A/N: We made it to 21 followers! Yay! I feel so proud! You join us for some more fun shenanigans with Lily. Are you excited?

Chapter Fourteen

Lily vomited spectacularly into the toilet bowl, grasping its sides and gagging. Her leg was successfully healed but there were likely still traces of the curse floating about her system. Thus, Exon and Madame Pomfrey had teamed together and persuaded her to take a mouthful of potion once a day for a week that would cleanse her. They had called it purging, she called it torture. Despite being doomed, she could have done without the bidaily trips to the toilet to regurgitate her insides. And it was only her first day on the accursed potion.

Wiping her mouth, Lily got up off the floor and flushed the toilet. She unlocked the cubicle and went over to one of the sinks, washing her hands and mouth with cold water.

'Jesus Christ.' she groaned, leaning her forehead against the mirror. 'This is awful.'

But it was only for a week, she told herself. She could cope with a week of vomiting.

'God forbid I get pregnant.' Lily decided, swinging her schoolbag over her shoulder and making her way to the door of the girls' toilets. 'Morning sickness must be a bitch.'

Then she chuckled to herself, using her shoulder to open the bathroom door into the busy corridor of students. She lingered by the door for a moment, waiting for a gap so she could safely step into the corridor.

'Anyway, I'd have to find someone to shag me first.'

'What's that about you shagging?' a delighted voice inquired, plucking her by the arm and steering her helpfully out into the corridor. Sirius winked at her and she laughed lightly as they started to walk together. 'You can shag me any time you want, Evans. You just have to ask, you know that.'

'Aren't I lucky?' Lily responded dryly, but then she grinned at him.

'Evans, one night with me and your life would change forever.' he informed her smugly.

'Is that why you're still single?' Lily quipped, giggling at his look of outrage. 'Too many girls regretting having anything to do with you?'

'You're actually really mean, Evans.' Sirius told her seriously. 'I don't know what Jamesie sees in you.'

'Everyone loves a nickname.' Lily patted his shoulder condescendingly. 'Potter loves his.'

'I've got plenty of nicknames for him!' Sirius mock indignance was rather amusing and Lily chuckled. 'Jamsie, diddy kins –'

'Very nice.' Lily nodded solemnly. 'I can see why he wants to be friends with you.'

Sirius sighed dramatically, clutching at Lily's hand and bringing it close to his heart.

'We're just jealous of one another.' he declared theatrically. 'But there's no reason! We'll run away together and forget all about a wizard called James Potter.'

'An excellent plan.' Lily agreed.

'Well, I did say I'd change your life forever.'

'We haven't fucked yet.' Lily pointed out and Sirius grinned.

'Not yet, Evans.' He winked. 'You'll fall for my charm eventually.'

'Save that for Marlie, would you?' Lily scolded, shoving him lightly as they walked. 'I don't think I can resist you much longer.'

'You're right, Evans.' Sirius grinned. 'Oh, Marlie, Marlie, Marlie… Isn't she wonderful?'

Lily got the sense that Marlene had actually been the topic of discussion Sirius had hoped to breach with her. She smirked to herself.

'Spit it out, Black.' Lily said, glancing sideways at him. 'What do you want?'

'I was just wondering – since your Marlie's best friend in the whole wide world –'

Lily smirked wider.

'Go on,'

'Does she – will she ever speak to me? I can't tell if she doesn't want to or if she's shy, but she never says anything. She doesn't really react to anything I say most of the time either.'

'She'll speak when she wants to speak.' Lily replied softly.

'That's really helpful, Evans.'

'I'm sorry.' Lily said and she meant it too. The situation with Marlene was a very complicated one. 'I don't think I can give you an answer. She barely says anything to me either. I don't know what to tell you.'

'Right.'

'Listen, Black.' Lily stopped walking and reached out, holding onto Sirius arm. 'I know you're not as bad as I made you out to be for the last five years but if you're only interested in a challenge and a quick shag, leave Marlie alone. I don't want Marlie to start feeling comfortable around you and build up the courage to say something to you, just for you to leave her once she shags you.'

'What makes you think I'm not serious – it's my name after all?' Sirius grinned at her.

'That right there.' She folded her arms. 'I'm being serious and you're not.'

'I am!'

'Black, I've never even seen the two of you together. Ever. Why should I help you?'

'Can't a bloke admire from a distance?' Sirius reasoned, shrugging. Lily glared and he seemed to shrink slightly. 'Well – well, she's intimidating, Evans. Give me a break! I can't tell if she hates me – she never smiles or anything.'

