Hey everyone! I updated again, as you can tell.
SOME Review responses:
KawaiiFryingPanChick: hehehe.. I'll try. Those ARE pretty unbelievable though. DO come up with something better. Lol. Creative as they are, it'd be hard to work those in. For me, anyways. But sleepwalking could be worked into something else..
Wahooligan08: He scares me too. But Caliban makes up for it, right? :) Yeah, my idea worked! You WERE supposed to feel sorry for her! Wow, I feel so accomplished. XD It doesn't take me 20 minutes! More like.. a few hours. Hehe. I'm a slow writer. I get sidetracked easily, and have to fish around to get more ideas. I tend to stop a lot, too. I cant write a chapter in one sitting. But I'm getting much faster now!
Alias Madame Butterfly: Sangrita, you're too encouraging. XD Thanks for the compliment. Now if I learned more British slang and their weird spelling, then I'd be an exact copy, eh? (Except I'd be prettier.. :3) Happy you liked the fluff; stay tuned for more, love.
BeCkY6: I'm glad you did! You have no idea about how many fights I got into with my cousin over possession of this laptop.. :]
Lindsay: LINZ! Did you read all the chapters? xD No, there won't be pron here. Sorry. There are PLENTY of other fics for that stuff.. hahahah.. lub yoo!
Yoshiko: Expect a new chapter NOW. :3 Yeah, I WAS planning a James POV chapter, actually, I just don't know when that would be. But that'd be a SUPER SPECIAL thing, seeing as this story is supposed to follow Lily's POV and life in the 5th year. (Hence the title..)
Theoneandonlystephy: AHH! STICKY KEY PENNAME! xP So hard to type.. haha. Yes, I would do the same, if I were Lily. Wouldn't we all? :9
Brooklyn McFly: I KNEW I forgot something! XDDDD lol, aren't Mary-Sue's great? I see quite a lot of those, and would LOVE to correctly point it out for the poor author, but I'm not THAT mean. It does sound tempting though. ..I await your fanart, Britt. AND YOU BETTER DRAW SOME, OR I'M GONNA BE MAD. :9 Make it a James/Lily pic.. hehehe. giggles
Otay! All done! Enjoy! wants Coca-Cola..
Chapter 5: Deer and Disasters
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Celina's words never left Lily's mind, although she acted as if she had forgotten them just minutes afterwards. Lily found herself zoning out often during classes, her attention elsewhere, only to be jolted into awareness by Professor Deckard zapping her with his wand. Today his ears were almost the entire length of his head, his earlobes dangling precariously near his mouth when he bent over.
"If you fail to focus instead of daydreaming once more, Miss Evans, then I'll give you plenty of time to practice your focusing in a week's worth of detention. Do I make myself clear?" His ears wobbled with each word spoken.
Lily nodded feebly. Seconds later, when Deckard turned to the board, he was bitten viciously by a gang of renegade erasers and spent ten minutes of class time coughing up chalk dust. His appearance changed each time he sneezed. As she watched with extreme satisfaction, however masked by a fake, wide-eyed expression, Lily caught James's eye.
He flashed a huge grin at her. "All right, Evans?" Lily was willing to bet that she saw him wink at her, and she probably would have won quite a large sum, too..
"Y-yeah.. fine," Lily replied, feeling her face turn red as she said it. She saw Celina smiling at her as well, but her eyebrows were raised up in a look reminiscent of the one after Care of Magical Creatures the other day. Lily shot her a glare in return, which only caused Celina to smile wider. Frustrated that her glares were beginning to fail her, Lily turned back around sulkily.
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Halloween was fast approaching. The decorations had already been put up: jack-o-lanterns in place of candles, spiders that leapt down upon students from their hiding places along the ceiling, armor suits that shouted "BOO!" as lonely students passed by. It was quite amusing to watch the first years' reactions.
But Lily was worried about getting her homework done; she had been staying up quite late at night, studying for history, keeping up with her astronomy, and practicing charms in the common room and dormitory. She kept up these sessions for a while, along with cramming in the library on weekends, for so long that she hardly noticed that Halloween had arrived already.
She had already spoken to McGonagall about becoming a prefect (due to James's suggestion) and found that the position was still open. So now Lily also had prefect duties on top of her studies, yet still she put up with it all, pushing herself harder and harder, knowing it would pay off in the end.
The Halloween feast would provide some much-needed relaxation and nourishment. Lily joined Celina at the Gryffindor table for the feast, eager for the food to appear.
But the table was unusually bare. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter weren't there to celebrate.
"Celina? Aren't James and the others coming for the feast?" Lily asked.
"I don't think so," Celina replied, twirling her hair around her finger lazily. "You know them; probably up to something. They like to disappear like that."
