CHAPTER 7
Red heads, try outs, and Draco
I was walking into the common room late at night. Apparently I had been in the room of requirement longer then I thought, because it was late. Like 11:00 P.M late. I entered the common room to see Harry standing there, his arms crossed.
"Where have you been?" He demanded, and I shrugged.
"No where important."
"Were you with the ferret again?" He growled, and I shook my head.
"No Harry. I was destroying a fragment of Voldemort's soul that had been stuck in Ravenclaw's diadem for more then 40 years. There was an extremely large tornado and my dad tried to convince me not to stab the diadem so Voldemort could rule the world but I disobeyed him and stabbed it with a basilisk tooth anyway." I rambled, smiling after I finished. Harry stared at me for a moment, his jaw slack.
"Remind me not to ask you where you go anymore." He said after a moment, and I nodded.
"Can do. Night Harry, sleep well. Don't forget, close your mind before you go to sleep." I encouraged, running upstairs to my dormitory. Lavender and Parvati were asleep, but Hermione was up, reading the book I had given her for Christmas.
" 'Mione, lights out. You don't want to sleep in tomorrow!" I cheered, changing into a pair of red and gold pajamas. Hermione put the book down and smiled.
"Fine. Remember, we have Care of Magical Creatures first thing tomorrow with the Slytherins." She said, looking at me pointedly. I nodded.
"I know, I know. I'm not dating Draco, no matter what Harry might say, so if he said anything..." I trailed off, and Hermione nodded.
"I know what you mean. Come on, lets get to bed. Night Lily." Hermione said, shutting the curtains around her bed, and I did the same, falling into a strange dreamland.
ooooooooooo
2 weeks later
"Lily! Get your lazy bum out of bed! You missed breakfast, you don't want to be late, do you?" Hermione hissed in my ear, and I jumped, looking around the room. Hermione was dressed in a Gryffindor sweater and trousers, and Lavender and Parvati were no one where to be seen.
Jumping out of bed, I quickly threw on my uniform before I grabbed my books and followed Hermione out of the room.
Running through the hall way, we made it to potions just in time, grabbing a seat across from Harry and Ron.
"Potter, Granger, why are you late?" Snape asked, turning around to face us. Hermione looked ready to make an excuse, but I spoke up first.
"I slept in, sir. It was my fault." I said, smiling sadly. Snape blinked before nodding.
"Very well, Miss. Potter. I will let you off this time, but please do not sleep in again." Snape said, before going back to class. Hermione stared at me.
"How do you always get off so easily?" She asked, and I shrugged, listening as Snape continued with the lesson. Finally we got to the good part.
"You have two hours total. Begin." Snape instructed, and we started making a potion that would allow you to change your hair color, much like Tonks does. Only this potion was limited to 24hours.
"Here we need...Uhg, hand me the caterpillar head." Hermione demanded, and I handed it to her. Once we had all the ingredients in, we had to stir it, which was a real pain in the- well, you know.
"What do you mean, stir counter-clockwise twice, then the other way fifty times, then back? This is ridiculous!" I cried, helping Hermione stir the thick potion. It was changing colors rapidly, from pink to blue, to red to yellow, to green to purple, to purple to pink, and so on. Finally we finished, and I'm proud to say it was before time was up- though we cut it close.
"Put your samples into a test tube and bring them up for me to inspect, please." Snape requested, and I did so, but not before sneaking flask into my pocket for later use. Bring the potion over to Snape, he glanced at it for a moment before nodding.
"Very good, Miss. Potter." He said, and I walked back down to my desk. Hermione beamed as I told her about what Snape said.
"For him, that's really high praise!" She grinned, and I nodded in agreement. After potions we had an hour till our next class, herbology.
"Lily, what's that in your pocket?" Hermione asked, and I pulled out the test tube, the potion still changing colors.
"It's a little bit of the potion we made, why?" I asked, and Hermione rolled her eyes, but nodded.
"Just be careful when using it. Snape gave it an ok, but still." Hermione sighed, and I nodded.
"Of course, 'Mione. I'll be careful." I said, crossing my fingers behind my back. Lifting the hatch up, I took a small swig of the potion, grimacing as it fell down my throat. It tasted like a burnt piece of salmon skin. Shuddering, I waited for the effects to take place, and they did, I was extremely pleased with the results.
My hair color was now controlled by me. First I tried blonde, but It didn't suit me at all. After switching through many colors, including Tonks's bright pink, I settled on a fiery red, making me look like Lily's Evans possible, near-identical sister. The thought made me smile.
"What do you think?" I asked, stepping out of the bathroom. Hermione grinned.
"You look lovely, Lily." She said, and I beamed.
"How much you willing to bet this freaks Harry out?" I asked, and Hermione nodded. Walking down stairs, I smiled as Harry looked at me, his mouth open.
"Mom?" He asked, and I rolled my eyes.
