Lily:
It's been a nice simple Saturday morning so far. I had a bad enough hangover this morning, after last night's Halloween shenanigans, but that got sorted out quickly with hangover potion. Honestly, I'm so relieved that Sirius found that recipe for it, and then shared it with me so now I'm able to make some hangover potion!
We all just finished eating our mouth-wateringly delicious breakfast, and are standing up to leave the Great Hall. James looks a little warily over to the Slytherin table, but doesn't say anything so I think that he's probably just thinking about yesterday. I walk with Mary out of the Great Hall, and Remus, James and Peter are all talking and joking loudly with each other as Frank and Alice and Sirius and Marlene walk out in their couples. Oh, they are just so cute! I know that I deny it, but I would really love to have something like that! Do you know what I mean? I want a relationship, and I really want a loyal, kind, gentle, funny guy to just come and sweep me off my feet. Anyways, at the moment I'm fine how I am - a single pringle who isn't ready to mingle!
Mar and I just chat about stupid, irrelevant topics as we make our way up to the Heads common room. As we arrive, I kick off my shoes and plonk down on to the sofa, and Mar and James sit on either side of me. "I'm exhausted!" Sirius declares dramatically after we sit in a tired, peaceful silence for a few minutes, "I'm heading back to Gryffindor Tower for a lay down!". He yawns loudly, and stretches his arms above his head as he stands up. "I'll come too!" Remus says, eager for a nap, and Pete nods in agreement. "Oh, what the hell! I'll go too!" James says sportingly, wearing a huge grin. That is so sweet of him! He knows that the girls and I will probably want to talk in peace for a little bit, and so he's leaving his own bed to lay on the spare one in Gryffindor Tower! Ugh, why is he so fanciable?
As the door shuts behind the boys, the girls and I exchange a look hat simply says 'Ok! Spill your guts!'. Mar takes a deep breath, and begins the conversation that I just know is going to reveal some secrets. "So...ummm...I still fancy Remus!" she says, and she grins, "He's just so sweet, you know?". We all nod, wearing similar grins. Mar's got such a crush on him! It's really adorable to see! "Are you going to do anything about it?" Ali asks gently, and Mar shakes her head. "Not right now, anyway. I just...I like being friends with me, and I love all of our groups being friends, and I don't want to mess that up, you know? Maybe in a little while, but I'll give it some more time!" she says maturely. Marly, Ali and I nod our heads in understanding. I know that Remus fancies Mary, but I do understand why she wouldn't want to act on it. He's a lot more shy than the other Marauders, except for maybe Peter, and he hasn't had that many relationships so Mar's caution is warranted. I think that with a little more time, she'll either act upon her crush or it will fizzle out. Mar's that sort of person; she's all black and white - never grey. She can be quite impulsive, but I know that she's making the right decision.
Marly and Ali begin to talk about their relationships with Sirius and Frank, and I listen intently as they describe the wonderfulness that comes with being in a caring, loving or in Sirius and Marlys' case, a passionate relationship. Frank and Alice have a softer, gentler, more understanding relationship. They care about each other deeply, and you just know that they are in it for the long haul. On the other hand, Sirius and Marlene have a wild, reckless relationship, filled with passion and fire. They really care about each other, but struggle to show it as much as Frank and Ali do. Honestly, I think that both of these pairings are made for each other; they are just perfect together.
Suddenly, I see Ali grin widely, and I raise my eyebrows at her questioningly. Marly stops talking, and looks at Ali as she realises that we both stopped looking at her. "Prewett! Spill!" she demands, looking deeply at Ali, trying to force the truth out of her. "Umm...well...two nights ago Frank and I were just walking along the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It was really cold, and we had a lot of layers on, but I still shivered slightly. Frank looked deep into my eyes, and he smiled at me. Ugh, his smile is just so darn cute! Anyways, we reached the lake, and he stopped me. 'Alice' he said, giving my hand a tight squeeze, 'There's something I have to tell you.'. Oh, girls! I was panicking so much! Was he breaking up with me? The stress, ugh, I hated it! I think he saw my panic, and he smiled. 'It's not bad, don't worry!' he said, and he was chuckling a bit. 'I...ummm...I realised something a little while ago, and I haven't said it yet but I think that now you deserve to know' he said, and he seemed a little nervous, so I was quite confused. 'I love you, Alice.' he said, and I smiled so hard it literally hurt my mouth!" Alice says, and we all squeal!
