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The Pirate Princess

"Jones, Fenwick, Weasley, you'll be sharing this room here," Moody pointed to one of the small rooms that crowded the thin hallway. Lily groaned inside. Not only did she have to live in this small space, she'd have to share it too?

Whatever qualms Lily had about this, she nodded and gave her 'yes, sir' along with the other boys. She didn't think Moody would appreciate any complaints

The ship so far was decorated lavishly. The wood was polished, the deck was scrubbed, and the sails were tied and spotless. Though the ship seemed big on the outside, with all the men that needed to be housed, the rooms for sleeping took up most of the space.

I might even like it if it wasn't swarming with smelly sailors, Lily thought wryly, Yes that does put a damper on things.

As the three new recruits entered their new room, they looked around with uncertainty. True, it was bigger than Lily expected, but the furniture must've been sold at a charity shop. There were three beds, stacked unsteadily on top of each other so they made a bunk-bed. They were very thin with no railing to stop anyone falling out and Lily could tell from here that the mattresses were not going to be comfy. There was a small table in the corner with a wooden chair and on the other side of the room, a dusty and worn armchair that looked ready to collapse.

Lily eyed the lower bunk with some feral look in her eye. Simultaneously, the three roommates all looked at each other and she could tell they were thinking the same thing. They dove through the air to get to the lowest bunk.

Benny and Arthur weren't exactly what Lily would call big and bulky, but they were bigger and bulkier than she was.

Seconds after they dived, Lily was casually thrown to the side after Benny pushed her out. She huffed angrily. Wasn't he supposed to be a friend?

Deciding she'd take the second bunk before one of them lost the wrestling match they were currently in, she threw her rucksack up there and attempted to pull herself up. She was too small, however, and ended up sprawled on the floor again. After several more attempts, she gave up and sat on the wooden chair in their room to watch Benny and Arthur. It seemed Arthur was winning. He was older than both Lily and Benny, and was wiry too. Soon after, he had Benny beaten and sprawled on the floor like Lily was moments before.

"Unfair!" Benny declared, though he was grinning, "Rematch!"

"Sorry, but I think he won fair and square," Lily put in.

Arthur inclined his head to her, looking a bit hesitant.

"Charlie Jones," she introduced herself, and stood up to shake his hand.

"Arthur Weasley," he replied.

"Benjy Fenwick," Benny mimicked Lily, "But everyone calls –"

"Everyone calls you Benny, we know," Lily interrupted with a smirk.

Benny scowled for a moment, but gave in and smiled anyway.

"Did you see Lockhart earlier?" he asked Arthur excitedly.

Arthur nodded, "He wasn't very good, was he?"

"Wasn't very good?" Lily scoffed, "He just stood there twirling around like a ballerina!"

"No, no," Benny shook his head, "It wasn't a ballerina."

"More like a Russian dancer?" Arthur suggested.

Lily and Benny snorted. It seemed Arthur was quickly getting over his slight shyness.

"Well, let's decide." Benny got up and rolled up a piece of parchment. He proceeded to do a series of movements in which he twisted and turned, wobbled and shouted. Arthur and Lily doubled over laughing and Lily came to sit next to Arthur on the bottom bunk.

"Come on, Charlie! Why don't you show us some?" Benny urged Lily.

"Oh, well I don't think I have the girl-like tendency to twirl around like you do," Lily teased.

"Course you do!" Benny said gleefully, "How old are you anyway?"

"Fifteen," she replied.

"Well, no offense or anything, but you do look quite feminine to me," Benny said.

"So I've been told," Lily grinned at him, showing her carelessness to the matter.

Benny took this as permission to poke fun at her for the rest of the afternoon, much to Lily's chagrin.

"Well, I'm just saying, but you could've been a girl if it wasn't for the lack of other body parts," Benny kept repeating.

Lily rolled her eyes, "Like you keep saying," she said dryly, "But you seem to be forgetting that you could've been a ballet dancer just as well as I could've been a girl. Your footwork? Perfect."

Arthur howled with laughter while Benny just shook his head, "You know, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

"Really, Mr. Fenwick?" Moody appeared in the doorway, "Though I'm glad to see you getting along with your roommates, you're all needed on deck."

