Disclaimer: see previous chapters.
(A/N: I would just like to take this opportunity to recommend a really great story, for which I was the temp beta so you all have to read it! it is a great story and incredibly well written. I personally love it. It is called With Arms Wide Open, and was written by my friend and colleague, Feather. It is a story of Lily and James after Hogwarts, and its just really, really good. So get to it and review it! she deserves great ones : ) ~Angelxd14)
~*~*~*~*~**************~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The next morning, 6:30 am...
"Get up!" Sirius yelled as he tossed his tousled and wrinkled white shirt to his best friend. The response he got, however, was nothing but a reluctant groan. "I mean it Prongs. I want to get a seat downstairs." He said, eyeballing himself in the mirror and combing back his raven hair.
"What time is it?" James whispered as he slowly turned over, groping for his glasses. When he finally grabbed them he put them on, his eyelids still weary from only six hours of sleep.
"6:30." Sirius casually remarked.
"6:30? Great." He said, stretching his arms out and yawning. "I have to get ready." He then got up, yawned again and walked over to his dresser. He grabbed an undershirt and walked out of his dorm to the prefect's bathroom in the middle of the hall.
He was still half asleep when he opened the door, but he jolted when he heard a loud gasp on the other side. When he saw whom it was he smirked.
"Am I really that threatening Evans?" he boyishly asked as he walked over to the sink where she was brushing her teeth.
"Don't you ever knock Potter?" she asked, in her raspy, morning voice.
"Not when I know it's you." He said.
"Yea, like you did know just now." She said, rolling her eyes and shutting off the water.
"Well didn't we wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. If you haven't heard, Evans, this is the prefect's bathroom. I can come in here whenever I please." He smugly said, grabbing his toothbrush.
"Good for you." She spat, as she began picking up the towels she had left on the floor.
"And I wouldn't have wanted to walk in on you still in the shower. That would have scared anyone to death." He said, looking at her through the mirror and spitting into he sink. When he realized she wasn't paying attention he became annoyed. He always enjoyed their usual morning tiff and it wasn't the same of she wasn't going to participate.
Then Remus walked in, just as groggy as the other two. He wasn't a prefect, but used their bathroom anyway. It was closer to his dorm, and no one seemed to mind.
"Morning Moony." James said, enthusiastically. Remus just nodded at him. He walked over to the sink next to James and grabbed another toothbrush. He began brushing his teeth when he saw Lily cleaning in the background. He turned around.
"Need help there, Lily?" he asked, while rinsing his mouth.
"No, it's fine. Thank you Remus, I'm done." She said, walking over to the laundry chute.
"Ok. He said, and then he turned to James. "So Prongs, you ready for this afternoon?" he asked.
"Oh yea. It's going to be tough though, finding replacements for Wood and Johnson. Best chaser and keeper we ever had. Hey, why don't you try out? You're a great keeper." he asked.
"No, really. I couldn't." Remus stuttered. James nodded understandingly. "Well, that's ok. This season should be great, I have all these plans for us, and we are going to win that cup this year, despite Malfoy. He wouldn't know a good play if it bit him in the ass."
Lily was listening in the background. Quidditch talk, she thought. It was all they ever talked about, when they weren't insulting the girls or talking about them. So they need two new players, she thought, and she smiled to herself. As she got up to leave she caught James' eye once more.
"Good luck today Potter." She innocently said. He looked profoundly confused. "And be careful with that broom. We wouldn't want more wood shoved up your behind than there already is." With that she flashed him a fake smile and left. She passed Sirius in the hall and they just ignored each other. Then she went into her dorm to put on the rest of her uniform. Diana was barely awake, and she was staring at the ceiling, with her eyes half closed.
"Wakey, wakey." Lily brightly said. Diana huffed and turned on her stomach. "Now, now, Renton, don't' be like that." She sweetly said, rubbing her head.
"Go away!" Diana yelled. She was obviously not a morning person.
"No, get up, we have a busy day today." She said, brushing her hair in the mirror. She just groaned and rolled over.
"I hate school." Diana simply said. "Why do we have to get up so early?" she complained.
"We want to get a good seat at the table, and I don't' want all the food to be gone." Lily simply said. Diana looked at her wristwatch.
"It's only 6:40. There will be plenty of food there in...20 minutes." She said, putting the pillow over her head. Lily walked over to her and ripped the pillow out of her hands. Diana groaned. Then Lily sat beside her.
After another minute Lily became tired and just sighed. Then Diana lifted her head and turned it towards her. "Fine!" she said, feeling frustrated. "It's like you're my mother, I hate it." she continued. She let out a loud and long yawn and then sat up. She stretched her neck and her shoulders while Lily began packing her textbooks for her morning classes.
"Guess what?" Lily asked, heartily.
"What?" Diana replied, half listening.
"We're trying out for Quidditch." She said, as if it were obvious. Diana's ears perked up.
"What?" she didn't think she heard her right.
"This year, we are going to play Quidditch." She said again.
"Why?" Diana asked, grabbing a brush from her nightstand.
"Because we can, and we're damn good at it. Plus, it would be nice to help win back those points we lost, and achieve some glory of our own. Don't you want to win the house cup?" Lily asked, almost animated. Diana wasn't' fooled for a second.
