Disclaimer~ As mentioned before I own nothing that you recognize, but the things you don't are mine!
~DanniBannani~ Hello again! I wanna say thanks to all of you who have so kindly read (and reviewed) my story! I hope you like the way it's going right now…hope it doesn't bore you too much (my friend informed me of how my first chapters were kinda boring…and that another one was kinda slow…). Well, that's all for now folks…until the end of the chapter…
And it goes on…
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As Lily lay on the comfy green bed, warm from her body heat, her fingers wrapped themselves around one of the fluffy pillows. When her sorrow amplified her knuckles paled as her grip tightened. The flushed tint returned to them once she had gotten a hold of her emotions; but then her sorrow once again returned and her knuckles whitened once more.
This tedious cycle continued until Lily's internal clock told her it was time to be heading to History of Magic. She slowly slid off the bed and dragged her feet to the portrait from which she'd entered her beautiful room. She lazily pushed it open, luckily unseen due to the fact that most students and teachers were just leaving lunch, and (at a snail's pace) she walked to her next class, head hung low.
She reached the door and unhurriedly walked into the classroom, not even noticing the fact that a ghost was sitting at the professor's desk. Plopping down into the nearest seat, Lily decided she didn't feel like looking depressed in front of James and put on a bold and brave expression. A few minutes later she was joined by her six friends and…him. All of them, even the boys, took seats around her, disturbed at how she'd suddenly run off without an explanation. Lily received a tap on the shoulder and turned to find James looking at her worriedly. Her pale cheeks reddened with anger and her eyes narrowed until they were simply slants on a pretty face. She then gave James the cold shoulder as he stared at her bemusedly, dazed at her reaction.
"What was that about Lil?" asked Arabella. "And have you been crying?" she added, seeing past the bold face and noting Lily's blood-shot eyes.
"I'll…I'll explain later okay?" Lily replied, forcing herself not to choke.
"Okay. After class."
"Sure."
Meanwhile, Sirius turned to James, "Hey. What was that all about? I mean, was it just me or did the wicked witch of the west just step out of Pippie Longstockings over there?"
"What are you goin on about?" Remus asked.
"Oh, just some Muggle stories…my mom used to read them to me, before—," Sirius stated sadly, remembering his mother before she was sent to St. Mungo's. He quickly changed the topic, "Anyways. Why was Lily practically bisecting you with her laser glare?"
"I dunno. It was really weird. It's not like I told anyone about what happened this morning."
"What happened?" asked Peter, joining in on the conversation.
"N-nothing at all! Did I say something about this morning? No, you must have been shocked by the…the…ghost who's sitting in the professor's desk?" James had just noticed Professor Binns, the only Hogwarts teacher who was a ghost.
"Oh, that's just bin head," Sirius explained. "The dense-brained fool left his body behind one day and just came to class and kept on teaching, not even noticing he was dead!"
"Oh…weird," James said robotically, still lost in thought about why Lily had seemed so pissed. But his thoughts were interrupted as Professor Binns jumped-or should I say floated- right into the lesson and started to lecture them about the witch rebellion of 1425. On impulse, James expertly dozed off with his eyes open, pretending to be listening to what Binns was drawling on about, but really taking an hour and a half nap.
As soon as the boring class period was over, Lily jumped out of her seat, ready to run out of the classroom before Arabella had a chance to stop her, but unluckily for her Arabella was much too quick. Just as Lily thought she'd made it to freedom, Arabella grabbed her robes and whisked her away into an empty classroom.
"Alright. Spill," she demanded.
"Well…you see…um…this topic's not exactly interesting… Bella, do I have to?"
"Yes."
"Okaaaaaay." Lily responded, eyes widening in surrender. "Well…earlier today I got out of…do I really have to?" Lily pleaded.
"What do you think?"
"No?"
"Think again."
"Damn." Lily audibly whispered.
"Hey watch the language!"
"Yes ma'am." Lily said mockingly, trying desperately to avoid re-approaching the subject, but again Arabella was too quick for her.
"OK! Enough. Tell me…or I'll make you."
"FINE!" Lily screamed, giving up. "Well…this morning…when James came to get me because you sent him up--,"
"We didn't send him up…"
"Oh really, how strange. Why do you think he came up? Hmm.."
"I don—LILY…continue."
'So close…but so far away,' thought Lily. "Where was I…oh yeah. So, when James came up to get me I was sleeping and I woke up to see none other than him."
"So…?" Arabella pointed out, wondering why Lily kept saying James' name like it was the scum of all scum.
"Let me finish. You're the one who's making me tell in the first place."
"Okay. GO"
"Well, I get up and then I was about to walk out the door when James reminds me I'm still in my hospital gown. So I turn around to change again when I noticed he was turned the opposite way and like…looking at the ground and covering his eyes. So after some prompting I realized my as—,"
"LILY!"
