Be Here Now
Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter.
A/N: Hi everyone! PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END!
Temy the Bloodedge: Thank you, I'm so glad you liked it! Oh! And yes, please, I would love to read your stories! Thank you!
MaNyMiNdGaMeS: Oh, the Slytherins are still evil. Just Maya is too. :D Oh, her part will be kind of diminished, but I don't think her witchiness will entirely disappear… and yep, I got that. Thanks for telling me. ;)
twilightstargazer: Thank you so much!
Laveycee: Yeah, I would love to see that too!
iluvhedwing4ever: Thank you!
And here you go: CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE!
x.o.x.o.x.
"That was brilliant," gasps Lily, collapsing on the Head Common Room couch as she laughs hard.
James nods, also laughing. "We got her good," he laughs.
Lily lets out a few giggles before becoming serious. "You did put the gradually wearing off dying charm on her hair, yeah?"
James again nods. "It should get to quite a bad hue by day after next."
Lily breaks into full laughter again. "Terrific! I'm going to bed now."
She is halfway to her staircase when James calls, "Lily?"
Lily stops.
"I- I'm sorry. For trying to talk you out of joining the Order."
At this, Lily turns slowly on her heel. Her emerald eyes stare straight into his hazel ones. Then she bursts out laughing. "James Potter is apologizing!"
James scowls. "I was trying to give you a proper apology!" he protests, but a small smile works its way onto his lips.
Lily just shakes her head and laughs before jumping into his arms and hugging him slightly.
He kisses her passionately and she responds immediately.
When she breaks away, she pants, trying to regain her breath, and says, "You know, I would have joined anyway."
James smiles fondly at her. "I know, Lil. You always had a mind of your own."
And he kisses her lips once more before allowing her to go to bed with a smile on both their faces.
x.o.x.o.x.
"Your hair!" Severus Snape snarls once Maya appears in their weekly Death Eater meetings in Hogsmeade. They had snuck out.
"What? I couldn't control it," hisses Maya, taking her seat.
"If you hadn't slipped Potter that potion, you wouldn't look like this! And the Dark Lord prefers clean cut appearances. I doubt this will cut it," chimes in Nott.
Maya glares.
"What in bloody Merlin's name is that?" a voice snarls from the door.
Everyone swivels around to find Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Bella," greets Regulus Black.
Bellatrix bestows a sweet smile upon her younger cousin. "Your brother hasn't come to his senses yet, Reg?"
Regulus shakes his head sadly. "No. His mind has been corrupted by those Gryffindors he hangs around with."
Bellatrix hisses at the mention of Gryffindor House.
"Maya loves Gryffindor House," sing-songs Crabbe.
Bellatrix's beady black eyes whip to Maya. "Excuse me?"
Maya looks down ashamedly. "The Marauders" – hisses of indignation are heard – "and Evans, Meadows, Potter, and Prewett pranked me."
"It was quite the prank," chortles Goyle.
"And what exactly happened?"
Again, everyone swivels to look at the door. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy had arrived.
"Well?" Lucius' cold eyes bore into Maya's.
Maya mumbles through the whole story.
Lucius' mouth twists into a sneer. "You, one of the Dark Lord's servants, were thwarted by a bunch of schoolchildren?"
"You forget, Lucius, that they are the same age as Maya," Narcissa corrects softly.
Lucius' eyes flash to his wife. "Excuse me, Narcissa?"
Narcissa falters. She was not against the Dark Lord's wishes and ways, but she certainly was not with it. She disliked hurting families and children, but if she didn't want to die, then… "Pardon me, Lucius. I was merely pointing out a fact."
Lucius nods slowly, dangerously. "For a second there I suspected you were contradicting me, Narcissa."
"Not at all, Lucius."
"Of course."
x.o.x.o.x.
"You BITCH!"
Lily turns calmly from her breakfast to face an angry Maya Santiago. She smiles pleasantly and infuriatingly at the same time. "Hello, Maya," she greets sweetly. Under the sweet tone, however, everyone detects a soft tone of despising.
"I know you were behind all that and this!" Maya accuses, pointing to her hair, which is now a shade of Orange Creamsicle.
Lily keeps an entirely straight face. "What? Why would I do that?"
McGonagall, being McGonagall, comes over with a stern look on her face. "What is going on here, Miss Evans?"
"Maya is accusing me of pulling a prank on her," Lily says, acting perfectly.
