DEAR REVIEWERS: Thank you so much for your support. Yes, I know you can't Apparate on Hogwarts grounds, but it's explained in this chapter. I hope you enjoy this and remember to keep reviewing! It always helps my write faster! --MoaninMyrtle410
Chapter 11: The Many Wiles of Women
When Sirius had left the closet, Lily laughed as she undid her temporary invisibility spell. She had thrown in the Pop sound so Sirius would think she had Apparated, which was obviously impossible on Hogwarts grounds. Gathering her breath, she smiled as she turned the knob. He was only a few feet away and apparently confused.
He nearly yelped when she caught up to him.
"You should know not to keep me in a closet!" she teased, and then walked briskly to her classroom.
Advanced Potions. James sat three desks behind her and one to the left. Immediately, her eyes flew to his desk when she walked into the room.
It was empty.
What?
By instinct, she looked at Amos' desk. He was there, but was that really Amos or was that James? She scrunched her eyes together in thought.
"Ms. Evans, how nice of you to join us. Please take your seat," Professor Arcsine said in a less than impressed voice.
In hearing her name, James turned around and almost died not breathing and he swore his heart stopped. She was completely transformed! She went from innocent virgin to vixen within a night and he felt ashamed to look at her.
"Lil-lay," Lucius catcalled. He beamed knowing that her seat was next to his.
"Hot mama!" Brendan called softly, giving her a bold wink.
Since Brendan was sitting next to him, it took James a universal amount of self-control not to reach over and snap his neck, back and legs with one swift motion. James looked down at his fist, which was shaking with self-restraint. Instead, he resorted to glaring intensely and emitting a low growl. It was rude to talk to Lily that way, even if she did tweak her appearance a little.
A lot.
Focus Potter, you have to tell her today. Tell her everything—tell her the truth.
He glanced up to steal a peek at Lily, only to find she was staring at him. Instantly, she turned around and he saw her blush.
James got mad. Had she done all this for Amos? All her alterations and the way she was acting? Was she coming on to him? Not him James, but him Amos? He swore himself to hell all over again for kissing her last night and for saving her life! Nevertheless, saving her life was necessary, so kissing her would be a damn good reason to swear himself to hell, and that's just what he did.
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That bastard went back to using Amos' body! Lily thought furiously. The second she had seen the look he gave her when she walked in, she knew it was James. She should have known it was James the whole time! Curse her for being so blind!
Didn't she see the way he ran his hand through his hair when he was showing off or when he was nervous? Didn't she witness his charm, the only charm James Potter had? Wasn't she affected just as much as the other girls were—the girls she laughed at for being ridiculous? No wonder she had been torn between Amos and James! There were the same person with two different faces! How could she ever talk to him again?
"As we continue our lab on Herbal Remedies, I'd like you to take out your text book and turn to chapter eight. Please proceed to read about the Psylochondrious herb and what it cures. You will have a chapter test at the end of the hour," Professor Arcsine announced.
The whole class groaned and Lily blushed furiously in embarrassment because she knew that her tardiness punished the whole class.
And she had forgotten her textbook in her haste.
"Professor?" Lily raised her hand slowly.
"Yes, Ms. Evans?"
"My book…it's—"
"Not with you. I'm sure you know how to share? Not having your necessities for this class with not exempt you from this test," he said gravely looking at her over his spectacles.
"Yes, sir."
"I expected more from you, Ms. Evans," he muttered disapprovingly as he passed by her.
Lily looked to her right to see if Gringo Daffli would share, but of course, he already finished ten pages of the chapter, having read some of it last night.
Over- achiever! Lily screamed at him in her mind.
With obvious agony, she turned to her left and was disgusted to see Lucius' pale face looking at her expectantly.
"You can share with me, sweetheart," he emphasized.
"Shut up," she glared.
He dragged his desk as close as he could to her, scraping it against the floor with as much noise as possible so everyone was forced to look up and watch them.
Lucius couldn't resist but look over his shoulder at Amos who had his head bent over his book, but couldn't hide his anger-flushed face.
At the end of the test, Lily leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. There was no doubt she had failed.
But how was he suppose to concentrate with traitorous James staring at her back, and Lucius Malfoy whispering sexual innuendos as he turned the page brushing up against her hand every time. She shivered and wanted to slap him, but it would draw too much attention to the both of them.
"Evans," James called out.
