a/n: Oh, I'm very sorry for the very late update! At last, our schooldays are finished and I have time to do my stories once again… so… I am very grateful to those who have waited for this chapter… I hope you will enjoy this one…

CHAPTER 19: MIXED-UP MATCH

"Hello," Lily greeted, approaching the stag. "How are you?"

The stag made a sound. It made a gesture for Lily to ride on it. "Really?" the girl asked. "Can you lead me to the place where we'll find Argua?"

The horse made a sound that eventually says he did not know. "Well, can you take me to the lady who sings very well? There, in the middle of the forest?"

Suddenly, fortunately, the wave-like voice started to surround them, sending waves of heavenly feeling. "Can you follow that voice?" Lily asked, relying on the hearing skills of animals.

She rode on top of the stag and slowly, it started to move. It hastened its movement as they heard more of the enchanting sound. Because Lily is a woman, she was not affected by the song. But she noticed that the stag became tipsy as they went deeper and deeper, nearer to the core.

"Wait. Eros told me that the song has no effect on animals," she thought, patting the stag. She went down from the poor animal and she patted it once again. "I'll let you rest here. Sorry for the trouble."

She walked deeper and deeper into the woods, hearing the voice clearer and clearer. She arrived in a moonlighted lake.

"There she is," she whispered, seeing a beautiful woman with brown hair and brilliant green butterfly wings, sitting on a giant green flower and surrounded by a fairy orchestra.

Lily sat behind the tree as she peeped on them, guarding the whole orchestra and listening to their wonderful performance as well. She was about to close her eyes to the sweet music when she heard it stop.

"There's an evil presence around here," Argua told her fairies. The fairies turned off their lights and Lily saw Argua change her appearance. Her legs became a fish tail and her wings disappeared. She dived into the lake and everything became dark.

Lily saw two figures, the first one riding on a horse and the other one walking, going to the lake. She figured out that the one on the horse is Erida and the one walking is the spy. The ruby on her hand heated up and she found herself seeing clearly what the two were doing, observing the now dark lake, illuminated by moonlight. She saw that the accomplice was wearing a black hood to hide.

Erida conjured a ball of fire and threw it to the water. She smirked as she knelt down near the lake, her hands outstretched. "We're going to have a big hit, deary," she said with a laugh.

Suddenly, a mermaid emerged out of the water, her tail forming back to legs and wings growing behind her back.

"Caught ya!" Erida said evilly, a chain of fire wrapping around the poor Lady of the Water.

"Goddess Aphrodite, help me!" Argua called out in a choked voice, one hand pointing upwards. Immediately, she hummed a tune that reacted with the Naia Ai (the wand of Aphrodite that was with Lily).

Lily, pitying the woman, got out of the bushes and pointed her borrowed wand to Erida. "Let Argua go!" she cried.

The accomplice gasped as she looked at Lily's way. "You?" she said disbelievingly.

Erida just smiled slyly. "Not until she willingly gives her wings to me," the evil goddess replied. Her accomplice took out a vial as she signaled her to do so.

"I will never let you make that damned potion!" Argua said, her legs swinging madly in midair.

"Then, I have no choice but to be cruel," Erida replied.

"You can never do that!" Lily shouted, a beam got out of her wand and it directly hit Erida, throwing her away.

Argua was already kicking in the midair, her wings flapping hopelessly, emitting sparks of light and glittery powder that scattered all around.

"Idiot! Collect the powder!" Erida ordered her slave. The girl immediately opened her vial and used Summoning Spells to get some of the falling bits of powder from the Guardian's wings. After a while, the vial was glowing with the powder colloids.

"No!" Lily said, trying to summon the vial. However, she did not succeed when the two disappeared in the shadows, letting Argua fall down the water.

"Are you alright?" Lily asked, approaching her.

The Guardian was already crying. "It's all my fault," she cried, her tears becoming pearls as they fell on the water. "Now, they'll be able to make the forbidden potion!"

