DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING!
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CHAPTER 5: I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE
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The long train ride left Lily and May exhausted. Lily followed May into the quickly filling Great Hall.
"Are you sure you're ok, Lils?" May asked, glancing back at Lily over her shoulder.
Lily rolled her eyes. "Yes, May, I'm fine." She came into step with her best friend.
May nodded, her head still turned in Lily's direction, watching her for any burst of unexpected emotions.
Lily found her way down the long Gryffindor table, and sat down where she normally sat awaiting Dumbledore's speech. May took the seat opposite her, facing her.
"God, I'm beat," May admitted, resting her elbows on the table, and rubbing her tired eyes. Lily didn't doubt her friend, the too girls had been up since 9:30 that morning, and ridden a train for almost five hours, no wonder they were tired. Lily wanted to find a bed and crawl into it, and sleep for two weeks.
All the students coming back from summer break, ignored the two girls, like always, just like they did every year.
"And so it begins." May muttered under her breath, hatred in her eyes, as she watched Alicia and Cindy strut by.
Lily smiled in amusement. May couldn't stand them, and come to think of it she couldn't stand them either.
And so started the year, as always, the girls figured that everything would be the same as it was every year. All friendships will be forgotten as the school year started. Or so they thought.
P.O.V. Change:
The Marauders entered the Great Hall. The students turned around to watch them, but they took no notice. They turned toward Gryffindor table, grinning happily.
"Hey, James!"
"Sirius!"
"Hey guys!" Shouts, from mostly females, followed them as they made their way down the table.
They ignored them, and spotted a head of red hair sitting at the far end of the table, not hearing, or choosing to ignore the shouts. Her back was to them, and they could see May's exhausted face in front of her, she was facing them.
"Wanna sit with them?" James asked, turning to Sirius who was walking closely behind him.
"Yea, sure," Sirius nodded, Remus imitated Sirius's nod as well.
"With Evans and Delfin?" Peter asked nervously.
"Yea..is that a problem?" James asked.
"Well.No I guess not, but what will people think." Peter asked nervously.
The three boys stared at him. "You're an asshole petey." Sirius said shaking his head, and slapping Peter roughly on the back.
James glared, "who cares? If you care about that, then you are small minded, and the Marauders have no use for you."
Remus just looked at him shocked, he didn't know Peter could be such a moron.
Peter nodded nervously. "Ok then," he squeaked.
They looked at him for a few minutes, before turning, and heading toward the girls.
They came up behind Lily.
May looked up, while talking to Lily, and instantly stilled, her talk forgotten. Her eyes narrowed. She wasn't stupid, this was when they would tell them that they couldn't be seen in public together, or that they even know who they are. She immediately put her guards up.
Lily who had noticed her friend's gaze, and her abrupt discourse of conversation, stiffened. She knew that look; it was the look May used when she anticipated pain.
Lily felt someone sit down next to her, and stiffened, afraid to look next to her. 'Who would sit next to her? In public?' she wondered.
She risked a glance at the person, and nearly fell out of her seat. One of the most popular guys in school had situated himself in the seat next to her, it was James. He smiled at her, before picking up his napkin, and placing it over his lap. She didn't expect this at all. She looked behind her, and saw the other three guys from the most popular group in school, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. What were they doing sitting next to them? She didn't like it, it didn't feel right, this must be some kind of cruel joke.
Remus smiled, and sat on the other side of Lily, while Sirius took a seat across from her, next to May, and Peter sat on the other side of James.
"Hello," James said smiling to Lily, "mind if we sit with you?"
She looked at him in awe, her eyes bulging in genuine surprise. Was he actually going to sit, and eat with them? She shared a bewildered look with May, who raised her eyebrows.
As people filled the halls, they glanced in the direction of the six sitting at the table. Whispers broke out across the hall. Lily was the first to notice this, and blushed. She, and bent her head over her plate, trying to forget what was happening. Why were they doing this?
May heard people talking as they walked past her to get to their respective tables.
"Why are they sitting with them?" One voice said to another.
"Probably some kind of joke." The other replied with a laugh.
May glared at the two girls as they walked by smirking at her and Lily, like they were fools.
