Disclaimer: Nothing new here, it still belongs to Rowling.
A/N: Sorry everyone, once again it took me forever to update. I just couldn't get into writing at all and once I had the first draft written I couldn't bring myself to look over it; I don't know what's wrong with me this summer. I still really love this story and do want to continue it. I am really happy with this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it. Again I'm sorry for the long wait and I thank you all for being patient and sticking with the story.
Remus Lupin always prided himself in being responsible, level-headed and punctual. That's why he couldn't understand why he was the one tearing the room apart looking for his lost shoe.
Remus was usually the first one to be ready and had a tendency to chide his roommates for taking too long.
"You can borrow one of my shoes," James offered. It was a kind offer, but James's feet were a whole size bigger and he wouldn't be able to concentrate for the entire day until he found it.
"I need to find it!" Remus cried out loudly though thankfully his voice sounded muffled since he was under the bed.
He could hear Peter whining about being late. Peter was terrified of Professor Adair with good reason. Though Peter, out of the four of them had never been singled out by the Professor in class.
Surprisingly Sirius told James and Peter to go ahead to class. There was some argument, but by the time Remus had come out from under the bed only Sirius remained.
"You don't have to wait for me," Remus said.
Why was he waiting? Both Sirius and James had been distant toward him since the last full moon. He couldn't blame them. Remus wasn't a very good liar so it was probably blatantly obvious that he wasn't telling the truth.
"Ah, I'm not afraid of Adair. She already thinks the worst of me. I might as well live up to her expectations."
Remus frowned slightly. He couldn't disagree more. He was always trying to change the Professor's expectations of a werewolf wizard. He wanted to show them that it didn't affect his magical ability at all.
"Cheer up! Is this what you're looking for?"
The black haired youth was holding his missing black loafer.
"Where did you find it?" Remus demanded.
"It was under Peter's bag. I spotted it when they left. Don't be too hard on the lad."
Remus couldn't help but smile, "Thanks, Sirius."
After he had tied his shoelaces they were already on their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
As they walked along Remus tried to think of a topic to talk about.
"So what did you think of the homework?"
Why was it that all he could ever talk about was schoolwork? Especially when talking to his peers. Remus knew Sirius didn't consider completing homework as a priority, so he couldn't understand why Sirius's face whitened considerable.
"Adair assigned homework, didn't she?" Sirius's voice was barely above a whisper.
"Yes. Did you forget to do it? Well you weren't really in class, so I'm sure she'll give you an extension."
"No, I saw her afterwards. She expects me to complete it. I didn't mean to forget. With my mum visiting and then…" Sirius abruptly stopped in the hallway.
"I can't go. She'll kill me. I'll just skip class!"
"What? You can't do that! You already missed yesterday!" Remus would never understand how some people could just skip class. Remus hated skipping class even for good reason, such as turning into a vicious beast once a month.
"I don't care. Tell her I'm sick…"
Remus glanced at his wristwatch. There was still five minutes until class started. The best solution Remus could come up with was letting Sirius copy his homework. He reasoned with himself that helping a friend did not count as cheating. He wanted James and Sirius to like him. He needed to be liked. This would be a golden opportunity and Sirius was genuinely concerned about forgetting his homework – it could happen to anyone. And with a mother like Sirius could he blame him for forgetting something as mundane as an assignment?
"You can copy my homework," Remus offered before he could talk himself out of it.
"Seriously?"
Remus smiled, "You did find my shoe."
"Consider us even then," Sirius said with a grin.
They plopped themselves down near the classroom, but far away enough that no one from inside the classroom could see them. Adair usually entered from the faculty door that was inside each classroom, so there was a slim chance she or anyone else would catch them.
The only vaguely suspicious thing Remus saw was Snape gazing at them and promptly slinking into the classroom. Though it really wasn't that unusual, Snape had a habit of slinking everywhere he went. Remus didn't consider Snape a pleasant fellow, yet at the same time he didn't harbor ill feelings toward the odd boy like James and Sirius.
A hovering shadow brought Remus out of his daydream. Scratch that. It wasn't a harmless shadow, but a raging windy storm about to erupt. That shadow belonged to Professor Adair and she was staring down at them as if they were two pieces of worthless dust. Remus watched her face grow taunt and her mouth grim and it appeared as if she were enlarging at the same time. Remus did not have to look over at Sirius to tell that he was just as terrified of this woman.