"That's so great Ali! What happened next?" I say, very excited about this revelation. "I kissed him, and there was love there, and I know that for certain this time! When we broke apart, I said, 'I love you too, Frank.' and his face was so happy. I...I really do think that Frank is the man I'm going to marry. I can just feel it. Oh, I love him so much!" Ali says, and I can feel my eyes burning as tears threaten to fall. I quickly rush over to her and hug her. Alice Prewett has always been the sort of girl to dream about her perfect wedding, and her perfect family, and her perfect life. And now she's found her perfect guy! I'm over the moon for her! Mar and Marly join in the hug, and I can see that they're struggling to hold back tears as well. Alice has fully given up, and there are little angel tears streaming down her small heart-shaped face.
After a little emotional moment, in which there is a rare silence as we all rejoice in Ali's happiness, we break apart the hug and sit back down. Well, all of us except Mar, who remains standing and quickly rushes out of the portrait. Marly, Ali and I all exchange a couple of confused glances, and any questions that we had were answered shortly by Mar's reappearance. "I thought that we needed a little something special to celebrate!" she says, dramatically pulling out a bottle of champagne. We all laugh, and take a glass. I only have a little bit, due to the fact that I probably drank my weight in alcohol last night, and we all cheers to Ali and Frank. As we finish our glasses of champagne, Mar being classy as always by downing hers in one, much to our amusement, we all set down our glasses and the three girls turn to face me. It almost feels like some sort of interrogation!
I know exactly what information they're looking for, and I decide that now is the time that I tell the girls the secret that I've been keeping from them. I take a deep breath, and shut my eyes, preparing myself for the information I am about to tell. "I fancy James." I whisper, so quietly that normally the girls probably wouldn't hear it, but they did now. "I know." Marly whispers back softly, gently touching my hand in an attempt to comfort me. The girls know how big this information is, and how hard it is to keep it a secret. I open my eyes, and see that the girls are smiling at me, looking happy at my words if a bit shocked. "This is so great, Lils! Are you going to do anything about it?" Ali says, quite enthusiastically, and I mimic Mar's actions from earlier by shaking my head. "It's just a crush! I'll get over him soon enough! And besides, I'm happy that we're friends. And, like Mar said, I don't want to screw things up." I say simply, shrugging my shoulders. I see Marly look a little bit disappointed, but Ali and Mar look understanding. They let the topic drop after this, though I do know that it will be brought up again soon enough.
After sitting in a tranquil silence for a couple of minutes, I take a look at my watch. It's half one in the afternoon, and I'm not too hungry so I'll probably just head down to the kitchens for a tea or something. "Hey girls. I'm not too hungry so I'm just going to pop down to the kitchens to get a drink instead of having a full lunch. Still filled up from breakfast!" I say cheerfully, rising from my comfortable seat. "I think that I'll pop down to the Great Hall. I want some food!" Mar says, rubbing her stomach while chuckling. Marly and Ali nod in agreement, and so the girls head down to the Great Hall while I go in the opposite direction to the kitchens.
I don't meet anyone on the way, and arrive there in no time at all. After tickling the pear, I empty the warm room, and breath in the aroma that consumes it. "Hello Miss Evans!" Nimphy says, startling me slightly with her attentiveness. "Oh! Hello Nimphy!" I say happily to her, and her wide eyes look up at me, filled with helpfulness. "Would I be able to get a...hot chocolate please?" I ask, hesitating in the middle of my question, just thinking about what drink I want to order. "Certainly, Miss Evans!" Nimphy says, and she rushes off to fetch my drink. I take a seat at the closest of all the long tables, and within five minutes I see Nimphy rushing back, a rather large flask of delicious, frothy hot chocolate in her hand. She hands it to me, and says in her high pitched voice, "Here you are, Miss Evans! Can Nimphy help you with anything else?". "No, thank you Nimphy! This is amazing!" I compliment, and she beams, bows and then rushes back towards the main area of the kitchen.
