There were only a few times in her life that Lindsay had been truly happy.
The first one was when she was barely three and her father gave her her first broom. James had been teasing her for weeks that she'd never be able to fly because she was a girl. Then, she had been the one teasing James because she had a better broom.
The second time she had been truly happy was later, when she was seven. It was the first time she had gone to the quidditch cup with the rest of the family.
There was also the time Sirius asked her to be his girlfriend when she was nine; and the time she had gotten her first Outstanding in a class and proved she was worth something.
Yet, in all those times, in all those years of small moments of happiness, she had never thought there was something even bigger. Something more important that quidditch, brooms, grades. And that, was love.
As she laid there next to Sirius, both of them breathing quietly, she found out there was nothing more than she wanted for her entire life than being with him, being in love.
"What are you thinking?" his voice sounded, bringing her out of her dreams.
"You." she said as she took a piece of his dark hair out of his eyes, "of how much you need a haircut." She smiled, making him smile too.
"Sorry, my dear. I'd do anything for you, but my hair is sacred." He answered as he combed his hair with his fingers.
She raised an eyebrow at him, "Really?" she asked, "So, if you had to choose, you'd prefer your hair to me?"
"That's a question no man should have to answer." Sirius said, "And, therefore, I shall not answer."
She laughed as she punched is chest, "You'd choose your hair!" she accused, "I can not believe you Sirius Black!" she said as she kept punching him.
Sirius laughed as well as he grabbed both of her hands, preventing her from keep punching him. "Of course I'd choose my hair!" he said, "After all, that's what you're with me for. My hair is what makes me this handsome!"
Lindsay rolled her eyes as she laid back down next to him, her head on his chest. "You have more than beauty to attract me."
"Of course," Sirius said, "I have my brains as well."
She laughed, "Actually, I was referring the fact that you play quidditch."
It was Sirius' time to roll his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. The fact is, my hair stays where it is."
"Whatever Black." She said as she closed her eyes. "I can't believe I waited this long to do this." she whispered.
"Of course you waited. You were waiting for me!" Sirius said cockily.
"I was?" she asked as she eyes him with an amused expression.
"But of course! You were just too thick to see it!"
"You calling me thick after we has sex." She stated.
"Love. You made love, not sex."
"Why do you insist so much on that?"
"Because have sex and make love are different kind of things!"
She rolled her eyes, "If you say so." she answered, "Say you love me." she whispered.
He smiled, "It's the tenth time you asked me to say that."
"What can I do? I waited so long to hear it, that now I can't have enough of it." she answered him.
"Okay," he said, "I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you, I love you, I lo-"
"Sirius," she said, putting a finger to his lips, shutting him up. "I love you too."
(…)
"Hey." James said as he sat for lunch next to his friend. Everyone was there except, as always, Lily. Not only she wasn't sitting with them anymore but also it was still midday, and she only woke up after one.
"Hi, James." Lindsay answered as she smiled brightly at him, "Isn't it a beautiful day?" she asked.
James raised an eyebrow at her, sharing glances with the others, who shrugged. "Okay… isn't it a bit too early to drink?" he asked with a smirk.
"Ha ha, so funny James Potter," his cousin answered him, "I'm just in a good mood. Lily used to smile randomly and no one ever asked her if she had drunk!"
"Yes, but Lily has always been nuts," Frank said.
"Right," Bessie said, "That she is. Anyways, I have to be going." She said, standing up, "Have people to see and things to do."
"Where are you going?" Erica asked.
"You'll see later. See you!"
"Bye!"
(…)
"Hi, I know this seems strange, but what do you feel about going out with Remus Lupin?"
"The Marauder?"
"The one and only."
"I'd love to! Since he's the only marauder who's still free…"
"Great!"
(…)
"Hey, yes, you! Can I have a word with you?"
"Sure."
"What do you think about dating Remus Lupin?"
"That sandy haired cute guy from Gryffindor?"
"Exactly."
"I'd be thrilled!"
"Thank you."
