Chapter 6: Dinner and a Detention

(disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or claim it as my own. I am only inspired by the characters and write about them. After all, isn't that what fanfiction is? I write for others to enjoy! So please do!)

(AN: I realized while writing this chapter that I had forgotten something in Ch.1, so I went back and redid it. So you need to go back and read it! If you can't tell what I added/changed, then I did a good job! )

"Follow me, please. And remember: remain calm. If they feel threatened in any way, they will run off, and it will be very difficult to find them." The class was following Professor Kettleburn to an isolated pen in the entry of the forest. It was a beautiful afternoon, and the sun was high overhead, its rays peaking through the leaves.

The morning had been much better than the first two, Lily acknowledged. Except for the fact that she had not received a reply from her mother yet. But she told herself not to worry about it, since it might take a few days for her to respond in privacy. For now, Lily would grin and bare it.

But there was something else on her mind now. James Potter. She couldn't find herself to meet his glances. After last night, the look in his eyes had frightened her. Not like the beasts of the forest scared the students. She was scared that he might actually be able to 'win her over,' as he had said. But that didn't frighten her. It was the fact that a part of her might actually let him.

"Approach slowly, and make sure you have a gentle expression," Kettleburn said, bringing Lily back around. The old man was standing at the gate of a pen, his disfigured hand preparing to open it. The poor man had encountered so many experiences with magical creatures. Lily wondered when one would finally swallow him whole and save him the torture of losing another limb.

"Can anyone tell me what these marvelous creatures are?" Kettleburn asked, taking care not to raise his voice.

Lily looked into the pen, and only saw one animal. It resembled a large ape, with shimmering silver fur. It was actually rather beautiful, with its hair glimmering in the sunlight. She racked her brain to think of the identity of the beast.

"It's a Demiguise," Potter said suddenly. Many heads turned to look at him. He was standing with his usual group, and they were all attentive to the ape in the pen. Potter continued, "The Demiguise is able to make itself invisible, and its hair can be woven to make invisibility cloaks."

Kettleburn smiled a nearly toothless grin. "Ten points to Gryffindor! Very well, Potter. I trust you have seen one before?"

Black was chuckling and elbowed Potter, who replied, "I guess you can say that, professor."

Seemingly excepting this answer, Kettleburn continued. "Now, there are actually ten Demiguises in here, but it appears that some of them are a little nervous." The gray man stepped into the pen, making a clicking noise with his tongue. It drew the attention of the black-eyed animal, and it came over to him, reaching to just above his elbow. Kettleburn affectionately rubbed its head, and Lily could swear it was purring.

"You will see that I have provided baskets of vegetables for you to feed the Demiguise with. They are herbivorous animals, and are gentle creatures. Once they see that you mean them no harm, the others should become visible."

Lily entered the pen, making sure to pick up a few carrots from the nearby basket. Potter and Black were already chatting with Professor Kettleburn, and Lupin was feeding some lettuce to the solitary ape, which was watching him with his black eyes.

"Oh my goodness!" Danyel exclaimed, and Lily turned to see what was the matter. Another silvery animal had appeared before her friend, almost identical to the first. It had nipped at the cabbage in her hand, which startled Danyel.

"Why, aren't you a beauty," Zora said motherly like, cooing at the Demiguise. She reached out and scratched its ears, to which he purred at her. "His fur is so smooth. Almost like water."

Kassie and Greta had joined them by now, the five girls feeding their friendly ape. Greta smiled at Zora. "I believe this one is a girl, Zora."

"Whatever."

They spent the rest of the hour discussing the habitats and mannerisms of the Demiguise, and how to care for them. Lily felt it was a perfect lesson to end the day with. She couldn't take her hand away from the smooth hair of the animal. Lily found it quite comforting, even though it was an odd sensation against her fingers.

As the Gryffindor seventh years walked back towards the castle to clean up, Lily could feel Potter's watchful eye. She didn't dare look at him though. Apparently, Zora noticed his gaze as well.

"How did detention go?" she asked, her tone hinting at something. She was grinning from ear to ear.

"Fine," Lily replied bluntly. She looked down at her feet, which were shuffling through the grass. Her bag was bumping against her hip, and so she pretended to be busy with it.

"That didn't sound so convincing," Greta smiled, pulling her own bag up higher on her shoulder. "Something must have happened for Potter to keep looking at you."

"He's always looking at me," Lily replied.

"Ah," Zora said, putting her hand up as if to bring their attention to something. "But he's usually looking at you when he's showing off, to see if you notice. Now he's just looking at you. Something's changed."

"Did you tell him off or something?" Kassie asked, peaking her head in between Zora and Lily.

"No!" Lily said sharply. "We just...cleaned."

