Chapter 10:
James Potter was bored. There was no other way of putting it. Sirius was off chasing Electra, and Remus was still skulking about Constantina. Lily had made her exit from the Gryffindor common room. She claimed that she was that it was too hard to concentrate on her charms essay with James breathing down her neck and she was going to the library to finish it and it was under no circumstances to follow her there. Peter was always off doing some mysteriously enthralling activity without them these days. And Spencer… well, he had no clue where she was.
James was now sprawled out across his favorite scarlet couch in the Gryffindor common room, falling in and out of consciousness, his hazel eyes fixed on the crackling fire. His eyes were once again closing droopily when he felt someone push his legs off the couch unceremoniously.
"Budge over, Potter," came Spencer's voice in his groggy state, answering his previous question as to her whereabouts.
"Eh," he replied ever so eloquently.
"Where is everyone?" she asked him as he slowly returned to complete consciousness.
"Writing papers, being miserable, chasing after someone, getting away from the person who is chasing them, and I don't know," James listed off the whereabouts of his friends one by one.
"Ah," Spencer said, turning her attention to the fire in front of her and tucking a slightly rebellious strand of mahogany hair behind her ear.
"Where were you?" James asked, propping his legs on the back of the sofa.
"Me? I was meeting with McGonagall about what I plan on doing following graduation," she replied dryly, as she resumed James' previous staring contest with the fireplace.
"I totally forgot about those!" James exclaimed, raking his hand through his hair, which Spencer noted already looked like someone had put a Shocking Static Hex on it. "I don't even know when mine is. How'd yours go?"
"Ah, it was alright," she sighed heavily, "I mean, I haven't really thought about a normal life after this place, with the war and all."
"Yeah, I know," James breathed out.
"McGonagall asked me what I wanted to be and I couldn't think of anything," she laughed humorlessly as she pushed her legs underneath herself for warmth.
"All I could think of was . . . wanting to be happy," she ended quietly, the orange light dancing in her eyes.
"I think that's what we all want," James muttered, adjusting the pillow underneath his head uncomfortably. He had never been the best when it came to having serious conversations with people. He usually just ended up making an ass of himself while attempting to be sincere so he avoided it all together.
"What do you want to do, James?" Spencer asked, tearing her eyes from the fire, and settling on the boy at the other end of the couch. A small smile played across his lips before he answered.
"When I was little, every morning I'd watch my parents get ready for work. My dad in his field officer uniform, my mum the same, with her healers badge on the arm, and I was just in awe of them. When their friends would come over for dinner parties, they'd tell me all about these amazing missions my parents would go on and all these people they had helped, and how proud of them I should be," he said quietly. Spencer smiled gently at him.
"All I've wanted since I was five years old was to make them proud," he said, staring her directly in the eye.
"And you think being an auror would do that?" Spencer asked curiously. Truth be told she had never really spoke with James in a one-to-one setting before and she found herself displeased with the fact that she knew so little about someone she considered a friend.
"Yes… and no," James answered slowly, "I know they'd be proud of me no matter what I do, but the look in my dad's eyes when he talks about the old days… I know he would love to tell people that his son was following in his footsteps," James said glossily.
"The old days?" Spencer echoed, turning herself on the couch so she had a better view of James' face.
"Yeah. In our third year he got hurt pretty badly so he had to quit field work and take a permanent desk job," James replied. "He wasn't even supposed to be on that mission anyway. You see, once you reach a certain age—if you reach a certain age— they don't allow you to go out on missions anymore. Because your reflexes aren't as great, you could be endangering your team… but my dad… he couldn't resist."
"What about your mum?" Spencer asked, her eyes transfixed on James.
"She retired when I was ten to spend my last year at home with me. Now she helps train healers on different squads," he answered, shifting in his seat.
"That's really amazing. Does your dad still work in the auror offices?" Spencer asked, her curiosity growing.
