(A/N Sorry about the delay! I was having surgery on my foot, and I cannot keep my head up until like a week after those meds.)
(A/N Ok, if you were wondering about the whole 'full moon tomorrow' thing that Jennifer Harris mentioned, the full moon isn't for about a week, Jennifer is simply completely inept at reading a lunar chart)
Lily pointed her wand at the statue of Hades that guarded the Slytherin Common Room entrance. "Misendio!" She whispered, and the Statue stepped aside.
As the group entered the room, Sirius posed the question most had. "How did you do that without the password?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "Standard book of spells, Auror Training. It's a spell that lets you confuse the statue, well, more accurately it makes the guardian of an entrance idolize whoever casts the spell on it, I could even change the password if I so wished."
Kaleb quickly broke the reverie and dictated assignments. "Pettigrew, stand out here and send a Silent Color Change charm up the stairs if you hear anything. Remus, you and Sirius go up and change all of Malfoy's robes into dresses, but use a timing charm so it'll take exactly nine and a half hours until the change occurs, so he'll be sitting down at breakfast when it happens. I'll take care of the socks, Lils, you and Potter work on the hair. Ok, everyone?"
The group split up and went their separate ways, Remus and Sirius having entirely too much fun with the "designing" of each dress/atrocity. Kaleb set to work on the socks, working out the details down to the exact pitch and accent of the voice.
Lily, on the other hand, was torn between wanting to strangle Kaleb for leaving her with Potter, and loving her for doing it. 'Oh admit it, he's hot.' Never one to lie to herself, Lily responded to her inner voice, 'Of course he is, I've got eyes. That doesn't mean I enjoy his company or anything, just his…aesthetic appeal.'
"Lionne, how do we make the orange bright but permanent? I mean, just making his hair orange is easy, Pelicus Mendria, but how to we make it so that he can't change it before breakfast?" James' voice was hushed, and as it was a whisper, his voice was inadvertently husky, which had a surprising effect on Lily's knees.
"All you have to do is say Omnius Pelicus Mendria." Lily replied, deliberately lowering her voice a tad to make it sound inadvertently seductive, as if in retaliation.
Lily couldn't hide the smirk that came to her face at his reaction. James' face flushed slightly, and he coughed, to break the silence. "Shall we, Jamie?"
James smiled, and they both raised their wands. "Omnius Pelicus Mendria!" And instantly Malfoy's hair began to change to a brilliant orange color.
Their grins were infectious, and the whole group wore them as they exited the common room.
Lily smirks and lifts her arms gracefully. "Praise me!"
Kaleb rolled her eyes. "Lily, my love, sometimes you worry me."
"Glad to hear it, love." Lily laughed.
"That, Lils, Kaleb, was bloody brilliant!" Remus exclaimed, amber eyes lit up like they were on fire.
"I think the test run was successful, don't you, Padfoot?" James said, smiling at the pair.
"Most definitely, Mr. Prongs." Sirius said, with the air of one making an important announcement.
"Glad to see we meet your expectations." Lily drawled, suddenly back in her calm, cold demeanor.
"Most definitely." Sirius beamed, ignoring Lily's tone.
The group was nearing the common room when Sirius suddenly let out a sound of long-suffering indignation. Having paused and turned to see what was the matter, Lily and James soon found themselves in a small, dark broom closet.
Lily's voice was the first to be heard through the oak. "Sirius Polaris Black! Open this door this INSTANT or I swear to high heaven that I will banish something a BIT more dear to you than even your hair!"
Sheepishly, Sirius opened the door. "Sorry guys…accio!"
Both James and Lily's wands flew from their hands, into Sirius'. "Ta kids! Have fun!"
In the corridor, Kaleb was looking immensely amused. "Now now Mr. Black. What was that all about?"
"Haven't you ever wondered what would happen if they were forced to spend a day together?" Sirius grinned.
"Either the world would implode for their sheer stubbornness, or they would end up killing one another."
"Or, they just might fall madly in love." Remus suggested, grinning at the closed door.
Sirius paused, mid-stride. "Wait a moment…how did Lily know my middle name was Polaris?"
Inside the closet Lily let out a frustrated sigh. "Ugh! This does NOT bode well." She slumped against the back wall of the….suspiciously empty…broom closet.
"They have to let us out eventually, people will worry if we aren't in classes on Monday. Or...at the very latest Wednesday. " James said, in an offhand manner.
"How can you be calm about this? Its dark, its enclosed, its small, you're in here with someone you don't even know, and we don't have our wands!" Lily said, almost frantically.
James' grin was invisible as the pair's eyes had yet to become used to the dark. "You're claustrophobic, aren't you!" The laugh in his voice was undeniable.
