-1Chapter 5
Wednesday afternoon, Lily walked out of Charms and, instead of going to the Great Hall like normal, headed for the library. When she arrived, it was fairly empty: At the few occupied tables, students sat scrambling to finish last second work. Lily wasn't all that surprised when she didn't see James; his class was all the way at the other end of the castle. She sat down at a table and got out her notes from last time. She went over them, highlighting important details.
Five minutes later, James still wasn't there, but Lily didn't think much of it. 'He probably had to go his dorm to get his notes,' she told herself. However, after ten minutes had passed, she was starting to get annoyed. Another ten minutes passed and she was mad. She rolled up her parchment and put the lid on the inkbottle.
James walked out of his classroom and pushed past students in a hurry to get to the library. He was halfway there when he realized he had left his notes in his dorms. Swearing quietly, he turned back and practically ran to his Gryffindor Common Room and up to the boys' dorm. On his way back to the library, he heard yelling.
'What now?' he asked irritated.
He looked over to see a small group of students watching two others. With a sigh, James checked his watch; he was already twelve minutes late for meeting Lily. Nevertheless, he knew he had to stop this. He glanced around for a teacher, or even a Prefect. Of course, none was in sight. With another sigh, he whipped out his wand.
"Okay, that's enough. Break it up," he said, walking over and standing in between the two students. He didn't really recognize either of them, but they looked to be fifth or sixth years. The patch on their robes told James they were Slytherins. "As I'm sure you are both aware of dueling in the corridors is against the rules."
"He started it," spat one of the boys, pushing his light brown hair off his forehead.
James did recognize the boy; he was on Slytherin Quidditch team, but he couldn't remember his name. Now that James thought about it, both boys were on the Slytherin Quidditch team.
The other boy merely smirked. "Can I help it if you're unable to satisfy your girl? She came to me practically begging to be shown a good time. How could I refuse?" The first boy stood there, clutching his wand so tightly his knuckles were white.
"Shut up," he hissed in a low voice.
"A girl like that has needs. It takes a real man to answer said needs. Don't blame me for you inadequacies."
"I said 'shut up!'" the boy roared, raising his wand.
"That's enough!" James yelled. "Regardless of who started it, you both have a week's detention and 50 points deducted from Slytherin. Each. Now get to lunch all of you," he demanded to the group.
The small crowd dispersed and James continued to the library, checking his watch again. He had just wasted four more minutes. He was a few feet away when he heard the brown haired boy speak.
"This ain't over, McNair."
"Maybe not," James heard McNair reply. "But it will have to wait; I'm supposed to meet Kendra."
James was about to turn the corridor when he heard one simple word. "Crucio!"
James spun back around just as McNair responded with "Stupefy."
Thankfully, both spells missed their targets, but this fact did nothing for James' mood.
"Accio wands," James yelled and both wands came flying towards them. He caught them, shoving them angrily into his pocket, along with his own. "Apparently," he began, his voice so dangerous that neither boy dared to move, "detention and docked points didn't teach you to a lesson." He grabbed the boys roughly by the neck of their robes. "So maybe, a visit to Dumbledore will do the trick."
With a slight shove, the three of them began walking. For a few minutes, none of them spoke, but then McNair broke the silence.
"You know, Scott, I really don't blame you for not being able to satisfy Kendra. She can be a bit hard to handle. Even I had a little trouble."
"Shut your mouth," the boy growled, much like he had minutes before when telling him to shut up.
"I doubt that many men could handle her," McNair taunted. "I'm just glad that she found someone who could give her what she needs."
Scott's hand balled into a fist as tried to lunge at the boy. Fortunately, James tightened his grip on the boys' collar at the last second.
"That's enough!" he yelled at McNair. "Quite egging him on. The next time you open your mouth, I'm taking 200 more points from Slytherin. Got it?"
Both boys nodded, but the smirk remained visible on McNair's face. Once again, there was silence. And, just like before, it was McNair who broke the silence after only a few minutes.
"I thought you said we were going to the Headmaster."
"Huh?" James asked.
"You said you were taking us to Dumbledore, but this isn't the way to his office."
