Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and events from J.K. Rowling's wonderful Harry Potter books. I am writing this for my own enjoyment and hopefully for the enjoyment of readers. Anything you recognize belongs to JKR. The rest belongs to me.
Chapter 13: The First Lesson
After her Flying class, Lily had been on her way to her first tutoring session with Professor Riddle when she heard her name called. She turned and saw Gilderoy approaching her with one of his brilliant smiles. She couldn't help but smile back as he greeted her. He started talking about the daring rescue he had done for her the previous week and how that reminded him of the story of how he vanquished a vampire when he was only seven years old. As he continued to ramble on Lily could see through his dramatics and couldn't stop herself from giggling. It got so bad that she had to lean on his arm to keep from falling over. He took this to mean that she was delighted by his story and continued with his tale.
"Gilderoy," Lily gasped between giggles. "I really must go. I have to go toward the library to meet my, uh, study group."
"Ah, well my common room is not too far from there. I will accompany you so I can finish my story." He held out his arm for her to take. Lily, seeing no other excuse to get out of this, took his arm and allowed him to walk with her as he regaled the tale of the vampire. About halfway to the library he gave her hand another grand (yet sloppy) kiss before turning toward the corridor that would take him to Ravenclaw's quarters.
Lily shook her head as she continued to smile, then turned back to walk toward Professor Riddle's office, wiping the back of her hand on her robes. Luckily, Professor Riddle's office was not too far from the library. That had given her an easy excuse to give Gilderoy when he wondered where she was headed. She remembered Professor Riddle's caution about not telling other students about the tutoring. He was very kind to offer his time to help her, but he would not be able to spare all his time if he found out other students wanted tutoring as well.
She knocked on the door to his office and after a moment she heard a click and saw the door open on its own. Professor Riddle was at his desk with his wand in his hand. 'He must have opened the door with magic,' Lily thought.
Professor Riddle looked up at her with a smile. She couldn't help but think how handsome he was (for an older man) and wondered if he had a wife or a girlfriend.
"You are on time. That is a good quality in a pupil, Lily," he told her as he motioned for her to sit down in a chair that faced his desk. "How is the studying going?"
"Well," she started, "to be honest, quite frustrating. I read the material and feel that I understand it, however when it comes time for class I just can't seem to get my thoughts straight." His gaze never left her face as she spoke.
"I have noticed the discrepancy," he said. "Your homework always gets outstanding marks, however your participation and practical application of the material in class are quite different." Lily nodded miserably in agreement.
"We should begin at once. I know we have been studying mainly the basics but I feel they are important in understanding who you are dealing with, and THAT," he stressed, "is where many wizards fall down. You may think you know who is on your side, but without the basics you may end up duped, betrayed, or worse."
Lily noticed his voice had a bit of an edge to it. She shuddered, realizing the importance of what he was saying. "It sounds like what you are talking about is better learned by practice rather than by reading." He nodded with a small smile. "How should I go about learning, then?"
"First you need to be able to read people. Look into their eyes and search for the answers you seek. Find the motives behind the eyes," he replied.
Lily smiled. "Well, I've always been pretty good at reading people. It's difficult for people to lie to me when I can see their eyes."
Professor Riddle nodded but he didn't seem surprised. "You still need to take caution, however. There are some accomplished wizards who can block thoughts or emotions."
"How do I get past the block, then?" Lily asked. "Is it possible?"
"Only a few wizards can get past the wall that is placed however even then if the other wizard is strong enough of mind and will then the wall cannot be broken. That is more advanced magic that we will not be studying until after your fifth year. First we need to start with the basics. You said you can read people- does that mean you sense their emotions or can you actually see the images that they are thinking?"
Lily thought for a moment before responding. "I never really thought about it. I never saw images, just sensed strong emotions and deception."
Professor Riddle looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm, if I am to find out more about your abilities why don't we start by having you read me?" he suggested.
Lily looked into his brown eyes and gazed for almost a minute before looking down. "I can't sense anything. Maybe your emotions are not strong enough for me to sense."
Professor Riddle said in a smooth voice, "Don't get discouraged. You're young, and sometimes it can take several attempts before finding what you seek. Why don't you try again? This time focus your mind on seeing beyond my eyes."
Lily sighed before agreeing and looked up again into his eyes, which seemed much more intense than a moment ago.
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"Lily. Lily!"
Lily jolted awake and sat up, almost knocking Marlene in the head. She heard Alice giggle from across their dorm room.
"Well, it's about time! We've been trying to get you up for the past 20 minutes but you didn't want to wake. Hurry up or we won't be able to eat breakfast before class," ordered Marlene.
"W-What? I overslept?" Lily groggily asked. She felt like she was under a huge fog and her head was pounding.
"Yeah, that's what we're saying, now hurry up!" demanded Alice.
