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Note: Second chapter! Thanks so much to those who have left reviews, feedback means so much to an author! My muse is hungry though, so don't hesitate to keep sending reviews! Now, on with the show!


Chapter 2: Four Friends at Odds

"Custard!"

"Ear wax!"

"Butter!"

" Umm… Dandelion!"

Potter turned towards her and grinned expectantly.

"Evans?"

His smile was infectious and she couldn't help the slow smile that spread over her own face in return.

"Banana," she guessed.

In response, James popped the bright yellow Bertie Bott's Bean into his mouth. He cocked his head to one side, chewing with a quizzical expression that sent snickers through the whole group.

"Corn," he pronounced ruefully, and was rewarded with a chorus of laughter all around.

It was a losing game, but Lily was quickly discovering what fun it could be. She was also discovering, to her untold amazement, what fun Potter, Black, Lupin and Pettigrew could be.

True to Black's word, the four of them had acted like civilized individuals ever since they'd met up outside the school. Now, sitting outside Honeyduke's with Mary, Penny and Henrietta and the boys, she was beginning to understand the charm everyone else seemed to see in these guys.

It turned out that James Potter had it in him to act like a gentleman after all. He was funny and intelligent, and could be witty and engaging. On top of that, he was attentive and entertaining. Wonders never ceased. Why couldn't he be like this all the time, she had to wonder wistfully.

The rest were equally winning. Sirius Black seemed willing to do anything to make the people around him laugh, and he was exceptionally good at it. Lily's face hurt from giggling at his impressions of the professors and his flirtatious teasing amongst her friends that drove the girls to squeals of delight on several occasions.

Remus Lupin looked pale this morning after the night's full moon, but after assuring her in response to her quiet inquiry that he was just fine, he went on to demonstrate that on top of being smart, he was extremely well read, and could converse on just about any subject, from Quidditch to Transfiguration to muggle music and television – he had seemed to take particular delight in trading quotes with her from old reruns of Doctor Who, and laughing at the others as they stared at the pair of them as though they'd grown horns. It was hard not to be impressed.

Even strange, twitchy Peter was an interesting companion in his own way, offering shy but sincere sounding compliments now and then, holding doors or pulling out chairs whenever he could. Lily felt sorry that she had ever though badly of him. He seemed like he just wanted to find acceptance. She was glad he had three such good friends.

As the laughter of the corn flavored bean died away, she turned and caught Potter's eyes on her. They sparkled at her through the dark lines of his glasses as he watched her with a look of fascination on his handsome face. Unexpectedly, her chest warmed and an unaccountable blush flooded her cheeks. Her breath was knocked out of her a moment later when her blush brought an answering blush to his cheeks, and that rare, shy smile of his flashed over his face, not hidden this time, but directed squarely at her. She blinked, and opened her mouth to say something, though she wasn't sure quite what…

"Evans!" called an achingly familiar voice from behind her. "Catch!"

Potter's eyes whipped past her, washing a cold feeling through her as they hardened with some dark emotion. The rest of the crowd fell silent as Lily turned just in time to see Sev, alone for once, stepping out of the doorway of Honeydukes. He tossed something in her direction, and she instinctively reached up and caught it – just like old times.

A pang of homesickness tugged through her chest. She looked down to find a packet of Sugar Bees in her hand.

"Your favorite," Sev commented with a nod at the candies.

He was right, of course, they were. She had complained at length two summers ago how the thing she missed most about the wizarding world when they went home for the holiday was Sugar Bees. Lily suddenly had to blink back tears. That was just like Sev, always remembering those little off-handed comments she made or bits of nonsense she would ramble on about and forget the next day.

He looked her in the eye for a long moment, and Lily had to bite her lip because she didn't know what to make of it all, what to do. How could the angry, sneering boy who had called her that vile name only a few months ago be this same person who bought her Sugar Bees just because she'd mentioned how much she liked them once two years ago? How could this person, who meddled with dark magic and Death Eater wannabes, be the same person with whom she'd whiled away all those lazy summer days of her childhood, so easy and carefree? If only he would drop those awful friends of his...

Sev's eyes flicked up over her shoulder, to where Potter stood glaring at him, the back to hers, still unreadable, and she felt a stab of irrational guilt. Then he turned without another word and began walking away.

The whole thing had a strange weight to it that something so innocuous shouldn't have. But just like that it was over, and in spite of it all, the day would still go on as it had been. Or it should have.

