"Oh Lily will you come with me to Hogsmeade," Remus asked nicely, Sam's eyes shone hopefully and begged her to accompany her.
"It could be a triple date, you and Remy, me and James, and Sirius and Wormy!" Sam coaxed but to her great horror, it seemed to have the opposite effect.
"You're going with Potter? Then I would rather die than be anywhere within 20 feet of him, thanks but no thanks," Lily said coldly ignoring Sam's frown and stalked away.
A look of hurt shadowed James' face but Lily did not notice but Sam did, she sighed and looked at her hands. "Um I think we had better get going, now shouldn't we?" Remus asked looking uncomfortable; Sirius coughed up the hot sauce and prodded Peter for the two galleons.
"Lily, Lily, Lily," Sirius sighed and emptied the rest of his winnings from Peter's man-purse to his wallet. Sirius loved Lily as his best gal pal but sometimes he could just run her over with his father's hippogriff. The flame-haired beauty stalked to her friend Zabrina who looked over with one of her clear, blue-eyed sweeps making butterflies erupt in Sirius' stomach. Zabrina shook her head and intertwined her arm with Amos Diggory's and hurried to ScrivenShafts with Lily in tow.
"What just happened?" Peter asked stupidly, "Why is Lily third-wheeling on Zabrina's date with Amos?" Sirius inwardly flinched but Sam gazing at James did not notice but Remus did and so did James. James could barely conceal his awkward claustrophobia with Sam hanging on him like a coat on a hanger and stepped back to walk by Sirius.
"Forget her Pads, she's not worth it," He murmured in a low voice, "'you could have any girl in the entire school, remember'?" Sirius smiled in ill humor at the quote and followed his friends to Hogsmeade and then on to sneak into ScrivenShafts.
XXX
Lily could barely conceal her distaste at Amos while she sulked cross-armed and leaning on a Scrivenshaft's pillar while Zabrina browsed. Amos caught her around the waist and twirled her around making Lily nearly gag, but Zabrina still spinning giggled.
How could Sam leave me with these two? Lily thought furiously, she knows Zabrina is idiotically besotted and then cancelling our plans to hang with Potter? Ugh! Lily's normally sweet yet fiery nature conquered and she could not stay cranky for long but despised being around couples.
"If I could hang with Sirius right now life would be a lot more fun," Lily smiled to herself. "We could prank Sam and Potter and plot how to get Zabrina with him," yes, life would be better. In addition, Remus, poor Remus, sucks not to be in a couple.
"LILY! Yoo-hoo Lily!" Lily winced and noticed Sirius beckoning to her from behind a newsstand with a goofy look on his handsome features.
"PSSST Sirius, you prick! What are you doing here?" she whispered, "Zabrina will murder you in your bed!"
"At least she will be there when I am, half way there," he joked miserably. "Lily I can't stand watching her throw her life away with this idiot, he's so….icky!" Lily giggled, "SEE! Even the sainted Lily Marie Evans agrees with me, if so then I must be right." He peered around and zeroed in on the frolicking lovers. "Look at him, sitting there with an abnormally large nose. Do you think he is related to Snape?" Lily shook her head in despair at his antics and sat beside him.
"Sirius, maybe it is time for you to give up on her, it has been what, three years now?" she recalled. "I think this is long enough for someone to have a crush one someone else and keep getting shut down." Sirius laughed an exhilarated howl.
"Ah but Lilyflower, I never really told her! She doesn't know!" Lily admitted this grimly. "And besides she's perfect, so sweet and smart, but at the same time so…interesting!" Zabrina was, if anything, interesting.
"True but Sirius, I would hate to be hurt all of the time. She isn't exactly a prude; she's a bit of a flirt." Lily said winking. "Amos is like….deep in love with her, who isn't? But he is so star struck they will never break up!"
"This I know," Sirius agreed mournfully.
"Poor Paddy," Lily said sympathetically. "C'mon let's go get a butterbeer," Sirius left with her.
XXX
"Jamsie," Sam cooed goggled eyed. "Are you feeling alright? Did losing Black to Scrivenshaft's drive you up the wall? It's just a quill store!" James nearly puked into his drink; this ruse was not working out. Sam continued in her blarneyed babble that made James want to curse himself into oblivion.
"Listen Sam," he interrupted. "I'm so sorry, but this just isn't working out." After he said it, James felt a deep swish of relief and grinned broadly. "You're just not the one for me, and vice versa, we can't keep pretending." Sam looked thunderstruck. She buried her face in her hands and did not look up. James felt horrible.