"Having your own class out here, boys?" Her voice sounded sing-songy. That sound startled Remus more than the cold hard voice she usually used when reprehending students. Remus wished he could vanish the two pieces of incriminating evidence in Sirius's hands.
"Well?" she demanded when neither of them answered. Remus hadn't thought she had actually wanted a real answer.
"We're allowed to be out here. The bell hasn't rung yet," Sirius said.
And just as Sirius finished speaking the first bell rang (you better be about to enter the classroom), then the second bell (you better be in your seat) and the last bell (you're late!).
"You're late now! Hand over your homework."
As Sirius passed her their sheets of paper, Remus realized a second too late that they should have told her that they had been unable to complete the assignment instead of giving her evidence that they had cheated. Adair stared at their sheets for a long time allowing all sorts of horrible punishments to enter their minds.
"Stand up!" Professor Adair commanded. They scrambled to their feet. "Front of the classroom. Immediately."
It dawned on Remus that Adair was planning to question them publicly – to humiliate them and there was absolutely nothing they could do about it. Sharing a look with Sirius as they entered the classroom, Remus wished Sirius looked more defiant. All eyes fell on them and James looked very worried. Remus hoped James would stay quiet and not get caught up in the mess. Adair appeared slamming their parchments onto a desk and with a flick of her writs there were now two larger versions of their work displayed so the entire classroom could see them.
"Tell me Mr. Black, why does your unfinished homework look identical to Mr. Lupin's?"
"Great minds think alike," Sirius's voice wavered, but he firmly added "Professor" as an afterthought.
"Amusing, Black. That was really amusing. Would you like to change your answer or should I just keep docking points of Gryffindor?"
"How many did I lose so far?" Sirius muttered.
"It was Ten. Now it's now Twenty."
"He was copying my homework, ma'am," Remus blurted out before Sirius could say anything more.
"Would you two care to share with me why you feel that Mr. Back is special enough that he doesn't have to complete his homework on his own?"
Remus wanted to explain- tell Adair- he wasn't what she thought. With Sirius's next words he ruined any chance of Adair going soft on them.
"I am special, Professor. I'm the heir to the Noble and Ancient House of Black."
Adair didn't take lightly to the cheek.
"Watch your tongue Mr. Black," Adair thundered, "I am as tolerant with rudeness as I am cheating. You lucky boys are about to test my tolerance as well as serve as an example for the rest of your classmates."
She turned from facing Sirius to facing the classroom.
"When you let someone else copy your work you are being disrespectful to yourself. You are cheating yourself and you are hurting the person who should be doing the work themselves. No matter what assignment I give you I expect you to work on it on your own. You have questions you do not ask your classmates. You ask me. I hope this is crystal clear to everyone because this is your one and only warning. Cross me or test me and you will find yourselves in Mr. Black's and Mr. Lupin's shoes. Twenty five points each from Gryffindor, you each will be receiving a zero on the assignment, and after class you will be visiting your Head of House."
Adair turned to glare at them once more for good measure. "Take your seats!"
Sirius started for the open table in the back near James and Peter, but Adair stopped him making them sit in the vacant table right in the front center of the room. Remus took out his notebook as quietly as possible. A zero! It was the first zero he had ever received on an assignment.
"And before I forget I'm awarding Slytherin 10 points. A student who will remain anonymous alerted me about Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin."
Remus could feel James's eyes upon them. James was most likely burning with questions, but they would have to wait. Remus did not remember a thing that was discussed during that entire period. His face was still burning from the public embarrassment and his mind kept going to what McGonagall would say. A lecture from Adair and McGonagall on the same day would be torture.
The moment class ended James was on his feet and beside them whispering questions rapidly. Before they could explain to him what had happened, Adair stepped in. She forced James to leave and it was obvious that he was very reluctant to leave them alone in her evil clutches. With no witnesses, Adair could do anything.
Professor Adair began to pace in front of them and said, "I expected behavior like this from someone like you, Mr. Lupin," Remus physically recoiled. She knew he was a werewolf, all the staff did. It had been one of the requirements that Dumbledore had stated, this way the teachers would understand his absences without any additional trouble. "But, Mr. Black you should know better. Your parents have brought you up better and I will inform them about his. Someone with your upbringing should not resort to such barbarian ways."
