Poppy's POV
After Lily's confessions, she was adamant about getting on with some work and knowing she'd told me a lot I allowed her to pull me into it. I had a productive few hours, but I'm not sure Lily did; whenever I looked up she was day dreaming, looking distracted and I now knew who was causing that. At 1 we went down to lunch, meeting up with the others and I noticed Lily sitting at the complete other end to James, and I'm pretty sure he realised this too. However, as Priya came over a moment later, he said nothing and we instead had a nice group lunch and chat, all of us looking forward to tonight. Us girls had decided on having a big lunch so that we could spend the time getting ready instead and we decided to sneak Suze into our dormitory as well which we were excited about.
After lunch we successfully managed to sneak Suze in and we sat in the boy's dormitory for a bit, lounging and having a chat. It was interesting to see how close Frank and Alice were and equally Suze and Peter. However, I couldn't help but watch Lily who had ended up sitting on James's bed as Remus and Fiona sat together on his bed. She seemed tense and she kept looking over at me which only made me want to laugh. Sirius kept asking me what I found so funny, but I just told him I was thinking of something which I was and so my eyes didn't turn purple. I knew he was suspicious though and I would have to be careful around him now as I didn't want to break my promise to Lily. Besides, if he found out he would just go running straight to James and I wasn't convinced that was the best way to play this.
At six the guys went down for food and us girls retreated to our dormitory to get ready for a miniature party for Sirius's birthday. We had a good chat, laughing and gossiping as we got ready. Both Suze and Alice confessed that they really wanted Peter and Frank respectively to make a move on them, the both of them blushing as they said it. We had tried to encourage them to make the first move, but they had both blanched at that and I couldn't really blame them.
At eight we made our way downstairs, not seeing the guys and so instead we made our way to Lily and James's common room, finding them all already there, including Priya. Lily tensed slightly beside me but other than that gave no indication that something was amiss as we grabbed a drink and took a seat, Sirius naturally sitting next to me, his arm coming round me. James sat with Priya on his lap in an armchair and I could see she was pleased with this. Lily sat next to me with Remus next to her which meant the four of us were very squished together which I think Sirius appreciated at any rate, judging by the grin on his face. Everybody else sat scattered around the room on cushions as Fiona proposed a game of 'Never have I ever'.
"But Fi we play this all the time. We all know everything there is to know about each other now" Lily pointed out and I couldn't help but agree with her; she had a fair point.
"But Priya hasn't played with us before" Fiona replied with a grin. "We'll leave it to Sirius" she announced, everybody now looking at him.
"Well, we could start with it as a warmup" he suggested, and Fiona cheered in triumph.
"Alright but we should at least try and think of some new ones" Lily told her and I saw everybody else nod in agreement.
"Okay I'll start" Fiona said brightly, eyes on Sirius. "Never have I ever been caught out of bounds after hours" she started with and I saw James roll his eyes as all of the Marauders drunk. I had a feeling this was going to be mainly aimed at Sirius and wondered how drunk he was going to get. "Suze your turn" she said happily, turning to her.
"Hmmm. Never have I ever kissed someone and regretted it" she said proudly and quite a few people drunk at this one, including James. Sirius also drunk and I turned to him with a frown, making him grin.
"Every girl who wasn't you" he said cheesily before kissing me and I heard Fiona make a vomiting noise.
"You are sickening sometimes" I told him, and he laughed before we both turned to James and Priya.
"Go on! You can't drink and then not tell me!" Priya was insisting and I saw other people looking curious as well. James's eyes darted to me and I knew instantly which kiss he was regretting and why he didn't want to say.
"Come on James, do tell" Frank said, oblivious to what was going on.
"Tell me" Priya pressed, poking him with a smile which I knew wouldn't last long if she found out.
