Outward Appearances

Chapter 19: Serpents Strike

James had been late dozens of times before, but Lily had never been so without a good reason.

She nervously peaked her head into the classroom, a list of random excuses for being late running through her head. She hoped that McGonagall was in a forgiving mood and wouldn't take too many points away from Gryffindor.

However, to Lily's immense surprise and relief, McGonagall was nowhere in sight.

Some students were turned around in their seats and most of them were talking loudly-- a sure sign that the professor was absent from the room. That was strange.

"What's going on?" James asked from behind her.

"I don't know," Lily told him, moving out of the way so that he could see for himself. "I guess McGonagall is running late, too."

James grinned. "Too bad. I was looking forward to seeing you talk your way out of punishment for being late."

Lily gave him a dirty look and moved further into the room. Her gaze immediately settled on Rosier, and her eyes narrowed, anger quickly rejuvenating in her system.

He must have felt her glare, because Rosier, who had been chatting with his fellow Slytherin, Veronica McCoy, turned around and looked straight at her.

He simply stared for a moment, looking slightly surprised at her hostile expression. Then, his face easily slid into a self-confident smirk.

Lily's fingers clenched tightly into fists. She had seen that smirk plenty of times before, and it never failed to make her irate; especially now that she knew exactly why he was smirking.

Realizing that she had lost Rosier's attention, Veronica turned around to glower at Lily, who didn't notice since she was busy envisioning a list of all the possible ways to disfigure a person.

More than aware of the thoughts running through Lily's mind, Rosier's lips puckered into a quick, suggestive kiss.

A string of very colorful words were about to erupt from Lily's mouth, when she suddenly felt James' hand against her back.

"Are your feet glued to the ground?" he asked amusedly.

Lily quickly realized that she was blocking the aisle, with James stuck behind her. She hoped that James hadn't noticed Rosier's silent reminder of things that she definitely didn't need to be thinking about.

Sparing a final glare for Rosier, she turned toward the Gryffindor side of the room.

It didn't take her long to notice that there was a slight change in the usual seating arrangement. Her seat next to Arabella was still vacant, but the only other available seat was next to Sirius Black.

Lily was surprised to see him at the desk in front of Arabella. Black normally sat in the back next to Remus. But Remus was sitting with Peter for a change, and Sirius was looking at James with the same hopeful expression on his face that had been there at breakfast.

Lily slid into her seat slowly, watching as James gave the classroom a desperate search, looking for any other empty seat other than the obvious one.

There weren't any.

Scowling, James sank down into the seat next to Sirius and proceeded to completely ignore him.

"Where's McGonagall?" Lily asked Arabella, who was bent over her paper, desperately trying to add another inch before they were collected.

"Probably scoring with Professor Tilandi," was the reply.

Lily rolled her eyes and began to unpack her bag. She pulled out her paper first and laid it down carefully on the desk before getting out some spare parchment and a quill. The paper had been lying in her bag for weeks now, just begging to be turned in, and she was relieved to be finally unloading it.

Unfortunately, taking things out of her bag only served as a two second distraction. There were so many unresolved tensions floating around the room that Lily was surprised that anyone could breath normally.

Unbidden, her eyes slid over toward Marcella, who was sitting a few rows up from Lily. A pang of guilt shot through her, quickly followed by indignant anger. Marcella may be the occasional pain in the arse, but she definitely didn't deserve to be used.

Oh, Merlin. How must she be feeling? Did Vivian know? Xavier made it sound like Marcella's degradation was common knowledge. But then again, it was Xavier, and he had said a lot of shite. Hmn. Did Marcella want to talk about it over a vat of ice cream?

Okay, wait! Who said that Lily should get involved? Marcella hadn't come out and told her about this, so the other girl probably didn't want Lily's input. Or did she?

Shaking her head, Lily turned her gaze upon James' stiff back. She frowned. Sirius was whispering something to him, but James gave a curt reply that made Sirius quickly retreat back to his corner.

Lily bit her lip as she observed James' tense shoulders and Sirius' slumped posture. She was starting to suspect that Black had purposely positioned himself so that James would have no choice but to sit next to him.

Rather manipulative of him, she thought angrily. Bastard.

But then again, why was James still upset with him? He couldn't be that hurt over Black missing his game. Could he?

