Second chapter. Read and review, thanks. Um, that's all I have to say.
Oh, and please no flames.
Disclaimer- I don't own any characters/names/settings that you recognize. They belong to JK Rowling.
Lily woke up and stared groggily out the window. It was bright- too bright for six o'clock Monday morning. She groaned and rolled over. Pulling off the covers, she got out of her warm bed and headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face.
"Hi Sherry. Sorry I didn't come in on Saturday- I was too tired. Did Ira turn in the charm files?" She asked her secretary impatiently. Sherry nodded and bent down to search for the folder. After a moment, she resurfaced and handed it to Lily.
"This is it. Ira turned it in on Friday at eleven twenty nine. She was very afraid that she'd loose her job."
Lily smirked, satisfied that Ira had actually worked. She took the file and opened it, carefully reading what was inside, pleased. "If that ninny-pinny spent more time on her work than on her face, she'd be good. Tell her that she did a decent job, and that I won't fire her- yet."
Sherry smiled and hurried off to tell her friend Ira of the good news- a near compliment from Lily, the icy head of the department.
Lily closed the folder and went into her office to find her usual cup of espresso sitting on the desk, along with new experiments. She took a large sip of the hot and very strong coffee (she loved her daily jolt of caffeine) and attacked the stack of papers. It was a good morning so far, for a Monday at least. Lily sat there for hours, undisturbed, looking through documents and making plans.
Some one was knocking at the door. Preoccupied and annoyed that her silence and work mode had been destroyed, Lily answered irritably, "Come in."
And to her horror, it was the Minister of Magic, Mr. Edward Bartley. Lily jumped up from her seat in shock and stood up. Mr. Bartley smiled and came up to the desk.
"Mr. Bartley! I wasn't expecting you!" She exclaimed. Mr. Bartley chuckled and took a seat in front of her desk.
"Ms. Evans," he began, looking at the pile of papers on her desk with interest, "I've just come to tell you that Mr. Hugle of the Magical Defense department had to leave today because of a family emergency- you see, his great uncle's cousin died."
"Oh." Lily said, rather surprised. She had been planning this meeting for sometime, and it was important that the Aurors were informed about the shielding charm.
"They were a tight-knit family." Mr. Bartley replied to her surprised expression.
"So the meeting will be canceled?" she asked, annoyed and uncertain. He shook his head.
"No. Mr. Hugle will be finding one of his top Aurors to speak with you. It's too important; this information must be spread as soon as possible to help our side against Voldemort."
"Oh. Of course. I'm sure that Mr. Hugle will choose someone reliable." Lily said. Mr. Bartley nodded.
"So the meeting will take place as planned, today, at one o'clock."
"Yes, but how should I know who?" Lily asked.
"He'll meet you in the lobby here, and he'll probably be the only one."
"Thanks for telling me. I'm glad this meeting hasn't been canceled." Lily said, and Mr. Bartley nodded.
"Goodbye, Ms. Evans." He left and Lily called goodbye after him.
I wonder who it'll be, Lily thought to herself, preoccupied.
It was exactly one o'clock when Lily headed down the lobby of the Charms department. She looked around and saw only a few people- an old witch with leopard print stretch pants, a man mopping the floor, a security wizard, and a young man, standing in the corner. She looked at him and caught his eye. He smiled and came over to him. The man was tall and well built, with messy jet-black hair and gray eyes. Even Lily had to admit he was very, very handsome. And then it hit her.
"Are you Ms. Evans?" he asked politely. Lily's eyes opened widely.
"JAMES POTTER?" She asked, gaping. James chuckled at her expression.
"Yes, I think that's me."
Lily stood for a moment, shocked, displeased and surprised, before regaining her senses. She took her bag and swung it into his knees, causing James to cry out in pain. He looked at her as if she was batty.
"What the hell was that for?" he asked, indignant.
Lily smirked. "That was for when you turned my owl into a pumpkin, you great prat."
James looked at her for a moment, studying her in a way not unlike Sirius. "You look great."
Lily raised an eyebrow. "You're actually complimenting me? Wow, the assinus maximus just complimented me, after tormenting me for what, seven years?" Lily answered sarcastically. James could see that she was annoyed.
"Look, I'm sorry that you're dealing with past issues right now, but we have to get over to the Defense department." He said.
"And you think that I'm actually going to forget how you tormented me? I'm not, but I've got a job to do and this is the only reason why I'm actually going to tolerate you." Lily informed him. James just scowled.
