Beauty of Roses, Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Good morning. I hope you slept well.
I’ve not slept much and been up for hours. But I don’t mind,
the sunrise was incredible this morning. You would’ve loved it.
I’m not surprised that you like cats. You’re so much like one.
Sometimes I wonder if your animagus form would be just that.
Would you believe me if I told you that I’ve never had a pizza?
I haven’t even been to a Muggle take-away. Maybe someday
you could share one with me. Although I cannot imagine anything
bread-like with hot pineapple on it.
My favourite time of year is summer. I can spend time with my
family and friends, and the weather is usually good enough to
get some Quidditch practise in. My favourite holiday has to be
Hallowe’en. I’ve always loved it. My parents used to hold parties
at home, and the feasts here at Hogwarts are a
wonderful substitute. I mean, when else do we have dinner made
from sweets, fun decorations, and the opportunity to dance with
beautiful girls all evening?
I just finished reading the most fascinating book. I don’t know why
I’m telling you this - you will probably laugh at the idea of me
reading it - but it was strangely unputdownable. I bet you already
read it, but if not, I’ll lend you my copy if you wish. It’s called
Romeo & Juliet, by a Muggle author called William Shakespeare.
There, go ahead and laugh now.
Rise and shine!
Lily had been awake for a while. Atypically for her, she didn’t jump up and out of bed, but stayed put, reading his entry. Not for the first time, she wondered when he had become so romantic. Smiling, she imagined him on his broom, speeding around and using his summer holiday practising.
She rolled over onto her front and propped the diary up on her pillow. Quickly, she got her ink and quill and wrote back.
Good morning,
I have also been up for a while although I must admit I
missed the sunrise.
I shall take your comparing me to a cat as a compliment for now,
although I don’t quite understand why you would think of my
possible animagus form. What brought that thought on? Not that
I mind, but you’ve got me curious.
My favourite season is autumn. I just love the colours on the trees,
especially on really cold, bright, and dry days. You know, the ones
when the dry leaves crunch under your feet as you walk through
the woods. Even as a child I loved it, collecting chestnuts and acorns,
and making little figures out of them with my mum. That’s one of my
favourite memories.
Hallowe’en is fun, I have to agree. These days, it is also my favourite,
although it used to be Christmas because at home we would all be
together, having fun. That all changed when I started Hogwarts, but I
already told you that so I won’t bore you with it again.
You really do take your Quidditch seriously, don’t you? I played a little over the
summer with Alice and Olivia. They say I’m quite good but I don’t think
that’s true. I think they were just afraid I wouldn’t practise with them
if they told me the abysmal truth of my non-existent skills.
Why would I laugh at you for reading a romantic play? I find it very
sweet of you to like it. Yes, I have read it. Maybe you would also like
‘A Midsummer Nights Dream.’ Very entertaining.
She bit her lip, wondering how to end her entry. Many things sprang to mind, but none seemed appropriate. In the end, she decided to be just a little daring.
Have a good day.
Love,
Lily
She got up then and dressed warm. It had become cold, and she really wanted to be outside today in the lovely weather. She smiled to herself when she remembered her diary entry. It was just like that. The leaves had begun to turn into all shades of red, brown, yellow, and golden, and another plus was that it didn’t look exceptionally windy either. A look over to Alice’s and Olivia’s beds confirmed that both were fast asleep still. Lily shrugged and decided to go to the common room and read a book until they were up.
When she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, she found the common room empty except for James Potter, who seemed lost in thought as he sat on one of the large window ledges and stared out into the grounds. She ignored him, sat down on one of the couches and began reading her book. It didn’t take her long to lose herself in the story and she nearly jumped out of her skin when the Head Boy greeted her.
“Good morning, Lily.”
Startled, she looked up to see him smiling down at her.
“Morning, James.” She accentuated his name, wondering when they had ended up on a first-name basis. Last time she checked, they were still ‘Evans’ and ‘Potter’. But, she assumed, nobody else was around, so he had nobody to show off for. She eyed him questioningly. James looked as if he was about to say something, but closed his mouth and stayed quiet. Lily arched an eyebrow.
“Did you want something?” she asked, but he just smiled again and shook his head. He began walking back up to his dormitory but turned around just as he reached the bottom step.
“You missed a beautiful sunrise,” he said quietly, and then simply turned and left her, mouth agape, alone. She shook her head to clear it and tried to concentrate on her book again, but couldn’t shake his words from her mind. Why did he tell me that, too? Lily stared at the pages before her, not taking in anything that was written. She was too busy wondering what kind of sunrise it was this morning and what exactly made it so special that at just nine in the morning, two people had already mentioned it to her.
Not long after, her two friends joined her, and together they went down for breakfast. Olivia was buttering her toast and Lily pouring milk into her tea when Alice began turning bright red. Simultaneously, Olivia and Lily turned to look at what, or who, Alice was eyeing and, also simultaneously, both rolled their eyes.
“I don’t know why we bother looking,” Lily said, taking a sip of her Earl Grey.
