Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

A Change in the Tide

Chapter 10: New Friends

"Hey, Sirius." Lily walked over to the young man who had just entered the room.

"How's everything been?"

"Good, I suppose. A few of the men were badly injured but nothing a little rest and medicine can't cure," Lily replied as she put some bottles of medicine away in cabinets and cleaned up any stray bandages. They were inside a room that now served as a ward for the sick. Surrounding Lily were a few beds where some of the men were lying down sleeping. "I'm done for the night," Lily said.

"Oh, are you going to your cabin now?" When Lily nodded, Sirius continued. "Mind if I walk you there?"

"Not at all." Lily followed Sirius out of the door. As they walked, Sirius tried to start up a conversation. "You know, Miss Evans, due to certain events that occurred today, you did not have your dinner with James."

Lily looked at Sirius in confusion for a second. Suddenly it clicked. "Oh, with everything that's been going on, I totally forgot about it. Does that mean it has to be rescheduled?"

Sirius smirked at her question. "I think tomorrow night will be fine, don't you think so." Without waiting for Lily to respond, he continued, "I just have to speak to James and confirm it."

Just as Sirius said this, the two reached Lily's cabin door. Sirius suddenly noticed Miss Evans frowning slightly.

"Miss Evans, are you okay?"

"Hmm, what? Yeah, I'm fine," she said nervously, jumping slightly at his question.

"What's wrong?" Sirius stared at the young girl. "Are you afraid… because of what happened… today on the other ship?" Sirius whispered gently, waiting for her reply.

Lily looked up at Sirius. He saw small tears forming in her emerald eyes. He hugged her, trying to comfort her. Sirius concluded that Miss Evans was afraid because nothing was distracting her from her nightmarish thoughts. "Hey, it's okay," he whispered soothingly in her ear as he rubbed her shoulders. "Do you want me to stay with you tonight?"

Lily thought about Sirius' question. She was scared. Today, she was lucky nothing serious happened to her. She knew that none of the men on the ship would do anything to her that would cause her pain, but she couldn't help but feel a little uneasy about being alone at night.

"Would it be a problem?" Lily asked Sirius, finally giving in.

"Not at all, I would do anything for you." They smiled at each other.

Lily opened her door and led them both inside. It was small and there was only one bed. Lily noticed this and told Sirius that he could sleep in the bed while she slept on the chair at her desk.

"That's nonsense. You need a good night's sleep. Get in bed. I will be fine in the chair."

Lily grudgingly agreed. She slipped under the covers of her bed. "Goodnight, Sirius. Thank you."

"Night, Evans."

James waited in his private dining quarters. Remus was sitting down at the table before him. He began to pace back and forth, anxiously waiting for the arrival of Sirius and Miss Evans.

"Calm down, Captain," Remus said, trying to cure his friends' uneasiness.

James stopped pacing and turned to face Remus. "I am calm," he said in his stubbornness.

"I know, it's just that you seem a little… tense." Remus flinched, afraid his wording might have offended James.

"What reason do you have to think I am tense? First of all, I am not tense. You think I would seriously get nervous just because Miss Evans is joining us for dinner?" James tugged on his collar subconsciously.

Remus was spared an answer as the door creaked open and Sirius walked in accompanied by Miss Evans.

"Evenin'," Sirius said as he entered. Lily looked around at the three men and a small smile crept onto her face.

"Evans, you sit here." Sirius led her to the seat across from James at the other end of the square table. She looked into James' eyes and felt warmth fill her body. He gently smiled back at her. She moved her head to look around. Remus was already sitting to her right and Sirius took a seat to her left.

"So," started Remus, attempting to break the awkward silence. "How was your day, Miss Evans?"

"Erm, it was fine. I helped George cook and I just came from tending to some of the injured men, but, yes, it's been a busy day. What about yours?" Lily asked politely.

The table broke into a conversation about their day of work.

After a few minutes, George walked in with their dinner. "Hello, Captain," James nodded in acknowledgement, "Sirius, Remus, and, Miss Evans? What a surprise? And what might you be doing her?" George winked.

"What?" Lily laughed. "I told you earlier that I was going to be eating dinner here."

"Oh yes, well, anyways, enjoy your meal." George had made them chicken with some vegetables. They all began to dig in and ate in silence for a few minutes.

"You know," started James, "the food had greatly improved."

"Yeah, I noticed it too," said Remus. "I believe it is partially due to Miss Evans right here." They all turned to look at Lily.

She blushed. "I doubt that."

"Oh don't be so modest, Evans."

"I'm not being modest, it's the truth. I barely contribute to the meals. It is all George. I just do whatever he tells me to."

"Sure," Sirius said, unbelievingly.

