Days in Avalon
Chapter Forty: Precious Illusions
Andy merely glared at him as if he were a puzzle that she just could comprehend. "Why not? Why can't we go back to hating each other, and making the other's life a living hell?"
Sirius let out a frustrating growl as he turned his back to her. He was trying his best not too loose his temper, but with her acting like she currently was, he quickly losing his patience. He slowly turned back to look at her.
"What if I don't want to?" he said in a low voice staring deeply into her eyes.
"And why is that, Blackie?" she said staring right back at him with a bit of attitude.
Andy watched as he drew closer to her if it was possible at all since he was only a few inches away from her. She could feel the heat he was emitting enwrap her in a blinding haze. Almost as if she was in a dream. She watched in slow motion as Sirius began to tilt his head and move it closer to her own. She involuntarily closed her eyes and felt the floor leave her feet, literally.
At that moment the train suddenly halted to a stop with a loud bang causing numerous bags to fall in almost every compartment. Andy and Sirius fell to the ground, along with everyone else, with Sirius somehow ending up on top of her.
"OW!! What the devil was that?" groaned Andy as she rubbed her head a bit trying to regain her bearings. She tried to get up but couldn't under the weight of the boy now on top of her.
"I don't know," groaned Sirius he too began to get up. "Are you alright?" he asked as he held himself up by his hands. Andy shot him a slightly annoyed look at the question.
"Sorry," he said quickly realizing what he had said.
"I'm fine. Are you alright," she inquired.
"Nothing broken," he replied. 'Just a bit of my pride.'
Andy glared at him as she watched his concern face turn to one of pure smugness. "Would you please…get off me?" she said in a low tone trying to keep the mixture of emotions in check. Anger, embarrassment, shyness, desire…
"Sure," he said with a smug smile. He reluctantly got up from his slightly comfortable position and helped her up as well. Andy dusted off some of the dirt from her jeans before she managed to get around Sirius and grabbed a hold of the door knob.
"Miranda," said a soft voice from behind that held a hint of desperation. She felt him grab a hold of her wrist to keep her with him.
Andy turned to face Sirius once more. The sight of her before him nearly torn his very soul in half. "Please let me go," she asked in a low voice. "Tristan is waiting for me."
The mention of her boyfriend's name was enough to snap Sirius out of his slight trace and grow slightly cold. He let go of her wrist as if she were made of fire. "Of course," he said simply with a hint of malice. "Wouldn't want to keep your boyfriend waiting."
Andy stared wide eyed at him for a moment. She was use to seeing his darker side as she was victim to his terrorizing for years, but she'd never known him to change his demeanor so quickly. It was almost freighting to see him act like a mad man.
"Goodbye Sirius," she said quickly before bolting from their hiding place and ran down the narrow path of the train car.
James looked back at Lily who was currently staring at Snape while trying to catch her breath. "Lily?!"
"I was never really fond of him anyway," said Lily in a low voice. At that moment a low groan emitted from Severus causing Lily to gasp surprisingly. A few seconds later a great thud was heard as Severus had suddenly become detached from the wall. James and Lily both watched as Severus struggled to get up as he glared at the two of them.
"Why…y-you…"groaned Snape as he fought to regain his footing.
He made to lunge at both of them, but never got the chance to. James had managed to get his wand out in time and used it hang Snape upside down like he had done a few years prior.
"What's going on there?" shouted the train's engineer.
"Ah crap, RUN!" shouted James as he grabbed a hold of Lily's hand to pull her up and to run along with him.
Both of them ran down the narrow pathway toward the end of the train to where their friends were. When they reached the last car, they saw Felicia stick her head out a compartment and look up and down the hallway.
"Lily! Are you alright?" said Felicia as she came out to greet her friend and raised an eyebrow to James. Lily nodded her reply as she tried to catch her breath.
"What in the name of Helga Hufflepuff is going on?" said a voice behind James causing him to jump a bit. Andy raised an eye brow at her friend but decided not to make a joke of his actions. "Are you lot okay?"
"We're all fine in here," said Kelly from the doorway of the girl's seats.
"Where were you?" inquired Felicia to Andy.
"I was in the loo. Luckily I finished before the train stopped," commented Andy as she glanced at Lily who now couldn't seem to stop laughing. A few moments later, James joined her in laughing at what had happened to both of them.
"Okay…what's so funny?" asked Andy a little scared to find out.
"I…tell you later," laughed Lily as she fought to regain her breath once more.
"Umm…okay," said Felicia a bit awkwardly. At that moment she looked up to see both Remus and Sirius coming toward their little group. She gave a small snort before diving back into her seat leaving the small group to their new guests.
Andy and James turned to see what caused Felicia to act so oddly, and knew it was time to end their little chat.
"I think its best that we go back to our seats," said James more to Lily than to the others present.
"Huh?" said Kelly as she looked at James as if he were speaking another language.
"What are you talking about mate? We just got here," said Remus.
"Now" was all James said, as he walked past Andy. "I'll talk to you later."
"Alright," said Andy and Lily at the same time. Andy spun her head around and raised her eye brows at her best friend's remark. Remus gave Sirius a quizzical look before shrugging his shoulders and followed in James's wake. Sirius stood there for a moment shaking his head before following suit.
"Lil," said Andy as the two of them began to head back to rejoin there group. "Since when did you and Jay become such good buddies?"
