Chapter 19
"Exams, exams, God, I hate exams," said Cat.
Lily laughed and looked over her notes on Giant Wars for the millionth time.
"C'mon, Cat, I hate them too, but these decide if we're able to be what we want to be," she said.
"I know."
The four girls sighed, sitting under the Beech tree on the grounds.
"Boo!" said Sirius, jumping at them.
Jenni and Gabby jumped and screamed, Cat and Lily laughed. Sirius sat next Lily.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey babe."
He kissed her, James, Remus and Frank joined them. The three pulled out their notes, so they could all study, but no one could really concentrate with the slurping and giggles coming from Sirius and Lily. Everyone rolled their eyes and ignored them.
"We. Have. To. Study," managed Lily between kisses.
"Fine. In. A. Minute."
"No, now. C'mon you two," said James.
They stopped and went over their notes.
"Goldorf took a pole and hit Halleigh with it," said Jenni.
"I'd like to hit you with my pole," Sirius whispered into Lily's ear.
She burst out laughing, the others stared at them.
"Sorry," she muttered.
Sirius grinned at them, and they kept studying. Every time someone said something that could be taken the wrong way, Sirius took it there.
"Ew! This guy hit this woman, with his wand, in her butt!" said Gabby.
Sirius grinned at Lily, and leaned toward her.
"Padfoot! We can all hear what you say. Please. Stop," said James.
Lily and Sirius laughed and studied.
"Well, look at it this way, we won't forget anything we've studied," said Lily.
The others rolled their eyes and continued to study. Soon, O.W.L.s were over, and Lily had gotten over her anger at Sirius and James for being mean to Snape, but she was even angrier with Snape for calling her a Mudblood.
"First in the year... AGAIN!" Lily told James, smugly, on the train.
"Your point?"
"This is the... fifth year in a row I have beaten you?"
"Oh shut up, c'mon, don't you think it's bad enough that I have to come in second, but do you always have to rub it in?"
"Why shouldn't I? You rub it in if you do better than me."
James shrugged.
"C'mon, Lils, let's go, I'll go with you to your grandmother's mansion," said Sirius.
"Don't get lost along the way," said James.
Lily pretended to scratch the back of her head with her middle finger, then walked with Sirius, off the train
"Actually, we're going to my Grandmother's summer manor on the water," said Lily. "She's picking me up here, then I'm coming back here and staying at her manor the last day of break."
Sirius grinned.
"Lily!"
Lily turned and saw her Grandmother, kissed Sirius goodbye, and Nevins drove them to the coast, and up the driveway to the house. Lily was given the second largest room, the Ocean room again and she stayed there with Maria all summer. Lily focused on writing a diary of events from her years at Hogwarts, and rewrote stories she once authored, and painted paintings of the ocean.
"Wow, Lily, that's lovely."
Lily spun around and saw Mrs. Potter. Lily blushed.
"Thank you."
Lily walked away from the painting and covered it as James, Sirius and Cat walked in.
"Your grandmother invited us to stay for the month, is that all right?"
"Of course, I love having you all here."
Mrs. Potter laughed and walked out of the room, and Cat walked toward the painting.
"What's this?" she asked.
"Nothing, c'mon, I want to show you around." The three looked at Lily suspiciously, but followed her. "And these are the stables," she concluded.
"Lily, we've seen stables before," said James.
Lily rolled her eyes.
"Can you ride as well as you can shoot your mouth off?"
"You know I can."
She grinned.
"Not a broom, a horse."
"A horse?"
"You can ride, can you not?"
"Hell yeah I can ride."
"Then let's do it."
James chose a horse and Lily chose a horse, the stable boy helped James find the saddles and put it on the horse. By the time James and the boy, Ryan, had put the saddle on and were attempting to secure it, Lily was ready to ride.
"Cheater," James muttered.
"I was under the impression that you'd ridden a horse before."
"I have ridden a horse, Evans."
"A Hufflepuff the size of a horse doesn't count," said Lily, coolly.
Cat burst out laughing and Sirius's jaw dropped and he tried not to laugh. James nearly fell off the horse.
"That's not funny, you know I'd never ride a Hufflepuff the size of a horse."
Lily laughed and led her chestnut Palomino mare out of the stable, James behind her on the black Arabian. Lily showed him the jumping bars, and jumped them.
