I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to update. I had a massive
thematic unit lesson plan due this week and it took up my "Lily and James"
time. I want to thank everyone for reviewing! It was the most I have
received since I started writing this story. Thanks to: Padfootlet,
Siberian, Anaii, Abby123 and Ljstagflower4e/Jctigerwolf4e for their awesome
reviews! You guys make my day!
Here's the usual: I don't own anything from Harry Potter; it all belongs to J.K. Rowling (the lucky woman).
Please don't forget to read and review!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 8: Surprises and Disappointments
The girls made it back to their dorm room without any interference. Lily was glad to put this horrible night behind her. That was the first time any of them had seen a live werewolf, let alone almost being bitten by one. Her shoulder ached from where she hit the ground. She knew that she had done something bad to it by the popping noise it made. As she lay in bed, cloaked in the darkness, she did not want to think about trying to explain her shoulder to Madame Pomfrey tomorrow. As she lay there searching her brain for a believable lie, her mind drifted to the beautiful stag. Lily swore that it was trying to protect them. Why else would it step in front of them to cut off the werewolf? Why else would it have stared into her eyes like it knew her when the werewolf retreated?
"If they saved us, then why did they go and attack us for?" Faith's voice drifted into her head. But they didn't attack us. That black dog attacked us. It seemed to be trying to save the werewolf. But that doesn't make sense because it attacked the werewolf too. Lily shook her head with frustration. She was exhausted and she knew that it was no use trying to figure it all out tonight. She needed to concentrate on getting some sleep. A faint rustle of blankets and a loud sigh told Lily that she wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The three boys stayed with Moony until the early hours of the morning. When the night sky began to brighten with the coming of the sun, the boys left the Shrieking Shack and their friend to return up to the castle. None of them said a word to each other until they safely reached the comfort of their own dorm. Everyone else in the tower was engaged in peaceful slumber and the sounds of snoring could be heard from various rooms in the boys' wing. They shut the door tight and James placed an Imperturbable charm on it.
"What the bloody hell were they thinking?" said Sirius finally, as he collapsed onto his bed in exhaustion. "What were they doing outside the grounds that time of night and during the full moon no less?"
"I don't know. But that was a really close call," said James examining the cuts all over his body.
"He would have bitten them for certain," added Peter, changing out of his robes. "It was a good thing we were there to protect them." Sirius and James looked at Peter with disbelief.
"What the bloody hell are you talking about, mate?" snapped Sirius with narrowed eyes. "Where did you get this 'we' stuff? You stood there hiding in the forest the whole time like a bloody, spineless coward."
"W-w-well I'm too small to fight him," stuttered Peter as his eyes darted from Sirius to James. "He would h-h-have crushed me in the struggle." Sirius threw him a disgusted look and began to change out of his robes.
"Well all I know is that they received quite a scare tonight. I just hope that they didn't receive any major injuries," said James as he frowned at Sirius. James did not like what he did to Lily. There was no reason for him to push her down that hard. James knew that Sirius got carried away sometimes, but the terrified look on Lily's face as he approached her remained imprinted upon his mind.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lily had to admit that one of the best things about Hogwarts was that no matter how suspicious your injuries were, Madame Pomfrey did not ask a lot of questions. Madame Pomfrey mended Lily's shoulder with the flick of a wand. The only reminder of the previous night was a few scrapes on Lily's elbows, arms and hands. Faith's injuries, however, were not as easily fixed as Lily's shoulder. Madame Pomfrey fixed the torn ligaments in her hand but was unable to immediately fix the huge flesh wounds. Faith had to have her hand bandaged for the next three days and drink a clear potion that she said tasted like a very strong manhattan.
"Isn't that just great," fumed Faith as the girls left the hospital wing and headed down to breakfast in the Great Hall. "How am I suppose to go through Quidditch practice with my hand wrapped up like this? I look like a damn mummy!" Lily and Liz laughed in spite of themselves.
"It's not funny! I swear, if I ever see that damn dog again he'll have two holes to chose from the next time he takes a dump!" said Faith angrily, looking at her laughing friends seriously.
"No, you are absolutely right Faith, it's not funny," grinned Liz. "It's just that I bet you ten galleons that Sirius Black jumps at the chance to "help" you on Tuesday." Lily laughed at the thought of Faith clinging on to Sirius as they rode around the stadium together on one broomstick with a beautiful fading sunset in the background.
"Yeah, well he can "help" himself to a nice swift kick in the ass if he so much as tries anything," grumbled Faith as the girls walked into the Great Hall. Lily noticed that the four boys were absent from the table as she sat down in her usual spot.
"Speaking of "the idiots four", where are they anyways?" asked Lily as she grabbed a stack of pancakes.
