Chapter Six (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.
Lily had fallen in love for the first time at the age of twelve. It wasn't with some raven-haired mystery man. It wasn't with a timid and sweet boy-next-door. No, she fell in love with something less substantial. Movies. Classic movies.
After spending most of her pocket money on sweets one day, she came across a rather old theatre, complete with peeling paint and mildewed signs. Drawn by the marquee that shouted out a cheap price for the movie, she bought a ticket. The movie had already started, and she took a seat in the theatre, empty save for a few old inhabitants. It was Casablanca and from the moment she saw Rick Blaine hide Ugarte's letters of transit in a piano, it was love at first sight.
When the movie ended, she bought another ticket to watch it over again. And again. And again, until she had no more money left. For the next few weeks, Lily went around humming "As Time Goes By" every waking moment. It had driven Petunia crazy. The moment she received her pocket money the next month, she rushed over to the theater to watch it's featured film.
The Maltese Falcon, Gone With the Wind, All About Eve, Gigi. She devoured them hungrily, one after another. Week after week, she cried with Greta Garbo, told lies alongside Bette Davis, and sang duets with Gene Kelly.
She often wished that real life could be exactly what was portrayed on the silver screen. Life, though not always simple, nearly always ended happily, or at least predictably. The characters, the dialogue, the scenery, they would always stay the same no matter how many years passed in real life. It seemed, at the time, that her fighting parents, her spiteful sister, they all could learn something from the movie greats. There were countless words of wisdom from the impressionable characters on the screen.
When Margo Channing was faced with a conniving usurper, she fought back for a while, yes, but in the end she realized it wasn't worth it and went along happily with her life. Petunia, for instance, could learn from that. Sometimes there were things you didn't particularly like, but you learned to deal with them without compromising your integrity.
This very same credo should've been applied to James Potter, but something in him always brought out her worst side. What had happened? It seemed to go well, but after James's confrontation in the hall, both had sunk back into their normal stony silence. James, not approving of her private dance tutoring sessions, and she not approving of his controlling demand that she stop. It wasn't as if was doing anything illegal, more than she could say for Robert and James.
Lily often found them conversing in hushed voices before class, or in hallways, the subjects of which she knew nothing about. She continued her easygoing friendship with Robert, but when confronted about his connection with James, he would never give her a straight answer, often replying with something like, "We've met before," or "A friends of ours introduced each other to us a couple years back." Though it bothered her to no end, she had decided to no longer pursue the matter.
"Lils? Are you there?" A hand waving in front of her face startled her and she cut herself with the knife she held. Lily looked around to find herself in Potions, chopping belladonna, with Sybil next to her, looking concerned.
"You just drifted off. I got worried. Look at you! You just cut yourself. Now get out of here, and move yourself to the hospital wing. Belladonna's toxic, I think." Sybil started to push her towards the door.
"I'll be fine. It's just a cut, not some life-threatening stab wound. It's not like I'm going to. . . die," she trailed off.
Sybil, well aware of how Lily's brother Alistair had died in a barroom brawl from a knife wound delivered by an angry customer, tried to get her friend's mind off the memory of it. "Nonsense, you will get that cut (now bleeding profusely) examined or I will inform out dear little Grayer of your undying passion for him."
"Fine, fine," grumbled Lily. "Aren't we much like the pushy old fat man?" she muttered. "Next thing I know, she'll start slipping me drugged pumpkin juice and ordering me to find a stupid bird!"
Sybil, by now used to her friend's allusions to various classic movies and their characters, made no indication that she heard. James, who saw Lily walk out of the room talking to herself, confirmed his suspicions that the woman was crazy.
Though James was wrong about the fact of Lily's mental stablility, Sybil was indeed correct about the fact that belladonna was poisonous. A quarter of the way down the Potions corridor, Lily began to feel dizzy. The tapestry next to her started to turn hazy; she shook her head to clear it, to no avail. Her knees buckled and reached out a hand, grabbing the nearest suit of armor.
The armor was no armor, however, but turned to to be someone's arm.
"What happened?" Severus Snape's voice said from somewhere beside her.
Lily sat down. "Erhm. . . Potions and I cut myself slicing belladonna. I'll be fine. Just a bit dizzy that's all."
Severus turned brisk. "Let me see the cut," he demanded. She raised her finger.
"It doesn't look too deep. That's good. This might sting a little." He tapped her wound twice and it closed up.
"Thanks," Lily replied weakly. Severus offered her his hand and hoisted her up. She reeled momentarily.
"I'm sorry," she shook her head again. "There's this god-awful pounding that's in my head."
