End of the crisis for Sirius and Clara, as promised. Told you things would get better.
Thank you all for the reviews, you can't imagine what it means to me.
Next update on Sunday.
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The Sun After The Storm.
James and Remus finally managed to make Sirius get out of bed for diner. He didn't get down to the Great Hall though, he merely remained in the Heads' dorms, lying on the sofa, and reading a book of Transfiguration. But still, he had left his bed, there was a small improvement. The girls hadn't managed to do the same with Clara though, and she was still buried under her blankets, eating Chocolate Frogs.
The boys were eating in the dorms (at the exception of Sirius who had refused all forms of food) when Lily came in. Sirius jumped instantly on his feet.
"How is she?" he asked the ginger girl.
Lily shook her head.
"She..."
Lily looked quite embarrassed, and James walked beside her, stroking tenderly her lower back.
"What is it Lils?" he asked her, frowning slightly.
Tears were shining in her eyes, and she looked sheepishly at Sirius.
"I'm sorry Sirius, but... she asked me to give those back to you."
She handed him two glimmering objects, and he recognized instantly the whistle and the necklace he had offered her. Sirius clenched his jaws, taking the jewels in his hand.
"I'm sorry," Lily said again. "She says she won't need them anymore."
Sirius remained silent for a while, merely staring at the shining objects in his palm. But Sirius was beyond crying by now. He wasn't sad, he was furious. Hatred was boiling in his veins, paralyzing his mind, and he was too angry to think about the consequences of his actions anymore. He had to go look for Shannon. And he had to do it now.
Sirius strode out of the dorm without a word, his three friends calling after him as he was hurrying towards his bedside table. He left there Clara's jewels, before picking up the Marauders Map, and searched for the blond girl throughout the school. He spotted her easily in the dungeons. He didn't take some time to think, and he headed for the door again. But James stopped him in his tracks.
"Padfoot, what are you doing?" James asked him.
"I'm going to see Shannon," Sirius answered in a frozen tone.
"Bad idea," Remus advised.
"I need to do something... anything at all. I can't stay idle in the dorms!"
"We need to come up with a plan, Sirius. We had agreed on that..." James argued.
"No! I'm tired of doing nothing!"
He shrugged James away angrily and stormed out of the room. On the threshold, Lily was watching the scene, speechless. James took the Map, that Sirius had left upon his bed, and gave it to his girlfriend.
"Give this to Clara, I'll join you in the Common Room in a minute."
"What for?" Lily asked her boyfriend, taking the Map.
"Sirius is right, it's time we do something. It's time Clara hears the truth."
Sirius's jaws were set, his fists clenched, as he was hurrying throughout the corridors leading to the dungeons. He didn't have trouble to find the blond girl, in the corridor near the entrance of the Slytherin Common Room. Glaring at her, Sirius strode towards her. She gave him a seductive smile as she was catching sight of him.
"Sirius? What can I do for you?"
Sirius's hands flew up on her collar and he pushed the girl against the wall.
"Wow... You're pretty quick, aren't you?" she asked, trying to sound relaxed, though her voice was slightly more high-pitched than usual.
"How did you do it?" replied Sirius, ignoring her remark.
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't play this game with me! How did you do it?"
"Did what?"
"How did you drug me?"
Shannon narrowed her eyes.
"I didn't do anything. Do you really think I would be able to do such a thing?"
Sirius pushed her even harder against the wall, bringing his own face close to Shannon's. He talked in a low and scary voice.
"Don't try to be clever with me. I know you did this. Who else could have? You knew you had no chance of seducing me, you knew I would remain true to Clara, whatever you could try to make me change my mind about her. So you drugged me, and made sure that she would witness your twisted plan."
"I'm sure you have proofs", said Shannon defiantly.
Behind them, Remus, Peter and James had arrived, though they remained at a respectful distance from the battle that was going on between Sirius and the girl.
"I want to know how!" Sirius roared.
"Look..." the girl started, but the boy interrupted her.
