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~*~ Mirrors and Mistletoe ~*~
Chapter Two---
Only a smattering of students ever remained on campus at Hogwarts during the breaks. Usually only the poor souls who didn't have any family to go home to or else their families didn't want them to visit.
'Kind of like me,' Lily thought as she followed James Potter into the dining hall. She knew that it wasn't so much that her parents didn't want her home as it was her sister's dearest wish.
Petunia.
What a git.
For as long as Lily could remember, even before her magical tendencies began to surface, Petunia had chosen to make their relationship one of rivalry and contention. Every trip home since her entry into Hogwarts always left her seething with barely restrained anger and her mother in tears muttering something about her children hating her. No, even though she'd miss seeing her parents this Christmas, not having to deal with Petunia's whining or her disgusting boyfriend, Vernon, would actually be somewhat welcome. Besides, all her time of solitude would give her a chance to get a jump on the reading for next term.
She cast an inadvertent glance sideways at James. Now that he was staying around, she wasn't so sure she would be left alone as much as she had planned. It had been somewhat of a surprise to find that although all of their close friends were gone, they two would be left behind--- together--- alone.
Lily didn't know why it unsettled her so. She'd been dealing with James Potter and his overblown ego for years now--- star of the quidditch team, most popular boy in school, arrogant, rich, pureblood wizard.
He was perfect.
And that's why she despised him.
Well, not really despised--- it was more of an amicable loathing. Although she'd have gladly turned him into a worm on several occasions, he had become a bit more bearable over the past year or so. However, that still did not erase the cruel and merciless pranks she'd witnessed him perform on other students, usually urged on by his equally self-centered friend, Sirius Black. It drove her crazy how James could tease students mercilessly one day and the next they'd be cheering him on at the quidditch match as if they were his biggest fans.
It wasn't right.
And Lily Evans lived to do what was right, which had led her into many confrontations with James Potter, defending the defenseless. It had become her own personal mission to thwart his and Black's bullying tricks, but if she didn't know better, she'd think James played many of his pranks just to get her attention.
But she did know better. Despite his many proclamations of interest in a relationship with her, she saw them for what they were--- empty words. James Potter didn't truly care for her. He was Hogwarts' golden boy, and she--- she was simple, middle class, mudblood Evans, as many Slytherins had reminded her over the years. To James, she was just one challenge he hadn't conquered yet-one prize he had yet to win. And that was exactly how she planned on keeping it, too. She had warmed to the role of the unobtainable catch, and, in the process, learned how to protect her heart.
As they approached the Gryffindor table, Lily tried to avoid Howard's eyes. James already suspected something, and she didn't want to give him any more reason to wonder. She kept telling herself it was necessary in order to protect Howard and herself. It would never do for James to know what had transpired in the owlery last week. Neither one of them would ever live it down.
James went around the table and took a seat next to Howard across from Lily, running his hand back through his hair. She chuckled inwardly at his attempt to be cool. Many girls found that one little move to be so attractive, but she just wanted to hold him down and run a brush through it. Maybe then it would stay in place and he would stop trying to look so handsome.
"Hey, Clarkson," James announced as he settled in. "What's on the menu tonight?"
Howard glanced up, and noticing Lily, immediately turned as red as her hair. Silently, she screamed at him to not be so bloody obvious, but it wasn't working. A mischievous smirk had already spread across James's face as he looked back and forth between his two dinner companions.
"I hope you don't mind that Evans here decided to tag along," James continued. "She couldn't resist an opportunity to dine with the two most attractive men in school, right, Evans?"
He was staring at her with that stupid grin and with his stupid hair all mussed just perfectly and she wanted to smack him. Instead, she decided to go head to head.
"Well, considering you are the only two men in school right now, I didn't have much choice," she replied coldly.
"Ouch!" James declared with a smile on his lips. "Now that's a bit unfair, don't you think? We're not really the only two here. Why, there's old Snivellus over at the Slytherin table. He's one of your favorites, isn't he, Evans? You could be eating with him, but instead here you are." He leaned back arrogantly and continued. "I think you're all bluster--- that there's no other place you'd rather be right now but right here with me--- and Clarkson, of course."
He narrowed his gaze at Lily and she squirmed inwardly. He was too smart for his own good. Poor Howard. He couldn't hide his nervousness even though he was the most at risk for receiving the brunt of James's teasing if Potter found out. She stiffened her back-for Howard's sake-and replied.
"Tell yourself what you like," she smiled tightly. "I'm just here for the food." And with that, she picked up a fork and knife and dug in to the heaping platters of food in front of her.
James chuckled under his breath, which only infuriated her more. Then he thankfully changed the subject.
"So, what do you two think of all this talk about he-who-must-not-be- named?"
