Disclaimer: I own nothing from the Harry Potter universe.
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Chapter Eighteen
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"Frank! What a surprise! What a surprise that we just happened to drop by the library the same time you did! Wow! Isn't that a surprise, Alice?" Emma elbowed Alice. "Alice?"
"Oh! Oh... yes, this is a surprise." Alice said shyly, before giving Emma a glare.
This was no surprise and it wasn't a coincidence they just happened to meet Frank in the library.
"Well... Lily, don't you think you want to show me that book?" Emma asked, turning to Lily.
"Book?" Lily asked with confusion.
Emma's eyebrows rose pointedly. "Yes, Lily. That book, you know, the one you've been wanting to show me for a very long time."
Lily stared at Emma blankly for a moment or two before a look of realization came across her face. "OH. Yes. That book... The one I've been wanting to show you for a... long, long time."
Emma smiled brightly while Lily grinned uncertainly between Emma, Alice, and Frank. There was a three second pause before Emma took a deep breath. "Well, lead the way, Lily- Oh, and see you later, Alice. You and Frank can... talk and stuff while we're gone."
"I can't see what book Lily's going to show you?" Alice asked in confusion. Frank also looked fairly confused.
"Er... No. You can't. It's... highly confidental. Can't have too many prying eyes. Bye-bye!" Emma pushed Lily along the long aisle of book shelves that lined the library.
Alice and Frank became smaller and smaller as Emma and Lily walked farther and farther from them as they stood in the middle of the aisle, confused.
"Emma, what the hell was that about? And just what book am I suppose to be showing you? I do need to finish my charms essay today!" Lily said after they had finally ducked into the "Magical Frogs and Toads" section.
"Relax, I just thought we'd let Alice spend a little time with Frank."
It was the first week of November right now and the three girls had headed to the library after Emma had subtly suggested to study there. Lily eagerly agreed (When wouldn't she?) after remembering her charms essay that needed to be written soon. Alice would have rather just sat around in the Gryffindor common room reading the rest of the afternoon.
"What?"
"Oh, come on, Lily. Don't be dim. Alice and Frank are always making goo goo eyes at each other, why not give them a little nudge in the right direction?"
"Because it's none of our business!"
"Oh, Alice being one of our very good friends is not our business?"
Lily sighed with exasperation. "No, that's not what I mean. What I mean is, well, why don't we let them get to know each other in their own time."
"Lily, if we let them take their own time to get together, we'll be two hundred years old by then. We have to give them a nudge. Just a nudge." Emma nudged Lily in the shoulder to emphasize "nudge". "Nudge, Lily. Nudge."
"Okay," Lily said backing away, "That's enough nudging." Lily leaned around the edge of the bookcase they were currently hiding behind to glance at Alice and Frank who were awkwardly standing in the exact same spot they had been earlier, both trying to make small talk, but failing miserably. She bit her lip. "Emma, I don't want play matchmaker. That's just stupid. Why can't we just let Alice and Frank be? Look at them. They're miserable right now."
"Oh, nonsense. They're happy... Just a bit nervous." Emma said, popping her head around the side of the bookcase as well.
"I can see they're both beet red from here. They're glowing, Emma, glowing."
"Glowing with love, Lily, with love."
"With embarrassment is more like it."
Emma clucked her tongue in an irritated fashion. "Alice is our friend, yeah?"
"Yes..."
"And we want our friends to be happy, correct?"
"...Yeah..."
"We don't want them to be depressed and down on their luck, do we?"
"...No..."
"We want Alice to be glowing with love and happy-go-lucky all the time, right?"
"Will you get on with your point, Emma?"
"Oh. Right. Anyways, we both want Alice to be happy, so why not help her out a bit? Everyone knows she and Frank are completely gone for each other."
Lily watched Alice and Frank once again. They were slowly migrating towards a table nearby. They were still glowing with what Emma thought was "love".
"I don't know, Emma..."
"Oh, so what if their a little shy around each other. They'll get over it."
Lily groaned. "Alright..." She grumbled. "I still think we should just leave them alone, though... So what are you planning on doing? Shoot perfumed arrows at Frank and Alice? Throw little hearts at them? Send love letters to both of them and make it seem as though they sent them to each other?"