"For being the Boy-who-lived, you really don't have any brains, cousin. Amazing what a little hair dyeing potion can do, eh?" I asked, spinning in a circle, and Harry nodded.
"You're going to scare the bloody snot out of the Professor's." Harry said, and I grinned, laughing.
"Oh, I know. Come on, I want lunch." I beamed, and Harry and I left the common room. I turned to Harry.
"So, a Lily Evans and James Potter prototypes walk into the Great Hall: What happens?" I asked, and Harry nodded as we walked inside. Sitting down next to Ginny, I realized my hair was even redder then hers, which is saying something.
"Hey Ginny." I greeted, and Ginny nodded, looking up at me.
"Hey Lily- woa." She grinned, eyeing my hair.
"That's awesome! How did you do that?" She asked, and I grinned, winking.
"A little potion never hurt, did it?" I asked, and Ginny nodded before her eyes widened.
"Miss. Potter, what are you doing?" McGonagle huffed, walking up to us. I beamed.
"Just trying out a new hair color, professor. I think I'll stick with brown, though. What do you think?" I asked, and McGonagle blinked.
"It looks fine, Miss. Potter. But please return your hair back to normal by the end of the day, it's.... disturbing some of the professor's with how much you look like your aunt." She said, looking flustered as she walked off towards the head table. Sure enough, over at the head table Flitwick was staring at me, his mouth hanging open.
"That was interesting. Here, you want eggs?" Fred asked, passing me a plate. I grinned, nodding before I stopped.
"What'd you do to them?" I demanded, and Fred grinned.
"Nothing, why do you asked, dear Lily?"
"Fred!" I laughed, shoving the eggs back towards him, grabbing an apple instead.
"Here, I'm gonna go relax before we have herbology." I smiled, slapping Fred upside the head and walking out of the Great Hall. I was walking upstairs when someone grabbed my shoulder.
"Where you going, Flower?" Fred asked, and I rolled my eyes.
"Why you want to know, Gred?" I asked, stepping into the cold. Fred shrugged.
"It gets to crowded in there, and George is in the Hospital Wing. Fever fudge gone bad." He explained, and I nodded.
"Ah. But has everything else been working out? I'm really not looking forward to D.A.D.A today." I sighed, and Fred nodded.
"Neither am I. The old toad doesn't teach us anything, that's the main reason for the D.A. There's a meeting tonight, you know." Fred said, and I nodded.
"Really? Harry didn't mention anything. I bet I know why." I sighed, and Fred raised an eyebrow.
"And what is that?"
"He's just mad that I'm friends with Malfoy. Oh, don't look at me like that!" I growled, shoving him. Fred laughed, putting an arm around me.
We were walking down the hall when Fred's girlfriend, Angelina Johnson walked up.
"Hey Lily, nice hair. Fred, we have quidditch practice, come on!" Angelina said, grabbing Fred's hand and pulling him away. He waved to me before he turned the corner.
"Wait.. oh." I gasped, startled. Running towards the field, I watched as Draco and two other Slytherins walked on the field, taunting Harry, Fred and George. I saw the flash in Harry's eyes, and the twin's fists were clenched.
Running up, I realized I was too late, and they started fighting, while George was being held back.
"What is going on here?" Umbridge demanded, walking up, her face pulled into a cruel smile.
"Malfoy was insulting their family's, Professor." I said through gritted teeth, as Harry, Fred, George and Draco noticed my presence. I felt infuriated though as Umbridge paid no attention to me, turning towards the boys.
"You should be ashamed of yourselves, attacking Draco. Your temper is inexcusable! I think the only suitable punishment would be.. yes, I'm afraid that's what only seems right. I'm putting you two on a ban from quidditch for life, hopefully it will let you think over what you've done. Let's make that three, bans." She sighed, before continuing when she saw Fred's appalled face, "You see Mr. Weasley, your twin would've gladly attacked Draco also, had he not been held back. I will need your brooms, please." Umbridge said pleasantly, and they reluctantly gave her their brooms, trying to keep the snarls off their faces.
"I think that should do. Good day, boys." She said, walking off. I growled, turning to Draco.
"Can we talk,?" I asked, and Draco nodded, looking down as I grabbed him by the shoulder and tugged him to the other side of the field.
"Look, Draco. I don't know what your problem is, but making my cousin's life miserable is not something you need to do. That's my job. Now. back. Off." I hissed, and Draco nodded, walking off. I walked back over to Harry, who was pouting as he watched his firebolt be carried away.
"Hey, things'll work out. Trust me." I smiled, and Harry nodded, walking away from the field with Fred and George.
I turned to Angelina.
"So, when are tryouts?"
ooooooooooo
I was sitting down in the stands, biting my lip. Ginny was doing the same, her eyes watching the players that came before her.
While Harry was in detention, I had decided to come and watch try outs. Ron was flying on the other side of the field by the goal posts.
