Summary: Takes place in Lily Evan's fifth year at Hogwarts. I do not know Alice's (soon to be Longbottom) last name, so I made one up. The same thing with Chase. You'll find out who she marries eventually. Trust me, there will be many secrets uncovered in this, if I decide to finish it.
Shipping: Eventually L/J. There's also Sirius/Chase. Possible Remus/Jocelyn…but Jocelyn hasn't been introduced yet.
Comments: Oh just read…it may seem pointless…perhaps it is…but it's 2 in the morning…and I just wrote 15 pages…of nonsense? Perhaps my young padwon…ahhh!!!
Thanks: To Jessie…for…for…well, I'm not quite certain, but thanks regardless.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lily Evans beamed as she stepped out of the small horse-drawn carriage that had taken her from the Hogwarts Express to the front doors of Hogwarts. The sun was shining brightly, and already she could sense that this was going to be a wonderful year. This was now Lily's fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and she had been made a prefect. She looked down at the small golden badge upon her robe and tapped it proudly. Lily was a smart girl, but she never imagined that she'd be made a prefect. She wasn't even of wizard descent!
"Lily!" a girl's voice called.
Lily turned in time to see her best friend, Alice Manzatta rush over to her, her blonde hair streaming in the sunlight.
"Hi!" Lily said, still smiling. "It's beautiful out, isn't it?"
Alice grinned. "Yeah. Hey, what are you so happy about? Did Petunia finally admit to you her secret jealousy?"
Lily laughed. "Hardly," she said shortly.
Petunia was her sister, a Muggle, just like Lily's parents. Lily's parents were extremely supportive of having a witch in the family, and praised her for her accomplishment. Petunia, however, thought that the idea of having a witch in the family was demoralizing and lowly, and would have nothing more to do with Lily. It didn't bother Lily too much though; she and Petunia had never really gotten along to begin with. The two were as different as night and day!
Petunia was tall and lanky, with an extremely thin figure. She had a long, horse-shaped face, and was far from what anyone would consider attractive. She had thin, shoulder-length brown hair that was always disturbingly perfect and straight and pale blue eyes that were very uninviting. She was rather bony and pale, and was always on edge about something. Her style was very conservative, not showing any skin unless she had to.
Lily however, was quite the opposite. She was the wild and free-spirited younger sister, with long, wavy red hair and decorative freckles across her nose and cheeks. She had beautiful green eyes that sent out a warm, friendly glow and a peaceful, calming smile that seemed irresistible to many. She was undoubtedly the beauty of the family with her small, but curvaceous body, and bright complexion. However, Lily could also be extremely tough and vicious if she was provoked enough. Lily was a whirlwind of emotion, and because of that, people were drawn to her, seeking her friendship.
Alice, Lily's best friend, had been drawn to Lily for the same exact reason. However, Alice saw beneath Lily's tempestuous exterior and saw Lily for who she really was, a frightened teenager who was desperately searching for her place in the world. Alice respected Lily's inner self, and because of this respect, the two quickly became best friends. The two girls were easily popular, both of them being Gryffindors' prettiest and smartest in their year. Alice Manzatta was very attractive, with long, silky blonde hair, and sparkling blue eyes. She was slender and tall, about half an inch taller than Lily's five foot six inches. She had rosy cheeks and a bubbly personality, which, like Lily, drew people to her like a magnet.
"Petunia still giving you a hard time?" Alice asked, as she and Lily ascended the stairs to Hogwarts.
Lily nodded. "Of course. She and her horse-face were snooping around in my diary the other day."
"Probably trying to live vicariously through you, no doubt," Alice remarked. "Since she'd never get friends with her bitter attitude and equally appalling looks."
Lily laughed. "You're horrible. Actually, she got a boyfriend over the summer."
Alice looked shocked. "Really?" she questioned, highly doubting that Petunia Evans was capable of attracting another human being.
"Yeah," Lily said. "It was a bit surprising…until I saw him."
Alice laughed. "Is he ugly? Does he have glasses? Braces?"
Lily shook her head. "No, glasses, no braces, but he is the spitting image of ugly! I'm not one to insult, but he…he was terrible! He was mean and demanding, especially to me, and he had no room to talk. I mean it, he nearly soaked up all the room in our parlor!"
Alice laughed. "He was that huge?"
"Gigantic!" Lily replied, catching herself giggling. "His name's Vernon Dursley and he's really rich."
"Probably the only reason Petunia is seeing him," Alice pointed out.
"Probably," Lily said. "But it's a good thing, because she was out most of the summer, so I had the place to myself. Too bad you were away. How was Italy anyway?"
"Amazing," Alice giggled. "I met the cutest guy there."
"Really?"