They all nodded and followed him out of the room to the one next to them, where Caradoc Dearborn and Sturgis Podmore were staying.

Moody also burst in into their room, where Caradoc and Sturgis were chatting. Benny, Arthur, and Lily all exchanged sour looks when they saw Caradoc and Sturgis' bedroom had two single separate beds.

"If you'll all follow me to the deck," Moody said and started up the stairs where he walked awkwardly and loudly because of his wooden leg.

Up on deck, the whole crew was assembled in a line in front of a short, balding man with brown hair, in his mid-forties.

"The new recruits, captain," Moody nodded his head to the man in front.

"Thank you, Mad-Eye," the captain nodded back.

Moody went to stand in his own position in the line, while the group of boys and Lily just milled around, not sure where to go.

"Stand next to me," Moody hissed at them. They all nodded at once, and rushed to follow orders to save being embarrassed in front of the clearly amused crew.

"Everyone, welcome back to The Ministry, and for those that are new, we hope you enjoy your time here," he took time to smile at the new recruits, all of whom were looking quite nervous, "Start getting ready to sail," he directed the order to the old crew, all of which were between the ages of thirty and sixty.

"I'm Captain Cornelius Fudge. I'd like you all to introduce yourselves," the captain said when they were left alone and the crew had been dismissed, "Starting with you." He pointed at Arthur.

"I'm Arthur Weasley, sir," Arthur nodded respectively at Fudge, and the captain gestured for Benny to go."

"Benjy Fenwick, sir," Benny mimicked Arthur, but couldn't help adding, "But I prefer Benny."

Lily had to stifle her giggles, as it seemed Benny was adamant against his proper name and had the nerve to even correct the captain!

"Caradoc Dearborn, sir," Lily watched Caradoc twitch nervously before remembering to nod, like Benny and Arthur.

"Sturgis Podmore," Sturgis stood there for a moment before adding, "sir."

"L- Charlie Jones, sir," Lily's eyes widened slightly as she almost slipped and said "Lily Evans".

"Charlie Jones," Fudge studied Lily, "Moody tells me you can read and write?"

It was a question to clarify and Lily nodded.

"Good, good," Fudge nodded.

"Well, I don't suppose any of you know how to fight, lookout, or climb the riggings?" Fudge looked at each hopefully.

Lily raised her eyebrows and looked back at the boys. Did any of them look like they knew how to fight?

He looked readily disappointed, "Ah, well, it's not like I expected you to be professionals straight away," he chuckled, "Mad-Eye will teach you tomorrow."

"Mad-Eye?" Lily dared ask. It seemed the captain was a kind man, maybe a little too soft for controlling a ship and a bit blustering, but she believed he wasn't too strict or at all mean.

"Yes, but we call him Mad-Eye because of his eye," Fudge explained, before getting back to business, "I'll give you small jobs until you're properly trained. Meet Mad-Eye here tomorrow at noon. He'll tell you all you need to know."

"Yes, sir," they chanted again. That's starting to get a bit old, Lily thought.

"Mr. Jones?" Fudge looked inquiringly at Lily, wondering if he got the name right. When Lily nodded, he continued, "You'll spend the rest of the day sorting my books in my cabin. I want them in alphabetical order." When Lily nodded, he moved on, "Mr. Weasley, you can help Mr. Diggory load the luggage onto the ship, and Mr. Dearborn had help you. Mr. Fenwick and Mr. Podmore can then drag that luggage to each of the doors. Everybody got it? Good."

"This is mad," Benny muttered to Lily, "So much work so soon."

"Stop whining and get on with it," she told him, giving him a shove towards the bags that were steadily piling up on the front of the boat.

He groaned at the sight, but with another push and a threat from Lily, got on with it.

Lily knew she was meant to go to the captain's own cabin, but she wasn't exactly sure where that was.

Why were there so many doors? Lily groaned, and did a funny little spin that allowed her to look at all the doors.

Did that help?

No, not in the slightest.

"Excuse me," she stopped a man in his fifties who was carrying a barrel.

"What?" he snarled. Well, that barrel did look heavy, and therefore the man was probably not very happy that he was stopped with a load, Lily concluded.

"I'm looking for the captain's quarters…" she trailed off, looking hopefully at the man.

"So?" the man said roughly, attempting to push through.

