A/N: I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to update but I've been on vacation. But without further ado, I give you the latest chapter in Kisses on the Balcony! I know a lot of you are interested in some more Riley/Sirius action but they need time to simmer before anything can happen between them. However, I have other drama to keep you busy in the meantime. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: While I am slightly obsessed with J.K. Rowling (and have seen the new HP movie twice now!), I am not her unfortunately.
Kisses on the Balcony
By ByeByeBirdie
Chapter 38: Of Hallmark, Massages, & Blackmail
Riley was immersed in her textbook when she saw Sirius, Remus, and Peter wander into the common room, their laughter ringing off the walls. Frustration surged throughout Riley's veins as she thought back to what Kay and Lily told her earlier. She prayed for Sirius' sake he would wander upstairs with his buddies and leave her alone.
No suck luck.
He fell into the couch beside her with a grin. "How goes the studying?"
Her lips pursed but she provided him with no response.
He gazed at her curious. "That bad, hm?"
"You're such a jackass, Sirius," she snapped, letting her anger get the better of her.
He blinked in surprise. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
He frowned. "Is this about the paper airplanes?" he asked in confusion. "I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to distract you from-"
"This isn't about a stupid paper airplane, Sirius!"
"Well, then do you mind filling me in?"
She threw down her qull and glared at him. "You weren't going to tell me, were you."
"I'm still going to need you fill in some blanks here, Riley."
Her spine stiffened with irritation. "I heard about your break up with Miss Rachael."
He sighed, shrugging. "I'm not surprised. The gossipers around here have been going to town. Are you really upset that I didn't tell you personal-"
"This isn't about the actual break-up, Sirius, it's about the contents of your break up," she scowled.
He froze, slowly locking eyes with her. He could see a burden of betrayal resting in her expression. "What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb with me, Black," she snapped, glaring at him. "Did you just happen to forget to mention to me that Rachael is a complete liar, just like I always knew, or were you just purposefully avoiding telling me?"
"Well, I'd argue the former but seems to be you're pretty set on the latter."
"This isn't a joke, Sirius."
"I know," he muttered sullenly, hanging his head shamefully. He let out a heavy sigh before admitting, "I didn't tell you because I didn't know how."
"Well, tell me now," she pleaded.
He frowned, slumping down on the couch regretfully. "What do you want me to say?" he asked softly. "That you had been right the whole time? That I was manipulated and used by her? That I should have listened to you? That I let her drive a wedge between us? What does any of it matter anymore, Riley? We're not together so I shouldn't have to explain-"
"We're not together because of her," she snarled.
"I thought it was because of me?" Sirius snorted sarcastically, shooting her a knowing look.
"It's because you chose her over me."
"Dammit, Riley, do you just constantly say that in hopes you might actually believe it one day?" he snapped. "You and I both know that while Rachael's manipulation was the beginning of the end for us, she wasn't the sole driving factor. Should I have listened to you? Yes. Should I have trusted your opinion? Yes. Did it completely backfire against me? Yeah, I'm not an idiot. But whether or not you had been right doesn't change what happened between us. I made a stupid mistake, you overreacted, and then you broke up with me. Do I hate myself for making that mistake, yes. But until you start hating yourself for overreacting and breaking up with me, why any of it happened doesn't matter and we won't be able to move past it."
She scowled. "Are you seriously turning this back on me right now?"
He shrugged coolly. "It's not like I'm going to sit here and let you attack me when I don't think I'm the only one to blame."
She frowned, turning her gaze away from him with a sigh. "It's like you don't even get it," she said softly.
He hesitated. "Get what?"
Slowly, she turned to meet his gaze. "Do you really think I wanted to break up?"
"I never said it's what you wanted," he was quick to argue. "The only thing I know was that you didn't want to fight for us."
Her frown deepened, a defeated crease forming across her forehead. She didn't respond immediately, their entire relationship flashing in front of her eyes. She swallowed hard, actively avoiding his gaze as she said, "Maybe you didn't deserve for me to fight."
He set his eyes on her, wishing he knew what was going through her head at the moment. She looked so conflicted, the frown battling with the nostalgia in her eyes. "We deserved it," he blurted out.
Slowly, she locked eyes with him, sensing the desperation in his voice. She wanted to get up and walk away, but found herself saying, "Rhett and I broke up."
He blinked at the random segue. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."
She smirked. "No, you're not."
He cringed. "Maybe not entirely," he said with a forced chuckle. "But all I've ever really wanted for you, Riley, was to be happy. And I know Rhett made you happy."
"Yeah. He did."
An ache pulled on Sirius' heart.
"You did, too," Riley blurted out, not removing her eyes from his. "Up until the end, I mean."
Sirius literally had no idea how to respond to that, his heart skipping a fateful beat at the nostalgic way she spoke about them.
"Well, it's late so I'm going to go up to bed," she muttered, turning to gather her things.
"Wait, so that's it?" he pleaded.
She shrugged. "It's like you said before. None of it matters anymore anyway."
And with that, she walked away and left Sirius there alone, more confused than ever.
James barged into his mates' dorm early the next morning, beaming from ear to ear as he flipped on the light switch. "Good morning!"
"What the hell?" three simultaneous groans filled the room.
"Please tell me this is a nightmare," Peter muttered.
Sirius whimpered. "Why must you insist on waking us up on Saturday mornings before nine, Prongs? Didn't anyone tell you Saturday was the day of rest?"
Remus snorted and turned over. "Sunday is the day of rest, you dolt," he murmured with a frustrated whimper.
Sirius whisked opened his curtains to glare in Remus' direction. "Well, then Saturday is the day for sleeping in."
"Two Saturdays out of every month you're at Quidditch practice which means you're waking up at seven," Remus pointed out with a smirk, opening his own curtains to flash Sirius a grin.
"Okay, well today is the day of sleeping in!"
"Apparently not since James just barged in."
"Remus, must you be so politically correct!?" Sirius cried out, exasperated.
Remus grinned, stifling a yawn. "Someone's a little testy when he doesn't get his beauty sleep."
"AHEM!" Peter cried out, clearing his throat. "As lovely as this conversation is, shhhh!"
