Chapter 3
Rating: good quality fun for the whole family.
Disclaimer: I don't claim to own Harry Potter or any of the characters are in any of the five books, they all belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner bros. and scholastic etc.
Lily's thought were interrupted by the voice of James Potter. He had plopped down next to her and taken her book from her hands.
"What are you reading?" he asked curiously.
"A book, or do you lack common knowledge?" she responded begrudgingly, trying to take the book from his hands.
"A book on defense against the dark arts? I would think you'd have no problem keeping up with the material in class," he joked.
"There are more things to know than what they teach us in a classroom. There's a war brewing in the magical world. Professor Dumbledore has said it himself. Things are not as safe as we might think. We need to prepare ourselves," she said in a serious voice.
Truth was that she hadn't been doing that well in Defense Against the Dark Art classes. She needed to work herself hard to keep up with the class. She wasn't going to admit that to him though; not to someone who did so well in the class. She smacked him on the head so he was surprised and dropped the book. She picked it up hastily and smiled mockingly at him.
"I didn't do anything to you. You didn't have to resort to violence," he said reproaching.
"You took my book. In some places, taking someone else's belongings against their wills is known as stealing, but that must be a hard term for you to understand, isn't it James?" she replied taunting him.
"Well, I believe that's the first time you've bothered to call me by my first name, Lily. Do I sense a change of attitude?" his smug look infuriated her as she quickly rose to the occasion.
"Doesn't anything get through to you? I can't even insult you without you making something out of it," she was suddenly reminded of Sirius's conversation about James earlier. "I also don't appreciate you using a mutual friend to come talk to me about you. You know that I don't care for you. Why do you even bother James! I can't stand you!"
Her frustrated voice was loud and when she finished her little outburst, the rest of the people inside the compartment were eyeing James and her curiously. That did little to cool her temper. She angrily got up from her seat and walked out of the prefect's compartment, giving the order of her having to stay until the prefects got back, very little importance.
She spent the rest of the train ride fuming in the compartment she had been in before with Sarah. Her friends showed up a little bit later and as she had told them what had happened they laughed.
"You have very little patience for him." Hannah said smiling.
"You would too! He never gives it a rest. He's always teasing me! Taunting me! I just find him frustrating. I can't have a moment's peace when he's around," she said, her temper rising up. "And having Sirius come ask me all those questions! I mean, I consider Sirius to be a friend, like Remus Lupin or Frank Longbottom. I wouldn't like them prodding me for opinions on James either, or trying to make me see light. I mean it's just annoying."
"Oh come on Lily. We all know why you're so angry at James. Right now I mean, because otherwise, you just dislike him," Sarah hesitated and looked at Hannah before speaking. "You like Sirius. It's clear as daylight and you're angry that he didn't come in here to inquiry about you because he wanted to know what you thought about Potter, but because Potter wanted to know how you felt about him. Rather, why you hate him so."
Lily wanted to defend herself, but knew she couldn't She had wanted to talk about it with them anyhow. Her silence just confirmed to her friends what they already knew. She did want to defend herself slightly. "I don't hate him."
Hannah grinned and Sarah laughed.
"So you're not denying it?" Hannah asked warily.
"No, I suppose," she looked down at the floor and then at her smiling best friends and smiled back. "I really do like him."
"So aren't you going to go back to the prefect's compartment? We're almost at Hogwarts. I think you might need to go back," Sarah said looking down at her watch.
"You know, we were so caught up in our conversation that I even forgot to say congratulations on making Head Girl Lily. It's really something," Hannah said with a small smile.
"Thank you Hannah. Look before I go back to that hell-hole, I want you to tell me how your summer went. I barely got any post from you, neither did Sarah," she said making herself comfortable in her seat. She was very reluctant to go where she was supposed to go. Besides she felt something was off with Hannah. She was quiet, more so than usual.
"I was trying to keep a low profile. You know that my parents are both Aurors, so they just told me not to send as many owls to my friends. It was just as a precaution. The Dark Lord seems to be gaining a lot of followers and being an Auror isn't exactly the safest job. There's a lot of fear about who to trust in the ministry," her face had paled up a bit as she had spoken. She appeared to have been caught up in a thought.
