Disclaimer: IT'S NOT MINE!
Chapter Ten: Of Holidays and All That Crap
Lily sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes sleepily. Then she remembered what day it was. Meanwhile, in the first year boys' dormitory, James was doing the same thing.
"Shit!" they cried as one, but neither of them new it. Both had just remembered that it was their least favorite day of the year.
"HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!" cried Carolina, bouncing off the walls (quite literally). Lily groaned and rolled over, covering her head with a pillow.
"D'you think the professors would notice if I just slept til tomorrow?" she yawned.
"Now why on earth would you want to do that?" asked Carolina, curious.
"Because it is a holiday designed to make losers and rejects, such as myself, feel unwanted and unloved by showering those prettier than us and more popular than us with lace covered hearts and kisses. In short-I don't like public humiliation." Carolina grinned.
"You, my friend, are getting your sorry arse out of bed, and coming down stairs to breakfast. NOW! You may wonder why I am doing this. I don't know. Maybe it's because I just ate the five pounds of chocolate my mother sent me and are officially bouncing off the walls. Or maybe it's because I enjoy torturing you…the world will never know," Carolina grinned as she whipped the sheets off Lily's bed, leaving her shivering in a small tank top and boxers.
"I choose the latter," she grumbled rolling out of bed and yanking some robes from her open trunk. She grudgingly pulled on her uniform as slowly as possible, taking her time to survey the situation. Carolina was jumping on her bed again and spinning around in circles at the same time. Taryn, who could sleep through a train-wreck, was lightly snoring, snuggled deep under the covers, while Peyton was in the bathroom, putting on what Lily was sure was her third layer of mascara.
Realizing that Lily was almost done changing, Carolina flew off the bed and yanked Lily out of the room. They tripped down the stairs, probably because Lily was having trouble pulling on her other shoe with one arm while being pulled-none to gently, mind you-down a large flight of stairs by the other. They landed in a heap at the bottom of the stairs to a loud round of applause from the other Gryffindors still in the Common Room. Carolina stood up and bowed, and then shoved Lily out the portrait hole.
The Great Hall was not decorated for the occasion, much to the chagrin of a Hufflepuff third year that Lily didn't know.
"Valentine's Day should be extravagant!" he shouted to his friends, arms flailing wildly, shoving a lock of golden hair out of his watery eyes. "Confetti, cupids…" Lily grimaced as she walked by him.
"Hogwarts will rue the day they ever put Gilderoy Lockhart in charge of decorations," Remus said pointedly, nodding over at the blonde boy they had just passed. "Here Lily, Happy Valentine's Day!" He handed her a red card, and Lily's eyes misted over. As she blinked furiously, she remembered the last Valentine's Day she had celebrated.
"Hey freak!" This was Petunia's special way of acknowledging her sister's presence in their shared room. She was thirteen years old at the time. "Did you get any Valentines?" she asked mockingly, knowing the answer before she asked the question.
You see, Lily didn't have many friends. Oh she had about three close friends, but she was one of the youngest kids in her grade, and other kids made fun of her glasses (thanks to Madame Pompfrey, Lily no longer needed glasses, nor contacts). Lily blushed furiously and continued reading her book.
"Well, that's too bad," Petunia whispered maliciously, unzipping her bookbag, and flipping it over above her bed. Lily gaped as heart shaped card after heart shaped card piled up on top of the bed, some spilling off onto the floor. Petunia had always been popular. With her pastel green eyes and long golden locks, guys practically lined up for her…
"Lily? Lily? Hello?" a hand was waving in front of Lily's face. She jumped a little, and found she was staring straight into Carolina's wide eyes.
"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I just hallucinated for a second. "Thanks for the card Remus, but…" she trailed off, and Carolina picked up.
