In the Blink of an Eye
A/N: Hello hello! Nice to see you back again even though I take so long to update…what can I say? Latin AP. Sorry guys…
I love all of you for reviewing! It makes me so very happy! (so if you want to make me happy…hint hint…)
Quick note: Rita Skeeter has officially been moved to Ravenclaw…I have no idea why she got put into Hufflepuff in the first place… (I wasn't thinking straight)
Doesn't matter wat my name is(): One review is better than none! I don't care if you haven't reviewed all of them, I just feel proud that I got the "laziest person in the world" to review! Yay! Glad you like it ;) Thanks for the review and maybe I can get one more…?
Miss Lady Padfoot: You are the awesomeist! (hehehe) Glad you liked Sharmila, she's happy that she's so popular! About the Rita Skeeter thing, I'm so sorry about that! I didn't mean to put her in Hufflepuff at all, I must have not been thinking! Rita Skeeter—a Hufflepuff??? That's insane! Lol Thanks for pointing that out to me ;)
Child-of-Scorpio: I love your reviews! I think it's amazing that you're able to do so many! And long reviews are the BEST kind! I really enjoy reading them :) Glad you liked the chappie, I try, I try lol
Shahrukh Khan Rules: Tell me about it! (lol I feel like such a ditz when I say that…ah well…) I LOVE SHAHRUKH!!! He's obviously the best actor to ever grace the screen! Lol I haven't seen Mein Hoo Naa yet…but I'm dying to go! My friends told me it wasn't one of his best…but everything he does is worth seeing! Have you seen Kal Ho Naa Ho?? Because that is by far the best Hindi movie I've seen in a while…also if you want some good ones (although it seems that you're pretty up-to-date with his movies…) Kuch Kuch Hota Hai is always a favorite, Khabi Khushi Khabi Gham, Devdas…umm no more right now but I'll think about it! (Oh, yes, I am Indian if you couldn't tell. I'm Sindhi)
shadowed.phoenix: I'm so happy that poor chapter four wasn't neglected, yay! Yeah, sorry about that name mix-up…Sharmila was originally named Anjali but then I changed it, I guess I missed those sentences. Thanks so much for pointing it out! They're fixed now…Glad you liked the bit about the sorting (hehe--I liked it too…) Yeah, about them all being in Gryffindor: The thing is, I was mapping out the kids in all the houses and I just wanted to make sure I had all the Gryffindors down so that I knew who their dorm-mates would be…there were a few from the other houses and there will definitely be more, I just didn't want to stick everyone in that one chappie because otherwise it would be horribly tedious…I completely agree that they should have friends in many houses though! Thanks for the reviews!!
Eyes of Emerald: Thanks so much for reviewing (both chapters!!)! (crazy exclamation points there lol) Also, thanks for your input on Spring Break, due to popular demand I am skipping! Just a bit confused though, you signed your second review "quaintessence" just wondering how that happened (especially considering that quaintessence reviewed the two chapters also…)
QuaintEssence: Thank you for your reviews! Glad for the input…and for chapter four not getting neglected! Also, cheers for review greed! I believe it's an affliction we all have to deal with…(not that that's a bad thing lol)
Summary: Lily and James have been best friends for three years and are very excited when they find out that they're going to the same school. Their friendship is tested when they arrive. James' long-hidden crush is revealed at school after a certain someone asks Lily out. James turns to pranks and Lily to schoolwork…. Follow them through friends, school, pranks, and, of course, love, as they make their way through Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Disclaimer: Obviously, everything and everyone you recognize are owned by JKR and other big corporate people, not little Ms. Me.
Okay, now that that's done with, the chapter! cheers heard from approving fans ;) sounds good to me! (Ignore me, I'm certifiably insane lol)
A Lily Hint
"Lily! Lily, wake up, we really have to go! You're going to miss Transfiguration!" Alice exclaimed nervously, shaking her best friend.
"Like I give a…" came the muffled reply, cut off by Alice's gasp,
"Lily!" she interrupted, appalled at the profanity that she was about to hear her friend utter.
"She does it every morning, yet you are offended every time! She doesn't have any control in the morning and that's that. Forget it, it's not like she's going to remember later on anyway. I do think I have a way to get her up…" Sharmila grinned mischievously.
"Normally I'd never allow you to do anything while wearing that horrible grin, but since it's Lily-in-the-morning that we're dealing with, go right ahead with your, no doubt very evil, plan," replied Alice.
"Oh Liillllyyy," called Sharmila. "James is outside right now lifting weights with just his boxers on…" Sharmila whispered into the sleeping girl's ear.
"What? Who? When? Where?" Lily exclaimed, bolting upright in bed. Alice and Sharmila burst out laughing and rolling around on the floor. Lily's cheeks burned as she realized what she had just gotten herself into. Then she turned to glare at her hysterical friends. "You think that's funny, do you? Well, I think I'll sit with the Ravenclaws today…maybe drop a hint or two." She walked off with a defiant expression and closed the door forcibly. Sharmila stopped laughing abruptly.
