Outward Appearances

Chapter 18: Squid Sighting

Lily looked around self-consciously. They had the attention of at least half of the Ravenclaw table. Mundungus gave her a sympathetic smile from his seat. She smiled miserably back and then returned her gaze to Xavier, who continued to glare at her.

"How about we talk somewhere else?" she suggested hopefully. Trying to have a normal conversation under this kind of scrutiny was just ridiculous.

Xavier nodded and they both began to walk toward the doors. Lily looked back once to give James a reassuring smile. He just glowered, looking as if the idea of Lily going off with Xavier didn't please him one bit.

Lily sighed and walked through the door that Xavier was holding open for her. James was the one who had insisted that she do this, so it was his own fault if he didn't like it.

The slam of the enormous doors echoed ominously throughout the entrance hall.

"Um, where to?" she asked. There was no way that she was taking him back to Gryffindor Tower, and James would probably throw a fit if she were to continue this in an empty classroom. Lily faltered. Now she was automatically considering James' feelings? Oh, dear.

"Let's go for a walk," Xavier said, already heading outside.

Lily sighed again and followed him. Damn it, why couldn't the boy take a brush-off like anybody else with the slightest amount of pride? He had to make it into a big dramatic show. Something he has in common with James, Lily thought wryly.

They walked in silence. Once they neared the Great Lake, Lily impulsively searched for any sign of the Giant Squid. Oddly enough, she had never seen it. Lily shivered as a cold burst of wind hit her. Maybe coming outside wasn't the best idea. She hadn't thought to bring her coat.

Xavier was the first to break the silence. "What did I do?"

Lily looked at him in surprise, unsure if she had heard him right. "What?"

"What did I do?" he repeated, staring at his feet. "What did I do to make you do this?"

What was he talking about? "Um, nothing?" she suggested uncertainly.

"Then why are you behaving this way?" he asked, sounding angry.

Lily immediately bristled. "Behaving which way exactly?" she asked.

"You know!" he exploded, finally stopping and facing her.

"No, I don't!" she returned. God, what was he on about?

"Does the name Potter ring any bells?" he asked scathingly.

Does the name Remus ring a bell?

Lily immediately shuddered at the reminder of her fight with James after the humiliating episode in the library. She folded her arms and glared at Xavier. "If you have a problem with James, then I suggest that you take it up with him. Because I--"

"Damn it, Lily!" Xavier yelled. "What is this? You've been ignoring me for weeks and I keep hearing these rumors about you and Potter--"

Keep? As in, several times? Lily's frown deepened. She didn't like that, at all. Who else had talked to Xavier besides Greg?

"I just don't get you, Lily! Are you trying to make me jealous or something? Is that what this is?"

Oh, for the love of... "No! I'm not trying to make you feel anything! God, Xavier! You and I were never together in the first place, so you have no right to act like this!"

"Never together?" he repeated incredulously. "How can you say that?"

Okay, it obviously was time to set Xavier straight. "Because it's true! Just because you hung around me doesn't make you my boyfriend."

Xavier's face contorted in fury. "That's bullshit, Lily! We went to Hogsmeade together--"

"My first mistake concerning you," Lily said harshly. "And Hogsmeade was Greg's idea, not mine."

"You held my hand!"

"You held my hand, and I only let you do it because it was bothering--" Lily stopped, but Xavier had already realized what she had been about to say.

"Potter?" he asked, once again sounding disbelieving.

Lily remained silent. She hadn't meant to lose her temper like that. Taking a breath, she attempted to calm herself down.

"You've been using me so that you could get with Potter?" he yelled.

Well, not technically. It had just worked out that way. But she couldn't say that. "Listen, Xavier--"

"No, you listen!" he shouted, cutting her off. "You can't treat people like that!"

Lily's temper suddenly reheated. "I don't need lessons on how to treat people from Hogwarts' biggest snob, Gallaway."

"How dare you!" he snarled. "You know, I didn't believe Rosier when he tried to tell me about you."

"Rosier?" she cried. Again?

Xavier continued as if he hadn't heard her. "He even tried to tell me that you went for anyone in a Quidditch uniform."

Lily stifled a frustrated scream. First that bastard had gotten to Snape, and now Xavier? "Let me get this straight," she said slowly. "You've been talking to Evan Rosier about me?"

Xavier faltered, yet still managed to look extremely pissed off. "Well, not exactly, but he did say some things--"

Lily had the sudden urge to leap into the Great Lake and join the Great Squid that had remained so elusive with her. The Great Squid probably never had to deal with vindictive exes. Oh, God. Was that what Xavier was going to become? Talk about having bad luck with the male gender.

"Xavier, just shut up for a minute," she ordered.

