Seatplans
by The Subversive
Chapter 2
Pros and Cons
Breathe in, breathe out. Lily closed her eyes, and whispered in a dangerously low voice, all the while attempting to sound pleasant, "Sirius, you have three seconds to remove your arm around me before I casrate you and feed your gonads to hungry three-headed dogs."
Sirius withdrawed his arms like he just touched fire. "Hothead redhead." Sirius grumbled and went to his seat.
Lily looked at Clara like she was about to cry and run away. "Out of all the people in our batch, Clara, out of all the people, we get to sit with Sirius Black!"
"Aww, poor girl." Clara teased. "Why, would you have preferred James?"
Lily shot the umpteenth deathglare for the day.
The class settled and Slughorn called out for attendance, and it turned out that half the original Transfiguration class in Gryffindor was with Slytherin. Great joy for all.
Lily was trying hard to concentrate on what Slughron was saying, something about meeting the muggle Prime Minister over the summer. This was a very hard thing to do, especially when Sirius Black was staring at her, and every time she'd look at him he turned away. Then he looked at her again, and looked away if she looked at him, and the whole process of annoyance repeated until Lily finally snapped.
"What is the matter with you?!" Lily yelled, frustrated. Yet Sirius Black was smiling at her, nonchalant, which made her even more livid.
Lily was about to tell him off again when she noticed it was quiet. Really quiet.
No. No no no no no. She looked straight front and found Slughorn staring at her, along with the rest of the class at her sudden outbreak.
"I'm sorry professor. I – "
"It's quite alright. I was wrapping up the story anyway. Are you alriight Miss Evans?" Slughorn said.
"Um, yes professor. Sorry." Lily sank back to her seat reddened, her face competing with the color of her hair. It was suddenly so warm in the dungeons.
"Now I have the class' attention, might as well make most of it." Slughorn continued, starting the lesson with how important Potions will be when they graduate.
"Sorry." Sirius muttered under his breath, looking at Lily. Clara looked on, cautious of spontaneous combustion.
Lily narrowed her eyes and pretended not to hear.
Sirius turned to Lily this time, looking at her. "I said I'm sorry."
Lily still ignored him, propping her arm to rest her head on.
"Sheesh. Sometimes you're just like James, you know? Stubborn people."
"I resent that!" Lily shouted, well, as loud as a whisper could allow.
"Right. You really ought to get together. Who knows what miracles might happen." Sirius grinned.
Lily desperately wanted to bang her head on her desk over and over again. She fought the tempting urge to do so.
"Lily, just concentrate. Sirius, please stop, you know it's not helping anybody." Clara joined the whispering.
Sirius looked at Clara agape.
"Yes Sirius?" Clara noticed, and said patiently, with a warm almost-smile.
"I, hmmm…" Sirius frowned. "you sound exactly like Remus. That's what he tells me everytime." He looked quizzically between Clara and Lily, speed so fast anyone would have a headache. "Wait, am I being pranked here?"
"Okaayyy…" Clara said. "I'm quite sure you're perfectly fine Sirius. Oh don't give me that look, I don't mean it like that! What???!!!" Sirius was staring again, but this time at her, unblinkingly.
"Oh nothing." Sirius said. And added, "You and Remus would make a very cute couple."
"Vey cute indeed." Lily added, because vengeance is too sweet to let pass.
"Oh shut up." Clara rolled her eyes and grinned, tuning in to Slughorn.
"Today, we will be making a potion." Slughorn finally started the double period after twenty minutes of rambling to which nobody really bothered to listen to.
"No way. We are?" Sirius commented dryly, albeit quietly. He turned to Lily. "You think Slughorn's got a love life?"
Lily frowned. "Why would you want to know that? Unless, oh Merlin. Sirius Black's – "
"Ugghh Evans. That's just gross, you know. I mean – "
"Sirius m'boy!" Slughorn said loudly. Sirius jumped off his seat.
"Ooohh…Slughorn's boy…" Lily whispered mockingly.
"what Potion shall we be making today?" Slughorn asked. The class waited for an answer.
Sirius looked around and saw Slytherins smiling smugly at him. How am I supposed to know? "Sir, we shall be making..." a potion, duh. But what! Hmmm… love potion? No, we did that last year. A potion for loose bowel movement? Ughhh.. disgusting.. "I er, ummm…" what!!!! Sirius glanced around and saw a bulletin board for the most complex potions. Ever. Ahah!! "We'll be making a Verisa, Verati, Ve," bollocks "Truth Potion sir!"
"Excellent!" Slughorn boomed. "Excellent work, ten points to Gryffindor." The Slytherins let off groans of resenment.
Sirius sat down. "Hah! Beat that Evans. I'm gonna be teacher's pet, I'm gonna be teacher's pe-et." Sirius was chanting like a child, with his arms extending, circling his front.
"Have you ever been told you're into self-delusion, Sirius?" Clara asked.
Sirius stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh merlin's beard. Remus said that too!!!" Sirius put a hand over his mouth, and dropped it again… "Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…" he began, "eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeemus and Clara, sitting on a tree,"
The girls rolled their eyes.
"K-I-S-S-I-N-G…"
They were making the Veritaserum, and with all the universe conspiring against her, Lily got paired up with Sirius. She might have prefered Snape, in all honesty, but at least Sirius was talking to her.
"A dash of this, a big pint of that! Put them together and what have you got? Handsome Sirius stirring a pot!!!" Sirius was sent to stirring duty by Lily, because, well let's just say he can stir.
