[a/n]: Hey! So this is more of a straight up Lily/James fic. It's going to be a short multichapter fic. As with all of my Lily/James, I'm trying to base my extras (Mary, Marlene, etc) off of names in cannon that might really have gone to Hogwarts with Lily and James as concluded from excessive hours spent on the lexicon.
Disclaimer: I only own the plot and a few spares, all else is Rowling's
Jealousy Wears a Green Mask
It had been an average Sunday night in the Gryffindor common room. The first years had been playing gobstones in the corner. The second and third years were painting a large banner to support the quidditch team during the coming match while the fourth years supervised. The few fifth and sixth years that weren't cloistered in the library had been writing essays at the tables. Mary Macdonald sat with two Marauders in the big squishy sofas by the fire; Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew were planning a prank, Mary was pretending not to listen, focused intently on the latest issue of Which Broomstick but making sure to throw her two cents into the conversation whenever she felt the boys were getting a little too crazy.
It was an average Sunday night until the portrait hole opened and Lily Evans and Remus Lupin stumbled in. They, along with James who had yet to return, had been at the weekly Prefects/Head Boy and Girl meeting, discussing the coming events. For a few minutes, nothing changed in the common room. Remus and Lily joined their friends beside the fire, Lily's face blank and expressionless; Remus's barely hidden smile betraying slight amusement.
"How was the meeting?" asked Mary, more out of politeness than out of real interest. Peter and Sirius had ceased discussion of their far more interesting; doomed to failure prank upon Lily's arrival. Even though Lily and the boys had formed an unlikely truce that had transformed into a far more unlikely friendship during their sixth year, they still seemed hesitant to discuss planned pranks around the Head Girl.
"Long," responded Remus with a stretch, "Lots of discussion about the Halloween Masquerade Ball. James is still in the meeting room, finalizing the band and stuff, he sent us back early. I think he was afraid that Lily was going to hex someone."
"Makes sense," Sirius shrugged, "You lot must be stressed, the dance is in only ten days and seven hours…"
Mary raised an eyebrow at the shaggy haired boy, smiling a little at his accuracy, "Frighteningly precise."
Remus and Peter exchanged a knowing look before Remus explained for his friend, "Sirius is highly devoted to costume parties."
"Ah," Mary nodded, "You boys made your costumes yet?"
Sirius sat up straight and held Mary's gaze with an intense one of his own, "Why, what have you heard?!" Mary couldn't help but giggle at the boy's antics.
Remus rolled his eyes beside the boy, "Actually, we're not quite done with the costumes… though I think that's on the back burner. Sirius and I are turning out to be the only Gryffindor boys without dates."
"Makes sense… I guess. What do you think Lil?" she turned to the redhead, "You're being awfully quiet."
Lily seemed to shake herself out of a reverie, "I… need to hang some posters."
And that is when everything in the serene room changed. After hanging two brightly colored posters on the noticeboard, Lily made to return to her seat, but then hesitated and turned, striding the length of the rug that lay in front of the fire before pausing at the other end, turning, and walking back. She did this twice more and then all the air left the room as those nearest realized what was happening.
Lily Evans was pacing.
At once, the fifth and sixth years rolled up their parchments and tossed half closed ink bottles into their bags, frantic with the sudden need to join their classmates in the library. The fourth years attacked the wet banner with their wands, drying what they could and sacrificing the rest. The third years stoppered their paint bottles and stored their brushes, casting terrified looks over their shoulder at the moving redhead. The first years had never before experienced what was coming, and as ignorant innocents, watched bemusedly from their corner as their housemates flew around in panic. It fell to the second years to get the young ones to safety, poking and dragging the eleven year olds up the stairs, promising explanations later if they would only move faster.
And then, not three minutes after the initial length of carpet had been crossed, the common room was empty but for the three present marauders, Mary, and Lily.
Remus and Sirius exchanged anxious looks; Peter suddenly had a very pressing need to be somewhere else and bolted. Lily's pacing was possibly the most frightening thing in the castle. Despite the fact that nearly everyone adored the redhead on an average day, her temper and outbursts were positively… infamous, and, the ones that followed a good pace were always the most
Checking over his shoulder, Remus assured himself that there were no other potential casualties in the common room before asking quietly, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Lily responded, looking at Remus as if his question had surprised her, "Why would something be wrong?"
