Chapter 7: Chapter 4: Two Steps Forward, One Back

Balance Beam: A Slightly Less Clichéd Lily/James Love Story brought to you by JaDe-ViPeR08

SUMMARY: Lily Evans' seventh year at Hogwarts. It even comes standard with two OCs who date a Marauder and a confusing inner monologue. But I promise this WILL NOT follow the LJ formula that has been so humorously parodied.

Disclaimer: I highly doubt JK Rowling is an 18 year old half-Portuguese half-Cruzan girl from Texas, I don't think she could handle the stress.

A/N: a/n: This chapter is dedicated to Jacob's-one-girl for being my most enthusiastic reviewer. Thank you so much I wouldn't even have this chapter if it weren't for your suggestions. Following so many different people's love lives is a little confusing so thanks again for all your help. I don't know much about British schools so I'm not sure about Public Displays of Affection rules or class timing or anything, those I took from my experiences in an American public.

By lunch Frank Longbottom was an extremely lonely boy. His girlfriend of what seemed like forever was not speaking to him and he had been accused of being a pedophile which completely blew his mind. He tried hunting for Alice between classes but she was nowhere in sight. This wasn't that surprising considering the sheer number of hidden passageways Hogwarts had to offer, but it made him a little sad. Hadn't they always been inseparable? And yes last night had looked very bad but she never gave him a chance to explain. In those muggle programs she was so fond of the women never gave the man a chance to explain.

About halfway through the lunch hour Frank spotted Alice surrounded by her dorm mates. She had her head on Lily's shoulder while Lyla and 'Brielle whispered to her sympathetically. Mercedez was standing behind her rubbing the girl's shoulders and glaring at everyone with a look that clearly dared them to just try and intrude. Despite the feeling that he was in danger of having a very important part of his anatomy forcibly removed, Frank was going to intrude, Alice was his girlfriend and he deserved a chance to explain himself, she deserved to know the truth and also the little girl involved deserved whatever came her way. So clearing his throat the Hufflepuff gathered his courage and approached the five girls he most feared and respected in the world.

"Alice," he announced himself, his voice squeaking slightly. Ashamed he coughed and tried again. "Alice, can I speak to you alone for a moment?" The look in all five girls' eyes clearly said the answer "no" but still he had to try. "Please just for a moment then you can go back to whatever girls do when they are upset." With a groan Alice rose and he could see that she had not slept at all the night before and he felt a slight bit of self loathing even though he told himself it wasn't his fault. He wasn't the one that went about accusing people of liking children romantically.

"Come to announce your engagement to the twelve-year-old slut?" Alice accused bitingly. She missed Frank even though it had only been a few hours and was ready to resolve this thing between them but she had been hurt and wasn't one to back down from a fight. "What's her name, Trixie?" She added for good measure, in case she wasn't being abrasive enough.

Frank decided to ignore her jibes and focus on what he had come to say. "Look, Keri isn't anyone to me, okay." He looked her in the eyes to measure her reaction. "I ran into her in the hall on my way to you and she tripped or something I'm not sure exactly what. But the point is I don't want you to think I'm some kind of horrible person or that there's something wrong with you because there isn't. Hate me if you want, but there it is." Alice was watching his face carefully the whole time and felt the truth in his words but her pride wouldn't allow her to be won back so quickly.

"You really think I'm an idiot?" She asked him incredulously. "I'm so stupid or smitten that I'll believe anything you tell me just because you say it? Well I think you should go find that little girl," she spat the words as a curse, "and see how much of your bullocks she buys!" With that the love of Frank's life left him alone in the Entrance Hall. He tried to follow her but Mercedez appeared out of thin-air to verbally degrade him.

"You are the reason I hate men. Lying, sniveling, cheating cowards, go after the weakest link, the easiest prey and when the consequences catch up instead of taking the blame and punishment like you should you look for a way out of it!" She let out a loud sound halfway between a groan and a snort then turned and stalked away her hands in the air. She didn't know how wrong she was but she was trying to be a good friend, so she got some points and possibly a cookie when no one was looking.