"I'm sorry, I really am!" he pleaded with himself, FIND SOME WAY TO MAKE HER STOP CRYING HER BLOODY EYES OUT! "Bloody hell," he growled.
"It is Lily isn't it," he jumped and saw Sam looking alert and dull with red eyes and a neutral expression on her face.
"No," even to his own ears it sounded convincing. "It is not Lily; I gave up on her after she did that to me. I will never be able to forgive her for that." Sam raised an eyebrow.
"O come now James this was last year," she reminded him. He looked at her as if she were insane.
"Do you want me to go after her," she shook her head.
"No, exactly the opposite. I want you both to suffer more than agony for over eternity and never stop." She said in a monotone. "I'm Samantha Edgecombe; no one screws me over, no one." James stood up abruptly and stormed away looking over his shoulder a few times and noticing her death smile.
XXX
"AHAHA!" Lily laughed as they dropped dungbombs on the heads of Slytherins passing by, "I love this roof! It's much better than Zonko's." Sirius collapsing from laughing nearly fell into a snowdrift but his laughter sounded like he was in pain. "Sirius?" he waved her off.
"Lils, let's go Madame Puddifoot's roof!" he hollered and jumped from the other roofs to the bright pink one. Lily nearly sliding off bounced beside him, threw snowballs at couples, and made pink sparks erupt from her wand.
"O Lily, Lily, Lily, such juvenile pranks, I'm surprised and very disappointed at you." Sirius said solemnly and started making large pink bubbles blow from his wand, when they popped what seemed to be bright pink paint fell onto the targets.
While Lily was preoccupied, Sirius lifted his hand and saw blood soaking from his shirt where the burns and cuts were and inched himself further away from her. "Tergeo!" he whispered slowly, "Episkey," and it healed up again.
"Sirius!" Lily sparkled, "I got someone you might be interested in!" Sirius glanced over the side and snorted at Diggory covered from head to foot in dung and paint.
"The dung was a very nice effect," he complimented her and Lily nodded knowingly.
"Thank ya darlin'," she said attempting a redneck accent. Sirius thumped on the back nearly throwing her over onto the smelly Amos. "Buttface!" she growled, jumping on him and pinning him to the snowy roof. "Gotcha!" she said breathing heavily in his face, "Now what do we say Sirius?"
"Sorry Lilyflower," Sirius said feeling ill at ease.
XXX
"Poor Lily," Remus said to Peter. "She can never get a break," Peter looked at him questioningly and Remus felt a shiver. Lily knew more about him than even Peter, probably not more than James or Sirius. Being alone with Peter drove icy daggers into Remus' back but he figure as long as we prove loyal and Marauder-worthy…
"Why poor Lily?" Peter wondered, "She has every Hogwarts boy, including Slytherins, in the palm of her hand! She is obviously filthy-stinkin' rich and is smart!" Remus sighed and felt the feeling again, Peter had absolutely no empathy and in his mind the perfect life would be to be protected, wealthy, and feared.
"Have a sense of adventure Wormtail, what if there is much more below the surface than we could know," Remus felt a certain feeling of protection for Lily. She was, along with the Marauders and Dumbledore, the only one who understood his conditions and feelings, only if the other girl knew instead.
XXX
James trudged along the street kicking at flurries of snow and resenting the couples making out steamily on the benches surrounding the square, growling he burst into the Hog's Head and ordered a butterbeer.
He sat hunched over by the window, stared into the foam of the glorious warming drink, and noticed girls staring and coquetting in front of him. They were very pretty and one sidled up closer to James and breathed in his ear. James stood up, knocking his chair down and left but not before sliding a card to the girl.
"My name is Katie, Katie Leung!" she called after him; he smiled, waved and continued on his way with his mind whirling.
XXX
Snape stalked around the Shrieking Shack with his robes billowing like bat's wings and praying for Lucius to appear.
"Finally," Lucius tutted walking out of the forest. "I was waiting for the right one, have you spoke to Pettigrew?" Snape nodded and brought out a piece of parchment.
"Filched this from him just now," he boasted laying it down on the sodden earth. "I know it's a map, otherwise they would not know how to sneak about, but it's secrets are well contained." The parchment nearly glowed yellow with fury at being held by the greasy child and it almost vibrated when Lucius caressed it.
