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Tweak says, "You're with me, leather!"

miss l. a. evans, HBIC (fleurderouge) wrote in incanesco_rpg,
@ 2011-06-03 00:11:00

Entry tags:

!incomplete, james potter, lily evans

Who: Lily Evans & James Potter
What: Lily is going to try her level best to teach James how to be a respectable Head Boy. So, you know. Epic failure ahead!
Where: Heads' Study, sixth floor
When: Thursday, 2 September, 8PM
Rating: Probably no more than PG-13 for swearing
Status: Incomplete

Lily's first two days back at school were completely different from what she had been expecting. Lily had expected to feel nostalgic on the train ride, conduct a relatively successful Prefect meeting with a competent Head Boy as her partner, and enjoy her last Opening Feast. What had happened instead was that she had felt panicked on the train ride as whispers passed from compartment to compartment that three students were missing, dispelling rumours about their gruesome deaths. Her last Opening Feast was marred by Dumbledore's confirmation that all the rumours were true and the students and their families had been brutally murdered, with eighteen deaths in all. And the Prefect meeting on the train had been anything but successful, because her partner as Head Boy was none other than her worst enemy, James Potter.

At the moment, Lily felt that even the Slytherin candidate, Anthony Zabini, would have been preferable to Potter. Although Zabini would have likely have undermined her authority and insulted her in private, at least he would have done his job. Potter, on the other hand, had been content to lounge around and let Lily do all the work--except, of course, for when he wanted to interject with a flirtatious comment. As usual, Potter was left looking like the devil-may-care class clown, and Lily looked like a swot with a stick up her arse for merely trying to do her job. However, Lily was no shrinking violet. She was hardly going to sit by and let Potter get away with his immature little games. Lily was going to do her level best to get Potter to do at least a portion of the work he was meant to do, if it was the last thing she did.

With that goal in mind, she instructed him to meet her in their private study at eight o'clock the following evening. The study was one perk Lily was really looking forward to. If the Prefects' Bath was anything to go by, surely the Heads' Study would be similarly lavish and highly enjoyable. Lily followed the instructions to access the room that she had been informed of in her letter, and when the knight opened the door for her, she wasn't at all disappointed. Rather, she was a bit awestruck, and also glad that she arrived a couple of minutes early, so she could just stand and look around the room without Potter there to bother her. Lily strolled around the room, a look of almost childlike wonder on her face, one hand running across the dusty books on the shelves. She was so absorbed in the room that she didn't even hear the door open.

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fleurderouge
2011-06-04 08:08 am UTC (link)

Just as James had assumed, Lily was completely captivated by the books that all but covered the room. Sure, there were the expected record books, past rulebooks, books about being a Head Student...but there was so much more than that, too. Advanced texts from every subject--like the restricted section, only not Dark magic. Books full of handwritten notes from past Heads, with tips and greetings and reassurances. Lily had always loved books, and here she was captivated, trying to figure out which one to take out and flip through first.

Of course, before she could, she was very rudely interrupted. Lily had not heard James come in, but she did feel his hands on her waist and voice in her ear, and she reacted appropriately. Immediately, Lily let out a small scream of surprise, turned to face him, and shoved him away as hard as she could, backing up against the books. After a second, Lily realised that it was James, and her look of shock shifted to one of extreme irritation. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them again, apparently slightly more composed. Lily turned on her heel and walked toward the desk, shoving James with her shoulder as she passed him.

Lily had dropped her bag next to the desk as she came in, and she busied herself with rifling through it, rather than looking at James, for she knew that if she did, he would probably hit on her, and then she would get even more irritated than she already was. She had decided before coming that she was going to maintain her composure as much as possible, but she knew that around James Potter, that just didn't mean much.

After a moment of digging, Lily produced some parchment, her copy of the rulebook, a quill, an inkpot, and what appeared to be a couple of neatly-drawn blank charts. "Come on, Potter," she said, gesturing to the chair next to her. Still trying to keep things civil, Lily offered her partner the best smile she could muster, then said "Do you want to go over Prefect meeting protocol first, or work on the rounds schedules?"

