Chapter 2

(A/N) The story's progressing!

Disclaimer: I own the plot, Evelyn, and Bella.

*~*~*~*~*

"Hi, Prongsie," Sirius said, edging over to his friend's table, the next twenty-four hours later at breakfast.

"Huh?" James frowned, spooning some of the soggy cereal in his bowl.

"Prongs? Antlers? Honestly, mate, how thick can you get?"

"Very," a chilly voice behind them said.

"Hi, Lady Lily!" Sirius greeted.

"I don't want to know," Lily sighed, taking out a brush to straighten her wavy auburn hair.

"Sounds like a fork," James said, as if Lily had never arrived.

"Except forks are sharper than you," Lily said, now pulling it back into her usual low ponytail in a plain scrunchy.

James scowled into his soggy cereal. Even when she didn't know the topic, Lily could manipulate the conversation into an insult towards him.

"Oh, sod off, Evans," he said finally.

"Took you long enough to get that out," Lily said simply, putting away her brush.

"Shut up."

"You," she said, pausing for effect, "are an idiot."

"Oh yeah, real original!" he said as she picked up her books and left for her first class, early as always.

*~*~*~*~*

After an exhausting day that passed quickly for some, and slowly for others, all the students trudged up to the Great Hall for their dinner.

"What's that?" Sirius asked, pointing at an unopened envelope on James' right, while stuffing a sandwich down his mouth, as Lily watched with her usual disapproving expression.

"Er… From a doctor. About my mum… she's sick," James shrugged and grabbed a pasty.

"My most sincere condolences," Lily said, daintily spooning some soup into her mouth.

"Yeah, right," James rolled his eyes. "Like you care?"

Lily frowned. "As a matter of fact, I do. Contrary to popular belief," she said, pursing her lips, "My heart isn't made of stone."

"Yeah. I guess it must be made of steel," James responded, grabbing a loaf of bread and stuffing it down.

Lily frowned again, and ate her dinner silently the rest of the night, as two boys across from her were trying to start a food fight.

*~*~*~*~*

"He's so cute!" Evelyn sighed in the Common Room after dinner.

Lily was bent over her notebook, rewriting the highlighted parts of her notes.

"Lily, what are you doing?" Bella asked, as Lily repeatedly wrote, "Phobia Charms create unbalance in the brain's nerve center…"

"My new method of studying," Lily responded. "I rewrite all the important parts of my notes, and it eventually drills into my mind. I tried it out this summer; now I've memorized the chemical symbols of all the elements known to muggles."

"You were memorizing the Table of Elements over the summer?" Evelyn asked in shock.

Lily shrugged. "Good things to know. As we're in high school in muggle standards, I should have memorized them years ago."

"I'm glad I'm not in muggle school," Evelyn muttered.

Lily sighed, and returned to her studying, now writing, "The first time Phobia Charms were used in a wizard's duel was 1674, between Benardo Francios and Hernando DiLivitaca…"

*~*~*~*~*

Lily rushed into Transfiguration Class the next morning, under the strict eyes of McGonagall.

"Miss Evans? You're late. Would you like to explain yourself?"

Lily colored deeply. "I slept in, professor. I don't think my alarm clock was working…"

"Enough. Take a seat. Now, as I was saying, this year, Transfiguration will be much harder this year, and your course expectations will be higher, as you are entering you last and final year. I don't doubt that you all have the potential to complete this with top marks, but some of you," the professor's eyes briefly swept over Lily, "must try harder. Now… Mr. Potter, tell me, who discovered the Animagi Transformation method?"

*~*~*~*~*

The next two months came and went, both Lily and James studying hard to top each other in classes. Lily was constantly seen in the library, poring over books on Transfiguration, Charms, History of Magic, and the Night sky.

James was seen in the Common Room late at night, taking notes from the textbooks, or writing essays on topics that no one else seemed to understand ("How Many Uses for Wolfsbane? Explain Them."), or writing quidditch tactics on notebook paper.

Neither of their friends were too happy with this situation. There was a perpetual, "Relax and take a break, Lily", or a "Are you done studying yet, James?" Often, they were followed by a frantic, "I can't! I'll fall behind!", or a tired, "No, I still have to read up on a few more subjects."