"The house cup? Since when do you care about the house cup?" she asked, chuckling.
"Since I heard Potter say to Remus that he needs two new players."
"And what makes you think he'll pick us? He can't stand me and he despises you." She stated.
"Well, we're the best, he just doesn't know it yet." She smugly stated. Diana laughed this time.
"Ok Lil." She said, thus ending the conversation.
"What's so funny?" they heard a voice say. It was Nicole. She had popped her head in to see if they were ready.
"Oh, didn't you hear Nic? We're going to play Quidditch." Diana said, mocking Lily. Lily glared at her.
"Um, ok. Whatever you need to tell yourselves. I worry about you Lily, I really do." She was half kidding when she said this. "Do you really think Potter is going to allow you to play for him?" she asked.
"We'll just have to see. And it's not like he can stop us.expulsion." Lily said, smirking.
"Let's go down. The boys are already down there and I'm really hungry." Nicole whined.
"Ok, ok. Diana hurry up, we'll meet you down there ok?" Lily asked.
"Sure, I'll be down in a minute." She said, as she yawned again. Lily and Nicole proceeded to walk down the stairs, out of the common room and into the great hall. They spoke of odd things, like their schedules and the like. They were going to get them this morning, during breakfast. They were in mid sentence when out of nowhere, someone ran right into Nicole. She fell hard on the floor and her books were scattered everywhere.
"Oh my god, I am so sorry." They heard them say. It was a boy speaking. He lent out his hand to Nicole.
"Reums?" Nicole asked, somewhat bewildered. She put her hand on her head. She had knocked it on the way down.
"Sweetie are you alright?" Lily asked, concerned.
"Nicole I am so sorry, I..well I just left my books upstairs...I was rushing..I didn't mean to hurt you." He stuttered. She grabbed onto his hand and he helped pull her up. She landed on his chest with a soft thud.
"It's ok." She said, blushing. "It happens." They were still embracing when they both noticed Lily with a huge grin on her face. Her arms were folded, and she suddenly felt like a third wheel. She picked up Nicole's books and they let go of each other. They were blushing red and seemed to laugh nervously at their childishness.
"Well, I guess I'll see you in there." He said, trying to sound calm.
"Sure, ok. See you in a minute." She said, with an equally nervous tone. Then he flashed her a sweet smile and jogged up the stairs back to the common room. Lily silently handed Nicole her books, the smirk still prominent, and they began walking again.
"What?" Nicole asked, girlishly. She noticed Lily was looking at her.
"You are just so cute, Nic, that's all." She said. They strolled into the great hall and Lily caroused it, looking for a place at the table.
"How am I cute?" Nicole asked, watching Lily. She just turned to her.
"Nicky, it is so obvious you like him, and your mannerisms are adorable that's all. You too would be so cute together." She said. Suddenly she saw the only place left. Everyone wanted to get down early on the first day and it was barely seven o'clock. Of course, it had to be where James, Peter, and Sirius were sitting.
Nicole just blushed at Lily's words. "So you don't think he's gay?" she said, innocently.
"Of course not. I was just messing with you yesterday. But look.." Lily pointed to the spot on the table.
"Don't start anything." Nicole pleaded. "Please."
"No. I am sick of it, to tell you the truth. It has gotten a little out of hand." Lily said, as she began to walk towards them.
"Really? When did this start?" Nicole was slightly surprised.
"I was up all night thinking about it, practically. It's just not worth it anymore." She said, shaking her head.
"Does this have anything to do with the fact that you don't want to get expelled? You're not allowed to hex them so you figure you have to just learn to deal with it. Am I right? I know you, you're not going to make any effort to be friends."
"Of course not. I am allowed to hate him, and I will until he proves me otherwise." She bluntly said. They were in front of the table now.
"Yes?" James asked, with an attitude.
"Can we help you?" Sirius asked, without looking up. Peter just lifted his head and smiled weakly.
Lily just glared at James. "Well as you can see Potter, there aren't any seats anywhere. Do you really think I would choose to sit here?" she said, plopping herself down.
"Hey, get up." He casually said. "You can't sit here Evans."
"I don't care. Deal with it! Nic, sit!" Lily spat, and she did so.
"Did you hear me? I said you couldn't sit here." He repeated.
"Give me one good reason." She responded, and crossed her legs.
"I just don't want it." he said. Sirius nodded. She was incredibly insulted, even if it was coming from someone she hated to begin with.
"Why you little." she began raising her voice.
"Everything alright over here? Potter? Evans?" It was McGonagall, and she looked as if she wanted to bust them for something, even if they were from her own house.
"Yes Professor." They both said at odd times.
When she was gone James inched closer to her face. "Do you want to get us all in trouble Evans? If Dumbledore sees us fighting we're out of here. We both know we can't control ourselves, which is why I don't want you sitting here." He whispered. Nicole just looked at the two of them while Sirius continued eating, his thoughts somewhere else.
"Why are we sitting here?" they heard Diana ask. It was if she had appeared out of nowhere. She was still exhausted and it didn't help her mood to know that she would be eating breakfast this morning with Sirius Black. Her hair was a bit messy, and her waves stuck out of her ponytail in odd places. Nicole just motioned for her to cut it out and Diana raised an eyebrow. She made brief eye contact with Sirius, but ignored it and shimmied next to Nicole.