"You're demented. Clearly demented." Lily stated, while she was carefully measuring ingredients meticulously.
"But wickedly handsomely so." Sirius gave a seductive smile.
Lily shook her head. "No kidding. Just stir Sirius."
"Aye, aye captain!" Sirius saluted. "I am so gonna pass Potions with flying colors, because Lily-kins, Lily-dear, Lily fuh-lu-hower's my Potions partner! Hey that rhymes!!!"
Sirius continued stirring with a rhythm. Lily swore she heard him singing "to the left, to the left… Sirius Black's stirring up the cauldron to the left…" She shuddered.
She put everything else needed in the potion, when Slughorn called for her.
"Miss Evans? You're being summoned to the Headmaster's office."
Lily frowned. Okay. She shrugged and followed a small boy.
She was about to exit to the door when,
BAM!!!
Lily closed her eyes, and was about to turn around and see the commotion if it weren't for the distinct voice of Sirius Black she heard saying "Uh-oh."
Lily looked at the small boy who had returned to see, and asked, "Do I really want to see?"
"Nope." The boy shook his head, obviously laughing.
"That bad huh?" Lily asked again.
"Oh yeah." The boy replied, and they both went to the headmaster's office.
Lily was escorted to the gargoyle that's to take her to Professor Dumbledore's Office, and the little boy gave her a piece of parchment.
"That's the password. I'll be going now." The boy gave her a small smile.
"Wait, can't you see this?" Lily said, after looking at the parchment.
"Not really. I think the professor's bewtiched it or something." He shrugged.
"Okay. Thanks." She beamed at the boy, who nodded in return and walked off.
Lily said the password to the statue, and it quickly stepped aside to reveal a spiral staricase which Lily jumped in and climbed.
"Ah, Mister Potter." Dumbledore, the Hogwarts Headmaster, surveyed James with his half-moon spectacles perched on his long crooked nose. "Please sit." He motioned James to a chair, and James obliged.
"Headmaster, may I ask why I'm here?" James said politely.
"Yes. We shall be getting to that, James. May I call you James?" Dumbledore asked, with a twinkle in his eye.
"Sure." James nodded.
"Excellent. Now if you would be so kind to open the door for our companion, we shall start immediately." Dumbledore said while shifting a few scrolls of parchment.
James was sure he hadn't heard anyone knocking, but got up to the door anyway. James opened it, and to his surprise, Lily was standing outside about to knock.
James took her in, her feathered hair framing her face… her deep green eyes. He found himself lost.
"Miss Evans. Come in." Dumbledore's voice called out behind James. "Please sit, the both of you."
Lily stared at James, and he made way for her to get in before closing the heavy wooden doors.
"This may come as quite a surprise to both of you, but we have thought about this immensely." The headmaster began.
James figured we meaning him and McGonagall, and probably more teachers, as anything that involved him and Lily requires a lot of thought.
"Considering both your proficiency in your studies and excellent demonstration of your capabilities, we have made a decision to make you our Head Students this year." Dumbledore said.
Silence filled the room.
"What?" She and James suddenly said in unision.
"I assume that both of you are more than capable for this job, so I see no reason why not." Dumbledore said, as if answering her almost-thoughts.
There was a tight knot in Lily's chest. Me? Head Girl? With Potter? She was frowning and trying to take it all in. She wanted to scream.
Lily stared at the headmaster's spectacles, as if she was seeing him for the first time. She looked at James, who was laid back, relaxed in the chair, but his face gave away contemplation.
"Professor, why haven't we been informed before?" James asked in a cool voice.
How could he just sit there and be, be composed! Lily was frantic. It's not that she didn't want to become Head Girl, she's more often fancied it when she was younger, but this. This – Head Girl with Potter. Noooo…
James is not that bad, she knows, it's just that, all, as in every single person in the history Hogwarts head students became involved with each other. Involved, if not married!
No. No effing way.
Dumbledore smiled. "I thought I might tell you personally myself. And it did involve a lot of consultation, considering past happenings."
Past happenings my arse! Lily was having an internal emotional breakdown. THIS is a conspiracy!!! There is no way Potter's Head Boy!!!
"Well, this is not the kind of reaction I expected. Excellent then. The school's in for surprises." Dumbledore gave a smile.
"I'm sorry headmaster. I," Lily began, trying to find words. She glanced at James, who was now looking at her with the most pensive expression. "I mean, this isn't what we expected either." Lily finished.
"Very well. Are you accepting this calling then?" Dumbledore inquired calmly.
Lily was thinking. Was she really going to reject being Head Girl just because Potter was Head Boy? Pros and cons, Lily, think. Think think think think –
"Yes." James said beside her. She looked at him and held his gaze.
Oh to hell with it. "I - okay."
"Brilliant. Here are your badges," Dumbledore handed them each a badge. Lily looked at it. How could she think twice of this! Of course she wanted to be Head Girl! The badge is just too pretty…
"your duties, and other things," Dumbledore handed James a stack of parchment about an inch thick, "the password to the Heads Dorms are in there as well. If you have any concern, please feel free to approach me."
Lily was staring at her badge, gleaming, reflecting the low light in the room. I'm Head Girl.
"I think we're done here. You may go back to your classes now, Miss Evans, Mister Potter."
A/N: Shallow chapter. Still building foundations, good stuff on chapter 3. Promise it's fast-paced. Thanks for the lone review. At least I know I should continue coz of the Story Alerts.