"It's totally not worth it" he told her, but she just raised her eyebrows at him, and I knew now that him dragging this out was making it worse. She was properly looking at him now and the room had gone silent. I saw a change in James's expression which looked like resignation and braced myself, feeling Sirius put an arm around me. "It was last year. I kissed Poppy" he said casually with a shrug and I saw how she tensed at this, eyes looking over at me. I tried to look calm and casual, as though it were no big deal and smiled, her focus back on James.
"Oh, right" was all she said, and I saw James roll his eyes when she turned away from him.
"Pete your turn" Fiona said quickly, doing her best to move the game on.
"Never have I ever heard my parents having sex" he said, and this did the trick as everybody immediately looked disgusted, especially those who drank and that was all it took to make everybody forget what had just happened. As everybody discussed this most unfortunate statement, I chanced a glance at James and Priya who were conversing in hushed tones, the latter not looking happy.
"Oh Pop. I think you've gotten our Prongs into trouble" Sirius whispered beside me and I turned to him to see he was also watching them with a frown.
"Hey, it wasn't me who initiated that kiss!" I retaliated and he laughed at this, eyes flashing to me before looking back at James. I saw him mouth something at him, nodding a second later before looking at me again. "Yup he's in trouble" Sirius confirmed. I felt bad for him but at the same time I couldn't help but think of Lily, wondering if this was her way in.
Lily's POV
I tried not to look at James and Priya throughout the night as it made me feel irritated and, rather unfortunately, jealous every time I did. Merlin, I was a mess of a woman. I really needed to get over this James crush. Because that's just what this was. A silly little crush. And I could definitely shake it.
"You okay?" Poppy came over to where I was sat on the armchair, perching on the arm.
"Yeah fine" I told her with a smile, but I saw her look sceptical. "Honest" I insisted and at this she nodded. "Anyway, are you and Sirius going off to your secret place tonight?" I asked her with a grin which she returned as she nodded, the alcohol giving her a bit more confidence than she usually had.
"Of course" she told me, and I laughed at this, eyes drifting to Sirius who despite talking to Remus and Fiona kept on looking over at Poppy. Honestly, the guy couldn't keep his eyes off her.
"Do you ever think that he's like, the one?" I asked her curiously and she blushed at this, making me smile.
"Lily we haven't even been together a year" she replied, not directly answering my question which in itself was answer enough.
"But your green eyes show how much you love him" I retaliated, causing her to blush again and look at me in surprise, enough to change the colour of her eyes. "I notice things too you know" I told her with a grin, and she shoved me lightly, making me laugh. Just then, the portrait went, and James reappeared, alone and with a frown. I saw Poppy motion him over and he came, casually sitting on the other arm of where I was sat, his arm around the back of the chair. I tried my very best not to blush at just how close this forced us to sit, not being helped by Poppy who was looking down at me and I could tell she was trying not to grin.
"She's really pissed off with me now" James said, evidently oblivious to my anxiety and Poppy's struggles to compose herself.
"James she really needs to chill out. It was last year, you kissed me for all of one second, and then you immediately regretted it" Poppy told him, now sounding irritated. "I mean, it was way before her. How is she even annoyed?!" she exclaimed, and I could see a genuine flicker of orange in her eyes to match the irritation.
"It's because we're still friends" James told her, shaking his head in disbelief. "Hey, at least she's not as jealous of you now Lily" he said with a grin, lightly nudging me and I found myself smiling up at him.
"I have a boyfriend! She should be more jealous of Lily!" Poppy exclaimed and I looked at her in worry. She obviously saw this as she shook her head at me before looking at James.
"Hey, I didn't say she was being rational" James told her as Sirius drifted over, standing behind Poppy and putting a hand on her shoulder. She took a breath and his touch obviously relaxed her a little as her eyes went back to green with just orange flecks now.
"What happened?" Sirius asked, eyes focused on James.
"She yelled at me for not telling her I'd kissed Poppy before and is now annoyed because we're still friends" James summed up and I rolled my eyes; it really was daft.
