Chapter 10. The insane has returned to torture you with chapter 10.
MUAHAHAH! For all of you who were eagerly awaiting some Lily and James
action that wasn't in a dream I hope you liked the last chapter . Took
me long enough though. Lol. Oh well, this is going to be a longer story and
so spreading things long is a good thing. But don't worry I won't take
another ten chapters for them to admit they love each other.
I finally got a Live Journal account (dose the Happy Frodo Chicken Dance). The link is posted in my profile under the homepage. But I still can't get my quiz result pictures to post in it, Garr.... I suppose it is because I have a free account and I am too cheap to get a paid one. Now all I need is a scanner and Open Canvas so I can get a deviant art account. I bet you all didn't know that I love to draw and I am pretty good at it, but sadly I don't have a scanner. (
Still debating over the whole rating issue. But I am pretty sure that I am going to up the rating to R, but the real rating is around PG-15/16. I am most likely going to up the rating after this chapter or the next one, depends on how they turn out.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All is property of Joanne Kathleen Rowling XD. All I own is Anthy, Amberle, Professor Lantis, and another original character that is just mentioned in this chapter but doesn't play any role at all. And the word anthy is Greek for flower, hence why I made her half Greek.
For those of you who have seen the show Shoujo Kakumei Utena, you know that is where I got the name Anthy and if you have seen episode 38 and 39...well you can guess what is going to happen. Someone has already figured out a major clue, Holly-Evans! But I refuse to say what that clue is o.0 thehehehehheheeh. I love to torture you all.
One last note: die peter die.....lol. That and I have been listening to one of the best songs ever written, Toki ni Ai waa... (Right now Love is...) by Masami Oku. That is the most romantic song ever written, even if it is Japanese. I think I will include it in my story, maybe around the ball. If you have heard that song, isn't it gorgeous? And lastly a store is mentioned in this chapter called The Purple Lizard and that really is a store. I don't own that either. Of course I doubt there is a store called The Purple Lizard in London, but where I live it is a very popular store that has all sorts of cool stuff. It looks like a Hippie shack, but in a good way.
Enjoy chapter 10
XVIVX
Lily had been home for four days during her Christmas vacation and things couldn't be going any better. She had only one encounter with Petunia when she dropped by to say that she and her fiancé, Vernon would be spending Christmas in Ireland. And because Vernon was with her, Petunia didn't shout one insult about Lily being a witch. Lily supposed she was too embarrassed having such a 'freak' for a sister. The thought made her laugh. Wouldn't Petunia get a shock if she found out that in the Wizarding World she would be considered a freak. Over her vacation she had gotten an Owl from Dorcas, Anthy and Amberle. They were all doing well, but they all refused to tell Lily her Christmas present, which Lily had been begging them to give her a hint of what it was.
Two days into her vacation John Evans teased Lily about her little encounter with James at Kings Cross Station. Lily had to repeatedly claim that James wasn't her boyfriend. It was then when Violet Evans entered the room and said 'James...wasn't James the one who turned your hair blue during your first year?'. Lily could have bowed down and thanked her mother for saying that. She just simply responded by 'yes James was the prat who did that to me. As it turns out he isn't a complete arse because we have to do Head Duties together. He and I are just FRIENDS' she said over and over. The thought brought a smile to Lily's face. If only her parents knew what really happened. But of course if Lily told them her father would freak out and most likely hunt James down with a Bazooka and her mother would lecture Lily about sex and love until Lily's head would burst. It would be for the best of everyone if she kept it a secret. Although Lily had no doubt that James told Sirius and Remus she doubted that word hadn't traveled around the school. The snow as falling so thick that everyone was paying more attention to getting up to the castle and not to her and James making out on the frozen lake. Lily put a hand up to her lips, well at least my first kiss was magical, she thought to herself. It was a Thursday afternoon and the next day was Christmas Eve.
Every year Lily's family had a huge dinner on Christmas Eve and Lily and her father would set up a little barn made from Popsicle sticks and the scene of baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the Wise Men. It was a tradition that Lily treasured over all others in her family. Of course, she would help her mother prepare the delicious dinner for the evening. The previous year Lily spent at Hogwarts so she was looking forward to spending Christmas with her family and without Petunia.
On that Thursday Lily had some extra money and she wanted to go shopping because she wouldn't have a chance to do so after that day. She woke up early that morning and got dressed in some normal muggle cloths; a pair of old faded jeans and a white turtle-neck jumper. Lily left her hair down for a change, and she wore tiny stud earrings, of course the diamond stud was nothing but cut glass, but Lily like how they looked. When Lily went down for breakfast she just had a bowl of Cheerios (a/n: do they have cheerios in Britain?), and some orange juice. It was so weird that she wasn't having her usual eggs, bacon, and toast and pumpkin juice. As it turned out, Mr. and Mrs. Evans were both still asleep so Lily left them a note on the table and left the house and headed off to muggle London. On the way out, she grabbed a leather coat because the forecast cloudy with a possibility of snow.
During the summer of her sixth year, Lily and somehow managed to get a muggle drivers license, so she hopped into her family's Ford Anglia (a/n: well back then the Anglia wouldn't be old, it would be new) and she drove on down to London. The streets were packed with muggles looking for last minute Christmas presents and all of the stores had lines practically to the doors with customers waiting to be checked out. Lily parked in a large public parking lot, and she activated the car's security system. Across the street was a large bookstore. Lily ran across the busy street and entered the bookstore. It was called Borders: Books, Music and Café. It was one of her favorite book stores before she found out that she was a witch. That was one of the problems with the wizarding world; Lily thought to herself, they don't have any good fiction books. Muggle fiction books beat wizarding ones any day, she thought.