Emma waved Lily off, watching Frank and Alice intently through one of the bookshelves. "No, no. Nothing like that. We'll just hang out back here for an hour or so and let them talk. If Alice comes looking for us, we'll say we lost track of time looking through the interesting book you wanted to show me..." Emma pulled a book from the bookcase.
Lily tilted her head a bit while reading the book title with a raised eyebrow. "Magical Toads and Their Warts? Oh, yes, that truely is interesting."
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"Lily- Lily!" Emma hissed over the top of the book she had been pretending to read. They had been sitting at a table that conveniently had a perfect viewing of the back of Alice and Frank's heads, for the past hour now. While Emma had "discreetly" watched the two over the top of her book, Lily hadn't paid the slightest attention to them. Instead she worked on her charms essay.
"What?" Lily asked absently, halting her quill.
"They're sitting right next to each other!"
"Oh. Wow. Geez, that is exciting. Maybe we should go break them up now before things get too out of control. Wouldn't want any hot and steamy rendevezous in the library, would we?"
Emma gave Lily a dry laugh. "Ha, ha... Oh, gosh, just look at them. They seem to be talking."
"That's something you don't see everyday, isn't it?" Lily asked sarcastically, yet glanced towards the couple slightly.
"Oh my God! I think he just put his arm over the back of her chair!- Oh, wait... never mind. He didn't."
"Good book?"
Emma craned her neck higher above the book she gripped tightly. "Yeah, yeah, great." She replied vaguely.
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"Emma, can we leave yet? I'm getting hungry."
"Argh, you're always hungry, Lily."
"Well. Excuse me if it's lunchtime and I like to keep myself energized. Starvation just isn't my thing."
"Look in my bag, I think there's a pumpkin pastry somewhere in there." Emma said. It had now been two hours. Emma had switched out her old book for a new one to pretend to read quickly before glueing her eyes to Alice and Frank once again. Lily had long finished her charms essay and was reading a book on potions (She was actually reading it.).
Lily bent over in her chair to look through Emma's bag for the pumpkin pastry eagerly. She searched through the bag a long time. Finally, she sat up and wrinkled her nose, holding a pumpkin pastry in her hand. "Emma, have you cleaned out your bag lately? It's getting a bit... messy. I think something moved while I was looking through it. Something alive."
"Did you find the pumpkin pastry?" Emma asked, not paying attention.
Lily held up the pumpkin pastry and examined it. "Yeah... its a little smooched, though. How long has it been in there anyways?"
Emma glanced at the pastry. "Eh, a few weeks probably."
Lily dropped the pastry back in Emma's bag with disgust. "I think I'll just wait till later to eat."
"Merlin, they're almost adjoined at the hip now. Lily, I told you just a small nudge in the right direction would work. That's all they needed..." Emma snorted. "And you just wanted to leave them alone and let them get around to each other in their own time."
Lily only rolled her eyes.
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"Emma, I'm leaving."
"Li- ly!"
"I'm hungry!" Lily lowered her voice for any nosy librarians or students."...And I really need to pee!"
"Can't your bladder wait? If we give them a few more minutes, I'm positive Frank'll ask Alice to Hogsmeade."
"How can you tell?" Lily asked. "Is there a sign that flashes and says, 'Alice and Frank, together at last'?"
"Of course not. I can just feel it. They've been talking for a little more then two hours. How couldn't they be on their way to Hogsmeade?"
Lily stood up and grabbed her backpack. She was doing a dance of some sort it seemed. "I can't exactly just pause my bladder, Emma. When it has to go, it has to go." With that she ran off, doing a little "I have to urinate, I have to urinate!" jig along the way.
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Emma sat at the table for about five minutes after Lily left, feeling deserted. So what if she had to empty the butterbeer bottle? This was way more important. She was sure Lily could have lasted a bit longer. Emma clucked her tongue, before straightening up in her seat.
Frank and Alice were standing up. They were grabbing their bags. They were walking. They were walking towards the exit. They were leaving the library! Together!
Emma hastily stood up, knocking over the numerous amount of books that had collected at the table over the past few hours she and Lily had sat there. She had to find Lily!
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"Emma, I really think our current stalking of Alice and Frank is becoming more then just helping out a good friend- it's becoming weird. And awkward. I don't want to be out here, on the grounds, while they glance at each other with embarrassed smiles- it makes me feel out of place, which we most certainly are!" Lily whined yet again.
