A/N: Back with Chapter 4. Sorry for the delay. This, like the last 3 chapters, is just going wherever my fingers take it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, aside from a few original characters and a stapler. Everything else is in the possession of the brilliance of Ms. Rowling.
Chapter 4: Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn
Hellogoodbye
September first arrived without ceremony in the Evans household and without word from James Potter. Mr. Evans had taken to adding extra hours to his workday at the hospital since the incident regarding James. Mrs. Evans was as busy as ever at her women's apparel shop in the center of downtown London. Petunia had been living with Vernon for a week, and had phoned her family once. Lily had stayed home for the remainder of the summer, using the time to visit her friends and allow the fact that this was her last year at Hogwarts to sink in.
"Lily! You're going to miss the train!" Mrs. Evans called up the stairs. Lily sighed. She knew she was forgetting something, but what was it? Shrugging, Lily closed her trunk and began to drag it out of her room. Just as she was about to close the door behind her, a gentle hoot came from the desk next to the window. Lily's little owl sat in her cage, head cocked to the side in innocent confusion. "Oh!" Lily exclaimed as she grabbed her new pet and dragged her trunk behind them. Mrs. Evans was already seated and ready to go by the time Lily reached the front door. With a wave of her wand Lily eased her trunk into the back of the car, slammed the door, and jumped in her seat and raced off for King's Cross Station.
The Evans women made it to the station with remarkable timing, allowing Mrs. Evans several minutes to fuss over her daughter. Once Lily was freed of her mother's grasp and safely across Platform 9 ¾, she removed the shiny silver Head Girl badge from her pocket and pinned it to the front of her shirt.
Lily had just hoisted her owl into the overhead rack in a compartment at the end of the Hogwarts Express before a voice greeted her at the compartment's sliding door.
"Why do you always beat me?" a female voice asked playfully. Lily turned around to see the smiling face of her best friend, Ambellina Prince.
With a grin of her own, Lily retorted, "Because I'm better than you."
Ambellina snorted good-naturedly, tossing her coffee-brown curls over her shoulder. "Wotcher, Lily. You might end up sounding like James Potter." Lily narrowed her eyes at her smirking friend, but was cut off by the arrival of a pretty Indian girl.
"Are you having another go at Lily and Potter?" Radha Rai asked Ambellina in a reproachful tone.
"Of course," Ambellina replied, her grin widening and blue eyes twinkling.
"And without me?" Radha cried, falling into a seat near the window. "You're still sore at James, huh Lils?"
Lily set the cage of her still nameless owl a little more to the left. "Can we please drop the subject?" Lily pleaded, looking frustrated. "The very last thing I want to think about is --"
"James Potter." The girls looked to the door of their compartment once again to find Remus Lupin looking rather shyly at them. A pink twinge crept into Radha's cheeks. "Sorry to disturb you, but the Prefects need to borrow Lily for about fifteen minutes." Lily, who had always been rather fond of the quiet boy, smiled and followed him from the compartment. Remus bid his farewells to the two remaining girls before departing for the front of the train.
"How was your summer, Lily?" Remus asked out of friendly politeness. He knew quite well how a small part of Lily's summer had been.
"It was alright," Lily said. "My sister got engaged to this great lump of a man, but other than that nothing too exciting." Remus laughed lightly at her side. "What about you, Remus? How did summer treat you?"
Remus waved hello to a sixth year Ravenclaw before answering. "Summer treated me well. I spent the last half of it at James' house with Sirius and Peter. Believe me; with those three around, there's never a dull moment." Lily chortled at his side; Remus took a deep breath. "Speaking of James…"
Lily stopped in her tracks and glared at her companion. "Bloody hell, Remus, please don't bring Potter into this."
Remus grabbed hold of Lily's arm. "You don't understand how miserable he's been, Lily, moping around like someone died." A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "A bit pathetic, really."
Snorting in disbelief, Lily took her arm back from Remus. "I doubt there's room enough in that overly inflated head of his for him to really be so upset about something like that."
The hopeful expression on Remus' face fell and he felt his eyes narrow in a sort of glare at Lily. He was always a little cranky after a transformation. "Haven't you noticed something different about him lately? He's changed a lot, y'know, ever since that day you yelled at him after O.W.L.s." Remus' expression softened. "You have noticed, right?"
Lily opened her mouth to protest but retracted the action. There had been something different about James. It had come about slowly, but the changes were noticeable: James had ceased hexing people in the corridors (with a few Slytherin exceptions); he'd limited his exhibitions with a stolen Snitch to the Gryffindor common room; he only ran his hands through his hair when he was either nervous or upset, something Lily had noticed before their excursion in Diagon Alley. He'd even gone so far as to not do any- well, many- unnecessary tricks with his broom during a Quidditch match. "Alright, you've got me," Lily said in defeat as they resumed their journey to the front of the train. Remus' expression brightened greatly. "He has changed. But what am I supposed to do about that? There's enough going on between Head Girl duties and my family and- and the war with You-Know-Who without worrying about keeping James Potter happy."
