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May. 2nd, 2005 07:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thirty2flavorsAIOFHOWEHTOIAT.
So many technical difficulties! WHYYYYYY.
Anyway, new and improved chapter three -- rewrote the entire prefect meeting sequence. =) It's much better, go read it.
Chapter 3: You're So Damn Hot
You don’t love me at all
But don’t think that it bothers me at all
You’re a bad-hearted boy trap babydoll
But you’re so damn hot
-You’re So Damn Hot, OK Go
---
They sat in silence.
James had tried, several times and most notably, to strike up a conversation with the girl but had long since resigned. He had to admit it was most hopeless. Lily Evans was doing what she did best – completely ignore the un-ignorable. The silence was not comfortable by any means but in Lily’s opinion it was superior to any conversation she and James could hold.
She wanted to reach for a book to read but figured that would spawn conversation. He’d ask what it was about, why she was reading it, why she ‘wasted’ her time reading, and other intolerable questions. He was like a wild bear and she feared that if she made any sudden movements he might spasm and attack her.
“Are you always this exciting or is it just me?” he asked suddenly.
Lily sighed – oh, great, he was speaking again. “It’s just you,” she replied, eyes still gazing out the window. In seven years it was unlikely she’d ever paid this much attention to the scenery before.
“Just checking,” he reasoned.
And the silence settled in once more.
Surprisingly, however, when it was broken the next time, it was by Lily. She figured she’d regret it later but she simply had to ask.
“Are you always this irritating or is it just me?”
“Irritating?” James repeated. “Why, I’m insulted!”
“That’s the point, Einstein. But why? Why me? Why of all the people in this school to obsess over did you have to choose me?”
He cupped his hand in his chin, pulling off a peculiarly thoughtful look. Ha – she nearly laughed at the concept. James Potter? Thoughtful? Never! It was oxymoronic in itself. Actually, she thought, rather reluctantly, with those dorky glasses, squinted eyes and the look of concentration, it almost looked like the Head Boy badge on his chest fit.
Then he spoke, and the idea was shattered.
“Well, you’re brilliant. And nice … to everyone else, at least,” he winked. “feisty, determined… maybe a little headstrong, but at least you aren’t spineless… witty, independent… all wrapped up in a gorgeous, red-headed package.”
Lily rolled her eyes incredulously. “Look, Potter, if the only reason you’ve been tagging along after me for five and a half years is because you want to shag me like you have every other idiot in this school—“
“I resent that!”
“-then you had better get your head out of the clouds and back to earth before I make it physically impossible for you to shag anyone else.”
“You have no reason to believe I’m shallow,” James objected, arching an eyebrow.
Ha, she thought. James Potter being anything but shallow was a laugh in itself. For one, if he judged people by personality, he most certainly would not be friends with the people he was friends with. That irritating Black boy was every bit as bad as James, Pettigrew was a nasty little follower, and Lupin… well, you’re only as good as the company you keep.
“I have every reason in the world to think that, Potter.”
“You don’t,” he objected once more. “You call me shallow and yet you have never made any attempt to get to know me personally.”
“You’re not exactly a mysterious person, Potter. You’re always in the limelight. I know everything I have any desire to know about you already and I don’t like it.”
“I’m not the Anti-Christ, I promise. Some things are more than they appear.”
“You aren’t one of them.”
Silence reigned supreme once more, for almost an entire five minutes before:
“You know, you can either be angry that roses have thorns or be happy that thorns have roses.”
Then the train jerked to a stop, James rose to his feet and exited, and the corridors were suddenly filled with the ever-familiar chattering of children as all the compartment doors on the train were flung open.
Lily just sat there for a moment, mouth slightly ajar. Had James Potter just said something nearly poetic?
He must be feeling sick.
--
Not even a week after the first re-arrival to the castle of Hogwarts was the first prefects meeting. This, of course, elevated Lily to the highest on the food chain.