She snapped out of her thoughts and remembered she was supposed to bring the worst kind of torture to him. As the plan went, she was going to seduce Amos who happened to be James. It would tear James apart because he would think she was coming on to Amos, and yet he would not be able to resist her.
"Call me Lily, Amos. I thought we were over with formality?" she smiled sweetly.
"Yeah. Well, I want to talk to you. About something. About last night," he cursed himself for stumbling over his words and making chopping sentences.
She noticed his hesitation and smiled sympathetically.
"The kiss?" she said softly as she swung her bag over her shoulder and walked out with him.
"Yeah. It wasn't…I didn't…damn it. What I'm trying to say is… that… I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" he blurted.
Lily smiled. It took a lot for James Potter to apologize, even through someone else.
"I didn't mean to do it, and I sure as hell didn't want to scare you. But, you…" James stopped if he said anymore he would reveal everything he had worked so hard to keep a secret from her.
But you want to tell her, you idiot! You want to set things right! his mind told him.
"It's fine," Lily said as she flicked her hair over her shoulder, "It felt nice. You were my first, Amos. And I'm glad it was you and not someone like, oh, I don't know, James Potter."
She watched as his eyes widened and his breath hitched, but he covered it up in a cough and ran his hand through his hair uncomfortably.
"There you go comparing me to the notorious James Potter, again," he covered up.
Lily had to give him credit for composure. But she knew she was getting to him. And she would do it slowly, enjoying every moment of watching him crumble.
"Just teasing," she whispered and touched his arm. She felt the muscles in his arm tighten through the Hufflepuff cloak.
Merlin! She's going to kill me doing that! James looked down at her and saw her smiling innocently. I bet she doesn't even know what she's doing.
But she did. She slid her hand down his arm and held his hand, pulling him.
"What're you doing!" James whispered. His face was burning with embarrassment being pulled along by a girl like a dog on a leash.
"What's your next class?" she mumbled as they went through a crowd of Ravenclaws and stumbled into the broom closet. She pushed him against the wall and tugged at his necktie.
"Mmm…same as yours," he hardly found his voice, and he couldn't even remember his next class. He had no idea how the hell he had ended up in the broom closet with Lily and why she was making advances on him.
She stood on tiptoe and kissed him softly at first. James was not responding because he was stiff with shock. So, she became more urgent and ran her hands down his chest.
Her touch caused James to groan involuntarily. He unconsciously set his hands on her hips and pulled her closer to him, so she was completely against him. Her hands moved up around his shoulders where she linked her arms around his neck. Planting soft kisses along his jaw line until she reached his ear, she ignored the fact that she was actually enjoying this.
Playfully, she nipped it and whispered,
"I need you, Amos. You do things to me I didn't think were possible," she attempted unbutton her own shirt, but his hands seized hers roughly.
Hearing Amos' name woke James up with stark reality. She was after Amos, not him. He would not allow himself to wallow in Lily's passion as someone else. She wanted someone else. She wanted Amos.
What had happened? Last night, she had just confessed her feeling for him—James.
Gripping her hands and pinning her arms at her side, he took a deep look into her bright green eyes and he swore he saw a flash of anger there. But a smile touched her lips.
What is this! His mind was swirling and he hated not being in control.
"We're going to be late for class," he mumbled.
"You don't even know what your next class is, silly," she picked up her cloak that had fallen to the floor.
"I'll figure it out when we get there," he muttered.
As he redid his tie, she watched her, trying to figure out what she was about. How did it come to this? She had altered herself, and thrown him into a closet to snog him…to snog Amos. How could that be when she nearly castrated him when he had asked her to come here three weeks ago? And she had liked him, too! Where were her feelings for Amos coming from?
James turned around to fetch his cloak, which had also dropped to the floor and came face to face with a mirror. He flinched.
Of course, that was it! She did still love him, only she thought she was falling for Amos.
Damn Sirius and his stupid solutions! They only make more problems!
When they emerged from the broom closet completely disheveled, they came face to face with Sirius and Remus who had been walking down the hall to get to Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"Oh shit," Lily said and stepped back a little.
Sirius took one look at Amos/James and understood everything. This was the reason Lily charmed herself and why she refused to take it off. She wanted to get revenge on Potter. Against his will, he was proud of her. She was smart. But Sirius knew that he had to be loyal to James. As James' friend, he was entitled to tell him the truth.
But Lily's pleading eyes behind James' back caused him to extinguish that thought. He would hate to break him new alliance with his sister, especially after they had been bitter enemies for six years.