Laughter filled the room.
"Are you just going to stand in the doorway looking all cocky, or can you potentially look cocky elsewhere?" Sirius murmured, digging his face into his pillow. "Say, oh I don't know, not here?"
James shrugged nonchalantly, leaning against the doorframe. "I can go elsewhere," he said casually. "But-"
"Good, and turn off the light on your way out," Peter whimpered, turning over and facing the wall.
"Fine," James said, shutting off the light and heading back out the door. "I guess I'll just have to tell you the details of me and Lily having sex some other time then."
He began to close the door behind him, laughing at the unified screech. "WHAT!?"
"GET BACK HERE!" Sirius cried out. He jumped off his bed immediately to turn on the light while Remus hopped out of bed and grabbed James' arm before he could slip out. Peter flew open his curtains and fell out of bed head-first.
And for the second time in two days, there was a sound of loud footsteps rushing up the stairwell to the Marauders' landing.
"It is eight-thirty in the bloody morning!" Drew growled.
James rolled his eyes. "Mouse again. Bye," he snapped, slamming the door in their faces.
There was a fist slamming against the door. "Get a damn exterminator!" Grant cried out.
"What's an exterminator?" Sirius hissed, earning a glare from his three roommates. The footsteps outside their door faded away and Sirius, Remus, and Peter returned to James.
"You and Lily had sex?" Peter said, his eyes widened as he rubbed the bump on his head.
James smiled, nodding. "Yeah."
"Okay, okay, awkward question," Sirius butted in. "Aren't you guys, um, not together?"
James shrugged. "I think when you tell someone you love them, not being together isn't really an option anymore."
Three pairs of eyebrows shot up. "You told her you loved her?" Remus asked.
"Technically she said it first. Sorta."
"How does one sorta say they love someone?"
"Seriously?" Sirius interrupted, shooting Remus a look. "You're focusing on the 'I love you' part when he finally fucked Lily-bean?"
Remus hesitated, shrugging as he turned back to face James. "So please tell us all the details of you and Lily having sex."
James rolled his eyes. "You really think I'm going to divulge all of the details to you?"
"Uh, yes," Sirius snorted. "That's what we do."
"No, that's what you do," Remus corrected with a smirk.
"Oh, please. Just two days ago you were spilling the beans about Miss not-so-innocent Jillian Greene," Sirius replied with a suggestive grin.
Remus glared at his friend. "I believe what you're referring to as me spilling the beans was me attempting to tell you about the funny thing that happened in Jillian's Potions class and you telling me that I'm so incredibly boring because I never have any…what did you say exactly? I didn't have any gory sex details that included her?"
"Hm, yeah, and why is that again?"
"Because we haven't slept together yet," Remus murmured, shaking his head irritably.
"Yeah, I repeat: why is that again?"
Remus turned red. "I'm done talking about me. Can we get back to James?"
"I told you that I'm not going to go into much detail," James said with a shrug.
"But we're guys. Guys talk about sex. From the moment they get their first kiss, all guys can think and talk about is sex. Are you seriously going to go against the human nature of men everywhere because of a little bit of sheltered pride?" Sirius demanded. "Are you really going to let down every single man out there who is in his bed having a sex dream right now? Are you seriously telling me that you're willing to keep the details of your sexual experience with who everyone thought was the most innocent schoolgirl in Hogwarts? That is a fantasy every guy wants to fulfill and you're going to keep it to yourself?"
The three boys stared at him in shocked confusion.
Sirius grinned sheepishly. "It's early. I ramble when it's early."
"What's your excuse the rest of the time?"
Sirius glared at Remus. "Can we put the insults at Sirius on hold while Jamesie gives us some details?"
Remus shrugged. "Alright. But the moment James stops talking about it, I will go back to insulting you."
"I'd expect nothing less."
James rolled his eyes. "There's really nothing to tell. She barged into my room yelling at me that I was being an idiot and she didn't care that I was being an idiot, I was stuck with her, we said we loved each other, we had sex, we talked for a while, and then we had sex again. All in all, a good night."
"Sounds like it," Peter snorted.
"Wow. I never knew Lily would be the type to hear 'I love you' and immediately jump into the sack with the guy," Sirius murmured with an impish grin. "If I had known that years ago, then that girl would not have been a virgin for very long."
James smacked Sirius with a pillow. "That's my girlfriend you're talking about!"
"So, c'mon, give us the details, Prongs," Peter whined. "You know you want to."
"I already said there wasn't much to tell!" James protested. He felt slightly uncomfortable and guilty divulging details to his friends about Lily, particularly because they were friends with Lily. At the same time, he was dying to tell them everything.
He went with the second option.
Lily was sitting in the Great Hall fairly early that morning. While she and James had attempted to drift off to sleep afterwards, neither one of them could fall asleep for a long period of time. Eventually, James had climbed out of her bed with a last kiss to hop into the shower. She quickly joined him, and eventually they went their separate ways. He claimed he was heading off to the Quidditch pitch and Lily headed down to breakfast.
"Well, good morning there."
Lily turned around. "Hey, Sirius. Remus. What the hell are you doing here so early on a Saturday morning?"
They both took a seat beside her wearing arrogant grins on their faces. "We were interrupted this morning."
Lily scowled. "James?"
"I bet you're used to saying that name," Sirius said, winking.
"Well yeah, he's my boyfriend," Lily snorted, knowing perfectly well what Sirius was getting at and she refused to show any sign of embarrassment.
"Oh yeah, is that all?" Sirius continued, grabbing a piece of bacon off her plate.
"Well, he's a good friend too," Lily said sarcastically, not looking either one in the eyes.
"Ah, so you think he's good, hm?" Sirius said, grinning giddily.
"Oh, stop it," Lily groaned, burying her head in her arms. "I get it. James barged in on you this morning and told you all about the intimate details. Remind me to kill him later."
"Hm, the sex that bad, huh?" Sirius teased.
Lily glared at him. "That is so none of your business," she growled.
"You slept with my best friend. Sorry honey, but this so is my business," Sirius grinned, winking playfully.
