A/N:
Hey guys!!
Just some comments from the reviews:
- I like L and J fluff too, but I think its better for lily to learn who she is and her gifts before she can fall in love. She eventually will, but in a special way. But if you are waiting around for some hot romance soon, it wont be lily and james, that's for sure. That will happen in a couple of chaps time. Meanwhile, there is another romance hotting up. That will happen sooner than the l/j one.
- James will find out about Lily soon!!!! It was meant to be next chap, but the quidditch match took too long. =)
Thanks for those of you who reviewed!!! I update quite slow nowadays coz I work, and am too damn tired at night, so please bear with me. Those reviews force me to get off my arse and write something…=)
Disclaimer:
All recognizable characters, plotlines belong to JK Rowling. Drew, Myall, the Elia group, and the plotline belongs to me. Although, I have adapted many of the concepts from the WB show, Charmed, into this fanfic.
Summary:
Lily is no ordinary girl. Blessed with special and unique powers, she is left alone after her uncle, who has been teaching her at home, was killed by death eaters. Now exposed to normality and a target of the emerging powers of Voldermort, she seeks solace in Hogwarts where she learns that her greatest power is not her inheritance, but the love that she gains from those around her.
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THE BIG GAME
"Ok, Lily…breath in and out…" Bessie said calmly. She was pacing the table steadily, with occasional glances at Lily's attempts to stay focused.
Lily had tried to master her premonition powers, and was having great difficulties. Aunt Bessie had told her that in the beginning, she has to trigger it by forcing the power upon herself. This meant that Lily had spent countless hours in the abandoned room with Bessie, going into a trance and out with no success. And the impact of the exercise was obvious: Lily felt drained and tired. She suddenly realised that everything Bessie had said about the premonition power being the hardest to master was true.
"Concentrate on an empty pool of water…what do you see in the reflection?"
Lily was perched on a chair, cross legged and with her eyes closed. Despite the quietness of the room, she still found it hard to concentrate.
"Bessie…I … I cant!" Lily cried in a discouraged tone. Bessie floated to Lily's shoulder.
"Concentrate, Lilia…its there…you just have to believe it. For now, the difficulty is to see the reflection. As you master the art of premonitions, they will come naturally."
Lily took a deep breath and shut her eyes.
"There is a lake…" Lily began.
There is a lake. The water and the edge. There was no waves, just a stillness, as if it was an ice skating rink. She could feel herself float towards the lake and touch the surface, resonating a ripple across the water.
"What do you see?" Bessie asked cautiously.
An image was forming on the reflection.. It was a middle age woman, with red hair and green eyes. She was cradling a little boy in front of the mirror, murmuring and singing softly for it to sleep. The baby was whimpering, but lily could see that it was slowly dozing off.
"I love you, Harry…" the woman whispered to the baby, rocking it back and forth.
"I always will."
"Honey!" cried a male voice from next door. "Is Harry asleep yet?"
The woman put the baby down on his crib. It immediately turned to his side, and hugged his teddy bear. The woman smiled.
"I'm coming…" she replied, as she put a blanket over the sleeping child.
"Lily!"
The image was fading as the woman turned out the light and left the room.
"Lily!" Suddenly, Lily jerked her attention to the room with Bessie. From the look on Lily's face, Bessie smiled.
"I believe you had your first premonition, Lilia. What was in it?"
Lily began to explain what she had seen. Bessie listened patiently, nodding once in a while.
"What does it mean Bessie? Who did I see?" Lily asked anxiously.
"The signs are there, Lilia…you have to see it…everything in the room means something…the child, the mother, everything…think about it."
Lily sat there, deep in thought. She tried to reenact everything. But it was too simple. It was like watching a movie. You focus on the main things, and to Lily, the main things meant nothing. Suddenly, the grandfather clock in the corner chimed.
"Oh no, I have to go, Aunt Bessie. I have class." Lily said frantically as she gathered her books and bag.
"That's ok Lily…but you must promise me that you will think about it…its important that you do."