Soon the food appeared; it was just as delicious as the start-of-term feast, as are all the Hogwarts feasts. Lily ate more than she ever thought she could; the pumpkin juice tasted exceptionally sweet, and the potatoes were steaming under all that butter..
It made her sleepy shortly afterward, and feast wasn't near over yet. She tried to keep herself from yawning through the interesting conversation that Celina was having with the other Gryffindors.. Ha! It was so interesting, she couldn't really remember what it was about!
"Lily, you look.. tired," Celina finally said observantly. "You should go to bed. You need the rest."
"Okay!" Lily said, getting up quickly. And here she thought Celina would NEVER ask.. she didn't just want to GET UP suddenly.. it would look rude.
She made it to Gryffindor tower as fast as she could walk, and raced up the dorm stairs. Huffing, she fell back on her bed.
But now she didn't feel so sleepy anymore.
Biting her lip, Lily sat up. No, it was probably all that exercise.. Maybe a little studying would make her sleepy again?
Lily thought for a bit and decided to practice some wand movements. Yes. Wand movements are boring enough to make her sleepy!
Swish, flick, jab.. Swish, jab, flick.. Flick, swish, jab..
The window seemed so interesting now.. she was gazing out of it dreamily, still waving her wand around. It was conveniently placed by her bed. She caught all the nice breezes from her four-poster.
Jab, flick, swish.. Flick, swish---
Oops.
Her wand went soaring out of the window with that last jab.
Horrified, Lily dashed to the window to try to see where it would fall. Unfortunately, she had gotten up too fast, and now all the blood rushed out of her head and made her dizzy for a few moments. She gripped the window tightly, swaying.
That wand was as good as gone, a voice in her head told her.
Right.. she couldn't go down there anyway; it was dark and she would get into trouble..
Lily's eyes suddenly widened in horror.
Without her wand, she would fail her tests!
Merlin.. now she HAD to retrieve it.
Hoping she wouldn't get caught, Lily crept out of the tower. Then she realized sneaking around the castle was pointless; all the teachers were feasting with the rest of the school! And plus, if she DID get caught, she could use her prefect status to get her out of trouble, right?
So she hoped.
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"WHY didn't I see where it landed..?" Lily asked herself again for the tenth time, now feeling around blindly in the grass outside the Gryffindor Tower. Dark shadows cast themselves over the ground, most of them clouds blocking parts of the moon or the waving branches of the Whomping Willow not too far off. It was dark outside; she only had the light of the full moon, hanging so low it looked 3 times bigger than it usually did, and the blanket of stars, high above, to light her vision..
Light! That was it!
"Lumos!" Lily said, and about 20 feet away, a bright glow emitted from her wand. She frowned; she hadn't searched that area thoroughly enough. Sighing, Lily got up to retrieve it. "How long have I been out here, anyway?" she asked aloud, wiping her sweat-moistened brow with the sleeve of her robe. "The feast must be over by now." She stashed her wand in her pocket and turned to head back inside the castle, but abruptly stopped.
A figure ahead was silhouetted in the moonlight; the stark contrast of black against the silver moonlight made the shape hard to distinguish. It looked like some kind of an animal.. and it was stepping closer and closer!
Lily instantly pulled out her wand to defend herself. She knew the spells she needed to protect herself from this.. this..
Deer? It walked on four legs like one.. Lily slowly put her wand back.
It was a stag! Lily was sure of it now! The moonlight glistened off his sleek fur and majestic antlers, rippling as he stepped closer. He was much taller than she was, and the antlers made it seem more so.
He was a beautiful creature.. Lily was hypnotized; he was holding his ears back as he leaned his head forward, exploring Lily's scent on the air. The stag stepped gingerly across the grass towards her, his eyes taking in the sight of Lily with pupils that weren't meant to be nocturnal. Those eyes held a vast amount of light in them.. they glittered so familiarly.
Before she knew it, Lily was extending her hand out, stroking that magnificent head. The stag's fur was softer and smoother than anything she had ever touched before. Her hand gently ran the length of his muzzle, until the stag moved his head closer to hers. She felt his cold nose and warm breath on her cheek, sending shivers down her spine as she closed her eyes. His head moved from her face down to her neck, inhaling the smell of her hair. Lily's heart was racing, and those shivers of cold were turning into an ambiance of warmth.
She opened her eyes again and found herself staring into those dark, shiny eyes.. eyes like pools of black ink that absorbed into the parchment of Lily's eyes, permanent and everlasting..
A harsh howl rang through the silent air. The stag immediately turned towards the source, far off in the distance. He looked hesitantly back at Lily for a moment, and back at the forest, before dashing off.
Lily watched his figure in astonishment for the few seconds it was visible before he disappeared in the night, her feet rooting to the ground.