"Probably sleeping. They always sleep late on Sundays," answered Liz without hesitation. Lily threw her a suspicious glance.
"Well who cares. I for one don't miss having to bear witness to their horrid eating etiquette," said Faith bitterly. "I enjoy not having to leave the Great Hall with bits of food on my robes from their gorging." Faith grabbed a spoonful of strawberry jelly to spread on her bagel. The jelly slid off the spoon and landed on her lap.
"Yeah, it's much more dignified to walk out of the Great Hall with your own bits of food splattered on your robes," laughed Lily as Faith let out a massive sigh.
"This is just not my day," said Faith, shaking her head in frustration.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lily did not realize how tired she was until later that night when she had patrolling duty. She had tried to take a short nap, but her mind would not let her find a few moments rest. Now she found herself exiting the Gryffindor common room with a yawning James Potter walking beside her.
"Good. Maybe he'll be too tired to talk and I can spend the next hour in peace," Lily thought to herself. They walked in silence for a few minutes as they headed to relieve the two Hufflepuff sixth year prefects.
James was speechless. He had no idea what to say to her. Well, no that's not right. He knew exactly what he wanted to say to her. He wanted to apologize for last night. He wanted to ask her if she was all right. He wanted to pull her into a tight embrace and hold her forever. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She looked tired and drained. He tired not to think about the image of her terrified face, looking at him with wide eyes. The last thing he ever wanted was for Lily Evans to look at him with fear. The only comfort that he had was that she didn't know it was him last night. He respected the fact that she preferred to walk in silence. The last thing he wanted to do tonight was make her angry with a bunch of stupid comments or jokes on top of everything that had happened. They met the two Hufflepuff prefects in a corridor on the fourth floor.
"Hey guys. Everything go alright tonight?" asked James, stopping and casually leaning against the wall.
"Basically. Peeves is on the rampage. We caught him banging around in the trophy room and he decided to chase us around for a while by possessing a suite of armor," said the girl.
"Yeah and we caught Bellatrix Black walking around the dungeons, but we decided it was better to let her be than to start a confrontation," said the boy looking slightly uncomfortable.
"Well if we see her we'll take care of it," said James yawning widely.
"But next time, you have to confront her. You are prefects and it is apart of your duty. No excuses," said Lily with a furrowed brow. The two prefects nodded their heads in unison. "Well then if that's all, see you at the next meeting."
The two prefects walked down the hall towards their common room. Lily rubbed her temple and yawned loudly. James started laughing.
"What?" asked Lily, a tired expression on her face.
"Why so tired Evans? Did we have a late night last night?" grinned James. He decided to ditch his plan about not saying anything funny and walking in silence. After all, this was the only time he got to spend alone with Lily and he wanted to make every second count.
"Yeah, I stayed up really late working on our D.A.D.A. assignment for this week," said Lily avoiding his eyes.
"Well your dedication to your school work is something to be admired by all," smirked James. "She was a horrible liar," he thought to himself. "But what is she gonna say? 'Well I was up late sneaking around the grounds last night and had a run-in with a werewolf. The real reason I look like this is because I almost got bitten and I couldn't sleep.'" The two of them walked down the corridor and began their usual rounds. Lily reached up and tucked a strand of hair out of her face. The top of her hand had a large cut that ran almost the width of it.
"That's a pretty nasty cut you got there, Evans," said James with a furrowed brow. Lily quickly tucked her hand inside her pocket.
"Well, that's what I get for letting Faith practice defensive charms on me," said Lily suddenly very interested in the crack on the wall.
"Did you see Madame Pomfrey about it?" asked James.
Lily nodded, still staring straight ahead. "It's fine, Potter. It just needs to heal."
"Well, I know a good trick on how to heal it," said James reaching for her hand. Lily let him grab her hand out of her pocket. She noticed how rough his hands were. Probably from Quidditch. But it felt strangely comfortable resting in his. James raised her hand to his lips and gave it a soft kiss; his eyes never leaving Lily's face. Lily looked at him intently and for a moment he though he saw the shadow of a smile spread across her face. "Is that better?" asked James as he straightened up, still holding Lily's hand. Lily ripped her hand out of his.
"Knock it off Potter. I'm in no mood to put up with your nonsense tonight," said Lily coldly as she turned to walk away. James let out a deep sigh and turned to follow her. The pit of his stomach tensed with the familiar feeling of disappointment that he was accustomed to when it came to Lily. As he ran a hand up through his hair, he glanced sideways at Lily. She was looking at the floor and a small smile lightened up her face. James felt his heart lift.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Two days later Lily found herself doodling all over her parchment in History of Magic. She looked over at her two friends. Liz was staring blankly at Professor Binns with her elbows bent on the table holding up her head. Lily swore that Liz had mastered the art of falling asleep with her eyes open. The only real scratching noise of quill on parchment came from the seat next to her, where Faith was scribbling away trying to catch every word. Lily could never understand how Faith found history so fascinating. A bunch of dead guys fighting about who-knows-what did not interest her at all. A loud explosion from behind her told her that either James or Sirius had lost at Exploding Snap. It had become their custom to play games in that class since second year when they figured out that nothing would deter their ghostly Professor from his lecture.