"You mean Voldemort?" Lily asked.
Howard paled and dropped his utensils with a loud clank. "You-you said his name!" he exclaimed in a hushed whisper.
"Of course I did. Why shouldn't I say it? Fear of something merely perpetuates its power."
"Well, you know that some cultures believe that speaking a person's name actually grants him even more power. By not speaking a name, you strip him of his influence," James stated academically. Howard and Lily both simply stared at James in shock to hear him speak so intelligently. "What?!" he insisted. "I'm not all looks, you know. I have the brains to go with the beauty."
Lily moaned and rolled her eyes.
Looking across the table at the two young men as they continued their meal, she marveled at how different they were, in every way. Howard was classically handsome, his neatly groomed blond hair set off by his sparkling blue eyes. His smile could bring any female to her knees, but he wasn't even aware of his own appeal. Up until a year ago, he had been a short, chubby boy. Now he had blossomed into a beautiful young man, only with the self-esteem of his younger years. He was kind and sensitive-quite the catch for some lucky girl.
He caught her looking at him, smiled shyly, and quickly looked away.
Then there was James.
He wasn't as outwardly handsome as Howard or even his best friend, Sirius, yet he was hands down the most popular boy at Hogwarts. Taller than nearly everyone else, his hazel eyes were attractive even behind his glasses. His nose was a bit too long, but his wide smile made up for any other imperfections. Then there was that bloody hair! She remembered telling a friend that Potter must be training to be a model for Quidditch Quarterly magazine since he was always trying to look like he'd just jumped off his broom after winning the Quidditch World Cup.
Yes, as much as she detested James Potter, he was appealing-in his own odd way.
Suddenly, she realized he had noticed her staring and the corner of his mouth pulled up into a knowing smirk as he offered her another quick wink.
Oh, what an insufferable lout!
Lily decided retreat was the best course of action, so she stood up from the table and made to leave. "I'm going back to my room. Thank you for the fine dinner conversation--- Howard." Then she turned to go.
"What about me?" she heard James call after her. For a moment, she thought he might follow her, but, to her slight disappointment, he did not. She was almost to the door of the dining hall when she heard him again.
"You're mad about me, Evans!" he yelled. "Admit it! You can't live without me!"
She didn't stop---didn't even turn around--- but she couldn't help but laugh.
If nothing else, James Potter was persistent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC.
~*~ Mirrors and Mistletoe ~*~
Chapter Two---
Only a smattering of students ever remained on campus at Hogwarts during the breaks. Usually only the poor souls who didn't have any family to go home to or else their families didn't want them to visit.
'Kind of like me,' Lily thought as she followed James Potter into the dining hall. She knew that it wasn't so much that her parents didn't want her home as it was her sister's dearest wish.
Petunia.
What a git.
For as long as Lily could remember, even before her magical tendencies began to surface, Petunia had chosen to make their relationship one of rivalry and contention. Every trip home since her entry into Hogwarts always left her seething with barely restrained anger and her mother in tears muttering something about her children hating her. No, even though she'd miss seeing her parents this Christmas, not having to deal with Petunia's whining or her disgusting boyfriend, Vernon, would actually be somewhat welcome. Besides, all her time of solitude would give her a chance to get a jump on the reading for next term.
She cast an inadvertent glance sideways at James. Now that he was staying around, she wasn't so sure she would be left alone as much as she had planned. It had been somewhat of a surprise to find that although all of their close friends were gone, they two would be left behind--- together--- alone.
Lily didn't know why it unsettled her so. She'd been dealing with James Potter and his overblown ego for years now--- star of the quidditch team, most popular boy in school, arrogant, rich, pureblood wizard.
He was perfect.
And that's why she despised him.
Well, not really despised--- it was more of an amicable loathing. Although she'd have gladly turned him into a worm on several occasions, he had become a bit more bearable over the past year or so. However, that still did not erase the cruel and merciless pranks she'd witnessed him perform on other students, usually urged on by his equally self-centered friend, Sirius Black. It drove her crazy how James could tease students mercilessly one day and the next they'd be cheering him on at the quidditch match as if they were his biggest fans.
It wasn't right.
And Lily Evans lived to do what was right, which had led her into many confrontations with James Potter, defending the defenseless. It had become her own personal mission to thwart his and Black's bullying tricks, but if she didn't know better, she'd think James played many of his pranks just to get her attention.
But she did know better. Despite his many proclamations of interest in a relationship with her, she saw them for what they were--- empty words. James Potter didn't truly care for her. He was Hogwarts' golden boy, and she--- she was simple, middle class, mudblood Evans, as many Slytherins had reminded her over the years. To James, she was just one challenge he hadn't conquered yet-one prize he had yet to win. And that was exactly how she planned on keeping it, too. She had warmed to the role of the unobtainable catch, and, in the process, learned how to protect her heart.
