Relive the mysterious and strange past of Harry Potter…… read All for Love, the series of stories before Harry Potter ……learn how James and Lily met……watch the betrayal by Pettigrew……relive the night of horror when Voldemort appeared……all these and more, in All for Love.
All for Love- a thrilling four book series of the days before the Boy Who Lived.
Days of Freedom
Never Again
Night of Mercy
The Innocent
Days of Freedom
By Lorelai
A/N: This is a story of Lily and James. At least this one, anyways. It's strictly a love & fluff story. Yeah, isn't it nice? But I know, people like a little more than this…don't worry, folks. It's not that bad. And if it is, you can flame me! And if you read the thingie atop of the heading, you will know that there is 4 parts to the whole series. Yes, I am going to complete all of it. Huge mammoth task, I know but I will do it. Yes, I changed the A/N. Sirius87…I think, begged me to put the next part up early, but unfortunately, I had some trouble with it. These HTML documents are not fun to deal with! I think I did have a few problems with correcting it. However, here it is now. The next part will be up about…Wednesday? Sorry, Sirius. I wanted to get this out too, but it alerted me that I did have some minor…*ahem* problems to deal with. So, I will make it up to you by getting the next chapter ( after this one) out early on Wednesday. I am not relishing Thursday, as we have a Chorus Concert and the whole school will be laughing at us. I could use some cheering up with the reviews I'll get…hopefully. Enjoy reading!!
Disclaimer- Very straightforward. The ones that are J.K.R's, are hers. And the rest is pretty much mine. And if you recognize some that seem like some one else's, it probably is.
Chapter 3 - Herbology
James got up early the next day. He was refreshed and had gotten a good night's sleep but Sirius was a different story. Sirius got up late, grumbling.
" What's wrong?" James asked.
" I'm still sleepy," he moaned. James sighed good-naturedly.
" Well, come on. Breakfast is about to be served soon,"
Sirius brightened up at that and the two dressed quickly. Then they went down together to the common room, taking with them their book bags. Then they walked through the portrait with two older students. They followed them down to the Great Hall and there, they sat down at the Gryffindor table and had some breakfast.
" Eww," grimaced Sirius at the sight of gluey French toast.
" At least the cereal is ok," said James, tasting the cereal.
" Hi," said a female voice.
James froze. He knew that voice. It was Lily. He looked up, his face beet red.
" Er..um..Hi," he said, stuttering.
She sat down across from him, dressed in black robes and her long red hair plaited in a long braid down her back. Gold and diamond earrings hung at her ears and glittered, making her look very angelic. Sirius muffled a chuckle and James cast a desperate look at him. Then he looked back at Lily. She was hiding an amused smile. She had a large forest green bag at her side which undoubtedly held her books. James looked at his shabby black tote bag.
" Here," she said, smiling. " These are your schedules,"
James took the piece of parchment from Lily. He saw that they had Herbology first with the Hufflepuffs. Then a flying lesson with the Slytherins. A little thrill of excitement ran through his body. James loved Quidditch. He had a broom but first-years weren't allowed to bring their own broomsticks. He nudged Sirius who looked excited.
" Yeah, I know. The flying lesson is totally cool. I wonder if they accept first-years on the team. You know, I am pretty good," He grinned, swaggering smugly.
James sniggered at Sirius' comical performance.
" Hmm. That looks very entertaining." said a new sneering voice.
James sighed. From the sound of that voice, James was not the only one who had heard Sirius' act. He looked up. A thin, black haired boy with glittering black eyes stood at the table, wearing a look that made his lips curl. James raised his eyebrows. Whoever this is, he doesn't look very friendly. He quietly told Sirius what he thought. Sirius nodded.
" Who are you?" James ventured, raising his voice.
" Who am I?" said the boy, smugly. " I'm Severus Snape. Now, who are you?" James raised his head.
" James Potter, and this is Sirius Black, my friend." He introduced Sirius, who was scowling at Severus with utmost dislike. Severus wore a similar expression.
" Um…maybe we should separate them before there's bloodshed." whispered Lily, who had been watching the whole scene unfold.
" Yeah," said James, keeping his eyes on Sirius and Severus who were trying to stare each other to death.
He stood up and with firmness, led Sirius away from Severus, who looked after him, eyes glittering strangely. Lily followed them, looking back at Severus at intervals. They went up to the common room and James settled Sirius firmly in an armchair.
