A/N: Wow..I haven't updated in awhile. I'm really really sorry, guys!
School's been rather hectic and I haven't felt quite..well..inspired.
Personal problems. Anway..here's the chapter!
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"Let me in," James demanded to Sol, who was acting like a guard to Lily's dormitory. Three days had passed since he had broken up with Lily, and he had yet to speak with her. The only time he saw her was in class, and she made sure she sat on the other side of the room that he was sitting. And she always looked so miserable.
"No," Sol said for what seemed like the thousandth time in the past five minutes. Whatever happened, she was determined not to let James see Lily. And Lily was determined to keep James away from her.
"Come on, Sol. Don't be so heartless," he pleaded. "Please!"
"Don't turn those puppy-dog-eyes on me, Potter. Like you already said, I'm heartless. Therefor, such tactics do not work on me. Go do something productive. You're not going to see Lily."
"Be a pal. You've let Remus see her!"
"Of course I did. Not only because he wasn't a jackass to her, but Lily wanted to see him."
"Wait, are you saying that Lily doesn't want to see me?" James asked, finally catching on.
"Yes, that is exactly what I am saying," Sol confirmed with a nod of her head. James looked crestfallen.
"She doesn't want to see me?" James couldn't believe it. Why wouldn't she want to see him?
"Look, Potter, do you want me to spell it out for you?" Sol asked irritably with her hands on her hips.
"No, I've got it. Can you give her a message for me?"
"Sure."
"Can you - just - well - just tell her that I love her," James finally said after beginning to say twenty different things that sounded equally pathetic and unworthy.
"I will. Now go away," Sol demanded. James nodded and walked away. As soon as he turned to corner to go to his dormitory, Sol rushed into Lily's room. Lily was sitting at her desk doing homework, as usual. She didn't look like she had been crying, which was a good sign. Maybe she finally realized what a jackass James had been. Lily looked up as Sol closed the door behind her, then turned back to her paper.
"I'll be with you in a second, Sol. I just have to finish this paragraph," Lily said distractedly. She scratched her quill over the parchment in front of her and crossed the last "t" with a flourish. Then she pushed the homework away so it could dry as she turned to Sol. "So?"
"So what?" Sol asked innocently.
"What did he say? I know you were talking to James, Sol," Lily said quickly, just as Sol was going to deny that she knew what she was talking about. "Who else would you talk to for so long?"
"Okay, okay," Sol sighed. "He wants to see you, and I told him that you didn't want to see him. He seemed rather depressed and speechless at that. Then he finally stuttered out that he loves you. Satisfied?"
"Yeah, pretty much. So, he's crawling?"
"Oh, most definitely," Sol said with relish and sat on Lily's unoccupied bed. "He'd do anything to get you back at this moment and time."
"I like have men in the palm of my hand. But I'm not sure I want him back," Lily said mischievously with a gleam in her eye that Sol appreciated. Lily was back.
"What do you have planned, my little flower?" Sol asked eagerly, hoping to help her as much as possible in a plot to destroy Potter.
"Well, I was thinking . . ."
~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*
Sol left the room silently giggling to herself. Who knew that Lily was such an evil person under all that do-goodieness? Lily's plan was, in one word, ingenious. How she thought of it, Sol would never know, but it was perfect. And now, she thought as she walked towards the Gryffindor common room, was time for Phase One. She sat comfortably next to Remus and expertly ignored the glares from James. Sirius was finally beginning to seem less wary of her since the day she slapped him across the face. He actually would sit as close as two feet away from her. And Cassandra was just . . . Cassandra. At least she was feeling sorry for acting like she had towards Lily.
"Hey, guys," she declared happily and looked around the little group. Peter had his nose shoved in a book and Cassandra looked suspiciously at her. She knew that something was up and was sure one hell of a show was going to be put on today. Just as she was about to ask, Lily came down the steps. And she looked stunning.
Her hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail and she had changed out of her school robes since it was a Hogsmeade day and classes were cancelled. Instead, she had on a pair of tight Muggle jeans and a dark blue sweatshirt with a hood that came down to the middle of her thighs and somehow showed off her every curve, despite it's bagginess. She had put on some makeup to cover the remains of her weeping and wore the locket James had given her for Christmas. She had not taken it off since, but to James this meant something. This meant that he just might have a chance. She flashed to group a smile as she came over to them.
James stood up and went over to her. "Lily . . ." he said helplessly. None of the things he had planned to say seemed to want to come out of his mouth. He lifted a hand and put it on her shoulder.
"Hello, James," Lily said and lifted an eyebrow as she looked at the hand on her shoulder. She picked it up by his wrist and dropped it away from her body. "How are you?"