(…)
"Hello! What do say about going out with Remus Lupin?"
"I asked him to go to Hogsmeade with me last year and he refused."
"Now you have your chance!"
"Where do I sign?"
(…)
"Just sign your name and house." Bessie said. "Thank you." she said to a Ravenclaw sixth year girl.
Lily approached her best friend slowly. "Elizabeth," she asked, "What are you doing?"
Bessie smiled widely at her friend, "Why, I'm getting girls to date Remus!"
"You are?" Lily asked incredulously, "Does he know about it?"
Bessie nodded proudly, "Of course he does."
"Does he agree with it?" Lily asked again.
Bessie shifted a little, "Well… he will. Once I get him a girlfriend he'll thank me for having this wonderful idea."
Lily rolled her eyes, "I thought so. Don't let him find out you're asking random girls in the hallways if they want to date him."
"Oh, but they're not random!" Bessie said, eyes shinning, "I made a list first!" she declared, passing Lily a piece of parchment, "Now I'm just asking to see if they want to go out with him!"
Lily nodded cautiously, "Okay," she said, "At least you choose nice gir- BESSIE! Why isn't Marilia here??" she asked suddenly, "She's Remus' perfect match!"
Bessie rolled her eyes, "You just want to keep her away from James. That's not a reason for her to be a possible candidate to date Remus." She declared.
Lily pouted, "Please?" she whined, "Remus isn't going to like any of these ones anyway."
Bessie stopped and turned to her best friend, "Why?" she asked confused.
Lily rolled her eyes, "Caroline Carval, Hufflepuff, blonde, blue eyes, pretty." She read, "I know her, and I know she's all that. But she has no brains!"
Bessie sighed exasperatedly, starting to walk again, "So?" she asked, "One out of twenty doesn't fit him. It's not much!"
"Mariah Loop, Ravenclaw, sixth year, dark blonde hair, brown eyes." She continued reading. Nodding to herself, she said, "Now this one seems to be a good match. If you take out the fact that she's obsessed with him." she said.
Bessie shrugged, "And?" she asked, and, before Lily could keep reading, she snatched the parchment from her hands, "Give that back." She said, starting to walk in the direction of a girl, "Hello! Can I have a word with you?"
Lily sighed and shook her head, "Poor Remus," she said, "He should have never agreed with this."
(…)
Later that Sunday, four of the five Gryffindor boys were reunited in the common room. It was a full moon, so Remus was out again. Lily was up in her bed, Lindsay had gone to her mother and the other three girls had decided to make a trip to the kitchens.
"Where were you last night after all?" Chris asked as the conversation drifted to Sirius. He had been gone the entire night, even missing dinner, and, of course, the guys were curious.
"What do you mean?" Sirius asked with a fake bemused expression, "I was in my bed."
"Yeah, about that," Chris started, "I must say the pillows underneath your sheets did fool us for a while."
"But then we thought," James continued, "Why would Padfoot miss dinner to sleep? Padfoot and dinner are practically synonyms."
"So we pulled the sheets back," Frank concluded, "and you were gone."
Sirius sighed, "I was nowhere you should know."
The others smirked, "Then answer us other thing: what were you doing, pretending to be asleep?"
Sirius rolled his eyes, "What exactly do you want to know?" he asked exasperatedly.
"Were you with Lindsay?" Chris asked, smirking.
"Yes." Sirius said.
"And what were you doing with her?" Frank asked also smirking as he laid back in his chair.
"You don't need to be a genius to find that out." Sirius answered as he grinned.
"So you shagged?" Chris asked.
"Oui."
"Way to go, Padfoot!" Frank said.
"What?" Sirius asked smugly, "It's not like it was the first time! A guy like me never stays dry for too long."
"Padfoot…" James said, a kind of warning tone in his voice.
"What? Is true! I'm Sirius Black. Sex is my life!"
"Is it so, Sirius?" a voice asked behind him.
Sirius froze in his chair as he closed his eyes and cursed. "Lind…" he whispered.