"We're not," replied Lily automatically. "I can't stand him. I mean it's Potter."
"Riiiiggghhhtt," commented Andy as she followed her friend back to their seats.
"So you and Evans huh?" inquired Sirius as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at his best mate. Remus chuckled lightly before turning back to his copy of the Daily Prophet, while Peter watched Sirius and James with bated breath. James knew exactly what Sirius was talking about with his tone. He knew it was a mistake telling Sirius about what had happened over summer holiday with Lily. Of course the other two in the compartment knew nothing of this, but James had a feeling Remus had picked up on a few things.
"No. No, it's nothing like that," said James a bit forcefully. "That ship has long since sailed away."
"Oh come off it, mate," said Remus as he folded up his paper. He knew that there was no use in trying to read the paper when a playful game of teasing was about to start. "We know you are crazy for the girl. Always have been, and always will be."
"Hardly," commented James as he folded his arms and sunk deeper into his seat.
"Oh, so you haven't been drooling over a certain red-haired girl for how long now? Two years? Going on three?" asked Sirius smugly as he stretched his legs so that they were propped up on the bench across from him.
James sighed deeply before standing up and jumping over Sirius's legs and head for the door. "Alright!" he said turned back to face his friends. "I'll admit it! I admit I did find her attractive, but that's all changed. I'm over her!"
All three of them looked at one another for a moment before they busted out laughing at their friend's dramatic declaration.
"Yeah right, Prongs," laughed Peter.
"I mean it," said James in a matter of fact tone that silenced all three of them quickly. Peter stared up at James with his mouth opened, while Remus looked upon him as if he had just started speaking a different language that he was now trying to translate in his head. Sirius on the other hand just studied his best mate that he considered more of a brother and wondered what he was getting at.
"Yeah," continued James as soon as he knew he had their attention. "I mean it. I'm over her. Lily Elizabeth Evans holds no spell over me anymore."
"Are you serious, James?" inquired Remus.
"So you mean to tell me, that if Lily walked right up to you and told you that she was crazy for you, you would?" asked Sirius calmly as he stood up and motioned to his friend.
"I'd tell her that she's about a year too late, and laugh in her face," said James matter-of-fact-ly.
"Potter!" gasped Remus and Peter in shock.
"It's the truth. I'm tired of wasting my time over a stuck-up, goodie-two shoe, wannabe McGonagall, who wouldn't know a good time if it jumped up and bit her on the arse," ranted James. Unknown to him was that the door directly behind him was opening at the same time he was talking.
"James," said Sirius trying to get his attention but to no avail.
"She's boring," continued James not listening to his friend. "and I need…" he started as he watched Sirius begin to cringe while Remus just sat in his seat and shook his head and Peter timidly pointed toward the door.
"…someone who is more…" he continued as he turned around and was met with the two people who he now wished never had come in. "exciting."
Standing directly behind him, James was met with Lily's bright shinning emerald eyes, which he loved so much, staring back at him with pain. He watched as her face went from shock to that of absolute loathing before she stormed away, leaving only Andy where she once stood looking aghast.
"Y…you…you unimaginable prick!" growled Andy with as much disgust as she could muster up without stepping right up and punching his lights out. Before she made good on the thoughts she was having, Andy stormed away and after her hurt friend leaving a horror struck James thinking 'Dear God what have I done?!'
At the same time, all Sirius could do was shake his head at what he just witnessed and watch a years worth of hard work being flushed down the toilet. And all the while he was thinking to himself…
"I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!!" growled Felicia as she paced up and down the compartment.
"Oh calm down, Felicia," said Karen as she tried to digest what Andy had just told them.
"Calm down? Did you hear what that wanker said about Lil?" shouted the dark haired Gryffindor.
"Yes, we know Felicia!" said Kelly as she rolled her eyes, trying to keep herself from slapping her friend upside the head.
"I'm going to rip his bloody throat out," mumbled Felicia as she went back to thinking about how she was going to kill one James Potter.
Andy couldn't help but comment on her remark. "Eww, that's a sight I'd like to forget."
Felicia snapped her head toward Andy once she registered her words. "And what about you, huh? Why didn't you hex him?!"
"It's not my place," said Andy she sat back in her seat with her arms folded. She kept replaying James's words in her head over and over again and still couldn't believe them.
"Not your place? The bloody hell it isn't!" said Felicia wide-eyed.
"She made a promise to Lil," said Kelly trying to clarify Andy's answer.
"What promise?" asked Felicia. Karen and Kelly noticed this was beginning to calm her down and decided to continue on.
"Not to go off and attack anyone that talks badly about our lot," replied Karen.
Felicia stood there a moment before she gave Andy a quizzical look. "Why would you make such a deal?"
"Because," stared Kelly, "she went after Snivellus after he called Lily a 'you-know-what' by the lake during fifth year."
"He deserved it!" said Felicia in an outrage. "What did you do to him?"
"Hung him upside down wearing nothing but his knickers in front of the Slytherin entrance all night long," said Andy with a bit of a smirk upon recalling how she decided to make Severus Snape pay for his crime.
"Not bad," commented Felicia as she tried to mentally picture a fifteen-year-old Snape hanging upside down. "Of course I would have done it in the Great Hall."
