Chapter 10: The Dark Side of James Potter
"Hey Padfoot, look! It's the nerd!" James sneered nastily as he walked pasted, pointing at her and laughing. Lily turned red.
"Prongs, that was pretty mean. What's happening to you?" Sirius said in disgust, sitting down next to Remus.
"She lied, she's getting what she deserved" he said simply, scooping a ton of mashed potato onto his plate.
"Yes, please remind me what she lied about, I'm a little confused how a first year could have the brains to come into our 7th year Transfiguration and Potions class?" Remus said sweetly, looking at the plate pilled with mash potato in front of James with disgust.
"That's because no normal eleven year old is that bloody smart which MEANS that James here is probably over reacting. Ever heard of a transfer student?"
"Yeah, but she still lied to me! She said she was seventeen, and she wasn't in any of our classes today, was she?" James snapped back.
"Man, get over it! Live life, who cares if a chick lies to you?" Remus exclaimed, taking the potato bowl from the middle of the table and vanishing it.
"Yeah, well you haven't exactly told us who you're 'girl' is and if you're still seeing her" James snapped, upset as his potato disappeared.
"Don't worry, its over. It was a summer romance like yours, however I knew her and her age, and that she was a witch. I'm over it, so you should be too,"
"Oh, yeah, well I dare you to flirt with another girl now to prove that you're over her"
"What ever you say Prongs, but I don't know what me flirting with another girl is going to do to make you get over this Lena girl"
"Lily. Her name is Lily"
"See, that's my point! You're not over it!"
"Well, maybe I don't WANT to be over it. Maybe I like being horrible"
"I seriously doubt that. Besides you may like it, but we're already sick of it"
"Here here!"
"See?"
"Okay fine. I'll stop being like this around you guys, but I can't promise that I will stop around Lily"
"You know, I think you're being really horrible to her, she's already burst into to tears twice today, don't you feel a LITTLE bit bad?"
"Nope"
"Okay, I'll see you later, when you're not such an asshole" Sirius snapped, getting up and walking over to where Lily and her friends were sitting.
"Traitor" James muttered, and spooned the potato into his mouth, big spoonfuls at a time.
"You know that looks disgusting?" Peter asked him, feeling sick at just the sight of it.
"Get over it, you're a rat. You can't complain"
"James, have you picked a girl yet? I want to go and do my Transfiguration homework before 2am"
"Fine...how about Callie?"
"Awesome!" Remus exclaimed, Callie was quite attractive and guys would love to have an excuse to flirt with her without other people raising their eye brows, as Callie was sort of a slut.
"Glad to give you some enjoyment" James replied, turning back to his potatoes.
"James, aren't you going to eat any other vegetables with that?" Peter asked as Remus ran off to Callie.
"Nope"
"Meat?"
"Nope"
"But that's just gross!"
"Peter, are you a boy?"
"Umm, yeah"
"Well, start acting like a man!" James snapped, annoyed at Peter by picking on his eating habits.
"Well, sorry!" Peter snapped, getting up and walking out of the Great Hall, leaving James sitting like a loner at the table with only his potatoes for company.
-:-
"Hello Ladies!" Sirius said, giving them a charming smile and sitting down next to Lily.
"What do you and Potter want? Throw me more insults perhaps?" Lily snapped, feeling an uncontrollable anger towards James.
"Actually, no. I'm here because I support James fully. Unless you really are eleven, are you?" Sirius paused and looked around the group "and judging by your furious stares I would say that you're not eleven. So, how old are you?"
"Fifteen. Sixteen in April. Not eleven, not even close."
"Good. I didn't think you were. I mean, I didn't meet you in France when I was there with James, but you sure didn't sound like an eleven year old" Sirius said, taking a large bite of steak.
"Hang on, you were in France too? Why didn't I meet you? Why did James not tell me? He probably didn't care as he thought he would be rid of me after the summer. Didn't the summer mean ANYTHING to him?"
"Ibboreibip" Sirius muffled through his mouthful
"I'm sure it did" Melody translated for her.
"Yeah, well if James can hate me for lying and assuming the worst of me, than I can certainly despise him for this!" Lily exclaimed, turning red again, this time with anger.
"Good for you. Listen sweetie, I got to go. Remus looks like his having fun up there with Callie," Sirius said, looking over at Remus and standing up.
"Isn't that a good thing? Him having fun?" Lily asked, puzzled
"Not if he doesn't have a legitimate reason. Excuse me" he replied, heading off in their direction.
"Ooo goodie! Dessert!" Melody exclaimed in delight as the savory food was exchanged for something sweet.
"Yum! Chocolate!" Lily exclaimed happily, loading a bunch of chocolate pieces onto her napkin, folding it up, and placing it in her bag.
"What did you do that for?"
"Chocolate is the best cure for a broken heart and convincing your brain that he was a loser"
"And it also gives you pimples"
"No, that's just a myth"
"Oh"
-:-
The weeks soon passed with no event. James continued to be cold and Lily's anger feelings over powered her heart broken feelings. James started an ugly habit of shouldering passed Lily with so much force, she was knocked into the wall, but she was soon back on her feet and shouldering him back.
Lily woke up one Saturday, a few weeks after term started, to a room coloured in orange and black streamers.
"You guys take Halloween too seriously here" Lily groaned, and turned over onto her side.