Sirius swung his arm around May's shoulders. She immediately stiffened, and looked at him with wide eyes. The whispers became loud, and rushed at this.
"Oh, this will be good." The same girls said, giving each other a high five. May glared at them, until they got the hint, and went to their own table.
"Why are you guys sitting here?" May hissed quietly, so no one heard, besides Lily and the Marauders. She lifted her hand, to remove Sirius's from her shoulders.
They all looked at her, their faces confused.
"We wanted too," Sirius said, as if it was obvious.
The headmaster raising his hand for silence silenced them. The Great Hall fell silent, a few people sending them questioning glances, causing May to be uncomfortable, and Lily to become highly embarrassed.
"First off, welcome back to Hogwarts for a new, and exciting year. To all first years, and some select few seventh years," his eyes lingered on the Marauders before continuing. "The Forbidden Forest, is exactly that, Forbidden. Also, no one, I repeat no one, is to go near the Whomping Willow, unless you want to be severely injured, or brutally killed. Also, the prefect meeting will be held right after dinner in the prefect's lounge. Now, on a final note, I'm going to announce the Head Boy and Girl." Lily turned beat red, and looked at the table.
"What's wrong?" James whispered.
"Nothing." Her breathing was growing heavy, and her face had grown paler.
May smiled at her, and gave her a thumbs up.
"Our new Head Boy is James Potter."
James stood up. The hall erupted in cheers. From every table, save the Slytherins, people cheered, and eagerly waited to find out who the head girl was.
"And finally, our Head girl is Lily Evans." The people in the great hall were silent.
'Who was Lily Evans?'
Lily almost forgot to breathe, her palms were cold and clammy, as she stared fixedly at a red stain on the tablecloth. She didn't want to stand up, too embarrassed, but James smiled down at her, and grasped her upper arm, reassuringly, and pulled her up to standing position.
When everyone saw who Lily Evans was, there was also applause, not much at first, until Sirius hollered, and beat his fist on the table. "WHOA! GO LILY!"
"YEA, LILY!" Remus helped out.
The Great Hall erupted into laughter, cheers, and catcalls. Lily blushed, and looked down at Sirius, who winked at her.
"She's in our Herbology class." One Ravenclaw said to another.
"Yea, she's good at charms, best in the class."
"I didn't know she was a prefect."
"She's pretty hot, I've never seen her before." One Hufflepuff said to another.
"Yea, she is, jeez." Was the reply.
"Is she sitting with The Marauders? What a lucky girl!" A Ravenclaw said to her friend.
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When Lily was able too finally sit down, her face almost blending in with her hair. Sirius laughed at her face, but May gave him a glare, before turning to Lily.
"You ok?" May asked looking at her friend.
"Yea, I think so."
Just then, Amos Diggory, a Hufflepuff, known for his good looks and charms came up behind Lily, and tapped her on the shoulder. She stiffened.
James who was sitting next to her looked over his shoulder, frowning, Diggory was tapping Lily on the shoulder, she visibly went stiff.
"Lily? Congratulations on making head girl." He said with a smile. Lily's eyes widened.
"Thanks," she whispered.
He walked away, looking over his shoulder once to glance her way one last time.
She quickly turned away, wanting to scream. She'd never had this much attention, and she hated it! And it was all because of the Marauders, and becoming Head Girl, she wanted to go back to normal.
She stood up, and looked at May across the table. May got the hint, and stood up with her.
"Where are you going?" Remus asked, looking up from his plate.
"Um.I'm going to the prefects meeting, she's going to the Common Room." Lily replied.
"Lily, dinners not over yet." James said frowning.
"I know.but.I'll see ya there ok?"
James looked at her funny, but nodded anyway.
When they had gotten out of the Great Hall, Lily turned to May.
"Why is this happening?" Lily asked. "What are they trying to do? Do they really want to be our friend? Or What?"
"I don't know Lily. But I'll find out. We won't get hurt. I won't let them hurt us." She swung her arm around Lily's shoulders, and hugged her closest friend.
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Lily walked into the Prefects lounge by herself, and sat down in the large armchair by the fire. The fire had been set by the house elfs, and she soaked in the warmth it provided.
