I know that after my last chapter, this one is going to seem pretty lame,
and I had trouble with the ending of the chapter, so it's not as good as
some of the writing earlier in this story. I promise though, the next
chapter will be much better! I won't post up any more worthless writing.
Even after all I've said, I hope you enjoy it!
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"Now, if you'll turn to your partner you can practice transforming the different objects before you into the label you see placed beneath it." McGonagall's voice trailed off as the students, anxious to be working on their own, turned excitedly to their partners.
"Right, so it says here that we have to change this cup into a miniscule water fountain, so a simple Mitargio would be appropriate, right? Right, James? James?" Sirius cleared his voice and waved his hand in front of his friend's dazed face.
"Sorry, what were you saying?" James asked, rather distractedly.
"Well, I was thinking that if we wanted to ace this assignment and turn this cup into a water fountain we should use the Mitargio spell. What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking that would work, and I was also thinking that we could take turns, you know? You do the first one, I'll do the second?" He attempted to cover-up for his attention lapse.
Sirius sighed and turned back to the cup. Raising his wand above his head, he brought it down swiftly and flicked it to the right just before hitting the cup. "Mitargio!" And with a flash of turquoise lights a tiny stone fountain was standing on the table, water burbling over the top and flowing down its sides, collecting in the pebbled basin. "Your turn, mate."
But James didn't seem to hear the sound of his friend's voice; he was too distracted by the image of Lily sitting across the room, giggling with Maren. 'She loves me, she really loves me.' The thought was enough to send his heart soaring. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn't notice it was his turn until he felt the sharp prod of Sirius' wand in his back.
"Ouch!" He yelped. Then, noticing half the class staring at him, he quickly turned his yelp into a cough. "What did you do that for?" He hissed at Sirius.
"Well excuse me for keeping you out of trouble with McGonagall, what's the deal? Evans has never distracted you from class before, why now?"
At the mention of Lily's name James blushed furiously, but he quickly bent his head over the next object, tea kettle that he was to transform into a turtle, and quickly read the criteria for his assignment. "Right, so, a Protilla Mitargio spell will work for this one." And he performed the spell with ease, bringing life to the kettle.
Sirius sighed, knowing that he couldn't pump James for any information at the moment, and continued to work on his transfiguration. As for James, he forced himself to think of anything but Lily, and spent the rest of the period concentrating on the task before him.
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"Did you see how he was looking at you during transfiguration?" Maren giggled. "Like you were some kind of god or something!" She fell into a fit of giggles as Lily rolled her eyes.
"Maren, drop it, ok?"
Straightening up, Maren put on a serious face. "What exactly happened last night? After the rest of us left?"
Lily heaved an exasperated sigh, "Maren! We've been through this already, we just talked."
"That's all?"
"Yes," she stated firmly. Then, as if it had only just occurred to her, "What happened to you three after you left us last night?"
She shrugged, "Not much."
"Maren, I've known you too long to believe that. You've been in love with Lupin since our third year, something happened."
Maren gaped at her. "How did you know I like Remus?"
"Puh-lease, I'm your best friend, I've been hanging out with you since we ran into each other on the Hogwarts express. You flirt with every guy except for Remus, you tease and taunt every guy except for Remus, you purposely flirt with Black whenever you're in front of Remus. How much more obvious could you get? You're the opposite of every normal girl, OW!" Lily shrieked in pain as Maren swatted her with her bag. "What was that for?"
"For being a smart-alecky know-it-all and for talking to loudly." She stated smugly.
Lily laughed and playfully shoved her friend. "Like you haven't been on my case everyday since Halloween about James?"
"What are friends for?" Maren smiled toothily at her.
"For information," Lily prompted, "C'mon, tell me what happened with you and Lupin, please!" She stuck out her lower lip, pouting like she had done when she was a child.
Maren laughed, "You should see your face, I pity who ever falls for that pathetic pout!"
Lily joined in her laughing, "That would be my parents, they've bought it since I was three."
"Poor misguided people," Maren feigned a pained expression.
"Hey!" Lily laughed, playfully smacking her friend's shoulder. "Those are my parents you're talking about!"
"Yes," Maren spoke gravely, "and they have you to thank for their misguided actions."
"No, they have me to thank for not forcing them to live a painful live with Petunia as an only child." Lily had meant the comment to come out lightly, but Maren could detect a faint hint of disgust in her words.
Maren opened her mouth to speak but before she could utter a word they're ears were filled with the din of the other students' chatter. Glancing around, Maren nodded her head to the end of the Gryffindor table, "Looks like there are two seats open by the boys."
Lily's heart jumped as her gaze settled on the two opened seats, one next to Lupin, and the other just across from it, next to James. Trying to conceal her delight, she coolly sauntered over to the table, accompanied by Maren, and asked, "Mind if we sit down?"
