Before the Boy Who Lived
A/n: Hello! I'm so happy I managed to update so soon, especially because I don't know how much time I'll have to update once school starts in two weeks. So enjoy the updates while you still can! Lol. I don't really have much else to say except…thanks to everyone who stuck with this story and plans to read it through to the end. You guys are awesome! Read and Review people:)
Dedications: This chapter is my birthday present to me! Lol.
Disclaimer: Trust me, if I owned it (which I don't), I would be rich, and if I was rich, I would have been able to go on vacation this year.
Chapter 21: Devil in Disguise
"You look like an angel
Walk like an angel
Talk like an angel
But I got wise…
You're the devil in disguise
Oh, yes you are
Devil in disguise
Mmm, mmm, mmm
You fooled me with your kisses
You cheated and you schemed
Heaven knows how you lied to me
You're not the way you seem
You look like an angel
Walk like an angel
Talk like an angel
But I got wise…
You're the devil in disguise
Oh, yes you are
Devil in disguise
Mmm, mmm, mmm
I thought that I was in Heaven
Well, I was sure surprised
Heaven help me, I didn't see
The devil in your eyes."
(Devil in Disguise, Elvis Presley)
Saturday night is meant to be spent with your friends, having fun and hanging out before the week begins again and you have to go back to the monotony of classes and homework once again. Am I right? I thought so. But as for me, that Saturday night was nowhere remotely near fun. Why? Because on that Saturday night, I was trudging through the corridors on my way to detention with the one and only Professor Carter. Can't you tell how painfully excited I am?
I reached her office at seven thirty on the dot, as expected. For one brief and shining moment, I considered turning around and walking away. I stood there for a good five minutes, weighing my options. I could skip detention, but risk getting even more detentions (or worse), or I could walk forward to my almost certain death. Decisions, decisions.
Before I had a chance to bolt, Professor Carter swung open the door. How do teachers do that, anyway? Do they have a sixth sense that tells them when a misbehaving student is near, or something?
I was distracted from my rambling thoughts when Carter cleared her throat loudly, causing me to look up resentfully. She was in a pair of sweats and a black tank top with her hair pulled up into a high ponytail, making her look much younger than teaching age, and almost, dare I say it, innocent. It almost made me forget how evil she was.
But then that smirk crawled back onto her face and I remembered perfectly.
"Why if it isn't my good friend, Lily," Carter sneered, "Right on time. Come in, come in. One shouldn't lurk in doorways you know—it's rude. Besides, you'll need all the time you can get."
Rolling my eyes as soon as she turned her back, I followed her into her dimly lit office. We passed through the office and came to a heavy oak door in the back of the room. Humming to herself, Professor Carter produced a key from her pocket, unlocked the door and strolled inside. I looked around curiously at the sickeningly pink walls, the lacy four poster bed, and the light-bulb lined vanity mirror among other things and realized that we were standing in the middle of her bedroom. One wall was lined floor to ceiling with shelves, but each and every one was completely bare.
"Not that I'm very eager to start this detention," I began skeptically, "But why exactly are we in your bedroom?"
Carter's dark brown eyes became slits as she moved toward one of the closets, calling over her shoulder, "You are here to organize my beauty products in alphabetical order as punishment for what you did in my class yesterday morning."
Oh. Well that shouldn't be too hard, right? I mean, how many beauty products can one woman have? I should be out of there in under an hour, easy.
CRASH!
Clearly I underestimated her. Sigh. After Carter threw open the door to the closet and jumped out of the way, hundreds, no thousands of beauty products tumbled out of the closet to form a lovely scale model of Mt. Everest in the middle of the floor.
She turned and smirked at the gob smacked look on my face. "What can I say? Beauty comes with a price, you know. Oh, I almost forgot. This is the best part! While you're working, you'll be wearing this."
