Editing process is THE joy of my life. Har de har. Not.
Disclaimer: No fictional character mentioned in this story belongs to me…well, except Hazel, Michelle and Amanda that is. Otherwise it's all J.K's—as if you didn't know!
A/N: Hey you guys! I'm trying to update as quick as possible but unfortunately it doesn't always work. I have tons and tons of tests, quizzes, projects, etc, and the teachers seem to thoroughly enjoy putting us under oodles of stress….EVIL! Ok, sorry about that. Anyway there are a lot of scenes that I am really looking forward to in this chapter. However, I have no clue in what order they will be or any of the other annoying specifics. Also, I obviously still need to actually write them out!
Oooh…this chapter might be a touch difficult for me because it's around Christmastime (not giving anything away about this chapter…but still) in this chapter. The thing is, I don't celebrate Christmas…I'm Jewish so it's Hanukkah that I celebrate at that time of year. So it may be a touch difficult for me…but bear with me, k? I know the people are mostly Christian in the book so that's how I'll have to do it, right?
Also I don't know whether this will be split into one chapter or two…oh, we will see. It will be much more light-hearted than the previous James-less chapters…(bursts into loud wails and tears that attract the attention of understandably scared readers…DON'T LEAVE!) . Anyway…read!
Love is a Funny Thing, Chapter 8
A few mornings later dawned with a fresh snowy powder already accumulated on the pretty grounds, and large flakes still falling. However, this observation was made by Amanda at around seven o'clock on a Saturday morning—a time far too early for sensible people to be up and about, in Lily's opinion. Too bad for Lily, because Amanda had just cheerfully bounced onto Lily's bed,where Lily was still incomfortably cuddled-lump position in the farthest corner.
"Up and at 'em, Lils!" Amanda cried in an annoying cheerful voice, bouncing a bit more on the bed and making the bed springs creak.
There came a muffled noise of protest from under the covers. It sounded quite like, "Mmmmppphhh!" but nobody could be quite certain. Lily attempted to pull the covers tighter around herself, burrowing under.
Luckily, after years practice of waking Lily up, Amanda, in one swift move, pulled all of the covers cleanly off Lily's bed.
"C'mon, Lilsy!" Amanda grinned down at the curled-up ball before her, that was currently muttering viciouslygrumpy protests under her breath. "It's Hogsmeade today, remember? We've got to get to breakfast, and change too! Let's go!"
About forty-five minutes later, the four arrived at breakfast, happily discussing the prospect of shopping (especially for the holidays, which were coming up in a mere week) for the holidays and also dresses for the upcoming Holiday Ball. The four always split up to do their shopping for each other, because it was deemed too difficult long ago to insist that Amanda's favorite (although obscure) candy, Orange-Banana-Mango-Tango flavored Licorice snitch-shaped candies were indeed not for her.
"So, guys, we'll meet at four in the Three Broomsticks, then go dress shopping?" Hazel asked, looking rather disgustedly at Michelle, who was gorging herself on her favorite cinnamon oat flavored porridge. She would not rest till she'd left the huge bowl sparkling clean with not the tiniest residue of her porridge.
The other girls nodded consent, (all but Michelle, well until she finished her porridge) and spent the rest of breakfast pleasantly discussing the Ball, and Christmas.
"So, Haze, who are you going with?" asked Amanda, quite impolitely through a mouthful of buttered toast.
"Erm…Phillip Rennalds asked me about last week…I suppose…?" Hazel said softly else anybody besides her three friends hear, her cheeks blushing.
"What do you mean SUPPOSE?" Michelle asked, outraged. Phillip was one of the most romantic, good-looking and all-around WANTED boys in the school. He had dark blue eyes and ever-rumpled brown hair and a jokingly sweet smile. He was also a quidditch player and a good inch or so taller than Hazel, which was saying something because Hazel was a very tall girl. He was in Ravenclaw as well, which meant that within his good-looking head there would most likely be some form of a brain.
"Haze? Do you have a fever?" Amanda questioned, leaning over the table and jokingly feeling the Gryffindor girl's forehead.
Lily, who remembered her and Hazel's conversation in the shrieking shack about Remus, kept silent, staring at the strawberry jam on her plate.
"But you just said you'd let him know?" Amanda questioned in an are-you-crazy type of way. "Hazel! GO with him! He obviously thinks you're special to ask you…think about how many jealous girls there'll be!" she continued, a dreamy look on her face, as if it was she who was being asked to the Ball by Phillip himself. "And you—you'll get to dance and drool over him all night long…" she trailed off, chomping once again into her toast.
"Ermm….so!" Lily said, breaking up the friendly quarrel at their table, looking for a suitable change of subject. "So, Manda, who are you going with?"
