Reviewing helps more than you can imagine! Thank you to all that have done so as of now; you've been so kind and supporting! 3
-CALL ME ON MY BS! I've been trying to use British terms, but… it feels clunky and awkward. So! If you're from England (or even if you're not, and just think of better way to phrase something in any of the chapters) please either DM me or include it in a review! Also, anyone know any other words for "player" that don't sound so… cliché and American?-
The Little Things
Chapter Seven: I'll Catch You
By the end of the week all the sixth years had received no less than fourteen essay assignments. All of them were assigned on Friday, and all of them were due on Monday, much to their dismay. Lily had tried to use the library to finish them, but it was so crowded she couldn't find anywhere with a hard surface to work. She also attempted to use the Gryffindor common room and the Great Hall, but she ran into similar issues there. She'd even tried the dormitories, but the house elves had kicked her out, mumbling apologies and explaining that they needed to clean. Giving up, she grabbed her textbooks, parchment, and some ink and quills, and stuffed them unceremoniously into her bag. Lily headed outside to try to work.
As soon as she stepped out the door she shivered, wishing she'd brought a scarf but not wanting to waste more time by going back to retrieve hers. Lily hurried over to a grassy area and sat down, dropping her bag by her side. A few other students had the same idea as her and had come to work outside, though most of them had enough foresight to wear proper cold weather clothes. She slid out a few of the textbooks and some parchment, and set to work on the essay she'd been having the most trouble with; Arithmancy.
She'd just finished the last sentence when something landed near her, making a small "thud". She jumped a small bit, and the paper slid out from under her hand, coming to a stop in the grass. She turned to see a Quaffle lying in the grass a few paces away from her, and wondered where it had come from. Suddenly, a large gust of wind came rustling through the trees, blowing Lily's hair in her eyes and, to her alarm, lifting her paper from her side and flinging it into the air.
"No!" she screeched, jumping up and whipping out her wand to point it at the piece of parchment now so high it was nearly a speck. "Accio! Accio Essay! Oh, come on! Accio!"
But it was no use. She couldn't even see the paper anymore, and she was too distraught to think of another spell to get it down. She stared blankly at the sky, cursing the wind and the Quaffle for wasting an hour of her time. She threw herself back down on the ground and put her head in her hands. An hour of work. One whole hour of good work was now probably caught somewhere in a tree branch, never to be seen or marked. She pondered briefly why her spell hadn't worked, and pointed her wand at the ball.
"Accio Quaffle," she muttered grumpily, and sure enough, it came flying towards her. Lily caught it just before it connected with her face, letting out a small shriek. She vaguely recalled one of her professors telling her something about making sure to specify the object or else it couldn't bring the thing you wanted to you, but she was too annoyed to care all that much. Turning the Quaffle over in her hands, she studied it. She'd never actually seen one up close, and they were much harder to hold than she had previously thought.
"I'll need that back now, Evans," said a voice from above her. Lily gasped and her head snapped toward the noise. It was James, hovering a few yards above the ground on a broomstick. He was wearing his Quidditch uniform, and a long red winter cloak over it with his last name embellishing the back of it. He, too, had remembered to bring a scarf. Taken aback by his sudden appearance and still slightly distracted by her essay's departure, it took her a moment to respond.
"Er, right. Sure," she said, standing again and stepping back so as to get a better look at him. She'd never seen him in his uniform before. And though she'd been to a few Quidditch matches, she'd never been to one of his, because she thought it would annoy him. Which it did.
She tossed the ball into the air, but she realized it was going to fall short of his grasp. She made a move to try and catch it to throw again, but James swooped down and caught it with one hand. Lily stopped in her tracks as he passed the ball to his right arm and wedged it between his bicep and ribcage.
"Why thank you," said James, smiling.
"Mhm…," Lily said distractedly, examining him again. He looked good in his Quidditch attire, and she noticed that his hair somehow looked even more wild than it usually did. His glasses were missing, and a pair of goggles that had been pushed onto his forehead took their place.
All at once, she noticed he was smirking, and she realized she had been staring at him. Brilliant, thought Lily. Just what he needed. An ego boost.
