And again, two of my lovely readers had to get me off of my butt in the roleplaying world and back here. I'm beginning to be rather amazed with myself at how long this story is made out to be. My other story (which I am going to delete off this site VERY soon due to my disgust for it) only ended up being 22 chapters, while the other is still unfinished. And I will go write the next chapter AFTER I finish my language arts project. MUST force myself to do so. And my goal is to have it posted by...say...Saturday! That will be improvement compared to my recent lack of updating! :-/
Chapter Eighteen
Home For the Holidays
"Are you sure it's OK with you?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
"You positive? Because just say the word and I'll tell her I can't go for some reason or another."
"No! Just go!"
"But I don't want to not be friends anymore if I go. Trust me, Moony. You win over her every day. I would drop her before I would ever drop you. Remember the promise we made in the third year? Friends before girls always."
"Thanks, Prongs, but seriously. I don't care. I don't really feel that way for Lily anymore. Despite what you may think, I can move on. I have the ability to do so."
"OK, I'm just making sure. But...but you're sure all right?"
"Yes I'm sure. Go home with her. Romance her. Win the heart of her parents. Kiss her, hug her, I don't care!" Remus laughed. "Honestly, James. I seriously don't."
"OK, but you're..."
"Oh, shut up, Prongs." Remus laughed. "I'll be working on getting Bianca to go out with me over break, so I'll be keeping busy." Remus grinned.
"Good luck with that. And I hear Sirius is going to ask Candace out, finally." James grinned.
"Yeah, maybe there will be three more couples at this school once break is over." Remus grinned.
"I sure as hell hope so." James laughed, levitating his trunk.
"Have fun, Prongs." Remus grinned from where he was sitting on the couch in the Common Room.
"You'll be having a fun break." Lily grinned at Candace. Candace still didn't know that Sirius was going to ask her out.
"I hope so. But Sirius is staying so it should be all good." Candace smiled, though the smile faded rather quickly.
"What's wrong?" Lily asked.
"I don't know. I'm just not sure why I even try with Sirius anymore. He's obviously not interested if he hasn't asked me out yet." She sighed. "What if he's just messing around with me to say that he's getting some?"
"No, Candace, he really likes you." Lily said, her mind racing. Candace couldn't back out now! Sirius was supposed to ask her out sometime in the next two weeks! She couldn't suddenly decide that she didn't want to go out with him! "He's just afraid of commitment. Poor guy. But I have a feeling you and him are going to hook up soon." Lily smiled. "I don't know why I have the feeling, but it's there."
Candace smiled. "Thanks Lily. And please, be nice to James. Don't make his break torture."
"I don't plan to, because if it's torture for him, it's torture for me." Lily responded, staring out the window. In ten minutes she would have to take her trunk down to the Entrance Hall and leave for her home. In a compartment with James. All alone with James, and the few other people on the train who chose to go home. "I just don't know how I'm going to entertain him for two weeks." Lily sighed in exhaustion. She had been up all night the previous night trying to organize all her notes and books so she would be able to take her stuff home and still know what everything was, not to mention that the haunting thought of being with James every moment of the day for the next two weeks was hanging over her head.
"There's a skating rink down by your house, isn't there? I mean there's the cute little village just down the street. I'm sure you'll find something to do." Candace said, looking into Lily's fire, her chocolate brown eyes glazed over in thought.
"Ice skating. Loads of fun." Lily responded sarcastically.
"Hey! I always enjoy a good skate," Candace responded, snapping out of her stupor to look at Lily. "It would do you well to enjoy it as well." Candace grinned playfully in response. "Uh oh, look at the time." Candace said with a mischievous grin. "You've got to get down to the Entrance Hall or you'll miss the train." Candace levitated Lily's trunk with her wand, then handed it to Lily and proceeded in leading her out of the dormitory. She stopped at the door, letting Lily go in front of her to close it behind her. "Say goodbye until next semester!" Candace said, shutting the door behind Lily.
James stood at the gates of Hogwarts waiting for the carriages to come that would lead them to the train. His heart was pounding. He couldn't remember ever having been so nervous. Not even when it was the final Quidditch match of his second year that would determine if they would win the cup. And they had to win by three hundred points, meaning James couldn't have caught the snitch until they were a hundred and fifty points in the lead. He had nearly killed himself when he dive-bombed Lucius Malfoy so he wouldn't catch the snitch. Of course James had seen the snitch before Lucius, but he knew he couldn't catch it.
James rocked from the balls of his feet to his heels trying to shake off some of his nervousness. But it didn't do much to help. Finally other students began to arrive, and James didn't feel so alone anymore. But there was still no sign of Lily.
The carriages approached and James started to get rather worried. What if something had happened to Lily and she didn't make the train? It would be rather awkward arriving at her home alone, without her.
James reluctantly got in one of the horseless carriages alone and sat back for the bumpy ride to the trains. If he didn't see Lily at the Hogsmeade station, he would walk back to the school and look for her.
The carriage finally came to a halt, and James clambered out with his trunk.
"I'll be helpin' ya with that..." A short train attendant said, whisking James trunk away from him. "And yer name is?" The man asked.