"Lily doesn't believe in Valentine's Day," she said. Remus nodded, knowingly. Suddenly, a large black owl knocked into Lily's goblet of Pumpkin juice and dropped a letter in the spreading mess. Lily glared at the unrepentant bird and snatched the card out of the juice. She shook it once, and looked at it. It was heart shaped with cheap white lace around the edge. In the middle of the heart were the words: Lily- I hate you. Drop dead. –James. She grinned.
James sat down at the table, and, noticing the mess and Lily's amused stare, commented, "So, like your Valentine Evans?" She smiled again.
"James, it was just the absolute cutest," she fake squealed. She reached across the table and pinched his cheek. Sirius burst out laughing, and even Remus was having a hard time hiding a smile. James was blushing, and Lily sat back happily; her job here was done.
The rest of the year passed quickly, with a few major highlights.
1.) On Easter, Carolina got even with Sirius for his cat ears prank, by hexing him so that he had to hop around school all day with an adorable cotton ball tail, fluffy white bunny ears, a soft pink nose, and extra large front teeth.
2.) April Fool's Day went well for the Marauders, beginning with a classic prank, and ending with total humiliation. When the Slytherins sat down to breakfast, all jumped up immediately crying out in pain and rubbing their rear ends. It was a most humorous sight, especially for the Marauders, knowing that the old Invisible Thumbtack (courtesy of Sirius's mother) trick had worked like a charm. Later that day, after giving Professor Centia a hot foot, and Professor Necare a cookie filled with cracked pepper, they finished with a bang. Literally. They rigged the Slytherins roast turkey to explode at exactly seven thirty, spattering the entire hall with globs of nastiness.
3.) Surprisingly, they all passed their finals. Not surprisingly, their lowest course was Potions.
The last day of term was a joyous one. They spent their last day at school by the lake, tossing the giant squid hiccupping sweats.
"D'you think it's actually eating them?" pondered Peter.
"Who cares," said Remus lazily. "It's almost summer."
Lily sighed, and Remus glanced at her questioningly. "Well, it's just that, summer for you all, and summer for me are two very different things," she explained.
"What?" asked Sirius, joining their conversation.
"I just mean that, none of you guys have a fourteen year old sister named Petunia who takes her joy out of making her little sister's life a living hell," she stated morosely. Sirius nodded.
"Y'know, I could invite you over," he offered. Lily shook her head vehemently.
"One Black was bad enough," she chided, shuddering, "imagine what a whole house of them would be like."
"People have a word for something like that," James said walking over.
"Torture?" supplied Carolina.
"Exactly," said James, nodding. Sirius glowered at them both and splashed them. Carolina shrieked, James bellowed, and they both attacked Sirius full force.
"Poor boy," said Remus calmly, obviously not disturbed by the usual scene of chaos taking place. "He doesn't stand a chance!" Lily smiled at him, and flopped back onto the grass, taking off her cloak and bunching under her head like a starchy pillow.
"So Remus," Peter asked. "I know I've asked you at least a million times, but where are you staying for the Hols again?"
"I'm going to stay with my grandmum in Surrey," he explained patiently. "Where're you going again, Peter?"
"Back to Devonshire," he said. "We've got a big family reunion next week."
Lily shuddered. "Always hated those," she said. "Full of second cousins and third cousins and so on, until you get to fifty third cousins that you never even knew existed, nor did you care."
"And then there's the cheek pinching and hair ruffling," added Peter.
"And the big lipstick prints on your face from fat aunts," concluded Remus. "Oh look, it seems as though the fights breaking up." It did seem that way, and it was only a matter of seconds until they found out why.
"TIDAL WAVE!" Carolina screamed unnecessarily as she sprinted all out for the shore. Lily and the two boys scrambled to their feet and fled, but none were quick enough for the giant wave. They were all thoroughly soaked, drenched in icy cold water.
"Well, he did eat the sweats then," said James, taking off his glasses and shaking his hair that was lying flat for the first time in months. "We heard this enormous hiccupping sound, and then ran for our lives. The giant squid must have eaten all of them." Everyone was silent for a moment. Then, suddenly, Peter began to snigger, and that set them all off. By the time they got back to the common room, it was well past dark, and they had dripped over practically every inch of the castle.