"True," replied Andy. "But it was more fun to see the look of humiliation on his face when Narcissa Black came out of the common room the next morning."
Felicia couldn't help but laugh at the thought. "Ahh, so you gave Snape's old stalker a show of him in his briefs. Nice one."
"Thank you," said Andy with a nod. "If you want to see pictures I'll show it to you once we get to Hogwarts."
"You took pictures?"
"How do you think Lily found out it was me?" said Andy with a grin.
Felicia stared at her friend for a moment in amazement. "You really are a vindictive witch."
"Hey he insulted our friend," said Andy in her defense.
""Plus the fact that you hate him and all his little friends who've now gone and joined 'You-Know-Who'," added Karen.
Andy merely shrugged her shoulders at the comment. "All the more reason to teach him a lesson."
At that moment the compartment door opened and Lily stepped in with a slight scowl on her face.
"Hello Lily," said Andy a little too cheerfully.
"Hi," she replied as she looked at her lot of friends sensing something was amiss. "Who are you lot talking about?"
"No one," said all four girls at once.
Lily gave off a deep sigh before she took the vacant seat next to Kelly. "If you're talking about that insufferable Potter…"
"We're not!" said the fours girls truthfully. Lily studied them a moment before she broke out giggling at how her friends were acting.
"Come on we're almost there," she said as she got up and began to pull out her school robes from her bag. The rest of the girls followed suit and soon enough the train was slowly coming to a stop to the station. Once the train shuttered to a stop, the whole train could hear Hagrid call for the first years outside on the platform. As the group made their way off the train Lily held Andy back a moment.
"Miranda, don't go after…"started Lily, to which Andy gave an exhausted sigh.
"I won't! I promised, remember?" said Andy as she bent over to pick up her school bag. Once she had stood up she saw that Lily didn't believe her. She was right. "Okay I'll…leave…Potter to you," she said difficulty.
"Thank you," replied Lily simply as the both of them headed off the train and toward the carriages. The two girls saw that their three friends were only a little ways ahead which happened to be right in front of the Marauders. As they quickly walked past them to catch up with their group, Andy stretched her arms over her head and gave a loud yawn before she swiftly hit James in the back of his head as she walked past him.
"OW!" cried James as he rubbed the back of his head. He spun around to see who had nailed him when he heard Sirius and Remus begin to chuckle as they looked ahead of them. It was then that James saw Andy giving him a deadly glare that was usually reserved for Slytherins and his best mate. He gave an audible gulp to which the rest of the boys couldn't help but laugh at.
Once Andy was satisfied she turned her head back toward her destination, but felt Lily's eyes on her. "What? My hand slip! You know I get twitchy after a long train ride."
"Right," said Lily but couldn't stop the smirk that played on her lips as they caught up with their friends.
As the girls waited for a carriage to take them up to the castle along with their other friends, a pair of hands quickly came up and covered Andy's eyes.
"Guess who?" said a deep low voice in her ear.
Andy smiled widely at her boyfriend's antics, but decided to mess with him just bit. "Oh Amos, you know we can't fool around anymore. Your best mate might find out," she said a bit dramatically.
With that said Andy was quickly spun around and came face to face with Tristan Miller, her brown haired seventh year Ravenclaw boyfriend. "Ha ha ha…very funny," he said dryly. "You think you're so cute and clever."
"Well that's what I'm told," said Andy flirtatiously as she gazed at the tall dark haired boy before her. Seeing his dark chocolate eyes stare back at her always caused her stomach to get butterflies.
Tristan couldn't contain his laughter any longer before he leaned down to kiss her hello. As Andy began to melt into his loving kiss, she also felt a stabbing pain of guilt tug at her heart, but quickly masked it from him.
"I missed you, sweetheart," he said as he brushed a strand of her hair out of the way to look into her blue eyes properly.
"I missed you too," said Andy sweetly. She could feel the small creep of blush fan across her cheeks that usually happened when he gave her that look.
"How are you doing? Is everything squared with your father?" he inquired with concern written on his face.
Andy took a deep breath as she tried to keep the memories of the past few months at bay and not spoil her reunion. "Some things are."
Tristan pulled her close and held her as she wrapped her arms around his waist and inhaled his scent. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you like I should have been."
"It's alright," said Andy into his shirt. He pulled her away to look at her properly for what he had to say.
"No it isn't," he said with earnest. Andy quickly placed a finger on his lips to silence him.
"You're here now. That's all I need," said Andy truthfully. At that moment she caught a glance of four Gryffindor boys heading over in their direction and a small sense of fear began to creep up her spine. To reassure her boyfriend that all was well, she quickly pulled him into a kiss that almost became out of hand.
Tristan slowly pulled away, slightly wondering what caused his girlfriend to kiss him like that. "Come on. Your friends are waiting for you."
With that the two of them headed to where the four girls were standing waiting for the now approaching carriage.
"Can I join you ladies?" asked Tristan with a smile as greeted the girls.
"You know you don't even need to ask Tristan," chimed Kelly as he opened the door for the girls and helped them into the carriage.
"Right, your just one of the girls anyway," joked Felicia as he helped her into the carriage.
"Well thank you Felicia I'll remember that the next time I need tips on a facial," he said with a laugh.