"How is she still annoyed when we're together?" he asked, motioning between him and Poppy with a frown. Poppy went to say something but then shut her mouth and shook her head, evidently deciding against it.
"I really don't know" James admitted with a sigh. "I'm sorry Pad, I didn't mean for all this to kick off on your birthday" he said to Sirius, sounding a little down.
"Don't apologise. It's not your fault" Sirius replied quickly with a smile. "I've had a great night" he told him before grinning. "So far" he added on, glancing down at Poppy who smiled up at him. He gently pulled her, and she got up, the two of them moving to sit on the sofa leaving me with James. I took a breath before turning to him, seeing him grinning at Poppy and Sirius.
"How do we put up with them?" he asked, looking down at me and making me laugh.
"I really don't know" I admitted. "And can you imagine she suggested more PDA?!" I asked him, gesturing to where they were cuddled up on the sofa and chatting, oblivious to everybody else right now. James laughed at this, and I turned back round to see him shaking his head.
"Don't" he said through his laughter. I found that I felt happy that I could make him laugh like that and pull him out of his bad mood. No, Lily. You can't think like that. I shook myself, trying to stop those kind of thoughts filtering through.
"I'm just saying. We should actually be thankful they're not making out right now" I told him, as he continued to laugh.
"Don't jinx it!" he exclaimed, now making me laugh.
"Sorry, you're right" I told him, and I saw his eyes light up at this for some reason.
"Woah now. Was that Lily Evans telling me that I, James Potter, was right?" he teased, and I rolled my eyes at him.
"Don't get used to it" I said, making him laugh again.
"I'm sorry but you're going to be saying that more in future. I'm telling you" he said with a grin and I shook my head although I couldn't stop myself from smiling.
"Yeah, yeah. You keep telling yourself that" I told him, and he laughed again.
"Hey Lily?" he asked after a moment, giving me that smile that I rarely saw, and which made me heart go crazy. I nodded, not sure I could form coherent sentences. "Thanks for cheering me up and making me laugh" he said sincerely, and I tried my best not to blush at his words.
"What are friends for huh?" I repeated his line back to him and his smile widened, my stomach lurching at the sight. Oh Merlin. I was such a mess of emotion.
Poppy's POV
Lily had told me about what had happened between her and James at the party which made me happy that she felt able to confide in me. She seemed all over the place; happy that they got on so well and she could make him laugh but annoyed at herself for liking him in the first place. It didn't help that Priya and James were on thin ice, the latter spending a lot of his time with her to try and sort things out between them. At mealtimes, I often sat at the opposite end to where James was sat and I could see how torn this made Sirius feel, making me feel bad for him in turn. This then made Lily feel bad that I was sitting with her as she didn't feel comfortable to sit near James with how much she obviously liked him so all in all things weren't great. The rest of our friendship group understood why I was keeping my distance but didn't get why Lily was also keeping away and most of us spent our time in a confused state. I missed hanging out with James and chatting to him but didn't want to put a strain on his relationship but every time I saw him, he didn't look happy which made me want to just hug him.
"Poppy you with us?" Sirius pulled me from my thoughts, and I blinked, seeing that everyone around us was moving, evidently down to the quidditch pitch for the Ravenclaw Hufflepuff match.
"Yes, sorry" I told him, seeing him smile as he offered me a hand to pull me up from the table, seeing that Lily had waited with him for me. Sirius held my hand as we made our way out of the hall, seeing our friends waiting for us; Priya was nowhere in sight. Evidently James was thinking along the same lines as me as he bounded over to us with a grin, pulling me in for a hug.
"James!" I exclaimed, thinking she might easily see but he squeezed me tightly, making me laugh.
"I've missed you" he told me quietly, making me smile as he finally let me go, seeing him give me a sad smile.
