripped it tightly, "I swear if—"
"I can't feel my fingers—let go!" I buried my hand in my pockets, but looped an arm threw his so that I would be apparated as well, "I used up too much energy…" he said, groaning.
"WHAT?" I shrieked, dropping his arm and began to pace.
"Okay," James said, reassuring himself more than me, "First things first, we cannot panic—"
"Stuck in a bloody foreign country with—"
"Second, we need to figure out just where we—"
"—don't even have any food!"
"And then we need to find a way to fire call or—"
I continued my pacing until I actually read one of the French labels on the wooden boxes and then soon realised that all of the boxes said the same thing...
"Hey, look!" I yelled excitedly, once again cutting off James' ranting as I jumped up and down, pointing to the nearest crate that just happened to be cracked and revealed the contents inside, "Chocolate!"
And that's how James Potter and I wound up stranded in France.
"I wonder if they're closed for the night," he asked out loud a short time later, leaning on the palm of his hand. The empty chocolate wrappers crackled underneath his fingers.
I, however, was not really paying attention. I had opened my...er...fourth? Fifth? Um, I had opened a box of dark chocolate, "Mmffhmm," and was eating all of its contents.
"Do you think we should leave them some money after everything we've eaten?" James asked.
"Nsshrff?"
"Maybe we should try to break down the door—"
"James," I exasperated, after having swallowed another chocolate ball, "You are in a foreign country. Surrounded by chocolate. Trapped in a dark room with a girl. Don't boys your age usually wait their whole life for this sort of thing?"
"Would you stop comparing me to everyone else?" He retorted, sounding rather offended.
I frowned at him. "You're strange,"
Indeed he was.
But he either didn't hear me, or chose to ignore the comment, "And it's almost quarter of eleven and I think it's about time—"
Time. Why did that word suddenly strike a chord? I had stopped eating, suddenly feeling sick to my stomach. Oh, no. What was it that Snape had said? Six hours? Or was it five hours? Er, something about Cinderella, right? And she had until midnight, didn't she? Could I figure out a transfiguration spell to keep my clothes the way they were? Would James recognise me if I kept my hair long but was in Li Evan's clothes? Would he ask questions? Would he even notice?
More importantly...why did I care so much?
"Lily?" James interrupted my thoughts smoothly.
"Y-yes?" I answered, suddenly feeling nervous.
"Are you alright? You haven't been eating for," he glanced at his watch, "five minutes,"
I gave him a mock-offended look, "Are you implying something, Mister Potter?"
He rolled his eyes. Obviously, there was a case of eye-rolling mania going around Hogwarts. "Well, you just suddenly look pale. Pale for a red-head, at least," he said.
"I'm...just tired, you know?" I shrugged, closing the box and putting it down, "I've got to be...getting back to Beauxbatons soon." I lied. I had to be hiding from everyone else when my clothes un-transfigured themselves.
"Oh," said James, looking away.
Wait...was he...was James Potter blushing?
"Are you okay?" I asked unsurely, "You look a little red in the face," Maybe he was getting sick...?
"I'm fine," he answered quickly.
For the first time in a while, things suddenly felt awkward between us. 'Us' as in me, Lily Evangelista, and James Potter.
"Do you want to try to apparate again?" I asked quietly.
"Yeah," he agreed, standing up and pulling me to my feet. We both had silently agreed to pay for our damage in the store basement and tossed the coins to the floor.
"We should do this again sometime," he chuckled.
I tried not to make my smile seem so sad, "Yeah," I said quietly, "We should,"
It was a shame that he didn't know we'd be seeing each other again in just a matter of hours back at the dormitory.
And seconds later, after the "watermelon through a straw" feeling, we were back in Hogsmead.
People were milling about and didn't spare us a second glance, which I was grateful for. The last thing I needed was somebody asking questions. James let go of my hands almost the second we landed and I, reluctantly, put them in my pocket.
"I'd better be going," James was the first to speak, "I didn't tell my friends where I'd be,"
I nodded, "Me neither," Since when had saying goodbye given me such a strange feeling in my core? It was the second time that I had a feeling like an organ was missing in my stomach and I sincerely hoped that I didn't have another appendix floating around in there.
He leaned in and I felt my heart leap in my throat.
"A tout alors, Lily,"
A kiss on the right cheek.
"A bientôt, James,"
And a kiss on the left.