Just as Lily was about to begin doodling again, the bell rang. The whole class, who was practically asleep seconds before, had jumped from their seats and rushed to the door. Lily and Liz quickly packed and stood up waiting for Faith to finish her sentence and put her things away.
"How do you stay awake in that class, Faith?" asked Lily pushing in her chair.
"What are you talking about? That class is awesome!" said Faith as she stood up and started walking towards the door. "What other class do you read about bloody, violent wars and betrayals resulting in beheadings? It's great."
Lily and Liz gave her an unimpressed look and shook their heads. "You are bloody mad, you know that right?" said Liz stopping to wait for two talking Hufflepuff girls to stop blocking the door so they could pass.
"Those who fail to study the past will forever be doomed to repeat it," said Faith with a superior look. "So when a goblin comes to your house and burns it down, because they decided to revolt against the unfair laws the Ministry has placed upon them, don't come to me looking for an answer. Any time now ladies! Some of us would like to make dinner by this week!"
The two girls shot Faith dirty looks and turned to walk down the corridor. Lily and Liz laughed. "Did anyone tell you what wonderful people skills you have Faith?" asked Lily walking down the hall.
"She's just mad cause Madame Pomfrey is making her keep the bandage on until tomorrow," laughed Liz.
"Well I don't know why I have to wear the damn thing. The wounds are completely healed. I think she just likes to give me a hard time for all of the Slytherins I send to visit her," said Faith, inspecting her hand.
"Well if I was her, I would have made you wear it for a week. It would have served you right," said Liz with an arrogant nod.
"Remind me Lily, not to go to Liz when she becomes a healer," said Faith looking at Liz with a furrowed brow. "She might try and wrap me like a mummy for a parchment cut."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Dinner was up to its usual excellent standards and before Lily knew it, it was time for Faith and Liz to head off to Quidditch practice. Lily wished them luck and grabbed her bag and headed for the Prefect lounge to get some homework done in peace. The Prefects lounge was a large dark wooded room with a fireplace, several round tables and several comfortable, overstuffed couches and chairs. There were tons of books lining the four walls for them to usual at their disposal. Lily forgot how much she loved this room. She barely ever studied there since Faith and Liz could not enter. The portrait door closed behind her to reveal that one other person had had the same idea as her.
"Hello Lily," greeted a handsome blonde haired boy with blue eyes from a chair near the fireplace, which Lily recognized as Alexander Frey. "Long time no see Miss Head Girl."
"Hello Alexander," smiled Lily walking over to a couch opposite him. "I see we had the same idea." She settled herself down on the couch and unzipped her bag.
"Well great minds think alike you know." He smiled at her warmly. "How has your year been so far?"
"Eventful," laughed Lily to herself. "And yours?"
"Boring so far, but it is only the second week after all," he said gazing into her eyes. Lily smiled and opened her potions book.
The rest of the hour was filled with the sound of scribbling quills and random spurts of conversation. "Alexander is handsome and gentlemen" Lily thought to herself after he told her a charms joke. "Too bad he isn't Head Boy." Lily looked at the clock. It was almost time for her patrolling duty. She began to pack her things.
"Finished already?" inquired Alexander, looking up from his book.
"No, but I have patrolling duty in fifteen minutes," smiled Lily as she got up from the couch. Alexander nodded and let out a deep breath.
"Well goodnight Alexander," said Lily turning to go.
"Um, Lily?" said Alexander. Lily turned to look at him. He seemed nervous about something. He bit his lower lip slightly, let out a deep breath and looked her square in the eyes. "Um. . . . . . Did you happen to see that there is a Hogsmeade trip this weekend?"
"Yeah," said Lily raising an eyebrow. Alexander stood up and cleared his throat.
"If you aren't going with anyone, I thought maybe you would like to go with me. Um, we could go together. It could a pretty decent time." He smiled at her nervously. Lily returned the smile and thought about it for a moment.
"I think that would be lovely, Alexander," replied Lily. Alexander's face lit up with joy.
"Wonderful! I will meet you by the front doors, at shall we say one o'clock?" asked Alexander smiling broadly. Lily nodded her head and returned the smile. "Excellent. Well then . . . . . . Goodnight Lily." Alexander bowed his head slightly.
