Chapter 16
They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
If that happened to be even *remotely* true, then *why* hadn't *I* begun my journey yet? Merlin knew I'd already taken enough steps for a lifetime, pacing around the bloody common room for nearly half an hour.
To be honest, I had no idea *why* I was making such a big fuss over such little kiss. It wasn't like I had bloody virgin lips or anything. On the contrary, I'd probably locked-lips with more than half the female population in Hogwarts. And done more than that, besides. So *what* was so different with this one? All right, it was Lily. But Lily was just a woman-- *girl*, she was *just* a girl. Granted, a beautiful girl. But a girl nonetheless.
I desperately needed to clear my mind and untangle the jumble of thoughts that had accumulated there. I needed my faithful broom.
I walked back to my room, and saw Severus, fidgeting with his Potions set again. He glanced up at me- or at least, I thought he did (I could never be sure, with all that hair covering his face)--and motioned to a piece of sealed parchment on my desk, before bending down to measure some monkshood.
"Another poison, Severus? Take care not to expend all your worm skin; I hear the market's low in supply these days," I said, as lightly and carelessly as possible.
"I heard that as well. On the Daily Prophet yesterday, I believe." He replied, never looking up.
And that was how we made our truce. You see, we Slytherins don't like saying sorry. Either we're never wrong, or we're just plain spoiled, I don't know. But I prefer to believe the former.
It took quite a lot of self-restraint *not* to leap over to my desk and snatch up the letter. I walked slowly, and read it, the expression on my face literally shouting that it most boring thing on earth (though it certainly wasn't). What can I say? I was (and still am, by the way) an expert on masking emotions.
Lucius,
Could you meet me, 9:45, at the statue of Piro the Pathetic , the one near the old History of Magic classroom? .
Lily I smiled involuntarily at the sight of her handwriting. It reminded me of her, for some absurd reason. I grabbed a cloak-I didn't care which one, I looked good in all of them anyway-and dashed out of the room, not caring if Severus thought me strange or not. My watch said 9:40. I didn't want to be late.
She was standing there, looking as unsure of herself as I'd ever seen her.
"Lily?" She gave a small smile.
"Lucius. Why the invisibility cloak?" The invisibility cloak? True enough, as I looked down, my body was missing. So much for looking good *in* a cloak when I couldn't even be seen.
"It's after hours, and I wouldn't want to get caught by Pringle." I shrugged it off, all the while cursing myself inwardly for not paying enough attention to what I was wearing. This would never happen again.
"Well, could you take it off maybe? I feel rather odd speaking to a disembodied head." At least she'd gotten some of her humor back. Lily seemed *strange*.
"Of course." A heart-melting smile (an attempt to get her back to normal; somehow, I couldn't bear to see her like this), and the cloak was off. "Now, what did you want to see me about?"
"I wanted to talk to you about tonight. Lucius," My name again, and strangely my heart sort of skipped a beat, "Maybe we shouldn't really have. . ." she lowered her voice, "*kissed*." She regretted the kiss? No one regretted kissing Lucius Malfoy until *I* broke their hearts. Then, they probably regretted even seeing my face, but that was a whole other matter. I was feeling relatively defensive. I wasn't a horrible kisser, and both of us knew it.
"There's nothing *wrong* with a bit of healthy kissing, you know." I drawled, more sarcastically than I'd wanted to. Her green eyes flashed at my words.
"Well you know, it wasn't exactly *how* I pictured my first kiss to be like." First kiss? That couldn't be possible, she was a *fifth* year, for goodness (or badness) sake. I'd started kissing when I learned that girls did not, in fact, give off 'cooties'. And trust me, I'd learned that at a *very* young age.
"You're not serious." What else was I supposed to say? 'Oh, sorry, I ruined the experience'? I *was* an expert liar, but I just couldn't say I was a bad kisser when I certainly wasn't.
