Disclaimer: Still the same…those you recognize aren't mine. Those you don't are mine…
Author's Note: O_O whoa again! I honestly cannot believe the positive reception this story is getting! I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Anyways, there were a few comments on the reviews I would like to address:
1) The issue of Lily being a Gryffindor came up. I wasn't really sure if she is a Gryffindor, so decided to make her a Ravenclaw instead. Besides,
for the purposes of this story, it would be best if she's not in the same house as James. Otherwise, the story wouldn't work at all…
2) Sirius as a prefect: I know, it sounds wrong to some people, but I think deep down, he's an intelligent and responsible person…if he isn't
well…miracles happen, right?
3) I will be starting a mailing list for those of you who want me to inform you of any updates or any new story ideas. I tried copying down the
email addresses of those who reviewed, but it was a tad bit tedious. So please, if you wish to be included in the mailing list, email me at:
azaleafaye@yahoo.com.
Alright. Here's chapter 3 of Serendipity. I apologize deeply for the almost one week lag with the update. I had a midterm on Monday and actually had two more midterms on Thursday. But since today is Saturday, I decided it appropriate for me to finally update this story. Again, I apologize. I do hope you would all like this chapter. If not please let me know how I can improve future chapters. If you do like it, then also let me know why you liked it, so I would know what to do for future chapters. And of course, the only way for me to know whether you did or did not like this chapter is through your reviews. So please, after reading this, do not forget to review. Thank you and Enjoy!
Chapter 3: Dreams and Distractions
James walked the empty halls of Hogwarts Castle, his gaze switching from right to left, giving quick glances at the portraits lining the quiet halls, its occupants following his every step. The echoing of shoes to cold granite permeated the air, as though choking him: a reminder that he is alone. Continuing his walk to the unknown, James took careful steps, having no idea where to go. Suddenly, a cold air came from nowhere, blowing out the fires on the torches hanging on the wall, throwing the boy into pitch-black darkness. His heart gave a jolt. Where am I supposed to go, he thought, a pinch of anxiety surfacing within the Gryffindor.
James…The boy looked up, hearing a familiar feminine voice call his name. Out of nowhere, a small crevice of light opened at the end of the dark hall, intoxicating the boy with its inviting glow, its hypnotizing brilliance slowly making him move.
James…
I'm coming, he thought as he reached the light, entering a room with large windows, the heavy rays of light kissing his face. James raised his hands, shielding his hazel eyes from the light, waiting for his vision to adjust. When it finally did, the boy looked at his surroundings, taking in the smell of books: the library.
James…
Turning his gaze towards the direction where his voice seemed to have come from, James gasped. The slender figure of a young woman was silhouetted against the large windows, the angelic glow of the light behind her disabling the boy from seeing her face. The brilliant radiance slowly dimmed to a perfect glow, revealing the mystery girl's features: long, auburn hair, emerald-green eyes, and an angelic smile James could only associate with one person. It's her…
Slowly, the girl smiled at James, lightly gliding towards the boy, floating like an angel. She smiled at him again, reaching her hand up to gently touch his cheeks. "You've found me, James," she gently said, her voice echoing his name. Resting her hands on both of the boy's shoulders, the girl with auburn hair slowly pulled James' face closer to hers, a smile playing at her lips. "James…"
James…
James…
James…
James…James! JAMES! JAMES!
My angel, he thought, wrenching his eyes open, staring blurrily at a somewhat familiar face. After a second of adjusting, James shoved the person off the bed. "Sirius, what the hell?!" exclaimed the prefect, sitting up with a groan. "What the hell are you doing up so early? And what in the heck do you think you're doing shaking me awake?"
Sirius gave his best friend a huge grin, getting off the floor and brushing imaginary dust off his robes. "It's a beautiful morning, Prongs!" he said, walking towards the windows and pulling the curtains open: it was still dark out. "Now get up and celebrate the day with me," he added, walking towards Remus' bed and shaking the boy awake. He took the pillow sitting behind Remus' head and chucked it at a snoring Peter. "WAKE UP! WORMTAIL!"