"Goodnight Alexander," smiled Lily, turning to exit the portrait hole.
She raced up to the common room and into her dorm. Liz and Faith were lying on their beds facing each other with their heads in their hands.
"Oh good! Lily can decide for us," grinned Liz as Lily sprinted into the room. "Lils, don't you think that a bludger backbeat defense is harder to pull off than a dopplebeater defense?"
"What?" replied Lily, not paying too much attention. "Oh yeah, sure."
"Ha! I told you. I know what I'm talking about, Faith," shouted Liz sitting up on her bed.
"That doesn't count, she isn't a quidditch fan. She has no idea what you are even talking about," argued Faith, rolling over on her side to look at Lily. "Where have you been anyway?"
"In the Prefect lounge studying with Alexander Frey," said Lily running a brush through her hair quickly.
"Oh that must have been a roaring good time," replied Faith sarcastically.
"What are you talking about? He is a very nice guy," said Lily, putting down her brush and turning sideways to look at her self in the mirror.
"Oh come ON Lils! The guy could make Binns look like a rally speaker!" said Faith laughing. "He's as much fun to talk to as would be sticking your hand in a lake full of flesh eating piranhas." Faith's eyes suddenly widened. "Man, he would be horrible on a date. I bet he would even make snogging boring." Liz and Faith erupted into laughter. Lily spun around to look at her.
"He is not boring! He is a nice guy, Faith. He's a gentleman. Something you wouldn't understand," replied Lily with narrowing eyes. Faith sat up abruptly and glared at Lily.
"What did you say to me?" said Faith in a dangerously low voice. "If you have something to say to me Evans then by all means spit it out!"
"I'm saying that you shouldn't make judgments on someone you don't know," replied Lily coldly.
"What jumped up your ass? Why are you getting all pissed over this?" asked Faith angrily, getting up to face Lily.
"Because he is a nice guy and you have a tendency to make fun of people who don't fit into your idea of cool. Just because you tend to go out with assholes doesn't mean we all have the same taste, Faith!" replied Lily squaring to meet Faith.
"Wait a damn minute! You are going out with this guy!" shouted Faith.
"No, we are going to Hogsmeade together this weekend," stated Lily.
"Well don't say I didn't warn you when you come back complaining how bad it was," said Faith coldly.
"That's great Lils!" said Liz trying to break the tension. "I'm really happy for you."
"Thanks Liz, I'm glad that one of my friends is happy for me." She glared at Faith. "Well I have to go do my patrolling duty, have a good night," said Lily coldly as she turned and walked out the door.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * *
Despite Lily's anger at Faith, she found that patrolling was not that bad tonight. In fact it was quite fun. James was quite entertaining and by the end of the night Lily's sides were sore from laughing so hard. She decided that he even though he was one of the most arrogant boys she knew, he was not that bad of a guy.
"You should have seen the Filch's face when he walked into the room and saw that mess. The stench was imbedded into the walls for months," laughed James as he entered the common room.
"I always wondered who did that," said Lily wiping her eyes from laughing so hard. "I mean I had my suspicions of course. But I have to give credit where credit is due Potter and that was a beautiful prank."
James smiled broadly. His plan was going better than expected. He had not made Lily angry once, and it seemed like she was genuinely enjoying his stories. He breathed in deeply and still smiling, he turned to face her. She looked up at him still laughing. Her eyes twinkled and he noticed that the corners of her eyes creased when she smiled. He felt his heart beat faster in his chest.
"So, um, did you see that there is a Hogsmeade trip this weekend," said James nervously.
"Yeah. But don't worry, we don't have to chaperone it. That's why we have Prefects under us to do it for us," said Lily still smiling.
"Oh that's excellent!" James looked down at his shoes. He didn't know why he was so nervous. He took at deep breath and looked back into those dazzling emerald eyes. "So that means that we are free to roam around." Lily nodded. "Um, Evans? Would you like to accompany me to Hogsmeade this weekend? Have an afternoon out on the town?" His heart beat faster in his chest.
The smile slowly slid off Lily's face. "Oh! Um, I'm sorry Potter. I can't," said Lily apologetically. James felt his heart sink into his stomach.
"Can't Evans or won't?" asked James, not knowing which one he preferred to hear. Lily looked at her feet.
"Well, a little of both. I already promised someone that I would go with him. I'm sorry Potter," said Lily. James straightened up.
"If he didn't ask you, would you have gone with me?" said James trying not to sound and look disappointed and hurt.
"Honestly. . . . . . I don't know," whispered Lily looking up into James's eyes. They were filled with hurt. For some reason, Lily felt horrible. She had turned him down religiously every time he asked her since third year. All of those times she did not even give it a second thought. But this time, something was different. She felt guilty.