The chair was so comfortable, she felt like she sank into its comfort. She raised her legs underneath her, and rested her head on the headrest staring tiredly into the flames. Her eyes grew heavy, to the point she couldn't hold them open. She temporarily forgot that she was waiting for a meeting to start, or for Professor Dumbledore to come by with the plans for the year. The heat of the fire, and the comfort of the chair, mixed with fatigue from the long ride caused the exhausted girl to fall asleep. The fire dancing merrily behind her filled the room with a dim warm light.
CHANGE IN POV:
When dinner was finally over, James was eager see Lily. He followed Sirius, Remus, and Peter out of the Hall, and left them at the prefect's lounge.
He said the password, and slipped into the door. No body was there yet. A fire was dancing merrily in the fireplace. There was a large green velvet chair next to the fireplace, the back facing him. On the armrest, he noticed glowing red hair fanned out on the fabric. It was beautiful, the light illuminated the red locks, making it look as though her hair was lined with gold. He smiled to himself, and moved farther into her room, making sure the door was closed tightly behind him.
He moved on the other side of the chair she was occupying, and smiled. She was beautiful, and she probably didn't even know it. She was curled up on the large green armchair. Her lips partly open, and her breathing was light. The discomfort that he'd seen at dinner was replaced with utmost relaxation. This is what he wanted her to look at him with, her face was beautiful. Her beautiful red hair was falling over the armrest. His hand itched to reach over and touch it. He wanted to run his fingers over it's silky softness.
His stomach did a somersault, surprising him. He'd never had these kinds of thoughts about a girl, like touching her hair, or having her look at him. It made him uncomfortable, yet satisfied at the same time. He couldn't explain it.
He began to hear footsteps coming closer to the prefect's lounge, and immediately knelt in front of Lily, and shook her gently awake.
"Lils? Lils? Come on wake up." James said, pushing a silky strand of hair away from her face. His hand lingered there for a moment, until her bright emerald eyes fluttered open. He dropped his hand to his side quickly. She stared at him momentarily, before confusion, and fright lined her pretty face.
She sat straight up.
"You fell asleep." James said smirking, as he was still kneeling on the floor.
"Oh my god, thanks for waking me up, how embarrassing!" she moaned, and began to turn red. James smiled at the flush in her cheeks, he thought it cute.
The door was flung open, and all the prefects walked in. James stood up straight, and glanced at Lily who was still sitting on the couch rubbing sleep from her eyes.
"Ok what are we doing this year?" Kayla Rebbons of Ravenclaw asked as she sat down on the couch opposite Lily. "Let's make this quick, before I fall asleep right here."
Lily blushed.
"Well we don't know yet, we're waiting for Dumbledore." James said back.
As all the prefects filled into the large room, Professor Dumbledore poked his head in and glanced around for James and Lily.
"Miss Evans and Mr. Potter, please follow me." Lily stood up tiredly and followed James slowly out of the portrait hole.
They closed the door behind them, and stood in silence side by side, waiting for Professor Dumbledore to say something.
"This year, the staff and I agreed on two fun days in the year. They will be Hogsmead for the day, and a party, not to wild in the evening."
James grinned; this was his kind of thing. Lily just nodded. She would help set it up, and make it look nice, but she wouldn't go, that's what she did when she was a prefect, that would probably work of the head girl.
"There will also be a formal Ball at Christmas time. Now this means that you have to find a band, and assign people to decorations." Lily and James nodded.
"And both of you will have to attend, the head boy and girl open the dance."
Lily groaned loudly at this. "But Professor, is there a way I can help out, without having to attend?" Lily asked.
James turned to her in shock. "You don't want to go?"
"No," Lily replied curtly, looking pleadingly at Professor Dumbledore.
"I'm sorry Miss Evans, but you have to attend," he smiled at her.
She frowned. "Well can I at least go by myself, or do I need a partner?" she asked afraid of his answer.
"No, I suppose you can go by yourself."
She gave a small sigh of relief, and turned to go back into the prefect's lounge.
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When she was gone, Dumbledore turned to a stunned James.
"She's such a good girl, people don't give her a chance to open up, so she just closed herself out, such a pity." He smiled, and walked away down the corridor.
