Chapter Three (Revised)
By Dinkee-Dino
Disclaimer: All the stuff (excluding characters you don't know and the plot) belongs to the richest woman in the UK until tax time.
A/N: Woohoo! We're switching to 3rd-period POV!
After spending what seemed like hours searching for her mystery person, Lily gave up and headed back to the Gryffindor common room. She'd had a long day. Cramming for Divination, writing that essay for Muggle Lit., and losing the much coveted raspberry creme to Potter had pretty much tired her out. Potter. What was it about him that made her so frustrated? Oh wait she thought the list is too long. She had once tried to sit down and compile a list of annoyances but gave up after she hit the 100th mark. Sure, Potter and his gang of mates, the Maroggers or whatnot, played pranks on everyone, but she seemed to be the target of most of their (or at least James') pranks. Petty annoyances like exploding quills and Chocolate Frogs with a squash flavour, those she could bear. Even the worms in her bed, she could deal with. It took all her self-control (and a bit of persuasion on her best mate Sibyl's part) to keep from hexing Potter into the fourteenth century for that one. But one evening in the fifth year, she discovered that a set of her bras and knickers was missing. That was fine as she had tons of pairs, but much to her mortification, the next day at breakfast, her underclothes had been frozen in chunks of ice and magically strung onto a flagpole near the entrance for everyone to see. Floating directly underneath the makeshift flag was a banner that had "Evan's Undergarments: a work of art brought to you by James Potter." She had noted that the banner only read James Potter which meant the others in his group, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew, hadn't had any part of it. This was little compensation, however, for the fact that the whole school had laughed and ridiculed her for nearly a month.
Reaching the portrait hole, she banged in, already angered by this time from the sheer memory of it. Sybil Trelawney, a wispy girl with dreamy eyes jumped at the slamming of the portrait door. "Oh, Lily! I do wish you would stop doing that so often. I was just in the middle of a reading. Now I'll have to start all over!" she exclaimed, bending down from a table in the corner to retrieve her upset tarot cards.
"Sorry," Lily apologised. "I've had a long day."
"Ah. I should've known. Mercury is in retrograde again. It says in your horoscope that you're in for a surprise either this week or the next. It's also a good time for you to start on a really important project and confront something that's irritating you."
"Honestly, Sybbie, you don't believe that Divination mishmash do you?"
"It is not mishmash!" her friend replied indignantly. "It's an art. You just aren't very good at it, that's all. Oh Lils! I didn't mean it that way! Come on! I'll bring out my Ouija board and we can ask it some questions." Seeing the look of disgust on Lily's face, she switched gears. "Or maybe not."
A few seconds of silence elapsed before Sybil spoke up again. "Lils? Do you believe in reincarnation? Like dying and coming back as something else?"
"Uh. Sure."
"Well, do you think that maybe you and I may have known each other in a previous life? I mean, us being such best friends and all. Maybe we were sisters in a past life or something."
Lily looked thoughtful. "I totally agree. We did know each other in our last life. But weren't sisters."
"No? What then?"
"You were my pet frog."
"Lils!" Sybil shrieked. "You're not taking me seriously!" Lily was too busy laughing to notice the scandalized look on her friend's face.
"I'm sorry! It was too-" But whatever Lily was about say was cut off as a panting James Potter came running in. Lily immediately sobered up.
"Have you seen any of my mates here yet?" he asked.
"No," Lily replied coldly. "Why?"
Sybil looked remotely interested. "Yes, why?"
"Just so you know, Sybil," James said, shooting a dirty look at Lily. "We surrounded Snape and Malfoy and tried to give them monster wedgies. Unfortunately, we only managed to get Snape and Malfoy got free. Now the both of them are hunting us down. Remus, Peter, Sirius and I decided to split up and meet back here. I'm not surprised they haven't gotten here yet. I'm obviously more fit than them, being on the Quidditch team and all." He added this last part with a self-satisfied air.
Upon hearing this, Lily snorted. "What?" James immediately rounded on her.
"In case it slipped your pea-brain, Potter. Sirius is also on the Quidditch team, so it's illogical for you to claim that you are more physically fit than your counterpart. Just plain stupid."
"Oh yeah? What would you know about it? Your nose is always in a book, prissy Evans!"
"Well, this priss is currently passing all her subjects, unlike some captain of the Quidditch team, I might add."
"My marks are fine. Except in Charms. And Potions. And Care of Magical Creatures. And Muggle Lit. And Divination. . . But whatever. At least I have a life. It's no wonder you don't have any friends. Other than Sybil here. And can't for the life of me see how she puts up with you. Maybe she's just sorry for you because there's obviously something wrong with you."
Lily's eyes narrowed. "So tell me then, Casanova Potter, what exactly do you find wrong with me?"
"Let's see. Accio Evans Files." A huge brown box came flying into the room. James grabbed it, set it down on the table and opened the top. The inside was packed to the gills with tons of manila folders. "Hmmm. . . You wanted to know what was wrong with you?"
