Chapter 12 ~ The Holiday Of Love

For the next couple of weeks, all that Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter did was find ways to get Lily to be their friend again. They apologized everyday, offered to do her homework for her, gave her presents, begged on hands and knees for forgivness, and even resorted to giving her foot massages. Lily was secretly ecstatic about the massages and freely welcomed them without letting them know that she loved foot massages. The boys were scared out of their wits, thinking that she was going to kick them at any given second.
To top it all off, an amazing amount of pranks had been put into action: Snape was frequently given fake wands that blew up in his face, for a whole day, he would cuss everytime he tried to say a word beginning with a vowel, (this landed him with a week of detention), one morning, his robes were covered in a thick lard, and James got himself to put "POTTER, BLACK, AND LUPIN ARE MY BESTEST FRIENDS" on all of his robes, hoping that it just might make her laugh.
All of these and more efforts failed to get her back. It was becoming quite clear to them that they'd have to think up something totally original, funny, and award-winning. Most of all, it couldn't harm Snape in any way. They found out that everytime Snape was their target, Lily got really steamed and was even more sympathetic towards him.
It was either all that in a prank or save her from a pack of rampaging hippogriffs, whichever one just happened to come first.
"Guys, we need to do something drastic before we tick her off even more. The more we screw up and do juvenile pranks, the harder it'll be the next time we try."
"Agreed. Any ideas?"
"Not one single thought..."
Lily was curled up in her bed, reading. She originally started out with "A Mid-Summer Night's Dream", a comedy by Shakespeare, but that wasn't compatible with her contemporary mood. Instead, she burrowed herself into "Hamlet", the world's greatest tragedy, complete with sorrow, mental agony, and at the end was the thrilling death of just about every character that was ever introduced into the play. Reading this enlightened her day, convincing herself that there was someone out there going through what she was going through, whether that person was ficticious or not.
She was engulfed into the "To Be or Not To Be" Soliloquy, where Hamlet is contemplating suicide, when a brown owl flew in through the window of her dorm. It scared the living daylights out of her.
"AHH! WHAT...oh, it's only an owl. But what's it doing here? I thought we were only supposed to get owls at mail time? Oh well."
She smiled upon seeing her family crest stamped in wax on the envelope after she pried the letter from the owl's talons.

2, February, 1977

Dear Lily,
Hello dear! Yes, I know that I just wrote you, but I have some good and bad news.
First the good. As you well know, the Potters are probably the richest magical family in existance. Since you started going to school and being friends with James, your father and Mr. Potter have become very good friends. Mr. Potter recently started a new magical Quidditch company and he has asked your father to be his buisness partner! Can you believe it? We now own half of a Quidditch Company and your father says that all the major professional teams are already buying from them, supposedly because of the Potters' reputation. We've already made lots of money. So much, in fact, that I don't have to work at the department store anymore! I'm going to start my own catering business! You know that I've wanted to do that since your father and I married and now we finally are in the financial situation that will allow us to do that! I hope you find this as wonderful as I do!

Lily didn't know how to react. Yes, her family had more than enough money to do what they wanted with their lives, but the only reason was because her dad was now best friends with Mr. Potter. Of all please, why James' dad!?
She read on:

'Now I'll tell you the bad news.
Yesterday evening, we received a letter from your headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. What he told us was enough to almost completely ruin out excitment about the Quidditch Company. He said that for the past 3 months, after being the smartest girl in your year by far, your school marks have dropped to the point of almost failing! And you're doing the worst in Defense Against the Dark Arts! For heaven's sake Lily! Your uncle teaches it!!!
He also told me that your friends' grades started dropping as soon as yous did! If you are intimidating them to do that, you are in more trouble than you can imagine! I thought Mr. Potter was going to curse his whole household when he found out! I could hear him yelled in his house all the way across the street!
When your own father heard, I'm surprised he didn't go through the roof! He told me to threaten you with disownment if you don't straighten up! That's probably just a threat, but you had better take him seriously for once! And let me tell you, if by the end of the year, you are back to the top, there'll be NO DISNEYWORLD in the summer, young lady!!!