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championswagger
2011-06-04 08:40 am UTC (link)

James half-expected Lily to hex his boys to oblivion as was her way, but clearly he caught her on a good day. Either that or she didn't want him to be out of sorts for the remainder of their time together. He couldn't help but be intrigued by her business face, and his smile was still plainly written across his features as she shoved him hard the other direction. James lifted his hands as if to say "I come in peace" before slipping both into the pockets of his trousers. He had to admit that Lily had the best angry faces ever. Any man with less resolve than Potter would likely be shaken to the core, but he met her frustrated looks with renewed confidence. It was partly Lily's fault he took such great joy in provoking her. Why wouldn't he when her responses always managed to bring her to rise to the occasion? It was apathy that scared him, and intense hatred was far from that so!

When Lily's eyes opened again to meet his, James smiled cheekily before giving a salute. It was a "welcome back to reality", if you will. Needless to say she wasn't so receptive, bumping into him with her shoulder as she passed. It wasn't near enough to provoke any pain, but he was impressed with her vigor all the same. The concept of someone the size of Lily managing to cause him any harm without the extra help provided by her wand was amusing at best. James turned to watch her as she walked past him, his eyes trailing down to her rear and then her legs before rising once more once she sat. Her white dress was a fabric unknown to him, but it was sheer enough at parts to allow him to see through beneath it when he was in close enough proximity. He decided to take it as a means to breech friendly conversation, all the while letting her know she got to him in ways she didn't likely understand just yet.

"You're a fan of floral prints," he stated nonchalantly, remarking about the bra she was donning as he sat down in the seat nearest her. She probably had given up hope for the table to provide distance between the two of them as James would have nothing of the sort. Resting both arms behind his head as before, James used his feet to push him back from the table, tilting his chair on two legs once again. Part of it was in show, but he admittedly felt more comfortable lounging than sitting erect. Merlin forbid he look the least bit concerned about something involving business!

As she forced a smile at him, James mentally indulged himself with thinking that maybe part of her could get used to such interactions between the two of them. He knew it was all forced on her part, having studied Lily's expressions long enough to distinguish subtle differences between some of the more common ones. Nevertheless James took it as he wanted to that very moment, smiling back in a carefree manner before motioning with a nod of his head toward her parchment. "As exciting as both those options are, I think we should start every meeting with a check-in. How was your day?" he inquired, tilting his head to the side as he made his chair circle back and forth via assistance from his feet.

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fleurderouge
2011-06-04 08:57 am UTC (link)

James' comment about 'floral prints' went over Lily's head at first. She was focused on ignoring him and keeping calm. As she sat up, though, she happened to glance down at herself and suddenly she realised what he was talking about. If one was looking for it, her dress was just a bit sheer, and obviously James had been looking. She gasped involuntarily, then shot him a furious glare, reaching into her bag again for her wand. With a flick of it, Lily conjured a soft, charcoal grey sweater out of midair which she promptly pulled over her head.

Crossing her arms protectively over her torso, Lily turned to James as he spoke. She bit back the caustic remark on the tip of her tongue, which would have been 'Excellent until I had to meet with you', and forced herself to stay focused on business instead, refusing to let Potter get a rise out of her as he wanted. "Normal. I handed out two detentions, Ravenclaw earned twenty points, and Slytherin lost ten," she said crisply, and then turned her eyes back to the parchment in front of her. "So, rounds or Prefect meetings?"

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championswagger
2011-06-04 09:17 am UTC (link)

The laughter was inevitable when Lily realized what he was referring to. Her gasp wasn't entirely unexpected, but conjuring the sweater, that was impressive to say the least. James snorted to keep the initial bout of laughter at bay, audibly clearing his throat in an attempt to disguise it as he managed to calm himself down again. Her curls were slightly disheveled following the scene, at which point James allowed his chair to fall back to all fours on the floor. He then scooted his body closer to the edge of his chair nearest Lily, reaching up with his hand to straighten a few pieces. Boundaries were a concept the boy knew not, and Lily had to have been aware of that by now. With another more gentle smile, he retracted his hand before she was able to make any move to shove him off once more. Then he rested both arms on the table and leaned forward, his eyes still on hers.

