A/N: Hi everyone! Chapter four is finally done! Yay!
...Remember how I asked about the lenght of the chapters earlier? Yeah, well I realized about half way through that this wasn't gonna be short like I thought - actually, it's the longest chapter yet. Opps.
Thanks to Zemmy, Angali, dakf jfjn flkjflask fdsfj (Nice name, can you actually pronounce it?), Daisy Pixie, and Shattered Serenity for review! As for the other 59 of you who read the chapter but didn't review, -Sighs- thanks for reading, but seriously, what's the point of reading if you're not gonna review? I can only change things you don't like if you tell me to.
Shattered Serenity: You really should get an email address, you know. It's ok, I'm glad you reviewed anyway. Have fun on your vacation! You're brother really likes cookies, I'm guessing. Don't hit me! ...May I have my cookie now?
Ok, so on to the chapter!
Disclaimer: You know, at the end of the world, it won't matter that I'm not JKR and that I ownnone of her characters. It really won't.
But don't let him go
The seventh year girls' dorm was a wreck. Clothes were thrown hap-hazardly into massive piles next to over-flowing trunks. Books and parchment were spewn all over the once-visible floor. The truth was obvious - It was the last day of school before winter holiday.
Lily tromped through the filth in attempts to find her favorite book. It was a muggle romance, the mushy and totally unrealistic kind that seemed to always hold Lily's interest for some unknown reason. Perhaps it was the adventure, or the fact that the girl always got her man. To Lily, however, it seemed to be that the story focused around the type of love that she dreamed of: true and everlasting.
At last, Lily found her book in a heap of socks near the bathroom door. She didn't bother to wonder how it had gotten there; her friends just threw random things into piles. Her book had probably just been swept off her nightstand and into the pile by some odd circumstance.
Lily walked back towards her four-poster, avoiding a large mound of Claire's clothes at the foot of her bed. She reclined and bent her knees up. Lily turned her book over to the cover. Her old copy of Masquerade was worn and faded, yet she loved it so much that she had read it fifteen times over the course of two years. It told the story of love that blossomed from hate between Madeline, a young and beautiful French girl, and Oliver, her conniving yet devilishly handsome British enemy. Lily simply loved the story, with its romantic ideas and sarcastic humor.
Lily sighed as she settled into her story. She read in peace for about an hour before the dorm door was practically knocked off its hinges by a very ecstatic Claire.
"Hey, Lils," She said breathlessly, a pink tinge in her cheeks. Claire rushed to Lily's bed a jumped on, sitting at Lily's feet.
"I'm guessing you date went well, then." Lily said, placing her book in her nightstand's drawer. "And get your shoes off my bed."
Claire ignored her and smiled. "Mmm-hmm." She said. "We went to Three Broomsticks and bumped into Alice and Frank. So we all ate lunch together, then me and Shawn left and went window shopping. We found this gorgeous necklace, and Shawn actually bought it for me! He said it was a Christmas present. It's so beautiful, look!" Claire took off her coat and pulled a thin sliver chain out from under her shirt. A small, teardrop-shaped sapphire pendant of the deepest blue hung off of it. It truly was gorgeous.
"Wow," Lily breathed. "It is beautiful. And it matches your eyes."
Claire grinned. "That's what Shawn said, too." She sighed happily. "Isn't he just wonderful?"
"So you really like him, then?" Lily asked, smiling. She knew that Claire had never had a boyfriend for more than three months, and that she'd also never really cared that much for any of them. This was definitely a first.
Claire laughed. "I feel so happy around him. I can't explain it, but...yeah." Claire's eyes suddenly went wide. "Oh no, I sound like those girls in the books you read. The blubbering idiots who chase after guys. Am I like that?" Claire asked frantically.
"No," Lily said, amused. "And if you were, don't you think I'd've told you before? After all those times you knocked my books!"
"It's not my fault you spend all your time reading fantasy books." Claire said, shrugging. She then looked around. "Hey, where's Sarah?"
"She's in the library, finishing up that essay Slughorn assigned."
"Why aren't you there, then?" Claire asked. "You always like to finish your homework early..."
"Yup, and that's why I finished it already." Lily replied, smirking slightly.
Claire sighed heavily. "Why you do your assignments three weeks before they're due, I'll never know."