“Yeah, we should know by now that the only person to make you blush is the one and only Frank Longbottom,” Olivia agreed. Alice looked panic-stricken and made a strangled noise that sounded a lot like ‘shuddup’. Then she looked up at Frank, who had stopped beside her. He looked a bit lost, and Olivia was quick to invite him to sit down for breakfast.
“Thanks, erm, I… Alice, can I talk to you for a second?” When Alice simply looked at him, he added, “In private?”
“Oh. Oh! Of course.” Alice jumped up so fast that she hit her knee on the table and winced loudly. She limped a little as she followed him out of the Great Hall.
“What d’you reckon he wants to talk to her about?” Olivia mused, putting honey onto her toast. “D’you think he’ll ask her out to the dance?”
“I hope so. ‘bout time he’d get his act together, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, true. Who’re you going with? Did anyone ask you yet?”
“No, not yet. But I think he will soon.” Lily realised too late that she had let slip too much. She just hoped the blush on her face wasn’t too obvious.
“Oh? And who might he be?” Olivia arched an eyebrow and smirked. “Anyone in particular? You haven’t mentioned any love interest in a long time…”
Lily snorted. “Love interest? Whatever do you mean?” She took another long sip of her tea and tried to think up something, anything to say. Just then, James Potter and the three friends he seemed inseparable from entered the Great Hall. ‘Yes’, she thought.
“Who do you think I mean? Wouldn’t be a dance if Potter wouldn’t ask me, would it?” She tried her best to sound bored and snarky, although she wasn’t sure how well she succeeded.
“Well, that’s true. Although he has backed off, hasn’t he? Ah well, I’m sure someone will ask us. I’m still waiting for Tony to ask me.” Lily let out a slow breath. Olivia had bought it, so her secret about Regulus was still safe. She had to be more careful in the future.
“Why are you waiting for Tony to ask you? He’s your boyfriend, doesn’t it go without saying that you’ll accompany each other to the dance?”
“I still like to be asked out formally, you know. He shouldn’t take me for granted!”
Lily left it at that, not because she wouldn’t have had a suitable reply, but because Alice came running back to them with a Cheshire Cat smile on her face, urgently telling them that he had finally asked her out to the dance and that he had kissed her on her cheek. The other two girls couldn’t get a word in edgewise for the next hour while Alice gushed about her date and how it was horrible that the dance was still two whole weeks away.
~*~
By the end of Sunday, Lily was exhausted. She was happy for Alice that Frank had finally asked her out, but if she had to endure another two weeks of her gushing about it, she’d surely go insane. Lily hoped that by tomorrow morning, all would be back to normal again. She sat cross-legged on her bed, pretending to read one of her romance novels. Alice still hadn’t gone to sleep and neither had Olivia. And she surely wouldn’t take that diary out until she was sure neither of them would be able to see it. By 1am, Lily gave up hope and reluctantly gave in to sleep, feeling disappointed that she couldn’t see what Regulus had replied. She did, however, set her alarm slightly early so she could check it first thing in the morning.
When her alarm went off, she silenced it as fast as she could and made sure it hadn’t woken anyone else. Satisfied that she was the only one awake, she cast a Lumos and opened her now favourite book.
Lily,
You amuse me! Of course I take Quidditch seriously! I can’t even
count the number of times you pulled me up on that.
It might have slipped my mind, but I don’t recall you ever telling
me why you don’t like Christmas anymore. Did something bad
happen at home?
I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but a part of me wanted to talk
to you today, face to face. I’m not sure if you’re quite ready to forgive
me though. It’s only been a couple of days and I’m probably jumping to
conclusions, but I really feel that we could be great friends if nothing else.
So, I suppose what I really want to ask is if you would accompany
me to the Hallowe’en dance?
Lily sat staring at the entry. She wasn’t sure if she should be happy or not. Something didn’t make sense. Surely, Regulus didn’t mix her up with somebody else? No, he didn’t - after all, every entry was clearly addressed to her. She couldn’t for the life of her remember ever to have pulled him up on Quidditch though. Was he playing games with her again? She wouldn’t stand for that. He was awfully sweet though to ask her to the dance as friends. At least there wouldn’t be any expectations, plus he was right. She wasn’t quite ready to forgive him completely just yet.
Regulus,
It’s good to know that I amuse you. However, I really cannot remember ever to
have discussed Quidditch with you. Since you’re obviously playing for the
wrong team, we’d only get into arguments about that.
Are you just pulling my leg? I can never tell.
I also can’t believe you don’t remember what happened at home. I only told
you a month ago, on our second date. Did I bore you that much with my story?
You should’ve said something then.
Really, I don’t mean to sound angry, I just need to know that you mean it this time.
You are right to assume that I don’t quite yet forgive you for those awful things
you said to me, but our friendship meant a lot to me, so I am willing to give that a
try and see what else will happen. I am glad that you finally agree to us being
seen together in the open, even if it is only as friends. I am happy to accept and
will go with you to the dance.
Lily
Satisfied and still a little bewildered, she locked the journal away in her trunk and got ready for the day ahead. She wondered if Regulus would acknowledge her in between classes now or if he’d wait until the dance. Suddenly, she understood Alice. Two weeks were a long time indeed.
Chapter 2 - End Chapter 3 - Chapter 4