The Flower that Finally Bloomed
Chapter 3
Disaster in Diagon Alley
Lily stepped into the Leaky Cauldron. She could feel many wizards turning to look at her. Lily felt her cheeks grow hot, and started to walk quickly to the back, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of red with every step that she took. Being her normal conservative self, she had worn a modest white tank top and a pair of beige shorts, which exhibited her beautiful legs. But unbeknownst to her, she looked like some sort of supermodel even without wearing any make up and putting on an attitude.
After stepping into Diagon Alley, Lily took out two shopping lists. One was her school supplies list, while the other was her personal shopping list. She decided to do her personal stuff first, which included buying two new robes for school, a dress robe for balls or special occasions, and a new broom (her parents had insisted as a reward for being chosen as Head Girl). Lily headed for Madame Malkin's robe store, and found it empty. As a result, Madame Malkin decided to fit her personally. Lily discovered that Madame Malkin was kinda (only kinda) nice when she wasn't flustered and in such a rush. Lily's new school robes would now have to be a size smaller to fit her petite figure.
After being fitted with her new school robes, Madame Malkin led Lily to the back of the store, where the dress robes were kept. There were so many beautiful choices that Lily really wished she could buy all of them. Unfortunately, she had only brought enough money with her for one dress. After an hour of scrutinizing how each robe fitted her, Lily finally decided on an elegant baby blue dress robe, which shimmered in the light. It had a plunging neckline, though it was still modest, and greatly accentuated Lily's hips and slim legs. The colour also brought out her striking auburn hair, and went really well with her sparkling green eyes. Even Madame Malkin was pretty amazed at how spectacular Lily looked in the dress robe. It was as if the creator of the robe had been picturing Lily's figure when the robe was being made.
Pleased with her choice, Lily paid for her purchase and proceeded to' Quality Quidditch Supplies', to buy her new broom. As Lily walked past its' show window, she spotted the newest broom model, the Comet Chaser. Lily knew she didn't really need such an expensive broom, so she chose a Comet Sweeper instead. After paying for the broom, she wandered over to the Comet Chaser on display. Lily had always liked flying, but she wasn't really interested in playing quidditch. As Lily was admiring the wonderful craftsmanship exerted onto the broom's handle, she heard four very familiar male voices approaching her. Lily turned her head slightly to see if it was anybody she knew. Her eyes shot wide open as they landed on the four people that she liked least in her entire existence. The Marauders were making their way slowly to where she stood. They didn't seem to have noticed that she was there, and were chatting quite animatedly about qudditch. Good. She still had a chance to escape unnoticed. First, she should edge really quietly towards the...Oh shit!!
Lily felt a wave of panic sweep through her mind, as her green eyes connected with James' brown ones. A surprised, no, more of a stunned look overtook his face, and his right hand reached up into his unruly hair. Shit. Damn. James had seen her. She wasn't ready for this yet. Her panic increased even more, when she saw that Sirius was now also staring at her, with his mouth visibly hanging open. Lily tried frantically to think of a way to escape, her heart beating faster and faster, as she saw the Marauders drawing closer. All of a sudden, Peter knocked over a bucket of broom shine and distracted the Marauders for a second. Lily saw that this was the lucky break that she had been praying for. She immediately seized her chance to grab her purchases and dash out of the store.
Lily bolted into the bookshop, Flourish and Blotts, to buy her schoolbooks, and strongly hoped that James and his friends hadn't seen her going into the store. She quickly snatched up all of the books that she needed and a few extra ones for some 'light' reading. She paid for her books and ran towards the door, eager to get out of Diagon Alley before she met with the Marauders again. Lily wasn't looking where she was going, and she collided with someone as she rounded a corner, and fell to the ground.