Lily comforted her. "Don't worry, Argua," she said, patting her shoulder. "I'll try to stop them from making the potion."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Danicia was walking along the Hogwarts grounds, alone. Then she saw what she was looking for.

A boy was sitting beside a girl, who was writing something on a piece of parchment. The boy was pointing at things on the parchment.

"Bingo!" Danicia said in triumph. She went behind a tree near the bench where the two sat.

"That will be too redundant," the girl argued. "If you know something better, you do it yourself. You shouldn't have asked my opinion in the first place," she added.

Christopher sighed as he took the parchment and scribbled notes. "Now, let's try it." He summoned his guitar that was near his bag. The two started to sing in unison.

"The mirror melts
Somewhere else
Inside eternity
Where you, on outstretched wings,
Sing within
The garden of everything
Where memories call to me
Backward dreams
Or phantom reality
Call to me...Call to me..."

"Is that better?" Jeanne asked. "I'm so sorry that I couldn't sing. I'm not really music-oriented," she added with mocking humbleness.

The boy smiled as he kept his guitar again. "Huh? What do you call that performance earlier?"

"I don't know, Christopher. What if I forgot the song? What if I got all crazy? What if I accidentally…?"

Christopher held the girl's hand. "Don't say that, Jeanne. Have some confidence in yourself," he smiled.

"I hate it when you smile like that. I really hate you," the girl replied, poking the boy's stomach.

"Then why are you with me?" Christopher asked.

Jeanne sighed. "I hate you because I became optimistic when I met you. You influenced me."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dear Raven,

How are you? I missed you so much, that's true. We should've removed the masks on time before the commotion in the Valentine's Ball. Anyway, I think there's a Hogsmeade Weekend before the Eastern Holidays. I can't be sure of the time but I'll make sure I'll go there after attending to some important affairs of mine.

Green Apple

P.S. I think you're getting sweeter all the time…

Lily folded the parchment and she also talked to Kristanna at the same time. "Why the face, dear?" she asked.

Kristanna, hugging the pillow and looking at nothingness, immediately responded with a "huh?"

"You're dazed. In love?"

"What are you talking about?" Kristanna asked back, keeping a straight face. However, it was still obvious that she got some pink blush on her cheeks.

"Sirius Black's torn between two girls," Lily said, putting the parchment in a cute envelope. She stood up and put on a coat.

"Where are you going?" Kristanna inquired.

"Silly, to the Owlery, of course!"

"Uh, Raven again. Lock the door, I have to meditate," she ordered. Lily nodded in reply as she closed the door with a click.

"Now, where's Danicia?" she asked herself as she went down the spiral staircase. She saw a guy on the piano (just imagine that there's a piano there) near the fireplace, softly playing a tune. The place was unnaturally silent, except for the giggling of a group of girls on a nearby table.

As a Head Girl, she immediately approached the three girls when Christopher's soft tune became violent as he hardly pressed the wrong keys, a sign of annoyance. "Can't you stop that giggling act? You're disturbing people around here!" she scolded them.

The three girls were silent once again. Christopher smiled at her for thanks.

Lily proceeded to the Owlery and gave her owl the letter. "Make sure it reaches Raven, huh?" she reminded her. She patted the owl first before releasing to the open window, carefully holding the railings so that she wouldn't slip on owl droppings.

She sighed when she saw her owl become a dot in the sky.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

James hopped up and down in happiness when an owl dropped a letter on his lap. They just came down to the common room and they were trying to muffle their sniggers so as not to disturb Christopher, who is already possessed by the piano, playing weird but wonderful tunes.

"Come on, open it," Remus said, looking at his book.

James immediately hid it when he heard the portrait open and the Head Girl went inside. "Maybe later. The vacuum cleaner is here, eh?"

"Hello, Evans," James greeted in his annoying manner when Lily passed them. She proceeded upstairs.

"Now, I'm free to open it," James told himself. After reading the letter, he took a piece of parchment and Remus' quill and started to write.

Dear Mom,

Hey, it's me, James. I just like to ask an advice from you.

