"Would you switch being Head Boy if I pouted?" Lilly asked hopefully, though without much belief.
"No," he said, still smiling. "Pouting would have other consequences."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lily said, instantly suspicious, too familiar with Potter's softly worded insults to let it go as innocent.
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
"No," Lily snapped sarcastically, "My mouth just happened to formed those words. I actually didn't want to know."
He gave her a disgusted look. "You think you're just so witty, don't you, Evans?"
First off, she did thing she was witty, in general, if not in this circumstance. She drew a deep breath, rolled her neck, then let the air out as she counted to ten. Finally she looked back at Potter, who was watching with a quirked eyebrow. "Potter," she said slowly, "I don't like you. I'm quite aware that you don't like me. And even though I have no idea how you wrangled your spot, I've been working for this my whole life -"
"That's sad, Evans."
"- and I really want it to go well. So please don't treat this like a joke."
Potter's eyes narrowed at Lily's beseeching look. "You really have a low opinion of me, don't you?"
"Low doesn't even begin to cover it," Lily responded automatically, then winced, as that sounded exceptionally cruel. "I'm sorry."
He looked surprised. "No, you're not."
"Well, obviously I'm not!" Lily exploded, "But I am trying to be mature if we're going to have to work together!"
He rolled his eyes. "It's only Head Prefect, not opening a bank."
"No, it's Head Prefect in one of the most dangerous years Hogwarts has ever had. Or were you too busy fixing your hair to notice the whole You-Know-Who thing?"
Potter had the grace to momentarily look ashamed, before snapping back to his regular personality. "It's not as though he's about to crash school and hold us accountable for saving it."
Lily shook her head, unable to bear spending another minute with him. "Why don't you just hole up in the guest room until dinnertime, Potter? Because I really don't feel like wasting any more of my time with you."
He looked surprised. "But -"
"See you in a few hours," she snapped with finality.
He called out as she was in the doorway. "Why don't you like me, Lily?"
She winced to hear her name on his tongue, as if he polluted it. "I just - don't." She turned around and glared at him, daring him to make fun of her weak excuse. "You don't like me either, remember?"
"Um, no, actually, I did. I madly wanted you for a year and was continuously rejected."
"Yeah, some fluke. You didn't like me before then or after." She scowled at him. "That's just the way it is. What," she continued, dripping sarcasm, "Would you like to be friends?"
He rolled his eyes and turned away. "I'll see you at dinner," he said in a clear dismissal - never mind that it was her house.
It was a simple matter of dislike, Lily mused as she headed outside, following the comfortable run though the neighborhood. They rubbed the other the wrong way. Fine, she acknowledged she thought he was cute, in a rather self-absorbed way, and sometimes she even enjoyed their bickering as one of the foundations of her school life, but most of the time he just put her on edge through a combination of arrogance and irritation. Maybe if he was just a bit - ok, ninety percent - less self-involved, but as it was . . . And he wasn't particularly likable, she added angrily. He wasn't like Black, who everyone gravitated towards because of looks and charm, he was adored because - well, she didn't know why, she wasn't part of the group of yapping lap dogs.
Though, to be fair, she realized she wasn't exactly likable either, not to Potter, though she got along with everyone else. A bit too prickly towards him, because of that edge he had her balancing on . . . It was because he expected everyone to treat him like he was a god, just because of stupid Quidditch and since he wasn't afraid to play tricks on others, hang them in the air without a thought.
She hadn't a clue how he'd been picked to be Head Boy. He was smart enough, she admitted. He breezed through classes with the inborn talent of someone truly genius, even if he didn't appreciate it. It drove Lily crazy, how she would studiously take notes all class while Potter would laugh and joke with his friends or doodle on his papers or sleep, and they still ended up with the same grade. But just having the brains for Head Boy didn't mean he deserved it. He wouldn't care about the students like she did, wouldn't have compassion, too caught up as he was in his own importance. Better someone less smart, but more caring . . . Better to have Remus, like they'd all expected.
