Her Gift – Her Curse
A/N: As I said before, this is A/U. Thank you's at the bottom.
-×Chapter Three×-
"You have failed me."
Voices hissed anger in the darkness. Scowls and looks of disgust were plastered among many surrounding the figure quivering with fear in the centre, but none could be seen, for it was midnight, and pitch black.
"No, master, please! Have mercy on me! I won't fail you next ti-"
"There won't BE a next time!" the first voice roared, instantly stopping any noise that was made before. Some looked in his direction, terrified. Others looked triumphant – like this coward deserved to die.
Everyone knew what was to come.
"Avada Keda…"
I gasped loudly. I wasn't sweating as badly as I had the other night. This was probably because the one that had been dying was a Death Eater. Voldemort was killing his own kind, not an innocent, but I still couldn't stop shaking. So many times I've heard the killing curse being said, yet every single time, I still felt terrified, like one day, it may just step out of my dreams, and face me instead.
My legs took over, and I ran, panting, to Professor Dumbledore's office another time. That place had become like a second 'home', inside Hogwarts, to me, since I always got up in the middle of the night – or in this case, 2 a.m. in the morning – to run there, and report another murder.
-×-
I yawned. It was 7 a.m., and I had only had 5 hours sleep last night, and I was dead tired. I had gone to bed at midnight – thinking about what happened, or in this case, what almost happened between James and I, then I had an hour long chat with Dumbledore and lay awake for another hour afterwards. I was rather worn out, but I guessed it was just my bad luck to be landed with this 'gift'…
"You want us to what?!" Sirius and Remus almost yelled before James quickly hushed them. They both shared unbelieving faces at what James had just asked them to do. Peter looked excited.
"James, I never thought you'd go this far to get that girl!" Remus gaped.
"Yeah! I mean, the second part, sure, any guy's done that before, but asking us to-" Sirius continued from him, but was, once again, shushed by James.
"Look, you guys, if we're- ("you're" supplied Remus) -I'm going to pull this prank off, I need your help. After all, we do it all the time! Why's Evans any different?"
"Because, Prongs, none of the other girls we've done this to is like Evans. They were all sluts that we'd played in the past – they enjoyed stuff like that – Evans had been untouched by anybody in her entire existence at Hogwarts, maybe even her entire existence altogether." Sirius answered, and for once in his life, earnestly. Remus nodded beside him.
"I think it's a brilliant idea!" Peter suddenly spoke, surprising everyone.
James grinned. "I'm glad one of us agrees with me!"
"Yeah, the Potter-butt-kisser." Sirius muttered beneath his breath so only he and Remus could hear. The corners of Remus's lips twitched.
"So, are you guys in, or what?" James asked, trying one last time. He was getting very annoyed, and his best friends could tell. They nodded, but very reluctantly. "Good."
"But I'm only standing guard, nothing more, and you're not going to make me, understood?" Remus's tone was set. James rolled his eyes and sighed. It was an unspoken 'yes'.
"Hey, bookworm!" someone sneered into my ear as I was walking to the great hall for lunch. I got that a lot. I didn't mind. What I did mind, was what then did next – they grabbed me, and shoved me into the nearest broom cupboard. It was dark, but I could see two silhouettes coming up to me from the light through the gap of the double doors. I knew they were advancing upon me. I could feel them. I opened my mouth to scream, but I heard them mutter the silence charm. I reached for my wand, to attempt to undo the spell, only to find that it wasn't there.
One of them gripped my shoulders, the other, my top. My eyes were wide with horror as I understood what they were trying to do. On instinct, I brought my knee up to contact something soft. I heard a muffled "oof" as one backed off, clutching somewhere I couldn't make out. The other still had a firm grip on my shoulders. I raised an arm and punched, but they dodged. Talk about reflexes…I thought to myself.
"Um… hey, Potter." I heard a masculine voice outside the cupboard say. "Potter!" I tried to yell, but the silence charm was still in effect. I attempted to wriggle out of the person's grasp, but I couldn't. Everything in the cupboard became still. They were trying to be undetected, and, apparently, they had a guard outside, trying to get rid of anyone who came near.
