Chapter 8

(A/N) Thanks for the reviews! And to one of my reviewers: My story has a point… the last chapter didn't really much, but my story has a point.

This chapter: Of all the scary things… Math! Oh, the horror of the discussion they have!

Disclaimer: I own the plot.

*~*~*~*~*

By the time the cookies were finished, eaten, and digested, it was already ten at night, so they all headed to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"I'm going to bed," Evelyn said, getting up to go to the portrait hole.

Bella nodded and followed. "Um, Lily? Are you coming?"

Lily muttered something that sounded like, "… and yet, Hera was not a complete character of muggle mythology; she was a part of the magical world also…"

"I take that as a no," Evelyn noted.

"… oracles were commonly found…"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I'm off to bed, too. You coming, James?"

"… Shamans were popular long before wand magic…"

"Remus?" Sirius tapped his foot expectantly.

"Maybe later, I need to finish up on my essay," Remus replied, casting a glance at Lily, on his left, and James, on his right, both of them scribbling down on parchments that measured well over four feet.

"Peter?"

Peter was staring at the angles, line segments, and algebra equations with a look of horror on his face. "I- I'm sorry… what?" he asked, looking up.

"Uh, what're you doing?"

"Geometry," Peter said remorsefully. "My mum reckons I need to start some studying in the muggle subjects."

"Harsh," Sirius agreed. "Well, good night."

"'Night," Peter nodded.

"Sweet dreams," Remus waved, returning to his essay.

"… Orion's Belt originated as a single star…"

"… Ursa Minor was originally a part of a larger family of constellations…"

"What they mean is, 'Goodnight, Sirius,'" Remus translated helpfully.

"… Aurora Borealis was rumored to be the reflection of Hera's jewels…"

"… Luna, the Goddess of the moon, cast them off as stars…"

"They've moved onto Astronomy essays," Remus noted.

"Right."

*~*~*~*~*

"She's still asleep?" Remus asked, eyeing Lily's sleeping figure.

"Hmm… I know how to wake her," James grinned. "Aquatis Aperero."

A sudden splash of cold water hit Lily, and, if anything, it did wake her up.

*~*~*~*~*

It was certainly understandable why the Head Girl was in a foul mood at breakfast.

Gilderoy Lockhart, however, wasn't one to notice.

From his seat at the Hufflepuff table, he was admiring Lily Evans, his date to the Christmas Ball. She was sure to be the talk of the ball, and he, Gilderoy Lockhart, would be her date. The idea excited him to no end. No one would be able to doubt his popularity then. After all, Lily Evans had rejected every date she was offered, and she had accepted him. Him! Gilderoy Lockhart!

Smiling to himself, he imagined him and her, dancing together on the floor, the envy of everyone. Sure, he had no idea how to dance, but he could improvise, couldn't he? Alright, maybe she would be a bit taller than him in heels, but still… the effect would still be good. All those other girls that had rejected him would be sorry now.

He was suddenly struck by a horrifying thought.

Lily Evans never wore the latest fashions. Sure, she looked pretty, but any date of his would have to be up to date in their clothing. He would tell her what to wear, he decided. She should appreciate that; didn't girls like to be told what to do? It was much less hassle than to decide for herself, anyway.

Convinced that he was doing her a favor, Gilderoy smiled to himself and continued to daydream.

*~*~*~*~*

Lily Evans, on the other hand, was not smiling, and was most definitely not daydreaming about Gilderoy Lockhart.

If anything, she was daydreaming ways to torture James Potter for the rest of his life. Splashing water on her. Only James Potter would do such a thing. The boy better hope he never fell asleep in her presence. Oh, yes, revenge would be sweet.

*~*~*~*~*

"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!"

"Sirius, shut it," Lily snapped, as she hugged her jacket against her. It was proving to be useless; she was still freezing.

"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow," Sirius sang out gleefully, packing snow together.

"Sirius, do you know any other part of the song?" James asked amusedly, as his friend began to build something that appeared to be a large snowball.

"No," Sirius shrugged. "Who does?"

"I do," Lily said snippily.