"James Potter." James answered absentmindedly.
"Ah, yer the Head Boy." The attendant placed James' trunk in a small compartment on the side of the train, then tapped it once and it zoomed away. "It will be a'waitin' ya in yer compartment." The man said before whisking off to help someone else.
James was now frantic. Where was Lily? What had happened to her? The last carriage pulled up, and James was getting extremely worried. But next thing he knew, Lily was stepping out of the carriage, her red hair shining like a halo around her head.
"Lily!" James waved, a grin spreading across his face.
"Hey." Lily responded as the attendant seized her trunk from her and hurried off, noting her name on the top right corner. "That worm Malfoy made my trunk crash and everything fell out. It took forever to get everything back in." Lily spat in annoyance.
"Did I hear my name?" A greasy voice came from behind Lily. Lucius Malfoy. Speak of the devil. Along with Lucius came Severus Snape, Avery Nott, and the two proclaimed Crabbe and Goyle. No one knew their first names. That's just what they were. Crabbe and Goyle. Lucius Malfoy and his cronies.
"Get outta here." James responded, glaring at them.
"Why should I?" Lucius asked, a smirk curling on his lips.
"That was witty, Malfoy. Real witty. I didn't know anyone could use such pathetic comebacks since the second grade. Oh wait, that's right. You had no schooling before Hogwarts. That could explain why you're so hopelessly dense." Lily snapped acidly, turning to get on the train.
Malfoy's dull grey eyes flashed, and he made a movement toward Lily. "You damn Mudblood." Malfoy said viciously.
But James stepped in his way and said, "Jesus, Malfoy. Just grow up." With that, James turned and entered the train behind Lily. He slid open the Head Student compartment and entered, shutting it quietly behind him.
"I hate all of them." Lily sighed. Her vibrant green eyes wore a look of exhaustion beyond belief, and even sadness in a way. She took a seat and simply resorted to looking out the window, so James wouldn't see the pain in her eyes.
James took a seat across from her and sat quietly, just watching her looking out the window.
"I'm so sick of it." Lily finally said, looking at James. "Being so called different because my parents aren't magic. They've given me trouble ever since the first year. I...I'm just...never mind." Lily finished, looking back out the window.
"I guess that's just about the only thing you and I have in common." James finally said smiling slightly.
"What's that?" Lily asked, turning back to James.
"A hatred for Malfoy and his cronies."
"That's not the only thing." Lily said, smiling slightly. "I mean, we're both apparently suited for the Head Student roles of the school, right?" She asked, some of the pain washing away.
"Yeah, I guess so," James grinned.
A half an hour later, Lily and James resorted to playing a rather animated game of War with Exploding Snap cards. It didn't help much that they kept exploding every thirty seconds.
"I have to warn you about something." Lily laughed quickly snatching the two cards she had just won.
"What's that?" James asked placing another one down gingerly, hoping it wouldn't blow up in his face.
"My sister and her boyfriend." Lily said as James took her card.
"What about them?" James asked, laying down another card. A two. Lily was about to respond when all the cards in her hands blew up.
"Whoa!" Lily laughed. James grinned. She was so beautiful...her smile. Oh her smile was like that of a veela. The ashes fell to the compartment table and began to reform into cards again. Lily scooped her cards up again and the game resumed. "Well, I used to be really close to Petunia, my sister, but then I got accepted to Hogwarts and she's hated me ever since. And her boyfriend is the biggest fake it's ever been my displeasure to meet. I just hope my parents didn't invite him over for Christmas dinner." Lily sighed.
"I'm sure they're not that bad. Ah...war," James grinned looking down at the pathetic little twos both he and Lily had laid down. He laid down three cards and flipped a third one. A jack. But next thing he knew, the five cards he had just laid down exploded, ashes flying into the air.
Lily smiled and laughed. "You haven't met them yet. Of course they're bad."
A soft knock came on the door, and the compartment door slip open revealing the stout witch and the refreshment cart. "Anything off of the cart, dears?" She asked.
"Here, I'll get it," James said, taking a pouch out of his pocket.
"What?" Lily asked. "I'm not letting you pay for it!" She appreciated the offer, but it highly disturbed her when she wasn't able to pay for things.
"No, it's the least I can do. You're dealing with me for two weeks and all." James grinned. Lily had to force herself to bite her tongue, for she knew it was true.
He picked several things off the cart, then handed the squat witch the money, which looked like an awful lot to spend.
"Thanks, James," Lily muttered, taking the food he handed her.
An hour later, all the snacks had disappeared, and the game switched from war to building a card castle. Which was a lot harder then it seemed. Lily held the last card up, her hand shaking slightly and placed it right on the top. It didn't collapse!
"Well done," James laughed. "That's a mighty fine castle," He grinned. With a spectacular BOOM the card castle exploded, and the air was once again full of ashes.
"Well, that's a shame," Lily laughed as the cards began to reform themselves from the ashes. Like a phoenix from the ashes. "So, what do you want to do when we arrive in London?" Lily asked, hoping maybe he would have a preference of something to do so she wouldn't feel like she would have to come up with everything herself.
