Author's Notes: I'm so sorry I didn't update yesterday! I was throwing up the entire day and actually physically couldn't make my fingers type. I still have a blindingly painful headache and can barely see to type, so there might be some spelling and grammar mistakes. If you see any, please feel free to tell me.
Could I have some reviews to cheer me up? Only joking, but I would love reviews. Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoy!
Lily hadn't spoken a word of what happened doing the date when she stumbled back hours later, half dead from cold, no matter how much Mary and Marlene wheedled, pleaded, or threatened. She kept mumbling to herself and tried several time to hit herself with her schoolbooks, only for Mary to stop her. Both girls sat on either side of her bed, watching her mutter at herself and stare at ceiling.
"Are you quite done being a nutter yet?" Marlene asked as Lily rolled over, glaring into space. "Did James hex your ears off? Did he drive you mad? What the bloody hell is your problem?" she demanded. Lily let out a little snarl.
Mary gave Marlene a perplexed look and nodded once. Marlene sighed, then nodded as well. As one, both girls dived at Lily and grabbed her, pulling her and forcing her to sit up. Lily scowled irritably and tried to pull free, but their grips were vicelike and steely.
"Sit up, Lily. Sit straight, I say! Now, lift your head and look us in the eyes," Mary said fiercely. Lily resisted at first, but both girls glared at her until she acquiesced. Her green eyes were watery and rimmed with red, but she stared at them proudly.
"What?" she snapped, sounding more like her normal self already.
"Tell us what happened!" Mary urged. Lily glared at them and tried to yank herself free, but with no success. Clarice, from where she lolled on her bed, smirked over at the three.
"Did your dream date not go like expected?" she mocked Lily, grey eyes gleaming with malicious glee. "Did Potter realise you're not his special girl after all? Did he abandon you?" she drew the word out, smirking. Marlene whirled around, wand raised, but she never got the chance to do anything but snarl.
"No, the date was perfect. He kissed me," Lily said in a monotone, not even looking over at Clarice. Clarice gasped but stared at Lily, unable to tear her eyes away. Tears started to pool in the corners of her eyes as Lily continued. "He took me to Honeydukes and bought my sweets for me. Then we had a snowball fight…and kissed. I'm sorry."
Clarice let out a little wail and dove behind her bed curtains. They could hear muffled sobs emanating from behind the ugly maroon velvet curtains, but none of the girls paid it any attention. Mary was stroking Lily's hair and looking delighted while Marlene stood to the side, awkwardly patting her hand.
"Oh Lily," cooed Mary, who in light of the news seemed to have forgot that Lily was barely even speaking, and forcing the words through frozen lips. "That's wonderful news. What did I say about scheduling your second date for the fifteenth?"
"There isn't going to be a second date," Lily said in a barely audible tone. The sniffles on the other side of the curtain quieted slightly, but neither girl near Lily moved; both stared breathlessly and waited for her to go on. "I'm not even going to be able to look him in the eye-"
"Hold on," Marlene interrupted, twirling her wand. "It seems we have an eavesdropper," she said distastefully, directing the birch wand at Clarice's bed. There was a bang and little shriek, then Marlene turned back to the other two.
"What did you do to her?" Mary asked, the girlish blonde looking interested despite her will. Marlene grinned wolfishly.
"Oh, nothing permanent," she said. When they didn't look assured, she sighed. "Just a Silencing Charm with a little extra noise and light to scare her. Now, Lily," she said, returning her attention to the girl. "What were you saying?"
"It was the perfect date," Lily began hoarsely, rocking back and forth slowly. "I could barely even remember that it was Potter, the same boy who cost me my best friend…"
Clarice sat on her bed, sniffling quietly and rubbing at her eyes with balled hands. Though Marlene constantly underestimated her and thought her little more than a brainless fool, Clarice had broken the Silencing Charm within seconds. She sat very quietly, listening to Lily's quiet voice.
"It was…wonderful… Potter didn't hex anyone, he didn't make crude comments about me, and though I told him not to, he tried to insist on paying for my things. He was…nothing like he is in school…" there was a little pause in which Lily sighed and one of the girls made a little sound as if encouraging her to go on. She continued, voice growing softer. Clarice had to strain to hear her.
"We went to the Three Broomsticks…it was nice there and I was laughing the whole time… we left and it was snowing. I threw some snow at him and it progressed from there," Lily paused and Clarice imagined her lifting her shoulders in a shrug. "I pushed him into a snow bank but he managed to grab me and pull me down… I fell on him and he leaned his head forward…"
"Oh Lily!" squealed someone Clarice thought was Mary. She curled her lips in disgust, but continued to silently listen. "That's so romantic," she gushed.