"I'm sure the Black fortune was obtained entirely by legal means- no cheating at all," Sirius said sarcastically. Remus desperately wished Sirius would stop being so cheeky. Adair wanted them on their knees telling her how sorry they were and not muttering sarcastic things under their breaths.
Adair raised her eyebrows, but herded them down the hall way to McGonagall's office without saying another word. Remus could only hope Adair would remember that he had stayed respectful.
"May I help you?" McGonagall asked not pleased by the interruption.
"Yes, Minevera. These boys would like to tell you something."
Before Sirius could say something that would enrage McGonagall Remus blurted out the truth. He told her everything.
"Is that right, Mr. Black?" she asked him sharply. Remus realized he had made it sound as if he had caused the incident, which in truth he really had.
"Most of it. It was my fault though I forced him."
"No, it was my idea. If I hadn't offered…"
"I see," McGonagall said her lips pursed even more and she considered them for a few very long silent minutes. Instead of addressing them she turned to Professor Adair.
"I understand this is your first time teaching, but this is a very common infraction amongst students. In such close living quarters many students opt for the easy way out. Not to say that it shouldn't go unpunished, but it doesn't really warrant a visit to my office. Next time a letter would have been most efficient to let me know the problem that had occurred."
"So I am allowed to punish students as I see fit?"
"Yes. You caught them, so it is in your right to dictate the punishment." McGonagall looked bored.
"I see. I was confused. Only yesterday you stepped in for Mr. Potter's punishment. I thought I had to have your permission"
McGonagall seemed to be looking at Adair in a whole new light. "That was a special circumstance."
"I highly view Quidditch tryouts as a special circumstance! I think Mr. Potter would have learned a very important lesson had been forced to miss it. I can see why Gryffindor has the most misbehaved students out of the houses with a Head as relaxed as you.'
"House Quidditch is a very important tradition at the school. Mr. Potter still served the detention, there was no harm in that."
"No harm, expect that my authority was undermined."
"If you wish to discuss this further, I suggest you speak with the Headmaster."
Adair turned to them now, "I expect to see you two tomorrow morning at 9:00 am in my office," Adair turned to leave and then as if this was an afterthought (such as asking where someone bought that delicious pie they had just served for dinner), "Is physical punishments still allowed at Hogwarts?"
Professor McGonagall did not bother to hide how shocked she felt. "Technically it is. But none of the teachers use that anymore. It's been years…"
"I find it to be a most useful means…" Adair was watching Sirius's reaction with interest.
"I don't think the boys did something that…"
Adair did not let her finish, "I'm afraid we will have to agree to disagree. I think what they did was very serious. Apparently Hogwarts wishes to teach is students that cheating is not that a big deal. Well I intend to make my policies on cheating crystal clear. If I'm lucky I won't have to deal with any cheating all year and who knows if the punishment is severe enough, stories of my cruel nature might be circulated for years."
Remus felt his body start to tremble. This woman was mad, insane – how had Dumbledore allowed her a teaching position. He generally enjoyed the classes best with no-nonsense teachers, but not like this. Adair seemed to think she had made her intentions clear because she left them standing heads bowed in front of McGonagall.
McGonagall sighed heavily," Gentlemen you will do whatever Adair asks of you for however long she demands."
"What if she?" Remus couldn't say it.
"Hits us?" Sirius finished for him.
"It isn't against any rules. There isn't much I can do. Please remember that Adair doesn't need much encouragement to punish students – particularly Gryffindor – without you handing it to her on a silver platter."
Before they left Remus tried to implore to McGonagall that they were really sorry. He didn't want to be labeled as a troublemaker. She seemed to understand, but besides that she was unable to give them any solace. Adair's punishment was going to be rough and painful.
When James finally had a chance to talk with them right before dinner the first words out of his mouth, "Are you guys crazy? Right in front of the classroom?" James shook his head in disbelief, "I thought you would have more sense, Remus."
Sirius nodded peering at Remus as if he had seen him for the first time – as a real troublemaker. "You did surprise me when you offered your homework. You're always so careful with yours. Not smudging the ink…"
"Or writing too big," James said grinning.
"Or writing to small," Peter added.
It had been out of character of him. Remus smiled widely, "I'm a marauder at heart."
Is this what it took to impress James and Sirius? Oh well Remus thought He'd bask in their admiration for as long as he could have it.
"So what happened at McGonagall's office?" Peter asked.
Sirius shrugged, "Adair is still upset about McGonagall stepping in with your detention. I think she's going to take it out on Lupin and me."