"You really are a jerk," she said, her voice clearly hurt, "I can not believe I just heard you saying that."
"Lindsay, stay calm." Sirius said as he turned around to look at the face of his girlfriend, "That was not what I meant to say."
"Wasn't it?" she asked, "Who are you lying to, after all? Me or them?"
Her eyes were filling with tears and the small hesitation he had in answer her did the trick. He'd never admit he was virgin until the day before to his friends. 'That is, if he lied to them.' she thought, as she walked past him, tears welling in her eyes.
"Lindsay! Come on!" Sirius called, as he grabbed her arm, "Don't tell me you're getting mad because of what I said?"
She shook her head incredulously, "You're a git, you know that?" she said, as she detangled her arm from him and run all the way to her dormitory.
(…)
After dinner, Lily had gone back to her dormitory to end some essays she had to do. Transfiguration had always brought her problems, and the seventh year wasn't an exception. Worst of all, she had NEWTs that year and needed to have really good grades.
She sighed, crossing one more sentence she didn't like. Maybe she'd have to ask James for help. He was great at Transfiguration and she was sure he'd like to help. Besides, then they'd be able to spend some more time together without anyone thinking they were together.
She had just decided that was exactly what she would be doing when the dormitory door flung open and then close, and a very upset Lindsay made her way to her bed.
Firstly, Lily thought she was simply mad. The force she had used to close the door was certainly a proof that she wasn't exactly in a good mood. But, after some minutes, Lily found it was more than that. The muffled sobs didn't cover the fact that the other red haired girl was crying.
'They're mad at you. You're mad at them.' Lily thought, 'Stay away.' She ordered herself.
'What are you? A friend or an enemy?' her inner voice asked.
'There's no way I'll be talking to her!' he other voice said.
One louder sob from the bed to her right made her decision. Standing up, she walked to her friend and hugged her.
"Shh…" she said, trying to calm her down. "I'm sure whatever you're crying for isn't worthy."
"Lily!" Lindsay whimpered, as she kept crying, "I'm sorry!"
Lily smiled, "Forget that now. What happened?"
Lindsay opened her mouth to speak but, instead, started crying again. "It's okay," Lily whispered, "You can tell me later. Cry all that you need."
The dormitory door was opened again. Lily thought it to be the girls, so she didn't look. However, when the person spoke, she had to look.
"Lind… let me talk to you." Sirius said as walked to her bed.
Lily looked between the two trying to decide if she should leave or not. When Lindsay clung to her harder, she decided she'd better stay.
"I don't think she wants to speak with you." Lily said, giving Sirius an apologizing face. "She's not very well, as you can see."
"Lils, just let me talk to her. I need to explain."
"Get out of here!" Lindsay said, not turning to look at him, "I don't know how you got here, and I don't care! Just go away!"
Now Sirius seemed desperate, "Lind! C'mon! You know I didn't mean that that I said to the guys! It was a guys' talk, only that!"
"Sirius! You practically implied you'd cheat on me if I hadn't slept with you!" Lindsay cried out.
"Do you want me to leave so you can talk?" Lily whispered to her friend.
Lindsay looked at her, "No. Please stay." Lily simply nodded in answer.
"That wasn't what I meant. All guys brag about not being virgins. And I've been doing it since ever! I couldn't possibly tell them I was a virgin until yesterday!"
Here, Lily looked at him with eyes wide with surprise, and had to bit her lip not to laugh and the irony of it all.
"Just leave Sirius. Please." Lindsay chocked out, and Lily knew she was trying not to sob in front of him.
"Lind-"
"GO AWAY!" Lindsay screamed.
Sirius sighed, "Okay. I'll go. But we'll have to talk later." With that, he left.
Lindsay cried out in frustration as soon as the door was closed, picking up the closer thing to her- which was a pillow- and throwing it to the door. "I hate you Sirius Black!" she screamed.
"No, you don't." Lily, next to her, said, "And believe me, denial isn't good for your health. I should know it." she gave a small smile, making Lindsay smile back, only to start crying again.