"Do I really need to use a threat? Or do you already know what I'm going to do to you if you don't open your fucking mouth and talk?!" Sirius roared.
"I'm not afraid of you," she snapped.
"You should be."
"What? Are you really going to punch me?" asked the girl defiantly.
"I'm seriously thinking about it," he finally spoke.
"You'll probably get expelled."
Sirius put slowly his hands against the wall on each side of her face.
"I don't really care about Hogwarts, or anything right now really. You went too far this time. I don't care about the consequences anymore. You see, that's what is really dangerous when you break a man to the point that he has nothing anymore. He doesn't have anything more to lose. You hurt the woman I love, and I'll probably never get her back, because despite all the things I will do to prove her that I have never cheated on her, doubt will always be there, and she will never love me like she used to. She will never trust me again. So you see, your plan worked too well indeed, because now you have me to deal with, and nothing will restrain me."
Shannon could read in his grey glance that he was deadly serious. He was ready to do anything to get his girlfriend back. She had never seen anyone act like this before... so desperate to be with someone, to fight for someone. Maybe he was the one who was right. Maybe he did love her...
"As you just said, she will never trust you again, so what's the point?" she asked, trying one last time to convince him. "You'll never get her back anyway. Why don't you give us a chance? You could have better than her..."
"No, I couldn't. I can't have better than her," he answered, shaking his head, his voice calmer, trying to explain her why she didn't stand a chance. "I love her, Shannon. I love her more than anything in this world. She's everything to me. Can't you see? Can't you see that whatever you may try, I'll never want you? I want her, and no one else. She's worth so much than you..."
She stared at his grey eyes for a while, remaining silent.
"So? You drugged me, right?" Sirius asked her again.
She nodded slowly, giving up.
"Yeah, I did drug you."
Clara remained frozen on the spot. Hidden under James's invisibility cloak, with Lily by her side, standing next to the three Gryffindor boys, she watched the scene, motionless. And this confession was leaving her breathless. This bloody... fucking... bitch had drugged Sirius?!
Then he hadn't lied to her...
Her heart stopped.
"How?" Sirius asked the blond girl, taking a few steps back now that she was confessing everything.
"When we drank a toast together."
Clara clenched her jaws, but Sirius frowned hard.
"I refused your drink..."
The Gryffindor girl relaxed a bit, her heart still rushing under her ribs.
"I poured the potion into your drink," Shannon explained.
Sirius stared at her for a moment, remaining silent.
"Did you brew the potion yourself?" James asked her.
Shannon turned towards him, shaking her head.
"No, I asked someone to do it for me."
"Who brewed it?" Sirius asked.
"A Slytherin guy... Severus... something."
"Snape?" Sirius asked, propping up an eyebrow.
"Yes, that's it. When I said that I wanted to use it against one of the Gryffindor boys, he didn't think twice before helping me. 'Guess he doesn't like you all very much, does he?"
"The greasy git..." James mumbled under his breath.
"What kind of potion was it anyway?" Sirius asked her. "I was too sick for it to be a mere love potion..."
Shannon shrugged.
"I asked him for something that would make you lose your mind. I thought it was a love potion. But I guess he gave me something else."
"You drugged him with a potion you knew nothing about?" James asked her, aghast.
"I told you, I thought it was a love potion."
"Did you use all the potion you had?" asked Remus.
"No, I still have some."
"I want to see it," Sirius ordered.
The girl nodded, not even arguing.
Clara had heard enough. She tugged at Lily's sleeve, and they walked quickly away, heading back to the Tower. She didn't listen to her ginger friend as she was calling after her. She ran up the boys' staircase to the boy's dormitories. She would wait for Sirius there. They needed to talk about all this. They needed to explain each other everything. And she needed a moment alone anyway. She needed some time to let all these information sink in. She strode towards Sirius's bed. She hadn't been in his dorm since the previous year, as the two Gryffindors never saw each other in the dorms because of their schoolmates. The Common Room, the Room of Requirement, or simply a deserted corridor allowed them much more privacy. But she was sure he would get back to his dorm, so she walked throughout the room, recognizing easily Sirius's bed. There was the drawing she had given him the previous year on the wall next to his bed, and a photo of the two of them dancing in the snow in Hogsmeade, along with her jewels upon his bedside table, and the book of Peter Pan was by their side. She lied down upon his bed, breathing deeply in his pillow, filling up her lungs with his scent, this scent she had missed so badly these past few hours. Merlin, she needed him so much...
