Hah! One week, that must be my shortest update time in like, ever!
MorphManiac: I give you... the Remus Chapter! I tried to use both of your ideas, but the Remus part lasted longer than I expected it to, so I didn't get to your other James idea. I will get to it eventually, though. I'll probably put it in the next chapter.
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Lily stuck her head around the corner so that she could see down the stairs into the common room. James had fallen asleep sitting up on the overstuffed couch near the fireplace. The lost burning embers from the fire cast a sort of heavenly glow upon his face and Lily looked at him softly. He wasn't terribly annoying in his sleep, maybe even cute, she thought. She shuddered voluntarily trying to shake herself out of whatever it was that made her consider Potter to be cute.
'Well, he is,' her conscience added.
She sighed resignedly and crept past him and out of the common room. Without really thinking, she retraced her steps of earlier that night and went to the library. At least she could have a space to herself there. The only thing was- she didn't. As soon as she stepped into the library, she sensed a presence that, like her, did not welcome a disturbance.
She edged in slowly, hoping that whoever was in the room with her would understand that she was willing to coexist peacefully. Somewhere in the depths of the potions section, a heavy tome closed abruptly causing Lily to jump. She took this as a hostile sign and turned back for the door.
"No, it's ok. You can stay."
Lily knew that voice. It was strong, yet reserved; quiet but powerful. It was-
"Remus!" Lily breathed. Remus nodded curtly. "I'm sorry. I mean... I didn't mean to..." She tried. He waved her off and tried to get around her to the door. She didn't move out of the way.
"You don't have to leave because of me."
"I wasn't, rest assured. I was finished anyway." Remus said, his voice monotone.
"Oh... well, could you at least tell me where I could find... a book on prophecies? It's for... my Divination class." Lily blurted out. She didn't even take Divination, but she had to think of something to get him to stay. For some reason, now she wanted company. Maybe it was because she thought it would take her mind off the puzzle that was James, or maybe it was because of the particular person she had run into. Remus was always so mysterious. He seemed to have two distinct personalities: one in which he would joke with his friends, the other in which he would seem to be in his own little world, bored and tired. At this time, he appeared to be in the latter form.
"Sure," he agreed in the same dull voice. He may have known that she didn't have a Divination class, but gave no sign that he did. He walked slowly and mechanically toward the Divination section, not looking or caring really whether or not Lily was following.
"Here," he gestured at a few shelves in a row.
Lily looked overwhelmed. She tried as hard as she could to just get him to say more, maybe stay a while.
"There are so many... I wouldn't know where to start."
Remus's expression remained unreadable,
"Well, what exactly are you looking for?"
"Er, I have to write a report about a prophecy that was made. You know... when it was predicted and by whom, what it's about and if it has happened yet. Stuff like that." Lily lied.
Remus nodded and picked some books off the shelf. He thumbed through them, replaced two to the shelf and took down several more. He handed them off to Lily.
"This should be a good start."
"Erm, thanks," Lily shifted under the weight of the six very hefty books Remus had given her. Remus watched her struggle over to a table and his eyes softened. To Lily's delight, he spoke again.
"Would you like company?" He asked lightly, settling on a cushioned seat in a window sill near the chair Lily chose.
"Would I?!" Lily said a bit too enthusiastically for Remus's comfort. "I mean, that would be wonderful. Please. Thank you." Lily rambled. Remus lifted a book from the pile, opened it, and began skimming pages. Lily did the same, looking up every once in a while to view Remus, willing him to speak. When she finally gave in, he wasn't going to start up a conversation, she tried her hand at it- again.
"So, do you come here often when no one else should be here?"
"Mhm," Remus affirmed without looking up from the book. He flipped a page.
"Me too," Lily stated, louder this time, hoping to engage his interest.
She failed.
"Hmm," Remus grunted. He flipped another page.
"How is it that I've never run in to you here at night before?" She pried.
Remus shrugged noncommittally and flipped yet another page.
"Do you come here every night?" Lily had by now dropped the charade of reading and was all out staring at Remus.
"Most," he replied and flipped more pages.
"It's a wonder I've never come across you then," she went on, now talking more to herself. Remus agreed with a "yep." He began noisily turning more pages.
