Chapter 6-Oleander
"James, don't go!" Arielle Prewett cried from the table. James had to meet Dumbledore in a few minutes and he was leaving the table.
"Arielle, I have to go. You don't get it. I am Head Boy," James said, pointing to the badge shining on his chest.
"Oh, well can you at least talk to Sirius later? Mac is really upset," Arielle said, signaling the slinking figure of Mackenzie McKinnon.
Addison McKinnon, her twin, looked at her sister in disgust. The two of them hardly had any recognizable differences. Both were equipped with light blonde hair and sparkling clear blue eyes. The only difference was the fact that Addison's hair reached her shoulders while Mac's flowed down her back. Yet, these girls had many internal differences. Addison was about to demonstrate one at that precise moment.
"Sirius Black is a waste of your breath, Mac. Forget about him," Addison said.
"Addy love, I am going to point out that you, yourself, just wasted some of your own heavenly breath on me," Sirius said between bites. Addison rolled her diamond like eyes at him and returned to her dessert.
"You better get going Lils. You have to go see Dumbledore," Maimee said. Lily started to get up.
Lily could see James waiting at the door and walked off to go and meet him. How did he get to be Head Boy
anyways?
.X.
"Do you know when Dumbledore's going to meet us here?" Lily asked, as she and James stood next to the stone gargoyles guarding the Headmasters office.
"Well, he's probably ushering off Prefects right now and making sure all students exit the Great Hall. I'd say he should be here any minute now," James said, leaning coolly against the gargoyle. He started whistling a tune that Lily was unfamiliar with and just gazing down the hall.
"Do you think he'll talk to us about what happened on the train?" Lily asked nervously. She wished at least someone was as concerned as her. Maybe that someone was James. Then again, this was Potter.
"I hope so. I mean, I am sure he's heard word from the Ministry. I sure would like to know what his suspicions are. I tend to believe Dumbledore's theories are as good as the truth," James said.
He tried to remain calm for the both of them but his eyes gave him away. Lily saw the hint of fear hidden beneath the hazel she knew to be arrogant. She knew he cared. After all, he was there and almost died. For some reason she kept replaying that moment over and over again, knowing that there was some reason James was the only person they targeted.
"Ah, Miss Evans, Mr. Potter. I am glad you guys could make it," Dumbledore said. "I was about to take you to your living quarters. Come along now."
"But Professor, we have no problem in finding the Gryffindor Common Room on our own," Lily pointed out.
"I should hope not. I meant the Heads rooms. As a luxury of being Head Girl Miss Evans, you get to live within the Heads rooms this year," Dumbledore said.
"No one told me of this Heads Room," Lily said.
"Oh, they didn't? Must have failed to mention it," Dumbledore said, with a hint of a grin across his face. James didn't seemed to be surprised.
Professor Dumbledore lead them down an unfamiliar hallway in which Lily had never been. James just smiled at all the pictures, as though having come across them once. Lily didn't doubt that he knew his way around Hogwarts better than almost anyone, even Dumbledore.
The hall came to an end and Lily just stared. There was a wall that had two curtains. One white, one navy blue. They were moving briskly as if a wind was swiftly moving through them but Lily felt no such wind.
"Oleander, show yourself," Dumbledore said.
"And who tries to call on Oleander, one might ask?" a crisp voice asked through the white and blue satin curtains.
"Oh, you know who it is Oleander. It's that time of the year again. Surely the house elves have come by to prepare the rooms," Dumbledore said.
Lily just stared at the curtains. Was her Headmaster going mad? Nothing was there. Dumbledore was talking to a bunch of sheets. Was she hallucinating or did she see a white face pop in and out of the curtains. It blended well with the white but stuck out in the blue. It was now circling between the curtains.
"You know them chap. They mind their own business and come in on their own time. Quiet as mice I always say. They have their own ways. Magical creatures, house elves, " the voice, Oleander said.
"Oh, how right you are. Well, I am here with the new occupants of this room, James Potter and Lily Evans. They were made Head Boy and Girl this year," Dumbledore said, still acknowledging the curtains like a long lost friend.
"You made a Marauder the Head Boy? Have you gone mad Dumbledore?" Oleander said, sticking it's head out to get a better look.