Clearly reluctant, he scowled, but thankfully, remained silent.

"I don't know what Rosier told you, but I haven't been using you."

"But Potter-- "

"James has nothing to do with you," she said quickly. "Because you and I have never been together."

"But--"

"There are no buts! Obviously there has been a rather embarrassing misunderstanding between us, and I'm sorry about that, but that's all it ever was."

There was a moment of silence, during which Xavier looked like he was thinking hard about something (possibly about a way to reclaim his dignity), and Lily evaluated how the conversation had gone so far. Officially, she had done exactly what she'd promised to do. She had told Xavier that there was no relationship, and now there was no reason why she had to stay...

Xavier's mouth suddenly curled unpleasantly as he looked at Lily. "Does Potter know about this?"

"About what?" Lily asked warily.

"That you've been manipulating guys to get to him."

This time Lily did utter a frustrated scream. Had he heard nothing that she'd just said? Her irritation just continued to rise as she thought about having had to deal with not one, but four pains in the arse (James included) during the course of one week. It was simply ridiculous!

A sudden glint off of the lake caught her eye. A snake-like shape slithered across the water and then disappeared.

The Great Squid.

The water was probably freezing this time of year...

Xavier was still talking. "Did you see Potter in the match against Ravenclaw? It was pathetic," he scoffed. "He could barely stay up on his broom."

Lily's eyes narrowed dangerously. Xavier was really pushing it.

Another glint from the water appeared in the corner of her eye.

"We completely swept the board with them," he continued smugly. "I heard that Potter had just gotten dumped before the game. Did you have to eliminate some poor girl who was standing in your way to Potter before you could get to him?"

Lily closed her eyes and began to silently count to ten.

Xavier gave a bitter laugh at her silence, mistaking it for a confirmation of his accusation. He shook his head and smirked darkly. "I guess I should have seen this coming."

Just keep talking Xavier, she warned silently.

"Birds of a feather, I suppose. I've seen the way that Arabella drools after Sirius Black. I even tried to tell Greg, but he wouldn't listen to me."

Lily looked up, shocked. She wasn't sure which was more alarming, the fact that even Gallaway had noticed that Arabella still wasn't over Sirius, or the fact that Xavier had been trying to use that to break up her relationship with Greg. Hmn. It was a tough one to call.

A faint splashing noise sounded from nearby.

"You're just the perfect team, aren't you? One of you goes after a bloke, while the other goes for his friend." He nodded to himself, not noticing Lily's amazement.

Lily wasn't sure whether to laugh or to have Xavier committed. "Leave your talents of deduction in the classroom. Arabella doesn't like Sirius," she lied in a vain attempt at protecting her friend.

The snake-like shape appeared again for a moment above the water. Large tentacles were just visible from Lily's standpoint.

Xavier snorted. "Please. It doesn't take a genius to know that Figg is a slut. So are you, I suppose, judging from your company. Everyone's heard about Marcella Murphy giving it up to that Slytherin--"

Before she could stop herself, Lily abruptly lunged forward and shoved Xavier as hard as she could. Having caught him off guard, Xavier's eyes widened as he stumbled backward.

There was a suspended moment in time, while Xavier flayed his arms like a bird as he teetered dangerously on the edge of the grass. Lily watched, torn between surprise at herself and insuperable anger.

Then, Xavier's foot slipped out from under him. With a yelp, he fell backwards into the water with a huge splash.

The water was probably very cold at this time of year.

Her anger winning over her shock, Lily didn't wait for Xavier to resurface before she turned around and began to stomp back up to the castle. Her fists were clenched at her sides and her breath came in angry puffs.

So it hadn't just been her imagination. Marcella really had been used by that bastard Rex-something-or-other. A memory of being shoved aside on the stairs by him as he had left Marcella in a shocked state suddenly flashed through her mind. Lily growled to herself. Fucking bastard. He had probably dumped her right before Lily had arrived, and then gone bragging the second he could to jerks like Xavier Gallaway and who knew whom else.

Lily shook her head. Poor Arabella. Who knew what Xavier had been telling his best friend about her? The worst part was that Arabella probably couldn't deny any of it, either. Aside from the slut bit, of course. Another wave of fury hit her. He had called them sluts. Bastard, bastard, bastard!

And what the hell was Rosier playing at? What could he possibly gain by sicking annoying people onto her? First Snape, and now Gallaway? Did he think that it was funny? Oh, she was so going to kill him...

And Snape. Best not to forget him. He was dead, too. He and Rosier both had the rather annoying habit of spreading damaging lies about her.

Wait, did she really just push Xavier into the Great Lake?

Lily paused. If so, then why hadn't she done it sooner? A bitter grin spread across her face and she continued on back toward Hogwarts. She hoped that he was currently serving as breakfast for the Great Squid. Gallaway with a side of seaweed.

