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Chapter 5: Kidnapping
"Lily? Lily, what are you doing? Liiiily?"
"Meh?"
Lily lost the dazed expression on her face and tuned back into the noise of the bustling townspeople.
"Oh sorry, just thinking."
"Well don't hurt yourself dear." Lissi said, glancing worriedly at Lily. She was the only one who knew the real reason for Lily's woes.
"Come on, lets have a look at those purses, shall we?" Ariana suggested, leading the girls to another wrack. It was Sunday morning, three days after what Lily now called the "Potter Incident". Every other weekend, the girls were permitted to go out to town.
As Ariana led the other girls toward the bags, Lissi grabbed Lily's arm and pulled her to the side.
"Lily, you have got to stop moping. It's over. Done with. James Potter is officially a git, and there's no point dwelling on him any longer."
Lily looked away, a broken expression on her face.
Lissi softened her tone. "It's best to just forget him Lils. Just forget the prick. Please?"
"Lissi, I have more than moved on. James Potter is nothing. An arrogant jerk perhaps, but otherwise, nothing. I've more than forgotten Potter." Lily pulled away from Lissi, and went to join Ariana by a clothing wrack.
"Hello Lils. So what do you think? The blue, or the brown?" Ariana inquired, shoving two skirts at Lily's face. "I prefer the blue a bit, but the brown is far more practical, and…uh oh. Here comes trouble Lils." Ariana said, turning to look at something behind Lily.
"Wha-" Lily turned around to see what had caught her friend's attention. "Oh wonderful." She groaned, for Ms. Smeldings was approaching her, rather angrily, and at a strangely fast pace for such a large woman.
"Oh Lily, what have you done to upset her this time?" Lily's good friend Hannah asked, approaching the other girls.
"Well, I may have accidentally been caught dozing off in class this morning. My best guess is that she's found out."
The girls grimaced.
"Well, good luck with that Lily." Hannah said, backing away with Ariana, for Ms. Smeldings had reached them, red in the face, and quite out of breath.
"Ms. Evans!" She bellowed. "Follow me. Now!"
She turned and began trudging back towards the orphanage, Lily trailing behind her.
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"Why?! WHY ME? How could I have forgotten?! What drove me to go into that lapse of crucial memory?! WHY?"
Sirius Black rolled his eyes at his hysterical friend.
"Could it be Prongs, that your long lost, half forgotten father showed up five minutes prior to the engagement?"
"That's no excuse! NO EXCUSE I TELL YOU!"
"I can see that this will be more difficult than I hoped." Sirius said mostly to himself. "Look Prongs, no matter how much you yell, this was NOT your fault. Honestly mate, sit up. Look. You missed your dad, and while talking to him, forgot you made arrangements. It happens! Pull yourself together, go to uh, the uh-"
"The orphanage." James mumbled.
"Right. The orphanage. Go over there, and give that girl a good explanation. I mean, it's obvious she's madly in love with you. She'd forgive you if you grew another head and failed to tell her about it."
James raised an eyebrow.
"Ok, maybe not. But I mean, you didn't! In fact, your looks almost come close to my astonishingly handsome face, finely chiseled muscles, and stormy grey eyes!"
"Oh great. I look like you." James groaned, concealing a grin.
"Was that a grin? I think that was a grin. Hallelujah."
"Oh shut it. And no it most certainly was not. Speaking of women Padfoot, who was that black haired beauty you were attempting to woo yesterday, and in my house nonetheless?"
"Ah, but you're mistaken Jamsie. I was not attempting to woo her, for she was already wooed."
"Is that so? And what makes you so confident in yourself Mr. Padfoot?"
"Who said anything about myself? She has been wooed by another, and they are currently engaged."
James promptly began choking on his own spit.
"You're sleeping with an engaged heiress?!"
"What? When did I say I was sleeping with her?"
"You don't need to say it! This is you we're talking about!"
"I find that insulting. And there was no sleeping."
"No sleeping?"
"With her."
"So there was no sleeping with her?"
"Yes."
"Yes you did?"
"No! No, I did not sleep with her."
"Oh." James shifted in his seat. "So you didn't sleep with her."
"No. And now that that's out of the way, what are you planning to do about Lilykins? Are you going to go over there or what? You'll never win her back at this rate."
"You're right. Why am I sitting here wallowing in my misery? I should be down at the orphanage sweeping Lily off her feet!" And with that said, forgetting about his earlier question about Sirius's female friend, James stood up, grabbed his jacket, and headed out the door.
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Lily sat across from Ms. Smeldings, attempting to hold her breath in fear of smelling the odor being emitted from the woman's mouth.
"Well Lily." She began. "I trust you enjoyed your nap this morning."
"Yes, quite." Lily answered smugly. Ms. Smelding's face darkened.
"Good because it will be the last you'll be having while attending this school. And just to be sure of that…" She removed the long metal cane.