'Oh, I'm so sorry.' Lily sneered. 'Sorry it's difficult for you. It must be horrible fancying a girl who won't smile at you.'

'I should've known you'd be no help.' Sirius grumbled, slipping his hands into his pockets.

'Yes, you probably should have.' Lily said mildly. Noting how dejected the boy beside her appeared, she sighed, giving in slightly. 'A word of advice: Marlie won't warm up to someone who 'admires' her during lessons and randomly pops up out of the blue just to say hello – even if she fancies them.'

'She fancies me?'

'Can't a girl admire from a distance?' Lily threw back, smirking. 'Besides, she went and watched one of your Quidditch practices.'

'Once.' he reminded her dully. 'And she never came back again.'

Lily didn't quite have the heart to tell him she was the one who had persuaded Marlene to go and watch the practice in the first place; it wasn't in Marlene's nature to make such a direct move without any prompting.

'Hang in there, Black.' she said bracingly, thumping his back. 'Patience is your friend. Why don't you join us studying sometime? I'll be chaperoning but otherwise it might be a good place to start.'

'Really?'

'Just bring Potter with you. I know you hate studying and I'd hate for us to be thrown out of the library when you get bored.'

…

Lily's friends were starting to exclude Mary. At first things were subtle. Lily had joined the group late in Transfiguration, having been regurgitating her insides in the toilet, and taken the seat beside Mary, who had been left alone. Lily attributed this to Mary being the second last to arrive so that the others were already sat down and let this slide. But then the next day, when Mary came down to breakfast and sat with them, Dorcas had pointedly moved furthered down the table. Emmeline, Hestia and Marlene followed her, leaving Lily bewildered and Mary upset.

'She's told them,' she had whispered and then started sobbing into her breakfast.

Lily hadn't quite known what to do with herself at that point and settled for patting her on the back, trying to ignore the beckoning of her other friends.

Not knowing why her friends had decided to freeze out Mary, Lily continued to act as if there was nothing wrong and made sure Mary was never alone. She was more concerned with the fact she had to vomit out the remnants of a curse and wasn't particularly enthused at the idea of investigating what was at the root of the problem with her friends. Something told her things could get nasty and when it came to such matters, Lily was content to let them stay beneath the surface and not address them, waiting for them to blow over. Of course, she had done that with Severus, and things had ended horribly, but this was different. Probably.

Her resolve to stay out of the conflict didn't last very long. Not because she changed her mind but because Dorcas grabbed as she came out of another regurgitating session and pulled her into the nearest empty classroom.

'You need to stay away from Mary.' Dorcas told her abruptly as soon as she had shut the door behind them. 'I don't get why you're still hanging around with her.'

'Because she hasn't done anything.' Lily replied, a little exasperated laugh escaping her lips. 'I don't understand why you lot are avoiding her.'

'What d'you mean you don't understand?' Dorcas shook Lily slightly, much to her friend's surprise. 'Lily, I thought you of all people would hate her. You should hate her.'

'So, I'm supposed to hate her now too? Isn't avoiding her bad enough?' Lily scoffed. 'I thought you were her best friend Dorcas. Why would you –'

'Don't tell me you don't know.' Now Dorcas was the one who sounded disbelieving. 'Well, makes sense, I s'pose…' she decided after a moment's pause. 'She wouldn't tell you. But I thought Hestia or Emmeline would've. I mean, they made it sound like they had…'

'Told me what?' Lily was impatient now. If Dorcas kept dancing about what Mary had apparently done any longer, she thought she might tear her hair out.

'She's a Death Eater.'

'What?' Lily laughed in Dorcas' grim face. 'Mary, a Death Eater? Don't be thick! Her mum's half blood – her gran's Muggle-born for Christ's sake – she loves her. She wouldn't join the Death Eaters.'

'I'm not being thick.' said Dorcas through gritted teeth, the fact that Lily wasn't taking her seriously irritating her immensely. 'I saw her. I saw her hug this Death Eater at the protest and they helped her get out all right.'

'How do you know they were a Death Eater? They could have just had black robes.'

''Cos that dickhead sent a jinx at me about two minutes beforehand. Why would he if he was on our side?' Dorcas retorted and Lily blinked.

'And you're sure that it was the same person?'

Dorcas bowed her head and Lily felt her heart start to sink. She didn't want to believe it, but part of her was convinced. This reminded her of times when she had still been friends with Severus, hearing things down the school grapevine of what he and her friends had done.