"I love him." she said.
Lily smiled, "Now that's more like it." she said, "What did exactly happen, Lind?" she asked.
Lindsay sighed as she looked at her hands. "Sirius and I… we had our first time last night. You heard the part when he said he was virgin until yesterday."
Again, Lily bit her lip, trying not to laugh. "Oh, come off it. You can laugh all that you want!" Lindsay said, herself with a small smile.
Lily shook her head, "No, no." she said, "Go on, what happened after?"
"Everything was fine, you know? I never thought I could be this happy with him." Lindsay said, "But, just five minutes ago I entered the common room and found him telling the guys we had had sex last night and when the guys congratulated him for it he said that they shouldn't be surprise, that sex was his life and so on."
Lily looked bemused, "Lind, you always knew Sirius was like that. Why are you surprised now?" she asked.
Lindsay shook his head, "I don't know! I just thought he'd change, you know? I mean, it was especial last night, and he was talking about it as if it was something usual for him! Like it didn't mean anything."
Lily pulled her friend to a hug, "You always knew Sirius was like that. He always was. And I learnt long ago you can't expect someone to change drastically because of you. It isn't right, you know? When you fell for him, he was like that already. Just take it lightly, laugh along."
Lindsay nodded, "I know. But still…" she sighed. After some seconds of silence, she looked up at Lily with a smile, "You were talking about James, weren't you?" she asked.
Lily nodded, "Obviously." She said, also smiling.
They giggled. "So… you two have been incredibly chummy lately…" Lindsay said.
"Look at you. Just minutes ago you were sobbing, and now you're being a gossiper!" Lily said as they both smiled.
"What?" Lindsay asked, "I don't talk to you at almost a week! I need to know if there are any news! Also, you never told me how it felt to kiss James a week ago."
Lily laughed as she shook her head, "What exactly do you want to know?" Lily asked as she laid in her friend's bed. "If James's a good kisser? He certainly is."
Lindsay laughed too, "Of course! That was never in doubt! He's a Weasley too!" she said, "What I really wanted to know was what happened after that. And why did you run away?"
Lily sighed, amusement all gone. "I freaked out. I thought that, if I told him about the prophecy he'd never talk to me again, never want to have anything with me again. So I run away."
Lindsay nodded sympathetically, "I'm sorry we chastised you without hearing you. We just needed a way to make you do something about James. We were just trying to give you a little push. I never thought it'd end up like that."
Lily nodded, "I'm mad at you for doing that, but half of me is happy that you did it." she declared, "Because if you wasn't mad at you during my birthday, I'd never have gone to see my brother, and wouldn't see him waking up. And, also, James wouldn't have gone with me and-" here, she cut herself off. Was it the right time to tell her? That meant she had to face the risk of the rest of the girls knowing…
"And…?" Lindsay asked, a smiled on her lips, "Is there something you're hiding Lily?"
Lily laughed as she shook her head mentally. Why not tell her once and for all? James was starting to get sick of hiding their relationship anyways. "And I'd never told him about the prophecy."
Lindsay screamed excitedly, "You told him??" she asked.
Lily nodded. "And…? What happened?" Lindsay asked, curiously.
"He told me he already knew," Lily told happily, "And kissed me." she finished, only to have Lindsay jumping on her and hugging her.
"You're my cousin now!" she said, screaming, "Aren't you?" she asked, as she raised an eyebrow at her. Lily only nodded and smiled. Then, Lindsay started hugging her again. "And you're keeping it a secret? Does anyone know?"
"First, let me breathe!" Lily asked as she laughed. Lindsay sat back in her bed. "Now, answering you. Bessie knew the next morning, that was why she screamed." Lily replied, "And the rest of the guys found out yesterday. Sirius… well, he found us… uh… entertained per say."
Lindsay started laughing madly, "He walked in on you?" she asked.
Lily shook her head, "He opened a broom closet's door and we fell out." She explained.