"Is it really that hard to believe, Lucius?" I was just about to say 'Yes, it is', when loud footsteps resonated from around the corner. Pringle. Without a word, I grabbed Lily and whipped the invisibility cloak about us. "What--" I put a finger to her lips and mouthed 'Pringle'. She nodded and kept silent.
Needless to say, just moments after we'd 'disappeared', the thin, gangly figure of Apollyon Pringle passed by, his lantern swinging so close to us, it was nearly a miracle he didn't see the light reflected off our eyes. I could have sworn I saw him sniff the air for trouble. Rumor said that he was half-werewolf and half-vampire. Not that I listened to rumors, of course.
We were both visibly relieved when he rounded the corner and disappeared.
Then, we were quiet. The look on her face told me she wouldn't be breaking the silence any time soon.
"Look, Lily, I'm sorry" I very nearly choked on the word, before continuing, "I didn't know." For some reason, I was feeling guilty, and I didn't know why.
"Lucius, I didn't come here to wring an apology out of you, it wasn't your fault. You didn't really *force* the kiss on me, it just happened."
"So what *did* you want to discuss with me then?" I leaned back on the wall, my arms crossed. Since both of us were still beneath the invisibility cloak, she had to move forward to adjust. Closer to me. Hmm. Not a bad idea.
"The. . .erm. . . you know. . . uh. . .forgive me for sounding much too 'scientific', but I wanted to discuss the. . .I'm not sure if it's the right word, the *nature* of the kiss." The nature of the kiss? As far as I was concerned, kisses were either pecks, or preludes to snogs.
"With or without tongue? We both know that--"
"No, no, I meant, was it a. . . you know, a *casual* kiss, or a, you know. . ."
"A not casual kiss?" I filled in. I was feeling incredibly stupid (*feeling* stupid isn't the same as *being* stupid, I must say) at that time, but from the look on her face, so was she.
"Well, yes."
"What do *you* think?"
"I didn't know what to think, that's why I wanted to talk to you." Bloody hell. Did I want her to be my. . . consort? All right, that was probably pushing it a bit too far. Girlfriend. Of course I did, but what would it look like, I, the 'Slytherin Slimeball' as she called it, transfixed by Her, the Gryffindor Angel? No, no, that was *not* right at all. Rumors were flying around as it was, *without* us kissing and hugging in public. But we could *always* keep secrets. . . and everyone would be none the wiser. . . but what if- "Not casual. Definitely not casual." What strange, unseen, *sadistic* force made me say that? Had I just asked her to be my girlfriend? Albeit, indirectly, but there was hardly any difference, as both 'routes' led to the same conclusion.
Then I noticed her, standing so close in front of me. Not just saw, but really *noticed*. It must have been the Imperius curse. Because Lucius Malfoy definitely *did not* lean over and brush her cheek gently with his hand, for no reason at all.
But he did.
*I* did.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A/N: This time, I'm holding the next chapter hostage! Bwahahaha, I'll be conveniently loaded with homework, unless I get more than 5 reviews. Please?? Review?? Lucius says so too. And, yes, school started. It's absolutely horrible! I didn't know making friends was so hard. It probably *is* though, if you're the only one trying. *sigh* I wish Lucius was here, to shoo away this cloud of depression following me about at the moment. Humph. But he's too busy with Draco's school troubles. Oh well.
Chelli-Yes *smiles* it's definitely the hair. I mean, what would *you* rather have, nice, long, silver-blonde hair, or greasy, tangled, black hair? No competition at all. : D Thanks again for reviewing, and I'm glad you liked that part after they kissed : D
Dwen-you got it completely right! :D As you can probably see in this chapter, Lily was scared, and that's why she was acting a bit strange. Thanks for reviewing! :D
Addy-*sigh* school is definitely not right. Especially college. I wish I had a laptop, so I can type up the story when I don't have anything to do. Lily's still a little confused; remember she had a little crush on James? But then Lucius came into the picture, and, like any of us, she absolutely *cannot* resist his charms. I was thinking of writing a sequel to this, in Lily's POV, after Hogwarts. . . Still thinking about it though. :D Thanks for reviewing! :D
They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
If that happened to be even *remotely* true, then *why* hadn't *I* begun my journey yet? Merlin knew I'd already taken enough steps for a lifetime, pacing around the bloody common room for nearly half an hour.
