Disclaimer: None belongs to me, it all belongs to the talented Miss J.K. Rowling.
Chapter Three: A New Year and Exploding Cauldrons
The rest of the train ride went smoothly, and they arrived in front of the dark Hogwarts castle. The Marauders went into the Great Hall and sat down at the enormous Gryffindor table. Lily and Arabella sat between James and Sirius. Arabella was talking to Sirius, when James turned to Lily. She was surveying around the table. That reminded him of Tara. He then also started looking around, but no luck. The Sorting Hat started to sing, so he reluctantly pulled his eyes away from his classmates.
When it finished its song, Professor Dumbledore stood up. The Hall instantly grew quiet. He spoke. "Welcome everybody to a new year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." The audience applauded with vigor. Dumbledore continued. "I would like to make one specific announcement. As always, the Forbidden Forest is forbidden, hence the name." He glanced in Sirius's and James's direction. "Now, let the banquet begin!" The golden plates and goblets then filled themselves with food and drinks galore. Everyone gobbled down the warm and hearty foods that were right there in front of them. Sirius was helping himself to thirds and fourths when he noticed James wasn't eating much. He was too busy glancing up and down the Gryffindor table. He gave James a nudge and said with his mouth full, "Still lookin' fo 'er?"
"Yeah," said James, discouraged. "Do you have anyone in mind?"
Sirius took a quick glance up and down the table. "No, I dun tink dey match Tara."
James scowled playfully. "Sirius, didn't your mother teach you any manners?"
"Whaa? What am I doin' wrong?"
"Disgracing yourself," said Remus, who overheard James's remark.
"Mr. Potter? I'm here to inform you that the new password is 'Pixie Dust.' I will also tell Miss Evans as well," said the head of the Gryffindor house, Professor McGonagall.
"Yes, Professor."
The professor was about to leave when she turned around abruptly and said, "Oh, and Mr. Black, try to keep your food, inside your mouth? The last thing we need right now is a food-spitting contest."
James and Remus chuckled as Sirius replied, "Yes ma'am."
~*~*~*~*~
Meanwhile, a few seats away...
"Bella? Who do you think it is?"
Arabella groaned. "Lil', can we please just concentrate on eating right now? I'm starving. Besides, you have the whole year to figure it out."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Lily shuddered. "But the suspense is killing me..."
"Miss Evans?"
Lily swung around in her seat. It was Professor McGonagall. "The password this year is 'Pixie Dust.' I trust you will remember to tell the new Gryffindors the new password?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Good. I have already told Mr. Potter."
Professor McGonagall swished away from the Gryffindor table to join the staff. Lily turned back around and said in mock surprise," Pixie Dust? What kind of a password is Pixie Dust?"
Arabella laughed. "The passwords just keep getting weirder and weirder..."
~*~*~*~*~
After the feast was over, all the students rushed up to their dormitories. James met up with Lily and guided the first-years to their dorms. "Okay, the new password is 'Pixie Dust!" yelled James.
With that, the portrait of the Fat Lady opened, and the Gryffindors filed into the common room. "All right, first-year boys up the left. Girls, the right!" Everybody filed up to the dorms until only James and Lily were left in the common room. James turned to Lily. "Well, Miss Evans, a good job well done."
Lily rolled her eyes. "Please James, I'm not in the mood for a bad bashing of words you call flirting."
"Oh, but you said so yourself. Remember? In Flourish and Blotts?"
Lily recalled the event. She spoke sarcastically. "So, you're gonna try and win me over, hmm?"
"What, you don't think I could do it?" exclaimed James.
"Well, we'll see. We'll see," said Lily grinning. They both headed toward the stairs to their dormitories.
~*~*~*~*~
James laid in bed unable to sleep. He kept thinking bout Lily. And Tara. He then suddenly remembered that he never replied back to Tara. He got up as quietly as possible and opened his bedside cabinet. He pulled out his wand, a piece of parchment, and a quill.