"Um… Potter… don't go in there." the voice said. It was very familiar. "There's a snogging couple."
What a lame excuse. I thought to myself. 'Snogging couple'? Unfortunately, I knew that's what the two in the cupboard wanted, but they weren't going to get that. Not if I had anything to say – or rather, do, about it.
I kicked the nearest broom off its hanging place on the wall. This knocked off a couple of others. There was a loud clang. The once still figure on the ground suddenly made to grasp them and stop the racket, but I could see the outline of their hand, and I kicked it with all the force I could muster. They retracted to the ground, this time, clutching their hand, and whimpered. The strong hands holding me down loosed for a moment, wanting to help the friend in pain, but returned to pinning me against the wall, scared I'd escape out.
"What was that?" I heard James ask.
"The couple, of course. Must be very intense, don't you think so?"
That guy was certainly a swift liar. There wasn't a single hiccough his in speech, but what he said almost made me sick.
Luckily, James didn't buy it. "A snogging couple that needs someone to guard a door, a bunch of broomsticks knocked over, along with the movement of a kick-"
Wow, I thought, James has good hearing…
"-followed by a whimper… what's going on?!" he demanded.
I saw, through the gap between the doors, an arm raised, blocking James's way. James shoved him aside.
The double doors swung open. Light poured in. The grip on my shoulders loosened immediately. Three people scurried away. They looked so familiar, but James stood in front of me, blocking my view, before I could crane my neck and see who they were.
"Evans! Are you alright?"
There was worry written all over his face, but as I looked into his eyes, I could see a triumphant gleam. What was going on?
"Evans?" he asked me again. I nodded that I was fine. There was that little jolt in my heart again. He relaxed.
"I was just getting a broom to have a fly around-"
I knew that already. If your name was James Potter, you spent half your life on a broomstick. He was just stating the obvious. He rambled on about something, but I wasn't paying attention. I felt bad about it, but something didn't feel right, and when it didn't feel right to me, it usually wasn't right. My eyes were dazed out, and he seemed to have noticed, for he called my name once again.
"Lily?"
That caught my attention – that one little word. All other thoughts flew out of my mind, leaving nothing behind, as if they had never been there in the first place.
He had called me 'Lily'. I missed hearing that name. I hadn't heard anyone call me that since I started at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. When I went back home for the holidays, my parents always called me 'Flower', Petunia always called me 'Freak'. Sure my parents wrote 'Lily' in letters, but I hadn't heard my proper name being called in so long, and now, James was calling me 'Lily'. James! The man of my dreams when I wasn't having visions. My heart jolted another time.
"Wh-What?" I asked, surprised. For a second, I could have sworn I saw James blush a bit, but his 'cool' posture returned in the blink of an eye.
"Lily. You don't mind if I call you that, do you?" he asked, suddenly averting his gaze from me to the ground. There was a faint blush. I couldn't stop but gaze in awe at his face – how cute it was.
"No… of course not…" I finally answered. He beamed. "Can I call you 'James'?"
He nodded. His smile grew wider, but behind that smile, I saw a smirk. Why was he smirking?
"Hey, Potter!" one of his Quidditch team-mates called. I didn't know who they were, but it was a rather tall man who was obviously in my year. He had dark blue eyes with the slightest hints of brown. His hair was dyed blue, and it suited him. He spoke to James, and then James turned to me.
"We're going to do a bit of practising. Will you come watch?" he asked me. I shook my head – no. I wasn't interested in Quidditch to say the least. My time was pre-occupied with visions and homework. During all the past matches, I had always stayed in the common room and studied. Whenever we had won, which was almost always, there would always be a party thrown until a Professor McGonagall came stopped it at around 1 a.m. I had always stayed up in the dorm and read silently. That was until this year, when I became Head Girl.