Love,
Your very aggrivated mother'

Lily just stared at the second half of her mum's letter. Whoo, she sure knew how to burst someone's bubble.
"I'll think about it." She stubbornly told herself and quickly went back to "Hamlet", imagining herself as Ophelia.

The next morning, Lily awoke to find the same brown owl sitting at the foot of her bed. When it saw Lily open her eyes, it gave a screech of delight, waking Kristy and Ashley up in the process.
"AHH!"
"WHAT'S GOING ON!" They both panicked.
"Relax! It's just the family owl...again," Lily replied. What could her mother have to tell her now? That Petunia ran off with her disgusting whale of a boyfriend and is homeless and starving in the streets of London? Yeah right...in her dreams.
She opened the letter to find scraggily handwriting unlike her mothers.

Lily,
Hello. How are you? Terrible I hope. Anyways, Mum and Dad are about to tear the house down, they're so mad at you. If you're wondering why I'm not at Clydesdale, my school, it's because we get a 'pre-valentine' break. As much as I'd like for you to suffer by ruining any hope of you getting a career one day, you had better start doing better at that freak school of yours. Mum and Dad are taking all their anger out on me.
I hope it's a while before I see you again.

Petunia (Aka - The Better One)

P.S. - Plus, I won't get to go to Disneyworld if you don't, so you'd better not screw up again!

Lily laughed. She had just received her first real piece of evidnece to convince her to be as stubborn as ever. Doing bad meant torturing Petunia and she was going to enjoy every bit of it.

"Wow Lily," Ashley gazed at her plate that day at dinner.
"What?" Lily couldn't see what was so 'wow' about anything that Ashley could see.
"You're actually eating again!"
Lily laughed her first real laugh in a few months. "And what is so spectacular about that? I'm not anorexic."
"Could have fooled me. For a while there, I really thought you were. You were so down in the dumps that you never seemed to eat more than what would keep you from starving."
"Oh, it's just that I received some rather exciting news from home today."
They were within earshot of the head table and Dumbledore strained his ears after he heard this last comment.
"Really? What about?" Kristy asked.
"According to my mum, Dad and Mr. Potter started a quidditch business together and we're now so stinking rich that people can smell it a mile away."
"Awesome! You must be really happy."
"Sort of. Too bad we made our fortune with the help of the Potters. Their son is enough to sentence the whole family to damnation."
Dumbledore chuckled to himself. 'She really has a talent for words.'
"But that's not the end of it."
'Ah hah!' This was the part Dumbledore was waiting for.
"Mum heard about my grades."
"What about them?"
"I'm doing worse than Peter, and that's putting it lightly."
Kristy gasped. "You're joking, right?"
"No, my father has already threatened to disown me."
Kristy and Ashley were shocked while Albus just kept on chuckling. He knew that Frank would never do such a thing.
"And this makes you happy how?" Kristy was lost.
"Mum and Dad are taking all of their anger out on Petunia. It's quite funny. And, she won't be able to go to Florida."
"But you wanted to go! Now you won't be able to!"
"It's a price I'm willing to pay. Seeing Petunia furious is a great spectator sport."
The mail owls then swooped in and one dropped something at Lily's spot.
"Oh no. Not one of these."
It was a howler, and not just any ol' howler. This howler was the first howler of the year. This was going to be embarrassing.

"You'd better open it. It's worse if you don't," Ashley advised.

"Ok." She took off the seal carefully like she was dealing with a bomb. It jumped into the air and started blaring:

"LILIAN PAIGE EVANS!" It was her father's booming voice. "YOU HAD BETTER GET YOUR SCHOOL MARKS UP, MISSY! BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T, I'LL HAVE SOME NEWS FOR YOU! NO NEW BROOM, NO PRESENTS, NO TRIPS, NO FUN, NO FAMILY!"

"AND NO DISNEYWORLD!" Petunia screamed in the backround.

