Chapter Forty-Seven â“ Studying, Frustration, and Fun
By Lilyâs reckoning, the end of the year was very closeâ”and that meant that it was time to study for NEWTs or end of year exams. To the rest of the schoolâ”excluding most of the Ravenclaws and the more studious studentsâ”the end of the year was still a month and a half away and that meant relax for at least another month.
But, those in Gryffindor that knew Lily Evans, Head Girl, had known the day when she would start to add time to their night study sessions was not far away. They had known it was coming ever since they returned from Easter break nearly three weeks ago. She had continually hinted at it over those weeks, at which point James dragged her off either to patrol the hallways, start a game of wizardâs chess (at which she was getting better, but still not great), or make Shutter-Uppers with Monica and Sam, whom they stole from their own friends.
Regardless, during their mandatory hour-a-night it became very hard for James and Sirius (who gratefully no longer looked like confused clowns) to concentrate for that long. Really, they abided the time mostly as a reason to be with friends, even if it was in silence. Frank and Alice had even taken to studying in the library, joining the group in the Gryffindor common room about twice a week. Antoine and Josey had trouble keeping their hands to themselves for such a long stretch of time. They could usually work while holding hands, but once they started playing footseyâŚ
It was during one of the recently expanded sessions, on a Saturday afternoon, when they had been âstudyingâ for nearly two hours, that James got fed up. He had been attempting to read some of Lilyâs old textbooksâ”all of his were back at the closed-up manor, where they should be, considering they were from his earlier years at schoolâ”when he suddenly slammed his book shut, stood from his chair and started walking across the common room.
âJames, where you do think youâre going?â Lily asked, looking up from her chart.
âOut. Iâve been staring out the window more than Iâve been reading. Itâs nearly May, Evans! Those kids out there are starting to make me really jealous. Itâs gorgeous out; Iâm going to enjoy it. If I have to sit here for much longer, Iâll be thoroughly tempted to throw you into a broom closet and lock you in for a while. I câ”I canât do this. Iâm sorry,â James said; his voice proved that he truly meant it. He turned to the man who had been sitting next to him. âPadfoot, mate, are you coming with me?â
The young man who could pass as Jamesâs brother glanced from James to his book to Lily, and then mimicked James and slammed his book shut. He rose from his seat and said, âYou bet, mate. Iâm ready for a jump in the pond.â
âOh, thatâs sounds goodâŚâ admitted James.
âYou two arenât leaving!â cried Lily, glancing from one man to the other.
They didnât listen; James disappeared beyond the Portrait Tunnel, and Sirius vanished from view as he ran up the dormitory steps.
Lily turned back to those still at the table and glared.
âLilsâŚâ started Nikeia, pleadingly.
âNo! Youâre not going either. We still have to study.â
âLily!â cried Josey, deciding to mutiny. She, too, slammed her book shut. âI think James has a brilliant idea. Iâve studied everything I have to study! And Iâm not going to remember any of it. Weâve tried the letâs-study-two-months-in-advance thing before, and it doesnât work.â
She got up from the table and started up the dormitory stairs. She paused halfway up and turned back. âAntoine? Are you going to come with us?â
Almost apologetically, Antoine glanced at Lily, rolled up his parchment and stood. âSorry, Lily.â He followed Sirius up the stairs.
Lily looked at Nikeia, Remus and Peter as if daring them to leave, too.
âLily, you know how I am,â started Nikeia, biting her bottom lip.
Lily turned on her with shocked eyes. Was everyone mutinying on her?
âI study better when itâs closer to the actual test. I seriously need fresh air⌠Sorry.â
The thin young woman gathered her books and Joseyâs headed for the stairs. Without uttering more than âsorry,â Peter also left the table.
Lily looked pleadingly at Remus. âPlease⌠Donât leave.â
âLily, the others are right. Weâre not used to studying this much, and itâs going to make very little difference. Even I donât study two months before the test. Itâs a beautiful day; come out with us and enjoy it.â He started to pack his books.
âBut⌠the full moonâs tonight; youâre tired enough as it is,â Lily whispered, not that there was anyone else in the common room within earshot.
Remus chuckled. âIâm also really pale; some sun will do me good.â He pushed in his chair and looked down at Lily once more. âCome on⌠youâre looking pale, too.â
Remus started across the common room. Sirius came down, dressed in swim trunks and a t-shirt with a towel thrown over his shoulder.
âLike your towel, mate,â teased Remus.
âThanks! I got it from some guy for a present,â retorted Sirius, with just as much teasing. Remus chuckled, the weariness almost gone from his voice, and started up the stairs.