"Go on," Marlene said unexpectedly, and Clarice knew she was staring at Lily still. "I don't think that's the end of it. Why did you run away?"
Lily groaned and there was an odd rustling noise. Clarice dared to peek through a small hole in the curtains. Lily had her face buried in her hands. Mary was fussing over her while Marlene sat on a chair by her side, looking unexpectedly solemn.
"Well, he leaned his head forward but didn't kiss me…he was looking at me and I think he was asked permission to kiss me…but in the end…I…" she let out a mournful noise. "I kissed him!" she wailed. "He's going to think I'm mad or something, kissing him and running off! I'm such an idiot!"
Behind the curtain, Clarice privately agreed, but she didn't dare voice the opinion. She was doing perfectly well hiding behind her hideous velvet curtains.
"No," Mary was cooing. "You're not an idiot and he'll never think that. He's infatuated with you, Lily! Though he might wonder why you left him in the snow…" she added as an afterthought.
"You think?" Marlene said dryly. Clarice peeked out from behind the curtains to see her holding Lily's pale hand and shaking her head. "Lily, the boy's probably thinking he's lost any chance with you. I wouldn't be surprised if he was still sitting in the snow, freezing to death, mournfully sighing over his lost love as he's buried in the snow until he actually freezes to death…"
"Oh no!" shrieked Lily, struggling to rise. "What have I done?"
Clarice watched with a disgusted look as Mary pushed Lily back down and threw Marlene a scolding glance. Marlene merely shrugged, tucking a strand of dark hair back.
"I'm sure it's fine," Mary said, giving Marlene an icy glare. She raised an eyebrow and made a rude gesture at Mary. "I'm sure Potter is safely in his bed, dreaming peacefully."
Somehow, Clarice doubted it.
James lay in his bed, blinking placidly as Remus peered into his eyes, the light in his hand shaking slightly as he directed it at both eyes.
"I think he's okay, though I'm not a doctor," he said, shaking his head. "I can't believe he sat in the snow for hours and hours…"
A dark-haired shape pushed Remus out of the way and knelt by him. Sirius swam slowly into view as he stared down at him, dark grey eyes wide with worry.
"Come on, Prongs. Get up, you great idiotic lump," Sirius pleaded, trying to appear flippant, though James heard the slight tremor in his voice. "Was it Evans? Did Evans try to murder you? Should we bring her here and force her to-"
"No," James said, voice rasping painfully. He winced and tried to sit up, but Remus darted forward and pushed him back down. "No, don't bring Li- Evans here…no…"
"Okay," Peter said, looking worried. "Okay, we won't bring Evans here…"
Remus felt James' head and looked concerned. "I think you have a fever, Prongs. Maybe we should go to the Hospital Wing…"
"No," James whispered, voice sounding painful. He tried to clear his throat. "No," he said, sounding a bit clearer. "I just don't feel well from being out in the snow," he said.
The other three nodded, though they didn't look entirely convinced. James closed his eyes and tried to convince himself as well.
"I'm fine," he said quietly. He didn't think he'd ever said anything less true.
The next morning was little better. James woke up with a pounding headache, the light coming from the window nearly blinding him. He groped around his bed and grabbed a shoe, then hurled it at a blanket-bundled shape. The figure groaned and rolled over slightly.
"Close the window," James mumbled, not completely understanding why he could feel a cold breeze. The lump didn't even move. He muttered something rude, then rolled over with a snore. A few minutes later, he was rudely awaked by someone.
"Lily…get off! Ow! Stop biting me!" James flailed weakly as Lily let out a loud screech and clawed at James, flapping her wings – wait, wings? "Aaaah!"
The owl was flung away from him as he thrashed wildly in his bed. It observed him with icy amber eyes, then deliberately raised a talon and started slashing at the lump on the floor, which groaned and groped about. Managing to catch the bird by the leg, the lump blearily tossed it away.
The bird hit the wall, then let out an indignant squawk and fluttered to the desk, ruffling its feathers. It let out a little screech, then started mauling the papers on the desk.
"Stop it, Sirius," James whined, pressing his pillow to his face. "Some of us are trying to sleep…"
Infuriated, the owl let out a screech and dived at the desk. Its mighty talon shredded the paper and upset an inkbottle. The sound of the crash finally roused James, and he wrenched his eyes open.
"No!" James gasped, standing and hurtling towards the desk, tripping over various things in the process. "Wait, stop! I'll pay you, you stupid bird! Just wait a minute!"
