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The Sims 2: Apartment Life

Just another checkmark on the list of things that she regrets.

Or was he?

Her disguise for the night lost its inevitable fight with gravity. She shed the extra layer of protection like a snake. Her second skin. Her second identity. It lay forgotten on the floor. Unworthy of her attention. Yellow and black striped, usually noticeable due to its color of brightness but her mind was busy. Eyes were clouded. Hearing disillusioned.

The sofa was comfortable. She could have fallen asleep on it but refused to allow her body to lie down to deny herself the chance. She knew that if she sprawled herself down, she would be sleeping in no time.

Instead, both her feet were lifted off the ground, afraid to touch the carpet flooring. Her knees pulled up and rested her chin on them. An arm wrapped around them while her other limb stretched out. Her hand outstretched. It was her thinking position. It always had been.

But nothing went through her mind.

She truly wasn't thinking of anything. Not of what she had seen moments before. Not of her roommate and his 'current lover.'

The Head Girl simply, and slowly, walked her way back to the door and back inside her dorm.

Careful that she took the long way home…

She just didn't want to remain there. The sights and smells weren't helping. For some strange reason, she felt no animosity or hatred against either of them. Hell, she didn't even blame herself.

But she sure as hell wasn't happy for them.

Lily sighed.

She was bored. Hmm. Maybe that was it. She was bored. Simple as that!

But there was nothing to do. There were books that she could. But she went through all of them at least twice. She could even clean her room, she was that bored! But the house elves had probably taken care of it. The Muggle television in front of her was dark and blank. Off. She didn't feel like watching anything though. Though she was tempted to watch some romance films. Eager to see how other people's story turned out even if it was just a fake, acting show to make profits. It was a shame that James wasn't the kind of guy that kept those films around.

James.

Her mind had jumped off a skyscraper without a parachute and crash landed on the topic of James Potter. As if expecting him to burst out of his room, she turned her head around to look at his bedroom. She saw it coming all along, of course he wouldn't emerge but it was an action she couldn't prevent.

The party was still going on. Not even an hour into it had passed by. Lily Evans must be the only person sitting inside her dormitory, not attending it right now. No one would be going back to their dorm until hours later. Probably even past midnight.

Fuck it.

Getting up from the common room sofa, she moved towards his bedroom.

It was same as ever. From the last time she came in, it just as how she remembered it. Messy as ever. She surmised that he probably told the house elves to "not touch anything."

His clothes covered the floor like snow during winter. She remembered him telling her of his dress code policy:

"If it looks and smells clean, I'll wear it."

Her lips reminisced into a smile.

Somewhat tired and still very bored, she stumbled her way to his bed and sat down and almost immediately sank.

With her chin rested against her palm, she breathed out a sigh and something struck her.

She was finally missing him. She missed him. Why wasn't he here with her now? This only made her more gloomy and depressed.

But something caught her eye. It was moving. No. A lot of it was moving. Just in front of her seemed to be a large screen television with split picture in pictures. But upon closer inspection, it was just magical pictures. The black and white characters inside were moving. She could tell James was in some of them. Most of them were animated and moving nonstop. Yet, there were some photographs that stayed still. Probably because they are Muggle photos. They were all hung to the wall magically. As if glued to the wallpaper. Some lay on the desk underneath it. Perhaps he didn't have the time to finish those.

With her curiosity meter only peeking higher, she proceeded forward.

Most of the pictures were of him and his friends. Some with his closest buddies such as Remus, Sirius and Peter. Scribbled at the bottom right of a few of these pictures were two words:

"The Marauders."

"What a strange name." Lily thought. Especially for a group of 4 teenage boys. To others it may have been seen as immature, perhaps that is why they never addressed each other as that.

In one such picture, James was standing with something over draped over his right shoulder. It looked he was clinging onto a cloak by one hand but part of his shoulder disappeared. It looked invisible but Lily knew you can't cast invisibility charms on parts of your body.

The picture must have been damaged. Time never was a friend to memories.

