Chapter Eight: Caught in the Act
By Natali K. A.
"Incredibly humiliating," Professor McGonagall was saying as James hobbled into the room next to the Beauxbatons' infirmary. Lily was already seated, avoiding eye contact with everyone in the room.
"Everyone" consisted of: the headmaster of both Beauxbatons and Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall, James' parents, and two confused-looking adults James guessed were Lily's parents.
He had been having such a lovely day, too. He'd woken up this morning in the infirmary with Lily asleep next to his bed (or in it?) and had dozed until about noon. Then this nervous looking, ugly little French girl had told him to come to this room immediately, that it was urgent. Even when using the excuse he'd just woken up the day before, he'd been forced to come.
"You called for me, the ailing patient who had been stabbed just six days prior?" he asked dryly, walking over to the somber-looking group.
"Apparently, not zat `ailing'," the headmistress of Beauxbatons sniffed, turning to Dumbledore. "I vill leave you, Albus. I `spect zis to be cleared up-you cannot `ave your students frightening my little vons! If zis is `ow you teach zem to be'ave-"
"I assure you that it is not. It will be taken care of, my dear," Dumbledore said, seeing her to the door.
James, somewhat nervous now-what could they have done?-looked at their parents and saw that Mrs. Evans was crying and Mr. Evans was glowering at him. His own father looked ready to spank him until his skin bled.
"Will anyone tell me what it is that I've done, or do I have to guess?"
"Caught in the act of… of sexual intercourse with another student," Professor McGonagall said, blushing slightly. He hadn't thought anything could make the old hag blush. Now he knew. His stomach dropped to the floor.
He cleared his throat, sure that his cheeks were turning scarlet. "And who made this accusation?"
"One of the Beauxbatons girls, who had gone into the classroom where the act was committed to fetch something for a teacher," McGonagall replied.
James blinked, rubbing the back of his head. "Her name…?"
"Not important."
"I think it's rather important, actually. Someone could have lied."
"I already admitted to it," Lily muttered, staring even harder at the floor as if wishing it would open and swallow her. She probably was. "No point denying it."
"I wasn't going to deny it," James snapped, his face turning another, deeper shade of red. "Never entered my mind. But you know as well as I do that no one saw anything-"
"He seems to be more upset by the fact that he got caught than that he ruined my daughter's reputation!" Mrs. Evans shrieked, waving her handkerchief at him angrily.
"Mum, please," Lily begged, but Mrs. Evans cut her off.
"Don't speak. I did not raise you to act like a tramp, Lily." She looked at James. "What have you to say for yourself?"
"You were exactly right. I am sorry we got caught. But you can't expect me to regret it. Well, you could, but the fact is that I don't," he shrugged.
"James!" his mother gasped.
"I helped bring you into this world, boy, and I can sure take you out of it," his father-angrier than James had ever seen him, including the time he'd spilled all of his expensive French brandy-growled, advancing on him. James held his ground and both Dumbledore and Mrs. Potter restrained him.
"This is the result of too much spoiling," Mrs. Potter said, turning to her husband. "I told you, didn't I? We would spoil him rotten until he thought that the world revolved around him, that the rules don't count where he's involved."
"I don't see what the big deal is here," Lily said softly. All the adults turned to stare at her. She still hadn't brought her gaze up from the ground. "You lot act as if you hadn't done it when you were our age. Mum, I happen to know that Petunia-"
"Alright, Lily. Point taken," Mrs. Evans said, clearing her throat. "But this is a big deal."
"Too right," Mr. Potter agreed. "You two need to understand that you can't go around… er, sleeping with people. It isn't wise."
"Especially when your future is so bright Lily," Mr. Evans interjected.
"I don't sleep around."
"Nor do I," James added. "Anyway, that student must have been lying. That was the room we used to make the potion I used in the second task. It was completely empty, locked even. There was dust all over the place before I came in and tidied it up. I think the poor heating in the winter made it a bad classroom."
Professor Dumbledore nodded. "That's true."
"And we locked the door," Lily added, still hanging her head. "Both James and I put a spell on it. I don't think any girl older than 16 would have been able to undo both of them. And why would she have tried so hard?"
"You think you were framed?" McGonagall asked skeptically. "Honestly, who would waste their time?"
I can think of a couple people, James and Lily thought, sharing a quick glance in which both knew the other thought the same.
"This is still a very big issue. I had to leave work to come here and resolve this, Lily," Mr. Evans said, voice deep. "That is not the girl I raised you to be."
James, who often suffered from FIMS (Foot In Mouth Syndrome), felt an onslaught of effects due to that coming on.
"It wasn't just a quick shag." All three females squeaked. "I've liked Lily for months."
"But I thought you were dating that nice young fellow Borace!" Lily's mother said. The fact she didn't even remember his name made James smile.