"Shut the bloody hell up, Padfoot," groaned Remus, rubbing his temples, still lying on his bed. James watched his best friend shake Peter awake, an annoyed but amused smile spreading across his face. "Sirius, will you calm the hell down and tell me why in the world you've decided to wake up at an ungodly hour?" asked James, glancing at his watch – it was only 5:30 AM.
Sirius bounced towards his friend, draping a friendly arm around him. "Well Prongs, we officially start the school year today – exciting isn't it?" answered Sirius, giving his friend an amicable shove. "Besides, we have a prefect's meeting to attend at seven. You have an hour and a half to get ready for it, Prongs, so I suggest you use it!"
The other three boys stared at Sirius, who had stood up and was walking towards the door. "I'll wait for you in the common room, James," he added, leaving the dormitory.
"What the hell is wrong with him?" asked Remus, catching the pillow Peter groggily threw back to him.
James sighed, getting out of bed. "Well you know Sirius…he was dropped a number of times when he was a child…"
~~*~~~*~~
James dragged his feet along the hall, his mind still preoccupied with the dream he had before his best friend rudely shook him awake. He looked up, rolling his eyes as his so-called best friend walked briskly a few feet away from him. "Damn it, Padfoot! Could you atleast slow down and wait for me? It's not as though you know where the prefects meet."
Sirius stopped and turned around, following his friend's advice. "What are you on about? Of course I know where prefects meet! What kind of prefect would I be if I didn't know?" he answered, walking alongside James past the Great Hall. Sirius ran a hand through his already messy hair, his eyes darting from right and left, trying to find an open door with people inside. James smirked. "You lost, Padfoot?"
Sirius scratched his head and looked around. Spotting an attractive blonde walking towards them, Sirius adjusted his robes. "Excuse me miss…"
The girl stopped, looking at Sirius, her blue eyes still showing signs of sleep but nevertheless holding some cheer. "Yes?"
"Do you happen to know where the prefects hold their meetings?"
The girl shot Sirius a bewildered look. Hmm…he must be new, she thought with a shrug. "Actually, I was just about to go to that meeting right now. Why don't you follow me then?"
"A damn beautiful day, isn't it James?" said Sirius enthusiastically. He smiled sheepishly when the girl looked at him, apparently peeved by his mild swearing in the morning. "Er—I meant, isn't this day swell?"
The girl shook her head in amusement, continuing her walk to the meeting, the two boys following her, all walking in silence. Finally reaching the meeting place, the three students entered the room, the blonde girl waving at the other prefects and taking a seat next to a Hufflepuff prefect with brown hair. Sirius took the empty seat next to the blonde girl, James plopping down next to his friend. Seconds after their entrance, Dumbledore appeared in the doorway, a characteristic twinkle in his eyes. "Good morning," he said, striding towards the empty seat at the end of the long, rectangular table, looking around at the mixture of sleepy and enthusiastic response from each student. "Miss Watson, where's Miss Evans?"
The blonde girl sitting next to Sirius bit her bottom lip. "I told her not to come, headmaster…well actually, I decided not to wake her. She was the last person to go to bed last night, and I thought she needed the extra sleep."
"Very well," nodded Dumbledore in understanding. He then shifted his gaze at the old yet familiar faces of Sirius and James. "Why Mr. Black and Mr. Potter – to what do we owe this rare occurrence of your being here?"
Sirius gave Dumbledore a beaming smile, James simply flashing the headmaster a polite grin. The meeting began, all but the two Gryffindor prefects paying great attention to whoever had the floor. After thirty minutes of people nodding and talking, Dumbledore finally decided to end the meeting.
"Thank you, Sirius," muttered James as he and his best friend walked out of the door.
"Thanks for what?"