Remus wanted to go to Dumbledore, but Sirius didn't have any time to waste upon their Headmaster. He needed to show this new proof to Clara...
He strode through the portrait hole, and headed towards the girls' staircase, before Lily would stop him.
"She's in your dorm."
Sirius frowned.
"We brought her along when we went to the dungeons," James told his friend.
Sirius propped up an eyebrow.
"We thought she would need to hear it from Shannon's own lips to believe the whole story," Remus added. "So we took her with us, hiding her under James's cloak to make sure that Shannon would not see her."
"She ran upstairs in your dorm when we came in," Lily told Sirius again.
Sirius nodded slowly, before storming up the stairs, and into his dormitory.
Clara stood up as he was coming in. Sirius remained standing there, motionless next to the door, not daring to approach her in case she would run away if he came closer.
"Clara..."
A second later, she had wrapped her arms around his neck, and her lips were upon his. They were supposed to talk, she knew it, but she couldn't control herself right now. He took her in his arms and pressed her against him, giving everything he had in his kiss, revealing his soul to her through their sealed lips and moving tongues.
An eternity later, they pulled away, out of breath.
"I'm so sorry", Clara said, resting her forehead against his, her eyes still closed. "I'm sorry, I didn't listen to you. I heard everything in the dungeons... I was hiding under James's invisibility cloak, and I heard everything. Sirius, I'm so sorry..."
"You don't have to apologise for anything. It's all my fault," he replied. "I should have known she would try something to tear us apart."
"I can't believe she did that... She drugged you, she's insane!"
"Let's not talk about that right now, okay?"
She took a step back, holding his hands tightly in hers.
"We should."
Sirius heaved a deep sigh.
"I didn't know what I was doing, I completely blacked out..."
"I know. I know, it's okay. I know it's not your fault."
"I'm sorry..."
"It's not your fault. You didn't cheat on me. I'm the one who fucked up. I should have listened to you. I should have thought about it. Now that I know for sure what happened, I really feel like an idiot. I can't believe I thought just for a second that you could do something like this to me, after all we've been through..."
"You were upset, that's all. I'm not the one who's going to hold it against you. After all, I've had my moments of pure madness."
She gave him a sad smile.
"Could you forgive me?" she asked him sheepishly, her voice barely a whisper.
Sirius merely laughed.
"Clara, there's nothing to forgive. It's not your fault. I'm the one who has to beg for forgiveness right now, for being so stupid..."
"It's not your fault."
"Forgive me."
"There's nothing to forgive."
"I was stupid..."
She shushed him, resting her fingertips on his lips.
"It's not your fault," she repeated.
She let her fingers slid down to his chest, and she rested her palm upon his heart, feeling his heartbeat pulsing under her skin through the thin fabric of his shirt.
"What do we do about them now?" she asked him after a brief silence.
"Remus wants us to go see Dumbledore. He thinks we should tell him everything."
"What do you think about it?"
Sirius shrugged.
"He already proved in the past that he doesn't want to be too harsh on Snivellus, and though I think Shannon deserves to be punished, I don't want all the Americans to leave because she's expelled or something."
Clara nodded, a smile slowly curving up her lips.
"I reckon that the two of us being together will be a good punishment for her already."
Sirius grinned.
"So... you're not breaking up with me anymore, are you?"
She shook her head, laughing though her eyes were wet with tears.
"Of course I'm not breaking up with you."
"Then..."
He walked towards his bed, and handed her back her whistle and her necklace.
"These are yours," he told her.
