All usual disclaimers apply. I do not claim to own this world; I'm just borrowing it.
Milady's Eyes
By Adia
Chapter 2
Lily froze.
Although barely able to peripherally see that something was there, she knew she was being watched.
Maybe it's an Auror's instinct, she mused hollowly as she waited for whatever was at the window to leave.
It didn't.
Quickly, Lily fumbled for the wand in her pajamas (Why am I sleeping with my wand anyway?) as she tried to keep the rest of her body deathly still.
Then, with one quick sweep, Lily hurled herself out of bed, opened the window, and cried:
"Expelliarmus!"
Before she could see what was happening, the thing flew back from the force of the wand, and crashed into the bushes.
Silence.
"Hullo?" Lily called warily, hoping that her potential attacker didn't plan on answering.
Suddenly, a few flickers of light came the bush, and some more rustling was heard. Lily poked her head out of the window.
"Hullo?" She called a little more loudly. Nothing.
But before she could call out again, her mouth has suddenly covered by a pair of big hands…that belonged to tall, lanky figure. Lily screamed from behind them and began to wave her wand in every direction.
"Shhhhh!" he hissed, as she struggled against him. "You don't want me to call Filch on you, do you?"
It was Sirius.
Lily pulled herself free from his grasp, breathless and
agitated.
If you wanted to pay me a visit, she thought angrily,
at least you could have tapped on the window.
As though he had heard her thoughts, Sirius rolled his eyes. He tried to hold back a smile as Lily attempted to smooth over her disheveled hair. When she had finished, he then leaned in to the window.
"I'm sorry I scared you," he whispered, "But we've got things to do. C'mon."
As Sirius turned away, Lily stared at him, sleepy with confusion. Then something struck her.
"How did you manage to get here unnoticed?"
Sirius stopped, and turned back to face her, eyes suddenly sparkling with anxiety.
"We've only a few more hours of true darkness before someone-"
"How did you manage to get here unnoticed?"
"Invisibility Cloak" Sirius muttered quickly as he tried to unhinge the windows, in order for Lily to climb out.
"You don't have an invisibility cloak," pressed Lily, "And I hardly think that it's worthwhile to try and break that off yourself, when you've already snuck out at night trying to capture me." Lily pulled out her wand again and charmed away the window.
"It's not mine," Sirius replied quietly, as he helped Lily out, "It's James'."
Lily winced. The one unsettling part of their friendship was that she had to share Sirius…with him. The boy whom she cared not to think about was slowly creeping back into her brain. Not that she had anything against him, of course, that would make little sense considering the way her face flushed when he entered the room. But deep down…she was a little jealous. Adventures with Sirius were fun and good…but she had heard stories. Often, she secretly wished that she was the one splashing in the lake at Hogwarts, narrowly escaping the grindylows and lying under the stars until the sun peaked over the horizon, at which time escaping back in the common room, sniggering and picking sea weed out of her clothes.
Boys have all the fun, she silently fumed.
Sirius had not taken notice. In fact, he was more occupied with finding something on the ground.
"And what, exactly, were you proposing for our midnight errands?" Lily inquired.
Sirius didn't look up. "Well, first of all, I have to return this cloak…once I find it, that is."
Lily snorted. "You wouldn't have to return it if you hadn't came and gotten me in the first place!"
Sirius' eyes flickered upwards. He then plunged his hands into a nearby bush and pulled out a long, silvery garment.
"As much as I'd like to sit here and debate this issue," He replied flatly, "It appears we have a bit of company."
Lily looked up as a big, tawny owl circled over their heads, with a white piece of parchment attached to its talons.
Oh, perfect, she thought, A Ministry owl.
Sirius, invisibility cloak in tow, began hurriedly searching for something else.
Of course, they catch my spells, she thought
disdainfully, as she climbed out of the window. God knows what he had to
cast on the way over here.
Sirius swiftly reached back into the bush and pulled out a broom. As he raised it into the air, the tawny owl swooped down, grazing the curls on Lily's head.
"C'mon," he said, as he pulled her on, and draped the cloak over their selves. "It'll never know what happened to us."
The grin flashed before her eyes as the cloak fell in front his face. She held to him tightly as he took off into the midnight air.
Lily pulled herself closer as they rose up into the clouds
She had never really cared much for flying. She much preferred to stay on the ground, and wondered endlessly how anyone could work up the courage to risk their lives batting around balls and catching snitches, let alone keep both hands safely latched to the broom. Silently, she counted the months until she could get an apparation license, and not have to worry about defying gravity anymore.