The girls and Tristan chatted all the way up to the castle talking about their holidays and most especially about who they thought were the new head boy and girl. Once they had arrived at the castle, Tristan was the first out of the carriage and helped all the girls out and walked with Andy for a bit, still holding her hand warmly. To everyone, they looked like the perfect happy couple. But to Lily and Karen, they wondered if their appearance was true, for both of them noticed the troubled look etched on their friend's face which she was trying to hide.
As soon as they got to the top of the stairs, Tristan said good-bye to them all and gave Andy another kiss before running off to meet with his best friend Amos.
"Are you okay?" inquired Lily once she knew Tristan was out of ear shot.
"Of course," said Andy as they headed into the Great Hall. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Just asking," replied Lily as they headed for their seats.
"Wow, our last time walking through that door," said Peter a little sadly as he jumped onto the staircase up to the school.
"Oh Merlin's beard! Are you going to be like this all year?" barked Sirius jokingly.
"Besides we have a whole school year of walking through that door," chimed Remus as he wrapped an arm around his friend.
James said nothing to his friend's remarks, for he was more concentrated on staring at the red haired girl a few groups ahead of him.
"Hey, snap out of it," said Sirius as he nudged his best mate back into reality.
"I really screwed up big time, huh?"
"Well let me put it this way Prongs. I doubt she or Sparky for that matter will be speaking to you for quite sometime."
James heaved a big sigh before he continued to head on into the Great Hall. Sirius followed him, but not before he noticed Tristan giving Andy a kiss good-bye. A raging dragon awoke in his chest as he glared at his classmate who was now greeting his best friend Amos. Sirius followed the mass of students heading to the Great Hall and managed to get close enough to Tristan and 'accidentally' trip him.
"Oh I'm so sorry there, mate," said Sirius with fake sincerity as he hesitated in helping the boy up.
"Oh that's alright Black. Place is crowded to begin with. Someone was bound to be knocked over," said Tristan brightly as he got up by himself with ease.
"No real harm done. Just glad it didn't happen in front of the little lady," he said with a grin as he brushed off some of the dirt from his robes. "I'll see you later."
Sirius tried his best to keep his disgust with the boy in check. He knew he was a pretty nice bloke and liked him before the end of last term. He also knew that the brown-haired boy pretty much got along with everyone at Hogwarts, which only irritated Sirius more.
"Where did you go?" asked Remus when Sirius took his seat across from him and next to James.
"Ran into Miller," said Sirius as he began to sulk a bit.
"Oh, and how is Tristan?" inquired Peter.
"Wonderful," said Sirius a bit darkly as he rolled his eyes a bit. James crooked an eyebrow at his friend's remarks but didn't get a chance to question his remark, for McGonagall had just arrived with the new first years.
McGonagall placed the sorting hat on the stool and soon the object came to life as it always did to sing another one of its annual poems. This time the hat talked about the houses uniting for the common good and to strengthen relationships with in each House.
"Fat chance that will happen as long as Slytherins are here," whispered Felicia.
"Felicia!" said Lily in shock at her friend's remark.
"Well it's the truth," she added as if she didn't say anything wrong at all.
"Welcome! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts," said Professor Dumbledore in a loud voice. "I hope you all had a nice holiday and are ready to begin the new school year. I do have a few announcements to make after the feast, but first I think we should fill those empty stomachs with some tantalizing treats. Let the feast begin!"
"That's odd. Why is he waiting until the end?" inquired Lily as all the food suddenly appeared on the table.
"Who knows," said Kelly as she piled her plate with food. "Maybe he hasn't decided yet on who should be head boy and girl, and he needs more time."
"I doubt Dumbledore is stalling," remarked Andy as she spooned out some potatoes.
"You never know," commented Felicia as she poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice. "This is Dumbledore we are talking about here. You know the old man isn't playing with a full deck."
"And some people could say the same thing about you, Figg," said Andy playfully causing her two other friends to laugh uncontrollably.
"Don't even start, Felicia," laughed Lily. "You set yourself up for that one."
Andy looked next to her friend and saw that she hadn't really touched her food. She placed her hand on top of Lily's and gave it a friendly squeeze.
"Don't worry about it Lil. I'm sure there is a perfectly good reason why Dumbledore hasn't announced the Heads of House."
"What if he already has? And it was to another student?" she inquired as looked to her best friend.
"To whom? Narcissa Black? Please!" said Andy as if the thought were a very funny joke. Lily realized that her friend was right and that she was being rather silly in worrying about such trivial things.
The rest of the feast went off nicely. The students ate to there hearts content as they discussed about what each did over their holiday and what has been going on in the wizarding world with the growing threat of Voldemort. After about an hour or so, Dumbledore once again took his place at the podium.
"Well not that our stomachs have stopped growling. I just have a few announcements to make before you are dismissed to your house dormitories. First years please note as well as the returning students that the dark forest is forbidden at all times to anyone who does not with to be submitted to great peril," he said looking more toward the direction of four Gryffindor boys.
"Now I have a special announcement," started Dumbledore. "Well a couple actually."
"Slughorn's gone?" whispered Felicia hopefully.
"I wish," commented Andy as she pointed toward their hefty potion's master.
"First, I'd like to introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher Professor Sizemore," said Dumbledore as he motioned toward middle aged slender looking woman with black hair pulled into tight bun. The crowd of students clapped loudly while some of the male population gave a few cheers as well.
