Framboise et Coquelicot

Chapter 9: To drink or not to drink?

`Can I borrow your mascara, Amy?´

`Sure, Beth. But don´t forget you said I could use your `sparkling moonlight´ eye-shadow...´

`Do you want to look like paint pots? You don´t need all that make-up!´

`Oh shut up, Marian. Besides, you can talk! I know you keep some Marie´s Flawless Snow-White powder in your bedside table!´

The voices drifted through the closed bathroom door but Lily didn´t pay attention to them. She had had chosen to stay with her friends to prepare for the ball and had foregone using the Prefects bathroom. Her eyes kept shifting from the mirror in front of her to the small vial resting on the sink.

She was having second thoughts.

The conversation she´d had with Howard had turned out to be more of a pep talk than anything. The `Plan´, as she called it, had seemed fine when she´d first heard about it but, during the past week, she had found herself doubting her judgement more and more. Did she have the right to meddle in Marian´s life? Besides she wasn´t even sure she should trust Howard blindly like that...

`Do you think I should rather wear my hair up instead?´

`No, those loose ringlets look very good on you, Amy.´

`Can you charm some powdered glitters in them?´

`You´d better ask Lily. When she comes out of the bathroom that is,´

Beth added louder so that Lily was sure to hear it.

But Lily was still oblivious, the small vial now clutched in her hand. Howard had said he had made it raspberry flavoured so she could cross off `disgusting mixture´ of her `Why I shouldn´t drink this´ list.

A pounding on the bathroom door made Lily jump.

"Are you done already?" Marian asked loudly. "I still need to wash my hair."

"I´ll be just a minute!"

She was frantic now. She was always frantic when she hadn´t made up her mind in time, be it about an exam question or real cases like this one. And as always when she had to choose in a hurry she made the wrong choice.

***

"You look very nice, Lily!" Beth exclaimed when she came out of the bathroom.

Lily smiled. She wasn´t a vain person but she knew the dark green robes she was wearing suited her quite well indeed. "Thanks, Beth. You look very nice too."

"I hope you´ll have a compliment for me too when I´m finished!" Marian said before disappearing into the bathroom.

"Could you charm these in my hair so they won´t fall off during the evening?" Amy brandished her box of Star Dust (`Charmed to match your hair and dress robes!´) like a weapon.

Lily took the box and examined it for a while. "It says it already has a slight charm to ensure that they won´t come off."

"Yes I know. But I´ll need a stronger charm for the activities I intend to engage in tonight." She winked at Beth who wriggled her eyebrows suggestively. At least some people were going to enjoy their evening...

***

An hour later the four Gryffindor girls were ready and closed the door of the dormitory. None of them had dates in their own house. As a matter of fact, they had all managed to snatch seventh year boys and they-at least Beth and Amy- were very proud of it.

The common room was bustling with activity but Lily didn´t see James or the boys. They were probably making sure everything was ready for the `Thing´, also know as the famous and overdue prank on the Slytherin. From what she had gathered Slytherin boys would find the hem of their dress robes raising into the air above their heads and quite unwilling to go down again. Canaries were to be involved at some point but Lily was unclear as to the details. Sirius thought the whole thing would be hilarious. Good on him.

"By the way, Lily," Marian said as they went down the great marble staircase, "you left an empty vial on the sink in the bathroom. I didn´t know if you wanted to get rid of it or not so I put it in your drawer."

Lily swallowed and tried to act nonchalant. "Oh, thanks. I didn´t want to throw it away."

Marian´s attention was drawn to something down in the Entrance Hall and she replied distractedly, "Sure."

Following Marian´s gaze, Lily spotted their two Ravenclaw dates for the evening waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs.

She blinked a few times. Was that tall and sexy boy good old Howard Clint? She would never have guessed he´d clean up so nicely. Both him and Gregory Wentworth wore sober black (black was definitely back in fashion with Raven always sporting the colour) but the dress robes were tailored so as to reveal pleasant male attributes such as broad shoulders and narrow hips. If the school robes were cut like that there would have been a suspicious lack of attention in class from the female population.

"Good evening ladies," Howard said gallantly before securing Lily´s hand in his own.

"You certainly look ravishing tonight." Gregory chimed in.

Lily waited for the `Cut the crap´ Marian would always throw when males were heavily using compliments à l´eau de rose. Instead her friend blushed prettily and self-consciously smoothed down the front of her robes.

Howard held her back when Marian and her escort started toward the Great Hall´s doors. "Did you drink the potion?" he whispered.

