Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Author's notes: Another chapter coming your way… fun, fun, fun…Chapter 9
The next day, word spread that Rae had woken. Lily was content; no more Camille. She decided to go see Rae and hear for herself what had happened. She entered the infirmary just as Professor Dumbledore was leaving. He didn't look pleased. Lily was certain he'd just found out about Camille, and was off to have her expelled.
"Rae?" asked Lily.
"Hi, Lil." Rae smiled weakly from her bed.
"So, what happened?" Lily was impatient. She sat down in the chair next to Rae's bed. Rae looked at her, confusion in her eyes.
"I don't know. I can't remember any of it." Lily's mouth dropped open.
"You can't remember anything? Not anything at all?" Rae shook her head.
"Nothing."
"But you've got to remember something! Anything! What the person who attacked you looked like, at least!"
"I'm sorry, Lily, but I don't have any recollection of the night whatsoever. Why does it matter anyway? I'm okay. It's not like I'm dead or anything." Lily moaned.
"You don't remember seeing Camille at all then?"
" Camille?" Rae's look of confusion slowly changed to anger as she realized what Lily was suggesting. "Why are you bringing her into this? Of course I don't remember seeing Camille! Camille wasn't there! She's my friend. Why would you think she would do something like that?"
"I have my reasons," Lily said slowly.
"You really disgust me Lily! I thought maybe you were actually concerned for my well being, but now I see all you really care about is getting rid of Camille. Well, I'll tell you something! If anyone should be gotten rid of at this school it's you!"
"She's brainwashed you!"
"She has not! Camille is a decent person! She's not some Death Eater, or whatever you think. So why don't you just leave me alone!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
"Girls!" Madam Pomfrey's harsh voice echoed as she rushed across the room. "You!" she pointed to Lily. "Out! I won't have students making a racket while others are trying to rest! You should learn to have some more respect!" Lily walked towards the door, glancing back at Rae, who glared at her before Madam Pomfrey slammed the door shut. It looked as though she wouldn't get Camille this time.
***
For the next few days all everyone talked about was the upcoming quidditch match; Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw. Lily thought if she heard another person talking about Gryffindor's new seeker, she'd scream. One day in the corridor, she met Annica for the first time in several weeks.
"Hi Lily." Annica smiled pleasantly.
"Hi Annica." Lily returned the sentiment.
"So, are you coming to the quidditch match tomorrow?" she asked. Lily rolled her eyes.
"If I hear the word quidditch one more time, I think I'm going to go crazy!"
"Really? I'd have thought you'd have been excited. I hear your house team is really good this year. Half of Ravenclaw is even rooting for Gryffindor. They say with Camille as seeker, by the time the whole school gets to the stands, the match will be over."
"Good. The less I have to hear about it the better." Lily rolled her eyes.
"Are you okay, Lily? You seem really different this year. It's too bad we don't have any classes together."
"Yeah," Lily replied. At least Annica was nice to her. "I'm fine."
"All right. Well, I guess I better get to the library. I have a History of Magic essay due next week."
"All right. See you around." Lily turned to walk away.
"Bye. Oh, and say hi to Rae and Camille for me."
"Sure," Lily muttered as she walked away.
As Lily rounded the corner to the fat lady portrait, she met yet another person in the corridor.
"Lily. I've been wanting to talk to you!" It was James. Lily turned around to face him, feeling disgusted.
"And what could you possibly have to say to me?"
"Look, Lily, I feel really bad about tryouts. I seriously thought you'd be the best person who tried out. I had no idea Camille was good. I guess I shouldn't have gotten your hopes up like that." James stopped talking. Lily glared at him, silent. "If it makes you feel any better, I wanted you to be on the team. So, I was thinking, since you didn't make it, I could use someone to help out at practices and stuff. Would you be interested?" Lily shook her head in disgust.
"You make me sick, Potter. All that matters to you is your damn quidditch team! I was a fool enough to think maybe you actually liked me, but now I see all you were looking for was a seeker, and as soon as someone better came along you forgot about me completely!"
"That's not true, Lily. If I'd forgotten about you would I be talking to you right now? Look, I made you an offer. I can't help it that Camille did better than you at tryouts."
"Screw your offer! I'm not going to be little miss help Potter the great and powerful quidditch captain!"
"Hey, I was just trying to make it up to you for what happened."
"You don't get it, do you James? You really are an idiot! It's not the quidditch team that upsets me. It's the fact that you ignored me, just like everyone else, as soon as I wasn't good enough. It's all because Camille's better than me at everything!"
"You're not the only person that feels intimidated by Camille. She's better than everybody! But if it makes you feel any better, I think she's kind of weird. Look, Lily, please don't hold this against me. I don't want to go out on the field tomorrow with this guilt hanging over my head."
"So, it's all about the game! You don't care about me at all! It's all your bleeding quidditch!"
"Lily, just list—"
"Shove off, you inconsiderate prat!" Lily stormed into the common room, leaving James standing behind, puzzled.
Lily didn't stop running until she reached the dorm. She flung herself down on the bed, tears filling her eyes. She buried her face in her pillow. Why did James have to be so insensitive? Lily pondered this. Camille, that was why. It seemed she brought out the worst in everyone.