"Actually," James sighed heavily, "he retired a couple weeks back. They're going to give him a huge award for services to the wizarding world or something during the Ministry's annual Christmas gala-thing. My mum sent me the owl the other day telling me that it would be 'nice if I would be there.'" He rolled his eyes with an affectionate smile. "In mum-speak that means I have to go."
"That should be nice, you can meet Aurors and make connections," Spencer pointed out in a manner that made James wonder if Spencer had somehow met his mother and learned to impersonate her overnight.
"Yeah, that's not the problem," James groaned. "I have to bring a date."
"Why not just take Sirius?" Spencer laughed, as James shoved her leg with his toe in playful irritation.
"That'd go over well," James laughed, the mental picture of himself and Sirius walking into the large party arm-in-arm playing out in his mind.
"Just ask Lily," Spencer said in her soft earnest voice. "It's not like she'll say no."
"I dunno, Spence," James said, his voice uncertain.
"Please," Spencer scoffed, shaking her head and causing her long brown ponytail to whip out with the movement.
"I don't want to mess up our friendship by asking her out," James sighed, running his hand through his hair once more.
"Like I said before, it's not like she'd say no," Spencer coaxed. "What do you have to lose?"
"My dignity…" James replied morosely, an image of Lily's large emerald eyes filled with amused pity almost shimmering in the air in front of him.
"Like you had that to begin with…" Spencer shot back, poking him in the knee.
"Haha, very funny," James mocked.
"Just ask her out so you can date and then get married, and have beautiful children, will you?" Spencer sighed amusedly, drumming her fingers in an exaggeratedly impatient manner on his leg.
"Okay, okay," James submitted dramatically. "I'll be sure to buy the ring before the party that way I can kill two birds with one stone."
"Just do me a favor, will you?" Spencer asked, sincerity flooding back into her tone.
"Huh?" James asked, raising an eyebrow. "Name our first daughter after you?"
"Merlin, no," Spencer cried indignantly. "I was going to say that you should give your kids nice, normal names!"
"Wait, what?" James asked, confused by this request.
"My parents named me Spencer. Electra's parents named her Stephen. Sirius' parents named him after a star. Please give all the members of the Potter brood normal names," Spencer pleaded.
"Any suggestions?" James inquired, amused by his friend's interest in what he planned to name his children. He was almost embarrassed at how easy it was to picture small toddlers stumbling around with messy red hair and bright green eyes.
"I don't know. Something that can be easily pronounced. And you have to be able to tell the gender of the kid right away," Spencer exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air.
"So, Jamie, Alex, Taylor, and Jesse are out of the question?" James teased.
"No, those are fine… but maybe even more… normal," Spencer suggested, twisting the end of her ponytail around her finger.
"Then what do you propose Oh Wise, Namer-of-the-Children?" James jested.
"Oh, I don't know… maybe… Harry?" Spencer guessed, pulling a name out thin air and smiling with pleasure at the simplicity of it.
"Harry?" James laughed uproariously.
"What's wrong with Harry?" Spencer inquired slapping James' leg.
"It's so… boring," James said blandly.
"If you were called ridiculous nicknames your entire life, you would be begging for a boring name," Spencer pointed out.
"But, I do have ridiculous nicknames!" James defended himself.
"Like?" Spencer asked, her eyes challenging.
"Sirius has been calling me Pudding, lately," James said darkly, scowling as he remembered the looks the younger students had given him the last time Sirius had sang it in the middle of the Charms corridor.
"But, that's not based off your actual name," Spencer pointed out.
"Jamesie," James shot back.
"Spen Ben," Spencer bit out.
A moment of silence fell upon them during which they stared at each other challengingly, while contemplating who had the worse plight.
"You win," James said quietly.
"That's what I thought," Spencer crowed triumphantly.
"But, Harry?" James asked incredulously.
"Yes, Harry," Spencer exclaimed loudly. "It's nice and simple. Harry Potter. Good, non-ridiculous name."
"Fine," James exhaled heavily, throwing an arm over his eyes as if he had just lost a major battle.
