Turn Right Turn Left.
Chapter 3: Why he turns left and she turns right.
Disclaimer: Am not JK Rowling. You get the idea. If I was I would have been earning big bucks by now... This story is also adapted from the Taiwanese movie of the same name.
Summary:
This story is about two ill-fated young people, James and Lily, who are destined to be together, but unfortunately their paths never cross. James always turns left, while Lily turns right. Through some strange coincidence, they never meet, even though James is Head Boy while Lily is Head Girl, and have totally no idea who the other party is. They chance upon an encounter in Hogsmeade, and find that they have in fact, met before.
But when they part, they realise they have no means of contacting each other, and set out to find their soul mate.
Date posted: 8 October 2003
Revised: 29/6/2004
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"YYAhhhh!" The someone she had run into yelled in surprise as he or she fell onto the floor.
Lily herself lost her balance and fell onto the floor, her butt bouncing painfully on the hard stone floor before coming to rest on her book bag.
"Ouchhh..." She rubbed at her back painfully and looked up to see who she had banged into, and emerald eyes met blue and black.
A six foot tall boy was standing over her, staring down at her with an amused expression.
"Gee, I knew I was the ladies man, but hey, that's really no reason for you to run me over..." He said, eyes twinkling in amusement.
Lily's mouth curved upwards in a small smile. The boy offered Lily his hand and she took it, with him heaving her easily of the floor.
He laughed. "You're glad that this is the Head corridor, otherwise my swarms of fan girls will be glaring at you... It's not everyday that you get helped by Hogwarts most eligible bachelor you know..."
Lily laughed softly again. "Thank you... It isn't everyday too that i get to hear a guy like you shriek like a girl,"Lily teased gently
"It wasn't a girlsih shriek!" The boy exclaimed, looking highly affronted. "Sirius Black never shrieks." Then he puffed up his chest. "He only shouts, manly, of course! Are you usually so quiet and polite?" The boy grinned. "The girls I know are really very wild... You're different you know... I haven't exactly seen you around before, or I would remember it. What's your name?"
Lily laughed, her eyes twinkling merrily. "My name's Li-"
"Holy shit!" He yelped suddenly, glancing at the grandfather's clock in the corridor. "I'm kinda running late to meet my friend... See you around." He bowed comically and ran off, his long legs taking him quickly out of sight.
-----
Sirius laughed at the girls' look of shock on her face, and decided that he already liked her.
Sirius skidded to a stop outside James' portrait. "Snitch Witch" and entered.
"Prongs! You'll never know... I ran into the most gorgeous girl today.. She had this totally lovely pair of -" Sirius started enthusiastically as he found the Marauders gathered in James' bedroom.
"Not now Padfoot," Peter interrupted. "We doing our final test on the Marauders Map..."
Sirius' eyes lit up and he joined in immediately. "Let me see that," he said excitedly, pulling a piece of seemingly normal parchment away from James.
However, at one glance, it was definitely not normal. The parchment was filled with ink lines that extended from one point to another and crisscrossed throughout the whole piece. Miniscule dots were moving around, and each was labeled clearly with a small name.
"Cool..." He breathed.
"Totally," the other three echoed as they stared transfixed at the map.
"Oh, yea, Prongs... Just saw McGonagall a while ago... she says there's a Head meeting with Dumbledore this coming Saturday... She told me to tell you to be there by eight or face the consequences."
A few jaws dropped around the table. "IMPOSSIBLE!" James sputtered. "But that coincides with our first quidditch training of the year!"
Peter shook his head slowly. "It's a downright disaster... Prongs needs to be there... He's the captain..."
Even the usually unruffled Remus was staring at James, a stunned expression on his face.
"Holy shit."
"So, Padfoot, what were you going to tell us just now?" Remus asked as he suddenly remembered his friend's outburst.
But Sirius, having an attention span of a five-year-old kid, and with better things like the Marauders Map and James missing quidditch practice to distract him, had long forgotten about his run-in with the girl.