"Technicality… Long story," Lily explained.
"And if she's pregnant"-here Lily covered her face with her hands and shook her head-"then I'll marry her."
An eerie silence fell on the room. Dumbledore, who had remained silent throughout most of this, was the first to snap out of his daze.
"You shouldn't say such serious things without considering them, James," he told in him in a stern yet gentle voice.
"I mean it. If she'll have me, then I'll marry her, if it makes you all feel better." He turned his gaze onto Lily who was staring at him with wide eyes. "Only I'd rather do it at our own pace, and perhaps not be forced into things?"
She averted her face to hide a smile. Silly, silly boy.
"I will hold you to your word, Potter," Mr. Evans said severely.
"So will we," the elder Mr. Potter assured him. "You have our word." He took his wife by the hand and gestured for the Evanses to lead the way out. Dumbledore winked at them, followed by McGonagall.
"For heaven's sake, can't you do it in secrecy like all the rest?" She shut the door behind her.
"That has got to be the oddest conversation I've ever had in my life," Lily said, staring at the closed door. "They've got to be mad. We've got to be mad. The entire bloody universe has got to be mad. Some planet must be off its orbit."
James shrugged. "What about Horace and Josette?"
"Horace doesn't have the brains or guts to do this," Lily grimaced. "Leave Josette to me, eh?"
"She's treacherous."
"She won't know what hit her," Lily promised. "I wouldn't make you marry me. You shouldn't have said that."
"But I meant it."
"James, stop it." She glared at him. "You're making this into a bigger deal than it has to be."
He rolled his eyes, too tired to bother arguing. But he couldn't resist saying, "You weren't asking me to `stop it' last night."
The blush crept back to her cheeks. "Bite me."
He grinned, limping over to sit in the chair across from hers. "You know someone sent that guy to kill me, right?"
"I figured. They weren't supposed to do anything but scratch the champions. He'd used Polyjuice Potion-the real man was found at his flat, near to death. We've no idea who he was, probably thanks to innumerable scars on his face. They were recent."
James leaned back, closing his eyes. "So someone's trying to kill me."
He could almost feel Lily's hesitation.
"I found a rattlesnake in my bed night before last," she muttered, turning her head away. "I was seconds away from lying down. I would have been dead-everyone was still up at the fortress."
His eyebrows snapped together with worry. "What stopped you?"
She sighed. "No idea. But it occurred to me that something didn't feel right. I pulled back the covers to find that bugger there, hissing at me. I burned it to a crisp and hid it behind the tent. I didn't tell anyone."
"You sleep with me from now on," he said immediately. "Never go anywhere by yourself."
"Don't be ridiculous, James. For one, it would never be allowed. Two, you can't be with me every hour of every day." She met his eyes seriously. "A girl's got to use the loo, you know."
He grinned at her. "We'll work something out. I'm starving."
"Of course you are. I'll go to the Dining Hall and bring you back something. Should be around lunch time. Hobble back to your bed on your own, alright?" She lay a gentle hand on his shoulder as she left.
After she'd gone, James let the litany of curses he'd been holding loose. He'd have to bring this to the attention of his father and Dumbledore.
*~*
Lily, scooping up some things onto the plate she was going to take back to James, listened as Betty and Ashley chatted it up with her.
"Oh, then also Josette was late to dinner-about ten or fifteen minutes late," Ashley said, nibbling on a piece of corn.
Lily nearly dropped the plate. "She was, was she?"
"Yeah. Then right after she ran her ugly little arse over to Horace and started whispering in his ear. I suspect they went off to her room together, the little whore."
"Did they both seem… pleased?"
"'Course," Betty laughed. "They were about to-"
"Josette's the one that spotted us," she hissed, saying a foul curse that would have had even most of her classmates gasping. She'd filled Betty and Ashley in on the way to lunch. "She must have followed me! That little bitch-" She took a deep breath and grabbed a bread roll. "Never mind. We'll take care of this, won't we girls? Be ready at two o'clock, yeah? Must run, James is starving."
Betty and Ashley shared a look as Lily ran off, then smiled.
Someone was going to get a nasty earful from Lily Evans and company.
*~*
A/N: Ah, nearly forgot that I had to post tonight. But worry not my darlings! I am sick, however, with a nice little cold that gives me a cough that rattles my very bones. :-D. The joys.
I received my sewing machine last Friday, and have proceeded to making a cute little cover for it, of which I am terrible proud. Rather hard, too, as the material was a bit difficult to work with. Came out deliciously perfect!
I saw Tristan and Isolde-which is just a great movie, if the ending is a bit angsty. Very bloody. But I enjoy that kind of weird stuff. So yes…
Um, review? Because you love me? Yes. Spank you all!
NKA
-->