"Mitchell Laves." Amanda declared from another mouthful of crunchy buttered toast. "He asked me last week, when we were out practicing on the field—it was after we'd both put back the quaffles…said he's admired my chasing skills and always wanted to go out with me…blah blah blah…be fun, though!"
"Mitchell LAVES? Gosh, guys, you're going to clean out Hogwart's supply of suitable men! Haven't you forgotten that I need one, too?" Lily exclaimed jokingly. Mictchell was one of Amanda's fellow chasers, with a beautifully chiseled face, an ever-ready smile, a really tall and muscular frame, twinkling sea-green eyes and sandy hair.
"Yeah, sorry about that, Lilsy…but there are still plenty of great guys out there! Get 'em while they're hot!" Amanda replied, a small joking grin playing on her mouth.
"You sound like you're talking about pancakes, Manders." Michelle said, as her porridge had finally been finished, leaving her free to talk to her friends and focus on something other than her food.
"Yes, well, boys, pancakes—the same thing in the end, right?" Amanda replied philosophically, putting on what she thought was a "wise" face. "They are both better when they're hot!" Amanda concluded, and the girls all burst into hysterical giggles.
Lily looked around the immense and intimidating place, staring wonderingly with wide eyes at all the equipment she knew so little about. Everything seemed tostare at her ominously, knowing she wasn't meant to be there. She stared doubtfully back, wondering where to begin.
Yes, for the first time in her life, Lily had entered Quality Quidditch Supplies and had no clue in the world about the place.
She didn't know it was possible to have so much—STUFF—just for the silly game, she thought distractedly to herself. Neat Broom-Care kits sat in stacks on the shelves, and various models of brooms—from the cheapest to the newest, latest StarMine480—lined the walls. Lily knew almost nothing besides the basics about the game.
What would Amanda like? Lily wondered, walking around the shop in a sort of daze. She'd already picked up Hazel and Michelle's presents a while ago. For Michelle she'd gotten a special type of hard-to-find black licorice sticksthat made one feel as if tiny balls werepinging about in your stomach.
For Hazel, she'd gotten a pair of fuzzy blue slippers that had an adjustable temperature knob (in the inside of the slipper). It was possible to adjust to temperature in this inside of the slipper to one's liking. Lily knew Hazel was always complaining about her ice-cold feet, so this would certainly be a much-needed present.
But what for Amanda? She wondered, staring directly up at a row of black bludgers that were struggling to escape the ropes they were tightly bound in. She kept walking, staring unwittingly at the ceiling. And then she felt herself bump abruptly into another person. "Oh, sorry—" Lily said automatically. But, ripping her eyes from the ceiling, she realized she owed this person something besides a fleeting apology.
It was James, grinning down at her from his daunting height. His hazel eyes seemed to be smiling as well, and he ran a hand through his already quite rumpled black hair.
"Hey, Evans!"
"James! Er—well, I—I'm—I mean to say, erm, well—Lily mentally kicked herself, astonished at becoming so like the girls who often melted like ice cubes in James's presence. She couldn't ever remember being speechless or stuttering to him—rather, she'd always been fully prepared to engage in a shouting match.
He kept grinning, not interrupting her broken flow of words. Not even attempting for put me out of my misery, Lily thought desperately.
"Er—well, what I'm–well, thanks for um, trying to save me and--stuff," she finished, her cheeks hot as the common room fire and probably as bright. "Umm—you know…the lake?" she finished lamely, staring at the floor tiles, on each one a moving picture of a famous quidditch player. A gangly man on a broom in bright green quidditch robes waved enthusiastically up at her.
"Oh, no problem, Evans…what could a gentleman like myself do? Let you hopelessly drown?" he smiled, grinning at her quite merrily.
Suddenly Lily noticed a rather large white bandage covering his arm. It seemed to hide a rather large wound, because it took up quite a lot of space on his muscular arm. "How'd you get that?" Lily softly questioned, pointing to the bandage. "Are you, er, alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, it was just a cut from where my arm hit the ice…but it's alright. So, what brings you to this neck of the woods on this fine day?"
"What do you mean, neck of the woods? Everybody's at Hogsmeade." Lily answered.
"No, no, I meant what a fine young lady like yourself is doing in Quality Quidditch supplies?" He asked, flashing his lopsided smile at her. She felt a slight twinge in her stomach. Maybe it was breakfast, she thought. I should have never eaten the chocolate-cinnamon muffin thing.
"Oh, well, I'm looking for a present…for Amanda, you see. But I'm not really one to shop for quidditch related things, so…" she said.