"Great Job, Melinda," Lily told the horse, giving her an apple.
James tried to get Pharaoh, the Arabian, to move, but he stayed put.
"Why doesn't he move?"
"He's not a jumping horse, like Melinda," said Maria, from the back deck, Mr. and Mrs. Potter with her.
"Oh, what kind of horse is he?"
"He's a racehorse, but he's old, and not as fast," Lily told him.
"You gave me an old, slow horse?" James demanded.
"You chose him yourself, and stop yelling, you'll upset him and he'll kick you off his back."
James rolled his eyes and got off the horse, leading him back into the stable. Lily followed, and she helped James put Pharaoh back in his stable, and Melinda in hers.
"I can beat you at Quidditch," James said.
Lily rolled her eyes.
"I'm not a guy that you can just have the male bonding, competitive relationship with, James. So stop trying to get me to beat you all the time."
She walked down to the beach, Cat, Sirius and James behind her. Lily led them a way down the shoreline, to a cave, hidden by rocks, that no one would have seen unless looking for it. Lily led them inside, and under an opening where they could see the sky. She moved a boulder, revealing a hole in the wall, and pulled out matches, marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate and chips. As the sun went down, Lily lit the fire, and they roasted marshmallows, made s'mores and ate chips. After a while, they told ghost stories, and eventually put the fire out and went back to the house.
"This is a lovely home you have here, Mrs. Bouchinelli," said Mrs. Potter at lunch.
"Well thank you, but please, call me Maria. And it's not my home any longer."
Lily's head shot up, her eyes wide, but Maria did not look at her.
"Did you sell?" asked Mr. Potter.
"Oh no, this is Lily's house, now."
Maria winked at her granddaughter, who relaxed.
"Don't frighten me like that, Grandmother," said Lily, her hand resting over her racing heart.
Maria laughed.
"Well, that's no fun!"
The Potters laughed and James, Sirius, and Cat looked at Lily.
"What are we doing today?" Sirius asked Lily.
"Hanging out at the beach, I guess. I'm going to attempt a tan, and you three can just do whatever."
The four raced to get ready and of course James and Sirius were first to finish dressing. Cat and Lily walked out of their rooms, both wearing a bikini, Cat's was orange and Lily's was light blue. Lily had on large sunglasses, and she pulled an oversized shirt over her, and Cat put on a cover- up until they got on the beach, and they laid out on the sand, and watched Sirius and James play Frisbee.
"James or Sirius?" Cat asked.
"Sirius, of course, we ARE dating," said Lily.
"If you weren't dating Sirius and James wasn't dating Gabby."
"Cat, you know the answer to that question."
Cat nodded.
"I guess so."
"So, what's up with you and Frank?"
"Not a thing! That's the problem! I'm not sure what to do!"
"I dunno, Cat, do what you think you should do."
She nodded again.
"You're right."
"As usual."
The two girls began to laugh and James and Sirius ran over to them.
"What's so funny?" asked James.
"Lily," said Cat.
"Isn't she the greatest?" asked Sirius.
"Of course I am!" said Lily, still laughing.
Sirius kissed her and picked her up, running at the water, James following with Cat. The girls stood up and jumped on the boys' back, causing them to fall into the water, and they got into a water fight, then they built a huge sandcastle where the four laid in the middle of and watched the stars come out. All too soon, it was time for the Potters, Sirius and Cat to leave, and Lily and Maria to be left alone again. But luckily, Lily was allowed to spend the week in London, but Sirius and Cat were forced back to Grimmauld Place, so James stopped by to see Lily every day.
"Hello?" called James, the third day she was alone in her grandmother's manor.
"Hello?" echoed Lily, walking down the stairs.
He grinned.
"You look rested after that spanking you took yesterday in chess."
She laughed.
"You have yet to give me a spanking," she said, sitting on the sofa in the den.
James sat next to her, laughing.
"You want me to try again?"
She laughed, and looked over at him.
"No, I do not want a spanking from you."
He laughed.
"You're just chicken."
"I am not!"
"Are too!"
She rolled her eyes.
"What game do you want to play today?"
James shrugged.
"What's this?"