"I know," James answered. "We've got to stop somewhere first."
Moments later, they came to a stop in front of the library.
"Wait here," James instructed the boys.
James entered the library just as Lily was shoving her parchment and other material into her bag.
"Lily," James called out, walking over to her.
James could tell by the look on her face that she was not happy. James didn't even make it to her table, for she started walking as if she had not heard him.
"Lily, something came up," James said, only to be shushed by Madam Pince.
For the first time, Lily acknowledged the boy. "James, if you weren't planning on showing up, why did you even ask me to meet you here in the first place?"
"I had every intention of showing up, but there were these students-"
"I don't want to hear it, James."
"And neither do I," hissed the librarian. "Some people are actually trying to work, so if you would be so kind as to take it outside."
"Just chill out," James said to the woman.
"Unbelievable," Lily muttered, shaking her head as she pushed past James to the door.
"Lily, wait," James ran after her, catching her by the arm just as they exited the library. "What did I do this time?"
"What did you do-- James, you can't just talk to the librarian like that. You're Head Boy; you're supposed to be setting an example. And that doesn't include yelling at the staff."
The two Slytherins stood, watching the scene. It became apparent to them that Lily had not yet noticed their presence.
"I'll go back and apologize. Will that help?"
"You don't get it, James. You shouldn't have to apologize. You should've known better than to do it in first place."
As she turned to leave, Lily finally noticed the two Slytherins standing against the wall.
"What are you two doing there?"
"They're the reason I was late," James explained. "I caught them dueling in the corridor and I'm taking them to Dumbledore. I stopped by here because I didn't want you to the think I'd stood you up, so to speak."
"If they were dueling, why didn't you just give them a warning," Lily asked, crossing her arms.
"I did, but they couldn't leave it at that," James told her. "Look, I know we won't have time today to get together. And I won't be able to try again tomorrow at lunch. So, I was thinking, we could get together later on tonight."
"I thought you had Quidditch practice."
"I do, but the guys can manage without me." James shrugged. "You think about it and let me know later. I've got to get these two to Dumbledore." He turned to the Slytherins. "Come on, let's go."
Lily merely stood there as the three walked off. After a few seconds, she headed to the Great Hall. For the first time, she actually started to toy with the idea that maybe James had changed. He loved Quidditch, yet he was willing to give it up to study. That was something Lily didn't even think was possible. That night at dinner, Lily walked over to James and his friends.
"Uh, James, I was thinking about what you said earlier, about meeting tonight."
"Uh huh."
"Well, we can just meet some other time."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. It's fine."
"All right. If you're positive."
Lily nodded before going back over to her friends.
"So?" Faith asked as her friend sat down.
"I told him to go ahead and practice Quidditch."
"I still can't believe he actually offered to skip practice. I mean, I completely believe he's changed, but that boy lives for Quidditch."
"I know, that's why I couldn't let him go through with it." Lily, who had been piling potatoes on her plate suddenly stopped. "James knew that I couldn't let him skip Quidditch practice, I would never let myself live it down. He knew that. He knew that he was never in any real danger of having to give up Quidditch, and he gets credit for asking."
"Oh, come on, Lily. Now you're just being ridiculous. You've always been strong-willed, and that's one thing I admire about you, but now you're just being bull-headed."
Lily didn't say anything. Instead, she lowered her head and began eating.
Later that evening, Lily and Faith were in their room, studying. They both looked up as the door opened and Carmen walked in.
"James is looking for you, Lily," she said. "He's down in the Common Room."
"All right, thanks," Lily said, closing her book. She looked at Faith. "I wonder what he wants." Her only response was a shrug from her friend.
Lily left her room and walked down the steps. She found James sitting on a couch in the semi-crowded Common Room.
"I thought you had Quidditch practice," Lily said, walking over to him.
"I ended it early," James said. "I figured we could get together and work on our project. If that's okay with you."
"Yeah, sure." Lily was in a bit of shock that James had cut practice short. Nonetheless, she went upstairs and gathered her notes. She and James spent the next forty-five minutes going over their notes.