Disclaimer: Sadly, the wonderful world of Harry Potter does NOT belong to me... One can only wish...
Chapter Five
"Lily? Lils. Where are you?" James called quietly as he entered the library. It was silent. He was walking to the Potions section when he caught a flash of red. He followed it into a deserted aisle. There he found Lily, fuming and sitting with her back against the shelves.
"What do you want?" she asked stubbornly.
James slid down to sit next to Lily. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Sirius just pissed me off so I came here to do some— never mind," Lily said.
"Do what? Homework?" he asked.
"No, something else. It's none of your business."
"Come on, tell me," James asked sweetly.
"Fine, I was reading."
"Reading?"
"Yes, reading. Happy?" Lily asked getting up. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going up to my room." She went and checked out the book she had been reading. James let her leave, but he didn't get up.
He sat there, with his head tilted up and his eyes closed, thinking. At 8:30, the librarian came in and shooed him out. He then went up the common room he shared with Lily and got his books. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't notice Lily at first.
"Hello? Are you in there?" Lily called when James didn't answer her question.
Her voice startled him out of his reverie. "Huh? What? Sorry, Lils, I was just thinking. Did you say something?"
Lily shook her head. "Never mind. What were you thinking so hard about, anyway?"
"Just… life, I guess. I realized that I'm seventeen and I'm going to be out of school in a year and don't have a plan for life," he responded slowly.
"I thought you were going to be an Auror," Lily answered, puzzled.
"Well, yeah, but other stuff in my life… like someone to spend the rest of my life with and all that," he replied.
"Oh," Lily said, surprised.
"You sound surprised," James said, finally looking her in the eye.
"Well, yeah, I am. I mean, most people just think about graduating and their career. And I didn't really expect you to be thinking about things like that," Lily said.
"What, you don't think I'm capable of thinking ahead?" James asked, smiling.
"Well, with your immaturity, and all those pranks you pull, no!" Lily exclaimed.
"Well I bet that you couldn't go two weeks without insulting me," James said.
"I wasn't insulting you! I was pointing out my disbelief that you actually think about the future," Lily retorted.
"All the same, you wouldn't be able to do it," James replied evenly.
"Can too. The bet will be on as soon as we figure out the terms, Potter," Lily replied, a competitive look in her eyes.
"Okay. Let's see, you can't insult me to my face, behind my back, to your friends, or on paper for exactly two weeks—fourteen days," James began.
"Okay, okay, fine. But what are the terms—what will you do for me if I win?" Lily interrupted.
"Okay, if I win, I get a date with you and when you lose you will go on a date with me," James said.
"That's the same thing!"
"I know. Now you can choose what happens if—and I doubt I will—I lose," James answered.
Lily got an evil look in her eyes as she contemplated the best form of torture for James Potter. He looked at her rather apprehensively. "I got it!" she exclaimed suddenly. "Tutu!"
"Tutu?" James repeated in a strangled voice, but looking confused nonetheless.
"Yes, tutu. When I win, you will be forced to wear a tutu in… pink. All day during school. And you'll have pink ballet shoes," she said triumphantly.
The color drained from James' face as he said, "Pink? All day? Lily! That's horrible."
"That's the price you pay for letting me choose. But wait, there's more," Lily replied.
"More?"
"Yes, more. Since I'm not allowed to insult you, during that time, I'm going to bet that you wouldn't be able to insult or hex any Slytherin. Same terms, okay?" Lily asked.
James stuck out his hand. "Yeah. May the best wizard win."
"Or witch." Lily said, taking James' hand and shaking it. "At exactly… 10:39 pm the bet will end."
"What happens if we both win?" James asked suddenly.
Lily shrugged. "I don't know. I guess since neither of us lost, then nothing happens."
"Alright, Lils. Good night," James replied, hugging her. He smirked when Lily gasped and pushed him away.
"Get away from me you big— " Lily began but stopped and looked at James suspiciously. "You were trying to trick me into insulting you, weren't you?"
James nodded, grinning cheekily. "Yep, didn't work I guess. But I'll win, don't you worry, Lily, darling," he said, walking upstairs to his room. Once there, he took out a piece of parchment and began writing.
"Hey guys! Check this out. Someone's sent us a note," Madison said, opening the window to let the owl in.
"Who's it for?" Darcie asked, coming in with a towel wrapped around her wet hair.
"All of us," Madison replied, looking at the name on the note. The other two came over and looked curiously at the note. Madison opened it and read it out loud.