"I change my mind. Remind me to kill you later." Lily never felt more mortified in her entire life. "Can we please change the subject?"
"I can't even look at you right now," Remus murmured with a whimper. "You used to be sweet, innocent Lily Evans, and now?"
"Not so innocent," Sirius replied for Remus.
"I'm still me," Lily whined, taking her head out of her arms and glaring at him. "Still sweet, still innocent, and still about ready to hex both of you into the ground."
"What's with the defensiveness?" Sirius asked curiously. "If you ask me, it's about damned time you two hopped into bed together."
"Twice," Remus said with a grin.
Lily groaned. "Can you two just can it?" she muttered, a twinge of scarlet appearing on her cheeks. "It was…was just sex. It was nothing much." She slumped down in her chair slowly, wishing for a black hole to appear and suck her up before Remus and Sirius made any further comments.
"Usually nothing much doesn't result twice," Remus snorted.
"And I wouldn't go around broadcasting that sex with James is 'nothing much,'" Sirius laughed. "That won't sit well with his ego."
"I don't plan on broadcasting it at all," Lily scowled, glaring at him. "So help me Merlin, if Daniella Skeeter gets her hands on this story, I am going to castrate the both of you."
"Why are you getting so worked up about this?" Sirius asked, shaking his head in disbelief. "We're just joking around."
"I don't really consider this a joke, Sirius," Lily snorted. "And you two going on and on about it is actually quite demeaning."
"What are you talking about?" Remus asked, shocked.
"Nothing, forget it," she muttered hastily, frustration surging in her veins.
"No, we won't forget it," Remus said softly. "Clearly we're bothering you with our joke attempts. What's going on?"
Lily sighed, guilt resting in her heart when she met Remus' concerned gaze. "This morning meant a lot to me," she murmured. "You guys don't get it because one, you're guys. You hold your virginity to an entirely different standard than girls do. And two, it's been a while since you've lost your…well, you know. And losing it clearly didn't mean that much to you guys as much as it meant to me." Her cheeks began to flush out of pure embarrassment. "But I'm not you. And I don't exactly need your savvy sarcasm at the moment." She went to grab her books, but Remus slammed his hand over them.
"Hold it," Remus said, staring at her incredulously. "Look, you're right."
"She is?" Sirius asked, confused.
Remus shrugged. "We're guys. We celebrate sex in a very different way than girls do. We don't make a big deal out of it because guys are expected to lose it. We high-five each other, take celebratory shots, and that's about it. We move on with our day as if it were nothing different. Girls are expected to hold on to it and cherish it, so it means a lot more when they lose it. It's just…it's just another day in our life while for you, it's actually a momentous occasion. That's all. Sorry if our jokes are insensitive."
Sirius nodded guiltily, glancing over at Remus with an understanding realization. "Yeah, I guess we don't really understand what it meant to you," Sirius murmured. "Believe me when I say I don't get girls at all."
"That's not very hard to believe," Lily snickered, smiling.
"So you'll forgive us?" Remus asked with a pleading grin.
"What does she have to forgive?"
The three of them lifted their heads immediately, trying to look innocent as Kay stared back at them. "Did I miss the memo?" Lily asked curiously. "Was today the Saturday everyone came to the Great Hall before nine?"
"Uh, you're here so clearly you got the memo," Kay snickered, taking a seat.
"Oh. Right," Lily murmured, blushing. She found a sudden interest in buttering her scone.
Kay exchanged confused looks with them all. "What's going on?" Kay asked curiously.
She shrugged, trying to glare at Remus and Sirius without being obvious. "Nothing," she said firmly.
"James was keeping her busy," Sirius said with a chuckle, ignoring Lily's warning glare altogether.
Lily smacked Sirius' arm. "We were just sleeping!"
"Wait, what? Aren't you guys on a break?" Kay asked.
"Not even in the slightest," Remus replied, flashing a grin.
"Seriously? You too?" Lily groaned. "What's with the jokes, Mr. Funny? What happened to trying to be sensitive?"
"I'm a guy remember? It's hard to be sensitive. I can't help but be in a very playful mood," he responded with a casual shrug. "But you'd know all about that, right?"
"Um, excuse me?" Kay interrupted, poking Lily's arm. "You? James? Hiatus?"
"Oh yeah, by the way, we're back together."
"Oh gee, you think?" Kay snorted, glaring at her friend with a sardonic frown. "Elaboration please."
"Well, when two people have sex, that usually means they're no longer broken up," Sirius explained.
"WHAT?" the scream of Kay reverberated off the walls, earning her a curious look from the surrounding students.
"SIRIUS!" Lily cried with a groan, slapping him on the back of his head.
"OW! What the hell? You were going to tell her anyway!"
"Exactly. I was going to tell her, not you, Mr. Gossip! And I was going to tell her later, away from the crowded Great Hall!"
"Um, excuse me?" Kay scowled.
"Oh yeah, by the way, James and I had sex," Lily said with a casual shrug.
Kay glared at her. "Again I say, what?"
"So, anybody up for some library time?" Lily asked innocently, gathering her bag.
Kay put her hand firmly on Lily's shoulder. "So help me God, if you walk off right now, I will stop talking to you altogether."
Lily raised an eyebrow. "And somehow that's supposed to keep me here?"
Kay glared at her. "Start talking, Lily."
Lily blushed and glanced towards an eager looking Sirius and Remus. "Not now," she murmured. "Not here."
"Oh please, don't stop on our account," Sirius argued. "Considering James already gave us the play-by-play."
Lily blushed a deeper red, avoiding eye contact with the two boys. "Well, this might be the most uncomfortable moment in my entire life."
"Oh please, sex is natural," Sirius sniggered.
"Well, sorry if I'm not going to listen to your opinion, Mr. Womanizer of the Century."
He shrugged. "Sex is sex whether it's between two people who love each other or two people who just happen to be extremely horny."
"Gee, did you read that off a Hallmark card?" Lily smirked sarcastically.
"No, but that would be a good Hallmark card!"
Remus rolled his eyes. "Dare I ask for what occasion?"