"No. I have some important business to attend to Oleander. Now, have them make a password. As we both know, I don't need it as I have my own ways of entering. As for you two, good night and good luck," Dumbledore said, swiftly walking down the hall.
"Well, it's time to make a password. One that no one can break. Especially that Sirius Black. Poor Beatrice almost had a heart attack when he cracked the code in second year," Oleander said, now having his full head shown.
He was white, very pale, with an Irish man's face. He appeared to be drunk from what Lily could see and if she wasn't mistaken a bottle of Jim Beam bourbon could be seen behind him. She grinned.
"Well, it seems like he was in a bit of a rush," James said, acknowledging Dumbledore's departure.
"Probably waiting for a reply from the Ministry," Lily said. She turned her attention back to the curtain revealing Oleander.
"What should we make a password?" Lily asked.
"I got it. Ok Oleander, this is the new password until we tell you otherwise. It will be hard to guess." James said. "James Potter is a big-headed git."
"We need one someone won't guess Potter," Lily said, rolling her eyes. "Oleander, we need a better one than that. Let's see.."
"Lily and James are the biggest sex gods of Uranus!" James said. Lily burst out laughing.
"I like it," James said grinning. "Got that Oleander?"
"Yes I do," Oleander said, the curtains parting and revealing an entrance.
"But what if Dumbledore finds out?" Lily asked.
"He'll probably have himself a good laugh," James said. He stopped talking as he stared around the room. He saw the most beautiful room he had ever stepped foot in. Apparently, so had Lily.
They had entered a Violet and Silver room with a blazing fire where a large couch and two armchairs sat. There was a large bookshelf containing resourceful books not located in the library. James even saw a book called "Animagus Anonymous." James saw that the author was a man of the name Messr. Padfoot. Leave it to Sirius to write a novel and not even tell anyone. He laughed at this and made his way over to check out the contents of one of the desks that said "James Potter" on the back of a chair. Lily had done the same, tracing her finger over her name. There were several ink wells and spare parchment. There were candles everywhere to bring relaxation to the room. Lily saw a small door located between their two desks. Lily raised an eyebrow at James.
He tapped it twice and whispered 'Cocoa Strudel". This seemed to be a sort of password because automatically two cups of hot chocolate came through the door.
"That must be how the elves get in to clean," Lily said in awe.
"Yeah," James said. "I have only been in here once, when Ludo Bagman was Head Boy. He let me and Sirius in. But it was never this nice when I came in here. It was decorated for Quidditch. Well, both Bagman and Johnson were Quidditch players, so I guess it was appropriate."
Lily actually smiled at him. He wasn't showing off either. He seemed genuinely impressed by the situation.
She headed towards a forest green door that seemed to be calling her name. She opened it to see her bed and a large closet filled with robes and some Muggle clothes. There was also a bookcase, but it did not contain wizarding books yet tales from her childhood that she cherished. She saw the book Little Women and smiled. She knew she could get used to that room. There were two candles already lit and she took in their wonderful scent. James had gone to see his room as well.
She couldn't resist. Curiosity was burning inside. This was her perfect room, so what was his?
She saw the door somewhat opened. She entered the room which had Gryffindor colors everywhere. She saw a few pictures on the wall, one of the Marauders and surprisingly one of her and James back in fifth year. She smiled. There was a nightstand but really, there was nothing significant about this room. She didn't feel as at home as she had in her own room.
James saw her and stopped unpacking.
"Did your room sort of call out your name too? Or was that just me?" Lily asked.
"It did. And it's perfect," James said, looking around. "Nothing too special. Just the way I like things. Everything at my parents house is really fancy but really, I am more down to earth."
Lily looked shocked. She always thought James was the spoiled brat kind of kid when really, he was the opposite. She exited the room, with James following and they opened the last door together.
There were two showers on either side of the large room and a large Olympic sized tub with different taps. It was much like the Prefects bathroom. The only problem was, there was only one bathroom. They'd have to arrange some sort of schedule so they didn't walk in on each other.
"Well, I can take mornings or nights. Whichever you want is fine, I'll take the opposite," James said.
Lily smiled. He was being a gentleman.
"I can even get up early and shower so that way you can do it right when you wake up," he said. He would get
up early just for her. Maybe he wasn't that bad of a guy. Maybe someone she could be friends with. She'd have
to see how the year turned out.
A/N: Please review.