"Now, go find Lily, and ask her to this damn thing!" Spencer commanded, shoving James off the couch, towards the portrait hole.
"I'm going, I'm going," James muttered, as he composed himself, straightening out his oxford, and tie, nervously ruffling his hair, and walking towards the portrait hole.
As Spencer curled up into a ball, she heard heavy foot falls approach her.
"Does it really have to be Harry?" James asked one more time before quickly turning around to leave once more at the look on her face.
"YES! Harry!" Spencer hollered, throwing a pillow at his retreating back, as he finally left to find the blissfully oblivious future mother of his children.
- - -
"Go away, Black!" Lily muttered through gritted teeth, pressing her quill down so hard that a small hole was left in her parchment.
"Just tell me where she is!" Sirius pleaded with her, turning on his best puppy-dog expression.
"For the love of Merlin, Black! Get off your knees!" Lily exclaimed after finally ripping her gaze from her charms essay to catch a glimpse of Sirius Black, kneeling at her side, clutching her chair, with that damnable look on his face.
"I know you know where she is!" Sirius accused Lily loudly.
"I have no idea where anyone is right now!" Lily yelled, a few of her firey curls frizzing wildly.
"SHHHH!"
"Sorry," Lily apologized to the room as whole.
She had come to the library to escape the antics of James Potter, only to be found and annoyed by a very upset Sirius Black. She had sat down a half hour ago telling herself she would not leave this table until she was done with her essay, until a distraught Sirius Black came rushing up to her table begging for the whereabouts of Electra. Now the prospect of finishing her essay was becoming bleaker by the moment.
"Lily, just tell me where she is and I'll leave you alone!" Sirius begged.
"Stop begging like a dog, Sirius, it doesn't suit you," Lily reprimanded her friend, pulling him up from the floor. "Alright," she amended, "maybe it does."
"You say that as if it's a bad thing," Sirius said with a hint of defiance.
"Whatever, Black. Just leave me alone, okay? I don't know where Electra is, she's probably at the Pitch blowing off some steam or something," Lily suggested off-handedly, as she got back to her essay, scribbling down an incomprehensible sentence.
"Already checked," Sirius said immediately, sitting in the chair across from Lily.
"Kitchens?"
"Not there."
"The Great Hall?"
"Already checked."
"Dungeons?"
"Why would she be in the Dungeons?" Sirius asked.
"I don't know! I'm just listing off places so you'll leave me alone," Lily murmured, looking up at him pointedly. She had just read the same paragraph in her charms text for the fifth time in a row.
"Why does she feel like she has to hide from me?" Sirius asked dejectedly, laying his head down on the table in bleak despair.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you chase her!" Lily bit out, her frustration mounting rapidly.
"If she just told me to leave her alone, I would!" Sirius defended himself.
"She tells you that everyday!" Lily said more loudly than she meant to, selecting another book without checking the title and opening it upside down, her hair coming loose from her pony tail at the severity of her movements.
"SHHHH!"
"Sorry," Lily apologized to the students around her again.
"I would leave her alone if she told me to leave her alone, and she actually meant it," Sirius clarified, propping his chin on his forearm.
"What if she does mean it?" Lily screeched, slamming her charms book closed and giving up on the essay altogether.
"I would be able to tell," Sirius said earnestly, "Her eyes don't flash when she tells me to go away, they kind of twinkle, like she wants me to follow her!"
"Please, Black," Lily chuckled lightly at her friend's statement.
"What?" he asked confused.
"Why would she tell you to go away if she wanted to be around you?" Lily asked waving her arms.
"I don't know. Why do you pretend you don't like James?" he threw out slyly.
"Because I'm afraid of getting hurt!"
The minute the words had left her mouth Lily mentally slapped herself repeatedly for falling into his trap. She groaned loudly, and then collapsed into a lump on the table, her head buried in her arms.
"I knew it, I knew it!" Sirius chanted with glee, jumping out of his chair and dancing around wildly.
