"Why didn't you tell me he was behind me?" She hissed at Barty, knowing how badly this could turn out. "This is far too interesting for me to pass up in normal situations, however I have things to do. How did you get here more quickly than I. You took the longer route." "I just took a shortcut." Lily said, wondering what sort of scene this would evolve into. "Impossible, I took the shortest way." "Apparently not." She turned back to Barty and glared at him ferociously. "Can I speak to you?" "You are, aren't you?" "This isn't a good time." Lily snapped, and started to turn away. "Maybe we should discuss what I was planning on discussing after I've calmed down. I think tomorrow would be nice, my mood should be a bit more stable then."
"Wait just a second." James halted her, effectively blocking the passage that would allow her to either go to the kitchens corridor or to exit into the Great Hall. Lily gritted her teeth, waiting for a cutting remark about snooping or prying, or something along those lines. "How exactly did you get here that fast? I know Hogwarts like I know my way around the Quidditch pitch, and I took the fastest way."
No way, Lily thought, not believing things could be this easy. "I'm assuming you had to go up a set of stairs across a landing, and then down another set. In that corridor, the second door on the left goes into the girls' toilet for the fifth floor. You merely cross it, and you have crossed that landing."
"Oh."
"I better not hear about you lurking in the girls' toilets." Barty said jokingly, and as such it was meant. That was rather obvious to Lily.
"No self-respecting Potter raised as a Potter would be in the opposite gender's toilet. Junior, I was raised with a slightly higher amount of class."
"Too bad all…Potters weren't raised with that same class. I suppose there wouldn't be quite so many, shall we say, accidents, running around, would there?" Barty sneered this, hating the comparison Junior implied between him and his father.
Lily's eyes, already wide, nearly popped from their sockets when she saw the steely look immediately overtake James's face. Moving with Quidditch-evolved reflexes, he pinned Barty against the wall in a split second, the cold gray eyes of James drilling into the warm brown ones belonging to Barty. "I suggest you follow your own advice. Pick up the atmosphere and stay out of my affairs."
"I was merely commenting that-"
"Shut the hell up. Leave the subject alone. Forever." James had done nothing besides pin Barty against the wall by pressing a hand to the other's chest. James deliberately stepped away and spoke condescendingly, looking directly at Crouch. "I extend the same advice to you too, Lily. Now be a good boy and walk her back to the tower, Junior."
Lily and Barty both watched in silence as he turned sharply and walked brusquely down the hall, the heels of his shoes leaving a crisp click-click-click-click on the stone floor.
"Lily, that is why you don't ask about the Potters." Barty said in her ear, as if he was afraid someone would hear.
*~*~*
"...Project that will be worked on for the next month." For most likely the first time in the century he had been teaching at Hogwarts, Professor Binns held his class riveted. They were actually going to have a project! The few people who had the will power to stay awake started nudging their snoozing friends, and soon, he had a very alert class. Professor Binns was a classic example of teachers with great potential slacking off on the job.
One of the few people who hadn't been awakened, Otto Bagman, made a rather loud thumping sound as his head hit his desk. All eyes turned toward him, and watched the Ravenclaw sleep, waiting to see if Binns would notice.
"Would somebody please wake the student up?" The Professor said drolly, indicating it wasn't an unusual occurrence. One of Otto's snickering friends shook him a bit, and the sixth year snapped awake, instantly aware that the entire class was staring at him.
"If he's that slow on the Quidditch field, we'll run over Ravenclaw!" Amos said gleefully in Lily's ear.
"Whatever happened to the desire for a good competition?"
"I just want to win."
"How spirited of you. Now be quiet so we don't get in trouble."
"He's half deaf, he wouldn't hear a freight train."
"Mister Diggory, would you like to say something?" Binns asked in his typical wheezy voice.
"No, not at all, Professor. I'm just waiting for some facts on our new project." Amos grinned, knowing the effect the word facts would have.
The professor rubbed his hands together enthusiastically, "Yes, yes, the facts. Being a teacher of the cold, hard, truth, nobody quite appreciates solid information as much as I do. I can see you have the same zeal for them I do. This project will be entirely out of class," there was a loud groan passing through the class, "I want you to write one complete scroll on one wizard from history." Again, groans were apparent. "Pass this bowl around, and draw out one card randomly."
For once, Millie and Amos were happy Lily directed them toward the front seating area, because they had the best selection of chocolate frog cards, because of course, no one actually selected randomly when a negligent teacher was on watch.
"Who'd you get?" Millie asked, showing her own Alberic Grunnion card. Lily displayed one of Merlin, and Amos grinned as he handed them a Cliodna card, the Celtic Irish goddess of beauty.
"Gee, I wonder why you got that one?" Millie teased, holding the card of the dark-haired beauty for inspection.
"If I have to dig up dirt on these people, I might as well get one easy on the eyes."
"Men." The surrounding girls sighed, making Amos feel rather intimidated.
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