Dinner continued as usual. It was nearing the end of the meal when Lily finally spoke directly to James. "Umm, Captain, I… well, I wanted to thank you… for saving me, yesterday."

James looked up to see Miss Evans talking to him. Shocked by her words, he listened intently, sure he had heard her wrong. 'Miss Evans hates me.'

"I don't even want to know what would have happened to me had you and Sirius not shown up. I… I thank you very much," Lily finished quietly.

Not knowing what to say, James raised his eyebrows. "Your welcome."

Remus looked on with amusement at his two friends. They were actually having a civil conversation with each other.

"Yes, you were all very brave. I wish I could be more like you guys," Lily said.

Sirius jumped in by saying, "You know, that reminds me of the time when James and I were at this weapon store and suddenly a fight broke out…"

Sirius went on telling all different stories. The other men told some of their own as well. Lily sat through it and listened carefully, joining in the laughter every now and then.

"Haha, Sirius, I remember that," James chuckled as Sirius told another one of his stories, "although, it seems as though the story has been twisted somewhat. As I recall, the two men were drunk and could barely see straight, and, they certainly were not twice our size. I hardly call it being brave, knocking out two drunk guys who were trying to kill us with plastic knives."

"Yeah, well, we saved them from potential embarrasment."

Talk around the table continued and Lily began to see that James was not as stuck up as she thought he had been. He was fun to be around and very knowledgeable, not to mention, he had a sense of humor. She found herself at ease and began to loosen up a little, forgetting her old hatred that had been fading quickly since yesterday's events.

"Hey Evans, do you have any stories you would like to share?" James asked.

Lily stared before her, thinking. "Well, I don't think I have any stories worthy of sharing. I've had a very boring life."

"That can't be true, Miss Evans," Sirius said.

"Well, I don't know. What do you want to know about me?"

"Where were you born?" Remus asked.

"England. I've lived my entire life in England. I think I was born in a hospital in London. I don't remember much though."

"That's… cool. How old are you?" Sirius asked.

"Well, I just turned twenty a few months ago. What about you"

"Sirius and James are both twenty-one and I'm twenty-two."

"So you're only a few years older than me."

The men continued to ask Lily simple questions such as what her favorite food was, what her family was like, and what she thought of the ship.

"Well, at first I thought this ship was the worst place in the world, but I have come to realize it isn't so bad after all." At this Lily looked up to James.

'She is not at all like I had assumed she was,' thought James. 'It seems she is quite shy and kind of sweet. You would hardly believe she had a mean bone in her body by looking at her now. I suppose I must have been really harsh with her to cause her to get mad at me. And, maybe her life wasn't as great as I had figured, with a sister who hates her and parents who care mostly about money.'

"Hey, Miss Evans, remember when you were first captured, I tied you up and put you in your father's room. How did you manage to escape? You never told me," James said.

Lily thought about that day. 'Should I tell them. I mean, it was nothing special. Besides they are my friends now. I suppose it wouldn't hurt.' "If you'd really like to know, I kept a knife inside my corset. I was able to get it out and cut the ropes off me."

"Really, I would have never thought of that," James said, very interested.

"I wouldn't have either, but my father always told me to keep a knife hidden somewhere on you at all times. Just to be safe, you know." Lily told the men.

"Of course, safety first," Captain Potter said.

"Wait, so do you still have one on you right now?" Sirius questioned.

"I might, why do you ask? Afraid I'll use it to kill you?"

"No, just curious," Sirius laughed once he realized Evans wasn't serious.

"You know it's getting late. As fun as this has been, I really think I better be heading back to my cabin now."

"Ah, Evans, so soon?" Sirius pouted.

"I have to, otherwise I won't be able to get up tomorrow morning," Lily said, getting up from her chair.

"Wait, at least answer one more question," Sirius pleaded.

"Fine."

"I've known you now for a few months and I don't even know your name. I mean, I think we can drop the formalities now, Miss Evans."

"Wow, I can't believe I never told you my first name. It's Lily by the way."

"Lily?" Sirius asked. Lily nodded. "Well, g'night Lily."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, Lily."

Lily said goodbye and left. After the door closed behind her, Remus and Sirius began talking with each other.

"Lily? It feels so weird to call her that and not Evans, you know what I mean." Remus nodded in agreement. "So James," Sirius turned to face his Captain. "what do you think of Lily." After seeing James' face Sirius asked, "What's wrong?"

"Her name is Lily," James said in a daze, still staring at the door Lily had just exited.

A/N: If you hadn't noticed, no one in the story calls Lily by her first name. Now you know why I had her never share it with anyone. (If someone had called her Lily, it had been an error in the typing)

Next chapter will hopefully be up soon. Reviews are welcome.