Then something else grabbed her attention.

"That's me…"

Sure enough, Lily saw herself in one of these pictures on display at this gallery. But this picture wasn't even pinned up to the wall for easy viewing. No. Instead, it lay with many others that piled the desk. The ones that he may have neglected.

It was just last year…

James was in it too. Even Sarah! It was the Quidditch Final last year. Right after the game when the trophy was awarded.

James stood in the middle of the two girls. He was beaming happily. They had won after all. All the time they spent training, practicing. All the sacrifice and lost weekends to the sessions he, as Captain demanded they attend. The study and homework time they killed for a chance to be better. To be able to get to the moment they were now.

Both of his arms were wrapped around the shoulders of Sarah and Lily. Sarah held the Quidditch Cup in her hands as she raised it in celebratory manner.

The crowd in the background was cheering but they were blurry. Distant and unclear as an unfocused telescope. Many in the back were walking in one direction, back inside the castle but the three of them stayed still, beaming brightly into the camera.

All of a sudden, the past Lily turned her head to face James and surprising perhaps both Lilys, she kissed him. She gave him one short look that didn't even last half a second and raised the hand that wasn't wrapped around his waist and brought it to his face before kissing his cheek. It was over before it even started and Lily returned to smiling at the camera. But the event shocked Lily.

She had to watch the picture replay itself at least 10 times before it sunk in.

It was then that she saw James reaction.

His eyes slowly fluttered shut after her palms touched his. After her lips left his skin, he turned his head towards her in return but only gave her a soft look in adoration. His gaze never returned to the camera until after the picture replayed. He liked her. Liked. It was such an ugly word. Its past tense description of feelings destroyed her from the inside out. She knew he always did. Did. What a foul word too! It only reminded her of what she could have attained. What they could be right now.

Something inside her compelled her to hold picture up. Once it was in her hands, she took a good look at it for a few seconds before tearing it in half. At least she thought it was a perfect split. It was almost effortless as she eradicated it. Seething fury rushed through her as she completely devastated a memento of his youth. Hate-stained for a fraction of a second enabled her to commit a sin, a crime. Unforgivable. Instead, one side contained Lily and James while Sarah was perfectly ripped out of the photograph. Their conversation ran its audio through her ears, hateful echoes pounding her eardrums.

Oh no…

What had she done? This wasn't hers! It was James property! Tucking the two split ends of the puzzle in her pockets, she hoped with all her might James wouldn't remember this one among the mountainous stacks in his album collection.

Fat chance. Him winning a Quidditch Cup? Would he ever let that slip his thoughts?

She returned back to his bed and took a seat. She didn't want to be here but James didn't have chairs in his room. He must have never had a need for one. Finally giving herself permission to lay down, she collapsed on his bed. Eyes still open and staring at the ceiling.

It was glowing. Strange. Waves of eerie blue waves rippled through the wallpaper. She knew the source though.

It was that damn pensieve. How could he sleep with it glowing all the time?!

She was spending her waking moments killing time.

But there was nothing else for her to do…

He probably wouldn't be back for a while anyway…

She walked to the edge of the table before looking down into it. Desire rushing through her very hands to discover more about James past. But most importantly, to learn of what happened to him…

It was the same feeling as before. Her feet landed awkwardly onto the floor and her unshakable stance descended into James Potter's land of infinite mysteries.

It was noon. The sun was scorching as many people it could get, turning them into victims of its radiating heat. They were at the outside table of a pub or a café. The curious redhead immediately noticed James, and predictably shocking enough, Sirius Black along with someone else she had seen in another one of James memory. She remembered James calling him Gabriel before. The three friends sat around chatting and enjoying the weather with a couple of beers on their table. It was a Muggle place by the looks of it. It was a popular spot in London. Lily remembered coming to the park with her Muggle friends during the summer and stopping for lunch nearby.

"And then after I said that, she was like: 'Where you at?'" Gabriel said with a storytelling narration.

"Women." James agreed with a lean of his head.