Lily slowly opened her eyes to see the person whom she had bumped into. It was Audrey Kington, another geek and social outcast. Lily noticed that she and Audrey were both in a bad situation. They were on the ground, and their stuff was strewn all around them. Then from behind her, Lily felt two strong hands plant themselves on her hips and hoist her up onto her feet. Lily swiveled around to face the owner of the hands. For the second time that day, Lily's eyes locked with James' hazel ones. Lily suddenly became aware of how close she was to James and started to back away. Suddenly, she tripped on one of the items on the ground, and felt herself fall backwards into another strong pair of hands. Lily turned around again and found herself face to face with a grinning Sirius Black. She let out a gasp and instantly bolted from Sirius' grip. Eager to avoid any sort of contact with any of them, Lily fell to her knees and started to pick up her things.
' I wonder if Audrey's fine,' thought Lily, as she concentrated intensely on gathering her things. She looked up to see if Audrey needed any help. She felt fury build up inside her, as she saw that only Remus was helping Audrey, while the other three Marauders were just standing here. Worst of all, two of them (Potter and Black), were not just standing there, but also staring disturbingly at her. 'Probably to see if I fit the standards for having a good shag with," Lily thought disgustedly.
Finally, they knelt down and started to help her pick up her stuff. And Lily noticed, ONLY her stuff. By now, Lily was struggling to control her rage. So, they only think beautiful, curvy girls fit are worthy of their help is it? Then the final straw came when James put on a charming smile and said, " Hey, have we me before? 'Cause I don't think we have. If my eyes ever landed on such a beautiful girl like you, I don't think I could forget that easily." 'What was that??? James Potter is trying to flirt with me. He wouldn't have gone within ten yards of me, unless to mock or bully me, before I had changed my look. And now, HE IS TRYING TO FLIRT WITH ME,' Lily thought angrily. That did it. Lily unleashed her wrath upon them.
"You ignorant vain idiots," she seethed, while clenching and unclenching her pale fists. "All you stupid assholes care about is looks and how big a girl's breasts are. You only bother to help the pretty and popular people," Lily exploded. " Why don't you go help Audrey over there? She's fallen too. Oh, wait! She's NOT that pretty or popular is she? No offense there Audrey," Lily added quickly, and Audrey could only nod her head, apparently too bewildered to do anything else." But that's not the point you cocky gits," Lily continued," You know what, don't help me. Go help Audrey over there. I'd rather pick up my stuff myself, than let your polluted hands touch my things. In fact, I want to throw up a the very sight of your disgusting cocky grinning faces," Lily said in one breath, and started taking in large breaths to calm herself down. By now, her fingernails were digging painfully into the palms of her tightly clenched fists, and a small crowd had gathered around them. James and Sirius were looking dumbfounded at her. This was obviously the first time a beautiful girl had blown her head off at them, and for something they weren't even aware that they'd done.
Lily suddenly paled, as she slowly became aware of what she had just done. In a flash, she had snatched up all her stuff and had bolted for the exit from Diagon Alley. As soon as she was back in the Leaky Cauldron, Lily let out a deep breath. The thoughts 'Oh my God! Oh my God!' were rushing through her head, and she could feel her blood pulsing through her veins. Even she was shocked at her sudden outburst at Potter and Black. Her mind had gone blank at that moment and images of all the nasty things that they had done to her and to other outcasts came rolling into her like mind a red- hot stone. She had felt the hurt and pain all over again, biting away at her dignity. Then finally, the image of her ink-drenched essay had popped into her mind, and that had pushed her temper over the edge. But what had she said? She hoped that she hadn't said anything that was too rash. Hold on. What was she talking about? Why should she care that she was embarrassing Potter and Black in public? They deserved every moment of it pretty damn well. That's right. She wasn't going to be scared of them. She was really anticipating her seventh year. The year that she was going to reign as Head Girl. She was not going to tolerate any nonsense from the Marauders, especially Potter. They should certainly expect hell from her next year. Lily smiled happily to herself at this thought.