Emma had caught up with Lily just as she had exited a bathroom on the first floor, having "emptied the butterbeer bottle". She had then dragged Lily along with her to catch up with Frank and Alice as they walked around outside on the grounds. The two girls stayed a distance behind Alice and Frank, of course. They ducked behind convenient bushes, students, and occasionally, Filch when Alice or Frank happened to look behind them.
Their secret stalking was quite a success so far.
"Duck!" Emma hissed, pushing Lily and diving behind a statue of Merlin fountain. Lily did likewise, except she sighed unenthusiastically a few times in the process. Frank had turned slightly, therefore causing Lily and Emma to duck and cover.
While Lily was whining in her head about doing this ridiculous sneaking around/matchmaking scheme, Emma was thinking contently of becoming a spy when she left Hogwarts- she rather liked ducking and diving behind people and objects.
"Okay, false alarm. Frank was brushing something off of Alice's shoulder- Oh my God!" Emma let out a squeal. "He brushed something off of her shoulder!"
"I know. It's so- Wow. I wish a boy would brush something off of my shoulder sometime. I would prefer he brush snow off my shoulder though, not dandriff or something embarrassing like that." Lily dryly put in.
Emma paid no attention to Lily, having long mastered the art of ignoring Lily's sarcastic remarks and whining. She glanced around Merlin. "Okay. It's safe now." She quickly stood up and furtively pretended to looking down at a kneeling Lily. "Oh, you found my ear rings, Lily! I'm glad. They cost a fortune!"
Lily slowly stood up. Emma raised her eyebrows at her in a pointed fashion. Lily sighed and pretended to hand a pair of ear rings to Emma. "Oh. Right. I-am-so-glad-to-have-found-them-too."
"Let us continue walking now. In a completely different direction then everyone else!" Emma said loudly.
Lily raised an eyebrow. "Careful now, Emma. Someone might think you're stalking them or something."
Emma once again ignored Lily and started creeping forward once again as Alice laughed at something Frank said. "Well, they really are getting along quite well, aren't they? Just look at them. A few hours ago they were stumbling around and blushing like fools, now they're laugh and joking like they're two good friends." Emma muttered thoughtfully.
"Duck!" Emma hissed again. She grabbed Lily's sleeve and pulled them both behind an oblivious snogging couple. Emma and Lily scrunched up their noses.
"They could at least find a broom closet." Emma muttered in disgust. Lily couldn't help but agree. They continued hiding behind the snogging couple who still had not noticed Lily and Emma standing just behind them.
"Mmmm..."
"... Mmmm..."
"Oh good grief. This is gross. I'm leaving, Emma." Lily started to move away.
Emma pulled at Lily's sleeve once again. "No! If you do, Alice and Frank will see us. They're heading this way!"
Lily was about to sigh for the millionth time and reluctantly stay with Emma behind the snogging couple, except for the fact that the snogging couple happened to become less oblivious to the world around them and noticed Emma and Lily.
"Er... What are you doing?" The girl asked.
Emma tried helplessly to sink further behind the couple only for them to unglue themselves further. Lily looked thoroughly embarrassed.
"Uh... We were..."
"Looking for my ear rings!" Emma exclaimed. "Yes, my ear rings! I dropped them and- Oh, they must be here somewhere!"
Lily rolled her eyes, yet couldn't help but smile in an embarrassed, sheepish way at the couple. It was obvious Emma's cover up story wasn't covering up much. The couple obviously didn't believe them.
"Er... You two just, uh, continue what you were doing, ignore us!" Emma said with a fake laugh. Her laugh was cut short when she noticed Alice and Frank walking towards them, looking curious- Wait a second!
"You're not Frank!"
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Author's Note: Hey. Quite the cliffhanger there, eh? Who exactly has been walking with Alice, if it's not Frank? We'll see next chapter. Wow, this story is getting really long. Longer then anything I've ever written... I'll try and update my other stories sometime this week- it's Thanksgiving break for me so I've got a few days off. Happy Early Thanksgiving!
Toodles,
Eye Heart Music
P.S. I have just posted a short story that I had to write recently in my english class. It's not a fan fiction story, obviously. Here's the summary:
Mary was lost- in the middle of a storm. Watch as the sand in her hourglass trickles away... One Shot.
If you're interested in reading it, head over to fictionpress (dot) com and check it out. My penname's the same as here. The story's called, "Trickling Sand in an Hourglass".