Chapter 6 - Cat Lover
When Lily woke up, she was groggy, disoriented, and felt like she had been run over by a heard of centaurs. As she sat up and looked around, she slowly realized where she was: the Hospital Wing. As she attempted to stand, she still felt dizzy; her temples pounded like someone had pulled out every single hair on her head one by one. Carefully she sat up.
"Ah, you are finally awake," rejoiced Madame Pomfrey as she bustled into the room carrying several potions and forced Lily back into the bed.
"What happened?" Lily croaked, "How did I get here?"
"Mr. Potter brought you up to the hospital wing last night," the nurse explained and handed the two potions to Lily, "Apparently you had a nasty allergic reaction to some Toadgrass." Lily swallowed both without hesitation and felt her voice go better that instant, "Mr. Potter also told me that you lost your voice," answered Madame Pomfrey as she saw Lily's questioning look.
"Really? Where is he?"
"He carried you here, put you in a bed, and then he left," the nurse continued as she looked over Lily making sure that she was fine, "He said he had to finish your detention."
"He carried me up here," Lily asked alarmed and glanced down her clothes. Her school uniform was a little bit disheveled, and she blushed profusely. I'm sure Potter got an eyeful, dirty wanker, Lily thought harshly.
"What do you think of Mr. Potter, now?" Madame Pomfrey asked noting the look of disgust that had suddenly appeared on the girl's face, "Surely he isn't all that terrible."
"Ehm," Lily hesitated, "Only the best."
"As I feared," said the nurse rolling her eyes before she went. Lily could still hear her as she murmured something like: "Teenager and their hormones. What really goes on in their brains . . . Oh yes, it is spring! I guess it won't be long now . . . spring fever."
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The next morning Lily was allowed to leave the Hospital Wing and she did so with a heavy heart and guilty conscience. She was amazed with herself that she felt so bad and about Potter none the less. She knew she had to apologize to James, but that didn't mean she wanted to.
Merlin, first I kick him down the stairs. Then I pinched his broken nose and then I punched him with dragon skin gloves, she thought, while she walked down to the Great Hall to eat some breakfast.
Lily had spent the night sleeping on and off and had prepared a proper speech for James to thank him and apologize again. When she saw him, he was outside the doors of the Great Hall with Sirius and the two were laughing loudly. They were laughing so hard that they had to use the wall to steady themselves. Sirius wiped a tear out of the corner of his eye when he noticed Lily walking towards them.
"Well, I'm off," he said suddenly and fled like the very devils of hell were on his heels.
"Why? What's wrong?" James yelled after him but he didn't get an answer from his fleeing friend. Instead, Lily caught up with him looking interestedly at what James and Sirius had laughed about. It was a parchment that looked like a copy of the Daily Prophet and Lily snatched it from his hands and read it.
Clumsy Squib
Looking for clumsy Witch/Squib
Cat lover preferred
If you like punishment and beating up
Then contact me
Codeword: Floor cloth
"What are you doing here?" Lily asked in a mock serious tone, but she was suppressing a giggle. The personal ad was quite funny.
"I'm laughing," he answered giving her a big smile.
"Yeah, I can see that," she said shaking her head, "But where did you get that?"
"Remus suggested that we use the "Lonely Hearts" advertisements in the Daily Prophet to play a little prank. We decided that we should help Filch to find a proper lady for him. We made it a little bit more visible to the public this time around. You know, the first time we had that advertisement run it was really really small in the corner of the last paper . . ." Prongs tailed off.
"But what if Filch sees it?" Lily pressed, "I don't think he'd find it very amusing." James rolled his eyes.
"Well, Evans. That's the point," James sighed dramatically, "It's supposed to be funny for everyone else." More and more students who had copies of the Daily Prophet were taking note of the enlarged dating ad and began snickering.
"But that means detention," Lily said angrily putting her hands on her hips and glaring at James, "Harassment of a teacher is not encouraged." Again James rolled his eyes.
"Not if you don't turn us in." James shot back batting his eyelashes flirtatiously at Lily.
"I think I've held my tongue long enough," Lily warned and took a few steps backward, "There have been so many pranks that I could've told a professor about, but I didn't."
James closed the gap between them, and he looked down at her as he towered over her, "This is the thanks I get for carrying you to the Hospital Wing? Way to show your gratitude, Evans."
"Nobody asked you to do it," Lily hissed back at him remembering the state of her clothes when she had first woken up.
"I suppose that I could have left you lying on the floor," said Prongs in a serious voice and continued smirking, "But then I would have had to step over all the time."
"I would have woken up eventually!" Lily said hotly and she prodded him in the chest.
"Oh really, Evans," James mocked as he continued to glare down at her, "Do you know what Madame Pomfrey told me? She told me that if you don't get any help quickly after you have an allergic reaction you could be seriously injured . . . or worse." And James wiggled with his eyebrows.
"Right, like you would actually have let me die?" Lily said sarcastically, "Besides it's really not that bad. Madame Pomfrey has a tendency to be overdramatic about students' injuries."
"I'll keep that in mind," James leered, "Maybe next time I'll have my way with you before I take you to the Hospital Wing."
"Then I'll be sure to stay away from you if you're waving Toadgrass around," Lily rolled her eyes, "The only way I'd ever get close to you, period, would be if we had met in the dark and I was blind!"
