CHAPTER THREE: DIAGON ALLEY'S SECRET
Sirius and James were walking through Diagon Alley, working their way against the crowds. James was expecting Lily shortly, and didn't want to keep her waiting. Sirius dragged him in and out of shops, attempting to divert his attention from the pending meeting with Lily, but it was like pushing against a brick wall.
Unfortunately, the mad rush to get school supplies was physically working against the two also, and soon they found themselves shoved into a dark alleyway.
"Where are we now?" James asked, looking around at the dingy buildings.
The air was shockingly cold and damp compared to the crowded street; the two looked at each other and shrugged. They ambled slowly down the alley searching for a familiar sight. Dark looking witches and wizards hurried past, their cloaks drawn up tight around their faces, glaring at anything that moved.
One such witch, frail looking, with her hood pulled up tightly over her dark hair, walked by and ran into Sirius' shoulder. As she turned to apologize, Sirius' eyes filled with rage. The witch's own pale blue eyes grew large at the sight of the two Hogwarts students, and she muttered a quick apology before hurrying away.
Sirius stared after her a moment, an angry look still etched on his face, then turned and began to follow her.
"Where are you going?" asked James.
"Don't you know who that was?" spat Sirius.
"No--what are you talking about?" responded James, completely amazed at Sirius' behavior.
The cloaked figure glanced back over her shoulder, casting her sharp profile into view. James felt a sudden surge of rage overtake him as he recognized the figure hidden within the cloak; the pale, bony face, sharp and pale eyes, hair that was messier than it had ever been at Hogwarts...
He began to plow his way through the crowd after her, beside Sirius. She sped up, weaving in and out of the crowd of shifty-looking magical folk. James and Sirius followed her down the street, which was growing progressively darker and the buildings around it rougher, but she was going too fast and Prongs and Padfoot didn't know where they were. Further down the street their quarry ducked into an alleyway, and the two sped up and jogged towards the entrance of the alley, afraid of losing her.
"Wait a minute, we've past it!" said James, skidding to a halt. Sirius continued running down the street for another twenty yards before stopping himself. He stared at the buildings confusedly.
"How did we pass it?"
"We couldn't have." Said James, bewildered. "It just disappeared." They stood there, staring at the dripping wall for several minutes. James blinked after a moment; something was strangely familiar about the alley...
"Are you lost, my dears?" asked a misty voice behind them.
"No, not re-"James began, but he was cut off as an old thin woman yanked him towards one of the dilapidated buildings. Sirius followed after him, his face struggling between pure fury and amusement.
"How would you like me to read your future?" she asked, pulling him through the doorway, which was hanging off of one hinge and running into the sign by the door, which read "See Into Your Future . . . TODAY!"
"Hand reading? Crystal Ball? Aura color? Contacting the spirits? I can do it all, you know!"
"No, my friend and I really must be go-"he stopped as a sneezing fit overtook him. The shabby shop smelled sickeningly of incense and perfumes. Thankfully, the light change was very little; the room was small and close, crowded with cheap pictures and relics, and led off to another room, blocked by a beaded curtain. The old lady shoved them through it, and they found themselves in a similar room, except this one had four chairs around a circular table and a crystal ball.
She shoved James onto an oversized pouf, and Sirius sat down beside him in what looked like a piece of melted plastic. The "seer" wrapped a blindingly sparkly shawl around her shoulders and threw a similarly bangled scarf over her head, and took a seat across from the two.
James glanced at Sirius, wondering how much the lady would try to con out of them. True seers were very rare, and always famous, but there were always those who tried to make a few extra galleons by cheating the gullible. The gypsy woman gazed into her crystal ball.
"I see you are a Quidditch fan." She said to Sirius (whom happened to be wearing a Beater sweatshirt underneath his robes). "You have talent, my friend." He rolled his eyes, and Prongs glanced at his watch.
"I see you have an exciting future ahead of you."
"As a Quidditch player?" asked Sirius boredly, as though he were only slightly aware or amused by the situation.
