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: I apologize for the antagonizing wait. I am really bad about updating. For all of you who are still reading, I thank you for keeping tabs on me. I know I am slow, but please, keep on waiting for my updates. Slow coming they may be, but I produce only what I feel is worthy of being put out. I will not put out anything less than outstanding.
More of a non-important announcement. When I save up the money, I am going to get yet another tattoo, this one on my leg of a deer with 'We never left.' underneath it. It is my absolute favorite line from Deathly Hallows.
Chapter Seven
Lily, for the life of her, couldn't think of why she just acted like that in the middle of the Great Hall, or how none in that group pinned the mischief maker as her – Remus Lupin was a special case. Apparently he was the only one not stupid enough to think Peter could actually manage to do something like that – then again, the boy may just be stupid enough to manage to do that by accident. Catch me if you can! And why would she tell that to Remus? Not that anyone could prove it was her; Remus had nothing but his memories to prove this one, and no one was likely to care what a first year had to say. Besides, everyone found it humorous.
So when her book snapped shut on her, she didn't really put much imagination into it. As she opened it to the page, she began writing again. The book snapped shut again. She looked at it before repeating her actions. Half way through another word, the book snapped shut again. This time, Lily looked around. The only other people in the room were James Potter and Remus Lupin – whose name she now felt deserved to be full, when she thought about it. She looked down before looking back up. James Potter and Remus Lupin are the only two people in this room. They are the only ones in here. Lily eyed Remus suspiciously. The boy only smirked. She felt James's confusion from across the room and glared at Remus in return for it.
James glanced at Lily, who was getting angrier by the minute. He didn't quite believe that someone who was such a stickler would pull a prank like the one pulled in the Great Hall earlier, but Remus made a good point when he made his case – Peter just wasn't smart enough to think of pranking them. James, when Remus pointed this out, was suspicious that Peter wouldn't even have let such a thought cross his mind, even if it was planted. He really seemed that stupid. Looking at Lily again, he struggled to believe it could be her, though. She seemed too much the serious type to pull a ploy like the one Remus suggested she played. If she did, he wanted to know what he did to her, because he could have sworn that he hasn't dealt with her directly since Breakfast that morning when she got him in trouble, involving his indignant feline. He even made sure not to go near the girl. She was a little too much to handle if you dealt with her when she was angry. As was every female he knew. And Sirius managed to piss her off, seeming not to care too much. Until food got in his hair. No. That was too much for the heir of the Black fortune. Not that James thought that would last long. From his mother's reaction to his new and first friend, she didn't care too much for one Mr. James Potter. They all heard that Howler.
While James was shocked, when he wrote his mother about it, she wrote back saying that she was not, and that while Sirius seemed to be quite a lovely boy, his family was not one that would take too kindly to a Potter associating with them. He looked down at the letter he was currently writing to him mum. Rereading it, he decided to write about Lily. Not sure why he always felt compelled to mention the girl, he ignored the funny feelings that rose up in his stomach at the thought of her, deciding that he just needed a drink or something.
Lily slipped into bed, exhausted, trying to ignore the lines of her potions book that kept chasing her in her head as she tried to fall into a stupor. It wasn't working. And it was all thanks to James Potter. She knew it was him that kept flipping her book back and forth a million and one times. She wouldn't put it past Remus, but right then, she really just blamed James. Because not only did he get her in trouble this morning, but he also was the only one willing enough to do something like that. Remus was too serious – literally. The boy looked like he would do anything not to risk being kicked out of school. Her anger and irritation at the boy slipped out of her mind, however, as she fell into slumber, dreaming about lacewig flies and their capabilities to different types of potions.
"Mum!" James shouted, as if the woman could hear his indignant protest at the words on the page she had written – a week after he wrote, mind you. The woman got mad when he didn't respond immediately, but when she didn't... Remus and Sirius, along with some of the students starting to enter the hall, sent curious looks at him. Before they reached him, however, twins appeared on either side of him.
"Looks like mummy wrote you the wrong message mate," one of them remarked.
"Yeah, seems to think girls are on an eleven year-old's mind," said the other one. A girl appeared in front of the small group of three, eerily quick, not unlike his mum did.
"Leave him alone, Fabian, Gideon," a red headed girl, clearly a sixth or seventh year, said, also sounding motherly.
"Aw, Molly Weasley. Don't need to act like a mum, you know," the one on the left remarked.
"Yeah. Last I checked, little Willy was only about a month old," the one on the right joked. The girl's eyes flashed and her wand was draw faster than even James's father could draw his wand. James ducked instinctively. The twins, however, weren't so lucky.
"Don't you dare give my baby that nickname!" she shrieked, echoing in the hall.