"I'm not in her every night, though, Usually just during the full moon," the noise of flipping pages stopped, "it's easier to read with that kind of light. Still, it's odd I've never seen you here before."
"Truly," Remus said stiffly. He cleared his throat and shoved the book into Lily's lap. "That page should help you. Now, if you'll please excuse me, I think I'll try to get to sleep. I suggest you do similar very soon."
He strode quickly away, ready to break into a run once outside the door; he did, after all, highly value his privacy. Before he could open the door, he heard Lily's chair being pushed back and her footsteps come close.
'What could she possibly want now?' he thought angrily
She put a hand on his forearm and applied slight pressure to turn him around. "Thank you," she said slowly, "Good night."
His set jaw went slack and for once he looked genuinely surprised.
"Of course, any time. Good night... er, Lily," he replied uneasily, but held her gaze. She let her hand fall back to her side and watched as he left.
"Stupid!" She yelled, smacking her palm on her forehead. "Thank you. Good night. How completely stupid!" She mimicked her own voice. She attempted to slam her head on the table she had previously been sitting at, but was saved by the soft pages of the book Remus had left open.
The text was open to a page that gave a small biography of a (by the author's opinion) "highly underrated and underappreciated but still powerful and effective Seer." Lily read on to find out that this Seer, named Hilda Vongloosen-Beareguarde, showed early powers in the art of Divination by successfully prophesizing that she would be able to make predictions of the future. Her second known prophecy was that she would skin her knee, which came true in a matter of seconds when she fell from the tree in which she was perched.
Growing bored of the biography, Lily turned the page and scanned through some of Hilda's recorded and fulfilled prophecies, which included a detailed account of her surprise birthday party ("Honestly, did they really think they could pull that off on me?") and all of her presents (an owl, a new set of scales, dress robes in emerald, silver, and turquoise, a dictating quill, invisible parchment- which she promptly lost- and the newest model broomstick available).
Lily again grew bored and turned to the end of Hilda's section. It finished with, "Ms. Vongloosen-Beaureguarde has made more predictions in her lifetime that have yet to be completed. Since they have not been fulfilled, they can not be circulated, but there is record of one in the Ministry of Magic rumored to be of great importance. Hilda's own importance in history will remain..."
Lily's attention drifted to the blank page that separated Hilda's section from that of the next Seer of the book. But wait- it wasn't blank. She could've sworn it was blank a minute ago, but not doubt there were words there now. Lily ran a finger over the words without actually seeing them. Her finger felt wet and a few letters that had been perfectly penned were now smudged.
"It IS newly written!" Lily exclaimed. "But... how?" She glanced around wildly, thinking Peeves or some other ghost had thought to pull a prank on her. IT didn't seem that way. With bulging eyes, she looked over the parchment and read the newly acquired words.
"A young buck and flower, previously pitted against each other by five years of hate will, willingly or otherwise..." Lily stopped reading for one simple and very logical reason: that's where the words stopped. "What? They will what? What will they do?!" She hadn't realized how loud she was being until she saw the lamp-like eyes of Mrs. Norris, Filch's trusty cat, round the corner and stalk about the library. Hurriedly she placed the other books back on their shelf and took off in the direction of the door.
"A student out of bed?" She heard the slimy voice of Filch somewhere behind her. He must have secret passageways all over the castle! "Show me where the rule breaker is, my pretty. Listen for it... they can't have gotten far."
Lily tip toed as fast as she dared to the door and opened it. Luckily it made no squeaking noises. Her hand was slick with sweat, though, and when she went to close the door, it swung quickly. To stop it from slamming, Lily jammed the book between the door and its frame. Unfortunately, she did more that stop the door, she also did a ruddy good job of getting the book wedged and unable to come out.
She didn't want to chance squeaky hinges by opening the door again so she spent a second staring at her predicament and a good deal of time panicking. In the end, she figured if she got away with her life now, she could always come back for the book. With that decided, she started running and didn't stop until she was snug under the covers of her four- poster bed. She desperately wanted to stay awake and ponder the strange events of the day, but the very moment her head touched the pillow, she fell sound asleep.