"Like what you see, Evans?" he said, raising one eyebrow. He leaned back on his broom, and letting go of the handle, he swung upside down so their faces were almost touching and gave her a toothy grin. His breath smelled like mint, and Lily almost thought twice before punching the Quaffle out of his hands. His reflexes were quicker than she thought, though, and he caught it before it hit the ground. "Nice try," said James as he righted himself. He cocked his head to the side and looked her up and down once before adding, "Here."
He unwrapped his scarf and dropped it down to her. It landed in a pile beside her, and she picked it up, eyeing it suspiciously.
James chuckled. "Relax. You just looked cold."
"Yes, but it's even colder up in the air. Have it back," said Lily, holding it back up to him.
"Evans, are you worried about me?" asked James, scooting a little higher when Lily tried to throw the scarf up to him.
"Take the scarf, Potter," said Lily, still trying to figure out a way to get it back to him.
"I appreciate the concern," said James. "But you'll catch a cold just sitting down there in the chilly air."
Lily reluctantly stopped trying to jump to catch his broom, and let the scarf fall onto her bag. "Fine," she said. "Hang on! You're the reason this Quaffle flew over here?"
"Me? Not me specifically. Paley hit it too hard. Why?" said James, looking curious. Lily huffed and sat back onto the grass, yanking out her next assignment and readying her materials.
"Have I done something?" he asked, amused. His broom dipped lower, and Lily saw a bit of his cloak out of the corner of her eye.
"Sod off. I'm angry," said Lily, opening her Charms textbook.
"And why's that?" asked James patiently. She heard the delight in his voice, and it irritated her.
"Go back to Quidditch practice, Potter. And if you see an Arithmancy essay in the trees on your way back, please return it," said Lily, writing her name on the top of the parchment.
"Evans, I'm just—"
"I know you won't be able to comprehend a word of it, but keep an eye out. Now go away, or has your ego gotten so bloody large you can't get off the ground anymore?" spat Lily, throwing him an icy glare. It was silent for a few moments, and then she heard the noise of fabric moving and wind rushing. She peered over her shoulder and she saw him hurtling away with the recovered Quaffle, staying low on his broom. Lily thought it to be odd; he had a flirty or sarcastic comment for everything, but he'd chosen to just fly away. She watched him merge with the other small dots practicing on the field, then returned to her homework.
The end of the day could not have come slower, in Lily's opinion. All she did for the rest of the her Saturday was stay curled in a ball on her grassy spot, James's scarf wrapped tightly around her and working on the seemingly endless supply of papers. She felt bad about yelling at James, and intended to apologize later that night, but he didn't sit with them at dinner. In fact, many students were missing from the feast to continue with their studies, but Lily didn't think that's why the Marauders were skipping supper.
The Great Hall was quiet as they ate, as nearly everyone was exhausted from their homework. The first years were the only ones talking loudly, and the other pupils kept shooting them annoyed glances. Lily trudged up the stairs to the common room with Mary, Dorcas, and Marlene to find it was still packed with people. Without a seat in sight, they headed straight for their dormitories.
Unlike the common room, the dorms were nearly completely void of people. One or two lay asleep in their beds, and a few more were still up working. She planned to go straight to sleep, but when Dorcas approached her bed she paused. She'd been acting strange all week; elusive and secretive. It was very odd, and Lily hoped to finally be getting answers.
Dorcas stopped when she reached the foot of Lily's bed and hesitated, looking reserved. Mary and Marlene, upon noticing their black-haired friends' strange behavior, joined Lily's side and awaited Dorcas's explanation. Dorcas pulled them all onto the sheets and drew the curtains closed, so they were in a makeshift room.
"Dorie, is something the matter?" whispered Mary, a flash of fear dancing across her face.
"I know this may come as a bit of shock to you all," said Dorcas. She peered over her shoulder as if to check again if there was anyone listening in. "But I've fancied Sirius for a while." She gave them all expectant looks, as if anticipating them to be surprised by the news.
"And?" said Marlene. Dorcas looked astonished, and gaped at her.
"You knew?"
"Of course we bloody knew!" exclaimed Marlene, disappointment showing in her face. "You followed him around like a lost puppy all of fourth year! You brought us in here for that?"
"I didn't follow him around like a puppy," muttered Dorcas sulkily under her breath. "No, something else happened. And… well, I was going to tell you sooner! But, er, it's just with all the work the Professors have given us, and Lily's rounds, and Marlene! You've been practicing your defense spells, so—"
"Dorie, what happened?" asked Mary, an impatient edge to her voice.