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James felt the familiar thug at his stomach and was thrown about wildly by an unseen force. He let out a painful yelp as he landed painfully at the Flooing Network in Diagon Alley. Suddenly, something came flying at him from behind, knocking James forward. James winced and rubbed his sore behind before turning around to see Sirius doing the same thing. Then, he heard two very familiar laughs, and looked up to see two even more familiar grinning faces. Remus and Peter were here. The four boys burst into fits of laughter. They didn't know why they did, though. Guess they were so happy to see themselves together again, and in the same funny situations they were constantly stuck in. But they quickly stopped when they saw that they were drawing a lot of attention from the crowd surrounding them.
The four naturally decided to head for the qudditch store first. As they entered the store, something red immediately caught James' attention. He looked harder through his glasses, and was astounded at what his eyes fell upon. Standing before him was the most beautiful and voluptuous girl he had ever seen. She had silky auburn hair, which fell to her back and was a bit wavy at the tips. Her eyes captivated him. They were a spectacular shade of green and sparkled with every movement she made. Her rosebud lips were full and red. Her milky skin was flawless and gave out a mysterious glow. It made her red hair and lips stand out perfectly. And her sexy body. The thought made James' mouth go dry. She had a firm bust that was not too big and not too small, but enough to make her appear full. Her hips, which swayed seductively as she walked, were perfectly rounded and her beautiful slim legs showed out from beneath her shorts. The girl was like a goddess out of a painting.
James' hand automatically jumped to his hair. Sirius seemed to notice James' disinterest in their conversation, and decided to see what was more interesting than talking about the upcoming qudditch match. Sirius reverted his eyes to the object of James' attention, and his mouth dropped open and hung there for a considerable period of time. James turned and saw his best friend's reaction, and as if by mutual understanding, both of them started to make their way towards the girl, who looked to be about their age. Remus and Peter hurried after them, both seemingly nonplussed by the girl's beauty. James thought that he was imagining things when he saw the girl's eyes widen with what presumably was shock, as she saw them approaching her. Suddenly, Peter tripped and knocked over a bucket of broom shine, causing a ruckus. James and Sirius snapped out of their trance momentarily, and gave Peter a disapproving look. However, when they turned their attention back to the girl, they discovered that she had left the store, much to their disappointment.
The Marauders continued quietly around the store, questioning themselves about the mysterious goddess. Sirius was the first to break the silence. "Wow." he said dumbly. "Have you ever seen such a sexy beautiful specimen of a girl? I mean did you see that body and those legs. I mean wow." he commented again. James remained silent while the other three chattered away. That girl must have been the most beautiful thing he had ever laid his eyes upon. Just thinking about her body made his own body want to burst with desire. But he had had a strange haunting feeling as he had looked at the girl. It felt as if he had met her somewhere before. And her eyes. He had never felt such a strong rush of electricity surge through his body before, as when he had looked into her beautiful green eyes. She was most definitely not one of his past girlfriends. So where had he seen her before. Suddenly, an image of Lily Evans flashed across his mind out of nowhere. Nah. His mind dismissed it in a second.
Two hours later, the Marauders had finally managed to finish all of their shopping and were heading back towards the Floo Network. As they were about to turn a corner, they heard the sickening sound of a crash and quickly rounded the corner to see what had caused it. What James saw made him suck in a sharp breath. The girl that he had seen in the qudditch store was knocked onto the ground, and her things were strewn all around her. He glanced opposite her and saw Audrey.something (who cares anyway), another geek/social outcast. James quickly ignored her and shifted his attentions towards the beautiful girl.
James' hands instinctively clamped around her petite waist and easily lifted her to her feet. He saw her turn around and her eyes widened with shock again, as they locked with his. She backed away and tripped over one of her strewn items on the floor. James was about to catch her, when Sirius, who was nearer, caught her first. James felt a pang of jealousy when he saw Sirius so close to the girl (the girl was practically on top of him). But he was instantly relieved when she moved out of Sirius' reach and started picking up her things. For a moment, all James could do was stare at her and her slender, flawless white hand, gracefully sweeping up her stuff. Sirius too for that matter, James noticed. The palms of his hands, which had touched her, were still tingling with electricity.