"I consider the day seized!" said Lily, trying to squeeze every last drop of water out of her long hair.
"Tomorrow, let's seize the day and throttle it!" said Carolina, crawling sleepily into bed. And with that comforting thought, they both drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
The next morning was dreary indeed. Well, the train ride home was fine, full of joy and exploding cards, but as soon as they entered into the muggle world again, Lily felt lost and confused. Her mother was there to meet her, with a pouting Petunia waiting by her side; arms crossed and foot tapping with impatience. Lily smothered her mother in her usual hug, and she seemed happy to see her youngest daughter, but Lily could see that something was wrong.
Her mothers copper hair was splattered with gray that Lily couldn't remember being there at Christmas. She seemed smaller, not in size, but something else in her mother had diminished. Her smile looked weaker, and the light from her eyes wasn't dancing, it seemed more like a kind of funeral march. After giving each Marauder a hug (excepting James of course. They just exchanged cheerful goodbyes) she and the smaller portion of her family walked to the car in the light rain.
"Well," Lily thought. "Isn't that fitting?" When they had all piled into the car Lily asked the question that had been nagging at the back of her mind since she stepped off the platform.
"Mum? Where's Daddy?" she asked quietly, nervously breaking the uncomfortable silence that had been filling the small station wagon.
"Lilikins? You know how your father hadn't been feeling well for a while before you left?" Lily nodded slowly, not liking the direction this conversation had turned. "Well, a month or so after you left for school again, after Christmas, the doctors figured out what was wrong. Honey, your father has Leukemia." Lily gasped, and felt a sob escape her. Not wanting to face reality, she broke herself off from all communications, and turned to look at the drab scene flashing past her window.
There were loads of grey houses, all squashed tightly together, surrounded in a rainy fog. As she pressed her face against the window, Lily's tears matched the drops of rain gathering on the window of the car.
"The doctors must be wrong," she thought. "There's no other explanation for this…not Daddy. Please, not Daddy." She let her mind drift off, and found herself reliving special moments with her father.
There was the time she had fallen out of a tree and broken her arm, two days before Halloween (her favorite holiday), and her Dad had made her an amazing space suit costume to match the cast so she could still go for Tricks or Treats. Or there was the time he had stayed up all night to help her memorize lines for a school play the next day. And the number of times he had gotten off work early to come home and play with Lily and Petunia. And the way they sang together, and how he was up to date with everything kids liked…
Without Lily realizing it, they had pulled into the driveway of their bland house. Normally, Lily would look at it, and find the elephant hidden on its front. The prominent chimney made the trunk, the two squinty windows from her parent's room were the eyes, and the two long windows by the base of the trunk were its tusks. Today Lily just didn't seem up to it. She sullenly yanked her trunk out of the back of the car, kick it up the stairs, and bolted up to her room. She buried her face in a purple pillow and cried until she could cry no more. Then she walked over to her flute case and opened it reverently. She plucked the instrument out of the velvet lining and pieced it together efficiently, trying not to cry as she put it to her mouth.
"Dad gave me this on my tenth birthday," she thought. Sniffling a bit, she played a slow, flowing song called Peace Prelude. It was a quiet, almost mournful tune, exactly how Lily felt right at that moment. As she played the last lingering notes, she became aware that something was hovering outside her window, rapping at it with sharp talons.
"Midnight," she thought, gently laying the flute on her dresser. She opened the window for the drenched bird, letting it rest on her bed creating a damp spot right where Lily was about to sit.
"Thank you," she said to the bird, half sarcastically. She shook open the note and read it.
Lily-
Summer Hols at last! It's great to be back home isn't it? I wish I had something to say…I guess I'm just sending a letter for old time's sake, right? Guess what? My family's going to stay in Spain the whole summer with my entire family! Isn't that great? I hope your summer is awesome!
