Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, I'd be bloody rich. At this point, I'm lucky I can afford paper and pencil to write this! That speaks for me! The Lady of Shalot is © Alfred Lord Tennyson, and sung by Loreena McKennit in a marvellous celtic song: "The Mummer's Dance"
"Le Donne Lo Sanno" was coined by Italian music group Ligabue. It literally means "The women know it"
Thanks to L'amoureuse forcorrections ininterpretation of Mon Essentiel!
"I make of you my essential,
you make me live among the men,
i make of you my essential,
that which i will love more than anyone,
if you want for us to learn."
This is not normal.
Anyone whoever wanted to be a fairytale princess should rethink their fantasies, because it is not a pretty thing. Sprinting across the fields Cinderella style to avoid a public discovery of your true identity is not fun.
Take that, Cinderella! Someday my prince will come, indeed. Why is it we girls of the Cinderella complex run away from the most charming boy we have ever met.
Does that make any sense!
Hang on, Snow White is the girl that someday, waits around for her prince in a log cabin, not Cindy. I could think of a million better things to be doing than waiting for ol' princey-wincey in a log cabin with seven very tiny men while an evil being plots my demise.
That is why Quidditch was invented; to prevent us from being Snow Whites.
Anyhoo, I have spent the night under a tree in the arms of Potter. How is this bad? I woke up long past 9AM. Classes have already started, and I will be amazed if some half-wit third year Care of Magical Creatures Class did not spot us.
Clothes were on too, mind you, dirties.
Yet, I was warm and snuggly. He was so charming, and dishy, and oh, I don't know.
Silly girl! Don't dream. It is over. Next time I see him, I will be a boy. I cannot exactly jump and snog him like I feel like doing. That would just be…
Lord! I'm going to stop thinking these thoughts.
I made it back to Hogsmeade unscathed, then changed, and casually strolled back to school like nothing had happened. I had missed History of Magic during my snooze.
Let us have a moment of silence for this loss.
….
All done.
This brings us to Defense Against the Dark Arts. I scuttled in unnoticed, and sat in the back as if I had been in classes all morning. The period had not started, and clumps of students gathered in their social normals, spotted around the room like lurkers. Speaking of lurkers, where were a few greasy Slytherins crowded around a desk two rows over. They were whispering and giggling, occasionally throwing glances at me and sneering.
And they say girls have cliques.
Where are the rest of the boys? In the hall, doing stunts and generally showing off in a very unattractive way. I suppose these movements are considered a mating dance in ways they imagine to be very appealing to girls.
Idiots. Next thing they'll try dangling themselves from the rafters making farting noises with their armpits, and it will be a grand mating call.
Lovely. I don't want to think what that would be like.
Class was due to begin in a few minutes. I waited for Remus to sit with me as he did every day because neither of us fancied James and Sirius copying our work.
I heard a body plop into the chair next to me. "'Ello Remus." I greeted without looking up.
"Remus is sitting with James, mate." An overly confident voice chuckled. "Good morning, Li-Lee." He whispered in my ear.
I looked at 'Remus' next to me.
But Remus was not Remus. Remus was Sirius. I nervously shifted away from his warm breath on my ear, and stuck my tongue out.
On cue, I glanced at the door as James entered the room; he was looking at the two of us very oddly, and perhaps scathingly for his best friend's betrayal of sitting next to me for once class. I shrugged at him. Honestly, he can have Sirius back.
I will not mention how appealing Potter looks even when he appears to just have rolled out of bed. He sat down a few desks away.
"Remus usually sits with me. I would not want to upset the balance by having you in my presence." I guffawed at Sirius.
"Remus can sit with James." Sirius shrugged me off. "Besides, it is only acceptable and natural for ladies to have the opportunity to bask in the presence of Sirius Black." He winked. "You are a little lady, aren't you, Lily?" He muttered, coherently seductive.
I inched away from Dough Boy's brother until I fell off my chair.
I glared at him from a position of dignity, on the floor. He laughed. "Relax. Just tell anyone who asks that I was telling you about Quidditch captain elections tonight, and that we naturally will nominate James." He jovially held out his hand, which I took, and pulled me back to my chair.
"Why does James automatically get nominated?" I asked.
"Sweetheart, he is Hogwarts' Golden Boy. It is an unwritten rule." Sirius explained as he propped his head with his palm, lazily.
"That hardly seem fair."
We paused temporarily to acknowledge Professor Littlefield's very tiny, but very dramatic entrance. He was built with all the muscle of a Quidditch lad, but stood not taller than one and a half meters. His ego is so huge there is not much room left for anything else. Not to mention everyone knows he is desperate to be considered one of the lads, so he never punishes for 'disrupting' the class. I think he has even formed a body building club with some students, where they do other stupid manly activities, like spitting.
Who can hock a lugie the farthest?
I have always wanted to be the champion of hocking lugies because lugies are the most respectable form of bodily fluid in the world! The rabid gurgle one makes to gather ammunition is too attractive as well. Not.
In any case, because of the Professor we had to continue our conversation in hushed voices.