***
The next day dawned crisp and clear. The perfect weather for a quidditch match, or so Camille said before breakfast. She appeared from the bathroom, dressed in full quidditch attire. Her crimson robes hung neatly, not so much as a crease in their flowing appearance. Her hair was no longer deep brown, but streaked with red and gold and she had clipped it back from her face with carefully arranged red and gold hair clips. She had coated her eyelids in gold eyeshadow, and a large crimson G was painted on each of her cheeks. Her fingernails glimmered gold, and she even had red shoes, which were barely visible under her long robes.
"You look great, girl!" exclaimed Rae. "I love your hair!" Personally Lily thought she looked like something that had stepped out of a muggle circus, but she didn't say anything.
"James wanted us to have lots of team spirit," explained Camille. "He wants us to play well today."
"Well, good luck!" said Rae. "You'll be awesome, I'm sure."
"Thank you. The support of Gryffindor house means a lot to us." Lily felt like gagging listening to her. "Well, I've got to go warm up. Bye." Camille left the dorm. Lily breathed a sigh of relief, but she didn't say anything. She didn't feel like starting anything with Rae.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Esprit flew in the window, and tried to land on Rae's head, his feet getting caught in her hair.
"Ouch!" Rae screeched, as Esprit squawked and tried to break free of her hair. Lily rushed to help.
"Damn good for nothing owl," she muttered. "No mail again." She pulled Esprit free from Rae.
"Thanks, Lily. That's one wild owl you got there."
"Sorry about that," said Lily awkwardly as she shooed Esprit off to the owlery.
"No problem," said Rae. "If I were an owl I think I'd act like that." She grinned, smoothing the tangles out of her hair. "So, are you going to the game?" Lily shrugged. She might as well, after all, it was all the school would be talking about for the next month.
"Sure, why not," said Lily.
"Awesome!" said Rae. She must have been trying to make amends, Lily reasoned. "We should sit together."
"Okay," Lily agreed.
"Let's go get some breakfast. I can almost taste that black pudding!" She grinned at the disgusted look on Lily's face.
"Whatever sparks your wand," said Lily. She was tired of being disagreeable constantly. She deserved to have a little fun sometimes. And Rae really wasn't so bad, at least not when Camille wasn't around.
At breakfast, Lily sat at her old seat, next to Rae. For a little while things felt like normal, and she'd almost entirely forgotten about Camille. After breakfast, however, Dumbledore dismissed them to the Quidditch stadium.
The whole school paraded towards the stands, talking excitedly about the match, which had been predicted a sure victory for Gryffindor, even by most Ravenclaws.
"Lily! Rae!" Annica ran to catch up with them.
"Hey Ann! What's happening?" Rae asked. "Your teams going down!"
"Yeah, I know. Nothing much. You?"
"Well, Lily's acting like a human being again, I think." Rae grinned. Lily made a face.
"Well, that's always good," said Annica. "Well, I better get to the Ravenclaw stands."
"See ya!" said Rae. She and Lily headed across the field to the Gryffindor stands. As they did, they spotted Adrian sitting with a megaphone. He was the announcer.
"Oy, Adrian!" bellowed Rae. He glanced in their direction. She waved and grinned stupidly. Lily waved too. He gave a small wave back, shaking his head. They ascended the stands and got good seats near the front.
"I hope we get to see some action before Camille catches the snitch." Rae rubbed her hands together in anticipation.
"Yeah, me too," agreed Lily. For once Rae wasn't praising Camille like a goddess. They watched as the rest of the students filled the stands, and waited for the match to begin.
"Welcome to the first Quidditch game of the season! Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw!" Adrian's voice was magnified 100 times. Thunderous applause and cheering filled the stands.
"And now, I introduce to you this year's Gryffindor team!" Lily slouched back in her seat. She couldn't help but feel depressed. She should have been out on that field today. "Chasers: Team Captain James Potter!" James flew out on his broom and swooped in a large circle, his fists in the air. "Anastasia Wisowski, and Gregory Skeeter!" One by one they flew onto the field. "Beaters: Sirius Black and new to the team this year this year, Chloe Gudgeon!" They joined the others. "Keeper: Theodore Wood! And this year's new seeker, Camille Honnete!" Camille flew out to the others, receiving a huge applause. From the ground, it was impossible to tell one player from another. The entire team had painted their hair like Camille's.
Adrian announced the Ravenclaw team, and the players lined up in their starting positions. Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and the game began.
"And they're off! Gryffindor takes possession of the quaffle. A great pass by Skeeter, and Wisowski scores! 10 points for Gryffindor! And Ravenclaw takes possession of the quaffle! Ooh, look out for that bludger, Wood! A fabulous block by Black!"
The players zoomed back and forth across the field, Gryffindor and Ravenclaw both scoring several times. Camille flew around the field, but appeared to have no sight of the snitch. Nor did the Ravenclaw seeker, a third year boy by the name of Alan Flemming.
"Gudgeon whacks a bludger! Look out Flemming! Stupendous block by Wood! Ravenclaw takes possession of the quaffle! Michaels takes a shot at a score, and it slips past Wood! Ravenclaw scores!"