Eventually the repetitive pounding of her feet on the sidewalk soothed away her thoughts, until she was only concentrating on the smacking beat and James Potter was, thankfully, put aside.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
James was having a harder time putting Evans aside, partly because he was sitting on his bed, sulking.
Everyone he knew always asked him, "Why can't you and Lily Evans just get along? She's such a nice girl."
They always said "nice" like that, too, like it covered all the desirable qualities existent. As though there was something wrong with him for not getting along with her. Everyone got along with Lily.
For God's sake, Slytherins got along with Lily Evans.
But James? No, not him. He always got the Evans that no one else knew existed, the irritated, angry part, that bickered and argued and apparently blackmailed.
And wasn't that a laugh? he thought sarcastically. It was because of Moony he was an animagus, and because he was an animagus that Evans had blackmail which she wanted to use to make Moony Head Boy.
Not likely.
All right, so maybe James had been stunned when he first got the letter, but now he was rather looking forward to it. His own bathroom, extra privileges - why, he could wander the halls at all hours and say it was his duty!
Then there would be Evans.
He'd always thought that she's enjoyed their arguments, at least a little. He'd certainly liked one-upping her, the continuation of the private competition that had started their first year, half an ongoing argument, half a flirtation.
That's how he had thought of it.
So maybe it had been the smallest bit - meaner - last year, since he had spent all of the previously year hearing how she'd rather date a troll then him. And she had meant that literally.
And perhaps his stint with serial dating hadn't been the best thing to do that year, since it had just intensified the opinion that he was an arrogant idiot.
Still, he hadn't thought she really disliked him. Like, if he snogged her he would expect a punch, but more on principle then because she thought he was disgusting.
But she'd sent him up here like he was a pesky fly she didn't have time to deal with. That was her problem, he decided. She was patronizing, and he, unlike mostly people she dealt with, had no intention of being treated like a child.
Or treated like anything, come to think of it. He didn't have to put up with Evans. He could drop her in a moment, just ignore her the rest of the year, see how she liked being treated like she was beneath him.
Oh, wait. He'd forgotten about the Head Boy/Girl thing.
Damn.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Under Sail was an understated, tasteful restaurant, which seated the four Evans and James in a corner booth. Mr. and Mrs. Evans mood was proud, the little sister with that ridiculous name seemed bored, and Evans, who was sitting next to James, had a front of happiness though she had made a point of trodding on James' foot every chance she got. He, being a gentleman, had not cried in pain like a little girl or hit her back or make snarky comments about her ensemble so that she was as discomforted as his poor foot was.
He just thought about it.
"So, James," Mr. Evans said, "Lily tells us you come from an all wizard family."
"Pureblood, Dad," Evans said, looking pained. James was sure she was annoyed at the fact rather than that her father couldn't remember what to call them.
"I do," James said, munching on his bread roll. Swallowing quickly, he continued. "Though, of course, I don't share the prejudices many pureblood families do."
"Like the Blacks," Mrs. Evans said, and James couldn't contain a flare of surprise. He wondered how much Evans talked about her classmates, that her mother could remember their political positions.
"Yes, exactly," he said. "Though my friend Sirius Black disagreed with his family so much he left them to come live with me."
It was Evans' turn to straighten in surprise, glancing sidelong at him.
"That was brave," she said quietly.
James shrugged, irrationally annoyed. She hadn't ever called him brave, or anything of the kind. And by all rights she ought to dislike Padfoot just as much as she disliked James; more so, as Padfoot was more charming and arrogant then he was, and ran through girls like candy. And yet Padfoot was getting praised?
"Can we order yet?" the sister whined, the first thing she'd said since they'd left the house.
Mrs. Evans nodded, then raised her voice to attract their waiter's attention. "Excuse me?"
The waiter didn't turn.
"Excuse me," Mrs. Evans said, louder, but that wasn't heard either. It was drowned out by the sound of sirens that cut to an abrupt stop as the engine turned off, and ugly, harsh screams.
"What's that?" the sister said, instantly interested.
