Disclaimer - Harry Potter is not owned by me. It is the wonderful works of J.K Rowling. Information found from hp-lexicon.
A/N - Thanks for reviewing guys! Gave me a real lift. I thought I'd put a new chapter into action A.S.A.P. Which is odd of me… squeeeee I have reviews!
Lana - Hah. I know. It'll get better, I promise. Not sure if you'll like the beginning of this chapter…
StarshineBaby - Thanks!
HP Lover - Thanks! Its about both, really, but mainly Lily and James.
CassandraMcGlynn - Thanks -grin-! Here it is!
SpAzZzZzAtTaCk - Thanks! I'm so happy you enjoy my story! I updated as quickly as possible. I found it hard writing this chapter though, that's why it took a bit longer than I expected. And I was handed an assignment my first day back at school after the holidays. I am so unimpressed with that teacher right now. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy!
Alaskan Chick - Hahaha. I LOVE writing cliffhangers. Though I understand how horrible it must be for you guys. Thanks for the comment!
Thanks to all my reviewers! And now I bring you 'Chapter Six'.
Chapter Six
Lily awoke to the sound of feet shuffling across the floor. She glanced at her watch on the side table. It was one am! Who could be wandering around at this hour?
Curiosity getting the best of her, she quietly rose from her bed and slipped some slippers on. It became apparent that Rose's bed was empty. Lily knew there was something going on…
She decided to wait in the common room, and as soon as Rose came back from wherever she had been, she would interrogate her. As quietly as possible (so she wouldn't wake the other girls in the dorm) she stepped out onto the girls staircase, and made her way down to the common room. The fire in the fireplace was still roaring, though not nearly as much as a few hours ago. She sat herself in one of the armchairs next to the fire, and immediately warmed up.
At the same time…
Rose blinked. Thank god. It was only Sirius.
"What are you doing here?"
"Oh…" Rose came further into the room and stood in front of Sirius. He was looking quite dishevelled and tired. His hair strongly resembled that of James Potters at the current time. "Look like you've had a rough night," she joked.
Sirius, who was sitting on the side of his bed, moved across to make a space for Rose to sit down, which she did.
"Haven't been getting much sleep," he said.
"Me too… I just came to get my dressing gown."
"Did you now?" Sirius smirked.
"Yes," continued Rose. Sirius just stared at her. She began to feel quite self-conscious. "Well… do you have it?"
"Maybe I do. Maybe I don't."
"Your so annoying!" she laughed. "Just hand it over please…"
"Remember to keep your voice down…"
"Sorry."
A moments silence followed before Sirius reached his hand under his pillow and pulled her dressing gown from beneath it. He handed it to her.
"Here," he said.
"Why was it under your pillow?" asked Rose, feeling heat rise to her cheeks.
"Didn't want Peter to see it. We'd have never heard from your dressing gown ever again!" he joked. Rose smiled, unsure of what to do or say next.
Sirius crawled onto his bed and lay down.
"I'll leave you alone if you want," said Rose quietly.
"Lie down and talk to me. I can't get to sleep anyway." Rose's heart leapt at this suggestion. She lay down next to him. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest. She could just imagine the look on Lily's face if she ever found out that she, Rose, was lying on Sirius' bed… which, hopefully, she wouldn't.
"Does James like Lily?" asked Rose quite suddenly.
"He's utterly obsessed!" whispered Sirius, rolling his eyes. He reached over Rose and grabbed his wand from his side table. He then shut the curtains around his bed with a simple flick of his wand, which cast a red glow around the bed. Pocketing his wand, he lay on his side to get a better look of Rose, who was beginning to feel quite nervous.
"Does Lily like James?" he asked.
"Somewhere deep down inside…" said Rose thoughtfully. She was beginning to feel much more at ease.
"Why did you say that to me the other day? You know…"
Sirius seemed shocked at her mentioning the argument again, as she had brushed it off so easily.
"Its just what you said has been playing on my mind. Its stupid really. Oh, who cares. Just forget it."
"I'm so sorry. I was just tired…"
Sirius lifted a hand and began brushing hair from her face. His light touch gave Rose shivers and she closed her eyes. She was beginning to feel quite tired.
"Rose?" asked Sirius. Rose was on the brink of falling asleep, but still found the energy to answer.
"Mmm?"
"Are we still on for tonight?"
Rose smiled, bit her lip, and nodded.
"Good." The sound of the dormitory door closing scared them both quite a bit.
"Are you cold?" he asked after a few minutes.