The concept of handing out detentions and stealing away points was still entirely new to him. Even so, James exercised his authority quite well over people that had always rubbed him the wrong way. Avery nearly wound up serving the weekend with Filch, that was until he backed down in his journal. While it was true James played favorites where Houses were concerned, he was quicker to overlook more things than Evans would ever give him credit for. That aside, he was also quicker to award unwarranted house points. The control he did have those first few days, however, only resulted at the fact James had forgotten his position more than once. He was still in the mindset of hexing people who deserved it, not dishing out punishment the old fashioned way. Far be it from Potter to become a nark! To the contrary, he'd decided if he could wing it most punishments would be served directly in his company, providing he didn't mind the offender or the offense. There was probably a law in that precious rulebook of Lily's stating a dozen or so ways such responses were prohibited, but James couldn't care in the slightest.

As Lily tried to guide the conversation back to business, James interrupted once more to continue with his idea for check-in. He knew very well she hadn't forgotten to return the sentiment. Rather Lily was trying to speed things along as was her way, and James would have nothing of it. He was going to milk the one-on-one time together for all it was worth. She had to be counting her blessings he'd given up the notion of calling it a date if nothing else. "My day went pretty well, thanks for asking," he interjected, giving her a smirk before casually continuing the train of thought as if her expression had no impact on his words. "Worked on some drills for Quidditch tryouts, taught a couple of third years not to corner unsuspecting birds in the dungeons and assume they'll get away with it, charmed the grass on the pitch to entangle the feet of anyone who steps there if they're not sporting scarlet and gold robes... y'know, the usual."

James shifted his body in his chair once more, allowing his hand nearest Lily to drop into his lap before conceding. "Rounds. Obviously we're going to go together. I mean, the odds anyone else would be able to keep me in line are inconceivable," he teased, his hand nearest Lily reaching out for her chair as he coaxed it gently back and forth. The boy couldn't sit still if his life depended on it. "Oh! And Goldstein with Rosier. That poor sod has to learn to stick up for himself around pureblooded wankers."

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fleurderouge
2011-06-04 10:10 am UTC (link)

Lily glared again as James moved too quickly for her, retracting his hand before she could slap it away. Damn his sodding Quidditch reflexes. She crossed her arms again, fingering the fabric of her sweater as James spoke. She couldn't care less about Quidditch; neither his drills nor his prank on the pitch bothered her enough to say something, but at the bit about the third years, she looked up, eyebrows raised and mouth twisted into a disbelieving smirk. "Really, Potter? You, teaching blokes not to corner unsuspecting girls? That's rich. Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones."

Finally, though, James seemed to be allowing her to return to business, as she had intended. She removed the lid from her inkpot as he spoke, pulling a list of Prefects written in her own neat hand towards her. Much as she hated to admit it, James was right about putting the two of them together. If she partnered James with Remus, nothing would get done, and if she partnered James with nearly anyone else, it would be catastrophic. She sighed as she dipped her quill in the ink, putting a check mark next to their names on the list and copying their names into a couple of spaces on the chart.

At the his next suggestion, however, she shook her head, looking up at him. "I know you're new at this, but use your brain, Potter. Considering recent events, it's hardly a good idea to pair a Muggleborn with someone known to hold blood supremacist views to do something where they'll be alone, late at night, in a nearly deserted castle." Lily barely restrained herself from rolling her eyes, then glanced at the list again. "Rosier with Thomas. He's a Pureblood, so Rosier won't try anything, and Charlie wouldn't stand for it even if he did. And Isaac can patrol with...Amelia Ward, the Hufflepuff, I imagine they'll get on well enough."

