Anywho - I'd like to thank all the people who reviewed and anyone else who read - Y'ALL ROCK! And you make Cindy happy. Tee Hee.
"Two Marauders With One Stone"
The weeks passed fairly quickly and soon Hogwarts found itself immersed in October.
Lily and her friends were just descending the stairs from their dormitory to head to breakfast when none other than Sirius Black appeared from the direction of the boys dorms. All four girls were about to faint from being in his heavenly presence when he actually came right up next to them and began walking right beside them.
"Hey! Linda...right?" he said to Lily, who was right next to him.
Lily's face instantly burned red. He was talking to her. Sirius Black. Great hair... great smile... yes,that Sirius Black. Oh. My. God.
Her thoughts began swirling in a frantic motion. She would've replied, except for the fact that her voice was nowhere to be found. She quickly glanced at her friends to find each of them gawking at Sirius as if he had sprouted a hippogriff on his head.
Deciding she better say something back to him before she turned to stone, she forced words to escape her mouth.
"Uh...actually, it-it's Lily. Lily Evans," she stuttered bashfully.
"Oh well, same difference," he shrugged. "Anyway, I was wondering if I could perhaps accompany you down to breakfast." He smiled his prize winning smile at her.
Lily couldn't breathe. The boy she had swooned over for five years, yet had never really talked to, was asking to walk with her to breakfast.
"M-me? Why?" she asked.
"Well, a pretty little lady like yourself needs a big, strong man like me to protect you in these dangerous halls."
Lily blushed even more, if that was possible. Did she just hear the words 'pretty little lady' come out of Sirius Black's mouth? Meaning HER? This had to be a dream...
"Of course she wants you to escort her! What a kind gesture," Cherise answered to Sirius, since Lily had apparently forgotten how to speak.
Sirius smiled again and offered his arm to Lily. At first she just admired it, wide-eyed, like a child does with a forbidden cookie jar. That is, until Scarlett elbowed her in the side urging her to take it. Lily got the hint and slipped her arm through his, smiling sweetly up at him.
"Yes. That would be wonderful."
For Lily, breakfast seemed like some sort of hallucination. Like the whole thing was the product of one too many butterbeers. When she had walked into the Great Hall on the arm of Sirius Black, all heads turned to look at them. Whispers spread like a contagious disease when the crowd saw that Sirius was hanging out with "that one girl"...whatever her name was.
Girls shot venemous glares at Lily, while boys snapped their necks with double-takes. It was undeniable - Lily looked good. Plus, having one of the most gorgeous guys in school hanging on her arm didn't hurt.
Lily soaked in every glorious second. This was her dream, what she had longed for since her first year at the school. Now she had it.
Lily and Sirius walked like a king and queen through the hall, Cherise, Marilyn, and Scarlett following behind, giggling giddily.
The glowing group of five seated themselves at the girls' usual spot.
"Would you like me to fix you a plate?" Sirius offered to Lily. Her friends giggled some more. They had been doing so ever since Sirius had come up to them in the common room.
"Sure," Lily replied dreamily.
Sirius began filling a plate with eggs, toast, and bacon from dishes in the center of the table. He placed it in front of Lily and began making one for himself.
Lily looked to her friends and widened her eyes in a way that screamed I-can't-believe-this-is-happening!. Her friends returned the look, then smiled innocently at Sirius who was eyeing the girls curiously.
They had just started eating when a certain blonde haired princess took it upon herself to crash the party.
"Sirius! What are you doing over here?" Samantha Creevy barked. "I miss you over at our end of the table," she added sweetly, batting her eyelashes expertly.
"I wanted to hang out with Lily," Sirius shrugged.
"Who?" she asked.
Sirius tilted his head towards Lily who was sitting to his left. Samantha's face turned extremely sour.
"Why are you hanging out with her?" she spat, with extra spite on the 'her'.
Lily was beginning to feel increasingly uncomfortable.