But just as Sev was nearing the end of the next building, Potter, face screwed up like he had something foul in his mouth, gave a discreet flick of his wand. It wasn't discreet enough to escape Lily's notice, however and she cringed as Sev tripped over thin air and pitched headfirst into a pile of leaves. The group behind her burst into laughter as Sev scrambled to his feet, rubbing his shoulder and wincing. He threw a dirty look over his shoulder at them – at her – and slouched away down the alley between the buildings.

"What did you do that for?" Lily nearly growled, turning on the still laughing James Potter. His face fell instantly at the look in her eye.

"Now don't go getting your knickers in a twist, Evans," Black interjected, still chuckling. "That squicky little slimeball is just fine, there's no harm done, so let's just…"

"He… he was bothering you," Potter interrupted, his face scrunching up with a myriad of emotions – frustration, indignation, longing, possessiveness, regret.

"Oh yes, he was positively assaulting me," she bit out sarcastically. "You know, even if I did take exception to getting a bag of my favorite candies, that's no excuse for you to toss him in a pile of leaves!"

"Why are you defending him?" Potter demanded heatedly, and she knew he was referring Sev calling her a mudblood.

"Why are you attacking him?" she shot right back, her head spinning with her own collection of heated emotions.

Why was she defending him? Wasn't she the one who had ended their friendship? Yes, she had, but the trouble was that that didn't mean she stopped caring about what happened to him. She wasn't about to forgive him - well, she might consider it if he stopped experimenting with the dark arts - but she didn't want to see him hurt either.

"I was just… just… oh, he ruins everything!" Potter spat, kicking at a nearby stone across the street in aggravation.

"No, you did." She aimed a scathing look at Black, who held his hands up defensively. "You gave your word that everyone would act civilized. That was not what I call civilized."

"Don't look at me, love," Black said, waving both hands in front of him to ward off her wrath and glancing sympathetically at Potter. "I had no part in that."

Lily threw a acidic glance at the other two boys for good measure. Lupin raised his eyebrows and held up a hand in denial of any wrong doing. Peter just shook his head vehemently and hunched his shoulders, trying to look as small and innocuous as such a husky boy was able.

Potter opened and closed his mouth several times, fishlike, at his friends' abandonment, before a look of supreme frustration twisted his features.

"This is ridiculous. How blind can you be, Evans?" he retorted angrily. "That damn Snivellus did this on purpose! Can't you see he did it to provoke me? He was trying to make you mad at me!"

Lily almost laughed. That did sound like something Severus might do. She wrapped her fingers tightly around the packet of Sugar Bees, refusing to dwell on the idea that Sev may have used his memory her just to hurt James Potter. What burned her even more was what an arrogant toe-rag Potter was being.

"His name is Severus," Lily snapped, "and the only person who did anything wrong today was you. If all it takes to make you violent is a pack of Sugar Bees, then whatever Sev did, you still have a serious problem." She turned to her girlfriends. "I'm going to head back. You guys have a good time."

"B-but we were just going to go have lunch at the Three Broomsticks," Mary stammered, glancing at the boys, and back at her pleadingly. Lily shook her head.

"Sorry, Mary," she replied, and shot a venomous look in Potter's direction. "I've lost my appetite."

She turned on her heel and swept away down the lane towards the school.


Sirius watched the redhead sashay off in a powerful snit then turned to his friend with his best scolding stare. It wasn't much, since he was more accustomed to getting a scolding than giving one, but after that massive cock up, James deserved the best one he could muster.

"Oh, well done, you absolute berk," Sirius snorted, shaking his head. "And after all the trouble I went to getting her to come. Bloody hell, I even promised to be good. Do you have any idea how many opportunities to I missed today by 'being good'? It's positively criminal!"

James raked his fingers through his hair.

"I know, I'm sorry, I just…" He shook his head. "I just can't think straight when I'm around her. She mixes me all up inside."

Aston giggled at that, drawing the boys' attention. She and the rest of the remaining girls shared one of those mysterious looks that girls do so well.

"Boys," she said philosophically, her tone condescending, "Why do they all think girls are impressed by that caveman act?"

"It's sweet that you like her so much, James," Collins agreed, crossing her arms and offering him a pitying glance, "But anyone who knows the first thing about Lily knows she doesn't go for bullies."