The next three classes were torture for Frank and not because of their subject matter although that would make them hard enough. It's hard to spend a whole day thinking the love of your life hates you. Frank made a mental note to ask Potter how he dealt with it. But by the time dinner rolled around Alice was ready to be held by him again. Her day had been no easier, and the guilt at how she had behaved earlier had been eating at her all day. Sometimes she wished she hadn't been born with a conscience.

"Look, I heard what you said earlier and I know." A voice behind Frank said. "I know you weren't lying, but I just couldn't forgive you right away. I'm sorry. It's a stupid girl pride thing; we just can't leave 'well enough' alone." Head down she walked into the Great Hall and was about to sit when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She looked up into those big blue eyes she loved so much and smiled like the sun come from hiding in March.

For the first time in her life Lily Evans overslept. She supposed she could have been worn out from so much drama the night before but she usually awoke refreshed from her yelling matches with Ja-Potter. Lily slept so late she had missed her first class of the day (Charms) and had to rush to be on time to her second (Transfiguration). By then she was awake enough to hear the new gossip, so much had happened while she slept. Sirius and Octavia were together and Frank and Alice were broken up. It seemed to the seventh year that the world now rested upon its ear. Shaking her head at the folly of the youth, conveniently forgetting that she was one, Lily made her way to McGonagall's classroom.

After Transfiguration Lily and James both had an hour off before lunch started which they had planned to use to make the patrol schedule for the next month. Despite the awkwardness the fight last night had caused neither wanted to be the one to suggest they separate or shirk their duties and put off making the list. And so, with great trepidation, James Potter brought an ordinary, muggle, spiral bound notebook to the common room he shared with Lily. Resolving to be on his best behavior for a while, James waited for Lily to return from dropping her things off in her room.

"Well, Potter, it's just you and me." Lily said as they settled down on the large couches in the common room. It seemed to take her a long time to get comfortable, James noticed. And he wondered if she had slept late because of an illness. He wasn't going to say anything about this however; he knew girls didn't like being told they seemed to be anything but radiant.

"Yeah, I er, brought you the notes and assignment from the class you missed today. It was barrier spells, and I caught on fairly easily, so if you need any help let me know." James flushed a bit at the last part and bent over his parchment so as not to look like he was bragging. Lily smiled and thanked him for his thoughtfulness assuring him that he would be the first person she asked for help. It seemed she was in an apologetic mood.

"And, uhm, about last night," the girl started, "I'm sorry I got so mad at you, looked like I was wrong yet again. Silly Lily always judging people, you know." And she giggled a bit at her own feeble joke. But never looked up from the list she was re-arranging.

"Yeah, well Sirius is a really nice guy." James defended. "He never treats the girls he dates badly, he just was never satisfied 'cause they weren't who he really wanted, you know?" Potter offered. He had an idea but was unsure as to how it would be received. "You should try being friends with Pads," he ventured anyways. "He'll probably be one of the most loyal you'll ever have. I think you'll really like him once you get to know him. And if you don't I can always cause him great physical distress."

Lily balked at the offer but chewed it over thoughtfully all the same. She decided it would be nice to see the Marauders as the "real people" her friends kept assuring her they were. It would also be refreshing to spend some time with James outside of duties, Lilly thought a bit surprised at herself. True she was beginning to like the boy she saw here when no one else was around but it was around his friends that he was the most annoying. Outwardly Lily nodded distantly and continued to make notes of who was free when but inwardly she was determined to start a new friendship that day at lunch.

Unfortunately she was delayed from her plans by a hysterical Alice who met her at the door to the Head's Tower as she and Potter walked down to lunch. She nodded a farewell to her work partner and turned to her friend with her most sympathetic face on. Why did her friends all pick this week to have guy troubles? Lily lamented silently, beneath her "good friend" mask. She comforted her best friend as well as she could while wishing she was talking to Sirius instead.