That only took Lindsay to laugh harder. "I can not believe he didn't tell me!"
"Lind!" Erica said, Alice and Bessie walked inside the dormitory, running to her bed, "The guys told us you were-"she cut herself off as she found Lindsay still trying to stifle her laugh. "You okay?" Erica asked cautiously.
Lindsay nodded, "No, not really. But at least I'm a little more cheered. Anyway, I have to go and have a talk with Sirius." She said, standing up.
The girls eyed her incredulously. "What happened after all?" Alice asked her.
Lindsay shrugged, "Someone just told me we have to accept the other's as they are. And that denial isn't a good thing for your health." She smiled at Lily, who smiled back, and walked out of the room.
The three pairs of eyes were now turned to the green eyed girl. "What happened?" Alice asked.
Lily smiled, "Don't you simply adore people in love?" Lily asked as she got up from Lindsay's bed. "I do." She said as she laid in her.
"You really are nuts." Alice let out. But, as she noticed what she had said, her eyes widened. "I-I-I… I didn-"
"It's okay," Lily said, turning her eyes to Alice, "I am nuts." She said.
Alice smiled as she walked to her bed, "Good. I don't think I'd like you if you weren't."
"Neither would I." Lily answered as she grinned, "Good night." She said.
"Good night, Lils." She heard two voices saying.
And, when she was almost drifting to sleep. "Good night Lily."
(…)
"Where are them?" Lily asked impatiently for the one hundred time it seemed. The girls had arrived to breakfast at almost half an hour and the students were already starting to leave for their classes. "I'm the one who's always late, not him!"
The girls laughed quietly, "Lils, they're always late." Lindsay said.
Lily nodded, "Yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm not worried about him-them I mean." she answered, looking at Erica. She too was, although she didn't show it as much, worried. They eyed each other nervously before looking back at their plates.
Truth was, Lily wasn't exactly worried about the fact that they were late. She knew they had been with Remus they night before. And she had heard his howling; a desperate and nervous howl. She wanted to make sure none of the boys had been hurt. Even if she and Erica weren't still on speaking terms, only the two of them knew what had happened the night before.
"You know, Lily's right." Bessie said, "It is kind of strange that they're so late."
Erica shrugged in what appeared to be a relaxed move when, inside, she was trembling with tension. "I bet they oversleep," she said "Let's go to class, we have DADA and it wouldn't hurt not to be late."
The others nodded, getting up.
(…)
It was when Hermione was already into the lesson that the Marauders finally arrived. Remus wasn't with them, and they apologized to Hermione, saying they had over slept, as they sat on their usual place in the back.
James caught Lily's eyes and winked. She smiled, sending him a confused look and quickly giving him a once over to make sure he was alright. Noticing this, James rolled his eyes and shook his head at her behaviour. Turning back to the front, she saw Erica having a similar exchange with Chris.
"Remus's not with them. Again." Bessie commented with Lily, "You know, I find it kind of weird that his mother is always sick. Makes me wonder if he really tells the truth about where he goes."
Lily didn't answer as she stared at the board nervously. She too had wondered to herself numerous times why he didn't tell her the true. They had broken up because of that, back in third year. She just wished Bessie wouldn't be as stupid as she was to just follow stupid clues, like the one she had followed, given by Snape.
Remembering of him, she looked at the place he sat in the Slytherin part of the classroom (they had the class with them). He was, as always, pretty much staring at Hermione, the way he followed her every move. 'Maybe he has a crush on her?' she asked herself, smiling.
Something colliding with her head made her turn and glare at the most obvious person: James. He pointed with his eyes to a paper in form of a plain which was at her feet. Letting her quill fall, Lily bend to pick it and picked up the paper as well.
Why are you staring at Snape? I'm getting jealous! J.P.
Lily smiled as she read the note, quickly writing back a reply.
She turned to see James catching it, reading and showing it to Sirius, who looked back at Lily and laughed. Then, they wrote back a reply. But, just as Lily was about to read it, someone coughed in front of her. She looked up and met Hermione questioning and- dare she say it- amused stare.