Lily couldn't believe herself but she was actually hurt. But she quickly sucked it up. "I can control myself if you can." She whispered. "If you don't try anything, I won't. Besides, I'm hungry."
"Well I won't." he said, as if it was obvious. "Let's just forget it ok? No more attacks."
"Is that what you call them?" she asked, chuckling. She poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice.
"Ugh, forget it. Just shut up and let me eat." He said, losing any niceness he actually had left. He averted his eyes from her and resumed eating. Just then, Remus came back, panting and holding his textbooks and parchment under his arms.
"Portman, move over." Sirius said. There was no room on the boy's side for him. She did so, and blushed again. Everyone noticed. Diana smirked at Lily from the other side of her. Sirius and James just rolled their eyes.
Remus sat next to Nicole, much to his delight. This pushed Diana over next to Lily, so she was facing Sirius. They made sure to glare at each other when their eyes met, but it went no further then that. They were being watched like hawks and they knew it.
"Did we get our schedules yet?" Remus asked, still panting.
"Nope. But here's McGonagall, and she's got them in her hand." Sirius pointed out, still chewing on a piece of bacon.
Just then McGonagall walked over to them and handed them each the sixth year schedule. It would all be the same since they were all in the same year, but they each needed their own copy. Some of them took different electives than the others, but the main subjects would stay the same.
"Here are your schedules." She said, and then walked away, still eyeballing them suspiciously. She couldn't believe that they were actually getting through breakfast without one of them turning into something grotesque. Dumbledore winked at her as if to say, I told you so. She rolled her eyes at him and resumed her seat next to him.
They each looked at their schedule they each let out a disappointed sigh.
"Oh no." James said.
"Divination first." Nicole said, shaking her head.
"At least it's with the Hufflepuffs this year." Peter said.
"I hate that class. I wonder which one of us is going to die this year?" Sirius said, with an attitude as he stared at Diana. She rolled her eyes and mouthed a 'fuck you' so he could see it.
"Oh great." Remus cut in. "Look at last period." He said, sighing. They all quickly joined him.
"Potions." Lily and James said at once. Lily began to rub her temples.
"With the Slytherins." Nicole said, in a whiny voice. They all groaned. They had potions together every year with the Slytherins. It was the worst class of the day, in their opinions.
"In between's not that bad." Peter said, trying to cheer them up a bit. James looked over at his schedule.
"Well that's because all you have are the main classes, plus Divination. I have, in addition to that, Arithmancy, and Muggle Studies. It's a good thing I dropped Divination, or I would have to Listen to Trelawney tell me, yet again, that I will eventually die a painful and horrid death." James said, a little dramatically. Lily rolled her eyes at him.
"Lily, you dropped it too." Nicole said. "How come?"
"Because I can't stand it. It's not even real magic. And it's the only class I did horrible in. I'm taking Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures instead." She calmly stated.
"When do we have Charms?" Diana asked, lazily looking at her schedule.
"It's before Potions." Nicole answered her.
"What's your schedule Lily?" Diana asked. They had always been in the same classes.
"Um, Arithmancy, Herbology, DADA, Transfiguration, History of Magic, Charms, then double Potions. My schedule sucks. Tomorrow's is even worse." She began when the bell rang.
"Thank you!" James shouted as he began to gather his things and leave. Everyone hurriedly followed him out. Lily and James were both headed to Arithmancy, but they stayed a great distance from each other.
Professor Vector, their teacher was a reasonably young man with an enthusiastic attitude. He was the kind of teacher who loved numbers and solving problems. Lily wasn't too fond of the Mathematics portion but she figured anything was better than tea leaves. Class began normally, with a welcome back speech and congratulations on the completion of the O.W.L.s. It started off typically enough. James sat in the back so he could sleep, and Lily sat right up front, he hand waving wildly in the air every time she knew the answer.
This had always annoyed James to no end in the previous years but today he seemed to smirk at it. He actually thought it was kind of cute. He was watching her, much to his confusion. When she was thinking hard he noticed that she was twirling her hair, and biting on her quill. He almost laughed when he saw her realize that she had chewed some of her feathers off. He convinced himself that this was bothersome to him and snapped out of it. Show off, he thought. He still didn't find her pretty, but interesting to watch just the same. And he was bored.
The day for everyone else seemed to go by rather smoothly. There was nothing new, then again it never was. In Divination, Diana and Sirius did a good job of avoiding each other. For that moment it was the best they could do. Once awhile their eyes would meet, but only with abhorrence and detest behind them. James had also told Sirius about Malfoy, jokingly, and was surprised by how much it bothered Sirius. They spoke about it on the way to their last class, potions.
"I don't get it. What could se possibly see in a nasty Slytherin like that? I mean, he's annoying, he's mean, he thinks he so god damn smart..." Sirius started.
"Since when do you care who the hell Renton dates? Let her do what she wants. They are probably perfect for each other anyways." James explained.
"A Gryffindor and a Slytherin just isn't right." Sirius said, shaking his head.
"Hey, what about that girl Narcissa I was telling you about. She was pretty hot, I don't care what house she is in." James said.
"That's different. She's a girl. And admit it, if it was someone like..oh, I don't know, Evans, then you'd be pissed." Sirius pointed out.
