Turning Saints Into the Sea
Chapter Nine: Hogsmeade Fun
Lily watched James's retreating figure quietly before starting slowly down to the Great Hall herself.
Why did he seem so nervous? she asked herself. It's not like I asked him anything embarrassing.
As she continued down the hall, she caught sight of herself in a window reflection quickly, before doing a double take. Oh my God. Is that really what I look like?!
The dim light of her room had covered up most of the imperfections of her skin. Lily stared in horror at how blotchy her face was. Without thinking, she took off to the library, her head bent down low. Suddenly, her shoulder collided with something strong, knocking her off balance.
Lily fell on the ground, her head banging on the ground hard. She felt her eyes tear as she sat up, clutching her throbbing skull.
"Are you okay?"
Lily looked up into the blue eyes of Brandon Allard. She nodded wordlessly, feeling tears stream down her face and realized that she had bitten her tongue. Humiliated, she tried to stand before realizing that her skirt had flown up over her stomach.
Can this day get any fucking worse?
"Here." Brandon grasped Lily under the shoulders and gently lifted her up. Dazed, Lily felt small in comparison to the boy, who seemed gigantic.
"Take your hands away from your head so I can see what happened," he ordered quietly. Lily shook her head, her hands still clamped to her head.
"Lily," Brandon murmured, bending down to look her in the eye as if she were a child, "I can't help you unless you move your hands."
His eyes are really nice.
Lily slowly removed her hands and Brandon examined her wound. "You have a bruise on your head and it's bleeding a little. You have to go to the hospital wing," he announced.
"The hospital wing?" Lily cried, finding her voice. It cracked as she spoke. "I just want to eat breakfast and forget about what happened in the past twenty-four hours, which happened to be some of the most humiliating in my entire life! I'm not going to go off to the hospital wing to-"
Brandon cut her off, putting a finger to her lips. "We don't have to go to the hospital wing. I'll just clean it up myself."
Lily stood still as Brandon performed the Episkey spell on her head, feeling her face heat up from him being so close to her.
"Done," he said finally.
Lily looked shyly up at him. "Thanks."
He grinned and Lily felt her heart drop. "No problem."
An awkward silence enveloped them. Brandon looked around the hallway and Lily fought the urge to start tapping her toes.
"So . . ." she said.
"Want to go grab an ice cream or something?" Brandon offered. "Hogsmeade's open."
Lily beamed. "Sure."
"Excellent." Brandon offered Lily his hand, which she took, blushing a little.
James sat at the Gryffindor table, attacking a bowl of corn flakes.
"Slow down, mate," Sirius said, amused, folding down half of the Daily Prophet to watch him friend gorge himself.
James wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Sorry," he apologized thickly, swallowing. "Just a little hungry is all."
"A little? James, you just devoured four bowls of cereal without breathing," Remus said over a mouthful of bacon. "Are you okay?"
James pushed the bowl away, sitting up. "No. I'm not."
Sirius put down the paper. "What is it?"
"It's Evans," James started, before Sirius snorted, picking the paper back up and burying himself in it once more.
James looked incredulous. "What was that for?" he asked indignantly.
Sirius peered at him over the newspaper. "Prongs, name the last time you weren't having problems with Evans."
James gave him a dark look.
"No, I'm serious," Sirius said, folding up the paper neatly and looking James in the eye. "Tell me the last time."
James thought back over the past few years. "Like . . . third year or so I think."
"Exactly!" Sirius exclaimed, slapping down the paper and making them all jump. "Third year! And how many years ago was that?" Without waiting for them to answer, he cried, "Four! Four bloody years! That's like 1500 days or something!" He patted James on the arm mockingly. "Don't you think you should let it go? You can only pine after a girl for so long."
"But . . ." James was silent for a couple of seconds. "But I think I love her."
Peter, who had been quiet, dropped his tea cup suddenly. With a squeak, he apologized profusely to Remus, whose bag he had soaked.
"C'mon, James," Sirius said good-naturedly. "You can't possibly love her. You don't even know her."