"A little…" she said smiling broadly, wondering what he would do. She felt the weight on the bed shift around a bit and the next thing she knew, an arm was draped across her middle, and Sirius' head lay next to hers.
"Then I'll keep you warm."
Lily was still down in the common room, staring at the fire. Her attention was moved from the fire to the nearby sound of a door closing and heavy footsteps pounding down the stairs. Next she heard angry muttering…
"Bloody Sirius and his bloody midnight visits… I just want to sleep!" The voice sounded far too familiar to Lily and she watched with dread as the boy named James Potter stumbled into the common room. He was wearing a white tank top and long, grey pants. His hair was, as usual, spiky and poking out at odd angles. When he caught site of Lily, his round, hazel eyes expanded to twice their size and he stopped dead in his tracks. Lily stared for a moment and then blessed the fireplace with her attention. Anger coursed through her veins from earlier the previous day.
She heard him walk closer and then she heard him sit in the sofa next to her armchair. She moved her head to stare at him.
"What do you want?" she asked harshly.
"Whoa, Flower-"
"Don't call me that."
An awkward silence followed.
"Sirius just has a visitor. They're talking and its annoying. I can't get to sleep…"
"So you decided to bless me with your presence?"
"Its not like I knew you were here. If I had have known you were here, I would never have come. Why are you always so difficult?" he said angrily.
"Why are you such an idiot?" Lily was now on her feet.
"Sit down Evans…"
"You can't tell me what to do and what not to do!"
"Don't get your knickers in a twist…" he quoted.
"You're so pathetic. Its not even funny." Lily placed herself back in her armchair.
"Today before I kissed you, you were fine with me! What happened? Why do you make such a huge deal out of things?"
"Maybe because you're so… you're so…"
"I'm so what?"
"Unbelievable!" she confessed.
"Yes, most people would say that," he smirked.
Lily just shook her head in disbelief.
"I can't believe you!" she was so mad, and so tired, she felt that if he said one more thing, she would lose the plot and start crying all over again.
"You're gorgeous, Lily."
"Just leave me alone!" she said. Her voice shook with sadness… he knew now that she was on the brink of crying.
"Lily, I'm sorry."
"No your not!" a single tear slipped from her eye. Luckily she was facing the fireplace. She cradled her head in her hands.
"Lily, why won't you go out with me?"
"Oh Potter!" she cried. "Y-Your such an i-idiot! I don't b-believe you!" She felt so pathetic. This was the second time in the space of 6 hours that she had cried over Potter.
"Are you alright?" he asked, sounding concerned.
"I'm fine!" she spat maliciously.
"You don't sound fine. Just tell me what's wrong."
"You are what's w-wrong! Y-You! " she said, looking him straight in the eye. He looked schocked to see her in such a state.
"I'm not the one causing you to cry, am I?" he asked curiously, appearing to have ignored her last statement - or possibly he just wanted to see her suffer...
Lily raised her head to the ceiling, as if to ask God why this was happening to her.
"Lily I'm so sorry." he said sincerely. He moved from his chair and came to sit next to her. Lily felt her heart leap into her throat as his weight hit her chair. She suddenly wished she was wearing a lot more than an old, baggy t-shirt.
"Is there anything I can do?" he asked quietly. She shook her red head and hiccoughed.
"Don't worry about it. Just forget it." She was just too tired to be difficult. She was NOT going to continue crying in front of Potter.
"Do you want to come and see Delilah Fair with me today at about three pm?" Lily looked at him with red, puffy eyes. "To interview her about what David did to make her so mad." Lily was relieved at the change of subject.
"Oh…" she sniffed, looking at her feet. "I can't. Detention with McGonagall at three." she smiled.
"Wasn't that meant to be today - I mean, yesterday at three pm?"
"I couldn't go today because I was sick."
"But you left the hospital wing before three!"
"Did I?" she asked slyly.
"I don't understand why you cast that spell on me," he said, surveying her red face. She still looked gorgeous.
"What don't you understand about it? You put your hand on my knee! That's invading my personal space. You deserved what you got."
James cursed her, which made her smile a bit. There were many different ways of looking at her James Potter situation. She could be happy, and laugh at the stupid things he did. She could be difficult (her preferred way of looking at things) and frown upon the horrendous things he did. Or she could feel lucky to have one of the most attractive men in Hogwarts chase after her, and give in to his charm. It would be a cold day in hell if Lily ever chose the last option. A very cold day in hell.
"So what do you think about this Christmas Ball we have to organise, Lily?" asked James.
