“Vera Elizabeth Claythorne” is from the mystery and murder novel, by Agathe Christie. It has several titles, ranging from “10 Little Indians” to “And Then There were None.” Congratulations to:
-lady_potter7447
-mlstr
-nighteyes
-HermioneRules
-ProngsPrincessLexi
-MexiChick
-miss_marjorie_back
-ldsldybg
-HpRoCks2much
-mefi
-alohomora7
-lilythemarauder
-ViernaAurora
-loonyluna63
and
-Limey
for coming up with the answer! Give yourselves a pat on the back!
“Ew, this conversation is turning into a girly one too quickly for me. I’ll go somewhere where real men bet on the Quidditch World Cup or something.” Frank was sitting next to Alice, at the edge of the group of girls at the Great Hall dinner tables. Amy and Julianne were bickering over how a local quidditch team should have their color pink. Maya was recording them with her wand, using a new spell. She seemed bored, running her hand though her black hair and observing the ceiling.
Frank turned, but he quickly changed his mind. “Never mind. Here they come anyway.”
Lily looked down to the entrance of the main hallway. “Joy,” Lily mumbled.
“Oh, yeah, Sirius is going to announce his ‘chosen one.’ Apparently, he wants a girlfriend for the Hogsmeade visit. He doesn’t want to end up empty-handed again. I just hope he doesn’t choose me.”
The group’s laughter stopped when five heads turned and saw almost half the school heading in their direction. They were lead by the Marauders, as usual. Actually, Sirius was leading the Marauders and the girls. The boys didn’t want to be alone, so they followed as well. Lily guessed that they wanted to be sure their girlfriends weren’t picked.
“What would they want from us?” Lily asked.
“Oh my god! It is me!” Frank made a show of trying to hide under the table.
“Get up, Frank,” Alice giggled, tugging at his shoulder.
Sirius strolled boldly into the small group and linked arms with Amy. He pushed Julianne off to the side and made room for himself. He gave her his most charming grin and recited, “Amy Wellings, the most beautiful girl in all of Hogwarts, will you go to Hogsmeade with me this Saturday? It will be my treat.”
Several different expressions filled the hall at once. Amy’s face was so astonished and delightful that Lily could have sworn she had inherited all the gold in Gringotts. Lily, Maya, Alice, and Julianne were taken by surprise. It was not everyday that one of the most popular guys in school, Sirius Black for example, asked a girl, specifically one of Lily’s friends, out to Hogsmeade. The Marauders flung out their arms as if to say, “The Marauder Drama continues!” Then James sat next to Lily and rested his chin on the table. The high-hoped girls were prepared to burst into tears because Sirius didn’t select them. They guys were hollering at Sirius because Amy was now taken, which completely bummed them out.
Amy was so shocked that all she could stutter after several long seconds was, “O-o-okay.”
“‘Kay. How ‘bout Honeydukes? There’s going to be a Limited Edition Bertie Botts’ Every Flavor Bean package coming out, and we can share it.” Sirius continued overwhelming his new girlfriend, with his prearranged plans. Amy didn’t seem to be paying attention. She was just staring at her new partner.
Remus sat next to Julianne, his new spot, and said, “Want to come to Honeydukes with me this weekend?”
“Yes.” Julianne gave Remus a peck on the cheek. Maya twirled her wand.
“Aw, adorable…” she exclaimed.
~
James bit his lip. The advice of the griffin echoed through his head.
Show your true colors and you will get you target… This is you last year!
He turned to his neighbor, “Say, Lily, would you-”
“No,” she said, flat out. Several boys laughed but shut up when James scanned the crowd.
James decided that her rejection wouldn’t stop him. “Would you like to discuss school projects over butterbeer this weekend?”
“We can do it over at the library.”
“But-”
“No.”
James showed signs of hopelessness. But that’s not what he felt. He never had given up. Never have and never will. “Fine. Forget I said that.” Lily had declined his invitations ever since first year. What would make this any different?
He would ask her again later.
“Ah… spurs of the moment, not?” Frank rubbed his hands together. “Well, then… Miss Alice… you look more beautiful than you did five seconds ago.”
“Uh…”
“Will you join me at the Three Broomsticks?”
Alice looked happier than she had ever before. She hugged Frank as if he were all that existed.
“Longbottom… you try too hard.” Sirius nodded his head, agreeing with himself, and sipped some pumpkin juice.
Peter’s nose twitched and his eyes fell on Maya. Maya held up her hand on this one. “No thanks, Peter. I’m fine.”
“Sirius should write a book,” Lily said to James. James assumed she was addressing him because he was the only one who was listening now. Everyone else was focused on Amy and Sirius.
“He doesn’t have enough attention span… or parchment. But, he’s so full of himself. He was going to write an essay about how he could make it do all sorts of tricks and stuff, but McGonagall wouldn’t accept it.”
“Honestly?” Lily took a sip of water. “I don’t think you should write a book either.”
“I know! My handwriting’s horrible!”