"Well…by meet I mean, saw…or more like stalked," Alice replied. "I was too embarrassed to talk to him, so I followed him around all summer!"
Lily laughed. "It sounds like you had a lot of fun!"
"Yeah, it was pretty amusing."
"Hey Evans!" a boy's voice called.
"Here we go," Lily whispered to Alice, who grinned broadly.
"He's kind of cute," Alice whispered back.
"That's not the point!" Lily remarked through gritted teeth. Lily turned slightly as Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew all ran up to Lily and Alice, led by James Potter.
"So Lily, I've seen you've grown more beautiful over the summer," James said coolly, mussing his hair. "Have you grown smarter too? Finally decide to go out with me?"
He grinned casually as Remus rolled his eyes at him.
"Why, yes actually James, I have grown smarter," Lily grinned, leading him on. James's eyes grew wide as he awaited her next words. "So, smart," she continued, "that I've decided that this year I will avoid you like the plague."
Her words stung James sharply. "Oh yeah?" he asked. "Well, fine, see if I care! Just remember, you had your chance!"
"Damn, too bad that chance is gone," Lily remarked sarcastically. "Now I'll actually have to find a guy who knows how to treat a woman."
"Yeah," Alice chimed in. "A real man."
"Oooh!" Sirius and Remus remarked, turning to James.
"Ha!" James laughed. "You won't find anyone here who's half the man I am! And besides, no one here would ever go out with you. I was just doing you a favor."
"Is that so?" Lily taunted, raising her eyebrows. James nodded incessantly. Lily grinned and turned to Alice who encouraged her. By now, a huddle of students had formed in the corridor outside the Great Hall, watching the scene.
Lily turned to Sirius who was now leaning against the wall, his hair falling lazily into his eyes. He was only mildly interested by the scene, and had stopped watching in order to take in the scenery of Hogwarts, in hopes of spotting his ex-girlfriend, Chase. Beaming, Lily took off in his direction, all eyes following her.
"Hey," she said provocatively, grabbing Sirius by the arm.
Sirius snapped out of his daze and looked down at her, his face a mixture of surprise and amusement. "Hey," he remarked, not noticing the crowd around them. He was too transfixed on her gleaming, green eyes. They captured all of his attention, drawing him to her…
Suddenly, he was aware that Lily was kissing him! Her eyes remained open, and his own eyes lingered on hers. Then, she pulled away quickly, grinning in triumph. "You were saying, Potter?" she remarked snidely, hand on her hip.
"Your own best friend," Alice added, walking over to Lily. The two shot James another victorious glare and then hurried off to the Gryffindor House table.
"What was that!" James asked, furious, and quite embarrassed. He found himself wishing for the first time in his life that the crowd around him would disappear.
"What?" Sirius asked innocently. "I didn't mean to! It was her eyes! They're like black holes or something! They drew me in! I couldn't stop myself!"
"Well, you better learn to stop yourself!" James remarked, angrily. "Those are my eyes!"
"Hey!" Sirius remarked defensively. "You can have her! I don't want her! You know that!"
James, cooling down a bit after realizing Sirius didn't mean to kiss Lily, scowled loudly and swung his hands out to relieve his frustration. Why didn't Lily Evans like him? Practically every girl in this school was like putty in his hands, but Evans wouldn't even budge.
James snapped back into reality as he heard someone muttering and cursing fiercely. In the midst of his rampage, James managed to unintentionally hit Severus Snape with his flailing hands, and he was now lying on the floor. He stood to get up, but Sirius pushed him back down with his foot. The crowd was now laughing wildly at Snape.
"Snivellus!" Sirius remarked, with mock enthusiasm. "How good to see you!"
"Yes!" James replied heartily, joining in on the fun. "How was your summer? Do anything fun?" James frowned slightly. "I see you still haven't mastered the art of washing your hair."
"Or the rest of your body for that matter," Sirius remarked, wrinkling his nose, as if smelling something extremely rancid.
The crowd laughed as Snape grew angrier, pulling his wand out of his robe. Laughing, James snatched his wand before Snape realized what had happened.
Sirius laughed loudly. "Snivelly, why do you bother to fight back? You know it's a useless cause!"
"Yeah, Snivellus, just give up already!" James remarked. "It will be much easier."
"Come on James," Remus remarked, pulling him away. "The teachers will be inside soon. Wouldn't want to get caught would you?"
James painfully debated which was worse, letting Snape go free or getting caught by teachers.
Sirius scowled. "Come on James," he remarked, the two of them pushing through the crowd, Remus and Peter behind them.
"His wand?" Lily asked, eyebrows raised high.
Sirius grinned. "We're going to make it better, and then we'll give it back to him. Promise."
Lily groaned. "You're just as bad as him!" she barked at Sirius. She turned to James. "Give it back!"