Having finally awoken its target, the owl sat peacefully on the desk and arranged its feathers, watching smugly – if owls could be smug – as James searched for money. The lump on the ground – otherwise known as Sirius - finally woke up with a groan and glared at the owl. The owl glared back.
James finally managed to find five Knuts and handed it to the owl, grabbing the bundled paper it had delivered from the floor. "Bugger off, you stupid owl," James said distractedly, attempting to salvage the tattered remains of his homework.
The owl glared at James balefully, then, giving a doleful hoot, hopped from the desk and fluttered out the open window. A half asleep Sirius stumbled from his bed on the floor and made his way over to where James stood.
"Bloody owl," Sirius muttered, grabbing the paper and ripping it open. His grey eyes scanned the words, then he sucked in a breath sharply. At the sudden noise, James glanced up from where he was attempting to Spellotape his papers. "James," Sirius said quietly, reading an article. "I think you want to read this."
"Why would I want to read it?" James asked, finally giving up on his papers and approaching Sirius.
"It's…"Sirius hesitated. "I think it might…interest you."
"What?" James snatched the paper from Sirius and scanned the paper, searching. He read the tiny words and went unnaturally still. He mouthed the offending words as he read them. "A group known for stirring up trouble is currently insisting that the mysterious man known only as 'Lord Voldemort' is responsible for the deaths of three Muggle families," he muttered, eyes narrowing further as he read. "But the Ministry of Magic assures worried Wizards that this is not true and that this group is merely lying for their own sick gain… what nonsense!" James spat, throwing the paper to the floor. The unusually quiet Sirius retrieved it.
"Look here," Sirius said softly, flipping through the pages until he reached the right one. "A man in Wiltshire was murdered today. He was responsible for leading a protest campaigning for Muggle Rights…it was a…a nasty murder. But of course, the Ministry is completely ignoring it and anyone who tries to investigate is quickly shut down."
"Idiots!" shouted James. Sirius was pale and shook ever-so-slightly, his hands clenched around the newspaper, which crumpled beneath his tight grasp.
"Do you know the reason they're shutting down all investigations?" Sirius asked. James glanced over at him. Sirius was pale and there was an unfamiliar light glimmering in his eyes. "Because, another man who lives in Wiltshire is paying them enough that they're willing to look the other way…Lucius Malfoy," he whispered, and James felt the unfamiliar stirrings of dread at the name. "Soon to marry my dear, darling cousin, Narcissa."
He threw the newspaper to the floor and stared distantly out the window. Outside, he could see Hagrid stumping around, discreetly prodding his oversized pumpkins with his pink umbrella. "Narcissa…"he said, watching Hagrid chase a boy away from the forest. "I haven't thought about her in…years. Dear, darling Narcissa," he repeated, sounding distant.
"Your…family," he said, wrinkling his nose in disgust that the word could apply to Sirius. "Is behind you now, mate," James said, thumping his back. Sirius blinked once, then seemed to return to normal.
"Of course. She and those other mad old bats are far behind me," Sirius grinned, heading for his trunk and pulling out some robes, but James fancied he saw a flash of unfamiliar emotion in his inscrutable grey eyes.
"Come on!"
"No!"
"Come on!"
"I said no!" Lily said stubbornly, resisting all efforts to drag her from the room. Mary tugged on her, giving her a wide-eyed look.
"Come on, Lily. You need to eat breakfast. It's a very important part of the day," Mary told her. Lily shook her head and tried to pull free. Mary looked over to Marlene, who was pulling on her robes, and made a pleading gesture. The other girl just shrugged and continued to try to pull her robes over her head.
"I think I've either gained weight or these robes have shrunk," Marlene mused, ignoring Lily and Mary, who were now having a wrestling match. Marlene considered it for a second, then shrugged and tossed the robes away. "I suppose I've gained weight."
Clarice, who had shrunk the robes during the night to get back at Marlene, pouted and sat up. "I'm going to breakfast," she announced haughtily, looking at Lily in particular. "I think I'll sit near James. Since you already ruined your chances, I'm sure he'd be delighted to have a gorgeous girl like me sit near him," she purred with a luxuriant smile, stretching.
As she had expected, Lily's face hardened, then she released Mary from the headlock and stomped to her trunk. She yanked some robes on, then strode from the room. Clarice smiled contentedly, following her with dainty steps.
Even if she was jealous, who said she couldn't do nice things?
Author's Notes: Thanks for reading, and again, I'm sorry I couldn't update yesterday. If you see any glaring errors, please tell me! Thanks for reading, and I would be so happy if you could review!