The walk to breakfast the next morning was torturous. Lily and Adaline were excited for their classes to start, but they didn't dare say anything before any caffeine had been ingested. They knew their roommates were not nearly as excited, especially when it was early in the morning.
The first thing Lily noticed when they entered the Great Hall was that everyone was staring at them. More specifically they were staring at her. What in Merlin's name did Potter do now? was the only thought running through her mind. Since people did not often pay attention to studious Lily Evans unless James Potter was involved.
However, she decided to ignore the stares and started her breakfast, coffee and a blueberry muffin. The rest of the 6th year Gryffindor girls doing the same, all of them used to James Potter's antics.
"Lily, you might want to look up," Gemma said, as she started shoveling bacon onto her plate.
Lily looked up, and sure enough, she found the reason everyone was staring. Written in the clouds was the sentence 'Lily Evans, you are like the sun of my life, so will you do me the honor of going out with me?'.
Lily groaned, but said nothing, when it came to Potter, it was often best to ignore him. She continued to drink her coffee while her friends watched her warily. They were waiting to see if she was going to explode. When they realized she wasn't going to react they all looked around to find James Potter, to see if he was going to.
Soon enough Potter got tired of waiting and made his way over to where the girls were sitting. Lily groaned, knowing what was coming.
"So, Evans, what do ya say?" he asked, smirking and sending Lily a 'flirtatious' wink.
"You know what Potter, why not?" Lily said with fake enthusiasm, trying desperately to keep the disgusted look off her face and forcing a look of excitement, "We could even go to that new tea place, Madame Puddifoots, then we could go explore the Shrieking Shack! I hear it's haunted!"
James looked at Lily in horror and confusion, while she continued to look at him innocently, "You aren't having second thoughts, are you Potter?"
He rolled his eyes and glared, "You think you're so funny don't you Evans?"
"Oh no, I know I'm hilarious…" Lily said, grinning sarcastically at him.
"Clearly no one else does…when was the last time you went on a date Evans? 4th year? Maybe if you weren't a stuck up know-it-all all the time you'd actually be able to find a date. I'm really helping you here, I'm making you more appealing to other guys."
Alice, who was sitting next to Lily, had to grab her hand to keep her from hexing him. Alice was also glaring at James to let him know that he took it too far. He took his cue from Alice and walked away smirking, while Lily sat there glaring at her half eaten muffin, absolutely fuming.
How dare he? Who the heck did he think he was? The students that were near by giggled, the girls eyeing Potter and looked like they were ready to jump him. They shut up the second Lily glared at them; everyone knows that when she is angry you don't want to mess with Lily Evans.
"Deep breaths Lils," Adrian said, giving her friend a wary look.
Lily rolled her eyes at her friend, and Adrian just grinned back cheekily.
"Just making sure you don't kill my Quidditch Captain," she said shrugging, "Not that he hasn't earned it of course, but I would prefer you wait until the end of the season."
Lily rolled her eyes at her friend, but managed to crack a smile. Soon enough Professor McGonagall was walking around with the time tables. She managed to give the girls a rare smile before continuing on to the 4th year girls sitting near them.
"Well, this is going to be a fun year," Gemma said groaning, "Why did I even take all of these classes? I don't even want to be an Auror or Healer…"
"Because if your Quidditch dreams don't work out you want to be a Professor, and you don't know what class you want to teach yet?" Alice said, smirking at Gemma.
"UGH why must I be so indecisive?" she groaned, putting her head on the table dramatically.
"I will never know why you want to be a Professor…who would want to continue to come to school?" Adrian said, shaking her head in mock confusion.
Gemma just laughed, "I want to help people but I really don't like blood, I don't think that I could deal with it on an everyday basis…so being a Professor would be the next best thing…besides, if I'm lucky I'll be able to come back to Hogwarts."
"If you aren't famous and playing Quidditch that is!" Adrian said, winking at her friend.
"Of course!" Gemma said, but looking slightly nervous.
"Guys…I think we ought to get to class, you know Flitwick doesn't like it when we're late…" Adaline said, eyeing her watch nervously.
The walk to Charms was slow, people were still staring at Lily from Potter's little stunt, and they were lucky her mood had improved because she was going to Charms. When they arrived in the classroom they took seats in the front of the class, and Lily eagerly took out her book, parchment and a quill while she waited patiently for the lesson to begin.
Naturally, as the bell was ringing the four Gryffindor boys were walking in, laughing hysterically. Personally, Lily was surprised they even showed up at all, and she would have much preferred that they didn't. Thankfully they took seats in the back of the classroom so she didn't need to see them.
Professor Flitwick entered the room, and the class sat up a little straighter in their chairs, excited for what new charms they were going to learn in the coming year.
"Good morning class, I hope you all had wonderful summers. It is excellent to see all of your bright faces; I am glad that you decided to continue taking Charms. This year you will be learning some more complicated charms and you will all be expected to practice outside of the classroom as well. Today we will be learning a simple banishing spell."
With that he launched into is lesson while Lily hung onto every word, concentrating carefully on what he was saying. Ignoring the disrespectful chattering that was going on in the back of the room.
