Falling
Chapter 6: Fat Albert
Disclaimer: I think you get the point by now...I don't own anything.
"Psst! Sirius!" James whispered to the boy next to him during Transfiguration.
Sirius stopped drooling on his desk and turned his attention to James. "Huh?" he asked sleepily.
"I have a plan. To get Remus and Isis together."
Sirius perked up. "Really?"
"Yeah."
"Well, what's your plan?"
"Actually, Lily and I came up with it last night."
Sirius raised his eyebrows suggestively and James scowled at him. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Sirius. I'll tell you the full details during Quidditch practice. And we can fill Nadia in, too."
McGonagall cleared her throat pointedly. "Mr. Potter, is there something you and Mr. Black would like to share with the class?"
"No, Professor" James and Sirius said in unison.
"Then I suggest you stop your conversation and pay attention." She turned back to the board, "Now..."
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At lunch they all sat together again, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Nadia and Isis all making sure that Lily and James sat across from each other, and Lily and James making sure Remus and Isis sat across from each other.
"So, is everyone planning on going to Hogsmeade this weekend?" James asked the group.
Everyone nodded. "Yep, I'm taking Tina, from Ravenclaw. We're meeting at the Three Broomsticks at 3, so we still have time to visit Quality Quidditch Supplies first." Sirius said with his mouth full.
"I have plans to meet Richard at 3, as well." Nadia added.
"Okay, anyone else have plans?" James asked.
"Well, I was planning on asking Lorraine Burkhart, you know, from Hufflepuff." Peter spoke up. James nodded.
"Oh yeah? Good luck with that, Pete."
"Hey, if you need any advice, you know who to come to, eh?" Sirius said as he patted Peter on the back.
"Yeah, not Sirius...none of his relationships lasted more than a few months." James cut in.
Sirius looked scandalized. "Is that supposed to be a bad thing?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "Ahem. If we could move on..."
"Right."
"James and I were talking the other night, about how fun it was when we all hung out in the common room. So we thought it would be nice to all go to Hogsmeade together."
"Yeah, and those of you with dates can just meet up with them whenever."
Everyone considered this for a moment.
"Hmm, alright, yeah."
"Sounds good to me."
They all agreed to meet at breakfast and walk down to Hogsmeade together on Saturday morning.
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After Quidditch practice, James, Sirius, and Nadia discussed their plan for Saturday.
"We'll definitely have to go to the Three Broomsticks for some butterbeers. And visit Honeydukes." Nadia said excitedly.
Sirius grinned evilly, "We could lock them in the Shrieking Shack."
James and Nadia burst out laughing at this.
"Maybe another time, Sirius."
"I have an idea." Nadia said, looking slyly at Sirius. "When Sirius, Peter and I go off to meet our dates, you and Lily should split up from Isis and Remus. That way they'll spend the rest of the day alone together." She winked at Sirius.
"Yeah...Yeah, that sounds good." Sirius said as he caught on. "What do you think James?"
"I think it sounds perfect. Can't wait."
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Later that night, James was filling Lily in on their plan. She thought it was a great idea, and was looking forward to Saturday.
"Sirius wanted to lock them in the Shrieking Shack together, but Nadia and I thought maybe that wouldn't be the brightest idea." He chuckled.
"No, somehow I don't think Isis and Remus would appreciate that." Lily agreed.
"Yeah. So the only thing we need to plan out is how we're going to lose them."
"Hmm...Well we just have to go into a crowded place, and then get 'separated'," she signaled quotations when she said separated, "and then we can run off to another store."
"Brilliant. Well I know Quality Quidditch Supplies will be extremely crowded on that day, because they just came out with a new broom model."
"Oh, perfect! Well, I should go to bed now. See you in the morning." Lily stood up and stretched, then headed over to her room.
"Goodnight." James called to her as she made her way across the common room.
"G'night" she called back through a yawn as she passed into her room.
James yawned and lay back on the couch, resting his hands on his chest. Soon after, he began to drift off to sleep to the sound of the crackling fire.
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He hadn't meant to fall asleep in the common room, but he must have, for he woke up with a slight cramp in his neck, and a stiff back. He stood and stretched his back out, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Sleep well?" Called Lily from the chair by the fire place.
He turned towards her, "Good morning. I didn't see you there."
She smiled at him and then focused her attention back on the book in her lap.
"What time is it?" He asked, sitting down again.