MorphManiac: I give you... the Remus Chapter! I tried to use both of your ideas, but the Remus part lasted longer than I expected it to, so I didn't get to your other James idea. I will get to it eventually, though. I'll probably put it in the next chapter.
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Lily stuck her head around the corner so that she could see down the stairs into the common room. James had fallen asleep sitting up on the overstuffed couch near the fireplace. The lost burning embers from the fire cast a sort of heavenly glow upon his face and Lily looked at him softly. He wasn't terribly annoying in his sleep, maybe even cute, she thought. She shuddered voluntarily trying to shake herself out of whatever it was that made her consider Potter to be cute.
'Well, he is,' her conscience added.
She sighed resignedly and crept past him and out of the common room. Without really thinking, she retraced her steps of earlier that night and went to the library. At least she could have a space to herself there. The only thing was- she didn't. As soon as she stepped into the library, she sensed a presence that, like her, did not welcome a disturbance.
She edged in slowly, hoping that whoever was in the room with her would understand that she was willing to coexist peacefully. Somewhere in the depths of the potions section, a heavy tome closed abruptly causing Lily to jump. She took this as a hostile sign and turned back for the door.
"No, it's ok. You can stay."
Lily knew that voice. It was strong, yet reserved; quiet but powerful. It was-
"Remus!" Lily breathed. Remus nodded curtly. "I'm sorry. I mean... I didn't mean to..." She tried. He waved her off and tried to get around her to the door. She didn't move out of the way.
"You don't have to leave because of me."
"I wasn't, rest assured. I was finished anyway." Remus said, his voice monotone.
"Oh... well, could you at least tell me where I could find... a book on prophecies? It's for... my Divination class." Lily blurted out. She didn't even take Divination, but she had to think of something to get him to stay. For some reason, now she wanted company. Maybe it was because she thought it would take her mind off the puzzle that was James, or maybe it was because of the particular person she had run into. Remus was always so mysterious. He seemed to have two distinct personalities: one in which he would joke with his friends, the other in which he would seem to be in his own little world, bored and tired. At this time, he appeared to be in the latter form.
"Sure," he agreed in the same dull voice. He may have known that she didn't have a Divination class, but gave no sign that he did. He walked slowly and mechanically toward the Divination section, not looking or caring really whether or not Lily was following.
"Here," he gestured at a few shelves in a row.
Lily looked overwhelmed. She tried as hard as she could to just get him to say more, maybe stay a while.
"There are so many... I wouldn't know where to start."
Remus's expression remained unreadable,
"Well, what exactly are you looking for?"
"Er, I have to write a report about a prophecy that was made. You know... when it was predicted and by whom, what it's about and if it has happened yet. Stuff like that." Lily lied.
Remus nodded and picked some books off the shelf. He thumbed through them, replaced two to the shelf and took down several more. He handed them off to Lily.
"This should be a good start."
"Erm, thanks," Lily shifted under the weight of the six very hefty books Remus had given her. Remus watched her struggle over to a table and his eyes softened. To Lily's delight, he spoke again.
"Would you like company?" He asked lightly, settling on a cushioned seat in a window sill near the chair Lily chose.
"Would I?!" Lily said a bit too enthusiastically for Remus's comfort. "I mean, that would be wonderful. Please. Thank you." Lily rambled. Remus lifted a book from the pile, opened it, and began skimming pages. Lily did the same, looking up every once in a while to view Remus, willing him to speak. When she finally gave in, he wasn't going to start up a conversation, she tried her hand at it- again.
"So, do you come here often when no one else should be here?"
"Mhm," Remus affirmed without looking up from the book. He flipped a page.
"Me too," Lily stated, louder this time, hoping to engage his interest.
She failed.
"Hmm," Remus grunted. He flipped another page.
"How is it that I've never run in to you here at night before?" She pried.
Remus shrugged noncommittally and flipped yet another page.
"Do you come here every night?" Lily had by now dropped the charade of reading and was all out staring at Remus.
"Most," he replied and flipped more pages.
"It's a wonder I've never come across you then," she went on, now talking more to herself. Remus agreed with a "yep." He began noisily turning more pages.