"Ms. Evans, is there anything you want to share with the class?" she asked in her stern voice.
Lily shook her head, "No, professor." She said, as she tried to hide the paper. But it was too late, as Hermione had already seen it.
"So you wouldn't mind to read what you've written in that paper loud, would you?" she asked.
Lily gulped, "I'd rather not, professor." She said.
Hermione's lips curved up in a tiny smile, "Let's hear it then." She said, ignoring what Lily had said.
"C'mon Flower!" she heard Sirius saying, "Read it to us!"
Lily grinned, "I tried to warn." Picking the paper, she started reading, "'Why are you staring at Snape?'" here, she omitted the jealous part, "'I was staring at Snape because I think he's in love with professor Weasley. He won't stop staring at her.'" she continued. Hermione now looked shocked and she could see from the corner of her eyes the Slytherins giving Snape the look. "'Don't be so harsh on the boy. Hermione is actually a nice peace of-" Lily shut up quickly as she read what was next. Turning back, she glared at the two boys who were now laughing out loud, before turning back again. "That was it professor."
Hermione nodded as she stared at Sirius and James in the back of the class, "Mr. Potter and Mr. Black, you will both have detention tonight at nine."
James and Sirius stared agape at her, "Flower's in it too!" Sirius protested, making James smack him.
"Want me to extend your detention to the entire week?" the professor asked calmly as she wrote on the board. Sirius gulped.
"Now, now, 'Mione." He answered, quickly gaining back his cheekiness, "You wouldn't do that to your son-in-law, would you?"
Hermione laughed, "Mr. Black, you now have detention every night for the next week and in the first week of the second term."
The girls laughed and turned front as they saw Sirius slumping back into his chair and muttering obscenities to himself about "future-families".
(…)
After DADA Lily packed her things slowly in hopes of being the last to get out of the classroom. She knew James would wait for her, and, if she wanted to keep their relationship a secret, she had to take safety measures.
"Merlin, woman, can you go any more slowly?" she heard a fake irritated voice asking behind her. Finishing with her books, she picked her bag and turned.
"I was worried about you," were the first words she said as she walked to James, "You okay?"
He nodded, "Dandy," he said, grinning, "We were just tired and over slept."
Lily nodded as he pulled her to him and kissed her. A loud cough made them turn.
"You're still in the classroom." Hermione said, but she too had an amused smile on her face.
James grinned at her, "Stop pestering me, aunt. You already gave me a detention today!" he complained.
She shook her head, "Sirius is still worse than you." she said, "Don't you think?"
James laughed as he nodded, "In these moments I'm glad I'm not your future son-in-law."
"Anyway, we'll be going." Lily cut him, looking at her watch, "We're going to be late for our next class." Hermione nodded as they started walking to the door.
"And Ms. Evans?" Hermione called as they were almost at the door. Lily turned. "I'm glad you two are finally dating."
Lily nodded, "So am I."
With that, she and James exited the classroom, the hallways being already desert.
"Ouch!" James yelped as she smacked him hard on the head. "What was that for?"
She smirked, "That is for saying Hermione is hot." Then, she smacked him again, "And that is for making me say that loud to the whole class!"
James laughed, "Jealous are we?"
Lily shook her head, "No, not really. You know, you're not exactly a Sirius Black to make me jealous. Just to think of that incredibly neat hair of his, those grey eyes and the fact that he dates one of my best friends…"
"Shut up," James laughed, as he grabbed her hand "You know you adore me."
She smiled as they kissed. "Unfortunately, yes. Now, let's go to class. You've already been late once today."
"I don't care if I'm late again." James said as he touched her nose with his.
"You don't?" she asked seductively, as she drew her lips nearer to his. As they were almost touching and he had closed his eyes, she turned on her heel and start walking away. "But I do. So hurry up!"
James laughed as rolled his eyes and he run to catch up with his girlfriend. 'She's crazy;' he thought 'but I wouldn't have her any other way.'