He helped her putting on her necklace, and she put the whistle safely in the pocket of her robes. She looked up at him, stroking the silvery crocus around her neck, losing her soul in his deep grey eyes, before jumping at his neck. He laughed in her hair, holding her tightly against him.
She took a deep breath, her eyes still closed.
"There is something else we have to talk about," she told him, running her hands through his dark hair.
"What is it?" he asked her, breathing deeply her scent of jasmine.
She looked at him in the eyes again.
"I don't think any of this would have happened if I hadn't kept a secret..."
But Sirius shook his head.
"I trust you, Clara. If you gave your word..."
"I'm not hiding anything from you again. Never."
She shrugged.
"I guess my dad will have to deal with it, like he has to deal with everything about you."
Sirius frowned quite hard.
"Your father?"
She nodded.
"My dad has discovered something, and... he doesn't want anyone to know. But he told me, just to be sure that I would be careful..."
"If it's your father, then I won't get mad at you about it again," Sirius interrupted her once more. "It's fine, you don't have to tell me. It's just that... I thought... I was scared it was another guy... I was being a bit jealous I guess..."
"It doesn't matter," she replied, determined to reveal everything to him. "I don't want to hide anything from you. It's killing me."
She took his hands in hers.
"My dad thinks there's a traitor in the Auror department."
Sirius's eyes widened.
"He thinks he's been giving information to Voldemort," Clara went on.
"What kind of information?" he asked her.
"About raids, about their investigation, about their defences... Everything. My father thinks that's how Voldemort and his followers know so much things about Aurors. Their names, their addresses, their families..."
"Merlin..." Sirius breathed.
"He only trusts Moody and Dumbledore. No one else. Moody, Dumbledore and me. He wanted me to be careful, and..."
She swallowed back the lump that crept up her throat.
"I think he also uses me as an insurance, you know? If both he and Moody are killed, then one more person will know about the spy. But for now, he can't tell anyone in his team, as they are all suspects."
"Does he have proofs?"
"No, not really. Merely rumours, and doubts, but nothing concrete. Nothing that could be used in a trial."
"Do you think that this spy could have helped the Death Eaters who attacked you this summer to escape, as they were being transferred to Azkaban?"
Clara nodded.
"Yes, that's what my dad thinks. All the Aurors in his team knew which road they would take. They knew everything about the security measures, they knew where they would be, and when... It was easy then for Voldemort to set them free."
Sirius clenched his jaws, but remained silent.
"Love," she told him, her eyes begging, "you can't tell anyone."
"Of course I won't tell anyone," he reassured her.
She nodded. He cupped her cheek in his calloused hand.
"Are you alright?"
She let out a wry laugh.
"Of course. My dad is hunting down the biggest psychopath in the world, one of his colleagues is a traitor working for the very Dark Wizard they are supposed to catch, and he's driving me mad by wanting me to keep it all secret... I'm more than fine..."
She sighed, closing her eyes.
"I should have told you earlier," she said, her voice tender again. "I feel so much better, now that you know..."
He kissed her forehead.
"I won't tell anyone, don't worry," he said. "You can tell me everything, you'll feel better if you share all this with me, okay?"
She nodded against his lips, and they remained motionless for a while. But soon, the memory of all the events that had occurred since the ball came back, and her heart tightened.
As she was pulling away again, a tear rolled down Clara's cheek.
"I'm so sorry I didn't believe you. I was so mean to you, when you had done nothing wrong..."
She caressed tenderly his cheeks.
"I can't believe I slapped you..."
Sirius laughed loudly, almost barking.
"You thought I had cheated on you, it would have been deserved if I had. It's okay, don't worry."
She made a point to kiss every inch of his cheek that she had hurt that morning, and he didn't protest, grinning like an idiot. But he didn't care to look like an idiot, he had her back, and it was all that mattered for the moment. Her kisses were tender and soft on his skin and soon she moved her lips back to his. He carried her and put her down gently on his bed. He kissed her neck, his right hand travelling up her thigh. She let out a moan, and he moved his lips to her collarbone. He had managed to reveal her entire right shoulder, and he slid her bra strap down to her upper arm. He wanted more of her, always more, he couldn't imagine how he could get enough...