James gave up. His friend wasn't going to accept the fact.
"Besides," Sirius concluded, smirking, "It's not like Evans is the only girl around here who you could go for."
As if on cue, Juliana bounded over and threw her arms around James's shoulders. "James!" she squealed in his ear.
James forced a smile. "Hey Julie! Did you eat?" he asked, pretending to be interested.
She grinned happily. "Yep! I was hoping we could go to Hogsmeade after breakfast. There's this new shop open that I heard is to die for!"
"Well, I'm finished. Shall we get going?" James questioned.
Juliana giggled, hugging him. "You know I love you, right?" she asked playfully.
James laughed. "You tell me all the time," he murmured, kissing her cheek.
Julie beamed, grabbing his face and kissing him passionately.
James, shocked, waited for her to finish. When Sirius started whistling, he pulled her away. "Let's continue that at the shop," he offered.
She sighed. "I guess. Okay, we can go to the shop. Come on!" She pulled him into standing position and started dragging him out the door.
"See you guys," James called over his shoulder at the other Marauders. "I'll talk to you soon."
"No, no, take your time," Sirius answered, grinning.
James threw him a nasty look before disappearing out the doors.
Lily licked her ice cream cone quietly as she and Brandon walked along the streets of Hogsmeade. The sky was cloudy and it looked like it might rain, but none of that mattered to Lily. All she could think about was Brandon, who was striding next to her.
Brandon Allard is walking next to meBrandon Allard is walking next to me. Brandon Allard is walking next to me! With me! Brandon Allard is walking with me! Me! Her mind was jumbled and heady as they continued.
Lily glanced at Brandon, critiquing him. His hair really isn't that blond, she thought, just a light brown. And he's really tall. He must be like, six foot or something. Is he on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team? Lily racked her brain for an explanation to his muscles, before Brandon turned, caught her staring at him, and grinned.
Ah . . . dimples.
"What?" he asked, slowing down.
"Hmm? Oh! Nothing," Lily stammered, looking at the ground pointedly.
Brandon laughed, wrapping his arm around Lily's shoulders and pulling her to him. She shyly snuck her own around his waist. "It's okay if you stare at me. I don't mind or anything," he offered, amused.
Lily blushed. "I wasn't staring at you."
Brandon laughed again, releasing her. "You weren't? Then what was this?" He pulled his face into an exaggerated expression of longing, imitating her.
Lily shoved him, trying not to laugh. "Stop it. I didn't look like that."
Brandon put his arm around Lily again. Lily felt her body start to heat up. Suddenly, her clothes were on fire, searing her skin as she continued walking.
The first raindrop hit Lily on the ear. She brushed it off and looked at the sky. Another drop hit her in the middle of her eye, and she winced at the sting.
"Aw, shit," Brandon muttered, noticing the rain as well. As if the sky had popped, a torrent of water fell down, soaking Lily, Brandon, and their ice creams in a matter of seconds.
Lily laughed at the state of herself. An hour or two before, she would have been depressed and exhausted. Now, the rain had lifted her spirits, giving her more energy than she would have expected.
Brandon shook the water out of his hair, squinting around. God, he looks good wet, Lily thought fondly.
"We need to get out of the rain," he said over the sound of the rain falling.
Lily looked up at him, beaming. "Why?" she asked cheerfully. "Why do we have to go in?"
Brandon looked at her as if she were insane. "'Why?' Because it's pouring outside!" he yelled, as the wind started to pick up.
The raindrops hit Lily's face like little teeth, but she didn't care. "All my life I've been boring. Always following the rules, always getting my homework in on time, always staying away from dark, quiet places." When Brandon gave her a questioning look, she ignored him, not wanting to get into her phobia. "Today, I want to walk in the rain and catch pneumonia." The wind threatened to lift up her skirt, which she kept still by holding down. "Haven't you ever wanted to experience something you've always been told you can't do? To live life?"
Lightning spider-webbed across the grey sky in a blinding flash. "We won't be able to continue living if we don't get out of the storm," Brandon said, guiding Lily over to the Three Broomsticks.