James laughed. "Do you really expect me to just give it to him without making him work for it? It would be rather unfair if the whole world began giving things away without making people earn them, now wouldn't it?"
Sirius and Peter snickered appropriately.
Lily scowled. "He doesn't have to do anything for you to get his wand back, considering you stole it!"
James smiled playfully. "You want it, Evans?" he asked. "I'll give it back if you go out with me Evans."
"You're impossible!" Lily remarked. "Expelliarmus!"
Sirius snatched James's wand as it flew out of his hand and allowed Snape's to fall to the ground. He tossed James's back to him quickly. "Better luck next time Evans!"
"Don't make me hex you Evans," James replied. "I don't want to have to do this."
Lily narrowed her eyes, thirty curses running through her mind. "Try me," she said.
"Okay," James said, shooting her an apologetic look. "Normally, I wouldn't do this, but as I never back down from a dare…"
"Impe…" James began.
"Scor…" Lily bega.
"Ms. Evans! Mr. Potter!" a sharp voice cracked. The two turned to see a professor standing on the staircase near them. She had sharp, rigid features, small, silver glasses, and brown hair swept up into a tight bun. She glared at them disappointedly, shaking her head fiercely.
"I would have expected better of both of you," Professor McGonagall. "Two Gryffindors fighting! And one of you a prefect!" Lily hung her head low. "Well, perhaps five points each from Gryffindor, and three hours in detention with each other will help you two learn to get along. Now, get inside, all of you!" she hissed.
Lily glared at James. "See what you've done!" she remarked.
"Me?" James asked. "You started all of this by trying to be all heroic and save Snape…"
"Snivellus," Sirius corrected.
"Right, Snivellus," James continued.
"Well, if you weren't so much of a bully and would just leave him alone…" Lily began.
James laughed. "Me, leave Snivelly alone? Perhaps if he hadn't started with me on the first day of school."
"He didn't say a thing to you!" Lily hissed.
"Lil, Lil, he's talking about the very first day of school. If you do recall it was Snivellus who started with us."
Lily scowled. "That still gives you no right!" she remarked as they entered the Great Hall and headed towards their house table.
"Honestly James, what do you see in her!" Sirius asked, growing frustrated.
"James Potter looks at me and sees nothing more than a pretty face and another girl he'd like to use and then throw away!" Lily retorted. "And that James is exactly why I won't go out with you! Not to mention how conceited, immature, stubborn, and…"
"Oh, stubborn am I?" James laughed. "You know a lot about that one Evans."
Lily blushed slightly. "At least I don't use my power and popularity to push other around!"
James held his hands up in surrender as they approached their table. "Have some pumpkin juice Lil, it will cool down that nasty temper of yours."
"Oh it will, will it?" Lily asked, grabbing the goblet he offered her and splashing it in his face. Lily smiled. "You were right. I feel much better."
Sirius laughed pleasantly as he took a seat next to Remus. "Sit down already James," he instructed. "Honestly, don't worry about her! You can do better."
Lily shot Sirius a foreboding look as she took her own seat next to Alice.
"No, I can't," James said grinning and looking back at Lily. "They don't get any better than her, man," he said as Lily scowled at him and Sirius rolled his eyes.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Okay, so what happened?" Alice asked, once she and Lily were alone in the dormitory.
Sighing, Lily explained the earlier events to Alice. "….And then, McGonagall walks up to us and catches us, and gave us both detention! Together! Three hours! It's going to be terrible!"
"Not to aggravate you any further," Alice began, "but I sure wouldn't mind sitting with James Potter for three hours!"
Alice giggled while Lily rolled her eyes. "Seriously Alice, what, if anything, do you see in him?"
"Oh come on Lil!" Alice remarked. "He's cute, popular, amazing on the quidditch field, smart, fun, and totally and completely, one hundred percent head over heels in love with you."
"In lust is more the term you're searching for," Lily replied.
"Lil, I think it's more than that. I think he really likes you for you."
"Impossible," Lily said practically. "He doesn't even know me."
"You belittle him, tease him, and bring him down in front of his friends, and yet still he is crazy about you."
"So, he likes girls who play hard to get," Lily determined.
"No, he likes you," Alice exclaimed. "If he was just interested in some action, he could find a couple hundred girls who would be all too eager to go with him. But he's not Lil, he wants you!"
"Ally, I love you and everything, but I truly think you have lost your mind," Lily said, flopping down onto Alice's bed. "Nothing you are saying is making any sense at all. In fact, everything you've just said about James is the complete opposite of what he really is."
"And what is he really?" Alice asked.
"A jerk. A conceited jerk, who adores praise and attention, and is only looking to date me to boost his ego. I'm the one girl he can't get, which presents a challenge to him, one that he must eventually rise to and win. He only wants me because he can't have me, and if he finally got me, then he'd be tired of me already, you see?"