"No.not really. I hate her, why would I care?" he said. "She could date any one of those slimy gits and I would not give two shits about it."
"They do deserve each other, if she is going to betray our house like that."
"You're freaking me out Padfoot, you know that. You hate him, you detest her, end of story." James said, as they entered the classroom. They weren't late per se, but they were the last to arrive, which didn't start them off well at all with their professor. She was a hard tempered, stern professor, who loved to single out the Gryffindors and deduct points from them (surprise, surprise). Her name Professor Vischeus.
"Potter! Black!" she started.
"We know, sorry Professor." James apologized for the both of them.
"Don't let it happen again. 10 points from Gryffindor! And you're lucky that is all I am taking away!" she spat.
"Hmm, she's being nice." Lily whispered to Diana, too low for the professor to hear. She smirked.
James and Sirius nodded and took a seat near the back. Narcissa was in the front row, and she turned around to look at James. He noticed her and smiled at her, warmly. He blushed and turned around again. Sirius rolled his eyes at James, who just shrugged back.
They were split up into partners for the double period. She wasn't nearly as vicious on the first day of school. She, after all, didn't particularly care to be there either. As a result, each of them worked with whomever they chose. Their objective was, simply to brew the potion for Draught of the Living Death, a strong sleeping potion. It was a basic review for all of them, so they didn't pay much attention to what they were brewing.
The professor left for a while and spent a lot of time in her office. The students took this as an opportunity to talk to one another. There were a number of conversations going on at once.
"Yea, she's very hot Prongs." Sirius said, separating the asphodel and wormwood into separate piles. "Looks like Malfoy a little though, doesn't she?"
"Thanks for the visual." James said, scrunching his face. "No, she's just blonde, that's all."
"Well she seems to be turning around an awful lot." Sirius said, absentmindedly.
"The Potter magic my friend. It's flawless." James said, proud of himself. Sirius rolled his eyes and chuckled.
"Oh right. How could I have forgotten?" He replied, sarcastically.
~"That's Narcissa, right there." Diana said, pointing to the other side of the room. Lily looked up briefly, shrugged then resumed her work.
"She's pretty." She simply said. "Then again, they all are." She said, sighing.
"Something bothering you Lil?" Diana asked.
Lily shook her head. "Not really. This day is just never ending, that's all." She said, putting the ingredients into the cauldron.
Then Diana saw Malfoy turn around. She pretended that she didn't see him. She was still unsure what she should do. The looked up again to see his bright, silver eyes, glance at her. She suddenly felt a shiver crawl up her spine. She returned the glance, and accompanied it with a coy smile. It was flirtatious, yet ambiguous. Even she wasn't sure what she wanted it to mean. Lily looked up for a second and noticed how Diana's mannerisms had changed. Then she looked at Malfoy.
"No." she simply said.
"Huh?" Diana asked, coming back to reality.
"It's not a good idea." Lily said.
"I'm sorry, what isn't a good idea?" Diana was a tad confused.
"You and Malfoy. It won't work." She continued.
"You said I could do what I wanted." She said, looking Lily in the eye.
"Why would you want to do that to yourself?" Lily asked her, shocked. "He's a bloody Slytherin, he's creepy, he's aggressive, and I've seen him pack a really good punch. He's dangerous Diana." Lily cautioned.
"Oh please!" Diana began to chuckle. "You are completely overreacting. He's just a bit intimidating. Besides, I like that." She said.
"I just don't want to see you hurt, and take that however you want."
"Don't worry about me Lily, I can take care of myself." Diana said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Lily just smiled and shrugged her friend off.
~*~"She's mine." Malfoy said, pompously. "Soon, just you wait."
"Ok Lucius. What do you want her for anyway? I know she's beautiful but.."
"You know why Severus. Besides, she intoxicates me. She's just so, so nasty to me. I believe she has some intention to 'fuck with my head.' Well, isn't she in for a surprise."
"Will you stop foreshadowing yourself. I get it." Snape said, rolling his eyes.
"I can help you get Evans if you like. She is quite the little fireball."
Severus glanced over his shoulder to see Lily smiling at something Diana had said. He smiled at her but she never saw. "No. I couldn't." he simply said, putting his head down.
"Why not? She likes you, she's a spitfire, and she's gorgeous. What more could you want?" he said, mixing the ingredients and slowly putting them into the cauldron.
"You're doing it wrong." Snape pointed out, referring to the potion.
"What? Well I don't know what I'm doing. Fix it then." He smugly ordered. Snape glared at him and did so. He always was one of the best in potions. He had the highest average out of everyone. Then he glanced back at Lily. This time she saw him, and smiled back. She even waved at him. They had always spoken. She had defended him once, second year, after the Marauders had played a prank on him. He had always held her in high regard after that. After some time he even grew to love her.
The bell suddenly rang and everyone got up to leave. Lily turned to Diana.
"Quidditch." She said. Diana rolled her eyes.
"You sure?" she asked. "Are you really serious?"
"Absolutely." Lily said, and she couldn't wipe the smirk off her face.
(I know, it is terribly rushed, and a tad longer than I'd like. Oh well, review! You know how much I love them. And I am sorry but there will be a Malfoy/Renton thing happening. It creates drama, what can I say? In the next chapter James begins to see Lily a little differently, which is good : ) and then there are the tryouts! Will they make the team?)