"Thank you for reminding me why I never went to a single prefect's meeting!" exclaimed James, a bit peeved that he spent thirty minutes in a pointless about god knows what. "I didn't even know what the hell we were talking about!"
"Don't worry about it. No one ever has anything to say during those meetings," said the blonde girl, striding next to the two boys. "They're really just interesting when Lily's there."
"Lily?"
"Yeah, Lily Evans – don't you know her?" asked the girl in reply, looking at Sirius with inquiring eyes. The boy shook his head, "No, I actually don't."
"Oh well, I guess when you attend the next prefect meeting, you'll get to meet her," said the blonde girl with a smile, entering the Great Hall and turning to walk to her tables.
"Oh hell no! Sirius-" began James, taking a hold of his friend's arm. "We are never going to another prefect meeting this year. If you drag me to another one of those boring prefect get-togethers, I am going to kick your ass!"
The girl giggled. "It wouldn't matter: you won't miss anything important, I'm sure. I'll see you two around then," said the girl, bidding the two boys goodbye.
"She's a nice girl, isn't she?" said Sirius, giving the girl one last glance. "What's her name again?"
"I don't know, Padfoot. Can we just go and get some food please?"
"Alright, alright. Don't get your knickers in a bunch," replied Sirius, raising his hands in mock defense. "By the way, did that list of names include Lily in it?"
James thought hard. "No, I don't think so…I'll check later."
"Yeah, go do that…Lily seems like a redhead name anyway…"
~~*~~~*~~
"She's a nice girl, isn't she? What's her name again?"
Diana smiled inwardly, overhearing the boy named Sirius call her nice. She smacked herself mentally, remembering that she never had the chance to introduce herself to the two boys. Oh well, I'll see them on the next prefect meeting, hopefully, she thought, the distance between her and the two Gryffindors increasing. To be honest, she was a bit grateful for finally losing the two arguing boys. However, she was a bit amused with the one named Sirius – everything that came out of his mouth had some humor in it, and Diana saw that as charming.
The girl continued her trek to the Ravenclaw house table, gently giving a second year student a friendly wave walking the opposite direction. Her attention was caught, however, by her two friends: Lily Evans and Arabella Figg. The auburn-haired Lily had a look of irritation on her delicate face and Arabella was busy eating some porridge, trying to talk to Lily. Diana joined them.
"Hello you two!" greeted the blonde, giving her friends a sweet smile. "Lily, you're not mad at me for not waking you up, are you?"
Lily sighed. "No I'm not. I'm sure you had your reasons," replied the emerald-eyed girl. "Although I am quite disappointed that I've missed my very first meeting since becoming a prefect last year…"
"Cheer up, Lily!" exclaimed Arabella, taking a small swig from her goblet. "There's a first time for everything, and it's about time you got some chance to lie in!"
"Exactly! Besides, you didn't really miss much. The meeting was incredibly boring without you making suggestions and whatnot," added Diana, pouring some milk onto her goblet. "Anyway, Dumbledore will be making an announcement about the stuff we talked about right before the end of breakfast."
"Alright…thanks you two," said Lily, taking a piece of toast and spreading liberal amounts of strawberry jam onto the bread. The three friends ate in silence, occasionally asking one or the other to pass the butter or the jam. After fifteen minutes, the attention of the hall was called upon by the headmaster, who was now standing at the instructors' table, eyes a twinkle.
"If I may have your attention please," he said loudly, slightly clearing his throat. "Earlier this morning, the prefects and I – along with your Headboy and Headgirl – had a meeting regarding a little moral booster. And after minutes of discussing with the staff, I am please to announce that two weeks from Saturday, we shall hold an Autumn Ball here in the Great Hall." Dumbledore beamed at the positive response from his students – girls were suddenly whispering excitedly to each other. Clearing his throat, the Headmaster continued. "Partners are optional and dress robes may be worn by those students who wish to. This ball will be a somewhat relaxed ball, allowing students to just be themselves and to let loose, therefore, it is allowed for students to wear their simple school robes. Students from first through seventh year are invited, although attendance is not mandatory." Dumbledore chuckled, noticing that most of his students were eager to talk to their friends about the ball. "If any of you have further questions regarding the ball, you may ask your prefects or the head of your house. That is all."