To be honest, I had no idea *why* I was making such a big fuss over such little kiss. It wasn't like I had bloody virgin lips or anything. On the contrary, I'd probably locked-lips with more than half the female population in Hogwarts. And done more than that, besides. So *what* was so different with this one? All right, it was Lily. But Lily was just a woman-- *girl*, she was *just* a girl. Granted, a beautiful girl. But a girl nonetheless.
I desperately needed to clear my mind and untangle the jumble of thoughts that had accumulated there. I needed my faithful broom.
I walked back to my room, and saw Severus, fidgeting with his Potions set again. He glanced up at me- or at least, I thought he did (I could never be sure, with all that hair covering his face)--and motioned to a piece of sealed parchment on my desk, before bending down to measure some monkshood.
"Another poison, Severus? Take care not to expend all your worm skin; I hear the market's low in supply these days," I said, as lightly and carelessly as possible.
"I heard that as well. On the Daily Prophet yesterday, I believe." He replied, never looking up.
And that was how we made our truce. You see, we Slytherins don't like saying sorry. Either we're never wrong, or we're just plain spoiled, I don't know. But I prefer to believe the former.
It took quite a lot of self-restraint *not* to leap over to my desk and snatch up the letter. I walked slowly, and read it, the expression on my face literally shouting that it most boring thing on earth (though it certainly wasn't). What can I say? I was (and still am, by the way) an expert on masking emotions.
Lucius,
Could you meet me, 9:45, at the statue of Piro the Pathetic , the one near the old History of Magic classroom? .
Lily I smiled involuntarily at the sight of her handwriting. It reminded me of her, for some absurd reason. I grabbed a cloak-I didn't care which one, I looked good in all of them anyway-and dashed out of the room, not caring if Severus thought me strange or not. My watch said 9:40. I didn't want to be late.
She was standing there, looking as unsure of herself as I'd ever seen her.
"Lily?" She gave a small smile.
"Lucius. Why the invisibility cloak?" The invisibility cloak? True enough, as I looked down, my body was missing. So much for looking good *in* a cloak when I couldn't even be seen.
"It's after hours, and I wouldn't want to get caught by Pringle." I shrugged it off, all the while cursing myself inwardly for not paying enough attention to what I was wearing. This would never happen again.
"Well, could you take it off maybe? I feel rather odd speaking to a disembodied head." At least she'd gotten some of her humor back. Lily seemed *strange*.
"Of course." A heart-melting smile (an attempt to get her back to normal; somehow, I couldn't bear to see her like this), and the cloak was off. "Now, what did you want to see me about?"
"I wanted to talk to you about tonight. Lucius," My name again, and strangely my heart sort of skipped a beat, "Maybe we shouldn't really have. . ." she lowered her voice, "*kissed*." She regretted the kiss? No one regretted kissing Lucius Malfoy until *I* broke their hearts. Then, they probably regretted even seeing my face, but that was a whole other matter. I was feeling relatively defensive. I wasn't a horrible kisser, and both of us knew it.
"There's nothing *wrong* with a bit of healthy kissing, you know." I drawled, more sarcastically than I'd wanted to. Her green eyes flashed at my words.
"Well you know, it wasn't exactly *how* I pictured my first kiss to be like." First kiss? That couldn't be possible, she was a *fifth* year, for goodness (or badness) sake. I'd started kissing when I learned that girls did not, in fact, give off 'cooties'. And trust me, I'd learned that at a *very* young age.
"You're not serious." What else was I supposed to say? 'Oh, sorry, I ruined the experience'? I *was* an expert liar, but I just couldn't say I was a bad kisser when I certainly wasn't.
"Is it really that hard to believe, Lucius?" I was just about to say 'Yes, it is', when loud footsteps resonated from around the corner. Pringle. Without a word, I grabbed Lily and whipped the invisibility cloak about us. "What--" I put a finger to her lips and mouthed 'Pringle'. She nodded and kept silent.