"And how on earth did you get to be in such a high position in the ministry?" she asked.
"Because of my talent in Defense against the dark arts and transfiguration. I am, for your information, one of England's top aurors and favorite of Mr. Hugle." James said smugly. Lily glared and "accidentally" stepped on his foot.
"Aren't we mature?" he asked grumpily, but quickly stopped when Lily sent him another death glare.
"What about you, miss carrot? How did you get here too?" he questioned. Lily scowled again at him as they crossed the lobby and out the door to the apparation point.
"I applied for a position in the Charms department, Mrs. Moffat liked me and saw that I had talent, and then she left me in charge so that she could move to France." Lily explained simply, smiling at James's sulking face. "You know, studying did come in handy after all."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
They came to a point sheltered by some tall trees before they apparated to James's office. Lily followed James in silence into the office and they soon came to a large, white room that had no windows and one door, with only two chairs and a table in it. It gave a strange bright glow.
"Come in. This is where we are going to discuss the charm." James said as he motioned towards the table. Lily entered and the door shut behind them, locking by itself.
"The room's under a spell," James explained, "so that we'll be able to tell if anyone is eaves dropping on us- especially if they're on the dark side. And they're also alarms to warn us if danger's approaching."
"I know." Lily said, as she pulled out a wad of papers from her briefcase, spreading them out around the desk.
"It has come to the ministry's notice," she began, pointing to a piece of paper, "that the protecting spells that the aurors use are rather weak. There are other spells to be used that are stronger, but they take too much time to create, as they are highly powerful."
James nodded.
"So the Charms department, in association with the Defense apartment, has managed to create a simple, but powerful shielding charm, that has the Latin derivative of 'save', as it had the best affects. It can repel all hexes, jinxes, and curses, except for a few, including the killing curse, the cruciatus curse, and the imperius curse. Further research is still needed, however, to determine other weak points." Lily finished.
James looked at the papers curiously, pulling them up in front of his face and studying them. "Does anyone else know about these charms?"
Lily shook her head, in a smug manner. "Only several people: you, me, Ira Law, Bernard Hayworth, Mr. Bartley, Mr. Hugle, and my secretary. And I assure you, that all of these are trustworthy people, even if Ira is shallow as a dishpan."
"Are there plans for releasing it into the general public yet?"
"Not for a while, but we're allowing aurors to use it because it hopefully will help. We hopefully will keep it secret for a while so that the aurors will get the upper hand against those dratted Death Eaters. So what do you think?" Lily asked, putting aside all her anger and resent.
James looked impressed. "I hate to say it, carrot, but you did a good job. I hope it works. Being an auror myself, and a very good one too, (Lily muttered something like 'egotist' under her breath) it feels a lot safer to know that there is some defense that is quick and easy."
"Of course." Lily said, pleased that James had complimented her work, because she had done most of the research and the rest of her staff had only fine-tuned and tested the charm.
"I also have been working on a truth charm. It's in its simplest form, but it still works though it has some rough spots."
"Is this another project the department has been working on too?" James questioned.
"No, I came up with it myself on my own time." Lily said shaking her head.
"Then you must have absolutely no life." Lily glared at him fiercely.
"I do too!" Lily protested. "In fact, I went clubbing last night."
"Yes, and you dumped a margarita on Sirius's head. Classic." James retorted, lips upturned. Lily looked at him sulkily.
"He deserved it, that stupid git."
"You're just the same- all work and no play. Completely boring." James yawned lazily. And Lily growled.
"You prat. Take that back!"
"I'm just stating the truth." James replied, innocently. "You're so boring. And you never had a social life."
"You say I'm just the same as I always was? Well, you're just the same as well then- an immature, egotistical, bigheaded, ass! I've never been able to say this, but now I can, since I'm grown and you, Mr. I'm-so- fabulous Potter, cannot pick on me now. I HATE YOUR FRICKIN' GUTS!" Lily screamed, losing her temper, as she slammed her fist against the table. All her anger at him through the years came rushing out in those few sentences. James sat there, looking shocked.
Lily glared at him one last time, before shutting her briefcase and storming out of the room, leaving the papers with James. She was so angry now- that blasted James Potter! She marched down the hall and down the stairs into the lobby and out the door, where she reached the apparating spot. Several birds were there, pecking at a hotdog that had fallen down on the ground.
"SHOO, DAMNIT!" Lily bellowed, scaring the birds and several children nearby away. She took out her wand and disappeared into the air, arriving back at her office. What a horrible meeting with Potter. What a horrible day.