The pub was cozy and dimly lit. Brandon led Lily over to a table near the back. As soon as they got comfortable, Brandon called over Madame Rosmerta.
"What can I get you?" Rosmerta asked, gliding over to the table. She looked at Lily. "Hopefully not firewhiskey," she teased.
Brandon, noticing Lily's embarrassment, cut the barmaid off. "Two butterbeers, please," he requested.
Madame Rosmerta nodded and headed towards the back.
"So," Lily said, leaning towards Brandon, "Tell me something weird about yourself."
Brandon stared at her. Lily gave him an indignant look. "While learning about someone's siblings and career future is fun and everything," she started sarcastically, "learning about quirks and oddities is much more interesting."
Brandon shrugged. "Okay, I guess you're right. You start," he commanded.
Lily racked her memory. "I don't like mint toothpaste," she offered.
Brandon looked intrigued. "Really?" he asked in shock.
Lily nodded. "Yep. In fact, I don't like mint at all. I prefer cinnamon. That's basically the only type of toothpaste I can stand."
"Weird," Brandon said.
"You next," Lily pressed.
"Okay." Brandon contemplated. "Oh! I'm allergic to rabbits."
"You're kidding!" Lily cried.
He grinned sheepishly. "No. I can't touch them without breaking out in hives. People think I'm afraid of them, since I avoid them so much."
Lily sat back. Already, she felt closer to Brandon.
"You're turn," Brandon said, touching Lily's hand. It tingled.
"Well, I love . . ." Lily trailed off as she saw who had just walked through the doors.
James Potter and Juliana Hernandez.
They were dripping wet and laughing. James had his arm around Hernandez in a protective gesture. Lily's heart sank just looking at them.
"Lily?" Brandon turned in his chair to see what she was looking at. At that moment, Juliana, who had been pushing water out of James's hair, stood on her tiptoes to kiss his mouth. He responded gruffly, pulling her in closer.
Lily's stomach dropped and she cleared her throat, alerting Brandon to turn around. His face had an odd expression on it.
"Oh my God! Brandon!" rang out. Brandon looked up at the sound of his name to see Juliana dragging James over to their table. Lily felt like vomiting.
"Oh my God!" Hernandez repeated, kissing Brandon on the cheek. "It has be so long!" she squeaked, sitting down next to him on the chair James had brought over for himself and Juliana.
Brandon chuckled. "What can I say? I had stuff to do," he said, watching her.
Julie tutted. "That's no excuse not to see me, silly! What, just because I'm your ex-girlfriend means you have to feel distant around me just because you broke my heart for Sahiba Kayastha?"
An awkward silence blanketed the table as Brandon shifted uncomfortably. Juliana looked around, not realizing she had said anything inappropriate.
"And that's two butterbeers," Madame Rosmerta said, delivering the drinks, which Lily took gratefully.
"Oo, butterbeer!" Juliana trilled, rolling her 'R's slightly. "Can we have two more?" she asked Rosmerta.
Rosmerta nodded, amused. "Of course you can. They'll be right here."
"So!" Julie said, clapping her hands. "How long have you guys been going out?"
Lily started saying, "Oh, we're not-" when Brandon cut her off. "A couple of days," he said vaguely.
Juliana raised her eyebrows, smiling. "Exciting!" she exclaimed. To Lily, she stage whispered, "Is he any good?"
Both Brandon and Lily snorted their butterbeer. "What?!" Lily asked, shocked that Juliana would say such a thing.
The Latina rolled her eyes, still smiling. "I'm just saying, it certainly didn't take him much time with me to start-"
"Lily and I have only been dating for a couple of days," Brandon practically yelled, sending Juliana an evil look. "We haven't done anything yet."
Juliana looked confused. "Why not?"
Lily felt her blood start to boil. "Because it's none of your busine-"
"Two butterbeers," Madame Rosmerta said, placing the drinks in front of Juliana and James.
Lily sat back in her chair, fuming. How dare Juliana Hernandez ask her those questions?! As if she and Brandon had done such things! They weren't even technically dating! How dare she?!
