Chapter 4-I'm Not Anybody's Girl
***
But I'm not Anybody's Girl
That's how it's gonna be
Can't tell me what to do or say or who to be
And the only one I'll ever answer to is me...
***
The next morning when everyone met up in the Great Hall for breakfast, Lily and James sat in their usual places in front of each other. The only new development was the two were glaring at each other with a renewed fire. this went on until Mid-October.
"Attention, everyone," Dumbledore stood, clapping his hands. "After numerous requests, your professors and I have consented to a Halloween Ball. It will be a formal masquerade. Please dress elaborately, with a mask to cover your face.. There will be an unmasking ceremony at Midnight on the night of the ball.
"When you enter the Great Hall, the boys with no partners will form a line on the left, and the girls on the right. You will be partnered by your place in line. Your partner will be yours until the end of the night. The ball is for fourth years and up, all younger years will be joining in an early Halloween feast at six o'clock, and then going to their respective common rooms for other Halloween festivities. With a signed pass from a teacher, all students eligible for the ball will be able to attend Hogsmeade at any time when they are not in classes.
Tuck in!"
Whisperers erupted from the girls, telling of costume ideas, even though it was against the rules.
"Siri," purred a girl Lily only slightly knew, from Hufflepuff, of course, where most of members of the Marauder 'Fan Club' were located. What was her name?? Alicia?? No...Alaina!
"Siri, do you want to go to the masquerade with me??" she batted her lashes.
"No, Siri, remember, you promised to go to the next ball with me!" whined another girl.
"Sirius, what about me??"
And on and on and on it went, until Sirius shot a pleading look in Lorrena's direction.
"Help," he mouthed.
Lorrena rolled her eyes, and placed a hand gently on top of Sirius', and said, "Sorry, girls, he's already promised me a date...though, I'm not sure if I want him..."
The girls quickly scurried away, slightly depressed. Lorrena wasn't a girl easy to compete with. (a/n: no, not a Mary Sue! She's based on me only with the Polish/Spanish/Italian/Puerto-Rican/Columbian-Latin Flavah, baby!-, and the attitude kinda, and dark hair and blue eyes, but I'm FAR from pretty) Yes, she was pretty, but it was her kind, but fun personality everyone liked.
"Once again, you owe me Black!"
Even more girls were surrounding James, asking him to the Ball, sitting on his lap...when he said something that caught Lily's attention.
"Sorry, girls, Lily's going with me," again, the girls groaned. Lily was easily one of the most beautiful girls in Hogwarts, and not worth even trying to compete with.
"Potter, we've been through this. I'm not going anywhere with you. It's not that I don't like you as a friend, okay, so I don't, but anyway, It's the fact that you're such a bloody pig! You're rude and insensitive, and you just hate being denied!" Lily picked up her bag and stomped out of the Great Hall.
Sitting down at the potions' table, which she still, unfortunately, shared with Potter. 'He's such a bloody git! I can't believe him, the arse...'
"Go to the ball with me," James interrupted her thoughts, standing tall next to her.
"No!" Lily exclaimed, and a frustrated look crossed his face, as he went around to sit down.
He passed her another note, written in his elegant script,
"You're going to the ball with me," it said.
Lily replied quickly, "For the last bloody time, No!"
"Why not??"
"Potter, we've been through this many, many times. Do I honestly need to repeat myself??"
"Honestly?? No, it's just fun to see you worked up."
"I hate you, Potter."
"I love you too, Evans. So why won't you go out with me?? I mean, like I said back at the greenhouse, you should be thinking of it as an honor to even be considered by me!"
"Potter, we'll talk after class, I have to pay attention, and so should you!"
"Worried about me now, eh??"
"No, I just don't want to get stuck with another detention with you."
"Fine, but you better not run off again."
After the hourglass ran out of sand, Lily rushed out of the dungeons, hoping Potter forgot her promise to talk.
'Yeah, Right," she thought, as Potter came up behind her and grabbed her arm, pulling her around to face him.
"So??" Potter asked expectantly.
"So what??"
"Lily, you know what I want to know," James said, running his hands through his hair.