(…)
Christmas was upon then without time. Although she didn't want to leave James, Lily knew her place was home with her family. James, of course, would stay at the castle with the rest of the Marauders, minus Remus who would go home, taking advantage of the fact that the full moon wasn't near Christmas day. Of the girls, and besides Lily, only Bessie would be going home too.
It was the day they would be leaving that Lily found herself unable to hug James goodbye at the station. Besides the Gryffindor seventh years, no one else knew they were dating, so they still tried to keep it secret. Of the Gryffindor seventh years, only Erica still didn't know they were dating. As she and Lily still weren't exactly talking again, Lily had preferred to keep it a secret for a while longer. All in all, no affection demonstrations in public. Never had Lily regretted a decision so much.
"I wish you could stay." He told her quietly as everyone else boarded the train.
"You could come with me if you wanted." She told him, trying with all her mighty to prevent herself from kissing him. "My grandparents wouldn't mind."
James laughed, "Your brother wouldn't leave me alone with you for one second."
Lily laughed too, "Right." she said, sighing. "I'll miss you. Behave while I'm gone."
"I always behave," James said, also fighting the urge he had to touch her cheek, "I'll miss you too." He said.
"Guess this is it." she said.
"Yes." He answered.
And they stood staring at each other, not knowing what to do to say goodbye. "Oh, the hell with it!" Lily whispered as she hugged him, "We're friends right? I can hug you without actually being with you."
James laughed as he hugged her back, "Yes, I guess you can."
"Lily! Hurry up!" Bessie yelled as she walked past the two. As Lily let go of James, Bessie hugged him too. "You know, people would talk if you hugged her only." She whispered to him.
He grinned, "Well, you better be off."
Lily nodded as she entered the train, "I'll see you soon." She said.
James nodded as she walked further into the train. "Yeah, I'll see you soon." He whispered as he smiled and waved one last time, before turning and walking back to the castle.
(…)
When Lily and Bessie arrived home, they were happy to see Henry was already home. Also, it had been decided between their grandparents and Bessie's parents that they should have a Christmas together. Their entire family- Bessie's and Lily's grandparents, cousins, uncles- was there, and dinner would be served at Bessie's place, which had an enormous dinning room.
However, it still was a weird Christmas for Lily. All she could think off was the past Christmas she had spent with her parents…
To shake her thoughts of that, she spent most of her time observing other people. During the entire holiday, Lily could perfectly see Bessie and Henry avoiding each other. She thought about talking with both of them and convince them to have a decent talk but, at last, decided against it. For once in their life, they needed to solve things on their own.
However, as time went by and they still didn't do anything, Lily decided she could very well give them a little push.
"What do you want to show me in your tower?" Henry asked as his youngest sister led the way to her room.
"You'll see." She said, smiling as they arrived to her room.
Once there, they walked outside.
"Lily! There you are!" Bessie started saying, "Did you-"she cut herself off as she noticed Henry was there. "Hi." She said.
Henry smiled awkwardly. "Hi." He said.
Lily smirked, "Expelliarmus." She said to Bessie, and saw her friend's wand flying out of her pocket and to her hands.
"Hey!" Bessie complained, bemused. "Why did you disarm me?"
"Guys, did I ever mention I'm really good with locking spells?" she asked as she run out of the roof and closed the door.
"What is she talking about?" Henry asked, bemused.
"Stop her!" Bessie screamed as she ran to the door, in hopes of stopping her best friend. Too late. "She locked us in here." She informed Henry.
"Oh," he said in comprehension, "That's why she took your wand."
Bessie nodded, "Yeah. Although I don't know why. Her locking spells are really powerful; I wouldn't be able to do anything about it anyway."
Henry shook his head as he sat down, "And why would she do this?" he asked as Bessie sat beside him.
She laughed that jovial laugh of hers that always made him want to smile. "She wants us to talk, what else?" she asked him, "So, how have you been?" she said, trying to form small talk.