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championswagger
2011-06-04 10:48 am UTC (link)

He knew he had set up the page for Lily to cry "hypocrite", but that was precisely what he wanted all along. He didn't expect her to agree with his justification, but justification he would give all the same. "A few things wrong with your accusation, Head Girl. First off, I only corner you on my own. You're well aware of that by now. That aside, you are quite capable of brushing me off. In fact, I dare say there's little you can do better than shove me away, as you've proven time and again tonight. You are hardly unsuspecting. I'm not too sure you don't traipse about looking for me to prepare yourself in advance actually. And if that's not enough for you, let's just remember one thing, love: I actually fancy you and care about your greater good. Enough said?" Though it was a question, James meant it more along the lines of a statement, an abrupt end to that battle. The nerve of being compared to a bunch of spineless tosspots who didn't have the balls to confront a bird solo was insulting.

The exaggerated sigh wasn't lost on him, but he chose to ignore it this time. Both of them knew that was the way it had to be regardless, though admittedly James would have been just as pleased with Remus. Considering there would be one stray prefect every night, likely there would be rotations. James was aware they didn't work every prefect every hour of the night in the past years. After all, troublemakers like him made it their business to know such things. Still he hoped maybe she'd be willing to turn a blind eye on occasions that she wanted a night off. It would be a hard fight to win, particularly considering Lily was well aware that meant the other Marauders would be on the prowl that night as well--and they'd likely get by with murder if the occasion presented itself.

After Lily inked down their names next to one another in the chart, he beamed at her in approval. "Would you look at that? 'Lily Evans and James Potter'. Looks like a match orchestrated by the gods themselves," he teased, giving her a curious look when the violent shaking of her head commenced. "Gryffindor," he reminded her when she asked him to use his brain, leaving it at that before responding. "Ah, so you admit you don't think he has the balls to handle his own then? Come on, Evans. It's ickle Evan Rosier. You really think Goldstein couldn't best that shit?" Of course he was completely ignoring the fact that Prefect rounds weren't meant to be similar to gladiators, pitting people against the most worthy opponent and seeing who turned up at breakfast the next morning in once piece. Allowing her to win that round, James moved right along. "And Rosier can patrol with Remus. I reckon if anything turns sour, ol' boy will hand his balls to him in a glass jar."

Scratching the back of his head with his free hand before ruffling his hair a bit, James finally released his hold on Lily's chair and stood up abruptly. He walked over to a nearby table with an antique WWN radio sitting on its surface. Much to his dismay the bloody piece of shit wouldn't turn on. He banged his fist against it a few times before calling it quits, taking it as a sign he should probably give Lily a little more attention anyhow. Walking back over to the table, he sat on top of it this time, facing her on her other side. "Watson and Warrington," he blurted out randomly, no reason considered nor given. "And for fifth years, O'Brien and Hooper. King and Windsor. Macmillan and Clarke. Frye and Bones. Holmes and LeBreton, Zabini can piss off for all I care. That's about it, yeah, save the few fifth years whose names escape me?"

James leaned his arms on his knees in order to lessen the distance between him and Lily, straightening his glasses before adding to his former words. "All business aside for a minute, what are your plans for Saturday evening?"

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fleurderouge
2011-06-04 11:16 am UTC (link)

Lily didn't even bother trying to argue the point about James' flirtations with her being different. She knew that they would just go around in a circle; he would grin and she would get angrier and angrier, and nothing productive would come of it. Instead, she responded to his complaint about her dislike of the pairing of Goldstein and Rosier. "Prefect rounds aren't meant to end in duels, Potter. There's no need to push him off on Remus, either. Rosier will be fine with Thomas."

She had no sooner copied their names down before James started rattling off names, clearly already bored of this. Lily responded to each once he was done, ticking them off on her fingers. "Watson and Warrington is fine, but Bill O'Brien dated Mary Hooper's best mate last year and then cheated on her, don't you remember that? O'Brien can go with Remus, and Mary with Karen Jackson. Macmillan will eat Hyperion alive, she can take Isabelle and he can partner with Susan. Frye and Bones is fine, as is King and Windsor, and we'll do Adam Page with Gordon McGuire, Nott with Dolohov, and give Zabini the week off." As she spoke, Lily took down notes in her chart, and after almost a minute of silent scribbling, she stopped to look up at James, just in time for him to ask what her plans were.

