Chapter Five:
In which we discover James has grown a pair, Sirius attempts to be a gentleman, and Amanda is conflicted.
Lily was sucking on another bloody sugar quill. She went through those oddly shaped candies like Sirius went through women. Actually, I can come up with a better one. She ate more sugar quills in one day than Severus Snape washed his hair in a year. See, told you I could do better. Lily ate sugar quills every day, if not twice a day. I don't know who supplied her, but they were like muggle drugs to her. The note in my journal I had made about it said:
Lily Evans eats a lot of candies. How is she not a fat lard?
It was a valid question, you have to admit.
I don't even know why she had the candy anyway; we were just sitting around in Hagrid's hut, skipping lunch. Elton had passed on his invitation to join us. He had been acting weird lately, and I don't think he liked Lily very much, if at all. I tried to boost my confidence by thinking he was jealous of Lily and I being better friends then him and I were, but I knew he probably just didn't care. More than likely, he was keeping a secret from me. I didn't want to push it yet, but it was starting to get on my nerves. We hardly ever keep secrets from one another.
I felt my skin crawl and stand up all of the sudden, distracting me from quiet contemplation. It felt almost like someone was watching me. I scratched the back of my neck uneasily, and jumped when Hagrid slammed my oversized mug down on the table before me.
"Hagrid, do you ever get the feeling you're being watched?" I asked him as I took a small sip from the glass. It tasted like dog food that Bellatrix had dared me to eat when I was seven at her annual Christmas Ball.
"Sorry, 's probably th' Uranian Trollobies. I fergot to feed 'em today." The first thing I learned about Rubeus Hagrid in my first year at Hogwarts was that he was always finding magical creatures and trying to raise them as his own. Fortunately, the only one that I had ever seen him keep was a little puppy, which I had named Fang on account of the irony. Fang was the cutest, sweetest puppy in the world, but that's not entirely the reason why I had named him that. In sixth year, I'd had a muggle boyfriend who had named himself Fang and rode motorbikes and had piercings and tattoos everywhere. Fang stuck around long enough to take my virginity and leave, but it wasn't that big of a deal because I'm pretty sure I took his too. He wasn't as tough as he looked, and neither was the little puppy that looked absolutely ferocious, but was scared when a bird cawed at him.
"Lily, I feel like someone is stalking us. Let's leave," I pleaded with Lily. She just rolled her eyes as she licked the extra sugar of the sugar quill that was no more of her fingertips.
"Amanda, calm down. So, last night, James and I were on patrol," she started. I zoned out and started to look around the hut. There was no way my instincts of danger could fail me. Uranian Trollobies my left arse cheek, someone was watching us. "And he kissed me," she finished, nonplussed.
I snapped back to attention. It had only been a few days since Elton and I had come up with a plan to win Lily for James with Sirius and his best mate. Obviously, it was so far so good.
"Really?" I asked in fake wonderment, "and what did you do?"
"Yeh finally let 'im kiss yeh, eh, Lily?" Hagrid looked amusedly down at her from across the table. I shot him a glare to let him know that Lily was most likely about to self destruct on us if we asked questions she had already answered. One of the things I had gathered about her was that she was intolerant towards tedium. He seemed to get my warning and announced he was going to take Fang for a walk and that class was starting and we better be on our way.
Lily answered my casual question as we strolled out of the hut and towards the castle in no hurry at all. "I let him kiss me, obviously. I won't say that I like James, because I don't, but I enjoy being around him and I don't want to risk our friendship due to immediate rejection. However, if he tries to assault me like that again, I will have no choice but to chop off his tongue and feed it to the Giant Squid. I find James attractive, sure, who doesn't, but I will not accept that I be manhandled like a common chew toy. There is more than one reason as to why Severus and I are no longer friends, isn't there?"
I nodded, but kept silent. I could almost feel her anger from here as she tried to out walk me. I had to jog to keep up with her long legs all the way to the castle doors as Filch tried to shut them in our face.
We hurried up four flights of stairs before someone else tried to shut another door in our faces, but this time it was McGonagall. Lily hurried to the empty seat next to Remus and I took my obligatory one next to Elton, who continued to stare straight at the wall in front of him and ignore my existence until I acknowledged his, per usual.
"Hello, Elton," I sighed as heavily as I could to show him my displeasure at his childish behavior. He ignored that too.