McGonagall looks angrily at Maya. "That is not fair, Miss Santiago. Why on earth would you accuse the Head Girl of pulling a prank on you? Miss Evans has not pulled a single prank in seven years!"
"Well, now she has!" protests Maya.
McGonagall shakes her head. "From the Head Boy and Marauders, I might believe it, but from the Head Girl and her friends? No, this is unacceptable."
"And you know why Little Miss Head Girl would do this? Because she's jealous that I stole her boyfriend at the beginning of this year!" Maya declares triumphantly.
Suddenly, the Great Hall is silent again.
McGonagall trembles with anger.
"That's false! James and I were not dating at the beginning of the year!" Lily says defensively.
"You were! You were just hiding it!" Maya accuses.
McGonagall looks at the Heads. "Is this true, Mr. Potter and Miss Evans?"
"No!" Lily and James say vehemently.
"Maya used a potion banned by the Ministry for Voldemort" – gasps and flinches – "on James at the beginning of this year," Hilary chimes in.
Lily's eyes shoot to the Slytherin table. Her eyes roam over several Slytherin potential Death Eaters before landing on her former best friend, who is, as usual, staring at her. She holds his gaze for a moment with a cold glare and then turns back to the conversation.
"Miss Evans, did you pull this prank on Miss Santiago?" McGonagall asks sternly.
It will be my first detention for years. And anyway, I want to claim some credit for it, thinks Lily. "Yes."
Silence.
"I did too," Hilary admits, stepping up.
"So did we," the other pranksters chime.
McGonagall stares in shock. "Miss Potter? Miss Evans? Miss Prewett? Miss Meadows?"
"Yes, Professor, we did help pull the prank on this ah, girl here," Alice says, not wanting to swear in front of McGonagall.
McGonagall shakes her head. "I will meet you in my office tonight at seven o'clock to decide your punishment. If you had good reason for the prank, then I shall release all of you for no punishment. Good day."
Maya spits in Lily's face. "So there, bitch. You'll get your first detention in seven years."
Lily just arches an eyebrow. "We'll see about that." Elegantly, she turns on her heel and walks away, leaving a silent Great Hall behind.
x.o.x.o.x.
"Well? You have exactly half an hour to explain," McGonagall says briskly as the nine of them (James, Lily, Sirius, Hilary, Remus, Dorcas, Peter, Alice, and Frank) enter her office and crowd in there. The girls take the chairs while the boys stand around the desk of their Head of House.
The nine students take turns explaining, using about twenty-five minutes of the thirty.
"Using an illegal potion and accusing Miss Santiago of being a Death Eater is quite the accusation, you know," McGonagall says, but falls silent. Then she adds, "But truly and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised."
"Professor, you can check her left arm! I'm positive she'd have the Dark Mark! Or even just follow her discreetly," suggests Hilary, eager to get justice for her brother and best friend.
McGonagall, however, shakes her head. "That is an invasion of privacy, Miss Potter. You nine just leave this to me and don't meddle in it." She looks each person squarely in the eye, causing Peter to squirm uncomfortably. "If I catch you meddling, I shall assign each of the culprits three detentions. As for now, you are getting off free."
Lily stands and smiles at the professor. "Thank you, Professor," she says quietly and sincerely.
McGonagall smiles back, with more rare affection. "No problem, Miss Evans. I believe your word. After all, you are destined to be the best out of Hogwarts this year."
Lily is taken aback by the high praise. "All my friends and fellow seventh years are amazing people and witches or wizards, Professor, and if I graduate above all of them, I will be most proud."
"You should be, Miss Evans. This year Hogwarts will be producing quite the outcome for the professional world. Good luck to all of you for now. And if Miss Santiago gives you any trouble, don't hesitate to come to either Professor Dumbledore or I."
"Thank you, Professor," Sirius speaks up, and leads the group out.
McGonagall looks after them with her hands folded on her desk. She felt strange affection to all of them, save maybe the Pettigrew boy. He seemed squirmy and uncomfortable; suspicious. But as for the rest, she had absolute and complete faith in their futures. If only she knew what would happen one Halloween in a few years' time…
x.o.x.o.x.
A/N: I wanted you to read this because I want to say thank you to all my reviewers (who are already mentioned by name at the beginning of each chapter) and also to those who pressed favorite for my story. The names:
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IF I MISSED YOU, PLEASE LET ME KNOW BY REVIEW OR PM! And next chapter brings a few surprises. IT'S CHAPTER THIRTY! I can't believe it! Until then…
~TrueLoveIs4ever