"Lumos," he whispered as silently as possible. His wand lit up enough to glance at what he was writing. He wrote:
Dear Tara,
Sorry I haven't been able to write. I was so busy with school and stuff. What did ya think of the feast today? One of my friends practically stuffed his face with food until every word he spoke was not understandable. And I think that was for a good reason. But, to tell you the truth, I was looking for you. I know I shouldn't have, but I was too curious. I bet you were looking also. But, I promise I'll try not to find out who you are.
Well, what classes are you taking? I'm taking, besides the required ones, Divination (the stupidest class I've taken so far) and Care of Magical Creatures (an okay class, but I wish we were handling more dangerous creatures). I can't wait for transfiguration tomorrow. Wonder what we're doing. In History of Magic though, you don't even have to guess what we're doing. The window is more interesting than Professor Binns. Too bad we still have to take it. Well, it's late, so I'll see ya tomorrow. (even though I don't know who you are)
Daniel
James's eyes were getting heavy, so he quietly slipped out to the Owlery using the Invisibility Cloak, and attached the letter to the owl's leg. James had a sudden thought and whispered to the wise bird, "Don't deliver this until the morning. I don't think she'll enjoy getting a letter at two in the morning. The owl gave an agreeing hoot and closed its eyes, asleep in minutes. James tiptoed back to his 4-poster bed and laid down, took his glasses off, and finally closed his eyes.
"Sent a letter to her, eh?" asked a drowsy Sirius.
"Mmhmm."
~*~*~*~*~
The next morning went about as usual. Students sat at their house table gobbling down on breakfast. Lily was helping herself to some scrambled eggs, when the daily flood of owls arrived. Owls darted in and out, dropping their packages or letters and heading straight to the Owlery. Suddenly, an owl dropped a piece of parchment on her head, and flew out. She darted the parchment off her head and by just glancing at the handwriting, she immediately knew who it was from. "Bella! Bella!" Lily said in a hushed whisper. "It's from him..."
"Ooh! Let's read it-"
"No, not here. Daniel could be here..."
"So what? Hello? This is Daniel-"
"Exactly. It'll ruin the whole thing. Look, we'll just read it later, ok?"
Arabella groaned in disappointment. "Oh, all right. But as soon as we have time, I'm ripping it open." Araballa thought for a minute. "Wait, he's writing to you, and not me. So why are you so calm about this?"
Lily repiled, as if stating the obvious, "Because I have some self control." But she knew deep inside she wanted to drastically open the letter to see what he wrote.
Professor McGonagall handed out their course schedules to the Gryffindors. "We have Double Herbology with Hufflepuffs," stated Remus. "And...oh no. Double Potions with Slytherins." Sirius had a look of disgust on his face. "It's the same thing year after year. I don't think I can stand it anymore."
"Same here Sirius," agreed James. "It's too bad that Professor Monters is mean in a nice way..."
"OPEN YOUR BOOKS TO PAGE 6 BEFORE I HEX YOU INTO OBLIVION!"
The Gryffindors and Slytherins hastily opened their books before their hot-tempered professor could hex them.
"Now, I want you to set this up precisely, or else, some of you will never see your heads again."
Peter gulped.
"All right, this potion is very difficult to brew. It is a complicated process and will take time, so you'll be keeping your cauldrons in a safe-keeping storage area..."
Lily had her book open, but she wasn't listening. Her eyes appeared dreamily, as if she was going to fall into a graceful sleep any minute. She was dreaming about Daniel. Why does he have an effect on me like this? She thought. I'm not paying attention in Potions. Well, I never pay attention in his class anyway. I knew that he's right here in this classroom. And I have no idea who he is. I wonder if it's Sirius playing a prank on me. She glanced over at him. He was whispering something, and pointing his wand at Severus Snape's head. In green letters, the message: Unwashable Hair Mess was visible on his head. Remus was trying to contain his laughter by putting his hand over his mouth. Lily chuckled in her head. Nah, can't be him. He's too...hyper. And Remus is too...sweet to do that. She peered in the other direction and saw Frank Longbottom pass notes to Sarah Morin. Frank's nice, but he probably likes Sarah. She looked ahead of her and there sat James Potter. Ugh, no way....he's too stupid. Arabella glancing at Lily, noticed she was still scanning around. She's so stubborn her friend thought.