Sirius and Remus exchanged another look while Mary was entirely focused on her best friend, mind whirring.
"You're pacing," Sirius pointed out in an attempt at a causal tone, "Last time I saw you pace was the Great April Debacle. Still don't know what that was about mind you, but I know it was scary…"
And then, it all clicked for Mary.
"Boys," she said evenly, "Leave."
"Wha?!" Sirius turned to Mary in surprise, "We're being helpful."
Mary fixed him with one of her glares and Sirius sighed, "Fine, c'mon Moony, let's go pick the colors for Wednesday."
"Stay away from purple," Lily offered, not unkindly, "Outfit mishap pranks aren't nearly as funny when the target actually looks better after you've messed with their robes."
Remus laughed at the shocked look on Sirius's face and shepherded him up the stairs with an audible "Don't look so shocked Padfoot, you'll catch flies if you keep your mouth open for too long… besides, you know Lily knows everything… and even if she didn't, James tells her almost everything now anyway."
It was that last statement, drifting down the stairs into the common room that caused Lily to crack. She hurled herself down onto the couch the boys had vacated and scream long and hard into a pillow.
Mary waited for the dust to settle and the scream to subside, and then poked the redhead with her toe and asked "So, what's the matter Lils?"
Lily picked her head up from the pillow, "The dance," she groaned, "the stupid, stupid dance. I don't have a date Mary!"ItwI
Mary froze, and then held in a chuckle. Lily Evans was worried about getting a date? She was, in Mary's opinion, the only girl in Hogwarts who always had a date ready in the wings… if she ever realized that she might actually want to go with him.
"I don't know what you're all upset about Lily," Mary said carefully, "This whole dance was your idea. You did know that dances require dates, right? And you've turned down several boys… I figured you had a plan or something…"
In response, Lily just moaned, and threw her face back down into the pillow, "I did."
Mary raised an eyebrow, "Well, what happened then?"
Lily pulled herself up into a sitting position, clearly about to go into a serious rant.
"This dance," she sighed, "was going to be my way to… well… ugh it doesn't even matter Mary, he asked someone else."
"Who!?" Mary demanded, unsure of what to think, but despite the indications that Lily longed to rant, the redhead didn't answer.
"You designed this entire dance just to get one boy to ask you out?" Mary realized, raising an eyebrow at her friend, impressed by the girl's ambition.
Lily nodded sadly, "I was even willing to ask him I think," she sighed, "If it came to it, I mean. There aren't any Hogsmeade visits anymore Mary, not since Voldemort and his slimy henchmen started getting serious. So, there aren't really any opportunities for guys to ask girls out."
Mary shrugged, "There's always quidditch games, though I guess that doesn't really work for me… being on the team and all. Half the matches we're playing in, and then the other half we watch as a team to strategize about playing…" she trailed off, and upon seeing the look on Lily's face, gasped, "He's on a team too!"
Mary racked her brain, listing all the other House teams in her head, crossing off boy after boy. Too short, too tall, too young, he asked, she said no… until suddenly she was out of options. Unless of course, he was a Gryffindor… and then, it hit.
Mary started laughing, she couldn't help it.
"You, Lily Evans, finally realized you have a thing for James Potter?" she gasped, and Lily, a little miffed by the way Mary was taking the news, nodded reluctantly.
"And, and, right when you finally realize it, he's all grown up and not pestering you for dates anymore!" Mary exploded and little by little, Lily started to see the irony too. And then she was laughing also, both girls sliding to the floor and giggling.
But then, somewhere in the middle, the situation stopped being so funny, and both girls' laughter came to an abrupt halt.
"James asked someone else to the dance?" Mary asked quietly, Lily's earlier words coming back to her.
"Yeah." To Mary's horror, she could see that Lily's eyes were over bright and slowly filling with tears. Lily Evans never cried.
"That prat!" Mary gasped.
"I know, right?!" Lily looked a little angry, "He spends all that time deflating his overlarged head, and then, the second I realize that hey, James, kinda adorable. And charming. And damn near perfect. Soon as I realize what he tried to get me to think for five years is true… he goes and asks out that stupid blonde Ravenclaw!"
