All I can say is that YOU GUYS ROCK! I am completely astounded at the
amount of review that you guys have written me! Thank you so much! Sorry it
has taken me so long to update but I have re-written this chapter three
times. I hope you like it.
I want to take a minute to answer or shout out to the people that have taken time to review and add their insightful comments.
LJstagflower4e/JCtigerwolf4e – you are awesome and my most loyal fan from day one! Thank you for reviewing every chapter and making my day.
flyingwind33- To answer all of your question.........maybe. I can't tell or it will give away the story. But thank you for your lovely review. It really brought a smile to my face.
Tanya J Potter – Lily and James will get together soon, I promise.
driew – Thank you for the nice review! I'm glad you like it.
padfoot4eva123 – Alexander is a nice guy. But don't be confused. Remember we all know how the story ends, but how do they get there is the question. Thanks for reviewing!
Padfootlet – Thank you for review and reading my story! And I'll try to update as soon as possible.
Abby123 – I hope that this eases your suspense for now, until I can conclude it in the next chapter.........maybe.
Sammy Solo – Faith is my favorite character because she is based on myself. That's really weird that you have a character just like her, but you know how much fun it is to write a character that is really tough and sarcastic. But there is more to her than meets the eye. I checked chapter five on the fanfic and all of it is there. If you want the rest, I can give you my email it you.
Anyway, here's the usual. Everything Harry Potter or Harry Potter related belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. (If only I had a time turner, than it would be all mine!!!!! Muahahahahaha!)
Please don't forget to review!
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Chapter 9: Making Enemies
Lily woke up to the sound of birds chirping from outside her window. The sunlight kissed her face as she turned her head to stare at the window. Her room was very quiet. She looked at the clock, thinking it must be around six o'clock, and was surprised to see that it was nearly seven.
"Funny," she thought to herself. "Faith and Liz are usually up by now and blaring the radio. They must have overslept." Lily rolled over to face the other two beds in the room, but they were both empty. Deciding it was time to wake up, she summoned her uniform and headed to the showers.
The hot water felt good as she stood there basking in it for a few minutes. As reality began to slowly seep into her brain the horrible lump in her stomach returned.
"Come on Lily. It was only James Potter. How many times have you turned him down? Why should this be any different?" she thought to herself.
As Lily approached her room, she noticed that it was very quiet. There was no music blaring from it like usual. She opened the door, expecting it to be empty.
"Good morning Lily," smiled Liz looking at her through the reflection in her mirror.
"Good morning," said Lily as she crossed over to her own mirror. "Where is Faith? I didn't hear her get up." The smile faded off of Liz's face and her brow furrowed.
"I don't know. I didn't hear her get up either. But it doesn't surprise me," said Liz brushing her damp hair.
"What does that mean?" asked Lily, taking out her wand to dry her hair. Liz was careful to avoid Lily's face.
"Well, she just wasn't very happy about last night......... and you know how Faith gets when she is upset........." said Liz.
Lily nodded. Liz did not have to explain. If there was one thing Lily understood about her best friend was that if you made her upset, she would hold the grudge until the day she died. However, Lily also knew that Faith could not be angry with her for too long before her common sense took over and she let it go. Lily and Liz finished getting ready in silence and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast.
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"Jamesie! Oh Jamesie-poo!" Sirius's voice softly cooed in James's dream. James slowly opened his eyes. A blurred vision of his best friend was standing over him with a broad smile on his face. James rolled over and reached for his glasses on the nightstand.
"Padfoot, don't ever wake me up like that again. It's down right creepy to be cooed to by your best mate," said James, putting on his glasses.
"Well, I figured it was better than my original idea of transfiguring Wormtail into a stuffed animal and putting him in bed with you," grinned Sirius as Peter looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"You would have transfigured me into a stuffed animal?" asked Peter nervously from his trunk.
"Don't worry, Wormtail. I would have turned you into something manly. Like a big fluffy kitty," laughed Sirius as he turned his attention on James. "So anyway. Did your great plan of wooing the young Miss Evans work out, or did she give you a swift kick in the ego again?" James gave Sirius a sad smile and shook his head.
"Why do you waste your time, mate?" said Sirius as he walked over to his trunk. "How long have you pined for the red-headed wizard killer? How many times has she voided your proposals of courtship?" Sirius pulled on his sweater vest. "Sometimes a man has to know when it's a lost crusade."
"I know your right, mate. But you just don't understand," said James standing from his bed.
"What doesn't Sirius understand?" said Remus as he entered the room. "That it is possible to bathe oneself without leaving a watery trail from the shower to the room?"
"Well that too," smiled James. Sirius gave them both a sarcastic smile. "No, Moony. Sirius doesn't understand what it is like to find a girl that you simply cannot stop thinking about. Where every moment that you spend with her is pure heaven."
"Mate, you need to pay a prank and fast," said Sirius looking at James with concern. "You have gone round the twist with this whole Evans thing."
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The four boys entered the Great Hall and took their usual seats. James gave the table a quick survey and noticed right away that Lily was not there. But sitting by herself, intensely reading the Daily Prophet and sipping some pumpkin juice, sat Faith. James grabbed a stack of pancakes and put them on his plate. Sirius turned his attention towards Faith.
"Hey Ravenwood, got anything good for me today?" said Sirius as he casually began eating.
"No," said Faith shortly, her eyes never leaving the paper. "They still have not found a cure for arrogance, so you'll have to suffer with being a twit a little longer." James and Remus laughed to themselves as Peter let out a quick, high pitch giggle.
"Well suffering isn't that bad as long as you are there to nurse me back to health," grinned Sirius. Faith shook her head and continued reading.
"Where are Evans and Corentine?" asked James, in between mouthfuls.
"I don't know Potter. Maybe you should go ask Alexander Frey since she seems to be so concerned with his feelings," said Faith shortly. Sirius, Remus and Peter looked at James over their breakfast and quickly looked back down. James moodily stabbed at his sausage links. Faith closed the paper and set it down next to her. James glanced at the title.
"Moody Catches Death Eaters in Successful Ministry Raid" read the headline. James slid down the bench until he was sitting across from Faith.
"Do you care if I read this?" he asked reaching for the paper.
"Knock yourself out, Potter," said Faith glaring at the Slytherin table. Several Slytherins were huddled together and talking in low whispers. James read the paper quickly.
"What does it say?" asked Remus as he and Sirius moved down to look at the article.
"Just that Alastor Moody and a group of Aurors conducted a surprise raid last night in Manchester.........and that they caught several Death Eaters.........but three Aurors were killed and several more are in St. Mungo's for critical injuries," James read.
"At least our side is making some headway," commented Remus, looking at the article more carefully.
