Ch. 19

Cruel Intentions

Disclaimer: I didn't own Harry Potter last week. I most certainly don't own it now. Not much has changed…

I'm taking full control

Better watch out

I'm going for the knockout

And I won't stop

Till I'm on top now

Not gonna give up till I get what's mine

I'm taking over

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"Snape?" Marcie repeated, not bothering to hide the distain in her voice. "Are you mental?"

Madeline looked offended. "I think it's a brilliant idea. Snape's the best in Potions, after Lily of course."

"What makes you think he'll help us? He's a Slytherin. Slytherins aren't exactly known for their kind and generous ways," Marcie replied sarcastically.

"Oh, he'll help us," Madeline said confidently, a sly smile on her face.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Marcie said, perplexed.

"Lily didn't tell you?" Madeline looked surprised. "I thought she would…seeing how you're her best friend. But maybe she was too embarrassed…"

"Tell me what?" Marcie was beginning to get annoyed.

"Snape's in love…with Lily."

Marcie's jaw dropped. "No!" Then she paused. "How come Lily told you and not me?"

"She didn't tell me," Madeline admitted guiltily. "I overheard her when she was talking to that advice giving mirror on the second floor."

"There's an advice giving mirror?"

"Yeah, apparently," Madeline shrugged. "I dunno how it works though. Anyways, I think we should go ask him…right now."

"Now?" Marcie frowned. "But where are we going to find that bloke?"

"The Slytherin Common Room?" Madeline asked dubiously. Part of her was hoping Marcie would protest. She found their Common Room to be rather creepy.

To her dismay, Marcie agreed.

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"Er…" Madeline stood in front of the stone wall.

"Hmm…" Marcie stared blankly at the formidable structure. Then she turned to Madeline. "So genius, what do we do now?"

"We wait? For someone to open the door?" Madeline suggested.

Luckily for them, the door opened right away and a tall figure stepped out into the corridor. As soon as he saw them, his eyes narrowed.

"What are you guys doing here? This is the Slytherin Common Room. No mudbloods allowed," Snape sneered at them.

"We're purebloods, you slimy git," Madeline crossed her arms and glared at him. "And don't you dare say that word again!"

"What do you want?" Snape looked at them suspiciously. "If Potter put you up to this…"

"It has nothing to do with Potter. In fact, it's Lily," Marcie watched his face for an reaction and was not disappointed. At the mention of Lily's name, Snape started.

"What's wrong with her?" He asked quickly.

"So Madeline was right…you are in love with Lily," Marcie observed as Snape paled.

"What?" he snarled, drawing out his wand.

"Please, don't deny it," Madeline rolled her eyes. "We don't care, alright? We just need your help with a potion. And put that wand away! We've all heard of your horrible dueling skills…"

Snape stared at them, an unreadable expression on his lined face.

"It will save Lily's life," Marcie added.

"Alright…" he agreed grudgingly. "What type of potion?"

"The Hada HaProteccion Potion."

"You got to be kidding me," Snape smirked. "Do you even know what that is? Or you Gryffindors that dense?"

Madeline made an inhuman noise in her throat and lunged forwards but Marcie stopped her.

"Of course we know what that is," Marcie replied coolly.

"Then you know that the potion destroys las hada malvadas?" Snape scoffed. "Where in the name of Merlin would Lily find herself a hada malvada?"

"Are you going to keep asking all these dimwitted questions or are you going to help us?" Madeline snapped, unable to hide her annoyance any longer.

Snape reluctantly kept quiet.

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"Crushed scale of a dragon?!" Madeline screeched. "Oh it's convenient that we have so many dragon scales with us…"

"As a matter of fact, Slughorn keeps a supply of crushed dragon scales in his private cupboard," Snape replied smugly.

Madeline shot him a dark look. "Are you suggesting we break into his cupboard?"

"It'll be easy once we get him drunk," Marcie said absent-mindly. The others stared at her. "What? Like you've never tried it before?"

"Luckily for us, this potion only takes a few days to make," Madeline said after reading the recipe. "But it's insanely complicated. And if something goes wrong...the potion can be deadly."

"I don't care if Harmony dies," Marcie remarked nastily. "It would serve her right."

"Marcie…" Madeline shot her a disapproving look. "Harmony's not the problem. She's possessed by the faerie, remember?"

"Oh alright…" Marcie frowned. "How are we going to get Harmony to drink the potion?"

Snape shrugged. "I dunno who Harmony is…"

Marcie huffed and turned back to Madeline. "She might be suspicious is we offer her a drink, right?"

"Maybe Potter can take her out to Hogsmeade again," Madeline offered. Snape glowered at the mention of Potter.

"That's not a bad idea actually," Marcie said thoughtfully. "D'you think he'll agree to this? I mean, he's not exactly fond of her…"

"But he'll agree as soon as we mention Lily's name," Madeline said slyly and Marcie smiled.

Snape ignored their conversation and copied down the recipe, silently cursing Potter and the rest of the effing Gryffindors.

