Need to slow down... I know.
"You're a real bitch, Lily Evans. Did you know that? A real bitch." The words were icy and caused Lily Evans to jump slightly in her seat. She'd been laying on the couch after a long day of classes, a long day of glaring, and a long day of whispers. Alice and Marlene had made it clear that they really disliked Lily. But this was the cherry on top.
"Why are you in the Head's common room?" Lily asked sternly.
"I came here with James. Not that it's any of your business." Alice said matter-of-factly with her hands placed on her hips.
She hardly noticed James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Marlene all trying to look as if they weren't paying any attention to the pair.
"Who do you think you are, Lily? Spreading lies? What kind of Head Girl are you? A terrible one that is." The words hurt. Surely she'd heard similar words coming from other students. Mostly Slytherins or students who thought they deserved the title more. But coming from your best friend? That cuts deep.
"Alice, don't you think you're being a bit harsh. You're not so clean, Alice, you-" Marlene was interrupted by a hand being placed in front of her mouth.
"I'm asking you kindly to leave." She wasn't looking for a fight. All she did was hang out with a couple of school bimbos and tell a couple harmless stories. So what exactly was she looking for? She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. What the bloody hell was she looking for then? "Please."
"We didn't come here for you, Lily. We came here to hang out with them." Alice used her thumb to point back at the uncomfortable group still standing awkwardly together.
Lily nodded her head and rested her head back up against the cushion. "While then go on." They all looked down at her. As if they were expecting her to get up and leave. "My common room too." She simply stated. If she wanted to lay on the couch, which happened to be the main seating, she could.
"We can, er, just go sit over there." James spoke up, pointing to the small table and the window seat. He seemed rather uncomfortable with the whole thing. Did he know he was going to get an earful as soon as they left? Most likely.
The whole night, from what Lily gathered, was a bore. A group conversation only lasted for a small time before it broke off into their respectable group of friends. Marlene and Alice were huddled together on the window seat talking quietly. Sirius and James had taken the only two chairs. Remus sat on the opposite side of the window seat from the girls. Peter, though, had taken it upon himself to sprawl on the floor. And honestly, he looked the most comfortable.
"Ravenclaw is probably going to give us something. Hufflepuff not so much. Slytherin is going to be a goo-"
"I like Quidditch." Alice interrupted, and startled, James as he spoke of the upcoming season. She, though, had her eyes trained right on Lily as she spoke.
"You never go to the games, though." Remus shot her a confused look. When Lily did attend, it was Remus that she sat with. She enjoyed Quidditch games sometimes. She wasn't that much of a prude.
"I never went because Marlene doesn't much like the outdoors and one of my other friends doesn't much like fun." Clever, Alice… How Lily admired her bitchy side. "She isn't around much anymore. Too busy being a school slag."
"I'll have you know that I am in no way a slag. No more than you are, Alice. And much less than you Marlene! You know I've hardly ever had a decent snog with a boy." Lily had jumped from her lounge and was now waving a threatening finger at the group. "Shouldn't you be with Frank, anyways?"
"He broke up with me. Couldn't handle the rumors you started." Alice was now standing as well. "You were right, Marlene. We really had no business coming here tonight." She grabbed the poor girls arm and was tugging her out the door. Leaving a stunned Lily and four boys behind.
"It's best you lot be on your way as well. Reckon it's getting a tad bit late." James rubbed his hands together after a long silence.
"Ya'know, Evans. I can give you that proper snog you've been missing out on." Sirius announced as James led the group towards the door. She heard a bit of scrambling before the door clicked and she was left alone with James.
"He's really not kidding." James laughed, trying to keep the mood light. "He'd jump your bones the moment you said yes. Kind of guy he is."
"You sure know how to pick your friends, Potter." Lily rolled her eyes.
"Really a good guy once you get to know him." James dropped down into the seat, kicked off his shoes, and rested his feet up on the coffee table. "They all are. Just a bit… hard to get to know."
"Still don't know them after six years…" Lily huffed. Not that she wanted to. She knew Remus plenty, anyways.
"What's up with you and Prewett?" She knew it was coming down to this.
"We… I don't know, Potter. What's it to you, anyways?"
"You've obviously got no one better to talk to. I mean, Jones and Meadows? Lovely girls, aren't they? Jones, really…"
He was right. And as much as Lily wanted to scream and throw a down right fit, James Potter was right. It was nothing monumental, though.
"I guess it all started when Alice simply forgot to mention that she'd been dating Frank for a week. And…" She told him the story. Every detail she could remember. Up until the very moment they were all in the common room. And, to her surprise, he listened. He sat patiently beside her and listened. He patted her back when things got too much and nodded his head when asked ridiculous questions.
"If it's any constellation, she asked us to hang out. More like forced herself. She overheard Peter and I talking about coming back her since I didn't have practice today. She basically told me what a good time that would be and to meet her and Marlene outside the Gryffindor common room in a few. I didn't want to be rude…" James explained with a hint of guilt in his voice.
"Next time be rude." Lily snapped, "I don't feel comfortable with her being in here."
The common room went silent. The two Head students sat staring into the flames of the fireplace.
"Lily, you're both being unreasonable. I mean, you're best fr-"
"I don't want to hear it, James. I really don't." She stopped him before he could continue.
