A/N: I have decided to focus more on Lily and James' relationship before going into deeper Pagan issues. This chapter deals with James and Lily's developing relationship and Sirius' sanity. Please enjoy…
Chapter Seven
Sirius stopped in the middle of the hallway. James walked into Sirius' back because he was not paying attention. Remus, who was paying attention walked around James and stopped to find out why Sirius had stopped. Peter walked into James' back because he was trying to finish his Speciology homework before they got to the class.
"Uh, Sirius," James said, "why've we stopped?" Sirius looked at his friends and then walked over to the wall.
"You don't have to stop," he said.
"But you do?" Remus asked.
"Certainly."
"Why?"
"I think I'm going to ditch this class."
"You can't ditch this class," James said.
"And why not?" Sirius asked.
"Because if you do, I'm pretty sure the Juarbe will make a bagpipe out of your innards."
"Are you threatening me?"
"Certainly," James said. "Why do you want to ditch anyway?"
"I just can't go in there, if she's in there," Sirius said.
"I thought you said you had a good time with her?" James asked.
"I bloody lied, all right? You'd think you of all people would know what I look like when I'm lying."
"Then, what happened?" James asked.
"Well, everything was fine until a group of girls attacked me in the common room. I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy being tackled by five girls. But apparently Serena didn't enjoy it quite as much. When I didn't tell the girls to get off of me, she went up to her room. She hates me," Sirius said.
"You could apologize and explain that you had no control over what happened," James suggested. Sirius thought this over for a second.
"But in the mean time, how am I supposed to face her?" he asked. James shrugged.
"You just can't not go to class."
"What?"
"Sirius, James is trying to say that if you skip class Juarbe'll have your ass. Just try to act normal or at least not stupid," Remus said.
"I never act stupid!" Sirius said, disgruntled.
"What you did last night was pretty stupid," James said.
"Well, besides that!" James sighed and pushed Sirius into Juarbe's class room. The Marauders sat in their usual seats at the back of the class. Sirius covered his face with his hands and hoped that Serena would not kill him. James was looking through his bag for his homework when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Lily Evans smiling at him.
"Hi," she said, obviously nervous.
"Hi," James said, smiling back.
"You look……… rather fetching today," Lily said. She was carefully examining her shoes and fingering the strap of her bag intently.
"Thanks," James said, rather shocked. "You look fetching everyday." Lily's cheeks turned a light pink and her friends started giggling from where they were sitting.
"Yes, well…" Lily gave James a tight lipped smile and walked quickly over to her friends. James turned to Sirius with a huge stupid grin on.
"Did you see that!" he demanded.
"Nooo," Sirius moaned into his hands. James turned to Remus.
"Well, did you?" he asked.
"Huh?" Remus was staring at the front of the class. More specifically he was staring at Remy Wolfson. And Remy Wolfson was staring back. She smiled shyly and turned to talk to her brother who was sitting next to her.
"No one saw that? That perfect display of affection! And no one saw it!" James exclaimed.
"I saw it, Prongs!" Peter said.
"Well, at least someone can share this shining moment with me," James pouted.
"Quiet down, everyone!" Eric called. He walked to the front of the class and started scribbling on the board. "Someone tell me who these people are and why they are important." He pointed at what he wrote on the board. He had written five names on the board. Catherine Juarez, Ivan Ward, Charles Juarez, Nicolas Hughes, and Patricia Hughes. James raised his hand. "Yes, James, who are they?" Eric asked.
"They're the Creators. They made many of the species that live in the Pagan world today. Including your own species," James said.
"Very good, ten points to Gryffindor," Eric said. He went on with his lecture, but James was not paying attention. All he could focus on was the smile Lily gave him after he won Gryffindor ten points.
----
"Hi, James," Lily said as she walked past him during lunch.
"Hi!" James called to her retreating form.
"Now do you believe me?" Remus asked.
"What?" James asked.
He turned away from Lily and back to his friends. Sirius was sitting next to James with Remus and Peter sitting across from them. Sirius was holding his head in one hand and was stuffing food in his mouth with the other. He still had not had the chance to speak to Serena.
"Do you believe that Lily likes you now?"
"I don't know what to think," James admitted. "You know, I'm beginning to wonder if I've ever really understood Lily Evans. I mean when have I ever done something right by her?"
"This morning," Remus said. James gave Remus a blank look. "When you earned those points for Gryffindor, she seemed very happy."
"Yeah, I guess," James said uncertainly. Sirius slammed his hand down on the table and fixed James with a hard stare.
"Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?" he demanded.
"Sirius, I don't know what you're talking about," James said.
"Of course you do!" He pounded the table with his fists. "James Potter never once questioned whether or not Lily Evans would one day fall for him! James Potter never once admitted that he did not know something! James Potter paid attention when his friends were in pain! James Potter-"
"Sirius!" James interrupted him.
"What?"
"Would you keep it down?"
"I will not!" Sirius stood up and pointed an accusing finger at James. "Who are you and what have you done with James Potter?"