He kissed her mouth again, as she slid her hands under his shirt, moving her hands across his back. Their hearts were beating so fast, they could feel each other's heartbeats against their chests. Still on top of her, Sirius rested his forehead against hers, opening his eyes. Her cheeks were pink, her eyes still closed and she was as out of breath as he was: she was astonishingly beautiful. She lost her hands in his hair.
"I love you Clara," Sirius whispered.
She opened her eyes, grinning, and looked right into his deep grey gaze.
"I love you too Sirius."
He grinned back at her and kissed her feverishly on the lips, as he was sending her shirt flying across the room, and her cloth was soon followed by Sirius's. She couldn't stop smiling as he was throwing her bra aside, and kissing her breasts.
A ray of the sinking sun was falling by the window right upon the bed. Outside, the sun was shining bright.
"I reckon you two will be homeless tonight," James told his two friends.
Peter sighed, apparently annoyed, though Remus was smiling.
"I guess we'll have to spend the night in the Room of Requirement, Wormtail," the werewolf said.
"Or maybe we could sleep in the Head's dorm?" Peter proposed.
James shrugged.
"I won't use my room tonight, I guess one of you can take the bed, and the other the sofa."
Lily propped up an eyebrow, much more relaxed now that she was convinced that everything would be fine between her two friends. After all, it had been half-an-hour now that Sirius had climbed up the stairs, and the ginger girl reckoned that if Clara and Sirius had been arguing again, they would have heard them by now.
"And where do you think you are going to sleep tonight exactly?" she asked her boyfriend.
James smirked wickedly at her.
"Well, we had made a bet, if you remember. A bet about pumpkins?"
Lily laughed.
"I thought we were supposed to go in your room if I won..."
"Do you prefer to leave your room to Peter? And no Lils, if you won, we were supposed to go in your room."
"I'm not leaving my room to Peter. Never."
"That's what I thought."
"Do you really have to be flirting while we're here?" asked Peter.
"Oh, come on Wormtail, grow up!" James replied, rolling his eyes.
"Well, personally, I prefer to sleep in the Room of Requirement, rather than hearing you two all night long," Remus said, pointing at Lily and James.
He rose from the sofa, and headed towards the portrait hole, closely followed by Peter. James turned towards Lily.
"Come on, love. Let's go to your bedroom."
"I haven't said I was accepting you in my bed tonight, Potter," she replied, teasing him.
"And what would I have to do to convince you, Evans?"
"Hmm... I don't know..."
She got closer to him, stroking his muscular chest, her emerald eyes glimmering with a mischievous glint.
"I guess you'll have to win this place in my bed."
"Win?" James asked propping up an eyebrow, a smirk on his face. "Do you want to try to take your revenge at our game of strip-chess?"
She burst into laughter, though she couldn't deny that she was quite tempted.
"Maybe..." she grinned, before biting his earlobe.
James groaned, before rising, and dragging Lily up the stairs behind him, winking at her mischievously.
"Now, Ginger Sweet, prepare yourself to lose. I'll earn my place in your bed tonight, don't worry..."
Remus and Peter were chatting merrily as they were heading towards the hidden room of Hogwarts where they would spend the night. Though Peter was quite annoyed by the fact that Sirius and Clara had claimed their dorms for themselves, Remus was too happy for his two friends to care. During these last twenty-four hours, he had thought about nothing but the two of them, and it felt good to have his mind off such troubles. But as he was walking before the Library, spotting a group of Hufflepuffs in the midst of the students who were exiting the room, Remus's eyes grew wide, and panic rose through his body.
"Oh fuck..." he breathed, freezing.
"What?" Peter asked him, propping up an eyebrow.
Oh Merlin, Remus had completely forgotten to look for Sally after the ball. He had exited the ballroom with James, excusing himself, but he was pretty sure she had waited for him to come back, and he hadn't.
Merlin... This it. Your death sentence has fallen upon your head, Remus...