When she entered the store it was a warm relief over the freezing temperatures outside. The bookstore was a nice warm temperature around eighty degrees versus the thirty degree weather outside. It looked as if the store was busier than it had seen in almost a year because seven cash registers were open and people were lining up from the back of the store. Lily went back to the historical romance section of the bookstore and she pulled out a random book called Memoirs of a Geisha, and began to read. She had been recommended that book by one of her friends, but Lily had never really gotten a good chance to read it. A few rows away was a sitting area in the store where some large squishy bean bags and chairs were so that the costumers could read. Before Lily had gotten her letter, she would spend hours sitting on one of the larger bean bags and read romance novels. Romance and drama novels had always been her favorite genre, but as she had gotten older Lily began to also enjoy mystery books as well. As a child, she would often read books about witches, wizards, dragons, unicorns and brave Knights, whishing they were real. Of course now that Lily was apart of the world that she belonged in, she those books to be someone humorous because of the muggle attempts to describe a universe that they knew so little of.
Around two chapters into the book, Lily found herself immersed in the pages of the book. The book was about a little Japanese girl who grew up during the depression in a small fishing village in Japan. Then one day the little girl, Chiyo and her sister, Satsu were sold to the Nitta Okiya to become Geisha. But Chiyo's sister, Satsu was sold somewhere else and she was forced into Prostitution. Those kinds of novels had always appealed to Lily, whishing that her life had a little more drama in it because it would break the monotony. It wasn't as if life at Hogwarts wasn't boring, but Hogwarts would be ending in another six months and she needed to make a place for herself in the magical world. Of course she was planning to work in the ministry with the Aurors, but Lily wanted to work more with catching and stopping Death Eaters than every other ordinary Witch or Wizard criminal. Lily didn't want to work trivial cases that involved the robber of a little store in Diagon Alley or Hogsmead. She wanted a real name for herself by catching the people she despised most in the world.
Eventually one of the store employees approached Lily and said, "Buy the book or put it back. You can't read the entire book without purchasing it," he barked. Not wanting to start a public brawl, Lily put the book back on the shelf. "A cup of hot cocoa would feel really good right about now," Lily said. She turned in the direction of the small café within the store. The woman at the counter was a small plump blonde woman that Lily knew really well. Her name was Rose, she was in her mid-forties and Lily had known her since she was six, when Lily first found out the wonders of the written world. "Hello Lily, dear," Rose greeted.
"Hey Rose. Can I please have a cup of Hot Chocolate with extra whipped cream on top," Lily said. "So how are things here?"
"Things are doing well. Good, but boring without you. So how is this boarding school you go to?" Rose said as she filled up one of the plastic cups.
"School is okay. I am Head Girl this year, but at the end of the year we have to take our finals and they are a royal pain in the rump," Lily said as she pulled out some money out of her bag.
"Well it is good too see you again Lily. Here is your drink," Rose said with a smile on her round face.
"Thanks Rose," Lily said. She gave Rose the money for her drink and turned to leave.
"Wait a second Lily. I just remembered! These young boys were looking for you earlier," Rose informed Lily.
"What boys? I have been up north at school since the year started," Lily said. Who would be looking for her? She didn't have any friends in muggle London.
"That is just it, they said that they knew you from school. One was tall with long black hair that fell across his face. The other was only a head taller than you, he had the most unruly black hair I have ever seen and he wore glasses," Rose smiled. "Boyfriends of yours?"
"Unruly black hair and glasses. That would be James Potter and Sirius Black. I know that Sirius lives in London but he lives way up on the high class north end, and James lives in the country. Why would they be here?" Lily asked herself more than to Rose.
"Well they said that they were your friends and they wanted to meet up with you. If I see them again shall I give them a message from you?" Rose offered
"Just tell them that it would be the greatest benefit to their health if they stopped trying to find me," Lily said with a smile. At that, she took a sip of her Hot Chocolate and left the bookstore.
Because Lily hadn't been out walking in a while and she needed the exercise, she decided to walk around London instead of driving. Besides, there were so many more stores she could see if she walked. Around the block was the pet store that she had gotten Nenya from, and just half a mile away from that was the clothing store Lily wanted to visit. Along the way she stopped at a calligraphy store and bought a peacock feather quill and some ink. She needed another quill for school because her last one had been jinxed by one of the Slytherins to spit ink back in her face. No doubt it was Snape or Bellatrix Black who was the culprit, but Lily didn't much care. While walking down the block, Lily kept a sharp eye out for James and Sirius. If they were in the vicinity she was bound to bump into them. The pair of them had most likely never been to muggle London in their life, even if Sirius grew up on the wizarding side of London. The pair was probley more lost than a reindeer in July. The thought put a small smile on her face, it served those two gits right, even if she had feelings for James. It seemed recently that he had deflated his head somewhat and was no longer the arrogant prick that he used to be. Either that or Lily was blind enough to not notice how great he really was, but Lily preferred the first.
About forty minutes later and half a dozen shops later, Lily made it to the clothing store she had wanted to go to. It was had imported clothes, and so many different styles that Lily always went there for new ideas. They also sometimes had some cool shoes, or a cute necklace that Lily just had to buy. The store was called The Purple Lizard and the inside of the store often reminded Lily of a Hippie shack. It had incense of all smells burning and shawls of all colors and fabrics hanging from the ceiling. When Lily entered she was greeted by the store clerk, a tall lanky man that reminded Lily of a ferret because of his hairy face that was covered with stubble and his beady eyes. Once inside, Lily was immediately drawn to a soft red silk shirt that had just come in. It was a loose-fitting shirt that went down to a person's hips. Around the hem were beads and little charms dangling off the end, and had long sleeves. It looked like something a gypsy would wear. Lily took the shirt off the shelf and went immediately to try it on.
The silk shirt fit her perfectly. It clung and hugged her body in the right places and yet was not tight enough to be considered uncomfortable. She looked like a goddess in it. Lily checked the prince tag. A wave of happiness swept through Lily because she had just enough money to buy the shirt with a little change left over. Lily slung it around her arm and went to investigated some of the other clothes The Purple Lizard offered. A black cashmere sweater with a cross embroidered on it also tempted Lily, but she mustered enough self control not to give in. Across the store, a glass desk that displayed charms for bracelets and necklaces caught Lily's eye. She went over to it, and found a small lily charm that she loved and so also purchased that.