Sorry if the spacing is sorta weird.
Disclaimer- I don't own any characters/names/settings that you recognize. They belong to JK Rowling.
Lily woke up and stared groggily out the window. It was bright- too bright for six o'clock Monday morning. She groaned and rolled over. Pulling off the covers, she got out of her warm bed and headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face.
"Hi Sherry. Sorry I didn't come in on Saturday- I was too tired. Did Ira turn in the charm files?" She asked her secretary impatiently. Sherry nodded and bent down to search for the folder. After a moment, she resurfaced and handed it to Lily.
"This is it. Ira turned it in on Friday at eleven twenty nine. She was very afraid that she'd loose her job."
Lily smirked, satisfied that Ira had actually worked. She took the file and opened it, carefully reading what was inside, pleased. "If that ninny-pinny spent more time on her work than on her face, she'd be good. Tell her that she did a decent job, and that I won't fire her- yet."
Sherry smiled and hurried off to tell her friend Ira of the good news- a near compliment from Lily, the icy head of the department.
Lily closed the folder and went into her office to find her usual cup of espresso sitting on the desk, along with new experiments. She took a large sip of the hot and very strong coffee (she loved her daily jolt of caffeine) and attacked the stack of papers. It was a good morning so far, for a Monday at least. Lily sat there for hours, undisturbed, looking through documents and making plans.
Some one was knocking at the door. Preoccupied and annoyed that her silence and work mode had been destroyed, Lily answered irritably, "Come in."
And to her horror, it was the Minister of Magic, Mr. Edward Bartley. Lily jumped up from her seat in shock and stood up. Mr. Bartley smiled and came up to the desk.
"Mr. Bartley! I wasn't expecting you!" She exclaimed. Mr. Bartley chuckled and took a seat in front of her desk.
"Ms. Evans," he began, looking at the pile of papers on her desk with interest, "I've just come to tell you that Mr. Hugle of the Magical Defense department had to leave today because of a family emergency- you see, his great uncle's cousin died."
"Oh." Lily said, rather surprised. She had been planning this meeting for sometime, and it was important that the Aurors were informed about the shielding charm.
"They were a tight-knit family." Mr. Bartley replied to her surprised expression.
"So the meeting will be canceled?" she asked, annoyed and uncertain. He shook his head.
"No. Mr. Hugle will be finding one of his top Aurors to speak with you. It's too important; this information must be spread as soon as possible to help our side against Voldemort."
"Oh. Of course. I'm sure that Mr. Hugle will choose someone reliable." Lily said. Mr. Bartley nodded.
"So the meeting will take place as planned, today, at one o'clock."
"Yes, but how should I know who?" Lily asked.
"He'll meet you in the lobby here, and he'll probably be the only one."
"Thanks for telling me. I'm glad this meeting hasn't been canceled." Lily said, and Mr. Bartley nodded.
"Goodbye, Ms. Evans." He left and Lily called goodbye after him.
I wonder who it'll be, Lily thought to herself, preoccupied.
It was exactly one o'clock when Lily headed down the lobby of the Charms department. She looked around and saw only a few people- an old witch with leopard print stretch pants, a man mopping the floor, a security wizard, and a young man, standing in the corner. She looked at him and caught his eye. He smiled and came over to him. The man was tall and well built, with messy jet-black hair and gray eyes. Even Lily had to admit he was very, very handsome. And then it hit her.
"Are you Ms. Evans?" he asked politely. Lily's eyes opened widely.
"JAMES POTTER?" She asked, gaping. James chuckled at her expression.
"Yes, I think that's me."
Lily stood for a moment, shocked, displeased and surprised, before regaining her senses. She took her bag and swung it into his knees, causing James to cry out in pain. He looked at her as if she was batty.
"What the hell was that for?" he asked, indignant.
Lily smirked. "That was for when you turned my owl into a pumpkin, you great prat."
James looked at her for a moment, studying her in a way not unlike Sirius. "You look great."
Lily raised an eyebrow. "You're actually complimenting me? Wow, the assinus maximus just complimented me, after tormenting me for what, seven years?" Lily answered sarcastically. James could see that she was annoyed.
"Look, I'm sorry that you're dealing with past issues right now, but we have to get over to the Defense department." He said.
"And you think that I'm actually going to forget how you tormented me? I'm not, but I've got a job to do and this is the only reason why I'm actually going to tolerate you." Lily informed him. James just scowled.
"And how on earth did you get to be in such a high position in the ministry?" she asked.
