Standing There By You
Ch.5- Brilliance and Wit
Disclaimer: Let it be known... I hearby declare that by legal binding matters, any recognizable material belongs to the infamous J.K.Rowling.
a.k.a- it's not mine.
Lily woke up early the next day, the rising sun shining brightly in her face. She stretched and yawned loudly before pushing the covers off and scuffling out of bed. Grabbing her uniform and a towel, she headed off towards the bathroom.
"Ahhhh!!!" Lily screamed, waking the rest of the dormitory.
"What is it Lily?" Julie asked, rushing over to her friend.
"Ahhhh!!!" A second scream sounded from the bathroom.
"Is something the matter?" Grace asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes. She stepped into the bathroom to face her two very funny looking friends.
"Whoa, what happened to you guys?" Grace asked, touching Julie's hair. "Oh, my..."
"Grace, you look like that too."
"What!?" Grace exclaimed, hurrying over to the mirror. She stared at her reflection, and saw her normally black hair was now a shocking purple.
"What is all the noise?" Angie whined, peeking her head into the bathroom. "Oh..My..Gosh.. Val, get over here, quick!"
"What is it?" Val asked grumpily, not at all happy about being woken up so rudely.
"Look," Angie said, pushing her towards the other girls.
Val's eyes widened. "OHMYGOSH! I don't look that way, do I?" she squealed, and began frantically fingering her hair.
"No, do I?" Angie asked, trying to roll her eyes so she could see her short locks.
"No."
"Phew..." the two girls sighed in relief.
Lily, Grace and Julie stared at them incredulously. Shaking her head, Lily looked back into the mirror. "Oh, what are we going to do?" She moaned, running her fingers through her unnatural green locks.
"My hair is pink. My hair is pink." Julie repeated over and over. Her normally long wavy blond hair was now such a brilliant pink, it practically glowed.
"Ok, let's just relax. This is probably just a simple charm..." Lily's eyes widened. "Charms! Our hair, it's- they're all exactly the color our bouncy balls!"
"You don't think..." Julie started, and Lily nodded.
"Yes," she growled, looking ready to kill. "Potter."
Grace's face contorted with anger and realization. "But that means he- they were in our dormitory last night, those bloody prats!"
Angie and Val froze in their tracks. "No," they whispered, a sense of awe dawning on their faces.
The girls turned to each other and screamed. "Ahhhhh! James, Sirius, they were- oh my gosh I think I'm going to faint..."
Angie turned to Lily. "Can I touch your bed hangings?" she asked excitedly, "I mean, if he did this to you, he might've brushed them, or something."
"Are you serious?" Lily asked disbelievingly.
"Serious for Sirius!" Val chirped, running over to Julie's bed. "Maybe he touched this one, or maybe it was Grace's, oh well, I'll just touch them all." She pressed the bed hangings to her face, breathing in the scent. "Ahhh..." she sighed with bliss.
Lily took a deep breath and turned back to her friends. "Anyways... he's so dumb, I mean, Flitwick taught us the reversal spell in class." She held up her wand and pointed it towards her hair. "Commutatus Reparus! "
Nothing happened. "Oh no, they wouldn't have put a Permanency Spell on it, would they?" Lily asked, her voice growing a bit panicked. A Permanency Spell could only be undone by the person who cast the charm.
Grace rolled her head back and put her hands over her face. "I guess they're not as stupid as we thought they were, eh?"
After about an hour of trying to get their hair back to normal, they finally gave up and settled for hats. Walking casually into the Great Hall for breakfast, they desperately hoped no one found this odd.
"It worked!" James whispered excitedly to Sirius, as he saw the hatted girls walk in.
"Yes indeed, but why are they wearing those hats? Do you think they're ashamed?" Sirius asked, his voice full of mock concern. "You know, we should help them show their true colors."
"I agree." James and Sirius got up and snuck behind the girls. James held up his fingers and mouthed, "One, two, three!" On three James pulled off Lily's hat, and holding a hat in each hand Sirius pulled off Grace and Julie's.
Everybody around them burst into laughter, as the three girls swung around in their seats and came face to face with the culprits.
"Potter!" Lily screamed, grabbing for her hat. Julie turned bright red, trying to cover her hair with her arms, and Grace stood up defiantly.
"Which one of you did this to me?" she demanded, glowering over the two boys. James and Sirius smiled and pointed to Remus.
"Uh..uh.." Remus stuttered, paling.
"Why you little..." Grace lunged at him but Remus quickly moved out of her way. "Get back here!" Grace yelled, sprinting after him as he darted out of the Great Hall.
"Potter," Lily sneered, her voice full of (she hoped) menacing intimidation, "You better turn this back right now."
"Right now?" James grinned, obviously not frightened in the least by Lily's presage. "Oh I don't know, I was thinking about keeping it for a couple of days. What do you think Sirius?"
