Snake Charmer Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Back on the Hogwarts Express

Lily was ecstatic when she learned she was made Quidditch Captain over her older team mates. It finally gave her parents a good thing to say about her for once. Well done Lils, they had congratulated. This certainlywas a more enjoyable to hear than the usual agro she received last year: Can't you please just behave yourself, for once? Honestly, I had never expected you to act this way. I'm so disappointed in you. Or Lily's favourite: You're going to send your grandparents to an early grave with all the trouble you're getting into. Honestly, if her grandparents were really that delicate, then her parents shouldn't be complaining about her to them. That way the problem would be solved! Either way, Lily knew her grandparents were tough. They had brought up seven children on their own, two who were big trouble makers. And every Christmas, they housed all of their grandchildren and their parents for the entire holiday.

More to the point, Lily becoming the Quidditch Captain was a remarkable feat. It was a rare occurrence that a fifth year be appointed the position. And so, she had been in a state smugness all the way down to platform 9 ¾. That is, until she realized that she would be limited to two compartments on the Hogwarts Express. At that new thought, she began cursing the fates that had landed her in this predicament. This meant that she would see her ex-boyfriend in one of those compartments as well. And her friends were nowhere close by.

This was sort of a bummer since she didn't get to talk to them much during the summer. Her Aunt Hermione had insisted on taking her and Rose on a world tour. Their only correspondence had been via owl or mobile phone. The latter was a handy muggle contraption that Jess insisted they use. Lily had hoped to have spent her time on the train catching up with them before the sorting. At the great hall, they would each have to sit at their own house tables for the sorting ceremony. Unfortunately, Lily didn't have much luck today.

Besides Lily being given the captaincy, her three friends had been made prefects. They were currently on patrol with the other newly appointed prefects along with the Head Boy Harrison Davies. Harrison was the Deputy Headmaster's son. So frustratingly, she was being sandwiched between Al and Rose and it was not a happy picnic. Al was currently a resentful seventh year prefect, having missed out the Head Boy position while Rose was made Head Girl. This meant that poor Rose had to disguise her glee while sitting close to Al so he wouldn't start complaining again.

Though her brother's bitterness wasn't helping things, the person across from Lily was the main reason for her current foul mood. The sixth year Gryffindor prefect, Eoin McLaggen, sat with arms locked around a Hufflepuff prefect from the same year. Lily judged her as being a bit on the plain side and it seemed the girl resembled a chipmunk. The girl's mousy hair, fragile frame and freckles did nothing to help Lily's ego. What on earth did Eoin see in that scrawny rodent?

Lily could only glower at the pair since further action would attract the attention of her brother. She was in no mood to see him pissed off. Al was already close to a boiling point as it is. Lily couldn't believe that she had spent the majority of the previous school year dating that lout in front of her, just so he could trade her in for that! To be honest, Lily wouldn't be thinking such harsh thoughts about the Hufflepuff girl. But as it was, she was the ex-girlfriend and she wasn't willing to recognize that just yet. Lily then made a sound of disgust and glanced down at her own toned curvaceous figure. She knew she was the better looking of the two girls by far. Modesty was not one of Lily's qualities but it was a quality she always strived for. She knew her alabaster skin was flawless and Eoin always seemed to admire her waist length vivid red hair. In fact, he had spent countless times twisting the silky locks around his fingers when they used to lie by the lake - watching the giant squid bask lazily in the sunlight.

Looks-wise, Lily thought she definitely ranked in the top five in her year. Hell, she may as well be in the top five for the school now that her part-Veela cousins had left. This is not to say that Lily was being narcissistic. These thoughts had been reinforced by the amount of love letters she had received during the summer, though all these letters were from boys she had no interest in. Furthermore, her father reinforced the opinion by the worried glances he'd kept sending her mother's way every time he laid eyes on Lily.

Since her looks were causing such a stir in the opposite sex, Lily was certain that Al was on strict instructions from the whole family to ward off any guy that looked her way. Unfortunately, this was going to make it tough for her to seek revenge on Eoin. How on earth would she find a guy to make Eoin jealous if her brother wouldn't let guys anywhere near her? Lily supposed that Eoin should be grateful that she was seeking to make him jealous. If she wasn't, all she needed to do was tell her brother or Hugo how much he'd hurt her by the cruel way he broke things off with her, and Eoin would be in the hospital wing for a month. She smirked at the image of him lying there, all broken and bloody. But that was definitely not the route she was planning to take.

It was absurd to think that he had ended things with her because of her age. Like he was so much more mature! He was only a year older than she and weren't boys supposed to be as intellectually mature as girls two years younger than them? Lily was certain she'd read that in one of her muggle books. Eoin definitely deserved more than an extended trip to the hospital wing. He deserved public humiliation. But she supposed that sending out a sly bat-bogey hex wouldn't help things or keep her out of trouble.