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Madeline fanned her face and paced around the classroom nervously. "Eugh! We've been working on this bloody potion for days!" she scowled. "Is it ready yet?"

"Can you be any more impatient?" Marcie chided her, as she slowly stirred the bubbling potion with her wand. "It will be ready in a few minutes. Lucky Snape's so talented."

Madeline grimaced at the mention of Snape's name, but she distracted herself by looking at the cauldron. "Is it supposed to be doing that?" She pointed the potion which was bubbling furiously and spitting out orange sparks.

Marcie yelped and jumped away from it. "I don't know what happened!" she said frantically.

They both stared at the potion; neither of them knowing what to do. The bubbling potion was violently shaking the cauldron which was tipping precariously close to the edge of the desk. Marcie gasped in horror as the cauldron wobbled.

Suddenly a jet of bright blue light burst out from behind them and the cauldron slid back to place. Madeline and Marcie whirled their head around and saw Lily. She was standing there, her wand raised. Her face looked tired and her eyes were puffy and red, but she had an amused expression all the same.

"Honestly you guys," Lily shook her head. "We learned that Stabilizing Charm in our third year."

"Lily!" Marcie exclaimed in surprise. She rushed forward and hugged her friend. "I'm so sorry about what happened with Charity and Potter…." Her voice trailed off as she noticed the dark look on Lily's face. "Lily?" she asked cautiously.

"It's okay. I've fine," Lily said, a wide smile on her face. She noticed Madeline's look of doubt. "Seriously…I'm perfectly fine!" she laughed.

Marcie and Madeline still looked unconvinced but they were happy Lily was alright, nevertheless, so they didn't press the issue.

"So Sev told me all about your little plan," Lily said, as she looked pointly at the potion. "Why didn't you ask me for help?"

Marcie and Madeline looked at each other. "Well…" Marcie began awkwardly.

"You kinda…locked yourself in our dorm…" Madeline finished nervously.

Lily bit her lip. "Yeah, sorry about that," she apologized. "I suppose I overreacted. But I'm much better now!" She beamed at them, and turned back to the potion.

"You know what?" Lily turned back to her friends. "I think you guys better go rest while I look after the potion. The dorm's unlocked now, after all!"

"Are you sure?" Marcie asked, concerned. "We're okay with staying here with you."

"No, no! Go!" Lily motioned for them to leave. "I'll come back after this is done boiling."

Saying this she pushed them out the classroom and shut the door behind them. As soon as they were gone, Lily leaned back against the door. She took a deep breath and dropped the fake smile on her face. She slumped down to the hard, stone floor and put her head in her arms. She wasn't fine. In fact she was feeling rather horrible. Even though it had been a week since the…incident…it still bothered Lily.

She had only gone out of her dorm today was to show everyone that she was fine and she was over it. But that was far from the truth.

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Hearing footsteps nearing the classroom, Lily quickly wiped her eyes and stood up. When the door opened, Lily was bent over the potion, her long auburn curls hiding her tears.

"Lily?"

Lily looked up in surprise. As soon as she saw who it was, she quickly looked back down, a frown on her face. "What do you want Potter?" she spat out.

"Er…" James ruffled his hair absent-mindly. "Are you alright?"

"Am I alright?" she slowly repeated, an incredulous look on her face. "Honestly Potter, how dense can you be?"

"It was only a simple question," he protested but then saw her face.

"Of course I'm not alright!" she snarled, glaring at him. "How can I be after all you've done to me?"

"What have I done?" James asked, thoroughly confused.

"Charity!" Lily cried out in frustration, unable to stop the flowing tears. "You killed her…don't deny it…" she said weakly as she dropped down on a chair. "You killed Charity…my friend...how could you?"

"I didn't, I swear," he protested but Lily ignored him.

"Haven't you noticed that there's all this drama floating around?" Lily asked quietly but continued without waiting for an answer. "It's been happening ever since we started hanging out." She looked down at her hands. "Life was so much easier when you didn't know my name…"

"I'm glad that we started hanging out," James said looking directly at her. "I…really like you…" he admitted.

There was a long pause.

It was Lily who broke the uncomfortable silence. "You mean that," she replied emotionlessly. "All you care about is the bet."

James's head jerked up. "That's not true! How can you say that after everything we've been through?" he said hotly.

"So the bet's off?" she asked, looking him straight in the eye,

James gulped. "Well I did talk to Sirius once. But that was awhile ago…I dunno what he thinks…," he replied lamely.

"That's what I thought," Lily said flatly. She sighed. "Just go."

"Lily-"

"Please go."

After one long look at her, James left the classroom. When the door clicked shut, Lily closed her eyes as a shiny tear made its way across her cheek.

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"It's done," Lily said glumly as she entered the dormitory where Marcie and Madeline were hanging out.

"That's wonderful!" Marcie beamed but then noticed Lily's sad expression. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing…nothing at all," Lily said as she climbed into her own bed. "Everything's perfect. Just perfect."

Marcie gave Madeline a knowing look and they both leaped over to lily's bed.

