A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews! I love you guys! *hugs* Anyway, I'm too lazy to write a Thank-you list, so just know that I'm eternally grateful for your reviews. (Hey, it's better than no story, right?) And there is no reason not to review this chapter too(hint hint). I'm so sorry it took so long to post this chapter, but I've got terminal exams, concerts and last weekend I were at our cottage, so I wasn't near a computer for three days! So I had to write for hand, which takes a lot longer time to do. Oh, and just a warning: I totally suck at archaic language.
Chapter three: Introductions
Lily woke up the next morning to birds singing and the door getting shut. She stretched and looked with bleary eyes at the alarm clock on the stand. It showed 7:30. Seven thirty? But...Oh, no! It's already breakfast! My first day at school, and I get late! Of all the bad luck... She jumped up from the bed, swiftly changed and brushed her hair one time, before she ran down the stairs and into the Common room, out the portrait hole, down the corridor, came to a fork, and- found herself lost. Great. Just what I need, she thought sarcastically. Now where should she go? She looked down one corridor. It seemed familiar...
*
This doesn't work, Lily thought. I'm never going to find my way to the Great Hall. Now, if only I met somebody... She went past a painting, when suddenly a thin voice shouted:
"Halt right there!" Lily turned around, and almost laughed. In the painting sat a armour clad knight astride a fat pony. "Halt, oh yeh villain, and explain yourself!"
"Um, I was looking for the Great Hall..." Lily started.
"Lies! All thou say ist lies! Stand up and fight, oh yeh foul villain!"
"But, do you know where the Great Hall is?" Lily tried again. Only getting more gibberish from the knight, she sighed and went down some stairs, the knight shouting indignantly after her. Of course I had to run into an English knight, she thought as she walked down the stairs. Suddenly her foot was stuck. What the- oh, no. Don't say it's one of those fake steps. She tried to pull her foot loose. Damn. It is. Now what do I do?
"Well, look who's here," a voice behind her said. She turned, and saw- Sirius grinning like mad. He turned around, and shouted to someone down the corridor: "Oy! Come and look who got stuck in the stairs!" Lily heard someone running, and soon could see James and Remus at the top of the stairs as well. They both got broad grins on their faces.
"Okay, if you're finished looking like fools, could you help me get my foot out?" Lily asked.
"Look who's talking about looking like fools," Sirius grinned. Lily sighed. Patience, patience, she thought.
"Of course we're going to help you, Lily," James said. Lily smiled. "But," he continued, "only if you say the magic word."
"Do I have to?"
"Yes," the three boys said in unison.
I hate you. "Okay. Could you please help me get my foot out?"
Their grins got even wider. "Wrong magic word," Sirius said.
"Oh, what's the right one?" Lily asked sarcastically. "Help me get my goddamn foot out of this fucking step, and if you don't, I'll personally send you to Hell and make sure you stay there, because you would have earned it, you bastards?"
They gaped at her. "That's the one," Sirius said, his voice slightly higher.
"Good," Lily said with a smug smile.
The boys didn't move.
"Well?" she asked.
"Oh, right." They seemed to wake up from something, and went down the stairs to help her.
"On three," Remus said. "One...two...three!" They pulled as hard as they could. Lily clutched the first thing she could find tight, as for not to move upwards with her leg.
"There," James said satisfied. He looked down at Lily. "You can let go of my leg now."
"Right," Lily said and stood up. "So, do any of you guys remember the way to the Charms classroom?"
***
Charms class had just ended. Seeing that 'the kids' (Remus, Sirius and James) had taken off as soon as the bell rang, Lily sighed. Guess I'll get lost as I try to get to the Great Hall, she thought resigned.
"Hi," a girl said from behind her. Lily turned. There stood two girls from her class. They were both shorter than her (which didn't say much, since Lily was tall for a girl), both with brown hair. "My name is Gabrielle," the girl continued. She had darker hair than the other girl, and brown eyes.
"I'm Lily," Lily said.
"Yes," the other girl said. She had light brown hair and blue eyes. "I'm Laura."
"Hi."
"So," Gabrielle said, a little uncertain, "do you want to go with us to dinner?"
"Sure," Lily smiled.
***
The Great Hall was buzzing with voices as it was filled with students. Lily, Gabrielle and Laura sat down at the Gryffindor table.
"So," Gabrielle began as they started to eat, "do you know them?" She seemed rather eager.
"Who?" Lily asked, puzzled.
Gabrielle waved a fork with a bit of steak on it impatiently around. "You know," she said. "Sirius, James, Remus. 'The three Musketeers'."