"Wonder what happened to Professor Pilot," inquired Peter as he tried to get a look at the new professor.
"Got a position at another school," commented Remus.
"Besides," added James, "you know the Dark Arts position is cursed."
Remus just shook his head lightly at the comment. "Oh that's just a myth."
"Who cares," remarked Sirius. "She's pretty hot. I just might actually crack open a book for her."
"Oh will you birds keep your beaks closed," commented Andy who was only sitting two seats down from where the boys were.
"Secondly," continued Dumbledore unaware of what was going on. "I'd like to announce that this year is a special year for our little school. As some of you may have heard, Hogwarts will be celebrating a special event. This year our school will be celebrating a thousand years of being instituted. As such, this Christmas we will hold a ball to all those third year and up. Andy first or second year may attend at the invitation by those above them. Now in honor of this anniversary, I thought it would be fitting to announce the Heads of House publicly rather than by owl."
"See? Told you," said Andy as she gave Lily a little nudge.
"The Head boy and girl will be in charge of decorating and planning the ball with the aid of the staff as well as myself," said Dumbledore as he chuckled a bit to himself.
"Oh yay! Fun. More work to hear about," said Felicia under her breath to which Kelly gave a swift elbow to her side.
"This years Head girl comes from the house of Gryffindor. Miss Lilly Evans," said the headmaster warmly as he extended his arm to point out Lily.
Lily sat there a moment in shock before she stood up and bowed to the headmaster and the rest of the staff. The entire hall erupted into cheers and clapping for the young girl. Lily noticed a couple of the professors, including Professor McGonagall, give her a standing ovation. But nothing compared to the cheers that came from her own table, especially from her three friends. She could also hear Karen whistling madly through Andy and Kelly's yelling and screaming.
"Whoa!!" yelled a few fifth year boys down the table.
"Lily! OWWW!!" howled Andy as she clapped and stomped her feet against the stone floor.
"Stop it," said Lily as she began to turn as red as her hair.
"Yay Lily!!" cheered Remus as he clapped loudly.
"Way to go Evans!" yelled Sirius as he too gave her a standing ovation.
"I still can't believe the girl actually thought she wouldn't get it," chimed James once Sirius had retaken his seat next to him.
"Yeah, no kidding," laughed Sirius as he poured some more pumpkin juice into his glass.
"Yes, yes, however! However…as luck would have it, this years Head Boy also comes from the House of Gryffindor," yelled Dumbledore over the crowd.
The students quickly began to whisper to one another and wondered who the boy could be.
"Aww…Snivellus won't be Head Boy? Oh what a shame," said Andy sarcastically.
"Three guess as to who the Head Boy is?" laughed Kelly as she glanced over at the Marauders.
"This years Head Boy is none other than…" began Dumbledore after waiting for the crowd to simmer down a bit.
As she waited for Dumbledore to finish his speech, Andy had picked up her glass and mouthed the words 'Remus Lupin' before taking a gulp of her juice.
"Mister James Potter," the headmaster said lightly.
At that moment two seventh year Gryffindors spit out their pumpkin juice and began to choke in shock of hearing the name uttered by Dumbledore. The hall erupted into a mixture of cheers and gasps over the news. Andy looked at Lily and saw her face turn from shock and confusion, to one of absolute hatred. She then turned to look down the table at her other best friend who looked as if he had swallowed a pepper pop and was waiting for the steam to shoot out of his ears. Peter clapped happily at the news, while Remus wore a look of shock and amusement, but felt a ting bit jealous toward his friend. Sirius on the other hand wore the same look of shock as did Andy while he wiped away the last remaining drops of pumpkin juice off his chin. Although they were separated by only a few students, both of them knew what the other was thinking.
'This is not good!'
"Congratulations to both Lily and James for the honor," said Dumbledore brightly as he gazed at the both of them through his half moon spectacles. "I would ask that the new head boy and girl come and see me after everyone has been dismissed. Prefects please lead our first years to their respected houses. To the rest, welcome once again, sleep tight and enjoy your year."
With that said and a wave of his hands, all the dishes disappeared and the students began to make their journeys to their respected Houses. Kelly, Felicia, and Andy bed Lily farewell and wished her luck on her meeting.
"Behave your self Lily," chimed Felicia as she got up from her seat.
"Don't let him get to you," said Kelly as she followed Felicia up the aisle along with everyone else.
Andy turned to her friend who was already prepared for her to speak. "Don't even start," growled Lily.
Andy put her hands up to show that she meant no harm as she began to get up from her seat. "I wasn't going to say anything. For once I was going to stay quiet." With that said she nodded good-bye to her friend and followed after her friends.
Lily didn't know what shocked her most, the fact that her best friend was staying quiet or the fact that her friend had no words to aid her when she would be forced to endure that of James Potter.
"Congratulations James!" said Peter brightly as he marveled at his friend. James stared gaping at Remus speechless.
"I…I…Moony…I…"stuttered James as he tried to find the words to say to his dear friend.
"James, it's fine. You deserve it," said Remus with a smile on his face.
"But," started James but was cut off before he could finish.
"Oh come on Prongs," said Remus with a chuckle at how his friend was reacting to the news of being named Head Boy.
"We all know you are a smarty pants," finished Sirius as he grabbed a hold of his friend's shoulders. "Now here's the proof! Oh, better get going. Wouldn't want to the head master and Lily waiting."