Unknown to Lily and Arabella, James Potter was searching around as well. Maybe it's one of Sirius's pranks. He glimpsed at Narcissa Medina kept turning around to smile at Lucius Malfoy. Disgusting. He looked around and almost burst out laughing when he saw the back of Snape's head. Slimy git. Knows nothing about anything. He then found himself gazing at Lily. The way her hair was a bright red, and her face glowed. The way her small hands appeared so soft. The way-
"Mr. Potter! I suggest you write the ingredients down," James's head snapped up. "Or else I'll be moving your object of affection to the other side of the classroom," the Professor continued.
Everyone giggled. James looked down and blushed. Lily, however, was smiling. So, I can make James Potter blush? I can use this for something.
James quickly wrote down the ingredients as told. "Now, I have selected your partners," the Potions Master announced. "Do not groan when I read them out, or I will take 50 points from each one I hear. I will come around later to see your work. So it was important that you'd have paid attention. Anyone who didn't...will serve detention with me." He cleared his throat. "Narcissa Medina and Lucius Malfoy. Arabella Figg and Sirius Black. James Potter and Lily Evans..."
James and Lily made eye contact with each other. James's expression was full of joy, while Lily's was a penetrating glare. Arabella and Sirius came over. "Hey Lil', have fun with James!" she said in a singing voice.
"Thanks for being my friend Bella," Lily said, in a monotone voice.
"Oh, no problem. I hope though Sirius and I don't blow up the cauldron like last time though. I can't afford another rash."
Sirius went up to James and whispered, "Don't kill her okay? She's too good-looking."
"Shut up Padfoot."
James winked at Sirius. Sirius winked back. They left and James faced Lily again. "So, my fair lady, what shall we do?"
"Oh, be quiet." She sighed and muttered, "Freak." Walking over to the experiment table, she said, "Just do the experiment, and it'll be over with."
"Oh, but my sweet, we must spend much time together-"
"James Potter, one more word outta your mouth, and I swear," she held up a knife. "Bye-bye tongue!"
"Okay, okay, okay!" James held his hands up in defense. "Sheesh Lil'! I was only-"
"And don't say joking. You act like that all the time," she said, interrupting. "C'mon, let's do this."
Lily suddenly realized that she didn't know how to do the experiment. Oh no. I'm gonna have to ask the moron for help. "Oh, James?" she managed in her sweetest voice. "Can you be a sweetie and tell me what to do?"
"Oh...you weren't paying attention?"
"Um, no. So, what do we do here?"
"Wait. I'll tell you what to do, if...you'll hug me and call me 'honey' in front of Sirius, Remus, and Bella."
Lily's eyes widened. "Okay, you're joking right? I mean, seriously."
James nodded his head from side to side.
"James! How can you do this to me? I mean, c'mon, please? I don't wanna do that-"
"Or, I could not help you, and can be caught by Professor Monters for not paying attention in class and get detention."
Lily weighed her options. I guess I could say honey and do a hug. I mean it could be worse..."
"Or you could kiss me-"
"Okay! I'll hug and say 'honey.' But, only once! I'm not even going to think of doing it again."
James grinned. Lily rolled her eyes, and sighed. "So, what do we do now?"
"Well, first add 9 spider legs. Then we mix in some nightshade."
"All right, here, and there's the nightshade."
"Everything going all right?"
James and Lily looked up to see Professor Monters eyeing them. "Oh, we're doing fine Professor. We're just adding the nightshade. And we're about to add the daisy roots."