Carter presented me with a black and white maid's uniform that looked very revealing—she had probably worn it on more than one occasion herself. I shook my head wildly. Either Carter just wanted to embarrass me further, or she was secretly a lesbian (which I very much doubted) and she wanted to check me out. EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. Bad mental images.
"You have got to be joking," I retorted.
Continuing to smile, Carter replied innocently, "Well sweetie, let me put it this way. You can wear this and do what I tell you tonight…or you can have detention with me for every Saturday night for the rest of the term."
Obviously, I snatched the uniform out of her hands immediately. Hell would freeze over, melt, and freeze over again before I spent all of my Saturday nights with that woman. She smirked. "That's what I thought."
"You know, Lily," she began airily about two hours later as she filed her nails on her bed nearby where I found myself up to my ears in her ridiculous beauty products, "I have something I'd like to tell you."
"Yes?" I asked with a long suffering tone. She frowned, as if rethinking what she was about to say. In the meantime, I threw an economy size bottle of Elaine's Efficiently Euphoric Elixir over my shoulder.
"People have told me lately," Carter continued with a pained sigh, "that…that deep down, I can be really shallow."
I snorted with laughter, hurriedly trying to make it appear to be a severe coughing fit when she glared suspiciously at me. As she looked away I shook my head and muttered, "Trust me, it's not that deep."
"What did you just say?" she asked sharply.
Just then, there was a loud, clear knock at her office door, making us both pause and look up, and sparing me from giving her a straight answer. For the moment.
"Don't move," she ordered, jumping off her bed and moving through her bedroom and into the office.
"Yeah, right," I laughed as soon as she was out of sight, rushing to the door of her bedroom to peek into the dark office.
Carter opened the door and giggled, blocking the doorway so I couldn't see who had come. "Why, boys!" she exclaimed coyly, "its past curfew! Whatever are you doing here?"
"Well, you see, Professor Carter—"
Carter laughed and waved her hand carelessly. "Oh, please, Professor Carter makes me feel so old. Call me Lana."
"Okay…" the voice began unsurely, "Lana. Right. Well, Dumbledore sent us. He said he needs to see Lily Evans."
Professor Carter's manner changed completely upon hearing that little sentiment. Now she was all business. Placing her hands on her hips, she critically asked, "Why does her need her?"
"He didn't say, I'm afraid," another voice offered.
"I'm sorry, but Miss Evans is not yet done her detention with me, and I'm afraid that I just can't allow her to leave. Professor will just have to wait until tomorrow. Goodnight, boys," she replied haughtily, beginning to close the door in their faces. One of the boys must have stuck his foot in the door, because suddenly, Carter stopped closing it and placed one of her hands back on her hips.
"About that," a third voice added cheerfully, "He said that there was no need for Miss Evans to finish her punishment because this is, after all, her first offence, and he is sure that it will not happen again. Besides, the Headmaster needs to see her immediately."
I grinned, shaking with stifled laughter. You could almost see the steam coming out of her ears as the mystery boys backed her into a corner. She had to let me go if Dumbledore said to.
"Fine," she consented through clenched teeth, "I'll just go get her…"
"No need, Professor!" I exclaimed brightly, grabbing my robes off the floor beside me and running up behind her, causing her to spin around in shock and make a horrid face worthy of Petunia, "I'm already here! I heard that the Headmaster would like to see me?"
She glared so fiercely, Voldemort would have been scared stiff. I just stood there and smiled pleasantly. "Get. Out. Now," she hissed quietly, jabbing an angry finger in my direction.
"It'll be my pleasure!" I chirped, edging around her to slip into the corridor, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be off!"
The door was slammed shut in my face. I laughed, waving tauntingly at the door. With a bright smile, I spun around to thank my rescuers and came face to face with the Marauders, all four of which were currently gaping at me like idiots.
"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at their odd behavior.
"W-why," Sirius stammered, "Why are you dressed like t-that?"