He pulled out a thin, square box, and opened it, pulling out a sheet with large colored circles on it and a spinner.
"It's called Twister, wanna play?"
He grinned, looking at the picture on the box.
"Yeah. You should bring this to school with you."
"I'll do that, James."
He laughed.
"Good."
They played, both losing as many times as the other, and soon James had to go back home. Lily waited up the fifth night of vacation for Sirius, he'd written her and told her he'd sneak out and see her, but he didn't come. The front door opened and shut and Lily opened her eyes. She heard soft footsteps up the stairs.
"Lily?" came the voice from the hallway.
"I'm in here," she said, standing up.
He came into her room and walked to her. She leapt into his arms and kissed him, and he kissed her back. She played with the buttons on his shirt, and soon it was decorating her floor along with the rest of his clothes and hers. She took him by the shoulders and let him fall on her bed on top of her. He ran his fingers through her hair with one hand, and slowly let his other hand slide up her leg. His lips left hers and moved down her body, but returned again. Several hours later, just before daylight, he left Lily asleep in her bed to return home before his parents noticed. She woke up to the closing of the door. She looked around and sighed.
"Well, that was interesting," she said to herself as she walked to the bathroom to shower.
James didn't get there until after lunch and Lily was sleeping on the sofa waiting for him. She'd come to the conclusion that when he's not around other guys, he can be the sweetest guy in the world. James made them both lunch and took it into the room where Lily was still sleeping. He sat on the sofa, and shook her gently.
"Wake up, Lily," he said.
"Five more minutes," she muttered.
He laughed.
"Fine, I'm sure me and Mister Marker here will have a great time drawing on you."
Lily sat straight up like she'd been electrocuted.
"I'm up."
He laughed again.
"I made lunch."
She smiled at him.
"Thanks, James."
"Why are you so sleepy today?"
She shrugged.
"Didn't get much sleep last night."
He nodded.
"I hate those nights."
She laughed a little and ate her lunch, they went into London and saw a double feature, and then James helped Lily pack.
"Thanks again James."
"No problem, Lily. What else do you need?"
"That drawer, just dump it in."
He opened a drawer and pulled a bit of material out.
"What are you going to use this for at school?"
Lily spun around and saw James holding up her lingerie. She yanked it out of his hands and threw it into her trunk without realizing it.
"Not that drawer, the one below it, full of shirts and jeans."
James grinned, noticing where she had tossed the lacy article, and put her jeans and shirts in her trunk. After that, James went home and Lily prepared the house for when she left the next morning. She met her friends at Kings Cross and got on the train and squeezed into a compartment, Lily sitting on Sirius's lap. That night, they watched as Sirius's brother was sorted into Slytherin, but they still clapped for him. Halloween weekend was the first Hogsmeade trip and Sirius led Lily toward outskirts so they could walk and talk without being interrupted.
"Hey, Lil, I've been thinking, and I think we should just be friends."
Lily looked at him.
"Why?"
"Well, I love you, I really do, but not in the way I thought I did, y'know?"
He was looking away from Lily, and she could tell that this was hard for him. She nodded.
"Yeah, I know."
"So, it's okay with you?"
He looked at her.
"Yeah, I miss us just being friends anyway."
He smiled.
"I'm so glad you understand, Lily!"
She smiled and they went to the Three Broomsticks and joined their friends.
"Hey! How's it goin you two?" Cat asked as they sat down.
"We just broke up!" said Sirius grinning.
Lily laughed.
"That we did. How're you all?"
"We're great!" said Cat.
The others stared at the two as though they'd gone insane.
"It's all right, we just don't love each other in the romantic sense, like we thought we did."
"Oh, well that sounds, erm, good?" said Gabby, confused, and moving as close to James as was physically possible without sitting in his lap.
James didn't seem to notice. Lily rolled her eyes slightly, and drank her butterbeer. A little while later, Lily and Cat left to go to Zonko's.
"She thinks you're going to take James away from her," Cat voiced once they were far enough from the Three Broomsticks.
"Why? I won't."
"Have you looked in the mirror lately?"
"This morning. Why? Do I have something on my face?"
Cat sighed.
"Hon, you're beautiful and even James can't deny that."
Lily rolled her eyes.
"Cat, I'd rather not have this conversation. C'mon, let's get our pranks and get going."
