Chapter Twelve- Back to School
As it turns out, James left the Evans' house alive. He managed to avoid Lily's father for the rest of the evening, and then slipped out without saying goodbye. Although he did tell Lily to tell her parents thank you for him. He was just scared to do it himself. Would they ever like him? The chances seemed pretty slim, but he was going to try.
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"Oh, daddy, if only you would get to know him. He means well. And by the way, he told me to tell you thanks for the wonderful party. You see, he was afraid to tell you himself! See what you've done; scared him off!" Lily had been having trouble getting along with her parents since the party had ended. This wasn't going to be a pleasant rest of the break, not with them.
"Well, how do I know if he's trustworthy? What if he gets you pregnant? What if that happens, huh?"
"You know very well that I won't let that happen. I'm not stupid! And he isn't either!"
"Fine! Be that way! I'm only trying to help you!" He turned and left her room, closing the door a bit more soundly than necessary.
Lily turned to her forest owl (A/N: Lol, well, there might be forest owls! This is my story anyway, and I say there are!), Jade, and sighed.
"Jade, I just don't understand them. They have no idea what it's like being their daughter." the dark, handsome owl hooted softly and nipped her finger. She sighed again and stroked his shady feathers. "I'll be happy to get back on the Hogwarts Express. I wonder how my friends' Christmas is going. Better than mine, I'm sure." The owl's azure eyes looked up at her with a touch of sympathy, as if he understood.
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The next days of the break passed quickly, and Lily was glad that they did. Life at home was now at an all time low. She continued to owl James, they stayed up late waiting for each others replies. They didn't really discuss anything important. The letters were insignificant, yet entertaining. Already they had planned a few pranks and other things to do once they got back.
When Lily's family arrived at King's Cross Station, it was the beginning of the year all over again. Her mother was crying. "Well, *sniff* we'll see you at the end of the year." She removed a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed at her eyes. Petunia, who had been forced to come, rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
"Bye mom, bye dad! I'll see you soon!" she turned and came face to face with James, who kindly smiled as he took her trunk.
"Uh…hello Mr. and Mrs. Evans. Nice to er-nice to see you again. Well, we'll be going now, then." He all but ran away to the train. Lily said one last goodbye and followed.
"No need to be so afraid. They'll accept you sooner or later."
"Yeah, right. Only if accepting me means your dad gets to beat the crap out of me."
"Well, he only did that to one of my boyfriends…"
They opened the door to a compartment, and who should be inside besides Sirius and Jennifer. Those two didn't notice Lily and James walk in (who were holding back snickers), as they were quite busy making out.
"Ahem!" Chloe and Remus had just appeared at the door, holding hands.
"Oh. Hello everyone. Have a good break?" Jennifer tried to smooth her pale hair quickly.
Lily sighed and slumped onto the seat beside James. "Well, I certainly don't think we did. My father tried to murder my boyfriend!"
"Ah, it's alright. My old boy could escape him any day, right Jamsie?" Sirius asked with an innocent grin. There was a twinkle in his hazel eyes.
"I've told you not to call me that! And her father is not so easy to escape as one might think. He scares me."
"Aw, poor Jamsie." James scowled at Sirius. This could be a very long train ride.
As it turned out, ten minutes later Snape and Malfoy walked in their compartment.
"Hello friends!" Snape sneered at them, implying that they weren't friends in the least. Remus looked around him and then replied, "What, you have friends in here? I was thinking we are quite the opposite. Why don't you take your other slime ball friend and leave?" His gray eyes flashed with irritation.
"What would you do if we didn't? I know that something is wrong with you. Why else would you have to leave once a month?" He spat on the floor. "I can't believe Dumbledore lets you stay at Hogwarts. You're a freak and shouldn't be allowed out of your house." At this, James jumped up.
"Say that again, Snape, and I swear I'll give you a black eye!"
"James, don't, he isn't worth getting in trouble for." Lily had been silent until now, and everyone turned to look at her.
"Ooh, Mr. Quidditch Captain has a new girlfriend. You need her to take care of you, Potter?" Snape stepped closer to Lily. "And a cute once too." He laughed and pinched her cheek. "It's a shame she's a stupid Gryffindor like the rest of you!" James didn't hesitate in punching Snape then. He was out cold before you could blink. Malfoy, being the coward that he was, ran away.
"You really shouldn't have done that, you know." Lily took James' hand and pulled him down onto the seat.
"I know. But nobody talks about my girlfriend like that and gets away with it." Remus contented himself with pushing Snape into the next compartment (and not so gently) while Lily gave James a reward kiss. Jennifer and Sirius had missed pretty much the whole episode since they were so absorbed in each other. When did they get that involved? thought Lily. Well, I guess I should have noticed earlier, but I was with James. Come to think of it, Remus and Chloe are pretty close too. She glanced at her other two friends, who had now taken the other corner of the train compartment for themselves.
