No one reviewed chapter 4! Goes off and cries silently in a corner. Well, tis ok, so I shall now give you another chappie, however unresponsive you all are. I'm joking! Oh, I'm looking for a beta, if anyone would like to, leave an email addy and message and I'll get back to you!
Disclaimer: Well, again, I own the unfamiliar characters only. This is a non profit fan fiction. :P
The blue colour faded from Lily's skin as she began to cry. James looked dumbfounded. He was in shock. This couldn't be happening! They still had 6 months of school to get through! What were their parents going to say…?
"What's going to happen now?" James asked no one in particular.
"Well, Miss. Evans will have the choice to continue here at school, regardless of her choice of whether to have the baby or not," Dumbledore said, looking uncomfortable.
"I'm having it!" Lily blurted through her tears.
"This isn't a decision to be treated rashly; you should discuss it with your parents first before you –"
"I'm having it!" she said insistently through gritted teeth. She got up, and stalked out of the hospital wing. She needed time to deal with this. She was 17. She still had 6 months in Hogwarts left. This could NOT be happening to her! She was Head Girl! What an example this would be setting to everyone.
Lily's mind was spinning in a million different directions. What would her parents think? She might not have to tell them… she devised a clever scheme in her mind. She could go through the six months left at school and then, without seeing her parents, she could live with James, if he still wanted to speak to her. Leala was a second option…
She shook her head to clear it. Of course she would tell her parents! What kind of idiot wouldn't! Her thoughts were broken by the footfalls of someone running down the corridor. It was James. She turned the corner and ducked into a secret passageway that would make the walk to Gryffindor tower shorter. She couldn't talk to James right now. She just needed to sleep.
The Fat Lady was sleeping when she got to the portrait. Lily yelled "Pickled radish!" to wake her up, tear stains fresh on the young witch's face. The Fat Lady swung open, refraining from her usual barrage of questions and scolding. She crept up to her dormitory, and slid into bed. Her tears began to fall again as she slipped into an exhausted sleep.
James ran down the corridor, watching Lily's gorgeous hair swish on her back. She rounded the corner, and he sped up, but when he got there, the corridor was empty except for a big tapestry and a suit of armour. Its head turned toward him with a creak. He kicked it hard, frustrated that he lost Lily. He needed to tell her that he still loved her, and that he'd do anything for her and the baby.
Lily was aroused from her sleep by Leala shaking her. "Come on!" she said, "You missed breakfast! We have Transfiguration in 10 minutes!"
Lily considered going, but then she knew she couldn't. "I'm not going," she mumbled, rolling over.
"What is WRONG with you?" Leala asked her. Lily had never missed a class before simply for some more sleep. Lily didn't answer her. Leala glanced at her watch and ran from the room. She wasn't going to be late for strict McGonagall's class.
She arrived with the bell and slid into a desk at the front of the room. Lily's desk beside her was empty. She glanced around the room, and noticed that James' desk was empty too. His friends were all there though, so it clearly wasn't for mischief.
Once McGonagall had the class working on Conjuring large objects, Leala approached her desk. "Professor, I think that there is something wrong with Lily," she said softly.
"What?" McGonagall said sharply, looking up from her papers. Lily told her about the morning's events. She looked concerned, but stayed at her desk. "Check on her before your next class please. If she's still sleeping tell her I said to get to her next class. If she won't, please come see me." McGonagall scribbled a quick note giving her permission to be late for her next class, and they went back to work.
James snuck back to his dormitory right after breakfast. He grabbed the Marauder's Map from Sirius' trunk and his own Invisibility Cloak, and then crept down the hall. He reached the statue of the humpback witch without any trouble, and ran into Hogsmeade via Honeydukes. He strolled down the streets, his cloak under his arm, until he found the shop he wanted. A sign over top of the door proclaimed Piazolla's Foreign Finds in swirling lettering. He pushed open the door.
An eerie glow filled the shop, and he peered into the cluttered glass showcases. Finally, he found what he was looking for and bought it, emptying his money pouch of his yearly allowance. That was it, no more Hogsmeade trips for him. He sighed, but knew that this was worth it.
He snuck back into the castle, and was back in time for his next class, Charms. When he got there, he noticed that Lily wasn't there. 'Strange…' he thought, 'well, I suppose not, considering the circumstances…' Sirius told him that Lily wasn't in Transfiguration either, and Lupin slipped him the homework.