Lily laughed a little. She didn't know why, but being seen as the responsible one of the group made her laugh. Lily Evans, responsible? 'Duh', one might say, but to Lily, that wasn't really the case.
"Hey, have you moved all your stuff to the Head dorms yet?" Claire asked Lily.
"No," Lily replied. "I've barely started. It's sorta depressing, being the only one of us staying."
"I offered to stay, and you told me no!" Claire exclaimed.
Lily shook her head. "It's not right for you to stay here and not see your family on Christmas. I told Alice and Sarah exactly the same thing."
"I know, but still..." Claire said sadly. "I'm supposed to be your best friend, and I'm leaving you here all alone."
"Claire, it's fine. Relax." Lily said, putting her hands on Claire's shoulders. "I'll be okay by myself. Really. I was just sorta...venting before."
"Okay, if you're sure..." Claire said skeptically.
"I'm sure. But if you feel so bad about it, you can help me take all my stuff up to the Head dorms."
Claire seemed excited by this idea. "Sure, I've always wondered what they looked like, ever since -"
"Ever since you dated the Head Boy in our fifth year and he mentioned them, I know." Lily interrupted, sliding off her bed and grabbing her trunk.
Claire laughed. "You know me too well, Lils." She said, picking a bag up off the floor. "Is this all you're taking?"
"Yup," Lily said, bewitching her trunk to hover above the ground.
Claire did the same to the bag she was holding. "Ready?" she asked.
Lily nodded. "Let's go."
The two walked down the stairs and out the portrait hole. After a few minutes, they stopped at a portrait of two students, presumably the first Head Boy and Girl.The girl looked at them for a moment."Password?" She finally asked.
"Morphious." Lily said, and the portrait swung open to reveal a door with no handle. Lily pulled out her wand and tapped each of the four corners on the door, then tapped the middle four times. A spun-glass handle appeared and Lily turned it, revealing the Heads' common room.
The room was large and open, with crimson and gold decorating the walls. In the center of the room, a red couch and two gold oversized chairs created an almost full square around a large fireplace, where flames were cracking merrily. All in all, the room very much resembled the Gryffindor common room, only the Head's room seemed nicer and fancier.
"Wow," Claire said. "This is nice."
"Mmm-hmm." Lily answered. "Come on, my room's over here." Lily led Claire to one of two handleless deep cherry doors and placed her hands on it. "Beauty masks the soul." She whispered. Another spun-glass handle appeared and Lily turned and opened it.
Claire gasped. "Oh my..."
'Oh my', just about summed up the Head Girl's room. It was a large, octagon-shaped room with pale green walls. The many windows were covered by white silk curtains that reached down to the dark hardwood floor. There was a white wood desk, beauru, and dresser, each along their own walls. A gorgeous four-poster bed with white, almost transparent curtains stood opposite the door. Shadow boxes with magically preserved flowers were hung in various spots along the walls, as were non-moving pictures of Lily's family and moving pictures of her friends. The high ceiling was very similar to the one in the Great Hall - it was enchanted to mask the sky above. The room was very, very beautiful.
"This is awesome!" Claire exclaimed, flopping down on the bed. "It's huge! God, and I thought you'd be lonely up here. It's like a castle!"
"That would be because we're in a castle." Lily replied, flicking her wrist and causing her trunk to hit the floor. "It is pretty though, isn't it?"
"Hell yeah!" Claire responded, taking in the beauty of the room. She noticed two other doors, which she assumed were a closet. "Where do those lead to? A closet?"
Lily shook her head. "The one on the right leads to the Heads' study, which the Head Girl and Boy share, and the other leads to my bathroom."she said.
"You're sure you don't want me to stay with you? 'Cuz this room is way better than the one at my Grandma's..."
"I'm sure." Lily replied. "C'mon. I wanna show you the balcony."
"You have a balcony?" Claire asked, leaping off the bed.
"Yeah, off of the common room. And there's a secret passage way that leads to somewhere near McGonagal's room." Lily answered, opening the door that lead back to the common room.
Claire made to follow her, but Lily had stopped in the doorway. "What?" Claire asked, but it only took her two seconds to figure it out. The common room was no longer empty as it had been five minutes ago. Instead, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew were occupying it. And unfortunately for Lily, Sirius had spotted her.