Sirius shrugged. "Uh, every occasion is grounds for sex. Just think about it: There's Valentine's Day, enough said. Christmas. You get under some mistletoe, one thing leads to another, you have sex. Halloween was made for sex. Why do you think so many girls dress up as slutty nurses, or Playboy bunnies, or Catwoman in very tight leather? Birthdays are perfect excuses for packages."
"I'm sorry I asked," Remus sighed.
"I'm always sorry when I dare to ask Sirius a question," Lily agreed with a shrug. "So, library anyone?'
"LILY!" Kay whined, grabbing her arm again.
Lily laughed. "Fine. God knows that we wouldn't be girls if we didn't have the losing-virginity talk. Let's go back to my room."
Sirius grinned. "Where the dirty deed-"
Lily cut him off by stuffing a piece of bacon in his mouth.
"I love Saturdays when I don't have to be in the library," Sirius said hours later, sprawled out across the only free couch.
"Isn't that every Saturday to you?" Remus sniggered, his textbook open in his lap putting on the affect that he was studying when in fact he had been holding a conversation with Peter and Sirius for the past hour.
"I was in the library last Saturday," Sirius pointed out.
"No you weren't," Peter argued. "You were on the Quidditch pitch with James."
"Damn, I was hoping you wouldn't remember," Sirius murmured, stifling a yawn.
"Shouldn't we be focusing on our studies? The N.E.W.T.s are only just around the corner," Remus pointed out.
"Oh, don't lecture us when you've barely acknowledged your Potions textbook in the past hour," Sirius laughed.
Remus shrugged. "Fair enough."
"Where are the girls? I'm bored and I want a massage," he complained.
Remus snorted. "And you think Lily, Kay, or Riley is going to give one to you?"
"If I plead, bribe them, and give them my best puppy dog face, I'm hoping one of them will fall for it."
"Why start now? They have yet to fall for it in the past seven years," Peter pointed out.
"And what would you bribe them with? You're broke," Remus added.
"A massage in return!"
"You give terrible massages," Peter snorted.
Remus raised an eyebrow. "And how do you know this?"
Peter grabbed the pillow from underneath Sirius' head ("HEY! Damnit, that's my pillow!") and chucked it at Remus. "Because he's told us that on many occasions, you prat," Peter retorted.
"Unfortunately, it's true. God did not give me the heavenly touch of an angel," Sirius said overdramatically. "But he did give me my exceptionally good looks, so I can't really complain."
Remus rolled his eyes. "Has anyone told you lately that you're extremely arrogant?"
"Yes, I believe you did this morning. Twice."
The three of them laughed.
"What's so funny?"
The boys looked up to see Jillian running her fingers across Remus' shoulders.
"Sirius' good looks," Peter retaliated.
"You're right. That is funny," Jillian teased, squeezing into the loveseat beside her boyfriend.
"You love me, right, Jillian?" Sirius asked, his eyes lighting up.
"No."
Remus burst into laughter. "Good answer."
Sirius pouted. "These are the times I wish I had a girlfriend."
"What times?"
"He wants a massage," Peter said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Oh. Yeah, I'm not going to do that," Jillian replied.
"Aren't you supposed to be trying to impress Remus' friends?" Sirius asked, whimpering as he tried to give her his best puppy dog face.
"Nahh, you're not worth it."
"HEY! I am too worth it!"
There were snickers coming from behind the four of them. "Hardly," Kay's voice said sarcastically.
Kay gestured for Sirius to move his feet, and after some complaining, he lifted them up. When Kay sat down, he swiftly placed his feet back down on her lap.
"Kay, you love me right?"
"I have a feeling you're going to follow that up with some sort of request I won't want to oblige to, so no. I don't love you."
Sirius pouted. "And after I let you sit down. How rude."
Kay rolled her eyes, stuffing a pillow behind her head. "You were taking up the entire couch. A couch that five people can fit on comfortably, mind you," Kay pointed out.
Sirius stared at her blankly. "Yeah. What's your point?"
"My point is that you're an idiot."
"Couldn't agree more," Riley chimed in, coming up behind everyone. She had wandered downstairs after being easily bored sifting through Charms notes. She had hesitated before slowly wandering over to them, wondering where her conversation with Sirius the night before left them. She should have been livid with him. But truth was, she didn't even care anymore about Rachael. She was too exhausted by the whole ordeal to even care anymore.
She tried desperately trying to ignore the words Lily spoke to her the night before about not letting him go. She was determined to believe that she could let Sirius go in the snap of her fingers. She wanted to believe that she had all of the power in whatever relationship or friendship she was sharing with Sirius, but truth was, it seemed far too easy for him to just smile at her and cause her to go back running. She wanted to hate him. But somehow she just couldn't.
Sirius glanced up at her hesitantly, his heart beating in relief that she was willingly sitting in his presence. Maybe she did mean what she said the night before. Maybe it didn't matter to her anymore.
He just wasn't so sure what 'it' was.
He cracked a smile and ignored the confusion in his head. "Hey, Riley, you love me, right?"
Riley lifted an eyebrow and stared at him skeptically. "You really want to be asking me that?"
"I wish Lily were here," he whimpered, letting her comment slide past him.
Remus snorted. "Like she would give you a massage."
Sirius grinned suggestively. "I bet she's giving James a massage right now."
Kay shook her head. "If anyone should be getting a massage, it's her. She's the one that's got to be sore."
"Why?" Jillian asked, confused.
Remus, Peter, Sirius, and Kay couldn't help but giggle like a group of schoolgirls. "Let's just say that Peter is the only one out of the seven of us who still needs to be deflowered," Kay said, wiggling her eyebrows.
Riley's head snapped up. "What?"
Peter blushed, as Sirius snorted. "Deflowered? Who the hell uses that word anymore?"
"I'm not you! I don't use heavily graphic details!"
"You think the word sex is heavily graphic?"
Kay shoved his feet off of her lap. "OW!" Sirius whined.
"Wait, what did you just say?" Riley repeated louder.
All of them turned to her. "What?"
"Lily and James…" she trailed off, her face white from shock and sorrow.
