Disclaimer (forgot to put one up before): I don't own anything that looks remotely familiar and since I don't live in a giant mansion, I'm not J.K.Rowling.
A/N: I want to thank everyone who reviewed. It renewed my confidence in this story since I really didn't like the beginning much. As for Barty Crouch Jr., I have no idea if he's really that old or not. I just needed a somewhat evil guy for this. And he did like Quidditch sooooo...on with the story.
P.S. This hasn't been beta-ed since a certain beta reader couldn't get her act together. :o)~
Chapter 2: Realizations and Break-ups
During the Quidditch game, James and his friends (except Peter who was at the game) were at the Underground with Daphne. They were sitting in little poufs in front of a little platform, listening to someone protesting about House-elves.
"How can anyone sleep at night knowing that these little creatures are running around the castle cleaning up after us and doing tasks that would take us a full week," said Andrew who was on stage and speaking with a passion.
"I thought house-elves liked doing that stuff," whispered Sirius.
"They do," replied James, "This guy is just rambling. He's muggle-born and doesn't understand these things, right Daph?" James turned towards Daphne who was listening with rapt attention to Andrew.
"Wow. I never realized how right he was," she whispered in awe.
"And not only the house-elves," continued Andrew, "but the animals in Care of Magical Creatures class are also being ridiculed."
"What is he going on about?" asked Sirius, "The only things we really work with are Flubberworms and you can't tell me that they need rights too." James and Remus and started to snigger.
"Is there something funny about treating these creatures with dignity?" asked a peeved Andrew.
"No, nothing at all," replied Remus quickly. Everyone was starting to look there way and he really didn't like attention.
"This is why, today, I introduce to you the Animal Liberation Front!"
"Alf?" laughed James, "This guy is insane," he looked over at Daphne who looked at him and said, "Don't be jealous because he has something going for him and you don't!" and with that she got up and left to talk with Andrew.
"Oooo crash and burn," said Sirius sympathetically while patting James on the back. James looked over at Daphne who was laughing with Andrew then turned to his friends.
"Let's go to the Shrieking Shack and wait for Peter. The Quidditch game will be over by now and they're probably all celebrating in the common room," said James with obvious disgust.
*~~*~~*
The next day Lily was sitting at the Gryfindor table next to Barty while he was retelling his account of the Qudditch game. Lily almost forgot about the incident the day before. ALMOST. She kept shooting glances towards Hannah and made sure that she (Lily) was the only girl Barty was paying attention to. Diana, another of Lily's popular friends, came up to her and asked her to meet with everyone on the Founder's Day Ball committee in five minutes by the lake. Since it was Saturday they had all day to plan. Only problem was that this left Barty wide open. Zoe promised Lily to watch Barty for her. Lily gave her a big hug and walked out with Diana. What Lily didn't realize was that Zoe had her own plans for Barty.
*~~*~~*
James was sitting in the dorm with his friends when there was a knock on the door. It was Peter who was temporarily missing (not doing anything evil). He came up to James with a worried look on his face.
"What's wrong Peter? Forget to transfigure yourself right and you still have your tail?" asked Sirius.
"That hasn't happened since 5th year and you know it, Black," replied Peter who was red from embarrassment.
"So what's wrong then?" asked Remus who was working on his secret newspaper, The Mysterious Letter. Only a few people know about it, but if any of the teachers knew about it he could be in real trouble. This newspaper talks about everything from the unfairness of the Potions teacher to the mischief caused by the Slytherins (as you can see this paper bad-mouthed Slytherins). It also talked about gossip (who's with who and who's doing who) and sports and everything else that can go on in Hogwarts.
"Um, James...I think you better check your girl. She's been hanging around that Andrew dude all day and they seem to be a little too close," said Peter real quick.
"They are only friends," said James.
"Friends don't do what I saw them doing," whispered Peter but louder he said, "I still think you should keep an eye on her. I'm your friend and I don't wanna see you get hurt." (A/N don't flame me for this. I know the guy is a jerk, but there really had to be a reason why they were all friends, right?)
"Thanks Wormtail, but you don't have to worry. There is no way she likes Andrew more than me," said James with a tone of finality.
*~~*~~*
After the meeting, where they decided to have the ball in the Great Hall instead of the Hogsmeade
Banquet Hall, Lily went up to the common room and saw Barty waiting for her.
"Hey Lily," he said then leaning in to kiss her...cheek? 'What's up with that' thought Lily. "Can we talk?" he asked while looking around making sure no one was listening.