Lily looked at her watch that was on the nightstand and gasped as she saw the time. She jumped out of bed and hurried to clean up and get dressed. Within 10 minutes the girls were walking down to the Great Hall. Despite having splashed cold water on her face Lily still felt like she was sleepwalking.
They sat down at the Gryffindor table next to James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. As they greeted each other Lily noticed that Potter barely glanced at her. Usually he was more friendly toward her. She hoped he wasn't going back to the boy who wouldn't speak to her.
"Lily, aren't you going to eat anything?" Alice asked as Lily sat staring at her plate.
Lily rubbed her temples, trying to tame the pounding behind them.
"You don't look well," commented Marlene. She saw Lily nod. "Maybe you should go to the hospital wing. I bet Madame Pomfrey can get you something to make you feel better."
Lily continued to rub her temples as she nodded again. Her fair complexion seemed even paler than normal. "You're right, Marlene. I don't think I could concentrate on class now, anyway." She turned to Remus. "Hey, Remus. Could I copy your Herbology notes later?" He nodded as she got up and left the table.
Her only thought by this point was getting to the hospital wing. Her headache was throbbing by this point and her vision was blurring. She had to pause a few times to regain her balance since it appeared to her that the floor was rocking back and forth. She wasn't sure she was going to make it when she felt a hand reach around her as she lost her balance again. The person who caught her helped her to stand back up but she needed to hold on to keep herself from falling.
"Hold on, Evans. We're almost there," she heard an echoing worried voice coaxing her as he helped her walk toward the hospital wing. She turned toward the voice and through her blurred vision she thought she could recognize Potter's messy black hair.
They had barely made it though the door to the hospital wing when Lily collapsed to the floor in a faint.
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James had been angry that morning. His friends tried joking around to distract him but his thoughts kept leading to the previous evening. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Evans walking away arm-in-arm with Gilderoy, smiling. Sirius had had to force him back toward Gryffindor tower instead of following after them. Once in the common room they caught up with Remus and Peter. After Remus noticed James' glum expression, Sirius filled them in on what they had just witnessed.
"Maybe it wasn't what it looked like," Remus said. "Maybe they're just being friendly."
"Friendly!" James spat. "Arm-in-arm friendly? She said she couldn't go flying with me after class tonight because she had plans! Wouldn't tell me what they were, but I can see now what she was up to."
"James, maybe Remus is right. Maybe we shouldn't jump to conclusions. You see how I am around girls but that doesn't mean they're all my girlfriends," Sirius said.
James thought about it and relaxed a little. "Yeah, maybe."
They played a few rounds of exploding snap while Peter managed to get the most singed.
A few hours later the portrait hole opened up and they saw Lily walking through.
"Hey, Evans!" Sirius called. "You want to join us for another game? There's room for one more. Peter had to go to the hospital wing - something about second-degree burns…"
"No, thanks." She kept walking toward the girls dormitory, her eyes a bit dazed.
James took her dazed look to mean that she was love struck. He had a similar expression whenever she smiled at him or laughed at something he said. His mood turned sour again.
That morning his mood had not improved. When Evans sat down at the Gryffindor table for breakfast and greeted him he could barely look at her. 'What does Evans see in that pretty-boy?' he sullenly thought as he picked at his breakfast. A few minutes later he noticed Evans rushing away from the table and out of the Great Hall. "What was that about?" he asked Remus.
"Lily isn't feeling well. She asked me to take notes for her while she goes to the hospital wing," Remus replied.
James noticed the worried looks on Alice and Marlene. He grabbed his bag and told the others he'd meet up with them later. As he made the trek toward the hospital wing he spotted Evans further down the corridor. She had paused and was holding on to her head. She tried to take a few more steps but almost lost her balance. James rushed up to her and caught her as she stumbled again. He noticed how cold she felt and looked down at her, almost panicking when he saw how pale she had become.
"Hold on, Evans. We're almost there," he coaxed trying to guide her toward the hospital wing. With his help she was able to walk the rest of the way however she was getting weaker and weaker with each step. When they made it into the hospital wing James almost sighed in relief until Evans collapsed onto the floor in a faint.
"Madame Pomfrey!" He called as he knelt next to Evans. She was still breathing.
Madame Pomfrey rushed over and helped levitate her onto a nearby bed. "What happened to her?" she demanded.
"She wasn't feeling well at breakfast and left to come here. I followed her and saw that she was holding on to her head and she almost fell over. I helped her here where she fainted," he said in a rush.
Madame Pomfrey did a quick exam and rushed to a nearby cabinet. A few seconds later she rushed back with a few bottles. She applied some type of salve to Lily's temples. After a few moments Lily started to stir. She groaned and once again grabbed her forehead.