She shifted a bit uneasily. There was something unsettling about gripping someone you couldn't see.
They glided along in silence for a while, and then Lily rested her chin on his shoulder and whispered into his ear:
"How could you have misplaced your cloak within such a short period of time?"
Sirius snorted. "O, I don't know. I'm sure it had nothing to do with my being blasted out of my wits."
Lily stifled a grin. "Sorry."
"Oh, no harm done. You were only doing what I would have wanted you to do if I had thought some big, scary, wizard was going to attack you. Of course, to Petunia, I'm sure that's what I am…"
But Lily's mind had begun to wander. As she surveyed the landscape below them, she found she could only see patches of the earth beneath the clouds. Sleepy little houses, tiny cars, all unaware of the invisible flying spectacles above them. Her eyes turned instead to the heavens.
The waves of darkness broke upon her face as she became lost in the sea of little drops, shaped like animals and legends and ethereal souls that seemed much more magnified here then at any tower at Hogwarts. The wind blew her hair in every which direction as she seemingly sailed through the stars…
Lily brought herself back. There was something she had forgotten to ask.
"Where are we going?"
"I already told you," Sirius replied, "I have to return this cloak to its owner."
Lily's stomach lurched. She was willing to forgo an argument about arriving at Potter's house so late at night, lest she give away her real reasons for avoiding him, but something told her she needed to be forewarned about the rest of the evening:
"I meant," Lily said stonily, "Where are we going after that?"
She felt his face curve into a smile. "Milady, if I gave it away now, I'm sure you'd fall off your broom in delight, so I'll just wait until we're on safer ground, alright?"
Lily sulked. It was bad enough there was an irritated owl waiting for her when she returned home, now she had to wait for the details. But Sirius was hardly one to let her down. She considered this as she smoothed away some hair from her face. I'm sure we'll make a big 'ol mess.
She found herself smiling at that thought.
Before she knew it, they were descending, back through the clouds and down closer to earth. They began to glide through the streets, past the dark cottages, twisting and turning with an assurance Lily lacked.
Soon, they began to slow down as they approached a modest house on the edge of the neighborhood. It was set on the edge of the forest, with a small garden, and one semi-lit window on the second floor.
Lily began to remember what she'd forgotten.
"Sirius," she stammered anxiously, "We don't really need to take it back right now. I mean, I'm sure James wouldn't mind if you brought it along for wherever we're going, or even if we used it! I bet he'd think it a fine idea, one he'd have surely thought of himself if he was here-"
Sirius clasped an invisible hand over her mouth, ceasing the words. Although annoyed, Lily faintly understood. There were some times when she'd have liked to shut herself up, too.
"Really, Lily," Sirius crooned, teasingly, "One would think you didn't like James."
Lily felt her face burn. "Of course not!" She said a little too quickly, "I'm sure he's…a lot of fun. Tons. I just…I just…"
I just know what it feels like when he looks at me, she thought.
Of course, she didn't want to explain this to Sirius. She could hardly explain it to herself.
"Smashing." He said quickly, with a smile in his voice, "I knew you'd come around."
Sirius reached the roof of the cottage and hovered by the window. He rapped on the glass. Silence. He knocked a little harder.
No one came.
"O, for goodness sakes, Alohomora!" Sirius grunted, waving his wand distractedly. The windows sprang open, and they flew inside.
It was a small room, with blue walls and wooden floors. There were shelves of books, some Lily recognized as ones they'd used at school, others that looked older, or printed in foreign runes. Some were dirty and dingy, hidden in crevices between larger volumes of encyclopedias. It bore a slight resemblance to the restricted section of the library, Lily noted, save for the bed in one corner, and a desk along the same wall.
"I'd rather not think about the heyday the ministry is going to have with me." Sirius muttered as they landed on the floor.
Lily wasn't listening. Transfixed, she slid off the side of the broom.
And there he was.
James was sitting on the chair tucked into the desk, bent over something Lily couldn't see. The low blue glow from his wand (perched on a shelf) lit the area where he worked, and made him appear seemingly detached from what was transpiring nearby. His hair, disheveled as usual, hung in soft chunks over his forehead, while his dark glasses kept sliding down the slope of his nose. He pushed them back without looking up.
"Ahem," Sirius cleared his throat rather loudly, somewhat annoyed at being ignored for so long.
James glanced up in their direction. A boyish smile spread across his face, and Lily shivered.
Suddenly, his face became awash with intent. He stood up from where he sat, and walked towards them, eyeing the invisibility cloak Sirius held in his hands. He grasped it, and held it up to his face.
