"What in hell do you mean 'just leave it'?" Amelia asked, incredulous. "You
mean you're going to let that sod get away with what he did? I can't
believe you!" Amelia jumped up from her bed and stormed over to Lily,
looking as if she wanted to shake sense into her.
"Well you better start believing me, Amelia, because I'm serious!" Lily turned to face Amelia properly, administering Amy a 'I will do what the hell I want' kind of look. "You think I haven't thought about all this before? I realize that letting him get away with it is not a good thing, but what else can I do? I've had two weeks to mull over what I was going to tell you when you arrived, hoping that whatever I chose to do you would support me!"
"I do support you," Amelia grudged. "I just don't rate your methods of dealing with it though. You can't just let him get away with it. Doing that will make him think that he can do it again without consequence."
"He knows he won't be able to do it again, Amy." Lily sighed resignedly. "I just don't see the point in telling anyone. He won't do it again, it will only cause me to be the talk of the school, boys will be afraid to look at me again, I will have earned the Malfoy family as an official enemy and I would have ruined Malfoy's chances of ever becoming something... well... decent."
"You really have thought about this?" Amelia asked, concern troubling her eyes.
"A lot."
"And Remus knows your decision? And agrees with you?" she questioned further, delving deep.
"I don't know if he agrees, but he accepts that is my decision."
"Well," Amelia looked thoughtful for a second before nodding. "I suppose I support your decision too." She turned to leave the room but stopped and looked over her shoulder at Lily. "Just don't expect me to pretend I don't know what happened when he's around. He needs to realize that we have an advantage over him now, one wrong move and we could ruin his life."
Lily shivered at the malice in Amelia's voice as she walked out of the room. She was glad that Amelia had understood, if only fractionally, but the idea of Malfoy being at her mercy was something that made even Lily pity him.
"So how were the holidays with Remus, Lily?" James asked Lily as she sat down on the other side of the table the next morning.
"What does it matter to you, Potter?" she snapped, picking up a piece of toast and coating it in beans.
James looked flustered and then glanced at Amelia who simply shrugged in response. "I... uh... well, I was just wondering."
Sirius chuckled into his hot chocolate, thoroughly enjoying James' embarrassment.
Getting up from her chair, apparently disgusted, Lily glared at Sirius. "I don't know what you're laughing at, Black," she said, pulling a spellotaped piece of paper from his back and throwing it to Peter as she walked past. She heard Peter's guffaws of pleasure as she walked out of the hall and to the owlery where she planned on spending some time with the owls.
"You do realize, Mudblood, that if you or Loopy tells anyone else about what went on in that corridor, I will have to kill you." Lucius stepped out of the shadows in the deserted hallway and Lily cured the castle. There were just too many empty, brooding hallways where students like Malfoy could harass students like her.
"I can assure you, Malfoy, that your threat is not in any unexpected or frightening." Lily faced him confidently but found it increasingly difficult to keep her voice from wavering. "If I wish to tell anyone of what you tried to do to me that night..." she trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
"Ah, Ms. Mudblood, it would appear that you are not entirely over the effects it seems to have given you," he smirked, drawing ever closer and making Lily take an involuntary step back.
"Would you care to repeat the earlier statement of how I do not appear to frighten you?"
"I... That wasn't what I said," Lily retorted, feeling sick. Backing up faster she was dismayed to find herself against a wall. Cursing loudly, she searched frantically for any other students around that might be able to help her if need be but there was no one.
"Tell me, Mudblood. Does being in another deserted corridor with memories of what ensued after our last meeting terrify you even more?"
When Lily didn't answer, he continued. "Can't you feel it? No... I suppose not. You have never terrified someone enough to feel it, to feel the power radiating from their fear."
He stepped closer and brushed Lily's cheek ever so softy, making her shiver in fright. "Don't you see, Lily? The power, the control, it's all caused by fear. And I can invoke a kind of fear in you that I never thought possible."
Lily swallowed loudly and shut her eyes. She wasn't sure that she would be able to fight him off this time, the memories of the last occasion still vivid in her mind, taking away her sanity and any sense of self control that she might need in order to escape.
"The power you give me is incredible, Lily," he whispered, startling her more when he called her by her first name. "It satisfies my thirst but yet, it makes me greed for more..."
"You're disgusting, Malfoy!" Lily spat, revulsion in her voice. "You make me sick, did you know that? How a person like you can live with yourself is totally beyond me!"
"A lot of things are beyond your understanding, Mudblood. Very little is beyond mine." He moved closer, his cold breath brushing her neck as he talked. "I understand exactly what it is that makes you tick... I know so many things about you, Mudblood, that you would never sleep sound again if you knew."
"Why, Malfoy?" she questioned acidly. "Why me? Why... why this?"
