O Verona!
“Can’t this car go any faster? I want us to be the first ones there!”
“Marls, if I go any faster now, I’ll go past the speed limit, and you know how I feel about reckless driving.”
Marlene sighed dramatically and rubbed her forehead in annoyance. “Honestly, sometimes I forget what an old lady you are, Lils.”
“What? It’s a school area.” Lily huffed. “I’m sorry for not wanting to run over a little kid playing in the street just so that we can see the cast list five minutes earlier.”
“First of all, it’s Sunday, all the little kids are inside with their iPads. Children don’t play in the streets anymore. And second of all, we could have been at the theatre half an hour ago had you not insisted we drive in this rusty old rattlebox.”
“She’s not rusty, she’s antique!” Lily mumbled, knowing full well that the mechanic snorted in disbelief last week when she told him she could, in fact, still start up the engine. But so what if it was a little rusty? It was her car, and it held too much sentimental value for Lily to ever be able to get rid of it. The red Corolla had belonged to her family since she was a little girl. As her parents now lived in a quiet neighbourhood on the outskirts of London and rarely saw the need to go into town, they had woken up one morning and decided to buy a tandem bike as their main form of transportation. Lily’s sister, Petunia, had firmly stated that “she wouldn’t be caught dead in that filthy thing ever again”, and thus, the car had ended up with Lily.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the insides were held together with duct tape. I fear for my life every time I’m forced to sit in this thing,” Marlene said as she leaned back in her seat.
“I strongly doubt that, considering you ask me for a ride literally everywhere. Get a license before you criticize,” retorted Lily.
“Maybe I should. I could probably get my license, buy a car, drive there myself and still get there before you if you keep driving at this speed.”
Lily rolled her eyes, though she was not particularly offended. Jokes about her precious vehicle was highly common from Marlene, and though Lily would have scolded anyone else who talked badly about her beloved car, Marlene was her best friend in the entire world. The two had met in preschool, and they had instantly decided they were sisters, soulmates, bound for life. This had proven to be true, as they had stuck together for the past thirteen years. They always had each other’s backs, no matter what-
“Lily?”
“What?”
“I think that old lady on the sidewalk is walking faster than us.”
“Oh, shut it.”
At last, the car pulled up the parking lot of Hogwarts Centre of the Arts.
“There! Oh my god, Lily, it’s up!” Marlene squealed excitedly as she scurried into the building to look at the sheet on the wall. Lily followed her and seconds later, she heard Marlene squeal again.
“Oh my god, I can’t believe I’m gonna be Lady Capulet! I can’t wait, this is so exciting!!!”
Lily chuckled. One of Marlene’s many good qualities was that no matter how big or small her part was, she was genuinely pleased and excited. Honestly, she seemed just as thrilled getting cast as “Bar Wench 3” in the company’s rendition of The Good Person of Szechwan two years ago, as she was when she landed the title role of Anna Karenina last year.
“LILY!!! YOU WON’T BELIEVE IT, COME LOOK AT WHAT YOU’RE PLAYING!!!” Another good quality Marlene had, was that she was equally excited when it came to Lily’s roles. “YOU’RE JULIET, LILY! I mean, of course you’re Juliet, I knew you’d get it, you’re practically perfect for it-”
“Marls-”
“And I’m going to play your mother, how fun is THAT? Oh my god, this is just-”
“Marls!”
“What?”
Marlene paused in her diatribe.
“Who is James Potter? He’s my Romeo.”
Marlene scrunched up her eyebrows and glanced back at the sheet.
ROMEO AND JULIET – CAST LIST
Romeo: James Potter
Juliet: Lily Evans
Tybalt: Severus Snape
Mercutio: Sirius Black
Benvolio: Remus Lupin
Paris: Gilderoy Lockhart
Friar Laurence: Petter Pettigrew
Nurse: Pandora Rosier
The Prince: Kingsley Shacklebolt
Montague: Frank Longbottom
Lady Montague: Alice Fortesque
Capulet: Edgar Bones
Lady Capulet: Marlene McKinnon
Balthasar: Benjy Fenwick
Sampson: Alistair Spinnet
Gregory: Theodore Creevey
Note: If you have any complaints, please do not come crying to me.
– Minerva McGonagall, director & instructor
Had McGonagall really given the male lead to some new kid? This had to be some sort of a mix up. New people in the theatre, sure. Lily was used to that. She could handle that just fine. New people playing the lead? Questionable. Lily had no idea she would be cast as Juliet, but she was even more surprised her friend Remus wasn't cast as Romeo, as he was, undoubtedly, the most talented boy in the group. She was just going to have to trust McGonagall's vision on this casting. After all, she hadn't even met this guy yet, perhaps he turned out to be a terrific actor-
"James Potter? Yeah, actually I do know him, he plays football for the same club as me!" said Marlene. "I would never guess he was into theatre though; he seems like the type who just never takes anything seriously."
"Really?"
Try to remain calm. You do not know this boy, perhaps he's decent, perhaps you can work with it-
"You've got to be kidding with me," a voice behind them said.