"So…" The room was suddenly awkward and much, much smaller. "I've got a Quidditch game this weekend."
"Well isn't that good for you." She didn't mean to sound so rude. Not when someone was actually being nice to her. And besides, she'd probably attend. Just 'cause, you know, she was Head Girl. Yes. Because one had to do with the other.
"Got ourselves a bloody good team. Reckon we've got this in the bag."
"Lovely."
"Really, Lily. Stop being so… so… bitchy."
Her attention went from her nail beds to James. "Pardon?"
"Alice is right, Lily. You've been quite the bitch lately. I think you're the one that needs to worry about letting Head Girl get to your head."
"It's not what I thought it would be. Not the slightest." Lily admitted.
"What do you think I expected, Lily? My plans were to be Captain and nothing more. I planned on, really, getting myself into some fun this year. But I can't." James told her. And Lily really didn't want to know what this fun entitled. He rested his hand on her shoulder in a comforting sort of way. "Really, Lily. Relax. Forget about your homework this weekend. I'm sure Remus would be more than happy to attend the game with you." Then he was standing up and presumably heading to bed.
"You're not trying to set me up with your best mate, are you?" The mood was back to the humors mood that the conversation had started with.
She watched him shove his hands in his pocket and shrug. "If that would make you happy, Lils." He told her with a forced smile.
She most certainly did not want Remus Lupin.
The rest of the week was uninteresting. Lily attended all her classes, spent her free time in the library, and ate meals with a book in her lap so she didn't look like a complete loser. She ended up ditching Jones and Meadows after just two days. She really found it hard to eat while discussing penises. No… it shocked her too.
Her eventful week ended with her sitting in the stands at the first Quidditch game. The air was just starting to get that nippy fall feel, so she was bundled in a large Gryffindor sweater and a matching scarf.
It wasn't until half way through the game did Lily realized that she was standing between Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. Cheering along with them and Peter as James did things Lily didn't even know were possible on a broom. Then again, getting it off the ground was seemingly impossible to her.
"Go, Go, Gryffindor!" She joined along with the chant. Her arms pumping wildly in the air in rhythm with the crowd. Lily couldn't remember the last time she'd been so… happy.
"Thank you for bringing me." She nudged Remus as soon as the crowd settled.
"It's really nothing, Lily. But," He looked slightly uncomfortable. "I'm not really looking for a relationship."
"What? Remus! What?" The words spewed out of her mouth without any though. What was he talking about?
"James said…?"
"No! No, no, no. Remus, I was just kidding!" Lily quickly explained herself. "He said I could come with you to the game. I make a joke about not setting me up with his friends. I was merely kidding, Remus."
Both broke out in a mild blush. And Sirius was holding his side from laughter. This received him a nudge from Peter.
"GRYFINDOR WINS! FIRST WIN OF THE YEAR GOES TO GRYFINDOR!"
Loud cheers broke out across the stadium. Both Remus and Lily pushed aside their awkward conversation and joined the crowd. The whole pitch celebrated until the teams were both in the dressing rooms and teachers were directing the students down.
"I don't know much about Quidditch, though!" Lily giggled, her arm looped through Peters, as they walked towards the Heads common room and discussed the game. "So how do you reckon I give a fair opinion?"
"Based on what you've seen here at Hogwarts. Who do you think is the best player?" Sirius asked. He tried to loop his arm through Remus. He only earned a dirty look and Remus quickly folded his arms across his chest.
"Amos is quite the flier, I suppose." Lily shrugged.
"Lily, he barely gets off the ground with his big ol' head." Sirius seemed rather defensive.
"I told you I don't know a thing about Quidditch!" She squealed once more. "You want me say Potter. And you're not going to be satisfied until I say him, right?"
"That was the idea, Evans. Smarter than I thought you were." Sirius shrugged. He was caught.
"He's okay. Reckon he gets off the ground. And his heads awfully big. Really. Have you seen the size of that thing?"
Oh, how Lily forgot how comfy her bed was. How nice the covers felt. How her pillow managed to stay cold throughout the night. She could stay here all day.
"You think she'll move if we poke her?"
"I think her hair is worse than yours right now, James!"
"Oh, she looks so peaceful, doesn't she?"
"Wait until she wakes up and realizes we're staring at her."
"Hell. Clear out bo-"
"What the hell do you think you're doing? My door was closed!" Lily had sat up as soon as she realized that the voices she heard weren't in her head. "Can't I sleep in for once?"
"Really, it's only noon. We were up early today." Sirius was perched next to her on his side.
"Noon? I missed breakfast? Blimey!" She was up, running like a madwomen around her room.
"It's Sunday, Lils. We came up here to gather you for lunch, anyways." James informed her.
"Just 'cause I went to your Quidditch doesn't mean were friends, you know that, right?" Lily asked as she ran a brush through her hair.
"We're gonna be honest with you, Lils. Your bitchyness hasn't exactly gained you friends." Sirius called from her bed. "And either you suffer by yourself. Or you sit with us at meals until you and all your girlyfriends make up."
Lily rolled her eyes. "Fifteen minutes, okay?" She held the door opened the door and motioned with her hands towards the way out. "Out, please."
And though Lily Evans was a bit bitchy and unreasonable at times, things still seemed to work out. Even if she didn't know it.
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