"You've attempted to use that repulsive device on me once before, have you not, Georgina?"
Ms. Smeldings gasped, lifted the cane, and swiped, hard, at Lily. However, she moved aside before the blow hit her. Then, suddenly, something in her snapped.
"Who do you think you are?" Lily whispered, barely audible.
"Pardon?" Ms. Smeldings hissed, surprised.
"Who do you think you are to treat us like trash, beat and torment us? You are a disgusting, horrendous, appalling bitch." The teacher's face turned beetroot purple. "If my parents could see-"
"YOUR PARENTS ARE DEAD!" Ms. Smeldings bellowed, lifting the cane again.
"And how I wish it were you in their place." Lily said, her voice a whisper again. The anger inside her was so strong, she couldn't think. She could hardly breathe. All her anger was focused on Ms. Smeldings . Suddenly, the window behind the teacher shattered, shards piercing her.
"HOW DID YOU DO THAT?! I KNOW IT WAS YOU, YOU UNRULY CHILD!" Lily stared, dazed and confused. How on earth did that just happen? she , she didn't have much time to ponder on it, for the crazed teacher swung the cane at her, once, twice, over and over. And every time, unsuccessfully. It was as if some invisible force was fighting against her. Lily glanced up at the injured woman, scrambled to her feet, and ran for the door as fast as her shaking legs could carry her. She flung open the front doors, and ran forward…straight into something hard, yet not quite wall-like. She looked up, and saw that the unexpected barrier was none other than James Potter.
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"Lily?"
James had gone looking for Lily. But when he looked down and saw a mass of flaming red hair, he realized that it hadn't been very hard.
"Lily" he repeated.
"Oh, s-sorry. I'm really, um, ok." She stuttered, and pushed by him.
"Wait Lily!" he called after her. "Wait!"
"What James?" She asked, angrily.
"Look, I know you're probably furious right now, and you have the right to be. But can I just…wait… is that glass in your hair?"
"Ugh!" She turned and continued to walk, almost run, in the other direction.
"Lily wait! Please, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"Sure you are Potter." She yelled back.
"No really Lils, wait!" He grabbed her arm and turned her towards him.
"Please. Just let me explain."
"Get your hands off me!"
"Lily please, just give me five minutes, and then I promise, I'll keep out of your hair for as long as I live."
She stared angrily in his direction for a moment.
"Fine." She said. But then, remembering what had just occurred, she added, "But not here." She led him towards a pub, a place that Miss Smeldings would never dream of entering, and sat him down at a booth in the far corner.
"Five minutes." She mumbled angrily.
""This is quite a place Lils-"
"Four minutes."
"Okay! Okay. Look Lily, I feel terrible. What I did was unforgivable, and I know that. But its not that I didn't want to be with you that night, it's just-" He took a deep breath. "My father came home."
She looked at him, and he saw curiosity behind the anger in her emerald eyes. He continued.
"You see, my father is rarely home. And his job is, well, worrying to the rest of the family."
"What danger could there in being a wealthy businessman?" Lily asked.
"Well that's one of his professions…" He said. Lily raised an eyebrow.
"But anyway, you see, my father showed up last night, just as I was about to leave to see you. I thought I'd catch up with him for a while, but I hadn't seen him for so long-"
"Yeah, well, at least you have a father." Lily snapped.
He did not know how exactly to reply .
"Lily, I am so sorry. I really didn't mean it to sound like that. But then, you know what it's like to miss your father."
He looked down into her eyes, and saw pain there.
"Please Lily, allow me one last chance."
She looked at him for a moment, pondering his words.
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Yes. I'll forget this mistake. You missed your father." She smiled at him, and he grinned back.
"But Lily…" said James.
"Yes?"
"You didn't answer my question."
"What question?"
"Why do you have glass in your hair?"
Lily's smile turned to a frown.
"No reason."
"Lily, you can tell me."
"No, I can't!"
"It was that teacher of yours, wasn't it?"
"James!"
"Did she hurt you?!"
"NO!" she bellowed at him. He just looked back, anxious and worried.
"No, she did not hurt me. I hurt her."
A relieved look washed over James' face.
"Good" He said with a smirk.
"Good?? How could you say good? I can't go back there! She'll kill me! I don't have a home, I don't have money, and no school either!"
"That's ok Lily. We'll figure that one out. But thank god you're safe from her now. Now you'll never have to enter that terrible place again."
"I'm Just so confused. How could this have happened? One second she was fine, then the next…I don't remember having thrown…" She gave him a hesitant look. "Never mind."
"What happened Lily? You've got to tell me."
"What's your father's other job?" She retorted. He frowned clearly showing his aggravation.
"Alright, we'll figure this out later. Right now, we've got to get you cleaned up." He led her down the busy street and towards his grand estate.