The smile Remus bore didn't falter for a second. "Just listen to his apology," he said. "I'm not saying you have to accept it, just listen to him."
The Prefect compartment was almost within reach. "I can do that," Lily said, closing the gap between her and the compartment.
"Wait," Remus said as Lily placed her hand on the door. "One more thing: Do you think you could call him 'James' instead of 'Potter'? It means a lot to him for some odd reason."
Lily felt a small tug at one of her heartstrings as she slid the door open. She hadn't realized how much calling him by his first name had meant. It seemed strange, and even a little silly to put so much emphasis on a simple name. But then again, it was Potter- er, James they were talking about.
For the first time since she'd received her Head Girl letter, Lily felt a pang of fear. The responsibility involved in being Head Girl was enormous. She and the Head Boy were in charge of every single Prefect, and their authority lay just under that of a professor. Shaking off her nerves, Lily smiled and entered the compartment in front of Remus. She noticed James sitting off to the side, looking up when Lily and Remus entered the room. The famous lopsided grin plastered itself on his face, and Lily could have sworn she heard one of the girls in the room sigh in adoration. James was about to speak, but decided a nod was safer. Lily nodded in return before addressing the Prefects. Slightly puzzled, James looked at Remus, who only mouthed the word "Later."
Lily launched into the explanation of the Prefect duties while James sat and watched; having never been a Prefect, he hadn't the slightest clue where to begin. He also enjoyed watching Lily, and had to stop himself from staring on several occasions. In fact, James was so involved in watching Lily that he failed to notice she had dismissed the rest of the Prefects and was about to leave the compartment herself. "Lily, wait," James said as he jumped to his feet.
Lily stopped in the doorway and turned to face James. "Can I help you, James?" she asked. Her tone sounded cold, something she hadn't intended.
Nevertheless, James smiled awkwardly at her. "Er, I just wanted to, uh, apologize." Lily continued to watch him blankly. "For Diagon Alley, as well as, uh," James continued, his face reddening in shame, "your house. It was a real git thing of me to do."
Lily didn't know where to begin. "I'm over Diagon Alley, James," she said, causing James' grin to turn into a relieved smile. Upon seeing his endearing smile, Lily felt guilty about what she had to say next. "I don't think you realize what you did by showing up to my house unannounced like that. You embarrassed me in front of my entire family, James, as well as my sister's fiancée." James' face fell; he'd known Lily Evans too long to know that something like embarrassment was not enough to sustain her anger towards him, and that she wasn't finished. "My father's rarely home anymore, and when he is he won't speak to me unless absolutely necessary. My parents blame me for my sister moving out of their house. The chest of drawers my great-grandfather built is in shambles; my mum's pretty sore about that."
James' heart, which had been rising since the instant he saw Lily, took a quick dive for his feet. "Blimey, Lily," he said, running his hand through his hair. "If I'd've known, I would have waited to give you back your book until today."
Lily couldn't help herself; she smiled. "Oh come on, James," she said. James looked at her and laughed. The laughter didn't contain a smidgen of malice or haughtiness, but a laugh out of good humor and relief. Satisfied, Lily bid him farewell and took off for the compartment containing her friends.
"Wait up, Lily, I'll go with you." Lily arched an eyebrow at James. "I have to find Sirius and Remus," he explained in all honesty. Lily nodded, and walked side-by-side with James down the train. They walked in silence before James attempted conversation. "You said your sister's getting married, yeah?"
Lily nodded once again. "She's getting married to this miserable Muggle named Vernon. I don't think anyone really likes him except for Petunia. They're getting married over holiday." Lily laughed a little, more to herself than anyone else. "Honestly, I think Petunia the Ice Queen is the only person on earth who would get married in the dead of winter."
James chuckled at her side. From what he'd heard of Petunia on previous occasions, 'Ice Queen' was a bit of an understatement.
The pair of them continued to speak of family and friends in the sort of closed way that recent acquaintances often do. There was a pause in their conversation, which was soon filled by James. "Have you found a name for your owl yet?" he asked. "I remember you were having trouble."
Lily glanced at him, surprised at his memory of such a trivial dilemma of hers. "No, I haven't," Lily replied. Smiling slightly from the corner of her mouth, she asked him, "Any suggestions?"
James pondered this for a moment before replying. "You could call her 'Parisa,'" James suggested. "It means 'Angel Face.'"
The compartment before which they were standing flew open as a tall, handsome boy with long, black hair jumped in front of James, waving around a small paper bag. "Brand new supply, Prongs! Arrived just before we took off! Honestly, I didn't expect Zonko's to deliver dungbombs so soon—"
"Ahem." Sirius looked at Lily, noticing her for the first time. A look of stern disapproval was easily discernible, enhanced by her folded arms and forceful breathing from her nose. James had to use every ounce of self-control he possessed to keep from sneaking a glance at the area he knew was so well-enhanced by Lily's folded arms.