"Well-" Sirius started, but Lily grabbed James by the collar.
"Now, Potter!"
"Fine, fine," James said, rubbing his neck. "Don't go and get your knickers all in a bunch."
"Pot-"
"Okay. Geez o' Pete." He and Sirius said the counter-curse and the girls' hair returned back to normal.
Sirius looked towards the Hall doors. "Hm... wonder how Remus is holding up."
"Ah!!" Remus yelled, running along the lake.
"Get... back... here..." Grace commanded between gasps of breath.
Remus looked over his shoulder to see how close she was to him, and therefore didn't see a giant root that lay ahead. He tripped and fell sprawled across the ground, allowing Grace to easily catch up.
Remus took off his slightly bent glasses to inspect the damage, and cringed as he looked up and saw Grace standing above him, hands on her hips. He was shocked, however, because instead of the scolding he had expected, Grace's scowl turned into a smile as she started laughing hysterically. "You're not er- angry?" Remus asked, leaning away from her a bit.
"Well, I was angry," Grace said, laughing still. "But I couldn't possibly remain angry what with you looking like that and all."
"What?" Remus asked, confused. He felt his face and his fingers met a layer of gooky mud. Looking below him, he discovered he had hit the damp ground so hard, his face had even left an impression, and with a small smile he realized what he must have looked like.
Grace kneeled down next to him, carefully avoiding the mud. "So, you gonna change my hair back or what?"
"Oh, right." Remus took out his wand and started to say the reversal spell.
"Wait!" Grace said suddenly, blocking his wand. "Could you leave a few streaks in? I think it looks kinda cool, and besides, purple's my favorite color."
********
That afternoon the Gryffindors joined (rather reluctantly, I might add) the Slytherins for their first Potions lesson. Classes were held in one of the dungeons, where it was rather cold and creepy, with pickled animals floating in glass jars all along the walls.
"Take your seats," The Professor instructed sharply. Once all of the students were seated, he continued in the same severe tone. "In this class nonsense and stupidity will not be tolerated, as each of you are capable of my expectations," he paused briefly in front of Peter, "most of you are capable of my expectations, that is."
"Fluent's the Head of Slytherin House," James whispered to Sirius. "Can you tell?" Sirius gave a dry laugh and Professor Fluent whipped around to see who dared disrupt him.
Seeing James, he sneered. "You boy, what's your name?"
"James Potter."
"I see," Professor Fluent looked him over. "Gryffindor, I assume?" James nodded and Fluent smirked. "Could you perhaps tell me," he began slowly, his words taunting and revile, "the longevity of a Cumper, who's swallowed an Esdubelo?"
A few seconds of silence ticked by as James stared back at the Professor with the same amount of scorn, his eyes eluding any fear the Professor was seeking to bestow upon him. Finally, James arched an eyebrow and asked coolly, "Male, or female?"
Professor Fluent looked a bit perturbed, but quickly composed himself. "Male."
Lazily inspecting his fingernails, James answered, "Seven hours, fifty-three minutes and forty-six seconds."
"An approximate gander, of course." Sirius put in. Several girls in the back sighed dreamily at James's brilliance and at Sirius's wit.
"Well then," said Fluent, his smirk now vanished completely. "A lucky guess." He turned away from him and lectured for the rest of the class.
*****
Utter amazement and relief washed upon the Gryffindor students, as they stared up at their Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor with immediate admiration. Their teacher, Professor Fides, was in the middle of his beginning of the year speech, and had already earned the children's respect. A young man, in his early twenties or so, easily captured their attention with his enthusiasm and ability to relate with the students and their everyday lives. It was nice to have a teacher so open, and he was a good change from the usual er- older Professors they normally had. James turned to Sirius and nodded in approval, before turning back his attention to Professor Fides, waiting with interest for what he had to say next.
"Now. You will soon discover that this is not your conventional class, and there will be many surprises along the way. Of course, you will need to use the book occasionally," several students groaned, and Professor Fides smiled sympathetically, his youthful jade eyes dancing in amusement. "I know. But not to worry! I can promise you will learn and have fun." He suddenly gasped in mock surprise, and put one hand up to his cheek. "But Professor Fides," he said, imitating a deep voiced teenage boy. "Fun? In a classroom? No way!" The class laughed and he switched back to his normal voice. "Yes! It is possible. Eventually you will be able to fend off creatures both big, and small, but before that..." He leaned back and withdrew a large book from behind his desk. "You must learn the basics. Please, everyone turn to page 23."
The students did so without any hesitation, and the rest of the class proved to be one of their best yet. An hour later they were dismissed, and the hallway buzzed with excited chatter as everyone discussed the fantastic teacher.