Lily sighed, now fully irritated. It was impossible to understand these people. She fished around in her head for something less annoying to concentrate on until the professor decided to show her face. Her gaze settled on her desk, and she shrugged to herself before beginning to rearrange the few items sitting in front of her.

Lily was just unscrewing her inkbottle for the third time, when something suddenly bumped hard into her arm. She gasped in surprise as ink splattered all over her front and onto the desk.

Lily stared at the mess in dismay and then quickly looked to her paper in fear. To her relief, the paper had only a few drops of ink along the edges, nothing too damaging.

She reached out, with the intention of moving the paper away from all the spilled ink, but pulled back, noticing just in time that her hands were also coated in black ink. Arabella, who had seen the spill, quickly moved Lily's paper out of harm's reach and glared at the girl who had knocked into her.

"Watch where you're going!" she snapped.

Lily looked up at the girl, surprised to see that it was Veronica McCoy. The girl had obviously been watching her with amusement. Lifting a perfectly shaped eyebrow, she looked straight at Lily and said in a side voice, "Oops?"

Oops? Did she just say, Oops?

Lily watched in disbelief as Veronica moved toward James' desk. Giving a final pointed look at Lily, she hopped up onto the edge of the desk and gave a James a dazzling smile. "Jaime," she greeted languidly, just loud enough for Lily to hear, and then her voice dropped so that only Sirius was close enough to overhear.

Arabella leaned over so that she could whisper into Lily's ear. "Is it just me, or is she deliberately trying to provoke you?"

"It certainly looks that way," Lily muttered, still too shocked at the incitement to be completely furious. What the hell was going on? Since when did McCoy know James?

She glanced down at her ink-stained lap, and her temper flared. Veronica ignored her fierce look, and proceeded to run a hand through James' hair.

That was it.

Lily was already half-standing when James halted her by brushing Veronica's hand away and saying something that made her frown.

Grimly satisfied, Lily sat back down. Take that bitch, she thought smugly.

Giving Lily a swift look, Veronica leaned down closer so that she was talking directly into his ear. Whatever she said made James' neck turn pink.

"What the hell is her problem?" Lily exploded in a harsh whisper.

Arabella shook her head grimly. "You know that type, Lily. As soon as a guy is officially off the market, their senses pick up and the next instinct is to make a general nuisance of themselves."

"What the heck does that mean?" Lily asked fearfully. Two seconds, and she was already going to have to fight off competition? That was hardly fair!

Arabella shrugged. "I'm just saying that McCoy's reputation precedes her. Everyone knows that she's a man-eater."

Lily frowned. She had never exchanged more than two words with Veronica McCoy. However, during the somewhat-longer-than-necessary amount of time that she'd been with Rosier, Veronica had definitely been around more than Lily would be liked, and she had left no doubt in Lily's mind as to what she thought of her.

And she was definitely a man-eater.

Obviously satisfied that she'd gotten the last word, Veronica hopped off of James' desk. With a smirk at Lily, she flipped her long hair over her shoulder and sauntered back to her seat next to Rosier.

Lily's eyes-- still narrowed in a glare-- followed her. Raising an insolent eyebrow at her, Veronica laid a possessive hand on Rosier's arm, tracing her fingers along his bicep. Rosier, self-centered prick that he was, didn't look up from the parchment that he was writing on.

Comprehension suddenly flooded over her, and Lily turned back around in her seat.

Rosier! It always seemed to come back to him, didn't it? He had obviously decided to recruit McCoy into helping him make her life into a living hell. Honestly, this was getting ridiculous! All she'd done was dump him, for crying out loud! Why was he taking it so personally? He obviously had McCoy to flame his ego now, so what was his problem? It wasn't exactly a secret that McCoy had been scheming after him for at least as long as Lily had been in the picture.

The doors suddenly burst open, and McGonagall swept into the room. She was wiping her hands off and looking extremely irritated.

"I apologize for my tardiness," she announced, taking her place at the front of the room. "But my assistance was needed in containing a rather... large annoyance." She observed the class silently for a moment. "How comforting to see so many of you scrambling to finish your papers," she said sarcastically. "Well, time's up. Pass them in."

A few people groaned loudly, to which McGonagall simply rolled her eyes. "I only gave you a month to complete it. Now, turn them in!"