Her father continued. "IF YOU FAIL FIRST YEAR, YOU WILL BE IN MORE TROUBLE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE! YOU'LL HAVE NO CHANCE AT A MAGICAL CAREER! AND YOU HAD BETTER NOT DISGRACE THE EVANS FAMILY NAME, LILIAN!"

It was just about to end when Petunia added: "DON'T COME BACK YOU FREAK! STAY THERE WITH THAT BLOCK-HEADED MORON, POTTER!" And it burst into flames.

The whole great hall sat there, taking it all in, when all of a sudden, Sirius and Remus started cracking up. In a couple of seconds, this turned into full-fledged out hysterics echoing through the room. Everyone found this hilarious, expecially the part about James.

Even Professor Dumbledore was laughing merrily. "That's one unique sister you've got there, Miss Evans."

"Uh, thanks?"

She looked over at the boys who were wiping away tears and buried her face in her hands. How humiliating...
It took almost 10 minutes for all of the laughter to quiet down and then, Kristy brought up the subject that Lily was most trying to avoid.

"You know Lily, Saint Valentine's Day is in 11 days."

"Oh. Whoo hoo. Tomorrow is Saint Catherine of Hungary's Feast Day. Let's throw a party." Lily replied dryly, winding her spaghetti on her fork.

Kristy whispered to Ashley, "I think that howler made her even more knuts."

"I heard that!"

"Heard what?" Ashley tried to look innocent. "She was just asking me that if she bought an owl, she'd need more knuts."

"Whatever."

"It was worth a try. Back to the original discussion before Lily had to get all sarcastic. Valentine's Day is coming up!"

"Once again, whoo hoo."

"Lily, could you be any more unenthusiastic?"

"Possibly, would you like me to try?"

"Argh! Just try to cooperate here!"

"Ok ok, I'm all ears."

"About time." Ashley was on the brink of frustration. "So, Kristy, who do you want your valentine to be?"

"I'm thinking J--"

But she was cut off by Lily. "NO! Kristy! Don't you even say it! Not James! I would die!"

"I was just about to say Jordan Briggs from Ravenclaw."

"Ok, that's fine. I absolutely forbid either of you ro get all mushy with the fearless bandits over there."

James, Remus, and Sirius were trying to exchange the bowl of harmless jelly beans for what looked to be the nasty Bertie Botts flavors.

"They're so juvenile. I don't think they'll ever grow up."

"From what I'm seeing, you're just as bad Lily," Ashley pointed out.

"What is this?! 'Make Fun of Lily' Day? At least I'm not as stubborn as a mule!"

Kristy heard this last comment in the middle of drinking her milk and snorted, sparying it everywhere.

"YUCK!"

Lily's eyes followed the spray of milk to see who the lactose victims were and becan laughing uncontrollably. "Oh my gosh! This is classic! Great job Kristy!"

"Shut up Lily!" James was trying to clean his glasses covered in a layer of milk as Sirius and Remus were wiping it off of their faces.

Lily covered her head with her arms on the table, trying to supress her giggles and let out a huge snort which caused an even bigger riot.

The Slytherin table was just as bad. Snape and Malfoy had fallen out of their chairs and were beating the floor with their fists.

"Hey look girls!" Lily motioned towards James. "His milk-covered mop of hair is actually laying flat for once!"

"BOYS!" Dumbledore yelled over all the commotion. "Would you like to return to your dorms to clean up?" His eyes were full of childish merriment.

"Yeah."

They left and Lily saw that Professor McGonagall had her hand clamped over her mouth to keep her laughs under control. 'Well, at least they're good for something...A good laugh,' Lily thought as the boys paraded through the Great Hall.

Valentine's Day really took its time arriving for Kristy and Ashley. For Lily, on the other hand, it was there in no time. No matter how much she tried, she could no convinse herself to think that she'd actually have any fun. Valentine's Day really was a pain when you didn't have any guy friends to celebrate it with. There was no guy on her 'likes' list, except maybe Severus, but he was only a friend and she didn't go out of her way to meet any other boys.