The rest of them shifted in their seats uncomfortably, realizing that Lily had yet to tell Riley. "Oh," Kay murmured. "Uh, yeah. They slept together earlier this morning. She didn't tell you?"
"No," she murmured with a sigh. "She didn't."
Lily and James were lying on her bed that afternoon, their textbooks sprawled out evenly around them. Truth be told, they were more engrossed with themselves than in the books. They kept stealing kisses with each other every chance they got, and were both shocked and annoyed when there was a knock at the door.
"Come in!" Lily said with a light giggle as James started to play footsie with her.
The door opened slowly to reveal Riley.
Lily's smile quickly disappeared. "Or don't come in."
"Lily, I-"
"What the hell are you doing here?" Lily asked sternly.
"That's my cue to leave," James muttered awkwardly, pushing himself off the bed.
Lily grabbed his arm. "You're not the one who should leave."
James shrugged. "Maybe not, but even though I am not wearing a watch, I am sure that I am late for whatever excuse will get me out of here fast enough." He shrugged apologetically, kissed her quickly on the lips, gave Riley a lopsided, sympathetic smile as he slid past her, and shut the door behind him, leaving the two girls alone.
"So you guys seem really happy," Riley said, biting down on the bottom of her lip.
"What, is that some sort of offhanded remark to let me know that maybe you may have had something to do with James and I getting back together?"
"No, it was an offhanded remark about the fact that you two seem happy because you've finally slept together."
Lily's heart skipped a beat, a twinge of guilt building inside of her. "Kay told you?"
"Yeah, she told me. Which is more than I can say about you."
"You completely attacked my integrity last night. What did you expect?"
"I don't know. That my best friend would have the courtesy of telling me she's no longer a virgin instead of letting me hear it from Kay and the guys," Riley said, shrugging. "I had to hear about it at the same time as Jillian. As Jillian. Who I adore, but she hasn't been your best friend for almost seven years!"
"And whose fault is it that I didn't tell you, Riley?" Lily barked. "You don't think that I wanted to rush up to your room this morning immediately after to let you know? That's exactly what I wanted to do, but after the names you called me last night, I refrained from doing so! You didn't deserve to find out first and you didn't deserve to find out from me."
Riley stared at her in surprise. "So…so you deliberately didn't tell me."
"Yes. Exactly."
Riley swallowed a lump in her throat and turned around. "I'm going to go." She placed her hand on the doorknob.
Lily could tell she was hurt. "You don't get to be mad at me."
Tears sprang to Riley's eyes. "I'm not mad," she said shakily. "It's just that…" she sighed and wiped her eyes, turning back towards her friend. "It's just that you were the first person I told when I lost my virginity to Zach, and yes, I regret sleeping with him now, but at the time, I was on cloud 9! I couldn't have been more ecstatic! And we went to go find Kay and snuck into Hogsmeade where we drank champagne and I told you all of the details. We sat there for hours talking about it. I guess…I guess I just hoped that you would do the same with me."
"It's not that big of a deal," Lily murmured.
"Yes, it is, and you know it," Riley said bitterly. "You not only lost your virginity but you lost it to a guy you deeply care about, maybe even love. And I know I have no one to blame but myself for the fact that you didn't tell me, but it…it just sucks. That's all."
"I didn't realize that it meant that much to you," Lily said uncomfortably.
Riley shrugged. "I didn't realize it either."
"Well…you're here now," Lily said bluntly.
"Huh?"
Lily shrugged. "I mean, I already told Kay all about it, but we can go into Hogsmeade if you want."
"But you're mad at me."
Lily shrugged again, climbing off her bed as she closed all of the textbooks. "Eh, you kinda, sorta, almost did get James and I back together which led to the sex, so I guess you're a third responsible."
"That's kinda, sorta, almost a little disturbing."
Lily grinned. "So are we hitting up Hogsmeade or what?"
Riley blinked. "So…that's it?"
Lily laughed. "I'm not going to say I wasn't hurt with the way you said some things last night, but all is forgiven."
Riley blinked. "Seriously…that's it?"
Lily linked arms with her friends, opening her door and striding out. "I'm not James. I don't hold three-monthlong grudges."
Riley laughed.
Lily grinned. "Come on, let's go get drunk at four in the afternoon."
"And people say sex doesn't change people."
"Hey Dezzy."
She stiffened at the sound of her older brother's voice. She collected her books from the library table without saying a word to him.
"Dez, could we-" Before James could finish his sentence, his younger sister slapped him across the face. "-talk," he finished, wincing as she stormed off.
He ignored his friends' snickers at the table to the left as he sat down. "Shut up."
"You got slapped by a girl," Sirius teased.
"And probably deserved it," Remus pointed out unsympathetically.
"I more than deserved it," James admitted, rubbing his cheek. "I wouldn't be surprised if she never spoke to me again."
"She'll come around eventually," Lily argued, Riley nodding in agreement. They had gone into Hogsmeade earlier with Kay and shared a few drinks and laughs before heading back up to the school to the library. Lily had to remind them that their school year was quickly coming to a close and she couldn't spend her entire day without doing an ounce of work. Somehow she suckered Riley and Kay into joining her at the library.
James shrugged. "Preferably by tomorrow afternoon before we have to floo home." He was grateful to Lily for getting his mind off of Brite's death but there was no way he could forget that his brother's funeral was in a few days.
"Hm…she probably won't come around within the next 24 hours, I hate to say," Riley admitted. "Stubbornness runs in your family."
James made a face. "I blame my father for that."
The boys and Riley all nodded. "Fair enough."
"What's wrong with your father?" Lily asked, noticing the grimaces on all of their faces.
James snorted. "Just wait until you meet him tomorrow. You'll understand. He's…he's not exactly my idea of a role model."
"He is a good Auror, though," Riley praised.
"Well, he should be. He's at the office from five in the morning until nine o'clock at night every day, plus most Saturdays and an occasional Sunday," James scoffed.
"How the hell did your mother raise six children without your father around?" Kay asked curiously. "No, let me rephrase. How did your mother raise five boys who aren't complete sissies without your father around?"
Riley snorted. "You clearly don't know that he used to enjoy the occasional tea party when he was younger."