"No, oh no . . . I see water... yes! A pirate will be your fate!"
"A Pirate?" Sirius looked almost thoughtful.
"His name is . . . Scurvy dog."
"Scurvy dog." Repeated Sirius disbelievingly, his almost-enthusiasm disappearing. James smirked at him.
"Arrr, matey!" he laughed, "Be I yer first mate?"
"YOU will not be a pirate!" said the "seer" quickly, turning to James.
"Oh, really? I'm going to be a cowboy?"
She gazed into the crystal ball, which looked surprisingly like a bowling ball, before suddenly gasping and falling back in her chair so dramatically it nearly tipped over.
"Oh no, my dear boy—oh no!"
"What is it?" asked Sirius eagerly "Is he going to be my first mate after all?!"
Her lips moved, but no sound came out.
"I'm going to go mute?" asked James.
"He's going to own a chipmunk farm in Belmonpan, Belize?"
"I saw NO future for you, oh no, but a GRIM! A GRIM STANDING BY YOUR SIDE!" she finally cried.
They stared at her, finding no words to iterate their annoyance or surprise that someone could be this fake.
"Right." Said James, "A big black dog, is that it?"
She nodded faintly. James glanced meaningfully at Sirius, another smirk pulling at his face. "Was it on a pirate ship?"
"I hardly think your death is a laughing matter!" responded the old woman.
"Quite so." Agreed James, standing up. "But we're late for a meeting, so if you'll excuse us we need to be going."
Her face immediately beamed at him, and she grabbed his arm with an iron force over the table, knocking over the crystal ball in her rush. Sirius winced as it fell with a thunk on his foot.
"No, no, don't go! I-I see a hope in your future also, yes! A bright light!" she simpered at James. She amended these equally dismal words by saying "And-and plenty of money, so please, do spare three galleons for an old lady's visions of better--and richer--times to come?"
Sirius put the bowling ball back on the table. The lady glanced from James to Sirius, then back again.
"Three galleons! Each! The life of a pirate is filled with treasure!"
"I am not paying you three galleons for telling me I would be a dog with scurvy that chases James around!" exclaimed Sirius, wincing as he put his foot down gingerly. She shot him a very dirty look before looking at James with a bit of a maniacal gleam in her eye.
"However," said James quickly, hoping to prevent something very unfortunate happening to their more useful body parts (namely, their heads), "If you would give us directions to Diagon Alley, we would be more than happy to pay you six galleons. In fact, I'll throw in an extra galleon for any damages to the, er, crystal ball." Sirius glowered at him, mouthing "Damage to the crystal ball?!"
"Yes, that is an excellent suggestion, Mr., er . . ." the lady trailed off.
"Why don't you look in your crystal ball?" said Sirius mockingly. He muttered under his breath "all you'll see is my foot embedded in it."
So after some misty-voiced instructions, including "follow the seven stars to the intersection of life," and "Eugepae Alley is the path you must take for freedom," the boys found themselves finally exiting the shop, their pockets not jangling as much.
HPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHP
"What street is this?" asked Sirius a minute later, looking around at the dirt-caked facades of the houses.
"I think she said it was called Eugapae Alley." (pronounced Oohguhpie)
"What? Is that cave troll for 'Look, a pie!'"
"Actually, it comes from Latin, and means 'hurray.'" Said James, looking up to check they were at the right place.
"James, mate, that's a load of tosh—you don't even take Latin."
He said "Lily does." Before turning left and heading towards the "bright light of the Diagon aura." Sirius shook his shaggy head in disgust as he caught up with James.
"She takes Latin?"
"Yeah. She taught me some—didn't seem to think it was fair if she insulted me in it."
Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Sounds more like you just talk to her in it." He said, as they walked out into Diagon Alley, where many of their friends, including Lily and Peter, were waiting for them.