Alice shook her head. "Now you're the one who's crazy!"
"Am I interrupting something?" a voice asked.
Alice and Lily turned to see Chase Valetta standing in the doorway. Chase was a gorgeous, slender girl, whose height just barely exceeded 5'10". She had long, dark, silky hair that ran down her neck, stopping at the small of her back. She was no doubt the prettiest girl in their year, with her stunning smile and her majestic almond eyes. Part Japanese and part Scottish, Chase had smooth, creamy skin the color of ivory. She and Sirius had been dating on and off again, and as of that moment they were not together and Chase had taken every opportunity available to make Sirius jealous by flirting with other guys. From what Lily had seen, her tactic seemed to be working. Chase was also a good friend of Lily and Alice's, ever since their third year. Their first two years at Hogwarts, Chase was not on friendly terms with them, due to a fight caused by their former friend, Malkia Trisera. Now, Malkia Trisera was their enemy, which was rather hard to deal with since she was the forth person in their dormitory. However, Malkia tended to stick to herself while around the other three, which was perfectly all right with Lily.
"No, nothing at all," Lily said, patting the bed.
Chase jumped onto the bed, lying flat on her stomach, her feet dangling in the air. It was quite a sight the three girls on the bed. Chase across the bottom, Lily laying properly, her feet propped up on Chase's back, and Alice sitting indian-style on the side.
"Well nothing usually means something really juicy," Chase said, eyeing Lily suspiciously. She then turned to Alice, knowing she would tell the full story. "Spill," she demanded.
"Well, it's really quite simple," Alice began. "See, from the second we arrived back at Hogwarts, James has been flirting explicitly with Lily. Then, he began picking on Severus Snape and Lily threatened to curse him and McGonagall caught them and gave both her and James detention tomorrow night, for three hours, and Lily doesn't think she'll last three hours with him. Then we were debating the controversial subject of James Potter."
Chase grinned. "Still playing hard to get, huh?"
"I'm not playing!" Lily exclaimed. "I. Don't. Like. James. Potter. End. Of. Story."
"Right, of course," Alice replied. "How silly of us to forget."
"Well, I think it's good what you're doing," Chase said. "Making him think you don't like him. It will just make him even crazier about you. That's what keeps Sirius coming back for more." She smiled knowingly.
"But if Lil keeps pushing him away forever, eventually, he won't come back!" Alice argued.
"That's not true at all!" Chase remarked. "Lil, don't listen to her!"
"Chase…" Lil began.
"Men like a challenge and trust me, it's worth the wait Lil," Chase continued.
"But, if she waits too long, he won't be there!" Alice insisted. "He likes her a lot, but once he's pushed too far, he's going to walk away forever…"
"Ally…" Lily persisted.
"No, Ally, I'm afraid you just don't understand men that well at all…" Chase started.
"Don't understand men do I?" Alice asked haughtily. "I'll have you know that while you've only had one boyfriend in the past three years, I've had about five, and each of them…"
"Hey!" Lily started.
"Exactly!" Chase remarked. "I have been able to keep one guy, whereas you have had to juggle between several…"
"Juggle?!" Alice remarked. "Hardly! Why I…"
"When you're done deciding whether I'm showing my love for James correctly, perhaps you two could ask me whether I actually like him or not!"
"Well, you do, don't you?" Chase asked. "It's very apparent."
"Yeah Lil, it's written all over your face every time you look at him," Alice agreed.
"Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I do not like James Potter," Lily announced.
Alice and Chase looked at each other and grinned. "Right," they both remarked simultaneously.
Lily rolled her eyes as the door to their dormitory was pushed open. Wearing robes of scarlet and a particularly gruesome frown, Malkia Trisera walked inside, jetting immediately over to the bed by the window.
"Mine," Lily called, motioning to her luggage underneath of the bed.
Malkia scowled. "Must you take the good bed every year?" she asked.
"Well," Lily began thoughtfully. "Since Alice is afraid of heights, and Chase doesn't like the draft the window brings in in the winter, it's kind of unanimous that I get the bed by the window each year."
"Unanimous?" Malkia asked, furrowing a brow. "Does my vote not count at all?"
Chase smirked. "Let's see girls, should we or should we not include Malkia in our important polls?"
"Not," Lily and Alice replied at the same time.
"Sorry hon," Chase remarked. "Better luck next time."
"If it's any consolation, even if we let your vote count, it would be 3 to 1 anyway. So, regardless of you voting with us, I'd still have this bed."
"No hard feelings," Alice added icily.
Malkia stared at them furiously, then stormed over to her bed near the far side of the room. Chase, Lily, and Alice had already pushed their beds closer together, leaving Malkia all alone at the back of the room.