Hmn. Maybe Snape and Rosier both needed to be pushed into the Great Lake, too. Or better yet, into a never-ending pit of despair. Yes, that would do.

Lily was so furious that it took her a moment to realize that she was standing in front of the doors to the Great Hall. She shoved the doors open roughly, and then quickly made her way back to the Gryffindor table.

James looked up as she approached, but before he could open his mouth to ask what had happened, Lily grabbed his face and kissed him violently. James was too surprised to react as Lily forced her tongue into his mouth. She roughly massaged his tongue a few times with her own and then released him. Frowning, she walked around the table and returned to her place across from him. Once seated, she began rapidly shoving things from her plate into her mouth.

It actually took Lily a few minutes to realize that the whole table was staring at her. She was too perturbed to care. Making sure to give Sirius Black a decent glare for good measure, she continued to shovel food into her mouth.

When everyone had gone back to their meals, or had begun to whisper, Arabella finally leaned over to speak to her. "I was afraid that you were going to devour his face. What was that?"

James was grinning madly.

Lily shrugged. "At least everyone knows that we're together now," she grumbled. "No more misunderstandings."

"I take it that it didn't go well with Xavier?" Arabella joked.

Lily lowered her gaze back to her food. "Um, you could say that."

"Well?" Arabella demanded when Lily didn't bother to elaborate. "How did he take it?"

"Who? Xavier?"

Arabella gave her an incredulous look. "Who else?" she cried.

"Well, what about him?" Lily asked irritably. She wasn't looking forward to telling her best friend that this time tomorrow could mean that the entire Ravenclaw house may very well be festering with rumors about the both of them. If it wasn't already.

Arabella gave her a frustrated glare. "How did he take it?" she cried.

Lily went back to her eggs.

"Ahh!" Arabella shrieked. "That's it! James, would you get me my wand? My bag is by your foot--"

"No!" Lily cried, alarmed. She had been the brunt of Arabella's frustration in the past, and it had taken her an hour to get her hair to turn back to its natural color last time. Why did everyone always curse her hair?

"Then spill," Arabella said threateningly.

She sighed and mumbled an answer quickly, "Ipushedhimintothelake."

Arabella exchanged a look with James. "What did she say?"

James shrugged. "I was hoping that you could translate."

Lily sighed again. "I pushed him into the lake," she said grumpily.

They stared at her.

"You... What?" James asked finally.

"He was being an ass!" Lily yelled indignantly. God, why hadn't she listened to Arabella about Rosier? Why did she ever agree to going to Hogsmeade with Gallaway?

"When is he not?" Arabella joked.

"Then you understand my reasons," she said sensibly.

Arabella laughed loudly. "I don't think anybody understands you, Lily. But that doesn't mean that your random bursts of insanity aren't entertaining. Thanks for that, by the way, Potter. She was at her best when she was in denial about you."

James and Lily both glared at her.

"No problem," he said sarcastically.

Arabella ignored their expressions. "Okay, I want details about Xavier," she said seriously.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked uneasily.

Arabella grinned. "How did he look just before he hit the water? Did his arms flay all over the place? Any chance that he'll be sacrificed to some water-god by the merpeople?"

Lily grinned. "Hopefully."

James laughed, looking much more relieved now then when she had last seen him before leaving with Xavier. She frowned when everyone around her started to stand up.

"Where are you going?" she asked in confusion.

"To hell," Arabella said cheerfully.

James rolled his eyes at her and then turned back to Lily. "How out of it are you?" he teased. "We have Transfiguration."

Lily grimaced and didn't move. "But I just got here," she complained.

James sighed and hauled her to her feet, simultaneously grabbing her bag that she had left on the bench. "Then maybe you shouldn't have spent so much time with Gallaway, Lily."

She glared at him.

James stared back and then slowly grinned in a way that made Lily's anger melt into an entirely different emotion.

"Hey, Figg?" James called, not looking away from Lily. "Why don't you go ahead? We'll catch up with you."

Lily blinked. Why did Arabella have to go ahead-- Ooohh. She attempted to smirk, but it came out looking far too much like a huge grin.

Arabella laughed and picked up her own bag. "Don't be late," she called over her shoulder.

Not waiting for James to take the lead, Lily quickly grabbed his hand the second that Arabella had disappeared through the doors. She pulled him out of the Great Hall and down the corridor in the opposite direction from the Transfiguration classroom. Once they had passed several classrooms, James finally stopped her.

"Lily, if we go any farther then we'll never make it to class on time."

Lily really didn't give a flying leap about class at the moment. She let James know this by way of trying to pull him even farther away from the direction that they should have been heading in. She was surprised when James didn't budge.