(A/N: I would just like to take this opportunity to recommend a really great story, for which I was the temp beta so you all have to read it! it is a great story and incredibly well written. I personally love it. It is called With Arms Wide Open, and was written by my friend and colleague, Feather. It is a story of Lily and James after Hogwarts, and its just really, really good. So get to it and review it! she deserves great ones : ) ~Angelxd14)
~*~*~*~*~**************~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The next morning, 6:30 am...
"Get up!" Sirius yelled as he tossed his tousled and wrinkled white shirt to his best friend. The response he got, however, was nothing but a reluctant groan. "I mean it Prongs. I want to get a seat downstairs." He said, eyeballing himself in the mirror and combing back his raven hair.
"What time is it?" James whispered as he slowly turned over, groping for his glasses. When he finally grabbed them he put them on, his eyelids still weary from only six hours of sleep.
"6:30." Sirius casually remarked.
"6:30? Great." He said, stretching his arms out and yawning. "I have to get ready." He then got up, yawned again and walked over to his dresser. He grabbed an undershirt and walked out of his dorm to the prefect's bathroom in the middle of the hall.
He was still half asleep when he opened the door, but he jolted when he heard a loud gasp on the other side. When he saw whom it was he smirked.
"Am I really that threatening Evans?" he boyishly asked as he walked over to the sink where she was brushing her teeth.
"Don't you ever knock Potter?" she asked, in her raspy, morning voice.
"Not when I know it's you." He said.
"Yea, like you did know just now." She said, rolling her eyes and shutting off the water.
"Well didn't we wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. If you haven't heard, Evans, this is the prefect's bathroom. I can come in here whenever I please." He smugly said, grabbing his toothbrush.
"Good for you." She spat, as she began picking up the towels she had left on the floor.
"And I wouldn't have wanted to walk in on you still in the shower. That would have scared anyone to death." He said, looking at her through the mirror and spitting into he sink. When he realized she wasn't paying attention he became annoyed. He always enjoyed their usual morning tiff and it wasn't the same of she wasn't going to participate.
Then Remus walked in, just as groggy as the other two. He wasn't a prefect, but used their bathroom anyway. It was closer to his dorm, and no one seemed to mind.
"Morning Moony." James said, enthusiastically. Remus just nodded at him. He walked over to the sink next to James and grabbed another toothbrush. He began brushing his teeth when he saw Lily cleaning in the background. He turned around.
"Need help there, Lily?" he asked, while rinsing his mouth.
"No, it's fine. Thank you Remus, I'm done." She said, walking over to the laundry chute.
"Ok. He said, and then he turned to James. "So Prongs, you ready for this afternoon?" he asked.
"Oh yea. It's going to be tough though, finding replacements for Wood and Johnson. Best chaser and keeper we ever had. Hey, why don't you try out? You're a great keeper." he asked.
"No, really. I couldn't." Remus stuttered. James nodded understandingly. "Well, that's ok. This season should be great, I have all these plans for us, and we are going to win that cup this year, despite Malfoy. He wouldn't know a good play if it bit him in the ass."
Lily was listening in the background. Quidditch talk, she thought. It was all they ever talked about, when they weren't insulting the girls or talking about them. So they need two new players, she thought, and she smiled to herself. As she got up to leave she caught James' eye once more.
"Good luck today Potter." She innocently said. He looked profoundly confused. "And be careful with that broom. We wouldn't want more wood shoved up your behind than there already is." With that she flashed him a fake smile and left. She passed Sirius in the hall and they just ignored each other. Then she went into her dorm to put on the rest of her uniform. Diana was barely awake, and she was staring at the ceiling, with her eyes half closed.
"Wakey, wakey." Lily brightly said. Diana huffed and turned on her stomach. "Now, now, Renton, don't' be like that." She sweetly said, rubbing her head.
"Go away!" Diana yelled. She was obviously not a morning person.
"No, get up, we have a busy day today." She said, brushing her hair in the mirror. She just groaned and rolled over.
"I hate school." Diana simply said. "Why do we have to get up so early?" she complained.
"We want to get a good seat at the table, and I don't' want all the food to be gone." Lily simply said. Diana looked at her wristwatch.
"It's only 6:40. There will be plenty of food there in...20 minutes." She said, putting the pillow over her head. Lily walked over to her and ripped the pillow out of her hands. Diana groaned. Then Lily sat beside her.
After another minute Lily became tired and just sighed. Then Diana lifted her head and turned it towards her. "Fine!" she said, feeling frustrated. "It's like you're my mother, I hate it." she continued. She let out a loud and long yawn and then sat up. She stretched her neck and her shoulders while Lily began packing her textbooks for her morning classes.
"Guess what?" Lily asked, heartily.
"What?" Diana replied, half listening.
"We're trying out for Quidditch." She said, as if it were obvious. Diana's ears perked up.
"What?" she didn't think she heard her right.
"This year, we are going to play Quidditch." She said again.
"Why?" Diana asked, grabbing a brush from her nightstand.
"Because we can, and we're damn good at it. Plus, it would be nice to help win back those points we lost, and achieve some glory of our own. Don't you want to win the house cup?" Lily asked, almost animated. Diana wasn't' fooled for a second.
"The house cup? Since when do you care about the house cup?" she asked, chuckling.
