A/N: Alright, here
we are, third chapter! I know the last chapter had a bit of a cliffy
and I'm getting this one up as fast as I can! Also, to all other
people out there who are just waiting for school to end- hallelujah
to summer- know that stupid homework gets in the way. Anyway! Onward
and Upward! Also- two more votes to the final decision when I can
rest my head! The current is 5-3, LFTC is winning. Okay, continuing…
"I didn't mean anything!" Lily insisted, making her way downstairs to breakfast. "Tara, honestly, I wasn't talking about anything at all. Just hallucinating!" Lily laughed nervously."
"I know I've been bugging you since you tuned up at the dorm door saying 'It didn't mean anything, I swear!' like you were praying to God. But honestly, you're hiding something! We promised to not do that! We're like family here- we're going to all find out sooner or later."
"I know that."
"But I'd rather hear it from your mouth, Lils!"
"I know that too, and you might. Later."
"Ugh! Lily!"
"Ew! Tara!"
"What?"
"I don't know. I just… honestly, Tara, I'm so confused right now. Don't tell anybody anything I've said, okay? Please?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"Thank you!"
"Yup."
"Are you distracted?"
"Uh-huh."
"Are you… Tara! Are you staring at-"
"NO! Lily, what are you talking about, that's what I meant to say, uh-huh!" Tara smiled wide.
"You look like an idiot. Tara, you never smile like that! What's going on?"
"I'll keep your secret, you keep mine. Deal?"
"Deal."
"Jamesie! You're, like, totally out of it." Sirius said seriously.
"What do you want, Padfoot?"
"Nuthin."
"Nuthin what?"
"Can I ask you a question?"
"You just did." James said, looking bored out of his mind.
"Is that a yes or no?"
"Just ask the damn question!"
"So, when are you and Lilsie getting married? Oh! I call best man! And the theme is totally going to be Pinky Pinkiness." Sirius said excitedly. "Honestly, James, you really need to get a move on. Next thing you know, she'll be married to someone like… Benji Madden!"
"…"
"Okay, maybe no Benji Madden."
"Sirius…"
"Don't you Sirius me! This is a serious matter!" Sirius said. "Get it James? Sirus, seriously? I am so funny!"
"No, Sirius, you're really not."
"Ugh. Leave me alone, Prongs. You're ruining my moment!" Sirius stormed out. Then he stormed back in. "Now, back to the Lily thing?" James groaned.
"Sirius, right now we're just friends. And I'm okay with that."
"But that kid… uh… Charlie, the gay-but-straight guy, has been eyeing her."
"The gay-but-straight guy?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.
"The one that I call gay because I don't like him, but he is really straight. I know that cause-"
"I don't even want to know."
"Right."
"Alright, Game Numero Tres!"
"So, let's play a traditional game. Like one people play every day. Muggles play every day." Remus said. "I think that would be fun."
"Lilsie! What games do Muggles play often?"
"Well, there's Tag, but I don't know if that's a good idea."
"Tag?"
"You run around trying to tag somebody."
"Tag
somebody?"
"Touch them."
"…"
"Perverts." Lily mumbled. "Like so… James, Sirius, Tara, run." Lily chased all three of them, James and Tara laughing, Sirius screaming like a banshee. She touched Tara lightly on the shoulder. "Tag! You're it!"
"How do we determine a winner?"
"We're not playing Tag. It is not for the immature, plus everybody has to be fast or it's not fun." Lily said.
"How about that game we played with Tuney and her friends?" Kay asked.
"Perfect! We'll play Hide N Go Seek."
"Hide N Go Seek?"
"Sirius, honestly. There is a Seeker, and everybody hides. Then, the seeker goes and looks for them!"
"Ohhhhhhhh, I get it!" Sirius said excitedly. "Tara's it, GO!"
"Tara, count to 100!" Lily yelled over her shoulder.
"What? But… you guys!" Tara sighed. "1…2…3…4…"
Lily slipped into a random broom closet and shut the door, gasping. She had no idea where she was, but quickly dodged into a large sarcophagus-like box. It had enough room for a couple of people, and she slid into a sitting position. A rugged breathing was sounding throughout the box, but she thought it was her… until she noticed that she was panting, and the breaths were much different than hers. "Hello?" she whispered fearfully.
"Lily?" A voice whispered back. "When did you get in here?"
"You didn't see me open the door? Who is this, anyway?"
"It's James."
"Sorry! I'll go now… I know a good hiding spot."
"Wait… Lily, how do you know about the Room of Requirement?"
"The WHAT?"
"This is the Room of Requirement. You know that, right?"
"No…"
"Oh. Wait…what floor were you on?"
"I actually think I was in the dungeons. I just ran downwards."
"Oh… that's not where the room is."
"Where is it?"
"Across from the tapestry of the ballerinas."
"Oh."
"So, um…"
"I think I'll go hide somewhere else now."
"Okay then… so long now." Lily started to tug on the handle of the box…
"Wait, James, why is there a handle?" Lily questioned. She tugged again. "And why is it locked?"
"Found you, Sirius. Honestly, you were basically thundering around locking closets. Like wtf?" Tara said, rolling her eyes.
"I thought if I locked all the closets, maybe then you would have to take the time to not only unlock but search them."
"Sirius… you did check if there were actually people in the closets, didn't you?" Tara said suspiciously.
'Uh-oh…' Sirius thought. "of course I did! Who do you take me for, an idiot?" And with that he marched off smartly towards the common room. 'Nice comeback, Padfoot old…' "Oof!"