"I'm - I'm fine, Lily," James managed. What was going on? Lily seemed unaffected by what had happened. She seemed . . . normal.
"How come everybody's just sitting here?" Lily asked the group, dismissing James subtly. "Isn't it a Hogsmeade weekend?"
"Yeah, it is, Lils. We'd better get going," Remus replied with a smile as he stood up. He had a feeling he knew exactly what she was doing. And he thought it was fantastic.
"Well, let's go, then," she replied and gestured with her hand to the rest of the group. Cassandra, Sirius, Peter, Remus and Sol all moved ahead of her. James appeared to be frozen on the spot.
"Are you coming, James?" she asked as she turned back to him.
"Yes. Yes, I'm coming, Lily," he said softly and waited until Lily began walking to let out the breath he had been holding. What was with this girl? One day she's crying her eyes out, the next she's calmly putting him off. With a shake of his head, he followed Lily out the portrait hole. James felt as if he was never going to figure out Lily Evens.
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James didn't change his mind about Lily by the time they reached Hogsmeade. She acted as if nothing had changed. Well, she acted as if they had never gotten in a huge fight or that James had broken up with her. She didn't even act as if they had ever gone out! What was with this girl, anyway? She did nothing different, showed no signs of hate, sadness, or grief. Something was most definitely wrong.
"Where to first, gang?" Lily asked with a clap of her hands. She knew that James was trying to puzzle her out, trying to figure out why she was acting like she was. Why she was acting so normal. That was part of the plan. The plan was to act as if nothing had ever happened between them, and see what happened. So far, it was working rather well.
"I need to get to Zonko's," Sirius replied before anyone else could think of an answer. But of course, what was a trip to Hogsmeade without going into Zonko's Joke Shop?
"Me too. I have to stock up on Dungbombs," Remus said. "And quite of few other pranking necessities."
"To Zonko's Joke Shop it is, then," Cassandra declared and led Sirius by his hand with the rest close behind. Peter took this opportunity to silently slip away unnoticed. He had some business to take care of that was best not done in the presence of his friends.
As Peter slinked away, Lily laughed at some stupid prank Sirius played on some third year Ravenclaws. She realized it was the first time she had truly laughed in about five days. She had been so tense about getting the Potions paper done, then James had broken up with her. She just hadn't had the opportunity to get loose and be free of worries. "We better hurry up, guys. We have to be able to get a table at The Three Broomsticks if we want any butterbeer," she said to the Marauders as they gleefully wandered through the store.
"We don't have to get a table," Remus reasoned while looking at some Dungbombs.
"But it's preferred," Lily shot back. "How about this: we'll go get a table and meet you there when you're done. Sound good to you kids?"
"We're not kids," Sirius automatically said. "But, yeah, that sounds just dandy."
"Good," Lily declared as she grabbed both Cassandra's and Sol's hands and drug them out of the store. She companionably hooked her arms in theirs and proceeded to walk to The Three Broomsticks.
"What is up with you, child?" Cassandra asked as they neared the crowded meeting place.
"What ever do you mean, my dear Cassandra?" Lily asked innocently.
"You know what I mean, chickadee. Now, we'll go get a table and you go order drinks. Butterbeers all around," she replied and led Sol to a table in the back. By the time they found a table with a big enough booth to fit them plus the Marauders, they had only sat down for a few moments before Lily accompanied them. "So, Lils, what's up with you?"
"And what are you referring to?" Lily replied calmly and slid a look to Sol.
"I am referring to how you're suddenly acting. Not like I disapprove of it, quite the contrary, but I would like to know the logic behind it all." Just as discreet as the look Lily gave her, Sol nodded.
"Well, I figured I've mopped long enough over the whole thing between James and I. So, I decided, with the help of Sol, that I should just act like nothing had ever happened between the two of us. By the time the day is over, James will be so confused, he won't have any idea what hit him. He'll come crawling back to me within a day or two, and I might just let him.
"But, on the other hand, I might not," Lily finished as Madame Rosmerta came over with their butterbeers. Cassandra wisely waited until she left to comment on Lily's plan of redemption.
"That is bloody fantastic! You're a freakin' genius, Lily! I couldn't think of something better myself. Damn, your good," she mused lifted her glass. "I would like to propose a toast to Lily Evens, a genius of geniuses." Sol and Lily raised their glasses and tapped them in the middle of the table and sipped from their mugs.
"Thank you, my dear Cassandra."
"For Merlin's sake, what's taking them so long?" Sol asked irritably and was surprised a pair of hands grasping her shoulders from behind.