Sirius laughed softly. "You are truly not of our world, Lily."
"You are right. I am from Mars."
"You are! I have never met a live Martian before!"
"No, dimwit. I am from Earth."
"Hey! Me too!"
"Great. We have one too many things in common already."
"I take offense to that."
"I don't think it has damaged your ego too much. You have declared yourself a member of the famed Black family. I am sure there is plenty ego to go around, especially with the Dough Boy." I argued.
"The Who?"
Sirius shot me a confused look.
"No, not The Who."
"I am confused."
I threw my hands into the air in surrender. We lapsed into silence for a moment until Sirius broke it, like always.
"Lily, why are you here exactly?"
"I ran away from birthright and societal expectations of which I did not want to fulfill."
He chuckled.
"You can't escape society. Men aren't that different from women. It is both of our psychological complexes that mould the way we are expected to act. That is why we are forced to nominate James for everything – because we are supposed to. You see, we have guidelines here too. Running from one extreme to the other won't cure your disappointment." The constellation's namesake explained.
"I can't believe you would conform to that! The Sirius Black I know rebels against everything!"
"My family is considered nobility. I have no escape. Although, I am glad you didn't conform, Lily. In any case, we would select James regardless because, ah, you can't argue with the seniority of James among men. I bet you got a glimpse of his manliness last night."
OH MERLIN!
I fell off my chair, again, and crawled under the desk like a kicked puppy.
"Is something the matter, Mister Vanes?" Professor Littlefield inquired.
Yes. Yes! YES! A million times yes! I have terrible images running through my head. GET THEM OUT!
"Of course not Professor." I muttered calmly. "I only seem to have had a clumsy moment."
"Apparently." Littlefield observed and turned back to his blackboard.
I clambered back into my seat. A moment of silence passed before I slowly expressed my owldom when my head pivoted toward Sirius.
His face was abnormally close to mine. If there is a book called 'tips for invading personal space', Sirius has read it.
"I have just one other question" Sirius asked proudly, still smug over the discomfort he has caused me.
"Haven't you said enough?" I hissed in Lily's voice.
"No."
"Then what is it?"
"When you transform, do you get man parts?"
I massaged either side of the bridge of my nose. Someone get me an aspirin!
Well, arithmancy was an err…interesting class.
Can you say road kill?
Smashing.
What does road kill have to do with me? Well, right now I resemble it, metaphorically of course. My guts are still in tact thank you.
Remus and I are the only two Marauders stup- I mean smart enough to take Arithmancy. Upon our trudging to the classroom, Remus the Bludger said an interesting thing.
"Who are you?" He asked quietly.
I must have appeared shocked, because his pretty blue eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Silly Remus. You know who I am!" I said, overly cheerful incase he would buy into my charade.
"Everyone lies." He said solemnly. His stride seemed to lengthen as if he were trying to loose me and then leave me in his dusty shame. However, I am Lily Evans, and I don't give up.
"What makes you think I am not who I say I am?" I pressed my luck and matched his stride. God bless long legs.
"Sirius called you Lily." He replied simply.
How on Earth did he hear that? Unless he had some inhuman hearing capabilities, Sirius and I were not possibly close enough for him to overhear. He'd have to be very keen and good with intuition as well….something that boys aren't good at, or there would be less divorce.
Hmmm….Remus, are you human?
Probably not. He is a boy after all.
Unless….
"Are you training for werewolfdom too?" I asked before sipping some milk.
"I…uh…" he chuckled. "yeah."
Oh my giddy aunt!
I snapped out of my trance, and shoved Remus into the nearest empty classroom.
"Werewolf!" I grunted and pointed at him. He gave me the weirdest look, granted I sounded like a caveman who had taken some helium, as my voice was three octaves too high.
"What about them?" Remus asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"You are one."
Remus shot me a 'no, really!' look. "And if I was, shouldn't you be more afraid?" He said with a toothy, yet sinister grin.
I matched his piercing stare.
"You have never hurt me before. Should I be afraid of you when I know you're a good person, You've got a monstrous side, yet you love more than you hurt. It is not in werewolves to love, so I won't consider you one of them." I said.
His blue eyes widened, and looked a bit teary.
Bollocks! The last thing I need is a weeping bloke.
But that's the truth for you.
His head bowed. "Thanks." He muttered to his feet. "You won't tell, will you?"
Sod! Now he doesn't trust me. If I were a decent person, I would even the score.
Too bad I am not a decent person. I'm a cynical wanker.
Well, most of the time I am not a decent person. Remember the time I hexed Black in the Great Hall. A nice person wouldn't have done that!
Well, an aggravated nice person might have done so.
Or the time that…oh that doesn't count!
Ugh!
I've done more right than wrong!
"How about a fair trade?" I surrendered.
"What of?"
"I'll tell you to rearrange the name Lee Vanes until it spells Lily Evans. Lee isn't permanent, he changes in twelves. Just think about what lies in a spell."
Phwoar! A rhyming riddle!
Then I pranced out of the classroom, nose high and girly walk with utter glaciosity, until my feet tangled themselves and I found myself stumbling for England until I landed smack in Flitwick's (who owned the classroom) Dracula plant.