"You know, I wouldn't be surprised if you wrote love letters in Latin—it would have simply swept her off her feet." He said sarcastically, but he was looking at James as if he wouldn't be surprised if it were true. He didn't notice Lily standing in front of him, wearing the look of one who is trying to be extremely patient but failing, until he nearly ran into her.
"Epistulas in Latin non est." (The letters aren't in Latin) said Lily, with an unusually superior look on her face. Sirius looked up sheepishly at her.
"Oh hello Lily!" he said cheerfully. "Erm, what does that mean anyway?"
"It means you are a stupid blighter in danger of getting your head cursed off." James smirked, but a true smile crept on his face when he looked at Lily. She was smiling too, and at him for his comment.
"If you two would stop staring at each other we do have some school supplies to get." he retorted.
James grinned guiltily but Lily shot him a warning look.
"Since when are you interested in school supplies?" she asked.
"Since I ran out of Filibuster Fireworks." he replied. Lily rolled her eyes.
"Well, we have to go find my mom first. She wandered off somewhere with Alice."
"How about you two go find her?" suggested Padfoot immediately, an evil grin on his face.
"Where do you have to go all of a sudden?" James asked, feigning suspicion.
"Nowhere, but you two do. The rest of us will be at Zonko's."
Some of the girls in the group started to protest, but Sirius was already dragging them towards a small shop, where sparks and smoke were issuing from the door. James watched, amused, for a minute before realizing Lily's bright red hair was bobbing away from him in the opposite direction.
He jogged to catch up, realizing he was quite winded as he did.
"You seem tired." said Lily lightly as he came to a walk beside her.
"No," he said, pausing to take a large breath, "I'm just a little—"
"—Tired," finished Lily. "Really, James, it sounds, and looks, like you've run a marathon."
She glanced to his hair for a moment, but her eyes didn't rest on his face. They continued to walk down the street in this fashion, James asking about Lily's mother and Lily asking about James'.
"So how are we supposed to spot her?" asked James at one point, and Lily shrugged.
"Well, she looks a little like me and a little like Petunia—"
James laughed.
"Well, what am I supposed to say?"
He opened his mouth, but shut it again. Lily finally glanced over at him for a moment, but looked away as he tried to meet her eyes. Hurriedly, she changed the conversation.
"So . . . what were you doing down a dingy little alley? Racing Sirius, or something equally idiotic?"
"Surprisingly, no. We were shoved down there, when we tried to reach you, and we saw—"He stopped, not sure of whether to go on.
"Who did you see?" Lily sounded worried, and suspicious. James paused for another second, but said,
"Lott."
He couldn't tell what Lily was thinking; her face hadn't changed a bit, and she was still searching for her mother as the street got quieter and quieter. After a minute more of walking, they were alone on the street, passing by less-visited shops. Finally, she took a breath and said "I'm not surprised."
"What?"
"I'm not surprised you saw that prat down some deserted alleyway, after last year."
James nodded in agreement. "That's the half of it, though. When Sirius and I ran after her, rather stupid, I admit, she ran down another street, and it disappeared once we passed it."
Lily nodded. "But that couldn't have taken more than five minutes. You were at least 15 minutes late."
"That's the seers fault!"
"You talked to a seer?" laughed Lily, whom had a deep dislike of the subject.
"Of course, she wasn't actually a seer—she thought Sirius was going to become a pirate, of all things . . ."
And thus James launched into the story of the grimy shop and old lady, Lily's happy laughter ringing on the deserted street. That was the way Amaryllis found them, walking by the shop she was in, examining a book on Magical Cooking. She immediately put the book down, calling out to Lily as she passed.
"Lily Evans, aren't you even going to say hello to your poor mugger mother?"
Lily and James stopped, both laughing a little at the word "mugger."
"It's muggle, mum, and hello!" said Lily cheerfully, walking to her mother, who was eyeing James curiously.
"Is that him?" she whispered to Lily.
"Yes, mum." Whispered back Lily.
"Well, introduce me!"
"Oh, alright. James, this is my mum. Mum, this is James Potter."