James took a long drag of his drink. "Thank God for butterbeer," he declared.
Juliana slurped her foam, giggling a little. She was really starting to get on Lily's nerves. "So what were you two talking about before we came?" she asked Brandon sweetly.
"Me and Lily were just talking about weird things that we do. It's a better way to get to know someone." Brandon explained.
Hernandez looked thrilled. "Oo! We want to play too, right James?" She turned on James's lap, somewhere she had seemed to have migrated onto.
He shrugged, grinning at her. "If you want."
Juliana beamed happily. "You're so wonderful," she cooed, and pulled James in for a remarkably wet kiss.
Lily attempted to avert her eyes, but found them being pulled back to the two as if a magnet. Her mind suddenly traveled back to that awful, awful night in the Heads' Dorm, where she had caught them first snogging.
Thank God they aren't doingthat, she thought to herself, grateful for the hoards of people around, until Juliana, with a loud moan, lifted her leg off the floor and straddled James.
Oh my God!
Brandon coughed loudly in an attempt to rouse the two of them. "They're usually like this," Lily explained, sighing.
"Oh," Brandon said awkwardly. A few prolonged minutes passed in silence.
"Should we break them apart?" he asked timidly.
Lily nodded. Reaching over, Lily pinched James on the arm - hard.
Potter's eyes flew open as he cried out. Juliana was almost tossed to the floor as he shot up, but at the last moment his arm flew out and grabbed her around the waist.
Lily's heart gave a little ache as she watched Potter help Hernandez regain her balance.
"What was that for?" he asked her angrily as Julie settled herself on his lap.
Lily glared at him. "You know exactly what that was for," she growled quietly.
James smirked, cocking an eyebrow. "Aw, Evans, you jealous?"
Lily looked outraged. "At what?" she demanded.
James's grin grew, his eyes shining with excitement. "At the fact that you're too uptight to ever do anything fun?"
Lily scoffed. "I'm not uptight. But you seem to have a problem with self control around Hernandez, and this isn't the first time we've discovered this little dilemma." She smiled without humor as his grin faded, thinking about the night on the couch a few days before.
A loud crash sounded and the two of them jumped. Juliana had apparently knocked over her mug of butterbeer.
"Oops," she giggled, smiling apologetically at James. "I must have knocked it off."
"It's okay," James said, cleaning up the mess with a wave of his wand. Lily noticed he didn't need to even say a spell. Wow, into Nonverbals already?
As James faced the table, an awkward silence covered them all again.
"So, Potter," Brandon said loudly, casually draping his arm around Lily's chair (she felt a shot of excitement zing through her and leaned in towards him), "have you picked your team yet?"
James looked confused, raising an eyebrow. "What team?"
Brandon looked shocked. "Quidditch team," he said as if James should have known. "Aren't you the team Captain?"
James shook his head. "No, that's Sirius. They weren't going to make me Head Boy and Quidditch Captain, I'd go insane."
"Oh. So do you think you're going to be a Chaser on this team?" Brandon asked briskly, seemingly sizing James up.
James gave him a blank look. "Why wouldn't I be a Chaser?" he asked.
Brandon shrugged. "I dunno . . . I heard some stuff, rumors mostly."
"What rumors? Who told you?" James asked angrily, sitting up in his seat. Juliana squealed as his movements upset her from his lap.
"Brandon and I should really be going now," Lily interrupted loudly, giving Brandon a pointed look.
"Yeah, we have studying and I need to plan the Quidditch team. I was named Captain, did you know?" he asked James casually, shaking his shaggy blonde hair out of his face.
James's mouth turned into a line, but he managed to respond politely. "I wasn't aware of that. Thank you for informing me."
Brandon smiled. "No problem. See you, Potter. Bye, Julie," he said, nodding at James and giving Juliana a little wave before heading for the door.
Lily murmured, "Bye," glancing at James over her shoulder. He had an annoyed look on his face and he was staring directly at her. She felt her face heat and turned around to join Brandon, feeling his eyes watching her the entire time.