"SHHHHH!" the group of surrounding students hushed the pair angrily.
"Sorry," Sirius said having the grace to blush at his childish behavior and sitting back down quickly.
"I can't believe I fell for that!" Lily moaned into her arms.
"I can't believe that's all it took for you to admit it," Sirius smiled smugly, folding his arms across his chest.
"Ahh!" Lily groaned inwardly again. This was the last thing she needed; how could she have been so careless as to let it slip to Sirius Black, of all people, Sirius-Bloody-Black, that she had actually fallen for James Potter!
"Don't worry, I won't tell him," Sirius said gently, ruffling her hair.
"Wait, what?" Lily asked wildly, her mind not able to believe what she had just heard.
"I won't tell James you're madly in love with him. I'll let you do that," Sirius said cheekily, a large smile spread across his face.
"Thanks…I think?" Lily said slowly.
"That's what friends are for, right?" Sirius said airily.
"I can not believe I fell for that," Lily sighed heavily. "I'm pathetic!"
"No, no you're not," Sirius laughed lightly, "You're just finally accepting your long suppressed, deeply seated feelings for him."
"Hold on," Lily said quickly, her head snapping up from in between her arms, "When did you become so… understanding?"
"I don't know," Sirius shrugged, looking down at his hands as he twiddled his thumbs, "I just… I just don't think your feelings for each other should be taken so lightly. I mean, all I've heard him talk about since we were 11 was how in love he is with you, and I knew you'd finally come around. And, I just…I think you guys needs to take your time with this, because even I can tell… it's right."
"Wow, Sirius," Lily breathed, "That… that… that was deep."
"I know," Sirius sighed, scratching his temple.
"What's gotten into you? Are you feeling okay?" Lily asked frantically as she scrambled across the table to put her hand to his forehead as to take his temperature.
"I'm fine Tiger Lily," Sirius laughed lightly, pushing her gently back into her seat.
"Then why are you acting like this?" Lily asked softly.
"Like what?" Sirius asked grabbing her charms text and flipping through it, refusing to meet her gaze.
"Like someone who isn't Sirius Black," she said bluntly, taking his arm to get his attention.
"What's going on?" she asked, her green eyes probing his gray ones for an answer.
"Nothing," Sirius said firmly, still refusing to meet her stare.
"Sirius!" Lily reprimanded him sternly.
"It's nothing, Lily," Sirius muttered quietly, finally meeting her eyes. His strong, usually confident gray eyes held no mischief, no twinkle, just a cool uncertainty.
"Yes, it is. If it were nothing you wouldn't look like someone just cut all your hair off!" Lily scolded.
"Okay, that's not even funny to joke about," Sirius squealed, grabbing his hair dramatically to make sure it was still there.
"See, that's more like the Sirius I know," Lily chuckled lightly.
"I've just decided, with everything that's been happening, that I need to be more serious," Sirius said, an ironic smile spreading across his face.
"Sirius, did you just make a serious-Sirius joke?" Lily inquired, laughing lightly.
"I think I did, Lily, I think I did," Sirius replied, laughing at himself.
"Things really are changing around here, aren't they?" Lily asked softly.
"Yeah, but for the better, or for worse?" Sirius added, voicing the question she had been unable to answer for weeks.
- - -
She had finally gotten away from him; at least she hoped she had. He had chased her through the Great Hall, through the kitchens, around the Quidditch Pitch, up the Southern Most Tower, down the hidden back stairwell, where she doubled back and somehow ended up in the Astronomy Tower where she was now sitting on the hard, cold, stone floor, her back to the wall breathing a sigh of relief.
Yes, she and Sirius were now getting along.
Yes, they were friends, but she didn't want to put her guard down too quickly and let him in.
Yes, he was charming.
Yes, he was very good-looking.
Yes, he made her laugh, and when he looked at her made her feel like she was the only one in the room, but sometimes, she just didn't know about him.
"Sirius Black, what am I gonna do with you?" she mumbled to herself, as she stared up at the arching stone ceiling.