Theoretically, of course, the rank and power she held was shared mutually by James. Yet at the same time she figured that, throughout the meeting, the Head Boy would be the least exemplary student attending, in a room full of prefects. There were so many things wrong with giving that boy any sort of power…
The current acting Head Girl was swiftly worming her way down the corridors to the library, where the meeting would take place. She knew she was late – almost two minutes – and didn’t fancy seeing the look on her peers faces when she, Lily Evans, Head Girl, showed up past the deadline. On the bright side, she knew she wouldn’t be the latest. There was no way James Potter had managed to make it to the library on time, and she admitted that if he showed up at all she was going to be surprised. Oftentimes she wondered how he stayed on the Quidditch team. That meant commitment -- James did not seem like a particularly committed fellow.
Then again, the stupid prat was convinced he didn’t need practices.
She pat the pocket of her robes that contained the upcoming week’s set of passwords, which she’d have to hand out to all the prefects. She was glad this fell under her responsibility, and not James’ – the girl dare only imagine the havoc he could wreak with access to the Slytherin common room.
She finally stepped into the library – a whole two minutes twenty-seven seconds late – and glanced around. Sure enough, all of the prefects were either seated or taking a seat. Her gaze strayed to the end of the table and she realized, with utmost horror, that the boy at the end of the table talking animatedly to Remus Lupin was wearing was Head Boy James Potter.
He’d beaten her..?
She supposed Remus was responsible for that.
“You’re late, Evans,” James chastised, looking over at her and waving a finger.
“Oh, shove it,” she muttered to him before peering up at the rest and adding in a cheery tone, “Sorry. Well! Congratulations to all of you on being named prefect-“
“It’ s a very noble and bland accomplishment,” James interjected.
“The point of this meeting is to not only hand out the following weeks’ passwords but to discuss any issues you may have. In a way, the lot of you are sort of like a student council—“
“—without the democracy aspect—“
“-and therefore represent your house, which is something anyone should be proud of.”
“Perhaps in two years two of you will be sitting in the hierarchical spot I currently occupy. If not, you should’ve tried harder.”
This earned him a jab in the ribs from Lily’s elbow, though the courteous smile never left her features.
“Firstly, any questions?”
The prefects all exchanged glances.
“How the hell did you get Head Boy?” was finally emitted from the crowd. The query came from the braver of the Slytherin prefects, whom, James noted with a start, was Regulus Black.
James Potter and Regulus Black did not get along. With the exception of Sirius, James did not get along with any of the Blacks. There differences between the beliefs of the Potters and the beliefs of the Blacks were nearly, all puns aside, black and white. The Blacks favored segregation and pureblooded elevation; the Potters fought for Muggleborn rights and equality. The Blacks clung to ancient traditions and historical laws while the Potters were in favour of updating the social system.
The Blacks were always in Slytherin and the Potters were always in Gryffindor.
Most of the motive for James’ loathing, however, came from Sirius himself. Rabidly loyal best friend that he was, James hated the Blacks mostly because of how they treated Sirius. For the most part, no one dared make mention of the rift between Sirius and his family, but on the rare occasion someone did decide to comment -- and it was usually Severus Snape -- it often seemed to Lily that James was more offended than Sirius was himself. It was common knowledge that Sirius did not like his family and his family did not like him, and it was common knowledge that James was wickedly defensive of his friends.
And so James smirked coldly in Regulus’ direction. “It would see, Reggie, that Dumbledore decided I was far superior to the pricks in Slytherin, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“The ‘pricks’ in Slytherin are infinitely more talented than you will ever be,” Regulus responded coldly.
“Don’t talk talent with me, you insufferable momma’s boy –“
“Are you implying something? All I’ve ever seen you display any talent in is complete hypocrisy, you self-righteous-“
“How much did Mummy pay for that badge then, hmm? You can’t have earned it—“
“Coming from someone who should never have been named Head Boy that’s not really an insult, now, is it?”