By the time it they all reached the first snow of December, however, both James and Lily were one of the few who had all their work done to be able to enjoy the break, while their friends stayed in, working on essays by the dozen.

This brought on an, "I told you to get it done like me, now look how much work you have," or a "You can't come to quidditch practice?! I told you to get all those school assignments done ahead of time so you would have spare time!"

Needless to say, their friends weren't too happy with this, either.

*~*~*~*~*

Lily woke up on a Saturday, changing into her usual turtleneck sweater and khaki pants. Watching the snow fall softly outside her window, she donned a heavy black coat and scarf, then headed out the door.

"Where're you going?" Evelyn mumbled groggily, getting up to see Lily.

"Out," she said pointedly, swinging open the door.

*~*~*~*~*

"Lily! What're you doin' 'ere?" Hagrid asked, opening the door for her.

"Oh, I just had some free time, so I thought I'd say hi. Haven't seen you since the last quidditch match, in November."

"Nice ter yeh, Lily," Hagrid said cheerfully, whistling. "I have missed yer company around 'ere, what with all those students bustling about busily, don' even have time ter talk o'er a bit o' tea. Why aren't you holing up in the library like the rest o' them, studying fer begginin' of the year exams, an' writin' all those essays you lot were assigned?"

"Oh, I got them all out of the way earlier, so I'd have more spare time to study Transfiguration."

"You got all yer studyin' out o' the way fer… studyin'? Er… whatever you say, Lily. So, how's it as our new Head Girl?"

"Oh, it's great, so far. I haven't done much, yet, but as Christmas is coming soon, I expect that I should be kept busy enough."

"I always knew yeh'd get ter be the Head Girl. Back in the day, they wouldn' even consider lettin' a muggle born wit' that position, an' now look at yeh!" Hagrid beamed proudly. "Top o' all yer classes!"

"Thanks, Hagrid."

"Would yeh like some o' my rock cakes to go wit' your tea?"

"Er… No thanks," Lily shook her head politely. "I already made some breakfast for myself this morning."

"Alrighty, if yeh say so! 'Ere, I wan' you ter meet my new pet, Snuffy!"

Proudly, he led her to the back of his hut, where there was a small, shaking crate, covered by a large layer of blankets. It seemed to emit a low growl, and shook even harder.

"Er, Hagrid, what, exactly, is in there?"

"Oh, this li'il feller? I told you, 'e's Snuffy!"

"Um, alright. I've- I've got to go- go… study. Never can study to much, you know! Bye, Hagrid! It was nice to see you again!"

"Bye, Lily! Come back again soon!"

Walking through the powdery sheet of snow, she wasn't sure if she would, unless the thing in the crate was gone.

*~*~*~*~*

"Oh starry night, the stars are shining bri-ghtly…"

"Shut up! You have the wrong lyrics!" James shouted at the caroling suit of armor, in their squeaky voices, proving that Filch the caretaker hadn't oiled them for quite a while.

"Boy to the world…"

"If you're going to sing, sing it right!"

The suit of armor clanked away, seeming rather offended.

"Pre- Christmas blues?" Sirius asked.

"Nope," James sighed. "It's just the entire holiday… Cheery people, cheery colors, cheery, cheery, cheery."

"I know what'll cheer you up," Remus Lupin, another one of James' friends said.

"What?" he asked sullenly.

"Prank planning!" both Remus and Sirius said at the same time.

James looked at his two friends with mild amusement. It was typical of Sirius to want to go prank planning, but Remus, sandy-haired and sensible, normally wasn't one to plan; he just went along with the plan.

"Sure, let's go," he shrugged, and went off with his two friends.

"D'you think we should wake up Peter?" Remus asked.

He was referring to, of course, the fourth member of the Marauders, their friend Peter Pettigrew, a short, chubby Gryffindor seventh year, who wasn't quite up to their academic level, yet they kept him around out of pity.

"Nah, he'll be fine. He already got caught planting dungbombs in the Slytherins' dressers, and I don't think he'll be able to stop shaking the next time Minnie stares at him with her Death Stare."

Remus frowned. "Didn't McGonagall tell you to stop calling her that?"

"What, Minnie? We all know she loves us, and it too embarrassed to admit it… You know she wouldn't give James a detention if her life depended on it, if a quidditch match were on the way."