James nodded his head. "Well then . . . . . . Goodnight Evans," said James. He turned and hastily walked up the stairs leaving Lily to stand in the common room in silence.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Don't forget to review!
Here's the usual: I don't own anything from Harry Potter; it all belongs to J.K. Rowling (the lucky woman).
Please don't forget to read and review!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 8: Surprises and Disappointments
The girls made it back to their dorm room without any interference. Lily was glad to put this horrible night behind her. That was the first time any of them had seen a live werewolf, let alone almost being bitten by one. Her shoulder ached from where she hit the ground. She knew that she had done something bad to it by the popping noise it made. As she lay in bed, cloaked in the darkness, she did not want to think about trying to explain her shoulder to Madame Pomfrey tomorrow. As she lay there searching her brain for a believable lie, her mind drifted to the beautiful stag. Lily swore that it was trying to protect them. Why else would it step in front of them to cut off the werewolf? Why else would it have stared into her eyes like it knew her when the werewolf retreated?
"If they saved us, then why did they go and attack us for?" Faith's voice drifted into her head. But they didn't attack us. That black dog attacked us. It seemed to be trying to save the werewolf. But that doesn't make sense because it attacked the werewolf too. Lily shook her head with frustration. She was exhausted and she knew that it was no use trying to figure it all out tonight. She needed to concentrate on getting some sleep. A faint rustle of blankets and a loud sigh told Lily that she wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The three boys stayed with Moony until the early hours of the morning. When the night sky began to brighten with the coming of the sun, the boys left the Shrieking Shack and their friend to return up to the castle. None of them said a word to each other until they safely reached the comfort of their own dorm. Everyone else in the tower was engaged in peaceful slumber and the sounds of snoring could be heard from various rooms in the boys' wing. They shut the door tight and James placed an Imperturbable charm on it.
"What the bloody hell were they thinking?" said Sirius finally, as he collapsed onto his bed in exhaustion. "What were they doing outside the grounds that time of night and during the full moon no less?"
"I don't know. But that was a really close call," said James examining the cuts all over his body.
"He would have bitten them for certain," added Peter, changing out of his robes. "It was a good thing we were there to protect them." Sirius and James looked at Peter with disbelief.
"What the bloody hell are you talking about, mate?" snapped Sirius with narrowed eyes. "Where did you get this 'we' stuff? You stood there hiding in the forest the whole time like a bloody, spineless coward."
"W-w-well I'm too small to fight him," stuttered Peter as his eyes darted from Sirius to James. "He would h-h-have crushed me in the struggle." Sirius threw him a disgusted look and began to change out of his robes.
"Well all I know is that they received quite a scare tonight. I just hope that they didn't receive any major injuries," said James as he frowned at Sirius. James did not like what he did to Lily. There was no reason for him to push her down that hard. James knew that Sirius got carried away sometimes, but the terrified look on Lily's face as he approached her remained imprinted upon his mind.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lily had to admit that one of the best things about Hogwarts was that no matter how suspicious your injuries were, Madame Pomfrey did not ask a lot of questions. Madame Pomfrey mended Lily's shoulder with the flick of a wand. The only reminder of the previous night was a few scrapes on Lily's elbows, arms and hands. Faith's injuries, however, were not as easily fixed as Lily's shoulder. Madame Pomfrey fixed the torn ligaments in her hand but was unable to immediately fix the huge flesh wounds. Faith had to have her hand bandaged for the next three days and drink a clear potion that she said tasted like a very strong manhattan.
"Isn't that just great," fumed Faith as the girls left the hospital wing and headed down to breakfast in the Great Hall. "How am I suppose to go through Quidditch practice with my hand wrapped up like this? I look like a damn mummy!" Lily and Liz laughed in spite of themselves.
"It's not funny! I swear, if I ever see that damn dog again he'll have two holes to chose from the next time he takes a dump!" said Faith angrily, looking at her laughing friends seriously.
"No, you are absolutely right Faith, it's not funny," grinned Liz. "It's just that I bet you ten galleons that Sirius Black jumps at the chance to "help" you on Tuesday." Lily laughed at the thought of Faith clinging on to Sirius as they rode around the stadium together on one broomstick with a beautiful fading sunset in the background.
"Yeah, well he can "help" himself to a nice swift kick in the ass if he so much as tries anything," grumbled Faith as the girls walked into the Great Hall. Lily noticed that the four boys were absent from the table as she sat down in her usual spot.
"Speaking of "the idiots four", where are they anyways?" asked Lily as she grabbed a stack of pancakes.
"Probably sleeping. They always sleep late on Sundays," answered Liz without hesitation. Lily threw her a suspicious glance.