“You bring the concept of only a mother could love to a whole new level, Reggie, I applaud you for that.”
Remus’ stare was bouncing back and forth between the pair of them like watching a tennis match and he frowned a bit. James and any of Sirius’ family in the same room was a bad combination; Remus could not imagine how Regulus and James were expected to work together all year.
He also didn’t suppose it would help much that Narcissa was the seventh year Slytherin female prefect.
“James…” he began bracingly, and for a second James simmered.
That is, until Narcissa joined in the fray.
“And you, Potter, what kind of morals does your family have?” she asked in her snide tone, sneering down the table through her curtain of white-blonde hair. “Is it in your precious, heroic, Gryffindor blood to hex those you don’t approve of?”
“As opposed to your family, who’re all for the murder of those you don’t approve of?” snapped James in return.
“At least our family does not pretend to hide our superiority behind false claims of equality and justice.”
Suddenly, Lily felt overwhelmed. It was the first meeting of the year - her first act as Head Girl, and they were arguing. “Black! Potter!” she barked, but James continued on, disregarding her.
“Pretend to hide our superiority?” James repeated, incredulous. “Well, excuse me for not being a prejudiced--“
“That’s the thing -- you are prejudiced, you hypocritical prick,” said Regulus. “You act high and might and righteous and you aren’t any better than the ‘pricks’ in Slytherin.”
“You cannot possibly contrive that I have all the narrow-minded, baseless prejudices that so many of your charming peers have,” argued James.
“James,” said Remus again, a bit anxious.
Like baking soda and vinegar…
“You are every bit as prejudiced in your own way, you Muggle-loving, insolent waste of space!” shrieked Narcissa, her voice a little shrill. “You’re prejudiced against everyone who doesn’t worship the ground your worthless half-blood sidekick or insufferable Mudblood bitch walks on.”
The remark was accentuated with a condescending gaze first at Remus and then at Lily.
There was a beat of silence following, Lily’s mouth hanging open slightly, a muscle in Remus’ jaw twitching in mild irritation, and the rest of the prefects too momentarily stunned to know what to do.
James yelled at her a second later, and amidst Narcissa’s shrill retorts, Regulus jumping to his cousin’s defense and half the prefects leaping in to defend James, Remus or Lily, the words were lost. At some point, Narcissa rose to her feet; James was quick to follow, as were Regulus and Remus, and soon the entire room was on their feet, yelling incoherently at each other.
It’s going to be a long year, thought Lily, already feeling the headache coming on.
“Quiet!” She began, although none of the prefects quieted down any. “Sssh! You’re making—no, be quiet! Sit down! Sit down sit down!”
Her words had little effect. No one quieted down, no one sat down, and perhaps most importantly, no one paid her any attention. They were far too involved in their bickering, everyone’s voice being drowned out by someone else’s, a cacophony of insults hanging in the air.
“Silence!”
This command came from Remus, who had one arm across James’ chest, keeping him as far from the Blacks as possible, and the other rubbing his temple. It was sharp, commanding, and, amazingly, every one of the prefects shut their traps and sank into their seats. Remus glanced around to find all eyes in the room on him, swallowed, and dropped his arms to his side.
“Thank you,” he said awkwardly, motioning everyone to sit down.
They did.
Quickly jogging out of her surprised stupor, Lily shook her head. “I’d thank you to not start a fight at our next meeting. We may not like each other, but we are going to cooperate. Understood?”
At first, no one replied.
“She’s right,” said James after a minute, practically causing Lily to fall out of her seat. “From here on in we leave vendettas at the door. Alright?”
A murmur of disgruntled content rippled through the prefect table, but James seemed satisfied. Lily was surprised that James had come to her defense at all. James, defending common logic? It was preposterous.
She cleared her throat. “Right. Well…here are the passwords for the upcoming weeks.”
She slunk a hand into her pocket and removed the slips of paper. She handed them out the respective prefects swiftly. Done with that job she rounded the table and – grudgingly – resumed her spot next to James.