"Sorry," James muttered.
"We can take it," Sirius said grimly.
"When is your detention?"
"Tomorrow morning?"
"During Quidditch tryouts?" James sounded disappointed.
"Well its not as if Remus and I were going to try out," Sirius said.
"Right," James said softly.
"We would come and watch if we could," Remus said understanding that James had hoped for their support.
James sent him a look of gratitude as Peter announced that he would be watching. They all stood awkwardly before deciding it was time to go down to dinner. Conversation followed easily the rest of the night and Remus was happy to have something to keep his mind from the next day's detention.
Lily Evans glanced up at the clear blue sky and then back again at her roommate and friend, Adrianna Wood. She had never seen Adrianna act so nervous, so Lily took it as her duty to keep her friend's mind off the Quidditch tryouts that would begin soon. The fact that more students than expected had come to watch was not helping Adrianna's nerves. Most of the students filling the stands were probably there out of boredom, though some like Lily had come to support a friend.
"Are the Captains from the other Houses allowed to be here?" Lily asked. She had been surprised to see them in the first place and even more alarmed to see them with notebooks.
"Yes. After that it's understood that members of opposing Quidditch teams stay away from any other practice, but cheating always happens," Adrianna twirled a strand of her dark brown hair and Lily noticed she was waving James Potter over to their spot.
"Alright Potter?" Robert McCoy, Gryffindor's Captain called out to James as he walked by, a new expensive looking broomstick slung over his shoulder. James returned Robert's greeting as if he talked with the older boy on a daily basis. Lily felt a twinge of jealousy remembering that only five minutes ago Adrianna had waved at Robert and he hadn't noticed her. Then again at that precise moment there had been three female students vying for his attention.
Robert McCoy was sitting on a wooden box labeled "Quidditch Supplies" with the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team sprawled around him on the grass. McCoy was tall with curly blond hair and crystal blue eyes. James saw Lily studying him and he smirked in her direction. Lily felt blood involuntarily rushing to the surface of her face. She couldn't understand why James was having this effect on her. It was becoming a nuisance especially since Lily didn't particularly like James's company.
This strange phenomenon had started when she was playing a game one of her roommates had dubbed "Secrets". Mattie Carter had wanted everyone to spill which second year boy they found most attractive. Everyone else had named Sirius Black and no one could deny Sirius's good looks. He could make any girl's heart flutter. Thank Merlin he was not aware of his effect on females yet because Lily had a feeling he would become impossible to be around. Without really thinking ahead of the consequences, Lily had named James Potter and ever since then she had acted as if she really did have a crush on him whenever he neared her. Lily was positive her feelings toward James had not changed; James still annoyed her as much as he did last year. Adrianna gave her that smile that meant she knew exactly what Lily was thinking as James chivalrously greeted them with a, "Hello girls."
Lily only blushed deeper wishing she had some control over her body.
"I wish it would start already," Adrianna gave the competition another look around.
"Me too. I've been practicing all summer, though not on this broomstick."
Adrianna looked longingly at James's broom, "You're lucky. My parents wouldn't even consider looking at prices of broomsticks until I made the team."
Lily gave her friend a strange look. Adrianna had never expressed wanting a new broom with her – her closest, maybe even best friend. And Lily felt slightly betrayed by Adrianna because they hadn't discussed a cease on the no-speaking terms with Potter and his gang. Cory had told them all about the argument with the boys and out of loyalty they had all bonded together with him by not speaking to James, Sirius, Remus and Peter.
It hadn't really seemed to bother the other boys though, so Lily figured it wouldn't hurt to speak with James. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Cory approaching and oddly he was carrying a broomstick. He had attempted to sling it over his shoulder like James, but he couldn't quite pull it off. He looked awkward and out of place on the field. Lily wasn't sure exactly what he was doing there. Last she had seen Cory was when he mumbled about things to do after inhaling his breakfast. James noticed Cory before Adrianna did and narrowed his eyes. Cory just stared back and Lily found herself thinking of what Grace Landon, another one of her roommates, had said about Cory having his own crush on Lily. It would the simplest explanation for why he was suddenly fighting with his roommates when he had always gotten along with them. Lily had originally been proud to see Cory standing up for himself, but now she was worried that it was because Cory knew Lily had a crush on James, so he saw James as a threat. It was really dumb of Cory to be jealous because regardless of her reaction to James, Lily enjoyed Cory's company over Potter's. She knew this "crush" would go away eventually on its own.
