A/N: Hey every1! Just a quick note that I fixed up the formating, sorry I
know it was SO hard to read!! But I didn't realize I put up the original
version. Im not so sure where this's going, I've written a million
different versions of the fourth chapter, so bare with me if it suddenly
changes!! Anyway, hope you enjoyin my story, thanks so much everyone who
reviewed, you guys totally made my day! (
FOUR/ BEST FRIENDS ALWAYS KNOW
Lily stared out the window at the lake, watching the giant squid propel itself across the lake, water churning about it's tenticals. She'd only been in Divination fifteen minutes, but she was ready to scream. The north tower was stuffy and hot, and there was no way she'd be able to live until the end of class and get down to lunch.
At the front of the room, James and his friends sat still, unusually calm and silent. The four of them had had a bit of a row just before they reached the room, and they were extremely frustrated with each other. James was leaning back against his armchair, watching Lily as she gazed longingly out the window. She looked really pretty sitting there, red hair contrasting enormously with the glittering blue lake just visible through the window. His mind drifted back to detention, the night before, and he found himself wishing that he could go off somewhere and talk with Lily again, just the two of them.
Sirius, who never missed a thing, took great interest in the way his best friend was looking at Lily Evans. It was the sort of look that James had when he was with Jiji or Victoria- only multiplied by at least a hundred times. Sirius studied his friend carefully, trying to guess what he was thinking about. He found that it wasn't very hard; to Sirius, it was completely obvious that his best friend had a crush on Lily.
Lily's gaze drifted away from the lake. Only five more minutes had passed, and Lily felt like screaming. To pass the time, she began thinking about James, and last night in detention. She'd found herself really, really enjoying his company, and she wished more than anything that right now, she could get herself out of this classroom and be talking with James, somewhere, alone. Of course, Cass and Susana would get suspicious - she'd told them about detention and how nice James was, but she hadn't told them that she liked him. She didn't really care what they thought about that right now, though, she just wanted to talk with James.
A few minutes later, her wish was granted.
James, who was sitting near the shelf of crystal balls, had had quite enough of this sweltering classroom. Quietly taking out his wand, he tapped it against the table, thinking of a good spell to use. It came to him very quickly, and in the moment that Professor Esmerelda turned around to stir the fire, he pointed his wand at the shelf and whispered, "Expladoeus." The crystal balls shattered in one big BANG, sending smoke pouring into the room. The class cheered, quickly escaping the tower room, though now they were each coughing with each breath.
When they were down the ladder, James's friends sort of stood around him grinning, though they were still a bit mad at each other. James was about to say they should go disrupt Whettles class, when he saw Lily climbing down the ladder.
"See you at lunch," James said, and started off towards Lily. His friends, who simply assumed that James was still angry, each took a separate route to the great hall.
"Hey, Lil', want to take a walk?" James asked, as Lily stepped off the ladder.
"Yeah," she said, grinning, and the two of them walked off down a corridor. Cass, who was coming down the ladder behind Lily, watched them go. //That's really odd// Cass thought to herself as she watched Lily playful push James, who was laughing. //She's FLIRTING with him.// But before she could come up with any other sort of ideas about Lily and James, the two of them turned a corner.
Lily couldn't believe her luck. She got to miss over half of Divination, and then she had lunch. Plus, she was alone with James, which was better than missing every Divination class for the rest of the year, in her opinion.
"Nice trick with the crystal balls," Lily congratulated James, who grinned and took a bow.
"Thank you, thank you. But that room was way too hot. There was no way I was going to sit in there for another forty minutes," James commented, pulling on Lily's arm slightly to indicate that they were turning another corner. She smiled to herself, feeling really giddy, which was totally unlike her.
"Yeah, I was really hoping for a way out of there myself. Her class is SO boring."
"Yeah," James agreed. They walked in comfortable silence for a bit, then James said, "I had a lot of fun in detention last night."
"Me too," Lily said, stealing a look at him. He was looking ahead of them, but he was grinning slightly.
"You know what you said, about the popularity thing?"
"Uh huh," Lily said, a little uncertainly. This was a somewhat touchy subject.
"Well, I've been thinking," James said, "and you know what? You're right. From now on, I'm gonna not be so stuck up, not ignore people anymore, and I'm not going to do anything just to be popular."
Lily stopped and studied him for a moment. He turned to look at her.
"Would you be willing to make a bet on that?"
"Yeah," James said. "What'll you give me?" Lily laughed.
"All right," she said. "If I win, you have to.completely embarrass yourself in front of all of your friends."
"And if I win," said James, smiling, "then YOU have to.do stand up with me, Remus, Sirius, and Peter for one week."