"You have files on me!"
"Of course. Now how do you want it? Alphabetically? By year? By hideously annoying aspects moving down to just really annoying? Or by body part?" James looked up from the box expectantly.
"Surprise me," Lily replied sarcastically.
"Alright. By body part," said James pulling out a file marked in red. "Let's see. Your hair."
"What about my hair?"
"It's red. It's ugly," he said in a superior tone.
"It isn't red, you dolt. It's auburn. And it's natural. But of course I couldn't really expect you to know your basic colours now could I, seeing as how you're still learning to recognize simple shapes," she retorted.
James just shook his head at her in a patronizing way. He licked his thumb and flipped to somewhere in the middle of the file. "Moving on. Let's skip to something else shall we?" He ran a finger down the page and paused at a line. "Here. You're too short."
Sybil, still standing aside, immediately knew that James was in deep trouble. If there was one thing you never brought up around Lily, it was her height. Not wanting to see the possibility of James getting pounded into a bloody pulp, she sidled out of the common and dashed up the stairs to the girl's dorms once she was out of sight. The two were still going at it.
"What did you say?" Lily asked in a dangerous tone. James seemed to miss it completely and barrelled ahead.
"You're waay too short. I mean. Look at me, already exceeding six feet, handsome, charming, attractive. And you right there, barely topping sixty inches." This was true. Lily had to tilt her head up just to look at James' face, but her height was a very sore point for her.
"So what if I'm short? It's not like it'll make me smarter if I'm taller! Look at you! If I had to choose between being tall and having a fully developed brain, I'd take the brain!"
"Just because I don't do well in school doesn't mean I can't! And you are small! I don't know what any of the guys see in you! How do expect to ever be in a relationship if you're attitude is so nasty? And what about snogging? You're too small to snog standing up. You and the unlucky guy who is landed with you will probably have to snog sitting down. I mean, even on your tip-toes you can barely reach the top shelf in the Potions storeroom. Oh and you're whole face is out of proportion! You nose is too small. You're mouth is too big. And your eyes are green. Green! Green eyes and red hair? Digusting!"
By now, both faces were screwed up in anger and neither noticed that Remus and Sirius had walked into the common room.
"Auburn!" Lily shrieked. "My hair is auburn. NOT RED!"
"Auburn, my arse! It's bleeding red! And green eyes. Put together, you look like a lopsided Christmas tree. And your short height doesn't help the overall package much!"
"Erhm well. I think small girls are cute," said Remus nervously in an effort to stop the fighting pair. James blinked up at his friends, realising for the first time that they were right next to him. Lily flashed Remus a thankful look behind James' back. Distracted, James had turned to Remus.
"You can't be serious!" he said incredulously.
"Er. Actually. I do think small girls are sort of cute. They're ve-"
"Remus! Moony, mate! This is Evans! The most insufferable, prudish, prissy, priggish, annoying, nasty-tempered. . ."
Sirius stepped up. "Prongs. You need to take a break. Let's go up to your room. Remus. Didn't you say you had some paper you need James' help on?"
Remus looked confused for a second, then he realised what his friend was trying to do. "Oh yeah. I'm having some difficulty with Astronomy and. . ."
Sirius was dragging a kicking and screaming James up the stairs, with Remus following closely behind. Once they were out of sight, Lily's forgotten tiredness came rushing back to her. Never one to put off homework, however, she pulled a heavy tome titled Asagi Numerae and proceeded to read up on Ancient Norse Runes. After a while, sleep got the better of her and she fell into a deep slumber on top of a pile of books.
That was how James Potter would find her the next morning when he decided to pour ice down her back.
Lily started to feel tired after the first flight of stairs up to the Muggle Lit. classroom on the fourth floor. She was running late, no thanks to Potter. Already having overslept that morning, that pompous idiot poured ink-filled ice cubes down her back so that when they melted, they stained her clothes and back. (He'd filled the cubes the manual way. He obviously lacked the knowledge of Charms to do it magically.) As a result, she had to dash upstairs to shower and change into a fresh set of robes. While combing her hair in the mirror she realised that it turned a nasty yellow colour. It took her half an hour to find the reversing spell. By that time, breakfast was over and her first class had already started.
As she huffed and puffed up the last landing, she made a mental note to do something nasty to Potter. Thankfully, the Muggle Lit. classroom door was still open. Some teachers at Hogwarts, like Professor McGonagall, didn't hold with tardiness and locked the doors once class started. The late student would be forced to wait outside until the lesson was over. Potions master, Professor Bagsadarian also followed this method, but went so far as to forbid students to share the lesson with the tardy student. People made it a point to get to Potions on time.
Dashing into the room, she began to spew out her apology. "Sorry I was late, Professor, I overslept and I had to change because of some accident and the-" She stopped when she saw who sat behind the desk. It was her "mystery man" as she had so dubbed him. Her mouth just stood agape for a moment before he spoke.