With that said Remus, Peter, and Sirius made their way to the entrance hall while James and Lily followed Professor McGonagall up to Dumbledore's office. Neither of them would look at each other.
Remus broke from his group of friends to attend his prefect duties with Andy. He could see her and a new fifth year prefect helping some of the first years up to Gryffindor tower.
"Hey there Star," said Remus as he came up along side Andy.
"Hi Lupin," said Andy warmly. "What's up?"
Remus merely shrugged his shoulders before he continued speaking. "Some feast huh?"
"Yeah," said Andy as she rolled her eyes and noticed Peeves floating around singing some stupid song. "I know. I thought Lily was going to have a heart attack when James's name was called. I thought for sure Dumbledore was going to say your name."
Remus smiled awkwardly at Andy's comment but regain his composure. "Yeah, well considering…you know what…I'm actually kind of glad he didn't call my name."
"You know what?" repeated Andy who was a little confused at the moment. She was momentarily distracted from her conversation once she heard a familiar voice coming from behind. Remus noticed that she kept looking behind her shoulder for some odd reason.
"Uh yeah, Andy, are you sure you're alright?" he inquired.
"Yeah, I'm fine," said Andy now giving him her full attention. "Sorry I just thought I heard someone say my name. Now what were you talking about when you said 'you know what'?"
"Never mind," said Remus a bit uncomfortably. It took Andy a moment to realize exactly what he was talking about and felt like an idiot for about the hundredth time to date.
"Remus," she sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you that I don't see 'that' as a problem?"
"A lot," laughed the light haired boy.
"Right," she continued, "and I still think you should tell a certain someone about it."
"Andy I can't tell her," said Remus tired of having the same fight with the blond haired vixen.
"You told me," said Andy matter of fact-ly.
"No, you found out on accident. Remember," countered Remus.
Andy opened her mouth to say something but quickly closed it remembering exactly how she found out about her friend being a werewolf, and knew that he was right. "Oh yeah. An, who cares any way," she said as she waved her hand to dismiss the thought. "Just tell her. She'll understand."
Remus gave off a sigh and knew that this was going to be a never ending battle with Andy. He knew he should tell Karen about his condition, but he was more afraid of how she would treat him after he told her rather than her initial reaction.
"Listen," started Andy. Remus was prepared for yet another volley of her words about the matter, but it wasn't necessary. "Uh…I've got to run. Do you think you can handle them?" she asked motioning toward the younger students.
"Yeah, sure," said Remus a little concerned. "Something wrong?"
"No, no. Nothing's wrong. I just need to have a talk with someone before they head up to their room," said Andy in a bit of a hurry.
It took Lupin a moment until he noticed Andy's boyfriend heading down a hallway toward the Ravenclaw entrance. "Oh, right. Tristan."
"Yeah," said Andy after a split second delay. "Bye!" Before Remus could even blink he saw her running off and getting lost among the crowd of students.
"Wow, I can't believe it!" exclaimed Peter. "James Head Boy!"
"Yeah it's a real trip, Wormtail," commented Sirius as the two of them walked down the hallway toward the back of the crowd of students heading up their rooms.
"I know! Think of all the havoc we could cause," said an excited Peter as he practically jumped up and down the hallway.
But Sirius couldn't really think of any. All though the shock of finding out his best friend was just named Head Boy of Hogwarts was enough to render anyone speechless; the only thoughts that occupied Sirius's head were those of a particular blond haired spitfire.
"...oh and we can sneak into the Slytherin House and plant dung bombs all over the place..."
But Sirius never really heard what else Peter had to say. At that particular moment, someone had caught him off guard. Someone had snuck up behind him, placed their hand over his mouth, and dragged him by his collar into a nearby broom closet. The moment they were in the closet, his 'somewhat' kidnapper lit her wand that cast a bright light under her blue eyes.
"Ah, glad you could make it to my meeting on such short notice," said Andy in a low voice.
"Sparky? What the hell is going on?" whispered Sirius shocked at what was happening.
"We need to talk," said Andy simply as she leaned against wall of the broom closet.
"About?" asked a highly confused Sirius.
"Uh...isn't it obvious? Lil and Jay. Head boy and girl. Scene on the train. Ringing any bells here?" said Andy as if he had lost his mind.
"Right. Right. Yeah. That was some shock," said Sirius now realizing what she wanted to talk about. He gave a slight sigh of relief grateful that she didn't want to talk about what had happened earlier on the train. He wasn't sure if his emotions could handle another round of being so close to her and not being able to touch her.
"You're telling me. I thought Lil was going to hex Dumbledore and James in the blink of an eye," said Andy as she brushed some of the hair out of her face.
"I know. I saw," said Sirius as an idea popped into his head. "Hmm?"
"What is it?" asked Andy a bit concerned.
"Just thinking," said Sirius off handedly.
Andy stood there for a moment knowing that look on his face. She knew that some idea was forming in his head. She stood there staring at him for a moment with her arms folded in front of her. "Well?"
"What if this is that break we were hoping for?" he said thoughtfully.
"Don't think the thought didn't cross mind," she said as if the idea were an obvious one.
"Of course after what happened on the train..."started Sirius.
"Yeah. I know. Geez! Why the hell do they have to make this so hard?" said a frustrated Andy as she began to pull at her hair.