"Exams, exams, God, I hate exams," said Cat.
Lily laughed and looked over her notes on Giant Wars for the millionth time.
"C'mon, Cat, I hate them too, but these decide if we're able to be what we want to be," she said.
"I know."
The four girls sighed, sitting under the Beech tree on the grounds.
"Boo!" said Sirius, jumping at them.
Jenni and Gabby jumped and screamed, Cat and Lily laughed. Sirius sat next Lily.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey babe."
He kissed her, James, Remus and Frank joined them. The three pulled out their notes, so they could all study, but no one could really concentrate with the slurping and giggles coming from Sirius and Lily. Everyone rolled their eyes and ignored them.
"We. Have. To. Study," managed Lily between kisses.
"Fine. In. A. Minute."
"No, now. C'mon you two," said James.
They stopped and went over their notes.
"Goldorf took a pole and hit Halleigh with it," said Jenni.
"I'd like to hit you with my pole," Sirius whispered into Lily's ear.
She burst out laughing, the others stared at them.
"Sorry," she muttered.
Sirius grinned at them, and they kept studying. Every time someone said something that could be taken the wrong way, Sirius took it there.
"Ew! This guy hit this woman, with his wand, in her butt!" said Gabby.
Sirius grinned at Lily, and leaned toward her.
"Padfoot! We can all hear what you say. Please. Stop," said James.
Lily and Sirius laughed and studied.
"Well, look at it this way, we won't forget anything we've studied," said Lily.
The others rolled their eyes and continued to study. Soon, O.W.L.s were over, and Lily had gotten over her anger at Sirius and James for being mean to Snape, but she was even angrier with Snape for calling her a Mudblood.
"First in the year... AGAIN!" Lily told James, smugly, on the train.
"Your point?"
"This is the... fifth year in a row I have beaten you?"
"Oh shut up, c'mon, don't you think it's bad enough that I have to come in second, but do you always have to rub it in?"
"Why shouldn't I? You rub it in if you do better than me."
James shrugged.
"C'mon, Lils, let's go, I'll go with you to your grandmother's mansion," said Sirius.
"Don't get lost along the way," said James.
Lily pretended to scratch the back of her head with her middle finger, then walked with Sirius, off the train
"Actually, we're going to my Grandmother's summer manor on the water," said Lily. "She's picking me up here, then I'm coming back here and staying at her manor the last day of break."
Sirius grinned.
"Lily!"
Lily turned and saw her Grandmother, kissed Sirius goodbye, and Nevins drove them to the coast, and up the driveway to the house. Lily was given the second largest room, the Ocean room again and she stayed there with Maria all summer. Lily focused on writing a diary of events from her years at Hogwarts, and rewrote stories she once authored, and painted paintings of the ocean.
"Wow, Lily, that's lovely."
Lily spun around and saw Mrs. Potter. Lily blushed.
"Thank you."
Lily walked away from the painting and covered it as James, Sirius and Cat walked in.
"Your grandmother invited us to stay for the month, is that all right?"
"Of course, I love having you all here."
Mrs. Potter laughed and walked out of the room, and Cat walked toward the painting.
"What's this?" she asked.
"Nothing, c'mon, I want to show you around." The three looked at Lily suspiciously, but followed her. "And these are the stables," she concluded.
"Lily, we've seen stables before," said James.
Lily rolled her eyes.
"Can you ride as well as you can shoot your mouth off?"
"You know I can."
She grinned.
"Not a broom, a horse."
"A horse?"
"You can ride, can you not?"
"Hell yeah I can ride."
"Then let's do it."
James chose a horse and Lily chose a horse, the stable boy helped James find the saddles and put it on the horse. By the time James and the boy, Ryan, had put the saddle on and were attempting to secure it, Lily was ready to ride.
"Cheater," James muttered.
"I was under the impression that you'd ridden a horse before."
"I have ridden a horse, Evans."
"A Hufflepuff the size of a horse doesn't count," said Lily, coolly.
Cat burst out laughing and Sirius's jaw dropped and he tried not to laugh. James nearly fell off the horse.
"That's not funny, you know I'd never ride a Hufflepuff the size of a horse."
Lily laughed and led her chestnut Palomino mare out of the stable, James behind her on the black Arabian. Lily showed him the jumping bars, and jumped them.