"Are you okay Hannah? Did-Did something happen?" Sarah inquired hesitantly.
Hannah sat unmoving form her seat. She was fidgeting and playing with her fingers, suddenly very interested in the creases in the palm of her hand. Just went Lily was about to speak, she raised her palm in the faint light of the compartment. "I always looked at the life lines on our hands and saw nothing more than a bunch of superstitions and myths. I never thought life could be so. so delicate. It could all be over, just like that."
Her eyes were filled with tears. Lily and Sarah just looked at each other confused. They waited patiently Hannah to explain her peculiar thoughts.
"My aunt. she got killed and people at the ministry suspect it was one of the Dark Lord's followers. I've been hearing a lot of stuff about them. They don't sound like a pleasant lot either. They call themselves D-death Eaters. I can't help but fear the name. I can't even say the guy's name. it scares me. They found her just lying there, she looked frozen with her eyes looking panicked. Who does that? And to someone like my aunt Nikki." her voice breaking as she spoke. "I just couldn't really say this in letters too, could I? I was very close to her."
Sarah and Lily pulled into a hug. Hannah previous tremor turned into sobbing and they stayed there for a while, comforting their friend until the train came to stop, and they heard people outside walk out of the train. Hannah looked at her friends embarrassed.
"I'm sorry. I'm such a drama queen. I'll be alright. Thank you for being here for me," she said wiping her tears away.
"It's alright for you to be upset Hannah. If you need us." Lily said sympathetically.
They walked out of the train quietly. They were strangers to the hustle and bustle of the platform. They could hear from a distance a voice that was calling out to the newcomers. "Firs' years firs' year over here!" they heard a booming voice call among the crowd. Hannah smiled slightly at the site of Hogwart's gamekeeper. The three girls had always appreciated Hagrid for being good company. They regularly visited him at his hut to have tea. They waved happily and he called a 'hello' back to them. They walked off the platform towards the stagecoaches. They boarded the carriage that led to the castle. As the carriage proceeded to be carried up the road to the castle, the school came into view until they were right in front of the big castle doors. All Lily could think as she stepped in to the school was that she was finally back home.
Rating: good quality fun for the whole family.
Disclaimer: I don't claim to own Harry Potter or any of the characters are in any of the five books, they all belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner bros. and scholastic etc.
Lily's thought were interrupted by the voice of James Potter. He had plopped down next to her and taken her book from her hands.
"What are you reading?" he asked curiously.
"A book, or do you lack common knowledge?" she responded begrudgingly, trying to take the book from his hands.
"A book on defense against the dark arts? I would think you'd have no problem keeping up with the material in class," he joked.
"There are more things to know than what they teach us in a classroom. There's a war brewing in the magical world. Professor Dumbledore has said it himself. Things are not as safe as we might think. We need to prepare ourselves," she said in a serious voice.
Truth was that she hadn't been doing that well in Defense Against the Dark Art classes. She needed to work herself hard to keep up with the class. She wasn't going to admit that to him though; not to someone who did so well in the class. She smacked him on the head so he was surprised and dropped the book. She picked it up hastily and smiled mockingly at him.
"I didn't do anything to you. You didn't have to resort to violence," he said reproaching.
"You took my book. In some places, taking someone else's belongings against their wills is known as stealing, but that must be a hard term for you to understand, isn't it James?" she replied taunting him.
"Well, I believe that's the first time you've bothered to call me by my first name, Lily. Do I sense a change of attitude?" his smug look infuriated her as she quickly rose to the occasion.
"Doesn't anything get through to you? I can't even insult you without you making something out of it," she was suddenly reminded of Sirius's conversation about James earlier. "I also don't appreciate you using a mutual friend to come talk to me about you. You know that I don't care for you. Why do you even bother James! I can't stand you!"
Her frustrated voice was loud and when she finished her little outburst, the rest of the people inside the compartment were eyeing James and her curiously. That did little to cool her temper. She angrily got up from her seat and walked out of the prefect's compartment, giving the order of her having to stay until the prefects got back, very little importance.
She spent the rest of the train ride fuming in the compartment she had been in before with Sarah. Her friends showed up a little bit later and as she had told them what had happened they laughed.