"In front of ALL the common room?" Lily exclaimed, and James looked pointedly at her. "Oh.I get it. Okay, it's a deal." She stuck out her hand, which James shook. They grinned at each other and continued walking.
"Can you believe the O.W.L.'s are already four months away?"
"No, it seems like yesterday Sirius and I were blowing off studying for them." he stopped and laughed. It took Lily a minute, then she got it.
"You know, you should start studying SOMETIME," Lily pointed out.
"Yes, Professor McGonagall," James said in an innocent voice, and Lily hit him playfully.
"Shut it, you," she said, and James laughed.
By now, they'd reached the first floor, and emerged into the entrance hallway about two minutes after lunch appeared on the platters.
"Sit with me?" James asked sweetly, making his eyes look big and pleading. Lily rolled her eyes, but cracked a small grin and said, "No, Mr. Popularity, sit with me."
James looked her up and down, as if sizing her up, then smiled and said, "All right, then."
The two of them sat down in the middle of the table, near Remus, Sirius, Peter, and Victoria.
"Hey," James said, sitting down. Lily, who wasn't that great of friends with the boys, sat across from Victoria.
"Hey," Victoria said to the two of them, frowning at James. "Where have you been, James-y? I was looking for you earlier."
Lily noticed that James avoided her eyes when saying, "Oh, just around."
"With who?" Victoria asked suspiciouly.
"Oh, no one."
"Are you sure you weren't walking with LILY?" Victoria asked coldly. The group froze. Remus and Sirius, who'd been engaged in enthusiastic conversation, quieted and looked up. Lily shifted uneasily. Everyone was silent for a moment, then James said in a very steady, calm voice, "I was. Why?"
Victoria stared at him. The others stared at their plates, waiting for the next blow to come. It was only a matter of seconds until it did, as Victoria was in a bad mood. She was incredibly horrible when she was mad, and right now, she'd had enough of James playing her.
"James, I've talked to you once, twice, a hundred times, but nothing seems to get through your thick head." She was speaking really loudly, and many people walking into the hall had stopped to watch. "So this time, it's GOING to get through. You have to pick, only me, or no me at all." She glared defiantly at him. He stared evenly back, and in a moment, spoke into the silence.
"Victoria, I am not 'with' Lily. At all. And as for Jiji, well, I'll have to think about that." James said, staring back at her. Lily was appalled, he couldn't believe he was still considering playing Victoria after all that they'd just talked about. But what hurt her the most was the fact that he'd said, so clearly, that he was NOT with her. Lily felt a sudden urge to run out of the hall, but she restrained herself. Rather, she saw Cass enter with Susana, and she cleared her throat. The group looked at her, and Victoria just stared, as if appalled that she had the nerve to say something.
"I'm gonna leave," Lily said softly, and stood up. James glared at his plate, ready to throttle Victoria. But if he didn't date her, then maybe someone else would, and she was really popular.
James took a deep, angry breath. Peter inched away, looking scared. James continued to stare at his plate as if he was about to kill it, wanting to take back that last thought. If Lily knew he'd thought it.
Lily. He looked down the table to see Lily sitting down with her friends.what were their names again? He knew the ugly one was Susana.Cass, was the other? As before, it suddenly dawned on him how rude he was, and how he had no idea what these girls names were, whom he'd known for 6 years.
Sitting down with Cass and Susana, Lily blurted out the story in one breath. She was shaking all over; she hated confrontations. Cass and Susana exchanged glances, then Cass cleared her throat.
"Lily, you need to get over this. Soon."
"Like, now," Susana said, biting into an apple.
"Huh?" Lily asked, staring at her friends. She rubbed her right eye, where a tear was threatening to escape. She was so dramatic sometimes.
"James. Get over James," Cass said pointedly. She was a little pissed off about being ignored all day while Lily and James walked about like they were the only people in the world.
"He's just gonna play you anyway. That's what you get when you date popular people," Susana commented, as if she knew what she was talking about.
"But I don't like him," Lily protested, though she couldn't help throwing a glance up the table to see if James had heard her. He was staring at his plate, while Victoria was still glaring at him.
Cass snorted. "Yeah, right. Lily, we know you do. It's so obvious."
Lily sniffed, and looked up at the enchanted ceiling. So her friends knew. But what they'd said.
"You're wrong," Lily said, looking back at her friends.
"'Scuse me?" Cass replied, looking at Lily. She didn't know why she was so mad at her, but for some reason this Lily/James thing was making her really upset.
"About James. He's different than you think he is."