" Now, you listen to me." James told Sirius. " Stay away from Severus Snape. He's trouble, we know, but there's no sense in picking a fight." Sirius laughed dryly.
" That'll be easy," he chuckled sarcastically. " Have you forgotten about our flying lessons? And the Potions lessons?" He asked James. " Check your schedule."
James looked down at the piece of parchment still in his hand. Sure enough. The Gryffindors had Potions with the Slytherins. He sighed.
Lily spoke up.
" Maybe we should just keep Sirius away from Severus. There's gonna be plenty of times they'll bump into each other. Just keep a firm grip on him. Besides, Sirius, you don't wanna lose any points, do you?" Sirius sighed and slumped in the chair. He looked at the clock.
" Well, it's almost time for the Herbology lesson. Let's go."
James helped Sirius to his feet and in the process, his bag slid off. " Here," Lily grinned and handed him his bag. James felt his cheeks flush and knew he was blushing again. He quickly hid his red face, catching a glimpse of Lily and Sirius' faces. They were both smiling, but Lily had turned pink. They hurried out of the common room and down to the great Hall. James checked his schedule.
" It says Herbology is taught outside and it's...um...in the greenhouses," he finished.
" Let's go outside then," said Lily. She hurried outside, braid swinging in the wind. James stared at her, unable to take his eyes off her.
" Ok, lovebird, let's get this show on the road." grumbled Sirius and yanked James, still hypnotized, toward the greenhouses. They arrived at the greenhouses and saw that the Hufflepuffs were already there. A tall, thin woman with sharp eyes stood at the entrance to the greenhouses.
" I'm guessing this is the Herbology teacher?" whispered Sirius.
" Of course," said a Hufflepuff. " She's our House Head."
" Oh," responded Sirius.
" Quiet!" said the teacher. " Get into two straight lines. Hufflepuffs on the right, Gryffindors on the right. Now!"
James raised his eyebrows. Sirius slanted a meaningful look at James and James nodded. He got in line with Sirius behind him and Lily before him.
" March!" ordered the teacher.
They marched through the open door into one of the greenhouses. The teacher stood by the door. When the students were all inside, she shut the door. James looked around him. There were plants everywhere. It was all green. Well almost, he noted as he saw a red-green plant hiding in the corner.
" When I call your name, raise your hand and say,' Present!' Understood?"
" Yes," the students chorused.
" Black, Sirius!" Sirius raised his hand and said, " Present!" The teacher checked off a box. She said. " Evans, Lily!"
Lily raised her hand and said, " Present!" The teacher checked off another box.
She continued down the list until she said, " Potter, James!" James quickly raised his hand and said, " Present!" She finished the list and then made the students stand in a file.
" Now, I am here to teach you Herbology. My name is Professor Alissa B. Whitnell. First, I will have to teach you some regulations. The greenhouse you are in right now is Greenhouse 1. The next one is Greenhouse 2. The last one is Greenhouse 3. For this year, we will be doing Greenhouse 1. When spring comes, we will work in Greenhouse 2. You will be introduced to Greenhouse 3 two weeks before you leave. You will mostly work in Greenhouse 3 when you are in second-year. Now please focus on what I tell you. Greenhouse 1 has many typical plants and herbs. Greenhouse 2 has mostly water, or marine plants. Greenhouse 3 has the dangerous and interesting magical plants. However, you will not get to see them until the end of the year." She stopped there.
" For your first lesson, I would like you to see these boxes here. These are nutbriller herbs. Nutbriller herbs have pink and blue flowers. They have triangle shaped leaves and pink seeds. Now, please form groups of three and copy down the information i just told you. Also, i want each group to take one box and water them."
James went to Sirius and Lily. They squeezed together and got a box. Carefully, they watered the plants. James discovered he wasn't bad at Herbology. Sirius, however, was not adept at dealing with plants. Lily was the best of the trio. She worked quickly and cleanly and earned some well- deserved praise from Professor Whitnell.
" Oh, that old bat. She made me water that nutboiler whatchamacallit thingie six times before she was satisfied." Groaned Sirius as they walked back to the castle.
" Professor Whitnell was an excellent teacher. You just didn't pay enough attention. Weren't you listening when she told you to be careful with the water sprayer!" reprimanded Lily.
So, how do u like it? Please, please, please review. I really need it. Thanks for reading!