"Wormtail, go ahead, I'll find you there," Remus told his friend.
"Why?" Peter asked in a frown.
"Just go!"
Peter sighed angrily, before walking away. Remus hurried towards the Hufflepuffs, his eyes fixed on the blond American girl amongst them.
"Sally?"
She turned around, and she winced at the sight of the werewolf.
Oh fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK...
"Sally... can I talk to you? Just for a minute?"
She nodded, and followed the boy in a deserted corridor.
"Look, Sally..." the werewolf struggled to begin.
Remus, breathe deep. What happened is not your fault... or well, not entirely your fault at least...
"I'm so sorry for what happened at the ball..."
"Were you bored?" she asked bluntly, interrupting him.
Remus frowned.
"What?!"
"Were you bored last night? Is it why you didn't come back? Betty she... she says that's probably why you didn't come back."
Remus closed his eyes.
This has to a bloody joke. It is a joke, right? Right. Hmm... Remus, you've stopped breathing again, and that's not good at all, you're terrible at holding your breath. Should I remind how terrible you are at swimming? Remember that time when Sirius had to get you out of the swimming pool because you were playing at this stupid contest with him to know who could hold his breath the longest, and you almost drowned? In James's pool! So please, Remus, BREATHE!
Remus forced himself to breathe deeply, before opening his eyes again.
"No, I wasn't bored at all, Sally. I had a wonderful evening with you."
"Then why didn't you come back?" she asked.
He could read in her eyes that this whole thing was hurting her, and he felt his heart breaking in his chest.
"I'm sorry. Sirius... Well, that's a long story. Clara and him had a huge row, and..."
"So you've left me alone because your mate had a row with his girlfriend?" she asked, clearly hurt.
Remus heaved a deep sigh.
"It's a long story..."
"I have plenty of time."
Her glance was determined. Clearly, if he wanted to get her back, he had to tell her the whole story.
And so he started to tell her what had happened that day. And the more Remus was talking, the more Sally was growing paler and paler.
"Shannon couldn't do that..." she whispered, her eyes wide, as Remus was finishing his story. "I mean, I know she's a bit cruel sometimes, but..."
"Trust me Sally, I'm not lying to you. I really do wish this was a joke, but it's not."
He took a glimpse at her so smooth hand.
Okay, Remus. Slowly, don't rush her, don't scare her. A soft touch at first. Do it slowly, and leave her the choice to let you hold her hand or not. Come on, you're a Lion, you can do this!
He was so scared, he thought he was going to throw up, but he advanced slowly his hand towards hers anyway, and brushed his fingers against hers. She didn't push him away...
YES! Now, slowly, Remus... That's it, slowly...
Remus held her hand in his, squeezing her fingers gently.
Oh Merlin, her skin is so smooth, and warm and...
"I'm sorry," he told her earnestly, looking at her eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't look for you before now, I'm sorry I didn't come back at the ball, I'm sorry I left you alone. But this whole thing was so... crazy, and terrible and... Sirius needed me. Do you understand? Could you... Could you forgive me?"
Sally's lips curved slowly into a smile.
"Well... it looks like you're not very good at dates, are you?" she teased him.
Remus grinned.
"I'm awful at dates. Here, now you know."
She chuckled softly, before looking at his eyes again.
"If you finish this date with me tonight, I'll forgive you."
Remus propped up an eyebrow.
"Finish this date?"
She nodded.
"Would you like to go to the Lake?" she asked him.
Remus grinned again.
"I'd love to," he breathed.
"Great. I need to get my stuff back to my room, but..."
"I'll walk you there, if you want."
She smiled, nodding. But as Remus was slowly taking a step back, she stopped him, holding his hand a bit more tightly in hers.
"Wait," she said, her intense gaze piercing right through him, "there's one more thing you could do to make me forgive you."
"Anything," Remus answered, his breath taken away from his lungs by her stare.
She walked closer to him, their chests touching, before getting on her tiptoes, staring at his lips. Remus's heart stopped.