"I've missed you too. But can we please move as I'm already starting to get cold" I said, making all three of them laugh as we made our way down to the quidditch pitch, Lily and I sandwiched between Sirius and James. The guys chatted about the match as we followed everybody down and I could feel the shivering start to kick in, hoping this was going to be a quick match. We followed everybody up to the Gryffindor stands, squeezing along so that we were jammed in closely together. Sirius moved to stand behind me, putting his arms around me and pulling me against his chest where I could feel his warmth. I turned to Lily to see her staring resolutely in front of her, noticing James standing closely behind her, next to Sirius.
"Enjoying the closeness?" I whispered to her and she whipped around quickly to glare at me, making me laugh.
"Hey, remember this time last year when your lips went blue at this game?" James asked and now it was my turn to scowl at him, making the other three laugh.
"I'm happy to warm them up for you" Sirius told me, making me laugh and James and Lily groan. "Hey, you opened me up for that one" Sirius said to James who rolled his eyes, but he was grinning. To be fair, he had a point.
Lily's POV
"Just please don't do it in front of us" James replied to Sirius who looked shocked.
"And let my girlfriend freeze? That would be terribly unchivalrous of me" Sirius replied sarcastically, making me and Poppy laugh. "And you're the one saying she's your best friend as well. Poppy I'd be very offended right now" he told her with a grin, and she nodded, trying to look upset.
"Ouch James. I can't believe you're okay with me freezing" she said with a sniff.
"Oh, shut up" he told her, lightly pushing her although she didn't move as I could see Sirius had his arms around her. All of a sudden there was a distinct rumble of thunder and I felt Poppy jump from beside me and when I turned, I saw her eyes wide and fully golden in colour. I was about to ask her what was wrong when I noticed Sirius talking to her quietly, whispering in her other ear. I could see her nod but her eyes were still brilliant gold so she must be really worried. Sirius straightened up after a moment and it seemed she only now clocked me watching her. She gave me a small smile as I both saw and felt James put a hand on her shoulder.
"You okay?" he asked her quietly and I could hear the concern in his voice. She nodded, despite her eyes telling us something very different. "Alright, just let us know if you need anything" he told her, and she nodded before he moved his arm, and I could feel him behind me. At this point the teams made their appearance and although I did my best to focus on them, I found myself distracted by the fact that James was stood so close behind me. At times he would shift slightly, our bodies touching which would make my heart rate go crazy and I had to keep reminding myself that this was purely one sided; he had a girlfriend, and I needed to stop thinking these thoughts. Next to me, Poppy was shivering, and I could swear it was getting colder as the storm clouds gathered above us. I shivered slightly as an ice-cold gust of wind flew over us and I felt James move closer behind me.
"You okay Lily?" he asked in my ear which had me shivering for a whole host of other reasons. I took a breath to compose myself before I nodded, hoping that would do as a very loud clap of thunder resounded, sounding as though it came from right on top of us. Poppy jumped again and I figured she wasn't a fan of thunder given her previous reaction and I turned to her, seeing her eyes still golden in colour. I could tell Sirius had a tight hold on her, seeing her almost shrinking back into him. He was frowning but his eyes were focused fully on the match and in that moment, I felt a surge of jealousy through me. Although fully immersed in the game I could tell Sirius was worried about her, his body language showing that he was protecting her and I could see that Poppy felt safe right now, despite her worry. I was jealous of that intimacy they had, that neither of them needed to speak to know what the other was thinking or feeling and I just knew that if Poppy asked Sirius to go right now, he would leave with no question as it was what she needed from him. A sudden warmth on my hand made me jump, my heart going crazy when I realised James had taken my hand in his.
"Lily you mad woman! Take these!" he said, and I saw some gloves being thrust at me and turned to see him looking at me with a frown. "As if you didn't bring gloves?! You're frozen!" he told me, sounding aghast. "Put them on!" he insisted, and I took them from him gratefully, quickly pulling them on and feeling that they still held his warmth.
