Chapter Nine – What Are Friends For?
A/N – Ok! Done deal! Sirius' book will be the final posting for this story!
Yeah Binns is WAAAAY OOC but I don't really care. Ok well I do but... what is done is done!
I just donated blood for the second time!!! So you must forgive me if this chapter is a little below par – it was probably due to blood loss!
ARGH! Someone's mobile phone keeps ringing to the tune of 'Toxic' by Britney Spears. THE MADNESS!
Disclaimer – Can't touch this... (ner neh ner neh... ner neh ner neh)... Want to know why? Because of my disclaimer! I don't own anything you may recognise here! (ner neh ner neh... ner neh ner neh).
Good old MC Hammer.
Oh and the following lines are lyrics from Scar by Missy Higgins. Trust me, they are relevant to this chapter. I think! He he he.
A triangle trying to squeeze through a circle
He tried to cut me so I'd fit.
Several weeks later...
Lily woke up to the sound of her alarm clock singing the New Zealand National Anthem (well that's what it said it was singing) and groaned loudly. Resisting the urge to thump her clock into silence, she turned it off, groping blindly with her eyes closed. What on earth had possessed her to set her alarm to this ungodly hour?
Lily's scowl turned into a mile as she lazily stretched. Her calendar read Saturday the 21st of November – Hogsmeade Day.
She stood up scratching her head through her masse of knotted red hair and headed to the chair where her pre-selected outfit for the day was neatly laid out.
She had planned on wearing fitted bell-bottom jeans and an equally fitted long-sleeved button up shirt with a long, peaked collar. It tapered in at the sides, and Lily tucked it in neatly, as was the style (A/N – Go 70's fashion!). It was a deep green that emphasised her eyes and complimented her hair. No mean feat for a girl of her colouring. She put a thick matching ribbon around her head, fastening it at the base of her neck, letting her hair flow down her back.
Lily grabbed her purse and a black robe to block out the cold. She bounded down the stairs, eager to meet up with James. She knew that she still had half an hour before they were meant to meet but she was like a child at Christmas.
And there he was. Her present.
Shaking thoughts out of her mind about unwrapping James the Christmas Present, she walked casually over to where he was playing Exploding Snap with Sirius, who was wearing...
A turtleneck?
James' eyes flickered over to Lily as she walked over to them. She looked so calm and collected – everything he was not. Of course, not that he would admit that to anyone. He was a Gryffindor and as such he had nerves of steel. Funny how at the moment his nerves felt more like jelly. Not even steel-coloured jelly. Just jelly. Probably pink and not properly set so that it was even more pathetic.
(A/N – BLOOD LOSS BLOOD LOSS BLOOD LOSS)
He could feel the couch he was sitting on shift beneath him as Lily sat down. Thankfully he was spared the effort of saying something witty and charming in greeting as Lily obviously had other things on her mind.
"Embarrassed are we?" she said, touching the edge of Sirius' black, fitted turtleneck.
"Not at all!" Sirius declared cheerfully, pulling down his jumper down to reveal a large hickey. "The only reason I'm wearing this thing is because Remus gave me a lecture on common decency... he mentioned something about everyone not wanting to know about the physical side of my love life."
"Oh, I don't know about that! Half the student population would love to know what you get up to!" Lily said cheekily.
"My point exactly!" Sirius cried.
"So who had the honour this time Sirius?" Lily asked, silently agreeing with Remus.
"I think her name's Georgina... Anyway she's a Hufflepuff," Sirius said coolly.
"What happened to Imogen?" Lily cried.
"Imogen? Oh, we both came to the conclusion that when it came to dating each other going steady had no appeal compared to the thrill of the chase. Besides, she has her eye on some Slytherin and the Black Bachelor can swing once again!"
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised, after all I don't think you've ever been on a third date."
"I'm not really boyfriend material," Sirius said casually, flashing a grin at a group of first-years girls who nearly fainted with excitement.
"Right," said Lily. "Hi James!"
James, not expecting his friends' deep and meaningful to be over just yet, accidentally dropped his card on top of the card pyramid being built. Miraculously the cards didn't blow up in his face, which might have singed his neat black eyebrows – the pride and joy of his face.