"Since I heard Potter say to Remus that he needs two new players."
"And what makes you think he'll pick us? He can't stand me and he despises you." She stated.
"Well, we're the best, he just doesn't know it yet." She smugly stated. Diana laughed this time.
"Ok Lil." She said, thus ending the conversation.
"What's so funny?" they heard a voice say. It was Nicole. She had popped her head in to see if they were ready.
"Oh, didn't you hear Nic? We're going to play Quidditch." Diana said, mocking Lily. Lily glared at her.
"Um, ok. Whatever you need to tell yourselves. I worry about you Lily, I really do." She was half kidding when she said this. "Do you really think Potter is going to allow you to play for him?" she asked.
"We'll just have to see. And it's not like he can stop us.expulsion." Lily said, smirking.
"Let's go down. The boys are already down there and I'm really hungry." Nicole whined.
"Ok, ok. Diana hurry up, we'll meet you down there ok?" Lily asked.
"Sure, I'll be down in a minute." She said, as she yawned again. Lily and Nicole proceeded to walk down the stairs, out of the common room and into the great hall. They spoke of odd things, like their schedules and the like. They were going to get them this morning, during breakfast. They were in mid sentence when out of nowhere, someone ran right into Nicole. She fell hard on the floor and her books were scattered everywhere.
"Oh my god, I am so sorry." They heard them say. It was a boy speaking. He lent out his hand to Nicole.
"Reums?" Nicole asked, somewhat bewildered. She put her hand on her head. She had knocked it on the way down.
"Sweetie are you alright?" Lily asked, concerned.
"Nicole I am so sorry, I..well I just left my books upstairs...I was rushing..I didn't mean to hurt you." He stuttered. She grabbed onto his hand and he helped pull her up. She landed on his chest with a soft thud.
"It's ok." She said, blushing. "It happens." They were still embracing when they both noticed Lily with a huge grin on her face. Her arms were folded, and she suddenly felt like a third wheel. She picked up Nicole's books and they let go of each other. They were blushing red and seemed to laugh nervously at their childishness.
"Well, I guess I'll see you in there." He said, trying to sound calm.
"Sure, ok. See you in a minute." She said, with an equally nervous tone. Then he flashed her a sweet smile and jogged up the stairs back to the common room. Lily silently handed Nicole her books, the smirk still prominent, and they began walking again.
"What?" Nicole asked, girlishly. She noticed Lily was looking at her.
"You are just so cute, Nic, that's all." She said. They strolled into the great hall and Lily caroused it, looking for a place at the table.
"How am I cute?" Nicole asked, watching Lily. She just turned to her.
"Nicky, it is so obvious you like him, and your mannerisms are adorable that's all. You too would be so cute together." She said. Suddenly she saw the only place left. Everyone wanted to get down early on the first day and it was barely seven o'clock. Of course, it had to be where James, Peter, and Sirius were sitting.
Nicole just blushed at Lily's words. "So you don't think he's gay?" she said, innocently.
"Of course not. I was just messing with you yesterday. But look.." Lily pointed to the spot on the table.
"Don't start anything." Nicole pleaded. "Please."
"No. I am sick of it, to tell you the truth. It has gotten a little out of hand." Lily said, as she began to walk towards them.
"Really? When did this start?" Nicole was slightly surprised.
"I was up all night thinking about it, practically. It's just not worth it anymore." She said, shaking her head.
"Does this have anything to do with the fact that you don't want to get expelled? You're not allowed to hex them so you figure you have to just learn to deal with it. Am I right? I know you, you're not going to make any effort to be friends."
"Of course not. I am allowed to hate him, and I will until he proves me otherwise." She bluntly said. They were in front of the table now.
"Yes?" James asked, with an attitude.
"Can we help you?" Sirius asked, without looking up. Peter just lifted his head and smiled weakly.
Lily just glared at James. "Well as you can see Potter, there aren't any seats anywhere. Do you really think I would choose to sit here?" she said, plopping herself down.
"Hey, get up." He casually said. "You can't sit here Evans."
"I don't care. Deal with it! Nic, sit!" Lily spat, and she did so.
"Did you hear me? I said you couldn't sit here." He repeated.
"Give me one good reason." She responded, and crossed her legs.
"I just don't want it." he said. Sirius nodded. She was incredibly insulted, even if it was coming from someone she hated to begin with.
"Why you little." she began raising her voice.
"Everything alright over here? Potter? Evans?" It was McGonagall, and she looked as if she wanted to bust them for something, even if they were from her own house.
"Yes Professor." They both said at odd times.
When she was gone James inched closer to her face. "Do you want to get us all in trouble Evans? If Dumbledore sees us fighting we're out of here. We both know we can't control ourselves, which is why I don't want you sitting here." He whispered. Nicole just looked at the two of them while Sirius continued eating, his thoughts somewhere else.
"Why are we sitting here?" they heard Diana ask. It was if she had appeared out of nowhere. She was still exhausted and it didn't help her mood to know that she would be eating breakfast this morning with Sirius Black. Her hair was a bit messy, and her waves stuck out of her ponytail in odd places. Nicole just motioned for her to cut it out and Diana raised an eyebrow. She made brief eye contact with Sirius, but ignored it and shimmied next to Nicole.