"Ah. Ms. Evans, I see. Seeing as you are a good student with a clean record, I will let you off today with no more than a warning. Assure me it won't happen again. "
"It won't happen again, sir."
"Good. Take a seat. Oh, and drop the 'sir'. Just call me Robert."
Lily nodded and dropped into an empty chair near the back of the room. Most students looked at her, shrugged and restarted their interrupted conversations with one another.
"Everyone, please be quiet," said Robert. Of course no one paid any attention to him. He was barely two years older than them! So Robert opened up the closet behind his desk. He took out a wooden meter stick. It was flimsy and cheap; he always bought them at the same Muggle store. The chatter continued and Robert lifted the meter stick in both hands, bringing it down on his desk forcefully. There was a loud crack as half the meter stick broke off and flew behind him, hitting the chalkboard. The talking stopped immediately and all the students stood attentive and quiet, the perfect epitome of angelic children.
Robert inwardly smiled. It never failed to work, this meterstick show of his. A friend had once told him that one day, the meterstick piece would fly the wrong way, hitting one of the students, and he'd have a legal case on his hands. So far, though, nothing of the sort had happened and Robert continued to use the method. Once you become unpredictable, you hold the cards. The students didn't know what you might do next.
The class was still quiet. "That's better, thank you," he said. "You may all address me as Robert. But remember, just because you call me by my first name doesn't give you the right to disrespect me. For the time being, I will be your Literature professor as my father has been called away to urgent business. I will accept no dilly-dallying on your part. When I say 'jump', you say?"
"How high," replied a bitter voice. There was a rustle of robes as all the students turned to look at the only student who knew the answer.
"Mr. Potter has the correct answer," said Robert in a slow drawl. "Now, if you will all listen closely, I will begin to give out your next assignment. Write this down." Everyone bent down to their bags and scrambled to get out parchment and ink. Lily, already prepared as always, took the chance to survey her new professor and James through lowered eyes. It seemed like the two of them knew each other from somewhere else. James had blatantly refused to follow the professor's order and sat in his chair with his arms across his chest. She watched discreetly as the two engaged in a stare-down. The tension could be felt clear across the room, but it seemed that she was the only student to notice.
She looked back at James. His teeth were clenched, little beads of perspiration were appearing on his forehead, and it looked as if it was taking all of his strength just to keep his arms crossed. The silent struggle between them was mounting. Just when it seemed like James would burst from the pressure, he made a barely inaudible grunt of fear? pain? relief? (she couldn't tell) and he bent down with the others to retrieve parchment and quills from his bag.
By the time dinner rolled around, Lily already had not one but two raspberry cremes on her plate. She made a point to come down as early as possible. Luckily, Professor Vector had given a pop quiz on Astronomy. Anyone who finished could turn their test in and leave whenever they wished. Speeding through the exam, Lily was the first to finish, promptly rushing down to secure the pastries. She noted with satisfaction the look of disappointment on James' face when he came down to find no more pastries. She figured he owed her big time for yesterday's pastry and the ice anyway.
James looked over to where Lily was sitting, primly eating her salad. He noticed that she never touched meat. He also noticed that she had two raspberry cremes on her plate. Not fair. "Hey, Padfoot, d'ya think you can talk Evans into giving up one of her raspberry cremes?" James asked leaning over to his friend who was busy stuffing himself with game pie. You'd think he'd never seen food before from the way he ate.
Sirius turned to face James with his mouth full. He took a huge swallow and wiped his mouth the back of his sleeve. "Eh? What was that?"
"I just asked you if you could ask Evans for one of her raspberry cremes? She has two."
"What's up with you and those things anyway? You and Lily seem to be the only ones that actually like them. The hazelnut mousse is much better."
"Look. Are you going to do it or not?" asked James with some annoyance.
"Fine. Fine. I'm gone. Don't need to be so pushy!" Sirius walked off muttering something under his breath. James couldn't hear the exact words, but it sounded a lot like something he couldn't do to himself. He saw his friend approach Lily and exchange a few words with her. Lily glanced James' way and said something back to Sirius. A minute later, Sirius came back and James hounded him for information. "Well?"
"She said no," Sirius shrugged and went back to eating.
"That's it? That's all she said?"
"Yeah. It's just a raspberry creme, Prongs. Get one tomorrow. If you keep on acting this way, you'll get heartburn again."
"Just a raspberry creme? It's not just a raspberry creme! It's a. . .a raspberry creme."
"What's the difference? If you really want one, we'll just sneak into the kitchens tonight and get one from the house elves."
"But I need it! Now!" A few people two seats away were beginning to stare at James' almost tantrum. James looked around and smiled pleasantly. "But you're right. I'll just get one tomorrow." At this, the people resumed eating and paid no more heed to James. It was all he could do to contain his anger at that- that minx! He was James Potter! He always got what he wanted. But it wouldn't do any good to throw a tantrum in front of everyone. Taking a few calming breaths, he felt someone looking at him. Whirling around, he saw Lily throwing him a glance. Once she had made sure that he spotted her, she lifted a raspberry creme to her mouth and took a bit of it, all the while flashing him a superior smile. It was almost more than James could contain.