After a few minutes, James managed to snap out of his daze and dropped to his knees to help her. Sirius too, followed suit. Both of them totally ignored Audrey's stuff and only picked up the unknown goddess' things. They didn't want to waste their time on outcasts like her. Suddenly, the girl looked up at them, and her eyes were practically ablaze with an emerald flame. Then in a flash, James and Sirius found themselves being shouted at by the girl, who was at the same time frantically pointing at Audrey. James could only manage to process half of what she was saying, but managed to piece it together. He looked up and true enough, only Remus was helping Audrey. All of a sudden he felt his cheeks grow hot with embarrassment, as the realisation sunk in that he was being told off by a beautiful girl, right in the middle of Diagon Alley.
Suddenly, the girl stopped screaming and paused to take a breath. Her face was pinkish red, which James thought surprisingly, looked quite cute on her. Then her face paled drastically and she snatched up her stuff hastily and bolted from the spot. The Marauders and the surrounding crowd were in a state of shock at this sudden display of fury. James could especially feel himself turning red. What had just happened? A beautiful but complete stranger had just told him off in front of a huge crowd, in the middle of Diagon Alley. James suddenly felt conscious of all the looks that he was getting, and made a quick dash for the Floo Network. He could hear the other Marauders chasing him all the way.
A few minutes later.
James was lying on his bed. Many questions prodded his already troubled mind. Who was that beautiful, mysterious girl? She seemed to know them pretty well, but he was quite sure that he had never seen her before. And why did his mind send him an image of Lily Evans when he was thinking about the identity of the girl, back then. Sure there was the slight similarity in the colour of hair and eyes, but the chances of that girl being Lily Evans, was about as much as Sirius giving up his womanizing ways. Finally, sleep kindly sedated James' mind, and he not so peacefully drifted off into a much troubled sleep.
Lily stepped into the Leaky Cauldron. She could feel many wizards turning to look at her. Lily felt her cheeks grow hot, and started to walk quickly to the back, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of red with every step that she took. Being her normal conservative self, she had worn a modest white tank top and a pair of beige shorts, which exhibited her beautiful legs. But unbeknownst to her, she looked like some sort of supermodel even without wearing any make up and putting on an attitude.
After stepping into Diagon Alley, Lily took out two shopping lists. One was her school supplies list, while the other was her personal shopping list. She decided to do her personal stuff first, which included buying two new robes for school, a dress robe for balls or special occasions, and a new broom (her parents had insisted as a reward for being chosen as Head Girl). Lily headed for Madame Malkin's robe store, and found it empty. As a result, Madame Malkin decided to fit her personally. Lily discovered that Madame Malkin was kinda (only kinda) nice when she wasn't flustered and in such a rush. Lily's new school robes would now have to be a size smaller to fit her petite figure.
After being fitted with her new school robes, Madame Malkin led Lily to the back of the store, where the dress robes were kept. There were so many beautiful choices that Lily really wished she could buy all of them. Unfortunately, she had only brought enough money with her for one dress. After an hour of scrutinizing how each robe fitted her, Lily finally decided on an elegant baby blue dress robe, which shimmered in the light. It had a plunging neckline, though it was still modest, and greatly accentuated Lily's hips and slim legs. The colour also brought out her striking auburn hair, and went really well with her sparkling green eyes. Even Madame Malkin was pretty amazed at how spectacular Lily looked in the dress robe. It was as if the creator of the robe had been picturing Lily's figure when the robe was being made.