"Well," Alice dictated, pulling a stray pillow off the floor and tossing it onto her bed. "We should get some shut-eye. First day of classes tomorrow, we wouldn't want to look too terrible."
"Oh no!" Chase agreed, in a mock self-conscious voice. "We mustn't delay our beauty rest any longer. Off Lily! Off!" she insisted, pushing Lily off of Alice's bed, then jumping off herself.
Lily hopped onto her own four-poster bed, hugging it lovingly. It was so great to be back here at Hogwarts. She watched as Chase climbed into her own bed and waited for Alice to hit the lights before crawling under the warm comforter.
"And just for the record," Lily called out, once she knew Chase and Alice were close to drifting off to sleep, "I do not like him. Not the least bit."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night babe," Chase said, yawning.
"Whatever helps me sleep at night!" Malkia shouted. "And that would be silence."
The three friends, of course, spent the next hour giggling and talking about the most unimportant things in the world, just to spite Malkia. Once Chase and Alice stopped talking, Lily figured they must have finally fallen asleep. She sat up quickly, staring out the window, looking at the silhouettes of the trees in the distance. Lily fell asleep in a most unusual position, her feet hanging off the bed, and her head on the windowsill.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Lily…"
Lily smiled slightly, hearing her name. She was having the most wonderful dream. She was at the Yule Ball, and James kept whispering her name so softly…
"Lily…"
…so sweetly…
"Lily…"
…so passionately…
"Lily!"
…so angrily?
"LILY!"
Lily felt a slap in the face and her eyes popped open, to see Alice and Chase hovering above her, a pillow in Alice's hand.
"Ow!" Lily yelped. "What was that for?"
"We've been trying to wake you up!" Chase yelled.
"Okay, okay, I'm up," Lily began, lifting her head slightly, then letting it drop back down, expecting a soft pillow to catch her fall. Instead, her head cracked against the wooden windowsill, causing Lily's head to throb painfully. "Ow…" she groaned. "No more laying on windowsills for me," she insisted, sitting up and rubbing her head tenderly.
"You're going to be really sore," Chase insisted, looking at her sympathetically.
Chase was right. It hurt Lily to turn her neck to the left and to look upwards. Her back ached bitterly, despite Lily's futile attempts to crack it. Even her legs were sore from the awkward position she had fallen asleep in the night before. Groaning, Lily gave up on trying to ease her aches and pains and rushed into the bathroom for a quick shower.
A half hour later, Lily descended downstairs, her thick curls bouncing avidly with each step she took. She scanned the room for any signs of Alice or Chase, and was disheartened to find them sitting around the fireplace, chatting with Sirius, Remus, and James. No other option left, Lily slowly walked over towards them, flopping onto the couch next to Sirius. Chase sat next to him, pretending to ignore every word he said, Alice sat on the small coffee table in front of them, and Remus sat in a cozy chair to the side. Upon Lily's arrival, James leapt from the arm of Remus's chair to the arm of the couch directly next to Lily.
"Lil, what's wrong?" Chase asked. "Still sore."
"Extremely," Lily groaned, closing her eyes.
"What happened?" James asked, fluffing his hair.
"Lil somehow managed to fall asleep in the worst possible position ever," Chase reported. "Her feet were dangling off the bed, and she was all twisted around, plus, her head was on the windowsill."
"I blame it on Malkia," Alice said. "She was so enraged that you got the bed by the window again, that she used some sort of spell to place you in that position."
"She's a real piece of work, that one," Sirius said in disapproval. "Too much makeup if you ask me."
"No one did," Chase retorted. She turned to Lily. "Want me to hex her for you? Or at least steal her boyfriend?"
Lily shook her head. "No," she began. "I was looking out the window after we stopped torturing Malkia. I must've fallen asleep that way. Now I'm sore all over and it hurts like bloody hell."
"Poor thing," Chase said sympathetically, patting her leg and purposely brushing Sirius's leg as she pulled her arm back.
"I'll be all right," Lily insisted.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" James asked, concerned, playing with his hair once more. "You don't need anything?"
"No," Lily said. "Hey, Alice," she grinned. "I think Frank Longbottom's looking for you."
Alice beamed. Frank was her latest boyfriend, and the one she liked the most. He was a year ahead of the rest of them, which appealed to Alice all the more.
"Bye guys," she called. "I'll see you at breakfast."
"Yeah, I'm sure you will," Chase teased.
"Well," Remus said standing. "We should go down to the Great Hall now. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm starved."
"Me too," Chase said, getting up, Sirius on her trail. "Lil, you coming?" Chase asked, as Lily sprawled herself out on the couch in a catlike position.
Lily shook her head. "Uh uh," she muttered. "I'm not real hungry and I'm too sore to walk down all those stairs."
