A/N: Happy New Year everyone! Enjoy!
Chapter Six
-Lily-
It was two weeks after she had decided to regain her courage and sleep in the dorms again. Lily was still visiting Hagrid almost every day, and he was still happy to see her. When she went back the day after to collect Goose from the hut, Hagrid met her at the door with a broad smile and the most suffocating hug she had ever gotten.
Now, as she lay on her back out on the grounds, trying to breathe in the last warm air of autumn, Lily reflected on her night with her friends.
Lily hadn't expected the response that she received. When she had finished telling the tale, there were a few unbearably long minutes of silence, before she was knocked back onto her bed with Alice's arms around her torso.
"Oh Lily, I couldn't ever imagine going through something like that, seeing that, living with it. No wonder you stayed so reclusive, I think I would have to." Alice was wiping tears away from her eyes.
"I haven't quite come to terms with it yet, but I know that I have to move on eventually, it was just plain silly of me to avoid you two. I apologize so much, more than you know." Lily hung her head in a mixture of shame and sadness.
"Damn right you were silly." Marlene spoke up for the first time since Lily had entered the room and started telling the story.
Alice and Lily whipped their heads in Marlene's direction, Alice's face one of shock, and Lily's face one of disappointment in herself.
"Marlene! You can't just say that! Of course, Lily we forgive you, it was a terrible thing to have gone through, and Marlene understands that." Alice's teeth gritted through her last few words.
"No, Alice its fine, she can say and feel what she likes." Lily's voice was quiet, but her eyes did not waver off of Marlene's.
"You shouldn't have shut us out. It was silly, as you said, and it was just plain stupid. Obviously Petunia is not helping you, so would it not make sense for us to be the ones who are there for you? We have always been there for each other, and this is no different. It shouldn't have taken you a month to come to us, to confide in us, to even talk to us. You're the solid in this group of friends Evans, and we were lost without you. Best friends for six years, and you couldn't trust us." Marlene's voice rose with every word she spoke, but by the end she was speaking in a whisper.
"Marlene, I'm so-" Lily started but was cut off by Marlene again.
"No, Lily, I'm not done talking." Marlene spoke sharply. "We were upset, understandably with not knowing what was happening with you, but at the same time, we spent countless hours worrying about you. I think I speak on behalf of both Alice and myself, when I say that although we were upset with you, we were way more worried about you, and now happy that you're back."
Throughout her speech, Marlene never broke eye contact with Lily. With her final word out, Lily gave her a short nod, and finally broke her gaze.
Marlene and Lily both jumped a little when a loud cry came out of Alice suddenly.
"Oh, you two! You're both so stubborn."
Lily smiled to herself thinking of Alice's reaction to her and Marlene's reunion. Always the sentimental one in the group, Alice never failed to see the good in people. Marlene on the other hand, surprised her. She always knew that Marlene was stronger than Alice in her personality, but had never been so outspoken and angry. Lily had learned since from Alice that this was a recent and more common thing to expect from Marlene. It was hardly surprising with the war going on.
She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to will herself into going back into the castle before she ended up here all night and worrying her friends again. Lily had finally taken her last deep breath in of the warm air and had finally convinced herself to go back inside when James suddenly appeared on the grass beside her.
"Lily, how are you?" He smiled in her direction.
"I'm well, thank you James, yourself?"
"The same, thank you."
Lily hadn't really talked to James since that night. As her and her friends were on talking terms again, she had begun sitting with them in class again, James had taken the seat beside Sirius.
It's not like she had intentionally avoided him, she just had so much to catch up on with her friends, mixed in with her homework…
Who was she kidding? Of course she had avoided him. Lily didn't know what to say to him, knowing that James was responsible for her and friends talking. She had no idea what to feel, what to think, she has never felt more confused about her feelings.
"I'm glad to see that you three are back together again." James played with some blades of grass in front of him.
"I heard that you're responsible for that." Lily gave a small smirk in his direction.
"Yes, I guess I am. Or rather, you are, for being so forgetful of your possessions." James teased.
Lily gave a small chuckle in response, and let it hang there.