Determined not to snap, he vented his anger on the cloth napkins. He stared hard at his plate, but Lily's infuriating smile kept popping into his head. He felt a sudden burn in his chest. Sighing, he took out an antacid out of his pocket and swallowed it dry. It seemed to be occurring more and more lately. This week alone, he'd gone through half a bottle of pills already. His acid reflux was always acting up when he was particularly stressed or angry. That Evans girl was going to kill him one day.
"Here you go," Lily said handing Sybil a piece of paper as she slipped in next to her that breakfast.
"Good morning, what's this?" Sybil questioned eyeing the blue piece of paper.
"It's our Muggle course choices. We have to pick two Muggle-related subjects to study, remember? It's supposed to fill in for Care of Magical Creatures since Professor Gauche got trampled by the sphinx in Egypt. Our course picks are due today. I just haven't got around to turning it in."
Sybil slapped her forehead. "Oh no! That was today? It totally slipped by mind! What're you down for?"
"Well, dance is a given. I mean, I was practically raised on it. My aunt's a dance instructor and she's been teaching me to waltz and fox-trot and swing dance since I was in diapers. Should be easy stuff. I'm not sure on my other one yet." Lily tapped her quill against her lip thoughtfully. "There's art, history, French, Latin, Muggle Sports, and an extension of Muggle Lit. I'm already teaching myself Latin so that's out. Sports? No way! I mean, I already know that Potter's a sure bet on that and I don't want to be in any more of the same classes with him. What do you think Sybil?"
"Erhm. I might go for art. I'm not so great at dancing, though I'll join you anyway. What was that you said about Muggle Sports? No you're right. James is a sure hit on that. What about the extension of Muggle Lit? That might be good for you."
"Sybbie, I'm already taking the course! The point is to expand your knowledge of different fields. That's why we come to this fine institution of learning and education. . ."
Sybil rolled her eyes. "Okay. Okay. I get it. I just thought that maybe since James is always going on about how much he hates Muggle Lit, he's obviously not going to sign up for it. I mean, it's an extension so you're not learning the same boring stuff either. Besides, I heard it's being taught by that dishy new guy. Professor Powell's son. Robert, right? Those dreamy blue eyes!" Sybil here gave a wistful sigh.
"Sybil Trewlawney! Mooning over a boy? I'd have never thought it possible! Though your advice on Muggle Lit is very helpful, I guess I could forgive you for your unnatural behaviour," Lily said jokingly.
"Oh nonsense. Don't be silly. He's not for me anyway. It's not in the stars. I'm supposed to remain single. The sky never lies, you know," Sybil declared with a confident air.
Lily wasn't listening and was back at scrutinising her course choices. What Sybil had said was true. James hardly liked Muggle Lit (she suspected that their new teacher might have something to do with it) and would never sign up for it. But she really wanted to study art, James wasn't the artistic type was he? No, didn't seem like it. Still, you never knew. Lily checked the box next to Muggle Literature Ext. just in case.
He'd woken up with a headache and wasn't in a very pleasant mood. The pounding in his head had gone away, but once a person like James got off to a bad start, he was bound to have a bad day. The fact that he had yet to fill out his course choices for Muggle Studies wasn't helping. Stupid Professor Gauche on his bollocky trip to Egypt.
A loud thump on the back from Sirius just as James was lifting his orange juice caused a spill onto his uniform. "Sodding idiot, Sirius!"
"Geez! Lighten up. Someone's in a foul mood today. I noticed that you've been doing this a lot lately. I'm willing to forgive you out of the goodness of my kind heart though, if you set me up with Priscilla. Hell, I'd settle for Eileen, even though blondes aren't my type."
James snorted. "I have to go. Gotta change my robes before school starts. No thanks to you."
Remus heard him and offered to charm his robes clean. He needed to brush up on Cleaning Charms anyway he claimed. James let him, but after Remus was done, there was still the faint scent of orange lingering around him. Turning back to his paper, he saw Sirius peering at it.
"Haven't done it yet, Prongs? I finished mine ages ago."
"Oh yeah?" James asked with uninterest. "It's not like it matters. Everything's probably boring anyway. What'd you put down? I'll just mark the same ones.
Sirius started to answer, but the mail delivery came with a rustle of owl feathers and James only caught "and Muggle Sports." At the mention of sports, James brightened quite heartily. "What was the other thing you signed up for, Padfoot?"
"Er. I just told you."
"I didn't hear you. Nothing sissy like art right?"
"Well, promise not to laugh?" Sirius asked nervously.
"'Course not. Tell me."
"Ahem. Dance." Sirius fidgeted anxiously to see what his friend would say.
"Oh. Hum. I guess I'm not going to be having the same classes as you. I can't take Dance, help me pick something else. Definitely not history. Not art. What about Latin? Nah. Evans is probably going to take it seeing how it's supposed to be challenging. Any suggestions?"