"Oy, Evans! You staying here over the holidays?" He yelled, drawing all attention to the redhead, who was currently trying to hide behind her half-opened door.
Lily glared at Sirius. "And what if I am? It's really none of your business, Black." She replied, trying hard not to flush as she felt James's eyes on her. She remembered all too well the incident in the common room yesterday. But wait, what did she care if Potter was staring at her? She mentally slapped herself and put on a defiant look.
"I was just wondering, 'cuz Prongs here is staying too. Maybe you could keep him company." He said, waggling his eyebrows.
Lily froze. Potter is staying here over the holidays? What the hell? Doesn't he have other people he can annoy? God, if I ever get a hold of his parents... Lily thought, her temper raging. But suddenly she stopped wishing death upon the Potter's and realized something. Prongs? But...but Prongs was the guy who...who... Lily froze. "Holy shit," She whispered.
Claire looked at her for a second before quietly asking, "Lily, are you okay?"
Lily didn't answer. Instead, she took a deep breath and said, "Let's get back to the dormitory. Alice and Sarah may be back, and we don't want to keep them waiting."
Claire stared at Lily, who gave her a look that said, 'I'll tell you when we get back.' Claire hesitated before saying, "Yeah, you're right. We should get going."
Lily smiled slightly and turned toward Remus. "It was nice seeing you again, Remus." She said cheerily. And with that, Claire and Lily walked quickly from the Heads' dorm.
"What the bloody hell was going on in there?" Claire asked as the two skidded to a halt outside the Gryffindor common room.
Lily sighed. "I just...couldn't believe that Potter's staying over the holiday. That's all."
Claire eyed her skeptically. "Are you sure that's all that made you want to leave so badly?" She asked, suspicion written all over her pretty face.
"Yes, Claire, that's all. Sheesh, you really don't trust me, do you?" Lily asked, knowing it would get Claire off her case. Truthfully, she didn't know why she wasn't telling Claire about her realization. Claire knew about the discussion in the library, but apparently she hadn't been paying attention to Sirius when he spilled the beans about Prongs. Lily felt that it was something she wanted to keep quiet. At the moment, she really didn't want anyone to know that there was a possibility that James- well, that he liked her.
Claire crossed her arms over her chest. "It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that you suddenly seemed to freeze back there. After the information had sunk in."
"That's just because I realized that I'd be spending the holidays in the same dorm as Potter when I thought that I'd be spending it happily alone." Lily said, climbing through the portrait hole.
"If you say so," Claire replied, following Lily up to their dorm. She was about to open the door when it swung open and a sobbing Alice flung herself at the two of them.
"Oh God, what happened?" Lily asked, her previous thoughts forgotten.
"Let her tell you," a smiling Sarah responded. Lily and Claire looked down at Alice and realized that she was laughing through her tears.
"Frank...he...HE KISSED ME!" Alice shrieked, detangling herself from a very startled Lily and Claire. She jumped up and leapt around the extremely cluttered room.
Sarah dodged the pile of books that fell after Alice twirled off them and stood beside Claire and Lily. "She hasn't been this happy in years." She said quietly, as the three watched Alice land a back flip off her bed. "Seriously, I think the girl's in love."
"How romantic." Lily said, smiling. She was really happy for Alice. "She deserves to have someone to love."
"It's just like in you books, Lils." Claire declared, picking up a set of robes on the floor. They turned out to be Lily's, the Head Girl badge sparkling gold against the black of the fabric. Claire inhaled quickly. "You'll never guess who Lily's rooming with over the holidays." She said to Sarah.
"Hmm, let me think..." Sarah said in a way that told everyone that she already knew.
Lily rolled her eyes. It looked like she'd have to relive her annoyance once again.
Just give him a chance to grow
Holiday break seemed to fly by for Lily, who woke up on Christmas morning wondering why there was a pile ofboxes on her floor. It had taken her a split second to realize what day it was. When she did, she dived off her bed and started unwrapping. She carefully undid the tape on each gift, trying hard not to ripe the lovely paper.