"Well, I'll bring you up a muffin or two, okay?" Chase smiled. "Our first class doesn't start until nine today, so you'll have plenty of time to eat of here if you'd like."
"Thanks Chase," Lil grinned, closing her eyes. James stood up, but then thinking better of it, sat back down in the chair Remus had been seated in just moments ago.
Sirius shot James a look as if to say hurry up, but James shook his head, and Sirius instantly realized what he was doing. He was going to stay in the common room with Lily instead of going to breakfast. Grinning at him and shooting him a thumbs up sign for good luck, Sirius left the common room, leaving the two completely alone.
Lily, utterly unaware of James's presence, yawned widely, then began humming to herself. Just then a throbbing pain shot through her neck, causing her to scream out in pain.
"All right Lil?" James asked.
Lily shot up suddenly, uncomfortable with the prospect of being watched. "What are you doing up here?" she demanded.
"Well, you're not feeling good, and I didn't want to leave you here alone," James insisted.
"Yeah, okay," Lily muttered, rubbing her head.
"You know," James said, his eyes twinkling. "I could fix that for you."
"Fix what for me?"
"Your sore back and neck," he said.
"By what, mussing up your hair, jumping on your broomstick, and flashing me one of the famous Potter smiles?" Lily asked.
James rolled his eyes. "Fine then, I won't."
"Fine," Lily said, turning away from him. Now there was nothing to keep her mind off the pain. She sighed. "Okay," she said. "What were you going to do that was so brilliant?"
James grinned. "Do you trust me?"
"No," she said simply.
"Well, you'll have to trust me," he teased.
"Just do whatever you're going to do and hurry!" Lily hissed.
Smiling, James pulled out his wand and yelled, "Repairantom Minimosa!"
Instantly, Lily felt relief surging from her head, to her neck, to her back, and finally, down to her legs. She looked up at James gratefully. "Thanks," she said. "If I didn't know you only did that to impress me, I would have almost thought your intentions were sincere."
"Hey, I helped you out of the goodness of my heart," he objected.
"What heart?" she asked.
"And you blame this love/hate relationship on me!" James remarked incredulously.
"What love/hate relationship?" Lily asked baffled. "There is no love/hate relationship, because there is no love here!"
"See, that's what I'm talking about," James remarked. "You're the one who always starts with me!"
"Only when you start with other people like Snape, who haven't done a thing to you!" Lily retorted.
"So what's your excuse for starting with me now after I helped you?" James asked, his eyes dancing.
"Oh you…well…you're impossible, do you know that?" she asked, knowing full well that he was correct.
"Yes, I know that, since you tell me everyday," James said.
Lily lied back down on the couch and turned away from him.
"Are you just going to lie there in silence the entire time they're at breakfast?" James asked sensibly.
"Yup," Lily mumbled.
"Fine," James sighed, sitting back.
"Are you still here?" she asked.
"Yes," he said.
"Are you leaving?"
"Nope," he remarked.
"Fine."
"Fine."
"Fine."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chase ate her breakfast heartily, barely stopping to talk to Alice in between bites, but considering she was mainly talking to Frank Longbottom the entire time, she didn't feel like such a bad friend for not chatting. She kept stealing glances over towards Sirius, wondering what in the world was taking him so long to ask her out. Every time they broke up he always came running back to her instantly. She narrowed her eyes. So why wasn't he even talking to her?
Chase quickly finished her pumpkin juice, then scanned the table for someone to talk to, someone that would make Sirius really jealous. She eyed each person avidly and finally stopped upon one, Remus Lupin. Remus was sitting directly across from her, Sirius and Peter on either side of him. Grinning, Chase tapped his foot under the table. He looked up at her expectantly, and Chase, always the natural actress, looked rather surprised.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Chase said quickly. "Did I kick you?"
"Slightly," Remus replied. "No damage done," he said quickly, smiling.
Chase beamed. There was always something she had liked about Remus. He was rather attractive and extremely smart. He seemed to possess wisdom far beyond his fifteen years.
"So," Chase continued. "I wonder who the new Potions professor will be. I noticed he or she wasn't announced at the feast last night."
"Yes," Remus agreed. "I do wonder. Hopefully it will be somebody remotely nice."
"Or at least easy," Chase put in.
Remus chuckled slightly.
"I heard it was Cornelius Fudge," Sirius said suddenly. Chase reveled inwardly. "You know, that odd fellow who wrote that book on the Ministry of Magic last year."
"That would make Potions interesting, certainly," Chase said.
"Did you guys here?" Remus asked. "This year there are to be three Yule Balls."
"Three?" Chase repeated in shock. "I only brought two gowns. I'll have to send home for a third. Why three?"
Remus shrugged. "Beats me."