"Yes!" She hissed, curling in on herself, trying to become as small as possible.
"Come here." James reached for her and pulled her to him, so that her back was against his chest, and she wouldn't see him as an added barrier. "Calm down, Lionne."
Her breathing slowed and she relaxed against him, instinctively reaching for his hand, as she had her father's when he comforted her. Father…that was a painful thought.
"I can't believe Kaleb hasn't let us out, at the very least me! She knows I'm claustrophobic." Lily huffed.
"How long have you and Kaleb known each other?" James said, mostly to get Lily's mind off of the enclosed space.
"Ever since the first day of Hogwarts. Jennifer Harris had been simply accepted as the Queen of our year, and she walked right up to me, looked me over once, and labeled me as a freak. I decided that the next person she labeled I would try my damnedest to befriend, and she walked up to Kaleb and did the same thing. So in a way I suppose I have Harris to thank for introducing me to the best person I've ever known." Lily said, smiling at the memory.
"Jennifer has a way of labeling people she doesn't even know." James agreed.
"Well, Potter, so do you." Lily said, mildly surprised he hadn't realized.
"What?"
"Almost everyone does. People feel the need to categorize others. They need to be able to look at someone and say "Nerd/Popular/Goth/Jock/Geek/Freak" and think that they know everything about that person. I think that it scares people like Jennifer to think that people are more complicated than what label they give them. I mean, if you were to go up to Harris and say 'Tell me about Evans.' She would look at you strangely for a moment, and then say" Here Lily donned a high, whiny voice, "'She is such a freak, she dresses, like, way weird.' And that would be it for her. She thinks she knows me." Lily explained.
James found himself agreeing with her, and wondering how many people he had judged and put aside without knowing.
"Do you think that anyone truly knows anyone else?" James asked. "I mean, I know Remus and Sirius and Peter better than anyone else that I've come across, but they don't know everything about me, and I don't know everything about them. I don't know what they think about when we aren't pranking."
"I think that if it comes to the point where, when your friend has a nightmare, all you have to do is look at them and know what it was that scared them so, that you truly know someone. If when you're all alone, you know exactly what your friend would be thinking or saying at that moment, then you know someone. That's the way I know Kaleb, that's the way she knows me. I can almost hear her right now." Lily smiled, comforted by the thought of her best friend.
James subconsciously tightened his grip on Lily, deigning her truly remarkable.
(A/N Ok, if you were wondering about the whole 'full moon tomorrow' thing that Jennifer Harris mentioned, the full moon isn't for about a week, Jennifer is simply completely inept at reading a lunar chart)
Lily pointed her wand at the statue of Hades that guarded the Slytherin Common Room entrance. "Misendio!" She whispered, and the Statue stepped aside.
As the group entered the room, Sirius posed the question most had. "How did you do that without the password?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "Standard book of spells, Auror Training. It's a spell that lets you confuse the statue, well, more accurately it makes the guardian of an entrance idolize whoever casts the spell on it, I could even change the password if I so wished."
Kaleb quickly broke the reverie and dictated assignments. "Pettigrew, stand out here and send a Silent Color Change charm up the stairs if you hear anything. Remus, you and Sirius go up and change all of Malfoy's robes into dresses, but use a timing charm so it'll take exactly nine and a half hours until the change occurs, so he'll be sitting down at breakfast when it happens. I'll take care of the socks, Lils, you and Potter work on the hair. Ok, everyone?"
The group split up and went their separate ways, Remus and Sirius having entirely too much fun with the "designing" of each dress/atrocity. Kaleb set to work on the socks, working out the details down to the exact pitch and accent of the voice.
Lily, on the other hand, was torn between wanting to strangle Kaleb for leaving her with Potter, and loving her for doing it. 'Oh admit it, he's hot.' Never one to lie to herself, Lily responded to her inner voice, 'Of course he is, I've got eyes. That doesn't mean I enjoy his company or anything, just his…aesthetic appeal.'
"Lionne, how do we make the orange bright but permanent? I mean, just making his hair orange is easy, Pelicus Mendria, but how to we make it so that he can't change it before breakfast?" James' voice was hushed, and as it was a whisper, his voice was inadvertently husky, which had a surprising effect on Lily's knees.
"All you have to do is say Omnius Pelicus Mendria." Lily replied, deliberately lowering her voice a tad to make it sound inadvertently seductive, as if in retaliation.
Lily couldn't hide the smirk that came to her face at his reaction. James' face flushed slightly, and he coughed, to break the silence. "Shall we, Jamie?"
James smiled, and they both raised their wands. "Omnius Pelicus Mendria!" And instantly Malfoy's hair began to change to a brilliant orange color.
