AN: Long chapter today, explanation at end. Enjoy :)
"So you're telling me you're… friends?" James asked cautiously.
"That sounds about right, yeah." Sirius answered, piercing his eggs with a fork.
"And you're both okay with this." Jane said, looking at Marlene.
Marlene looked up at Sirius and they both smiled.
"Yes." The both said. Their friends all rolled their eyes at them, and Sirius winked at Marlene.
"I still can't believe you guys put us through all that drama." Lily said, taking a drink of her orange juice, then gagging. "Ew, what is this?" She said, wrinkling her nose.
"Oh, that my dear Lilykins. Yes, that was my latest experiment. Made it just this morning down in the kitchens. It's a blend of tomatoes, pears, green peppers, egg yolks and my favourite: spinach! Then I changed the colour to orange of course!" Sirius cheered. Lily put a hand to her mouth, gagging. "Asked the house elves to give it specifically for you!"
"Watch your back, Black." She warned, wiping her tongue with a napkin.
"Won't be kissing James for a while now will you?" Remus teased. Lily threw her spinach-used napkin at him, and he recoiled, throwing it to Peter. Peter tossed it towards Marlene who rolled her eyes and dropped it on the table.
"You are all disgusting, you know that?" She asked them.
"But you love us!" Sirius said, missing the fact that Lily had pointed her wand at his drink. He chuckled at his joke and took a giant glug, finishing it off. He widened his eyes as he felt something on his tongue moving.
He spat out whatever it was onto his plate, shouting curses.
"Enjoy your slugs Sirius?" Lily asked sweetly. He grinned at her, then licked her cheek.
She screamed and hit him multiple times, rubbing her cheek off on his sleeve.
"I hate you." She said.
"Love you too." He said back, scooping up the slug on his plate with his fork. "Now, who wants little Sluggy here?" He taunted, waving the slug around on his fork. Everyone leaned away from him as he chuckled darkly.
"So anyways, last Hogsmeade before the Christmas Break is coming up…" James said. changing topics. He hopped off the bench, and grabbed Lily's hand, going down on one knee. "Lily Evans, would you do me the extraordinary honour of-"
"Being my date to Hogsmeade." His friends finished. They all laughed.
"Yeah, we haven't heard that one before James." Jane said sarcastically.
"Only every time he asks her." Peter muttered.
"Oh quiet all of you, I was enjoying this! Go on!" Lily said, turning to her boyfriend.
"As I was saying before being so rudely interrupted," He shot a joking smirk to his friends. "The extraordinary honour of being my date to Hogsmeade this weekend?"
"I will! Of course!" Lily said, getting up and pulling her boyfriend up from his one knee. She threw her arms around his neck, but he pulled back.
"Er… I'd rather not have Sirius' foul concoction on my tongue for the rest of the day. Sorry Lil." He said. She cocked an eyebrow at him, and kissed him anyway—with tongue.
"Oh ew, Lil. We did not need to see that while eating." Marlene said, covering her eyes.
"Bleeargh!" James said in disgust. Lily gave him a look. "Not about your kiss love, that was amazing as usual-"
Marlene pretended to gag into her cereal.
"But that nauseating creation!" He finished, wiping his tongue with his napkin as well. He grabbed the back of Sirius' head and shoved the napkin into his face for several seconds as Sirius yelled in protest. James grabbed Lily's hand and pulled her away before Sirius could retaliate.
"See you guys in Potions! I'm going to go brush my teeth!"
"'Brush his teeth' my arse. He's going to snog Lily." Jane said.
"Mmm snogging doesn't sound like that bad of an idea now that you mention it." Remus said, light teasing in his voice. Jane caught on, and soon they were making their way out of the Great Hall too, giggling like first years.
Now all who rested was Marlene, Peter and Sirius.
"You know what, I think I've lost my appetite." She said, shoving her bowl away from her in disgust.
"What did you in: my concoction, the slugs or their extreme P.D.A.?" Sirius said jokingly. Marlene stuck her tongue out, disgusted.
"I think a mix of all three."
"You finished with that?" Peter asked, pointing to her cereal bowl. Marlene pushed it towards him, and he finished it all, Marlene and Sirius staring at him in repulse.
"What? We can't let this food go to waste." He told them. The both shook their heads, but Sirius saw a familiar figure waling their way.
"Uh-oh. Hufflepuff at 9 o'clock." He warned. Marlene turned to 9 o'clock, and saw nothing.
"Sirius, what are you-"
"Hey Marlene." A voice interrupted her, and she turned to her 3 o'clock to see none other than a smiling Shawn McKinnon.
"Oh, hey Shawn. What's up?" She asked cheerfully.
"Well, you know the next Hogsmeade trip is coming up…" He said.