"Great Job, Melinda," Lily told the horse, giving her an apple.
James tried to get Pharaoh, the Arabian, to move, but he stayed put.
"Why doesn't he move?"
"He's not a jumping horse, like Melinda," said Maria, from the back deck, Mr. and Mrs. Potter with her.
"Oh, what kind of horse is he?"
"He's a racehorse, but he's old, and not as fast," Lily told him.
"You gave me an old, slow horse?" James demanded.
"You chose him yourself, and stop yelling, you'll upset him and he'll kick you off his back."
James rolled his eyes and got off the horse, leading him back into the stable. Lily followed, and she helped James put Pharaoh back in his stable, and Melinda in hers.
"I can beat you at Quidditch," James said.
Lily rolled her eyes.
"I'm not a guy that you can just have the male bonding, competitive relationship with, James. So stop trying to get me to beat you all the time."
She walked down to the beach, Cat, Sirius and James behind her. Lily led them a way down the shoreline, to a cave, hidden by rocks, that no one would have seen unless looking for it. Lily led them inside, and under an opening where they could see the sky. She moved a boulder, revealing a hole in the wall, and pulled out matches, marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate and chips. As the sun went down, Lily lit the fire, and they roasted marshmallows, made s'mores and ate chips. After a while, they told ghost stories, and eventually put the fire out and went back to the house.
"This is a lovely home you have here, Mrs. Bouchinelli," said Mrs. Potter at lunch.
"Well thank you, but please, call me Maria. And it's not my home any longer."
Lily's head shot up, her eyes wide, but Maria did not look at her.
"Did you sell?" asked Mr. Potter.
"Oh no, this is Lily's house, now."
Maria winked at her granddaughter, who relaxed.
"Don't frighten me like that, Grandmother," said Lily, her hand resting over her racing heart.
Maria laughed.
"Well, that's no fun!"
The Potters laughed and James, Sirius, and Cat looked at Lily.
"What are we doing today?" Sirius asked Lily.
"Hanging out at the beach, I guess. I'm going to attempt a tan, and you three can just do whatever."
The four raced to get ready and of course James and Sirius were first to finish dressing. Cat and Lily walked out of their rooms, both wearing a bikini, Cat's was orange and Lily's was light blue. Lily had on large sunglasses, and she pulled an oversized shirt over her, and Cat put on a cover- up until they got on the beach, and they laid out on the sand, and watched Sirius and James play Frisbee.
"James or Sirius?" Cat asked.
"Sirius, of course, we ARE dating," said Lily.
"If you weren't dating Sirius and James wasn't dating Gabby."
"Cat, you know the answer to that question."
Cat nodded.
"I guess so."
"So, what's up with you and Frank?"
"Not a thing! That's the problem! I'm not sure what to do!"
"I dunno, Cat, do what you think you should do."
She nodded again.
"You're right."
"As usual."
The two girls began to laugh and James and Sirius ran over to them.
"What's so funny?" asked James.
"Lily," said Cat.
"Isn't she the greatest?" asked Sirius.
"Of course I am!" said Lily, still laughing.
Sirius kissed her and picked her up, running at the water, James following with Cat. The girls stood up and jumped on the boys' back, causing them to fall into the water, and they got into a water fight, then they built a huge sandcastle where the four laid in the middle of and watched the stars come out. All too soon, it was time for the Potters, Sirius and Cat to leave, and Lily and Maria to be left alone again. But luckily, Lily was allowed to spend the week in London, but Sirius and Cat were forced back to Grimmauld Place, so James stopped by to see Lily every day.
"Hello?" called James, the third day she was alone in her grandmother's manor.
"Hello?" echoed Lily, walking down the stairs.
He grinned.
"You look rested after that spanking you took yesterday in chess."
She laughed.
"You have yet to give me a spanking," she said, sitting on the sofa in the den.
James sat next to her, laughing.
"You want me to try again?"
She laughed, and looked over at him.
"No, I do not want a spanking from you."
He laughed.
"You're just chicken."
"I am not!"
"Are too!"
She rolled her eyes.
"What game do you want to play today?"
James shrugged.
"What's this?"
He pulled out a thin, square box, and opened it, pulling out a sheet with large colored circles on it and a spinner.