Lily couldn't believe herself but she was actually hurt. But she quickly sucked it up. "I can control myself if you can." She whispered. "If you don't try anything, I won't. Besides, I'm hungry."
"Well I won't." he said, as if it was obvious. "Let's just forget it ok? No more attacks."
"Is that what you call them?" she asked, chuckling. She poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice.
"Ugh, forget it. Just shut up and let me eat." He said, losing any niceness he actually had left. He averted his eyes from her and resumed eating. Just then, Remus came back, panting and holding his textbooks and parchment under his arms.
"Portman, move over." Sirius said. There was no room on the boy's side for him. She did so, and blushed again. Everyone noticed. Diana smirked at Lily from the other side of her. Sirius and James just rolled their eyes.
Remus sat next to Nicole, much to his delight. This pushed Diana over next to Lily, so she was facing Sirius. They made sure to glare at each other when their eyes met, but it went no further then that. They were being watched like hawks and they knew it.
"Did we get our schedules yet?" Remus asked, still panting.
"Nope. But here's McGonagall, and she's got them in her hand." Sirius pointed out, still chewing on a piece of bacon.
Just then McGonagall walked over to them and handed them each the sixth year schedule. It would all be the same since they were all in the same year, but they each needed their own copy. Some of them took different electives than the others, but the main subjects would stay the same.
"Here are your schedules." She said, and then walked away, still eyeballing them suspiciously. She couldn't believe that they were actually getting through breakfast without one of them turning into something grotesque. Dumbledore winked at her as if to say, I told you so. She rolled her eyes at him and resumed her seat next to him.
They each looked at their schedule they each let out a disappointed sigh.
"Oh no." James said.
"Divination first." Nicole said, shaking her head.
"At least it's with the Hufflepuffs this year." Peter said.
"I hate that class. I wonder which one of us is going to die this year?" Sirius said, with an attitude as he stared at Diana. She rolled her eyes and mouthed a 'fuck you' so he could see it.
"Oh great." Remus cut in. "Look at last period." He said, sighing. They all quickly joined him.
"Potions." Lily and James said at once. Lily began to rub her temples.
"With the Slytherins." Nicole said, in a whiny voice. They all groaned. They had potions together every year with the Slytherins. It was the worst class of the day, in their opinions.
"In between's not that bad." Peter said, trying to cheer them up a bit. James looked over at his schedule.
"Well that's because all you have are the main classes, plus Divination. I have, in addition to that, Arithmancy, and Muggle Studies. It's a good thing I dropped Divination, or I would have to Listen to Trelawney tell me, yet again, that I will eventually die a painful and horrid death." James said, a little dramatically. Lily rolled her eyes at him.
"Lily, you dropped it too." Nicole said. "How come?"
"Because I can't stand it. It's not even real magic. And it's the only class I did horrible in. I'm taking Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures instead." She calmly stated.
"When do we have Charms?" Diana asked, lazily looking at her schedule.
"It's before Potions." Nicole answered her.
"What's your schedule Lily?" Diana asked. They had always been in the same classes.
"Um, Arithmancy, Herbology, DADA, Transfiguration, History of Magic, Charms, then double Potions. My schedule sucks. Tomorrow's is even worse." She began when the bell rang.
"Thank you!" James shouted as he began to gather his things and leave. Everyone hurriedly followed him out. Lily and James were both headed to Arithmancy, but they stayed a great distance from each other.
Professor Vector, their teacher was a reasonably young man with an enthusiastic attitude. He was the kind of teacher who loved numbers and solving problems. Lily wasn't too fond of the Mathematics portion but she figured anything was better than tea leaves. Class began normally, with a welcome back speech and congratulations on the completion of the O.W.L.s. It started off typically enough. James sat in the back so he could sleep, and Lily sat right up front, he hand waving wildly in the air every time she knew the answer.
This had always annoyed James to no end in the previous years but today he seemed to smirk at it. He actually thought it was kind of cute. He was watching her, much to his confusion. When she was thinking hard he noticed that she was twirling her hair, and biting on her quill. He almost laughed when he saw her realize that she had chewed some of her feathers off. He convinced himself that this was bothersome to him and snapped out of it. Show off, he thought. He still didn't find her pretty, but interesting to watch just the same. And he was bored.
The day for everyone else seemed to go by rather smoothly. There was nothing new, then again it never was. In Divination, Diana and Sirius did a good job of avoiding each other. For that moment it was the best they could do. Once awhile their eyes would meet, but only with abhorrence and detest behind them. James had also told Sirius about Malfoy, jokingly, and was surprised by how much it bothered Sirius. They spoke about it on the way to their last class, potions.
"I don't get it. What could se possibly see in a nasty Slytherin like that? I mean, he's annoying, he's mean, he thinks he so god damn smart..." Sirius started.
"Since when do you care who the hell Renton dates? Let her do what she wants. They are probably perfect for each other anyways." James explained.
"A Gryffindor and a Slytherin just isn't right." Sirius said, shaking his head.
"Hey, what about that girl Narcissa I was telling you about. She was pretty hot, I don't care what house she is in." James said.
"That's different. She's a girl. And admit it, if it was someone like..oh, I don't know, Evans, then you'd be pissed." Sirius pointed out.
