Disclaimer: This is the fic that never ends, it just
goes on and on, my friends. Some people started reading it, not knowing what it
was, and they'll continue reading it forever just because this is the fic that never--oh,
sorry. Getting back on the subject, Antler Boy and Flower Girl belong to the
Supreme Mugwump J.K. Rowling, but their personalities are at my mercy.
BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!
His voice returned to normal by the end of the day, thank
goodness, and James decided that for his next trick he'd stick with something
simple instead of going out of his way to learn some elaborate curse. Lily
wasn't worth the effort, anyway. So, he put aside his spell books and walked to
the far corner of his dorm room, where there was a secret compartment full of
dungbombs, trick candy, the works. Grinning, he removed one object and
carefully sealed the compartment back up again. Now all he needed to do was
enlist the help of somebody who took the same classes with Lily.
***
Lily was having trouble suppressing her gag reflex
as she peeled and chopped and mashed and measured her ingredients to make a
simple sleeping potion. Personally, she'd rather suffer from insomnia than
drink something that contained spider guts and armadillo bile and whatnot. She
tried not to breathe or grimace while measuring out dragon dung, the last
ingredient, but it was no use.
To take her mind off the smell, she instead turned
to look at Professor Jenkins, the Potions Mistress. She was looking around the
classroom with a steely glint in her eye, just daring somebody to make trouble.
She wasn't a bad sort; in fact she was very pleasant outside of class, but in
the classroom she was like a tiger. Even the tiniest mistakes did not go
unpunished, whether they were intentional or accidental. And if she pinned you
as the culprit, there was no getting out of it, even if the rest of the class
vouched for you. Needless to say, all of her students were on their toes every
time they entered the dungeons.
Lily knew that she should wait until after class to
wash her hands, but she simply couldn't wait. She was going to be sick if she
had to smell dragon dung for just another second. She made her way to the stone
basin to wash off her hands under the cold water from the gargoyle's mouth.
When she came back to her cauldron, she noticed something foreign floating in
her potion.
Just when she realized what it was, the potion
exploded, drenching her and several people around her. She didn't get any in
her mouth, so the sleeping potion didn't take effect on her, but other people
around her started to slowly sink to their knees with eyes half-shut and a
blissful, sleepy smile on their lips.
Lily thrashed around wildly, trying to find
something to wipe off her face with, when she noticed a crimson towel that had
been conveniently laid out for her on her desk. Picking it up, she
noticed the familiar word "Gotcha!" written on it in gold. Well of course it
was one of James' tricks. None of the dweebs in her class would have the brains
or the courage to do something like this in Potions class. She quickly wiped
off her face and hastily shoved the towel behind her back as Professor Jenkins
approached her the flashing eyes.
"Well, well," said the professor, surveying the
damage. Her dangerously quiet voice was barely over a whisper, but it cut like
a knife. Lily knew that it was hopeless, but she tried to explain herself
anyway.
"Professor, I--"
Professor Jenkins cut her off with a razor-sharp
glare. Lily later swore that she heard the professor growl.
"You're the girl who cleaned up the magic cauldrons
before, aren't you?" Professor Jenkins asked with a twisted smile on her face.
Lily nodded, though she felt her heart sinking horribly.
"Well then," the professor continued, her smile
growing wider, "I'm sure you'll have no trouble doing it again a second time
this Saturday."
Lily nodded, feeling tears of embarrassment and
anger stinging her eyes. But the professor wasn't finished.
"But first, you'll clean up your mess. And I'll be
seeing you tomorrow. In detention."
Lily slowly began packing up her things as Professor
Jenkins went to restore the sleeping people, who were now snoring soundly. She ignored
Kyla and Celeste's sympathetic glances and marched out of the cold dungeons,
wishing that the Crucio curse wasn't illegal. She'd have to find some other way
to make James Potter's life a living hell.