Oh deary me.
The Marauders and I pranced to the Quidditch pitch tents across the dusky horizon, brooms in hand, for captain elections. You could assume we were marching to our doom; however, James and Sirius were discussing pranks, Remus had his nose buried in a book, Peter was feeding his pet turtle, and I was nursing the Dracula's fang bites upon my nose. We really didn't notice doom was knocking on our doorstep at this point.
Who does?
Once we reached the tent, Peter took a seat on a side bench, and the team gathered in a circle.
"Since it took you so bloody long to get here, we've decided in your absence that all first string players are up for captain." Malfoy declared as he and the other slytherins stepped forward. The Marauders and Slytherins lined up across from each other as if a line had been drawn between them.
"Well of course you say that, because you have better odds. If we're not nominating, all should be up for captain." Remus challenged.
"Why should a reserve get captain? Reserves aren't of the skill firsts are." Alistair said.
"It is just like you to be prejudiced, Kovinsky." Potter spat.
"You cannot deny the truth!" Malfoy countered.
"I'll show you truth in my hexes." Potter drew his wand, as did Remus, and the Slytherins.
I simply stood to the side and on neither line, my head swiveling between the two sides, dumbfounded. Honestly, why are people so stubborn! This isn't going to solve anything!
"Erm….guys?" I squeaked.
They ignored me…so I tugged on Potter's sleeve.
"James?" I piped.
No response.
"James?" I asked a bit louder.
Nothing.
"James…?"
……
"For the love of Merlin, Potter answer me!"
"Did you say something Lee?"
Do not roll eyes.
Do not roll eyes.
Do not roll eyes.
"Why don't we go get Dumbledore to settle this?"
"We can handle this!" Potter turned back to the other fight which was in full bloom. Insults were flying, and even Peter had gotten to his feet, his pet turtle forgotten.
"We can't learn to fight like this! We'll never win a match!" I pleaded with words falling on deaf ears.
Boys. If you want something done right, get the woman to do it!
I was about to leave the tent to get help, when sparks and hexes were traded.
I heard mild curses and Expelliarmuses from the Marauders, but then there was the moment amidst the yelling, when all became silent and I could only hear a single phrase.
And everything went wrong. Everything that had happened to me and Hogwarts and Beauxbatons in the past two months died.
"Avada…."
I began charging back towards the group, everything moving in slow motion and I willed every ounce of muscle I had to reach them in time. I stumbled a bit, but that didn't stop me. Any empty thought I had vanished, and I could say that this was the moment I grew up. When you're looking cold death in the eye, there is only life on your mind, and the need to gulp the air as if it were laced with the nectar of life.
"….Kedavra"
I don't know who fired that spell. There wasn't time to look, but I threw my body between the two sides all the same. I collided with bodies; whose they were I was not aware.
How could anyone hate enough to kill?
Then, there was a flash of green light.
On either side of the river lie
Long fields of barley and of rye,
That clothe the world and meet the sky;
And thro' the field the road run by;
Up and down the people go,
Gazing where the lilies blow
Lancelot mused a little space
He said, "She has a lovely face;
God in his mercy lend her grace;
This chapter took long to write because I wanted the ending to be done well. It was mostly to set up events for future chapters. But you didn't expect that, now did you! I'd love to read your guesses as to who was shishkabobed. Remember, this is AU, so anyone could be on the chopping block. If you'd like to guess, include that in your review!
On that note, I'd like to thank all my lovely reviewers for your encouragement! Keep reviewing, because I'll always write as long as I know my story is read and enjoyed. Cause and effect, loves, cause and effect.
I've got several Marauder Era fics in the works to follow Little Lady subsequently. All will be written utilizing different styles and different mediums. Don't underestimate them yet:) Here's a small preview:
The Minstrel's Prayer
If a boy wrote a song about a flower, how would it sound? A 1942 World War II themed parody of Romeo and Juliet with Lily and James.
Rating: K+
Approximate number of chapters: 15
Genre: Romance/Angst
Sin City
Breaking the law has never been so electrifying until Auror James Potter is hunting you down. Then it's irresistible. A story of love and redemption of a criminal and an Auror.
Rating: T
Approximate number of chapters: 16 - 20
Genre: action/adventure
Notes: Possibly co-written with phoenixNS
And one odd ball fic, simply because I have never seen a believable non-canon of this pairing, and I'm determined to write one even though it will never, ever happen.
Kirschwasser
A love potion gone wrong. Two people at war. Your worst enemy never looked so good. A retelling of Tristan and Isolde with a twist. Draco/Hermione
Rating: T, perhaps a pending M
Approximate number of chapters: 15 – 20
Genre: Romance
Notes: This retelling will be based off of the original tale of Tristan and Isolde…where the two have no feelings for each other until they are accidentally given a love potion. I think we're all aware Draco and Hermione would never get along on their own.
Feel free to comment on these fics in a review or at prolixsoliloquy(at)yahoo . com. (remove spaces) Just let me know you're from this site okay?