"Wait!" Lily ran a few steps in front of him, "Where is it?"

The man eyed her for a bit, then pointed to one of the more obvious doors that Lily had somehow missed.

"Oh," she said, feeling quite stupid.

The man grunted and carried on down the stairs.

Lily shrugged away his rude behavior, never really encountering anything like it. Well, she supposed if someone ever did they'd get their head chopped off.

She smiled at that thought, but then soon had to duck as someone swung a beam around.

She made her way carefully to the door the man had pointed out. Upon entering it, Lily lost her jaw somewhere on the floor when she saw the pile of books waiting for her.

(

Over three hours later, Lily's back felt as though someone had stabbed a thousand knives in it. To make it worse, she still hadn't completed half of the books! Honestly, she liked reading, yes, but as much as this man? No, not really.

And in alphabetical order? How is that possible? He had thousands of books, and yet she was supposed to sort through them?

Lily let a groan out when she realized she had to shift pounds of books along the shelf to fit in 'A Sailors Survival'. The ship jolted all of a sudden and Lily peeked out of the window to see that the ship was going well out to see and getting far away from the docks. Lily smiled sadly, thinking about Charles and Mary, and how she didn't even get to say goodbye to her sister, Petunia, and even wish her good luck before her marriage to the whale, Vernon Dursley. Lily made a face even thinking about him. Large and beefy, the man could only be described as 'big'. Big temper, big face, big neck, big stomach, big nose… but his eyes were small and beady, and she had to admit, he had small sights, too. Marrying Petunia, he would soon realize, was the biggest mistake of his life. Lily shook her head of these thoughts and returned to her work.

Half an hour later, she stumbled across a book titled 'The Pirate Princess'. Lily snorted at the cheesy title, but turned it over to see what it was about.

Lady Aurora of Chester was an orphan. Taken in at a young age, her new parents found her beautiful and kind. But when she gets kidnaps by a gang of fearsome pirates, her whole life turns upside-down. She soon discovers there is more to the handsome lookout on the ship and then there's that pirate king that looks so much like her… will she get her happy ending?

Lily stared at the piece of rubbish with astonishment, wondering if Fudge actually read this. But wait- there was a note attached to the back.

Must give this to Albus- excellent story.

Lily snorted again. So Fudge was a great fan of pirate romances? She can't wait until she can tell Arthur and Benny. Actually, she might give it a go. It'll be a laugh reading out the parts that Fudge found "excellent". Deciding she'll ask Fudge when he ever came in to dismiss her (she didn't expect to finish tonight) Lily attempted to make the pile smaller.

Another hour later, Lily thought she had made progress. The pile was no longer daunting, but she might be able to finish off tomorrow.

Fudge entered not moments later.

"Ah, Charlie! Still not done?" he greeted her warmly enough, but looked taken aback at the pile still sitting on the floor.

"No, sorry sir," Lily replied, looking sorry, "It's just that you read so many books, I'm amazed!"

Fudge looked pleased at the compliment, but was still a little reproving, "Alright, you can finish tomorrow. You may leave."

It was a clear dismissal, but Lily stayed behind some more to ask him about the book, "Sorry, sir, but I was wondering about this book I saw that looked quite interesting."

Fudge had turned to his desk, and still didn't look at her as he sorted through old maps, "Ah, yes, what book was that?"

"The Pirate Princess, sir," Lily replied, smiling foolishly as she said the name.

"Oh, yes, good book, good book. What did you want to ask?" Fudge looked pleased that she had stumbled across his book, as it appeared to be a favorite.

"I was wondering if I could read this, sir," Lily said politely, "It looks very interesting."

"Yes! Go ahead, it yours to read at your leisure," Fudge turned around to gaze at her, "It's one of the old time brilliant works," he said enthusiastically, "Tell me when you're done, won't you? It would be great if I could discuss it with you."

Lily bit her lip to stop the laughter that was threatening to spill, "Of course, sir, I'll tell you straight away."

"Excellent," Fudge surveyed her with satisfaction, "You'll do well on this ship, Charlie. Except we'll have to, er, beef you up. If you don't mind me saying, you are quite dainty."

"Yes, sir," Lily nodded her head as she blushed and exited, holding the book in her hand tightly.