"Right. I didn't forget about detention the other night, Lily. Well, not at first," said Dorcas, shifting her eyes to meet Lily's emerald ones, and a triumphant smile graced her lips.
As Lily considered her, she scrunched her brows in confusion. "So, why weren't you there?"
"I was on my way down, but then Sirius stopped me. He told me that he'd been having trouble with…er, something. I can't remember what, actually. I just remember agreeing and following him back down the hall. But he kept looking over his shoulder at me through his eyelashes and—". Here she was interrupted by Marlene's snort, but Dorcas continued with the story as if she hadn't heard. And perhaps she hadn't. Lily noticed her eyes had a dazed look about them and her voice had become sickly sweet. "And playing with the hem of his shirt. Then he sort of just stopped, and being the twit that I am I walked straight into him, but he caught me. He was so close I could smell him. Him, not his cologne, though that doesn't smell all that bad either. You know it, right? Like cedar and maple? It's magnificent, don't you think? It reminds me of the forest. Like he's just been outside doing who knows—"
"Dorcas! If you don't stop talking about what Sirius Black smells like and get to the bloody point I'll shred your Transfiguration paper!" disrupted Marlene, and Dorcas had enough sense to take her threat seriously.
"Calm down! I was setting the scene, that's all," said Dorcas, huffing.
"Scene set. Move on," said Marlene.
"Fine. He pulled me over to a tunnel and we snogged for some time," said Dorcas proudly, a smile filling her face. The girls stared, open-mouthed and silent, at Dorcas's pleased grin, unable to form a sentence. Lily was the first to recover.
"Congratulations?" she asked, unsure of what else to say.
She giggled. "Thanks. And I've got to say, that bloke knows how to kiss!" said Dorcas.
"Er, good," said Lily.
Sirius was known widely around the school as… peripatetic when it came to relationships. Lily had never bothered to know the details, but she had a basic idea of his beliefs. Among the most crude were "Hump and Dump" and "Go Hard then Discard", and she could never keep the look of disgust off her face when the terms were used in front of her. He didn't date; he was rarely with the same person twice, for that matter! He'd just about snogged or shagged everyone in school, but up until a few nights ago Lily had been proud of the fact that none of her friends were dim enough to succumb to his less than subtle tactics.
But she knew Dorcas better. As much as her friend would like to have to school believe that she didn't care for romance, she melted on Valentine's Day, and had a bookshelf full of romance novels. Lily'd gifted her all the Jane Austen novels and Dorcas bought anything with a heart on it. If Sirius used her, which Lily suspected he would, she would crumble.
But as her friend went on about how magical the whole experience was, she couldn't bring herself to voice her doubts. Lily decided she'd talk to Sirius, and try to convince him to at least give dating a try. Her friends scolded her for not telling them sooner, and when Dorcas grew too tired to speak anymore, they carried her into bed, and then proceeded to collapse into their own. Lily was so exhausted she didn't bother changing into her dressing gown, and fell asleep with James's scarf still coiled around her neck.
She'd been having the same dream over and over again. She was standing with James in an orange orchard. Not talking, or laughing; just standing together, watching the old woman hang her laundry. James offered her an orange she took it, thanking him and eating it. And all the while, he had an unreadable expression on his face. It was the look he'd given her in detention, and even after five days of the same dream, she couldn't riddle out what it meant.
But this time was different; it was snowing. The pine trees surrounding the farm were covered in a thin layer of powder, and Lily was freezing. James unwrapped his scarf and offered it to her, but she slapped his hand away had looked at him in disgust. "Go away," she hissed, and a hurt look crossed his face before he vanished from the dream, leaving her alone and shivering with nothing but a red and gold scarf to apologize to. Lily began to struggle for breath. Each one shakier and more unsteady than the previous. The smell of the orchard and pine and laundry was choking her, killing her—
Lily's eyes shot open, and she sat bolt upright, gasping for air. Pulling at her neck, her hands made contact with the fabric of James's scarf covering her mouth and nose, and she yanked it looser, taking deep breaths and calming herself. She pulled the muffler off her neck, and lay back down in bed, thinking over her dream. She didn't have to think hard to know what it meant. She'd been horrible to him today, and felt like an absolute troll. What she was more concentrated on was the expression, since he had been wearing it again when he offered her the scarf. All she could be sure of was that it was an intense emotion. Something strong.