"RILES!" James groaned.
"Right. That was supposed to be a secret."
It was too late. The group of friends was guffawing in hilarity.
"How did this never come up in the two years I've lived in your home?" Sirius asked with a chortle.
"I was very good at blackmailing my siblings," James explained with a casual shrug. "Apparently not so good with blackmailing my long-time friend and neighbor," he added, glaring at Riley.
She grinned, flipping her long black hair over her shoulder nonchalantly. "That's because you have nothing on me."
"Oh, you want to play that game, do you?" James said, his eyebrows lifted suggestively.
She hesitated. "I spoke too soon, didn't I…."
"Well, should I tell the story about how you flashed the entire neighborhood in your My Little Pony underwear at a neighborhood Quidditch game when you were eight? Or should I tell the story of you trying to kiss Billy Marco behind the playground and instead you fell flat on your face in the mud? Or what about the time you went through a bathing suit phase—you refused to wear anything except your pink, sparkly bathing suit. Oh, it was February!"
Riley turned bright red, ignoring the laughs of her friends. "Touché, James Potter, touché."
He leaned in to her. "Just remember: I have plenty more."
Riley pretended to zip her mouth shut and throw away the key.
"Smart move, Gilmore," James sniggered.
"Speaking of Gilmores," Sirius said, nodding his head at Drew who was walking up to James at that time.
"Hey, Drew. What's up?" James asked.
Drew sighed. "Although I told Dezzy that I refuse to be her messenger, she gave me an offer I couldn't refuse and-"
"A.k.a. a make-out session," Sirius snickered.
"-And told me to let you know that if you come to her again, there's a good chance you'll not only have a matching handprint on your left cheek but you would be sent to the hospital wing in a coma after what she'd do to you," Drew finished softly, glancing at the floor, embarrassed.
James frowned, furrowing his eyebrows.
"So, she's mad, huh?" Sirius said, trying to lighten the moment.
"Um, yeah, you could say that," Drew muttered. "Am I done here?"
James nodded. "Just let her know I won't be bothering her anymore," he muttered.
Drew whisked away and Lily patted his hand. "Don't you think you kinda need to talk to her?"
"And get sent to the hospital wing by my little sister? Hardly," James snorted.
"James, you-"
"Lily, you know I love you and I really do appreciate everything you've said and done over the past few days, but…but this is something you can't really fix. I can't even fix it right now. I screwed up by not being there for her this week and I'll figure out a way to get through to her," James said with a sympathetic sigh. He kissed his girlfriend on the cheek before gathering his things and standing up from his chair. "I think studying for the N.E.W.T.s can wait. I need a break."
Lily knew that James was feeling dejected that she didn't bother to berate him for not studying. "Okay. I'll catch up with you later."
James had a feeling that after he left the library, his friends would continue to talk about him.
They didn't disappoint. They were all still worried about him even though he seemed a lot more level-headed since Lily grounded him. She let her friends know that he had opened up without relaying all of the details of what he had said. They were happy to know that Lily was there to listen and console him seeing as she was the most patient and most understanding of his situation.
Lily just prayed that he and his sister would make up, preferably by the funeral. While James never said it outright, his sister meant more than anything to him and he hated that they were not only on non-speaking terms but on an outraged-Dezzy-sending-evil-daggers-his-way terms.
They all agreed that whether or not Dezzy said so, she was going to need him at Brite's funeral.
"Hey Kay," James greeted that night in the common room after dinner. "Where is everyone?"
She shrugged. "Library again?" she suggested. "Not really sure. Lily's probably back in her room looking for you if you were wondering."
"I wasn't," James said. "Actually, I came to find you."
"Oh?"
"I know you didn't know Brite at all, but I was wanted to extend to you an invite to the funeral," he said, slipping on to the couch beside her.
Kay was taken aback. "What?"
"I know it's totally out of the blue, but I was thinking about it earlier, and we're all going to be gone for the next couple of days, including Lily, and I not only didn't want you to be stuck here by yourself, but I could always use some extra support."
"James, that's…that's so nice of you, but I wouldn't want to impose," she said, shocked that he was asking her to tag along to a funeral.
"Believe me, we have all the room in the world at our place. Besides, Lance will be there and I know you'd love the chance to be there for him. He grew up with Brite just like I did and he'd want you there."
Kay had written back and forth to Lance about how he was dealing with Brite's death. He was six years younger than Brite, but the Gilmores and Potters had always been there for each other and Brite was like another brother to him. His death had hit him harder than he was probably admitting. "You don't have to invite me to the funeral just because you feel obligated to invite me for Lance's sake," Kay pointed out.
"That's not what I'm doing at all," James said, shaking his head. "I-I want you there for me, too."
"Well…" she contemplated.
"I won't take no for an answer. I refuse to let you sulk around here for a couple of days while all of your friends are-"
"Sulking elsewhere?" Kay suggested with a slight awkward laugh.
James shrugged and nodded. "Yeah."
"Well, if you won't take no for an answer, I guess I have no choice," she said with a sympathetic smile.
"No, I guess you don't," James said. "We're meeting here tomorrow at four o'clock to head to Dumbledore's office to floo home."
"Okay," Kay said.
James got up off the couch and was about to head out when Kay stopped him. "James, just so you know," she said slowly, "I'm not going because of Lance. I'm going because of you."
James smiled. "I know."
Dumbledore's office had never been so crowded with students, especially with students who weren't in trouble. James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Lily, Riley, Kay, Grant, Jaron and his friend, Dezzy, Drew, and Riley's youngest brother, Billy, smushed into Dumbledore's office with their luggage, waiting to grab the Floo Powder and floo to Potter Manor. They were going to spend the next couple of days there thanks to Dumbledore's permission, not only to attend the funeral the following day but to also tie up loose ends and be there for Mr. and Mrs. Potter and Bianca.
James had tried to get Dezzy to talk to him with little luck.
"Dezzy, I-"
"Not now, James," Dezzy shot down, glaring at her brother.
"But I-"
"Take a hint, James."
"I just need one minute to-"
"Stop talking to me," Dezzy growled through gritted teeth.