"Not exactly," Lily said, a bit uncertain. The three Musketeers?! I surely hope they didn't make up that nickname by their own. "Um, do they know that you call them The three Musketeers?"
Laura nodded. "Of course. It was they who had the idea."
If bad taste sold money, they would be millionaires.
"Anyway," Gabrielle persisted. "You have talked to them before."
"Uh, yeah," Lily said. Man. What are they all worked up for? "They were in my compartment on the train." She looked at Laura and Gabrielle. They were both holding their hands over their mouth, their eyes wide open. "Is something wrong...?" Lily asked, uncertain.
Laura was the first to recover. "This is great, Lily!" she almost squealed.
"It is?" Lily was very confused.
Gabrielle saw, and let out a little giggle. "Of course it's great!" she said. "They are the most popular guys at school!"
"WHAT?!" Lily stared at them in shock.
"Well," Laura said, "not Remus. But Sirius and James are- Lily? You okay? You look a little...sick."
"Sure," Lily said. "I mean, I'm okay." How the hell could those kids be popular?! What's wrong with these people? "What's our next class?" she asked in an attempt at changing the subject.
"Let's see," Gabrielle said, looking down at her time table. "Oh, no. What a way to welcome you."
"What?" Lily asked.
"We have Potions with the Slytherins."
"I reckon that's bad?"
"No, no really." Laura let out a silly giggle which really set Lily's teeth on edge. "Usually the points taken from us, Slytherins in the whole, and the terrible smell is flattened by whatever prank James and Sirius will come up with. Lily? Now you've got that green shade in your face again. Are you sure you're not sick?"
"Yeah," Lily said absently. Wish I was, though.
***
The Potions teacher, professor Serpentine, was a very nasty woman. The first thought that entered Lily's mind when the professor entered the dungeon, was: She's trouble. She didn't prove wrong.
The professor started the lesson by holding a roll call. "Ah, yes," she said when she came to the 'E'. "Lily Evans. Our new student." She sat her penetrating, cold stare on Lily. "I just want to make one thing clear," she said. "I don't tolerate any pranksters or so-called 'funny guys'. If I catch you doing anything outside the rules, you'll be sorry you ever thought of doing it. Is that clear?"
"Yes," Lily said in a clear voice. She doesn't scare me, even if she wants to.
"Good," Serpentine said, and started talking about the potion they would make that day. Lily used that time to study her teacher even as she took notes from the instructions.
Professor Serpentine had black hair, a beautifully chiseled face and fair skin. She would have been pretty if it wasn't for the way she always had her mouth in a scornful purse and the cold look in her steel-grey eyes.
What's up with her eyes, anyway? Lily wondered. In the half of the lesson they had had until now, she hadn't seen the professor blink even once as she walked around the students' cauldrons, snapping out a correction for the Gryffindors and praising the Slytherins. Does she ever blink? Lily thought on as she yelled at Sirius for doing 'suspicious acts with your Chispurfle fangs'. Huh. Either she doesn't blink, or she does it so fast I can't see it. Man, if she participated in a staring contest...
It seemed like James had had enough of Potions. As Lily looked around the room at the other students, she saw him light a Filibuster Fireworks and throw it into Snape's cauldron as Serpentine had her back turned. The fireworks let out a big BANG! and sprayed potion all over the Slytherin part of the class – which of course had placed themselves as far away from the Gryffindors as possible and therefore put the Gryffindors out of danger of James' prank.
"WHO DID THAT?!" professor Serpentine bellowed.
"It was Potter!" Snape said., shooting a hateful glare at James. It was rather un-successful, since potion was dripping from his greasy hair and down on his nose. James just grinned broadly at him.
"You can go now," Serpentine said to the class. They cheerfully started to pack up their things. "Potter," she said calmly. "15 points from Gryffindor. Stay here after the others are gone. We have to talk about your detention."
James just shrugged and went over to her desk, winking at Sirius and Remus as they walked out the door. They grinned back.
"So," Lily said as she, Gabrielle and Laura went to the Common room (it was three hours 'till the next lesson), "this is the most popular guy at school?"
"Hm-hmm," Laura said with a dreamy sigh. Arrgh, Lily thought.
"He's great," Gabrielle said, with an identical dreamy sigh.
Lily groaned.
A/N: So, what do you think? Huh? Huh? I'm sorry it was so short and took so long, but it's all I have for now. Oh, and since I'm really busy this summer, and won't have access to my computer (at least the one with internet) for about six weeks out of eight, it will take longer to write the next chapter. But I'll write as fast as I can.
Love ya! ^_^
aurora borealis~