Disclaimer: Don't own a thing apart from Raisa

Getting Through To You: Chapter 12

"Okay..." Remus began, pacing the room briskly. "Okay."

"Moony could you please stop saying that," Sirius snapped, slightly unnerved by the fact that one of his best friends did not seem all that inclined to stand up for him. Friends were meant to stand up for you, even when you did incredibly stupid things.

"Could you please stop staring at Lily?" Alice piped up sharply. As was her nature she was now feeling incredibly guilty about being the one to bring this slightly icky situation to light and was attempting to assuage said guilt by yelling at the nearest target.

"Actually Alice, on that subject how could you even tell I was staring at her breasts over breakfast?"

Lily jumped with a squeal and self consciously covered her chest. "WHAT? You PIG!"

"Oh come on," Sirius shot her a withering look. "I'm a guy, we all do it – yes, even James."

"Are you sure you're not sick?" Raisa cut in quietly, having listened to the above exchange quietly simmering with rage.

"Yes," Sirius nodded, feeling pretty peeved that so many people kept asking him the same thing over and over again.

Raisa nodded grimly. "Okay. Then that means I can do THIS with a perfectly clear conscience," she yelled, reaching out for an errant paperweight from the coffee table and readying herself to launch it at Sirius' head.

"Rai, Rai!" Remus moved quickly towards her, catching her bodily around the waist, large and dangerous object falling to the floor. "It's not worth it – you have to be calm for me here."

Sirius gulped. He was beginning to feel slightly dizzy due to all of the latent anger buzzing around him and he had a nagging feeling in his stomach as though something was not quite right inside his brain. Somehow Remus with his arms around Raisa bothered him and he really wasn't quite sure why because Raisa was not Lily and he loved Lily.

Alice sighed once more. "So who wants to tell James?"

"Tell me what?" replied an earnest voice from the direction of the stairs.

The group in the Common Room spluttered, aghast.

"Did you hear any of the, erm, yelling from down here?" Lily asked with a tentative wince. She was in no way advocating lying as the basis of relationships but at the same time was acutely aware that to the untrained eye Black's stupidity reflected quite outstandingly badly on her.

James frowned. "You guys have something to tell me?"

"NO!" yelled Lily who was becoming increasingly panicked.

"Muffin, I thought we were going to be quieter people from now on," the bespectacled one admonished tenderly. "And Padfoot – why are you glaring at me?"

"Maybe he should know?" Sirius tabled tentatively to those who already did, only to be rewarded by the angry stares of everyone else in the room. "What?"

"You know exactly what," Raisa snapped.

"Oh, so it's still about the whole you two bickering thing then," nodded James knowingly. "Thank God, because I was worried there for a second."

At this point Peter bounded into the room. "Padfoot kissed Lily?"

James' eyes widened to the size of saucers and Peter suddenly shot up to join Sirius on the list of most hated people in the room...

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"Is there not an unwritten rule against this?" James frowned. "Is there not some rule somewhere that says that my best friend can't ever try it on with my girlfriend?"

"It just happened – I just woke up one morning and she's all I can think about," Sirius replied apologetically now beginning to feel guilty.

At this, Raisa snorted. "And you're apparently not worried at all that your love will kill her?"

"Exactly," Lily piped up sharply.

"I promise you James that I did not encourage him in any way, shape or form," affirmed Lily earnestly, somewhat worried by the fact that he was not looking her in the eye anymore.

James began to pace up and down the room until he made himself dizzy and stopped.

"You love her?"

"I'm sure that there's a logical explanation for this..." Remus assured James, not really believing it but trying to be consoling anyhow. "He's angry at you and this is just how he's choosing to let it out."

All of a sudden James lunged at a shocked Raisa, his lips fusing themselves to hers.

"Hey – get your stinking paws off my boyfriend!" Lily screamed, choosing to overlook the fact that it was actually her boyfriend with the paws on her friend.

"Potter, what the HELL was that?" Raisa yelped, wiping her lips hurriedly.

"Yes, Potter," Sirius added curtly, a strange and rather inexplicable feeling of jealousy swimming through his veins. "What the HELL was THAT?"

James scoffed. "Oh this is too good. So you want two women to kill now?" he questioned curtly. "Why don't you just start a cult?"

"What about you?" Sirius retorted. "Line up women and for no cost at all James Potter will slobber all over you with his dog-breath."

"I'M GONNA POUND YOU," James screamed, leaping full-throttle over one of the couches to reach Sirius, who by instinct ducked out of the way, causing James to over balance and fall headfirst over the sofa leg.