Chapter 8
Silence is virtue. Of course, Lily was receiving none in Potions.
"Wahey! Nice Potions knife!"
"For the love of Merlin, I got it in Hogsmeade! I bought it myself! No secret admirer gave it to me! What is the big deal? Huh? HUH? A teenage girl buying herself a knife is completely normal! Mundane! MUNDANE, I TELL YOU!"
All Sirius had heard was a sort of piercing "eeeeeeeeeee!" coming from Lily's mouth. Really, it was quite extraordinary how high in voice pitch the redhead could reach in her raging monologues.
"Putting the knife down now," Sirius clarified slowly, putting down the cutting instrument which he had been dangerously juggling in his hands. "You," he pointed at Lily but lowered his finger when she looked so alarming she might chomp it off. "You… Sedation, that's what you need. Sedation."
Lily reached out to strangle Sirius but only managed to claw at his neck as the boy hurried back to his desk for safety.
Lily had a bad feeling about today. Yes, she had experienced a good night's sleep by James' side, but something just felt…off.
She was waiting for another letter.
She had to admit it; she was expecting another letter from the Half Blood Prince. Not that she wanted another one…did she?
"Of course not," Lily told herself.
"What?"
She followed the direction of the voice and discovered it was from her friend, Nicole, looking at her with concern.
"Nothing, I was just, er, talking to myself," Lily said, fiddling with her shirt collar nervously.
Nicole remained dubious and stepped forward, examining her friend. "Are you and James okay?"
Lily was startled by such an out of the blue question. "James?" she echoed. "We're-"
"Is he being a wanker again?" Nicole jumped to conclusions. "He is, isn't he? James-wanker-Potter, you are on my list!" she shouted to the back of the class, audible enough for James to hear. The boy scratched his head in confusion and mumbled a, "Wha…?"
Whirling Nicole around to face James on the other side of the classroom, Lily mouthed the words 'CUCKOO CUCKOO' twirling a finger to her cranium, and then whipped her round to face her again.
"Everything is fine," Lily lied. "Top-notch. Splendid. Neato."
"But you don't look well."
Lily did not appreciate her brutal honesty. "It must be the Head duties," she insisted, wishing her companion didn't care so much for her well-being. Attempting to ignore her friend's penetrating gaze on her, she tried to keep her attention on stirring her potion. However, her eyes kept wandering back to the Half Blood Prince's knife lying on the desk.
She needed to get rid of it.
"Do you want a knife, Nicole?"
The girl currently chopping roots nearly took off her finger. "Er…did you just ask me -sounding extremely like a mad woman- if I wanted a possibly killing weapon?"
Lily slid the knife down the desk in front of her friend. "My potions knife," she said, "You can have it."
Nicole raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "What have you done to it?"
Lily laughed at her lack of trust. "Nothing. There's no catch."
Nicole spun the knife on the table and it rotated in such an alluring way. Together the girls watched it twirl until Nicole suddenly put her finger down, luckily the tip landing on the handle. "Didn't you say you bought this from Hogsmeade? Why do you want to give it away?"