“That’s not what I meant.”
To make a better presentation of himself, James took his chin off the table and sat up straight. But that didn’t draw much attention from Lily. Instead, the rest of the girls realized that James was still single.
Taylor Hexington, whom had hooked up and broken up with seven boys so far into the school year (Sirius’s school record, with girls, was three on the first day, and 28 by the end of the first two weeks), seated herself next to James. His expression turned grim. She had tried to seduce him in their 4th year, at the Halloween Dance behind the pile of pumpkins, knowing fully well that he had no interest in her.
“Hey James,” she composed smoothly.
James, as if noticing she was just there, nodded and replied lowly, “Hullo.”
“Sirius has a magical charm around the girls, doesn’t he?”
“I suppose so.”
“This is his first date this year? Or does Claythorne count at a ‘date?’”
“Go ask him.”
Taylor giggled. How James hated that laugh. He was frustrated with hearing it’s mixed chords everyday, that he actually dreaded it. “No, it’s alright. I’ll stay here and keep you company.”
“Er…” James thought, Oh, sh-
“Hey, girls!” Taylor motioned to her standing friends. “I got us a seat!”
All the girls scrambled to get the seat closest to Taylor and James. Lily scowled at the noisy girls joining their table, uninvited. They weren’t even in Gryffindor.
“So, James,” Taylor continued. “I am a huge, huge, huge fan of Quidditch. You know, the, uh… er…” She snapped her fingers as though trying to remember. “The Quidditch World Cup! My dad got them last week. Top box! Would it appeal to you?”
“No, thanks.”
“Why not?”
“Oh, wait, that depends. Who’s playing?”
“Er, I don’t know. My father didn’t tell me. His handwriting’s really messy, so yeah. Well, I lost my transfiguration essay in my dormitory, so I was wondering if you could help me find it by tomorrow.”
“No-” James began, but he had not been watching Lily closely enough. She was beyond annoyed by Taylor Hexington. She could not contain it anymore.
~
“You shouldn’t even be here-”
“No one asked you.” Taylor rolled her eyes at Lily. “Go back to stuffing your face with chicken.” Her friends laughed.
“I could have you temporarily suspended if you took one more step!” Half the Gryffindor table stopped talking and all eyes were on Lily and Taylor.
“Oh my god, you fancy him?”
Lily was not wavered by this question. She had heard it so many times, she knew how to avoid it. She pretended not to hear it and stayed on task.
“Just go back to the Slytherin table.”
“Make me, you faker.”
“I am not faking anything.”
“You liar.” Taylor leaned forward, knowing she had Lily at a distraction. “You refused James’ proposal just now to cover up your feelings.”
“Five points from Slytherin! I can make it 50.”
Taylor leaned closer and snarled, “Hiding your inner feelings? Dream about Jamsies often?”
The clusters of Ravenclaws nearby quieted down too. They revolved in their seats and watched the girls’ every move.
Lily tensed that all the attention. She knew they were swallowing every slick word Taylor uttered.
“Have fun making this up as you go along, because I haven’t the faintest idea of what you are talking about.”
Rachel, next to Taylor, began laughing and said, “Your face is tuning red. Oh my god, you do fancy him!” All the girls burst into laughter and began pointing at Lily’s face. The surrounding tables began to murmur.
“A lie can travel halfway around the world, while the truth is just putting on its shoes.”
“Yeah,” Jamie giggled, “You haven’t put on your ‘shoes’ yet because you’re too ‘busy’ with James.”
Julianne and Maya stood up. Lily, regaining her lost courage, stood up, too.
“Detention, Hexington!” she shot.
“Oh, you want me to stop before I reveal all? Luck isn’t on your side, Evans.” Taylor calmly got up and put her hands on her hips. Professor McGonagall excused herself from the teacher’s table and began rushing towards the two girls. “Teacher’s coming to your rescue, Evans.”
“Professor McGonagall is coming to save you, Hexington.” James, using his super physical-contact-sensing powers, recognized his moment and stepped between the two girls. “Break it up.”
Taylor smirked and murmured, “Got extra lucky there…”
“That’s enough from you, Hexington!” James yelled.
“… mudblood.”
A lump caught in Lily’s throat.
“THAT’S ENOUGH, HEXINGTON!”
Taylor lazily twirled her wand in her hand. “Evans doesn’t want you, James. You’re sucking up to the wrong person. My door will always be open... literally.”
Lily had hidden her wand in the cloak and she was pointing it thought a button hole at Taylor Hexington. She uttered an incantation and a blue jet of light burst from her cloak, past James, and hit Taylor straight in the stomach. Before James grabbed her, Lily bent down next to her enemy and hissed, “You’re going to eat all your words.”
“Excuse me, excuse me! Please separate!” Professor McGonagall parted Lily and Taylor before any more conflict happened. “Get up, Hexington.” Professor Madres appeared behind James.
~
“We’ve got everything under control, Professor.” James growled at Professor Madres. Then he circled to the other side of Professor McGonagall.