"Well who cares. I for one don't miss having to bear witness to their horrid eating etiquette," said Faith bitterly. "I enjoy not having to leave the Great Hall with bits of food on my robes from their gorging." Faith grabbed a spoonful of strawberry jelly to spread on her bagel. The jelly slid off the spoon and landed on her lap.
"Yeah, it's much more dignified to walk out of the Great Hall with your own bits of food splattered on your robes," laughed Lily as Faith let out a massive sigh.
"This is just not my day," said Faith, shaking her head in frustration.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lily did not realize how tired she was until later that night when she had patrolling duty. She had tried to take a short nap, but her mind would not let her find a few moments rest. Now she found herself exiting the Gryffindor common room with a yawning James Potter walking beside her.
"Good. Maybe he'll be too tired to talk and I can spend the next hour in peace," Lily thought to herself. They walked in silence for a few minutes as they headed to relieve the two Hufflepuff sixth year prefects.
James was speechless. He had no idea what to say to her. Well, no that's not right. He knew exactly what he wanted to say to her. He wanted to apologize for last night. He wanted to ask her if she was all right. He wanted to pull her into a tight embrace and hold her forever. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She looked tired and drained. He tired not to think about the image of her terrified face, looking at him with wide eyes. The last thing he ever wanted was for Lily Evans to look at him with fear. The only comfort that he had was that she didn't know it was him last night. He respected the fact that she preferred to walk in silence. The last thing he wanted to do tonight was make her angry with a bunch of stupid comments or jokes on top of everything that had happened. They met the two Hufflepuff prefects in a corridor on the fourth floor.
"Hey guys. Everything go alright tonight?" asked James, stopping and casually leaning against the wall.
"Basically. Peeves is on the rampage. We caught him banging around in the trophy room and he decided to chase us around for a while by possessing a suite of armor," said the girl.
"Yeah and we caught Bellatrix Black walking around the dungeons, but we decided it was better to let her be than to start a confrontation," said the boy looking slightly uncomfortable.
"Well if we see her we'll take care of it," said James yawning widely.
"But next time, you have to confront her. You are prefects and it is apart of your duty. No excuses," said Lily with a furrowed brow. The two prefects nodded their heads in unison. "Well then if that's all, see you at the next meeting."
The two prefects walked down the hall towards their common room. Lily rubbed her temple and yawned loudly. James started laughing.
"What?" asked Lily, a tired expression on her face.
"Why so tired Evans? Did we have a late night last night?" grinned James. He decided to ditch his plan about not saying anything funny and walking in silence. After all, this was the only time he got to spend alone with Lily and he wanted to make every second count.
"Yeah, I stayed up really late working on our D.A.D.A. assignment for this week," said Lily avoiding his eyes.
"Well your dedication to your school work is something to be admired by all," smirked James. "She was a horrible liar," he thought to himself. "But what is she gonna say? 'Well I was up late sneaking around the grounds last night and had a run-in with a werewolf. The real reason I look like this is because I almost got bitten and I couldn't sleep.'" The two of them walked down the corridor and began their usual rounds. Lily reached up and tucked a strand of hair out of her face. The top of her hand had a large cut that ran almost the width of it.
"That's a pretty nasty cut you got there, Evans," said James with a furrowed brow. Lily quickly tucked her hand inside her pocket.
"Well, that's what I get for letting Faith practice defensive charms on me," said Lily suddenly very interested in the crack on the wall.
"Did you see Madame Pomfrey about it?" asked James.
Lily nodded, still staring straight ahead. "It's fine, Potter. It just needs to heal."
"Well, I know a good trick on how to heal it," said James reaching for her hand. Lily let him grab her hand out of her pocket. She noticed how rough his hands were. Probably from Quidditch. But it felt strangely comfortable resting in his. James raised her hand to his lips and gave it a soft kiss; his eyes never leaving Lily's face. Lily looked at him intently and for a moment he though he saw the shadow of a smile spread across her face. "Is that better?" asked James as he straightened up, still holding Lily's hand. Lily ripped her hand out of his.
"Knock it off Potter. I'm in no mood to put up with your nonsense tonight," said Lily coldly as she turned to walk away. James let out a deep sigh and turned to follow her. The pit of his stomach tensed with the familiar feeling of disappointment that he was accustomed to when it came to Lily. As he ran a hand up through his hair, he glanced sideways at Lily. She was looking at the floor and a small smile lightened up her face. James felt his heart lift.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Two days later Lily found herself doodling all over her parchment in History of Magic. She looked over at her two friends. Liz was staring blankly at Professor Binns with her elbows bent on the table holding up her head. Lily swore that Liz had mastered the art of falling asleep with her eyes open. The only real scratching noise of quill on parchment came from the seat next to her, where Faith was scribbling away trying to catch every word. Lily could never understand how Faith found history so fascinating. A bunch of dead guys fighting about who-knows-what did not interest her at all. A loud explosion from behind her told her that either James or Sirius had lost at Exploding Snap. It had become their custom to play games in that class since second year when they figured out that nothing would deter their ghostly Professor from his lecture.