Excited whispers filled the Great Halls as students – mostly girls – planned for the upcoming ball.
"A ball? That was the agenda for today's meeting?" asked Lily, standing up, getting ready to walk to her first class – History of Magic. Following suit, Diana and Arabella stood up, brushing off any crumbs on their robes and stepping out of their chairs. "Well then, shall we go?"
Before either Diana or Lily had the chance to reply, the three girls' attention was suddenly caught by the laughter permeating the hall. Lily looked at the source of the laughter, a look of bewilderment in her face. Severus Snape had entered the common room, wearing sparkling pink robes, his clothes a bright color of green and orange. The girls standing next to Lily gave loud laughs, covering their mouths in amusement.
The auburn-haired girl watched in interest as Severus approached the Gryffindor house table, stopping in front of four boys – three of which were laughing in delight, banging their hands on the table and the fourth one (who was face was slightly blocked by the Slytherin) was shaking his head in amused disapproval, his hand covering half his face. Lily watched as Severus pointed his finger at a boy named Sirius, yelling accusingly at the boy, who had his hands raised in defense. Glancing at her watch, Lily finally decided to leave when Severus once again yelled accusingly at not only the boy named Sirius, but also his friends.
"Wait Lils, don't you want to stay for this?" asked Diana, quickly taking a glance at her friend then returning her attention to the one-sided shouting match.
"I really don't want to stay for Severus' pointless finger-pointing, Diana," replied Lily. "I'll just save us some seats – wouldn't want to miss two important meetings in one day, right?"
"But professor Binns' class is not that important, Lils!" said Arabella, pleading for her friend to stay.
Lily smiled at the two, waving her hand in the air, dismissing her friend's comment. "I'll see you two in class," she said, making her way out of the Great Hall. Before fully leaving the large room, however, Lily took one last look at the verbal battle between Severus and the four boys, noticing that the Slytherin had a triumphant grin on his face. Professor McGonnogal had stepped in, three of the four boys standing in front of her, receiving a lecture.
Intent on getting to class and saving some seats, Lily slowly turned away from the scene. She stopped, however, when she caught a quick glance of a somewhat familiar face with messy hair. Oh my God, she thought, quickly turning her attention back to the scene. Her face fell into disappointment, however, when she saw that the boy was already walking away: McGonnogal was leading him and his friends to the opposite side of the Great Hall, their backs turned towards the auburn-haired Lily. No Lily, you're just seeing things…
~~*~~~*~~
The rest of the Ravenclaw sixth years entered professor Binns' classroom, all talking about one of two things: the upcoming ball or the one-sided verbal war during breakfast. Smiling at her friends, Lily took her bag and her book off the two seats she save for her friends. They didn't had the chance to chat, however, because Professor Binns emerged from the chalkboard, giving his students a brief welcome back and immediately launching on a talk about the Goblin and Troll Acts of 1467.
One by one, the Ravenclaw sixth years fell into a stupor, bored out of their wits. And after thirty minutes, nearly everyone was asleep or had his or her eyes closed. Lily, who had already read about the lecture in advance, decided to follow suit, staring blankly at the empty parchment in front of her. Taking one of her quills from her bag, Lily dipped the tip onto ink and began to doodle on the parchment. Unconsciously, she drew a picture of a boy with messy hair wearing thin-framed glasses. Lily looked at her drawing, a small smile playing at her lips. James, she thought, writing his name on the parchment. Lily looked around the room at her fellow Ravenclaw students, smiling at their sleeping states. Looking down at the floor and thinking of how boring the lecture was, the auburn-haired girl suddenly caught sight of a small book lying on the floor next to an open bag: The Slaying of the Vampire Princess Melinda by Annika Richter. Sighing like the lovesick teen she is, Lily set her quill down, resting her elbows onto the desk and her chin on her hands.