Satisfied and with her purse considerably lighter, Lily left The Purple Lizard and walked back to her car. She had spent around three hours in London and it was around noon. Her parents would be somewhat worried if she stayed out much longer so she drove back home. The driver was short but sweet, and somewhat humorous. At one point Lily had to stop at a red light and a bunch of teenage guys pulled up beside her in a red sports car. Despite the freezing weather the car had its hood down and they began cat- calling Lily. Of course, Lily who had James, was un-moved by their calls. She couldn't help but smile and snicker at the reaction those boys got out of it. But soon the names became a little too intense, and Lily temporary lost her temper and their car stereo exploded. The hole in the dashboard was smoking and Lily was glaring directly at it. The boys got so freaked out that when the light turned green they sped off, but little did they realize that a cop was right behind them. Several blocks later Lily saw the same car getting a rather sizable ticket from the cop car, and Lily waved at them as she passed, and she burst out into laughter. When Lily had gotten home she parked the car outside the driveway and once inside the fragrant smell of pasta with tomato sauce was high in the air. Pasta was one of Lily's most favorite foods, if she had known that would be what she would be eating for lunch; she wouldn't have even left for London. As she turned the corner into the kitchen Lily saw her mother draining the water into the sink and send a quick wave at her daughter. "Lily, hurry up and get washed for lunch," said Mrs. Evans.
Lily ran up the stairs to her room and placed her bag of clothes on her bed, and then she headed to the bathroom to wash her hands. Once she was finished and Lily was downstairs, her father had also joined them. Mr. and Mrs. Evans were sitting at the table, clearly waiting for Lily to arrive. Lily sat down and her parents joined hands with their daughter and the family said grace. With that, Lily grabbed the bowl of Spaghetti and began piling it onto her plate in giant gobs. After she passed the Spaghetti down to her father she took the sauce and poured a small amount onto her plate. Although she loved Spaghetti, too much sauce would over power the pasta, and Lily always preferred white sauce to red sauce. In the middle of the table was a large pitcher of ice tea and Lily poured herself a glass. Lily sipped the tea and was glad to find that it wasn't too sweet. She thanked her parents for the mean and began chowing down into her plate, yet still keeping proper etiquette in tack.
Ten minutes into lunch a knock on the door was heard. Lily lifted her head up from her food and gazed at the door. "Lily would you get that?" her father said.
"Sure thing. It's most likely Petunia asking for some of the leftovers for Vernon," Lily said.
"Lily Evans! You know better than to say such things," Mrs. Evans warned her daughter.
"Sorry Mum, bad joke," Lily quickly apologized and walked over to he door. Why can't Petunia just go out for lunch, it isn't as she can't afford it, Lily thought to herself. Seeing Petunia wasn't exactly on her agenda for her Christmas Vacation, and that automatically put Lily in a rather foul mood. She didn't want to deal with her sister's constant insults about Lily being a freak. When Lily turned the doorknob to open the door she stood amazed at who was outside. Her draw dropped and her eyes became as round as saucers.
It was James! He looked like an ordinary, everyday muggle except for the dark brown wand sticking out of his jeans. As always, his hair was rumpled up to make sure it didn't get too tidy, and his hazel eyes flashed with his boyish attitude. "James!" Lily exclaimed.
"Howdy Lils. Things got really boring up at my place, so I thought I would drop by," James said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. It was clear that he had appariated because behind him there was no other mode of transportation that could have gotten him here. "Something smells good, you having lunch?"
"Lily dear, who is at the door," Mrs. Evans shouted from the kitchen.
"Just some friend from school, Mum, "Lily hollered back.
"' Just some friend from school', I take offence to that Lils," James muttered with a look of false insult.
"Well don't leave them standing outside in the cold, bring them in," Mrs. Evans said.
"Come on in James, "Lily said. There had to be some other reason for James coming over to her house during Christmas that had nothing to do with being bored.
As James entered the kitchen he was greeted with a hug from Mrs. Evans and a pat on the back from Mr. Evans. James was invited to eat with them, an offer which he would be more than happy to accept. Lily followed up behind James and took her seat next to him.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Evans. I am James Potter, a friend of Lily's from school," James said as he introduced himself. Lily saw that he was doing his best to sound and act respectful, and he almost seemed like a gentleman in her eyes. But of course anyone who knew the James Potter behind the nice British accent knew that he was putting on an act. And a very good act it was. Lily smile at the thought.
"So we finally get to meet the infamous James Potter, fellow Head Boy to our little Head Girl," Mrs. Evans said.
"Yes ma'am, that would be me," James responded.
"If that is true than you would be one the one who changed our daughter's hair blue during her first year," Mr. Evans brought up with an amused look on his face.
"Yes, in my younger and more naïve days I childishly loved to play jokes on people. But as for turning her hair blue, that was Sirius' fault. He was aiming for someone else and Lily happened to get in the way," James said and said it so convincingly that it sounded almost true.
"Sirius my arse! You know that was you who did that, and not Sirius. No, he was the one who tried to push me in the lake when I saw the Giant Squid the first time," Lily said throwing a piece of bread in James' face, of which he caught.
James laughed. "I'm sure that Padfoot would feel deeply insulted if you forgot about that. He just assumed that you knew how to swim at the time," James joked.
"Well I will say that you were successfully the first person to get detention before the first day of classes," Lily said.
"And you need to have more fun. You had succeeded in being the only person in our year that hasn't gotten a detention until a couple of weeks ago," James teased taking a bite of the bread.
"Ehh...shut up!" Lily said as she turned bright red.
For another hour James ate lunch with the Evans family and most of the time he and Lily bickered playfully back and forth. Violet and John Evans didn't seem to mind that he had played so many tricks on their daughter. Actually the seemed quite amused. Muggles may be weird but at least parents are cool, James thought. If Lily and he had talked about the same thing in front of James' family, James would be forced to endure his father and mother's lectures on 'being a presentable gentlemen to the opposite sex'. James claimed that he and Lily needed to talk about some things for the up coming Graduation Ball, so the pair went upstairs but talking about the Ball wasn't on the agenda.