After making sure that the cards were definitely not going to explode, James turned to Lily, a smile in place.
"Hey Lil, you all set for today?"
Lily desperately hoped that he couldn't hear her heart thumping wildly in her chest.
"Yep, sure am!" she replied, smiling back at James.
This was going to be the best day of her life.
This was turning out to be one of the most boring days of Lily's life.
First, James had agreed to hang out with Sirius and his entourage all day.
Without consulting Lily, by the way.
Then she had developed a headache from all the giggling that Anna, Alice and Angela were doing.
Lily supposed that Sirius must have built up a tolerance after all these years.
Then they had done nothing but walk up and down the main street, occasionally going in to a shop briefly and walking straight back out again.
The only good thing that was happening so far was that James was holding Lily's hand. But she couldn't decide whether or not to read anything into it considering Sirius was doing much more than holding hands with the three A's. Maybe that was just what guys like them did. Maybe holding hands was the equivalent of being polite for normal people.
Not that Sirius was being very polite to the three A's.
"Oi, Alex."
"It's Alice (giggle, giggle)."
"That's right, sorry Alison, could you loosen my tie for me? Thanks babe."
They were at his beck and call. And apparently they didn't mind that he couldn't remember their names to save his life. Or, if he did remember one of their names, it was directed at the wrong blonde.
(A/N – Sorry if this is offensive! Not all blondes are ditzy! In fact, I'm a brunette and I can be incredibly ditzy. Though you've got to admit that Jessica Simpson isn't doing anything for blonde stereotypes, hilarious though she may be.)
Then came the highlight of Lily's day.
"Oh gosh! I just had the BEST idea!" gushed Blonde Number One.
"Oh wow! Do tell!" pleaded Blonde Number Two.
"Well," said Blonde Number One, "Over there is that icky Severus Snape and I thought it would be so so funny if we were to play a little trick on him!"
"Gee! You are super bad, Alice!" breathed Blonde Number Three.
"Oh stop it!" giggled Blonde Number One, now identified as Super Bad Alice.
Sirius and James laughed, their eyes glinting with the prospect of playing pranks on Snape.
"Come on, Lily!" James urged, pulling Lily towards the hiding spot that Blonde Number Three had found.
Lily breathed in deep, not believing what she was about to do.
"No."
James blinked, not believing his ears.
"What do you mean 'no'? This is Snape we're talking about!"
Lily pulled her hand out of James'.
"James," she began, "I'm not the kind of girl that giggles or acts dumb and I'm especially not the kind of girl that plays pranks on unsuspecting people."
"But Lily, this is Snape."
"I heard you the first time!" said Lily loudly, surprising both herself and James.
Sirius, who had heard Lily's raised voice, poked his head from behind the hiding spot – a rather large pine tree.
"Come on Potter, no time to lose!" he whispered loudly.
"James, don't force me to do this. I'm not the kind of girl that will play along with anything you want to do, regardless of the consequences. Yes I know it's Snape, but perhaps you need to look past that."
"Lily, think of all the stuff he has done to you over the years!" James protested.
But instead of replying, Lily just walked past James and pulled Severus up from the bench he was sitting at.
"What are you doing?" Severus hissed, trying to wiggle out of Lily's reach.
But he obviously didn't know how strong Lily could get when she was pissed.
And boy, was she pissed.
"Trying to get you away from whatever prank Sirius and James have planned," she replied, still pulling him quickly towards Hogwarts.
"Why are you helping me? Shouldn't you be helping Black and Hubby-to-be?" Severus asked.
Lily let go of Severus and whipped around to face him.
"Look, I just saved your arse from whatever humiliating joke those guys had planned, the least you can do is say thank you!" she yelled.
"Thank you," he mumbled.
They had walked a few steps before Lily said,
"What are friends for?"
A/N – Friendship has blossomed! But will it turn into something more? Find out next time on:
Caught In The Middle!
(Cheesy Days of our Lives music comes on)
(Glamour shots of Lily and Severus come onto screen)
Mwa ha ha! Ok now if you feel up to it, review because it will help me grow more blood... well you know what I mean!