I will never be interested in Quidditch; even though there were so many times I had been tempted to watch James play. To watch his wild hair become even wilder in the wind. To watch him glide with grace around the Quidditch pitch, and to watch him smile his dazzling smile as he did a victory lap when Gryffindor had won, but I never did. I resisted the temptation, like I had every time I saw him in class.
For the past few days, the temptation has become even greater, and it wasn't a surprise to me why, and I had resisted it. I always had to resist. It seemed like that was all I had done since I knew of my 'gift'.
James looked disappointed, and muttered an "Oh."
I saw him take out his broom – I had no idea what type it was, nor was I interested in finding out. It looked brand new, but that was only because he polished it every other night. I saw him leave with his friend. I heard him laugh, and that laughter rang. It was music to my ears. I saw him walk out the door, not turning back to wave goodbye. I felt my heart clench once more.
-×-
I was gazing out of the window of the Gryffindor common room, after finding my wand not too far from the cupboard itself. It seemed like forever since I had last been there. Several students waved to me, and I smiled back, not wanting to be rude. I didn't feel hungry any more after what had just happened, so I decided to watch James's practise for a while. James had probably eaten already.
I had a perfect view of the Quidditch pitch, and I saw James there. He was with the Marauders, talking to them, maybe Quidditch practise was cancelled, but I saw his other team mates practising above.
My eyes dropped back to the four on the ground. They were still talking. I could read lips, but I didn't want to intrude on their personal business. James would probably never forgive me if he knew I was listening in on one of their private conversations. And yes, I knew it was private, for there was not a person within a fifteen metre radius of them. All the students walking past avoided their path, and they were standing close together. They were probably just planning their next prank.
Pettigrew was clutching his hand. I could make out a faint purple bruise around the area his other hand was clutching it. My eyes narrowed in suspicion. That seemed like the place I had tried to kick the other guy when I was in the… no. I shook those thoughts away. Maybe he had just whacked it somewhere by accident. Besides, the cupboard was dark, and I couldn't actually see where I had actually kicked. Besides, why would he be interested in me? Unless it was for a different reason…
I shook my head in disbelief that I was even thinking about that. Sure, I was angry at the people who were trying to rape me, but I had no right to go blaming James's best friends, after all, James was the one who saved me.
I saw James give Sirius Black a toothy grin, and, after all these years, I still couldn't believe how perfect his teeth were, how perfect his smile was. How perfect he was.
"Good going, guys." James congratulated the Marauders. They had met him on the Quidditch pitch. James had decided he didn't want to have a fly around after all when his best friends turned up. Besides, it was lunch time, and the proper practise wouldn't be until later.
Sirius scowled. "Remind me NEVER to go near her again. If I hadn't dodged that punch on time it would have hurt – BAD."
Peter was holding his hand in his other one. "Padfoot, I got kicked… twice! And yet you're complaining?"
Sirius's scowl grew deeper. "I never forced you to do it. I was against it. You were the one who was saying what an 'utterly brilliant idea' it was!" at the last bit, Sirius's voice had gone high-pitched, mock imitating Peter, who frowned and muttered, "I didn't say 'utterly'…"
James grinned at Sirius. "Well, you still did well, my friend. If she suspected you before, she definitely wont any more. After all, I saved her." Here, James's grin grew wider, as Sirius rolled his eyes, and Peter beamed. Remus raised an eyebrow.
"James- ("Prongs," James corrected. "What's the point in having nicknames if you aren't going to use them?") -Prongs, then. Anyways, as I was saying, are you sure this is going to work?" he asked.
"Of course. Once phase two is complete, she'll be pleading for my love." James answered cockily.
Remus's raised eyebrow rose even further. "So you're saying, that she's going to see you and… yeah, then she's going to get wildly jealous, and spill her heart to you, declaring how much she loves you?"
James nodded.
Sirius snorted. "Something tells me she's not that kind of girl, you know? Prongs, you really come up with the craziest ideas."
"Yeah, but have you ever seen any of them fail? I'm James, remember? I have a way with women."
