OK, hopefully I made some people squirm when I broke off after the last chapter, and hopefully this is pretty good followup. Let me know what you think!
Thank you to LilyHeartsMarauders, siabrach, Love-Pink26, complicated123, doing 25 to life in azkaban, xSecretEvansx, pyromaniac007 for reviewing, I knoew it's frustrating that I have nothing up. THANK YOU.
THREE
Lily felt a dreadful feeling crawl up and down her spine as Lauren spoke the name of this new and deadly game. All the boys looked puzzled, and all the girls had an apprehensive look on their faces.
Lauren smiled widely. "Lighten up, you guys," she said, her North American slang coming in. "It's just a game."
She pulled out her wand and conjured up a bottle-green bottle, empty and without any label or any signs of a label. But it did have bright gold letters across it that read "Spinning Bottle".
Lauren instructed them to make a circle, boys on one side and girls on another. Lauren sat between Lily and Alicia, across from James. She took the bottle and placed it in the centre of their ring, like a sacrifice. Lily felt uneasy; Lauren was making a big deal out of this game. And she hadn't even explained any rules yet!
"Alright then. 'Spin the bottle' is very simple." Lauren smiled widely. "We all take turns, like in truth or dare, except it's basically all dare. But there is a chant."
Lily got goosebumps. And now they would learn the summoning words that would offer this mystical bottle to the magic they all use, and will be consumed...
"Lily?" Neela whispered, elbowing her in the ribs. "Are you still awake?"
"Yeah; I just daydreamed for a minute there. Sorry." She focused back on what Lauren was saying. She was explaining the chant.
"We'll all say these words, and each phrase means a part of the body that is involved."
All nine pairs of eyebrows went up into hairlines. Lauren raised her hands. "Don't worry, no loss of clothes. I don't think. We'll see how daring everyone is."
Lily almost groaned aloud, but she bit her tongue.
Lauren cleared her throat. "'Kiss her hand, you fortunate soul, caress her cheek before she grows old. Her lips, her lips, you lucky man, or pick a place, if you can.'"
Lily suddenly realized what this game was. She couldn't contain this groan; it escaped her lips in a prayer of sorts, looking up at the ceiling. Why, why...
"Yeah, it's a kissing game." Lauren winked across the room at James, who was grinning wide. "The person spins the bottle and we all chant. You can change the words to fit a boy or girl, and when you get to the end you just start over again. Whatever phrase you're in determines which part of her–or him–you get to kiss.
"And yes, if you want to kiss someone somewhere a little more..." She paused to search for the right word. "Dangerous, then you have to get to them first. A promise, a secret, they can ask for something. Unless, of course, they don't care. And for the purposes of the game you will only kiss people of the opposite sex."
There were a couple disgusted looks from the boys, particularly Sirius, but no other reactions. Lauren smiled. "Then let us begin."
Like the last game, Lauren went first. She tucked her wand away and spun the bottle, the gold letters flashing in the dim light as it spun dizzily.
"Kiss his hand, you fortunate soul, caress his cheek before he grows old," Lauren started, chanting at a steady beat. "His lips, his lips, you lucky ma'am, or pick a place if you can."
The bottle was still spinning. It was as if this was some kind of ritual, and their voices lifted up to carry the bottle in some kind of evil magic. Lily felt her hair on the back of her neck standing straight up. But they started the chant over again, and ended in the lips part as the bottle finally stopped.
Pointed at Sirius.
"And now I kiss him," she said unnecessarily, crawling forward on all fours to lean into him. He was grinning from ear to ear.
Gently, Lauren pressed her lips to his, and then pulled away. "Your turn."
Sirius nodded mutely, and spun the bottle.
They started the words over again, ending in the hand part as the bottle stopped, pointing to Neela.
"Neela Ballin," he said appreciatively. "At least you're pretty."
She smiled thinly and extended her hand for him to kiss chastely.
The game was dangerous. Lily could see how it was more gossip-worthy, as Lauren said, as the girls seemed very reluctant for the boys to kiss them. Except Alice. She didn't mind, from the looks of it. But that's because she's used to it, Lily thought to herself. What if it lands on me?!
Fate again intervened.
The bottle stopped spinning in the cheek phrase; but who–?
The Australian, Luke Bishops. Well, that wasn't too bad at all.
"What's your name again?" he asked as he leaned toward her.
"Lily Evans," she said with a faint smile He smiled back and pressed his lips fleetingly to her cheekbone, trailing down just a bit, like a caress. She felt her cheeks flush as he pulled away, and he winked as he went back to his seat.
Glancing over at James, Lily could see he was emotionless. Fleetingly jealous. Lily couldn't contain her smile. Let him have a taste of this medicine; it would be good for him, after all.
It was her turn to spin, and as the chant began again Lily could feel a tense emotion in her stomach start to build. None of these boys recieved any feelings from her, and now she would have to be intimate with them! What if it landed on James? Or worse-
Lily was really beginning to hate the whole idea of fate and destiny. As if some mind-reader had stolen a peek into her head and put her worst fears to reality, the bottle slowed, and stopped, pointing at no one other than Jacob Carson.
Even worse, it was the verse of the song that demanded mouth-to-mouth.
Lily almost groaned aloud as the room erupted in snickers. All of the Hogwarts students knew the ages-old tension between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and James and his friends knew the story with Jacob.
Was she all wrong to think that Lauren Bailey was out to make her feel as awkward and embarrassed as possible?
As Lily crawled forward to close the distance, she heard him whisper "Is Potter going to kill me?"
Lily glanced over at James at these words. He looked absolutely livid, his hands clenched into fists. Lily smiled to herself as she looked back at Jacob. "I won't let him."
"Good." With that final say Lily pressed her lips very gently to his, intending to end it there and keep up the whole charade as James' girlfriend. But when she moved to pull away and he brushed across her lips with his tongue she very quickly separated herself from him, eyes slightly wide. He smiled and winked at her before sitting back and appeared to be indifferent.
Lily returned to her spot, meeting Alicia's eyes as she did so. Her friend looked taken aback and wary, as if Lily was risking what she had agreed to do for James. Lily ignored the look and faced the circle again, face composed.
Jacob span the bottle now, the chant resuming. He watched it, as if trying to determine where it would go. Lily mumbled the song, trying to figure him out. He was bold, underneath all that quiet and logic.
Was she such a horrible judge of character that she had thought wrong about James and Jacob?
The bottle stopped in the cheek part on Alicia. Lily had to smother a giggle as Alicia looked horrified for a split second. Glancing across the circle at James, Remus, and Sirius, they all had muderous expressions on their faces. Perhaps they thought Jacob Carson was getting a little close on some territory...
James gritted his teeth together as Lily leaned forward to kiss Carson. Damn that conniving snake! He was getting closer to Lily with every event of these stupid games and all James got was her middle name and the viewing pleasure.
Wait, wait. Pleasure?
He almost bit off his tongue as he clicked his jaw together. He would NOT let this get to him. NOT.
And then Carson kissed Alicia.
James was sure Remus was going to hit him, he looked so furious. Remus angry was a rare sight, but this kind of ire was only ever brought on by Snape's cracks about werewolves and someone messing with his friends. James had never seen his mate get upset over a girl. Let alone someone like Alicia Klein.
Perhaps they weren't doing things in the library...but somewhere else.
James would have laughed had it not been Carson kissing Alicia.
After that tense interlude the huge clock tower outside chimed twice; two o'clock in the morning. James suddenly wanted to call it a night and ask that everyone leave; he wasn't thrilled with these games anymore. For all he knew Lauren Bailey could have six more and would all get worse.
Lauren seemed to read his mind. "Alright, that's enough for one night," she cajoled, getting to her slippered feet. Everyone kind of awoke from a trance at these words, as if they had been half-asleep and unaware of the world around them. Lily looked startled.
"Wake up the rest of them and we'll head back," James told his friends. Sirius and Remus started, shaking people awake. Lily, Alicia, and Alice helped, rousing Jenna, Veronica, and Haley before they were all awake. Twenty-two sleepy, irritated, hormonal teenagers should have been a warning to them, but of course, they were the teenagers.
Lauren cleaned up the candy as James and the others magically folded blankets and fixed pillows and sofas. Hopefully there would be no trace of them in the morning. Hopefully.
"Alright, let's go four or five at a time," Lauren suggested. "James, Sirius, Lily, Alice, and I will go first. You guys give us a couple minutes, and then the next group can go."
Feeling like she was sneaking out of the Restricted Section of Hogwarts' library, Lily followed closely behind Lauren, Alice beside her, James and Sirius behind them. The house was silent, except for their muffled footsteps and slight creaking sounds that made Lily jump at each noise.
"Settle down Evans," Sirius said through a huge yawn. "It's just a house."
She turned around and stuck her tongue out at him. "Yeah, well, shove it, Black."
She heard his soft laughter as she turned back to run right into Lauren, who had stopped. She was looking very intently at whatever was around the corner, which no one else could see.
"What is it?" Alice whispered. James stepped forward, squinting in the darkness.
"I think someone is over there," Lauren answered, voice hard. "But it isn't anyone in the house."
"Someone broke in?" Lily said quietly, putting her hand on her pocket, where her wand was located.
"No; they were let in."
James scoffed. "Please. This house is magically monitered and protected. No one would be let in if they were a threat."
"Maybe the person who let them in didn't see them as a threat," Lauren murmured. She drew her wand out cautiously, the look on her face very serious.
Lily began to get suspicious. How could this outsider know if it was someone from outside? How did she even know someone was there? She didn't hear or see anything. And how could this stranger determine so quickly that this intruder was let inside peacefully?
Suddenly there was a huge bang as a red blast errupted from Lauren's wand. There was a yell from the corner as garish red light illuminated the form of a man-a huge man-being Disarmed.
"What the hell?!" James bellowed. He wipped out his own wand along with everyone else and advanced slowly, his hands shaking slightly. But when he got there-
Nothing.
"Where did he go?" James demanded, looking partly at Lauren. The Canadian looked grim.
"He Disapparated."
"With no noise?" Sirius said flatly. "No warning, nothing. I think this is a bit too coincidental, Bailey."
"Is that how you get defensive?" she asked coolly. "Using last names as an insult? I'm afraid it doesn't work on me."
"OK, OK, stop it," Alice said icily. "It's no one's fault. But how did you know that someone was there?"
Lauren made a long pause as she debated inside herself. Then she sighed.
"I have the Sight. It's been passed down my family for...generations." She looked burdened as she said this. "It's a blessing and a curse, you could say. I suggested we go first because we were the five strongest people in that room, and should this person be of any threat to us-"
"Wait, wait," James said in a flat, angry tone. "You knew this bloke was going to be in my house and you didn't tell anyone?!"
"James," Lily said warningly.
"I knew while we were in the middle of the game," she said calmly. "What was I supposed to do? Jump up and scream about it and cause a right panic?"
No one answered. Everyone from Hogwarts was still jumpy from the Death Eater intrusion that had almost cost Lily her life. That mixed with a threat could have gotten someone hurt.
"Alright, good enough excuse," Sirius said gruffly. "But now what do we do?"
"Now James will go and talk to his aunt and uncle and tell them what happened," she said firmly. "Tell them who it was and how we knew. They'll understand."
"They knew about your having the Sight?" Alice asked curiously.
"Yeah. They're good friends with my parents, so they know almost everything." Lauren looked back at James. "Go, now."
Lily was unaccustomed to anyone besides teachers and his mates telling James to do anything that had effect. But he nodded and left quickly, his steps carrying him away quickly.
"And now we'll all go back before we run into the other groups," Lauren said. "Maybe this should be kept quiet; if you know what I mean."
"Sure, we know." Sirius was still put off, but he did as told and headed for the north wing and the girls headed for the opposite.
Lily waited until Alicia and Jenna got there to climb into bed and sleep. Even with comforting from Lauren and the image of the empty corridor, Lily was uneasy about this new development. Had she been telling the truth, Lauren Saw someone come in with inside help. She hadn't said who had done it, but she had said they could have been bewitched.
Was this party shaping out to be more than she'd expected? Was Lauren coming here with Brian and Tracy really a coincidence? Was James' parents being gone really so spur-of-the-moment? Or was someone actually behind this, and was also connected to the intrusion tonight?
Lily couldn't find the answers that night, and she'd only wear herself out trying to get them. So she dimmed the lamp and laid down, closed her eyes, and searched for sleep.