"No, Lily! C'mon, it was just a joke! Besides, only the three of us are here! No one heard anything! The entire tower has left for breakfast by now! Lily, please don't tell him, I'll do anything!" Sharmila begged, pounding on the bathroom door. Lily, not being completely heartless, opened it a crack with a softer expression gracing her features,
"'Mila, you know I'd never tell him if you don't want me to. I just like seeing you beg," she grinned. Then added hastily, her previous glare firmly back in place "but that does not mean that I'm speaking to you two!"
Sharmila breathed a sigh of relief and shouted to the once again closed door, "Thank you, Lily! You're the bestest!" Then she turned to Alice and they headed down to breakfast, knowing better than to try to reason with their red-haired friend when she was in a mood like this. Inside the bathroom Lily smiled to herself for a reason unknown to anyone but her, oh but her friends did know her well, she mused.
When the two first-year Gryffindor girls arrived at the great hall, the boys were sitting huddled in a circle with their new friend Peter.
"That Pettigrew kid is with them again! And judging by their position, they're not welcoming visitors. I'd say we're unwanted," Sharmila sniffed, pretending to dab at her eyes dramatically.
"Well, we could always go eat with Dorcas, Victoria, and Linda," offered Alice, naming three Hufflepuff girls in their year who they were friends with.
"Nah, I don't feel like listening to their gossip this morning. Not that I don't like them,' Sharmila added hastily. Just then she caught sight of a third-year Gryffindor boy waving them over with a huge smile on his face.
"Hey, look! Let's go sit with Frank!" she exclaimed. Frank Longbottom was also from a long line of wizards and his family was good friends with the Shahs, the Prewetts, and the Potters. Sitting next to him were Alice's older brothers, the twins Gideon and Fabian. Sharmila walked over to them happily with Alice close behind.
The kids chatted for a while, Sharmila, Gideon, and Fabian were soon engrossed in a discussion about professional Quidditch and Alice and Frank were talking about their plans for easter break, which was just around the corner, as neither of them were too interested in Quidditch. In the middle of their conversations, both girls caught sight of Lily, who, sure enough, strode purposefully over to the Ravenclaw table. Sharmila turned to Alice in alarm and whispered,
"She's sitting next to him!"
"Don't worry, she won't go back on her word, you know Lily," reassured Alice. Sharmila was a little mollified and rejoined the debate about the Applebee Arrows and the Wimbourne Wasps but she kept glancing over nervously to the Ravenclaw table.
Lily, on the other hand, ,was thoroughly enjoying watching her friend squirm. She hadn't chosen her seat next to Nikhil Patil, the current object of Sharmila's affection, for nothing. It was simply an added bonus that the boy and his friends Kevin Chang and Lucas Lovegood happened to be good friends of hers. They too were in the middle of an argument over the Wasps and the Arrows. As she sat down they stopped long enough to greet her properly before resuming the debate. Lily, although she knew a thing or two about Quidditch, wasn't half as obsessed as those two boys, so she looked to Lucas, who was only too glad for the change in topic.
"Hey, Luke," Lily greeted, "bored?"
"Just a little…you know, I used to think I was obsessed with Quidditch, being the only wizard in a muggle neighborhood, but these boys give fanatic a new meaning! I mean, they just don't stop! They make me seem like I'm hardly even interested in my favorite sport because of their level of obsession!" Lily giggled.
"I know what you mean. I feel the same way around James, Sirius, and Sharmila. So, what's new, other than Quidditch?" she asked, grinning.
"Well, I was just going over some Divination, to get a head start you know…"
"Divination? We don't start that until 3rd year!"
"I know, but I find it so fascinating! I want to be able to read at least a little on my first day! I'm so excited!" he exclaimed happily. Lily grinned, thinking that if her friend was so excited about the class, it really couldn't be that bad. They continued chatting until it was time for class. Lily walked to Transfiguration with the Ravenclaw boys. She avoided any contact what-so-ever with her two best friends and tried also to stay away from James, as the scene from that morning still made her blush. She was worrying a little as to how she would get through the class, which was by far her worst subject, without James there to help her as she took a seat next to Lucas.
James noticed Lily walk in the room and tried his hardest to get her attention.
"Lily," he whispered urgently, trying to catch her before she sat down. She turned her head the other way, almost as if she was trying to ignore him. James was confused and quickly racked his brains for something that he had said or done recently to set his easily-angered friend off. He couldn't for the life of him, however, think of anything. Professor McGonagall soon entered and began the lesson, but James' mind was only on the beautiful girl sitting a few seats in front of him next to Lucas Lovegood.
Throughout the class, James tried writing notes and hitting Lily with spit balls to get her attention, but she would just turn and glare at him with a look that clearly stated that she wanted to be left alone. He sighed in frustration after doing this for what seemed like forever for the impatient boy (but was actually only a few minutes).
"If I know anything, mate, and I think I do," Sirius began and shook his hair back from his eyes, "I would say she doesn't want to talk to you."