"Amanda, you'll never guess what I just heard," he gushed, beaming at me brightly. I giggled, much to his dismay. "What the bloody hell is so funny?"
"Let me guess, you heard from Regina Chatsworth, who heard it from the sister of Hannah Greensburg, who was, coincidently, in the Gryffindor common room when Lily came in last night to tell her friend Alice that she kissed James Potter on heads patrol, who told Marlene MacKinnon immediately afterward, who told Hannah Greensburg, because she was just right there, even though she's in second year and doesn't really know who Lily Evans even is."
"Close," he winked. "I heard it from James."
James? James? James? Oh, dear Merlin, he was a primary source. Did he understand what he had done by committing such an atrocious treason as to tell the school gossip commander about his romantic snogging at midnight? We were going to have to have a serious sit down about this offense at the repercussions to his ultimate goal of obtaining Lily.
I was about to respond and tell Elton such as that, but McGonagall had started and I didn't want detention. Last time I had one for talking, I was stuck cleaning the trophy case with Peter Pettigrew who kept looking at my bum and calling me Emily.
After learning a captivating lesson on how to change a chair into a tangerine, class was finally over with and everyone streamed into the hallway. I glanced back at Lily, who was making her way over to us with Remus Lupin close on her tail.
"That was actually really interesting, don't you agree, Elt?" I asked him, bumping his shoulder once to convey the immediate need for pleasant and occupying conversation. I did not want another Lily-rant right before Potions.
"Oh, yes, Ames, the gradual transfiguration of an inanimate object is most intriguing. No doubt I will have visions of chairs turning into fruits dancing in my head tonight," he replied jovially, shifting his bag to his other shoulder uncomfortably.
"Amanda, shut up. I know you're trying to ignore me," Lily interrupted. I widened my eyes and dropped my mouth as she shouldered in between Elton and I. I looked to my left for an escape but Lily had posted Remus on guard.
"Good afternoon, Remus," I greeted him as we ascended into the dungeon. He smiled briefly at me before he adorned his mask of quiet submission once again.
"And you," he paused. I waited. Oh, he had forgotten my name. Right, who hasn't at some point in their lives?
"Amanda. Amanda Collins," I introduced myself to him again. "We've had Transfiguration together for the past seven years."
"I know," he whispered quietly before leaving my side to go sit at a table with Peter.
"Amanda, what's this I'm hearing about James and me shagging in the Forbidden Forrest last night?" Lily barged in. I rolled my eyes and sat down at my table with Elton.
"It wasn't me," I shrugged. I looked up into her eyes, brown clashing with a brilliant green. She scanned my face before nodding and flouncing off to sit with Sirius. James, it appeared when he walked into class a few minutes late, would be working by himself.
"Poisons are the deadliest of all potions," Slughorn announced grandly, clapping his hands together and officially signifying the start of class.
"Obviously," Elton leaned his head toward mine to whisper, under his breath, a snide comment. I snorted and covered my mouth, but it was too late. Slughorn had already landed his beady eyes onto my blasphemous, loud-noise-making face.
"Miss Collins, would you care to share what is so comical about the Black Death?" I lowered my gaze and my hand to answer.
"No, sir," someone said that wasn't me, or Elton either. I turned in my seat to the sourced of the voice, my face paling when I realized who it was. "But I would."
Everyone's eyes bounced back and forth from Slughorn's puce colored mug to Sirius's Adonis-ness. "Alright then, Black. Spit it out."
No, Sirius. Do not spit it out. "Maybe Amanda wasn't laughing at the poison, but more at how your stomach bounces up and down every time you say something." He spit it out.
Slughorn's face, if even possible, turned a more violent magenta than it already was. "Out of my classroom, Black, and take Collins with you. Twenty points from both of your houses, and detention tonight at eight. Out!" he roared.
I gathered my books as quickly as possible, jogging out of the classroom even faster. I felt Lily's disapproving eyes all the way, and Elton's silently laughing ones. As much as I might hate to admit it, these two were my only friends, and I wasn't getting any sympathy from either of them. Woe is me. I know what my mother would have said. Amanda, you should not be associating with mud-bloods. Good old mum, always that little voice in the back of my head when I needed it most.
I was already halfway to the Ravenclaw common room when I realized Sirius was still following me. I turned on him sharply, and he ceased his chase quickly. "What do you want? A treat?" I snarled at him sarcastically.