"Thank you James, I had no idea how much I missed them, until it was almost too late." Lily spoke quietly, but she knew James could hear her.
"It was never too late Lily, not with friends as good as yours. The Marauders have gone through something like that before, when your friendship is strong, it makes it through anything." James spoke earnestly and with meaning, and Lily did not continue the subject, as far as she was concerned, they've covered everything they needed to.
"Lily, can I ask you something?" James hesitated slightly with his words.
Lily suddenly got a strange feeling spread throughout her body.
-James-
James was planning on asking her to Hogsmeade. Not on a date, but with his friends, along with hers if they would like to join. He knew that he couldn't let whatever they had had, just disintegrate into nothing.
"Of course." Lily's voice was weird.
"I was wondering what you were doing for Hogsmeade?" Lily opened her mouth to answer with a stricken and scared look on her face. James continued before she could say no.
"I mean, not as us going together, alone, as like, a date or anything, but with our friends, maybe we could make it a group date, outing! I meant a ground outing." He spoke fast and stumbled over his words. James looked at Lily with a scared look of his own, only to find her with an amused expression.
"Well, I'm sure Alice has a date with Frank, as he promised to meet her on Hogsmeade weekends this year, but I'm sure Marlene and I could be persuaded to join the infamous Marauders on their rampage through the village." Lily teased.
"Rampage? Lily you make us to be some kind of animals." He smiled to himself at the inside joke with his friends.
"Animals? No of course not. Miscreants are more like it." Lily laughed freely. James did not know what had gotten into her, but he was overtly pleased to see her as happy as she was at this moment.
"You're probably right, but not this time, if Miss Evans, and Miss McKinnon are with us, then we will of course be on our best behaviour." He puffed out his chest and laid his right hand over his heart and his left upright, as if making a vow.
Lily rolled her eyes when she stopped laughing, but she still had a smile on her face.
"This Hogsmeade trip, is it this weekend?"
"No, not for another couple weeks, Dumbledore just let me know, the notices are going up in a couple days." James answered.
"Have I missed a meeting with Professor Dumbledore?" Lily had a frantic look on her face.
"Oh no, I happened to pass him in the halls on the way to lunch, and he happened to mention it." James was lying of course. Dumbledore asked to meet him today to discuss his future in the Order of the Phoenix after graduating. He was not to talk about to anyone, not even to Sirius.
"Oh good, I was worried my absent mindedness had made me miss an important meeting." Lily visibly relaxed.
"Well, I am off to meet the boys for lunch, just wanted to find you first. Care to join me in walking to the castle?" James jumped to his feet and extended a hand to help Lily up if she wanted.
Accepting his hand, Lily stood up and brushed some grass off her back before walking in step with him.
Just as they reached the door into the castle, James grabbed Lily's arm and stopped her.
"Lily, I need you to know, that whatever happened in the past with the two of us, I've grown up, I'm not that annoying kid anymore, I'm not going to ask you out every second, and I'm taking my head duties seriously. As important as that all is, the most important I can make is, that I am here for you. I know you have your friends, and your parents, but I am here, I'm willing to listen, and will always your backup and shoulder to cry on if you need it." His voice was intense and his eyes burned with fire.
Lily stood there silent for a few seconds before she finally answered.
"As I am for you James."
A/N: Some Lily/James closeness in this chapter! I hope the rants from both James and Marlene made sense. This was meant to more a chapter showing Lily that she can trust again, can love again. I hope that came across.
I had someone private message me about Lily's cat's name. I named the cat Goose, because of my cat. I named my cat Molly after Molly Weasley, so obviously I couldn't use the name Molly in the story, so I used a variation of Molly's nickname, which is Mollygoose. Hope that clears things up.
I love that people are still reading this, even though I haven't revealed what happened to Lily's parents yet. I hope this story ends up being a 15-16 chapter story, and I plan on revealing closer to the end, maybe around chapter 11-12. So please stick around!
Also, one major shoutout to one consistent follower/reviewer. You know who you are! This wonderful human being has reviewed most of my chapters, and continously makes me smile with their reviews. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