"I suppose that 'them' is us?" Remus said and sat next to Sol.
"I suppose so," Cassandra said. Lily got up so Sirius could get in between her and Cassandra. That left James sitting next to Lily. That would prove interesting. "Did you order your drinks?"
"Oops," James said sheepishly and smiled. Everybody looked at him, and he was immediately voted to be the one to go up. "I'll be right back, kids." Everyone except Lily watched him wind his way through the tables until his was out of hearing range.
"So, Lils, what's up with you and James?" Sirius asked casually and earned an elbow to the ribs by Cassandra. "Ow, what was that for?" he whispered out of the side of his mouth.
"For being a stupid git," she whispered back.
"Nothing's up," Lily replied just as casually and took a sip of her butterbeer.
"Are you guys going out?"
"Of course not. He broke up with me, remember?"
"Yeah, but I thought you guys would get back together."
"Well, you thought wrong." Sirius was speechless at this. Was Lily really over James? It seemed that way.
"Have you given him a chance to apologize?" Remus asked, his eyes boring into hers.
"He has the rest of the day," Lily said with a shrug. "Speak of the devil," she muttered as James approached. He plopped down next to Lily with a smile and through his arm around her shoulders.
"So, Lils, how's it going?" he asked and brought her close to his side. Everyone watched breathlessly for her reaction.
Lily just looked at the arm around her shoulders and plucked it off. She brought it over her head and placed it on the table, a safe distance away from her and moved over so her thigh was no longer touching his. "Just dandy, thanks. Did you get what you needed in Zonko's?"
"Yep," he replied, undaunted by her frosty attitude. He'd just work around it. He ran his hand over her hair in the ponytail. "I have enough stock to prank Slytherins for months."
Lily shook James's hand off and looked directly into his eyes. "James, please do not touch me."
"Why not, Lils?"
"Because I don't want you to. If you insist on putting your arm around my shoulders or touching my hair or other such nonsense, I will be forced to leave. So please refrain from touching me unless it is absolutely necessary," Lily said. James shivered. Behind those cold words, there was fire, and he knew she meant every word.
"I understand," James whispered as Madame Rosmerta brought the Marauders their drinks. "I understand completely."
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Ha ha ha, and the evilness begins! I know, I know. I'm just a total evil bitch, but I can't help it! It's not my fault if James was a total jackass! Well, if you ignore the fact that I created his personality, then it really isn't my fault. Until the next chapter!
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"Let me in," James demanded to Sol, who was acting like a guard to Lily's dormitory. Three days had passed since he had broken up with Lily, and he had yet to speak with her. The only time he saw her was in class, and she made sure she sat on the other side of the room that he was sitting. And she always looked so miserable.
"No," Sol said for what seemed like the thousandth time in the past five minutes. Whatever happened, she was determined not to let James see Lily. And Lily was determined to keep James away from her.
"Come on, Sol. Don't be so heartless," he pleaded. "Please!"
"Don't turn those puppy-dog-eyes on me, Potter. Like you already said, I'm heartless. Therefor, such tactics do not work on me. Go do something productive. You're not going to see Lily."
"Be a pal. You've let Remus see her!"
"Of course I did. Not only because he wasn't a jackass to her, but Lily wanted to see him."
"Wait, are you saying that Lily doesn't want to see me?" James asked, finally catching on.
"Yes, that is exactly what I am saying," Sol confirmed with a nod of her head. James looked crestfallen.
"She doesn't want to see me?" James couldn't believe it. Why wouldn't she want to see him?
"Look, Potter, do you want me to spell it out for you?" Sol asked irritably with her hands on her hips.
"No, I've got it. Can you give her a message for me?"
"Sure."
"Can you - just - well - just tell her that I love her," James finally said after beginning to say twenty different things that sounded equally pathetic and unworthy.
"I will. Now go away," Sol demanded. James nodded and walked away. As soon as he turned to corner to go to his dormitory, Sol rushed into Lily's room. Lily was sitting at her desk doing homework, as usual. She didn't look like she had been crying, which was a good sign. Maybe she finally realized what a jackass James had been. Lily looked up as Sol closed the door behind her, then turned back to her paper.
"I'll be with you in a second, Sol. I just have to finish this paragraph," Lily said distractedly. She scratched her quill over the parchment in front of her and crossed the last "t" with a flourish. Then she pushed the homework away so it could dry as she turned to Sol. "So?"
"So what?" Sol asked innocently.
"What did he say? I know you were talking to James, Sol," Lily said quickly, just as Sol was going to deny that she knew what she was talking about. "Who else would you talk to for so long?"