"Hmm. Very well. Continue."
James beamed in triumph and Lily smiled. "Um, thanks James."
"You're very welcome."
James and Lily worked quietly side by side until Lily had to go to the other side of the table to get an ingredient. Neither of them heard a plunk in their cauldron. Lily then moved to place the last ingredient in the cauldron. "Okay, here's the shrivelfig."
"Drop it in then."
Lily dropped it in, and smoke started to steam out. Everyone's attention shifted to James and Lily table. The potion started to spew in every direction. James ducked under the table, while parts of the potion hit Lily's arm, making it burn. James yanked Lily under the table while she sobbed. "My god, Lily! What happened?"
"It hurts, bloody hell it hurts!" Lily moaned as she clutched her arm.
"What's happened? What's going on?" the suddenly frantic professor asked.
"Lily's hurt sir. Should I take her to the hospital wing?"
"Yes, yes take her. Carry her if you have to!" shouted the Potions Master over the cauldron noises.
"Um, okay. Uh..." James stuttered. Lily's not gonna like this....
"Okay, Lily," he said, pointing to her uninjured arm. "Put this arm around my neck."
She did as she was told and then found herself being lifted up by James Potter. And James was right. Lily didn't like it.
"OH MY GOD! JAMES POTTER! PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT! I SWEAR WHEN I GET A HOLD OF YOU I'M GONNA...."
Lily Evans continued to screech in James's ear. James thought he was going to be temporarily deaf by the time he made it to the hospital wing. He walked through the halls trying extremely hard to tune out Lily's yells. People in the halls saw and whispered to each other. Okay James, you can make it, he thought to himself. You can- "PUT"- make- "ME"- it.- "DOWN!"
"Lily!" James stopped abruptly. "I'm trying to get you to the hospital wing! Not throw you in the lake with the giant squid! Now, will you please stop screaming in my ear?"
She stopped yelling and looked at James's face. She saw his usual cheerfulness, but behind it was concern for her arm. She nodded and they continued on. Lily while being carried, had thoughts. I never thought that I'd be carried through the halls by James Potter of all people. Maybe...he's not as bad as I thought.
Unfortunately, when James kicked the hospital wing door open, the pain in Lily's arm came back full blast and was soon moaning and shouting. Madame Promfrey came towards a tortured young man and a never ending, howling banshee. "What happened to Miss Evans?"
James scoffed. "Don't ask."
He placed Lily on the bed, and but she didn't stop screaming.
"James...it really, really hurts!"
"It's okay, it's okay. I'm here. What could happen when I'm around?" James flashed the famous grin.
Lily rolled her eyes, but smiled back. But it was quickly wiped away when the pain came back.
"Here Miss Evans," said a rushed Madame Promfrey. "I'm going to pour on some Burn-B-Gone. It'll sting, so brace yourself."
Lily immediately grabbed James's hand and squeezed. He squeezed back. The nurse poured on the potion, making Lily shake. She would've yelled out, but a certain person held her hand and squeezed it when needed most. It seemed to go on forever, but it was finally done. "Okay! Miss Evans, you are back to normal, though try to avoid substances touching that area of the burn. It's still very sensitive."
Lily nodded. She stood up, wincing a little, and went up to James. She leaned in towards his ear and whispered, "Thank you."
~*~*~*~*~
Okay guys! I think that's my longest chapter ever! YAY! I hope you like it so far! And I also hope you don't think that Lily is all girly. Just imagine if...a kid who eats worms picked you up. Never mind. Bad example. Remember, if you want to sign up for the "How it All Began" chapter mailing list, then leave your e-mail address when you review, and readers who are already on the list, please remember to review at FANFICTION.NET! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I LUV YOU PEEPS! If you want to, check out the other fic that's been keeping me from this one, Lost in the Marauder's Time.
Miss Park Avenue