Just as Lily was about to begin doodling again, the bell rang. The whole class, who was practically asleep seconds before, had jumped from their seats and rushed to the door. Lily and Liz quickly packed and stood up waiting for Faith to finish her sentence and put her things away.
"How do you stay awake in that class, Faith?" asked Lily pushing in her chair.
"What are you talking about? That class is awesome!" said Faith as she stood up and started walking towards the door. "What other class do you read about bloody, violent wars and betrayals resulting in beheadings? It's great."
Lily and Liz gave her an unimpressed look and shook their heads. "You are bloody mad, you know that right?" said Liz stopping to wait for two talking Hufflepuff girls to stop blocking the door so they could pass.
"Those who fail to study the past will forever be doomed to repeat it," said Faith with a superior look. "So when a goblin comes to your house and burns it down, because they decided to revolt against the unfair laws the Ministry has placed upon them, don't come to me looking for an answer. Any time now ladies! Some of us would like to make dinner by this week!"
The two girls shot Faith dirty looks and turned to walk down the corridor. Lily and Liz laughed. "Did anyone tell you what wonderful people skills you have Faith?" asked Lily walking down the hall.
"She's just mad cause Madame Pomfrey is making her keep the bandage on until tomorrow," laughed Liz.
"Well I don't know why I have to wear the damn thing. The wounds are completely healed. I think she just likes to give me a hard time for all of the Slytherins I send to visit her," said Faith, inspecting her hand.
"Well if I was her, I would have made you wear it for a week. It would have served you right," said Liz with an arrogant nod.
"Remind me Lily, not to go to Liz when she becomes a healer," said Faith looking at Liz with a furrowed brow. "She might try and wrap me like a mummy for a parchment cut."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Dinner was up to its usual excellent standards and before Lily knew it, it was time for Faith and Liz to head off to Quidditch practice. Lily wished them luck and grabbed her bag and headed for the Prefect lounge to get some homework done in peace. The Prefects lounge was a large dark wooded room with a fireplace, several round tables and several comfortable, overstuffed couches and chairs. There were tons of books lining the four walls for them to usual at their disposal. Lily forgot how much she loved this room. She barely ever studied there since Faith and Liz could not enter. The portrait door closed behind her to reveal that one other person had had the same idea as her.
"Hello Lily," greeted a handsome blonde haired boy with blue eyes from a chair near the fireplace, which Lily recognized as Alexander Frey. "Long time no see Miss Head Girl."
"Hello Alexander," smiled Lily walking over to a couch opposite him. "I see we had the same idea." She settled herself down on the couch and unzipped her bag.
"Well great minds think alike you know." He smiled at her warmly. "How has your year been so far?"
"Eventful," laughed Lily to herself. "And yours?"
"Boring so far, but it is only the second week after all," he said gazing into her eyes. Lily smiled and opened her potions book.
The rest of the hour was filled with the sound of scribbling quills and random spurts of conversation. "Alexander is handsome and gentlemen" Lily thought to herself after he told her a charms joke. "Too bad he isn't Head Boy." Lily looked at the clock. It was almost time for her patrolling duty. She began to pack her things.
"Finished already?" inquired Alexander, looking up from his book.
"No, but I have patrolling duty in fifteen minutes," smiled Lily as she got up from the couch. Alexander nodded and let out a deep breath.
"Well goodnight Alexander," said Lily turning to go.
"Um, Lily?" said Alexander. Lily turned to look at him. He seemed nervous about something. He bit his lower lip slightly, let out a deep breath and looked her square in the eyes. "Um. . . . . . Did you happen to see that there is a Hogsmeade trip this weekend?"
"Yeah," said Lily raising an eyebrow. Alexander stood up and cleared his throat.
"If you aren't going with anyone, I thought maybe you would like to go with me. Um, we could go together. It could a pretty decent time." He smiled at her nervously. Lily returned the smile and thought about it for a moment.
"I think that would be lovely, Alexander," replied Lily. Alexander's face lit up with joy.
"Wonderful! I will meet you by the front doors, at shall we say one o'clock?" asked Alexander smiling broadly. Lily nodded her head and returned the smile. "Excellent. Well then . . . . . . Goodnight Lily." Alexander bowed his head slightly.
"Goodnight Alexander," smiled Lily, turning to exit the portrait hole.
She raced up to the common room and into her dorm. Liz and Faith were lying on their beds facing each other with their heads in their hands.