James gave up, plopping onto an empty seat in Dumbledore's office with an irritated sigh.
"Smooth," Sirius murmured, grinning sheepishly.
James ignored him.
"Where's Dumbledore?" Grant muttered, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence with something.
"Well he's Headmaster so I'm assuming you want a less suitable answer than he's out trying to head the school?" Dezzy retorted, rolling her eyes.
"Thanks for being a smartass, Dez," Grant replied dryly.
"Well, I learned it from you," she snapped.
"Guys, can we please not fight?" James murmured, shaking his head in disbelief.
"This coming from the guy who's been completely MIA this past week," Dezzy scoffed, glaring at her older brother.
"Why don't we just wait in silence?" Sirius interrupted. "Talking seems to be getting us nowhere."
"Wow, Sirius Black yearning for quiet. That's new," Grant snorted, smirking haughtily.
"I'm just not sure Brite would want to see his brothers and sisters fighting minutes away from returning home for his funeral," Sirius explained with a casual shrug.
"Then I guess it's good that Brite's not around to see," Grant snarled.
James glared at his brother. "Nice, Grant. Real nice."
Thankfully, Dumbledore sauntered into his office at that given time, apologizing profusely. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I had to deal with a little prank at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall." Needless to say, Dumbledore didn't miss the slight upturn of the Maruaders' mouths, but Dumbledore chose to remain quiet about the matter.
He didn't say much else to the group, certain that although the Potters weren't excited to get home under the circumstances, he was sure they were eager to see their family. He verbalized his deepest apologies and told them all to not rush back to Hogwarts before handing James the bag of Floo Powder hanging over the fireplace.
In just a few minutes, the twelve students were standing in the hall of the Potter home. Dezzy quickly ran off, dragging Drew behind her. The other Potters, excluding James, rushed up to their rooms as well.
"Oh my God, this isn't a manor. This is a castle," Kay said in awe.
"I'm never leaving," Lily agreed, staring up at the gorgeous architecture.
Sirius snorted. "I'm sure James wouldn't disagree."
Lily hit him with her duffel bag.
"Okay, ow," he whined, rubbing his arm. "What did you pack in that thing, Evans? Rocks?"
Lily laughed, ignoring his question and turned to her boyfriend. "So unless you want me to continue hitting Sirius with my bag, where should we drop our stuff?"
James shrugged. "And that's supposed to get me to tell you where you're staying?"
Sirius gasped. "I'm not going to say that didn't hurt," he said overdramatically, wiping away a fake tear.
James laughed. "In the West Wing. Here, let me show you," James said, grabbing his girlfriend's bag and leading them all through the hallways.
Lily's eyebrows shot up. "You name your wings?"
"My great-great-grandfather did," James explained. "He thinks it made the family sound more distinguished." He led everyone up the winding staircase and to the right. "Well, you all have your same rooms," he explained to Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Riley.
"You have your own rooms?" Kay asked.
James nodded. "There are twelve bedrooms on this side of the house and six on the other side of the staircase. The other bedrooms are being used by family and Bianca. Oh, and every two bedrooms share a bathroom."
"Seriously, I am never leaving," Lily repeated with an awestruck smile.
James laughed. He waved Sirius and Riley into the first two rooms on the right. They never minded sharing a bathroom until the summer after their falling out, but both were too stubborn to want to change rooms. Many malicious pranks were played in their communal bathroom. The smoke marks in the shower were still there to prove it.
"Why do you have your own room?" Kay asked Riley. "Don't you live down the street?"
Riley shrugged. "Yeah, but I was over here so often that there were plenty of nights I'd stay over. His parents never cared. And I told my parents that I'd rather stay here for the next few nights. They understood. Lance and Drew are staying here, too."
The next two rooms belonged to Remus and Peter, and then James showed the bedroom that Kay and Lily would be sharing. "I'm sorry you guys have to share," James apologized. "But with Drew and Lance staying, we don't have enough bedrooms in this Wing. They have to share a room also. You'll be sharing a bathroom with them, if you don't mind."
Lily made a face and glanced at Kay. "Ew, dirty things are going to be happening in that shower, aren't they…"
Kay grinned. "Hell yeah," she teased, throwing her bag on to the floor. "And what are you complaining about? You're probably going to be sneaking into James' room every night."
Lily blushed. "I'm still going to use that bathroom!"
"Not if I can help it," James joked, wrapping his arms around her with a laugh. "My bathroom will be just fine for the two of us," he said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"You share your bathroom with Dezzy, James," Lily pointed.
"Yeah, so?"
"What do you think is going to be happening in there between her and Drew?"
"EWW!" James cried out, making a disgruntled face. "Why, why, why would you go there?"
Lily laughed.
"So we can't use my bathroom. We can't use your bathroom. Where the hell are we supposed to mess around?"
Lily sighed. "Your house is bigger than the Queen's castle. I'm sure we'll find a place."
James grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. "Okay."
Maya Potter stared out the kitchen window, staring into the vast acres of land behind the Potter Manor as she attempted to clean the dishes the muggle way that were piling up in the kitchen sink. While she could have gotten their house elf to do it or she could have used magic, she liked the idea of having to focus on one thing. Maybe if she forced herself to do the dishes then her mind wouldn't keep wandering to her deceased son.
James quickly slipped down to the kitchen to greet his mother. "Hi, Mom."
She jumped, dropping a coffee mug into the sink where it broke into pieces. "Oh no!" she cried out.
James pulled out his wand and made the shattered pieces disappear. "Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."
She pulled her son in for a long embrace. "Don't be sorry. I just wasn't expecting you so soon. I thought you weren't coming until later."
"We weren't, but Dumbledore figured we would want more time with you today."
"What a good man Dumbledore is to let you all leave school for so many days. And right before exams!"
"I don't think exams are as important as family right now, Mom," James pointed out, sliding into one of the kitchen table chairs. "Is Bianca around?" he asked hesitantly.
Maya nodded slowly. "She's down by the stream. She's been there for hours."
James sighed. "I can't even imagine what she's going through," he sighed. "She must be crushed. I know I would if something happened to Lily and I've only been with her for three months."