Lily felt movement to her right and turned to see Rose look her way. Lily looked into her cousin's sympathetic mocha eyes and she wanted to scream in frustration at them. Rose knew her so well now. Their trip over the summer had brought the pair closer than before. Lily had confided in her about everything and was sure to see how Eoin was making her feel.

"Do you want me to hex him for you? I know some good ones", Rose offered quietly, trying to avoid Al's attention.

Lily smirked. "I'm quite capable of doing that myself, thanks". She already had her hands flexing for her wand that was concealed in her robes pocket. As Lily turned her gaze back to Eoin, she froze. Before she knew it, Lily reached for her bag and flew out of the door. She distinctly heard Rose warning the others not to follow her.

Lily stood with her back against the compartment door, with her eyes shut as tears of rage began to spill down her cheeks. At least, Lily convinced herself that the tears were due to rage. That callous, unfeeling, pig-headed pompous GIT! Why oh why did he have to kiss that hamster girl right in front of her? He'd done it intentionally, she was certain of it. His bright blue eyes had locked with hers just before she fled. She wanted to curse his balls off! Then, what use would he be? Hell, she wanted to sink to the floor and sob until her tears ran dry. She'd never felt so miserable.

A hoarse cough caught Lily's attention. When she snapped her eyes open, she remembered why she had tolerated being in the other compartment. Apart from her, there were five other students in that second compartment. All of which were Slytherin. Lily groaned inwardly and wiped her tears away. She then fashioned a look of distain on her face.

Two of the students by the window completely ignored her. They were too engrossed in a game of exploding snap. The three nearest, however, looked up at her. The dangerously handsome Slytherin Quidditch Captain and brother of her best friend, Duanne Zabini, was sprawled lazily across the bench. Across from him, and glaring at her with venomous eyes, sat Scorpius Malfoy. His armed was draped over a dark-haired Slytherin girl who was laying her head snugly on his lap. The girl looked as if she'd been dropped by her parents as a baby. While looking at Lily, she had yawned and tried to edge impossibly closer to Malfoy.

"Look at what we have here!" Scorpius exclaimed. He shoved the Slytherin girl off him easily and got up to approach Lily. This gained her a reproachful look from the girl but Lily couldn't care less. Her gaze was fixed on the approaching threat that loomed towards her. She still hadn't forgiven him from trying to drown her in the lake last year. She wondered what jinx he was going to send her way this time. Whatever it turned out to be, Lily had learnt a bunch of new curses during her time in Egypt. And she was itching to try them out. But she wouldn't make the first move, though. She always let him provoke her first. That way, she could honestly tell her parents that she didn't start it. And when Lily would say this to her parents, all they would do is give her a slap on the wrist or a bit of an earful through the occasional howler. Apart from that one time when they threatened to pull her out of school, her punishments had never been severe.

Malfoy was close enough to touch her now. His angular face only inches away from hers. She supposed he could be considered good-looking. That was until he opened his mouth. Then he became the most unattractive person in existence. Lily's lips tightened in disappointment when he moved so close to her. His being this close meant that they may not have a duel after all. So Lily continued to stare into the icy depths of his eyes. There was a gleam in them that relished in provoking her stubborn glower.

He reached towards her then, slowly enough for her to keep her cool. She wouldn't flinch from his touch, no matter how much it repulsed her. His long slender fingers flicked at the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain badge pinned on her chest.

"Look Zabini," he turned to look at the boy who seemed more bored than anything. "I keep saying that it's foolishness rather than bravery that the Gryffindors value the most. It seems they're giving their captainship to children now."

It happened in a flash. One minute Malfoy was standing inches away from her, a mocking expression on his arrogant face. In the next, he was sprawled across the floor cupping his nose as dark crimson blood gushed down his face and staining his expensive shirt. "That bloody bitch broke my nose!" he spluttered through a mouthful of blood. The girl that was with Scorpius leapt to his side, trying to help him while the other Slytherins looked from Lily to Scorpius in shock.

Lily soothed her tender knuckles and realized she had two choices: One, she could either smooth things over in here in order to stay. Or two, she could return to the other compartment and face Eoin with his new girlfriend. Neither choice sounded appealing to her.

"Looks like your choices are limited." Zabini remarked in a smooth cool voice. He seemed to hold no portrayal of concern for his best friend who still lay in a heap on the floor. Lily thought this to be odd considering how close they were. Lily felt him looking at her before catching the gaze of his beetle-black eyes. They were unreadable as was his face at that instant. She sighed and something about her facial expression had him nodding. Lily reluctantly reached for her wand and pointed it at Malfoy.