Now was the moment. She could tell him that she wanted to call off the whole operation...

She opened her mouth to answer but a loud voice prevented her from taking the coward way out.

"Lily darling! You certainly are a sight for sore eyes. What with me seeing nothing but the faces of three dunderheads for the past hours..."

"Everything will be alright," she whispered back hurriedly to Howard before turning to watch Sirius coming down the stairs, his three friends in tow.

The four Gryffindor boys were also wearing black, as were most of the boys tonight, she noticed suddenly. It looked like they were all going to a bloody burial.

"I´m so glad I can be of any use to you, Sirius darling. Even if it´s only to soothe your poor eyes." Sarcasm was her friend, she told herself. She had to hide behind it so that no-one would notice the mess her mind was in.

She had to admit that up-close they cut quite an imposing picture. She didn´t know what was the matter with her but she found all the males of her acquaintance suddenly very attractive. Maybe she was into men in black. She already knew about her fondness for a *certain* male in uniform but the black thing was new. And it still made her think of a burial.

She was jerked from her contemplative state when Howard sneaked his arm around her waist. "But it will be my eyes she will soothe tonight, Black," he said mischievously. "And now we must be off, they´ve started the dancing."

He stirred Lily away toward the Great Hall as the first notes of music drifted in the air.

***

Lily had to admit that Howard was a very acceptable partner. She was no expert herself but, as far as she was concerned, someone who did not tread on her toes was ` an acceptable partner´. They had made small talk while covertly watching Wentworth holding Marian a little closer than necessary and whirling her around the Hall. Well, at least Howard was watching them. Lily divided her attention equally between watching her friend and examining their surroundings.

Round tables had been disposed on one side of the room to rest your tired feet or to have a nice conversation with friends in front of a glass of pumpkin juice. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were presently getting up from one of the tables. They slithered among the crowd and discreetly exited the Hall.

It bothered Lily that James had seemed to be avoiding her since she had asked him to take her to the ball. She had not exactly felt humiliated or unreasonably angry by his refusal... things had turned out alright for her in the end after all. But she couldn´t see why he had suddenly decided to step off that nice and well-paved road to a closer friendship they had been walking on.

She cast a glance at Marian and saw her laughing at some funny thing Wentworth had just told her. No spiked drink in sight yet.

She then let her gaze wander aimlessly around the room, taking in the other couples dancing, the Governors seated at a special table and merrily downing their Butterbeer, Dumbledore leading Professor McGonagall on the dance floor, the wizarding band playing their strange instruments...What was their name again? Prowling in the Dark? The Dark Rodents? She was sure `dark´ was part of the name but couldn´t remember the rest. The musicians, sporting black robes ripped strategically in certain places, were now quite incongruously playing a waltz and they seemed none-too happy about it.

Beth and Amy had been the ones to choose the group but the teachers, or the Board, must have imposed the tame repertoire they were playing tonight. None of the musician played an instrument that could have been part of a classic orchestra but, here they were, playing `My sweet witch is baking a pumpkin pie´, a classic you could adapt to any tune. The waltz did not allow lyrics and Lily was thankful for that. She discreetly looked at Howard´s watch and had trouble correctly reading the complicated symbols on it. Whatever the time actually was it couldn´t be very late. It was going to be a long evening...

***

Half an hour later Lily found herself sitting at a table with Marian, Howard and Gregory Wentworth. There had been no talk of drinks yet but Lily´s stomach was knotting quite viciously as she was sure it was only a question of minutes.

When Amy came to drag her away for a moment she felt guiltily thankful for the brief reprieve. Before she went Howard had squeezed her hand reassuringly. She supposed it meant he´d do whatever was necessary if she wasn´t back when It happened.

As it turned out, It happened when she finished adding a double dose of Star Dust to Amy´s dress robes. She was coming back to the table when she saw that Marian was holding a glass of pumpkin juice she didn´t seem too keen on drinking. Marian hated pumpkin juice. It was a bad move on Wentworth´s part and it said a lot about the boy if after nearly four months he still didn´t know what Marian didn´t like.

Perhaps Marian would abandon the offending glass and Lily wouldn´t have to play her little charade...But no, it wasn´t going to be that easy. Marian seemed to succumb to Wenworth´s pitiful imitation of a puppy dog and she was about to take a sip for his sake.

There was no time for thinking and Lily forged ahead.

"Is that pumpkin juice? I´m dying for pumpkin juice. Do you mind?" she said, grabbing the glass out of Marian´s hands and downing half of it in one gulp.

