Thanks for being patient, readers! I had a fun vacation, although it was nastily humid in NJ. I'm glad to be back in California. The weather is much nicer here.. I hope all your summers are going well?
Thanks to Becky6, theoneandonlystephy, mione-xavier, Book Lover990, Ani, fluffgirl, and iluvhp2noend! Mwah!
KawaiiFryingPanChick: You're close.. hehe. It's from Final Fantasy X! Whoopee! You know FF number 12 is coming out next year? :3 YAY COOKIE!! Uhh.. Well, you remember that thing about cats having 9 lives, right?! XD (Is there a MR Norris?? Hmm..)
Wahooligan08: Glad you liked.. Umm, if you're familiar with Japanese, they use -chan as a suffix for names. It means "little", and its typically used for children and girls (boys have -kun stuck on the end) Anyways, so my name would mean "little Bob". XD Bob is part of my real name, (explanation in my bio somewhere) so NO. I did not copy off Bob the builder or Jackie Chan ( -- That's not even his real name!!). My friends came up with Bob-chan and I tend to use it online since people have trouble remembering my real name, and it's also a pretty distinct nickname. How many other people share the same alias as me? Hope that explains.
MWPP Fanatic: Glad you liked the ending of that chapter so much! There will be more fluff, I assure you.. sometime later. XD heheh.
Yami: Thanks for.. loving me? Heheh! Wait! Who's this "we"? Are you using wrong pronouns or do you have friends you're not telling me about..?
Rubber-ducky-lauren: Thanks for reviewing, but it IS Matthew Jordan. Matt= Lee's father. (Hence the shared last name) I was hoping people would draw the connection from Olivia's announcing career and Matthew's last name.. TT I have my names right, I can assure you. Lee Jordan ONLY hangs out with my two of my FAVE characters for a living.
Bah. I need to pee.
Chapter Nine- The Quidditch Captain
She struggled to avoid her eye. But that Celina had the cold eyes of a hungry HAWK, man! Celina could spot deception in Lily as well as Petunia could spot dirt on a mirror.
"So.. anything interesting happen last night?" Celina asked Lily, sitting down on her four-poster to watch Lily attempt to sort through her bag to look as if she were busy.
Lily gulped. Celina probably knew. But there was the TINY CHANCE that she didn't.. Celina was just being cheeky, yes..
"Err.. what do you mean?" Lily shaped her mouth into something that resembled a smile. "I got my homework done with those books.."
"Forget the books! You bloody well know what I'm talking about," Celina retorted, crossing her arms. "You and Potter snogging in the common room! How come you didn't tell me? I thought you were my friend.." she sniffed.
Lily could see that hopeful little chance, blown up in 20 different kinds of dynamite, writhing in agony in the flames of failure and humiliation.
"Of course I'm your friend! And we were NOT snogging! Who told you that anyway?" Lily demanded, her face turning scarlet.
"You forget who my boyfriend is," Celina reminded, twirling her hair on the end of a finger. "James told Sirius, Sirius told me, along with the whole boy's dormitory.. Boys gossip as much as girls do, you know."
"They also exaggerate, the idiots.." Lily rolled her eyes. Brilliant. Now the whole SCHOOL knows.. she groaned. "Look, it wasn't MY fault. James just.. kissed me on the cheek and ran. That's all. I didn't WANT it! He probably did that on a dare or something.."
"You're COMPLAINING?" Celina interrupted incredulously, her mouth hanging open.
"What..? YES! Isn't that a violation of my 3 foot personal space---"
"Lily, Lily, Lily," Celina tutted, getting up and putting a gentle arm around Lily's shoulders. "Personal space violations are no matter here. This is a matter of.. well, teenage hormones."
Lily blinked. "What?"
"You see, I think yours are broken. Any NORMAL girl, if you have noticed, would KILL to be in your shoes. He's rich, popular, tall, handsome, athletic--"
"..brainless.." Lily added.
Celina ignored her. "I know for a fact that every girl in Hogwarts adores him. Girls throw themselves at his feet just to be near him!"
"That's why he has such a big ego!" Lily stated in mock-realization. "Why don't YOU marry him then? Can I go?"
"Shut up, I already have Sirius. They're exactly the same if you ask me.. BUT we're talking about James here.. What was I saying?"
"That you need to let me go?" Lily asked hopefully.
"No. What I'm trying to say is, James fancies you, Lily."
A bell rang in Lily's head.
"Pardon? I think I'm hearing things.."
"You heard me!"
"Ha! Very funny, Celina! As if the great.. James Potter.. would ever fancy someone like me! I think pigs would more likely fly.." Lily muttered, then remembered one thing: this was the wizarding world! For all Lily knew, pigs probably did fly..
"Why do you think he hangs around you all the time? And that kiss?"
"He's had a million girlfriends before! All of whom had either been dumped in two weeks (at most) or ended up at St Mungo's!"