"Well, that just means three more days off this year than last year," Sirius said lazily, his dark hair flopping in his eye. Chase wondered how his hair could always look so good, no matter what he did with it.
"Actually two," Peter piped up. "See, if we had one day off last year and were counting on at least one this year, then that would be two other balls we'd be…"
"Peter, Peter," Sirius cut him off. "Calm down."
"S…sorry," Peter said, flushing a deep shade of scarlet.
"Well," Chase said getting up and grabbing two rolls and two muffins. "I better go brings these to Lily before James terrorizes the hell out of her and she's too worked up to eat. Anyone care to join me? It's bound to be an exciting show."
Sirius stood up and Chase's heart raced. "I'll go. I've been meaning to talk to James about something anyway."
Sure, Chase thought, but when along with it regardless. Grinning, she walked out of the Great Hall, Sirius at her side.
"So," Chase began. "How was your summer? I wrote you at least a dozen times."
"Really?" Sirius asked. "Well, mother was in one of her moods. You know, the kind of mood that will last for the rest of my life." Chase giggled. "She took all of my mail and I was only able to catch one letter from you."
"Which one?" Chase asked.
"It must've been one of the last ones you wrote, because it said that you had given up on seeing me that summer and would meet me in Diagon Alley on August 31st."
"Yes, I think that was the last one," Chase replied. "But aside from your horrible mother, did you have any fun this summer?"
"I was allowed to see James from time to time, only because mother knows and approves of his grandfather. However, those visits barely lasted twenty minutes, so it wasn't too wonderful. But, I did put at least a dozen curses on Regalus."
Chase shuddered, thinking of Sirius's creepy older brother. "He's still living there?"
"No, actually, he has his own place now," Sirius said. "But considering he was at my house every day this summer, it was hard to remember that he had, indeed, moved out. But, all in all, my summer wasn't too bad, although, I must say I'm glad to be back here."
"Me too," Chase said, as they ascended the stairs leading up to the Gryffindor Tower.
"So what did you do this summer?" Sirius asked, putting her in the limelight.
"Nothing too exciting," she replied. "I went to the Quidditch World Cup."
"Ah, you got to see Ireland win?" he asked.
Chase nodded.
"Lucky," he said.
"Yes, it was pretty exciting," Chase admitted. Chase was one of the chasers for Gryffindor's house team. Although Sirius didn't play quidditch for Gryffindor, he was a huge fan of the sport. "And, Lily stayed over for a week towards the beginning of summer, but that was about all I saw of her. I think she was depressed because Alice was away on holiday to Italy."
"Yes I heard about that," Sirius replied. "James told me."
Chase nodded. "But, I spent the majority of summer at St. Mungo's."
"Is your mom doing any better?" Sirius asked compassionately. Chase's mother, Ribiona Valetta, had been in the hospital ever since Chase's father, Jordan Valetta, had been murdered, thirteen years ago. Chase barely remembered her mother when she was normal. People said that her father's murder had driven her mother mad, and ever since then, she had been in St. Mungo's receiving treatment, although, there was nothing really to be done. Chase now lived with her aunt, Jillietta Valetta. Her aunt was very cruel to her and always blamed Chase's mother for her father's murder. Sirius had often gone with Chase to visit her mother, so he knew how hard it was for her to speak of her.
Chase shook her head. "The healers really don't think she'll get any better. There's not much hope."
Sirius squeezed her hand sympathetically as she continued.
"They…they only give her another year to…to…"
Chase couldn't finish because of the tears welling up in her eyes and the huge lump now stuck in her throat. But, she didn't have to finish, for Sirius knew exactly what he had been trying to say. Without another word, Sirius pulled her closer to him and engulfed her into a warm embrace.
"I promise you," Sirius said. "I promise you that as soon as we're done with school, I'll buy us a house, and you'll never have to go back to live with your aunt. Okay? And we're going to be happy, you'll see. We deserve to be happy."
Chase nodded into his chest, choking back tears.
"You all right?" Sirius asked, looking down at her. She nodded slowly and he kissed her forehead gently, stroking her silky, smooth hair. "You're beautiful," he whispered softly.
Chase laughed. "My eyes are all red and puffy, and my hair's sticky with tears," she commented. "Beautiful is the last thing I am."
Sirius grinned, wrapping his arm around her as they continued walking. "You're always beautiful to me," he said.
Chase smiled. "I should bring these to Lily," she said, gesturing to the food in her hands.
Sirius nodded. "Okay, come on, let's go. We'll talk later."
"Okay," Chase said, wiping a stray tear from her face as they continued towards the Gryffindor tower.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Lil!" Chase's voice rang through the dormitory cheerfully.
Lily looked up from her perch on the couch. She had all but drifted back off to sleep when she remembered that James was there with her.