"We haven't even begun planning it, Potter."
"Well, why don't we start right now?" he asked. Lily opened her mouth to reply, but James cut in.
"So, who are you going with?"
Lily froze. He was such an idiot. He was one of those pig, red, sore pimples that appeared on your forehead after a day of perfect skin…
"Well, no one yet. Since nobody except the teachers, prefects, you and I know about it," she said smartly.
"Yeah, but have you got any ideas?" He stared at her intensely.
"Have you?" she snapped.
"Yes, as a matter of fact…"
"Who?" she asked curiously.
"You'll just have to wait and find out now, won't you?" he said slyly.
She turned her head to face the wall oppisite them and heaved a sigh of resignation.
"What are you going to say to her tomorrow? Delilah, I mean…"
"Just ask her… about her previous relationship with David."
"Can't you do it earlier than three?"
"No."
"Why not?" she asked incredulously.
"Just can't. Its just too… complicated."
"Whatever." sighed Lily. A few minutes passed in awkward silence.
"Aren't you tired?" she snapped at him.
"I'll go then!" he said exasperatedly.
Lily sniffed. She was seriously tired. James stomped towards the boys staircase, and just before he took the first step, he turned around.
"I wish you'd just-"
"Just what?" Her green eyes snapped towards him.
"Forget it. Goodnight." he trudged back up the stairs.
After a few minutes, Lily's eyes began to droop. She was tired of waiting for Rose… but that thought hardly managed to register itself into Lily's mind before she fell into a deep sleep.
She was in such a deep sleep that she didn't notice as the final flames in the fireplace burned out, and she started to become cold. She didn't hear the sound of feet tip-toeing down a staircase. And she didn't see as a blanket was wrapped around her.
Rose awoke to the sound of Sirius snoring and the creaking of a door being shut. She almost had a heart attack. How long had she been there? Had Lily noticed her absence? Worse still, had any of Sirius's roommates noticed her there? The curtains were still closed around the bed, so she had a hunch that no one had seen her, but that didn't mean they hadn't heard her… she couldn't stay any longer.
"Sirius!" she hissed. Over the space of… well, however long they had been asleep, Sirius had managed to place half of his body on top of hers, considerably weighing her down.
"Sirius!" she hissed again, after no reaction. His snores stopped and he turned his head, shutting his eyes tightly. She knew he was awake.
"Sirius! I need to go!"
He lifted his head, groaned, and rolled of Rose.
"Why?" he moaned.
"Because I'll be in big trouble if Lily notices my absence."
"Ok…" his eyes flickered and shut.
"See you later…" she said. For a fleeting moment, she felt compelled to lean down and place a kiss on his rosy cheek, but mentally slapped herself. Without forgetting her dressing gown, she tip-toed to the door of the boys dormitory.
"Rose?" asked a voice. A voice that she knew was not Sirius's.
"James!" she turned around with a very forced smile on her face to see James Potter lying down in his bed and staring at her with a shocked face. "How wonderful to see you! Though it breaks my heart to say that I must be going now. Oh, and by the way… me ever being in this room stays between you, me and Sirius. Or else you might find yourself in a very sticky situation… literally." She was certainly not happy about him making Lily upset earlier, and had nothing to say to him apart from very impolite things that she didn't want damaging her reputation.
"Understand?"
Gee, she must be peeved… thought James. For he had only ever seen her in bright, happy moods. He nodded his head and she slammed the door in his face.
It really made him start to think. People were nearly always angry with him… why? He wasn't that bad, was he? They all seemed to think that now he was an adult, that he should start to wizen up. Wizen up? How? What did he do to make them think that? It just didn't make sense to him. He was very smart. Topped all of his classes. He was quite mature… well, sometimes… maybe that's what they meant. Start being more mature. He rolled his eyes. Maturity came with experience. He had none of the necessary experience to become mature. Or did he? Did they mean for him to be more mature? And apparently he had an ego problem. Gee, they sure were asking a lot of him. He'd think of that later. Right now, he felt the need for sleep.
"Lily?" Rose squeaked as she saw a red headed figure sprawled across an armchair, and wrapped in a blanket. Lily didn't stir. As quiet as a mouse, Rose crept over to Lily. She stood over her, reached her hand out to grab the blanket covering Lily, and tore it away. This woke Lily up instantly.
"ROSE!" she screeched before cursing a few times.
"I was ASLEEP! In case you hadn't noticed!" huffed Lily.