“There. Any other questions, suggestions?”
There was an immediate lack of response to this. Lily sighed. The animosity around the table had obviously not quite settled, and she glanced furtively around the room. Remus sent her a sympathetic smile, but mostly everyone else seemed disinterested, occasionally casting dark looks at whoever they’d been arguing with minutes previous.
And then, almost certainly to lighten the mood, James piped up.
“May I suggest something, Miss Evans?”
Sending him a half-lidded glare, she reminded herself that he was Head Boy… he did have the right to ask questions… “Yes, Potter?”
“I suggest that you go out with me.”
Just when she’d thought that maybe she could spend half an hour next to him without being hit on. With a vicious glare she’d mastered in second year the girl replied snappishly, “No.”
“Then can I question as to why not?”
She put on a fake smile to hide gritted teeth. “Anyone else have questions or suggestions that are relevant?”
Once more, there was no reaction whatsoever. That is to say, until James’ hand shot into the air. Feeling a flood of frustration, she shut her eyes, holding herself back from starting another table-wide fight.
“So help me Potter…”
“Hear me out, Evans,” he replied cheerily as he lowered his arm once more. “I,” he began, “propose a dance.”
About two whole beats passed in silence before the entire table stared at him incredulously.
“What?” Lily spat out finally, arching an eyebrow and looking the boy up and down.
“You heard me. A dance. Y’know, a ball, dance, social gathering with music and body motions, a semi-formal, a prom without the prom, a—“
“I know quite well what a dance is Potter, but the question is why do you want one?”
To this James shrugged. The grin on his face, had Lily known him better, would have been an instant indicator of chaos to come. It was the exact grin he wore every time he and the rest of his posse were plotting something, when they were pouring over the Marauder’s Map or planning the events of the upcoming full moon.
It was a rather mischievous grin, to say the least.
“Why not? But only for fifth years and up, I should think. It could be a kind of welcome back thing, you know?”
“And you think this is a good idea how?”
“It would be fun, Evans.”
“It would also be a pointless waste of time.”
“Would not. It’d ‘enhance our social lives’. Besides, I’ve held a party before, I have connections.”
“If you think people are going to go to a dance hosted by you—“
“All in favor?” James was already asking, raising his own arm into the air. The results were scattered. Remus raised his hand -- granted, only after James elbowed him -- as did most of the younger prefects and a couple of the older ones. For the most part, the Slytherins were adamantly against supporting any idea that sprung from James Potter. Quite quickly, it was a deadlock.
Soon enough, all eyes in the room were on Regulus and Narcissa.
It was obvious the purebloods were doing some quick thinking. From one perspective, they’d be conforming to the wishes of a Gryffindor. Not just any Gryffindor, either, the most detestable of all the Gryffindors – James Potter. At the same time, what better way to show off how much better you were than everyone else than in a large social gathering?
Regulus Black’s hand rose into the air.
“Twelve to ten, Evans. I win.”
<3
Kali
So many technical difficulties! WHYYYYYY.
Anyway, new and improved chapter three -- rewrote the entire prefect meeting sequence. =) It's much better, go read it.
Chapter 3: You're So Damn Hot
You don’t love me at all
But don’t think that it bothers me at all
You’re a bad-hearted boy trap babydoll
But you’re so damn hot
-You’re So Damn Hot, OK Go
---
They sat in silence.
James had tried, several times and most notably, to strike up a conversation with the girl but had long since resigned. He had to admit it was most hopeless. Lily Evans was doing what she did best – completely ignore the un-ignorable. The silence was not comfortable by any means but in Lily’s opinion it was superior to any conversation she and James could hold.
She wanted to reach for a book to read but figured that would spawn conversation. He’d ask what it was about, why she was reading it, why she ‘wasted’ her time reading, and other intolerable questions. He was like a wild bear and she feared that if she made any sudden movements he might spasm and attack her.