In transfiguration that day, McGonagall stopped by a solitary Lily.
"Miss Evans, there will be a Heads meeting with the Headmaster this coming Saturday... Please do be punctual. It's at eight," she said before walking away.
James and his friends came to a stop outside the Head Boy portrait.
"I have no idea why you would want to take the long way up here!" Sirius groaned as he leaned against the wall.
James shrugged. "Deal with it Padfoot. It's a habit I have had since two years ago."
Sirius sniggered. "Yea," he said wistfully, as he stared at James. "I remember that."
--Flashback --
As summers were in central England, it was a dreary afternoon. The clouds thundered angrily as grey clouds drifted over the city, and almost immediately, rain poured down in a seemingly endless flood. Umbrellas sprouted up like mushrooms, and in the boorish, uncreative Muggle world, more often were they black than not.
James mentally cursed himself for postponing the oh-so-important apparition test that would mean no more walking in rains like this. He contemplated for a moment for forming a shield around him, but came to a conclusion that even Muggles were not so blind as to let a clear bubble of non-rainy air walk past without even noticing it. Hence, it was the umbrella. In the midst of the dreary grey skies and the boring black umbrella, up went a vividly red and gold one, with a Gryffindor crest emblazoned on it. It was as large as the sort of umbrellas that Muggle coffee places like Starbucks used, and he was fast attracting glances from the people around him.
Unnoticed to James who was caught among a seas of black umbrellas and stern-faced Muggles, another violently red and gold umbrella also with the Gryffindor crest had gone up, and people now turned to stare between the two teenagers, one with ruffled black hair and another with warm fiery red hair, both of whom looked up at the sky with dampened spirits.
As the light turned green for pedestrians to cross the road, the crowd of people moved forwards purposefully, and he was caught along in the drift. The two red and gold umbrellas spilt up at the intersection, one heading east, the other, north.
"Hey," a girl cried out as she crossed the road along with him an ran under the cover of his umbrella. "Would you mind just sheltering me to my car?" She asked and flashed a dimply smile at him, before grabbing his hand and dragging him to where her car was parked a few hundred metres away.
"Do you want a lift back?" She asked.
"Err... It might not be convenient for you," he replied.
She laughed. "How big is London anyway? Everything is on the way. Come on!" And she dragged him into the car without waiting for his response.
"So, where do you live anyway?"
"Err, somewhere around the corner," he replied awkwardly.
They drove for a while in silence.
"You can stop me here!" James yelled as he spotted the large mansion that marked the turnoff into the wizarding community.
The car screeched to a halt on the curb.
"So, I'll go up with you?" The girl suggested, placing a hand on James' shoulder.
James yelled and jumped out of the car, speeding around the corner and out of sight.
"Oh, hey, Prongs, where were you? You were supposed to be back hours ago," Sirius said as James came barreling into the back alley and as he was walking out.
"Padfoot! Get in!" James yelled, gesturing towards the large mansion.
Sirius shot him a quizzical look and peered over James' shoulder to look around the corner of the building. The girl had just run around the other side of the building and was peering curiously down both sides of the street.
"Don't let me catch you the next time," she raised her voice and so that it echoed into the alleyway. "Or I'll make sure you're mine!" And she got into her car and sped off.
Sirius withdrew his head, and looked at James with a raised eyebrow, his face threatening to split into a huge grin.
"Rabid fangirl?" He asked, the corners of his mouth turning upwards.
James shook his head miserably. "Just... Don't ask."
Letting out a great big yell of laughter, Sirius patted an annoyed looking James on the back, and the two disappeared into the mansion, the gateway to the wizarding community.
The very next day, as the James and Sirius left the mansion and stepped out onto the Muggle streets of London discussing what they could do that day, James rounded the corner, and very suddenly, stopped short, causing Sirius to walk into him all the while discussing the advantages of Diagon Alley over Hogsmeade.
