And yet again, this sadly does not belong to me. This chapter I have switched to Lily's point of view, so I hope you like it! Please review!
Chapter 5
"Alright," Lily said briskly, "this is officially our first meeting as head boy and girl." James was sprawled out on the floor, laying on his back in front of the fireplace and Lily was sitting cross-legged in her favorite armchair.
"So what do we do?" James yawned, folding his hands behind his head, his shirt slipping up his stomach. Lily's stomach gave a strange jolt inside of her as she caught a glimpse of the V shaped muscles that made up his hip flexors and lower abdominals. She tore her eyes away from his stomach, thinking that she really needed to get over her weakness for abs.
"Well since I've been head girl for a month longer than you, I think I've got a pretty good handle on things already." she said reasonably, tossing a sheet of red hair over her shoulder.
"Of course you do." James rolled his eyes.
Lily plowed on as though she hadn't heard him.
"Firstly, we have to patrol the cooridors once every nine days. The other eight days are taken by the prefects."
"Easy enough." James remarked. "You have the dates we're scheduled for?" He asked, his hazel eyes twinkling at the word "date." "I'll have to schedule Quidditch practices around it."
"Here." She tossed him a piece of parchment. "Copy those down. You will meet me here every night we have to patrol, and you will not be late, got it?" Lily demanded.
"But this one's on the full moon!" James exclaimed, looking at their schedule. Lily understood his angst immediately.
"James," she said placatingly. "Sirius and Peter will be there for Remus. He'll be okay." He looked at her, his brow furrowed.
"I suppose."
"Anyways, there's only much you can do for him during the transformation. I mean, you obviously can't actually be around him when he's, you know, transformed." James's expression was conflicting.
"Er, yeah, I guess you're right." he said finally, handing her back their schedule. "What else?"
"We have to organize meetings with the prefects, and we have to plan a ball for December..." Lily looked down at her parchment.
"A ball?" James sputtered. "We never have dances!"
"It's for seventh years only, James. There's one every year."
"Oh." James mussed his hair. "I didn't know."
"Obviously." Lily said dryly. "But I'd say we don't have to start working on that 'till about a month before Christmas."
"Good, after the first match of the season, then." James sighed in relief.
"Why do you love Quidditch so much?" Lily asked him, shuffling absentmindedly through her parchment.
"I don't know." James stared up at the ceiling in thought. "It was always something that me and my Dad did together, ever since I could get on a broom." He paused, a thoughtful expression on his face. "When I fly, I'm free. I'm back in my sunny back yard with my dad, and I don't have a care in the world." Lily found herself staring at him attentively. "When I fly, no one can contain me or control me. I'm invincible, I'm liberated... I'm... happy." he smiled at the ceiling. "Flying, to me, is like reading, to you." Their eyes met, hazel to green. "It takes me to another world." James finished his explanation softly.
"Oh." Lily said. She didn't know that James Potter, star chaser, most popular boy in the school, incredibly handsome now head boy, who got almost better grades than she did, could be so... deep.
And how did he know that? That reading did for her what flying did for him? Sometimes she felt as though how much he knew about her was strange. Somehow, he just knew.
"So what else do we have to do?" James asked Lily, not noticing that she was gazing at him with something other than irritation for once in her life.
Lily returned her eyes to the parchment. "Uh... we have to notify the house elves of any irregular upcoming events that will need food to be supplied... banquets, the ball, and things like that."
"Oh, okay." James yawned again.
"Doesn't it seem unfair?" Lily asked vaguely, staring it to the fireplace.
"Er." James replied wisely.
"The whole house elf thing" Lily explained. "They're never mentioned in Hogwarts, a History, but they make every meal for every student... they clean, the cook, and I didn't even know there were a hundred elves at Hogwarts until fifth year! And they've been treated so unfairly by wizards!"
"Merlin, Lily." James sat up with a start. "Haven't you even ever been to the kitchens?"
"No," Lily replied, raising an auburn eyebrow. "I didn't even know students have access to the kitchens."
"Well..." James scratched his head innocently. "I don't think students are exactly supposed to go in there, but the house elves absolutely love having visitors." James sprung up from the floor at an alarmingly fast rate. "Come on, I'll show you."
"But if students aren't allowed-" Lily furrowed her brow.
"Lily, we're head boy and girl." James said, making it sound as though they ruled all of Scotland. "We probably have the most freedom out of any student here."
"If we get caught, I'm blaming you." Lily warned him, setting down her pile of parchment.
"Fair enough." James shrugged as Lily unfolded her legs and rose to her feet.
"It's already midnight?" She exclaimed, looking at the common room clock. "Maybe we can go tomorrow..."
"Oh come off it, Lily." James grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the portrait hole. Lily couldn't help but notice how masculine his hand felt around hers. Large, warm, and slightly calloused from Quidditch, she felt a comforting sense of safety envelop her at the contact.
When he casually released her hand a moment later, she felt the sense of inexplicable comfort vanish, but just being by his side made her feel safe. She thought it must be the fact that he was at least twice her size and would protect her at any cost.