Celina couldn't deny that fact. "Well.. Err.. but there's the kiss! You and I both know that if he was just looking for a new fling, he would have just all-out snogged you then and gotten all the fun over with."
Lily winced. Men were disgusting creatures. "So.. what am I supposed to do, then?!"
"Give him a chance, Lil," Celina smiled.
Lily shook her head furiously. "I don't think so.. I'm not going to be the one to suddenly.. toss myself at him, just so he can use me and throw me away! People don't change like that just over one summer, and you know it, Celina!"
"You never know, Lily, people are interesting creatures," Celina said, sitting back down on her bed and stroking her patient cat, Apollo. The two studied Lily for a moment with their cold-colored eyes. It was unnerving, the way they stared as if they could see into Lily's mind and soul.
Right. James could have changed some. People change a lot as they grow, and what better time to change than the teenage years? Nature thought so, so maybe Lily could think the same. It didn't matter how bad James was in the past, because that's exactly what it was: The PAST. And obviously this matter of James wasn't going to vanish anytime soon, so Lily HAD to put the past behind her.
"Er.. I'll try," Lily replied, giving up. "But no guarantees!" she added stubbornly.
A smile spread across Celina's face. "Thanks."
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December the first arrived in a cold welcome. The snow fell heavily on Hogwarts castle, leaving a white playground for all the students. But alas, the massive snowball arena battle would have to wait a while for lunch break, as it was unfortunately a school day and not a weekend.
Lily sat down at the Gryffindor table, eager for a hot breakfast to conquer the cold in her stomach. But she would have to wait, as Dumbledore stood up to make an announcement.
"I would like to announce a special event for this winter, one that many of you would look forward to," he stated, his blue eyes surverying all the students before him. He, as well as the other teachers, wore a smile on his face. So this would be a pleasant surprise.
"It is with great pleasure I announce that I have recently decided that this year there will be a Yule Ball."
Dumbledore paused to allow the excited murmurs to run through the tables, and after a moment he started speaking again.
"The ball is to take place on Christmas Evening at 8 o clock, and you are all required to wear dress robes to it. Keep in mind that for those of you who do not have their robes with them, you are welcome to use a school owl, or your own, to send home, or to go to Hogsmeade and purchase one from the abundant stores. Which brings me to my next point:
"The Ball is unfortunately not open to those below 4th year."
There were several loud groans of disappointment.
"But that does not mean that there won't be any fun for the younger students. All House Heads will be attending the ball, so that leaves all common rooms free." Dumbledore winked to a group of young Ravenclaws, who caught on quickly. Paaaaaah-tay!
"That is all. Continue with your breakfasts, if you may," Dumbledore finished, bowing his head before sitting down.
Lily sighed a breath of relief as the food appeared. Yay. Yule ball. Whoopee.
Everyone else, however, seemed to disagree.
"Oh my goodness! A ball! At Hogwarts! I can't wait!" Celina gushed to Sirius, who mimicked her in a falsetto, waving his hands around hyperactively. Irritated, she glared at him and then quickly turned to Lily. "Are you going to go, Lil?"
Lily nearly choked on her biscuit, coughing. James and Remus quickly poured a glass of orange juice for her, and she drained it just as fast. "Er.. No, I don't think so." Of course she wouldn't go. Why should she? Balls were dumb sort of things..
"Why not?" Peter asked, reading her mind.
"I'm.." Lily quickly searched her mind for an excuse. "Not a Ball sort of person, that's all." That's all?! Some excuse that was! Lily mentally chastised herself. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Celina rolled her eyes. "Nice try, Lily."
"Well, er.." Lily hastily began thinking of another excuse, her face red from embarrassment. "I don't have a dress robe!" she said triumphantly.
"Then we'll buy one from Hogsmeade on the weekend," Celina replied.
Curses. Lily bit her lip for a moment.
"I.. uh.. um.. I can't afford one.. they're far too expensive for my budget," Lily lied, feigning shame. She hoped Celina wouldn't remember that Lily's family wasn't poor at all. In fact, Lily's family was pretty well off. Her father was a doctor, and gave her a fat stack of pounds to exchange for Galleons before she left for Hogwarts last summer.
"I'll buy one for you," James offered, a mischievous grin on his face.
Argh! Thwarted again!
"Erm.. No.. No, it's all right. I don't want to go anyway," she told him, staring down at her plate. If she didn't make eye contact with him, maybe her face would stop turning so red..
Celina huffed, narrowing her eyes at Lily. "Oh well.. We've still a few more weeks left to convince you."
Ha! Lily would rather feed herself to a pack of wolves..
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Vampires.. vampires.. garlic!
"Aha!" Lily said, in a whispery sort of voice. She was in the library, researching the allergies of vampires.. She had been at this for many hours. It was Friday evening, and she had skipped dinner just to finish her essay early. Stacks of books covered her table, and she had just enough room for her parchment and ink on the remaining space in front of her.
She began scribbling a storm onto her roll of parchment. As she stopped to stretch, she was startled to find James sitting next to her, pushing a stack of books out of the way in order to place his hands together in front of him, business-like.