Sure James and Lily talked but it was about normal stuff, and when Lily asked again why he had come James responded with "I wanted to see my Lily- flower," in a flirtatious voice.
VIV (several hours later)
It was around dark and as it turned out James didn't Appariate. His mother had a friend who was a witch that lived a couple of blocks down and they went to her house via Floo Powder and James walked the rest of the way to Lily's house. Around four in the afternoon it had begun to snow again, only this time it was snowing so hard that the road couldn't be seen. As James kissed Lily on the check goodbye, while Mr. and Mrs. Evans weren't looking of course, he turned the doorknob but Violet Evans stopped him. She claimed that James couldn't go outside in such hideous weather, and that he should stay at Lily's house for the evening. James faked an argument that he was needed back home, which wasn't exactly true, but Mrs. Evans won and James was to be sleeping on the couch until the blizzard blew over.
Lily threw a glance at James which made it known to James that Lily knew that he had planned it all along. James winked back causing Lily to blush slightly. That evening John Evans managed to get a fire burning in the fireplace, which was a good thing because the power went out less then five minutes after the fire began crackling. That night, because they couldn't cook using the stove or oven, Lily, James and Lily's parents settled for sandwiches. It was around nine when Lily's parents announced that they would be going to bed, leaving Lily and James alone by the fire place. Lily blushed when she realized that it was just how she imagined a romantic winter evening, snow howling outside while sitting in front of a warm fire with the person you cared about most. Lily dared a glance at James. His face was illuminated orange because of the firelight and the orange in his hazel eyes shown out as bright as ever. He looked like an angel in Lily's eyes. It was true that most angels were associated with being female, but there was no word for a male angel so Lily just settled on the thought that he looked like an angel.
James just stared into the glowing light. It was like a scene out of those romance novels his mother loved to read. James had to smile at the hand that fate had given him. Here he was, sitting inside the dark with a fire glowing and crackling and spitting out embers, with the girl he cared most about. It was true that James had been a bit of a player in his fifth and part of his sixth year, but even when he was with the blondest of blondes in Hogwarts his thoughts were always on Lily and what it would feel like to be with her. Now he knew, it was like heaven. It was as if a force brought the storm just so they could be together. It wasn't James' nature to believe in fate, but during that moment he believed it. Lily was everything he ever wanted in a girl. She was smart, funny, bright, very intelligent, loved life and wanted to live it to its fullest. And to top it all off, she was drop dead gorgeous, with her auburn hair and dazzling green eyes. He loved Lily Evans, even if she didn't share his sentiment, James Potter loved Lily Evans.
After a while Lily leaned up against James and began to slowly drift to sleep. She leaned against his shoulder and it felt like being touched by an angel. After another ten minutes when Lily was sure to be asleep, James whispered in her ear "I love you Lily". In time, James too fell asleep on the couch, even if Lily was leaning on his shoulder. In his dreams, Lily's beautiful face wove in and out. He dreamed of the two of them having a bright future together and a child. A child that was a perfect combination of both. James' messy jet black hair and Lily's beautiful eyes would grace his face. Of course he would be gifted on the Quidditch field but have his mother's quick mind and excel in all of his classes when it was his time to join Hogwarts. James dreamed of a small little cottage on the outskirts of a small village, where they would live happily together. James' dream was pure bliss and he never wanted to wake up from it. But then his dreams went to a dirty looking pub and a think woman who wore glasses that magnified her eyes to three times the size they actually were, and a cold voice said "...and neither can live while the other survives...". And again his dreams shifted to the small cottage he dreamed of earlier and a dark shadow was approaching. As the shadow came into full view James could tell it had blood red eyes with cat slits for pupils...a woman's scream and a baby's cry were heard....
James awoke with a startle. That dream seemed to be so real. It was as if that would be his future. James looked on his shoulder to see if Lily was still there and as it turned out that Lily had woken up sometime and went up to her own room. James checked his watch and it read 3:18. With that James sprawled out on the couch and once again fell asleep.
XIX (POV change) Up in Lily's room her eyes were as wide as balls. She heard James mutter "I love you Lily" into her ear. Apparently he had thought her to be asleep, when Lily was still partially awake. His voice rung in her ears like gongs. James loves me, Lily thought! But what is what I feel to him love also? For the remainder of the night Lily debated over that thought until she finally fell asleep around three in the morning.
Did she love him? Lily definitely knew that she did have strong feelings, but were those feelings love? Did she love James Potter?
XVIVX
END CHAPTER. Well I think we all know the answer to Lily's question XD!!!!!!!!!
It may be a while before I get a change to update again. This week I will have to go up to Ruidoso for a while, and then on Monday I start my marching band hell. Blahh.... I don't want to. If MIGHT just be able to get the next chapter out before I leave, but don't cross your fingers.
Of course, if I get enough reviews I may have the next chapter out before I leave (snickers) but we won't get into THAT discussion will we. All flames will be read, laughed at and then deleted. That is if I don't get the urge to post them in my next chapter and make fun of them in front of everyone. Thehehehehheheeh. Good idea. I MUST get the lyrics in English to the song Toki ni Ai waa. Because I have officially decided that I WILL include them in an upcoming chapter. I only know the Japanese romaji, not the English translation.
I have been on a Voltron craze here lately. I don't know why, I can't seem to get enough Voltron. Am I strange for finding Prince Lotor somewhat attractive? Or thinking that Hunk is the hottest of the Voltron Force because he isn't so skinny that you could lay him across your lap and snap him like a twig? I like my guys to have some MUSCLE! And Hunk clearly has that. And I have found myself attracted to Keith/Allura fanfiction, when I find Allura VERY loud mouthed and annoying. Of course not as annoying as Nanny, but pretty close. I miss the music to the show, the music was really cool. Maybe when I get together enough cash I will get the boxed set of episodes off of eBay. That's a good idea! I should do that. Any other Voltron fans out there? I know that it is old, but often older shows are the better ones. All of the anime mecha shows are rips of Voltron because Voltron was the original. It came out a while before Macross had even made the scene.