James was wearing what seemed to be swimming shorts. Black and white camouflage smudged together so perfectly that it could be a modern-day art masterpiece. He wore a short sleeve that was a little small for him but just barely enough to show off his physique that was under the shirt. It had writing on it but the letters were fading and Lily couldn't bother figuring it out. The rest of his friends dressed almost the same in their summer Muggle wardrobe.

"Love is a lie. Just get in her pants and then get the hell away." Sirius wisely said with apparently years of experience.

The guys laughed heartily, grabbing their drinks and toasting to 'Wham-Bam-Thank-You-Ma'am.'

"Hey. Can we get another round of Heinekens, please? Thanks." Sirius asked politely to a waitress.

"Don't you guys think you've had enough? It's not even dark and you all drank enough to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool." The middle-aged waitress joked. The boys must be regulars from the way she interacted with them.

"Last one, we promise."

"Fine. I can get fired for this…" She begrudgingly caved in. "We do have a limit on consumption here."

"Us too."

"Come on guys, lets drink until we can't feel feeling anymore."

Shaking her head with a smile, she went inside to fill the order.

"Oh shit." Sirius whispered.

"What?" James and Gabriel immediately asked.

Sirius didn't have to say anything. A tall brunette had walked by the sidewalk. A few feet separating her from their table.

"Which one?"

"You mean this one?" Gabriel had pulled out what looks like a small pen before aiming it at something. A faint red dot due to the sunlight had hit the woman right on her back.

"What is that- Shit, that is sweet." James said in awe.

"Gimme' that." Sirius had snatched the laser pointer from his friend before aiming it at everything he saw.

"Damn, dude. Muggles make the best shit." Sirius almost shouted.

Toy and fun to the simple minded…

"Did you…hit your head or something?" Gabriel said with concern.

"Um…you guys hit me?" Sirius added.

"Oh, right…" James confirmed. "So how's your girlfriend treating you aside from last night?"

"Well…" Gabriel said hesitatingly while he watched Sirius shoot the laser through the beer bottle, the light reflecting off the inner walls to his delight. Still amusing.

"What's up?" James urged.

"Between me and you?" He said, completely ignoring Sirius existence temporarily.

"Sure, what is it?" Was it this important?"

"I prefer the instant noodles over her cooking."

James blew up in laughter. When he settled, he finally commented,

"That bad, huh?"

"Fuck off…" He said when James started laughing again.

"Prongs. Check it out." Sirius finally placed the laser on the table after sucking all the fun out of it.

"She's hot." James said, putting his opinion down.

Lily didn't see who they were talking about. There was no attractive female around.

"Alright, whose turn is it, Gabe?" Sirius wondered aloud.

"Yours I think. Wait, yeah it is you because that redhead a few days ago."

"Fuck, fine." Sirius said, defeated.

"Naw, I'm not in the mood today." James shrugged.

"What's up your ass, man?" Sirius laughed.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." James waved his hand as if to brush away the matter but a smile lingered on his face. Perhaps he knew his friends were going to dig into this topic deeper.

"He met a girl. That blonde one." Gabriel sniggered.

"Fuck off." James shook his head but the smile still remain.

"I don't know why you didn't just say no to this asshole. Summer classes that you do not need? You aren't a Muggle, James." Sirius said.

"Whatever, she's going to be gone. I'll do it." Gabriel declared.

Unaware of what the group was doing, Lily watched them pay for their lunch and drinks before their 'last' round came and walked across the busy street. Carefree and unworried of the traffic as they jaywalked the street to the other side of greener pastures and trees.

"This is going to be fucking hilarious." James said. He laughed all the way before splitting ways with his friends.

Lily didn't know who to follow. Should she stay with James or follow the scheming pair? When she turned to see James simply sit down on a bench that was adjacent to an attractive young woman sitting on another bench feeding the ducks that had roamed from the pond onto the park grounds, she decided to chase Sirius' group.

"Here is good." Gabriel nodded towards a big rock that could almost be a boulder. It was big enough to cover a couple of humans behind it. Along with the nearby trees, one would be hard-pressed not to remain hidden here. You could even hide from the police here!