Though she was pleased to find the rounds list finished, she was not pleased enough to say yes to that, and she let out an exasperated sigh. "None of them involve you, Potter. Now, Prefect meetings?"

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championswagger
2011-06-04 11:44 am UTC (link)

Having nearly given in to the temptation to fight Lily on the Remus issue, James decided to give it up. Truth be told he couldn't care in the least what the rest of the prefects did. As long as he had his rounds with Lily that was all that mattered there. James was fully aware of the fact his best mate could handle his own with Rosier, and frankly figured it would do Remus some good all the same. He needed to let loose a little more, and with a patrol buddy like Rosier, it was only a matter of time before someone came undone. Merlin only knew Rosier deserved whatever was coming to him.

Though James was half-assing his attempt at pairing Prefects, he was taken aback by the effort Lily put in to the entire thing. Not only did she remember each one he listed, quite impressive to say the least, Evans was able to brush off some for reasons beyond James. Of course he didn't remember Bill and Mary's potential issues. He gave himself props for simply recalling their names. Yet Lily was able to pull that and more from memory, smashing some of his suggestions like a bad habit. As she went to town, James smiled at her in that dumbfound way he did those times he didn't realize he was staring. His eyes darted between hers and her lips, only returning to her eyes permanently once she'd mentioned a week off for Zabini. Surprisingly enough he remained silent as the grave while she jotted down all that was exchanged between them.

It wasn't until she brushed his question off that he interjected again. "Hold the hippogriff, Evans. I wasn't asking you on a date. Cheers for that anyway. Would you like to give the knife a slight twist before pulling it out of my chest, hm?" He meant it in jest, but only slightly. If he was honest with himself, and with her for that matter, every time she turned him away it felt as if she was chopping his feet from under him. Far be it from James Potter to flinch regardless. "I was just wondering what the Head Girl does in her free time is all. A little small talk, if you don't mind humouring me for once in your life."

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fleurderouge
2011-06-05 05:02 am UTC (link)

Even as Lily was ticking off Prefect pairings on her fingers, she could tell that James was staring at her. Before she moved to write down what she had said, she glanced at him and caught the slightly goofy grin on his face, the one he got when he stared at her for too long. Lily's instinct was normally to quirk an eyebrow and say something along the lines of 'I'd suggest you take a picture, but I don't want you wanking to it later,' but this time she ducked her head and just started writing, glad of her curtain of curls for concealing her face, because she felt a little bit of heat rising in her cheeks. Why was she blushing at Potter staring at her? The only explanation Lily could think of was because maybe she had earned it this time; after all, she knew it was fairly impressive to know all the other Prefects already, as well as information about them, and it wasn't as if she had happened across that by accident. Lily was proud of her position, and she had already started putting a lot of work into it, which was part of why she was so irritated at James not taking his seriously at all.

Of course, once she finished, James managed to make her feel sheepish by saying he wasn't asking her on a date. Lily didn't entirely believe that, and it was that one shred of disbelief that allowed her to keep her composure. "Sorry, but given our history, you can't really blame me for assuming, can you?" she said with a wry smile. If asking her out hadn't been his intention, then humouring him would be her apology, and if it had been...well, so long as they got everything done in the end, a little small talk couldn't hurt.

Lily twirled her quill between her fingers as she spoke. "The Head Girl doesn't have overmuch free time, not with this being NEWT year, and her not being one of the lucky few who can pull top marks without cracking a textbook," Lily continued, shooting James a glare at that--but the glare had none of her usual venom behind it; indeed, it was almost playful. "Saturday night..." Lily scratched her chin with the end of her quill, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. "I'll probably have spent all day slaving over that awful essay we were set in Transfiguration today, and most of the evening doing the extra practise Professor McGonagall set me, and so by the time the night comes around I'll feel rather like turning my wand on myself. Of course, since you are infuriatingly good at Transfiguration and the essay will probably take you about a tenth as much time as it'll take me, you're going to spend your Saturday practising Quidditch and/or faffing around with your mates, am I right?"