"I'm perfectly fine with meeting the family," James grinned. He couldn't help but grin like an idiot. It was almost like she cared about him!
"I think we're going to avoid meeting the family as much as we possibly can," Lily commented, a grim look spreading across her face.
"In that case, how about you take me through Muggle London?" James grinned. "I mean, this break is to be dedicated to studying right?" He asked, mentally hoping it would lead to more. Ever since she had invited him, he had wanted to kiss Professor Pall, even though the thought made him sick to his stomach.
Lily smiled. "Muggle London it is. I told my parents we're apparating in. You've passed the test, right?"
James coughed. "Of course," He grinned.
"James." Lily scolded. "I guess we'll have to call a taxi."
"A what?" James asked, looking bewildered. "I assure you I've done it enough times to know I'm not going to splinch myself or something. I just haven't gotten to taking the test yet," He finished, grinning at the look of disapproval on Lily's face.
"A taxi is a way of transportation. A person drives it around and you can call one to come pick you up and drop you off wherever you want." Lily explained, though her eyes were narrowed dangerously due to James' lack of consideration toward the wizarding law.
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Remus entered the Common Room the first night of break. He started to walk across the room, then noticed a figure brush passed him. He turned to see Bianca walking briskly out of the Common Room. A sly grin spread across his face, and he turned to follow her out through the portrait hole.
It took her a few moments to realize she was being followed, and when she did, her face rouged in an oh so pleasant manner. Remus smiled at the sight of it.
"Hey, Bianca." He said, catching up with her.
"Hi." She responded, somewhat breathlessly.
"It's late. Where are you running off to?" He asked, the sly grin still upon his face.
"Oh, I uh...left my bag in the Great Hall," She said, blushing even more. 'Why do I have to blush NOW?' She asked herself angrily. 'And what's that look on his face? Why is he looking at me like that?'
"It'll still be there in the morning. There's not very many people here anymore. Just you, me, Sirius, Candace and Alice are left in the Gryffindor Common room. Everyone else went home." Remus told her.
"Well, yes, but I don't want to forget it come tomorrow." She told him, cracking her knuckles nervously, very aware of how fast her heart was beating. "Well, what are you doing out?" Bianca asked, trying to force herself to calm down.
"I was following you. Making sure you weren't going to get into any trouble." Remus grinned.
Bianca's heart skipped a beat, but she couldn't help but feel a bit more at ease for some reason. The fact that he was trying to protect her...well, it made her protected. "And how would you do that?" She managed to smile.
"You know, I can be a smooth talker sometimes. Gotten out of trouble several times myself when it came to being out past curfew." Remus grinned, running a hand through his hair. His hands...Bianca couldn't help but notice how strong they looked. Strong hands were always a plus.
"I bet you have," Bianca answered breathlessly, her eyes now transfixed upon his.
"You know, one of the biggest mysteries this year is what spell you used to make your eyes go purple." Remus grinned, mentally thinking about how beautiful the color was. It definitely was a change for the better from her hazel eyes. She looked so much more pleasantly exotic with purple eyes.
"Oh, that." Bianca smiled. "It was actually an accident. My three year old brother was playing with my wand and he ended up poking me in the eye with it. My eyes swelled shut but when I woke up the next morning they were purple." She laughed.
Remus couldn't help but grin. "Remarkable." He simply said. "Was it irreversible or something?" He asked, running his hands through his hair again.
"I'm sure it's not, but I personally liked the change so I didn't do anything," She shrugged.
Remus's watch beeped, informing the two that it was eleven o'clock at night, and high time for them to get back to the Common Room.
"Come on, Bianca." Remus grinned. "We've got to be getting back so we don't get caught." He said, turning and heading back to the Common Room.
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The train finally slowed to a stop after a rather long ride in which Lily and James had to test their creativity to keep them from being insanely bored out of their minds. It worked for the most part, but the trip still seemed long. Lily and James stored their trunks at a luggage check-in at the front of the train station so they wouldn't have to carry them all around Muggle London.
An hour after the train had pulled in, Lily and James stood in the middle of Muggle London, snowflakes drifting gently to the ground.
Lily smiled as she looked around at all of the window-to-window shopping opportunities, holiday lights twinkling as miniature trains chug-a-chugged by and figurines of ice skaters whised along on a fake display of ice behind the shining windows of the stores. "Welcome to Muggle London." She told James with a smile.
~*~*~*~*~*~
And now I shall thank people, but due to lack of time again, it shall be names once again. Luv them and praise 'em, ALL!
Jessiexxx
Sakura
firehottie
alexandra
Muzzy-Olorea-Isilme-Nause
Red-Emerald
The Sweet New Zealander- The beginning of the chappie was for you, buddy!
IluvHermione
Goddess of Gorgeousness
Agloechen
goofygal
Twilight66
starlet13
~MissGranger~
black-cat-on-the-wall
And super-duper thanks to those two readers who got my to update...*drum roll* dangerkitten13 and starlet13.
WILL get next chapter up by Saturday! I'm gonna shoot for it! =D