"Oei!" Sirius exclaimed in irritation.
And as Sirius peered past James and the corner of the building for the second time in as many days, a smile grew on his face, threatening to turn into a grin and as only Sirius could do, it would soon turn into a rather embarrassing situation for James.
"Ohh..."Sirius exclaimed in an irritating sing-song voice that James hated, and he proceeded to call the girl, "Mmphfyhg," James had clamped a hand down onto his mouth and dragged him away in the opposite direction – the left of the alleyway.
--End Flashback--
"YES, I REMEMBER THAT TOO," James hissed in irritation at his best friend. "So now you know why we ALWAYS turn LEFT!"
Sirius sniggered as James gave the password -Quidditch King- and they entered his room.
"Awwww, c'mon Prongs, please-please-PLEASE let us stay here? It's superb!" Sirius whined as he looked at James.
James shook his head with amused eyes. "No Padfoot, I'm afraid Dumbledore told us not to."
Seeing that he wasn't about to win the argument any time soon, Sirius quickly changed his attitude.
"Fine..." He said, snobbishly putting his nose up in the air and causing Remus and James to choke on their laughter. "Be that way, see if I care... This room isn't exactly... fabulous anyway - James: That wasn't exactly what you were saying a few seconds ago - ... And there's much more activity in the Gryffindor dorms."
The night sky was clear, far up in the secluded Scottish highlands, there was no Muggle pollution to obscure the spectacular view of the skies above, and stars twinkled merrily, bathing the ground in a warm gentle glow. It was slightly warm as only summer nights could be, yet gentle gusts of wind blew continuously from the Great Lake, a sign that fall was fast upon them. The Forbidden Forest, which throughout summer had been a painting of different vivid greens were now tinged slightly with greenish-yellows and lighter browns. An owl hooted, followed closely by others echoing its call. It was night, and all was silent at the castle that was Hogwarts.
A dark statue rose above the tallest tower, a black majestic dragon watching over the slumbering castle and its students.
-----
But not everyone was happily in the Land of Nod. High above the sweeping grounds of Hogwarts, a certain Lily Evans sat atop one of the shorter towers, perched comfortably on a wide stone ledge in front of a glass window that threw light into the surrounding night. She glanced up at the skies getting lost in the openness of the dark sky and the mysteries of the stars.
"Hi Grandmama, I haven't exactly talked to you for quite a while... It's been really hectic this year... Preparing for NEWTS..." Lily spoke to the skies, smiling upwards, certain that her grandmother could hear her speak. "I met this really good-looking guy today." She laughed softly, remembering her encounter. "But he isn't really what I was looking for... I just didn't feel that spark I thought I would feel. Maybe he's not meant for me?"
Up above, the stars seemingly twinkled brighter and stronger for a heartbeat, then, it was gone so quickly that Lily almost missed it.
"That's okay then. I wouldn't want to end up with the wrong person... I would wait... even though it takes me a lifetime... I just know that somewhere out there, someone is waiting."
"I guess I should go back in... Please look after everyone for me? Even Petunia. I'm sure... that she likes me... deep down, I suppose." With a small kinda-sad smile, Lily hopped carefully down from the sill and back into the warmth of her room.
It was finally Saturday. After two months of summer fun and lazing around with nothing to do, school had seemed much harder for all the students and after a week back, all were glad that they finally had the weekends for a brief respite from schoolwork. All around, there were students enjoying the company of their friends, pelting each other with water from the Lake, or just strolling along around the grounds. Far off, the sounds of excited shouts and low humming told of a Quidditch match being played.
Lily strolled slowly down the corridor, taking in the small details of the stone walls.
--Flashback--
Ten-year-old Lily Evans walked down a darkened street in Muggle London, her nose buried in a book: 'Tales of Otherworlds'. (And like typical horror stories...)
It was a dark and dreary night. The rain pelted downwards in large droplets, hitting the ground with a resounding 'thud thud'. Ever so often, the wind would shriek through the empty tree branches in Central Plaza, screaming their fury at the deserted street. Lamplights flickered on and off...