By that point most of Gryffindor table was staring at either Sirius or James. Remus hid his face behind a book, hoping not to be associated with the current display, while Peter seemed enthralled by every word coming out of Sirius' mouth.
"Black!" Lily yelled. She stalked up to where he was sitting and forced him back into his seat. Sirius continued pointing at James and did not seem to notice that he had been force to sit back down. "Stop this nonsense this instant! Or I will be forced to give you detention for disrupting lunch!"
"How can you be so calm?" Sirius yelled turning to Lily. "That-that thing," he pointed at James again, who was currently slamming his head into the table, "is not James Potter!"
"Black, this is nonsense!" Lily insisted. "That 'thing', as you so kindly put it, is your best friend, James Potter. And if you don't stop this bloody mental tirade your on, I will be force to give you more than one detention!" She grabbed James' head to stop him from hitting it against the table anymore. He looked up at her questioningly. "You might break your glasses if you continue doing that," she said, reasonably. James took off his glasses and proceeded to hit his head again. And again Lily stopped him. "You might hurt yourself if you keep doing that, Potter, and I won't stand for it!" Lily scolded. James shoved his glasses back on and pouted in silence.
"You see that?" Sirius yelled pointing at James again. "Did you see that! The James Potter that I met on the train when I was eleven years old would never let Lily Evans boss him around! If he wanted to throw a fit, well, by Merlin, he'd throw it! There is only one reasonable solution. You are not James Potter, you're an imposter," Sirius said in a creepy calm voice.
"What?" James asked.
"You're some evil imposter! You're just some creepy guy who wanted to be the awesome James Potter! Some creepy guy who wanted to be a Marauder! I've found you out! Give it up! You've been found out!" Lily was struggling to keep Sirius in his seat.
"Sirius has gone mad!" Peter squeaked.
"Tell me where you've hidden him?" Sirius demanded.
"Hidden who?" James asked, trying to get away from Sirius.
"The Real James Potter!"
"Remus!" Lily yelled at the Head Boy who was trying to hide under the table. "Why-Aren't-You-Helping-Me?" Lily said with much difficultly. Trying to keep Sirius from pouncing on the 'imposter James' was rather hard.
"Remus, why is he trying to kill me?" James asked fighting off Sirius' hands.
"I think he's finally gone mental," Remus said peeping up over the table. He climbed across the table and helped Lily drag Sirius out of the Great Hall.
"Where should we take him?" Lily said, holding one of Sirius' arms.
"To the Hospital Wing," Remus said, holding Sirius' other arm.
"Let me at him! That is not my best friend! He is an imposter! Im-pos-ter, I say!" Sirius screamed trying to free himself so he could 'liberate' his best friend from the clutches of that 'evil fiend.'
"What is wrong with Black?" Professor McGonagall asked. She hurried down the hall towards the two Heads students.
"I think he's finally lost his cookie, Professor," Remus said.
"What cookie?" Sirius demanded. "I haven't lost any cookie! Not one cookie in my life and I don't plan on starting now!"
"My goodness, Black!" Professor McGonagall said. "Calm yourself!"
"Calm? How can you be calm with that imposter walking through your halls! How, I say! How?"
Remus and Lily managed to get Sirius to the Hospital Wing and strap him to one of the beds. Sirius struggled against the leather straps and screamed about how this was all part of 'imposter James' plan until Madame Pomphrey forced a Sleeping Draught down his throat. As soon as his body relaxed, James poked his head into the Hospital Wing.
"Is he still trying to kill me?" he asked.
"No, Potter," McGonagall said. "Now, back to lunch, all of you. When Madame Pomphrey finds out what's wrong with Black, I'll be sure to inform you all. Now go." She pointed out the door and the three teenagers returned to lunch.
----
"You think he's gone mental?" Peter asked. Later on that day the three sane Marauders sat in front of the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room trying to figure out what had happened to their fourth member.
"Nah, Pete," James said. "He's always been mental. Maybe it was just too hot in the Great Hall and he just couldn't take it?"
"Don't make excuses for the guy that tried to kill you, James," Remus said.
"I just…" James began. "I just don't like the idea of my best friend losing his marbles."
"Well, Sirius has been off all day hasn't he?" Remus said. "I mean first he tries to ditch Juarbe's class, then he walked into the door to Charms three times before you managed to open it, and now this."
"Thinking that your best friend has been abducted and replaced by some creepy guy who just wanted to be Marauder isn't all that strange, is it?" James asked hopefully. Remus gave James a sorrowful look. James slumped back into the couch in defeat and closed his eyes.
"Figures really." James opened his eyes and looked up. Lily was leaning on the back of the couch giving James an apathetic look. "I thought one day Black would lose his mind. He's lost just about everything else." James laughed a little before turning serious again. "I'm sure he'll be all right, James," she said gently.
"Really?"
"Yeah, Madame Pomphrey is very good. She'll fix him up in a jiffy," Lily said.
"Thanks, Lily."
"Don't mention it."