Students began to shuffle toward the front of the room, some rapidly conversing about their papers. Before Lily could blink, James turned around and grabbed her paper along with his and, with a quick grin at her, went to turn them in.

Despite her lingering irritation, a small smile graced her face. Now, that was something Rosier had never done for her. Gallaway, either, for that matter. Hmn. She wondered how he was doing with the Great Squid. Her smile widened.

"Pen down, Ms. Figg!" McGonagall bellowed.

Lily was in the process of snickering at Arabella as she sheepishly went to turn in her paper, when something hit her head and fell onto the desk. Surprised, she stared at the crumpled paper and then turned around to see who'd thrown it. The only students still in their seats were Rosier and McCoy.

"I don't believe this."

"Believe what?"

Lily looked up at James, who was leaning against her desk. "Nothing." She smiled sweetly at him. "How do you know McCoy, James?"

His grin faded momentarily, and James shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "Um."

Lily raised a suspicious eyebrow at him, but before she could pester him further, Arabella returned.

"Hey, Potter?"

"What?"

"Why don't you sit with Lily?" she suggested innocently. "You guys probably want to sit together, right?"

James grinned, looking both appreciative and relieved. "Thanks, Figg."

Lily observed her with suspicion. "Yes, very helpful," she said critically. But why was she offering?

She suddenly caught sight of Sirius, talking with Remus. He was shaking his head dejectedly.

Oh.

"Back in your seats!" McGonagall ordered.

James grabbed his bag and slid into Arabella's seat. Lily watched with a tint of sadness as Arabella gathered up her stuff and moved it next to Sirius'. There was no denying it, anymore. She and Arabella were long overdue for an extensive bitch-fest.

Sirius came back to his seat and looked rather surprised to see that James had moved. He gave James a poignant look, and then slumped into his seat, looking gloomy. James pretended not to notice and focused on grabbing Lily's hand underneath the desk. Lily sighed. What the hell was the matter with everyone?

Arabella whispered something to Sirius, which earned her a small chuckle from him.

Lily bit her lip. It was a good thing that they shared this class with the Slytherins and not with the Ravenclaws. Well, good for Arabella, anyway. Lily was more than a little concerned for her friend. Greg may have turned a blind-eye to Arabella's infatuation with Sirius Black until now, but if she didn't knock if off pretty soon, it would all be over for them. It really wasn't going to help when Xavier decided to take his vindictive streak out on Arabella through Greg, which he had obviously already begun to do.

Lily's thoughts were interrupted by James' sudden proximity. He had leaned over and was blowing into her ear. A small squeak escaped her.

"James!" she scolded, pushing him away. Her cheeks were undoubtedly turning a bright shade of red.

Ignoring her protests, James leaned in, again, and whispered into her ear. "Sorry, but you had the cutest expression on your face."

Lily gave him a dubious look. Since when was uncertainty attractive? She opened her mouth to tell him off, but James' breath against her ear was certainly distracting, and she closed it, again. Oh.

Her eyes widened. His hand on her thigh was completely distracting.

She smiled. Damn that Potter.

"James," she murmured half-heartedly. "McGonagall..."

"Won't see a thing," he finished for her.

Oh, he was good.

Lily shivered and quickly decided that an interrogation about Veronica McCoy could definitely wait.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

By the time classes ended for the day, Lily was thoroughly bothered.

She was bothered by the fact that James had done nothing but grope her all day, only to give her a chaste kiss on the cheek and run off to stupid Quidditch practice the second their final class was over.

She was bothered by the way that Arabella had stuck to Black's side in every class, other than the ones that Greg was in. Her friend seemed to be unaware of what she was putting herself through.

She was bothered about the lecture she had received from Professor Hector, the head of Hufflepuff house, when he'd cornered her and deducted fifteen points from Gryffindor for pushing Xavier into the lake.

And she was really bothered about the way that McCoy had found a total of four opportunities during the two classes that Gryffindor shared with Slytherin to trip her. She had also thrown at least five objects at her head, ranging from crumpled paper to quills. Oh, and not to forget the total of three times that the slut had managed to touch James in some way.

What bothered Lily the most was the discovery that she now truly cared who touched James.

Needless to say...

Oh, yes.