"But the problem is that we are losing valuable witches and wizards in the process," said Faith, glaring at Bellatrix, who was in the midst of a crowd and talking with superiority. "It seems that for every Auror the Ministry trains, at least seven more Death Eaters appear in You-Know-Who's ranks. It just feels like evil is plaguing the country and there is nothing we can do to stop it." Faith turned at looked at the three boys. "It's too bad we can't take out the future Death Eaters now before they get a chance to take us out later." The boys nodded in agreement.
"You'll get your chance, Ravenwood," said Sirius, clasping Faith on the shoulder and staring into her eyes. Faith gave a small smile and nodded.
"Well, feel free to keep the paper," said Faith swinging her legs over the bench and standing up. "I'll see you guys in a few." She grabbed her bag and left the Great Hall.
The boys surveyed the paper for a few minutes before returning to their breakfast.
"This world just keeps getting worse," said Sirius, stabbing at his food.
"I know. It seems there isn't enough decent people left in the world. You don't know who to trust anymore," said James, vaguely looking at the Hufflepuff table. A flash of red hair caught the corner of his eye. His stomach knotted with disappointment as Lily and Liz walked over and took their usual seats at the table. James did not look at Lily like he usually did. Instead he began talking to his friends about the upcoming DADA class.
Lily carefully avoided James's eyes. She looked at her food, with much interest.
"I thought Faith would still be down here," said Liz as she grabbed some cereal and fruit.
"Well, we will see her in DADA," said Lily, "that should give her enough time to cool off at me."
"Yeah, but we have dueling today," said Liz with dread. "Maybe I can get out of it. Quick Lily, curse me with something that requires at least an hours worth of attention!"
"I'm not cursing you," laughed Lily. "If I have to do it, you have to do it. I'm not going down alone." Lily glanced at James. For some reason her stomach knotted even more when she saw him laughing with his friends.
"So, did you........." began Liz before she suddenly stopped and looked above Lily's head. She gave a polite smile and cocked her head to one side.
"Good morning Lily," came a voice from behind her. Lily swiveled around to see Alexander Frey and a two other seventh year Ravenclaw's standing behind her.
"Good morning Alexander," smiled Lily. "How are you?"
"Fine, just fine," Alexander grinned broadly. "I just came over here to make sure that we are still on for tomorrow afternoon?"
"Of course, why wouldn't we?" asked Lily.
"I don't know. Just making sure I guess," he blushed and cleared his throat. "Well, I am looking forward to it and I will see you at the front doors at one then."
"Certainly."
"Okay then, goodbye Lily." Alexander gave a slight bow and turned to walk away.
"Bye Alexander," smiled Lily. As she turned back around, she caught James looking at her sadly.
"He seems nice, Lil. I don't really know him, but he seems like an all right guy," said Liz picking up her juice.
"Yeah, he's okay," replied Lily, wishing Liz would drop it.
"Where are you two going to go in Hogsmeade?" inquired Liz.
"I don't know. Wherever we decide I am guessing." She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. For some reason she did not want James to overhear this conversation.
"Well I'll make sure Faith and I leave you alone on your date. I wouldn't want to catch you two snogging in a corner booth at Madame Puddifoots," laughed Liz.
"Isn't it almost time to be heading up to class?" said Lily quickly changing the subject. "I want to talk to Faith before class starts."
The two girls finished the remaining morsels of their breakfast and left the table. James determinately stared at his food as she passed the table. The thought of the girl of his dreams kissing another guy produced an anger that James didn't like.
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Lily and Liz entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and were filled with dread as they saw the big blue mat in the middle of the room with chairs on both sides.
"I thought after last time Professor O'Malley would have thought better of it," said Liz looking around anxiously. Lily nodded, remembering her last dueling encounter. As the two girls made their way towards their side of the room, Lily saw Faith sitting on a chair with her legs crossed. She twirled her wand with her right hand and her foot tapped impatiently. Faith glanced at Lily out of the corner of her eye as the girls sat down, before returning to stare at the empty Slytherin seats. Lily took in a deep breath and turned towards Faith.
"Hey, I missed you this morning. I woke up without the blaring of music and I didn't know where I was for a minute," Lily smiled at Faith, searching her face to see what mood she was in.
"Well you know how to turn on the radio if you missed it that much," said Faith shortly, still staring ahead. Liz gave Lily a nervous look and looked back at Faith, looking for something to say.
"It's not the same without your horrible singing," said Lily trying to get Faith to look at her. Faith let out a sigh. "How come you didn't wait for us to go to breakfast?"
"Because I had to go see Madame Pomfrey to get my hand unbandaged," said Faith, raising her hand and waving it, "and I didn't want you to have to compromise your moral principles to be seen with someone who ruthlessly judges people," said Faith with a note of bitterness in her voice. Lily shook her head.
"Faith that's not what I meant. I'm sorry about last night, I was preoccupied and I snapped at you for no reason," said Lily still looking at Faith. She nudged her lightly in arm. "He's really not that bad of a guy once you get to know him." The muscle in Faith's jaw relaxed as she turned to look at her.
"No, you are right. I do tend to judge people. I assess someone and judge them, it's just who I am and I'm probably not going to change," said Faith, and then suddenly smiled. "But I will try to be nicer to this guy if you really like him." Lily smiled and hugged Faith. "Who knows, he maybe a good snogger. It's always the quiet, dull ones that are the best," said Faith with a mischievous grin. Lily and Liz both looked at her with surprise. "Not that I would know, of course."
"Of course," said Lily sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.
The girls laughed as the room began to fill with Gryffindors and Slytherins. The boys took the remaining seats next to the girls and Liz blushed as Remus sat down next her, giving her a charming smile. Bellatrix and the rest of the Slytherins took their seat opposite the Gryffindors. They all seemed oddly excited and sat there with malicious grins.
"This doesn't look good," said Liz, staring reproachfully at the Slytherins.
"It will be fine," said Remus reassuringly, turning to look at her. Liz smiled and quickly looked away.
"Alright, settle down please!" shouted Professor O'Malley walking into the room and over towards the middle of the mat. "As you may have already guessed, today is dueling day. I have decided to modify the rules due to the events of last time. The dueling pairs will still be chosen by myself. I have decided that in the course of the duel any LEGAL curse maybe used in the duel. Any illegal curses will result in immediate expulsion from this school and the surrendering of their natural freedoms as citizens to be placed in ministry custody and wait for prosecution by the ministry court. Any questions so far? Does anyone not understand the consequences?" Professor O'Malley looked around the room. No one said a word, but several Slytherins laughed to themselves.