"I love our location." James said randomly. "I mean, the room of requirement is just two floors above, there's a secret passageway and the library right below us-"
"You know about the room of requirement?" Lily asked James, surprised. She had thought only a few students knew about it.
"Of course." James said smoothly. "We have since first year, when Lucius Malfoy was going to curse us for spiking his pumpkin juice with love potion." Lily laughed, remembering that event quite clearly. It had been very amusing to see the proud blonde seventh year declare his love for his fellow Slytherin friend, Dolohov.
"What else do you use it for besides hiding?" Lily asked, curious.
"Oh, a plethora of things." James waved a hand through the air, leading her down towards the Great Hall. "Sometimes we just hang out there when we're sick of Padfoot's fan club, we plan pranks there when we don't want to be overheard, and some people..." James rolled his eyes. "use it for snogging sessions."
"Sirius..." Lily frowned. "That's..."
"Gross, I know." James laughed. "But I promise, that's all they do. Sirius actually had morals, despite what many people think."
"Oh." Lily said again. She was learning a lot of unexpected things this evening.
"I suppose you're one of those people?" James raised his dark eyebrows at her.
"You could say that."
"Sirius may be a lot of things," James said fairly. "But he is not immoral or malicious, and most of all, he is not a Death Eater, no matter what his family is like." James's loyalty to his friend rang loud and clear in his strong voice.
"You really love your friends, don't you?" Lily asked.
"I would die for any one of them." James nodded solemnly.
"Even Peter?" Lily blurted out. "Especially Peter." James said. "Again, people have misconceptions about Peter. He's a good bloke, even though he may not fit in with the rest of the Marauders perfectly... he's our friend, and we care about him." Lily felt a small part inside of her melt slowly at James's tender expression.
They trouped down one last set of stairs, passing the Hufflepuff dorms.
"Here we are." James stopped in front of a large painting of a bowl of fruit "Tickle the pear." he instructed Lily.
"Seriousl- really?" Lily asked skeptically.
"Yeah, go ahead, tickle it!" James gave her a charming crooked smile. She did so, hesitantly. The entire portrait swung inwards and James pulled her in quickly.
"Mr. James Potter! Mr. James Potter!" a chorus of squeaky, exited voices enveloped them. Lily was quite startled by the mass of waist-height elves surrounding them. They all beamed up at her expectantly with enormous, round eyes. She immediately understood what James meant about them liking visitors.
"Hey Twinky!" James patted a blue-eyed elf on the head fondly. "Pokey, Blinky, Dolly, how's it going?" He acknowledged a few of the other elves kindly, giving them little high-fives.
"Very, very well, Mr. Potter." an elf squeaked happily. "What can we get you and the pretty red-haired miss?" Lily felt herself blush slightly "How about some lemon tea and some treacle tart?" James asked the elf kindly.
"Yes, Mr. James Potter, right away!" The elf squeaked before speeding off with a horde of others.
"Let's take a seat." James suggested, heading over to the four, long tables that sat in the center of the kitchen.
"So that's how it works!" Lily exclaimed, examining the set up carefully.
"Yup." James pulled out a seat for her, which she took graciously, then went around and sat across from her. "The Gryffindor table is directly above us. When they serve meals, they lay it out down here in it's correct layout, and they send it up using their own elfish magic."
"Fascinating," Lily breathed, watching the elves bustle about, preparing their food. "I see why you brought me here." she said pensively. "They aren't mistreated. Well, here at least. They just love to work."
James nodded. "I thought you'd appreciate that."
"You know what's funny?" she said, looking at James suspiciously.
"What?"
"Lemon tea and treacle tart is my favorite desert."
"I know." James said unblushingly. "That's why I asked for it."
"What else could you possibly know about me?" Lily's eyes widened slightly.
"Well..." James began, thinking hard. "I know that your favorite flowers are daisies, but I don't know why. You know, usually if a girl is named after a flower, that's her favorite flower." he looked at her, speculating. "I know that your favorite time of day is sunrise and that your favorite color is green." James paused and made a funny face. "Your favorite place to be is to be curled up in a ball in front of a fireplace with a book, you have a sister named Petunia that you don't like to talk about and you genuinely love your parents. Plus, I obviously know what your favorite desert is, and as anyone with eyes should know, your favorite book is Hogwarts, a History." She gaped at him wordlessly.
"Are you a stalker?" She sputtered.
"No, Lily. I just pay attention." He smirked at her expression.
"You can't learn all that just from watching someone!" she cried.
"Well, I did, so obviously it can be done." James continued smirking.
"Heres you go Mr. James Potter and young miss!" A couple of elves carried over a tray loaded with treacle tarts and a small set of china, spoons, two cups, and a cute little steaming teapot. They set the tray on the table and bobbed away, bowing and smiling.
"May I pour you a cup of tea?" James asked, using a very pompous voice and putting his nose up in the air. Lily gave a small laugh. "Yes, sir, thank-you kindly." she replied, mirroring his stuffy manner. "Here you are, Ms. Evans." James handed her a cup of tea, but not before adding one and a half teaspoons of sugar, leveled, not heaped, exactly the way she liked it. She couldn't help but stare at him in wonder as she took the tea.