Pleased with her choice, Lily paid for her purchase and proceeded to' Quality Quidditch Supplies', to buy her new broom. As Lily walked past its' show window, she spotted the newest broom model, the Comet Chaser. Lily knew she didn't really need such an expensive broom, so she chose a Comet Sweeper instead. After paying for the broom, she wandered over to the Comet Chaser on display. Lily had always liked flying, but she wasn't really interested in playing quidditch. As Lily was admiring the wonderful craftsmanship exerted onto the broom's handle, she heard four very familiar male voices approaching her. Lily turned her head slightly to see if it was anybody she knew. Her eyes shot wide open as they landed on the four people that she liked least in her entire existence. The Marauders were making their way slowly to where she stood. They didn't seem to have noticed that she was there, and were chatting quite animatedly about qudditch. Good. She still had a chance to escape unnoticed. First, she should edge really quietly towards the...Oh shit!!
Lily felt a wave of panic sweep through her mind, as her green eyes connected with James' brown ones. A surprised, no, more of a stunned look overtook his face, and his right hand reached up into his unruly hair. Shit. Damn. James had seen her. She wasn't ready for this yet. Her panic increased even more, when she saw that Sirius was now also staring at her, with his mouth visibly hanging open. Lily tried frantically to think of a way to escape, her heart beating faster and faster, as she saw the Marauders drawing closer. All of a sudden, Peter knocked over a bucket of broom shine and distracted the Marauders for a second. Lily saw that this was the lucky break that she had been praying for. She immediately seized her chance to grab her purchases and dash out of the store.
Lily bolted into the bookshop, Flourish and Blotts, to buy her schoolbooks, and strongly hoped that James and his friends hadn't seen her going into the store. She quickly snatched up all of the books that she needed and a few extra ones for some 'light' reading. She paid for her books and ran towards the door, eager to get out of Diagon Alley before she met with the Marauders again. Lily wasn't looking where she was going, and she collided with someone as she rounded a corner, and fell to the ground.
Lily slowly opened her eyes to see the person whom she had bumped into. It was Audrey Kington, another geek and social outcast. Lily noticed that she and Audrey were both in a bad situation. They were on the ground, and their stuff was strewn all around them. Then from behind her, Lily felt two strong hands plant themselves on her hips and hoist her up onto her feet. Lily swiveled around to face the owner of the hands. For the second time that day, Lily's eyes locked with James' hazel ones. Lily suddenly became aware of how close she was to James and started to back away. Suddenly, she tripped on one of the items on the ground, and felt herself fall backwards into another strong pair of hands. Lily turned around again and found herself face to face with a grinning Sirius Black. She let out a gasp and instantly bolted from Sirius' grip. Eager to avoid any sort of contact with any of them, Lily fell to her knees and started to pick up her things.
' I wonder if Audrey's fine,' thought Lily, as she concentrated intensely on gathering her things. She looked up to see if Audrey needed any help. She felt fury build up inside her, as she saw that only Remus was helping Audrey, while the other three Marauders were just standing here. Worst of all, two of them (Potter and Black), were not just standing there, but also staring disturbingly at her. 'Probably to see if I fit the standards for having a good shag with," Lily thought disgustedly.
Finally, they knelt down and started to help her pick up her stuff. And Lily noticed, ONLY her stuff. By now, Lily was struggling to control her rage. So, they only think beautiful, curvy girls fit are worthy of their help is it? Then the final straw came when James put on a charming smile and said, " Hey, have we me before? 'Cause I don't think we have. If my eyes ever landed on such a beautiful girl like you, I don't think I could forget that easily." 'What was that??? James Potter is trying to flirt with me. He wouldn't have gone within ten yards of me, unless to mock or bully me, before I had changed my look. And now, HE IS TRYING TO FLIRT WITH ME,' Lily thought angrily. That did it. Lily unleashed her wrath upon them.