Their grins were infectious, and the whole group wore them as they exited the common room.
Lily smirks and lifts her arms gracefully. "Praise me!"
Kaleb rolled her eyes. "Lily, my love, sometimes you worry me."
"Glad to hear it, love." Lily laughed.
"That, Lils, Kaleb, was bloody brilliant!" Remus exclaimed, amber eyes lit up like they were on fire.
"I think the test run was successful, don't you, Padfoot?" James said, smiling at the pair.
"Most definitely, Mr. Prongs." Sirius said, with the air of one making an important announcement.
"Glad to see we meet your expectations." Lily drawled, suddenly back in her calm, cold demeanor.
"Most definitely." Sirius beamed, ignoring Lily's tone.
The group was nearing the common room when Sirius suddenly let out a sound of long-suffering indignation. Having paused and turned to see what was the matter, Lily and James soon found themselves in a small, dark broom closet.
Lily's voice was the first to be heard through the oak. "Sirius Polaris Black! Open this door this INSTANT or I swear to high heaven that I will banish something a BIT more dear to you than even your hair!"
Sheepishly, Sirius opened the door. "Sorry guys…accio!"
Both James and Lily's wands flew from their hands, into Sirius'. "Ta kids! Have fun!"
In the corridor, Kaleb was looking immensely amused. "Now now Mr. Black. What was that all about?"
"Haven't you ever wondered what would happen if they were forced to spend a day together?" Sirius grinned.
"Either the world would implode for their sheer stubbornness, or they would end up killing one another."
"Or, they just might fall madly in love." Remus suggested, grinning at the closed door.
Sirius paused, mid-stride. "Wait a moment…how did Lily know my middle name was Polaris?"
Inside the closet Lily let out a frustrated sigh. "Ugh! This does NOT bode well." She slumped against the back wall of the….suspiciously empty…broom closet.
"They have to let us out eventually, people will worry if we aren't in classes on Monday. Or...at the very latest Wednesday. " James said, in an offhand manner.
"How can you be calm about this? Its dark, its enclosed, its small, you're in here with someone you don't even know, and we don't have our wands!" Lily said, almost frantically.
James' grin was invisible as the pair's eyes had yet to become used to the dark. "You're claustrophobic, aren't you!" The laugh in his voice was undeniable.
"Yes!" She hissed, curling in on herself, trying to become as small as possible.
"Come here." James reached for her and pulled her to him, so that her back was against his chest, and she wouldn't see him as an added barrier. "Calm down, Lionne."
Her breathing slowed and she relaxed against him, instinctively reaching for his hand, as she had her father's when he comforted her. Father…that was a painful thought.
"I can't believe Kaleb hasn't let us out, at the very least me! She knows I'm claustrophobic." Lily huffed.
"How long have you and Kaleb known each other?" James said, mostly to get Lily's mind off of the enclosed space.
"Ever since the first day of Hogwarts. Jennifer Harris had been simply accepted as the Queen of our year, and she walked right up to me, looked me over once, and labeled me as a freak. I decided that the next person she labeled I would try my damnedest to befriend, and she walked up to Kaleb and did the same thing. So in a way I suppose I have Harris to thank for introducing me to the best person I've ever known." Lily said, smiling at the memory.
"Jennifer has a way of labeling people she doesn't even know." James agreed.
"Well, Potter, so do you." Lily said, mildly surprised he hadn't realized.
"What?"
"Almost everyone does. People feel the need to categorize others. They need to be able to look at someone and say "Nerd/Popular/Goth/Jock/Geek/Freak" and think that they know everything about that person. I think that it scares people like Jennifer to think that people are more complicated than what label they give them. I mean, if you were to go up to Harris and say 'Tell me about Evans.' She would look at you strangely for a moment, and then say" Here Lily donned a high, whiny voice, "'She is such a freak, she dresses, like, way weird.' And that would be it for her. She thinks she knows me." Lily explained.
James found himself agreeing with her, and wondering how many people he had judged and put aside without knowing.
"Do you think that anyone truly knows anyone else?" James asked. "I mean, I know Remus and Sirius and Peter better than anyone else that I've come across, but they don't know everything about me, and I don't know everything about them. I don't know what they think about when we aren't pranking."
"I think that if it comes to the point where, when your friend has a nightmare, all you have to do is look at them and know what it was that scared them so, that you truly know someone. If when you're all alone, you know exactly what your friend would be thinking or saying at that moment, then you know someone. That's the way I know Kaleb, that's the way she knows me. I can almost hear her right now." Lily smiled, comforted by the thought of her best friend.
James subconsciously tightened his grip on Lily, deigning her truly remarkable.