The girl next to Scorpius sprawled protectively over him, fearing that Lily was going to inflict more damage to him. At this, Zabini rolled his eyes and ordered, "Move, Posie. She's not foolish enough to curse him." Posie allowed the struggling Scorpius to escape her hold. Lily's eyes gleamed as she considered for a second to send a stunning spell in Malfoy's direction. I could take on these Slytherins, she thought gleefully. However, she suddenly thought of her friends and how disappointed they would be if they missed out. And lest we forget McLaggen is next door. Besides, the anger behind the punch actually had nothing to do with Scorpius and everything to do with Eoin. The Slytherin had just hit a sore spot that was all.

Eoin had dumped her because she wouldn't take their relationship to the next level and he hadn't liked that. So he finished with her saying that he was looking for a more adult relationship - that she was too much of a child still. Lily knew she should be grateful that he was behind her since there was no way she was going to let any boy pressure her into doing something she wasn't ready for, but it still hurt.

With a sigh, she waved her wand and a loud crack sounded. Malfoy yelled as his nose slotted back in line. He touched it tentatively and then turned his threatening gaze to her again. Their eyes met and molten gold clashed with turbulent silver. Lily no longer feared those eyes. The eyes were of the boy's father and grandfather. Though Lily used to be haunted by those eyes in her dreams when younger, she was used to them now. She had tested the limits of Malfoy's precious self-control many times and realized she had nothing to fear. So at his glare, Lily arched a crimson eyebrow. She then conjured a white handkerchief as a peace offering and as a temporary truce. She could only hope the truce lasted until they stepped foot on Hogwarts soil.

Zabini laughed as Malfoy snatched the handkerchief from her and sat on the bench. He wiped the blood from his face. Lily smirked as she saw Posie try to fuss over him while Malfoy pushed her away forcefully. He then moved to sit next to Zabini. At this, Posie glared at Lily as if she was to blame for the cold shoulder Malfoy had given her and went to join the two students by the window.

Lily could have sat anywhere but decided to sit in the seat the girl had left. She stared up at the ceiling humming to herself as she did so. It was a habit she'd picked up from Delia. There was rarely a day passed where the Hufflepuff went without humming joyfully. Lily's humming was interrupted when she heard an echo of deep laughter and turned to look at Zabini. All of a sudden, she saw the opportunity she craved in that ridiculously handsome face of his. Her revenge to get back at McLaggen. What would irritate him more than seeing her putting the charm on a Slytherin? A Slytherin…Lily couldn't stop herself from smiling as the thoughts flowed. A Slytherin would not be deterred by her overbearing brother and cousin. And she was certain that this Slytherin definitely did NOT see her as a child! Furthermore, this planalso had the added benefit of annoying Malfoy in a non-aggressive way.

Mimicking what he cousin Dominique would do, Lily stood up suddenly, acting all innocent, and unbuttoned her robe. Underneath it, she revealed her short pleated grey skirt and the white shirt she was wearing. She heard a sharp intake of breath as she bent over to lay her robe across the seat, but paid no attention to it. She then turned away from the boys so that they couldn't see her smiling, it would give her away instantly, and retrieved a jotter, quill and box of Berty Botts Every Flavour Beans from her bag.

Casually, she turned around to face them while avoiding eye contact and stretched. Afterwards, she proceeded to lift her bag onto the rack above them. Pretending to be fumbling with the ties of her bag, she shot a quick glance down at them. Malfoy was wearing his usual neutral mask while he edged away from her. Zabini, however, had gone all rigid. His eyes were transfixed on her purposely revealed midriff. Lily 1-boys 0, Lily thought with a smile.

"What the hell it that?" Duanne asked suddenly when he finally came out of his temporary stupor.

Lily took a couple of steps back. "What?" she snapped, faking annoyance.

Duanne pointed at her belly button. "That thing sticking out of your navel?"

Lily lifted her shirt slightly, revealing more skin and flicked at the silver bar with a baby pink jewelled lily on one end. "Duh, it's a piercing", she stated matter-of-factly and looked at him. He currently had a look of having his brain lobotomized and was still staring at her navel. Malfoy was looking anywhere but her directly.

When Zabini finally came to, he still looked confused and said, "A what?"

Lily sighed. "It's a form of muggle jewellery. They get a needle…" at his continued confusion, Lily explained further, "a sharp piece of metal and they shove it through the skin. Afterwards, they put a jewelled rod in its place."

"That's barbaric" he gasped but still didn't look away from it.

"That's muggles for you", Scorpius sneered without looking up from a book he was now flicking through.

"Play nice, Malfoy." Lily chimed. She then playfully stroked his cheek with a manicured nail and he flinched at her touch. "You can return to your usual dour self once we get to school." At her remark, she gained one of his infamous glowers. Though the look in his shark-like gaze seemed different that usual. Lily didn't bother to attempt to work out what emotion flickered in the depths of his eyes. Coming from Malfoy it wouldn't be good.