(

"Hey, Charlie," Benny and Arthur greeted her as she entered. Arthur was lolling on the only chair while Benny, for some odd reason, was just spread out on the floor.

"Hey," she replied, throwing the book on her bed.

"What took you so long?" Arthur asked.

"Oh, you won't believe how many books Fudge has," Lily rolled her eyes and tossed The Pirate Princess on her bed before collapsing on Arthur's bed.

"That bad?" Benny asked, wincing.

"Much, much worse," she told him, "My back feels like it's on fire."

"Poor, poor, Charlie," Benny sighed dramatically, "He only had to lift books, but I and Arthur here were dragging heavy bits of luggage across the ship. What a hard life he has." Benny shook his head sadly.

"Oh, shut up," Lily threw a pillow in his direction, "Anyway, Arthur's on my side, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, definitely," Arthur nodded. But with one glance at Benny they both burst into laughter.

"Oh, yes, very funny," Lily muttered, "Laugh at my pain, will you?"

"What's that you got, anyway?" Benny asked, pointing to the book Lily had thrown on the second bunk.

"Oh that," Lily grinned evilly, "That is our dear captain's favorite book."

Arthur looked at her worriedly, "You didn't steal it, did you?"

Lily snorted, "Course not. He lent it to me after I said it looked good."

"Come on then, let's see it," Benny said eagerly.

Lily grinned and got off Arthur's bed to reach for the book on the second. She forgot, however, the fact that she had tried earlier today to reach her claimed bed, but had yet to succeed in the task.

Lily, determination written all over her face, jumped up to grab onto the side of the bed to haul herself up. However, all did not go to plan and she slipped to the floor again, subject to Benny and Arthur's raucous laughter.

"Arthur?" Lily looked towards the tall boy in the chair, "Wouldn't mind giving me a hand, would you?"

"I'm guessing you're not asking Benny because he's an idiot?" Arthur asked as he lumbered over to where Lily was standing.

"You're exactly right, my favorite roommate," Lily glared at Benny, who was still rolling around on the floor.

Arthur chuckled, "Here, step on my hands and I'll give you a lift."

"Thank you, Arthur," Lily chanted in a sing-song, childish way.

"You're welcome, Charlie," Arthur said in the said tone, mocking her.

Arthur clasped his fingers together and tightened his back muscles so they would be ready to lift up Lily when necessary.

"You ready?" Arthur asked when Lily had secured one foot in his hands.

"Yup!" Lily replied, quite cheerfully, as Benny had gone quiet for the time being, ready to watch.

"Don't drop him," Benny put in.

Arthur and Lily turned round to glare at him, "Yes, thank you."

"Here we go," Arthur gave her a word of warning before he tossed her onto the bed.

Lily searched for the book in her future den, and found it seconds later in the corner.

"Got it!" she called, "Arthur, there's no need for you to help me down, I can jump."

Lily twisted herself around so she was facing the two boys, and slid off the edge with a muted thump once her hands were placed correctly.

"You're really light," Arthur noted.

"What is it then?" Benny called from directly beneath her.

"The Pirate Princess," Lily crowed, showing the book to the two boys.

"You've got to be joking," Arthur said, grinning and taking the book from her to have a proper look.

"Course he's not!" Benny exclaimed, finally getting up, "Look at that! It seems our captain, dear captain, is in favor of love stories."

It was a pleasant, rowdy night where Lily spent most of it reading out snippets of the book to Arthur and Benny.

It was well past midnight when they decided to go to bed. Lily had to ask Arthur to lift her up again, while Benny snickered and just climbed.

All in all, Lily thought, a pretty good day. She had not only made two valuable friends aboard this ship, but found a place where she finally belonged.

Boys are so lucky. They get to sit around, doing nothing, while all the ladies have to dance around, flirt, and be so pretty and proper.

Yes, Lily thought she was very lucky in life, especially in this area. Well, no, she amended, if she was any luckier she would've been able to get a room with separate beds.

A thought crossed Lily as she silently untied the cloth from around her chest. What about her hair? What if the boys woke up before her, just to discover her with long red locks?

She'd have to wake up earlier than them, Lily decided, otherwise things might not be so perfect at all.

There you go! Second chapter done! Not many changes in this one though, just the odd punctuation and so on.

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