James shook Mrs. Evan's extended hand, smiling charmingly and saying "Nice to meet you! I've only heard the best."
"I have heard quite a bit about you also, Mr. Potter!" she started, and Lily's face blanched.
"Oh, don't be silly dear. You really think I wouldn't find out something with all those letters he sends?" This time, both their faces blanched. Amaryllis smiled. "Then again, word-of-mouth is much more effective, and I do say, he looks just as handsome as you made him sound."
James was torn between being shocked or happy, and the confusion must have shown on his face, as Mrs. Evans laughed lightly.
"It seems to me you are quite misleading to James, Lily! I didn't know it was in my daughter to say such wonderful things to me, and then pretend innocence!"
James suddenly realized where Lily's personality came from. Thankfully, the others had come looking for them when they had taken more than enough time, and were walking down the lane towards the embarrassed Lily and James. James said "Excuse me, Mrs. Evans, Lily," and raced towards his comrades. Once he was out of earshot, which took less than a second, Amaryllis turned to her daughter.
"I quite approve, dear." She said with a wink. Lily glared at her mother.
"There is nothing to approve!"
"Of course there is. He's standing right there, isn't he? Or do my eyes trick me into thinking there's another nice, funny, smart boy with impossibly messy black hair on this street?"
Lily looked at her mother, to James, then back again, before sighing.
"Mum, do you think you could try not to drop any more hints while he is within a 10 mile radius?" asked Lily tersely.
"Only if you promise to try and be nice while I am within that 10 mile range." She retorted back quickly.
"Fine! As long as you don't embarrass me any more than you already have."
Mrs. Evans smiled serenely, and walked towards the group.
"Very well, dear. I wonder if James knows I have read some of the letters . . ."
HPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHP
GNA: Ta-da! The much more exciting chapter three! I never read through to check for missed grammatical errors and the like, but considering how long GNL and I fought over this one it should be set! Enjoy, and thanks to everyone for sticking with FOTM despite the lack of thank you's!
Sirius and James were walking through Diagon Alley, working their way against the crowds. James was expecting Lily shortly, and didn't want to keep her waiting. Sirius dragged him in and out of shops, attempting to divert his attention from the pending meeting with Lily, but it was like pushing against a brick wall.
Unfortunately, the mad rush to get school supplies was physically working against the two also, and soon they found themselves shoved into a dark alleyway.
"Where are we now?" James asked, looking around at the dingy buildings.
The air was shockingly cold and damp compared to the crowded street; the two looked at each other and shrugged. They ambled slowly down the alley searching for a familiar sight. Dark looking witches and wizards hurried past, their cloaks drawn up tight around their faces, glaring at anything that moved.
One such witch, frail looking, with her hood pulled up tightly over her dark hair, walked by and ran into Sirius' shoulder. As she turned to apologize, Sirius' eyes filled with rage. The witch's own pale blue eyes grew large at the sight of the two Hogwarts students, and she muttered a quick apology before hurrying away.
Sirius stared after her a moment, an angry look still etched on his face, then turned and began to follow her.
"Where are you going?" asked James.
"Don't you know who that was?" spat Sirius.
"No--what are you talking about?" responded James, completely amazed at Sirius' behavior.
The cloaked figure glanced back over her shoulder, casting her sharp profile into view. James felt a sudden surge of rage overtake him as he recognized the figure hidden within the cloak; the pale, bony face, sharp and pale eyes, hair that was messier than it had ever been at Hogwarts...
He began to plow his way through the crowd after her, beside Sirius. She sped up, weaving in and out of the crowd of shifty-looking magical folk. James and Sirius followed her down the street, which was growing progressively darker and the buildings around it rougher, but she was going too fast and Prongs and Padfoot didn't know where they were. Further down the street their quarry ducked into an alleyway, and the two sped up and jogged towards the entrance of the alley, afraid of losing her.