"It's called Twister, wanna play?"
He grinned, looking at the picture on the box.
"Yeah. You should bring this to school with you."
"I'll do that, James."
He laughed.
"Good."
They played, both losing as many times as the other, and soon James had to go back home. Lily waited up the fifth night of vacation for Sirius, he'd written her and told her he'd sneak out and see her, but he didn't come. The front door opened and shut and Lily opened her eyes. She heard soft footsteps up the stairs.
"Lily?" came the voice from the hallway.
"I'm in here," she said, standing up.
He came into her room and walked to her. She leapt into his arms and kissed him, and he kissed her back. She played with the buttons on his shirt, and soon it was decorating her floor along with the rest of his clothes and hers. She took him by the shoulders and let him fall on her bed on top of her. He ran his fingers through her hair with one hand, and slowly let his other hand slide up her leg. His lips left hers and moved down her body, but returned again. Several hours later, just before daylight, he left Lily asleep in her bed to return home before his parents noticed. She woke up to the closing of the door. She looked around and sighed.
"Well, that was interesting," she said to herself as she walked to the bathroom to shower.
James didn't get there until after lunch and Lily was sleeping on the sofa waiting for him. She'd come to the conclusion that when he's not around other guys, he can be the sweetest guy in the world. James made them both lunch and took it into the room where Lily was still sleeping. He sat on the sofa, and shook her gently.
"Wake up, Lily," he said.
"Five more minutes," she muttered.
He laughed.
"Fine, I'm sure me and Mister Marker here will have a great time drawing on you."
Lily sat straight up like she'd been electrocuted.
"I'm up."
He laughed again.
"I made lunch."
She smiled at him.
"Thanks, James."
"Why are you so sleepy today?"
She shrugged.
"Didn't get much sleep last night."
He nodded.
"I hate those nights."
She laughed a little and ate her lunch, they went into London and saw a double feature, and then James helped Lily pack.
"Thanks again James."
"No problem, Lily. What else do you need?"
"That drawer, just dump it in."
He opened a drawer and pulled a bit of material out.
"What are you going to use this for at school?"
Lily spun around and saw James holding up her lingerie. She yanked it out of his hands and threw it into her trunk without realizing it.
"Not that drawer, the one below it, full of shirts and jeans."
James grinned, noticing where she had tossed the lacy article, and put her jeans and shirts in her trunk. After that, James went home and Lily prepared the house for when she left the next morning. She met her friends at Kings Cross and got on the train and squeezed into a compartment, Lily sitting on Sirius's lap. That night, they watched as Sirius's brother was sorted into Slytherin, but they still clapped for him. Halloween weekend was the first Hogsmeade trip and Sirius led Lily toward outskirts so they could walk and talk without being interrupted.
"Hey, Lil, I've been thinking, and I think we should just be friends."
Lily looked at him.
"Why?"
"Well, I love you, I really do, but not in the way I thought I did, y'know?"
He was looking away from Lily, and she could tell that this was hard for him. She nodded.
"Yeah, I know."
"So, it's okay with you?"
He looked at her.
"Yeah, I miss us just being friends anyway."
He smiled.
"I'm so glad you understand, Lily!"
She smiled and they went to the Three Broomsticks and joined their friends.
"Hey! How's it goin you two?" Cat asked as they sat down.
"We just broke up!" said Sirius grinning.
Lily laughed.
"That we did. How're you all?"
"We're great!" said Cat.
The others stared at the two as though they'd gone insane.
"It's all right, we just don't love each other in the romantic sense, like we thought we did."
"Oh, well that sounds, erm, good?" said Gabby, confused, and moving as close to James as was physically possible without sitting in his lap.
James didn't seem to notice. Lily rolled her eyes slightly, and drank her butterbeer. A little while later, Lily and Cat left to go to Zonko's.
"She thinks you're going to take James away from her," Cat voiced once they were far enough from the Three Broomsticks.
"Why? I won't."
"Have you looked in the mirror lately?"
"This morning. Why? Do I have something on my face?"
Cat sighed.
"Hon, you're beautiful and even James can't deny that."
Lily rolled her eyes.
"Cat, I'd rather not have this conversation. C'mon, let's get our pranks and get going."