I looked down at myself slowly. The maid outfit sneered up at me, as if to say this is what I got for ticking off Professor Carter. Blushing furiously, I threw my robes over top of it. Carter would pay for this.
"Why does Dumbledore want to see me?" I asked, desperate for a change of subject.
They shook their heads like dogs trying to dry themselves off after a long swim, breaking out of their stupor and grinning craftily. Somehow that look didn't reassure me.
"He doesn't."
-------------------------------------
"OH MERLIN! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! YESSSSSS!"
I was jerked awake by the sudden outburst on Tuesday night, looking around the common room wildly, unsure what to expect. It took me a minute to realize that the History of Magic essay I had been determinedly working on prior to falling asleep was stuck to my face.
"Adara," I yawned, peeling my essay off my face and poking my lightly snoring friend in the side.
"Adara?"
More snores.
"ADARA!"
That one caused a few Gryffindors to jump again and look around resentfully, wondering why everyone suddenly decided it was a good idea to scream at the top of their lungs. Coincidently, it woke Adara up.
"Whazzamatter?" she asked blearily, looking around for the source of her rude awakening.
I yawned again and replied, "I think Cami made the Quidditch team." Just then, said friend of ours flew over to us at record speeds, bouncing up and down like the Energizer bunny that had overdosed on caffeine.
"ImadeitImadeitImadeitIMADEIT!" she screamed, attracting a few more surly glares from the various older Gryffindors who were trying to study nearby.
"You think?" Adara asked dryly, suspiciously eyeing the still bouncing Cami.
"Oh my gosh!" Cami squealed, earning a collective irritated sigh from the angry studiers, "You guys will never, ever, ever guess what I just found out!"
"Gee," Adara began sarcastically, "I wonder what it could possibly be."
Cami's grin widened. Apparently, she hadn't picked up on the sarcasm. "I made Seeker!"
"Wow, Cami! That's great!" I exclaimed, jumping up and giving her a warm hug.
"Great job, Cam," Adara added, all traces of sarcasm gone.
Just then, two loud whoops came from the other side of the room, causing the studying students to visibly cringe as they shoved their books into their bags and stormed off. Two black haired blurs then rushed past me and engulfed Cami in a hug.
"We did it, we did it, we did it!" Sirius sang, doing a little victory dance.
"This is so brilliant!" Cami exclaimed, "You guys are on the team too?"
James puffed out his chest and replied, "You, dear cousin, are looking at Gryffindor's newest Chaser and Beater."
"Nice job," I said politely, taking my seat and sorting through my messy assortment of books. James smiled softly.
"Thanks, Evans."
"CAMILLA MICHELLE HAMILTON!"
James and Cami shuddered at the sound of the high-pitched shriek and looked up to see Cami's three older sisters storming over to us, the oldest one looking ready to kill.
"Why, Sabrina, you're looking lovely today!" James complemented his cousin with a charming grin.
"Save it James," Sabrina replied, irritably shaking her brown-haired head before turning on Cami and hissing, "ARE YOU CRAZY?"
"Whatever do you mean, Sabrina?" Cami asked innocently, batting her eyelashes.
"You know exactly what I mean! I was just informed by these two," she began, jerking her thumb at the twins who were staring at their older sister in awe, "that you've joined the Quidditch team. The Quidditch team! People of our upbringing do not play Quidditch! Camilla that is not a civilized activity! What on earth were you thinking? Mother and Father will be furious when they hear of this!"
"Well you know what, Sabrina? I really don't care!" Cami shouted, "Don't you get it? I don't care what you, or Mother, or Father, or anyone else has to say! And why aren't you saying any of this to James? In case you haven't noticed, he's on the team now too."
"That's entirely different!"
"No it's not!" Cami screamed, pointing at James, who was beginning to look quite alarmed, and continuing, "He was raised exactly the same way we were! He's a Pureblood too! His family has more money than they know what to do with, just like ours! He has to get dressed up and go to all those stupid, stuffy Ministry balls that we do! Why can he play Quidditch and I can't?"