Sirius watched her actions and couldn't help but smirk at how cute she looked when she was frustrated. "Well look on the bright side."
"Which is?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We don't have to try and figure out how to get them in the same room," he said a bit brightly.
Andy thought for a moment and realized he was right. "That is true."
"So were back on with the plan?" he asked after a few moments of silence.
"Yes. Why wouldn't we be?" she asked looking at him as if he had grown two heads.
"Never mind. So what's the plan then?" asked Sirius, grateful that they were in a dark broom closet.
"Uh...I got nothing. You?" said Andy a little lame.
"Nope. Nothing," said Sirius thinking that they were back at square one once again.
"Maybe we should call in for reinforcements?" said Andy after a few moments of pondering.
It was Sirius's turn to look at her as if she had grown two heads all of a sudden. "You mean bring more people into this crazy idea?"
"Hey you didn't think it was crazy a minute ago, Blackie!" snapped Andy.
"I'm kidding! So who did you have in mind?" said Sirius quickly to avoid yet another fight with Andy.
"Kelly...maybe Karen," she said a bit cautiously.
Sirius nodded in agreement. "What about Remus or Peter?"
"Remus yes. Peter no," said Andy quickly. Sirius raised an eyebrow at her remark. "He'd give it away in a second. You know he can't lie to James."
"Right," he agreed knowing that his friend couldn't hold water if his life depended on it. "Well what's wrong with Felicia?"
Andy scoffed at his idea. "Ummm...do you really want to bring your ex-girlfriend, whose heart you broke when trying to surprise you on your birthday, and now because of that can't stand the sight of you?"
"Good point," he said remembering how she reacted when they had broken up and her more than welcome hello at the train stations earlier that day. "Okay, so no Figg or Wormtail. Got it. I think we should tell them all together."
"Fine. We can tell them tomorrow."
Sirius made a noise that was half way between a growl and a grunt. "Eh...I think we should wait a bit."
"Why?"
"Moony," he said simply.
"What's wrong with...oh," said Andy realizing what time of the month it was. "When?"
"Friday."
"Okay. So...we'll tell them Sunday?" she said wondering if the date would work.
"Sounds good to me. You know..." started Sirius as he moved closer to Andy. "I'm not sure if I like this new secret meeting place. Although I'll admit it is a hell of a lot warmer than up in the Astronomy tower."
Andy watched as he gave his signature eyebrow wiggle and eyed her up and down. She knew he was trying to act normal and was grateful for the comforting banter. "Don't get use to it Blackie," she spat with disgust. "I'll see you later."
"Welcome Ms. Evans and Mr. Potter," said Dumbledore brightly as he stretched his arms wide to welcome them to his office. "I'm glad you could join me."
James looked around the all too familiar head master's office and noticed that the old wizard had added some new odd trinkets to his collection. He also noticed that Dumbledore's pet phoenix wasn't looking too well and figured that his burning day was come up soon. But what amazed James the most was how fast Dumbledore had gotten back to his office when he last saw him talking to Professor Slughorn in the Great Hall when everyone was dismissed to bed.
"Would you care for some tea?" he asked once Lily and James had taken their seat in front of his desk. Lily still would not even glance at James the whole trip up to his office.
"No thank you, sir," said Lily calmly.
"None for me, sir," said James quickly.
"Very well then. I'm sorry for not notifying the both of you sooner about the position you each had earned but I felt that this year's announcements needed a bit of dramatic flare. A bit of surprise if you will," said Dumbledore with a bit of a chuckle.
"Certainly surprised me," said James under his breath.
"First of all, I'd like to congratulate you both once again for achieving such high marks these past years. Your hard work has paid off and now I believe it is time for the both of you to enjoy some of the benefits of working as diligently as you have in your studies," said Dumbledore as he pulled out two rolls of parchment and handed them to Lily and James.
"Here is a complete list of what I expect out of each Head Boy and Girl and the perks of holding such a position," said Dumbledore. "Each of you will be given your own room to use at your discretion, as well as sharing a common room. Both of you will still be given a bed in the seventh year rooms, as I'm sure the both of you have grown quite fond of your friendships with your roommates."
"In that parchment you will also find a list of all the passwords to each of the Houses to be used if such a time occurs, and only such," said Dumbledore with a smirk as he gazed at James.
"Now as for the ball, I want you both to know that this is to be a fun event, and that the staff is here at your discretion. You do not need to worry about the food for we already have a menu in mind which Professor McGonagall will send to you to make sure that it meets with the standards of Hogwarts students. Personally I'd be rather disappointed if I found liver and onion on the menu instead of a tasty steak," said Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eyes.
James couldn't help but chuckle at the idea, and noticed that Lily too gave an audible snort at the idea.
"As for the entertainment, if there is a particular band that the students would enjoy, let me know and I'll see what I could do. But in case one can not be found, please give Professor Flitwick a list of songs and music that he can conjure up for the ball. We don't want to have a riot start over because we are not playing the latest hit by the Polly Pixies," said Dumbledore a bit darkly.
Lily sat there a little amazed at the fact that her head master even knew who the Polly Pixies were.
"Other than that, the main task you two shall have is in decorating our great hall. Now if you need help, Professor McGonagall as well as several other professors have already volunteered to help in arranging the hall. But of course the more help, the merrier I say! Now do either of you have any questions at this time that I could answer?" inquired Dumbledore.