"Sorry!" one sobbed. James peeked over the table.
"What are you even doing here? I thought you were too busy to deal with your troublesome brothers."
The girl looked at her brothers before giving a small cry and squishing them both in hugs.
"Oh, you two! I came to show you idiots your nephew! He has gotten so big!" She dragged them out of the hall, James relatively grateful. Until Sirius sat down. The boy never learned to keep his paws to himself, it seemed, as he reached and snatched the letter from James.
"Give that back!" James shouted. Sirius just stood on the bench. James stood as well and jumped to get his letter. He almost succeeded when McGonagall came by and snatched the letter. James hopped down from the bench immediately. "May I have my letter back, Professor?" he asked quietly. McGonagall merely looked at James before handing the letter back, an eyebrow raised.
"Off the bench, Mr. Black, or you will find yourself in detention."
"Anything for you, Professor," the eleven year old flirted, causing her to stare at him curiously before shaking her head and walking away.
Lily didn't have time for this. She was running late as it was and finding this classroom was always difficult – she would swear under oath that this particular path changed every hour.
"Peeves, give me back my books!" she shouted, attracting the attention of most of the corridor. A few students sneered.
"Ha! Pathetic little mudblood can't get her books back."
"Shut up!" A voice bounced off the walls, and Lily was distracted enough to turn around. Peeves, who hadn't expected the voice either, dropped her bag, which landed heavily on her foot. She crowed at the impact. But no one would have heard her over the scuffle caused by one James Potter as he stood, wand pointed, in front of the group of Slytherin 7th years.
"Oh look," the one who shouted out to her earlier cooed silkily. "Itty, bitty, baby James Potter wants to fight." She had her wand out just like James. Lily called out for them to stop but she wasn't heard over bangs.
It wasn't James that caused them, however. Lily watched as the red haired twins shoved James out of the way, throwing spells at the Slytherin girl at the same time she attempted to throw one at James. Lily ran over to him.
"Are you crazy? They are way older than us! What made you charge up like that?" James flushed, and a few girls giggled.
"She shouldn't have called you that…" he mumbled, barely to be heard. Lily blinked.
"I don't care. She doesn't matter to me, so why would I care what she calls me?" James seemed disturbed by her lack of self-care.
"You don't care? You're just going to let someone walk in and call dirty names just because they don't matter to you? You shouldn't let them do that! You will become a doormat!"
"Oh, little blood-traitor seems to have picked up mummy and daddy's philosophy!" the woman cooed, manic laughter coming out of her mouth as she sent a poisonous glance at the two first years with a sinister grin on her face. Lily felt her spine tingle as the woman walked away, sending nervous looks at the wands still pointed at her by the Gryffindor twins.
When she left, James felt the eyes of the Prewetts land on him.
"I know you're a Potter and all," one started.
"But that doesn't make you invincible," the other finished. James blinked.
"Bellatrix Black is dangerous, Potter," one said. "And she won't hesitate to hurt you. Your parents are pretty popular with those opposing Voldemort, but they are also regarded as enemy #1 by Voldemort and his followers. Don't tempt her to hurt you." With that, they walked off, leaving James speechless.
"Don't go starting fights because you don't like what someone says," Lily muttered under her breath before stalking off to class. James hurried after her, not wanting to be late.
Lily didn't understand the boy. She knew the term. The girls encountered it the night before, and then there was the first day of classes, when James first took offense to her being called dirty words. What she didn't understand was why he, who was obviously from an all magic heritage, took so much offense to it. It wasn't as though he were the one to be insulted. Not sure she would get much out of her musings, she merely shook her head as she entered the Defense of the Dark Arts classroom. The professor glanced up as she entered before putting her quill to the parchment she was writing on again. The classroom slowly filled, Ravenclaw students sharing the room with the Gryffindor first years this class. Lily, glancing around, did a double take at a blonde Ravenclaw boy, who seemed to be staring pointedly at the ceiling. As she continued to study him, she didn't notice that everyone was starting to study him as well, most starting by looking at what she was looking at. She tilted her head at the boy, wondering what he was looking at. She looked up and back again. The chair next to her moved and she turned, noticing Remus sitting down, James in the other seat. Black slide into the last seat before the mousy boy, forcing the mousy boy to sit with Kimberly and Alice, who were hoping Kyle would sit with them. He sat with the Marys. She ignored both, however, in her observation of the strange Ravenclaw.
"Is there something wrong with him?" she breathed, figuring these boys may know something about the bloke. James didn't seem confused by his behaviour so she looked at him expectantly.
James wasn't paying attention to the red head and was shocked to find her staring at him intently.
"What?" he asked indignantly, not really sure why he chose to sit here. She is the one who accused him of being stupid in his last class.