"Sure," replied Lily who thought he wanted to take things further in their relationship. They walked out of the common room and headed for an empty classroom.
"Um, Lily..you know I really like you and all, but I just don't think things are working out with us." Lily looked at him like he was crazy.
"Working out? We just got together. Most people still don't know about us. Only a few Gryfindors. What do you mean working out?" she asked over and over again.
"It's just not Lily, I'm sorry."
"Is this because of Hannah?" she asked bluntly.
"Don't think that." he said with discomfort. "It's not Hannah...it...it's just me," he finished lamely. Lily saw right through him. He looked at his watch and said, "I have to go. I'll see ya later okay?" and with that he left.
"Bastard," muttered Lily.
*~~*~~*
James was day-dreaming in his room when someone jumped onto his bed...more like his stomach.
"Oof, Daphne what are you doing?" he asked while trying to regulate his breathing.
"James we need to talk," she said while straddling his waist.
"And what is that?" asked James obviously thinking he knew what she wanted. He put his hands on her hips, but she pushed them away and got off. James was now confused.
"James we're over," then she headed for the door. He ran up to her and pulled her back.
"Over? What are you talking about?"
"Well we've been going out for a long time.."
"It's only been 2 months," he interjected.
"..and I don't think we are seeing eye-to-eye anymore." she finished ignoring James' interruption. "Things change and I've changed. I want someone who will fight for what they want, not sit around and do nothing like you do."
'Sit around and do nothing? What about being Animagi or coming up with the Marauder's Map' thought James angrily.
"I'm sorry, but I think Andrew is so much better for..." but she was interrupted again.
"ANDREW!! This is about Andrew! I can't believe this! Andrew 'Animal liberation Front' Anderson (A/N hehe triple 'A')."
"He believes in rights for animals so passionately, something I have also believed in since I saw how mean those kids were to the bunny," said Daphne vehemently.
"DAPHNE!! How many times do I have to tell you? That bunny is a cartoon. They are not starving him by not giving him any cereal."
"But they always taunt him with their, 'Silly rabbit Trix are for kids' slogan! It's not right and Andrew agrees with me!" James couldn't believe he was actually having this conversation.
"So that's what you want? A guy who wants rights to make-believe animals? Then go ahead Daphne, leave." and she did exactly that.
"I wasn't serious," muttered James.
He went down to the common room and sat next to the window at the same time Lily walked in. She went upstairs and Zoe went after.
"How much you want to bet that those to are gay?" asked Remus loudly.
"How much you want to bet that you and your buddies have four-somes every night?" Zoe shouted back.
"My dear you would loose that bet in an instant," he laughed. Zoe spun on her heel and continued her pursuit of Lily.
"What's up James?" asked Sirius.
"Daphne broke up with me."
"I told you," said Peter.
"She's not worth your time," said Sirius. Remus agreed.
"She's seeing Andrew now!" This caused them to laugh.
"Andrew the animal 'Moses'? Man, you really don't need her," laughed Sirius.
"I guess you guys are right," replied James though deep down he didn't believe it. "You guys want to pull something on the Quidditch team? That Barty is really starting to annoy me."
"I heard he dumped Lily and is now seeing that Hannah chick," informed Peter.
"The one in Ravenclaw?" asked Remus.
"Yeah you know that he goes for the blond hair and blue eyed girls," said Sirius. "So about that prank..."
*~~*~~*
Lily sat in her room looking in the mirror. 'Is it because I'm fat? Or because of my red hair? Maybe my emerald eyes? I bet it's my boobs.' These thoughts were running through Lily's mind, wondering why Barty would break up with her.
"It's not because of what you look like," said Zoe reading her mind (not literally), "It's because he's a jerk. He's so shallow and conceited. He wants someone to complement him on his looks and his Quidditch skills (if you want to call them 'skills') 24/7. He's not worth your time."
"On a higher note," continued Zoe, " I heard James broke up with that freaky-girl. The one with the piercings on her face and that dark red hair. I think her name is Chloe or Zoe or something like that."
"What's so funny about that?" asked Lily.
"Well, 1. He is now fully miserable and you know how much I hate him and his friends, and 2. To vent out his frustration, they will be pulling pranks on someone and I think it's the Gryfindor Quidditch team this time," said Zoe as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. Lily smiled.
"I hope it's good," smirked Lily.
"Even though I hate to admit it, it probably will," replied Zoe while handing Lily a chocolate frog. "Chocolate is good for stress," she smiled. And they munched on the chocolate frogs while thinking up pranks that James and his friends might pull.