Oh Merlin, please don't you do this to me. Sirius begged to The Great Wizard up in the sky, knowing McKinnon could only be asking one thing.
"And well, I was wondering if you'd like to be my date to Hogsmeade this Saturday?" He said nervously, fixing his tie slightly.
Marlene's smile faltered, but only for a split second. Her eyes darted to Sirius quickly, then back to Shawn.
"I… Sure Shawn." She said, smiling. He grinned, then said he'd sort out the details with her later, and he'd see her in Ancient Runes.
Sirius waited until he was out of earshot, then turned to Marlene, jaw dropped.
"You and McKinnon huh?" He teased, laughing. "And since when has this been going on?"
"It hasn't." Marlene flushed. "We're partners in Ancient Runes. You remember, that class you said is 'totally pointless and a waste of time so you're never going to take it'? Yeah, that one." She said, then got up. "And we should probably get going if we want to make it to Potions on time." She told them, throwing her bag over her shoulder. "Oh, and Sirius." She told him as they were walking out.
"Yeah?" He asked carefully.
"9 o'clock and 3 o'clock are on two very different sides of the clock."
He laughed and ruffled her hair as he used to do all the time when they were dating. She pushed his hand away, and he felt an electric shock go through his fingers at her touch as it always did. He wondered if that feeling would ever go away.
"James you idiot." Lily laughed, pushing him slightly for her had just made a terrible pun.
"Idiot? How insulting!" He gasped. "You take that back Lily Evans or I'll…"
"Or you'll what?" She challenged him.
"Or I'll do this!" He shouted, grabbing her waist. She screamed as he flipped her upside-down and carried her around their room.
"James put me down! James you idiot put me down!" She screamed, hitting his leg wildly, hair dragging against the ground. She could feel the blood rushing up to her face.
He tut-tutted. "Now Ms Evans, what did we say about the 'I' word?"
"James put me down right now or I'll…"
"Or you'll what?" He said, pulling out her wand from the back pocket of her jeans. She mumbled something into his thigh and he laughed.
"What did you say?" He put her down on her feet gently.
"You touched my bum!" She said. He looked at her strangely. She pointed a finger into his chest accusingly. "James Potter you just touched my bum without my permission!"
"So?" He laughed, slinging his bag lazily over his shoulder and tossing her her wand, which she caught.
"So Mr Potter, that is sexual abuse! I could have you in jail for this!"
"Ooh Muggle jail, I'm so frightened." James said, waving his hands around. She punched him in the shoulder.
"Ouch Lil, that sort of hurt." He winced, putting a hand to his arm. She grinned.
"Good! That's the last time you make fun of Muggles around me." She said proudly. He rolled his eyes, knowing full well it wouldn't be.
"What do you say I make it up to you? How about I pay for all the sweets you want at Honeydukes this weekend?" He asked.
"No!" She said quickly, and he grinned. "James, you know I don't like it when you pay for me!"
He sighed, chuckling. "But Lil, it's tradition. When you go on a date, the man pays."
"Yes, but I don't see a man anywhere." She said, looking around the room. He grabbed her around the waist menacingly and she screamed. "Joke! It was a joke!"
"Damn right it was." He growled in her ear from behind. She giggled because it tickled. "And since I am the man, I am paying for everything you want. Also because I looooove you." He said, kissing her neck. She turned around to face him.
"We should probably get going." She said, taking his hand and pulling him out of their dorm.
"So, what about Marlene and Sirius huh?" He said casually. Lily frowned.
"I can't believe after all that they're going to be friends. How is that even possible?"
"Well, they were friends before they started dating. Maybe it's not that hard to just go back to that?" James suggested. Lily shook her head.
"It's just so weird."
James agreed and draped his arm over her shoulders. They walked down to the potions dungeon together, and before long they arrived in the dungeon.
"Mr Potter, Lily." Slughorn acknowledged them both. James sat down beside Lily slowly.
"Why does he use your first name?" He muttered into her ear. She laughed and pushed him gently into his seat, quieting him.
"Now class, I am bringing back a potion we worked on last year." Slughorn pulled out a large cauldron from under his desk, and nearly all the students recognized it at once.
"Amortentia!" The girls in the class squealed quietly to their friends. Lily rolled her eyes at them, knowing they were probably going to try to sneak some and use it on her boyfriend.
"Thank you ladies, way to pay attention in class!" Professor Slughorn said excitedly, obviously thinking they had learned that in his class. They had probably learned it in the obsessive research they'd done after he'd introduced it to them last year.
"For those of you who may have forgotten… Lily dear, could you please provide a quick summary while I stir this?" He asked his favourite student. Lily smiled at him.
"Sure. Amortentia is the most powerful love potion in the world, it causes obsessive love. Of course," She paused, staring pointedly at the very many giddy girls in the classroom. "Nobody can ever create the truly unbreakable, eternal, unconditional attachment that can be alone called love." James grabbed her hand under the table and she squeezed it back. He chuckled under his breath.