Needless to say, just moments after we'd 'disappeared', the thin, gangly figure of Apollyon Pringle passed by, his lantern swinging so close to us, it was nearly a miracle he didn't see the light reflected off our eyes. I could have sworn I saw him sniff the air for trouble. Rumor said that he was half-werewolf and half-vampire. Not that I listened to rumors, of course.
We were both visibly relieved when he rounded the corner and disappeared.
Then, we were quiet. The look on her face told me she wouldn't be breaking the silence any time soon.
"Look, Lily, I'm sorry" I very nearly choked on the word, before continuing, "I didn't know." For some reason, I was feeling guilty, and I didn't know why.
"Lucius, I didn't come here to wring an apology out of you, it wasn't your fault. You didn't really *force* the kiss on me, it just happened."
"So what *did* you want to discuss with me then?" I leaned back on the wall, my arms crossed. Since both of us were still beneath the invisibility cloak, she had to move forward to adjust. Closer to me. Hmm. Not a bad idea.
"The. . .erm. . . you know. . . uh. . .forgive me for sounding much too 'scientific', but I wanted to discuss the. . .I'm not sure if it's the right word, the *nature* of the kiss." The nature of the kiss? As far as I was concerned, kisses were either pecks, or preludes to snogs.
"With or without tongue? We both know that--"
"No, no, I meant, was it a. . . you know, a *casual* kiss, or a, you know. . ."
"A not casual kiss?" I filled in. I was feeling incredibly stupid (*feeling* stupid isn't the same as *being* stupid, I must say) at that time, but from the look on her face, so was she.
"Well, yes."
"What do *you* think?"
"I didn't know what to think, that's why I wanted to talk to you." Bloody hell. Did I want her to be my. . . consort? All right, that was probably pushing it a bit too far. Girlfriend. Of course I did, but what would it look like, I, the 'Slytherin Slimeball' as she called it, transfixed by Her, the Gryffindor Angel? No, no, that was *not* right at all. Rumors were flying around as it was, *without* us kissing and hugging in public. But we could *always* keep secrets. . . and everyone would be none the wiser. . . but what if- "Not casual. Definitely not casual." What strange, unseen, *sadistic* force made me say that? Had I just asked her to be my girlfriend? Albeit, indirectly, but there was hardly any difference, as both 'routes' led to the same conclusion.
Then I noticed her, standing so close in front of me. Not just saw, but really *noticed*. It must have been the Imperius curse. Because Lucius Malfoy definitely *did not* lean over and brush her cheek gently with his hand, for no reason at all.
But he did.
*I* did.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * A/N: This time, I'm holding the next chapter hostage! Bwahahaha, I'll be conveniently loaded with homework, unless I get more than 5 reviews. Please?? Review?? Lucius says so too. And, yes, school started. It's absolutely horrible! I didn't know making friends was so hard. It probably *is* though, if you're the only one trying. *sigh* I wish Lucius was here, to shoo away this cloud of depression following me about at the moment. Humph. But he's too busy with Draco's school troubles. Oh well.
Chelli-Yes *smiles* it's definitely the hair. I mean, what would *you* rather have, nice, long, silver-blonde hair, or greasy, tangled, black hair? No competition at all. : D Thanks again for reviewing, and I'm glad you liked that part after they kissed : D
Dwen-you got it completely right! :D As you can probably see in this chapter, Lily was scared, and that's why she was acting a bit strange. Thanks for reviewing! :D
Addy-*sigh* school is definitely not right. Especially college. I wish I had a laptop, so I can type up the story when I don't have anything to do. Lily's still a little confused; remember she had a little crush on James? But then Lucius came into the picture, and, like any of us, she absolutely *cannot* resist his charms. I was thinking of writing a sequel to this, in Lily's POV, after Hogwarts. . . Still thinking about it though. :D Thanks for reviewing! :D
