Description: Sirius teaches Lily that there's more to people than what they let on. Maybe Potter isn't all bad. Companion piece to 'Magic'.
Disclaimer: If you are under the impression that I own Harry Potter, I could reserve a bed for you at St. Mungo's.
Not all bad
"Evans?" Asked a dumbfounded Sirius Black, "You have detention? I never thought I'd see the day."
"Oh, shut it, Black." snapped Lily Evans, her face red from embarrassment.
"But you're Miss Goody Two Shoes! How on earth did you get detention?"
"If you want to know so badly, I hexed Avery with a tail —" Sirius was sure he saw Lily's mouth twitch as he roared with laughter. "Anyway, should I bother asking why you are in detention?"
"Prongs and I jinxed Aubrey, but something went wrong… well, his head is twice its size now…" Lily snorted, looking both appalled and amused.
"Shouldn't Potter be here too, then?"
"For some reason, the teachers don't trust us enough to have our detention together."
Lily scoffed, "Yeah, for some reason."
Sirius smirked, "Guess you're stuck with me today,"
Evans sighed mournfully as they reached Professor McGonagall's office, "I'd rather spend the afternoon with the giant squid,"
"You've used that too many times Evans," Sirius teased as she huffed and they entered the room.
Professor McGonagall looked up from the essays she was correcting, "Ah, Miss Evans and Mr Black," she gestured for them to sit down, which they did obligingly.
She looked at them and sighed tiredly, "I'll have you know that hexing students isn't tolerated at Hogwarts and I would have thought six years here would have taught you that. I certainly did not expect this behaviour from a prefect," she added to Lily seriously, who turned the same colour as her hair and muttered an apology. Sirius on the other hand, was used to this speech and was trying very hard not to yawn, "however, using abhorrent language to refer to Muggle-borns is also intolerable here and rest assured Mr Avery will be spending detention with Professor Slughorn."
"As for you Black, experimenting spells on students is not allowed and should I see Mr Potter and yourself out of line again, this matter will be taken directly to the Headmaster and a letter will be sent to your parents." Sirius gave her a charming smile and McGonagall sighed as if thinking this was of no use.
"You will be writing all the Quidditch records of the past few years, and you will not be using magic to do so," she gestured at a sheet of decaying yellow parchment which contained all the information to be copied out freshly, "You may begin, I have a meeting with Professor Dumbledore and I shall be back in an hour. No funny business." she said looking mainly at Sirius who gave her a wide-eyed innocent smile.
Lily sighed. Now she had to deal with Black and Quidditch. This was shaping up to be the worst detention ever. Sirius seemed to be right at home, which was no surprise since he literally lived in detention.
"I suppose we should get started," she muttered, pulling out a roll of parchment, her favourite quill and a new bottle of ink while Sirius looked at himself in a mirror. Selfish arrogant prat. Of course Black would admire himself in a mirror, she wouldn't be surprised if he preened his imaginary feathers. Whatever she expected she certainly didn't think the mirror would talk to him. Being brought up by muggles, she fleetingly thought of the story 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' and nearly snorted when she imagined the mirror saying, "Thou, O Sirius, art the fairest in the land."
Instead, of course, she heard the annoyingly familiar voice of James Potter, "Padfoot! You'll never guess what happened!"
Sirius threw a nervous look at Lily's direction, "What is it?"
"Evans hexed Avery with a tail!"
"Well that explains things," Black smirked, swinging his mirror so that James could see Lily, looking unimpressed, an eyebrow raised. To her immense satisfaction, Potter blushed but quickly regained his careless demeanour.
"Evans, I am so proud of you! You're very first detention!" he said, wiping faux proud tears from his eyes.
Lily glared daggers at him and then turned to Sirius, saying coldly, "I think we have work to do?"
Sirius sighed exaggeratingly and Lily rolled her eyes as he and Potter exchanged 'tearful' goodbyes. They started their work, laboriously copying down names of Hogwarts Quidditch Players, their house and their achievements. It didn't improve her mood when James Potter's name kept popping up.
Sirius was surprised when Lily chose to break the ice, "That mirror… it's quite impressive you know,"
"We use it to talk during separate detentions," he explained, realising that this was one of the most civil conversations that he had had with Lily Evans.