"Wait a minute, we've past it!" said James, skidding to a halt. Sirius continued running down the street for another twenty yards before stopping himself. He stared at the buildings confusedly.
"How did we pass it?"
"We couldn't have." Said James, bewildered. "It just disappeared." They stood there, staring at the dripping wall for several minutes. James blinked after a moment; something was strangely familiar about the alley...
"Are you lost, my dears?" asked a misty voice behind them.
"No, not re-"James began, but he was cut off as an old thin woman yanked him towards one of the dilapidated buildings. Sirius followed after him, his face struggling between pure fury and amusement.
"How would you like me to read your future?" she asked, pulling him through the doorway, which was hanging off of one hinge and running into the sign by the door, which read "See Into Your Future . . . TODAY!"
"Hand reading? Crystal Ball? Aura color? Contacting the spirits? I can do it all, you know!"
"No, my friend and I really must be go-"he stopped as a sneezing fit overtook him. The shabby shop smelled sickeningly of incense and perfumes. Thankfully, the light change was very little; the room was small and close, crowded with cheap pictures and relics, and led off to another room, blocked by a beaded curtain. The old lady shoved them through it, and they found themselves in a similar room, except this one had four chairs around a circular table and a crystal ball.
She shoved James onto an oversized pouf, and Sirius sat down beside him in what looked like a piece of melted plastic. The "seer" wrapped a blindingly sparkly shawl around her shoulders and threw a similarly bangled scarf over her head, and took a seat across from the two.
James glanced at Sirius, wondering how much the lady would try to con out of them. True seers were very rare, and always famous, but there were always those who tried to make a few extra galleons by cheating the gullible. The gypsy woman gazed into her crystal ball.
"I see you are a Quidditch fan." She said to Sirius (whom happened to be wearing a Beater sweatshirt underneath his robes). "You have talent, my friend." He rolled his eyes, and Prongs glanced at his watch.
"I see you have an exciting future ahead of you."
"As a Quidditch player?" asked Sirius boredly, as though he were only slightly aware or amused by the situation.
"No, oh no . . . I see water... yes! A pirate will be your fate!"
"A Pirate?" Sirius looked almost thoughtful.
"His name is . . . Scurvy dog."
"Scurvy dog." Repeated Sirius disbelievingly, his almost-enthusiasm disappearing. James smirked at him.
"Arrr, matey!" he laughed, "Be I yer first mate?"
"YOU will not be a pirate!" said the "seer" quickly, turning to James.
"Oh, really? I'm going to be a cowboy?"
She gazed into the crystal ball, which looked surprisingly like a bowling ball, before suddenly gasping and falling back in her chair so dramatically it nearly tipped over.
"Oh no, my dear boy—oh no!"
"What is it?" asked Sirius eagerly "Is he going to be my first mate after all?!"
Her lips moved, but no sound came out.
"I'm going to go mute?" asked James.
"He's going to own a chipmunk farm in Belmonpan, Belize?"
"I saw NO future for you, oh no, but a GRIM! A GRIM STANDING BY YOUR SIDE!" she finally cried.
They stared at her, finding no words to iterate their annoyance or surprise that someone could be this fake.
"Right." Said James, "A big black dog, is that it?"
She nodded faintly. James glanced meaningfully at Sirius, another smirk pulling at his face. "Was it on a pirate ship?"
"I hardly think your death is a laughing matter!" responded the old woman.
"Quite so." Agreed James, standing up. "But we're late for a meeting, so if you'll excuse us we need to be going."
Her face immediately beamed at him, and she grabbed his arm with an iron force over the table, knocking over the crystal ball in her rush. Sirius winced as it fell with a thunk on his foot.
"No, no, don't go! I-I see a hope in your future also, yes! A bright light!" she simpered at James. She amended these equally dismal words by saying "And-and plenty of money, so please, do spare three galleons for an old lady's visions of better--and richer--times to come?"
Sirius put the bowling ball back on the table. The lady glanced from James to Sirius, then back again.
"Three galleons! Each! The life of a pirate is filled with treasure!"