Macdonald cast a longing glance around the circle, and then sighed dejectedly. "Come on ladies, let's go have lunch. You boys try to stay out of trouble," she admonished, and then the three of them turn away with half-hearted waves and skeptical glances and disappeared into the Three Broomsticks.

And just like that the four boys were left standing alone in the lane.

Well, so much for that plan, Sirius groused inwardly. It wasn't so much that he minded James sticking his foot in it – that was entertaining enough in its own way – but the trouble was…

He thought back to that morning, how he'd started out trying to do his friend a good turn. Then he relived the moment when he'd caught her hand and he'd seen the fire snapping in those amazing green eyes.

The trouble was… I'm starting to see what he sees in her.

Sirius clenched his fingers together in an effort to siphon off a measure of his irritation. James was his best mate. He always had his back, was always good for a laugh, even let him stay at his place over the summer when he couldn't stomach his own family anymore. There was no way he could steal James' girl out from under him.

But hell if he's not pushing her out onto the market all on his own.

"Well that was a wash," Remus sighed, glancing at James and shrugging.

"Sorry," James repeated, shoving his hands in his pockets and toeing at the ground.

"Don't sweat it, mate," Sirius replied with a cheerfulness he didn't really feel. "It's not like Snivellus doesn't always have it coming."

Remus frowned. "You guys could let up on him a bit, you know. He's hardly ever around anymore now that Lily isn't speaking to him. Isn't it about time to let bygones be bygones and act or ages?"

Sirius and James exchanged a glance.

"Never!" they crowed in unison, and Peter joined them in a hearty laugh that went a long way to bolstering all their spirits.

"Besides, he started it," James added with an air of offended dignity. "So he can't complain if we finish it."

Thinking back, Sirius wasn't sure that was strictly true, but he wasn't about to correct him. Instead, he clapped his hands together.

"Since we're done here, I'm going to head back and find my pillow," he announced, with a wink and a conspiratorial grin in Lupin's direction. "Wild night, Moony! Lets do it again real soon."

Then he took off towards the school without a backward glance, at what he hoped was a leisurely pace. He wouldn't mind finding his bed. But first he wanted to find Evans.

Regulus had once told Sirius that the reason he went through women so fast was because he only wanted what he couldn't have. He hated it when his brother turned out to be right. Because there was no way he could have both Lily Evans' attentions and James Potter's friendship, and hell if he knew right then which he wanted more.


Lily stomped up the path in a fine and growing rage. What had she been thinking, agreeing to go anywhere with James Potter and Sirius Black? She couldn't believe she'd given in, let them charm her and take her for such a fool!

She was surprised how much it hurt when she remembered Potter's shy smile. Was he really just playing with her? She didn't think her judgment was that poor. But how could someone be so enticing one moment, and such a giant jerk the next?

Sighing dejectedly, she stretched out her arms at her sides and arched her neck to stare up into the sky as she made her way up the path towards the gate. She would never understand what was going on inside boys' brains, she was certain of it.

"Evans!"

Startled, Lily turned to see Black trotting up the path behind her. She pursed her lips in irritation, then turned her back and kept walking.

"Not interested in anything you have to say, Black. Last time I listened to you, I ended up wasting my Saturday."

"Oh, come one! It wasn't a total waste, was it? Didn't we have fun for a while?"

Lily shrugged noncommittally and kept walking.

"Listen, Evans, I'm sorry about all that back there," he said as he caught up to her. "James can be a bit of a neanderthal." He fell into step beside her. "And I can see now that you are a lady. You deserve to be treated like one."

Alarm bells started jangling in her head, but she didn't know what they were trying to warn her about. She eyed him suspiciously.

"Just what is it you want, Black?" she wondered.

"Only to treat you right," he replied meaningfully.

Then he grabbed her by the shoulder, spun her towards him and kissed her.

Lily spent about ten seconds in abject shock as his lips brushed an unfamiliar friction against hers. Then she slapped him.

"Ouch!" Black recoiled and stumbled backwards, clutching his stinging cheek. "What did you do that for?"

Then he wisely closed his mouth as Lily leveled ten inches of willow at him, right between the eyes.

"Is that how you 'treat a lady'?!" she squeaked, red-faced and outraged.

"All the time!" Sirius cried, seeming genuinely perplexed, even hurt by her actions.

"Well not this one!" she barked, making sure to back a few feet away before she lowered her wand.

"No one else ever complained," he grumbled as she spun away and resumed stomping towards the castle, her earlier anger given new dimensions. Sirius trailed her warily.

