Chapter 13

Bella and Kisses

          Lily walked back to the girl's dormitory quickly, not bothering to notice the people staring at her tear-stained face.

          She had been trying to talk to James and he had kissed her!  Why?  She was too confused to even ponder the logic of his mind.  He was angry at her, saddened by her, hurt by her.  The only sense Lily could make of it was; he was just as confused as she was.

          Finally she made it into the 7th year room.  Closing the door, she leaned against the wall and took a deep breath.  There was one question still dangling in Lily's mind.  How did she feel?

          She knew she couldn't pretend that she had hated the kiss.  Hell, it was wonderful.  But James had hurt her before.  Wouldn't he just do it again?

          "Hey!  How are you feeling?"  A voice called, interrupting Lily's thoughts.  "Why are you crying?"

          The voice belonged to Kari.  She touched her friends shoulder gently. 

          Lily jumped, "Oh, I'm feeling better, I just, you know, got in a fight with James.  It's nothing though."

          "Nothing, huh?  Well, I'm glad you're back.  Maybe you should get some rest, you will have to get used to going to classes again!  But, lucky you!  You got to miss Professor Trelawney's big homework assignment."

          Yawning, Lily said good night to Kari and then went into the bathroom to change into her pajamas.  The kiss was just something she didn't want to deal with right now.

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          The next morning, Lily somehow found herself in the dining hall.  She couldn't figure out how she made it there, considering she had been asleep the whole time.

          Spooning some eggs on to her plate, she muttered a sleepy, "Good day," to all of her friends who were already sitting around the table.

          "Good morning, Lily darling!"  Sirius exclaimed loudly, throwing his hands out.

          She squinted and looked at him through one eye.  "Go back to bed."

          He slumped back onto the chair.  "Fine.  Just fine.  Go on, eat your eggs and pretend I'm not here.  *Sniff, sniff*" Sirius waved his hand at her plate.

          Lily smiled and picked up her fork.  "Very well, then."  She said as he shot a sarcastic look at her.

          They ate a few minutes in silence, Alisa and Sirius occasionally whispering things to each other and giggling.  After clearing her platter, Lily got up and grabbed her bag.  "I'm going to go to Professor Flitwick's to see if there is anything I should catch up on.  I'll see you all later."  Then she walked out of the room, one hand clutching her bag, the other placed on her stomach.

          Suddenly, James too grabbed his sack and hurried after Lily. 

          Lizzie laid her head on Remus's shoulder.  "Uh-oh, what is that boy up to now?" 

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          James followed Lily through the maze of halls that led to the charms classroom.  With his quidditch training, he quickly caught up to her and grabbed an arm.

          She turned around and stared at James quizzically.  His mouth pouted and Lily remembered what it felt like to be attached to it.  She shivered at the very memory.  "What is it James?  I've got to see Flitwick." 

          He looked at the floor and then back into her eyes.  "What…what did that kiss mean to you?"  His voice was quiet and sheepish.

          Lily blushed.  "I don't know.  I was hoping you would be able to figure that out.  All I can think is that I don't want to be hurt anymore.  We really shouldn't do that again."

          He nodded, "I know, we shouldn't complicate things at this point.  I suppose I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about what happened.  We'll just fall back on our old plan of being civil, agreed?"

          He held out his hand for her to shake which she took, feeling his work hardened palm.  Their eyes met and she felt him pull her body forward. 

          Then, out of now where, Lily and James were kissing again.  Their arms intertwined as their bodies pressed against each other. 

          Somewhere in the back of Lily's mind, a voice screamed out, "Stop!  What are you doing?"  But she pushed it away and continued to explore James mouth.  Only when they fell against the wall did she pull away.

          "Oh my God, what are we doing?"  Lily asked, running her fingers through her red curls.

          James's voice was panicked.  "I…I…I don't know.  Damn it!  I'm really sorry, Lily.  What are we going to do?"

          "I don't know!  Shit.  Ok, calm down.  Well, we can't sit here and figure it out; we got to be in class."

          They walked, almost jogged to the Charms classroom, trying to avoid each others eyes.  Within a matter of minutes they had made into the room, barely four minutes late.

          "Mr. Potter, Miss Evans.  So nice of you to join us.  Please take a seat."  Professor Flitwick squeaked. 

          Luckily, the only two seats left were on opposite sides of the room.  Lily took the one next to Alisa while James went to the one next to Sirius.

          The professor began explaining a difficult charm to the class.  Quietly, Alisa leaned over to Lily and whispered, "So, what happened?  You guys were gone for a long time."

          Lily could feel the heat rise to her cheeks.  "Nothing.  It's just, you know, complicated."

          Kari, who was sitting on the opposite side of Alisa, leaned in.  "Is that boy causing you trouble again?  Just tell me if is and I will beat the crap out of him!"

          "No, really.  It's absolutely nothing that I can't deal with on my own."

          Kari sat back and sighed.  Was her friend falling for James again?  She wasn't sure how she felt about that.  It was good, in one way, because they would have to spend a year together, but on the other hand, Kari couldn't stand to see Lily hurt again.

Hey man, we look at each other, with ample eyes,

So why not some time to discover what's behind your eyes?

I've got so many questions that I want to ask you.

I am so tired of mirrors; pour me a glass of your wine!

And there's a shadow in the sky and it looks like rain,

And shit is gonna fly, once again!

I look at myself in the mirror,

Am I vital today? 

Hey man, I let my conscience get in the way!

And there's a shadow in the sky and it looks like rain,

And shit is gonna fly, once again,

And I don't mean to rain on your parade,

But pathos has got me once again…

And I don't want ambivalence no more!

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          The next day, Lily sat in the library, trying to finish her potions essay.  Sighing, she set down her quill and picked up the course book.  This concoction was extremely hard to research because the library held so little about it.