Sayonara Narya of the fire
I finally got a Live Journal account (dose the Happy Frodo Chicken Dance). The link is posted in my profile under the homepage. But I still can't get my quiz result pictures to post in it, Garr.... I suppose it is because I have a free account and I am too cheap to get a paid one. Now all I need is a scanner and Open Canvas so I can get a deviant art account. I bet you all didn't know that I love to draw and I am pretty good at it, but sadly I don't have a scanner. (
Still debating over the whole rating issue. But I am pretty sure that I am going to up the rating to R, but the real rating is around PG-15/16. I am most likely going to up the rating after this chapter or the next one, depends on how they turn out.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All is property of Joanne Kathleen Rowling XD. All I own is Anthy, Amberle, Professor Lantis, and another original character that is just mentioned in this chapter but doesn't play any role at all. And the word anthy is Greek for flower, hence why I made her half Greek.
For those of you who have seen the show Shoujo Kakumei Utena, you know that is where I got the name Anthy and if you have seen episode 38 and 39...well you can guess what is going to happen. Someone has already figured out a major clue, Holly-Evans! But I refuse to say what that clue is o.0 thehehehehheheeh. I love to torture you all.
One last note: die peter die.....lol. That and I have been listening to one of the best songs ever written, Toki ni Ai waa... (Right now Love is...) by Masami Oku. That is the most romantic song ever written, even if it is Japanese. I think I will include it in my story, maybe around the ball. If you have heard that song, isn't it gorgeous? And lastly a store is mentioned in this chapter called The Purple Lizard and that really is a store. I don't own that either. Of course I doubt there is a store called The Purple Lizard in London, but where I live it is a very popular store that has all sorts of cool stuff. It looks like a Hippie shack, but in a good way.
Enjoy chapter 10
XVIVX
Lily had been home for four days during her Christmas vacation and things couldn't be going any better. She had only one encounter with Petunia when she dropped by to say that she and her fiancé, Vernon would be spending Christmas in Ireland. And because Vernon was with her, Petunia didn't shout one insult about Lily being a witch. Lily supposed she was too embarrassed having such a 'freak' for a sister. The thought made her laugh. Wouldn't Petunia get a shock if she found out that in the Wizarding World she would be considered a freak. Over her vacation she had gotten an Owl from Dorcas, Anthy and Amberle. They were all doing well, but they all refused to tell Lily her Christmas present, which Lily had been begging them to give her a hint of what it was.
Two days into her vacation John Evans teased Lily about her little encounter with James at Kings Cross Station. Lily had to repeatedly claim that James wasn't her boyfriend. It was then when Violet Evans entered the room and said 'James...wasn't James the one who turned your hair blue during your first year?'. Lily could have bowed down and thanked her mother for saying that. She just simply responded by 'yes James was the prat who did that to me. As it turns out he isn't a complete arse because we have to do Head Duties together. He and I are just FRIENDS' she said over and over. The thought brought a smile to Lily's face. If only her parents knew what really happened. But of course if Lily told them her father would freak out and most likely hunt James down with a Bazooka and her mother would lecture Lily about sex and love until Lily's head would burst. It would be for the best of everyone if she kept it a secret. Although Lily had no doubt that James told Sirius and Remus she doubted that word hadn't traveled around the school. The snow as falling so thick that everyone was paying more attention to getting up to the castle and not to her and James making out on the frozen lake. Lily put a hand up to her lips, well at least my first kiss was magical, she thought to herself. It was a Thursday afternoon and the next day was Christmas Eve.
Every year Lily's family had a huge dinner on Christmas Eve and Lily and her father would set up a little barn made from Popsicle sticks and the scene of baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the Wise Men. It was a tradition that Lily treasured over all others in her family. Of course, she would help her mother prepare the delicious dinner for the evening. The previous year Lily spent at Hogwarts so she was looking forward to spending Christmas with her family and without Petunia.
On that Thursday Lily had some extra money and she wanted to go shopping because she wouldn't have a chance to do so after that day. She woke up early that morning and got dressed in some normal muggle cloths; a pair of old faded jeans and a white turtle-neck jumper. Lily left her hair down for a change, and she wore tiny stud earrings, of course the diamond stud was nothing but cut glass, but Lily like how they looked. When Lily went down for breakfast she just had a bowl of Cheerios (a/n: do they have cheerios in Britain?), and some orange juice. It was so weird that she wasn't having her usual eggs, bacon, and toast and pumpkin juice. As it turned out, Mr. and Mrs. Evans were both still asleep so Lily left them a note on the table and left the house and headed off to muggle London. On the way out, she grabbed a leather coat because the forecast cloudy with a possibility of snow.
During the summer of her sixth year, Lily and somehow managed to get a muggle drivers license, so she hopped into her family's Ford Anglia (a/n: well back then the Anglia wouldn't be old, it would be new) and she drove on down to London. The streets were packed with muggles looking for last minute Christmas presents and all of the stores had lines practically to the doors with customers waiting to be checked out. Lily parked in a large public parking lot, and she activated the car's security system. Across the street was a large bookstore. Lily ran across the busy street and entered the bookstore. It was called Borders: Books, Music and Café. It was one of her favorite book stores before she found out that she was a witch. That was one of the problems with the wizarding world; Lily thought to herself, they don't have any good fiction books. Muggle fiction books beat wizarding ones any day, she thought.
When she entered the store it was a warm relief over the freezing temperatures outside. The bookstore was a nice warm temperature around eighty degrees versus the thirty degree weather outside. It looked as if the store was busier than it had seen in almost a year because seven cash registers were open and people were lining up from the back of the store. Lily went back to the historical romance section of the bookstore and she pulled out a random book called Memoirs of a Geisha, and began to read. She had been recommended that book by one of her friends, but Lily had never really gotten a good chance to read it. A few rows away was a sitting area in the store where some large squishy bean bags and chairs were so that the costumers could read. Before Lily had gotten her letter, she would spend hours sitting on one of the larger bean bags and read romance novels. Romance and drama novels had always been her favorite genre, but as she had gotten older Lily began to also enjoy mystery books as well. As a child, she would often read books about witches, wizards, dragons, unicorns and brave Knights, whishing they were real. Of course now that Lily was apart of the world that she belonged in, she those books to be someone humorous because of the muggle attempts to describe a universe that they knew so little of.