"HAPPY V-DAY!" Kristy announced when she walked into the hall throwing confetti. "I can't wait until mail gets here!"

"Me neither. I've got a couple surprises up my sleeve." Lily grinned evily.

"Well, would ya look at that, Kristy!" Ashley laughed. "Lily's happy for once! You're not planning on making up with the boys are you?"

"We'll just see."

Ashley and Kristy giggled with delight. They could only hope.

In ten minutes, literally hundreds of owls came gliding into the hall. There were many more than usual, but that was to be expected.

Lily got a letter and box of chocolates, but ignored them for the time being. She was waiting for the boys to open their gifts.

Three presents were then dropped, one in front of each James, Remus, and Sirius, all of which said "Love Lily" on the top.

They smiled until their grins could get no bigger. Lily had finally come to her senses.

Ashley and Kristy's eyes were wide with anticipation.

The boys were slowly unwrapping them, savoring every moment, and finally opened the box lids at the same time.

"Yeesh!"

"Gross!"

"LILY!!!"

As soon as they looked inside, a set of dungbombs exploded in their faces. Lily smiled angelically, but couldn't hold it in any longer and started to hyperventilate, along with the rest of the school.
"Lily! I can't believe you..." Ashley muttered.

"Well, I can. We should have known she wouldn't be nice about it," Kristy said.

Lily nonchalantly picked up the card that was in front of her once she had calmed down a bit from laughing. It was in the shape of a huge heart and said:

Dearest Lily,
You are the love of my life. I knew it since the very moment I laid eyes on you at the sorting ceremony. There aren't words to express my feelings towards you. I am a Hufflepuff 4th year, and you are one of a kind. Be mind forever.
Truly yours in mind and soul,
Gustov Wind

"Ugh, how sickening." Lily set it aside with disgust. "No, scratch that. How revolting."

Kristy picked it up and raised her eyebrows. "Looks like you've got yourself an admirer, Lily."

"And to think, I just ate."

Remus, who was listening, still smelling like a skunk, started to laugh.

"If I read that again, I think my food will come right back up."

"C'mon Lil, it's not THAT bad!" Kristy argued.

Ashley was amused. "Lemme read it." She scanned the neat handwriting. "Oh yes it it. Do you even know who this guy is?"

"No. Isn't that pathetic? This is a step below a marriage proposal and I've never even talked to him!"

James almost choked on the chocolate he was shoving down his throat. "Marriage Proposal!?"

"You don't take your time, do you Lily?" Sirius grinned.

Lily gave them the evil eye as another owl dropped something on her hand. It was a single yellow rose with baby's breath. She smelled it and opened the card, reading:

I give you this single, yellow rose
In hopes that you will see
That red roses are meant for the purest love
But your love is too good for me.

I know that you'll always be "The One"
The only one who is for me
But the closer we get, you break away
Oh how can I make you see?

I knew it the moment you put on the hat
It decided on where to place you.
And the instant it yelled "Slytherin", my house
I knew my wishes had come true.

And then, it happened, the hat called you back
And put you with Black and Potty.
I wanted to scream, do something to save you
From those boys who are mean and snotty.

I told you they'd do something to hurt you
And yes, I know I was right.
Of course, they were sweet and nice at first
But then friendship ended in a fight.

I know that you've been lonely
Sad and without a friend
But never worry. I will be there.
Forever, always, and until the end.

I will help you with your school work
I will help you when you are sad.
I'll pull you out of those long, dark holes
And tell you that life's really not bad.

So why don't you consider what I've just said?
Just think about it please.
You're heart is all I'll ever want.
Your love is the oxygen I breath.

Love,
Severus

Lily didn't know what to feel: Whether she should be a bit disgusted with the poem since her and Snape are only 11 years old, or whether this was one of those sweet, emotional times. She didn't want to believe the latter option until she felt a tear slide down her cheek.