âYouâre not going to join us, Lily?â asked Antoine, coming back into the common room not long after.
Lily silentlyâ”and stubbornlyâ”shook her head.
In a mock whisper Lily easily heard, Sirius said, âWeâll see her outside in fiveâ”okay, tenâ”minutes after weâve left.â
Antoine chuckled and smiled at Lily over his shoulder. âOr she can join us nowâŚâ
âNah, she wonât. Sheâs got to prove a point, you know? That she doesnât give in easily. She is Lily Evans, after all.â
âSirius,â said Remus, coming back down the stairs, dressed in a similar fashion to Sirius and Antoine; comfortable, but he wasnât wearing swim trunks; just a pair of shorts. He had a book in his hand. âLily already proved she doesnât give in easily by not going out with James for six years.â
Sirius and Antoine laughed. âYouâve got a point there!â admitted Sirius, amid his laughter.
âI know I do, but stop teasing the poor girl,â ordered Remus gently.
âOh, come on! Sheâs going to be my sister-in-law, why canât I tease her?â
âSister-in-law?â asked Nikeia as she came back into the common room. She looked at Lilyâ”who was blushing quite profusely. âYouâre going to marry Regulus?â She put her hands on her hips, now clad in a skirt over her bathing suit.
âNot Regulus!,â cried Sirius. âJames! Heâs more of a brother than Regulus will ever be.â
âAw⌠Iâm flattered,â cooed James, before he came into view. The others now in the common room laughed. âLily, youâre sure that youâre not going to join us?â
Lily shook her head yet again, determined to look as uninterested as possible as she stared at the pages of her book.
âSheâs got a point to make, mate,â informed Sirius loftily.
âOhâŚâ said James slowly, looking at Lily. She noticed that his eyes were almost glittering with mirth. âIâll give her fifteen minutes to come outside after we leave,â bet James.
Lily snapped her head up, realizing that she had just become the object of a bet. She had probably been the object of some bet in the past, but to have knowledge of the bet as it was unfolding is a bit more annoying.
âTen minutesâ”a galleon!â cried Sirius, holding his hand out to James.
âA galleon? Thatâs a bit much, donât you think?â James froze, stopping Siriusâs next words. âNo, donât answer that; of course itâs not too much. Fine, a galleon it is. See you in fifteen minutes, Lily!â said James, waving to Lily.
(James exited the common room with the Smirk on his face, feeling sure that he would win that galleon. Of course, Sirius was sure that he would win the bet.)
The others followed the two men out the portrait hole.
âYou know, if you come now, neither of them will winâŚâ stated Remus, walking slowly towards the portrait hole.
âIf I take sixteen minutes neither of them will win either,â muttered Lily.
Remus smirked and left the common room.
Lily watched as the Portrait closed. She sighed. Betrayed⌠left alone⌠Oh, what a terrible feeling.
She tried to study for a few more minutes but the urge to look outside was too great. She growled, and slid over to the seat closest to the window. Raising herself up, she saw the lake spread out far below her. She sighed. The sky was a clear clue, with only a few clouds, and the grass was a gorgeous green. She had a feeling that James would compare the grass to her eyes if she was out there.
She threw a look back over her shoulder at her book and parchment chart. She looked back outside, and then groaned.
âLily!â she said aloud to herself. âDonât give in! Youâve got to study!â
But you can spend a few minutes outside with your friends. You do have two more months to study.
âBut I shouldnât! Itâs my NEWT year!â
And youâll pass all your exams with flying colors. Youâll be fine. Go out⌠enjoy yourself.
âButâŚâ She had run out of arguments. She ready did want to go outsideâŚ
Lily glanced down at her watch. It had been seven minutes. Neither of them would win if she came out nowâŚ
But, Sirius is right, isnât he? said that annoying little voice in the back of her head. Youâve got a point to make; that youâre tough and you wonât give in to temptation.
âSo, what if I do?â asked Lily, playing with the corner of her parchment as she deliberated.
To go, or not to go. That is the question, said the voice. Lily recognized Shakespeare. She rolled her eyes. Itâs not a question of studying anymore; itâs now a question of whether or not you can face their laughter that youâre not strong.
âWill you shut up!?â asked Lily loudly to the little voice.
She thought she heard the little voice giggle.
She covered her face in her hands and groaned. She peeked at her watch. Nine minutes⌠Sirius was about to loseâŚ
She made up her mind. She stood from the table quickly, knocking over her chair with a clatter. She picked it up before putting her books and such back into her bag. She walked out of the common room into the tunnel to her dorm.
