Tessa's Blogontest: Outside the Box

Question of the Day: When was the last time you overcame your fears or stepped out of your comfort zone?

Kudos to the lovely Tessa of Tessa's Blurb, who is hosting a "Blogontest: Outside My Box." Entrants are to post a short piece of writing that they usually are not used to writing. Since I write original fiction most of the time, I've decided to share with you all Chapter 1-3 of a fanfiction piece that I have been working on in my spare time when I decide to take a little break from my WIP novel. The fanfiction is based on J.K. Rowling's Wizarding world and stars The Marauders and Lily Evans (way back before Harry Potter was even born).

Let me know what you all think! If you are interested in reading the rest of what I have so far, you can view it HERE.

For What Is Worse?

Chapters 1-3

The golden, fluttering ball just didn't ever seem to want to stay put. Of course, the Golden Snitch's job was to never stay put—it was meant to keep moving at all times. Still, it was no match for James Potter's strong hands and flexibility as he caught the Snitch over and over again, almost leisurely. It never took him much energy to keep the Snitch from flying farther than a couple feet away.

"When are you going to stop playing with that thing?" Remus Lupin asked, looking over Quidditch Through the Ages. He was leaning against a tall oak tree, his forehead and his eyes being the only visible parts of his face. That tree also happened to be shading James, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. It was a late Friday afternoon, and they had just finished their last class for the day…for the weekend.

Two days to do whatever they wanted. Best of all, tomorrow would be another Hogsmeade trip, and everybody looked forward to that.

"When this little sphere finally manages to get the better of me," James replied, sniggering almost lazily.

"Which will never happen," Peter piped up.

"—Unless some girl comes and distracts ol' Prongs for a second too late," Sirius added.

"Please," Remus said, finally putting down his book and turning to the others. "James has had that Snitch since the beginning of eternity, and girls have been chasing him since the beginning of eternity. Nah…Prongs is—"

"Whoa," breathed James. The others turned to look what where he was staring at. His brown eyes were wider than Galleons.

"What are you looking—"

Before Sirius could finish his question, James grabbed him and pointed ahead.

"Do you see what I see, mate?" He said, still breathless as though he'd been running.

"Uh…I have no clue what you're seeing…" Sirius said, uncertainly. "Come off it, just tell us what in Merlin's name you're staring at."

"Who is she?"

"She?" Remus automatically turned. "Oh James—you idiot—that's Evans!" James's eyebrow raised in surprise.

"Lily? Lily Evans?" he said. Lily was holding her books and apparently chatting animatedly with her friend Gizelle Peters. There was no mistake about it. The reddish-brown hair, the green eyes, it was all the same. And yet...Lily Evans seemed to have changed as well. She'd seemed to have sprouted over the summer; her hair was wavier and curves had appeared. Her complexion was bronze, not so pale like the last couple of years.

"That's her?" Sirius said, incredulously. "Merlin's beard, she looks different!"

~~~

From the corner of her eye, Lily Evans saw a boy walking towards her. Messy black hair, glasses…who else could it be? Lily asked herself. She rolled her eyes and continued chatting with Gizelle.

To Lily, Potter was nothing but an annoying show-off who thought he was cooler than anybody else on the face of this earth. Unfortunately he seemed to have made Lily his prime victim and every year he would not stop teasing her about everything, from her red hair to the robes she wore to Potions class.

But this year would be different, she decided. She would not let him bother her anymore and if he even tried she would curse his face—literally.

"That's not the Potter boy is it?" Gizelle asked her, now looking the same way Lily was a moment ago.

"Yeah, it is," Lily muttered. "No, don't look that way; and maybe he won't bother us."

"Too late…" replied Gizelle. James Potter had already approached them. He casually flung his hair out of his face and placed his arm around Lily's neck.

"Hey there Evans," he said, trying to sound cool and relaxed. "How was your summer?"

Disgusted, Lily tossed Potter's arm from her, way farther than was necessary. He let out a yelp of pain and rubbed his arm.

"Jeez, what was that for Evans?"

"Don't talk to me," Lily snarled. "See you haven't changed over the summer."

Potter smiled at her. "See you have." His eyes skimmed up and down her body.

"Just shut it, Potter," Lily snapped at him. "C'mon, Gizelle, let's go somewhere else." She grabbed Gizelle's arm desperately and began to walk away. But before they could go any further, Potter ran up to her, blocking her way.

"Get lost," Lily said. She didn't want this boy to have any more say in anything.

"Hey, hey, calm down Evans," Potter said, shocked at the way this beauty was acting. "Just hold on a sec, okay?"

"And what? Listen to your little teasing remarks for another year? No, I don't think so." And Lily took a step forward.

"No—wait—I have something to say. Look, I promise I'll stop teasing you forever on one condition." Potter smiled again, this time in a mischievously cheerful way.

Lily raised her eyebrow. "And what's that, Potter?"

"I promise to stop teasing you forever if you'll go out with me."

"What?" Lily laughed and wouldn't stop. "Forget it, Potter. You're way out of your head."

"No I'm not," replied Potter. "I just happen to know what I want and I'm willing to sacrifice some things for that."

"First of all, I decline. And second of all, you say you'll stop teasing me forever but in the end, to you forever means the end of tomorrow."