"Good. In order to win your duel, you must execute one of the two spells we learned this week correctly. Executing both spells in your duel with grant you a bonus of five points. Only once that has been accomplished and your opponent is disarmed, will you be crowned the winner." Liz looked at Lily with a nervous look on her face. Lily gave her a small smile. She knew how much Liz dreaded dueling, let alone dueling with the most evil witches and wizards in the school. Lily looked down the line and saw that, except for Peter, the boys seem quite unnerved by these new terms. In fact, she thought that they looked almost as pleased as Faith did about the new rules. Her gaze turned towards the students sitting on the opposite side of the room. All of them, including Severus Snape, were grinning from ear to ear with pleasure, which made Lily's stomach curdle.
"Alright, if there are no objections or comments we'll get started," said Professor O'Malley. He waved his wand and a piece of parchment appeared out of thin air. Lily saw Liz cross her fingers hoping that she would not be the first one called. Professor O'Malley read the list with a furrowed brow.
"Our first group is Mr. Pettigrew and Miss Orion."
Peter nervously looked at his friends, who gave him words of encouragement as he walked towards the mat and took his designated spot opposite the grinning Slytherin girl.
"On my mark! One.........Two.........Three!" shouted Professor O'Malley.
Immediately a jet of yellow light shot out of Orion's wand towards Peter. In defense Peter let out a shriek and flung his arms up to cover his face. For some reason the spell shot away from Peter and hit the wall with a loud bang just missing Severus Snape's head by inches. His lip curled over his yellow teeth as he sneered at Peter. Before Peter could react another jet of yellow light was thrown at him. This time wasn't so lucky. The jet hit him square in the chest and sent him flying threw the air. He crashed against the back wall with an immense force and crumpled to the ground like a rag doll. Orion advanced on him with her wand up. She disarmed Peter with a stroke of her wand. Defenseless, Peter was wide open for the final curse, which tipped him upside down in mid air. Several Galleons, a vial of green liquid, an assignment planner, a turkey club sandwich, some dung bombs, a packet of peppermint gum, a copy of the daily profit, a picture of his mother and a chocolate frog fell from his robes. The Slytherins laughed hysterically as Orion dropped him on top of his possessions. His face landed on a dung bomb, causing it to explode and fill the room with a foul stench. As the students coughed and tried not to gag due to the wretched smell, Professor O'Malley vanished the smell with a wave of his wand. Peter sulked over to his seat and sat down between a sniggering Sirius and a grinning James.
"It's alright, Wormtail. At least you went out with a stink," said James trying not to laugh.
"How do you walk around with all of that stuff in your pockets?" asked Sirius. "It looked like a bloody flea market!" Peter blushed furiously as the Slytherins laughed even harder at him.
"That's enough now! Let's see.........ten points to Slytherin. The next group is Miss Corentine and Mr. Rosier," said Professor O'Malley, checking off his list.
"Good luck Liz!" said Lily clasping her friend's shoulder as she got up; a look of pure dread etched all over her face.
"Be tough and be confident," said Faith, giving her a solemn nod.
Liz took the same spot that Peter did just moments before on the mat. Rosier looked at her with pure delight. Liz looked at the ceiling for a moment, as if to gather strength, or pray for her life, and then raised her wand and pointed it a Rosier.
"On my mark! One.........Two.........Three!" shouted Professor O'Malley.
Liz's wand immediately erupted with blue light and shot out at Rosier, who deflected it with ease. Almost instantly he returned the advance with a jet of purple light. Liz ducked and sent a jet of yellow light at him, which hit him in the legs. Rosier crumpled to the ground instantly. As Liz approached him, he sent a jet of red light at her, narrowly missing her head, but singing her blonde hair.
"Expelliarmus!" shouted Liz, and his wand flew into her hand. A flash of light later and Rosier was hanging upside down and Liz had won. She let him down more gently than he deserved and walked back to her seat beaming at her fellow housemates. The boys gave her high fives and Remus gave her a brief hug, to which Liz turned scarlet. Faith gave her a high five and Liz patted her on the back as she sat down.
"Ten points to Gryffindor!" shouted Professor O'Malley excitedly. "Group three is Mr. Black and Mr. Snape."
Sirius jumped up from his seat and strutted to his spot with a pleased grin spread across his face. Snape tossed his greasy black hair out of his face as he got up and walked over to his spot on the mat. As the boys faced each other, Snape's lip curled into a twisted grin.
"On my mark! One.........Two.........Three!" shouted Professor O'Malley
"Expelliarmus!" shouted Snape, wasting no time in fooling around. Sirius deflected it with ease. Snape sent another jet of red light at Sirius.
"Rictusempra!" shouted Sirius, and the red light bounced back at Snape. The curse speeded back at Snape who had just enough time dove out of the way.
"Get off the floor Snivellus and face me like a man!" taunted Sirius. Snape's eyes narrowed as he sneered at Sirius. Snape pointed his wand at Sirius, but Sirius was at the advantage. Before Snape knew it, he was hanging in midair. Sirius gave him a malicious grin and rotated his wand. Snape hung upside down for a moment before realizing that he still had his wand. He pointed his wand at a laughing Sirius and a jet of yellow light hit him square in the face. Sirius was flung backwards and landed flat on his back with a hard thud. Snape fell to the ground like a ton of bricks. Sirius lay there grasping for breath. Snape rolled over onto all fours and pointed his wand at Sirius. A jet of red light hit Sirius and his wand flew across the room and landed at Snape's feet.
"Ten points to Slytherin!" shouted Professor O'Malley. Sirius lay there for a moment before getting up.
"Are you alright mate!" shouted James as Sirius slowly walked back to the mat. The Slytherin cheers pierced the room and James saw smiling at Snape as he sat down with a satisfied look on his face.
"He better just wait until next time," said Sirius, rubbing his back. "He may just get a nice little hair cut from me." Sirius looked at Faith who was looking at him with concern. He winked at her and she gave him a small smile.
Remus was next and was forced to duel with Avery. After a perfectly placed blinding charm by Remus, Avery was disarmed and left to see spots. Remus left the mat and began to walk back to the cheering Gryffindors and Liz ran up to give him a very enthusiastic hug. Remus grinned broadly as James and Sirius hooted and hollered immature taunts at their friend. Liz and Faith gave each other "I told you so" looks and started laughing.
Lily's moment of dread came next. But to her relief she was forced to face Wilkes, and not Bellatrix. Wilkes shot a jet of yellow light at Lily, who ricochet it back towards him. He ricocheted it back towards Lily. For several moments Lily and Wilkes played the game of spell tennis until Wilkes was caught off guard and it hit him in the stomach, causing him to fly back against the wall. Seeing her opportunity Lily advanced and sent a disarming spell at him, to which he deflected. Lily sent another disarming spell at him, but missed his head by a few inches. A jet of purple light shot at Lily and grazed her side, causing her to loose her balance and fall onto the floor. She lay there for a moment, as Wilkes advanced on her. He raised his wand and pointed at Lily. Before he could mutter his incantation, Lily rolled over onto her back and hit him square in the stomach. He flew into the air and hit the ground ten feet away with a heavy thump; his wand falling out of his hand and rolling towards the Slytherins. The Gryffindor's cheered as Professor O'Malley awarded Lily with ten points. The Slytherins stood up and protested as Wilkes lay there collecting his thoughts. Professor O'Malley stood by his decision saying that all he said was that the opponent had to be disarmed, he didn't say how or that a spell had to do it.