Lily turned around to see a familiar pale face with greasy black hair. He didn't look back at Lily, but stared straight ahead at the sheet with a furrowed brow and a mouth so down-turned that it nearly reached his jaw.
"Sev! Hi, good to see you!" smiled Lily. Severus Snape smiled thinly back at her.
"Hi, Lily, good to see you too. Congratulations on getting Juliet. Oh, and uh, good luck with your... Romeo." That last part was said in a tone so sour Marlene let out a little snicker. Severus did not notice.
"Why, do you know him?" said Lily concerned.
Severus sneered. "Know him? Well, yeah, you could say that."
"Why does Lily need good luck with him?" said a sceptical Marlene. She didn't like Severus very much, as she found him to be both pretentious, close-minded and self-righteous, all of which were the qualities Marlene despised the very most. And it wasn't as if Lily couldn't see why she disliked him, but Severus and Lily had been friends since they were kids, and she honestly thought he was a pretty good guy. That would be, when he wasn't hanging out with those tossers Avery and Mulciber, who spent their time bullying younger kids, catcalling girls, and vandalizing shops owned by people who were poorer than themselves. In short, pretty awful types, but Lily still had faith that Severus wasn't actually like that. Sometimes she even let herself pretend he was some sort of a double agent, trying to take them down from within, just to make it a little easier to be his friend.
Severus snickered at Marlene's question. "Well, for one he's completely braindead. A baboon probably has a higher IQ, I bet he's never opened a book in his life. He's also incredibly immature, and has no respect for other people, and he dates a million different girls who for some unfathomable reason just cannot get enough of him-"
"Sounds like someone's a little jealous..." Marlene mumbled under her breath.
"Wait, how do you know him?" asked Lily.
Severus shrugged. "We were in middle school together. You could say we had a sort of... rivalry. Well, it was a rather uneven rivalry, for that matter. I never did anything reckless or immature towards him, yet he seemed unable to do anything that wasn' t both reckless and immature. So anyways, good luck with that, Lily. I'm sure you'll still be great."
Lily looked at him, confused, as he saluted and walked away. "Yeah. Thanks, Sev."
The moment he was out of earshot, Marlene turned to Lily. "Okay, he did not just salute before leaving a conversation."
Lily rolled her eyes. "I don't really see what your problem is with him. He's... cool."
"No, Lils, he's not, he's actually very, very uncool."
"I don't get it."
"He talks like a cartoon villain. He starts every sentence with "Well,". It's like he should have been sitting in a luxury chair facing away from us while he's stroking a demonic looking cat or something."
"He's nice, Marls."
"He's nice to you because he fancies you."
"He so does not! I've known him since we were like eight years old!"
"He so does. I've seen the way he looks at you. I think you've seen it, too. He's practically obsessed with you."
"He's not obsessed-"
"He's a creep, Lils."
"He's not a creep!"
"His entire personality changes the moment you're around. Of course you don't think he's creepy. But do you remember the time we had a sleepover i fifth grade and he stared at us through the window for like an hour? That's creepy."
"Lay off, Marls. That was a long time ago, and he's my friend." Though Lily couldn't ignore the small pit in her stomach.
"I get that. I do. I just have a bad feeling about him," Marlene shrugged.
When the time came for the very first rehearsal two days later, Lily had realized James Potter wasn't the only new kid who got a lead. Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew were also new. Theatre clubs weren't exactly known for their amount of boys, so three of them signing up at the same time? Interesting.
McGonagall was sitting on a chair in the middle of the rehearsal room, writing something on her computer. She was a stern and strict woman with dark hair which she always kept a tight knot. Today, as most days, her tall, slender frame was dressed in black yoga pants and a black sweater, as she was very adamant that everyone in the group needed to wear movable clothing at every single rehearsal, and she did not consider herself an exception to that rule.
Most of the group was already there, and Lily walked over to say hi to Marlene and Remus, who were sitting on the floor a few metres away from McGonagall. Marlene didn't notice Lily right away, as she was in a passionate discussion with Pandora, Alice and Frank about the 2011 blockbuster movie, "Gnomeo and Juliet".
"Hi, Lily. Nice to see you," Remus said, politely as ever, as Lily sat down next to him. "How was your summer?"
"Hi, Remus, nice to see you too! Yeah, my summer was pretty nice, actually. Spent a lot of time at my parents' house, and Petunia was barely there, so it was actually quite peaceful for once. What about you, how's your mother?"
"Oh, she's feeling a lot better, actually. We hung out at the beach a lot this summer, think it might've helped." He smiled weakly at her. It was clear he was tired. Lily couldn't exactly blame him. She still remembered the look on Remus' face when he got the call two years ago. Cancer. Stage three. Possibly deadly. But thankfully, Hope Lupin was resillient. She had pushed through, and was done with chemotherapy.
"Well, maybe the doctors of the 1800s who sent sick women to the seaside for fresh air were onto something."
This time, Remus' smile reached his eyes a little. "Yeah. Yeah, maybe."
"Hi, Lily, nice to see you," Pandora smiled as she tossed one of her blonde plaits over her shoulder. "Congratulations on playing Juliet. Are you sleeping with lavender under your pillow? It always helps me remember my lines."