"Because, Camilla," Sabrina began in a voice that she would use to explain something to a four year-old, "he is a boy. You're not. His family actually encourages that nonsense. Ours doesn't. And most importantly, he is not my responsibility. You, on the other hand, are. Mother explicitly said—"
"Sabrina?"
All of our heads whipped around to see Gideon Prewett standing at the foot of the boy's staircase. As he began to walk over to our group, all three of Cami's sisters blushed and began to fuss with their hair or their uniforms. Sabrina in particular.
Adara nudged me and whispered softly, "This is getting good."
After shushing her profusely, I turned back to the scene unfolding rather dramatically in front of me.
"Why hello, Gideon," Sabrina breathed, smiling seductively. Yuck.
He frowned. "Aren't you in Ravenclaw?" he asked her, "What are you doing here?"
Sabrina's smile faltered slightly before she continued, "Well, my little sisters Gabrielle and Gemma stopped by my common room earlier today and told me that dear Camilla has joined the Quidditch team! I just had to come to talk the poor thing out of it. Really, she doesn't know what she's getting herself into. Personally, I think she's doing it just to spite our parents—she's always had a bit of a rebel streak, but I'm sure we could fix that if we, that is to say, my other sisters and I could take her under our wing. She could never last out there on the Quidditch field, she's far too delicate. Quidditch is a dreadfully barbaric sport, don't you think Gideon?"
Ouch. Wrong thing to say, Sabrina. Gideon's face darkened instantly. Apparently, she had forgotten that Gideon just happened to be Gryffindor's Quidditch Captain. He scowled and put his arm protectively over Cami's shoulder's making her sisters gasp jealously.
"Let me tell you and your sisters something, Sabrina," Gideon began calmly, "Even if you managed to convince Cami to resign, which by the way, I highly doubt you would, I would never let her quit. Cami is far from delicate, and she happens to be one of the best Seekers I have seen in a long time. I'm afraid you'll just have to deal with it."
Silence filled the air as we all gaped at him. After a moment, he grinned widely and pointed to the portrait hole.
"Now if you don't mind…you don't exactly belong in our common room."
With one last angry huff and a heavy glare sent at her youngest sister and her cousin, Sabrina turned on her heel and left, the twins not far behind her. Honestly, did they go anywhere without their older sister? Right then, I was especially glad that Cami didn't turn out like them.
------------------------------------------
With an annoyed growl, I turned over, trying to find a comfortable sleeping position. This is exactly why I hated taking naps. They knocked my sleep clock completely out of whack. Curse Professor Binns and his exceedingly boring, nap-inducing essays!
Grr. Still not sleeping. After ten more minutes of tossing and turning, I crawled out of bed, draped my blanket around my shoulders and set off for the common room.
I was surprised to find that someone else had beaten me to it.
Adara was sitting on the floor in front of the fire with her back resting against the coffee table, staring into the blaze with a look somewhere between boredom and annoyance.
"Hey, stranger," I greeted as I settled myself down next to my best friend, draping half of my blanket across her shoulders, "What are you doing up this late?"
She smiled tiredly. "Oh, you know, the old vampire genes kicking in. I usually can't get to sleep until about two or three in the morning…why do you think I always sleep so late?" she asked with a laugh.
We sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments before Adara glanced at me with raised eyebrows and continued, "Besides, Miss Lily, I could ask you the same thing."
With a shrug, I replied, "I couldn't sleep either. I just figured it would be better to hang out down here for a while that to stare at the ceiling for hours on end."
Silence fell over us again as each of us stared into the dying fire. I wonder what she was thinking. A frown had etched itself onto her face as she distractedly picked up the poker from beside the mantel and absently stirred the smoldering ashes.
Sighing lightly, I mentioned, "I talked to Hagrid about those horse-things. We aren't going mad."