"Good point. When's the next quidditch match?" Remus asked.

"Er…" James squinted, as if reading an invisible sheet of paper with quidditch match dates on them. "A little more than a week before Christmas, so… next week." As if he suddenly realized what he was saying, James jumped. "Next week! McGonagall's going to kill me! We haven't had a single practice because of all the schoolwork! I have to go!"

"D'you think his light bulb's screwed on a bit loose?" Sirius asked, as James ran to the familiar office of the Transfiguration professor.

"What?" Remus asked blankly.

"Muggle expression, never mind," Sirius said.

*~*~*~*~*

Lily paced restlessly in the seventh year girls' dorms.

So far, she had rearranged all her books on her small bookshelf six times, by author, by title, by most recently published, by the oldest published, by order of how she got them, and by color coordinating the covers by primary and secondary colors. She had also rearranged and organized all her robes, reorganized all her notes from first year to the most recent, and she had also tidied up her area. When she had done that three times, she did the same for her dorm mates. And then, alas, there was nothing left to do. Which left her in the position of pacing restlessly in the seventh year girl's dorms.

"Hi, Lily!" Bella greeted.

"Hi, back from studying?" Lily asked.

"Yeah," Evelyn nodded, putting away her Charms text. "You altered the room completely!" she said suddenly, as if just then noticing her surroundings.

Lily observed her work; she had moved the writing desk to face the wall, across from their large window. The canopy beds were draped instead by a light, silky, white cloth, embroidered with butterflies and flowers along the edges, instead of the usual velvety dark purple and maroon. She had taken the liberty of adding a large bookshelf next to the desk, and had put the "cat cozy", as Evelyn had so christened the cushion which her kitten slept on, on the ledge of their window, where the orange tabby was napping.

"I felt like making the room cheerier," Lily explained. "So I added a few light colored things to the room. Brings in more light, I think."

"It's great!" Bella said. "You rearranged my stuffed animals!"

Lily smiled; Bella's stuffed animals had been on the left and right sides of the window, ever since first year, and she seemed to return with more every year. As they were running out of room, she had charmed a small white shelf above the desk, where Bella could display her collection.

"You must have had loads of spare time if you could have done all this," Evelyn observed.

"Tons," Lily sighed. "I did all my essays, all my homework, I practiced my charms, reviewed the History of Magic textbook twice, and I told you, I did all my studying last week, so I got most of the professors to let me take the exams early, as I figured I'd be a bit busy later on. Evidently, I was wrong."

"You know there's only one way to solve this, right?"

"I was always taught there was more than one solution to every problem," Lily said, sitting down on a chair.

"Well, for this case of boredom, there's only one cure," Bella said. She and Evelyn exchanged glances and said at the same time, "Christmas Shopping!"

Lily flopped onto her bed. "I should have guessed."

*~*~*~*~*

"James, why'd you call the sudden meeting?" a brown haired fifth year complained. "I'm failing Sinistra's class, I've got to catch up!"

"You should have studied before!" James said. "Now, you all know that the next quidditch match is coming soon. Next week, against the Slytherins. In the rush of our upcoming exams, practices have been delayed. But, I convinced the headmaster to allow you all to take the exams a week later-"

His speech was interrupted by the sudden cheers of the Gryffindor team.

"- as long as we promise to spend our time working extra hard to make up for all the practice sessions we've missed. So far, we've only had one Quidditch House Cup since I've been on the team, and none since I became captain," James frowned, as if the sudden thought disturbed him. "Now we've come to my- our last chance to win this Cup, you lot get that? So this year, we've got to try the best and work harder than ever!"

A silence followed this.

"Hello? I said, we're going to do the best ever, and we're going to win! Got that?"

The team cheered, filled with more morale than they'd had for the past few weeks.

Besides, if they lost, they still had a week off from exams.

*~*~*~*~*

"Ohhhhhh! Lily! That looks soo perfect on you!" Bella squealed.

"Quite an excellent pick, Miss," the nearby saleslady said. "It's been here for quite a while… a classic red, strapless, satin, of course. It comes with a matching shawl."

"How much?" Lily asked, eyeing herself critically in the mirror.

"Eight galleons and three sickles," the saleswoman said.