James stood there and pondered what Lily had just said and what Dumbledore had said. He was given more clues as to who the real Lily Evans was. He was close. He smiled, and opened the portrait.
He walked in too Lily explaining the plans to the Prefects.
"I believe, one of the Hogsmead days will be some time before Christmas, to help you gather gifts, or dress robes for the winter formal." Lily said. The prefects all gasped, mainly the girls, while the boys moaned. Lily waited patiently for the whispers of who's going with who died down. "And the second Hogsmead day will be sometime in the spring so it's spaced out. Is that all right with you James? I'm sorry I didn't asked you before," She smiled at sympathetically.
"That's great, exactly what I was thinking anyway," James answered smiling back.
The prefects all looked at James, and noticed that he was still staring at Lily Evans, even though she had already looked away. It looked like he was trying to figure something out.
"Now about the winter dance, James and I still have to discuss it, so we'll let you know of another prefect's meeting soon. Well, I think this meeting's over? Do you have anything to add James." James thought a moment, before shaking his head no.
"Ok, we'll let you know."
The prefects stood, and quickly left the lounge, to share with friend the news of a dance.
Lily had her back turned toward the door, and James. She didn't know that he had stayed. When she turned around she was face to face with James, and nearly jumped out of her skin.
"My god! You scared me!" She said clutching her chest.
"So, are we going to talk about the dance?" he asked, with a grin.
"Um.Not now, I'm too tired, as you saw before the others came." She raised a hand to her face to brush an errant strand of hair away from her eyes.
He felt his eyes follow her hand up to the strand of hair, and linger on her hair, even after she'd dropped her hand. He was transfixed by the many colors were intertwined in her hair, weaving in and out of each other, in the fire light. There was orange, like the hue of pumpkin juice, gold, scarlet, and red.
He tore his eyes away from her hair, and brought them down to her face. Which was equally entrancing, and listened to what she was saying.
"How about tomorrow, after the last class of the day, in the library, or wherever," she added the last part thinking that it was too public for them to be seen together.
"That's fine," he said, turned to leave, when he stalled, and turned back around.
"Lily?" he asked.
"Hmm?" she replied, from by the fire, the gold in her hair standing out amongst the many hues of red.
"Why don't you want to go to the dance?" He asked very fast.
She turned to look at him. "Well..you're going to laugh."
"No I won't," he said, clutching the doorframe.
"In my opinion, dances cause more pain. Can you imagine, going with someone that you like, but doesn't like you back, or someone playing a huge prank on you? I don't know, everytime I think about attending a dance, I feel like I'm subjecting myself to people that perpetually dislike me, I just feel uncomfortable, out of place, and unwanted." She admitted with difficulty.
"But you're not! You're wanted!" James argued, looking at her shocked.
"James, I'm not from the same circle of friends that you are, things are a bit different for May and myself." She said sadly, looking deeply at the carpeting. "Of course your wanted, you're the most popular guy in the whole school, you have everything, that I don't, you have it all, friends, people that love you, I'm the opposite, I have May and my parents, that's all I have." She finished looking up to gage his expression.
"You have friends that love you! May, Myself, Sirius, Remus! Aren't we your friends?"
"James." Lily started. "Why would you want to be friends with me?" she asked curiously.
"Why wouldn't I want to?" he asked, confusion lining his features. "You're a great person, a caring, intellectual person, who deserves all the friends, and happiness she can get."
Lily sighed, and began to walk past James to leave the overly stuffy room; the fire had grown unbearably hot.
James grabbed her wrist. "Are you going to Hogsmead with us?"
Lily looked up at him. "No," she said with a shake of her head.
"Why not?"
She sighed becoming agitated with the conversation. "Because I don't want too."
"So you won't come with Sirius, Remus, and me?" he asked.
"No, James."
"I don't understand why you won't go."
"You wouldn't." She said sarcastically.
James decided to ignore her comment. "What are you going to do then?"
"Probably something with May." Lily replied.
"Well, you're going to the party afterwards right?" he prodded.
"James! I'm not going anywhere! Okay! I'm only going to the dance because I have too! Bye, I'll talk to you tomorrow." And she fled the room before he could try to persuade her more.
He stood in that spot for moment, frowning. She had given yet another clue, with out even realizing it.