"Yeah, well, you know everything," Sirius said, returning to his snowball of gigantic proportions.

"Sirius, what are you doing?" Remus asked, though he was obviously keeping himself laughing from the comical sight before him.

Sirius was trying to keep his six foot tall snowball in place, by holding himself against it, though he obviously was failing, as the snowball was rather crooked and lumpy.

"I'm building a snowball the muggle way," he explained.

"Right," Lily rolled her eyes.

Evelyn giggled. "Um, Sirius? I think… You're making it rather… large."

"Well, there's no harm in breaking a world record while having fun," Sirius shrugged.

"Sure," Lily agreed sarcastically, "I'm sure there's no harm in building a large, abominable snowman on school grounds, which someone'll probably bring to life. No harm at all."

"Hmm," James scratched his chin. "You know, we weren't going to do that, but come to think of it, it'd be quite humorous. Thanks for the idea, Evans."

Lily groaned as she helped Sirius break down the snowball into a normal sized base of a snowman.

"It's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you…" Sirius sang.

"Sirius, stop singing," she pleaded.

"Oh, that's polite," he said, pretending to be offended. "If we were at a Beatles concert, I suppose you'd suddenly start criticizing every aspect of their singing?"

"The Beatles? Never heard of them," Lily said, unaware of the sudden eyes on her.

"She's never… heard of them," Evelyn said faintly.

"Okay, maybe I've heard of them a few times from my sister, Petunia, but that's it," Lily shrugged.

"And that, my friends," James said dramatically, "Is proof of the deprived life that Evans leads."

Lily rolled her eyes. "I've heard of them, but I really don't listen to them."

"Oi," Sirius muttered under his breath. "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…"

"Sirius!"

"Sorry, madame," Sirius rolled his eyes.

*~*~*~*~*

An hour or so later, there were three snowmen standing on the outside of Hogwarts.

"Very nice," Bella nodded her approval.

"Hey, if you squint, it looks like Lily and James with their kid," Sirius joked.

"Sirius!" Lily said in a warning tone.

"Kidding, kidding," he dodged the surprisingly hard clump of snow that Lily threw at him.

"Sirius, Sirius, Sirius," Remus shook his head. "When are you ever going to learn? You never joke about things like that, or at least not around them."

"Remus, Remus, Remus," Sirius shook his head. "When are you ever going to learn that I never learn?"

*~*~*~*~*

Bent over a large textbook of some sort, which was most definitely not one of their school textbooks, Lily Evans was sitting in a large armchair next to the window in the Gryffindor Common Room, muttering something about calculus under her breath.

James was in another armchair, replying to a letter, occasionally tapping the quill against his chin in thought. With his eyes often glazed over, no one bothered him much.

Remus was scrawling down some notes he had missed while he was… well, "visiting his sick mum," we'll say.

Evelyn and Bella were whispering excitedly over some bit of gossip that they had overheard, meanwhile comparing notes on their dresses and dates.

Peter was sitting on the couch, trying to figure out what x equaled, though he was failing quite miserably.

Sirius, sprawled out on the floor right in front of the portrait hole, was attempting to trip the next person who walked in, reading Romeo and Juliet with a look of horror- or perhaps disgust- on his face, while waiting for his victim.

"That's it, I give up!" Peter announced to no one in particular.

Puzzled, Lily looked up from her textbook and asked, "You give up on what, exactly?"

"Algebra! Geometry! Anything else mathematically involved!" he cried passionately. "I will never understand this… stuff. Why do I need a muggle education?"

Sirius laughed, and Lily crinkled forehead.

"Why? Because, if you're ever in the muggle world, I'm sure you'll be in need of such skills-"

"Don't," Peter interrupted her. "That's what my mum told me."

"Well," Lily countered crisply, "It's true. I'm studying some of the things we'd need had we been muggles… Why else do you think I'm studying calculus?"

"Because you're a raving, insane, lunatic," James cut in.

Lily ignored him. "Do you need help, Peter?"

"Help? Help?" Peter repeated. "I need someone to do all this for me! I need a personal Do-all-your-homeworker person, do they exist? Because I could really use one! Honestly! Tell me where I'm going to use scalene triangles in my life? Where? When?"