"Here, drink this. It will help with the pain," ordered the nurse, handing Lily a purple potion.
Lily took the potion and gulped it all down, the taste making her gag. Shortly thereafter her face relaxed and she sighed in relief. "Thanks, Madame Pomfrey."
Madame Pomfrey smiled and turned to James. "Alright, then. She will be fine in a few hours. You can go back to class, now."
James looked down and saw that Evans had her eyes closed and she still looked pale. "I've already missed most of class and I can get the assignment from my friends later. Can I stay here with her?"
"She needs her rest. I don't need you keeping her awake with chitchat," the nurse said sternly.
"I'll only sit with her. I just want to make sure she's okay. Please?" He tried conjure up Sirius' puppy-dog eyes as he asked the nurse.
Madame Pomfrey's eyes softened as her mouth twitched into a smile. "Oh, alright. But only until your next class!"
James smiled at the nurse as she retreated to her office. He then found a chair and brought it next to the bed. He watched Evans as she drifted to sleep. She was still pale and she had dark circles under her eyes, but James still thought she was the prettiest thing he'd ever seen. As the minutes ticked by the color started to return to her face.
"Mr. Potter, you had better leave if you are going to make it to your next class on time," called Madame Pomfrey from the door to her office.
James grudgingly got up and left for the dungeons where he had double potions. He caught up with his friends outside of the classroom.
"Where did you disappear to last hour?" asked Peter.
Sirius rolled his eyes. "Geez, Pete, think for a moment. Who fell ill this morning? Who likes her? Who went to help her?" he said while counting off his fingers.
After a moment Peter's eyes widened in understanding and he asked, "You helped Lily? Was she alright?"
"She'll be fine, but she almost didn't make it to the hospital wing. I had to help her along and then she fainted once we made it," James replied.
"What was wrong with her?" Remus asked.
"I'm not sure. It seemed like she had a really bad headache. I don't know what caused it, though," James replied thoughtfully.
Sirius snorted. "It's probably all the worrying she does about studying. We have that History of Magic quiz coming up next week. She's probably all worked up about that. I'm surprised you haven't been stricken ill yet, Remus. You're as bad as Evans!"
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Lily woke up a few hours later. It took her a moment to figure out where she was. Her headache was all but gone- just a dull ache now. She tried to focus on the events that led her to the hospital wing. She had been rudely awakened by Marlene and Alice when she first noticed the headache. It had gotten gradually worse when she decided to come to the nurse. She vaguely remembered someone helping her - was it Potter? She recalled his cool attitude toward her at breakfast and wondered if he was mad at her for some reason.
"Oh, Miss Evans! I'm glad to see you're up. How are you feeling?" asked Madame Pomfrey.
"I'm feeling better, although my headache is not completely gone yet," Lily replied. Her voice sounded a bit froggy.
"It'll be better after you drink this," said the nurse handing her another vial of purple potion. Lily vaguely remembered the disgusting taste and hesitated before holding her nose and gulping the potion. In a few minutes the headache was gone.
"I'm feeling much better now, thank you," she said.
The nurse smiled and asked if she would be up for visitors. Lily nodded.
Alice and Marlene hurried toward her. "Oh my God, Lily! Potter told us what happened on the way here. Are you okay?" Marlene asked.
"I am now, thanks," replied Lily. So it WAS Potter who had helped her. "Madame Pomfrey gave me some potions and my headache is now gone. Hopefully I'll be able to leave soon."
"What happened anyway? What caused the headache?" Alice asked.
"I don't know," Lily said. "I just woke up with it and it gradually got worse."
"Where were you last night, anyway? We were left to deal with Black and his obnoxious self in the common room while we tried to study. We eventually gave up and went to the library where we thought we'd find you, but there was no sign of you anywhere," Marlene said.
"Oh, well I saw that Malfoy and Snape were near the library so I decided to head somewhere else to study. I found an empty classroom," Lily lied. She had previously told Alice and Marlene about her near-attack involving Malfoy and Snape the previous week outside the library. Lily didn't like lying to her friends, but her unease was more than just that. There was something else that gave her the chills, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.
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Hope this chapter satisfies those of you who were upset about Gilderoy Lockhart and Lily. All I can say is, appearances can be deceiving. I made a clear point of that at the end of last chapter when I showed what James and Sirius saw. When I started this chapter, I gave Lily's point of view - did you see the difference?
For those of you who like Gilderoy in this story - NEVER FEAR! He will show up occasionally.
What do you think about what happened to Lily in this chapter?
Next chapter: James visits Lily in the hospital wing. How will the Marauders get their nickname? Halloween arrives.
Leave more reviews and I'll find time to post the next chapter soon! Thanks to Watermelon!, Weasley!Red, and Harrysgrl for the latest reviews - I made replies in the review section.