After about an hour, she had unwrapped a charm bracelet from Claire, a new romance novel from Sarah, a stationary set from Alice, a bag full of Honeyduke's sweets from Remus, and her favorite, a transparent glass cube with a tiny lily inside, along with the words My Lovely Daughter, from her parents. Lily smiled as she held it in her hands, tears pricking her eyes. It had been so long since she'd seen her parents, and she missed them very much. What she wouldn't give to be with them now, instead of in the Heads' dorms, opening her Christmas presents alone.
Lily placed the glass cube on her nightstand and then lifted the rest of her gifts onto her bed. She then took a shower and got dressed in a green t-shirt and khaki pants, looking forward to breakfast. As she combed her hair, she thought of the pancakes she'd probably have and how good they were. They've got nothing on Dad's, though, she thought, somewhat miserably. She pulled her long hair up into a ponytail and checked her appearance in the mirror. She rubbed her eyes, hiding the fact that she had almost been crying. After all, Lily Evans never cried in front of people other than her family and friends.
She walked through the common room quietly, trying to avoid unwanted attention. But luckily for her, it seemed that James was still in his room, probably unwrapping a truckload of gifts.
Lily exited the Heads' dorms and walked through the corridors, her steps echoing of the hallways' empty walls. As she neared the Great Hall, Lily thought of all the people that would be there, eating happily with their friends and wishing each other a happy Christmas. How depressing it would be to eat alone...
In a quick decision, Lily turned and headed upstairs towards thekitchens, where she could eat in peace. She oftenwondered if the house elves that worked there were happy, but their smiling faces and cheery demeanor told her that they were.
Filled up with adelicious breakfast of pancakes and tea, Lily left the kitchens and headed back to her dormitory. Once there, she looked out onto the snow-covered grounds and decided thatthis was a perfect time to talk a walk. She grabbed her coat, scarf, hat, and gloves, and set out. While on her walk, Lilymarveled at the beauty of Hogwarts andhow, although she truly wanted to be with her family, she could never really feel at home anywhere but here.
It's so beautiful here in winter, Lily thought stopping and standing on a fresh patch of snow. She suddenly fell to the ground, landed, and made a snow angel, just like she had when she was a little kid. Lily sighed in content as she lay there in the snow, adoring every minute of the time she spent there. She stood and admired her angel, then walked around and drew a halo above its head. There, she thought, you're free. Now go fly.
After spending almost all day outdoors admiring the grounds, Lily stomach began to protestfor its lack of food. Iprobably shouldn't've missedafternoon tea, she thought, checking her watch. It was 5:23.Almost time for dinner - I'd better head in.
Lily walked back inside the castle, its warmth hugging her body, bringing it back to its normal temperature. She quickly went toher dorm and shed her winter clothes.Checking her watch again, Lily decided to go to dinner a little early.She entered the Great Hall, eagerly anticipating the Christmas feast. She found her usual spot along the Gryffindor table and sat down, watching as others filled in. There didn't seem to be many students still at school, and the flow of students at the door stopped abruptly. Lily felt the table weight shift and turned her head to see who else was here. It wasJames, of course, who looked up just as Lily looked at him. The two found themselves once again staring into each other'seyes. Lily, realizing what she was doing, blinked and looked away. She didn'tneed him to thinkshe liked him too.
A screech sounded through the Great Hall, and Lily saw a large owl soar in. That's odd, mail only comes at breakfast... she thought, surprised. She was even more surprised,however, when the owl dropped its load before her. Lily watched itflyaway, then turned her attention onto the cream-colored envelope sitting before her.
Feeling everyone's eyes oneher, Lily slit it open and read the short message. She stood abruptly, her eyes still glued on the letter. They filled with tears as she ran from theGreat Hall, avoiding everyone's eyes as she turnedand continued on.
No one in the Great Hall moved, their eyes still lingering on thedoor. Finally, James stood up and ran out after her. Everyone watched as he left the Hall, heading in the same direction thatLily had, wondering what this could mean.
I'm sorry, I had to do it. -Sighs- And the happiness ends...for now at least.
Remember my question about snow? Well, the answer has nothing to do with water, slush,evaporation, or any combination of the three. Really.The question should have been: What comes after snow? But that's not how it's worded. Keepguessing! (Or ask a friend who like Fruits Basket. Either way...)
Well, please review!
Hugs and fuzzles
MM360