"Excellent tactic Evans!" said James as he got up to give Lily a high five.
"Thanks," said Lily as Liz gave her a hug.
"Well Potter that just leaves you and me," said Faith to James. "And one of us is going to get her." Faith nodded at Bellatrix who was whispering to Rabastan Lestrange. She looked at James and grinned. "I hope it's me."
"I hope it's you too, Ravenwood," smiled James, "I wouldn't want to ruin a lady's fun." Before James knew it, he was being summoned to the mat to face Lestrange.
James and Rabastan glared at each other as Professor O'Malley counted down. Rabastan started on two and sent a jet of yellow light at James. James only had time to dodge the light before Rabastan sent another jet of yellow light at him. The spell brushed James's arm and ripped his robes open. Rabastan laughed as he flung another spell at James's legs. James jumped over the spell and threw a counter-spell at Rabastan. The spell hit him in the shins and he fell to the ground on his knees. Rabastan could not get up or move his legs. He shot a jet of green light at James, but he deflected it with ease and hit Rabastan in the thighs. Rabastan bent backwards and lay on his feet. He stared at the ceiling dazed. James bend down and grabbed the wand out of his hand and held it up as a trophy. The Gryffindors let out a loud roar as James ran around the outside of the mat with the wand high above his head.
"That will do, Mr. Potter. One victory lap is more than enough. This is a duel, not a track and field competition," said Professor O'Malley shaking his head. "Ten points to Gryffindor. However I should take five away for showboating, but I won't."
James threw the wand back at Rabastan and ran over to his teammates. He stopped in front of the girls and flexed his muscles, to which they laughed and shouted words of encouragement and congratulations. Sirius and Remus gave him simultaneous slaps on the back, while Peter excitedly clapped.
Bellatrix slowly walked towards the middle of the mat; an insane smile spread across her face. Faith stopped laughing and cheering and walked out to face her opponent. The two girls stood opposite of each other in their designated spots. Bellatrix grinned at Faith, who returned it with a stony glare.
"Okay girls, on my mark! One.........Two........."
Faith and Bellatrix both started on two. Their individual jets of light clashed in the middle of the mat into thousands of blue and green sparks. Faith and Bellatrix stepped to their lefts and sent curses at each other again. However, both spells hit the opposite walls with an echoing bang. The two girls began to circle each other, sending curses and hexes at the other as they moved. Spells bounced off the walls and both the Slytherins and the Gryffindors had to duck out of the way of reflected or missed spells. Bellatrix threw a curse at Faith and caught her square in the stomach. As Faith fell backwards and hit the mat with a thud, Bellatrix let out a triumphant shriek. She advanced upon Faith and stood over her with her wand pointed straight at her heart.
"I'm going to enjoy this, mudblood," Bellatrix whispered, her eyes gleaming insanely. Faith looked up at her with narrowed eyes. Bellatrix opened her mouth and began to utter an incantation. Faith swung her leg up at Bellatrix's hand and knocked the wand out of her grasp.
"Accio wand!" shouted Faith standing up. The wand turned in mid air and flew towards Faith's outstretched hand. Bellatrix screamed and tried to dive for the wand. Faith caught it in her outstretched hand and pointed both of them in between Bellatrix's eyes as she lay on the mat.
"No, I'm afraid the pleasure is all mine," whispered Faith, her eyes cold and her face expressionless.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" shouted Professor O'Malley, briskly walking over and standing in between the two girls. Faith did not remove the wands from Bellatrix face. "GET BACK TO YOUR RESPECTIVE SIDES LADIES!" Faith lowered the wands, but the two girls glared at each other.
"You were lucky that your Professor stepped in, mudblood," whispered Bellatrix in a dangerously low voice, "But he won't be there to stop us next time. You've sealed your fate and I'd watch your back from now on." Faith smirked at her.
"You don't intimidate me, Bellatrix," said Faith in a matching cold tone. "And you are wrong. You are the one that should watch your back."
"I SAID NOW LADIES!" shouted Professor O'Malley, his face turning red with anger. Faith threw Bellatrix's wand at her and walked back to her seat. Bellatrix stood there and glared at Faith's back. The bell rang, but no one moved. Everyone stood in silence, glaring at the opposite side of the room, waiting for someone to make a move.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GET TO YOUR NEXT CLASS!" shouted Professor O'Malley. Throwing one last glare at the Gryffindors, Bellatrix turned on her heal and walked out the door with her head held high; her cronies following closely behind her. When they were gone, Faith let out a deep breath.
"I am afraid that you have made a mortal enemy out of my cousin," said Sirius grim faced and walking over to Faith. "You embarrassed her in front of her cohorts and she isn't going to be very likely to forget it."
"Well, I know one thing," said Faith looking at him, "The only way to truly know your enemy is to fight them.........and she's afraid."
"I think you might be wrong, Faith," said Lily looking at her with concern. "I think you made a bad enemy there. I'd watch your back."
"I'd watch all of your backs," said James looking at Lily, really for the first time since last night. "You all are on her list and that's not a comforting thought." He gazed into Lily's eyes for a few moments, until she finally looked away and nodded.
"Can we go now?" asked Peter, looking from one person to another, "My sandwich was squished in the process of my duel and I want to run down to the Great Hall and grab something before Herbology!"
"You just had breakfast!" said Remus, smiling as the three girls laughed.
"You are completely pathetic mate, do you know that?" asked Sirius shaking his head. Peter blushed and looked down at the floor.
"Just chew on some of the plants," joked James as they walked out of the classroom.
"I would, but I don't know which ones are poisonous," said Peter in a small voice. The group erupted into laughter, causing several bystanders to stare at them with alarm.
"He was kidding, mate. Honestly, how thick can you be?" said Sirius looking at Peter with disbelief. Peter hung his head in shame for a moment before nervously looking around at everyone and laughing.
"I-I know. I was just kidding," said Peter, putting on a fake smile, but still turning red.
The group continued down the corridor and did not notice Bellatrix and Rabastan Lestrange standing in the shadows. She looked at him and a wicked grin spread across her face.
"I think we've found what we are looking for," said Bellatrix, staring at the group as it turned the corner. Lestrange nodded in agreement.
"When should we do it?" asked Lestrange.
"Patience, my dear," said Bellatrix in a cruel mock motherly tone. "If there is one thing your dear brother taught me, it is that timing is everything." Lestrange nodded and slowly they departed from the shadows and emerged back into the lit hallway.