"No.not really. I hate her, why would I care?" he said. "She could date any one of those slimy gits and I would not give two shits about it."
"They do deserve each other, if she is going to betray our house like that."
"You're freaking me out Padfoot, you know that. You hate him, you detest her, end of story." James said, as they entered the classroom. They weren't late per se, but they were the last to arrive, which didn't start them off well at all with their professor. She was a hard tempered, stern professor, who loved to single out the Gryffindors and deduct points from them (surprise, surprise). Her name Professor Vischeus.
"Potter! Black!" she started.
"We know, sorry Professor." James apologized for the both of them.
"Don't let it happen again. 10 points from Gryffindor! And you're lucky that is all I am taking away!" she spat.
"Hmm, she's being nice." Lily whispered to Diana, too low for the professor to hear. She smirked.
James and Sirius nodded and took a seat near the back. Narcissa was in the front row, and she turned around to look at James. He noticed her and smiled at her, warmly. He blushed and turned around again. Sirius rolled his eyes at James, who just shrugged back.
They were split up into partners for the double period. She wasn't nearly as vicious on the first day of school. She, after all, didn't particularly care to be there either. As a result, each of them worked with whomever they chose. Their objective was, simply to brew the potion for Draught of the Living Death, a strong sleeping potion. It was a basic review for all of them, so they didn't pay much attention to what they were brewing.
The professor left for a while and spent a lot of time in her office. The students took this as an opportunity to talk to one another. There were a number of conversations going on at once.
"Yea, she's very hot Prongs." Sirius said, separating the asphodel and wormwood into separate piles. "Looks like Malfoy a little though, doesn't she?"
"Thanks for the visual." James said, scrunching his face. "No, she's just blonde, that's all."
"Well she seems to be turning around an awful lot." Sirius said, absentmindedly.
"The Potter magic my friend. It's flawless." James said, proud of himself. Sirius rolled his eyes and chuckled.
"Oh right. How could I have forgotten?" He replied, sarcastically.
~"That's Narcissa, right there." Diana said, pointing to the other side of the room. Lily looked up briefly, shrugged then resumed her work.
"She's pretty." She simply said. "Then again, they all are." She said, sighing.
"Something bothering you Lil?" Diana asked.
Lily shook her head. "Not really. This day is just never ending, that's all." She said, putting the ingredients into the cauldron.
Then Diana saw Malfoy turn around. She pretended that she didn't see him. She was still unsure what she should do. The looked up again to see his bright, silver eyes, glance at her. She suddenly felt a shiver crawl up her spine. She returned the glance, and accompanied it with a coy smile. It was flirtatious, yet ambiguous. Even she wasn't sure what she wanted it to mean. Lily looked up for a second and noticed how Diana's mannerisms had changed. Then she looked at Malfoy.
"No." she simply said.
"Huh?" Diana asked, coming back to reality.
"It's not a good idea." Lily said.
"I'm sorry, what isn't a good idea?" Diana was a tad confused.
"You and Malfoy. It won't work." She continued.
"You said I could do what I wanted." She said, looking Lily in the eye.
"Why would you want to do that to yourself?" Lily asked her, shocked. "He's a bloody Slytherin, he's creepy, he's aggressive, and I've seen him pack a really good punch. He's dangerous Diana." Lily cautioned.
"Oh please!" Diana began to chuckle. "You are completely overreacting. He's just a bit intimidating. Besides, I like that." She said.
"I just don't want to see you hurt, and take that however you want."
"Don't worry about me Lily, I can take care of myself." Diana said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Lily just smiled and shrugged her friend off.
~*~"She's mine." Malfoy said, pompously. "Soon, just you wait."
"Ok Lucius. What do you want her for anyway? I know she's beautiful but.."
"You know why Severus. Besides, she intoxicates me. She's just so, so nasty to me. I believe she has some intention to 'fuck with my head.' Well, isn't she in for a surprise."
"Will you stop foreshadowing yourself. I get it." Snape said, rolling his eyes.
"I can help you get Evans if you like. She is quite the little fireball."
Severus glanced over his shoulder to see Lily smiling at something Diana had said. He smiled at her but she never saw. "No. I couldn't." he simply said, putting his head down.
"Why not? She likes you, she's a spitfire, and she's gorgeous. What more could you want?" he said, mixing the ingredients and slowly putting them into the cauldron.
"You're doing it wrong." Snape pointed out, referring to the potion.
"What? Well I don't know what I'm doing. Fix it then." He smugly ordered. Snape glared at him and did so. He always was one of the best in potions. He had the highest average out of everyone. Then he glanced back at Lily. This time she saw him, and smiled back. She even waved at him. They had always spoken. She had defended him once, second year, after the Marauders had played a prank on him. He had always held her in high regard after that. After some time he even grew to love her.
The bell suddenly rang and everyone got up to leave. Lily turned to Diana.
"Quidditch." She said. Diana rolled her eyes.
"You sure?" she asked. "Are you really serious?"
"Absolutely." Lily said, and she couldn't wipe the smirk off her face.
(I know, it is terribly rushed, and a tad longer than I'd like. Oh well, review! You know how much I love them. And I am sorry but there will be a Malfoy/Renton thing happening. It creates drama, what can I say? In the next chapter James begins to see Lily a little differently, which is good : ) and then there are the tryouts! Will they make the team?)