“Professor… if I could speak to you…” he began tediously, but Professor McGonagall cut him short.
“No, thank you, Potter. Continue your meal while I take Miss Evans and Miss Hexington to my office.” Her eyes caught the other Slytherin girls and she barked, “Back to your table!” They got up, looking warily at their friend.
“Oh, dear,” McGonagall murmured, “Are you alright, Hexington?” Taylor looked as if an entire pitcher of lemon juice had been poured into her mouth. “Miss Hexington?”
“Taylor has to eat all her words. She now has a foul taste in her mouth. But don’t worry, she hasn’t said too much these past five minutes.” McGonagall looked horrified. James began to laugh but turned it into a fit of coughing when Professor Madres glared dangerously at him.
“It’s, er, the mashed potatoes! I think a fly got in it…”
“Where in the world, Evans, did you learn that spell? Too my office, girls! And you ladies return to your tables!”
Taylor’s friends made their way back to the Slytherin table. James glared at them menacingly, as all the tables burst into gossip.
Later that evening…
James was sitting, Indian style, on the sofa in front of the fireplace. The fire was burning down, but he allowed it to fade. He checked his watch. It was more than two hours past dinner. He had done his rounds, half inspecting the corridors and half looking for Lily. He passed Professor McGonagall’s office and had peered inside, finding it dark and empty.
He gave up on his potions essay; he could not concentrate. Everyone had retreated upstairs to their dormitories. Sirius had taken the Marauder’s Map and hidden it in a safe hiding place, so James was clueless as to Lily’s whereabouts.
He waited five more minutes, and then decided to survey the school again. He packed his books and quill in his bag and hid it under the chair. When he looked up, he saw Lily walking through the portrait.
She did not notice him as she went to the staircase. But she did seem quite disgruntled. Then, she stopped, as if remembering something.
“My potions essay!” she whispered. James looked down in his hands saw a neat essay with the name “Lily Evans” on the heading. “Ooops…” Lily went back into the common room and started walking in James’ direction. She finally saw him.
“Oh, hello James,” she mumbled. She reached down on the table and shuffled through the pile of papers. “Why aren’t you in your room? Feeling alright?”
“Good,” James replied. “You?”
“Uh, I’m… have you seen my potions essay?” She shuffled through the pile again, much faster.
James held it out to her. “Here.” Lily snatched it out of his hands. “Some lil’ kids were sneaking peeks at it.”
“Oh.” Lily pushed a lock of red hair behind her ear and held the essay. She changed the subject quickly. “What are you doing here?”
“I was finishing my potions essay,” he began, but added at Lily’s glare, “But I didn’t cheat off yours, I swear!”
“You and your friends were probably the ‘lil’ kids sneaking peeks at it.’” Lily packed the essay in her bag and snapped the bag together tightly.
“No way!”
“Sure…”
James stood up and put the essay away. Lily looked at the fire, noticing that it was dying down. “Why’d McGonagall keep you late?”
“Just several speeches about responsibility. Then, I did my rounds around the castle.”
“Really? I didn’t see you,” James asked, surprised.
“You must have missed me by around five minutes, then.” She paused.
~
All Lily was holding inside burst out. But she kept it calm “You don’t really believe that liar, Taylor Hexington? Because what she said was not true!”
James shook his head and replied, “Of course not-”
But Lily was not finished. She hated Taylor Hexington so much. “She enjoys picking on others just for their reaction and I guess I gave her what she wanted. But it’s not true. She doesn’t blows kisses at me, you know.”
“I do.” Lily glared at him and he drew back an inch.
“Oh, shut up. I haven’t heard that in five months.” Lily waved her hand in front of her face and looked downwards. She sat down on the sofa, staring at the fire, eyes threatening to leak.
Not in front of James, please.
“Julianne loves you. Amy loves you. Maya loves you. Alice loves you. All the Gryffindors love you. Most Ravenclaws admire you. Hufflepuffs, well, they love everybody. Remus likes you. Sirius likes you. Peter likes you. I like you.” He sat down next to her.
“I guess not.” She looked at him. “Stop being so tall.”
James slumped in his seat, so his shoulders were level with Lily’s.
Stop being so innocent, she thought.
~
Author's Note: I'm sorry it took so long for my to update. It was rejected several times, so I redid it, was unsatisfied, and slightly edited it back to its original version. This must be a cursed chapter or something…
Additional Note: This review was the highlight of my life:
Sophia Mack says:
I swear, are you J.K Rowling?
*faints*
Additional Note #2: While I’m waiting for the queues to reopen, I’m tell you about my day yesterday… I GOT THE ELDEST!!! There it was, in Costco, right next to Harry Potter. That’s a really cool/scary red dragon on the cover. Scary enough to make the Hungarian Horntail jealous… I was up all night reading the first 150 pages. I think my mom is angry at me.
Edit: I finished The Eldest. It was amazing! Go pick it up or die.