"So, you like to read, do you?"
Lily looked at the boy sitting across from her, tilting her head to the side. "Yes, I actually do. How can you tell?"
The boy pushed his glass back. "Well, I actually saw your face light up when you saw that book," he said pointing at the bag on the floor. "Besides, you said you only wanted to read the book for fun. I don't think anyone would read a three hundred page book on charms just for fun."
Lily giggled. "It's that obvious, eh? What about you? Why did you need this book anyway?"
"To be honest, I'm not much of a charms person – I could never get them! I thought by reading that book, I might get some pointers or something…"
"Well, you get a lot out of reading, I suppose. Do you like to read?"
"As long as it's not about History of Magic, sure: I love to read."
Lily smiled. "What's your favorite book?"
"My favorite book…" repeated the boy, searching for the title. "I think it would have to be The Slaying of the Vampire Princess Melinda, by Annika Richter."
"Sounds interesting. What's it about?"
"It's about this vampire princess who falls in love with a wizard, not knowing that he's a vampire slayer," began James, his face a mask of seriousness. "In the end, he betrays her trust and kills her – only to realize that he's killed the one person he loved the most. It's a bit complicated, but it's an extremely good read."
Lily stared at the boy in amazement. "Honestly, you don't look like the type of person who would read a romance novel."
"It's not purely romance," exclaimed the boy, holding a hand up in defense. "There's a lot of action in it – after all, he does battle evil and all that. You should read it sometime."
"I'll take your word for it," replied Lily, taking a liberal amount of ice cream from her glass.
"Do you think she's died or something?" Arabella asked Diana, waving a hand in front of her auburn-haired friend.
Diana gave her friend an incredulous look, turning her attention to the girl who had a dreamy expression her face. "Hello? Anyone home?" said Diana, waving a hand on her face. "Lily, time to end your daydreaming – Professor Binns saw your spaced-out expression."
Lily snapped back to reality, a red shade running through her cheeks. "He did? Damn…what about you two? You were practically snoring!"
"He's already yelled at us," answered Diana. "Why do you think we're awake?"
"Don't worry about it, he's probably forgotten already," said Arabella, resting her head on her arms once again. "Please wake me up once he's done talking."
Lily smiled at her friend, resting her chin once again on her hand and trying to hold on to Professor Binns' words. Lily stifled a yawn, hearing something gently slip onto her desk. Looking down, she saw a small piece of parchment folded in half with her names scribbled onto the front. Lily opened the parchment and read:
Lily,
Hello there. I was just wondering about something…I'm sure by now you know that there's an upcoming ball in two weeks…and I was wondering if…if you'd like to come to the ball with me? I know this isn't a very appropriate way of asking a girl, but it would make me so happy if you could say yes…so, what will it be?
Euan Oldham
Lily turned around, giving Euan a smile, who returned it with a small wave, flashing her a grin. Come on, Lily. He's pretty good looking, and he's quidditch captain too…you have to move on…besides, remember: destiny and serendipity…
Taking her quill and dipping it into ink, Lily slowly wrote three letters on the parchment: yes
~~**~~~**~~
So…what did you guys think? It was a bit long, and I apologize if you guys didn't like that. I decided this chapter should focus more on Lily, seeing as the previous chapter had a lot of James in it. Also, I apologize if I added another original character. I think that new character will be the last character I'll add – although I might add another one. Hopefully you guys are alright with my adding some new characters in it…hmm…what else? I hope none of you were confused about the whole dream sequences (James' was in the beginning and Lily's was the flashback in class), because I kinda just inserted those in there…sorry about that! Well, I think that's all I have to say for this…Again, please don't forget to review this chapter. Let me know how much it sucked! Haha..god bless you all and thank you again for reading this small little story of mine!
~~:AzaleaFaye:~~