Her first instinct jumped to love, but she quickly pushed aside the idea. He barely knew her, after all, and up until the end of fifth year she had hated him. Who loves someone who hates them? Lily thought it to be a ridiculous idea, and dismissed it.
Lily's next idea was anger, but she had no real evidence to back it up. She'd only seen him wear the strange look once, and it was right after she made fun of his hair. He may have been upset, but absolutely enraged was unlikely.
The only other thing she could think of was sadness, but she hadn't a clue why he could be so depressed. He seemed happy. Too happy, most of the time, and much too arrogant. She'd never even seen him sad, so she expelled that theory as well.
She sat up again, reaching through the darkness until she found her wand. Her fingers closed around it, and she quickly slid her feet out of bed, letting them brush the cold floor. This time, she made sure to put on a bra. Looking towards the clock, she saw that it read 12:44 in the morning. Thinking over her options, she decided to descend to the common room, since she couldn't sleep and there was still a decent chance James was awake and downstairs. She heard the familiar creak in the third step, and continued quietly down the staircase. Peering around the corner, she saw Remus asleep on his textbook, wand still alight, and she smiled. Checking the rest of the room, she was disappointed when she didn't find James. Creeping over to Remus, she gently shook him awake, and he grunted, shifting his head and pushing her away sleepily.
"I'm not fucking going, Prongs," said Remus. Lily eyes widened at the foul language, and she smiled wider. She'd never heard Remus swear properly, and it was oddly amusing to her.
"Calm down, it's only me," said Lily, pulling his wand out from between his fingers. "Nox."
His wand darkened, and the only light source was the bright blueish haze the half moon supplied through the window. His head lifted from the table, and he blinked slowly. "You're not Prongs," he stated sluggishly.
"Brilliant observation. Here," said Lily, helping him to his feet and closing his book. "I can get you to your dorm, if you like."
He bobbed his head up and down once, and she slid her arm around his waist, letting him lean on her as she made her way up the stairs to the boys' room. He was heavy, and she bumped into the wall, but he tried to help her by standing. When they finally arrived at the door and reached the barrier Lily could not cross, Remus leaned against the frame, fighting to stay awake. Lily tucked his wand into his robes, and said goodnight.
She turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to face him. "Sixth year DADA classroom," he mumbled. "You didn't hear it from me."
"Hear what?" said Lily knowing immediately what he meant and giving Remus a knowing wink. She'd always wanted to catch one of the Marauders in the middle of setting up a prank, but never had enough intel to do so.
He muttered his gratitude for her not telling them he'd ratted them out, along with a goodnight of his own, and closed the door. Before it had latched, Lily was off down the stairs and on her way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, wand and scolding tone at the ready. She walked as quickly and quietly and she could manage towards her targets, trying not to disturb the portraits on the walls. She reached the classroom and she allowed a small smile to fill her cheeks, excited by the prospect of catching them red-handed.
She flung it open and saw… nothing. Not one thing was out of place. All the desks were in neat rows, and the chalk was still sorted against the board. As a matter of fact, nothing seemed different in the slightest. Most importantly, she didn't see neither James nor Sirius anywhere in the dark room, and she let out a disappointed huff. Remus had sent her on a wild goose chase. She was just turning to leave when she saw a large, piece of parchment lying on the ground. She tilted her head as she inspected it, and bent to pick it up.
Straightening herself once more, she unfolded the parchment. It was an odd shape; extra bits of paper attached to random segments that confused Lily. Deciding she would rather be in bed than trying to work out a strange puzzle, she crammed it into her back pocket after her best attempt to fold it, though there were still excess bits of paper leaking from the sides. She made the long trek back to her dormitory. Once again, she fell soundly into her bed, suddenly feeling overwhelmingly tired, and slipped into unconsciousness without changing.
-::-
Lily woke from the snowy dream again at a more reasonable hour, and her dorm mates gave her funny looks when they saw her fully clothed figure emerge from the bed sporting large bags under her eyes. Dorcas and Mary were still sound asleep, and she decided to let them rest. She went down to breakfast after a shower and a change of clothes, her mood still somewhere between drowsy and contemplative. Her meal was a blur, and she couldn't recall anything about it once she'd left the Great Hall. She was in for another long day of working on her homework, and wanted to secure a spot in the library before they were all taken.