"What about Muggle Lit extensions? That might be fun?"
"Fun? It's about much fun as having pickles shoved up your arse with that cod Powell teaching it. Did you know that he's -" James caught himself just in time. He could tell his fellow Marauders just about anything, but there were some things he felt he couldn't tell anybody. Things concerning Powell. No use letting on that he'd known Robert before. That might cause some uncomfortable questions. . .
Peter turned his watery eyes to James. "Know that he's what?"
"Er. That he's almost as intolerable as Evans. Muggle Lit? No way."
"But think about it James, if you don't want to get stuck in the same class as Lily why not take Muggle Lit.? I mean, she's always been up for a challenge and I heard her mention something about learning Latin the other day. She wouldn't take Muggle Lit if she's already got it as a regular. She's bound to take art or something."
James blinked at his friend. Remus was right. But spending another 90 minutes a day with Robert Powell might drive him over the edge. Still, there was absolutely no chance that Lily would opt for a course she was already taking. What about French though? He'd been to France once and there were loads of tasty looking girls there. Learning French would certainly help in picking up girls. Yet if Lily was going to learn Latin, what would stop that over-achiever in taking another language. James checked the box next to Muggle Literature Ext. just in case.
"What a stupid game!" Sirius muttered. "No flying? How do Muggles survive?" They were learning the fundamentals of football. James personally was looking forward to trying it out, but at the rate his schoolmates were complaining at, it didn't seem very likely that any of them would even get to touch the football, let alone play.
"The object is to score into the opposing team's goal. Intentional injuries to opposers will get you a yellow. If the offence is serious enough, you get shown the red card and you're out for the game," Professor Reginald went on.
"How're you supposed to score a goal?" asked James.
"You kick it in," was the teacher's reply as he went across the field to retrieve the footballs.
Immediately, the chatter started. "Did you hear that?"
"Kick it in! That mean's we're playing on foot?"
"What's the fun in that?"
Frankly, James was getting annoyed his schoolmates. They were so narrow-minded. "Shut your bollocky mouths. Why don't you just try it before denouncing it?"
The complaints stopped. Whatever James said was law. Sirius sidled up to him. "Whoa there, maestro, where'd you learn that?"
Confused, James looked at his friend. "Learn what? You know I've always been short-tempered."
"No. No. No. That word. Denunsing. Derunting. Whatever."
"Denouncing? Hmmm. You know, I'm not quite sure. Probably heard if from some nerd like Evans or something," James laughed. "I'd better watch out, I might turn into some bollocky brainiac before I know what's going on."
Sirius was looking at him with an unreadable expression on his face. "What?" asked James.
Sirius shook his head vigorously. "Nothing."
James knew that his friend was no great actor so there was clearly something up. "What? Tell me!"
"Like I said, nothing! Just forget about it, okay?" his friend replied and started to walk away. James grabbed Sirius' arm, but fortunately, the return of Professor Reginald saved him from answering. The start of practice was announced and what with running up and down the field for the rest of the hour, James forgot about the whole incident.
Sybil noticed that Lily was the only one stretching in the middle of the dance hall. Other student's were starting to snicker at her leg warmers and her warm-up leotard. Lily, on the other hand, was deeply absorbed in her stretches and paid no notice to the others. Still, people were starting to crack jokes and Sybil could hear some stifled giggles.
"Erhm. Lils, maybe you could stop stretching. I mean, you're look er. . stretched to me," Sybil ventured.
Lily stopped in the middle of sliding down into a vertical split. "I don't think so. I still need to stretch my back after this. You know what happens when you don't stretch properly. Pulled muscles. You're not trying to injure me are you?" She slid the rest of the way down to the floor.
"What? Of course not! It's just. . . Our class isn't probably going to be taught as erhm. . .professionally as you might be used to. And the stretching might overdo it. Just a little. Maybe."
At this point, Nicole Bistro (Bitch-stro)approached their corner. She grinned nastily at the pair. "My mates and I over there were watching you and we couldn't figure out what you were doing. We're you trying to imitate a dying fish or something? Because that's what it looked like."
"Oh don't get me wrong," she continued, innocently twirling with a strand of hair in her perfect bob. "Fish are extremely graceful creatures. But I think you should stick to pretzels, of course you're probably nowhere near that flexible." She leaned in to whisper into Lily's ear. "And while you're at it, I'm going to warn you only once. Stay away from Grayer. I heard some stupid rumours that he was going to ask you to the Yule Ball. Now I don't see what he would see in a girl like you, but just let you know, he's mine. Leave him alone, or I will make your life a living hell." She straightened and smiled. "Toodles!"
Sybil turned to Lily once Nicole left. "What'd she say to you? You're positively pale!"
"Nothing." Looking to divert her friend's attention, she exclaimed, "Oh look! There's Remus! Remus! Over here."
Spotting Lily from across the room, Remus grinned. Only Lily would have the gall (and disregard for other people's opinions) to come out in public dressed as she was. He walked over and paid his compliments to her ensemble. "Nice outfit, Lils."