"What are you doing here?" Adrianna exclaimed as Cory joined them.
"This is Quidditch tryouts, isn't it?" Cory said coolly eyeing James's broom with distaste.
"You told us you weren't coming," Adrianna continued.
"I said I wasn't coming to watch."
"What else would you be doing here?" James asked joining in a conversation that he should have kept out of.
"I think the answer to that is obvious."
"You mean?" Adrianna looked taken aback.
"Yes, I'm trying out," Cory glanced at Lily to see her reaction. Since Lily hadn't expected it she was a little late in reacting in a positive way.
She recovered with, "It's great you're trying out." She knew her smile didn't quite come over as sincere. Last time she had seen Cory on a broom he hadn't exactly shown a natural ability in the air.
"You do know what being a chaser involves," James says a bit cockily, "Such as being a good flyer."
"I am aware of all the requirements. I talked with McCoy about being added to the tryouts list late and he didn't have a problem."
"Are you sure about this?" Adrianna didn't look convinced.
"See! This is why I didn't tell anyone! I knew you would try to talk me out of it! I'll show you all!" Cory took his broom and went to stand by himself closer to where McCoy was still perched on his box.
"Go talk with him," Adrianna whispered nudging Lily.
"Can you? Please?" Lily whispered back and Adrianna grudgingly strode over leaving her alone with James. Alone with James, Lily couldn't think of a thing to say so she stuck with how she usually talked to James by lecturing him.
"Would it hurt for you to be nicer to Cory?"
"Come on Lily. Being chaser is more than being able to fly from point A to point B. Unless your friend Connor has transformed into an amazing flyer over the summer, he's going to embarrass himself."
Lily agreed with James, but she didn't want to let him know, "I bet he's been practicing all summer!" There! That sounded very loyal to Cory; no matter what Lily was feeling inside.
"I hope you are right."
"I am!"
James rolled his eyes and he seemed to be looking for someone else to talk to.
"I need to talk to you about something else."
"What have I done now?" James asked exasperatedly.
Lily flushed, "I didn't mean to imply you've done something wrong."
"But I have, haven't I?"
"Well- I suppose. Could you lay off Cory?"
"Excuse me?"
"Isn't it a bit childish to throw a trip hex at him when he's not looking?"
James gave her a careful look, "You don't know the full story."
"He told me everything," Lily admitted and quickly added, "But you should be thankful!"
"Thankful? Thankful? Why because he included you in something that doesn't concern you at all?"
"I persuaded him to keep quiet about it all."
"So you've fixed everything? Come to our rescue?"
"I was doing you a favor. He was ready to snitch on you!"
"Maybe you should let people make their own decisions." His voice was cold.
"Just leave him alone! Please!"
James shook his head in disbelief and Lily never received a proper answer because Robert was starting tryouts.
Robert stood on top of the wooden box, "If everyone who is not trying out please leave the field!"
After a few seconds only 16 students were left. It seemed to Lily that most of the students trying out were a lot taller and older than her friends.
"Please find a partner and line up in front of the box."
Adrianna partnered with Cory, which Lily was thankful for. Maybe this would boost his self esteem a bit. James and a fourth year named Darien were first in the air. Basically they had to fly around the Quidditch field showing off their abilities. On the third time round they had to each pick up a Quaffle that was on the ground (diving at it if possible) and throwing it through one of the hoops. On the fourth time around – McCoy would throw up a Quaffle at them and they had to pass it back and fourth twice around the pitch flying at a moderate pace.
Even Lily had to admit that James and Darien flew flawlessly.
During Adrianna's and Cory's turn, it became painfully obvious that Cory's level of flying was nowhere near the rest. Cory did fly better than Lily had remembered, maybe he had been practicing. Still the improvement wasn't enough, especially since his throwing was weak and he could not dive to get the ball. (Four other players had also botched the dive, so at least he wasn't the only one) Lily hoped that being Cory's partner wouldn't reflect badly on Adrianna.
Next they had to score one on one on the keeper: best out of ten attempts. Both James and Adrianna received seven out of ten. The best was a seventh year girl her black hair in braids with a score of nine out of ten. Luck was on Cory's side, he was last to go and by that time the keeper was tired and less enthusiastic, so Cory managed to score five out of ten.