As young Kim walked home from her piano lessons at ten o'clock that night, she wondered again why she had been so stupid to turn down her friends' offer to have her mother drive her home. As such, she was left with a leaky umbrella, and was making tough work in pushing against the blowing of the strong winds. Raindrops whipped past her face, already, she was soaking wet.
Lily felt a chill creep slowly up her neck. She looked furtively around her as she walked across Central Plaza, her currect location bearing an uncanny resemblance to that of the story. Her pace quickened. It was a dark and dreary night, and the wind was kicking up a big storm of swirling leaves and swaying trees.
Was it her imagination, Kim wondered, or did it seem as though the shadows had lengthened considerably. She glanced at her watch, and was shocked to find that her clock read 11.55. Had time really passed that quickly? She quickened her steps, remembering her grandmother's words: When the clock strikes twelve, the Gates open and otherworldly creatures come once more into our realm. 11.57. Her home was only two blocks away. Had she heard footfalls behind her? 11.59. One more block. Yes, it wasn't her imagination. There was really someone behind her now. The Central Plaza clock struck twelve, and tolling sounded ominously through the empty street. The howling winds shrieked, growing even more wild. Out of the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of a cloaked figure with pale white skin... Kim... Kim... I'm coming to get you...
Lily turned left, taking the shortest possible route home bgut looked up suddenly, her hands clutched tightly on her book, looking around fearfully. There seemed to be howling... There it was... 'Lily... Lily...'
She looked up, eyes wide. Just ahead, a tree swayed. Lily heaved a sigh of relief. It was just a tree.
The tree suddenly took shape, gnarled branches twisting horribly to form mutated limbs, trunk elongating to form a body, and white ghostly shapes drifted from above...
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" A shrill scream pierced the air as Lily did an about turn and ran right all the way home and buried herself under tons of blankets.
--End Flashback--
"And from then on, I just naturally took the right... Of course, me coming to Hogwarts and meeting all those ghosts did nothing to alleviate my fear." Lily mused to herself as her thoughts wandered off.
-----
At the same time, James Potter was running to Dumbledore's office in the other direction.
"Mister Potter," Dumbledore motioned for James to sit. "First things first. Our largest event this year is probably going to be your graduation, but we need something for the other students to look forward to, and I might suggest something along the lines of a dance, but let it be a disguised on, so that no one knows who they are with. As such, emphasis has to be placed so that the students do not rig up themselves to go with whoever they want, and nobody is allowed to have a date to bring to the ball. We feel that this will go greatly to improve student relations at Hogwarts, and please, no violence is allowed on that night."
James nodded distractedly, and looked wistfully of Dumbledore's large window to the Quidditch pitch outside where his team mates were already zooming around on their brooms.
"Yea, professor, anything else?" James asked, quickly reverting his attention back to Dumbledore.
"Of course, it'll be up to you and the Head Girl to plan this dance, but this will be a dance that breaks all traditions. We want something new. So the usual Head students first dance will be abolished... Oh, and we will leave you two in charge of this dance... the decorations, food, everything."
"Oh, ok... Hmm, professor, I don't suppose you would mind terribly if I go for quidditch practice now... I promise I'll get everything done!" James said frantically, the pull of quidditch too great to resist.
"Fine, Mister Potter, but are you sure you don't want to wait for the Miss Evans to come?"
"Errr... Not really. Thanks Prof!" James cried over his shoulder, already halfway down the revolving stairs.
-----
At that moment, Lily stepped on the other set of stairs leading upwards, and was humming softly to herself. It would be her first meeting of the year, and she was wondering who the Head Boy could be.
"Professor, sorry I'm late," she said politely.
"Ahh, that's fine Miss Evans, but I'm afraid you've just missed Mister Potter. Do have a seat please." He pointed to the seat James had recently left.