REVIEW PLEASE!!!
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CHAPTER 5: I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE
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The long train ride left Lily and May exhausted. Lily followed May into the quickly filling Great Hall.
"Are you sure you're ok, Lils?" May asked, glancing back at Lily over her shoulder.
Lily rolled her eyes. "Yes, May, I'm fine." She came into step with her best friend.
May nodded, her head still turned in Lily's direction, watching her for any burst of unexpected emotions.
Lily found her way down the long Gryffindor table, and sat down where she normally sat awaiting Dumbledore's speech. May took the seat opposite her, facing her.
"God, I'm beat," May admitted, resting her elbows on the table, and rubbing her tired eyes. Lily didn't doubt her friend, the too girls had been up since 9:30 that morning, and ridden a train for almost five hours, no wonder they were tired. Lily wanted to find a bed and crawl into it, and sleep for two weeks.
All the students coming back from summer break, ignored the two girls, like always, just like they did every year.
"And so it begins." May muttered under her breath, hatred in her eyes, as she watched Alicia and Cindy strut by.
Lily smiled in amusement. May couldn't stand them, and come to think of it she couldn't stand them either.
And so started the year, as always, the girls figured that everything would be the same as it was every year. All friendships will be forgotten as the school year started. Or so they thought.
P.O.V. Change:
The Marauders entered the Great Hall. The students turned around to watch them, but they took no notice. They turned toward Gryffindor table, grinning happily.
"Hey, James!"
"Sirius!"
"Hey guys!" Shouts, from mostly females, followed them as they made their way down the table.
They ignored them, and spotted a head of red hair sitting at the far end of the table, not hearing, or choosing to ignore the shouts. Her back was to them, and they could see May's exhausted face in front of her, she was facing them.
"Wanna sit with them?" James asked, turning to Sirius who was walking closely behind him.
"Yea, sure," Sirius nodded, Remus imitated Sirius's nod as well.
"With Evans and Delfin?" Peter asked nervously.
"Yea..is that a problem?" James asked.
"Well.No I guess not, but what will people think." Peter asked nervously.
The three boys stared at him. "You're an asshole petey." Sirius said shaking his head, and slapping Peter roughly on the back.
James glared, "who cares? If you care about that, then you are small minded, and the Marauders have no use for you."
Remus just looked at him shocked, he didn't know Peter could be such a moron.
Peter nodded nervously. "Ok then," he squeaked.
They looked at him for a few minutes, before turning, and heading toward the girls.
They came up behind Lily.
May looked up, while talking to Lily, and instantly stilled, her talk forgotten. Her eyes narrowed. She wasn't stupid, this was when they would tell them that they couldn't be seen in public together, or that they even know who they are. She immediately put her guards up.
Lily who had noticed her friend's gaze, and her abrupt discourse of conversation, stiffened. She knew that look; it was the look May used when she anticipated pain.
Lily felt someone sit down next to her, and stiffened, afraid to look next to her. 'Who would sit next to her? In public?' she wondered.
She risked a glance at the person, and nearly fell out of her seat. One of the most popular guys in school had situated himself in the seat next to her, it was James. He smiled at her, before picking up his napkin, and placing it over his lap. She didn't expect this at all. She looked behind her, and saw the other three guys from the most popular group in school, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. What were they doing sitting next to them? She didn't like it, it didn't feel right, this must be some kind of cruel joke.
Remus smiled, and sat on the other side of Lily, while Sirius took a seat across from her, next to May, and Peter sat on the other side of James.
"Hello," James said smiling to Lily, "mind if we sit with you?"
She looked at him in awe, her eyes bulging in genuine surprise. Was he actually going to sit, and eat with them? She shared a bewildered look with May, who raised her eyebrows.
As people filled the halls, they glanced in the direction of the six sitting at the table. Whispers broke out across the hall. Lily was the first to notice this, and blushed. She, and bent her head over her plate, trying to forget what was happening. Why were they doing this?
May heard people talking as they walked past her to get to their respective tables.
"Why are they sitting with them?" One voice said to another.
"Probably some kind of joke." The other replied with a laugh.
May glared at the two girls as they walked by smirking at her and Lily, like they were fools.