"What is wrong with that boy over there?" James glanced at the boy in question.
"I would just ignore him." James went back to pulling out his books and wand. When he glanced at her again, he saw her still watching him.
"Why is staring at the ceiling so intently?" she asked again, and James peered at the boy in question for a brief moment before turning and facing Lily.
"That's Xenophilius Lovegood," he explained, feeling that was enough to explain the boy. Lily merely blinked. Sirius snorted.
"That explains everything then!" he wheezed. Lily looked at Sirius as though she still hadn't forgotten about the charms incident – he didn't think she did, to be honest.
"Yeah, and you are probably explained by your name, too, but you don't see me expecting that to be enough to explain your behaviour." James snickered.
"The Lovegood's are a bit of an odd family, at least his branch of the family tree anyway. For the most part, they are very nice, very brilliant. But his parents are a bit off. He is probably thinking there are some non-existent magical creatures in the corner." James rolled his eyes and went back to studying his book, not really interested in the strange Ravenclaw.
Before Lily could ask any more questions, the professor stood, eyeing both her and James.
"Good morning, class. My name is Professor Periwinkle, and I will be your Defense Against the Arts Teacher." Focusing on the teacher, she wondered why the teacher seemed so nervous. Mostly, however, she tried to ignore the not so quiet whispering of Sirius Black, who seemed to not care about being in class. The professor continued to talk, much to Lily's chargin. It didn't take long, however, for the woman to do something.
"Mr. Black." Everyone in class, including Sirius, looked up at the teacher, though Sirius wasn't waiting with baited breath.
"Yes, professor?" he asked innocently, as though he wasn't about to get in trouble for talking non-stop for over 30 minutes straight.
"Can you tell me what our first lesson is going to be?" Lily blinked. Even she couldn't answer that. Sirius had been babbling too loudly for her to hear anything about anything.
"Minor jinxes," he said, calm as an undisturbed butterfly. Lily turned and looked at him, the astonishment evident on her face.
"And what will the first minor jinx you learn be?"
"You haven't told us that yet, professor."
Professor Periwrinkle blinked as though she were stunned that he was actually paying attention. Lily, however, was furious.
"If you can answer her questions, then you should shut your trap so everyone else can hear her, and maybe learn something too! Not everyone is like you and able to hear over your voice!" Lily gulped, eyes widening as she looked nervously at the teacher. The woman looked at Lily curiously.
"It would do you well to hold in your temper, Miss Evans. I know it is hard, being a red head and having to do so, but you would do well to learn that lesson now and not when it is too late."
The professor turned and went to her desk, continuing on with her speech. James chanced a glance at Lily, who looked chastised. Unsure how to take her hurt expression, he slipped a note on her desk.
Don't worry. I am sure everyone else agrees with you. – James
He saw her look at it, as small smile coming on her face as she sent him a slight glance. She slipped the paper back over to him.
Thank you. – Lily
James was pretty sure he didn't hear a word for the rest of the lesson. He had notes, but he didn't remember taking any of them. They would be learning the Body Bind Curse that week, though James didn't know if this was a good idea. He could just imagine what this would cause. He thought they would be writing essays on basic Defense Against the Dark Arts, learning the theory before actual wand work. But that didn't change the fact that he was excited about it. Unlike his neighbour and partner for yet another class. This time, Lily Evans did not correct him. Mostly because she was still moody from the prefessor's reprimand from earlier, he assumed.
Lily watched James as he took notes from his textbook, begging for the bell to ring. This was the class she had actually been looking forward to participating in, and it turned out the professor like Mr. Troublemaker. She sent a dark look at Sirius, trying not to be distracted by the strange Ravenclaw. Which was a lot harder than it looked. It seemed that she was the only person who couldn't seem to take her eyes off the strange boy. She kept on glancing at the ceiling, trying to figure out what he was looking at. This earned her a second reprimand from the professor.
"Miss Evans! I believe you would do better in this class if you paid more attention to me rather than the boys in this class." The teacher continued on with her lesson while Lily bit her tongue, holding back the attitude that had resulted in too many trips to the principal's office in primary school.
She almost succeeded. If the professor hadn't mentioned and attempted to reprimand Lily a third time – this time for doing what she was supposed to be doing, taking notes down for their essay, Lily was certain she wouldn't have turned the teacher's robes into acid. While the professor had easily solved the problem, Lily found herself in Professor Dumbledore's office, almost in tears. As well as the talk of the school. Apparently, red heads were always popular for their tempers at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Author's note: Wow. Extreme foreshadowing in play here. And I didn't even attempt to. Talk about ingenious ploys!
Review Question: What do you think Lily and Dumbledore's chat will consist of?