"Lily, who's that from?" Ashley asked.

"No one."

"So, you wrote it to yourself?"

"No."

"Then why are you crying?"

"I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"Aww...did Lily get a valentine's love letter that made her feel all mushy and lovey-dovey inside?" A kissy-faced, fluttering-eyelash James said from a couple seats down the table.

She gave him 'a look' and stood up. "If you don't mind, I'm leaving. Kris and Ash? Don't you dare let them follow me." She was referring to James, Remus, and Sirius.

"Uh...ok."

She grabbed her rose and poem, leaving Gustuv's presents on the table. It wasn't as if she actually wanted them. Nobody really noticed her leave; they were all too absorbed in their own gifts and cards. All except one.

She had just turned the corner out of the Great Hall when she heard someone behind her speaking in a suave voice.

"Good morning Lily, my love."

She looked at him, eyebrows raised in irritation. "Who are you?"

"I'm hurt that you don't know me. I am your future husband."

"Wait a minute, pal. As far as I know, I have not commited to anyone, and if I'm betrothed...well, God help my parents because I will hunt them down."

"Oh no, my flower. In time you will learn to love me."
"Ugh..." Lily looked him over. He was barely 2 inches taller than her, had blond hair, and was a bit on the chubby side. 'Chubby' being an understatment. "You have got to be kidding me."

"No, it's written in the stars. We are destined for eachother."

"You sound like a centaur."

"Why thank you. I happen to be 15% centaur."

"That's not surprising. Your hygeine is almost impeccable as theirs." She could smell him, and it wasn't pleasant.

He laughed. "You are quite humerous, my love."

"I wish I could make meeting you seem so."

"Seem how?"

"Humerous. I'm trying to realize that this is some sort of revolting dream."

"Ahh...the magic surrounding us is dream-like, indeed. Our love for one another creates an almost unimaginable aura."

"Now, the dream has turned nightmare."

"Lilian, my flower, look! It is the east, and you are the sun."

"Is that the best you can do? Don't quote Shakespeare. You make him look bad."

"But we, Fair One, ARE Romeo and Juliet! We are the Hamlet and Ophelia."

"Yeah, and Hamlet was a complete and total idiot, causing Ophelia to commit suicide!" Lily was really starting to think this guy was whack.

"A small price to pay for love."

"What?"

"Romeo and Juliet died for eachother."

"Yes, I agree, they were idiots."

The boy was stunned.

Lily continued. "And since you seem to like the Shakespearian dramas, lets do a re-cap on Queen Gertrude and her husbands, shall we? Claudius killed Gertrude's husband, the king. And then what did he do? HE MARRIED HER! You call that love? That's called marrying someone for their title. You don't know what love is."

"And if you can look at me and say 'no', then apparently, neither do you."

Lily could have gagged.

"Now, my dearest, shall we take a stroll through the gardens to become better aquainted?"

"It's the middle of February."

"Oh yes. That's right. No flowers. How about through the castle?"

"You still haven't answered my original question."

"And that was..."

"Who are you?"

"As I said before, I am your love. Your fate. Your heart and your soul."

"Name please."

"None other than the handsome Gustov Wind."

Lily's jaw dropped.

"How did you enjoy my love letter?"

"On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a negative 2."

"I beg your pardon. A negative?"

"That's right."

"I pray you, enlighten me."

"Sure, I'll tell you in plain Hufflepuff terms. It was nasty! Repulsive! Vile! And to top it all off, DOWNRIGHT DISTURBING!!!"

"I don't believe that's how you really feel."

"Do you not? Would you like me to explain it in the vocabulary of a 5 year old?"

"No. I believe you are crazily in love with me. You just won't admit it."

"I don't love you!"

Gustov threw his hands in the air as if he had just been struck with an idea. "HA! DENIAL! A psychaiatrists first diagnosed symptom for sickness of the heart."

"You're full of yourself."

"Yes, I have that effect on the women. You're heart is overflowing with me too."

"You're losing your mind!"