"Apparently run away from him," came a gentle whisper from a darkened corner. Electra jumped at the response to her rhetorical question, and immediately brandished her wand towards the shadowed corner.
"Who's there?" she asked shakily, as she got to her feet.
"Calm down, Electra, it's me… Remus," came the calm voice of Remus Lupin, followed by his thin figure as he emerged into the beam of fading twilight.
"Ah! Remus, don't freak me out like that," Electra breathed a sigh of relief as he approached her, hitting him lightly on the shoulder.
"Sorry, I was unaware that I was going to be having a visitor tonight," he chuckled.
"Is this where you come every night then?" Electra asked, her curiosity piqued, as she looked around the shrouded room.
The Astronomy Tower had never been the most ideal place for a class. During the day when students where forced to study the planets and constellations, the sun beat down upon them through the many windows, making proper concentration impossible. At night the view of the heavens was too impressive to actually study and understand what one was looking at and most of the class was held on top of the tower anyway.
"Yeah, it's pretty quiet up here, and people usually avoid the room altogether after about seven because they think it's too creepy," Remus said as he slid down the wall into a sitting position, his eyes lingering out the far east window towards the lake.
"How'd you find that out?" Electra asked as she too slid down the wall to sit next to him, tucking her long dark hair behind her ear.
"It's amazing what one learns when they eavesdrop on teachers," Remus said cheekily, looking at her knowingly.
"Well, well, well, Remus Lupin!" Electra exclaimed, "Who would've known the most well behaved of the Marauders had the ability to be so sneaky?"
"Not me," he sighed, "I don't know what you're talking about." His gaze once again upon the window across the room.
"So, how are you?" Electra asked changing the subject completely, as she put a hand on his arm. She had wanted to talk to Remus ever since Constantina had left, but had never found the moment. He was always either in class, sleeping, with James and Sirius, or missing, so she had to take this opportunity to talk to him.
"I'm… alright," he said slowly, much too intelligent to not realize what she was really referring to.
She gave him a dark look.
"Really, I am," he said, once again, laughing lightly, almost humorlessly.
"Don't lie to me, Lupin," Electra scolded him playfully.
"I wouldn't dare lie to The Electra," Remus said, his tone of mock-seriousness.
"Good," she replied ominously, before the two burst out in a fit of laughter.
"But, seriously, you're okay?" she asked, as they both began to regain their composure.
"I'm fine," he said reassuringly, "I'm actually more relieved than anything now that you all know."
"That's not what I was asking, and you know it," Electra murmured.
"I know," Remus muttered, "And I was this close to getting away with it, too."
"Please," Electra snorted, "Like you'd be able to lie to me and get away with it."
"I think I could," Remus said defensively.
"Remus, we've known each other since we were eleven," Electra began, "I doubt you could get away with that bad of a lie at this point."
"And you not knowing about my being a werewolf was just luck then?" he asked with a slight smirk on his face.
"Okay, okay, I'll give that to you," she said, mentally slapping herself for letting that little piece of information slip her mind, "But, I'll have you know, I knew something was up. Just, not what it was exactly."
"Why didn't you ask me?" Remus asked, turning to face her with a surprised expression. "It's not like you to avoid confrontation."
"I figured that if you were going to go through all that trouble to lie to all of your friends that it had to be something important," she said quietly. "I wasn't going to make you tell me because you were afraid I'd hit you. And plus, I wanted you to want to tell me."
"I'm sorry," Remus whispered, the silence suddenly thick in the room.
"For what?" Electra asked quickly.
"For not telling you sooner," Remus clarified. Even the darkness couldn't hide his shameful blush.
"It's fine," Electra said gently, "You couldn't have known how we would've reacted."
"But I should've trusted that you would've been as accepting as James, Sirius, and Pete were," Remus said, his voice full of regret.
"Here's the thing Remus, how old were you guys when you told them about your… uhm… thing?" Electra asked tactlessly.