"Ah, well, now this is where I come in! All of this store" he continued, gesturing grandly around him (the salesclerk looked at him as though James might be a lunatic on the loose) "has most everything that any quidditch player could ever desire."
"You mean like yourself?" Lily asked with a small giggle.
"Yes. So, come on and follow the master," he said. Lily was glad to note that the accident had not knocked his ego out of him. "and together we shall find a truly splendid present. Miss Evans," he said, offering his arm to her. Lily, smiling a little at the silliness of it all, took it and they began searching through the shelves.
"And now look at this, Lily!" James was saying excitedly, while a distracted Lily looked on and nodded occasionally about his rantings. "—really good practice snitch—doesn't leave the specialized field it's been set to—I think that—hey, Lils? Lils, are you listening to me?" he asked, finally straying from his favorite subject, it seemed—quidditch.
"Yuh-huh." Lily murmured dazedly, looking back at James and at the golden snitch he was holding up—it was magically harnessed to the shelf so it couldn't fly away.
"So, you want to buy this for Amanda?" he questioned.
"Yup, I mean, sure! Let's go pay then." She responded. They went to the front desk, and the cashier wrapped the snitch, although the package shook and wobbled of its own accord.
"Thanks, James…you know, for helping me pick out Amanda's present…I probably couldn't have done it without you," she said, grinning in spite of herself. James, she had realized over the half-hour or so she'd spent shopping with him, was incredibly funny and kind—if you overlooked his overlargeego, she mused. He was actually a human being, Lily realized for the first time.
It was quite a revelation.
"No problem, my dear Miss Evans! May I have the pleasure of accompanying you to the Three Broomsticks, if I am gentlemanly enough to pay for your drink?" James said flirtingly.
Lily found that she didn't mind as much as she would have thought—him flirting, that is. So, she consented to his request. "I would be delighted to have your presence with me, Mr. Potter. Shall we, now?" she grinned, playing along. She offered her arm to him, and off they went.
The streets were bustling with every type of holiday shopper imaginable. Dwarves, goblins, banshees, and other unidentifiable figures hurried along the snowy streets, some laughing and talking. Every type of coloredChristmas lights adorned the shops, making quite a picturesque scene before them. It was still snowing, in fact, and fat flurries of snow drifted down from the heavens, landing on peoples' hoods and coats.
As the two walked the rather short distance from Quality Quidditch Supplies to The Three Broomsticks, it seemed they chatted about everything under the sun. Lily found she was quite amused by James's pranks and antics, and it was rather interesting to hear the recount.
"—and we didn't get found out till she looked in the mirror, and her hair was pink, and she couldn't prove it was us—knew it was, she did, though. She gave the class a verystern lecture, and was glaring at me and Sirius pointedly the whole time—we managed to keep straight faces. Mad hard to, though." He paused for a moment, as though going through their very long history of pranks. "Good times, good times."
"You seriously made McGonagall's hair pink? PINK? Lot of bravery to do that…she'd kill you if she knew you'd done it," Lily exclaimed, entertained by the stories he was churning out.
"Ah, yes, well, what is being a Gryffindor for? Oh, here's the door. After you, ladies first—especially gorgeous ladies like yourself." He intoned cheekily as they reached the pub's door. He held the door open for Lily as they entered the place.
The moment they stepped in it was as if a warm wave had washed over them. People, especially Hogwarts students, were seated at wooden tables with people all around them, laughing and talking and drinking Butterbeer. The two claimed a table, and James went off to the counter to get himself and Lily drinks.
As Lily drummed her finger on the small wooden table against the wall, she thought about how…well, nice the day had been. Especially talking and laughing (and though she cringed as she admitted it now) and flirting with Potter. He was so easygoing, and he had a manner about him that made Lily feel as if she could tell him absolutely anything in the world and he would understand itperfectly.
Of course, she realized this was a touch sudden, because just over a mere week ago, she'd hated his guts with all her heart. She still wasn't fawning all over him, she reassured herself. She'd never be one of those moony-eyed shallow, giggling girls who hung themselves all over James. It was nice enough just to have a good conversation with him for once.
James returned, carrying two large tankards full to the brim of Butterbeer, carefully balancing them so that he wouldn't spill a drop. They spent the rest of the time sipping at their drinks casually, warmth filling them all over, and chatting casually about nothing in particular, but it didn't seem to really matter to either of the pair.
Lilylooked at his animated hazel eyes as they talked. They were a beautiful shade of hazel, she thought to herself, and they twinkled when he smiled. Which, she realized, was quite often. Suddenly, after Lily'd been talking about how she'd once tried to run away in a muggle ice cream truck ( a concept which James thoroughly doubted—why couldn't they just summon some, he asked indignantly time after time), she heard her name being called loudly by none other than Amanda.