"Lils," Marcie began as Madeline patted her on the back. "What happened after we left? Did everything go alright with Potter?"

Lily opened one bright-green eye. "How did you know Potter was there?" she asked suspiciously. They were silent.

"Marcie…Madeline…" Lily said a dangerous gleam in her eyes.

"Fine! We told him to go talk to you," Madeline admitted reluctantly, refusing to look her in the eye. Marcie had become very interested in Lily's sheets. "We thought he could make you feel better."

"Oh yeah, I'm just bloody better now," Lily said sarcastically. "Stupid git who broke my heart."

Madeline looked sympathetic but Marcie frowned. "Lils, when did you get so bitter and sarcastic?" Marcie asked, not noticing the angry look on Lily's face. "You used to be such a happy girl." Marcie noticed Lily's expression. "Ohh.. I mean. I like you this way too…all bitter…and mean…and angry…" Marcie finally shut her mouth.

Lily ignored her and asked no one in particular, "How are we going to force Harmony to take the potion?"

"We already thought that one out!" Marcie replied proudly. Then she paused and looked at Lily. Marcie shared a knowing look with Madeline. "Perhaps we shouldn't tell you…"

"Yeah, I mean, it doesn't matter how we do it; just as long as we do it, right?" Madeline chirped.

"Is there something you guys aren't telling me?" Lily crossed her arms and glared suspiciously at the pair of them.

"Well-" Madeline hesitated.

"We were going to-"

"Ask Potter to help us with Harmony-"

"And he was going to take her out for drinks again-"

"And slip the potion in her drink," Madeline finished.

Lily thought it over. "Good plan," she admitted, and then scowled. "But why does Potter have to help?"

"Harmony's kinda…fancies him…" Marcie replied sheepishly.

"But nothing romantic. She's only interested in Potter so she can use him to spread her evilness," Madeline quickly added.

Lily tried to hide her discomfort from her friends. "That's brilliant," she said at last. They looked dubious. "Seriously. I'm sure it's going to work."

"I thought you would be more excited. I mean, we're finally getting our revenge on Harmony!" Marcie said.

"It's really revenge. We're 'rescuing' Harmony from that faerie spirit thing," Lily corrected her.

"Oh right!" Marcie smiled. "Merlin, won't the real Harmony be glad to be back again."

"Yeah, and after she wakes up, she can go hook up with Potter," Lily said bitterly.

"Lily…" Marcie tried to comfort her. "Maybe you should give him another chance…"

"I've already given him too many chances," Lily scoffed. "All I want right now, is to finish my sixth-year in peace. I'm going to sleep. G'night."

With that being said, Lily pulled her hangings shut and went to sleep.

"What is she talking about?" Madeline frowned. "It's only four in the afternoon…"

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"Any luck?" James asked hopefully as Madeline walked down the stair down to the Common Room.

Madeline shook her head. "None. Lily's gone to bed and Marcie's trying to talk to her."

"Darn it," James said glumly. "If she could just talk to me….then I can explain everything. Honest."

"I know. But I highly doubt she'd want to talk to you right now. Last I heard before she went to bed was 'screw Potter'," Madeline told him.

James was silent.

Madeline took pity on him. "I'll sure she'll be better after we take care of Harmony," she reassured him.

"Yeah, about the Harmony thing," James said thoughtfully. "Maybe we should do it her, in the Common Room. That way, you all can watch."

"Hm. Sounds great," Madeline agreed. "Shall we do it tonight?"

"Why not? The sooner we get this over with, the sooner Lily will talk to me again."

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"James, darling," Harmony drawled out as she sat down on an armchair. "I'm so glad you invited me here tonight. I've missed you terribly."

"Where have you been, love?" James forced a smile on his face.

"Oh just here and there, finishing up some unfinished business," Harmony replied airily. "So what's the occasion?"

"Do I need a reason to hang out with a beautiful girl?" James raised an eyebrow as he reached for the tray of drinks.

Harmony giggled. "You're such a charmer."

"That I am," he grinned cockily at her. "Fancy a gillywater? Butterbeer? Tea?" James pointed to the array of innocent-looking drinks.

"That would be great," Harmony smiled sweetly. "Will you be a dear and hand me the tea?"

James smiled and passed the teacup filled with steaming tea…and other stuff… to her. He took the butterbeer for himself.

"To you!" he toasted her and raised the bottle to his lips but did not drink.

Harmony, who noticed nothing, smiled at him and took a sip of her tea.

James watched her expectantly.

Harmony frowned and her eyes grew wide. "No…" she said softly.

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A/N: hehe you all know how much I love cliff-hangers. REVIEW and I'll update!

Review honestly make my life brighter. So please feel free to leave a tiny tiny review! One little click of the button; that's all it takes!

Oh and if you have free time on your hand, please read my new Lily/James fic: The Choice. It has a lot more fluff and of course, more drama.

Lyrics:

Vanessa Carlton: Watch Me Shine

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XOXO

Cynthia