"Go before someone sees you." Gabriel beckoned.

"You aren't my mom. Shit." Sirius said before taking a dive.

He strangely dove like a swimmer into a pool right behind the boulder and trees, completely unnoticed by anyone. No one was nearby or even within eyesight to see the unusual action.

What came out from behind shocked Lily. It wasn't even Sirius! A big, shaggy, black dog had emerged. Horrified and confused, Lily around to the back to see if Sirius was hiding back there. No one. Sirius had turned himself into a… a dog!?

Impossible.

Only a skilled witch or wizard could transform themselves into an animal at will. And even then, Animagis were required to register themselves to the Ministry. Lily laughed at how silly she was being.

Sirius Black. An animagus! Never. He didn't have the dedication or the knowledge to do it. He probably just transfigured himself temporarily to achieve this.

Yeah, that was it. Transfiguration. But still, magic in a Muggle area? He was of age but this was risky. What were they trying to do exactly?

Without warning, the dog had begun jogging slowly at James location with Gabriel chasing behind it.

"Wait! Stop!" Gabriel shouted after the runaway dog.

It was too late. The dog had ran past James and began chasing the ducks the woman fed.

"Ahh! Hey, I was feeding them!" She pouted at the dog who was now rolling around at her feet.

"Sorry, Miss! He's just out of control." Gabriel had caught up and was now facing the young female.

Now that Lily got a chance to see her up close, she looked younger than she expected. Not even older than Lily. Or at least around the same age.

"He's not out of control. Aww. Sooo cute, you. Just wanted to play didn't you? Yes you did…" She cooed.

The dog was now giving its best sad, puppy eyed look to win her affection. She began stroking his neck and ears as Sirius the dog closed his eyes in pure ecstasy.

"You should have a leash on him then." She said to Gabriel.

"Yeah, well, he doesn't need it. He's one of the biggest wimps out there. He would not even attack a bone if you paid him."

The dog gave Gabriel a look. A very human expression on its face.

Lily smiled, Gabriel was playfully insulting Sirius…

The girl laughed as well, "What's his name?"

"His name?" Gabriel scratched his head in confusion. "Uh, it is Sir- Black. Uh. Blackie."

Sirius Black the dog gave Gabriel another glare.

"Blackie?" She asked with a smile, clearly not buying it.

"Yeah, Black-ie."

"Okay. What a weird name…" She drifted her sentence.

"And your name is…?" Gabriel slowly, but clearly asked.

Lily had to hand it to them. What a plan. What an idea. This was a rouse for them to meet the opposite sex with their magic. From the looks of it, it wasn't their first time attempting this stunt. It surely wasn't rehearsed but they weren't rookies either.

James was still sitting on the bench. He tried to act as if he was daydreaming and simply sitting at the park but she knew he was paying attention to everything his friends were doing. Taking mental notes for future stories.

"Megan." She announced, shaking his hand.

"Megan. Lovely name." Gabriel smiled. Lily thought this must be a joke, a prank that seemed legitimate as Gabriel had a girlfriend already.

Megan opened her mouth to respond but something caught her attention that was behind them.

"Sorry I'm late, Meg." A female voice greeted Megan.

Lily, Gabriel, James and even that damn dog Sirius 'Blackie' turned around.

They had all seen her before, maybe except Sirius.

She had dirty blonde hair. Somewhat straight but not completely, dressed casually like a Muggle University student.

Jenna…

Lily checked up on James. He still sat on the bench but saw her coming. On reflex, he turned his head to the other way so his back was facing her and reached for something in his pocket. He pulled out another Muggle device. A mobile phone. He instantly brought it to his ear as if he just received a call.

"My little brother needed me to drop him off at the mall with his friends." Jenna said, giving her excuse.

"Its okay, I've just been feeding the ducks until Blackie here attacked me."

"Blackie?" Jenna said with a smile as well.

"Err, yeah." Gabriel said.

