Disclaimer: I own nada.
JPOV
When we walked into the shabby yet crowded building, the first thing I heard was "JAMES!"
The next thing I knew I had been tackled to the floor for the second time this evening.
"Oof… hello, Sirius." I said, all while trying to get Sirius' meticulously groomed hair out of my face. It smelled suspiciously like woman's hair product, but I wasn't too surprised. Our first night at Hogwarts, Sirius had pulled out oddly colored containers from his bag. He explained that he had bought them from a Muggle store and that women traditionally used them, but if he was "going to win over the ladies of Hogwarts one by one" he had to look good. Hey, his words, not mine!
"I can't believe you're here! We didn't think you'd be coming." Sirius got up off the floor and held out a hand to help me up. I took it, wincing as the bruises that I had acquired earlier reappeared. Shaking my hair out of my eyes and straightening my glasses, I looked around the small pub at the smiling faces of my friends. Alice and Frank were hand in hand in a corner with Marlene. Remus and Peter were making their way toward Sirius, Lily, and I from the bar. I felt a small tug at my sleeve and glanced over to see Lily gesturing that she was going to go and sit with Alice. I made to go with her, but she laid a hand on my arm and whispered, "Why don't you go say hello to your friends? I'll just wait over here, okay?" She gave my arm a light squeeze and quietly moved near the table. It was nice that she knew I might want to be alone with the guys for a minute. After all, I hadn't seen or spoken to them (minus Sirius) in over a year.
"It's good to see you again, Prongs." Remus greeted me cheerfully, gripping my hand and pulling me into one of those "man-hugs."
"Yes, James. We've all missed you!" Peter's squeaky voice echoed.
"It's great to see all of you, really. I suppose we have a lot to catch up on?" I looked at each of them in turn.
Sirius nodded. "Loads, mate. But how about we do it over drinks? OI, MARLENE!"
Marlene turned and raised an eyebrow at Sirius. "Yes, O Quiet One?"
"I think it's time to get this party started!" Sirius replied, grinning cheekily. Marlene rolled her eyes but nevertheless made her way over to us with Alice, Frank, and Lily in tow.
"James! It's so good to see you!" Marlene said, leaning in for a hug. I hugged her back, glancing at Lily momentarily but there was no trace of jealousy across her face. I won't lie, I was a bit disappointed. She had to still have feelings for me, right?
"It's good to see you too, Marlene. And you, Alice and Frank!" I said. I shook Frank's hand and hugged Alice as well before Sirius clapped me on the shoulder and practically dragged me to the brick wall that separated us from Diagon Alley.
"Alright Prongs, will you please do us the honor of opening the gateway that leads to a great night full of drinks, girls, and wild-" I cut Sirius off with a smack on the head.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Sirius. This is Marlene's party, not some crazy common room party we arranged last minute. And don't forget, we're only going this way so that we can stop at Gringotts for money first. I highly doubt that the goblins will be too excited about getting 'down and dirty' with you." I laughed.
This little comment earned me a hard punch in the arm from Sirius. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just tap the damn bricks." he said.
I rolled my eyes and raised my wand, tapping the bricks into the pattern I had seen my parents perform many times before.
LPOV
The 'party' (or small get-together, really) had been in full swing for about two hours now. Sirius had successfully made his way through every drink available on the menu. He had also accomplished kissing nearly every girl in the room, including a particularly gnarled looking hag, but Sirius was so drunk that he hadn't even noticed he had been snogging her wart.
"Eh.. Liiily… why is that old (hiccup) woman staring at me?" Sirius slurred at me, staggering over from his perch on the counter. I smirked at him and patted his arm gently.
"Sirius, dear, I think it's best you don't know."
"Welllll okay! If you say so, Lily-flower." He grabbed a bottle of firewhiskey from the table behind us and sauntered over to Marlene. I chuckled at the old nickname. I remember absolutely hating it when he first called me that back in 5th year, but the circumstances were different now; I hadn't just been doused in green goo minutes before by a certain James Potter, who had insisted it was meant for Snape and that I had just happened to walk into the Great Hall at the wrong time. Luckily for me, that was the last time anything like that ever happened (from what I know) as I had given James detention for the rest of the school year, as well as talking with Professor McGonagall about allowing James clean the Slytherin common room every night instead of the house elves. Ah, the memories.
"Rosmerta, m'dear. How about a little… a little music, perhaps?" Sirius drawled at the attractive inn keeper. Rosmerta, well accustomed to Sirius' antics, rolled her eyes and gave a flick of her wand. The room was instantly filled with loud music and people everywhere (apart from the older customers) were getting up out of their chairs to dance. I was very content sitting at my small table watching everyone have a good time. I had never really been one for dancing anyway; I always felt that I would somehow or other make a big fool of myself. My bubble burst, however, when James found his way to my table.