He grinned. "A milkbone would suffice," he laughed. I felt like this little comment had an indefinitely deeper meaning than I could fathom. An inside joke, perhaps.
"Good one," I muttered, stomping off again. He kept my pace beside me, continuing to try out conversation.
"Let's leave." I looked up at him, scoffing. His eyes matched the weather outside, thoughtful and perpetually cloudy.
"Sirius, we just got kicked out of class. We can't leave the castle anyway, it's against the rules." He barked out at laugh and swung his arm over my shoulder.
"Amanda, Amanda, Amanda," he chuckled. I shrugged off his arm contemptuously. "When will you learn? My very existence breaks all the rules."
Merlin, he was attractive. No, he just got me in trouble. Stay focused, Amanda. "Charming, really. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go take some notes for Defense Against the Dark Arts." I tried to walk away, but he caught my arm.
"I know you're pissed, Collins. I just didn't want to watch you get bullied." Sirius's eyes smoldered. I don't know how they did, because smoldering usually meant they were on fire, but they were smoldering. "Tell you what," he said seductively. I think I drooled. "How about we take a spin on my motorcycle."
Remember that boyfriend from earlier, Fang? One of the reasons I started going out with him in the first place was because of his motorbike. Muggles sometimes made the weirdest damn things I had ever seen, but motorbikes were badass.
I tried to remain aloof. "Depends. How fast can it go?" He shot me a smile that shared a million secrets within his pearly whites.
"It can fly," he said mischievously. I rolled my eyes in disbelief. This could honestly not be happening. Sirius Black randomly asking me to ditch school with him? No way.
"Yeah, let me go get my wand. It's up in my common room," I told him, and watched his face wrinkle in confusion.
"No it isn't. You just used in Transfiguration," Sirius reminded him. My eyes searched the corridor uncomfortably. He wasn't really taking this well. How am I supposed to explain to a rule breaker that I don't break rules? Ever. Not even for the boy I have a crush on.
I grabbed his shoulder lightly and stared into his eyes, trying to retain my train of thought. "Right, well, Sirius, I'm not really sure how to say this, but I can't go with you. Or actually, I could go with you, I'm just, er, not."
Sirius stiffened and nodded. My hand fell away from his shoulder uneasily and I wasn't sure what expression I was supposed to have on my face. "Oh, I get it," Sirius mumbled, disgruntled.
"See you, I guess."
"You're welcome, Collins," Sirius blurted out as I started walking away. I turned around awkwardly.
"Yes. Thank you, Black."
And that's how I single-handedly ruined any possible relationship I could've had with the infamous Sirius Black.
Journal o' mine,
Things we have thus far uncovered about the real Lily Evans, and by association, the population of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry:
-She likes sugar quills
-her best friend is Sirius Black
-At one time, she was crushing on Snivellus
-She is indifferent to one James Potter
-She has a nasty temper
I stared down at the list in dismay. This was not an award-winning article. This was a piece of shit. Elton chewed noisily on his bacon next to me. The crunches ceased as he began speaking to me, allowing breakfast foods to fly all over my journal.
"Amanda, isn't that your family owl?" he asked nervously. My head shot up, nearly giving me whiplash. I rubbed the back of my neck as a black owl flew down in front of me gracefully. We glared at each other.
"'Morning, you foul creature," I spat at her. She blinked back at me. I wondered how she was still alive. The house elf that lived at my old house probably still felt obligated to feed her. Seeing her brought back memories, horrible memories.
She hooted just as venomously at me as I greeted her, and stuck out her leg. A small scroll was tied there. I cautiously pulled it from her leg and pulled my plate and juice closer to me to avoid letting her think I care enough to give her treats for fulfilling a job I did not wish her to be doing.
As she flew away grumpily, I drew away my eyes and read the scroll quietly out loud to Elton.
Amanda,
I am home.
Mother.
I felt woozy as I stood up and began to run out of the Great Hall. Faintly, I heard Elton attempting to call out my name, but I knew I needed to get to a restroom, quickly.
Instead, I ended up running head first into Lily Evans. And then I puked on her shoes and passed out.
A/N: I don't own, but I do want you to review either this story or my other story, Ten Things I Hate About You. Whichever. I don't know how long I'm going to keep updating this story, because it's getting kind of stale. Anyway, thank you to WithNoFear for reviewing. I told you I'd try to get it up.