"I will, Aunt Bessie."
"and Lily…"
"yes?"
"I hope you like it. He worked hard to make it."
"Like what?" lily asked curiously. Immediately, the famous smirk and smile that aunt Bessie was famous for appeared.
"You'll see."
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Quidditch season had also officially begun. The Gryffindor team were training day and night. It was James' first year as captain, and he was determined to make an impression. Their first match was against Slytherin.
"Why???" Myall cried when the draw was announced by Madam Susioneill, the quidditch coordinator.
"They seem to always pit us two together." James moaned. He was definitely the most disappointed out of the entire Gryffindor team. HE had wanted to start off with a bang: perhaps a match with Hufflepuff was his idea of a 'bang'. He knew that they had lost 4 players either to injury or school leavers, so he thought they had a good chance.
"Don't worry, James." Remus assured his friend. "We have trained hard. Whatever we produce will be our best."
"Yeah. I guess." James mumbled.
"Where's Peter?" Remus said, looking around.
"Dunno." James replied. "Last thing I heard he was at the library…again."
"Bloody hell, he is soo hardworking." Sirius said, shaking his head.
"Well, I just hope he's eating well." Then he looked around. "Where's the cranberry juice?"
"Its over there," Sirius said, pointing at the pitcher in front of Lily. "but I would only ask for it if I really wanted it. Ray of sunshine over there might tip it all over you if you asked her to pass it over."
James grimaced. "I'm not scared of her. I just think she is too cautious and paranoid. She's too vigilant." Then he gulped down the remains of his cereal and cleared his throat.
"Lily, could you pass me the cranberry juice?" he asked politely, glancing over to her.
Lily almost split her milk. James Potter talking to her. No way, she thought to herself. Ever since her outburst the other day about the prank on Slytherins, the marauders excluding Remus have been ignoring her, or making snide comments about her while she was in the room. Conversations with Natalie were on a hi and bye level, and her friendship with Myall was dwindling. She wasn't cold, but she wasn't exactly as friendly as Drew was. Drew, believing that Lily's intentions were only good, remained her friend and they had spent many hours in the library finishing homework.
"Sure." Lily muttered as she picked up the cranberry juice and passed it to James. Their eyes met for a split second, but parted when Natalie brushed past Lily and sat next to James.
"Hey guys!" she greeted everyone. "Guess what? I heard from McGonagall that Dumbledore is going to make some sort of announcement today about a ball."
"What ball?" Sirius asked, surprised.
"I dunno…we'll see, wont we?"
at that moment, Professor Mcgonagall tapped her goblet, which caught everyone's attention.
"Please…quiet now." She said. "Professor Dumbledore has an announcement to make."
"Thank you, Professor McGonagall. As the rumors begin to make their rounds, I would like to confirm them, by saying that, yes, there will be a special occasion coming up in the school term, just before you leave for your Christmas break. In light of the recent dark events, I would like each student to put in a short essay about what means the most to you when troubled times arise. What do you not what to lose the most. Essays should be submitted to your house teachers, and the best will be read out during the Yule ball. Of course, they will be reworded to preserve anonymity. No student will be admitted to the ball unless you are on the list of submitted essays."
Immediately, the hall burst with mutter and excited as well as deflated whispers.
"Bloody hell." Sirius muttered. "We need to write an essay just to go to some ball. You'd think that we have enough essays already on our plate."
"What are you going to write about Sirius?" Natalie said.
"Shit!" Sirius gleefully replied. "As long as I get to go into the ball, I can write bullocks for all I care."
"Now Sirius," Drew said. "Take it seriously. After all, Dumbledore set this up for a purpose."
"I wonder what Malfoy is going to write?" Sirius said, looking over his shoulder to Malfoy, who was talking in a huddle with his Slytherin friends.
"What does he not want to lose the most?" James said, "Well, let me see…a brain, though there isn't much of it. Or perhaps, a sense of reality…"
"Or his pants. Did you hear that some 3rd year Slytherin girl is after him? Sounds too freaky to be true."