Everything seemed to blur slightly and the noise of the Hall was reduced to a drowsy buzz. Lily blinked slowly to clear her vision but the sound was still dimmed. The very small fraction of her brain that was still functioning told her that she had landed herself in a fine mess.

A hand on her shoulder broke the spell and everything was back to normal in a flash.

"Are you alright, Lily?" Marian asked worriedly.

Lily swallowed. "I´m fine. I just drank too much too fast."

Her brain was now functioning to full regime. Why wasn´t it working? The vision of the thick dark red potion going slowly down the sink like a runny giant slug was still imprinted in her mind. She had been careful to look at Wentworth as she downed the drink but she felt no attraction whatsoever towards the Ravenclaw boy.

Great. Just great. She had ditched Howard´s potion because she was afraid she wouldn´t be able to pretend convincingly in front of Marian and now she would still have to use her meagre acting skills. She looked helplessly at Howard who was watching her like a hawk. She trusted the goblet in his hands and, mentally cringing, turned to Gregory Wentworth.

The next thing she knew she was being seized by the arm and dragged out of the Great hall.

"Sorry to barge in on your little Gryffindor/Ravenclaw interlude but we need your help," Remus said as he led her down a dimly lit corridor.

It was at this moment that the potion started to kick in.

"What?" Lily said distractedly. How had she not noticed that Remus was quite well built before? Quite strong too if the firm grasp he had of her arm was any indication.

She wondered what it would be like to kiss a werewolf. Would it be intense and savage like she had read in some book? Or would Remus´ kind nature overpower the wolf in him?

How wrong could it be to find out? A thrill of excitation ran down her spine.

Remus came to a stop in front of a door and turned to Lily.

"We have a little problem with one of the charms involved for the prank and I was sent out to enlist your help."

He didn´t see the hungry look in Lily´s eyes. Therefore it came as a complete surprise when she pushed him gently against the door. A torch was hung close to the door and, momentarily blinded and confused, he didn´t hear the faint voices coming from the other side.

`What was that?´

`Probably just the wind or Peeves.´

`I wish Remus would hurry up, it´s freezing in here.´

"Lily, what are you-?"

"Shh". Lily stepped close to Remus and placed a finger on his lips.

Remus gulped. Now that Lily was standing in the light with him he saw the look in her eyes. And he knew what kind of look it was too. It was the king of look himself would have while looking at a wayward and helpless human on a full moon night.

The finger on his lips was withdrawn and the hand trailed down until it came to rest on his chest. A bit of wriggling and the fingers slipped inside his dress robes. Oh dear...

Lily the Huntress could feel Remus´ heart beating erratically and she smiled, lifting her other hand and curling it around his neck. She played with his hair, twirling a soft strand around her index finger.

"My little wolf wants to play, doesn´t he?" she whispered coyly in his hear, bringing her body even closer to his in the process.

Remus´ eyes widened in terror. What had she just called him? She couldn´t know, could she? And what had happened to the Lily he knew? She usually wouldn´t be seducing old friends in a dark corridor.

But his mind had to shut down when he felt a soft pair of lips pressing against his own. If only the full moon hadn´t been a mere week away...if only he had been able to rein in the wolf´s hunger...He had felt it stirring the whole evening while watching all the human beings crowding the Great Hall.

James was going to kill him.

There was a loud thud as he swiftly grabbed Lily and slammed her against the door in the same spot he had occupied a second before.

Unlike Lily who barely knew who she was kissing so passionately anymore Remus was very aware of the person whose body was pressed tightly against his.

He let a hand wander under her robes to cup a well-rounded breast, never stopping ravishing her mouth. A mouth that tasted of pumpkin juice and something else. Caught up in what they were doing he didn´t linger on that piece of information.

He heard her gasp as he tightened his hand on her breast and he was about to bend his head to trail kisses down her throat when he felt himself tumbling forward.

A second later he was sprawled on the floor atop a very confused Lily and with three wands at his throat.

"I told you there was someone behind the door, Sirius," James said a bit too calmly.

It was then that Lily passed out and that Remus found himself all alone to do the explaining.

***

When Lily came to a few minutes later she wondered what the hell she was doing in a deserted room when she was supposed to be walking down a corridor with Remus.

Then she realised that the room was not so deserted after all. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were there too. But they were supposed to be preparing that stupid prank. So why was Peter performing a light healing charm on Remus´ bloody nose? Why was Sirius pacing in front of James as if he were guarding some prisoner? She also noticed that Sirius had two wands in his hand: his own and James´.