A/N: I want to thank everyone who reviewed. It renewed my confidence in this story since I really didn't like the beginning much. As for Barty Crouch Jr., I have no idea if he's really that old or not. I just needed a somewhat evil guy for this. And he did like Quidditch sooooo...on with the story.
P.S. This hasn't been beta-ed since a certain beta reader couldn't get her act together. :o)~
Chapter 2: Realizations and Break-ups
During the Quidditch game, James and his friends (except Peter who was at the game) were at the Underground with Daphne. They were sitting in little poufs in front of a little platform, listening to someone protesting about House-elves.
"How can anyone sleep at night knowing that these little creatures are running around the castle cleaning up after us and doing tasks that would take us a full week," said Andrew who was on stage and speaking with a passion.
"I thought house-elves liked doing that stuff," whispered Sirius.
"They do," replied James, "This guy is just rambling. He's muggle-born and doesn't understand these things, right Daph?" James turned towards Daphne who was listening with rapt attention to Andrew.
"Wow. I never realized how right he was," she whispered in awe.
"And not only the house-elves," continued Andrew, "but the animals in Care of Magical Creatures class are also being ridiculed."
"What is he going on about?" asked Sirius, "The only things we really work with are Flubberworms and you can't tell me that they need rights too." James and Remus and started to snigger.
"Is there something funny about treating these creatures with dignity?" asked a peeved Andrew.
"No, nothing at all," replied Remus quickly. Everyone was starting to look there way and he really didn't like attention.
"This is why, today, I introduce to you the Animal Liberation Front!"
"Alf?" laughed James, "This guy is insane," he looked over at Daphne who looked at him and said, "Don't be jealous because he has something going for him and you don't!" and with that she got up and left to talk with Andrew.
"Oooo crash and burn," said Sirius sympathetically while patting James on the back. James looked over at Daphne who was laughing with Andrew then turned to his friends.
"Let's go to the Shrieking Shack and wait for Peter. The Quidditch game will be over by now and they're probably all celebrating in the common room," said James with obvious disgust.
*~~*~~*
The next day Lily was sitting at the Gryfindor table next to Barty while he was retelling his account of the Qudditch game. Lily almost forgot about the incident the day before. ALMOST. She kept shooting glances towards Hannah and made sure that she (Lily) was the only girl Barty was paying attention to. Diana, another of Lily's popular friends, came up to her and asked her to meet with everyone on the Founder's Day Ball committee in five minutes by the lake. Since it was Saturday they had all day to plan. Only problem was that this left Barty wide open. Zoe promised Lily to watch Barty for her. Lily gave her a big hug and walked out with Diana. What Lily didn't realize was that Zoe had her own plans for Barty.
*~~*~~*
James was sitting in the dorm with his friends when there was a knock on the door. It was Peter who was temporarily missing (not doing anything evil). He came up to James with a worried look on his face.
"What's wrong Peter? Forget to transfigure yourself right and you still have your tail?" asked Sirius.
"That hasn't happened since 5th year and you know it, Black," replied Peter who was red from embarrassment.
"So what's wrong then?" asked Remus who was working on his secret newspaper, The Mysterious Letter. Only a few people know about it, but if any of the teachers knew about it he could be in real trouble. This newspaper talks about everything from the unfairness of the Potions teacher to the mischief caused by the Slytherins (as you can see this paper bad-mouthed Slytherins). It also talked about gossip (who's with who and who's doing who) and sports and everything else that can go on in Hogwarts.
"Um, James...I think you better check your girl. She's been hanging around that Andrew dude all day and they seem to be a little too close," said Peter real quick.
"They are only friends," said James.
"Friends don't do what I saw them doing," whispered Peter but louder he said, "I still think you should keep an eye on her. I'm your friend and I don't wanna see you get hurt." (A/N don't flame me for this. I know the guy is a jerk, but there really had to be a reason why they were all friends, right?)
"Thanks Wormtail, but you don't have to worry. There is no way she likes Andrew more than me," said James with a tone of finality.
*~~*~~*
After the meeting, where they decided to have the ball in the Great Hall instead of the Hogsmeade
Banquet Hall, Lily went up to the common room and saw Barty waiting for her.
"Hey Lily," he said then leaning in to kiss her...cheek? 'What's up with that' thought Lily. "Can we talk?" he asked while looking around making sure no one was listening.
"Sure," replied Lily who thought he wanted to take things further in their relationship. They walked out of the common room and headed for an empty classroom.