"Hi, how are you." Jenna said politely.

"Oh, um, this is…" Megan began but then realized that she didn't know his name either.

"Gabriel." He said warmly.

Lily turned around to look at James reaction again.

He was fleeing!

Not even a minute had gone by but he must have stood up and began walking away with the phone to his ear. His back still turned to Jenna but Lily thought that if he wanted to avoid her, he should have taken the other away so he could slip by behind her.

Too late now.

It seemed almost inevitable that she was going to spot him.

"Is that…? James?" She said but only whispered his name.

"Who is James?" Megan asked curiously.

"Yeah, who is that?" Gabriel played along.

There was a bridge that was an overpass depending on perspective as a tunnel was just under it. Dark and devoid of peering eyes. James was making his way there. If he wanted to avoid her, it wouldn't be hard to just disapparate after turning the corner. He was a wizard after all and Jenna was obviously a Muggle that was blind to the endless realm of possibilities magic had.

"James!" Jenna sped up her walk as Lily followed beside the blonde girl as she tried to match her steps.

To Lily, it felt like they were both chasing him down…

She knew it was him now. His hair wasn't hard to spot out from a crowd. He wasn't super tall but his height and frame didn't exactly help him blend in either. Her walk had now transformed into a power walking stride.

"Peter! What's happen', bro? Where's Remus? Can you put him on? Yeah, dude. Alright." James spoke into his phone.

Lily doubted he actually called Peter or Remus. Hell, he probably didn't call anyone and was just faking it.

"Remus! What are you doing? Sounds legit, Moony. I'm on my way now."

"You're not talking to anyone, James." Jenna laughed and shouted from behind him.

Shit. Busted.

James stopped dead in his tracks. He would have to explain now. Why he was running away. Why he was avoiding her. Everything.

"Err, hey. No class today?" James said, slyly putting the phone in his back pocket.

"I thought that was you."

"Eh, well surprise. Here I am!" James chuckled nervously.

"What are you doing right now?"

"I was just going home- Never mind." James admitted after she gave him another look. Perhaps he lied enough to her for the day.

"Let's take a walk." She grabbed his arm and pushed him along.

The memory faded away. It was then replaced by another one. Frame by frame, focus resettled in.

'What in the name of Merlin's…?" Lily thought.

Spells were flying everywhere. Green lights and purple streams fizzled through the area. Screams and yells. Blood and bruises. Tears and fears were all visible here. Did she just land into the middle of a war?

"Die." A creepy voice said slowly.

Alarmed, she turned around to see a wizard in dark robes and a skull for a mask aiming his wand at Lily's heart. Instinctively in self preservation, Lily quickly pulled out her wand but then realized she wouldn't be affected…

A flash of green light erupted from his wand and straight through Lily. Someone groaned from behind her and then a wand had rolled right through one of her feet. Someone had just collapsed to the floor. Lifeless.

Sure enough, when she turned back around there was a corpse lying on the ground. But it wasn't just one body.

She was in a rather gigantic room. Tables and chairs all set up in an impromptu manner. Some chairs and tables must have been magically created to help accommodate for the guests. Apparently a meeting had been going on. It seemed to be someone's house, a wealthy person probably. But other things caught her eye. Bodies. More bodies. Human bodies devoid of life were all over the ground. Some of them must have been stunned or paralyzed but a few were clearly gone…

"GO!"

James? That was his voice. She was sure of it. For the first time ever, she heard his voice full of sorrow but most of all, clouded with fright.

"But you-"

"GET GOING!" His voice now more urgent than ever.

"I will return."

Now the murderer that was standing right in front of Lily dashed to a door nearby with others who were dressed just like him. Masks and robes that only showed off the very visual definition of human evil. Just more personified…

They were pounding the door. Some were casting various spells to unlock it but it seemed magically sealed from the inside.

Curious and scared, Lily took full advantage of her ability to leap through solid objects as she jumped at the door and past the mob of people attempting to break in.

Dumbledore?!