"Yeah, what's the world coming to? Next thing you know…Peter will actually turn up to dinner today."
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"The first quidditch game of the year." Bellowed Baxter Wood-Houseman, a 5th year Gryffindor, who was commentating the game. The Gryffindor team flew into the stadium, to a standing ovation by their fellow house mates and the students from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. The Slytherin team were already there, darting to and fro, with smug looks on their face.
"Defending champions for the 3rd year in a row, Slytherin, captained by Fitzwilliam Rosewood." Slytherin cheered, while the rest of the school booed.
"And here are the team said to be the most threatening to this record, Gryffindor, lead by last year's vice captain, James Potter." Reaction was reciprocated from the one before as the Gryffindor team took their places in the stadium.
A whistle was blown.
"And the game is off."
Lily was in the stands with Drew and Natalie. She had not given in to coming because of Drew's unrelenting hassle, though that was part of the reason. In reality, she knew that she had begun the school term in a bad way, and was determined to make amends for the fractured friendships caused by her actions, in particular her friendship with James. She felt that she was harshest on him, mainly because he was the closed to suspecting her abnormality than anybody else.
After 20 minutes, the score was pretty much leveled at 60 all. It was an average game, with not much happening. That is until…
"Look!! The Slytherin seeker has spotted the snitch."
The Slytherin seeker was rushing to the bottom of one of the Gryffindor goal post.
"Frank!" yelled James from the middle of the pitch. "Hit that bludger to him. Kristoff, go for it…NOW!"
With that, Frank Longbottom swung his bat and the bludger shot towards the Slytherin seeker. By then, Kristoff was closing in on the snitch too. The bludger hit the Slytherin seeker and knocked him out cold. But then a terrible thing happened. The bludger richocheted off him and hailed towards Kristoff.
"Kristoff. Get out of the way!" Remus yelled, rushing towards him. But it was too late. The bludger hit him, and he too was soon unconious.
"Well, this is a complicated situation. Both seekers are in no position to resume their roles in this game. But the snitch has to be found for the game to finish. We shall await for Madam Susioneill's verdict.
The quidditch teacher was deep in converstion with Professor Dumbledore, Professor Mcgonagall, and Professor Parkinson, the two heads of the playing houses.
"Well, Slytherin should win by default. They are the defending champions." Professor Parkinson declared.
"Honestly, Pollard." McGonagall said disgustedly. "That would be unjust. This is a new year. Previous achievements shouldn't be taken into account. Dumbledore what do you think?"
Professor Dumbledore was deep in thought. Suddenly, he looked up.
"Well, we could do what many muggles do when there is a draw. A penalty shoot out."
"Whats that?" both Parkinson and McGonagall said at the same time.
"A penalty shootout is when each chaser in a team has a shot at a goal, one after each other. The team with the most points wins. Else, it continues until a team is one up."
"Sounds good to me." Madam Susioneill said. She turned around and blew her whistle. Then she took over the mike (A/N: mike? I cant remember what it is called.) from Wood-Houseman.
"Listen up, Gryffindor and Slytherin. Due to the unfortunate accident involving the two seekers, we have decided to decide the fate of the game with sudden death penalty shootouts."
"What the &*^$ is that?" Sirius said.
Remus elbowed him. Myall was helping Madame Pomfrey with Kristoff. James and the rest of the team was listening earnestly.
Madam Susioneill explained the process. "I want all the chasers from each time to line up at their respective goals."
"Good luck you guys." Sirius called out to James, Remus and Myall. Myall turned around and gave him a hug and kiss.
"Good luck my darling." She whispered into his ear. "I know you are the best."
Remus came over and patted him on the shoulder, but James flew towards him and floated so that they were eye to eye.
"Yes, Prongs." Sirius said, letting out a breath. "I will concentrate, not take my eye off the ball."
James paused. "I know you will do that, Padfoot. I just want you to know that no matter what happens, you are the best keeper I have ever and will ever have the pleasure to work with…."