"What's your game anyway, Black?" she demanded as they reached the gate, "I thought Potter was the one that's supposed to like me."

"Yeah, well, maybe I like you too," he replied, a shade of his usual easy charm creeping back into his voice. "And call me Sirius. Black is my jackass father."

"Fine, 'Sirius'. Keep your hands – and your lips – to yourself."

Sirius darted around in front of her, eyes dancing with a mischievous light. Impulsively, he plucked a broad leaf from an overhanging branch, rolled it loosely and, brandishing his wand, transfigured it. In its place, a full, fragrant red rose filled his hand. Lily watched as he kissed the delicate petals, then held it out to her. Nonplussed and overwhelmed, she took it. He grinned dangerously at her.

"Have it your way… for now…" he warned her, sweeping a jester's bow to her and looking up at her through his dark lashes. "Until next we meet, my lady. Think about it." Then, with a roguish laugh, he turned and set off towards the castle.

Lily stood there on the path, starring after him for a number of long minutes after he was gone. Where had all that suddenly come from? Distractedly sniffing the sweet scent of the rose as she wandered in the general direction of the school, she was more certain than ever that she would never understand boys.

Unbeknownst to either Lily or Sirius, watchful eyes peered from the underbrush beside the spot they had just occupied, drinking in the scene and calculating their next move.


Lily hid in her dormitory all of Sunday, subsisting on candies and biscuits she'd been saving in her trunk and dodging the questions and comments of her roommates. She couldn't bring herself to get rid of the transfigured rose. And she couldn't bring herself to eat the Sugar Bees either.

What did it all mean? No matter how she looked at it, Lily could find no method to their madness, and was forced to conclude that boys – or at least this collection of boys – were certifiably bonkers.

When Monday came at last, and Lily was forced out of hiding and into class, her instinct to avoid the male population proved to have been well-founded. It seemed everywhere she went, James Potter dogged her steps, begging to have a word with her in private, and then embarrassing her by trying to force her to accept his half-hearted apologies, all of which were designed to let her know that he didn't really believe he'd done anything wrong, that she was being unreasonable, and that he deserved to be rewarded for putting up with her. …arrogant toe-rag.

And of course, wherever Potter showed up, Sirius Black was hot on his heels, and the moment James turned his back, his friend was shooting her winks and blowing her kisses with an irreverent grin. Lily could not tell if he was being serious or having a laugh at her expense to save her life.

On top of that, she kept losing things out of her bag. By midmorning, her pocket mirror was missing. At lunch, she noticed that her lip balm was gone. During Charms she was distraught to find that even the charm bracelet her mother had given her last year, which she'd taken off during Potions, had disappeared. She checked the bag for holes again and again, but couldn't find one. She wondered briefly if someone might have stolen them, but it had happened over the course of the day, and not even the charm bracelet was valuable enough that people would go to the trouble of taking it. It was just more bad luck.

By the time class let out for the day, Lily was exhausted. Feeling unequal to facing the Great Hall for dinner, she snagged an apple from the kitchens and made her way down to the lake in search of some peace.

That dream was short lived.

As she rounded a particularly large tree, she nearly tripped over Remus Lupin reclining against the trunk. In the back of her mind, Lily noted it was the same tree under which they had first spoken, but she was roundly distracted by the fact that she was teetering precariously over the lapping edge of the lake.

"Lily!" he exclaimed as she pinwheeled her arms to keep from pitching into the water.

He grabbed the edge of her flailing sleeve and tugged her back inland. Unfortunately, he either underestimated his own strength or over estimated her powers of balance, because the force of his pull brought her tumbling down on top of him. When she gathered her bearings once more, she found herself sprawled on top of him, pressing him into the lumpy rocks and roots that littered the ground. She groaned in embarrassment as she struggled onto her hands and knees, freeing him to follow her up into a sitting position as she leaned back on her heels.

"Ugh, I'm really sorry," she told him, anxiously running her hands over his chest and arms in search of any damage. "Are you alright? I didn't hurt you did I?"

Lupin didn't answer. His face was awfully red and he was watching her with a strange look on his face…

Then he leaned forward, reaching up with one hand to cup the base of her head as he raised his face and captured her lips. Lily stiffened with the shock of her second kiss in three days. Lupin pulled away instantly, scrambling backwards. His eyes were wide and shocked, as though he couldn't believe what he'd just done any more than she could.