By the time Friday afternoon rolled around, the Professors had given the 6th years so much homework that they didn't know where to begin. Adaline and Lily were sitting outside on the docks, with their work spread around them. The Marauders sitting a ways away, laughing and talking. James was playing with his snitch, while Peter kept shooting longing looks at Adaline (who didn't notice his gaze).
The other 6th year girls were splashing around in the lake, out farther than the younger students who were still afraid of the giant squid. They claimed that they didn't even know where to start on their work, so they were going to ignore it. That had happened over an hour ago, and so far Lily only had half of her Transfiguration essay written, and from the looks of it, Adaline was not doing much better.
"I give up," Adaline said, "This Transfiguration essay is a lost cause. I am going to need more books from the Library to finish it…"
"I agree," Lily said, "It's hopeless today, the nice weather doesn't help."
"Want to join the other girls?" Adaline asked, and Lily nodded.
With their swimsuits already on and sunscreen applied, they were entering the water and swimming out towards their friends.
"So who's excited for the party tonight?" Gemma asked, referring to the start of the year party that was thrown in the Gryffindor common room.
"ME!" Adrian said excitedly.
"I don't know," Lily said, not really in the mood to attend a party later that night.
"Oh come on Lily, everyone goes!" Adrian said, looking at her friend with her best puppy-dog eyes.
"I'm pretty sure that the first and second years don't go," Alice replied cheekily, winking at her.
"Well, everyone else does, so THERE!" Adrian said, childishly sticking out her tongue.
"Do I have to go?" Lily asked, not wanting to spend the night where the Marauders would be everywhere.
Normally Lily did not mind attending parties, however, it had been a long week, and she really just wanted to curl up in bed with her book.
"YES." Adrian said, in a tone that said there was very little room for argument.
"There is no way in hell you are getting out of this…" Gemma said, "You need to at least come for a little while."
"Fine…" Lily said, groaning knowing better than to argue the fact.
Later that night the girls were all gathered in the bathroom fighting each other over mirror space (some roommates fighting harder than others), trying to get ready for the party. Gemma was using her wand to curl her strawberry blonde hair (which was closer to blonde at the moment). Alice and Adrian were helping each other straighten their hair; Alice's blonde hair falling to her shoulders and Adrian's black hair falling to her mid back. Adaline was pulling her black hair into a sleek ponytail at the top of her head, while Lily had thrown her red hair into a messy bun pulling out some red strands to frame her face.
After helping each other with their makeup they made their way into the dormitory, and began the battle of picking out an outfit.
In the end, Gemma ended up in Adrian's little black dress and Adrian ended up in Gemma's tight sparkly skirt with a flow-y black tank top. Alice wore a light and airy strapless blue dress that brought out her eyes, Adaline ended up in a yellow sun dress, while Lily wore dark skinny jeans and Alice's glittery tank top.
Once all of the girls were satisfied (which took much longer than they thought because Gemma couldn't make up her mind) they headed down stairs towards the blasting music. Lily was nervous about the party since they normally did not end well. Adaline and Lily normally ended up being the most sober and they often nominated themselves for drunk duty, making sure that no one made any extremely stupid decisions. However, stupid decisions were inevitable with their friends when alcohol was involved. Normally, they didn't mind, since they were the ones who made the choice (their friends insisting that they would be okay either way) and normally it was very entertaining (last year Adrian fell off a table when dancing-and she had yet to live it down). Tonight however, Lily wasn't in the mood, she wanted Wuthering Heights, a mug of tea and her warm bed.
At the bottom of the stairs they found themselves looking at the crowded common room, the party already in full motion with people dancing and drinking. In the corner the Marauders were laughing and supporting drinks of their, drinks that most likely had gracious amounts of firewhiskey.
Gemma and Adrian made their way straight towards the drink table, while Alice went straight towards where Candice was on the dance floor. Adaline and Lily made their way towards a corner (farthest away from the Marauders, of course) to stand by and people watch.
"I'm getting a butter beer, you want one Lils?" Adaline asked.
"Sure…I think I'm going to need one to get through the night…" Lily replied, and Adaline laughed at her as she walked away.
Lily and Adaline spent the next few hours standing close to the wall. They socialized with the few people who came up and talked with them, like Tyler and Frank, and made sure their friends didn't make completely awful decisions.
So far, they needed to calm Alice down, who was an emotional drunk, because she was almost in tears when she saw Julie and Frank kissing. They also needed to stop Adrian from punching Abby Hudson, a 7th year Gryffindor, who had apparently insulted Adrian's owl.
"This is going to be a long night…" Adaline said, after they finished getting Gemma (who was insisting that she really wasn't that drunk) off a table.
"You can say that again…" Lily groaned, searching the room for Alice and Adrian.
Lily spotted Alice standing in a corner with Candice, where they were most likely bitching about unrequited love and how stupid boys were. It took her a little longer to spot Adrian as she was in the middle of the dance floor dancing with Henry, a seventh year. Thankfully, she appeared to have gotten over the owl incident.