"Thank you oh-great-Sirius, now how did you figure that one out?" James asked sarcastically.
"Must be my ingenious brain that did it," he winked at James and added, "But seriously, Jamie, what'd you do this time?"
"That's just the thing!" James huffed. "I didn't do anything…not that I remember anyway. And don't call me Jamie!" he added as an afterthought, glaring at his best friend.
"Now, now, Lily wouldn't be mad at you for no reason! I mean, yeah her reasons sometimes are pointless, and stupid, and occasionally absolutely ridiculous, but I've never seen her get mad over a completely non-existent reason!" Sirius reasoned and as much as James hated to admit it, he was right. Therefore, James was left with nothing to say and retorted simply with,
"Yeah? Well, whose side are you on anyway?" Sirius grinned and shrugged,
"Just letting you know, Jim." James sighed, both at the annoying nick-name and the fact that Sirius had a point. After much inward debate, James decided that he would take Lily on a walk around the lake that night and apologize, regardless of whether he knew the reason for her anger.
It was dinnertime and Lily was still sitting with the Ravenclaws. However, the group of four had been joined by a rather annoying girl named Rita Skeeter, who was currently hanging on to the boys' every word. Lily rolled her eyes as Rita gushed,
"You can do a Wronski Feint?" Nikhil shrugged it off uncomfortably, replying,
"Well, I'm really not that good and it's not very effective when I try it…" She looked around desperately for a way out of the tedious conversation and wished fleetingly that she could go back to the Gryffindor table and sit with her friends. She was too stubborn, however, and would never come back first, especially after what they had done to her. She was about to go to the library to see if she could get started on some of her homework (which meant get started on the new romance novel that her muggle friend had just owled her), when she caught sight of James walking towards her, running his hand through his hair nervously. She was glad to see him rescue her until she remembered what she had done that morning. She blushed and turned back to Rita and the boys, pretending to be engrossed in their conversation. But, to no avail, as she soon felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Lil, can I talk to you?" She panicked and then decided on her response,
"Sure, talk away!" He gave her a look and replied,
"Lily, you know what I mean!" She sighed and got up, seeing as her, albeit very feeble, attempt to avoid confrontation was obviously not going to work on the black-haired boy that day. They walked out of the dining hall very uncomfortably and once they were out of the school doors, James rounded on Lily.
"I'm sorry," he said bluntly. She blinked, of all things an apology was the last thing she expected.
"Sorry…for what?"
"Ummm…" he stuttered, "is that a trick question?" Regardless of how embarrassed she felt at the moment, Lily couldn't help but laugh at James' confused (and very cute) expression.
"No James! I should be apologizing! I've been ignoring you for no reason today. Well, actually there was a reason, but it had nothing to do with you…"
"Damn that Sirius!" he muttered under his breath. "Wait, what was that about a reason?" he asked Lily.
"Nothing you have to worry about!" she said hastily, her previous embarrassment coming back. James shook his head,
"Girls…" They walked companionably in silence for a while, Lily trying not to think about how hot James would really look lifting weights with just his boxers on, until James spoke up again. "Okay, so there was another reason I wanted to talk to you today, before this whole…ordeal," he began as they reached the lake and sat down on the grass. Lily turned to him expectantly.
"So, you know how we have Easter Break next week? Well, my older cousin Charlie, who lives with my family, is throwing a surprise 21st birthday party for his best friend, Arthur Weasley and guess what?" he asked, his hazel eyes (sigh) now sparkling with excitement and anticipation.
"What?"
"He told me I could invite some of my friends! How groovy is that?"
"Really?" exclaimed Lily, jumping up with joy. "We're going to a party for a twenty-one-year-old?"
"Yeah! I mean, they'll make us leave early and we won't be able to drink or anything but it'll still be fun!" Lily was smiling widely,
"James, that'll be so much fun! So, who're you going to invite?"
"Well, you, obviously, Sirius, Remus, Alice, Sharmila…I was thinking of inviting Peter…" Lily made a face but didn't say anything, knowing that James was only inviting the boy out of the kindness of his heart. She simply smiled and nodded,
"How many kids are you allowed to invite?"
"Well, I'm not really sure. The thing is, I don't know how many we can fit in our house because of all the other guests that'll be staying there. I mean, it's a huge party and there are limits placed by the Ministry as to how much you can expand your house, especially in a muggle neighborhood…"
"James, don't worry, I'll gladly house the girls."
"Would you? That would be great!" he exclaimed. "Oh this is going to be the best!"
A/N: So next chapter: the crazy party!! I realize that they're only 11, but James' parents spoil him a lot (which will come up later) and they'll have to leave by around 9 probably… What'd you think? REVIEW and tell me! The next chappie will be up soon b/c I'm really excited about it ;) Oh, do tell me: does anyone know any other expressions from the 70's? There're only so many times I can write "groovy" lol
Don't forget to review!! Thank you so very much, you're the bestest J