He couldn't say anything that wouldn't reveal what he knew, so he just shook his head and turned away. Remus, however, had not seen James that day and failed to understand he had taken the potion again. Sirius also had neglected to tell him James was Amos.
Usually, Remus was negotiable, but he marched right up to Amos and stared coldly into his blue eyes.
"If you took advantage of her, I swear I'll kill you," Remus threatened. His two best friends had a deep affection for Lily and if she was hurt in anyway, they were sure to kill Amos as well.
Surprised, Remus watched as Amos' lips hitched in a half-smile and he mouthed, Moony, it's me.
Remus shook his head in disapproval and looked down at Lily. She was gripping her books and barely daring to breathe in fear that Remus would yell at her, too.
Instead, he resumed his walk with Sirius.
"Go to class, Lily. You have half a minute," Sirius demanded over his shoulder.
She nodded, though she knew he didn't see it, and walked quickly in the opposite direction.
After a moment, James regained his composure and walked with her into Witchistory and they sat at opposite ends of the classroom.
For once in his life, James was scared of his feelings for a girl. This was Lily, and he had wanted her for as long as he could remember, but now she was making moves.
He was thrown into a whirlwind of confusion.
Watching him suffer across the room, Lily patted herself on the back. If she kept it up, he would be destroyed. And who knows how long it would take him to trust another girl. She had control of the situation that could determine his outlook for the rest of his life.
Serves him right after what he put me through. She had suffered the same kind of confusion in her feelings for James and Amos. It was unfair of James to take advantage of Amos, and to take advantage of the fact Lily thought she loved him.
But I still do like Amos. She forced herself to think. Before she found out what James had done, she had admitted that she liked him. She shook her head in denial. She could not continue that feeling when she was so set on ruining him.
Soon, classes had ended and Lily was grateful. All she wanted to do is go to sleep. The castle had gotten dark. Lily had lost track of time after she came out of the library. Glancing up at the clock, it was already nine. She yawned and made her way to the dormitory. It had took a lot of effort to flirt with James against her will, well somewhat against her will—some of it came naturally.
NO! Lily shouted in her head, I do not naturally flirt with Potter!
However, she did not have much time to debate that thought in her head because she was rudely grabbed around the waist, dragged into a dark hallway, and thrown into a corner.
The whole castle was silent and Lily knew that if she screamed, no one could hear her. They were probably all in their rooms. So, she saved her energy and focused on clawing at her abductor.
"Easy, sweetheart. I told you one day you'd come around and find out your feelings for me," a sick voice coaxed.
Instantly, Lily felt the color from her face drain. She became limp in fear.
"Malfoy!" she spat.
"I love it when you say my name," he growled.
"What makes you think I changed for you?" she pushed him away as he attempted to disrobe her.
"Oh, playing hard to get?" he laughed.
"Don't touch me!" she slapped his hand when he stroked her cheek.
His hand was cold as ice and Lily admitted she would rather be touched by James right now.
Lucius was strong, despite his lean façade. His pale face and white-blond hair made him look like a ghost and Lily shivered.
She reached for her wand, but Lucius had grabbed her hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing her fist.
"Relax, it won't hurt if you don't struggle," he took her other hand.
"I wouldn't have to struggle if you left me alone!" she said through her teeth.
"You'll feel differently after you figure out what a pleasure it is to be with me," he assured her.
"You hate Muggles," she reminded him as he took off his robe and unbuttoned his shirt.
"I do," he replied as he shrugged off his shirt and exposed his sickly pale chest.
He took her hand and put it against his heart.
"I hate all of them," he quickly dove in to kiss her, but she turned away and he got her cheek.
"Get off of me! Let me go. I'll scream," she warned.
"If you were going to, you'd have done it already. Since you haven't, I see that as an open invitation," he moaned as he tried to find her mouth in the dark.
To hell with it! Lily opened her mouth before he could find it and screamed as loud as she could. She crouched down against the wall, and screamed and screamed until Lucius smacked her.
She put a hand up to her stinging cheek and screamed even harder as he turned her over on the floor. He was above her now and there was lust in his eyes…
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Above the dark hallway was the Gryffindor Dormitories and Sirius heard a faint scream. His ears were so good in fact, that he knew the screaming was coming from directly below them.
Troubled, he put his quill down on top of his parchment.
"Prongs," Sirius called to James who was scribbling furiously.
"What?" he asked not looking up.
"Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"That screaming. It's from downstairs," Sirius looked at James who shrugged carelessly.