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Don't forget to review!
I want to take a minute to answer or shout out to the people that have taken time to review and add their insightful comments.
LJstagflower4e/JCtigerwolf4e – you are awesome and my most loyal fan from day one! Thank you for reviewing every chapter and making my day.
flyingwind33- To answer all of your question.........maybe. I can't tell or it will give away the story. But thank you for your lovely review. It really brought a smile to my face.
Tanya J Potter – Lily and James will get together soon, I promise.
driew – Thank you for the nice review! I'm glad you like it.
padfoot4eva123 – Alexander is a nice guy. But don't be confused. Remember we all know how the story ends, but how do they get there is the question. Thanks for reviewing!
Padfootlet – Thank you for review and reading my story! And I'll try to update as soon as possible.
Abby123 – I hope that this eases your suspense for now, until I can conclude it in the next chapter.........maybe.
Sammy Solo – Faith is my favorite character because she is based on myself. That's really weird that you have a character just like her, but you know how much fun it is to write a character that is really tough and sarcastic. But there is more to her than meets the eye. I checked chapter five on the fanfic and all of it is there. If you want the rest, I can give you my email it you.
Anyway, here's the usual. Everything Harry Potter or Harry Potter related belongs to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. (If only I had a time turner, than it would be all mine!!!!! Muahahahahaha!)
Please don't forget to review!
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Chapter 9: Making Enemies
Lily woke up to the sound of birds chirping from outside her window. The sunlight kissed her face as she turned her head to stare at the window. Her room was very quiet. She looked at the clock, thinking it must be around six o'clock, and was surprised to see that it was nearly seven.
"Funny," she thought to herself. "Faith and Liz are usually up by now and blaring the radio. They must have overslept." Lily rolled over to face the other two beds in the room, but they were both empty. Deciding it was time to wake up, she summoned her uniform and headed to the showers.
The hot water felt good as she stood there basking in it for a few minutes. As reality began to slowly seep into her brain the horrible lump in her stomach returned.
"Come on Lily. It was only James Potter. How many times have you turned him down? Why should this be any different?" she thought to herself.
As Lily approached her room, she noticed that it was very quiet. There was no music blaring from it like usual. She opened the door, expecting it to be empty.
"Good morning Lily," smiled Liz looking at her through the reflection in her mirror.
"Good morning," said Lily as she crossed over to her own mirror. "Where is Faith? I didn't hear her get up." The smile faded off of Liz's face and her brow furrowed.
"I don't know. I didn't hear her get up either. But it doesn't surprise me," said Liz brushing her damp hair.
"What does that mean?" asked Lily, taking out her wand to dry her hair. Liz was careful to avoid Lily's face.
"Well, she just wasn't very happy about last night......... and you know how Faith gets when she is upset........." said Liz.
Lily nodded. Liz did not have to explain. If there was one thing Lily understood about her best friend was that if you made her upset, she would hold the grudge until the day she died. However, Lily also knew that Faith could not be angry with her for too long before her common sense took over and she let it go. Lily and Liz finished getting ready in silence and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast.
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"Jamesie! Oh Jamesie-poo!" Sirius's voice softly cooed in James's dream. James slowly opened his eyes. A blurred vision of his best friend was standing over him with a broad smile on his face. James rolled over and reached for his glasses on the nightstand.
"Padfoot, don't ever wake me up like that again. It's down right creepy to be cooed to by your best mate," said James, putting on his glasses.
"Well, I figured it was better than my original idea of transfiguring Wormtail into a stuffed animal and putting him in bed with you," grinned Sirius as Peter looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"You would have transfigured me into a stuffed animal?" asked Peter nervously from his trunk.
"Don't worry, Wormtail. I would have turned you into something manly. Like a big fluffy kitty," laughed Sirius as he turned his attention on James. "So anyway. Did your great plan of wooing the young Miss Evans work out, or did she give you a swift kick in the ego again?" James gave Sirius a sad smile and shook his head.
"Why do you waste your time, mate?" said Sirius as he walked over to his trunk. "How long have you pined for the red-headed wizard killer? How many times has she voided your proposals of courtship?" Sirius pulled on his sweater vest. "Sometimes a man has to know when it's a lost crusade."
"I know your right, mate. But you just don't understand," said James standing from his bed.
"What doesn't Sirius understand?" said Remus as he entered the room. "That it is possible to bathe oneself without leaving a watery trail from the shower to the room?"
"Well that too," smiled James. Sirius gave them both a sarcastic smile. "No, Moony. Sirius doesn't understand what it is like to find a girl that you simply cannot stop thinking about. Where every moment that you spend with her is pure heaven."
"Mate, you need to pay a prank and fast," said Sirius looking at James with concern. "You have gone round the twist with this whole Evans thing."
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The four boys entered the Great Hall and took their usual seats. James gave the table a quick survey and noticed right away that Lily was not there. But sitting by herself, intensely reading the Daily Prophet and sipping some pumpkin juice, sat Faith. James grabbed a stack of pancakes and put them on his plate. Sirius turned his attention towards Faith.
"Hey Ravenwood, got anything good for me today?" said Sirius as he casually began eating.
"No," said Faith shortly, her eyes never leaving the paper. "They still have not found a cure for arrogance, so you'll have to suffer with being a twit a little longer." James and Remus laughed to themselves as Peter let out a quick, high pitch giggle.
"Well suffering isn't that bad as long as you are there to nurse me back to health," grinned Sirius. Faith shook her head and continued reading.
"Where are Evans and Corentine?" asked James, in between mouthfuls.
"I don't know Potter. Maybe you should go ask Alexander Frey since she seems to be so concerned with his feelings," said Faith shortly. Sirius, Remus and Peter looked at James over their breakfast and quickly looked back down. James moodily stabbed at his sausage links. Faith closed the paper and set it down next to her. James glanced at the title.
"Moody Catches Death Eaters in Successful Ministry Raid" read the headline. James slid down the bench until he was sitting across from Faith.
"Do you care if I read this?" he asked reaching for the paper.
"Knock yourself out, Potter," said Faith glaring at the Slytherin table. Several Slytherins were huddled together and talking in low whispers. James read the paper quickly.
"What does it say?" asked Remus as he and Sirius moved down to look at the article.
"Just that Alastor Moody and a group of Aurors conducted a surprise raid last night in Manchester.........and that they caught several Death Eaters.........but three Aurors were killed and several more are in St. Mungo's for critical injuries," James read.
"At least our side is making some headway," commented Remus, looking at the article more carefully.
