James and Lily: It Took A While

Cuatro de Chapterõ

Chapter Four
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I was so exhausted I could barely change into my pajamas before flopping down into my four poster bed. I covered my head with my pillow but I could still hear Sadie, Isabelle, Elle, and Bailey (Stella was surprisingly a Ravenclaw) all gossiping about who knows what.

I drifted off not long after that.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I woke up early the next morning and decided I'd head down to the Great Hall for an early breakfast. There was no use sitting here for an hour waiting for my roommates to get up. I really wanted to avoid the whole 'It's the first day of school I have to look good!' thing. And Bailey was an absolute bear in the mornings.

I dressed in my robes and tucked my wand into my pocket as I descended the stairs, yawning as I went.

I was the first one in the Great Hall, so it was very peaceful. In a quiet, huge, echoey space where I could be alone and simply enjoy Hogwarts, which I felt was something I needed to do a lot more often this year. After all, I had a limited amount of time left in the castle, and I had to make the most of it.

I grabbed a piece of toast and poured myself a goblet of pumpkin juice before plopping down onto the bench halfway down the Gryffindor table. I gazed up at the ceiling while absently eating my toast. I couldn't wait to start another amazing year here. I was excited to see my teachers again, and learn more magic. And I wanted to try making a potion I'd never made before in Potions today...

Thinking about Potions brought my mind around to Se-Snape. I wondered what he was up to; already sneaking around with his dim-witted friends, being suspicious, and just acting downright obvious that something was up. Maybe they were planning some sort of dark prank that hurts people rather than makes them laugh. They'd attempted that the last few years, but Professor Dumbledore had always foiled them before anyone could actually be injured.

But the idea about the dark prank just didn't seem right. Maybe...

Oh, just resign yourself to the fact that you know absolutely nothing about their plans, Lily, I thought.

But the mystery was killing me! I had to know! I'd just have to keep a close eye out for Snape and his cronies and maybe make a few detours to eavesdrop. Surely it won't take long to figure out what's up; Mulciber is so incredibly stupid he'll probably shout about it until the whole school knows. I'd just have to wait.

"Hey."

I jumped. Without my knowing it, someone had slid onto the bench across from me. And that someone was James Potter.

"Oh, sorry. Did I scare you? I thought you saw me but you looked pretty deep in thought," James laughed.

"A little." I was wary. He was acting normal. . . Almost nice.

"Had a good summer?" he asked, grabbing an apple and taking a bite out of it.

"Yeah, you?" I asked.

"It was great. Saw a lot of Pad-Sirius. He ran away from his parents, did you know that?"

Deciding to pursue the fact about why James had just called Sirius Pad-Sirius, I answered. "Yeah I knew that. Bailey spent just about everyday last year jabbering about it in our dorm room."

"Oh yeah sorry. I forgot you guys were in the same dorm. Sorry. She can be a bit annoying. Actually, a lot annoying."

I was surprised. "I thought you guys were friends!"

"Yeah we keep trying to ditch her but... It's not working out."

I merely muttered, "Sorry." This was a lot to mull over. James wanted to ditch Bailey and probably Stella too? That was new.