"Well, I suppose we are alone now." He put on a pout. "My friends have abandoned me!" Lily kissed him in response. "Okay, so it's not so bad after all." And they were busy for the rest of the ride back to the castle.
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"I'm pleased to welcome those who left for the holidays back to Hogwarts. We will be resuming classes bright and early tomorrow!" the Marauders groaned as Dumbledore continued. "I know you're all ready to eat, and I just want to remind everyone that practical jokes are frowned upon and will earn you detention."
Just then Malfoy jumped up at the Slytherin table, screaming like a girl. He ran out of the hall with a rattlesnake chasing him. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter looked extremely pleased with themselves as they snickered. Dumbledore shook his head and promised them detentions, but Lily swore she saw a twinkle in his light eyes.
"Well, it wouldn't be Hogwarts without getting detention on the first night back!" Sirius declared as he dug into his plateful of food.
Lily and James led Gryffindor back to their common room that evening. The new password was Fairy Dust, and they entered quickly.
"How about a game of wizard chess?" Sirius slapped Remus on the back, causing him to fall into a chair.
"Sure, but get ready to lose!"
"Never! I always win!"
"We'll see about that!"
The rest of the night was spent watching the bitter battle between Remus and Sirius, where Remus won.
"I'll win next time, I will." Sirius told him. "It doesn't matter, anyway." He rose from the chair and yawned. "What time is it? Must be getting late." He sat down on Jennifer, who grunted and closed her book.
"What do you want?" Sirius puckered his lips in response, expecting a kiss. Jennifer laughed and left him sitting there while she headed up to her bed.
"May I have a kiss, my lady?" Remus asked Chloe.
"Why, of course, my lord." She tucked a strand of her auburn hair behind her ears.
"Now that's how you do it, Sirius. You see, you could learn a lot from me." He winked as Chloe gave him his kiss. Lily tapped her foot impatiently.
"When are you thinking of asking for yours?" she asked, looking at James expectantly.
"Need I ask?" His response was a quick hug and Lily disappearing up the stairs. James sighed.
"What does he have that we don't?" he asked, meaning Remus, who was getting a nice kiss indeed from Chloe. Sirius shrugged.
"Werewolves have all the fun!"
A/N: Hope you liked it, kind of slow, I know. Something needs to happen. I'm thinking! Thanks for reading and reviewing, as always.
~Emily~
As it turns out, James left the Evans' house alive. He managed to avoid Lily's father for the rest of the evening, and then slipped out without saying goodbye. Although he did tell Lily to tell her parents thank you for him. He was just scared to do it himself. Would they ever like him? The chances seemed pretty slim, but he was going to try.
****************************************
"Oh, daddy, if only you would get to know him. He means well. And by the way, he told me to tell you thanks for the wonderful party. You see, he was afraid to tell you himself! See what you've done; scared him off!" Lily had been having trouble getting along with her parents since the party had ended. This wasn't going to be a pleasant rest of the break, not with them.
"Well, how do I know if he's trustworthy? What if he gets you pregnant? What if that happens, huh?"
"You know very well that I won't let that happen. I'm not stupid! And he isn't either!"
"Fine! Be that way! I'm only trying to help you!" He turned and left her room, closing the door a bit more soundly than necessary.
Lily turned to her forest owl (A/N: Lol, well, there might be forest owls! This is my story anyway, and I say there are!), Jade, and sighed.
"Jade, I just don't understand them. They have no idea what it's like being their daughter." the dark, handsome owl hooted softly and nipped her finger. She sighed again and stroked his shady feathers. "I'll be happy to get back on the Hogwarts Express. I wonder how my friends' Christmas is going. Better than mine, I'm sure." The owl's azure eyes looked up at her with a touch of sympathy, as if he understood.
*****************************************
The next days of the break passed quickly, and Lily was glad that they did. Life at home was now at an all time low. She continued to owl James, they stayed up late waiting for each others replies. They didn't really discuss anything important. The letters were insignificant, yet entertaining. Already they had planned a few pranks and other things to do once they got back.
When Lily's family arrived at King's Cross Station, it was the beginning of the year all over again. Her mother was crying. "Well, *sniff* we'll see you at the end of the year." She removed a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed at her eyes. Petunia, who had been forced to come, rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
"Bye mom, bye dad! I'll see you soon!" she turned and came face to face with James, who kindly smiled as he took her trunk.
"Uh…hello Mr. and Mrs. Evans. Nice to er-nice to see you again. Well, we'll be going now, then." He all but ran away to the train. Lily said one last goodbye and followed.
"No need to be so afraid. They'll accept you sooner or later."
"Yeah, right. Only if accepting me means your dad gets to beat the crap out of me."