"No wonder it's been here a while," Lily said under her breath. "Sorry, I don't think I'll take this, it's too expensive."

Lily changed back into her uniform and observed the small clothing shop. Normally, the small shops sold items cheaper, she had discovered. This one was no exception, but the last dress she'd tried on was definitely out of her budget.

"Hmm. I'm a hopeless case, Bella, let's just find a dress for you and Evelyn now. Who're you going with?" Lily asked, browsing through another rack of formal dresses reserved for, of course, formal occasions.

"Remus, why?"

"He asked you already?" Lily prompted, holding a dress in front of her friend.

"Well, no, but I think he's going to. And no to that dress, it's too big on me," Bella pointed at the dark blue, long-sleeved dress Lily held. "And why aren't we wearing dress robes, anyway?"

Lily led both Evelyn and Bella behind her across the room to see more dresses.

"Well," she paused thoughtfully, "I think it's because the professors wanted to try something new, with a muggle themed ball, and such."

"You know what I heard?" Evelyn asked in a gossipy voice. Not bothering to wait for an answer, she said, "Lucious Malfoy threw a fit, and called his father about the muggle theme. In fact, he even had his father talk to Dumbledore about how inappropriate it was to do such. I know it's true, since I saw them walking out of Dumbledore's office yesterday."

"I thought you were studying in the library," Lily frowned.

"I was. I just took a little break to get a drink."

"The library and the headmaster's office are a on opposite ends of the school," Lily smiled at her friend's seemingly endless curiosity and nosiness.

"Oh. I got… lost?" Evelyn said feebly.

"Keep on saying it, dearie, stick with your story," Lily teased.

"Nice, Lily," Bella smiled. "Oh, what d'you think of this one?" she asked, picking a pastel blue, sleeveless dress.

"On you? Horrible," Lily laughed. "I'm kidding, of course. It's… nice, but not very… er, Christmas-sy."

"Good point. We'll probably be here all day!" Evelyn sighed happily. Lily sighed too.

Only, hers was a sigh of exasperation.

*~*~*~*~*

"James, this is a Hogsmeade weekend! If we have the exams later, can't we go and skip this practice?"

"No! We have to practice!"

"It's snowing!"

"It might as well be; it might snow at the match, too. Get used to all kinds of weather," James snapped at the third year.

"But-"

"Come on! Work harder!" James urged, as a few of them kicked off into the sky. "Good. Now, for beater practice, the usual. Seeker, you try to catch the golf balls. Keeper, I'm sending random snowballs your way to block. Chasers, practice your flying for now."

A few grumbles followed these orders, but they did so.

A clapping sounded behind him. Turning, the team saw Lily standing, watching.

"Very good, Potter. Keep up the job, and you'll have all your team turn against you," she smiled. "A coup de tat, most amusing, I would say."

"We aren't in politics, Evans," James replied, not bothering to look at her.

"You are supposed to be the leader, they are supposed to be your so called 'loyal subjects', or in quidditch, anyway. So I believe an overthrow of power would be quite appropriate, especially with you as their supposed leader."

"Quite repetitive in your words, Evans," James snapped. "Now go away; you're interrupting our practice."

"Sorry," Lily said, rolling her eyes. Directing her speech to the team members, she waved and said cheerily, "Don't let that idiot get you down! Good luck on your next match!"

A chaser fell off his broom, being addressed in a friendly manner by Lily Evans.

"EVANS!" James said. "This is a practice session! Go. Away. PLEASE!"

"Lovely manners, Potter," Lily said sarcastically. "I'm going, I'm going."

James sighed as she slammed the door shut behind her. Turning to his team, he said, "On with your practice. I'm joining you guys now."

Up in the air next to him, a seventh year said, "Don't worry, James, we'll win. Even if there's a coup de tat, we'll still win."

"Arrgh!"

*~*~*~*~*

(A/N) Like it? Hate it? Suggestions? I'm open to any. Reviews are always appreciated!

*~* UPDATE!!!!!!*~* For some reason, I can't get my next chapter up, so I'm adding this note to all you readers: I HAVEN'T GIVEN UP ON THIS FIC! It's just that I can't load, but I can replace chapters. If you're really desperate to read something, e-mail me.

To Come: Quidditch and such.