"Hiya, Lil-sey!" he greeted, using the new name he had recently taken to calling her.
"Hullo, James," Lily replied, resuming dipping her quill in fresh ink. Whatever was James doing in here? He usually avoided the library at all costs. She decided not to ask. Was bizarrely spelled with two Z's?
"Homework again?" he asked, twiddling his thumbs.
Lily merely nodded. Vampires seemed to be afraid of ginger, although not as intensely as they were of garlic..
"Er.. I was wondering if you were coming to the Quidditch match tomorrow. It's us versus Slytherin."
"Mmm hmm.."
"You usually never come to any of our matches, so I thought that you might come if someone.. personally invited you, especially the team Seeker and Captain, like myself.." he blabbed.
Lily wasn't really paying attention. She agreed to whatever it was James was saying without thinking.
"Great! I'll see you in the stands, then!" James said, standing up.
Wait. "What stands?" Lily asked, coming out of the daze that was her homework.
"Uhh.. Quidditch? The game tomorrow?" James replied, an eyebrow raised in puzzlement. The conversation quickly rushed back to Lily's mind.
"Oh. Right. I'll be there," Lily agreed finally. Homework WAS giving her a nasty pain in the neck. Some fresh air would be good for her. And besides, she did enjoy watching Quidditch. She just never went to many games before, despite the fact that the whole school went. Usually, it was too crowded, which meant that the library wouldn't be..
..
Since when was James Quidditch captain?!
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Lily pulled her scarf snug around her neck. It was quite cozy in the Quidditch stands. Apart from the immense body heat of crowded students, the benches had a warming charm put on them, so no butts froze on what should have been icy wood (which is NOT a pleasant texture).
She waved to Olivia, who waved back as she was getting ready to announce the Slytherin team.
The Slytherin team looked extremely confident as they flew out on their brooms, each team member wearing a smug grin on their faces, as if they had viewed the outcome of the match on their crystal balls in divination or something.. It looked awfully fishy.
Next, the entrance of the Gryffindor team was greeted with many cheers. James seemed to have received the most, as he entered first as the Team Captain. So he wasn't lying, then. He really was Captain.
James looked as if he had been born and raised on a Quidditch field; it suited him completely and he looked his best up high in the air, with nothing but a broom keeping him from the hard-packed ground below. Even from the distance, Lily could see his eyes sparkling with excitement; his hair whipped in the wind; his head was held high as he smiled and pumped a fist in the air to the crowd. He made a huge point of waving to his friends, seated on both sides of Lily. She cheered back with them, although Sirius's mock-fangirl-catcalls probably drowned the rest of them out. Lily had to put her hands over her ears in order to protect her hearing.
Sirius received a slyly delivered one-finger salute from James.
Laughing, James waved to Remus and Peter, and also Celina. Then he caught Lily's eye.
He flicked his eyebrows up in a manner as if to ask, "So you decided to actually come!"
She winced, still not daring to take her hands off her ears. Lily didn't quite trust Sirius; she didn't want to take another risk of premature hearing loss.
Madam Hooch stepped out, trailing after her was the fancy box that held the Quidditch balls inside.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the match is about to begin!" Olivia announced over the mike, and the stands shook with anticipation.
James looked around the stands, about to take off to start the match, but before doing so, he cast a final glance at Lily. He blew her a kiss before gripping his broom and shooting up higher as the snitch was released.
Lily tried to hide her face, but regrettably her scarf wasn't thick enough.
And Celina had managed to see the whole thing.
This chapter was kinda pointless! ARGH!
Or wait.. maybe it wasn't.. no! it wasn't! cough cough
Er.. this chapter goes further in depth on Lily's feelings for James. Yes. And how she's going to be more open to him from now on. Feel free to make up your own interpretation there, folks!
And you can guess who's going to Yule ball together!! evil laugh But why would Lily ever GO to the ball in the first place? You'll just have to wait and see for what I have in store, and it aint pretty! (Or.. maybe it IS pretty. Hmm)
Book I can't escape: Memoirs of a Geisha. OMG I start school on Aug 25 and my art homework is due in the second week of September. I haven't done a SINGLE piece for it, and this book is interfereing! I can't put it downnnnn sobs
GO READ IT NOW! It's inspired me to finish my old Rurouni Kenshin fic. I last updated that exactly a YEAR ago.. --;; Geisha are so fascinating.. I wish I could be one.. wishes for pretty kimono and hair ornaments and laquered Samurai Jack sandals
I think something's wrong with me.. I have a stuffy nose before i go to sleep, and this morning when i woke up, my left eye was swollen.. And i have a Senior picture appt on Wed!! AHHHH! hides I think it may be allergies, since my brother developed allergic problems when he was my age.. But I sure hope not! Then I wont be able to tease my freinds anymore :'(
Ah, i'm rambling! Sorry! Please accept my humble apologies, and review if you forgive me.. XD