Sirius swung his arm around May's shoulders. She immediately stiffened, and looked at him with wide eyes. The whispers became loud, and rushed at this.
"Oh, this will be good." The same girls said, giving each other a high five. May glared at them, until they got the hint, and went to their own table.
"Why are you guys sitting here?" May hissed quietly, so no one heard, besides Lily and the Marauders. She lifted her hand, to remove Sirius's from her shoulders.
They all looked at her, their faces confused.
"We wanted too," Sirius said, as if it was obvious.
The headmaster raising his hand for silence silenced them. The Great Hall fell silent, a few people sending them questioning glances, causing May to be uncomfortable, and Lily to become highly embarrassed.
"First off, welcome back to Hogwarts for a new, and exciting year. To all first years, and some select few seventh years," his eyes lingered on the Marauders before continuing. "The Forbidden Forest, is exactly that, Forbidden. Also, no one, I repeat no one, is to go near the Whomping Willow, unless you want to be severely injured, or brutally killed. Also, the prefect meeting will be held right after dinner in the prefect's lounge. Now, on a final note, I'm going to announce the Head Boy and Girl." Lily turned beat red, and looked at the table.
"What's wrong?" James whispered.
"Nothing." Her breathing was growing heavy, and her face had grown paler.
May smiled at her, and gave her a thumbs up.
"Our new Head Boy is James Potter."
James stood up. The hall erupted in cheers. From every table, save the Slytherins, people cheered, and eagerly waited to find out who the head girl was.
"And finally, our Head girl is Lily Evans." The people in the great hall were silent.
'Who was Lily Evans?'
Lily almost forgot to breathe, her palms were cold and clammy, as she stared fixedly at a red stain on the tablecloth. She didn't want to stand up, too embarrassed, but James smiled down at her, and grasped her upper arm, reassuringly, and pulled her up to standing position.
When everyone saw who Lily Evans was, there was also applause, not much at first, until Sirius hollered, and beat his fist on the table. "WHOA! GO LILY!"
"YEA, LILY!" Remus helped out.
The Great Hall erupted into laughter, cheers, and catcalls. Lily blushed, and looked down at Sirius, who winked at her.
"She's in our Herbology class." One Ravenclaw said to another.
"Yea, she's good at charms, best in the class."
"I didn't know she was a prefect."
"She's pretty hot, I've never seen her before." One Hufflepuff said to another.
"Yea, she is, jeez." Was the reply.
"Is she sitting with The Marauders? What a lucky girl!" A Ravenclaw said to her friend.
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When Lily was able too finally sit down, her face almost blending in with her hair. Sirius laughed at her face, but May gave him a glare, before turning to Lily.
"You ok?" May asked looking at her friend.
"Yea, I think so."
Just then, Amos Diggory, a Hufflepuff, known for his good looks and charms came up behind Lily, and tapped her on the shoulder. She stiffened.
James who was sitting next to her looked over his shoulder, frowning, Diggory was tapping Lily on the shoulder, she visibly went stiff.
"Lily? Congratulations on making head girl." He said with a smile. Lily's eyes widened.
"Thanks," she whispered.
He walked away, looking over his shoulder once to glance her way one last time.
She quickly turned away, wanting to scream. She'd never had this much attention, and she hated it! And it was all because of the Marauders, and becoming Head Girl, she wanted to go back to normal.
She stood up, and looked at May across the table. May got the hint, and stood up with her.
"Where are you going?" Remus asked, looking up from his plate.
"Um.I'm going to the prefects meeting, she's going to the Common Room." Lily replied.
"Lily, dinners not over yet." James said frowning.
"I know.but.I'll see ya there ok?"
James looked at her funny, but nodded anyway.
When they had gotten out of the Great Hall, Lily turned to May.
"Why is this happening?" Lily asked. "What are they trying to do? Do they really want to be our friend? Or What?"
"I don't know Lily. But I'll find out. We won't get hurt. I won't let them hurt us." She swung her arm around Lily's shoulders, and hugged her closest friend.
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Lily walked into the Prefects lounge by herself, and sat down in the large armchair by the fire. The fire had been set by the house elfs, and she soaked in the warmth it provided.