"But the problem is that we are losing valuable witches and wizards in the process," said Faith, glaring at Bellatrix, who was in the midst of a crowd and talking with superiority. "It seems that for every Auror the Ministry trains, at least seven more Death Eaters appear in You-Know-Who's ranks. It just feels like evil is plaguing the country and there is nothing we can do to stop it." Faith turned at looked at the three boys. "It's too bad we can't take out the future Death Eaters now before they get a chance to take us out later." The boys nodded in agreement.
"You'll get your chance, Ravenwood," said Sirius, clasping Faith on the shoulder and staring into her eyes. Faith gave a small smile and nodded.
"Well, feel free to keep the paper," said Faith swinging her legs over the bench and standing up. "I'll see you guys in a few." She grabbed her bag and left the Great Hall.
The boys surveyed the paper for a few minutes before returning to their breakfast.
"This world just keeps getting worse," said Sirius, stabbing at his food.
"I know. It seems there isn't enough decent people left in the world. You don't know who to trust anymore," said James, vaguely looking at the Hufflepuff table. A flash of red hair caught the corner of his eye. His stomach knotted with disappointment as Lily and Liz walked over and took their usual seats at the table. James did not look at Lily like he usually did. Instead he began talking to his friends about the upcoming DADA class.
Lily carefully avoided James's eyes. She looked at her food, with much interest.
"I thought Faith would still be down here," said Liz as she grabbed some cereal and fruit.
"Well, we will see her in DADA," said Lily, "that should give her enough time to cool off at me."
"Yeah, but we have dueling today," said Liz with dread. "Maybe I can get out of it. Quick Lily, curse me with something that requires at least an hours worth of attention!"
"I'm not cursing you," laughed Lily. "If I have to do it, you have to do it. I'm not going down alone." Lily glanced at James. For some reason her stomach knotted even more when she saw him laughing with his friends.
"So, did you........." began Liz before she suddenly stopped and looked above Lily's head. She gave a polite smile and cocked her head to one side.
"Good morning Lily," came a voice from behind her. Lily swiveled around to see Alexander Frey and a two other seventh year Ravenclaw's standing behind her.
"Good morning Alexander," smiled Lily. "How are you?"
"Fine, just fine," Alexander grinned broadly. "I just came over here to make sure that we are still on for tomorrow afternoon?"
"Of course, why wouldn't we?" asked Lily.
"I don't know. Just making sure I guess," he blushed and cleared his throat. "Well, I am looking forward to it and I will see you at the front doors at one then."
"Certainly."
"Okay then, goodbye Lily." Alexander gave a slight bow and turned to walk away.
"Bye Alexander," smiled Lily. As she turned back around, she caught James looking at her sadly.
"He seems nice, Lil. I don't really know him, but he seems like an all right guy," said Liz picking up her juice.
"Yeah, he's okay," replied Lily, wishing Liz would drop it.
"Where are you two going to go in Hogsmeade?" inquired Liz.
"I don't know. Wherever we decide I am guessing." She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. For some reason she did not want James to overhear this conversation.
"Well I'll make sure Faith and I leave you alone on your date. I wouldn't want to catch you two snogging in a corner booth at Madame Puddifoots," laughed Liz.
"Isn't it almost time to be heading up to class?" said Lily quickly changing the subject. "I want to talk to Faith before class starts."
The two girls finished the remaining morsels of their breakfast and left the table. James determinately stared at his food as she passed the table. The thought of the girl of his dreams kissing another guy produced an anger that James didn't like.
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Lily and Liz entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and were filled with dread as they saw the big blue mat in the middle of the room with chairs on both sides.
"I thought after last time Professor O'Malley would have thought better of it," said Liz looking around anxiously. Lily nodded, remembering her last dueling encounter. As the two girls made their way towards their side of the room, Lily saw Faith sitting on a chair with her legs crossed. She twirled her wand with her right hand and her foot tapped impatiently. Faith glanced at Lily out of the corner of her eye as the girls sat down, before returning to stare at the empty Slytherin seats. Lily took in a deep breath and turned towards Faith.
"Hey, I missed you this morning. I woke up without the blaring of music and I didn't know where I was for a minute," Lily smiled at Faith, searching her face to see what mood she was in.
"Well you know how to turn on the radio if you missed it that much," said Faith shortly, still staring ahead. Liz gave Lily a nervous look and looked back at Faith, looking for something to say.
"It's not the same without your horrible singing," said Lily trying to get Faith to look at her. Faith let out a sigh. "How come you didn't wait for us to go to breakfast?"
"Because I had to go see Madame Pomfrey to get my hand unbandaged," said Faith, raising her hand and waving it, "and I didn't want you to have to compromise your moral principles to be seen with someone who ruthlessly judges people," said Faith with a note of bitterness in her voice. Lily shook her head.
"Faith that's not what I meant. I'm sorry about last night, I was preoccupied and I snapped at you for no reason," said Lily still looking at Faith. She nudged her lightly in arm. "He's really not that bad of a guy once you get to know him." The muscle in Faith's jaw relaxed as she turned to look at her.
"No, you are right. I do tend to judge people. I assess someone and judge them, it's just who I am and I'm probably not going to change," said Faith, and then suddenly smiled. "But I will try to be nicer to this guy if you really like him." Lily smiled and hugged Faith. "Who knows, he maybe a good snogger. It's always the quiet, dull ones that are the best," said Faith with a mischievous grin. Lily and Liz both looked at her with surprise. "Not that I would know, of course."
"Of course," said Lily sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.
The girls laughed as the room began to fill with Gryffindors and Slytherins. The boys took the remaining seats next to the girls and Liz blushed as Remus sat down next her, giving her a charming smile. Bellatrix and the rest of the Slytherins took their seat opposite the Gryffindors. They all seemed oddly excited and sat there with malicious grins.
"This doesn't look good," said Liz, staring reproachfully at the Slytherins.
"It will be fine," said Remus reassuringly, turning to look at her. Liz smiled and quickly looked away.
"Alright, settle down please!" shouted Professor O'Malley walking into the room and over towards the middle of the mat. "As you may have already guessed, today is dueling day. I have decided to modify the rules due to the events of last time. The dueling pairs will still be chosen by myself. I have decided that in the course of the duel any LEGAL curse maybe used in the duel. Any illegal curses will result in immediate expulsion from this school and the surrendering of their natural freedoms as citizens to be placed in ministry custody and wait for prosecution by the ministry court. Any questions so far? Does anyone not understand the consequences?" Professor O'Malley looked around the room. No one said a word, but several Slytherins laughed to themselves.
"Good. In order to win your duel, you must execute one of the two spells we learned this week correctly. Executing both spells in your duel with grant you a bonus of five points. Only once that has been accomplished and your opponent is disarmed, will you be crowned the winner." Liz looked at Lily with a nervous look on her face. Lily gave her a small smile. She knew how much Liz dreaded dueling, let alone dueling with the most evil witches and wizards in the school. Lily looked down the line and saw that, except for Peter, the boys seem quite unnerved by these new terms. In fact, she thought that they looked almost as pleased as Faith did about the new rules. Her gaze turned towards the students sitting on the opposite side of the room. All of them, including Severus Snape, were grinning from ear to ear with pleasure, which made Lily's stomach curdle.