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championswagger
2011-06-05 07:04 am UTC (link)

James could have bet his wand he saw the hint of a blush on Lily's cheeks, but she ducked behind her hair too quickly for him to determine for sure whether or not he'd just imagined it. On any typical day he would have pulled the curtain of hair back from her face to validate one way or another what it was, but at this point in time he was content with taking a spectator's role.

When Lily began to speak again he was grateful for having done so. Sure her words were biting at best, but that smile she now donned had nothing of its usual snark behind it. James allowed himself to believe that maybe he was getting somewhere with her this time. His own smile mimicked hers when Lily mentioned 'our history', at least remotely proud of that small feat. Whether Lily liked it or not, the two of them did have a history together. Being the insufferable romantic he was, James hoped it was only the beginning, but he kept himself focused in the present. It wasn't often he got time alone with Lily, so to not take advantage of the situation would be foolish. He made a promise to himself he wouldn't discuss any more business until she agreed to spend more time with him. A bribe, yes, but one he was willing to bet she'd benefit from as well as he would. "Maybe I should ask, in that case. Would hate to make a liar out of you," he teased.

It was a miracle in and of itself he was able to keep a straight face when Lily referred to herself in the third-person, but not only that, he managed to follow her words despite her fidgeting with the quill. "So let me get this straight. You're going to spend the first few hours of your day at a memorial service, return to the common room to slave over homework, opt for additional practise work you won't get marks on despite putting in all that precious time, and you're going to turn in early?" James looked completely surprised by her response despite the fact his shock was entirely manufactured. He assumed she'd be doing something along those lines. This was Lily Evans he was talking to, after all. The term 'overachiever' didn't even scratch the surface with this one. "Well I was going to donate my time to helping a couple of first years figure out the trick behind Wingardium Leviosa, but it would seem there is a cause more pressing I have to deal with. As Head Boy I'm charged with keeping close watch on the Head Girl in order to make sure she doesn't experience burnout prior to Christmas holiday. Dumbledore's orders and all," he added with a shrug, hopping down from the table before reaching down to twirl Lily's chair to face him. James crouched down in front of her with a hand on each arm of her chair, making himself completely vulnerable to any physical aggression that might ensue after such a bold move.

"Miss Head Girl, I find myself obligated by the law set down by Head Boys who've gone before me to relieve you of your obligations for Saturday night. Instead might I suggest some good, old fashioned House bonding with your fellow seventh years over an innocent game of Truth & Dare and various snacks destined to make you ill by night's end. What say you?"

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fleurderouge
2011-06-05 07:22 am UTC (link)

Lily fully expected James to ridicule her Saturday plans, and she was not disappointed. Not only did he put on a face of exaggerated disbelief, he gave her some of his usual straight-faced lies about how it was the Head Boy's responsibility to make sure the Head Girl didn't get burned out. "I've been working like this since first year, Potter, and I haven't been burned out yet," said Lily flatly, but the protest sounded half-hearted at best.

Of course, then, James got fairly close to her, putting both hands on the arms of her chair. Instinctually, Lily leaned away from him, but there really wasn't far for her to go. The expression on her face was a pretty clear warning, but she did listen to James' offer. Though a rejection was on the tip of her tongue, Lily actually thought about it for a moment. If everyone else was going to be there, then it would probably be tolerable--fun, even. Besides, as a small voice at the back of her head reminded her, she could possibly use this to her advantage.

"Let's not lie here, Potter. There's no such thing as an innocent game of Dare or Dare, which is what it is when Gryffindors are involved." Her expression hadn't changed, but it was clear she wasn't done speaking, either. "However..." Again, Lily let that pause hang between them before she continued. "If we get everything done tonight that we're meant to do, you swear on your honour as a Gryffindor that you won't act up at the next Prefect meeting, you promise to still help those first years with their Charms, and you don't forget to invite everyone else, or they don't have last minute plans, then...all right." That was a positively wicked smirk she was sporting now, and she even went so far as to extend a hand for James to shake.

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