“Are you always this exciting or is it just me?” he asked suddenly.
Lily sighed – oh, great, he was speaking again. “It’s just you,” she replied, eyes still gazing out the window. In seven years it was unlikely she’d ever paid this much attention to the scenery before.
“Just checking,” he reasoned.
And the silence settled in once more.
Surprisingly, however, when it was broken the next time, it was by Lily. She figured she’d regret it later but she simply had to ask.
“Are you always this irritating or is it just me?”
“Irritating?” James repeated. “Why, I’m insulted!”
“That’s the point, Einstein. But why? Why me? Why of all the people in this school to obsess over did you have to choose me?”
He cupped his hand in his chin, pulling off a peculiarly thoughtful look. Ha – she nearly laughed at the concept. James Potter? Thoughtful? Never! It was oxymoronic in itself. Actually, she thought, rather reluctantly, with those dorky glasses, squinted eyes and the look of concentration, it almost looked like the Head Boy badge on his chest fit.
Then he spoke, and the idea was shattered.
“Well, you’re brilliant. And nice … to everyone else, at least,” he winked. “feisty, determined… maybe a little headstrong, but at least you aren’t spineless… witty, independent… all wrapped up in a gorgeous, red-headed package.”
Lily rolled her eyes incredulously. “Look, Potter, if the only reason you’ve been tagging along after me for five and a half years is because you want to shag me like you have every other idiot in this school—“
“I resent that!”
“-then you had better get your head out of the clouds and back to earth before I make it physically impossible for you to shag anyone else.”
“You have no reason to believe I’m shallow,” James objected, arching an eyebrow.
Ha, she thought. James Potter being anything but shallow was a laugh in itself. For one, if he judged people by personality, he most certainly would not be friends with the people he was friends with. That irritating Black boy was every bit as bad as James, Pettigrew was a nasty little follower, and Lupin… well, you’re only as good as the company you keep.
“I have every reason in the world to think that, Potter.”
“You don’t,” he objected once more. “You call me shallow and yet you have never made any attempt to get to know me personally.”
“You’re not exactly a mysterious person, Potter. You’re always in the limelight. I know everything I have any desire to know about you already and I don’t like it.”
“I’m not the Anti-Christ, I promise. Some things are more than they appear.”
“You aren’t one of them.”
Silence reigned supreme once more, for almost an entire five minutes before:
“You know, you can either be angry that roses have thorns or be happy that thorns have roses.”
Then the train jerked to a stop, James rose to his feet and exited, and the corridors were suddenly filled with the ever-familiar chattering of children as all the compartment doors on the train were flung open.
Lily just sat there for a moment, mouth slightly ajar. Had James Potter just said something nearly poetic?
He must be feeling sick.
--
Not even a week after the first re-arrival to the castle of Hogwarts was the first prefects meeting. This, of course, elevated Lily to the highest on the food chain.
Theoretically, of course, the rank and power she held was shared mutually by James. Yet at the same time she figured that, throughout the meeting, the Head Boy would be the least exemplary student attending, in a room full of prefects. There were so many things wrong with giving that boy any sort of power…
The current acting Head Girl was swiftly worming her way down the corridors to the library, where the meeting would take place. She knew she was late – almost two minutes – and didn’t fancy seeing the look on her peers faces when she, Lily Evans, Head Girl, showed up past the deadline. On the bright side, she knew she wouldn’t be the latest. There was no way James Potter had managed to make it to the library on time, and she admitted that if he showed up at all she was going to be surprised. Oftentimes she wondered how he stayed on the Quidditch team. That meant commitment -- James did not seem like a particularly committed fellow.
Then again, the stupid prat was convinced he didn’t need practices.
She pat the pocket of her robes that contained the upcoming week’s set of passwords, which she’d have to hand out to all the prefects. She was glad this fell under her responsibility, and not James’ – the girl dare only imagine the havoc he could wreak with access to the Slytherin common room.