"Ah, if only that was the case, Lilian." He put his hands on her shoulders.

She shoved it off like he had a stongly contagious disease. "Don't call me Lilian."

"And defy you of your name-based natural beauty?"

Lily couldn't believe this guy. She was now outraged. "You are a psychopathic, first class, idiot! Do you hear me? You. Are. A. PSYCHO!!!"
He sighed with defeat. "If there was only a way to make you see how attractive I am."

"Attractive? ATTRACTIVE?! PROFESSOR SNAPE IS DROP-DEAD SEXY compared to you!"

"Maybe this will convince you otherwise." He wrapped one arm around her waist and took her chin in his other hand, leaning foward to kiss her lips.

She freaked out and wiggled out of his hold he had on her. "Don't you dare ever try to molest me again! If you do, you'll pray that something fatal happens to you before I find you!" She shrieked and stormed off back in to the Great Hall. She wasn't going to continue her path to the common room cause he'd just follow her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Why are you all flushed, Lily? You look like you finished battling a dragon without a wand. Plus, you're breathing hard, you have a tear on your cheek, and your hair's a mess." Ashley pointed out the obvious.

"Thanks for putting it so bluntly."

"No problemo!" She replied sarcastically. "So, are you ok? What happened out there?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm just dandy."

"Uh-huh."

"Really, I am!"

"You're a bad liar."

"Gee, thanks."

"Well, I can see that it's none of my business, so I'll stop bugging you about it."

"Thanks Ashley. I just don't want to talk about it right now. I might get sick. I'll tell you later, once the nausea from the experience wears off."

"Ok."

"Hey Lily!" Remus yelled from down the table. "Why didn't you ever tell us how you felt about Professor Snape?"

"What is he talking about?" Lily asked Kristy.

"Uh...you kind of screamed that Professor Snape was "Drop-dead sexy" when you were out there. The whole hall heard you, including Professor Snape himself," Kristy whispered.
"Oh no." She buried her face in her hands. "You can't be serious."

"No, he's Sirius." Kristy pointed at the dung-smelling Sirius down the table.

"Kristy, this is not a situation capable of making funny. Everyone's staring at me. Would you mind going to the common room with me? I'm feeling really humiliated right now and I'm not safe walking those halls alone."

"Why is that?"

"A psychopath is waiting for his chance to pounce on me."

"Uh, you're not going skitzophrenic on me, are you?"

"Of course not. It has to do with the recent events that I'd rather not talk about."

"Oh ok. Sure, I'll walk you."

"Thanks."

"Alrighty! Let's go." Kristy grabbed her chocolate, and Lily got her rose and poem.

They were on the 5th floor before either of them decided to talk. "Kris, does it seem that people like to act older than they really are?"

"That sure came out of nowhere, but yes, I guess you could say that. Some people act younger than they really are. Like those fellow first year boys."

"Ok."

"Why do you want to know?"

"It's just the whole dating thing."

"What about it?"

"We're too young! I've received a marriage proposal and a poem, expressing someone's love for me. For heaven's sake, I'm only 11 years old!"

Kristy nodded, not sure whether she should agree or not.

"I know that you and Ashley talk about boys a lot, but think about it. We have our whole lives ahead of us. The only purpose of dating is for finding your future spouse. Spouse! I personally don't even want to think about getting married for a long time."

"Lily, you have no idea how easy it is for you to say that. No matter how much you mess up, you'll always have someone who will want to comfort you. Look at Remus, James, and Sirius. Just because they don't sometimes show it, doesn't mean they don't love you as a friend. You are their best friend and nothing you do could change that. They'd fight tooth and nail to keep you. Not everyone's that lucky."

"But they like you and Ash too!"

"Not really. We're more of the 5th and 6th wheel on a car. They like us because they like you. If there was no you, they probably wouldn't even know us."

Lily was trying to take this all in while Kristy kept talking.

"They want you to care for them back. Us, well, Ash and I are just an added bonus. We have to worry about making an impression early on so that when we ARE old enough, they'll remember that first impression."