You see, I like this girl and I want to give her a gift for Easter. What can I give her?

Hoping for your early and enthusiastic reply.

James.

"Are you sure your dear mother will approve of it?" Sirius asked.

"I'm luckier than your mother, Sirius," James replied. "'You are a disgrace from the family! Blood traitors! Blah blah blah!' I think those were the only composition of her vocabulary," he continued, mimicking Sirius' mother.

"I really think so," Sirius said, laughing. "Maybe those were the words taught to her by our ancestors."

"Let's go to the Owlery," James said. They left the now silent room; Christopher went up to their dormitory room three minutes ago.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Melissa, Melissa, wait!" Matthew said, suddenly pulling the girl, her books falling down the floor.

"What is it, Matthew?" she asked. "I told you to stop bothering me."

"You did, but why?" the boy asked.

Melissa avoided his stare as she bent to pick up her fallen books. "It's because I'm already a big bother to you. Look what is happening to you."

Matthew looked down. "I don't care. It's because of you."
"It's all my fault. If you haven't met me, this wouldn't be happening. Please, Matthew. Please."

They saw Jeanne pass their way. To avoid Matthew, Melissa took her books with haste and sprinted to tail the girl.

"Oh, it's you, Melissa," she said. "What's up?" She looked behind her and saw Matthew, looking at their way.

"Let's go to our class," she told her, dragging Jeanne.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Oh, Professor Slughorn," Lily greeted. "I haven't seen you behind me." She tried to walk briskly to avoid the teacher.

"Oh, Lily Evans, my dear student. Surely, you can't resist doing a favor for me, right?"

"Well, what is it, sir?" Lily asked.

"I have Double Potions with Gryffindor and Ravenclaw fourth years two hours from now. Since you don't take Divination (and that is such a wonderful subject in a sarcastic way), I guess you're free by that time. Can you handle them as a student teacher today? I have to go to St. Mungo's."

"Student teacher? Me?" Lily repeated again, pointing to herself.

"Yes. You," Slughorn said, patting Lily's back. "And I haven't forgotten the crystallized pineapple you gave me last Christmas. Thank you very much."

"Your welcome, sir, but how will I handle them?"

"Lily, I know that you still master the art of making Second Level Antidotes, right?" Slughorn said. "I trust you, being one of my best students. You can do it. Besides, you will not have difficulty with the two pigheaded students from that class. I remember you and Po…"

"Pigheads?" Lily repeated the word, trying to block out the surname "Potter" from the conversation. Such a cursed name!

"Yes, Lily. My classroom is always a big cockpit for the two of them everytime we have recitation. They are both very bright but one doesn't want to lose from the other. Or maybe just one of them thinks like that."

"And who are they?" Lily asked.

"Summerwind and Shou," Slughorn said. "Be careful with them, okay?" He gave a pat on Lily's shoulder, living her transfixed.

"Summerwind and Shou? That means Christopher and Jeanne," she said. "Great luck."

"Sure is," a voice replied. Eros appeared. "Now, you're going to know why it is easy to pair them up. I mean they are really good friends but Jeanne has this large ego that cannot be pricked by anyone, even by Christopher."

"Second Level Antidotes, how am I supposed to discuss that?" Lily asked. "I know that but of course I need to make a lesson plan of some sort!"

"Simple. I'll give you the time to review," Eros replied. With a flick, the people around them started to move in a real slow motion. "Now, every second is expanded to a minute. Since you have 8 minutes before that time, you can now review for 8 hours!"

"That's great, Eros!"

"Well, I just want to do the best for my apprentice. If you want to stop this slow motion type of movement, just blow off some sparks from the Naia Ai. But like that old seal told you, be careful with the egoistic couple. They bite teachers if they do not win," he warned with a dark tone.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After reviewing, Lily blew the rubies that Aphrodite left her to the air to resume the right pace of the people around.

"And now, good luck to me," she told herself as she took her notes and her bag to the dungeons, where she'll face her next pair-up, that is, if they accept that fact.

a/n: oh, that was really hard…

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