"I am not paying you three galleons for telling me I would be a dog with scurvy that chases James around!" exclaimed Sirius, wincing as he put his foot down gingerly. She shot him a very dirty look before looking at James with a bit of a maniacal gleam in her eye.
"However," said James quickly, hoping to prevent something very unfortunate happening to their more useful body parts (namely, their heads), "If you would give us directions to Diagon Alley, we would be more than happy to pay you six galleons. In fact, I'll throw in an extra galleon for any damages to the, er, crystal ball." Sirius glowered at him, mouthing "Damage to the crystal ball?!"
"Yes, that is an excellent suggestion, Mr., er . . ." the lady trailed off.
"Why don't you look in your crystal ball?" said Sirius mockingly. He muttered under his breath "all you'll see is my foot embedded in it."
So after some misty-voiced instructions, including "follow the seven stars to the intersection of life," and "Eugepae Alley is the path you must take for freedom," the boys found themselves finally exiting the shop, their pockets not jangling as much.
HPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHP
"What street is this?" asked Sirius a minute later, looking around at the dirt-caked facades of the houses.
"I think she said it was called Eugapae Alley." (pronounced Oohguhpie)
"What? Is that cave troll for 'Look, a pie!'"
"Actually, it comes from Latin, and means 'hurray.'" Said James, looking up to check they were at the right place.
"James, mate, that's a load of tosh—you don't even take Latin."
He said "Lily does." Before turning left and heading towards the "bright light of the Diagon aura." Sirius shook his shaggy head in disgust as he caught up with James.
"She takes Latin?"
"Yeah. She taught me some—didn't seem to think it was fair if she insulted me in it."
Sirius rolled his eyes.
"Sounds more like you just talk to her in it." He said, as they walked out into Diagon Alley, where many of their friends, including Lily and Peter, were waiting for them.
"You know, I wouldn't be surprised if you wrote love letters in Latin—it would have simply swept her off her feet." He said sarcastically, but he was looking at James as if he wouldn't be surprised if it were true. He didn't notice Lily standing in front of him, wearing the look of one who is trying to be extremely patient but failing, until he nearly ran into her.
"Epistulas in Latin non est." (The letters aren't in Latin) said Lily, with an unusually superior look on her face. Sirius looked up sheepishly at her.
"Oh hello Lily!" he said cheerfully. "Erm, what does that mean anyway?"
"It means you are a stupid blighter in danger of getting your head cursed off." James smirked, but a true smile crept on his face when he looked at Lily. She was smiling too, and at him for his comment.
"If you two would stop staring at each other we do have some school supplies to get." he retorted.
James grinned guiltily but Lily shot him a warning look.
"Since when are you interested in school supplies?" she asked.
"Since I ran out of Filibuster Fireworks." he replied. Lily rolled her eyes.
"Well, we have to go find my mom first. She wandered off somewhere with Alice."
"How about you two go find her?" suggested Padfoot immediately, an evil grin on his face.
"Where do you have to go all of a sudden?" James asked, feigning suspicion.
"Nowhere, but you two do. The rest of us will be at Zonko's."
Some of the girls in the group started to protest, but Sirius was already dragging them towards a small shop, where sparks and smoke were issuing from the door. James watched, amused, for a minute before realizing Lily's bright red hair was bobbing away from him in the opposite direction.
He jogged to catch up, realizing he was quite winded as he did.
"You seem tired." said Lily lightly as he came to a walk beside her.
"No," he said, pausing to take a large breath, "I'm just a little—"
"—Tired," finished Lily. "Really, James, it sounds, and looks, like you've run a marathon."
She glanced to his hair for a moment, but her eyes didn't rest on his face. They continued to walk down the street in this fashion, James asking about Lily's mother and Lily asking about James'.
"So how are we supposed to spot her?" asked James at one point, and Lily shrugged.
"Well, she looks a little like me and a little like Petunia—"
James laughed.
"Well, what am I supposed to say?"
