Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the song featured in this chapter.
Take this pink ribbon off my eyesI'm exposed
And it's no big surprise
Don't you think I know
Exactly where I stand
This world is forcing me
To hold your hand
'Cause I'm just a girl, little 'ol me
Don't let me out of your sight
I'm just a girl, all pretty and petite
So don't let me have any rights
Oh...I've had it up to here!
The moment that I step outside
So many reasons
For me to run and hide
I can't do the little things I hold so dear
'Cause it's all those little things
That I fear
"Just A Girl" – No Doubt
Sinister bats. Floating jack-o-lanterns with glowing, angry eyes. Lily gazed at them longingly as she ate dinner in the Great Hall. Molly looked at her sympathetically. "Hey, I'll bring you some stuff back, OK?" she comforted Lily. The sulking redhead didn't reply.
A traditional Halloween night greeted Lily as she walked to Hagrid's hut. The Gamekeeper's home was located near the Forbidden Forest, so Lily took her wand for safety reasons. The howling of wolves filled the air of Hollow's Eve. Or maybe they were the howling of werewolves. Lily ran the rest of the way to detention.
Lily wasn't tall by most standards. In fact, she's always felt quite short next to most kids her age. This is why she felt VERY small when she came face to face with the man known as Rubeus Hagrid.
He was at least 8 ft. tall, and he was stooping downward to see her. The Gamekeeper appeared to be in his early 30's. Lily felt like David in front of Goliath. She wondered if Hagrid was a giant, but she decided to save that personal question for later.
"Well, 'ello!" Lily was relieved to hear his voice so friendly.
"James is already 'ere. You mus' be Lily! I'll git ya started on yer work,"
James grinned at Lily, not looking worried about their task that was to be revealed.
The two first years followed their chaperone a garden outside. Two fires floating on crude torches shone onto a large patch of dirt. Lily couldn't help thinking that they were about to dig a grave.
Hagrid handed them two shovels while explaining how to turn over dirt so next year's crops can grow easier. A sharp whistling pierced the night.
"Oh, no! My biscuits!" Hagrid rushed into his hut.
Lily and James began digging up the dirt and dumping them in another area. Minutes passed by and Lily was starting to feel tired. She had an odd feeling on the back of her neck. Something soft and cool moved against her skin; crawling, pushing...
Lily let out a panicked scream, desperately slapping her neck to get the creepy-crawly thing off. Her hand finally felt the soft, cool thing and flicked it away. A rather large earthworm fell onto freshly dug dirt. James was laughing his big, fat head off.
"The look on your face – Oh Merlin, that was funny!" James pounded the dirt, half crying at this point.
"Sod off, Potter!" Lily picked up a handful of dirt and flung it at him as hard as she could.
"Hey!" James flung dirt back at her, which started a dirt fight. Lily battled with no mercy. She felt her anger evaporate. The fight was becoming more fun. Lily started to laugh too. Pieces of dirt flew across the night air until Hagrid made them start digging again.
The duo dragged themselves back to the castle, exhausted from a surprisingly fun detention. Lily was still giggling at James' dirty face. The boy pretended to look offended at her giggles.
"You know, you're not much cleaner than me," said James defensively. He offered her a sleeve of his robe to wipe her face with. When Lily hesitated, James softly brushed the black cloth across her cheeks himself. Lily could only watch, frozen in surprise, as James did this rare favor.
He can actually be nice, Lily thought happily. Her joy turned to worry when she glanced at the clock hanging in the hallway.
"We'd better hurry. It's past midnight," she whispered fearfully to him. They both rushed to their dorms without another word.
With all this romance blooming, you'd think it'd be Valentine's Day!
I forgot last chapter's End of The Chapter Bonus! Shame on me -- (bangs head against wall) This is going be sore tomorrow...
BloodyDice: What should I do for this Halloween?
Remus: I dunno. I'd eat chocolate =D
BloodyDice: I'll probably go watch the Simpsons Halloween Special.
Remus: Who are the Simpsons?
BloodyDice: O.O You don't know who they are?! God's thumbs! I'm going to show you some episodes right now!
Lily and James: God's thumbs? What's that mean?
Sirius: It's a new vulgarity that BloodyDice invented for herself because there isn't enough curse words in the world already (sarcastic tone).
Lily and James: Huh... O.o Okay...