"ROTFL!" Tara said, before proceeding to do exactly that.
"Sari! Nice hiding spot!" Kay giggled before racing by. She was searching for the perfect spot, and Sari had one of the best.
"Thanks!" Sari whispered before waving her wand and stepping into the painting.
"Sari!" Came the quick greeting of one of the girls' friends. "You need a hiding spot, I'm guessing? C'mon, I found a new one! It's an old portrait up near the Divination Tower that's been completely abandoned… It has some cool cloth and paints, we can make you look like a witch directly from India!"
"I am from India, Dai!"
"I know that, silly goose!" The small girl giggled. "Now, quick, before…"
"Tara. We're playing Hide N Seek."
"Before Tara comes. Let's go!"
Sari passed through the paintings one by one, trying on outfits and laughing, Whenever somebody came by, she pretended she was right there with them. As they continued up towards the tower, Sari kept an eye out for the rest of the hiders. So far she had seen everybody- paintings and portraits were brilliant spying devices- except Lily and James. Where the bloody hell were they? She had basically turned the school upside down looking for them, and Tara must have also been having a difficult time. By now everybody had gathered in the common room, and Tara was increasingly frustrated with the three she hadn't found yet… until she looked up and straight at Sari.
"It's about time! You seen Lily and James?" Sari shook her head. "Must be off somewhere together… what if they're snogging? Get back to the common room, maybe we should just leave them alone. C'mon!" The two girls hurried back to the common room, devilish plans forming in their heads.
"Oi! No Lilsie or Prongsie? I'm bored!" Sirius called.
"NO, but I know how to find them… bets, anyone?" Tara responded with an evil grin.
'Lilsie and Prongsie,' as Sirius put them, were NOT, in fact, snogging. They were stuck. In a sarcophagus. In a broom cupboard. Somewhere, and not even they knew where, in the school. By the way, said sarcophagus was built for just one person.
"James? Do you think you could maybe move over a little, so I can try to unlock it?"
"Can't, Lily. I'm already squished as is. I swear, this thing keeps getting smaller! Don't you have your wand?"
"No…"
"Why not?"
"Cuz…"
"Lily!"
"It's in my dorm! Because… it just is! I kind of forgot about it, so you're just gonna have to deal. Don't you have yours?"
"No, Sirius confiscated it at the beginning of break. I tried to… It really doesn't matter. So, I guess we wait til Tara finds us."
"Yup."
"…"
"…"
"This is really boring." James said with a sigh. Lily nodded and laughed. "So… why'd you stay home for Christmas?"
"Because… because just what you said. I wanted to stay home."
"You know what I mean."
"Well, my sister, Petunia, is getting married. To a man named Vernon Dursley who is absolutely awful to her. He's going to be there for the break, and I recently had a… uncomfortable experience with him. I've been trying to get Tuney out of it, but she really hates me." Lily's eyes started to fill up. "And with my parents gone, I'd just be subject to taunting and slander and discomfort all break."
"Oh, Lilly I'm sorry… I shouldn't have brought it up. I just assumed you'd like to see your sister."
"No, it doesn't matter. I'm OK. Why did you stay here, at home?"
"Because my parents needed me too. They're going through tough times, both being Aurors, and my dad was recently sent out on a mission… and my mom thinks she might be pregnant." He mumbled the last words.
"Really? That's wonderful! Aren't you excited?" She asked warily.
"What? Oh… yeah, I guess. But I hope Dad makes it back from his mission. That's what they're worried about. See, Dad has no idea Mom's pregnant. He's been cut off from all communication. Mom's doesn't want me to sense all the tension, but I can tell."
"James, what…"
"There you two are!" Sari said. "Pay up, all of you!"
"You were betting on us? For what?"
"Well let's see…"
In the next few minutes, Lily and James learned the following-
Tara had bet that they would be snogging.
Sirius had bet… never mind, nobody would tell them what Sirius had bet.
Sari had bet they would be in some sort of intimate moment.
Kay had bet that they would be in a screaming match.
Remus had bet that they would be in an awkward silence.
Peter had no idea what the bloody hell was going on.
Sari claimed that they had been in an intimate enough moment and she called in the 100 galleons from everybody else (including Peter, who was being a dimwit).
"SO, what exactly were you doing?"
"Waiting for Tara to find us and we started talking." Lily said. James nodded.
That afternoon, as everybody layed around in the common room bored out of their minds, James and Lily struck their conversation back up again.
"James, exactly what mission was your dad sent on?"
"He was sent to be an undercover spy with Voldemort."
"You're not serious!"
"No, he isn't, but I am!" Sirius called from across the room and then returning to whatever he was doing at the time.
"I am, and he agreed, but only partially. He's not going to be in Voldemort's inner circle. He's going to be on the outer part, so that he's only assigned minor jobs, if any, and he'll retrieve information from somebody they already have planted in his inner circle. That's all he was allowed to tell us."
"James, I'm sure he'll be fine. How long has he been assigned to it?" Lily said quietly. "I mean, how long is he going to be doing that?"
"I have no idea, Lily. But I just want him to be done with it."
"I understand. I'm sure it's going to be fine. Many people have done it before and survived, haven't they?" But both they're faces were still doubtful.
A/N: Sorry, this ones a little short. Please review, it makes my day! ALSO! I have a new oneshot up, if you are a fan of Zutara and Avatar! If you don't know what the heck I'm talking about, that's OK, just review! ;D