"Oh yeah, and a cracking good friend too. I know you will never let me down." He stretched out his hand and shook Sirius'. Both of them turned beet red.
"Ok, Slytherin will go first."
Their only female chaser, Martina Constantine, approached the goal post.
"On my whistle, Constantine."
The whistle blew, and she flew in with the Quaffle. She aimed it at the middle goalpost and let it go. Sirius, with plenty of practice from Myall's shots, saved it with ease.
Penalty shootout: Slytherin 0 Gryffindor 0
It was Remus' turn. He grabbed the Quaffle in his hand and flew in, aiming at the middle goalpost. He saw Malfoy, the keeper eyeing him resolutely, and moved towards the middle goalpost. Remus aimed for the left goalpost and scored. Gryffindor broke into an applause. Drew was screaming at the top of her voice, tugging Nat and Lily into a big bear hug. It was as if they had already won the quidditch cup.
Penalty shootout: Slytherin 0 Gryffindor 1
Rosewood was the next Slytherin chaser to take aim for his house. His face bore emotions of anger at his teams inability to score and defend. He took the quaffle and shot it at the right goalpost so quickly, Sirius missed it. Slytherin erupted.
Penalty shootout: Slytherin 1 Gryffindor 1
James was next. He aimed to quaffle at the left goal post and scored with ease. Gryffindors were shouting. McGonagall was beside herself with joy.
Penalty shootout: Slytherin 1 Gryffindor 2
The next chaser was a boy named Rowan Lestrange. He was a tall, lanky 7th year. He grabbed the quaffle and aimed it at the middle goal post. He scored with ease. Gryffindor booed.
Penalty shootout: Slytherin 2 Gryffindor 2
James turned to Myall.
"This is it, Myall." James said, putting his arm on his shoulder. "You score, we win. But if you don't, you have already done well, so no pressure, ok?"
Myall nodded nervously. She took the Quaffle and flew towards the goal. By now, Malfoy was shaking with fear, yet wore a determined look on his face.
"Five…"
She flew forwards to the left.
"Four…"
then to the right
"Three…"
Then to the left again.
"Two…"
She stopped in the middle. The entire stadium held its breath.
"One…" Then she shot at the right goal post. Malfoy stretched over to grab it, but he missed. The Quaffle made it in.
Myall screamed and flew to her fellow chasers, hugging them. Sirius and the rest of the boys rushed to the quartet, each congratulating each other. They flew to the ground where they were greeted by the rest of their house and Professor McGonagall.
Lily, Drew and Natalie ran to them. Lily embraced Myall, and Drew hugged Remus. She kissed him on the cheek, at which the boy instantly turned red.
"What was that for?" he whispered into her ear.
"For being my favourite chaser." She said softly with a grin.
"As long as James isn't your favourite chaser too." Drew laughed and hugged him even more.
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it was quite late when the Gryffindor house finally went to bed, on mcgonagall's instructions. It was 6am when Lily thought she heard someone call her.
"Miss Lily…"
Lily tossed over to her side.
"Miss Lily…"
Was she imagining someone call her? Lily wasn't sure, but was too lazy to find out. Suddenly, she felt a tug on her pajamas.
"Miss Lily…has to wake up!!"
Lily opened her eyes, and met a pair of large green eyes and the biggest smile in the world. She bolted upright.
"Clover!!" she said in shock. "What are you doing here?"
"Clover is want to say Happy birthday to miss lily." By then, some of the other girls were stirring.
"Clover, that is kind of you to remember, but you have to keep your voice down."
"clover is sorry, miss lily…" she said, lowering her voice. "Clover has something to show you. Please get out of bed, miss lily."
"What do you have to show me?" Lily asked curiously as she got up and put her coat on. Clover dragged her towards the door.
"it is downstairs in the common room. It was too big to be in here, miss lily…so clover had to leave it in the common room."
Lily's eyes widened as she followed her house elf down the stairs.
"What do you have to…oh my!!"
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next chap: clover's surprise, and something big happens that brings james and lily closer together.