'She's using you, Lily. Trust me. Soon as Mulciber waves at her she'll throw you away. Just like Snivellus.'

At the specific mention of Severus, Lily's stomach lurched. She didn't think she could cope with two of her friends abandoning her in such a fashion. Dorcas certainly knew how to plant doubts in her head. Suddenly, the classroom was suffocating to stand in. She needed to get out, away, and fast; she needed time to think. Time alone.

'I – er…' Lily opened the classroom door. 'Thanks for telling me…'

'Hey, I'm just looking out for my mate.'

…

'Hey, Evans! Evans!'

Lily started at the sound of James calling after her as she made her way to dinner. She had been absorbed in her own thoughts, which were occupied with the topic of Mary. Despite Dorcas, her friend, telling her she was a Death Eater, Lily hadn't made up her mind. Dorcas had no reason to lie to her; Lily trusted she was telling the truth about what she had seen. At least as to what she thought she had seen.

Lily had watched Mary today and avoided sitting with anyone until she had made up her mind. She didn't know quite honestly when that would be, but she hoped it would be soon. The strange looks she had been getting from all her friends, Mary included, when she had chosen to sit with neither side of the split where ones she didn't want to have to see often. She was confused, but she was also scared that she had made the same mistake in befriending Mary as she had Severus. She wasn't sure if she could cope with a reprisal of the latter.

'Evans! Earth to Evans?' James was waving a hand in her face, grinning at how distracted she was.

'Sorry.' she muttered, blushing a little in embarrassment. 'I was just thinking…'

'I could see that.' James grinned, looping an arm around her. 'But you might want to get it checked out. Thinking's a serious disease.'

'I'll bear that in mind.' she told him dryly. 'So, how are you, Mrs Evans? I feel like I haven't spoken to you in ages.'

'Been counting the days, eh, Evans?' James winked. 'Miss me, did you?'

'How ever did you guess? My Christmas was plagued with thoughts of you.'

'You've got no idea how happy that makes me.' he informed her, and she chuckled.

'Why? Was your Christmas plagued with thoughts of me, because if that's true, I thought you said you didn't fancy me.'

'Wouldn't you like to know.' He pinched her cheek and she hit him lightly on the back of the head in response.

'We'll have less of that manhandling, Mrs Evans.' Lily scolded jocosely, and grinned when he laughed.

'So, d'you have a good Christmas?' he asked conversationally, and Lily felt a slight squirm in her stomach as she thought of her holidays. No, she wasn't going to share that.

'Well, my Christmas was all right, but I'm offended you haven't noticed what's different about me.'

James' eyes narrowed, scanning her hastily to try and discern what had changed about her. With his arm still around her, Lily could feel how his heart rate had picked up suddenly and she smirked to herself. He was surprisingly nervous.

'Is that a trick question?' he tried feebly but held up a hand as she opened her mouth to reply. 'No, I don't need a hint… I'll get there…'

Lily scoffed.

'If you haven't noticed by now –'

'Hey, hey! Who says I haven't noticed?' James plucked at a strand of her hair. 'Have you had a haircut?'

'My leg's all better!' she exclaimed, laughing at his guess and dancing out from under his arm to so that she could skip in front of him. 'Look! No bandage or anything!'

'What? Really?' James looked stunned and then frowned, realising there was not outline of a bandage bulging beneath her tights. 'But you fainted – I thought –'

'Madame Pomfrey took me to St Mungo's and one of the Healers had been doing some research into old curses and, well, he cured me.' Lily grinned happily at him. 'Isn't it brilliant?'

'Just like that?'

'Just like that.' She nodded, beaming. Encouraged by her obvious euphoria, a smile twitched its way across James' lips.

'Congratulations.' he said as they reached the Great Hall. She laughed gaily in response.

'I'll see you later.' she told him, waving a little as he went to sit with the rest of the Marauders. He grinned back and she continued down the table, searching for an empty space away from any of her friends.

But her resolve faltered as Mary smiled a hopeful little smile at her as she sat all by herself, feeling the glares of Dorcas and the others floating down the table. It broke Lily's heart to see it. Of their own accord, Lily feet directed themselves towards her lonely friend; a few paces from her, however, she stopped. She couldn't do this again. She couldn't drag herself hopefully along, praying that Mary didn't turn out to be a Death Eater. No, Lily would have to be alone, until she had investigated this in full.

She turned, and took a seat a little along the table, trying to ignore the crestfallen expression on Mary's face and the approving smirk from Dorcas.

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