"Nothing, I'm sure," her mother told her. James turned to Evans to find her already looking at him with a worried expression. They were used to explosions and screams on occasion, but mostly in the newspaper, not real life.
"I want to see," the sister said, craning her neck towards the window, squinting so as to better see the action.
"Petunia, sit straight," her father said crossly. "It's rude to stare."
"Dad, if I don't stare I won't know what's going on," she said sharply.
"I wish they'd stop that screaming," Mrs. Evans commented. "So loud, and right near the restaurant.
"Yeah," Evans muttered, so low only James could hear, "How dare they have the nerve to scream and disrupt our dinner." A sudden move of her elbow caused her water to knock all over it, and she tried to avoid it, exclaiming softly.
"Lily, you all right?" Mrs. Evans asked.
"Yeah," Evans said, mopping at her lap with a quickly drenched napkin. "Great," she added sarcastically. "I'm soaked. I'll be back in a sec," she said, nudging James to get out of the booth. "I just need to dry off."
"I'll go with you," James said quickly, glancing out the window again.
She glared at him from nearly closed eyes as she squeezed water out of her shorts. "No thanks."
"You got me, too, with your water," he pointed out, and trailed her to the restrooms.
"This way," Evans said as they reached them, leading to a back door he hadn't noticed. They ducked out. James looked around briefly, seeing only an overflowing dumpster; the night covered everything else. It was colder then it had been when they first entered Under Sail, and he watched Lily break out in goosebumps. "Come on," he was hissed at, and followed her up the hill at the back of the restaurant.
They didn't need to cross the street into the residential area to see what had happened. James froze, disbelief running through him and settling heavily in his stomach. His face, usually the most mobile of his body as he shifted expression, was focused straight ahead. The green, smoky mark was clear from where they stood - too clear, as though it was leering down at them.
"Not here," Evans whispered, as James turned to see her. Her face was white, almost transparent, as it only ever was when she was outrage at him. He had never seen her pale in fear.
"It's all right," he lied, his false words aimed to comfort, something he was woefully unaware of how to go about. Instead of trying again, he turned back to the ghastly grin. "I wonder who it was?"
"I don't know," Evans said. "I didn't - I didn't -" James looked back at her, surprised, for it was a rarity to have Evans fumbling for words. "I didn't even know another wizard lived around here," she finished, despair in her voice.
"Let's go see," James said, determined to find out something that night, and not at all expecting Evans to grab his sleeve and shake her head wildly.
"Are you kidding? We have to go back in Under Sail and get my family out of here. Now. And get them to safety. You can - can Apparate for help - can't your parents do it with people? And they can take my family far, far, away -"
"Evans, you're shaking," he noted, trying to keep his voice from doing the same. He had never seen the Death Eater's Mark before, not outside of a drawing, and he had never imagined he could actually be scared at the sight of one. "Evans," he said again, sternly, and started to run his hands briskly over her arms. "You're ok. It's not you, or you're family, and you'll be safe in Hogwarts in a few days. Evans, look at me."
She was still trembling, head bowed, pale as death.
"Snap out of it. Don't make me hit you, because although I would normally love to, I'd rather you stopped being in shock on your own accord." He lifted her chin with one hand to see her eyes wide and panicked, nervously biting her lower lip. "Anyone would think you were the deer, not me," he scoffed. "Let's go. We're going back inside." Casting a glance back at the shining Mark, he steered her towards the restaurant's door, warmth and laughter and tempting smells drifting from it.
"Leggo of me," Evans finally murmured feebly. James smiled slightly and kept her moving.
When they slid back into their booth the little sister eyed Evans' shorts and snootily noted that they weren't much drier then they'd been before. The parents exchanged indulgent looks that would have made Evans' go bright red if she'd seen them. As for himself, James merely felt the normal smugness curl inside, but rather dampened by what they'd seen.
