Chapter Seven: Cakes and Ale
"It's bloody freezing," Marlene said through chattering teeth as they trudged through the Hogsmeade slush.
Lily grunted in acknowledgement, too cold to bother making more of an answer.
She had a mental list of the shops she wanted to check out; they were here on an urgent mission to buy Narcissa and Lucius a wedding present. It had been pure luck that there was a Hogsmeade visit so close to the date, though she wasn't quite sure exactly what she wanted to get yet. What sort of thing did one give a sister on her wedding day, anyway?
"Here, let's try Honeydukes first," Arabella suggested. So they all trooped in, Frank and the girls sighing in relief as they were greeted with a blast of warm air.
Lily pushed her way through the throng of Hogwarts students to the rack labelled 'Gift Boxes.' Her dismay grew. Chocolate was all well and good, but somehow she didn't think farting spells hidden inside truffles, or tarantula-shaped marshmallows, were suitable wedding presents. Marlene tapped her shoulder and held up a small packet.
"Purple Hair Charm in Caramel Cream," Lily read out. She grimaced at the memory of that particular Marauder prank.
"It took you three days to get the purple dye out, remember?" Marlene reminisced fondly.
"I don't want to remember," Lily said with a scowl. "Come on, let's try Twilfitt and Tattings now for Lucius. This place is rubbish."
Obediently they trailed behind Lily as she marched away from Honeydukes and into the Hogsmeade branch of Twilfitt and Tattings, a small shop selling expensive men's clothing. A curly-haired sales assistant hurried over the moment they entered.
"Can I help you?"
"Yes," Lily said. Her voice had turned remote and haughty. "My name is Delilah Black, and these are my friends. We're here to buy something for my soon-to-be brother-in-law, Lucius Malfoy."
The woman's eyes nearly popped out of her head at the mention of two powerful wizarding names. She nodded eagerly.
"Of course, of course. It was in the papers, I recall – the Malfoy heir and Miss Narcissa Black. You must be very proud that your sister has made such an advantageous match –"
"I said I wanted to buy something, not listen to your drivel," Lily interrupted coldly. Marlene muffled her laughter with a hand, but Lily was conscious of the frowns on Arabella and Frank's faces. She knew they didn't approve of her acting as arrogant as people expected her to be, but sometimes it was necessary, she thought defensively. The simple mention of her name had helped them out of sticky situations in the past. They hadn't complained then, had they?
"Of course, Miss Black," the saleslady said with a blotchy flush. She led Lily toward the back of the shop.
"Now, what were you looking on buying for Mr Malfoy? A suit perhaps, tie, dress robes?"
"Tie," Lily decided. All the other options required her to know his measurements, which she didn't. The saleslady nodded.
"What colour?"
"Black and green," she said. He would appreciate the Malfoy family colours.
The woman ran off and reappeared a few seconds later, holding an emerald silk tie with black threads curling in a lacy pattern along its length.
"Will this do?"
"Perfectly," Lily said. "How much?"
"No cash needed, Miss Black," the shop assistant said. "Your family has a tab here. Mr Sirius is a regular customer."
He would be, Lily thought as she left the shop, carrying a glossy black bag. Now for Narcissa...
H.M. Malkin was large and golden, like many of the products it sold. Her feet sank into the plush red carpet. Marlene, Arabella and Frank settled themselves on the leather sofa while Lily wandered around. She wanted a necklace maybe, or perhaps a bracelet, with matching earrings. She examined the delicate jewellery that lay behind the thick glass walls of the display cabinets. Nothing seemed quite right.
"Good afternoon," Lily said to the man sitting behind the display. "I'd like to have some things custom-made, please."
He produced a pen and clipboard out of nowhere. "No problem. My name is Monsieur Malkin. And who might I have the pleasure of speaking to?"
"Delilah Black," she said. He straightened infinitesimally and started scribbling.
"What type of jewellery would you like to order?"
She hummed in thought. "A silver necklace, I think. With the letter 'N' in emeralds dangling from it, and of course matching earrings. I'll have a silver and emerald bracelet, too."