Around two chapters into the book, Lily found herself immersed in the pages of the book. The book was about a little Japanese girl who grew up during the depression in a small fishing village in Japan. Then one day the little girl, Chiyo and her sister, Satsu were sold to the Nitta Okiya to become Geisha. But Chiyo's sister, Satsu was sold somewhere else and she was forced into Prostitution. Those kinds of novels had always appealed to Lily, whishing that her life had a little more drama in it because it would break the monotony. It wasn't as if life at Hogwarts wasn't boring, but Hogwarts would be ending in another six months and she needed to make a place for herself in the magical world. Of course she was planning to work in the ministry with the Aurors, but Lily wanted to work more with catching and stopping Death Eaters than every other ordinary Witch or Wizard criminal. Lily didn't want to work trivial cases that involved the robber of a little store in Diagon Alley or Hogsmead. She wanted a real name for herself by catching the people she despised most in the world.
Eventually one of the store employees approached Lily and said, "Buy the book or put it back. You can't read the entire book without purchasing it," he barked. Not wanting to start a public brawl, Lily put the book back on the shelf. "A cup of hot cocoa would feel really good right about now," Lily said. She turned in the direction of the small café within the store. The woman at the counter was a small plump blonde woman that Lily knew really well. Her name was Rose, she was in her mid-forties and Lily had known her since she was six, when Lily first found out the wonders of the written world. "Hello Lily, dear," Rose greeted.
"Hey Rose. Can I please have a cup of Hot Chocolate with extra whipped cream on top," Lily said. "So how are things here?"
"Things are doing well. Good, but boring without you. So how is this boarding school you go to?" Rose said as she filled up one of the plastic cups.
"School is okay. I am Head Girl this year, but at the end of the year we have to take our finals and they are a royal pain in the rump," Lily said as she pulled out some money out of her bag.
"Well it is good too see you again Lily. Here is your drink," Rose said with a smile on her round face.
"Thanks Rose," Lily said. She gave Rose the money for her drink and turned to leave.
"Wait a second Lily. I just remembered! These young boys were looking for you earlier," Rose informed Lily.
"What boys? I have been up north at school since the year started," Lily said. Who would be looking for her? She didn't have any friends in muggle London.
"That is just it, they said that they knew you from school. One was tall with long black hair that fell across his face. The other was only a head taller than you, he had the most unruly black hair I have ever seen and he wore glasses," Rose smiled. "Boyfriends of yours?"
"Unruly black hair and glasses. That would be James Potter and Sirius Black. I know that Sirius lives in London but he lives way up on the high class north end, and James lives in the country. Why would they be here?" Lily asked herself more than to Rose.
"Well they said that they were your friends and they wanted to meet up with you. If I see them again shall I give them a message from you?" Rose offered
"Just tell them that it would be the greatest benefit to their health if they stopped trying to find me," Lily said with a smile. At that, she took a sip of her Hot Chocolate and left the bookstore.
Because Lily hadn't been out walking in a while and she needed the exercise, she decided to walk around London instead of driving. Besides, there were so many more stores she could see if she walked. Around the block was the pet store that she had gotten Nenya from, and just half a mile away from that was the clothing store Lily wanted to visit. Along the way she stopped at a calligraphy store and bought a peacock feather quill and some ink. She needed another quill for school because her last one had been jinxed by one of the Slytherins to spit ink back in her face. No doubt it was Snape or Bellatrix Black who was the culprit, but Lily didn't much care. While walking down the block, Lily kept a sharp eye out for James and Sirius. If they were in the vicinity she was bound to bump into them. The pair of them had most likely never been to muggle London in their life, even if Sirius grew up on the wizarding side of London. The pair was probley more lost than a reindeer in July. The thought put a small smile on her face, it served those two gits right, even if she had feelings for James. It seemed recently that he had deflated his head somewhat and was no longer the arrogant prick that he used to be. Either that or Lily was blind enough to not notice how great he really was, but Lily preferred the first.
About forty minutes later and half a dozen shops later, Lily made it to the clothing store she had wanted to go to. It was had imported clothes, and so many different styles that Lily always went there for new ideas. They also sometimes had some cool shoes, or a cute necklace that Lily just had to buy. The store was called The Purple Lizard and the inside of the store often reminded Lily of a Hippie shack. It had incense of all smells burning and shawls of all colors and fabrics hanging from the ceiling. When Lily entered she was greeted by the store clerk, a tall lanky man that reminded Lily of a ferret because of his hairy face that was covered with stubble and his beady eyes. Once inside, Lily was immediately drawn to a soft red silk shirt that had just come in. It was a loose-fitting shirt that went down to a person's hips. Around the hem were beads and little charms dangling off the end, and had long sleeves. It looked like something a gypsy would wear. Lily took the shirt off the shelf and went immediately to try it on.
The silk shirt fit her perfectly. It clung and hugged her body in the right places and yet was not tight enough to be considered uncomfortable. She looked like a goddess in it. Lily checked the prince tag. A wave of happiness swept through Lily because she had just enough money to buy the shirt with a little change left over. Lily slung it around her arm and went to investigated some of the other clothes The Purple Lizard offered. A black cashmere sweater with a cross embroidered on it also tempted Lily, but she mustered enough self control not to give in. Across the store, a glass desk that displayed charms for bracelets and necklaces caught Lily's eye. She went over to it, and found a small lily charm that she loved and so also purchased that.