Lily took it quickly and arranged her robes neatly. "Thank you."
"Now, Miss Evans, you do know that since this year will be your final year, there will be a graduation ceremony and dance organised for the seventh years. However, since this is exclusive to only the seventh year students, we have plans to hold a dance for fourth years and up to add a little festive cheer during your christmas season. It will be held on the last day of the term, and students are given a whole week before that the shop for the costumes. And yes, attendance is compulsory," Dumbledore said, surveying Lily with twinkling eyes.
"Of course Professor... Everyone will be attending... But, what do we have to do?" Lily asked politely.
"Oh, organise it of course!" Dumbledore replied airily. "You have the freedom to choose the music, food, and so on... But the only rule is that everyone must be in a disguise and no one know who each other is... Oh, and of course! No dates for the dance!" He ended cheerily. "That will be all Miss Evans, have a nice day. Mint toffee?"
Lily politely declined with a small smile. "Thank you Professor, have a nice day too..."
-----
Time rushed by, and so did autumn, the leaves turning from green to vivid hues of red and yellow, the large maples dotting the ground became a sight to see and attracted many couples hoping for some quiet time together. Time rushed by in a haze of Hogsmeade weekends, where students could be seen milling around the little wizarding town, taking full advantage of the warm and cozy environment of the Three Broomsticks to have fun or just walking along the streets to catch the cool autumn breeze. For others, the chill in the air allowed for an energizing game of quidditch for a perfect pick-me-up from the boring stupor of attending classes. It was not to say that Hogwarts lessons were dull. Oh, far from it. It was rather interesting to see the teachers varying reactions at the 'laziness' of their students, especially when, as McGonagall put it 'the NEWTS and OWLs are barely months away and all you incompetent nincompoops would do well to study harder' after Sirius had succeeded transfigured her classroom into a bar. It was rather funny to see a dozen or so dancers suddenly appearing in the classroom, and McGonagall chasing them out after lecturing them on finding uses to pass their time. Oh... and not to mention Lucius Malfoy actually nosebleeding in class while leering at them... Who knew what went on his that head of his...
As the last traces of autumn faded away into winter, the once colourful splashes of reds and yellows and oranges had given way, and all that was left of the maple trees were gnarled bare branches, slowly waiting till spring came again. A chilly wind began blowing almost continuously for the past few days, and the students had already seen the first snow fall of the season, just a light smattering of snowflakes that melted before even reaching the ground. Still, winter only came once a year and students were already rejoicing at the thoughts of the Christmas holidays and the hot, heavy stews that were sure to keep the castle warm and cozy.
Throughout the next few weeks, Lily and James either had things to do when the other was free, or just couldn't be found. As such, the planning of the dance was complicated, with messages being sent to and fro by owls. Lily had been uncomfortable about using the C-globe (ahhh! Don't ask me why! It's just so they won't see each other's face before they have to!) and when she explained this to James, he politely accepted. So, after the whirlwind posts, the layout of the dance was more or less fixed.
And, as luck would have it, Remus had decided to fall 'ill' at the time when Lily and James had decided to decorate the Great Hall together.
Lily Evans,
Am truly sorry, but I will be unable to decorate the hall with you tomorrow night... My friend's mother has suddenly taken ill...
James Potter.
So that night, Lily took to decorating part of the Hall, while James would do the others when he came back. She worked hard through the night, putting up decorations and taking them down, adjusting it until she felt satisfied, and only stopped when Peeves had come to wrap red streamers around her at three in the morning.
The week before the dance, lessons were called of, and since the Great Hall was out-of-bounds due to the need to get decorations up, the students had the choice to eat in Hogsmeade or in the kitchens.
As the week passed, hype began to build up around the school, with people guessing what it would be like. The weather moved into the cold winter, and snow fell constantly on the grounds and snow pixies - lovely sparkling minute winged elfin creatures, just recently awoken from the year-long slumber, came out to light up the nights with their flying. Girls were constantly seen in the corridor in groups, trying to guess what the coolest guys were going to wear, and frantically discussing dresses in between endless shopping trips, while guys walked around nonchalantly, trying to remember the small details of the girls they wanted to dance with, so they could match it to their partners during the dance.