"No, you guys don't take it seriously enough! Besides, Halloween means shopping!" Melody said excitedly, jumping up and down and it looked like she had already eaten too much sugar.
"Why does Halloween mean shopping?"
"Because it's the only day a year you're guaranteed to be allowed to go to Hogsmeade," Isabel said sadly.
"Okay?"
"Isabel hates shopping. The only shopping she likes is candy shopping" Melody said, shooting her a look of disapproval.
"Whether as Melody likes all kinds of shopping" Isabel retorted
"Except shoe!" Melody piped up from the bathroom
"What are you doing in the bathroom?" Lily asked her
"What people USUALLY do in the bathroom"
"Ah ha, well, on Halloween its either trick or treat, right?"
"Right"
"Well, I say we do some tricking" Lily said evilly, pulling out a small tube, with a cork up the top and the contents was a pale pink colour...
-:-
"You going to Hogsmeade today?"
"Yep"
"You looking forward to it?"
"Yep"
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you Potter, but you have Quidditch practice"
"WHAT!"
"Haha just kidding Potter, you can enjoy you're shopping trip"
"You right there Prongs?" Remus asked a while later.
"I've just suffered from one of Wood's jokes"
"Say no more. Is Sirius talking to you yet?"
"Nope"
"Are you still in you're mood?"
"Maybe"
"You ready to go?"
"Yep"
They both headed down the marble staircase, across the Entrance Hall and down the driveway.
"So who's the girl?"
"I thought we had discussed this. This is no girl! I thought I made myself clear with Callie..."
"Well, who WAS the girl then?"
"I'm not saying!"
"Why not?"
"Because!"
This argument continued the rest of the way down the driveway and most of the way into Hogsmeade until finally
"Why do you even care?"
"Because I'm your best mate and I seem to be in the same position as you. Now, tell me or I might have too spill you're, furry, little habit"
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Yes, I would. Tell me"
"Okay, fine! Scott"
"Scott? Scott what? As in a guy?!"
"No idiot! Scott as in Isabel Scott"
"Well, she's hot"
"Sure is"
"But she's not Callie"
"So?"
"Okay, you're officially not over her!"
"Of course I am! I'm a ladies man, what's one girl to me?"
"Umm, a girl?"
"Perhaps, but there are endless amounts of girls out there"
"They are not useless playthings!"
"I didn't mean that! It's just, you don't click with every girl you meet, so if you don't click with one, or it doesn't work out, there are other girls out there. Besides, you're sound rather over protective of women all of a sudden, being, you know, the ladies man you're self 'Mr. Hogwarts Hottest Guy 1980'"
"Yes, I guess I am 'Mr. Hogwarts Hottest Guy 1979'"
"Do you want to get a drink?"
"Sure do."
"Let's drown our sorrows"
"Come Prongs, drinks on me"
-:-
"So how exactly are we going to have this 'fun'?" Isabel asked Lily suspiciously as they walked down the driveway, huddled under scarves as the icy wind blew onto their pink faces.
"I suggest we slip it into my number one enemy's drink and see who he falls in love with?" Lily said, trying hard to hide her smug smile at her geniusness.
"You're forgetting two things. One, Anietta is love potion that creates love in dreams and two, even if it worked in reality, how would we slip it to him?" Isabel pointed out and crushed Melody's hopeful face. She had never been a fan of 'Mr. Hogwart's Hottest Guy 1980'.
"My dear Isabel, I may be only fifteen but I do have some intelligence. Yes, Anietta is indeed a love potion that creates love only in dreams, but you should also know that by adding a sprig of rosemary and a peel of rosewood, Anietta soon turns into the love potion Aniela, which creates the feeling to desire love with the first person you lay eyes on. Party goers are to wary as someone could slip it in your drink and you wouldn't notice as it can turn the colour of the substance it is it to hid its true form. That's why people should be wary of leaving their drinks unattended at the bar. I wonder why..."
"You know, I don't really like this idea..."
"Its Halloween Bell! Lighten up a bit, there's only too times a year a person can play pranks on people legally: Halloween and April 1st. Please help me! Besides, he deserves it!"
"Yeah, I guess he does, count me in!" Isabel said as they arrived outside the pub. They watched Remus and James find a table, and then Remus head back to the bar to order drinks.
"And I think I know how" Isabel said, watching Remus closely.
"How?"
"Well, you know how I said I had bad experiences with my love life?"
"Yeah..."
"Well Lily, you're not the only one to have a summer love end in heart break, but at least you didn't know it would end that way. Excuse me, I've got some wooing to do if we want to teach the bastard a lesson," Isabel said, taking the potion from Lily, slipping it into her pocket and entering the bar.
"Did you know about that?"
"No, did you?"
"No"
"I never realized how good she was at keeping secrets"
"Neither"
"Oh my God, she wasn't joking when she said 'woo' did she?"
"Is she really flirting? I don't think I've ever pictured her flirting"
Sure enough, Isabel was doing just that, stealing Remus's attention away from the drinks for just a moment long enough to pore Aniela into James's glass. You could tell which one was James's, as he was old enough to legally drink alcohol; Remus wasn't of age just yet.
Soon enough, she slipped the empty potion bottle into her jacket pocket, before stealing one last glance at him before backing away slowly, before exiting and leaving him alone to stare after her.
"Well?" Lily asked as she met up with them.
"All systems go!"
Lily smiled evilly
"Perfect"