Disclaimer: Harry Potter 'tis not mine!
Hem Hem This, Hem Hem That
Chapter Eleven ll Process Of Ignoration
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Darkness.
Blurry greyness.
Stone ceilingness.
When James managed to open his bleary eyes, he stared at the stone ceiling above him for a few seconds. He knew he was in the Hospital Wing, and he knew what had happened, but all the same, it felt like it had been one big nightmare.
Lily sobbing on his shoulder... Madam Meynon along with an anxious Professor McGonagall coming with the twins... brought to the wing... given a potion to drink... were put to sleep...
Yeah, that was pretty much all James remembered.
The wing was lit fairly brightly with flaming torches that flickered and created eerie shadows across the walls. Feeling quite energetic, James sat up on his bed and saw, resting in the bed next to his', Lily.
A smile played across his lips as he slowly got out of his bed and crept to her side. The blankets were all the way down to her stomach.
Lily felt the covers being pulled over her shoulders tightly. She sucked in her breath and tried to steady her breathing. She felt her eyelids twitch as James bent down and kissed her on the cheek.
"I love you, Lily," he murmured with a small smigh, "Why did Amos have to get you first...?"
Lily felt tears creeping behind her tightly shut eyelids as she listened to James creep back into bed. There was the rustle of blankets, the sliding of the bedspread, then silence.
I'm sorry, James.
---
TWO DAYS LATER.
TRANSFIGURATION -- A LESSON ON ANIMAGI.
Lily stared hard at the back of James' head, still trying to work the confusing boy out. Yes, he was a sweetheart sometimes, and an insufferable git at other times. She couldn't understand why he would pull the covers over her as her mother would do, and why he would say such a thing.
She was sure he hadn't been joking.
It was a very low joke if it was.
"Mr. Potter, please tell us whether it is correct wandwork or a complex potion that enables wizards to become Animagi."
James made a big show of standing up, posing, rubbing his chin thoughtfully and pulling strained facial expressions as he thought about the answer. Then suddenly, he broke into a long debate with himself as he tried to work out if it was a) correct wandwork or, b) complex potion.
As he did this and the majority of the class looked at him in glee, as they were amused, Lily rolled her eyes and was reminded by the much more pricky Potter. Then she got an idea and snaked out her leg from under the desk. She curled it around a leg of James' abandoned chair and dragged it back.
"Thank you, Mr. Potter, that is quite enough," Professor McGonagall broke into James' dull rambling, wondering why on earth she had not interrupted long before.
James smiled, bowed and sat back down.
Whee.
"AHHH!"
His arms flailed backwards and he fell back on his arse with a crash. The class engulfed into giggles.
Professor McGonagall hid her smile as James smiled pleasantly, got to his feet, bowed and reached back for his chair before sitting down. Then he looked intently at the teacher as if nothing had happened.
When Professor McGonagall resumed her lesson, James tore off a bit of parchment and scribbled on it.
That wasn't very nice, pumpkin.
He slid it over to Lily when the teacher wasn't looking. Lily read it with a bemused smile on her face.
Who said it was supposed to be nice? That should cure your big head.
What? Having your chair pulled out from underneath you is supposed to cure the disease of arrogance?
Yeah, it should. Potter, stop passing me notes. It got us into trouble last time.
Fine.
And it ended at that.
---
Doing your homework in the always crowded common-room was usually very dull. And today, it was no exception.
Feeling drowsy and deliriously happy, James read a passage in his History of Magic textbook. He stared at the exquisite drawing beneath the text and blinked at it. For some reason, the giants in the picture suddenly looked like snowmen.
"Did you know that the Head Boy hits on the Head Girl?"
James came out of his daydream with a jolt. First-year talk was usually odd and pointless, but he found something interesting in what they were saying.
Because they were talking about HIM.
"What? I choke on Lily?" James yelped, his eyes widening. He, evidently, could not hear very well.
The two first-years jumped and then turned to face him. One looked slightly abashed and embarrased, but the other just said confidently, "No, I said you hit on her."
That confused James even more, "I eat her?"
The first-year just stared at him before turning to his flushing friend and whispering, "The Head Boy's got hearing problems..."
"What was that? I've got earring problems, you say?" James repeated, rather amazed, "Sorry midget, but I don't have earrings."
The first-year suddenly changed topics, "Do you even have your ears pierced?"
"Do my ears get pissed?" James repeated slowly. He was quite sure he didn't talk like that when he was at the tender age of eleven.
The firstie rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, "Yep, I bet they drink alcohol all the time."
Before James could get all defensive and say, "And what is that supposed to mean?" (which usually led to a duel), Sirius entered the common-room and yelled, "OI! Prongs!"
James turned to look at him, feeling slightly flustered, as Sirius walked over to them.
"Hey, midgets," Sirius greeted the two first-years who were standing right in front of James as though they were worshipping him (which James thought they ought to do.)
"Why does everyone call us midgets?" the boy's friend finally spoke up indignantly, flushing a terrible pink as Sirius and James turned to look at him, "Honestly, we're not that small."
The two seventh-years glanced at each other.
The poor little midgets.
"Listen up, kid," James said slowly, "When we were ickle firsties like you, we were called midgets too."
"Really?" both boys said incredulously, looking up at the towering figures of James and Sirius.
"Indeed," Sirius nodded, "But as the years progressed, we grew... and grew... and grew and grew and grew and grew. And then we grew some more. Then, fancy this, we grew again!"
"What are you lot on about?" came an aggressive voice behind them.
"It's the Head Girl," the first-year whispered, nudging his friend.
"How come she's not as big as the Head Boy...?"
Looking exasperated, Lily glared at James and Sirius who were doubling over in silent fits of laughter.
"Cut it out, you two!" she ordered.
"Yes ma'am," Sirius saluted.
Lily turned to the first-years and said in a gentle voice, "Shouldn't you two be playing Gobstones or egging your pawns on in Wizard's Chess?"
They looked insulted.
"We do our homework, too!"
"Homework, yeah," James snorted, "Just wait 'till you're in fifth- and seventh-year. You shall be DEAD."
Looking rather frightened, the two boys scampered off.
Lily turned back to James and Sirius, "Do you know where Shailey Roberts is?"
"Who?" James said, completely dumbfounded.
"The sixth-year prefect!"
"Oh. Nope."
"I love you, you love me, we're a happy family," Sirius burst out happily, wrapping an arm around James and Lily and bringing them together.
"We aren't related and we never shall be," Lily said in devout relief.
"You and James will be one day!"
Lily's eyes widened and she flew out of Sirius' arm, "Oh, Merlin, Sirius! That's just... wrong! We will not get married! The end!"
And she turned on her heel and stalked off, all mixed up with her feelings.
"Hey! I never said you were going to marry him! Maybe your mum could adopt him or something!" Sirius yelled after her.
James looked thoughtful, "That's just sick. I am not being her foster brother or whatever."
"Never said you were," Sirius said with a chuckle, "It was just a suggestion."
---
"Sirius is a sick-minded--" Lily began her rant furiously as soon as she had found her friends in the Great Hall, doing their homework.
It wasn't usually very often they did their homework in the Great Hall, but once in awhile they'd forget what happened the very first time they had tried this action, and found themselves poring over their essays and books in the place where they were supposed to eat.
The Marauders were never invited to join the girls in this task. It was just Lily, Penny, Emily and Meddy, and no boys.
"Hold up for a sec," Emily said, looking shocked, "Sirius? Well, what ever happened to Potter?"
"It amazes me that Sirius finally gets to be included in your everyday rant," Meddy chimed in, scratching her nose with the tip of her quill.
"You two, give her a break," Penny said with a smile, before turning back to Lily, "So what did he do?"
"He said that James and I would be a family one day!" Lily said angrily, looking around expectantly as she waited for her friends to clamp their hands over their mouths and gasp, "No way!"
But they did nothing of that sort.
"So? He could mean that your parents adopt him or something," Penny responded nochalantly.
"You know, that's exactly what he said," Lily replied, arching her eyebrow.
Determined not to be lumped together with Sirius Black, Penny shook her head as if the whole thing was pointless and returned back to her work.
"Anyway, what are the odds of my parents adopting Potter? About fifty-hundred to zero."
Emily just shrugged, "You've already got two sisters, anyway..."
Lily instinctively shuddered and smiled. Shudder belonged to the memory of Petunia. Smile belonged to the memory of her small, five-year-old sister, Cosima Evans.
"I miss Cosima."
"She's such an adorable little girl," Meddy chimed in with a dreamy smile, "I wish Sara was that cute."
Emily suddenly began making frantic movements. Her eyes went all poppy and she made her eyebrows point to the direction behind them.
"What?" Lily frowned.
Emily mouthed something whilst her eyes began to dart everywhere.
"Em, there's the slight problem that I can't lipread!"
"I think she's trying to say the Marauders are coming," Penny finally confirmed, looking up.
"That's bad," Meddy said immediately.
"Yeah, really bad."
"Incredibly bad."
"Very incredibly bad."
"Okay, I think we've got the picture," Emily said, rolling her blue eyes.
"Why didn't you just say the Marauders were coming?" Lily asked her.
Emily shrugged, "I suppose I was testing my sign language skills."
"Skills?" Penny snorted into her glass of water that she insisted on having wherever she was.
"Oh, shut up."
"I am smart," Meddy declared.
Penny choked on her water this time and almost sprayed it all over her very important essay. Emily broke into her little girl giggles and fell off her chair. Lily snorted and started laughing endlessly.
"Hey!" Meddy exclaimed.
"Good evening," Sirius said briskly as the boys approached them.
Three specific girls acknowledged their prescence and slowly packed up their stuff, but Lily simply ignored him. Sirius realised this at once.
"Good evening, Lily."
"Could you pass me my ink bottle, Em?" Lily asked cordially, without even glancing at Sirius.
James smirked as he sat down beside Meddy with Peter and Remus. Sirius looked as if he were about to wet his pants from the anxiety and shamefulness he was suffering from.
"Sure," Emily said, trying not to giggle.
"Thanks."
"Lily! Hellooo?" wailed Sirius.
Remus and Peter snickered into their hands.
"LILY!" Sirius was now on his knees begging, "Please don't ignore me! I promise to not ever pull a prank on you again! I swear!"
"As if!" Lily exclaimed curtly, finally showing signs of life.
"I know, but please Lily! Don't ignore meeee!" Sirius begged.
"You can't ignore the dog," James said contritely, smiling mysteriously at Lily.
The redhead rolled her eyes, then paused to think. She twirled a strand of red hair decisively.
"Don't do that," Penny said automatically.
"Yeah," Emily chimed in.
"It makes you look like you're a blonde trying to flirt," Meddy added.
"And failing miserably," Remus piped up.
Lily looked at them before putting her hand down, "Fine."
"Really?" Sirius squealed, under the impression that she was saying "fine" to not ignoring him anymore.
"No-- yes. No... fine! I won't twirl my hair or ignore Sirius."
"WHOO HOO!" Sirius punched the air, "Now I know how you feel, Prongs."
James chuckled, "Oh, it's painful, isn't it?"
"Damn straight."
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A/N: Hi... I had major writer's block for this chapter. Really. I tried to think up of stuff to add to this chapter... and it took me ages to write. Thank you everyone for your reviews! A lot of people have asked if Lily and James are going to be a couple now. And the answer is... no. Hahaha. XD Christmas has NOT passed for them... I plan to do something for their Christmas. Something concerning Cosima, of course! Lol, my friend comes from Belgium too. She's way cool, and once she brought back chocolate from there. (happiness) Lol, I so want to go to Belgium! Yes, I know that song. Everyone has been asking me... I sang it heaps with my friend -- Julia. Lol. I sing assorted songs. Fun fun. Thank you everyone! --MSQ.