She was sure of it. Right before he spun on the spot and disappeared into the thin air. Where was he going? Fleeing? No. From his words and tone, it didn't sound like he wanted to leave but it seemed like he had no choice. What was going on!

James. He was alone in this room. It was a small room, it looked like a small guest bedroom. Furniture was piled against the door to bar intruders but it didn't seem like it would last any longer. An army of one and he seemed committed to holding back the mass of bodies that wanted to breach the door for as long as possible. To buy Dumbledore time. To buy himself time.

"QUICK! BEFORE HE GETS AWAY!" A woman yelled from just the thin wall and door that separated them.

"MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!" A shuffle of feet scattered aside for someone that must be important. A leader.

The memory was fading in and out. She could barely tell what was happening but watched as an explosion rippled through the door, sending furniture flying back and hitting James. It sent him hurling backwards.

The memory was changing now. But not before she watched James get crushed with the walls as the building seemed to start falling apart. He was unconscious now. Lily assumed that must be the reason why the memory stopped telling its story of the past. But James! The house was breaking into pieces and tons of debris was using him as a bullseye.

"Do you have the right to do that, Miss Evans?"

What the…

It wasn't her guilty conscious or the angel on her shoulder. Or even the pensieves memory, it was-

"Profes- Headmaster!"

Dumbledore. The Headmaster of the school, in the Heads Dormitory! She just watched him seconds before! He was looking as normal and casual as he always did except for his wizarding hat which appeared to be a mask but pulled back over on top of his head. He held out a wand and pointed it at the pensieve. Did he shut it off?

"Did you see what you wanted to see?"

What was he doing here!?

But his eyes held a sense of urgency. In fact, he was relaxed and almost didn't seem surprise Lily was in here avoiding James Potter's privacy without regard. Did he expect her to be here of all places?

"I-" Lily stuttered.

"The pensieve. A wonderful, yet rare magical instrument. Expensive indeed too. But Miss Evans, do you not wonder?"

"About what, sir?" She wonders about a lot of things. Like the questions to the next midterm or final, even what the weather will be like tomorrow but what exactly did he mean? Lily always held the utmost respect for the great Albus Dumbledore. But his speech of puzzles always stifled her.

Walking slowly around the room as if taking the long way around to the Pensieve, Dumbledore finally said, "Witch and wizards draw memories from their minds into the pensieve for two reasons. Do you know the reasons, Miss Evans?"

Shaking her head, Dumbledore continued his late night, private lecture.

"For one, they are used to revisit memories of individuals. To observe the past and learn from it. And the other? To free our minds of the memories we do not want. Our deepest regrets, our worst nightmares and our troubling past. The individual would not forget it completely, but it would lighten their burden."

"So James-" Lily started to speak but Dumbledore only nodded. She had already figured as much. Something bothered him. Something changed him over the summer. Now her curiosity only heightened.

But people died…

"And that brings us to my reason for coming here." Dumbledore immediately brightened up. Cheerful and full of energy as he usually is for a person his age.

"Where is your dormmate, Miss Evans? We had an unofficial appointment tonight."

"He's at the ball, Professor." Lily said knowingly.

"Is he now? Excellent. Isn't it wonderful to see him happy and having fun again?" Dumbledore clapped his hands together in righteous joy.

Lily only smiled nervously. Dumbledore was still putting her on the spot.

"Do you still wonder?" Dumbledore interrogated with the same line but he was less cheerful now. The old man had a gloomy expression.

Fuck it.

Lily took a stab at it.

"Yes."

He would probably continue to ask her that until she made either a yes or no answer.

"Very well then." Dumbledore tapped his head with his hand and pulled out a silvery long strand of something that was half-solid and half-liquid. A memory? As he was doing this, he continued to converse.

"I remember weeks ago. You asked me about James."

Yes. She did. It seemed so long ago that Lily had almost forgotten.

"And what did I say? That I would not tell you. That it is not my right to tell you. But, I will show you."

Beer Pong should be an Olympic sport.

There, I said it.