You-Know-Who's followers, striking in such a small, nondescript English town, was a cause for surprise. What were they doing here? He hardly knew what he was doing here, as his stag memories had blurred the last days and the Muggle's weapon had inflicted enough pain to knock out several hours worth of memories. It certainly wasn't somewhere he'd have ended up intentionally. Why would Death-Eaters have come? It itched at him, that he couldn't sneak by the house and find out what had happened, and to whom.
As they headed out the restaurant and approached the cramped Muggle vehicle, James abruptly made up his mind. "Thank you for dinner," he said with his best winning smile. "But I'd better be getting home now."
Evans - who had been quiet all through the meal, though she'd tried to conceal it - flew her eyes to his.
"Don't be silly," Mrs. Evans said. "What will you do? Walk?"
James patently charming laughed clogged his throat. "Oh, no. I'll Apparate. Just vanish - here one second, gone the next." If he had to be polite one more moment, he would explode. "I'll just duck around the restaurant where it's a bit less crowded."
"Oh," Mrs. Evans said, a little taken aback. Mr. Evans just unlocked the car and - oh, yes, her name was Petunia - climbed in, the petulant look still on her face. Evans' eyes narrowed just the slightest bit, and James threw her her own smile.
"Thank you for everything," he said as Mrs. Evans climbed in the car after the proper farewell, leaving her eldest to glare at him.
"You're going back there, aren't you?" she snapped.
He sighed. "Someone has to."
"Like, maybe an Auror? Or, I'm sorry, is a student equal to handling the Dark Arts?"
"Evans, just climb in your car and go."
"Don't be an idiot."
"She says to the Head Boy."
"Yeah, boy,' not undercover detective. Unless you've opened up a private eye practice on top of everything else?" she added icily.
"What?" James asked, completely bewildered.
She waved her hand. "Never mind. Just don't do it. Besides, if you can Apparate away, why didn't you do it ages ago?"
"You really want a pained, not fully concentrated person trying to Apparate? And how would you like to explain half my body stuck in your house? Today's the first day I've been rested enough to try."
"You should have done it this morning," she grouched.
"I think your dad wants you in the car," James said, pointing to her father knocking on the window.
She opened the door, still shooting him a dirty look. "Don't go there. You may be a pigheaded idiot, but I don't want you dead."
"Didn't know you cared," he said sweetly.
"Yes, you did," she said, climbing in the car. "Or did you already forget that I saved your life when you stumbled into my yard, all bloody?" With that, she slammed the door on him.
"Like I could," he said softly, scowling as the car drove away. "With you ready to lord it over my head the rest of the school year." With that, he headed back to the doomed house, green mark just about ready to fade away.
A/N: Meh. That was . . . all right. James didn't come out exactly the way I wanted him to, but oh well. The chapter was rather a bridge. The next one is the classic train scene, so that should be fun. At least, I think it is. I haven't written it yet.
Responses:
TajM - lol. I'm a vegetarian too. Hence, the "vegetarians are wonderful" plug. Of course.
alittlesomebody - I agree that him being nice is a bit weird, but I have so he sorta is nice, at least with everyone but Lily. They have their special thing all to themselves.
Missrs - Tuna. Ha. Funny. No, it was just either that or "Pet" and first of all, weird, and second of all, Spike from Buffy says that. So that was out. . I'm glad you liked the preview. It was the spawn of my strange humor. I live to amuse myself.
the mouse that roared - There were reviews, and there were long reviews, and then there was Mouse. I love you! (And Warren). Don't be feverish. Do be amused by preview. Apologies on the floppy lines - James' character is still being worked on. Hmm. So is Lily's. Well, you know me and my main characters. And if you make fun of them I'll cry. (Sobs through edit of ATSMtPS - which, by the way, now contains 5 - count 'em, only FIVE kisses.) And I made James smart. Or at least, they acknowledge that James was smart.
If you go to prep school, I want to wear the uniform when I visit. -. Ok, so we're probably not looking at that. Oh well. It would amuse me. Oh! A fic! You can narrator the murderer who kills off a student to get into their favorite school! I think Alan suggested that . . . he's in the paper again. Why aren't we ever in the paper? . . . You know, aside from the fact that we're healthy and boring.
