Chapter 10 – Frumpy and Sarcastic
"Lily, if you don't get up, you're going to miss breakfast!" Amelia whined, not wanting to go to down to breakfast by herself. "You need to eat more!"
"Just ten more minutes!" Lily cried, snuggling into her comforter a little more, reluctant to get up and face the world.
Lily had made a promise to herself last night. A promise that she intended to keep no matter what. She supposed that the sudden change in attitude had something to do with the row with Amelia, but either way she realized that she had been acting very out of character lately. Very strange indeed.
It must have seemed so strange to everyone who knew her – she seldom ever let things get her down and was always portraying an image of happiness or even annoyance, though that was mainly towards Potter.
"You've already had an extra twenty!" Amy complained, becoming frustrated. "If you don't get up right this instant I'm going to hex your hair green!"
"You don't know how!" Lily cried, sitting up in alarm, shooting Amy a horrified look.
Amy looked smug. "You don't remember what happened to Narcissistic Narcissa last year, do you?"
"Of course I do!" Lily snapped, repressing a giggle as she remember the look of horror crossing the girls face as she realized she'd walked into breakfast with bright green hair instead of her usual white-blonde. "Surely that wasn't--"
"One and the same," Amelia interrupted, a vicious smile coming over her face as her eyes shined gleefully.
"I'm up!" Lily cried, throwing the comforter off herself and rushing for the trunk at the end of her bed, pulling out some normal clothes and a nice, thick robe. Christmas may have been and gone but winter sure was hanging on with talons.
"Morning Lily," Remus greeted somewhat restrained. "How did you sleep?"
"Excellently!" Lily replied chirpily, almost smirking at the suspicious look Remus cast her way. She sure was in a good mood this morning and he obviously thought that strange after her behaviour the last few weeks.
"Looks like it's going to be a nice day today," Peter announced through a mouthful of toast as he gazed out the windows, a smile shining in his eyes.
"A great day for Quidditch!" James cried, his eyes lighting up excitedly. He looked over to Sirius, enthusiasm screaming from his every pore.
Sirius, however, didn't look half as excited. In fact, he looked downright sick at the idea. Or maybe just plain sick?
"Are you alright, Padfoot?" Peter asked, concern ringing in his voice. Sirius was seldom ever sick and always smiling. Something was seriously wrong with this picture.
"I'll be fine," Sirius croaked, managing a small smile.
"Do you want me to take you to Madam Pomfrey?" Remus asked, putting his spoon full of scrambled egg down. "You don't look too hot."
"Thanks mate, you always know how to make me feel better!" Sirius rolled his eyes and swallowed painfully. "I said I'd be fine. I know you've got that bloody book in your bag, Remus. Had to force it off you last night so you'd sleep."
"What does that have to with anything, Padfoot?" James asked, confused.
"Well, he's wanting to read it, isn't he?" Sirius said impatiently. "And you and Peter want to play Quidditch. No point in wasting time when I'm perfectly capable of walking there myself, is there?"
Remus looked doubtful. "Are you sure, mate?"
"Positive," Sirius replied with force.
Breakfast was finished in silence as the boys all watched Sirius like hawks, almost as if they were scared he'd suddenly fall off his seat.
"So it's settled then?" Amy asked, looking about the other three girls. Lily appeared to be frowning off in her own little world as she watched the Marauders at the other end of the table but both Rose and Jessica were listening intently.
"Quite," Rose agreed, smiling. "We're all off to sit beside the lake in the sun – while we have it, at any rate."
"But what are we going to do down there?" Jess asked, looking perplexed. "I didn't bring anything down with me to do."
"I'm sure we'll find something to do," Amy countered. "What about a girly talk?" she chuckled, knowing full well that no one was up for a 'girly talk'. A talk about Hogwarts Hottest was probably the most likely.
"I suppose," Jess shrugged yet still looked doubtful.
"If worst comes to worst," Rose sighed, playing with her beans, "We can simply come back up and go to the library."
At this, Lily perked up and turned back to the girls. "Merlin! I've just remembered!"
"Remembered what?"
"I ordered a book from Madam Pince last week and she told me it would be here yesterday. I hope she's not angry with me!"
Rose chuckled. "Lily, you're absolutely hopeless. You're also the only girl I know who gets worked up about that snotty little librarian getting angry at you."
