Wandering Romance, Unwavering *A Lily and James Fan Fiction*
Both were from completely different worlds. One was from the world of magic and the other from the realm of muggles. But both attended the same school: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Their story is a long one that ends where it also began: Platform 9 ¾.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Harry Potter series or memorabilia. This is purely fictional. Anything that sounds familiar most likely belongs to J. K. Rowling, if not someone else.
Author Note: To be read after the chapter itself. See who started the war? I might bring up the rabbits later on in the story. I have to make note of it here, though, so I won't forget. See my cleverness? Huh? Yeah. I am brilliant. You also see where Harry gets his little quirks from too. All the successful escapee stunts he pulled. Only, Harry used magic, and Lily was just naturally conniving like that.
Also: Sorry this took so long to put out. I tend to get really busy and everyone calls on me for some strange reason (not that I don't like him, but I thought that the girlfriends were supposed to be the clingy ones, not the boyfriends!). And what makes me feel worse is that I had only two or three paragraphs left before I could post this. Embarrassing, right? But I hope you enjoy this chapter and the next one will be out as soon as I can get it typed, and as soon as I can think of what to do. I already have the beginning down, if that cheers you up. Just the rest of the chapter to go...
Chapter Six
James sent her a frosty look, enough to have given her frostbite. Lily met his with equally cold fire, not daunted by the metaphorical burning. She honestly didn't know why the boy was so mad. All she did was point out that he was waving his wand wrong. It wasn't like she was telling him that he was like the Peter fellow who seemed to be following him around everywhere. All the while, she ignored the Professor, having more nerve than anyone else in the classroom. The staring contest soon ended with Lily turning away, unable to take part any longer. With a glance around the classroom, she noted everyone was zeroed in on them, whether they looked or no. Professor McGonagall stepped up to the desk then.
"Both of you are waving your wands wrong." With that, she proceeded to do so the correct way.
James wanted to growl. He was doing it the way his dad showed him. His mum even told him this was the right way. He continued doing it his way.
"Potter-" McGonagall started. Just as the pin turned into a quill. Everyone who happened to be looking blinked. Including the professor. Colour rose into Lily's cheeks at this. She looked the other way and continued to do the spell the way McGonagall showed her then. James transformed a few more before putting down his wand, bored. As the bell rang, he began to pack up his things, one of the few who managed to change his pin to a feather quill, Lily being one of the others.
"Potter." James looked up. McGonagall was looking at him and smiled as she waved him to her desk. He put his last book in his bag before going up to her desk.
"Professor, I knew that spell already, at least a little bit. My mum and dad showed it to me last week when I lost my quill set." McGonagall merely smiled.
"Work on this spell." She handed him a page with a book and page number on it. "You will find the book in the transfiguration section of the library." With that she shooed him out of the room. As he exited, he spotted Sirius leaning against the wall with Remus. Peter, he assumed, scurried to be the first in the Great Hall, still seeming to not know that the food will always fill the plates, no matter what time you got there.
"What did McGonagall want?" James shrugged.
"Nothing much," he said, discreetly slipping the paper into his pocket.
Lily watched as James walked into the Great Hall, bugged, but not as irritated as before. She refocused on the conversation with the girls.
"Wasn't that amazing?" Mary Walish squealed.
"What?" Lily asked. The girls giggled.
"The fact that you claim to be irritated with the boy to no end, want to strangle him and put him in a hole to die, and yet you turn the moment he walks in with a look my sister has when she watches her boyfriend." Lily immediately came to pictures Petunia drooling over that one boy in her school, Harold. Imagining Petunia looking at the weird oaf, she bolted out of the Great Hall to the restroom, not realizing she crashed into James on her way.
James looked at Lily as she continued past him, intent on wherever she was going. He shook his head, a scowl on his face at the reminder of class earlier. Sirius smirked.
"Still pissed about class, I see." James glared at the boy.
"Where do you come off talking like that? My mum and dad would have murdered me by now." Sirius just shrugged, not looking at James, but instead at the retreating figure of Lily. James also looked at her disappearing back.
"No one ever bothered to stop me. And if it makes you feel better, I could go on like the rest of my family. They call muggleborns mu –" James smacked a hand over Sirius' mouth.
"You finish that sentence, I will punch you." Mary MacDonald walked in at that precise moment, as well as Lily. The boys caught a snippet of their conversation.
"So looking at a boy sappily is disgusting?"
"It is when you put it in the context that Mary – Mary Walish – did!"
James blinked before shaking his head, pushing the conversation out of his head. He removed his hand. "Why would you punch him?"
James looked at Remus curiously. "You know what mu—what that word is! It is rude! And how would you feel if people called you names just because of something you cannot change?"
Remus looked at James, who unconsciously shifted to a different path of the conversation, stunned. He, suddenly not able to move, looked at the boy and smiled. Before frowning. He suddenly wondered how far that philosophy went. He didn't really want to find out. He quickly scurried to catch up to them as they sat a few feet down the table, in the only space with enough seats for all of them.
"Wait! You're telling me that you have never tried to prank your parents!" James shuddered.