Adara grinned at the fire. "That's good to know. What did he have to say?"
A small smile crept onto my face, but it died as soon as I recalled what I was about to ask her. Sighing again, I continued, "He said that they were called thestrals, and…and that only certain people can see them."
She rolled her eyes. "Yes, we've established that. What makes someone see them?"
I took a deep breath. "You need to see someone die."
Cautiously, I looked up to see her reaction. Adara looked like she had just had the wind knocked out of her. She probably had. Quickly she looked away, uttering a small, soft, "Oh."
"Adara?" I asked hesitantly, "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," she sighed.
"Who—who did you see die? You already know about my mum…" I trailed off, unsure that I was doing the right thing, "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to."
She shook her head slowly and looked up at me. "No. No, I suppose I should tell you. But…but you have to promise not to tell anyone!"
"Of course I won't tell! Why would I?"
Adara took a deep breath. "Well, it all started when my family and I first came to Diagon Alley. I was eight. It was only a couple of months after Mum had Nola, and the triplets were just learning to walk…Mum, Dad, and I had been so proud of them. We had come to Diagon Alley because my dad had friends there, who had a place for us to stay. Well, that and the villagers near where we used to live had found out about Mum being a vampire, so we weren't exactly safe there anymore…"
Flashback
A family of seven crept stealthily through the dark streets of Diagon Alley in the heart of London one misty summer night. The sound of a baby's piercing cry echoed off the redbrick walls, breaking the calm silence.
The man put a hand on his wife's elbow. "Basia, keep her quiet. We can't risk anyone finding out that we're here."
Hearing this, Basia trembled and her oldest daughter, Adara, moved closer to her father, grabbing his hand tightly in her small one. The baby quieted as Basia held her close and whispered calming things in her ear. The other little girls, stumbling along on unsteady feet, clung anxiously to the hem of their mother's long jacket.
Basia turned to her husband, fear shining in her dark eyes. "Nav," she whispered urgently, "I don't like this. How much farther is it?"
Nav Sadaat soothingly rubbed his wife's back as he pulled Adara quickly along beside him. "Don't worry, love. Dukker told me that the passage was very near here."
The family moved quickly, for fear of being seen or worse—captured by a band of Aurors and taken away to Azkaban. The world was not a safe place for a gypsy.
Suddenly, the family's cloud of false security was shattered by the popping sound of a large group of apparating wizards very near by. The noise was soon followed by a chorus of commanding shouts and the scuffling of heavy boots against cobblestone.
"Hurry, this way!" Nav hissed to his family, pulling them sharply around a corner and down a narrow road. Tears ran down the frightened little girls' faces. Basia clutched her youngest daughter fearfully to her chest. Adara kept looking back over her shoulder, each time dreading to see big men with wands coming to drag her family away in chains.
They had reached a crumbling stone courtyard where ivy grew freely up the walls and an angel stood in the center of a dried up fountain, like a beacon of hope for the terrified family of gypsies. Nav's harried breathing echoed loudly throughout the courtyard as he listened for approaching footsteps. Nothing. They were safe. For now.
Nav reached up and grabbed the angel's hand in a tight grip, pulling it toward himself. To his family's surprise and relief, a long, dark tunnel revealed itself from inside the bottom of the fountain, leading them to sanctuary. That's when they heard the voice.
"Don't worry, sir! Take your other men down that way! I'll check this alley alone."
Their eyes widened and their hearts pounded like timpani drums in their chests. Nav and Basia locked eyes and an unspoken agreement passed between them. A sob fell from Basia's lips as her husband embraced her one last time, kissing her soundly on the lips.
"I love you," she whispered, squeezing her eyes tightly shut as she laid her head against his broad chest and breathed in his scent, memorizing it.
"I love you too," he replied softly, stroking her hair, "Go to Dukker. He'll protect you. Now go. Girls, hurry, go with your mother."