If she put two and two together she would get a strange result: James had punched Remus in the nose. Sirius had probably stunned James and wisely removed his wand before performing an Enervate. And Peter was vainly trying to stop the light flood of blood running from Remus´ nose. Yes, very strange indeed.

"James, how may times have you told me to think before acting?" Sirius was saying angrily. "And here you go paying no heed to your own advice the first chance you get!"

"That´s not true," James answered sulkily. "Did I punch you when I thought you had made my Invisibility Cloak into a play ball for Lily´s cat?"

"Alright then, the second chance you get," Sirius conceded. "But still-"

"Peter, for Merlin´s sake, stop waving your wand aimlessly around like that!" Remus interrupted exasperatedly. "I´m getting cross-eyed and besides your charms aren´t working."

"Serves you right." Lily heard James mutter.

"What was that, James?" Sirius asked innocently, twirling his wand lazily.

"Nothing."

"Thought so. Now, I didn´t hear you apologising to Remus yet, James."

"I´m sorry Remus. I just thought that a good punch would knock out the err...wolf in you. It was a well-meant punch. Can I have my wand back now Sirius?"

Sirius grudgingly handed him the thin piece of wood.

"Don´t pout like that, Sirius. I´ll let you play the bad Auror again if you´re a good boy." James smirked and pocketed his wand before making his way toward Lily who was trying to sit up on the cold floor. "Are you alright?" he asked, pulling her to her feet. "Remus told us you had probably been drugged."

Lily turned to Remus. "How did you know?"

"From the look in your eyes," Remus lied, bringing his sleeve to his nose to stop the bleeding. He didn´t think that telling her mouth tasted like anti-inhibition potion would go well with James right now.

"Oh". Her brain was pulsing slowly inside her skull. She couldn´t remember what happened after they left the Hall but she did know that she wouldn´t mind kissing Remus.

Her gaze shifted to the tall boy with round glasses standing next to her.

Or James.

A bit of travelling on the right.

Or Sirius.

Back to Remus-still kissable-a bit on the left.

Or Peter.

She would even kiss Snape at this very moment. Or Professor Raven, why not Professor Raven after all?

Her mind had been a bit foggy since she had woken up but now it was very clear again. She had to find Professor Raven.

Lily smiled dreamily. She took her wand out of her sleeve and absentmindedly healed Remus´ nose before heading out for the door. But something wasn´t right. Why couldn´t she walk?

"Not so fast girl. You´re not going anywhere until you tell us what this is all about."

James´ hold on her was too strong for her to break without using magic. And she didn´t want to hurt him; he had such a sexy voice...a very sexy voice. Time for a change of plan...

She turned toward James who seemed to be busy staring at her breasts. Breasts who were a bit too exposed. She didn´t remember lowering the bodice of the robes quite that much. Oh well, no matter...

"Er...James..." Sirius said to his oblivious friend. "I don´t think the potion wore off yet."

Remus too had seen the predatory look coming back in Lily´s eyes.

But it was Peter who performed the Petrificus Totalus that sent Lily falling into James´ arms like a stone. He staggered a bit under the unexpected weight and snapped out of his trance. He then looked suspiciously at Remus. "I don´t remember her neckline being so low at the beginning of the evening."

Remus had the grace to blush. He knew that had James not known that, once it was awaken, he couldn´t contain the wolf in him so close to the full moon he´d be in for another bloody nose.

***

"Be careful, Sirius! Her shoe is going to fall!" Peter hissed as the little group rounded a corner, the Prank forgotten for now.

"Indeed." Said a cold voice in front of them.

James and Sirius nearly dropped Lily´s stiff form in surprise. The bastard moved soundlessly.

Severus Snape took in the scene before him. Potter and Black were carrying the stiff body of a girl with Pettigrew holding a green shoe and Lupin was standing nearby, looking a bit dishevelled. Perfect. He knew the sneer he had automatically put on was one of his best one. Time for a bit of fun...

"Well, well, well, what have we here? The Hogwarts´ Four carrying an unconscious girl to one of their secret hideaways. I wonder how many points I could take off for that..."

"Shut it Snape. We´re bringing Lily to the infirmary," James said none too gently. He had been in a fool mood the whole evening and he wasn´t about to let the Slytherin stand in his way now.

Snape´s sneer faded and he frowned. "What happened to her?´ he asked moving closer to Lily´s body. He leaned forward, trying to have a better look at the funny little light in her opened eyes.

Remus´ hand shot forward and rudely pulled him back. "Don´t you touch her."

Snape ignored him and turned to James. "What happened to her?" he repeated.

