Chapter 9: "Leave her alone..."
Ted stared at the empty space next to him, his chin practically touching his neck. After a couple minutes he looked at Wilona and Alice, who both looked as mortified as Lily was, and said "I...I didn't know she had issues ..." The two girls just glanced at eachother frantically, but neither moved. Many, many eyes in the Great Hall were still focused on their table, although most of the teachers had already resumed eating. Ted began to look extremely embarrassed, as some of the eyes began to shift to him.
"Maybe we should go after her...?" said Wilona slowly, her own food forgotten.
"No. No, she has to cool down. Just leave her alone... finish your dinner," Alice said quickly, waving her hand at the food on the table. She picked up her fork and dug back in, trying to gain her composure and shrug off the incident. Ted cowered down in his seat, and Wilona looked at him disgustedly. Slowly, the huge room began to fill back up with murmers and clinks, with only a few curious faces occasionally flicking back in their direction.
Back down at the other end of the Gryffindor table, the Mauraders were engaged in quite a heated discussion, when a loud high-pitched shriek met their ears. Peter hastily threw his hands over his head as Remus winced, his head pounding with the echos. James turned to the direction it came from and met eyes with a ghostlike, shuddering Lily. Her eyes were so cloudy, so dark, and for once he couldn't read them as they stared right at eachother. He didnt even realize she had disapeared until Sirius tugged his arm and pulled him back to the anxious expressions of his friends.
"Did anyone happen to catch what she yelled out?..." he said thoughtfully, trying to recall the echos.
"Stupid," Sirius answered with an annoyed tone, and then he tried to divert the conversation back to what it was before they were interrupted. "But it doesn't matter. What were you saying before, James? I could hardly understand-"
"Wait did you just call me stupid?" James interjected, finally back to his senses.
"No, you idiot, she said the word 'stupid'. But seriously, what the hell were you saying? And why the hell did you sprint in here, late and all?" Sirius said, smashing his fist into a slice of apple pie. Remus and Peter both nodded. "And you forgot about tonight!" he hissed. They all threw dark looks at James.
"You're lucky no one ever pays attention to us like this anymore, else the teachers would be over here in no time because of you running in here like you'd just seen that Voldemort guy or something," said Remus, his voice back to an angry whisper.
James shook his head, as if clearing it, and said "Let's go to the common room, no one'll be in there now. We can talk there." He stood up, wrapping up a couple of chicken legs in a napkin and putting them in his bag. His friends followed suit, a little surprised at the urgency in his voice. Sirius tried to put the whole plate of chicken in his bag, but ended up doing the same as James. All four Marauders walked down the length of the Gryffindor towards the entrance of the Great Hall. They neared the spot where Lily's friends were sitting, and James noticed that Alice was leaning back, staring at him intently. He looked away as he passed her, but he felt a hand reach up and slide down his arm, pulling him back. His head shot towards her, alarmed, her soft hand resting on his wrist. Her light brown eyes pleaded with him and she whispered softly so no one else could hear. "Leave her alone..."
James, still surprised, only nodded his head, his eyebrows furrowed. He wasn't planning on talking to her anyway. Alice let his arm go and and turned around without another word. James caught up with his friends quickly; no one had noticed he was behind them.
Ted stared at the empty space next to him, his chin practically touching his neck. After a couple minutes he looked at Wilona and Alice, who both looked as mortified as Lily was, and said "I...I didn't know she had issues ..." The two girls just glanced at eachother frantically, but neither moved. Many, many eyes in the Great Hall were still focused on their table, although most of the teachers had already resumed eating. Ted began to look extremely embarrassed, as some of the eyes began to shift to him.
"Maybe we should go after her...?" said Wilona slowly, her own food forgotten.
"No. No, she has to cool down. Just leave her alone... finish your dinner," Alice said quickly, waving her hand at the food on the table. She picked up her fork and dug back in, trying to gain her composure and shrug off the incident. Ted cowered down in his seat, and Wilona looked at him disgustedly. Slowly, the huge room began to fill back up with murmers and clinks, with only a few curious faces occasionally flicking back in their direction.
Back down at the other end of the Gryffindor table, the Mauraders were engaged in quite a heated discussion, when a loud high-pitched shriek met their ears. Peter hastily threw his hands over his head as Remus winced, his head pounding with the echos. James turned to the direction it came from and met eyes with a ghostlike, shuddering Lily. Her eyes were so cloudy, so dark, and for once he couldn't read them as they stared right at eachother. He didnt even realize she had disapeared until Sirius tugged his arm and pulled him back to the anxious expressions of his friends.
"Did anyone happen to catch what she yelled out?..." he said thoughtfully, trying to recall the echos.
"Stupid," Sirius answered with an annoyed tone, and then he tried to divert the conversation back to what it was before they were interrupted. "But it doesn't matter. What were you saying before, James? I could hardly understand-"
"Wait did you just call me stupid?" James interjected, finally back to his senses.
"No, you idiot, she said the word 'stupid'. But seriously, what the hell were you saying? And why the hell did you sprint in here, late and all?" Sirius said, smashing his fist into a slice of apple pie. Remus and Peter both nodded. "And you forgot about tonight!" he hissed. They all threw dark looks at James.
"You're lucky no one ever pays attention to us like this anymore, else the teachers would be over here in no time because of you running in here like you'd just seen that Voldemort guy or something," said Remus, his voice back to an angry whisper.
James shook his head, as if clearing it, and said "Let's go to the common room, no one'll be in there now. We can talk there." He stood up, wrapping up a couple of chicken legs in a napkin and putting them in his bag. His friends followed suit, a little surprised at the urgency in his voice. Sirius tried to put the whole plate of chicken in his bag, but ended up doing the same as James. All four Marauders walked down the length of the Gryffindor towards the entrance of the Great Hall. They neared the spot where Lily's friends were sitting, and James noticed that Alice was leaning back, staring at him intently. He looked away as he passed her, but he felt a hand reach up and slide down his arm, pulling him back. His head shot towards her, alarmed, her soft hand resting on his wrist. Her light brown eyes pleaded with him and she whispered softly so no one else could hear. "Leave her alone..."
James, still surprised, only nodded his head, his eyebrows furrowed. He wasn't planning on talking to her anyway. Alice let his arm go and and turned around without another word. James caught up with his friends quickly; no one had noticed he was behind them.