Lily shrugged and sat herself on top of her school robes. She curled her feet under her and began scribbling in her jotter, making amendments to some sketches of formalwear she was designing for her and her friends.

"Lily?" Zabini asked after some time. Lily glanced at him, surprised that he'd used her first name.

"Duanne?" she replied curtly, following his lead.

Duanne grinned mischievously. "Want one?" he asked, reaching over and offering her a chocolate frog.

She returned his grin with a flirtatious one of her own as she leaned forward to look at it suspiciously. "I don't think so. They always kind of creep me out. Since they move in such a life-like way, the thought of eating one…" she trailed off and shuddered. He chuckled and proceeded to offer her a liquorice wand instead that looked much more appealing. "Sure. I trust you've not poisoned it", she said and took it.

She leaned back in her seat in satisfaction and sucked on the liquorice wand, savouring its taste. Through her peripheral view, she saw Duanne gaped at her while Scorpius' lips tighten. Lily frowned at their reactions and suddenly realized how suggestive her actions appeared. She took a bite out of the sweet and smiled sweetly at Zabini. Malfoy gave her a stony glare. He appeared unimpressed with her flirtatious banter with his best friend, no matter how unintentional it seemed. Too bad, Lily thought and she returned her gaze to her jotter. 2-0 to Lily! Dominique would be proud indeed!

"Potter?" Zabini then croaked at her, referring to her last name as usual.

"Yes, Zabini?" she smiled innocently.

"Why are you here and not with your precious Gryffindors? You guys tend to hang around in packs. Especially, you Potters and Weasleys."

Lily frowned, sourness seeping back into her tone. "And you Slytherins don't? Here I thought you were quite happy with this little truce. But I guess not." She got up from her seat, snatched her things and headed for the door.

"Lily, wait!" Duanne grabbed hold of her arm preventing her from leaving. She glared at his hand and then towards the door. The moment she looked, she felt sick. Through the pane of glass she could see McLaggen making out with that Hufflepuff prefect. She then reached for her wand and sent a spell at the door. The glass transformed into solid metal so that the scene could not disturb her anymore. Unfortunately, she wasn't quick enough to prevent the image from being burned into her memory. And she wasn't quick enough to stop the two boys from discovering the cause for her reaction. With a huff, she returned to her seat. Malfoy was shaking his head while still looking at his book and Zabini sat in silence staring at the floor.

Suddenly, the door opened and Lily glowered at it. "Lily!" the searching voice belonging to her cousin Rose sounded, followed by the appearance of her freckled-face and bushy auburn hair. "There is no need to go defacing school property!" Rose's gaze then flicked towards the Slytherins and Malfoy stared back at her. She flushed and then stared back at Lily before closing the compartment door behind her. "You won't be able to hide your jealousy from your brother if you keep acting like this. He's already guessed that something is up. He's not stupid, you know."

Scorpius sniggered and muttered something about "trash" to Zabini. Zabini then hit him for his efforts. "What? Oh, you gotta be shitting me", Malfoy complained, rubbing the sore spot of his arm. Rose met Malfoy's eyes again and her eyes narrowed at his comment. After that, the girls chose to ignore them.

"It was either that or cause him bodily harm", Lily sighed and shuffled in her seat so Rose could sit beside her. Rose cradled Lily's hands in hers and nodded quietly. The two girls continued to talk in hushed tones, ignoring the reproachful looks from the two Slytherins across them.

It was not long after this when Delia, Maggie and Jess came back from their patrol and found them. Maggie's sister Margarita was with them since she'd been made a Slytherin prefect as well. At their arrival, Lily and Rose stood up and moved to the other side of the compartment so they could all sit together. Duanne followed Lily with his beetle-black eyes as Margarita took their vacated seats. They didn't speak again. Her friends didn't seem to notice or question their new seating arrangements and began to catch up on their summer activities all the way to Hogsmeade station. Their conversation continued as they sat in the Theastral drawn carriage on their way to the castle.

Before the girls entered the hall, Duanne caught up with Lily. "Enjoy the feast Beautiful." He said in a dreamy manner and then headed to the Slytherin table with his friends. The comment left Lily blushing and Maggie watching her curiously as they headed to their own table. Lily knew her best friend would have a few questions to ask her when they were back at the dormitory that evening, but she had no idea how to answer them.

The feast turned out to be pretty much the same as the previous years. Except that now, Lily only had four family members left sitting on that Gryffindor table. They proceeded to applaud as the new sorted Gryffindors joined their table. After the meal Maggie and Hugo, the new Gryffindor prefects, began their charge of looking after the first years and Lily tagged along since she had nothing better to do. And so began Lily's fifth year.

Thank you for reading.