She found a seat next to a small red haired boy, and settled herself into it. Pulling out her supplies, she got to work immediately on her paper. She managed to get through a couple of them before she grew hungry again. By the time lunch came, Lily had entered a dazed state, and the only thing that kept her moving back towards the Great Hall was the promise of food. Her feet carried her to the usual spot she ate to see that the Marauders, in their entirety, had decided to join them. Lily decided she would wait until she and James had a moment alone to atone to her actions the previous day. The only spot left at the table was a small gap between James and Peter, which Lily only fit into after a considerable amount of squeezing and squirming.
The boys she sat with were oddly quiet, choosing to eat their food wordlessly and let Mary and Lily do the talking instead of the usual clever comments they made. Dorcas and Marlene were nowhere to be found, and she thought they might still be off somewhere working. By the end of her meal, Lily was thoroughly troubled by their silence, and addressed them directly.
"Right, spit it out," said Lily. "What's the matter with you lot?"
"How d'you mean?" said Peter from next to her, and her head swiveled to meet his timid gaze.
"How do I…? That's the first thing any of you have said today! I've never seen you so quiet! Black, you didn't even comment when Mary said 'Are you serious?'."
"Didn't I?" replied Sirius in a detached voice. "Here; of course you're not. I'm Sirius. There you go."
"Try to contain your enthusiasm," said Lily sarcastically, and Sirius shrugged.
Remus sighed and answered her question. "We've, er, misplaced our favorite toy."
"Our favorite toy?" said James incredulously. "More like our blood, sweat, and tears! That was our baby!" He put his head in his hands dramatically, but looked genuinely distraught.
"You lost a child?!" exclaimed Mary, spitting her juice onto Peter in shock, who recoiled from the liquid and let out a squeak of surprise.
"No!" corrected Remus hastily. "Merlin, no. Our theoretical baby." As comprehension dawned upon Mary, James let out a melodramatic wail from between his fingers, and Lily had to suppress the urge to snicker.
"What is it?" said Mary, also looking mildly amused. "Perhaps one of us has seen it."
The Marauders gave each other quick sideways glances, and didn't answer her. Sirius shoved Remus, who tried his best to formulate a response. "N-no! Really we… we really don't…er, I mean you probably haven't, so it's, uh, it's no use saying."
"Smooth," muttered Lily, smirking. Remus's cheeks turned bright pink and he glared at Sirius for putting him on the spot.
"Uh, right," said Mary as James poured himself an enormous glass of juice and began to drink it.
"Merlin, Potter," said Lily in awe, as he finished it off and wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve.
"I'm drinking to forget, Evans," said James wistfully, without a hint of humor in his voice. "It's too painful to remember."
Lily rolled her eyes and watched as he poured himself another cup. "So, how far have you lot gotten with your papers?" said Peter anxiously.
"I'm nearly done. I've just got to re-do my Arithmancy essay," said Lily.
"Re-do it? Why?" said Remus.
"Mine's in a tree somewhere," said Lily grumpily.
"What—"
"Right, that's the second time you've said that," said James, cutting Remus off and putting down his glass.
"Oh, good. You do have ears," said Lily, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she readied herself to go back to the library. "Your bloody Quaffle spooked it." James let out a bark of laughter, and Lily glared at him. "Would you like to rewrite my essay, Potter?" She stood up, her bag next to her on the table.
"There's nothing I want to do less than write an Arithmancy essay, Evans," said James, grinning. "But I can do you one better. Come with me." He jumped out of his seat and grabbed her wrist, pulling her out of the hall excitedly.
"Oy!" she exclaimed as she tripped and nearly fell over. "My bag's still — slow down, Potter!" James just threw her a mischievous look and continued to pull her along until they reach the doors that lead outside, and she managed to wriggle free. He stopped a few paces ahead of her and waited expectantly, his head cocked a bit to the side.
"C'mon, Evans," said James, and she felt a bit like a dog, being called and dragged.
"Tell me where we're going first," said Lily, crossing her arms and keeping her feet rooted to the spot. He smiled, put his hands in his pockets and without breaking eye contact he walked slowly towards her. She glanced around nervously; he had a plan, and she didn't like not knowing it.
"That would spoil the fun," he said teasingly, drawing nearer. Only a few feet away now, Lily took a few paces back, and his smirk grew. Somehow, he knew he was making her anxious.