Reaching up to pull his hand down, Lily said, "Take a look at your note, and tell me what you think." She pulled out a note handed it to him. Potter's eyes quickly glanced over the note, and he looked up with a bored and confused expression.
"What about it??"
"Don't you see anything wrong??" James shook his head, and Lily took the note from him, pointing to a section, and reading aloud:
"'You should be thinking of it as an honor to even be considered by me,"'
"See James, this is why. Maybe, just maybe if you'd ask me, I'd consider you!"
"So, would you??" James fidgeted.
"Would I what??"
"Go to Hogsmeade with me, and then to the masquerade??" James looked extremely uncomfortable..
Lily gave a small smile, and said, "I'll think about it..." and walked off, a grin daring to spread across her face.
After staring after Lily, with a shocked expression of disbelief, James turned to the stone wall and punched it.
"Bloody Hell!" James yelled, nursing his hand.
"Jamesie, Jamesie, Jamesie, what did you do now??" Sirius and Remus came up behind him.
"Don't ask..."
"Come on, we're going to play some Quidditch, come out with us and summon your broom," suggested Remus.
"Good idea, maybe it'll get my mind off that bloody vixen..."
***
Out on the Pitch...
***
"Hey, Padfoot! You want me to let out a bludger??" Remus called from the ground.
"Yeah, Moony, let it out," answered Sirius.
"And get your arse up here!" James yelled.
Remus let out the bludger, and quickly flew up into the air. The three were playing a game with the bludger, all armed with bats, smashing it back and forth between themselves.
"Coming your way, Prongs!" Sirius warned, and sent the bludger in James' direction as hard as he could.
But James wasn't paying attention. Misty, Lorrena, Arabella and Lily had come into the bleachers to watch them play, the sight of Lily distracting him.
James heard Sirius' shout too late, and the bludger hit him in the stomach. With the blow causing James to double over and almost pass out from the pain, he began to freefall over 40 feet. If the pain from the sudden impact of the bludger didn't knock him out, the landing almost did.
"James!" Lily screamed, and ran down to the Pitch, followed by the other three girls.
"Oh, Merlin! This is my fault, I distracted him when he should've been paying attention to the game!" Lily fretted.
Lily felt James squeeze her hand, which she surprised even herself by taking hold of.
"No, Lily, not your fault."
"James, thank Merlin, you're alive!"
"I'm alive. Don't worry, I've been worse..." James smiled grimly before his eyes closed and his consciousness drifted off...
***
Two days later in the Hospital Wing...
***
James' eyes fluttered open, and he saw a blurry form of the new -insane, in his opinion- nurse, Madame Pomfrey, hovering over him.
"Oh, good! You're finally awake. Are you in any pain??" she asked.
"Not really, unless I move or breathe the least bit," James groaned.
"Oh, alright. That's good."
This woman was truly insane!
"Here, drink this," she handed him a potion, and he drank the vile-tasting liquid, although the ending product was no pain at all.
"I should wake up your friend, though she's just fallen asleep. She must really care for you to stay here for the past two days," Madame Pomfrey told him, propping up his pillows, so James could sit up.
James, for the first time, noticed Lily , sleeping in a chair, looking very beautiful with her mouth hanging slightly opened.
He smirked, and held Pomfrey back, and said, "Oh, please. Let me wake her."
James opened a very suspicious looking gift of Bertie Botts- very suspicious, because all the colors James
recognized were the disgusting ones.
'From Padfoot, no doubt," he thought.
James shut his eyes, and plunged his hand into the box, pulling out a bean, green in color, with flecks of red, orange, and yellow, and threw it towards Lily.
'Damn it, I missed." Again, he stuck his hand in the box, pulling out another disgusting flavor. James missed many times, until he randomly picked out a red and gold colored bean.
"Ah, my lucky bean!" He thought. Red Jalapeno dipped in lemon chiffon.
James aimed carefully, and threw the bean, landing it in Lily's mouth.
She quickly woke up, sputtering. "That was disgusting! What was that??" she yelled.
"Wouldn't you like to know??"
"You know, I should be telling you off right now but-" Her eyes got wide as she realized that it was James
she was talking to, and he was conscious.