"You ignorant vain idiots," she seethed, while clenching and unclenching her pale fists. "All you stupid assholes care about is looks and how big a girl's breasts are. You only bother to help the pretty and popular people," Lily exploded. " Why don't you go help Audrey over there? She's fallen too. Oh, wait! She's NOT that pretty or popular is she? No offense there Audrey," Lily added quickly, and Audrey could only nod her head, apparently too bewildered to do anything else." But that's not the point you cocky gits," Lily continued," You know what, don't help me. Go help Audrey over there. I'd rather pick up my stuff myself, than let your polluted hands touch my things. In fact, I want to throw up a the very sight of your disgusting cocky grinning faces," Lily said in one breath, and started taking in large breaths to calm herself down. By now, her fingernails were digging painfully into the palms of her tightly clenched fists, and a small crowd had gathered around them. James and Sirius were looking dumbfounded at her. This was obviously the first time a beautiful girl had blown her head off at them, and for something they weren't even aware that they'd done.
Lily suddenly paled, as she slowly became aware of what she had just done. In a flash, she had snatched up all her stuff and had bolted for the exit from Diagon Alley. As soon as she was back in the Leaky Cauldron, Lily let out a deep breath. The thoughts 'Oh my God! Oh my God!' were rushing through her head, and she could feel her blood pulsing through her veins. Even she was shocked at her sudden outburst at Potter and Black. Her mind had gone blank at that moment and images of all the nasty things that they had done to her and to other outcasts came rolling into her like mind a red- hot stone. She had felt the hurt and pain all over again, biting away at her dignity. Then finally, the image of her ink-drenched essay had popped into her mind, and that had pushed her temper over the edge. But what had she said? She hoped that she hadn't said anything that was too rash. Hold on. What was she talking about? Why should she care that she was embarrassing Potter and Black in public? They deserved every moment of it pretty damn well. That's right. She wasn't going to be scared of them. She was really anticipating her seventh year. The year that she was going to reign as Head Girl. She was not going to tolerate any nonsense from the Marauders, especially Potter. They should certainly expect hell from her next year. Lily smiled happily to herself at this thought.
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James felt the familiar thug at his stomach and was thrown about wildly by an unseen force. He let out a painful yelp as he landed painfully at the Flooing Network in Diagon Alley. Suddenly, something came flying at him from behind, knocking James forward. James winced and rubbed his sore behind before turning around to see Sirius doing the same thing. Then, he heard two very familiar laughs, and looked up to see two even more familiar grinning faces. Remus and Peter were here. The four boys burst into fits of laughter. They didn't know why they did, though. Guess they were so happy to see themselves together again, and in the same funny situations they were constantly stuck in. But they quickly stopped when they saw that they were drawing a lot of attention from the crowd surrounding them.
The four naturally decided to head for the qudditch store first. As they entered the store, something red immediately caught James' attention. He looked harder through his glasses, and was astounded at what his eyes fell upon. Standing before him was the most beautiful and voluptuous girl he had ever seen. She had silky auburn hair, which fell to her back and was a bit wavy at the tips. Her eyes captivated him. They were a spectacular shade of green and sparkled with every movement she made. Her rosebud lips were full and red. Her milky skin was flawless and gave out a mysterious glow. It made her red hair and lips stand out perfectly. And her sexy body. The thought made James' mouth go dry. She had a firm bust that was not too big and not too small, but enough to make her appear full. Her hips, which swayed seductively as she walked, were perfectly rounded and her beautiful slim legs showed out from beneath her shorts. The girl was like a goddess out of a painting.
James' hand automatically jumped to his hair. Sirius seemed to notice James' disinterest in their conversation, and decided to see what was more interesting than talking about the upcoming qudditch match. Sirius reverted his eyes to the object of James' attention, and his mouth dropped open and hung there for a considerable period of time. James turned and saw his best friend's reaction, and as if by mutual understanding, both of them started to make their way towards the girl, who looked to be about their age. Remus and Peter hurried after them, both seemingly nonplussed by the girl's beauty. James thought that he was imagining things when he saw the girl's eyes widen with what presumably was shock, as she saw them approaching her. Suddenly, Peter tripped and knocked over a bucket of broom shine, causing a ruckus. James and Sirius snapped out of their trance momentarily, and gave Peter a disapproving look. However, when they turned their attention back to the girl, they discovered that she had left the store, much to their disappointment.