"Alright, if there are no objections or comments we'll get started," said Professor O'Malley. He waved his wand and a piece of parchment appeared out of thin air. Lily saw Liz cross her fingers hoping that she would not be the first one called. Professor O'Malley read the list with a furrowed brow.
"Our first group is Mr. Pettigrew and Miss Orion."
Peter nervously looked at his friends, who gave him words of encouragement as he walked towards the mat and took his designated spot opposite the grinning Slytherin girl.
"On my mark! One.........Two.........Three!" shouted Professor O'Malley.
Immediately a jet of yellow light shot out of Orion's wand towards Peter. In defense Peter let out a shriek and flung his arms up to cover his face. For some reason the spell shot away from Peter and hit the wall with a loud bang just missing Severus Snape's head by inches. His lip curled over his yellow teeth as he sneered at Peter. Before Peter could react another jet of yellow light was thrown at him. This time wasn't so lucky. The jet hit him square in the chest and sent him flying threw the air. He crashed against the back wall with an immense force and crumpled to the ground like a rag doll. Orion advanced on him with her wand up. She disarmed Peter with a stroke of her wand. Defenseless, Peter was wide open for the final curse, which tipped him upside down in mid air. Several Galleons, a vial of green liquid, an assignment planner, a turkey club sandwich, some dung bombs, a packet of peppermint gum, a copy of the daily profit, a picture of his mother and a chocolate frog fell from his robes. The Slytherins laughed hysterically as Orion dropped him on top of his possessions. His face landed on a dung bomb, causing it to explode and fill the room with a foul stench. As the students coughed and tried not to gag due to the wretched smell, Professor O'Malley vanished the smell with a wave of his wand. Peter sulked over to his seat and sat down between a sniggering Sirius and a grinning James.
"It's alright, Wormtail. At least you went out with a stink," said James trying not to laugh.
"How do you walk around with all of that stuff in your pockets?" asked Sirius. "It looked like a bloody flea market!" Peter blushed furiously as the Slytherins laughed even harder at him.
"That's enough now! Let's see.........ten points to Slytherin. The next group is Miss Corentine and Mr. Rosier," said Professor O'Malley, checking off his list.
"Good luck Liz!" said Lily clasping her friend's shoulder as she got up; a look of pure dread etched all over her face.
"Be tough and be confident," said Faith, giving her a solemn nod.
Liz took the same spot that Peter did just moments before on the mat. Rosier looked at her with pure delight. Liz looked at the ceiling for a moment, as if to gather strength, or pray for her life, and then raised her wand and pointed it a Rosier.
"On my mark! One.........Two.........Three!" shouted Professor O'Malley.
Liz's wand immediately erupted with blue light and shot out at Rosier, who deflected it with ease. Almost instantly he returned the advance with a jet of purple light. Liz ducked and sent a jet of yellow light at him, which hit him in the legs. Rosier crumpled to the ground instantly. As Liz approached him, he sent a jet of red light at her, narrowly missing her head, but singing her blonde hair.
"Expelliarmus!" shouted Liz, and his wand flew into her hand. A flash of light later and Rosier was hanging upside down and Liz had won. She let him down more gently than he deserved and walked back to her seat beaming at her fellow housemates. The boys gave her high fives and Remus gave her a brief hug, to which Liz turned scarlet. Faith gave her a high five and Liz patted her on the back as she sat down.
"Ten points to Gryffindor!" shouted Professor O'Malley excitedly. "Group three is Mr. Black and Mr. Snape."
Sirius jumped up from his seat and strutted to his spot with a pleased grin spread across his face. Snape tossed his greasy black hair out of his face as he got up and walked over to his spot on the mat. As the boys faced each other, Snape's lip curled into a twisted grin.
"On my mark! One.........Two.........Three!" shouted Professor O'Malley
"Expelliarmus!" shouted Snape, wasting no time in fooling around. Sirius deflected it with ease. Snape sent another jet of red light at Sirius.
"Rictusempra!" shouted Sirius, and the red light bounced back at Snape. The curse speeded back at Snape who had just enough time dove out of the way.
"Get off the floor Snivellus and face me like a man!" taunted Sirius. Snape's eyes narrowed as he sneered at Sirius. Snape pointed his wand at Sirius, but Sirius was at the advantage. Before Snape knew it, he was hanging in midair. Sirius gave him a malicious grin and rotated his wand. Snape hung upside down for a moment before realizing that he still had his wand. He pointed his wand at a laughing Sirius and a jet of yellow light hit him square in the face. Sirius was flung backwards and landed flat on his back with a hard thud. Snape fell to the ground like a ton of bricks. Sirius lay there grasping for breath. Snape rolled over onto all fours and pointed his wand at Sirius. A jet of red light hit Sirius and his wand flew across the room and landed at Snape's feet.
"Ten points to Slytherin!" shouted Professor O'Malley. Sirius lay there for a moment before getting up.
"Are you alright mate!" shouted James as Sirius slowly walked back to the mat. The Slytherin cheers pierced the room and James saw smiling at Snape as he sat down with a satisfied look on his face.
"He better just wait until next time," said Sirius, rubbing his back. "He may just get a nice little hair cut from me." Sirius looked at Faith who was looking at him with concern. He winked at her and she gave him a small smile.
Remus was next and was forced to duel with Avery. After a perfectly placed blinding charm by Remus, Avery was disarmed and left to see spots. Remus left the mat and began to walk back to the cheering Gryffindors and Liz ran up to give him a very enthusiastic hug. Remus grinned broadly as James and Sirius hooted and hollered immature taunts at their friend. Liz and Faith gave each other "I told you so" looks and started laughing.
Lily's moment of dread came next. But to her relief she was forced to face Wilkes, and not Bellatrix. Wilkes shot a jet of yellow light at Lily, who ricochet it back towards him. He ricocheted it back towards Lily. For several moments Lily and Wilkes played the game of spell tennis until Wilkes was caught off guard and it hit him in the stomach, causing him to fly back against the wall. Seeing her opportunity Lily advanced and sent a disarming spell at him, to which he deflected. Lily sent another disarming spell at him, but missed his head by a few inches. A jet of purple light shot at Lily and grazed her side, causing her to loose her balance and fall onto the floor. She lay there for a moment, as Wilkes advanced on her. He raised his wand and pointed at Lily. Before he could mutter his incantation, Lily rolled over onto her back and hit him square in the stomach. He flew into the air and hit the ground ten feet away with a heavy thump; his wand falling out of his hand and rolling towards the Slytherins. The Gryffindor's cheered as Professor O'Malley awarded Lily with ten points. The Slytherins stood up and protested as Wilkes lay there collecting his thoughts. Professor O'Malley stood by his decision saying that all he said was that the opponent had to be disarmed, he didn't say how or that a spell had to do it.
