Goodness? Could it be? Am I really updating? Yes! Yes, I am!
It took me awhile to think this chapter up. It wasn't that I didn't want to continue, it was the fact that everything I thought up had already been done or I just wasn't happy with. At long last, my muse smacked me upside the head with a bat – or rather, a pink teacup. Now you get to read the spoils.
Disclaimer: The only things that belong to me are the expressions on their faces when they realize where I'm leading them.
The Lily and The Stag
It was a beautiful Saturday morning at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The sun was shinning cheerfully over the grounds, making the lake sparkle like a diamond. A soft breeze, cool to the touch, gently pushed puffy white clouds overhead, providing shade. In other words, perfect Hogsmeade conditions – well, if it would stay that way, at any rate…
xxxxxx
Alice looked at the clock for what felt like the hundredth time. If Lily didn't hurry up, they'd be late for the departure to Hogsmeade. "How much longer do you plan to take?" she moaned from the bed, rolling over onto her back.
Lily glanced at her friend, sprawled out on the bed like a starfish, and felt a pang of guilt. She didn't mean to make Alice wait so long, but if she didn't look absolutely perfect today…
Turning back to the mirror, she said in an assuring voice, "Hold on, I'll just be a minute."
Alice shifted position slightly and started at the clock. After another minute passed, she sighed loudly and fell back down on the bed.
Lily didn't respond this time; she was too engrossed in her belt to notice. It was the last piece of the puzzle: she had already tackled her hair, her makeup, her shirt, sweater, pants, shoes, socks, and jewelry. After a few hours of work, everything had fallen into place – except her belt. For some reason, she couldn't make a decision on which one to wear and this made her uneasy, because she was usually never this indecisive.
"Just picked something already!" shrieked Alice from the bed as Lily changed her belt for the fourth time. "It's just a belt!"
Lily said nothing; she simply stood in front of the mirror, musing and posing in various ways to see if she liked the look of this belt better than the last.
"That one looks fine, now come on, we're going to be late," growled Alice, grabbing a nearby pillow and quietly strangling it. "There'll be no point for this if we don't get to go."
"Just give me one more minute, I promise."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"James, you're giving me allergies," complained Peter as daffodil petals flew around his head.
"Goodness, they're just flowers," Remus coughed. He quickly lifted a book to his face as a shield from the sudden barrage of pollen.
"Hurry up, or we're going to be late," chimed in Sirius, not wanting to be left out.
James was standing beside the unlit fireplace, transfiguring a bouquet of flowers in his hand from one type to another in rapid succession. Remus and Peter were sitting on either side of him, perched on armchairs, and Sirius was watching his friend from the floor, his arms and chin resting on a table.
"Hold on," muttered James with a frown and with a tap of his wand made the daffodils become cherry tulips.
"James, we have five minutes to get to the entrance," said Remus reasonably. He risked shifting the book down to his chin to add, "Unless you want to run, pick something now."
"I've tried roses, daisies, pansies, jasmine, baby's breath, violets, forget-me-nots, poppies, gardenias, sunflowers, daffodils, and tulips," James grumbled impatiently, "and none of them seem to say, 'Lily!'"
"Have you tried lilies?" asked Sirius sardonically.
A look of dawning comprehension crossed James's face, and Sirius snorted.
"Padfoot, you're brilliant!" cried James, and with a tap of his wand the red tulips blossomed into pure white lilies.
"Yes, Padfoot's a genius, can we go now?" sniffed Peter, getting up from his armchair. "I need some fresh air, and I shouldn't run with allergies."
Sirius beamed and straightened up. "I am rather brilliant, aren't I?"
"Who cares, let's go," said Remus dully, pushing Sirius's head down below the table and heading for the portrait hole.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Where is he?" muttered Lily for the sixth time. Completely ignoring her friend, she bounced on the balls of her feet and stretched as tall as she could in an effort to spot James's mop of messy black hair.
"He'll be here," Alice dutifully replied back in a dull voice. Looking up at the sky, she noticed a small grey wisp of cloud floating by overhead.
I hope that's just a straggler, thought Alice. Otherwise, Lily's in for one hell of a first date.
"Oh no!" cried a voice, distraught. Alice started and turned at Lily, who was staring at her hair and looking as if she might cry.
"What's wrong?" asked Alice, her concern laced with impatience. Good Lord, it was just hair, and as far as Alice could tell, it was still the same color and length.
"The humidity," she whined uncharacteristically. "It's going to ruin it."
Alice resisted the urge to roll her eyes and took out her wand. After making sure Filch wasn't around, she tapped her friend on the head with the wand.
"There," she said briskly. "Now the humidity won't affect it anymore."
The look in Lily's eyes sang praise. "Oh, thank you, Alice, thank you - "
"Oh, get a hold of yourself," snapped Alice. "You're acting like a first year. Now calm down, they've just arrived."
Lily paused to reflect before looking in the direction Alice was turned to. Maybe she had a point, thought Lily as she studied the leaves on the ground. She had never gotten this, well, annoying, for anyone before. What made James different? She'd had classes with him for seven years, so one would think that she would be used to seeing him by now. Why was she suddenly so nervous?
Lifting her head, she spotted James and his band of mates and felt her heart skip a beat. That was definitely unexpected.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
James swore that he stopped breathing the moment Lily looked up at him with those big, green eyes of hers.
"Do you want me to pinch you to make sure you're not dreaming?" he vaguely heard Sirius say before feeling a sharp pain on his forearm.
"Ow!" he cried, turning back and looking at Sirius. "What was that for?" he snapped at the grinning marauder.
"You're not dreaming, mate," replied Sirius cheerfully.
Scowling and rubbing his arm with his free hand, James cursed his friend before gazing back at Lily. His frustration with Sirius melted away as Lily gave him a shy smile.
Sod off, Padfoot, he thought. I get to spend the day with Lily.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"What's so bloody great about Evans anyway?" muttered Sirius as they walked towards Hogsmeade. Peter sighed loudly in agreement. "I mean, she's just a girl."
"Well, for a girl, she has her redeeming qualities," replied Remus, feeling as abandoned as his companions. "I suppose she's pretty, and she's not exactly stupid…"
"Hey!" said a voice loudly. "That's my friend you're talking about!"
The three boys stopped in tracks and turned around. A red faced Alice was walked quickly towards them, looking very angry. When she caught up to them, she faced Remus and snapped, "From the rest of them, I expect this, but from you, Remus!"
Remus blinked, surprised. "I – er," he stammered. Sirius swooped in, eager for a fight.
"Why do you care, eh?" he growled. "You do it all the time to James, you filthy hypocrite!"
"That's because James deserves it!" she retorted, taking a step towards him.
"Yea, I'm sure, just as much as Lily does!" Sirius took a step towards Alice, and Remus and Peter exchanged worried looks.
"That's a load of waffle - "
"A load of waffle, eh? Well, let me tell you where to get off - "
By this time, Alice and Sirius were face to face, yelling at each other simultaneously and making it impossible to tell what either of them was saying. Remus and Peter looked on, bewildered, and unsure of what to do. When they finally decided that it was time to pull them apart, however, the two stopped, panting for air and still glaring daggers at each other.
"So, shall we spy on them?" asked Sirius begrudgingly.
"Yes, I think that's best," replied Alice, sounding just as happy.
The path was silent for a few moments, allowing the pair to catch their breath, before Sirius headed towards Hogsmeade. "Come on, Moony, Wormtail," he called. "We'd better go find them."