"What?" he dropped his pompousness.
"Nothing." she dropped her gaze from his. It shouldn't surprise her that he knew that about her too... Maybe he really was a stalker. She should probably be afraid. But she wasn't. She felt... special.
"Okay." she stirred her tea pensively "If you notice so many... normal things about me, how many bad things have you noticed about me?"
"'Bad'" depends on your perspective of the word." James said wisely.
"Okay, well how many things that other people would think of as unattractive personality traits?"
"Quite a few." James flashed a wicked grin.
"Like what?" she smacked him on the arm.
"Are you sure you want to know?" his eyes twinkled merrily.
Merlin... his eyes looked so intricate in the firelight. The gold inside of them glowed like the rising sun.
"Yes, I want to know!" she said, exasperated.
"Fine, fine..." James grinned at her anxious expression, his white, even teeth shining in the fireli- gah! What was wrong with her?
"Firstly, you don't care about what anyone thinks of you." he began, counting on his fingers.
"That's a bad thing? Lily furrowed her brow.
"You asked me what other people find bad about you." He reminded her. "I, on the other hand, think that this is a remarkable trait." James said, returning to his pompous posture.
"Go on, then." Lily grinned.
"When you read, you don't even notice the world around you. Other people find this a very annoying habit, because the only way to get your attention is to snatch your book away from you." James laughed. "That's another thing! If someone does grab your book while you're reading it, you tend to hex them. This also seems to be a habit of yours that your friends do not enjoy." Lily smiled sheepishly and sipped her tea.
"You're pretty much a swotty goody-goody, you're terrified of breaking rules and-"
"Hey!" she cut him off. "I am in the kitchens at 12:30 AM. I am not a goody-goody!"
"Only after I dragged you here." James snorted before continuing. "You always give second chances, even if undeserved, and you don't have a boyfriend." Lily wasn't sure whether to be offended or flattered. "I didn't realize not having a boyfriend was such a horror." She said dryly.
"Nor did I." James said mildly. "But I guess if you aren't always with someone, people think you're abnormal."
"Hmm." she said noncommittally.
"Why are you never with anyone?" she blurted out. Merlin, what was wrong with her? Not only was she speaking impulsively, but she genuinely wanted to know. That frightened her. This is James Potter, she reminded herself firmly. Conceited, utterly over-persistent, obnoxious... incredibly handsome, loyal, adventurous, interesting ... she mentally shook herself. James was staring at her intently. She was glad he couldn't possibly know what she was thinking. Or could he? He seemed to know one too many things about her already.
"My mum always said, "If you're not ready for a fallout, you're not ready for a relationship." James stared into his teacup. "But when you find the one you would die for in a heartbeat, jump in with everything you have."
"Your mother sounds like a very intelligent woman." Lily said softly.
"She is," James nodded. "Intelligent, loving, beautiful, supportive. Everything I could ask for in a parent." Lily smiled at his love and respect for his mother. "She took Sirius in, though she knew who his family was and everything they believed in. Both my parents gave him a chance and accepted him for who he was. They're amazing people." James finished his sentiment softly. "What's your mum and dad like?" He asked her suddenly.
"Sweet, fair, organized, and very over-protective when it comes to me and Tuney." She was shocked at herself. She never called her sister "Tuney" in front of anyone but her family. She blamed it on the late hour and her frazzled state of mind.
"Your sister?" James asked gently. Lily nodded. "She hates me." she admitted in a whisper.
"That's not true." James put his hand over hers on the table. It was such a cliche statement, but she knew he believed it to be true. "Well, I feel like she does." Lily amended, James's hand giving her comfort. Suddenly, she wanted to tell someone about Tuney. She'd been so quiet about it since Severus and her broken off their friendship. She wanted to tell James. She wanted him to know about her internal struggles and her sadness.
"Tuney has hated me since she found out I was a witch and she wasn't." Lily said quickly. James merely looked at her, listening. "She was jealous. She even sent Dumbledore a letter, begging him to admit her too. Severus found the letter and we read it. After that, she avoided me. She called me a freak the day I left for school, and ever since she has been nothing but rude and cynical and disgusted by me." Her voice cracked on the last word. James squeezed her hand gently. "Now she's dating this awful boy Vernon, and she's not even around when I go home for the holidays. She makes me so angry! I'm always patient with her and kind, just hoping that she'll change her mind and take me back... but I know... I've lost her forever." A tear leaked out of her eye slowly. She sniffed, hating how pitiful she sounded. James moved to the seat beside her and put an arm around her tentatively. It made her feel secure, strong, and safe. He smelled wonderful, like fresh laundry and pine.
"Lily." He said softly into her hair. "No one in their right mind could hate you."
"Sometimes..." she said, tears now streaming freely, "I see something in her eyes, like she regrets what she did," her voice shook, but she continued. "but then those damned walls go up again and- and I can't... I just..." He didn't say anything, but let her bury her face into his chest and soak his t-shirt.