"Anti-inhibition potion." James answered shortly. He watched warily as Snape searched for something in his robes but Remus and Peter had their wands at the ready so it was doubtful he´d try something.

Severus saw the wands too and slowly pulled a silver flask out of his pocket. "You can lower you wands, I just want to help. It disgusts me to see potions employed in such a fashion, and I wouldn´t even accuse Gryffindors of such practices." Merlin! He couldn´t remember the last time he´d talked to any of the four boys without throwing in an insult every two words! And now he had just nearly paid them a compliment! What was the world coming to... "Unfreeze her," he ordered.

And he was surprised when they lowered Evans to the floor and did as he asked without a word.

He then scooped down, uncorking his flask, and quickly poured a bit of liquid into Lily´s mouth. He made sure she swallowed all of it before standing up again. "Browning´s multi-function potion," he said. "Every wizard should have a flask on his person."

"Damn it! I think I´m going soft" he whispered angrily to himself as he stormed away.

There was a perplexed silence after his departure.

"I think old Snappy is going soft," Sirius said after a while.

"Who´s going soft?" Lily asked. She was on her feet and felt incredibly good.

"Snape. He just cured you from that potion someone made you drink," Peter answered. "Glad to see you´re better by the way."

"Do you fancy a private snogging session somewhere? Just you and me?" Sirius asked hopefully.

Snogging...snogging...Oh dear...she remembered everything now.

Lily looked at Remus and winced when she saw the wild disarray of his hair. She cleared her throat embarrassingly. "Sorry about ...er...you know, what I did back in that corridor."

Of course Remus said it was alright, that she hadn´t been herself. In short he would never mention it again. Dear Remus, a friend after her own heart.

She had to explain-in the vaguest possible way- the Plan because James thought that someone had purposefully drugged her. As they made their way back to the Hall Sirius, Remus and Peter talked about the many things they could do to Wentworth in retaliation but James kept silent.

When he finally opened his mouth it was to ask her for a dance. And she accepted.

James took her hand in his and led her to the dance floor. The boys officially went in search of something to drink but really were going to start the delicate marking of the targets. It wouldn´t do if everyone´s robes were going to float around.

What a waste of an evening, Lily thought dejectedly as she let James guide her steps. Marian was dancing with Wentworth again, grinning like mad; at least she hadn´t been drugged. Howard was talking to the Head Girl but he had sent her a reproachful look when she had come back into the Hall; she´ll have some explaining to do. Lucius Malfoy was seated with the Governors and was glaring at the cheerful dancing couples; she was glad he didn´t seem to notice her.

"Did you go and concoct that stupid scheme of yours because I refused to take you to the ball?" James asked suddenly.

"Not exactly", Lily answered cautiously. She hadn´t told him it really was Howard´s idea and she intended to keep it that way. There already was no lost love between the two and she didn´t need to make it worse. "I would have done it even if you had accepted." She hoped he couldn´t tell she was lying.

"Can you tell me why I´m friends with someone so obviously missing a few sane brain cells again?"

Lily relaxed. This was familiar territory. She smiled innocently. "I don´t know, maybe because you´re missing even more of them than I am. And of course there´s still the fact that I´m irresistible, but you know that by now."

"Oh yes I know. How could I forget with you reminding me every week or so?" James laughed and they twirled a little bit faster.

That damn `pumpkin pie´ song was back again but Lily didn´t mind half as much as she did when she had danced with Howard. For one thing she didn´t have to worry about the Plan anymore and for the other James was a really good dancer. The kind of dancer that made you feel as if you were a true proficient yourself. And he could be quite the gentleman when he wanted. `Sinfully attractive´ was what came to mind when you thought about him, after `insufferable prat´ and `arrogant bastard´ of course.

"Why, Mr Potter, I didn´t know you could dance!" she said with a big smile.

"Surprised?"

"Always."

James grinned. "Good."

"Speaking of dancing, do you know the name of the band? I can´t seem to remember it."

"Dark Rodents Prowling in the Dark Night", James answered immediately. "Their music is very...er...new. Their usual one I mean, not the Granny´s Classics they´ve been forced to play tonight."

"I think I might just like those Granny´s Classics," Lily said. "I´m even getting quite fond of that Pumpkin pie one."

And they kept twirling around the room.

Reflecting back on that night, Lily realised she should have known that something was going to happen. Before waltzing dreamily in James´ arms she just knew that it was going to be a bad night. But she had forgotten.

That´s why it was such a shock when Professor Raven took her aside and told her her parents were dead.

That´s why she fainted. Again.