"Sorry. Bum was showing. So I told him I'd kill him if he told anyone and he promised not to. But then…in potions…since Remus was gone, I didn't have a partner since everyone else had paired up…and that blonde guy who hangs around the grease bucket from the boat sits next to me. And I ignored him the whole lesson until he put his hand on my leg."
"NO!"
"YES!!! Isn't that totally disgusting?"
"YEAH! I mean, we're only eleven…I mean…you do that when you're OLD, y'know? Like sixteen! But…what's this have to do with James?"
Lily's appalled expression at Malfoy's actions suddenly darkened at the mention of James, showing more revulsion. "Well. I was trying to take his filthy talons off my leg…when he…whispered something in my ear."
"What was it?" Arabella eagerly asked, hanging on to Lily's every word as if she were watching a soap opera (A/N- I know they wouldn't have soaps…but it's just a simile!)
"He whispered…excuse my language Bella," Lily paused, wondering if she really wanted to tell this to her friend or not. Finally deciding she'd need a partner in crime for her revenge on James, she took a deep breath, "I-I hear you h-have a nice ass Evans…"
"Oh my gosh! You don't believe James actually told, do you?"
"Well, how else could the git have known? Nobody else was there. I'm 100% positive!"
"But…why?" asked Arabella getting a little upset at what James had done.
"I-I-I don't know!" Lily cried, breaking down once again. Arabella was quick to wrap Lily up in a warm hug and held her as she shook in silent tears. As her trembling friend calmed down Arabella pulled away from Lily to look her in the face.
"Lils, you know what you need?"
"Wh-what?"
"A VEG FEST!!!" (a/n-if you don't know, veg fests are when you get a bunch of food and eat until you can't move, like a vegetable…hints the name, and while you eat you talk about ALL of your problems until you feel much better!)
"But how're we gonna do that?"
"Oh, just a little something I call… 'the benefits of having a former prankster for an older brother.'"
"What?"
"C'mon, I'll show you."
"O-ok." Lily consented in a watery tone. "As long as we can veg…" she said, forcing a weak smile.
"Alright then. Allons y (a/n-this means 'let's go' in French)!"
Arabella grabbed Lily's hand and dragged her towards the Great Hall. When they were right by the entry Lily stopped, turned to Arabella and said, "No, not in there."
"We're not going there! Follow me." She then dragged Lily once again. They entered a door right by the main staircase in the entrance hall and down a small hallway until they reached a picture of a bowl of fruit. Arabella stopped abruptly and Lily stepped on her heels.
"OW!"
"Oops! Sorry…" Lily sheepishly apologized.
But Arabella was too busy scanning the portrait, only stopping to tickle a pear.
"What are you—oooooooooh!" Lily sighed, awed at the huge kitchens that stood before her.
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"And so then he says, 'No, Bella. Eleven year olds just aren't my type!' That was so humiliating…my best friend's brother! I was speechless…and soooooo embarrassed." Arabella informed Lily of her stupidity as she licked the remnants of the chocolate mousse that once covered her spoon.
"But, why did you ask him in the first place?" Lily asked, stuffing her face with chocolate ice cream drenched in chocolate syrup (a/n- I personally hate chocolate…but all my friends say it's the best comfort food…so, why not?)
"Uh, Lils. Haven't you noticed yet? Your friend here is just a weensy bit BOY CRAZY! C'mon…didn't my thoughts of…" Arabella's voice got into a high-pitched tone, "the boys show you that?" Arabella sighed, and then collapsed in a fit of giggles. She quickly turned to the nearest house elf and politely asked, "Can my friend and I have some apple juice please?"
"W-why yes miss! Teeny is very very happy to help yous misses. I is back with the juice very soon miss!" Teeny then scampered off in the opposite direction of the huge kitchen. She quickly walked to the four long tables in the center of the room, filling them with food for the students in the great hall above. After she and her fellow house elves had levitated the food through the ceiling to the ravenous crowd above, Teeny hurriedly retrieved a pitcher of apple juice and two glasses, setting it before the girls. "Here you is misses!" Teeny cried, beaming.
"Thank you." Lily and Arabella kindly chorused.
Teeny let out a shocked 'eeeek!' "Why, y-you is so very very kind to Teeny. I is just doin' my job, yes I is. I is needing no thanks." She then scampered off in the other direction, shaking her head in denial muttering, "No, Teeny is not deserving thanks. No. Teeny just does her job."
Lily shook her head as she watched Teeny scurry off in the other direction, but soon widened her eyes as she watched Arabella chug down one…two…three glasses of apple juice-within a minute! "Geez. I have to say, chocolate mousse always makes me extremely thirsty!"
"I see…" Lily murmured in an honest tone.
