A/N: The end of the cliffie!
Sorry for the long delay!
*******
It didn't take long to find out. As I watched from a distance, they quickly caught up with Snape, and James yelled out something that I couldn't hear very clearly. It certainly caught Snape's attention, though, because I saw him turn around.
Maybe it was just an excuse for James to hex him, because I guess he felt too "honorable" to hit him when his back was turned. Anyway, what he did was almost as unfair, as he struck Snape in the chest with a spell. This was quickly followed by one from Sirius, and Snape fell backwards onto the ground, clearly knocked out.
What cowards. Of course, I didn't support dueling of any sort, but what they did to poor Snape was deplorable. For the first time in ages, I felt sorry for him. Of course, what he had done to Peter had probably been just as bad, but recently, I had been expecting better things from James.
Apparently, their anger had gotten the better of them, because the two boys stared in shock at Snape's still body.
I had finally caught up, and I was close enough to hear their conversation, which was conducted in whispers.
"I just did a Leg-Locker curse. What about you?"
"The same, to give him a taste of his own medicine, you know? I had no idea . . ."
"Me neither."
"So what are we going to do?"
I sighed in aggravation. "Undo the damage, you morons. Ennervate."
Snape's eyes opened and he rubbed his forehead. At last, something seemed to dawn on him, as his expression changed to fury.
He cursed, but was obviously in too much pain to get up. His wand lay a few feet away.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? Did you think it'd be lots of fun to gang up on me from behind?"
James was angry, too. "You attacked Peter."
Snape smirked. "I couldn't stand his worship of you. It got on my nerves, so I made him shut up."
James raised his wand, but I stopped him. "You guys are all a bunch of immature brats. Come on, just grow up and go to bed. Enough of this."
Snape spat in my face. "Don't tell me what to do! I don't take orders from Mudbloods!"
I had to push James aside from performing yet another curse. "Snape, whether you like it or not, I'm the only one standing between you and Potter here. And I can just let him place a nice, painful spell on you at any time." How unlike me. I was totally letting my anger get the better of me. But for once, it felt good.
James butted in. "Apologize, or I'll hex you! Don't try to stop me, Lily!"
I looked at him sternly. "James, you'll do nothing of the sort. Come on, we have hall duty. Leave him here. He can take care of himself." I took his hand and led him towards the castle. Sirius looked at Snape doubtfully, but James said, "Lily's right. Let's leave him here."
*******
Snape looked at the four Gryffindors: Peter, Sirius, James, and Lily, who had been his unexpected and uncalled for savior. And he didn't like it one bit.
If there ever was a feeling he didn't like, it was gratitude.
And that Mudblood Evans girl had done him a favor. Snape scowled. He hadn't even asked for her help.
*******
~Lily's POV
I slumped in a couch in the common room. "Look what you've gotten yourselves into. Can't you be a little more mature? Just every once in awhile?"
The boys were indignant, of course. James almost shouted, "What! You're blaming us! Look what he did to Peter!" At the same time, Sirius exclaimed, "He had it coming!" Peter, the source of all the mischief, looked humiliated at all the trouble he had caused. What a poor guy. He had no self-confidence whatsoever.
If only he could get some from James . . . he had arrogance to spare.
I tried to give them good advice. "Don't stoop to his level, okay? You owe it to yourselves and to your House to be better than Slytherins. I could've taken off points for that."
James smiled. Now that the chaos was all over, he was pretty calm about things. "Yeah, right, Evans. You're all talk. C'mon, we've got some hall duty to attend to. Wouldn't want the kiddies to get away with sneaking to the kitchens to steal food, would we?"
"Fine." I got up, just as Remus came bursting into the room. "What's up?" he asked, looking at Peter, who was covered in dirt.
James sighed. He looked at Sirius. "You explain." Then he beckoned to me to follow him out of the common room.
The Fat Lady beamed at us. "Out for Head duty?" she asked politely, and we nodded. "Good for you!"
We had begun to take our hall duty less and less seriously. Instead of listening for whispers or footsteps, we had conversations, which were getting friendlier by the day. Still, every once in awhile, James would say something that would remind him why I didn't like him.
"You know, Evans, I really appreciate what you're doing for me, I mean, helping me with Arithmancy and all that. Maybe I could pay you back somehow, you know, give you some quidditch pointers or something?"
I sighed. This was the James I knew and hated. "You worry about the Arithmancy, I'll worry about my quidditch."
"Oh, I'm worrying, all right. But Sirius taught me a neat spell, and I think it might be working."
I raised my eyebrows. Arithmancy didn't involve many spells, and Sirius wouldn't know the right ones, anyway. "What kind of spell?"
"I think it's called the osmosis spell. Osmosia memorandi. Do you know it?"
I clutched my sides as I burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?"
"It's obvious that you're not a Muggle. We used to talk about osmosis all the time. The sleeping on the textbook deal, right?"
"Yeah. Doesn't it work?"
I laughed again. "Well, I'll just say that for osmosis to work, it'd take a lot more magic than I've learned so far."
James sighed. "And I thought I had just gotten the gist of it!"
How could he really be so clueless? Did he really believe in that stuff?
Did it matter?
James was always cutest when he was clueless, just as he was the most aggravating when he tried to be smart.
"God, James, grow up."
He looked at me seriously. "I'm trying to. But don't you think we'll do it soon enough? Don't you know what's out there, waiting for us, when we get out of Hogwarts? Lily, have you ever thought about it?"