"You think getting my lost essay will be fun?" Lily said, trying to work out what he was planning on doing. She continued to back up until her spine made gentle contact with wall behind her and she could go no further. He advanced towards her until she had to look up to keep his face in view. She hated that he was so much taller than her, and he knew it.
"Mhm," he mumbled, and his eyes trailed over her face, his smirk softening into a content smile. The hazel orbs wandered over her cheeks and nose, and dipped down to her lips. She could feel her heart in her hands, and she noticed for the first time how the flecks of green in his eyes sometimes turned gold with the sun's reflection. Clutching the hem of her shirt to steady them, she scolded her hands for shaking when they shouldn't.
"Why?" said Lily, keeping her voice level. He stopped studying her and met her gaze once more. His smile widened again and he grabbed her wrist. It was all she could do not to fall, and she had no choice but to follow his lead. "Potter!" she cried, as he tugged her onto the grass. "Let go! Give me my wrist back! Potter—"
"Evans, hush," said James, glancing back at her playfully. "I promise you'll like it."
"We are getting my paper though, right?" clarified Lily, and James nodded. Once he was sure she wouldn't run away, he rather reluctantly released her hand, and she walked at his side. Though he was as tall as Remus, he didn't walk as fast, and so she wasn't out of breath just keeping pace with him.
They walked in relative silence, enjoying the sounds of nature with an occasional comment from James. Every couple minutes he would stray too close to her, most likely on purpose. Their hands would brush, and Lily''s eyes turned to him, so he'd pull away. Finally, they reached the Quidditch field after fifteen minutes, give or take, of walking. She turned to him, eyebrows raised.
"Wait here," said James, but she caught his sleeve before he could go anywhere. He turned back to face her, his gaze expectant. In the direct sunlight his eyes seemed to sparkle every time he moved them. It seemed when she looked at them she couldn't quite focus on what she wanted to say, so she tore her eyes away and looked at her feet.
"I just… I'm sorry. About yesterday," said Lily, looking at the grass beneath her shoes. "I shouldn't have said what I did. I was a complete prat to you and—"
"It's fine!" said James, putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her speech.
"I-it is? But… I was so rude!"
James laughed, and removed his hand to ruffle his hair. "Evans, you've been insulting me for six years. I've heard worse! Besides, I think I rather deserved it. After all, I did lose you your essay."
"But you didn't hit that ball!" said Lily and James only shrugged, though he looked positively elated that she had come to his defense. "Well, I'm still sorry."
"Unnecessary apology accepted!" declared James with a smile, and he turned again to resume his search. He disappeared inside a small wooden structure for a few moments before remerging with a broom. He beamed proudly at her, and she had to admit it was impressive. "Right, let's go get your paper."
She gawked at him. "I'm rubbish at flying!" she exclaimed, taking a few paces back and putting her hands in front of her protectively. She'd never managed more than five feet off the ground before she did something wrong and ended up in a heap on the ground.
"Yes, but I'm not," said James pointedly, swinging his leg over the broom. "I'm very good, in fact. Something you would know if you came to any of my matches."
Lily smiled sheepishly at his comment, but shook her head. "Just go up without me and get it. You don't need me."
"Of course I need you," said James, and the odd expression passed briefly over his face again. "To, er, tell me where it went! You saw which way it went." Lily's eyes searched desperately for anything she might have missed about the expression, but he quickly hid whatever it was that he was feeling.
"I really don't think—"
"Evans, just get on the broom," said James exasperatedly. "Here, on the back. You won't have to steer, or anything! Just hold on and tell me where to go." She shook her head stubbornly, and James sighed. "It'll take me hours to find it on my own."
Lily hesitated, shifting from one foot to the other. She was out of excuses. Slowly, she crept over to the broom, looking at the space he'd left behind him for her to sit on.
"What if I fall?" she asked nervously.
"You won't," said James immediately.
"But what if I do?"
"Then I'll catch you." And she, too, swung her leg up and over the broomstick.
A/N: Before you say it; yes I know the whole Dorcas and Sirius thing is feeling forced, but… I dunno. I have a basic idea of where I want it to go, and I think it's interesting. We'll see. Tell me if you think it's pointless and I should drop it in a review! :D Hey speaking of reviewing, that's what you should do! ;)
And, I hope you had a Happy Valentine's day; date or no date!