The Marauders continued quietly around the store, questioning themselves about the mysterious goddess. Sirius was the first to break the silence. "Wow." he said dumbly. "Have you ever seen such a sexy beautiful specimen of a girl? I mean did you see that body and those legs. I mean wow." he commented again. James remained silent while the other three chattered away. That girl must have been the most beautiful thing he had ever laid his eyes upon. Just thinking about her body made his own body want to burst with desire. But he had had a strange haunting feeling as he had looked at the girl. It felt as if he had met her somewhere before. And her eyes. He had never felt such a strong rush of electricity surge through his body before, as when he had looked into her beautiful green eyes. She was most definitely not one of his past girlfriends. So where had he seen her before. Suddenly, an image of Lily Evans flashed across his mind out of nowhere. Nah. His mind dismissed it in a second.
Two hours later, the Marauders had finally managed to finish all of their shopping and were heading back towards the Floo Network. As they were about to turn a corner, they heard the sickening sound of a crash and quickly rounded the corner to see what had caused it. What James saw made him suck in a sharp breath. The girl that he had seen in the qudditch store was knocked onto the ground, and her things were strewn all around her. He glanced opposite her and saw Audrey.something (who cares anyway), another geek/social outcast. James quickly ignored her and shifted his attentions towards the beautiful girl.
James' hands instinctively clamped around her petite waist and easily lifted her to her feet. He saw her turn around and her eyes widened with shock again, as they locked with his. She backed away and tripped over one of her strewn items on the floor. James was about to catch her, when Sirius, who was nearer, caught her first. James felt a pang of jealousy when he saw Sirius so close to the girl (the girl was practically on top of him). But he was instantly relieved when she moved out of Sirius' reach and started picking up her things. For a moment, all James could do was stare at her and her slender, flawless white hand, gracefully sweeping up her stuff. Sirius too for that matter, James noticed. The palms of his hands, which had touched her, were still tingling with electricity.
After a few minutes, James managed to snap out of his daze and dropped to his knees to help her. Sirius too, followed suit. Both of them totally ignored Audrey's stuff and only picked up the unknown goddess' things. They didn't want to waste their time on outcasts like her. Suddenly, the girl looked up at them, and her eyes were practically ablaze with an emerald flame. Then in a flash, James and Sirius found themselves being shouted at by the girl, who was at the same time frantically pointing at Audrey. James could only manage to process half of what she was saying, but managed to piece it together. He looked up and true enough, only Remus was helping Audrey. All of a sudden he felt his cheeks grow hot with embarrassment, as the realisation sunk in that he was being told off by a beautiful girl, right in the middle of Diagon Alley.
Suddenly, the girl stopped screaming and paused to take a breath. Her face was pinkish red, which James thought surprisingly, looked quite cute on her. Then her face paled drastically and she snatched up her stuff hastily and bolted from the spot. The Marauders and the surrounding crowd were in a state of shock at this sudden display of fury. James could especially feel himself turning red. What had just happened? A beautiful but complete stranger had just told him off in front of a huge crowd, in the middle of Diagon Alley. James suddenly felt conscious of all the looks that he was getting, and made a quick dash for the Floo Network. He could hear the other Marauders chasing him all the way.
A few minutes later.
James was lying on his bed. Many questions prodded his already troubled mind. Who was that beautiful, mysterious girl? She seemed to know them pretty well, but he was quite sure that he had never seen her before. And why did his mind send him an image of Lily Evans when he was thinking about the identity of the girl, back then. Sure there was the slight similarity in the colour of hair and eyes, but the chances of that girl being Lily Evans, was about as much as Sirius giving up his womanizing ways. Finally, sleep kindly sedated James' mind, and he not so peacefully drifted off into a much troubled sleep.