"Oh, it's possible to arrange that, Evans!" James growled slowly losing his temper. Suddenly all the students who were standing in the front of the Great Hall chucked their Daily Prophets to the side and fled in a hurry. Mrs. Norris had showed up and it meant that Filch would soon follow.
"Well have fun, Evans," James told her as he gestured to the newspaper in her hand and started to leave, "And you don't have to thank me for finishing our detention! It was a pleasure for me."
"Oh no! You're not getting off so easily!" She yelled as she caught up with him and grabbed his arm, "Stay!"
"Why?" James asked in disbelief at what Lily was suggesting, "To get caught because of a prank. Are you nuts?"
"What's going on here?" asked a growling voice. James and Lily turned around to see Filch at the end of the corridor looking at all of the papers on the floor.
"Come on," said Lily and dragged James with her and together they ran down the corridors until they were far away.
"Why you did that?" demanded James as he pulled his arm from her grasp.
"Do you want to get caught?" Lily said coarsely as she glared at him.
"No," he responded like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Well then!" Lily huffed as she absently straightened her uniform.
"But just seconds ago you wanted to turn me in," James stated looking completely confused.
"Well, I changed my mind," Lily said gesturing nonchalantly. James let out a groan of frustration.
"Women are so inconsistent," James muttered darkly as he glared at Lily who had started walking away from him.
"I didn't hear that," she spat before she turned on her heel and began marching back to where James stood.
"But you did," he growled and glared down at the smaller redhead, "And you know that it is the complete undistorted truth."
"I know something that is even truer," Lily taunted narrowing her eyes.
"That is?" James scoffed darkly.
"You're an idiot," Lily said hotly. James snorted in disbelief.
"And you're a bitch," he shot back.
"You just want to impress me," Lily countered.
"And you are putting on a nice, little one woman show," James growled back at her. The two glared at each other in silence before Lily spoke again.
"Perhaps I am the idiot," Lily mused, "Here I was this morning thinking that you weren't that bad. That you might be, dare I say it, nice."
"I thought the same about you when you were unconscious," James retorted with an angry snarl, "But you're just a cat with sharp claws that scratches everyone who comes too close."
"Take that back!" Lily demanded completely affronted.
"What?" James asked with a cocky smirk, "That I thought you were nice? Sure, I will."
"I meant when you compared me with a cat," Lily deadpanned.
"What do you expect? It's true. I don't think that you'll ever change," Prongs doubted.
"The same goes for you too, you bastard," Lily poked him hard on his chest as she said each word.
"You see," he now complained, "You always resort to violence when you don't get your way." He rubbed over the spot Lily's finger had poked him.
"Oh get a grip on yourself. You're not some helpless little baby. Oh wait, maybe you are," Lily said coolly.
"I will show you what I am!" James snarled his temper finally beginning to get the better of him.
"I'm waiting," she answered and faked a large yawn.
James grabbed Lily pushed her up against a wall surprising his fellow Gryffindor and Head. His body was pressed roughly against hers, but offset slightly so that one of his legs went between hers. He had grabbed her wrists and pinned them over her head with one hand while his other held onto her waist firmly. There was only an inch separating their faces as they glared merciless and coldly at each other. They could both feel their own and the other's heart racing, their breathing was shallow and quick, and an unquenchable heat climbed up their bodies. One could almost see little lighting bolts erupting between them.
"Are you two finished yet," Sirius interrupted their tense situation, "Or do you need a few more minutes to wrap things up?" But the tense connection was broken and James stepped back.
"No, that's it," he said roughly, his gaze still on Lily. Relief flowed through her veins as he stepped away. For one short moment, James had truly frightened her, and she didn't know what would have happened if Sirius hadn't stepped in. She hid her emotions masterly with a blank face as James fumed silently beside his friend. Lily shot James one last glare and walked, head up high, back towards the Great Hall.
"What the fuck was that?" demanded Padfoot with a low whistle, "Was that really what that looked like?"
"No, Padfoot," answered Prongs as he rearranged his school robes, "I was just teaching her a lesson."
"With your leg between hers," asked Sirius with raised eyebrows. James snorted as he walked off.
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The next days were rather quiet between the Heads. A few bets were on already: Who would start a scene in front of school? Who would curse the other first? The odds for the moment: 5 to 1 for Lily to start a scene and 10 to 1 for James for to curse her first.
Furthermore Sirius had told Remus and Peter loudly at dinner in what a state he had found Lily and James, and so rumors were spread. One variation said that Lily had forced a love potion down James throat. Another said that James and Lily were betrothed from childhood and both refused to marry the other. This latter rumor had slowly become favorite and far more convoluted. Some said that a lot of gold had passed between their parents. Others said that there vows were involved that couldn't be broken. Even more had said that a curse would be place on them if they wouldn't agree to the settlements.
James fled from the rumors and hid in the secret passage behind the tapestry. To his big surprise, and delight, the girl was there as well. Together they laughed about the bogus personal ad.
Why Evans can't laugh about my jokes, James thought, it isn't that hard!
James and the mystery girl often sat on the cold stone floor laughing and talking about the ridiculous rumors that were flying through the school. James felt more comfortable with her every time they met and he felt like he had known her for years. And when it was time to go, she always stood on her tiptoes and kissed him goodbye.
But these innocent kisses changed slowly to longing passionate kisses and it was getting increasingly harder for both of them to leave once they had said good-bye.
Soon they were meeting just to kiss.
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