"What. You don't like it?" she pretended to me shocked.
Remus laughed. "No, no, no. I love it. Just the electric blue leotard with yellow legwarmers might be a bit much for some lowly people. They're already blinded by your orange hair band."
"Oh. Hum. That's easily fixed. What type of dance are we learning first? Neither of you would happen to know would you?" Lily asked.
Remus shook his head, puzzled by the question. "Well, I heard something about flamingo dancing or something."
"You mean flamenco dancing? I've got the perfect dress!" In an instant, Lily had charmed on a bright orange and red flower-patterned dress. The waist was tapered to show off her perfect figure and the skirt part billowed out to allow freedom of movement. Many people started to stare again, but for a different reason, Remus noticed. In truth, Lily Evans was a really beautiful girl. No, young woman, he corrected himself. True, she didn't fit the description of a raven-haired beauty, like Nicole. Nor was she blonde haired and blue eyed like the girls that James seemed to enjoy so much. She was a whole different package, albeit a bit small, but he'd meant it when he said small girls were cute. Not that he'd ever harboured those kind of feelings for Lily. Not when James, even if he was too blind (stupid, perhaps?), fancied her so much.
"So what do you think?" Lily asked.
"It's very nice," replied Sybil. She was never one to praise people. Anyone who knew her knew that 'very nice' was the highest compliment they could hope to receive from her.
"Remus? Remus? Are you with us? Or are you off playing space cadets with your flying hippos?" Lily waved her right hand in front of his face.
Her voice brought him out of his thoughts. "Hm? Oh. It's positively stunning, my dear. If you'd care to look around, you might notice a large part of the male sex is staring at you. And trust me, it's not because there's anything wrong with what you're wearing now."
Lily laughed again. "Now for the finishing touch," she said as she conjured a big tiger-lily out of thing air and tucked it behind her left ear.
Amos Diggory, just walking in to deliver a message to Remus, stopped when he saw what Lily was wearing. Anything that low cut was a definite blessing. For someone standing over her, it would be extremely easy to look down her front.
"From this moment on, you are officially 'hot' in my book," he exclaimed whilst reaching out to touch the bright orange flower sitting in her hair.
Lily playfully slapped his hand away. "Uh-uh. You don't touch the flower, Amos."
"But I'm allowed to touch everything else?"
"You know what I mean!" Lily tried to sound angry, but the smile gave her away. The sound of the door slamming shut made everyone jump. Standing in the doorway was a severe-looking tall woman with a pinched expression on her face.
"What is this?" she demanded. "Why haven't you picked out partners yet? Some of you might not take my class seriously, but you will soon learn to. I intend to work you until you're so tired you can't take a leak properly. You will work as hard as you can, and more than that, everyday. Mr. Diggory, I don't recall you being on my roster so I would appreciate it if you exited my classroom."
At this point, Grayer burst in, looking dishevelled, but still quite good-looking in Lily's opinion.
"Slacking off is not tolerated in this class. The same can be said of," she looked in Grayer's direction. "tardiness." There was a silence in the room. "Well? Are all of you deaf and dumb? Did you not hear what I said? Find your partners and then line up side by side so I can see you all."
"What are we to call you?" someone asked timidly from the sea of faces.
"My name is not important. From now on, you will address me as Madame or Mistress. Is that clear? Partners! Now!"
Everyone immediately became animate, looking for partners left and right. Nicole and Priscilla standing had a ring of guys formed around them. Each begging to be chosen. Lily rolled her eyes and shared a look with Remus. Grayer, no doubt, would be selected by Nicole and gods knows who Priscilla the Brainless might pick. Through some unspoken agreement, Remus and Lily decided to be partners. Sybil was shyly approached by a Hufflepuff boy, who was overjoyed at being accepted. Too bad for him, Sybil had absolutely no interest in boys.
Feeling sorry for him, Lily and Remus were about to take their places in the line when Grayer shoved Remus aside and stopped in front of Lily. "Would you like to be partners?" he asked abruptly. Lily, partially taken aback, didn't know whether to accept or decline. Remus would be offended if she blew him off. On the other hand, this was Grayer they were talking about.
Remus, knowing of Lily's infatuation with him, shooed her forward. "Erhm. Alright, Grayer," Lily said.
"Great. Call me Gray," he said as he took her by the hand.
"Now," Mistress said. "We'll be splitting people up into two groups. Those who can dance or have previous experience, and those who don't. When I call your name, you will come into the centre of the room. You will perform for me the Beregac Flamenco. Start with the music and stop when I tell you to. Yes? The boy raising his hand in the back?"
Sybil turned to see the Hufflepuff boy she was standing with open his mouth to speak. "What if we don't know the Beregac Flamenco? Or even the flamenco at all?"
"Well then, Mr. What did you say your name was?"
"Finch. Taylor Finch, Madame"
"Well, then, Mr. Finch. We already know what group you'll be in now don't we? Imogene Abbot!"