The day dawned, still cloudy and snowing as activity around the castle reached an ultimate high. Although the actual party started at seven, where dinner was served and then the dancing, lasting all the way till one the next morning, many girls were seen at eight in the morning getting ready.
Lily stretched lazily in bed, taking the opportunity to sleep in. She had not done any shopping that week, having already dug up an old dress from her chest which her mother had bought before she had left for Hogwarts. Close to one, she finally got up, and shuffled lazily over to her private library to get some reading done.
-----
James and the Marauders were in James room, still dressed in their boxers only. They had decided to crash there the past night, ignoring Dumbledore's rules.
"Lets - yawn - play - yawn - quidditch." James said, eyes drooping tiredly and hair even more mussed up than possible.
The rest brightened considerably, and they each grabbed a broom from James' collection and started to head downstairs.
"Outside..." He finished, staring at his friends.
Sirius mustered the extent of facial muscles that was awake and made a gaping face. "But, you've got to be kidding... It's bloody minus 10 degrees outside!"
James smiled and evil smile, looking more awake than ever, "nothing like a spot of quidditch in the cold to wake you up effectively. Dress warm boys... And let's have breakfast."
They gathered around his bar, and after a hearty breakfast of eggs, toast, muffins, waffles, sausages, and everything a typical growing English guy eats, they donned jeans, a shirt and a sweater and zoomed out into the early morning frost.
At six in the evening, they trooped in wearily, dripping cold water all over the floor, and jumped right into the jacuzzi.
"Ahhh," James moaned as he felt the hot water seep through to his bones, sucking away all last traces of coldness in him. This certainly is the life."
Sirius nodded in agreement, his eyes closed. "I thought I was going to be a frozen dog forever..."
----
Close to seven, a girl barely recognizable as Lily Evans stepped out of the Head Girl's dorms and turned right down the corridor. She had exotic very dark purple hair, and blue-green eyes, and her hair was piled messily onto her head, with a few strands running down the sides of her face, and a few loose ends trailing down her back. Her attire was elegant yet breath- taking, not like the bulky ball-room dresses some girls had chosen. She wore a white dress, one shoulder off and the other with sleeves that flared out towards the end. The middle of the dress was secured loosely by a thin silver cord and the dress ended in layers of floaty material and cut unevenly just above her knee. The whole thing was embroidered with silver and black symbols, and three inch platforms.
'Tonight... let's stand out just for tonight Grandmama...' She laughed softly as she thought to herself. 'No one knows it's me anyway.'
-----
The Marauders stepped out of James' room, sauntering down the corridor.
James now had longer brown hair, slicked back with magic, (ekkk! don't like gel!. No gel!) and sparkling blue eyes. Sirius, black hair and brown eyes, Remus' hair was black and the ends were streaked with gold and brown eyes, and Peter also had brown hair and brown eyes. (there's only so much different you can make a guy... I can't imagine a guy in Lily's red hair and green eyes. hehe: Fred/ George) But neither looked like their original selves, even though the good- looks and charm was still there. It was amazing what a little magic could do here and there. All were dressed stylishly in Kilsh's black dress robes.
As they joined the main corridor, the looks intensified, and everyone stole a glance their way... Of course, guys had tried their best to look as good as possible, some even choosing to go for all out non-permanent magic plastic surgery, but the charisma that radiated from them could not be matched.
-----
Lily walked down the corridor slowly. She had never sat through a school function as big as this, as was naturally nervous. Each corridor she turned, guys turned to look at her while girls whispered behind her back.
As she stopped right in front of the doors to the Great Hall along with they many people already waiting for entry to the Hall, she thought to herself. 'Maybe he's here, waiting for me.'
End of Chapter Three.
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