          Someone from behind tapped Lily on the shoulder.  She turned around, only to find Arabella Figg shifting nervously.

          "Hey, um, I just came here to ask you if you are going to take that one auror's job.  The rest of us have decided that we would like to do it, so, you're the last one."   She asked, flicking her long chestnut hair behind one shoulder while her brown eyes waited for an answer expectantly. 

          Lily bit her lip, she had completely forgotten about the job offer.  Would she still be able to do it with the pregnancy?  "Well, actually, I don't know.  I'm going to talk to Professor Dumbledore first, I think."

          Arabella smiled, partially confused by the answer she'd received, "Ok.  Anyway, everyone else is ready for it whenever you are!  I've got to go, see you later!"  Then she turned around and left.

          Trying to focus on her book again, Lily's thoughts drifted.  Why did she hate Arabella so much?

*Flashback*

          It was during her third year at Hogwarts and the girls were in their dorm discussing Brad, a very cute boy who Lily had a crush on.

          "You should ask him out, right now.  I know for a fact that he is in common room."  Taunted Kari as she pulled her legs in Indian style.  Alisa nodded fervently.

          Lily hesitated, they had heard rumors that he liked her, but no one could really confirm it.  "Well, er, Kari…I don't know, ugh, fine…no!  Don't do it, well, I guess if you want to you can do it.  No, that's nice; I should be the one asking.  Ok, no, you can go ahead and ask, quickly, though, before I change my mind."

          Kari squealed.  "Don't worry Lily, he'll say yes!  You're feeling good, looking sexy!  Oh!  I cannot wait!"  She ran away, singing softly under her breath, "Someone's getting a boyfriend!"

          Alisa smiled and wiggled her eyebrows causing Lily burst into giggles.

          They waited and waited, how long did it take to get an answer?  The two girls looked at the clock and sighed.  It had only been three minutes.

          Lily fell back onto the bed; her heart was pounding so hard she thought it might catapult out of her chest.

          Soon, she heard the ominous creak of the door, and snapped back up. 

          Kari gave her a sad smile.  "He said he liked you but…he already has a girlfriend."

          Trying to hide the sinking disappointment that she felt, Lily gave her best cheery smile.  "Oh, I thought as much.  Um, do you know who?"

Squinting her eyes, Kari thought for a minute.  "I think he said it was Ashley Levs."

          Alisa made a face.  "That prat?  Isn't she the one with that groovy older brother?"

          Kari nodded.  "Yeah, the one with smokey eyelashes.  What's his name?  Andrew…Anthony, yeah, that's it.  I quite fancy him.  Anyway, Lily, Brad said that he would like to go out with you later in the year, after this relationship dies out."

          Lily nodded and smiled once more.  She would still have a chance.

          Three months flew by.  Brad and Lily locked eyes every once in a while and smiled shyly. 

          That Saturday morning dawned bright and beautiful and buzz circulated the third year population: Brad and Ashley were no longer a couple.

          Lily and her friends practically screamed in delight, she was finally going to get her man!

          They waited three days before making their move.  That way Lily didn't seem over eager or obsessive.

          She pulled on her school clothes and did her hair just right.  An aura of confidence surrounded her as she made her way to the dining hall.

          Kari and Alisa gave her small smiles as she walked over to Brad who was standing near the entrance of the Great Hall, his back to her. 

          Ten more steps…five more steps…Lily stopped dead in her tracks.  The school know-it-all, Arabella Figg marched up to Brad. 

          "Hey babe!"  She said seductively wrapping her arms around him.  Lily stared like a deer caught in the head lights. 

          Arabella gave her a sarcastic smile before kissing the boy who was supposed to be Lily's.

          Brad turned around.  "Oh shit …"  He trailed off nervously.  "I'm really sorry; I just thought you weren't interested anymore."

          She shifted on her feet as Arabella leaned against his already broad chest.  "What did you say?  I was just looking for a friend."  Lily lied quickly, thoroughly embarrassed.

*End Flashback*

          The present day Lily shook her head.  Arabella seemed to have changed, but the memory still made her flush with anger.

          Pushing thoughts of Miss Figg out of her mind, Lily shut her book and headed towards the Gryffindor tower deciding along the way to visit the Headmaster first thing in the morning.

Okie Dokie!  How was that?  I thought it was a pretty ok chapter!  I had to throw the job in there because I had COMPLETLEY forgotten about it!!!!  Woops!  Oh!  And ya'll got some L/J action AGAIN!  Twice in a row, wow, lucky you! 

I'm a little mad because I didn't get 10 reviews like I asked, (Come on people, is it really THAT bad???)  but maybe if you have a long chapter, you'll review more… hint hint.

I would also like to take this time to give pie of any flavor (You pick one, your very favorite!) to FEAangel258 who has faithfully reviewed, erm, a lot.  Congratulations, I hope you enjoy this dessert.

Oh, and Andufeniel, Joyce, and Slinkysly, you get a handful of cookies for reviewing quite a bit.

Ok, and now, for the pleasure of all, I will answer some questions that were posted, even if it is a little late for some.  Here goes:

Lilybird:  James doesn't really know what he means.  I don't even know what he wants, you know him, he's got a mind of his own…

FEAngel258:  Hey!  I like your ideas; I just might work them into the plot a bit…  Lucky you!  By the way, how's the pie?

Twinkle Toes:  Finally, constructive criticism!  I love you!  I hope this was a little bit better, imagery wise. 

Sydney:  I'm soooooo sorry that I didn't answer you sooner!  The song was "All the Small Things" by Blink-182.

And special thanks goes to everyone else who has ever reviewed, your words keep this story alive!

Disclaimer:  The song, "Hey Man" (how original…) belongs to Nelly Furtado.