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Green Eyed Monster

By: Noelle

Chapter 18: The Plot Thickens…

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Disclaimer: I do not own Lily Evans, James Potter, Sirius Black, and any of the recognizable characters. I do own Ella Reichman though. I do not own the recognizable places, such as Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. J.K. and Warner Brothers have the right to the Harry Potter universe, and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

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Ella was exhausted. She hadn't done her Transfiguration homework, so she tore it up, and attempted to blame it on Kettleburn's beasts. However, Professor McGonagall professionally noted that Care of Magical Creature classes had been cancelled for two weeks, after a freak flobberworm accident, and that the paper had been assigned only three days ago. Ella spent two and a half hours in the Trophy Room.

And then, she had two hours of homework. Her hand hurt so bad, from writer's cramp.

And to top it all off, all she heard about all day was Sirius Black's 'hot date' with Anna Hopkins. It was the only thing that anyone could talk about. It was as if the population of Hogwarts believed that the world and the sun revolved around Sirius Black. And he had only said that he loved her two days ago!

Ella was ready to collapse. She slowly trudged her way up the stairs. Each step took more energy than the last. Finally, she reached the dormitory. She opened the door…

And her jaw dropped.

The room was a vision of white -- white orchids, that is. Hundred and hundreds of orchids were scattered around the room. Some were in vases, and some were just piled on the floor. A banner flew over the perfumed mass -- 'I Love You Ella!' it read.

Ella felt the tears welling up in her eyes. Furiously, she incinerated the banner. She didn't find it in her heart to incinerate the flowers. "Movere!" she cried out, as the flowers disappeared. Sirius would find them later.

"What are you doing, Ella?" Natalie asked tentatively. "I thought it was romantic… Aren't orchids your favorite flowers?"

Holding back her tears, Ella bit her lip. "Yes, they are. And you know, it would be romantic. It would be romantic if Sirius Black wasn't going on a date with Anna Hopkins on Saturday night."

"Oh, El…" Natalie's voice was apologetic. "Why don't you just get some sleep. You'll feel better in the morning."

"Really?" Ella asked. "I thought my heart would feel like this permanently."

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"Can I sit here?"

Lily looked up from her book, and tried her best not to frown. James Potter. "I don't see why not, Mr. Potter. You are free to do as you choose…"

James took the opportunity. He sat down across from Lily, smiling slightly. "Not 'Mr. Potter'. I'm James. I insist."

"Then I guess you can call me Lily…"

"That's a good book, Lily," James said, nodding.

Lily set her book down. "You've read it?"

"Three, maybe four times. I love it more each time though. The ending is fabulous. Very romantic too. I guess that's just me though… I'm very in tune to my feelings." James grinned.

"The prince is killed in the end… James. If you want to discuss a book, perhaps you should read it first." Lily grinned back, mockingly.

Letting the mockery slide, James continued on. "I didn't come here to talk about books. Lily, I came to discuss the birds, and the bees…" James winked, in what he believed was a roguish manner. Lily thought he looked sick.

"I'm sorry, but I have somewhere else to be. Perhaps we can discuss birds and bees at a different time -- if I may suggest, I think that you should perhaps do some reading…" Lily put her book into her satchel.

"So," James said, standing up. "Where are you going?"

Lily answered, "Actually, I have a meeting with Professor Dumbledore, and then I am going to go to dinner."

"Really? I'm going to dinner too. Later. Maybe I'll see you there?" James said, hopefully.

"I would assume so," Lily said, "since we see each other every night at dinner. Are you all right, Mr… er… James?"

James shook his head. "Oh… I'm fine. I guess I've been acting strangely. Er… you see, Remus' mother is ill again. He's leaving on Saturday, to be with her."

"It's nice that you're worried about your friend's mother. Tell Remus that I hope that his mother gets well soon."

"All right. So, I guess I'll see you at dinner…"

"Bye James."

"Bye Lily."

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"Is the coast clear, Peter?"

Peter munched noisily on his Chocolate Frog. "Aye Aye, Roger!" he yelled, bringing up his hand, to salute Sirius.

Rolling his eyes, Sirius looked around. "All right then. So, the transformation will take place on Saturday night. Remus will be in the Shrieking Shack. Now, we have to be much more discreet -- Dumbledore may be catching on. So, at around 5:30, James will go up to his bed, claiming a headache. It's nothing so major that he would have to go to the Hospital Wing. He'll just 'sleep' it off. At 7:00, he'll fly out the window, and to the Whomping Willow. At around 6:00, Peter will begin to look for his toad, who had gone missing earlier. You will leave the Gryffindor Common Room at approximately 6:30. You are to be at the Whomping Willow at 7:00, in your form. Now, I am supposed to be on a date with Anna Hopkins, according to the general population of Hogwarts. I told her that I was pulling a prank, and I needed her as an alibi. So, on our way back tommorow morning, we have to pull a prank. I will meet you all at the Whomping Willow. At 7:00, Peter will push the knot. We will meet you, Remus, and then exit. We will from there go to the Forbidden Forest -- it's a lot safer. Does everyone understand the plan?"

"Aye Aye, Roger!" Peter shouted happily.

James rolled his eyes. "Now for the prank… I think that we should sneak into the Hufflepuff Common Room again. This time, though, we'll turn all the furniture into badgers."

"And I think," Sirius said, "that we should sneak into the Slytherin Common Room, and turn the furniture into snakes. So, we'll do both…"

Vanessa sunk deeper into the shadows, in her hiding spot, as the Marauders continued planning. She knew that something was strange -- like clockwork, every month the four would disappear. And while she still wasn't sure about what was going on, she didn't care. She'd let Severus Snape find that out.

And she would finally have her revenge.

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A/N: Hey all! In the next chapter, we'll see the infamous Year 5 incident. You all know what's coming… We'll also see the aftermath. This chapter is a little short, but it's setting up the scene… Thanks for reading!

On a side note. If you want to know when the story is updated, just send me an email, and I'll put you on the private mailing list. You get notified as soon as the chapter is posted.

Lastly… I know that everyone wants something bad to happen to Vanessa. Now, I'm up for just about anything, short of death. So, if you have any ideas, email me!

~Noelle

Luckie7n13@aol.com