I decide to just drink my hot chocolate here; this room smells incredible, and it's nice and relatively peaceful, so I'm able to relax and just let my mind wander. I think a little bit about James, and how handsome he looked last night. I really wish that I had brought my camera downstairs with me, so that I could have a picture. I worry about what I told my friends - I know that I can trust them with my whole heart, but it was just that by me saying it out loud, it becomes more real!
I just take my time drinking in the heat that flows through my body, tasting that delicious chocolate, and I only finish after about half an hour of sitting, thinking and drinking. As soon as my flask is empty, Nimphy appears and, with a small bow, says, "Miss Evans, I have come to collect your flask! Is there anything else Nimphy can do for you?". "No, thank you Nimphy. That was lovely! Have a nice day!" I reply, smiling at this cute little house elf and giving her a wave. To my surprise, there weren't many house elves around, but I suppose that that is probably only because lunch is currently on in the Great Hall. I leave the kitchens and step out into the small hallway that the fruit bowl portrait opens on to.
I just breathe contentedly and begin to walk back on to the main school building. I choose to go to the bathroom while I'm down here, because I need it and the bathrooms near the Dungeons are much closer than any others. I begin to walk in that direction, going quite fast because I really do need to go. I arrive there quickly enough, once again not meeting anybody on my way. As I leave, however, something in the atmosphere has changed.
I hum to myself as I open the door, and as I walk out a gust of cold air hits me, hard. I already feel cooler than I did, and I even shiver slightly. My bones stiffen, and I feel as though I am being watched. It's odd - this hallway is totally deserted, there's no one around! I shake my head slightly, and just keep walking. There's an eerie silence surrounding me, and I'm beginning to panic slightly. 'It's nothing, Lily! Don't be daft! You're just being really paranoid!' I keep saying, over and over again in my head. I narrow my eyes and focus on the path in front of me, and move my feet one step at a time. One, two. One, two. One, two. I take a deep breath, and just keep walking. I can hear a slight noise in the distance, but that's probably just coming from the Great Hall, where people, including my friends, are sitting and peacefully enjoying their lunch. I'm being irrational, I know! There's nothing here! I begin walking slightly faster though, not letting my pace falter. Something feels off. It just does.
I can feel dread creep into my senses, and I whip my head around, just to be sure that I'm not being followed. I see nothing but a couple of empty portraits and suits of armour. My eyes scan the eerie hall, but there is nothing amiss. I reluctantly turn back around, and increase my pace. I'm about ten metres from the end of this hall, and then I'll be away from the cold of the Dungeons, and this horrible feeling. I can feel goosebumps cover my arms, and I wrap them around my body in order to try and gain some more body heat. Today I'm just wearing a short black skirt, a high neck, slim fitting, long sleeved red top with my pendant necklace and black ankle boots. I don't know why I didn't choose a warmer outfit - ugh, I really regret that now!
Suddenly, I hear a slightly louder sound, though still faint. I instinctively lurch around, and my eyes once again pierce the cold hallway, but there is still nothing there. Then, I hear a footstep come from behind me. That sound makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up abruptly, and my heart rate quickens. I can hear the beats, and I try to count them, in order to try and stay calm. I slowly, devastatingly slowly, begin to turn back around. Who is it? Who is standing there? A Deatheater, perhaps? Maybe something more...
I take a deep breath, in a final attempt to calm myself down, but it doesn't work. I blink twice, and complete my slow turn. There's no use in trying to run. Whoever it is, or whatever it is, could probably catch me, so I just have to face it. I look up, and am immediately trapped, pushed against the wall, the coldness of it making me feel even worse. My hands are held against the wall by a pair of stronger, colder, bonier ones, and I look into the things dark eyes.
Severus Snape.