The grin on Sirius' face didn't falter for a second as he spread his arms wide, as if to engulf Lily in a hug. He still held the bag of dungbombs clutched in his hand. "Evans!" Sirius exclaimed, leaning towards her. "How have you been? Wow, I haven't seen you since D- day before holidays!" James gave Sirius a warning look as he almost let slip that he'd followed James and Lily around Diagon Alley.
Lily stood her ground, unaffected by Sirius' charms. "Dungbombs aren't allowed, Black. You of all people should know that," Lily said in that cold, impersonal tone of hers that Sirius and James had heard so many times before. "I'm going to have to confiscate them."
Sirius fell to his knees in a flash. He loudly begged and pleaded with Lily, throwing his arms around her waist. Although James could tell this made Lily highly uncomfortable by the way she tried to pry him from her, James felt a vehement urge to hurt Sirius for the way he was touching her. "Ple-e-e-e-ease!" Sirius wailed, drawing attention from several nearby compartments.
"Alright, alright!" Lily hissed, eager to have the strange boy as far from her as possible. "You can keep the damn dungbombs!" Sirius jumped to his feet, beaming. "But," Lily said, raising a warning finger, "if I catch one whiff of those foul things, you'll have something much more important to you than dungbombs to worry about." James thought he saw Sirius turn a bit pale at he mention of Lily causing him bodily harm; a Lily Evans threat was never an empty threat. Lily turned to James, her gaze softer but still menacing. "I'll be seeing you around," she said, to which James nodded.
James and Sirius had just stepped into their compartment, which was already occupied by Remus and Peter, When Sirius had another stroke of genius. Lunging past James and back into the corridor of the train, Sirius called after Lily's retreating back. "Oi, Evans!" he shouted, causing Lily to turn and face him. "If you're not even going to consider going to Hogsmeade with James when he asks you, could you stop leading the poor boy on? We'd really like the old James back, if you don't mind!"
James' face paled in rage as Lily's tinged pink in embarrassment. Lily watched as Sirius was violently pulled from sight, more than likely by James, and heard the compartment door slam behind him. A cracking sound told her James had broken the glass. Her face still pink, Lily continued the walk back to her compartment alone.
Sirius let out a howl of pain and a few nasty words he would never let Mrs. Potter hear, but would gladly use on his own mother. The dungbombs fell from his grasp and were now scattered across the compartment floor. "What the hell is your problem, Prongs?" Sirius inquired angrily, rubbing the back of his head.
Brandishing his wand at his best friend, James just glared at Sirius. Remus Lupin spoke up in place of James, who was teeming with anger at the moment. "You really are hopeless," Remus commented from behind his book.
"What!" James exclaimed, turning toward his friend. "Why the hell am I hopeless?"
"Not you, James," Remus said, closing his book. "Padfoot here."
Sirius looked angrily from James to Remus. "What the hell are you two going on about here?"
Setting his book down, Remus looked hardly at Sirius. "Have you ever taken a moment, Padfoot, to think that this may not all be a ruse for James to get Lily into Hogsmeade so he can snog her pants off? That Prongs here may actually be growing up?"
"Oh, come off it," Sirius spat. But, as he looked at James, who had taken to pacing the compartment with his lanky arms folded, Sirius' face fell a bit. "You mean to tell me Prongs here is in love?"
James stopped his pacing at the mention of the word, but did not speak. "Love," Remus said, "or very strong like."
Sirius got to his feet and stood abashed next to James. "Blimey, mate, I'm sorry."
"Forget it," James said, helping himself to one of the Chocolate Frogs from their small stash. "No harm done. Just don't be a git in the future, okay?"
Sirius grinned. Not as widely as usual, but still a genuine grin. "Deal." He bent down to start collecting the spilt dungbombs, careful not to set any off.
By now, Lily had reached her compartment. She walked in to find Radha and Ambellina crooning over her new owl.
"Oh, she's adorable, Lily," Radha cooed. "Does she have a name?"
The tiny owl hooted happily at all the attention. Lily noticed the delicate black ring around her face, enhancing the owl's angelic features. "Yeah," Lily said, smiling to herself. "Her name's Parisa."
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A/N: Here's Chapter Four, which is considerably longer than the rest. I like the longer chapters, but they take a bit longer to get out. So tell me: Which do you prefer? Shorter chapters with a shorter wait, or longer chapters with a longer wait? You can tell me in a review (HINT, HINT). I love reviews.
Speaking of reviews, I would like to thank my always faithful reviewer, luckichrm. You friggin' rock!
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was just released on the sixteenth of this month. For those of you who have not read it yet, I will tell you right now: tissues.
That's all for now!