"Because of my talent in Defense against the dark arts and transfiguration. I am, for your information, one of England's top aurors and favorite of Mr. Hugle." James said smugly. Lily glared and "accidentally" stepped on his foot.
"Aren't we mature?" he asked grumpily, but quickly stopped when Lily sent him another death glare.
"What about you, miss carrot? How did you get here too?" he questioned. Lily scowled again at him as they crossed the lobby and out the door to the apparation point.
"I applied for a position in the Charms department, Mrs. Moffat liked me and saw that I had talent, and then she left me in charge so that she could move to France." Lily explained simply, smiling at James's sulking face. "You know, studying did come in handy after all."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
They came to a point sheltered by some tall trees before they apparated to James's office. Lily followed James in silence into the office and they soon came to a large, white room that had no windows and one door, with only two chairs and a table in it. It gave a strange bright glow.
"Come in. This is where we are going to discuss the charm." James said as he motioned towards the table. Lily entered and the door shut behind them, locking by itself.
"The room's under a spell," James explained, "so that we'll be able to tell if anyone is eaves dropping on us- especially if they're on the dark side. And they're also alarms to warn us if danger's approaching."
"I know." Lily said, as she pulled out a wad of papers from her briefcase, spreading them out around the desk.
"It has come to the ministry's notice," she began, pointing to a piece of paper, "that the protecting spells that the aurors use are rather weak. There are other spells to be used that are stronger, but they take too much time to create, as they are highly powerful."
James nodded.
"So the Charms department, in association with the Defense apartment, has managed to create a simple, but powerful shielding charm, that has the Latin derivative of 'save', as it had the best affects. It can repel all hexes, jinxes, and curses, except for a few, including the killing curse, the cruciatus curse, and the imperius curse. Further research is still needed, however, to determine other weak points." Lily finished.
James looked at the papers curiously, pulling them up in front of his face and studying them. "Does anyone else know about these charms?"
Lily shook her head, in a smug manner. "Only several people: you, me, Ira Law, Bernard Hayworth, Mr. Bartley, Mr. Hugle, and my secretary. And I assure you, that all of these are trustworthy people, even if Ira is shallow as a dishpan."
"Are there plans for releasing it into the general public yet?"
"Not for a while, but we're allowing aurors to use it because it hopefully will help. We hopefully will keep it secret for a while so that the aurors will get the upper hand against those dratted Death Eaters. So what do you think?" Lily asked, putting aside all her anger and resent.
James looked impressed. "I hate to say it, carrot, but you did a good job. I hope it works. Being an auror myself, and a very good one too, (Lily muttered something like 'egotist' under her breath) it feels a lot safer to know that there is some defense that is quick and easy."
"Of course." Lily said, pleased that James had complimented her work, because she had done most of the research and the rest of her staff had only fine-tuned and tested the charm.
"I also have been working on a truth charm. It's in its simplest form, but it still works though it has some rough spots."
"Is this another project the department has been working on too?" James questioned.
"No, I came up with it myself on my own time." Lily said shaking her head.
"Then you must have absolutely no life." Lily glared at him fiercely.
"I do too!" Lily protested. "In fact, I went clubbing last night."
"Yes, and you dumped a margarita on Sirius's head. Classic." James retorted, lips upturned. Lily looked at him sulkily.
"He deserved it, that stupid git."
"You're just the same- all work and no play. Completely boring." James yawned lazily. And Lily growled.
"You prat. Take that back!"
"I'm just stating the truth." James replied, innocently. "You're so boring. And you never had a social life."
"You say I'm just the same as I always was? Well, you're just the same as well then- an immature, egotistical, bigheaded, ass! I've never been able to say this, but now I can, since I'm grown and you, Mr. I'm-so- fabulous Potter, cannot pick on me now. I HATE YOUR FRICKIN' GUTS!" Lily screamed, losing her temper, as she slammed her fist against the table. All her anger at him through the years came rushing out in those few sentences. James sat there, looking shocked.
Lily glared at him one last time, before shutting her briefcase and storming out of the room, leaving the papers with James. She was so angry now- that blasted James Potter! She marched down the hall and down the stairs into the lobby and out the door, where she reached the apparating spot. Several birds were there, pecking at a hotdog that had fallen down on the ground.
"SHOO, DAMNIT!" Lily bellowed, scaring the birds and several children nearby away. She took out her wand and disappeared into the air, arriving back at her office. What a horrible meeting with Potter. What a horrible day.
Sorry if the spacing is sorta weird.