But before she could complain, he was swiftly dragging her back a few feet and lifting up a large tapestry away from the wall. Lily gasped.

"That's a passageway!"

James laughed. "Very astute, Luv. Now, if you don't mind, I'd rather not have anyone else know about this tunnel."

Taking the hint, Lily quickly scurried inside. She took in the dark passageway while James made sure that it was covered from the inside.

"Where does this go?" she asked curiously.

"To Hogsmeade, where they all go."

Lily bit her lip. She didn't want to think about Hogsmeade.

Thankfully, James saved her the trouble by shoving her up against the wall.

"Aren't we subtle?" she murmured.

"Quiet you," James ordered, leaning down to capture her mouth.

Lily bit his lip in response, securing her arms around his neck. James brushed against her mouth feverishly, like a drowned man searching for oxygen. She moaned softly and pressed against his mouth hungrily. Lily still had several tensions pent up, and who better to take them out on then James?

Keeping with this spirit, she hastily pushed his robe aside (an action which he quickly followed). Locking one of his legs behind Lily's, James pulled her closer so that their bodies were aligned. Their tongues met eagerly.

For once, Lily didn't allow James to take the lead, instead choosing to fight him for control. For some reason, this stimulated him to press her almost painfully back into the wall, a guttural growl erupting from his throat. As James' hands found their way back under her sweater, Lily buried her hands in his thick black hair. She secured two fistfuls and continued to battle for dominance. A shiver danced up her spine as James traced it with his fingers. Damn him. He had found one of her weaknesses. She whimpered pathetically. Well, two could play at that game. Releasing one of her fistfuls of hair, Lily moved her hand down and slid it up under James' sweater. She grinned against his mouth as James actually trembled under her fingers.

Take that, she challenged silently.

Lily finally pulled back when one of James' exploring hands found a certain clasp. They both gasped for air, breathing heavily against each other's mouths.

Getting control of herself, Lily gave James a look and purposely reached behind her back and pulled James' hands out of her sweater. He raised an eyebrow at her, and then lowered his mouth to her neck. Lily leaned her head back against the stone to give him a better angle, which he quickly took advantage of.

"What is it with you and my neck?" she teased, shivering as James' tongue slid over her jaw. Lily didn't particularly care that James was probably destroying the work of Arabella's concealment charm.

"What is it with you and my hair?" he retorted, referring to the handful of black locks that Lily was still clutching.

"Will you shut up and keep doing-- Ooohh, yes, that! Yes, right there." She arched her neck as James found another one of her weak spots. Damn him.

He chuckled, and slowly kissed his way up from her neck to her ear. "We're going to miss class, you know," he breathed into her ear.

"Um, don't care," she panted.

James flicked his tongue against her lobe, earning himself a moan. "I suppose that means that you don't care about that paper that's due today, either," he joked.

It took a moment for the haze in Lily's brain to get around that one, but when it did, her eyes flew open and she groaned. Oh, no. That paper had taken her days to complete! Thankfully, she had finished it right before this whole thing with James had started up. There was no way that she could have finished it with James doing--Oh, that again.

James, having mistook her groan for something entirely different, was back to sucking urgently on her throat.

"James, stop!" she gasped. "James! Hey, are you listening to me?"

"What?" he asked, finally pulling away.

"We're going to miss class!" she cried, completely forgetting that he had been the one to bring it up.

"Your point?"

Lily shoved him away and began straightening her clothes. "I can't believe that I almost blew off turning in that paper!"

James watched her for a moment and then he made a disgusted noise. "Damn it, Lily. I never would have brought it up if I had thought that you really did care about that stupid paper! I was just kidding!"

Lily ignored him and pulled out her ponytail, being sure to fluff her hair in a way that would hopefully cover up most of the marks that James had made this time. "What are you complaining about?" she asked. "We can always pick this back up after classes end." Yes, and then it would be time for some serious payback. She grinned.

James groaned. "No, we can't! Kingsley booked the Quidditch field for an emergency practice this afternoon! Right after classes!"

She looked at him in alarm. "What did he go and do that for?" she cried.

James shook his head miserably. "I think losing after all this time was a real shock to his system. He wants to go over all these new plays he came up with last night..."

Her eyes narrowed. "I'm going to kill him."

He nodded unhappily. "Maybe it could be a collaborative effort."

Lily sighed. So much for that. Realizing that it could be a whole day until she felt James' hands on her again, Lily impulsively reached forward and pulled him down for one last kiss. James was surprised, but his hormones were more than happy to take over for his brain. Emitting another growl, his tongue dove into her mouth.

They both broke apart at the same time and stared at each other, thinking the same thing.

Classes were going to be torture.

Damn Quidditch practice.