James snorted. "Geometry? Petey, my dear, dear, friend, as much as I am fond of you, I must say… sharpen your academic abilities. If Geometry's all that's holding you back, conquer it, and nothing can stop you."

A muffled guffaw was heard from Sirius, Remus chuckled, and even Lily seemed a bit amused.

"It's not just geometry!" Peter wailed. "It's-it's- I can't get algebra! I can't get probability! I can't get- oh, I even have trouble with dividing decimals! It's no use! I wasn't taught these things! I was brought up magically!"

Lily looked at the distraught boy, and took pity on him. "Peter… it's fine if you don't get it, I guess. But… You know, you can always ask if you need help."

"No thanks, Lily," he shook his head. "As far as I'm concerned, I'm a failure at muggle mathematics."

Sirius made a snorting sound, but decided to remain quiet, and returned to his book.

Just then, the portrait hole swung open.

"Potter, Evans-"

Professor McGonagall never finished her sentence, for she tripped over Sirius the next second. Quickly recognizing the telltale death glare she was giving him, he quickly jumped up.

"Sorry, Professor," he apologized.

"Black…" she was somehow able to frown, glare, and lecture him at the same time. "Kindly explain to me why you were lying across the entrance of the portrait hole."

"I was?" he asked innocently. "Why, golly gee, Minnie, it shames me to think I done you harm. It's rightly kind of you to tell me of my wrongdoin'. So… Can we get you anythin'? Sarsaparilla, perhaps? A nice, li'l ol' dance?"

"No, Black… I'm sure Billy the Kid will be around later; offer it to him," McGonagall said in an icy voice. "Potter, Evans, I just wanted to tell you of the prefects' meeting we're having tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am," Sirius saluted.

Sighing, Professor McGonagall left the room, muttering something about retirement and the joys of being three continents away from Sirius Black.

*~*~*~*~*

"Perfection. That is what I want to see on Christmas night. Does anyone have any idea how to achieve that?"

James watched as the terrified fifth years stared mutely at Professor McGonagall. He could have sworn that she could smell fear. Perhaps she could, in cat form, anyway.

One brave sixth year raised his hand.

"Yes, McAlister?"

"Um, to try our best?" the boy tried tentatively.

"Incorrect!" McGonagall snapped, and the boy flinched. "Your best is not always the best. We will push you past the limits here. Within these few days we have left, I want you to practice, practice, practice! The waltz. You will perfect that; you will practice. You will do it in your sleep."

Leaning over, James whispered to Lily, "D'you suppose she's taking it a bit into the extreme?"

"She's always like this, so I suppose it's normal for her," Lily replied.

"Evans!"

Startled, Lily turned her attention to McGonagall. "Yes, professor?"

"Tell, me, if you were to do a side whisk, what would you do?"

"Right foot side, left foot cross behind right foot, left foot side, right foot cross behind left foot," Lily replied promptly.

"Very good," Professor McGonagall said to the watching prefects as Lily breathed a sigh of relief. "That is how you should be; no hesitation. Sanders, put that dungbomb away."

James rolled his eyes. "Little Miss Perfection," he said.

"How kind of you," Lily said sarcastically.

"Oh, it wasn't a compliment," James replied.

*~*~*~*~*

Fifteen minutes later, Professor McGonagall instructed them to practice the waltz.

"Potter!" Lily hissed. "That hurt."

"Good," James answered. "I did it on purpose."

He was referring to her foot, which he had stepped on quite a few times. Actually, James Potter was known for being a wonderful dancer, or so his fan club claimed. However, he obviously didn't care too much about Lily's feet.

"McGonagall's coming this way," Lily informed him, as he did a quick box turn. "If you step on my feet, she'll make us stay longer."

Surprisingly, James danced very well with Lily for the remainder of the time.

*~*~*~*~*

(A/N) Okay, not as long as usual. Still very long. I did research on that waltz, so show your appreciation by reviewing!

To Come: Um… dancing, waltzes, and… snow.