I was shocked. James had never been so serious before. I said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
"Lily, I know what I've got to do after I graduate. I'm going to be an Auror, to fight the destruction that's going on out there. And the time will come, soon enough. Don't you think I've got the right to be a child?"
Was he really serious? With James, you could never tell. Or at least I couldn't. I eyed him warily. Was it a ploy?
I answered stonily, "We're not children any more, James, whether you like it or not." I don't know why I gave him the cold shoulder like that. Maybe it was because he scared me. I'd never seen that look in his eyes before, and it was too intense for me. So unlike the James I knew . . .
"Lily. Lily Evans."
"What?" I shook my head. Maybe it was the lack of sleep I was getting that was making me so dim-witted. "Sorry, I think I'm getting sleepy."
"I'm sorry."
I was pretty irritable at the moment. "For what? Don't be sorry."
"I'm just sorry, that's all." He turned towards the Tower, and we walked back, wordlessly. Maybe there wasn't anything to say.
Or maybe there was too much.
*******
Bellatrix nibbled the end of her quill, and rubbed her magical eraser over the parchment for the hundredth time. Which was pretty stupid, in a way, because she kept on writing the same phrase over and over.
Dear Rodulphus,
I have not had adequate time to think over your offer. Please give me time, and be patient. After all, I'm still a student, and I have studies to think about. I'm pleased to hear about your new position at the Ministry, congratulations. I'm sure I'll see you soon, what with Narcissa's wedding coming up and all.
Love,
Bella.
It was an awkward letter, but it was an awkward subject, and Bella knew that if she didn't send it immediately, the letter would never be sent. After all, it was almost time to go down to the Great Hall for breakfast, and she'd be sure to see James.
James.
And he was enough to change her mind about anything.
Bella walked up to the Owlery to mail her letter, then went down to the Great Hall. She was early, but it didn't really matter. She liked being alone anyway.
But she was no longer alone. Lily Evans had just walked into the room. Where was her sidekick, the Weasley girl? And where was Potter, who always seemed to be trailing behind her?
Bella took a deep breath and waved. "Lily!"
*******
~Lily
I looked around, to see who was waving at me. Bellatrix Black? What did she have to do with me?
Resigned, I waved back. Might as well be friendly. "Hey," I called. "Good morning!" I took a seat at the Gryffindor table, way across the hall from the Slytherins, and took out a textbook.
But she was unfazed, and came up to talk to me.
"Hey Lily!" God, what a ditz. After Emily's description of her, I was less likely to have a good impression of Bellatrix. I could no longer call her Bella.
But she was gorgeous, nobody could deny that. How I wished I had that kind of hair, thick and shiny and black. Her eyes were heavily hooded, but beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
"How are you?"
I sighed. I wasn't in the mood for talking. "Okay. There's too much going on, I guess."
"Yeah, it's hard to keep from getting stressed out."
What followed was a surprisingly engaging conversation about Arithmancy, which led to Charms, always my favorite subject. Bellatrix was actually a decent girl, or at least she seemed that way.
*******
Bellatrix caught herself mid-conversation. Was she actually enjoying talking to Lily? Was she so desperate for companionship that she was talking to her arch-rival?
The answer was yes. None of the other Slytherin girls were interesting at all, and Lily was an unusually intelligent girl. They were actually quite compatible, Bella soon realized.
And hadn't Lily said that there was nothing between her and James?
Maybe there was no reason not to hang out with her.
Eventually, Bellatrix had to return to her table and join her housemates, and she did so reluctantly. After all, Lily seemed like a girl who could be a friend. And James chose a seat far from Lily-the two weren't talking at all. So maybe there was nothing to worry about, after all.
But Bella remembered. Just because Lily wasn't interested in James didn't mean that James wasn't. And Bella saw something between the two of them that had never been an issue between James and herself.
Bellatrix tried to forget about it all, and had good reason to forget as the owls swooped in with the morning mail. A small envelope landed in her lap. She recognized the handwriting and the scent. It was from Narcissa.
Carefully, Bella opened the letter.
Dear Bella,
Please come home this weekend for dinner-I want you to meet Lucius and his family.
Narcissa Black Malfoy (don't you love the sound of the name?)
P.S. Rodolphus will be there.
Typical Narcissa, thought Bella, as she folded up the letter. Brief, but gloating. It was no secret that she had made a wonderful match-the Malfoys were loaded. And Bella was expected to follow in her sister's footsteps. The Lestranges weren't as filthy rich as the Malfoys, but they were a pretty distinguished family.
Bella sighed. An evening with her family, and Rodulphus. As if she didn't have enough things to worry about.
*******
Okay, that's the end of the chapter! And for all of you who want more, here is a sample of my (dare I call it?) poetry.
Remember, while you read this (and read it only at your own risk!) I consider myself an aspiring writer, not an aspiring poet. Note: This poem is only decent when read in iambic pentameter . . . (omg I sound like Mrs. Clouse . . .)
I beg my mom to let me check my mail,
My inbox says I have 10 new reviews,
My readers say, "Write more, please do not fail,"
I wonder: which plot bunny should I use?
I try to overcome my writer's block.
What would my faithful readers like to read?
What should the characters do, think, and talk?
And then, there's the advice I need to heed.
Some readers ask for cutesy L/J fluff,
While others long for pranks and jokes galore.
Some like more Bellatrix and angsty stuff,
Some want an ending-others beg for more.
My chapter's short, but still I click "update,"
To please my fans-I know they hate to wait.
So there is my rendition of a Shakespearean sonnet . . . please, hold your applause!
This was written while trying to do AP World History homework . . . can't you see how efficient I am with my time?