He began to usher his wife and the triplets down the long staircase. Basia looked back hesitantly. "But—"
"GO!" he hissed.
They slipped deeper and deeper down into the tunnel until Nav could no longer see them. With a deep sigh, he pulled on the angel's other hand and the passage closed with a dull thud. Nav had not yet noticed that Adara had not gone with her mother. And the footsteps were getting closer.
"Papa?" the little girl asked softly, shifting closer to her father and grabbing his hand nervously, "Papa what's going on?"
Nav spun around, a wild fear in his eyes. "Adara!" he gasped, "What are you doing? Why didn't you go with your mother like I told you?"
Tears filled her light purple eyes. "I'm scared, Papa."
"Come out, come out, wherever you are, you gypsy filth," a deep voice crooned menacingly nearby. Nav looked over her shoulder, then kneeled down next to his daughter, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Adara, you have to go," he muttered so softly that she had to strain to hear it, "Now."
"No!" she cried hysterically, "I won't leave you!"
The footsteps paused. He had heard Adara.
Breathing heavily, Nav hugged his daughter tightly and pressed a loving kiss to her forehead. "Hide, Adara. And don't come out, no matter what happens. Not until all the bad men are far, far away."
"But, Papa—"
"Not now, Adara!" he pleaded, pushing her into the clump of bushes growing just behind the old fountain. He looked regretfully at the shrubs, sighing shakily. Then he whispered, "I'll always love you, Adara…"
Adara whimpered. "Papa, what do you—"
"Shhhh. Baby, please. Don't make a sound."
Adara blew him a kiss. Weakly, he smiled and caught the kiss, pressing his hand to his cheek. Closing his eyes resolutely, he spun around to face the entrance to the courtyard, squaring his shoulders. He had to do this for his family.
Just then, a tall, stocky man with thick black hair that was already sprinkled with more than his fair share of gray and cruel, icy blue eyes stepped briskly into the courtyard. Nav grimaced, but stood his ground.
"Auror Nichols," he acknowledged grudgingly, with a slight nod, "To what do I owe this displeasure?"
The man young man smirked, twirling his wand between his fingers. "After tomorrow, Sadaat, I will be known as Captain Nichols, did you know that? My promotion ceremony is taking place tomorrow night, after all. And it's all thanks to my work capturing thieving rats like you and your filthy family. But enough small talk. Where are the others?"
Nav's face betrayed no emotion. Indifferently, he asked, "Others? I do not understand."
Angered, the Auror pinned Nav against the wall, slamming his head back against the brick wall. Blood dripped ominously down Nav's forehead as he continued to glare at the man in front of him. Adara stifled a frightened gasp from her hiding place.
"You damn well know what I'm talking about!" Nichols growled, "I heard voices. I also know that you know the secret entrance to the gypsy's hiding place. I know your family is here somewhere as well, and if you want them to live, you will tell me where the gypsies are hiding."
Nav's eyes flashed. "Never."
With an angry howl, the Auror flung him across the courtyard. Tears ran down Adara's cheeks as she fought the urge to run to her father. Nichols whipped out his wand.
"Mark my words, Sadaat—your family will pay for your insolence. AVADA KEDAVARA!"
End Flashback
A single tear slid down Adara's cheek as she took a deep, shaky breath and tried to continue her story without breaking down. I wrapped my arms around her, soothingly rubbing her back.
"They came a-and dragged h-him away!" She stammered angrily, "We never even got to have a f-funeral…or say g-goodbye. The next day, Dukker came and f-found me."
Adara broke off, too upset to continue. After a moment of me stroking her hair and whispering that everything would be all right, Adara looked up at me, sighed, and continued, "H-he's like my step-father now, I guess. Dukker, I mean. He and Mum never actually got m-married, but he was there for us, and he's Kodee's father, too…I don't think I ever told you that Kodee was only my half-brother. I don't know what we'd do without Dukker."