"Back off blondie!" Cherise shouted. "Just because your little boy toy wanted to sit with some other people today doesn't give you any right to freak out. And don't you ever insult my best friend again." She was now standing and looking Samantha right in the eye.
"What are you talking about? I didn't say a thing about your little friend."
"You didn't have to. I could hear it in your voice," Cherise snapped.
Samantha and Cherise were glaring dangerously at each other when Scarlett stood up.
"Cool it, girls! Let's not get into some nasty cat fight here. Sirius is just eating breakfast at this table today, nothing more. End of story. Now can you all just calm down?" Scarlett hated conflict, therefore dubbing her mediator at times like these.
"Can't the boyfriend stealing tramp even speak for herself?" Samantha said acidly.
Lily felt her face turn the color of her hair. She desperately wanted a hole to crawl into and die at the moment.
"She doesn't need to speak for herself because there's nothing to say," Sirius chimed in. "And she isn't a 'boyfriend stealing tramp' because, first of all, I'm not your boyfriend, and secondly, I was the one who asked to sit with her."
Samantha puffed up indignantly and stormed back to her crowd of admirers. Cherise and Scarlett returned to sitting, their mutual sense of accomplishment shining like an aura around them both.
"Sorry about her. She goes nutters anytime I even so much as look at another girl," Sirius muttered, rolling his eyes.
"Why aren't you two together? It always seems like you are, but...?" Marilyn inquired.
"I like my freedom I guess," Sirius shrugged.
"So you don't ever want a girlfriend?" Cherise asked.
"Sure... someday. Just not Samantha. She's too clingy and needy. I want a girlfriend, not a pet," he explained, taking a bite out of his toast.
"So basically you're waiting for the right girl," Lily concluded. Sirius nodded his head.
"Yeah, but I know she can't be too far..." Sirius said, looking directly at Lily. They exchanged brief smiles. Sirius gave a wink, and returned to his breakfast.
If Lily acted upon the emotions that were bouncing around in her stomach at that moment, she would've been asked to leave the Hall - if that's any indication at how tickled pink she was.
She glanced down at her untouched breakfast and realized that she wasn't even hungry anymore. How could she eat when she had just learned that she had the most gorgeous guy in school practically in the palm of her hand? Nevertheless, she forced a few bites of egg down so she wouldn't look so out of place around her friends who were shoveling down food like there's no tomorrow.
After breakfast, Sirius walked with Lily and her friends to their first class (yes, still Muggle Studies). On their way there, the topic of tutoring came up.
"I just know that I'm going to be one of the tutorees, like always," Sirius revealed.
"So you don't do so well in Muggle Studies?" Marilyn asked.
"Never have," Sirius said almost proudly. "So every year I have to be in that stupid tutoring program of Professor Hilton's. Usually, it's just some teachers staying a few hours after class to re-teach everything to you. As if that makes a difference. And, er, I don't suppose my handling of the situation helped things either," he chuckled to himself.
"What do you mean by that?" Lily raised an eyebrow.
"I don't think your virgin ears can handle it," Sirius grinned evilly at her.
"Try me!" Lily mirrored his expression. Sirius seemed intrigued by this sudden zest in her. He snaked his arm over her shoulders and proceeded with his story.
"Weeeell...me and James, the brilliant minds we are--"
"Says Mr. Failed-Tutoring," Cherise interrupted.
"Hey now, it's not my fault that muggles are impossible to understand."
"Um, muggle here...?" Lily spoke up, motioning towards herself for emphasis.
"Not that it's bad thing!" Sirius recovered smoothly. "Besides, I enjoy a sense of mystery in a woman."
Lily smiled at his cheeky save.
"ANYway..." Sirius began again. "So every week we had to go sit and listen to those old bags ramble on and this and that, which was a perfect waste of time better spent doing something productive - like having a 'chat' with dear Snivellus, for example, so we devised a plan to get out of it."