Sirius shrugged, "Alright with me, you three?"
Peter nodded shyly, while Remus smiled with a simple "yes" and James shrugged, attempting to act as cool as Lily, but he could not conceal the pleasure that was flooding through his face.
"Thanks," Maren smiled, once again flashing her pearly white grin as she took the seat next to Remus. Lily merely rolled her eyes at Maren's coquettish behavior, and gracefully placed herself in the seat next to James, brushing his arm with the sleeve of her robe as she did so.
James felt a shiver run up his spine as her robe brushed against his. It was silly, he knew, but it was the closest contact he could have with her. Though she had said that she loved him, no one else knew what had gone on between the two of them in the common room. Sure, all they had done was talk, but for some reason, James didn't want anyone to know the few words they had exchanged. No, he didn't mind telling people that they had talked about their classes, about their past, their feelings towards many things, but those few words about they're feelings toward each other was something that he wanted to keep to himself. He wanted to cherish those words like many people would cherish gold, and at this moment, he didn't want to share his treasure with anyone.
"James?"
"Hm?" He looked up to see the rest of the group staring at him. "Sorry, did I miss something?"
"Yeah, while you're head was in the clouds you missed our transfiguration lesson and now you're dazing away through our conversation, what is-"
"We were talking about how we should all get together for the next Hogsmeade trip," Remus broke in, interrupting the annoyed Sirius who merely stared furiously at him.
"Next trip? Sounds cool, so that would be on." James did some mental calculations. "February 14th."
"Valentines Day," Lily finished for him.
"Which of course is why we should all hook up," Maren stated, "It will be like a triple date."
Lily and James stared dumbfounded at Maren and Remus, but Sirius looked as though the news was nothing new to him.
"What exactly happened the other night?" James questioned.
Both Remus and Maren blushed, but neither of them said anything. When Lily turned to Sirius and Kelly they both shrugged.
"Its not like it should come as that big of a surprise to you," Sirius offered, "James, you knew that Remus fancied Maren and Lily clearly knew that the feeling was mutual."
"But still-"
"Look, the fact is, Sirius and Kelly are together, we're together," Maren smiled at Remus, "and you too are clearly together, so if the guys want to hang out together but still want to be with their girlfriends on Valentines day, this seems like the obvious thing to do."
Lily glanced at James; James glanced at Lily, both of them shrugged.
"Do you want to go?" He murmured softly into Lily's ear.
Feeling her heart flutter at the feel of his breath against her cheek, she simply muttered, "If you do."
Turning back to his friends, James shrugged, "Sure, when do we meet?"
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"Now, if you'll turn to your partner you can practice transforming the different objects before you into the label you see placed beneath it." McGonagall's voice trailed off as the students, anxious to be working on their own, turned excitedly to their partners.
"Right, so it says here that we have to change this cup into a miniscule water fountain, so a simple Mitargio would be appropriate, right? Right, James? James?" Sirius cleared his voice and waved his hand in front of his friend's dazed face.
"Sorry, what were you saying?" James asked, rather distractedly.
"Well, I was thinking that if we wanted to ace this assignment and turn this cup into a water fountain we should use the Mitargio spell. What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking that would work, and I was also thinking that we could take turns, you know? You do the first one, I'll do the second?" He attempted to cover-up for his attention lapse.
Sirius sighed and turned back to the cup. Raising his wand above his head, he brought it down swiftly and flicked it to the right just before hitting the cup. "Mitargio!" And with a flash of turquoise lights a tiny stone fountain was standing on the table, water burbling over the top and flowing down its sides, collecting in the pebbled basin. "Your turn, mate."
But James didn't seem to hear the sound of his friend's voice; he was too distracted by the image of Lily sitting across the room, giggling with Maren. 'She loves me, she really loves me.' The thought was enough to send his heart soaring. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn't notice it was his turn until he felt the sharp prod of Sirius' wand in his back.
"Ouch!" He yelped. Then, noticing half the class staring at him, he quickly turned his yelp into a cough. "What did you do that for?" He hissed at Sirius.
"Well excuse me for keeping you out of trouble with McGonagall, what's the deal? Evans has never distracted you from class before, why now?"
At the mention of Lily's name James blushed furiously, but he quickly bent his head over the next object, tea kettle that he was to transform into a turtle, and quickly read the criteria for his assignment. "Right, so, a Protilla Mitargio spell will work for this one." And he performed the spell with ease, bringing life to the kettle.
Sirius sighed, knowing that he couldn't pump James for any information at the moment, and continued to work on his transfiguration. As for James, he forced himself to think of anything but Lily, and spent the rest of the period concentrating on the task before him.
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"Did you see how he was looking at you during transfiguration?" Maren giggled. "Like you were some kind of god or something!" She fell into a fit of giggles as Lily rolled her eyes.
"Maren, drop it, ok?"