"I don't hear anything."
"What's directly below our dorm?"
"Beats me, Sirius!" James said aggravated.
Again, the screamed came, even louder than before and this time James heard it faintly. He lifted his head, startled and exchanged a glance with Sirius.
It only took them half a second to get out of their chairs and sprint downstairs. It was a girl who was screaming and as Sirius got closer to the screaming, he recognized it and nearly collapsed in worry.
"Lily!" he choked.
James heard him and looked over at Sirius. There was pain in his eyes, which suddenly turned to murderous anger. He had picked up significant speed and James followed behind him.
"Where is she!" James asked him.
"Where is the hall under our dorm?"
"I—I—I don't know!" James stammered.
"DAMN IT POTTER! What's the point in being Head Boy if you don't know where anything is!" Sirius swore viciously and transformed into his Animagus. James considered doing the same, but a stag wouldn't do anything to improve this situation.
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"GET OFF ME!" Lily screamed again. Malfoy had managed to pull his trousers down while pinning her wrists above her head with one hand.
"Don't make me hurt you, Mudblood," Lucius dipped his head to her breast and she tried kicking, but his weight was too heavy for her.
"Get OFF!" she felt like her lungs were going to collapse.
Suddenly the weight was gone and Lily scrambled against the wall and tucked her knees to her chest, whimpering.
She buried her head against her arms and heard fist-to-face contact. She looked up and saw Sirius grabbing Malfoy by the shoulders, pulling him up only to knock him down harder every time. She swore she saw his eyes blaze red.
"How do you like it bastard!" he yelled at Malfoy while he was on the ground, "How do you like getting hurt!"
"Grroff me—" Malfoy mumbled as Sirius lifted him up with one hand.
Sirius hurled another punch against his right eye, which was already swollen.
"You like taking advantage of girls?" Lucius fell, and Sirius dug his shoe into Lucius' crotch. He screamed so horribly that Lily shut her eyes and covered her ears.
"Touch my sister again and I'll kill you! No—better, I'll cut of you dick and feed it to Mrs. Norris!"
The beating continued and Lily shivered as Sirius grunted from exertion and Malfoy groaned in pain, no longer able to say anything.
At that moment, she felt warm hands on her shoulders and she opened her eyes.
"You okay?" James watched as her eyes watered and she immediately flung herself into the safety of his arms.
Clutching him tightly, she sobbed and he tried to comfort her by rubbing her back, but she flinched. He pulled her up to stand and kept his hands on her shoulders so she could balance. He turned her around and saw the back of her shirt was frayed from the friction of the hallway carpet.
"May I?" he asked. She nodded.
He took a look at her skin and found carpet burns. There no doubt she had tried to scoot away from him while she was on her back and the burns made it obvious she struggled hard.
"That bitch!" James swore as he gather Lily in his arms and hugged her, placing comforting kisses on top of her head and telling her he would take care of it.
Mindless of anything else, even her revenge, she held herself to him as if he were an anchor of safety amidst the chaos.
"Stay here," he demanded.
Lily watched as he walked over to Sirius who had lifted Malfoy up again. Whatever James had said, caused Sirius to dump Malfoy on the ground and make his was over to her.
"Is it true?" he asked as he hugged her and the pulled her away at arms length to look at her, "Are you hurt?"
Lily didn't answer and stared at the floor. She knew that if she admitted her burns, Sirius would eventually kill Lucius and she didn't want Sirius to do such things.
"I did it myself trying to get away," Lily answered carefully.
"I'm going to kill him," Sirius promised.
"No. Don't."
"What? Lily! Listen to me, you shouldn't have to go through this! Once was already too much. Twice is uncalled for. I will not sit and wait for the third!" Sirius shook her slightly.
"You won't have to, Amos has him," Lily stared over Sirius' shoulder where James had pinned Lucius against the wall by the throat. Lucius was gasping for breath, making gurgling noises.
"Put him down," Lily called out.
Obligingly, James punched Malfoy one last time before letting him fall to the ground. He turned Lucius over with his foot and look at him with cold eyes.
"You think one indecent thing about her, you look at her, you touch her—I will make it my personal goal to torture you every day of your miserable life. Do you understand?" James growled.
Malfoy nodded weakly turning over on his side and moaning. Sirius picked up the Slytherin cloak discarded on the floor and chucked it at the writhing figure on the ground as if it were contaminated.
"Let's go," he led Lily by the elbow and James walked on the other side of her.