She finally stepped into the library – a whole two minutes twenty-seven seconds late – and glanced around. Sure enough, all of the prefects were either seated or taking a seat. Her gaze strayed to the end of the table and she realized, with utmost horror, that the boy at the end of the table talking animatedly to Remus Lupin was wearing was Head Boy James Potter.
He’d beaten her..?
She supposed Remus was responsible for that.
“You’re late, Evans,” James chastised, looking over at her and waving a finger.
“Oh, shove it,” she muttered to him before peering up at the rest and adding in a cheery tone, “Sorry. Well! Congratulations to all of you on being named prefect-“
“It’ s a very noble and bland accomplishment,” James interjected.
“The point of this meeting is to not only hand out the following weeks’ passwords but to discuss any issues you may have. In a way, the lot of you are sort of like a student council—“
“—without the democracy aspect—“
“-and therefore represent your house, which is something anyone should be proud of.”
“Perhaps in two years two of you will be sitting in the hierarchical spot I currently occupy. If not, you should’ve tried harder.”
This earned him a jab in the ribs from Lily’s elbow, though the courteous smile never left her features.
“Firstly, any questions?”
The prefects all exchanged glances.
“How the hell did you get Head Boy?” was finally emitted from the crowd. The query came from the braver of the Slytherin prefects, whom, James noted with a start, was Regulus Black.
James Potter and Regulus Black did not get along. With the exception of Sirius, James did not get along with any of the Blacks. There differences between the beliefs of the Potters and the beliefs of the Blacks were nearly, all puns aside, black and white. The Blacks favored segregation and pureblooded elevation; the Potters fought for Muggleborn rights and equality. The Blacks clung to ancient traditions and historical laws while the Potters were in favour of updating the social system.
The Blacks were always in Slytherin and the Potters were always in Gryffindor.
Most of the motive for James’ loathing, however, came from Sirius himself. Rabidly loyal best friend that he was, James hated the Blacks mostly because of how they treated Sirius. For the most part, no one dared make mention of the rift between Sirius and his family, but on the rare occasion someone did decide to comment -- and it was usually Severus Snape -- it often seemed to Lily that James was more offended than Sirius was himself. It was common knowledge that Sirius did not like his family and his family did not like him, and it was common knowledge that James was wickedly defensive of his friends.
And so James smirked coldly in Regulus’ direction. “It would see, Reggie, that Dumbledore decided I was far superior to the pricks in Slytherin, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“The ‘pricks’ in Slytherin are infinitely more talented than you will ever be,” Regulus responded coldly.
“Don’t talk talent with me, you insufferable momma’s boy –“
“Are you implying something? All I’ve ever seen you display any talent in is complete hypocrisy, you self-righteous-“
“How much did Mummy pay for that badge then, hmm? You can’t have earned it—“
“Coming from someone who should never have been named Head Boy that’s not really an insult, now, is it?”
“You bring the concept of only a mother could love to a whole new level, Reggie, I applaud you for that.”
Remus’ stare was bouncing back and forth between the pair of them like watching a tennis match and he frowned a bit. James and any of Sirius’ family in the same room was a bad combination; Remus could not imagine how Regulus and James were expected to work together all year.
He also didn’t suppose it would help much that Narcissa was the seventh year Slytherin female prefect.
“James…” he began bracingly, and for a second James simmered.
That is, until Narcissa joined in the fray.
“And you, Potter, what kind of morals does your family have?” she asked in her snide tone, sneering down the table through her curtain of white-blonde hair. “Is it in your precious, heroic, Gryffindor blood to hex those you don’t approve of?”
“As opposed to your family, who’re all for the murder of those you don’t approve of?” snapped James in return.
“At least our family does not pretend to hide our superiority behind false claims of equality and justice.”
Suddenly, Lily felt overwhelmed. It was the first meeting of the year - her first act as Head Girl, and they were arguing. “Black! Potter!” she barked, but James continued on, disregarding her.