Zora couldn't help but laugh. "Is that what it's called now?"

"Is that what what's called?" Danyel asked from Greta's side.

"Potter and Lily are 'cleaning' together," Zora teased.

Lily growled frustratingly. "Stop teasing me!" She sped up, reaching the castle before the rest of the class. As she entered through the doors, she found herself walking right through Sir Nicholas, the Gryffindor's resident ghost.

"Oh, my dear lady, forgive me," he said, lightly bowing, having to catch his head before it tipped out of place. "You seem to be in a hurry."

"Sorry," Lily said, continuing to rush past. She could hear the ghost muttering about her rudeness, but she didn't care right now. Lily was just trying to get away from those charming hazel eyes that her friends insisted on talking about.

Once in her room, she changed for dinner, looking hopefully at her desk. But there had been no delivery of a letter. Lily was about to open the door, but suddenly felt that being in the hall was not wise. She had a feeling that her friends would only continue to question her, and Potter's eyes wouldn't leave her. She wasn't sure how much of that she could take.

(Dinner and a Detention)

Lily hadn't eaten anything at all since lunch, and she was starting to feel the affect. She could hardly pay attention as Filch went on about what they were supposed to do.

"That whimpering excuse of a ghost has made a mess of my hallway. Make sure the water is all mopped up, or I'll insist that the Headmaster allow me to hang you from the ceiling." He glared at them before heading off down the hall, disappearing up the stairs.

"What would be worse torture? Hanging from the ceiling from our wrists, or listening to Myrtle for several hours?"

Potter was appearing to make a joke, but Lily was too distracted to laugh. He seemed to notice, because his smile disappeared. "I understand," he muttered, grabbing a mop and slowly sweeping at the puddles that had formed.

"What?" Lily finally said, looking up from her task.

"I've freaked you out. Ruined my chances. No need to say anything," he replied, agitated. He looked back at the floor, rubbing at the same spot over and over.

"No, it's not that." Lily was leaning against her broom. Her stomach was aching so much; she couldn't believe she had abandoned dinner. But it would have been harder for her to avoid his warm eyes any further.

"You don't have to console me," Potter continued, never looking up. "I'll stop bothering you."

"I never said I didn't want you to..."

"It's all right!" Potter said loudly, splashing water against the wall.

"Would you shut up for once and listen to me?!" Lily yelled, bringing even Moaning Myrtle to silence within her stall. Potter looked up, and for the first time since last night, she met his gaze. "I'm trying to tell you that you haven't done anything. I'm just hungry."

He looked at her curiously, as if trying to tell that was just some new excuse. "Seriously?"

"Seriously!" Lily hadn't said it in anger, but more in humor. She actually couldn't hide her smile. "Don't you ever get tired of just listening to yourself?"

He slightly glared at her, but she could see a hint of laughter in his eyes. "I guess I'll work on that. Why didn't you eat anything?"

"I wanted to get a head start on my homework," Lily lied. She couldn't admit to him that she was afraid of looking at him. Not when for the past six years she had convinced herself that he was not her type, and now her mind was taking a turn.

"Well, why don't you go eat something?"

"I can't leave here. We're supposed to be mopping up the floor." Lily started moving the mop around, but it barely had an affect.

"This floor will never be dry," Potter said, leaning his mop against the wall. "Come on." He grabbed her wrist, causing her to drop the mop against the floor. It made a splashy thump sound, but Lily didn't have enough time to stop and pick it up. Potter was dragging her cautiously around corners, apparently keeping an eye out for Filch.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked nervously, feeling her pulse racing as Potter kept his hold on her hand. He wasn't exactly holding her hand, but it was close enough that she could feel her cheeks blushing.

"You said you were hungry. I'm not going to stand by and let you starve." He led her down several flights of steps. They scurried down the main staircase, to a door that led below the main level. Along a corridor were many pictures of food, and Potter stopped in front of a portrait of a large fruit bowl.

"What are we doing here?" Lily whispered.

"Getting you something to eat. Sirius and I usually stop by here once a week to pick up a snack. They like us visiting." Potter reached out to touch a pear that was in the portrait. Lily was wondering who he was talking about when a doorknob suddenly appeared where the pear had been, and Potter was opening a door.

Lily entered a room she had never been in before, but she could guess by the layout that they were under the Great Hall. Four long tables were placed exactly where the house tables were above, and pots and pans were hanging all over the brick walls. But what was most outstanding was the large group of house elves that inhabited the room that Lily assumed to be a kitchen.

"Mister Potter! Good to see you, sir," several squeaky voices chirped, rushing over to him.

"Evening. Do you think you could spare some food? Miss Evans here missed supper." Potter smiled over at her, and she turned her eyes away.