"Because I can. I can and I will. I take my pleasures out of scaring you witless, Mudblood. Call me sick and twisted, but at least I am enjoying myself, living life. You? You sit around and slave over papers and assignments that will mean nothing when you leave these walls."
Malfoy released her and pushed her hard into the wall. "What are all these excellent assignments going to do when you're cowering before the Dark Lord, begging him not to kill you? What then, Mudblood?"
"Dark Lord?" Lily asked, confused. Regaining her composure, Lily looked Lucius up and down. "Have you gone completely bonkers?" she cried. "Dark Lord? Pleasures? Living life? First of all, I would hardly call getting pleasure out of scaring other students to death something to boast about, secondly--"
"Enough!" Malfoy interrupted, raising his hand to strike her. Shutting her eyes tight and awaiting the inevitable blow that was coming her way, she prayed it wouldn't hurt too much. But the blow never came. Opening her eyes she saw James holding Lucius' raised hand that was now balled into a fist.
Shaking slightly, James turned to look at Lily. "Are you alright?" he asked, his voice gruff and husky.
"I... I'm fine," she whispered, scared that she would have to explain to James what had happened. But he turned away and faced Lucius again.
"If you ever... ever so much as look at Lily the wrong way again, I will kill you." Lucius tried to yank his arm from James' vice like grip but he got nowhere. "Did you hear me, Malfoy?"
"I heard, Potter." Lucius gave one final pull of his arm and stalked away, not looking back at either of them.
"Did he hurt you?" James asked as soon as Lucius was out of sight.
"Did who hurt who?" Sirius asked as he came round the corner brightly.
"Yea, what happened?" Peter continued, following Sirius.
"Nothing," Lily replied a little too quickly, shooting James a warning look.
Remus looked doubtfully from one to the other, giving Lily a curious look.
"Just Peeves," James answered the other two, glancing at Lily.
"Ah, good old Peeves, eh mate?" Sirius commented, nudging Peter and carrying on down the hallway thinking up what Peeves might have done this time.
"Yeah, good old Peeves," Remus added, narrowing his eyes at Lily and James as he and Amelia walked past.
Waiting until they were all out of earshot he turned back to Lily. "Did he hurt you?" he repeated.
"No," Lily replied quietly. "He didn't hurt me."
James looked her over critically before nodding his consent. "We're going to be late to class, we should go." James gripped Lily's hand reassuringly and tugged her forwards but she resisted.
"P-James. Thank you... thank you for helping me."
James smiled gently. "Any time. Now come on, we're going to be late."
"Well you better start believing me, Amelia, because I'm serious!" Lily turned to face Amelia properly, administering Amy a 'I will do what the hell I want' kind of look. "You think I haven't thought about all this before? I realize that letting him get away with it is not a good thing, but what else can I do? I've had two weeks to mull over what I was going to tell you when you arrived, hoping that whatever I chose to do you would support me!"
"I do support you," Amelia grudged. "I just don't rate your methods of dealing with it though. You can't just let him get away with it. Doing that will make him think that he can do it again without consequence."
"He knows he won't be able to do it again, Amy." Lily sighed resignedly. "I just don't see the point in telling anyone. He won't do it again, it will only cause me to be the talk of the school, boys will be afraid to look at me again, I will have earned the Malfoy family as an official enemy and I would have ruined Malfoy's chances of ever becoming something... well... decent."
"You really have thought about this?" Amelia asked, concern troubling her eyes.
"A lot."
"And Remus knows your decision? And agrees with you?" she questioned further, delving deep.
"I don't know if he agrees, but he accepts that is my decision."
"Well," Amelia looked thoughtful for a second before nodding. "I suppose I support your decision too." She turned to leave the room but stopped and looked over her shoulder at Lily. "Just don't expect me to pretend I don't know what happened when he's around. He needs to realize that we have an advantage over him now, one wrong move and we could ruin his life."
Lily shivered at the malice in Amelia's voice as she walked out of the room. She was glad that Amelia had understood, if only fractionally, but the idea of Malfoy being at her mercy was something that made even Lily pity him.
"So how were the holidays with Remus, Lily?" James asked Lily as she sat down on the other side of the table the next morning.
"What does it matter to you, Potter?" she snapped, picking up a piece of toast and coating it in beans.
James looked flustered and then glanced at Amelia who simply shrugged in response. "I... uh... well, I was just wondering."
Sirius chuckled into his hot chocolate, thoroughly enjoying James' embarrassment.
Getting up from her chair, apparently disgusted, Lily glared at Sirius. "I don't know what you're laughing at, Black," she said, pulling a spellotaped piece of paper from his back and throwing it to Peter as she walked past. She heard Peter's guffaws of pleasure as she walked out of the hall and to the owlery where she planned on spending some time with the owls.