âGillyweed!â she shouted to the portrait.
âNow, thatâs no way to talk to me!â cried the portrait of the ethereal young woman.
Lily frowned. âDo forgive me. Gillyweed!â
The portrait laughed her signature tinkling laugh. âSarcasm is not appreciated either.â
Lily sighed. âMy mystical and mightily magnificent portrait, you make me immeasurably more morose by making my means to make it to my dorms decidedly difficult. Do me a dear favor, and open. Please.â
The portrait laughed again, and opened to the Head Girl. âAlliterationâ”amazingly amazing!â
Lily stepped through, sighing again. She changed quickly into shorts and a t-shirt over her bathing suit. She grabbed a book or two (for principle, of course!) and walked out the main portrait hole.
When she got to the nearest exit, she glanced at her watch again. Fifteen minutes. James just lost his bet.
She smirked, waited until half past the minute, and then opened the door.
She sighed, grateful that the little voice in her head had talked her into coming out. The air was gorgeous; rather unusual for the highlands, even when it was almost May. But, she wasnât complaining. Neither was anyone else.
She started walking toward the lake where she had seen the others sitting around.
She saw Remus lift his head from her book, and look her way. She smiled lopsidedly at him.
He smiled broadly, and Lily wondered why he did so.
He stood and poked James in the back. He and Sirius were throwing a Quaffle back and forth to each other. (Lily realized that James and Sirius must have stolen an extra one from the Quidditch pitch to take to America, and now to play on the grounds.)
James turned around, and Remus pointed to Lily. Jamesâ eyes widened, and he looked down at his watch.
âSixteen minutes,â Remus said, smiling broadly. âPay up. I believe you both owe me a galleon.â
Lily paused, and felt her mouth drop open.
âWhy youâŚâ Words failed her. âYou bet on me?â
Remus shrugged. âI figured you wouldnât let James win; you would wait one more minute before showing up. And so you did.â
She started to open her mouth to say that he only knew that because she had muttered it. She didnât know he had heard her.
Remusâs eyes and the shake of his head pleaded her not to say anything.
She sighed, figuring that Remus could use the two galleons. She shrugged and sighed tiredly.
âCome on, pay up,â ordered Remus, smiling again as he turned to his two friends.
âWhat, you think we carry around galleons in our pockets while weâre outside playing around?â asked James, whipping the Quaffle towards Remusâs chest.
The thin and rather pale man caught it with a grunt and a laugh, and threw it back towards Sirius.
âFine; youâre paying me as soon as we get back to the common room.â
James and Sirius groaned a âYes, sir.â
Lily smiled and went to sit with Josey, Nikeia, Antoine and Peter on the pier.
âSo, you lasted sixteen minutes. Iâm proud of you,â teased Nikeia, moving sideways to bump Lilyâs arm.
Lily glared at her friend, and then pushed her off the pier.
Nikeia landed in the water with a very satisfactory splash.
âWhy you little brat!â shouted Nikeia, surfacing. The water came up to just above her waist; the lake gained depth very quickly.
Lily laughed, but wasnât expecting Nikeia to reach out and pull her in.
The water was chilly, but thoroughly enjoyable. The others pulled off their t-shirts and shorts to expose their swimsuits, and slipped in as well. James and Sirius took running starts and jumped off the end of the pier. James had the farther jump, but only by a couple of inches.
Sirius demanded a rematch, and they were joined this time by Antoine. Each took their jump while Lily created floating marks that showed were each man landed.
And the day moved forward; swimming in the water, jumping off the pier, tossing the Quaffle back and forth. Josey brought up the Muggle pastime of chicken fights, in which one person sat on the shoulders of another and fought a similar pair. She claimed she had learned it from Cole years ago. James and Lily became the champs at that.
When it got a too cold to swim, the eight students got out of the water and sat on the grass.
Lily was cuddled against Jamesâs chest, watching as the sun set in beautiful colors.
âYou know, Lils,â he whispered against her ear. âThe grass reminded me of your eyes today; such a beautiful green.â He kissed her ear, and she smiled.
âI had a feeling you were going to say something like that,â she whispered back.
âI always knew you were a smart girl.â
Lily tilted her head back to look at him. He brought his lips down obligingly for a sweet, tender kiss.
And for once, no one objected to their display of affection.
A Few Detentions and A Story by LaneTechFreshie
Chapter Notes: With NEWTs approaching, Lily gets rather tense. So, the others abandon her.