"I don't even remember how old we were… maybe third year was when they finally got it out of me," Remus guessed uncertainly, scratching his head.
"Yeah, at the ripe age of 13 most kids aren't as accepting as those three," Electra said slowly, "James and Sirius may be arrogant asses sometimes, but they have good hearts, and Peter… well, he admires you three so much he just replicates what you do. You were fine in telling them because they're good guys, and don't judge. At 13 I don't know if I would've been able to handle the fact that you're a werewolf."
"Yeah, I know, but maybe, if she would've known before…" Remus trailed off.
"Hey, do not blame yourself for what she did," Electra said sternly, "Constantina leaving was her own fault, not yours. Don't you dare blame yourself!"
"But she left because of me," Remus said quickly.
"Maybe," Electra relented, "But you weren't the only reason she left!"
"How do you know?" Remus asked, looking her directly in the eye.
"She'd been talking to me about that damn school in Bulgaria for forever!" Electra said darkly, "She wouldn't shut up about how torn she was about wanting to go there. 'Mother and father are moving there and it would be easier if I moved there with them'… 'But I can't just leave you all'… 'It's such a beautiful country and the school is beautiful…' blah, blah, blah… if I had to hear one more word from her about it, I swear I would've thrown her off my broom."
"She never told me about it," Remus whispered solemnly.
"That's because you were her boyfriend," Electra pointed out, "You never talk to the boyfriend about the possibility of leaving the boyfriend. Some sort of messed up girl code, I don't get it."
"That's ridiculous, if she just would've…" Remus began.
"What's really bothering you, Remus?" Electra cut him off. If there was one thing Electra Jackson could not stand, it was when someone beat around the bush.
"Are you still in love with her?" she asked quietly, nudging his shoulder with hers in a comforting sort of way.
"No, Merlin, no," Remus said quietly, "I just feel awful for… scaring her…"
"You have got to be kidding me," Electra drawled.
"What?" he asked quickly, looking up at her.
"You feel bad for her intolerance?" Electra asked.
"No, I don't…"
"Yes! Yes, you do!" Electra cried accusingly, "You feel bad because she was too scared to realize that you're still you despite the fact that you er…wolf-out once a month?"
"Yes… but…"
"That's not your fault," Electra said simply.
"But it is," Remus said calmly.
"No, no it's not!" Electra said sharply.
"But if I weren't a werewolf…" Remus trailed off morosely.
"Remus, did you ask to get bitten by a werewolf?" Electra asked harshly.
"Well, no, but that's not the—"he protested.
"Then it's not your fault," she cut him off once more, "It's her own stupid, intolerant fault that she's afraid of you. Am I afraid of you? No. Is Lily afraid of you? No. Is Spencer? No! Are James, Sirius, and Peter? NO! Why? Because we're not gonna let some stupid stereotype of werewolves get in the way of who we know you are! She did. She's an idiot. And, she's gone. So, we all need to move on!"
During the silence that fell after Electra's words, a pin could've been dropped and it would've sounded like the time the Slytherin keeper ran into the goalposts in an attempt to save an errant quaffle and broke all of his ribs.
"Well, that was… blunt," Remus said, slightly stunned at his friend's bravado.
"Well, someone has to be honest about this damn mess," Electra sighed, patting Remus on the knee.
"Yes, yes, one of us does," Remus concurred, laughing gently. He only wished as the image of a certain person materialized in his imagination, that he could be the one to have that honor.
- - -
James Potter entered the library skeptically. The last time he had been here for longer than five minutes he had asked Lily to Hogsmeade. He hoped that it still held some of that magic for his next question. He scanned the tables looking for red, but nothing caught his eye. He walked through the maze of study surfaces to the aisles of shelves and began searching for her.
He patrolled the rows one after another with little success of finding the object of his affection, and was beginning to get a bit agitated.
Where is she? he asked himself repeatedly. Had she lied to him to get away from him? Had she told him she went to the library and went somewhere else so he couldn't find her? Was she trying to avoid him? Or worse, was she with… Snape?