Her eyes flicked to him, and then back to her book. "Six." she replied after a short pause.
He raised his eyebrows. "Do you always get up this early?"
Lily marked her page and closed the book, setting it down on the table beside her. "Occasionally." She answered. "I noticed it was nice this morning and thought I'd wake up early and go for a run." She looked as if she was going to say something, and then thought better of it, shaking her head and looking into her lap.
He smiled, amused. "What?"
She raised her eyes to him, and chewed on her lip. She nodded slightly and then asked, "Do you- er, do you want to join me?"
"On your run?"
She rolled her eyes at his obvious question and smiled. "No, in the shower," She said sarcastically. His jaw dropped, and she shook her head, chuckling. "Of course on my run." she finished.
"Oh." He thought about it. "Sure, why not."
"Alright, well im going to go change into my running clothes, and I'll meet you back her in 5 minutes?"
"Okay."
They both went to their respective dormitories and changed.
Five minutes later, they met back in the common room, and headed out for Hogwarts grounds.
The sight of Hogwarts early in the morning was breathtaking. The grass was slightly damp with morning dew, the air was fresh and crisp and there was a slight mist over the lake and forest areas. The sky was a pale blue, and the still rising sun cast a yellowish glare on the still lake.
Lily smiled at the sight and took a deep breath of the fresh morning air. "Isn't it gorgeous?" she asked contentedly.
"Absolutely," James murmured, taking in the sight.
"This is my favourite time of day. Everything is so new and fresh, and cleansed."
James looked towards her and smiled at the way she was looking around in awe of such beauty. "Well, are we going to run or just stare at it all day?" he asked teasingly.
She mock-glared at him and then smirked. "What do you say we run over to the lake, then? Race you!" and with that she took off, laughing and with a look behind her at James' stunned face, she called, "I'm winning!"
He shook himself out of it, and ran as fast as he could towards Lily and the lake. Soon he was right behind her, and she was trying get away, but he was just too fast. As they neared the lake, they forgot all about the race, and it became a game of chase. Lily swerved to the left, where there was a big, shady tree, where she liked to sit and read. James chased her around the tree a few times, before Lily stopped running in circles and sped off in the direction of the forest. She was about halfway there when James caught up to her and tackled her to the ground. She screamed and they were both on the ground laughing. They both lay on their backs, beside each other, trying to catch their breath. After a few minutes, Lily turned her head to face James and burst out laughing.
He turned towards her, confused, "What? What's so funny?"
Her laughter died down and she coughed, "Nothing, nothing." She smiled again, and covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her giggles.
"What!" He sat up and felt some extra weight on his head. His eyes widened. "Is there something on my head?"
She nodded, still trying hard not to laugh.
"What? What is it?" He started to feel around in his hair, patting his hands around until his hand touched something squishy and bumpy. "What is that?" He yelled, his face contorted in disgust. Then he heard a croaking sound coming from his head. He crossed his eyes upward to get a look at it, and Lily sat up and burst out laughing. "There's a toad on my head!" he reached up to pick the toad up and looked at him. It was fairly large and very fat toad. Lily's laughter died down, and she reached out to pet the toad.
"Aw, look how fat he is." She giggled.
"Hmm...I think I'll name him 'Albert'" James said, patting the toad on his head, making him croak.
"Fat Albert it is."
James smiled at her, and put Fat Albert back in the grass. But Fat Albert wasn't having this, he hopped back up onto James' hand and croaked loudly. Lily laughed.
"I think he likes you, James."
He raised his head in an arrogant way and said, "Well, I can see how. I am quite charming."
Lily rolled her eyes at him and stood. "We should probably head back now."
"Good idea." James put Fat Albert down once again and stood with Lily. But that toad just would not give up. He croaked and hopped onto James' shoe.
"Hmm...I think maybe Fat Albert wants to come with us."
"It would seem that way," James said as he lifted the toad off of his shoe and set him on his shoulder. "I guess he could stay with us since he's so persistent about it."
Lily chuckled and stroked Fat Albert's round body as they walked back to Hogwarts.
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At breakfast, Lily and James told them about their 'run' this morning and about Fat Albert. Everyone laughed at James and Sirius taunted him about having a toad on his head for all of breakfast.
It was Friday, their last day of classes until the weekend, and one more day until Hogsmeade. Everyone in the Great Hall was chattering about the trip and/or their dates tomorrow.