The class watched as a pudgy-looking Ravenclaw stepped into the centre. Music started to play but she didn't move. "What's the matter?" barked Madame. "Are you paralyzed, girl? Don't just stand there. Dance."
"aditnuhew," Imogene mumbled.
"What? Speak up!"
"I don't know how!" she sobbed.
The music abruptly stopped. Lily thought that Madame was going to apologize, but she just looked annoyed. "Who else doesn't have the foggiest clue what the flamenco is?" More than three quarters of the class's hands went up, including Grayer's. Madame sighed heavily. "Everyone with their hand up, move to the left corner of the room. The rest of you, move down to form a single line." Everyone shifted and Lily was relieved to see that Remus, at least, was still on the line.
"We won't do this half-baked," Madame continued. "Whoever doesn't know the Beregac Flamenco, join the others." There was more shifting and the girl standing next to Lily left. When everyone had there positions, only four remained and Lily was last. She wasn't happy to see Nicole still there. She had fully hoped that Nicole's stories of being a great dancer were lies, but it turned out that they might be true after all. Ah well, you couldn't win them all.
Remus went first. The music started and he launched into the routine. Sashaying, he was just clicking his heels when Madame stopped him. She marked something on her clipboard as Remus joined the rest of the class. The music went playing on, though faintly. "Very good Mr. Lupin. Exemplary. I've seen enough to know that you're a very skilled dancer. See? Everyone! You have to dance with the passion that Mr. Lupin does."
Pause.
"Well? I don't hear you," she said.
"Yes, Mistress," the rest of the class chorused in unison.
"Next. We'll take you, Mr. Weasly."
A red-haired Gryffindor took his turn. Lily'd seen him before. He was a year younger, but had skipped the third year. As a result, he was going to graduate with the rest of the seventh year. He got a lot of flak for being so smart, but Lily thought he was a nice kid. "Stop!" Madame called out after two minutes. "You know your steps, Mr. Weasly, but they aren't second nature to you. You are too busy concentrating on remembering the steps so the feeling doesn't come out. Passable. Join the others. Nicole Bistro! Hurry up, girl. We haven't got all day!"
"Yes, Madame," Nicole replied, her voice dripping honey. "I'm terribly sorry. I just love dancing and I was looking at your beautiful dress! I have to tell you, that I'm excited to start learning from someone as skilled as you."
"That's nice, but brownnosing won't get you anywhere. Cut the flattery and just dance. I see that you've marked that you're very skilled in dancing on your sheet. Let's take a look then."
The music started again and Madame let Nicole dance on for a full four minutes before stopping her with another one of her, "Stop!"s. "Ms. Bistro, you are no doubt skilled, but there is no passion in your movement. Your steps are sloppy, lazy, half-hearted." She turned to the class. "Is no one here willing to work as hard as Mr. Lupin? I'm disgusted. Thank God there's only one more to go. Lily Evans."
Lily started to feel nervous the moment Madame had stopped Nicole. What if she didn't do well? What if she forgot some of the steps? She slowly walked over to the centre of the room. Madame gave her the once over. "You also marked that you've had experience in dancing. Is that not right?"
"Yes, Mistress. Just some," Lily said a bit timidly.
"That's quite an outfit you've got on Ms. Evans." There were a few titters from the back. Madame immediately rounded on them. "I was serious. How many of you are wearing the correct dress for flamenco dancing? Hmm? We will be working on the flamenco until the end of the month. Tomorrow, I expect all of you to be in the proper attire." There were a few scattered attempts at charms to change their clothes. "Evans. Get ready," Madame told her.
Remus watched as Lily began to start a little stiffly. But as she warmed up, she loosened up. Everytime she spun around, her skirt billowed around her, fanning out like a huge umbrella. The heels of her shiny, black shoes made a clicking sound against the floor as she launched into the faster part of the Beregac Flamenco.
"Stop!" barked Madame, but Lily, who now had everyone gazing steadfastly at her, snapped at the exact moment and didn't hear her. Sybil held her breath, expecting at any moment for Madame to get angry. The music played on and Madame let Lily dance on. On the final bar, Lily snapped one more time and threw her head back, holding the position until the music faded. Her chest was still heaving from the dance when Madame turned to class. "Now, I'll pair you up and for the remainder of the class, you will working to learn the basic steps of the flamenco with your partner. Lupin, Bistro, Weasly, Evans, you'll be working separately from the rest."
They followed her obediently to a secluded area. "This works out perfectly since there are exactly four of you. I will now pair you up." Nicole moved toward Remus, not wanting to be stuck with "Smarthur Weasly".
Madame frowned. "I don't think so Ms. Bistro. Mr. Lupin will be partnered with Ms. Evans. You're good, but not as good as Ms. Evans here."