As they approached the Gryffindor table, Lily tried to avoid Howard's eyes. James already suspected something, and she didn't want to give him any more reason to wonder. She kept telling herself it was necessary in order to protect Howard and herself. It would never do for James to know what had transpired in the owlery last week. Neither one of them would ever live it down.
James went around the table and took a seat next to Howard across from Lily, running his hand back through his hair. She chuckled inwardly at his attempt to be cool. Many girls found that one little move to be so attractive, but she just wanted to hold him down and run a brush through it. Maybe then it would stay in place and he would stop trying to look so handsome.
"Hey, Clarkson," James announced as he settled in. "What's on the menu tonight?"
Howard glanced up, and noticing Lily, immediately turned as red as her hair. Silently, she screamed at him to not be so bloody obvious, but it wasn't working. A mischievous smirk had already spread across James's face as he looked back and forth between his two dinner companions.
"I hope you don't mind that Evans here decided to tag along," James continued. "She couldn't resist an opportunity to dine with the two most attractive men in school, right, Evans?"
He was staring at her with that stupid grin and with his stupid hair all mussed just perfectly and she wanted to smack him. Instead, she decided to go head to head.
"Well, considering you are the only two men in school right now, I didn't have much choice," she replied coldly.
"Ouch!" James declared with a smile on his lips. "Now that's a bit unfair, don't you think? We're not really the only two here. Why, there's old Snivellus over at the Slytherin table. He's one of your favorites, isn't he, Evans? You could be eating with him, but instead here you are." He leaned back arrogantly and continued. "I think you're all bluster--- that there's no other place you'd rather be right now but right here with me--- and Clarkson, of course."
He narrowed his gaze at Lily and she squirmed inwardly. He was too smart for his own good. Poor Howard. He couldn't hide his nervousness even though he was the most at risk for receiving the brunt of James's teasing if Potter found out. She stiffened her back-for Howard's sake-and replied.
"Tell yourself what you like," she smiled tightly. "I'm just here for the food." And with that, she picked up a fork and knife and dug in to the heaping platters of food in front of her.
James chuckled under his breath, which only infuriated her more. Then he thankfully changed the subject.
"So, what do you two think of all this talk about he-who-must-not-be- named?"
"You mean Voldemort?" Lily asked.
Howard paled and dropped his utensils with a loud clank. "You-you said his name!" he exclaimed in a hushed whisper.
"Of course I did. Why shouldn't I say it? Fear of something merely perpetuates its power."
"Well, you know that some cultures believe that speaking a person's name actually grants him even more power. By not speaking a name, you strip him of his influence," James stated academically. Howard and Lily both simply stared at James in shock to hear him speak so intelligently. "What?!" he insisted. "I'm not all looks, you know. I have the brains to go with the beauty."
Lily moaned and rolled her eyes.
Looking across the table at the two young men as they continued their meal, she marveled at how different they were, in every way. Howard was classically handsome, his neatly groomed blond hair set off by his sparkling blue eyes. His smile could bring any female to her knees, but he wasn't even aware of his own appeal. Up until a year ago, he had been a short, chubby boy. Now he had blossomed into a beautiful young man, only with the self-esteem of his younger years. He was kind and sensitive-quite the catch for some lucky girl.
He caught her looking at him, smiled shyly, and quickly looked away.
Then there was James.
He wasn't as outwardly handsome as Howard or even his best friend, Sirius, yet he was hands down the most popular boy at Hogwarts. Taller than nearly everyone else, his hazel eyes were attractive even behind his glasses. His nose was a bit too long, but his wide smile made up for any other imperfections. Then there was that bloody hair! She remembered telling a friend that Potter must be training to be a model for Quidditch Quarterly magazine since he was always trying to look like he'd just jumped off his broom after winning the Quidditch World Cup.
Yes, as much as she detested James Potter, he was appealing-in his own odd way.
Suddenly, she realized he had noticed her staring and the corner of his mouth pulled up into a knowing smirk as he offered her another quick wink.
Oh, what an insufferable lout!
Lily decided retreat was the best course of action, so she stood up from the table and made to leave. "I'm going back to my room. Thank you for the fine dinner conversation--- Howard." Then she turned to go.
"What about me?" she heard James call after her. For a moment, she thought he might follow her, but, to her slight disappointment, he did not. She was almost to the door of the dining hall when she heard him again.
"You're mad about me, Evans!" he yelled. "Admit it! You can't live without me!"
She didn't stop---didn't even turn around--- but she couldn't help but laugh.
If nothing else, James Potter was persistent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC.