Chapter 14
Disclaimer: It ain't mine. It belongs to that lovely little leprechaun who follows me around…Okay, maybe not him either. But I bet you know who really does own it….Can you tell me? 'Cause I don't actually know…
Sophie McCormick, a small sixth-year, was calmly chatting with her best friend Bianca Geoffrey over a late lunch. They were discussing their current boyfriends when a loud commotion shook the floor under their feet.
"What the hell was that?" Sophie asked, looking around, as though the thing would burst out of the floor at any moment.
"I dunno. Don't ask me," answered Bianca. "But as I was saying…"
.x.x.x.
"Right," said Lily, storming into the kitchen with as heavy steps as she could muster. "Who has the book?"
"His brother," said Tyson, pointing at Chris accusingly.
"Excuse me?" said Chris. "I am no longer in possession of the book."
"Whaddya mean, no longer in possession?" cried Emmeline. "So you did have the book!"
"Yeah, until about a minute ago!" Chris retaliated.
"So, who has it now?" asked Dorcas.
"Ja–" Chris began, but James made some urgent motions at him. "Ja– Janice the house-elf!"
All the house-elves immediately turned to one in the middle, so all the teenagers looked at it too.
"I don't wish to…wish to…contra– contra– contradict a master but…" stammered Janice. Then she stomped her foot on the floor hard, causing some plates to rattle. "I never took anything!"
The house-elves all looked at Chris furiously for accusing a fellow house-elf of something she didn't do. Then they immediately went into a rebellion mode, and started to gang up on the seven teens.
"Does anyone else get the feeling we should leave?" said James, getting backed into a corner by a house-elf with bared teeth.
"Uh, I hate to agree with James," began Lily, fighting off a house-elf with a wooden spoon she had grabbed, "but yeah, maybe it would be good to get outta here."
Tyson gallantly kicked away the house-elf that was attacking Lily. "I'll save you!" he cried, scooping her up into his arms.
"You'd better put her down right now, or I'll –" began James, jealously taking over his face.
"You'll what, Potty?" asked Tyson scathingly.
"Put me down!" screeched Lily, as Tyson kicked away house-elves.
"But, my fair Tabitha, the house-elves will –"
"I don't care if they eat me alive, anything's better than being here!" Lily kicked Tyson hard where the sun don't shine. "Put me DOWN!"
He doubled over, so Lily leapt to the floor and whipped out her wand. Spinning around wildly, she yelled, "Petrificus Totalus!"
Everyone in the room, witches, wizards and house-elves alike, suddenly froze, as their arms snapped to their sides and they fell to the floor like dominoes.
Lily breathed a deep sigh of relief. She looked around at all the bodies. "Sorry Emmeline…Dorcas…I couldn't exactly miss just the two of you."
Emmeline's eyes, the only part still moving, looked furious. Dorcas' eyes were shining, as though she was laughing.
"Okay," said Lily, standing in the middle of the frozen body pile. "Now who has the book?"
There was no reply, no shifting of eyes, nothing.
"Oh, come on," said Lily, pacing around now. "I'm sick and tired of this. How long has it been? All I want is the book so that I can burn it, not have a stalker, and not have Lockhart, Argent or Potter find out anything personal about me. Please give me the book." Lily looked at them all pleadingly.
James wanted to reach inside his robes and hand the book to her; he hated the sight of the sadness in her eyes so much. But he couldn't move. A plan was forming in his head for what he would do when he was able to move again.
The portrait to the kitchen suddenly opened.
"Lily?" said a timid voice.
"Go away Annapelle," said Lily, not looking up.
"Have you found my book?"
"No, Annapelle," said Lily tiredly.
"Oh," said Annapelle, disappointed. She looked around and cocked her head like a lost puppy. "Why are all these people frozen?"
"'Cause they wouldn't do what I asked," said Lily.
"Well, it's not like they'll do anything now," said Annapelle. "I mean, they're frozen. I'll get them moving again though; I learnt the spell from watching you."
"No, Annapelle, don't - !" began Lily, reaching out to grab the wand away from her stalker.
But it was too late. Annapelle had already said the counter-curse.
As the bodies began to move on the ground, James leapt to his feet and ran out of the still open portrait.
"After him!" yelled Chris, scrambling up from the floor.
Tyson got up quickly and tore after James, running along the corridor.
"Wait for me!" cried Gilderoy, hitching up his robes, much to the disgust of the girls, and running after the boys.
"Come on!" said Dorcas, getting up and helping Emmeline to her feet. "He has the book!"
"How do you know?" asked Lily, pushing a house-elf away.
"I just do," said Dorcas annoyed. "Why else would we be chasing him?"
The three girls ran out of the kitchens, Chris close behind them.
"STOP HIM!" bellowed Tyson up ahead, catching up to James.
James took a sharp turn, ending up in the castle grounds. He tore through some groups of first-years, pushing them to the ground.
Tyson ran after him, his long strides catching up to James' steps.
Lily, Dorcas and Emmeline rushed through the group of still-on-the-ground first-years, apologizing as they went.
"JAMES POTTER!" yelled Lily, catching up to both him and Tyson now. "IF YOU DON'T STOP RIGHT NOW…"
James kept running, until he reached the lake's edge. He spun round, and saw a huge group of people closing in on him.
I have to do something, he thought desperately. Something…
.x.x.x.
Second last chapter! Oh….and I was just starting to have some fun. … Hope you liked it, I'll try not to keep you waiting long for the final instalment of Lily's Stalker! (And the Sirius idea, I liked! I'll have to think about that one Ms Andromeda Black…