"Ginny Weasley?" Angelina called, and Ginny stood up, walking towards the field. The snitch was taken out of it's box, and Ginny played flawlessly, even with the bludgers flying around her. She was up there for a few minutes before she was called down, and she walked back over to me.
"You did great!" I smiled, and Ginny grinned weakly.
"You think so?"
"I know so." I declared, watching the last of the try outs. Finally it was over, and Angelina and Katie Bell walked to the front of the remaining crowd.
"Now, as you know, we don't only pick out the members on how they play, but also how they get along with the team. Many of you are amazing players, but we still can only pick three of you." Angelina started, and Katie nodded in agreement.
"The results will be posted in the Gryffindor Common room tomorrow by 8 A.M.... Thanks for coming." Katie finished, and the crowd started leaving, until it was just Ginny and I sitting in the stands, looking around the field.
"How come you didn't try out?" Ginny asked, and I shrugged.
"I have other things I need to focus on. Hey, you did great, Ginny, I know you'll get the spot. I have to go, though. Harry's out of detention." I grinned, running off the field, my brown hair flying behind me.
"Harry!" I called, running over to him and hugging him, grinning. Harry smiled, shoving his hand in his pocket.
"No, you don't. Come on, let's get that cleaned up." I sighed, pulling him into the nearest bathroom.
"How'd you-" He started, but I waved him off, accio-ing a bucket of warm water and placing his hand in it.
"I have my ways. Here's a towel." I said, running around the bathroom and grabbing what he needed. I felt my own hand twitching, a faint scar running down it. I had only had two detentions with Umbridge with the same sentence had been carved into my hand, just not as deep. Apparently Dolores Umbridge didn't believe that Harry Potter had a cousin.
"Try outs went well. Ron fits in well, too." I said, remembering how Ron had cheered for Ginny over by the goal posts. Harry nodded.
"So who are the new players?"
"Well, it hasn't been decided yet, but my prediction is that the two new beaters are Jack Sloper and Andrew Kirke, but they aren't as good as Fred and George, nor as determined. I think it's only because they like hitting stuff. Then as for the seeker, that spot will be taken by our very own Ginny Weasley." I grinned, wrapping up Harry's hand and helping him up.
We talked about quidditch for a little while longer, when Harry turned to me.
"Here, I have this for you, it'll help pass D.A messages around." He said, handing me a false galleon. I grinned, placing it in my pocket.
"Thanks Harry. So what's the lesson plan for tonight?" I asked, and Harry shrugged.
"Patronus's, offense, defense, really whatever needs to be learned." He said, and I nodded.
"Sure. I'll see you later then. Please don't get into any more detentions, by the way. Now that Umbridge woman runs the school, they could get worse." I sighed, remembering the tales of Dumbledore's leave. He had only left a couple of days ago, and now Umbridge was in charge of the school. If my calculations were correct, which I hoped they were, then in a month the Weasley's twins would leave, and early June, Harry would have the vision about Sirius, and that's when I had to get to work on how to get him to stay instead of going to the Ministry.
Uhg.
"You ok? You seem pretty quiet." Harry said, and I snapped my head up.
"Oh, I'm fine. Just thinking, you know? Bye Harry." I said, slinging my bag around my shoulder and walking towards the Great Hall, when someone shoved me into a broom closet.
"What the bloody hell?" I yelled, turning around to face my attacker, when I saw a flash of pale blond hair.
"Draco! What's the big deal? You should't go around shoving people into broom closets like this!" I cried, half angry and half laughing. Draco smiled, before it fell off his face.
"Look, I just wanted to apologize, I shouldn't have insulted Potter's- your- family." He said, screwing his face up, as if it hurt him to say it. I smiled.
"It's ok, Draco, just don't expect Harry to be so understanding, or forgiving...or reasonable if you come within twenty feet of him." I smiled, and Draco smirked.
"I could handle myself."
"Oh yes, I'm sure." I snorted, adjusting myself so I was in a more breathable position. The broom closet was about three feet wide, and eight feet tall, so there was about ten inches of space between Draco's and my face, a space that I was determined to keep there.
"So, anything else you want to tell me before we leave this cozy broom closet you shoved me into?" I asked, and Draco thought for a moment.
"Would you be willing to go to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow?" He asked, and I gaped. What?
While this was zooming around in my head, I felt my mouth open and say "Yes" before I could stop it.
Oh bloody hell! I just said yes to Draco Malfoy! What will Harry say? What will Sirius say? Oh Merlin. Sirius. I don't even want to know.
"Um, great. I'll see you around, then." Draco said, and I nodded. We walked out of the broom closet after making sure no one was in the hallway, then went out separate ways, my towards the Gryffindor common room and Draco somewhere, I don't know. At the moment, I was too busy replaying what just happened in my head, and how I was going to explain it without being murdered.
"Hey, Harry, can I tell you something?"
XXXxxxXXXAuthor'sNoteXXXxxxXXX
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Lils