"Hi," Lily called, sitting up straight.
"Did you two behave?" Chase joked.
Lily laughed. "Please!" she exclaimed. She squinted at Chase. She seemed happy enough, but something was definitely wrong. She'd ask her later. Although, she noticed that Sirius and her seemed to be back together, judging by the way his arms was around her waist.
"Well, you look better Lil," Sirius said. "You feeling better."
"Yes, actually," Lily said. "Um…"
"Lily, smart as she is, remembered a spell we learned in Charms," James replied. "It got rid of the pain in his neck and back."
"Well, that's good," Chase said. "Too bad it took you so long to think of it."
"Yeah, too bad," Lily said, shooting a confused look at James. He shrugged, as if pretending he hadn't a clue what she was hinting at. "How was breakfast?"
"Good," Chase said, handing Lily her food. "But, I'll be right back. I have to run upstairs for a minute. Fix my make-up."
"Okay," Lily replied. Now that Chase mentioned it, Lily noticed her mascara was a bit smeared. Had she been crying?
Sirius sat down on the couch next to Lily as Chase left.
"Are you two back together?" Lily asked.
"It looks that way," Sirius replied.
"What's this the fifteenth time you've broken up?" James teased.
"'Least I'm seeing someone," Sirius taunted.
James turned expectantly to Lily, grinning.
Lily scowled. "No!" she remarked.
"Oh, come on Evans," he begged.
"No," Lily said shaking her head and taking a bit out of her muffin.
"Your loss," James muttered.
"If it's my loss like you always say, then why don't you go and find someone else to date?" Lily hissed.
"Maybe I will," James said.
"Good," Lily remarked, tossing a roll and muffin at him. James raised his eyebrow in surprise. "Well, you have to eat," she insisted. "If you weren't so ridiculous and had actually gone down to breakfast, then you wouldn't be hungry and I wouldn't be giving you part of my breakfast, so don't thank me, just eat."
"Ah, but I have a feeling that if I didn't stay here with you, you would have never thought of that spell to make you feel better," James said, his blue eyes twinkling.
Lily shot him daggers. "I would have managed," she insisted.
Sirius laughed humorously. "You two are too much," he grinned.
Lily slapped him on the knee. "Shut up," she ordered.
"Defensive are you Lil?" Sirius asked.
"Not in the least," Lily said, polishing off her muffin. "Here," she remarked, tossing a second roll at James and getting to her feet. Without another word, she rushed upstairs in search of Chase.
"Fun time?" Sirius asked.
"Difficult," James admitted. "But fun. You?"
"Difficult," Sirius answered. "But fun."
James grinned. "Women."
"One of the many mysteries of life," he remarked.
"Yeah, too bad for you that mine actually likes me," Sirius joked. James tossed his second roll at Sirius, pegging him in the head.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Chase!" Lily called, walking into the bathroom and hopping onto the countertop next to the sink. Chase stood in front of the sink, reapplying her mascara.
"Hey," she said distantly, never blinking.
"So?" Lily asked.
"So?" Chase repeated.
"So what happened?"
"Oh, you mean with Sirius?" Chase asked.
"Uh, yeah," Lily replied, rolling her eyes.
"We got back together," she said. "I thought that would be obvious and that a clever witch like you would figure that one out."
"Well, my brilliant deductive skills have yet again figured that out, but I still am a little fuzzy on why you were crying."
"I wasn't crying!" Chase said, a little too quickly.
"Smeared mascara," Lily pointed out.
"Okay, maybe just a little," Chase said. "Sirius and I started talking about my mom."
"Oh," Lily said, suddenly feeling extremely insensitive for bringing up the subject. "I'm sorry, I never thought…I mean, I just assumed it would be something else…or…"
Chase smiled, throwing her mascara on the counter. "Don't worry about it. You didn't know."
"I know, but still, I didn't mean to upset you," Lily said.
"You didn't," Chase admitted. "You know I don't usually get emotional about things like this, so why would it be any different with you."
"Well, obviously something Sirius said struck a cord, so I wasn't sure…"
"It's just," Chase began. "Sirius understands where I'm coming from, you know? He's seen my mother and he knows what it's like to be treated horribly at home. So, just hearing him say he was sorry and everything…I don't know, that just always gets me worked up."
"Understandable," Lily said smiling. "Now we should hurry up. We have Charms starting in less than ten minutes."
"All right," Chase said following Lily out of the bathroom.
"Hey," Lily said suddenly, as they scurried down the stairs. "Where's Ally?"
"Oh, Alice and Frank were so engrossed in conversation that I didn't want to interrupt them, although she'll probably be furious that I didn't."
Lily smiled. "Probably."
"Hey, hurry up!" Chase called to Sirius and James. "Charms in less than seven minutes!"
TBC…maybe.