"Do you think that she'll sleep with him?" Adaline asked, eyeing her sister with a grin.
"I have no doubt in my mind, she has him wrapped around her finger," Lily laughed.
"Are you ladies having a good time?" asked Peter, coming over to talk.
Lily was a little skeptical at first, since he was a Marauder, and normally his idiotic friends weren't far behind. However, she had noticed him eyeing Adaline all night and Adaline's face had instantly lit up when he came to talk with her. Lily also needed to remember that their families were in the same circles, so they were actually close friends, since they saw each other all summer.
"You know, it's better than the summer parties…" Adaline said with a dark laugh and he nodded.
"How was your first week of classes?" Lily asked him, knowing it was a lame question, but not knowing what else to say.
"Pretty good," Peter said, smiling kindly at her before returning his gaze to Adaline, "Charms is going to be difficult though…it's only the first week and I'm already pretty confused…"
"I can help you…" Adaline offered, excitedly before adding, "If you would like..."
"Would you really?" Peter asked, grinning at her in relief.
"Of course I would Pete!" she said laughing.
"Thanks Ads," he said, "How about you, how were your first weeks?"
"Long…" Adaline said and Lily nodded in agreement.
"This is going to be one long year…" Lily said, offering him a small smile.
"Hey Wormy!"
Lily groaned internally when the rest of the group showed up. She had been tolerating Peter's presence, but she knew that would change with his friends were involved. She had known it was coming, since the four can rarely spend more than five minutes away from each other (the exception being the month last year when none of them talked with Sirius). Lily was hoping that they would leave her alone, but she knew the chances of that happening were slim to none.
"Hey Adaline, hey Evans," Potter said, smirking.
"Hey James," Adaline said, giving him a small nervous smile.
"Hey Potter," Lily said, trying to sound somewhat polite (it definitely failed, but at least she tried right?).
"I'm surprised to see you here Evans, aren't you normally in the Library?"
"I'm trying something new…" Lily said, fighting the urge to roll her eyes (I mean really, couldn't he come up with something better than that?).
"Well, how about a shot?" he offered, his smirk growing, while Sirius looked like a little kid on Christmas.
"No thanks, I'm good with my butterbeer," Lily said, and Adaline moved a little closer, knowing she would probably have to stop her friend from hexing them, while Peter gave her an apologetic look.
"Come on Evans, don't be such a killjoy…" Black said, with a wolfish grin.
"Yeah Evans, don't be such a bore!" Potter added.
"I'm not taking a shot with you, so you can run along and leave me alone."
"See Evans, this is why no one likes you…you have a permanent stick up your ass, honestly…this is why you haven't had a boyfriend since, what? 4th year?" he asked, bringing up their conversation from Monday morning, knowing it had struck a chord.
Lily instantly stiffened, while Adaline glared, "I seem to recall they stayed away because you told them too. You know, with your asking her out all the time. Merlin Potter, do you always have to be such an ass?"
The Marauders stared at Adaline in shock for a moment, it was unlike her to swear or raise her voice. While she was only close with Peter these days, she was not normally openly hostile to the other boys.
"I asked her out as a joke Adaline. Honestly, it annoyed her creepy friend and it annoyed her, two birds with one stone ya know?"
Before Adaline could stop Lily, she raised her butterbeer bottle and tossed the contents at him. James looked at Lily in shock, while Adaline looked proudly at her friend. Sure, it wasn't as effective as Lily had hoped, but it felt good.
"You, James Potter, have got to be the biggest prick on the planet. If there was a choice between you and Snape, I might actually choose him! At least there is possibility hope for him, you are a lost cause. Soon enough everyone will realize what an asshole you are and you will be alone."
"He won't be alone," Sirius, said cheekily, keeping a nervous eye on James, "I'll always love you Prongs!"
Lily just rolled her eyes and walked towards the dorms. She no longer had the ability to stay in the room with James Potter. She was blinking back tears as she walked up the stairs, reminding herself that this was Potter and his words shouldn't matter anymore. However, that was easier said than done.
Lily sat down by the window, and opened it just a crack. She could still hear the party going on downstairs, but it was fairly easy to drown out. She just closed my eyes and tried not to focus on what Potter said. Lily knew it wasn't entirely true; a few guys had dared to face James Potter's torment and asked her on a date, the problem was they never really went anywhere. They would go on a date, maybe two, and then they would be done. Lily had started to wonder if it had something to do with her, when shouting pulled her out of her thoughts (which was probably a good thing).
"JAMES POTTER YOU PUT THAT OUT RIGHT NOW! WHAT WOULD YOUR MOTHER SAY IF SHE COULD SEE YOU SMOKING?!" Alice's drunken voice carried.
Lily cracked a small smile at that, knowing that this was why Alice was Isabel Potter's favorite child (even if they were not blood related). Lily didn't hear his response, but Alice had stopped yelling, so she assumed he put it out.
Lily got up from her spot next to the window, changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed. It was not long before she was asleep, dreaming of throwing butterbeer in Potter's face.
Personally, really enjoyed having Lily throw a butterbeer in his face. What do you all think so far? Who do you want to see more of?