Maya smiled slyly. "When do I get to meet this girl you're so smitten with?"
James made a face. "Please don't use words like smitten around her," he groaned.
"Well, is obsessed a better word?" his mother joked, playfully smacking him with a kitchen dishtowel.
"I am not!"
"Is this not the same Lily you've been swooning over since you first arrived at Hogwarts? I believe there was a chocolate sauce incident."
James hesitated. "Okay, one, avoid the word swoon around Lily. Two, you should probably avoid that story also. And three, bringing Lily here was a bad idea."
His mother laughed and shook her head. "No, no. I promise to be good!"
"Mother, you have scared away many-a-girlfriends of Brite's and Wyatt's in the past. And I'd like to keep Lily, thank you very much."
"I didn't scare away Bianca!"
"The first time you met her, you asked her if she had had sex with Brite yet."
His mother shrugged, returning to the dishes. "A mother can't help but be curious what goes on in her children's sex lives."
"Exactly why bringing Lily here was a bad idea!"
"So did you have sex with her yet?"
"MOM!"
Maya laughed and glanced over her shoulder. "You're right, you don't need to tell me. I'll just ask Lily."
"What about me?"
James jumped out of his chair to Lily, pushing her out of the entrance. "You don't want to meet my mother," he said hastily. "She's certifiably insane."
"Huh?"
"Hold it right there, young man!" Maya cried out with a laugh, throwing down the dishtowel and rushing towards the door.
"I am so confused," Lily whimpered.
"Just remember, she's insane," James whispered in his girlfriend's ear.
"I am not!" his mother reacted, grabbing Lily's hand and bringing her over to the kitchen table. "Hello there. I'm James' mother."
"Hi, I'm Lily Evans. But I'm assuming I've already been discussed," she said, throwing James an inquisitive look, who remained in the entrance warily.
"Nonsense," Maya said, waving her hand dismissively. "James is the insane one."
"Well, finally someone agrees with me!" a voice boomed loudly as a clamor of footsteps wandered into the kitchen that consisted of James' friends.
"Sirius, you haven't changed at all!" Maya said, rushing out of her chair to hug her pseudo-son.
"Neither have you, Mrs. P," he said, kissing the only mother he ever really knew on the cheek.
"And don't tell me this is Riley," Maya said in shock. "You have grown up way too fast. I remember when you were in diapers!"
Riley blushed. "Gee, that's a memory that should be suppressed."
"Hm, do you have pictures of her in diapers?" Kay asked jokingly.
Maya laughed and bear-hugged Riley. Maya was happy to finally have the house full of people. It had been so unbelievably quiet for the past couple of days that it was unbearable. It didn't change what happened, but having her family and their friends home gave her a slight bit of comfort.
"And I'm assuming you're Kay?" Maya asked, raising an eyebrow.
She nodded and smiled awkwardly. What were you supposed to say to a grieving mother you were meeting for the first time?
Maya shook Kay's hand. "Lance is popping over soon. I'm sure you're excited to see him."
Kay blushed and nodded.
Maya winked at the new girl and returned to the dishes. "So, how goes the dating scene at Hogwarts these days?"
James snorted, taking his seat once again at the table. "Considering there is very little to do at Hogwarts, it could be better."
"Oh, and I'm sure you guys never sneak into Hogsmeade," Maya giggled sarcastically, glancing over her shoulder with a sparkle in her eye.
James and Sirius exchanged a look, both suppressing a laugh. "No, of course not. Now why would you assume that?" Sirius said dismissively.
Maya laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. "So do you two ever double date, now that your girlfriends are friends-"
"Uh, Mom?" James interrupted with a hint of panic in his voice. "Can I…uh…talk to you for a sec?"
Sirius and Riley both glanced at each other uncomfortably. "No, it's alright," Sirius murmured, hitting himself on the inside. Of course James would have told his mother about him and Riley. Riley quickly looked away, choosing to stare out the window instead. "Uh…we're not together anymore, Mrs. P."
Now it was Maya's turn to mentally hit herself. "Oh. I-I'm sorry. James didn't inform me of the recent changes," she said, giving her son an irritated look.
James shrugged, giving her a sheepish look. "Well, I've kinda had other things on my mind," he muttered.
Maya chose to quickly change the subject. "Well, Ralphie will be cooking dinner in a few hours and the Gilmores will be joining us," she said, talking about one of their house elves.
"Oh goody," Riley muttered, now sure if she would rather talk about Sirius or see her mother. That was definitely a toss-up.
Maya raised an eyebrow. "Not excited to see your mother?"
"Why do you think I'm staying here for the next few days?"
Maya smiled warily at the girl she always thought of as a daughter and knew to change the subject. "Well, dinner won't be ready for a while," Maya explained, "so that gives you ample time to unpack and get to know the estate."
Lily snorted. "Doubtful. This place would take years to explore."
Maya smiled. "Longer than that. I've been living here for thirty years and rooms still continue to pop out of nowhere! It always reminds me of Hogwarts in that sense." She glanced at her son curiously. "Although I suppose you've found all the tunnels and secret rooms at Hogwarts due to your late-night rendez-vous with your friends."
"I don't know what you're talking about," James quickly replied with a slight teasing smile.
"I write to Dumbledore once a month, James. I know all," she said, giving him a look.
James grinned sheepishly. "You wished you knew all."
"I heard that you got caught in a broom closet earlier this month with this lovely girl," Maya retorted immediately with a sly smile.
Lily and James turned beet red, ignoring the laughs from Kay, Riley, Sirius, Remus, and Peter.
"Aaand this is why it was a bad idea to bring you here," James murmured, giving Lily an apologetic smile. "Mother, as much as I would love to stay, I think it's time for us to part ways."
"Go, go," she said, shaking her head with a laugh. "Have fun. Dinner is at 6."
The friends all stood up and headed out of the kitchen, the boys still chortling.
"Your mother's great, James," Kay teased.
"Shut up."
A/N: Not a whole lot to say here. A lot of this chapter was filler but I still hope you enjoyed it anyway. Please review!