There was then a five minute break to give the keeper some rest before the scrimmage portion. During the break James and Darien threw a Quaffle between them. On the other hand, Cory just sat on the ground looking beaten. So Adrianna looking lost with no one else to really talk with sat beside him. Robert was taking notice of everyone's behavior and Lily knew neither Adrianna nor Cory would be receiving any bonus points.
Each scrimmage lasted eight minutes and the teams were randomly selected. Lily paid the most attention to the second scrimmage. On one side were James, Darien and Robert McCoy as well as on of the beaters and on the other side Adrianna and the seventh year girl in braids with the other beater and the keeper. Finally not having to worry about Cory, Adrianna flew with more ease and even if she wasn't the one of her best friends, Lily would have been impressed. Unfortunately everyone else was also on their top game.
Cory was in the next group to scrimmage and he stayed pretty much out of all the plays until McCoy threw him a pass which he attempted to score with but missed the goal by a few feet. After everyone had a chance to fly in a game-like atmosphere, McCoy announced tryouts were over.
"Thank you all for coming. This will be a hard decision that the team and I will make together. Not only do you have to have the skill required for chaser, you must fit in with the team. The new rooster will be posted on the Gryffindor bulletin board at 3:00 pm tomorrow!"
Lily ran down the stands to where Adrianna and Cory were standing. She noticed James and Darien as well as some of the others trying out still chatting with the other members of the Quidditch team. Good strategy – she mentally noted.
"You both flew fantastic," Lily said encouragingly.
"Not me," Cory said miserably, "I was horrible."
"You weren't horrible," Lily insisted, "But you can't expect out of nowhere to suddenly be able to play Quidditch. Not when there are others who have been practicing for years."
"Like Potter," the venom in his voice surprised Lily.
"He's sure to make it," Adrianna said wistfully, "He sure can fly."
"When he wasn't showing off," Cory muttered.
"Showoff or not, McCoy likes James," Adrianna countered, "And he makes the final decision."
"I didn't think it was fair that you didn't get a chance to fly on the same team as McCoy," Lily said.
"Oh? I was glad actually. I would have been even more nervous! Imagine if I had dropped one of his passes?"
James had now extracted himself from the group he was talking with and was walking toward them with Peter Pettigrew in tow. Lily hadn't noticed Peter in the stands before and she briefly wondered where Black and Lupin were.
"I'm exhausted. That was a challenging tryout." James yawned as if to prove his word.
"Exactly what I thought," Adrianna said, "I thought it would last less than an hour instead of close to two and a half."
"McCoy's insistent Gryffindor win the Cup this year. He doesn't want to make a mistake; he wants the two best players. The two players that will help bring home the championship."
From the crowd of dispersing students a first year girl came barreling towards James. Lily tried to control her laughter. Victoria Dekker was becoming well known for her infatuation with Potter.
"James! James," she called, "Didn't you hear my calling before?"
James looked away, but she didn't seem to notice his disinterest, "Did you hear me cheering for you? I know you'll make it. I just know it! And then I'll come to all your games. I'll be your number one fan. Where are Sirius and Remus anyway?"
James hesitantly answered, "Detention."
"Surprise there," Cory muttered. James's eyebrows rose up and he gave Cory a death glare. Lily braced herself, but she was pleasantly surprised.
"You flew better than I thought, Connor," James said seriously, "Practice a little more and you might have a chance in a few years."
Lily smiled knowing this was James's way of telling her he would lay off Cory. Lily had to make sure Cory didn't instigate him though.
"He's right Cory," Lily interjected before Cory would undo the damage she had just repaired. Cory looked surprise and a bit betrayed by her remark. Cory mumbled that he was going to take a nap.
"We also have to get going," Adrianna said, "Coming with us James?"
"Nah! I'm going to hang around here for awhile."
"With me?" Victoria said hopefully.
"Where are your friends?" James asked.
"In the library. They wanted to give me alone time with you…"
Lily sharing a smile with Adrianna followed Cory into the castle leaving James in the mercy of his eleven year old admirer.
A/N: Well I decided to bring Lily's voice to the story for the first time. I didn't intend for the readers to see her point of view just yet, but every time I tried writing the tryouts through James's point of view I didn't like how it was sounding. Also I finally named two of Lily's three roommates besides Adrianna. I don't think I mentioned them by name before in the story.
Thanks for reading and if you have a moment please review!