"You do realize, Mudblood, that if you or Loopy tells anyone else about what went on in that corridor, I will have to kill you." Lucius stepped out of the shadows in the deserted hallway and Lily cured the castle. There were just too many empty, brooding hallways where students like Malfoy could harass students like her.
"I can assure you, Malfoy, that your threat is not in any unexpected or frightening." Lily faced him confidently but found it increasingly difficult to keep her voice from wavering. "If I wish to tell anyone of what you tried to do to me that night..." she trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
"Ah, Ms. Mudblood, it would appear that you are not entirely over the effects it seems to have given you," he smirked, drawing ever closer and making Lily take an involuntary step back.
"Would you care to repeat the earlier statement of how I do not appear to frighten you?"
"I... That wasn't what I said," Lily retorted, feeling sick. Backing up faster she was dismayed to find herself against a wall. Cursing loudly, she searched frantically for any other students around that might be able to help her if need be but there was no one.
"Tell me, Mudblood. Does being in another deserted corridor with memories of what ensued after our last meeting terrify you even more?"
When Lily didn't answer, he continued. "Can't you feel it? No... I suppose not. You have never terrified someone enough to feel it, to feel the power radiating from their fear."
He stepped closer and brushed Lily's cheek ever so softy, making her shiver in fright. "Don't you see, Lily? The power, the control, it's all caused by fear. And I can invoke a kind of fear in you that I never thought possible."
Lily swallowed loudly and shut her eyes. She wasn't sure that she would be able to fight him off this time, the memories of the last occasion still vivid in her mind, taking away her sanity and any sense of self control that she might need in order to escape.
"The power you give me is incredible, Lily," he whispered, startling her more when he called her by her first name. "It satisfies my thirst but yet, it makes me greed for more..."
"You're disgusting, Malfoy!" Lily spat, revulsion in her voice. "You make me sick, did you know that? How a person like you can live with yourself is totally beyond me!"
"A lot of things are beyond your understanding, Mudblood. Very little is beyond mine." He moved closer, his cold breath brushing her neck as he talked. "I understand exactly what it is that makes you tick... I know so many things about you, Mudblood, that you would never sleep sound again if you knew."
"Why, Malfoy?" she questioned acidly. "Why me? Why... why this?"
"Because I can. I can and I will. I take my pleasures out of scaring you witless, Mudblood. Call me sick and twisted, but at least I am enjoying myself, living life. You? You sit around and slave over papers and assignments that will mean nothing when you leave these walls."
Malfoy released her and pushed her hard into the wall. "What are all these excellent assignments going to do when you're cowering before the Dark Lord, begging him not to kill you? What then, Mudblood?"
"Dark Lord?" Lily asked, confused. Regaining her composure, Lily looked Lucius up and down. "Have you gone completely bonkers?" she cried. "Dark Lord? Pleasures? Living life? First of all, I would hardly call getting pleasure out of scaring other students to death something to boast about, secondly--"
"Enough!" Malfoy interrupted, raising his hand to strike her. Shutting her eyes tight and awaiting the inevitable blow that was coming her way, she prayed it wouldn't hurt too much. But the blow never came. Opening her eyes she saw James holding Lucius' raised hand that was now balled into a fist.
Shaking slightly, James turned to look at Lily. "Are you alright?" he asked, his voice gruff and husky.
"I... I'm fine," she whispered, scared that she would have to explain to James what had happened. But he turned away and faced Lucius again.
"If you ever... ever so much as look at Lily the wrong way again, I will kill you." Lucius tried to yank his arm from James' vice like grip but he got nowhere. "Did you hear me, Malfoy?"
"I heard, Potter." Lucius gave one final pull of his arm and stalked away, not looking back at either of them.
"Did he hurt you?" James asked as soon as Lucius was out of sight.
"Did who hurt who?" Sirius asked as he came round the corner brightly.
"Yea, what happened?" Peter continued, following Sirius.
"Nothing," Lily replied a little too quickly, shooting James a warning look.
Remus looked doubtfully from one to the other, giving Lily a curious look.
"Just Peeves," James answered the other two, glancing at Lily.
"Ah, good old Peeves, eh mate?" Sirius commented, nudging Peter and carrying on down the hallway thinking up what Peeves might have done this time.
"Yeah, good old Peeves," Remus added, narrowing his eyes at Lily and James as he and Amelia walked past.
Waiting until they were all out of earshot he turned back to Lily. "Did he hurt you?" he repeated.
"No," Lily replied quietly. "He didn't hurt me."
James looked her over critically before nodding his consent. "We're going to be late to class, we should go." James gripped Lily's hand reassuringly and tugged her forwards but she resisted.
"P-James. Thank you... thank you for helping me."
James smiled gently. "Any time. Now come on, we're going to be late."