“Pretend to hide our superiority?” James repeated, incredulous. “Well, excuse me for not being a prejudiced--“
“That’s the thing -- you are prejudiced, you hypocritical prick,” said Regulus. “You act high and might and righteous and you aren’t any better than the ‘pricks’ in Slytherin.”
“You cannot possibly contrive that I have all the narrow-minded, baseless prejudices that so many of your charming peers have,” argued James.
“James,” said Remus again, a bit anxious.
Like baking soda and vinegar…
“You are every bit as prejudiced in your own way, you Muggle-loving, insolent waste of space!” shrieked Narcissa, her voice a little shrill. “You’re prejudiced against everyone who doesn’t worship the ground your worthless half-blood sidekick or insufferable Mudblood bitch walks on.”
The remark was accentuated with a condescending gaze first at Remus and then at Lily.
There was a beat of silence following, Lily’s mouth hanging open slightly, a muscle in Remus’ jaw twitching in mild irritation, and the rest of the prefects too momentarily stunned to know what to do.
James yelled at her a second later, and amidst Narcissa’s shrill retorts, Regulus jumping to his cousin’s defense and half the prefects leaping in to defend James, Remus or Lily, the words were lost. At some point, Narcissa rose to her feet; James was quick to follow, as were Regulus and Remus, and soon the entire room was on their feet, yelling incoherently at each other.
It’s going to be a long year, thought Lily, already feeling the headache coming on.
“Quiet!” She began, although none of the prefects quieted down any. “Sssh! You’re making—no, be quiet! Sit down! Sit down sit down!”
Her words had little effect. No one quieted down, no one sat down, and perhaps most importantly, no one paid her any attention. They were far too involved in their bickering, everyone’s voice being drowned out by someone else’s, a cacophony of insults hanging in the air.
“Silence!”
This command came from Remus, who had one arm across James’ chest, keeping him as far from the Blacks as possible, and the other rubbing his temple. It was sharp, commanding, and, amazingly, every one of the prefects shut their traps and sank into their seats. Remus glanced around to find all eyes in the room on him, swallowed, and dropped his arms to his side.
“Thank you,” he said awkwardly, motioning everyone to sit down.
They did.
Quickly jogging out of her surprised stupor, Lily shook her head. “I’d thank you to not start a fight at our next meeting. We may not like each other, but we are going to cooperate. Understood?”
At first, no one replied.
“She’s right,” said James after a minute, practically causing Lily to fall out of her seat. “From here on in we leave vendettas at the door. Alright?”
A murmur of disgruntled content rippled through the prefect table, but James seemed satisfied. Lily was surprised that James had come to her defense at all. James, defending common logic? It was preposterous.
She cleared her throat. “Right. Well…here are the passwords for the upcoming weeks.”
She slunk a hand into her pocket and removed the slips of paper. She handed them out the respective prefects swiftly. Done with that job she rounded the table and – grudgingly – resumed her spot next to James.
“There. Any other questions, suggestions?”
There was an immediate lack of response to this. Lily sighed. The animosity around the table had obviously not quite settled, and she glanced furtively around the room. Remus sent her a sympathetic smile, but mostly everyone else seemed disinterested, occasionally casting dark looks at whoever they’d been arguing with minutes previous.
And then, almost certainly to lighten the mood, James piped up.
“May I suggest something, Miss Evans?”
Sending him a half-lidded glare, she reminded herself that he was Head Boy… he did have the right to ask questions… “Yes, Potter?”
“I suggest that you go out with me.”
Just when she’d thought that maybe she could spend half an hour next to him without being hit on. With a vicious glare she’d mastered in second year the girl replied snappishly, “No.”
“Then can I question as to why not?”
She put on a fake smile to hide gritted teeth. “Anyone else have questions or suggestions that are relevant?”