"Right," he said, his dark eyes searching the fabric, "Well, everything seems to be in order here."
Lily fidgeted uncomfortably, feeling somewhat like a third wheel. She wasn't used to being in James and Sirius' company so exclusively. Lily suspected Sirius had a reason for that.
James looked back up at her. His eyes seemingly wandered through every curve and crevice of her face, like a child discovering what it was to feel something for the first time. For a moment, she stared, mesmerized. Then, as an impish grin reappeared on his mouth, she snapped out of her trance, and looked at Sirius, pleadingly.
"Right, well, we'll be on our way then-" She turned to leave.
James grabbed her by the wrist. She shuddered. His fingers were long and slender, cool to the touch. He pulled her back a little.
"Not so fast." He said quietly.
Lily felt her pulse beating in her throat. Although in the back of her thoughts she had suspected that tonight's adventure was not going to be a duet, she hoped, for her own sanity, that maybe James would change his mind.
Which, of course, she knew was impossible.
As Lily turned back around, he released his grip.
"You couldn't just go off and have all the fun without me, you know," He said with a bit of a wry smile on his face. "Especially since I have what you need."
Lily glanced disdainfully over at Sirius. He tried to act like he had no idea what James was talking about.
All right, she thought, if I had anything to worry
about, I'm sure I would have been given a fair warning.
Besides…you can't deny that this is what you wanted.
Lily was hard pressed to disprove her own logic. She nodded for him to continue, hoping her face hadn't given her away.
"Right, then." James stepped aside to reveal an object she hadn't noticed before. It resembled an old, dirty glove, and for a moment, Lily wondered absently what it was.
"It's a portkey." He said evenly, "To Hogwarts."
Bells of alarm went off in Lily's head. As much as the prospect of having an adventure with him was…wonderful…she knew the consequences of getting caught trespassing would be stiff. This wasn't just sneaking around after lights out, or pilfering a few treacle tarts from the kitchens. She was putting her future as a prefect, let alone all of theirs at school, in severe jeopardy. Lily's mind wandered back to the home she had just left, and the eyes of her sniveling sister underneath the door. It was not a place she wanted to return to permanently.
However, James and Sirius did not appear to have the same sentiments as she did.
"Oh, excellent, James, I was beginning to think I'd have to ride that wretched thing another 500 miles." Sirius said, gesturing at broom on the floor.
"Yes, Indeed." James appeared very pleased with himself. "I actually found it on the grounds last year, but it took awhile before I figured out what it was, and how I could get it back here…without returning back to school a 100 times in the process."
"But why did you think you would need to go back-?" Lily began to interject, but Sirius waved an impatient hand at her.
"Action first, questions later." He said quickly, as he walked over to the glove. He looked back at James. "Shall we, dear friend?"
"My Pleasure," James replied, then looked towards Lily, "But ladies first, of course." He grinned.
That grin.
That beautiful, wonderful grin which turned her insides to mush and made her do something as horrid as follow his lead.
But as they gathered around the object, he mind suddenly returned.
"And what, may I ask, are you planning on doing once we arrive?"
James considered this for a moment. "Well," he said, "Let's just say I have to pick up a few things."
"Are you implying that we will be stealing from Hogwarts as well?" Lily said impatiently.
"Stealing," James replied, "would imply that what we're taking isn't mine."
He grabbed his wand from the shelf, muttered a spell, and the light went out. The room was suddenly plunged into an inky blackness.
"The less conspicuous we are," Lily heard Sirius say, "The less likely this room will become a new owlry."
They stood together in silence for a few moments. Lily felt the wind pick up from the window. She shivered, and pulled her pajamas closer around her.
Suddenly, she felt her arm being grabbed, and a voice leaned in towards her ear.
"Trust me," James whispered, as he slowly guided her hand to where the glove lay.
A/N: I know, I know, I'm SORRY! You're just going to have to
wait. I posted this soon after my first chapter hoping maybe to hook some of
you. g Thank you muchly to all who reviewed this. Be assured I will
clear up some confusion, but be sure to specify what confuses you. For
one, Lily IS going back, I stated in the 1st chapter that she
received her note for the new term, but she misses Hogwarts, naturally. So, on
that note, recommend me to your friends! Knowing I have some sort of reader
base keep morale up, and thus, better chapters! Yea for that! So, any
questions, comments, reviews, tomatoes? I'm willing to take them all, just
don't go all Snape on me! ETA on chapter 3 is Thursday, September 20th.