"Go… away…"Lily groaned, swatting at a figure in an emerald green cloak that was leaning over her.
"Up we get," said the softened voice of the usually strict McGonagall as she pulled the covers gently off Lily.
"Didn't Dumbledore tell you?" Lily said groggily as she tried to adjust her eyes to the light.
"Tell me what," McGonagall said, thinking she was simply humouring the sleepy Miss. Evans.
"Tell you that I was pre –" she started, but realized that Leala was there too, looking concerned. "Oh, never mind. I was doing some stuff for him last night, and I didn't get to bed until late. He gave me permission to miss my morning classes today." She hoped that her feeble excuse would work on McGonagall.
"I would have expected a better excuse from you Miss. Evans." Darn, the excuse didn't work.
"Let's go up to the hospital wing, shall we?" McGonagall said, helping Lily to her feet.
Lily got annoyed at this, as she was awake now. "I'm NOT sick. I don't need to go to the hospital wing. I am not skipping out classes. Well, I am, but I have a good excuse."
Leala and McGonagall just looked at her. "Well, if it is none of these things, then why don't you tell me what it is?" McGonagall demanded, noting that she did not look ill, "Leala," she said, realizing that maybe there was more to this that the other girl needed to know, "could you please give us a minute?"
Leala nodded, and walked out of the dormitory. Lily sat on the bed, and looked up at McGonagall, whose thin mouth was an indicator of how close to the end of her patience she was getting.
Lily took a deep breath. "Well?" McGonagall asked.
"I'm. I'm… I'm pregnant," she said very, very softly, looking down at her knobbly knees. Goosebumps covered her body, but not because she was cold. She was so scared.
"Ok, we need to see the headmaster," McGonagall said, realizing that his was a little out of her league.
"No we don't!" Lily said sharply. "I mean, he already knows." Lily explained.
"Well… I still think that we need to go see him. I have no proof, or no reason why you should be missing classes."
Lily was shocked. No proof! "You don't believe me!"
"Well, Miss. Evans, you have to understand," McGonagall began, "You are our Head Girl. How likely was this to happen?" Lily didn't respond. "I thought so. Let's go. Get dressed; I will wait for you outside."
Lily got dressed, and McGonagall and she walked in silence down the corridors to Dumbledore's office. "Chocolate Frog," she said, and the gargoyle sprang aside.
"To what do I owe this honour, Minerva?" Dumbledore said as she entered his office. Lily stepped out from behind Professor McGonagall, and Dumbledore smiled at her.
"Miss. Evans has told me a ludicrous tale as to why she is skipping her classes today."
"Well, if it is the same tale I'm thinking of, then it is indeed true, however ludicrous," he said mildly, even though he was very concerned about this. The poor girl…
"She told me that she is pregnant, Professor!" McGonagall said, indeed looking quite crazy.
"Yes, yes, that is the same tale that I was thinking of," he said gravely.
McGonagall looked shocked, "But that still doesn't give her an excuse to miss classes!" she recovered.
"Well, I believe that one day of missed classes would be alright, considering the circumstances," Dumbledore said, giving Lily a penetrating look.
Finally, Lily knew what her decision was to be. "I'm going to stay at Hogwarts for the remainder of the year, Professors. I want to keep this as secret as possible, so as not to ruin the reputation of this school. I made a foolish mistake, and now I am paying for it," she finally voiced the thought that had been chasing its way around her mind for the past day.
Dumbledore nodded, "That seems to be a good idea. You must return to your classes tomorrow. Simply say that you were ill, and there should be no problem with your teachers." He nodded towards the door, "You may go. Minerva, may I have a word please?" And Lily left, grateful of how well that went. She walked slowly along the corridor. She heard hurried footsteps behind her; McGonagall had caught up with her. She continued walking in silence with the teacher.
Coincidentally, James was walking down the corridor just around the corner. He rounded it, and saw Lily, feeling the small box in his pocket. He walked up to her, and she averted her eyes. He knew what he was going to do, despite the teacher being there. He got down on one knee, and said, "Lily, will you marry me?"
Whatever will Lily say? Sorry for the jumping between characters in this chapter, I hope it's clear enough. Some reviews for this one please! Ineed to know what you think so I can write the story for what you'd like. It's my loyal readers thatmatter:PThanx, Maybelline
