Hey hey hey everybody! It's me, and this is my second fic. Woohoo! Alrighty, I'm doing my best and thanks muchly for your reviews. I took kinda a while to write this one because I had this major English project due (35 pages, thanks for asking). Yeah, I wrote this while driving back from Ottawa, so it's kinda messed up. Hee hee I went to a hockey game and the Sens won yay! Sorry all you non-Canuck-obsessed-with-hockey-people, I kinda went overboard, and sorry all you Flyers fans because they lost. Muh ha ha ha. Mmm hmm, here I go.....
The Outsider - Part Deux
As Lily stepped out of the carriage, she saw a wide back and tangled black hair and beard. "Hey Hagrid!" she called, but then she realized that he was busy with the first years. Well, she said to herself, that's okay, I'll visit him after class tomorrow.
She walked into the Great Hall, crabby because of the other students pushing and shoving from behind, anxious to get to the feast after a long train ride. A young woman, maybe ten or fifteen years older than Lily, was trying to restore order. As Lily approached, she called her name. "Will Lily Evans and Peter Pettigrew please follow me to my office". The woman tightened her stiff black bun and motioned for them to follow.
When they sat down in her office, she introduced herself. "I am Professor McGonagall, the new Transfiguration teacher ---"
"What happened to Dumbledore?" Lily interrupted.
McGonagall glared over her spectacles "That", she replied, "is for you to find out later at the feast".
"Oh, sorry professor."
"As I was trying to say, I am a new teacher, and have been given the responsibility of helping students in my house. Yes, Miss Evans, I am also the new head of Gryffindor house. Mr. Pettigrew, I have been informed that you have been having difficulty with your studies. Therefore, Miss Evans will be tutoring you for the rest of the school year, or however long it might take you to improve your marks. You may go now Peter."
"Miss Evans", she continued, "I hope that this tutoring will help you to, er, learn to be more helpful towards your fellow Gryffindors. I have been also told that you are", she paused to think, "less than courteous to others. You may join the others for the feast now."
As Lily walked out she saw something not unlike understanding in McGonagall's eyes for a second. Then her mind turned to more important matters, like why Dumbledore wasn't the transfiguration teacher anymore. Damnit, she thought to herself, he was my favourite teacher. And that new teacher, was she about to call me a bitch?
Sighing, she took the last available seat at the Gryffindor table, unfortunately next to Sirius Black. Noticing that she had missed the sorting, she looked up to the head table as Dumbledore stood up. Relieved to see that he was still at the school, she listened to what he was saying.
"As many of you may have noticed, Professor Dippet is no longer with us. He decided to go into early retirement after that unfortunate explosion in Filch's office last year." Lily saw Sirius shake silently with laughter beside her. "As I was saying, I have consented to take the position of Headmaster, and our new teacher, Professor McGonagall, will be fulfilling my duties as transfiguration teacher and head of Gryffindor house. I hope that you will all welcome her and treat her as you have treated me." A few Slytherins snickered. "And now, let's eat."
While Sirius stuffed his face with pumpkin juice, mashed potatoes, and Yorkshire pudding beside her, Lily stared at her food and absent-mindedly pushed around her plate with her fork.
Did I remember to do all my Potions homework over the hols?, she asked herself. Then her attention turned to more pressing matters. How the hell will I tutor that git and sneak out to visit Hagrid and go flying? Damn that new teacher!
After only crumbs were left on the golden patters, Dumbledore stood up again. "I have one more announcement to make before our prefects lead you up to your dormitories. We will be holding a ball this year for those of you in the fourth year and up on Halloween. It will be a masquerade ball, and you are welcome to dress up so that your identity is unknown. I suggest that each one of you start thinking about your costumes. Good night."
Lily and the other prefects led the the others up to Gryffindor tower. They said the new password ("horkniffers") and stumbled up to their dormitories. Lily, not relishing the idea of listening to Elyse, Pandora, Meg, and Atalanta gossip about boys, especially with the ball approaching.
She collapsed in a comfy armchair near the fire, and mentally reviewed the textbooks she had read during the summer. Assured that she was prepared to tomorrow, she trudged upstairs and fell asleep on her bed, still fully clothed in her school robes.
***
After a rather uneventful day of Double Herbology, Arithmancy, and History of magic, Lily checked to see that no one had booked the quidditch pitch and grabbed her broom. The sky was overcast, and there was a slight wind from the southeast--perfect for flying. As Lily climbed onto her broomstick, memories of her first ride came back to her.
***
It was the second week of her first year. Madame Palma, the flying and quidditch teacher, had neatly laid out the school's brooms in two rows. Lily, standing behind James Potter, heard him mentioning how he had been flying since he was three ("not one of those toy ones either"). Most of the other students, in particular her fellow muggle-borns, were silently shaking, and Elyse Laframboise was wailing.
However, Lily felt strangely calm. Madame Palma's whistle blew, and most of the Gryffindors rose, though some very jerkily. Some, however, were yelling at their stationary brooms, and Elyse was being carried away by Hagrid, kicking and screaming. Lily was among the successful young wizards, and rose higher than the others, performing a few perfectly executed loop-de-loops. She sprinted 20 metres back and forth with the wind whistling in her ears, so that she did not hear the second whistle, signalling for everyone to lower to the ground.
She continued her acrobatic routine until she noticed the gasps coming from the other children's mouths and the glare from James. She swiftly landed near Palma, apologizing profusely. Palma, however, congratulated Lily on her performance as lily felt her cheeks slowly turning to a bright shade of magenta.
As embarrassed as she was, Lily could not ignore the feeling of freedom that flying had given her. But there was no way that she would ever make a spectacle of herself like that again. No, she thought, I must never let anyone know how I feel when I fly. I don't know how that James Potter and his little clique can always be at the centre of attention.
Although no one could ever know, Lily snuck out to fly in her first, second, third, and fourth years. She even bought her own broomstick on her first trip to Hogsmeade. She never tried out for the quidditch team for fear of being too noticeable.
***
As the sky darkened, Lily continued to fly. By now, in her fifth year, she had gotten pretty good, and while not as good as precious little James Potter, she said to herself bitterly, I have improved.
***
Back in Gryffindor tower, James himself was planning yet another dungbomb attack on Filch's office with his friends Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Glancing out the window, he noticed a lone figure zooming across the quidditch pitch. As the newly appointed quidditch captain, James was always on the lookout for new talented prospects. Hoping that the flyer was a Gryffindor, he silently excused himself, grabbed his cloak and headed outside.
***
Meanwhile, Lily was feeling very thankful that quidditch practices hadn't started yet so no one would stumble upon her flying practice. I don't know why but flying is just my thing. I feel like I can express myself. I'm not afraid of what people will think of me when I fly by myself. She sighed, sometimes I just feel like I hide myself in my schoolwork, I'm kinda a workaholic. Flying is so natural to me. Lost in her thoughts, Lily didn't notice a cloaked figure approaching the pitch, gasping in awe at the identity of the flyer above him...
Well, there it is my friends, I have tried once again with a cliff-hanger. Sigh. yes, Elyse's last name does mean "the raspberry", and since that was my great-great-grandmother's maiden, name please don't laugh. Hmm, yes, I would like some reviews if you please, if you do I will keep writing. Ack, my pinkie is really sore so I will stop typing now. Byeee!