Lily noticed, for the first time, that James was having little involvement in the game, which was very out of the ordinary indeed. In fact, she noticed, he was just sort of flying slowly above everyone else, looking somewhat scared, or sick maybe. Suddenly, Camille went zooming on her broom.
"And Honnete must have spotted the snitch! There she goes! And she's… off the field!" It was true. Quite suddenly, Camille had taken off for the Forbidden Forest, and disappeared into the trees.
The players had all paused in mid air. James looked very weak on his broom. He wobbled and shook violently; the eyes of the crowd turned to him. All at once he tumbled from his broomstick, making no effort to stop himself.
Sirius and Theodore immediately sped towards the ground to try to break his fall, but they were too late.
"Potter has fallen! Is he all right?" A crowd of teachers immediately darted for the center of the field, Dumbledore not far behind. Adrian ran to join them as well. The entire stadium fell silent as everyone focused on James.
"What about Camille?" asked Lily. "As soon as she flew off, James fell!"
"Oh, Lily, come off it," said Rae. "Would you worry about James like everyone else? He might really be hurt!"
"And it really might be Camille's fault!" Lily insisted. "No one even bothers to see where she went!"
"She probably saw the snitch. Sometimes they venture from the field, you know. It's not unheard of."
"It's awfully suspicious," said Lily. "Too suspicious." Rae shook her head in disgust.
"You've got one hell of a wild imagination, Lily."
"It's not my fault this whole damn school is blind!"
"I thought maybe you'd gotten over your little jealousy act with Camille and we were going to be friends again, but obviously I was wrong!"
"Jealousy!" Lily demanded. "Jealousy? That's what you think this is? Who's got a wild imagination now!"
"Oh, come off it Lily! You know what, just don't talk to me! You disgust me!"
"Fine then," Lily muttered.
Dumbledore had taken the megaphone from Adrian, and used it to make an announcement.
"Students." The stands fell silent. "I would like to first inform you that Mr. Potter will make a full recovery. Secondly, this quidditch match, and all future matches are canceled, at least until further notice." His voice was drowned out by a multitude of booing. "Students!" he shouted harshly. All was silent again. "I am doing this in the interest of your safety. There have been two attacks on students this school year; both of them occurring outside of the building. Fortunately we have not had any fatalities, but it is possible that if there's a next time, we won't be so lucky. Therefore, no student leaves the school building until I have given further notice. Now, if everyone would please proceed back to his or her common room and await further instructions."
Students began to empty the stands, worry, sadness, and disappointment hanging over them.
Lily was one of the first few people to arrive back at the Gryffindor common room. Feeling quite disgusted, she headed back to the dorm, hoping to get some peace and quiet. She swung the door open.
"Hello Lily."
Lily nearly fell over with shock. There, standing by the large window, staring out towards the quidditch field, was Camille.
"I saw you take off on your broom today, just before James fell." Lily stepped closer, cornering her.
"Yes, I saw the snitch," said Camille, looking slightly uncomfortable.
"Saw the snitch, eh? So, you wouldn't have any idea what suddenly made Potter just fall over then, would you?"
"I don't know what happened to James, Lily," said Camille. "I can assure you, though, that I had nothing to do with it. I know nothing more about James' fall than you do."
"Yeah, and I believe that!" said Lily sarcastically. She took a step closer to Camille, so that she was leaning backwards, against the window ledge."
"You know, Camille, maybe you'd like to find out what it's like to fall." Lily's voice was sickeningly sugar-coated.
"You, you're crazy," said Camille, reaching for her wand.
"Make you nervous, do I?" Lily demanded. "Do I?" She pointed her wand threateningly. "But what do you have to be nervous of, Camille? Remember, you've done nothing wrong. You don't even know anything about James' fall today. You don't know anything about Rae being attacked, and you most certainly know nothing about the deaths of Lauren and Chris!" Lily paused a second, breathing deeply, her heart pounding. Camille's face appeared calm, but she saw her breathing heavily. Her hand was clamped tightly to her wand, making her knuckles turn white, but she didn't dare strike right there within the castle. That would have been too obvious.
Quite suddenly, the door burst open.
"Lily!" Rae shouted. "Lily, knock that off!" Before Lily knew what was happening, Rae had grabbed her and made her fall to the stone ground. "If you don't knock this shit off, I'm going to Dumbledore!" Rae stood over her threateningly. "This isn't some little game! You're crazy!"
"Please, Rae," said Camille, walking away from the window ledge. "Do not let this worry you. It was between Lily and me, and it was nothing serious. We'll handle it ourselves."
"If you insist," said Rae. "I'm out of here." She walked out, slamming the door behind her. Camille followed shortly after. Lily stayed on the ground, trembling. What had she almost done? She was starting to scare herself. She did hate Camille, and she did think she was responsible for the attacks, but she'd never intended to kill her; not to actually kill her. The Lily she used to be would have never so much as thought about killing anyone. Now, she had to wonder what would have happened if Rae hadn't walked in when she had. I'll have to remember to thank her someday, Lily thought. But not for a long time.