Once more, there was no reaction whatsoever. That is to say, until James’ hand shot into the air. Feeling a flood of frustration, she shut her eyes, holding herself back from starting another table-wide fight.
“So help me Potter…”
“Hear me out, Evans,” he replied cheerily as he lowered his arm once more. “I,” he began, “propose a dance.”
About two whole beats passed in silence before the entire table stared at him incredulously.
“What?” Lily spat out finally, arching an eyebrow and looking the boy up and down.
“You heard me. A dance. Y’know, a ball, dance, social gathering with music and body motions, a semi-formal, a prom without the prom, a—“
“I know quite well what a dance is Potter, but the question is why do you want one?”
To this James shrugged. The grin on his face, had Lily known him better, would have been an instant indicator of chaos to come. It was the exact grin he wore every time he and the rest of his posse were plotting something, when they were pouring over the Marauder’s Map or planning the events of the upcoming full moon.
It was a rather mischievous grin, to say the least.
“Why not? But only for fifth years and up, I should think. It could be a kind of welcome back thing, you know?”
“And you think this is a good idea how?”
“It would be fun, Evans.”
“It would also be a pointless waste of time.”
“Would not. It’d ‘enhance our social lives’. Besides, I’ve held a party before, I have connections.”
“If you think people are going to go to a dance hosted by you—“
“All in favor?” James was already asking, raising his own arm into the air. The results were scattered. Remus raised his hand -- granted, only after James elbowed him -- as did most of the younger prefects and a couple of the older ones. For the most part, the Slytherins were adamantly against supporting any idea that sprung from James Potter. Quite quickly, it was a deadlock.
Soon enough, all eyes in the room were on Regulus and Narcissa.
It was obvious the purebloods were doing some quick thinking. From one perspective, they’d be conforming to the wishes of a Gryffindor. Not just any Gryffindor, either, the most detestable of all the Gryffindors – James Potter. At the same time, what better way to show off how much better you were than everyone else than in a large social gathering?
Regulus Black’s hand rose into the air.
“Twelve to ten, Evans. I win.”
<3
Kali
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-05-03 12:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-05-04 01:26 am (UTC)One thing (ok, I'm sorry, it's really nit-picky, but...): was James being all commanding in the prefects meeting important to the plot? Because now, since it's Remus, Lily doesn't have a chance to see James actually taking charge in a (semi-)mature manner. Maybe you meant to drop it, or maybe you're going to add it in later, but I just thought I'd mention it...
(ok, I'll shut up now, sorry!)
Going to go reread the chapter!
~Anonymouse11 (my fanfiction.net alter-ego)
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Date: 2005-05-05 08:00 pm (UTC)Oh, and could you add me to your friends list? I tried to add you, but for some reason your username was too long (or something). I really wanna continue reading your fic!
fantastic
Date: 2005-05-08 12:20 am (UTC)Chapter 4
Date: 2005-05-14 03:43 pm (UTC)"mistress editor"
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Date: 2005-06-11 03:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-07-10 06:17 pm (UTC)..That's actually not a bad idea. I'll write it down and ask you about it later. When we get a larger paid-for shop, that might be interesting.
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Date: 2005-07-27 05:37 am (UTC)heehee. i'm telling you, i LOVE lily's inner monologue! it's hilarious. oh, and i just remembered that i meant to say in my last comment that what james said about lying and looking people in the eye totally reminded me of natalie portman in Garden State when she was talking to zach braff about her pathological liarness. lol, whenever someone starts talking about lying i always start thinking about that scene in the parking lot.
oh! i also forgot to say in my comment for the last chapter that i LOVE that song! 'romeo and juliet' is amazingggggggg. i have a capella arrangement of it by the brown derbies (from brown university, obvi) and it's incredible. i actually heard the song from them first. lol. and actually, i also think that it's better than the dire straits one... *shrug*
amazing chapters so far! can't wait to read the rest.
no subject
Date: 2005-07-30 03:01 am (UTC)