Her friends migrated through the noisy chatter over to her and James's table, staring a little oddly at the scene in front of them. After all, weren't James and Lily sworn enemies?
"I suppose I'll be going now—promised to meet Sirius, Remus and Peter at Zonko's." James explained, standing up. Lily felt a tiny twinge of disappointment in her lower stomach but ignored it. This was Potter, right? The terribly annoying one? The one she hated?
"Oh, okay then. Thanks so much for the drinks—and for helping me, you know, shopping." She said as he put on his coat.
"Yeah, well, can't ever leave a damsel in distress now can I?" he grinned. "Maybe another time, yeah? Bye!" he left, out in the swirling snow.
About half an hour later (and after thoroughly questioning Lily about her surprise meeting with James) the foursome found themselves in Madame Malkin's Dresses for All Special Occasions, a branch of the store in Diagon Alley. This store was only for females, however—and it specialized in muggle wear gowns and dresses. For sometradition unbeknownst to everybody else, Dumbledore had decided to make the ball dress muggle dance wear.
There were dresses of all sizes, colors, shapes, and occasions on hangers all around them. Poofy, pastel-colored dresses with all sorts of flowers adorning them lined one row of hangers. A black, slinky risqué number with quite an inappropriate neckline and a daring slit up to the thigh filled another row.
There were dresses that magically made you look slimmer, or had charms so they'd conform to your body. The shop had sparkling evening gowns that reached the floor, and rich jewel-colored silk concoctions that lined the shelves, as well as matching shawls to go with them. All in all, day spent in the place was probably any girl's dream.
All except Michelle, that is. But she was made to deal with it by her three friends.
The four were all donning rather ugly dresses right now. Hazel was in a slinky number ( Lily had dared her to try it on) that was midnight-blue and strapless. It was starting to, quite comically, fall down and Hazel had to hold it up. Amanda wore a long, cotton candy-colored ball gown that reached the floor.
Lily had jokingly tried on a lizard-skin printed minidress with ugly gold spikes round the collar and large clunky chains as belts. The girls supposed it was for one of the few goth witches out there. In any case, Lily was most definitely not one of those goth witches, and so Amanda promptly fell to the floor in unabashed giggles when she saw Lily's appearance.
"I feel so…rebellious!" Lily exclaimed, looking at herself up and down in one of the full-length mirrors that lined the changing room walls. "As well as ridiculous! I'm taking this thing off and now. After this, guys, we have to look for, you know….REAL dresses. That we're actually going to wear, you know?" she grinned and gave Amanda (who was still laughing) a meaningful look. The girls walked out of the changing rooms and into the forest of dresses.
Amanda promptly began gathering what seemed to be a good half of the store from off the racks. After all, she was the reigning beauty queen of the group. Lily didn't see anything truly fitting…yet.
But then she spotted a glimmer of silky material in the corner of the room, hanging by itself, away from all the other dresses. It seemed to be a notch above all the other things in te, and Lily eyed it in awe. She reached out a hand to touch the fabric, and realized it was soft and silky. She pulled the tag out and realized it was exactly her size.
She took it into the changing rooms, careful not to brush it carelessly on the floor.
It was the most gorgeous dress on the face of the earth, prettier than any fairy-tale outfit. It was the nicest dress Lily had ever seen in her life. And it fit.
Now she had to focus on the tiny issue of finding a date.
A/N: Alrighty, done. Not sure I quite liked that chapter SO much—it was pretty okay I thought. But you guys tell me what you think! If you have any comments, suggestions, praise, flames, whatever…review! For me? Please, please review…and cupcakes and other assorted sweets for all!
(Hands out imaginary desserts to the lovely reviewers…)
I've just had a lot of time on my hands as it's the weekends. Although I have tons of work I probably should be doing. That's ok, though, all in good time. I didn't really fit all I wanted into this chapter, because the LJ scene took up a while. It will come, though, and next chapter will most probably be Christmas. Wish me luck with that because as aforementioned, I'm not Christian (I'm Jewish but obviously I can't make any of the characters Jewish just because I feel like it) so I don't really have the Christmas experience-type stuff to work with. Ah well.
K, on to reviewer replies…you guys are the best!
DobbyGrl: Thanks! Although don't expect the quick updating to last () sorry! Oh, and also thanks a lot for explaining the whole beta reader thing to me.
AlmostHome: Yeah, you can have a vanilla cupcake if you want! I personally don't care for cupcakes, but whatever.
Beyonce-85: You'll be glad to know that James had a part in this chapter . Also thanks for the compliments and stuff!
Travelledtheworldandthe7seas: Thank you so much, I'm trying to update as quick as I can.