I hope that he didn't hear me sigh in relief, or was it disappointment? La bise, or the hello and good-bye kiss on both cheeks, suddenly became my favourite French custom. I smiled softly as I watched him walk down the road, wishing that I could go with him. But after checking my watch, I realised that I only had five more minutes until I was, once again, Li Evans.
"What the hell was that?" hissed a voice from behind.
I hadn't been expecting Snape to be there, but I wasn't startled either. My face was serene and full of contempt, I barely acknowledged him because I was still watching James walk away.
"That," I said calmly, "Was James Potter,"
I could practically feel Snape roll his eyes, "Obviously," he said dryly, "But what I mean is why are you with him when you have less than five minutes to get rid of your French friends?" he snapped, "And don't tell me you were with James Potter the whole night after I specifically transfigured your clothes for your stupid little friends,"
I barely caught the insult.
"Yeah," I said slowly, almost like a yawn, "I was with James Potter,"
Snape let out a disgusted noise, "Of course you were,"
I finally looked at him and saw the displeasure clearly written out across his features, whether he was aware of it or not, and asked, "Why does me being with James bother you?"
"You were supposed to be getting rid of your old classmates!" He snapped again.
Somehow, I figured that there was more to it, but didn't press on.
"Sorry," I apologised.
He glared, "No. You're not,"
That statement kind of bugged me. There was the fact that, no, I was not sorry that I went out with James and the other fact that Snape knew this, too.
"Well, what would you like me to say?" I snipped, patience running dangerously thin.
"Nothing!" he said defensively, throwing around his arms, "Just go back to fawning over the great James Potter like the rest of the world and see if I care!" Snape didn't give me time to respond because he had stormed off into a pub, sending a blasting curse at a defenceless dustbin.
It caused me to jump, and only then did I realise that my time, however short it was, as Lily Evangelista was up. I sighed at the look of my familiar school clothes and then looked back out at Hogsmead. On the opposite side of the town, I saw a short while ways down the road, an angry Charlie, Ana, and Cheryl marching down to greet me, their faces not looking pleased.
Blimey, I just could not win at anything today.
I was lucky the street was deserted because what Charlie said next probably would've just blown my cover.
"This isn't about Quidditch anymore is it?" She screeched. "This is about a boy! That bloody Potter boy!" she pointed to the road that James had disappeared down.
I sighed, "Charlie, it's always been about Quidditch. I can't help that he's my roommate."
"But you could've helped the fact that you left us at the café to go meet up with him and risk blowing your secret out of the water!"
I cringed. She had a point there…
"You were dancing around a sensitive topic!" I defended, "The team was starting to get suspicious!"
"SUSPICIOUS?" she cried, "You don't think that by being—!"
"Girls, come on now…" Cheryl intervened quietly.
"We don't exactly want this public now do we?" Anatolia added.
"IT DOESN'T BLOODY MATTER BECAUSE NOBODY SPEAKS FRENCH!" Except James, Remus, Snape and even Sirius upon occasion. "BUT WHAT DOES MATTER IS THAT YOU—!"
"Charlie," I snapped, "I can't deal with you right now," I said, turning to leave. It had just been too long of a night…
I heard her growl and slam her fist into something, "SPINSTER RACE!" Charlie shouted, her hand raised and her finger pointed at me, which I immediately saw when I turned around to face her with a tired expression. "Right here. Right now." Her voice was even and cool.
The Spinster Race, I thought groaning. It was what Charlie and I had used back at Beauxbatons to settle a disagreement, for fun in the Quidditch Club, or just to blow off steam.
"We don't have any boundaries," I told her. Occasionally we would put in obstacles, but it looked like we didn't have any at our disposal.
She didn't hesitate, "Around that abandoned building on the far end of Hogsmead and the flag pole to back here." It was a triangular shape I noticed as I looked for the mentioned landmarks, "If I win, you come back to Beauxbatons or if you don't play, I'll go to your headmaster."
"And if I win I stay?" I guessed, glaring.
A curt nod and she held out her hand, "Deal?"
"Lily—" Cheryl tried.
"Deal," Sometimes someone just had to rise to Charlie's challenges and take her head-on.
Ana and Cheryl exchanged wary looks as Charlie conjured us a pair of brooms. We mounted and hovered in the air just inches away from each other.
"Want to start us off, Cheryl?" I asked, setting my sights on the Shrieking Shack a good distance away.
She nodded mutely, a look of apprehension on her face.
"This is a bloody barbaric sport, I tell you," Ana muttered, shaking her head, standing back.