"So that you can never ever be apart?" Lily smirked when he turned red.
"Very funny, Evans." He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Sirius feared he had given himself a whiplash when Lily asked ten minutes later, looking confused, "Regulus Black? Is he your brother?"
"Yeah, he is," Lily was surprised at the sudden harsh tone in his voice, "although I like to pretend I'm not related to him. To any of them." he added, his face darkening.
"It says he plays seeker for Slytherin," Lily started cautiously, looking at the scowling young man to give any indication to stop, "You don't get along with your family?"
Lily feared she had stepped too far, at the corner of her mind she wondered why she cared so much for Black. She was prepared for him to snap at her but instead he gave her a small sad, if wistful smile, "Nah, they're one of those Pure-Blood maniacs. Reg's Voldemort's number one fan," Lily felt something pull at her heart when Sirius said quietly, "They think I'm a disgrace."
Sirius looked up when he heard Lily's voice say softly, "I get it," Sirius frowned but Lily continued, "My sister, Petunia —" her voice caught much to her embarrassment, "she's never been the same since I got my Hogwarts letter. She makes it a point to at least mention the word 'freak' a few hundred times during the summer. And my parents," her wistful smile turned slightly pained, "I don't even think they believe half the things I say anymore."
Sirius suddenly realised how hard it was for muggle-borns to stay connected with their families when they were out of school. They were also not that popular in the current wizarding society, so they would feel as though they didn't belong in either world.
Lily frowned, "But if you don't get along with your family to that extent, what do you do in the summer when you have to go home?"
Sirius grinned slightly, "I ran away,"
"You what?"
"Since last year, I don't live with my so-called family anymore,"
Lily gaped at him, "I — but — where did you go?"
"The Potters. They took me in, even though they could have left me freezing in the cold — they've basically adopted me. James let me stay till I'm old enough to live on my own."
"Potter took you in? Just like that?"
"Lily," When did she become Lily? "James may be a conceited prat sometimes, but his heart's in the right place. Sure, he was a spoiled idiot and a braggart, but he's changed. You might have noticed that. He has an inflated ego, and so do I occasionally, but he's got a heart of gold. He's not all bad."
Lily stared at him, her mouth was slightly parted open. She wore an expression that was familiar and yet so alien at the same time. It struck him like a bolt of lightning, it was the same expression that James wore whenever Lily's name was involved. Maybe Evans didn't hate Prongs after all.
Lily coughed, bringing him back to reality, "You're right, I haven't been fair to him," she looked slightly awkward, "I suppose Potter's not all bad." Apparently miracles do happen. Evans smiled slightly, "And I thought Sirius Black was as deep as a puddle."
"I'm a man of many talents, Evans," Sirius said arrogantly.
"Unfortunately, it seems that it doesn't extend to completing the work I have given you in time." McGonagall's dry voice made them jump, they hadn't seen her enter the room.
She ignored Lily's stutters and Sirius's smooth excuse. "But I suppose the point of detention has been made, I suggest you leave before I change my mind." They didn't need to be told twice although Lily thought she saw her teacher restrain a small smile as she watched them go.
Sirius had always supported his best friend, but before he could never understand what Prongs saw in Evans. Sure, she was pretty, but she had a temper that was as fiery as her scarlet hair and she did not have an ounce of patience when the name Potter was involved. He could never understand why James never gave up on the girl, despite her not so subtle hints (or yells) that she wasn't interested.
But after their heart-to-heart chat (sort of), he realised that even though James and Lily were as different as night and day, they were similar in ways too. They were both loyal to their loved ones and passionate for their causes. They'd do anything for their friends and they were both willing to risk everything for those they care about. They both were as stubborn as a pair of bulls, they were prideful, arrogant, ignorant at times, but they had hearts of gold. That was what mattered in the end.
Author's Notes: Phew! That took forever! This takes place in their sixth year, if you're wondering. This is my head canon on how Lily and Sirius became friends. Is it good? Bad? Okay? Drop a note and let me know!
Next up: Some Ginny angst. Stay tuned ;)