The chair was so comfortable, she felt like she sank into its comfort. She raised her legs underneath her, and rested her head on the headrest staring tiredly into the flames. Her eyes grew heavy, to the point she couldn't hold them open. She temporarily forgot that she was waiting for a meeting to start, or for Professor Dumbledore to come by with the plans for the year. The heat of the fire, and the comfort of the chair, mixed with fatigue from the long ride caused the exhausted girl to fall asleep. The fire dancing merrily behind her filled the room with a dim warm light.
CHANGE IN POV:
When dinner was finally over, James was eager see Lily. He followed Sirius, Remus, and Peter out of the Hall, and left them at the prefect's lounge.
He said the password, and slipped into the door. No body was there yet. A fire was dancing merrily in the fireplace. There was a large green velvet chair next to the fireplace, the back facing him. On the armrest, he noticed glowing red hair fanned out on the fabric. It was beautiful, the light illuminated the red locks, making it look as though her hair was lined with gold. He smiled to himself, and moved farther into her room, making sure the door was closed tightly behind him.
He moved on the other side of the chair she was occupying, and smiled. She was beautiful, and she probably didn't even know it. She was curled up on the large green armchair. Her lips partly open, and her breathing was light. The discomfort that he'd seen at dinner was replaced with utmost relaxation. This is what he wanted her to look at him with, her face was beautiful. Her beautiful red hair was falling over the armrest. His hand itched to reach over and touch it. He wanted to run his fingers over it's silky softness.
His stomach did a somersault, surprising him. He'd never had these kinds of thoughts about a girl, like touching her hair, or having her look at him. It made him uncomfortable, yet satisfied at the same time. He couldn't explain it.
He began to hear footsteps coming closer to the prefect's lounge, and immediately knelt in front of Lily, and shook her gently awake.
"Lils? Lils? Come on wake up." James said, pushing a silky strand of hair away from her face. His hand lingered there for a moment, until her bright emerald eyes fluttered open. He dropped his hand to his side quickly. She stared at him momentarily, before confusion, and fright lined her pretty face.
She sat straight up.
"You fell asleep." James said smirking, as he was still kneeling on the floor.
"Oh my god, thanks for waking me up, how embarrassing!" she moaned, and began to turn red. James smiled at the flush in her cheeks, he thought it cute.
The door was flung open, and all the prefects walked in. James stood up straight, and glanced at Lily who was still sitting on the couch rubbing sleep from her eyes.
"Ok what are we doing this year?" Kayla Rebbons of Ravenclaw asked as she sat down on the couch opposite Lily. "Let's make this quick, before I fall asleep right here."
Lily blushed.
"Well we don't know yet, we're waiting for Dumbledore." James said back.
As all the prefects filled into the large room, Professor Dumbledore poked his head in and glanced around for James and Lily.
"Miss Evans and Mr. Potter, please follow me." Lily stood up tiredly and followed James slowly out of the portrait hole.
They closed the door behind them, and stood in silence side by side, waiting for Professor Dumbledore to say something.
"This year, the staff and I agreed on two fun days in the year. They will be Hogsmead for the day, and a party, not to wild in the evening."
James grinned; this was his kind of thing. Lily just nodded. She would help set it up, and make it look nice, but she wouldn't go, that's what she did when she was a prefect, that would probably work of the head girl.
"There will also be a formal Ball at Christmas time. Now this means that you have to find a band, and assign people to decorations." Lily and James nodded.
"And both of you will have to attend, the head boy and girl open the dance."
Lily groaned loudly at this. "But Professor, is there a way I can help out, without having to attend?" Lily asked.
James turned to her in shock. "You don't want to go?"
"No," Lily replied curtly, looking pleadingly at Professor Dumbledore.
"I'm sorry Miss Evans, but you have to attend," he smiled at her.
She frowned. "Well can I at least go by myself, or do I need a partner?" she asked afraid of his answer.
"No, I suppose you can go by yourself."
She gave a small sigh of relief, and turned to go back into the prefect's lounge.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When she was gone, Dumbledore turned to a stunned James.
"She's such a good girl, people don't give her a chance to open up, so she just closed herself out, such a pity." He smiled, and walked away down the corridor.