-Carolina
Lily stared at the paper in a blind rage. After what she had just found out? All that she had gone through in the past hour? How dare Carolina write her a letter with so many happy thoughts? So many comments about the whole family?
Lily grabbed a fresh piece of paper out of a drawer and began to write. It felt odd writing with a ballpoint pen after spending the last year of her life using a quill, but no matter. Lily was having the worst day of her life, and she needed to take out her anger on someone. She wrote a scorching retort to Carolina's cheerful letter, sure to crush her friend's happiness. Without thinking, Lily grabbed Midnight off the bed and swiftly tied the letter to his leg.
With an indignant hoot, he took off into the rainy night. Two seconds later, Lily realized what she had just done, and ran to her open window, calling for the bird.
"Midnight! Midnight?" she was almost in tears. "Midnight, come back!" and with that, she flung herself onto her bed and cried herself to sleep.
(A/N) Heys! It's great to here from y'all! I was inspired by my many thoughtful reviews to work my arse off to get this thing written. None of y'all ventured a guess about the other kissing couple, but oh well…more butterbeer for me! I'll need it; Valentine's Day depresses me…in fact Lily's retort to Carolina's hyperness earlier in the chapter was my own…well, hope y'all enjoyed it! I DA TEXAN – erm…thanks…I think…Dani- hello really creepy separated brain! What's up? I really liked the invisible thumbtacks (as you can see), and yes I do enjoy rhyming…though at times is can get annoying…especially with sisters like mine who try to do it all the time *shudders* Please do continue to send weird reviews, they are the highlight of my day (knowing that someone out there is sharing a somewhat creepy half of my brain around explains a lot as to why I don't have common sense…) Musicizdbest- yes, I would definitely have to list bringing lunch to school on the first day and leaving the cruddy container in your locker under your clothes for five months, would most definitely make my list of Top Ten Things to Never Ever Ever Ever Do…well, it takes three people to close my locker on good days…you don't want to know about the bad days *involuntary shudder* Elfmoon87- Yays! You like me, you really like me! And the characters? Cool, that's great…it's always reassuring to know that I'm doing something right. Serenity-Salarin- yes ma'am (sir?) Avebury- notta problem Engie! (Almost) anything to help a friend! I STILL WANT THE GREEN PEN! What did you think about the Bible movie? In reality, we were actually supposed to watch a different more boring movie and take notes! SCORE! fairypixie3- Thanks, will do! Fowl-Star-I'm glad you like it! And by the way, Remie is SO MINE! I have no idea why you would want to be a prefect (except for the bathroom of course!) but sure, tell me your name, and if I remember, you can be a prefect. Which house would you like? Take your pick. Go ahead and use my characterization of Siri in your story…let me know when you've uploaded it! Yeah, I'll try to add in Remie more, but see, he's the smart(er) one of the group, and would probably be more cautious about it, but eventually the others are going to be a BAAAAAAD influence on him. Okay, here's my reasoning behind the thing about Peter: He had to be a good friend for them to trust him with the Secret keeper spell, or they wouldn't have changed. In order to be a good friend, you can't be completely retarded, but I'll work it in, thanks. Oh, don't worry about the don'tyouwannaknow one. That was my sister. I had gotten her in BIG trouble and she was trying to get revenge in a major way. Too bad she sucks at it. Fairy Dust Eye Shadow? I'll look into it…Thanks for the musical suggestions…my dad is freaking obsessed, and he dragged me down with him. I love the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, though Bob Dillan isn't too bad…If you read this chappie, it'll tell you who he lives with. AND BACK OFF THE WEREWOLF! HE'S MINE! Obsession with spelling? Do you by any chace have OCD, because it sure seems like it. Therapist Bob- terribly sorry about that frying pan…hope the swelling goes down!
CHRIST! That was almost as long as my chappie…well, I've got to go to Basketball Practice! Happy Valentine's Day (yuk) to ALL!