As wild scenarios of Lily running off with Severus Snape played through his mind, James rounded a corner to find none other than the red-haired beauty standing on a pile of three books stacked on top of one another, reaching precariously towards the top shelf.
"Whoa, Lily," James exclaimed amusedly, as he watched her balance on one leg to reach an exceptionally large tome.
As she turned to see who had come to find her, she lost her balance, and with very little grace began to fall to ground. Luckily, James, with his Quidditch-honed reflexes wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her into his chest, her feet dangling off of the floor.
"Lily, are you okay?" James asked, his concern evident as he gave her a once over, turning to check to see that all of her was alright.
"I'm fine, James," she huffed, though a smile played lightly across her face.
"Good," he smiled gently.
"Just don't sneak up on me like that!" Lily scolded him, slapping him lightly on the arm before turning back to the shelf to retrieve her book, "So, why'd you come all the way back here to find me when I thought I told you not to look for me until I had finished this essay?"
"It's important. I needed," James started, as he leaned into the shelf, and before Lily could get on top of her stack of books again, grabbed the enormous text she had been reaching for earlier and handed it to her, "to ask you a question," he finished.
"Thanks," she said, taking the book out of his arms, "What's going on?"
"Well, you see," James began nervously. What was wrong with him?
"My dad just retired from being an auror for 35 years…" he supplied, running his hand through his hair.
"Really?" she asked, her eyes twinkling with interest as she reached up to stop the gesture automatically.
"Yeah," James continued, his confidence returning with her obvious interest. "And they're giving him this award at the yearly Ministry Christmas thing, and I have to be there. I know it's short notice, and it's the night before we go home for holidays, but I was wondering if you'd go… with me."
"Definitely."
Wait! Had she just affirmatively answered a date invitation from James Potter in under a second?
"Really?" he asked, his tense posture relaxing.
"Yes." Lily reiterated, "It should be fun!"
"HEY! LILY! I FOUND THAT BOOK YOU WERE LOOKING FOR!" roared Sirius from a few aisles over before yelling his apologies to the chorus of admonitions from the diligently working students.
"THANKS SIRIUS!" Lily called back, before she and James burst into laughter.
"Really, he is the only person who would scream in a library, isn't he?" she asked him.
"But, we love him anyway," James shrugged.
"Of course, you do," Sirius exclaimed, as he appeared at the end of aisle with a book in his hand.
"So, what happened while I was gone?" he asked inquisitively.
"Oh, nothing…" James said with a goofy grin firmly in place.
"Nothing at all…" Lily returned, with a secretive smile.
"You're officially the worst liars, ever," Sirius said, handing Lily the book.
"Thanks, Sirius," Lily said.
"Seriously, what's going on James?" Sirius asked.
"Sirus-ly, I don't know what is going on," James mocked as he began to walk out of the maze of books towards the tables, Lily following him.
"Do not Sirius-serious me right now," Sirius called to their retreating backs.
"Seriously, Sirius, thanks for the book," Lily called to him as they emerged into the open area of the library.
"Are you done yet?" Sirius asked he surfaced from the abyss of books.
"I don't think we'll ever seriously get tired of this. Isn't that so Sirius?" James laughed, sweeping the tottering pile of books out from Lily's arms gallantly. He suddenly decided that the library could quite possibly be his most favorite room in all of Hogwarts because it was where Lily Evans had said 'yes' there…twice.
A/N: Merry Christmas everyone! Debbie and I would like to thank all of you who read this story, even the lurkers (though we wish everyone would review). It's a lot of fun for us to improve our writing skills while entertaining people who aren't, well us.
We have a Christmas part to this story which takes place over Chapters Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen and due to our ridiculously busy schedules it won't be up in time for today. We will try our best to get it up by New Year's but don't lose that Christmas Spirit in the meantime, okay?
HAPPY CHRISTMAS!
-Cryssi and Debbie