He coughed delicately. "On the matter of expense…"
"Money is no question. Not for me," she said, her voice dark with steel.
Malkin bowed from the waist up and murmured that of course it wasn't.
"I'll throw in an extra hundred Galleons if I get it in tomorrow morning's post at Hogwarts," Lily added. His eyes bulged. Possibly it was more than double the amount of money that he would have thought to ask, but there was only a couple of days left before the wedding. Time was of the essence.
Lily signed the order form and left the jewellers. "Where do you three want to go now?" she asked.
"How about Madam Puddifoot's?" Marlene said eagerly.
Frank groaned. "God, no, please. I can feel myself losing my masculinity by just entering that place. It's so… pink!"
His girlfriend scowled. "Funny, that's not what you said when you took me there for our first ever date –"
"That's enough," Arabella interjected. "The Three Broomsticks is good enough for all of us, don't you agree?"
Lily did, and after some grumbling the group eventually headed to the pub. It was filled with students trying to escape the biting wind. She exhaled breathily as the warm air caressed her frozen limbs and dropped gracelessly onto a seat.
"I'd quite like a Firewhisky," Frank said, sliding in beside her.
"Then get off your arse and get one yourself," Lily said without looking at him. He scowled.
"I got you your drink last time, you ungrateful hag!"
She rolled her eyes at him but resignedly stood up, acknowledging the truth of his statement.
"So, what does everyone else want?"
"Butterbeer for me," Arabella chirped.
"Same for me," said Marlene.
Lily trudged over to where Rosmerta, the landlady's daughter, stood behind the counter. She was a cheerful, curvy brunette in her early twenties who beamed when she saw Lily approaching.
"Lily, darling! So good to see you again. What'll you be having then?"
"Three Butterbeers and a Firewhisky, please," she said. The pub was crowded, a long line starting to build up behind her. She leaned her elbows on the counter to prevent getting jostled.
Rosmerta handed her the four bottles and Lily thanked her before walking off.
For the rest of her life, Lily would not be able to explain the strange prickling that came over her body just then. She stopped dead – ignoring an oath as the person behind her walked into her – and scanned her surroundings.
James Potter sat watching her.
She had known it was him. Known with an absolute certainty that frightened her, because why on earth should she be so attuned to his presence? He was in a booth only a few metres away, sitting with the rest of the Marauders. She narrowed her eyes when she saw who else was with him.
The pockmarked face was unmistakable. She would have come of her own accord, even if Sirius hadn't stood up and steered her over to their table with one cool, firm hand on her arm.
"Gussie, meet my cousin Delilah," he said cordially.
Augustus Rookwood, one of the followers of the Dark Lord, grinned toothily up at her. "Not Lily Black? Only Gryffindor?"
"The one and only," Potter confirmed. Lily caught his eye and he smirked at her. She pulled out of Sirius' grip.
"I'm having no part of this, whatever it is. Goodbye."
"Not so fast, Lily-my-lily," Potter said languidly. She heard the hidden warning in his lazy drawl. "Augustus here needs some help. Don't you think it's time you proved your loyalties? Showed us you're nothing like that blood-traitor sister of yours?"
Lily stared straight into his hazel eyes. They were probing, cynical, as heavy-lidded as always, but there was no real malice behind his words. As impossible as it seemed, he didn't appear to be deliberately trying to catch her out.
"I don't have a blood-traitor sister," she said finally, and walked away.
No matter how much she would later wish he had, he didn't try to stop her.
AN: Ellie, thank you so much for your review yesterday! Totally made my day. I'm so glad you're enjoying the double updates! I'm trying not to give anything away though, for new readers, so I'm keeping my mouth shut on the matter of plot...
POLL
I'd kind of like to change the title of this fic. Him and Her is just so ridiculously generic and obviously chosen by a 13-year-old that it makes me cringe. Here are some of the other options I'm considering:
a) Blood and Revenge (are Hammering in My Head) - a quotation from Titus Andronicus
b) Here's Poison, and Here's Gold - Pericles
c) Stars, Hide Your Fires - Othello
d) Blood Will Have Blood - Macbeth
Or shall I just keep it the same? Let me know what you think!