He opened his mouth, but shut it again. Lily finally glanced over at him for a moment, but looked away as he tried to meet her eyes. Hurriedly, she changed the conversation.
"So . . . what were you doing down a dingy little alley? Racing Sirius, or something equally idiotic?"
"Surprisingly, no. We were shoved down there, when we tried to reach you, and we saw—"He stopped, not sure of whether to go on.
"Who did you see?" Lily sounded worried, and suspicious. James paused for another second, but said,
"Lott."
He couldn't tell what Lily was thinking; her face hadn't changed a bit, and she was still searching for her mother as the street got quieter and quieter. After a minute more of walking, they were alone on the street, passing by less-visited shops. Finally, she took a breath and said "I'm not surprised."
"What?"
"I'm not surprised you saw that prat down some deserted alleyway, after last year."
James nodded in agreement. "That's the half of it, though. When Sirius and I ran after her, rather stupid, I admit, she ran down another street, and it disappeared once we passed it."
Lily nodded. "But that couldn't have taken more than five minutes. You were at least 15 minutes late."
"That's the seers fault!"
"You talked to a seer?" laughed Lily, whom had a deep dislike of the subject.
"Of course, she wasn't actually a seer—she thought Sirius was going to become a pirate, of all things . . ."
And thus James launched into the story of the grimy shop and old lady, Lily's happy laughter ringing on the deserted street. That was the way Amaryllis found them, walking by the shop she was in, examining a book on Magical Cooking. She immediately put the book down, calling out to Lily as she passed.
"Lily Evans, aren't you even going to say hello to your poor mugger mother?"
Lily and James stopped, both laughing a little at the word "mugger."
"It's muggle, mum, and hello!" said Lily cheerfully, walking to her mother, who was eyeing James curiously.
"Is that him?" she whispered to Lily.
"Yes, mum." Whispered back Lily.
"Well, introduce me!"
"Oh, alright. James, this is my mum. Mum, this is James Potter."
James shook Mrs. Evan's extended hand, smiling charmingly and saying "Nice to meet you! I've only heard the best."
"I have heard quite a bit about you also, Mr. Potter!" she started, and Lily's face blanched.
"Oh, don't be silly dear. You really think I wouldn't find out something with all those letters he sends?" This time, both their faces blanched. Amaryllis smiled. "Then again, word-of-mouth is much more effective, and I do say, he looks just as handsome as you made him sound."
James was torn between being shocked or happy, and the confusion must have shown on his face, as Mrs. Evans laughed lightly.
"It seems to me you are quite misleading to James, Lily! I didn't know it was in my daughter to say such wonderful things to me, and then pretend innocence!"
James suddenly realized where Lily's personality came from. Thankfully, the others had come looking for them when they had taken more than enough time, and were walking down the lane towards the embarrassed Lily and James. James said "Excuse me, Mrs. Evans, Lily," and raced towards his comrades. Once he was out of earshot, which took less than a second, Amaryllis turned to her daughter.
"I quite approve, dear." She said with a wink. Lily glared at her mother.
"There is nothing to approve!"
"Of course there is. He's standing right there, isn't he? Or do my eyes trick me into thinking there's another nice, funny, smart boy with impossibly messy black hair on this street?"
Lily looked at her mother, to James, then back again, before sighing.
"Mum, do you think you could try not to drop any more hints while he is within a 10 mile radius?" asked Lily tersely.
"Only if you promise to try and be nice while I am within that 10 mile range." She retorted back quickly.
"Fine! As long as you don't embarrass me any more than you already have."
Mrs. Evans smiled serenely, and walked towards the group.
"Very well, dear. I wonder if James knows I have read some of the letters . . ."
HPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHPLJHP
GNA: Ta-da! The much more exciting chapter three! I never read through to check for missed grammatical errors and the like, but considering how long GNL and I fought over this one it should be set! Enjoy, and thanks to everyone for sticking with FOTM despite the lack of thank you's!