"Well, he only did that to one of my boyfriends…"
They opened the door to a compartment, and who should be inside besides Sirius and Jennifer. Those two didn't notice Lily and James walk in (who were holding back snickers), as they were quite busy making out.
"Ahem!" Chloe and Remus had just appeared at the door, holding hands.
"Oh. Hello everyone. Have a good break?" Jennifer tried to smooth her pale hair quickly.
Lily sighed and slumped onto the seat beside James. "Well, I certainly don't think we did. My father tried to murder my boyfriend!"
"Ah, it's alright. My old boy could escape him any day, right Jamsie?" Sirius asked with an innocent grin. There was a twinkle in his hazel eyes.
"I've told you not to call me that! And her father is not so easy to escape as one might think. He scares me."
"Aw, poor Jamsie." James scowled at Sirius. This could be a very long train ride.
As it turned out, ten minutes later Snape and Malfoy walked in their compartment.
"Hello friends!" Snape sneered at them, implying that they weren't friends in the least. Remus looked around him and then replied, "What, you have friends in here? I was thinking we are quite the opposite. Why don't you take your other slime ball friend and leave?" His gray eyes flashed with irritation.
"What would you do if we didn't? I know that something is wrong with you. Why else would you have to leave once a month?" He spat on the floor. "I can't believe Dumbledore lets you stay at Hogwarts. You're a freak and shouldn't be allowed out of your house." At this, James jumped up.
"Say that again, Snape, and I swear I'll give you a black eye!"
"James, don't, he isn't worth getting in trouble for." Lily had been silent until now, and everyone turned to look at her.
"Ooh, Mr. Quidditch Captain has a new girlfriend. You need her to take care of you, Potter?" Snape stepped closer to Lily. "And a cute once too." He laughed and pinched her cheek. "It's a shame she's a stupid Gryffindor like the rest of you!" James didn't hesitate in punching Snape then. He was out cold before you could blink. Malfoy, being the coward that he was, ran away.
"You really shouldn't have done that, you know." Lily took James' hand and pulled him down onto the seat.
"I know. But nobody talks about my girlfriend like that and gets away with it." Remus contented himself with pushing Snape into the next compartment (and not so gently) while Lily gave James a reward kiss. Jennifer and Sirius had missed pretty much the whole episode since they were so absorbed in each other. When did they get that involved? thought Lily. Well, I guess I should have noticed earlier, but I was with James. Come to think of it, Remus and Chloe are pretty close too. She glanced at her other two friends, who had now taken the other corner of the train compartment for themselves.
"Well, I suppose we are alone now." He put on a pout. "My friends have abandoned me!" Lily kissed him in response. "Okay, so it's not so bad after all." And they were busy for the rest of the ride back to the castle.
*********************************************
"I'm pleased to welcome those who left for the holidays back to Hogwarts. We will be resuming classes bright and early tomorrow!" the Marauders groaned as Dumbledore continued. "I know you're all ready to eat, and I just want to remind everyone that practical jokes are frowned upon and will earn you detention."
Just then Malfoy jumped up at the Slytherin table, screaming like a girl. He ran out of the hall with a rattlesnake chasing him. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter looked extremely pleased with themselves as they snickered. Dumbledore shook his head and promised them detentions, but Lily swore she saw a twinkle in his light eyes.
"Well, it wouldn't be Hogwarts without getting detention on the first night back!" Sirius declared as he dug into his plateful of food.
Lily and James led Gryffindor back to their common room that evening. The new password was Fairy Dust, and they entered quickly.
"How about a game of wizard chess?" Sirius slapped Remus on the back, causing him to fall into a chair.
"Sure, but get ready to lose!"
"Never! I always win!"
"We'll see about that!"
The rest of the night was spent watching the bitter battle between Remus and Sirius, where Remus won.
"I'll win next time, I will." Sirius told him. "It doesn't matter, anyway." He rose from the chair and yawned. "What time is it? Must be getting late." He sat down on Jennifer, who grunted and closed her book.
"What do you want?" Sirius puckered his lips in response, expecting a kiss. Jennifer laughed and left him sitting there while she headed up to her bed.
"May I have a kiss, my lady?" Remus asked Chloe.
"Why, of course, my lord." She tucked a strand of her auburn hair behind her ears.
"Now that's how you do it, Sirius. You see, you could learn a lot from me." He winked as Chloe gave him his kiss. Lily tapped her foot impatiently.
"When are you thinking of asking for yours?" she asked, looking at James expectantly.
"Need I ask?" His response was a quick hug and Lily disappearing up the stairs. James sighed.
"What does he have that we don't?" he asked, meaning Remus, who was getting a nice kiss indeed from Chloe. Sirius shrugged.
"Werewolves have all the fun!"
A/N: Hope you liked it, kind of slow, I know. Something needs to happen. I'm thinking! Thanks for reading and reviewing, as always.
~Emily~