Lily Evans was VERY bothered.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Walking back to Gryffindor Tower, Lily listened to Arabella go on about everything Sirius had said to her. By the time that they reached the entrance hall, she finally couldn't take it, anymore.

"And what about Greg?" she blurted out, interrupting her friend.

Lily immediately regretted opening her mouth, at all, but it was too late to take it back. She cringed and mentally smacked herself in the forehead.

"What about him?" Arabella asked, obviously confused.

Well, since she had already started digging her hole... "What did he say today?"

"What do you mean?"

Resigned, Lily sighed. "Bella, you do realize what you're doing, don't you?"

Arabella frowned. "I don't know what you're hinting at, Lily, but I don't think that I like it."

Lily eyed her friend warily. She didn't want to get into an argument with her, but the Sirius issue definitely had to be dealt with. "You told me that you were over Sirius," she said softly.

Arabella visibly stiffened, and Lily really regretted ever having broached the subject. "Well, you told me that you weren't interested in Potter, Lils, so what does that tell you?"

That we're both morons, she answered silently. Out loud, she said, "And what about Greg?"

"What about him?" Arabella repeated irritably. "It's not like there's a chance that anything will ever happen with Sirius, so Greg has nothing to worry about, does he?"

Lily sighed. This wasn't going well. "Why are you with him, Bella?"

"Why are you with Potter, Lily?" she countered.

Lily blinked. That was a good question. "Well, because he... Because I... Well, I guess that I like him a little," she admitted reluctantly.

"But the point is that you're with him now, aren't you?"

Lily shook her head. "No, the point has nothing to do with--"

"And what about Remus, Lily?" Arabella snapped.

She stopped and stared at her, both surprised at Arabella's dramatic shift in mood, as well as at the mention of Remus. "What about him?"

Arabella gave her a knowing look. "You can't seriously tell me that you're completely over him."

Lily frowned at her, a blush creeping up her neck. "Why can't I tell you that?" She didn't still harbor feelings for Remus Lupin. That would just be stupid, wouldn't it? Drooling after a boy who would never look twice at her unless it was to ask stupid questions on his friend's behalf... Plus, she had James, now-- a boy who made her hormones burn like there was no tomorrow.

"Because it would be a lie," Arabella told her.

Hardly the biggest that I've ever told, Lily thought sullenly. She didn't like the turn that this conversation was taking. "I don't want to talk about Remus."

Arabella nodded. "And I don't want to talk about Sirius."

"So, we're in agreement, then," she said weakly. And we've accomplished nothing, Lily added silently.

They were silent for a moment, and then Arabella gave her a thoughtful look. "Did we just have a fight?"

"Yeah, I think so," Lily said sadly.

"Oh." Arabella shuffled her feet for a moment and then looked up at Lily with a remorseful grimace on her face. "Let's not do that again."

Lily grinned in relief and gently nudged Arabella with her elbow in a sign of forgiveness. "Okay."

They were silent again, and then Arabella sighed and shook her head tiredly. "I guess my life isn't quite as perfect as I'd like to think, huh, Lils?" she joked self-depreciatively.

Lily shrugged sympathetically. "I do think that we need to hold court over a bitch-fest soon."

Arabella nodded, her smile becoming bitter. "I guess. Maybe we should invite Marcella to join in this time."

Lily lifted an inquisitive eyebrow. "How come you never told me about Marcella and Rex?"

"Told you what?"

Before Lily could answer, Arabella's eyes widened and she pointed to something beyond Lily's shoulder. "Hey, isn't that the lady who runs the dress shop?"

Confused, Lily turned around, and then promptly froze.

"What's she doing here?" Arabella mused.

That was a very good question.

Lily stared in shock as Sieranda Smiltine drew closer, her eyes searching the mass of students frantically. Her purple hair was tied up in some sort of golden turban that definitely looked out of place even in Hogwarts. Over the eye-catching purple flapper dress, she wore a long, brown open trench coat that looked as if it had been thrown on as a last thought in a twisted attempt at being conservative.

Oh, dear.

Lily's heart completely stopped when Sieranda's gaze finally landed on her.

She wouldn't...

Her hopes were crushed when a wide smile spread across Sieranda's face and she let out a shriek. "Lily!"

People turned to look at her, and Lily felt her face grow hot. Arabella turned to her, confusion evident on her face.

"Do you know her?"

Oh, dear.