"Kristy! Don't you see? That's totally unneccessary! You will fall in love with someone who loves you! I guarantee it! But for 5 more years, just have fun and enjoy the single life! I'm not planning on getting married until I'm 30. I hate being tied down like a prisoner. Just relax! Forget boys."

Kristy laughed. "No matter how much I try to understand you, the more confused you make me. But I'll take your word on it. Just this once."

Lily smiled.

"But you don't want to get married until you're 30!? You'll change your mind." She grinned mischeviously.

"Hey Lily." Snape had just walked around the corner.

"Oh, hey Severus."

"Can I talk to you?" He was looking between her and Kristy.

"Sure." Lily elbowed her, signaling for her to leave.

Kristy rolled her eyes and walked away.

"So I --" Snape started, but Lily held up her hand.

"Listen Severus, and please don't interrupt. I thank you for the rose; yellow ones are my favorite. The poem was very sweet, I'm sure you put a lot of time and thought into it."

"This is going somewhere. I can tell by your eyes."

She lowered them to the floor. "I really like you as a friend and all. The truth is, we are way too young to date. Too young to be talking about love. Too young to get serious about anything like that. That's just the way I feel. Apparently, everyone has a hard time seeing that I'm only 11."

"This is about Black isn't it?"

"Please, let me continue. No, this isn't about Sirius, or Remus or James for that matter. This is only about you and me. We're too young. That's all there is to it. Maybe I'll consider what this poem has to say in a few years, but until then, I hope we can be friends. Adieu."

She didn't want to hear his reply because she hated those long, awkward silences that followed, so she just left him speechless.

When she entered her dormatory, she realized she didn't give back the flower and poem like intended, so she put them in her closet, knowing he'd never take them back anyway.

"Hmmm...what to read...Not Gone With the Wind. Too much romance. Ooh, this one will do." She settled for 'The Lost Years of Merlin' by T.A. Barron. It was an amazing book.

Just as she threw open the drapes hanging from her bed, she moaned at what she saw.
"Could my day possibly get any worse? All I need are gifts from them." She just looked at what was on her bed. "Well, I suppose I had better open them." She picked up the first present, wrapped in red metallic paper, and read the note.

Lily,
Happy Valentine's Day. We all figured that you'd never accept these if we gave them to you, so instead, we delivered them. I hope you like this. Please forgive us.
Remus

Inside was a book written in Spanish, one of her favorite languages. Translated, the title was 'Spell-inventing and Dream-casting'

The next had to be from Sirius. It was covered in tape and after about 5 minutes of prying it from the box, it finally opened.

Dear Lily,
We really miss you and I hope you forgive us. We were stupid, I know, but really, you made a big deal out of nothing.
These reminded me of you.
Sirius

Underneath his very short letter was a small glass bowl with 3 of those floating candles in the shape of white and yellow lilies. They were rather pretty.

Next was James' of course. It was a HUGE box wrapped in green paper, and there were about 4 holes cut in the box on every surface. Why were there holes? The look of it was enough to have most throw it away before even opening it. "Oh dear...I'm scared to know what he was thinking when he wrapped this..."
As she was about to unwrap it, she saw a note attached.

Lily,
Don't worry. I know what you're thinking.' "Good God James, what have you done this time?" 'No, it's not a bunch of dungboms or any type of prank. It's completly harmless. Actually, it's quite handy. I'll tell you what it does if you start talking to me again.
James

"Resorting to bribery. Tsk tsk James. I'm sure I can find out what it does and if it's not entirely obvious, I'm sure they'll have a book on it in the library. Oh well. I had better see what it is before I start making judgements."

She tore off the paper and opened the large box to reveal a glass container, much like a fish aquarium. On the top edge were the words 'Self-cleaning Cage' and inside was one of the strangest looking creatures she had ever seen.

It was a red, orange, and yellow turtle! It had a small, rounded head, dull teeth, and webbed feet. It wasn't shy like muggle turtles. It wasn't scared at all.