"LILY! WOULD YOU CARE TO DANCE?" he shouted at me. I winced and covered his mouth with my hand.
"There's no need to yell at me, James. I can hear you quite fine!"
"OH, sorry. I'll quiet down. Would you like to dance with me? Great!" He quickly grabbed my hand before I even had the chance to form an answer.
"James, wait! You know how I feel about dancing!" I poked him hard, hoping it would jog his memory a bit. In fourth year, he and his comrades threw a party after a particularly gruesome win against the Slytherins. I say gruesome because more than half of the opposing team was sent to the hospital wing bearing several different injuries, one of which included an ear the size of an elephant's. Anyway, James had a bit too much fun over near the drinks table and pulled me from my spot on the couch where I had been happily immersed in one of the Muggle books I had brought from home. Let me put it lightly: you do not disturb Lily Evans whilst she is reading. Thus, James earned himself a nice kick in the groin and some quality time with the Slytherins in the hospital wing.
Evidently, my poke in the arm hadn't jogged his memory one bit, as I was now being twirled around and around the floor.
"James… James, please! You're making me sick!"
"Oh lighten up, Lily! Here, have a firewhiskey!" James thrust the bottle in my face and I reluctantly took it. I suppose if I was going to have to endure this experience with James, I might as well help myself along. I took a healthy swig from the bottle and my insides instantly burned pleasantly. I could get used to this.
As the night wore on, I noticed I was loosening up a bit more. I was actually enjoying myself out on the dance floor, much to everyone's surprise. It was nearing midnight and only Alice and Frank had left as they had to meet with Alice's parents for breakfast in the morning. Most of the usual crowd had left too, leaving me, James, Sirius, Marlene, Remus, and a knocked out Peter. Peter never took his drinks well and after only one firewhiskey he was out cold in a corner. At the moment, Marlene and I were dancing with each other while the boys were talking at another table. I could only assume they were talking about everything that had happened since James had left, although I wasn't sure how much of it was true as they were all pretty drunk.
"This party was an absolute fantastic idea, Marlene. I'm so happy we did this." I said, taking a sip of the butterbeer in my hand. While I had no problem staying out late and then getting up early for work, I couldn't stand the thought of coming in drunk. Even if I had a potion to help, I would still feel like rubbish.
"Thanks, Lils. I can't believe James made it! None of us were expecting him; it was such a nice surprise." I blushed at the mention of James' name, but I don't think Marlene noticed or she surely would have called me out on it. That's not to say that she didn't know about our relationship in school, but I hadn't told anybody except Alice that I still had strong feelings for James.
As we were heading back to the boys' table, a bell tinkled overhead, signaling that someone had just entered the bar. I turned my head to see who it was and I let out a squeal of delight.
"AMOS!" I shrieked, and I ran up to the brown-haired boy to give him a big hug. After James left and I got my job at the paper, Amos and I had become very close. He was one of my best guy friends, next to Sirius, Remus, and Peter.
"Lily, hey! What are you doing here this late?" He smiled down at me warmly. I hadn't seen him in about three months, as I had just been swamped with work and his job was keeping him busy as well.
"Oh, Marlene threw a small thing together so we could all catch up with each other! And then it was such a surprise, because James-" I abruptly stopped speaking at the look on Amos' face. He had gone a strange white color and I glanced in the direction he was looking to see James standing up, broken glass around his feet and a look of fury in his eyes.
"James, what-?"
"You said you waited for me, Lily. You promised me that you did. And I believed you. Bloody hell, I BELIEVED YOU LILY."
"No, James, wait. You have it all-"
"Obviously, I was wrong in thinking that we could be together again." James strode toward the door, not looking at me, not talking to me. All I could do was stare after him as he slammed the door. My arms sank away from Amos. My body felt heavy as I went to pick up my purse and coat, quietly saying thank you to Marlene as I exited the pub.
I couldn't believe it. James, in his drunken state (though I was led to believe he had sobered up a bit during his little speech), made the absolutely ridiculous assumption that I was in a relationship with Amos. I had never even thought of him in that way! Tears littered my face as I apparated back to my apartment. I changed out of my dress clothes into a comfy pair of sweats and curled up on the couch in front of the fireplace.
For the second time in my life, I had lost James Potter.
A/N: Hey, guys! I am deeply sorry I haven't updated in a while. This chapter had been sitting on my computer for weeks because I couldn't think of what to do with their relationship. But obviously I became inspired because here is this chapter before you! I know it's a bit shorter than last time, but it's still great if I do say s myself :D Reviews make me happy and you're free to suggest anything you think might make the story better; I will definitely take it into account!