Pandora was considered somewhat eccentric by her peers, maybe because she wore necklaces made of rope, leaves and feathers she picked up from the street, or because she always kept tiny jars of a substance she only referred to as "fairy dust" in her pockets, or because she had a tendency to bring every conversation back to invisible insects she called "nargles". However, Pandora's eccentric sides weren't really a bother to anyone. She was a sweet and friendly girl, and sometimes there were really interesting depths to her strangeness. Sometimes.
Lily smiled. "No, I haven't, but maybe I should, thanks."
Pandora smiled absentmindedly at her, like she was caught in a daydream. Then again, she usually was.
"Everyone! Everyone, circle around me!" McGonagall's voice broke through all the other voices in the room. Lily didn't understand how, because McGonagall never shouted, or even raised her voice all that much, really, but she always managed to grab everyone's attention without really trying. Maybe it was because no one wanted to get on her bad side. A death glare from McGonagall could really ruin your day. Your week, even. Hell, it could ruin your year.
Lily couldn't help but feel a little excited to meet James Potter, but as she sat down in the circle, she couldn't help but notice that there were no new kids she could identify as him. Them. She meant them. Naturally. James Potter was no more important than Sirius Black or Peter... whateverhisnamewas. Whatever. The point was that none of them were here. How strange. You would have to be stupid to be late for the very first rehearsal. Though, Severus had said-
"Welcome back for another semester here at Hogwarts Centre of the Arts. This semester, as I'm sure you're all well aware of, we'll be preforming Romeo + Juliet. And naturally I'm assuming you've all looked at the cast list, and I'm sure you're all well aware of the cast list. If not, well... that would be utmost... embarrassing, to say the least. Now, for a play like this, it's important that all of my actors are well prepared. No snoozing, no dilly-dallying, and absolutely no tardies."
It was almost comical how this was the very moment the three newcomers Lily had been waiting for, decided to enter the room.
A pale boy with raven hair, black eyeliner and -oh my god what a cliché- a goddamn leather jacket, entered the room first. He looked like the type of guy who knew he was pretty, and therefore never bothered to actually do anything with his life. And, sure, he did look somewhere between an Armani model and Greek statue, but "pretty boys" had never really been Lily's thing. And considering this guy looked almost impressively androgynous, she figured this must be their Mercutio. Sirius Black. Interesting. He certainly had the look down.
A shorter, stockier boy quickly followed the boy who Lily assumed to be Sirius. This one had sandy blonde hair, a comfy blue sweater and a nervous expression on his face, like he was concerned they were late.
As he should be.
Now, it wasn't like Lily had a problem if this boy turned out to be her Romeo. Sure, he looked a little awkward, but she could work with that. What turned her suspicions, however, was that this guy didn't exactly look like the type of guy Severus had described. Maybe this was that Peter-boy? Friar Lawrence? That could make sense. He did look a little... Christian.
Lily's theories were confirmed when the third boy walked through the door. The second she saw him, chuckling at something the raven-haired boy had just said, like they weren't late for McGonagall's rehearsal, Lily knew she despised him. There was something about his... hair, maybe. Deep brown and messy and somehow long and short at the same time. I-pretend-not-to-care-even-though-I-actually-do-hair. Or maybe it was the way his eyes sparkled, like he knew secrets about everyone in the room, or how he wore squared glasses which somehow just made him look cool, and not dorky. But what really pissed Lily off, more than his stupid hair or his stupid eyes or his stupid varsity jacket or how stupid it was of him to be late, was that he was, undeniably, ridiculously handsome. He smiled, showing off two rows of perfect, white teeth, and Lily nearly felt butterflies. Nearly.
There was no doubt. This had to be James Potter. Damnit. Why did he have to be cute?
The boys all laughed when they entered the room, which just annoyed Lily even further. They didn't even try to follow the rules. Peter turned a shade of bright red when McGonagall sent them a dirty look, but other than that, it was like they hadn't done anything wrong. Or rather, like rules didn't exist for them.
Though they all looked very different, they shared a coherent "look". Like they were meant to come as a set. For one, they all looked rich. Maybe it was something about their shoes and their sweaters, which looked like the others, just cleaner, nicer, better quality. Lily's family wasn't exactly dirt poor, but definitely part of the lower middle class, so Lily had years of experience spotting the trust fund kids. These three definitely had more pocket money than her, no doubt about it. It was always so easy to notice who had money when she didn't. The kids who always came to school with new clothes, and attended the fancy prep schools and played polo and tennis and whatnot. Those who never had to worry about money.
Must be nice to have it like that. Easy.
"Sorry, Ma'am. Just had to fill our water bottles." Sirius chirped.
"Yeah, terribly sorry, Minerva." James winked.
Did. He. Just. Wink. At. McGonagall?
Did. He. Just. Call. Her. Minerva????
McGonagall kept a stone face, though Lily had no idea how.
"Boys. Sit down." She said sternly.
Conventionally attractive, no respect for other people's time, most likely filthy rich AND complete idiots.
Great. Three more Gilderoy Lockharts to deal with.