"Okay, okay," Sol sighed. "He wants to see you, and I told him that you didn't want to see him. He seemed rather depressed and speechless at that. Then he finally stuttered out that he loves you. Satisfied?"
"Yeah, pretty much. So, he's crawling?"
"Oh, most definitely," Sol said with relish and sat on Lily's unoccupied bed. "He'd do anything to get you back at this moment and time."
"I like have men in the palm of my hand. But I'm not sure I want him back," Lily said mischievously with a gleam in her eye that Sol appreciated. Lily was back.
"What do you have planned, my little flower?" Sol asked eagerly, hoping to help her as much as possible in a plot to destroy Potter.
"Well, I was thinking . . ."
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Sol left the room silently giggling to herself. Who knew that Lily was such an evil person under all that do-goodieness? Lily's plan was, in one word, ingenious. How she thought of it, Sol would never know, but it was perfect. And now, she thought as she walked towards the Gryffindor common room, was time for Phase One. She sat comfortably next to Remus and expertly ignored the glares from James. Sirius was finally beginning to seem less wary of her since the day she slapped him across the face. He actually would sit as close as two feet away from her. And Cassandra was just . . . Cassandra. At least she was feeling sorry for acting like she had towards Lily.
"Hey, guys," she declared happily and looked around the little group. Peter had his nose shoved in a book and Cassandra looked suspiciously at her. She knew that something was up and was sure one hell of a show was going to be put on today. Just as she was about to ask, Lily came down the steps. And she looked stunning.
Her hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail and she had changed out of her school robes since it was a Hogsmeade day and classes were cancelled. Instead, she had on a pair of tight Muggle jeans and a dark blue sweatshirt with a hood that came down to the middle of her thighs and somehow showed off her every curve, despite it's bagginess. She had put on some makeup to cover the remains of her weeping and wore the locket James had given her for Christmas. She had not taken it off since, but to James this meant something. This meant that he just might have a chance. She flashed to group a smile as she came over to them.
James stood up and went over to her. "Lily . . ." he said helplessly. None of the things he had planned to say seemed to want to come out of his mouth. He lifted a hand and put it on her shoulder.
"Hello, James," Lily said and lifted an eyebrow as she looked at the hand on her shoulder. She picked it up by his wrist and dropped it away from her body. "How are you?"
"I'm - I'm fine, Lily," James managed. What was going on? Lily seemed unaffected by what had happened. She seemed . . . normal.
"How come everybody's just sitting here?" Lily asked the group, dismissing James subtly. "Isn't it a Hogsmeade weekend?"
"Yeah, it is, Lils. We'd better get going," Remus replied with a smile as he stood up. He had a feeling he knew exactly what she was doing. And he thought it was fantastic.
"Well, let's go, then," she replied and gestured with her hand to the rest of the group. Cassandra, Sirius, Peter, Remus and Sol all moved ahead of her. James appeared to be frozen on the spot.
"Are you coming, James?" she asked as she turned back to him.
"Yes. Yes, I'm coming, Lily," he said softly and waited until Lily began walking to let out the breath he had been holding. What was with this girl? One day she's crying her eyes out, the next she's calmly putting him off. With a shake of his head, he followed Lily out the portrait hole. James felt as if he was never going to figure out Lily Evens.
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James didn't change his mind about Lily by the time they reached Hogsmeade. She acted as if nothing had changed. Well, she acted as if they had never gotten in a huge fight or that James had broken up with her. She didn't even act as if they had ever gone out! What was with this girl, anyway? She did nothing different, showed no signs of hate, sadness, or grief. Something was most definitely wrong.
"Where to first, gang?" Lily asked with a clap of her hands. She knew that James was trying to puzzle her out, trying to figure out why she was acting like she was. Why she was acting so normal. That was part of the plan. The plan was to act as if nothing had ever happened between them, and see what happened. So far, it was working rather well.
"I need to get to Zonko's," Sirius replied before anyone else could think of an answer. But of course, what was a trip to Hogsmeade without going into Zonko's Joke Shop?
"Me too. I have to stock up on Dungbombs," Remus said. "And quite of few other pranking necessities."
"To Zonko's Joke Shop it is, then," Cassandra declared and led Sirius by his hand with the rest close behind. Peter took this opportunity to silently slip away unnoticed. He had some business to take care of that was best not done in the presence of his friends.
As Peter slinked away, Lily laughed at some stupid prank Sirius played on some third year Ravenclaws. She realized it was the first time she had truly laughed in about five days. She had been so tense about getting the Potions paper done, then James had broken up with her. She just hadn't had the opportunity to get loose and be free of worries. "We better hurry up, guys. We have to be able to get a table at The Three Broomsticks if we want any butterbeer," she said to the Marauders as they gleefully wandered through the store.