Remus looked at him in shock. "You haven't?" James sent them both terrified looks.
"You haven't met my dad!" He wasn't exactly quiet, as Sirius was also not so quiet. Some people turned to glance at them curiously.
"Why do you say that?" Remus questioned. James looked at him like he has been hit over the head.
"Are you telling me you have never heard of Eric Potter? The make-them-pee-their-pants master?!" Sirius and Remus both guffawed at this. "I'm not kidding! The man is insane. No one is stupid enough to pull a prank on him – or my mum! She is just as bad as him, no matter what she may look!"
"Make-them...pee...their-pa...master!" Remus managed to wheeze. Sirius banged the table in enlightenment. James merely grumbled. Remus turned in the direction of the staff table and saw the headmaster's eyes twinkle in amusement, looking directly at their group. The man turned to his colleagues soon after. Remus calmed down at that point, however, and managed to put food in his mouth not choking. Sirius also began winding down, still chuckling as he scooped his dinner into his mouth.
Lily woke up the next morning first again, though Kim was also up directly after her. The girls grumbled hellos before heading to the bathroom to get ready. As Lily discovered the day before, while listening to upperclassman girls in the halls, two showers a day were not uncommon in Hogwarts – for girls and Quidditch players, at least – and she placed claim on the first stall, Kim the second.
"What is the first class today?" Kim called over the wall. Lily blinked at the wall before responding.
"I think it is Potions." She heard Kim mumble. "Sorry? I didn't catch that!"
"Nothing." Lily blinked before putting her shower back in mind. She finished quickly enough and exited the stall, towel wrapped around her, to see Mary MacDonald had entered the bathroom, currently brushing her teeth as she waited for a stall to open. Putting her plastic shower bag on the counter, Lily walked into the dorm and pulled out her robes, the skirt and shirt comfy and warm in the chilly air of the dorm. She sat and put on her socks and black oxford saddle shoes.
By the time she finished brushing her teeth, all the girls were awake. She slipped down the stairs quietly and headed out the portrait hole. It was 7:00 and she figured breakfast was ready. She remembered the prefects saying something about breakfast starting at 6:45. As she entered the room, her eyes immediately landed on James, who sat with an upperclassman. As she passed them, she heard James say something about chasing. She sat nearby, curious about their conversation. The older boy seemed to take this as a way to invite her into the conversation.
"What about you?" When she didn't immediately respond, he prodded again. "Do you know quidditch?" She looked up and blinked before she realized the boy was talking to her.
"What is quidditch?" The boy blinked before he gripped his chest for dramatic flair.
"What is quidditch?!" A girl appeared next to him, laughing.
"You may have managed to shut the guy up for once! I thank you immensely!" The boy glared at the girl.
"Lass, you should disappear. I like it when you disappear. It is strangely peaceful." The girl playfully hit his arm. Before sticking a kiss on his cheek. He grinned into his cereal. James and Lily both scrunched their noses. James turned to her.
"Quidditch is the magical equivalent to..." James squinted. "What is a popular game to muggles?" Lily blinked.
"Football."
"It is the magical equivalent to that. Americans prefer quodpot, but we in Europe are fiercely particular about our quidditch. I personally follow Fitchburg Finches from America. They have won the cup at least three times. I prefer Arrows for my main team. I support them. Everyone tends to like the Tornadoes, but I don't like how they play. They play dirty." Lily blinked before looking under the table. A cat sat there, at her feet, her nose continually sending waves of tickles with each twitch. Lily moved her foot, and the cat moved closer. Unable to move her foot further, she moved closer to James and stood up. The cat followed.
James paled at the sight of his cat. Apparently she never got the memo that she is, unlike at home, not allowed at the table. He swiped up the cat and pinned her in his lap. He felt Lily look at him, alongside the two older students, and flushed slightly.
He struggled to explain. "She...Calico likes to come to the table. I told her not to come, but I don't think she understood that when I told her this morning..." He grabbed his bag and put her in it, deciding this would be easiest. He looked at Lily, who had since sat back down. He saw her peak at his book bag and tear some bread up. She slipped some crust to the mouth at the side. James tried to smile, internally dreading the consequences of the red-head's actions, and failed with a small smile in spite of the internal warnings his brain gave him. Now I will never get her not to come to the table...
"I like her. She is pretty." James watched as the girl put another piece of bread into the bag. This time he was close to flinching.
"Could you stop feeding her? I don't think pets are allowed in here, and I don't want Professor McGonagall finding..."
"Finding what?" James and Lily both jumped at the voice of their professor behind them.
"Nothing, Professor," he said quickly. Professor McGonagall frowned before holding out her hand. James hesitated, unconsciously clenching his bag tighter. With a quick flick of her wand, James' cat came flying out of his bag and into her arms. Both eleven year olds froze. McGonagall glanced at the cat and then at them before placing her on the ground. Calico jetted out of the hall and out of sight. James wasn't willing to figure it out the where at the moment. Nor did he particularly care, as the animal had a strong honing centre to him.
