Their Seventh Year

Chapter 13- Trouble

Lily looked around in surprise as a small, neatly folded scrap of parchment landed on her desk.  Suspiciously, she unfolded it.

Dear Miss Evans,

Cannot help but notice you seem to keep looking at me.  Perhaps I have something on my face?

Sincerely,

James Potter

Lily set her teeth.  She had not been staring at James, had she?  If she had, it was because she could not get that stupid, horrible dream out of her head.  But she wasn’t looking at him, it was only because he was so arrogant that he assumed girls just couldn’t help but stare at him.

Mr. Potter,

Aside from your perpetual annoying smirk, there is nothing on your face.  Am merely appalled and shocked that in seventeen years nobody has ever instructed you in the proper use of a comb.

Sincerely,

Lily Evans

A few moments later the piece of parchment landed on her desk again.

Dear Miss Evans,

Am wounded by your comment.  Shall shave my head promptly after class.

Sincerely,

James Potter

She scowled, now he was trying to be cute.

Save the drama for someone who cares Potter.

Sincerely,

Lily Evans

The prat was obviously enjoying himself and not deterred, because he wrote back.

My Esteemed Friend Miss Evans,

Drama?  Me?  Surely you jest!  Admittedly, Sirius can be a bit of a drama queen, but I myself am completely in earnest.

Sincerely,

James Potter

Spare me Potter.

Sincerely,

Lily Evans

_____________

James smiled at her terse responses to his notes.  She might be responding grudgingly, but she was responding.  He decided to change the subject, since she obviously was not going to tell him why she had kept turning around and looking at him at the beginning of class.

Dear Miss Evans,

Are you planning on joining our classmates this week-end in their diversions in the lovely ?

Sincerely,

James Potter

He thought she wasn’t going to respond, and he wondered if she thought he was going to try and ask her to Hogsmeade.  He hadn’t meant that, he had learned his lesson about asking her out.  Finally, she wrote back.

Mr. Potter,

Yes, I am going to Hogsmeade.  is going to meet Frank and Flora and I plan to go shopping.

Sincerely,

Lily Evans

James sighed.  Well, that was a pretty clear “yes I’m going but I have plans and certainly hope I don’t see you.”  Shopping?  Aside from a stop into Zonko’s and Honeydukes, James thought shopping was a great waste of a good Hogsmeade week-end.  Women were strange creatures.

Dear Miss Evans,

I will be shopping as well, although I suspect my purchases will be of a rather different nature.

Sincerely,

James Potter

Yes, surely things to help you in your quest to set a Hogwart’s detention record.

Sincerely,

Lily Evans

Sirius nudged him with a foot, and he looked up to see Flitwick giving him a curious look.  Quickly, he shoved the notes into the pocket of his robes and gave the little teacher his attention, but he was pleased.  She was at least not ignoring him.  He just wished he knew what she was staring at.

_________

Although James and his friends could, and did, go to Hogsmeade whenever they wanted, they were looking forward to the official Hogsmeade week-end.  The villagers of Hogsmeade were always friendly to students, and they were looking forward to going to Zonko’s and the Three Broomsticks…they couldn’t go there on their nocturnal roaming, since Madame Rosmerta would surely know they weren’t supposed to be out of school.

Saturday morning was bright and sunny, and thy set off in high spirits for the village.  James was momentarily distracted when he spotted a well known head of bright red hair, but she was deep in conversation with her friends and he knew that interrupting would only make her angry.

Sirius, however, was looking at a solitary figure ahead of them and fingering his wand thoughtfully.

“Shall I hex Snivellus?”  He asked cheerfully.  “No teachers are around to see.”

“Padfoot, let him be.”  Said Remus mildly.  Sirius looked mildly disappointed, but was quickly distracted by the window display of Quinn’s Quidditch Supplies.

They visited the quidditch shop, as James had been meaning to get some new wrist guards, and then they went on to Zonko’s and Honeydukes.  By lunchtime they had finished all of their necessary shopping and decided it was right time to have a drink in the Three Broomsticks.

___________

Sirius was just enjoying himself watching Moony and Wormtail compare Zonko’s products, when he spotted her across the bar.  Worse yet, she was sitting at a small table with some slimly little Slytherin git, and by all appearances, they were on a date.  Not that he minded precisely, it was no concern of his since she didn’t even know her name (and that still irked him as well), but he wondered why she was wasting her time with some skinny little Slytherin loser.   I could drop that guy with one hex.

“Padfoot, what are you staring at?” 

Remus followed his gaze, and then frowned.  “Who is that girl and why exactly are you so obsessed with her.”

“For your information, Mr. Prefect, I don’t know who she is and I am NOT obsessed with her.”

“Well, you certainly do spend a lot of time staring at her.”  Agreed Wormtail.

“She almost got me caught by Filch one night.  I do not appreciate it when people get me in trouble.”  He lied.

“You do it well enough on your own.”  Peter remarked.

“Uh, guys…”  James interrupted.  “What’s going on outside?”

________

James had been staring absently out the window of the Three Broomsicks while his friends bickered.  He agreed with Moony and Wormtail that Sirius did seem to be hung up on the Slytherin girl, but he figured Sirius would tell them what was going on when it suited him.  It was as he was staring out the window he saw Lily walk by with Flora.  He hoped they would come in the Three Broomsticks, but just inside his field of vision, they stopped suddenly, looking either annoyed, or frightened…James couldn’t tell from where he sat.  Leaning forward slightly so he could see more of the street, James saw two tall Slytherin boys- he was fairly certain their names were Burke and Avery- saying something to them.

“Uh, guys…”  He interrupted his friends.  “What’s going on outside?  It looks like Evans and McKinnon are getting harassed.”

He knew his friends well, and they were not about to let girls, especially Gryffindor girls, get harassed by Slytherins.  In an instant they were all on their feet and headed for the door.

“….don’t have to get all offended Evans.”  Avery was saying.  James stepped forward, his hand on his wand.

“Is there a problem here?”

Avery was holding two wands, and he suspected one of them was Lily’s.  That was smart, since Lily was capable of hexing him into the next century.  Avery sneered at him.  “Get lost Potter.”  But his eyes did flicker a little nervously to his friends.

“Give Miss Evans her wand back.”  He said evenly.  When Avery didn’t move he said “Now don’t make me hex you.”

“James!”  Shrieked Flora, and he ducked just in time to feel a curse fly so close it brushed his hair.  Without hesitating he spun and shouted “Impedimenta!” and turned to see Rastaban Lestrange hit the ground.  He allowed himself a smirk of satisfaction before turning back to Avery.

“I’ll tell you again Avery.  Give Miss Evans her wand back.”

“Expelliarmus!”  James dodged, so that the disarming spell hit Wormtail, so that he gave a small yelp, but James didn’t let that distract him, but threw back the first spell he could think of.

“Petrificus Totalus!”

Avery keeled over stiffly and James walked over calmly and removed the wand from Avery’s hand, handing it back to Lily.

“Thanks.”  She said softly, giving him an odd look.

He shrugged, about to say she was welcome, when Sirius gave a shout.

“Rictumsempra!”

“Protego!”

“Reducto!”

“Stupefy!”

“CRUCIO!”

“Petrificus Totalus!”

The exchange of spells happened so quickly James couldn’t tell who cast what, but as soon as the dust cleared, Sirius was clutching the side of his face with blood seeping through his fingers, but both Burke and another Slytherin boy called Nott were unconscious on the ground as well.

“ALL OF YOU FREEZE THIS INSTANT!”

Professor McGonagall stood in the doorway of the Three Broomsticks, looking furious.