"I'm sorry!" he blurted. He touched his fingertips to his lips, then looked up at her, cheeks pink, and met her eyes intently. "I'm really sorry," he repeated in a calmer, though still slightly breathless tone. "I didn't mean to."

Lily gaped at him. Didn't mean to? How did one kiss a person by accident? Boys! They were all a bloody conundrum!

"L-Lupin… I'm flattered… it's just…"

"I know," he said quietly, looking away. "I'm a werewolf, so…"

"No!" Lily exclaimed, appalled. "I wouldn't disregard your feelings just because of something like that!"

He looked up at her again, stunned, his brow furrowing as though trying to work through some tricky puzzle.

"Then… I suppose James…"

Lily's face darkened. "James Potter is a complete arse!" she proclaimed with feeling.

Lupin blinked at her, seemingly at a loss.

"Then, it's just something about me that's not…"

"That's not true! Lupin… Remus… you're a wonderful guy. Have some confidence in yourself, will you? Any girl would be lucky!"

She bit her lip in the next moment, stifling a moan of frustration at the trouble her big mouth was making for her as the pink in his cheeks deepened and the uncertainty in his eyes firmed up into a shaky sort of resolve.

"Th-then… then would you consider it?" he asked, his eyes too-serious in his pale face. Lily chewed on her lip, at a loss in light of his earnest sincerity. She didn't know what to do!

"Remus… I… um…"

"Don't answer yet," he interrupted, holding up a demonstrative hand. "Just think about it for a while." He looked at her for a long, lingering moment, then climbed to his feet. "I've been wanting to ask you since last spring. A few more days won't make much difference. Just… promise me you'll think about it?"

She had never even considered Remus in that light, but he looked so hopeful that she couldn't bring herself to say it. What could she do? She nodded, still gnawing nervously on her lip. It wasn't a lie, since she doubted she'd be able to concentrate on anything other than the multitude of boys that seemed to be circling her like well-meaning sharks.

Remus smiled, and it was the most hopeful, carefree expression Lily had ever seen him wear. She fought the urge to wince.

"Well then," he cleared his throat and ducked his head shyly as he backed slowly away. "I'm just going to head back in. See you in the common room…" He glanced up at her once more, then away again, as though he couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes for more than a second. His normally pale face was so red that he looked like it had been baking in the sun. Finally he clenched his jaw, looked up and stalwartly met her eyes. It was so intense that Lily felt her own face heat up in response. "Bye, Lily."

He turned and fairly sprinted back towards the castle, an uncharacteristic bounce in his step, leaving Lily to flop down on her back in the grass under the tree. She stared up at the sky through the crisscross of the branches, her head spinning, and wondered what she was going to do.


Peter Pettigrew was not popular with girls. That was the understatement of the century. He was dull on various levels, nervous, weak and awkward. Girls avoided him, laughed at him, occasionally shouted at him.

But it was the most Peter was able to admit to himself - he was simply not too popular with the ladies.

Yet Lily Evans had smiled at him. She had approached him, sat with him, taught him, and called him smart. She was pretty and sweet, and she had smiled at him. So for the first time, Peter had allowed himself to fantasize about having a girl of his own; a pretty girl with red hair and green eyes, so colorful and bright that she could shine for the both of them.

The trouble was that James wanted the same girl.

James was strong, smart, brave and popular. He always got what he wanted, and Peter always had to make do with the leftovers. And that had always been fine before. But now Peter wanted something that would be just his, and he was determined that James would not have any of it.

Fortunately, unbeknownst to James, Sirius also wanted Lily. And while that would have been disastrous on its own – Sirius also tended to get exactly what he wanted – yet in this case, Peter knew just what to do. That was why he had worked up probably a whole year's worth of courage and snuck out of the dormitory alone at this late hour to visit the owlery.

Unfolding a square of parchment on the cleanest area one of the white and black stained stone writing stations, he reached reverently into his pocket and carefully extracted his favorite treasure: the quill Lily Evans had given him. With fingers shaking from nerves and excitement, he hastily scrawled out a short message. Folding it in half and sealing it with a quick sticking charm, he spelled out the name "James Potter" on the front with exceeding care and finality. Then he dropped it in the delivery box with the other outgoing letters to be delivered with the morning post.


TBC

Note: Uh oh! Lily is attracting a little too much attention! What's a girl to do? …Review and find out sooner!