"Prove it," Cass said, pointing to James at the top of the table. "If he's different than you say, then ask him out tonight. If he's not too stuck up, he'll agree. I've seen the way he looks at you."
Lily looked from James to Cass, then nodded once.
"Tonight."
FOUR/ BEST FRIENDS ALWAYS KNOW
Lily stared out the window at the lake, watching the giant squid propel itself across the lake, water churning about it's tenticals. She'd only been in Divination fifteen minutes, but she was ready to scream. The north tower was stuffy and hot, and there was no way she'd be able to live until the end of class and get down to lunch.
At the front of the room, James and his friends sat still, unusually calm and silent. The four of them had had a bit of a row just before they reached the room, and they were extremely frustrated with each other. James was leaning back against his armchair, watching Lily as she gazed longingly out the window. She looked really pretty sitting there, red hair contrasting enormously with the glittering blue lake just visible through the window. His mind drifted back to detention, the night before, and he found himself wishing that he could go off somewhere and talk with Lily again, just the two of them.
Sirius, who never missed a thing, took great interest in the way his best friend was looking at Lily Evans. It was the sort of look that James had when he was with Jiji or Victoria- only multiplied by at least a hundred times. Sirius studied his friend carefully, trying to guess what he was thinking about. He found that it wasn't very hard; to Sirius, it was completely obvious that his best friend had a crush on Lily.
Lily's gaze drifted away from the lake. Only five more minutes had passed, and Lily felt like screaming. To pass the time, she began thinking about James, and last night in detention. She'd found herself really, really enjoying his company, and she wished more than anything that right now, she could get herself out of this classroom and be talking with James, somewhere, alone. Of course, Cass and Susana would get suspicious - she'd told them about detention and how nice James was, but she hadn't told them that she liked him. She didn't really care what they thought about that right now, though, she just wanted to talk with James.
A few minutes later, her wish was granted.
James, who was sitting near the shelf of crystal balls, had had quite enough of this sweltering classroom. Quietly taking out his wand, he tapped it against the table, thinking of a good spell to use. It came to him very quickly, and in the moment that Professor Esmerelda turned around to stir the fire, he pointed his wand at the shelf and whispered, "Expladoeus." The crystal balls shattered in one big BANG, sending smoke pouring into the room. The class cheered, quickly escaping the tower room, though now they were each coughing with each breath.
When they were down the ladder, James's friends sort of stood around him grinning, though they were still a bit mad at each other. James was about to say they should go disrupt Whettles class, when he saw Lily climbing down the ladder.
"See you at lunch," James said, and started off towards Lily. His friends, who simply assumed that James was still angry, each took a separate route to the great hall.
"Hey, Lil', want to take a walk?" James asked, as Lily stepped off the ladder.
"Yeah," she said, grinning, and the two of them walked off down a corridor. Cass, who was coming down the ladder behind Lily, watched them go. //That's really odd// Cass thought to herself as she watched Lily playful push James, who was laughing. //She's FLIRTING with him.// But before she could come up with any other sort of ideas about Lily and James, the two of them turned a corner.
Lily couldn't believe her luck. She got to miss over half of Divination, and then she had lunch. Plus, she was alone with James, which was better than missing every Divination class for the rest of the year, in her opinion.
"Nice trick with the crystal balls," Lily congratulated James, who grinned and took a bow.
"Thank you, thank you. But that room was way too hot. There was no way I was going to sit in there for another forty minutes," James commented, pulling on Lily's arm slightly to indicate that they were turning another corner. She smiled to herself, feeling really giddy, which was totally unlike her.
"Yeah, I was really hoping for a way out of there myself. Her class is SO boring."
"Yeah," James agreed. They walked in comfortable silence for a bit, then James said, "I had a lot of fun in detention last night."
"Me too," Lily said, stealing a look at him. He was looking ahead of them, but he was grinning slightly.
"You know what you said, about the popularity thing?"
"Uh huh," Lily said, a little uncertainly. This was a somewhat touchy subject.
"Well, I've been thinking," James said, "and you know what? You're right. From now on, I'm gonna not be so stuck up, not ignore people anymore, and I'm not going to do anything just to be popular."
Lily stopped and studied him for a moment. He turned to look at her.
"Would you be willing to make a bet on that?"
"Yeah," James said. "What'll you give me?" Lily laughed.
"All right," she said. "If I win, you have to.completely embarrass yourself in front of all of your friends."
"And if I win," said James, smiling, "then YOU have to.do stand up with me, Remus, Sirius, and Peter for one week."
"In front of ALL the common room?" Lily exclaimed, and James looked pointedly at her. "Oh.I get it. Okay, it's a deal." She stuck out her hand, which James shook. They grinned at each other and continued walking.