"Calm down! I just thought you might like to sleep in the comfort of your own bed. After all, you have a lovely detention tomorrow. May as well be well rested."
Lily looked at Rose. There barely was any light left in the common room, but she glared at Rose as best she could. Rose seemed to get the message.
"Sorry Lily."
Lily rolled those magnificent eyes.
"That's alright…"
"We need to catch up sometime. How about, after your detention, we'll go down to the Lake?"
Lily nodded. That suddenly reminded her of why she went down to the common room in the first place. Rose knew what Lily was about to say as Lily opened her mouth, so she turned on her heel, but -
"Not so fast Rose! Get your behind back here! Now!" Lily's voice shook with… excitement? Rose couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"What?" she turned her head to face Lily, trying her best to look clueless.
"Potter told me you went to see Sirius! What for?" Lily asked curiously.
"I left my dressing gown there." She said.
"Oh yes. And that would explain why you've been there for -" she looked at her watch, "a few hours now." Lily challenged Rose.
"What did you say? Jamsie told you?" Rose smirked. She started making her way to the girls dormitory. "I'll see you tomorrow, Lily. You probably want to go and give James a visit."
"It's not like that!" Lily called up the stairs. She heard Rose cackle, and a door close. A short while later, she followed in Rose's footsteps.
"Sooty!" Rose trilled as she saw her brown owl fly through the open window of the girls dormitory. It was only early and most of the other girls were all still asleep. Shall we say that Rose was a morning person and didn't sleep as much as other people. She stayed up late, and woke up early.
Today it was overcast and cold. There wasn't much light, as there had been a few days beforehand. The floor was cold, the room was cold (and the open window didn't help), yet Rose was warm, and welcomed her owl.
"How have you been, Mr Sooty?" she asked while stoking him. He hooted softly and hopped around her bed. Rose reached for a quill, ink and some parchment. Once found, she set it up on her bed and looked thoughtfully at her owl. She needed to send some advice to her sister.
'Dear Ethel,' she began.
'You stink! Ha ha ha. Just joking. I thought I'd send you some advice, to make this year easier for you. Aren't you lucky you have a big sister? It took me until fifth grade to work this one out.
You know how Slughorn sets you assignments that have to be a certain length? I have a way to get the required length needed and hardly spend any time on it. He's quite dim, really… all you have to do is, on your assignment page, write this:
Name: Ethel Hayden
Year: Year One
Subject: Potions
Teacher: Professor Slughorn
Make sure all that is in HUGE print.
(Assignment Title) make it HUGE
And this is where you write all of that informative goodness.
Make sure to do all the headers and answers at the beginning extra large. And make the title HUGE. That way, it takes up more space. And all he ever did was compliment me on how organised I was. Hah! Mind you, it only ever worked on Slughorn. None of the other teachers. Whatever you do, Ethel, do not tell anyone else this. Not even Josie.
The best big sister ever,
Rose'
By Josie, she meant Ethel's new best friend. She wondered how long it would last… it took her until third grade to form a friendship with Lily. Sooty hopped around impatiently as rose enveloped her letter, and eventually tied it to Sooty's leg, making sure not to hurt him with her long nails.
Rose decided on wearing a yellow dress, with a red ribbon around her waist, which she tied in a bow at the back. She grabbed a knitted yellow jumper and slipped on some white stockings. She then applied bright red lipstick.
"Rose?" mumbled Claudia from behind her. Rose turned to face her.
"Ugh! The lipstick hurts my eyes!" she mocked. Rose rolled her eyes and walked over to Lily's bed, where she was sleeping soundly. Hesitantly, she shook Lily awake. Lily struggled for a moment but soon opened her eyes.
"Going somewhere?" asked Lily after staring at Rose for a second.
"Yes. Breakfast. Hurry up!"
"Just give me a second!" She had to shower first. Rose waited around as Lily had a shower, and changed into a long sleeved pink shirt and a pair of green drainpipes. In the time Lily took to get ready, Rose had managed to plait her long hair. Lily didn't bother with make-up. She didn't need anything to enhance her features.
"Let's go!" squealed Rose.
"So Lily. If you were going to have a child, what would you name it? Say it was a girl…" asked Rose interestedly.
"Um…" Lily looked confused. "The thought of children has never really occurred to me before."
"You two are talking about children?" asked James, who had snuck up behind them, intent on listening to their conversation.
"Yes, for your information. Care to take a seat?" asked Rose, indicating the seat opposite them. Lily ignored Rose's attempts at getting a reaction out of her. She focused on her bacon and attempted to eat. "You too, Peter, Remus and Sirius. Gather round!" They all looked at her as though she were mad.