Agnes Green - I certainly hope I don't loose all meaning! I know what you mean. This chapter (hopefully) tucked in a bit of plot rather then aimless wandering.
Duck-a-roo - I was awfully fond of the preview as well. Which is a good thing, because otherwise I'd be embarrassed.
ZestyCruton - You would think I haven't seen anything . . . No Bruce Almighty for me. Though I did want to. Just never got around to it. I did just borrow the Kim Possible movie from someone at work. I was vastly entertained. Then decided half the movies in existence include a high school dance, even if they are cartoons.
Kuddls - Nope, you only reviewed once. I hope that was a good thing about reviews praising. . . Couldn't tell. But I'm glad you like the story.
lilsakura - So on the boldness note - I did. Or quite similar. Me and a friend had too much caffeine and wrote a dialogue where Jadrien spoke with her lead guy character. I looked back on it once. It's quite horrifying.
Nyeh, you're right with the, ("Shut up, Head Boy," he corrected with a grin, and Lily really did want to punch him.) Since I had already written this years ago, I had to go back and find places to make into chapter endings. Cue the chapter endings/beginnings being awkward. Hopefully that gets better now. This is the first chapter whose ending written to be a chapter ending.
Though, yeah, Lily does feel violent around James, though not the other way around, and not around anyone else. He just irritates her. A lot.
czarina-kathryn - Yay! I love hearing what people's favorite parts are! Otherwise I just think I amuse myself. I was actually thinking of that cereal commercial, where the guys are chomping to loudly to hear when the other guy hears about the chomping guy's promotion and tries to send him death rays which are misunderstood as peace signs cause the chomping's too loud to hear . . . wow, commercials are hard to explain. I swear I'm not crazy.
BabyRose129 -I feel special! No, I always like the hate that lasts for an abnormally long time. (Shameless self-promotional plug to go look at my fp. Profile). And I figure if they held off dating til seventh year and Lily spent fifth year turning him down there had to be strong dislike . . . or maybe I just like writing those stories.
Princess Persephone - I'm glad you liked the charming, I was a little worried how that would go over. Lol, the list of questions sounds like it could be an amusing back cover. I actually haven't a clue how to handle the werewolf thing yet, but it's a set for more situations. . . Love Persephone, by the way. I always meant to write a retelling . . . someday . . .
J.E.A.R.K.Potter - If I have to have a bored nothing-happens life, then my characters certainly have to suffer as well. A lot. And violence is just pure fun. Well, you know, unless it gets to actual violence.
PhoenixWings13 - I'm not really much of an action person - most of my stories seem to be centered on emotions - but I hope it moved a little bit this chapter. And next chapter they're heading to school, so there's more people and room for entertainment.
Frecklednproud - Going on my movie list. And I think all bosses must be part devil, to survive to boss level. God knows mine are scary. And they ALWAYS pop up when you're chatting with friends rather then working. Gah. Wish they would vanish.
Chikichiki - Lol, yes, the guilt will pour. Just imagine James' frustration. Isn't it fun?
TheBrilliantFool - I know, right? I always feel extra special when I'm answered. Must find interview. . . murg, it's Thursday, I think I missed stopping by . . . though I did go for a walk yesterday and ended up at the library (it was a long walk) but I forgot the Country store. I thought about stopping by your house but was too disgusting to go anywhere other then air conditioning. I felt really good though. Exhausted. God, I'm so out of shape. I'm going to die in Dance next year.
DANCE! Why am I taking it? Last year was a strip tease . . . that was so embarrassing . . . my dad was there. Grr. Stupid dance.
Also thanks to:
Kathryn, -ShIvErInG sMiLe-, chunky-01, Randomisation, dee023 , Scarletteyes, Keliadry, Arista Ramabra, Coco-Pop, Amandinka, emily, Lady-Slytherin-Warrior, oKateMateo ,Devin Jamie Pickrell, jessicagreen, sugur-huny-bun, cylobaby, WhiteCamellia, ShiningWishingStar, blvd