Satisfied and with her purse considerably lighter, Lily left The Purple Lizard and walked back to her car. She had spent around three hours in London and it was around noon. Her parents would be somewhat worried if she stayed out much longer so she drove back home. The driver was short but sweet, and somewhat humorous. At one point Lily had to stop at a red light and a bunch of teenage guys pulled up beside her in a red sports car. Despite the freezing weather the car had its hood down and they began cat- calling Lily. Of course, Lily who had James, was un-moved by their calls. She couldn't help but smile and snicker at the reaction those boys got out of it. But soon the names became a little too intense, and Lily temporary lost her temper and their car stereo exploded. The hole in the dashboard was smoking and Lily was glaring directly at it. The boys got so freaked out that when the light turned green they sped off, but little did they realize that a cop was right behind them. Several blocks later Lily saw the same car getting a rather sizable ticket from the cop car, and Lily waved at them as she passed, and she burst out into laughter. When Lily had gotten home she parked the car outside the driveway and once inside the fragrant smell of pasta with tomato sauce was high in the air. Pasta was one of Lily's most favorite foods, if she had known that would be what she would be eating for lunch; she wouldn't have even left for London. As she turned the corner into the kitchen Lily saw her mother draining the water into the sink and send a quick wave at her daughter. "Lily, hurry up and get washed for lunch," said Mrs. Evans.
Lily ran up the stairs to her room and placed her bag of clothes on her bed, and then she headed to the bathroom to wash her hands. Once she was finished and Lily was downstairs, her father had also joined them. Mr. and Mrs. Evans were sitting at the table, clearly waiting for Lily to arrive. Lily sat down and her parents joined hands with their daughter and the family said grace. With that, Lily grabbed the bowl of Spaghetti and began piling it onto her plate in giant gobs. After she passed the Spaghetti down to her father she took the sauce and poured a small amount onto her plate. Although she loved Spaghetti, too much sauce would over power the pasta, and Lily always preferred white sauce to red sauce. In the middle of the table was a large pitcher of ice tea and Lily poured herself a glass. Lily sipped the tea and was glad to find that it wasn't too sweet. She thanked her parents for the mean and began chowing down into her plate, yet still keeping proper etiquette in tack.
Ten minutes into lunch a knock on the door was heard. Lily lifted her head up from her food and gazed at the door. "Lily would you get that?" her father said.
"Sure thing. It's most likely Petunia asking for some of the leftovers for Vernon," Lily said.
"Lily Evans! You know better than to say such things," Mrs. Evans warned her daughter.
"Sorry Mum, bad joke," Lily quickly apologized and walked over to he door. Why can't Petunia just go out for lunch, it isn't as she can't afford it, Lily thought to herself. Seeing Petunia wasn't exactly on her agenda for her Christmas Vacation, and that automatically put Lily in a rather foul mood. She didn't want to deal with her sister's constant insults about Lily being a freak. When Lily turned the doorknob to open the door she stood amazed at who was outside. Her draw dropped and her eyes became as round as saucers.
It was James! He looked like an ordinary, everyday muggle except for the dark brown wand sticking out of his jeans. As always, his hair was rumpled up to make sure it didn't get too tidy, and his hazel eyes flashed with his boyish attitude. "James!" Lily exclaimed.
"Howdy Lils. Things got really boring up at my place, so I thought I would drop by," James said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. It was clear that he had appariated because behind him there was no other mode of transportation that could have gotten him here. "Something smells good, you having lunch?"
"Lily dear, who is at the door," Mrs. Evans shouted from the kitchen.
"Just some friend from school, Mum, "Lily hollered back.
"' Just some friend from school', I take offence to that Lils," James muttered with a look of false insult.
"Well don't leave them standing outside in the cold, bring them in," Mrs. Evans said.
"Come on in James, "Lily said. There had to be some other reason for James coming over to her house during Christmas that had nothing to do with being bored.
As James entered the kitchen he was greeted with a hug from Mrs. Evans and a pat on the back from Mr. Evans. James was invited to eat with them, an offer which he would be more than happy to accept. Lily followed up behind James and took her seat next to him.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Evans. I am James Potter, a friend of Lily's from school," James said as he introduced himself. Lily saw that he was doing his best to sound and act respectful, and he almost seemed like a gentleman in her eyes. But of course anyone who knew the James Potter behind the nice British accent knew that he was putting on an act. And a very good act it was. Lily smile at the thought.
"So we finally get to meet the infamous James Potter, fellow Head Boy to our little Head Girl," Mrs. Evans said.
"Yes ma'am, that would be me," James responded.
"If that is true than you would be one the one who changed our daughter's hair blue during her first year," Mr. Evans brought up with an amused look on his face.
"Yes, in my younger and more naïve days I childishly loved to play jokes on people. But as for turning her hair blue, that was Sirius' fault. He was aiming for someone else and Lily happened to get in the way," James said and said it so convincingly that it sounded almost true.
"Sirius my arse! You know that was you who did that, and not Sirius. No, he was the one who tried to push me in the lake when I saw the Giant Squid the first time," Lily said throwing a piece of bread in James' face, of which he caught.
James laughed. "I'm sure that Padfoot would feel deeply insulted if you forgot about that. He just assumed that you knew how to swim at the time," James joked.
"Well I will say that you were successfully the first person to get detention before the first day of classes," Lily said.
"And you need to have more fun. You had succeeded in being the only person in our year that hasn't gotten a detention until a couple of weeks ago," James teased taking a bite of the bread.
"Ehh...shut up!" Lily said as she turned bright red.
For another hour James ate lunch with the Evans family and most of the time he and Lily bickered playfully back and forth. Violet and John Evans didn't seem to mind that he had played so many tricks on their daughter. Actually the seemed quite amused. Muggles may be weird but at least parents are cool, James thought. If Lily and he had talked about the same thing in front of James' family, James would be forced to endure his father and mother's lectures on 'being a presentable gentlemen to the opposite sex'. James claimed that he and Lily needed to talk about some things for the up coming Graduation Ball, so the pair went upstairs but talking about the Ball wasn't on the agenda.