~~~

James walked back to his group of friends, feeling discouraged but not upset. Evans always acted this way toward him, ever since their first year at Hogwarts. But now that it was their fifth year, he wanted things to be different.

He always had an interest in girls of all kind, but this one seemed to spark him in the forehead. James had always thought of Evans as the girl who he could always tease without shame, for she was headstrong and didn't seem to care what others thought. Especially not him.

James returned to the tree that Peter, Remus, and Sirius were lounging under, their heads bowed and hands over their faces. Obviously, they were chuckling at what they just saw.

"That, my friend," Sirius said, smacking James on the back, "is what I call an epic fail." The rest roared with laughter when James punched Sirius in the arm.

"Don't worry," said Peter, "she'll probably say yes to you sometime or other. I mean, every other witch in this school would die to be in her place."

"Yeah…" James said absentmindedly. But somehow or other, he figured this girl would be different than the others and not so easy to obtain.

~~~

Sirius had just finished naming James' attempt an "epic fail," laughing with the rest. But inside, his thoughts were complete confusion.

When Sirius had seen Lily Evans a moment ago, it was shock at first. Had that small lanky girl with no boobs really transformed into this wondrous woman of red hair and curvy hips? Even he himself wished he wouldn't think such things; in their younger years he had often thought Lily as a sort of clumsy potion brewer of a witch. Always mixing something in her cauldron, she never needed a textbook to create anything—a genius by all means. Just the instructions, her ingredients, and her cauldron: that's all she needed.

But now…now was different. Lily was different. And Sirius had suddenly changed as well.

James had always been Sirius's first mate; or rather, it was the other way. Sirius had always been James' first mate, right-hand man. He supported everything James did, no matter what it was. His years at Hogwarts consisted of so many memories, all shared with James…

How they had almost gotten expelled in their first year for lighting a teacher on fire...

How they had both spent their second year trying to kill Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat and then both wounded up in detention…

How they had taken time in their third year to come up with plans for their monthly outings with Peter and Remus, turning into Animagi…

How they had stolen food from the kitchen underneath James' Invisibility Cloak their fourth year…

James was Sirius's brother. They were always together and never let the other down. So why was it that now Sirius felt like his mortal enemy?

But secretly, inside, he knew.

That uncomfortable, squirming feeling he experienced when he saw Lily just moments ago confirmed it.

And now an internal battle seemed to be taking place within Sirius. His desire versus his right mind: two opposing forces like fire and ice fighting against each other, never ending.

That's James' witch, you know you can't have her.

Who said I wanted her at all?

You know you do. And you also know you can't.

Who says I can't? Wait—who said she was James' witch in the first place? She's nobody's witch…which makes it even more appropriate for me.

No it does not! James is your best mate!

Exactly, he'll understand perfectly.

If he does, that makes it all the more worse for you to even think about it!

Lily...Lily Evans…how could she have become so beautiful in the course of three months?

Stop that! Stop that, I tell you. You have NO right to think those thoughts.

Neither does James.

That's none of your business.

Lily Evans…

In the end, Sirius convinced himself that these thoughts were harmless, that they were just normal wishes of getting a girl himself for once, not necessarily Lily. He promised that he would stop thinking about her, that he would think of any other witch but her. After all, James had liked, perhaps even loved, Lily for all these years even if he hadn't admitted it. And now James was showing his feelings more than ever. And Sirius honestly didn't want to interfere with that either.

Still, he glanced one more time towards the direction in which Lily and her friend were walking away. And he couldn't help but see the way her dark red hair rippled in the wind, so bright under the sunlight. And in an instant, Sirius wished so badly to hold the person who owned that beautiful mane, to bury his face in those strands.

~~~

What do you think?

~TRA

Tessa's Blogontest: Outside the Box

Tweet