Lily smiled wryly. "I can't help it… She really is very nice – if you're willing to overlook the hair, her dress sense and the fact that she really loathes any kind of disturbance at all. Other than that sh--"
"She's an uptight frump!"
"Frump?" Amy and Jess asked together, looking at Rose in bewilderment.
"What in heck is a frump?"
"I don't have time for this!" Lily cried, picking up her things and walking a few steps before turning back around. "I'll catch up with you lot later, alright?"
"I'm awfully sorry, Madam Pince," Lily apologized as the old woman pulled the book out from a drawer behind the desk.
"It's alright dear," she answered, her lips pinched in such a way that you could tell she was really quite peeved.
"I lost track of the time, with school starting and all. I hope it wasn't too much of an inconvenience." Lily carefully placed the book under her arm and looked up at the librarian sincerely. She really did seem quite annoyed.
"It was no hassle at all. Owling in to the Institute of Ravenclaw, sending the galleons for packaging and shipment, signing multiple clauses that would ensure it's safe and speedy return to the institution and of course the multiple inquiries into what it might be used to research for. It was no problem, dear. Please come again next time you need another book."
Lily blinked and then left, slightly perturbed by the annoyance that Madam Pince had shown.
"There was no need for her to be sarcastic," Lily said to herself in the empty corridor. "Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit." Then she smiled to herself. Things were looking up already.
"Talking to yourself, Evans?"
Not even Sirius could get rid of this smile. She turned around and flashed her teeth at him. "Looking a bit pasty this morning, Black," she chirped, ignoring the glower he sent her way.
"Who was being sarcastic?" he asked nosily, sending the topic away from his own paleness.
Lily slowed to walk beside him, a gesture that made Sirius blink and worry if her was going insane as well as being slightly sick.
"That frump of a librarian," she answered, smirking at Rose's expression.
"Frump?" Sirius asked, his eyebrows shooting up. "Since when does Lily Evans insult teachers?"
Lily smiled wryly. "Well – first, she started it. There was no need to use sarcasm after I apologized for my tardiness. And second, I don't actually mean it. I don't think I've got it in me to insult a teacher and mean it. Except maybe Professor Trellis. She may be smart but she is also very biased."
Sirius chuckled. Then he realized that he was walking down a corridor with Evans, having a civil conversation and finding what she was saying amusing. He really was sick. But then it took two to have a conversation – maybe Lily had caught whatever he had too?
"Where are you headed?" she asked suddenly, looking up at Sirius. "You really aren't looking your best today. You should go see Madam Pomfrey."
"Actually," Sirius countered, smiling wryly, "I was just on my way there. Do you want to walk with me?"
Sirius couldn't believe it. He'd just asked Lily Evans to escort him to the hospital wing. That was after he'd turned down his best friends' company. And here was where he was going to get shot down. He supposed it was better that she'd say no – he might actually start to like talking to her.
"Might as well," she answered, shrugging. "I've got nothing better to do."
Despite Sirius' earlier thoughts, he found himself quite pleased that she'd agreed to come. Even more pleased when he found that she was even easy to talk to. Maybe she wasn't quite the weed he thought she was originally. And she had a sense of humour!
"You know, Evans," Sirius said as they paused outside the hospital wing. "You're all right."
Lily laughed, her eyes friendly. Or friendlier, at least. "I would have to say the same thing, Black. Sometimes you're actually civil, not the bigheaded, arrogant pratt I always thought you were."
Sirius decided to take that as a compliment and flashed his dazzling smile at her, even if it was slightly dulled because of how sick he was feeling. "I'll see you later, Evans," he said in farewell and watched as she walked off down the corridor before turning into the hospital wing.
After a while sitting in the hospital wing, waiting for Madam Pomfrey to finish the potion she had announced he needed, Sirius decided not to tell James what had happened earlier with Evans. James would either be jealous, angry, or even worse; He'd ask Sirius how he'd done it, when truthfully, he had absolutely no idea himself.
Author's Note: Yes, yes, such a long time between updates. I'm sorry. I really am.
I lack the ability to update both here and the other site I frequent at the same time. SO, as it goes, I'm seriously behind in my updating here and still behind updating at the other site, but less so As it goes, over on I'm up to chapter 12 on this story… but oh well.
Again, sorry, I hope you liked the chapter. I'm looking to go back and edit this fic, so be aware of that. Thanks!