"Okay, so here's the plan for tomorrow, everybody. We're all meeting here at 10 for breakfast, and afterwards we'll all catch a carriage or two to Hogsmeade together. Then we're hitting up Honeydukes, Zonko's and Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop. Then we'll all have lunch at the Three Broomsticks, and split up so Nadia, Sirius, and Peter can meet their dates." James explained the plan to everyone.
"Sounds good to me."
"Can't wait."
"Wait, so when are we eating?" James rolled his eyes at Peter's question.
"But, James, aren't we going to visit Quality Qui- Ow!" Sirius was cut off by a swift kick in the shins by Lily.
"Oh, Sirius! I'm so sorry. My foot just slipped." Lily apologized fakely.
Sirius just looked at her skeptically and nodded his head, while rubbing his shin.
"Well! We should get to class now." James stood up and clapped his hands.
Lily stood up as well, "Yep! Wouldn't want to be late. Come on." she said as she pulled Isis up by the arm and motioned for everyone to stand up and head to class.
"Lily and James are acting weird, don't you think?" Isis said quietly to Nadia and Remus, while Sirius sulked about his 'poor, innocent leg'.
Remus nodded. "They're definitely up to something." he agreed.
Nadia jumped in hastily, "No, no. I think they're just anxious to spend some time together tomorrow, heh heh, right Sirius?" she nudged him hard, and he scowled and rubbed his arm.
She gave him a look that told him to just agree with her. "Oh, yeah." he cleared his throat. "Nadia's right. Yep. Right."
Remus and Isis looked at them both skeptically and then looked at each other with raised eyebrows. "Whatever you say guys." Isis said unconvinced.
Sirius just grunted in response as they filed into the History of Magic classroom.
After about 5 minutes of listening to Professor Binns, the group was snoozing away on their desks. All of them except Remus, Isis and Lily, that is.
"Lily, what's up with you guys?" Isis whispered to her while taking notes.
"What do you mean? And who is 'you guys'?" She asked, acting like she had no idea what Isis was talking about.
Remus just looked at her, and shook his head. They were definitely up to something.
"Oh, please Lily. You know what I'm talking about." Isis countered.
Lily just ignored her and said instead, "So are you and Remus looking forward to Hogsmeade tomorrow?" she asked pleasantly.
Isis looked incredulous. "Excuse me, Lily?"
"Well, aren't you looking forward to spending the day together?"
As soon as Lily said that, it clicked in Remus' mind. Oh, Merlin. He thought. "Lily! Are you guys trying to set us up!" He asked her.
Suddenly she looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She recovered quickly, but not quickly enough, because Remus and Isis noticed. Isis blushed and Remus looked furious. "Um.." she hesitated. "I...I mean, we're not trying to set you up per say...but, just...I don't know maybe give you a little push in the right direction?" she bit her lip.
Remus sighed and just shook his head. Isis blushed even deeper and continued taking down notes. Lily groaned and rested her head in her hands.
I can't believe this. After I specifically told James and Sirius and Peter that I could do it myself. I told them I didn't want their 'help'. He sighed. Oh, well. It's a nice gesture, I just think it would make me look cowardly if it seemed I needed help. I'm not a Gryffindor for nothing.
Remus wrote down something on a piece of parchment and slid it over to Isis.
She opened it.
Want to give the gang a little taste of their own medicine?
She smiled and wrote back.
What did you have in mind?
Meet me in the Library at 6.
She looked over at Remus and nodded to him, and they both went back to their notes.
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After dinner, Lily was in the library writing an essay on the power of crystal balls for divination,
(James, Sirius and Nadia were at Quidditch practice again) when Isis and Remus walked in.
Lily go tup to put a book back, when she overheard them talking. She was going to go say hi to them when she heard her name.
"...Lily and James are trying to set us up. And I'm positive Sirius, Nadia and Peter are in on it, too." she heard Remus saying to Isis.
"So what are we gonna do then?" She asked.
"Oh, I have some ideas...but we can't discuss them here."
Lily peered through a small gap in the bookshelves to get a good look at Remus and Isis. Remus was looking around, and he handed Isis a small piece of parchment. They both walked out of the library.
Lily slapped her hand against her forehead. Oh, what did I get myself into?
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A/N: Sorry it took so long! I promise I'll have the next chapter up sooner. I've got some good ideas...
Please review! I appreciate it. :)