The next morning Lily rolled out of bed looking like a ghoul. She had a quick shower and dressed in jeans and an old T-shirt, not really awake enough to realize she was clothed too casually for the day's activities.
As she went downstairs she also didn't notice that all of the elves were dressed in their finest pillow cases, passing students were dressed in slacks or pretty skirts, or even the house itself draped in red and gold banners, streamers, ribbons, curtains, and lamps.
She didn't notice it at all until James stopped her in the hallway outside the kitchen. "Good morning," he said politely, looking amused. She was about to ask what was so funny when she stopped and noticed what he was wearing: black dress pants, shiny black shoes, and a crimson, pressed shirt. His hair was even combed.
"I'm under-dressed, aren't I?" she asked sheepishly. He nodded.
"It isn't any problem, really, until my other relatives get here," he said quickly. "You don't have to change."
"Yes, yes I do." Lily sighed. "I got close to no sleep last night."
"I can believe that." He sounded grim. "Brian and Tracy weren't very pleased. As soon as everyone else was in bed they sent a whole search party to comb the house and lawns; they didn't find anything, of course."
Lily shivered a little. The thought of someone sneaking into this house with help made her just a little scared. Anything these days could frighten her.
"Well, you go get changed, and I'll meet you downstairs for breakfast," he suggested. Leaning down, he pecked her cheek politely. "Go on."
"Thanks." She turned on her heel and hurried away, a bit flustered. When she got back to her room she changed into a black pair of slacks and a white shirt, tied her hair back, and put on a bit of makeup before going back downstairs, feeling more awake. As he promised, James was sitting at the table with an array of breads, cereals, and fruit on the table.
"Is everyone already finished?" she asked as she sat down.
"No; you and I are the only ones up yet."
She paused in the process of peeling an orange. "What time is it?" she asked tentatively.
"Seven-thirty."
She frowned. "But other students are awake."
"I meant from our group of friends. Jenna, Alicia, Sirius, Remus, and Peter are all still asleep."
Lily frowned. "Why?"
"Why should I know?" She narrowed her eyes. He sounded much too innocent.
"Did you give them something to make them sleep longer?" she asked suspiciously.
"No. I honestly don't know why they're still sleeping." He sounded strained.
Lily looked up at his face closely. Even though he looked tidy and prim, she could tell he was distracted. She used to love that expression on his face because it meant that his attention was away from her. Now it worried her.
"Are you worried about the intruder?" she asked softly.
He shrugged. "I shouldn't be, but I am. No one has ever broken into this house, Lily. No one. Not since it was built. And now..."
"And now someone got inside with help," she whispered, looking down again. "It just goes to show that no one is safe anymore."
"I wish that wasn't true." His voice was dark, menacing. She'd rarely heard that tone on his cheerful, joking words. "I wish some people in the world could stay safe."
"Like who?" she asked curiously. "Who would be the one person you would want to keep safe from everything?"
He looked up and raised one brow at her. She darted her eyes down again, cheeks burning.
"But it doesn't make a difference," he said bitterly. "You-Know-Who has control over anything he wants. He can kill on a whim; torturing people is what he loves. He has followers that would do anything he asked of them. People are hiding in caves, or they've moved across the world just to get away from him."
"James," Lily said sadly. "Talking like that doesn't help. Fear of something just makes the thing more fearful."
"That is some strange philosophy," he said wryly. "Is it from your dad?"
She smiled. "Yeah. He's a professor at the local college in my town." She paused. "He'd probably like to meet you."
"How come?"
"Well, for one thing," she began, popping an orange piece into her mouth, "He's heard me talk about you so much that he wants to see if what I say is really true."
"You say I'm annoying and arrogant," he said flatly, as if recalling from a perfected memory. "What's to confirm?"
She winced. "I'm sorry, James," she said softly. "I really wish I could take all of it back."
"You can make it right, you know," he said cheerfully, sitting up straighter. "Just go out with me for real, or at least once. Just once. You can honestly say the squid is better than me after one date."
She smiled again. "Maybe. After this party and the whole ordeal of meeting everyone and putting on the charade I think I will want a break. But maybe."
He grinned. "Better than what you've said to me before."
"Yeah."
There is chapter 3 for you. Let me know what you think!
Heiress