"You're okay!" she shouted, and ran to James, throwing her arms around him.
"Of course I'm okay. Why are you making such a big deal out of this??"
"You nearly died, you git!"
"You said my name," James said, out of no where.
"When?" Lily asked, skeptically.
"Out on the pitch..."
"No, I didn't."
"Yes, you did."
"Okay, fine, I did. Happy now??"
"For now."
"Yes," Lily said, taking James by surprise.
"Yes what??"
"I'll go to Hogsmeade with you, and then to the ball," elaborated Lily.
"As a friend, or as a date??"
"How about we see if we can survive Hogsmeade as friends, and then we'll see about a date to the ball?"
"Okay," James agreed, "Are you agreeing out of guilt??"
"Actually, I'm admitting that I want to go out of guilt," she replied.
"Oh, like that's much better..."
"Well, if you don't want to go..." Lily turned around, pretending she was about to leave.
"I think I'll manage. When's the next Hogsmeade trip??"
"Right now, actually, but I don't think you're up to it."
"You don't think I'm up to it?? Now, what time is it??"
Lily looked at her watch, and said that it was just a little after ten in the morning.
"How are you going to get past Pomfrey, though??"
"Oh, Poppy!" James called, getting up out of bed.
'Nice abs,' Lily thought, looking at James, wearing only a pair of pajama pants and the bandage wrapped around his upper ribcage. (a/n: Be right back, must wipe chest -er- drool off keyboard)
"Yes, James, dear??"
"Poppy," James said flirtatiously, "You are such a spectacular nurse that I feel well enough to leave the hospital wing. I mean, I couldn't have faired better at St. Mungo's. So, what do you think about letting me get out of the wing today, I could bring you back some chocolate, if you want..." He moved some stray pieces of hair out of his eyes, and running his hand through his hair. It took almost all of Lily's will power not to reach up and pull his hand down.
"Sure, James, go ahead," the young nurse -fresh out of magical medical school- giggled. "Just be careful. And take this potion with you and take it every three hours, downing the whole bottled. It'll refill itself after every dose."
"Thank you again, Poppy."
James put on a shirt quickly, and went to Lily's side. Walking out of the Hospital Wing, hands barely brushing, Lily and James laughed at what just went on in the wing.
"She lets you call her Poppy?? She'd murder any other student!! I think someone's got a crush..." Lily teased.
"Well, Lilykins, do you think you can hold off until we reach a proper broom closet or something of the like??" James teased back.
"James, you git, I meant Pomfrey had a crush on you!" She stopped, and punched him in the shoulder, craning her neck to look up at James' face.
"I know...Hey!! You did it again!" James grinned.
"Did what again?" Lily asked.
"Called me James."
"Yes, but see, immediately afterward, I called you a git, so that counter-acted the first name thing," Lily reasoned.
"You still called me James," he smirked, "What do you think made us hate each other, anyway??"
"Never hated you...just showed extreme dislike. Still do, sort of. This is your one and only chance, so use it well." Lily warned.
"Okay, so what made you show extreme dislike for me??"
"You were -and are- a total prick, who was totally self centered around his own good looks.. I'm giving you a chance to get rid of that image around me."
"You think I'm hott, don't you," James smirked.
"How did you get that out of what I said?" Lily lifted her eyebrows.
'Still can't lift just one,' James noticed.
"You said I had good looks," James ran his hand through his hair, and raised one eyebrow, just for the sake of annoying Lily.
"Uh-I-Gah! Let's just go inside!" Lily was at a loss for words, and by that time, they'd reached Gladrags. She grabbed James' hand, and dragged him inside.
Walking up and down the aisles, James asked, "So, should we shop for matching costumes, or are we still deciding whether or not you want to be my date??"
"Well, unless something drastic happens in the next eleven and a half days, I think I can handle you as my date. One condition though," Lily bargained.
"What's that??" asked James wearily.
"I get to pick the costume set."
"Oh, no. Lily, I have an older sister. I know what kind of things you vixens pick out."
"Come on, nothing too drastic. It's a take it or leave it offer."
"Fine, fine, fine, I'll take it. Just please, don't make me wear anything...I don't know...froofy!"