"Pets are not allowed in the Great Hall." James shrunk in his seat. "Consider this your warning, Mr. Potter." She looked at Lily. "And the same applies to you, Miss Evans." James watched the girl blink confusedly as their Professor set off out of the hall, in a similar direction to Calico. James glared at Lily before digging into his meal, and leaving Lily out of his mind for the rest of the meal.
Lily glared at the back of his head. It was all she could do during the lesson, as it became increasingly obvious that their pearly teacher had nothing to teach them at all, and probably never would. Yes, she took notes. Yes, she paid attention to the monotonous spirit. No, she did not care about goblin rebellions from centuries back. All she cared about was getting back at James Potter's best friend. No one made a joke out of her in class. No one dared to call her turnip brain. And no one would live after turning her into a rabbit in their humour! Yeah, their professor was able to turn her back. Yes, all the teachers were now putting her on the equivalent of Muggle Suicide Watch in hopes she wouldn't retaliate – apparently muggleborns are famed for their retaliation here at Hogwarts. It didn't matter, though, because no one knew she was sneaky. No one knew that it was her who managed to sneak the principal's music onto the intercom at her school. No one would either. Not if she had her way. And she did all that without the help of magic.
Sirius Black messed with the wrong person, and he didn't even know it yet. She scribbled on the page in front of her, adding another note she is pretty sure everyone will be hunting down later in their textbooks. Not that it mattered, because she wasn't likely to touch these notes again until she went through her stuff at the end of the year to downsize all of her stuff so she could get home with the same amount of bags she came with. She doodled on the side, ideas rolling in and out of her mind. Until something stuck a cord. All because she watched as Remus sniff and lick his wrist.
She hit the hot spot. And she didn't even think twice about the odd quirk she witnessed.
James glanced back at Lily several times during History of Magic. The way she looked at Sirius throughout the lesson told him that Sirius was going to regret his joking manner when he accidentally turned her into a rabbit earlier in Transfiguration. He also knew that somehow, him, Remus, and that Peter kid would be involved. He shook his head and went back to drawing on what was supposed to be his notes, deciding to worry about it when the time came. The roughly drawn quaffle, smaller than his thumb, was soon joined by two bludgers, and Sirius happened to elbow him as he started the wings of the snitch, running his quill off the page and through the quaffle. James glared at the boy – until he realised everyone was leaving. He jumped up and shoved all his stuff into his bag before bolting after Sirius – who left him as soon as the boy started packing up his things – to reach the Great Hall.
As soon as he sat, food flooded the trays. He dug into them, piling his plate with treacle tart.
No sooner than James sitting down did Lily launch her plan. It started with nothing. Until Sirius would reach his pudding. She would charm it – she was only a few feet away from the group of skylarkers – as soon as he lifted the spoon to his mouth. It would splat in his face and she would keep the best straight face – as long as she didn't look at him. As the boy started to lift his spoon to his mouth, full of the creamy white goo, it exploded, splattering the entire group. Everyone turned to look at the small group. Lily looked along with the rest of the crowd, abandoning her former plan – it didn't do to be sneaky just to be caught by not being the same as everyone else. And when she looked, she really thought about the semi-failed plan. She hadn't exactly planned to explode his entire plate of food. The effect was so much better, though – everyone looked better in creamy potatoes with chunks of brown, orange, green, purple, and all other assortments of colours that were created by the candies and fruits on his plate. Really, the look was spectacular on him.
Lupin guffawed at his friend as the boy sputtered food back onto his plate – as the boy turned to glare at the leering 5th year at the Slytherin table. The young woman – as was appropriate, as any eye could see the girl was no child – glared right back at him a smirk on her face as she turned back to her plate, eyeing Lupin knowingly. Lupin shook off the feeling and went right back to jesting at his friends' expense. James also had food in and around him. Lupin continued this jest – until his own plate exploded. That is when he spotted the wand tucked into the pocket of a certain female. Lupin eyed the girl, watching her smirk as she melted into the antics of the rest of the crowd. He looked at James and Sirius, both of which were now eyeing Peter – the only one in the group with an unexploded plate. Lupin jerked his gaze to the red head. She smirked, eyes glittering. She mouthed words to him. He just shook his head in response, vowing to get back at her.
James wiped his hand across his mouth, not wanting to think about what the exploding plate on food in front of him managed to lodge into the messy locks. All he knew is that Peter was hiding a mischievous streak and that he (and Sirius and Lupin) would now have to get him back. As he began to think of ways to do so, he didn't think about the fact that he was acting just like his father – until he was in the shower and thought that a hair dye potion – bright neon green and pink – in the boy's shampoo would make for the perfect solution, as well as a mother horntail dragon replica hidden in the boys drawers, just on top of his pants, would make the boy piss his (soiled) pants. And strangely, James didn't mind. He just pushed out the creeping comment made by Mary on that first day that he indeed did inherit the Mischief's Curse, as Mary so labelled it.
Review Question: Little Lily is not as innocent as she appears - and is the real prankster here! Any guesses as to what she may have said?
XOXO, I.L.K.13