It Takes A Potion
It had been a polite evening for Lily Evans. It was the one year reunion of her graduating class, and her old friends were having a great time, but Lily was being too introverted for two of the marauders tastes. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James Potter and Lily's current boyfriend, Edward Fallion, were talking in one corner of the Great Hall while Lily and an old friend from Hufflepuff were chatting at the punch table.
"I thought you and James were together." Cora said, taking a sip of her punch.
"We were, but he broke up with me about five months ago. I've been casually seeing Eddie Fallion for the last month and a helf. What about you, Cora? Are you and Michael still together?"
"Yes, we are getting married in the fall." Cora said, proudly displaying her ring.
"That's brilliant. I'd better get over to the guys." Lily walked over and hugged Remus and Sirius and as they reminisced, she stood silently accepting James' glares with a polite smile. Eddie walked over to a group of old quidditch players after a few moments and Sirius immediately questioned Lily.
"What's wrong with you?" He asked, but before Lily could answer, James interjected.
"She used all of her energy up in Eddie's bed last night. She doesn't have any left to entertain old friends." He said rudely. Obviously the breakup hadn't been a smooth transition.
"I haven't been in his bed, James." She said tiredly. "And if you will recall our previous conversations, yours is the only bed I've ever been in." She said, thinking he sounded more like he was discussing a visit to the market than her monogamy.
"It's not as if you've been the only girl in my bed, Lil." He said venomously. Lily closed her eyes to keep the tears from falling, took a deep breath and opened her eyes.
"Touche, James." She said softly, then turned and walked out of the room, her black stilettos clicking on the floor.
"You're a prat, James." Remus said, calmly.
"She never cheated on you, mate." Sirius said. He knew for a fact that James was still bitter about "the breakup", as he liked to call it. Lily, as a healer, has been assigned to an incoming quidditch player that required eighteen hours of supervision per day. She and James were engaged, and despite her constant attempt to dissuade his doubts, he believed she was sleeping with the patient. They fought for days and broke half of the plates in their apartment, but the argument ended with James telling Lily to leave and her sending the engagement ring back to him through the post. Both ended up with broken hearts, but James insisted it was Lily's fault, and Lily shut down. Remus and Sirius had kept in touch with Lily, knowing that she hadn't done anything wrong. After seeing James out every weekend with a girl, Sirius introduced Lily to Eddie Fallion. It seemed that no matter how hard that James and Lily tried, neither was happy without the other, but James refused to accept Lily's word, and took every opportunity to take out his pain on her. Each time they saw each other, he threw some snide comments into the conversation, to which she defended herself and left. Usually either Remus or Sirius would follow, attempted to calm her down, leaving James to go off with another girl. But this time, they didn't follow her, they stayed to talk to James.
"If she doesn't want us to assume she's shagging him, she shouldn't be living with him." James said stubbornly.
"She lives in my flat, James." Remus said.
"She what? The girl cheats on me, gives me the ring back and you let her live with you?!" James exploded. Sirius moodily walked off in the direction of the butterbeer, leaving Remus to deal with James.
"She didn't cheat on you and she mailed the ring to you because during your three day fight you told her she wasn't worth the galleons you spent on it. Yes, when you told her to leave I said she could stay with me…you took it to far James."
"No, I didn't. She cheated on me. Do you know what it's like to feel betrayed like that, Moony?" He said quietly.
"No, I don't know that kind of betrayal, James. But I'm sure Lily does. Talk to her, mate." Remus walked away, leaving only one option for James. He knew where she would be, the pair had always met for patrols in a classroom close to the library. As he walked through the dark corridors that he knew so well, he tried to think of what he could say to her. While they were arguing, she had offered to take Veritaserum if he would believe her, but he had refused, being too angry to think intelligently about anything. And so, when he opened the door to that familiar old classroom and saw Lily sitting in a chair with a potion vial in her hand. 'well, I guess we still have the same thought process' He thought dryly. He looked at the mascara stains on her face as she uncorked the vial, smirked, toasted 'cheers' and drank the potion, all without breaking eye contact with him.
"What was that?" James asked, although he was sure he already knew the answer.
"Veritaserum. Ask me something else."
"How long have you been with Eddie?"
"Since the first time you slept with the tall, blue-eyed brunette." She said bluntly. "Keep asking."
"Is it serious?"
"No. It just makes it hurt less."
"Makes what hurt less?" He asked curiously.
"The fact that you're sleeping with any thin skirt, provided that she looks nothing like me." Lily's hand flew to her mouth.
"Why'd you do it, Lily?"
"I didn't cheat on you, James! How many times do I have to tell you, beg you to believe me before you accept it?"
"Were you serious when you said the only person you've ever slept with was me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"It wouldn't be right with anyone else."
"What do you mean 'right'?"
"Smell this." She said, handing him a potion vial. "What do you smell?" She asked as he closed his eyes and inhaled.
"Vanilla, strawberries and…"
"Now smell this one"
"They smell the same." He said confusedly. Lily smiled in response and James couldn't help but ask. "I don't get it. What's the difference?"
"This is Amortentia." She said touching the top of one vial. "And this," She picked up the other, "is my shampoo." Lily laughed. "Can you honestly say that you don't regret sleeping with all those women? Because I don't regret you. That's what I mean by 'right'." James was quiet, then he leaned down and kissed her. Suddenly they both felt an overwhelming sense of completeness and Lily pulled away. "Don't tease me, James." She whispered, eyes still closed. He put his forehead against hers and whispered.
"I'm not teasing, Lily." This time, she kissed him.
"I'm sorry." He said when he pulled away. "I should have believed you."
"Yes, you should've." She said teasingly.
"Forgive me?" He asked
"As far as I'm concerned, James, this is just like any other fight we've ever had." She said, standing up.
"Completely and totally my fault?" He guessed with a grin.
"No, you fool." She said, wrapping her arms around his neck, and his found their old resting place on the small of her back. "Completely and utterly…forgotten."