"Sure, James, but you forget that if it wasn't for me, your 'way with women' wouldn't exist. I still don't think she'll fall for it. She hasn't fallen for your Potter charm so far, has she?" Sirius took his hands out of his pockets, and folded them over his lean chest.
"That's only because she's stupid." James protested indignantly.
Remus sighed. "Look, Prongs, she's Head Girl. She's anything but stupid. Maybe you should just give up. I mean, it's not like you're betting or anything…"
"Yeah, give up!" Sirius's eyes lit up and wore a wide grin. Remus looked at him suspiciously.
"NO!" Peter almost yelled. Remus began to eye Peter just as suspiciously. James, on the other hand, took this as a sign of encouragement, and said, "You know, guys, you should be more like Pete here. Try to be more encouraging? Besides, there's no need to worry. After phase two, the prank will be complete."
-×-
James had gone to complete phase two. The three remaining Marauders stood where they had been before. Remus was eyeing them both.
"You are betting, aren't you?" he asked, and when they both hung their heads and nodded, Remus sighed. "We agreed on no betting, didn't we?"
More nods.
Remus suddenly smirked, but his two friends didn't notice as they were trying to avoid his eyes. "I bet twenty galleons that he can't do it."
Sirius and Peter's heads shot up, eyes wide, mouths hanging. Remus wasn't the kind to be betting, but they shrugged it off, and decided that Remus had finally decided to walk on the wild side.
Sirius was the first one to properly react. "Looks like Pete here will owe twice as much by the end of it." He said, winking at Peter, who was pouting angrily. He had also betted twenty galleons that James wouldn't be able to finish the prank, namely ditch Lily after he'd got her, but Peter, being one of the dumbest students at Hogwarts, simply thought they meant that James wouldn't be able to get Lily to say the three little words.
I was confused. James had gone off to practise Quidditch, yet he ended up having a little chat with his best friends, then walking off, smirking. I didn't quite understand it, but I could never quite understand James. I hadn't known him long enough. Maybe one day I will, but that day wasn't today. Even if I had spent half my life gazing at him in secret, I still couldn't understand him fully. I shrugged it away.
The bell had gone, signalling for my fourth lesson of the day. I stepped out of the common room, and made my way to Divination. I had always hated that subject. Maybe it was because our professor always liked predicting our deaths, and dark things that reminded me of my visions. I sighed. The next hour would be a long one.
-×-
I stepped out of the great hall. Dinner had just been served, and I had eaten my fill. The Marauders – excluding James – had sat near me. They ate as if they hadn't eaten all day, but I was sure I saw them at breakfast. Maybe they missed lunch or something. I didn't bother to think about it. I was wondering where James was. I hadn't wanted to ask his friends, for they might get…ideas, so I decided to keep my mouth shut.
I was wandering around the castle grounds, when I spotted James… with a girl… and they were kissing…
-×-
A/N: Sorry if that was the WORST chapter yet (even though it's the longest yet – 8 pages on MSWord). I feel like it has been… too much chat, not much emotion… the next one will be better though, so please bear with me! I know this chapter has been sucky, so I'm not expecting many reviews, but no matter, the next chapter will hopefully make up for that! By the way, I know James's eyes are hazel, it's just Lily who doesn't know that yet. She's been mainly avoiding his eyes, even when she'd been watching him from afar. It'll be explained about that later… (I just thought I'd say that, 'cause I keep saying his 'deep brown eyes', so yeah.)
Thank you to those who reviewed for chapter two!!! I'm not going to write individual thank you's for all of them because it makes the word count misleading, but THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I LOVE YOU ALL!
Greengoldfish1 Saia May Dursley Jocelyn missminty holly-evans lily hostetler grincat Mooncheese PatchLover08
James Lacy IceSugarHigh shadowed.phoenix gryffspopgurl sendirella Papaya Mango
Thank you all!!! Especially those who reviewed. If you didn't, thank you for taking the time to read my fic! I'm still honoured anyway!
-3 Always,
-Cryst
AKA LivingDreams
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