"Um, Lily..you know I really like you and all, but I just don't think things are working out with us." Lily looked at him like he was crazy.
"Working out? We just got together. Most people still don't know about us. Only a few Gryfindors. What do you mean working out?" she asked over and over again.
"It's just not Lily, I'm sorry."
"Is this because of Hannah?" she asked bluntly.
"Don't think that." he said with discomfort. "It's not Hannah...it...it's just me," he finished lamely. Lily saw right through him. He looked at his watch and said, "I have to go. I'll see ya later okay?" and with that he left.
"Bastard," muttered Lily.
*~~*~~*
James was day-dreaming in his room when someone jumped onto his bed...more like his stomach.
"Oof, Daphne what are you doing?" he asked while trying to regulate his breathing.
"James we need to talk," she said while straddling his waist.
"And what is that?" asked James obviously thinking he knew what she wanted. He put his hands on her hips, but she pushed them away and got off. James was now confused.
"James we're over," then she headed for the door. He ran up to her and pulled her back.
"Over? What are you talking about?"
"Well we've been going out for a long time.."
"It's only been 2 months," he interjected.
"..and I don't think we are seeing eye-to-eye anymore." she finished ignoring James' interruption. "Things change and I've changed. I want someone who will fight for what they want, not sit around and do nothing like you do."
'Sit around and do nothing? What about being Animagi or coming up with the Marauder's Map' thought James angrily.
"I'm sorry, but I think Andrew is so much better for..." but she was interrupted again.
"ANDREW!! This is about Andrew! I can't believe this! Andrew 'Animal liberation Front' Anderson (A/N hehe triple 'A')."
"He believes in rights for animals so passionately, something I have also believed in since I saw how mean those kids were to the bunny," said Daphne vehemently.
"DAPHNE!! How many times do I have to tell you? That bunny is a cartoon. They are not starving him by not giving him any cereal."
"But they always taunt him with their, 'Silly rabbit Trix are for kids' slogan! It's not right and Andrew agrees with me!" James couldn't believe he was actually having this conversation.
"So that's what you want? A guy who wants rights to make-believe animals? Then go ahead Daphne, leave." and she did exactly that.
"I wasn't serious," muttered James.
He went down to the common room and sat next to the window at the same time Lily walked in. She went upstairs and Zoe went after.
"How much you want to bet that those to are gay?" asked Remus loudly.
"How much you want to bet that you and your buddies have four-somes every night?" Zoe shouted back.
"My dear you would loose that bet in an instant," he laughed. Zoe spun on her heel and continued her pursuit of Lily.
"What's up James?" asked Sirius.
"Daphne broke up with me."
"I told you," said Peter.
"She's not worth your time," said Sirius. Remus agreed.
"She's seeing Andrew now!" This caused them to laugh.
"Andrew the animal 'Moses'? Man, you really don't need her," laughed Sirius.
"I guess you guys are right," replied James though deep down he didn't believe it. "You guys want to pull something on the Quidditch team? That Barty is really starting to annoy me."
"I heard he dumped Lily and is now seeing that Hannah chick," informed Peter.
"The one in Ravenclaw?" asked Remus.
"Yeah you know that he goes for the blond hair and blue eyed girls," said Sirius. "So about that prank..."
*~~*~~*
Lily sat in her room looking in the mirror. 'Is it because I'm fat? Or because of my red hair? Maybe my emerald eyes? I bet it's my boobs.' These thoughts were running through Lily's mind, wondering why Barty would break up with her.
"It's not because of what you look like," said Zoe reading her mind (not literally), "It's because he's a jerk. He's so shallow and conceited. He wants someone to complement him on his looks and his Quidditch skills (if you want to call them 'skills') 24/7. He's not worth your time."
"On a higher note," continued Zoe, " I heard James broke up with that freaky-girl. The one with the piercings on her face and that dark red hair. I think her name is Chloe or Zoe or something like that."
"What's so funny about that?" asked Lily.
"Well, 1. He is now fully miserable and you know how much I hate him and his friends, and 2. To vent out his frustration, they will be pulling pranks on someone and I think it's the Gryfindor Quidditch team this time," said Zoe as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. Lily smiled.
"I hope it's good," smirked Lily.
"Even though I hate to admit it, it probably will," replied Zoe while handing Lily a chocolate frog. "Chocolate is good for stress," she smiled. And they munched on the chocolate frogs while thinking up pranks that James and his friends might pull.