"Thanks James" I replied, and he smiled, giving me a nod before turning his attention back to the game. I did my best to also re-focus on the match but could feel James had moved closer behind me so that we were now touching, my heart beating like mad. I felt as though I were being watched and despite being worried, I saw Poppy grinning. I turned to her and she said nothing, but her look was more than enough as it had me blushing. All of a sudden there was a bright burst of light above us followed by the biggest sound of thunder yet and I instinctively turned to Poppy who was wide eyed and cringing back into Sirius. Without even thinking about it I reached for her hand, seeing her jump when I took it and I gave it a squeeze, seeing her give me a shaky smile. I kept her hand, feeling her hold it tightly when James suddenly tapped her shoulder.
"Bolt's seen it! Look, I'm sure she'll catch it!" he told her, and I scanned the pitch to see her but heard James laugh before he put his hands on my shoulders now and steered me in the opposite direction to where I'd been looking. "There" he breathed in my ear, taking one hand from my shoulder to point in front of me. I turned my head, but I wasn't actually looking, being too caught up in the amount of contact between us right now. As such I completely missed the moment the snitch was caught, just about hearing the clapping from the crowd which told me the match was over, Poppy dropping my hand so she could clap too.
"Right come on, let's get you in the warmth" I heard Sirius say to Poppy, his tone jovial but his face serious. I looked at her, her eyes still golden before she nodded and turned away, allowing him to lead the way and I followed closely behind, feeling James behind me. In the mix of the crowds, we lost our other friends as I kept my eyes focused on Poppy, wanting to make sure she was okay. Finally, we were a bit freer and I hurried to her other side, gently nudging her.
"You okay?" I asked her gently and she nodded, and I could tell she was trying to act calm and casual. James managed to squeeze his way between us, and I could see him grin as he put an arm around Poppy.
"I for one am very glad you did not ask Sirius to warm your lips up despite their bluish tone" he told her, and she laughed at this, making me smile.
"Are you suggesting I stop and do it now?" Sirius replied with a grin and James quickly pulled Poppy to him, making us all laugh.
"Please no. I'm going to steal her away instead" he told him. I was shocked when I felt James put his arm around me as he steered the both of us away from Sirius. "I'm having them both" he called behind him as Poppy just laughed and I tried my best to act normal although I'd never been this close to James before.
"Two beautiful girls? Nope sorry, I have to have Poppy" Sirius argued with a grin, managing to sneak Poppy away leaving me with James.
"I actually think Lily and I will be better without you two" Pop told him, slipping away from him and grabbing my hand, pulling me in front of them with a laugh.
"Fine have it your way. Lily and me it is" Sirius countered and I felt him now put his arm around my shoulders and pull me away from Poppy as James and her laughed, James putting his arm around her and the two made their way up to the castle.
"So, you and me Evans. It's your lucky day" Sirius told me, and I turned to see him grinning, his arm still around me as though it were perfectly normal as we made our way up to the castle.
"I really feel lucky" I told him sarcastically and he laughed, eyes alight and I saw what Poppy saw in him, making me smile. I saw his eyes drift in front of us to where Poppy and James were walking, looking deep in conversation.
"Is she really alright?" I asked him quietly and he sighed, shaking his head. He was quiet for a moment, looking thoughtful.
"It's the storms. Remind her of…well the night she lost her parents" he admitted quietly, and I felt my eyes widen in surprise. Poor Poppy, no wonder she seemed so worried earlier if this triggered her memories of that night. "Just, don't say anything at the moment. I know she wouldn't mind me telling you because you're one of her best friends but she's just a bit…jumpy right now" he continued and I nodded quickly, feeling Sirius squeeze my shoulder and give me a smile. "Thanks Lily" he told me sincerely, eyes going back to where Poppy and James were now walking even closer together and I had a feeling she had told James why her eyes were so golden right now. I just hoped she knew we were all here for her and I found myself glad that she had Sirius who very clearly had her back.