"I don't understand, the Dark Lord said only he surpassed your prowess at the dark arts," Lucius muttered almost jealously. "And now I see that perhaps he was misinformed," a dull sickly yellow paled Snape's face at Malfoy's contemptuous tone.
"The Dark Lord knows all, sees all, and most importantly knows when someone acts disloyally." Snape growled, hostile. "He only see into your mind to know if you have killed me, left me here to die wandless, or betrayed me. You of all people should know this, and I don't care if you are Cissy's husband, it does not change anything."
"Silly little bastard, you think the Dark Lord doesn't know that I too am capable of magic?" Snape threw his head back and laughed.
"You? Malfoy? The only reason you are where you are is because of your looks and money, not because of your brains!" Malfoy shouted incoherently and tackled Severus whose head slammed against the ground.
Nose to greasy nose, Malfoy leaned in, "Hear this now Snape, the Dark Lord is my master and your hero, and I am everything you want to be and more! I have a beautiful wife and home, money and a job that could affect you even now! So don't tread on my tail!" with that and a slap on the cheek, Malfoy left the map and Snape on the ground in the deserted part of the Forbidden Forest.
Wiping blood from his cheek, Snape hurried back to the castle while determined to leave the map so the Dark Lord would find it.
XXX
Lily marched back to the castle alone for Sirius had gone to moon people in Honeydukes, think all the while of Potter. I hate him, she fumed, that no good, lousy, SOB worth absolutely nothing to society! He punishes people and manipulates and harms…Even her thoughts became unintelligible.
Nothing poisoned Lily's good moods like Potter, usually she was sweet, easy going, yet passionate, intelligent and easy to talk to with her big smile and sparkling eyes but not when he was around.
A third year girl strayed from her group because she was reading a book and this particular first year reminded Lily of herself. "Hey Dorcas!" the slight girl looked up startled, and smiled hugely at Lily with big teeth but beautiful platinum hair. Lily noticed Benjy Fenwick hovering closely behind her with an obsessive, concentrated look on his face.
Benjy tapped Dorcas' shoulder and seized her attention with a glowing confidence that made Lily's smile wider as she continued on her way to the 6th year girl's dorms up in Gryffindor Tower.
"Gillyweed," she said after the portrait prompted.
"Ditto young lady," the Fat Lady returned with a delusional grin and fell into another portrait. Lily sighed and took a seat near the fire and away from everyone else to read her favorite book The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare.
"Lily?" Lily looked up and saw a cute boy by the name of Xander Corner twisting his beanie in his hands and looking frightened.
"Hey what's up Xander?" he swallowed loudly much to Lily's amusement and cleared his throat.
"Lily," he said his voice cracking. "Will you go on a date with me next Hogsmeade weekend? I missed my chance this week but I'm not letting you go now!" he laughed nervously and Lily took pity on him.
Well he is really hot.
"I'd love to Xander," Xander blushed and fumbled in his pocket for something. "What's this?" Lily asked.
"My muggle phone number in case…during the summer you got lonely or whatever," he said flustered and nearly sprinted out of the common room. Lily smiled and twirled a lock of hair dreamily, wondering how when could things could so terribly wrong, there was still room in separates lives where things could go wonderfully.
XXX
Sam mounted the steps to the Ravenclaw dorms and held back a moment of fear, should she? On the other hand, should she not? She felt her hand slip to hold her hard stomach and nearly groaned with fear.
XXX
Remus relaxed by the Black Lake watching Sirius read something for once; it was Lily's handwriting so of course Sirius would be reading it. Remus mused about how close the three of them were and how close the four boys were and compared Lily's relations to them all.
Sirius and Lily were best friends and could always rely on each other to help, even with Lily's friend Zabrina.
Remus' and Lily's bond was less strong but definitely close enough to confide in and seek advice from one another in times of trouble. Lily went to Sirius when she needed fun, she went to Remus when she needed wisdom and she went to both for support.
Peter and Lily did not approve of each other in the least, Peter hated the way Lily turned James', Remus', and Sirius' attentions from him and he resented that. On the other hand, he admired her for her evident "hotness"; she thought he was a creeper.
James and Lily was the only relationship that made Remus frown in confusion, he knew they were destined but Lily just would not give James a chance! James deserved that, at least according to Lily's and Dumbledore's philosophy that everyone deserved second chances. Remus just could not figure out why Lily would ignore her entire life's philosophy because of one boy, questioning herself because of one insignificant classmate. After all, it was just a crush is it not? What is the harm of going out with him?
Remus did not know, but he was determined to find out.