He let a small smile appear on his lips, whilst he was cradling her neck in his palm, diving slowly towards her red lips.
And he kissed her tenderly in the deserted corridor.
Lily was sleeping. James had managed to get out of the dorms without waking her up, and was now heading towards the dungeons.
Remus wanted to go to Dumbledore to let him take care of Shannon and Snape, but James knew perfectly how things would end. Shannon would have detentions, and all her American comrades would suffer from her stupidity. And this greasy git of Snivellus would get away with is, as always. For Merlin's sake, this bloody snake had almost killed him at the beginning of the year and Dumbledore had merely given him detentions. The Headmaster would never let him be expelled for what he had done to Sirius.
And if Dumbledore didn't want to act, then James would.
He opened the door of the Slytherin Common Room. Learning the passwords of all the houses was one of the first things the Marauders had done this year.
James had looked at the Map, and spotted Snape alone in the Slytherin Common Room.
Easy target. Perfect.
The Gryffindor boy walked in. Snape was there, alone, throwing curses at a raven, apparently training on some kind of spell.
"Well, well, well... I see you've learned your lesson. You're finally fighting someone of your stature," James snapped coldly.
Snape spun around, barely surprised to find the Head Boy there. He merely glowered at the Gryffindor.
"What do you want, Potter?" he asked in a poisoned tone.
"Warn you," James merely replied.
"About what?"
"What will happen to you if you ever try to hurt one of my friends again."
Snape snickered mockingly.
"I'm not afraid of you, Potter," he spat, wincing as he was pronouncing his name, as if it was an evil word.
"You should be," James replied.
He came closer to Snape, until their faces were merely inches apart.
"What did you give Sirius?" James asked him.
"Why don't you try to find out by yourself?" Snape replied. "Oh, but no, sorry... I was forgetting you're too lazy to work on anything."
James clenched his fists, but refrain his urge to punch Snape right in the face.
"I won't ask twice, Snivellus," James warned him.
Snape shrugged.
"Shannon asked for a drug, that's what I gave her."
"What was it?"
"One of my own creations."
"Is it dangerous?"
"He was very sick, wasn't he?"
Before James's expression, Snape merely laughed.
"I bet he was. But don't worry, the effects don't linger on."
James nodded slowly. Staring at Snape's dark eyes, he couldn't feel anything but disgust and hatred.
"Don't you ever try to hurt one of us again. Am I clear?"
"And what are you going to do to me?" Snape spat. "Give me detentions, Head Boy?"
"No," James shook his head, his eyes flashing with wrath, "I'll make sure you won't be able to hurt anyone again."
Snape couldn't help but shudder before James's merciless glare.
James turned around, heading for the door again.
"Does Lily know you came down here?" he asked James.
The Gryffindor boy froze.
"Does she know you're threatening me again? What would she say if she knew?"
"She knows you drugged my best friend. Trust me, she won't get mad at me."
James turned towards Snape again, and the Slytherin glowered at him.
"I don't know how you managed to blind her," Snape snapped. "But trust me, when she sees through your game, and sees who you really are, she'll leave you."
James walked back towards him.
"You don't deserve her," Snape went on in a bitter tone. "You don't deserve her love. I can't believe she was stupid enough to fall in your arms."
James stopped, their faces barely inches away, and the look of loathing in his eyes made Snape's blood boil even more.
"And you think you deserve her?" James asked.
Snape clenched his jaws.
"You're nothing, Snivellus," James went on. "You're just scum. And for sure you're right, I don't deserve her. Lily is way too kind and perfect for someone like me. But if I don't deserve to love her, you don't even deserve to look at her. You don't even deserve to speak her name..."
"Does she know yet that you'll leave her the moment you've fucked her?"
James grabbed the Slytherin by his collar and pressed him against the wall.
"You know nothing about Lily and I," James snapped.
"I know she's just a piece of meat to you. I know you'll leave her the second she'll have let you in her bed."
James smiled.
"Poor Snivellus... You're so naive. We've been together for more than two months now, Lily and I. Do you really think that nothing has happened between us yet?"