Rubbing her eyes, stubbornly trying to keep the tears from falling, Adara pulled away and resumed staring into the fire. I admired her. How she could stay so strong even in a situation like this.
"Adara?" I asked softly, "I'm really sorry."
She gave a watery laugh and looked over at me. "For what?"
"I d-didn't mean to…to make you upset," I replied, an ashamed tone creeping into my voice.
"It's alright, Lily. You didn't know. And I'm okay now," she replied, giving me a weak smile, "Because I know that even though I can't see him, my dad is still here, just like he promised. He never breaks a promise."
Not long after, the two of us finally drifted off to sleep.
-----------------------------------------------------
The mood at breakfast the next morning was bleak, to say the least. Adara and I had rushed in extremely late, still half asleep, to find Cami and Natalie sitting side by side, dismally trying to start a conversation. It wasn't going well.
Adara and I joined them, and the melancholy silence seemed to get worse. To be blunt, all of us looked pretty bad. No one spoke as we shoved our breakfasts around on our plates. Just when I thought I would scream from the stifling silence, the fluttering of owl's wings filled the air above our heads.
"Post," Adara said dully.
None of us seemed to be expecting anything. But then something happened that instantly brought all of us out of our stupor.
A sleek black owl with piercing green eyes broke away from the flock of school owls and landed in front of Natalie, a short letter tied to its leg and a white rose in its beak. Never in all my time at Hogwarts had I seen Natalie get a letter or anything else in the post, for that matter, and by the looks of things, Natalie was just as surprised as the rest of us.
"Who's it from, Nat?" Cami asked curiously, the cloud of awkwardness that had been hovering over us lately evaporating completely.
"I don't know," she murmured, untying the letter. The owl dropped the rose in her lap and flew off to the Owlery.
"Open it!" Adara prodded with a small smile.
Natalie even smiled back a little before opening the letter with shaking fingers. The three of us leaned in to read over her shoulder.
My Dear Natalie,
For the longest time I have admired you from afar, and I can't keep my feelings a secret any longer. I can't stop thinking about you. You're the most beautiful girl I know. Will you do me the honor of meeting me by the beech tree next to the lake tomorrow night at eight o'clock? I'll be sure to get you back to your common room before curfew. You will not believe how happy I'll be to see you smiling at me. Till then, I suppose…
R.L.
"Wow, Natalie!" Cami exclaimed, "You have a secret admirer! How sweet."
She blushed deeply and picked up the rose, studying it intently. "R-really?" she asked, "Me? Who would fancy me?"
I grinned at her, happy to see her talking and smiling again. "Well this R.L., obviously!"
"Who do you think it could be?" Adara asked with a smile.
My grin grew wider. I had my suspicions. In fact, there was only one candidate that I knew of who had the initials R.L., but I wasn't going to say anything just yet. It would ruin the surprise.
------------------------------------------------------
The next evening, while I was sitting in the common room after dinner with the girls who were all chattering excitedly about Natalie's secret admirer, Remus walked downstairs from the boy's dorms. I snuck off to have a little chat with him.
"Boo!" I whispered behind him, making him jump. He smiled at me.
"Hullo, Lily. What's up?" he asked.
I smiled brightly and patted him on the shoulder, giving an obvious wink. "Riiiight, like you don't know! I just wanted to thank you for sending Natalie that note. She's smiling for the first time all year! And she's talking to us again! It's great."
"What note?"
A/N: Ooooooooh! What's up with that? Is Remus just playing dumb, or is he really clueless? I guess you'll just have to wait to find out my pretties:Grins innocently: By the way, I hope no one was offended by that little lesbian comment concerning Professor Carter, because I have nothing whatsoever against gays, lesbians, or otherwise. Just so you know. :) And okay, I lied, you didn't really find out about Natalie. But you will soon…I hope. Send me a nice little review for my birthday. Lol. Till next time…
Shannon