The next morning at Owl Post shows a Slytherin table full of mirth and a red-faced girl with balled fists staring intently at her goblet. They were mocking her for being Sirius' latest fling even though she knew it was going to be a lasting relationship. It didn't matter what kind of relationship it was though, the others were just incensed that it was with Sirius Black notorious Slytherin public enemy #1. To make matters worse, in their eyes at least, she had gotten a lovely package from him in the mail that day.

It was a box of her favorite flavors of Honeyduke's chocolates with a little note that said; just because you've already made my day a little sweeter doesn't mean I can't do something for yours. - Sirius. It was the most thoughtful gift she had ever gotten, how had he known she was going to need some chocolate very soon? She looked over at the Gryffindor table to smile sweetly at her boyfriend, her wavy brown hair swinging in the suddenness of the movement. On the other side of the Great Hall, Sirius thought the swaying hair made it look like Tavi had a shiny halo. It made his left hand itch for a sketchbook just looking at her. When she smiled and waved he grinned exaggeratedly and blew her a sloppy kiss, laughing as her already flushed face darkened a little more at the action.

As the Hall slowly emptied of people heading to their classes Octavia found Sirius and gave him a big hug. Looking up into his face, she was several inches shorter than he; she smiled his favorite mischievous smile and kissed him hard, in full view of everyone. There was some "ooo"ing, a few whistles, and more than a few jealous sighs. With the smack of a wand the two flew apart. Propelled by some un-see-able force.

"That's a detention; we have rules against Public Displays of Affection here at Hogwarts." The woman pronounced the offense as if it were capitalized. "You will report to my office at seven to begin your separate detentions tonight. Understood?" Both teens nodded dumbly as Professor Nert walked away. The moment her back was turned however the two smiled at each other and entwined hands to head to their next classes.

After dinner Remus and Sophia were helping each other with their homework in the Room of Requirement. The full moon was only a couple of nights away and he was a bit grumpier than usual. Moony usually refused to see anyone but his three closest friends after dark around this time. Before, Sophia would have thought she had made him angry with something she had done but now she merely teased him about his little "PMS". The two got on best in companionable silence the days just before the full moon and the only sounds to be heard were "pass the ink" and "can I use your quill sharpener". A few blissful hours passed until the pair separated for the night.

As Sophia and Remus were saying their good-byes Peter and Trish were having difficulty breathing. The make-out session was more than a few minutes in, and a line that had never been crossed before was about to be breached. Peter's hand ran along the waistband of the jeans Trish wore and inched higher across her soft skin. Just when he had reached the second cloth barrier Trish pushed him away. Her eyes were slightly unfocused and she was breathing quickly but she also knew her own mind and was not ready for what Peter wanted to do next. He didn't seem to understand her meaning and so pressed one hand to the back of her neck to pull her closer to him that they might continue their earlier activities.

"Peter stop. I don't want to anymore." She tried to explain but felt inexplicably shy all of a sudden.

"Don't want to what anymore?" Her boyfriend asked slightly confused. He wasn't aware that they were doing anything inappropriate or uncomfortable. In fact he had thought he was being quite agreeable.

"Keep going, you know," she made a hand motion. "Because then we'll just keep going and I'm not ready for that, so I think we should stop here."

"Why not?" He asked with the single minded determination of a teenage boy. "What's wrong with that?" Peter didn't mean to suggest that he had been planning or hoping for them to progress much further than they already had. The truth was he was just as terrified by the idea of "you know" as his girlfriend; he just had a lack of blood flow to his brain at the moment and wasn't processing much.

"Never mind." Trish just rolled her eyes and stalked back to the castle. They had taken a walk on the grounds. "Come find me when you're thinking with something other than your balls!" she called back to him before disappearing in the semi-darkness. She clomped angrily down the halls, glaring at everyone who dared to glance her way. Before returning to the Hufflepuff Common Room, she paused to physically assault a few walls and take her anger and frustration out on inanimate objects. It did nothing for her relationship, or knuckles, but it did make the blond feel so much better.

YAY! I think this might be my longest chapter yet, I just broke 5 pages. Thanks again Jacob's-one-girl. I hope everyone enjoys.