That stag.. it was almost as if he were human. Shouldn't he have been running AWAY from the howling instead of TOWARDS it? And what was a stag doing on Hogwarts grounds? The Forest was full of magical creatures, not normal ones..
These thoughts ran through Lily's mind faster than the stag had run off in the darkness.
A rush of cold wind blew past, bringing Lily back to reality. Shuddering, Lily made her way back to the common room, the echoes of howls reverberating in the night air behind her.
Something strange was going on, but she didn't know what was..
..Yet.
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"Alright, class," Professor Caliban said at the beginning of one potions lesson. She laughed to herself. "I LOVE saying that.. Makes me feel like giving out detention for the fun of it.." she trailed off, muttering incomprehensible words for a moment.
"Better be careful then, eh, Moony?" Sirius whispered, raising an eyebrow as he elbowed Remus.
Remus sighed, putting his face into his hands.
"Today, we will be.. er.. what was it?" Caliban said, shuffling through some papers at her desk. "Er.. that's right! We're making an Amnesia Draught. Last class's turned out so well. As you can tell, the results are still effective.." She then tapped the board with her wand, and the instructions for the draught appeared on the board. "Remember: while the draught is still cooking, it MUST NOT come in contact with skin. So do try not to stir it with your fingers. That means you, Mr. Potter," she warned, smirking. Professor continued giving out a few pointers for the process before letting the class proceed.
Lily's mind was half-focused on stirring her cauldron as Professor ranted to some of the nearby Slytherins.
"That Umbridge girl, I swear, she's tainting the noble name of the Slytherin house! Walking around as if she owns the place, she is. If I could, I'd hang the girl from the ceiling by her thumbs until she learned to wipe that nasty sneer off her face!!" Caliban said, not bothering to talk softer. Everyone could hear every word of her conversation, but the Professor didn't seem to care. "And her face! It wouldn't be hard to believe that her father is a TOAD or something!"
"Bugger, Moony, you'd better not make Caliban angry at you.. She might kill you," James teased as the Slytherins howled in laughter across the room.
Remus laughed weakly. "Oh, I learned that piece of information a long, long time ago.." he said cryptically.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Peter asked, trying to get his cauldron to stop fizzing.
"Yeah, Remus. Enlighten us," Sirius insisted, putting the tips of his fingers together thoughtfully.
Remus merely shook his head, refusing to speak further. Probably because Caliban was fast approaching. His hands began trembling slightly as he dumped powdered topaz into his cauldron.
"Good morning, Remus. Are you feeling better today?" she asked concernedly, putting a delicate hand upon his forehead as if to check his temperature.
"Y-yes. Yes. Much better, thanks," Remus replied, clearing his throat softly.
Lily thought her ears were deceiving her. When was Remus sick? Sure, there was that one time in the common room at the end of September, but that was last month! Why was Remus sick so often, anyway?
She put that matter aside; it wasn't any of her business. Maybe she'd get around to finding out, but not now. Remus was a little.. busy.. at the moment. His friends were snickering at him behind their cauldrons, anyway.
"So glad to hear that!" she said, moving her hand up from his forehead to pat his head. "You might want to do something about all that topaz in there.." she warned, tucking her hands away into her long sleeves and floating off, leaving a quiet Remus to endure more teasing from his friends.
As soon as Caliban had passed, humming a cheerful melody from an opera very familiar to Lily, Remus's cauldron had exploded, sending hot splatters of his draught in all directions.
Since Lily was sitting at the table in front of Remus's, a copious amount flew straight at her chair, hitting her back and legs, and the hot liquid seeped instantly through her robes, burning like red embers.
Lily shrieked as the pain hit her, jumping away from her chair. She had almost knocked over her cauldron in the process, but she didn't care; that drought BURNED. Tears were springing to her eyes as she tried to tear off her robes. She could barely stand.. the stuff was burning through the skin of her legs..
It was sticking to her skin! Lily panicked. It was still very hot, and it wasn't even starting to cool like a normal liquid would after a few moments of such exposure. The burning was getting worse.
"HOLY !!" Professor Caliban cursed loudly, taking in the scene of the explosion. "Everyone! Calm down! Remus, anyone else who's been burned: RUN STRAIGHT TO THE HOSPITAL WING. I'll be with you shortly," she said very quickly, pulling out her wand.
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CLIFFHANGER! Bwhahaha. Review and you'll get the next chapter.. is holding chapter 6 ransom
And while you're waiting for that next chapter, please go read "Nothing Short of a Miracle", a lovely James/Lily fic by Emo Weasley. It's a really good story; her few original characters blend seamlessly into the story, and she portrays the Marauders very nicely. And of course, her writing rocks so much more than mine does. SO GO READ IT! Her story deserves waaaaay more reviews than the few she has received. I know you guys will like it. :)
Thanks everyone! Have a nice day!
Much love,
Bob-chan