"Riders ready?" she asked, waiting for each of us to nod, "Good luck, girls…three," My grip on the broom tightened and I refused to look to my left and study Charlie's face, "…two…" She wouldn't hold back, I thought with a sigh. She wanted me back at Beauxbatons badly, "…one."
But I wanted to stay at least twice as much.
Dirt and dust flew as we took off. Spectres on the street looked up as we flew above their heads and I silently hoped that the team didn't see me in fear of them asking questions later. I could just imagine Sirius drilling me for information about Charlie or demanding me why I always seemed to pick fights with foreigners…
The Shack was approaching and I made for making a tight turn only to be nearly thrown into a boarded window by Charlie.
"What are you playing at?" I shouted angrily, straightening up my broom to level with hers.
"What are you?" she snapped over her shoulder, "You ditched your friends, your school, your country, you gender, for Quidditch and didn't even bother to tell me!" Charlie glowered, not noticing her purple hair that whipped her face, "That isn't like you!"
"Maybe you don't know me as well as you thought you did!" I shouted back furiously.
"I know that you wouldn't leave us for a boy for Merlin's sake!"
"Can you leave James out of this?" I cried, "It's not his fault, it's mine remember?"
She let out a frustrated groan, "You could've stayed at Beauxbatons! You could've taken up a Quidditch summer league with me—!"
"I didn't want to stay at Beauxbatons!" I admitted in desperation. The flagpole was coming into sight and I could vaguely make the outline of the British colours. "I asked to leave the school!"
There was a stunned silence until: "What?" was her startled reply from a few feet ahead.
"For heaven's sake, Charlotte, my parents haven't even been dead for a whole year yet!" I cried loudly, almost hysterically, "My sister hates me enough not to invite me to her engagement party over the summer and maybe I just wanted to be closer to my only living relative that doesn't hate me!"
Charlie said nothing but I could've sworn that her broom was slowing.
"Beauxbatons was the school I went to when I had parents…Hogwarts is the one I go to when I don't,"
There had been one afternoon before the summer holidays when I had walked around the entire school, stopping at paintings to remember a thought I had at the same location such as remembering to return a library book or a funny joke I had shared with friends.
Or remembered the last time I had walked down a certain corridor was when I had parents.
Orphan was such an ugly word.
I could see the fluttering flag in the near distance and forcefully pulled myself out of my dark thoughts in order to focus on the task at hand.
Charlie's broom shifted a fraction of an inch and I feared that she wasn't paying attention until she started to drift slightly.
She had left an opening for me purposely, I realised. It was a wide turn that would easily allow me to win. I didn't have time to spare a glance at her face but I could only imagine the signal she was sending me; a silent question of uncertainty but with oddly true intentions at heart for my well being: Do you really want this?
My mind raced for a split second, a million thoughts running through my mind and I decided: I really did.
I made a drive for the opening, not glancing behind me but sent her a silent apology as I approached the still figures of Ana and Cheryl. I could hear the whirl of Charlie's broom just yards behind me.
We landed in silence; only hearing Anatolia and Cheryl approach us softly. As soon my feet touched the ground, the broom disappeared as did Charlie's and she stared evenly at me for a moment.
"I suppose we'll be off now." She said, dodging recent events entirely, "We have a train to catch soon,"
"See you guys at Christmas, then?" I said in a hope-filled voice.
Ana gave me a sad look, disappointment mixed in there perhaps, Cheryl quirked the side of her mouth in a small apologetic way, and Charlie said nothing but inclined her head a fraction of an inch. She grabbed her roommates by their elbows and marched down the street, leaving me alone.
Tiredly, I walked up to Hogwarts, knowing that I was doomed to be caught by the caretaker for being out hours past curfew.
:-:
-:TBC:-
A/N:
Aww, Lily's having a bad day...a day that took three chapters to get through...Woah. Sorry about throwing that angst in there at the last moment (I have no idea how it got there, really).
I had originally planned on just Lily and James talking, but noooo I had to go complicate things by making them get stuck in France.
Just one of those slightly drabble-happy chapters that I like to write every now and then ^__^ Sorry it was a tad on the short side. Next chapter should be out soon! (We're still a bit behind schedule, actually…I wanted this one out about two weeks ago)
Next Chapter Includes:
"Love Doctor Lily" strikes again!
Slips of the tongue
Slytherin vs. Gryffindor
Christmas and Boxing Day
Lily Evangelista
^__~