"I'm not in her every night, though, Usually just during the full moon," the noise of flipping pages stopped, "it's easier to read with that kind of light. Still, it's odd I've never seen you here before."
"Truly," Remus said stiffly. He cleared his throat and shoved the book into Lily's lap. "That page should help you. Now, if you'll please excuse me, I think I'll try to get to sleep. I suggest you do similar very soon."
He strode quickly away, ready to break into a run once outside the door; he did, after all, highly value his privacy. Before he could open the door, he heard Lily's chair being pushed back and her footsteps come close.
'What could she possibly want now?' he thought angrily
She put a hand on his forearm and applied slight pressure to turn him around. "Thank you," she said slowly, "Good night."
His set jaw went slack and for once he looked genuinely surprised.
"Of course, any time. Good night... er, Lily," he replied uneasily, but held her gaze. She let her hand fall back to her side and watched as he left.
"Stupid!" She yelled, smacking her palm on her forehead. "Thank you. Good night. How completely stupid!" She mimicked her own voice. She attempted to slam her head on the table she had previously been sitting at, but was saved by the soft pages of the book Remus had left open.
The text was open to a page that gave a small biography of a (by the author's opinion) "highly underrated and underappreciated but still powerful and effective Seer." Lily read on to find out that this Seer, named Hilda Vongloosen-Beareguarde, showed early powers in the art of Divination by successfully prophesizing that she would be able to make predictions of the future. Her second known prophecy was that she would skin her knee, which came true in a matter of seconds when she fell from the tree in which she was perched.
Growing bored of the biography, Lily turned the page and scanned through some of Hilda's recorded and fulfilled prophecies, which included a detailed account of her surprise birthday party ("Honestly, did they really think they could pull that off on me?") and all of her presents (an owl, a new set of scales, dress robes in emerald, silver, and turquoise, a dictating quill, invisible parchment- which she promptly lost- and the newest model broomstick available).
Lily again grew bored and turned to the end of Hilda's section. It finished with, "Ms. Vongloosen-Beaureguarde has made more predictions in her lifetime that have yet to be completed. Since they have not been fulfilled, they can not be circulated, but there is record of one in the Ministry of Magic rumored to be of great importance. Hilda's own importance in history will remain..."
Lily's attention drifted to the blank page that separated Hilda's section from that of the next Seer of the book. But wait- it wasn't blank. She could've sworn it was blank a minute ago, but not doubt there were words there now. Lily ran a finger over the words without actually seeing them. Her finger felt wet and a few letters that had been perfectly penned were now smudged.
"It IS newly written!" Lily exclaimed. "But... how?" She glanced around wildly, thinking Peeves or some other ghost had thought to pull a prank on her. IT didn't seem that way. With bulging eyes, she looked over the parchment and read the newly acquired words.
"A young buck and flower, previously pitted against each other by five years of hate will, willingly or otherwise..." Lily stopped reading for one simple and very logical reason: that's where the words stopped. "What? They will what? What will they do?!" She hadn't realized how loud she was being until she saw the lamp-like eyes of Mrs. Norris, Filch's trusty cat, round the corner and stalk about the library. Hurriedly she placed the other books back on their shelf and took off in the direction of the door.
"A student out of bed?" She heard the slimy voice of Filch somewhere behind her. He must have secret passageways all over the castle! "Show me where the rule breaker is, my pretty. Listen for it... they can't have gotten far."
Lily tip toed as fast as she dared to the door and opened it. Luckily it made no squeaking noises. Her hand was slick with sweat, though, and when she went to close the door, it swung quickly. To stop it from slamming, Lily jammed the book between the door and its frame. Unfortunately, she did more that stop the door, she also did a ruddy good job of getting the book wedged and unable to come out.
She didn't want to chance squeaky hinges by opening the door again so she spent a second staring at her predicament and a good deal of time panicking. In the end, she figured if she got away with her life now, she could always come back for the book. With that decided, she started running and didn't stop until she was snug under the covers of her four- poster bed. She desperately wanted to stay awake and ponder the strange events of the day, but the very moment her head touched the pillow, she fell sound asleep.