James stood there and pondered what Lily had just said and what Dumbledore had said. He was given more clues as to who the real Lily Evans was. He was close. He smiled, and opened the portrait.
He walked in too Lily explaining the plans to the Prefects.
"I believe, one of the Hogsmead days will be some time before Christmas, to help you gather gifts, or dress robes for the winter formal." Lily said. The prefects all gasped, mainly the girls, while the boys moaned. Lily waited patiently for the whispers of who's going with who died down. "And the second Hogsmead day will be sometime in the spring so it's spaced out. Is that all right with you James? I'm sorry I didn't asked you before," She smiled at sympathetically.
"That's great, exactly what I was thinking anyway," James answered smiling back.
The prefects all looked at James, and noticed that he was still staring at Lily Evans, even though she had already looked away. It looked like he was trying to figure something out.
"Now about the winter dance, James and I still have to discuss it, so we'll let you know of another prefect's meeting soon. Well, I think this meeting's over? Do you have anything to add James." James thought a moment, before shaking his head no.
"Ok, we'll let you know."
The prefects stood, and quickly left the lounge, to share with friend the news of a dance.
Lily had her back turned toward the door, and James. She didn't know that he had stayed. When she turned around she was face to face with James, and nearly jumped out of her skin.
"My god! You scared me!" She said clutching her chest.
"So, are we going to talk about the dance?" he asked, with a grin.
"Um.Not now, I'm too tired, as you saw before the others came." She raised a hand to her face to brush an errant strand of hair away from her eyes.
He felt his eyes follow her hand up to the strand of hair, and linger on her hair, even after she'd dropped her hand. He was transfixed by the many colors were intertwined in her hair, weaving in and out of each other, in the fire light. There was orange, like the hue of pumpkin juice, gold, scarlet, and red.
He tore his eyes away from her hair, and brought them down to her face. Which was equally entrancing, and listened to what she was saying.
"How about tomorrow, after the last class of the day, in the library, or wherever," she added the last part thinking that it was too public for them to be seen together.
"That's fine," he said, turned to leave, when he stalled, and turned back around.
"Lily?" he asked.
"Hmm?" she replied, from by the fire, the gold in her hair standing out amongst the many hues of red.
"Why don't you want to go to the dance?" He asked very fast.
She turned to look at him. "Well..you're going to laugh."
"No I won't," he said, clutching the doorframe.
"In my opinion, dances cause more pain. Can you imagine, going with someone that you like, but doesn't like you back, or someone playing a huge prank on you? I don't know, everytime I think about attending a dance, I feel like I'm subjecting myself to people that perpetually dislike me, I just feel uncomfortable, out of place, and unwanted." She admitted with difficulty.
"But you're not! You're wanted!" James argued, looking at her shocked.
"James, I'm not from the same circle of friends that you are, things are a bit different for May and myself." She said sadly, looking deeply at the carpeting. "Of course your wanted, you're the most popular guy in the whole school, you have everything, that I don't, you have it all, friends, people that love you, I'm the opposite, I have May and my parents, that's all I have." She finished looking up to gage his expression.
"You have friends that love you! May, Myself, Sirius, Remus! Aren't we your friends?"
"James." Lily started. "Why would you want to be friends with me?" she asked curiously.
"Why wouldn't I want to?" he asked, confusion lining his features. "You're a great person, a caring, intellectual person, who deserves all the friends, and happiness she can get."
Lily sighed, and began to walk past James to leave the overly stuffy room; the fire had grown unbearably hot.
James grabbed her wrist. "Are you going to Hogsmead with us?"
Lily looked up at him. "No," she said with a shake of her head.
"Why not?"
She sighed becoming agitated with the conversation. "Because I don't want too."
"So you won't come with Sirius, Remus, and me?" he asked.
"No, James."
"I don't understand why you won't go."
"You wouldn't." She said sarcastically.
James decided to ignore her comment. "What are you going to do then?"
"Probably something with May." Lily replied.
"Well, you're going to the party afterwards right?" he prodded.
"James! I'm not going anywhere! Okay! I'm only going to the dance because I have too! Bye, I'll talk to you tomorrow." And she fled the room before he could try to persuade her more.
He stood in that spot for moment, frowning. She had given yet another clue, with out even realizing it.
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