"I just have one question professor," said Lily. James was ready for this. He knew that she was going to ask if Dumbledore had lost the few marbles left in his head in naming James Head Boy.
"Yes Lily?" asked Dumbledore.
"Where exactly is our common room located?" asked Lily with her hands folded in her lap.
"The Head Boy and Girl common room is located behind the grand portrait of the four founders on the fifth floor. The password is Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus,"said Dumbledore. "Are there any other questions?"
Lily shook her in reply and began to stand up from her chair. "I have a question," said James quickly.
"Yes Mr. Potter?" said Dumbledore brightly. James glanced over and saw Lily sit back down in her chair and roll her eyes to the ceiling.
"I was wonder…why me? I mean…why did you name me of all people to be Head Boy? I mean given my track record sir, I'm not the greatest of role models. Why not someone like…Remus Lupin!" said James not knowing where that had come from.
Lily stared at the boy next to her as if she had just suddenly realized that he was sitting next to her the whole time. Dumbledore on the other hand sat back in his seat, and folded his hands to a point and looked at James over his half moon spectacles with a smirk hidden behind his beard.
"Well James, although Mr. Lupin does possess the grades and talent of being a potentially good head boy, I thought it almost quite obvious as to why you of all people should be given the title," said the headmaster with a hint of merriment in his voice.
James stared at Dumbledore as if he had begun to speak Parseltongue to both he and Lily. James noticed out of the corner of his eyes that Lily too wore a confused expression on her face.
"Could you run that by me again Professor?" asked James trying to decipher what the headmaster had said earlier.
"James after what happened last year involving Severus Snape; I felt that you were the perfect choice for being head boy," said Dumbledore simply.
"So I get's the highest position at Hogwarts because I stopped Snape from getting killed? And had he not had taken Sirius's suggestion, none of it would have happened?" said James even more confused than before.
"Correct. James, you not only saved Severus. You saved a person you considered an enemy because he was in danger. A person who you have made a victim of the pranks that you your self have owned up to. Now if you could stand up for a person you say you hate, I think that you are able to stand up for all those who attend this school. And that my boy is a fine definition of what a role model should be," said Dumbledore brightly.
James sat there for a moment taking in the headmaster's words and felt a sense of pride and honor in what Dumbledore had said. Lily too sat there and couldn't believe her own ears. But slowly she realized that the headmaster was right, and that James was indeed a hero not only in saving Snape, but in overcoming his own dislike for her former friend. She then began to see in James what Dumbledore did and knew that he was perfect person for the job. A person who called her boring only a few hours prior.
"Are there any other questions? No? Then in that case I believe we should all call it a night. I'm sure the two of you are pretty exhausted from your journey. I think it best to get some rest before classes. I wouldn't want to be the reason why our new Head Boy and Girl fell asleep in class. Goodnight to the both of you, and congratulations once again," said Dumbledore with a smile.
Lily and James bed the headmaster goodnight and headed down the spiral staircase to the now dark and drafty hallway. The both of them headed up to the fifth floor and walked toward the huge portrait of the four founders of Hogwarts that hung at the end of the main corridor. Lily was the one to utter the pass phrase that caused the portrait to swing open and revel a common room that was similar to that found in Gryffindor tower. The only difference was that the room was slightly smaller and had two doors on either side of the room. Upon closer inspection they noticed that the doors had gold plaques hanging from then that read Head Boy: James Potter and Head Girl: Lily Evans.
Lily was about to walk into her room when James stopped her. "Lily wait!" He watched as she spun around and stared at him with the familiar hatred for him in her eyes. Only this time there was more of a fire hidden beneath her green orbs that was slightly more disturbing than her silence toward him.
"I'm sorry for what I said on the train," he said quickly before she could utter a protest. "I don't know what…"
"Don't!" growled Lily that rendered James speechless. "Don't even start. Not tonight. I'm too tired, and I have nothing to say to you."
James nodded in understanding what she meant and watched as she spun around and walked into her room before she slammed the door shut. James gave a heavy sigh and turned toward his own room until he heard her door open again.
"On second thought, I do have something to tell you," said Lily as she walked right up to him. James was quickly preparing himself for Lily's words but he never heard them. Instead he felt a sharp stabbing pain in the gut from where she punched. The attack caught him so off guard that the wind was knocked right out of him, causing him to fall to the floor.
"Now, I'm done talking to you," said Lily darkly before turning on her heels and walking back into her room and slamming to door shut once again.
James laid there a moment trying to regain his normal breathing pattern and could only think of how adorable she looked coming out of her room the second time.
'Well, I'm glad she doesn't hate me,' he thought to himself. 'Eh, that joke would have been funnier had Padfoot been here.'
A/N: Yes I'm back! I'm sorry for the delay. Life got in the way yet again. But don't worry I'm not abandoning this story. Hell I've invested how many years now? But don't worry…there is an end. I promise…it will probably be coming in about ten chapters or so, but there is an end. Thank you to all who have waited so patiently for this story and have stuck with it through the years.
Thanks again for all the reviews! I love seeing those emails in my inbox. They make my day so much better.
As always flames, praises, or whatever are welcomed here.
Until next time….
Disclaimer: Oh just look at the previous chapters.