"We don't have to get a table," Remus reasoned while looking at some Dungbombs.
"But it's preferred," Lily shot back. "How about this: we'll go get a table and meet you there when you're done. Sound good to you kids?"
"We're not kids," Sirius automatically said. "But, yeah, that sounds just dandy."
"Good," Lily declared as she grabbed both Cassandra's and Sol's hands and drug them out of the store. She companionably hooked her arms in theirs and proceeded to walk to The Three Broomsticks.
"What is up with you, child?" Cassandra asked as they neared the crowded meeting place.
"What ever do you mean, my dear Cassandra?" Lily asked innocently.
"You know what I mean, chickadee. Now, we'll go get a table and you go order drinks. Butterbeers all around," she replied and led Sol to a table in the back. By the time they found a table with a big enough booth to fit them plus the Marauders, they had only sat down for a few moments before Lily accompanied them. "So, Lils, what's up with you?"
"And what are you referring to?" Lily replied calmly and slid a look to Sol.
"I am referring to how you're suddenly acting. Not like I disapprove of it, quite the contrary, but I would like to know the logic behind it all." Just as discreet as the look Lily gave her, Sol nodded.
"Well, I figured I've mopped long enough over the whole thing between James and I. So, I decided, with the help of Sol, that I should just act like nothing had ever happened between the two of us. By the time the day is over, James will be so confused, he won't have any idea what hit him. He'll come crawling back to me within a day or two, and I might just let him.
"But, on the other hand, I might not," Lily finished as Madame Rosmerta came over with their butterbeers. Cassandra wisely waited until she left to comment on Lily's plan of redemption.
"That is bloody fantastic! You're a freakin' genius, Lily! I couldn't think of something better myself. Damn, your good," she mused lifted her glass. "I would like to propose a toast to Lily Evens, a genius of geniuses." Sol and Lily raised their glasses and tapped them in the middle of the table and sipped from their mugs.
"Thank you, my dear Cassandra."
"For Merlin's sake, what's taking them so long?" Sol asked irritably and was surprised a pair of hands grasping her shoulders from behind.
"I suppose that 'them' is us?" Remus said and sat next to Sol.
"I suppose so," Cassandra said. Lily got up so Sirius could get in between her and Cassandra. That left James sitting next to Lily. That would prove interesting. "Did you order your drinks?"
"Oops," James said sheepishly and smiled. Everybody looked at him, and he was immediately voted to be the one to go up. "I'll be right back, kids." Everyone except Lily watched him wind his way through the tables until his was out of hearing range.
"So, Lils, what's up with you and James?" Sirius asked casually and earned an elbow to the ribs by Cassandra. "Ow, what was that for?" he whispered out of the side of his mouth.
"For being a stupid git," she whispered back.
"Nothing's up," Lily replied just as casually and took a sip of her butterbeer.
"Are you guys going out?"
"Of course not. He broke up with me, remember?"
"Yeah, but I thought you guys would get back together."
"Well, you thought wrong." Sirius was speechless at this. Was Lily really over James? It seemed that way.
"Have you given him a chance to apologize?" Remus asked, his eyes boring into hers.
"He has the rest of the day," Lily said with a shrug. "Speak of the devil," she muttered as James approached. He plopped down next to Lily with a smile and through his arm around her shoulders.
"So, Lils, how's it going?" he asked and brought her close to his side. Everyone watched breathlessly for her reaction.
Lily just looked at the arm around her shoulders and plucked it off. She brought it over her head and placed it on the table, a safe distance away from her and moved over so her thigh was no longer touching his. "Just dandy, thanks. Did you get what you needed in Zonko's?"
"Yep," he replied, undaunted by her frosty attitude. He'd just work around it. He ran his hand over her hair in the ponytail. "I have enough stock to prank Slytherins for months."
Lily shook James's hand off and looked directly into his eyes. "James, please do not touch me."
"Why not, Lils?"
"Because I don't want you to. If you insist on putting your arm around my shoulders or touching my hair or other such nonsense, I will be forced to leave. So please refrain from touching me unless it is absolutely necessary," Lily said. James shivered. Behind those cold words, there was fire, and he knew she meant every word.
"I understand," James whispered as Madame Rosmerta brought the Marauders their drinks. "I understand completely."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ha ha ha, and the evilness begins! I know, I know. I'm just a total evil bitch, but I can't help it! It's not my fault if James was a total jackass! Well, if you ignore the fact that I created his personality, then it really isn't my fault. Until the next chapter!