"But what is the purpose that James was talking about?"

She picked up a jar filled with something red and read the piece of parchment taped to it.

Set it near the window. It enjoys the sunlight. Needs ice-cold water to neutralize body heat. Feed it spicy magical turtle food twice a day. Play with it like you would a cat. Let it wander. It will not tear up anything and it will not poop anywhere but in its cage. It's very lovable.
James

It was looking at her with its huge popped-out eyes, so she picked it up and petted it. It was a big bigger hand, and apparently ticklish because when she petted its flat under-side, it squiggled and kicked.

"Aww, you are kind of cute. Count on James to give me something alive. Well, I suppose you need a name. How about...Ignatius. Yes! That's it! That's what I'll name you because it means fire, and you look like a flame."

It licked her hand with its tiny, rugged tongue.

"I hope that means you like me, not that I taste good. Anyway, here's some food. You're probably hungry."

She fed it some of the "Lucy's Magical Spicy Turtle Food", performed a spell to give it am opening in the cage to go in and out when it pleased, and then set it on her bed.

"If James lied to me and it makes a mess, I will kill him. Now, to find out its special ability."

She closed the dorm door and made her way to the library.

When she got there, she found several books on magical pets, sat down on a couch, and started to read. She was getting aggrivated by the time she had scanned 15 books and didn't find a thing, when someone came up behind her.

"Frustrated, Lilian?"

"Ugh, not you. I have enough on my mind as it is. And don't call me Lilian! My name's Lily and to be quite frank, I'd appreciate it if you never talked to me again. There! problem solved! If you never talk to me, I'll never have to worry about what you decide to call me!"

"Naw, then we'd never be able to express our love for one another."

Lily was sick and tired of this. "Listen, Gustov! I don't know who you think you are. All I know is that you are an idiot! And as I've said to everyone else today, I'M ONLY 11 YEARS OLD!!!"

"Shh!" Madame Pince scowled.

"Yes, you are only 11, but we don't have to get serious until we're older. Let's just casually date for right now."

"Are you out of your mind? You give Hufflepuff's an even worse name than what they already have! Understand this: I will never ever even consider going out with you, no matter what you do! I am leaving now, and if you dare follow me, I will send my vicious turtle after you and then I will personally supply you with a hard kick IN THE GROIN!!!" She shouted this last part right in his face, slapped him as hard as she could, and then stormed out of there.

Meanwhile, James, Remus, and Sirius were spying on her from behind a bookshelf.

"Well well well. It looks like Lily's got herself a love-struck stalker. Any ideas?" Remus smirked mischeviously.

"Muscle Spasm" The portrait of the fat lady swung open and Lily walked in after her long promenade through the castle. She just needed to calm her nerves, but just as she was going up the stairs, she heard an ear-piercing scream from her room.

"AHHHH!!! IT'S GONNA EAT ME!!! Get it out! Get it out!" Kristy shrieked as Lily barged through the door, ready for the worst. It was quite a sight. Kristy had herself glued to the wall, Ignatius was waddling towards her, almost smiling, and Ashley was on the other side of the room, engrossed in dilirious laughter.

Lily saw this and started giggling.

"Stop laughing! It's gonna eat me!"

"It's not going to eat you, Kris. Calm down!"

"Calm down!? Look at the thing! It's ferocious!"

"Kristy, two things: It's stomach is WAY too small for you to fit in and he's totally harmless."

"Oh." She blushed a deep shade of red. "Thanks for telling me. No thanks to you, Ashley! I was scared to death and you just laughed!"

Ashley looked up from her position on the floor, trying to contain her laughs. "It's a TURTLE!"

"Well, it looks like it came from Haydes. Look at it!" She pointed to it and it was staring at her with eyes very similar to 'puppy dog eyes'.

"Oh yes, it's the demon turtle alright." Lily said sarcastically. "James, the devil child himself, gave him to me today. His name is Ignatius and he's as harmless as a fly."

"James. Figures."