"Excellent tactic Evans!" said James as he got up to give Lily a high five.
"Thanks," said Lily as Liz gave her a hug.
"Well Potter that just leaves you and me," said Faith to James. "And one of us is going to get her." Faith nodded at Bellatrix who was whispering to Rabastan Lestrange. She looked at James and grinned. "I hope it's me."
"I hope it's you too, Ravenwood," smiled James, "I wouldn't want to ruin a lady's fun." Before James knew it, he was being summoned to the mat to face Lestrange.
James and Rabastan glared at each other as Professor O'Malley counted down. Rabastan started on two and sent a jet of yellow light at James. James only had time to dodge the light before Rabastan sent another jet of yellow light at him. The spell brushed James's arm and ripped his robes open. Rabastan laughed as he flung another spell at James's legs. James jumped over the spell and threw a counter-spell at Rabastan. The spell hit him in the shins and he fell to the ground on his knees. Rabastan could not get up or move his legs. He shot a jet of green light at James, but he deflected it with ease and hit Rabastan in the thighs. Rabastan bent backwards and lay on his feet. He stared at the ceiling dazed. James bend down and grabbed the wand out of his hand and held it up as a trophy. The Gryffindors let out a loud roar as James ran around the outside of the mat with the wand high above his head.
"That will do, Mr. Potter. One victory lap is more than enough. This is a duel, not a track and field competition," said Professor O'Malley shaking his head. "Ten points to Gryffindor. However I should take five away for showboating, but I won't."
James threw the wand back at Rabastan and ran over to his teammates. He stopped in front of the girls and flexed his muscles, to which they laughed and shouted words of encouragement and congratulations. Sirius and Remus gave him simultaneous slaps on the back, while Peter excitedly clapped.
Bellatrix slowly walked towards the middle of the mat; an insane smile spread across her face. Faith stopped laughing and cheering and walked out to face her opponent. The two girls stood opposite of each other in their designated spots. Bellatrix grinned at Faith, who returned it with a stony glare.
"Okay girls, on my mark! One.........Two........."
Faith and Bellatrix both started on two. Their individual jets of light clashed in the middle of the mat into thousands of blue and green sparks. Faith and Bellatrix stepped to their lefts and sent curses at each other again. However, both spells hit the opposite walls with an echoing bang. The two girls began to circle each other, sending curses and hexes at the other as they moved. Spells bounced off the walls and both the Slytherins and the Gryffindors had to duck out of the way of reflected or missed spells. Bellatrix threw a curse at Faith and caught her square in the stomach. As Faith fell backwards and hit the mat with a thud, Bellatrix let out a triumphant shriek. She advanced upon Faith and stood over her with her wand pointed straight at her heart.
"I'm going to enjoy this, mudblood," Bellatrix whispered, her eyes gleaming insanely. Faith looked up at her with narrowed eyes. Bellatrix opened her mouth and began to utter an incantation. Faith swung her leg up at Bellatrix's hand and knocked the wand out of her grasp.
"Accio wand!" shouted Faith standing up. The wand turned in mid air and flew towards Faith's outstretched hand. Bellatrix screamed and tried to dive for the wand. Faith caught it in her outstretched hand and pointed both of them in between Bellatrix's eyes as she lay on the mat.
"No, I'm afraid the pleasure is all mine," whispered Faith, her eyes cold and her face expressionless.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" shouted Professor O'Malley, briskly walking over and standing in between the two girls. Faith did not remove the wands from Bellatrix face. "GET BACK TO YOUR RESPECTIVE SIDES LADIES!" Faith lowered the wands, but the two girls glared at each other.
"You were lucky that your Professor stepped in, mudblood," whispered Bellatrix in a dangerously low voice, "But he won't be there to stop us next time. You've sealed your fate and I'd watch your back from now on." Faith smirked at her.
"You don't intimidate me, Bellatrix," said Faith in a matching cold tone. "And you are wrong. You are the one that should watch your back."
"I SAID NOW LADIES!" shouted Professor O'Malley, his face turning red with anger. Faith threw Bellatrix's wand at her and walked back to her seat. Bellatrix stood there and glared at Faith's back. The bell rang, but no one moved. Everyone stood in silence, glaring at the opposite side of the room, waiting for someone to make a move.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GET TO YOUR NEXT CLASS!" shouted Professor O'Malley. Throwing one last glare at the Gryffindors, Bellatrix turned on her heal and walked out the door with her head held high; her cronies following closely behind her. When they were gone, Faith let out a deep breath.
"I am afraid that you have made a mortal enemy out of my cousin," said Sirius grim faced and walking over to Faith. "You embarrassed her in front of her cohorts and she isn't going to be very likely to forget it."
"Well, I know one thing," said Faith looking at him, "The only way to truly know your enemy is to fight them.........and she's afraid."
"I think you might be wrong, Faith," said Lily looking at her with concern. "I think you made a bad enemy there. I'd watch your back."
"I'd watch all of your backs," said James looking at Lily, really for the first time since last night. "You all are on her list and that's not a comforting thought." He gazed into Lily's eyes for a few moments, until she finally looked away and nodded.
"Can we go now?" asked Peter, looking from one person to another, "My sandwich was squished in the process of my duel and I want to run down to the Great Hall and grab something before Herbology!"
"You just had breakfast!" said Remus, smiling as the three girls laughed.
"You are completely pathetic mate, do you know that?" asked Sirius shaking his head. Peter blushed and looked down at the floor.
"Just chew on some of the plants," joked James as they walked out of the classroom.
"I would, but I don't know which ones are poisonous," said Peter in a small voice. The group erupted into laughter, causing several bystanders to stare at them with alarm.
"He was kidding, mate. Honestly, how thick can you be?" said Sirius looking at Peter with disbelief. Peter hung his head in shame for a moment before nervously looking around at everyone and laughing.
"I-I know. I was just kidding," said Peter, putting on a fake smile, but still turning red.
The group continued down the corridor and did not notice Bellatrix and Rabastan Lestrange standing in the shadows. She looked at him and a wicked grin spread across her face.
"I think we've found what we are looking for," said Bellatrix, staring at the group as it turned the corner. Lestrange nodded in agreement.
"When should we do it?" asked Lestrange.
"Patience, my dear," said Bellatrix in a cruel mock motherly tone. "If there is one thing your dear brother taught me, it is that timing is everything." Lestrange nodded and slowly they departed from the shadows and emerged back into the lit hallway.
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