Sure James and Lily talked but it was about normal stuff, and when Lily asked again why he had come James responded with "I wanted to see my Lily- flower," in a flirtatious voice.
VIV (several hours later)
It was around dark and as it turned out James didn't Appariate. His mother had a friend who was a witch that lived a couple of blocks down and they went to her house via Floo Powder and James walked the rest of the way to Lily's house. Around four in the afternoon it had begun to snow again, only this time it was snowing so hard that the road couldn't be seen. As James kissed Lily on the check goodbye, while Mr. and Mrs. Evans weren't looking of course, he turned the doorknob but Violet Evans stopped him. She claimed that James couldn't go outside in such hideous weather, and that he should stay at Lily's house for the evening. James faked an argument that he was needed back home, which wasn't exactly true, but Mrs. Evans won and James was to be sleeping on the couch until the blizzard blew over.
Lily threw a glance at James which made it known to James that Lily knew that he had planned it all along. James winked back causing Lily to blush slightly. That evening John Evans managed to get a fire burning in the fireplace, which was a good thing because the power went out less then five minutes after the fire began crackling. That night, because they couldn't cook using the stove or oven, Lily, James and Lily's parents settled for sandwiches. It was around nine when Lily's parents announced that they would be going to bed, leaving Lily and James alone by the fire place. Lily blushed when she realized that it was just how she imagined a romantic winter evening, snow howling outside while sitting in front of a warm fire with the person you cared about most. Lily dared a glance at James. His face was illuminated orange because of the firelight and the orange in his hazel eyes shown out as bright as ever. He looked like an angel in Lily's eyes. It was true that most angels were associated with being female, but there was no word for a male angel so Lily just settled on the thought that he looked like an angel.
James just stared into the glowing light. It was like a scene out of those romance novels his mother loved to read. James had to smile at the hand that fate had given him. Here he was, sitting inside the dark with a fire glowing and crackling and spitting out embers, with the girl he cared most about. It was true that James had been a bit of a player in his fifth and part of his sixth year, but even when he was with the blondest of blondes in Hogwarts his thoughts were always on Lily and what it would feel like to be with her. Now he knew, it was like heaven. It was as if a force brought the storm just so they could be together. It wasn't James' nature to believe in fate, but during that moment he believed it. Lily was everything he ever wanted in a girl. She was smart, funny, bright, very intelligent, loved life and wanted to live it to its fullest. And to top it all off, she was drop dead gorgeous, with her auburn hair and dazzling green eyes. He loved Lily Evans, even if she didn't share his sentiment, James Potter loved Lily Evans.
After a while Lily leaned up against James and began to slowly drift to sleep. She leaned against his shoulder and it felt like being touched by an angel. After another ten minutes when Lily was sure to be asleep, James whispered in her ear "I love you Lily". In time, James too fell asleep on the couch, even if Lily was leaning on his shoulder. In his dreams, Lily's beautiful face wove in and out. He dreamed of the two of them having a bright future together and a child. A child that was a perfect combination of both. James' messy jet black hair and Lily's beautiful eyes would grace his face. Of course he would be gifted on the Quidditch field but have his mother's quick mind and excel in all of his classes when it was his time to join Hogwarts. James dreamed of a small little cottage on the outskirts of a small village, where they would live happily together. James' dream was pure bliss and he never wanted to wake up from it. But then his dreams went to a dirty looking pub and a think woman who wore glasses that magnified her eyes to three times the size they actually were, and a cold voice said "...and neither can live while the other survives...". And again his dreams shifted to the small cottage he dreamed of earlier and a dark shadow was approaching. As the shadow came into full view James could tell it had blood red eyes with cat slits for pupils...a woman's scream and a baby's cry were heard....
James awoke with a startle. That dream seemed to be so real. It was as if that would be his future. James looked on his shoulder to see if Lily was still there and as it turned out that Lily had woken up sometime and went up to her own room. James checked his watch and it read 3:18. With that James sprawled out on the couch and once again fell asleep.
XIX (POV change) Up in Lily's room her eyes were as wide as balls. She heard James mutter "I love you Lily" into her ear. Apparently he had thought her to be asleep, when Lily was still partially awake. His voice rung in her ears like gongs. James loves me, Lily thought! But what is what I feel to him love also? For the remainder of the night Lily debated over that thought until she finally fell asleep around three in the morning.
Did she love him? Lily definitely knew that she did have strong feelings, but were those feelings love? Did she love James Potter?
XVIVX
END CHAPTER. Well I think we all know the answer to Lily's question XD!!!!!!!!!
It may be a while before I get a change to update again. This week I will have to go up to Ruidoso for a while, and then on Monday I start my marching band hell. Blahh.... I don't want to. If MIGHT just be able to get the next chapter out before I leave, but don't cross your fingers.
Of course, if I get enough reviews I may have the next chapter out before I leave (snickers) but we won't get into THAT discussion will we. All flames will be read, laughed at and then deleted. That is if I don't get the urge to post them in my next chapter and make fun of them in front of everyone. Thehehehehheheeh. Good idea. I MUST get the lyrics in English to the song Toki ni Ai waa. Because I have officially decided that I WILL include them in an upcoming chapter. I only know the Japanese romaji, not the English translation.
I have been on a Voltron craze here lately. I don't know why, I can't seem to get enough Voltron. Am I strange for finding Prince Lotor somewhat attractive? Or thinking that Hunk is the hottest of the Voltron Force because he isn't so skinny that you could lay him across your lap and snap him like a twig? I like my guys to have some MUSCLE! And Hunk clearly has that. And I have found myself attracted to Keith/Allura fanfiction, when I find Allura VERY loud mouthed and annoying. Of course not as annoying as Nanny, but pretty close. I miss the music to the show, the music was really cool. Maybe when I get together enough cash I will get the boxed set of episodes off of eBay. That's a good idea! I should do that. Any other Voltron fans out there? I know that it is old, but often older shows are the better ones. All of the anime mecha shows are rips of Voltron because Voltron was the original. It came out a while before Macross had even made the scene.
Sayonara Narya of the fire