Nicole shot Lily a look that was pure venom. Arthur opened his mouth to object, but one raised eyebrow from Madame made him shut his mouth and turn away with a shrug. "Good. You're working on the two-bit flamenco. The first part, the girls will be dancing separately, then the gentlemen will join in the second part. Remember, every type of dance was originally an outlet for expressing emotions. I want to see passion! Excitement! Make me believe that you are a young couple flirting! You're creatures in heat! Girls! You are luring the boys to come over! You're lonely tonight and they are your only company. Tempting, teasing, you're doing whatever you can to get them in your bed tonight!"
There were a few gasps and a few hoots from the rest of the class. Lily and Remus looked away, trying hard not to laugh. Madame noticed. "Is this class a joke to you two? Well then, Ms. Evans, Mr. Lupin. Why don't you give the class a demonstration? Hmm? Yes now!" She barked in response to Remus's questioning look.
Lily reluctantly took centre stage; Remus, walking by, gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "You'll be fine," he whispered. But the music started and she didn't have time to respond. Counting out eight beats, she waited until the third bar before starting to sway her hips to the tune. She criss-crossed to where Remus was standing perfectly still and placed her hands on his shoulders, edging closer and closer. Remus gently pushed her and she whirled around and around, spinning farther away from him. A few of the boys in the class had laid down on the floor on their stomachs, no doubt hoping to catch a glimpse up Lily's skirt.
She suddenly stopped spinning and danced her way up behind Remus. Sneaking up, she turned him around to face her and clutched her skirts, temptingly eased them up a little at a time, dancing all the while. Remus just faced the opposite direction. Lily, looking dejected, danced away, but Remus caught her hand and spun her back around so that she was now in his arms. This was where the second half started. The music quickly changed from flirtatious and cheerful, to dark and sensuous.
They both faced forward with Remus behind Lily, placing his left hand on her flat stomach, his right clasping her free hand. He spun her around, faster and faster. Then, in one fluid motion, wrapped his arm around her waist and titled her backward. She arched her head to the right and Remus bent forward. His face was a hair's breadth away from her neck; she could feel his warm breath tickling her. He brought her out of the dip only to grab her waist and lift her up into the air. She kept her legs in a split and he spun around once, then dropped her to the floor only to pull her promptly back up, and lean her back.
The music ended and Remus and Lily broke away. "Exemplary! Simply exemplary. If I didn't know better, I'd think you two were ready to have a go at it!" The two friends laughed nervously, hoping no one heard and got the wrong idea. Fortunately, the class had erupted in cheers and no one paid attention to anything Madame just said.
"Quiet down! Quiet down, class! Now, how many of you would like to try that?" Madame questioned. A murmur of excitement ran through the crowd. "Good. If you word exceedingly hard, that will take you at least three months to master." A loud groan replaced the excitement and pretty soon, the students had gone back to discussing Lily and Remus's performance.
Madame sighed. "Alright. You may leave, I need to prepare for the next class anyway. Mr. Lupin? Ms. Evans? Could I see you over here for a moment?"
When the two had reached her she started excitedly. "I'm not supposed to tell any of the students this, but every few weeks, our class is going to put on a recital, a show of sorts. The first recital is a week away, and I was planning on cancelling it due to erhm. . . lack of skills our class has shown. I hate to rush you, but if you could put on a show like that, we'd be saved! I could have Ms. Bistro and Mr. Weasly do a simpler routine. Would that be okay with the two of you?"
Both nodded. "You know," Madame had continued, "it's extremely rare to see such passion in dancers as young as you. There is no doubt that you two are extremely gifted. Though maybe you had more of an incentive on that one." She winked and left the room.
Lily was still looking confused by what Madame just said. "Did you get that? I mean, the whole bit about the incentive?"
Remus nodded. "She thinks you and I are. . .Well, she thinks we're erhm. . ."
The realisation dawned on Lily and blushed redder than a beet. "But you don't think that. . . do you?"
He laughed. "Of course not! We're just great friends. How absurd!"
They walked out of the room when Lily bumped into Sirius. "Whoooaaaaa! Lily!" he said looking at her dress. "Wait, you're flower's crooked. Let me fix it for you." He leaned over and adjusted the lily behind her ear. Surprised by his sudden gallantry, but not wanting to offend, Lily just settled for a, "Why thank you Sirius. How nice of you." But Sirius just answered with a vague, "The view's very nice from here," before going to Dance. Lily looked out the window, but all she could see was bare trees and piles of orange, red, and yellow flowers. Not exactly something she'd call 'nice', but she supposed some people found it pleasant. Sirius wasn't even looking out the window when he said that. Remus, to her left was laughing silently to himself. Lily rolled her eyes and smiled. "Come on, you! Let's go down to lunch." She dragged a chuckling Remus down the stairs. The rest of the day passed quickly, but Sirius's cryptic comment still nagged the back of her mind. It bothered her all through Muggle Lit. ,bothered her all through dinner, bothered her as she was doing her homework up in her room. (Head Girl and Head Boy always had their own private rooms.) It wasn't until she was falling asleep that she realized (with some embarrassment mixed with anger) that Sirius had said what he said while looking down her chest.