The girls were plainly hanging on every word he said. Sirius lapped up the attention like honey.
"So right when we got to the classroom, as the teachers were getting ready up front, we cast a sleeping charm on the chairs they would be sitting in, meaning when they sat down in them the charm would spread over their bodies. Five minutes later - all the teachers were passed out cold on the floor. We then took empty butterbeer bottles out of our bags and set them next to each teacher - you know, for a little presentation. We left the scene of the crime immediately, but somehow old Dumbly figured out it was us. Said our names popped right into his head once he walked into the room and saw his staff members unconscious on the floor," Sirius finished with relish.
"And you take pride in this sort of thing?" Lily questioned.
"You say that as if I shouldn't!" Sirius exclaimed with mock astonishment.
Lily merely shook her head and laughed. "And will that little episode be repeated when students are doing the tutoring?"
"Depends..." Sirius said airily. "If the tutor looks anything like you, I'd be more inclined to place a gluing charm on the seat."
"Looks like you're in luck!" Cherise chirped. "Lil here is a wiz at Muggle Studies - for obvious reasons - and I'm sure she'd bemore than pleased to give you some assistance."
Lily widened her eyes dangerously at her officious friend.
"Actually that's just what I was hoping for," he said, grinning. Lily blushed.
"Of course I'll help you out," she said. Sirius smiled once more before opening the door to their class.
"Ladies," he said as a prefect gentleman, allowing the girls to step through the door first.
"Why thank you," Lily giggled. Cherise, Marilyn, and Scarlett followed in a similar manner. They headed toward their usual seats, Sirius, to their pleasant surprise, following suit.
"You're even going to sit with us in class?" Lily asked dubiously.
"Of course," Sirius said as if it were obvious. He took a seat next to Lily, casually dismissing the bewildered stares he was receiving from classmates.
The bell rang shortly, bringing the remaining Marauders sauntering into the room. When Samantha entered and saw Sirius sitting next to another woman other than herself, she nearly choked on her bubblegum. She threw an evil glare at Lily and stalked to her own seat. James and Remus (and Peter, I'm sure) caught sight of Sirius's new seating preference, and seemed for a moment to be torn on whether they were supposed to do so as well. By some sort of tacit knowledge they decided to concede with their normal seats.
Class continued as normally as possible, given the sudden shift in cosmic balance due to Sirius's change of seating arrangement. The Marauder corner was noticeably quieter, as James had lost his other half and therefore had resigned to staring in the direction of Sirius, though the exact object of his gaze was not certain. Lily was acting off-kilter as well, as she was finding it extremely difficult to take proper notes, what with the amount of hotness radiating from the seat next to her.
Professor Hilton rambled on for the remainder of the class, until finally the bell to freedom rang. It was lunchtime. The students scrambled noisely to grab their things and run out the door as fast as they could.
"Would the following students come up to my desk please?" Professor Hilton shouted over the chaos. "Renetta Applegate, Sharon Duvile, Lily Evans, Radley Smithe, and Nessa Taylor."
Lily had grabbed her stuff and was just about to go up to the professor's desk when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Sirius.
"Remember to get me as your student for that tutoring jazz, okay?"
"Of course!" Lily smiled.
"Wicked. I'll see you at lunch then," he said before walking off with the crowd. Lily couldn't help but smile as she watched him walk away. She was about to become his tutor, which meant a whole lot of intimate time together. Study sessions, all alone together...just her and him. It was wonderful to think about.
Lily turned around and made her way to the professor's desk (in a rather floaty manner, given her current state of happiness), which was already crowded by several other students.
"Are you all here? Yes, yes I think so. Okay then, I will now be assigning each of you a student to tutor. You will be tutoring this same student for the entire semester unless either of your grades change and suggest otherwise," Professor Hilton explained.
"Wait, you're assigning the pairs? I thought we got to pick!" Lily exclaimed.