Snape froze, growing pale.
"I bet you're having nightmares about what could happen between Lily and I, don't you Snape?"
"You're lying!" Snape cried. "She would never give herself to someone like you!"
"Because you really think she would give herself to someone like you?"
Snape clenched his jaws, but didn't say a word.
"Stay away from her," James warned him. "You lost her on your own accord, like the greasy git you've always been. Don't you dare get near her again. She deserves better than you. She's suffered enough because of you."
"If you hurt her, Potter..."
"What would you do?" James asked him defiantly, but he calmed down quickly, letting go of Snape, pity shining in his eyes more than anger now. "She doesn't love you, Snape. But she loves me."
The Slytherin glowered at him.
"That's because you're not honest with her..."
"I am honest with her. There's nothing I hide from her. And yet, she loves me. And I love her. I won't hurt her, Snape. So if you really do care about her happiness, you'd better stay away from us."
James walked out of the Common Room, and Snape remained frozen against the wall.
He didn't believe James. He didn't believe anything had happened between him and Lily. It was only words, he was showing off again. Nothing had happened between them, nothing...
And if Lily loved him, it was because she was too kind to see who this cocky rooster was. But Snape would help her. Sometimes, it was being a friend to force one to open his eyes. One day, she would understand... she would understand that everything he had done, and was about to do, was for her own good.
When James tiptoed back into the Heads' dorms, he was not very surprised to find Lily waiting for him, the candles alit on their bedside tables.
"Where were you?" she asked him.
She had put one of his shirts on, and James couldn't help but smile at the sight of the ginger girl in his clothes.
"Nothing important," he answered elusively.
She propped up an eyebrow.
"Nothing important that needed to be done in the middle of the night? And behind my back?"
James rolled his eyes.
"I didn't do anything behind your back..."
"You sneaked out of the bedroom in the middle of the night whilst I was sleeping..."
He sat down on the bed next to her, and shushed her, pressing his palm against her lips.
"I surrender. I'll tell you where I was," he told her.
He let his hand fall down on the mattress, and she listened carefully to him.
"I went in the dungeons. I went to see Snape."
Lily's eyes grew wide, but she didn't interrupt him.
"I didn't hurt him, don't worry. I just spoke to him. I warned him that he'd better stay away from my friends if he wanted to stay alive long enough to finish school. But I promise you, I didn't curse him, nor punch him... though I would have been glad to do so, trust me."
Lily nodded slowly.
"You can say it Lils, I know what you're thinking," James told her.
She looked up at him, staring at his hazel eyes.
"You shouldn't have done that."
"I know."
"If someone learns you went in the Slytherin dorms, you'll be in big trouble."
"I only went in the Common Room, but I know."
"It will only make things worse with him."
"I know."
"You should have talked to me about it before going there."
"I know."
Lily heaved a deep sigh.
"What did he tell you."
James shrugged.
"A few insults, nothing unexpected."
Lily nodded slowly, and James didn't add anything.
She definitely didn't need to know that this git was in love with her...
She let herself fall back onto the pillows, pulling James down with her.
"I've borrowed your shirt," she said, her lips curving into a smile.
"I've noticed that," James smiled. "You should keep it, it suits you well."
"You like it?"
"It's sexy."
She giggled, blushing.
"Are you mad at me?" James asked her, enlacing their fingers together.
Lily shook her head.
"No, I'm not mad at you. I understand."
She cuddled in his arms, closing her eyes to get back to sleep.
But inside his chest, his heart was racing, and a horrible feeling was tightening his throat. Because after all, Snape was right... he didn't deserve her...
"Lils," he called softly.
"Yes, James?"
"I love you. You know I love you, right?"
She looked up at him, her eyelids heavy with sleep, but a smile on her lips.
"I know. And you know I love you too."
She kissed him on the lips tenderly.
"I love you with all my heart, James Potter."
She rested her head on his shoulder again, and soon she was fast asleep. Lost in thoughts, James traced little circles on her upper arm.
He didn't sleep again that night.