"Of course, Mister Potter, sir!" Several house elves suddenly were scurrying about, whipping up food as if from thin air. They all approached Lily, offering her many delicious things to eat.

"Come sit down," Potter said, pointing to a seat next to the one he had taken. He was already digging into the food that had been offered to him. As Lily walked over to join him, many elves were bowing and smiling at her, still showing her more plates of food.

"Won't we get in trouble for this?" Lily asked, sitting down.

"No. As I said, Sirius and I come down here at least once a week. We haven't got caught yet." He bit into a juicy red apple, the crispy sound echoing through the room. Most of the elves were now continuing their cleaning, but some were still giving them platters. "Of course, you have to know how not to get caught."

"What other escapades have you and Black ventured on?" Lily asked, slightly curious.

"If I told you all my secrets, what would we have to talk about?" He winked at her, and Lily could feel her cheeks burning. She picked up a glass of milk and gulped it down, trying to hide her rosy complexion.

They sat there, among the noise of banging pots and pans and house elves scurrying about, talking for quite some time and enjoying the rich food placed before them. They swapped childhood stories, sometimes even recollecting about their past years at Hogwarts.

"So Sirius Black is really living at your house?" Lily asked, putting down her fork. The meal had been all too filling, she couldn't take another bite. "I thought you two were just jesting."

"No, he moved in last summer, after fifth year." Potter was facing Lily, straddling the bench seat. He was still taking bites of the chocolate cake that had been given to him. "His mom is a nut. I don't blame him for leaving the house."

"I wouldn't mind leaving mine," Lily said. "But now I don't have to, since Petunia's getting married."

Potter stared wide-eyed at her. "After what you just told me about her, somebody actually fancies that twit?"

"Unbelievable, isn't it?" Lily giggled. She pulled her legs up, sitting cross-legged and facing him now, instead of the table. She was glad she had changed into pants, for a skirt would have been very bad to wear, sitting in this position.

"When's she getting married?"

"In November. I think she wanted to make sure I couldn't be there." Lily looked down at her hands, which were fiddling with a spot of lint on her knee. "I don't care, though. I guess as long as she's happy."

Potter hadn't said anything, and she looked up to find him smiling at her.

"What?"

"Whoever marries you will be one lucky man."

Lily was stunned. He has said that so sincerely. "Are you telling me that you're giving up on me?"

"Now I didn't say that," Potter laughed. "I just meant that whoever you do choose to be with, he'd be truly rewarded. I could only wish it was me, of course," he smiled charmingly, "but in the end, it's your decision who you spend your life with."

"Thank you," Lily said softly.

"For what?"

She smiled at him. "For being honest."

"Mister Potter! You needs to get back to your room!" A small, feminine house elf was squeaking at them, pulling on their legs. "Scrub seen the caretaker looking for you!"

Scrub, another house elf, was nodding fiercely. "You must go!"

Lily and Potter jumped up from their seats, rushing towards the door. As they walked by, Lily could feel the elves shoving last minute treats into her hands. "Thank you!" she stammered as they disappeared behind the portrait.

Potter was looking down the corridor, holding his finger over his lips. "Filch is downstairs. Go up quietly." He clasped her hand this time, holding it tightly as he led her up the staircase.

Lily knew she should be focusing on getting to their detention site undetected, but all she could think of was Potter's strong hand holding hers. It almost felt right.

"Did you hear that?"

Lily blinked. "What?"

He was grinning. "Shh..." he led her to a door along the corridor, pressing his ear against it. Lily followed his example, her head leaning against the door where his shoulder was. Potter really had grown over the summer.

At first, all Lily could tell was that the wooden door was cold against her skin. But then she started to hear incoherent noises, which turned into a muffled conversation, and then some rather erotic noises.

"Don't they know how to cast a silencio charm?" Potter whispered, trying not to laugh. Lily could only wonder who was having such a good time in the empty classroom.

"Come on," Potter said, dragging her back up the stairs. They reached Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, only to find everything sparkling clean and quiet. "Where'd all the water go?"

Lily could only shake her head. "Perhaps Myrtle cleaned it up."

"I doubt that."

They heard footsteps approaching and turned to see Dumbledore approaching them. He was wearing his usual all-knowing grin. "My, it looks like you two should head back to your house. I'll inform Filch that you are done."

"But Headmaster," Lily began. She couldn't take claim for something they hadn't done. Especially since they had skipped out on it.

Dumbledore winked at them. "Goodnight." He turned around, heading back the way he came.

Potter and Lily stared dumbfounded, long after he had disappeared down the stairs. Potter finally spoke, breaking the silence. "Well, I guess we can go to bed then."

"Yeah," Lily simply replied.