"Can you believe the O.W.L.'s are already four months away?"
"No, it seems like yesterday Sirius and I were blowing off studying for them." he stopped and laughed. It took Lily a minute, then she got it.
"You know, you should start studying SOMETIME," Lily pointed out.
"Yes, Professor McGonagall," James said in an innocent voice, and Lily hit him playfully.
"Shut it, you," she said, and James laughed.
By now, they'd reached the first floor, and emerged into the entrance hallway about two minutes after lunch appeared on the platters.
"Sit with me?" James asked sweetly, making his eyes look big and pleading. Lily rolled her eyes, but cracked a small grin and said, "No, Mr. Popularity, sit with me."
James looked her up and down, as if sizing her up, then smiled and said, "All right, then."
The two of them sat down in the middle of the table, near Remus, Sirius, Peter, and Victoria.
"Hey," James said, sitting down. Lily, who wasn't that great of friends with the boys, sat across from Victoria.
"Hey," Victoria said to the two of them, frowning at James. "Where have you been, James-y? I was looking for you earlier."
Lily noticed that James avoided her eyes when saying, "Oh, just around."
"With who?" Victoria asked suspiciouly.
"Oh, no one."
"Are you sure you weren't walking with LILY?" Victoria asked coldly. The group froze. Remus and Sirius, who'd been engaged in enthusiastic conversation, quieted and looked up. Lily shifted uneasily. Everyone was silent for a moment, then James said in a very steady, calm voice, "I was. Why?"
Victoria stared at him. The others stared at their plates, waiting for the next blow to come. It was only a matter of seconds until it did, as Victoria was in a bad mood. She was incredibly horrible when she was mad, and right now, she'd had enough of James playing her.
"James, I've talked to you once, twice, a hundred times, but nothing seems to get through your thick head." She was speaking really loudly, and many people walking into the hall had stopped to watch. "So this time, it's GOING to get through. You have to pick, only me, or no me at all." She glared defiantly at him. He stared evenly back, and in a moment, spoke into the silence.
"Victoria, I am not 'with' Lily. At all. And as for Jiji, well, I'll have to think about that." James said, staring back at her. Lily was appalled, he couldn't believe he was still considering playing Victoria after all that they'd just talked about. But what hurt her the most was the fact that he'd said, so clearly, that he was NOT with her. Lily felt a sudden urge to run out of the hall, but she restrained herself. Rather, she saw Cass enter with Susana, and she cleared her throat. The group looked at her, and Victoria just stared, as if appalled that she had the nerve to say something.
"I'm gonna leave," Lily said softly, and stood up. James glared at his plate, ready to throttle Victoria. But if he didn't date her, then maybe someone else would, and she was really popular.
James took a deep, angry breath. Peter inched away, looking scared. James continued to stare at his plate as if he was about to kill it, wanting to take back that last thought. If Lily knew he'd thought it.
Lily. He looked down the table to see Lily sitting down with her friends.what were their names again? He knew the ugly one was Susana.Cass, was the other? As before, it suddenly dawned on him how rude he was, and how he had no idea what these girls names were, whom he'd known for 6 years.
Sitting down with Cass and Susana, Lily blurted out the story in one breath. She was shaking all over; she hated confrontations. Cass and Susana exchanged glances, then Cass cleared her throat.
"Lily, you need to get over this. Soon."
"Like, now," Susana said, biting into an apple.
"Huh?" Lily asked, staring at her friends. She rubbed her right eye, where a tear was threatening to escape. She was so dramatic sometimes.
"James. Get over James," Cass said pointedly. She was a little pissed off about being ignored all day while Lily and James walked about like they were the only people in the world.
"He's just gonna play you anyway. That's what you get when you date popular people," Susana commented, as if she knew what she was talking about.
"But I don't like him," Lily protested, though she couldn't help throwing a glance up the table to see if James had heard her. He was staring at his plate, while Victoria was still glaring at him.
Cass snorted. "Yeah, right. Lily, we know you do. It's so obvious."
Lily sniffed, and looked up at the enchanted ceiling. So her friends knew. But what they'd said.
"You're wrong," Lily said, looking back at her friends.
"'Scuse me?" Cass replied, looking at Lily. She didn't know why she was so mad at her, but for some reason this Lily/James thing was making her really upset.
"About James. He's different than you think he is."
"Prove it," Cass said, pointing to James at the top of the table. "If he's different than you say, then ask him out tonight. If he's not too stuck up, he'll agree. I've seen the way he looks at you."
Lily looked from James to Cass, then nodded once.
"Tonight."