"You have very little patience for him." Hannah said smiling.
"You would too! He never gives it a rest. He's always teasing me! Taunting me! I just find him frustrating. I can't have a moment's peace when he's around," she said, her temper rising up. "And having Sirius come ask me all those questions! I mean, I consider Sirius to be a friend, like Remus Lupin or Frank Longbottom. I wouldn't like them prodding me for opinions on James either, or trying to make me see light. I mean it's just annoying."
"Oh come on Lily. We all know why you're so angry at James. Right now I mean, because otherwise, you just dislike him," Sarah hesitated and looked at Hannah before speaking. "You like Sirius. It's clear as daylight and you're angry that he didn't come in here to inquiry about you because he wanted to know what you thought about Potter, but because Potter wanted to know how you felt about him. Rather, why you hate him so."
Lily wanted to defend herself, but knew she couldn't She had wanted to talk about it with them anyhow. Her silence just confirmed to her friends what they already knew. She did want to defend herself slightly. "I don't hate him."
Hannah grinned and Sarah laughed.
"So you're not denying it?" Hannah asked warily.
"No, I suppose," she looked down at the floor and then at her smiling best friends and smiled back. "I really do like him."
"So aren't you going to go back to the prefect's compartment? We're almost at Hogwarts. I think you might need to go back," Sarah said looking down at her watch.
"You know, we were so caught up in our conversation that I even forgot to say congratulations on making Head Girl Lily. It's really something," Hannah said with a small smile.
"Thank you Hannah. Look before I go back to that hell-hole, I want you to tell me how your summer went. I barely got any post from you, neither did Sarah," she said making herself comfortable in her seat. She was very reluctant to go where she was supposed to go. Besides she felt something was off with Hannah. She was quiet, more so than usual.
"I was trying to keep a low profile. You know that my parents are both Aurors, so they just told me not to send as many owls to my friends. It was just as a precaution. The Dark Lord seems to be gaining a lot of followers and being an Auror isn't exactly the safest job. There's a lot of fear about who to trust in the ministry," her face had paled up a bit as she had spoken. She appeared to have been caught up in a thought.
"Are you okay Hannah? Did-Did something happen?" Sarah inquired hesitantly.
Hannah sat unmoving form her seat. She was fidgeting and playing with her fingers, suddenly very interested in the creases in the palm of her hand. Just went Lily was about to speak, she raised her palm in the faint light of the compartment. "I always looked at the life lines on our hands and saw nothing more than a bunch of superstitions and myths. I never thought life could be so. so delicate. It could all be over, just like that."
Her eyes were filled with tears. Lily and Sarah just looked at each other confused. They waited patiently Hannah to explain her peculiar thoughts.
"My aunt. she got killed and people at the ministry suspect it was one of the Dark Lord's followers. I've been hearing a lot of stuff about them. They don't sound like a pleasant lot either. They call themselves D-death Eaters. I can't help but fear the name. I can't even say the guy's name. it scares me. They found her just lying there, she looked frozen with her eyes looking panicked. Who does that? And to someone like my aunt Nikki." her voice breaking as she spoke. "I just couldn't really say this in letters too, could I? I was very close to her."
Sarah and Lily pulled into a hug. Hannah previous tremor turned into sobbing and they stayed there for a while, comforting their friend until the train came to stop, and they heard people outside walk out of the train. Hannah looked at her friends embarrassed.
"I'm sorry. I'm such a drama queen. I'll be alright. Thank you for being here for me," she said wiping her tears away.
"It's alright for you to be upset Hannah. If you need us." Lily said sympathetically.
They walked out of the train quietly. They were strangers to the hustle and bustle of the platform. They could hear from a distance a voice that was calling out to the newcomers. "Firs' years firs' year over here!" they heard a booming voice call among the crowd. Hannah smiled slightly at the site of Hogwart's gamekeeper. The three girls had always appreciated Hagrid for being good company. They regularly visited him at his hut to have tea. They waved happily and he called a 'hello' back to them. They walked off the platform towards the stagecoaches. They boarded the carriage that led to the castle. As the carriage proceeded to be carried up the road to the castle, the school came into view until they were right in front of the big castle doors. All Lily could think as she stepped in to the school was that she was finally back home.