Lily clutched his arm as they started walking. "That's just a minor side-effect of the belladonna," Severus said. "You'll feel better in no time. Just take a couple aspirin."
"Can't Madame Pomfrey do anything?"
"Wizards don't have a spell for everything, you know," he smiled. "Just because we have wands, it doesn't mean we're above Muggle methods. Here, let me walk you to the common room. It'll just take a few minutes to wear off."
"That's a relief. I thought I might have some permanent disfiguring mark or something. Like sprouting a third eye. That would be such a shame. Imagine!"
Severus turned serious. "No matter how much your outward appearance might change, it would make no difference to those that adore and admire you."
"Goodness! What on earth are you going on about? I'm not sure if that's the sweetest thing I've ever heard or the craziest!"
"I'm being perfectly honest. There are many here who are very pleased that you grace our school with your presence. And there are more than enough that admire you. Only the most mature ones, of course. You couldn't expect someone like Potter to appreciate true beauty."
Lily laughed at this. "Of course not! Last week, he took one look at the scarf I knitted and asked me where the hoe-down was. As if people wear scarves at those things!" The conversation was making her rather uncomfortable.
Upon this, Severus decided that Lily had either missed his true meaning or refused to acknowledge it. Still, he was getting through to her and Robert would no doubt be pleased with his ah. . . progress.
They found the Marauders already occupying the Common Room, gaining access through some secret passage no doubt.
"Lils, what's wrong?" Remus crossed the room to the couch where Lily sat down on. "You're not sick are you?"
"I'm fine really," she said with a dismissive wave. "Just a bit of a headache. I'll be fine."
Sirius and Peter were trying hard not to look worried, while James, didn't seem to care at all. "It's nothing! Look at her, she's perfectly fine, can we get back to our business over here please?"
"Oh shut up, Prongs," hissed Peter.
"I'll be fine really, can someone just get me a couple aspirin?" Lily asked meekly.
"Of course! Are you sure you're still up for tonight?" Remus asked in an undertone.
"Sure, I'm fine. Erhm. . .? My aspirin?"
"Oh! Right. Where are they?"
"In the cabinet in the girls' bathroom. Behind the box of napkins," Lily said.
"Psh!" grunted James. "Why do girls need napkins in the bathroom?"
Severus seemed annoyed. "Well then Potter, you just volunteered yourself to be of some service to Lily. Go ahead and be a good boy. Get the aspirin."
"Just let Peter go or something! Don't give me orders, Snape! Unlike you, I don't kiss arses to get what I want. I use a little something called hard work!" James retorted.
A restraining hand from Lily was barely enough to keep Severus from lunging at James.
"A-actually," squeaked Peter. "I don't think I'd very much like to go up there. I- it's a girls' dorm after all."
James scoffed and threw up his hands, heading up the stairs exclaiming, "A girls' dorm! What's there to be afraid of? Sodding idiots!"
He paused just before the door, then pulled the door outwards in one quick movement. The sunlight streamed through an open window onto rows of neatly-made beds with magenta coverlets. There wasn't a stray item littering the floor and the air had a fresh scent of rainwater.
"Yeesh!" thought James as he made his way to what he assumed was the bathroom. "Why don't the house elves ever make our rooms this clean?" But then again, it was probably the fact that the elves were tired of cleaning every ten minutes (the time it took to mess up the dorms again).
Pulling the large wooden door open, James half-expected a girl to be found unclothed, but alas! his hopes were dashed. Inside the bathroom was a whole different story. There was none of the pristine perfection witnessed out in the sleeping area. Toothbrushes and combs were strewn everywhere, as well as a few bottles that he could swear were (shudder!) nail polish. The mirror cabinet seemed to be a makshift clotheshanger of sorts. Bras and panties of all sizes, colors, and fabrics were draped all over it. Apalled at the assortment of undergarments and not willing to put his hands on any of them, James looked wildly until he seized a plumber and eased the cabinet open, holding the device by its squishy rubber end.
Too late, he found that the cabinet opened, but with the mirror swinging in his direction, obstructing the contents inside from his view. Easy. He'd just reach in and feel around for a bottle of aspirin behind a pack of napkins. Bravely, James stuck his left hand in and blindly patted various objects. There it was! The aspirin bottle, but the box of napkins was in the way! If he tried to move the bottle, the napkins would fall, causing everything else around to drop, meaning: chaos. So he did the only thing he could think of. He'd take out the napkins, then the bottle, then replace the napkins and be on his way.
By now, his right arm with the plumber was starting to ache and he obtained a firm grip on the pack of napkins. Drawing them out, he realized with horror why none of the other guys volunteered for the task. In his hand, was an extra-large pack of super-absorbent maxi pads.
With wings.