Straightening up, Maren put on a serious face. "What exactly happened last night? After the rest of us left?"
Lily heaved an exasperated sigh, "Maren! We've been through this already, we just talked."
"That's all?"
"Yes," she stated firmly. Then, as if it had only just occurred to her, "What happened to you three after you left us last night?"
She shrugged, "Not much."
"Maren, I've known you too long to believe that. You've been in love with Lupin since our third year, something happened."
Maren gaped at her. "How did you know I like Remus?"
"Puh-lease, I'm your best friend, I've been hanging out with you since we ran into each other on the Hogwarts express. You flirt with every guy except for Remus, you tease and taunt every guy except for Remus, you purposely flirt with Black whenever you're in front of Remus. How much more obvious could you get? You're the opposite of every normal girl, OW!" Lily shrieked in pain as Maren swatted her with her bag. "What was that for?"
"For being a smart-alecky know-it-all and for talking to loudly." She stated smugly.
Lily laughed and playfully shoved her friend. "Like you haven't been on my case everyday since Halloween about James?"
"What are friends for?" Maren smiled toothily at her.
"For information," Lily prompted, "C'mon, tell me what happened with you and Lupin, please!" She stuck out her lower lip, pouting like she had done when she was a child.
Maren laughed, "You should see your face, I pity who ever falls for that pathetic pout!"
Lily joined in her laughing, "That would be my parents, they've bought it since I was three."
"Poor misguided people," Maren feigned a pained expression.
"Hey!" Lily laughed, playfully smacking her friend's shoulder. "Those are my parents you're talking about!"
"Yes," Maren spoke gravely, "and they have you to thank for their misguided actions."
"No, they have me to thank for not forcing them to live a painful live with Petunia as an only child." Lily had meant the comment to come out lightly, but Maren could detect a faint hint of disgust in her words.
Maren opened her mouth to speak but before she could utter a word they're ears were filled with the din of the other students' chatter. Glancing around, Maren nodded her head to the end of the Gryffindor table, "Looks like there are two seats open by the boys."
Lily's heart jumped as her gaze settled on the two opened seats, one next to Lupin, and the other just across from it, next to James. Trying to conceal her delight, she coolly sauntered over to the table, accompanied by Maren, and asked, "Mind if we sit down?"
Sirius shrugged, "Alright with me, you three?"
Peter nodded shyly, while Remus smiled with a simple "yes" and James shrugged, attempting to act as cool as Lily, but he could not conceal the pleasure that was flooding through his face.
"Thanks," Maren smiled, once again flashing her pearly white grin as she took the seat next to Remus. Lily merely rolled her eyes at Maren's coquettish behavior, and gracefully placed herself in the seat next to James, brushing his arm with the sleeve of her robe as she did so.
James felt a shiver run up his spine as her robe brushed against his. It was silly, he knew, but it was the closest contact he could have with her. Though she had said that she loved him, no one else knew what had gone on between the two of them in the common room. Sure, all they had done was talk, but for some reason, James didn't want anyone to know the few words they had exchanged. No, he didn't mind telling people that they had talked about their classes, about their past, their feelings towards many things, but those few words about they're feelings toward each other was something that he wanted to keep to himself. He wanted to cherish those words like many people would cherish gold, and at this moment, he didn't want to share his treasure with anyone.
"James?"
"Hm?" He looked up to see the rest of the group staring at him. "Sorry, did I miss something?"
"Yeah, while you're head was in the clouds you missed our transfiguration lesson and now you're dazing away through our conversation, what is-"
"We were talking about how we should all get together for the next Hogsmeade trip," Remus broke in, interrupting the annoyed Sirius who merely stared furiously at him.
"Next trip? Sounds cool, so that would be on." James did some mental calculations. "February 14th."
"Valentines Day," Lily finished for him.
"Which of course is why we should all hook up," Maren stated, "It will be like a triple date."
Lily and James stared dumbfounded at Maren and Remus, but Sirius looked as though the news was nothing new to him.
"What exactly happened the other night?" James questioned.
Both Remus and Maren blushed, but neither of them said anything. When Lily turned to Sirius and Kelly they both shrugged.
"Its not like it should come as that big of a surprise to you," Sirius offered, "James, you knew that Remus fancied Maren and Lily clearly knew that the feeling was mutual."
"But still-"
"Look, the fact is, Sirius and Kelly are together, we're together," Maren smiled at Remus, "and you too are clearly together, so if the guys want to hang out together but still want to be with their girlfriends on Valentines day, this seems like the obvious thing to do."
Lily glanced at James; James glanced at Lily, both of them shrugged.
"Do you want to go?" He murmured softly into Lily's ear.
Feeling her heart flutter at the feel of his breath against her cheek, she simply muttered, "If you do."
Turning back to his friends, James shrugged, "Sure, when do we meet?"
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