Mary decided that it wasn't the time to point out that a stupid Ravenclaw was an oxymoron, instead asking, "Who?"
"Marlene McKinnon," Lily sighed, "And she's so sweet and kind that I can't even hate her." Mary couldn't help but agree, Marlene was nice and sweet, and an excellent Seeker.
"But, this is madness!" Mary said slowly, "James has always been crazy about you."
Lily shook her head, "Then why would he ask Marlene, Mary? He actually told me he'd asked her, and that he was 'so excited to be going to the masquerade with such a gorgeous girl.'" Lily added air quotes to the last bit.
"Hm…" Mary scratched her head.
"Hm what?" Lily demanded.
"Maybe," Mary said, cautious, because, while she was nearly certain she was right, she didn't want to crush Lily if she was wrong, "He's trying to make you jealous."
"What!?" Lily demanded again, more than a little outraged. If jealousy was James's plan, it was definitely working; Mary would have to give her quidditch captain serious points in the strategy department.
"No, seriously," Mary continued, "Maybe he wanted to ask you but wasn't sure you knew you liked him."
"You say that like everyone else knows," Lily retorted, crossing her arms defensively.
"Only because they do," answered Mary promptly.
Lily could only glare in response, which Mary chose to ignore.
"Seriously Lily," Mary turned to look at her friend straight on, "What if he is playing the jealousy card?"
Lily blinked, bit her lip and sat silent for a moment. A long moment. And then a smile emerged on her face. A slow, absolutely terrifying smile that hinted at unforgivable plots and terrifying schemes… And Mary felt better. This was the Lily she recognized and loved.
"Then," Lily said slyly, "I'd say that two can play at that game."
Mary beamed, "Brilliant!" Even if she was wrong about James's motives, Mary was sure that him seeing Lily with another boy would knock him into place… the boy was doomed.
"The only question is," Lily bit her lip, "Who can I use?"
Mary paused, Lily had already rejected at least five of the eligible boys for this dance while she had been waiting for Potter to get his arse in gear. That limited her by quite a bit…
"No Slytherins," Lily had grabbed a piece of parchment and was writing down the names of all the boys in the seventh year, "No point punishing myself… even if they would go with a muggleborn."
"What about sixth years?" offered Mary, noting that there were only two boys listed on that list who didn't have girlfriends.
"James is hardly likely to be jealous of a sixth year," Lily pointed out, "He might've deflated a lot, but he's still arrogant enough to feel more important than a sixth year."
Mary bit her lip, "And you're too nice to really use either of those boys," she sighed, "You'd be leading them on to the enth degree."
Lily nodded slowly, seeing a plan forming in Mary's eyes, "What do you suppose I do then Mary?"
Mary's eyes trailed over to the boy's staircase, a brilliant idea forming. It would require a bit of self-sacrifice, but what else were best friends for? And besides, it would give her a marvelous chance to play the jealousy card herself… all the while giving solid assurance that the boy Mary was after wouldn't be messing around with any other girls.
"What you need," Mary said with a sly smile of her own, the type of sly smile that reminded Lily why they were best friends, "is someone who can be in on the plan but not betray the plan."
Lily nodded, thinking it through, "A boy who would be just as willing as I am to go through all the motions to get this to work, without really expecting me to fall in love with him."
"Someone who everyone, including James will acknowledge to be a lady-killer, someone who James won't be willing to beat up on the spot, but will provide a definite worry to him."
Lily and Mary exchanged a clear, knowing look, "Someone close to James," Lily added, smiling, "Someone he'll have to worry about seeing me with everyday…"
Mary leaned in and stage-whispered "Someone who I'll bet has been eavesdropping on our conversation for the past five minutes at the very least," and as she spoke, her arm snapped out with a beater's speed and snagged at what appeared to be thin air. One quick tug however, and the air moved away, revealing an only slightly embarrassed looking boy.
"Best secret they ever let us in on," Lily smirked, brushing James's invisibility cloak with her fingers.
Mary nodded, "Try not to breathe so loud next time, and cut back on the cologne and you might just fool us," she added with a smile.
"So," Lily turned to the boy, "Are you willing to help me?"
"Alright! Alright!" Sirius Black threw his hands up as if he had fought a long battle and lost, though the wide beam on his face betrayed his inner excitement, "This will be my best prank ever."