"Oh, great!" he said, "I've been in coma, you know?" he said.
She laughed, "And where is this Coma? Is it a country or a city?"
Henry laughed as well, "You're crazy."
"Sure I am. I spend way to much time with your sister not to be crazy."
"I heard that!" Lily screamed.
"Why are you eavesdropping?" Bessie screamed back.
"Sorry! I'm going to the kitchen!"
The two waited until they heard Lily's steps fade away. "I knew she was hearing." Bessie informed him, "She has always been too curious."
Henry nodded, "You tell me!"
Silence fell over them. "But I guess she was right this time, wasn't she?" Bessie asked, "We do need to talk. Things have been painfully awkward since I came back from Hogwarts."
Henry nodded, "Look… I'm sorry about the way I broke up with you. I know it wasn't the most correct one and… maybe one of the stupidest decisions I ever took."
Elizabeth looked at him with wide eyes, "What are you saying?" she asked.
"I regret breaking up with you. I really liked you. I still do. I love you."
Bessie froze. He loved her. 'Oh shit', she thought, 'Oh big shit!'
"Henry…" she started saying, but he cut her off, smiling and leaning in for a kiss. And she kissed him back. Yet, all she could think off was Remus and the day she had told him she didn't like Henry anymore. 'I'm so screwed.' She thought.
"I want you to be my girlfriend again." Henry said.
Bessie took a deep breath. What should she do? "Okay," she said at last, "I accept."
Henry grinned as he kissed her again.
And never kissing a guy had felt so wrong for her.
(…)
"You know, in all these years, I've never been so happy to go back to Hogwarts." Lily told her friend as she looked happily through her bag in search of some money for chocolate.
"All that because of James?" Remus asked as he looked up from his book with a smirk.
Lily stuck her tongue out at him, "If I said no, would you believe?"
"Not really."
"There you have your answer."
She and Remus laughed, but Bessie kept quiet. All the way to the station, and in the train, Elizabeth had kept quiet, her eyes glued to the window as she stared outside, seemingly in another world. In fact, she was only thinking about the fact that she had done something stupid, something she regretted.
"You okay Bess?" Remus' voice asked next to her. She was startled as she looked at him and smiled weakly.
"Yeah," she said, "I'm fine, don't worry."
"You're not fine," Lily said, "What's wrong? I thought you'd be happy, as you're dating my brother again."
Remus' book dropped, "You're dating him again?" he asked, "I thought you had said you didn-"
"I meant what I said, Remus." Bessie cut him off.
Remus looked at her confusedly until his face opened in comprehension, "So you…?"
"Yes." She said, and she knew he understood exactly what she was talking about.
"I'm sorry." He said.
She smiled sadly, "Me too."
"What are you talking about?" Lily asked confused, "what did you tell him? I'm not getting it!"
Bessie took a deep breath and smiled brightly as she turned to Lily, "Nothing Lils," she said, "By the way Remus, I still have to set the date of your dates. I already chose the girls!"
Lily smiled as she looked at Remus, who simply groaned. "Do you have to?" he asked.
Bessie nodded. "Yes, I do. You need a girl, and I'm getting you one."
Remus looked at Lily pleadingly. The red haired simply shook her head. "You know I agree with what she is doing." she informed him, "In fact, I think I'll even help her!"
Remus sighed and closed his eyes, "This is going to be a long second term, isn't it?"
"You have no idea." Bessie and Lily said at the same time.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Author's note: hi!! Okay, I don't have much to say. As you obviously noticed the chapter did not come out Monday, or Tuesday, or Wednesday. I'm sorry once again, but I had a lot of work this week and got drunk for the first time in my life, and I guess the headache the next day didn't help as well.
Anyway, moving on. I know I said this story would probably have only four more chapters (so this should be the last, I think), but, as you saw, it isn't. I decided to give the characters (and I mean all of them, not only Lily and James) a little time to shine in this fic.
Okay… I think that's all I have to say!
Oh, yeah, thanks for the reviews!
Hannah