As the class started speaking again as Professor Slughorn stirred the potion, James chuckled again.
"You're funny when you're jealous."
"As you've said before. If I do recall judging by how you nearly killed him in that Quidditch match last month, you don't take very kindly to any boy that talks to me." She said shrewdly. He laughed, recalling of the memory.
"Yeah… good times. Last time Finnigan asked you on a date though, wasn't it?" She rolled her eyes but grinned, as Professor Slughorn began talking again.
"So have you asked your parents about Christmas yet?" He asked her, ignoring Slughorn.
"Not yet. Have you even asked if I can come?" She asked. He snorted.
"Mum won't mind; she loves company."
"James, she won't be ready for three more guests. And plus, where will we sleep?"
He snorted again. "Lil, trust me. She'll be prepared, and even if she weren't it wouldn't make much of a difference. And you guys can sleep in the guest rooms."
"Guest rooms?" She asked.
He grinned then put a finger to his mouth, silencing her with a stern look. She rolled her eyes, laughed, and fixed her attention to the teacher.
The rest of the class passed by slowly, Lily watching carefully at the girls who were looking at the potion deeply. Professor Slughorn had to pull some of them away from the potion gently, saying some can even fall in love with the smell of what they love.
As Lily, James, Marlene, Sirius, Remus and Jane walked to their next class, they were somewhat tired.
"Has this day been super long for anyone else or is it just me?" Remus groaned.
"I agree. And we've still got three more classes before we're done." Marlene complained.
"Doesn't help that out next class is with the Hufflepuffs." Sirius said grumpily, then brightened. "Though I'm sure somebody doesn't mind in the slightest." He said, grinning. Marlene's cheeks flushed and she ignored the questioning looks her friends were giving her.
"So! As Lily hasn't asked yet, I'm going to guess you girls haven't either?" James said, changing the topic. "For Christmas at my house." He added.
They shook their heads. In all honesty, they weren't sure if James really wanted them to come, or if he was only saying it to be polite.
"Come on girls! I really want you to come! I'm not saying it to be like, polite or something." He told them.
Well, that answered that.
Marlene grinned. "I'll owl mum tonight."
Jane nodded and said she'd do the same, taking Remus' hand.
"Well!" Sirius clapped his hands together. "Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about you Marlene." He said evilly. She rolled her eyes but looked down at the ground.
"Okay you two, what is up?" Lily sighed.
"Are you going to tell them darling, or shall I?" Sirius asked. Marlene was hiding her red face by her hair.
"Oh, just go ahead and tell them then." She muttered.
"Marlene got asked out by McKinnon!" He shouted loudly. Several other Gryffindors making their way down to Charms turned around to look at him, and he grinned back.
"You did not." Lily said to Marlene. Marlene looked up and grinned, nodding. While Lily and Jane fretted over Marlene, Remus and James snuck looks at Sirius.
"And your opinion on this is…?" Remus muttered so only he could hear. They let the three girls walk ahead of them, talking about what she would wear.
"Well obviously nothing like that Lily, it's freezing out!" They heard Jane argue, and Remus chuckled at his girlfriend.
"I guess I'm fine with it." Sirius shrugged.
"You 'guess'"? James repeated.
"Well, I mean obviously I'm a little put-out by this whole thing. I mean, we only broke up on Friday. But I guess I have to move on, and so does she." He watched her walking away excitedly with her friends, laughing. "She's having an easier time at that than I am obviously." He muttered.
James patted him on the shoulder. "How can you be so casual with her? I just don't get it."
"Yeah Padfoot, I mean… this is just crazy! How can you do this?" Remus asked.
"Well, it wasn't exactly my decision. I'd rather be her friend than a stranger to her though." He said.
"Noble." James nodded. Remus agreed, but Sirius only sighed.
"I just can't believe she's over me so fast." He said, shaking his head.
"Maybe she's not… Hey Padfoot, I've an idea…" James said, a plan forming in his mind. Remus and Sirius knew that look well; there was no mistaking the way his eyes lit up in enthusiasm, or the smirk he got. "It's a long shot, but it just might work." He said.
Sirius and Remus waited in anticipation.
"It'll start when you all come to my house on the break…"
AN: Okay so for those of you that actually read my Author's Notes (lol) you would know that I have been in France for the past two months. They've passed by so quickly and I'm incredibly sad to be leaving so shortly.
Since I post new chapters practically everyday, I'm just going to tell you the next chapter porbably won't be up tomorrow, or the day after that. I will try though, I promise you that!
So Bon Voyage to me, and please review? I'd love you forever!
Merci beaucoup ;) Hope you guys liked it!
-Taylor :)