"Oh good! Lily can decide for us," grinned Liz as Lily sprinted into the room. "Lils, don't you think that a bludger backbeat defense is harder to pull off than a dopplebeater defense?"
"What?" replied Lily, not paying too much attention. "Oh yeah, sure."
"Ha! I told you. I know what I'm talking about, Faith," shouted Liz sitting up on her bed.
"That doesn't count, she isn't a quidditch fan. She has no idea what you are even talking about," argued Faith, rolling over on her side to look at Lily. "Where have you been anyway?"
"In the Prefect lounge studying with Alexander Frey," said Lily running a brush through her hair quickly.
"Oh that must have been a roaring good time," replied Faith sarcastically.
"What are you talking about? He is a very nice guy," said Lily, putting down her brush and turning sideways to look at her self in the mirror.
"Oh come ON Lils! The guy could make Binns look like a rally speaker!" said Faith laughing. "He's as much fun to talk to as would be sticking your hand in a lake full of flesh eating piranhas." Faith's eyes suddenly widened. "Man, he would be horrible on a date. I bet he would even make snogging boring." Liz and Faith erupted into laughter. Lily spun around to look at her.
"He is not boring! He is a nice guy, Faith. He's a gentleman. Something you wouldn't understand," replied Lily with narrowing eyes. Faith sat up abruptly and glared at Lily.
"What did you say to me?" said Faith in a dangerously low voice. "If you have something to say to me Evans then by all means spit it out!"
"I'm saying that you shouldn't make judgments on someone you don't know," replied Lily coldly.
"What jumped up your ass? Why are you getting all pissed over this?" asked Faith angrily, getting up to face Lily.
"Because he is a nice guy and you have a tendency to make fun of people who don't fit into your idea of cool. Just because you tend to go out with assholes doesn't mean we all have the same taste, Faith!" replied Lily squaring to meet Faith.
"Wait a damn minute! You are going out with this guy!" shouted Faith.
"No, we are going to Hogsmeade together this weekend," stated Lily.
"Well don't say I didn't warn you when you come back complaining how bad it was," said Faith coldly.
"That's great Lils!" said Liz trying to break the tension. "I'm really happy for you."
"Thanks Liz, I'm glad that one of my friends is happy for me." She glared at Faith. "Well I have to go do my patrolling duty, have a good night," said Lily coldly as she turned and walked out the door.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * *
Despite Lily's anger at Faith, she found that patrolling was not that bad tonight. In fact it was quite fun. James was quite entertaining and by the end of the night Lily's sides were sore from laughing so hard. She decided that he even though he was one of the most arrogant boys she knew, he was not that bad of a guy.
"You should have seen the Filch's face when he walked into the room and saw that mess. The stench was imbedded into the walls for months," laughed James as he entered the common room.
"I always wondered who did that," said Lily wiping her eyes from laughing so hard. "I mean I had my suspicions of course. But I have to give credit where credit is due Potter and that was a beautiful prank."
James smiled broadly. His plan was going better than expected. He had not made Lily angry once, and it seemed like she was genuinely enjoying his stories. He breathed in deeply and still smiling, he turned to face her. She looked up at him still laughing. Her eyes twinkled and he noticed that the corners of her eyes creased when she smiled. He felt his heart beat faster in his chest.
"So, um, did you see that there is a Hogsmeade trip this weekend," said James nervously.
"Yeah. But don't worry, we don't have to chaperone it. That's why we have Prefects under us to do it for us," said Lily still smiling.
"Oh that's excellent!" James looked down at his shoes. He didn't know why he was so nervous. He took at deep breath and looked back into those dazzling emerald eyes. "So that means that we are free to roam around." Lily nodded. "Um, Evans? Would you like to accompany me to Hogsmeade this weekend? Have an afternoon out on the town?" His heart beat faster in his chest.
The smile slowly slid off Lily's face. "Oh! Um, I'm sorry Potter. I can't," said Lily apologetically. James felt his heart sink into his stomach.
"Can't Evans or won't?" asked James, not knowing which one he preferred to hear. Lily looked at her feet.
"Well, a little of both. I already promised someone that I would go with him. I'm sorry Potter," said Lily. James straightened up.
"If he didn't ask you, would you have gone with me?" said James trying not to sound and look disappointed and hurt.
"Honestly. . . . . . I don't know," whispered Lily looking up into James's eyes. They were filled with hurt. For some reason, Lily felt horrible. She had turned him down religiously every time he asked her since third year. All of those times she did not even give it a second thought. But this time, something was different. She felt guilty.
James nodded his head. "Well then . . . . . . Goodnight Evans," said James. He turned and hastily walked up the stairs leaving Lily to stand in the common room in silence.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Don't forget to review!