Hey girls. It's James. Just letting you know the details of what happened before Lily tells you guys. We've got a bet going and if I win, I get a date with Lily. If I lose, I have to wear a tutu during school. Scary, I know. I was just wondering if you girls could give me a hand in securing a date with Miss Lily Evans. If she insults me in any way, let me know because that's what she's betting on—that she'd be able to refrain from insulting me in any way for two weeks. Thanks Darce, Madison and Alexa.
JamesDarcie looked over the letter quickly. "Hm, well this is sure going to be an interesting year, isn't it? So, girls. What do you think? Who should we help?"
"I always thought that Lily and James looked cute together," Alexa commented.
"I don't wanna see James in a tutu. It's scary beyond words," Madison said, shuddering.
"Same here. And I thought Lily and James were made for each other. It's decided then, isn't it? We'll help James get a date with Lils," Darcie said, looking around. Alexa and Madison were nodding.
"Anyone got a game plan?" Alexa asked, sitting back down on her bed.
"I dunno, but we've gotta be subtle. Otherwise Lily will find out about it," Darcie said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, Lils is gonna think that we're on her side and won't be so careful because if she did slip up, then we wouldn't do anything," Madison answered.
"So, how do we document it—I mean if she does slip?" Darcie asked.
"Bug her?"
"What's that, Alexa?" Madison asked, looking at Alexa with a befuddled expression.
"Never mind, it won't work here. But maybe there is a magical way of recording her. Let's check out the library tomorrow," Alexa said. "There must be a spell that will record any insult she says…" she trailed off when the door opened.
"Hey guys! What's rollin'?" A girl with a thin face and dark blonde hair said, coming in and closing the door. Her name was Marissa and she was a prefect in their year. The girls did all they could to keep from rolling their eyes.
"Not much. We're just discussing tactics," Madison said, in a mockingly sweet voice.
"Is that so?" she said, sitting down on her own bed and checking her reflection. Marissa was so self-absorbed that she rarely noticed anyone else. "What kind of tactics?"
"Tactics for Lily to get James," Darcie said, unable to keep the smirk out her voice. As predicted, Marissa dropped the mirror.
"WHAT? I mean… what do you mean? Lily hates James," Marissa said, saying "James" in a dreamy voice.
"Well, we think that they're perfect for each other," Madison responded, crossing her arms and staring at Marissa.
"Uh. Whatever. Don't look at me like that," she said in a snotty voice.
"You shouldn't take that tone with me, because I might make it literal," Madison threatened, waving her wand.
Marissa sniffed derisively. "What ever. All I'm going to say is that you're wasting your time."
"Oh, yeah? How so?" Darcie asked.
"Because James wouldn't waste his time on the likes of her. Not when he knows that I'm interested. When I want something, I get it," Marissa said, marching out of the dorm room.
As soon as she left, the girls looked at each other and promptly began laughing.
"'I get whatever I want,'" Madison mimicked Marissa.
"Who does she think she is? If she thinks that James would choose her over Lily, then she's got a Retard Jinx put on her," Darcie added, laughing.
"James choosing her over Lily? Ha. He wouldn't choose the most perfect, popular, beautiful, sweetest person over Lily," Alexa said. The others looked at her. "Well, it's true. Have you seen how he looks at her? I think he's the one for her."
"You're right, Alexa. Lily just doesn't see it—yet. But I think Marissa could help us… at least later on," Madison mused.
"How?" the other two asked simultaneously.
"Well, Lily is friends with James now. Soon she might have feelings for him—ones that she won't even admit to herself. Then we put Marissa into the picture. You know how she is. Lily will get jealous and say something. And then the snowball begins rolling." Madison explained.
"I like it. Without some outburst from Lily, it would take James forever to see that they've got something. But first we have to focus on getting them a date together," Darcie said.
"We've finished with that. We're looking up spells tomorrow, remember?" Alexa asked.
"Oh, yeah. Well that's it I guess. Listen, Mads, can you help me with Defense?" Darcie asked, pulling out her book.
Five minutes later Alexa looked up from her homework. "Hey, did we ever send James a note back letting him know we're gonna help him?"
"Nope," Madison said, without looking up.
"Well, I'm gonna send him one. I'll see you guys later," Alexa said, leaving the room.
Hey James. It's Alexa. Thanks for the heads up about the bet. We thought that we'd give you a break and side with you this time. We're looking for a way to record Lily's insults magically. If you have any ideas, let us know.
Alexa
Alexa finished the note and then sent it. When she got back the girls were in the same positions they had been when she left. Grinning to herself, Alexa pulled out a roll of parchment and her Herbology book. Groaning, she set to work.
That was chapter five, folks. Hope you liked it. As always, tell me your opinions in your reviews. A big thank you to my reviewers:
xoxo-loza-xoxo
Marauder's Mad
Carmel MarchThank you, one and all! Until next week. D