"And you know what else, Lils?"
"Do I wanna know?"
"OF COURSE SILLY!" Arabella stated in a scarily hyper tone.
"Ok…"
"I looooooove apple juice! It's just so appley!" Arabella cooed.
"Oh…I see. Bella, are you feeling okay?"
"Yessss! But…apple juice is sooo good! And so is Sirius! I loooove Sirius. But, we're too young to go out, don't you think? You know, after the whole incident with my friend's big brother I'm ascared of boys!"
"Really now? Bella…you need to caaaaaalm down."
"Okay. I can be calm. Watch." Arabella sat for about five seconds, trying to force herself into a serious face. Yet her mouth kept quivering and her lips were gradually turning upwards until she let out a huge cackle that sounded enormously like Sirius's laugh.
"Bella…I've gotta calm you down…" Lily poured herself a glass of apple juice before she took the almost empty pitcher and poured its contents over Arabella's head.
A shriek echoed through the kitchens. Arabella slowly craned her neck to face Lily, "Lily…Evans…"
"Hey! You should be thanking me!" Lily explained, a hint of nervousness in her tone.
"No, I should be doing this!" As if in slow motion, Lily's green eyes widened considerably as a golden stream of liquid came shooting out of her once-full glass. Her mouth opened to scream, but was instantly filled with the apple juice that once sat in her glass.
"This means WAR!" Lily choked as she turned her bowl of chocolate ice cream onto Arabella's golden locks; she grinned as brown cream cascaded down Arabella's curls and dripped onto the floor. However, Lily didn't notice her friend grab her chocolate mousse and found her face smeared with the sticky brown goop!
The girls raided the kitchen the next fifteen minutes, grabbing the first mess-making ingredients they saw, oblivious to the forlorn looks on the house elves' faces. When they had finally finished destroying the room, they collapsed on the floor in fits of laughter. "Ss-see Lily!" Arabella forced out, clutching her side, "You feel better don't you?"
"Yeah…I guess so. But one thing's still troubling me?"
"What is it?" Arabella's laughter abruptly halted.
"How do I get revenge on stupid Potter" Lily spat out James' surname venomously.
"Well…that shouldn't be too difficult. What other Muggle tricks have you got up your sleeves? I'm positive he won't know what's hit 'em!"
"BRILLIANT! You are a genius, I tell ya!"
"I know," Bella said, bowing.
"Yes, a genius who is frighteningly like Sirius at times."
"WHAT?!"
"Oh, nothing. Hm…was somebody calling my name?" As Arabella stopped to listen, Lily jumped up, grabbed some remaining flour off the floor, threw it at Arabella and scurried towards the exit. "Yup, it was my conscious telling me to run!" Lily cried as she sprung out the door, Arabella close on her heels.
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Reaching the portrait of the Fat Lady, Lily hastily whispered, "whippie skippo" and climbed into the portrait hole. She sprinted into the mostly deserted common room and searched for shelter. She soon found it behind Sirius, who was dazedly standing by the couch. She quickly jumped behind him, grabbing onto his shoulders as if he were a shield. Sirius took in her flour-caked body, chocolate-smeared face, and giggling state to mean she had done something…and was about to get revenged (a/n- is that a word?).
"Hey! I'm not gonna take the beating!" Sirius cried, but was too late as Arabella stormed into the room, a look of false anger on her face.
Sirius quickly stepped aside and said, "Here, you can have her!"
"Or maybe…we can have…YOU!" Arabella cried and the girls both attacked Sirius who screamed in protest as he tried to escape the messy girls. "Get off me! Aaah! You're messing up my hair! Stop it…not the hair…DO NOT TOUCH THE HAIR!"
From the opposite side of the common room someone loudly cleared their throat. The three untidy first years looked up and saw James wagging his finger at them disapprovingly. "Mr. Black…Miss Figg…Miss Evans…I am appalled at your behavior!" James cried, putting on a fake McGonagall tone. He got a genial chuckle from Sirius at his great impression, but the girls just gave him icy glares and stomped up the stairs to their bedroom.
"What did I do this time?" James asked, bewildered.
"Dunno mate, but I'd be worried if I were you. You've got Evans and Figg wantin your blood…SCARY" Sirius said, shivering for effect.
"I know…" James shivered also, but unlike Sirius, he wasn't faking.
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~DanniBannani~ Okay…that was chapter eight!! Again…thanks to all who've reviewed! I've gotten over thirty...and it hasn't even been a month yet! Wow! You guys are amazing. Well, I hope you liked this chapter too! It took me a little while to get it down since I had to figure out how to make the perfect hyper Arabella…I still don't know how that went… Anyways, please review and tell me! It makes my day! And a happy writer means, a happy story…sometimes…okay…me shut up now. Well, thanks again!!