"Well at least we have something to look forward to," Grace said happily, as she, Lily and Julie headed towards their next class, Herbology. "Which is nice, especially after having Potions first thing this morning." They nodded in agreement, as they made their way out of the great doors of Hogwarts, and onto the grounds. Herbology turned out to be rather interesting, with unique plants filling in nearly all of the greenhouse. The Professor was a perky middle-aged witch, Professor Sprout. The class was like most others, which consisted of a basic description of the course, and a bit of reading from their books. When the students were finally dismissed, they gladly walked back to their Common Rooms, happy the long day was over.
*******
James entered the empty Common Room that evening, looking around for Sirius. Just as he was about to go up the stairs, he spotted Lily reading by the fire.
"Whatcha reading?" James asked, causing Lily to jump.
Seeing James, she rolled her eyes and went back to her book. "None of your business."
James peered over her shoulder to read the title. "The Magic Within? Looks dumb to me." He leaned further forward to try and read the passage she was currently on.
Lily swatted away his head and held the book protectively against her chest. "For your information, you ignorant berk, it's my favorite book. It's not dumb, it's wonderful, but of course you wouldn't recognize great literature if it smacked you in the face."
"Yeah, okay," James replied sarcastically. "You want to know what's great literature?"
"What?" Lily asked skeptically.
"Quidditch Through the Ages," he responded with a grin. "Now that's a good book."
Lily made a face. "What's so great about that? Quidditch is just a meaningless, stupid game."
"What?!" James sputtered, his eyes practically bulging out of his head. "Quidditch, for your information, is most certainly not meaningless, or stupid."
"Right." Lily mumbled, her eyes drifting back down to the novel in her lap. Behind her James turned and strode up the boys' staircase. He muttered angrily under his breath, as Lily went back to her book with a sigh of contempt.
*********
Sirius,
We hope you are happy. How much you have disgraced our family, you will never know. Gryffindor? Gryffindor? We cannot recall a time we have been ever so ashamed. An embarrassment to the Black name, that is what you are. To think, one of our own sons sorted into a group filled with Mudbloods and Muggle associated freaks. You will not speak of this catastrophe to any other relatives, although it's quite certain they're bound to find out. Your punishment will be decided when you arrive home for the Holidays, until then, we hope you think about what you have done.
Matthew and Agatha Black
Sirius looked over the letter he had just received with disgust, an awful feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. Footsteps sounded outside the dormitory door, and he hastily looked around for a place to hide it. As the person drew nearer, Sirius panicked and stuffed the letter into the closest trunk. He piled several robes on top of the parchment, just as the door swung open and James strode into the room.
"Oh, hey Sirius," James greeted, stepping towards him. "I've been lookin' all over for you, where have you been?"
"Just, um- just taking a nap." Sirius stretched his arms out and gave a huge fake yawn.
"Oh, okay. C'mon, let's go down to dinner, I'm starving." James started back towards the stairs, and Sirius followed. With one last look at where the letter was stored, Sirius vowed to put it out of his mind, and not worry about his awful family... for the time being anyways.
A/N: Hey, thanks for all the fantastic reviews! Yes, i do realize that my thank you's take up tons of space, but i'm just so very very grateful : ) Also, thanks millions for those of you who responded to my VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT A/N, and the unanimous vote: Skip the boring crap! Anyways....
RavenSiriusBlack- Hey, thanks loads for reviewing, you're one of my most faithful reviewers, and i fill with bliss everytime i receive one! oh, by the way, SIRIUS BLACK WILL DEFINITELY NOT BE GAY! First of all, that would destroy any chances of him sweeping me off my feet and proposing.. er, sorry, and well second of all, just.. no : )
Imperishable Stars- hey, you're so awesome! 4 reviews in 2 days!? you rock! (i luv remus too)
Dulcis Caelum- hey, thanks for the reviews, and the advice! the only thing is, i don't know if i could keep those years only 3 chaps long. this year looks like it's gonna be 6 chapters, and second yr. is already 7 chaps or so. *sigh* i just can't contain myself. anyhoo, everybody check out DUMBLEDORE'S DAUGHTER cuz it's awesome : )
JadeFairyKitty- Thanks so much, you know exactly what to say to make me feel terribly happy- I'm definitely sticking to every word J.K.Rowling wrote, if i ever slip up let me know!
Secret Lily- hey, checked out Beyond the Veil, it was great~ glad i did! anyhoo, thanks soo much for the review, and yes it definitely will take quite a while for James and Lily to get together, but you'll stay with me, right? : )
Suji- who cares about cheesy!? i certainly don't, i adore cheesy~ thanks so very very much for the review!
Kawwai-kitsune- torture peter moment?? of course! *hands back money from under the table* this needs no reward; torturing peter is reward enough : ) (i'll do it as soon as i can, maybe next chap or so)
Aerandir- hey, thanks for the review, ha, pronglet! woo
Jess- Thanks mucho, i luv gettin all your reviews : )
Magical Muggle- ahh, what is there to say but, I LUV YA!
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