"Of course I am assigning the pairs, Miss Evans. If I let you choose then I am certain that no real work would be accomplished. Friends tutoring friends always seems to result in more goofing off than learning. So, yes, I am going to assign the student you tutor."
Lily's heart sank. It was all soperfect before Little-Miss-Stupid- Teacher had to go and nose her way into matters she didn't understand.
"Renetta, you will tutor Mr. Pettigrew. Sharon, Mr. Lupin. Lily-" Lily held her breath.
'Please please please please please,' she thought over and over to herself.
"-Mr. Potter..."
And her world came tumbling down.
"James?" Lily cried to herself.
"Yes, James Potter," Professor Hilton confirmed, evidently thinking Lily was talking to her.
"Radley, Miss Creevy..." Prof. Hilton continued.
'Poor him,' Lily thought. Radley didn't seem to share this view, however. He was biting his lip to seemingly prevent a broad grin from breaking out and was bouncing happily on the balls of his feet.
"And finally Nessa, you will be tutoring Mr. Black."
Nessa's eyes lit up at this arrangement. Lily, on the other hand, instead gained the sudden urge to hit something. Preferably anyone who looked happier than she felt - like Nessa for example.
"You will be responsible for setting up your own tutoring sessions during your own time. However, I will arrange the first session just to get everyone started. You and your assigned student will meet in this classroom from 3:00-4:00pm next Friday. That way, I will be able to supervise and make sure everything is working out the way it should. After that, each study session is up to you. That is all. You may go to lunch now," the professor finished.
As the group of students rushed towards the door, Lily shot Nessa a look of pure venom. Nessa caught this glance, thus her abnormally quick exit from the classroom.
Lily found her friends eating and talking happily in the Great Hall. She plopped down in the seat next to Sirius and tried her best to hide her growing misery.
"So," Sirius started. "When do we start this tutoring stuff?"
Lily bit her lip and looked at the ground. "Go ask Nessa Taylor," she said bitterly.
Sirius looked positively confused (which didn't stray far from the ordinary).
"Who? What?" he questioned bemusedly.
"Nessa's your tutor."
"What? I thought you were going to be my tutor!" Sirius exclaimed.
"Professor Hilton didn't let us choose. She assigned," Lily said with annoyance.
"Damn teacher!" Sirius spat. "I'd like to hex the genius who came up with the notion of assigning partners. It completely defeats the purpose of partnerism!"
Rather than try to understand, Lily simply smiled and shook her head at him.
"So whodid you get, Lily?" Cherise joined in.
"James Potter."
"Ay! James is ma' boy!" Sirius boasted happily. "Hey, if you couldn't get me, Jamesy is always second best."
"Yeah, I suppose... but he's just not y--" Lily stopped herself abruptly and found a newfound interest in the table, which she stared at intensely, hoping that might help erase what she just said. She wasn't quite sure how obvious her affections were for Sirius, or if he was just one of those types that assumed he was adored by all by default, but she really wasn't keen on revealing her affections straight out.
Sirus smiled slyly. "Don't worry hun, I'll make sure James treats you real nice-like and all that." He winked once before digging into his food again.
Lily smiled. Whether it was result of Sirius's gentlemanly promise, or simply because of his utter gorgeousness, she didn't know. Nor did she care.
Marilyn began chatting about a stain removing charm she discovered by accident, but Lily didn't feel up to listening. She simply nodded absentmindedly while chewing on her chicken. Instead, her focus was on a dark haired male at the other end of the table. He was taking a bite out of his chicken and nodding at something his sandy haired friend was saying. Much like Lily was doing. Except for the fact that he actually seemed to be paying attention to his friend.
Lily's stomach fluttered strangely. Maybe this tutoring arrangement wouldn't be so bad afterall...
And there's chapter numero dos. I know what you're thinking - James is in the picture ALREADY? Worry not. It's all part of the grand scheme of things.
-Thinks if she actually has a 'grand scheme'-
Uh...yeah. Yeah. REVIEW PLEASE : )