"Froofy?!" Lily laughed, "Don't worry, I won't pick out something 'froofy!'"
"Let's just pick something out already..."
***
Half and Hour later...
***
"No, Lily. No!" James protested.
"Please?? Just try it on...For me??"
"Lily, come on. You promised!"
"You have a choice between these two costumes and going with me to the ball...or, picking out what you want and going to the ball with that," Lily nodded in the direction of a girl with an obvious wonder-bra, bleached hair, and a giggle that only dogs could here. "Just try it on..."
"Fine, I'll try it on, but nothing definite," James snatched the two hangers the costumes were on, and went into the first dressing room, and Lily went into the next one.
"James, try on the second one we found, first."
Lily donned her matching costume, and walked out, waiting for James.
"Are you almost done??"
"I'm not coming out!"
"It can't be that bad!"
"You're not seeing what I'm seeing!"
"Just get out here, James!"
"Fine," James relented, and came out of the changing room.
Both Lily and James had to work to stifle a laugh.
"You look ridiculous!" James said, laughing at Lily's outfit. She was dressed as a faerie, with a green dress, and ridiculous looking glittery wings. She was surrounded in a magical poof of glitter.
"Me?! You're the one in green tights and a pointy hat with a feather!" Lily snorted.
"So I guess we agree that this one's a no??"
"Yeah," Lily nodded. "Next costume!"
"Damn it, I hoped you forgot about it..."
"Just go!"
***
Five Minutes Later...
***
"You don't call this froofy?!" James pulled at the neckline of his seventeenth century shirt.
"It looks very elegant!"
"You would say that, you look amazing! Me, on the other hand..."
"Look, very sexy," said Lily, winking. She hoped this technique worked.
"You think so??" Haha, like a charm...
"Yes, I do!"
James was wearing a navy top hat, navy tails with a white ruffled under shirt, a navy bowtie, and black trousers. He carried a black walking cane.
Lily was wearing a gown with a gold bodice, and tank-top style sleeves that fell down her shoulders, with a full, navy skirt. She also had on navy elbow length gloves.
"So can we get it??" Lily batted her eyelashes at James' reflection in the mirror he was admiring himself in.
"Who are we supposed to be again??"
"Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy from 'Pride and Prejudice."
"Fine... but next we go to Honeydukes!" James said, paying for his costume.
"Just what I was planning, James," Lily took his hand and they left the store.
"Hey! Look at that!" Sirius nudged Lorrena, and pointed down the street at two people. They seemed somewhat familiar, but no...it couldn't be...
"Lily??" Lorrena said.
"And James??" questioned Sirius.
"Together??!!??" They wondered in unison.
***
"Just eat try it!" Lily tried to convince James to try the new Chocoballs filled with chocolate mousse.
"No, it sounds weird."
Both stopped in the middle of the busy street, loaded down with shopping bags to argue about whether or not James was going to try the new candy.
"James, come here," Lily beckoned, causing James to lean forward. Lily started leaning in as if going in for a kiss, and James shut his eyes and slightly opened his mouth. Lily took this time to shove the Chocoball into his mouth. (a/n: I know from experiance that this doesn't make boyfriends happy)
"Lily!" He shouted coughing. "That's it. It's time for my revenge."
Again, he picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder, and marching her to a small pond, and through her in. Lily, not to be outdone, grabbed James' ankle and pulled him in after her...
Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the plot...Misty owns herself, and I own Lorrena, and I'm down to 6 cents...
A/N: Longest chapter, least favorite. I was SO AMAZED to log on a day after uploading and finding eleven reviews!! James' "You Aren't seeing what I'm seeing," is from Boy Meets World. I love you all, here's the thanks for my reviews!
Grints-gurl- as always, Thank ya!! And EMAIL ME YOUR STORY!!!
Crystalballerina- thanks! I like this story the best out of all mine
Me*!- Thank you, all three times
Headmaster Cromwell-Um, okay...
Mist Emoun Tains- Thankyaz!
Maraudette- Thank you both times, and no, she's just tricking him, making him paranoid, and I love your name!!
Jade eyes1- Thank you both times!