"Mind if I sit right here?" asked Sirius to Rose, pointing to the seat next to her.
"Not at all," blushed Rose. Which was unusual for her.
Lily could hardy suppress a giggle as it escaped from her mouth.
"Alright there Flower?" asked James, who was piling sausages, eggs and tomato onto his plate. Remus, Peter and James had somehow managed to crawl under the table to sit on the opposite side to Lily and Rose.
"Hmm?" asked Rose.
"I wasn't talking about you. The other Flower."
"Should have known…" she laughed.
"We could go and see Delilah now, you know, Potter."
James looked slightly annoyed and nervous as his friends stared at him strangely. "I'll take care of it. Don't worry…"
"Yeah! Prongs'll have no trouble taking care of her. Presuming you mean Delilah Fair…"
"Shut up Padfoot." said James angrily, staring intently at his plate.
"Oh. I think I'll stay right out of this one, thanks," said Rose looking disgruntled.
"Should have known. I should have guessed you would want to snog her and that's it. That's why you didn't want me coming. You are disgusting." Lily said.
"Lily," whispered Rose, "Head Boy and Head Girl should set an example for the youth lings…"
Lily's eyes steeled over and she went back to eating her breakfast, completely ignoring James. James had a sudden idea. Lily had detention that day… at three o' clock. He might just be able to join her, and explain himself. That would mean meeting up with Delilah earlier…
"I'll be right back," he said. Eyes followed him as he strode towards Professor McGonagall.
"What in the world…" muttered Rose.
"He's up to something." whispered Sirius in Rose's ear. His breath tickling her ear once again sent shivers down her spine.
They watched as he stood before her, leaned forward and said something no one could hear. And it wasn't good. McGonagalls face had slowly started to turn red and her eyes widened in shock.
"Detention Mr Potter! You will be joining Ms Evans this afternoon at three o'clock. And you will also be joining me every other day of the week at six pm! I was hoping you could set a better example! This is your first warning. Once you hit three warning, you will no longer hold the Head Boy Position. Do you understand?" she said dangerously. Her eyes held anger, and disappointment and he knew he had done his job. He nodded his head and made his way back to his seat.
"The nerve of that boy!" she shuddered.
"What did you do?" asked Sirius eagerly as James sat down with a slight grin on his face.
"Tell you later…" he said, eyeing Lily.
"Delilah?" asked James. It was just after breakfast, and he had made his way to Delilah's favourite hideout. The Astronomy tower. The ferocious wind made James shiver violently and he hugged himself. Delilah was sitting in a corner, wrapped in a blanket, and with a beanie over her head.
"I knew you'd come back to me." she said happily. Her dark, almond shaped eyes sparkled.
"No, Delilah. I've come to ask why you did that to David Snoot."
Her face immediately mirrored that of an angry snake.
"HE cast a hair removal spell on me! We had an argument. Ok? I just gave him a taste of his own medicine."
"I'm going to have to alert Professor Dumbledore of this." said James sternly.
"What? Why?" she asked, thoroughly confused.
"Business, I'm afraid."
"James…"
"I have to go. I'll see you around." He turned on his heel, and marched out.
Lily walked through the door to professor McGonagalls office. She had changed into some old clothes. A pair of jeans and a plain tee-shirt. Detentions usually meant getting dirty.
McGonagall was sitting at her desk, reading a book. Lily had always liked the feel of her office. There was always a fire blazing in the background, and it was incredibly warm. The rich colours in the room added to it.
"Ah, Ms Evans." she said, surveying Lily with beady eyes," Mr Potter will be joining you shortly. You will be serving detention together."
"What?" asked Lily sharply. At that moment, James stormed through the door.
"Not late, am I?" he asked.
"Just on time. You and Ms Evans will be cleaning every toilet in Hogwarts. Rather gruesome, I know, but I'm afraid to say that you both deserve it. You will start at the bottom floor and work your way up. No magic is to be used. Do you understand?"
They nodded their heads glumly. There was no way Rose and Lily would be able to meet that night by the lake.
"Off to work, then."
A/N: I found it extremely difficult to write this chapter.Some completely random things inthere -smile-.I hope you enjoyed!
I also need to inform you all that I will be going overseas in July. By then I should have another chapter up, though. I will be gone for 3 to 4 weeks, so there will be a delay with my updating. Just thought I'd let you know in case I didn't get to update any time before I go.
Please review! Please!
Ron Lover 2005